text:
NBA Draft
Draft Home | Draft Tracker | Prospect Reports
Jan Vesely

Scouting Report

With exceptional size and athleticism, Vesely is one of the most intriguing players in this year's draft and will almost certainly be a lottery selection. The Czech Republic native was projected to be a lottery pick last year but pulled out of the draft. He has the rare combination of size and speed, and improved some of his post moves in the past year. Although Vesely has the height of a center, his skill set more closely resembles that of a small forward. He can run the floor, hit the mid-range jumper and put the ball on the court and drive the lane. Vesely also is an explosive leaper and strong rebounder. Defensively, he can cause mismatch problems because of his size, and he has excellent footwork and speed. Vesely is fundamentally sound and rarely finds himself out of position or making a mental mistake. Although he seems to be the complete package, Vesely needs to add some weight. Until he muscles up, Vesely could still be a couple of years away from reaching his full potential. The lack of bulk isn't a major concern, however, and Vesely will likely be a top 10 pick.

Sports Data API Powered by STATS © 2017 by STATS.
Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS is strictly prohibited.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
Pilots pay last respects

Four local pilots paid their last respects to Elijah Hoke Smith Jr. on Saturday morning. Smith, 68, and two others were killed when a helicopter crashed in Clay County in late December during an organ transport mission. Smith was a seasoned pilot who started flying at 16 and flew combat missions in Vietnam, where he earned the Flying Cross, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Smith launched the aviation charter company SK Jets, now located in the Northeast Florida Regional Airport at St. Augustine, in 1997. He and his family lived in the Palencia community. Pilots performed a flyover above his home, returned to the airport and performed the missing man formation over the SK Jets office hangar at the north end of the runway.

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-166-65-126.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-26
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for June 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
What residents of Baghdad have to say

McClatchy Newspapers
Published Tuesday, February 27, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi officials have released few specifics about how they're applying the new Baghdad security plan throughout the capital. But phone interviews provide some insight into how the security plan is working in 20 of the city's neighborhoods.

KADHIMIYA, a predominately Shiite in northwest Baghdad. "Usually we were attacked with 10 to 15 mortar shells weekly, but now and since the start of the security plan, only two mortar shells fell," said Ibraheem Khaleel, 37.

SHAAB, a mainly Shiite district in northeast Baghdad. "Few Sunnis are left in the area," said Ahmed Ali, 29, a restaurant worker. "People are really cooperating with the troops. ... The Mahdi Army now is in a low-level appearance. You can hear them trying to be invisible \u2014 they are afraid of the security plan."

SHULA, a Shiite district in northwest Baghdad. "Our neighborhood is very calm the last week since the start of the new security plan," said Esam Abo Ali, 36. "The Iraqi army, including Kurdish soldiers, is in the neighborhood. They searched the neighborhood and people were very cooperative with them."

YARMOUK, a Sunni neighborhood in western Baghdad. "The main street is very dangerous, especially at midmorning and before sundown," said Mohammed Abdul-Ameer, 47, an unemployed construction contractor. "With both hunter and hunted fully armed, it is wise to keep away. These days the army is everywhere, on the main street, in the roads, as convoys and as stationary groups. Their presence is reassuring, but sometimes, as we say, the protector is the thief. We don't really know that these persons are to be trusted with our lives."

HURRIYA, a once mixed neighborhood that is now largely Shiite in northwest Baghdad. "When the new security plan started, nothing really changed except for an additional police checkpoint," said Nazar, a 36-year-old resident who declined to be otherwise identified.

ABU DESHEER, a southwest Baghdad neighborhood split into Shiite and Sunni sections. "The Mahdi Army controls the side which contains only Shiite," said a 26-year-old Shiite woman who asked not to be otherwise identified. "The situation is calm in that part. In the Sunni part, the Shiite families are displaced from their homes. Iraqi army, Iraqi police and American forces are searching the area."

AMIL, a primarily Shiite district in southwest Baghdad. "Some of the areas under Shiite control by the Mahdi Army were searched by the Iraqi army," said a 21-year-old Shiite man who asked not to be otherwise identified. "They confiscated their guns. They searched all the houses. Families feel somehow safer now. Some Sunni displaced families from neighborhoods under Mahdi Army control were returned. Those families are protected now by Shiite families. Sunni families still feel worried and scared."

BAYA, a mainly Shiite neighborhood in southwest Baghdad. "The Mahdi Army controls the area; no search has been done yet," said a Shiite woman. "We are still waiting for the security plan. The Mahdi Army still breaks up homes and shops, kills people in front of everybody's eyes. We are afraid to go even to the market to buy what we need."

SHABAB, a mixed neighborhood in southwest Baghdad. "There's no security plan yet," said a resident who works as a taxi driver but refused to be otherwise identified. "Snipers are here and there. None of the displaced families has returned home."

StAugustine AllAccess

Trending this week:

© 2017. All Rights Reserved.  Contact Us


text:
TV show for beading enthusiasts

Knight Ridder Newspapers
Published Sunday, May 01, 2005

A new half-hour show about making jewelry, called "Beads, Baubles & Jewels," is now airing on many PBS stations.

This show has wide appeal, with projects from leading designers to inspire needleworkers and home-sewers as well as jewelry makers.

A frequent guest on the show is bead artist Judy Hendrix of Trenton, who has been working and teaching in our area for many years.

When she started sewing beads as embellishment for a needlepoint canvas about 6 years ago, she fell for creative beading and concentrated on the possibilities it offered.

Hendrix has appeared on other TV shows and has been published in several magazines.

She designs modern, bold jewelry, incorporating pieces of dichroic glass into her work.

"I'm currently making the big roses people are wearing, using buttons and beads for my own look," she explains.

Go to http://www.fire mountaingems.com/pbs/bbj.asp for information and local listings.

Related Searches

StAugustine AllAccess

Trending this week:

© 2017. All Rights Reserved.  Contact Us


text:
Pasta and sausage needed to make this quick dish

The Associated Press
Published Thursday, September 29, 2005

click photo to enlarge

Pasta with broccoli rabe and sausage

The pasta and the sausage are two of the building blocks of this quickly made, savory main-course dish, with broccoli rabe as a variable third ingredient.

Broccoli rabe is the leafy distant cousin of broccoli that's distinguished by having a pungent, bitter flavor and smaller florets, and is often used in Italian cooking. For a milder alternative, you can substitute broccoli. For more pepper bite, try arugula, Swiss chard or beet greens. The dish is among "five easy dinners" in a feature presenting recipes and strategies for ideal weeknight meals by recipe developer Sara Quessenberry, in Real Simple magazine's September issue.

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

(Start to finish 25 minutes)

1 pound orecchiette or some other short pasta

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

2 cloves garlic, minced

21/2 cups chicken broth

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 head broccoli rabe, ends trimmed

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

11/2 cups finely grated Parmesan

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the broth and red pepper and bring to a boil. Then add the broccoli rabe, cover, and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Stir in the butter and Parmesan and cook, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Add the drained pasta, season with the salt and black pepper, and toss to combine.

Makes 4 servings.

StAugustine AllAccess

Trending this week:

© 2017. All Rights Reserved.  Contact Us


text:
staugustine.com: Legal Notice #41276531

Published Thursday, October 02, 2008

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given of a public hearing by the Historic Architectural Review Board to be held at 2:00 PM, Thursday, October 16, 2008 , in The Alcazar Room at City Hall, St. Augustine, Florida, at which time comments are invited on the following: APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS to plant palm trees in yard ON PROPERTY LOCATED AT CITY OF ST AUG S1/2 OF LOT 1 BLK 3 OR3122/125 CASA DE LA PAZ B & KNOWN AS 22 Avenida Menendez. APPLICANT'S NAME: George K. Arnold SUBMITTED BY: Karen Rogers, CMC City Clerk L2892-8 Oct 2, 2008

Posted from 2-Oct-08 to 2-Oct-08

StAugustine AllAccess

Trending this week:

© 2017. All Rights Reserved.  Contact Us


text:
Jacksonville officer reports stolen gun and body armor

The Associated Press
Published Sunday, November 25, 2007

JACKSONVILLE -- A Florida Department of Law Enforcement officer has reported that his handgun and body armor have been stolen.

According to a police report, the officer told police that he was walking into his home when he heard his car alarm going off about 6 p.m. last night.

He says he ran to the car and heard a vehicle speeding away, but never saw anyone leaving.

There were no signs of forcible entry.

According to the reports, the officer says he searched the car and found several items missing, including a Glock 23 handgun with two loaded magazines, handcuffs, a holster, a bulletproof vest and a tactical vest.

StAugustine AllAccess

Trending this week:

© 2017. All Rights Reserved.  Contact Us


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

text:
Steadfast FinancesRising Sea Levels: Oceanfront Property to be 'Just' Ocean by 2100

Oceanfront Property to be ‘Just’ Ocean by 2100

Filed in Green Living , Real Estate 4 comments

What could potentially be the most forward thinking, buy & hold real estate investment of the 21st century:

  • sell existing waterfront property (especially low sea level property).
  • buy real estate several miles inland.

Why? As you’ll see in the video:

Environmental scientists expect sea levels to rise 3 feet more in the next 80 to 90 years, which would reek havoc on shoreline countries across the globe. In the US, low sea level coastal areas like New York, Miami, New Orleans, the Carolinas [the entire Outer Banks area], parts of California [San Francisco], Norfolk — all of them could be in serious danger.

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

In other words, what isn’t beachfront property now, will almost certainly be beachfront property several decades from now without some terraforming, dike building and carbon reduction.

The saddest thing: you can almost see the cognitive dissonance in the Norfolk waterfront homeowner’s eyes as he literally says “you just don’t want to think about it; it’s really hard.

