text:
Friday, October 31, 2008

Dead Spirits

That refers to my favorite shoes, Easy Spirit. I've found a couple of pair at a thrift store, and almost twenty years ago my mom bought me a new pair of 1 inch heel black Easy Spirit shoes, and those have been worn more or less since then depending on what job I had and how my weight fluctuated and so forth. I haven't worn them much at all these past few years because they were damaged a little bit in a flood, but for most things I would think that hiding the damage with a black magic marker would work. This year, one of the shoes also had some damage from mice, but again I decided that the damage could be hidden with a black marker.

So, those were the shoes that I wore to the Halloween party on Saturday. I've gained some weight since last year, so they were a bit tight, but they were still better than a lot of other shoes.

This year I've decided to sort of downsize a few things in my life. I feel like I'm wasting too much time and energy on stuff that doesn't really matter, like ceramics and Star Trek. These last few years I have put a lot of effort into my Halloween costume, and this year I decided that had to stop. This year I decided to just not do anything special, not enter any contests, not spend weeks and weeks making a costume, not make any weird food, not carve a pumpkin, not help with the decorations, etc.... Since I didn't spend a lot of time on a costume, this left me in a position to actually be a judge in the costume competition, which I had never done before. But other than being a judge, I decided to just show up for the party without having done anything special and just try to enjoy myself without it having to be any big deal.

About the only thing I did special was my hair. My hair was dyed really red. I don't mean red like genes from Ireland red. I mean red. My natural hair is brown, and this was a non-permanent dye, so my hair turned out like a shiny Dr. Pepper can. And my hair doesn't curl easily, so when I really want nice hair I have to sleep in perm rods. So I did that too.

My dress was black lace over red, but hardly any of the red shows through the black. And I had a black hooded cape. I was going to also wear a black witches hat, but at the last minute I decided that the hat needed a few more feathers, and I hot glued my arm. I decided I really didn't want the hat, since I'd spent so much time on my hair.

Funny thing about the hair. Two other ladies, also wearing black, and one of them also minus a witch hat that she meant to wear, also had this same curly red hair. Except that they were both wearing wigs. But we were all in black and all had nearly the same hair.

Back to the shoes. Over the years, I have put pads in the shoes and taken pads out of the shoes and put these little things on the bottom of the shoes so that I don't slip. So with the weight gain the pads have come out of the shoes, but they still had the non-slip things stuck on the bottom. So I was walking around, and I was thinking that there was something wrong with one of the shoes, like the non-slip thing was maybe coming off. But I looked at it, and it was very firmly still attached to the bottom of the shoe.

The party always does seem to get off to a slow start. Last year it really got off to a slow start because of some problem with the music. This year again there was some problem with the music, but this time it only took about ten minutes to fix.

After long discussions and debates and people getting upset, the party had changed from being a party for everyone to being an adults only party and then back to having to vote on the issue again. After almost two hours of a meeting using Robert's Rules of Order we came up with a compromise of having it be an adults only party after nine, and that from seven to nine the children were allowed, free of charge with a paid adult, but that the bar would not be opened until nine after all the children had left.

So after all of that and thinking that we had a good compromise, only the one family brought two children. So that part of the evening that usually has children's stuff going on was rather dull. And some of the adults really seemed to resent giving up alcohol for even the two hours. And of course there are several people who are just traditionally late anyway.

One thing that does not have to do with children that gets done earlier in the evening is the weird food contest. But this year there were only four entries, and for some reason the voting kept being pushed back and pushed back again. So the voting should have been done by eight, but I think it ended up being done past eight-thirty. Anyway, the idea is to vote on the weird food before anyone eats it, so that everyone gets to see how weird it is. So by the time the voting was actually done, I'd had something else to eat, and I wasn't really hungry. So I ended up not even trying any of the weird food.

Okay, so the weird food awards were awarded, and the kid costume awards were awarded to the two contestants, and then there was the children's dance contest with two contestants, and then the two kids went trick-or-treating at the tables (which did not get them much from me since I totally forgot we were supposed to be doing that and I had already eaten about half the candy at our table by then). So the family with the two children left at nine without any drama, and right about then my friend who is always late showed up.

I went to ask someone who the other costume judges were. I volunteered to be a judge several months ago when I decided that I couldn't get my planned costume done in time and I really didn't want to spend a lot of time making another one. A friend had also volunteered several months ago, when he decided that his costume was so good that it just wasn't fair to compete with it. The rest of us just weren't following his reasoning at all. If you've spent five months making a great costume, then you're supposed to win, and there's nothing unfair about it. Not like everyone else didn't have the same opportunity to work on their costumes for five months, just that most people chose not to do that. So we found someone to replace him as judge, and we made him enter the contest. The other two judges were already sitting at a front row table, so a changed seats for a bit.

We have a few Klingons in our group, but they decided that they didn't want to be Klingons for Halloween since they are often Klingons during the rest of the year. They brought two other Klingons as guests, but they didn't win anything. I have a friend who made a costume of "Sponge Bob SCARE pants" two years ago, but due to various mishaps he didn't get to wear it until Saturday. He was funny, but he didn't win. We have this woman in our club who is like eighty-five and half-blind, and on her birthday she likes to do traditional old lady type things, like jumping out of airplanes. So this old lady went as a biker-chick, with those fake tattoo sleeves and a leather vest and hat. Her daughters came as the musical group HEART. The theme for this year was B Movies, so we had three people show up as bees. We also had a killer tomato, a 50ft woman, and Sarah Palin. Then we had the usual ghosts and werewolves and vampires and witches.

And then the three of us went into another room to decide who won what award. We agreed right away that my friend's five months in the making Ironman was Best in Show, but we also had to decide such things as Best Group or Couple, Best Recreation, Best Use of Materials, Most Beautiful, and Most Disturbing. I was saying I like this and I like that, and the guy that we drafted to be judge at the last minute was doing the same thing, but we really didn't know where to start. Luckily, the third judge was sorting out the cards and picking out those who were in a group. Okay, that works. There were a few couples, but that award went to a family who all came as characters from Speed Racer.

After that we tossed some cards that we didn't think were special, and then we sorted the remaining cards that might fit in different categories. We liked the vampire, but he just didn't seem to fit in with anything. He wasn't Disturbing, and he wasn't a vampire from a particular movie, so he didn't qualify for Best Recreation. While some of our guys would have no problem walking away with the Most Beautiful award, I didn't know this guy, and that might have offended a whole room of women who didn't get the award. We finally decided that as much as we liked him, we just couldn't give him an award, because nothing fit. We narrowed down Most Beautiful to three women, and then decided to discuss other things for awhile and come back to that. There was a couple that everyone liked, and I thought that they were holodeck characters from Star Trek Voyager. My fellow judges didn't agree, so we were really having a problem with the Best Recreation. There wasn't a Most Humorous award, so we passed over the Killer Tomato and Sarah Palin and Sponge Bob SCARE pants. Most Disturbing went to the 50ft Woman. We kept changing our minds between the three women up for Most Beautiful.

Our hostess came to see how we were doing. We were half done, but we were kind of stuck with the rest of it. I asked her if she thought that a certain couple were from Voyager, and she said that they were, that they were from the holodeck program Captain Proton.

So then everything worked out. The couple from Captain Proton got Best Recreation, and since we didn't plan to give two awards to the same person, that took Queen Arachnia out of the running for Most Beautiful. So that only left two women for Most Beautiful, and I knew one of them would be just as happy with Best Use of Materials. So Most Beautiful went to the witch that came with the vampire. The name of the costume that got Best Use of Materials wouldn't mean anything to anyone, so lets just say that it was a red cape and a long red dress and a long black wig and a headpiece with black feathers. She sort of looked like Cher, if Cher ever went anywhere fully dressed.

M & J showed up after we presented the awards. This is a tradition for them, to show up in the best costumes after it is too late to be in the contest. Rarely do they enter the contest, and when they do they almost always get Best in Show. This year it would have been tough, as I still would have voted for Ironman. But they did have excellent Joker and Cat Woman costumes. The one theory is that they always show up late on purpose, so that other people have a chance in the contest. But if you ask them about it, they say that they were at home fixing something on the costumes.

After the contest there's a lot of dancing. I don't dance anyway, but a lot of people don't dance till after the contest, cause they don't want to risk damaging their costumes. And there is a lot of posing for pictures, which I didn't do much of this year as I went in the black dress and cape and didn't have an elaborate costume. But I'm afraid that I even forgot to have my picture taken with the lady who got Best Use of Materials, cause we always get our picture taken. I just forgot this year.

Someone who didn't win anything came and complimented us on our judging and said that she would have picked the same people. So it's always good to get compliments on your judging from someone who didn't win. Hopefully there are no sore losers in this bunch.

While I was walking around and talking to people, I again noticed that something seemed to be wrong with my shoe. Again, the non-slip thing was firmly attached. I sat down and took the shoe off. It wasn't that something was coming off of the bottom of the shoe, but the bottom of the shoe itself was coming off. Okay, well, maybe I can glue it back together and keep them for some later costume, but I guess that is the end of me just wearing them as regular shoes.

I was tired, but I stayed til one anyway. I did not stay to clean up. Those people were still there at like three in the morning.

Sunday morning I checked my email and there were a few emails about the party. I guess I somehow didn't check my email on Monday, so on Tuesday I had 52 emails, mostly about the party. Most of it was the usual stuff, like this was the best party ever. Every year someone says that this was the best party ever. I don't think that this was the best party ever, but I don't think that there was anything wrong with it either. I don't think it had much to do with either there not being many kids there or not having the bar open til nine or any of that other stuff that we were all talking about before. I think I just really enjoy being a contestant more than a judge or just a regular party guest. But I think that I enjoyed the rest of the month more by not being a contestant. I think that most of the time I just put too much work into it for a costume that I'll probably only wear one time. So I'm probably not going to do that much anymore, even if it means that I don't like the party as much.

