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Too many clothes – and I like them all!

I haven’t sewn for about a week, and the main reason is, I think, that I had absolutely nowhere to put new clothing. I have one double wardrobe for the majority of my clothing, plus a few drawers which are taken up mainly with underwear, nightwear, accessories and shoes.  (Out of season stuff is stored in the attic.) The wardrobe was so stuffed that I was wearing the same things over and over again because I couldn’t really see what was in there, so it was easiest just to wear the outfits I already knew worked.  My wardrobe has sliding doors so I can’t even open the doors and see everything in there – I have to look at it in halves – and some of the stuff in the middle is pretty much hidden regardless of which door I slide open.

I took a photo of one half of my wardrobe back in December because I was surprised at how much red was in there – if you asked me about my favourite colours, red would never appear, but somehow I have ended up with a lot of it in my autumn/winter wardrobe.

This evening I had a sort out.  I still don’t have a lot of spare space in the wardrobe, but at least I won’t be wearing the same thing over and over again.  I now have it sorted into outfits (mainly skirt + top; plus one or two trousers+top, and a couple of dresses).

I have put some things away because they are really spring/summer, and a few things are going to the charity shop, but I still have too many clothes.

I’ve done some counting – I can wear a different outfit every single day for 28 days without duplicating a single garment!  That is where the title of this post came from.  I am only guessing, but I think I could possibly go for three months or so, with the garments that are currently in my wardrobe, without duplicating an outfit. That’s Too Many Clothes!!

A bit more counting (because I can’t help myself):

1.  28 outfits without duplicating a garment.

2.  9 outfits contain one me-made and one bought garment

3. 13 outfits have both (or a single dress) as a me-made garment.

4.  6 have no me-made garments.

5.  None of the outfits have duplicate garments so I have no idea how long I could go without duplicating an outfit – probably two months, maybe three.

This is both bringing my sewing to a grinding halt (because I have more clothes than I could possibly need) and giving me a huge boost in my sewing confidence because I have so many outfits that include a me-made garment that I love.

I guess that if I didn’t already have a huge (200m+) stash of fabric then I might just quit sewing for a while because I really don’t need any new clothes.  But, as I have the stash, perhaps I should carry on.  I do think that my Burda challenge is going to change because I don’t see the point in sewing garments that I’m probably not going to wear, or that don’t fit into my, already overflowing, wardrobe.

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2 Responses to Too many clothes – and I like them all!

  1. T. Sedai says:

    Wow… Looks like you have done a big job organizing all of your clothes. If you feel like you already have enough clothes that fit, it totally makes sense to alter your sewing challenge so you aren’t making things you won’t be wearing. Maybe instead of making something from every issue each month, you look at all the issues from that month and pick your favorite pattern and make that? Or pick a stash fabric you really want to use and find a Burda pattern to use it with? I hope you don’t stop sewing as I have enjoyed seeing what you make, but on the other hand I understand not wanting to make things you don’t need.

    • I won’t quit completely because I know I don’t have as many spring/summer me-made clothes (or even just as many clothes) that I really like. I think I’ll just slow down a bit – and maybe spend a bit more time learning new techniques. I also have some longer term projects like jackets and coats, and some retro 50s patterns, that will all need muslins and for which I’d like to pay more attention to seam finishing, etc.

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Home sick

I’m about 4950 km from home. It doesn’t even sound that far, does it? It feels like 10.000 km sometimes. Most of the time I’m good. Yes, of course I miss my parents, my sister, my nephew and my friends and family, but usually I’m okay. But sometimes it just hits me, it seems to come out of nowhere and I can’t help it: I can’t stop crying. I cry and I cry and I cry because I just miss the Netherlands. It’s not just about the people I know, but about everything. About walking around in Amsterdam, it being normal to NOT take your car everywhere you go but walk, bike or train. About hearing Dutch around you. Walking into asnackbar if you don’t feel like cooking (I used to call the snackbar around the corner from where I lived, placed an order and picked it up just so I wouldn’t have to wait :) It’s not a normal thing to do in Holland, at least not at the snackbars I used to go to). The Dutch ‘gezelligheid‘! Having pancakes for dinner instead of just for breakfast. The Dutch directness that just makes it so easy to understand everything and everybody, instead of having to chew your way through a layer of sugarcoating before you get through what is actually been said. Maybe it’s just the ease of understanding everything and everybody, being familiar with all the written and unwritten rules, just feeling at home.

I can’t help it, sometimes I hear a Dutch song (yes, I put them on myself of course, it’s not like they just play it on Canadian radio. But I never expect to crumble, it always seems to surprise me. It also doesn’t always happen) I just fold over and cry. Or like today, I was having fun doing the dishes (yes, that sounds contradictory, but because I hate doing dishes so much I decided to make it fun and put some music on. Big mistake), the boys were helping/watching daddy shave and I was listening to this song (I also found it on YouTube with English subtitles in case you’re interested), a song that doesn’t mean more to me than a song I loudly sang along with in 2000 – which surprisingly is 13 years ago already! But it just came over me. I held on to the counter and cried and cried and cried. Tears stained my shirt and the countertop, but I couldn’t do anything but keep crying. I felt like there was a hole in my belly and it couldn’t be filled.

Then one of the boys came running up to me cause he had a booboo that needed to be kissed, I wiped my tears away, turned the music off and everything was back to normal. Almost like it never happened.

Crazy thing, that ‘homesick’… Will it ever go away, just disappear? Will it get better or worse? Should I visit home or will I never want to go leave again?

Click here to see my ‘I LOVE the Netherlands‘ Pinterest board.

Image http://www.flightcentre.com.au/

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New Producers for New Media

SAI Global uses Realtime Casting for their global clients E-Lessons. RTC is always looking to connect with young producers who are searching for the best voices. Jim Kennelly GM of RTC North America says, “As the voiceover business changes, RTC reaches out to connect with clients who appreciate professional work. New Media producers represent growth areas for voice talent. RTC creates a bridge with companies like SAI Global to fulfill all of their voice needs, from casting to completion.”

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My Last Trees From Ghana

This is a painting with a difference. I have wanted to paint this since our beach trip October last year. It was inspired from a photo I took looking at the sunset between the palm trees at Beyin. Again I applied Gesso over the canvas, painted yellow and orange into the Gesso and then smudged it with my hands. While the paint was wet I drew in the trees and added extra colour with chalks. Its a combination of chalks and paint If I had black ink or black thick house paint I would have dribbled that on top too. It is only a small piece but is quite striking. Here is a photo of my wall to show the scale of the paintings in relation to each other.

Three on a wall


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Way of the Serpent – Chapter 2

2125 marked the centenary of the entry of the miracle age prophylaxis Chulel into the marketplace. The occasion probably should have been marked by a celebration of some sort, but so few people remembered what life was like before Chulel that it would have seemed rather like commemorating the invention of water or air. So the year would come and go without fanfare.

Two people who did remember life before Chulel were the inventors of the drug, Drs. Max and Emily Feldman, who had lost their only child to Hutchinson-Guilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) back in 1977. “Progeria” referred to a set of diseases that caused premature aging due to a genetic anomaly; HGPS had been its most common (though still extremely rare) form.

The Feldmans had delayed “having a family” as people used to say, until after they both completed med school. Following their daughter’s death, they had devoted their careers to finding a cure for progeria. It had been a long haul. The first significant advance had come from another lab, which announced a promising new avenue of research in 2014. Pharmakon Corporation, and specifically the Drs. Feldman, built on this and in 2017 published preliminary results of a drug they named according to its active chemical components. Nobody now remembers that name.

The drug was ready for human trials by early 2018, and a dozen or so families from around the world came forward, traveling to the Pharmakon headquarters in Atlanta to let the Feldmans try out the drug on their afflicted sons and daughters, who had been diagnosed with either HGPS or one of the other, even rarer, forms of progeria.

What nobody knew was that Max Feldman was also testing the drug on himself. Even Emily didn’t know. Max Feldman was already 78 and although he checked out healthy enough, he had a family history of heart disease and atherosclerosis and there were certain aspects of the lab tests on the new drug as well as its effects on a small test group of bonobos that had irresistibly piqued his curiosity.

By the time the tests on human progeria patients were declared unequivocally successful in 2021, the people closest to him were beginning to notice something about Max. One of those people was the Feldmans’ lab assistant, Winslow Morris.

In the third month of the trials, Winslow noted that there seemed to be a couple of vials of the drug missing. He questioned Dr. Max about it, and was told it must be a mistake. When Winslow re-counted the next day against the numbers in the computer, he found no discrepancy. It happened again a couple of months later and this time Winslow kept his observation to himself. Again, the numbers mysteriously rectified themselves within a matter of hours. Then one day Winslow thought he saw Dr. Max slipping a vial of the medicine into the pocket of his lab coat. That’s when it clicked. Winslow started observing Dr. Max more closely. On the day before the results of the progeria field tests were formally announced, Winslow missed work. And then he disappeared altogether.

Winslow hadn’t needed to steal any of the medicine. He knew how to make it. His destination was China and within six months a new drug started showing up on the streets. It was called “Fontana” and it was touted as the “fountain of youth”. It was outrageously expensive and sold mainly to customer lists Winslow compiled by irrupting into databases of dermatologists specializing in cosmetic surgery. He was an instant millionaire.

