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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

AT&T - T-Mobile Final Thoughts

Monday night, AT&T and TMO announced their $39B merger was dead.  The only surprise was that they did it so quickly; as I've written before, there was a real danger that egos would prevail and AT&T would distract itself by fighting a losing battle with the regulators rather than turning its attention to competing with Verizon.

I went on CNBC's Squawk Box Tuesday morning (sorry; no video link) to offer my thoughts on whether AT&T had made a bad bet.  I'll repeat and expand what I said there:  It was a risky bet - which is why TMO, advised by my former counsel at Wachtell, insisted on the mother of all break-up fees.  But it was a bet worth taking.

The good news for AT&T is that they aren't chasing here.  They can now turn to other options, whether it's acquiring DISH, buying spectrum or capacity from Clearwire, or doubling down on a wi-fi offload strategy.  None are ideal, but they've got to play the cards they were dealt.

Another topic that came up in my interview yesterday was whether scuttling this deal was good for consumers.  It's easy to see why it would be; TMO gets to keep playing to the low end, and there should be more price competition.  But that's also a facile and short-sighted point of view.

This timely WSJ article today touches on, at a high level, some of the fundamental economic headwinds that face U.S. wireless carriers.  It's a vast country, and providing the coverage, capacity and data speeds that consumers want is incredibly costly.  Carriers spent $25 billion on their networks last year.  Only AT&T and Verizon got a return on capital.  Think about that, and what it means over time for consumers.  We're paying for marginal price competition today with hobbled companies and under-investment tomorrow.  A cash-losing Sprint or T-Mobile can't innovate, can't bridge the "last mile" or the "digital divide", and will ultimately fail - leaving the monopoly or duopoly DC is so fearful of - if they can't afford to invest capital in their network.

So no, the FCC and DOJ did consumers no favors long-term in preventing this deal.   It's time they updated the tools in their "preserving competition" toolbox for the reality of today's wireless industry.

Monday, December 12, 2011

AT&T & T-Mobile Reaching the Final Act

There was a terrific piece in the Washington Post at the end of last week, detailing AT&T's lobbying strategy and approach to win approval of its $39B acquisition of T-Mobile.  It's well worth a read, detailing as it does the combination of hubris and overreach that may have sunk the deal's chances.

The acquisition was a risky bet to begin with, but one takeaway for would-be acquirers must be this:  If you're going to tout social benefits (in this case, the creation of 100,000 new jobs) in your lobbying efforts, be prepared to back up your claim with the solidest of solid analysis.

Because if you can't, then the rest of your arguments - and make no mistake, AT&T had several good ones re the benefits of this merger - are going to suffer badly by association.  You'll have just handed those opposing your deal the club with which to smash your head in.

And today, AT&T has joined the DOJ in asking for a stay of the antitrust trial it had been so ardently pushing forward.  This no doubt foretells the deal being scuttled or significantly re-arranged.

Here's one vote for the former - I'd much rather see AT&T in full-throated competition with Verizon than distracting itself trying to put together a less-than-optimal deal.


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Monday, April 09, 2012

More Thoughts on the GC Role

Two articles piqued my interest today:  The first, from the Economist, weighs in on the increased sway that GCs have in the world of Sarbanes-Oxley.  The second, from Corporate Counsel Magazine, features an interview with former GE GC Ben Heineman, Jr.  Several observations:

  1. The theme of power shifting to the in-house legal leader, and the need for greater guidance and statesmanship from the GC feels very real to me.  However, in talking with colleagues, recruiters and others dealing with in-house positions, this hasn't set in everywhere.  I continue to see situations where the GC reports to the CFO, for example.
  2. Walking the line between being a partner to the business and its guardian is the trickiest part of the job, and the one where the GC can add the most value.  But it requires knowing the business inside and out, and being willing to take smart risks whenever they are outweighed by opportunity.  This is a two-handed benefit - it makes the GC the partner of the business, and it provides him or her the credibility to take a stand when a business initiative must be shut down or modified.
  3. I'm with Heineman on compliance officers.  As I've pointed out before, I'd be nobody's choice for a compliance officer; I'm not nearly risk-adverse enough.  But the idea of having a compliance officer who DOESN'T report to the GC is a shockingly bad one.  Compliance is an important part of the legal work facing a company, but it's necessarily narrow.  And for too many of those handling the hammer of "compliance", every potential risk can look like a nail.  Far better, then, for the GC - the one executive in the company equipped to sort "compliance" from "bona fide risk worth taking" - to make the final call.

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View our new Student TAP videos by clicking here!

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Sunday, October 30, 2011

New Blog!

Hi friends,
I wanted to share with you that I am very excited to be working on creating a totally new and different blog. I will share a link to my new blog on this blog real soon. Stay tuned.....

Happy decorating & living,

Friday, October 28, 2011

White Rooms

Hi friends,
Could you go for a mostly white room? If you could, what other colors would you use as accent colors? Would you prefer your white room to be comfy and natural, glamorous and sparkly, or minimal and clean?

Are you inspired by any of these white rooms?

I think I am most drawn to a white kitchen. There's something really appealing, clean, and smart looking about a white kitchen. What do you think?

I also LOVE white linens. I see fresh clean soft white linens on a bed and I want to dive in and never get out!

Does white work for you?

Happy decorating & living,

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Spicing it Up with Lights!

Hi friends,
Clients and friends often ask me tips about how to spice up their homes without spending too much money or time. I'd say two relatively quick, high impact, low cost ways to spice up a room or two in your home:

1. New pillows
2. Paint color

But, let's talk about lights today. Sometimes we (I put myself in this category as well) get stuck in "light ruts" where we put a lamp or light fixture in a room and we never consider changing it. The lamp stays there for years and years and years.........Is this true for you? I am now giving you permission to consider spicing up a lamp or light fixture or two in your home. Take a few minutes and walk around your home and consider your lighting options.

I think we underestimate the power of lighting in decorating. I find when I visit client's homes that often one of the biggest opportunities to change their rooms is to change their lighting options. The two mistakes I see centered about lighting are:

1. Too few lights in a room/ too dim
2. Too harsh lights/ no ambivance

It's all about balance. How does the light in your room work for you in daytime? Nighttime? When you have a few friends or family over? When you have a formal dinner or party?

Lighting can make a huge impact on the rooms in your home. You can have fun by spicing up a room by changing out a lamp shade or two or replacing a lamp. You can add color, form, and texture to a room with your lighting choice. I am so happy that you have a lot of lighting options to meet you at your price point. Many stores have great lighting choices for various budgets: Walmart, Target, KMart, Pier One, World Market, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrell, and so many more.

Here are some lighting trends right now that I think are fun and inspiring:

Pops of color-

Very natural/ organic-

Fun with shades-

Fun with form-

I found myself in a "light rut" and walked around my home to take a light inventory. I made some very inexpensive changes now and have plans for some others in the near future.

Here are some lighting "before" and "after" pictures from my home.

My Guest Room Before:

My Guest Room After:

My Living Room Before:

My Living Room After:

My Office Before:

My Office "in progress" (it doesn't work! too small!):

My Office After (plans, not purchased from Ikea yet):

My Kitchen Before:

My Kitchen After:

Still Want To Add a Pendant Light or 2 to this Space in Our Kitchen Over Our Bar:

My biggest lighting tip ever besides spicing up a lamp shade or base or two in your home is this......DIMMERS!

Consider putting all of the lights in your home on dimmers. They are super cheap to purchase at your local Lowes or Home Depot. Having lights on dimmers give you power! Power to control your lighting options. Go for it! You won't be sorry that you did it. You'll love it! We have all of our lights on dimmers from our kitchen, to our family room, to our bathroom, everywhere!!!!

You can really show your personality and style through your lighting choices. Have fun! Hope you are inspired today.

The lights in these rooms really inspire me. How about you?

Happy decorating & living,


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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Almost A Year in Review

Hi friends,
Thanks for joining me today. How is your week going? I've been getting ready for a business trip that I have coming up next week: working on powerpoints, getting copies made of handouts, getting the Brew Crew household in order so I can leave, planning my outfits for my trip (this is important stuff here friends!), and normal life (driving kids to and from school, going on my walks, laundry, taking care of pets, normal household stuff, blah blah blah...).

I'm starting to get in the reflection mood. We have lived in our new house in North Carolina now for almost a year (we moved mid-April last year).

I felt in the mood to reflect on what we've done so far and what we have left to do. I love making lists!

