Oakland Athletics Team Report

INSIDE PITCH When Justin Duchscherer returns to the Oakland roster, it will be as a starting pitcher rather than in the bullpen, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Manager Bob Geren told the newspaper that Duchscherer is being rehabbed as a starting pitcher as he recovers from March elbow surgery. Geren added that the team wants Duchscherer pitching in whatever role keeps him healthiest. That is why there had been some internal discussion about having Duchscherer return to the bullpen, where there might be less wear and tear. Duchscherer, an All-Star as both a starter and as a reliever, has been on the disabled list five times in the past four years. He had an arthroscopic procedure in late March to clean up his elbow. Duchscherer, who will be a free agent after the season, has been clear about the fact that he'd prefer starting to relief work. He told the Chronicle that he had figured he'd be starting based on his current throwing program. He said he is throwing long toss at a distance of 120 feet and he should start throwing off the mound soon. He told the paper that his arm "feels great" and that he believes he can return to the team right around when he is eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list on June 4.NOTES, QUOTESLHP Brett Anderson (blister) will start Saturday at Detroit if Dallas Braden is able to take his regular turn on Friday. Braden was hit by a line drive on his left hand on Sunday but he remained in the game. If Braden cannot go, Anderson is likely to take the mound Friday at Detroit if he has had no more blister problems on his left index finger.RHP Santiago Casilla pitched a perfect inning in a rehab appearance with Class A Stockton on Saturday night. Casilla, who is out with a right knee strain, will make a rehab appearance with Class AAA Sacramento on Tuesday before joining the A's in Detroit for Friday's game.BY THE NUMBERS: 100 Games since Oakland's last complete game, a franchise record for consecutive games without a complete game, topping the previous mark of 96 set from June 21, 1997, to April 10, 1998. Justin Duchscherer threw the team's last complete game on July 8.QUOTE TO NOTE: "It looked like a ball of cotton candy hanging from my wrist." LHP Dallas Braden, who continued to pitch with a severely swollen left hand on Sunday after being hit by a line drive by Vernon Wells.ROSTER REPORTC Kurt Suzuki has 25 hits in his last 67 at-bats with nine doubles, two homers and 14 RBI in his past 17 games. Suzuki is batting .234 against left-handers and .381 against right-handers, mimicking the team-wide trend that has left the A's 3-11 against left-handed starters this season. DH/1B Jason Giambi has 11 hits in his last 70 at-bats over 20 games after hitting .346 in the first seven games of the season. Giambi has 399 career homers, tied for 44th all-time. He has 190 homers with the A's, 10th most in franchise history.INF Bobby Crosby has 11 hits in his last 33 at-bats with eight walks in the past 11 games and he is playing regularly at third and at first base because of injuries to Eric Chavez and Nomar Garciaparra. Crosby has been the A's third-leading hitter much of the first five weeks, but it's unclear how much he'll play when Chavez and Garciaparra return from the disabled list in the next week.DH/OF Jack Cust has eight hits in his last 23 at-bats with a walk and just two strikeouts in the past six games. He's among the A.L. leaders in walks, with 20, and he is one of two A's players, along with SS Orlando Cabrera, to start all 29 games this year. MEDICAL WATCH: LHP Dallas Braden (left hand) was hit by a line drive May 10 but kept pitching and is not expected to miss a start. LHP Brett Anderson (blister on left index finger) left his April 28 and May 4 starts because of the ailment. He missed his May 9 start. 3B Eric Chavez (sore right forearm and elbow) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 25. He hopes to return May 15. RHP Santiago Casilla (sprained right knee) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to April 29. He began a rehab assignment with Class A Stockton on May 9, and he could be activated May 15. INF Nomar Garciaparra (strained right calf) went on the 15-day disabled list April 29. The injury had dogged him for weeks. 2B Mark Ellis (left calf strain) went on the 15-day disabled list April 29. He will miss four to six weeks. RHP Justin Duchscherer (arthroscopic elbow surgery in March 2009) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 27, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 29. He could resume pitching in late May. There is a chance that when he is able to throw off the mound, he will be moved into the bullpen to try to safeguard his health. RHP Joey Devine (sore right elbow) went on the 60-day disabled list retroactive to March 31. He had Tommy John surgery April 21, and he is out for the season. ROTATION: LHP Dallas Braden RHP Trevor Cahill LHP Brett Anderson LHP Josh Outman RHP Sean Gallagher BULLPEN: RHP Brad Ziegler (closer) RHP Russ Springer RHP Michael Wuertz RHP Andrew Bailey RHP Kevin Cameron LHP Jerry Blevins RHP Dan Giese RHP Jeff Gray CATCHERS: Kurt Suzuki Landon Powell INFIELDERS: 1B Jason Giambi 2B Adam Kennedy SS Orlando Cabrera 3B Bobby Crosby INF Jack Hannahan OUTFIELDERS: LF Matt Holliday CF Ryan Sweeney RF Travis Buck DH Jack Cust OF Rajai Davis

Productivity Tools for Poor Typists

Confession time: I'm a two-finger typist - pretty fast for two fingers, but still. I learned touch typing back in high school, lost the skill, never got it back. (Yes, I know I could teach myself again; that's on the someday/maybe list.)Here are two ways I've become more productive on the computer:1. I turned off the caps lock key.I was always hitting that darn key by mistake. Back on my old PC, I just removed the key from my keyboard, as in the photo above. But on my Mac, I simply learned how to disable the caps lock key. You can also do this on a PC, but I'm no expert there; I'll let you google for solutions. (I also got a giggle from the Caps Lock Trainer Key, found via Unplggd.][photo of keyboard with caps lock removed by tlianza / Tom Lianza, licensed under Creative Commons]2. I bought a text expansion tool.This is what Mark Hurst calls a "bit lever", and he's the one who introduced me to the idea. My choice is Typinator (a Mac-only product), but there are plenty of other options for both PCs and Macs; Guy Kawasaki uses TextExpander. Typinator lets me define a whole series of simple abbreviations that I can type in any program. When I enter one of those abbreviations, it gets replaced with a chunk of text - in my case, that's often multiple paragraphs. I use it for long phrases I type with some regularity (such as National Association of Professional Organizers - San Francisco Bay Area Chapter), some standard e-mail replies I send as a Freecycle moderator, and much more.Highly recommended for all - not just the two-finger typists!

GM gives $1.5B jolt to online advertising

From Media Buyer/Planner: GM, in what could signal a no-look-back shift to digital marketing, will dedicate half of its $3 billion budget to digital and one-to-one marketing in the next three years. As the countrys third largest advertiser, GMs switch may be the online marketing shot heard round the automotive world. The news is not good for traditional media and may be exacerbated by a directive from GMs Brent Dewar, vp-field sales, service and parts in North America. Dewar told Ad Age late last year that the auto maker will try to persuade its regional dealer ad groups to shift their focus to digital vs. spot TV starting this spring after the dealer co-ops, which spend $500 million annually, are revamped. Other car makers are also upping online buys; Hyundai will double its online spending in 2008 over 2007. Auto dealers are increasingly shifting their spend to online, with a particular focus on customer ratings and reviews and online video. 59 percent of dealers say they plan to use video on their own websites within the next 12 months, up from the current 33 percent.

