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5 Tips For Selecting The Right Engagement Ring

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Professional Ironman Triathlete

Monday, 11 June 2007

New toys....

I am VERY excited. I've spent a few months working up to it, and now its arrived. My new bike... Scott Plasma Ltd. Check out:
for some more info. Its at the mechanics now getting the seat post cut down, and I'm still waiting for the pedals to arrive... so looks like I won't get to ride her til thursday.

WeightBike: 15.4 lbs
Frame: 2.82 lbs
Frame - CR1 Carbon HMF technology - TR AERO Carbon TubingFork - Scott CR1 Team Issue - 1 1/8" carbon steererHeadset - Ritchey WCS CFGroup - Dura-Ace 10sCrankset - Dura-Ace 10s Hollowtech II 39x53TCassette - Shimano Dura-Ace 10s 12-25TAerobars - Profile Cobra Wing base bar - T2+ Cobra extensionsBrake Levers - Profile QSCStem - Profile Lava OSSeat - Fizik Arione TRI 2Hubs - DT Swiss 240 SSpokes - DT Swiss EvolutionRims - Zipp Carbon 420 DEEPTires - Conti Competition Tubular 700x19C

Josh said...

VERY COOL! nice toy mate.

toby said...

I finally got it... after MONTHS of thought! How's your new ride these days?

Josh said...

Loving it! although its not getting the attention it needs while Im sorting out my move overseas. What are you doing with the P3? making it a very flash training bike? -now that would be class!
I remember you talking about the Scott at Epic... long time in the works huh.

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OC Golf Groups Fall Golf Packages Available Now! Book Today!

Ocean City Golf Groups, One of Ocean City’s best golf packages announced its fall packages starting at $179 per person weekdays.  Three Oceanfront hotels, breakfast and dinner options, entertainment, summer vacation packages and more by calling 888-465-3477 or log onto www.ocgolfgroups.com.  Online package quotes and they’ll meet or beat any golf package price guaranteed!  Book early for great tee time and golf course availability.  Visit www.ocgolfgroups.com for  their specials…Scenic Drive, Ruark Specials, South Point Special, Freeman combos and more!  One call does it all!

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DART is Your Connection to Hike-and-Bike Trails

DART is Your Connection to Hike-and-Bike Trails

by Tricia White

With cooler weather, it’s the perfect time to get back outdoors and explore. Fortunately, North Texas has an extensive hike-and-bike network that appeals to any fitness level. Best of all, you can reach many of the trails on DART.

White Rock Lake Trail is more extensive than you might think. From just east of White Rock Station, you can head south to the nine-mile loop, or shoot north to the less-traveled, forested White Rock Creek Trail, which follows the rambling creek more than seven miles to LBJ Freeway.

Bachman Park Loop Trail along Bachman Lake features a paved trail that meanders along the lake’s shore, passing geese, ducks, groves of cypress trees and such. With a length of precisely five kilometers, this is the perfect place for cyclists and runners. It’s located northeast of Bachman Station.

The Katy Trail, accessible via Victory Station, runs through the heart of the city, and to the edge of Highland Park north of Knox Street.

Irving offers another transit-to-trail connection: Campión Trail is a 6.5-mile paved path along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River from North Irving just east of Las Colinas Urban Center Station to Valley Ranch. This trail offers a bonus to mountain bike riders, as several unpaved detours lead to wilder areas off the, well, beaten path.

Cottonwood Trail extends from Spring Valley Road to Royal Lane – and it can be accessed from the southwest corner of the parking lot of Forest Lane Station. Just south of the station, the trail’s southern terminus meets with White Rock Creek Trail. It runs through mostly residential areas, and features extensive landscape and sitting areas.

Chisholm Trail in Plano is a good half-mile from Downtown Plano Station, if you take 15th Street west, just across U.S. 75, but it’s worth the trek. The trail connects a strand of city parks and extends north along the banks of Spring Creek all the way to Legacy Drive.

Find more parks and trails resources at DART.org/bike.


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Friday, September 28, 2012

28Sep12- WFPBC

Around this time last year, Gordon and I were standing alone after a swim in the GSL chatting.  A thought had crossed my mind but he came right out and said it.  "How would you feel about coming down here once a week for the whole winter for a swim"?  I was already in!  Last year was a great success and on that note...........
The new winter season for the Wasatch Front Polar Bear Club is almost here!  I'll admit I'm pretty excited about it.  I plan on doing a lot of cold water swimming this year and 1Oct is when the season begins.  We will all meet every Thursday at the Saltair marina throughout the whole winter until the end of March.  COME JOIN US!!!  I plan on going out on most Tuesdays and Saturdays from the Antelope marina.
Since we are trying to get more people out to join us (and a CASH prize didn't work!), we are going to offer special made silicone swim caps.  There will be requirements to get one.  These caps will not be given out for just showing up.  They must be earned.  This is to hopefully get people to come out more than once and for us to make new friends with swimming.  There really is a special bond with people who do these swims together.

 Only ONE requirement met is needed to get a cap!  The requriements will be:

4 ways to get a cap:

1. 5 jumps into the water when it's under 50. Must go fully under. No time limit.  You can just run in, dunk, and run out. Must be on 5 seperate dates.

2. 10 min swimming up to neck under 50 degrees. I'm not going to require a full head submersion for swimming ones. If you do heads up breast stroke for the whole swim, it will count.

3. 5 min swimming under 40 degrees

4. 2 min swimming under 35 degrees
**************Allowed to wear for qualifying*********************
Any goggles
Any cap including thermal - we all did it last year!
brief or thigh covering speedo
thermal gloves
thermal booties or small fins like Jim wears
*****************NOT allowed*************************
torso wetsuit
more than 2 caps at a time
long fins
Those that want to get into to IISA (like I'm training for), those are a seperate set of rules.
The 5 "founding members" are Gordon Gridley, Josh and Jake Green, Jim Hubbard, and Goody Tyler IV.  We will be the one who validate all swims and will reward the cold water swimmer accordingly.
No "honorary caps" will be given for any A-list swimmer that comes and joins us.  They must earn theirs too like everyone else.
Everyone is encouraged to join us and I sincerely hope we get 100 people a week showing up!  BUT if anyone is swimming beyond their ability or starts showing any signs of the cold getting to them, they will be pulled immediately and the swim will not count.  Your life is NOT worth a swim cap!
Be responsible too please!  Bring lots of warm clothes, towels, and some blankets with you if you are new to this.  There is a MAJOR adjustment period and the best way to get better at cold water swimming and tolerance of it is coming out regularly.
We will have a kayak with us if needed and life saving devices.  All new swimmers will get a safety briefing on where to swim, how to swim, when to get out and proper warm up procedures.  (Yes, warming up the wrong way can kill you!!!)
A complete safety list is being made and all the founding WFPBC members will have a copy with them at every swim.  This is to ensure that proper safety measures are followed for every swim.
Let the season of red skin and "anatomy change" BEGIN!!!!

Monday, September 24, 2012

24Sep12 - Announcement

I'm done with training for awhile.  The OWHOF conference this weekend was great.  I got to meet a TON of people I admire and got to refocus myself on some swimming ideas.  I was getting a bit behind on my end of year goal of 500 miles.  If  I were to meet that goal, I'd have to swim daily over 4000 yards.  Just like last year, mentally I need a break.  I still love swimming but it's becoming a chore now instead of something I love and look forward to doing.  I still plan on swimming but getting up daily to "get my yards in" just so I can say for 2 seconds that I hit 500 miles isn't worth it to me.  I'll go over 400 which is still good.  I'm going to prep myself for cold water swimming soon.
My main thought is that if I keep going the way I am with yards per day to meet my end of year goal, by the time I get the goal, it will be a new year and I'm going to start training seriously again for more marathon swims.  I would be burned out for sure and it would take a serious toll on my training or care of swimming for next summer.
I'll still get up to swim once and awhile so I don't completely lose it but I just need a break to let my body 100% recover from all the work this year...(I still feel some aches that I know I've gotten from so much swimming the past few months) and to let my mind relax from thinking about swimming so much.  I've talked with other ultra marathon swimmers and they say they all do the same thing.  Some even take several months off with ZERO swimming to relax their mind and let their body fully reset.  I'm just going to take a few lights months is all.
I still consider this year a better year than last year.  I've gone farther than ever before for miles accumulated for the year, had some AMAZING swims with some of the best friends in swimmig I could ever hope for, and had my heard DESTROYED by swimming too.  Good year overall.
I'll still post when I've done swim workouts.  I'm not cashing it all in by any means, I'm just going to pull the reins back some is all.

Got in around 0430 and just swam.  I just focused on going non stop until Karen showed up at 0500.  I got in over 30 laps when she arrived.  It was nice to just swim with not worrying about intervals or anything else.  Helped her swim some more while I swam more too.
I don't know exactly what I did but it was mainly slow 50's then some butterfly mixed in.

2500 total

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

In the pool at 0430.

