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On the road.

You might say it happened by accident. Too many accidents, in fact. Back in 1973, a well-traveled salesman by the name of Richard Peck noticed an alarming number of dogs roaming along the road. Many of them ended up hit by cars. As an animal lover, Mr. Peck was troubled by this trend. So, he resolved to find a way to protect family pets from the dangers that came from leaving home.

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    The result? The world’s first electronic pet containment system. As the founder of Invisible Fence® Brand, Richard Peck did more than create an effective and affordable alternative to traditional fencing; he changed the way people live with their pets. Now, more than 40 years later, Invisible Fence remains the industry leader, pioneering advanced technology and innovative solutions. But no matter what changes, we’ll always stay true to the original vision of that traveling salesman in 1973.

    Because when it comes to improving the lives of pets and their people, it’s never a job. It’s a labor of love.

Beyond the fence.

There’s more to Invisible Fence than our unique name. Take a look at where we’ve come from, and where we’re headed. And find out how our history of passionate innovation can make a difference for you and your pet.

Traveling salesman Richard Peck partners with electronic engineer to patent the first electronic dog fence. The package attaches to the dog’s collar, and is about the size of a deck of cards.

Research studies at University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine prove the new system to be safe, gentle and effective for animals, with no short- or long-term adverse effects.

Fifty systems are sold the first year. They’re promoted by nationally distributed magazines Dogs and Dog Fancy.

The collar unit shrinks from 13 oz. to 3 oz.—making Invisible Fence an option for smaller dogs and cats.

The first Invisible Fence dealership is established. Over the next several years, 13 dealerships take root from Washington, DC, north along the East Coast and eventually in California and Green Bay, Wisconsin.

The company achieves more than a dozen patents that continue improving technology and effectiveness. More than 17,000 Invisible Fence systems are installed.

Invisible Fence consults leading animal behaviorists, veterinarians and dog trainers. As a result, certified training becomes a vital part of the pet containment solution.

Invisible Fence introduces the world’s first indoor avoidance solutions, protecting dogs and cats from hazards and temptations inside the home.

Invisible Fence becomes part of Radio Systems® Corporation, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. This partnership allows for even greater product innovation and technology leadership.

Invisible Fence celebrates 40 years of caring for pets and their owners. Proudly introduces the world’s most advanced pet fence, featuring wire-free GPS containment technology that allows for any shape or size boundaries.

Invisible Fence grows to 289 dealerships across 7 countries. Every member of the Invisible Fence family pledges to uphold the founder’s original vision—to improve the way people live with their pets.

Looking forward.

These days, Invisible Fence is every bit as passionate about the well-being of pets as we were when our founder created the world’s first dog fence. And it’s that commitment that keeps us going and growing. You’ll see it as we continue to pioneer powerful, industry-changing solutions—solutions like Shields® Gate, coming in 2016. You’ll see it in our ongoing pet oxygen mask donation program, Project Breathe™ Program. You’ll see it in the expert care you and your pet get from your neighborhood Invisible Fence dealer. Most of all, though, you’ll see that commitment in the new worry-free way you enjoy your pet’s companionship. The way we look at it, nothing could be more revolutionary—or more wag-worthy—than that.

Get started today.

At Invisible Fence Brand of Western Canada we’re passionate about protecting pets — so you can focus on fun! So, let’s talk. And we’ll find the gentle, effective, affordable solution that’s right for you and your pet. Guaranteed.

Find your solution
Let's talk.
(403) 262-7387


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Monday, December 26, 2011

I just wanted the leak fixed!!!!

I've been after my husband for months to please fix the slight leak in our bathroom faucett. Finally today he started that project. He shut of the water and from there things went downhill fast. It went from fixing a leak, to installing a new faucett, to needing a new sink, to perhaps having to get an entirely new cabinet since none of the sinks available today are made to fit bathroom fixtures from 1960. *Sigh*

I have a headache!!!

1 comment:

Darryl and Cindy Cunningham said...

Could be worse, it could have been the only sink in our house. Look at the bright side, at least you have a second bathroom with a sink, a kitchen sink and a laundry room sink to use.

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Thursday, December 13, 2012

Can I have your autograph?

This weekend I did several pages at Roughley Manor and I would like to share one with you.  In November I saw Tim Holtz and he signed my jacket and my friends took pictures and I decided to scrap it using the sketch from My Scraps & More.

Here is the sketch:

and here is my take on it:

I even got to put the umbrella man that was on the jacket on the page.

Photobucket Photobucket

Monday, December 3, 2012

Hi everyone,

Well, it is December and the holiday's are approachng very quick this year.  So I sat down with my kit from Jillibean Soup and modified it t fit what I wanted to do with it.
The supplies I used were:  cardstock, Jillibean Soup, pearls, glitter, Studio Calico snowflakes, Trendy Twine in the Christmas color, Trendy Tape, an Doodlebug Snowmen.  I think I got all my supplies except for pop dots to make things higher up with dimensions and my trusty adhesive.
These card were made for the two challenges I have over at My Sketch World and the challenge from Trendy Twine to use Candy Cane and/or Holl Berry.  I used Candy Cane and have more to make using it.

Here is one:

and here is the second one using most of the same supplies:

I love those little snowmen -- they make it perfect. Photobucket Photobucket

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Events Template

Thank you to our Chairman’s Circle members for your company’s civic involvement and business and community leadership

9th Annual Camarillo Chili Cookoff

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Name: 9th Annual Camarillo Chili Cookoff
Date: September 3, 2017
Time: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM PDT
Registration: Register Now
Event Description:
Camarillo, CA ? Get your tastebuds ready for one of Ventura County's favorite ICS sanctioned events - 9th Annual Chili Cook-Off & Music Festival on Sunday, September 3, 2017, 11am ? 4pm at the Camarillo Ranch located at 203 Camarillo Ranch Rd., Camarillo, CA.
We are proud to present some of the best Chili Cooks in the country. Wear your best toe tappin' shoes to fully enjoy some of California's best musicians!

Not only will you be able to vote for your favorite People's Choice chili, you can imbibe with Ventura county's finest breweries in our expanded beer tasting pavilion, enjoy burgers, pizza, kettlecorn, fresh lemonade and cool your palette with fine ice cream with our favorite vendors while you peruse the car display. Bring the kids to this family friendly event to romp in the bounce house, play games and get crafty!

No matter what age you are, there's food & fun to be had, all while supporting the FREE services Camarillo Hospice provides to Ventura County Residents.

For more information on the Camarillo Chili Cook-Off, please visit: http://camarillochilicook-off.com/
Camarillo Ranch Foundation
203 Camarillo Ranch Road
Camarillo, CA 93010
Date/Time Information:
Sunday, September 3, 2017
11am - 4pm
Adult Registration: $20
Kids 12 & Under: Free
Set a Reminder:
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Teresa Tam
Cambridge Concentus

Ulysses Thomas

Ulysses Thomas, hailed as "compelling to watch" (Tufts Daily) and praised for his "rich bass-baritone voice and eloquent projection" (Lawrence Budmen), has appeared as a featured artist with a number of ensembles in
and around the Boston area including Boston Baroque, Masterworks Chorale, Blue Heron, Andover Choral Society, Exsultemus, Boston Choral Ensemble, Winsor Music, The Concord Chorus, Marsh Chapel Choir and Collegium,
and Emmanuel Music. In 2008, Mr. Thomas made his professional debut with Opera Boston in Handel's Semele as the High Priest. Mr. Thomas made his company debut with Boston Lyric Opera for their 2008/2009 season as Luther & Crespel in Les contes d'Hoffmann and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni. Other operatic credits include Il barbiere di Siviglia (Bartolo), The Magic Flute (Sarastro), La bohème (Alcindoro), Massenet's La Navarraise (Bustamente), Lee Hoiby's A Month in the Country (Rakitin), Gianni Schicchi (Simone), and Britten's The Rape of Lucretia (Collatinus). Amongst his honors and awards, Mr. Thomas spent two summers as a vocal fellow at Tanglewood Music Center, where he worked with James Levine, Phyllis Curtin, and John Harbison and was a finalist in the 2001 Orpheus Vocal Competition, where he received the Richard Strauss Award.

(Photo credit: Amy Weddell)

The Ensemble

David Kjar, Artistic Director

Marika Holmqvist, Artistic Director

Andrew Arceci

Michael Barrett

Jacob Cooper

Emily Dahl

Sarah Darling

Tatiana Daubek

Graham Dixon

Joy Grimes

Teddie Hwang

Jeanine Krause

Andrea LeBlanc

Jane Leggiero

Peter Lekx

Thea Lobo

Sarah Paysnick

Ulrike Präger

Emily Rideout

Dylan Sauerwald

Leon Schelhase

Luke Short

Ulysses Thomas

Patrick T Waters

Zoe Weiss


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Cameron Clement Real Estate Serving Bluefield VA, Bluefield WV, Tazewell County VA, and Mercer County WV - 304.952.6600
Cameron Clement - Moving Mountains for You
About Cameron Featured Listings Home Search
Relocation Resources Calendar
Cameron Clement - Moving Mountains for You
Featured Listings

Foreclosure 36792
Request Info on This Listing* | More Listings
Two story colonial home on a large level lot with a one car garage. Offers 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, some hardwood floors and a full unfinished basement with workshop area. Features replacement windows and walk-in shower in upstairs bath. Includes rear patio with a stone outdoor fireplace along with shared driveway and garage. Conveniently located near medical, shopping, schools and other amenities.
1016 Frederick St
Bluefield, WV  24701 US
Intersection of Cherry St
Community of Bluefield, WV
Please contact agent for seller's addenda prior to writing offer. Please have your buyer prequalified with Bank of America (call listing agent for how to do this). House is being sold as-is condition with no repairs. Includes a shared driveway and garage. Property survey on file.
Fact Sheet:
Listing Type: Sale
Property Type: Residential
Architecture Type: Colonial
Year Built: 1940
Price: $28,900
Sold Date: 9/7/2011
Sold Amount: $20,000
Interior Size: 1350 finished sq. ft.
Stories: 2
Lot Size: .25 acre(s)
Bedrooms: 2 room(s)
Bathrooms: 2 room(s)
Garage Size (# of cars): 1
Property Tax: $241
Living Room, Fireplace, Basement, Patio, Master Bedroom
School Information:
Mercer County WV Whitethorn or Memorial Elementary Bluefield Intermediate Bluefield Middle Bluefield High

Last Updated: 9/8/2011
Listed by Cameron Clement of RE/MAX Refined Realty

Cameron Clement
Office: 304.325.3701 | Direct: 304.952.6600
2453 Washington Street | Bluefield, WV 24701
Licensed in Virginia and West Virginia
Home | About Cameron | Featured Listings | Home Search | Relocation | Resources | Calendar | Contact

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Camille Styles

Living Kindly

5 Inspirational Podcasts You Should be Listening To

August 15th, 2016

I am all about maximizing my time to get the most out of my day, which usually means that from the moment I wake up to the time I go to bed, I’m doing something productive. Between a morning workout, meditation, full day of work, dinner, and the inevitable 1-2 hours I devote to personal projects in the evening — the idea of curling up with an inspiring book is almost laughable.

