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Day Two of the Guinness World Record Concert

Well, we are off and running!  We had the South Iredell High School Marine Jr. ROTC unit to present colors and Tenille Kilby-Cates and the national anthum.  Awesome, awesome, awesome!!  Our co-owner of the Signal Hill Mall and Superior Court Judge Robert Collier open the even with a few words of support and thanks to everyone involved.  Statesville High School’s Blue and Gray singers were the first performing group.  They were excellen.  Following them was the Lakeshore Middle School Chorus.

I have been amazed at the broad variety of talent.  I hope more folks will come out and enjoy over the next nine days.  Go to www.unitedwayofiredell.org to see who is playing when.  More later.  WBTV.com is providing a live streaming video throughout the 10-Day event at http://www.wbtv.com/global/story.asp?s=9997497

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General Fundraiser

Goal: $10,000
$215,644 4 2156% Complete

Campaign Details

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Hello friends! Welcome to my fundraising page benefiting Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford!

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford began with one mom's vision. Lucile Salter Packard, our generous founder, believed strongly in caring for both the body and soul of every child. As a nonprofit hospital, they rely on community support to provide the best care available to patients and their families. 100 percent of your gift to the Children's Fund supports the hospital’s highest ongoing priorities, including important programs that are not covered by insurance:

  • Care for all children and expectant mothers who need our specialized treatment, regardless of their family's ability to pay.
  • Research grants that enable our physicians, caregivers, and scientists to turn innovative ideas into better care for children and expectant mothers.
  • Family and community services, such as chaplaincy and recreation therapy, that help our patient families heal, as well as programs like our Teen Health Van and Car Seat Fitting Station that offer more families access to lifesaving care.

Every gift makes a meaningful impact in the lives of patients and families. Thank you for your support!

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…and you thought your life was exciting!

Archive for October 2009

What Game?

with 2 comments

When your biggest passions in life are reading, writing, drawing, and playing videogames there’s only a small portion of headspace left to devote to sports. So sue me that I didn’t know there was a big water polo game on tonight!

She was talking about water polo, right?

Anyways, here’s Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula, Supertown style for ya since Halloween is freakishly close:

Welcome, love, I have made a place for you here
I know every word they say
I know how they want to make you change

– “No One Really Wins” by Copeland

Written by Paul

October 28, 2009 at 7:48 pm

Autumn couple

with 4 comments

We’re now, at least in New Jersey, in the middle of those few short weeks where the leaves are turning and everything is warmly cool and shops big and small are advertising pumpkin this and pumpkin that. Let’s stay for awhile, yes?

Wrapped up in the pleasures of the world
I’ve journeyed here and there and back again
But in the same old haunts I still find my friends

– “Thirty-three” by The Smashing Pumpkins

Written by Paul

October 26, 2009 at 8:40 pm

Posted in artwork, weather

Tagged with , ,

Percy Jackson fanart, yo

with 5 comments

I was going to post this to DeviantArt, but that site seems to really hate me lately. But here you go! A little Percy Jackson fanart. I’m just finishing up Book 4, and I really like this series. Can’t wait for the movie next year. Tara and I are going to be the first two in line, dressed as sexy Athena and bloated Dionysus, respectively. I kid, I kid. Maybe…

Wish I knew what you were looking for
Might have known what you would find

– “Under the Milky Way” by The Church

Written by Paul

October 19, 2009 at 10:14 pm

with 6 comments

Pretty good movie though.

I woke up, the world had fallen down around me
You were still there, and I didn’t care
For the first time, I knew you were a part of this all along
You were a part of this all along

– “Make the Cut” by Number One Fan

Written by Paul

October 11, 2009 at 8:37 pm

Posted in death, entertainment, movies

Tagged with , ,

Countdown to Supertown: THREE DAYS

with one comment

Supertown is almost here, people! Three more days to go, and so to hold you over (or, conversely, whet your appetite even more) here’s another piece of promo art I did instead of drawing actual comics:

I take a little time to think
About what is right or wrong
And that will lead me home if I remember
And I do, I know it’s true
Come find me and I’ll be there to tender

– “So Long” by Sister Hazel

Written by Paul

October 2, 2009 at 9:29 pm

Posted in artwork, comics

Tagged with ,


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Tag Archives: life

28 Mar

With all the tech savvy busy lives most of us lead, we don’t have or spend REAL time with one another. Lovin’ how Durex made this message of You’re wasting your life and love with this sexy funny just brilliant ad 🙂 #Turn OFF to Turn ON Ladies n Gents! Tick freakin Tock!

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Hope is one of my favorite words.  There’s always hope…these kids give me HOPE…

For the past two summer, I’ve gone up to Northern Canada to do soccer camps for First Nation kids and teens.  These are remote communities who don’t have much to do during the summer.  While we’re supposed to be running soccer camps, a lot of the time we’re just hanging out and being goofey 🙂  Especially during the kids’ camps–this last summer when Transformers II had just come out, some of the boys would run around pretending to be a transformer!  Good times.  Anyway, these mission trips have changed my life and I would love to share more stories with you.  For now, I’ve added a couple Youtube videos on my “Team Jesus” page that show a slideshow of pictures from this last summer and winter.

I’m feeling more up beat today–yesterday I was really homesick.  I woke up and told myself, today is a new day!  I don’t have to feel like I did yesterday.  So I started my day off by taking some “Overnight Oats” to go with me to work.

Same recipe as last time, except I bought some Raw Almond Butter from Trader Joes the other day, and used that for a topping.  And of course there was sliced banana to go with this too!

After a full morning of work, I came home to do my workout–I really wasn’t looking forward to it.  I don’t like speed drill.  A huge reason why I never enjoyed Middle School track!  (I made soccer a full time deal after that!)  But I also know that speed drills provide my legs with a lot of strength to do those longer runs.

I did a combo of a speed/hill workout today.  Duration of workout= 43 minutes (doesn’t include stretching time).  I did my workout at a park close by that I could run to, and there’s a reason why I did my workout at this park…it has a huge hill!  There’s a running trail that goes around it, and half of the circle is up, but the other half is down 🙂

My workout: 6 times around the park, every other lap, pushing my speed to go faster (so probably a 7 minute mile pass or a bit faster).  The laps in between the fast ones are a nice slow jog (but it’s still up hill!)

A lap is probably around 1200 meters, so 3 times around a track.

I was POOPED by the time I got home.  My quads and hipflexers burned on my jog back home.  This means I did good for my muscles today.  Tomorrow will definitely be a relaxing jog 🙂

Do you ever have trouble pushing yourself to work out harder–go the extra mile?  I konw I do.  For me, it usually happens before I even start my workout.  Once I’m out there running and my endorphins are flowing, I’m fine.  Something that helps me when I get these mental blocks, is to tell myself, I’ll only do what my body feels is good for it today.  I’m going to listen to my body.  If it doesn’t feel good going 60 minutes, I don’t have to.  So today I told myself, one lap at a time.  I don’t have to finish all 8 laps (I was supposed to do 8, but my body told me 6 was good enough!  I listened to my body.)

Just don’t be hard on your body–it will tell you when you feel strong enough to push further.  Don’t ever push yourself to the point that working out is NEVER fun.  Some workouts are meant to be tough, but not all of them 🙂

Oh, here was my lunch too…slices from a loaf of Wheat Nut Bread from New Seasons Market, with left over guac from last night, cucmbers, red pepper, and a piece of lettuce on top to hold it all together.  And of course a couple of carrots on the side that I dipped in hummus…I LOVE CARROTS 🙂

Plans for later…a small grocery shopping trip to New Seasons to pick up some ingredients for Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches tonight, then watching the Biggest Loser with Tim 🙂  Pefect.

God bless!


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The Law of Bungie’s Jungle – Destiny Trailer Analysis

Ever since they crept into my consciousness, I’ve been a fan of the video game developer Bungie (Myth, Oni, Marathon, others, most notably Halo).  They have always exuded an idealism and a passion for what they do.  They certainly aren’t perfect (who is?), and you could accuse them of a lot of things, but if there’s one thing you can’t say about them, it’s that they don’t have fun doing what they do, or believing in their work.

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about them–certainly in retrospect–is the marketing they do for their games (at least with their more recent titles).  Bungie tends to put a degree of thought and effort into their trailers, which seems to have become increasingly rare amongst other developers and publishers.  Their work isn’t necessarily highbrow, but it’s rarely ever dumb; it’s definitely never brainless, lazy, or childish, and is usually something interesting (even if it may be a little cheesy at times).

This new trailer for Bungie’s upcoming game, Destiny, just might be the best example of thought, planning, and overall execution that the company has ever put into one of their trailers:

If you know anything about Bungie, you recognize their style here immediately.  Most of their live-action/cinematic stuff is fairly simple but uses its elements in effective ways, and might typically possess some sort of reference (in the case of the “Believe” trailer, it was Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude; for “ODST”, Light of Aidan).  The games themselves are chocked full with many more references and clues to myths, legends, bits of history, and more.  It’s clear they have people who are passionate about these old stories, and it’s also worth noting that this trailer has much in common with this particular aspect of their games than their previous marketing ads.  In fact, the amount of thought that went into this one is actually somewhat impressive.