Ignore the politics. Ignore mainstream media. Go to a place like Norfolk or New Orleans and realize that it’s just a matter of time before Mother Nature puts this one in the win column.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Posted by CJ   @   26 February 2011 4 comments
Tags : , , ,

Feb 26, 2011
5:54 pm
#1 Joel M :

Here’s what I see happening though, when the oceans rise 1 foot, they’ll put up dikes and dams and whatever other barricades they need to in order to keep the water out. when it rises another foot, they’ll raise them walls … whatever it takes to keep things as they are … I don’t see significant change in the future.

Feb 26, 2011
7:44 pm
#2 Matt SF :

I see that happening as well… save the cities no matter the cost. Unfortunately, I’m not bullish on the idea because Mother Nature has a tendency of winning the war by attrition.

The irony, though, is the money spent will probably be the best example of “sunken costs” in human history. (sarcasm)

Feb 28, 2011
10:36 pm
#3 Dan B :

For reasons that I can’t begin to fathom, my grandparents bought some land dirt cheap outside of Riverside CA in the late 70’s & my family still own it. Since I don’t have any kids to pass it on to, should I plan on cryogenically freezing myself for a couple of hundred years before cashing in when this scenario plays out??

Mar 1, 2011
3:05 pm
#4 Matt SF :

Freezing might be a way to go. But in 30-50 years, uploading your consciousness into the Internet ether might be the more economical way to go.

Leave a Comment

Previous Post
Next Post


text:
King's Bounty: Armored Princess

King's Bounty: Armored Princess

Game won't start
I tried the suggestion of the guy who said to try two changes to the .ini files without success. The game simply won't run. I bought all three of the games in the platinum edition or whatever it's called and tried to run Armored Princess after it downloaded but no luck. I'm going ahead and downloaded the other two as well, but so far it's 35 bucks for nothing. Any ideas? Please?
< >
Показано 14 из 4 комментариев
its not woking for me right now, and i just bought the same deal package
I hope this helps. I have two monitors and have to do this to get it to run. Edit game.ini as the other posters have mentioned, in steam steamapps\common\kings bounty armored princess\data. I change the following:

setf ~screenresoultionx 1440
setf ~screenresoultiony 900
setf ~windowed 1

and last but one at the bottom:

setf ~r_use_adapter 1

If was to hazard a guess it's the r_user_adapter 1 that fixes it for me, it's mentioned in the readme.rtf in the main game directory. I like to set 1440x900 and windowed mode so I can drag the window out to whatever size I want. You /may/ find on launch that you get a blank empty window, just click in it and the video should start.

Hope this works for you, if not reply back with a bit more info about your particular setup, e.g. gfx card, monitor(s) and windows version maybe?
thank you it worked for me :D
You're welcome. You may not need windowed mode... It's just my preference for kings bounty.
< >
Показано 14 из 4 комментариев
На страницу: 15 30 50

Дата создания: 19 мая. 2013 в 21:41
Сообщений: 4


text:
« Lindsay Lohan Threatens to Kill Lawyer | Main | Suspended Coffee »

March 28, 2013

Angry Judge William Watkins Suspended for Four Years Without Pay

Folks, I don't usually reprint other articles on my blog.  However, this one along with the inciting video is worth the read and watch!

Bottom Line: Judges, as well as attorneys and litigants, need to be held responsible for their actions.

From the ABA Journal:

An admittedly intemperate family court judge has been suspended without pay for the remaining years of his term by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

In one angry rant from the bench that has been viewed on YouTube more than 200,000 times, Putnam County Circuit Court Family Law Judge William M. Watkins III repeatedly told a pastor appearing before him to "shut up." And this was far from the only time he spoke to parties using inappropriate language, according to the opinion (PDF) filed Tuesday by the supreme court.

In one hearing, the opinion says, when speaking to a woman who was seeking an order of protection against her then-husband in a domestic violence case, Watkins blamed the woman for "shooting off your fat mouth about what happened," told her to "Shut up!" and then continued:

"Shut up! You stupid woman. Can’t even act properly. One more word out of you that you aren’t asked a question you’re out of here, and you will be found in direct contempt of court and I will fine you appropriately. So, shut your mouth.You know I hate it when people are just acting out of sheer spite and stupidity."

Click here to read the entire article

TrackBack URL for this entry:

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Angry Judge William Watkins Suspended for Four Years Without Pay:

The comments to this entry are closed.

My Photo

My Other Accounts

Blog powered by TypePad
Member since 10/2006


text:
September 28 marked the birth of my new baby, whom I have christened Risk. I was toying with that name in my mind for a while now, but never imagined how apt it would be for my new notebook.

Yes, the 28th. Aside from the September 28 being a somewhat extraordinary date to me (again, Happy Birthday, Egay!, but no, it has nothing to do with her birthday!), we set out to Gilmore Ave., mecca of all things computers, to buy a laptop just as typhoon Milenyo hit the city. The lack of electricity made it no easier but we waited for the owner of PC Corner to arrive and explain the deal.

A few days ago, my plan was straightforward: consolidate my funds then proceed to PC Corner to snap up that Acer Aspire 5583 WXMI. A few months ago I had been eyeing a similar model, the Acer TravelMate 3282 WXMI, but the newer one already had Core 2 Duo. It was rare to find that in a laptop with a host of other great specs and a very competitive price.

But the last Acer Aspire was sold on the night of the 27th. We scrambled to look for an alternative dealer but the model wasn’t going to be shipped to the country for another few days. (I later found out PC Corner got their supply from Hong Kong.) We returned to PC Corner to see the owner’s other options for me.

When he finally arrived, he wasted no time and lined the notebooks up in front of me. He scribbled down a side-by-side comparison of the options I had: an Asus S96J, a Blue M636, and a Dell E1405. He picked them based on the specs I was keen about: a Core 2 Duo processor, video memory to speak of, and a reasonable price.

If you know me and you’ve listened to me get stressed over laptops the past few months, you’d know which one I eliminated first. Yep, the one with shared video memory (Dell). So it was a toss-up the one oozing with machismo (fifteen inches is, uh, too big and uncomfortable), and the runaway winner with respect to specs. Yeah, I’m an under-the-hood person too. If I weren’t so picky I would have bought the much cheaper MacBook and enjoyed the fact that I finally own a Mac. It’s on my life’s to-do list, after all. Right now, however, it’s about being updated with the latest with the most reasonable amount of cash I can muster, especially with Vista already winking at us. (No, the M$-Sux0r thing does not apply here. It’s about how that drastically higher set of system requirements will influence everything else in the future, just like what XP did.)

Note: I believe this is definitely a custom set of specifications for the Blue line since I have not seen a Blue notebook advertised as such. It’s very new, I think.

Blue M636/A737 Platform
Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 2.16 Ghz 4MB 667Mhz FSB
1 GB DDR2 Dual-Channel RAM
NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 256 MB Video RAM
IntelÂ® 945PM Express Chipset
IntelÂ® Pro-Wireless 3945 a/b/g Card
80 GB Hard Disk Drive
DVD Writer DVD-RW and DVD-R Dual Layer
10/100/1000 Mbps LAN
Firewire Port
3 USB Ports
Card Reader
Fingerprint Scanner
Windows XP Professional COA

To make matters more complicated, the “more” ideal setup cost five thousand more than my projected budget, which paid for the dual-channel memory. The shop owner made things even more “attractive” when he threw in a bundle of freebies (flash drive, webcam, mouse, speakers, headset, Bluetooth dongle, etc.).

I thought I’d finally become a branded laptop owner with the Acer, but I knew that the Blue notebook was worth the risk. I’m still crossing my fingers and hoping it’ll work as smoothly as possible.

More Risks

Taking a chance with an unknown notebook brand had risk written all over it, but that was only part of the story of the name. The storm had gotten worse along Gilmore while the technicians were struggling to install WinXP on the notebook with close-to-nil power. When the battery finally gave up, we remained stranded in Gilmore IT Center; we could literally see an ipo-ipo forming and reforming in front of us; most of us could only watch in awe behind the thin glass doors how it whipped objects around, including motorcycles. We let the winds weaken a bit by having lunch at a small Japanese restaurant slash grocery (I’ve never tasted oriental cuisine that strong but maybe I wasn’t in the mood to experiment). Even in that warm place we could still see how the winds rattled the walls of the shop and battered the poor plants outside.

After a quick nap there (I couldn’t help it; I had no sleep for more than 24 hours) we left Gilmore with difficulty. If the roads weren’t flooded half a car deep, they were blocked by fallen, uprooted trees. The car even stalled when we almost ran out of gasoline and it took a while to find a station that had electricity to fuel the vehicles.

It would take days before the electricity, telephone, and DSL would come back, and because Risk had lost all power after the installation, I might as well have waited a week for that Acer Aspire. But we were all crazy enough to go out during the biggest storm to hit Manila in over a decade. Crazy enough to go mall-hopping despite low power and high heat there. (Just outside the Mall of Asia compound, cars were lining up to get their tanks filled up at a gasoline station. The staggering number of vehicles scrambling to finally get gas overflowed into the streets was like some surreal scene from Cars.)

Moving House

If Risk were a house, the right term would be “I’m still moving in” despite the days that have passed. I’ve finished moving my 12 gig file folder via local Ethernet but I’m still fixing the wireless router to share the internet to this notebook so we won’t have to fight over the desktop PC anymore. I hope I get comfortable with Risk quickly.