So what’s my solution when time is limited but I still need a dose of motivation? A solid podcast. Despite a packed schedule, I never seem to run out of opportunities to multitask and tune-in to some of my favorite shows. Whether I’m at my desk, on a flight, in my car, working out, or cleaning around the house, I simply pop on my headphones and zone out.

I know we’re always wondering, “What’s on your nightstand?” Mine is rather boring and sans books. I’ve got: this linen spray, this lip balm, this eye mask and this canister for my advil, so I’m switching it up and sharing what’s in my podcast queue instead. These are my go-to’s for healthy inspiration, creative professional ideas and of course, the LOL’s — because laughing is an important staple to overall good health.

More “Living Kindly”

Share Your Thoughts

3 Comments under :: 5 Inspirational Podcasts You Should be Listening To
  1. Jennifer says:

    This is exactly the podcast content I had on my list to research. Thanks for the perfect timing and recommendations!

Leave a Reply


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The Coalition for Human Rights (CHR) is Campus Y committee dedicated to addressing a myriad of domestic and international human rights issues through a series of advocacy and action-based events. Throughout the year CHR offers discussion, educational teach-ins, and opportunities for grassroots activism to committee members, the Campus Y, and UNC Campus at large. Specifically, CHR members select 4 point group topics annually to highlight. For the 2015-16 year these topics included indigenous rights, the criminal justice system, human trafficking, and genocide and mass atrocity awareness and prevention efforts. Some events we’ve hosted in the past year included a UNC edition of the Ohio University “We’re a Culture, Not a Costume” photo campaign, an interactive event exploring stories of different migrants experiencing the Syrian Refugee Crisis, and a campus-wide Global Grieving Vigil honoring the victims of world conflicts in Paris, Beirut, Burundi and beyond. Lastly, CHR hosted its 3rd-annual Genocide Action Week this year, in which we offered a series of interactive events, documentary screenings, and first-hand speakers discussing the legal definition of genocide, current conflicts, and tangible action steps for moving forward. In addition, CHR operates a Heels for Human Rights Facebook page, in which we provide an easily-accessible venue to receive human rights updates for members of the UNC community and beyond.

Savannah Wooten

Bethany Vance

Frances Cayton


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Canadian Cyclist

June 29/99 1:06 am - Road Nationals Road Race Story

Posted by Editor on 06/29/99

This year's road race championships proved two things: First, the importance of team work. And second, a properly executed plan can make all the difference.

Clara Hughes and Czeslaw Lukaszewicz (Espoir Laval Naya) - both previous champions - returned to the top spot of the podium because they each planned their races perfectly, and had the team support to make it happen. This was particularly important this year, since the course itself was not as selective as in some previous years. The 12.8 kilometre circuit had only one short climb of 500 metres before the finish, and a long series of false flats and rolling hills. This suggested the strong possibility of sprint finishes - something the non-sprinting teams wanted to avoid at all costs.

The 41 rider womens field contained all the top names in Canadian road racing - defending champion Linda Jackson (Timex), Saturn's Hughes and Lyne Bessette, time trial silver medallist Anne Samplonius and Elita's Annie Gariepy and Cybil DiGuistini. Elita had the largest team presence (5 riders) and their strategy was obvious from the start: attack until you get a breakaway, and reduce the numbers this way. Two laps into the 9 lap (115 km) race Elita managed to shake Gariepy free, and half a lap later Saturn sent Hughes off.

"I came up to Annie (Gariepy) and was ready to work with her, but she was going too slow." said Hughes. Gariepy admitted the same: "I tried, but couldn't stay with Clara." So, Hughes put her head down and started to time trial, only 26 kilometres into the race. "I just said to myself: Ã…â€™keep it steady, make sure to drink and eat, don't go too hard' "

Behind, this put tremendous pressure on the lone Timex rider, Jackson. Repeatedly she tried to break away, but every time there was Lyne Bessette on her wheel. Jackson got frustrated with the whole exercise: "it seems that they (the other riders) were just racing for second place...". After a couple of laps of this the pack settled down for a Sunday training ride, with speeds dropping below 30 kilometres per hour on stretches. Occasionally Jackson or Bessette would try to get away, but the whole pack would briefly stir to life, like a colony of ants, before falling asleep again.

And so, Hughes went away, and away and away - nearly 11 minutes by the end of the race. Jackson's frustrating day culminated with being taken down in a crash less than half a lap from the end of the race (she would finish 22nd, 16:22 down on Hughes). The race for second began in the last kilometre, with Samplonius jumping just before the base of the last climb. She could not sustain her gap and Bessette came by with 300 metres to go, to make it a 1-2 result for Saturn. Sandy Espeseth (Team B.C.) took third and Gariepy fourth.

The men's race was more difficult to predict. Besides the strong teams - Saturn with Walton, Anand and Barry; Degree Radio Energie (Wedge, Bergeron, Thibideau); Espoir Laval Naya (Lukaszewicz, Lavallée); Shaklee (Wohlberg, Beauchamp); JetFuel (Hall, Randall, Guiliano) - there was also Gord Fraser (Mercury), Dominique Perras (Nutra Fig) and last year's champion Mark Walters (Navigators). Also, there was extreme heat of the day to contend with - 35 degrees Celcius (95 Fahrenheit).

As the race developed two competing strategies became apparent: attack and split things up to suit yourself (Saturn), or hang on the coattails of others and hope that you don't miss the crucial move (Degree Radio Energie and the individual riders such as Walters, Perras and Fraser). However, in the end it was a third plan, by Lukaszewicz, that proved to be successful - go early and force the others to chase.

So Czeslaw Lukaszewicz, the two time road champion, at 35 one of the older riders in the race, went with an early break on the fourth lap of 14. "I knew that I have to be in front. I use these guys (the lesser known members of the break) for 100 kilometres. I can pace myself, eat, drink, not worry. They (the other teams) have to chase me. It is very stressful for the chasers. By the time they catch me they are just as tired as me."

The original break began on the second lap, by Alexandre Lavallée - last year's Espoir champion. Others gradually trickled up to join him until by the 50 kilometre mark there was a group of 15 sitting a minute in front of the pack, including Lukaszewicz, Beauchamp and Anand. Some more of the Ã…â€™big guns' then came up - Walton, Wohlberg, Wedge, Barry and Perras - until by the halfway point in the race the only key riders missing were Fraser and Walters.

However, those two had finally reacted and were heading up together, only 45 seconds down. When this news reached the front group - that the two best sprinters in the race were closing in - the reaction was swift: Saturn launched an attack off the front, splitting the group. Anand, Lukaszewicz and Beauchamp were in the front group of 8, with Barry, Walton, Wedge and Wohlberg behind. Fraser made contact with this second group, and then he and Wedge jumped away to go to the front group. Again, the front group split on this news, with Anand, Lukaszewicz, Eric Lyman and Beauchamp going off the front.

Behind, things were getting rather chaotic, with small chase groups forming and falling apart constantly. Brian Walton, in particular, was marshalling his forces like a general; making sure that every chase group containing potential sprinters was heavily marked. Walters was shelled from this action fairly early, while Fraser finally sat up in frustration and dropped out - a victim of his own sprinting prowess, and with whom nobody would work.

So, with two laps to go, as the riders went through the start/finish area the situation was as follows: Lukaszewicz, Anand, Lyman and Beauchamp in front, working well together. Barry, Wedge and the original instigator of the break, Alexandre Lavallée back by about 1 minute, and further minute behind Walton, Wohlberg and Thibideau.

This is where the race split open because of Czeslaw Lukaszewicz's stubborn streak. Initially, the officials would not allow feeding from vehicles, but, because of the extreme heat (over 100 Fahrenheit in the sun), they rescinded this rule. Saturn, who had a vehicle in the caravan handed out water to Anand, but wouldn't feed the other riders. The organizers did send out neutral vehicles shortly afterwards to provide water, but it was too late: "I got so mad, they made me crazy, handing out no water. So I went back (to the neutral vehicle) and got water and then I just went." stated Lukaszewicz.

He "went" alright, gaining 45 seconds in 2 kilometres while the other three looked at each other. By the start of the last lap, he had a minute and a half and was still steaming. Anand attacked with 6 kilometres to go, taking Beauchamp with him, and then attacked again to drop the Shaklee rider. The Saturn rider managed to pull to within 20 seconds by the finish line, but it was definitely too little, too late. Beauchamp managed to hang on for third, despite a late race lone charge by Wedge that brought the Criterium champion to within 25 seconds of the bronze medal. Lavallée managed to beat out Barry for the fifth place spot.

Race Notes:

- Lukaszewicz has now captured the road title in 1995, 1997 and 1999. The joke was "watch out for him in 2001..."
- Jonathan Tremblay (Québec Provincial) beat out Charles Dionne (Degree Radio Energie) and Martin St-Laurent in a sprint for the Espoir title, 10 minutes down on Lukaszewicz.
- Clara Hughes was beaming after her wins, extremely pleased that she was now assured a Pan Am Games spot for the competition in her home town of Winnipeg. After two years of post-Olympics injuries, it was very good to see Hughes back at the top of the podium.