Winslow did not know that Dr. Feldman had altered the dosage for his own use. Fontana consumers were overdosing, and before the drug had been on the street for a full year, its reputation went into free fall. People who were self-medicating with this black market miracle potion started to develop strange skin disorders, unexplained neuropathies, and a vulnerability to infection, all of which ended up on the list of warnings regarding possible side effects when the first generation of the real drug went on the market in 2025 under the name “Chulel.”

Winslow was sorry about all this. It cut his income stream down to nothing. But he took his multi millions and his remaining stocks of Fontana and fled.

Read Chapter 3…

Keep reading! Get Way of the Serpent now from Amazon

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  1. Pingback: Way of the Serpent – Chapter 1 | The Recall Chronicles

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Your arteries carry oxygen-rich blood throughout every part of your body. hen healthy, arteries are smooth on the inside and blood flows through them easily, according to WebMD. However, sometimes we get a build-up of plaque on the inner walls of our arteries which clogs them and inhibits blood flow.
Clogged arteries are incredibly dangerous – they increase the likelihood of heart attack and stroke, which can be fatal. It isn’t only older people who are at risk of compromised arteries – with bad diet, smoking, and a lack of exercise, we’re all at risk. It’s important to be aware of your artery health no matter how old you are. Fortunately there are some natural ways to clear out your arteries, and we’ve listed six of them below.
1) Make lifestyle changes. This one is obvious, but absolutely essential, according to WebMD. Throw out the cigarettes, exercise regularly, and watch your weight. Try managing your stress levels, too – stress is a common factor in heart disease.
2) Choose healthy fats. People have long thought that all fat was detrimental to heart health, but this isn’t the case, according to Medical News Today and many other studies which have debunked this myth. Natural Living Ideas explains that Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish – and in cod liver oil, in particular – are great for heart health. Other healthy oils and fats include avocado, olive, almond and flaxseed. Even coconut oil, which is a saturated fat, has a high lauric acid content and this helps to lubricate our arteries.
3) Drink pomegranate juice. WebMD cites a large study that shows pomegranate juice may help to keep our arteries healthy. It reduces blood vessel damage – thereby preventing the hardening of our arteries – and because it is so rich in antioxidants, it is thought to actually reverse the progression of heart disease.
3) Take your vitamins. Natural Living Ideas explains the link between Vitamins B6, B12, and C and heart health. These vitamins keep our arteries flexible and help to prevent plaque build-up and blood clots. Safe supplements are widely available, but these vitamins are also obtainable from our food. B-complex vitamins are found in meat and fish, dairy, cereals and a range of vegetables, whereas vitamin C is easily obtainable by eating citrus fruits and vegetables like broccoli and red peppers.
4) Eat more garlic. We already know that garlic is a superfood, and according to Step to Health, it is also the best way to promote clean arteries naturally. It is a powerful antioxidant and fights the free radicals in your body, whilst lowering bad cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol. Garlic improves blood flow and fights hypertension – just try to eat it crushed and raw for maximum benefit.
5) Try turmeric. Turmeric is fast taking off as the latest health supplement. Top 10 Home Remedies explains that turmeric contains curcumin, which is proven to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which help to prevent blood clots. Turmeric also lowers bad cholesterol to reduce build-up in the arteries and relaxes blood vessels. You can add turmeric to your food, take turmeric capsules, or try making your own turmeric latte.
6) Swap your coffee for ginger tea. Ginger is another effective remedy for clogged arteries, according to Top 10 Home Remedies, because it prevents and reduces plaque build-up by lowering cholesterol. You can eat ginger raw, or you can add freshly grated ginger to hot water for a healthy tea. Note that ginger can be quite spicy and strong-flavoured, and you shouldn’t continue to ingest it if it causes you any gastrointestinal issues.
7) Go colourful with your veggies. It goes without saying that vegetables should make up the majority of a healthy balanced diet. But if you need any more convincing, know that veggies contain plenty sterols which flush away harmful cholesterol, the same way that soluble fiber does. Livestrong recommends eating three to five servings per day of veggies, focusing on the most colourful ones – sweet potatoes, broccoli and carrots. Dark lady greens like spinach provide plenty of magnesium which is important for lowering blood pressure.

Many common lifestyle factors can cause plaque build-up in our arteries at any age, but it’s easy to begin clearing your arteries via a cleansing diet and healthy lifestyle choices. It will decrease your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, and you’ll feel better for it – so make the change before it’s too late.


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Alice by Declan Stanley

Review: A story billed a twist on the “Alice in Wonderland” theme, and even understanding what that might entail considering the original work by Lewis Carroll, I found this “Alice” fantasy of a young girl experiencing a sexual awakening wasn’t so much fantastic as disturbing.

From my perspective, any work that repeatedly specifies the young age of a character in conjunction with graphic sexual details and acts directed towards or committed upon them, makes me question why. Certainly it is labelled a “fantasy” but any writing with a young teen having sex with adults is one that doesn’t suit my tastes. This story seemed to be one person’s description of what they wanted to see a young teen girl perform, and all the natural things a young girl might do, that the same person finds arousing and misinterprets as being sexually directed towards them. A refresher course in English composition would at least have improved the writing, if not content.

I am an open-minded reader, as I come from and accept a very open-minded society and cultures, but when any work is suggestive of sexual interact between the underaged and adults where it is viewed as positive and what the young person “really wants”, it’s not a matter of being close-minded. Even if it’s a fictional work, in my view that crosses a line. I attempted but couldn’t finish “Alice.”

Description: Drawing its inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland this is a 21st century fairytale for adults.
After falling and hitting her head Alice embarks on a surreal adventure of sexual awakening and enlightenment as she journeys through her own mythical wonderland populated not only with elements inspired by Carroll’s work but also by modern cultural references. Ranging from the downright surreal to the explicitly erotic, this book is bound to entertain the open minded reader.

Kindle Edition
Published September 24th 2010 by Portlaoise Publishing (first published July 1st 2010)
Source: Author
Available on Smashwords

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Green Soup

This is a recipe/formula that has been going around the blogs on the internet. I had never made it before but I have seen several blogs raving about it. Here is the original Basic Green Soup
The recipe calls for chard and spinach but you can substitute any vegetables you have on hand. Broccoli, zucchini, anything you have.
I had some leftover, kind of droopy, chard and kale in my fridge and I was trying to make room for my CSA this week so I decide to try this soup with them.
Look familiar?
Chard and Kale

The trick to making this soup is to really take your time cooking down the onions. They need to collapse like this. It takes about 30 minutes to get them to this point.

While the onions are cooking, cook the rice in the 3 cups of water.
Dump the chopped vegetables into the cooked rice and water. The recipe says to add 4 cups of stock with the vegetables.  I just added more water and didn’t use stock. It worked fine and tasted great.
Chopped Greens
I forgot to take a picture of the soup finished, doh. It looked pretty much like this: Anna Thomas Green Soup
I took this to a friend’s house for dinner last night and served it barely warm. It is a nice silky textured soup. I hope you try this with what you have on hand. This is one of those great base recipes to have in your repertoire. I’ll make it again with different vegetables and take a picture.

– Mo

About mo

Leave a comment, ask a question, or make requests for future blogs. We love hearing from you! Thanks for looking at the blog.
This entry was posted in 2012, Greens, Onions/Leeks, Recipes, Soups. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Just Keeping Things Moving Along – Yet again

The quintessential blogger seems to be either a professional writer/journalist or an amateur with lots of time available (almost on a daily basis) to set down their thoughts and share them with the world. Unfortunately, as any viewer of this blog will realise, this is not me!  If I must wear a descriptive cap, then I might claim to be an essayist. However, I will chip in now and again if something interesting pops up which I am not yet ready to put into a more extended post, or if someone has been kind enough to comment on one of my posts.

I have not made a recent contribution, partly because I have been involved in various activities related to environmental and planning issues (most notably, trying to get Heritage status accorded to an open-air stage with a graceful hyperbolic paraboloid roof close to where I live)  and partly because reviewing the many public submissions to a Government sustainable population strategy issues paper has proved to be a surprisingly complex exercise. Anyway, that will be my Next Big Thing. Today, I will mention some matters of interest which have cropped up and deserve a little attention.

In my initial scan of the submissions, I came across an interesting specification for a monorail model (the MonoCab) which I believed could usefully serve the many small communities which were postulated in my sustainable population model. This was discussed and relevant links provided in my previous post (The Sustainable Population Strategy 1). Since then, a gentleman called Philip Wong, commenting on another post (Infrastructure 2. Modes of Access), drew my attention to another interesting form of monorail – the evacuated tube transport system. In this design, a large tube is constructed above ground and supported on columns (or possibly A-frames, which are more likely to withstand the lateral forces due to the extreme flooding that we have experienced in various parts of Australia recently). The air is sucked out of the tube, creating a vacuum. Vehicles of various types and sizes can travel through the tube, powered by electricity. The key point is that the removal of the air, which in other circumstances provides a substantial amount of drag, reduces the amount of power required to drive the vehicles.  Philip postulates that speeds of up to 1,000 km/hr are feasible, though I am not sure that I would like to experience the acceleration and deceleration from such speeds. Also, I would like to know about the quantum and characteristics of any noise generated. However, there could be a great role for remotely-controlled goods trains. During the floods which I mentioned earlier, a lot of rail and road infrastructure was damaged. The floods were succeeded by a record harvest, but farmers were unable to take advantage of it, because of transportation difficulties. Imagine if we could close down a vacuum-tube line to normal traffic for,  say, 24 hours and then send one grain-laden train after another down it at full speed. The potential flexibility of these kinds of rail transport is quite breathtaking. It might even be possible to design vehicles that could travel on both systems. Imagine travelling from station to station picking up ones friends in various rural settlements, then once you have arrived at your regional hub – Woosh! You are getting out of the train in your capital city in less than an hour!