Well, I should do some work now. I would like to go to some stuff later, and tomorrow I have a busy day of after Halloween clearance sales. Not that I'm going to buy lots of costume and decorated stuff, but I do always buy some, and then there is discounted candy and discounted orange dishes and discounted black T-shirts, etc....

No comments:


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

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

WARC-Type: response

text:
Wednesday, 16 December 2009

Rustic House in Spain 2

Good morning dear readers, I have some exciting news.

Two months ago I showed you the awesome work of Kelly McGuill rigt here. She wrote to me some days ago and let me know she has started a blog! A brand new blog which you should definitely visit. She has only just started but it's not hard to tell this is going to be one fine blog! I love her idea of using letters to decorate (you'll know what I mean when you go there). So, once you're done here (not for good I hope!) hop over to her blog here and let me know what you think!

And today, back to Spain to have a look at this rustic house. Unfortunately just four pictures :( Would have loved to see the rest of the house!

Love these doors and arched window. See how it relects in the mirror inside. And the way they trimmed the ivy to follow the arch is fantastic!

Now that is an interesting window, not that I like it, it looks like a prison window to me, but maybe it belongs to the original building and has a story, this is what I meant by interesting.

Unusual floor with bits of tile. I like everything except that horse's head on top of the cupboard. Doesn't it look as if it's just balancing up there?

Love that bench!
All images from here.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

  1. Hi Kifus, thanks for the tip on Kelly's new blog - I'm going to pop over there right now & check it out. Lee :)

    P.S. You're right about that horse head - it looks like it's going to topple right off the dresser!

  2. the colors are beautiful... i love that mix of blue, orangey-gold and white.

  3. Thanks for this information.It is very useful for all readers.

  4. Great suggestions and examples, especially for a newbie like myself who lacks a natural sense of web design.

    Susan Graham

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Widget By Devils Workshop

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-164-221-253.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-43
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for October 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
Monday, 9 August 2010

Summer House in Malaga

Hope you all had a great weekend my friends! Mine was fine, full of sunshine and figuring out some math exercises with my son which we finally solved. It's always such a nice feeling to be able to solve math problems.

Surrounded by olive groves and radiant interiors, this spacious 18 century restored farmhouse is located near Archidona in Malaga.,I would call this home a happy house. All the splashes of bright colours make me want to run around an play all day. Anyway, that's what bright colours do to me. Most of the furniture has modern, simple lines. Lots of baskets, lanterns and colourful rugs and pillows. Let's run through.

Enjoyed today's tour? Come back for more tomorrow! Have a great day!

All images from here.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

  1. Hi Kifus,
    buongiorno, come và oggi ?
    Guardando queste tue foto, mi hai fatto ritornare con la mente quando vivevo a Losanna ( Svizzera )... avevo un letto quasi uguale a quello che hai esposto...
    Per un attimo mi hai fatto ritornare in dietro nel passato !
    Ciao-ooooo ;-))

  2. ooh, this home is just lovely! all of the rustic, antique furniture is so beautiful, and those kitchen cabinets are like nothing I've ever seen. I think my favorite room is the child's bedroom, though. I want a bed like that for my Millie!

  3. this house is the perfect ad for can have your house full of IKEA products yet it can look so unique like this one!

  4. Hi Kifus :-)
    tutte le nostre ferie le trascorriamo nella nostra casa di montagna ed Igor è sempre con noi !
    In questo momento sono sola nella casa di città, perchè ho ancora qualche cosa da fare quì nella mia fabbrica di scarpe :-)
    Silvano è già partito con Igor.
    Ciao Myriam

  5. Hi Kifus, hope you have been fine!
    Oh I like this post, this place is really amazing, so many great decorative details.
    I wouldn't change a thing here.
    TC, Anna

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Widget By Devils Workshop


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

text:
Choosing Your First Backpacking Stove

Whether you are buying your first backpacking stove or looking to upgrade or downgrade, there is no shortage of products on the market to consider.

If you are the casual backpacker, like me, it's easy to get wow'ed by all the different choices out there.  We've got Canister Style Stoves, Wood Burning Stoves, Fuel Tablet Stoves like the Esbit, and Alcohol Style Stoves.  And I'm sure I haven't named them all.

The question is...are any or all of these worth the investment?  I'm like most any guy and I like to have stuff.  Having a few different style stoves is fun and can make the camping experience all the more enjoyable as you try one stove this trip then choose another the next trip.  But, like most others, I don't have unlimited resources so I've got to make choices on how and where to spend my money for this awesome hobby.

Before you run out and buy your first stove, I'd suggest you start off with the absolute rock-bottom investment and make your own alcohol stove.  Pair that with a dehydrated meal or two and you're off and running.  We'll talk about that homemade alcohol stove in a sec but first just let me digress for a moment.

Yes, eating a great meal is important to having a great time.  At least it is for me and my gang of backpackers.  We like to eat well at the end of the day and first thing in the morning a hot cup or two of coffee is super important to me having an enjoyable time.  With that said, you can have an absolute fantastic meal by going with a Mountain House, Backpacker's Pantry or Packit Gourmet Dehydrated Meal.  And all you need to enjoy one of those is about 12-14oz of boiling water.

Every one of the stoves I list below does a great job of boiling water.  There are about [5] Characteristics of Backpacking Stoves that make some the right choice for your needs and some not so much.
  • Investment - The Home Made Alcohol Stove is the front runner here in the short term.  You can make one for under $1 but you'll have to constantly invest in your fuel source.  Boiling 12-16 ounces of water takes about 1 to 1.5 ounces of Alcohol and that stuff is really inexpensive.
  • Pack Weight/Volume - That Home Made Alcohol Stove scores high marks here as well.  Even with a few days worth of fuel, you'll hardly notice it in your pack.
  • Fuel Source - Any of the wood burning style Backpacking Stoves top the charts in this category since you'll never have to pay for your fuel nor will you have to pack it in or out with you.
  • Wow Factor - The Biolite Stove takes first place in this category in my opinion.  Not only does it take an unlimited free fuel source [wood, pinecones, etc] it also has a thermocouple which can change that heat energy into electricity to charge your electronic devices.  That's really something to brag on.  There's been more than one occasion that I've almost pulled the trigger on one of these.
  • Speed & Finesse - The Canister Style Stove just as the MSR Pocket Rocket or Jetboil Flash are the winners here.  I've boiled two cups of water [starting at around 60F] in a whopping three minutes with my MSR Canister stove.  That's over twice as fast as my Alcohol stove.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Our first style stove is the Canister Style Backpacking Stove.  The Jetboil Flash is aptly named with lighting fast Boil Times of just over 2 minutes and is one of the premier canister style stoves in the market.

Jetboil offers quite a few models with prices starting near $80 and moving up from there.

Note though that those prices, although a little high include a complete cook system [minus the fuel canister] with a burner, canister stand, pot, lid and cozy.

That's not a bad deal for all that gear.  You're completely set for cook gear with one purchase.

One great advantage the Canister Style Stove offers in addition to it's duper fast boil times is a fuel control knob.  That adjustment allows quite a bit more finesse in cooking and sautéing over just the standard full on flame 'boil my water' play.  And it saves fuel.

Coming in as an honorable mention Canister Style Stove is the MSR Pocket Rocket.  I own it's little brother the Micro Rocket and it's a great little stove that packs up small and weighs next to nothing.

Both the Pocket Rocket and the Minor Rocket are very similar and as will all canister stoves, they both have that same standard fuel canister threaded connection which is universal for all different makes of fuel canisters.  So there's no worry about which fuel to buy - MSR, Jetboil and Primus are some of the most popular brands.
Next in our lineup of stove types is the Wood Burning Camp Stove Style.  The Toaks Titanium Stove is one of many, many brands and style of woodturning stoves but nearly all follow the same principle.

The distinct advantage of this style stove is the limitless supply of free fuel available.  In a downpour this style stove would be tough to use unless there was overhead cover and some dry kindling but all that aside this style seems to be a popular choice.

I doubt there will be one of these in my future as I'm all about the campfire at my campsite anyway.  For my needs, I don't see this style stove as useful.  They are relatively slow to start and slow to boil water.  And some wood burning style stoves are manufactured of titanium which can easily run in the $80-$90 plus range.

The pocket style Esbit or Fuel Tab Stove is lightweight and super inexpensive.  Some of these style stoves can run under $10 with Fuel Tabs costing under $1/ea.

Aside from the advantages of super low cost, super low pack weight and relatively low fuel cost comes the additional benefit of it's ease of use even in wet weather.

The Esbit Fuel Tabs take a flame very easy and burns for about 8 minutes which is ample time to boil 2 cups of water for that dehydrated meal and a quick cup of coffee.

The "WOW-FACTOR" award goes to the Biolite Camp Stove.  It certainly takes low marks on up front cost and in pack weight but if you're the kind of backpacker that likes a little more pizzaz in your gear, you might want to consider this Backpacking Stove.

The unlimited fuel source of wood and/or pine cones makes this a one time investment that's always at the ready.  And the super cool Thermocouple which converts heat energy into low voltage re-charge power for your mobile device makes this stove awesome.

I haven't seen any bad reports about poor reliability or short lifespan on the thermocouple so that's good.  But at $130 or so, this one just might need to be a gift to me from someone in order for me to own one.  Still, I'd have to say that I'd be really happy with one in my pack.

The real stand out winner in my list of Backpacking Stoves is the Home Made Alcohol Stove.  Designs vary but they all operate much the same way with the same general effectiveness.  They are super simple to make and require very few tools.

The only downside [and its barely that] is that there is no real flame control so once they are lit they basically burn at the same rate until the fuel is exhausted.  If you need to adjust heat, it all about moving the pan away from the flame.  Not a big deal to me since I'm almost always about boiling water and little else.

