Green Acres

I've always wanted to plant a garden but I just never seemed to have the space or the time. This year I set aside 8 feet square of space to force me to find the time to plant it. So I guess I'm a farmer now. Which I know is an insult to real farmers world wide but that's what I'm going with.Here is a picture of my victory garden. This year, with luck, it will be a pumpkin patch. Strictly for Halloween jack-o-lanterns. The seed package said to plant 3 to 4 seeds per mound and to space the mounds four feet apart. I planted 5 to 6 seeds per mound and squeezed them together as much as I could. I'm going for quantity instead of quality. Actually, I will be happy with anything orange.My main goal will be to keep our vegetable marauders out long enough to get a harvest. Next on the list is to make an intimidating scarecrow to keep watch over my precious patch.Along with the pumpkin seeds, I planted a couple other 'surprises' that everyone will have to wait for in the fall.As the days tick onward I will hopefully have some pictures of something actually growing besides weeds to show. Until then, I have to get my overalls washed and fetch some water from the well. I will let you know when to come over for the barn raising.

It gets harder and harder to think of a title for these things...

As much as I know you've all enjoyed my lovely travel posts, I'm afraid to inform you that the next few will be quite mundane. This one is about the obnoxiousness that is France and the French. The next will be about why they shouldn't allow me to teach. So here it goes.First, let me say that I still haven't figured out how to hand wash my clothes. It seemed relatively self-explanatory: fill tub, add soap, add clothes, rinse clothes, dry clothes. Right? No, this simple procedure does not, surprisingly, clean a bloody thing. This time I was doing a massive load of darks, and I thought to myself, "Well, I'll just pretend like this is a washing machine and I'll do whatever a washing machine would do." So I filled the tub with warm water and added soap. Then I threw the clothes in and (quite ridiculously) tried to make my own agitation (and then spin) cycle. I looked funny, and I got tired, but my clean my clothes were not. Ugh. Spin cycle number two, add the shower head sprayer for good measure. No good? Drain the soapy water out, refill with clean water, and spin some more. Drain for the final time and .... failure. The clothes were kind of sort of clean, but secretly I knew that the alcohol spilled on me at the Cuban/Brazilian club(s) in Rennes was not coming out of my shirts (this is a whole story in itself, let's just say that Irene wanted to dance --latin style-- and old french men in latin clubs are even more creepy than regular creepy french men in regular bars...sigh). Whatever, I suck at life. Just hang them up and forget it. In a few months, when I come home to the land of decent washing machines, my clothes will get cleaned up nicely. Perhaps I just need to invest in an old school washboard until then?After washing my clothes, it was time to give our bathroom a scrub down. Washing darks leaves some nasty dye in the tub. So I sprayed some bleach and started scrubbing. Within seconds of spraying the cleaner, I suddenly had the urge to go swimming. Why was that? I haven't gone in over 2 weeks (oops). Bleach. The smell of bleach reminds me of chlorine, and chlorine reminds me of pools, and pools make me want to get my butt kicked at swim practice. Well needless to say I went to practice today, and the coach told me that he thought I'd left or something. Nooo I was just busy, so much work, you understand... Anyway, we swam 4000 meters, wow. It felt so good. It was a long practice, we usually only do around 2500, so this kicked my butt, in a good way!Speaking of domestic chores, I am learning to cook. Slowly but surely, I am learning the culinary arts from the master, Miss Rachel. If you know me, then you know how inept I am at such a simple task. Part of my inadequacy stems from my extreme pickiness when it comes to food. If it's green, I probably don't like it. There are reasons I could never be a vegetarian. Anyway, Rachel always makes stuff that smells amazing, even if it is veggies, so we've decided that I must learn. My first lesson came when Dana was here. We made salmon (lemon flavored, yum) and my new favorite dish-- fried potatoes and onions. Okay it's not that hard, you boil some chopped potatoes, fry them, add some onions and garlic, and voila! But here's the funny part: I used to think I hated onions. Not so my friends, I love them now, at least I love them fried with potatoes and garlic. While cooking this stuff I cut an onion for the very first time in my life (probably a first on the potatoes as well). Isn't that a tad bit sad? Well, progress is progress. Rachel also bought me a french cookbook and we're going to pick a meal out before Saturday so we can get all the ingredients at the farmers market. I vote for something with spinach (a green plant I happen to like). I'll keep you posted.So hand-washing clothes and cooking may not be my strong suits, but I'm young and I have time to learn. What I won't ever learn, however, is how to be polite to stupid french handymen that let themselves into my apartment. So the other day I was in bed and I heard the doorbell ring. Nope, not getting up. I don't care who it is, I want a lie-in. Cue the noise of keys and the door opening. That's strange, Rach is supposed to be in Sartilly all day. Cue man's voice. Crap. Scramble out of bed. What to do? I have time to either throw on some jeans and pull my hair in a pony tail OR throw the clothes piled high around my room into the wardrobe. Umm. Oh well, you hesitated too long, and now you have time for neither. Crap, okay go confront man with pjs on and bedhair. It's too early for french (before 10am when I don't have class until 2pm, much too early), and I don't understand a word. Ummm what? Can you repetay that see voo play? Yeah thanks, okay, so you want some shelves do you? Let's see here, oh you want these weird half table things that you stored in my room and that we turned into storage units in the living room. Here let me move that garbage bag and half dead plant, there you go. Take it, we didn't want it anyway. Oh you don't want it? You want it on the wall of my bedroom...um okay. Why? No reason, I didn't think so. Fine hang it... um (kick some clothes aside, pull a 1664 poster down) here. Okay where are the other shelves? Um I have no bloody clue. You tell me. Fine go look in Rach's room, but I warn you, she won't be happy about it (her's being in a sorrier state than my own). There they are, full of stuff no less. Puzzled look from man. Well what did you expect? You come early in the morning with no warning (a note earlier would have been nice). Yes I realize this is not your choice, you march to orders from on high, we're all victims in this crazy game, but could you just come back later, yeah? Thanks. Rach comes back, aghast that she must now figure out where in her room the unwanted shelves can hang (after cleaning them off of course). We hear a door open and heavy footsteps. No knocking this time? No bell? Just come right in, we weren't naked or anything. Not that you'd care. Grrr. Whatever, just hang the bloody shelves and go away. Why must you bother us?? Yes I'm being dramatic, but in the dull city of Avranches, even the smallest events seem quite important. Don't judge me.Speaking of not being informed ahead of time, you'll never guess what happened to Rach and Kate at the elementary school. The other day a woman came by with a young gendarme (police man, but sort of in the army branch). She announced to the surprised girls that he was actually moving in, right now. Oh, lovely. That's not strange or anything. We don't mind finding out, well, the day of. Not a problem. As it turns out, Cedric, the already balding but still nice chap of 26, is not that bad, though he's developed quite the crush on Irish Rach. She brings it on herself though (she made him bring out his hats for her to try on, if that doesn't make a man swoon, I don't know what will). He hangs out with us now, and it's only a little awkward (mainly when Rach has had a bit too much to boire and he goes all gaga over her --awkward but really funny, you can't buy entertainment like this). And yesterday a new gendarme showed up. I guess he's moving in too (quite the party). He's younger (22), but like Cedric he's prematurely balding. Maybe it's a hazard of the profession? Pierre-Yves, the newbie, is nice but shyer than Cedric. Unfortunately neither turned out to be potential french petit-amis for any of us (for various reasons), but oh well. We're not into the law enforcement types anyway. At least they're under 40 and over 18. That works for now, we can hang out at the Liberties now and not get approached by freaks or my students (yeah, I've been running into my students and they either want me to buy them drinks or want me to give them my flatmate's number, get a life folks, you're in high school). But still, a little warning would have been nice. The guys could have been psychos or something. I guess a gendarme is better than a regular bloke (as far as safety goes). Whatever. The French could care less. We are, after all, mere assistants.What am I doing right now? Eating nutella from the jar to curve a chocolate craving, and trying to not freak out about schools. I just finished watching mtv's True Life: I'm having an arranged marriage. I'm not going to lie, some days, I don't think that's a bad idea. Ha! Just kidding. I think. Eventually I need to file my taxes, but I'd rather watch True Life: I'm in anger management. Maybe I should read a book....Okay that's all for now. Must get back to the new dart board (I'm going to get good at this, I swear). Enjoy the snow Wisconsinites.Next up: teaching issues. Get ready for it.

The Future of Modern Kitchen Design

With a focus on designing a modern kitchen to reevaluate what truly makes a kitchen functional, Electrolux Icon appliances and Interior Design Magazine held a competition with 110 thousand dollars on the line. Winner Marcello Zuffo's futuristic kitchen shown here in orange "featured movable components that can be reconfigured to adapt to the task at hand and incorporated a contemporary sculptural component contrary to a typically rectangular floor plan." As interior design and kitchen appliance innovation moves forward, it is very likely these pictures of the first through third award winners will be a reality in a few years. Read more on the Electrolux Icon / Interior Design Magazine kitchen design competition here.
Post from Electroluc Icon : The Future of Modern Kitchen Design

How To Get Your KC Wizard Tickets

To get the group discount, go to the link below, enter the promo code,(Please contact me, Spyder, for the code) create an account with an email address and password, then choose the "general admission" seating category. With these tickets, you may sit either on the grass berm (great view of the field) or in the seating sections 100-103 (behind baseball's home plate). If you have any other questions, let me know. Kyle Link: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/html/go.htmI?l=EN&t=kcwizards&o=101232&g=203 Instructions: Each individual will need to enter your personalized promotional code,(Please contact me, Spyder, for the code) , to activate the discount offer. Once the code is entered, your buyer may create an account by entering his or her email address on the right side of the page and building an account. Once they decide on the number of seats needed and pay for them via credit card, they will receive an email with their tickets attached to it. They simply print these tickets out and bring them to CAB on March 21st!UPDATE: PROMO CODE: KRWIZ Get the $12 tickets. We will sit in seating sections 100-103 (behind baseball's home plate).