500 WU
250 K
250 Pull

 I then did butterfly by the 25 or 50 nice and easy.  Karen showed up a bit after 0500 so I was helping her and doing some of my own swimming.  I did get some hypoxic training in which was nice.  Hurt like hell but I did it.  I also did a 100 fly trying to go SLOW.  I ended up with 1:35.  2 thoughts occurred to me when I saw this time:
1) I was seriously trying to go slow and even did a dead man float for 1/2 second after each pull and I barely did a 1 stroke kick and not once did a 2 kick per stroke like you are supposed to but still got a decent time, so even when trying to go slow, I still end up with a good pace.
2) Maybe I should have been a butterfly guy this whole time!  The way I'm built, if I had actually trained to be a flyer, I maybe could have been a serious competitor in fly events.  (Not just locally)
 The 100 fly didn't make me tired.  I'm going to start stepping up my total fly I do each workout and the total distance I'll go without stopping each week.  I was planning on starting this in January but I don't mind doing fly and it mixes up the HORRIBLE boredom of pool swimming.

I stopped with 50 clicks on my finger timer so 2500 total today.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Getting up today wasn't that bad.  I was not "eager" to get to the pool but it didn't seem to be as much of a chore as yesterday.  I'm hoping this trend continues.
I decided to keep it easy for memory.
Ladders by 50 up to 400 repeat then back down.
This left me at 3600
I did 200 fly broken up by 25's with :10 RI - Held the stroke well but it was a bit tough.  I'm REALLY hoping that I can look back at this in a few months and laugh that I "struggled" to do 200 fly.
I then did 100 IM then 100 CD

4000 total

Decent workout today.  One MAJOR problem today was that the pool seemed hotter than normal.  The air was hot also.  I opened a bay door a tad to let some cool air in  Near the end of the workout, another swimmer got out and closed it.  I only had 200 left but the heat was still getting to me.  I got out and opened it again.  This made her mad.  Sorry lady but I'm slowing down considerably due to the heat and I'm getting a TINY bit light headed.  I had a drink with me but it wasn't helping anymore.  The Ogden Athletic Club pool is just too hot for me.  It's becoming a bigger problem and I'm flirting with the idea of finding another pool where the temp isn't below "hardboil and egg" temp.
It's just unhealthy.
We all have our fantasies about what we would do if we were rich or had a million bucks.  Honestly, my #1 thing I'd do is make a 25M or 50M pool that's only 2 or 3 lanes and keep it at a cool temp.  Lap swimmers ONLY would be allowed in  The temp would be at MOST 65 and lowest around 58.  If it's too cold for you, then swim elsewhere.  I'd charge a minimal fee to use the pool but as long as you were swimming, you could be in as long as you want.  ANY complaint about the temp and I would give you your money back then ban you for life.  I'm really hoping I can do this one day.  Being able to swim in a 50 M pool that is 65 degrees as long as I want would be fantastic!  Hell, I'd even allow some of my close swimming buddies to swim there for free because I know they would never whine about the temp!  They'd LOVE it!!!  My kind of peeps.
It just annoys me at times when I'm lying down by the open door letting 50 degree air blow on me when I'm wet just so I can cool off from the pool and people are complaining they are cold.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Despite only getting to bed at midnight last night because of a sick kid, I still go up at 0400 and was at the pool at 0430.  I'm sure the Z-Monster will come get me around 1500 today.
Did 500 WU
250 Swim
Then did some 50 fly nice and easy with plenty of rest between 50's.  Just seeing what my time is.  When I swam slow with minimal effort, I got :46.  This actually surprised me.  I then decided to try a 50 as slow as possible and got :53.  I was trying to get it to a minute but was still :07 under.  Oh well.  It was a fun experiment.
Around 0500, Karen showed up.  Since the Army had us move away from each other so many years ago, we average about one lesson every 3-4 years.  Her last lesson was 2 years ago.  We used to swim together a couple of times a week when we were stationed together but life happens.  It's fun regardless swimming with her.  She kept going on and on about how terrible she was going to be.  Amazingly enough she was pretty good.  I just swam easy 50's mostly underwater watching her stroke then giving her some drill work.  Since my muscle effort was at a minimum, I decided to do some hypoxic training so I could get something out of it.  I limited how often I would breath with every 25/50.  This was great and my lungs were kinda pissed at me towards the end.  GOOD!
Karen takes instruction pretty well and genuinely tries to do what I tell her to do.  The altitude was getting to her and her breathing was pretty labored near the end.  She hung in there and swam pretty evenly throughout.  Nice job Karen!
Finished with 2000 total.  I'm officially behind my pace for my 500 miles before the end of the year goal.  I'm going to have to swim more often and for more yards each time.

2000 yards

Sunday, September 16, 2012

15Sep12 - GSL

Picked Kim up today at 0600 with my long time friend Karen.  Karen is in town for a week and visiting and she wanted to paddle for one of my swims.  I won't say how long we've been friends since I don't want her to punch me but lets just say it's been awhile!
Starting off
 Got to the GSL on Antelope Island around 0645 and we got ready.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day and the sun was just creeping over the mountains as we were getting in.  The water was a bit chilly but by the time I took 5 strokes, I was fine.
Hour 1

Seriously, is there anything more beautiful to be looking at while swimming?

We got out of the marina cove and into the GSL.  We decided to head NW for an hour and 1/2 then just turn around and come back.  We had about a 1/2 knot push behind us which was nice.  After the first few minutes of swimming, Kim was slowing down quite a bit sporadically.  She said that the some of the short cold currents we were going through were really bothering her.  She pushed on and after the first hour, we decided to head east against the current so our swim back to the marina wouldn't be as bad.  It was pretty choppy and I could definitely feel that I had to swim harder to move.
Doin' some fly!
 I was having a BLAST.  I did some butterfly for awhile, backstroke, side stroke, and I even chocked on water because I was laughing at how much fun I was having.  We were getting tossed all over the place and I was loving it.  I was alone in that boat.  Kim was not having fun and started to struggle.  She was taking in water and water kept going up her nose.  GSL water in your nose is BAD...  After an hour we headed back to the marina.  Kim said she was done and wanted to head in.  She felt bad that we were cutting our swim short but I could care less when safety is concerned.  After a few minutes, Kim really started to feel bad and pulled up thinking she was going to throw up.  I swam up next to her and told her to "go for it" because it would make her feel better.  She kept trying to swim but she got worse and worse.  Finally Karen suggested that Kim hold on to the back of the kayak and she would "tow" her in.  Kim accepted and I was solo swimming while Karen paddled with the most "unique rudder" I've ever seen!
Isn't that nice!  Karen was struggling so Kim helped push her along. hehe
 This did allow me to pick it up some but soon it was apparent that I needed to slow down to stay with Karen and Kim because pulling someone while going into a current tends to slow you down.  The water got progressively calmer as we got closer.  When we got inside the cove, Kim let go and took off in a full sprint to the boat ramp.  She was freezing and Karen ditched us because she had needed to relieve herself for the past 2 hours!  We all finished up and my total distance was 5.2 miles.  It was a bit shorter than I had planned but safety is most important so I honestly did not care.
Hour 2 of her "getting in"!

Back floating Karen

Once Karen was ready, she wanted to HONESTLY say she has swam in the GSL.  She had a suit on and got took FOREVER....but she eventually got in.  She did a back float then a short doggie paddle swim about 10 feet.  It counts!  I then talked her into putting a mouth full of GSL water and immediately spitting it out.  She reacted like most people do.  "THAT'S DISGUSTING!  How do you swim in this for so long"?
Ahhh, the GSL.  She ain't much to look at and she smells a bit, but she's my baby!

Total today was 5.2 OW

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Met Kim at 0500 again today.
Almost same workout as yesterday but didn't end on a silly number this time.

500 WU
500 K
500 Pull N/S
200 swim
200 IM
200 swim
200 mixed by 50 fly, 50 back, 50 fly, 50 free
200 free CD

2500 total

Anne met up with us at 0530 but she did her own thing.  All 3 of us did chat for a bit.  I have a scheme in my head of a swim I want to do for next year but it's going to take some planning and some SERIOUS training on my end.  Anne and Kim know of it because it would involve them but both are nice enough to keep quiet about it for now.  If it looks like it's going to happen, I'll announce it on my "Swimmers New Years Resolutions" post on 1Jan13.

I need to keep going to the pool and doing at least 2k daily.  Last month I was 20 miles ahead of pace for my end of year goal.  Now I'm right at it or a TINY bit behind before adding my yards each day.  I was hoping to be done by the end of Nov so I could take all of Dec completely off but I'll have to figure some distances out if that's going to happen.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Met Kim at the pool at 0500.  Just going to do some medium workouts each day so I keep my arms moving but don't push it too much to make me tired for Saturday.

500 WU - tried to start a bit faster than normal to represent what it will be like on Sat
500 K
500 Pull - negative split.  Did a good pace for 2nd 250
100 swim
100 IM - normal
100 swim
100 IM - fast
100 - LITTLE hypoxic training doing 3-5-3 breathing for last 100
100 CD

2100 total....HATE ending on such a stupid number.  lol

Saturday, September 8, 2012

7Sep12 - GSL

I returned to my favorite lake today.  It's been awhile since I've been in the Great Salt Lake and I forgot how much I missed it.  She's just such a unique and beautiful body of water.  I also forgot how tough it is to swim in there!  I immediately found 2 hot spots where I didn't put enough grease on.  I had to change my breathing pattern back to minimal exposure in water again.  The brine shrimp were pretty good size and they were EVERYWHERE.  The flies weren't so bad but I had to breathe out of my armpit if I didn't want to eat a few on accident....which I did.  yuck!
Did a Gridley Straight then back.  It was such a beautiful day.  I could have gone for more but the last 1/4 mile, all I could think about was food!  That's normally my queue that I'm about to crash if I don't get some in me soon.  Finished well and did whole thing in under an hour.  No one to chat with so I just got right to it.
I'd recommend waiting a bit longer before going there.  Let the shrimp clear out some.  It was cloudy and filled with shrimp the whole swim.  It was great being in the lake again but conditions have definitely been better.