Boil times are also on par with the woodburing style stoves so there's no big advantage either way.  But at less than $5 to make even the souped-up styles, I just love it.

As I pointed out in the beginning.  If I could roll back the clocks, I'd save the money I spent on my canister stove and spend it elsewhere.  The Alcohol Stove does everything I need it to.  I hope that helps you make a good decision on your first or next Backpacking Stove.

Are you of the same opinion as me on the Alcohol Stove?

Popular Posts


text:
Mission Statement

To create a fully endowed museum of international stature dedicated to the past, present and future of golf.
The museum should celebrate the game's history and traditions while embracing its changing future.
The museum should include permanent and rotating memorabilia displays of the game's great players and tournaments.
It should include the most modern of technologies for an interactive experience for visitors.
It should embrace educational opportunities through the use of seminar and conference facilities and be expandable to include teaching and educational opportunities for junior golfers.
It should have affiliations with the game's governing bodies, including the United States Golf Association and the PGA of America.
It should strive to become an asset to the Coachella Valley, both in attracting new and returning visitors to the desert as well as being an integral part of the desert's ever-burgeoning golf industry.


text:
Project Cargo

project cargoMultiple loads, a slim timeline, and no margin for error? Your project is our business. We understand the sensitivity of company projects no matter the size. From beginning to end, our highly skilled operations team will coordinate all aspects of the move to take care of your business. With our advanced planning and conscientious staff, you can rest assure Interstate Logistics will be ahead of the game. Years of troubleshooting mean a contingency plan for extra drivers and diversions is always in place. Every project gets the undivided attention of one of our highly skilled team managers who will coordinate and communicate with you and your company from the very beginning to the very end. With Interstate Logistics’ focus and communication, we can handle any size job with no stress to you.

Past projects include:

  • Toyota manufacturing plant addition
  • Cirque du Soleil International repositioning
  • Nike end-of-year product fulfillment
  • Old Navy revitalization initiative
  • US Open media
  • Ryder Cup entertainment equipment

Over Dimensional/Specialized

Over DimensionalAt Interstate Logistics there is no piece or job too big for us to move. Over-dimensional and overweight loads are no problem for our team’s decades of expertise in the trucking industry. We have at our disposal multi-axle trailers for heavier freight, stretch trailers for over-length freight, drop trailers for tall freight, and trailers that accommodate all three oversize dimensions. We know that every over-dimensional load is different and can be problematic without the right resources at your disposal. Interstate Logistics works directly with permitting offices as well as escort and routing services to give you not only the most accurate rates from the beginning of the process, but also secure routing to ensure no delays for your products’ delivery.

transloadingIn the ever-advancing market of cost-cutting and freight consolidation, Interstate Logistics has embraced the transloading aspect of the industry. This gives you the ability to maximize the amount of freight which you can move at one time. It also cuts down on extra mileage and liner charges associated with empty container termination throughout the country. Those savings combined with the ability to package and ship your products to varied specifications can and will service your warehouse and/ or distribution center in a highly efficient manner.

The new way to ship –

With the ability to transload at every major hub in the continental United States, YOU now have the power to control your freight. Our warehouses are customs bonded and can repackage your product the way YOU want it, offering palletizing, shrink wrapping, flat rack stripping and loading services. Packages can be sorted by skid or by product.

LTLAs we entered the information age the need for precise pricing and cost awareness has become paramount in every industry. Interstate Logistics understands that maximizing your shipping while minimizing your overhead is essential to staying competitive in today’s market. That is why we have been offering less then truckload shipments for years. This gives you the ability to give your customer better rates and retain your share of their business which will further grow your business for years to come. Whether you have one crate or half a truckload, we will work with other customers to maximize the output on our trucks and minimize the hit to your wallet. We offer flatbed, van, and refrigerated LTL to better suit your particular needs. And even though there are multiple shipments from multiple customers on each trailer, you will still receive the same great customer service, planning, and communication that you receive on your full shipments. Call us today for a quote and see where Interstate Logistics can save your company on its bottom line.

expeditedAn understanding of time sensitive material has helped bring Interstate Logistics to the forefront of the trucking industry since our beginning. We understand when customers spend extra, they expect extra. Interstate Logistics understands the dire need for timely delivery and constant communication on expedited shipments. With our experienced team drivers working in shifts, we will deliver your freight as fast as possible.

Added Security –

With two drivers working in shifts around the clock, you receive more than speedy deliveries. One driver always working and monitoring the load, providing your product with an increased level of security. High value and high visibility shipments are no longer a problem.


text:
Friday, September 17, 2010

5 Question Friday!!

Listen.....can you hear that?!!   It's Friday calling!!!  Woohooooo!! I love those calls!! *grins*

So today it is time for the fabulous Mama M to shine on her day of questions!!!  If you all haven't gone over to check her out...WTH is your problem?!!  Ok ok sorry but seriously ya'll she is fabulous...funny, cute, smart, I mean for real she is raising 5 kids and still has time to blog!! Isn't that like worth an award or something?!!  I totally think it is!

1. What is the first nightmare you remember?
Ok seriously?!!  I mean I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday let alone my first nightmare!!  I would probably say it had something to do with watching the movie Jaws....squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!  Ok so I am not sure if you all know this but I am deathly afraid of sharks and can  not even watch that movie or else I lose all credibility with anyone watching it with me. I turn to total jello and have been known to leave the room crying and screaming.. Yupp I said DEATHLY afraid ya'll!! NO joke!!

2. Even if you're not a sports fan, what's your favorite sport to play/watch?
I swear this has been an issue in my marriage for quite some time now. When Mr. M and I got married I actually liked watching football and absolutely loved watching the Superbowl!  I am not sure what happened but...maybe the every friggin Sunday football or maybe the every dang party football talk....I have lost my interest in watching football. I can hear you gasping now...I know it's unAmerican. sighhhhhhh
If I had to choose a sport that I do like watching I would have to say ice skating..I love love love to watch them!!

3. If you could pull off one piece of trendy fashion, what would you want it to be (jeggings, hats, thigh high boots, etc.)?
Ok if you have been following for a while then you have seen my blogs about how I am fashionably challenged!!  I really have no idea again what happened. When I was in school and college I was always in style and always had the "it" trends in my closet. Alas after so many years of marriage and 2 kids later I have lost my fashion eye..yes I said it!!  I have somehow moved into frumpyville and I can't find my way out.  HELP!!!!!
If I could pull off anything trendy I would love love love to have someone take me to a store and get one just one fabulous outfit that doesn't make me look like a hawaiian cupie doll!!

4. Did you make good grades in school?
I had good grades in school until I hit college and then I figured out that the classes where I wasn't doing so well I would just drop and take again later...yupp I was a dropper in college folks!!  I have to say though I did eventually go back and finish all those classes after finding out I have a learning disability and how to fix it!!  Yeah for smart professors who believed in me and knew I wasn't dumb!!

5. What magazines do you subscribe to?
Oh lord!! Ok so this is another sore subject with Mr. M in our house. See you know how all the magazines do those holiday season things where if you subscribe then you can gift a subscription to a friend for free or really cheap?!!  Yeah well I just happen to have a lot of really nice friends who are constantly gifting me magazines. Maybe because they know I love to read them but would never actually pay for them myself. Last year I ended up with 3 subscriptions to Family Circle and had to call the company and ask them to stop sending me 3 magazines at the same time!! *grins*

Ok so that was the Friday questions!!  Did you love em?!!  Did you answer them yourself while you were reading them?  Head on over and see Mama M and get in on all the fun for yourself. All you have to do is click that button up there and get your questions on!!  Come on ya'll I will be waiting to see your answers.

I have a busy weekend planned so I will be back soon to update all of you on what has been going on and all the stuff we did!! Have a grand weekend everyone and see you when I see ya!!!

Ciao for now!

Post a Comment

Comments are fabulous and so are the lovely people who leave them for me!! Now spill it sista!!


text:
Gluten and lactose are not my friends.

Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.

I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

August 28, 2010

Apple Pie

I rarely bake treats for home.

Except at Christmas time.
As I spend days every week baking for functions and my cafe clients, my dear little family makes do on left overs and slight rejects or poor deformed cookies that I can't justify charging money for.
Today is a new day! I decided to make some apple pies that we could all enjoy. I usually miss out, but not today.
I had heard from a few sources that Maggie Beer has a great pastry recipe using cream cheese. I was intrigued. I googled around a bit and came across a gluten free version here: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/text/s1949896.htm

Despite the huge lactose content I decided to give it a try.
When I read the recipe through, I was surprised at the large amount of salt included. I think cream cheese has a salty undertone anyway, so I reduced the salt to 1 tsp, and maybe you could even halve that. I suppose it's a matter of taste.
This pastry is very soft, but this is good as you can press and mold it easily, but I wouldn't want to be doing this on a really hot day!

You need:
500g cream cheese
300g cold butter
4 cups of gfree flour
1tsp salt
8g xanthum gum

Now the easy part, chop the butter and cream cheese into cubes and pulse in the food processor.

Add in the flour, salt and gum, and pulse until crumby. Use a tablespoon of water or so if you need to.

It should start coming together easily.

Knead together into a smooth ball and rest in the fridge for a while.

I rolled the pastry out in between 2 sheets of baking paper to about 3mm thick. As I used a high, narrow tin it was a bit hard to fold the pastry into it neatly, but as it's soft it was easy to press out to the correct thickness.

The apple and pear filling I wanted to use has a nice bit of juiciness going on, and as there is nothing worse than a soggy bottom, I placed a teaspoon of almond meal in the bottom of each pie to soak up excess moisture.

Fill up the little lovelies, pop on the lids and crimp the edges together. I then I brushed the tops with water and sprinkled with raw sugar for a bit of sweet bling.

Bake at about 180* , and as they're pretty small I started checking at 20 minutes. I let them go to about 25mins or until the top was a lovely golden brown. Nice and tanned, no pasty pastry.

