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Successful Projects

TurfCutterTurfCutter: When a friend and I volunteered to canvass for Democrats in 2006, we were appalled that the turf-cutting process still involved paper maps, scissors, and highlighters. The next summer I developed TurfCutterGM, a Google Maps-based canvassing app. VAN (now NGPVAN) licensed the product for $1, thus making it available to all Democratic campaigns. Problem solved.

Election Day Resource Calculator: PCEA To help fulfill Obama’s re-election night promise of “we have to fix that” in reference to long lines at polling places, I developed a resource calculator for election administrators. I tried to make it as simple as possible so that county officials didn’t need to already have access to complex stats (e.g., rate of voter arrival by time of day) to use it. It was featured on the Presidential Commission on Election Administration’s website (Bauer-Ginsberg). Though my calculator turned out to be a bit too simplistic (e.g., assuming presidential turnout), its ease-of-use influenced the final version of the premier calculator (whose initial versions were much too complex). After the 2016 AZ primary debacle, NPR aired a story on how election officials use these calculators to help avoid issues on Election Day.

Open Civic Data Division Identifiers: Sunlight In coordination with the Sunlight foundation and the Google civic innovation team (i.e., as I consulted for them), we launched unique, machine- and human-readable identifiers for nearly every political jurisdiction in the US. And, as of this writing, the project has expanded into five other countries. This blog post is a great overview; in brief, the identifiers let civic organizations easily match and share their data. Conveniently for organizations who want to adopt these identifiers (as Open Elections already has), Google returns these identifiers in its Civic Information API.

Text Messaging Experiment: txtMessage Allison Dale and I, with help from several awesome organizations, conducted the first large-scale text messaging voter mobilization experiment. From our experiences, we developed the Noticeable Reminder theory of mobilization, which both complements and contrasts with the dominant Social Occasion theory. Other organizations have since replicated our experiments and provided further support for the Noticeable Reminder theory.

VIPVoting Information Project: Where do I vote? Who is on my ballot? These questions are surprisingly hard to answer in the United States. I was the founding Domain Specialist of the Voting Information Project (video), a joint venture by Pew and Google (later joined by NOI, Microsoft, and Engage), which disseminates election data to anyone who wants to broadcast it (e.g., CNN, Facebook, campaigns, newspapers, random tumblr).

AIPersuasion Microtargeting: Kosuke Imai and I wrote a paper on heterogeneous treatment effects of randomized political voter contact experiments, which took off much more than I expected considering how many words I just had to use to introduce the concept. The method, which I have since refined and improved with the tremendous help of the Analyst Institute, identifies voters who are actually persuaded by political messaging (rather than guessing if voters will be persuaded by their answers to other questions).

CFPB TrackCFPB Track: I met Erie Meyer at her CFPB hackation at Transparency Camp 2013. There, two friend and I started CFPB Track, which every morning tweets out the “current” trends of CFPB complaints (by bank and type of financial project). I use scare quotes on “current” because CFPB embargoes data for two weeks for no good reason; tweet at them to tell them to let data be free immediately.

Points Of LightAll for Good: Google developed All For Good (now owned by the Points of Light Institute) to make searching for volunteer opportunities as easy as possible. I wrote the XML spec, but other people smarter than I handled the engineering.

FountainDissertation: It may be a stretch to classify this dissertation as a success, but the celebration certainly was…into the fountain! (True, my cell phone is in my left pocket in this picture, but after some rice-drying it worked again.) Late update: turns out that rice-drying technqiue is a myth.

20482048 Algorithm: I spent a day writing an algorithm to beat the addicting game 2048. Not very substantive, but satisfying.

Selected Publications

Margin of VictoryActing Intelligently: A Brief History of Political Targeting: My friend Nathaniel Pearlman wanted to produce a book that went beyond standard media treatment of technology and politics. Rather, he strove to provide a realistic portrayal of the benefits and limitations of tech in campaigns, and I was very happy to help in the endeavor. I have great respect for many of my fellow contributors; this edited volume is worth a read.

Politicking OnlineMobilizing the Mobiles: Text Messaging and Turnout: In this edited volume, Allison Dale and I write about our text messaging study from a practioner’s point of view. There are lots of interesting findings from our post-treatment survey that didn’t make it into our academic article.

AirplaneCarnival Booth: An Algorithm for Defeating the Computer-Assisted Passenger Screening System: My good friend, Samidh, and I demonstrated why one of the government’s first attempt attempts at post-9/11 airline security was doomed to fail. This study receive a fair amount of attention and when then-Sec. Ridge shut down the program in 2004, he cited the procedure’s ineffectiveness.