30 replies

  1. Thanks! It’s still a work in progress. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied with it, though. I’m struggling to balance the personal-blog look and the, uh, non-personal-blog look. ^^;

    Reply to this

  2. More than just two things, you mean. :D Happy birthday Egay! Haha. LAN party? Weren’t the flash disks enough? Kidding. I’ll probably shoot myself in the foot when I hear of a MacBook (or some low-end Mac) with discrete video. Grr.

    Reply to this

  3. racket, job, career, scam, whatever you call it. quote ko lang si Geo:

    “…Coz I believe you and Phillip are not available at nights?…”

    you know how my mind works >:D don’t even get me started on that “LAN party”

    “weren’t the flash disks… enough?”

    Reply to this

  4. Pingback: The 27-Gigabyte Culprit * stellify.net

  5. “I’ll probably shoot myself in the foot when I hear of a MacBook (or some low-end Mac) with discrete video. Grr.”

    I hear they’re coming out with a Core 2 Duo MacBook. :P

    Oh, my old PowerBook does have discrete video. How discrete do you want it to be? :P

    Reply to this

  6. “I’ll probably shoot myself in the foot when I hear of a MacBook (or some low-end Mac) with discrete video. Grr.”

    I hear they’re coming out with a Core 2 Duo MacBook. :P

    Oh, my old PowerBook does have discrete video. How discrete do you want it to be? :P

    Core 2 Duo MacBook? You just said the magic words. Now I’ll have to stop myself from bleeding in the foot.

    Discrete? You know what I mean! 256 MB is quickly becoming obsolete!

    Reply to this

  7. Pingback: Stellified Laptop, Laptop of Stellify » Crimson Crux

  8. Hi,

    I’m also interested in the Acer Aspire 5583WXMI Core 2 duo. I googled it and found your website. Your Risk tale is very interesting. I wonder, is it performing as expected? Do you think I could get a similar deal from PC Corner? Is the owner a friend of yours?

    Reply to this

  9. Well, I didn’t get the Acer, but they should have stock for that (it seems they’ve got good contacts with that particular model!). Try calling them or visiting their store to find out if they still have it; it’s quite new anyway. I do think that model is a dream come true, and for a branded computer it’s a steal.

    Is it performing as expected? Well, again, I’m referring to the Blue brand here: yes, it’s pretty good so far. And about the owner, we’re not friends, haha. He’s not always at the store but it’s better if you talk to him as he can explain everything you need to know. While you’re online, try contacting pccorner_help via Yahoo Messenger if you can’t go to the store at the moment.

    Thanks for dropping by!

    Reply to this

  10. Thanks for your reply. Actually, I’ve found a store which has the Acer but I was intrigued by the Blue that you described. It has better specs than the off the shelf Acer. Is the suggested retail price the same or close? Thanks again

    Reply to this

  11. Actually, yes, the specs are better in terms of the processor speed and the dual-channel memory. You’ll have to look at the specs carefully though (Blue doesn’t have Bluetooth I think). As for the price, you can look at Laptop King for the SRPs. Those are the prices more or less, except that I was given a different offer for the Asus and the Dell at that time. :D

    Reply to this

  12. Impressive specs! However, I do not really recommend getting a Core 2 Duo just yet – until the FSB has been bumped up, which won’t be until Q1 of 2007. The Core Duo will suffice and considering that the price difference is significant, you may be better off getting more RAM.

    Anyway, Intel’s next offering will include the Core 2Duo, 800MHz FSB (which is what the C2D needs to run optimally), 1GB NAND flash (for faster boot-up) and Nokia’s HSDPA. Quite impressive, huh? Am waiting for this setup as well as Mac OS X Leopard before I upgrade my MacBook Pro.

    Reply to this

  13. Yes I’ve heard. But I’ve been pushing myself as much as possible to wait for the best specs I can muster without sacrificing productivity in work. But come September 28, the desktop conked out, most likely due to the storm–even if it had a surge protector. So, yes, I couldn’t wait any longer.

    And as I’ve mentioned, the Core 2 Duo Acer was a much better deal than its Core Duo counterpart, but since it was out of stock, I chose Blue, which turned out to be better than either of them. And again, the discrete video topped it all off.

    Reply to this

  14. Pingback: Do Laptop Coolers Work? * Stellify

  15. Pingback: Stellify.net Turns One * Stellify

  16. Pingback: What, No Holiday Post? * Stellify

  17. Pingback:   The Joys of Unboxing by Gadzooki

  18. hi, i just bought a new ACER ASPIRE 5583WXMI. I’m glad I was able to purchase it cause as you said, lagi na uubusan mga stores. Anyway, I like the specs that you picked out.. How much total ba nabayaran mo lahat? bu the way, visit my blog din, I’m just starting out cause I had the new laptop na kasi.. :)

    Reply to this

  19. Pingback: Kuala Lumpur * Stellify

  20. Pingback:   Laptop Scary Stories, Etc. by Gadzooki

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:   <acronym title="">
      <q cite=""> <s>   Anything in between < and > will be treated as HTML, so you might want to use character entities if you have to display literal markup.

Technology & Computers - Top Blogs Philippines


text:
Print Page | Contact Us | Sign In | Join
ASU Master's in Education iTeach AZ Online Information Session
View Registrations Tell a Friend About This EventTell a Friend

Become a MATH or SCIENCE TEACHER: ASU Master's in Education iTeachAZ Online Information Session

When: 12/17/2014
4:00 PM
Where: Arizona State University Teachers College
online course
Presenter: Kaitlyn Carr
Contact: Kaitlyn Carr
« Go to Upcoming Event List

This online information session will cover the iTeachAZ (Elementary Education) and TEAMS (Secondary Education - Math & Sciences) district-based graduate programs leading to teacher certification available through the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. These programs are specifically designed for those interested in teaching math or science who already hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Students will earn a Master's in Education which leads to Arizona teacher certification. Students will complete all coursework and student teaching either in the Tolleson Elementary School District, Osborn Elementary School District, or the Mesa Public School District. If you will be joining this session from a public location (e.g. an internet café, coffee shop, library, etc.), please be sure to use a headset or earphones. The time listed is Mountain Standard Time (AZ); please take into consideration time zone differences and the fact that Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time. At least five minutes prior to the session, please go to:

This event is Free.

Registration is required at:

Private donations fund our operating budget, education and research efforts.

Science Foundation Arizona

400 E. Van Buren Street, Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Tel. (602) 682-2800
© 2016 Science Foundation Arizona — Copyright Policy


text:
I have a love/hate relationship with Chocolate.
I know most women would claim the same - 'love it, but hate what it does to my hips!' But see - I don't love it. Most of the time, I don't even like it. And the better the quality of the chocolate, the less interest I have in indulging - not because I prefer the waxy cheap stuff (oh, contraire!) but because the really good imported stuff that's probably made by the bare hands of a little old man in Germany who has been perfecting the craft for 40 years gives me a right good headache.

The stabby, throbbing kind that likes to live at the base of your skull, but frequently vacations to your eye sockets and temples.

But oh, how I love to WORK WITH IT!

And every year, the Card women get together and craft miniature culinary masterpieces of chocolatey delight! With the good, imported chocolate made by that little old man and fondant centers that we make ourselves.

You might not think so, but making fondant requires a lot of muscle! and a lot of patience. It involves boiling ingredients to exactly the right temperature on the candy thermometer: even slightly under and your centers won't set. Slightly over and they're too hard. And once the fondant is cooked to perfection and then chilled in the fridge only just long enough (under and they won't set, over and they're too hard) - you work in the marshmallow cream with two special spatulas. And you keep working it. For like an hour.

we have to spell each other because otherwise our shoulders would fall off.

then you roll the fondant into little balls or discs or what have you (depending on what you're making) and set them out for dipping.

The Dipping Room:

The dipping room has to be 60 degrees - otherwise as the chocolate sets, a funky white dusty pattern appears on the surface. We call this 'streaking'. And, just as streaking through town is considered distasteful, streaking with chocolate is a sin. You want the chocolate to maintain it's smooth brown luster. If the chocolate streaks, it becomes a cull. A chocolate cull is kind of like a leper. It's sent off away from all of the 'beautiful' chocolates onto a plate for the 'unclean'.

'skirting' also makes a cull - but it doesn't resemble 'pantsing' in any way.

The husbands love the cull plate, 'cause they can partake freely without getting a slap on the hand or a whack on the butt.

mint bars - new this year

Other sins of chocolate making:
  • cheap chocolate (the very idea!)
  • licking fingers - this is a sin that will get you thrown out of the kitchen and likely out into the snow. You're only allowed to lick your fingers right before you wash them at the end.
  • saying anything important, witty, or particularly juicy while one of the sisters or mother is out of the room
  • not making a big chocolatey mess of yourself. If you walk away from the dipping room without any chocolate on your sleeves, down your front, or in your lap - you have failed.
  • Being crabby (we all woke up before the sun and have been sitting here in this freezing room for six hours - if you forget that we're having fun, you're fired)!

When you dip, you dip with your hands. Your fingers are covered in that beautiful, smooth, creamy chocolate - and it's better than lotion! You have to get physical with the chocolate to know how it will behave. Again, temperature is key. And ribboning. Your chocolate is ready for fondant when it feels cool to the touch and ribbons when you pick it up and pour it from your fingers back into the pan.

Then you have a window of opportunity about 10 - 15 chocolates long before your chocolate is too cold and you have to warm it and start over.

 mints (the favorite)
Once all the fondants are dipped, we do 'clean up' with the chocolate that's left in the pans. We dump peanuts, cashews, or coconut into the pan and spoon it into cups to make peanut clusters, cashew clusters, and haystacks. Nothing is wasted.