Let them cool in the pan for a little while, about 10 mins. You don't want them to sweat as that may damage the structural integrity of the pies, but if they're too hot when you try and remove them, they'll break up too. It's a fine line people. An easy solution would be to make a shallower pie, but I like these!
Enjoy hot or cold, they are yummy either way. I also tried heating them in the microwave the next day and they held up beautifully. The pastry didn't crumble, or get too tough. Yummo!

So Reader, do you often bake for your family?

  1. They look fantastic

    I bake all the time, but pastry is my downfall, I can never get it right, ( I like to blame my oven)

  2. I'm in awe! I love pies and pastry but gluten free ones make me nervous!

  3. Hehe...yes, I bake often for my family. :) So glad you got to enjoy these gorgeous pies, and happy to hear the MB recipe works well. One question - have you discovered the Lacteeze tablets? My Chinese metabolism doesn't enjoy lactose, but these are an absolute blessing - they effectively put the missing enzyme back in your stomach to digest the lactose temporarily.

  4. Yes, those ovens can tricky little things. mine runs about 15* cooler than it says. A good oven thermometer is about $15 and saves a lot of greif.
    Hi Vickys, that's funny, because non gluten free pastry makes ME nervous! There is an art to pastry. I'm thinking of doing a pastry chef course, but I don't know if they will let me with my InTolerances. Maybe I could sue for dietary discrimination!
    figjamandlimecordial, Lacteese are my very close friends! They live in my handbag, my work toolbox, my bathroom cabinet.... they don't allieviate all my symptoms, but they cut through the worst of them and allow me the odd treat out. Thanks for thinking of me, and tell everyone you know how fantastic they are.
    Share the love!

  5. Ooh look at how tall and proud that pie is! Must hide this from Mr NQN as he will ask for it. I bake a few times a week-I love it! :D

  6. In my little family there is only my boyfriend and I, so when I do bake for us- there are usually leftovers - I try not to bake too often because I don't want the temptation of eating all those leftovers! Sometimes I bring them to work though- so that is ok.

    This pastry looks great and could be good for savoury too- maybe an asparagus and corn pie?

  7. I love the deepness of these - individual deep dish apple pies - brilliant!

  8. Yum! Love the tin that bakes high little pies, I need to get one of those! My mother-in-law is GF so this has been bookmarked ;)

  9. Hey! Great blog, a fabulous resource for learning the practicalities of living with food intolerances.

    The apple pie looks delicious!

    I bake perhaps once every two weeks. I love it, but tend to focus on main meals more than baked goods or desserts. I want to improve my baking skills, though!

    Heidi xo


text:
Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin

Tortas de aceite or sweet olive oil wafers for World Bread Day

>> Saturday, October 16, 2010

Tortas aceite 1

These tortas de aceite, meaning olive oil wafers, originate from Andalusia and they are one of those sweet things that are well known and widely eaten throughout Spain because they are just delicious. They are one of those wafers you eat unnoticedly one after another... to regret it after a few days when you cannot button up your trousers... And it was one of those recipes that has been in the pipeline since years ago, so what better occasion than the celebration of the World Bread Day to tackle them. It is also one of those miraculous cases where the taste of the homemade product is identical to the purchased one... yes, I tell you, it's unbelievable, they are just as delicious, with their anise flavour. Only their looks are not just as wonderful, but you can not compare a home oven with an industrial oven. The taste though... mmm.

The recipe is taken from the Andalusian government specification for the production of tortas de aceite, but modified and fine-tuned according to some hints found here and there, even at Wild Yeast (Susan succeeded in making wonderfully looking tortas). This is what the Government of Andalusia tells us about these tortas:

The name "TORTA DE ACEITE" expresses the specific characteristics of the product since it is a confection made from extra virgin olive oil in a proportion 27.7%. The combination of this factor with its fully manual processing, gives the product its most precious qualities: a light, thin crust, a flaky interior and its distinctive flavor and aroma of olive oil.
Tortas aceite 2

Well, that's it, all you need is good virgin olive oil (bushels of oil...), and to pour a lot of love in preparing them.

Tortas de aceite y anís, sweet olive oil wafers
Yields around 25 tortas
  • 660g AP-flour (the recommended flour is W=100 strength, that means something in between all-purpose and bread flour. I used 350g spelt and 310g AP flour. You know the exact amount can vary depending on the flour absorption qualities.)
  • 27g inverted sugar *
  • 230g water
  • 13g fresh yeast
  • 280g virgin olive oil
  • 10g aniseed
  • 7g sesame seeds
  • 3g salt
  • 10g plain sugar
  • 0,3g aniseed oil or essence
* Inverted sugar is commonly used to retard sugar crystallization in the food industry and to retain moisture in packaged foods and expand shelf life (source). It's very easy to make at home, by heating common sugar in some water with lemon juice and sodium bicarbonate. I guess the recipe includes inverted sugar only because it is a commercial formula. At home it could be omitted and you could use plain sugar, in which case, as invert sugar has a sweetening power of 130 compared to 100 of sucrose, the final amount would be at 27g·130/100 + 10g = 45g of normal sugar. Although it would be necessary to slightly adjust the amount of flour, as invert sugar is liquid and plain sugar is solid.

Tortas aceite 5Tortas aceite 6
  1. Weigh the flour and put in a bowl. Add the liquid ingredients and mix well (I do this in a stand mixer).
  2. Add the solid ingredients and knead a couple of minutes. It really is not necessary to develop the gluten, I did it because I love to knead.
  3. Cover the dough with a shower cap and let double in bulk. Allow the yeastie-beasties to enjoy the moment, after all these happy little creatures believe that life is nothing but eating and replicating... unaware that they live and work for a supreme being until they are slaughtered in an oven... How poignant. The specification indicates that the dough must be between 25º and 28ºC after kneading... Mine scored a perfect temperature, as you can see in the photo.
  4. Preheat the oven to 190ºC if convection type, higher if radiation.
  5. When the dough has doubled in bulk, put on the counter and pat it to deflate. Pinch dough balls the size of an apricot and roll them into circles of about 20cm in diameter and about 3mm thick. There is no need to flour the countertop because oil oozes from every pore of the dough. Put sugar on a plate and coat one side of each torta by resting it on the sugar. Place the wafers on parchment paper with sugar side up and bake around 10 minutes. Be careful when approaching the end of the baking, because my experience is that since the edges start to toast until they get completely browned it may take less than a couple of minutes. This may be due to the fact that invert sugar caramelizes at a lower temperature than sucrose.
  6. When done, take them out to a cooling rack. The aroma throughout the house is fantastic. I recommend to bake these wafers if you have visitors whom you wish to ask some favor. They will not refuse.
Tortas aceite 4Tortas aceite 3

This bread goes to the celebration of the World Bread Day at the blog 1 x umrühren bitte.

30 comentarios:

Tania October 16, 2010 at 10:17 AM

Your recipe for the WBD is wonderful! Olive oil is a great ingredient and I'm sure those wafers have a good aroma!

Cherine October 16, 2010 at 10:43 AM

Wow, your torta looks wonderful!!

Tiffany October 16, 2010 at 12:44 PM

Beautiful photos, and the wafers look delicious, nicely done!

elra October 16, 2010 at 3:53 PM

I never made this torta, it certainly sounds delicious !

Gio October 16, 2010 at 7:19 PM

your blog is very interesting and beautiful! needless to say that I love spanish cuisine :) added you to my bookmarks
your tortas are very tasty! :)

Zita October 16, 2010 at 9:11 PM, you make your own wafers...sweet olive oil wafers by the name only it sounds delicious and your pics prove it right :)

Magic of Spice October 16, 2010 at 10:25 PM

These are simply wonderful :)

Brie: Le Grand Fromage October 17, 2010 at 12:51 AM

yum, those look so crispy and delicious!

Deeba PAB October 17, 2010 at 3:38 AM

What's not to love about these Miriam? WOW... just perfect with that cuppa. I love olive oil anything, and these are gorgeous!

fromBAtoParis October 17, 2010 at 8:42 AM

I know these treats, thanks to a Spanish neighour and friend, that I had the first time I lived here...You eat one and you never stop!!
Lovely photos and I LOVE the cup and saucer !!!

Johanna October 17, 2010 at 10:50 AM

hmmm, I haven't tried these yet- will have to make some myself!!

bellini valli October 17, 2010 at 2:44 PM

These are a thing of beauty Miriam. Thanks for sharing this with us on this special day of awareness.

Belinda @zomppa October 17, 2010 at 3:44 PM

I love these, and I have never seen homemade ones like this before. They are absolutely gorgeous and I am envisioning myself with a plate....

Nancy/SpicieFoodie October 17, 2010 at 5:30 PM

Miriam, the tortas look so perfect. I have this strange feeling that I have tasted something similar from a Mexican bakery. It was your mention of the anise flavor that triggered the memory. It's funny for me when I think torta, I think a sandwich, as in Mexico it can also refer to a sandwich :)
Lovely post!

Junglefrog October 17, 2010 at 5:59 PM

They look so perfect! I've never seen them before while in Spain or maybe I just didn't know where to look. But given the amounts of oil; maybe not the best thing to make while on a diet..:))

Heavenly Housewife October 17, 2010 at 8:09 PM

HOw wonderful! I've made these before using Martha Stewart's recipe. They were surprisingly easy and fun to make.
Yours look absolutely lovely.
*kisses* HH

Miriam October 18, 2010 at 10:04 AM

Tania: the aroma is actually a bit too intoxicating... ;)
Cherine: thanks!
Tiffany: thanks!
Elra: they're so easy they're worth a try.
Gio: thank you, I'm honored!
Zita: well, it's the first time I make them actually, just wanted to try my hand at them although the store-bought stuff is very good.
MoS: thank you ;)
Brie: thanks!
Deeba: yes, quietly seating in front of a good cup of coffe or tea watching the autumn sunset... aahhh.
Cristina: then you know the real stuff, haha.
Johanna: try them, you won't regret it! ;)
VAl: yes, they're good to lift the spirits after hearing about hunger the whole day long... at least I did here.
Belinda: I picture you trying them... ;)
Nancy: yes, funny how the same words can mean something completely different in different places...
Simone: they are usually stocked at large supermarkets, especially in the south. And... errr... no, they're not the best thing for a diet... XD
HH: mmm, I've seen Martha's recipe and though I'm sure they come out pretty yummy, no one in Andalusia would call that torta de aceite... ;)

Ruby October 18, 2010 at 10:29 AM

I love olive oil in cakes and think your tortas are beautiful. Also very pretty coffee cup!