Jammu

After grudgingly stuffing a small billfold of baksheesh into Bashirs shirt pocket, I climbed into the white jeep and closed the door. I was the last passenger to arrive, so I was given the passenger seat, a crumbling cushion sitting on a wobbly pedestal. Behind were several Kashmiri families piled high in their shabby seats. Some sat on their luggage. I felt their eyes on me immediately, but in India you quickly grow used to that. I stuffed my backpack under my feet and tried to get comfortable. For the next eleven hours, this jeep would drive through the Kashmir Valley, from Srinigar to the city of Jammu, the winter capital of Kashmir. As we left Srinigar and made our way into the hills, the beauty of the Kashmir Valley started to reveal itself. A crystal-blue river slithered between the snowy peaks. Our jeep wheezed its way up a series of short hills, following the endless convoy of goods carrier trucks, veering close enough to the roads edge to offer stunning vistas of the terraced farmers fields below. Monkeys prowled the roadside, watching us carefully with an unnerving simian vigilance. Of course, Indian Army personnel stood at the roadside every fifty metres or so, making sure I couldnt take pictures. The road sloped at unfathomable angles, hugging the mountainside meekly, as if it could at any moment grow tired and release its grasp. On the sharper curves, I could stick my head out the window and look straight down and assess our probability of survival should the wraithlike, chain-smoking driver of this jeep attempt too daring of a pass, and that probability was usually zero. There was no room for error whatsoever. One hasty jerk of the wheel, or tumbling boulder from above, or wandering monkey& In Canada we take certain road-safety privileges for granted. There arent many cliffhanger roads like this one, for one thing. Nor many avalanche zones. Also, our roads have guardrails and proper paving, our cars equipped with ABS brakes and expensive tires. The rules of the road are different, too, as is the psyche of the driver. One does not, for example, even think to overtake the truck ahead by doing a blind-as-a-bat pass around a sharp bend while the weight of his shabby jeep with bald tires leans ominously over the edge of a 2,000m cliff. But in the Himalayas, they do this. And on an eleven-hour trip, they do this hundreds of times in a single day. The Indian approach to road safety in the Kashmir Valley, as practiced by the Border Roads Organisation, is to pepper the mountain roads with slogans advising drivers to take it easy, drive carefully, and so on, and to make sure that each slogan is expressed as a clever riddle or rhyme. For example: Mountains give pleasure, but only if you drive with leisure Its not a rally, enjoy the valley Theres no race, arrive with grace And my personal favourite: Better Mr. Late than Late Mr.! After a few hours, my grip on the oh-shit bar loosened. Surely the driver makes this route every day, and hes still breathing, though barely from the sounds of things. We stopped for lunch at a roadside cafe on a downward slope, the kind of place that every travel guide says stay away because youll get sick. But the locals crowded into the place and began shouting their orders to the young men tending the saucepans, so I gave it a try, and the food fried dal and chapatiwas delicious. I ate some strange Indian potato chips, and then we got back in the jeep. Somehow, I fell asleep for several hours, perhaps to assure that my death would be painless, but when I woke we were still hugging the cliffs edge and dodging gravel trucks. Behind me, the Kashmiri eyes still warmed the back of my neck. Arriving in Jammu was like entering the heart of one of those post-apocalyptic sci-fi outlaw towns, where motorcycle gangs prowl the streets, robbing and looting and shouting, and there is junk and garbage strewn everywhere, and half the city is on fire. The din of rickshaw horns and shouted Hindi blasted my eardrums. The jeep driver unceremoniously kicked us out at a roadside rickshaw stand, where I was besieged from all sides. Beggars pawed at my pantleg. I found a guy who could take me to Diamond Hotel, a place enthusiastically recommended by Lonely Planet, and quickly got in his rickshaw. The Diamond Hotel staff showed me the rooms. They were horrible. Easily the worst hotel Id ever seen. Brown stains on the walls and bedclothes, tattered pillows, bed like a slab of concrete, and a window that didnt close. Head and shoulders above the competition, said LP. Ill take it. I sat on the bed and turned on the noisy fan. An exhausting day. I felt like a shower. I stripped, walked into the bathroom and turned on the water. Nothing. Tried flushing the toilet. Nothing. At least the lights worked. Id been in India for about nine days now, and none of those days were good. It was true what everyone had told me, what people in Istanbul and Bulgaria and Vienna had told me: that India was a tremendously difficult place to travel in, and that youd better lower your expectations all the way to nothing. Tomorrow, another bus ride through the mountains, another day of breathing, smelling, rubbing shoulders against this crazy country.

Kissing the Kitty

We went to breakfast and Sue found a little kitten running around in the open-air store, obviously a stray! Although I expounded dramatically upon the possible microbes, heavy metals, parasites, and other health hazards that she would expose us all to by touching this bedraggled kitten, she picked it up anyway.Though I admire Sue's loving nature and her ability to see past external flaws (perhaps that's what allowed her to marry me), I still maintain that stray Chinese street animals should be left alone. Thank goodness we came to a compromise that she would pick up the cat but Sophie would only look at it. I shuddered when Sue not only cradled the kitten in her arms, but stroked it and then KISSED it on its head and face. YECH! I thought I would go home immediately to check that our medical insurance was paid up, or at least buy her some peroxide... hmm, how to say that in Chinese? Sue put the kitten down, finally, to wait for the bus, and as we were waiting some Chinese guy spit on the street behind us. The cat ran over and lapped it up with gusto, as we watched in horror and disgust! I don't know if this revulsion will stop Sue from picking up stray animals, but hopefully it will give her pause the next time she exposes herself to one!

J's Indie/Rock Mayhem - 19th November 2008

[Welcome to another edition of J's Indie/Rock Mayhem. Tonight's show was full of great stuff including an interview with Greensboro's own The Bronzed Chorus who are playing tomorrow (Thursday) night as part of this month's installment of the excellent Dotmatrix Project concert series down at the Green Burro. They're playing along with Durham, NC's Hammer No More the Fingers. Ought to be a fantastic show - you know I'll be there.Time to get on with the fun - onward.]J's Indie/Rock Podcast: 19th November 2008 ShowTheme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show">King Khan and the Shrines - "Welfare Bread" [from the supreme genius of.. king khan and the bbq show are playing at square one here in greensboro (on the corner of glenwood and grove) next monday night along with hollow stars. the show is FREE and is co-sponsored by WQFS and WUAG. free king khan? you better be there.]the Geraldine Fibbers - "Toy Box" [from butch. my friend brad (also drummer for my second high school band) gave me this copy of butch for some reason. he said he didn't care because he had made a tape copy. that still befuddles me. all the same, a great, raucous and alternatively beautiful album of chaotic, raw, waits-ian world and word play - a howling good time in all.]the Subways - "Girls and Boys" [from all or nothing. okay. after talking with anna tonight i'm just going to have to stop. there is no way this album is going on my top 25 list for the year, let alone going anywhere near the top like mad dog thinks it should. this is an okay album at best. i might play "strawberry blonde" again on the year end singles show, but that's it.]Kula Shaker - "Hey Dude" [from K. i wrote an argument for this being a pretty good album a bit over a year ago. and i stand by that - especially these singles. i've never bothered with any of their other albums - maybe i'm missing something there as well?]>the Moondoggies - "Changing" [from don't be a stranger. man this song rocks. end of story.]the Clash - "Brand New Cadillac" [from london calling. to me, it's always been somewhat surreal that the clash were as big as they were at their peak. i guess it's just as hard to picture just how big the jam were in their day too. british radio is weird. or maybe american radio is just boring.]Pavement - "Harness Your Hopes" [from the newly expanded edition of brighten the corners which is due out in early december - just in time for the holidays. i'm excited for this reissue as i almost certainly feel brighten the corners is my favorite pavement album and the expanded stuff has been really interesting and good for all of these reissues. the question about whether there'll be a terror twilight reissue is more like 'why bother?']Delta Spirit - "Trashcan" [from ode to sunshine. sorry. i know i played this last week but god this song is great. seriously great.]>Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power and the Amorphous Strums - "Bilocating Dog" [from dark developments. the initial reviews i read of this album called it dark - and lyrically it probably is - but musically it's a lot sunnier than last year's north star deserter. this is a fun record and relaly enjoyable for fans of chesnutt, but this isn't going to dethrone about to choke or anything. or, for that matter, north star deserter which was quite brilliant.]Horse Feathers - "Rude to Rile" [from house with no home. horse feathers put on a gorgeous show at the green bean last night, sponsored by WQFS. my interview with justin ringle of horse feathers was broadcast earlier this week and the transcription will be going up in a few days. see this band live. seriously.]Bon Iver - "Skinny Love" [by request. from for emma, forever ago. one of the best albums of this year? get ready. the j's indie/rock annual top 25 albums list is less than a month away.]Pop Will Eat Itself - "Wake Up! Time to Die" [from this is the day..this is the hour..this is this. released the same year as the beastie boys' paul's boutique, another record of equally brilliant pop culture mashing and recontexting, the album rewards constant relistening as you catch onto different references lyrically and musically and sample wise. it's a rollicking good time and a really fun album.]>Crooked Fingers - "Modern Dislocation" [from forfeit / fortune. this is probably my favorite song from the album and it's quite a ravishing single to boot.]All the Saints - "Regal Regalia" [from fire in corridor x. this atlanta band is seriously sharp - loud, epic riffs and dreamy almost shoegaze/psychedelic singing. we'll be hearing a lot more from this band and this album.]Verbena - "All the Saints" [from la musica negra. makese sense, right? see? i love this song. plus..]A.A. Bondy - "Black Rain, Black Rain" [from american hearts. bondy, verbena's front man, will be playing at local 506 in chapel hill on monday night. he's an amazing live show and well worth seeing. especially to hear him sing this song. "but love it don't die / it just goes from girl to girl / town to town, rose to rose / all around the world / like a ghost on a breeze / in a land of elegies." haunting stuff.]>Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - "Go Easy" [from cardinology. new ryan adams. good stuff.][Here is where the interview with Adam Joyce and Brennan O'Brian of the Bronzed Chorus began. They're playing tomorrow night, along with Hammer No More the Fingers, as part of the Dotmatrix Project concert series at the Green Burro downtown in Greensboro. We talked about the band's origins, whether instrumental bands like themselves face audience prejudices, the difference between Deerhunter and Deerhoof, touring and more. They also brought some rough masters from their forthcoming second album due out in February on Athens, Georgia's Hello Sir records, home to fellow Greensboro band, and all around good eggs, Tiger Bear Wolf. Hope you enjoy.]the Bronzed Chorus - "Underpass Sunrise," "Hiding in the Woods" and "Tiny Oxen" [all three of these are from their forthcoming album and i wouldn't be surprised if you heard most of them tomorrow night as well. obviously.]Catherine Wheel - "Black Metallic" [from ferment. i wrote about this song over at aquarium drunkard and made bold pronouncements trying to elicit a good argument/conversation. it failed. that said, some people agreed with me and i enjoyed that. this is, after all, a magnetic song.]Belle and Sebastian - "Like Dylan in the Movies" (live) [from the new live at the BBC collection that collects the band's john peel sessions and various other BBC related live performances. i was always very fond of this song, from if you're feeling sinister, so thought i'd go with that.]That'll do it for this week. Next week I'll be on the air from 4pm - 8pm - covering the Democracy Now slot on that day and then carrying out the usual Mayhem from 6-8 with the annual Thanksgiving show. The podcast will be the normal 2 hour show. Until then, Go Panthers! Go Heels!, and take care.