Although a relatively small proportion of my career was actually spent designing and building railways (not counting the years as a small boy when I designed many model railway layouts), I still have a huge affection for those days – even those spent in a remote African game park, where my dear wife got a nasty dose of malaria and elephants used to scratch their behinds on the gable ends of our prefab house!  I am totally convinced that rail transport has a pivotal role in the future well-being of Australia and I would now like to draw your attention to an article written by Paul Cleary in The Australian on February 11 this year. It was entitled “Reforms Must Run Faster”. Here are a few quotations from the article.

“Australia’s geography makes freight a huge and rising cost for industry at a time of high oil prices. Freight rates for road haulage can be up to twice the cost of rail and have increased twice as fast since 2001, according to the Bureau Of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. Yeat half of all domestic freight is still moved by road. Holden ships its vehicles by rail to Western Australia and Queensland, but these account for only a quarter of its sales; the rest goes by road.”

“Transport and Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese has become a passionate advocate of investing in the rail system to reduce business costs and boasts funding of a modest $3.4bn under the economic stimulus plan to make the national system work more efficiently. But that investment is modest when compared with the $16bn spent on school halls and canteens. As Albanese argues, a single train can take 100 semi-trailers off the road, and yet major Companies such as Woolworths still run about 160 B-double semi-trailers from Melbourne to Brisbane via Sydney. The focus on the Brisbane to Melbourne freight line involves new signalling systems and the removal of sharp bends. The investment should allow the Australian Rail Track Corporation to shave 11 hours off the route, he says”.

And again

“The faster rate of road freight charge reflects the higher degree of energy intensity compared with rail. Ian McGowan, a senior industry analyst with IBISWorld, a consulting firm, says rail uses one third the amount of fuel compared with road for each tonne that it transports”.

And finally

“Farmers on the Darling Downs and in the Bowen Basin in Queensland are paying more to ship their grain by road because the mining companies now monopolise the rail network. Agforce president Wayne Newton, a grain farmer from Dalby, believes that up to 70 percent of all grain produced in Queensland has now been forced onto the road. Without government and business giving greater emphasis to making our national transprot network more efficient, Australians will pay even more for their daily loaf of bread, and just about every other consumer item.”

I have deliberately reproduced quite substantial parts of the article, because I wanted to keep the focus on the technical and economic aspects and not be distracted by the references to the attitudes and behaviour of politicians and powerful industry groups. However, the entire article can be read here.

In another recent post (Urban Landscape For A New Era) I suggested that we could build houses with substantial steel frames, which could be easily modified for different uses. If we were to adopt this idea and we were to be build a monorail network on the lines I have discussed here, I would suggest that any construction contracts should specify the use of Australian-made steel. The Australian steel industry is in a parlous position at the moment because the iron ore we ship to China and other countries is being imported back to Australia at prices we cannot match. In a true free-market economy, one would have to say “so what”, but the trouble is; we do not know whether the steel articles we are importing are manufactured under the same free-market rules, or whether they are subsidised to reduce the amounts payable in Australia by overseas mining giants (and others). Already, we have seen substantial overseas investments in Australian agribusiness and real estate and now we read (“Mining’s Small Change”, in The Age on 18/02/2012) that flaws in the mining tax legislation will allow tax avoidance on the grand scale. We really must have an open discussion on a comprehensive future vision for Australia. The current political operating mode and the capture of many media resources by business and political interests stifle open debate and I look at my gorgeous grandchildren and think about their future with some dread. Whoops!  Once personal feelings intrude on what is meant to be an intellectual and practical discussion, it is time to close the file and turn off the computer. Well, for another day.

About jimthegeordie

I was born in the north of England and am a Geordie. Geordies are celts who are noted for having long bodies with short arms and legs. After working in UK, Africa and Australia as a civil engineer and IT contractor I am now retired and living in a beautiful wine-making area. I am the patriarch of a wonderful family, of whom I am inordinately proud.
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Add a B2B Gateway to your services

March 4, 2009

Mention SOA or Services and most of your audience would immediately relate it to web-services – yes, the often un-intented misuse of XML over Http that gives the technology and anything related to it a bad name in the world of high-performance J2EE applications.

Two of the biggest culprits in loss of Performance are I/O and Transformation overheads. Web services has both these drawbacks – increased data transfer i.e higher I/O associated with markup overhead of well-formed XML and the CPU utilization overhead when converting XML to Java and back aka. Marshalling.

Web-services and its implementation of XML over Http is good when it is genuinely needed. For e.g. exposing services for consumption with partner organizations where consuming technologies are not known or for integration between disparate systems.  However often this need for integration unfortunately leads people to stereotype services as web-services in a SOA.

The question then is : can we reap the benefits of SOA and not suffer the drawbacks of the overheads inherent in web-services? I believe, we can.

Quite a while back, I read this excellent IBM Redbook : Implementing SOA using ESB where the author recommends deploying a B2B Gateway external to the ESB. I must admit it didnot make much sense to me then. I have come to appreciate it much better these days. A B2B Gateway enables consumption of services by “third-party” . This “third-party” may be a client from a different technology platform or from an altogether different organization.

A separate B2B gateway introduces the possibility of:

  • Making the web-service channel independent of the service implementation and therefore a matter of choice to use (and therefore suffer) the XML over Http interface
  • Introducing the much required security standards(and implementations) for securing services and data managed by the services
  • Using third party implementations that specialize in implementing WS-* policies
  • Using hardware to augment the processing capability provided by software frameworks – e.g. XML appliances

The SOA runtime therefore must enable services to be written independently of XML and the WS-* specifications/constraints.  The Web-service interface  is then an optional channel , via a B2B Gateway, to invoke the services.

We, at MindTree, have taken this design further in our implementation of Momentum – an SOA based delivery Platform. Interfaces like JMS and web-services are optional channels provided by the Framework to invoke any deployed service. A schematic that explains this approach is shown below:

Request flow to a Service from different channels

The web-service interface is therefore an optional means to invoke your service when you separate the service container and the ESB(optional) from the B2B Gateway and deploy the latter as a separate infrastructure.  You can then benefit from the good of web-services without compromising on your service’s QoS.

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What You Ought To Learn About Fb Advertising

Many people use Fb as a method of completing some time. But, it genuinely is definitely an extremely great tool when it comes to marketing. An incredible number of men and women use Facebook, in fact it is a fantastic instrument to arrive at them all. This article is going to get you started in order to use Fb in your favor.

Using a challenge is a good way to glean enthusiasts. Offer you end users prizes and discounts in exchange for encouraging people to like your page. Follow through and in reality honor a winning prize or you will show up deceitful.

Answer to followers once they write anything on the walls. Keep watch over your all and then any flickr emails that have your company manage. Response back, particularly if it is a problem or somebody who needs support right away.

Make the site stick out. You could make a colorful or photograph-heavy page. This may attract the most quantity of customers.

If you wish to goal a custom viewers, you can do that. This raises the sales and helps make the activities cost less due to the fact lots of individuals are going to purchase points from your internet site rather than being potential prospects.

The key to profitable advertising with Fb is having a solid bottom of fans. Keep your main advertising purchases for after you have constructed a base of a few 1000 Facebook followers. After that limit continues to be achieved, your transformation amount will commence marching.

Use attention when deciding on your upgrades. Members can get fed up if your upgrades have no benefit. Allow them to have details they need, like how-tos or humorous articles. Access Fb Insights to determine which upgrades are already best,and then you can use very similar content material.

Although Facebook is certainly one path to pursue, it is far from the sole social media marketing possibility on the market. When Facebook is wildly popular, each market have their preferred social internet site. Analysis your audience and find out exactly where they spend time on the web to see if your time and effort would be much better expended someplace else.

One method to entice individuals to stick to you is to only show content material to people who are following you. When only readers are able to see certain areas of your webpage, it would make guests desire to come to be fans. But, only maintain certain parts of your own webpage concealed, as trying to hide an excessive amount of details will injured SEO.

Be sure you begin a persona for your personal manufacturer. When your blogposts are unexciting, they will likely assume your manufacturer is, way too. Though you need to remain expert, be certain some character is shown.

Recognize why you’re utilizing a Fb webpage. Just placing a single up in the interest of getting the initial one is not enough. Are you presently connecting to the buyers by using it? Or, are you wanting them to experience a discussion board in which to make contact with you? By using a Facebook webpage to enhance and develop sales differs than using a person to just keep and inspire loyalty among existing clients.

You can use Facebook or myspace to reach your desired goals although some are playing games and revealing rates. Now you have the recommendations you should reach these end users. That you can do amazing issues by making the most of the things you discovered.

