Whole Grain Carb Delights

Here is a taste of some of the carb-rich foods we have eaten and baked throughout the week. Of course, they all are whole grain, healthy, and delicious!Most of the time for breakfast we enjoy a hearty bowl of cereal and mix in a bunch of nutritious goodies, including dried or fresh fruit, hemp or flaxmeal, and wheat germ or oat bran. When we're not eating cold cereal, we like to soak some rolled flakes (oats, barley flakes, spelt flakes, triticale flakes, etc.) in mylk and enjoy cold, or have a bowl of warm porridge (with flakes or grits/meals such as pumpernickle meal, kamut grits, etc.). We love texture, chewiness, nuttiness, and all things nutritious/whole grain!Our favorite cold cereals include: Nature's Path Cereals (Millet Rice, Mesa Sunrise, or Gluten Free Whole-O's), and Arrowhead Mills Shredded Wheat. We periodically like Barbara's Bakery Shredded Oats and Puffins. A new cereal we also really liked is Enjoy Life's Cinnamon Crunch Granola (p.s. this is so crunchy, it needs to be soaked in mylk before eating).This week we decided to do something different for breakfast. We warmed up cereal (in this case it was Peace's Cinnamon Spice Crunch) in the microwave and enjoyed it warm, like la belle vegan does periodically. It was very good - the spiced flavors came out into the milk and the texture was a nice softer bite. Every week we make homemade bread/rolls and muffins. This week we savored homemade garlic breadsticks dipped in high quality Italian olive oil. Buttery rich, garlicy goodness! We enjoyed them with some steamed kale (with garlic, too), and a bowl of soup with lentils.Now, for dessert, we love experimenting. We had anise powder hidden in our pantry for quite some time and finally put it to use - with fig anise oatmeal cookies. The idea was cool, and we love licorice flavor, which is similar to anise, but the flavor wasn't right. The anise didn't taste licoricy, and in a cookie, it was odd. The texture of the cookies turned out nice, we just need to tweak the cookie flavor and make authentic oatmeal spice cookies, or other flavors such as maple date oatmeal.Another flavor we made in the kitchen along with the fig anise was fig orange. Sadly, the orange flavor wasn't strong enough, because we just used o.j. instead of orange peel. We spread on some coconut frosting, which made it a rich cookie!We are baker fanatics, so had to make another special sweet - this time it came out perfect. Lemon Poppyseed Whole Grain cake from Bob's Red Mill, with added banana, flax, and fresh pineapple. Tropical, sweet, and so deliciously moist!What is funny is that as I am writing this post about baked goods/carbs, I have been eating all raw today, so these foods look very tempting! We are planning to make Sundays >90% raw days - with dried fruits, fresh fruits, smoothies, veggies, seeds, and raw meals. (That means no carbs except raw soaked grains and wheat germ.)Cravings for carbs galore!-LK

Whole Grain Carb Delights

Here is a taste of some of the carb-rich foods we have eaten and baked throughout the week. Of course, they all are whole grain, healthy, and delicious!Most of the time for breakfast we enjoy a hearty bowl of cereal and mix in a bunch of nutritious goodies, including dried or fresh fruit, hemp or flaxmeal, and wheat germ or oat bran. When we're not eating cold cereal, we like to soak some rolled flakes (oats, barley flakes, spelt flakes, triticale flakes, etc.) in mylk and enjoy cold, or have a bowl of warm porridge (with flakes or grits/meals such as pumpernickle meal, kamut grits, etc.). We love texture, chewiness, nuttiness, and all things nutritious/whole grain!Our favorite cold cereals include: Nature's Path Cereals (Millet Rice, Mesa Sunrise, or Gluten Free Whole-O's), and Arrowhead Mills Shredded Wheat. We periodically like Barbara's Bakery Shredded Oats and Puffins. A new cereal we also really liked is Enjoy Life's Cinnamon Crunch Granola (p.s. this is so crunchy, it needs to be soaked in mylk before eating).This week we decided to do something different for breakfast. We warmed up cereal (in this case it was Peace's Cinnamon Spice Crunch) in the microwave and enjoyed it warm, like la belle vegan does periodically. It was very good - the spiced flavors came out into the milk and the texture was a nice softer bite. Every week we make homemade bread/rolls and muffins. This week we savored homemade garlic breadsticks dipped in high quality Italian olive oil. Buttery rich, garlicy goodness! We enjoyed them with some steamed kale (with garlic, too), and a bowl of soup with lentils.Now, for dessert, we love experimenting. We had anise powder hidden in our pantry for quite some time and finally put it to use - with fig anise oatmeal cookies. The idea was cool, and we love licorice flavor, which is similar to anise, but the flavor wasn't right. The anise didn't taste licoricy, and in a cookie, it was odd. The texture of the cookies turned out nice, we just need to tweak the cookie flavor and make authentic oatmeal spice cookies, or other flavors such as maple date oatmeal.Another flavor we made in the kitchen along with the fig anise was fig orange. Sadly, the orange flavor wasn't strong enough, because we just used o.j. instead of orange peel. We spread on some coconut frosting, which made it a rich cookie!We are baker fanatics, so had to make another special sweet - this time it came out perfect. Lemon Poppyseed Whole Grain cake from Bob's Red Mill, with added banana, flax, and fresh pineapple. Tropical, sweet, and so deliciously moist!What is funny is that as I am writing this post about baked goods/carbs, I have been eating all raw today, so these foods look very tempting! We are planning to make Sundays >90% raw days - with dried fruits, fresh fruits, smoothies, veggies, seeds, and raw meals. (That means no carbs except raw soaked grains and wheat germ.)Cravings for carbs galore!-LK

10 Things My Kids Have Found to Do When There is Nothing to Do

I was thinking about how much free time my girls get each day. Sometimes I feel guilty for not having enough planned for each day. (Savannah's favorite phrase is often, "I'm bored; there's nothing to do.") But then I realized that in their unscheduled time they have actually been at their most creative. Here is a list of some of the things my kids have found to do in the last month when left to explore and create using their own imaginations.Planned a birthday party complete with handmade decorations. They drew pictures on paper plates to give the party a theme, made coordinating hats out of construction paper and pom-poms, and made a pinata out of a paper lunch bag and string (they stuffed it with Fruity Pebbles and granola bars).Made a cookbook. They wrote out the recipes they knew including sweet tea, lemonade and milkshakes and then punched holes in the paper and put them in a binder.Made a museum. They collected items from around the house including their art work, family memorabilia, rocks, and more. The items were organized by collection into different rooms. They then made museum maps of the rooms which they handed out as they gave tours of their museums. Put on a circus. Using face paints, the dress up bins and various step stools, hula hoops and a stick pony balanced across two bins, they girls organized a circus with three acts: acrobats (walking the tight rope stick pony pole), lion taming and clowns.Created magic tricks. Savannah asked me to name a few favorite tv shows. She then wrote the initials of each show on slips of paper and put them into a brown paper bag. She asked me to draw a slip of paper while she then "read my mind" to tell me what was on the paper. She got it right and then explained the trick to me-she had written the same initials on all of the pieces of paper. Created a club house. The girls call the willow tree across the street Grand Mother Willow. They go over there and pretend her branches create a little house. They have named their club the nature club and do activities like making crowns from willow branches and flowers and painting with water on rocks using paint brushes made from sticks and leaves that are tied together with willow branches.Made new bubble baths. The girls mixed up some different assorted bubble baths to create their own unique scents. They then designed labels and adhered them to the bottles.Wrote a book. Savannah is on the 6th chapter of what she calls her "Go Girls" mystery. The Go Girls are a club that solves mysteries. In the book she is working on, the Go Girls are solving the mystery of the missing cat. Ellie is working on a horse breed book. She draws different breeds of horses on each page and then identifies the breed and lists a few identifying characteristics. Both girls are using journals I got at Borders. Ellie's is blank while Savannah's has lines on one page while the opposite page is blank allowing her to write and illustrate. The girls continue to add to their books during their down time. Made puppets and dolls. While I was resting the girls found their way into the craft supplies. They found some muslin body forms, buttons, yarn and sharpie markers. The proceeded to decorate the bodies and create their own puppets. Ellie also stuffed her form using my quilting batting and hand sewed the bottom shut with needle and thread. the result was a handmade muslin doll. When I came out of my room (after trying my best not to overreact to all of the craft supplies all over the kitchen) the girls used their creations to perform the puppet show they had scripted together.Set up a beauty salon. I must admit this is my favorite! The girls will set up the bathroom with my make up and nail polish. They also bring out all of their bows and ribbons and hair brushes. Prior to my arrival they will make signs, price lists and style books for their salon. I then choose a hairstyle from the book and they perform their magic. I sit back while they brush my hair, style it, do my make up and paint my nails. Yes, their technique needs some work but I always leave their make up and hair style arranged until my husband comes home from work and can praise them for how pretty I look. For one dad's theory on why modern children get bored so easily, check out this article on the Wisdom Journal.

