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Report: Jaroslav Halak to miss 3 weeks

According to a report made to ESPN, Jaroslav Halak is expected to miss approximately three weeks with a lower-body injury. Halak suffered the injury with about a minute left in the first period against the Minnesota Wild when he stretched his legs out to make a save.

Barring a trade before today's deadline, the Blues will be forced to roll with Brian Elliott and Jake Allen in net for effectively the remainder of the 2013 regular season.

Halak just can't catch a break. He suffered an injury in the playoffs against Los Angeles. He missed time earlier this year with a strained groin. Now, he's back on the shelf with a "lower-body" injury (possibly his groin again). Is Halak a victim of bad luck or should we slide him into the susceptible to injury column? It's a bit too early to tell, but it's pretty worrisome that he has gone down with three injuries in recent memory.

Jake Allen is back with the NHL club after being sent down just a few days ago. He now comes in to either back or split time with Brian Elliott, depending on how Elliott handles the #1 job now that Halak is injured.

There's some speculation that the Blues might try to find help in net before the deadline, but that seems like it might be a bit of a stretch. It's certainly not impossible (most of us thought the Jay Bouwmeester trade was almost impossible), but it's unlikely the Blues will give up assets to acquire help that might not be needed in three weeks.

The Blues are in an awkward position. They hope that Elliott can handle the role now that he's been given it by default, but there are some legitimate concerns that he'll stumble as he did the last time Halak was injured.


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The Fabled Chocolate Chip Cookie: Your Recipe, My Kitchen

 Fabled Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is an oldie but goodie, or should I say “greatie.”  If you haven’t heard the story of the woman who thought she was buying a chocolate chip cookie recipe for $2.50 and ended up with a bill for $250, you just haven’t been keeping up with your Urban Legends.  My mom clipped this recipe from a newspaper in the 1980s.  The crazy idea of buying a recipe for way too much money goes back to at least the 1940s, though some sources I found say someone bought a cake recipe in the 1920s for a whopping $35 and then sought revenge by sharing it with the world.  In fact, all of the stories are false, but this recipe is worth sharing.

Fabled Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

After all, who wouldn’t like to eat a cookie filled with not only semi-sweet chocolate chips and oatmeal, but also a grated up 8 (now 7) ounce milk chocolate candy bar, too?  This treat packs a serious chocolate punch!  The version I have seen all over the internet is double what Mom had in her recipe file.  Her recipe makes 6 dozen large cookies, so unless you are baking for an entire school, summer camp or four teenage boys, you may not want to even look at the other recipes which will yield you 12+ dozen.

Fabled Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you don’t have a great chocolate chip recipe, or even if you do and want a little change, you have got to try these cookies.  They are thick, soft, chocolate-y and wonderful.   Add nuts or dried fruit.  Go a little crazy.  You will love these.

The Fabled Chocolate Chip Cookie: Your Recipe, My Kitchen
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1½ cups brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups oatmeal flour (blend 2½ cups regular oats in blender until flour-like)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 12 ounce package semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 7 ounce Hershey bar, grated (pulverized in blender)
  • 1½ cups toasted pecans or walnuts (optional)
  1. Cream butter and sugars.
  2. Scrape down bowl and add eggs and vanilla.
  3. Scrape down bowl.
  4. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
  5. Stir or mix in chocolates and nuts.
  6. Scoop on to ungreased cookie sheets.
  7. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
  8. Remove to a wire rack and cool.

Your turn!  What’s cooking in your kitchen this new year?  Are you going healthier in your meals?

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Select Page

Do something spontaneous with your kiddos!

Being a food allergy family, spontaneous is a word that is rarely in our vocabulary. Outings must be carefully planned if they’ll span a meal time or snack.

I’d like to encourage you to do something spontaneous this week.

Image by Mike_fleming via Flickr

Go to the play ground! (with your emergency action plan and meds of course) Play with your kids!

Go to the park! Bring a ball and play in a new or different place!

Put out the sprinkler and let the kids romp around in the yard!

Put on your own suit or some shorts and a shirt you don’t mind getting wet and get out and play too!

Make a mud puddle or go splashing through some of your own if you’re lucky enough to have some.

Get some sidewalk chalk and create some art!

Break out the water colors or other paints and let your children create a masterpiece!

Break out the board games or some cards and play a game!

See? This is easy and so much fun.

I know it takes my worries away for just a little while to do something just fun and happy with my kids.

Now it’s your turn!

Can you think of anything your kiddos would love to do with you that you don’t do often? Go out and do it!

Happy Summer and thanks so much for stopping by!

Have a fabulous rest of your day 🙂


text:
The Enterprise System Spectator

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Optimizing ERP support staffing in smaller companies

I had an interesting analyst request today. An IT manager for a midsize company recently purchased our Computer Economics ERP Support Staffing Ratios report and wonders how the ratios would apply to a smaller business.

He writes:
We purchased the study "ERP Support Staffing Ratios". It was very helpful. Question - We are implementing an new ERP system, and bringing it up a little at a time. We are trying to get a benchmark for the minimum ERP IT support staff that would be required; regardless of the size of the user base.

Alternatively stated, if a company implemented a comprehensive ERP system, but only had 50-100 users, there is probably a minimum core staff the would be required to support it.
If you could take a look at the information underlying the study and try to shed some light on this for us, it would be very helpful. For example, what seems to be the typical (median) staffing ratio for the smaller user population groups?
Smaller firms are at a disadvantage
I responded that the report itself gives the answer, as the number of users per support staff member in small companies (under 200 users) is less than half of the number for organizations with 200 to 500 users. (Actually when you go to over 500 users, the number almost doubles again). In other words, there are tremendous economies of scale in ERP support staffing. In small companies, you need twice the number of support staff per 100 users as you do in midsize companies. (Buy the full report if you want the actual stats.)

Now, having said that, I would say, based on my experience, that when you get into the smaller companies, it all depends on what system you are implementing. I have seen or heard of MS Axapta or QAD sites of 50-100 users that are effectively managed by one full time IT person. But you rarely see that with Oracle or SAP, for example. Our report shows that Tier I systems simply have a bigger footprint, requiring more ERP support staff.

Think outside the FTE box
At the same time, smaller organizations should be thinking about outsourcing much of their ERP support. They simply do not have the scale to have a full-time apps programmer, plus a fulltime DBA, and a full-time help desk person. And these roles are not really suitable for a single person. A better approach would be to go ahead and staff the help desk but contract out the DBA work and apps work (e.g. applying patches or upgrades). Many small companies are too reliant on one or two IT staff members, and when they leave or become disgruntled it can be a real problem. If you get the right contractors, this also provides for better coverage and may actually provide for longer continuity of support personnel than relying on full-time employees.

The full report on ERP Support Staffing Ratios is on our website. A free executive summary is also available.

Related posts
ERP support costs: the offshore model

by Frank Scavo, 8/26/2009 06:24:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!

 Reader Comments:

Well said.

Many small companies are too reliant on one or two IT staff members, and when they leave or become disgruntled it can be a real problem.

I consider quite a few organizations failures waiting to happen in the event that a key member decides to walk. Documentation is often lacking and few people "on the bench" can pinch hit if necessary, what with current staffing levels.
Business processes for commerce applications are also of a very different nature than ERP and are becoming more complex as interactions with customers span multiple channels and touch-points.
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Independent analysis of issues and trends in enterprise applications software and the strengths, weaknesses, advantages, and disadvantages of the vendors that provide them.

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Frank Scavo Send tips, rumors, gossip, and feedback to Frank Scavo, at .

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The Color Purple

by Kay Bourne
Monday Jan 20, 2014
Lovely Hoffman in The Color Purple"
Lovely Hoffman in The Color Purple"  (Source:Glenn Perry Photography)

A love letter to America's black woman, the forward thinking Alice Walker's novel "The Color Purple" has been perfectly re-imagined as a musical by Marsha Norman. "Getting Out," an early drama from this Pulitzer Prize winning playwright about a woman on parole struggling against great odds to live a decent and contented life, prepared her well to tell another story of modest goals hard fought to gain.

But this play, "The Color Purple," exists on the spiritual terrain as well.

As the flamboyant, lusty, big hearted Shug tells the downhearted, gloomy Celie: when you see a field of purple flowers, like say lupine, God expects you to be uplifted and joyful. That's what this show does for you. It's a field of purple flowers.

With music and lyrics by an African American team of composers familiar with gospel and juke joint rhythms (Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, & Stephen Bray), the two act, period drama, which moves from turn of the 20th century to the 1930s, is set in North Carolina. It was first produced for Broadway by among others Oprah Winfrey (who won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her wrenching performance in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film version as a ballsy woman beaten into near catatonic submission during a jail house stay).