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Are they being served? Linking consumer expectation, evaluation and commitment

Mason, Chris; Simmons, John

Available versions

The paper's unique contribution is to confirm the rationale for and the benefits of applying constructs from the psychological contract literature to generate deeper insights into the service provider-consumer relationship. Findings confirm the need for providers to target value propositions at particular consumer groups as part of a more sophisticated and nuanced approach to customer segmentation. The paper also recognises possible changes in consumer expectation and how proactive service providers can track and respond to these. The conceptual framework and research propositions generated from it should be tested in organisations representative of transactional, relational and transpersonal service providers to provide deeper insights for researchers and practitioners. Analysis shows how alignment of different types of value proposition with consumer expectations impacts on the nature and level of consumer commitment. Customer commitment can also contribute to service provider reputation and brand equity. The model is developed by the integration of approaches from the marketing, CSR and psychological contract literature and represents a holistic and multi-disciplinary perspective on the service value proposition. The paper develops a conceptual framework to show how service provider value propositions and customer purchase decisions represent the offer and acceptance of types of psychological contract that, if satisfied, result in particular levels of consumer commitment and related attitudinal and behavioural outcomes.

Publication year

Publication type

Journal article

Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 26, no. 4 (2012), pp. 227-237

Copyright © 2012 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. The accepted manuscript is reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.


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Weekly Harvest (9)

Wednesday nights have become my favorite night of the week. It is still a school night, so social invitations are rare and, after picking up my panier, I am ready to pour a glass of wine, turn up the music and get cooking.

(lettuce, carrots, white asparagus, radish, chard and cabbage)

While in Nepal, I missed two weeks of vegetables. Thankfully, the panier people allow us, if we are out of town, to substitute a double delivery at a later time point for missing a week here or there. So, although I was sad to have missed the first week of spring strawberries (so good), I received two weeks of double paniers, including a two bags of cherries (even tastier) this week. Fresh fruit karma was restored.

(more lettuce, artichokes, cucumber, cherries, spinach and spring onions)

Apparently I was not quite ready for my vacation to be over after returning to Paris in mid-May and I made a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam last weekend. Unfortunately, the chard and lettuce from the first week’s delivery were sacrificed in the name of good fun. This meant that, when considering what to make this week, I had to take into consideration the white asparagus, radishes and carrots that had been waiting patiently from the week before. Thankfully, cabbage can wait a while and this slaw (+ radishes) is quick to make and a welcome addition to any meal.

(I am still amazed at the quality of my iPhone4 photos – however it does not have a setting to control for blurring due to twitching from dessert excitement)

After receiving a dinner invitation that I never refuse, I postponed my planned cooking extravaganza by one night. After a mouthwatering and homesickness-alleviating meal of ribs, baked beans and slaw (everyone was using up the previous week’s cabbage), we decided to break out the extra cherries for dessert. Rather than eat them straight, which had been the fate of the first bag, these were pitted and macerated in Jack Daniel’s and sugar just long enough to whip some cream and bake a quick batch of drop biscuits. A new favorite dessert was born – whiskied cherry shortcake.

The next night I dug in and conquered my fear of risotto with great success by following Camille’s excellent step-by-step tutorial. Upon her suggestion, I made my own stock from the woody stems of the white asparagus, carrots and a few of the spring onions. To garnish, I stirred roasted asparagus tips, spinach and parmesan cheese into the creamy rice that had been simmering with spring onions and lardon (thick cut, smoked bacon). It was a perfect meal for a cool spring night, smooth and warming, yet still tasted like Spring. I have a few basic recipes that I go back to again and again, just changing the garnishes and fillings (gratin, quiche) and now this risotto will be added to that list. It is the perfect template with which to try different vegetable/meat/cheese combinations, easy enough for a weeknight dinner and the leftovers are even better for lunch the next day. Winning!

I was on a culinary roll (probably due to a late afternoon coffee), so I did not stop with just the risotto.  Using another go-to recipe, I also made a quiche with carmelized spring onions, lardon, spinach and goat cheese.

Between the two dishes, I was set for meals over the next several days. Or at least well prepared for unexpected visits from neighbors and friends.

Anyone in for dinner next week?

2 responses to “Weekly Harvest (9)

  1. So glad the risotto worked out! And I love the color on the cherry shortcake photo. Mmm… whiskied cherries.

    • researchingparis

      Well, thank *you* for the great tutorial. I have had dreams about that shortcake – seriously – and am now on a quest to see how many summer fruits we can ‘whisky’, which I am sure will provide great summer fun 🙂

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Jesus is your Rest, your Rock, and your Refuge

By Jack Graham

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never felt darkness pervading our world like I have in the past few years. At times it can feel hopeless, can’t it?

In 1861, in the midst of the gruesome American Civil War, Julia Ward Howe felt the darkness closing in and wrote the great “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” I love the lyric she penned:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. / He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored. / He has loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword, / His truth is marching on. / Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! / Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! / Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! / His truth is marching on.

Howe wrote this song to encourage the Union troops. She sensed they needed to be encouraged… to be reminded that when all hope seems lost… their victory through Christ was certain. I’m betting you might need that same encouragement today!

No matter what may come, no matter what battles you’re fighting… your temptations, your tests, and your trials… your victory is certain. It doesn’t depend on you, but on the One who perseveres in you. He will get you through every battle. He will sustain you in the storm. And when the smoke clears, you will still be standing.

Consider King David’s words in Psalm 62:5-8…

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (NIV)

Let me ask you today: In whom or in what do you tend to take refuge other than the Lord?

Perhaps you’re a bit self-dependent and think God expects you to “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” when hard times come. Maybe you struggle with thinking real identity and security are found in a bigger savings account, a bigger house, or a bigger car.

Whatever you take refuge in, other than God, will fail you. Nothing but the Lord Jesus Christ will sustain you in the heat of life’s battles.

Jesus makes all things new and gives us a new heart and a new song. In Psalm 40, the psalmist spoke of being down in the pit and broken, but the Lord lifted him up and put a new song in his heart. Here on this earth, we have a song to sing no matter what we face.

So today…as our world grows darker and darker…look to Jesus. He is your Rest…your Rock…and your Refuge that will sustain you until the end.


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Here’s what you have as the new transportation mode

Want a new personal mode of transportation? Thanks to advanced technology and innovation, people are now getting used to the most optimum mode of transportation – hoverboard. Hugely popular among the youth, hoverboards are also known as electric scooters and have now become safer for traveling to nearby places.

Hoverboards were just used for recreational purposes a few years back. However, if you purchase the best hoverboard, you can easily use them every day. They are electric and also self-balancing which makes a significant choice for transportation.

You can buy a hoverboard online today, but it is important to look for the ones that are of high quality as cheap hoverboards can be life-threatening. You don’t have to get special lessons to learn how to ride a hoverboard. They come with sensors which can detect the direction you want to go in.

#1. SWAGTRON T1 – Electric Self-Balancing Hoverboard, Black

SWAGTRON T1 – Electric Self-Balancing Hoverboard, Black

Swagtron is a renowned company when it comes to manufacturing hoverboards. If you want a certified product then look no further then the Swagtron T1. This electric self-balancing hoverboard arrives in the stylish black colour. It can carry heavy people as it is made from durable material. It comes with a sensitive sensor which can easily note any change in the weight of the person driving the hoverboard.

If you are a drifter, this hoverboard is perfect for you. Also, the hoverboard is installed with the LED headlights which make it ideal for use in low-light areas. The battery is also well-protected.

#2. Razor Hovertrax 2.0 elf-Balancing Smart Scooter

Cheap Hoverboard

When it comes to gears and gadgets like hoverboards, Razor is one company which cannot be left out. It is the leading manufacturer of recreational products.

The high-quality products from this company ensure that you are buying a safe hoverboard. The Hovertrax is not only sleek, but it is one of the few heavy-duty electric scooters. The 350watts motor makes it compelling and will provide you top speed.

#3. SWAGTRON T1 Electric Scooter Garnet Red

Buy Cheap Hoverboard Online

Looking for both speed and style in your hoverboard? Then this electric scooter from Swagtron won’t disappoint you. It’s mostly popular with its classic red colour. The electric hoverboard works at 250 watts and delivers 8mph of speed. It can easily carry a weight of 220 pounds, and the superior battery of the scooter exchanges you a range of 11 miles. The scooter also brings in two modes which make it easier for a beginner to use this scooter.

#4. SWAGTRON T1 – Electric UL 2272 Certified Hoverboard

Buy Hoverboard from Amazon

Owning a hoverboard from a certified company will make your ride session easier. In addition, you would also feel safe and comfortable. This hoverboard from Swagtron is tested for every technical aspect and thus improves the safety factor by all means. The presence of battery indicator helps in getting the notification on time when you have to recharge the electrical scooter.

Also Check: Best Hiking Boots Shoes for Men and Women

We’re certain that you wouldn’t get disappointed with any of the hoverboard mentioned above. Maybe you would feel strange using it for the first time. Don’t worry! Watch this video on how to make hoverboard work with you as a beginner:


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Castello di San Marco Charming Hotel & SPA Calatabiano

  • Please select a date to see the proper prices!
  • Meal can be requested on the spot
The price has been calculated by the best price of the next 90 days.

Best offer

Best price of the next 90 days:
125.10 € / person / night, no meal
Select date
Guaranteed best price
  • Instant confirmation
  • Wellness services
  • Own restaurant
  • 30 room
  • Spoken languages: Italian, English

Description of the accommodation:

Rooms, services Welcome to Castello di San Marco Charming Hotel & SPA Calatabiano! We hope you will be satisfied the offers of the hotel, and will be happy to choose it as a resort to stay at. The hotel is offering 30 comfortable rooms to guests looking for accommodation in Calatabiano. In case you ever feel like eating in, you may taste delicious local dishes in the restaurant of the hotel. Should you be arriving by car, parking will be available nearby. You may also enjoy refreshing wellness services at the hotel, <a/an> steam room will also be available to you. Car rental service and organized city tours will help you discover the most important attractions. Nearby bike rental, water ski, diving, sailing and boat rental opportunities may provide an excellent option for those who love to spend their leisure time actively. Upon preliminary request airport transfer is provided. The bar provides a nice atmosphere for a romantic evening talk or a personal meeting. In the safe your valuables can be the safely secured. Wireless Internet connection (WiFi) is available at the hotel, enabling portable devices and smartphones to go online. If you wish to learn more about the exact scope of services provided by Castello di San Marco Charming Hotel & SPA Calatabiano (including any available for an extra fee), you will find them on the information sheet below.

