text:
Friday, May 27, 2016

Pens Win!!

(Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Way back in April, when the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, I made a prediction on Facebook that the Penguins would win the Stanley Cup by completing four consecutive four game sweeps of their Playoffs series.  As a part of this prediction, I made no secret of the fact that I only really become interested in the NHL when the Playoffs begin, and only as long as the Penguins are still competing in them, and attached the hashtag of #bandwagonjumper.

Obviously, my prediction of four straight sweeps was tongue-in-cheek, and my prediction of a Cup win was at best a semi-informed one, but, hey, it's looking pretty good right now, isn't it?

I have been watching these Pens' playoff series, and I am once again impressed with what an unbelievably grueling grind it is to win the Stanley Cup.  Any team that does it, regardless of whatever their regular season record may have been, truly DESERVES that Championship.

A couple of observations from a #bandwagonjumper who has been watching now for a couple of weeks....
  • Doc Emerick is simply the best play-by-play announcer alive right now....any sport, any network.
  • Hockey can be a wonderful game to watch, but, frankly, the goonery that pervades the NHL turns me off of it.  Several times during these Playoffs - particularly in the Pens-Caps series - I have heard coaches (including Mike Sullivan) and announcers (Barry Melrose) say, when referring to dirty hits and cheap shots, words to the effect "these are the kinds of plays that we don't want in hockey".  Sorry, but I am not buying it. If the NHL really wanted to get rid of that kind of play in hockey, they could and they would, but they don't, so goonery and thuggery continues to rule the day in the NHL.  It's too bad, because you see how free flowing and skillful the game can be every four years in the Olympics
Okay, I will leave the discussion of the X's and O's of the game to the truly knowledgeable fans out there.  As for this #bandwagonjumper, I shall be watching a cheering for a return of the Stanley Cup to Pittsburgh.

And the H.A. Citation Goes To.....

It has been awhile since The Grandstander has awarded an H.A. Citation, so it is time to dust off this coveted award.

For his recent act of busting into the Pirates broadcast booth to confront Bucco announcer Greg Brown over a perceived slight, this H.A. Citation goes to Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Operations Punjab Tony LaRussa. That was sure a class act for a Baseball Hall of Famer to perform.

So, Tony, please hang this important award on your wall, right next to your HOF Plaque.

(Photo Courtesy of Dan Bonk Enterprises)

Actually, when you come to think of LaRussa over the years - his unbelievable pompousness, his strategic contributions that have contributed strongly to the elimination of games lasting less than three hours, the DUI incident on which both the Cardinals and MLB allowed him to skate, and many other reasons, including always wearing sunglasses at night, this H.A. Citation could be considered a Lifetime Achievement Award for old Tony.

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Pirates Short Stops

At the monthly breakfast of the Gang of Four yesterday, the following questions came up:

Who is the best Pirates short stop in our lifetimes, and does Jordy Mercer belong in the discussion?

We all know that any discussion of Pirates short stops starts and stops with Honus Wagner, hence the "in our lifetime" imitation.  Since the personal knowledge of the Pirates among our group goes back to the late 1950's, we narrowed down which guys played the most at the Number 6 position, so it was time to open up a spreadsheet:

Seasons with Pirates BA Hits Runs Home Runs Runs Batted In OPS
Dick Groat
Gene Alley
Jay Bell
Frank Taveras
Jack Wilson
Jordy Mercer

Per Season:

< 1

Mercer’s stats are through May 21, 2016

A couple of limitations to my research:
  • This takes into account only offensive numbers.  I don't have the smarts to ranks modern day defensive metrics for these guys.
  • The "average per season" figures could tend to short change guys.  For example, Mercer played only 42 games in his first season, 2012, and has played only 41 games so far this season.  There are similar patterns for some of the other guys.
  • Only the players' seasons with the Pirates are considered.
  • Overall career numbers may flatten out a guy's performance.  I am thinking mainly of Gene Alley, injuries curtailed what could have been a bright career, but from 1966-68, he was arguable the best SS in the game.
  • I never would have guessed that Frank Taveras was with the Pirates for eight seasons!
Okay, all that said, here is what jumps out at me:
  1. I was surprised at Groat's run production.  His 707 RBI (79 per season) is far above anyone else on the list.
  2. Similarly, I didn't recall what a run producer Jay Bell was, and his OPS was significantly higher that any of the others.
  3. Jack Wilson was a much better player that we may have given him credit. Would you have guessed that until two nights ago, he held he record for most hits in PNC Park?  I wouldn't have.  Nor would I have guessed that he hit 60 HRs as a Pirate. The fact that Wilson played almost exclusively for lousy Pirates teams no doubt diminishes him in our memories.
  4. And while this is completely subjective, it seems to me that every time I went to a Pirate game when Wilson was playing, he always seemed to make a play in the field that made you where you said "I can't believe he made that play."
So, my Top three Pirates Short Stops In My Lifetime are:

#3 - Jack Wilson
#2 - Jay Bell
#1 - Dick Groat

(NOTE: On any given day, I could reverse the positions of Bell and Wilson on my list.)

As to the second part of the question, "Does Jordy Mercer belong in the discussion?", I would say that no, he does not, but only because it is too soon to say. He seems to be getting better each season, so perhaps the question should be revisited in a couple of years.  Of course, in recent years, the Pirates have invested Number One draft picks in short stops Cole Tucker and Kevin Newman, so who knows how long Mercer's tenure will be with the Pirates.

Agree, disagree, or any other thoughts?

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Thought I post about two eyesores that populate the North Hills of Pittsburgh.

The first sits off to the side of the highway on north bound I-279 right before the Bellevue/West View exit.   Large slabs of busted up concrete stacked up like poker chips sit in the tall grass alongside the road. Where did they come from, why are they sitting there, for what are these slabs intended, and when, if ever, will they be removed?  It is ugly and the very definition of the word "eyesore".

Perhaps it is not fair to call what is obviously a thriving small business an eyesore, but this one truly is a mystery to me.  I am referring to the Adultmart store which sits on the right side of  McKnight Road when yo are traveling north.  It is between the Chili's / Ross Park Mall traffic light and the McDonald's.  What amazes me is not the fact that this store exists, but that you can never, and I mean never, drive on McKnight past that store and not see at least six - and usually more -  cars parked there.  Early in the morning on the way to work, out on you lunch hour, driving home from work, or late at night after a Pirate game or a show in the Cultural District, that parking lot will be full.  Who are these people that seem to populate that store ALL THE TIME?

As I said, it's a mystery to me.

Even more amazing, sharing the parking lot with the Adultmart, is a video rental store.  Who actually goes to a bricks-and-mortar video rental store any more?

As my old Highmark friend of mine, and he knows who he is, might put it, I wonder about these things.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Pirates 12 - Braves 9

What a microcosm of the 2016 Pirates season that 12-9 win over the Braves was last night.

After two innings, the Bucs had fashioned a 9-0 lead over arguably the worst team in the Majors.  What a gift for the pitching staff, right?  Let you starter settle into a rocking chair, throw strikes, and maybe - maybe - turn it over to some middle reliever to finish the last two or maybe three innings while coasting to an easy victory. Instead, you know what happened:

  • Starter Juan Nicasio gave back five runs and struggled to finish five innings so he could be the pitcher of record for such an "easy" win.
  • Given a six run lead, Ryan Vogelsong gave back three runs, had to face a batter representing the tying run, and couldn't get trough two innings.
  • Arquemides Caminero, in relief of Vogelsong, promptly gave up a home run before getting the one out needed to close out the inning.
  • The Pirates had to turn over what should have been a laugher to their One-Two bullpen punch of Tony Watson and Mark Melancon to close out this win, something that I am sure that Clint Hurdle was not envisioning with a 9-0 lead in the second inning.
Well, it was only one game, you might say, but I think that this game was an example, perhaps an extreme one, but still an example of what the Pirates biggest problem has been: middling starting pitching and poor to awful relief pitching.  If the Pirates are to go anywhere in the pennant race this season, the situation with the pitching staff, particularly the bull pen, must be addressed.  If dummies like me can see this, I am certainly confident that Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle are seeing it, too, and are working diligently to address the problem.  They had better be.

Last night's game aside, the biggest news of the day for the Pirates yesterday was the announcement of the signing Francisco Cervelli to a three year, $31 million contract extension (through 2019), and by the way, didn't Cervelli look classy and terrific by showing up at the press conference announcing the signing in a suit and tie?

Interestingly enough, I heard about this while listening to 93.7 The Fan while driving home from the golf course.  Joe Starkey and Chris Muller were expressing surprise that no one was calling to (a) talk about the news, and (b) complimenting the Pirates for making this move.  Imagine, said Starkey, how the phone lines would have been on fire with people boiling tar and plucking feathers had Cervelli been allowed to go to free agency at the end of the year and then signed a $31 contract with some other team?

Anyway, Cervelli now joins other key Pirates Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, and Gregory Polanco under long term deals with the team.  Significant, I'd say.

Looking forward to three plus more years of this....

Sunday, May 15, 2016

To Absent Friends - Madeleine LeBeau

Madeleine LeBeau
1923 - 2016

Little known French actress Madeleine LeBeau died earlier this month at the age of 92.  This is notable because Miss LeBeau was the last surviving credited cast member of the all-time great movie, "Casablanca" (1942).  Miss LeBeau played Yvonne, the jilted lover (perhaps one of many) of cynical cafe owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart).  What she meant to Blaine is best explained in this memorable bit of dialogue:

Yvonne: Where were you last night?

Rick: That was so long ago, I don't remember.

Yvonne: Will I see you tonight?

Rick: I never make plans that far ahead.

Yvonne is also featured in one of "Casablanca's" most memorable scenes: Singing the Marseillaise with tears in her eyes (see above) when Victor Laszlo leads the cafe orchestra to drown out the Nazi soldiers singing German patriotic songs.

