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7:45 am ET
Mar 26, 2014

Company Funding

Renting Harvard MBAs to Big Biz, HourlyNerd Raises $4M and Targets ‘McKinsey Moms’

    • “To compete against McKinsey we’re going to need to kill it 100% of the time.”

      Suggestion: You may also try not sounding like you're full of hubris at least 50% of the time.

    • At SkillBridge.co, we are happy to see that there is validation from investors that the independent consulting space is growing. At SkillBridge, we are more focused on creating a high-end, curated marketplace, rather than the low-end work that our competitors have focused on to take on the bigger players like Bain, McKinsey, and BCG..

    • Dear "Guest," I challenge you to find an entrepreneur that doesn't exhibit this type of unbridled confidence in his/her business idea. While it is always prudent to recognize the inherent risks in your business model, it is those entrepreneurs that believe without a doubt they can overcome these risks that have the greatest chance of succeeding. This statement by the founder is not only a promise to the companies utilizing HourlyNerd but also an expectation put forth to the consultants considering participating in this two-sided platform.

    • Is anyone else mildly, if not extremely, offended by the term "McKinsey mom"? There are a lot of independent consultants out there, both moms and dads. But, the generalization that high power MBA moms are creating this marketplace for cheaper hourly labor, sets a dangerous precedent about how we compensate women vs. men.

    • This is exactly what struck me as well when I first read the article! Why are women expected to provide cheap hourly labor, while men with exact same skills get to lead businesses and make millions? It takes us in the wrong direction all together. Women deserve better.

    • Dear Stephen Morse, Ever heard of low-end disruption? If you are curating to compete with McKinsey on their terms, I am shorting you.

    • I wonder how many MBAs from top 15 schools are willing to hire current MBAs. I know I wouldn't. Is there any information on their current revenue? What are the barriers to entry?

    • Not offended by McKinsey mom at all - get a life. It could be dad or mom - the point is it allows a parent to work on his or her terms.

    • On the flip side of the coin, thank god for companies like this one who allow the 'McKinsey Mom', or Dad, a chance to earn money and keep their pencils sharp while tending to family or other demands outside of a typical office setting. Kudos to these kids, and great name to boot!

    • Wait...Skillbridge was in the Highland Incubator....and Highland invested in The Hourly Nerds? Looks like the investors agree with SkillBridgeNemesis!

    • 99designs is a crowdsourcing site - it is not the same as this or any of the other examples. Crowdsourcing is a direct threat to industries that participate in it, and just as we shipped jobs to other countries, crowdsourcing will hurt our country's workers as we cannibalize ourselves to save a buck. The model that hourlynerd looks to have taken does not require people to work for free in hopes of winning a "contest" - it looks to be a true solution to problems professional people and companies are dealing with.

    • It is gratifying to see the venture capital community starting to pay attention to the burgeoning freelancing movement (what I call the Freelance Economy: http://bit.ly/1jJyAqi). This is a megatrend that ultimately will empower professionals to find more meaningful employment opportunities and lead to a more flexible and responsive workforce.

      However, I have to wonder what Highland is thinking. To those of us in the freelancing services industry (Maven, 10EQS, SkillBridge, etc.) rentanerd seems pretty Bush League. Substituting McKinsey consultants for former McKinsey consultants sitting at home on the couch for $150 per hour with little oversight, curation, or conflict screening doesn't add much value. What is special about their approach that would prevent eLance/oDesk from steamrolling them? I don't see it.

    • Congrats to Rob Biederman and the Hourly Nerd team! Quantifye.com also helps SMBs in their quest to hire MBAs that are economical, accessible and on-demand!

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September 29, 2012

Week in Photos

Another week has passed by and I haven't updated this blog again. I wish I could update it daily like what I am doing before.. (sigh) Anyway, here are my photos again from this week.

My cookie monster nails! It is so creepy to have this on your nail because they seem like looking at you the whole day! That's why I think it will be best for Halloween!

My current nail color. White out nails with glitters! It looks like I painted my nails with  correction fluid! lol.
Products used: OMG Nail Colors in White out and Klik Nail Polish in Frosted Platinum Glitter
Camwhoring with my white nails. As always! :")
Current lip products: (L-R) Ever Bilena Pro Lipstick in Berry Rose, Careline Lipstick in Cotton Candy, Ever Bilena Pro Longwear Lipstick in Eager, Maybeline Color Bloom in Peach Blossom and The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Tint ♥

New in: OMG Nail Color in First Date and La Belle Nail Polish in Majestic Blue ♥
Please follow me on Twitter @28allicsirp ♥

September 26, 2012

Shoe Menu

As Coco Chanel says: "A woman with a good shoe is never ugly". Having a new pair of shoes is almost every girl's dream. There is something in it that uplifts every girl's emotions. And of course, a pair of shoes can make or break any outfit so you should be sure you had a good one. Here is every women's guide in selecting each pair!

Are you planning to shop for a new pair of shoes? Tweet this if you do: "I deserve new shoes!"

September 24, 2012

Week In Photos

I am having a hard time to maintain this blog and keep it updated since I got a job. I only have 1 rest day per week and I find it very hard to do all the things that I want to do in just a day. So sorry for those that is expecting so much in here :(
Anyhow, all I am capable to do is to take a picture of me, or anything related to fashion that is in me. I am doing this during break time at the office or when I got home from work. It is also my way of updating myself like what I have said on my last post, since I do not have an Instagram, I will post my photos here :) So here are my photos from the past week:

I miss tripping on my long hair with my trying-hard hair styling so I tried doing it again even though my hair is just shoulder-length. Tadaaa! DIY Sock Bun! ♥
Say Hello to my electric blue nails! Yay!
More photos of it since I just can't get over! @__@
My matching nails and bracelet last Wednesday. Photo taken at the office :)
Who doesn't love camwhoring where there is a mirror? Definitely not me! :)
Blue and violet arm candies. My 2 favorite colors! ♥
Color bursting! Yay!
Sorry for this silly face of mine. It's my gray day! I just unintentionally wore all gray on that day so I decided to take this picture. :)

September 21, 2012

Lancôme 2012 Fall Collection: Midnight Roses

With a 75-year heritage of developing outstanding make-up and skincare products, Lancôme is an international beauty pioneer. Founded in 1935 by Armand Petitjean, the name Lancôme was inspired by the ruins of a castle, Le Château de Lancosme, and the wild roses that grew in the grounds are referenced in the label's motif, a single golden rose.

Ambitious to carry le chic beyond French borders, Petitjean created outstanding Lancôme skincare, fragrance and cosmetic ranges which became the beauty products of choice for film stars of the time. Lancôme's success continues today, with make-up bag musts such as Hypnôse Mascara and the iconic Juicy Tubes worn by a glittering line-up of brand ambassadors. If you know Michelle Phan, then you can be so familiar with this brand.
Michelle Phan for Lancôme
Michelle's meet and greet for Lancôme at Sephora
In case you didn’t know, Michelle Phan is a beauty guru on youtube and a brand ambassador of Lancôme Paris. Honestly, almost all of her Lancôme sponsored videos impressed me. She just did a really prodigious job in creating different looks with different Lancôme products. I mean, yes you make numerous make-up looks with an abundant supplies at hand but only few can create the great ones. And here are the 2 Lancôme videos of Michelle that I really love. Just 2 words: Simple and Elegant.  (Click here and here!)
          And since fall is coming so quickly, Lancôme has launched their Fall 2012 Color Collection. Inspired by the precious purple rose, the collection is infused with shades of purple, the color of majesty, to deliver a uniquely seductive beauty experience. Featuring a mix of blushes, eye shadows, eyeliners and polishes, Midnight Roses brings a touch of sophisticated mystery and glamour using the season’s hottest purple hues and matte textures.

            The collection includes Color Design Shadow & Liner Palette (in Violet Magnetique), Blush Subtil Blush & Highlighter Palette (in Rose Flush, Framboise Flirt, Plum Elegance, Nectar Lace, Peche Savvy, Rouge Allure), L'Absolu Nu lip color (in Prune Mantille, Rouge Resille, Parme Flanelle), L'Absolu Crème de Mat liquid rouge (in Prune Elixir, Potion d’Amour, Magie Pourpre), Le Crayon Khôl eyeliner (in Purple Dusk), Vernis in Love (in Infusion de Prune and Matte Top Coat).
Check out to discover more about this amazing brand!

September 18, 2012

Fashion Inspiration: Cotton Candy!

When I saw this look from Kryz Uy, it makes me go back in time when I was a child, eating and having fun with cotton candy! I mean, by simply looking at the whole outfit, the first thing that may come in your mind is that sugary, cloudy candy because of baby pink and blue color combination. And she really looks like a princess while wearing it. Agree?