What we have done:
  • Replaced eat-in kitchen light

  • Replaced my  home office light (supposed to be dining room)

  • Replaced living room light

  • Painted master bedroom

  • Painted master bathroom

Okay, it seems like I have an obsession about light fixtures (it's true) and my husband likes to paint (also true).

Stop back by my blog tomorrow and I'll share with you my ideas of what I want to work on next.

Thanks again for joining me today. I hope you are doing well and having a good week.
Happy decorating & living,

Monday, February 27, 2012

The beach is calling.....

Hi friends,
How are you this week? Did you watch the Oscars? What did you think? I have to admit I only saw four of the movies nonimated for anything (Bridesmaids, The Muppets, Rio, and The Help). How about you? How many of the films did you see? Which ones did you like?

I have to share with you that I broke down and pulled the Easter decorations out of the attic yesterday. The Easter tree is up with it's ornaments on it. The bunnies, eggs, wreath, Easter children's books, and other springtime decor is around the Brewer household. How about you? Do you have special decorations that you put out for Easter?

We've been thinking a lot about the beach lately in our household. Honestly, one of the major bonuses for us moving from Northern Virginia to North Carolina (it's about a 4 1/2 hour car ride) is that we can now travel to beach in half the time that it used to take us. Now, the idea of jumping in the car on a Friday afternoon and heading to the shore for the weekend is very doable. And we're going to do it a lot! My husband and I have pulled out our calendars for the next couple of months and marked off some time for the beach.

I love going to the beach!!!! I am very fortunate that I've been able to go to the beach just about every year of my life, usually a couple of times a year. My family has always chosen to go to the beach over other vacations. That might explain why I didn't make it to Disney World until I was in my thirties!

Here is what I love to do at the beach:

  • take long walks or runs on the beach or on the bike paths or through the neighborhoods
  • hang out in the beach house and play games, cards, or do puzzles
  • read on the beach
  • nap in the afternoon
  • go out on the beach at night with flashlights looking for crabs
  • go out for ice cream
  • cook together
  • fly kites
  • watch the kids play in the sand digging big holes, building sand castles, or jumping in the waves
  • eating some yummy seafood
  • taking outside showers
  • watching the coastline for dolphins
  • smelling the warm, salty air
  • hearing the seagulls and pelicans
  • feeling the warmth of the sun
  • putt putt
How about you? Do you like to go to the beach? If so, what are some of the things that you like to do there?

Here are some beach images to remind us that we can hold on a little longer, spring is just around the corner......the beach is calling.

Happy decorating & living,

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Trying to Hold Off Easter

Hi friends,
How was your weekend?

I am trying to hold off decorating for Easter. Every holiday I decorate our house entirely too early and then by the actual holiday I am sick and tired of the decorations. I am trying to learn to be patient. This is a skill that I do NOT have. I am trying to learn this lesson. And I believe Easter is really the last holiday that I have any decorations for until Halloween (unless you count a flag or two for July 4th). We do have all of our birthdays during the down time so we'll have some type of decorations in our home this spring and summer (balloons, streamers, etc.).

Easter is such a special time. My spirit comes alive with the warmer days filled with sunshine and warm breezes. I love all of the flowers that are popping up everywhere. We love going to the beach in the springtime to fly kites and build sandcastles (no playing in the water yet, it's still too cold). I actually thought my son was going to be born on Easter. My water broke late on a Saturday night (around 2am) four years ago on Easter. Unfortunately, my labor stopped shortly after we arrived at the hospital and since my son was 4 weeks early the doctors would not help me along so I had to hang out at the hospital for two more days until they decided yes, they'd give me some drugs to help me along. So my hopes of having an Easter baby were shot. Yes, it is a myth, you do not have to have a baby immediately after your water breaks. Of course, they will not let you go home so you have to hang out at the hospital. I hope that I didn't just share too much information with you!

Since I'm holding off on decorating for Easter yet I thought I'd appease myself by sharing some Easter inspired images:

My daughter on her first Easter:

I can't believe I am sharing with you this picture of myself- I am as big as a whale here- I think my son was born right after this picture. This was my daughter's second Easter (back in Virginia):

Getting ready for our little Buddy to arrive in his new room 4 years ago:

Here are my babies today:

Happy decorating & living,


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Monday, February 22, 2010

I think everyone knows that flossing your teeth is a good thing. But, just in case you hate to floss because you don't like the taste of the mint flavor on most floss is no reason to not floss.

Now you can have all sorts of flavors to pick from.

Like the yummy fruit flavor of the grape floss as shown above.

Or, how about a little breakfast on the go? You can now floss with waffle or coffee flavor floss. So, if you didn't have time to eat, well, your taste buds don't need to know that.

There is always Ranch flavor if you feel like something more like a dip or salad taste.

For you bacon lovers, you can now enjoy the taste all day long without the calories.

You can now actually have your cake and eat it too. Well, more like your cupcake and eat it too. With cupcake flavor floss! YUM!

If you just can't enough of your greens, then maybe, you would like to go for the cool and fresh flavor of lettuce/salad floss.

Oh, I wonder if Sandra Lee, who loves her "cocktails" so much, would enjoy Absinthe flavored floss?

What? You don't want to give up your mint flavored floss? Yet, you still would like to enjoy the fun new flavors?

Never fear! You can now get flavored toothpicks. Like Maple flavor.

No need to pick away your your nice pancake breakfast only to lose the taste in your mouth. Now you can get the left overs out of your teeth but still taste that nice maple flavor.

I have to admit, I have had cinnamon flavored toothpicks before. They were pretty good too.

So, if you like a bit of heat then try the Fire Picks.

Again, you meat lovers can rejoice! Not only can you floss with the taste of Bacon but you can get that same fried pork flavor in your toothpicks.

Do you think these are OK for vegetarians and vegans?

Feeling hungry for something a bit sweet? No carnivals or fairs around? That's OK, go for the Cotton Candy toothpicks.

So, what do you think? Are you sold on these new flavors?

I do think the little toothpick tins are darling. I think these could make fun little favors to hand out.

But, I think, I'll stick with mint floss and regular old toothpicks.

Tales From My Empty Nest said...

I'm with you, I'll stick with the mint floss. Bacon doesn't thrill me. LOL! Love & blessings from NC!

Kim said...

Oh my gosh, these are REALLY funny! Where did you find them?

Kathleen said...

I have tasted the mint toothpicks and mint floss, but never heard of the others. Too funny!


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Cop Arrested for Using Police PC to Post ‘Bestiality’ Video Of Himself Raping Small Dog

Houston, TX — Harris County Sheriff’s deputy Andrew C. Sustaita Jr. is due in court this week to face some truly disturbing charges. The six-year veteran of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office is accused of raping a small dog, taking the video, and then posting the video online with a police department computer. So far, the only crime that Sustaita is charged with is obscenity, a felony. However, it is possible that he will receive more charges after appearing in court.

Surprisingly, Sustaita was fired immediately after the arrest, so the evidence against him must be substantial. Otherwise, the department would have delayed his termination.

The Sheriff’s Office High Tech Crime Unit was tipped off that video of a man raping a small dog was posted from a police department account. Eventually, Sustaita was named as the suspect, but the Harris County Sheriff’s Office has refused to release any details or comment further on the case.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez had only this to say on behalf of the department:

“The possession of obscene and illicit material is made even more troubling when a Sheriff’s Office employee is found to be involved. Every resource of this office will be dedicated to protecting the public and holding our employees accountable for wrongdoing.”

The deputy comes from a law enforcement family, and they say they are waiting for more information. His father says he is devastated to hear this allegation, and that his son is a hard worker and he is reacting like any father would.

Despite the heinous crime of which he is allegedly responsible, many mainstream media sources felt the need to mention that they interviewed one of his friends who told them that he was “an honorable and committed family man.”

Would a news source ever consider printing such a thing about a person filming themselves having sex with a dog if the suspect did not work for the government in the capacity of a police officer?

When cops kill innocent people, local news stations, with the help of police, are quick to dredge up whatever mistakes they’ve made in the past to assassinate that person’s character in an attempt to downplay the killing. The glaring difference is insulting, to say the least.

Oddly enough, this is not an isolated incident. Robert Melia Jr. was sworn to protect and serve, but a Burlington County jury found he abandoned that oath when he and his former girlfriend filmed themselves repeatedly molesting teenagers. During the investigation, it was discovered that Melia had also filmed himself having sex with multiple cows.