How to Cook Frozen Lobster Tail

How to Cook Frozen Lobster TailFrozen lobster has some definite benefits over fresh live Lobster.• Frozen lobster can be bought and stored until you are ready to use it.• Frozen lobster will be less expensive.• Frozen Lobster tail is easier to obtain.• A big benefit is that the frozen lobster has already been prepared so you don't have to deal with the dilemma of cooking a live lobster.It is true that fresh live Lobster will generally taste better but that comes at a considerably higher cost. This is because fresh lobster is usually bought for the meat in the tail and claws. Frozen Lobsters tails can come from any of dozens of other different varieties of claw-less species which makes them more available and less costly.Sources Of Frozen Lobster TailIn general, there are two distinct sources for frozen Lobster tails. Some are harvested from warm waters and some come from cold waters. Most chefs consider the warm water varieties to be the least desirable. This is because by the time that they are harvested and get to you the meat is of poor quality in a large percentage of the tail.You should always try to buy your frozen tail from the cold waters of southern countries and avoid the central American variety. Sometimes the information is on the package though often it is not. Then you have to rely on the information the vendor can give you or guess based on the price. The warm water tails will always be the least expensive.Cooking the LobsterTo get the best flavor and texture from frozen lobster tails they should be thawed prior to cooking. It is possible to cook frozen tails but doing so will produce a tough less tasty meat.To thaw frozen lobster tails let them sit in their unopened packaging in the refrigerator for about 24 hours. You can thaw them faster by immersing the package in water, then letting that sit in the fridge.In a rush you can use a microwave with a defrost setting to thaw the tails. Just be careful so that you don't start cooking the Lobster tails this way.Once thawed, the Lobster Tails should be cooked in a timely manner. After thawing they can be boiled, steamed, baked, broiled or grilled. It's up to you.Here are the two most popular and easiest ways to cook Lobster, boiling and steaming.Boiling thawed frozen Lobster is really easy.• Fill a pot with enough water to cover the Lobsters you are cooking,• Add about one tbsp salt per quart of water• Heat the water to a rolling boil• Drop the Lobsters into the boiling water• Cook for about 1 minute per ounce of LobsterSteaming is similar except you will use less water. You will need a steaming basket that can hang into the pot but not reach into the water and a tight lid.• Put 1 to 1 ½ inches of water into pot.• Add salt (1 tbsp per quart of water)• Heat the water to boiling• Hang the steaming basket into the pot• Cover with heavy Lid (If you don't have a heavy lid sit a brick or rock on top to hold the lid down)• Cook them for 7 to 8 minutesJust remember, be careful and watch out for the hot steam when you open the pot and remember that the pot, lid, strainer and Lobsters will all be extremely hot.Serve the Lobster on a platter with some hot clarified butter and you are ready to feast.Learn all the different ways that you can enjoy Lobster. Bob Current is publisher of http://www.cookinglobster.info. Here you can learn the where how and what of finding and cooking lobster.

Podcast Goddess - THINGS THAT MAKE ME GO MMMRUH!

17 Again? As If.by Geralyn Ruane17 Again. Okay, so I went to see the movie twice so far. The plot is riddled with nonsensical gaps, but there’s still plenty of mmmruh to keep me pleasantly distracted for the 102 minutes or so. And sure, the idea intrigues plenty of us… "If I could do it all over, with what I know now…” But the truth is, I wouldn’t be 17 again, not for all the condoms in the vending machine.Low riders and thongs? So not me. But I remember myself at 17, trying to latch onto any fashion craze I could afford. So I am sure if I got zapped back to high school I’d be squeezing into a G-string for prom. Plus, I had no confidence as a teen and my dating life limped along, hobbled by my bruised psyche. Get this – when I was 17, I dated guys who didn’t love animals!!! And drove gas guzzlers!!! Sure, I was 4 sizes smaller, but what difference does that make? I still felt fat all the time. I was in better shape, but back then my shin splints hurt like hell. And in ’89, I was on the pill, an aspect of Western medicine I’ve completely eschewed since that stroke in ’96.Truth is, I like the person I’ve evolved into. I’m not done chasing my dreams or shy about conjuring up new ones to pursue. Mmmruh! Sure, I’ve made some mistakes along the way – I think of the chances I should have taken, the houses I didn’t buy, the vaccinations I should have never allowed – but I would not go back. Well, maybe back to that day in the vet’s office. Yes, definitely back there. But other than that, I like my thirties A LOT. Recently, I tutored a college senior, and his place where we studied smelled like college boys. Not a bad smell, just distinctive and immediately recognizable. Oh yeah, and the room was decorated with beer – signs, bottles, cans, posters. AND I WAS SO GLAD I WAS NOT IN COLLEGE ANYMORE. I am also way grateful no longer to be in my twenties. God, was I stupid in my twenties!You know, I did not go to my 5th, 10th or 15th high school reunions. Why would I? High school was mostly unhappy for me. Plus, I am not the super in-shape best-selling novelist I hoped to be by age 25. But then Jason Smith, a kid from my high school class who is organizing our upcoming reunion, tracked me down through this very OCC Romance Writers’ Blog and told me about our upcoming reunion and invited me to join our 20th Reunion Website.Aaaahhh!!!!! But I’m not super in-shape!! I’m not a best-selling novelist!! I haven’t even fucked anyone famous!! I can’t go back!But Jason worked so hard to find me, and I remembered him as such a nice kid, so I joined the website.And oh, my goodness gracious!! Would you believe that all those kids from my graduating class – we all just grew up to be people! People!! With whom it wasn’t scary at all to reconnect. In fact, catching up with my updated past has been fantastic!For the first time in my life, I feel completely comfortable in my own skin. Mmmruh! I feel good. I feel right. And all I had to do was face one of my greatest fears – THE KIDS FROM HIGH SCHOOL!!! (You should be hearing the Psycho shower scene music in your head right now.) So now I am going to face another of my shark-eating-me-in-the-ocean-at-night-type fears (cue the Psycho strings.): SENDING MY BOOK OUT TO PUBLISHERS AND AGENTS!!!!!!I’m going to do it, damn it, and sell my book. Mmmmmruh! Though our winsome blogger has resigned herself to the stupid loss of her 200 bucks(see her Jnauary'09 blog), she is gratified to see that possible misuse of said 200 bucks is under federal investigation. Other than throwing her money away, Geralyn also appears in the award-winning internet short comedy film Daryl From OnCar and co-hosts the radio show Better Times After 50 on AdviceRadio.com Her short story “Jane Austen Meets the New York Giants” is published in the New York Times Bestselling anthology The Right Words at the Right Time, Volume 2.[img]http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/14091439-8361390142119461758?l=occsliceoforange.blogspot.com[/img]View the full article

Flirting with Absurdity

During the election campaign a bunch of aussie blogs sported a message to Kev:Well, on the question of internet filtering (as Kev would say), they're fucking it up. They need to man-up and admit they're wrong.The clean feed proposal won't stop the bad people and will inconvenience the good people. It's like putting half a dozen deadlocks on your doors and then leaving a ground floor window open. It's a really bad idea.The fact that you're reading this means you're a bright, forward-thinking net user, so no doubt you'll already have come across stories about the government's clean feed proposal. Allow me to note down a quick synopsis:March 06- Kim Beazley promises clean feedJune 07- ACMA kicks off filter test process as directed by then minister Helen CoonanDecember 07- Newly-elected ALP government announces cleanfeed to go aheadEarly 08- Closed environment tests conducted in TasmaniaJune 08- ACMA report releasedJuly 08- Conroy welcomes test reportSeptember 08- Mark Newton posts that the only opt-out option seems to be switching from blacklist 1 to blacklist 2 ie no opt-out optionEarly October 08- Bloggers pick up the nugget and run with it. MSM catches up two weeks later.Late October 08- Creative responses abound- The Great Firewall of Australia becomes the subject of discussion in the dying days of The Media Report on RN. Conroy talks intent, Mark Pesce talks practicalities.- Mark Pesce's Clean Feeds piece on ABC's Unleashed observes Twitter as awareness-raiding/organising medium, comments credit blogs (namely SomebodyThinkOfTheChildren.com) and Facebook groups (No Clean Feed has 2805 members, No Australian Internet Censorship has 10103 members and People Against Mandatory Internet Filters in Australia has 771 members as at 02 Nov 08) as well as a cause page.02 Nov 08- Tech Wired Australia proposes "Stop It, Don't Block It" as counter-campaign slogan, register the domain after podcast recording.There's a much more comprehensive timeline on the OCAU wiki.On The Media Report, Conroy pulled out something akin to a party-line Nuremburg defense:"This is a long-standing election commitment. We made this commitment back when Kim Beazley was leader of the Labor Party, so just to give you an indication, this is a long-standing position we've been advocating."This is disingenuous on several fronts: Firstly Mr Conroy, you dumped Beazley, so you don't owe him anything as far as implementing his proposals goes. Secondly, when Big Kim announced the plan, he didn't say anything about it being mandatory for all. He said[ISP] "will be required to offer a filtered "clean feed" internet service"not that it would be forced upon us and he also said there'd be an opt-out option. Choice was still on the table. Thirdly, just because Coonan directed ACMA to test and report, it doesn't mean you have to implement. You're the Minister remember? Beazley and Coonan might have laid the tracks, but you're in control of the train now and you can still stop it (and all of the parasitic special interest groups) before it derails.Or has it already? Excuse me while I jot down some incompletely formed scenarios (feel free to tear them apart, propose alternatives in comments):Worst Case:Proposal implemented as it stands. Special interest groups (Fielding, Xenophon) get their 'legal-but-immoral' content banned. Speed drops, people flock to TOR, P2P nets and VPNs to get to the content they want. No political fallout for Rudd or Conroy.Best of the worst cases:Proposal implemented as it stands. ALP sticks to filtering content based on existing crimes legislation only, tells special interest groups to go jump. Speed drops, people still flock to alternative means and circumvent filters. Rudd & Conroy lose tech sector support/votes.Best case for Kevin:Rudd sees that the filter stands in the way of a decent national broadband strategy. Announces that he has considered the kevidence of blocked tubes, speed drops, ease of circumvention etc and announces another study/review. This gets the comparisons with Iran and China off the front pages and gives everyone a chance to provide submissions (yay, more kevidence). Not so good for Conroy, being slapped down by the PM. Actually, maybe not so good for Rudd either, what with him exercising Howard-like control of cabinet.Best case for Conroy:Having trouble with this one; maybe it's all too far gone for Conroy to have any redemption at all. If he keeps going, he joins a club already populated by Harradine, Ruddock, Vanstone and Howard. If he backs down he risks being seen as hating Laura Norder.Best case for everybody:The whole idea is nixed. Rudd wakes up after another night at Scores, decides parenting should be left to parents. Reallocates filter funds to education, health. Sets up skunkworks to design wowser filters.We shouldn't, nay mustn't, just hope for the best and prepare for the worst. You have to let your elected representatives know what you think of this proposal before it's implemented. No Clean Feed has several options for action, but I would recommend letters. Real printed letters, signed and sent in real envelopes with real stamps. Postcards run a close second. They're real, tangible. E-mails and online petitions might get the same content across, but there's something about a real tangible letter/postcard that I think gets the message across better, especially on issues of importance. One person I know has written to Conroy, the communications shadow minister (Nick Minchin) and his members (federal and territory) and I plan to match him. If you're not confident writing a letter, there are plenty of templates around: 1, 2, 3, 4.If you've gotten through all that, and you've printed, signed & sent your letters, you deserve a video:

Local culinary high school places in national competition

I’m like the proud auntie, no direct connection to the success of the Carver Center for the Arts and Technology management team though I co-mentored the culinary team to 2nd place statewide – it makes me meshpokha (extended family). For my loyal readers, all three of you, here is a link to the story ‘does your child like to cook’, about the state competition but do read on about the first Maryland ProStart team to place in the national competition.The Restaurant Association of Maryland Education Foundation (RAMEF) announced today that the high school hospitality management team from the Carver Center for the Arts and Technology in Baltimore County took 4th place at the National ProStart Invitational in San Diego, CA this past weekend.The National ProStart Invitational provided the stage for 31 high school teams from across the country to compete against one another in a hospitality management competition. Teams were given a “case study” that involved several problems and situations that might arise in the hospitality industry on any given day. After 30 minutes of preparation, the team then had to make a presentation to judges on how they would handle those situations. Judges then scored their presentations based on how the team addressed customer relations, inter-departmental communications, staffing and labor, sanitation, safety and organization. Teams also competed against one another in a knowledge bowl, answering questions about hospitality management, culinary arts and food safety. Judges included hospitality industry professionals and instructors from post secondary schools with hospitality management programs. Over 1 million dollars in scholarship money and national bragging rights were on the line for the top finishing teams in the competition.This was the second year in a row that the Carver Center and instructor Bette Mullins had won the Maryland ProStart Student Invitational and earned the right to represent Maryland in the national competition. Team members Brina Furman, Rachel Sherman, Brenna Hoffman, Tara Lewis, and Thomas Burch each earned a $500 scholarship from both McCormick and Whole Foods Market for winning the state competition, along with several scholarship awards from numerous post secondary institutions. “These students put in hours and hours of work to prepare for the national competition”, stated Mullins, “I am extremely proud of their 4th place finish and they exceeded all my expectations”.For placing 4th in the nation, each student on the team will receive a $500 scholarship from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and the Coca Cola Company along with a gift bag worth over $200 in culinary tools and materials. This is in addition to the scholarships awarded to them for finishing first at the state competition.“This is the best finish for any Maryland team in the National ProStart Invitational” commented Marshall Weston Jr., Executive Vice President of RAMEF. “Having the highest score in the knowledge bowl competition is what propelled this team to 4th in the nation. This group highlights the caliber of students we have in the ProStart program in Maryland.”The ProStart program is a high school culinary and hospitality management curriculum that also requires 400 hours of paid industry work experience in order to receive a ProStart National Certificate of Achievement. Students completing the ProStart program are qualified to enter the workforce in positions above entry level and are on a fast track to management careers. ProStart is endorsed by the Maryland State Department of Education and also prepares students for post secondary education at culinary schools and hospitality management programs.Weston added that “It is the partnerships between the industry and education that has helped these students achieve nationally recognized success. The financial support and mentoring of those in the industry are what enabled the Carver Center for the Arts to perform at the highest level.”

Fareeda.

white tiger

Sauna Tips and Tricks

There are a number of unknown tips and tricks that you can add to the multitude of benefits that come from sauna steam baths. A few of the more common ones that you can add to your arsenal of body and soul aids are as follows: * Shave & with a blade to shave after sweating, it is quite common and as you are covered by a sweat, it provides an incredibly smooth shave and softens the skin without the use of shaving gel or foam. This result is also valid for other parts of the body (legs, for example) and the face. * Relief of cold & Get temporary relief of a stuffy nose or congested chest with the sauna steam bath. You can easily add a few drops of a natural substance like eucalyptus oil, in water to be vaporized. The scented steam can then help to relieve the airways, which will respond favorably to free and clear breathing. (more&) aromatherapy, health benefits of a sauna, relaxation, sauna, saunas, steam, steam bathsaromatherapy, health benefits of a sauna, relaxation, sauna, saunas, steam, steam baths

Car reduced communities

This article was on the front section of the NY Times web site today. Interesting concept, but the articles mentions developments in the US too.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/sc...b.html?_r=1&hp
Quote:
In German Suburb, Life Goes on Without Cars
VAUBAN, Germany — Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.
Cars are forbidden on most of Vauban's streets, and houses cannot have driveways or garages.
Vauban, which was completed in 2006, has 5,500 residents.
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.
As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.
Vauban, completed in 2006, is an example of a growing trend in Europe, the United States and elsewhere to separate suburban life from auto use, as a component of a movement called “smart planning.”
Automobiles are the linchpin of suburbs, where middle-class families from Chicago to Shanghai tend to make their homes. And that, experts say, is a huge impediment to current efforts to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes, and thus to reduce global warming. Passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe and up to 50 percent in some car-intensive areas in the United States.
While there have been efforts in the past two decades to make cities denser, and better for walking, planners are now taking the concept to the suburbs and focusing specifically on environmental benefits like reducing emissions. Vauban, home to 5,500 residents within a rectangular square mile, may be the most advanced experiment in low-car suburban life. But its basic precepts are being adopted around the world in attempts to make suburbs more compact and more accessible to public transportation, with less space for parking. In this new approach, stores are placed a walk away, on a main street, rather than in malls along some distant highway.
“All of our development since World War II has been centered on the car, and that will have to change,” said David Goldberg, an official of Transportation for America, a fast-growing coalition of hundreds of groups in the United States promoting new communities that are less dependent on cars. Mr. Goldberg added: “How much you drive is as important as whether you have a hybrid.”
Levittown and Scarsdale, New York suburbs with spread-out homes and private garages, were the dream towns of the 1950s and still exert appeal. But some new suburbs may well look more Vauban-like, not only in developed countries but also in the developing world, where emissions from an increasing number of private cars owned by the burgeoning middle class are choking cities.
In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency is promoting “car reduced” communities. Many experts expect public transport serving suburbs to play a much larger role in a six-year federal transportation bill to be approved this year, Mr. Goldberg said. In previous bills, 80 percent of appropriations have by law gone to highways.
In California, the Hayward Area Planning Association is developing a Vauban-like community called Quarry Village on the outskirts of Oakland, accessible without a car to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and the California State University’s campus in Hayward.
Sherman Lewis, a professor emeritus at Cal State and a leader of the association, says he “can’t wait to move in” and hopes Quarry Village will allow his family to reduce its car ownership from two to one, or even none. But the current system is still stacked against the project, he said, noting that mortgage lenders worry about resale value of half-million-dollar homes that have no place for cars, and most zoning laws still require two parking spaces per residential unit.
Besides, convincing people to give up their cars is often an uphill run. “People in the U.S. are incredibly suspicious of any idea where people are not going to own cars, or are going to own fewer,” said David Ceaser, a founder of CarFree City USA, who said no car-free suburban project the size of Vauban had succeeded in the United States.
In Europe, some governments are thinking on a national scale. In 2000, Great Britain began a comprehensive effort to reform planning, to discourage car use by requiring that new development be accessible by public transit.
“Development comprising jobs, shopping, leisure and services should not be designed and located on the assumption that the car will represent the only realistic means of access for the vast majority of people,” said PPG 13, the British government’s revolutionary 2001 planning document. Dozens of shopping malls, fast-food restaurants and housing compounds have been refused planning permits based on the new British regulations.
In Germany, a country that is home to Mercedes-Benz and the autobahn, life in a car-reduced place like Vauban has its own unusual gestalt. It is long and relatively narrow, so that the tram into Freiburg is an easy walk from every home. Stores, restaurants, banks and schools are more interspersed among homes than they are in a typical suburb. Most residents, like Ms. Walter, have carts that they haul behind bicycles for shopping trips or children’s play dates.
For trips to stores like Ikea or the ski slopes, families buy cars together or use communal cars rented out by Vauban’s car-sharing club. Ms. Walter had previously lived — with a private car — in Freiburg as well as the United States.
“If you have one, you tend to use it,” she said. “Some people move in here and move out rather quickly — they miss the car next door.”
Vauban, the site of a former Nazi army base, was occupied by the French Army from the end of World War II until the reunification of Germany two decades ago. Because it was planned as a base, the grid was never meant to accommodate private car use: the “roads” were narrow passageways between barracks.
The original buildings have long since been torn down. The stylish row houses that replaced them are buildings of four or five stories, designed to reduce heat loss and maximize energy efficiency, and trimmed with exotic woods and elaborate balconies; free-standing homes are forbidden.
By nature, people who buy homes in Vauban are inclined to be green guinea pigs — indeed, more than half vote for the German Green Party. Still, many say it is the quality of life that keeps them here.
Henk Schulz, a scientist who on one afternoon last month was watching his three young children wander around Vauban, remembers his excitement at buying his first car. Now, he said, he is glad to be raising his children away from cars; he does not worry much about their safety in the street.
Already, Vauban has become a well-known niche community, even if it has spawned few imitators in Germany. But whether the concept will work in California is an open question.
More than 100 would-be owners have signed up to buy in the Bay Area’s “car-reduced” Quarry Village, and Mr. Lewis is still looking for about $2 million in seed financing to get the project off the ground.
But if it doesn’t work, his backup proposal is to build a development on the same plot that permits unfettered car use. It would be called Village d’Italia.