All photos are from Credits goes to the beautiful owner, Ms. Kryz.
You can find the original post here.

September 15, 2012

DIY Anthro Strand Necklace

1 1/2″ Wide Ribbon – 3 1/4 yardsStringing Cord, Small Glass Beads, Large Round Beads – 5/8″ (any type), Crimp Beads – 20, Jump Rings – 6, Thread
Start by stringing your beads. Cut an 11″ piece of stringing cord.  Thread beads onto the cording – it will help control the cording if you thread the loose end through a needle.
Continue threading beads until your cord is about 8 inches. Finish the cording the same way you did the other end, with a crimp bead and jump ring. Cut your cording so you have about one inch left and feed that back through your beads.
Continue adding strands and beads until there are five strands on the jump rings.

Make a second group of five strands.  Link the two strand groups together with a single jump ring on each end. It might seem to have made more sense to added all the strands to one large jump ring but I was afraid that they wouldn’t lay straight – that all those loops on one ring might be too much.
Cut your ribbon into four 28″ pieces. Turn up one end of each of the strips and sew the edge down to hem it, about 1/4″.
Turn the strips right side out.  Press the strips lightly.
Push the ring and strands into the casing so it begins to fold over itself. Work the strand into the casing so the ring is about one inch in. Insert the needle into the casing and bring it out at the point of the hem and ring.
Make a few stitches sewing the ring and hem in place. Knot and clip your thread.
Make a knot in the ribbon casing so that it covers your stitching.
Push one of the beads down that are in your casing already up against the knot. Tie another knot on the other side. Repeat for the last bead. So you should have three knots and two beads between them.
If you’d like the necklace a bit longer, you can just knot the end. I like it shorter so I tied a bow.
Tada! Your Anthro Necklace is finish!
All photos are from Credits to the creative owner.
You can find the original post here.

Perfect Red Lips: How-to

For instant sophistication, red lipstick is a girl’s best friend.  We love it with everything from jeans to dresses.
There is nothing more glamorous. Here, we break down the steps to make it last all night.

What you need:

toothbrush or disposable mascara wand, lip balm, nude lip liner, red lipstick, eye shadow blending brush, translucent loose powder and lip brush
Using a toothbrush or disposable mascara wand and lip balm, remove any dead skin by gently scrubbing in circular motions.  Outline the perimeter with a nude liner to prevent feathering.
Apply red lipstick directly from the tube.  Using an eyeshadow blending brush and translucent loose powder, powder your lips to really set the color.
Apply a second coat with a lip brush to smooth edges and perfect lines.
And tadaaa! Your Perfect red lips is complete!
All photos are from Credits goes to them.
You can see the original post here.

September 14, 2012

Shoe Revamp: Comic Book Shoes

Mod Podge, Shoes, Paintbrush, Comic book, Scissors, Newspaper or cardboard

1.  Cut out your favourite scenes from your comic book.  Position them where you would like them to go on your shoes, and then cover the back of the picture with Mod Podge.
2.  Paste the comic book clipping onto the shoe, and press it down so it is smooth.
3.  Trim off any excess clipping, or fold it over the edge of the shoe.
4.  Put a layer of Mod Podge over the comic book clipping.
5.  Continue this process until the shoes are completely covered with comic strips.
6.  Once the Mod Podge has dried, apply three more layers (letting each layer dry before starting the next).

Note: This is a time consuming project.  Give yourself at least an hour and a half for each shoe.

All photos are not mine. They are from Credits to the owner.
You can see the original post here.

September 12, 2012

August- September 2012 Photo Dump

I noticed that I have so much photos uploaded on my Facebook and Twitter account (If you haven't yet, please follow me, I'm begging you! lol). It is usually the daily update of my life or the things that I tripped to take a photo of. Taking pictures has been my habit and doing so is what I am just capable to do with my busy schedule since I recently got a job. Taking picture is the new blogging! I decided to post it here for the reason that I don't have an Instagram account since I don't own an iPhone, plus, I thought these photos is worth sharing here since this isn't really a blog about my personal life but a fashion slash beauty blog. Don't worry, I choose those that are worth sharing. How I wish that would be fine. Yay!

My current nails in Ash Gray. Neutral mode.
My Pinky and Glittery nails. Kikay!
New in my things: OMG nail colors in White out and Bikini, Klik nail polish in Platinum Glitter and Ashley and LDS Bear Coin Purse that I super-super love! ♥
My first nail art ever! Shallow happiness? Maybe. I'm just proud! :)
New in my accessories: Color burst!
Nail polish I've borrowed from Ate Enei. Poor me can't afford to have them!
Arm party! Violet and Turquoise! Yay!
DIY Arm candy by me. Another proud creation, another shallow happiness. I just can't stop myself! Please bear with me. :)
My take on fishtail braid. This photo has so much in it! A fishtail braid, a pink nail, a silly face, and a shirt in violet which is the color to die for!
Unrelated picture? Sorry! They're my office snack :)
My lovely bear coin purse which I've told you I really love and my Ash gray nail. Taken from my table at the office.
New hair products to try for my dry and frizzy hair! Hope these help!
And that was probably my first photo damp! I may post more soon!
All photos are 100% mine! If you want to see more of these regularly, be sure to follow me on Twitter!


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Tag: Viktor Krauss

All the Way to Bethlehem – Donna Ulisse

| December 18, 2012 | 0 Comments

With Christmas quickly approaching, many artists have begun releasing albums full of traditional Christmas tunes. In the bluegrass world, that often consists of such classics as Christmas Time’s a Comin’ or Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, in addition to popular modern songs like White Christmas. Donna […]


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The Long and Winding Tale of Trying to Fix a Merged Listing

This person posted this detailed log of his efforts to resolve his merged business before the new unmerging repair process was in place in the Google Help Forums. He had previously posted this information at Linda Buquet’s blog as a counterpoint to her article about improving Google customer service. It very much reinforces the issues that Matt McGee had and is having with his wife’s listing.

He suffered the unfortunate  but all too common reality of attempting to fix a merge prior to there being a formal process. He witnessed the results of having too many inputs into the system. While it is much easier now, it points out the near heroic efforts that an SMB will make to get this squared away and how the lack of a clear process from Google dramatically increased both his and their costs. And he still has a merged listing.

We have had a Merged Google Places listing with a competitor since 9/12/11 that has yet to be fully resolved.

Our Places page:

Our correct information:
Morris Law Firm, P.A.
111 Second Avenue NE, Suite 515
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
(727) 388-4736
(877) 353-8408
(727) 388-9639 (Fax)

We are a law firm (please don’t hate us) in a large office building with a Suite number for a physical office.  A Competitor that practices the same type of law, in the same building and has a different Suite number that refers to a mailbox (PO Box).  They do not have a physical presence in the building (note that we believe this to be a violation of Google Places terms of service).  We believe that the similarity in address information, phone number, firm name, and category information caused the Google algorithms to merge our listings (and continue to merge our listings).  Also note that we are an AdWords Express customer.

We are requesting any help available to get this issue resolved once and for all.  We are happy to provide any and all information to help identify the issues and even act as a case study for Google and those interested to help others in the future.

We have compiled the following timeline to explain the chain of events, actions taken, and results to date:

ISSUE:  We first realized that our Places page had been merged with the competitor. Competitor information replaced ours for the page title, URL, phone number, pictures (with our pictures), and address information as well as “Comments from the Owner” and “Reviews from around the web” and “At a glance” information.
ACTION: Panic set in. We attempted to make changes (ill-advised) in our Dashboard that resulted in having to be re-verified through a post card.
STATUS: Our listing showed different combinations of our information and our competitors.

ACTION: Contacted Google and later received an email stating the listings would be separated and would take several weeks to see the changes.
STATUS: Listing reverted to our URL and address, phone number still the competitor’s.

STATUS: Listing reverted to our phone number, pictures of the competing business went away. “Comments from the Owner” and “Reviews from around the web” still from competitor.

STATUS: Merged again.  Listing information same as 9/12/11 above.
ACTION: Emailed Google support.

STATUS: Received email from Google “Important: Your listing on Google Places will soon be updated” that contained competitor’s business information to be updated in our listing.
ACTION: We followed the instructions in the email to reject the pending change (Places Dashboard, Edit…Submit).  Emailed support and received reply saying they would look at it.

STATUS: Exact repeat of 11/9/11 above.

STATUS: Received an email from someone on the Google AdWords Team that consulted with the Google Data Quality Team and who was working to de-merge the listings.  Told that it would take a “few” weeks.  Later the same day the only merged data is “Reviews from around the web.”

STATUS: Received two (2) emails from Google “Important: Your listing on Google Places will soon be updated” – information in email was correct, EXCEPT that the phone number listed was our secondary toll free number, not our primary local number.  Also received an email from AdWords support stating that, “… the Data Quality Team has split your listing…” and would take 3-4 weeks.
ACTION: We followed the instructions in the email to reject the pending change.