By: John Vibes  From: The Free Thought Project
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Monday, January 17, 2005

WARNING: Nerding out

OK, I've been dreaming for a while about building a new desktop system. My current desktop system is feeling a little bit creaky... 500 MHz ain't what it used to be. However, my budget doesn't look like it'll have room for upgrades any time soon, and I'd rather do one big project than a bunch of incremental upgrades.

It occurred to me that I should post my ideas here, see what others think about them. I'm a "do-it-yourself"-er when it comes to computers, so here's my parts shopping list:
  • CPU: Probably an AMD Athlon 64, socket 939. Performance rating will most likely depend on when I buy it - right now, the 3200+ feels like the right price/performance ratio for me.
  • Motherboard: Socket 939 (obviously), PCI Express, on-board SATA is a must, and RAID would be a big plus, USB 2.0 and Firewire. Not sure about chipsets, but the new NForce4 chipset is getting good reviews, and the SLI option for video cards is intriguing to say the least. The ASUS A8N-SLI is my current candidate, but the Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI looks promising as well.
  • Video: depends on the motherboard. I've been an Nvidia fan for a while, but the newer ATI PCI-E boards are pretty cool. Of course, if I go for an SLI capable motherboard, that pretty much puts me back in the Nvidia camp. No favorites as of yet. Dual monitor output would be nice, as would DVI. As for the monitor, not sure if I'll be able to afford to make the jump to LCD - especially since I'm a hi-res junkie, and LCDs that have a native resolution of 1600x1200 or higher are a serious jump in price from the normal 1280x1024 units.
  • Audio: No on-board audio for me, no sir. I was about to say that my candidate is the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro (who the heck comes up with these stupid long names anyhow?), but then I saw the Audigy 4 Pro on - guess it'll come down to whichever is cheapest. Really looking for good digital inputs and full-size MIDI connectors for my music-making - the fact that it'll make games sound really cool is simply a bonus. Speaker-wise, probably a simple 5.1 system without too many bells and whistles - anything less feels like a waste of the Audigy's capabilities, but not sure I can justify anything fancier.
  • Chassis: OK, here's where I have a tendency to go a little bit nuts. I'm torn between something solid with a little bit of flash, like the Coolermaster Wavemaster or a Silverstone Temjin series, and something that's just plain outrageous, like the ASUS Vento or a Aerocool JetMaster. Whatever the choice, I'm going to try to make it as quiet as possible, with a quiet CPU cooler, larger intake/exhaust fans (larger fans == slower RPM for same airflow == less noise) and a quiet power supply.
  • Memory/Storage: minimum 1 GB of RAM, and a big SATA hard drive (or multiple drives, if the motherboard supports RAID). DVD burner will most likely be there as well. The eternal question of backup rears its ugly head here - do I invest in some sort of tape system, or do I rely on backing up essential data occasionally on one or more DVDs? Probably a tape system will be too pricey for my budget, and probably a bit of overkill.
  • Operating system: Most likely at least dual-boot - XP Pro and some Linux distro at a minimum, maybe a few different distros to choose from, and if I'm feeling really crazy (and have the hard drive space to spare) a BSD or two and BeOS.
I have a feeling that I'm going to spend more on the chassis and related components than I will on any other single component... well, maybe not - that Audigy isn't exactly cheap, and the video card probably won't be an entry-level model either... who am I kidding, I've got expensive taste when it comes to computers.

This would become my primary system - the old system would be repurposed (Linux server maybe), and the laptop would be for Kristen and the kids. Although, I am seriously tempted by the new Mac Mini - but I'm not ready to make the switch yet, it would be a co-existence with my current systems.

And then reality hits me over the head - I've got three kids and one more on the way, a mortgage, minivan payments... when the heck am I going to be able to afford to do any of this, and when will I find time to actually use it? Oh well, it's nice to dream...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The SATA drives in RAID configuration have made a huge difference on my machine... I only went from a 1.8 ghz to a 2.4 but my home machine feels as fast as my 3 ghz work monster. Even with half the RAM.

I should really load something graphics heavy at work to do a comparison.

DOOM3 at work... hmmmm... no... WAY to freaky.


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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Pita the Elf

We had a great Thanksgiving and spent the day at Papaw's house with friends and family! I absolutely love this time of year, the cooler weather, being with family, the decor...everything. With 4 two year olds who are starting to understand a little of what Christmas is all about, the magic is in the air!

Many of you, I'm sure, are familiar with the Elf on the Shelf. I just heard about it last year but apparently this little tradition has been around for years. In case you're like me and out of the loop, let me fill you in. The Elf on the Shelf comes to your house at Christmas time and watches your children during the day. Each night your elf flies back to the North Pole to report to Santa Claus, letting him know if the child was on their good behavior or not. He returns each morning and can be found sitting in a new place to keep an eye out for another day. After learning about the little guy, I knew we eventually would have to get one. Having forgotten about it since last Christmas, I went to my Mom's house a few weeks ago and there it sat... a fancy white box that contained our very own Elf on the Shelf!

We put up our Christmas tree a few days ago (yes, before Thanksgiving) and today I introduced the quads to the elf who would be visiting us daily until Christmas. They all sat and gazed with excitement as I opened up the special box this morning and they all yelled "SANTA CWAUS!!!" when they saw the little elf sitting inside. I explained to them he was an elf from the North Pole, Santa's helper, and told them he was here to see if they're being good or bad and how he would report to Santa each night. At two years old they don't really grasp the whole idea but the wheels are slowly turning! I told them we needed to name the elf and Brody's first response was "Christmas Light". Kylee came up with "Pita"....sorry Brody I think we're going with Pita.

Pita also came with a book, explaining just what he does for Santa and reminding the kids to be good rather than naughty! Find out more about the Elf on the Shelf by clicking here! Click here to see Santa's elves in training camp!We'll keep you posted on our new pal Pita!

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Thursday, 29 May 2008

Getting more things done

I used to think I was quite an organized person.

But I still struggle to handle all the paperwork, answer all the e-mails, talk to all the people and plan the events and do all the other things I feel God is calling me to do.

Recently I've read a couple of great books on managing time: Getting Things Done by David Allen and Do it Tomorrow by Mark Forster. The former is the June 'Book of the month'; click here to read the review. The latter will be featured in a couple of months' time.

As a result of reading and pondering these, I now have a new system for dealing with all the 'stuff' which I have to process. Do it tomorrow is not about putting things off, but making a list each day of the tasks for the following day, and not adding those little 'urgent' things which crop up, or following the interesting web links... all the other things which seep away at my time.

I had a tidying-up blitz - that was a good thing, too; and I have better systems for collecting what I have to do, and organing priorities and tasks.

I commend the idea of having a sort out and learning new skills in this area every so often. Why not allocate a day over the summer when you get sorted and set up for the future? For me, this is already reaping rewards.

Friday, 16 May 2008

Men and women in ministry

I've just listened to a great message by John Ortberg on the subject of women in ministry.

I'm always on the look-out for good resources on this subject, and this is certainly one. Ortberg explores women in the Bible, the so-called 'difficult passages' and how to come to a conclusion on the question of women's ministry. I was amazed at how much material he covers in this talk, and as one might expect, it's communicated in a lively way.

It's great that Willow Creek, which influence many leaders, should have produced such an excellent summary of what I would call the egalitarian 'biblical equality' position.

The message CD can be obtained from Willow Creek UK.

Women in Willow
Willow Creek has also recently launched Women in Willow.

I have to admit that when I see the words 'wife of a leader' alongside 'woman leader', I'm immediately anxious, and it remains to be seen whether this resource is helpful for women leaders. If I could go to the Leadership Summit, I would; I don't want a 'women's' alternative set of teaching. But if this group helps women struggle with the additional challenges women leaders face, I'm all for it.

While on the subject of Ortberg's message, New Wine South A (and B), 2007 had a similarly excellent session on 'Women in Leadership' by Anne and John Coles, which is available on CD. This can be purchased through the New Wine site .

Thursday, 15 May 2008

Not for Sale Sunday

Sunday 18 May is Not for Sale Sunday.

Not for Sale Sunday, which aims to inspire and inform churches to help reduce sex trafficking in the UK is organized by CHASTE (Churches Alert to Sex Trafficking across Europe).

Just adding one prayer to the intercessions at your church on Sunday would be heard by God and would help to bring this cause to people's attention. See

I particularly liked the Josephine Butler Citation:

'Remember them that are in bonds, as being bound with them. Even if we lack the sympathy which makes us feel the chains which bind our enslaved sisters are pressing on us also, we cannot escape the fact that we are one womanhood; we cannot be wholly and truly free.'