Jamie October 18, 2010 at 6:04 PM

Am I really just discovering your wonderful blog now? Where have I been? These breads (tortas) are fabulous and I will try them. I love the idea of a sweet olive oil bread. Just gorgeous. Happy World Bread Day!

Healthy Mamma October 18, 2010 at 6:51 PM

How wonderful! I would love love love to make these,,, err attempt to make these. thank you for sharing. I so look forward to reading through your wonderful recipes!

Sara@OneTribeGourmet October 20, 2010 at 3:38 PM

What a delicious bread from Andalusia! I miss Spain so much! Thank you for this great recipe!

Ben October 21, 2010 at 12:30 AM

Wow Miriam, those tortas look amazing. Your photography always makes me hungry and the recipe sounds so tasty. I need to try these soon :)

Kris Ngoei October 21, 2010 at 1:37 PM

Are these waffles crispy? They look so ... and yummy! Just love the texture... thanks for sharing :-)

Sawadee from bangkok,

M. October 23, 2010 at 11:32 PM

such a great recipe to celebrate world bread day with... looks so delicious!

azélias kitchen October 24, 2010 at 12:30 PM

I'm very interested in these since they're dairy-free and egg-free so certainly will go on my must try list.

I can never have too many recipes for my allergy suffering daughter, I'll have to change the flavourings and make it more child friendly for her.

bookmarking! :)

Sanjana October 25, 2010 at 6:30 PM

Wow! These are so beautiful- We make something similar in India cuisine called Farsi puri which we have with tea. Although this is much more refined and I love the use of olive oil. A much healthier option than Farsi puri. Congrats on the Foodista cookbook win! I look forward to seeing you in the book too, cookbook neighbour! :)

baby crib March 17, 2011 at 11:04 AM

This is really something so pretty! I am definitely into this. Thanks fo sharing.

Tina (Tangerine Tea) June 10, 2011 at 5:38 PM

I tried this recipe exactly as is and my first batch turned out much thicker and softer than the Matiz ones I had bought from the store. I think they needed a bit more anise too. For the second batch, I rolled out each ball so it was paper thin (rather than 3mm), then brushed it with a light coat of extra anise essence on top before coating it with sugar and sesame seeds. Adding extra sesame on top gives it that yummy toasted sesame flavour. Anyway, the second batch was a lot more in line with what I was expecting! Thanks for posting this recipe :) It was a good starting point for me.

Anonymous July 7, 2011 at 7:37 PM

You inspire me. My mom made somthing like this when I was growing up. SHe used to make fresh flour tortillas every evening for dinner and she would save some of her dough, roll it out and fry it up in round and long shapes. We would sprinkle them with sugar, borwn sugar, or cinnamon sugar, whatever we had on hand and it would be a wonderful treat. These look like a much more elegant grown up flavorful version. I love that they are made with olive oil. They look so beautiful and yummy. I love to bake but I need more practice making yeast dough. I am going to try these and hope I do a good job. Would it be possible to make this dough in a bread maker? Since I am short on time I would love to just wake up to the ready made dough, roll it out and bake them for an early morning treat. Or can I make it ahead of time and keep the dough in the refrigerator for the next morning? I am also trying to find the proper conversion from grams to cups. Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I will continue to enjoy your blog. Thank you.

Miriam July 9, 2011 at 10:17 AM

Anonymous: of course you can make the dough in a bread machine, but you don't need a full program to knead it, as it doesn't really need proper gluten development. I can't tell you if this dough can be retarded overnight in the fridge, I have never tried, but I don't see why not. The only thing is that you'd probably need to let it temper some time before forming the tortas. Good luck!

About This Blog

Lorem Ipsum

  © Blogger templates Palm by 2008

Back to TOP


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
44 Following

Currently reading

A Valley of Betrayal
Tricia Goyer
The Legion of Honor
Sharon Yoset, Sharon Yoset
Impostors at Blue Heron Lake
Susan Page Davis, Megan Elaine Davis
The Sacred Cipher: A Novel
Terry Brennan
Sons of Thunder
Susan May Warren
Blood Ransom PB (Mission Hope)
Harris Lisa
Moon over Tokyo - Siri L. Mitchell Better than the other Siri Mitchell books I have read, but still features a heroine that I found hard to relate to, and I found the constant Republican/Democrat conversations tedious. But at least in this one I could see the chemistry between the hero and heroine.


text:
» IRC search  details

#EBox EFnet - IRC Channel

Here you see a small report about channel #EBox, a chat room on IRC network EFnet. This kind of report usually includes user statistics and topics of the last days and weeks, if the channel was registered before and its administrators didn't set its channel modes to private or secret. In addition you will find a webchat button below. Use that button to jump to irc2go.com and to join channel #EBox!

Registration of this chat room was based on web requests.

#EBox EFnet - Graph about the amount of users during the last week
to, from topic
ebox.ca: TPIA ISP provider for Ontario & Quebec (Bell, Rogers, Videotron & Cogeco areas only -- not serving Shaw or Eastlink)

 Top IRC networks
   Ø 30149
   Ø 19710
   Ø 19240
   Ø 17890
   Ø 15385
   Ø 12165
   Ø 6957
   Ø 6849
   Ø 5563

Chat Directory
Asia Chat
Australia Chat
Europe Chat
India Chat
USA Chat
. . .

0.021 seconds
© 1998-2017 netsplit.de  de    IRC Online Chat
This website is being developed in Heusenstamm, Germany.


text:
» IRC search  details

#ctrhax Blitzed - IRC Channel

Here you see a small report about channel #ctrhax, a chat room on IRC network Blitzed. This kind of report usually includes user statistics and topics of the last days and weeks, if the channel was registered before and its administrators didn't set its channel modes to private or secret. In addition you will find a webchat button below. Use that button to jump to irc2go.com and to join channel #ctrhax!

Registration of this chat room was based on web requests.

#ctrhax Blitzed - Graph about the amount of users during the last week
to, from topic
- none -

 Top IRC networks
   Ø 30149
   Ø 19710
   Ø 19240
   Ø 17890
   Ø 15385
   Ø 12165
   Ø 6957
   Ø 6849
   Ø 5563

Chat Directory
Asia Chat
Australia Chat
Europe Chat
India Chat
USA Chat
. . .

0.0323 seconds
© 1998-2017 netsplit.de  de    IRC Online Chat
This website is being developed in Heusenstamm, Germany.


text:
Illuminati, the satanic cult

There are many secret societies and cults that exist today. Some of them are linked to few hundred years history while some are quit old. Some of them are merged into different groups. All these secret societies and cults have one thing in common. They all worship no God. They all are the followers of satan and they openly admit it. These cults are shunned and many attempts have been made to wipe them out or ban them. But they exist even today due to the fact that they have been helped by the powerful people across the globe.

One of the most known and notorious cult is Illuminati. This has quite a history. It is said that Illuminati is a mixture of two or three cults. This cult has its roots and strong relations with Judaism. Even though Jews do not like to associate themselves with such a group or cult but still some independent research since a decade or more has proven that Judaism is actually linked with Illuminati. The research has resulted in concrete proofs that Illuminati worships Satan.

This cult has its members from across the globe. The reason for this is that once when a person joins it, it will shower on him all the fame and wealth. And almost every person who is part of Illuminati is a well known and powerful person. The research showed that after J F Kennedy, all the US presidents have been part of Illuminati. The other western countries' top politicians are also the members, queen Elisabeth has been known to be part of this cult. All the most popular Hollywood starts and production companies are also run by Illuminati. Disney, the most favorite of all children and elders is serving Illuminati since its very start. Illuminati has influenced not only Hollywood but many other entertainment industries are also part of Illuminati.

Why is this such a big cult and why cannot it be controlled or stopped is a question that every one wants to know. The answer is simple. Once, the one who trades his loyalty to satan, he cannot leave this group. Once, the person gets into Illuminati, he is showered with so much success and fame that he ends up hungry for more. In past, many people have tried to leave this satanic cult, but almost all of them ended up dead. The most famous Illuminati murder so far is the murder of Princes Diana. It is said that she wanted free of the clutches of the satanism but she could not. Rumors has that she was going to reveal something which was to be kept secret. The US president JF Kennedy was also murdered for opposing secret cults.