The story of LeBeau and her husband fleeing Europe in the wake of Nazi invaders is a tale right out of "Casablanca" itself.  She eventually made it to Hollywood, had a few minor roles but never became a major player.  She did some movies in Europe, most notably in Fellini's "8 and 1/2" in 1960, and was pretty much done as an actress by the late 1960's.  However, her one small role as Yvonne in what is considered one of the greatest movies ever made has assured her a piece of movie immortality, and as the last survivor of the movie, she will forever be an answer to a movie trivia question.

RIP Madeleine LeBeau.

Sunday Morning Kwick Komments.....

Kwickies for your konsideration.....

  • The 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates are a good team, certainly one that could be capable of competing for a post-season spot.  That said, they look like the Sad Sack team of Sad Sack manager John Russell of 2010 when they play the Cubs.
  • It was hopeful when the Bucs took a 2-0 lead against the invincible Jake Arietta in the top of the fourth inning yesterday, but then thoroughly demoralized to watch Jeff Locke spit the bit in the bottom of the fourth  y giving up an infield single, a walk, and a soul-crushing three run home run to the first three batters he faced after having been given a lead.
  • Pirates now 0-5 against the Cubs this season.  Combined scores of those games: 37-11.  It is at a time like this that a true Ace needs to take control of a game and pick his team up and turn things around.  We shall see what Gerrit Cole does with just such an opportunity this afternoon.
  • I take nothing away from the Cubs.  That is a very good team put together by Theo Epstein, who may well be the best baseball executive since Branch Rickey.  Their arrogant manner, a tone set by manager Joe Maddon, and the media's unbelievable slurping up to Maddon and the team that will ensue all summer long will make them one of the most disliked teams, on a national basis, in recent memory by the time the post-season rolls around.
  • I am at the point where I am mightily tempted to skip watching games that Jeff Locke is scheduled to pitch.
  • Did you see that the Pittsburgh Riverhounds lost their game against the Cincinnati Whatevers last night?  This was the game where Vontaze Burfict, Pacman Jones and other assorted Bengals Thugs served as honorary captains for the Cincinnati team.  That victory in a minor league soccer game must have been sweet revenge for those Bengals, whose thuggish and downright dirty play snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and gift-wrapped an NFL playoff win for the Steelers a few months back.  Maybe it made this lady smile again:
  • Earlier in the week, Marilyn and I watched the 1967 movie "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" on TCM.  I was surprised how well this movie has held up over all the years. Despite the fact that we don't use terms like "colored" or "Negro" anymore, the message sent by this movie is still absolutely spot on.  This was an absolutely fabulous cast in they movie headed by Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, and Sidney Poitier.  And I was surprised to see that spicy housemaid in this movie was played by Isobel Sanford, aka, Weezie Jefferson.
  • And speaking of terrific movies, we once again watched last year's Best Picture Oscar winner, "Spotlight", last night.  The movie was even better the second time around.  Also, one of the extras on the Blueray disc featured a discussion of the actual Boston Globe reporters portrayed in the movie, and it was uncanny how perfectly the actors in the movie "got" the real life persons that they were playing.  If you still haven't seen it, you should.  Great movie.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Movie Review - "Money Monster"

It had been awhile since we went to the movies - the comic book movies and formulaic romcoms of late have not appealed to us - so we were glad to get to the theater and see the new move, the trailers for which have been playing for months, it seems, "Money Monster", directed by Jodie Foster and starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

Clooney played Lee Gates, an over-the-top host of a money management / investment advice TV show on a financial news cable network.  Roberts is the director of the show who tries to keep the out of control egotistic Clooney in line.  One morning, while the live broadcast of the show is taking place, a delivery man, played by Jack O'Connell, walks on to the set with a gun and a bomb and takes Clooney, and by extension, everyone else, including the TV viewers, hostage.  Seems the guy lost his entire life savings by following Gates'/Clooney's advice and now HE WANTS SOME ANSWERS!!!!!

I will say no more so as to avoid spoilers, but what follows is a taut and suspenseful thriller that was enjoyable and very entertaining.  Clooney plays his character broadly, maybe too broadly, in the beginning, but, once he is taken hostage, he tones it down, and becomes  more believable and sympathetic.  In other words, he does his usual great job. Roberts is terrific as the director who keeps her head on straight and manages the crisis, and O'Connell is also good as the pathetic loser with the gun and the bomb.

Parts that I really like about this movie, and, again, no spoilers coming here, were two somewhat cliched situations that were put in place to diffuse the tense situation on the set.  However, unlike cliched movies, neither of them work, and the characters are then faced with  "okay-well-now-what-do-we-do?" situations.  Loved it.

"Money Monster" is a well acted and directed suspense drama from Jodie Foster and a great cast.  Good movie.  A solid three and one-half stars from The Grandstander.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Punks and Jerks

Just when I was about to put aside my feelings about Bryce Harper and accept him as perhaps the best player in baseball, which he may very well be, and look upon him as the new Face Of The Game, he pulls a stunt like he did this weekend by barking at an umpire and earning himself a well-deserved one game suspension.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with him bitching over a strike call and getting tossed from a game.  Happens to everyone.  I do have a problem with him coming on to the field at the end of the game to celebrate a walk-off win and then seeking out and barking out an obscenity to the umpire.

Harper is the kind of player (Pete Rose, Tom Brady, Hines Ward) that you love if he plays for your team and intensely dislike if he plays for the Other Guys.  If he played for the Pirates, I would probably be defending him, but he doesn't, so to me, he's nothing but a spoiled brat punk, and if MLB wants HIM to become the Face Of The Game, they better think again.

The Players Championship tees off today in Ponte Vedre, always a fun event to watch.  It is doubly in the news because this will be the first event in which Jordan Spieth will compete since his fourth round back nine meltdown at Augusta.  It has been well reported that Spieth spent a portion of his time after the Masters "recovering" while on a golf vacation in the Bahamas with fellow pros Rickie Fowler, Smylie Kaufman, and Justin Thomas.

It was reported that this foursome played at times while shirtless and not wearing shoes, and while it was not reported, I am willing to bet that large quantities of beer were involved.  Now, it you were on vacation and playing top dollar greens fees at a high end golf resort and encountered a group of twenty-somethings on the course acting out like this, you would no doubt report them to the marshals or pro shop and really really hope that they would be thrown off of the course.

Now, I am not ready to equate Jordan Spieth and his pals with Bryce Harper, but I wonder what people like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus would have to say about this, and Tiger Woods has been pilloried for far less egregious on course behavior (and, yeah, I know Woods cheated on his wife; this isn't about that.).  Yes, Spieth and his buddies are still just kids, and are as entitled to let their hair down as much as anyone, but  they are also kids making multi-millions of dollars playing tournament golf.  They should be held to a higher standard than the guys from Animal House.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

To Absent Friends - William Schallert

William Schallert
1922 - 2016

Actor William Schallert died this past Sunday at the age of 93.  The headline in his New York time obituary described him perfectly: "Prolific actor was father on 'The Patty Duke Show'."

"Prolific" aptly describes the career of William Schallert, as he appeared in literally hundreds of roles in both television and movies.  IMDB lists an incredible 375 acting credits for Schallert dating back to 1947.  It includes schlocky horror movies from the fifties, TV series such as Wagon Train, Twilight Zone, Leave It To Beaver, innumerable westerns,  Star Trek, cartoon voice over work, the Oscar winning movie "In The Heat of the Night", and an appearance as recently as 2014, when he was 92 years old, on Two Broke Girls.  He was and is the voice of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL.  He had a long running role as Professor Pomfritt on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, yet whenever you saw him in whatever movie or show it was, the chances are you probably thought "hey, that's Patty Duke's father."  Like his television daughter, Miss Duke, Schallert also served a term as President of the Screen Actors Guild.

I always am amazed at actors like Schallert, never a big star, but a guy who always found work, and was instantly recognizable.  As I have often said, you couldn't make movies or TV shows without actors like William Schallert.  A quote of his from 2009 was in the Times obituary:  “I’ve never been single-minded in my pursuit of acting as a career,” he said. “Whatever it was that got me hired and kept me working probably was just me.”

Here is that obit:

RIP William Schallert.

Monday, May 9, 2016

The Pirates at the 1/5 Pole

For all you mathematical sticklers out there, I will stipulate that the Pirates, having played 31 games are only at the 19.1% mark of the season, are not exactly at the 1/5 Pole, so please save your comments on that facet of this post at least.

Okay, the Pirates are at 17-14, a pace that would earn them 89 wins (the exact number predicted by The Grandstander, btw), not great, but not bad, and a mark that would certainly have them in contention for at least a Wild Card spot in the post season.  That's the good news.

The bad news is that the Chicago Cubs have a record of 24-6 (which includes a 3-0 series pasting of the Pirates at PNC Park last week), and are seven and one-half games ahead of the second place Pirates.  The pace that the Cubs are currently on (.800) would have them winning 130 games this season.  Certainly, they are not going to remain on that pace over 162 games, and certainly Jake Arietta, 24-1 over his last twenty-five regular season starts, will not maintain that pace either (he really can't, can he?), and 7.5 games can certainly be made up over the next 131 games, but.....

Yep, there's a but, and it revolves around the Pirates starting pitching, which has been, somewhat mediocre this season, and the bullpen, which has been lousy.  A perfect example would be yesterday's performance of Ryan Vogelsong.  With the Pirates having a five run lead over the Cardinals, Vogelsong was brought in to pitch the ninth inning.  He got one out and loaded the bases and had to be relieved.  When you can't get out of an inning with a five run lead, well, that ain't good, folks.

Also, and in the true tradition of Pirates fans, let's dwell on the past for a bit, by comparing departed Buccos to the current guys who have replaced them.