In the nineteenth century, Josephine Butler (1828-1907) made herself thoroughly unpopular in the Anglican church by campaigning tirelessly to repeal the Contagious Diseases Act and prevent organized prostitution. She believed that God cared about the suffering of women and was determined to do something about it, supported by her clergyman husband and the rest of her family.

For more information about Josephine Butler, click here.

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Even more numbers

I've just been reading about the numbers of women in appointments in the gift of the Crown.

WATCH (Women and the Church: see has recently circulated an excerpt from the Commons 'Oral Answers to Qustions' on 8th May concerning the view of the House on women bishops. Robert Key, MP for Salisbury, asked a couple of questions of Stuart Bell, the Second Church Estates Commissioner.

In response, Stuart Bell said: 'There are approximately 650 parochial appointments in the gift of the Crown, of which patronage for around 450 is exercised on the Crown's behalf by the Lord Chancellor. In some cases, the patronage right is shared in turn with other patrons of the benefice. 103 of those appointments are held by women.'

It's interesting to compare this with the figures I quoted in a previous post, for CPAS patronage churches. I find these figures slightly ambigous: does he mean 103 women out of 450, or of 650? Assuming the former, that means that 22% of these appointement are held by women, as compared with 10.5% of CPAS patronage posts. (If he means the 650, that is about 16%.)

I wonder what accounts for this higher percentage in the case of Crown appointments...?

And Stuart Bell's final comment: 'This House - in its majority, I think - supports women bishops and we urge the Church in this case to make haste less slowly.'

Thursday, 8 May 2008

Numbers: a small correction

It's been pointed out that my post of 24 April ('Good news about numbers') contained a small error.

The number of churches where CPAS is involved in the patronage is 514, not 540.

But the good news is that this means that 54 women incumbents is 10.5% of this number, rather than 10% - even better news!

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

Mentoring Leaders

There's a new book review on the Women in Leadership area of the CPAS website.

To read the review, click here.

There's a wealth of wisdom on leadership and mentoring in this book, so it's worth looking at the review to decide if it's for you.

Originally published in the USA in 2005, it may not be stocked in in all UK Christian bookshops. However, it should be readily available to order - at your local bookshop or through internet sites.


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Friday, December 21, 2012

2012 T2W Results

T2W Book closed for the year 2012 with final results as:
Win Ratio 72.73% (8 out of 11 trades)
Nett Returns 92%
Maximum Drawdown of the year 1%

FCPO T2W System is a Trend Following trading system for Malaysia's Crude Palm Oil Futures (FCPO). Please visit my FB Page at

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Sunday, February 28, 2010

Before And After

Before . . .

While looking at some old prints of my layout the other week, I came across this photo of the penninsula when it was just benchwork. As you can see, I used good old L-girder benchwork, with 2 by 4s in the middle to help hold up the middle and upper levels.

Below find a photo of what it looks like today.

Friday, February 26, 2010

I was going through some old prints the other day and came across this photo of an "oops!" It was taken in Flaxton, North Dakota in 2003. The GP 35 belongs to the Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western (DMVW), which operates in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. The unit was still running when I took the photo, but no crew members were around; a railroader told me later that, in all likelihood, they had gone to a nearby restaurant to wait for the re-rail crew to show up.

Just goes to show that it's not only model railroaders who experience derailments now and then.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Land Of Nod

The nod-under on the M & M Sub. The swinging gate
for the lower level is open.

In the Bible, the land of Nod is the place where Cain was exiled after murdering his brother Abel. In popular use, the Land of Nod is a place of sleep, as in to “nod off.” It’s also used as a way to describe agreement, as in nodding your head to say yes.

For the CP Rail M & M Sub., it refers to the way visitors nod their heads to get into the layout room.

My first layout, the CP Rail Grimm Valley Subdivision, was a traditional around the walls, or donut style, layout. Entry was gained to the donut “hole” by crawling about three feet underneath the benchwork.

Suffice to say, it was no fun, not to mention undignified, and I think I still have the scars on my back from coming up too early.

As a result, I was determined not to have any duckunders in my new layout. But a nod-under? That would be OK.

The lower level, with the swinging gate closed.

The upper level is about 62 inches high at the entrance to the layout room (157 centimetres for us Canadians). For all but the tallest adults, it means that people only need to nod their heads to enter the room.

That said, when visitors come over I put a paper sign on the nod-under that says "Duck!" It hangs an inch or two below the bottom of the upper level so that people can feel the paper if they don't nod far enough, or come up too early on the other side.

The lower level is about 43 inches high (109 centimetres); only a limbo dancer could get under that! For this reason, I built a swinging gate so people can get in and out of the room unimpeded.

Originally, it was just going to be a piece of 2 by 4 with track on it. But then a friend offered me a fabulous bridge, so I dropped the 2 by 4 about four inches and redesigned the gate to represent a river.

A simple bolt holds the gate in place, and joiners are slipped over the tracks to align them on the far (non-swinging) end.

On the swinging end, they simply line up with the track on the benchwork. Wires carry electricity to the tracks on the bridge.

Why a swinging bridge and not a lift-out? The main challenge with a lift-out is that, after you lift it out, you have to put it someplace. The swinging bridge simply swings out of the way and stays there.

(A drop-down or lift-up bridge would do the same thing; in fact, I use a drop-down bridge across the door to the storage room.)

If you come to see the M & M Sub., it's OK with me if you nod-off. In fact, I prefer it to banging your noggin' on the upper level benchwork!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Hobbies And Work

GP38-2 #3021 switches a scratchbuilt
wood grain elevator at Turney.

A Canadian model railroad manufacturer is looking for a "full-time train guy" to work in customer service. The job entails dealing with customers, fixing trains and traveling to train shows. For a model railroader, it sounds like a dream job—get paid for doing your hobby!

Or maybe not. At least, that was my experience. Back in the 1990s I scratchbuilt a couple of wooden grain elevators for my layout. Later, I made one for a friend as a gift. Some local model railroaders who saw them asked me to make some for them--for money. So did a local hobby shop. Foolishly, I agreed.

Why was it foolish? Until that point, making grain elevators was fun. It was something I did in my leisure time. It was a way to relax. There were no deadlines; it would be done when it was done.

But now it became a job. And, like any job, it had deadlines. The people who ordered them were not just my friends; they were now my customers. And customers want to know: "When will my elevator be done?" The pressure was on.

I started making grain elevators as a way to escape the pressures of life—not add to them. But now, instead of looking forward to building the structures, I dreaded and resented it: It was one more thing that had to be done this week or that night.

After filling my contracts, I vowed to never again make anything model railroad-related for friends for money. Help someone with their layout? Absolutely. Build a structure as a gift? You bet. But do it for cash? No way.

Some people manage the transition from hobby to work successfully; all the power to them, I say. But, for me, hobbies and work don’t mix, and I intend to keep it that way.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Photo Gallery Created on Flickr

Photos of the CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Subdivision are scattered throughout this blog. But now I've collected a bunch in just one place on Flickr. Click here to see the photos.

Click here for an index of blog postings.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Layout Height, or Remember When You Were a Kid?

An eye-level view of a train entering Ritchie on
the upper level of the M & M Sub.

Did you have trains when you were a kid? If you did, they might have been set up on the floor, as mine were. If you were like me, you probably got down flat on your stomach on the floor more than once to get a railfan’s eye view of your trains.

Even though we are are grown up now, we still like to get that view from time to time--the traditional helicopter view of a layout is fine, but sometimes you just want to get down to their level and pretend you are really part of the scene.

Since the M & M Sub. is a double-deck layout, I can get that view every time I run trains--on the upper level. The upper level varies in height, with about half of it at 62 ½ inches (or about chin height for me), to 65 ½ inches, or just a bit above my eye-level.

What I see when I view the action just outside
of Nance.

For shorter visitors, this does pose a problem; I have a couple stools in the layout room for just that reason.

Of the two heights, I think 62 ½ inches, or about chin-high on me, is best. The town of Ritchie is three inches higher in order to elevate the upper staging yard above the track re-entering the layout room.

(Arriving at a layout height for an upper level is an interesting challenge. It involves decisions about the height of the lower level, the space between levels and the most workable height for the upper level—each one affects the others. In my case, I didn't want the lower level to be too low, and I also needed to provide enough space underneath it for family storage. Subsequently, I built it 43 inches off the floor. I also wanted a good amount of separation between levels; on the M & M Sub. it varies from 19 ½ inches to 21 ½ inches.)