Thoughts on the Logistics

Recently I received a comment on the logistics of the trip and figured it might make a good topic. By the way, if any commenter wants to e-mail me on more specific questions, just post a comment starting with the line "Do not post" and you can build in your e-mail to the message. Comments are moderated, so I can read, reply to, and delete your comment, thus keeping your e-mail private. So, as far as planning, the first thing is you plan the date range. Depending on how big your window is, you can shop for fares accordingly. Summers are hot, humid, and wet, so do not plan for the summer in the North if you are not up for that (I was and the little guy was fine with it). A quick search on Qantas and United will tell you what the fare range is for your target date, but know that Qantas and Australia Tourism sometimes have deals. If it is close, Qantas has higher service levels. My son got more "kid stuff" on a domestic Economy flight on Qantas than upgraded to Business on United International. Then you've got to figure out where you're going to go. At first, I was going to do Adelaide to Cairns. Then it was Perth -Cairns. Then it was Darwin - Cairns (skipping the area with the greatest perceived combined risk of flooding and remoteness - western Queensland). Then I figured I'd do the whole thing. Had I missed the remote parts of Australia between Cairns and Perth (Via Darwin & Broome), I would have missed a big part of the soul of the country. However, I understand that few people have the time or the tolerance for long days and empty roads. Prices are high and it is not just the weak dollar. Australia's booming economy has had some inflation and Australians complain a little about it as well. One benchmark item that I like to use is a cup of your favorite espresso drink at Starbucks. I like a Grande Americano (Long Black). In '01 and '03, the US price was US$2.10 and the Australian price was A$2.10. With a US$.55 = A$1 exchange rate, that was a deal! This summer ... er, winter... this January it was US$2.25 in the States and A$4 in Oz. With US$.90 = A$1, that was pricey. Food and beverages were accordingly expensive - maybe 50% more than California. Whether eating fast food (in cities), diners, pre-packaged food, or restaurants, assume a premium of 30% to 100% over US prices at current exchange rates. Living on groceries in the car or at a property with a kitchenette, you can get by on $20 per day per adult. Eating out it is more like $50-75 per day per adult. The next bit of pre-planning is to book the rental car. There is a maximum charge for child seats, so whether you're there for a week or two months, the car seat is $50. Don't worry about driving on the left, you'll adjust fast (the drive from the airport to the hotel is harrowing, then you are fine). If you start in a more remote city, you can get started with fewer ...ummm... traffic opportunities. I am glad I started in Cairns and not Sydney on that count. Note, the car seats do not necessarily have the clip at chest level, so you may want to bring your own clip. Hertz was the least expensive option for me in Cairns, oddly enough, but price shopping here is important and attention to the fine print on unlimited mileage is essential. Gas (say "fuel" when you're there) was between A$1.22 and A$1.71 per liter (3.8 liters per gallon) with a weighted average of about A$1.35-1.40 when the world price was about US$90-100/ barrel. It is now US$135 and their taxes go up with price increases (US taxes are per gallon, not a percentage of price), so their increase should be greater. I booked the starting hotel in advance, but booked others as I went along (as I had a better sense of when I would arrive in various cities) and left the rest to chance. In most towns, I drove in and figured it out. The Information Centers in most towns have all the prices and someone to speak with. On only one occasion did I get "shut out" - Karratha had no rooms and I had to get on down the road to a roadhouse. If you are traveling in a high season, you may want to plan a little further ahead either online or at the Info Centers (they are generally very helpful even if they don't know the places 500-1000km down the road). Roadhouses, pubs, and cheap motels were no less than A$75. Roadhouses are fairly basic - a bed, a light, a cheap TV, and a functioning AC. Some have toilets in the room, some have a common bathroom. You can stay a couple nights in those places, but you want to shake things up with a nicer place here and there or the travel will become tiresome. Chain motels are generally a big step up in cleanliness & insulation from nature (Best Western is everywhere) and you can do that for the longer term typically for A$90-120. I stayed at three roadhouses and a pub - I recommend that you stay there for the experience a few times, but the chain motels were more comfortable. The resorts (when available) are sometimes not that much more than the chains (A$150+). Places that I would definitely stay at again if back in the neighborhood (and recommend) include the Cairns Hilton (location and staff are tops), Darwin Esplanade Holiday Inn, the Mangrove Resort Hotel in Broome, the Fortescue River Roadhouse south of Karratha (only if you talk with the guy who owns it, it truly is a Spartan property), Monkey Mia Dolphin Resort (memorable, but one day is enough if you're driving through), the Albany Best Western (good staff, nothing special about the property), the Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast, and the Brisbane Hilton. Those last two can be pricey. I used points for most of the Hiltons. I added extra days as I went a couple times - after one hour at the Darwin Holiday Inn I knew I wanted to stay two nights. In most of the bigger cities I scheduled 4-7 nights and I scheduled it a week or two out. There is something to be said for having a home base and taking day trips or taking it easy. I did this in Cairns, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Port Macquarie. The View for $75 (Fortescue River Roadhouse)The View for $130 (Darwin Esplanade Holiday Inn)The View for $220 (Cairns Hilton)As far as thinking about where you want to go, Google Earth and all the photos that exist of all the places you are considering is a great tool. Internet in the hotel room is simply outrageous for an American used to $10/day whether you're at Starbucks, the Best Western, or the Westin. It is A$30/night in most places. Plan accordingly. As for things to do with the kids, every town with three people or more has a playground. It was good to stop and play for 10-30 minutes and let him run around. They were interesting, well-maintained, and for public use (that is they are generally not school playgrounds). As for things to do in the car, Alex had several intricate toys that he liked to play with in the car seat (a card with holes and a string was his favorite). We also spoke quite a lot and we listened to his music every day. I had mommy's voice talking on a CD and he liked that sometimes as well. If you are traveling with mommy, that may not be necessary. Outside of Melbourne, we were not. Getting back to the commenter, I hope his wife goes for it. Australia is a developed first world country, so things should be fine as long as you take precautions. As far as persuading his wife, I wish him luck. Be aware of the risks and prepare accordingly - phone service, food, and water for remote areas, awareness of funnel web spiders in yards around Sydney, and of course caution for the more exotic wildlife in the jungles up north, etc. Be aware but don't overdo the description for your wife if she is like mine. You don't get many chances to do something big and memorable like this, so I strongly recommend it.

not just the red slippers

"I love Hugh Hefner," said West. "I really do. Why? Because I think I
understand his ache. I think I understand his longing because I feel it
myself. There is this yearning, this ache, this longing we all have for
love, for union, for intimacy."
West said John Paul II took the sexual revolution an extra
step, outlining what he called the "Theology of the Body." The pope
emphasized how God made Adam and Eve naked and without shame, in his
own image. And told them to be fruitful and multiply.
In other words, according to the pope, from the very beginning, sexual love has been at the heart of God's plan for us.
"Catholicism, properly understood ... is one of the sexiest of
the world's religions," said West. "But what do we mean by that
statement? Catholicism is a very physical, very sensual religion. And
indeed the authentic soundtrack for Christianity is a small book in the
Old Testament called the Song of Songs. And what is it? It is glorious
erotic love poetry." (via Insight Scoop)Update: The Weight of Glory. Decoding the ABC.

Job-ful

Woohoo, it's been a long time since I updated my blog.So let's go thru a flash back of my happenings in my life1. Now in my job for the 2nd month :P2. I broke my bond in the most decent way 3. I found my inner peace with god and definitely in the quietest way.4. I am branded5. I went for BW6. Learning driving7. graduated!8. I went for F1!!!!!!! WOOHOO~ everyone must experience at least once.mind you, i was never a F1 fan but the true live scene is so good, makes me a fan!massa go go go! ferrari!!9. missing netherlands lots10. still in disbelief for the market situation never been drinking or clubbing (good or bad?)Back to my ex company and then I thought, "Will I regret?" because I am not creating more opportunities for my portfolio.But nah, I think I really like this industry, this job.It's fun and fulfiling.Every client is a real marketing case, we need to achieve for client's objective.be it sales, brand awareness and conveying a message.it sure bulli-hell train my communication skills.internally and externally.face it, media suppliers are NOT anymore superior.we have to chase after the money.so many competitors: outdoor, new media, moving media, BTL, ATL and the list goes on..Damn, I still love it. even though this industry have alot of assholes - yeaps, ASSHOLES who juz want to make life difficult because they want to or just so bulli inflexible.hello, newbie always get the shit.nvm, I will take the shit and turn it into a dough to stuff into those assholes' mouth! haha kiddingOk time for PIGTURES!F1 GALORE:"VRROOOMMMMM....."my fave foto along the f1 tracksferrari fans carrying the flags standing on the top cheering~~ and there were so many of them that some covered the mercedes flag :PKimi Räikkönen of Ferrarione thing I really enjoy is the guys are so suave! they came out to 'parade' :Pand the sound "VROOOM" makes me very high.will definitely go again!this time, at the pit stop. I wanna c the drivers upfront where they lost their grip and also feel their victory.whenever, there are crashes everyone stand upsadly, I am too short to see anythingadding to that, no binos!ok time to fight...

some swedish things

we got to stay with my uncle, who lives in Stockholm, when we visited Sweden. I love staying in someone's house rather than in a hotel when traveling, because you get to experience some everyday things that way, my favorite among them being shopping at supermarkets and getting a sense of regular local foods. the first would be blåbärssoppa, or blueberry soup. this is a bit of a national dish, I take it, and it is simply a sweetened and slightly thickened blueberry soup! it is really tasty. we also tried strawberry kråm, which is the same concept (fruit soup) but much thicker. these were good for breakfast, but after long walks around the city, they are especially rehydrating and refreshing. one pregan item I miss a lot, that Europe is an especially good place for, is keffir, which is a a thinner and drinkable yogurt. I found perhaps the best vegan version of keffir when I tried these little Oatly smoothies. They are so good and tangy!I can't speak very much Swedish at all, but I can work out that this label says "oats + chocolate = good!" and I wholeheartedly agree:Oatly's chocolate milk is one of the best I've ever tasted, with a subtle and not-too-sweet flavor and satisfying rich texture. I really wish that Oatly would start exporting all their products (like their oat cream, perfect for cooking and baking) to the U.S. already! Finally, one of my favorite things about the Swedish supermarkets I visited: behold an entire WALL of crispbreads! It's like crispbread heaven up there, I'm telling you. (you have to click on this photo to enlarge it. =)

!Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

It’s the 5th of May! !!!Yay!!!I feel terrible for the folks in Mexico, who are missing their annual Cinco de Mayo celebration because of their (and everyone else’s) public health crisis.The timing is just terrible for this festive holiday, but I hope that, at least, they are celebrating today with their families at home. Mexican officials, citing improvement in the battle against the virus, announced plans to reopen government offices and restaurants on Wednesday -- and museums, libraries and churches the following day.This is definitely the appropriate day to announce that I have come up with what I consider a TORTILLA EATING REVOLUTION! Note: I don’t eat tortillas that often and so even if you’ve been doing this forever, please let me think I came up with it.This is what to do:Heat the meat. (I’m going to tell you about a great recipe in a sec.) Heat the tortilla – corn or flour. Here comes my life changing tip – LAY A LARGE LETTUCE LEAF OVER THE HOT TORTILLA AND START SPOONING THE FILLINGS ON. GO WILD! The lettuce will insulate the tortilla from the juicy meat and all the other fillings and keep them from soaking through. The point is you can fill the tortilla with lots more than you usually would and it won’t fall apart…if you eat it fast enough.Kind of awesome, right? WHO isn’t looking for a way to shove more stuff into a tortilla. Maybe one day they’ll make an edible rubber-lined tortilla, but until then…use lettuce.The February/March edition of The Food Network Magazine had a perfect Cinco de Mayo recipe - Slow-Cooker Pork Tacos. I did change the recipe in a number of ways.• I used a Dutch oven in the oven and not a slow cooker.•I used 3 dried ancho chiles (no pasillas) and soaked them in hot water for 10 minutes. I added the liquid to the stock.•I used an entire onion.•Beef was on sale, so I used a 3½ lb. piece of beef chuck, instead of the pork. (Nothing to do with 2009 H1N1 .)•I seared the meat, removed it and cooked the onion, chipotle and stock mixture as in the recipe and added back in the piece of beef. Here I served the meat with queso fresco, guacamole and no lettuce. Okay, I admit there's kind of a lot of stuff there: But look here how much more I got on after lining the tortilla with lettuce: Here’s a second recipe, which is a great accompaniment to the tacos or is hearty enough to stand on its own - an absolutely fabulous chili made with black beans. It has a real kick and a very complex rich flavor from chipotle chile powder, chocolate and coffee. This chili comes from a wonderful new cookbook, Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook by Robert M. Landolphi. If you need gluten free recipes, this is a very useful addition to your library. If you don’t, this book is full of just plain great cooking. Smoked Gouda Polenta and African Peanut Soup look yummy. Plus there are plenty of gluten free baked goods in the book – spiced pumpkin roll, carrot and coffee cakes and cookies that I’d like to try. Chocolate-Espresso Chili serves 6 to 8 from Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook by Robert M. LandolphiRecipe posted by permission of the publisher, Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC. The pictures are mine.Bittersweet chocolate, coupled with a kick of espresso, adds depth to a great vegetarian chili. ¼ cup olive oil3 medium yellow onions, chopped2 tablespoons chili powder2 tablespoons ground cumin2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes2 tablespoons honey3 cloves garlic, minced4 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained¼ cup brewed espresso or strong coffee1 cup water1 ½ teaspoons salt1 ½ teaspoons chipotle chile powder1 ounce bittersweet chocolate2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantroIn a large soup, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sauté the onions until tender. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, honey, and garlic. Decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.Add the black beans, espresso, water, salt, chile powder, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, decrease the heat to a simmer, and stir in the chocolate and cilantro. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.Chef’s Tip:Make this chili the day before and refrigerate together nicely. Reheat before serving.

So! How was your Saturday night?

Mine started off with macaroni cheese and ended up with my small, shivering hands clinging to iron railings outside a hotel in the rain, while my boyfriend and my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend steadied my arms on either side so that I could hop away from the wailing siren of a fire alarm. Macaroni cheese, people: just say no.No, to tell the truth, the story behind that isn't anywhere near as interesting as it should be. I did have to sit down with my foot up for an hour watching other people dance (not right, this), but I was allowed to be the only Arts person at a tableful of scientists with only a couple of jokes about loud alarms going 'AWOOGA!', and the ankle managed to lay off most of the stabbingly stabbing pain until the end of the evening, which was a long, slow walk to a taxi rank in the style of Touching the Void. Anyway! Work. In a segue that I'm sure would be a lot neater if I took a moment to do this properly, the lengthy agonising hobble to get to a taxi queue where there were fifty people and no goddamn taxis reminded me of the whole advising-students-(not-)to-do-PhDs-in-Arts-subjects thing. I was speaking to an MA student at work the other day who can't wait to start his PhD, can't wait to be called doctor, and really really can't wait to be a lecturer, especially because his girlfriend's doing a PhD too and they've already started looking at which universities they could work in to be close together without having to work 'anywhere crap'. Now, he's very smart and the job market in his field is slightly less awful than in mine, but... it's a PhD in the Arts. You'd think somebody would have said something.I stayed guardedly positive while sharing a few things about the job market that he probably needed to know, so I feel like I've sort of done my duty by being the first person to say that things are really not great. But, honestly? I've heard a lot of people recommend that the advice to such students should be to tell them absolutely not to go into academia unless they're really, really, absolutely dedicated to the point of not even being able to imagine ever being happy doing anything else with their lives, and... I'm fairly sure that bright, keen students like this one wouldn't be at all put off. This student had already been told that, in fact, and was even more determined to be tough enough anyway, and this is because it's effectively useless advice, given to bright twenty-one-year-olds who are already in love with academia. 'Don't do this unless you're prepared to be the best of the best of the best!' 'Don't do this unless you love academia more than all the other students you know!' Come on. How do you think they're going to respond to that?Forgive me for my pessimism, here, but I don't think that students who believe that they only deserve to be in academia if they're prepared to jump right into it regardless of what horror stories they hear about the job market are going to make the best-thought-out decisions.These students don't need to be told to prove they're worthy. They need to be given the facts about the job market, preferably in terms of numbers - numbers of candidates, of jobs, of number of applications typically made before one works out, of months/years they can expect to spend doing casual hours of part-time teaching to keep some kind of department affiliation in the meantime, of average monthly income they can expect to have during that time - and then left to make their own mind up based on that. It's just a job! We're not training them to be Jedi, for Christ's sake.And with that said, me and my ankle are going to watch TV.

Protecti Princess

May 8: 1 Samuel 2:22-4:22, John 5:24-47, Psalm 106:1-12, Proverbs 14:30-31

Samuel 2:22-4:22 (Listen) Eli Rebukes His Sons Now Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who were serving at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And he said to them, Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading abroad. If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him? But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the LORD to put them to death. Now the young man Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and also with man. The LORD Rejects Eli's Household And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, Thus the LORD has said, Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel? Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever, but now the LORD declares: Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, Please put me in one of the priests' places, that I may eat a morsel of bread. The LORD Calls Samuel 3:1 Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, Here I am! and ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call; lie down again. So he went and lay down. And the LORD called again, Samuel! and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. But he said, I did not call, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, Speak, LORD, for your servant hears. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel said, Speak, for your servant hears. Then the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever. Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, Samuel, my son. And he said, Here I am. And Eli said, What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you. So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him. And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. The Philistines Capture the Ark 4:1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. And when the troops came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean? And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, A god has come into the camp. And they said, Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight. So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died. The Death of Eli A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, What is this uproar? Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. And the man said to Eli, I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today. And he said, How did it go, my son? He who brought the news answered and said, Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured. As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years. Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son. But she did not answer or pay attention. And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory has departed from Israel! because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured. John 5:24-47 (Listen) Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Witnesses to Jesus I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true. There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? Psalm 106:1-12 (Listen) Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good 106:1 Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times! Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance. Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power. He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. Then they believed his words; they sang his praise. Proverbs 14:30-31 (Listen) A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. (ESV) Footnotes [1] 2:29 Septuagint; Hebrew kick at [2] 2:33 Septuagint; Hebrew your; twice in this verse [3] 2:33 Hebrew increase [4] 2:33 Septuagint; Hebrew die as men [5] 3:13 Or blaspheming for themselves [6] 4:21 Or gone into exile; also verse 22 [7] 106:4 Or Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you show to your people; help me with your salvation [8] 14:30 Or healing [9] 14:30 Or jealousy This reading plan is from The One Year Bible

Give Blood

Pat & I have been watching on TV news bulletins the news coming out of Victoria.We can't believe what we are seeing and hearing. Even though we have just come out of our own heatwave, I feel so guilty that I have so much and so many have nothing.So we are going to do our bit to help those people.Tomorrow we are off into the city centre as I am going to donate blood for the burn victims. Pat due to health reasons isn't able to do this any more.Can you give blood?Have you ever given blood and perhaps let this wonderful gift go by the wayside?Its easy and doesn't hurt. Plus after wards you get a free cuppa and light feed.I am urging anyone who is able to give blood to go to your nearest centre and give.......please.Here is a link to their site and you'll find locations on it.Also the Red Cross websiteOn pension day, we'll also be making a donation........Also keep an eye & ear open for wildlife people asking for donations of bedding for animals injured in the fire.Our prayers are with the men, women & children of Victoria