Lovely Hoffman and Crystin Gilmore in The Color Purple"  (Source:Glenn Perry Photography)

The standard for Walker’s story of self emancipation flies high again with this production from SpeakEasy Stage Company which is splendid in every way. It’s perceptively directed by Paul Daigneault who gives the characters time to breathe while maintaining a breakneck pacing. Choreographer Christian Bufford brilliantly interposes trios and quartets of women who, like a Greek chorus, chatter about the dirt in people’s lives in-between scenes. He gives us as well a high stepping, party-hearty dance where it’s called for in the story.

"The Color Purple" is gone before you know it. Daigneault is abetted in maintaining the production’s momentum by scenic designer Jenna McFarland Lord who provides a unit set of a giant tree on which the children in the story can climb up. It’s a set that epitomizes "family," yet gets out of the way so the story swirls, dances by, and flows without a hitch.

The story is Celie’s, a plain brown paper wrapper of a girl in an A+ nuanced performance from Lovely Hoffman. ’Put upon’ is too weak a phrase to describe this child’s situation. By age 14, she’s given birth to two children sired by her father who snatches them away to be adopted by others and then forces her to marry a local farmer who is wealthy but evil-tempered and who treats her like a slave. Celie knows him only as Mister.

Jared Dixon and Valerie Houston in The Color Purple"  (Source:Glenn Perry Photography)

She never gets to take a good breath between cleaning the house ’til it shines and caring for Albert’s unruly children by a previous marriage. Maurice Emmanuel Parent as the bully Albert who gets his comeuppance manages somehow to make us feel a little bit sorry for Albert but, hold it there, only a little bit. Cliff Odle as Mister’s Dad shows us why Albert is as he is.

Celie’s only joy is the companionship of her sister Nettie, who comes to live with Celie. That is until Albert’s unwanted sexual advances prompt Nettie to run away, but not before she has taught Celie the rudiments of reading. Nettie promises to write her. Yet Celie never gets a single letter. The statuesque lyrical soprano Aubin Wise lends an innate royal air to her beguiling interpretation of Nettie, which underscores Nettie’s missionary work in Africa as a reference Walker is making to the kings and queens of American black legacy.

One day Albert brings home his former flame (in truth the love of his life), Shug Avery, a blowsy jazz singer with the morals of a cat, but the heart of a lion as it turns out. The ailing Shug is nursed back to good health by Celie and they fall in love. The lesbian romance stirs heady feelings in Celie she has never before experienced. As the lively, shameless Shug, Crystin Gilmore radiates the warmth that draws everybody to Shug, even her detractors.

Lovely Hoffman and Aubin Wise in "The Color Purple"  (Source:Glenn Perry Photography)

To add to Albert’s bewilderment, his son Harpo falls in love with a shameless, fun loving woman, Sofia, who bosses Harpo around. Complications build upon complications, and as Celie evolves into her own unflinching person, the many loose ends of the story get tied up satisfactorily one by one. As Harpo, Jared Dixon gives an inviting portrait of a man who breaks free from the he-man mold to love the one he loves. When he gets together with the sensual, take no prisoners Sophia, the woman of his dreams, the sexual sparks light up the stage. She is marvelously portrayed by Valerie Houston for all her spunk and sexiness and every inch of her pain.

Lovely Hoffman is utterly persuasive as Celie who touches our hearts. She is a wonderful singer as well, sometimes the sort of declarative vocalist in the Jennifer Holiday mode, if with more of a gospel beat, and then sometimes sweetly pensive.

We exit "The Color Purple" with her singing from her heart about her life’s journey. It’s wrung our emotions out too and lifted our spirits high.

Alice Walker’s "The Color Purple", a musical by Marsha Norman, produced by SpeakEasy Stage Co., continues thru Feb. 8 in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St. in Boston’s South End. For more info please phone 617-933-8600 or visit HYPERLINK "http://www.Speak"EsayStage.com" www.Speak"EsayStage.com

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Published in News

Red Hat Snubs Microsoft

by on20 June 2007

Blunt and to the point

Red Hat has rejected Microsoft's overtures to work together and avoid being sued in any future trademark disputes.

Red Hat, which is probably the largest Linux vendor, has said it will not do a deal similar to the one the Redmond giant signed with Linux distributors Novell, Xandros, and Linspire.

A spokesperson for Red Hat said that the company  believes that open source and the innovation it represents should not be subject to an unsubstantiated tax that lacks transparency.

More here.

Last modified on 20 June 2007
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Recession’s been done for a year: start traveling!

The recession’s over … haven’t you heard? So, why aren’t you traveling yet?

The National Bureau of Economic Research put the end of the recession at June 2009, though it obviously took the group a long time to come to this conclusion. So, if they average vacationer wasn’t able to figure it out as quickly as a group of econ nerds, forgiveness is easy. After all, most people (including me) measure recessions based on our own households – and much less from a macro perspective.

Now that the recession is officially more than a year in the past, it’s time to book those tickets!

[photo by herval via Flickr]


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PAX Prime is THIS WEEKEND. I will see you there.

If you're going to be in or around the Portland area this September 18th and 19th (and you're not completely dehydrated from PAX Prime) you may want to make your way down to the Portland Retro Gaming Expo.

Taking place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel near downtown, there will be free-play, arcade machines, exhibits, common areas and more, all devoted to the roots of everyone's favorite pastime.

Presale tickets are available. If you end up going, make sure you tell them "HI!" from me!

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero Screenshot

Dead Rising 2: Case Zero hit Live today, and I was only too happy to download it.

For those who don't know, Case Zero is a bit of a weird beast. It's essentially a demo for the full version of Dead Rising 2, but not exactly—this demo has been reworked into a complete micro-adventure that gives players a real flavor for what the larger project will be like. It comes with its own achievements, and players who complete it will be able to carry over stats and items into the main game. If you ask me, this is a pretty bad-ass idea and I'm diggin' it…

… Or at least, I was diggin' it until the game kept booting me out to the main menu without giving me a chance to save any of my progress.

When I turned on my 360 this evening, I queued up five or six different things that I wanted to download and then got rolling in Case Zero. Unfortunately, every time one of the other things in my active downloads completed, it completely interrupted gameplay and kicked me out of my session. I've never had this happen to me with any other game, and it took me a minute or two to figure out what was going on.

Once I put two and two together, I stopped playing until the downloads finished—or at least, until I thought they finished. There ended up being one more that I had forgotten about, and when I lost progress that last time, I decided to pack it in and start fresh in the morning.

I really, really like what I have seen of Case Zero so far, but Capcom should have caught this hiccup before releasing it. Granted, it's not a huge deal, but it was certainly irritating enough to make me stop playing it for the evening, and I expect better quality than that for a paid transaction.

I also tried the Vanquish demo, a little slice of the latest project from Shinji Mikami and Platinum.

So…. the game.

It's quite beautiful, I give it that. I found the graphic quality to be outstanding, and seeing something that looks as clean and as detailed as this certainly makes me think there's plenty of life left in the old 360.

Nier Screenshot

 As for the rest… Well, I'll have to say that the jury is still out, but I'm not getting very positive vibes.

It's hard to tell from just a demo, but the characters and dialogue didn't do much for me and the bits we got seemed like a crazy lovechild from Halo and P.N. 03. I have a sneaking suspicion that unless there are more design surprises in store than what was in the demo, it might end up feeling very samey and repetitious.

It's way too early to call it, but my caution meter just rose a few increments. It's now yellow.

Moving away from downloads, I wrapped up my second playthrough of Nier and saw the B ending. I'm glad that I went through that second time because the second ending really did add quite a bit to the experience. That said, I wasn't really up for replaying a third and fourth time (especially after finding out that there was a lot more collecting of things to be done) so I just YouTubed the C and D endings.

Interesting stuff to be sure, but after having seen all four, I think I was best satisfied with just A and B.

Last but certainly not least, I elected to go with Prince of Persia: the Forgotten Sands as my next console play. (After that? Deadly Premonition, I'm fairly certain.)

I'm a pretty big Prince of Persia fan, and I like the crazy-surreal platforming gameplay the series has been known for since its big reboot in 2003. It certainly gets more than a little ludicrous at times when you look at how these "castles" are designed for nothing but an un-engineerable high-wire act, but leaping from ledge to ledge feels great, and there is a certain thrill in having a character that's so agile.

I'm liking what I'm seeing so far (it's a hell of a lot better than what we got with that bizarro never-die re-imagining last time) but this is coming from someone who is already predisposed to liking the franchise and who is basically okay with keeping grains of salt nearby.

Putting my fandom aside for a moment, the premise that this game is supposed to actually connect plot-wise with the original trilogy is a bit laughable. I didn't even try to swallow that one, and instead I see this title as a stand-alone one-off regardless of what Ubisoft says.