Payment Depeding on the selected room, date and price, you may be asked to provide credit card guarantee or to pay by credit card in advance.

Arrival, opening hours The earliest check-in time to your room is 15:00, the latest check-out time from your room is 11:00. The personnel is at your service in Italian and English languages.

Full Description Show less
95011 Via San Marco 40 , Calatabiano, 95011 (Italy)
  • Your reservation is confirmed directly by the accommodation!
  • Reserve this accommodation now and you will instantly receive the final confirmation, you don't have to wait or call unnecessarily!

Hurry, the rooms are sold quickly!

Parking, travelling
  • Parking

  • Free WiFi in shared places

Leisure, recreation
  • Relaxation: Bike rental at the accommodation

    Organized sightseeing nearby, Car rental nearby, Water skiing nearby, Scuba diving nearby, Sailing nearby, Boat rental nearby

Wellness section, relaxation
  • Wellness section, relaxation
  • Steam room
  • Jacuzzi
  • Pool (Outdoor - seasonally open)
  • Finnish sauna
General services
  • Default services: Pet friendly, Garden, Bar, Safe deposit box

    Airport transfer

  • Own restaurant

Child-friendly services
  • Playground

Services in the room
  • Hairdryer, Mini-bar

from 15:00 o'clock
Check out
until 11:00
Spoken languages
Italian, English
Accepted bank cards
MasterCard, VISA, Amex
Local tax
Please check the details of the selected price.


text:
• Please select a date to see the proper prices!
The price has been calculated by the best price of the next 90 days.
  • Instant confirmation
  • Spoken languages: English

Description of the accommodation:

Rooms, services Travelling to Dallas and looking for accommodation? Take a look at what EXTENDED STAY AMERICA FARMERS Dallas has to offer! A comfortably furnished room is offered by the hotel to guests looking for accommodation in Dallas. The exact list of services available at EXTENDED STAY AMERICA FARMERS Dallas (including those for an extra fee) and the exact list of equipment in a room can be found on the information sheet below.

Payment Depeding on the selected room, date and price, you may be asked to provide credit card guarantee or to pay by credit card in advance.

Arrival, opening hours The personnel of the hotel can speak in English with you.

Full Description Show less
75244 4022 Parkside Center Blvd , Dallas, 75244 (United States of America)
  • Your reservation is confirmed directly by the accommodation!
  • Reserve this accommodation now and you will instantly receive the final confirmation, you don't have to wait or call unnecessarily!

Hurry, the rooms are sold quickly!

Wellness section, relaxation
  • Pool (Outdoor - seasonally open)
General services
  • Pet friendly, Elevator

Spoken languages
Accepted bank cards
MasterCard, VISA, Diners Club, Amex
Local tax
Please check the details of the selected price.


text:
Istanbul Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel Istanbul

  • Please select a date to see the proper prices!
  • Meal can be requested on the spot
The price has been calculated by the best price of the next 90 days.

Best offer

Best price of the next 90 days:
60.40 € / person / night, no meal
Select date
Guaranteed best price
  • Instant confirmation
  • Own restaurant
  • 326 room
  • Spoken languages: Turkish, English

Description of the accommodation:

Rooms, services Discover the beauties of Turkey and check out the opportunities provided by Istanbul Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel Istanbul! 326 comfortably furnished rooms are offered by the hotel to guests looking for accommodation in Istanbul. In case you ever feel like eating in, you may taste delicious local dishes in the restaurant of the hotel. Car parking possibility is available nearby. Relaxing wellness services will be available to you at the hotel, <a/an> indoor pool will also be waiting for you. Car rental service and organized city tours can also help you discover all important attractions nearby. Should you want to stay in good shape during your holiday, you may also take the sports and exercise opportunities provided by the local gym. Upon preliminary notice airport transfer is provided. The café or the bar can be an ideal place for a pleasant evening talk or a meeting. You may secure your valuables in the safe. At the hotel you may go online via wireless Internet connection (WiFi). You can find the exact list of services provided by Istanbul Radisson Blu Conference & Airport Hotel Istanbul (including those for extra fees) and the exact equipment of the rooms on the information sheet below.

Payment Advance bank card payment or credit card guarantee may be required for the reservation, depending on the chosen date, room and price.

Arrival, opening hours The earliest arrival time is 14:00, the latest time to leave the rooms is 12:00. The personnel can speak Turkish and English languages.

Full Description Show less
34295 E-5 Karayolu,Kucukcekmece 20 , Constantinople, 34295 (Turkey)
  • Your reservation is confirmed directly by the accommodation!
  • Reserve this accommodation now and you will instantly receive the final confirmation, you don't have to wait or call unnecessarily!

Hurry, the rooms are sold quickly!

Parking, travelling
  • Parking

  • Free WiFi in shared places

Leisure, recreation
  • Relaxation: Fitness

    Organized sightseeing nearby, Car rental nearby

Wellness section, relaxation
  • Wellness section, relaxation
  • Indoor pool
  • Finnish sauna
General services
  • Default services: Pet friendly, Garden, Bar, Cafe, Safe deposit box

    Airport transfer

  • Own restaurant

Services in the room
  • Hairdryer, Mini-bar, Tea/coffee-maker

from 14:00 o'clock
Check out
until 12:00
Spoken languages
Turkish, English
Accepted bank cards
MasterCard, VISA, Diners Club, Amex
Local tax
Please check the details of the selected price.
24 hour


text:
School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism - George Mason University
Graduate School of Education - George Mason University

Our Graduate School of Education is the alma mater for one third of teachers and administrators in Northern Virginia’s world-class school systems. Each year, more than 3,000 graduate students enroll in our innovative academic programs, which include advanced study for teachers and school leaders, instructional design and technology, and a renowned PhD in Education program that is among the largest in the country.

School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism - George Mason University

The School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism (SRHT) offers exciting, career-ready majors in dynamic fields such as athletic training, tourism and events management, health and physical education, kinesiology, sport management, and recreation management. SRHT features renowned faculty, cutting-edge research, six laboratories and centers, and a diverse student body of more than 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students each year. Each major requires one or more internship or clinical experiences, ensuring that students graduate not just with a transcript but with a resume that demonstrates their professional aptitude and skills.

Sport Management - MS concentration - Sport and Recreation Studies

If you have a passion for sports and aspire to a career in a sports-related field, completing and excelling in a sport management graduate program can give you a competitive edge in the sports industry.

The Sport Management graduate program offers the traditional research masters' thesis option and the option of an applied research project linked to a professional setting or internship.

Students are required to take a set of core foundations courses that will provide grounding in historical and socio-cultural foundations, ethical and legal issues, social-psychological perspectives, management and administration, and research methods and statistics. As well, all students will complete a capstone thesis or project.

MS Sports and Recreation Studies Core Courses (18 credits)

Sport Management Concentration Courses (12 credits)

Choose 3 credits from the following.

Note: Other courses may be selected with advisor approval.
SPMT 612 Economics and Financial Management in the Sport Industry may not be used to satisfy the concentration requirement if taken in SRST core.


text:
Well, the rain finally took a brief hiatus allowing me to get the trusty Paddywagon out of the shed and back onto the road.  The past four days have been nothing but rain, totally awesome for the garden, not so awesome for riding.  In fact, I had to drive to work yesterday for the first time since February.  I was reminded, within the first six km, why I choose to pedal myself to work.  Sitting in traffic is a nightmare of frustration and completely unavoidable.

The author at six in the morning about to hit the road.

It was a perfect morning.  Slightly on the cool side perhaps, but other than that perfect.  Dry roads, almost, and clear sky with a slight tailwind that gently guided me on the 25 km all the way to the Campus.  I titled this entry ‘Waterfront’ because aside from the 700 metres from my house to the Lakeshore, I ride the entire way next to Lac St.Louis.  It is easier to picture it on the map of the commute just below, but it reminds me how bloody brilliant it is to live where I do.  So many people would kill to ride on these roads with these views, and I am fortunate enough to get to do it every day.  That being said, I have friends in Arizona and when I see them riding in January in short sleeves up these brilliant mountain roads, I too am envious.  We all want what we don’t have at some point or other.

The commute from home to Nun's Island

The day remained perfect for riding, something I could check on regularly as all I have to do is turn my head slightly while I am on the phone and I have a terrific view of all of downtown Montreal.  What I was not able to pick up on so well was that the wind had picked up, considerably in fact.  Not only had it picked up, but it had turned from SW to due W, which resulted in the return ride being into the wind every turn of the crank.  As I was recording today’s commute on MapMyRide+ I opted to go for the return trip home that goes along the canal.  Yes, another waterfront of sorts, although far less dramatic than the lake.  You do get to enjoy the view of the trendy and very expensive condos that line the canal as you go past downtown, but today I did not have any energy to sight see.  I was pedalling through syrup, at least that’s what it felt like, and with the added handicap of only the one gear plus a 30 lb back pack strapped to me, it felt as if I was advancing at a snail’s pace.  You want to know what cheered me up?  I thought of my buddy Bruce who has been riding around Japan with his wife the past week or so, and has been subjected to snow and rain and ice!  Oh, and of course wind, but after the previous three the wind hardly matters.  So thanks Bruce – you and Kaz have been an inspiration this week!