Mouzzs Room Mates

OK, before we get started, can I get a definitive grammar ruling here? Should it be "Mouzz's Room Mates" or "Mouzzs Room Mates"? I'm pretty sure it's Mouzzs Room Mates but that just looks so wrong to me. I confess, I'm an apostrophe addict.And speaking of Mouzz and because all I have knitting-wise are more blankie pictures, let's meet Mouzz's (Mouzzs) room mates.These are cockatiels, for those who are not bird savvy. On the left we have Seven (as in 747) and on the right is Bo(eing). Get it? Boeing and 747? Yeah, well I didn't name them. My friend adopted these two little nutcases about 8 months ago. Not only did he get the birds for free, he got the cages and all their "accessories" for free as well. The original owners had to give them up after having them for SEVEN YEARS because their neighbors were complaining about the noise.Seven, pictured above, is female while Bo is male. They're not breeders although every now and then Bo will get a twinkle in his eye which results in a lot of squawking and feather flapping on Seven's part. Seven doesn't wanna be tied down to any ol' nest. I've never had birds before and I still don't, these are not MINE, but talk about personality plus. Bo is about as dumb as a box of rocks and is prone to walking in circles, staring at the floor. That's when he's not doing his car alarm impressions. Seven is a sneaky little minx and very opinionated. But then, she's a female.Tomorrow night, a blankie update! Exciting! Wow!

Spain: No.1 in the ranking of recruitement places for Al-Qaeda in Europe

Five years after March 11th, which made Spain a target of the Islamist terror, Interior Minister has stated that Spain is now a source of Human Resources for future terrorists"..."situated in the 1st place in the ranking of their preferred recruitement's places for Al-Qaeda's recruitment in Europe, and, at the same time, it continues to be a target of international terrorism.
Since March 11th, State Security Forces have detained 384 alleged Islamist terrorists.
Some of the them had the objective of recruiting, teaching, training and sending mujahidins to Irak. Others only did apology of terrorism or defense and proud display of extremist ideas, according to the counterterrorist sources of the National Police, or they just financed Jihad by sending money from Spain, for example, using the zakat or alms obtained thank to mosques.
Not only Al-Qaeda has menaced Spain, even if 20 minutos (leftist) forgets to tell it. Hamas has repeatedly also menaced Europe in general and Spain in particular. Palestinians organizations (including Hamas, but not only) have also menaced Europe with the Muslim minority living here, specially after Israeli Operation Cast Lead.
Anyway, Jihadi menace has been growing for Spain since March 11th, a good proof that appeasement (and important quantities of State money given away to Islamic organizations in the name of State's religious neutrality) does not produce any results in counter-terrorism and something President Obama should take good note of.

US warns Iraq of 'difficult days'

President Barack Obama says US troops have withdrawn from Iraqi towns on schedule, but warns of "difficult days" ahead.

Google Set To Change Ranking Algorithm

Google is set to make changes to its search ranking algorithm to combat the spate of links leading to malicious web pages appearing at the top of Google’s search results, according to an inside source. Over the past few months, cybercriminals have been using blackhat SEO techniques to manipulate search rankings. When it first began, they were marginally successful at following Google Trends to find buzzy search queries and elevating a newly created targeted webpage. But after a short period of time, these same gangs appear to have become disturbingly effective. Last week, when researching a news story, I found the top five results all led to fake scareware pages. Obviously if Google fails to do something about this manipulation, users will lose trust and the good ole days of Google will be over fast. A Googler speaking on condition of anonymity told WebProNews a ranking change is pending that tackles spam of this kind. Once the change goes live, users shouldn’t see it “nearly as often.” A report from security company PandaLabs identified over a million links targeting malicious webpages ranking for auto part searches. Google noted that many of the phrases mentioned in the report were rare. A phrase like [1989 Nissan Pickup Truck Engine Check Light Troubleshooting], for example, only appears on attack sites set up by spammers, which explains why Google brought back so many attack sites in response to it and similar queries. Google's response seems also an admission of how difficult it is to provide fresh, timely search results while simultaneously combating spammers. Part of the appeal of Twitter to many people is the platform’s ability to provide real-time information; the live Web works remarkably well there so far because Twitter’s set up isn’t very conducive to spam (yet). At least Twitter has to some extent control over accounts. Google, on the other hand, cannot control for content appearing on the Web at large, and historically its famous algorithm performed better than any other at weeding out spammy webpages and malicious results. Unfortunately, that was a version of the Web that was more static. The live Web presents entirely new challenges manifesting as the first major weakness the search engine has faced. The company naturally didn’t have a comment on the recently pondered “link velocity” ranking factor. Search engine optimization experts have identified the speed at which organic links appear as a possible important influence. Link velocity therefore aids in explaining how blackhatters were able to manipulate search results by dropping enormous amounts of link spam into comment and discussion areas of social sites. The freshness or buzzy nature of a query also aided in this pursuit, and cybercriminals merely have to follow Google Trends and Google News to know which keywords and phrases to target.

Judge DROPS The F-bomb - Constructively, Of Course

Oh no you didn't just drop the f-bomb in court, Lord Justice Nicholas Wall. He did, to make a point. As reported by the Sun: Lord Justice Nicholas Wall used the words of English poet Philip Larkin to stress the devastating impact on children when couples keep warring after they split up. The Appeal Court judge, dealing with a residence order, said he hoped he would give the mother and father a fright because they had both come “within a whisker” of losing their nine-year-old son. As he ruled the boy could live with the mother, he said the parents had harmed him by their “ongoing mutual dislike and recriminations” for each other following the break-up. The judge issued a statement overturning a decision by Luton County Court, Beds, at which custody of the boy had been given to his maternal grandparents. So what about the f-bomb? "Quoting poet Larkin’s 1971 work This Be The Verse, he said: “They f[uck] you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. “They fill you with the faults they had, and add some extra, just for you.” Why the f-bomb? He said: “These four lines give a clear warning to parents.” Let's hope so. They've certainly put Lord Wall on the map. Here's the source.