Talking about the Prince specifically, he's mad ugly. I don't know for a fact that the developers were actually trying to make visual connections between the Prince and Jake Gyllenhaal, but whatever their intentions were, all they ended up doing was making him look really odd and disconcerting. I ended up playing the first big chunk of the game with the Prince wearing Ezio's outfit from Assassin's Creed II since it did a good job of covering him up, but let's get serious—that little Italian shoulder cape is hyper-fruity.

I ended up changing back to the original outfit, but if Altair's costume had been the choice, I would've went with that.

Brad Gallaway

Brad Gallaway

Brad Gallaway has been gaming since the days when arcades were everywhere and the Atari 2600 was cutting edge. So, like... A while.

Currently, he's got about 42 minutes a night to play because adulting is a timesuck, but despite that, he's a happily married guy with two kids who both have better K/D ratios than he does.

Brad still loves Transformers, he's on Marvel Puzzle Quest when nobody at the office is looking, and his favorite game of all time is the first Mass Effect -- and he thought the trilogy's ending was Just Fine, Thanks.

Follow Brad on Twitter at @BradGallaway
Brad Gallaway

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1 Comment on "PAX, Portland retrogaming, Case Zero, Vanquish, and The Prince returns"

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Mike Bracken
Mike Bracken
5 years 11 months ago
Glad to hear you’re digging Case Zero despite the hiccups. There are a few other little glitches that I spotted while playing, but nothing that actually kicks you out of the game. Glad you at least figured out how to get around it. I’m actually pretty excited about DR2 after playing Case Zero. It’s got enough of the original DR stuff to keep the old school fans happy, but it feels like they took some of the criticism to heart and actually worked on improving the experience. At 400 MS points, this thing is a no-brainer unless you just absolutely… Read more »


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By | 5 years ago

One of the most successful franchises in the history of the PlayStation system, Metal Gear Solid, has seen more than its fair share of glitz and glamor. With the shocking announcement last month of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the franchise has been earning a lot of buzz by taking quite a turn, expanding into a new genre with a whole new style of gameplay.

During the holidays, we wrote about Kojima sharing his feelings about the Metal Gear franchise as well as his mixed feelings about Revengeance, and today, we’ve got a lot more from the producer/creator on killing off Solid Snake, Project Ogre, Revengeance, and more.

After many attempts to get his foot in the door, Hideo Kojima’s career began in the late ’80s when he joined Konami in their MSX division. It wasn’t until he took over Metal Gear from a senior associate that he started to get attention. From there on out Solid Snake was his baby.

Ironically enough, Kojima has wanted to kill-off Snake for over a decade now. One of the most revered characters to see the light of day on the PlayStation was almost sentenced to meet his maker a long time ago, but due to fan respect he has kindly kept the nuclear detterent around:

“In Guns Of The Patriots he was supposed to die, but everyone on the staff really wanted to keep him alive, so I caved a little. I did have the feeling that I wanted to end the series, but looking back at it now as a producer, I think as long as people want to keep on playing it, I want to keep on meeting that demand, so I don’t think it’s a bad thing. But as a creator, I would rather pass it off to someone else.”

“Just to make things clear, it’s not that I don’t like the Metal Gear series. If I had an unlimited amount of time, or some kind of magic that let me double the amount of hours I had in a day, I would love to keep making Metal Gear as well as something new. But since that’s not possible, as a creator I want to move on, do something new and have the younger staff take over.”

Dealing with Metal Gear Rising, Kojima stated that it’s different to sit back from the producer’s chair, but he has set boundaries ensuring that the game stays well in the realm of the Metal Gear universe. Revengeance is definitely a dramatic departure from the regular sneaking missions fans are accustomed to from a Metal Gear game, but Kojima gives his praises to the character, Raiden, and wanted his fanbase to grow.

“Raiden in MGS4 was received very well, and I wanted to keep going with that direction in Rising. The people who liked him in 4 will like him in this, but it’s a personal preference.”

But Kojima does not hide the fact that diehard fans may not turn so easily to this new action focused Metal Gear game, and that it’ll depend on players’ mindsets going into it. If they’re open to trying something new, they may be pleasantly surprised.

As a producer, Kojima finds the industry to be a lot different from what it used to be back when he first started on the PlayStation system. He claims there is more pressure and fewer boundaries against creative freedom, especially in his homeland.

“It’s much more competitive now: if you look at triple-A titles on a worldwide scale there’s maybe only ten really big games that can get gamers’ attention, and I’m not sure how Japan can compete on that level.”

The biggest hurdle to overcome in the industry is originality. Like Christopher Nolan being granted liberties from Warner Bros. to produce the risky Inception, Kojima also feels that it is hard to break out in the industry, and this is why so many first-person shooters are being made because that is all that is demanded currently.

“I think it’s more consumer demand — right now, consumers are happy with what they have. First-person shooters sell like crazy, so there’s not really a strong demand for anything else, and that’s why [original ideas] stop being made. People are satisfied with making minor upgrades and tweaking things here and there — as long as that’s the landscape, it will keep on happening. I don’t see a problem necessarily, but at the same time it is nice to see new things come.”

There is one idea that Kojima throws out for new developers who want to try and create something original:

“Maybe for new ideas, the way to do it is [by] releasing things via online services first and then seeing how people react to that. Or even if you’re making something from a game-design perspective that’s completely different, you could tie it to an existing franchise — like even if it had the Metal Gear Solid title, it could be completely different. Maybe you can make a Batman game that has the Batman title, but you can still be free with what you make the game into. Making something that’s completely new — where the gameplay, the characters, the world, everything is completely from scratch — that’s very hard to realise in this day and age.”

Lately, Kojima has been dropping hints for his upcoming mystery game, Project Ogre, and has recently revealed that it will be “open world,” departing from his cinematic comfort zone. So what exactly is Project Ogre? Kojima hopes that it will give his fans a new experience, something they have not seen before in his work, but don’t expect it to be coming anytime soon.

“I can’t really say too much about that project yet, but it’s a very subdued experience — it’s a little bit different to what I’ve done up until now. On the surface it will look similar, but once you get into it, it will be a different experience — and I’m hoping people look forward to that. But the Ogre project is going to take a lot of time, so I want to produce some other things on the side, like I’m doing with Metal Gear Rising. So while I’m working on Project Ogre there might be a couple of other projects going on at the same time.”

It’s for certain that Project Ogre will not be Metal Gear Solid 5, but the producer has made mention to the fact that MGS 5 will be coming as well.

“As far as my involvement in the project is concerned, [it] probably won’t be as much as it was with MGS1 — maybe I can do just one stage! For MGS1 I made the maps myself, laid out the enemy routes myself, did everything hands-on — that level I can’t do again.”

Could there be a world where Hideo Kojima is no longer a part of the Metal Gear franchise? It is a huge possibility as the creator feels that the series can go on without him, but it would not be the same.

“I feel that Metal Gear Solid can continue without me, but it will be different. It’s still Metal Gear — it’s just not my Metal Gear.”

By the time Hideo Kojima has left the Metal Gear building he’ll be able to do whatever he pleases. After such a successful franchise, how could anyone say no to him? It may be a difficult feat to pull out something new these days, but if there is one person who could pull it off it would be Kojima.

What would you like to see him produce next and could he pull it off?

Follow me on Twitter @TyRawrrnosaurus

Source: PlayStation Magazine


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Cover Story: It Came From Outer Space!

Rock of Ages Trailer

Tags: Rock of Ages, ACE Team, Atlus, XBLA, PSN, DLC

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Roll and destroy your way through history in ACE Team's newest trailer for Rock of Ages, set for release next Spring for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
By:  TenaciousCK
Posted: Oct 20, 2010

1UP Game Page:  Rock of Ages
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Regional Gardening Reports :: National Gardening Association

Northern California Coastal & Inland Valleys

March, 2002
Regional Report

In the Garden

Let's Go to the Garden Show!

It's garden show season. I love to go and see the way the landscape professionals transform bare floors into beautiful garden vignettes. I had the honor of doing a special show for HGTV on the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show a few years ago. It was...
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California Master Gardeners Handbook The California Master Gardener Handbook , put out by the University of California, is a...