How this cult works? This cult is based on satanism. Basically, satan is not their god, he is the one who can fulfil all their needs if they say that there is no God. So, since the very start, illuminati has been trying to erase the concept of God from the world. This is simple, satan had said that he will lead the human race astray, what can be more astray then believing in no God. To achieve this, there is several tricks that have been revealed over the years. First, there are some symbols and signs which are place to mark the things that belong to satan. Secondly, there is a system or a mechanism which is observed to summon demons and satans. The famous jewish kabalah is the magic which is used to do this. No matter how hard Jews deny it, it is the truth that kabalah is nothing but magic, which is intended to summon demons because jews believe that prophet Suleman a.s. Used to rule with the help of devils. This has been made clear in Quran that Jews are liars. Anyway, kabalah is that main system which has rituals and codes. Some sources also claim that human sacrifice and illicit sex is also a part of these satanic rituals. While some go to the extent of drinking human blood. Allahualam. There is averse in Quran that speaks about the worship of jinn as;
[034:041]They will say, “Exalted are You! You are our Patron and not they.” In fact, they used to worship the jinn (i.e. the devil and not Us). Most of them believed (and followed) the jinn.
The attack of this cult goes by this way. Since, this cult does not believe in existence of any god, so to promote and propagate this theory, they use media. And they have presented life and a one way, once happening phenomenon which is meant to be for fun only. Secondly, the mind manipulation is done through provision of free means to sex and other illicit activities. We all know that any such thing will keep a muslim far far away from the mercy of Allah swt.  Third thing in the wiping of religions. All those religions which has opposed this system are the enemies. And wiping them out is necessary for satanism. There are may and more about Illuminati. But one thing which has been proven is that it is Jewish and it is against God.
Next Post »

Recent Posts


text:
Mar 18, 2010

Conversations in Heaven and Hell

Muhammad Alshareef gives a four part lecture series on the conversations in heaven and hell.

Muhammad Alshareef was born in 1975 and raised in Canada. In his youth, he memorized the Quran and later graduated with an Islamic Law degree from the Islamic University of Madinah, class of 1999. He is the founder of AlMaghrib Institute through which he teaches university-level seminars on Islam. AlMaghrib Institute seminars have been conducted across the USA and Canada, as well as in Australia.

While he continues to teach, Muhammad Alshareef now devotes much of his time to recruiting, training and advising other students of knowledge in becoming AlMaghrib Institute instructors. Being a true visionary with exceptional talents in motivating others, Muhammad Alshareef has also founded EmanRush Audio and, and actively keeps in touch with the online community at the AlMaghrib Forums.

Currently Muhammad Alshareef lives with his family in Ottawa, Canada.

Thanks for coming

Thanks for coming
Terima kasih sudi hadir

Tajuk - Title


text:
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

8 Quarters + Theater 4 + 1 Bad Movie = Ocean's 13

It's been a while since Two Buck Schmuck has saddled up to the LaGrange Theater, so I reckoned... ack, why I am typing like Sam Elliott? I decided to go see a movie.

Showtimes are a little funky at the four-screen LaGrange this week, so there are only three movies being shown starting at or after 9:00pm.

Here were my choices:

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - NO! We talked about this already!
Waitress - It has Felicity (Keri Russell) in it. If it's not a movie where she gets a brain hemorrhage triggered by a gadget implanted in her head by Philip Seymour Hoffman, I'll take a pass.

And that leaves us with this star-studded shitty piece of shit:

The best part of Ocean's 13 was when a blonde chick got herself bitten on her big boob. Let me explain. As I was heading out the door, my wife found the movie Snakes On A Plane on a pay channel. She called after me, "Hey! A chick's gonna get her boob bit!" We were both aware of the high points of the movie, although neither of us had seen it. "Pause it!" I yelled, as I finished getting my keys, wallet, etc. together. I ran downstairs and watched the aforementioned big-titted blonde get bit on the boob by an eerily muppet-like snake, and then, I was off to the LaGrange, knowing I would most likely be having the inferior cinematic experience.

I didn't have any paper cash money on me, so I had to rummage through some loose change. I somewhat proudly presented my eight quarters to purchase my ticket.

Tonight was a first for me! Theater 4! Theater 4 actually has brand-new seats, as well as new red runner lights down the aisle. Theater 4 also has murals containing some rather amateurish and disturbing patriotic paintings running the entire length of both sides of the theater. There's awkward eagles, badly-proportioned army grunts, marines with dark sockets where their eyes should be. And to top it off, "We The People" is scrawled in what appears to be a dying man's last message written in his own saliva.

The house lights of Theater 4 were actually fluorescent, and gave off a fair enough wattage that I could read my Movie Fun Facts. For those not familiar with Movie Fun Facts, they are a free pamphlet full of movie synopses and advertising. And hey, they have a website. Say hi to their mascot, Seymore Flix for me, wouldja? And please don't call him Seymore Dix, that's just plain rude.

As I was reading the various movie blurbs, it struck me how many recent mainstream movies are drawing on the same nastiness that Hostel II did.

Here's the blurbs that stood out to me:

THE BRAVE ONE Action/Thriller
Unable to move past the tragedy of losing her fiance during a brutal attack, a New York radio host prowls the city at night in a dark and anonymous quest for justice against the men she holds responsible.

A vengeful father sets out on a mission to kill the thugs involved with a heinous gang-initiated attack on his family.

After escaping a sadistic serial killer, a young woman struggles to convince anyone that she is not who she appears to be and that the person they all think she is may still be in mortal danger.

After an unspeakable act of violence tears her world apart, a grieving widow forges an unlikely relationship with her late husband's best friend from childhood, who has also lost everything because of his addiction to heroin.

TRADE (R) Drama
A young Mexican girl is abducted and forced into becoming a sex slave, leading her brother to team up with a police officer who has learned his own daughter has been kidnapped.

Holy shit! You know what's more disturbing than all these movies combined? The fact that there are movie studio executives having serious discussions that this is the kind of crap that the moviegoing audience wants and/or needs. Yucky, yucky, yucky.

However, I'm not saying we need more movies like Ocean's 13. Oh, God no.

The plot for this movie is the following:

  1. Elliott Gould's character does something stupid -- he trusts a tanned Al Pacino, who obviously will go on to doublecross him. Pacino can't help it. That's what he does when he's tan.

  2. Gould suffers a heart attack as a result of the tanned Pacino's actions.

  3. The Ocean Consortium of Slumming Actors bands together to seek revenge on the tanned Pacino.

That's it.

Can I just say right here and now that I hate Elliott Gould? Not that I hate him as a person. And, I hope he never reads these words that profess my hate for him. I would feel awful. I mean, hate is a strong word, and I would never, ever wish him any ill will. Still, every time he pops up in a movie or a TV show, I just say, "Man, I hate that guy."

The 1970's were an interesting time for actors. Unconventional looking actors that used to be relegated to bit parts suddenly had opportunities to play leading roles. Many times this worked out great. But then there was Elliott Gould. Just as you can have an actor or actress coast on his or her good looks, Gould somehow coasted on his quirky appearance in the 70's. And is Gould capable of any expression or emotion other than a bemused smirk? I THINK NOT. There's this neat little thriller from 1978 called Silent Partner. Christopher Plummer is insanely good in it as an antagonist to, who is it? Oh, crap. Elliott Gould. Fuckin' Elliott Gould. How much better would it be without Gould? A shitload better.

Okay, sorry, enough about that jerk.

I don't really have a lot to say about this boring, pointless movie. I'd put Ocean's 13 in the same category as films like Cannonball Run and Smokey And The Bandit 4. It was probably a lot more fun making the movie then it was to watch it. On second thought, I can't imagine much fun being had in the making, either. After all, Al Pacino is in it.

Oh, by the way, everything works out for Danny Ocean and his crew. The earthquake they started as a diversionary tactic didn't end up killing anyone. Well, no one onscreen, at least. And isn't that what's really important?

J.D. said...

I would've went with Waitress (how alliterative!). It's been raved out the wazoo. And Russell has been Oscar buzzed out the same wazoo.

Ocean's Thirteen.

Wazoo raving.

My choice is clear... :D

dguzman said...

Wow, man, today's Elliott Gould's birthday, too. Heard it on NPR--he's 69. And he used to be married to Babs Streisand. Cut the guy some slack.

Splotchy said...

dg, technically my bile-filled tirade occurred yesterday. The main gist of my argument was that he was cut entirely too much slack to begin with. To cut yet another inch of slack would pain me. It would pain me!

Still, I don't want that to prevent me from saying, "Happy Birthday, Mr. Gould!"

Splotchy said...

j.d., I don't want my wazoo raved, by Keri Russell or anyone else.

Health News said...

Oceans 13 is technically excellent movie but lacks the freshness from the previous one's and the characters also look dull.
kamagra online


text:
Friday, June 17, 2005

Yea, I'd want to live there...

Found this on puppyblender, which I rarely read. Far be it from ME to repost what he has posted - but I just couldn't let this one pass.

U2 frontman BONO was horrified during a visit to Ethiopia, when he saw local women pelting a breast-feeding aid worker with stones.

I had to re-read it a few times - but the Ethiopian women were throwing stones at a nursing mom, and her baby, because she was exposing her breast. Throwing stones.

Come on, Bono, lecture us some more about what we should do for Africa.


text:
The valuable middleman of IT

The term, "middleman" often has negative connotations in our business world. Cutting out the middleman is often seen as a commitment to profitability. And at times that can be true.

Unless, of course, the middleman has something of value to offer.

This balance between financial common sense and the need for professional services is a very common theme for small businesses trying to optimize their use of information technology. When dealing with computers and relatively straightforward networks, it can often be tempting to go it alone as opposed to hiring a technology reseller to help.

I don't think my job as your faithful blogger is to talk you out of doing this. We all have varying levels of expertise and skills, and the technology systems that we use have varying levels of complexity, based on what we do and how we get it done. Add the presence of available time to the equation and we've got a three-legged stool that becomes the basis for making the decision of hiring a reseller or forging ahead on our own.

The three legs of this stool are often very closely related. For example, a company may have someone with a totally different job who can function as the de facto IT person. That’s kind of a freebie, of sorts. But that person might not always have the time, or even the expertise, to do tech support without neglecting the things they are actually paid to do. And while technology tends to gain increased importance in all of our businesses, it’s also true that the occasional temporary outage may be more of a crisis for some of us than it is for others.

If your company does not have such a person, then circumstances have made the decision on your behalf. A solid channel partner is a matter of practical necessity. Referrals can be hugely important here. The need for tech support is so pervasive that most people you know will have some sort of recommendation. Essentially, they can attest to certain key factors including speed of response, overall project success, and, perhaps, some feel for whether the fees were in line.