Summer white

BOB is back

Don't worry Hillary, we love getting run over by busses

I have seen post after post and comment after comment on blog after blog talking about the race baiting Hillary and Bill Clinton have engaged in. I have seen people state how angry and disappointed they are with the Clintons. And in the next breath I have seen these same people state that if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Nominee come this November, they will vote for her.I wonder what the conversation between Bill and Hillary Clinton was like as they decided to use race baiting as their political strategy. I imagine it went something like this;Bill - You know Hill, we can do a little race baiting since your campaign is sputtering a bit.Hillary - But Bill, African Americans are our most loyal supporters. If we race bait we may lose their support in the general election.Bill - Are you kidding me? (Hearty Laugh) If Martin Luther King, Jr. was the Republican Nominee African Americans still wouldn't vote for him. (Belly laugh) African Americans are afraid of Republicans! Hillary - So you don't think there would be a political price to pay if we use race baiting as my political strategy? Bill - (on the floor laughing) Hill, sweetheart, African Americans don't have any pride, haven't you seen the Flava of Love on VH1. We can say anything we want about them and they will still love us. Black people are more loyal than puppies. Oh sure a few of them might say how hurt they are but when the chips are down they will not vote for a Republican. In fact we could show up at a campaign rally in Blackface and they'd still vote for us, ahem, I mean you. (Crying from laughing so hard) Hillary - Okay then Bill, let's do it! Race baiting it is! White House here we come!I'm not trying to convince anyone to vote for John McCain or Barack Obama. I am just wondering how we, African Americans, will ever have any political power if we allow ourselves to be thrown under the bus time and time again. We have seen many a Democrat show us that they have little respect for our votes. And why would they, we give our votes to them with out expecting anything in return.If Hillary Clinton is the Nominee, most African Americans will vote for her. Our political fate will be assured. We will be assured that the next time it's politically expedient, Hillary Clinton will throw us under the bus, again.What do you think?If Hillary Clinton is the Democratic Nominee should African Americans support someone else?

Wearable Towel.

Do you get a "check up" at the doctor every year?

I was just wondering if peoples still get check up done every year.I know i do,i think it's important to get a physical to make sure i'm healthy.Since i was 21 yrs old i've been going once a year for a physical and my son get one too since he was born(he is 6 now),but my husband won't go...What's up with man,they always seem too scare,maybe not every man,but most of the one i know think they don't need to go see a doctor once in a while.Anyway,so do peoples still get physical anymore?

Unlocked Blackberry Bold & Flip, HTC HD, 8& 16 GB 3G iphones & More (NE Philly / Chalfont) $100

1st. Prices are firm but I may accept partial trades and must be able to meet me at one of the listed locations. 2nd. I will not ship nor respond to generic e-mails without information or specific offers. As in what's my price, are they still available, do i accept trades. Make an offer and I will respond. Sorry too many emails that just say nothing come to my mailbox. If you want to buy everything listed we can make a good deal I am sure. All prices are firm and for local meeting at either the BestBuy in NE on Roosevelt Blvd during the day (9-6pm)or the Bestbuy on Bethlehem Pike in Montgomeryville after work (around 7pm) The Iphone will come in the original box with all accessories and a glass reflection screen protector already installed. it is currently jailborken but not unlocked and I will need to wipe my personal information out of it. Again it is in Excellent Condition always in a cover and never dropped or damaged in any way. I simply use my Blackberries more. HTC HD (3.8 in 800*480 screen iphone has 3.5 in. screen to compare) ( It's best and clearest screen in the industry right now) In Box with accessories etc Screen protector already installed. Excellent condition with a blemishes but no scratches or marks. Some people are very specific about marks or trying to resell that's why I try to clarify. $425 Iphone 3G 8GB will come without box but with all other original accessories and in perfect condition, No blesmishes or marks, full body Zagg Invisible Shieled Protector installed on the phone from day 1 $325 Firm Blackberry Unlocked Flip 8220 will come with just the phone and charger again in excellent condition.Unlocked for T-Mobile or AT&T, $175 Firm Blackberry Unlocked Bold 9000 will come with all the original accessories but no box, perfect condition original plastic on the screen. Unlocked for AT&T or T-Mobile - $320 Firm (Will trade for Palm Treo Pro unlocked) PSP 3000 will come with unit, charger, a 4GB mem card, and a few games, $100. Like new condition, no box. If you want everything we can work something out.

1942 Ray-Ban.

Freaky Friday

This is for reader Gwyneth, who requested more pictures of the Great Soba: That is one of my favorite pictures of her ever. I know the quality is poor, but she's so perfect, all asleep on the sheets in a ray on sunlight with her head on the pillow. This was taken a few months ago when I had a cold and was spending a weekend day lying in bed reading and sniffling, hence the Kleenex and The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. That red notebook on top is my constant companion, I go through about a notebook a month. Compulsive much? - - - Yesterday something so weird happened. I had gotten home from work a little early, it was quarter 'til six and I was in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to make for dinner when I first heard the noise. It was a heavy, loud noise almost like an airplane. Now I live on the Valley floor which is right under the flight path of practically every Southwest airplane to and from Burbank airport, and we get planes and corporate jets from Van Nuys airport, too. And there are the ever-present helicopters of course. This is actually a really noisy city, now that I think about it. So I'm used to hearing planes go by just like in Chicago folks get used to the train going by. It fades into the ambiance of the city. You know what a plane sounds like and it just becomes background noise. But this sound was different. For one thing, it was LOUD. Screaming loud, like a roaring projectile, a deafening noise like you hear in movies when missiles streak across the sky. And it was FAST, whatever it was, because it roared closer in just seconds, so loud it obliterated any other noises. I immediately dropped what I was doing and ran to the front door and it was even louder and scarier and as I put my hand on the doorknob, I thought, Holy shit, that's a missile! and then I thought, We're going to vaporize. And I knew when the blinding light came I did not want to be standing in the yard looking at my neighbors who cannot get inside their cars without setting of the alarm. No, I wanted to be inside with my cats, who were now hiding under the sofa. And since I can't fit under the sofa, I just sat down on top and waited. Then as quickly as it came, it was gone. I could still hear it screaming through the air but it was getting further away. I felt that panic feeling all over me, just shaking a little and heart beating fast. I know I have an active imagination and all, but this was real. I know I'm reading all this crazy Michael Crichton books but I'm reading about dinosaurs, so it would make sense if I heard a noise in the yard and thought the raccoon hiding in the ivy was a velociraptor or something, but this wasn't made-up. It was real. So I walked out the front door and there were my neighbors, everyone staring up in the sky. You could see this huge arc of white smoke -- longer than anything I'd seen from an airplane before -- and at one end something that looked white or maybe silver in the sunshine, and it was definitely not a Southwest plane bound for Omaha. I just looked at my neighbors. Then I said, "Oh my God, what was that thing?" I was asking in the general direction of everyone, and the guy in the red baseball cap from across the street answered me. "No idea," he replied. "I have no f---ing idea what that was." Everyone else was just quiet. So I turned and went back inside and shut the door, then locked the deadbolt for no reason at all, and called my dad. I was shaking trying to dial the numbers. I called him because I am five, and I needed my daddy. I told him the story and he said to watch on the news, that it was probably something from one of the military bases nearby and he was just talking all calm, turn on the news, and I already had the TV on and the Channel 7 news on but there was just some dumb sports report, and finally I hung up and poured myself a glass of wine. A big glass. Then I gave the cats a big can of Fancy Feast. Because I was still shaken up and we all needed to be comforted. Now I'm wondering if it even happened at all. The news hasn't said anything at all about it. My dad pointed out it was probably some normal military fly over or something. But it wasn't anything I'd ever heard before, except almost like the time we saw the Space Shuttle launch in Florida. It was weird. Mostly I can't believe how scared that sound made me. I know I live in a big city, and we all sort of go about our lives with this necessary denial that anything bad will happen today. It's just what you do. I try really hard not to listen to the horror stories on the news or the stuff about terrorists and missiles because there is nothing I can do about any of it, so there's no real reason to focus on it, worry about it, stress out over things which I have zero control over. But it must have sunk in there somewhere, North Korea test fires a missile or whatever the fearmongering headline was. It took me a while to calm down, and if it weren't for all my neighbors standing out there in their yards, too, looking up at the sky I would wonder if it had really happened at all. It wasn't on the 6 o'clock news, or the 6:30 report and it wasn't on this morning either, not at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. Just some stuff about a minor earthquake out in Yorba Linda, and the traffic report and the weather. Weird.

eye exercise have you done this so far?

We often take for granted the little things that really matter such as taking good care of our eyes by doing eye exercise. I know some exercises that my optometrist recommended to me one of this is to every 20 minutes you have to look farther than your pc like staring at a tree and just try to relax your eyes to its greenery or you could blink your eyes 20 times every 20 minutes I guess she says every 20 minutes because it has something to do with 20 -20 vision which is a perfect vision for a human eyes and by doing this one could actually have a good eyesight even how long you stay online on your PC. actually there are lots of ways and exercises for the eyes do you know of this care to share?

goat tower

How Do You Deal With Someone Who Is Miserable?

What is your attitude towards someone who is miserable or walks around with a sad, miserable face? Do you feel sorry for them, or do you steer well clear of them? Do you wonder what they have to be miserable about and do you think being miserable is infectious?
Or do you have a friend or work colleague who is always miserable do you give up on them and does everyone give on the miserable person because they know whatever they do they cannot make them happy?
Do you have a partner who is miserable or an ex partner that was so miserable that you had to ditch them because it was making life unbearable?
I tend to be miserable a lot I have to admit most of the time I have a face that says leave me alone, I guess it's because I am an unsociable person and more of a loner in life and I don't want contact from people
Do you think some people actually enjoy being miserable or go out of their way to be miserable not to attract self pity but because they want to be left alone?