How about new first baseman John Jaso and his predecessor, Pedro Alvarez.

John Jaso
Pedro Alvarez

Of course, Pedro does not have a comparable number of at bats with the Orioles, but when you look at the BA and the OPS, you'd have to say that Jaso is doing more than an adequate job in replacing Alvarez.  I know what you're going to say, "Let's see if Jaso hits those 27 homers that Pedro did."  Fair point, and Jaso will probably not hit half that number of dingers, but if that average and OPS stay on track, I'll take it.  And while I do not have the defensive metrics at hand, the eye test tells me that Jaso in the field has more than lapped Pedro in that department.

And then there is the loss of the Pittsburgh Kid, Neil Walker.  Josh Harrison has replaced him at second base.

Josh Harrison
Neil Walker
Hard to make the call on this one.  Harrison is outhitting Walker by sixty points, and has only one fewer run scored and two fewer RBIs despite the fact that Walker has out homered him 9-1.  Walker's OPS is forty-five points higher, they both strike out a lot and don't walk enough.  Using the same eye test that I used above with Jaso and Alvarez, I would say that Walker is better with the leather than Harrison, but not by all that much.  I call this a toss up.

Of course, the real judgment on the Neil Walker trade is the performance of the guy who came here in exchange for him.  Pitcher Jon Niese is currently 3-1 with a 5.94 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, and a BA Against of .309. Right now, that trade is heavily skewed in favor of the Mets.

Some more good news: the Pirates are now 10-8 against NL Central Division teams.  Better than last year, but that record also includes an 0-3 mark against the Cubs.

Oh, and one other statistical anomaly concerning the Cubs.  As of this morning, their 7.5 game lead over the second place Pirates, is greater than the lead of the first place team over the fifth place team in three of the other five divisions.  And take away the terrible Braves and Twins in their divisions, and the fourth place teams in those divisions are closer to first place than the Pirates are to the Cubs.  So much for all the hype over the superiority of the NL Central, competitiveness-wise.

Conclusions?  None to be made at this point.  The pitching has to get better, and Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow are banging on the door with sledge hammers down there in Indy.  Also, someone has to start slowing down the Cubs.  The Washington Nationals, nominally the second best team in the NL had the chance to do so this weekend and went 0-4.  (The Nats, by the way, are now nominally the third best team in the NL as a result.) Is it too much to ask the Pirates to begin that process this coming weekend with that three game series in Wrigley?  It will be right in front of them.

I'm not ready to give up, nor am I ready to concede the World Series to the Cubs at this point, but better pitching from the Pirates and the slowing down of the Cubs need to start soon.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
Ellyn + Paul // California

Ellyn + Paul just get it. They understand what it means to truly love — with depth, joy, sacrifice, and fervant commitment.

Of course, every couple is filled with excitement on their wedding day, but Ellyn + Paul were more than excited, they were deeply thankful. We felt it in the way they genuinely spoke about one another, frequently kissed one another, and held each other tightly. This is totally how it should be.

This wedding was wonderful, not just because it was in California, but because of the genuine love these two share.

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-179-56-52.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-05
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for January 2018
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
There is an urgent need to understand the biological and functional changes associated with brain aging, particularly when considering that age is the most potent risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Myelination and speed of mental processing both improve up to the mid-30's then breakdown or deteriorate progressively with advancing age. The similarity in trajectory between these two processes leads to the hypothesis that myelin breakdown may underlie the age-related slowing in cognitive speed. Apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) genotype increases the likelihood of developing AD and decreases age of onset. In healthy adults, presence of ApoE4 allele is associated with more rapid age-related cognitive deterioration while ApoE2 allele mitigates against cognitive decline. Cross-sectional data has demonstrated differential myelin breakdown in association with ApoE genotype with ApoE4 carriers manifesting more severe myelin breakdown. This proposal aims to investigate 1) the prospective change in myelin breakdown with age, 2) the relationship between prospective changes in myelin breakdown and processing speed, and 3) the effects of genetic markers on the prospective changes in biological and cognitive processes. We hypothesize that myelin will breakdown significantly with age;that myelin breakdown will be related to a decline in cognitive speed, and genetic status will modulate this structural-functional relationship. A cohort of 152 healthy elderly subjects underwent MRI and neuropsychological testing, producing some of the results summarized above. We plan to re-contact these subjects to repeat the imaging and cognitive testing using the same imaging protocol and test battery as the baseline evaluation. The inter-assessment interval will be about 6 years. This project will provide a rich source of longitudinal data that can be used to address questions beyond its major focus, such as predicting progression into clinically significant cognitive deficits (i.e., mild cognitive impairment;MCI).

Public Health Relevance

LAY LANGUAGE SUMMARY: By the time that a patient is diagnosed with MCI, they already have significant cognitive deficits and a substantial portion of such patients will develop Alzheimer's disease, which affects millions of people in the US and costs the healthcare system over $100 billion annually. This project has the potential to identify the interaction of imaging and genetic factors in predicting age-related cognitive decline leading to earlier implementation of clinical intervention or preventive efforts.

National Institute of Health (NIH)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
Application #
Study Section
National Institute on Aging Initial Review Group (NIA)
Program Officer
Wagster, Molly V
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
Fiscal Year
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
University of California Los Angeles
Schools of Medicine
Los Angeles
United States
Zip Code
Hsiao, Julia J; Lu, Po H; Grill, Joshua D et al. (2015) Longitudinal declines in instrumental activities of daily living in stable and progressive mild cognitive impairment. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 39:12-24
Lu, Po H; Lee, Grace J; Shapira, Jill et al. (2014) Regional differences in white matter breakdown between frontotemporal dementia and early-onset Alzheimer's disease. J Alzheimers Dis 39:261-9
Lee, Grace J; Lu, Po H; Mather, Michelle J et al. (2014) Neuroanatomical correlates of emotional blunting in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia and early-onset Alzheimer's disease. J Alzheimers Dis 41:793-800
Lee, Grace J; Lu, Po H; Medina, Luis D et al. (2013) Regional brain volume differences in symptomatic and presymptomatic carriers of familial Alzheimer's disease mutations. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 84:154-62
Teng, Edmond; Leone-Friedman, Judith; Lee, Grace J et al. (2013) Similar verbal fluency patterns in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 28:400-10
Lu, Po H; Mendez, Mario F; Lee, Grace J et al. (2013) Patterns of brain atrophy in clinical variants of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 35:34-50
Lu, Po H; Lee, Grace J; Tishler, Todd A et al. (2013) Myelin breakdown mediates age-related slowing in cognitive processing speed in healthy elderly men. Brain Cogn 81:131-8
Kang, Christine; Lee, Grace J; Yi, Dahyun et al. (2013) Normative data for healthy older adults and an abbreviated version of the Stroop test. Clin Neuropsychol 27:276-89
Bartzokis, George; Lu, Po H; Heydari, Panthea et al. (2012) Multimodal magnetic resonance imaging assessment of white matter aging trajectories over the lifespan of healthy individuals. Biol Psychiatry 72:1026-34
Teng, Edmond; Tassniyom, Kanida; Lu, Po H (2012) Reduced quality-of-life ratings in mild cognitive impairment: analyses of subject and informant responses. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 20:1016-25

Showing the most recent 10 out of 14 publications


text:
Many of the most important human pathogens including the malaria parasite, HIV, and the pneumococcus, are characterized by extensive genetic diversity generated by recombination. In order to design of effective vaccines and long-lasting drug regimens, it is critical that we understand how this diversity relates to the epidemiological dynamics of disease in human populations. While high throughput sequencing techniques are generating vast volumes of genomic sequence data from these pathogens, the analytical tools capable of making sense of them are severely limited. One of the most pressing problems is the lack of tools that can deal with these pathogens'high rates of recombination, particularly when considering the vast genetic datasets now being generated by high throughput sequencing techniques. This project represents an interdisciplinary collaboration between computer scientists and malaria biologists, bringing together deep expertise on network analysis, computational methods, epidemiology, evolutionary biology and malaria, to develop a new suite of scalable, general computational tools for visualizing and analyzing recombinant gene sequences, using the malaria parasite as a case study. Drawing on recent advances in the field of network science, the project will develop novel methods for accurately inferring """"""""recombination networks"""""""" from sequence data, automatically identifying statistically significant """"""""clusters"""""""" in these networks, and testing their epidemiological significance. Our approach focuses on alignment-free analysis methods, which naturally accommodate the recombinant shuffling of sequences, allows for the analysis of structural features of the relationships between genes, and provides insights into the effects of recombination on their evolution. In additional to answering important biological and epidemiological questions, this project will produce a novel open-source software platform that will enable researchers to analyze recombinant sequence data from a wide variety of important human pathogens.

Public Health Relevance

Many important pathogens of humans are characterized by significant genetic diversity generated by high rates of genetic exchange, and this allows them to evolve rapidly in the face of biomedical interventions. Currently, the design of vaccines and drugs and an understanding of their likely impacts on public health are hampered by a lack of computational tools that take these high rates of genetic exchange into account. This project aims to develop new computational methods to analyze large datasets of diverse gene sequence data, drawing on recent methodological advances in network science and using the human malaria parasite - an important global pathogen affecting 40% of the world's population - as a case study.