2 miles OW

Another thought kept popping into my head.  Soon......sooooooooooon it will be getting cold and the WFPBC will be back!!!  I'm going to take my training of cold water to the next level this year.  I did it last year for fun and bonding with my swim friends but this year I have definite goals.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

6Sep12 - UGH!

Alarm went off at 0400 and I took my sweet time getting ready then to the pool.  Words can NOT express how unmotivated I was to swim today.  It was a constant battle to just get myself going.  I haven't felt this unwilling to swim in a LONG time.  If it wasn't for Bear Lake relay on the 15th, I would have gone back to bed.
Got in at 0445 and just made up my workout as I went along

1000 WU
500 K
100 swim
100 IM
100 swim
100 IM
100 swim
4 x 50 IM order with :10 RI
300 K
500 swim CD

3000 yards total

I really REALLY hope that as I keep getting up early to swim, it will be easier and I'll actually look forward to it like I did earlier this year.  If today's trend continues, it's going to be a hell of a challenge to meet my end of year goal.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Got up at 0500 and picked up Kim at 0530.  Met Anne in the Pineview parking lot just short of 0600.
Sun still wasn't up enough to see safely so we waited a bit.  We were also expecting Chad but he never showed.  Around 0620 we headed in.  Air was chilly but the water was warmer so it was nice getting in.
Did the dam route first.  I was STIFF going out and shoulders were pretty upset with me.  After one dam route we did a buoy route then another dam route.  I could definitely feel the effects of my fasting yesterday.  My arms were just heavy the whole time.  I did feel good going out to the dam the 2nd time and was swimming well but my stomach cramped bad near the stop line and I had to "take care of it"....I hope this isn't becoming a habit!
Got done and my arms were pretty shot.  Kim was wiped out too.  Really glad I did it but man I'm tired now.

4.6 miles OW


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Thursday, August 4, 2011

Usability testing and Problems with Questionnaires

I came across this interesting presentation from Patrick Weber and Catherine Jones (amended to name both authors 11 August) at SOTM eu. He discusses usability issues with Open Street Maps editor using eye tracking and usability techniques. I only got the video to work by downloading it, the player didn't work.

Map Usability: What's great about this is that its a discussion about the usability of maps in the public sphere not a secret report for some company. IMHO there is a great need for much more of this work, we're woefully unaware of how to make interactive maps usable. It has lots in common with a current MSc project I'm supervising that I discussed last week looking at placemark clustering.

Simple Testing: Patrick discusses results from videoing users and eye tracking. These tools definitely help analyse and communicate the issues that arise from testing but you can still find out a lot without these tools via a technique is called Hallway testing (talk aloud procedure). It takes about half a day and needs no eye tracking or video recording.

Testing 'Doing' not Gathering Opinions: Hallway testing is pretty quick given the amount of information you get from them but its quicker still to gather feedback by questionnaires. Questionnaire feedback gives you some useful insights into your map system but it is by no way a complete picture. This was bought home to me this week in a reference I found about users searching for targets in overview* maps. The experiment tested search tasks with and without an overview map. Users were very positive about the value of overview maps but when the speed and accuracy of the searching were analysed using the overview it turned out that their performance didn't improve. Questionnaire data can be misleading, to really find out the truth you have to observe (and measure if you can) users trying to complete tasks with you map based tool.

*An overview is a small map in the corner of a web page showing the view from a higher altitude and usually marking the current view.

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Google Maps Friday Fun

Man Made Travel Wonders

EarthSwoop have created this Google Earth browser map of some of the man made wonders of the world. The map includes amazing 3D views of the pyramids, the Taj Mahal and many other sites.

Street View of the Week

After Google sportingly deleted the image of an Australian man on the toilet I've had to find another Street View of the week. In the end I went with this rather fetching self-portrait of the Street View car. How did it manage to take a picture of itself?

Whilst we are on the subject of Street View you might have heard about the deer that was hit by a Street View car. Google have now, understandably, removed the images. Street View Gallery however did manage to get some screenshots before they were removed.

Via: Street View Gallery

Dope Farmers Caught on Google Earth
Wired have an interesting story about how Swiss police managed to spot a field of marijuana on Google Earth. Police discovered the hemp field in the north-eastern canton (state) of Thurgau last year using Google Earth's satellite images. Consequently 16 people were arrested and the police seized 1.2 tons (1.1 metric tons) of marijuana.

Drug Lords on Your iPhone
Coincidently, shortly after reading the story of the Swiss police using Google Earth to find a field of marijuana someone sent me a link to a video of an iPhone game called Drug Lords. In the game players try to build a drug dealing empire. The game seems to have a multi-player element and uses Google Maps to show other dealers in your neighbourhood.

Here's the video:

I don't have a link for the game so if you are interested you'll have to try and Google it.

Old World Globe Bar
I've always wanted one of these globe bars. However at $299 I think I'm going to have keep dreaming.

At $39.99 these map chests are more within my reach.
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Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Kale Quinoa Tomato Corn Salad

A very healthy salad indeed!
This is a a very tasty and satisfying dish, whether you serve it as a side dish to another meal, or use it as a main dish.
Mostly kale, which is very nutrient rich, plus some high protein quinoa... add a little corn, tomatoes and some cheese for lots of taste.  Toss with lemon, olive oil and seasoning.

I will say this salad is quite a good keeper too, as I took leftovers in my lunch without too much loss of quality.  Those tomatoes might have been a little more squishy... that's OK.

 Makes about 6 cups, serves about 6-8 for a side dish, or 3-4 as a main dish

Juice of a lemon, or lime
2 tsp dijon mustard, or 1 tsp dry mustard
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic, dried or 1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and Pepper
3 cups fresh kale, de-ribbed and chopped small
1 1/2 cups quinoa, cooked
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen (thawed)
1/3 cup green onions, sliced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (omit for Vegan version)

In the bottom of bowl, combine lemon juice, mustard and olive oil.  Mix with a whisk until the dressing is emulsified .

De-rib and chop the kale.  Here's a picture of the ribs that I did NOT chop up.  Too tough.

Add kale and toss with the dressing.  Let sit for about 15-20 minutes to soften it.  Add the other ingredients and toss again.  Taste, and add salt and pepper to taste.  If needed, add another squeeze of lemon.  I like it tangy!

Here's what's been happening on my blog around, or on, this date over the years...

One year ago: The Ocean Mile (cocktail)
Two years ago: Ginger Rhubarb Whole Wheat Pie
Three years ago:  Chilled Curried Mango Prawn Soup

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Monday, August 17, 2015

Wappi Puzzle Game

iPhone Screenshot 2
Vakhtanh Machabieli is the author of Wappi Puzzle Game.  Thanks to Loyal Blog Follower David Cole for alerting me about this.  The objective is to get your man to the green H before Frankenstein captures you.
Every time you move to a square - one step at a time - he will move two steps.  You must use the fences to keep him at bay.

These puzzles are difficult.  Of the 100 levels, I've done about 10.

About 5 years ago Jason Fieldman came out with Theseus, which is basically the same thing. Though it seems more polished in terms of the graphics. I also had trouble with that one.

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Current Opportunities

Account Manager

Reference Number: GPR - 598
Location: Mid-Atlantic

My client is a global IP surveillance manufacturer looking for a full time Account Manager calling on end users in Northeast area (covering MD, E. PA, DE, S. NJ).

Requirements & Responsibilities
• Experience within Traffic and City vertical markets
• Identify & develop business with end users and build relationships with same in defined territory.
• 5+ years experience working as a Sales / Account Manager along with Bachelor’s degree in a technical area.
• Knowledge of the IP Video industry and proven competencies in account management.
• Majority of time meeting with end users and other time spent planning customer visits and prospecting for new opportunities.

Salary & Benefits
• Base salary is $90K - $100K with an OTE of $135K+.
• Company vehicle along with full benefit package.
• Excellent company with long term employment opportunity.

If you know anyone interested please have them contact me as soon as possible. All replies strictly confidential. Email resumes in word document format to:

We do not discriminate in the acceptance or referral of candidates on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, marital status, disability or other protected characteristic.
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Planes of Fame – April 2016

Fran Pieri - Membership Officer

Fran Pieri – Membership Officer

The museum is having its ”ANNUAL AIR SHOW”. Yes, it’s that time of the year for the airshow. This year the show will start on Friday, April 29th through Sunday, May 1st. We know this is earlier than it has been in the past. But it’s not to be in conflict with other airshows. There is always free parking. Come early to take some photos and walk among the vintage warbirds before the show begins. Gates open at 8:00am on Friday, show starts at 1200 noon to 8:00pm. Saturday and Sunday hrs. are 8:00am to 5:00pm. Flying starts at 12:00noon. Static display and venders’ hrs. 8 to 5. You can go on line to get a coupon to save a few dollars. Also, on May 8th is Mothers Day. All Moms admitted free. The museum is located on the Chino Airport at 7000 Merrill Ave. #17 (Corner of Merrill and Cal Aero Dr.) I’ll be there the whole airshow.