and then... they had kitchen equipment

*cue heavenly music*so by our second week here, Daiku and I finally sorted out the kitchen situation- and got a bunch of basic equipment! I'd never been so happy to see ordinary pots and pans before. and what was the first thing we cooked after living off of packaged and convenience foods for so long? if you know me, it should come as little surprise that the answer involved: brown rice! lentils! and greens! I could probably eat some version of this meal every day. the brown rice and lentils were cooked together, and on top went a mixture of greens sauteed with garlic and olive oil, topped with raisins, sultanas, and balsamic vinegar. heaven on a plate. ATTENTION: For those who generously made donations for my sky dive last month, I will be holding the long-promised drawing on this blog in the next couple of days. Watch for your name! If you win, I'll need you to email me about the prize (and your postal address, of course!)

No Pepper Spray!!

Well to begin with let me tell you that pepper spray is NOT the safest thing for you to use to ward off an attacker. It only put's out a spray of up to 2 feet! Meaning your attacker will be on top of you before you even have a chance of using the pepper spray!! That being said, I'll tell you what our local POLICE are advising women to use & I must say that I do agree with them as I have experience using this product. They are saying to use 'WASP SPRAY'!! YES you read it correctly, wasp spray, as it will shoot a stream of up to 12 feet away, & it burns like the dickens; it also freezes, so if you can get it near their eyes, they are in real trouble! The only antidote is to go to the hospital & let them flush your eyes with a chemical compound specificly for the wasp spray!!.. I now keep a small can in my purse, & a can on my computer desk at home. I am never without it...ever....I hope this will keep just even one person safe from an attacker....Lori

Tips on Cooking Vegetables

I t is well known fact that all vegetables are more nutritious and flavorful when cooked in the microwave oven. They also retain their texture. Only a few spoonfuls of water are required to create steam to cook the vegetable. A few tips on cooking the various kinds :• Cover all vegetables with plastic wrap as they tend to dry up.• Vegetables with a high water content such as leafy vegetable and beansprouts do not require any water to cook - simply wash and cook while still wet.• Use a wide container and spread the vegetable rather than pile them in many layers.• Cut gourds and roots such as angled loofah and carrot into equalized pieces so they cook evenly.• Peel off the fibrous tough stem surface of some leafy vegetable such as kale as it prolongs cooking time.• Cook stems first, adding leaves only when stems have begun to change color, or leaves will disintegrate while stems are still cooking.Vegetables may provide vitamin and roughage to modern nutritionist, but the Chinese know they may do more. Leafy vegetable aggravates the 'wind' problem inside the bodies of women after childbirth and should be avoided at all cost. Only the dried moi choy is allowed. Celery tea helps lower blood pressure and to this end, celery is boiled till it yellows and the liquid strained and drunk; a fresh lot is brewed on alternate days. Cabbage stimulates the body's plumbing while white Chinese radish relieves a hangover. Garlic kills germs and tones the blood and water chestnuts sharpen sight and hearing. And these are only some of the more commonly known home cures!Visit Asian Recipes today and access to over 1000 of Free Asian Cuisine from Asia, included various Asian cooking and food articles and ultimate collection of finest quality Asian food dishes.

Golden light

I'm a superman

Cyber spies break into govt computers

The Jakarta Post, Chairmaine Noronha, The Associated Press, Toronto Sun, 03/29/2009 11:38 AM A cyber spy network based mainly in China hacked into classified documents from government and private organization in 103 countries, including the computers of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan exiles, Canadian researchers said Saturday. The work of the Information Warfare Monitor initially focused on allegations of Chinese cyber espionage against the Tibetan community in exile, and eventually led to a much wider network of ompromised machines, the Internet-based research group said. "We uncovered real-time evidence of malware that had penetrated Tibetan computer systems, extracting sensitive documents from the private office of the Dalai Lama," investigator Greg Walton said. The research group said that while it's analsis points to China as the main source of the network, it has not conclusively been able to detect the identity or motivation of the hackers. The Chinese Embassy in Toronto did not immediately return calls for comment Saturday. Students For a Free Tibet activist Bhutila Karpoche said her organization's computers have been hacked into numerous times over the past four or five years, and particularly in the past year. She said she often gets e-mails that contain viruses that crash the group's computers. The IWM is composed of researchers from Ottawa-based think tank SecDev Group and the University of Toronto's Munk Centre for International Studies. The group's initial findings led to a 10-month investigation summarized in the report to be released online Sunday. The researchers detected a cyber espionage network involving over 1,295 compromised computers from the ministries of foreign affairs of Iran, Bangladesh, Latvia, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Barbados and Bhutan. They also discovered hacked systems in the embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, Cyprus, Malta, Thailand, Taiwan, Portugal, Germany and Pakistan. Once the hackers infiltrated the systems, they gained control using malware - software they install on the compromised computers - and sent and received data from them, the researchers said. Two researchers at Cambridge University in Britain who worked on the part of the investigation related to the Tibetans are also releasing their own report Sunday. In an online abstract for "The Snooping Dragon: Social Malware Surveillance of the Tibetan Movement," Shishir Nagaraja and Ross Anderson write that while malware attacks are not new, these attacks should be noted for their ability to collect "actionable intelligence for use by the police and security services of a repressive state, with potentially fatal consequences for those exposed." They say prevention against such attacks will be difficult since traditional defense against social malware in government agencies involves expensive and intrusive measures that range from mandatory access controls to tedious operational security procedures. The Dalai Lama fled over the Himalaya mountains into exile 50 years ago when China quashed an uprising in Tibet, placing it under its direct rule for the first time. The spiritual leader and the Tibetan government in exile are based in Dharmsala, India.Related Article:Canada uncovers cyber spy network

Can You Spell NAZI? Government Wants The Military To Run Secular Schools

Right then, fall into line you orrible little pupils! Government wants the military to run state schools
By Kirsty Walker
08th May 2009
The Armed Forces will be drafted in to run state schools under plans to drive up discipline and respect in classrooms.
Ministers are in talks with defence chiefs about taking over a handful of schools and turning them into military academies.
Alongside daily lessons, pupils would be expected to take part in activities such as drills, uniformed parades, weapons handling and adventure training.
The first state schools set to gain military academy status are understood to be based in Portsmouth and Colchester.
The controversial scheme will initially be in areas where there are a large number of military families, but is set to be rolled out across the country.
Ministers believe that children in failing schools would particularly benefit from a military-style education because it would give them role models and a more structured existence.
But the plan is likely to raise fears among teaching unions that the academies could turn into tough boot camps or recruiting stations.
Last year, union leaders accused the Army of giving children misleading propaganda about life in the Armed Forces.
The National Union of Teachers also vowed to back any teachers who wanted to boycott the services recruitment drives.
The latest idea comes as the Government prepares to launch a major extension of the school cadet force scheme in deprived areas.
Gordon Brown is a strong supporter of the militarys involvement in schools, which he believes teaches young people discipline and pride their country.
The first academy school dedicated entirely to the Armed Forces was announced last week, giving the Ministry of Defence a role in state education for the first time.
The Duke of Yorks Royal Military School in Dover, which offers boarding places for the children of military personnel, will also offer 200 extra places to youngsters from non-military backgrounds
But senior Whitehall sources have revealed that the Army is looking at taking over a secondary state school in Portsmouth, while the Parachute Regiment is considering running a secondary school in Colchester.
Last night, critics of the scheme cast doubts over whether the over- stretched Armed Forces have the funding or resources to take on extra educational responsibilities.
The sources also stressed that no pupil would be forced to take part in any activity against their will.
One said: This is not about teaching pupils to shoot people. The Armed Forces can be a force for good in our schools and teach important skills including teamwork and respect.
Schools Minister Jim Knight said: Academy status for the Duke of Yorks is ideal and will mean they can continue to march to the beat of their own drum by retaining their military ethos and curriculum.
I hope this is just the beginning of an even closer relationship between our Armed Forces and schools, particularly with providing boarding facilities for those families who are often on the move and in garrison town communities.
However, David Laws, Liberal Democrat Education spokesman, called the policy yet another Labour gimmick.
While many schools would no doubt benefit from a dose of Army discipline, there is real doubt as to whether this is a clear policy or just another Gordon Brown gimmick, he said.
Hazel Blears recently warned against Government gimmicks but it seems as though the Prime Minister has yet to take note.
DailyMailUK