Favorite or New Plant

Impatiens I love them, I love them, I love them! Common though they are, impatiens are one of my very...
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Regional Reminders

  • Plant Perennials
  • Cultivate the Soil Around Pansies
  • Impatient for Impatiens
  • Fertilize Lawns
  • Care for Spent Bulb Flowers

Read more »

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Saturday, August 29, 2009

HELLO GARDENING FRIENDS! Back from a short hiatus this week and ready to "dig" in again here at the garden home. I am showing you an update on the banana bloom saga. I finally got the tree tied up and stabilized for the time being. And a good thing as the bloom is over four feet (4') long at this time and not even half way there yet judging by the size of the pod that remains.
As you can see, the fruit is really making a statement now. It has finally dried up here in my area of the Mid-south but really at the wrong time for this to help these trees keep blooming. Each banana tree drinks approximately 5-gallons of water every single day. So this tree is mostly making blooms and NOT fruit due to the dry conditions we are now experiencing. I have some fruiting but mostly blooms only. I am waiting to see what else is in the pod that remains. I have had a bloom pod only one other time in 3-years and at that time I did not secure the tree and the sheer weight and length of the bloom broke the tree off at ground level before the pod finished its production. So I do not know what else is to come but hopefully I have it secure enough at this time to prevent that from happening again.
Also, here is a new photo of some elephant ear plants on the back deck. This specimen is huge and truly the size of an African Elephant's ear. I have never seen such a plant. Of course my very rich compost this is planted in and fed with did not hurt this I am sure and the right location for this helped as well.
I am still getting a very strong harvest of tomatoes now. I have picked twice this week thus far and need to be outside even now for today's gathering. My cucumbers are almost finished as I have mentioned they were damaged by some vehicle traffic that got off the pavement and onto my planting area and the dry weather. The summer crooked neck squash as well are going through a drop off due to the dryer conditions. I did end up watering the lawns and garden yesterday, Friday, afternoon but I feel the cukes and squash will not recover enough to be over producing again. We are many days away from fore casted rain and I am restraining myself from over using my utilities for garden watering at this time. I hope that in the future I can get some plastic 55-gallon barrels to harvest rain water and use this for garden watering. Here is a link for barrel harvesting of rain water that might help those of you interested in your own system. Remember though, barrel harvesting is NOT the same as "rain water harvesting" by any means. Harvesting is more the use of a cistern-type system that might also include filtration, etc., of the water. Here is a link to someone who I think did a pretty good job for a home/self installed system:
When I return to work this next week I will again be working on the garden homestead, the historic A.E. Estes home, in preparation for the upcoming home tour. I am also very excited...... did I say VERY EXCITED.....about starting my internship with the University of Tennessee Master Gardener program beginning this next Thursday, Sept. 03, 2009. And then making my plans over this winter for a revamping of the garden area in the back yard. I will NOT be raking my leaves and pine straw to the street this fall for city pick-up but will be putting it over the garden area to help smother out the existing grasses I want to eliminate from the future gardening area(s). And also adding it into my compost bays in the rear of my property for making new dirt. Again, in doing all this, I hope to have the best garden one can have and basically for free. Not purchasing any soils, compost, etc., other than the needed lime and any other minor chemicals needed for feeding this garden.
I leave you then today my dirt diggers with this, our ongoing gardening affirmation: "GARDENING: ONE YARD AT A TIME!"

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Greetings from the garden home today, Thursday, August 20, 2009. I have to share the abundant harvest I made early this morning. I picked 83-tomatoes, with another dozen or so I discarded into the garden plot due to bird damage, etc. I also picked 27-cucumbers & 4-large squash. So I was busy washing veggies, making deliveries to about 5-neighbors homes as well as taking the balance to a friend in Nashville.
I continue to work on the garden home as my chores heat up in the face of the holiday home tour. I have ordered my "measure" for a new front door to be installed. I am not going to tackle that job as there are so many variables to consider here in this historic house. The thickness of the walls, the fact the porch has sunk a little and the way the front entrance is made make me wary of the job myself. So I feel it will be well worth the money to have it done and done properly. I, of course, will be here and add my influence and my own insulation during the process to save on that issue. So all I have to do now is pick out the hardware (doorknobs, lock set, etc.) and pick up the door and accessories and wait on the installer after the measure is completed next week.
I am also looking at trying to go ahead and paint at least the very front of the house and porch floor before the tour dates. I was originally thinking of some earth tones, being coffee-browns, etc. but have almost decided to go on to a blue-tone now. And with the high gloss deck grey, white trim and the body of the house being yellow already (something I cannot change) I think the blue will be a quick fix and look good with the yellow or go more toward a sage green tone in that color area. And then make a darker statement on the door itself with white trim on the transom and the side lites.
Anyway, I am taking a few days off this week/weekend and will keep in touch with all my gardening friends in the mean time. I have my home garden in fair shape and just working on maintaining what I now have.
So remember your ongoing garden affirmation: "GARDENING: ONE YARD AT A TIME"!
I take a moment and say "HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY, MELISSA", my daughter, of whom I am very proud to have as an adult friend and growing in maturity and endearment daily.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Hello everyone from the garden home. This weekend brought yet a continued harvesting of tomatoes, cucumbers & summer squash. The casserole I wrote about on Saturday was excellent by the way. It had just enough of a "bite" to it to make the flavors very interesting with the bell peppers & "RO-TEL" (tm) and the addition of the Parmesan cheese made for a slightly crusty top which was very flavorful.
I picked and picked and picked tomatoes yesterday - and gave 4-bags, "WAL-MART" (tm) size about 1/2-full to 3-neighbors and one person at work today. I also gave some to my daughter to take home with her. Needless to say, I am having an abundant harvest on tomatoes. Also on the cucumber vines, even though some rain is needed now for the entire garden. I have intentionally neglected watering here at the garden to stop some of the tomato splitting that has been going on due to the excess rain we have had over the past months. But now we are finally having some dryer days and it appears this next batch of tomatoes coming on will be better. The squash remain the same with 3-4-6 picked about 2-3-times a week. I have mentioned that I planted the squash on the driveway side of my fence (photos lower on this site). And in that fact they have experienced some issues with "traffic" coming and going into the drive I share with a very good neighbor. But the harvest remains about constant on the squash. Attached are photos of the coming of the next tomatoes.

I am also very proud of my lawn this season. As you can see from this photo of my front lawn looking straight down & out it has really filled in this year and I have finally gotten the mixture of fertilizer (15-15-15 & ammonia nitrate/sulfate), compost, lime and hard work and lots of mowing and a lot of prayers to the "turf gods" to be kind to me! It is really nice out there and the back is just as good now. When I first moved here three years ago, there was no turf grass to speak of and what little was here was poor quality and not well. My back yard was grown up and had not been taken care of for over 18-years = no raking, clearing, etc. It was really overgrown and neglected. But now the front and back are real eye catchers. I am thrilled with the outcome and everyone thinks I had the place sodded when it was a lot of hard work and sweat. I have mentioned before I have been mowing my own lawn about every 3-5 days this summer. As I mowed on Thursday here at the garden home and realized I needed it again yesterday, Sunday, I pulled the mower from the garden shed and cranked it up. But the outcome was well worth it as you can see here. I believe this is the best my lawn has been in the 3-years I have been in this
garden home. In fact I know it is!
I send you off today with one thought in mind and that is our ongoing gardening affirmation:

Saturday, August 15, 2009

I have been experimenting with several summer squash casserole recipes in trying to NOT be bored with plain stewed squash & onions. I stopped some projects mid-day today and made one for the oven that I just took out and tasted that really got my attention. I used things from my pantry & garden (fresh picked) on hand today. I will outline the recipe at the end of today's conversation for your records.
Also today I will be working on a few more concrete castings made with smaller leaves this time and made to put on a rod off the ground for the garden home or to pass on to someone. One neighbor today said I should start giving classes on how to make these. I thanked her and said they were mainly for my personal pleasure or gifts for friends and neighbors. She reminded me that "she was a neighbor" so I guess that means she would like one as well. I know several family members who have seen them on this site and have commented they would like one (or several) so it looks like they might be okay after all.
Here is your new squash recipe which I will name "ITALIAN GARDEN CASSEROLE":
Ingredients: 2-large summer squash (cut up), 1-large onion (cut up), 2-tbs. butter/margarine, 1-large green bell pepper, 1-red bell pepper, 1-can "RO-TEL" with lime/cilantro,1-can of English peas, 2-small cans of chicken breast, 1-small can of sliced black olives, 2-cups cooked rice (cook rice using 2-c. water & 2-chicken bouillon cubes & pepper to taste), 1-sleeve of whole wheat crackers - crushed, 2-eggs - beaten, 1/2-c. shredded cheese (you can add more - that is all I had on hand today!), and Parmesan cheese.
Cook (in a large pot) squash, onion, peppers & "RO-TEL" till partially tinder and onion is translucent. Add chicken, olives, cooked rice & mix well. Mix crushed crackers and cheese and add to mixture. Beat eggs with fork in a separate bowl and stir into mixture. Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Butter or "PAM" a large casserole dish or 2-small ones to share with a neighbor. Move mixture to the buttered dish(es) and top with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese and place on foil lined cookie sheet for support. Bake for 50-60 minutes and check. Bake till edges are bubbly and browning. Turn oven off and leave in for about 15-20 more minutes and remove and cool. This is really tasty and a little on the spicy side from the "RO-TEL" & not BORING at all.
So all you garden folk have a good weekend and enjoy this tomato-growing weather. It looks like my plants are getting their second wind and the next bunch coming on are looking better and better every day. I may get some good slicers yet! See you next week.