For those not paying attention it may seem like a bunch of random action shots with a voice over.  Lots of video game trailers have that, right?  That sort of thing doesn’t tell us much about a game.  Now, some of these shots are random, yeah, but on closer inspection, this trailer has a lot to say–maybe nothing we don’t already know about the game, but it’s all in the execution.

First off, a little information on the game is required–for those who may not be in the know, yes, but this will also be referenced later on.  What is Destiny? Destiny is Bungie’s next shooter (duh) set on a future Earth where humanity was almost driven to extinction by unknown, outside forces.  As we were making our final stand, a large, mysterious sphere-ship appeared in the sky above and sacrificed itself in battle on our behalf with little-to-no explanation as to why.  Like a second moon, it now hovers over “The Last City on Earth” like a silent watcher.  The people refer to it as “The Traveler” and knights known as Guardians take up oaths of service to protect the remnants of the human race, using the Traveler’s technology.  Bungie says they want to go for a “futuristic mythology world” akin to science fantasy like Star Wars.  Based on what we know of the gameplay so far, it sounds like an MMO FPS with classes, quests, and an open world, but the devs are adamant in saying it’s not an “MMO” (whether or not this will be the case, we shall see).  Bungie has always been one to want to create a sense of community through their games, so while it sounds like running solo will be possible, there is definitely an emphasis on multiplayer co-op.

Now for the trailer itself, whoever wrote and directed this short knew a thing or two about speech class… and also probably marketing, but an entry level speech class is pretty relevant to this.  The second you open your mouth you want to grab the audience’s attention, and a good attention grabber requires careful word choice.  And if you want people to actually watch your commercial, those first few seconds (probably even less), audibly and visually, are extremely important.

The trailer officially starts here.  Yeah, that ESRB notification probably kills what I just talked about.  I guess that five second delay before you can actually skip is there for a reason.  Still, it would probably be best if it were saved for the end.

Oh look, another space dude–

“Pay attention son… this is the part of the story that’s really important.”

I’m going to try and simulate the Average Joe here: “Whoa, that voice!  Who is–IT’S GIONCARLO ESPOSITO!  What’s he doing here?”

Almost right off the bat we see a well known actor (if not by name, then by face).  His opening line: “Pay attention son…”  Heh.  Subtle.

You do want to carefully pay attention to everything you are seeing and hearing… because it really is important for what the trailer is trying to both show and tell you about this game trailer.

Said actor reads from Rudyard Kipling’s The Second Jungle Book.  The excerpt: “The Law of the Jungle”.  We see what looks to be a random montage of three space dudes nonchalantly marching up to aliens and gunning them down without so much as getting hit–several cliches (standard big dude showing up at the end, heroes prepare to take it on) included.  Make no mistake.  The quote is the central focus of this trailer, and almost everything we see revolves around it.

The word choice here is very deliberate and thought out.  What exactly is being said here?  Let’s find out:

“Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,
And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;
For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

The Wikipedia page on the Law of the Jungle is worth bringing up here because it compares the definition of the term with Kipling’s idea in the poem.  “The code of survival in jungle life, now usually with reference to the superiority of brute force or self-interest in the struggle for survival.”  Basically, “every man for himself; kill or be killed.”  The author of the page goes on to say, “…this interpretation is clearly in conflict with [Kipling’s] ideas of the law of the jungle as a social contract which explicates the balance between the individual’s responsibility to the community and the community’s responsibility to the individual.”

What I would say here is that the ideas perhaps aren’t so much in conflict with on another, so much as Kipling’s idea (and subsequently Bungie’s) is an addendum to what already is: the world is a dangerous place, filled with selfish people.  This is all the more reason for us stick together.  To wander off on your own is death.  It is because of this–in spite of it–we must help one another to survive.  Kipling is acknowledging “the law of the jungle” while simultaneously stating such law makes community necessity.  How do you prevent (or protect yourself from) dog-eat-dog?  There is safety in numbers.  Because that’s the way things are.  Enter the wolf pack.  It travels together for safety, and works together to bring down prey which an individual may be unable to do.  And in the case of the wolf, self-interest and survival extends from an individual to that of a group, possibly against other groups.  From that angle, how different is Kipling or Bungie’s idea from jungle law as it is defined?  Destiny has several groups of aliens that want our solar system, and we’re collectively fighting back to keep it.

Now it could be that Kipling didn’t mean for the wolf analogy to be taken this far (into the realm of group eat group) and that the emphasis is solely on community and teamwork, but I have read neither of the Jungle Books, so it’s probably not my place to say.  One thing is for certain: Bungie is using the first two verses of the poem exclusively to tell this short narrative, and that in itself can carry a whole new interpretation and themes, making the work a whole new story.  Even without knowing a proper definition of jungle law, it’s meaning in this trailer can be intuited easy enough: the world is a dangerous place.  The subsequent message from the two verses is clearer: this is about teamwork.  Teamwork in the face of conflict.

“And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.”

Oh hey look!  Some captain dude got SHOT as Giancarlo said the word “DIE”.  Er, that’s a superficial connection, really.  Anyway…

There is no literal law or judicial punishment saying if you go out alone you will be put to death.  Punishment and death comes naturally when you head out into the wild unknown yourself.  “It’s just how things work,” the line of thinking goes.  Especially as Destiny presents it.  Heck, it’s how Valve’s Left 4 Dead works–you stray from the group, you get torn apart by zombie swarms.  Simple as that.  Keeping also in mind “the law of the jungle” from earlier, we see the two groups (Guardians and aliens) fight for the right of the land.  All of this is a clue: the trailer is telling us about the game’s multiplayer co-op nature.  This will be expanded upon in the final stanza.

We could be really cynical about this and say it’s a subtle anti-single player message.  I don’t know if it’s that extreme, but the push towards co-op is not unheard of from the likes of Bungie.  It’s always been the law of their jungle, as it were.

“As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back; …”

“The law runneth forward and back” line is referring to the whole “individual’s responsibility to the community and the community’s responsibility to the individual” idea.  It’s saying that this law is, by nature, circular.  This leads right into…

“… For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”

The strength of the group lies in the unique skills of the individuals, but the individual’s strength comes from combining their skills with those of the others.  Diversity comes together to form something wholly new that is greater than the sum of its parts.  Greater than the sum of its parts it may be, but it needs those parts to be great nevertheless.

Notice how during the “strength of the pack is the wolf” line (0:43-48), we see the cloaked Guardian use his revolver to make precise shots past the shields of the enemies and disintegrate them, where before the showering of bullets strategy wasn’t working so hot (why did they try that anyway?).  Also take note of how it was the “rogue” class of the three to do this, with the cunning and resourcefulness of rogues being associated with wolves.  Additionally, notice how during the “strength of the wolf is the pack” line (0:52-58), that’s when the massive alien rises up behind the Guardians, who turn and ready themselves–the implication, of course, being it will take the skills of all three to bring this behemoth down: “mage, rogue, and warrior.”

0:43-49 Addendum

I want that revolver.  Really bad.  I thought you all should know that.

Overall, this is quite the fun little trailer.  And I applaud Bungie and those who worked on it.  There is, however, one blemish in the time stamp above.  Can you spot it?

In Closing

The amount of thought that went into this is a little astounding.  A father character is reading “The Law of the Jungle” to his son, which parallels the conflict being shown, which gives us an idea of what the game itself is like.  This may be conjecture, but it strikes me that Kipling’s poem may very well be the design philosophy behind the whole game.  It’s subtle, it fits together almost seamlessly, and it gives us a window into the game itself as opposed to being mindless pre-rendered action cutscenes that have practically nothing to do with the game.  As someone who argues that games are meant to be played, not watched, and therefore marketing needs to consist of actual gameplay footage, I would say if you’re going to do cinematic trailers, then this is the way to do it.  The reality, however, is that so few companies do these kinds of trailers properly, so it’s a breath of fresh air to see work like this.  Now this doesn’t mean that the end product will mirror this perfectly (or even be a good game) just because the trailer is good (Dead Island proved that much), but credit where credit is due (Not saying it will be a bad game either, but that’s not the point here).

This trailer is not only well executed, it’s also a great example of what, in my opinion, is the thing Bungie does best: tangential learning.  If just 1% of the five million plus viewers (as of this writing) take an interest in Rudyard Kipling and The Jungle Book because of this trailer, well, Bungie just facilitated the learning of over fifty-thousand people.

You know those people exist, and that they’re looking up both the book and the author right now, quoting the poem, etc.

Nice job, Bungie.

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Category Archives: pets

The Fish Whisperer

I was (finally) out shopping for my March for Maddie giveaway prize this weekend, looking – obviously – for some weird stuff to throw in there. And I came upon a tiny plastic aquarium with a couple of those “grow” fish in them – the ones that expand in water. And I decided I needed to have one myself.

You see – I am not very good at taking care of pets. No – that’s not exactly true – I am fine with dogs and cats, because they can remind me that they exist and are hungry/thirsty/bored/need to pee/are dicks. But quiet, contained animals? Doomed. That’s the same reason I kill plants. They can’t nudge me with their cold noses, or bark by the door, or stare at my food and “boof,” or knock their empty dish off the platform, shove it across the room, jam it into my instep and “merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! Merl! MERL! MERL! MERL! MERL! MERL! MERL!!” at me until I get off my ass and either feed or kill them.