The cleanup:

cashew clusters

I love the tradition. We devote an entire day to the project because the process takes so long - but there's something about being in the same room with my mother and all my sisters, working with our hands with patience and precision to make something beautiful and tasty for others, gossiping and reminiscing - it feels old fashioned and charming to me. It feels wholesome.

orange creams

Here we are after everything is dipped and we are counting the chocolates to divide amongst ourselves (you might be able to see the hundred-thousand-dollar bars and the almond joys we also made).

We make these chocolates to give away to those on our really super nice list - though we usually share a few with our husbands (who, after all, had to live without us for an entire day!).

Even though the mere smell of that rich chocolate makes my head throb, I still love it because of this one day every year.

My favorite: almond joy
Bill's favorite: 100 thousand dollar bars
Wyatt's favorite: anything involving chocolate

PS: in case you are appalled by my sorry situation: my aversion to chocolate does not extend to cake or ice cream - both of which I enjoy with great relish. Mostly chocolate cake donuts. The kind with the white icing and the coconut on top. Oh, good gravy, I love those things.

Nae said...

MARVELOUS! Those pictures sucked me right into a dipping day! I sure love our family.

Grandpa Rusty said...

Ooh, those nasty culls. They are horrid things. Their oh-so-visible deformities cause shunning of the first order - they must be isolated, hidden, utterly destroyed.

I am the destroyer...

That Girl said...

That is all I have to say.

Queen Scarlett said...

OH MY ... that's heaven. ;-) guides on how to do this? Supplies??


text:
Thursday, May 2, 2013

Our last Port of call was the Bahamas!!  Again, we didn't have anything planned so we just went with the flow!  This day we didn't get into port til 1PM which was different than the other days.  So, we just got off and wound up going to a beach!!
Playing mini golf on the ship before we got to port...

 This random beach we wound up at...beautiful!!

 Heading back to the ship.
 Last sunset!
To be continued...

No comments:


text:
Screaming Performance

steveclason-pagespeedThe theme used on this site, “SwingYourPartner” (that’s what popped into my head) was built to maximize page performance. The screen-shot shows the current score on Page Speed Insights. The two Font Awesome files mentioned as things to improve are served by the CDN without expiration directives in the header, and although I could work around that by serving local copies, the advantages of the CDN outweigh the Page Speed Insights ‘score’, to my mind, because the site is fast, loading in about 2 seconds.

Here’s what it took:

  • No images in the template files;
  • All content, including widgets and navigation, is coded in static html except the WordPress loop;
  • The stylesheet, small to begin with, is minified and inserted into the html header;
  • Careful use of WP Super Cache;
  • Images in Posts and Pages are compressed and served with a “scrset”;
  • JavaScript use is minimal and no libraries (jQuery, for example) are used;
  • Content features are built into the theme rather than using plugins;
  • System fonts are used initially then swapped when custom fonts finish loading, using Font Face Observer;


text:
Tag Archives: strategy

Public Relations Isn’t the Cherry on Top

April 23, 2012

1 Comment

Photo courtesy of Flickr user SeRVe Photography

"Let's bring PR in so they'll get us some media coverage for the new launch!"

"Let's make sure we have PR look this over to make us sound better."

"Can you have PR develop a plan to make sure the public thinks we're awesome?"

"Our customers keep complaining about our product – can we get PR in here to help drown that out with good stuff instead?"

"No one is following our Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Foursquare account – can PR go get us more fans/followers/likes/subscribers/friends?"

We've all heard these things at one point or another in our career because people continue to misunderstand what public relations is. Despite coming up with new definitions, there continues to be a lack of awareness on the part of our clients, colleagues, and friends about what we actually do and the value that we bring to a business. PR isn't:

  • Some transactional activity that's thought about only after the advertising campaign is created.
  • Something that's brought in after the product is completed and you're gearing up for launch.
  • About getting media coverage.
  • About making the public think your product is the best or that your company is awesome
  • About generating "buzz"
  • Something that's going to cover up bigger issues like customer service or product quality

Public Relations is much deeper than all of this. Public Relations is about – you guessed it – building and maintaining relationships with the public, the very public buying your products, walking into your stores, writing about your company, and telling their friends about their experiences. Those users, demographics, markets, and audiences that you and your analysts always talk about? They're actual human beings. Human beings with very loud voices who can, at moment's notice, make or break your business. Your brand isn't determined by what you say you are, but by what you actually do. It's determined by what your customers see and hear from you every day.

The general public has never had more power than they do right now. Yet, businesses continue to try to take the easy way out clumsily advertising, optimizing, and marketing to these people like they're switches that can be turned on and off if we hit the right levers. What most companies don't realize is that not only is the public more powerful than ever, they are also smarter than ever too. Your customers, employees, and partners want require more than a company talking at them – they want a company that talks with them. They want to talk to actual people. They want companies who care about more than selling more widgets. They want companies who think about something other than their own bottom line.

Paradoxically, organizations continue to look at public relations practitioners – the very people trained in developing and maintaining these relationships that are more important than ever – as little more than an afterthought. "Oh yeah – we're going to need PR to drum up some media coverage too!" Smart organizations are realizing that marketing and advertising can only take them so far. As my favorite book, the Cluetrain Manifesto says –

"We have real power and we know it. If you don't quite see the light, some other outfit will come along that's more attentive, more interesting, more fun to play with."

Successful organizations are integrating public relations earlier and deeper than ever before. Instead of being a key component of their marketing campaigns, PR is now becoming an integral part of their business plans. This integration, while more time-consuming, has many benefits:

  • Online communities of advocates who promote your brand not because they're being paid or because they have to, but because they truly love your brand
  • Consumers who are more likely to forgive when you inevitably make a mistake
  • Employees who truly love your brand and who act as an extension of your marketing department through their everyday work
  • People who will pay a little more for your product because they trust you
  • Reporters who call you asking for story ideas instead of the other way around
  • Organizations who voluntarily cross-promote your products/services because they trust and respect you
  • People who will leap to your defense in the face of attacks and criticism
  • A corporate voice that sounds authentically human instead of stiff, hollow, and fake
  • Content that is entertaining, informative, and/or useful instead of screaming BUY OUR STUFF NOW!!!!
  • Issues that never become full-blown crises because of the relationships that have been built with employees, customers, media, and partners
  • Corporate counsel that represents the public, not just the bottom line or the shareholder

The public is more powerful now than ever before and good public relations has never been important for your brand. Shouldn't PR become more than a bullet point at the end of the agenda, more than last department to get budget allocations, more than the cherry on top of the sundae? Shouldn't your relationships with the public be a key component of everything you do?

Continue reading...

The Career Path of the Corporate Social Strategist: An Introspection

November 17, 2010

“The Social Media Strategist must choose one of two career paths – build proactive programs now…or be relegated to ongoing cleanup as social media help desk.”

Not surprisingly, Jeremiah Owyang and the Altimeter Group have put together yet another thought-provoking report chock full of statistics, research, and stories – “The Two Career Paths of the Corporate Social Strategist. Be Proactive or Become ‘Social Media Help Desk.” As I clicked through the report, I found that I couldn’t put it down – it did a fantastic job of putting into words some of the things that I, and many of my #gov20 counterparts have been talking about, not on the conference stages, but in the hallways of events like Gov 2.0 Summit and Gov 2.0 Expo.

The whole report is a must read, and I encourage anyone who’s leading any sort of social media effort, public or private sector, big or small organization, to read it. For me, it made me look in the mirror and contemplate exactly which phase of this career path I’m in, where I want to go, and what I need to do to get there.

Click to see full-size image on Jeremiah's Flickr page

I find myself at Phase 4: Career Decision Point (see graphic at left and on page 10 in the report below). I mentioned this to some of my colleagues the other day – it’s almost like we built this great start-up and are now struggling with how to turn the cool start-up into a scalable business. We’ve  made a ton of progress over the last three years, but as more and more business units across the firm become aware of the new business we’ve brought in, the impacts that we’ve had, and the skills that we have, we’ve found that we’re receiving a TON of new requests ranging from the harmless – “can I buy a drink and chat about social media capabilities?” to the endless time sucks – “would you mind if my team bounced some ideas off of you every now and then?”

The biggest reason for my team’s success isn’t our social media skills, but our willingness to take risks and rally stakeholders from across the organization (page 12). We have 25,000 people spread across the world and in seemingly hundreds of different business units. However, our approach has always been and always will be, that social media doesn’t and can’t exist in a vacuum.  This isn’t something that one team owns.  Rather, we purposely set out to ensure that we’ve brought the folks from our Privacy, IT, Legal, Training, and HR teams into the fold.  As I’ve told many of my colleagues – I’m not all that smart, I’ve just become friends with a lot of really really smart people :).

Over the last year, I’ve found myself less and less in the trenches, and spending more time developing and implementing our overall strategy, and securing the top cover that’s needed for the rest of my team (page 13). Three years ago, I was THE guy to talk with about all of the latest and greatest social media tools and technologies. Now, I’m much more likely to redirect those sorts of questions to someone else on my team as they’re working with this stuff day in and day out with our clients. I’ve discovered that I welcomed this evolution with a combination of trepidation and relief. On the one hand, I’ve been able to focus more of my time on scaling our social media capabilities and laying the foundation so that it becomes a true capability, not just something that I do. On the other, I sometimes miss the day-to-day excitement of working with one client.

Our social media capabilities resemble the Dandelion model (page 15).  Because Booz Allen is such a huge organization that

Altimeter's Dandelion Model

Altimeter's "Multiple Hub and Spoke" or Dandelion Model

encompasses so many different disciplines, we realized early on that there was no way that a small team was going to be able to serve the entire organization (the Hub and Spoke model). That’s why we set out to identify leaders in different business units across the organization who could serve as other hubs within their teams.  That’s why in addition to the people on my team with communication backgrounds, we also have people like Tim Lisko with deep privacy and security skills, Walton Smith and his team with their IT and Enterprise 2.0 skills, Darren West and his team’s analytical experience, and so on and so on. This diversity not only allows us to scale, it allows us to dive much deeper into these others areas of social media that no one team could do on their own.