The icing on the cake reared its ugly head with about 12 km to go.  I started ‘hearing’ the front tyre.  You’ll know what I mean if you ride a lot.  You get familiar with the sound your tyres make on the tarmac.  So familiar that you don’t usually hear them.  But when the sound changes, you immediately dial into it.  I noticed a change.  Slightly louder and it had a ‘stickiness’ to the sound, as if a lot more rubber than should be was rolling over the pavement.  I glanced down already knowing what I was going to see.  As well as the change in phonics I could tell that the front end had become very soft.  Sure enough, my front tyre was deflating, but it was doing it quite slowly.  Would I make it home?

The return ride, north of the outgoing journey and following the canal

The answer to that is no.  I would not.  After feeling the tyre nearly slip right off the rim I decided that it would be prudent to stop and pump some air in.  This I did and within a few minutes I was back in the saddle again (cue Aerosmith) warily watching the status of the air in the tyre.  I managed to get within 4 km from home when I had to stop again as I was starting to feel the rim over the bumps.  This time, I had not done more than ten pumps of the little portable air pump I have when I heard a crack followed by a loud gush of air.  The valve had snapped clean off where it comes through the rim.  Was I pumping that hard?  I didn’t take the time to analyze the situation.  The sky was beginning to bruise and if I did not hurry and change the tube now I was going to be doing it in the rain.  Save for a stubborn moment when the tyre did the ‘I’ll unravel to the left as you try and hook me in on the right….try and catch me‘ routine, I was soon pumping up a fresh tube, this time with slightly less vigour, and eventually I was on my way once again.  By the time I rolled into the driveway I was decidedly relieved to be back.  The wind had been a real bastard and the subsequent puncture had sealed the deal.

I could not, however, remove the smile from my face.  After four days stuck indoors, it was just awesome to be back out again.  Ride safe.

Filed under Cycling

3 responses to “Waterfront

  1. Good to hear a) you are back on the road and b) I’ve inspired you. I’m finally at a hotel with internet so I can catch up on your blog. In fact, of the factors you mentioned, wind is generally up there as least enjoyable for me.

    Riding along the last few days, we’ve noticed a local bird which has two calls. It’s regular one sounds like rubbing brake pads and then sometimes it dives for no reason and makes a sound like a puncture in wet conditions. It’ had me checking my wheels and brakes constantly.

    Nice to have an insight into the daily commute. 25km each way – that’s a dream daily workout and even better for being able to ride along a body of water.

    • Well I tell ya, the stories of snow and rain quite led me to realize that I was doing OK with the weather we have here right now. In fact we have had about a week solid of pretty decent weather now and I am starting to feel quite spoiled.

      Oh I got a second flat on the front tyre Sunday when riding…..I was more than ticked having just replaced the tube on the Friday…..I decided to up my inspection of the tyre and pulled out two tiny shards of glass. I only saw them when I pinched the tyre around a small crack and as the crack opened up two little jewels winked at me from their cozy home in the rubber. Bastards had been lying in there waiting for the 110psi to gently nudge the new tube against their sharp sides! I fixed them proper I did!

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Family Crafts

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Event Details

 Deep inside every child is an artist waiting to burst forth. Helping them learn to express themselves through art is the most positive way to express feelings about the world inside themselves and in their environment without hurting another individual. The children learn the correct way to use art utensils (scissors, tape, slide paper cutter) that have been enhanced with other materials (crayons, pen, pencil, etc.). They also learn that everything they produce has value, which in turn helps them to understand their own value.

Event Type(s): Family Program, Craft Program
Age Group(s): Children, Family, Teen, Youth
Liz Leal


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Long Journey

July 8, 2010

Over four years have passed

since Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas near Gaza.

Today Jerusalem was ready for large crowds.

Signs were posted

around Paris Square.

Even the flowers were secure

nearby in Independence Park

where red police tape closed the road to traffic.

In Paris Square there was one reminder of Jonathan Pollard,

but today was all about Gilad Shalit.

Traffic was snarled for hours as the Shalit family and supporters marched toward Jerusalem.

Following speeches in Independence Park, Noam and Aviva Shalit walked the last few meters

toward the tent erected near the Prime Minister’s Residence where they plan to stay until their son is released.

 Gilad Shalit has not had one visit by the International Red Cross in more than four years.

Zachary Baumel has been missing since June 1982 with no reported visits by the International Red Cross.

How many people around the world even remember the name of this missing Israeli soldier?

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Tag Archives: Charles Stross

Book Review: “The Delirium Brief” by Charles Stross

The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross

And another fantasy from Britain…

As regular readers know, the Laundry Files are far from over.  Dark forces are gathering, and breaking through into everyday reality.  The defense forces are overstretched and beleaguered.

The Delirium Brief continues the story, starting from the fallout of the events recounted n The Nightmare Stacks. You can’t level half of Leeds without the public noticing, so there are many consequences.

This latest file is pretty dark and desperate.  It gave me nightmares.

This book is every bit as good as we expect from Charlie, with lots of witty banter and clever technology jokes.  The cast of characters is outstanding, and the catastrophe binds people deeply and brings out the best in even the little guys.

Stross works in his own brand of political satire, as well, though it isn’t really very funny in this case.  It’s one thing to joke about demonic forces taking over the government, it’s another thing when demonic forces actually are taking over.

But the events are so grim, as grim as grim gets.  Losses are heavy, and evil seems certain to win.  All seems lost.

But the story is not over.

One thing is for sure:  the Laundry Files put our own little troubles in perspective.  It could be worse.  A lot worse.

Get it. Read it.  But maybe not just before bedtime.

1. Charles Stross, The Delirium Brief, New York, Tom Doherty Association, 2017.

Sunday Book Reviews

Housekeeping: Books Reviewed Q1 2017

As I generally do, I have collected all the books I reviewed in the first quarter of 2017, in no particular order.

The week of February 20 was “book week”, with a book review every day, including longer reviews of five non-fiction books (starred).

Revenger by Alistair Reynolds
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Girls by Emma Cline
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
The People’s Police by Norman Spinrad
IQ by Joe Ide
Clownfish Blues by Tim Dorsey
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Empire Games by Charles Stross
The Cold Eye by Laura Anne Gilman
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
The Golden Gate by Robert Buettner
The Old Man by Thomas Perry
Last Year by Robert Charles Wilson

Non Fiction

The Caliphate by Hugh Kennedy
* The New Better Off or Reinventing the American Dream by Courtney E. Martin
* How America Lost Its Secrets by Edward Jay Epstein
* Valley of the Gods by Alexandra Wolfe
* Wonderland by Steven Johnson
* Measure for Measure by Thomas Levenson

Book Reviews

Book Review: “Empire Games” by Charles Stross

Empire Games by Charles Stross

This is a new story set in the multi-timeline universe of the Clan. This exhausting geopolitical six book saga was last heard from with “The Trade of Queens” (2009), and seemed pretty thoroughly over. Massive thermonuclear war is a huge downer and generally considered the end of the story.

But, of course, with an infinite number of timelines, and the ability to travel between them, Stross has given himself a really big piece of paper to write on. Merely wiping out a planet or two is scarcely a blip in the big picture.

Empire Games picks up the story more than a decade later and the many political factions are still jockeying for power and survival.

With everyone geared up with nukes—and cross time delivery systems—a tense espionage game is underway. The worlds are teetering blindly on the brink of mutual destruction.

The original refugees and survivors are aging, so now it will be up to the kids to get us out of this mess.

I was not sure I wanted to pick this story up again, with the earlier series ending so depressing. But here he manages to create both hope and agonizing suspense.

The main downside is that this is “book 1”—there is so much more to come, and we have to wait.  “Cliff hangers” doesn’t even begin to describe the current state.

This is the stuff we expect from Mr. Stross!  He’s still one of the best writers today.

  1. Charles Stross, Empire Games, New York, TOR, 2017.

Sunday Book Reviews

2016 Roundup and Books Reviewed in 2016

In 2016, this blog passed the milestone of posting at least once per day for1,000 days in a row! January 5 will mark three years of daily posts to this blog.

My blog may not be great, but it is consistent!  Or at least persistent.

Regular readers know that this blog is somewhat random, touching on any topic I find interesting enough or have something to say about. But some topics were visited more than once.

This year saw many posts on coworking and similar “co” movements (cohousing, platform cooperatives, the future of work, the sharing economy, etc.)

These posts give you a preview of a new book that is in preparation, titled, “What is coworking?” It should be available in early 2017. I.e, Real Soon Now.

I posted nearly weekly about cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and the communities that have risen around these technologies.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has so many perspectives, it is hard ot keep track, but some of the topics overlap with coworking, the sharing economy, and similar “bottom up” movements.

Reflecting earlier research, I have also posted frequently about HCI, particularly wearables, and haptics. I know quite a bit about these topics, though the most important thing is that no one really knows how to use them well.

I posted nearly weekly about robots and bio-inspired design. Robots are really cool, though in this area I am just an enthusiast, not an expert.