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Thursday, 13 December 2012

Healthy snacks and lunches...

Just a reminder that my students should have a couple of healthy snacks and a healthy lunch every day!
I have been noticing snacks that are not as healthy as they should be...
We spend many hours at school,
students need to eat healthy to be able to focus.
Thank you for your cooperation!


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Wm. Marshall Duke is coordinator of Men’s Ministries for the Church of the Nazarene. Marshall is on staff at Springdale Church of the Nazarene, Ohio.

Forty-eight percent of the U.S. population is male, but the typical congregation is 39% male. Every church should have a vision to reach and nurture each man in their community to become a Christ-like disciple. A paradigm will be offered to be effective in making that vision a reality. Rationale, resources, and strategies will also be shared.


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 Grace Teahouse

Spring buds, not summer leaves, contribute green tea health value.
First to know: when and where.

  West Lake Longjing AA Top Quality
(spring buds from the end of March and before April 5, 2018)

10 g 50kr

50 g 235kr

buy with tea?

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“West Lake Longjing” is a legal term, referring exclusively to Longjing tea with its raw materials from original West Lake Longjing tea area. It is selected strictly in spring "one bud and two leaves", plucked once a year, processed by masterful hands by the traditional "Longjing Ten Frying Methods".

It is awarded as an “Origin of Production Product” by the Chinese government. Historically, “West Lake Longjing” has been listed as the best of all types of Chinese fresh green teas since the 17th century.Tsing Dynasty Emperor Qian Long(1711-1799) travelled far from Beijing down to Hangzhou four times in his life to find out about this outstanding green tea.

"West Lake Longjing” green tea is incomparable for its "Four Beauties": perfect Form, golden green Color, dense and long lasting Aroma and refreshing Taste.

AA Top Quality is made from spring tea buds plucked only between 25 March to 5 April every year.

How to brew West Lake Longjing:

A porcelain or glass Gaiwan is the best.

Preparation: 2 g per 1 dl Gaiwan, 80-90 ℃ water (the softer the water, the lower the temperature). Refill up to 4 times.

  1. Warm the Gaiwan, put in 2 g of tea;
  2. Pour in ¼ water and gently move the tea cup for the tea leaves to come to the average temperature;
  3. Smell the inside of lid - full of fresh fragrance;
  4. Pour in all the water in an up-down-up-down way to mobilise the tea leaves;
  5. Infuse for 2 minutes.

How to appreciate West Lake Longjing:

nose for the aroma
fresh, pleasant natural plant fragrance.

eyes for the colour and form
transparent golden green colour; spring buds reach longer than the leaves – authentic West Lake Longjing tea feature!

tongue for the taste
refreshing, mild, sweet with a hint of bitterness, and a sweet aftertaste.

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Website author: Grace Guo   English advisor: Dr Andrew Hull   Swedish translation: Lars Jeding
All copyrights reserved !
Design & photographer : Yannan Li    Webmaster: Fu Tang


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We Are Graham Animal Clinic.

Dr Graham.jpg

In Loving Memory of Dr. Louis Graham

Dr. Graham graduated from Hillsboro High School in Nashville Class of 1965, and shortly after enlisted in the Naval Reserves. After the reserves, he then attended University of Tennessee at Martin to obtain his undergraduate degree and went on to receive his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Tuskegee University in 1978. After graduation, his family moved to Hendersonville where Graham Animal Clinic was established. He devoted the next three decades of this life caring for the pets of the Hendersonville community. He was presented with the Man of the Year Award from the Sumner County Humane Society as a result.


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Monday, March 25, 2013

The Facts About Disability Insurance

From the site:

National Public Radio (NPR) is running a series of stories about the Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) program.  Its first was extremely unbalanced and repeated some of the oft-claimed myths about DI.  Here’s the truth.

DI provides modest but vital benefits to workers who become unable to perform substantial work due to a serious medical impairment, as I testified last week before a House subcommittee.

Most of the recent rise in DI’s rolls stems from demographic factors:  the aging of the baby boom generation, the growth in women’s employment, and Social Security’s rising retirement age.  In fact, when you adjust for these factors, the program has grown only modestly (see chart).  Other factors — including the economic downturn — also have contributed to the program’s growth, but its costs and caseloads are generally in line with past projections.

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Check out 1BTN WKND during TGE for a 48 hr party

Midday Friday 18th May to midday Sunday 20th May

Fortune Of War / Brighton Seafront

1BTN is an independent and specialist radio station, broadcasting 24/7 from Brighton.

They’re curating a 48-hour event between the 18th and 20th May.
The fun starts at midday on Friday and finishes at the same time on the Sunday – that’s a non-stop, continuous 48-hour showcase of some of their favourite musicians and DJs!

They’ve assembled a stellar line-up of artists to represent the broad spectrum of music they broadcast on a daily basis.

Taking place at The Fortune of War, on Brighton seafront, the artists will be performing inside and outside – weather permitting – on the terrace and so far, they’ve confirmed the following: 1BTN All-stars, Abi Flynn, AK/DK, Anushka, Ashley Henry, BBE Records, Fat Cat Records, Isle Of CC, Lucie Barat (pictured) & This Feeling + very special guests, Nick The Record, Roots Gardens Records, Running Circle Records special with, Yazmin Lacey & Friends, Tru-Thoughts Records, Ty, Yakul plus more to be announced soon…

A 24-hour bar serves alcohol throughout the event and it’s free entry to all.

1BTN broadcasts worldwide on and locally on 101.4FM / DAB+


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Thank You For Your Help

Thank you everyone that came out this weekend to help support our fundraiser for the Potter Family.  Through all of your donations we were able to raise over $1,100 so far that will go directly to the family.  Thank you for leading by example and helping contribute to a more than worthy cause.

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Updates from my crazy life coming soon!

I haven't had alot of time to myself for a while. I hope to update this blog this weekend.

mommy zabs said...

i have been so bad at being back in touch! i'm so sorry! Cant wait to hear how you are doing.

Happy Hippie said...

Don't worry about it. I know how busy things can get. I am glad you dropped me a line. It is so nice to hear from you!


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Wednesday, 21 May 2014

Recipe Review: Crispy Pork Belly

from My Vietnamese Kitchen by Uyen Luu

 By: Mr Robot

Give me a new cookery book and odds are the first thing I’ll make will involve pork belly. It’s one of my favourite things in the world anyway, and the prospect of a NEW favourite thing is pretty much irresistable. So it was with Uyen Luu’s My Vietnamese Kitchen – an excellent, stimulating book that’s become something of an obsession lately.

Having spent the customary couple of hours monkeying (point...Oooh...point....Oooh Oooh...point...OoohOoohOooh-pointpointpoint) I trotted down to the butcher. A vast slab of meat, my good man, and don’t even think about scoring it. Pigs away.

The recipe itself is simple but very effective. I’m always up for a new crackling technique, and this one starts with poaching the pork belly for 5 minutes in bicarbed water. Then there’s patting dry and rubbing the skin with a mixture of lime and salt, and then starting the roasting skin-side down before flipping it later.

As I say, that’s a new one on me (it may be tiresomely obvious in the Asian world – I don’t know enough either way) but it works an absolute treat. In fact it’s joined the sainted Kerridge at the top of my What To Do With a Lump of Pig list – no matter what you’re doing with your pork belly, this is a damn good way of roasting it if you want the kind of crackling that makes you weep with joy.

While the lime and salt business is going on skinside, there’s a marinade for the meaty bit – spices, soy, fish sauce etc – that gets half an hour or so. If we had any niggle with the recipe at all it’s that this element got a little lost; certainly you don’t want to overpower the pork but next times I make it (there will be many) I might be inclined to marinate it a bit longer.

Then it’s just served up with some rice noodles and a dipping sauce.

Whatever you do, DO NOT SKIMP ON THE DIPPING SAUCE. Give it at least as much love as the pork itself - as with many of these recipes, it absolutely makes the dish: salty, sour, sweet, punches of chilli and garlic . . . . hard not to dribble just thinking about it.

The rice noodles carry the sauce flavour beautifully, which cuts the fattiness of the pork, while that amazingly crunchy skin gives vigorous counterpoint to splidgy meat and soft noodles. It all goes round and round like circular stairway to heaven.

Overall cooking time is about 2 to 2 ½ hours but actual work time is only about 40 minutes or so. At the end you’ll have one of those dishes that triggers cries of delight at the first taste, and tears of regret at the last. Guaranteed.

If you were hoping to blag a free recipe here you’ll be disappointed – we don’t do that. These cooks need to make a living just like anyone else so if you like the look, buy the book

All images (c) PP Gettins

Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Finding a good tapas bar in Spain

By: Mrs Robot
Sign in Taberna Miami in Seville
Taberna Miami, Triana, Seville
We usually go to Spain once a year, and it’s usually somewhere inland - our most recent trips have been to Granada, Seville, Toledo and Segovia, with a couple of overnight stops in Madrid. Mr Robot reckons I have a knack for finding good places to drink and eat tapas, so I thought I’d share my method.