When talking to prospective channel partners, price is one of the most obvious things that will be on your mind. But a number of other things factor into the equation as well. How does this partner prefer to work? Will they use remote access to troubleshoot your systems, or will there be a truck roll every time you need help? This answer will go a long way towards assessing the fee.

Do they have an office nearby? In other words, can you throw the offending piece of gear into your trunk and haul it to their facility without planning a road trip? If you do need them to come on site how long will it take?

How many engineers do they have, and what sort of training do they carry?

Does the partner have any particular vendor designations, like, perhaps, Cisco Select Certified?

What are their response times? And are there additional fees for high-priority help? What add-on charges may factor into the equation? Do they have experience with the equipment on your network? And do they have experience with companies in your line of business?

If, on the other hand, you DO have a kinda-sorta tech support person, try to get them involved in the partner selection process as early as possible. The same questions will prevail, but you’ll also need to get a sense of which problems you will want to bring to your internal person, and which problems you will want to bring to your channel partner. With a little planning, and clear communication with all concerned parties, your IT systems will be highly reliable the vast majority of the time, and bring you very few surprises when help is needed.

Comment on this article

Leave a Comment

Connect to this blog to be notified of new entries.
You are not logged in.
Sign In to post unmoderated comments.
Join the community to create your free profile today.
Want to read more from Dawn Brister? Check out the blog archive.
Archive Category: Small Business
Keyword Tags:  cisco select certified   channel   strategy   purchasing   decisions   Cisco   innovators forum
Disclaimer: Blog contents express the viewpoints of their independent authors and are not reviewed for correctness or accuracy by Toolbox for IT. Any opinions, comments, solutions or other commentary expressed by blog authors are not endorsed or recommended by Toolbox for IT or any vendor. If you feel a blog entry is inappropriate, click here to notify Toolbox for IT.

Technology is what we know best. We understand how it’s made and how it can be used to help businesses improve performance. We ... more
Receive the latest blog posts:
Share Your Perspective
Share your professional knowledge and experience with peers. Start a blog on Toolbox for IT today!

PCMag Digital Group AdChoices

TRUSTe Privacy Certification


text:
Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Stuff I Found Out

Apparently, Justin Bieber is a real person. Huh.

...I have got to turn on the mainstream media more often.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Little Things That BUG Me #1

Coupon code sites with listings trying to pass off the existence of an entity as a coupon for that entity.

I'm on the site because I want coupons for free shipping or sales on an online store; posting a link to their front page with a note claiming they have "everyday low prices" is spamming and people who do it bug me.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

What He Would Have Wanted

Having lost two very close relatives within the last year, I've had occasion to think about (if not necessarily hear all that often) the phrase "what he would have wanted." (It can be "she" too, but English has no singular gender-neutral third-person pronouns save the non-personal "it" and made-up ones like "xe" which are awkward to use at best.)

"What he would have wanted" is a troublesome phrase. When you die, you cease to exist and thus have no wants. Considering what someone would have wanted if they hadn't ceased to exist at that particular juncture is a perfectly valid thing to do, but it's often equivocated to "what he does want now." This doesn't tend to cause a lot of trouble in comparison with many of the other flaws in our reasoning, but treating the theoretical needs that the dead would have if they weren't dead as being equal or near-equal to the actual needs of the living can have negative consequences, as can any other form of irrationality.

I find it especially silly to hear people talk about what the dearly departed "would have wanted" with regard to funeral arrangements. Functionally, the phrase "what he would have wanted" is identical to "if he were alive right now, he would want," so using it with regard to funeral arrangements of any variety is absurd. If he were alive, you wouldn't be holding a funeral. The funeral presumes he's dead, which means he doesn't have any wants at all.

I'm not old or rich enough to have a will, but when I do I will make a point of reminding all involved in it that when I die, I will be dead and will thus lack desires of my own, so don't do anything on my account. I will also remind them, however, that if any of my organs or other body parts are medically or scientifically valuable, then there are living people with actual needs and desires who would benefit from having them; the only reason to burn or bury the parts is idle sentimentalism.

Hopefully, it'll be a long time before that becomes necessary.

And thus begins my second day of blog-have.

Vital stats:

Comments: Open.
Date: Today.
Current Mood: Morbid.
Sleep Status: Maybe.
Word of the Day: Ignostic.
Points: 3,923.
Nickname: Hamilton.
Nick's Name: Nick.
Weather: Sunny.
Fag?: No thanks.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Ad Targeting From the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy

Third post and I'm biting the hand that feeds me hosts this blog. But then, Google has its hands in a lot of pies so it's bound to get bit. And I'm breaking metaphors and stitching their corpses together like the venerable Dr. Frankenstein (or maybe, I haven't actually read the damn thing it's still on my to-do list).

So ad targeting is a simple concept; use extremely invasive tracking cookies, flash cookies, web beacons and so forth to track the pages people view, figure out what they're interested in from said data, and target the ads served to them based on that information. This simple concept is virtually impossible to execute.

Turns out, knowing what people look at doesn't help you figure out what they want to buy. The concept of bile fascination means that people may very well be viewing information about products they hate. And evaluating what products people view is the easy part; most of ad targeting attempts to derive what people want to buy from what interests they have. I'm a photographer, ergo I must want to buy cameras... well, not quite, since being a photographer means I've already got all the cameras and lenses I need, I take good care of them so I don't have to buy new ones, and since I consider them the tools of my trade rather than fancy toys, I'm as miserly as possible with my equipment budget, making sure to buy exactly what I need and not waste a penny on stuff that I don't.

Some fun facts about me, as obtained from my own personal experience with Google Ads.

-Apparently, I'm bilingual. I briefly looked at one Chinese web page, so now the Adwords Engine assumes I speak Chinese and is targeting Chinese-language ads at me.

-I've failed primary school maths lessons. One ad that appears with astonishing regularity is for a company called Fingerhut, which charges as much as double retail price for their products. Their gimmick is that they offer financing; pay twice as much up front, and in exchange, they'll let you pay interest too. On towels. Seriously, it's not like they're selling cars or something people might not just be able to pay cash for. Only the most innumerate of morons could fall for it, but apparently that's how poorly the Adwords Engine thinks of me.

-I'm an idiot in other ways as well. The Adwords Engine has figured out that I view a lot of websites which cover news and politics and has rightly deduced that I'm interested in politics and current affairs. However, it hasn't quite yet figured out that I might hold actual positions instead of passively consuming what other people say, with nary a thought of my own. Google's "Ad Preference" panel (which can be viewed here) confirms it; my interests as they've assumed them to be include several listings for "news and politics" and several more for "law and government." Armed with this knowledge, they target ads for right-wing lunatics, secure in their presumption that someone interested in "politics" must actually give a shit what those delusional fucksticks have to say.

-My budget for pointless electronics is larger than the GDP of most nations. I have been known to follow tech news and laugh at the overpriced tablet PCs and other passing fads that are going to seem very silly in about ten years. So the Adwords Engine naturally assumes that I must be interested in buying such products, otherwise why would I be reading about them? I get adverts for tablets, smartphones, ebook readers, and computers, even though I'm still certain tablets are a fad that no one will remember or care about in ten years, smartphones are toys whose limited uses fail to counterbalance their massive price tags, ebooks are shit, and a new computer is absolutely beyond my budget at the moment; I'm currently using a computer I found for free in a bin.

-I'm approximately 50 years old. See, in addition to divining my interests from what websites I look at, Google divines my demographic information by cross-referencing my interests with what they've determined "most people" of a given age are interested in. Based on my interests, they've determined that I'm probably around 50, and I'm wondering where all those decades of my life went.

-And last but not least, I really want a Chromebook. I know this is sort of a bad example; Google using its ad space to advertise itself probably skips the Adwords Engine and just foists itself upon everyone, but I'm seeing a truly mind-boggling number of ads for these things. For those who have had the good fortune to avoid such things, the Chromebook is a netbook with most of the features removed that costs as much as a decently-spec'd laptop and runs Google's Chrome operating system. If you find that name suspiciously similar to the Chrome browser, you're not wrong; the operating system contains the Chrome browser and absolutely nothing else. If you want to write or edit documents, you're fucked. (Unless you use Google's rubbish online Google Docs service and put up with the headaches and privacy violations this entails.) If you need to review that spreadsheet, you're fucked. (Unless your boss puts sensitive information on Google Docs where anyone can see it.) If you want to view or edit photos, you're fucked. If you want to keep your private calendar or planner up to date, you're fucked. If you want to listen to music, you're fucked. If you want to install software, you're fucked. If you want to browse the internet, you can get a netbook for half the price and get a real operating system and some offline storage capacity too (hey, maybe you'll need it someday).

Now I'm going to delete my cookies and watch the targeting algorithms give up entirely. My internet connection is sent through a single shared line that I share with other people, so IP address tracking won't help them when the cookies (and flash cookies) are gone.

Financial Abortion

So I was reading a discussion on a real blog about men who advocate the right to a so-called "financial abortion" or male abortion. I was going to comment, but this being a real blog much more popular than this one, there were already 500+ comments and they already said the stuff that needed saying. So I'm saying it here, where no one cares.

The premise behind financial abortion is simple; since women have the right to control their own bodies, including the right to an abortion if they so desire, then men deserve to have a special right that women don't to make up for the offence of having to give up exclusivity on the right to bodily autonomy. Hence, the financial/male abortion; since men can't abort their pregnancies on account of not having them in the first place, they want to disclaim any financial liability for any real babies that are actually born as a result of pregnancies they caused but have subsequently come to disapprove of.

Feminists argue that this would mean special rights for men if it were allowed; men would be allowed to disclaim liability for their offspring, but not women. On the other hand, sexists argue that since women can choose not to have unwanted offspring through abortion, contraception, protection, sterilisation, or abstinence while men are not capable of any of those things, it's only fair to offer them the right to have children but not pay for them to compensate.