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Canadian Cyclist

September 14/09 16:59 pm - 2009 Liberty! Bicycles Off-Road Squeezer Receives OCA Sanction

Posted by Editoress on 09/14/09

Liberty! Bicycles Off-Road Squeezer - Update - Ontario

A deal was recently reached between the Ontario Cycling Association, and the Liberty! Bicycles Off-Road Squeezer, sanctioning the event for 2009. The agreement also creates a framework to work together for the future as well.

All Elite-level cyclists are welcome to attend this year's event. Early registration ends Saturday September 19th, after which point entry fees increase. There is no day-of-event registration available.

The Squeezer features an exciting afternoon start primarily for top-level riders, capped at 80. That start will offer $5000 in cash prizes for the Top-15 Men and Top-15 Women. First place is $1000 per gender. The level of excitement on the finishing stretch is always sky-high, and reminiscent of a European Classic. We expect phenomenal spectator support again this year. The race starts and finishes in Downtown St.Catharines.

Race date is Sunday, September 27th. 1100 Participant-Cap; Group/Wave Caps in effect. Register early to avoid disappointment. Details and registration at www.libertybicycles.com or call 1-877-99-PEDAL.

Kurt Gwisdek
Liberty! Bicycles Off-Road Squeezer

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Canadian Cyclist

December 9/09 11:11 am - Cycling (in the) News

Posted by Editoress on 12/9/09

"If you worried about falling off the bike, you’d never get on." - Lance Armstrong

Biggest wheel of 'em all
A blur of yellow, red, blue, black and white swept past Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, and a small pack of cameramen chased after the cyclists as they ended their afternoon ride.
For this week, Lance Armstrong, the world's most famous bicyclist, is in town.
Armstrong and his new Team RadioShack are training in the Old Pueblo until Monday, riding each day and mountain-biking twice during the camp. The 26-member team represents 16 countries, and Armstrong, 38, is the oldest.
Read more at AZ Star

Lance Armstrong says he will not be Team RadioShack's main rider
Lance Armstrong believes it would be "irresponsible" for him to be the central rider of Team RadioShack, the squad he launched in Arizona yesterday.
Read more at Guardian

Pereiro, Astana OK one-year deal
Former Tour de France champion Oscar Pereiro has agreed to a one-year deal to ride for Astana in 2010.
The Spanish cyclist will join the Kazakh team's training camp in Pisa, Italy, on Thursday, where he will be united with defending Tour champion Alberto Contador.
Read more at ESPN

Lotto was not right team for Evans: teammate
A FORMER Silence-Lotto teammate of Cadel Evans' has said the two-time Tour de France runner-up would have been unlikely ever to achieve his ultimate cycling goal if he had stayed at the Belgian professional team.
Matthew Lloyd, a climbing specialist who won the Australian open road title in 2008 and was recruited to Silence-Lotto to support Evans, said he wasn't surprised when he jumped ship last month.
Read more at The Age

UCI tries to get on track with IOC goal of gender equality at 2012 London Games
Cycling's governing body confirmed Wednesday it will deliver proposals to the IOC for a track race program at the 2012 London Olympics that offers equal gold medal opportunities for men and women.
The news means American phenom Taylor Phinney would likely be denied a chance to compete in his specialty event.

The Dec. 3 meeting with the International Cycling Union will work toward an International Olympic Committee target of gender equality at the Games, IOC sports director Christophe Dubi said.
Read more at Yahoo

Phinney tries to save individual pursuit
Taylor Phinney is getting some last-minute help in the quest to keep his specialty event on the Olympic cycling program.
Hard copies of an online petition with 4,408 signatures were sent to the International Olympic Committee on Monday, just two days before the group's executive board is to convene in Switzerland for a meeting.
The IOC meeting is Wednesday and Thursday. Changing the Olympic cycling program, with moves that would eliminate endurance track events such as the individual pursuit, from the 2012 London Games is expected to be among the items on the agenda.
Read more at ESPN

Why is the IOC discussing changes to track cycling?
The International Olympic Committee is meeting in Lausanne this week and will discuss radical and controversial proposed changes to the track cycling program for the 2012 Games.
Here are some questions and answers on the issue.
Read more at Universal Sports

Pendleton: Don't blame me for Olympic cycling changes
Victoria Pendleton, the woman who has led the campaign to ensure that female cyclists are given the same opportunities at London 2012 as the men, has claimed that she fears the row she sparked after last year's Olympics in Beijing have overshadowed her achievements.
Read more at Inside the Games

Olympic champion Romero prepares for event to be axed
Olympic women's individual pursuit gold medallist Rebecca Romero says plans to drop the category from future Games make no sense.
On Thursday, the International Olympic Committee is expected to make changes to ensure males and females compete in an equal number of events.
Read more at BBC News

Celebrating and cycling for change
Every month, they come on their bikes and ride around the city.
It’s a group of friends, friends of friends and the occasional newcomer. They amiably talk about the weather and other places they have cycled.
Riding bikes is what brings them together — not in protest of cars but, rather, in celebration of cycling.
Read more at Kamloops this Week

Program axing not due to results
The consolation for national mountain bike coach Neil Ross yesterday was that his program's axing was not a results- based decision.
In the two years since the qualification period for the last Olympics, Australia's world ranking in the sport had rocketed from 22nd to 10th.
It formerly had two women in the top 100 and one man, now it has half a dozen in both.
"I'm very disappointed because I think our results speak for themselves," Ross said.
Read more at The Examiner

'Road Rage' Case Highlights Cyclist Vs. Driver Tension
Bicycling magazine called it "the road rage incident heard 'round the cycling world."
A driver in Los Angeles was recently convicted of using his car as a weapon against two cyclists. And the case is focusing attention on the often uneasy relationship between motorists and bicyclists who have to share the road.
Read more at NPR.org

Pan Am costs over budget
The city is already preparing for higher costs than budgeted for the Pan Am stadium.
The terms of reference for a business plan designed to fit the west harbour site says the $10 million set aside for land acquisition, servicing and remediation is "likely insufficient."
It asks consultant Deloitte Canada to make a case so the city can go to other levels of government and private partners to cover those costs and the anticipated $50 million needed to upgrade the 15,000-seat stadium to 25,000 or 30,000 seats.
Read more at Hamilton Spectator

Italy probes ex-cyclist Bettini's tax returns
Olympic cycling gold medalist Paolo Bettini has been placed under investigation for alleged tax evasion in Italy.
Ernesto Ceccarelli, an official with the tax police in the Tuscan town of Livorno, says the now-retired Bettini is suspected of evading taxes on nearly $16.6 million.
Read more at Associated Press

Hipsters repaint bike lanes in brush off to Hasids
Groups of bicycle-riding vigilantes have been repainting 14 blocks of Williamsburg roadways ever since the city sandblasted their bike lanes away last week at the request of the Hasidic community.
The Hasids, who have long had a huge enclave in the now-artist-haven neighborhood, had complained that the Bedford Avenue bike paths posed both a safety and religious hazard.
Read more at New York Post

Cyclists Redraw the Lines in Brooklyn
New York’s bike lanes have become sources of civic pride and controversy as of late.
The city has been adding hundreds of miles of lanes, routes and paths in the last few years, thrilling much of the city’s growing number of bicycle commuters. But when it recently removed a 14-block stretch of lane on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, many cyclists were not happy and took action.
Read more at New York Times

Schools pay price of success
Bolton's schools cycling track championships have had to be scrapped — because of the popularity of the sport The championships were held every year for three different age groups at the Manchester Velodrome, involving almost 400 children every year.
But the increasing demand for the use the Velodrome has resulted in the axe falling on the Bolton competitions
Read more at Bolton News

Australian cycling tour turf war brewing
A major turf war is brewing in Australian cycling between two of its most important events - the Tour Down Under and the Herald Sun Tour.
Cycling Australia (CA) is conducting sensitive negotiations over a bid by the Herald Sun Tour to move from its annual October timeslot to February.
Read more at Big Pond News

Big Cities Urge Bike Friendly Streets
Congressman Earl Blumenauer; New York City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan; and artist/musician David Byrne joined city officials from Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. to launch Cities for Cycling, a new effort by city governments to promote best practices in urban cycling and to increase the use of bicycles to improve urban mobility, livability and public health while reducing traffic congestion and CO2 emissions.
Cycling is booming in cities across the nation. Based on the American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. census bureau, cycling as a share of transportation is up in major cities by as much as 72% from 2007-2008, with an average growth rate of over 30%.
Read more at Bike Portland

San Franciscan Cyclists Turn The iPhone Into A Powerful Tool To Change Their City
First Boston launched its CitizensConnect app in June, giving its citizens the ability use the iPhone to tag locations and upload photos of potholes and other urban hazards; now San Francisco is using the iPhone to build a better city too — through tracking cyclists with its CycleTracks app.
The express purpose of CycleTracks will gather data on cycling trips throughout San Francisco, to help the city better design its bicycle infrastructure.
When activated, the app uses the iPhone’s GPS receiver to record the details of a ride, then uploads the data to a central database — and that method of gathering that kind of data is probably unique in the nation, said Billy Charlton, Deputy Director of Technology Services for the SF County Transportation Authority, in an interview with CoM.
Read more at Cult of Mac

Green odyssey takes cyclist to Copenhagen
An Australian cyclist who has spent 16 months cycling from Brisbane to the UN climate talks in Copenhagen says the journey has given him a host of accounts of how global warming is changing lives for the worse.
Read more at ABC.net

SANYO 'eneloop bike' Honored as CES Best of Innovations 2010 in Eco-Design and Sustainable Technology Category
SANYO North America Corporation (SANYO), is pleased to announce that two SANYO products have received International CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards. The SANYO "Synergetic Hybrid Bicycle", CY-SPA600NA, model of the eneloop bike, a pedal-assist electric hybrid, was honored as Best of Innovations having received the highest overall score in the Eco-Design and Sustainable Technology category. The high-definition waterproof Dual Camera Xacti, VPC-WH1, was selected as an honoree in the Digital Imaging category.
Read more at Newswire

GB Cyclists Go Faster with CFD
Great Britain's 2008 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic medal haul confirmed cycling as one of the nation's strongest sports. But some of that success is owed to Formula One.