Give Blood

Pat & I have been watching on TV news bulletins the news coming out of Victoria.We can't believe what we are seeing and hearing. Even though we have just come out of our own heatwave, I feel so guilty that I have so much and so many have nothing.So we are going to do our bit to help those people.Tomorrow we are off into the city centre as I am going to donate blood for the burn victims. Pat due to health reasons isn't able to do this any more.Can you give blood?Have you ever given blood and perhaps let this wonderful gift go by the wayside?Its easy and doesn't hurt. Plus after wards you get a free cuppa and light feed.I am urging anyone who is able to give blood to go to your nearest centre and give.......please.Here is a link to their site and you'll find locations on it.Also the Red Cross websiteOn pension day, we'll also be making a donation........Also keep an eye & ear open for wildlife people asking for donations of bedding for animals injured in the fire.Our prayers are with the men, women & children of Victoria

A La Carte (5/12)

60 Years in an Iron Lung "Martha Mason passed away last week at the age of 71 after spending 60 years living inside an iron lung. Mason was paralyzed from the neck down due to a childhood case of polio and was one of about 30 Americans left who live full time in iron lungs. There are no documented cases of anyone living in an iron lung for as long as Mason." A Fetus or a Baby? Here is an interesting article which shows how unbelievable, how ungodly, the pro-choice debate really is. Why Mother's Day is a Bad Idea Dr. Mohler takes this one on and includes an interesting history of the occasion. "Mother's Day is a bad idea because it subverts the reality of faithful mothering and robs faithful mothers of their true glory. Mothers deserving of honor are handed cards and taken to lunch, when songs of praise should instead be offered to the glory of God." John Piper @ The Basics You can hear the first two messages from John Piper at the Basics Conference. The first is a breakout session followed by an open Q&A. The second is a keynote address. Deal of the Day: The Minority Report Ligonier is offering a good discount on Carl Trueman's The Minority Report. "Carl Trueman presents a collection of essays on a wide-range of subjects, including Adolf Eichman, the iPod, Roger Beckwith, the Blues, Watership Down, American Idol, Nietzsche, Zen-Calvinism, and Augustine. His goal is to force readers to think about what they believe, how they behave, and why. With wit and wisdom, Trueman topples the idols of contemporary pop-evangelicalism and dares us to reflect on matters many of us would rather not." Sponsor:

Streaming our photos to your screensaver or desktop

Today is my very sad last day, and while tidying my desk I realised that there was a capability in Manuscripts & Pictorial that had never been explored, and if I didn't blog about it right now it might slip beneath the waving goodbye and be lost forever.The capability is humble enough:Every time you do a search in Manuscripts & Pictorial, you can retrieve your results as a Media RSS file by clicking the Get these results as RSS at the bottom of the search page.What use is this? I hear you ask. Well it turns out that there are screen savers and desktop backgrounds that will happily take this RSS feed and display the images on your screen, as a montage or in sequence, for your enjoyment and education.The URL looks likehttp://mp.natlib.govt.nz/rss/?numResults=100&f=collection%24Heritage+Images&q=seawhere sea is the query term you would like images from.You can, of course, put any word or words in place of sea based on your interest. With about 60,000 images, you'll be unlucky not to find any results.For users of Windows XP and Vista, I recommend the free Google Photos Screensaver which is part of the Google Pack. If you want a slide show that cycles through your results in the background for a kiosk or presentation, the full screen mode in CoolIris is a good bet. Just do a search in M&P, click the CoolIris icon in the top right corner, double-click an image and click the play button.

Camera Bags

Reading Terry Chays recent blog post about camera/laptop bags, it made me start thinking about my own camera gear a bit. Ive been long hunting the best camera bag for a long time and have unfortunately found such a thing doesnt exist or I am looking in the wrong places. Instead I have found several bags which seem to each fit a specific niche of my needs. Niche #1 - Taking my camera + laptop somewhere Ive went through many cases in this area and nothing has really stuck with me. What I have found that works best for now is a Case Logic bag they generically call their SLR & Computer Backpack. The problem I have with it is that to hold a camera + multiple lenses like they show in their photos you have to leave you camera lensless in the bag. I at first thought that wouldnt be a problem, but Ive found the inconvenience of having to assemble in the field makes that a bit unattractive to me. So what I did was rip out the dividers and put a camera + one extra lens in the main pouch and used the side pouches for things like a flash, a Gary Fong Lightsphere, or whatever else I needed with me. Its not the most comfortable pack on long hikes, though, so I am still looking for something better. Heres a couple shots of it courtesy of Case Logic: Niche #2 - Taking just my camera somewhere Sometimes I want to take the minimal stuff needed. Just my camera, maybe a flash, and nothing else. The best bag I have found for that is also coincidentally made by Case Logic, which also has a very generic name, the Large SLR Camera Case-5 Lens. Why the five is in the name I dunno, as it definitely wouldnt hold five lenses. My only complaint with it is that I wish it was more sling like. Ive seen many slings, but never found one I liked any better than this one, so Ive stuck with it. It seems to work well and its made of the same material as the backpack which proved to hold up to rain and mud quite well and still keep the camera dry. Heres a shot of it also from Case Logics website: Niche #3 - Hauling all my gear somewhere The requests for me to do headshots and related photography at Yahoo! have been picking up a lot lately, especially after I did the headshot for our new CTO, Ari Balogh. Im not sure if anyone outside a select few knew I did his photo, so the timing is probably coincidental, but the point is still I have been doing more shots recently. Ive also been having more requests than in the past to do photoshoots off of main campus where I have a nice studio I can use. This requires me to have the ability to easily haul a large chunk of my gear to other places arriving intact in one piece, and thus I have the following three Pelican cases. Pelican is the defacto leader of sorts when it comes to heavy duty robust cases and while they are a bit pricey, I feel they are well worth the money. This case holds my camera bodies, several Canon flashes, my light meter, and other misc accessories. While I cant remember the last time I used my 30D on a headshot, it does come in handy for corp events as it allows me to have a second lens ready for shooting without having to swap lenses in the field. This case holds all my lenses, some filters for my 50mm, and my pocket wizards. Ive found it extremely helpful to have several different lenses on hand because of the fact you cant always predict the environment you will be shooting in (especially with last minute location changes). When it matters to get the shot right the first time, I make sure I am over prepared. This is the case I affectionately call big bertha as its freaking huge. The picture really doesnt do it justice, so the best way I can describe its size is that I have a Honda Accord and I have to put the passenger seat all the way back and it still barely fits in the front seat. This case holds most of my studio lighting gear, all but softboxes and light-stands, as I have heavy duty cloth bags for them. Right now, the only niche which is really well filled is #3, the one using Pelican cases. I am still hoping to find something which works better for niche #1 and #2. If you know of any good products, I am sure either Terry or I would be all ears.

Day Three in Vietnam: 15 May

Hanoi Ninh BinhRoad HOA LU/TAM COC/PHAT DIEMAM: Travel to Phat Diem (~150km), visit Phat Diem Stone Church in the morning.Back to Ninh Binh town for lunchPM: Sampan rowing trip along Ngo Dong river.A very long bus trip today, on some pretty bumpy roads. Our destination, Phat Diem Stone church, is actually part of a large complex including several shrines as well as the cathedral.During the French ocupation, this area became heavily Catholicized, and the Cathedral itself dates to 1891. Built of massive greyish-black stone, it is an imposing and somewhat ominous edifice. On the weekday we visited, it was pretty much deserted except for a few other tourists and a couple of beggars at the gate, and a group of Vietnamese women who either wanted me to buy their their babie or (more likely) subsidize their maintenance. The church is massive, weighty, and except for the ornate altarpiece, very simple in style. Massive wooden columns hold up the vaulted ceiling, and plain benches and kneelers fill the church. We entered from the sides, which open up to allow in light (a good idea--I did not see any electric lights on inside the church.The main idea I got from the church is the fusion of Christianity with Vietnamese culture. Although the Mdonna and Child--indeed, virtually all the statues (Peter, Paul, the four Evangelists) were all depicted with western features, nonetheless the architecture itself is an interesting mix of western and eastern. I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow as I manage to download them onto Ken's computer.After luch we went to the Ngo Ding River for a sampan (small rowboat) trip through the three grottos on the river. We all climbed into the boats, which were rowed by the local women (indeed, Vietnamese women seem to do the lion's share of all the hard work here!). Some of them are able to row with their feet--an impressive accomplisment and a logical one considering female anatomy). Kenm, who speaks pretty good Vietnamese, chats with our rower, and we both lend a paddle. The grottos are large hollows in the limestone rock above the river, and in places are so low that one needs to watch one's head to prevent decapitation. At the midway point schools of vendor-sampans converge on us for the big sell: drinks, fresh fruit, candy...and encourage you to buy refreshments for the rowers as well. I am reminded of that scene in Apocalypse Now when they are journeying down the river, but this is quite a different atmosphere. For one, there are no hostile locals (there will be later when the tips are not what they expect, but that is proleptic) and the scenery is lush but not overgrown. On the way back our rower brings out what she acknowledges herself is the main moneymaker for her: hand-embroidered tablecloths and other linens. We (or Ken, rather) haggle for a while, and then let the matter rest, then discuss it a bit more, he wants a tablecloth for his wife, and I want a gift for my aunt Jane-Ann in Georgia. By the end of the ride all parties are satisfied, and I have in the bargain a lovely small spring-green pillowcase to fill with lavendar as a sachet.Not all the others have such a good experience: their rowers are quite aggressive in their request for tips and make their disappointment very plain. Although it can be offputting, when one is objective it's is hard to fault them: what seems to us like pocket money is an entire day's wage or more to them and they have come to look upon Westerners as their bread and butter...On the long trip back I once again find the endless lines of small shops on each side of the road fasicnating. How many com pho shops can one kilometer support? Ten? Twenty? How do they make a living???We arrive home road-weary and when we got off the bus I find I am still moving up and down from the hours of motion. In our room it is difficult to stay awake long enough to jot down some notes from the day without nodding off.