Poor Peggy Pony Keg (or, diabetic crackheads stole my car)

So, some of you probably already know this, but Peggy Pony Keg (my trusty 1991 Honda Civic hatchback) was swiped from in front of my coworker's house while we carpooled to work last week. She was found super late that night, but in totally trashed condition. missing: * front bumper (but for some reason I got the front license plate back) * speakers, stereo (even though I have the stereo face) * gym bag (with gym stuff, may its smell rot the lungs of the thieves) * library book: Moral Politics, which I actually hope to get to finish sometime, it was really good. newly added to my car: * diabetic blood-sugar-test-things (yuck) * needles (double yuck, and danger) * candy (smart thinking, diabetic crackheads) * 1 pair women's underwear (yuck) * garbage: papers, fast food trash, and other crap i've never seen before (total yuck) I think that my insurance is going to total it out. The repeated use of the phrase "due to the low total value of your car" does not sound good to me. It's a bummer, because that car was just so damn rad, and I didn't really get to say goodbye or take flattering pictures of her and/or her tattoo (a small bat, from the year that Rosin Coven built the bat art car). I need to figure out what to do; I'm thinking of either buying a used, older Prius with a carpool sticker, or a shiny new one with some additional features. Since people always seem to have lots of advice when you're sick, dealing with a breakup, about to have a baby, or buy something expensive, I thought I'd see what people had to say about it. Any opinions, thoughts?

A neat story from the field

This picture is from her first visit to Ernie & Jan. You can see she is quite sickly looking here.Last month Ernie and Jan wrote and told us about a woman who had been sick for a long time. She accepted the Lord and her family turned her over to the Christians to see if they (or their God) can make her well.They said if she gets well the whole family will accept the Christian's God. She came to visit them early one morning. She is so little and frail—but has a BIG smile. Her son and daughter-in-law had brought her in to the doctor so they stopped to see us on the way. It was really fun to see her. The latest news is that she is eating well, walking all over the village. The swelling in her hands is gone and she is a happy lady. Pray with us that God will continue to work in her family. They cannot help but realize that God has healed her. It is their turn to keep their promise to Him.Pray for her. Her name is Ashita. Pray that she can continue to grow in her faith, and that the Lord will reward her desire to follow Him. Pray for her family that yes, indeed the family will be willing to hear more of Jesus, and follow Him.It is stories of people like this that make Africa so compelling. God is working in Southern Mali amongst these Senufo people. It is so exciting to see Him rise to thise kind of challenge, and win people to Himself. I never get tired of these testimonies/stories.Thanks for stopping by,Tom & Lisa

Summer icecream

Eatting too much is bad for your stomache.

With Athleta launch, will Gap Inc. learn from Piperlime missteps?

The Retail Email Blog monitors the email marketing campaigns of more than 100 top online retailers. Here are highlights from my inbox this morning:Banana Republic, 4/22 — Introducing Athleta, the newest member of the Gap Inc. family.Gap Inc. formally introduces their new brand, Athleta, to their Banana Republic subscribers. It will be interesting to see if they apply the lessons learned from their Piperlime launch. For instance, they don’t incentivize email sign-ups for the new brand—or even mention that you can sign-up for Athleta emails—like they recently did for Piperlime (see Apr. 20 AM Inbox). However, they did add a separate opt-out for Athleta to this email, which is something they eventually did for Piperlime after months of sending Piperlime emails to their other brand subscribers (see Apr. 4, 2008 AM Inbox). I’ll be curious to see if they cross-promote merchandise in an integrated fashion, pairing Athleta products with products from other Gap Inc. brands, as they did in a Banana Republic email back in 2007 (see Mar. 7, 2007 AM Inbox).Spiegel, 4/23 — Celebrate "Bring Our Daughters to Work Day" with 25% OFF ALL Washed Linen!‏This is one of the most delightful creatives I’ve seen all year—plus Spiegel deftly ties this dress-up session into their Style Quiz segmentation program. Simple and brilliant.TigerDirect, 4/22 — Earth Day Deals: LG 50" HDTV $999...22" LCD $149...4gb Dell Laptop $649...Go Green, Save Green‏TigerDirect’s Earth Day email is a nice mix of Energy Star-certified products, refurbished and recertified products, RoHS-compliant products, and reduced power consumption products. They even have a list of 5 things to do to be green…however, many subscribers will probably never see the list because it’s out past the 680-pixel mark, pushing the design out to more than 900 pixels wide. As we mention in the Soon Even More Emails Won’t Be Optimized for Width reportlet, a width of 600 to 700 pixels is recommended.SUBJECTIVITY SCANNER: Select noteworthy subject linesSports Authority, 4/22 — Celebrate Earth Day - 15% Off Your Order - Today Only!‏Petco, 4/22 — PETCO Celebrate Earth Day with 10% Off and Eco-Friendly Products!‏Bluefly, 4/22 — Extra 10% Off Everything - Celebrate Earth Day!‏Norm Thompson, 4/22 — $10 off Earth and Ecco shoes + ALL SHOES SHIP FREE!SmartBargains, 4/22 — Extra 22% Off & Free Shipping for Earth DayRalph Lauren, 4/22 — Celebrate Mom On May 10 With The Gift Of Style‏Cabela’s 4/22 — Mother's Day Favorites @ Cabelas.com‏Wal-Mart, 4/23 — Mom Will Love the Gift. You’ll Love the Price.Tiffany & Co., 4/22 — Make It a Brilliant Mother's Day‏Barnes & Noble, 4/22 — 40% Off One Book in Our Mother's Day Gift Guide‏RedEnvelope, 4/23 — Valued Customer, It's time to celebrate Mom - 25% OffFTD, 4/23 — Gifts Starting at $19.99 -- Mother's Day Preview Sale!‏Lane Bryant, 4/22 — Today's Shopping Report: Heavy Traffic In Graphics‏

Guest Designer Cathy Edgar

This week, Cathy used "A Year of Flowers" and "A Charmed Life" to make a wedding present. Candles are inexpensive and easy to stamp on and always make a great gift. (I'm sure her niece enjoyed receiving it this weekend, it's always so wonderful the first several times you hear the word "couple" after you get married!) ;) Little heart brads are pressed into the candle for some added bling. The wedding colors were pink, black and white, so the color choices here are very appropriate! She added the date of the event to the bottom, along with the diamond ring charm "with this ring, I thee wed..." what a sweet reminder of the event! For a tutorial on stamping candles, please see this link. Expect to see a few more projects from Cathy and "A Charmed Life", thrown in between all our new release sets you'll be seeing over these next few weeks! First sneak peek of our new Gina K Designs release (TWO sets tomorrow!) is just a few hours away, can't wait, can't wait! :)

How to tell who's paid

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/631650
Next issue for TTC: How to tell who's paid
Tess Kalinowski
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
And how will you be paying for that streetcar ride?
As the city and province squabble about funding 204 new Toronto streetcars, the TTC is grappling with how to design a proof-of-payment system for the vehicles it wants to order from Bombardier.
A proof-of-payment system allows the cars to board passengers more quickly by using all four doors available on the new streetcars on 11 busy transit routes.
With tens of thousands of riders boarding for relatively short hops, the answer may be more complex than simply adopting the GO Transit model: an honour system, with random checks by fare enforcement officers.
Nobody's even sure what kind of payment will be accepted on the TTC when the new cars starting hitting the streets, perhaps in 2012.
The TTC is investigating electronic payment options, including using the new chips in credit cards and the region's Presto fare card. But electronic payment probably won't be fully operational until the middle of the next decade.
Streetcars on the Queen St., Queensway and Lake Shore Blvd. route already use a proof-of-payment system to get people onto the cars faster during busy periods. Riders with a valid transfer or Metropass can use the back door. Those using a ticket or token have to board at the front and get a receipt from the driver in case they are randomly checked by a TTC special constable.
Between 2004 and 2008, only 726 charges were issued for fare-related transgressions.
But how will that system hold up once the driver is sequestered in a separate compartment at the front of the new streetcars, no longer monitoring the fare box?
One possibility is installing machines that issue paper receipts in exchange for tokens or tickets, says TTC chair Adam Giambrone.

Slow running

1600m slow running

twice a week

Recovering

Easter was beautiful (although a bit chilly) and, unfortunately, mostly picture-less. As usual there was just a bit too much going on (dying Easter eggs, making sure all the tights were washed, dresses were ironed, making a blackberry roulade for dessert, eating way too much chocolate etc., etc.) and consequently the thought of taking any pictures just never crossed my mind. Okay, well wait, actually I did think of pictures just once--the family Easter photo. Oh my, getting a decent picture of all five of us is almost impossible these days (and I say "almost" because I think one out of ten photos might be okay.)So now we're halfway through our post holiday week. It's been a rough week. Up too late, up too early, too much travel, too much chocolate, too much post-holiday clean-up--we're having a tough time getting back into a comfortable routine and as a result crankiness levels are at an all time high.To try and snap us out of our foul moods I suggested to the girls that we go birdwatching. This was met with much enthusiasm as it meant a real opportunity to use binoculars (something the girls have been dying to do.)I had high hopes for this outing. Last time we'd taken this same walk we had spotted not only the usual birds (sparrows, chickadees), but had also seen a woodpecker and a cardinal. So I brought along my camera and told the girls we could start a bird book with the pictures we took.Well, wouldn't you know it, but we couldn't spot a single bird. We heard a few (waaaaay far off somewhere), but didn't see a single one! Thankfully, though it is early spring, we spotted a few other things the girls enjoyed. For example this butterfly-a Mourning Cloak. Which gave us the great opportunity to discuss camouflage. Now you see it...now you don't.And the girls thought these very tiny flowers......were pretty cool. They're the only flowers, besides dandelions, out at this time of year. They're called Whitlow Grass and are very, very, tiny. Size did not prevent the girls from trying to pick a whole boquet of them though!And that was the extent of our nature walk . No birds and, much to Pookie's disappointment, no beetles or caterpillars either. I'm thinking I'll print off these pics and help the girls start a nature journal. Something we'll start....maybe next week when we are all (hopefully!) feeling a bit better!