Golden fur

Soup Month: Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder

Chowder I don't know if this is a chowder. It's a blended soup. It has some of the elements of chowder - potatoes, butter, cream, garlic, onions. But, it's a blended soup. I didn't name it, however, so I'll just leave it alone. I got this recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, Michelle over at Je Mange la Ville. Michelle is a wonderful cook and writer, and she is the one who inspired me to start this blog in the first place.She used sweet potatoes instead of a russet; I changed it up again and used two Yukon Golds. But, I might use just one potato next time. And, of course, I added a touch more garlic. I had to add quite a bit more salt to my pot; this may have been the result of the extra potato.I enjoyed this soup, particularly the warm cumin flavor. Broccoli-cheese soup is one of my favorites, and this was great with the sweet red pepper added.Broccoli, Red Pepper and Cheddar Chowder based on a recipe from Gourmet Magazine, via Je Mange la Ville1 small head broccoli1 Yukon Gold potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes1 large onion, chopped1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces3 large garlic cloves, grated2 T unsalted butter1 cup chicken broth1 tsp ground cumin1 tsp salt1/4 tsp black pepper1 tsp dry mustard2 T flour3 cups Cheddar, gratedcouple dashes of Tapatio or other hot sauce1/4 cup heavy cream, optional1. Cut off the bottom of the broccoli stem. Finely chop remaining stem. Cut the rest of the broccoli into florets. Cook florets in 2 CUPS of lightly salted, boiling water for about 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, place the broccoli florets in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, then drain. Save the cooking water. (I didn't read closely enough and missed the part about using only 2 cups of water to cook the broccoli florets.)2. Melt the butter in a 3-4 quart heavy pot over medium heat. Add potato, onion, red pepper, broccoli stems and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8-10 minutes.3. Add cumin, salt, pepper, and mustard and cook, stirring, one minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Add reserved broccoli water and chicken stock and simmer (partially covered) for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Stir in cheese and continue to cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the hot sauce to taste.4. Puree 3/4 of the chowder in a blender or food processor until smooth, and then return to pot. (I used my immersion blender, but I think in this case, an actual blender would yield better results.) Add reserved florets and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in cream. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately.*****************************************************************************Soup Month has been great. I tried some new recipes and found some new favorites. I learned that cauliflower can be a luscious treasure. However, I didn't seem to find time to tell you about my go-to soup. It's my trademark. It's the first soup I learned how to make, though it has grown and changed just like I have since that time. I promise I will share it with you soon. After all, Soup Month may be over, but the soups must go on!

Windows Server 2008 R2 File Classification Infrastructure – Managing data based on business value

During the initial planning phases of R2, we had the opportunity to interview several IT professionals about the pain points of managing data on file servers. We tried to understand how we can improve the file server data management and what success looks like for these IT professionals. Very early in the discussion it became apparent that there are key problems that we should try to help find solutions for: · High growth of data results in higher spending on storage and data management · New regulations impose a need to better handle sensitive information such as personal information and financial documents · Leakage of both business critical and personal information is a big problem We then looked at the existing solutions that are available in the market and indeed there are great solutions for security (e.g.: Data Leakage Prevention …) and data management (e.g.: Backup, Archival, HSM …) but these solutions do not interoperate and mostly work based on where the file is located (folder) and not based on what the file business value is for the organization. A folder-based approach makes this a harder problem for the human beings who need to figure out where to store their data based on complex company policies. “Does high business impact data with personally identifiable information go here? Or there?” Not to mention the challenges around dealing with documents that don’t end up in the right folder. What we heard from our customers is that they would like to gain insight into their data so that they can manage data more effectively, reduce cost and mitigate risk This realization has led us down the path of creating the File Classification Infrastructure that enables organizations to classify their files (assign properties to files) and then use Windows mechanisms as well as partner solutions to apply actions to files based on the file classification. The File Classification Infrastructure includes the ability to define classification properties, automatically classify files based on location and content, apply file management tasks such as file expiration and custom commands based on classification and produce reports that show the distribution of a classification property on the file server. In addition to the functionality delivered in Windows we also aimed at building an extensible infrastructure in order to help provide integration points for different partner offerings by enabling classification solutions to plug into Windows to classify files and persisting the file classification so that data management products can query the file classification to apply appropriate policy/action. For example if a data leakage prevention product classifies files as containing personal information then a backup product can back it up to an encrypted store instead of the regular store. Using this paradigm, IT organizations can now define policy that spans across the organization and can better translate business requirements to IT actions. For example: The organization might have a policy to expire files that are 10 years old and are not critical to the business. This policy can be translated to use the new file management tasks to expire files across file servers. Furthermore, when new data directories are added, there is no need to change the file management tasks since the action is taken as per the business criticality of the files regardless of their location. I would like to briefly touch on classification. Many people I talk to raise their eyebrows when I start discussing this subject. I tend to agree with them, classification is hard to determine what organization wide properties to assign to files and it is also hard to actually classify files. The process that seems to work for determining the organization properties is to have a discussion that includes both the business and IT people and determine how they would like to manage their data and what classification properties should be assigned to files in order to easily manage them. What I found is that this usually amounts to just a few properties such as a mix of the below: · Personal information (yes/no) · Business criticality · Confidentiality · Project · Retention period Now that you defined what properties should be assigned to files, comes the next challenge: actually classifying files. There is no magic formula here but the File Classification Infrastructure really helps you get a long way to achieve this with automatic classification rules to classify the large amount of files residing on your file servers as well as an extensibility mechanism that allows plug-ins and last but not least, the ability to recognize manual classification of Office files. The various classification methods that we observed across the IT organizations we were working with include: · Manual classification · Line Of Business application classification (e.g.: When an HR application saves a file to the file server, it can also set the “Personal Information” property to “yes”) · Automatic classification based on · Location of files · File owner · File content · Other (e.g.: file size, file extension …) All these methods might be used to classify files and the File Classification Infrastructure extensibility supports multiple classification mechanisms that can run in tandem to determine the file classification. With classification in place, data management scenarios light up and become easier to accomplish – here are a few examples of scenarios that can be automated using the Windows Server 2008 R2 inbox functionality with no additional code and scenarios that can be enabled by writing IT PowerShell scripts or using partner solutions that leverage the File Classification Infrastructure APIs. These additional blogs provide deep dives into how to leverage File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) in your IT environment and how to develop solutions to further plug-in and enhance FCI: · Classifying files based on location and content using the File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) in Windows Server 2008 R2 · Dealing with stale data on File Servers · Customizing File Management Tasks If you are interested to learn more, please join us for our Tech-ed session, hands on lab and file services booth: Session: ID: WSV329 Title: Windows Server 2008 R2 File Classification Infrastructure: Managing Cost and Mitigating Risk on File Servers Date/Time: 5/14/2009 4:30PM-5:45PM Location: Petree Hall D Hands-on Lab: ID: WSV13-HOL Track: Windows Server Title: How to Reduce Cost and Risk on File Servers Using the New File Classification Infrastructure Location: T9311 Post by Nir Ben Zvi

Why Do People Suicide?

It is sad you know, when you heard that people are willing to commit suicide. What do you think the reasons that might encourage them to do so? Is it out of desperation? or anything else? Please tell me your share of thoughts.

Hollywood Scandal In the 30's

5/8/1934 HCN Elizabeth Yeaman Warren William is destined for a career of murder mystery films. As you know, his next picture will be The Dragon Murder Case, and this morning Warners assigned writers to the adaptation of The Case of the Howling Dog and they are developing the starring characterization for William. The latter story probably will start a new cycle of mystery pictures that seem destined to vie for popularity with the S.S. Van Dine series. Erle Stanley Gardner, former California attorney, who has turned author, is writing these mystery stories rapidly. The Case of the Howling Dog was no sooner published than Gardner had a new yarn drafted. Warners have bought that one, too, although it has not yet been published. It is called The Case of the Curious Bride, and is woven about a woman who marries eight years after she believes her first husband was killed in an airplane accident. This second mystery story will not have a male star, since the leading role goes to an actress. That in itself is quite a departure for a mystery story, since authors of these yarns generally have a detective or lawyer as the central figure. The Case of the Curious Bride certainly is an intriguing title. And now to get back to the subject of The Dragon Murder Case, which is now in production. Dorothy Tree and Helen Lowell were added to the cast today. .... For some time Lyda Roberti has been expected to tear herself away from Broadway and return to Hollywood, where she still has a contract at Paramount. This unusual little comedienne has been definitely assigned to the leading role opposite Bing Crosby in College Rhythm. The picture, of course, will be a musical, and the setting is a department store. I'll wager the salesgirls turn out to be chorines! No director has been assigned to the production. For that matter, the songs have not been written, nor have the composers been engaged for the job. However, the studio hopes to get the picture started before the cameras within a month. Miss Roberti will be remembered for the hit she made as Eddie Cantor's leading lady in The Kid From Spain. Cantor was to have had her in another picture but the rumor goes that he became of the competition she offered him. .... George Nicholls, a new director, had won the opportunity of a lifetime when he got the assignment to direct John Barrymore in the film adaptation of a New York play, A Hat, A Coat, A Glove. The picture was to have started today, but Nicholls is very ill with a kidney ailment and must submit to an operation. As a result he will not be in condition to direct for a number of weeks. So Worthington Minor, another new director, wins the assignment. Barbara Robbins of the New York stage will be the leading lady, making her film debut in this picture. The studio is not forgetting about Nicholls, however. He is now scheduled to direct Ann of Green Gables when he recovers. There's a possibility that Mitzi Green, now an adolescent, will have the title role. .... When Warners signed Al Jolson to a new contract to make one picture a year for four years, there was a stipulation in the contract that Jolson should appear only in super special productions. In short, the Jolson pictures must be big production efforts. Warners have finally closed the screen rights to the latest novel by Bradford Ropes, titled Go Into Your Dance. Ropes was the author of 42nd Street, which started the big cycle of musical pictures. And you may rest assured that Go Into Your Dance is being planned as a very big production. Warners have made no decision on the cast, but with Jolson, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Pat O'Brien on the contract list. It is a safe bet that some of these players will be the stars of the new picture. However, if Jolson becomes the star of Go Into Your Dance, it is extremely doubtful if Ruby Keeler will appear, since this husband and wife prefer not to work together. .... Julie Haydon will get started on her new Radio Pictures contract in Afterwards, the comedy with ZaSu Pitts and Slim Summerville. Julie wins the role first assigned to Helen Vinson, but Miss Vinson has been taken ill and is not able to play the part at this time. .... Another Norman Reilly Raine story has been bought for the screen. This time it is The Seal Poachers, and Fox is the purchaser. The story offers two leading male roles, and there's some idea of getting Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen for the starring team. However, neither Lowe nor McLaglen is under contract to Fox any more.Hollywood Scandal In the 30'sABBREVIATIONSDN — Los Angeles Daily NewsEE — Los Angeles Evening