STATUS: Received another email from AdWords support stating, ” the issue was resolved. It is no longer merged with the other advertiser.”

STATUS: Received another “Important: Your listing on Google Places will soon be updated” information in email was correct, EXCEPT it had our competitor’s URL.  Places listing showing “Comments from the Owner” including his phone number, “Reviews from around the web” linked to the competitor, and “At a glance” information from the competitor.
ACTION: We followed the instructions in the email to reject the pending change.  Emailed AdWords support.

STATUS: Places listing completely gone in all searches. Came back much later in the day after performing the Dashboard Edit…Submit. Still some merged data in the listing.

STATUS: Received two (2) more “Important: Your listing on Google Places will soon be updated”  that had all correct information except the phone number.  Competitor’s phone number still showing on our Places listing.
ACTION: We followed the instructions in the email to reject the pending change.

STATUS: exact same as above, 2 emails – again.
ACTION: Emailed Google support. Received a response they were working on it (again).

STATUS: Competitor’s phone number still showing on our listing.
ACTION: Attempted our own Edit this Place action (changed phone number to our correct number) and received a “Google Maps Edit – Action taken” email, though there was no change on the Places listing – still the competitor’s phone number. Also attempted for the first time to use the Google Places Troubleshooter (we had just noticed it as an option), then we received a “[#XXXXXXXX] Google Places for Business Help” email saying they were investigating.

STATUS: Competitor’s phone number still showing on our listing.
ACTION: Attempted another Edit this Place from another Google account.  Got the same “Google Maps Edit – Action taken” email, but still no change on our Places listing.

STATUS: Spoke with competitor who was going through similar Google Places pains.  He was going to move offices as a result.  Said they would be working to change Google Places address info and/or delete their Places page and start over.  Idea of competitor deleting his listing made us nervous as the listings may still be merged. Still wrong phone number for us.

STATUS: Received a new type of email, “Google Maps Problem Report received” – this time from Reporting a Problem on Maps.

STATUS: Received a “[#XXXXXXXXX] Google Places for Business Help” email from using the Troubleshooter. This one has a new timeline, “We have taken the necessary steps to make sure that your business information will appear correctly within 6-8 weeks.” Phone number remains wrong.

STATUS: Phone number correct on our Places listing.  “Reviews from around the web” still linked to competitor.

STATUS: Phone number reverts to being the competitors.
ACTION:  We use the Google Places Troubleshooter and Report a Problem link again.

STATUS: We receive an “Important: Your listing on Google Places will soon be updated” with the wrong phone number information.
ACTION: We followed the instructions in the email to reject the pending change.

LATE 1/18/11
STATUS: Received a “[#XXXXXXXXX] Google Places for Business Help” it says, “Thank you for letting us know about incorrect information showing on Google Maps. With your guidance, we’ve made changes to our data and the updated information is now visible on Google Maps.”  Our phone number now appears correctly.  “Reviews from around the web” still linked to the competitor.  Our Places ranking has been lost, we no longer appear in the 7-pack.

– Too many ways to report a problem.
– Changes are happening before we can attempt to stop them using the Dashboard Edit…Submit.
– We don’t understand where the changes are coming from.
– Fixes don’t seem to stick.
– There appear to be duplicative emails sent (“Important: Your listing on Google Places will soon be updated”)
– Support is better, but underlying Merge issues still exist.

Our opinion:
Claimed (verified) business Dashboard information should be real time and override all other information.

Any help or comments accepted and appreciated. Hope this timeline and information is helpful to those out there.

Please consider leaving a comment as your input will help me (& everyone else) better understand and learn about local.
The Long and Winding Tale of Trying to Fix a Merged Listing by

15 thoughts on “The Long and Winding Tale of Trying to Fix a Merged Listing”

  1. Wow. Talk about a pain in the you know what! I find it quite amazing how much value is put on Google Places, since their competitor was going to MOVE INTO A DIFFERENT OFFICE! Maybe they were going to anyway, but if they were going to move just based on having issues getting listed properly in GP, then that should be a wake up call for Google. Obviously, they are finally doing a better job, but still… I simply can’t believe that there isn’t a manual way to permanently override the algo. Hopefully, one day, the business owner’s info will be the real authority. If there is a discrepancy, then simply drop the rank of that listing. Or, hey, how about an email from Google letting the owner know that they found other info from a trusted source? Mike, what do you predict the biggest GP change to take place in 2012? If you are a commenter, what do you predict?

  2. @Jason
    The problem then is that you would be sending ONE more signal to Google and could still run into issues with merges and closings…. see my previous post for the current stand and take a position…

  3. @Eric

    Google is in fact sending out emails to let listing holders know that they have found “better” information and are going to change your listing. Unfortunately that process is NOT integrated into the Dashboard and if you miss the email you may or may not be screwed.

    Google now has a manual way of separating two listings (see previous post). Unfortunately the problems that this gentleman had were essentially prior to him finding that solution and he has yet to wait long enough for that solution to really work.

    Hmm… I have said before that only Easterners and Fools predict the weather…and that I think that a similar adage applies to Google… let me see, I am pretty much the fool AND the eastener so … I predict that the biggest change with Places will be …. CHANGE. The rate of change will accelerate as they integrate the product with Plus as they fix the many problems.

  4. Thanks for posting this one Mike. When this law firm 1st made that long comment at my blog, my eyes about glazed over. Such a cluster f#!

    Knew my best move would be to get this one in front of Vanessa and her team to try to put this poor hard working lawyer out of her misery. I can’t even imagine how much time and stress has gone into trying to get this problem fixed!

  5. @Linda
    It is unfortunate that he found the new process so late in the game… at that point there were already too many hands in the stew…. but he is a prototype for what the SMB will do to get their issues squared away. The many emails he was getting reflect that. The new Troubleshooters are a huge step in the right direction but they are still not visible enough nor do they function anywhere near fast enough… If Google can scrape this blog post and put it into the index in near real time, why should it take 4-6 weeks to fix a “simple” data field?

  6. Agreed Mike,

    FYI all Vanessa just replied and since her reply could help others with merging problems that may read this post wanted to add it here.

    Vanessa wrote ================================

    Thanks for flagging this for me, Linda — and @morrislawfl, thanks for taking the time to lay this all out.

    It looks like the listing is appearing as it should today:

    You mention that you don’t understand where the changes are coming from, and we are working to make these edits clearer. You can see the changes happening to your listing on Map Maker: There had been clustering with the other listing, but I see you’ve been in touch with Ashley, and she’s done what she could to clean things up. If you see this happening in the future, e-mail Ashley and she can take a look again. Unfortunately, I can’t promise that it *won’t* happen again. One thing you can try: every day, or every other day, take a second to hit Edit > Submit on your listing, just to be sure you’re pinging our system to let us know it’s up to date.

    Re: too many ways to report a problem. Yes, I hear you. The best thing to do if you’re the owner of a listing is to get in touch with us via the troubleshooters you used. We’re working to make those more prominent in the Help Center, so that other users know to use them too.

  7. Thanks Linda.

    Yikes! This is scary: Unfortunately, I can’t promise that it *won’t* happen again. One thing you can try: every day, or every other day, take a second to hit Edit > Submit on your listing, just to be sure you’re pinging our system to let us know it’s up to date.

  8. First, thank you Mike for taking the time to blog on this subject and provide the visibility, we appreciate it.

    Our phone number briefly reverted to the correct number, then just after Vanessa’s post on the Forum, it went back to being the competitor’s phone number from the merged listing. Can you believe?

    For the record, we’ve been on Google Places from very early on, and have only used by-the-books (and Google’s terms of services) methods in our listing. We aren’t trying any funny business and generally don’t mess with our listing, so it is gut wrenching when we see that with no action on our part that our listing is corrupt (merged).

    I’d like to add this insight regarding some of the comments/suggestions made:
    When we first started getting the “Important: Your listing on Google Places will soon be updated” emails with merged data from our competitor, our listing was ALREADY showing merged data before we could do anything. We then would use the Dashboard trick of Edit…Submit and it would revert back to (mostly) our data – almost in real time (this was around the late Nov-Dec time frame).

    More recently, when we receive the “Important…” email, and attempt the Edit…Submit trick, it has zero effect on the listing. The merged data remains. Mind you, we are checking the status of our listing and email so often that we usually catch the email and perform the Edit…Submit within 30 mins to 1 hr of the email, so something isn’t working as designed.

    (Also note that we have been doing the pinging that Vanessa suggested almost every day – we didn’t know that it was suggested as a fix until today.)