The fact that I still have living hermit crabs should tell you how little care they need. Because if they required anything more than minimal effort, they’d be hot-glued into little vignettes by now.

So anyway, I got this cute, tiny little aquarium that I can set on my desk and play God with the fake fish. You add water – they grow – you forget all about them and they dry up and shrink. Then you notice them one day and think, “GASP! My fish are dried up!” Then you add more water and they puff back up again and you don’t even have to feel guilty about it! I don’t know if you realize this, but YOU CANNOT DO THAT WITH REAL FISH!

Don’t get me wrong – I love aquariums. I can spend hours just looking at them. Speaking of which, I once did just that at burghbaby’s house. Her husband was nice enough to talk to me for a long time all about the fish and critters. Which – while we’re on the topic, Ms. burghbaby often claims that her husband doesn’t talk, but I certainly haven’t experienced that. It seems that she is either full of shit, or Mr. burghbaby and I are dorks of feather. Truthfully, either is possible.

Anyway, I wasn’t always bad at keeping fish, etc alive. Back when I was a kid (somewhere around 6 or 7), my aunts took me to a carnival. One of the games they had was the one where you toss ping pong balls into tiny fishbowls filled with colored water and goldfish – if the ball stays in, the fish is yours.

My aunt tried to talk me out of playing, since it was a waste of money – no one ever wins at that game – plus, if you do – the fish die in a couple of days, anyway – I mean – they are swimming in tiny bowls of colored water, right? Wrong. I won me a fish and I named him Fred (I went through a stage where everything was named Fred for a while). We took it home (to my aunt/grandma’s house) and within a couple of days, we had a whole aquarium set up for this one fish. And despite what everyone but me expected, this fish did NOT die in a couple of days. In fact, he not only lived, he thrived. Within a week or so, we saw him start to increase in size. I was worried about him being lonely, so we bought him a few friends. But soon, the friends disappeared and Fred got bigger. And bigger. And BIGGER.

He soon started looking less like a tiny goldfish and more like a huge gold river fish. He was bigger than any goldfish you’ve ever seen. His tail was the size of an adult hand when “unfurled.” More than once, when my grandfather was cleaning the tank, he put Fred in another container while he scrubbed the tank in the kitchen. When he came back, he found that Fred had leaped from the tank and was lying on the floor, dry and seemingly dead. But Gramps, who loved animals, grabbed Fred and plunged him back into the water. Then he started rubbing him gently – almost doing compressions. And damned if that fish didn’t revive! And it happened TWICE! Gramps thought the first time was a fluke, but after the second, he started throwing a towel over the container.

Fred lived a good, LONG life. I got him when I was about 6 and when he died? I was in college. College! Gramps was magic like that. He didn’t need a fake fish to dry up & reanimate – he could do it for real.

Woooooo! And also – Ewwww

Now, I know it’s my first week and I always do well on my first week, so I should take it with a grain of salt, but still. . .6.8 pounds, baby!!!!!! Wooooo! Go, Me! The only problem is I want some pie to celebrate. . .

Also in Wooooo! news:

I have officially changed the dog’s name from “Rocky” to “Barko Ruutu”

And finally, a scene from my house:

What is THAT?

Is that a. . .????

Oh my God, it is.

No. it can’t be.

Oh. My. God. It IS!!!!

I’m gonna kill that cat when I catch him.

Stupid cat!

I can not believe that he actually…

Oh, wait.

It’s just Toto.

Now repeat this, oh, thirty-seven thousand times a week and you have my life. And if the girl didn’t love The Wizard of Oz as much as she does, Toto would be a goner.

PS. Please ignore the disgusting carpet. It is very old and being replaced with something lovely and non-disgusting.


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Akozar has two offers

Wylie (Texas) made a deep playoff run this past season and, with quite a few of their top players returning, the Pirates could do even more next year. They have one of the stronger junior classes in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
Defensive tackle Azuka Akozar plays nosetackle in Wylie's 3-4 defense but the 6-foot-1, 250-pound junior knows he is a better fit as a three-technique. He recently picked up his first offer from an in-state school.
"My coach told me that I got an offer from Houston today," Akozar said on Thursday evening. "They had come by the school before. That's all I really know about. My coach deals with most of that."
Wylie recruiting coordinator Terry Mills says North Texas has also offered. Akozar is also interested in another in-state school and visited for a game this past season.
"I went on an unofficial visit to SMU last semester," he said. "That's the only place I've been so far. I went to a game there around October. It was nice. I enjoyed it a lot. I got there a little late so I didn't really get to talk to the coaches or see all the facilities though."
The athletic defender is hoping to make some more visits this spring.
"I don't have anything set for this semester yet," Akozar said. "I'm planning on going places but I don't know when. I'd like to go see Houston."
Though it is still early in the recruiting process, Akozar says a trio of schools stands out at the moment.
"SMU, I'm interested in them," he said. "They're a school I hope offers. I like SMU, Houston, North Texas and schools like that. I guess I'm hoping to stay relatively close to home."
Akozar was a first-team all-district selection this past season, the only junior defensive lineman in 10-4A to earn such honors. He totaled 45 tackles, including 18 for loss, nine sacks and two forced fumbles.


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You think that post is secret? Beware – it can come back and bite you

The Class of 2021 at Harvard was just reduced by at least 10.

According to campus paper The Harvard Crimson, the students had formed a secret group on Facebook called “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens”, as an unofficial offshoot of the Class of 2021 Facebook Group. The Crimson goes on to report how the messages within this group contained sexually explicit materials, “jokes” about sexually abusing children and items directed at specific ethnic and racial groups. Harvard Admissions Office, upon learning of the existence of the group, reached out to participating prospective students in mid-April and asked each to provide the content which they posted to the secret group.

The Crimson shared a portion of the email sent to each of these students:

The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics. As we understand you were among the members contributing such material to this chat, we are asking that you submit a statement by tomorrow at noon to explain your contributions and actions for discussion with the Admissions Committee.

To its credit, Harvard provided fair warning in the official Facebook group for the class of 2021 concerning “unofficial groups” and the potential consequences for unacceptable behavior.

This group is managed by the Harvard College Admissions & Financial Aid Office. We are not responsible for any unofficial groups, chats, or the content within. As a reminder, Harvard College reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission under various conditions including if an admitted student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character.

What can we all learn from this episode? It’s that social media policies and guides exist for a reason.

The direct lesson is that at least 10 putative members of the Class of 2021 received: you are responsible for what you post on a social network and you will be held accountable for that posting. That’s an important lesson for individuals of all age groups.

The second lesson is that if you post anything online, be it in a private super-secret group or within a private chat with an individual, there is a very real risk that this information will grow legs and come back to visit you in the future.

This lesson is repeated time and time again. The admissions team became aware of the content of this secret group when they were provided screenshots; so too was The Crimson. Secrets in general are difficult to keep secret. As Benjamin Franklin reminds us, “Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”

I have a voice

When you post, on any social network you might think your post is totally appropriate, yet others may view your posting as tasteless or offensive. The recipient determines how they feel about your posting, not you. Feelings are personal – you don’t argue about those; rather, you discuss the cause. Therefore, by all means use the social networks as a means to let loose and vent, such is the beauty of free speech. It does, however, carry with it the responsibility to own your words.

And one last thing. Remember, when you post that photo or diatribe during cocktail hour, it may be presented to you when you least expect it, proving once again, that when it comes to social networks, the adage of “Once posted, forever toasted” still applies.


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Archive for July, 2011

I must say that for me, some of the shine on Wikileaks has worn off in the past two months. The online disseminator of confidential information, most associated with controversial Australian Julian Assange, has been in the headlines constantly in the past two years, though it was founded way back in 2006. The bane of the US establishment, it has published colossal libraries of secret correspondence, photographs and video footage which have shed unprecedented light into the activity of the US in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The Wikileaks organisation has also released diverse information on subjects which have included super injunctions in theUK, Scientology, corruption inKenya, membership lists of the British National Party and activities ofIceland’s Kaupthing bank. And although governments and institutions have reacted with hostility towards the Wikileaks organisation, in the main the general public has welcomed the insights and the leverage Wikileaks brings against powerful governments and corporations.

So why the negativity towards Wikileaks? In Ireland’s case, Wikileaks partnered up with the Irish Independent in May and early June 2011 to publish details of secret USembassy cables (that is, written messages generated by US embassies around the world). Wikileaks has had the 250,000-odd cables since November 2010, over six months ago. Yet it is only in May 2011 that we get to see the USembassy in Ireland’s cables. And even then through the filter of one hallowed newspaper. By the way, the Irish Independent is keen to emphasise that there is no reward element in its dealings with Wikileaks. But why can’t we see the cables directly ourselves and why the delay in making the cables themselves available in full online? Since the Independent first reported the cables in May and early June, I have been keeping an eye on the wikileaks.org website expecting to see the cables uploaded. Weeks went by and journalists contacted from here expected Wikileaks to make the cables available days or a short number of weeks after the Independent had first dibs on the material. And the days and weeks passed without any information being uploaded onto the wikileaks.org website. Wikileaks doesn’t respond to requests for information, or maybe just requests for information from modest blogs such as this one. And then last week, the 22nd July according to the date-stamp on the Wikileaks website, cables reported in the Independent on 2nd June were finally made available – seven weeks later. Unfortunately though, it seems that only a subset of the cables reported has in fact been made available for now.