Other general science-y topics have included dinosaurs (naturally) and animal intelligence. I have also posted frequently about space exploration and remote sensing of the environment especially observing the retreat of the ice.

I should note that I had been posting comments on items picked up from Wired magazine on line. In fact, I was reading Wired so regularly, I was just about to subscribe. But then they decided to close off access to me unless I accept their advertising or pay $1 per article. I might have subscribed to this deal, were it not for the fact that even the “ad free” option still wanted to aggressively track me. So I stopped reading Wired.

You know what? I never even noticed it was gone.

I think you miscalculated, Wired

On a less contentious topic. Following Sensei Dave Barry, I suggested a number of names for rock bands based on current topics and reading.

I suggested some band names with cryptcurrency themed names, including “Fintech”, and “Hard Fork” (not to be mistaken for “Haardvark”, which I have actually heard of.)

Other nerdy names might be Feather Evolutionor the Saturn themed “First Ring Grazing Plunge

Books Reviewed

As always, I posted short book reviews every week. In case it isn’t clear, these are all books I read this year.

In total, I wrote about 100 books (a happy milestone, purely by luck). The majority of the books are relatively recent, and, with only a few exceptions are recommended.

But if I had to pick a few “best” books, I would say:

Best Fiction: Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley

 An eagerly awaited sequel to the The Rook (2012), this is easily one of the most enjoyable and imaginative fantasies of the year.

Best Non-fiction: The Euro by Joseph Stiglitz

A timely and riveting explanation of what went wrong in the Eurozone, and what might be done to salvage the situation. Considering the subject matter, I was expecting difficult and obtuse reading. Instead, I found it clear and easy to understand, if hard to swallow.

Walking the Walk:  How to Make Money (and a whole lot more) by Sharing by Claire Marshall

In a totally category, “walking the walk”, there are quite a few  important books about how to live right, but  the 2016 nod must got to Sensei Claire Marshall.  Actually living for a month in “the sharing economy”, and now teaching that “we are happiest when we share”.

Other notable reads

I read new  books by old favorites by A. Lee Martinez, Charles Stross, Carl HIasson, Connie Willis, and others.

I started reading Donna Leon, and wrote about a few of her books (there are many more great novels on the back list to be read).

I found some great new favorites, including Guy Adams.

In non-fiction, there have been several great books about animal intelligence, by Jennifer Ackerman and Frans De Waal. Many new articles and books about dinosaurs are coming out.

In addition to Stiglitz, Robert J. Gordon’s book on economics was good.

At a more personal note, there were a number of ebooks about “the new way of work”, by people who are  definitely walking the walk, including Angel Kwiatkowski and Beth Buczynski, Sebastian Olma, and Anastasia Cole Plankias.

For reference here is a list of the books reviewed in the fourth quarter:

1636: The Chronicles of Dr. Gribbleflottz by Kerryn Offord and Rick Boatright
A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
Crosstalk by Connie Willis
Curioddity by Paul Jenkins
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
For a Few Souls More by Guy Adams
Hag-seed by Margaret Atwood
Pirate Utopia by Bruce Sterling
Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman
Swing Time by Zadie Smith
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride
The Terranauts by T. Coraghessan Boyle

Best State Ever by Dave Barry
Pax Romana by Adrian Goldsworthy
The Euro by Joseph Stiglitz

And here is a consolidated list from Q1, Q2, Q3:

2 A.M. at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
A Question of Belief by Donna Leon
A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
Beastly Things by Donna Leon
By Its Cover by Donna Leon
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Coconut Cowboy by Tim Dorsey
Empire State by Adam Christopher
Falling In Love by Donna Leon
Inside a Silver Box by Walter Mosley
Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
Made To Kill by Adam Christopher
Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen
Monstrous Little Voices edited by David Thomas Moore
Once A Crooked Man by David McCallum
Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
Rewired edited by James Patrick Kelly and John Kessel
Robot Uprisings ed. by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams
Save Room For Pie by Roy Blount, Jr.
Slade House by David Mitchell
Stiletto by Daniel O’Malley
Still Life With Bread Crumbs by Anna Quindlen
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The Assistants by Camille Perri
The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black
The Clown Service by Guy Adams
The Decent Proposal by Kemper Donovan
The Everything Box by Richard Kadrey
The Golden Egg by Donna Leon
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez
The Lost Time Accidents by John Wray
The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination edited by John Joseph Adams
The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross
The Path by Drew Magary
The Rain Soaked Bride by Guy Adams
The Regional Office is Under Attack by Manuel Gonzales
The Underground Railroad by Colin Whitehead
The Waters of Eternal Youth by Donna Leon
Vinegar Girl by Anny Tyler

Non fiction

Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans De Waal
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez
Coworking: Building Community as a Space Catalyst by Angel Kwiatkowski and Beth Buczynski
Coworking: How freelancers escape the coffee shop office and tales of community from independents around the world by Angel Kwiatkowski and Beth Buczynski
Digital Nomads: How to Live, Work and Play Around the World by Esther Jacobs and André Gussekloo
Dude, Where’s My Drone: The future of work and what you can do to prepare for it by Liquid Talent
Hedy’s Folly by Richard Rhodes
How to Make Money (and a whole lot more) by Sharing by Claire Marshall
Inventology by Pagan Kennedy
Labor of Love by Moira Weigel
Magic and Loss by Virginia Heffernan
Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle
Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance, Debauchery and Billion-Dollar Deals by John LeFevre
The Farm on The Roof by Anastasia Cole Plankias
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
The Global Code by Clotaire Rapaille
The Invention of Nature: Alexander Humbolt’s New World by Andrea Wulf
The Rise and Fall of American Growth by Robert J. Gordon
The Serendipity Machine: A Disruptive Business Model for Society 3.0 by Sebastian Olma
The Tyrannosaur Chronicles  by David Hone
Tribe by Sebastian Junger

2016 Wrapup

Housekeeping: Books Reviewed Third Quarter 2016

In the past quarter,in addition to daily posts, comments on articles and products, I posted brief book reviews for 21 books and ebooks in the third quarter.

Here is a list, in no particular order.

A Question of Belief by Donna Leon
A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier
Beastly Things by Donna Leon
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Razor Girl by Carl Hiaasen
Robot Uprisings ed. by Daniel H. Wilson and John Joseph Adams
The Assistants by Camille Perri
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson
The Last Adventure of Constance Verity by A. Lee Martinez
The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross
The Path by Drew Magary
The Underground Railroad by Colin Whitehead
Vinegar Girl by Anny Tyler

Magic and Loss by Virginia Heffernan
Tribe by Sebastian Junger
The Tyrannosaur Chronicles  by David Hone
The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans De Waal

Book Review: “The Nightmare Stacks” by Charles Stross

The Nightmare Stacks by Charles Stross

How can anyone even live in England? It appears to be under supernatural assault all the time (e.g., here here and in America, too here here), and has multiple secret government agencies desperately defending the realm from these threats. Is anyone in Britain not employed in a supernatural secret service?

This book is the seventh novel about “The Laundry”, and Stross is the absolute master of this genre. His dry wit combines pedestrian bureaucratic process, nerdy tech, and Lovecraftian horrors (i.e., brain suckers with tentacles) into a humorously self consistent alternate reality—overlaid on our everyday world. In this world, a “brain sucking powerpoint presentation” is not a metaphor, it is a terror weapon. Job titles might be “computational daemonologist” or “combat epistomologiest”.

Following the disastrous events recounted in “The Annihilation Score”, the Laundry is rushing to defend against the suite emerging existential threats, code named CASE NIGHTMARE RAINBOW. The increase use of higher mathematics by humans, computers, and nowadays, every damned toaster, is noisily leaking throughout the multiverse, broadcasting the message: “Brains are here, come and get it.”  This loud dinner bell is waking and attracting many powerful forces.

CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN appears to be in progress (see the earlier book “The Annihilation Score”, and other colors of this nightmare stack may be in the offing soon.

The action here mainly unfolds in Leeds, where the Laundry is establishing a new HQ, dispersing assets away from the capital in preparation for eminent catastrophe and war.

Plucky young Alex Schwartz was recruited after the earlier deadly attack on the Laundry (see “The Annihilation Score”), and has rushed into service only half trained. Unfortunately, Leeds turns out to be a lot hotter than expected, and dire events unfold all around Alex. Yikes. CASE NIGHTMARE RED! In Yorkshire!  Taking a new girlfriend to his parents house is not the worst horror he must face (though it is a nightmarish event).

The plot is fast and complex, with the usual dry humor, literate allusions, and calm acceptance of outlandishly crazy paranormal phenomena juxtaposed with monstrous red tape. Alex is much more comfortable dealing with uncanny horrors from beyond than the arcane defenses of his reimbursement forms.

Alex works with other Laundry personnel (all of them pretty darn plucky themselves), and these are interesting and strange people. The Laundry’s “diversity policies” are really, really, really diverse!

The crew at Leeds includes the authors alter ego super-nerds, Pinky and the Brain. How much of these two is autobiographical and how much is just wish fulfillment? (I mean, Stross clearly would love to have a hovercraft and rebuilt Nazi halftrack motorcycle in the garage.  Does he actually have them?).

We have good reason to suspect that Stross had a pleasant visit to Leeds (probably for the anime festival), and may well have scoped out various hideous strip malls, appalling modern architecture, and other sites that deserved to be demolished in his fictional battles.

This is a great story, fun to read and full of human spirit—even if many of the characters are actually “school of” homo sapiens.