Internal education is a primary objective of ours this year as well (page 17). Whether through our reverse mentoring program or our new hire orientation classes, we’ve committed to ensuring that social media just becomes something that we do, regardless of team or discipline. It needs to become integrated into everything that we do. This then sets the foundation for other innovative ideas for how they can use social media better in their work.

Dedicated resources are still hard to come by (page 18). While our senior leadership has unanimously bought into the power of social media and have been a key reason for the success we’ve had so far, identifying and securing the right people to serve the enterprise has been a challenge. You see, the people who are the best for this role are also really really good at other things too.  And other people realize that too. Smart, innovative, skilled consultants are quickly snatched up by other project managers, so when the decision comes down to staffing those people on client-billable projects or internal programs like this, guess who wins out? (not that I necessarily disagree – just that it makes scaling these programs all the more challenging).

The end goal remains the same – “in five years, this role doesn’t exist.”  (page 20). I said this last year and someone in the Altimeter study agreed with me. I don’t want this to become something where my team and I are relied upon for every little thing involving social media. The goal is to make this just something we do. That’s why it’s so important that we continue to identify other leaders in the organization and empower them to become another hub with their own spokes. As more and more of these hubs are formed, the need for a dedicated “social media guy” will decrease.  As my friend John Scardino said on our internal Yammer network the other day, (paraphrasing) “I feel like I was helping to lead the growth and adoption of this community at first, and now, it’s almost like the community is self-sustaining and other leaders are emerging to take on those roles.”  I think my role is to help identify and develop that next wave of social media leaders, so that it truly becomes integrated across the firm.

Have you read the report yet? If not, I’d recommend downloading it and as you’re reading it, perform a similar audit of your role in your organization.  You might be surprised what you find out.

The Two Career Paths of the Corporate Social Strategist. Be Proactive or Become ‘Social Media Help Desk’

Continue reading...


text:
Thursday, February 18, 2010

PC Friars

Dad and his brothers used to have season tickets for the Providence College Friar basketball games. As the season ticket prices increased, including a charge "for the privilege of being a season ticket holder", they stopped. Now with two of his brothers passing on, I try to take Dad to a couple of games. We didn't get to go last year due to Dad's health problems but he can get around well enough now. We saw the Friars play West Virginia Wednesday evening.

Technically the first half was a basketball game but I am not sure what PC was doing. There was a passive attempt at defense and no cohesion on offence at all as they found themselves down by 20 at the half.

The second half was slightly different as their full court pressure defense actually was active and caught West Virginia by surprise. They ended up quickly cutting the margin to 10 scoring on defensive turnovers. Their offense continued to be non-functional from a team-perspective. They would come down, make one pass and the player would go one-on-one. If they got in trouble, they would look to make a desperation pass, otherwise, the other four stood around waiting to see what would happen. Occasionally, the player would get fouled. More often than not, he'd miss, WV would get the rebound and with four or five passes get an easy score. The deficit got to just six points twice during the second half but each time WV got its act together and pulled away.

The Friars were at a size disadvantage but didn't play like a team at all to compensate. We are due to return for another game later this season. I wonder what we'll see then.

There is too much hoopla around the Friars glory days. I realize that college basketball is now an event and not just a game. This team did not play anything like its predecessors and the hoopla was embarrassing.


text:
Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Happy Thanksgiving Gang

This year's thanksgiving was very pleasant. It was probably the most relaxed T-Day I've ever had! How did you spend your Thanksgiving?

Thursday, November 18, 2004

Chi>Mad-town>HipHop>Trapeze>Scorpio Party>Chi

I've been on the go every day for the last 2 months. I've covered a ton of ground and I kind of saw this cold coming from around the corner. My eyes felt a little itchy and I started sneezing last Wednesday... and that's how it starts. I knew a cold was gonna come. I braced myself for the worse, but I still fought it long enough to go up to Madison.
My original intention was to help Natty Nation script out a business plan, but then Moona called and mentioned she'd pick up a ticket to Del The Funky Homosapien for Saturday night... and I was sold. While I was on my way up I made the general calls to friends. I didn't see a bunch of people I would have like to have, but the time I did get to spend with friends was quality.
Unfortunately, Moona didn't make it through the night. She was a trooper. We both had colds, but she wasn't about to let her sickness get in the way of her having a good time. Of course, OTC cold medicine and alcohol (vodka & sake) and sushi don't mix very well. She started looking a lil green behind the gills just before our group headed off to the B-more... she made it as far as the side of the theatre before losing her cookies. Even after that she decided to come inside the show... now that's dedication for ya! I felt for her, but I also had to say hello to a ton of friends at the B-more. I'd only taken a couple of pseudoephedrine HCL tablets and felt great until I found out that Justine sent Moona home in a cab.
Later that night, Yaniv & I headed over to the Great Dane where Brother Ali was throwin' down. It was probably one of the best nights of hip hop Madison had ever seen.
Eventually, I made it back to Yaniv's place and crashed. I woke up and headed over to see how Moona was holding up. Instead of going out for breakfast, I went with Yaniv to his Trapeze class. The class was held on State St. on the third floor of what I thought was an office building. Inside was a naturally brightly lit room with white 25' cielings from which 4 trapeze were suspended above a hard pine floor... no net. The class seemed pretty fun. I'm not very touchy feely, and the instruction came off as one of those "reach out with your feelings" kind of events. Definitely, the words that come to mind when using aparatus is form, followed by function (because of my gymnastics background)... however it seemed that technique took a back seat. Maybe because it was a beginners class, they wanted everyone to feel comfortable and excited about it and generally, you don't get that when your instructors are barking at you "Point your toes! Throw your head back! Keep your leg straight!" We'll see what the pictures look like.
By the time we got out of there, I was good an hungry. We had some food and drinks over at the State Bar & Grill and watched Green Bay stomp Minnesota through the first half. After that I finally made my way out to see Aaron & Laduma. As I wrote notes to what will soon be a working business plan we watched the Vikings win the second half, but not the game. Go Pack! By the time the night came. I met back up with Moona, Justine & Yaniv. We went to "The Portal" a new little club off of Willy St. and had some great hors d'eurves, drinks and even a little dance party. It was was a Scorpio themed party w/ a dress code (men wear black, women wear red). We danced. We talked. We drank. All in all I had a good time!
Monday morning Justine and I drove off back to Chicago. The cold has come back in full force and I even stayed home a day to recouperate. I'm down to my last couple of pseudophed tabs, which is fine because I'm on the tail end of the having this cold... I'm also about on the tail end of this stories. Happy birthday to all you Scorpios out there! I hope you have a great year!

Friday, November 12, 2004

Rope-a-Dope New Music Seminar @ Park West - Chicago

Very rarely is there a concert with the capable musicianship to create such a dyanamic range styles and genres. There are a number of different artists on the tour. Some of which I've worked with back in the day, like Charlie Hunter (of which I'm a huge fan). Now mix that with Lyrics Born, Skerik w/ Critters Buggin, Marco Benevento & Joe Russo, Sex Mob, DJs... some more funky crunchy spinners/scratchers.
All I can say is that my buddy Broncho working with the Duo and I spoke to him on their first day of the tour and he said its already pretty crazy. By the time I got to the show Charlie told me that he's probably either flying or driving solo for the rest of the tour... that crazy. I wasn't exactly sure what the problem was. I know a few of these guys (Broncho, Marco, & Joe) and I'm pretty sure I'd get along alright with them on the road.
Before the show started I met up with Suzi around the corner from the Park West for a drink. She was with a group of friends and coworkers, most of which were coming to the show. They'd been prepartyin' for a while by the time I made it downtown. So we didn't stay long before we walked across the street to the venue.
The cellist Matt Haimovitz kicked off the show. The crowd listened attentively as he turned it up and cranked out a Hendrix-ish sounding National Anthem.
Angela & Missy came in shortly after he left the stage and caught most of the show. I'm very glad I got them to come out as opposed to seeing The Roots or Fat Boy Slim (who were also playing that night). They had a great time! And then of course there are all of those people who I didn't expect to see, but was really happy I saw, like Nathan. He was on his way to Costa Rica... and I seriously looked into flying out on a whim to hang in San Jose. I guess that's me!
As the evening progressed, performers would interchange. One of the highlights for me was Lyrics Born with Benevento/Russo Duo playing Bad Dreams, but the night really belonged to the Duo. Marco & Joe went off!
After the show I might have found out why Charlie wanted to go solo. We had "The Party Bus" late night dance party on the tourbus where we pollished off the rest of the catering rider. The night didn't even end after that. We made our way to the Metro to check out Fat Boy Slim, but by the time we got there, the show was over, so we went downstairs where the girls danced... I wasn't feelin' it too much. I guess I'm just not a big fan of house.