Friday, August 14, 2009

I should be more modest I know but this is only my 3rd summer in my house here in Jackson. Today after finishing my outdoor chores and cleaning up a bit I had 3-ladies stop by to present this garden home with the 3rd yard award I have gotten in 3-years. I received the "LANA 'S Most Creative Yard Award" and the sign will remain in my yard for 1-month. The presenters took several photos of the yard and asked many questions and were requesting a tour of this garden home when I finish the prep work for the LANA Christmas Home Tour later in the fall. I made some new, good gardening friends I hope and maybe some new blog followers as well. One lady in particular was involved in the TN Master Gardener program and I mentioned I will be interning for that this fall and she told me I would really enjoy that study. I know I will and look forward to the program with great anticipation. Thank you to anyone who voted for my yard and the little different take I have on gardening and making my garden home a true standout in the neighborhood. My first summer here I received the "MOST IMPROVED" award and the second year I received the "HONORARY MENTION" award.
That has been my goal all along of course. Not to receive awards, etc., but just the fact that someone notices besides myself is a nice affirmation on one's hard work and dedication to thanking God and the universe for allowing me the health and dedication to maintain such a project and to SHARE the outcome with those who might pass by. I have repeated in these pages so often that YOU MUST try to make your garden home one that not only shows pride but gives praise and love to the ONE who made us and what better way to do that than make someone smile and make them have a better day. And give up our "OFFERINGS" to HIM in the blooms, colors, fragrances and abundant harvests as we work toward these ends.
I leave you again today with your gardening affirmation: GARDENING IS MORE THAN A HOBBY - IT IS REPETITION, EXPERIMENT & MOST OF ALL LOVE!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Here we are in mid-August and I would almost say it is October from a look at the temperature for this week. It is supposed to be around 87-degrees today. Not like the worst of the summer. It seems like even the garden is going through a slow down on production due to the milder weather for this time of year. So as the garden is on slow down this week, except for the grass, I am concentrating on the inside of the house a lot this week. I am preparing the garden home for the 2009 Christmas Home Tour for my historic district. Week before last I was at the library and did the needed historical research on my home. My deed says my home was built c.1910. But I found it was actually built and deeded around Jan. 29, 1922. It appears the land was purchased on April 04, 1920 by Mr. & Mrs. A.E. Estes (A.E. & Annie Estes). The Estes evidently owned several lots here on Division and were quite the property owners here in JACKSON, owning many parcels of land in town. They sold one of the lots next door to me (I do not know which side though) in 01/29/1922 for the sum of $1.00 for the lot. But the overall investigation was very interesting and fun and I even found out what each owner did for a living, children, etc.
Now that I know I am the owner of the historic "A.E. Estes Home" I can proceed with working on my home and setting the mood for an excellent tour that I will be proud of and hopefully inspire others to get in the Christmas mood by the end of the tour dates, Dec. 4-6, 2009, Friday night through Sunday afternoon. I look forward to having anyone who is not able to attend the official tour showing dates to come in for a private tour when I have the decorations up and the beds dressed for the holidays, etc.I am attaching an update on the blooming bananas. You can see the baby bananas at the base of the blooms. I keep forgetting to stake up the tree or I will go out one day and it will be broken off like the last one I had bloom. This bloom stalk will grow about 2-3 ft long and will pull the tree over. It is already leaning a bit now so I must do that when I work my yard later today after the dew dries. That is one tip I would like to pass on to you for today...remember to NEVER mow wet grass and that is for multiple reasons. Here is a copied notice from the U. of Ohio: "Avoid mowing when turf grass is wet. Mowing wet grass causes clippings to come out of the mower in clumps. Clumps of grass left on the lawn are unsightly and can damage the grass under them. However, do not allow turf to become so high that mowing removes more than 1/3 of the leaf blade. It is better to mow when the lawn is wet than to let the grass grow too tall. If the grass does grow taller, raise the blade so that no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is removed". Another reason for not mowing is that the wet grass build up on your mower can often affect the precision mowing of your machine and cause it to stall with the wet grass clumping under the mower or bogging down in the opening of your grass catcher. I personally ALWAYS "catch" my grass as well as leaves, etc. And of course as long as it does not have seeds in it should be added to your compost pile for the "green" additions that will help the pile. Also, I have a neighbor who has a washing hillside and I have arranged to put my clippings as well as theirs on the hillside to not only stop the washing away of the hill but it also adds the grass seeds that will germinate and stop the washing. It also stops the growing of unwanted vines and the ugly stuff that comes up naturally from bird dropping, etc. This grassy addition to their hillside also packs down and looks like a mulch when the green turns brown and it is better than muddy soil and looks like your put down your own mulch.
So all you Southern gardeners enjoy this mild weather and get to thinking about your fall garden maintenance as I think about my fall UT internship for the TN. Master Gardener program.

Monday, August 10, 2009

I removed my leaf casting today from the sand form. I AM SO THRILLED with the outcome. The deep veins in the casting are going to be great. I made this very, very large with one 80-lb bag of the concrete mix with the plans to use it as a on-the-ground birdbath. I will definitely make more but smaller ones. I will make some on stands and some as wall hangings now. I find this a rewarding endeavor and will now recommend it to anyone. Not only was it a lot of fun but it has now become a rewarding experience to share with you and now YOU will be getting one as a gift along the way somewhere. So you "FOLLOWERS" better tell me what you want as you will be getting one for sure! HERE ARE THE RESULTS:

Saturday, August 8, 2009

I tried my hand today at leaf castings I have been seeing on different DIY shows on TV. I have a brief pictorial with this posting but forgot to take a shot of the sand pile with the bare leaf on the sand. So here are the steps as I did them. I chose a large elephant ear leaf that had good veins and ribs.
1. Cover work area with plastic and make some sort of holding pan for sand (I used an old water heater drain pan.
2. Mound up sand to form the basic shape of your chosen leaf and to the depth you want your bird bath, feeder, wall hanging - whatever you are making. I chose a "sit on the ground" birdbath.
3. Spray clear water on the pile of sand to moisten and cover with thin layer of plastic - I used a garden trash bag. This keeps sand from getting into the concrete mixture.
4. Lay your chosen leaf on top of the plastic over the sand pile. Choose a leaf with lots of deep veining as you will want to see these in the castings.
5. Mix your concrete in some sort of container near your work area - I used a large storage tote, water hose, hoe and flat shovel for the mixing. I used some "QuikRete"(tm) that was donated to the garden home by Darlene Millson.
6. Put on rubber dish washing type gloves. Then by hand fulls, start scooping up the slurry mixture and adding to the back of the leaf, patting gently toward the outer edges. Then when the entire leaf is covered, I pulled the bottom plastic up and used it to round up the edges of my mixture to give a finished edge. At this time I also added a large pedestal base that my birdbath will rest on. If you want to hang it as garden art, at this time you would add a cut-up metal coat hanger made into a hook and inserted or add a piece of pipe nipple if you want to use it on a rod raised up in the garden.
7. Now you spray the entire surface with misting, clear water and pat it smooth. Continue spraying until you see it like you want it and again I pulled the base plastic up to re-smooth the edges. By the way, one could pre-stain the concrete mixture if your chose to for a solid colorization.
8. When satisfied, pull the edges of the base plastic up around the form, cover with another piece of plastic and secure corners. This is to keep it from drying too fast which will cause the form to fracture.
9. Check the form later in the day and re-mist as needed if very hot, dry weather exist. Let dry for 24hrs then check again and spray again. Let dry for another 48hrs, spraying occassionally. Then check the casting and gently remove from sand pile and clean off leaf deposits gently with a soft brush or paint brush. This might not come off easily but will rot over time. You can gently use a screwdriver to clean out any deep grooves or veins that have plant material in it. Allow the casting to cure another 72-hrs before moving further. Wait 2-weeks more for complete curing then paint or stain your casting as you would like and you should be good to go.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

While walking little Max this morning for his usual block walk we saw the Madison Co. school bus stop and pick up two children down on the corner. I did not realize they started back today. That can only mean that the season is going to slow down soon and the harvest will start drying up and heading toward the compost bin. And speaking of composting, you gardeners who are as I jokingly call "LITE GARDENERS", should try it for your own gardens. One doesn't need a "bin" as such to try composting but just a small, designated area in your own garden home and start piling up your garden waste, grass clippings, tea bags/coffee grounds, egg shells, leaf raking & any other garden refuse that will "DECOMPOSE" in the pile, thus the term "compost". You can contain it if you wish by using some old discarded fencing formed into a circle, some brick or blocks stacked up or make something called a "compost corral". I will add a video link to making compost corrals on the blog today. But I am very satisfied with my 3-bay compost bin. So you can add your own 1200-lbs of yearly waste to your garden instead of your local landfill.