Auto Rebates; Incentives; Low Interest Rates; February 2009

This is incentives for 2009 Pontiac, Buick, GMC for the month of February 2009 including some 0% interest incentives. These rates and rebates are good thru March 3, 2009. If you have found a 2008 model, let me know because I am assuming most 2008 models are long gone.Buick Enclave $750 customer cash, $1500 Bonus Cash or 0% for 60 months or 1.9% for 72 months. Buick Lacrosse $1000 Cust. Cash, $1000 Bonus Cash, or 0% for 60 months or 1.9% for 72 months. Buick Lucerne $1000 Cust. Cash. Pontiac G3 (COMING SOON TO DEALERSHIPS) $1000 bonus cash or 0% for 60 months or 1.9% for 72 months. Pontiac G5 $1500 Cust. Cash $1000 bonus Cash or 0% for 60 months or 1.9% for 72 months. Pontiac G6 has up to $2750 rebate or 0% interest on select models or 1.9% on 72 months. Pontiac G8 $1500 Cust Cash, $1500 Bonus Cash, or 0% for 60 months or 1.9% up to 72 months. Pontiac Solstice $500 Customer Cash. Pontiac Torrent $1000 Cust. Cash, $1000 Bonus Cash, or 0% for 60 months or 1.9 up to 72 months. Pontiac Vibe $500 Customer Cash. GMC Acadia $750 Cust. Cash $1500 Bonus Cash, or 0% for 60 months or 1.9% up to 72 months. GMC Canyon up to $1000 Customer Cash depending on model. GMC Envoy $3000 Customer Cash. GMC Sierra Extended Cab up to $4000 rebate or 0% interest on 60 months or 1.9% for 72 months. GMC Sierra Regular Cab $1500 rebate. GMC Sierra Crew Cab $2500 rebate. All Regular GMC Yukons $3000 rebate or 0.0% interest for 60 months or 1.9% for 72 months. GMC Yukon XL has $1000 rebate.Looking for a new car?Make sure you get the best deal possible at Yahoo! AutosEveryone always asks whether to take the 0% interest rate or the rebate? The best suggestion to give customers is to consider how you have payed for your previous vehicles. If you are the type to pay them off early or pay extra, always take the rebate. If you pay for your vehicle over the length of the loan, take the 0% or low interest rate. You also have to look at the amount of the rebate and the amount you are financing. If you are financing a lower amount, it may be more benificial to take the rebate whereas if it is a larger purchase, 0% may be better. You also have to look at other factors as well. Are you trading a car you have negative equity? You can possibly finance your negative equity at 0% into your new loan. If you need some help, feel free to email me--my email is at the top of the page and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Please give me some details, like the type of car, trade, price, other factors that may influence the purchase. Make sure to Get A Quote. Quick.so you know you are paying the best possible price.

Sketchy and Sporty

Here's a birthday card I created using one of Allison's So Sketchy layouts, I pulled out my "Just So Sporty", which I know I will be using a lot this spring and summer! :) (wait til you see the cards I made for Jonathan's soccer coaches!!)I began the card looking at the circles on the side of her sketch and decided to take them literally: a figure 8! There's lots of 8 year-old birthdays coming up soon around here so I thought ta big 8 on the side instead of framing images up in them would be pretty cool, and just to make sure everyone "got" the 8 (hee hee!) I added a jersey with the number "08" on it! I love having the numbers in the set to use this way for birthdays. The sketch was perfect for a little banner and I completed it with a bard in a star, and few lines of piercing just up to the 8. The jersey is stamped on red paper and the trim is colored with a white Koh-i-Noor pencil.I just love how by it looks, thanks Ally for another great sketch! Be sure to go check out the original sketch on her blog! Have a great day! PS This also works for Cammie's color challenge this week on Stamp TV, I hope you'll play!

Beaba Babycook

This is exactly what I need in my kitchen, the Beaba Babycook. Williams-Sonoma sells this French baby-food maker that has won praise throughout Europe and is finally available to American families. This compact countertop appliance is a steamer, blender, warmer and defroster to prepare fresh, healthy meals for your baby! It steam cooks vegetables, fruits, meat and fish in less than 15 minutes, then purees or blends them to your desired consistency. It also can be used to quickly reheat or defrost precooked foods. Included is a 2 1/2-cup plastic bowl, cooking basket and spatula with recipe booklet. Another great thing about this compact miracle is the machine has no traceable amounts of BPA.Available at William-Sonoma $149.95

Beanzawave $160.

Headed Southward

The occasion that brings us (Tom,Elisabeth and me) to the Bay Area -- Kristin’s memorial -- will be sad for sure. But I’m looking forward to some much-needed time off and a chance to visit with beloved family and friends. I hope to blog daily – probably primarily with photos, but hopefully also with something of some substance to say… because it’s been a while since I’ve done that. I’ve been so focused on completing two very challenging projects (turned them both in today, to client rave reviews… phew!) that I’ve been void of a single creative or substantive thought lately. But hopefully I’ll be able to rejuvenate a bit in the next five days. (I wish I could claim credit for the photo, but I can’t – and I don’t even know who to give credit to, as I found it on Google Images. There’s reason enough, I guess, to watermark your great photos!)

Baby Makes Two

Actually, on with movie star gorgeous Giada this morning on Today was, not only Jade (too cute!), but Matt and Meredith during a Mother’s Day breakfast dem. And there was a quick on-camera sighting of Todd, plus Al and Ann came in at the end.Jade was sitting next to the dem bench in a high chair and I got extremely nervous that with no adult nearby she would stand up and fly out of the chair. MATT (not Meredith, who was standing the closest) realizes there’s a problem and goes right over. Jade doesn’t like this strange man at first, but then she warms up to him.Hold it a red hot minute! Giada is showing us how to use a BOXED waffle mix?!! Oy! That is NOT what I paid for! I’m just going to watch the baby. Matt is feeding her pieces of waffles, which is far more interesting than the nothing-to-write-home-about recipe, although the espresso nightcap (strange name for a brunch drink) looks good. Giada, cooking anything, is at least a feast for the eyes and that baby is hard to resist.This pound cake recipe, shown later in the morning, is definitely worth a try and unusual with the addition of cream cheese.

Roseville Antique Market...part 1

**Disclaimer, up front** I am tired and so this post is mostly photos, but I'll be sharing more details in the next post. It's too close to call, but last Sunday's out of town trip to Roseville just may have been my favorite faire yet. The incredible girls from the Tattered House did a phenomenal job coordinating the event and the location could not have been more perfect. Here are some more shots of a few of the treasures in our booth... Oh, and the other Tracey found a new couple to join her vintage cake topper collection. (Look closely! I think they look just like Ken and Barbie!) This is most likely the last show we will use our lanterns and garland, as everyone seems to be doing that now. My mind is reeling with some new ideas to replace these! Huge shade trees line the street when the Tatttered House is located, and all of the homes look so quaint. Our booths lined both sides of the street (there were about 50 booth spaces!)More on what we saw (and bought!) in other booths in part 2...