National Institute of Health (NIH)
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
Application #
Study Section
Modeling and Analysis of Biological Systems Study Section (MABS)
Program Officer
Ravichandran, Veerasamy
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
Fiscal Year
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Harvard University
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Schools of Public Health
United States
Zip Code
Bei, Amy K; Diouf, Ababacar; Miura, Kazutoyo et al. (2015) Immune characterization of Plasmodium falciparum parasites with a shared genetic signature in a region of decreasing transmission. Infect Immun 83:276-85
Larremore, Daniel B; Sundararaman, Sesh A; Liu, Weimin et al. (2015) Ape parasite origins of human malaria virulence genes. Nat Commun 6:8368
Larremore, Daniel B; Clauset, Aaron; Jacobs, Abigail Z (2014) Efficiently inferring community structure in bipartite networks. Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys 90:012805
Larremore, Daniel B; Shew, Woodrow L; Ott, Edward et al. (2014) Inhibition causes ceaseless dynamics in networks of excitable nodes. Phys Rev Lett 112:138103
Larremore, Daniel B; Clauset, Aaron; Buckee, Caroline O (2013) A network approach to analyzing highly recombinant malaria parasite genes. PLoS Comput Biol 9:e1003268


text:
27 March, 2012

Zucchini Plans...

Tonight's Agenda:

I'll be playing with zucchini recipes, as I've somehow acquired a drawer fun of zucchini.

 Gluten Free Pasta- with zucchini spaghetti.

Some sort of zucchini bread creation will also go down tonight.  I'm thinking an apricot twist... we'll see.

Stay tuned for the recipes!

No comments:

Post a Comment


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

text:
Grilled cheese and tomato soup

There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of warm tomato soup and a finger of a good grilled cheese to dunk in it. This is a homemade classic menu the whole family will fall in love with.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Start to Table: 35 Minutes
Difficulty: Easy

  • 3 to 5 lbs tomatoes, stemmed and cubed
  • Olive oil
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 1-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup cream or yogurt
  • Basil, chopped
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • A good bread (I prefer ciabatta)
  • Gruyere, sharp cheddar, or mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • Olive oil, butter or clarified butter

  1. Coat the bottom of the dutch oven with olive oil.
  2. Sweat onions and garlic in the oil over medium low heat. This will take about 10 minutes for the onions to turn nice and soft.
  3. Add tomatoes and another healthy pour of olive oil. Raise heat to medium and stew for 10 to 15 minutes.

Grilled Cheese

  1. Slice loaf into thick (½ inch) sandwich sized slices.
  2. Line slice with cheese and cover
  3. Brush outside with olive oil (or butter)
  4. Toast on high heat in Pannini press or grill on both sides in a well greased skillet.
  5. When outside is toasted and cheese is melted, remove from heat and let cool.

Bring it all together

  1. Once tomatoes are soft remove pot from heat and blend.
  2. Add cream, salt, pepper and stir into soup. Adjust to taste.
  3. Add chopped basil and serve.
  4. Cut grilled cheese into into finger sized portions perfect for dunking into the soup.

What you should know

An immersion blender is the easiest way to blend the soup. A regular blender is a good option. A food processor requires some care to keep soup from spilling over the top.

If you use butter instead of olive oil add a touch of olive oil to the butter to help keep it from burning. Clarified butter which has a higher smoke point is another good option.

Yogurt makes a tasty substitute for cream.

Re: Grilled cheese and tomato soup

This menu if perfect. I just returned from the farmers market where I picked up a couple of pounds of heirloom tomatoes that were slightly bruised. They were selling them for a $1 a pound. I was going to make sauce but I am going to try this instead and make an Heirloom Tomato Soup.

Re: Grilled cheese and tomato soup

Another great alternative for this light, creamy soup is to thicken it with grated parmesan and drizzle in some good olive oil. Toss it with some penne or curly pasta and it makes for a great second meal.

Re: Grilled cheese and tomato soup


text:
As environmental awareness spreads the issue of university sustainability is becoming increasingly important. While most universities do offer an environmental program, there is little comprehensive information pertaining to their actual environmental performance relative to other schools. With this in mind, Greenopia has released an environmental sustainability rating that ranks the nation’s 100 largest universities according to a comprehensive set of criteria that includes: green building design, waste program, food selection, campus vehicle fleet, water conservation measures, climate performance, renewable energy usage, and the overall environmental transparency of the school. The top rated ranking of four out of four green leaves was achieved by two schools: the University of Washington located in Seattle, Washington and by the University of California at Santa Barbara.

The following 14 schools achieved the next highest ranking of three out of four green leaves: Carnegie Mellon University, Colorado State University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Penn State University, Stanford University, University of California, Davis, the University of California, Irvine, the University of California, San Diego, the University of Oregon, University of Pennsylvania and University of Vermont.

A comprehensive set of criteria was used to determine the college ratings. Data was collected from each university itself or from other credible sources pertaining to the green building design, waste program, food selection, campus vehicle fleet, water conservation measures, climate performance, renewable energy usage, and the overall environmental transparency of the school. The universities were then ranked according to how they performed in each of these categories.

“It was fascinating to see the variability in the environmental performance of each university”, said Gay Browne, CEO of Greenopia. “Some schools have made a tremendous effort, while others really have yet to make any significant changes to their policies.”

Click here to see the complete list ranking the top 100 universities in the U.S. according to their environmental sustainability profile produced by Greenopia. By clicking on each university’s link in the list it is possible to drill down to a more detailed rating that evaluates the environmental strengths and weaknesses of each school.

UMassOnline Certificate in Sustainability Studies

UMassOnline Certificate in Sustainability Studies

The online Sustainability Studies Certificate Program helps students gain an understanding of the theory and practice of sustainability. This program is available for both full time students and working professionals. Sustainability Studies looks to discover and examine humanity’s philosophies and practices, past and present, as they relate to the natural and social world, and consider what new or alternative philosophies and practices might be capable of providing a sustainable, balanced, and ethical future for the planet and its inhabitants.

Click here, for more information about the UMassOnline Certificate in Sustainability Studies.

© 2009, Chris de Morsella. All rights reserved. Do not republish.

Line Break

Author: Chris de Morsella (146 Articles)

After a decade performing as a lead guitarist for rock bands, Chris de Morsella decided to return to the career his uncle mentored him in as a youth....Software Engineering. Since that time he has thrown himself into his work. He has designed a compound document publishing architecture for regulatory submissions capable of handling very large multi-document FDA regulatory drug approval submissions, for Liquent, a division of Thompson Publishing. At the Associated Press, Chris worked with senior editors at facilities around the world, to develop a solution for replacing existing editorial systems with an integrated international content management solution. He lead the design effort at Microsoft for a help system for mobile devices designed to provide contextual help for users. Chris also helped to develop the web assisted installer for LifeCam2.0, the software for Microsoft’s web cam and developed late breaking features for the product He also served with the Rhapsody client team to redesign and build a major new release of Real Networks Rhapsody client product. His most recent assignment has been Working with the Outlook Mobile Time Management team for the next release of Outlook Mobile for the SmartPhone. Chris' interests are in green building and architecture, smart grid, the cloud, geo-thermal energy, solar energy, smart growth, organic farming and permaculture. Follow Chris on Twitter.

  • Anna Prizzia

    Dissapointing that they do not report full, up-to-date information. It is confusing to people to have so many and so varied rankings for sustainability in higher education. It will be a relif when AASHE STARS is finally out and people will have a reliable source of information backed with robust data.


text:
Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Volkswagen's XL1 concept plug-in diesel hybrid has 313MPG fuel efficiency

Steaming down the autobahn could be about to get a whole lot more efficient. Volkswagen has carted out its newly updated Super Efficient Vehicle concept, now dubbed the XL1, which -- after a great deal of fuzzy math, we're sure -- is rated at a 313MPG fuel efficiency and produces only 24g of CO2 per kilometer traveled. There's an electric motor and a TDI diesel engine making all the buzzing and roaring noises inside, while the overall body design is focused on making the car as light and as aerodynamic as possible. Volkswagen has achieved a 795kg curb weight by using carbon fiber, magnesium, ceramics, and aluminum to shave down any excess portliness from the XL1, while wind-tunnel testing and optimizations have resulted in a rather exemplary 0.186 drag coefficient. It's rare to see such attributes on anything outside the supercar realm, but then there's a reason why this PHEV is still only a concept. FOF.

courtesy of Endgadget

No comments:

Post a Comment


text:
 Gromoga Publishing - Bernhard Gál

Bernhard Gál

Austrian artist, composer and musicologist Bernhard Gál is equally at home within the domains of contemporary music, installation art and media art. He has created sound installations and intermedia art projects, combining sound, light, objects, spatial concepts and video projections into intense and often site-specific, multidimensional art works. He also composes music for acoustic instruments and electro-acoustic music, as well as performing live as a (laptop) musician. Gál runs the record label Gromoga Records and is director of the Austrian art organization ‘sp ce’. Together with Belma Beslic-Gál, he curates the Viennese Festival ‘shut up and listen!’. Between 2006 and 2007 he taught sound art at the University of Arts in Berlin. Between 2010-2013 Gál held a research position at the Paris Lodron University Salzburg, in conjunction with the interdisciplinary doctoral college ‘Art and the Public’. His work has been presented in concerts, sound installations, exhibitions, and radio portraits around the world, and made available on ca. 30 audio publications as well as various catalogue books and DVDs.


text:
Code : 2294-353773      Created Date : Monday, December 18, 2017   Visit : 163

TUMS White T-Shirts Contest Winners

TUMS White T-Shirts Contest Winners received their gifts.

On Sunday, December 17, 2017, the winners of TUMS White T-shirt Contest, were invited to receive their gifts. 20 students were selected, all in all, 12 of which came to receive their T-shirts on this day. GSIA is also pleased to wish everyone a fruitful and happy winter, by celebrating Yalda Night. The students gathered at the special table of Yalda. We say our goodbyes to the beautiful and colourful autumn and we welcome winter with joy.

GSIA Yalda Table is set up in International Student Affairs at GSIA Building until this Wednesday, 20 December 2017. You are most welcome to come by, pay a visit, take a photo and read from Hafez.