I needed some leaf waste (brown) for my bin this week and after helping a neighbor clean up her yard, I brought a bag home and added it to my "cooking-off" left bay and after this week will "stir" the mixture. Remember though to add your waste in layers in which you have the raw product, leaf waste and then some soil. You can recycle from your finished pile for the soil. You can also go to WalMart (tm) and purchase a box of earthworms from the sporting goods center and dump them into the pile to start your break-down processes. I have a friend at my place of employment who has access to a family farm with a lot of cow manure and I am making another bin (next to my compost bin) as soon as I take up my temporary garden fencing on the back of my lot to add a manure pile. I will add that into my composting as well and then the finished pile will be fertilized as well as adding to the cooking off process.

So with fall really being one of our best seasons for compost additions I look forward to the end of the growing season with anticipation of the rebirth of this garden home from the outlook of a Tennessee Certified Master Gardener aspect after completing my internship this fall at UTREC and my subsequent certification. I aspire to have the best garden in Jackson or at least on my street anyway! And again remember your daily gardening affirmation for today: 1. Soil preparation - dig into your soul (soil), 2. Plant seeds - do a service for others, 3. Feed & Water - nurture your friendships and relationships, 4. Harvest - Enjoy your abundant life of love and giving to others and they will return the love especially when you need it most!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Hello everyone and here it is August 2009. This is the time of year when one must start thinking of finishing the growing season and either canning or freezing their harvest and when I at least start thinking ahead to NEXT season. But really this year my mind is on my Tennessee Certified Master Gardener classes that are starting in one month now, Sept. 3rd. I am looking forward to this training course as I think it will not only give me some credence but will allow me the opportunity to meet some new and interesting gardening friends. I especially hope to become involved to some extent in the TN AG Research & Education Center here and look to their knowledge, experience and expertise to help guide me into the next phase of my lifelong love of gardening and digging in "the good earth".

My plan in the garden home here on Division Ave is to go back to the drawing board during the long, dark winter months while not much but rain and cold are the norm here in West Tennessee and start almost from scratch in my plans and layout. I am dedicated to making this garden home the best one possible and in that fact I must redo my entire think processes. I have wanted to get as much bang for my buck so to speak and seem to always overplant. I still want to use my theory of "square inch gardening" and using every single inch I can but this year I have really had it with running out of harvesting room and running into baby snakes everywhere due to the extra rain/wet we have had. They love the deep shade provided by the heavy coverage I now have in the garden with the huge tomato plants, the abundant cucumber vines and the now defunct pea patch. I hope to round up some sturdy bamboo from a neighbor that will allow some light harvesting to make myself some tripods to grow running greenbeans, stake up my sunflowers and to have as misc. uses around the garden home.

This plan also involves in having fewer tomato plants and going to a larger, steak variety and leave the "Jet Star" & "Rutgers" alone. I have not had luck the last two years with these two and will only have the "Beefsteak" & "BetterBoy" varieties I think this next year. Better slicing and they will make fewer maybe per plant but better turnout without having to resort to cutting them up & cooking them down for more sauce in the freezer. I also would like to have some okra next season.

So as you can see I have much to do for next year and I continue even today to do daily maintenance by keeping the tomatoes tied up and keeping the harvest going by picking and freezing as much as I can at this point in time. I also have been sharing with neighbors on the street and they are still enjoying weekly deliveries of fresh vegetables delivered to their doorstep. I send you off to the rest of your week with our garden affirmation: GARDENING: One Yard At A Time!


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Slow Global Warming

The solar return chart is a predictive tool used to assess areas of emphasis, challenges, and opportunities in your life during the year from one birthday to the next.  This chart is calculated for the moment the Earth returns to the same position in its orbit (relative to the equinoxes) that it occupied when you were born.  When someone learns that it's your birthday and they respond with "many happy returns," this phrase refers your solar return.  An accurate time of birth from a documented source is required to calculate a solar return chart.  If you cannot find such a source for your time of birth, see the article "How to Find Your Birth Time."  The solar return chart is examined in the context of ongoing and upcoming influences (called transits) in your birth chart.  However, a fundamental difference between this forecast and the six month forecast or the one year forecast is that a solar return is a static picture of your entire year and does not include any specific time periods during which planetary influences impacting your birth chart are effective.  An interpretation of your solar return chart can be combined with an interpretation of the return chart for Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn (see other planetary returns).

Cost:  the minimum, one-quarter hour appointment is $25, a 30 minute appointment is $50, 45 minutes cost $75, and 60 minutes cost $99.  The fee for an appointment lasting any number of minutes between the above times or more than an hour is calculated at the rate of $1.66 per minute.  For example, if the total time of your session is 37 minutes, the fee is computed by multiplying $1.66 times 37 = $61 (rounded up or down to the nearest U.S. dollar).  See the fee schedule for other incremental appointment lengths from which you can choose.  If you want a recording and you choose a session of less than 45 minutes duration, $5.00 will added to the fee to cover the cost of the tape, padded mailer, and postage.

Good Timing and Location are Keys to Success

Gary Brand, Traditional Astrologer
Tallahassee, Florida

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Monday, February 22, 2010

As most of you know I am a great fan of lore of this game. I will admit I have read every book and know more than my fair share of what goes on in this game. The book that comes out tomorrow "Stormrage" by Richard A. Knaak is one that I have been looking forward to for a long time. It also is going to be one of the major stories of Cataclysm and will get that train moving forward. I know Malfurion's brother Illidan got a lot of press during The Burning Crusade and so deservingly, but his twin brother's story is a very interesting one. What has happened to the Emerald Dream? Is Deathwing behind it? And of course why do people think Malfurion killed Brox? Now if you don't know the story behind Malfurion and Illidan for that matter I recommend reading "The Well of Eternity" trilogy. This is also written by Knaak and it gives you a lot of background not only on the brothers, but Night elves, Brox, Cenarius, Deathwing, and much much more. You will probably be amazed about how much more you now understand.

You can read the prologue at or click here. I'll include below the general story of the book.

When the world of Azeroth was young, the god-like titans brought order to it by reshaping its lands and seas. Throughout their great work, they followed a magnificent design for what they envisioned Azeroth would become. Although the titans departed Azeroth long ago, that design endures to this day. It is known as the Emerald Dream, a lush and savagely primal version of the World of Warcraft.

Many are the mysteries surrounding the Emerald Dream and its reclusive guardians, the green dragonflight. In times past, druids have entered the Dream to monitor the ebb and flow of life on Azeroth in their never-ending quest to maintain the delicate balance of nature.

However, not all dreams are pleasant ones. Recently the Emerald Nightmare, an area of corruption within the Emerald Dream, began growing in size, transforming the Dream into a realm of unimaginable horror. Green dragons have been unexpectedly caught up in the Nightmare, emerging from it with shattered minds and twisted bodies. Druids who have entered the darkening Dream lately have found it difficult -- sometimes even impossible -- to escape.

Nor are these the Nightmare's only victims: more and more people are being affected. Even Malfurion Stormrage, first and foremost of the druids on Azeroth, may have fallen victim to this growing threat. As uncontrollable nightmares spread across the world, a desperate quest begins to find and free the archdruid.

Soon nature's enemies will learn the true meaning of the name... STORMRAGE

I will be picking it up tomorrow will you? Enjoy your last day before reset.

  1. Maybe I will check it out I am getting more interested in the lore lately.

  2. damn i forgot that comes out tomorrow thanks for the reminder!

  3. I had no idea there was a new book coming out.
    I've read the War of the Ancients trilogy and the WarCraft archive books and I thought they were great.
    I'm gonna have to wait a bit and see if I can get it used lol. Sucks being poor >_<


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It sure seems unlikely that David Petraeus, the married director of the C.I.A., would be seducing Taiwanese engineers on Skype in order to cash his, uh, paychecks from the NATO operation in Libya, doesn't it? But try telling that to Liu Shuzhen, who is pretty insistent that she and Petraeus are getting married, any day now.

They met online a few months ago, Shuzhen claims, when Petraeus asked her for some help: He needed her to "to wire him money for fuel expenses and to help him cash some paychecks from the recent campaign that toppled the Col. Muammar Qaddafi of Libya." No biggie! Shuzhen wired him $30,000, and in exchange, he sent her the checks—and a wedding ring, promising he'd marry her "even if it will start World War III."