The photos below provide examples of the upper level views—and how high they are relative to myself (at 5 ’10).

A view of Ritchie; that's Nance across the room.

A view of the scene just south of Nance.

Before anyone asks (again), am I worried about trains falling off the layout from that height and being smashed to pieces on the ground? Maybe I should, but no. It has never happened, or come close to happening. It is possible that a stray elbow could knock something off, but that's never happened, either. (Any work or switching at that location is done with the aid of a stool.)
Click here for an index of blog postings.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

A Tribute to Stafford Swain

A scene on Stafford Swain's CNR Whiteshell

If you are a Canadian model railroader, or if you appreciate accurate and prototypical models of rolling stock or locomotives, one person you need to thank is Stafford Swain.

Swain, a Master Model Railroader from my hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was foremost among those who set the bar high when it came to fidelity in model railroading. His attention to detail was not limited to trains, however; he brought the same high standards to buildings, trackwork and scenery on his transistion-era HO scale CNR Whiteshell Subdivision.

Best of all, Stafford loved to share what he discovered; over the past 35 years or so he published over 80 articles in every major model railroad magazine.

Due to ill health, Stafford will move this summer into a condo. This means that his legendary layout will also be taken down. I was privileged to be able to visit him in January for an article in an upcoming issue of Canadian Railway Modeller. The issue should be out sometime in March; look for it in your local hobby shop, or subscribe today.

Stafford's layout will be on display one final time May 28-30 at Steam On The Prairies, the NMRA Thousand Lakes Region convention here in Winnipeg. If you want a chance to see a legendary layout, and meet a living legend, register today!

Click here for an index of blog postings.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

New Index For The CP Rail M & M Sub. Blog

I like Blogger, but one thing it lacks is the ability to include an index (as far as I can tell, at least). So I made one of my own; Click here to find it on the Welcome & Index page; you can also use the link in the About Me section of the blog.

The topics in the Index are arranged by The Layout, Tips & Tricks, Railfanning & The Prototype, Other Layouts and General Ruminations & Reflections (a catch-all).

Monday, February 8, 2010

Helper Action on the CP Rail M & M Sub.

GP38-2 #3036 pushes hard to get that train
up the grade.

Helpers are never needed on the CP Rail M & M Sub. The old guys know just how much a normal consist of two units can pull. But then management sent a too-heavy train west. The old guys said it wouldn't work, but did they listen? The result: A helper had to be added at Fort Frances.

When I heard the news, I grabbed my camera and headed out. Bonus: #5447, the ugliest unit on the roster, was in the consist!

View the video at

A no-music version is at

Friday, February 5, 2010

The More Things Change . . .

Cover of the 1954 20th anniversary
issue of Model Railroader
. . . the more they stay the same. I was idly flipping through the 20th anniversary issue of Model Railroader the other day (published in 1954). In an article celebrating the advances in the hobby, it was noted that "the big story in model railroad marketing in the past 20 years is the growth and expansion of the local hobby shop."

"In the early years," the article continued, "almost all hobbyists had to rely on mail order buying. Now almost all of us are a few minutes or a few miles of a hobby shop."

Skip ahead 56 years and it's back to the future; today many model railroaders use the Internet for their supplies, and the local hobby shop is becoming a thing of the past.

The same article noted the growing number of ready-to-run and pre-fab items and wondered if they had "gone too far . . . was the ready-to-use equipment and the too-easy kit harming or helping the hobby?"

Like Yogi Berra famously stated: "It's déjà vu all over again."

Thursday, February 4, 2010

A Regular Layout By A Regular Modeller

A regular train crosses a regular bridge over a
regular river on the CP Rail M & M Sub.
After I posted a note on a forum about my layout being featured in the December issue of Railroad Model Craftsman, someone wrote: "Excellent article and some nice modeling too. I'm glad to see RMC do some articles on ‘regular guy’ layouts.”

“Regular guy . . .” That phrase is interesting—and true. When it comes to life and model railroading, I think I’m about as regular as they come.

For starters, I’m not rich. I do have a fair-size layout and collection of locomotives, rolling stock and accessories, but none of it was bought all at once. It was carefully and frugally obtained over a period of 22 years; much of it was purchased used at flea markets or private sales. (The original ready-to-run.)

I’m also not particularly skilled, especially when it comes to carpentry or wiring. I just followed how-to books, and solicited the advice of friends. If the layout works at all, it’s through trial and error (lots and lots of errors).

The layout itself is pretty regular, too. For one thing, it’s DC (Dinosaur Control). For another, most of my locomotives are Athearn Blue Box. Rolling stock is regular, too; only about a third of my cars have metal wheels, and I happily run cars made by Athearn Blue Box, MDC, Tyco and LifeLike alongside cars made by InterMountain, Atlas, Proto 1000 and Walthers.

My track is all Atlas Code 100. None of the switches on the visible portion of the layout are electfied. I use Caboose switch throws or homemade springs to hold the switches in place. (Read about how I make and use them at

When it comes to operation, once again, nothing fancy. I use conventional cab control and blocks; rotary switches affixed to two panels (mainline dispatcher and yardmaster) are used to direct power.

None of my locomotives are superdetailed, although I have lightly “Canadianized” a few by moving the headlights to the nose and the bell to above the cab windows. Ditto for rolling stock: No contest quality items here!

The "water" on the layout? Paint, covered with gloss medium. Nothing special..

I am kind of proud of my scenery, but it's pretty basic, too—no elaborate or highly-detailed town or city scenes. I stuck with mostly rural scenery, since that is what I thought I could pull off most convincingly.

In other words, the CP Rail Manitoba & Minnesota Subdivision is a regular layout built by a regular modeler using regular skills with a regular amount of dollars. Or, as I like to tell others, the CP Rail M & M Sub. proves that if I can build a layout, anyone can.


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WARC-Truncated: length

text:
CR architecture + design

Hebrew Union College, Jewish
Institute of Religion

The Highlights

Project Type: Higher Education

Location: Cincinnati, OH

Size: 24,000- sf

Services Used:

Design Build
Interior Architecture

Higher Ed

2005 Outstanding Post-Secondary Design, American School and University Architectural Portfolio

Creating a new presence for the University

CR served as Architect of Record on this design/build project. The renovation/addition helps create a new presence for the University along one of Cincinnati's prominent avenues. The sculptural qualities and relationship of the massing and materials respect the historic campus while making the transition from the traditional to the contemporary to convey the University's vision for the future. The project features galleries for display of archived exhibits, a sophisticated distance learning lecture hall with seating for 75, multi-functional seminar rooms, administrative offices, and a new main entry. The gallery spaces and lecture hall provide new education and outreach opportunities to share the documents and stories contained within the American Jewish Archive's collection.


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Introducing CrackBerry Canada! Your Canadian BlackBerry Accessory Store!!

Calling all BlackBerry users north of the border... the day sooo many of you have been waiting for has finally arrived!

We're happy to announce the opening of CrackBerry Canada - our Canadian BlackBerry accessory store. The web address is and you can also get there by typing into your browser (easy to remember) or clicking on the CrackBerry Canada link located at the top right corner of our main US/international store.

With our CrackBerry Canada store warehouse physically located within Canada, shipping is now provided by Canada Post (different options available) and FREE SHIPPING is offered on orders over $60. With no shipments crossing the border, you no longer have to worry about things like duty charges either. And as you may expect, all pricing and transactions are conducted in Canadian dollars (paypal supported too!!).

We have a pretty good selection of our most popular BlackBerry accessories in stock for the store opening and will be ramping up our selection and inventory levels over the weeks ahead, so be sure to check out it often and spread the CrackBerry Canada word!!


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8 November 2014

Allsorts week 284 - Poppies/Rememberance

Hi All

This week at Allsorts Susan has set us the theme of:

Poppies or Remembrance

I would have loved to have seen the poppies in london at the tower but time has been against me of late.  Hopefully this post schedules ok as i am doing my annual craft table at a local fair.

I have made my card using a lovely decoupage house mouse image - this little guy is still cute

Our sponsors this week:

This week we have been generously sponsored by Cuddly Buddly, one lucky winner will receive the gorgeous stamps above.
Cuddly Buddly

Our second sponsor is Marianne Designs with a surprise gift for another lucky winner.

  1. Judging by the photos I have seen the display in London looks amazing.

    You really have created a beautiful card Tracy.

    Have a good weekend and your stall goes well.