CFD, the "wind tunnel in a computer" technology used to design superfast cars, helped improve British cyclists' race times by reducing air drag.
Read more at Dexigner

Advanced Sports To Aquire Oval Concepts
Advanced Sports, Inc. (ASI), which owns Kestrel and Fuji Bicycles among others, is adding Oval Concepts to its lineup. Based in Switzerland, Oval Concepts manufactures Aerobars, Forks, Seat posts and other parts and accessories for triathlon, road and mountain bikes. ASI intends to add to this lineup with plenty of new products.
Read more at xtri.com

Anti-doping agency approves 'athlete's passport'
The World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) on Wednesday approved its 'athlete's passport' scheme, which allows sporting authorities to detect doping by studying an athlete's biological profile.
"It is a great step forward. It is not the end of all our problems, but it is another tool," said WADA president John Fahey.
Contrary to traditional anti-doping techniques which involve looking for traces of banned substances in an athlete's blood or urine, the passport seeks to discover abnormal variations in the athlete's biological profile.
Read more at AFP

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6 Creative DIY Ideas for Kids’ Rooms

Washi Tape Wonder

Washi Tape Wonder
Picture 1 of 6

Washi tape is a popular Japanese masking tape in bright colours and patterns that is easy to remove, making it perfect for temporary decor projects. Here, a simple white bookshelf becomes a dollhouse with the creative use of Washi tape.

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Crystal Shore

As Online Editor for Canadian Home Trends Magazine, Crystal has a passion for design and decor. She enjoys browsing the web to find new, exciting decor ideas, DIY projects and unique products to share with her readers. With formal training in graphic design and a background in the event planning/design business, Crystal looks at design from all angles to give readers a fresh perspective.

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Tax Day! (2230 miles so far)

This morning, we awoke in Holbrook, and went to a local café — ??? – for breakfast. This café has been featured on documentaries about Route 66, and there was tons of Route 66 memorabilia all over the place, as there was in the whole town.

We drove through Holbrook, and headed toward the Petrified Forest NP down Highway 180, stopping to smell the roses (or petrified wood) as we went.

The Petrified Forest NP (and Painted Desert) didn’t disappoint. It’d been over 10 years since I last was out here, and it was just as beautiful as I remembered. To cover the 28 miles or so of road took us over three hours! Needless to say, we smelled roses – plenty of them – along the way.

Probably the most intriguing thing to me in the park is Newspaper Rock. Here, the ancients carved petroglyphs into the rocks, which have long since tumbled into a gorge. From the observation point, however, I got some great photos of them – a real link to the distant past.

We rejoined I-40 at the north end of the park, and drove west toward Holbrook again, where we ate lunch at Mr. ???. This was an amazing Mexican restaurant! I had a combo plate, which was slathered in some of the hottest red sauce I’ve ever had. I keep forgetting that red sauce is HOT out here, unlike my days at Taco Bell. I ate it, though, enjoyed it, and carried on the next stop.

Our next stop was a corner shop that dealt in petrified wood, and had many, many dinosaur statues surrounding it. Becky found a piece that she liked for the hearth, and I picked up a couple of geodes for Sio and me to crack open later. I didn’t take any pictures of the dinosaurs – a quarter to snap a photo solo, 75 cents to snap a photo with a dinosaur and you, and 98 cents to put your head through a standee and have your photo taken. A little too rich for me! 🙂

We had originally planned to stop in Winslow AZ to look at the statue depicting the line from The Eagles’ “Take It Easy” (“…standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona…”). However, we didn’t know which of the three exits was the right one, and we were really wanting to see Meteor Crater before it closed, so we skipped it. BTW, in case you’re wondering, it’s exit 252.

As we pulled off I-40 for Meteor Crater, we discovered it would close at 5PM – it was now about 4.15! We barreled down the two-lane, headed for the “other” big hole in Arizona, and arrived about 4.20, just in time to buy tickets ($12 *each*!). We walked to the high observation deck, where the wind nearly knocked us over. Of course, we were huffing and puffing, too – the altitude and attendant thinner air out here is really a killer. We took our shots, and headed down to the lower observation deck, and looked around again.

We jumped in to the theatre, which was showing the last film of the day at 5PM, and enjoyed sitting down for a few minutes. Good film, and free (after paying the $12 to get in!). The gift shop was a little disappointing – lots of stuff, but like so many others out here, very oriented toward rockhounds.

As the place was closing, we escaped from the parking lot, and headed toward the Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. We had reservations inside the park at a lodge that purported to be only a half-mile from the rim.

Flagstaff is a beautiful town, and I wish we had more time to spend in it. We zoomed through, and continued up Highway 180, looking for Highway 64, and eventually the park.

We saw beautiful pine vistas, dotted occasionally with stands of birch trees, all above 8000 feet. Since there’s only a little bit of that span that is above 8000 feet, the birch trees quickly passed us by, but the dying sunlight upon them was truly beautiful.

We also saw evidence of a damaging fire atop the mountain. Whole glades scorched, with nothing but burned trunks, limbless and barren, were on both sides of the highway. I’m sure that nature will recover – it always does – but this was particularly painful to see.

We finally traversed the last miles to the park, discovering that when the park entrance station is closed, you can just drive in! We did, and finally found Xanterra (sp?), and our rooms. A quick dinner in the cafeteria, and we were off to bed.

BTW, the highest gas we’ve seen was here — $2.139. We’d seen $1.939 at the Petrified Forest, but that was chump change by comparison! The cheapest, by comparison was in Hereford TX, at a lowly $1.519.


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I’ve been battling the flu for the last couple of days — nasty stuff, too.

Gene sent me home early on yesterday with teeth-chattering chills, and probably a good thing. I came home and slept for almost eight hours before getting back up just before dinnertime.

Beck came home with this on Thursday, and I’m convinced that I’ve picked this up from her. It’s brutal stuff too, as I don’t have the strength God gave a fly. If I get up to do a few things around the house, I have to flop down and relax for a while. Blecch.

The bad thing is that Beck and I have a tradition of getting together with the gang for New Year’s Eve festivities. This year though, we’ve opted out. Since Mary’s pregnant, we’d especially hate to give this mess to her.

So, it’s a quiet, probably early, New Year’s Eve for us. Hope yours is better!


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Thursday, January 1, 2009

Fourth Annual NaJuReMoNoMo

National Just Read More Novels Month
  1. Only Novels Count. This means no non-fiction books, memoirs, short stories, essay collections, or books based on internet memes like LOLcats. The judge is out on graphic novels. It's your call.

  2. Memoirs Don’t Count. Even if they are fictional. And especially if they are fake memoirs about the Holocaust.

  3. It Can’t Be A Novel You Have Already Read. Expand your horizons. Try some new authors.

  4. You Must Start At The Beginning. If the book is on your nightstand, you have to start over. We are looking at January 1 to January 31. That is 31 days. We are on a deadline.
    Have Fun.

  5. This a lark. You wouldn't be reading if you didn't enjoy it.

And of course we have our valuable prizes. You get to brag about your literacy ability by posting our "Winner" badges on your site. Any book qualifies for the Blue Winner badge. Now a lot of people read more than one. Three books qualifies for the Green Badge. Five gets the Silver Badge and ten is the Gold level.

OK, I can SO do this one. I can finish at least one novel even if I stay in my reading rut! There are prizers at stake here. Must get badge...

1 comment:

yellojkt said...

That's the spirit. And part of the point of NaJuReMoNoMo is that it is soooo easy to do. Good luck!

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Alternative compensation incentivization needed at some jobs

It's true that employees like to be acknowledged and rewarded for doing their jobs well. However, not all personnel appreciate the same kinds of incentive compensation. Using a single compensation method, such as bonus pay or wellness benefits, may short-change staff members who do not desire these kinds of rewards. Either by robbing companies of better employee output or discouraging talent retention, companies need to be sure that they aren't cheating themselves out of best possible outcomes by offering too rigid an incentive compensation solution.

Impact of incentivization
The Bowdoin Orient stated that student staff at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine began offering nominal paychecks to all tour guides operating on-campus through the Student Employment division. Adding payment to the program hasn't changed the priorities of employees, though, according to current workers. It has however made the department acknowledge that it has too many student tour guides, a condition that had not come up previously. It's possible that the addition of mandatory pay and incentive compensation could therefore represent a negative impact on how the student agency is run.

"I think people become tour guides because they love Bowdoin and they want to share how much they love Bowdoin during that hour long tour they have," said Co-Head tour guide Andrew Klegman to the source. He added that the infrequency with which tours are given by individual students amounts to minimal pay at best, since only one or two guide sessions are delivered per person each pay period.

Identifying areas for improvement
"At a minimum, the [HR leader]'s team should be involved in running payout calculations and performance curves against various assumptions about the company's performance," Juan Pablo Gonzalez of Axiom Consulting told CFO. "But the greater value is in having the [leader] look behind the numbers to assess whether bonuses are really driving the behavior that supports company strategy."

This highlights the issue of HR management versus payment. CFO Online pointed out that financial indicators can help organizations determine the fitness of certain programs, as in the case of reducing workforce for the tour group once it was seen that too many personnel were on staff. These kinds of cuts can help the entity run more efficiently, but it may also harm engagement of remaining staff or could reduce the public image of the organization due to the reduction in employees.


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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Dear fellow Singaporeans,

I am a typical university student who is passionate about Canoe Polo. I know many of you never even heard of the sport, Canoe Polo. That's why I set up this blog years ago to promote this sport and continue to push this sport to more people in Singapore.

With election coming and like many young Singaporeans, I am inspired by Nicole Seah to stand forward and fight for what we believe we should. I have been fighting for this sport all these while. Last year, I attended the National Day Rally Youth Forum which was held in SIM. I had the chance to meet up with Dr Vivian Balakrishnan and asked him about funding for non-olympic sport.

I did a blog post on SIM Blogs which you will find more details. (Please read it before you continue..)

This event was reported on Channel News Asia on the very same day.

After our conversation, he shook my hand and told me to write to him. It was mid September and nearing exam period. So I decided to write to him after my exam.

I printscreen the email, it is stated 3 Nov 2011. I spent the whole night to type it out. I am not a good writer. I just go straight to the point.