Visit Gallery

Your Comments :


text:
Super Smash Bros. 3DS Sells 2.8 Million Copies

Super Smash Bros

Nintendo’s most popular fighting franchise has finally made its way onto the mobile platforms with great anticipation and fanfare. Super Smash Bros. 3DS has already sold 2.8 million copies worldwide since Oct. 3, primarily in North America, Europe and Australia. The Japanese version launched on Sept. 13 and reached 1 million sales during just the opening weekend. All this success comes in light of some initial glitches and bugs, and is only the beginning of the company’s plan for the series. The Wii U version and new amiibo action figures will follow soon.

Nintendo’s line of consoles has always been home to more family friendly games, often featuring cute characters in colorful settings. It is no surprise, then, that their take on a traditionally brutal and gory fighting genre would reflect these qualities as well. Super Smash Bros. first debuted on Nintendo 64 in 1999, bringing together a number of iconic Nintendo characters such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Pikachu or Samus on various arenas inspired by their games. Unlike traditional fighting titles where the objective is to decrease the opponent’s life bar, in Smash Bros. each punch increases a percentage score of a given character. The higher the score, the greater the knockback distance. Thus, after several well executed moves, the characters are sent flying from one end of the arena to the other with each new hit. The objective changes from killing the opponent to simply knocking them off the screen.

The game has been featured on all of Nintendo’s home platforms since the N64, but this is the first time it released on a handheld. The 2.8 million sales of Super Smash Bros. 3DS are definitely a big sign of the demand for miniaturized mayhem, undeterred by the launch issues. One bug could lead to characters being blown up to enormous sizes taking up the whole screen if swallowed up by Yoshi. While this was mostly funny and harmless, another glitch could result in temporary one-day ban when playing as princess Peach online. Some speculated the reasons had to do with Peach’s ability to pull turnips out of the ground and use them like traditional items. Doing so in game modes which disable items might have fooled the game into thinking the player was cheating, thus resulting in a ban.

Nintendo apologized for these glitches and has supposedly issued a fix already. Copies bought outside Japan required a day-one patch to unlock the multiplayer content as well as provide other adjustments. However, the patch was not applied automatically, requiring the gamers to go to the online eShop and download it manually. It also required the latest 3DS firmware version to run properly.

Despite these minor setbacks, Super Smash Bros. 3DS was met with a warm reception and enthusiasm. The success gives a lot of hope for the upcoming Wii U version, particularly for Nintendo who has been struggling with the console’s sales. It is scheduled to release on Nov. 21 in the U.S. and Dec. 5 in Europe, and supports Nintendo’s latest line of interactive figurines called the amiibo. The little toys can be hooked up to the console during gameplay, offering new features and abilities.

Super Smash Bros. has grown to be one of Nintendo’s strongest franchises, and selling 2.8 million copies since the start of the month further attests that. Combining an innovative and addictive fighting formula with a variety of characters and stages from numerous Nintendo’s titles simply could not fail. Several other fighting titles attempted similar crossovers, such as Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, but few had the scope and charm of Super Smash Bros. With upcoming Wii U release and the amiibos, Nintendo definitely has a lot of plans for the series.

By Jakub Kasztalski

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


text:
Having a good job isn’t something to take for granted these days and working hard to keep that job is an extremely important part of a man’s life. It’s a man’s deepest desire to provide a good life and home for his family, at least that’s how it was for Robbie. Robbie was your typical… Read More →

Nothing can prepare you for the debilitating fear and anxiety you can feel after an automobile-related accident. Within an instant, an unexpected collision can land you in the hospital with severe injuries, insurmountable medical expenses, and time away from work and family. These obstacles can feel impossible to overcome. Josh is a client of ours… Read More →

Car Accidents and Uninsured/Underinsured Drivers–You Could Pay For It

Car accidents can be stressful, traumatic, and painful experiences, even in the best case scenario. Learning that the other driver is uninsured or has inadequate coverage often worsens your anxieties. If a motorist with little or no insurance causes an accident you’re in, you could face a much heavier financial burden than you would had… Read More →


text:
Wednesday, 1 February 2017

Rotoscope Gorilla

Completed for a class project. I am trying to implement my experience as an actor into my animated characters. I am channeling Laurence Olivier in his performance of Hamlet (1948).  It was an exciting exercise which I will develop upon in further assignments.

Rotoscope Gorilla from Gus Kearns on Vimeo.

Odd Sock Animated Short

This is an animated short I made in my free time at Staffordshire University.

Whilst still only on my first term, I was itching to sink my teeth into an animated short with a three act structure and story.  Although it is a rough piece of animation, I consider it a success as it was a four minute film, scheduled and completed on a tight time frame.  I had a week of pre-production, 3 weeks animation and a month of working in post-production.  The film had over 40 separate shots and 10 setups. Please enjoy!

The Odd Sock from Gus Kearns on Vimeo.


text:
Lights off
Lights on
Video ▶

A second aneurysm leaves Beverly brain dead and Deacon consumed with guilt, while Scarlett is forced to decide whether or not to keep Beverly on life support. Meanwhile, Juliette continues a destructive pattern of erratic behavior, pushing Avery to make the heart-wrenching decision to file for divorce.

Episode Guide


text:
Search News:

Recent News

Arendt & Gun Control

In The Stone yesterday Firmin DeBrabander references Hannah Arendt to buttress his argument for gun control in the wake of the tragic massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. I’ve wanted to avoid turning a true tragedy into a political cause, but DeBrabander’s thoughtful essay merits a response. The thrust of DeBrabander’s reflection is that the presence of…Read more Arendt & Gun Control Posted on 18 December 2012 | 11:26 am


text:
Novafile Premium Account 2018 – Username Password Generator Premium account generator with Free Username and Password: Novafile is the leading online cloud storage space that is available globally. If you are worrying about data loss or data being hack then this is the place for you. You just need to create your account to start storing your private data online.

It is not just a data storing wallet but it has many more features too. It provides some advance feature that no any competitors offer you. Basically NovaFile offer two types of account;

Free Account: It is the basic account that you will get by default once you register to Nova-file. It has certain limitation about data storing etc.

Premium Account: It is the upgraded version of FREE account. Premium is paid account but it worth the money. It comes with so many features, so you will fall in love with that. If you are serious about your data then this is the membership for you.

Features of Premium Account

  • Gives you 20 GB of space to store your important data files, documents, video and audio and many more. Whereas, free account comes with just 500MB storage space.
  • Lightening fast download speed.
  • Download your files in parallel. You can download more than one document simultaneously.
  • Share your file and data with your friend through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and by G-mail.
  • It uses 32bit encryption technology so 100% secure and flexible.
  • It is far reliable option than its competitor.
  • Unlimited download and upload. No any restriction on uploading or downloading your data.
  • Available In low rates compare to other storage spaces.

How to get a Novafile premium account for FREE?

First of all by default pro account is not available for all. You have to pay real money to subscribe for that. They support various kind of payment option including PayPal, credit card or direct bank payment. If you are in need of premium membership but can’t spend money on that then here is the good news for you.

You can have free premium account with the use of some hack tool or online generator. It is the program that fetches the unused or idle account for you. It is 100% free tool that anyone can use from Windows, Mac or Android OS. It is undetectable and secure too. You no need to use your personal identity, so it is 100% reliable and trustworthy too.
How to use Novafile Password Generator?

You might be wondering how to use such tool. Don’t worry! Here are the steps that you can follow to use this cracker to generate unlimited premium account for FREE.

How to Use It?

  • First of all click the link to launch the official site or point hack tool.
  • Make sure that you already copied the link of registered account.
  • Paste that link into box in webpage of generator.
  • Then click on “Submit” button.
  • Wait for few seconds to complete the back-end process.

Congratulation! Sniffer hack tool just successfully generated premier account for you. If you have any query here then feel free to contact me or place your comment here.

Ourworld Coin Codes 2018 – Free Monthly Gem Hack

Ourworld Coin Codes and Free monthly Gem Hack: The Ourworld was released in 2008 and developed by flowplay. It is an online game and containing online activities. It supports multiplayer mode, hence you can play this game with your friend and family online.

Ourworld is the virtual world game that provides task or we have to do or perform some activities which would be given by game. It contains different characters with that we have to play and earn some points. It is massively play browser based game.

Basically if we go for this game than its causal game and it’s particularly played in your personal pc with personal web browser. So for this game you must have your personal computer and it’s joystick. However really nice game contains much more things, characters, mysteries and most important things about it is that you are a real life character of this game.

What is In-Game Currency?

There are mainly two types of currencies are available in these games that are coins and gems but flow is also a one type of currency which would be converting into coins and gems.  You can buy such in-game currencies with your real money or by winning the championship and completing certain missions.

Importance of coins and gems in OurWorld

As I said above mainly coins and gems are currencies for buying anything, However flow can be earned by talking, dancing, eating and drinking, and playing games. And which would be converted in to gems and coins. So let’s talk importance and benefits of coins and gems,

  • Mainly with the gems and coins you can buy anything’s of the store. You can trade it to improve your play and level too.
  • Helps to upgrade you to premium account username.
  • With this you can talk each others, create groups, and interchange things with your friends and much more things you have to do with currencies.
  • Easily available and updateable all the things.

Best ourworld Coins and Gem Codes

Below are some valid codes that you can use to grab various gaming items for FREE without spending real money.

  1. BE55-D4BD-C11A-4BE7– Apply the code to earn 250 gems for FREE. It is valid for this entire week.
  2. 4A94-636D-2066-2FEA or 3194-488A-8316-668D – Both of these codes are valid for 10 gems earnings.
  3. 3194-488A-8316-668D and 524B-9A4C-46CF-FECD- You can apply either of these codes to get 50 more coins with your total order of 200 coins.
  4. Up to 25% Off  If you are new user then this is the deal for you. Enjoy whopping 25% discount on your first order of coins or gems or premium account. No any minimum purchase required.

How to generate ourworld monthly gem and coins for FREE?