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Fast Forward to Present

In the past 2 weeks I:
got back from Venice, CA.
got a ticket to Rome, Italy for Xmas through the first week of January.
hung out with my brother in Chicago! He flew in to vote!
went to some killer Halloween Parties 2004-10-30!
saw the String Cheese Incident on Halloween in Madison (I had a blast) 2004-10-31.
found out that an old friend gave birth on Halloween 2004-10-31!
got macked 2004-10-31.
campaigned in Madison, WI in the cold and the rain 2004-11-01.
sprained my ankle 2004-11-01.
drank at the Weary Traveller 2004-11-01.
voted 2004-11-02.
drank some more at the Menona Terrace 2004-11-02.
saw Arthur Miller's "Finishing the Picture" with my family 2004-11-03.
saw Mike Farina DJ at the Metro 2004-11-05.
saw Particle & DJ Harry Play at the Park West 2004-11-06.
went back to work.
closed deals with Gander Mountain, Kum 'n Go, & FAO Schwarz!


text:
Alumni Profile: Trent Rosenbloom G’84, ’88

Trent Ellie Adena Micah Shayna Huber's Apples 2015

Briefly describe your career after leaving St. Francis.
I graduated St. Francis High in 1988 and went off to Northwestern University, just outside Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. I really loved Northwestern from the moment I first visited as a prospective student. I loved its deep winter snows, the proximity to downtown Chicago and its endless lake beaches, the diverse student body, and its course offerings. I ended up majoring in the History and Literature of Religions, but also focused on French and Pre-Medicine. In my junior year, I studied abroad in France, living in the towns of Tours and Paris. Also, in my very first months at Northwestern, I had a class conflict and had to take a class at an alternate time. There I met Ellie, the woman who would ultimately become my wife, now of over 20 years. Ellie and I now live in Nashville, with our three children, a dog, and a cat.

After Northwestern, I moved to Nashville to attend medical school at Vanderbilt, and never left. At Vandy, I went through four years of medical school and four years of residency training in the fields of internal medicine and pediatrics. I then spent two years of postdoctoral studies to pursue a master’s degree in public health. In addition, over the course of my residency training, I nurtured a growing interest in a field called biomedical informatics. Biomedical informatics is the interdisciplinary academic field dedicated to the study of how biomedical information, data, and knowledge are created, used, and stored during clinical patient care. I was fortunate to be at Vanderbilt, which houses one of the largest and highest impact clinical and academic departments of biomedical informatics in the country, and many of the field’s leaders are on the faculty here. During my fellowship, I began to build a research portfolio evaluating different computerized informatics programs, including electronic medical records, computerized tools to help doctors write notes, and websites where patients can log in to interact with their medical records and doctors’ offices.

I am currently the Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs and an Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics with secondary appointments in Medicine, Pediatrics, and the School of Nursing at Vanderbilt. I am also the Medical Director for a community-based, federally-qualified health center in Nashville. On the side, I am also the long-time race director for the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon, one of the most notoriously hilly road marathons in the country.

Looking back at your time at St. Francis, what stands out?
I have a lot of memories from my time at St. Francis, and many stand out. I remember the freedom of the open downtown campus, allowing easy access to the grit, beauty, and culture of mid-1980s urban Louisville. I remember the varied personalities of the diverse students and faculty members. I remember taking the city bus to school until my classmates were old enough to drive, then hitching in with them. I remember the Dizzy Whizz, Ollie’s, the Galleria, and the little New York-style pizza place around the corner. I remember reinventing myself several times, trying to find the right fit, and I remember having the safety to do so. I remember photon club, and fencing club, and yearbook club. I remember taking pictures of everybody and everything to fill the yearbook pages. I remember loads of little details, far too many to name here, from the kitchen co-op listening to Paul Simon’s Graceland for the first time in the student rec room and finally getting a shadow painted on the wall to enjoying fine English teas while studying AP Chemistry and reading as many books as I could to get credits for English class.

What are you currently working on?
People are increasingly taking control of their own healthcare and health-related information. As a big part of this, they are increasingly capturing health, wellness and clinical data about themselves, using a growing palette of inexpensive and pervasive technologies. These technologies allow people to record, analyze and curate health data outside of settings where healthcare is traditionally delivered, and without consistently involving healthcare professionals. Examples include wrist-worn accelerometers with software that calculates daily footsteps and sleep, GPS-enabled devices that track miles run or biked, web-based health journaling tools, smart online food diaries, and networked weight scales or blood pressure machines. People also use online resources, including portals to their doctor’s electronic medical record systems and social networks to help them use and interpret data both from these technologies and from more traditional medical testing. In many cases, these technologies can complement—or even replace—specific relationships with healthcare professionals.

Interestingly, while these technologies are incredibly widespread and interest in them continues to grow, there is almost no scientific research studying them. Scientifically, it is important to understand how these technologies influence people’s health, their engagement with healthcare systems, and their motivations. Anecdotal information has indicated that these technologies do improve engagement, and may improve health in certain settings, but may not in others. As a result, this area is ripe for research to help guide policy-making, decision-making and resource use. This is an area where I have been focusing my research and policy work in recent years.

How do you define success?
roan-highlands-appalachian-trail-janes-bald-selfie-2Frankly, I don’t focus on success. I focus on spending time doing what I feel is important. Perhaps that, to me, is success. I value being able to go to work every day and find what I do interesting, to enjoy the people I work with, and to walk away with a sense that I am contributing. Sometimes, that may mean spending the days in meetings moving my research forward. Other days, it may mean spending energy via creative thought in writing, design or even statistical analysis. Sometimes it even means butting heads with colleagues as I fight for what I believe in, or work to an appropriate compromise.

However, my job and work do not define me. I find it equally important to spend time out hiking with my wife or kids, exploring Tennessee’s myriad state parks, waterfalls, bluffs and geologic features. I take great satisfaction in spending a couple of weeks each summer volunteering as the doctor at a summer camp in rural northern Wisconsin, and seeing my children’s successes attending and thriving at their own camps. I find it important to take the time to work on my personal fitness and health, trying to keep in shape enough to run a marathon or a trail race. I find it important to have the time and flexibility to take long road trips with my family, whether it be to camp or just down to Chattanooga for a weekend of exploring. I find it important to have diverse interests in reading, cooking, fermenting (breads, cheeses, beers, pickles), and photography. To me, being able to foster these foci and balancing them with a professional life is important to me. Perhaps that is success.


text:
Thursday, 6 February 2014

February Finishes

There's nothing like being inside when the rain is pouring. You pull a snuggly blanket over your legs, set up a good TV show and stitch away. It's one of my favourite things to do. There has been an awful lot of rain recently, so plenty of time for stitching! I have some finishes to share.
First up, I added the finishing touches to my cards. These were both made from various scraps and threads from my stash. I have a huge stock of blank cards too. I'm hoping to actually use some of them this year.

And next up, another finished piece. I put the final backstitching into Dolly's Stroll this morning. It makes such a difference to the design.

As soon as I find a suitable frame in one of the charity shops, this little lovely will be pressed and framed. I'm actually quite sad that I've finished this piece. It was such a pleasant stitch. But that does mean I get to go stash diving in the near future! I'm not sure if I want to spend my stitching time making up a few more cards, or starting a larger project straight away. I'll have a rummage and see what takes my fancy.
I have some Uni reading to be getting on with this afternoon, but you can bet I'll be picking up my needle later on this evening :)
Best wishes to all,

Mii Stitch said...

Your little cards are lovely Becka! I hope you find a decent frame for your latest finish, it is so sweet :)

Sarah said...

Lovely finishes, looking forward to seeing Dolly in a frame

gillyflower said...

The cards are lovely Bekca, and the little girl with her doll is so sweet. Best thing to do in this miserable weather!
Gill xx

Lesleyanne said...

Your finishes are gorgeous Becka. Look forward to seeing your framed piece.

Carol said...

Such cute finishes, Bekca--I don't know where you find the time to stitch with your busy schedule!! Love the cards--I, too, have so many blank cards that I should start using up! I know the recipients will be very pleased :)

Bramble said...

Your finishes are lovely especially the AOY - so cute.
Your blog is great.

Karoline said...

Cute finishes, congratulations


text:
Sunday, April 13, 2014

Goals Update #2

I've spent the last couple months trying to tackle some more items on my stitchy goals list

I started a project on 40-ct linen. Oh my, talk about tiny fabric! I chose to stitch The Queen Bee by JBW Designs. It's such a sweet little pattern.

I don't know exactly what linen this is, but I think it's Sand Newcastle by Zweigart. It's just a bitty little piece, I do know that. What I know for sure, though, is that I am using Black Coral silk floss by Dinky Dyes. I am actually crossing two things off my list with this project: stitch on 40-ct linen and stitch something entirely in silk.

(I wish I'd put a quarter or something next to that bee to give you an idea about how small she is. From crown to stinger, she is less that two inches! Same thing from wing to wing.)

Also on my list is trying new crochet stitches. I dabbled in granny squares, even buying a pamphlet at the craft store. The pamphlet makes them look pretty easy, and everything I've read online about granny squares is that they're pretty easy. But for me, something isn't quite clicking--yet. I know it will someday. *Fingers crossed*.

It's not horrible, it's not great. It is what it is and I am okay with that.

I've also been working on what I think is called the V-stitch.

I've taken to this stitch better than the granny squares, for sure. But I figure I'll be able to conquer grannies eventually, so I am not worried about it.

SewAmy said...

Your stitching looks great! I want to learn to crochet or knit one day. And I love the bee pattern. 40 count gets easier and easier to stitch on the more you do it.

Unknown said...

What a pretty wee bee =). Are you stitching 1-over-2?

Your crocheting is so pretty. I'm not a crocheter, but nothing's jumping out at me as being obviously wrong with your granny square -- what should be tweaked?

Kristi said...

SewAmy, thank you! :)

Unknown, yes, the bee is 1-over-2. It's so delicate! I love it. As for the granny square, I am not quite sure what needs to be tweaked, lol, I just know it doesn't quite look like the examples I've seen. I think I may have added extra stitches in places. Thanks for your kind words! :)

Unknown said...

Kristi, I have no idea why my Google account is showing up my name as Unknown! Sorry about that :P. Got some investigating to do, lol.

aka Unknown ;-)

Kristi said...