Let me introduce myself in details. I was previously from Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP). I was in the Ngee Ann Canoeing Club which Canoe Polo is under the same club as the Canoeing club (NACC). I was in the publicity for 1 year before moving to become President for the club. Before I enter NP, I never heard of Canoe Polo at all. For me, I like to take up challenges and thus, I joined this sport and it has been 7 years since. Till now, I am still an active alumni of NACC. Before I enter SIM, there is no Canoe Polo in the school. Even the sport advisors have not heard of Canoe Polo. For the passion of this sport, I decided to start this club and became the founder of SIM Canoe Polo. I felt that it is a sad thing that many people do not have the chance to experience this sport. So, I would like to promote this sport to more people because this is a wonderful sport that combines both canoeing and water polo skills.

However, starting a new club is not easy. Canoe Polo is a very expensive sport as it requires many equipment. Paddle, helmet, life vest, spray decks, boat, goal post and water polo ball. Fortunately, I am able to borrow equipments from my NP juniors, though they are not very willing and it is not very nice to use other's equipments and win them during competition. My networking during my Canoe Polo days paid off as i managed to gather enough experienced Canoe Polo players from SP, TP and NP to play for SIM. For our very first IVP competition during the National Canoe Polo Competition in 2008, we won 2nd for Women IVP and 3rd for Men IVP.
And we continue to win more medals in 2009 and 2010.

2009 - Women IVP Champion and Men IVP Bronze

2010 - Men IVP 2nd

I do not want the team to be just have experienced players. So we started recruitment last year and now we are expanding. We are not just team mates, we are a family.

From our discussion during the National Day Rally Youth Forum, I understood that you said that there will not be equal funding for all sports. But can we at least have some minimum funding?

Below is an email from Marilyn, ex-captain for the women Canoe Polo National Team.

On the world stage, right now there are at least 60 teams participating in World Champs, this means, we are closer than ever to being included in the Olympics.
Of course, it's easier to say, just that it can sound more encouraging than not to think about it at all.

Anyway, here are our records, very briefly.
Let me know if you need more info:

2003 Oceania Champs
2004 World Champs Miyoshi - Won Hong Kong (Ranked 16/17)
2005 Asian Champs Malaysia - Won Japan (2/3) - Silver
2006 World Champs Amsterdam - Won Czech Rep (Ranked 19/20)
2008 World Champs Canada - Won Sweden, USA & Russia (Ranked 14/17)
2009 Asian Champs Taipei - Won Taiwan (Ranked 2/3) - Silver
2010 World Champs Milan - Won Denmark, USA & Russia (Ranked 15/18)

So far, SCF has been supporting in terms of our accreditation fees and insurance.
Other than that, we have been highlighted right from the start that we have to self-fund for the trips, or seek for sponsorships.
Even though, Singapore Canoe Federation (SCF) paid for their accreditation fees and insurance, it is only total up to $1,000. As compare to each players have to fork out almost $4,000 for the trip to pay for their air tickets, accommodation, transport of equipment of their own boat, paddle, life vest, helmet and food. The girls work and save up for their oversea trip. I felt quite sad for them because of their passion, they used their saving to pay for all the trip and have to earn back again. The cycle just go on and on and they can not do this forever. Some quitted. The men team already gave up.

Canoe Polo is under SCF because we do not have a federation for ourselves. We were just conveniently placed under SCF because we have canoeing element. But I felt that Canoe Polo is just like an adopted child in a family and we have no right to ask for anything. We just have to find out own "food" to survive and if lucky, we have some leftovers. After every National Canoe Polo Competition, all profits made from the competition all goes to SCF. And this year due to YOG, we have no budget to book a swimming pool for competition. Luckily, the National Team set up a playing court with SCF at Bedok Reservoir. However, the court is in very bad condition right now. It is not even in a good condition to start off with as there were very little fund to set up the place. Because of low budget, the right kind of wood is not used. The platform is not in proper alignment and the rope went loose and goal post sank into the water.

For SIM Canoe Polo, we store our equipments at Kallang SCF. Few months back, our boat shed that SCF rented out to us was badly damaged due to falling branches. Luckily, our boats were in Bedok Reservoir as it was the competition period. It has been few months since SCF said they will repair the shed. Until now, nothing has been done.

and this is where we store our other equipments.

It is quite empty because I took out many other equipments in order to show the space. And often we found our life vests and spray decks infested with ants after we return every weekends. Unlike Canoeing and Dragon Boat, they may be water sports but their contact with water is at minimal. For Canoe Polo, we do a lot of bracing and capsizing so we are in contact with water a lot more times than them. Kallang water is not very clean and many of my team mates and I sometime suffered from rashes. Recently, some of our life vests were stained by some oil spilled from motor boats. We need to hang and drop goal posts from Nicoll highway bridge to train. This is the only way we can train as we do not have any swimming pool in SIM.

2 years ago, I went to Japan with my NP alumni for Canoe Polo competition. We were amazed by the training/competition grounds they have.

They have very solid platform for people to walk on. Unlike the one we have in Singapore.

The flooring is coming out and it is floating on styrofoam. There is a possibility that someone will fall into the water.
In Japan, their count also have small bridge to link to the platforms and they have 3 courts. Japanese people as old as 40 are still playing the sport actively.
Each court has it own timer, scoreboard and even basket to store the balls.

The Japanese children are exposed to canoe polo since young. The goal post can be adjust by the level mechanism and change the height according to tide and for the younger players. Right now, the only way to experience Canoe Polo is to be a student of NP, SP, TP, NTU, NUS, NUS High school and SIM. In total, we over 30 teams from 7 institutions. We hope that more school is able to join us, like RP, NYP and SMU.

Dear Sir, I really hope that Canoe Polo can have some funding to build a proper court for everyone to train and compete in. One person can make a difference. Here am I, wanting to make a different and help the whole Canoe Polo community. Do give us your support. Thank you for spending your time reading this email. I hope to hear from you soon.

Warmest Regards,
Alvin Lee
Founder and Captain of SIM Canoe Polo

They read my email the very next day or I should say on the same day that I wrote on 3 Nov 2011. This email was even forwarded to Teo Ser Luck and the rest.

My question to Dr Vivian is, what is the progress of this issue so far? I have yet to receive a email on this. Coming this tuesday, it will be 6months exactly. Beside avoiding the public confrontation of revealing the accounts for the YOG, are you also trying to avoid this issue (funding for non-Olympic sports). 6months is a long time. Have you been actively discussing this with those you forwarded to?

I have enough of seeing foreign talents coming in to compete for Singapore. So what if they win medals? They are not PURE Singaporeans. I don't feel proud at all. The real proud moment is when Rainer Ng won 50m backstroke during YOG last year. This is what I will really call a proud moment which a true Singaporean won at world stage.

Anyway, what are we so desperate to keep winning medals on world stage? Does one gold medal in Olympic bring in revenue for our country? I don't think so. Instead, we are giving 1 million dollar to whoever can win an Olympic gold medal for Singapore. We have been spending so much money to train all these athletes and it is usually in the sports that we considered as "higher chance of winning" sports. You said that funding on the sport also depends on the number of people who play it. I am sure that there are many leisure and competitive dragonboaters around. We have a handful of rugby clubs also. But I don't think they receive much funding.

I think we should allocate certain amount of funds to promote the sports. We need to have a sporting culture in Singapore. By hosting YOG, doesn't mean that instantly we will have sporting culture here. It takes years. But have we even started to cultivate this sporting culture here in Singapore?

I may not be staying in the Holland-Bukit Timah area, but to the voters at the area there: Do you want to vote for a MP who is in charge of Sports but for almost 6 months... No reply to a citizen who is concern about the future of sports in Singapore??? What makes you think he will help you when he is elected again??? PAP whole day keep saying track record track record... yaaaa... track record of not doing work is it?? If you did, show me the progress of this issue!!

Seriously, Dr Vivian, you just made me feel like prop on TV just to make you look good that you seem "concern" for us. Like what my friends and I like to use this chinese phrase, act yi ge (一个）Act to to be one. Don't understand? I guess you have not been communicating with the YOUTH that you are suppose to be in charge of.

Please, Vote wisely.


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JASPER = Green Choice

Did you know that Remanufacturing is Recycling?  Have you considered how your decision to make a major repair to your vehicle affects our environment? We have researched how much energy JASPER utilizes in the remanufacturing process and compared it with information from the Argonne National Lab, a research center for the U.S. Department of Energy.

By averaging the curb weight of three vehicles: a Mercedes-Benz W126, a Hummer H2 and a Toyota Prius, a determination was made on the average amount of energy required in manufacturing vehicles. Energy usage at JASPER, per drivetrain component, was figured and, on the average, only 1% of the energy is consumed in remanufacturing a drivetrain component in comparison to manufacturing the entire vehicle. In tangible terms, that is an energy savings of nearly six tons of coal or 1008 gallons of crude oil. Rather than replacing their vehicles, our customers, by purchasing JASPER remanufactured engines, transmissions, and differentials saved enough energy in 2007 to power an estimated 598,000 households, or every residence in a city the size of Washington, D.C., for an entire year!

In a still cited 1981 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study on remanufactured automotive components, it was approximated that 85% of the energy exhausted in the original product was preserved in the remanufactured product. Instead of wasting energy in the replacement of raw materials, JASPER cleans and remanufactures the original castings to the specifications of the original equipment manufacturer. In another study at the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, it was estimated that annual energy savings by remanufacturing worldwide is equivalent to the electricity generated by eight nuclear power plants or 16,000,000 barrels of crude oil - enough to fill 350 oil tankers.

By purchasing a remanufactured engine, transmission, or differential, everyone can benefit from the conservation of our natural resources.

In addition to remanufacturing, following are a few things JASPER is doing to protect our environment:

  • JASPER has implemented bioremediation as a means to clean the water used throughout our remanufacturing process. This process allows an enzyme to break down contaminates into a form which microbes can consume. By using microbes, we can naturally transform hydrocarbons (oil, fuel and solvents) into carbon dioxide and water.
  • JASPER has numerous dust collectors in place, reducing particulate matter to a microscopic level (2.5 microns) with a 99.9% efficiency rating.
  • Ozone depleting vapors have been reduced 77% by changing our cleaning process. Coal slag or Armex (baking soda) blasting agents have taken the place of many solvents used by our company during the core cleaning process.
  • The majority of solvent-based paints applied to the final product have been replaced with water-based versions. A reduction in VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) and reduced drying time resulted.
  • When drivetrain cores are disassembled, all nonusable metal and aluminum parts (4057 tons annually) are sent out for reclamation.
  • In 2007, JASPER recycled 182 tons of scrap wood material. Instead of sending the wood material to landfills, the material was turned into a reusable compost product.
  • Many of the new parts that go into JASPER products come to us in cardboard packaging. This material amounts to 73 tons recycled annually.
  • Motion detection lighting has been introduced throughout the production facility. Sensors detect movement, which activates the bulbs, illuminating the area. This reduces electricity use and the bulbs are biodegradable.