If none of above codes work for you and if you still want to get Gems, coins or VIP premium account for FREE then I have good news for you. Without spending real money or any of such you can still earn FREE monthly supply of ourworld gems and coins.

There are certain online generator programs or desktop whatsapp hack tool that you can use generate unlimited coins and gems. Simply open the tool website or download crack on your PC or mobile to start using it.

WhatsApp Sniffer Hack 2018 – Free Download Tool

Tips to Download WhatsApp Sniffer Hack Tool for FREE: WhatsApp is a cross platform messenger application that permits iPhone, Samsung, Nokia, blackberry and another type of phone. It works for android, iOS and windows operating system (OS) users to mutually interchange text, audio, videos and latest document messages for free.

It is a complete free message application where we can chat with friends, sharing videos and audios, important documents…so it’s an appreciative stuff for who have to connect with friend each and every time.

What is WhatsApp Sniffer?

WhatsApp sniffer is an application capable to transfer all the WhatsApp messages of other users to your WhatsApp with full details, so with this we can read other persons messages of WhatsApp and we can see her or his online status or profile pictures. Ultimately we can hack on someone else WhatsApp account and get all their secret details and data.

Simply if we say this tool diverts all the traffic into your side…

For that we need rooted android smart phone, so here one question arise what is root Smartphone?

Root Smartphone:

Rooting is the process of allowing users of smart phones, tablets and other gadgets running the Android mobile operating system to achieving special rights to control (known as root access) over various Android subsystems. With the root permission one can access core android files and data. It become necessary to perform some operating system related task.

How to Root Smartphone for WhatsApp Sniffer?

This app use ARP spoofing which divert all the traffic in your side so if in traffic WhatsApp messages are available than it will displays them in user friend conversation style views. It displays both incoming and outgoing messages and also displays audio and video.

Mostly this type of login and account hack tool are being used by partners or lovers who have to care each other or have to know is a right or not?? So for that it’s a very helpful tool. Sometime, private organization and employer use such hack tool to sniffing the Whatsapp of their employees.

Top Features of WhatsApp Sniffer and Hack Bot

  • Provides accurate details about incoming and outgoing conversations including messages, audio, video and data files etc. It works with any kind of operating system such as Android, iOs, Windows or any other.
  •  The captured messages and conversations are separated by their numbers in a systematic way.
  • App will notify you when any messaging updates will be available.
  • Premium generator also matches the phone numbers that have been hacked.
  • It is ad-free, so no any nuisance comes in your work. Furthermore, It is 100% safe and malware free.
  • You can keep only the important conversations and the rest you can delete.
  • It is Free to use application that doesn’t require any additional tools and credential like username and password.

How to Download the Hack tool?

Below are the simple and easy to follow steps to downloading the WhatsApp sniffer hack on your desktop or mobile phone.

  • Follow the link given here to download the gold hack tool i.e WhatsApp Sniffer Apk file.

  • Install WhatsApp sniffer: Browse the download folder and click on apk file to install it on your Smartphone.
  • Launch the app on mobile,

It is a last step where you need to tap on the app icon to open it. After launching it you need to fill up some required information to start using it.

  • Congratulation! You have successfully installed Whatsapp Sniffer crack on your device. It’s time to hack on someone else Whatsapp now.

If you have any query about online cheat code tool then you can post it here.

Nitroflare Premium Account 2018 Free Password Link Generator

Nitroflare Free Password and link generator for Premium Account: Nitroflare is one of the most popular international services for providing fast and safe file transferring, distribution and storage backup. servers transfer speed is one of the fastest, and the storage is nearly unlimited whatever you choose.

Nitroflare is an online space for storing documents, necessary files, materials and to store whatever you want to be as a secure online. It is a place to backup or recovers a file.

Some choose physical gadgets for storing purpose but when it’s missing then your all data will be destroyed, and here you can access your files anytime by logging into the website and downloading your file.

Types of Nitroflare Accounts:

There are two types of accounts are available;
1)    Free account: here you have no any limits, no any restriction it’s like free.
2)    Premium account: here all things are in a must be manner, you have more speed for download, more space for storage.

Benefit of Nitroflare Premium Accounts

Here I am giving you some features of premium account it will be inspired you to select login accounts,

  • Downloads start immediately means it does not take much more time for starting the download and it’s also done easily without any interrupt.
  • No, any captcha request needed or no any invite code is waiting.
  • Unlimited download speed is provided for premium users, so it’s also significant benefits for these type users.
  • No any advertisements, pop-ups, and layers.
  • Storage capability also very high for premium users so more numbers of data and files you can be a store.
  • Stimulant downloads are also possible means if one download is completed then after another is started without taking any time duration in between that downloads.
  • Resume facility:  means due to any critical condition you are capable of pausing the download so no need to start a download with first.
  • Customer support system is also well.

How to use Nitroflare Premium link generator?

Premium account generator is for; who have to use all the VIP things freely mean with this you can have all things freely.

In the market, various types of premium link generator are available like a leech. Ninja, hungry. Leech and much more but….PLG is famous.

Mostly using a PLG Coin hack is easy. You can follow the simple steps and download any file.

  • Open the website of any PGL. Make sure it supports the host site from which you desire to make the download.
  • For this case, login is required so use the password and username to do.
  • After the success of your login, only post the desired download link.
  • After a short waiting time, a premium account link is generated.
  • This link can be used to complete the download successfully.

By following these simple steps, you can have all the benefits which otherwise tag along with a Nitroflare premium account and hence demand to be paid for.

You do not need to pay any money and will easily get all features reserved for the premium members. So go there and download for Windows or MAC PC and start using that to get all the features.

Filesmonster Premium Account 2018 Password Generator

Filesmonster Premium Account and Free username and password generator: Filesmonster is a basically data transfer platform established in 2007 where you can stream your data and many other things.

It’s an online platform for digital content dispensations. So it is kind of online digital content distribution company where content owners can change or add his data online. It will save your time, money and give you more flexibility.

Filesmonster is the online place where you can store your important files, video, audio, ebook and other content in digital format. It’s a full proof storage solution of your data and you can transfer your data to another. Not only you can transfer that but you can also receive data from other users.

Types of Filesmonster Account

Basically if we see other platform of these types then they mostly have two types of account,

  • Free account: Anyone can simply register with their email id and name to create FREE account. However, there are certain limitations here.
  • Premium account: As name implies, it contains some advance feature on top of the free account. You can upgrade to premium account by spending real money. You might be wondered, what the heck this premium account does offer to you? Check below section to get clear idea.

Benefits of Premium Account

  • You have fast download speed.
  • Automatic backup of your files to avoid any data loss.
  • You can access multiple files simultaneously.
  • Privileged channel access.
  • Sharing via social media, email and whatsapp is available.
  • More storage space would be also given for premium account users as compare to free users.
  • Streaming of videos and download of this account would be also better compare to free users.

How to Get Filesmonster Premium Account for FREE?

When you first launch Filesmonster site then you have two choices; free and premium. Mostly all of us dream about premium membership because of its advanced features. Premium things don’t come free; yes you need to pay some money to get all that features. If you still want it for FREE then here is the trick for you.

There are keygen crack and free password generator tool. Fortunately they are free and available to all. You just have to use it properly to get your own premium account for FREE. It is 100% safe and secure too.

How to Use Password Generator Tool?

You might be wondered, how to utilize such tool to generate password for premium accounts. Please follow below steps for same.

  • First of all visit this link to launch the official site of this Filesmonster username Hack tool.
  • Now, you have two options here. Either to download it or use it online.
  • Open the hack tool page and paste the links of your account (i.e. username)
  • After that click the generate button. Wait for some time to complete the background process.
  • Bingo! You got your premium account that is completely FREE.

No need to use any gem hack here! Please share your views and thoughts about this premium hack, so that others tool get idea from it.

Pokemon Light Platinum Cheats Codes 2018 Gameshark Rom Download

Pokemon Light Platinum Cheats and GameShark Rom Codes Download: Pokemon Light Platinum is a Monster Capture game published by Wesley FG in January 1, 2009 for the GameBoy Advance (GBA) platform.

If we discuss more about this game than it was first launched in 2007 in a mobile format but due to some technical fault and several other things it was released again in 2009. Moreover, the game is inspired by the famous Japanese cartoon of Pokemon and the activities of this game are also same as the Pokemon.

How to play Pokemon Light Platinum?

It is nothing but the remake version of 2007 game but it includes lots more new features including new roles, missions, and gaming gears. It generates 3rd and 4th generation of Pokemon and also fakemons.  The game features new place or region called zhery. Good thing about the Pokemon hack is that you can capture all Pokemon from all previous regions or places, and also all legendary Pokemon. There is also a final process called Pokemon World Championship where your mettle will be tested to the all around things.

Some movement, premium account link and key here I am telling you which would be helpful for playing the game,

Arrow key is used for Movement in the game.
1) “Space key” is for Select options
2) “Enter key “– Start the game.
3) “ Z” key – a button
4) “X” key – b button
5) “S” key – r buttons
6) “A” key – l button

And last for save the game you have 2 more buttons for save your process or game,

Down arrow icon is for saving the game, while up arrow icon is for loading the game.

Pokemon light Platinum Cheats and Gameshark Rom Features

A Game Shark is the online database of hack codes and cheats for various games. It often requires user to manually enter the codes get desired effect and items, such as infinite health, life, money, coins, boost (in racing games), or magic (MP, mana, etc. in the case of many RPGs games).

How to use Pokemon Light Platinum Gameshark Rom?

First of all, open GBA Emulator and visit the cheats. Find your choice of code and copy and paste your desired code. Most of time GBA emulators have the option to turn on or off the individual cheat codes. Make sure to active your cheats option in emulator’s premium account.

Top Pokemon Light Platinum Gameshark Codes

Below are the working coin codes for this game.