More on Torture... and More

Roger's comment after yesterday's entry about the torture issue left me wondering, uncomfortably, if I had abandoned some of the ideals and principles of my younger years. Would I have felt differently about the matter, say, twenty years ago? Thirty? Fifty? Sadly, in some ways, I think the answer is Yes. Re-reading my entry, I found evidence of compromises I would have been unwilling to make back then. And I have sympathy--no, admiration--for those who reject such compromise. I think of another friend, whose work and dedication I much admire, who has also given up on "democracy" as we know it here, and on the promise for change. He is one of those stand-out independent thinkers who strives, constantly, for the fulfillment of a vision of a way of life that is free from the toxic influence of politics and greed; and who distrusts all politicians equally.I wonder to what extent age has tainted my ideals. People do tend to become more conservative as they age, and it saddens me to contemplate the possibility that the socialist ideals I embraced in my young years may have been sacrificed along the way. But then I remind myself that my ideals have always been tempered by a measure of that British pragmatism I learned from an early age.Having started this entry and put it on hold to allow for a walk down to the Saturday market, I ran in to a friend down in the village and struck up a conversation about the state of the world. I knew him to be an old lefty peacenik type, and before long we found ourselves talking about the conflicts taking place in the Middle East. I was not surprised to hear him insist that we should be out of there immediately, out of Iraq and Afghanistan, and that we should keep our noses out of the events in Pakistan. And of course this followed naturally on what I'd been thinking earlier, about ideals and pragmatism. I felt once again that inner struggle between the heart and its revulsion against every form of violence and warfare, and the head that reminds me of the Taliban's encroachments in Pakistan, the militant Islamic vision of international conquest by a medieval, fundamentalist world view and the barbaric means by which they seek to impose it, their ruthless dedication to terror and suppression to achieve their ends...My friend reminded me of the catastrophe in Iraq. I'm sorry, I don't see all this to be anything like Iraq. To begin with, there's not just the suspicion of nuclear weapons, there's the fact of Pakistan's possession of them. If there's anything approaching the appeasement of the 1930s, it's the current situation in that country, where a weak government seems unable to control the advance of the growing ranks of an angry minority and could all too easily succumb to their fanatical power. What then? Is the world to stand by and wring its hands, hoping for the best? When, if ever, will enough be enough to satisfy the appetite for power and control, when the militants have made it clear that they intend to extend their vision of the Caliphate to the entire human race? It's abundantly clear that these are not people you can talk to. At what point, then, will it become a matter of resorting to violence? The idealist in me rebels against war. The Buddhist in me reminds me that violence breeds only violence. The pragmatist insists that we can't simply abandon the Middle East to those who have made unambiguous their intent to rid the world of any vision other than their own. I would not want to place my trust in the hope that they do not have the power to do so. At the very least, it seems not improbable that they could seize power enough to create a catastrophic global conflict--starting with with India and Israel. Perhaps the best I can do, as Voltaire suggested at the end of his satirical rant in the story of Candide, is to tend my own garden, peacefully. I can, after all, achieve nothing particularly useful by compromising my ideals. Than Geoff (Thanissaro Bhikkhu) has offered much the same advice: Is there anything you can do? he asks. Of course not. Then quit worrying about events over which you have no control and attend to your own integrity. I get that. And yet... I agonize.

When did your child stop napping?

I just put my 16 month old down for a nap. He's only just recently cut back

from 2 naps to 1. His one nap is still a morning nap though, he usually has

to be in bed by 10am. My 3 year old was like that too, but he stopped napping

around the age of 2. He just wouldn't fall asleep for me anymore. My twins

did the same thing right around the same age.

My 3 year old still might fall asleep for a nap from time to time. It's

usually when we're out driving in the car. Occasionally he can fall asleep

while watching TV in the afternoon. But if I try to put him down for a nap,

he will not sleep!

How old was your child when they stopped taking scheduled naps?

What would you do, if you see your bf doing this??

I talked to my bf as i usually do. He was tired at the end of the day because of work and all because of which he was sending those one word text messages.. which was irritating me. Then we ended up saying goodnight to each other..and suddenly there was another message from my bf mentioning 'hhmmm..do you know any good girl'?? I was like what?? i called him up and angrily asked what was it?? He said he was kidding with one of his friends, which was hard to believe for me.

Next day we had a fight, he said u don't trust me. He was more angry on the way i spoke to him, he was like there are 100 other ways of sorting out a problem instead of yelling at each other. How can i be so calm reading something like this?? We are in relationship from past 2 years.. i don't know how to take it.. was it really a joke or something else??

Judge Judy Would Have Never Let This Happen...

This may sound familiar to you...You're young, impressionable. You've just turned 18. You want to do something rebellious. And you love the Steelers... So naturally, you get the world's most embarrassing Steelers tattoo.Or at least I imagine that to be the thought process behind this chick's decision to pay someone for what she could've gotten in jail for a pack of smokes and a few choice oral favors.Here's a tip - if the artist's shop is a six foot by four foot shed in his backyard, and all he can show you in the way of "work samples" are glorified cave drawings he's inked what appears to be skin off of another human being's back, you might want to reconsider...and maybe also run for cover.This thing may cost you $20 now, but down the line it'll cost you your dignity, whatever self-esteem you may/may not have, and probably several thousand dollars when you realize what a retard you are. Tattoo removal ain't cheap. Anyhow...Things You Don't Need to Worry About: Why I was watching Judge Joe Brown in the middle of the day.Things You DO Need to Worry About: Friends don't let friends smoke crystal meth and get tattoos of the Steelers logo. Oh yeah, and Alexander Ovechkin apparently has a job for one of you in the DC area...Sounds like the opportunity of a lifetime. Do it.Now, I'm back to this Employment Law take-home final. Anyone who tells you a take-home final in law school is going to be easy is a joke. If I have to write one more sentence about the Family and Medical Leave Act, I'm going to family and medical leave my life. This shit is so brutal that I'm not even making sense anymore...Don't call me, I'll call you. Obligatory Footer - If you haven't already, become a fan of OFTOT on Facebook, join the blog network and follow me on Twitter. Or don't. Your choice, really.

The Real Ghostbusters, “Collect Call of Cathulhu” (Yeah, it’s misspelled).

I am positively obsessed with the movie Ghostbusters. So, naturally, when the movie eventually became the cartoon The Real Ghostbusters, I was glued to the television every damn Saturday when it came on. And then one day&out of nowhere&what the hell is THIS? I had just turned on the cartoon and&did that guy named Clark Ashton just say Necronomicon? He sure as hell did! And thus begins The Collect Call of Cathulhu, truly the best episode of The Real Ghostbusters EVER for its metric tonne of Lovecraftian references. Below youll find the entire episode split into three separate YouTube videos. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for shoggoths, spawn of Cthulhu, Weird Tales, the Book of Dzyan (mispronounced as The Book of DYzan), the Pnakotic Manuscripts, and many other HPL/Cthulhu Mythos references. The episode was written by Michael Reaves, who may be familiar to Lovecraft afficionados for his work co-editing the HPL-meets-Sherlock-Holmes anthology Shadows Over Baker Street, a generally sub-par collection which every cephalophile must nonetheless have in his/her/its library for Neil Gaimans amazing story A Study in Emerald (available as a downloadable PDF at the preceding link). Anyway, on with the Ghostbusters VS. Cthulhu action! Needless to say, this episode of The Real Ghostbusters has been lurking in the back of my mind as Ive been writing City of Pillars. Particularly perceptive readers may spot quite a few references to this cartoon in the story&especially the next two chapters, which Ill have online this Friday. In the meantime, I hope this bit of eldritch humour has whetted your appetite for Lovecraftian monsters destroying New York (or, well, attempting to) while Im still beating these goddamned words together!

Weight what animal?