The remanufacturing process breaks the cycle of raw material harvest & production, greatly reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. As a recipient of the 2006 Verizon Supplier Excellence Award, JASPER Engines & Transmissions has been recognized as a company with strengths in environmentally safe remanufacturing techniques. Future ecological challenges will be greatly reduced if consumers are driven by environmentally conscientious decisions. By purchasing a JASPER product, not only are you buying the best drivetrain component in the industry, you are contributing to environmental preservation.

CAPITAL CAR CARE at 7978 Forbes Place in Springfield, VA offers complete automotive maintenance and repair work for both foreign and domestic vehicles including hybrids. Our customers here in Springfield, VA have trusted us to provide exceptional service backed for over 40 years.

   See our reviews on Yelp   See our reviews on Angie's List

Our highly skilled technicians will get you back on the road fast at a fair price.


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Friday, May 15, 2015

Analysis shows COOL costs outweight benefits - AgMinute for May 15, 2015

An analysis by university ag economists contracted by USDA has found that the economic benefits of mandatory country of origin labeling would be insufficient to offset the cost of the requirements. For more information visit

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Patton Oswalt
Patton Oswalt
Name Patton Oswalt
Portrays Baxter Sarno
Birthplace Portsmouth, Virginia
Born on January 27, 1969
Patton Oswalt portrayed the talk show host Baxter Sarno in several episodes.

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Sixt Rent A Car

No matter what type of vehicle you're looking for, this brokerage firm can track it down for you at the rate you require.

Contact Information

Location: Av 27 de Febrero 134, Santiago De Los Caballeros, the Dominican Republic

Phone: (809) 583-4114

Help us improve! We welcome your corrections and suggestions.


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Join Associated Content

Friday, January 02, 2009

Happy New Year!

WOW! I for one can’t believe we are already into 2009! This week (today, Friday) is my ever-lovin’ hubby’s 52nd birthday. Do you know I met him when he was 23? He still looks pretty much the same, as do I. Yes, we both cover the burgeoning gray on our temples, but we are thankful and proud enough to say that we haven’t put on an extra person, our teeth are still all ours (natural, not synthetic and paid for) and no one looks at our pictures and goes off into a corner and gossips about what in the world happened to us. So we are good h

2008 saw so many expected and unexpected changes. We gained two adorable grandsons-one human, one quite furry. My husband and son both received promotions, I got laid off. Not so bad really. I’ve been doing a lot of writing and hope to do even more in the coming year.

Digressing back to what I’ve been up to the last couple of weeks-as I mentioned, we decided to go to Phoenix for 4 days. For the most part, we had a good time. It was relaxing, we were able to see how much the area had changed since we had been there last and we even met a cyber-friend for brunch. We couldn’t get over how what was nothing but a “blank” page was now wall to wall homes, apartment dwellings, outdoor and indoor malls and yes, even some factories!

We walked around Old town Scottsdale-filled with uptown art galleries, eateries and city orientated museums. We walked around Old town Tempe-which is really “college town, USA”. Maybe it was our age coming through, but we didn’t know how 4 blocks of bars, tattoo parlors, breweries/restaurants, coffee houses and one bookstore could be considered “Old Town”. We also strolled through an outdoor mall, found hubby some much needed walking shoes (on sale no less!) and saw a movie-FROST/NIXON, which, if anyone is interested, was fabulous.

Unfortunately, we did have a rather “ewww” related incident as well. Since we were there on Christmas Day-we needed to find a place to have our meals, not an easy task-really!

We were given vouchers at our hotel for breakfast and dinner. However, we found breakfast in the makeshift restaurant (they were re-modeling) was just okay and we were hoping for something a bit better for dinnertime. A nice couple in the corner told us “we’ve lived here for over 40 years and we have always enjoyed our meals at Casino Arizona”.

Casino Arizona is one of several Indian run arenas. We’ve been to several here in California, both with and without my parents, and have ALWAYS had a wonderful experience. Everything has always been extremely fresh, well-prepared and a great way to try all kinds of different cuisines. So without a bit of trepidation, we grabbed my 5’ wide umbrella and went off into the pouring rain in search of the Christmas Day buffet.

Once in the door, Steve and I walked around for a bit and saw that the line was going to take us close to 2 hours to get through, so we found the end and joined the line. We were lucky-the couple in front of us were friendly, we talked, found out some other good restaurants and “must sees” for the rest of our trip and, in general, passed the time rather nicely. It did take almost the entire 2 hours to get to the front and be seated.

Now I’ve mentioned many times in the last 2-1/2 years about my near vegan diet-this night was no different (good choice as you will soon realize). However, my carnivore hubby decided to head straight for the carving station. Not just once either-oh no, he chose to go back another time. BAD, BAD, BAD CHOICE. He came back to the table and mentioned that the kitchen had just brought out not 1, but 3 prime rib roasts that were so rare that everyone was insisting that the chef put their slices on the grill for a bit. I looked at him sideways and asked “do you think that you should eat this then?”

“I was one of the ones who asked for it to be put on the grill-look, it’s fine”. HA!
We finished, got to the car and then IT happened. Steve couldn’t get back to the hotel fast enough. I think it’s sufficed to say that we did not have the originally planned romantic evening. Ick.

Poor guy-he got rid of his dinner, as well as breakfast and I’m not actually sure what else, but he got rid of it as well. Thankfully, we had access to free sodas and ice on our floor-I brought back both, made him cold compresses and handed out the Imodium.

He was actually pretty lucky-by midnight the “WORST” was over. He slept in until about 9:30 the next morning and kept breakfast to mint tea and cream of wheat. That was the day we saw the movie. By dinner he felt pretty much back to normal.
I’ve been on the phone with the restaurant manager several times since then. Seems they actually wanted to show their contrition by having us back at the same place for another dinner! Besides never wanting to step in there again-I explained that it took so long and so many phone calls to get to them that we were over ½ way back to Orange County California.

My requested apology-credit back the $60 to my Celebrity American Express. I wonder what they would have said if I mentioned I was going to write about this experience here on this blog?

Hope your 2009 is off to a reasonably wonderful start….

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Friday, February 17, 2012

A Super Birthday

Good Morning, I know that I have been ignoring my blog lately. Things have been super busy at work, with any luck they should settle down a bit in a week or two.

I want to share with you a card that I made for my Dad's Birthday.

This card features the adorable Super Henry, a digi stamp from Whiff of Joy. I bought him a while back when he was first released but this is the first time that I have coloured him up and I love the way that he turned out.

The papers for this card are from the Basic Grey Oliver collection, the background was perfect for this as it reminded me of a night sky in a video game. In keeping with the masculine theme I have kept the embellishments simple and layered on several die cut stars to complete the layout and then added a few pearl accents.  A simple sentiment finished it all off.

Thanks for stopping by, be sure to leave a comment to let me know you were here. I plan to catch up on my blogging this weekend and as today is the last work day before a 3 day weekend here in Ontario I am sure that you will see me here again soon.

This card will be entered into the following challenges:

martina's kaartjes said...

what a great, superb card !
greetings, martina

Samantha said...

AWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESOME!! so LOVE Henry and this is Fantastical! love love love it! great job! Really jumps right our at me!

Thanks for joining in with us at Top Tip Tuesday Challenge this time, Hope you can come play again soon, hugs Samantha :0)

Sandra said...

This is gorgeous:) Sandra H

Deneen said...

Great guy card, love how you layered the star behind the image. Thanks for joining the Mystical, Magical, Fantasy Challenge at Top Tip Tuesday.

WencheP said...

What a great card, love it! Fabulous image. Thanks for joining us at Do You Stack Up, hope to see you next week!

Leanne said...

Really great card!!

Thank you for joining us at Top Tip Tuesday! Hope to see you again!

Remember, you can enter 3 creations and 3 tips - 6 chances for prizes!!

Dot said...

Beautiful colouring of your Super-Henry, hi's just WOW!!
hugs Dorte

Ren-Yi said...

Heh - any dad would love this for his bday. Who doesn't want to be superman (mice) of the house? Thanks for playing along with us at DYSU.

Pauline said...

This is fabulous Carissa, fabulous colouring on this super heroe! Thanks for joining us at DYSU this week!

Frances said...

What a lovely card! Great design and color combo,image is so cute. Thanks for playing with us this week at Paper Play Challenge blog, hope to see you every week. hugs, Frances.

Ann Kristin said...

This is a gorgeous card! Love it! The mouse and the circle behind him look very good together. Thank you for joining us at Creative Card Crew. :-)


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Monday, October 31, 2016

Guesstimates on October 31, 2016

December S&P E-mini Futures: Friday’s big drop was largely retraced overnight but the ES has halted below 2131 resistance so far. If this level holds today the market is likely to drop below Friday’s low at 2112.50. A drop below the September 12 low at 2100.25 would be very bearish if the ES spends more than a day below that level.
QQQ:  The 120 level is resistance and a drop below 117 will probably continue to 110.
TNX (ten year note yield): I think a substantial advance in yields is underway which should push the 10 year yield up to 2.50% or so.
Euro-US Dollar: I still think that the ECB’s QE policy will ultimately drop the Euro below par.
Dollar-Yen: A bear market is underway. Resistance is 104-106. Next downside target is 95.
December Crude: Crude is in a bull market. Support at 40-41. Next upside target is 56-58.
December Gold:  A bull market is underway in gold. Support is now at 1240. A drop visibly below 1240 would be long term bearish. Failing that the next upside target is 1420.
December Silver: Next upside target is 25.00. Support at 18.00 has failed but there is a secondary level at 17.00. If this fails too the longer term picture will become bearish.
Google: Support is 675. Upside target is 880.
Apple:  I still think the bull market in APPL is intact. If it is AAPL is on its way to 135.
Facebook: Support is at 120. Next upside target is 145.
Twitter: Breakout support at 20 has failed and this means that TWTR is headed for 10.00.
Alibaba: Support is now at 98. Next upside target is 125.
Visa: Support is at 70. Upside target is 90-95.