    B x

  2. Beautiful card Tracy, l love this as a stamp and it has been on my wish list a very long time. Hope the craft fair goes well x Susan x

  3. Hi, just catching up on all blogs. Gorgeous card, so cute. xxxx

  4. Fabulous image and lovely colouring, so pretty card;-))m

  5. A gorgeous card, Tracy! Wonderful image - so cute! Hope the craft fair went well x

  6. What a sweet, sweet image and you've colored it just beautifully.

  7. A cute and adorable creation. I love this image.
    Happy crafting
    Tracy x

Thank you for leaving me a comment, each one is special. Tracy x


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Available to purchase in single pieces.

10 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews

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text:
Support Denmark, Defend Freedom

Friday, May 26, 2006

Iran so far away

Please read Charles Krauthammer's column in Friday's Washington Post. I'm not always a huge fan of the sometimes sour Krauthammer, but he absolutely nails it with his explanation of why the US absolutely should not engage Iran in one-on-one negotiations, unless Europe agrees to one condition:
Entering negotiations carries with it the responsibility to do something if they fail. The E.U. Three understood that when they took on the mullahs a couple of years ago. Bilateral U.S.-Iran talks are the perfect way to get Europe off the hook. They would preempt all the current discussions about sanctions, place all responsibility for success on the negotiations and set America up to take the blame for their inevitable failure.

It is an obvious trap. We should resolutely say no.

Except on one condition. If the allies, rather than shift responsibility for this entire process back to Washington, will reassert their responsibility by pledging support for U.S. and/or coalition military action against Iran in the event that the bilateral talks fail, then we might achieve something.

You want us to talk? Fine. We will go there, but only if you arm us with the largest stick of all: your public support for military action if the talks fail. The mullahs already fear economic sanctions; they will fear European-backed U.S. military action infinitely more. Such negotiations might actually accomplish something.

That's our condition. Otherwise, the entire suggestion of bilateral talks is a ploy that should be rejected with the same contempt with which it was proposed.

Read the whole column: it's perfect. You'll love me for recommending it. Have I ever steered you wrong?

Anonymous fmragtops said...

Well, there was that one time in the bar with the three fat chicks, the weed eater, and live raccoon....

Blogger The Cranky Insomniac said...

Hey, I told you to go with the raccoon...

Anonymous chow-stl said...

You have never steered me wrong cranky. You have one of the best blogs on the web. Your thoughts and insights always give me pause, provoke thought, and sometimes a chuckle or two. Keep up the good work.

Blogger The Cranky Insomniac said...

chow-stl -

You are clearly a person of refined taste and uncommon intellect. Kudos to you. And kudos again.

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text:
400 grams cold boiled potatoes
50 grams raisins
2 eggs
25 grams flour
Generous pinch of salt
400 grams curd cheese
5 tablespoons sugar
Grated rind of ½ lemon
4 tablespoons oil
Sugar and ground cinnamon for dusting

-Peel the potatoes and press them through a metal sieve.
-Wash the raisins in hot water and drain.
-Work together the potato, raisins, eggs, flour, salt, curd cheese, sugar and lemon rind to form dough.
-With floured hands shape the mixture into flat cakes, 2 inches in diameter.
-Set the oven to very cool at 110*C.
-Heat the oil in a frying pan.
-Cook the cakes, a few at a time, for about 8 minutes, until golden brown on both sides.
-Keep the cooked cakes warm in the oven.
-Mix together a little sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle the cakes on both sides.
-Serve with any stewed fruit.

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text:
Viktor the Drawing Robot

By Doug Bierend

Viktor is a drawing machine created by artist and designer Jürg Lehni in collaboration with German electronics developer Defekt. It looks something like an Etch-a-Sketch built by SkyNet, but it’s much more than a fancy pen plotter: It’s an investigation into the intersection of hardware, code, and expression. Viktor is a visceral connection between creative process and product that Lehni designed to bring out the human element in our digital tools.

“In a way, the inspiration comes from observing older devices, like old plotting machines, or working with older computers where technology was unintentionally transparent,” says Berlin-based Lehni. “I want to find a way back to that state where technology seems open and friendly and inviting to create things with, rather than what we now face: this shiny surface with no way to understand what’s going on behind it.”

It’s true that a lot of today’s technology looks and feels more like a crystal ball than any kind of human-made machine. As seams get sealed and interfaces become ever more refined, digital creators can find themselves out of touch with what takes place between pressing a button and the result that emerges. Of course, that’s not necessarily bad, but something may be lost as the rattle and hum of technology fades—a relationship between user and tool, between idea, process, and result. In addition to being less complex, the workings of earlier technology were more visible, with moving parts that demonstrated the pragmatic solutions applied to various engineering problems, minute imperfections that add up to something seemingly alive with a bit of “almost-human” error.

Viktor embodies the philosophy of keeping creative technologies accessible and relatable. Its physical elements are laid out in plain view — a metal reticule is slung up on four belt straps, each connected to stepper motors at the outer corners of a square that can be stretched as wide as 20 meters (about 65.5 feet). When drawing or writing, the motors pull their respective cables in concert to glide Viktor’s mechanical “hand” across the board in deliberate swoops.

Photo of Viktor, a drawing machine created by artist and designer Jürg Lehni
Photo of Viktor, a drawing machine created by artist and designer Jürg Lehni

These two photos show Viktor illustrating engineer Paul Baran's network diagrams to accompany Leila McAlister's presentation on alternative distribution models for locally produced food. It was part of A Recent History of Writing and Drawing, a collaboration between Jürg Lehni and Alex Rich at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

You’ll find Viktor and its sibling drawing machines Rita, Hektor, and Otto making their marks in art installations and accompanying lectures, adding a spellbinding visual dimension to the familiar beat-and-scratch sounds of the grade-school classroom. Wobbling ever so slightly as it lifts and drops its bit of chalk to make lines, Viktor sketches in arcs and curves that resolve themselves into clear illustrations or stylized strings of words. Viktor’s slightly wonky writing style is key to its personality, a personality that makes for a bit of unpredictability and spontaneity. Lehni describes the character of the machines he builds as being largely outside of his control: Until you turn it on, there’s no telling how it will behave, what little quirks and idiosyncrasies will emerge. “Frankenstein moment” is his term for the first flip of the “on” switch, when these behaviors finally emerge.

“That’s what I’m striving for, I think; that moment where it all comes together and starts vibrating,” he says. “It’s only after you’ve programmed it and given it behavior that you can discover its character. And although you created it, the character is coming not just from you. It’s more like it’s coming from the collection of all these components: physical constraints, the struggle with gravity, how the motor you’ve chosen sounds, or some unforeseen physical or mechanical problem that you need to overcome.”

In college, Lehni made the shift from studying computer code to studying art. His interests centered on examining relationships between technology and creativity, and how to keep it a two-way relationship. In 2001, Lehni wrote Scriptographer, an open source plug-in for Adobe Illustrator that allows users to code their own drawing tools in simple Javascript. He’s since created a similar browser-based version called Paper.JS, and while the former inspired the creation of Lehni’s writing machines as an effort to “break out” of the computer monitor, both have been used to generate the imagery drawn by Viktor and its kin.

Like Viktor, the Illustrator and web-based software are medium and message, intended to stimulate a feeling of connection between users and their tools. In the case of Scriptographer, connecting the creative acts of coding and drawing; in the case of Viktor, linking the creation that takes place on a computer screen with its realization in the real world. These represent one of the driving principles in Lehni’s work—the notion that technology be developed in a way that allows it to serve as an open platform on which all are empowered to influence the tools they use, rather than just the other way around.

 “For me, Scriptographer was a comment on the role of Adobe in the design world,” says Lehni. “A lot of the students I studied with were celebrating the vector graphics aesthetic, and not many of them were aware of the role of the hardware that they were using. They all made similar work because they used the same tools. So Hektor was sort of the next step, where I was asking the question, ‘What if I were to make my own printer, rather than taking one that exists, or printing on a laser like everyone else?’”

Photo of Viktor, a drawing machine created by artist and designer Jürg Lehni
Photo of Viktor, a drawing machine created by artist and designer Jürg Lehni

In the left-hand photo, Viktor performs in Things to Say, a collaboration between Jürg Lehni and Alex Rich, at the Kunst Halle Sankt Gallen in Switzerland. On the right is a close-up of one of Viktor's four DC motors, which work in tandem to glide across the chalk board.