    Thanks again to all attempting to help

    PS – Is there a “Cluster of the Year Award” available from Google or Mike? I think we could be a winner…

  9. DANG IT! It already did happen again! New reply from the atty office:

    Vanessa – thank you for taking a look, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, our phone number is still showing as the competitor’s phone number from the Merged listing. Note that it had reverted to our number correctly between last night and now (2:15PM EST), but it is currently incorrect. When you say “e-mail Ashley and she can take a look again” – do you mean using the Troubleshooter? Otherwise I don’t know how to get in touch with Ashley…

    Additionally, we still have some merged data:

    The link at the bottom of the Places listing (below Reviews) links to the Merged competitor’s site on a 3rd party review site ( – “Reviews from around the web:” It should correctly point to:

    Please explain to us how someone clicking “Edit this Place” or using Map Maker (if that is even what is causing these changes) can override what we have in our Dashboard (which we have never changed). Or is it simply the clusters merging causing the updates to happen?

    Please help us stop the madness. This is a perfect example of what has been happening to us. Good one day, bad the next with no rhyme or reason.

    (Also sincere thanks to Linda and Mike B. for responding and providing visibility to this issue. We would love to help Google by using us as a case study and hopefully help others avoid this issue.)

  10. Mike: I went into the thread and reread along with rereading the article here and comments.

    The law firm is astoundingly patient. Their response is dramatically different from the anger and frustration that dominated interactions with Google for a long time. They are receiving comments from Vanessa within Google and must be readers of this blog and Linda’s.

    Still they have been dealing with this since September. Its now over 4 months. The issue has been identified. But it hasn’t been fixed.

    I have a strong feeling the record and its visibility isn’t critical to their business operations. Otherwise they would be screaming bloody murder.

    Other businesses though do live and die off this information. To experience 4 months of frustration on this process, even as the issues have been identified just baffles my mind. What I continue to see is a entire Google lack of customer service focused on fixing the problem.

    Instead the law firm and other businesses are subject to the complexities of Google’s algo’s and the time frame for google index updates.

    What is missing is that nobody is actually trying to directly fix the problem. Its simply not customer service. Its dependence upon the independent unregulated non controlled decisions of Google on how to present information to the world.

    Today: Search…and Google with its massive market control of the web are a monopoly on the process of finding information about businesses.

    Google is like the yellow pages/white pages and 411 all together. In the past all of these businesses faced some sort of oversight and regulation. Their critical impact on the commercial lives of businesses and individuals mandated that.

    It led to direct customer service.

    …..Remember its now four months.

    There is a fix. Its relatively simple. Its in the nature of most data carried by most industries and businesses let alone data carriers around the globe.

    Set the record as dominant and controlled by the data provided by the law firm. Who knows better than the law firm? Its their business name, address, phone number, etc. They have spent a lot of money securing all of those details. Those details are recognized everywhere else.

    The only place their NAP information isn’t accepted is Google.. More specifically the only place it isn’t accepted is a google algo unregulated unwatched uncontrolled, subject to errors, and incidentally, the monopoly source for accessing all information.

    I know one thing for certain, based on endless examples of this occurring. If the law firm leaked the information to the press such as the NY Times or the WSJ and the press reported the story….the problem would receive an immediate hand fix and would disappear.

    And that would be a form of customer service…not happy talk.

    Anyway, the members of the law firm have a lot of patience…..and we have another example of incredible frustration.

  11. @Dave – “The only place their NAP information isn’t accepted is Google..”. Very well put. I really wish that the last person to verify the account had the ability to override and control what information was showing.

  12. We have had this problem for about a year and Google won’t fix it. They say it will be fixed but is not. Me and the other law firm have joined up and are both e mailing Ashley with the same case no. to try and convince Google to use our user data instead of assuming we are the same company.

    Since the address uses a Floor number (Not a suite number) and a mail room sorts the mail, Google says it is the same business even though the other details like the phone number, are different. We both meet clients and have offices in several locations in the Inland Empire, as we both lease from the same leasing company. That is where the relationship ends.

    I think the work around maye be to add an identifier after the floor number, such as -A, or -B. So it would appear like #400-A.

    So I have added that identifier to the merged listings in my dashboard, and am now planning on spending the 20+ hours it will take to contact each data provider and hope they will also add the “-A” (typically, and Infousa will strip that data out and only use the floor number/suite number, or will remove the floor number completely, so impossible to make all data match across the citation sournces.)

    Bottom line, Google engineers who have actually owned a business, should take over the algo tweeks. The user data should be the ONLY data that displays, not some data Google “thinks” may be better. Problem solved.

  13. 100% Agreed as far as opinion. The merge issue is akin to a virus. If you have a business titled “Law Firm” and even if you are not in the same building, have a different suite number, etc., you still merge with other “law firm”s. I have had this similar issue for almost a year.I 100% agree with the opinion. User info is what should be the most important and citations should reinforce that, not the other way around. And there should be a way to tell Places to ignore or redirect old data that is about the firm that cannot be edited. Sort of like a 301 for citation listings you don’t have control over that are causing duplicates. Anyone?

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2 thoughts on “Updated Web Equity Infographic”

  1. Thanks for making an excellent infographic even better, Mike.

    I’m wondering where domain-based email addresses should fit in. Maybe they already go in or near the bull’s-eye. Obviously, if possible, it’s best to use an email associated with your site for claiming your Google and other listings, in case there’s any question as to ownership.

    Also, I’m thinking authorship and/or publisher markup might fit in there somewhere. I don’t believe all the hype about “AuthorRank” and so forth, but it’s certainly an online asset, insofar as (1) it takes a little work to implement and (2) it affects your visibility and reputation.

    Another stray thought: any merit in including “government business records” (or similar wording) somewhere near the center? This sort of gets into the territory I got into in my “7 Ways to Kill Your Local Search Rankings without Touching a Computer” post, but having “your papers” squared away (or not) can affect your NAP, of course.

  2. Great info Mike, and thanks for your updated infographic. I read the following sentence a couple of times thinking ‘what?’ ha.

    “It is easy to place information on the web but not see easy to the wrong information off.”

    I think your intent was something like “… web, but not be easy to get the wrong information off.”

    btw, the button to submit a comment here is ‘Submit Query’. I think of query as a search. No biggie of course, but you might want to change that.

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text: Simone Barraco and Garrett Reynolds are the latest athletes to be added to the Red Bull roster. Simone could be seen wearing a Red Bull helmet during street practice yesterday and Red Bull announced the news this morning on their Twitter feed. Based on their riding in practice yesterday, there’s no doubt that these two new riders will perform well in their respective events this week at X-Games.


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PAX2 Vaporizer

NIcotinic ACid vitamIN B3(Niacin)

Discussion in 'Drug Testing' started by CanaBliss, Oct 23, 2006.

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  1. CanaBliss

    CanaBliss Registered+

    I heard that Niacin helps clean your system out fast if u take enough.. anyone have experience with this at all? I have 50 250mg Niacin pills and my test might be on Thursday I smoked a few times over the weekend. I also have cranberry juice for purifying my system.
  2. BobBong

    BobBong Registered+

    "Large doses of niacin can cause liver damage, peptic ulcers, and skin rashes. In the high doses used for controlling cholesterol levels (anything above 100mg/day), nicotinic acid can cause skin flushing and skin itching as well as headaches, lightheadedness and low blood pressure. Niacin may also aggravate peptic ulcer disease. Most stomach-related side effects usually go away over time. Taking niacin with food may prevent stomach discomfort. People with a history of liver disease or stomach ulcers should not take niacin supplements. High doses of vitamin B3 (75-mg or more) may cause liver damage. People who are pregnant, diabetic, or who suffer from asthma, liver disease, gallbladder disease, gout, glaucoma, or ulcers, should seek the advice of a medical professional prior to taking this vitamin. Nicotinic acid, but not nicotinamide in doses larger than 200 mg causes flushing by dilating the blood vessels, which can also cause the blood pressure to drop. High-dose nicotinic acid (approximately 3 grams daily) has caused impaired glucose tolerance in otherwise healthy individuals."
  3. crunksquirrel

    crunksquirrel Registered+

    that pretty much sums it up
  4. BobBong

    BobBong Registered+

    So basically.

    You should probably refrain from taking more than you really "feel" like you can. Niacin affects everyone differently, depending on your body chemistry. You probably want to stick to the recommended dosage at first and if you feel comfortable (and paranoid) You could possibly think about doubling it the next day.

    It's a vitamin, so you can't really "overdose" on it.. but you can make yourself feel pretty uncomfortable if you abuse it. So be smart.