The report in the Independent on 2nd June, 2011 which dealt with NAMA refers to at least five discrete NAMA-related messages from theUS embassy inIreland. It is not clear how many cables these messages are spread across but the Independent does refer to “other cables”. The cables published online last week by Wikileaks include only one that refers to NAMA.  And  that one cable excludes much of the information reported by the Independent. So there are other NAMA-related cables, it’s just that Wikileaks has not published them yet.

The NAMA-related cable that was published states “On April 7 [2009], Econoff spoke with Kevin Cardiff (protect), Second Secretary General at the Department of Finance, who said that the pricing of assets should be finished within three months. Cardiff said he will need about 30 more staff members, who will come in on a contract basis, to set up NAMA and value the banks’ assets.  He hinted that, given the work he and his colleagues have already done, the assets will be discounted by around 50 percent.  He also said that, while this program is modeled on the Resolution Trust Corporation that was put in place following the savings and loan collapse in theU.S. in the late 1980s, NAMA “will be in no hurry to dispose of the assets.” Cardiff said that they could and would hold the assets for “a decade or more if it took that long to get the right price.”

On 2nd June, 2011, the Irish Independent published an article which drew on references to NAMA in the secret US cables. The Independent claims that the Department of Finance hinted that the losses on loans might be 50% – that is true according to the cable. But the Independent goes on to claim that the official line was that losses would be 30%. That’s not true in the sense that the first NAMA business plan projected loans at a value of €77bn would be acquired by the agency, that the loans would be worth €47bn, that is 39% less than the face value. Of course by September 2009, NAMA was also proposing to pay a Long Term Economic Value (LTEV) premium of €7bn bringing the consideration payable by NAMA up to €54bn which is indeed a 30% discount on the €77bn face value.

It is worth noting that property prices were dropping like stones in Ireland and to a lesser extent the UKin 2009. So if the estimate was of 50% losses in April 2009, then six months later they might have been expected to have been closer to 60%. And John Mulcahy, then managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle in Ireland but appointed to NAMA in February 2010 (but on secondment from Jones Lang LaSalle to the NTMA in the role of Interim Head of Portfolio Management since June 2009), should have known about price falls more than most – his own company’s commercial property index fell from 787 at the end of Q1,2009 to 682 at the end of Q3, 2009, a 13.4% drop. During the same period, the key residential property index at the time, the ESRI/PTSB national index fell from 113.2 to 104.5, a decline of 8%.

So even setting aside the complication of the LTEV premium, when the NAMA business plan was being presented to the Oireachtas in September 2009, there is a suggestion that the Department of Finance had knowledge that the figures were misleading, and that the losses implied in the banks were underestimated. “So what?” you might say, there was still a need to correctly value these doubtful land and development loans because our banks could not be trusted by providers of funding when they had such toxic loans on their balance sheets. So regardless of whether the losses were 30% or 50% or 60% there was still a need for a NAMA-type process. Whilst that is probably true, remember that September 2009 was 14 months before we needed to go cap in hand to the IMF/EU/ECB and a year before the deposit run on our banks started in August 2010. If our Dail had known the scale of the losses in September 2009, then might there have been the time to act on bank losses without needing a bailout?

It seems that at the very least the Department of Finance has questions to answer, both about the knowledge in its possession, its disclosure to the democratic organs of our State and whether a better course might have been charted in 2009 when the scale of losses was apparently known. Kevin Cardiff is now the Secretary General of the Department of Finance – his appointment in February 2010 and abbreviated CV is here – and he seems to be a very unlucky individual. He was present on the night of the bank guarantee when he was still the Second Secretary General (the Secretary General was then David Doyle). He sat alongside Brian Cowen and the late Brian Lenihan at the announcement of the IMF/EU bailout in November 2010 and he has been at the civil service helm of the Department of Finance during a period when some pretty awful mistakes have been made. The last reporting of his salary I have seen suggests his annual salary is €228,466 a year.

It should be said that the term used in the US cable – “hinted” – is not conclusive but it was considered by the US  embassy in Dublin as sufficiently credible to include in a cable.

All of the Wikileaks cables relating to the USembassy in Dublin– or rather all the cables that have so far been published – are available from Wikileaks here. (the Wikileaks website appears to be down at present – Sunday evening 31st July 2011)

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Budget 2012

This entry is probably as welcome as advertisements in August for Christmas 2011, but yesterday the Department of Finance published a document  (EDIT: a searchable, copyable version of the document has been made available by the politicalworld.org website here) which sets out in more specific terms what this Government intends doing in Budget 2012 which is now a mere four months away. The document published by the Department was a revised agreement with the EU and IMF, and makes forthcoming commitments more specific.

There is to be an “adjustment” in 2012 which will cut government spending and increase taxation. As we all know by now we have a large deficit to close, so that this country can stand on its own two feet without relying on lenders and the general commitment is to cut the deficit in the next four years. In addition to the closing the deficit and achieving a balanced budget, the Government has accepted responsibility for losses in part of our banking sector and has committed to repaying bondholders in certain banks. The 2012 adjustment is required for those two reasons – balancing the budget and dealing with our banks.

The total adjustment for 2012 is “at least €3.6bn”. On 6th July, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan indicated that an adjustment of €4bn might be needed. There has been some debate about whether some part of the €800-1,200m saving in bailout interest resulting from the July 21st EuroZone summit might be used to cushion the adjustment required, but the response from Minister Noonan has been in the negative and that an adjustment of “at least €3.6bn” is still required.

So what do we know today that we didn’t know last week? We know that the adjustment is to comprise €1.5bn of new tax and €2.1bn of reduced Government expenditure. For political fans this seems to represent a victory for FG (and indeed FF) policy over Labour’s – Labour wanted a greater amount of the adjustment to come from tax. The general economic argument is that when cutting a deficit, cuts are preferable to taxes.

So where is the Government going to get €1.5bn of new tax? We know from this week’s announcement on the so-called household charge that €160m is to be raised by levying €100 on each household in the land, with some limited concessions. And the rest will come from

(1) lowering personal income tax bands

(2) lowering credits

(3) a reduction in private pension tax reliefs (at present pension contributions in general reduce taxable income, meaning contributions can save upto 41% tax that would be otherwise payable)

(4) a reduction in general tax expenditures (or allowances). What could be up for grabs here? Perhaps extending or increasing VAT, increased excise duties on alcohol or cigarettes.

(5) a reform of capitals gains and acquisitions tax. We’re not generating much capital gains tax at present because there is reduced economic activity and many assets have lost, rather than gained, value.

(6) an increase in the carbon tax, so dearer petrol, diesel, heating oil and natural gas.

So the above relates to taxation (which includes levies, customs and excise duties, household charges). The larger part of the “adjustment” is to come from savings to the social welfare budget, the public sector and capital programmes. What benefits and payments will be targeted (see here for current rates of payment)? We don’t yet know but Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton has signalled rent allowances and payments by the Government to utility companies would be examined. An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny said on the 100-day anniversary of the formation of the present Government that social welfare would not be cut – RTE reported “speaking later on RTÉ’s Six-One News, Mr Kenny said that the Government had decided to make a commitment not to increase tax or cut social welfare to allow people to plan their lives.” It is difficult to see from here how that commitment can be kept.

Then there is a commitment to cut public sector numbers and also to cut public sector pensions. This despite a commitment reported by the Irish Times “There are to be no further pay cuts for existing public servants and no further compulsory redundancies in any government department or agency” So voluntary redundancy and what seems to be a cut to the pension arrangements of new joiners. It is difficult to see how either will contribute significantly to the €2.1bn target.

And lastly there are to be cuts to capital expenditure. So roads, schools, hospitals and infrastructure generally.

We have had three austerity budgets so far, and there is a feeling that the “low-lying fruit” have been picked – apologies to anyone who feels that imposing a universal social charge and income levies, not to mention other cuts and charges, is “low-lying fruit”. The forthcoming adjustment will take place against a background of increasing interest rates and elevated unemployment -14.2% presently but expected to stabilise or fall slightly this year. The latest economic forecast from the Central Bank of Ireland, published yesterday, was for the economy to grow modestly this year by 0.8%, its forecast for 2011 of 2.1% is down from the Government’s own 2.5%.  So the forthcoming budget is expected to eat into living standards more so than previously and I think that is what is meant by no longer being able to pick “low lying fruit”. The Central Bank came out yesterday and called for an early indication from the Government as to where cuts and taxes will fall, so that people can have some degree of confidence in planning their economic lives. That seems like good advice because from this perspective, despite the information published yesterday, it is unclear as to how the Government is to achieve the mandated adjustment for 2012.

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Figures released by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) this morning for the month of June 2011 show that the flight of private sector deposits from domestic Irish banks continued in the month of June, though at a lesser rate than during the more tumultuous months of the past year. In total terms for all Irish banks – the six State-guaranteed banks, the local branches of foreign banks and banks in the IFSC which don’t service the Irish economy – deposits fell by 1.5% or €9bn from €601bn to €592bn.