Women's mental health hit hard by recession

But many show resilience and resourcefulness in coping with stress Dan Page & Hillarie Turner More than two-thirds of American women interviewed for a survey released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) say that the nation's sagging economy has negatively affected their lives or the lives of their loved ones. The findings also indicate women may be neglecting their own needs while focusing on other concerns. This two-pronged telephone survey examines the impact of the economic crisis on the mental well-being of women both nationally and in Clinton County, Ohio, where survey respondents report significantly higher levels of hardship amid deep job cuts by air freight giant DHL, which has devastated the local economy. Women in the survey report sharp increases in stress, anxiety, frustration and other negative mental health indicators since the recession took hold last fall, with job loss pushing these increases even higher. And while more than three-quarters of these women report engaging in one or more positive coping strategies, most tend to prioritize family and other financial responsibilities ahead of their own needs - a tendency that can backfire despite the best of intentions. "Women will take care of their families before making sure they have what they need to stay healthy. If at all possible, they should avoid spending cuts on activities and resources that can help maintain their own health," said APA President Nada L. Stotland, MD, M.P.H. "For instance, keep up the gym membership, even if it means you can't give your kids the latest electronics. Take time to exercise and eat right. The bottom line is that taking care of your mental health is necessary to your ability to care for your family." In this national telephone survey, women rank the ability to provide food, clothing and education for their families, relationships with family and friends, and personal finances such as mortgages and retirement savings, as more important than their own mental and physical health. "Losing a job or taking a wage cut creates an ongoing source of anxiety for families. Women are particularly affected because they are often juggling the stress of their workplace demands with those of running a household and keeping their families healthy," Dr Stotland said. "While this survey focused on women, the answers we found can be indicative of the health and well-being of the entire family. The challenge for each of us is to find effective ways to cope with the stress caused by the economic crisis. Reaching out to a support network can help." The APA conducted the survey as part of its "Healthy Minds. Healthy Lives." campaign, which is designed to improve understanding of mental illnesses, psychiatry and successful treatment options, as well as to reduce the stigma sometimes associated with seeking mental health care. While women across the country are greatly affected by these difficult times, the APA wanted to look at how the economic crisis was impacting communities more acutely affected by the stress and anxiety from job loss and wage cuts. Results from a telephone survey conducted in Clinton County, Ohio - where DHL's cutbacks have eliminated more than 5,000 jobs in recent months, and the unemployment rate among the county's roughly 43,000 residents to an estimated 10.5 percent in February - show that women in this hardhit community encounter greater levels of stress that seen in women nationally. More than half of women in Clinton County say they are worried that they or a family member will lose a job in the near future compared with 40 percent nationally. And nearly two-thirds of women in Clinton County say the economy has had "a negative impact" on their mental health, versus just over half of women polled nationwide. Moreover, when compared with women nationally, the women of Clinton County are much more likely to be experiencing greater levels of stress (45% vs. 33%), frustration (38% vs. 27%), anxiety (34% vs. 24%), irritability (35% vs. 23%) and insomnia or oversleeping (29% vs. 20%). These feelings are natural, considering the reality of life in Clinton County: 30 percent of women in this hard-hit region say that wage cuts have affected their family, compared to 21 percent nationally. In addition, the incidence of job loss in the family is 9 percentage points higher in Clinton County than the national average. "Even if people are working, it's emotionally draining to live with a constant fear of losing a job," said Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association President, Joseph Locala, MD "To help get through these uncertain times, it's important to find positive ways to cope - whether it's spending time with friends and family, engaging in hobbies, exercising, or talking with a clergy member or mental health professional." While women in communities across the country are facing the stresses brought on by the economic crisis, this survey demonstrates that women tend to be resilient and resourceful. More importantly, 76 percent of women polled nationally say they are participating in more positive activities than they were six months ago - including spending time with family or friends, praying or attending religious services, exercising, watching television, reading, or listening to music. This survey also found that the majority of women view getting mental health care as a positive action. Eighty-five percent see the benefit in receiving support from a mental health professional for emotional or mental health concerns, and view it as a sign of strength. In addition, 80 percent of women are confident they could find mental health resources should they or family members require the services. APA: tips for coping with stress of the economy

Car Stolen With Baby Inside

A 7-month-old baby was inside of an SUV when it was stolen from the 2300 block of West Church Street just before 2 p.m. this afternoon, according to Orlando police. The SUV, a 2006 blue, four-door Nissan Pathfinder, and the child were found about 15 minutes later in the 600 block of W. Tampa Avenue, but the suspect had fled the scene, police spokeswoman Sgt. Barbara Jones. The baby was not injured. The baby had been left unattended in the SUV when it was stolen. Police are looking for the suspect. Orlando Sentinel This would be a pretty damned horrific thing to have happen but it begs the question, what kind of a stupid fucking idiot would leave their car idling with the baby inside? Was it in their own driveway perhaps? I've probably done that. Or was it in front of a business somewhere? Judging from the Satellite view over at Google Maps it looks like a residential area so I suppose it could have been stolen out of someone's driveway. How many times have you forgotten something and run back into the house to grab it while your car was running? With the kids in it? Shit, that's scary

Design of oseltamivir analogs inhibiting neuraminidase of avian influenza virus H5N1.

Related Articles Design of oseltamivir analogs inhibiting neuraminidase of avian influenza virus H5N1. Antiviral Res. 2009 Apr;82(1):51-8 Authors: Rungrotmongkol T, Frecer V, De-Eknamkul W, Hannongbua S, Miertus S Neuraminidase is an important target for design of antiviral agents in the prophylaxis and treatment of avian influenza virus infections. We have shown the applicability of computer-assisted combinatorial techniques in the design, focusing and in silico screening of a virtual library of analogs of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) with the goal to find potent inhibitors of influenza A neuraminidase N1 that fill the cavity found adjacent to the active site. Crystal structure of oseltamivir-N1 complex was used in the structure-based focusing and virtual screening of the designed library. A target-specific Piecewise Linear Potential type 1 scoring function fitted for a training set of 14 carbocyclic inhibitors and validated for three other inhibitors was used to select virtual hits with predicted inhibitory activities in the subnanomolar range. The results of this computational study are useful as a rational guide for synthetic and medicinal chemists who are developing new drugs against the avian influenza virus H5N1.

BBC Issues Oklahoma a Black Eye

Oh, dear. The BBC's Kevin Connolly recently traveled to Oklahoma and got quotes from Oklahomans about how they hate Obama (well, we ARE the reddest state in the USA, aren'e we?!). One quote was by a "Christian lady" in SW Oklahoma who happily said she doubts that Obama is a Christian or an American and that he is bringing out all the homosexuals and now there are "blacks everywhere!" The poor mayor of Medicine Park has issued a response (most citizens of his community are expressing "revulsion and anger" over the quote. Read his remarks HERE. Hear a portion of the BBC piece HERE.Thanks, fruMurf, for the Twitter (Medicine Park Blog. Oklahoma Mayor responds to BBC interview about Obama. http://tinyurl.com/dn5mwo)

Playing Political Bingo with Boat People

A cross post for Global Voices: An upturn in the arrival of refugees to Australia by boat has brought tragedy and controversy. The issue of border protection that dominated the 2001 Federal election has re-emerged with extra venom. A refugee boat has exploded off the north west coast.Three people are dead, two are missing and more than thirty have been injured, some with very serious burns. Three members of the Australian Defence Force, which was towing the boat, are among the injured. Western Australian police say three people are dead and two are missing following an explosion on board an asylum-seekers' boat being escorted to Christmas Island this morning. Three dead, dozens injured after explosion on asylum boat ABC News Online 17 April 2009 Allegations that the fatal explosion was caused by asylum seekers have also revived the political storm surrounding the children overboard affair. Claims that fuel was deliberately poured over the small wooden fishing vessel before the blast will be the focus of inquiries by police and the Northern Territory coroner. Sabotage fear on boat blast The Age 17 April 2009 A political stoush has erupted with Opposition parliamentarians accusing the government of causing the increase in boat people and encouraging people smuggling through its changes to border protection. Bloggers are also taking off the gloves. Gary Sauer-Thompson at Public Opinion bemoaned the attempts to politicise asylum seekers again: Doesn't the old hang on. The Liberals are banging the drum about border security, bad asylum seekers, boat people and soft on security. It is just like a replay of the old children overboard affair with undercurrent of Asian hordes invading Australia because they read The Australian and realized that Rudd Government has gone soft on the processing of asylum seekers. The reality is that most asylum seekers arrive by plane, many are sent back, whilst the asylum seekers who arrive by boat are processed on Christmas Island. Children are treated more humanely, the so-called “Pacific Solution”, which had people sent to Nauru has been abolished and it has scrapped temporary protection visas, as well as reforming detention policy. banging an old drum Mark Thomson’s blog, Seeking Asylum Down Under, has a clear purpose: Yes, we remember! Blame the victims for their own plight, extract as much sensationalism out of the role of people smugglers, put words in the mouth of ADF personnel who cannot answer for themselves, and then whip up public sentiment against refugees. Throw in dollops of confected outrage over your political opponents complete lack of preparedness to face down the ‘threat' and you have the typical Lib's stock in trade response to the terrible plight of some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. Oh, I forgot - then you set about making weak neighbouring countries complicit in policies that violate human rights! Human rights in Australia - the fear & smear Liberals are at it again over asylum seekers! Another progressive blog, Club Troppo, was more restrained: Yesterday’s “boat people” explosion near Ashmore Reef west of Darwin, in which 3 people were apparently killed outright and many more seriously injured, has eerie if obvious parallels with the “children overboard” saga of 2001 which helped John Howard to his third successive election victory. Returning to the present, there is a crucial difference between the situation the “children overboard” and “Tampa” asylum seekers faced and that of yesterday’s group whose boat apparently caught fire and exploded. The current group didn’t face being towed back out to sea, and they almost certainly didn’t face prolonged immigration detention while their protection visa applications were processed. In those circumstances, WA Premier Colin Barnett’s claims that the asylum seekers deliberately doused their vessel and the surrounding waters with petrol doesn’t seem to make sense. There must be more to it than we’re being told, unless these particular asylum seekers simply hadn’t heard that the old Howard government “towaway zone” or ”lock ‘em up offshore and throw away the key” policies were no longer operative. There’s a lot more to be told about this story. The old explosive asylum story reignites The alternative view was put strongly by Andrew Bolt, newspaper columnist for Rupert Murdoch’s Herald-Sun and perhaps Australia’s best known and controversial right-wing blogger: AT least three boat people now dead. So how much “kinder” do Kevin Rudd’s policies seem now? John Howard was supposed to be the cruel one, said Labor. It was Howard when Prime Minister who put in the Pacific Solution, whisking illegal boat people to Nauru, rather than land them here. Too harsh, said Kevin Rudd, and scrapped it. It was Howard who cut the legal circus that allowed illegal immigrants to play the system for years, until we gave up trying to deport them. Too harsh, said Rudd, and laid on lawyers. It was Howard who cut the lure of benefits and then imposed on illegal immigrants the imminent threat of return. Too harsh, said Rudd, and scrapped the Temporary Protection Visas, giving all illegal immigrants—including well-heeled ones fleeing no particular danger—instant access to permanent residency with all the tempting benefits and rights. Too harsh, said Rudd. And enlightened opinion cheered. Now we were nice. Really? So how nice is it to have now lured at least three people to their deaths? To have not one child overboard—oh, what a confected scandal that was—but a whole boatload of 49? Yes, indeed. This is a “people overboard” scandal, but for real this time. People overboard, and the kindness than kills Possum Comitatus at Pollytics did not show any restraint when condemning Bolt’s post: … there is no larger magnet for outright bigotry than asylum seekers. With refugees it’s literally Moral Panic Bingo; Islam, terrorists, race, xenophobia – refugees are the ultimate canvas upon which the shallow end of the public affairs pool can paint their own preferred pathological animosities. If you don’t believe me, then undertake an experiment: Write down 9 favourite themes of the small minded nutjob set, not specifically about any given thing, any old generically bigoted idiocy will do – then pop on over to the usual creatures that prey on such feeble minded antipathy and read the comments sections on any post they have about asylum seekers. Every time one of your predicted themes is mentioned by a commenter, mark it off - you won’t have to read far before you’ll be shouting “Wingnut Bingo!”. Of all the Wingnut Bingo halls in the land, there is none bigger than that hosted by The Undescended Testicle.* He started yesterday with his sneering innuendo, of asylum seekers being “Lured by Rudd to their deaths?”. There really are no boundaries that Bolt’s hysterical Rudd Rage refuses to cross – although the only thing really being “lured” here are miscreants by the bucketful into Andrew Bolt’s site –herding the dross of the internet into News Ltd advertising by playing up to their shallow and spiteful little fantasies. Why Andrew Bolt should be Sodomised with a Calculator – Part 142 Not the usual sort of criticisms we expect from a statistician and psephologist. For his data analysis you’ll have to visit Possum’s post. It appears that most of those on the boat were fleeing Afghanistan, a country where Australian troops are currently fighting the Taliban.