  5. CanaBliss

    CanaBliss Registered+

    Alright, I took 5 like 20 minutes ago so 1250mg. So far my head is burning up and my neck and my shoulders. That doesnt bother me tho. I'm also kinda hot. I'll keep updated since it turned into a sticky. Any other experiences or advice is welcome..
  6. BobBong

    BobBong Registered+

    It's got a fairly short half life so you can't just take 5 at once and expect everything to be gravey.
    You need to process it into your system which means taking it like 3-4 times throughout the day until the test.
    Lots of juice too.
    Hope this helps,
  7. yoyoman1020

    yoyoman1020 Registered+

    yeah i was wondering about niacin, too. I could randomly be asked to take a piss test by mom at any time, and I don't think she's going to give me any notice. Is niacin the way to go in this situation?
  8. jdbeier38

    jdbeier38 Registered+

    Niacin DOES work. Infact i smoked THE day of my last piss test. If you have notice...take two 500mg quick release(time capsules dont work because they dont give the full does effectively) 4 hours before the test. Then like an hour or two before your test take two more 500mg's. The first time you take the pills you will burn up, go crazy itching like you need a coke fix, and you might even get sick. But thats why you take it 4 hours before the test. Because when you take it again an hour or two before the test...all the effects have happened already with the last dosage so you get no noticable effects. Sometimes if you look like youve taken niacin theyll make you reschedule. Hope ive shown light on the subject...but im very stoned so i dunno what i just typed.:stoned:
  9. CanaBliss

    CanaBliss Registered+

    Well I guess it works because I passed my test.
  10. Lucifuge

    Lucifuge Registered+

    Some chick gave my friend and I one of those pills in class a few years ago. We started turning real red, he thought he was going to die, lmao. Girl got expelled, we got the rest of the day off.
  11. the image reaper

    the image reaper Registered+

    NIACIN has been used as a THC masking agent since the U.S. Navy started drugtesting long ago (1970s, if I remember right) ... sailors used niacin to beat the tests, and ran around with orange skin for awhile :D ... SO, THC tests started searching for niacin and other masking agents(bleach, etc), and flunk ya if you show niacin evidence too ... :smokin:
  12. the image reaper

    the image reaper Registered+

    you passed because you didn't show enough THC level in the test, or, the tester didn't know what he was doing, or, it was simply a cheap, non-specific test ... the niacin will NOT make you pass any decent drug test ... and, you can take that to the bank ! ... :smokin:
  13. blazinbob

    blazinbob Registered

    really need to know if it works

    yo, im 15 yrs old and my om found out i smoked weed by her boyfriend. they now drug test me randomly, at any time. it could be one month and not the next so i really dont know. i was wondering if taking niacin regularly, like 5 per day or something would keep me from gettring nfound out if i smoked weed once or twice, PLEASE PLEASE respond as i really want to smoke weed. lol
  14. CanaBliss

    CanaBliss Registered+

    I would like to fix my post. I did not pass my drug test. It came up like 40.0. I thought I passed cuz they didnt do anything about it like send me to jail. Although I failed my second one I didnt go to jail becuz the level was lower. I can tell you Nicacin DOES help it get out of your system faster (however faster it may be), but it will not help you pass your test. Now if you only smoked like 2-3 hits, it could help you pass easily. I'd take 8 pills a day. Don't worry your tolerance for the vitamin will go up and you will only get the hots n itches for like the first 2-3 times u do it. If you wanna clean out your system asap id take 14 a day. I took 12 at once and thats what lowered my thc levels by 20%. ANy other questions just asked.
  15. Higher Logic

    Higher Logic Registered

    No, it really doesn't. Niacin's just like prayer, you can believe it works, but at the end of the day, you're just foolin' yourself.
  16. MastaChronic

    MastaChronic Banned

    absolutely not true and i can attest to that
    last spring i smoked a blunt the morning of my test and i was freaking out because i didnt have any bleach to put into my piss. a homie of mine hooked it up with 2 500 mg pills of niacin the period before lunch, i took them both. at the beginning of lunch my skin started itching, then it started burning and my skin got red as a beet. my skin was so sensitive for the next few hours all i could do was sit still and hope nothing touched me. then it went away and started to feel normal again. then i had to take my UA after school and i passed, i passed, i passed, i passed. its the solid truth, niacin made me clean, although at the cost of a few hours of extreme discomfort
  17. Higher Logic

    Higher Logic Registered

    Ok, first of all, bleach in your urine *shakes head* Second, your "proof" is nothing but a fallacy of causation. You're assuming that because you took niacin and passed that it was the niacin that was responsible. Just because B happens, does not mean A caused it. Like I said, it's like prayer, purely coincidental.
  18. MastaChronic

    MastaChronic Banned

    speak what you like, but i know that my test wasnt dirty because of it. if you dont believe me try it yourself. also, putting bleach in your piss DOES work, me and a lot of my homies have done this and got clean tests so unless your saying that we're all wrong at that they were all just "purely coincedental" dont be speaking. i understand that your defending what you said, but im saying that your wrong. its never been proven either way that niacin cleans you or not. i dont think it does, i think it masks it well enough tho.
  19. kknight

    kknight Registered+

    That shit happened to me and I thought I was going to have to go to the fucking hospital. I was at work and my whole body started turning red. I burned and itched and was flipping out. I thought I was having some sort of crazy alergic reation to it.

    It lasted about 30 minutes but seemed like an hour and haven't taken them since. :p
  20. Higher Logic

    Higher Logic Registered

    The burden of proof isn't on me, you're the one who claimed that because you took niacin that you passed your UA. What if you took peppermint oil and passed your test, would you sit here and tell me that everyone should take peppermint oil now?

    You know what niacin does? Exactly what you said it did. It gave you hot flashes, your skin started to itch and turned red. That's what niacin does. Your illogical conclusion that niacin works is known as a fallacy. It's flat out wrong. Period.

    Tell me, when you took the niacin, how much water did you drink? How much marijuana did you smoke up until this point? What's your metabolism? Your age? Gender? Race? What kind of marijuana were you smoking in terms of potency?

    You can sit here till your face turns blue—well, in your case, red—about how niacin works, but when it all boils down, it does not.
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TOM THE DANCING BUG: Billy Dare Into the Uncanny Valley

By Ruben Bolling

Four out of five dentists recommend the TOM THE DANCING BUG WEBSITE for their patients who visit time-wasting websites. The other one out of five recommend that their patients brush their teeth with pixie stix and follow RUBEN BOLLING (@rubenbolling) on TWITTER.

Published 9:10 am Wed, Nov 16, 2011

, , , , , , ,

19 Responses to “TOM THE DANCING BUG: Billy Dare Into the Uncanny Valley”

  1. bjacques says:

    I wanna see an Uncanny Valley Girl!

  2. Jellodyne says:

    Enough with the heavy-handed political allegory, already!

  3. Jorpho says:

    Too bad the Uncanny Valley doesn’t quite hold up to scientific scrutiny.  (At least, that’s the case da wiki suggests.  I haven’t done the research myself, though I’d kind of like to.)

    • The deal is that it’s a sort of casual blanket-term that was originally about robotics, but now covers anything that might be icky about realistic representations of people. It’s not that it doesn’t exist, just that it’s an elegant but imprecise hypothesis that takes the place of less interesting but more specific ones.

      For example, you don’t need the uncanny valley to explain why waxy, shiny skin is creepy. It’s because it looks like a corpse.

      • joeposts says:

        I guess that’s why CGI porn only has a niche audience.

      • Dree says:

        What?  Do corpses have a wax-like texture and shiny skin?  I’ve only seen a handful of corpses, but they did not fit that description.  Waxy, shiny skin *is* creepy, but I don’t think that’s why.  It probably sounds like I’m quibbling, but I think that disgust due to waxy, shiny skin is a very worthy topic for scrutiny.  My undergrad prof might say that it reminds us of plastic, and of being replaced by animated inanimate objects as our animal nature comes back to grapple with survival in modernity (AKA getting right back into the uncanny zip code).

  4. dagfooyo says:

    OMG there’s a SUPER FUN PAK COMIC EVERY SINGLE DAY :-D  There goes my productivity for the rest of the week as I read through the archives…

  5. miguel martins says:

    And yet Tintin managed to escape the uncanny valley by having extremely cartoony faces. ( tintin was the worse case of the whole thing, Haddock was perfect)

  6. bartese says:

    Another bit of joy from my favorite comic stripper.  I wonder…  Is it possible those images are creepy because they seem like photos, but we know simultaneously (due to the slight distortions) that these can’t be real people captured by photos?  It might be about expectations of the perceived medium, and not some “dead zone” on a realism continuum.  We know, for instance, that even a charcoal drawing can achieve the same level of mimetic representation as a photo (although the charcoal medium will always assure us it’s not a photo).  But there isn’t some dead zone on the charcoal continuum that would make us think the image is uncanny, right…?