The CBI produces a mountain of figures each month – the focus on here is the total of private sector deposits in the six State-guaranteed banks, based on the belief that ifIrelandis to recover and develop a sustainable banking system, then companies and households will need to have the income and confidence to place deposits in Irish banks. In June 2011, private sector deposits in the State-guaranteed banks dropped by 3.6% from €107.5bn to €103.5bn. That’s the biggest monthly drop since last November 2010 when the IMF/EU bailout was agreed, and the second biggest monthly drop since September 2008 when the financial crisis blew up. Not good.

The CBI now produces monthly figures on savings and loans which analyses deposits in considerable detail – see here for the list of Excel spreadsheets available. Household deposits in all Irish banks (including foreign banks and credit unions) increased very slightly in the month from €92.133bn to €92.215bn. The overall loss of deposits inIreland has been generated by companies.

The CBI and ECB continue to provide substitute funding for Irish banks which replaces this flight of deposits and Irish banks continue to provide extensive State-backed guarantees on deposits.

So, looking at the deposit figures produced by the CBI. First up is the consolidated picture for all banks operating in Ireland including those based in the IFSC which do not service the domestic economy.

Next up are the 20 banks which do service the domestic economy and include local subsidiaries of foreign banks like Danske, KBC and Rabobank. There is a list of all banks operating in Ireland here together with a note of the 20 that service the domestic economy.

And lastly the six State-guaranteed financial institutions (AIB, Anglo, Bank of Ireland, EBS, Irish Life and Permanent and INBS)

(1) Monetary Financial Institutions (MFIs) refers to credit institutions, as defined in Community Law, money market funds, and other resident financial institutions whose business is to receive deposits and/or close substitutes for deposits from entities other than MFIs, and, for their own account (at least in economic terms), to grant credits and/or to make investments in securities. Since January 2009, credit institutions include Credit Unions as regulated by the Registrar of Credit Unions. Under ESA 95, the Eurosystem (including the Central Bank of Ireland) and other non-euro area national central banks are included in the MFI institutional sector. In the tables presented here, however, central banks are not included in the loans and deposits series with respect to MFI counterparties.

(2) NR Euro are Non-Resident European depositors

(3) NR Row are Non-Resident Rest of World depositors (ie outsideEurope)

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The Nationwide Building Society has this morning published its UK House Price data for July 2011. The Nationwide tends to be the first of the two UK building societies (the other being the Halifax) to produce house price data each month, it is one of the information sources referenced by NAMA’s Long Term Economic Value Regulation and is the source for the UK Residential key market data at the top of this page.

The Nationwide says that the average price of a UK home is now GBP £168,731 (compared with GBP £168,205 in May 2011 and GBP £162,764 at the end of November 2009 – 30th November, 2009 is the Valuation date chosen by NAMA by reference to which it values the Current Market Values of assets underpinning NAMA loans). Prices in the UK are now 9.3% off the peak of GBP £186,044 in October 2007. Interestingly the average house price at the end of July 2011 being GBP £168,731 (or €187,981  at GBP 1 = EUR 1.141) is 3.2% above the €182,142 implied by applying the CSO June 2011 index to the PTSB/ESRI peak prices.

With the latest release from Nationwide, UK house prices have risen by 3.67% since 30th November, 2009, the date chosen by NAMA pursuant to the section 73 of the NAMA Act by reference to which Current Market Values of assets are valued. The NWL Index is now at 856 (because only an estimated 20% of NAMA property in the UK is residential and only 29% of NAMA’s property overall is in the UK) meaning that average prices of NAMA property must increase by a weighted average of 16.8% for NAMA to breakeven on a gross basis.

The short-term outlook for UK residential, like the UK economy as a whole, remains bumpy. Interest rates may need to rise to contain inflation that is beginning to take hold –  4.5% in April 2011  and 4.5% in May 2011 and 4.2% in June 2011 – all on an annual basis. The UK target is 2% so the base rate which has been at 0.5% since February, 2009 may need be raised. The UK March 2011 Budget estimated growth in GDP of 1.7% and 2.5% in 2011 and 2012, though disappointing figures for Q2,2011 growth released last week of just 0.2% may bring downward pressure on these estimates. The outlook for inflation is 4-5% this year falling to 2.5% in 2012.  Net debt will be 60% of GDP this year rising to 71% in 2012. Scary for the UK but paradise compared to the 100%+ in Ireland. The UK is also struggling with a deficit that was 11% last year (compared with 12% in basket-caseIreland) but there are swingeing cuts to public services in prospect to bring the deficit down to 4% by 2014/5. What all of this means for property prices is uncertain of course but the betting is that prices will come under modest pressure and may fall by less than 5% in 2011 – the Office for Budgetary Responsibility was saying 2.7% late last year but finances have deteriorated since then. The UK has plenty of micro-markets and the betting would be that London and the south-East will fare better than the North of England and elsewhere, Northern Ireland in particular.

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This is a short entry about yesterday’s property auction in Letterkenny held by the Easy Let property company (thanks to commenter “Patrick” for drawing attention to it). The auction was of 40-odd properties, catalogue here. According to Patrick, and indeed the Donegal Daily, only one property was sold during the auction. The Donegal Daily reports the auctioneer’s claims that deposits were taken on an additional three properties on the day, so perhaps the title above should refer to four properties sold in total, though in my own experience there can be some murkiness in post-auction sales.

The auction appeared to be similar in nature to the GMAC auction in Cork last month where just two properties out of 65-odd sold on the day. A quick review of the catalogue on here last week seemed to indicate reserve prices appeared ambitious in the present market. The houses seemed to be a mix of investment, holiday- and owner-occupier homes. TheCork auction was billed as a “low price” auction, the Donegal one as a “prime value” auction. In neitherCork or Donegal did the property sales appear distressed, to my eye at least.

Allsop/Space seem to be carving out a monopoly in the Irish auction landscape with well-marketed and publicised auctions, with high levels of transparency both before and during the auction. They have also pioneered the use of maximum reserves so buyers know in advance the reserve (or the maximum reserve) on any property. The next Allsop/Space auction is scheduled for 23rd September 2011, again in the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, with the catalogue available here from 21st August, 2011.

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Take a step back from today’s announcement of NAMA’s final results for 2010 which revealed a €1.1bn loss in its first full year’s operation. Okay, we have gotten used to billion-euro-plus losses with our banks – in fact Anglo Irish Bank’s loss for 2010 was €17bn, which made the top 15 global corporate losses in history; but in the league table of Irish corporate results, a €1bn loss is exceptional.

NAMA was created with a clean slate in December 2009 and it acquired loans using stringent valuation and due diligence standards. Perhaps it should be surprising, even shocking, therefore that the agency has racked up such a large loss in its first year of operation. Indeed were it not for NAMA’s accounting treatment of part of the consideration it pays the banks – the subordinated bonds which will only be honoured if NAMA makes a profit – then NAMA might have been forced into a position today of asking the Government for further capital of at least €1bn.

It is an astounding loss.

It mostly arises from the fact that NAMA chose the 30th November, 2009 as its “valuation date” which means that the underlying property securing the loans acquired by NAMA, was valued by reference to values pertaining at that date. And in Ireland, the country where most of the property securing NAMA’s loans is located, both commercial and residential markets have tanked since November 2009. And not just in 2010 – there is some evidence to suggest that subsequent to the NAMA year end, the decline has accelerated; for example the 5.7% decline in commercial property prices in quarter two of 2011 was the biggest quarterly decline since NAMA was created, and the property industry is saying that commercial property will decline a further 20-30% if expected changes are made in the Autumn to abolish Upward Only Rent Review leases. Of the €1.1bn losses reported today, €1.485bn comes from revaluing loans at the end of 2010 and as bad as those figures are, the 2011 losses might be considerably worse and the betting on here is that NAMA will indeed need additional capital from the State at the end of 2011 to cover what is likely to then be a substantial negative capital position.

Normally if a new company had recorded such unanticipated losses – and when I say “unanticipated”, I mean absent from the NAMA business plans or statements made prior to and during the creation of NAMA – the whole board would be given their marching orders. What’s different here? Arguably two things:

(1) NAMA accepted constraints on the way in which it valued the loans it was acquiring, and did not apparently seek changes to those constraints, even when it became clear that the Irish property market was slipping from the frying pan to the fire. NAMA didn’t seek to change its valuation date from 30th November 2009, something called for frequently on here . Former Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan famously said in June 2010 that changes to property prices had a “broadly neutral” effect on NAMA’s finances. Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Patrick Honohan, said late last year he “wasn’t excited” at the decline in values when quizzed by Vincent Browne.

(2) If NAMA had imposed deeper discounts on the loans it acquired, then the banks, which we mostly own, would have needed additional capital. But it wasn’t all swings and roundabouts, because Bank of Ireland is relatively healthy so there might well have been room for Bank of Ireland to absorb more losses. Bank of Ireland comprises about one seventh of NAMA’s loans, and you could argue that that bank’s existing shareholders are walking away with a substantial gift from the Irish taxpayer.