  • Please enter any of below Master Codes into the VBA Emulator.

  • Use the code to get Infinite money.

82025BC4E0FF 82025BC605F5

  • Receive unlimited items. Valid once per user per account.

And many more cheat codes are available for this,

How to download Gameshark Rom for Codes?

Do you want more such codes for infinite money, health, life and other gaming items? Then you need to download GameShark Rom. It Is the tool that will get you all the in-game currencies and items for FREE. Follow this link to download the hack or alternatively, you can use the online item and coin hack tool for Pokemon game.

Animal Jam Item Adder 2018 (Free Gems and Diamonds)

Animal Jam Item Adder for Free Diamonds and Gems: Animal jam is an online multiplayer virtual game which was established by WildWorks in a partnership with national geographic in a 2010. It is a free to play game where you don’t spend any money for that so it’s a one type of online game.

How to play Animal Jam(AJ)?

It’s a free to play virtual world game for kids. So first go to the homepage of this game and click play now button and after that create animal button than you have one option for choosing one animal from the list of animals. On top of that, you have one more option to select choice of animal, simply name the animal to get it instantly.

Animal Jam also offers various kind of paid membership that comes with extra features. You need to spend money to buy such membership. It is available for 1 mon, 3 months and one year. Based on your requirement, you can select any of such membership.

Importance of Animal Jam Gem, Diamond and Items

First of all, one question that might arise in your mind that, what are these gem, diamond and items?

Gem is a basic currency of this game and another currency also exits like as diamonds, tickets and earth crystals. All of them are being used for purchasing in-game items and gears like Jam mart clothing, premium account username, jam mart furniture, makeup kit, foods & beverages, footwear and many other things are available on the shops.

Players can see his/her gem at the top right of the account dashboard. You can see gem earned during various competition or gems/diamonds that you had bought earlier to utilize that for future purchases.

The Animal Jam Items Adder for Free Gem and Diamond

The animal jam item generator is a gem hack tool which can generate the free gems, diamonds and items for this game. Usually you have to pay real money to have such in-game currencies but with such online points generator you can get in-game items for FREE.

Features of this tools,

  • Gains all things (i.e. Gems, Diamonds and Items) for completely free.
  • Gives you 100% accuracy.
  • It is 100% Safe, undetectable and reliable too.
  • Easy to use.
  • Generate unlimited numbers of gaming currencies. Literally no any limitation.
  • Free to available all the users. It is available for almost all the OS.

How to Use Animal Jam Item Adder?

So, you have decided to use Animal Jam Gem Hack but don’t know how and where to start? Then below are the steps for you.

  • First of all download this item hack tool from the given link.
  • No any installation required. Simply open the file to run the program. Alternatively, you can try online premium account generator tool too.
  • After launching the tool or online site, enter your AJ username.
  • Select various types of options such as amount of Gems, Items, Diamonds and Tickets that you would like to generate.
  • Click on “Submit” button to start the generator tool.
  • Enjoy the FREE items.

Alfafile Premium Account 2018 (Free Link Generator)

Alfafile Free Premium Account and Link Generator: There are various online technique exists, where we can put our data easily but is that savable or secure in future for us. So here Alfafile is a one type of web which put your data or save your data or any important thing in online safely. It protects you to hardware, software or any dangerous things related to your data.

Generally Alfafile features two types of the account. Below are the details for same;

  • Free account: in free account you simply have to register with your name or basic info. But here note one thing, you cannot use this account for your official purpose because it’s one type of demo account.
  • Premium account: As name implies, it is far better than basic subscription. Premium gives you lot more features, options and advantages over basic. However, you need to pay money to buy it but it worth every single penny.

Features of Alfafile Premium Account

Below are some awesome features that you would get with premium subscription as compare to this free account;

  • High speed download is available whereas basic acct has limited speed.
  • In basic membership download is restricted where in premium there are no any restrictions for downloading anything.
  • You can download unlimited things parallel but in free at a time 1 would be possible.
  • You can resume more than one download at a time.
  • Instant download would be possible.
  • Linking would be available.
  • Share your data through Whatsapp, Facebook, Gmail and other social media platform.
  • Provides advance security to protect your data.
  • You can access your data at anytime from anywhere.
  • Good support service would be available.

How to Get Premium Account for FREE?

If you want to use pro account, you have to subscribe for premium subscription. But It is not free, you need to spend real money and sometime costly for individual and small organization. If you don’t want to spend real money but still want to enjoy premium account for FREE then you should promo code. However, It can give you discount only but if you want it for absolutely free only then there is only one option for you. Try online item generator and hack tool to get unlimited number of the premium account for FREE but for that you have to download this tool in your mobile device or desktop.

Alfafile Premium Link Generator

With the help of premium link generator you can get unlimited number of pro username and password without any payment. You simply have to follow below steps to operate this tool.

  • Click here to download this tool or alternatively you can use online credit hack program.
  • Open this tool.
  • Feel up all the required data.
  • Click the submit button and wait for few seconds to fetch unused account for you.
  • Hurray! You have premium username and password now. Start using it to enjoy premium features.

Hope it help you! In case of any query you can reach out me by commenting here.

Filefactory Premium Account 2018 (Free Link Generator) Premium Account and Free Link Generator. Filefactory is a leading provider of free hosting since 2005. With the help of them you can store your important data and digital information securely.

Filefactory is an online filesharing solution that allows you to share file with your friends or all over the world. With the help of you can send images, tunes (music) or your favorite videos to your friend. And you can download also some others images, videos and all the stuff in this site.

Types of account they offer:

Mainly it would be categorized by three types of the account,

  • 1.) Free account. It is the basic account that anyone can get by simple registering with email address and name.
  • 2.) Anonymous account: If you don’t want to share your details and just want to use them to get shared file of your friend then you can create anonymous account without your name and email address.
  • 3) Premium account. It is main account type for those who have to seriously work on this site. Here it would provide lots of features and lots of options. You have to simply subscribe some premium packages in order to become a premium member.

Features of Filefactory Premium Account

Below are some awesome features that premium account holder can experienced,

  • Get unlimited download speed without any bandwidth restriction.
  • More than one parallel download processes are allowed, whereas in free account only one is possible.
  • You also have an unlimited file storage space.
  • Here direct download also possible compare to other 2 account.
  • You have resume download support or download manager support.
  • No any banner ads or any ads coming in your working time.
  • Linking would be possible here compare to free or anonymous.
  • Share your important files through Whatsapp, Facebook and other social media platform.
  • Provides highest level of security for your important data.
  • 24×7 customer support from team of experts.

How to Get File Factory Free Premium Account?

There are lots of technique exist online for getting free premium account, but all of are not legally approved and used by customers.

For getting premium account one can use promo codes to save up to 80% off the retail price. However it won’t give you account for FREE, rather you will get some short of discount only. Moreover you can borrow an account from existing user but chances are rare that you will find any of such people who would like to share his/her details with you. So that last way for you is to try online premium link generator, it is used for getting premium account freely with unlimited time for an unlimited account.

Filefactory Premium Link Generator

The free credit adder is a one type of the software which generates unlimited number of the account any time or anywhere. With this you can have more number of premium accounts like this you use free. You don’t have to spend any single money for download premium account generator.

How to use it?

  • Click this page to access online hack tool.
  • Follow the steps to run it online.
  • Enjoy the Filefactory premium username and password.

Upstore Premium Account Password 2018 (Free Generator)

Upstore Premium Account Password Generator for FREE: Upstore is an online storage for storing your documents and whenever you want to place online securely. Bottom line is that, It provides an online storage space where you can upload videos, images, audios, and any other important files. Later you can download that as your convinces.

Upstore was founded in 2012 with the aim to provide the individual and big organization an online space to store their secure data. The organization helps customers to exchange indexes through the web on any separation, even from USA to Singapore and retrogressive Maxiwebconsulting Ltd. Upstore is having secure setups in some most essential nations, for example, USA also UK, to further enhance administrations to customers.

Types of Upstore Accounts

There are two types of accounts of Upstore,

  • Free account: It is the basic account that anyone can grab by registering their email address and full name.
  • Premium account: It is upgraded version of basic account which offers some premium features. In order to have such features you need to buy a premium membership.

Benefit and Feature of Upstore Premium Account

  • With premium Upstore account you have excessive speed of download. You can download records without any interrupts. And download speed also very high upto 1000mbps.
  • Parallel downloads possible so you can’t have to wait for completing your download process.
  • Premium account users can upload data up to 5 GB and for free user uploading limit is up to 2 GB.
  • It is Safe and secure online storage network.
  • No any captchas are coming when you are downloading your data, so captcha un-interference is also big benefits for this premium account users.
  • It supports almost all kind of files and data with advanced encryption to avoid hackers.
  •  Unlimited download without any limits.
  • 1 click downloads available.

Top Upstore Premium Account Username and Password

Below are the 5 examples of Upstore premium account username and password,

  • Username:

Password: mrclean1

  • Username:

Password: mahojen

  • Username:

Password: 081985

  • Username: all pass here=fake

Password: NoPasswordForFakeAccount

  • Username:

Password: k87PaxHn

How to Use Premium Link Generator for

First of all what is the premium link generator for It is an online tool for generating premium account. With the help of link generator, you can generate unlimited number of premium account for FREE.

Bottom line is that, it is FREE and it can generate any number of accounts within fraction of seconds. So you no need to buy premium Upstore account by spending real money. All you have to do is to use this sniffer hack whenever you want premium features.

Various types of these tools are available in market like as leecher, leech listing and many more.

How to use Online Generator?

  • Go to the official site of MOL point hack.
  • Copy the link of registered account.
  • Paste this link into box which you have in official site of link hack generator.
  • Then generate
  • They will provide steps for generating premium account for FREE.
  • Done and enjoy the premium features.