  7. benher says:

    It’s why I didn’t like FF 13. That and linear dungeons.

    Also, CGI teeth are what always does it for me.

  8. cooperman says:

    It’s the blinking! The lack of blinking! One of the cheapest 2D animation tricks to keep a character alive is to keep them blinking. 6 eye drawings on cycle and you’re done. Think old hanna Barbera etc.
    Also, it’s important during head turns and anticipations, even to speech…It’s an exaggeration of real life. But it works. Mo-Cap don’t usually catch the eyelids. As a result, it’s one big staring contest. Realistic but lifeless. Blink!

  9. LuisDanielCarbia says:

    That box man is the vengeful ghost of Georges Remi, isn’t he?

  10. pluggy says:

    I wish I could see what Quentin looked like in the valley

  11. gpeare says:

    They came back as Mimi and Eunice?


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Farhan Akhtar’s Funny explanations for Marital Discord!

Ahead of the release of Farhan Akhtar’s upcoming film Shaadi Ke Side Effects, a leading daily asked him about a few common issues that arise post marriage. In the trademark funny Farhan style, he gave answers which tickled our ribs! Read on folks!

Toilet seat: Why can’t men put the toilet seat back down after using it?
Farhan: For the very same reason that women don’t put it back up after using it. Revenge!

TV channel fight: Do you fight with your wife over TV channels?
Farhan: Only when she wants to watch something I’m already not watching.

Waiting time: Before marriage, men come and wait for you under your house, but after marriage they come home late all the time.
Farhan: That’s easily solvable. Give your man permission to come late and wait for you under your house before marriage as well. It will maintain the continuity perfectly and everyone’s happy. You feel in command and we feel independent.

Post marriage weight: Prior to marriage, men will only compliment you and post marriage, they start telling you how fat you look.
Farhan: That’s just wrong. There is absolutely no reason in the world why women should start putting on weight post marriage considering there are so many fitness clubs and diets to choose from today.

Mom-in-law: While moms-in-law seem sweet before marriage, post marriage, why do they become a pain?
Farhan: Because too much of a sweet thing is bad for health!

Gifts: Why do men stop gifting their wives post marriage?
Farhan: We would love to, but we usually have no balance left on our credit cards due to over-usage by our loving wives. Also, why try and do something women can definitely do better… i.e. Shop!

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AK 1 day ago
  He's a tough man, all right... :P
Treazer 1 day ago
  Quoting Treazer from Level "A cup of blocks"
It was the right decision to believe in you, ToughMan.
Congratulations for being the only #1 in BLockoban 2! :D
Treazer 3 days ago
  I guess either ToughMan or oldmanrob will be the first to achieve such a score. :)
AK 3 days ago
  It looks like the lowest possible score on this game is now 1551, since the new 19 solution to A cup of blocks has been confirmed! Who will be the first to get it?

I've gone from 24th to 15th! I'm going for top 10!
chris3000 2 months ago
  Well, I've solved 1003 levels, it's going to be a challenge solving the rest. I'll do my best.

I have a ton from Gary, CD, and svartgryning left to solve.
dingdong 3 months ago
  Congratz to you both. It really is the time for completing officials :P
Treazer 3 months ago
  Cool, congrats! :)
gameinsky 3 months ago
  Congrats to you too, Camo!
CamoDragoon 3 months ago
  Same here, just the other day! Tis the season of the solving!
gameinsky 3 months ago
  134 officials down, after 5 years I have finally succeeded to beat every single one of them!
chris3000 3 months ago
  23 more levels and I will have solved 1000 levels here.
Geometrologic 4 months ago
  Wish there were more people.
lmr 4 months ago
  Nice bunch of levels dr. though some are catergorized as harder then they are in my opinion. Keep up the good work!
gameinsky 4 months ago
  I checked the admin page and sent a message the the most active admin.
lmr 4 months ago
  It depends upon an administrator being available. I look forward to seeing them.
drstereos 4 months ago
  I've made like 31 levels and none of them are evaluated, lol
lmr 5 months ago
  and TY Camo
chris3000 5 months ago
  Yes, I am glad to see some new levels. Thanks Omr.
lmr 5 months ago
  Great to see some new levels. Thank you OMR
chris3000 5 months ago
  Yes, over 900 levels complete.

I'm hoping you guys will make some more levels soon.
ToughMan 6 months ago
  Happy New Year to everyone!!
lmr 6 months ago
  Happy New Year
Treazer 10 months ago
  Thank you very much for all the packs, they're really helpful C:
nelson90 10 months ago
  I say YES too! Thanks OMR for creating these packs, I imagine that it's a lot of work!
Treazer 10 months ago
  That would be nice! :)
oldmanrob 10 months ago
  Does someone think we should have category packs? If at least tree people say yes I will do it.
CubixIII 11 months ago
  I'm surprised that those stars in the title logo are useless. Shouldn't you put some kind of mechanic for those things?
lmr 1 year ago
  I too think many are mis-categorized. Some, I can't even figure out at all, and they are supposedly med. or easy. I just keep on trying.
ToughMan 1 year ago
  I have to admit guys, that BB2 is the only game, out the 3 I play most (BB, BB2 and PI), which shouldn't have more than 1 'difficulty' categories (other than kids of course). I struggled many times, when playing a level, to identify which category it should be in (without looking the pre-set one from the editor) and I realized that either most of the levels are not properly categorized or because there was something more simple, that all levels should belong to one category [whatever that is]. Not that it makes any difference but I just wanted to share my thoughts. P.S. We could also exclude 'Big Maps' as a category in the sense that these levels do not actually relate to difficulty but rather a big challenge with more moves.
ToughMan 1 year ago
  Thanks buddy. Glad to be part of this club. As you correctly point out, I am addicted to every game with squares and puzzles....

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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Reaching out from ourselves towards others (Books - The Birds of the Innocent Wood by Deirdre Madden)

The waning days of my winter break have unfortunately been occupied with taking care of The Ragazzo, who has had been impressively sick. Great fun has been had by all and plans for seeing friends, household projects, and museum visits were abandoned. At least I got to continue my exploration of Irish novelist Deirdre Madden's body of work with her The Birds of the Innocent Wood.

This is the most unusual in form of her Madden's books which I have read so far. It alternates chapters about the lives of Jane and Jane's twin daughters, Sarah and Catherine, criss-crossing back and forth through time as it reveals its small surprises. I read it as a story of the price of isolation, either by having love witheld from you or witholding love from others. Not to say that that witholding is performed out of malice, most of the self-imposed isolation in Madden's characters is out of fear of loss or fear of being touched. The alternating chapters are almost stand-alone pieces, yet the information they yield as regards the story is incomplete. The reader knows they are incomplete because the daughters' stories occur almost 20 years after the story of Jane's years as a young woman and through their details imply the missing information. With this structural device, Madden succeedes in creating a good deal of suspense, even though the events of this novel are largely interior and the settings entirely domestic.

Madden's narratives most conspicuously occupy the inner lives of their subjects. Her evocation of this flow of thought naturally (in my observation) intertwines imagination of worlds outside the present time, space, or life of her character with the present moment to achieve a verrisimilitude of inner experience. As I have described in my post about her novel One by One in the Darkness, her characters often imagine themselves inside the lives of other characters (or at least struggle to do so) - an act that is de rigeur for writers, actors, and other artists:
Sarah has only ever loved her family, and her family has made her suffer. Looking through the open door to where her father is sitting is like looking into a seashell which is coiled and chambered. Each chamber is a memory, its size and brightness in accordance with its position on the coil of time which stops with the shell's sharp apex: the moment of her birth. But beyond that there is a wide yellow shore scattered with shells, and she can see but she cannot touch the huge shells which contain her father's secret memories. She cannot imagine what it would be like to move through those vast coiled systems of chambers, seeing with her father's eyes the eighteen years which make the sum totaly of her own brief life, and then before that those early, mysterious years which lie beyong the scope of Sarah's memories: the years of her parents' marriage prior to the birth of their children; the years of his life before his marriage, spent on the farm alone with his father; the years of his boyhood and youth spent with both his parents, prior to his mother's death, and then these shells also come to the still point of his birth and are ended. But before this were the lives and memories of his parents, and their parents before that, and their parents before that: the shells of these memories have been sucked back into the sea by the tide, and some have been dashed by waves against the rocks and have been broken, some have fallen to the sandy bed of the sea, and some will drift forever and forever. And Mama: she wonders what has happened to the poor misshapen shell of her mother's life, and she wishes that she could have saved it above all from the cold blue infinite sea.
This paragraph summarizes the action of the entire novel, whose narrative voice as I copy it out reminds me intensely of Virginia Woolf's, particularly in my favorite novel of hers - The Waves - to get inside another's life, making it as palpable and important to oneself as is one's own life. Certainly that struggle can be the act that allows one to break free of self-imposed isolation (when another's needs become more important than one's own fears). This novel embodies that struggle on multiple levels - the isolation of an orphan (Jane) who struggles in a life without parental love, later the mutual isolation of Jane and her husband as they try to break through themselves to become vulnerable with each other, the lives of their daughters who as twins have their own unique version of sameness and separateness not experienced by most siblings, and the closely detailed diaries kept by Catherine to know herself.