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Thursday, April 07, 2016

A Look Inside Britain's Muslim Sex Grooming Gang Scandal

April 6, 2016
For the past few decades, British authorities have been caught up in the pervasive meme of multiculturalism -- the falsehood that all cultures are equal and that to believe otherwise is to commit the worst modern day offense -- to be “racist.”
Under this fallacy, the British government in 2001 introduced a series of restrictive speech codes that criminalized criticism of Islam, followed by a Racial and Religious Hatred Bill imposing fines and even imprisonment for speech that “incited hatred against a person for their religious or racial background.”
These laws have victimized a number of Britons. Hoteliers Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang were prosecuted for “insulting” a Muslim guest. Liberty Great Britain party chairman Paul Weston was arrested on suspicion of racial harassment after publicly reading a passage critical of Muslims from Winston Churchill’s The River War. Dr. Vladislav Rogozov, a Czech-born, UK cardiac anesthesiologist, is being investigated by Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital for giving an online interview about his 2013 confrontation with a Muslim surgeon who refused to replace her blood-specked hijab with the proscribed, operating-theater headgear.
In this context and political climate, with racism conflated with religion – one specific religion – it is easy to see how government and public service employees would fear professional and legal repercussions (up to seven years in prison) merely for speaking up about criminal behavior by Muslims who justify their actions citing the Koran. In this way, teachers, police, child care workers, government officials and others have been silent about the growing menace of Muslim gangs who sexually groom and exploit children in the UK.
In his riveting book, Easy Meat: Inside Britain’s Grooming Gang Scandal(World Encounter Institute/New English Review Press, 2016. 328 pp., $17.20) author Peter McLoughlin explains how multiculturalism-inspired political correctness along with its companion, willful blindness concerning Islamic doctrine, has jeopardized the safety and well-being of children. McLoughlin posits that, since 1988, this nationwide sexploitation has resulted in the shattering of lives of between 100,000 to 1 million girls. The author documents how the fear of being deemed racist and facing criminal charges, dismissal or even threats of violence, has led to suppression of information and a stunning lack of intervention on behalf of young victims. In essence, an extensive, insidious operation that targets children for sexual grooming and enslavement has been covered up because of political correctness and fear of Muslim retribution.
The book’s title comes from former UK Home Secretary, Jack Straw, who saw Muslim perpetrators viewing non-Muslim British victims as “easy meat.” Indeed, some Muslim sex-gang groomers actually blame the girls, some as young as 11 years old, for being purposely alluring and sexually advanced to corrupt Muslims
In his research on Muslim groomers, McLoughlin uncovered an unusual distinction between them and non-Muslim pedophiles. Non-Muslim pedophiles are typically lone adults who groom children for sex in reclusive secrecy, worry about being prosecuted by law enforcement, meet accusations with defensive denial and worry about being discovered, shamed, and criticized by friends or relatives. Muslim perpetrators, however, work in gangs, see nothing wrong with their shariah-sanctioned activities, receive collusive support from their communities and feel they are above the law. During his investigations, McLoughlin found not one case of non-Muslim men grooming Muslim girls, although 95% of men in Britain are non-Muslims.
News coverage of the crimes has been mostly obfuscated by a complicit media that characterizes the overwhelmingly Muslim perpetrators as generic “Asians.” According to McLoughlin’s research, limited press coverage by mainly self-censoring journalists and lenient, if any, criminal charges have enabled the gangs to act with relative impunity since 1988.
The author describes how Muslim flesh-peddlers operate as part of a well-organized extensive network of taxi drivers, shop and restaurant owners, and security guards. Girls, mainly between the ages of 11 and 14, the majority from state-run children’s homes, are ensnared while traveling from school to home, at shopping malls, restaurants, bus stations and similar public venues. They are enticed with flattery, feigned friendship, gifts, alcohol and drugs. Alarmingly, a footnote in the book references a quotation from a city outreach worker with the Children’s Society who states, “every girl living in a children’s home in the city of Birmingham is being sexually exploited.”
McLoughlin makes reference to the staggering profitability of the sex grooming enterprise for the Muslim community. He cites a 2007 expose, Mothers of Prevention by Julie Bindel, a feminist writer and founder of the legal reform group, Justice for Women.
Bindel estimated that a pimp can make $325,000 to $550,000 annually with one 16-year-old girl. From that, Bindel extrapolated that over the average 15-year-per-girl pimping period, the annual value of this criminal activity could amount to approximately £300 million or $425 million.
McLoughlin does a good job of portraying the frustration and desperation of victim’s families who have sought help to no avail for well over a decade from local councils, law enforcement, child care professionals and journalists. Remarkably, for the most part, UK authorities have failed to warn parents that young girls are at risk or to recommend extra supervision and vigilance. No organized programs to educate girls and parents exist and authorities have largely refused interviews with the media on the topic. Teachers and school administrators have failed to secure the school perimeter to stop sex grooming gangs from lying in wait for girls outside of school premises.
The author reports that police routinely dismiss parents’ concerns and have failed to set up surveillance operations at strategically significant locations. Police have even arrested parents for trying to save their children. In one such case, fathers, who were able to track down their daughters and tried to rescue them were arrested by police. In fact, McLoughlin discloses that law enforcement officers have actually returned wayward girls to their pimps.
McLoughlin reveals that local authorities – social workers, teachers’ unions, educational organizations and childcare agencies – have made no effort to intervene or draw public attention to the pervasive threat. He submits that feared charges of racism preclude their mandated responsibility for the protection of children. In fact, the author reports how major teachers' unions are behind an organization – Unite Against Fascism – that blocks the publicizing of the sex grooming gang phenomenon and its Muslim community participation.
In 2008, a taxpayer-funded national education film, My Dangerous Loverboy, commissioned by the United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre, was produced ostensibly to warn and educate girls about generic sex grooming gangs. But no mention was made of Muslim involvement or the victims’ young ages. According to McLoughlin, the film has been difficult to obtain and has not been shown to the intended audience: girls, parents, social workers, police officers, school nurses, doctors, teachers, youth workers, sexual health practitioners. My own extensive, month-long efforts to locate a copy were unproductive and met with denials of the crimes’ Muslim connection.
In Easy Meat, McLoughlin laments the very limited prosecution of Muslim sex grooming and pimping crimes. In the rare instances of successful criminal litigation, typical sentences are minimal and usually partially served, if at all, despite existing sentencing guidelines. Gang members have been known to assert Muslim supremacy, make accusations of Muslim victimhood and racism, and threaten retaliation against the girls and their families. Some have clearly cited religious motivations for their crimes in court.
Astonishingly, few victims receive any special protection during the trials. Protection of defendants’ rights supersedes that of victims, even with child victims. The 1989 Children’s Act, a statute requiring the child’s welfare be the court’s paramount consideration, doesn’t seem to make the slightest difference in the proceedings and outcome. More distressing is the fact that the greater the Muslim population density in an area, the lower the conviction rate.
The backdrop for sexual grooming and enslavement of children lies in Islamic doctrines outlined by McLoughlin. He reviews the pervasive slave-taking history of Islam from the 7th century, as well as Islamic doctrine from the Koran citing Islam's view of non-Muslims, its treatment of women and sexual slaves, and the permissibility of sex with children by Mohammed’s example with his nine-year-old third wife, Aisha. McLoughlin explains how sex as rape has historically been used as a weapon of war to assert Islamic supremacy. Islamic doctrine encourages the rape and enslavement of non-Muslims, even with married infidel women as a legal and moral enterprise.
Further, the required first and foremost allegiance to the Umma, or Muslim community, and the inbred obligation of enmity toward non-Muslims facilitates the pimping of non-Muslim girls and hinders any attempts at exposing its criminality and eventual prosecution. Sexual slavery has historically been used as a religious weapon to advance the domination of Islam.
In Easy Meat, McLoughlin details how the sexploitation and enslavement of girls, once viewed as a great evil in Western society, has become a pervasive, routine, and almost pedestrian part of everyday life in the UK. On this issue, the courageous author effectively deals with the contention that Western civilization is fighting for its very existence in a clash between civilization and barbarism. His book serves as a grave warning for other countries as they consider increased levels of Muslim immigration.

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Friday, September 16, 2016

Travel Back to an Early Clinton Scandal

Voters have the impression Hillary isn’t trustworthy. She’s been reinforcing it since 1993.

September 14, 2016

Image result for hillary clinton whitewater
Then-first lady Hillary Clinton answers questions about the Whitewater land deal during a 1994 news conference at the White House.PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