So can you blame the NAMA board for what is a disgraceful loss? Difficult to say. If the agency was focussed on maximising its profit, it should at the very least have alerted the Minister for Finance to the fall in property values and made the Minister aware of the impact of not changing its valuation date. There is evidence that NAMA viewed the decline in Irish property values as incidental to rises to other markets, which seems to indicate that NAMA had not gotten a handle on its portfolio. NAMA wrote to the Minister for Finance in May 2010 drawing his attention to the effect of abolishing Upward Only Rent Review leases on the value of the NAMA portfolio, so you would have expected a similar letter on the effect of continuing to value by reference to 30th November, 2009. As for the decline in property values themselves, NAMA has been partly unlucky, though it is understood that NAMA’s Head of Portfolio Management, John Mulcahy was instrumental in Minister Lenihan believing we were close to the bottom of the cycle in terms of property prices.

NAMA is keen to emphasise that the loss reported today is a paper loss and that over the remaining nine year lifespan of the agency, there is scope to recoup that loss. That is true, though the short term outlook for Irish property markets does look challenging. The projection on here in the short term is that NAMA will continue to rack up losses for the next 1-2 years but will then start to see a rise in the value of the underlying property. The question then will be whether the annual rise in property prices is greater than the substantial costs of managing the loans. On that last point, estimates in theUKthat it costs 5% of the value of a distressed loan each year just to manage the loan might mean that NAMA needs revisit its budgets.

Finally on the issue of losses, whilst NAMA stresses the losses reported are paper losses (which is true), if NAMA had revalued the underlying property at the end of 2010 and assumed all loans would default so that all NAMA was left with was the underlying property, then the loan impairment loss reported today would be substantially more than €1.485bn, the estimate on here is €2-3bn; the reason the losses aren’t as bad as that is because NAMA does not have to assume there is 100% default.

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The much-anticipated list of properties controlled by NAMA which have been subjected to enforcement action, has just now been published and is available here .

You should note that the properties might not necessarily be for sale and also that the entire property shown at an address might not be subject to enforcement. The website addresses of the receivers are provided, and presumably it is the receivers you might contact in the first instance with queries or expressions of interest.

The properties, around 500 in all, include houses, offices, development land, agricultural land, hotels, pubs, industrial buildings and shops in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

I can’t immediately see Derek Quinlan’s art collection, so I guess the list isn’t complete, but it is certainly an impressive start to NAMA providing transparency in its disposal process.

UPDATE: 30th July, 2011. NAMA is adamant the list is correct as at the 6th July, 2011. In other words, the agency has NOT omitted properties in other countries nor has property been omitted for any foreclosed developer. The property shown is real estate property and NAMA doesn’t have plans at present to produce details of non-real estate property which it controls – those seeking details of fine wine or art collections, not to mention planes, helicopters and yachts will not find them in NAMA’s list. A query has been submitted to NAMA as to the logistics of the monthly update, and this post will be updated with any response. Updates will be reported here, and you can subscribe to this blog by clicking on the option to the right of this entry. I get the impression that NAMA is monitoring the experiences of potential bidders in dealing with receivers so your comments are helpful to all concerned.

UPDATE: 1st August, 2011. Gavin Sheridan at thestory.ie has both mapped the properties shown in the document produced by NAMA and also extracted the properties into a spreadsheet which can be searched and manipulated. Whilst NAMA may in future make their monthly publication of enforced properties available in a more flexible format, Gavin has done the work of converting the first month’s enforcement list. Both the mapping of the NAMA properties and the spreadsheet are available here.

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2012

    Please help me name my daughter

    Hi I am due my second daughter in 8 weeks and still dont have a name.

    Her sister is called Carragh (pro. Cara)

    Some of the names I like but my partner isnt keen on are

    I don't want a name that is really common but I don't want one that is too out there either. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them as I am sick of trawling the internet looking for the perfect name lol Thanks x

  2. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Baltimore, Maryland
    I love Imogen and Freya. I like Mirren but I think you should consider Marin or Miriam. Your daughter, Carragh, has what seems like an Irish spelling to her name (don't know if that was intended). So, what about an Irish names? I like Bridget and Ashlyn. I also like Ainsley, not sure if that's an Irish name. I hope this helps!!
    All the best,

    Charlotte Noelle
    Baby boy due February 16th, 2013

  3. #5
    I love these interesting names:
    When I was fourteen I nannied twin infants named Ellery and Rylin, and I LOVE those names now. So cute.

  4. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Thankyou both for replying.
    I am liking Bridget and Ellery from both your suggestions.
    Yes we did intend to spell my daughters name with an Irish spelling, we are Scottish so have been more inclined towards Scottish/Irish names. I have looked at Scottish/Irish names again this time and there are some I like but I feel I am just seeing the same ones over and over again and boring myself of them.

  5. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    I've never heard of Cleona before, but I must say I really like it. Cleo is such a sweet NN too. Just depends where you stand on repeating initials. My second choice would be Mirren
    Loving: Lilith Delphine, Daphne Elisabeth, Eleanor Lilac and my GP Amaryllis Clio
    William Dougal, Rupert Theodore and my GP Augustin Sage

    Celestia, Opal, Agatha, Mabel, Delphine, Lilith, Magnolia, Eleanor, Olympia, Harriet, Daphne, Nora, Tabitha, Lilac, Saffron, Wilhelmina, Clio, Amaryllis
    Vaughn, Sterling, Samson, Sage, Rupert, Hugo, August, Stellan, Dougal, Sydney, Theodore, William

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Linguini With Roasted Beets, Fresh Tarragon and Caraway Seeds
February 21, 2011, 4:01 pm
Filed under: Dinner, Pasta | Tags: , , ,

This past week was Valentine’s Day and apparently, according to CNN Money, Philadelphia knows how to celebrate.  Their ranking is based upon the amount of money spent per transaction on Valentine’s Day.  In Philadelphia, individuals spend $134.93, earning 4th place on the list.  At the top was Phoenix at $160.41 followed by Houston ($149.78) and San Francisco ($149.19) and then Philadelphia.  New York City rounded out the top five at $130.30.  Supposedly, while Phoenix and Co spent the most, NYC is the sexiest based solely on lingerie sales while San Francisco and Boston tied based on the number of marriage proposals.  These are fun statistics, but I hope no one actually bases love/romance on money spent!  In keeping with this theme, there was a great article in the Miami University Student Newspaper about the culture of dating and how technology is changing the way we date.  Today’s post maintains the Valentine’s Day theme although really only through the association of the color red with the holiday, but gesture of preparing a meal, as well as the flavor of the dish, well exceeds the $135 you might spend elsewhere for Valentine’s Day.

Linguini with Roasted Beets, Fresh Tarragon and Caraway Seeds (from Food and Style)

I don’t necessarily find the color of this pasta appetizing, but then again, you should never judge a book by it’s cover.  Beets are a very under-appreciated vegetable.  The flavors of (cooked) beets are sweet.  I’ve primarily only had them pickled and accompanying several other items as an appetizer.  However, caramelized beets in the with of balsamic vinegar and caraway seeds are incredibly more delicious. The combination of the three presents the beets with a “deep, rich and earthy flavor.”  The blog which created this recipe, Food and Style, also suggested pairing it with a wine called “Le Cigare Volant” from Bonny Dune Vineyard.

As for my suggestions, make the beets a day or two ahead of time.  Otherwise, this is a very time consuming recipe.  Lastly, serve the dish with any red wine that you love, although the Le Cigare Volant was pretty good.  Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day!

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I try to like Caraway seeds, and it just hasn’t happened yet. Maybe I’ll give this a whirl, it looks so pretty!

Comment by Evann

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There’s a Cow in My Marshmallow?!

19 Mar

Check out all of the different by-products that come from cattle. Which surprises you the most?

Facts About Beef

Myth:   Cattle are only used for meat and the rest of the body is wasted after slaughter. The Facts:     Cattle provide us with more than just meat, they also provide many other by-products you use every day. A by-product is a secondary item that is produced in addition to the principal product.

Cattle can be used for more than just meat – their bones, fat and organs help make essential products that we use daily. Cattle provide us much more than meat.

Did you know that there are hundreds of uses for cattle by-products? It’s true – cattle provide us with some of the most essential items in our day-to-day lives. By-products are used in all types of mechanical and chemical items to aid in our daily activities. Do you own a car, take a bus or ride a bike? If so, you’re utilizing by-products in the tires on your vehicle and the asphalt on the road. Even items that may seem trivial, such as dyes, inks, adhesives and plastics are…

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Facts About Beef

Debunking myths about beef

BARN OnAir & OnLine 24/7/365

Ag News, Markets & MORE...OnAir, OnLine & OnDemand!

HarsH ReaLiTy

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This site is the bee's knees

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College reappoints its “passionate and missional” leader

Blog — 18th May 2017

We are delighted to announce that the Governors of Nazarene Theological College, Manchester, have unanimously re-appointed Revd Dr Deirdre Brower Latz for a further five-year term as Principal of the College.

Photo 2016 cropped

The Chair of Governors, Rev David Montgomery, who is also Superintendent of the British Isles South District Church of the Nazarene, noted the way that NTC has grown in numbers and in scope during the five years of Deirdre’s leadership. “Deirdre leads a team with a strong missional focus and a passionate spirituality. We are delighted that she is going to take the College into the next phase of its growth.”

Dr Brower Latz said “NTC exists to challenge as well as to equip. Whether people come to us for undergraduate or post-graduate study we want to nurture students who are theologically informed, as well as courageous; Christ-centred as well as culturally-relevant.”