One of my favorite moments in the book is a visit that Jane makes to her neighbor Ellen's house. Ellen has known Jane's husband all of her life and Jane is jealous and insecure of her. Ellen probes Jane for the story of her life, which Jane shares in all its horrid detail of the deprivation of life in a convent orphanage but is sure that Ellen did not believe her and did not like her.
Jane's antipathy towards Ellen was mixed with a considerable degree of curiosity, and she wanted to know all about her background. James would tell her nothing, but his father was happy to oblige. One winter's night as they sat by the stove, he told her the story of Ellen's past. Jane listened attentively and later she would run over it again and again in her mind, embellishing the tale with little added details of her own, imagining certain scenes with particular intensity. Every time she saw Ellen thereafter, she would think of what she know, conscious always that it was partly truth and party her own invention...

When Ellen was twelve, her father, overwhelmed by debts, took an ornamental revolver out to a ruined gazebo in the grounds of the house. His wife heard the report, and it was she who found her husband with half his head blown away. (The deed was, of course, in reality performed with a shotgun in the back yard: the revolver and gazebo were gothic fancies which Jane could not resist adding.)
I love this scene particularly because we all must knows others somewhat through the veil of our own narratives, and this is not confined only to people we love but also to those we dislike. I think that people who live largely interior lives and get used to living in their own minds, and Jane exemplifies this, in their isolation can interact not so much with others as with the characters they have made of them.

I found the many ways in which Madden writes about people reaching out from themselves towards others in The Birds of the Innocent Wood, and how this informs their experience of the own lives, particularly insightful. The beauty of the writing and the asymmetry of the structure, given the incompleteness of the lives we become acquainted with, are brilliantly suited to the content. The narrative acquires an intensity through the suspense evoked by the alternating time frames and the secrets the characters, in their isolation, withold from one another. The Birds of the Innocent Wood is a stunning and unusual piece of writing from a writer who, in the past year, has quickly become one of my favorites - Deirdre Madden.

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Edith Reardon, looking back at her childhood through the lens of years, says she once thought that everyone in her family had to be good in order for any one of them to be good. She knows better now.

"If you get mixed up in something just happening, you can get submerged or you can get raised up. With or without your being good. Sometimes your skill can help, but sometimes what's happening is just too big for your little dog-paddle efforts."

It's 1979 in Charlottesville, Virginia. A rip-tide is about to surge through Edith's family. Mike and Joss Reardon, parents of Edith and her sister Nora, are at the center of a volatile group of intelligent and talented friends and family members. Mike is a Jesuit-educated lawyer in his forties, a former congressional staffer, whose knowledge of history, religion, politics, and art is formidable, but to his family, often stultifying. Joss, an experimental film maker, is a punster par excellence and a dedicated mother with the temper of a virago.

The narration of The Half-life of Happiness by the author of the excellent Spartina, winner of the 1989 National Book Award, alternates between the point of view of Mike and that of daughter Edith. From both we hear of Mike's realization that his wife has fallen in love with a woman -- the fiancee of one of the family's group of friends. Mike, furious about Joss's affair, decides to funnel his rage into a run for Congress.

The pacing of The Half-life of Happiness is slow up to the point of Mike's realization and decision, but the contrasts between the public image of Mike's family and the private truth, as well as between Mike's viewpoint (at the time) versus Edith's (looking back), are among the triumphs of this book. The reader is both inside and outside the story simultaneously.

Mike himself -- with his particular mesh of loyalties and flirtations, great ideas and flaws -- is another of the strengths of this book, as is Edith's unsparing but loving assessment of her parents, their friends, and their times. Notable also is author Casey's sense of comic timing, best seen in Mike's hapless encounters with the daughter of his political opponent. The writing throughout is sharp, witty, fine.

It's Edith who makes sense of it all, understanding as she does, ". . . that the last scene of certain happiness becomes the first scene of uncertainty." And brief is the interval between "the alarms and sadnesses of childhood" and "the first squeeze of perspective toward your vanishing point."

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Monday, February 19, 2007

Monday fun

Here is an article on Iain Banks (that's without the M this time) about his latest novel. It involves families, boardgames and big meany Americans.

Here is some President's Day fun from Reason.

Did you hear what Bush said about Osama? Be sure to enjoy the photo.

While HP Lovecraft gets all the love and attention, Clark Ashton Smith gets less recognition for his role in the development of horror/weird fiction. Michael Dirda has a review in the Post.

I just finished the Warrior Prophet, second in the Prince of Nothing series. If you don't like fantasy, stay away, but if you do, read on. The standard analogue for fantasy novels is medieval western Europe where princelings, emperors and some middle class interest groups vie with the declining Church for power. Sometimes the church is a magical guild, sometimes it is a religion.

Bakker sets his world in a analgoue to the ca. 1100 AD Mediterranean. The strongest power is a version of the Abassid caliphate, although it may be stronger than the historical version. The stand in for the Pope has raised a Holy War from the lands of the West (east in this case.) In the middle is the Byzantine analogue, which tries to use the Holy War as a means to retake its lost land. The fantasy element includes schools of magicians who are considered unclean but are too powerful to eliminate.

The Warrior Prophet is a monk from the north who is a Christ/Anti-Christ figure. It remains unclear if he will be a savior or destroyer. He is clearly undermining the established authorities and has his own mission, but he may be critical to the defeat of the Consult, the uber-evil and hidden demons of the world.

The book stands apart from other fantasy for its constructivist philosophy. Many of the characters including the Warrior Prophet see nationhood, religion and hierarchy as social constructs, which define thinking. The Prophet on the other hand is expert at manipulating the assumptions built into the constructs and in redefining them. Shades of the Bush Administration staffer who derided the reality based community.

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« Courtney, you might want to sit down. | Main | T-Shirt of the Week. »

06 April 2007

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I ADORE Cold Comfort Farm. I don't know why more people haven't read it -- the introduction alone is priceless.

I adored it so much -- and was just so shocked that I hadn't read it before. It was just so perfectly right up my alley.

Fuse #8

I fear that if I were Flora post I would probably end up shacking up with Seth. Especially if Seth were played by Rufus Sewell. Oh, Rufus.

Fuse #8

I fear that if I were Flora Poste I would probably end up shacking up with Seth. Especially if Seth were played by Rufus Sewell. Oh, Rufus.

Rufus plays Seth?? Good god.

I'd better bump it right to the top of my Netflix queue.

I'm so glad you've discovered both book and movie -- I find that I have to see read it once a year or so just to snicker at it all over again.

I think I need a shirt that says "Robert Poste's child."

I'll have to make that one, too.

I LOVE the movie, though I still haven't read the book and have been meaning to. This reminds me to go put it on my hold queue at the library. :)

Now all my favorite parts from the movie are going through my head.

Oh, and the movie is definitely a giggle-fest, too.

When I read the book (and howled over Flora's Laurencian pastich)I thought of that bit in The Daughter of Time where Inspector Grant is being really snarky about all the books his friends have gotten him; oh, alright, it's too good to paraphrase ... I'll go get it and quote directly.

"The Sweat and the Furrow was Silas Weekley being earthly and spade-conscious all over seven hundred pages. The situation, to judge from the first paragraph, had not materially changed since Silas's last book: mother lying-in with her eleventh upstairs, father laid-out after his ninth downstairs, eldest son lying to the Government in the cow-shed, eldest daughter lying with her lover the hayloft, everyone else lying low in the barn. The rain dripped form the thatch, and the manure steamed in the midden. Silas never omitted the manure. It was not Silas's fault that its steam provided the only uprising element in the picture. If Silas could have discovered a brand of steam that steamed downwards, Silas would have introduced it."

There's no such thing as too much parody when it comes to D.H. Lawrence. (Sorry this is such a long comment, but since is mostly Josephine Tey and not me I don't feel too bad.)

"I saw something in the woodshed."

My recollection is that I found the movie somewhat disappointing. But I saw it quite a while ago.

I was actually terrified to see the movie because I loved the book so much, but I wound up adoring the movie. It's VERY well cast, with standouts like Stephen Fry as the demented Lawrentian and, of course, Rufus Sewell as Seth. No one can smolder like Rufus Sewell. And Ian McKellen dreaming about going around England "in one o' they Fordvans" spreading his weird religion... terrific. Yeah, bump it to the top of the cue. And now I'm going to have to go read the book again.

uh-oh - i think maybe when i get my tax money i might have to order that one. i adore the book and definitely move the movie up on the queue. it's totally worth it!