Lol, Glenda! I totally thought that comment "sounded" like you! Too funny.

I hope you get it all figured out. Technology can be so frustrating sometimes!

Julie said...

Granny squares took me a while to get right. Of course now I've probably forgotten how to do them. I'm sure you will get it!

I love that bee. :)

besomom said...

You probably already do this, but YouTube is wonderful for figuring out how to make things like Granny Squares. Have you tried blocking this one? Maybe it just needs to be blocked.

I love that bee! I went to look at the full pattern, and I have to say, if I were to stitch this, I'd stitch just the bee and "bee" done with it. The whole thing is pretty, but there's something about just the bee that really appeals to me.

Kristi said...

Thanks, besemom! Yeah, I've tried YouTube. I just haven't found a video yet that has really clicked with me, though I know there must be one out there. ;) I hadn't thought of blocking it, though. I'll have to give that a try.

I have thought about leaving the bee as-is...that linen is just so tiny! My eyes would certainly thank me. Lol.

55ca2dba-1e6c-11e4-b3bd-234cff607c6b said...

Hi, just found your blog through Pinterest, looks fab and I'll be adding you to my blog reader as soon as I've finished here. A little tip for granny squares - pop over to attic 24 where the lovely Lucy has done a fab step by step with amazing photos. I taught myself to crochet from her blog and now there's no stopping me, she's fab, I'm sure you'll love it if you haven't found her already. Mx


text:
• Domestic Missions

    saint jerome-missions logo no year

    Wow!  We've had yet another awesome year serving our Lord & His children in Buckingham County.  Thanks to everyone for making this possible!

    For a peak at the joy we bring, check out our Flash Mob Video at the Dillwyn Dairy Freeze!

    Stay tuned for updated pictures & more...

    Please see our Mission Trip 2011 video to see how we built our faith last year.

    Every year a group of adventurous teens and many adult/young adult volunteers, venture to Buckingham County, VA to assist those less fortunate because of physical or financial challenges. The 2012 annual mission trip took place from July 11 - 18. If you would like more information, please contact P. Eric (Grimm) Palm

    If you'd like to see how you can fit in, please view the Mission Trip Video .

    Adult Permission Form (25 and over)
    Young Adult Permission Form (18 to 24 years of age)
    Youth Permission Form (up to 17)

    Directions to Buckingham VA - Church of the Nativity

    Mission Trip Packing List

    Thanks to all that donated to the Sunday second collection for our Mission Trip on July 8th--we raised over $4000!  The generosity of the members of this parish is amazing!

    Thank you Enrica for the beautiful painting of our Blessed Mother Mary holding the beloved infant Jesus. And thanks to those who purchased tickets to support our fundraising for Mission Trip.  We will be drawing our winner this week!

    Thank you for all those that supported our Chocolate dipped Easter Egg fundraiser -- we raised about $1000!

Joomla Template: from JoomlaShack


text:
Who is sitting next to you?

Do you know who is sitting next to you?

In recent weeks and months I have had privilege to meet, interact with and assist several parishioners who don’t know anyone in the parish. Although their personal situations are different, their commonality is not knowing the fellowship and compassion of the St. Jerome community.

If you don’t know the person sitting next to you, they might be:

  • An 18 year old making their own effort to find a church and avoid bad influences
  • A 25 year old returning to their Catholic roots after 10 years, looking for the spirit of God and a health environment
  • A new mother whose husband deployed to Afghanistan when the baby was 5 weeks old.
  • An elderly woman who locked her keys in her car, in the church parking lot.

They are attending Mass but they also need more, they need a community.

It has been a blessing to meeting these people…now friends, but it leaves me to wondering, how many more people/families attend St. Jerome and they don’t feel a part of the community.

In the spirit of St. Jerome’s hospitality and the Spirit of God, we would like the established St. Jerome parishioners to please make an effort to introduce yourselves to those people you don’t know. Make an opportunity to talk with others after Mass to get to know them. Consider providing your name and contact information and seeing if there is anything we can do to help or make them a part of our family.

Let’s demonstrate the hospitality of St Jerome!!

Share Your Gifts, Turning Faith into Action

faith in action

What is Stewardship?

Stewardship can be a confusing term for Catholics. For many years,     “Stewardship” has been seen as a predominately Protestant term that was synonymous with raising money. When the United States bishops’ pastoral letter, “Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response,” was published in 1992, a new concept was

Read more: Share Your Gifts, Turning Faith into Action

An Invitation to Help Support St. Jerome and Our Community

An Invitation to Help St. Jerome and Our Community

This is a call to all St. Jerome Parishioners to participate and support your community, to be the eyes, hands and feet of Christ. This is a call to listen to the voice of the Spirit speaking of gratitude and responsibility. This is an invitation to Catholic stewardship.

What Is Catholic Stewardship?
Stewardship is not simply making donations or taking care of the building and grounds.
It is a spirituality—hence a way of life—made of four parts:

  • Receiving the gifts of God with gratitude
  • Cultivating them responsibly
  • Sharing them lovingly in justice with others
  • Standing before the Lord in a spirit of accountability

It is up to you to determine how you will live out this stewardship way of life.

Read more: An Invitation to Help Support St. Jerome and Our Community

Prayer of St Jerome and Stewardship

Reflection on the The Prayer of St. Jerome as a prayer of Stewardship. Please read the prayer again and reflect on the commitment you make each week.

Prayer of St. Jerome Community

My church is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is.

It will be friendly, if  I am.

Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them.

It will do great work, if I work

It will make generous gifts to many causes, if l am a generous giver.

It will bring other people into its worship and fellowship, if I invite and bring them in.

It will be a Church of loyalty and love, of fearlessness and faith, and a Church with a noble spirit. if I, who make it what it is, am filled with these same qualities.

Therefore, with the help of God, I shall dedicate myself to the task of being all things that I want my Church to be.

Bless my journey, Lord God. that I might build the Church

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Read more: Prayer of St Jerome and Stewardship

St. Jerome Stewardship

Parish Stewardship encourages and fosters ongoing reflection on the depth and scope of one's personal investment as a partner with Jesus Christ and with the parish community in the mission of the Church.

II Corinthians 9:6-15
God provides "every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work." (v. 8) There is no need to "sow sparingly" and hence "reap sparingly." We can "sow bountifully" and "reap bountifully" (v. 6), "enriched in every way for [our] great generosity." (v. 11)

Do we take time to consider everything required to make St. Jerome the Church what it is?

 We are familiar with the lectors, eucharistic ministers, ushers, greeters, music ministry and even the fellowship committee team. They are STEWARDS of the Church.

The altar guild does the linens and there is also church cleaners, nursery workers, flower team,  catechists, pro-life ministry, funeral preparation/receptions, prison ministry, gardening, and much more. They are STEWARDS of the Church.

They have answered Christ's call and expectation to be stewards sharing their time, talents and treasure.

Read more: St. Jerome Stewardship

Financial Legacy

If you would like to leave a financial Legacy to St. Jerome Parish, please consider naming St. Jerome Parish as the beneficiary on one of your life insurance policies or adding as a contingent beneficiary to an existing policy. If you would like more information or have questions, please call Father Henry or our bookkeeper, Fran.

Joomla Templates: from JoomlaShack


text:
Monday, November 22, 2010

The Battle Isn't Won...Yet

Since I've joined the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, I have been receiving updates on a piece of legislation that will certainly affect all our future agrarian adventures: The Food Safety Modernization Act (S.510). Last week I called my senators to thank them for supporting the Tester-Hagan amendment to S.510. But another round of calls is needed...

"Dear CFSA members: This email is to congratulate you, and to warn you.

Late last Friday we took a big leap forward in the fight to defend healthy small farms and local food producers from industrial-scale food safety regulation. After months of negotiations and grassroots pressure from you, the Senate agreed to insert the language of the Tester-Hagan amendment into the version of S.510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, that comes up for a vote on Nov. 29. Instead of requiring a separate vote, the protections for local, organic food in the Tester-Hagan amendment will automatically become law if Congress passes the “Manager’s Amendment” to S.510. We have come a long way from the terrible food safety bill passed by the House of Representatives last year, and CFSA members have been crucial in achieving in this success!

And now the lobbyists representing the biggest food processors, handlers, and distributors--the huge businesses that have a stranglehold on most of the American food system today, and that are responsible for the vast majority of foodborne illness outbreaks--are on the attack. Those lobbyists issued a letter last week denouncing the Tester-Hagan language and vowing to fight against it.

If those special interests can convince enough Senators to retreat from the agreement reached last Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be free to issue its planned regulations for on-farm produce safety. FDA's rules will likely cover every single farm in the country, regardless of size or market served, unless Congress requires the agency to follow the Tester-Hagan language.

The special interests have a full week to fight their campaign against sensible protections for local, organic food and farms. Don’t let them win it!

Thank NC Senators Richard Burr and Kay Hagan for successfully fighting to get the Tester-Hagan language in the Manager’s Amendment. And ask SC’s Senators Jim DeMint and Lindsay Graham to vote in favor of the Manager’s Amendment on Nov. 29. If you have friends in other parts of the country that care about local, organic food, especially in Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee, please forward this information and ask them to call their Senators, too. To get your Senator’s contact information, go to, and type in your zip code. You can also call the Capitol Switchboard and ask to be directly connected to your Senator’s office: 202-224-3121.

When you call, the message is simple: “I am a constituent of Senator___________ and I am calling to ask him/her to vote for the Manager’s Amendment to S.510, the Food Safety Modernization Act because it includes the Tester-Hagan amendment. With this new language, the Manager’s Amendment will protect small farms and food entrepreneurs in the local food movement from industrial-scale regulations. Local food producers are already subject to state laws that protect consumers, and the Tester-Hagan amendment is vital to economic recovery, public health, and nutritional wellbeing because it allows state government to keep doing its job, and allows local food producers to keep creating more jobs.”