Of course, when Shuzhen tried to cash the checks she ran into a little bit of trouble with the law. They were forgeries (how surprising!), and she was arrested; police apparently spent hours trying to convince her she was being scammed, but she wasn't having any of it:

"How could a scamming group have so much resources at its disposal?" she asked, adding that the man who claimed to be Petraeus was deliberately misleading the media into believing he was a scammer to keep cross-strait issues calm and "protect their love."

In response to the alleged Petraeus' displeasure at media footage of their Skype conversation on Monday, Liu said on Tuesday that CNN should also interview her about the incident, because that would force him "to come to Taiwan sooner."

Hmm. It's worth noting that others have reported of a Skype-based scam in which someone pretends to be Petraeus:

one Saterday [sic] afternoon while we were talking to the family, a pop up came on asking us to please except [sic], so we did and it was a man impersonating [sic] to be Gen. David Howell Petraeus, well we din't [aw, fuck it] know better so we excepted, he explained that he was stationed in Afghanistan and was looking for friends, well to be honest we are not political people

But, hey, maybe this is actually Petraeus just looking for love and some financial assistance in Taiwan? Probably not, though.

[Taipei Times, China Post; image via AP; hat tip to Nign!]


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Two eighth grade classes at Roseland public school in Windsor were made the butt of an extremely cruel and unusual prank orchestrated by a pair of evil teachers that involved tricking the students into thinking they were going on a field trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.

The prank was so elaborate that it involved a promo video, a PowerPoint presentation, and even travel brochures, hotel information, and a fake permission slip.

A student who inquired about flight costs was told tickets were "super cheap."

The bizarre joke culminated in a Grand Reveal that was captured by one of the teachers on an iPad and shown to another class for shits and giggles.

The heartbroken kids were apparently distraught to the point of tears, and some are still dealing with the shock and humiliation of being told they were going to a bowling alley instead.

"That's bullying, and there should be zero tolerance," said parent Peter Topolovec. "I have a lot of respect for teachers and what they do, but this was really stupid judgment."

The school board agreed, releasing a statement saying the teachers exercised "extremely poor judgment."

But the culprits remains on staff, and the board said it has no plans to investigate the matter further.

"The plan is now, just put it in the past and move on, focus on things that are happening in the classroom," said board spokesman Scott Scatlebury. "The further this goes, it becomes a distraction in the classroom."

The teachers themselves have not spoken to the media about the fake out, but one of them has apparently taken responsibility and apologized to the student.

Scantlebury said the year-end trip to the bowling alley will probably be upgraded to a tour of Niagara Falls.

[screengrabs via CTV, Disney]


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Sunday, November 18, 2007

Is ADHD a Myth???

We're drugging kids for no good reason...

If, say, William Brown, the school-shirking, mischief-prone hero of Richmal Crompton’s Just William stories, were passing through any school system in the English-speaking world today, he would be drugged to the gills. In the decades since Crompton wrote, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – the name coined to describe a variety of unproductive and sometimes disruptive childhood behaviours – has become an American obsession. It is now diagnosed in countries other than the US, and in adults as well as children. It has spurred a market for drug treatments that exceeds $3bn annually in the US and could reach £101m ($207m) a year in the UK by 2012, according to recent projections carried out at the University of Heidelberg. A 10th of American boys, by some estimates, take some kind of anti-ADHD drug. “Since ADHD is only treatable, not curable,” ran one report in Medical Marketing and Media last year, “people take drugs for life, equalling a potential boon for pharmaceutical companies”.

The problem is that there is not a clear definition of what ADHD is. There is no test for it. The symptoms laid out in the mental-health diagnostic manual DSM-IV are vague enough (“often does not follow instructions”, “often loses things” etc.) to invite overdiagnosis. Against this will-o’-the-wisp, doctors have deployed the pharmacological equivalent of a howitzer. Most drugs used against ADHD are strong stimulants, either methylphenidates or amphetamines. They have been abused on US college campuses and carry risks of addiction, hallucinations, heart attacks and strokes. The US Food and Drug Administration has occasionally urged stronger warnings for ADHD drugs and, in 2005, Health Canada briefly suspended sale of the market leader (Adderall XR, made by Shire Pharmaceuticals). In the US, pharmaceutical companies have been faulted for aggressive advertising and lobbying. In the early 1990s, Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis) gave $748,000 to Chadd, a sufferers’ advocacy group that was then campaigning to relax regulation of Ciba-Geigy’s drug Ritalin.

So is ADHD a vital discovery or a popular folly? Andrea Bilbow, founder of the British ADHD charity Addiss, takes the first view. “The minute you raise awareness,” she said earlier this year, “you’re going to see an increase in diagnosis and treatment.” Indeed, the US follows this pattern; richer areas, with more knowledge about medical developments, are often more heavily medicated. But Australia – a country where ADHD medicines have been both widely prescribed and strongly resisted – belies it. In Sydney last year, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that children in rich neighbourhoods were given medication at one 12th the rate of children from poor ones. One in 300 children gets ADHD drugs in the wealthy north versus 1 in 25 in poorer areas.

The sceptics have lately been getting the better of the argument. This summer, a follow-up to the 1999 Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (MTA) – which provides the main evidence for the effectiveness of drug therapy – rescinded a number of the study’s earlier conclusions. Gains from drug treatment evaporate after three years, the follow-up showed, and there is evidence that the drugs stunt children’s growth. William Pelham of the University of Buffalo, one of the researchers involved in the MTA study, said on BBC1’s Panorama on Monday that he now favours behavioural therapies because the familiar drug treatments offer “no beneficial effects – none”.

Anonymous Crazymamma said...

ADD & ADHD is a scapegoat for the female dominated teaching profession. In todays anti-male climate it helps to keep the little guys in check behaviourly with the sweet little girls. Less male teachers to counter balance the estrogen, less phys-ed and intermurals, teachers fear of being seed if any little darlings get hurt, none of those are the problem right?

2:03 PM
Blogger SouthernOntarioan said...

ADD and ADHD are real. If you've ever had to live with people who have these disorders you'd know that for a fact. Medication should only be used as a last resort and as a temporary stop-gap when all else fails.

Whether or not people are misdiagnosed or people are too quick to rush to the pills is another question. But that is true about most problems, people would rather have their doctor proscribe a pill for their cold or flu rather than rest and drink lots of soup. Still, the fact of the matter is that ADD and ADHD are real.

4:39 PM

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Monday, April 5, 2010

Berkshire Stonewall Spring Dance April 17 in Pittsfield

Berkshire Stonewall LGBTQ Spring Dance April 17.

The Berkshire Stonewall Community Coalition will be hosting a spring dance at the Elk's Club in Pittsfield on April 17th, from 8:30pm - 12:30am. It includes a Cash Bar, DJ, and appetizers, as well as a 50/50 raffle.

If you are not yet a member, here's a chance to meet the Berkshire Stonewall community as they kick off our spring membership drive.

The 50/50 raffle will benefit the Live Out Loud Youth Project: youth dance this spring.

While the cost is $5 for members and $10 for non-members you can get FREE ADMISSION if you Join/Renew your membership at the door!

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text:
Colorado prison chief widow won't testify

By: Associated Press
March 3, 2014 Updated: March 3, 2014 at 12:02 pm

DENVER — The widow of Colorado's slain prisons director will not testify about her husband's death during a sentencing hearing for woman who gave his presumed killer the murder weapon.

Lisa Clements was given the opportunity to testify at Monday's hearing in Denver but did not take the stand.

The father of another man allegedly killed by paroled prison gang member Evan Ebel did testify during Stevie Marie Vigil's sentencing hearing.

John Leon is the father of pizza deliveryman Nathan Leon, whom prosecutors say was also killed by Ebel with the same gun. He said the gun shouldn't have been given to an "evil person."

Federal prosecutors say Ebel also used the gun to wound a sheriff's deputy in Texas, where he fled. Ebel was killed in a shootout with Texas authorities.

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Side Streets: Upscale Colorado Springs neighborhood preparing to battle gun range

January 15, 2014 Updated: January 15, 2014 at 11:09 am
photo - Bob Holmes, owner of Whistling Pines Gun Club, has proposed building an approximate 18,000-square-foot indoor shooting range, including a 100-yard-long rifle range, on the 2.5-acre lot in the center of the photo, which looks south from the top of a cliff 250 feet above the sight in the Pinecliff neighborhood. Photo courtesy Gail Morrison.
Bob Holmes, owner of Whistling Pines Gun Club, has proposed building an approximate 18,000-square-foot indoor shooting range, including a 100-yard-long rifle range, on the 2.5-acre lot in the center of the photo, which looks south from the top of a cliff 250 feet above the sight in the Pinecliff neighborhood. Photo courtesy Gail Morrison.