BMW S 1000 RR

Posted on 05.11.2009 16:26 by Maxx BikerFiled under: BMW superbike BMW S 1000 RR WSBKBMW has made its all-new S 1000 RR superbike official at last! Going through the performance data  193 horsepower at 13,000 RPM, 82.5 lb-ft of torque at 9,750 RPM, 455.3 lbs. wet weight  we can't help being amazed by what the German engineers could deliver; not that we ever underestimated them, but this is the best power-to-weight ratio of all literbikes so far and this is just a promising debut. The bike will feature ABS and an extremely advanced traction control system as standard

Physiological responses of CHO cells to repetitive hydrodynamic stress

A majority of the previous investigations on the hydrodynamic sensitivity of mammalian cells have focused on lethal effects as determined by cell death or lysis. In this study, we investigated the effect of hydrodynamic stress on CHO cells in a fed-batch process using a previously reported system which subjects cells to repetitive, high levels of hydrodynamic stress, quantified by energy dissipation rate (EDR). The results indicated that cell growth and monoclonal antibody production of the test cells were very resistant to the hydrodynamic stress. Compared to the control, no significant variation was observed at the highest EDR tested, 6.4 × 106 W/m3. Most product quality attributes were not affected by intense hydrodynamic stress either. The only significant impact was on glycosylation. A shift of glycosylation pattern was observed at EDR levels at or higher than 6.0 × 104 W/m3, which is two orders of magnitude lower than the EDR where physical cell damage, as measured by lactate dehydrogenase release, was observed. While not as extensively investigated, a second monoclonal antibody produced in a different CHO clone exhibited the same glycosylation change at an intensive EDR, 2.9 × 105 W/m3. Conversely, a low EDR of 0.9 × 102 W/m3 had no effect on the glycosylation pattern. As 6.0 × 104 W/m3, the lowest EDR that triggers the glycosylation shift, is about one order of magnitude higher than the estimated, maximum EDR in typically operated, large-scale stirred tank bioreactors, further studies in a lower EDR range of 1 × 103-6.0 × 104 W/m3 are needed to assess the glycosylation shift effect under typical large-scale bioreactor operation conditions. Follow-up studies in stirred tanks are also needed to confirm the glycosylation shift effect and to validate the repetitive hydrodynamic stress model. Biotechnol. Bioeng. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ian Talty, 1978 - 2009, RIP

I just received word that a Twin Cities photographer and urban explorer named Ian Talty drowned this morning after rain swept him and a friend out of a storm drain they were taking pictures in on Saint Pauls west side. A WCCO article is here, and you can see the Minneapolis Star Tribunes coverage here. Urban exploration is, in large part, about breaking the rules and getting away with it. Alas, its very easy - and very dangerous - to get complacent from this, though. Some rules and guidelines are meant to be broken; others pretty emphatically are not. Among the latter is the trite-but-true when it rains, no drains. Ians not the first urban explorer to be swept to his death in a drain by rainfall; heres hoping hell be the last. Rest in peace, dude.

Dr. Loren Cordain And 'The Paleo Diet'

Dr. Cordain is the foremost authority on the hunter-gatherer Paleo DietOne of the best ways to describe the low-carb way of eating to people who are none the wiser is to explain it is how our early ancestors ate to survive--a caveman diet, if you will. Humans who lived during the Stone Age didn't eat grains, sugar, starchy vegetables, or all the processed foods that are at our disposal in the 21st Century. They did eat meat, especially game meat and all the parts of the animal, including the organs and marrow. Today's podcast guest is arguably the most knowledgeable expert on this Paleolithic way of eating that is a popular subset of the low-carb community.In Episode 247 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," we are privileged to have Dr. Loren Cordain with us to discuss the principles outlined in his book The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat. This hunter-gatherer way of eating does differ from an Atkins-styled diet because it does not allow dairy products like milk, cream, or cheese and it encourages lean meats as a way to control the omega fatty acid balance. But other than that, it's pretty much a healthy low-carb way of eating that puts the focus on omega-3 rich grass-fed beef and other sources of this vital essential fatty acid. Dr. Cordain is an articulate representative of what benefits can be gained following The Paleo Diet, including how it can help athletes perform at optimal level and giving people suffering with acne a virtual "cure" for their condition.Before you listen to my interview with Dr. Cordain, check out this hilariously informative YouTube video created by Methuselah from the "Pay Now, Live Later" blog that beautifully explains "Paleo In A Nutshell" to get your brain correctly thinking in the direction of this unique form of low-carb living:There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 247:1. Listen and comment about the show at iTunes:2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site:3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 247 [44:13m]:4. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via PodlinezSubscribe to the RSS feed or you can click on the "Subscribe" button at iTunes. If you are having trouble, then watch this video tutorial from my producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien. Are you following a Paleo low-carb diet like the one Dr. Loren Cordain described during today's interview? If so, tell us about your experience following it in the show notes section of Episode 247. Visit ThePaleoDiet.com and pick up a copy of Dr. Cordain's bestselling book The Paleo Diet. If you are interested in his anti-acne program, be sure to check out DietaryAcneCure.com. PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF THIS SHOW! If you have not already done so, please go to the iTunes page for my podcast, click on "Write a Review" and share what my podcast means to you. And if you'd like to financially support this podcast, then please consider clicking on the "Donate" button on the side panel of the podcast web site. We appreciate your generosity and support! For the last week of April next week, we'll have two FANTASTIC interviews to share with you. First up, we will hear from Richard Morris who lost 150 pounds several years back and is now on a one-man mission to educate the public about healthy living principles at his Bread & Money web site. Richard wrote a book about his weight loss experience called A Life Unburdened: Getting Over Weight and Getting On With My Life and he'll share his story with us on Monday. Then on Thursday, I'm excited to share my interview with Dr. Robert Su, author of the explosive new book Carbohydrates Can Kill, who will describe his own health and weight loss journey following a carbohydrate-restricted diet and explain how he came to the conclusion that consuming carbs is deadly. Should be another interesting week of podcasts! Stay tuned for the upcoming podcast schedule heading into the summer...coming soon.

Dr. Loren Cordain And 'The Paleo Diet'

Dr. Cordain is the foremost authority on the hunter-gatherer Paleo DietOne of the best ways to describe the low-carb way of eating to people who are none the wiser is to explain it is how our early ancestors ate to survive--a caveman diet, if you will. Humans who lived during the Stone Age didn't eat grains, sugar, starchy vegetables, or all the processed foods that are at our disposal in the 21st Century. They did eat meat, especially game meat and all the parts of the animal, including the organs and marrow. Today's podcast guest is arguably the most knowledgeable expert on this Paleolithic way of eating that is a popular subset of the low-carb community.In Episode 247 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," we are privileged to have Dr. Loren Cordain with us to discuss the principles outlined in his book The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat. This hunter-gatherer way of eating does differ from an Atkins-styled diet because it does not allow dairy products like milk, cream, or cheese and it encourages lean meats as a way to control the omega fatty acid balance. But other than that, it's pretty much a healthy low-carb way of eating that puts the focus on omega-3 rich grass-fed beef and other sources of this vital essential fatty acid. Dr. Cordain is an articulate representative of what benefits can be gained following The Paleo Diet, including how it can help athletes perform at optimal level and giving people suffering with acne a virtual "cure" for their condition.Before you listen to my interview with Dr. Cordain, check out this hilariously informative YouTube video created by Methuselah from the "Pay Now, Live Later" blog that beautifully explains "Paleo In A Nutshell" to get your brain correctly thinking in the direction of this unique form of low-carb living:There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 247:1. Listen and comment about the show at iTunes:2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site:3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 247 [44:13m]:4. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via PodlinezSubscribe to the RSS feed or you can click on the "Subscribe" button at iTunes. If you are having trouble, then watch this video tutorial from my producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien. Are you following a Paleo low-carb diet like the one Dr. Loren Cordain described during today's interview? If so, tell us about your experience following it in the show notes section of Episode 247. Visit ThePaleoDiet.com and pick up a copy of Dr. Cordain's bestselling book The Paleo Diet. If you are interested in his anti-acne program, be sure to check out DietaryAcneCure.com. PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF THIS SHOW! If you have not already done so, please go to the iTunes page for my podcast, click on "Write a Review" and share what my podcast means to you. And if you'd like to financially support this podcast, then please consider clicking on the "Donate" button on the side panel of the podcast web site. We appreciate your generosity and support! For the last week of April next week, we'll have two FANTASTIC interviews to share with you. First up, we will hear from Richard Morris who lost 150 pounds several years back and is now on a one-man mission to educate the public about healthy living principles at his Bread & Money web site. Richard wrote a book about his weight loss experience called A Life Unburdened: Getting Over Weight and Getting On With My Life and he'll share his story with us on Monday. Then on Thursday, I'm excited to share my interview with Dr. Robert Su, author of the explosive new book Carbohydrates Can Kill, who will describe his own health and weight loss journey following a carbohydrate-restricted diet and explain how he came to the conclusion that consuming carbs is deadly. Should be another interesting week of podcasts! Stay tuned for the upcoming podcast schedule heading into the summer...coming soon.