Based in Manchester, the College remains central to the life of the Church of The Nazarene, training ministers and theologians for the UK and the global church. It has a growing role in equipping the wider Church, for example through its Learning Centres across the UK, its partnership with the Scottish School of Christian Mission and in sending and receiving theologians, pastors, and youth workers to and from every part of the world.

Revd Dr Brower Latz is a minister in the Church of the Nazarene. After pastorates in Bristol and Manchester she joined the College in 2000 as Lecturer in Pastoral and Social Theology, becoming Principal in 2012. Her doctorate focused on contextual readings of John Wesley’s theology and issues of ecclesiology, justice and urban poverty. She remains committed to teaching and exploring issues relating to Urban Mission and Ministry, Wesleyan theology, contextual and practical theology.


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stormy clouds

The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week that really wasn’t

It’s not been a pretty week. In fact it’s been a down-right hairy-warts, black teeth, and yellow eyes kind of ugly.

Some of you might not know this, but my day job entails managing a large network of websites for a global IT company. This past weekend we had a major deployment to the site. I’ve been through a number of these in my career and I’m here to tell you managing online systems is not for the faint of heart. Something always goes wrong! You just pray and hope it’s not something major and it can be fixed quickly.

My team had a whole weekend of fixing and testing and sitting-on-the-edge-of-our-seats waiting. But finally, on Sunday afternoon it looked like the major issues were resolved and we wouldn’t have to roll back before New Zealand started their Monday in a few hours. My team and our IT engineers had been working nights and weekends preparing and most of them hadn’t slept at all in the last 48 hours. So it was with a huge sigh of relief that everyone was sent off to bed to rest up for the next morning.

Monday came and all felt good. The deployment was a success and I was beyond thrilled for myself and my team because we really wanted needed this one. You see, last year we had a crazy big project where we essentially re-did the entire website from the ground up (I don’t recommend this. Ever). To say it didn’t go well would be a huge understatement. We dealt with the fall-out for months afterwards and it almost sent me to the hospital. Seriously, I would feel sick every morning before I logged on to my computer, dreading what emails would come my way with complaints, rants, and new issues that cropped up over-night. I was a complete ball of stress and anxiety and it manifested into physical illness multiple times.

So when I say we needed this one to go well, let me tell you we really needed it. Monday felt good. I sent out emails proudly announcing the successful deployment. And except for a small handful of people (haters gonna hate) the response from colleagues was encouraging and positive.

Then Tuesday morning came and things were not good. The site was loading at a snail’s pace and crashing every few hours. Registration forms were not loading or they had error messages, and the dreaded emails started to roll in.

Thankfully I work with the best team in the world. Seriously. They are the smartest, hardest working, most dedicated group of people I’ve ever seen. Our engineers immediately started working with our developers to sort out the issues. Unfortunately, every time they thought they’d gotten to the bottom of it, the site would crash again.

I will skip past all of the details and reasons, as even I don’t fully understand all of the technical stuff and this isn’t a blog about website development. But let’s just say that it was Friday before the site was stabilized and that’s mostly due to temporary measures put into place. We still don’t have a solution for the root cause. And of course, I was in damage control mode as the angry emails from frustrated stakeholders flooded our in-boxes.

Here’s the thing:

I did not breakdown and cry or worry myself sick, or cower under my covers and fear starting my workday. I didn’t attach myself to the laptop monitoring every email and update at all hours of the day and night or go into hiding from my family so I could focus only on work. In fact, I did the opposite. I smiled. I laughed and shook my head at some of the angry notes. I thanked our engineers for their unending dedication to resolve the issue. I slept. I sat on my porch and read a book. I watched my son perform his “bike show” he’d been rehearsing for a week in our cul de sac. I ate dinner with my kids every evening and cuddled in bed with them every night.

But most of all, I stayed close to God. I studied the word and prayed every day. And this. This is what made the difference, because I was able to maintain perspective. Instead of getting swallowed up in the worry and stress and making it all about me, I was reminded that it’s all about Him. Life is so much bigger, so much more important than some problems at work. I have little people I need to care for and nurture and love on. I have to care for and nurture myself, too. Because that ball of stress and anxiety I was last year? She was not pretty or much fun to be around. She was overwhelmed and a bit lost. And I don’t really care to meet her again.

Psalm 18: 1-2

Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I’m not saying I have this all figured out. There were still moments this week when I felt stress and worry. I got annoyed at my husband for something he did or didn’t do and let it flow into a full-blown argument. And I’m sure I yelled at my kids once or twice (sometimes I’m not sure if I’m yelling or my natural volume when speaking to my kids has just gotten that loud). But, for the most part I was able to keep things in perspective and know that it was all going to be OK.

So, as it turns out. This ugly, horrible, no good, very bad week…well it really wasn’t.

This was my prayer this week. If you want to write it down and use it next time you’re having a rough day or week, or even a rough season, please do.

Father in heaven, thank you so much for loving me and being with me this week. Lord, life is not always easy, and sometimes it’s just down-right ugly. But I take comfort in knowing that you are bigger than any of the stress, worry or ugliness that may come my way. Help me to remember this when I start to make it all about me. Remind me to give it over to you and lean on you when I need strength. You are my rock and my shield, always faithful even when I am not. Thank you, thank you. Amen.

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Tag Archives: Tea Partiers

Brain Dead Tea Partiers Are Tools, and Fools, for the RNC and The Wealthy

It’s absolutely amazing how these blind and brain dead tea partiers have become tools, and fools, for the republicans in congress, and the alleged leaders like Michael Patrick leahy.

I did a little searching and here is who Michael Patrick Leahy is. And, once you read this, ask yourself, does he sound like the typical tea partier we have seen on the streets carrying signs????

Michael Patrick Leahy.

Michael Patrick Leahy, a descendant of Civil War and Revolutionary War enlisted soldiers, was born in 1955 in Oswego, New York. He grew up in upstate New York , graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1977, and received an MBA from Stanford in 1981.

He became an Evangelical Christian in 1984, strongly influenced in his decision to believe by many highly rational friends and professors at both Harvard and Stanford.

He wrote his first book, Letter to an Atheist, in 2007.

In February, 2008, he was elected as a delegate to the Republican National Committee as an at-large delegate from the State of Tennessee committed to Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.

On November 28, 2008, he founded Top Conservatives on Twitter, a list of conservatives on Twitter, which now has more than 5,000 members.

In December 29, 2008, he founded The TCOT Report, the source for fast breaking news of interest to the conservative community. Some have described the TCOT Report as “Drudge Meets Twitter.”

On February 20, 2009, he co-founded the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, and called and moderated the very first conference call among grassroots activists that provided the centralized information coordination for Round 1 of the Tea Party Movement, a coordinated simultaneous nationwide event held at noon EST on February 27, 2009 in fifty different cities, which was attended by over 30,000 people.

From February 28, 2009 to April 15, 2009, he continued to moderate weekly conference calls among grassroots activists, again providing the centralized coordination for Round 2 of the Tea Party Movement, which took place in 900 cities across the country on April 15, 2009, and which was attended by over 1 million people.

Read more here….

Obviously Michael Patrick Leahy has, or can afford, the best possible health coverage available to any american. He is not the average tea partier we see on the streets carrying sign and making offsneive comments about the president of The United States.

He, along with the Republican National Convention are hardly the type of persons that could use health coverage reform.

But, my guess is that the greater majority of the tea partiers could use health reform. I believe the majority of them are paying through their noses now for whatever coverage they have, and in many case, no coverage at all.

But, they are the tools of the health insurance companies, the health insurance lobbiests, and of people like Michael Patrick Leahy.

They are, for all intents and purposes the “dittoheads” of the right wing talk show hosts who prey upon them, realizing that, as the one time, now deceased, Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Josef Goebbels, said….”If you repeat a lie often enough, the masses will believe it to be the truth”

And, the masses of the tea partiers are proving Herr Goebbels point, to a T. (no pun intended, or was there?)

And so, we will continue to see these “average” Americans, albeit brainwashed, take to the streets, being the tools of the RNC and to people like Michael Patrick Leahy who has no resemblence, in any way, to the poor slobs on the street that he controls through mind warps and manipulation.

These people, with their tea bags hanging from their hats, with their crudely made signs, some highly offensive, on the edge of racism, with their weapons hanging from their belts, would probably all benefit from a solid health care reform package, but they are far too gone, far too manipulated, and have become the “Manchurian Candidates’ of their own “Queen of Diamonds,” people like Michael Patrick Leahy.

What a pity. And in the end, if these zombies win out, Americans all across this great land of ours will be the losers.


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Gare out

Via Puck-Rakers. Danny Gare will not have his contract renewed. The other three will be back, but Davidge is moving from radio to TV. Would have preferred for Rimer to be the one to go if it was only going to be one. But I’ll be interested to see how Davidge does on television.

3 responses to “Gare out

  1. There are days I wonder just whose bodies Rimmer has buried in his yard, y’know?

    Danny has always been a very nice guy to talk to if you bumped into him around the Arena District or the R-Bar, but I have to admit I’m curious what we’ll get with Davidge on TV.

    I wonder who comes in with Matthews?