Preparations for war are underway in Pinecliff, a normally serene and secluded, upscale neighborhood in northwest Colorado Springs built atop a ridge known as Popes Bluff.

Armed with sound wave analyses, fears of airborne lead poisoning and, worse, predictions of PTSD-inducing noise from incessant gunfire including perhaps large-caliber machine guns, a small group of neighbors is rallying Pinecliff's 671 homeowners to descend en masse on the Colorado Springs Planning Commission on Thursday.

They hope to persuade the commission to reject an indoor shooting range proposed for construction at the base of Popes Bluff.

But could they be all going off half-cocked, so to speak? Bob Holmes, who wants to build the $3 million-plus shooting range, thinks so.

The commission's agenda includes a request from Holmes, owner of Whistling Pines Gun Club near U.S. 24 and Marksheffel Road, to build a new facility in a light industrial area not far from the Western Forge foundry on the north side of Garden of the Gods Road, just east of Centennial Boulevard.

To be called Whistling Pines West, the club would feature an approximately 18,000-square-foot building, based on plans filed with the Colorado Springs Planning Department. It would be built on a 2.5-acre lot along Douglas Creek that Holmes bought for $245,000 in May 2013, according to El Paso County Assessors records.

A big difference between the east-side facility, which opened in 2006, and the proposed club would be inclusion of a 100-yard-long shooting range big enough to accommodate large-caliber rifles.

The prospect of constant small-arms fire punctuated by the boom of heavy-duty weapons scares residents of Pinecliff, which is bordered by Ute Valley Park, Popes Valley and sits atop the 250-foot-high Popes Bluff outcropping directly overlooking the shooting range site.

"Do not make this a 'gun issue,'?" said Dick Bursell, a neighborhood organizer. "Many objectors are avid gun owners themselves. It really is a home ownership and quality of life issue."

Neighbors have an extreme sense of urgency in their efforts to defeat the gun club after discovering a 1998 law that they say exempts gun clubs from municipal noise ordinances.

"It's what I call the 'Gun Range Sanctuary Protection Act,'?" Bursell said. "Once it's built and in operation, I don't see how the city could press any noise complaints, or enforce their sound or noise ordinances, since they could so easily argue that the sounds are from range's 'normal' operations."

Trouble is, Holmes said, the neighbors are operating on half-truths and misinformation.

Take the notion that 50-caliber BMG - short for Browning Machine Gun - would be fired routinely at the range. Not true, Holmes said.

"The concussion from a 50-caliber BMG is unbearable at an indoor range," Holmes said. "There is never going to be a 50-caliber BMG shot at our range. There will only be hunting rifles."

What about the law protecting indoor shooting ranges from municipal noise ordinances?

"It's not a real fear," Holmes said. "It was written for ranges already in existence before homeowners build their homes. It doesn't apply to us."

Or the idea that lead-filled air will be blown into the neighborhood. Again, untrue, Holmes said, citing a series of air filters to be installed at the range.

"The air going out of the range will be cleaner than the air going in," Holmes said. "And we're not going to charge the city for cleaning its air."

Then there's the fear about incessant noise. Neighbors have attacked a sound wave study commissioned by Holmes that predicts gunfire will not be a problem in Pinecliff. The neighbors have declared it a flawed analysis.

Holmes said his Littleton-based consultant is an unimpeachable expert.

"Chances are, people on that ridge are not going to hear anything," Holmes said, his voice rising in anger and frustration over the neighbors' attacks. "These people are basing all this hysteria on false information."

Neighbors are not comforted by Holmes' pledge to soundproof his building until noise levels don't exceed 45 decibels at the property lines. If he achieves that goal, it would satisfy the city's strictest noise ordinances for residential areas, said Erin McCauley, a city planner who studied the project and recommended it be approved.

Nor do they trust that Holmes added $167,000 to the cost of his building to improve sound-proofing with the addition of what he called "super sound-suppressing doors" and triple-layered sheathing on the roof of the building, ventilation systems pointing south, away from the neighborhood, and more.

"We will not open the facility if we do not meet the 45-decibel criteria," Holmes said. "I will go up to the neighborhood and stand in peoples' front yard with a meter and make sure we are below 45 decibels."

Perhaps resident John Wei best summed up Pinecliff neighbors' fears in an email to me.

"Gunshot noise, no matter what level, is not a noise which is tolerable," Wei said. He noted that of the 16 homes on the street directly above the site, 10 are owned by retirees and nine by military veterans.

He worries even muffled explosions of small and large weapons fired by the club's 2,300 dues-paying members could trigger post-traumatic stress disorder in some of the vets.

"It could resurrect wartime memories," Wei said, describing it as a potential tragedy if these folks can no longer enjoy their retirement years relaxing on their decks and taking in the mountain views their homes enjoy.

"This is a life-changing issue for Pinecliff," Wei said. "If a conditional use is approved for this gun club, a number of Pinecliff residents will be exposed to lifelong repetitive noise. As such, we will most likely be prisoners in our own homes without any recourse."

It will be interesting to see what the commission does with this project at its 8:30 a.m. hearing Thursday.

Funny thing. Before it takes up Whistling Pines, the commission will consider another proposal to build a gun range to be called Majestic Mountain Range on 1.5 acres in an office park near the Colorado Springs Police Department's Falcon substation on Kelly Johnson Boulevard near North Academy Boulevard.

It generated some neighbor questions at a public hearing in December but not the uproar seen in Pinecliff, McCauley said.

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UCH Level I trauma center could save lives

By: The Gazette editorial
August 4, 2013 Updated: August 4, 2013 at 10:25 am
photo - Memorial Hospital Central Saturday, January 28, 2012. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette
Memorial Hospital Central Saturday, January 28, 2012. Photo by Mark Reis, The Gazette

If it saves just one life, we should do it.

So says one of the stupider political cliches of our time. If saving just one life justifies all, regardless of cost, we should outlaw cars, bicycles, swimming pools, airplanes and everything else that kills.

Sometime positive actions, which create and advance society, stand to save one or more lives. That's when we should invoke "if it saves just one life" as a worthy consideration. While banning cars and motorcycles would come at too high a cost for society, we can justify new hospitals, helmets, drugs and other advancements that stand to save one or more lives while creating constructive new jobs and improving the human condition. Unlike prohibitions, healthy achievements promote progress.

So it makes great sense that University of Colorado Health wants Level I trauma status for emergency rooms at Memorial Hospital's operations on 1400 E. Boulder St. and the north facility at 4050 Briargate Parkway. Success in achieving this designation will save many lives over the course of years to come. The Gazette has advocated the pursuit of Level I designation since early talk of University of Colorado Health leasing and operating the city-owned hospital system.

Too often, we're a community that declines to think big. Baby boomers remember when our city was just a small town. Today, it's a city with a metro population approaching 700,000. Memorial's emergency room on Boulder Street is the busiest in the state. It is time to think big.

Today, the Boulder Street location is a Level II facility and the Briargate location has no designation.

"Having a Level I trauma center in our community will save lives," said Dr. Patrick Faricy, Memorial's chief medical officer, as quoted in The Gazette.

Don't take this wrong. Memorial's emergency rooms are already capable of most services provided by Level I facilities, and the hospital seldom has to fly patients to Level I centers in Denver. But no patient fighting for her life in Colorado Springs should ever endure a trip to Denver for slightly more specialized and sophisticated care.

"By offering these expert and specialized trauma care services right here in Colorado Springs, the survival rate of the patients will increase dramatically," Faricy said.

The announcement to seek Level I designation comes one year into a $90 million, three-year improvement project that has already resulted in the hiring of 14 cardiologists, two breast surgeons, two neurosurgeons, two cardiothoracic surgeons, a trauma surgeon and about 75 support staff.

If the hospital is granted Level I status by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, it will meet an increased standard of research and training. A Level I unit presents at least 20 peer-reviewed research articles in a medical journal every three years, meaning medical professionals in the Springs will constantly try to advance modern medicine.

Achieving Level I will take one to three years, but it is well worth the time and effort.

Our city's other great hospital system, Penrose-St. Francis Hospital and Health Services, already ranks among HealthGrades 50 Best Hospitals - meaning it's among the top 1 percent of hospitals in the nation. Competition is a wonderful thing, and we hope Memorial's pursuit of Level I trauma status will lead Penrose-St. Francis to seek a similar designation or make other upgrades that will take medicine in Colorado Springs to an even higher level.

It is time for Colorado Springs to think big and stop acting like the state's second city. Memorial's pursuit of Level I trauma status provides a move in the right direction.

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