Spring Gardening

I have read many blogs with beautiful seasonal pictures of homeschool kids doing all sorts of different outdoor explorations. I have always wanted to be that sort of homeschool mom, but the truth is, I'm not. I am the reading, museum, crafting sort of homeschool mom. So when it comes to the science I am always a bit disappointed in myself for not being all naturalistic, and full of wonder a la Charlotte Mason. So imagine my surprise when I found a new garden outside my kitchen window this weekend. Yes, I was the one who put butterfly garden seeds in the girls' Easter baskets but that didn't mean I actually thought I'd see the project through to fruition. Luckily my husband is much more industrious than I am.... We already had a basic bed there but Thomas decided to add another layer of boards along with 12 bags of soil to get the bed up higher and to improve drainage. Savannah and Ellie spread the soil making sure it was all even. They then planted their seeds. Here are the girls feeling quite proud of themselves. Notice the corner seat behind Savannah. She came up with that idea. Ellie liked it so we (um, I mean Thomas) added another corner seat for her at that end. We (again also Thomas) also added a little table at that end. It is just big enough for a glass of water or a cup of colored pencils just in case the girls inherited a different science gene and want to sit out in their garden and do nature studies once the plant sprout and bloom. While they are out there braving the heat and the bugs, I will be sitting inside at the kitchen table sipping a coke and reading my book and giving them big smiles of encouragement.

Notes on Bangalore

Until one month ago, Id never visited Bangalore. Having been away from India for a year, I wondered how shes looking these days. I took a taxi from the airport and the city seemed peaceful, even serene. The airport itself was stunningly modern and would not be out of place in Western Europe. In contrast, the Bombay and Delhi airports can only be described as Indian circles of hell, as gruesome as the cities themselves. (I once stepped in cowshit at the Departures gate of the Delhi airport. Why are there cows at the airport?) So far, things didnt seem very Indian, in the way I remembered it. Could things be different here? I thought. Certainly this was different from Delhi. Signs were in a language Id never seen called Kannada. The roads were clean and orderly. The weather could not be better. Palm trees swayed as only palm trees can. The city seemed to have its act together. Bangalore was becoming a major centre of IT wealth. Maybe some of that bounty trickled into public works projects? Then our taxi went under a highway and back up, and we passed a slum. Then another slum. Tarpaulin roofs and mud roads, and skinny faces watching the traffic go by. Nope, still India. Bangalore does, in the developed areas, bear some passing resemblance to civilization, and in remarkable ways even surpasses the civility of our own. I am always remarking to my friends that the upper castes of India are more colonial than colonial England ever was. The Raj-era retreats and country clubs are still used for their original purpose, only now by wealthy Indians. Polo is played, and the sport of cricket, the gentlemans game, is revered nation-wide. Club waitstaff are roundly and ritualistically abused, and seem to enjoy the pleasure. Our society has come to see such things as staid, aristocratic frivolities only to be enjoyed ironically, but India doesnt. She appreciates the finer things, and I love her for it. The financial area of Bangalore, the famous MG Road (MG = Mahatma Ghandi) area where I work and live, is a messy, incoherent, beauty-free urban patchwork, marred by incredibly poor upkeep. Walking on MG Road is a chore. The crumbling sidewalk disappears into a muddy puddle, or worse, a gaping hole you could lose an ankle to. Not to mention the myriad squishy things your foot could land on. In India you quickly learn to watch your step at all times. That said, Bangalores residents are a happy bunch, and the city swarms with life. Much of that life is in the form of suffocating traffic, but nonetheless. While the city lacks any trace of man-made beauty, there are bushy trees and reasonably well-kept green areas everywhere. The best I can say is that Bangalore is unpleasant much of the time, but not most of the time. The bar scene in Bangalore operates under a principle of compact and efficient party maximization. This is because all bars in Bangalore close at 11:30 PM, leaving little time for languid, prolonged tippling. In the English fashion, the Bangaloreans indulge ferociously over very limited time periods before the last-call bell rings (or all the lights are shut offbar managers are equally fastidious). Service is instant, and in some places, prices rival New York. Pub music tends to the retro, mostly in the form of soft 80s pop: Stevie Wonder, Dire Straits, Madonna, a trend I quite like (the ability to talk to one another over bar music is a dying luxury). Indias relationship with Western pop culture is charmingly dated in places; mostly they are au courant, but every so often you hear a Hey, you should check out this great movie called The Usual Suspects& comment. Indian booze, sadly, remains terrible. The food is excellent. A love for fiery curry helps; Id hate to be one of those its too spicy people here. A curious phenomenon of Bangalore restaurants is that after the meal the waiter gives you an elaborate feedback card to fill out before they give you the bill, with an astounding panoply of irrelevant questions such as Anniversary, Occupation, Spouse Name, Childrens Names, Mobile #, Address, Email, etc. Nobody flinches at filling in every box. Bangalore has yet to absorb its rapid gains of wealth. Certain streets are well-kept, busy, and filled with slick, modern shops and restaurants. Duck down a side street and youre in that other India of crowded roadside dhabas, sickly fruit vendors, oxen, and temples. It is a confusing sight, stemming from the insatiable Desi taste for poor public cleanliness. The rickshaw men are the biggest cheats I have seen in India. While getting the white guy price is normal across the country, the going rate appears to be triple that of other places. Most rickshaws are adorned with Karnataka flags and few drivers speak any language but Kannada; the nationalistic fervour of Bangalore seems to emanate chiefly from its transport industry. There are daily political rallies (one last week shut down the entire north end of the city for seven hours) and it is not uncommon to see a convoy of painted cargo trucks filled with flag-waving patriots, their tinny speakers blasting unbearable Kannada music, shouting slogans through megaphones seemingly with the goal of maximizing noise. Finally, Bangalore is an IT city. Therefore, I lack the source material to give comment on the attractiveness of its women. Any evaluation would be disqualified for insufficient sample size. Suffice it to say that, not unlike Man Francisco, Bangalore is a place for a man to write code and win wealth, not find love*. * (Id make a joke and call it Mangalore but theres already a place called Mangalore. Id hate to see their women.)

Of Teabags and Stranger Things

Youre probably aware that a huge number of demonstrations are planned across the U.S. this coming Wednesday, April 15th; called tea parties, these events are supposedly nonpartisan, grass-roots protests against bank bailouts, tax hikes, and other recent unpopular economic actions the government has taken. In the last few days, theres been a ridiculous amount of hysteria about these events online, with organizers and supporters - pretty much exclusively far-right ultraconservatives - claiming the George Soros-funded far-left liberals are out to infiltrate these events and try to discredit participants and organizers. Theres no real actual evidence for these claims, but who cares? Conspiracy, repression, oppression shock& The Left, for their part, are pretty unanimous in making fun of these events and those behind them, and allege that many of the organizers and participants are embarrassingly far-right extremists - out-and-out white supremacists, anti-government secessionists, and that sort of thing. They, not surprisingly, have some evidence to back up these sorts of claims. Who are you to believe? Well, its hard to disprove - or prove, for that matter - any of the conspiracy-theory stuff about infiltrators trying to discredit or embarrass attendees. However, if youd like to get an idea about the kinds of people attending and organizing these events, I have a suggestion for you: Find your local/state website for these tea party events - Google is your friend, Im not going to link to em - and dig through em to find the names of as many organizers and supporters as you can. Then, look those names up on your states court-records website; be sure to check both criminal and civil records, if theyre separate, as they are here in Minnesota. I picked a couple websites at semi-random (going by which states have the most user-friendly court-records websites), and searched about a dozen names per event. The results were& instructive. Theyre also, admittedly, open to interpretation& To be honest, I really dont care who or what these Tea Party people are, or what their ulterior motives and agendas are. More than anything, I find it instructive that theyre engaging in behaviour that is one-hundred percent consistent with that of virtually every (domestic) extremist group: making deceptive, inconsistent, and easily-disprovable statements about their true purpose and real beliefs, while at the same time railing against the corruption and injustice of the government, and going to great if not hysterical lengths to warn and defend against a conspiracy of outsiders intent upon framing and/or defaming them with their actions. Im just sayin, is all. Youre never going to get anywhere by constantly telling lies about fundamental things like who you are and what you believe in. It doesnt just kill your credibility, but it destroys your chances at recruiting, expanding, and gaining power. The successful extremist groups, regardless of what their cause is, are up-front and honest about who they are and what they believe in: the National Socialists and white supremacists are growing in numbers - at a great pace, I might add - because theyre completely up-front and open about who they are and what they believe in. The various immigration-reform groups on the far right, by contrast, have failed to achieve any meaningful momentum, largely because they lie endlessly about their motives and agendas. The ostensibly we have laws, enforce them, damnit! illegal-immigration groups achieved basically nothing, except to serve as recruiting services for the more open and explicitly racist/xenophobic groups out there who dont lie about themselves. (I dont support what they say, but I support their right to say it; its a free country, free speech, and all that. I really abhor hypocrites and liars, though.) Maintaining the fiction that these Tea Party demonstrations are non-partisan and purely to do with things like the Wall Street bailout is the surest-fire way to ensure that they, basically, fail. The organizers potential strengths come, lets be honest, from their extremist base - the large anti-liberal, anti-Obama fringe. Those people undoubtedly love the anti-government message, but constantly being told lies about themselves means that the Tea Party movement is never going to grow: the extremists are going to get headhunted by other groups - militias, the Aryan Nations, whatever - who are more honest about themselves but are far less organized and coordinated, and the more moderate attendees of these Tea Parties - the ones who actually believe the propaganda about them being nonpartisan, blah blah blah - are for the most part going to be either uselessly apathetic sheep, or are going to be driven away by the harsh reality of what theyve become involved with. To put it more bluntly: Unless the people organizing these Tea Party protests become much more open about both who and what they are, and what their events are really about, the movement - such as it is - is doomed to failure, will not last a year, and will only benefit the Christian Identity, White Supremacy, militia, and secessionist movements, all of whom are already viewing - and for good reason - these Tea Parties as big open-air recruiting fairs. They can never be honest about who they are and what they believe in, though; theyve spent too much time and effort to date vehemently insisting theyre non-partisan, non-racist, non-anti-semitic, et cetera, et cetera. Except as recruiting tools for the various - lets be honest, here - hate groups, the movement is going to fail, and thats fine with me. What worries me is that the people behind these events are going to learn from their failures, and come back in a year or two as a more overtly radical movement actually capable of long-term growth and momentum& Copyright

Safe Boating

I live next to a large body of water (the Atlantic Ocean) and every summer, it seems, brings a story of some moron who gets into some kind of trouble by boating while intoxicated. I'm sure everyone who lives in areas where recreational water sports are popular has heard the same.For whatever reason, some people associate boating and other water sports with drinking. Now, I like a nice glass of wine or a good, cold beer as much as the next person, but I like one, possibly two, and no more. And, I like them in situations where I will not be operating any kind of vehicle. I'm not the only one who feels that way. The state of Arizona has started a Boating Education Online campaign to alert people to the issue of alcohol-related boating deaths and accidents.Boating Operating Under the Influence is every bit as illegal -- and dangerous -- as it is to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence. In fact, 50% of all fatal boating accidents in Arizona involved alcohol. You don't have to live in Arizona to benefit from checking out the Arizona Boating page, there's good information there for anyone who boats or operates a personal watercraft, no matter where you live.Check out these videos for more information about safe boating in Arizona!Elle

Kissing!~human ,cat, compare!?