First, though, a note on tapas. You only have ONE tapa with a drink. The Spanish have a verb, ‘tapear’, to go for tapas. Don’t stay in one bar, wander between them, having a drink and little snack at each. It’s fun, and a great way to see a city and its people. There’s nothing like having favourite bars for different things, and deciding you have to go to, say, El Cordobes for flamenquines (rolled breaded pork 'cigars' filled with cheese) or El Toboso for ham (both places recommended if you’re in Seville...).

Don’t be nervous
Food in Spain is good. Rarely have we been served anything bad. However, on the few occasions we have been served less-than-wonderful fare, it’s been in very touristy places. One bar in Seville that we’d visited a few times over the years served up tinned meatballs as ‘albondigas’ on our last visit, and I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the city has become massively more touristy and this bar was seeing a lot of organised groups coming through. In general, though, you’ll get really tasty nibbles.

El Caprichito, Toledo. Better inside...
Step off the tourist trail
I won’t say avoid olde-worlde bars, because in one of Spain’s historic cities you’re sure to find bars that have been proudly serving locals since the 1890s. However, do learn to spot a tourist trap (international menus with pictures? Lots of tables outside? Avoid!) and try to wander down side streets. This isn’t because I think you should avoid your fellow foreigners, but because places that cater to tourists don’t need to worry about repeat custom, so can charge more and have lower standards. Bars that have a customer base made up of locals need to be good enough to encourage return visits.

Some of the nicest places we’ve found have been near offices and local government buildings: two in Toledo didn’t just serve delicious tapas, they gave customers a free tapa with every drink. El Caprichito, our favourite, didn't look like much at all from the outside, but was brilliant inside. In Seville, you’ll find prices cheaper and the food every bit as good if you pop across the river to Triana - if you’re lucky, you’ll see some authentic flamenco too, by locals for locals, not a tourist performance.

Don’t mind the decor
As I said, you can find plenty of authentic old bars, but don’t be put off by modern looks. I’ll often try new foods for the first time in Spain, because I know it will be done well, and had my first taste of tripe in an unprepossessing bar in El Arenal (the district near the bullring) in Seville. It had cheap plastic garden chairs and aluminium tables, and lots of local custom, so I knew it was getting repeat visits, and not for the decor!
Bodega Santa Cruz, Seville. Fun!

Sit inside
You’ll get a better sense of location and prices are sometimes cheaper if you sit inside. Some of the best bars we’ve been to don’t really have much outside - that’s more for tourists. We walked though one narrow doorway in Seville and found ourselves in Dona Lina, an incredible vintage, fully-tiled tapas bar/restaurant... which was virtually empty because most tourists were sitting outside the place serving tinned meatballs down the street. (Dona Lina has bad reviews on Tripadvisor, but it was great when we ate there.)

More than you bargained for
It rarely happens in Seville, but in Granada, Toledo and Segovia we got free tapas with drinks. The down side of this is we got no choice of tapas. It’d be even worse for a vegetarian or someone with allergies (I guess you’d have to learn the Spanish for ‘I am allergic to shellfish’ or whatever before going), but Pete and I hate anchovies. These do get dished out fairly regularly; we’ve learned to swallow the noxious things as quickly as possible. Being British, we also have hit points where we didn’t want to eat any more, we just wanted a drink, but again that seems to baffle the staff, who insisted on giving us food anyway. All you can do is shut up and eat it!

All images (c) PP Gettins

Monday, 12 May 2014

Heading East

By Mr Robot

We’re having a bit of an Asian kick in the kitchen this month. Partly to finally overcome a gross deficiency in our skill set, and partly a (probably vain) bid to lose a bit of wobble from the waistline.

You see, in our two weeks in Burma we lost LOTS of weight - I went down a whole belt notch in a fortnight - with absolutely no effort at all. We ate pretty much as normal (i.e.: to bursting, and then some, plus all the beer they’d let me have) and though were doing a bit more exercise in terms of touristy walking round it wasn’t that much: most of the heavy lifting was done by car or boat.

So, stuff yourself silly, have all the beer you can get away with, and still lose weight? That’s clearly the diet for me.

I have a couple of theories:
First, the food was jolly tasty. Very strong flavours, lots of variety and - I can’t stress this enough - extremely rich. The curries especially were dark and intense; pickles were salty and tangy; everything spiced and subtle. So while rice was served in infinite portions (it just didn’t stop) and we ate until we ached, we probably consumed rather less to hit that full-to-bursting point.

You're not supposed to serve curry in a pickled tea dish, but it is pretty!
A bit like eating in a really swanky restaurant I suppose, though rather more manageable on a day-to-day basis!

Second, the starch was almost entirely rice - we had hardly anything wheat- or spud-related - and virtually no dairy either (much to the cheese-eating monster’s chagrin). Now I’m not going to go all mentalist/nutritionalist on you but it seems more than coincidence that cutting out the bloaty stuff left us less bloaty...

An experiment then - to spend a month or so revisiting that style of food in the hopes of living like kings and looking like models. Almost certainly too good to be true of course, but it’s got to be worth a go. At worst we should end up rather better noodle-whackers than we started.

Our primary inspiration for this is coming from:
MiMi Aye (Meemalee)
Uyen Luu
Ching-He Huang
Naomi Duguid

So thanks in advance to those lovely people, and we’ll let you know how we get on.

All images (c) PP Gettins

Let's eat!

a selection of squashes
Welcome to Greedybots! We decided to start this blog simply because we like cooking and eating, and we love sharing food. This seemed like the logical way to keep sharing.

Name     Mrs Robot
AKA      Mim
Makes    Pastry & puddings
Loves    Cheese, tea
Does     Words
Also     Blogs about vintage/retro/steampunk stuff at Crinolinerobot

Name     Mr Robot
AKA      Pete
Makes    An almighty mess with every pan in the house
Loves    Beer, bacon, burgers, baconburgers
Does     Pictures
Also     Blogs about photography at Gettins Images

Spanish food is a favourite of ours, we love British classics like meat puddings and toad-in-the-hole, and we’re currently exploring more Asian cuisines thanks to a trip to Burma and a big pile of cookbooks. However, it’s fair to say we’ll try most things. We hope you enjoy trying them with us.


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Distortion Tamers - Junglehead Stories (CD)

Distortion Tamers - Junglehead Stories (CD)
Brand: Green Cookie records
Product Code: GC027
Reward Points: 3
Availability: In Stock
Price: 8.00€
Ex Tax: 8.00€
Price in reward points: 15
   - OR -

Distortion Tamers is a R’N’R trio from Athens/Greece which plays pure, primitive and explosive music based on the primary feelings and the joy of R’N’R. Rock, garage, surf, psychobilly and punk flavors mixed with their “live on stage attitude” create their own style of sound, expressing THEIR nowadays version of rock and roll.

They were formed at the end of 2009, played their debut gig on May 2010 (opening for the underground Greek band The Last Drive) getting excellent reviews from the Greek press.

Distortion Tamers’ line-up is:

Kostis Anagnostopoulos (Kosta.A-Monk) ― Guitar/Vocals.

The basic composer of the band with two decades of experience on his back with bands from both local bands and in other places in Europe (Germany), had already have a considerable huge amount of experience on the R’N’R subject. He also composed the music for the film ‘MEDUSA’ (science fiction award in Houston Texas USA film festival) and participated in the making of several recordings and live performances.

Christophoros Triantaphillopoulos (Silver) ― Drums.

With more than 20 years of service as the drummer of Greek neo-psychedelic pioneers Purple Overdose and No Man’s Land he also had the pleasure to contribute in the making of 12 records.

Stelios Voumvakis (Pep) ― Bass.

The 22-year-old potentially talented bass player (the fresh blood in the Tamers line up)!

As you’re reading this Distortion Tamers have just finished recording their debut album “Junglehead Stories” which will be released by Green Cookie records.

In their plans is to continue creating R’N’R records and play R’N’R gigs!

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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Do You Have A Green Business ? By Walt Barrett

  We are very successful with our Green Business.  If you have a green business and would like some free advertising please send us your story and details to   and we will add you to our new directory.  Home workers are welcome too.
Walt Barrett

Battery Chem Battery Recycling

Monday, March 25, 2013

Green Heron House and Deck Washes by Walt Barretrt

Order these Products at the

More information and to order.

Green Heron Detergent products are 100% made in the USA from minerals that occur naturally here in America. We manufacture Green, Septic-System-Safe, no suds and unscented Laundry Detergent. Our House & Dock Wash and Concrete & Garage Floor Wash are also all natural.
Green Heron products are dry packed to save on shipping weight and you simply add water as you mix each gallon of product as needed. It takes about 3 minutes to mix the kit. Each of our 5 gallon kits consists of five convenient one gallon dry packs for ease of mixing. Green Heron Products are very high in quality and very low in cost because we are factory direct pre- paid to our customers homes and there are no middleman involved.
We also are the manufactures of Battery Chem which has been used to recycle lead acid batteries for over 25 years. We are strictly a factory direct Internet operation and make our own products here in the USA.
We appreciate your business.