Personally, I think there's room for compromise. Men should be allowed to disclaim financial liability for offspring they don't want (but conceived anyway), but only once and only on the condition that they get the word "DEADBEAT" tattooed on their foreheads in large block letters.

I Think I Have A Blog Now.

This is a personal blog. That means I write random crap I think of and put it in a series of tubes in an appropriately pseudonymous fashion. Reading this blog constitutes your agreement not to whinge about how offended you are, because seriously, you don't have to read it. But fully justified complaints are always welcome because they're justified. Actually, whining may also be tolerated because hey at least that means someone is paying attention to me which is more than most bloggers can say.

So anyway, the reason I started this thing is because I kept having ideas where I'd think "oh, that'd be great for my blog... IF I HAD ONE!" Individually, they were passing thoughts. Collectively, they are a vast pile of verbiage commonly known as a "weblog."

Vital stats:

Blog: Yes.
Date: Today.
Current Mood: Verbose.
Sleep Status: No.
Word of the Day: Replevin.
Update Schedule: Whenever I bother.
Content: Highly limited.
Popularity: Un.
Blog Ranking: Last place.
Readership: Nil.

Advertisers welcome.


text:
Sunday, September 16, 2012

It's 1 am on Saturday night. I'm alone in my apartment. And I just had a bit of an emotional breakdown. Just for a few minutes. But it happened. And I think I needed it.

There's a lot going on right now.  Most pressing is that in the next 14 days I have to either let my current landlord know I'll be leaving here for at least another year, or that I'm peace-ing out by October 31. Most stressful is that I have the biggest paper of my life due in less than 3 months.  Most sad is that as I write this my mother is in Connecticut, sitting at the bedside of her older sister, who is dying.

I went and looked at an apartment today, seeing what my options are in my quest to move out of my current neighborhood, which is....loud. Too loud for me, at least.  I unexpectedly have a chance to move, which I thought I wouldn't have until at least a year from now, and so I set out to see if maybe I actually can.  The apartment that I saw today was...okay.  I think it's maybe a little bigger than my current place. Maybe. But it's definitely not as nice.  It would be quieter (probably) than my current place. But it's not as nice of an apartment.  This didn't really hit me until I was back here and realized---I have a NICE apartment. It's small, and this building is kind of dirty, and I really do hate this street, but.... My actual apartment? These 4 walls and huge bathroom that I get to call my own? Really. Fucking. Nice.  This was never so clear to me as it was after seeing that other apartment today.

So I'm sitting here, dazedly realizing that I probably am going to stay here for another year, as much as I bemoan my neighbors, and this street, and this neighborhood, and even though I just sold my car today so that I would have the money to move (also so that I would no longer have the headache of paying to have a car in New York)...and I start wandering around my little space, thinking about the things that I can do that I've been putting off, that I should really just DO if I'm gonna be here awhile. I looked at empty shelf space that could be filled with clutter-turned-thing-in-its-proper-place, and absent-mindedly went through one such pile.  I found a photo envelope with pictures in it that I'd forgotten I'd had printed before I moved in.  Pictures of my parents and my brother.  I had never taken them out of the envelope, had let them get buried in a pile of office supplies.  I looked at each of them for a long time, and felt...suddenly, and strongly, and all at once, sad, lost, alone, regretful.

I realized that I miss them. That I would like to see them, as much as I often feel that I don’t, really.  I marveled at how happy my parents look in that picture from their trip to New York a few years ago. How much my brother and I look alike--how that is still true, despite the years and years of pain and misunderstanding between us.  I cried for how far away from them I feel, how far away from them I am, how that’s exactly what I intended, and how it turns out it actually hurts a bit, to get what you want.  I felt a deep and sharp loss that startled me, and made me think of my mother, spending the weekend with her older sister, her sister who is slowly, yet quickly, dying of cancer.  How this is the…fifth (?) loss like this that she has endured. And how I can only guess at the pain she is in, and how I might never really know what she is going through, and how sad I am for her.  And I cried for my mother, and the fact that it took this long for me to realize how sad I am for her, losing another person she loves.  And I cried that she won’t let me in to her real life, her emotional life...and how I learned from her.

And then my tears were about all of my own fears and doubts and worries, that I apparently don’t let myself really feel as often as I think I do. Because it all came slamming through tonight.  And it hurts.  Life hurts.

I imagine you know what I mean.


text:
 Untitled Document

In this website I will talk about Batman the Arkham trilogy (Batman Arkham Origins in my opinion doesn't count). I will also have this that really don't go with batman (note: on the links page they are all links to other web pages of 2018. (Spoilers). (Note : Not all things work on Firefox)
monty tech email
If you don't want to send me an e-mail go to the suggestions page just click me.
Top of Page

Contact Information:
E-mail: ss13630@montytech.net
School Address: 1050 Westminster St. , Fitchburg, MA 01420
School Phone: 800-853-6689
last updated:  June/16/2015


text:
Thursday, April 16, 2009

How to make a Pinwheel bock

Just thought I'd post the pictures of this mornings work. The green and ivory fabric is my trying-things-out material, as it's strong and heavy and quite forgiving. More than anything, this is here to remind me what I did in what order. You know how it is sometimes.

Draw and cut out 2 ivory and 2 green squares.

Put the ivory and green square on top of each other, right sides together, and draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the ivory square. Stitch a seam 1/4 inch from the line.

Turn the square around, and do the same from the other side of the line, 1/4 inch away.

Cut along the diagonals, and voila!

Open out to see 2 triangles stitched together.

Match up two sets of triangles, and stitch to make a rectangle. I'll have to do some other photos to remind me how I did it, but I basically opened them all out to the pattern I wanted, then folded them onto each other where the seam had to run.

Open them all out, check the pattern, and then fold together, wrong sides out, and stitch the seam.

Open out to reveal the finished block! One of my green corners isn't quite right, but its righter than previous attempts!

And now we have to get on because the AC and I just realised it was Thursday and Claire and E are coming to play at 1030. And we are both in jamas, planning a jama day. And he needs a bath.

But we don't mind. It's all a lovely day!

1 comment:

Angela said...

Thanks for sharing those instructions and photos! It makes me want to give it a try...whenever I have enough time!


text:
Sunday, 11 March 2012

Treasure Map

Have you created your treasure map yet?

By “treasure map” I mean a sheet of paper with pictures on it representing all your goals, all the things you are aiming for in life, all the achievements which you will regard as a success when you get there.

Many people do not bother with a treasure map.  But remember, many people also never achieve the successes they wish for.  And I can assure you if you do it properly the treasure map really does work.

Why it works is really less important than the fact that it does work.  But for the sceptics among you let me just outline a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the mere act of creating the map crystallises your thinking.  Many people who first create a treasure map only realise as they are doing so what some of their objectives are.  And unless you know what you are aiming for how can you expect to get it?  Also, by putting those objectives on paper you have a chance to look at them carefully and decide do you really want to achieve them.  It is not unusual to find objectives which are out of synch with your own code of morality.  You had a vague idea that this is something you wanted, but when you see it in black and white you realise it is actually something you would not be very comfortable getting.  It is also not unusual to find you have put down two objectives which are completely contrary to each other.  Again, until you actually see them next to each other on your map it is not so obvious that you cannot have both.

Secondly, once you have a properly formed treasure map you have something to focus on to ensure your subconscious mind gets the message that this is what you want to achieve.  Once your subconscious mind really does get that message you can be sure it will be working behind the scenes constantly to ensure you obtain it.

Try to be quite specific.  Think carefully about what you want to achieve and why.  Saying “I am wealthy” is certainly not specific enough.  It would be better to say “I have £1,000,000 in my bank account”.  But personally I would not choose that as my goal even though I do aim to be wealthy.  It is specific, certainly, but it is not my real goal.  It is not the money itself I want, it is the things that money could do for me that I really want.  How I get them, provided it is honestly and ethically, is not really important.  So on my treasure map are the things I want, not the money that I may need in order to get them.

Ideally you should have pictures which tell the story properly.  If you want to live in a lovely little cottage surrounded by woodland, then find a photo of one that looks exactly how you would like your own little cottage to look.  Cut it out and stick it on your map.  Or draw it yourself.  It doesn’t really matter if you are not a brilliant artist.  Your subconscious will be quite forgiving about your lack of artistic skill.

Surround your treasure map with a border.  It may sound odd, but this is important.  It is setting limits.  Preventing a kind of sorcerer’s apprentice mishap where your subconscious keeps getting more and more of something until it is beyond a joke and you wish you had never put that on your map.

Don’t show that map to anyone else.  If you do, they will almost certainly ridicule you, and that will sap power away and make it far less likely you will achieve your dreams.  This is your secret treasure map that nobody but you even knows exists.  Study it daily, and visualise your life as it is with these dreams realised.  Note the use of the present tense here.  Not the future.  You must visualise your dreams as already realised.  And any writing on the map should reflect that.  Don’t write “I want a house by the sea” but rather “I live in a house by the sea”.  Don’t say “I want to speak fluent Italian”, but rather “I speak fluent Italian”.

As your life evolves, you will find you have already achieved some of the goals on your treasure map, no longer wish to achieve others, and have more goals that were not on the map.  So be ready to add to the map, and also sometimes to start afresh and make a new map.

Finally, a warning.  If you do this properly you will find you start to achieve the goals you put on your treasure map.  Make sure they are goals you really want to achieve.  Remember the old fairy tales where a genie granted a number of wishes, but then tricked the wisher by giving him or her exactly what was asked for, but which was not what the wisher really wanted.  There is a real point to those stories.  Be very certain of where you are aiming, what you want to achieve, as you will only have yourself to blame if you realise when you achieve it that it was not what you wanted at all!

No comments:

Post a Comment