A La Carte

Hand of Hope Boy "Do you remember the famous photograph of the baby reaching out of the womb and grasping the doctor's finger? That baby is now 9-year-old Samuel Armas. The photo has been spread around the world and even cited during congressional debates on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, but for Samuel it has personal significance..." Social Media Adoption "For all the talk about social media use and growth over the last several years, it's always good to get a look at the numbers to see how far it's come. A recent report by Harris Interactive has some interesting stats about the adoption of social networking sites Facebook and MySpace as well as the number of Americans who are on Twitter." The Alzheimer's Project From Carolyn McCulley: "HBO is debuting a four-part documentary series on Alzheimer's starting Sunday evening, May 10. ... I think it's an appropriate subject for us all to consider as we honor those who have made such an investment in us. Alzheimer's is said to be the second most-feared disease, after cancer. I don't doubt that statistic. I know I have prayed about it, asking the Lord to spare me in my future, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that prayer.

A La Carte

Hand of Hope Boy "Do you remember the famous photograph of the baby reaching out of the womb and grasping the doctor's finger? That baby is now 9-year-old Samuel Armas. The photo has been spread around the world and even cited during congressional debates on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, but for Samuel it has personal significance..." Social Media Adoption "For all the talk about social media use and growth over the last several years, it's always good to get a look at the numbers to see how far it's come. A recent report by Harris Interactive has some interesting stats about the adoption of social networking sites Facebook and MySpace as well as the number of Americans who are on Twitter." The Alzheimer's Project From Carolyn McCulley: "HBO is debuting a four-part documentary series on Alzheimer's starting Sunday evening, May 10. ... I think it's an appropriate subject for us all to consider as we honor those who have made such an investment in us. Alzheimer's is said to be the second most-feared disease, after cancer. I don't doubt that statistic. I know I have prayed about it, asking the Lord to spare me in my future, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that prayer. "

A La Carte

Hand of Hope Boy "Do you remember the famous photograph of the baby reaching out of the womb and grasping the doctor's finger? That baby is now 9-year-old Samuel Armas. The photo has been spread around the world and even cited during congressional debates on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, but for Samuel it has personal significance..." Social Media Adoption "For all the talk about social media use and growth over the last several years, it's always good to get a look at the numbers to see how far it's come. A recent report by Harris Interactive has some interesting stats about the adoption of social networking sites Facebook and MySpace as well as the number of Americans who are on Twitter." The Alzheimer's Project From Carolyn McCulley: "HBO is debuting a four-part documentary series on Alzheimer's starting Sunday evening, May 10. ... I think it's an appropriate subject for us all to consider as we honor those who have made such an investment in us. Alzheimer's is said to be the second most-feared disease, after cancer. I don't doubt that statistic. I know I have prayed about it, asking the Lord to spare me in my future, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that prayer. "

A La Carte

Hand of Hope Boy "Do you remember the famous photograph of the baby reaching out of the womb and grasping the doctor's finger? That baby is now 9-year-old Samuel Armas. The photo has been spread around the world and even cited during congressional debates on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, but for Samuel it has personal significance..." Social Media Adoption "For all the talk about social media use and growth over the last several years, it's always good to get a look at the numbers to see how far it's come. A recent report by Harris Interactive has some interesting stats about the adoption of social networking sites Facebook and MySpace as well as the number of Americans who are on Twitter." The Alzheimer's Project From Carolyn McCulley: "HBO is debuting a four-part documentary series on Alzheimer's starting Sunday evening, May 10. ... I think it's an appropriate subject for us all to consider as we honor those who have made such an investment in us. Alzheimer's is said to be the second most-feared disease, after cancer. I don't doubt that statistic. I know I have prayed about it, asking the Lord to spare me in my future, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that prayer. " Sponsor:

A La Carte

Hand of Hope Boy "Do you remember the famous photograph of the baby reaching out of the womb and grasping the doctor's finger? That baby is now 9-year-old Samuel Armas. The photo has been spread around the world and even cited during congressional debates on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, but for Samuel it has personal significance..." Social Media Adoption "For all the talk about social media use and growth over the last several years, it's always good to get a look at the numbers to see how far it's come. A recent report by Harris Interactive has some interesting stats about the adoption of social networking sites Facebook and MySpace as well as the number of Americans who are on Twitter." The Alzheimer's Project From Carolyn McCulley: "HBO is debuting a four-part documentary series on Alzheimer's starting Sunday evening, May 10. ... I think it's an appropriate subject for us all to consider as we honor those who have made such an investment in us. Alzheimer's is said to be the second most-feared disease, after cancer. I don't doubt that statistic. I know I have prayed about it, asking the Lord to spare me in my future, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that prayer. " Sponsor:

My Northwoods Home......where I would roam

Completed another collage yesterday. Right now, I seem to be inspired to do these things. Perhaps because in two weeks my shows will be on a regular time schedule, and I will have to be prepared. I hand painted the lures on an enlarged print of the back of a postcard and then hand-lettered the verse. I then transferred the image to fabric using an ink jet transfer. I try to imagine it as cabin art. Once framed in the beautiful hand made barn board frames, they really make a nice wall art. It was 70 degrees yesterday, no bugs yet, and it was difficult to remain inside and work. The studio is lovely to work in, though, so it isn't as bad as when I am in the house doing the house duty things........I watched The Thorn Birds yesterday while working. And I watched Johnny Cash's biography, "Walk the Line". Both were good stories. Art Quilt Studio is having a new contest for entries in by October for the theme of Johnny Cash's song, "Walk the Line". I am thinking about this as I work, and sketching and writing down ideas. The first Art Quilt Studio will be released on June 1, 2009, in which I will have my first published quilt. I am excited.

Self help Cafeteria

Bobba: A New Virtual World For Phones

Sulake is an online entertainment company focused on virtual worlds and social networking. Currently these properties include virtual world Habbo and social networking service IRC-Galleria. However, the company has just announced a beta-test version of a new virtual world, Bobba, designed for mobile phones. Bobba on a Nokia Currently it is available for a number of Nokia phones but an iPod version is in development. Both Bobba and Habbo are developed and published by Sulake, but Bobba is a service and brand of its own, and you have to be 16 years or older to use Bobba. Antti Vilpponen of ArcticStartup said of his first experience using it; I did have a chat with some of the other Finnish users in the service and liked the way the chatting worked. Unfortunately, that is then again pretty much the only thing I really liked in the service. He goes on to say that the real downside I felt, that is still understandable - is the flow in the service; what do I do once I have set up my room, how do I find friends (I was unable to friend any of the other users), how do I decorate my room? Despite these limitations, he did say that I guess I’m too eager - the service is in its early public beta. Primary Source: Bobba Home page

Computer users,have a look

Axolotl

On the producting day

On the producting day,eat light.

I wanna a big dooooooooooooll

I'm mosquito fascist

Mosquito fascist: tear off the wings and legs of mosquitoes,then stamp it to the death.

at Solutions Linux 2009

Last week was Solutions Linux, one of the big free software events in France each year. And of course I went to there (thanks Novell for letting me go there on work days!). While still in Paris, it moved from CNIT La Défense to Porte de Versailles, which was a good thing: it felt really better there. We did have some good web access, but as usual, it was nearly impossible to read mails, do IRC and generally communicate to the outside world. A good excuse to breathe a bit, if you ask me! The GNOME booth was great. We were face-to-face with our KDE friends, and we had some good time with them. On the booth itself, we had t-shirts and stickers (like for FOSDEM), and the Events Box that made it in time, although we asked for it a bit late. Since we had quite some stickers left at the end, we put a good bunch of them in the box. A good bunch as in around 2500. That should be enough for a few events! Feel free to send a postcard to GNOME-FR to thank us if you get some of those stickers... Of course, I also went from time to time to the Novell stand: there were SUSE Studio kiosks for people to try, which were more or less always in use by people. This wasn't really surprising since SUSE Studio is quite cool. There were also some Batman-spotlight-like Novell pen -- I first said I don't need another pen, even if it has a light, and then discovered that it was a spotlight. And fell in love with the concept :-) The french gang was there: Frédéric (not the other Frédéric who couldn't make it, but I was lucky to see him when I went spying in the Mandriva offices), Christophe (who was kind enough to host me for a few days, thanks!), Michael Scherer (I hope it's the right blog ;-)), Pascal, Luis (the French one, or French-Portugese, or just Portugese ;-)), Dodji, Daniel, etc. This was obviously some great times with all those cool people! During the event, I gave two talks: one about the GNOME history and philosophy and one about freedesktop.org. Both went well, although I couldn't stop talking for the first one, while the second one could probably have done with more examples in a demo. I'm also still wondering if they were really suited for the audience: since it's more a commercial event than a community event; it's not really easy to know if all the audience enjoyed the community-related talks... Last week was also when we started the serious planning for GNOME 3.0. It was actually weird to be isolated from the rest of the world at this time: it was first a challenge to coordinate with the rest of the release team for all this, and then I missed the initial feedback. Which might actually be a good thing ;-) I still plan to read articles and comments, but after taking a quick look at the beginning of this week, it was quite interesting to see some people saying that the planning announced nothing really big for the users (it's a developer release), while some other people were worried that the end user changes might have a bad impact, and then another group was praising the revolution that is planned. Not sure if there's any conclusion to draw there ;-)

like beaches?