This is the first time this cement has ever been cleaned, since being poured back in 1998. That's 14 years of constant exposure to the elements, dirt & grime! Using GREEN HERON Concrete & Garage Floor Wash makes it look like it was practically poured yesterday!

Green Heron House and Dock Wash 5 gallon kit only $18.95Delivered to anywhere in the USA
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IF YOU ARE OUTSIDE OF THE USA, PLEASE CONTACT US FOR SHIPPING QUOTEGreen Heron Concrete and Garage Floor Wash 5 gallon kit only $18.95Delivered to anywhere in the USA
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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Smart Business Policies by Walt Barrett

Having been in the business of manufacturing lead acid type Battery Reconditioning Chemicals and reconditioning many of these units since the mid 1980's I have seen more than my share of mistreated and neglected golf cart batteries as well as all the other types of lead acid batteries.
Like all batteries golf cart batteries receive more than their share of both owner and employee neglect. Most of the complaints that we are hearing about and solving are caused by low water, undercharging and sulfation.
We have found over many years of experience that our time tested product Battery Chem has helped to restore many of these batteries by helping to remove sulfation, lowering charging temperatures and reducing charging times. We offer our dealers free training on the proper use of our product. We do not charge any fees or percentages from our dealers and we are not selling licence's or franchises. We just want to manufacture and sell our chemicals. We have the new required SDS forms and ship world wide (Formerly MSDS forms).
Our web site is www.BatteryChem.Biz and we are a time tested world wide company.
We are aware that Florida has many seasonal residents who own golf carts and that in many cases these units are left sitting in storage for up to six months just lying dormant so to speak. By adding Battery Chem to these batteries before they get a chance to fail you can greatly extend the useful life of these batteries. If one of these batteries has already failed due to neglect like sulfation, undercharging or low water and providing none of the cells are totally shorted out you can greatly extend the life of these batteries by adding Battery Chem and these batteries will improve in performance with each successive recharge 70% of the time.
I urge you to visit our free training site www.BatteryChem.Biz and learn about our company and time tested methods. Twenty-Seven years of repeat business is a pretty good record.
Walt Barrett President

Friday, February 8, 2013

How to Market your green products by Walt Barrett

In my over 60 years of sales and marketing I have seen my share of problems involving new startup businesses and old line well established companies. There comes a time when the product sales just seem to dry up and you just can't seem to make a nickel.

I have seen my share of recessions come and go ever since the 1930's. I was old enough to understand that my Dad just couldn't seem to get a job during that period in our history. We seem to have been in and out of these bad business cycles my entire life and yet I still know of companies that have ran successfully the entire time before, during and since the great depression.

There are several reasons that these companies have always succeeded. The main reason is that they had products that were always in demand. They still faced competition like all of us do, but the smart companies always saw to it that they had an edge on the competition.

Things that give you an edge are price, quality, customer service, brand recognition and a good strong marketing program. The simple fact is that you can offer the best products, prices and services in the world, but if people don't know you even exist then you are doomed to failure.

Here at Battery Chem we are constantly researching for new marketing ideas. We especially look for ideas that will not cost our associates a fortune because we know that money is tight these days. So it really boils down to how hard are you willing to work to get those badly needed customers and accounts that you need to succeed?

I would like to review what kinds of very basic things that you should be doing in order to market your products successfully.

You need to establish a name, location, phone number and hopefully a web site for your new company and all this should go on a business card even if it takes both sides of the card to make it look professional enough. The name of the business should reflect what the business does. Like "Battery Service and Reconditioning" or "Battery Sales and Maintenance". I'm sure that you get the idea.

There should also be Key words on your Web page so that Google's search engine will pick up on them. Here are some examples of Key words, separated by commas. Batteries, lead acid batteries, battery, reconditioning, maintenance, cars, buses, trucks, golf carts, electric forklifts, rebuilding, repairing, distilled water, repairs, service, etc. These key words draw customers to your pages; we put them on all of our videos too. When you make your web site be sure to put your full contact information and your photo on it. No one wants to deal with nameless, faceless suppliers or service people.

Let us make a free video for you to place on You Tube and embed in your web page.

Word of mouth is excellent. Hand everyone you meet a business card and tell them what you are doing. Ask them to pass the information along to their friends. Go to large warehouses and leave a card with the person in charge of paying the bills for their forklift fleet. You will quickly get their attention. These forklifts are highly subject to employee neglect. Sulfation, low water and undercharging are the leading causes of major battery failures.

Do the same for golf cart and other equipment fleets of vehicles that depend on lead acid batteries for their efficient operation. Don't be afraid to talk to people because you are providing them a needed service that can save them thousands of dollars. As I always like to say, "Who doesn't like to save money"?

Calling, mailings and face to face visits are the number one way to get new business. Believe me, when I was a young man and a shy country boy I had to force myself to do it, but it paid off. Business is not for the timid or the faint of heart. To summarize, tell everyone in sight who you are, what you do and where to find you. Be sure to make it clear that you will stand behind your product and your workmanship. If you keep your customers happy they will send you hundreds of new customers and if you don't keep them happy you will pay a heavy price.

There are many shoppers' guides around with very low or free advertising rates in them. We have had good luck over the years with them. Your local Craigslist is an excellent source of sales leads. Also, any publication that reaches company owners or executives is a good bet because they are really concerned about the bottom line and you are offering to save them a great deal of money.
An electric forklift battery can easily cost up to $8,000.00 dollars to replace and golf cart batteries can run up to $1,000.00 a set to replace.

If you can afford it, you can try some ads on the local cable channels and radio stations However, I do not suggest spending too much money on radio and TV.
If you can set up a booth at local trade shows and also sell Battery Repair kits at flea markets and swap meets it's not a bad way to go. There is a very strong do it yourself market out there that you can take advantage of.

The main thing is to use your imagination to promote your products and services. Do whatever you have to get your message out there to the marketplace.

In case you are interested our company is rapidly expanding here and overseas.
We can supply you with video ads for your web sites if you tell us what you need imprinted on them.

Please don't forget that you can always sell new batteries too. We can help you with that if you need it.

I will be writing to you more about this in the near future. If you have any questions or problems please do not hesitate to contact me at 401-725-8141,

Walt Barrett President
Battery Chem

A to Z Global Marketing Inc.

P.S. I had very good news today. I was just told that I have one of the top 5% most viewed LinkedIn profiles for 2012. This just shows that many people are interested in saving money. A Battery Chem business could change your life and your financial outlook! Visit our website and see for yourself.
Forklift Battery Rebuilding $5000.00 A Week Possible by Walt Barrett
Battery Chem
34 Mount Avenue
Lincoln, Rhode Island 02865

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Electric Cars, Batteries and your place in the industry by Walt Barrett

   Did you know that there are several hundred manufactures of electric vehicles in Asia? Well if you do a search on Google the numbers are incredible!  What is equally as incredible is the number of lead acid batteries that are being manufactured to use in these vehicles.  There are thousands of these electric vehicles being imported into the USA and other countries because they are relatively inexpensive to purchase and do not require fossil fuel.
There are already a couple of million of them in Florida alone. Every one of these vehicles has from four to eight lead acid batteries in it and they have to be maintained at minimum once a month.
   This new market that is opening up is an incredible opportunity for you if you need business opportunity in order to make it even in a failing economy like we are currently experiencing.  We have been in the battery maintenance business no for 27 years and always run at a profit.  We started off servicing batteries with a chemical formula that I came up with 27 years ago.  Then we got so busy mixing and selling our highly successful product that we went full time just manufacturing our product.  That is why we provide anyone in the world with free training in the battery maintenance and reconditioning business.
 Our main interest is in selling our chemical products. We are literally selling tons of our formula world wide.  Everyone including industry needs battery service and battery reconditioning. If you are interested in steady employment and financial independence then take our free training program at
Walt Barrett's Free Battery Training  and get started on a profitable new career path.  Our free program includes how to market your business and remember THERE ARE NO FRANCHISE OR LICENSE FEES REQUIRED.
   We offer free customer support 5 days a week  M - F -  8 AM to 4 PM by telephone at 401 725 8141 and we also offer any chemicals and equipment that you may need.
This could be your chance for a new start.
Walt Barrett


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Show Summer Spirit with Flat Stanley The Viking

By April 20, 2017Featured

It’s a spring break & summer tradition for Green Park Vikings.  The hottest spirit event on news feeds…and you’re invited.

Here’s how it works…

  1. Print off your Flat Stanley: The Viking
  2. Color, decorate, cut out
  3. Pack in your luggage and take on your summer vacation or fun summer hot spot
  4. Show some spirit! Wear your favorite GP wear and take a picture with Flat Stanley: The Viking
  5. Email photo including name, and location to: Katy Schmitt
  6. Visit Facebook regularly for updates throughout the summer. Let’s see how many places we can take Flat Stanley: The Viking and spread our school spirit.  Supporters and alumni encouraged to participate!

Based on the popular children’s books by Jeff Brown, The Flat Stanley Project started in 1995 by Dale Hubert. In the story, Stanley Lambchop is a little boy who is squished “flat as a pancake” when a bulletin board falls on home as he sleeps one night. Stanley soon discovers some real advantages to being flat. This allows Stanley to participate in a series of adventures as he is mailed all around the world.