Mentoring Senior Faculty & Post Tenure Review?

So in my continuing obsession about faculty mentoring, I've decided to shift focus to senior faculty mentoring for this week and see if I can solicit any views/advice about what happens to mentoring and career planning post-tenure. I think as a group we law professors tend to focus on pre-tenure mentoring because the path to obtaining tenure can be so tricky and the costs of failing to obtain tenure so great. And I'm not suggesting here that we have all done as much work as we should have in developing effective strategies for mentoring pre-tenure folks - or for that matter, even non-tenured folks such as many clinical and writing faculty. I just thought it might be interesting to think a little bit about post-tenure mentoring programs and strategies, see if they even exist and, if so, whether we could obtain some trickle-down effects that would help junior faculty. Or vice versa ie if these programs don't exist, could we learn something useful about junior faculty mentoring that we might apply to senior faculty mentoring? In particular, I'm interested in whether schools with post tenure review use that as a form of mentoring/career development for senior faculty, or rather regard it is a shaming mechanism to avoid deadwood in the top ranks? My school doesn't have a formal system of post-tenure review although we have talked about it on occasion. We have never been sure what form it should take other than an annual review meeting with the dean(s). Nevertheless, I'm sure there are issues that we all face post-tenure about career development on which we could use plenty of advice from our colleagues. Questions I've been thinking about recently include: What kind of writing should post-tenure folks be doing? Should it be predominantly the same as pre-tenure writing or is it good for us and our institutions to do all those things we may have been discouraged from doing pre-tenure e.g. shorter, solicited symposium articles? op-eds? blogs? joinly authored work? books? Should we be more experimental with our teaching post-tenure, and in what ways? Co-teaching? Trialling new technologies? Joint projects with classes at other schools (either domestically or internationally)? More interdisciplinary teaching? AND of course the big professional development question. Where do we see ourselves individually in 5-10 years? Presumably some of us would like to move up the ranks to a higher-ranked school or perhaps to a school where there are greater opportunities for developing things we are interested in? Some of us may be guilty of toying with the idea of trying our hand at administration - associate deaning, center development, or moving on to some central university committees perhaps? Some of us may be looking to have experiences in organizations or boards outside of our home institutions and may need advice on how to get connected. So what do senior faculty do about these things? Presumably the obvious trick is to identify one or two good mentors early on who can help and assist throughout a career with these kinds of issues. Of course, many people are in the situation where they are the only person or one of only a few people at their institution in a particular area - so for advice about external issues, they will have to find outside mentors. And, on the other side of the coin, how do we tenured folks feel about mentoring our more senior colleagues? Presumably most of us feel obliged (and hopefully delighted and inspired) to mentor tenure track people. But how seriously do we take the obligation to mentor each other post tenure? Again, I don't really know - just interested in how people feel on this question and what strategies people are adopting to deal with these post-tenure career issues. Are there formal structures in place or are informal structures the norm? Would it be better if we had more formal structures? And should the role of post-tenure review (where it exists) be more of a mentoring exercise or merely a check that senior folks are still being productive. In other words, are these programs prescriptive (eg "When are you going to write your next article and what will it be about?") or more collaborative (eg "Where do you see yourself in 5 years and what resources/help/advice do you need from the school and your colleagues to get there?")

New York's Finest in LA - 1977

It was 32 years ago yesterday and today, that The Ramones made their sophomore appearance on LA's Sunset Strip.They debuted at the Roxy in August of 1976, and in February 77, they headlined a New York's finest set of days at the Whisky a Go Go down the street with Blondie opening. Blondie headlined the previous two days, sharing the stage with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.Coincidentally, all three of those seminal 70s bands are in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame!These gigs showed me what Beatlemania might possibly have been like. My friends and I were excited and had been anticipating the double-header of these CBGB all stars for weeks, if not months.Not sure if it is "fun" being a superstar... but it seems that the blonde faction of that week in February 1977 at the Whisky a Go Go made it all the way to the top of the charts and made grand careers out of chart topping.

[Project] - Flex Developer at MTV Networks/Neopets

Location: Glendale, CA  3+ years experience in multimedia design, development, architecture & deployment of applications The position will require working closely with related technical design & development teams (including web development, database, application & systems) both domestically and internationally  This individual will tackle configuration and debugging tasks through issue isolation and deductive reasoning, understand technical service interdependencies, drive towards technical solutions for multi-tiered systems and support effective teams.  multimedia application and game design, development and integration of end-user digital products Field Expertise & Acumen (Background)The required Field Expertise & Acumen for this position include: Expertise in Action Script 2/3  Expertise in the Flex 2/3 Framework including creating custom components  Knowledge of User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design  Candidate must have experience with all software development life cycle phases (Project planning, requirements definition, Systems design, Implementation, Integration and testing, installation, deployment, & Maintenance )  Object Oriented Programming; including all facets relevant to Action Script 3.0  Object Oriented Design; including solutions to new challenges using existing design patterns  Testing frameworks such as Flex Unit, and application micro-architectures such as Cairngorm and Model-View-Controller(-Service)  In relation to Flash; knowledge of CSS, HTML, JavaScript  Knowledge of UML a plus Multimedia design, development Technical Skills The Technical Skills sought for this position include: Multiplayer game development experience strongly preferred  Experience integrating with PHP (v4,v5)  Basic knowledge of design and typography Capable of leading peer-level developers Solid communication, documentation skills Capable of understanding business objectives and able to translate business goals into technical design Experience Level 3+ years experience in multimedia application and games production  3+ years of successful track record of commercial development experience This is a project position. To Apply: Send resume to mia.burgess@mtvstaff.com Click here to read the whole listing