  2. I’m with you on replacing Rims instead. I can only hope Gare’s not returning because he’s replacing Claude Noel as Special Teams coach. 😀

  3. Count me in the minority that wanted Gare out. Great hockey player. Lousy color commentator. I’m no fan of Rimer, but Gare really dragged the game down.

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Welcome to a Vision for a New Commons in Encinitas

We believe that a unique location in Encinitas has an opportunity to become a place that responds to and respects the physical and sociological attributes it was given, and provide a unique opportunity to integrate open space, cultural, educational and recreational
elements that will nurture and support an enhanced quality of life.

To achieve this possibility, the community needs a vision that unites and compels the goals and informs and shapes change as it occurs.

The purpose of this document is to inspire a Vision.

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Become Your Own Intuitive Astrologist Video Course!

CALL REPLAY – Listen to my insight on how to easily understand the Zodiac as well as the people in your life! Also included is a groovy meditation with Archangel Orion and downloaded Astrological messages.

SIGN UP (Payment Plan also available)

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“Become Your Own Intuitive Astrologist” is an online video course that applies the basics of Astrology to easily apply it to your every day life!

In this foundational and magical 4-week training, Danielle shares her treasured secrets and explains how you can understand Astrology with a just bit of logic and your own intuition! At long last, discover how the stars relate to each other in a fun, easy way!

The course includes 4 instructional videos along with information PDFs and Cosmic playsheets that include fun exercises for practice! You’ll also have the opportunity to schedule a 30 minute 1:1 session with Danielle to discuss any questions that come up for you during the program. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to understand the fundamentals of Western Astrology, how the signs relate to one and other, Moon phases & rituals, and even be able to practice your new Gypsy skills on friends & family!

  • Learn more about your Astrological sign and birth chart

  • Interconnect the relationship qualities of the signs – i.e. learn to play matchmaker!

  • Comprehend the Planetary influences and how they effect us daily

  • Understand the Moon cycles & conduct your own Rituals/Circles

  • Amplify your Intuition to enhance Astrological data and messages

So who’s the mastermind behind all of this?

The course is facilitated by Danielle Mercurio, Intuitive Astrologist & self proclaimed Urban Gypsy. She believes that the answers we are seeking already exist in the universe and has a way of bringing forth such guidance to reveal your fate. Having a passion for astrology and tarot cards since a young age, she utilizes these cosmic tools to create clarity and awareness for her clients. She has a light-hearted approach, while combining her own intuition and wit, to instruct in an upbeat and engaging way. Danielle is also a transformational coach and Kundalini Yoga & meditation teacher, who encourage individuals to stop playing small, build their confidence and make their dreams a reality!

Are You Ready to Start?

Purchase now & be ready for a whole new way of looking at the stars! Payment plan is also available by making your first installment here of $115. The second payment will be collected 31 days after. This price point will only be available until August 24, 2015 so act now!

Everyone that signs up will also receive a 25% discount off of Danielle’s 1:1 services (all done via the phone).

Still not sure? Here’s why you should opt in now:

  • While the program can be done at anytime, participating now gives you free access to ask me questions and gain my extra insight throughout the course. Soon the 30 minute 1:1 will not be available!
  • You’re locked in at a great price. The next time this program is released, the cost will go up. By purchasing the course now, you’re fully locked in for it’s lifetime! That means anytime it’s relaunched, you’ll have access to new materials as well as the support group again. So buy now and play later!
  • There is a payment plan. You asked, I delivered. You can split it up in 2 increments of $115 by setting up here. The second payment will be due 31 days after.
  • Worried that you don’t have the time for this commitment? This course can be set aside to fit YOUR schedule. The videos are no more than 50 minutes each with a few cosmic activities to implement afterwards. The beauty of the course is that it’s designed to allow you to start using Astrology principles everywhere – so the learning goes beyond you and your computer!

Here’s what just some people have to say about Danielle!

“Danielle is a gorgeous rock star! I am on many astrology sites and watch lots of videos, however Danielle is always the BEST. I love her and forward her work onto my friends. Thank you!” Michele Harlem Shaffer; Life Fulfillment Coach

“I have been on fire since our session, because I know how to navigate the cosmos in my chart for my benefit. Once I realized that there was literally a karmic soul order and I had work to do, I was on it. I am so blessed to have had an intuitive astrology reading from my urban gypsy guru. I have had my charts read before but combine that with laser sharp focus and intuition=priceless.”  Maureen Saladino, Spiritual Strategist and Intuitive Energy Coach

“Interested in Astrology? I’ve never known much other than my Sun sign based on my birthday. If you are even a little bit curious, I just had a session with Danielle Mercurio and I would highly recommend it. She went through my charts based on my birth day, year, and time. So many great insights. Lots of things I already know about myself were confirmed and she gave wonderful guidance on how to nurture those aspects of my life.” -Tammy Kaplan Spiewak

Are you over the mystique of Astrology? Treat yourself to an amazing educational & enjoyable adventure from a free-spirited teacher that is here to make Astrology relatable, usable and totally fun!

Sign up today!! Don’t let another missed opportunity for cosmic connection to pass you by!

Email any questions to

*course is non-refundable.

Click here to schedule a 1:1 reading with Danielle!

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    • I’ve just edited topological concrete category to correct the claim that topological functors create limits, which is not quite true: for instance, the forgetful U:TopSetU: \mathrm{Top} \to \mathrm{Set} fails to reflect limits because choosing a finer topology on the limit vertex yields a non-limiting cone with the same image in Set\mathrm{Set}. This is correctly reported on wikipedia and in Joy of Cats, p. 227.

      It is true that topological functors allow you to calculate limits using the image of the diagram under the functor, which is quite powerful. In Joy of Cats, a topological functor is said to “uniquely lift limits” (definition p. 227, proven p. 363). There doesn’t seem to be an nlab page for this property – I suppose it’s not much used by most category theorists.

    • at monoidal adjunction the second item says

      while the left adjoint is necessarily strong

      but should it not say

      while the left adjoint is necessarily oplax

    • I added the definition of uniform space in terms of covering families. But I don’t know the covering version of the constructive “axiom (0)”.

    • created arithmetic jet space, so far only highlighting the statement that at prime pp these are X×Spec()Spec( p)X \underset{Spec(\mathbb{Z})}{\times}Spec(\mathbb{Z}_p) (regarded so in Borger’s absolute geometry by applying the Witt ring construction (W n) *(W_n)_\ast to it).

      This is what I had hoped that the definition/characterization would be, so I am relieved. Because this is of course just the definition of synthetic differential geometry with Spec( p)Spec(\mathbb{Z}_p) regarded as the ppth abstract formal disk.

      Well, or at least this is what Buium defines. Borger instead calls (W n) *(W_n)_\ast itself already the arithmetic jet space functor. I am not sure yet if I follow that.

      I am hoping to realize the following: in ordinary differential geometry then synthetic differential infinity-groupoids is cohesive over “formal moduli problems” and here the flat modality \flat is exactly the analog of the above “jet space” construction, in that it evaluates everything on formal disks. Moreover, \flat canonically sits in a fracture suare together with the “cohesive rationalization” operation [Π dR(),][\Pi_{dR}(-),-] and hence plays exactly the role of the arithmetic fracture square, but in smooth geometry. I am hoping that Borger’s absolute geometry may be massaged into a cohesive structure over the base Et(Spec(𝔽 1))Et(Spec(\mathbb{F}_1)) that makes the cohesive fracture square reproduce the arithmetic one.

      If Borger’s absolute direct image were base change to Spec( p)Spec(\mathbb{Z}_p) followed by the Witt vector construction, then this would come really close to being true. Not sure what to make of it being just that Witt vector construction. Presently I have no real idea of what good that actually is (apart from giving any base topos for Et(Spec(Z))Et(Spec(Z)), fine, but why this one? Need to further think about it.)

    • I had started an entry “exponentiation” but then thought better of it and instead expanded the existing exponential object: added an examples-section specifically for SetSet and made some remarks on exponentiation of numbers.

    • I would like to include something on wheeled properads (or wheeled PROPs) in the nlab. It seems to me that a wheeled prop is something like a symmetric monoidal category with duals for every object generated by one object. Is this right? Is there a place in the litterature where i can find the relation between wheeled properads used by Merkulov and some kinds of symmetric monoidal categories with duality?

      Before changing the PROP entry to add this variant, i would like to have a nice reference on this.
    • Although referred to in a couple of place, it seems we had no entry for spatial topos, so I’ve made a start.

    • A long time ago we had a discussion at graph about notions of morphism. I have written an article category of simple graphs which collects some properties of the category under one of those definitions (corresponding better, I think, to graph-theoretic practice).

    • Created twosets20170617. Contains an svg illustration of a full subcategory of Set\mathsf{Set} consisting of a terminal object and a two-element set. Uses the convention that an identity arrow is labelled by its object. Intended for use in some graph-theoretical considerations from an nPOV. Sufficiently general to be possibly of use in some other nLab articles too.

    • Created a stub for internal type theory to collect some references. At some point we could move more from Mike’s blog post.

    • I changed “irreflexive graph” to “directed graph” (aka quiver), as such a presheaf is more commonly known. (Irreflexive to my mind means loops at a vertex are forbidden.)

    • Somehow we didn’t yet have a page about pseudo-distributive laws, so I made a stubby one with a few examples and references.