Built in 2002 as part of Lehni’s diploma project at École cantonale dʼart de Lausanne, Hektor looks a lot like his younger siblings, especially Viktor and Otto. (Otto is the latest, built for use by the Long Now Foundation’s salon space, The Interval). Originally built with four stepper motors, Hektor was fraught with syncing problems that led Lehni and engineer Uli Franke to drop the number to two. This simplified the works but reduced stability.

To keep Hektor’s writing smooth, they developed an algorithm that taught the machine to account for and incorporate gravity into every angle of every chalk-stroke. The diagrams that show the gravity-conscious paths the mechanical hand traces in drawing the alphabet look remarkably like childhood handwriting guides, a representation of physics in the code world that in turn informs mechanical actions in the physical one. Such gestures emerging from the digital/physical divide are critical to the handwriting style of all of Lehni’s writing machines.

“That’s what I like about these kind of works, that you switch back and forth, and even in their output they’re all about that friction between the digital and the analog,” says Lehni. “All these machines are performative devices. People love watching them doing their work, and it’s as much about the final drawing as it is about the drawing in creation, where there’s a sort of storytelling happening.”

Viktor illustrates 5000 Years of Chairs, a lecture given by Michael Marriott as part of A Recent History of Writing and Drawing, a collaboration between Jürg Lehni and Alex Rich at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, 2008

Lehni and his collaborators are pushing technology to a place that facilitates creative control yet leaves space to step back and watch what happens. Creative technology should keep its users excited, engaged, and perhaps even provide a “Frankenstein moment.” With machines like Viktor, the image on the screen will be rendered faithfully. But there’s no telling what subtle differences may emerge as chalk meets board—a slight wobble in the line, subtle variations in the grain. That bit of unpredictability can be enough to make technology feel more alive and present. When that happens, it’s hard to look away.

“With these machines, what you see is not what you get, and that’s their strength,” Lehni says.

Video of Viktor, a drawing machine created by artist and designer Jürg Lehni


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2012  November 21

My Four Rules

In 1999 I made these four rules for myself to live by. One of my Public Safety officers at RISD recalled me talking about them on campus three years ago and asked to be reminded what they were — and I had forgotten them, and couldn’t find them on my old websites at MIT. Here they are, unearthed and a little bit dusty, thanks to the archaeology work of a close friend.

I can’t remember what motivated my putting these down to paper — I recall that it was shortly after I became a professor at MIT and was trying to figure out this “leadership” thing. I still strive to live by these rules every day — failing more than succeeding, but I love to keep trying through doing and I don’t intend to give up.

  1. Don’t speak ill of others. It’s human nature to knock the other party down when they aren’t watching as a natural survival instinct. I always admire the people I meet in life who never feel they have to speak ill of others to make themselves look good.
  2. Avoid passive aggressive behavior. Failing to be forthright with what you really want to say can be hurtful. Being honest and respectful is a good way to deliver a difficult message.
  3. Listen broadly, but don’t waffle on decisions. When people depend upon you to make a decision, they’re basically asking you to be responsible for the possible failed outcome. Your decision should be based upon expert opinions culled from your team, but in the end you make the final decision and are the one responsible — you bear the responsibility for the team. If you’re wrong, admit you’re wrong early and things will usually go better that way. If you’re right then consider yourself lucky and pass on the win to your team. Keep moving forward.
  4. When in error — admit, apologize, move forward. I am not perfect. The only way that I can guarantee not making any mistakes is if I were to do absolutely nothing. So by doing anything at all, I risk making errors of varying degree of intensity. When, and I will, make a mistake I will admit the error as soon as possible, apologize for it, and then move forward without being paralyzed.

There was a time when I was trying to figure out some sort of compass to live my life by, and it started with these four rules.

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Copyright 2009 - 2016, John Maeda


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Use Your Imagination…

By Shelley Berc

When Life is Uncertain Our Imagination Can Make the Unknown the Great Adventure of Our Lives

Supposing you go for your yearly physical and the doctor says: “if you don’t exercise on a regular basis, your chances of having coronary problems are high.” You would probably head straight to the gym” (at least for a week or two).

What if someone, (maybe even yourself) told you: “if you don’t exercise your creativity and imagination, your spirit will get sick.” Would you start working those ‘muscles’ on a regular basis? Most of us would put it on the backburner for ‘when we have more time.’ Which never happens.

Just think about racing through life without ever registering the beauty of flowers in bloom or the sharp smells of autumn? What if you couldn’t taste food anymore or even imagine the taste of food? What if you never fantasized what it would be like to have a completely different life?

For many of us, the life described above would be dull, frustrating, and accompanied by the sense that something vital was missing.

When we exercise what I like to call: ‘the magic what if” of our imagination, all our senses come alive. We feel focused, optimistic and motivated. We feel that we have the resources to make things happen. That belief can set us on the beginning of wonderful lifetime journey that is the essence of the creative life.

In the world we live in we don’t get much encouragement to express our creativity, unless of course it makes us a lot of money. We are supposed to be consumers of creativity rather than creators ourselves. This is the mandate of an economic model that prefers you to consume rather than produce. After all, how are companies supposed to make money, if you are too busy creating yourself to buy their stuff? The underlying and terribly destructive message is that if we are not stamped with the seal of approval by corporations, critics, or Likes on Face Book we have no business creating at all.

To make our spirits thrive, we have to throw out the received notion that creativity is for the chosen few. We must establish the belief and the practice that we all have the ability and the right to be creative. For many of us it is not only a right, but a necessity of survival. We don’t have to leave the creative experience to innovative scientists, famous writers, dazzling movie stars. Each one of us is capable of gems of imagination and creative activity. These attributes are part of our evolutionary success: being creative means we can meet the challenge of the unknown and unexpected. This gives us a better chance to survive in an uncertain world.

Our creative manifestations don’t have to be grandiose; they can be simple and playful and still fulfill our ravenous appetite for curiosity and exploration. I bring up the issues of simplicity and play because we often undervalue things that are easy and fun for us to do. Our usual logic is: Only hard things are valuable. If it is easy and fun then it isn’t worth anything. Not true at all—sometimes things being easy for us just means that we have a natural connection, a gift for it that most people do not.

Doing creative work that comes naturally to you is an efficient means of getting your imagination up and running. It helps us gain confidence in our creativity and feeds our desire to engage it more seriously because we are working in a territory that ‘sings’ to us.

If gardening excites you, garden. If you are a lover of words, write. If it is singing, then by all means, sing your heart out.

When you are comfortable with the medium and the materials, you will put up with the heartache and frustration inherent in the process of any creative act. You will also be preparing yourself to do inspiring work that pushes you out of your comfort zone into the wild blue horizons of undiscovered imaginative possibilities lurking inside you.

If creative work is work at all, then it is playful work. Play is one of the most powerful tools for us humans to learn to think differently. It is one of the most valuable resources we have for making any new discoveries, in fields as diverse as psychology, technology, and art.

Our creativity brings us a message from within that insists we tend to our vision. Like a good detective, we must tenaciously follow the clues of our imagination and we can bring that vision, that Magic What If, to life.

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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Take A Load Off Fanny!

I've been waiting for foreeeevvvvveeerrrrrrr to use that line!

TODAY IS THE DAY FOLKS! Fanny's departure will take place in less than 12 hours! I have passed the dreaded midnight deadline and gotten all my crap ready. Now for the big question... am I nervous?

Not really, no. I'm doing rather well actually. Usually I start getting the chills and shaking violently at this point. While I'm not looking forward to today AT ALL... I'm not really nervous. We had a little discussion with the nurses at the hospital today and we mentioned that I tend to get violently ill before surgery, and I haven't been able to get happy meds in a timely fashion. The nurses said that they can get me my happy meds sooner! Definitely made me less anxious about everything. I've got my special anti-nausea patch so hopefully that paired with my lack-off nerves will mean that maybe I won't hurl before surgery... that would be sooooooooooo lovely.