I'm Still Here

It has been a number of weeks since my last post. Sorry about that. My story is that I was sucked into the work vortex and I'm sticking to that story. With the economy in turmoil, I thought it was best to get my head down and make some money and keep the guys at head office happy.You didn't miss much anyway. The weather has been typical Scottish weather for spring (lots of rain). I did manage to tidy up the greenhouses and organize to have the garden dug over (see above). If you look carefully, you can see the rhubarb at the end of the vegetable patch, throwing out its first hopeful leaves. Rhubarb crumble later? I think so.I have two tomato plants stuck into their grow bags in the smaller greenhouse. I am planting Scottish variety Ailsa Craig this year. Let's see if it copes with cold and low light levels. I have to replace some MORE glass in this greenhouse. The door blew off last week. I'll get it done after I finish writing this. You know how much I love re-glazing bits of the greenhouse!We don't have to worry about low light levels TODAY. Today is gorgeous! See how dazzlingly white my towels are? Those are the ones you sent Mom. Thanks! Today there are only the fluffiest of small clouds in the sky that cause no dark spots to the day and more importantly, hold no rain! I got all the laundry out on the line and had some time in the greenhouse.In these pots and trays I've got some courgette (zucchini) pumpkin, cucumber, climbing beans, broccoli and two varieties of lettuce started. I found some old corn seed so I thought I'd see if it germinates. If it does, then I may have enough for a couple of small rows. I've also got the ever present sweet peas started as well. I soaked the seed for two days before sowing in the greenhouse to aid germination. There were some old marigold seeds lurking. I sowed those too. They deserve a chance in this year's growing season.No sign of mice in the greenhouse YET. I have been quite good about mouse prevention in the past year. Any seed or bird food has been kept in mouse proof containers. If there is no food mice are less likely to hang out in there.If we have a second day of nice weather, I may plant peas (they're very frost hardy) and get some potatoes in the ground. Heck, I may even mow the grass.

SMB Marketers Abandoning Traditional Ads

eMarketer reports that according to a poll of U.S. marketers by Bredin Business Information, the primary challenges in marketing to American small businesses are funding new projects, growing the business with limited resources and increasing awareness.In addition, marketers say the outlook for small business marketing has changed in 2009. They are increasing their online activities, becoming more focused and conducting segmentation research to better target their customers.It is no surprise that the local online marketing space is where many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are moving their efforts -- and their marketing investment.It's apparent that digital marketing has gained increased adoption at the expense of legacy advertising approaches -- in particular yellow page directory listings and direct mail coupons. The leaders in both forms of mass-media publishing failed to migrate their value proposition to the online model.Clearly, in 2009 more savvy SMB marketers will abandon traditional advertising that delivers a consistently low return on investment. Search engine marketing will garner the most converts. Social media marketing and search engine optimization practices will also increase in adoption.Borrell Associates estimated SMBs invested $7.4 billion on local online marketing in 2008. That figure accounted for 11 percent of all SMB marketing spending, and more than one-half of total U.S. local digital spending, including Website development.

FLO,home waterfall!

Bean cake

Easefun's cool bean cake.

Censorship Boards for Conservative Media

Brannon Howse welcomed Bob Unruh, a reporter for WorldnetDaily, to discuss numerous issues relating to health, the media and the Internet. They included: --Senate Bill 909 has just been introduced. This is the Senate version of the Hate Crimes Bill, House Resolution 1913, which passed in the House of Representatives yesterday. --A proposal to set up accountability committees that would attempt to keep local radio stations and their talk programming in "balance" --Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas openly disagrees with the Fairness Doctrine. --Senate Bills 773 and 778, the Cyber Security Act of 2009, whereby the president would have the right to shut down the Internet under whatever circumstances he deems to be an emergency --Approximately 36,000 deaths occur each year from the common flu, yet little is said about it. At the same time the swine flu situation is being called a pandemic when only one person has died from this to date. Brannon and Bob discuss the possible reasons for this reporting imbalance.

Spa-Jet

Olden chinese cloth

food design

Pregnant's painting belly

WHO says up to 2B people might get swine flu

By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS and ELIANE ENGELER 5/7/09 GENEVA (AP) — Up to 2 billion people could be infected by swine flu if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic lasting two years, the World Health Organization said Thursday. WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the historical record of flu pandemics indicates one-third of the worlds population gets infected in such outbreaks. Independent experts agreed that the estimate was possible. In Mexico, the hardest hit country so far, high schools and universities opened for the first time in two weeks as the governments top health official insisted the epidemic is on the decline. All students were checked for swine flu symptoms and some were sent home. If we do move into a pandemic, then our expectation is that we will see a large number of people infected worldwide, Fukuda said. If you look at past pandemics, it would be a reasonable estimate to say perhaps a third of the worlds population would get infected with this virus. With the current total population of more than 6 billion, that would mean an infection total of 2 billion, he said, but added that the world has changed since pandemics of earlier generations, and experts are unable to predict if the impact will be greater or smaller. We dont really know. said Fukuda. This is a benchmark from the past. Please do not interpret this as a prediction for the future. Chris Smith, at flu virologist at Cambridge University in England, said the 2 billion estimate was possible. That doesnt sound too outlandish to me for the simple reason that this is a very infectious virus, Smith told The Associated Press. Youre talking about a virus that no one in the population has seen before and therefore everyone is immunologically vulnerable. Therefore its highly likely that once it starts to spread, people will catch it. And since the majority of the worlds population are in contact with one another, youre going to get quite a lot of spread. John Oxford, professor of virology at St. Barts and Royal London Hospital, agreed. I dont think the 2 billion figure should scare people because its not as though 2 billion people are going to die. The prediction from WHO is that 2 billion people might catch it. Half of those people wont show any symptoms. Or if they show any symptoms, they will be so mild they will hardly know theyve had it. Fukuda said it also is impossible to say if the current strain of swine flu will become severe or mild, but that even with a mild flu, from the global perspective there are still very large numbers of people who could develop pneumonia, require respirators, who could die. A mild outbreak in wealthier countries can be quite severe in its impact in the developing world, Fukuda said. People react differently to the flu depending on their general state of health and other factors, he said. Some younger people in the Southern Hemisphere may be more vulnerable because of poor diet, war, HIV infections and other factors. We expect this kind of event to unfold over weeks and months, Fukuda said. Really if you look over a two-period that is really the period in which you see an increase in the number of illnesses and deaths during a pandemic influenza. So far the swine flu virus has spread to 24 countries. Mexican dance halls, movie theaters and bars were allowed to fully reopen Thursday after a five-day shutdown designed to curb the virus spread. Businesses must screen for any sick customers, and restaurant employees must wear surgical masks. Fans can attend professional soccer matches this weekend after all were played in empty stadiums last weekend. Mexico confirmed two more deaths, for a total of 44, while 1,160 people have been sickened, up 90 from Wednesday. Despite death tolls and confirmed caseloads that rise daily, Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova insisted the epidemic is waning in Mexico. WHO raised its global total of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2,099, from 1,893 late Wednesday, and said swine flu also has caused two deaths in the United States. This swine flu seems to have a long incubation period — five to seven days before people notice symptoms, according to Dr. Marc-Alain Widdowson, a medical epidemiologist from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now tracking the flu in Mexico City. That means the virus can keep being spread by people who wont know to stay home. Laughing and joking, high school students gathered at the entrance of the National School of Graphic Arts in Mexico City, waiting to fill out forms that asked about their health. Of 280 students entering the school in the first 20 minutes, two showed symptoms of swine flu, including coughing and nasal congestion, said assistant principal Ana Maria Calvo Vega. Their parents were notified and they wont be readmitted without a statement from a doctor saying they dont have the virus, she said. Students at a Mexico City vocational high school were welcomed with a hand sanitizer and a surgical mask. Joyful to see each other again, students embraced and kissed — some through masks. But some worried that the virus could surge back once young people gather in groups again. My 17-year-old daughter is afraid. She knows she must go back but doesnt want to, said Silvia Mendez as she walked with her 4-year-old son, Enrique, in San Miguel Topilejo, a town perched in forested mountains near the capital. Working parents have struggled to provide child care during the shutdown. It forced many to stay home from work, bring their youngsters to their jobs, or leave them at home. Each school, Mexican officials said, had to be cleaned and inspected this week. Complicating the task: Many schools are primitive buildings with dirt floors and lack proper bathrooms. It was unclear how students attending those schools could adhere to the governments strict sanitary conditions. The government promised detergent, chlorine, trash bags, anti-bacterial soap or antiseptic gel and face masks to state governments for delivery to public schools. But some local districts apparently didnt get the word. U.S. health officials are no longer recommending that schools close because of suspected swine flu cases since the virus has turned out to be milder than initially feared. But many U.S. schools have done so anyway, including the school of a Texas teacher who died. In Asia, top health officials said the region must remain vigilant over the threat of swine flu, stepping up cooperation to produce vaccines and bolstering meager anti-viral stockpiles. The virus has so far largely spared Asia. Only South Korea and Hong Kong have confirmed cases. On Thursday, China and Hong Kong released dozens of people quarantined over suspected contact with one of the regions few swine flu carriers. Past experience has been the spur to WHO to make sure the world is as prepared as possible for a pandemic, which would be indicated by a rise to phase 6 from the current phase 5 in the agencys alert scale. That would mean general spread of the disease in another region beyond North America, where the outbreak so far has been heaviest. Im not quite sure we know if were going to phase six or not or when we would do so, Fukuda said. Its really impossible for anybody to predict right now. Officials said the agency was likely to shorten its annual meeting of its 193 member states later this month from 10 days to five because of the outbreak, which it was scheduled to discuss. That is under consideration, Fukuda said. Sure it is possible. Google.com