Kindergarteners at Green Park Lutheran School in Miss Stephanie Torbeck’s class learn about Flat Stanley. Each year, students mail their decorated Flat Stanleys to friends and family out of town. What’s special to the class is when photos are mailed back describing his adventures.


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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Household Expectations

The University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers asks households about their future income prospects. They are asked: “By about what percent do you expect your (family) income to increase during the next 12 months?”  Here is the result:

Via the Cleveland Fed.  Thanks to Mark Thoma for the pointer.

The level of pessimism displayed here is striking.

How to Fix the Long-Term Fiscal Problem

A menu of plans, courtesy of the Peterson Foundation.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Advice for the Recently Tenured

From Bob Hall.  This is a couple years old, but I only just ran across it.  One tidbit from it:
Potomac fever is contagious and incurable. I know one economist who deliberately hired an undocumented nanny as a commitment device to avoid the temptation of government.

Feldstein on Greece

Marty suggests a temporary leave from the Euro.  How that would work, logistically, is unclear to me.  Introduce a new currency, devalue it, then go back to the Euro at the new exchange rate?  It seems that Marty is mainly trying to figure out a way to rewrite wage contracts with a new lower level of nominal wages.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Barney & Fannie

Perhaps because Barney Frank is my congressman, I took a special interest in this interview of Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times reporter and coauthor of Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon:

DAVIES: What's fascinating about this story is that you have this entity [Fannie Mae], which you said became the largest and most powerful financial organization in the world, you had this entity, which has government guarantees and government subsidies, although perhaps indirect, but it engages in major political contributions and lobbying expenses. How big a player were they in terms of contributing to politicians and lobbying?
Ms. MORGENSON: They were very large. The numbers might not seem large in today's terms, but they were extremely shrewd and, you know, took great care, especially of the congressmen that were on the House Financial Services Committee and the senators on the Banking Committee.
They knew that these were very important people to their livelihood and to maintaining the government perquisites as they were.
One of the really big beneficiaries, albeit indirectly, was Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts. Back in 1991, when Congress was writing the legislation that would, you know, enhance or improve the oversight of Fannie Mae, or so they thought, Frank actually called up the company and asked them to hire his companion, who had just gotten an MBA from the Amos Tuck School of Business.
Of course the company was happy to provide a job for his companion and rolled out the red carpet in a series of interviews with a variety of executives, and it ultimately did hire the man. And he stayed there for I believe seven years.
So that was an example of the kind of thing that Fannie Mae would do. Now, when I asked Mr. Frank about this, I asked him, did it have any impact on his approach to the company. You know, was it a conflict? Did he feel that it had been a conflicted, put him in a conflicted spot? And he said absolutely not, that he didn't really remember being interested or having much to do with the 1992 legislation.
But the record shows that he was very aggressive and really tough on those who were testifying in Congress about reining in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He was very aggressive to, for instance, the head of the Congressional Budget Office at that time, who was trying to call for increased capital requirements and to call for a focus on safety and soundness at Fannie Mae, that Frank really took him apart in testimony.

DAVIES: Right, and you write there were a number of occasions on which he defended Fannie and their record of promoting home ownership but in the end had a different view of the company, right?
Ms. MORGENSON: Well, after the taxpayers had to take it over, he, you know, came around, finally. But by then it was too late. He said: Well, we should shut them down. But, you know, it really was far too late, and he had been such a vocal supporter for so long that it was sort of an odd turnabout.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A regression I would like to see

In his column today, David Leonhardt writes the following about college admissions:
But all else equal, a low-income applicant was no more likely to get in than a high-income applicant with the same SAT score. It’s pretty hard to call that meritocracy.

When I first read this pair of sentences, they struck me as odd. But in the context of the whole article, they have some logic. David suggests that high-income applicants' SAT scores are, in some sense, an overstated measure of ability, because these applicants have the benefit of tutors, mulitiple testing opportunities, and so on. As a result, he says that we should correct for this by giving a preference to lower-income applicants.

Maybe David is right, but to convince me, here is what I would like to see.  Regress some measure of college success (such as GPA) on SAT scores and the student's family income.  If David is right, then the coefficient on family income should be negative.  That is, a lower-income student should do better in college, holding reported SAT score constant, because he managed to get that SAT score without all those extra benefits.  This is a regression that some enterprising college admissions committee could easily do.  (Maybe someone has already done it, and I am just not aware of the study.)

If the coefficient does turn out to be significantly negative, that finding would provide strong evidence for the thesis of David's article.  Right now, I would venture to guess that the data would not support David's story, but I am always ready to be proven wrong.

Update:Todd Stinebrickner, an economist at The University of Western Ontario, emails me this comment:
It does seem reasonable to believe that, if a low income student and a high income student have the same SAT scores at the time of college entrance, the low income student was probably born with higher "inherent" ability.  At the same time, SAT scores may not capture all of the educational benefits of being from a high income family that may continue to matter in college. For example, a student's score on the Math SAT may not capture whether the student had the opportunity to take a Calculus course in high school.  This suggests that, from a theoretical standpoint, the effect of family income on college grades conditional on SAT scores is ambiguous.  As part of an ongoing in-depth case study at one particular school (motivated particularly by an interest in college dropout), we discuss this issue and run the type of regression you suggest in Table 3 of a 2003 JHR paper "Understanding educational outcomes of students from low-income families."  It is worth noting that everyone in our sample is of moderate or low family income. Regardless, within the income groups we examine, students from higher income backgrounds have significantly higher grades throughout college conditional on college entrance exam (ACT) scores.
The finding in the last sentence (which I put in bold) is the opposite of what the Leonhardt story suggests. What this means is that if you are a college admissions officer trying to identify the students who will do best in college, as measured by grades, you would give positive rather than negative weight on family income. I am not proposing that they should do this, as colleges have many goals when putting together a class. But it does seem that the hypothesis implicit in Leonhardt's article is not supported by the data.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Strong Dollar = Strong Economy ?

A Profile of Marty Feldstein

From the Harvard Crimson, on the occasion of his 50th college reunion.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Markets in Everything

I bet this will prove to be a profitable business:
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Friday, May 20, 2011

Being an economist is no defense

Partisan Grading

Here is a fascinating finding:
We study grading outcomes associated with professors in an elite university in the United States who were identified using voter registration records from the county where the university is located as either Republicans or Democrats. The evidence suggests that student grades are linked to the political orientation of professors: relative to their Democratic colleagues, Republican professors are associated with a less egalitarian distribution of grades and with lower grades awarded to Black students relative to Whites.
Regarding the last result, the authors note:
An obvious question that arises regarding the second finding is whether and to what extent Democratic professors discriminate in favor of Black students or Republican professors discriminate against them. At this stage we only note that in the absence of an appropriate benchmark for comparison, this question cannot be credibly answered.
Thanks to Mark Perry for the pointer.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

President Obama's Asset Allocation

This is surprising:
The Obamas reported total financial assets valued between $2.8 million and $11.8 million in 2010....They report having between $1.1 million-$5.25 million invested in Treasury bills and another $1 million to $5 million in Treasury notes....The Obamas report having between $200,000-$450,000 invested in the Vanguard 500 Index Fund.

In other words, it looks like the president has only a small percentage (about 10 percent) of his personal financial assets invested in equities.  This is far, far less than financial advisers would recommend.  (If you are curious, I am at 60 percent equities.)  Either the president is not very financially savvy, or he has reason to believe that the future of the U.S. economy is not very bright.

Or maybe he is just too busy to think about it.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A Bond Market Meme

There seems to be a conventional wisdom forming that long-term interest rates in the United States are as about as low as they can possibly be.  For example, this is from an article in today's Wall Street Journal:
"Rates are so low it's hard to see them going much lower, but it's easy to imagine them going higher," said Kevin March, chief financial officer of Texas Instruments.
And this is from a post at Brad DeLong's blog:
It is certainly true that most of the time when the yield spread is high the way to bet is that long-term bond rates are coming down and long-term bond prices are going up. But somehow I can't see U.S. nominal interest rates falling much lower than they are now.

I don't buy it.  Why? Note this fact: The U.S. ten-year Treasury bond pays 3.18 percent, whereas a ten-year Japanese government bond pays 1.16 percent.

No, I am not predicting the United States is about to become just like Japan.  But it is not inconceivable.  That is why buying long-term bonds now is not a crazy investment strategy, and selling them (as many companies are now doing) is not at all a sure thing.

Addendum: Another noteworthy fact about bonds is that they have recently been negative beta assets.  (You can verify this fact with
this link.)  Their hedging properties also make buying bonds a reasonable investment strategy.

The Google Puzzle, Again

Good News

"Stanley Fischer candidate to replace Strauss-Kahn."

I have known Stan for many years. I first took a graduate course from him at MIT in 1980, and he was the main adviser for my PhD dissertation a few years later.  He also took the lead in 1987 in trying to recruit me, unsuccessfully, to leave Harvard to join the MIT faculty. Saying no to Stan was one of the hardest things I ever did.