Get it, read it, enjoy it. (You probably shoud read everything you can find by Charles Stross.)

  1. Charles Stross, The Nightmare Stacks, New York, Ace Books, 2016.

Sunday Book Reviews

Books Reviewed 2015

Here is  housekeeping post, collecting all the books reviewed here in 2015.

Looking back at this list, I see that this year saw Terry Pratchette’s last book (a wrenching experience), and new novels by old favorites Stross, Perry, Macguire, Holt, Gaiman, among others. I also read older but still good histories by Goodwin and Graeber. I read several books about banking, Papal and otherwise, and overlapping works about Italy, fictional and (supposedly) real.

Over the year, I reviewed a sampling of important books about contemporary digital life, including cryptocurrency, the “sharing economy”, social media, and “mind change”.   These works covered a spectrum from enthusiasm to dark worry, giving us much to think about. There are many more I did not have time or energy for. (I will say more on this topic in another post)

Throughout 2015 I continued my ongoing investigation of the question, “what is coworking?”, including reviews of two recent (self published) books about coworking by practitioners. (More on coworking in another post.)

Shall I name some “Best Books” out of my list? Why not?

There were so many to pick from. I mean, with Neil Gaiman in the list, how can I choose? But let me mention two that are especially memorable

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
Very imaginative and well written, and, for once, not so horribly dark. This book lodged in my memory more than others that are probably equally good.

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon
Published a few years ago, but I didn’t read it until this year. A wonderful, intricate story. The flight of the parrot is still in my memory.

There were many important works about digital life, and I shall try to comment on them in another post. But three books that really hit me are:

Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
From several years ago, but I didn’t read it until this year. Highly influential on the ‘occupy’ and other left-ish thinking. This is an astonishingly good book, and long form anthropology, to boot. Wow!

Reimagination Station: Creating a Game-Changing In-Home Coworking Space by Lori Kane
An exlectic little self-published book about “home coworking”, which I didn’t know was a thing. Kane walked the walk, and made me think in new ways about community and coworking.

Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs
Unexpected amounts of fun reading this short book. It does an old, graying nerd no end of good to see that at least some of the kids are OK. Really, really, OK.

List of books reviewed in 2015

A Darkling Sea by James L. Cambias
After Alice by Gregory Maguire
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson
Book of Numbers by Joshua Cohen
Chasing the Phoenix by Michael Swanwick
Candy Apple Red by Nancy Bush
Chicks and Balances edited by Esther Friesner and John Helfers
Corsair by James L. Cambias
Count to a Trillion by John C. Wright
Diaspora by Greg Egan
Distress by Greg Egan
Electric Blue by Nancy Bush
Forty Thieves by Thomas Perry
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong
Get In Trouble by Kelly Link
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
Koko the Mighty by Kieran Shea
Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald
Mort(e) by Robert Repino
Numero Zero by Umberto Eco
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
Rebirths of Tao by Wesley Chu
Redeployment by Phil Klay
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Shark Skin Suite by Tim Dorsey
String of Beads by Thomas Perry
Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon
The Annihilation Score by Charles Stross
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Volume Nine ed. by Jonathan Strahan
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff
The First Bad Man by Miranda July
The Fortress in Orion by Mike Resnick
The Future Falls by Tanya Huff
The Good, the Bad, and The Smug by Tom Holt
The Mark and the Void by Paul Murray
The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
The Shepherd’s Crown by Terry Pratchett
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu
The Unfortunate Decisions of Dahlia Moss by Max Wirestone
The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Wild Ways by Tanya Huff
Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
Ultraviolet by Nancy Bush
We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler
Witches Be Crazy by Logan J. Hunder
Zer0es by Chuck Wendig

Non Fiction

Arrival of the Fittest by Andreas Wagner
Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
Digital Gold by Nathaniel Popper
Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs
God’s Bankers by Gerald Posner
LaFayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell
Let’s Be Less Stupid by Patricia Marx
Live Right and Find Happiness by Dave Barry
Merchants in the Temple by Gianluigi Nuzzi
Mind Change by Susan Greenfield
Mindsharing by Lior Zoref
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
No More Sink Full of Mugs by Tony Bacigalupo
Not Impossible by Mick Ebeling
Pax Technica by Phillip N. Howard
Peers, Inc by Robin Chase
Reimagination Station: Creating a Game-Changing In-Home Coworking Space by Lori Kane
Speculative Everything by Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
The Age of Cryptocurrency by Paul Vigna and Michael J. Casey
The Art of Forgery by Noah Charney
The Next Species by Michael Tennesen
The Reputation Economy by Michael Fertik and David C. Thompson
The Social Labs Revolution by Zaid Hassan
The Ugly Renaissance by Alexander Lee
Twentyfirst Century Robot by Brian David Johnson
Women of Will:  Following the Feminine in Shakespeare’s Plays by Tina Packer

Book Reviews


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Failure, Inc.

by robinhardwick

I continue my crusade against this culture of “failure is good” rhetoric spouted off by TED talks and business and creativity literature. Let me be clear, I am not being negative about this for the sake of shitting on everyone’s parade. I just don’t like this cult of personality created by people who seem to have all the answers to unlock success. In reality, the reality of making a living from a creative endeavor is roughly the same as winning the lottery. I’m not going to stop trying however. All I ask is that we just get a more realistic vision of what it is like to pursue creativity for the small gains, even knowing that ultimately we will all fail. The Coen brothers seem to get this, as Inside Llewyn Davis is a beautiful and painful depiction of failure. I can’t even as much think of the film without getting very upset.

I hadn’t given up completely. I tried a few more books and inspirational text, including the War of Art by, which seemed to be esteemed by the writing community. I finished it a week ago and I can’t even recall one fucking thing from the book. There were short passages and inspirational messages that seemed to just say, “stop being a whiny asshole and start writing.” Okay, great. Did I need to read a whole book to tell me that? Obviously I’m not going to get a writing gig by having an editor hear my thoughts and trust them. Believe me, I’ve send out pitch after pitch with much rejection. Not enough rejection to give up completely, but enough to realize that I may never have my “making it” moment.

There has been some great writers writing on the subject lately, and it has comforted me to know that I am not the only one thinking this way, not the only one seeing through the banality and sale-speak of tech talks and other “creative geniuses” marketed to help us live our dreams.

First, Benjamin Bratton (not to be confused with the male love interest from Miss Congeniality) criticizes TED talks, the bite-sized inspirational talks where geniuses share their secrets.

Instead of dumbing-down the future, we need to raise the level of general understanding to the level of complexity of the systems in which we are embedded and which are embedded in us. This is not about “personal stories of inspiration”, it’s about the difficult and uncertain work of demystification and reconceptualisation: the hard stuff that really changes how we think. More Copernicus, less Tony Robbins.

At a societal level, the bottom line is if we invest in things that make us feel good but which don’t work, and don’t invest in things that don’t make us feel good but which may solve problems, then our fate is that it will just get harder to feel good about not solving problems.

People don’t like putting in the work. They want to hear the shortcuts, that one nugget of inspiration that will solve all their problems, and make them overcome failue.

I also have been trying to shove this Slate piece on the idea of “Do What You Love,” a mantra, which for me, falls into this bullshit work and creativity self-help bullshit. Not only does the idea that we all should have the opportunity to do what we love come off as incredibly classist, it’s just too simplified.

Besides, no one truly loves every part of their job. Work is work. Even if I did get my so-called dream job of writing, I’d have to deal with less than desirable assignments, unpleasant colleagues, etc.

I’m starting to believe that one can never truly love a job, because jobs destroy the things we love. All I can hope for is a job that is tolerable in such a way that it leaves me energy to actually do what I love.


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Crazy cat lady

I’ve always loved animals. My very first friend was Roy, my dad’s Dalmatian. When I see pictures of myself as a baby with him by my side, I almost feel like I remember that moment. He was adorable. I grew up knowing how it feels to be loved by an animal, which is the best kind of love there is. Therefore, I’ve always known how it feels to love animals too. I was only 13 when I told my parents I wouldn’t eat meat anymore. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Not because I think people who eat meat don’t love animals, but because I’ve never felt good about it. It’s not a secret that I prefer animals over humans. Their love for us is unconditional. So is mine for them. I had birds, turtles, fish, hamsters (one of them believed he was Spider-Man), a loving and friendly bunny called Anita and my dog Duddy, who lives with my parents. A house without an animal is completely empty. That’s how I felt when I moved out. Seeing how much I missed having a pet, someone I love very deeply decided to give me a gift: Ellie, my Ragdoll. I’ve never had a cat before. The things people read about cats are completely inaccurate. Ellie is not only my cat, she’s also my love. She’s my best friend. I’ve had a lot of pet-friends before, but none like her. She’s absolutely adorable, in every way. Where I go, she follows me. When I’m working, she sleeps beside my computer. I’m never alone because she’s always with me. Ellie is a cat and she is friendly; she doesn’t hide from strangers (just a few, but so do I). She plays fetch and she doesn’t ruin my curtains or scratch the couch. Ellie made me realize I’ve always been the crazy cat lady, but never knew before.

Here’s the link to Ellie’s YouTube channel, if you’d like to see how adorable she is:


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The Familiar Touch

I want to feel, I want to feel love again, The way your hand felt rough, against my face. The life line in your palm was long; you’re suffering lasting long enough. The warm embrace in the middle of the night, when the demons in my head awakened , miss that the most. If I … Continue reading The Familiar Touch