Oh I do so love that book. I first found it when I was just a wee thing and hadn't even read D. H. Lawrence yet, and loved it even so.

Do add this shirt to your etsy shop! I have 2 friends who would adore it. :)

i wasn't crazy about the film - felt that they left in all the silliness and took out all the archness and pastiche. But I haven't seen it for ages, so I could be wrong. I also missed the bizarre set-in-the-future thing.

I read the book about once a year though. Love. It. Love Adam Lambsbreath. Want to marry Rueben.

One of my favorite books ever! Do watch the movie -- it doesn't suck and they didn't ruin it, and the costuming is yummy. And Stephen Fry as Mister Mybug is hilarious. Also, I want this shirt :)

Here are some Tree Stump T-Shirt Designs. http://www.dizzyduds.com/
Tree Stump Removal Equipment and Techniques. http://www.dumbstump.com/

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The Cost Of Doing Nothing

The biggest decision facing the Arkansas Legislature in its short fiscal session that began this week is whether to continue funding Arkansas’ private option, which uses federal Medicaid funds to expand health insurance for Arkansans, but through private health insurances plans.

My position has been unwavering: The innovative plan should be continued as lawmakers consider necessary improvements along the way.

However, lawmakers could choose to scrap the plan, set aside the progress made and, instead, do nothing. In that case, Arkansas would join about 20 states, primarily with Republican controlled statehouses, that have chosen to turn the program over to the federal government at a great cost to their states.

The outcomes are not debatable.

Arkansas Republican Speaker of the House Davy Carter — a strong advocate of the private option — had a chance to look at what is happening with some of the states, including Texas, that have ignored the issue.

“Last weekend, I got up to speed on what was going on in other states that took the ‘do-nothing’ approach. In Texas, the federal government has stepped in and is running that state’s health care exchange. The local people have no control,” said Carter.

In essence, those Republican-controlled legislatures have cut off their noses to spite their faces. The anti-Obama and Obamacare mindset and the understandable attempt to fight the federal program have caused them not to stop the creation of health insurance exchanges but instead to relinquish control of them to the federal government. I think we have all seen how much poorer the federal government has been at implementing programs compared to state governments. If ever there has been a textbook case for local control, the Obamacare exchanges are it.

Perhaps some may hope that the exchanges run so poorly that the pressure mounts for Washington D.C. to repeal Obamacare. That’s a long shot, but either way it is obvious that the more involved the state is the better the system works.

But there are other consequences Carter has seen.

“Taxes and penalties will presumably be levied on their business community, and the same would have happened here had we taken the ‘do-nothing’ approach,” Carter explained. “Ironically, Gov. Perry has requested a block grant, which notably still takes money from the U.S. Treasury, from the Feds so he and the Texas legislature can deal with its state’s health needs as they see fit. Arguably, that’s what we have already done here in Arkansas with the Private Option.

“In fact, I predict that states that have taken the ‘do-nothing’ approach will ultimately seek waivers from the federal government to run their own programs and will claim victory when they do so. Make no mistake, I believe that such a claim of victory has merit, but I believe that Arkansas has paved this path. Likely some who have been very critical of the Arkansas Private Option will applaud these waiver ‘victories’ of other states as standing up against Obamacare. I look forward to listening to the reasoning behind such positions.”

These taxes and penalties Carter mentions can be a huge hit, especially to small businesses. The biggest penalty will hit businesses with 50 employees or more that fail to provide health insurance for their employees to a level that Obamacare considers adequate. The private option saves these penalties for employers whose employees fall into the population covered under the expanded coverage. The tax firm Jackson Hewitt estimated this savings to be between $27 million and $40 million in 2015. Granted, the implementation of these penalties were delayed by the federal government for 2014 but they are scheduled to go into effect in 2015 under current law.

Another cost is an economic hit to hospitals in states that have chosen not to expand. With the passage of Obamacare, it was assumed that the cost of uncompensated care would go down as an increased population had health insurance coverage through the expansion. As such, the reimbursements that hospitals get for treating the uninsured has gone down. With the expanded coverage, hospitals are still required to treat those without insurance but with lower reimbursement and without expanded coverage, they take a double hit.

So the choice facing state lawmakers is to go with a do-nothing approach that has the effect of subjecting Arkansas businesses to increased taxes and hospitals to increased costs while at the same time relinquishing additional control of the system to the federal government. Or, to continue a conservative innovative approach with the opportunity of reforming Medicaid.

It seems obvious why many conservative lawmakers believe the private option is the best approach.

Jason Tolbert is an accountant and conservative political blogger. His blog — The Tolbert Report — is linked at His e-mail is

The Booneville Democrat website is available only to print and digital subscribers. If you are already a subscriber, you can access the website at no additional charge.


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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Alex Oriakhi Reportedly Visiting John Calipari Today

According to's Jeff Goodman, Alex Oriakhi will be meeting with John Calipari, newly-crowned national championship head coach of Kentucky, today. Goodman says he's been told that Oriakhi would be able to play at the SEC school if he chooses an area of study not offered at UConn. I was told last month that Oriakhi was majoring in sociology but was thinking of switching majors to sports communications and journalism. But then, I was also told that he had no plans of transferring anywhere.

Per Goodman, Oriakhi would be eligible to play right away, but that's only if UConn is barred from next year's NCAA tournament. The school is currently appealing its ban and is also hoping the NCAA Committee on Academic Performance changes its calendar on which APR scores it uses to impose postseason bans.

On a somewhat related note (bear with me for a moment), it was recently revealed that LSU football player scored a 4 on his NFL Wonderlic test. For me, the issue isn't whether this should or shouldn't have been leaked or what the test means for future players or how over-hyped and over-publicized the stupid NFL draft process is in the first place. The issue is this: how did Claiborne stay academically eligible at LSU if he obviously has a learning disability?

I mean, seriously, does the SEC even pretend it cares about educating its top-line athletes. I don't care that John Calipari utilizes the one-and-done system to his advantage and better than everyone else. My question is how his players leave school in "good academic standing" when it's obvious (and completely understandable) that they're worrying about their draft stock from now until June and will be busy with NBA tryouts, camps, etc.

Calipari said the other day that Kentucky has the highest APR score in the SEC. How is that possible? Or maybe it's not surprising, given the obvious lack of focus on education at LSU and elsewhere.

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- By Bossip Staff Categories: Bangers, For Your Viewing Pleasure, Happy Birthday
want some nigerian schlong The thirst is strong. Keri Hilson celebrated her birthday last night with a dinner at STK in Atlanta followed by a night out at Vanquish nightclub. She was joined by her sister Kaycee, her parents and friends including B.O.B., Dania Ramirez, Tika Sumpter and Wale, who looked like he was slangin' Nigerian schlong Tika's way. wale grindin on tika Too bad everybody can't be Bey and Hov eh? Hit the flip for more shots from Keri's big night.
dinner pry Here are the ladies, praying Beyoncé will let a b!tch live this year before their meal. God bless their thirsty souls.
corny bangers Hi ladies... keri tika bad hair Those hairstyles are so --- uh, what word should we use to describe them?
keri parents Keri's parents are cute though right? keri kaci So is her sister Kaycee.
silk chewbacca swag Keri got her drink on. And we have no words for her silky Chewbacca friend.
dania keri dinner Some faces Keri need not make. tika keri thuggin
yea girl wale asked for my number SMH. Wale in the corner tellin' B.O.B. he's about to smash Tika's tender cakes to smithereens.
thirsty dancers Name this dance.
wale tika drink This actually looks like it could be a real love match. We're gonna have to keep an eye on these two.
Photo Credit: Prince Williams/ATLPics.net

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NightSide – Bob Branco, Author Of “My Home Away From Home” Joins Steven Rothstein And Dan Rea

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420x316-grad-rea1 Dan Rea
Dan Rea, a veteran Boston television journalist, is the Host of...
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BOSTON (CBS) – The Perkins School for the Blind has been working with students with visual impairments since the early 1800’s. Based in Watertown right on the Charles River, the school has helped change the lives of thousands of students. Bob Branco was one of these students, and he sits down with Dan to talk about his experiences at the school. Bob will be joined by Steven Rothstein, the President of Perkins School for the Blind. Tune in to hear about all the interesting and innovative things going on over at Perkins.

Originally broadcast May 4th, 2013.

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Francis Artey

This WRTA bus crashed into a home in Auburn Monday. (Photo from Christina Hager)

Bus Driver Crashed Into Auburn Home On First Day In Service

The man driving a regional transit bus that crashed into a house in central Massachusetts earlier this week was on his first day of service.