Stan is a superb economist and international policymaker: smart, sensible, experienced, personable, and open-minded. He would be an ideal person to head the IMF.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Google Plays the Yield Curve

Click on graphic to enlarge.

I was fascinated a story in today's Wall Street Journal.  Apparently, Google is sitting on $37 billion in cash, but nonetheless decided to sell $3 billion worth of bonds.  Why?  To take advantage of low interest rates.

It is like reverse maturity transformation.  The banking system borrows short and lends long.  Google is borrowing long and lending short.  (Or maybe I should call it reverse quantitative easing, as Google is also doing exactly the opposite of what the Fed has been doing.)

Does this make sense for Google?  I have no idea, and I am ready to concede that those guys are a lot smarter (and financially successful) than I am.  But there is reason to be skeptical.

The chart above shows the spread between the ten-year Treasury bond and the three-month Treasury bill.  The yield spread is now high by historical standards.  The empirical literature on the expectations theory of the term structure (in which I have sometimes played) suggests that this is a good time to borrow short and lend long--the opposite of what Google is doing.

Maybe this time is different, and past empirical regularities will not hold going forward.  But ponder this question: If you had a friend with a paid-up house, would you suggest that he now take out a long-term mortgage in order to deposit the proceeds in a money-market fund?  If not, does it make sense for Google to be doing much the same thing?

1. A smart reader sends in the following plausible explanation:
While it's true that Google has $37 billion in cash and equivalents, almost all of that $37 billion is in non-U.S. accounts (an artifact of funneling most of their profits through low-tax Ireland). They cannot spend that $37 billion in the U.S. without incurring a tax rate of 35 percent; thus, the borrowing is to finance spending in the U.S. (as opposed to abroad). All the big tech companies do the same thing (Microsoft was in the news for the same thing some 6 months ago).  Thus, Google is not trying to play the yield curve so much as intertemporally arbitrage the U.S. tax code. By not repatriating the $37 billion now, they are betting that the U.S. corporate tax rate on repatriated foreign profits will be appreciably lower in the future than it is now.
2. On the other hand, another loyal reader points me toward this source, which says:
The firm doesn't have the same issue with overseas cash that many of its large-cap technology peers do. Of Google's $37 billion in cash, only about $17 billion is sitting outside the U.S. Microsoft, by contrast, has no net cash remaining in the U.S., while nearly 90% of Cisco's cash is sitting outside of the country.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Sunday, May 15, 2011

A Poll of Economists

Who are economists' favorite economists?

Click here to find out.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Evaluating ARRA

Tim Conley and Bill Dupor have a new paper on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (that is, the Obama stimulus bill).  Their empirical findings:
Our benchmark results suggest that the ARRA created/saved approximately 450 thousand state and local government jobs and destroyed/forestalled roughly one million private sector jobs. State and local government jobs were saved because ARRA funds were largely used to offset state revenue shortfalls and Medicaid increases rather than boost private sector employment. The majority of destroyed/forestalled jobs were in growth industries including health, education, professional and business services.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Fun Fact of the Day: California Edition

Here is a small clue that might help explain California's fiscal problems:
According to a [Newport Beach] city report on lifeguard pay for the calendar year 2010, of the 14 full-time lifeguards, 13 collected more than $120,000 in total compensation; one lifeguard collected $98,160.65. More than half the lifeguards collected more than $150,000 for 2010 with the two highest-paid collecting $211,451 and $203,481 in total compensation respectively....Lifeguards are able to retire with 90 percent of their salary, after only 30 years of work at as early as the age of 50.

Our Negative Bequest to Our Children

As calculatated by John Cogan:
Starting next year, this typical [66-year-old] couple, receiving the average benefit, will begin collecting a combination of cash and health-care entitlement benefits that will total $1 million over their remaining expected lifetime.
According to my calculations based on government data, such married couples will begin receiving monthly Social Security checks that will, on average, total about $550,000 after inflation. They will receive health-care services paid for by Medicare that, on average, will total another $450,000 after inflation. The benefactors will be a generation of younger workers who are trying to support themselves and their families while paying taxes to finance the rest of government spending....

Many of the million-dollar couples believe they rightfully deserve the benefits they have been promised. They have, after all, spent all of their working years paying into Social Security and Medicare. And true enough, the typical 66-year old couple and their employers, on their behalf, have contributed nearly $500,000 in payroll taxes (in today's dollars) toward these benefits during their working careers.

But regardless of how much they have contributed, the hard reality is that the federal government has already spent it. No matter how deserving they are, it is younger generations of workers who have to come up with the money.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Libertarian Paradise? Discuss.

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Macroeconomic Uncertainties

I agree with Paul Krugman

As my regular blog readers know, Paul Krugman and I often do not see eye to eye.  So, once in a while, it might be useful to point out those times when we actually agree.

In a recent post on commodity prices, Paul says, "Volatile prices are volatile, which is why they shouldn’t be used to determine monetary policy."  I agree, and I suspect many other macroeconomists would as well.

I once wrote a paper on this topic with Ricardo Reis, called "What Measure of Inflation Should a Central Bank Target?" (published link)  Here is the abstract:
This paper assumes that a central bank commits itself to maintaining an inflation target and then asks what measure of the inflation rate the central bank should use if it wants to maximize economic stability. The paper first formalizes this problem and examines its microeconomic foundations. It then shows how the weight of a sector in the stability price index depends on the sector’s characteristics, including size, cyclical sensitivity, sluggishness of price adjustment, and magnitude of sectoral shocks. When a numerical illustration of the problem is calibrated to U.S. data, one tentative conclusion is that a central bank that wants to achieve maximum stability of economic activity should use a price index that gives substantial weight to the level of nominal wages.
As the graph below illustrates, the price of labor does not show any significant inflationary pressures right now:

Click on graphic to enlarge.
For more on this topic, see a recent post by MIT grad student Matt Rognlie.

Friday, May 06, 2011

The Inanity of Rent Control

Thursday, May 05, 2011

If Supermarkets Were Like Public Schools

A thought-provoking analogy from Donald Boudreaux:
Suppose that groceries were supplied in the same way as K-12 education. Residents of each county would pay taxes on their properties. Nearly half of those tax revenues would then be spent by government officials to build and operate supermarkets. Each family would be assigned to a particular supermarket according to its home address. And each family would get its weekly allotment of groceries—"for free"—from its neighborhood public supermarket.
No family would be permitted to get groceries from a public supermarket outside of its district. Fortunately, though, thanks to a Supreme Court decision, families would be free to shop at private supermarkets that charge directly for the groceries they offer. Private-supermarket families, however, would receive no reductions in their property taxes.
Of course, the quality of public supermarkets would play a major role in families' choices about where to live. Real-estate agents and chambers of commerce in prosperous neighborhoods would brag about the high quality of public supermarkets to which families in their cities and towns are assigned.
Being largely protected from consumer choice, almost all public supermarkets would be worse than private ones. In poor counties the quality of public supermarkets would be downright abysmal. Poor people—entitled in principle to excellent supermarkets—would in fact suffer unusually poor supermarket quality.
How could it be otherwise? Public supermarkets would have captive customers and revenues supplied not by customers but by the government. Of course they wouldn't organize themselves efficiently to meet customers' demands.
Responding to these failures, thoughtful souls would call for "supermarket choice" fueled by vouchers or tax credits. Those calls would be vigorously opposed by public-supermarket administrators and workers.
Opponents of supermarket choice would accuse its proponents of demonizing supermarket workers (who, after all, have no control over their customers' poor eating habits at home). Advocates of choice would also be accused of trying to deny ordinary families the food needed for survival. Such choice, it would be alleged, would drain precious resources from public supermarkets whose poor performance testifies to their overwhelming need for more public funds.
As for the handful of radicals who call for total separation of supermarket and state—well, they would be criticized by almost everyone as antisocial devils indifferent to the starvation that would haunt the land if the provision of groceries were governed exclusively by private market forces.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Increasing Inequality around the World

From the OECD, via The Economist:
With very few exceptions, the rich have done better over the past 30 years, even in highly egalitarian places like Scandinavia.


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Featured Post

Click Here for Reviews of "The Tunnels"

Thursday, July 24, 2014

State of Affairs

Great editorial cartoon by Pulitzer-winner Mike Luckovich.

Anonymous said...

It's Luckovich

Charlie Hall said...

This frightens me and I live in Scotland. It must scare the sh*t out of the poor folk in Gaza. There has to be an answer other than bombs and rockets. Both sides need to sincerely seek it.


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Grey Room

Landscapes of Ice, Wind, and Snow: Alexander Kluge’s Aesthetic of Coldness

Nora M. Alter, Lutz Koepnik, Richard Langston

Alexander Kluge. Yesterday Girl, 1966. Video still.

The article examines Kluge’s recent work on the theme of natural coldness to argue that his media-specific techniques in these works evince an aesthetic intent on honing the human capacity for feeling unaffected by barbarism. Kluge, on the one hand, maintains his mentor Theodor Adorno’s aesthetic theory and, on the other, enlists it for new purposes. The authors unearth beneath Kluge’s dialectic of coldness a critical phenomenology that emanates from experiences that precede thought itself: living human beings’ inherent capacity to sense even the most basic of differences and therewith orientate themselves to safety in the face of debilitating ice, wind, and snow.


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