During summer in the Philippines, people would go crazy trying to go to the beaches and just cool down to the clear cold waters of the many beaces there.Just this summer i went twice to Guimaras island where there is a public resort called Villa Igang with fine white sand and clear clean waters.Getting sun-kissed skin and just having fun while on the cool waters... Now, do tell me, do you like beaches?

Resistance is useless

Evolutionary theory may help to fight a fatal diseaseLIKE many other activities, global health has fashions. For the past couple of decades AIDS has captured both the imagination and the research dollars. Recently, though, the focus has shifted towards malaria, which kills a million people a year, most of them children, and debilitates hundreds of millions more. Insecticide-impregnated bednets designed to stop people being bitten by infected mosquitoes are being scattered throughout Africa. New drugs based on a Chinese herb called Artemisia have been introduced. And researchers are vying with one another to be the first to devise an effective vaccine. But the traditional first line of attack on malaria, killing the mosquitoes themselves, has yet to have a serious makeover.One reason is that time and again chemical insecticides have produced the same dreary pattern. They prove wonderfully effective at first, only to dwindle into uselessness. This is because evolution quickly throws up resistant strains. Indeed, spraying campaigns, which generally aim to kill mosquitoes before they can breed, might have been devised as textbook examples of how to provoke an evolutionary response. With their competitors all dead, the progeny of a mosquito carrying a mutation that can neutralise the insecticide in question have the world to themselves. ...

Tekenen als Hobby

HobbyTekenen.nl, Tekenen als Hobby HobbyTekenen.nl - Tekenen als Hobby - Leren Tekenen - Peter Kort - Over Over HobbyTekenen.nl : "Tekenen kan een zeer goedkope hobby zijn die veel voldoening en waardering kan geven.Veel mensen denken dat er speciale aanleg voor deze hobby nodig is maar iedereen kan leren tekenen.Tekenen is meestal een kwestie van op de juiste manier leren kijken en natuurlijk veel oefening. Maar net zoals bij vele andere vaardigheden geldt dat je bepaalde basisbeginselen en technieken moet leren...Deze pagina is bedoeld voor iedereen die het leuk vind om te tekenen en iets meer van deze hobby wil weten."(HobbyTekenen.nl)Leer online stap voor stap tekenen. Naast de basisbeginselen worden instructies gegeven hoe je o.a. stillevens, landschappen, mensen, dieren moet tekenen. Beertjes Weblog by Peter Franken

So what colour is your blood?

Not literally. But I have noticed, especially amongst my North American friends, that some of them don't appear to be US or Canadian. They are: Irish/Scottish/Cherokee/Peruvian/Italian/Greek/Spanish/Sioux/Armenian/Russian/Polish/Kenyan/Polynesian etc. For the last three hundred years at least my family has been relentlessly English. Single nationality, only one blood. How exotic is your background?

We're watching you

The British Government has just taken another step in their constant endeavour to turn the UK into a Police State. As of today, EVERY E mail and Internet phone call (Skype, IM etc) that is sent or received in the UK will be kept by the hosting ISP for 12 months. Allegedly this is another step in "protecting" British citizens in the ceaseless war against terror.

The recipe for cherry cake that I sent to my Mum earlier today will now be liable for a deep forensic investigation to see if I am really passing on subversive messages. Fun living in the 21st Century isn't it?

You're Not Fat, Just Bloated

Diet and Weight Loss Turns out you might not be fat, just bloated. And since getting rid of the bloat could be a whole lot easier than shedding pounds, the four tips that follow might be all you need to feel slim and trim.Bloating is usually caused by either a buildup of gas or fluid retention, say the "Body Talk" folks at Ladies Home Journal. Both can make your belly feel heavy and distended, and we all know that zipping jeans over a poochy tummy is a real downer. Help is here -- LHJ offers these ideas for blasting the bloat. Fiber. If you have a bowel movement less than three times per week, your digestion might be on the sluggish side, and your gut may be growing as a result. A high-fiber diet can help -- get 25 grams per day if you're under 50 and 21 grams after that. Increase your fiber by three to five grams per week (one apple, one cup of oatmeal) -- any faster and you might make the bloating worse. Gassy Foods. Fried and fatty foods, and some high-fiber goods, like beans, broccoli and cabbage, can boost your bloat. Try avoiding some of these items for a few days and see if your mid-section melts away. You don't want to eliminate veggies, though, so just cut back and try to find some options that don't bother you. You can also try Beano drops or tablets before eating your favorite foods. Anti-gas medications can help too. Gulping Air. When you chew gum, drink through a straw, down sodas and smoke, you swallow air, and this can put carbon dioxide into your digestive tract. You don't want that, so stop smoking, cut back on the gum and straws and eat and drink slowly to reduce air intake. Hormones. Progesterone surges prior to your periods, and water retention and slower digestion follow. Avoid salty foods and alcohol consumption prior to your period, and up your exercise to stimulate your system.

Beach Vacation

Thanks to our lovely neighbors, we were able to take our three day weekend to the beach. The best part was getting to take our dog on his first trip to the ocean. He loved it, and he wasnt in the least scared of the waves (unlike beer bottles, golf club bags, vacuum cleaners, and heights among others). The only issue was his perseverance in the search for potable ocean water. We paid twenty-five dollars for his beach license, and the beach is only open from 5am to 10am for dogs, but at least there is long stretch of beach for off lead doggie freedom. He romped in the sand and the waves, chasing his girlfriend the entire time. He didnt try to eat any jelly fish, and he didnt chase any birds; oh how he loved the massive expanse of water, though. I cant wait to take him when the water is warm enough for me to brave it so hopefully he will swim a bit more and learn to body surf. We really didnt do much touristy stuff other than eat out and take the dogs to the beach. My husband played golf, and I shopped a bit with one of our hosts in the Market and grabbed my first hot stone massage in downtown Charleston. We assumed everything would be more walkable, but everything is sprawled out. While there is a skinny little bike lane to Sullivans Island, it terminates at the draw bridge. The raised concrete on the side of the bridge is too narrow for me to feel comfortable walking the dog or walking it myself anything less than one hundred percent sober. On the next trip we plan on researching CARTA or renting bicycles; we checked into getting a cab to Folly Beach, but it was going to run about forty dollars without tip one way. Its about eleven miles from Charleston to Mt Pleasant so that probably would have been a forty dollar round trip in a cab, too. The vibe was much like Key West, but Key West is definitely better for walking or riding a bike. We ate at a bunch of bars and tourist traps, and I have mixed feelings about the food scene. Although I hear Charleston has a great food scene, I had a difficult time finding it. Has Asheville spoiled me and raised my expectations higher than reasonable? Maybe I discounted the food because I was annoyed at being served all my drinks in plastic cups (not to mention it seemed impossible to get Malibu . . . no coconut rum at the beach . . . WTF). The pernicious plastic cup followed us from bar to bar, and even at the one spot were the food was good, I drink my $14 sparkling wine out of a plastic (albeit much nicer and thicker plastic) flute. I wrote reviews for almost all of my experiences on Urban Spoon, but then I decided I wanted them here too so I have added the big spoonbacks. However, one restaurant was so memorable that I couldnt refrain from hoping on the soapbox. Poes Tavern in Sullivans Island serves some of the best hamburgers anywhere according to my partners in dine (including my foodie/chef husband); I did not partake because alas I dont care if the meat is ground on site, I am not eating ground beef. I was also told that the fish tacos were to die for, and they looked much more sizable that I would have anticipated. I do eat fish; I really cannot refrain, but keeping in mind the best way to reduce your impact on the environment is to go veg, I try to save it for special occasions, like beach vacations or celebrations. I was so pissed and tired of the most uncaring service I have received in recent memory that I was determined not to spend anymore money than absolutely necessary. Our party of four arrived around six, which on our part probably wasnt the best idea. The situation is seat yourself, and the floor plan is an old house maybe twelve hundred square feet or so, with some of that occupied by the door way and bar areas. Trying to wrangle a seat was cut throat, and honestly without some liquor in me, I am pretty meek and mild. I sat down at a table as it was being bussed only to be told my a single woman that her party of six would be arriving shortly and she had beaten me to the table. I am not certain if she did indeed beat me to the table, but her party took about thirty minutes to arrive. On our second table, the departing party checked an overzealous group of five from snatching it by backing us up on how long we had been staking it out. While the staff had no problem with a single woman taking up an entire ten top table, they were right on top of us to be sure that our party of four crammed into a two top so the party of five could have the larger ten top table. Of course it was the reasonable move on the part of the staff, but I was pissed that the solitary woman with her absent party couldnt have been asked to move. In such a busy place I was shocked to see seat yourself service. My husband explained that it made sense for the restaurant to save on the labor cost of a host because of the difficulty of wrangling parties in such a cramped space, and with the volume the servers were going to make money regardless. However, a manager or someone needed to supervise. The night we stopped in it didnt appear that there were any bussers either, and it also appeared that the servers had sections so there wasnt any team effort. While the poor service can be partially chalked up to the mind numbing volume of tables, it still sucked to watch the five top and the two top beside us have two rounds of drinks before we even received our first. To add to the insult, thirty or so minutes after placing our order for our first round of drinks, one of our party walked to the bar and got it herself; when she returned with our order, our server, Abby, decided to arrive and blame the tardiness of our drinks on the bar. In a normal circumstance that could have been a reasonable excuse, but she never made up for it by stopping back by more frequently. I described the volume as mind numbingly busy, because our server seemed to give up on us. Even in the cramped quarters, she would avoid eye contact while dropping off food or drinks at our neighbors tables. Unfortunately for my husband and me, our partners in dine were determined to make the best of it so we didnt leave for another spot. The hand cut fries were okay, but Laughing Seed Cafe in Asheville puts them to utter shame. After two long hours, we paid our bill of almost $100 before tip (I only drank water, we had one order of fries between the table, one fish taco, four burgers, and I lost count of how many rounds my companions drank), and I was none to happy that my husband gave her a much too generous fifteen percent for the abominable service we received. Maybe half the staff was out sick so there wasnt a host, busser, manager, or food runner to help the overwhelmed servers out, but really an apology would have been nice. We will try it again so my honey can enjoy another burger, but we will be sure to do it in the off season.