Frazer Institute Seeks Better Measures of Policy Variables

George Gilder emphasizes that the importance of entrepreneurship to economic growth has been missed by many economists, in part because of the difficulty of measuring both the inputs of entrepreneurship (e.g., courage, persistence, creativity, etc.) and the outputs of entrepreneurship (e.g., happiness from more challenging work, greater variety of products, etc.). Unfortunately this is not just an academic problem, because economists' policy advice is based on their models, and their models focus on what they can measure. If they can't measure entrepreneurship, then policies to encourage entrepreneurship are neglected. Now the Frazer Institute, is seeking proposals to improve the measurement of important poorly measured policy-relevant variables. This initiative is in the spirit of the good work that the Frazer Institute has done in correlating measures of economic freedom with measures of economic growth. I have been asked to publicize this initiative, and am pleased to do so: Dear Art Diamond, The Fraser Institute is launching a new contest to identify economic and public policy issues which still require proper measurement in order to facilitate meaningful analysis and public discourse. We hope you can help promote this contest by posting it on your weblog, artdiamondblog. The Essay Contest for Excellence in the Pursuit of Measurement is an opportunity for the public to comment on an economic or public policy issue that they feel is important and deserves to be properly measured. A top prize of $1,000 and other cash prizes can be won by identifying a vital issue that is either not being measured, or is being measured inappropriately. Acceptable entry formats include a short 500-600 word essay, or a short one-minute video essay. Complete details and a promotional flyer are available at: http://www.fraserinstitute.org/programsandinitiatives/measurement_center.htm. Entry deadline is Friday, May 15th, 2009. Sponsored by the R.J. Addington Center for the Study of Measurement. Enquiries may be directed to: Courtenay Vermeulen Education Programs Assistant The Fraser Institute Direct: 604.714.4533 courtenay.vermeulen@fraserinstitute.org The Fraser Institute is an independent international research and educational organization with offices in Canada and the United States and active research ties with similar independent organizations in more than 70 countries around the world. Our vision is a free and prosperous world where individuals benefit from greater choice, competitive markets, and personal responsibility. Our mission is to measure, study, and communicate the impact of competitive markets and government interventions on the welfare of individuals. An important source of Gilder's views, obliquely referred to in my comments above, is: Gilder, George. Recapturing the Spirit of Enterprise: Updated for the 1990s. updated ed. New York: ICS Press, 1992.

Dumbo Octopus

lady icicle

Little Lady Icicle is dreaming in the north-land And gleaming in the north-land, her pillow all a-glow; For the frost has come and found her With an ermine robe around her Where little Lady Icicle lies dreaming in the snow. Little Lady Icicle is waking in the north-land, And shaking in the north-land her pillow to and fro; And the hurricane a-skirling Sends the feathers all a-whirling Where little Lady Icicle is waking in the snow. Little Lady Icicle is laughing in the north-land, And quaffing in the north-land her wines that overflow; All the lakes and rivers crusting That her finger-tips are dusting, Where little Lady Icicle is laughing in the snow. Little Lady Icicle is singing in the north-land, And bringing from the north-land a music wild and low; And the fairies watch and listen Where her silver slippers glisten, As little Lady Icicle goes singing through the snow. Little Lady Icicle is coming from the north-land, Benumbing all the north-land where'er her feet may go; With a fringe of frost before her And a crystal garment o'er her, Little Lady Icicle is coming with the snow. - Emily Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake)

Hate Radio

The pendejón pictured here used to have a mid-day talk show on Florida’s RealRadio 104.1. He billed his show as "the rantings and ravings of an ignorant backwoods motherfucker."Oh okay, those were my words. He said it was a "mixture of outrageous daily, biker attitude and personality, and right-wing style rants."His name is Edward Shannon Burke, got angry at his dog, got a handgun and threatened to shoot it last week. The gun then discharged, "accidentally" and the bullet went through the dog's leg and hit his wife, Catherine, on the side of her head, according to a report.Interesting visual, either the dog was on Catherine's head, or she was on the floor. Who can say since the incident happened about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday at the couple's home.In a recording of Burke's 911 call, he tells the dispatcher he was playing with a gun that he didn't know was loaded, and it went off. He says the bullet struck the side of his wife's head. Catherine was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. The dog lost her tail and could lose a leg.The pendejón has been charged with two counts — aggravated battery with a weapon and animal cruelty. However, he was not released from jail because his arrest was a violation of his DUI probation in Orange County. When Burke posted $5,000 bail on the probation charge, he was released. He was ordered to wear an ankle bracelet monitor.Now Catherine has filed for a restraining order.That 104.1 FM said Burke would not be back on the air should come as no surprise to his idiot following, but I'm sure it will.This entire sorry episode sounds like a bad country and western song.Speaking of ignorant, there's Michael Savage. He's a piece of work. He's hateful, ignorant, and scary and worse, he has his own talk show. If we were able to see what he looks like on the inside, the unevolved image to the right is what we would no doubt see. That I know someone that looks like this does not make me happy...however, I digress.Moving on...Savage has said things like, "Latinos breed like rabbits," "Muslims need deporting" and as for autistic children, "in 99 per cent of cases it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out."Now, as a result of his ignorant blather he's found himself on a list with 15 other people who, according to British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, he has "fomented hatred, of such extreme views and expressing them in such a way" as to cause violence if they were allowed into the country." In other words, they're undesirables.Despite what the British Government might believe, this slug is pissing and moaning that he's been lumped together with a neo-Nazi and a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. As a result, he claimed he will sue the Home Secretary for defamation by association. He might even suggest that his listeners not travel to Britain. This brings up another question, do any of them have passports?Democrats, Guantanamo inmates' lawyers, civil liberties campaigners, illegal immigrants (he calls them "brown supremacists"), feminists, Islamic groups and homosexuals - especially campaigning homosexuals ("anal rights" as he puts it delicately) - Savage lays into them all. And let's not forget the homeless, the Clintons, CNN, academics and any remaining liberals – America's enemies at home and abroad are everywhere, according to the Savage world view.He wasn't always the hatemonger that he turned into.He was born Michael Alan Weiner in the Bronx, New York, in 1942. His father was a "gruff and profane" Russian Jewish immigrant who sold antique bronzes and apparently passed on his political cynicism. His mother was a Roman Catholic Italian-American. Savage, who frequently makes jokes about Jewish celebrities for his largely Christian audience, rarely alludes to his ethnic origins. After being awarded a biology degree and seeking to emulate his hero, Charles Darwin, he moved to Hawaii in the 1960s where he earned master's degrees in anthropology and botany, traveling the South Pacific investigating the medicinal properties of plants.He became an expert on herbs and homeopathy, and wrote 18 books about it, including one in which he advocated the use of marijuana for therapeutic purposes. He also wrote one about the importance of being a good steward of our environment and wrote about our "plant allies."At some point during the 1980s, the self-proclaimed "Mr Nice Guy Nutritionist" started to turn into "Mr Nasty Guy Broadcaster."Either he's simply chasing ratings, or he really is a bigoted asshole who believes the sewage he spews. Your call.

PR Pitching and Blacklists

In all this tempest in a teapot over Gina Trapani's Wiki - PR people are ignoring a few basic facts: it was her personal email address; it's intrusive; PR is still not training; junior staff is not being supervised ... the list can go on and on.I think I've pitched LifeHacker once in my career - and pretty sure I used the tips@lifehacker.com email address. Eh, I can't remember, but odds are I did ... because I'm sure that list is still being used, and the old firm isn't on the Wiki. Bondage TeapotOriginally uploaded by publicenergy. But, you know, one of the problems with PR is that we rely too much on technology. We are not dialing phones like we used to, so are missing out on the development of real face-to-face conversations and relationships.So, I'm going old school. I've hired a former FBI agent. He used to be deep undercover in the mafia, and went by Johnny. He's digging up records for me - all legally, of course, with no pre-texting - for cell phone numbers. None of this wimpy work phone crap, though: I'm going hardcore and getting personal mobile phone numbers.Because, when I call, I want to be able to reach the person immediately. No voicemail (like reporters return calls, snort). Just direct connects.If this does not work, there is always showing up at the homes. That's the next step - popping over for breakfast or dinner (no pork, please, I'm Jewish). We'll get those meetings, and we'll get that coverage ... because I'm going that extra mile.That's just how I roll.

Can You live a Quality Life with Chronic Pain?

Are you living with chronic pain?Being sick is unavoidable, especially life threatening sickness. As much as you want to be present with the people you love but your constant aches often interfere with your ability to do just that. Being in that painful situation, the best option maybe is the need to change your life in many dramatic ways, listen to your body. You need to find a comfort zone within your life to save your sanity while you live a quality life with chronic pain. Focusing on the pain will deter you from focusing on what you can do and appreciate your life.

Business this week

Pundits continued to ponder the communique issued by the members of the G20 at the end of their summit in London. The agreements main points include a promise of more money for the IMF, taking its funding to $750 billion; an increase in countries access to Special Drawing Rights, the IMFs synthetic currency; a promise to crack down on tax havens; and the establishment of a Financial Stability Board. The G20 members also committed themselves to supporting $250 billion-worth of new global-trade guarantees and gave assurances they would put a freeze on new protectionist measures. See article Ford announced that after a successful debt-for-equity swap programme it had reduced its outstanding automotive debt by $9.9 billion, from $25.8 billion at the end of last year. General Motors and Chrysler are negotiating with their lenders and bondholders to reduce their debt in order to avoid bankruptcy. ...