The question came up this week at a political panel: Why don’t people like Hillary Clinton?
Why do they always believe the worst? Why, when some supposed scandal breaks and someone says she’s hiding something, do people, including many of her supporters, assume it’s true?
The answer is that Mrs. Clinton has been in America’s national life for a quarter-century, and in that time people watched, observed and got an impression of her character.
If you give the prompt “Clinton scandal” to someone under 30, they might say “emails,” or Benghazi” or “Clinton Foundation,” or now “health questions.” But for those who are older, whose memories encompass the Clinton era, the scandals stretch back further, all the way to her beginnings as a national figure.
Seventeen years ago, when word first came that Mrs. Clinton might come to New York, a state where she’d never lived, and seek its open U.S. Senate seat, I wrote a book called “The Case Against Hillary Clinton.” It asserted that she would win and use the Senate to run for president, likely in 2008. That, I argued, was a bad thing. In the previous eight years she’d done little to elevate our politics and much to lower it. So I laid out the case as best I could, starting with the first significant scandal of Bill Clinton’s presidency.
It is worth revisiting to make a point about why her poll numbers on trustworthiness are so bad.
It was early 1993. The Clintons had just entered the White House after a solid win that broke the Republicans’ 12-year hold. He was a young and dashing New Democrat. She too was something new, a professional woman with modern attitudes and pronounced policy interests. They had captured the national imagination and were in a strong position.
Then she—not he—messed it up. It was the first big case in which she showed poor judgment, a cool willingness to mislead, and a level of political aggression that gave even those around her pause. It was after this mess that her critics said she’d revealed the soul of an East German border guard.
The Clinton White House was internally a dramatic one, as George Stephanopoulos later recounted in “All Too Human,” his sharply observed, and in retrospect somewhat harrowing, memoir of his time as Mr. Clinton’s communications director and senior adviser. He reported staffers and officials yelling, crying, shouting swear words and verbally threatening each other. It was a real hothouse. There was a sense the gargoyles had taken over the cathedral. But that wouldn’t become apparent until later.
On May 19, 1993, less than four months into the administration, the seven men who had long worked in the White House travel office were suddenly and brutally fired. The seven nonpartisan government workers, who helped arrange presidential trips, served at the pleasure of the president. But each new president had kept them on because they were good at their jobs.
A veteran civil servant named Billy Dale had worked in the office 30 years and headed it the last 10. He and his colleagues were ordered to clear out their desks and were escorted from the White House, which quickly announced they were the subject of a criminal investigation by the FBI.
They were in shock. So were members of the press, who knew Mr. Dale and his colleagues as honest and professional. A firestorm ensued.
Under criticism the White House changed its story. They said that they were just trying to cut unneeded staff and save money. Then they said they were trying to impose a competitive bidding process. They tried a new explanation—the travel office shake-up was connected to Vice President Al Gore’s National Performance Review. (Almost immediately Mr. Gore said that was not true.) The White House then said it was connected to a campaign pledge to cut the White House staff by 25%. Finally they claimed the workers hadn’t been fired at all but placed on indefinite “administrative leave.”
Why so many stories? Because the real one wasn’t pretty.
It emerged in contemporaneous notes of a high White House staffer that the travel-office workers were removed because Mrs. Clinton wanted to give their jobs—their “slots,” as she put it, according to the notes of director of administration David Watkins—to political operatives who’d worked for Mr. Clinton’s campaign. And she wanted to give the travel office business itself to loyalists. There was a travel company based in Arkansas with long ties to the Clintons. There was a charter travel company founded by Harry Thomason, a longtime friend and fundraiser, which had provided services in the 1992 campaign. If the travel office were privatized and put to bid, he could get the business. On top of that, a staffer named Catherine Cornelius, said to be the new president’s cousin, also wanted to run the travel office. In his book “Blood Sport,” the reporter James B. Stewart described her as “dazzled by her proximity to power, full of a sense of her own importance.” Soon rumors from her office, and others, were floating through the White House: The travel office staff were disloyal crooks.
The White House pressed the FBI to investigate, FBI agents balked—on what evidence?—but ultimately there was an investigation, and an audit.
All along Mrs. Clinton publicly insisted she had no knowledge of the firings. Then it became barely any knowledge, then barely any involvement. When the story blew up she said under oath that she had “no role in the decision to terminate the employees.” She did not “direct that any action be taken by anyone.” In a deposition she denied having had a role in the firings, and said she was unable to remember conversations with various staffers with any specificity.
A General Accounting Office report found she did play a role. But three years later a memo written by David Watkins to the White House chief of staff, recounting the history of the firings, suddenly surfaced. (“Suddenly surfaced” is a phrase one reads a lot in Clinton scandal stories.) It showed Mrs. Clinton herself directed them. “There would be hell to pay,” he wrote, if staffers did not conform “to the first lady’s wishes.”
Billy Dale was indicted on charges including embezzlement. The trial lasted almost two weeks. Mr. Dale, it emerged, could have kept better books. The jury acquitted him in less than two hours. In the end he retired, as did his assistant. The five others were given new government jobs.
So—that was the Clintons’ first big Washington scandal. It showed what has now become the Clinton Scandal Ritual: lie, deny, revise, claim not to remember specifics, stall for time. When it passes, call the story “old news” full of questions that have already been answered. “As I’ve repeatedly said . . .”
More scandals would follow. They all showed poor judgment on the part of the president, and usually Mrs. Clinton. They all included a startling willingness—and ability—to dissemble.
People watched and got a poor impression.
The point is it didn’t start the past few years, it started almost a quarter-century ago. You have to wonder, what are the chances it will change?

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Friday, September 11, 2015

"We Be jaMMin! Muscadines at their prime and apple pie filling jam...

I've longed to can something - anything, for years now and like the cowardly lion, never mustered up the courage to do so.
      I guess I thought it to be beyond the scope of my capabilities and if at 50, I had not already mastered the art, why jump in?

Then my husband bursts through the back door, grabs me by the hand and says "you have to see this!"

Turns out the black walnut tree out back had a hitch-hiker that we'd not noticed until he pulled into the driveway from the opposite direction than he usually does...

These were purple and not green like the ones on the little bush that he and our kids would eat from every year further down the drive.  They were bursting at the peak of ripeness and for one vine, the abundance was impressive.  Wild Muscadines, who could resist?
   Pluck we did and ended up with two full quarts.
He sighed that it would be a shame not to do something wonderful with them only to watch half go to waste by aging in a bowl.

Thus I was thrust into the world of canning.
Thank you Google.
Hmmm, Muscadines, 2 quarts...

sugar,  (5 cups) recipe called for 6 but we wanted to taste the fruit too...

canning jars, lids and rings

And a water bath canner & strainer

Not so intimidating after all, soo we squeezed each grape's innards into one pan and the skins into another...    One by one, took a while - VERY arduous task.

(that isn't water in with the innards, that is all juice!)

After this was completed (whew)  we put enough water in with the skins to almost cover them but not quite.   And boiled the contents of each pan, the innards for about 15 minutes (at which time we cooled it a little and completely strained out all of the pulp and liquid leaving only the seeds behind.  See the bowl with the spatula?  No seeds ;)

 While doing that, the skins cooked on for a total of about 20 to 25 minutes.

My husband stirring vigilantly...

 When tender they were cooled a bit as well and put into a blender on puree for a few pulses.

Then we combined contents of both pots together along with the sugar and cooked down to a nice thicker consistency.
  All that lovely stuff (no picture, sorry - we wanted to get it right into the jars ;)
 went into the waiting jars to about a 1/4" from the top full.
Lids went on clean rims and then the rings (not too tight)

Into simmering water bath which was then brought to a boil, covered and left to boil for at least 10 minutes.

When the timer went off, the jars were lifted out of their bath and they were set to rest on wire cooling (cookie) racks.

All that was left to do (at about one in the morning) - were the sticky pots and utensils

And the next day?

We had the most divine toast with our coffee!

That was quite a night!
Credit:  To learn how to even begin to can Muscadine Jam, we searched You Tube and found a great two part video with excellent step by step instructions here:

So I've since made the jam you see in the top picture (and the one just below) which is an apple pie filling jam and I myself love it HOT!  This would be awesome on pancakes, ice cream, oatmeal...
Doing the Homer drool...


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:TRANSMISSION: The Smiths/ Morrissey night

You've perhaps noticed from other personal works of mine that I LOVE The Smiths, and equally so, Morrissey. So, I was waiting for this night for a while.

Morrissey, as an image, is a very inspiring shape. I love his hair and glasses, and I'm constantly illustrating him. Seriously. The hair. I love it. I had the illustration already when I got the assignment, so I simply stuck in a serif font to recall the album cover from The Queen is Dead. Very simple stuff. I did worry momentarily about the amount of literal white space, but then I had to remind myself that having such a stark image such as Morrissey was impact enough. And it got me quite a bit of notice, too. Thanks Moz, you always come through for me.

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Iron Deficiency

Bean and pepper salad is a vegetarian source of iron and vitamin C

By Caroline Kaufman, MS, RDN

You may pump iron at the gym a few times a week, but your body pumps it continuously through the bloodstream every day. Iron is needed to make hemoglobin, a part of red blood cells that acts like a taxicab for oxygen and carbon dioxide. It picks up oxygen in the lungs, drives it through the bloodstream and drops it off in tissues like skin and muscles. Then, it picks up carbon dioxide and drives it back to the lungs where it’s exhaled.

Iron Deficiency

If the body doesn’t absorb its needed amount of iron, it becomes iron deficient. Symptoms appear only when iron deficiency has progressed to iron deficiency anemia, a condition in which the body’s iron stores are so low that not enough normal red blood cells can be made to carry oxygen efficiently. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency and the leading cause of anemia in the United States.

Symptoms include:

  • fatigue
  • pale skin and fingernails
  • weakness
  • dizziness
  • headache
  • glossitis (inflamed tongue)

Sources of Iron

The body absorbs 2 to 3 times more iron from animal sources than from plants. Some of the best dietary sources of iron are:

  • lean beef
  • turkey
  • chicken
  • lean pork
  • fish

Although you absorb less of the iron in plants, every bite counts, and adding vitamin C to vegetarian sources of iron will enhance absorption. Some of the best plant sources of iron are:

  • beans, including pinto, kidney, soybeans and lentils
  • dark green leafy vegetables like spinach
  • fortified breakfast cereals
  • enriched rice
  • whole-grain and enriched breads

High-Risk Populations

The following populations of individuals are at a higher risk for developing iron deficiency.

Women Who Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding: Increased blood volume requires more iron to drive oxygen to the baby and growing reproductive organs. Consult your doctor or registered dietitian nutritionist before taking an iron supplement.

Young Children: Babies store enough iron for the first six months of life. After six months, their iron needs increase. Breast milk and iron-fortified infant formula can supply the amount of iron not met by solids.

Cow’s milk is a poor source of iron. When children drink too much milk, they crowd out other foods and may develop “milk anemia.” Two cups of milk per day is the recommended amount for toddlers.

Adolescent Girls: Their often inconsistent or restricted diets — combined with rapid growth — put adolescent girls at risk.

Women of Childbearing Age: Women with excessively heavy menstrual periods may develop iron deficiency.

How to Prevent Iron Deficiency

Eat a balanced, healthy diet that includes good sources of iron to prevent any deficiencies. Combine vegetarian sources of iron with vitamin C in the same meal. For example: a bell pepper-bean salad, spinach with lemon juice, or fortified cereal and berries.

If treatment for iron deficiency is needed, a health-care provider will assess iron status and determine the exact form of treatment — which may include changes in diet or taking supplements

Article from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

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