Thanks for everything you’ve done to get our movement this far. Let’s keep up the pressure.

Roland McReynolds, Esq.
Executive Director
Carolina Farm Stewardship Association"

Friday, September 10, 2010

It is finished.

RIP, brave Sussex.

Well, the Speckled Sussex showed up in the garage yesterday. She can walk, but most of the left side of her hind end is gone and/or mangled. The dead flesh is, um, crawling with those larvae that God hath ordained to clean up dead things. The vet hospital I called gave me a protocol to follow for treatment, but it did not kill the critters as expected.

Brave Sussex is peacefully resting in the garage, burning with fever and fighting for her life. She has lived this long, which is admirable, but I am seriously considering taking her to the block and burning the carcass.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I wondered when our first loss to predators would be. Last night some crafty critter made off with two of my hens--the speckled sussex and one of the partridge rocks. Yesterday the pen's position made the door impossible to secure in the usual way, so I used the rope attached to the front. It was not very tight.

This morning when we went out to the pen, the door was ajar. Two birds were gone. We did find some piles of feathers in three places, all of the speckled sussex. The partridge rock vanished without a trace.

I feel sick. The coop feels emptier. And it was my fault! That's the kicker.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

My cup runneth over.

Me: Oh, it's 2:45 already! The Mission Thrift Store closes in 15 minutes. I really have to get there today.

[Jen gets in truck, speeds to town in 10 minutes.]

Me to Lady Behind the Counter: "I know you're about to close. I'll be quick."

Lady Behind the Counter: "Oh, take your time, dear. I'll close when you're done shopping."

[Jen makes a quick tour of the back room, doesn't see anything new.]

Me: Why did I come today? What is here? Oh, that's right, check the front room by the kitchen gadgets.

[Jen rounds the corner of the bookshelves and sees what it is she came to get: a nine-tray Excalibur dehydrator. Jen nearly screams, but keeps her cool. Striding forward, she picks it up and marches to the checkout.]

Me to Lady Behind the Counter: "How much for this? I don't see a price."

Lady Behind the Counter, With Furrowed Brow: "Hmmm..."

Me, Boldly: "I'll give you twenty bucks for it."

Lady Behind the Counter, Happily: "Sold! What is it, anyway?"

[Jen explains that it's a dehydrator that she's been wanting. Only then does she think to actually look inside it. All the trays and their plastic meshes are accounted for. No liners.]

Lady Behind the Counter, Plaintively: "Oh, I've been wanting one of those! I didn't see this when I came in today. My birthday is next week. You could give it to me."

[Jen explains that there are other dehydrators that come through the store--smaller, round ones--that will do as fine a job as this one.]

Lady Behind the Counter, Optimistically: "I will post a 'Wanted to Buy' add on my church's bulletin board. Someone probably has one to get rid of!"

Me: "Good thinking!"

Zack and I thought long and hard about purchasing a second Excalibur. A week ago we made the decision to go ahead and get one from the manufacturer on sale. But then my neighbor Margaret told me about a dehydrator she saw at the thrift store in Waynesville; she'd have a friend make inquiries and report back to me. As of this afternoon I still hadn't heard about the Waynesville one, and I still hadn't "pushed the button" on ordering the new one.

Why in the world would anyone need two nine-tray dehydrators? I've been making lots of yogurt, and I use the Excalibur to incubate the yogurt. But that leaves any other dehydrating to wait. Now, I'll be able to dehydrate in one and incubate in the other. Besides, "Two is one, one is none, and three means you can share." Now I have basic redundancy for my favorite method of food less than 10% of the sale price.

Call it luck if you want. I believe that I am blessed beyond measure by God, and that it's very often the little things, like finding this dehydrator, that remind me of this. I don't deserve ANY of the many, many blessings I've been given in this life. But I receive them with thankfulness and praise to God. My cup runneth over.

May I never love the gifts more than the Giver.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

First Egg!

One of my pullets is now officially a hen. I found a small but perfectly sound egg in the pen this morning when I went to move it. Hooray for chickens!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Flea Market Report

I took several cases of honey to the Tuesday Flea Market and sold 16 quarts. My set up was actually just outside the flea market with clear visibility to all cars and pedestrians coming and going. Selling out of the car trunk was a breeze! My display was invaded by ants briefly; squishing them by hand felt like a round of Whack-A-Mole.

One of the great things about selling face to face is making conversation with interesting people. I met a local blacksmith who offered to teach me about metal and tools! I've always wanted to know how to REALLY sharpen a knife, or any tool for that matter. Now to make the time to learn...

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Still Selling Honey!

Zack and I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday and had pretty good sales. Again, quarts were slow. I will be going to the Tuesday Flea Market in Murphy this week with quarts ONLY.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Farmers Market & ANOTHER Thrift Store Score

Zack and I had a great time at the Murphy Farmer's Market today. We are thankful to Frances Juhlin for allowing us to set up under her tent and use her table. Pints sold well, surprisingly. Quarts were a little slow.

Whilst Zack manned the table, I headed off in search of thrills, er, bargains. My big score of the day was a working treadmill for $25! It's small and pretty rink dink, but it will do the job.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Yogurt Experiment

Yesterday afternoon I made some yogurt with a new-to-me recipe from Ricki Carroll's Home Cheese Making. Pectin was involved. I followed the directions pretty closely, but had a moment of "Did I get this too hot?" Anyway, as I was pouring the cooled mix into jars for incubation, I noticed what I thought was whey separation, an indicator that I had indeed cooked the solids.

Denial is useful sometimes. I put the jars in the Excalibur on 115 degrees and told myself that everything would be fine. Seven hours later, Zack removed the jars from the dehydrator and asked what was going on. Uh oh...

I'd made ricotta, sort of. We put the contents of the jars into jelly bags and hung them to drain overnight. This morning I hurried to the kitchen and discovered that Whatever It Was tasted pretty good! I will serve it on toast with honey drizzled on top.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Thrift Store Score

Some people buy lottery tickets or head to the casino for thrills. I am a thrift store/yard sale enthusiast. There's no price for entry. The only cost is your time and gas. I've built "just looking" into my routine, so special trips are rare. But frequent visits are key; if you're going to win, you've got to play. And of course you're not going to win every time. Gamblers and thrifters know this.

Experience has taught me that there's some "luck" involved in a good day's hunt. Finding something that you've been looking for is great. What is especially satisfying is getting that item for a fraction of what it might sell for new. I think of that as "the kill." But the trophy doesn't hang on the wall in the living room. Chances are the treasure becomes part of your household inventory, and the story is told with pride to other thrifters.

Today as my neighbor and I walked into a local thrift store my eyes went straight to an electrical panel. We've been talking about running electricity out to the barn and installing a subpanel. New panels are expensive. This Sylvania panel was $2. That got my blood pumping. As I walked through the store I found a few other things: adjustable straps, classic milk jars, and... an electric uncapping knife, which is used in the honey extraction process. Never used. In the box. It worked when I plugged it in. I couldn't believe it. To purchase this new would be $98 from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm. My offer of $4 was accepted. And, as the cherry on top, I glanced at the pile of jeans and saw a pair of Ann Taylor Loft in my size.

When you're hot, you're hot!

2010 Honey Crop for Sale!

Woohoo! Time to sell some honey... 2010 honey is $6 per pint and $12 per quart.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

What is an astro-widow, anyway?

When your spouse tucks you into bed with a kiss and then goes out to stare at the sky through a telescope, you are an astro-widow.

When your spouse greets the dog and chickens upon arriving home and THEN finds you for a hug and kiss, you are...


text:
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

SACG's Fourth Growing Season Brings New Sign and Logo

We are blessed at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden in many, many ways. For the past three years, we have benefitted from a beautiful sign painted by a former neighborhood gardener, Dwayne Penny. We have loved his folksy sign, which reminds me of an antique cross-stitch design one might see on a home-made quilt. From time to time over the years, a car would stop just to take a picture of our sign. One photographer told me that she was from New York City and was taking the pictures for a college class project back East. I have convinced myself that pictures of Dwayne’s sign are hanging in some New York Gallery. However, the weather has not been kind to our beautiful sign and the paint was beginning to peel. We had hoped that Dwayne would be able to repair the sign by touching up the paint. Unfortunately, Dwayne has moved back to the East Coast where he has family and a better job as a brick mason.

What to do. What to do.

We have another extremely talented artist whose wife gardens with us. John often joins us on strawberry picking expeditions, came last year to help us clean up the Garden and came this March to set it out. No good deed should go unpunished. When I realized that Dwayne would be unable to repair our sign, I impulsively asked John if he would do so. After all, John had painted the gigantic mural now hanging in COTA’s paratransit facility. He’s a well-known professional. How difficult could it be to repair our simple and small sign?

On Saturday, while Tom and I were building raised garden beds, John and Mari dropped by with our new sign. Ta Da! John created a brand new sign and logo for us that still has elements of our old sign.  It is as bold and playful as our former sign was quaint and sweet. Not only is it stunning, but it is also computerized. This means that we can create t-shirts and bandanas and reusable grocery/tote bags with it. Ahhhh. The possibilities. That’s what happens when you ask a professional graphic artist for a favor.

I hope that you will as excited about our new sign as Rayna and I are. With any luck, Frank and Barb will be able to hang it over the SACG front gate within the week. (Then, I will try to get a picture of John next to our kick-butt sign).   Let the photographers come:)

Thanks John!

No comments:

Post a Comment