Fanny is scheduled to be removed at 9. I have to be at the hospital around 7:30 or so, which means I have to leave the house at 5:15 in the morning... funness. If all goes well I should be home later today. I'll try to keep y'all updated either through my facebook page, twitter, and eventually here. If I'm not feeling up to blogging tomorrow I'll ask a relative to update y'all :)

I just want to take a moment to thank all you guys for supporting me for the past couple of months with this whole Fanny saga, I reaaaaaalllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyy appreciate it :)

Crippie's Tippie - When the hospital calls you in the days prior to your surgery, be vocal about all your concerns... they can probably make everything easier for you :)

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Sunday, January 16, 2005

OpenSource vs Microsoft conundrum

Well it’s happened, after 8 years as a Microsoft disciple and most of these as a Microsoft certified professional I’m seriously considering open source. What happened? How did I get here…..? Well, I’m both a technical architect and a teacher. I’m bringing these two disciplines together into being a technology savvy instructional designer. And after I started to network and asking around, it seems that the open source world has a greater foothold in the corporate training and academic arena. Now, I’ve known UNIX and it’s derivatives have mostly captured the halls of academia but it also seems to be pushing out into the corporate and training world. Some may balk at this last statement, and if you do, please provide me with reference sites where the Learning Management System (LMS) or the corporate courseware is a complete Microsoft solution. Either way, this is what I’ve learned; and I have to give thanks to Scott Tearle of Lambda Solutions for a great conversation over lunch about these matters. I’ll break what I learned into the server side and the UI side. I have this separation because all training and learning processes need administration (i.e. the LMS) and this admin is usually somewhere on the corporate/academic network and the end-user learning content has grown up to be rich interactive media, quite a different beast than the administration needs. So, on the server side their seems to be considerable growth in utilizing LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) Servers to host the LMS. One of the main players in this is Moodle. Moodle is an open source LMS written for the LAMP Server (and other server environments, people say it runs fast and for the lowest cost on a LAMP server). The point is that an open source server application is quickly gaining considerable acceptance. Moodle is very well supported as an open source application, with a strong and active developer community. Learning about moodle is high on my list of to do’s as I deepen my skills as an instructional designer. On the client side (or gaming/simulation side) it’s Flash, Java, Python, C, C++, Etc. Either way, the client side is certainly not dominated by Microsoft technologies, and again, there is a healthy and growing community of opensource gaming/simulation engines, as evidenced by Panda3d. So there you have it, my conundrum; OpenSource or Microsoft. My intuition tells me open source will, in the long term, dominate. Their are many reasons for this belief and that’s a blog entry in itself. So, given how my current days unfold I will be living my conundrum. I’m persuing my Microsoft certification as a DBA and a .NET programmer, I’m learning flash and actionscript and I’m booting up a LAMP server to learn moodle.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

It’s time to get back to work

It’s been a great sabbatical, but it must come to an end. Three months of learning, research, home renovations and gearing up for a new start. At the end of September I took the opportunity to take a break after 16 years of hands-on software development, database administration, project management, analysis and design and technology architecture. It has been a great time. Over the last three months I’ve done a whole lot learning and research about open source, online learning and coding in actionscript. I also managed to move the laundry room downstairs and have changed the old laundry room into another bedroom. The only thing is I’ve now become restless for work. I’d love to utilize my 16 years as a software architect, developer and database specialist and leverage everything I learned while getting technology degree in databases management systems into technical employment in the enterprise or educational setting. So if you know of some architecture or database work within businesses associated with content distribution or education it would be most appreciated. I’m an excellent solutions architect, enterprise programmer and DBA with extensive experience working on enterprise systems, multi-tier software development and data warehouse projects. If you any needs or leads please send an email;

Sunday, January 09, 2005

Digital natives; a note for parents

If you have children born since 1984 you may want to consider this whitepaper written by Marc Prensky to gain insight into the forces which will influence your children. For better or worse, these could be a big part of your childrens reality. Read, reflect and prepare yourself.

Monday, January 03, 2005

Gratitude Measure

So after my new years resolution musings I set out to see if I could find a measure for gratitude. The short answer; nothing was easily available. There was a lot of great reading, yet there was no measure. I found something great from Henri J. M. Nouwen. And I liked it because I have always though many things in life are a choice. Here is what I found;
Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment. It is amazing how many occasions present themselves in which I can choose gratitude instead of a complaint. I can choose to grateful when I am criticized, even when my heart still responds in bitterness. I can choose to speak about goodness and beauty, even when my inner eye still looks for someone to accuse or something to call ugly.
Also, the Buddhist tradition speaks of gratitude. And if you are interested, I suggest a good internet search and some time reading on gratitude is a great thing. Anyhow, I’ve found no direct measure for gratitude so I’m going to stick with my daily gratitude check… Happy New Year!

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Can you measure gratitude?

Last night during our new years celebrations the resolution question came up. Most people wanted to do something like run four times a week or quit smoking…. All very admirable, I just wanted to be more grateful. They retorted, “you can’t measure grateful!” I replied, sure you can, “At the end of every day I’ll ask myself if I was more grateful and gracious in my actions, and if I was I’ll give myself a check for a grateful day. At the end of the year I’ll add up all the grateful days and see if I was more grateful.” All, but one, looked at me with furrow brow. I realized, all but one, didn’t get it. But I insisted that I will follow-up with their retort, can you measure gratitude? For myself it doesn’t matter if I measure it, but for the rationalists I must find the measure. Or maybe not, gratitude is something you must find for yourself…


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Mike's Blog Round Up

It's been a swell week, what with Texas theocrats taking away women's rights, and Zimmerman's trail taking away my will to be civil. Thanks for letting me be a part of your week!

Juanita Jean's The World's Most Dangerous Beauty Salon, Inc cusses.

Disaffected and it Feels So Good feels bad that states' rights proponents just cannot catch a break!

Balloon Juice discovers a modern masterpiece of Wingnuttery.

Bonus track: Shut Up, David Brooks fact-checks David Brooks. Poor bastard.

Round-up by Tengrain of Mock, Paper, Scissors who also blogs at Dependable Renegade. Send tips to: mbru@crooksandliars.com

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service (revised 3/17/2016) for information on our posting policy.


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terça-feira, junho 06, 2006

Nature and peer review

Nature and peer review: "'Nature is undertaking a trial of a particular type of open peer review.In this trial,authors whose submissions to Nature are sent for peer review will also be offered the opportunity to participate in an open peer review process (see below for explanation).The trial is optional for authors;it will continue in parallel with Nature's usual procedures,and does not affect the likelihood of eventual publication of the submitted work.At the same time as the trial,Nature is running a web debate on peer review,to which we welcome comments from readers'. Nature Peer Review Trial and Debate"

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American Crossword Puzzle Tournament

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In the News

Source: Movieweb
Date: August 7, 2007
Byline: unsigned

PBS' Independent Lens Returns with a Special Airing of Wordplay

Independent Lens the Emmy Award-winning PBS series, once again hosted by the Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard, will return for a sixth season this fall on Tuesday, October 16 at 10:00 PM with the broadcast premiere of the box office hit Wordplay. The acclaimed anthology series will be supported by a new public education campaign on democracy and a third season of the landmark Community Cinema program, bringing free community screening events to 50 cities each month.

Independent Lens will kick-off with Wordplay which follows New York Times puzzle editor Will Shortz, the man behind America's crossword obsession. Director Patrick Creadon introduces us to this passionate hero and to the inner workings of his brilliant contributors and fans, including such crossword aficionados as Bill Clinton, Bob Dole, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Mike Mussina and the Indigo Girls.

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Welcome to the Crown Vics ETC blog!

On April 6, 2000, I purchased a 1998 Ford Crown Victoria LX HPP with 23,490 miles. I decided to start a little website for it featuring a running log of my experiences with the car. Vic 1.0 was retired in 2015 due to rust and electrical issues. Vic 2.0 is a 2006 P71 that belonged to my boyfriend. To read posts prior to 2010, click a link at right, or go to Crown Vics, ETC.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Greenlight Releases 1/18 Police Interceptors with Lights, Sound

Greenlight, one of the better diecast manufacturers, is releasing 1/18 scale Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors with lights and sound!  For more info, visit their website at www.greenlighttoys.com


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Meals on Wheels

All told, there are some 5,000 local Senior Nutrition Programs in the United States. These programs provide well over one million meals to seniors who need them each day. Some programs serve meals at congregate locations like senior centers, some programs deliver meals directly to the homes of seniors whose mobility is limited, and many programs provide both services.

While remarkable, the one million meals per day figure underestimates the size and shape of our network and its reach and influence in communities across America. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of seniors who receive meals, there are many thousands of professionals employed at the various local Senior Nutrition Programs across the U.S. More notable than that is the virtual army of volunteers who also "work" for these programs. It is said that this group, numbering between 800,000 and 1.7 million individuals, is the largest volunteer army in the nation.

Meals on Wheels Cooks Needed

We are in desperate need of cooks for Meals on Wheels. For more information, please contact Ann Rochette at (352) 795-3148.

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