So here Upstore is an online space for storing any type of data so with this we can secure our important documents and files.


text:
Sunday, April 19, 2015

Testing Redux. Just Go Climbing.

Even though the front page of the Wisconsin State Journal included quotes and personal experiences about standardized testing and my family, and even though it's considered a "movement" that my family is a part of, I'm over it for now.

Along with my colleagues we've been inundated with training, test protocols, updates, and directives.  Now that I just finished a week of Badger Exam testing, I have new feelings - not to mention new thoughts, about the entire experience.

what it looks like
One is emotional.  The week prior to testing, my teaching partners and I told the kids with high absenteeism and/or tardies that "it's important you come to school every day for testing."  It kills me that even though in the past, I've strongly encouraged them to be on time and attend school (only to be met with no change or inconsistent efforts), do you know those select kids came to school every single day last week and on time. Psyched they came but also confused.  Why did their attendance behavior effort show up due to testing?  I mean, there was a small incentive but these particular kids would be unfazed by it.

Related to this were my silent and open rah rahs.  My investment in my students doing their best was amped - I would be disingenuous if I did not admit to feeling concerned that their efforts and outcomes reflect on my teaching.  I swear I did more hugging and gave more contrived compliments in those 2 hour periods than what is typical for me.  You know what that tells me?   It tells me I'm worried.

But the flip side is I feel affirmed.  I looked at just about every ELA test question and know I taught the related standard.  At the same time, I cringed when I watched more than once, and more than one  student select an incorrect answer.  And I couldn't help hearing the silent slightly annoyed mutterings going on in my head: WTF? You proved you knew that skill when assessed in my classroom!

When you're in the thick of it as a teacher and a parent you're trying to decide what is best for the good of students and teachers, while considering the broader mission.  I find it despairing.  The truth is there are other things I'd like to get my hands on that align with the opt out movement, and in my reality, are more important to address, such as why are grades reported on several sheets of paper as standards, but then on the last page, those standards are converted to letter grades?  Why do my kids teachers use percentages as final scores when we are supposed to be using standard based grading?  Who benefits from these incomplete and inconsistent and inaccurate measures of achievement?

#noonedoes #absurd #shortonpatience

Okay I'm done and moving on.  I have a favorite cookie I discovered for all of you living here in Madison - it's the oatmeal-raison w/flak seeds at Java Cat.  In other news, I found storage space on my iphone, I'm obsessed with Wu Tang Clan's album A Better Tomorrow, and can't wait for Ana Tijoux's concert tomorrow.  Here are a few documented highlights of my week . . .

push up challenge #twoonfleek

why i still teach

my dependable spotter

warming up
fun boulder

So much to do, so much light now that it's spring which means we all should just go climbing.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Ranting and Roaming Inside and Out (climbing!)

If you live in WI, this is the place to be

I went to bed last night with a rant in my head and woke up with that same rant.  Got it out of the way once I shared those thoughts with two trusted people but still can't let it go.  It has to do with the recent cover page of Time Magazine.  It looks like this:

Does anyone agree with me that this cover is unfortunately a tragic incomplete representation of #Blacklivesmatter?

What about this one from the Rolling Stones?  This has nothing to do with #Blacklivesmatter and everything to do with mainstream audiences being duped by the media.

What do you make of this relative to corporate media influences?  Is anyone paying attention to the timeline of events and the construct of race relative to the covers of these two magazines?   Tell me if you do please.  I need to know.

Anyway, some cool things happened this week and weekend.  My students and I are thriving off of National Poetry Month.  We wrapped up the week with our first Open Mic Friday and there were some narratives out there from the mouths of babes that make you wanna create billboards of their poetry, not to mention just give 'em a big squeeze for being so f'in real.

Misa and John-Pio's opening night for "Snow White" was this weekend and it was packed.  Both kids love their work and are learning how to manage their sleep time, homework, water intake, along with chores, physical activity, and just every day fun.

Some of the Playtime Productions cast - Misa's post was: "The amazing crew.  We did good tonight!"
And Brad and I spent some time climbing at the Lake and inside at Boulders which we can count as day dates since we were kid-less.  Here's what it looked like outside . . .

Capturing the elusive vitamin D

Remembered the beta

Short and quick hike out

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Identity (and Climbing)

April 1st and spring break.  National poetry month and climbing.  Things are ramping up and winding down. The markers are crystal clear on the work and homefront, not to mention other types of involvement race related.  I sat on two different panels in the past month; both focused on race and both were worthwhile.  The last panel was "How to talk to your kids about sensitive topics," which was a little challenging when you're of the direct parenting kind - the say-it-straight-up, be-real kind. In my fam, there's just nothing "sensitive" about race.  When you're in your own skin you're living and breathing that color every single moment.  So what I seem to be re-learning is that it's not an easy topic for a lot of parents - for a lot of people in general.

As a takeaway to those panels, I wanted people to leave waging a battle with themselves that starts from a place of Identity.   I wanted people to understand that their stories matter.  A lot. And to get to a place of comfort with kids, we have to know our own stories. We have to believe our stories matter. And we have to tell our stories.  Because stories can make the difficult, understandable.  #wagebeauty

One place to start is by celebrating - either by writing, reading, or listening - to the poems people are sharing.  I've been reading from the blog "Woodland Pattern" which features our two Madison poet laureates, Wendy Vardmann and Sarah Busse - both have written for my blog at different times, both wonderful truth tellers.  I've also been rotating through some of Nikki Giovanni's work because she's just so dope, and recently, Toni Blackman's relevance in her music has been speaking to me.  There are so many good ones out there and perhaps by intentionally celebrating National Poetry Month, you'll feel inspired and write your stories down.

Okay so that's that for now - writing has been a little sporadic lately and I haven't been very moved to write anything publicly.  It's been a little like climbing; I love it but sometimes I have to leave it alone for a bit so I can give it my all when I get back to it.  Yesterday I got outside with Lisa and Melissa - super fun and beautiful day!

Here's what we did . . .


text:
Haisum's Blog It's not a bug, it's a feature.

My Favorite Programmer cartoons

I had to write something today, got busy with something else so keeping it short by sharing my favorite xkcd comics:

Source : RTFM

If only programmers became better at reading documentation, this world would be a much better place.

Exploits of a Mom:

Exploits of a Mom

Source : Exploits of a Mom

Sanitization is important, learn parameter binding, you will do yourself, your company and your users a big favor.

####More later…

I will add more comics in this post later. Till then you can follow this awesome stackoverflow thread for best programmer cartoons.


text:
Yves Satan Laurent c/o Killer Condo, eyeball leggings via eBay, Margiela heels, Mandy Coon bunny bag, Louis Vuitton shades, green cocktail ring c/o Hard Candy Gems, eBayed snake earring/ear cuff sterling bracelets/bangles brought home from Europe by Bobby.

vintage White Zombie tee, leopard print lace-up leggings, "punk flyer" messenger bag all eBayed; knockoff Alaia booties from Target, cheap-o shades, Margiela black powder-coated bangle & ring, various other sterling rings & bangles.

T-shirt c/o VOW, Kaarme "Gemini" studded cutoffs, vintage David Ackerman boots, Skingraft talon bag, pink druzy ring c/o Hard Candy Gems, "split" stone ring c/o Union Studio, earrings c/o Vanessa Mooney, bracelet via eBay, all other rings vintage sterling.

VOW makes the best destroyed tees. I received this super soft one awhile back, which is part of their second collection. If destroyed is not your jam, VOW also offers non-destroyed versions of all of their designs.

I'm on a roll, yeah? More soon. xo

No. 666 tee c/o Killer Condo, faux leather laced-up pants via eBay, Ann Demeulemeester triple-lace boots, Jil Sander shades, BOYY Slash bag, pink druzy & speckled jasper cocktail rings (right index & middle) c/o Hard Candy Gems; "Love Angels" rosary necklace, tri-color "Serpent" ring (left middle), & "Poison" earrings c/o Vanessa Mooney; lapis ring (left index) & random sterling ring (right ring) both vintage, all bracelets purchased by Bobby in Europe except for the Tiffany's padlock.

I got these pants for dirt cheap off of glorious eBay, along with a cornucopia of other sick pants, leggings, and overalls (yes, overalls -- and yes, I made them look badass), which you'll see in the very remote future. The shirt was sent to me from the amazing people over at Killer Condo ... it is also available in black, which I have as well. KC's tees are so soft and whenever I wear them out, I get a slew of "omg-where-did-you-get-that-shirt" compliments from passer-bys. Love, love, love. I'm also loving my new pink druzy ring, courtesy of Hard Candy Gems. HCG's treasures are not only stand-out gaudy-gorgeous, but amazingly comfortable; both my husband and I wear their rings on a daily basis. I have purchased statement pieces online for triple the price of what a Hard Candy Gems piece runs for, only to be disappointed by the crappy quality. Trust this woman when I say this to you right now: you CANNOT go wrong with HCG.

I'm going to end this post on an extremely positive note by making a very exciting announcement. I'm so honored that Troma Productions (the legendary horror film company responsible for classics like the Toxic Avenger series, Terror Firmer, and Blood Sucking Freaks) contacted the nefarious scoundrels at Käärme Concepts and asked us to provide the costumes for their current production, Return to Nuke 'Em High. Return to Nuke 'Em High will be the fourth installment in the Nuke 'Em High series (read more on Nuke 'Em High here, and we at Käärme are majorly pumped to see our gear on the Cretins, the leading ladies, and the other cast members. So we're warning you now: watch Return to Nuke 'Em High when it unleashes itself on Netflix, Redbox, On Demand, etc etc etc, or we'll make sure the next joint you smoke is radioactive weed and you puke a baby monster into a toilet bowl ;)

Class of Nuke 'Em High - 1986

More soon! I've been killin' it with semi-frequent posting, yeah?