“Less” Successful Projects

ROCIROCI: My attempt to move custom organizer regions and progress-to-goal maps from spreadsheets and paper maps (respectively) to a Flash application. Turned out that not many people wanted this. Oh well, I thought it was cool and at least it worked. (FYI: pronounced ROCKY, stands for Return on Campaign Investment.)

PolGeoPolitical Geography: Similar to ROCI, but with more focus on real-time data viz. Also included the ability to switch between various political geographies, like states, CDs, counties, and legislative districts. Time lag for boundary loading and a surprising lack of demand killed it (I think).

I’m zero for one in terms of start-ups: I probably should have learned my lesson from the failure of ROCI, but I didn’t. Oops.

My stage “career”: My roles in Adat Shalom’s 2011 and 2012 Purim shpiels are classified as “less successful” mainly because my signing voice is so bad that the director told me to “just speak your singing lines.” Sigh.

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If you had to take the interests of MindsEye supporters and put them in one phrase what would it be?

Looking at the 2016 Fr. Wittenbrink, OMI Visionary Award winners, we see a uniting theme: a vision for the St. Louis area that profoundly affects the blind community here. The 2016 Soirée was MindsEye's formal opportunity to honor these individuals and present them with their awards. We would also like to take a moment here to recognize their achievements.

Honorees Jay and Lisa Adams are longtime supporters of MindsEye, and as the years have passed, the two have been involved in different roles. Jay served on the MindsEye Advisory Board for years and on the Soirée Committee as well. In fact, Jay was part of the Committee that created the name “Soirée pour la Vue.” Lisa supports MindsEye through her work as publisher of Marketplace Magazine and in the St. Clair County East Rotary Club.

As President of Lighthouse for the Blind – St. Louis, John Thompson’s daily activities uphold MindsEye’s mission. Lighthouse for the Blind provides employment and other programs for individuals with visual impairments. John has seen the importance of MindsEye in the lives of his employees. He believes that “access to all the typical print materials in a timely manner is critical to full inclusion in daily life.”

Photo credit: Missouri Guide Dog Users

Steve Schnelle is a MindsEye listener and active in promoting services for the blind and visually impaired. Many people know him from his work as a rehabilitation teacher at Rehabilitation Services for the Blind. Vision loss can spawn depression and isolation, but Steve fights this by helping people with visual impairments learn to interact with their environment, use assistive technologies, and become more independent.

For more information, please watch these videos produced by Visionary Media in honor of these individuals.

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Friday, June 18, 2010

MiniatureReview - Change in Format

Tell me what you think of the Blogger blog format.  So far I am really liking Blogger.  It is incredibly easy to setup and manage.  What I hope to do is continue to post in blogger and somehow upload the posts back to the


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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Review-ProMist Mop By O-Cedar

I recently had the privilege of using the ProMist mop by O-Cedar and I wanted to write a little about it. There are many different types of mops on the market and for years I've used a standard sponge mop, though I've hated it!

I've tried other mop brands that had a disposable cleaning head or attachment, and didn't care for these either because of waste and cost. I'm on a really tight budget and can't really buy into having to use 3 or 4 of these a sitting to get my floor clean. I have a large area of tile in my house so it would take a lot to clean.

Then there is the cleaning solution type. I have no crawling babies but, I want the floor clean without a lot of residue. I want the cleaner to be as safe as it can be and clean well at the same time. I can do that with the sponge mop but, it's really back breaking to have to keep rinsing the mop, scrub, and add my cleaner.

The O-Cedar is a really nice alternative to these! There is a container attached to the mop that allows you to put whatever kind of cleaner you would like in it. If you want vinegar and water, a certain brand of cleaner you really like, or a natural alternative, go ahead. There are removable and reusable microfiber pads to use with the mop that you simply throw in the washer when finished! I love that option. I can just put it in the wash with my cleaning rags and store for later. There are also semi disposable pads for those really messy clean ups that you would rather throw away(think dog poo!)

So to summarize, the pros of this mop outweigh most hand held manual mops. Ergonomic, waste reducing, bucket-free, economical, and safe for the people and pets in your home. Also, it's available at most large retailers so, it's easy to get and a reasonable price! I recommend trying this mop out.

*I was sent an O-Cedar ProMist to try out for the purpose of this review*


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Friday, October 21, 2011

We Climb

*This was a post I shared over at More Bang for Your Bucks as guest post, but I want to have it here for the day that I finally make my blog memory books for the boys (we'll see about that). Happy Friday, friends. xoxo

My journey with Luke (8) has been the biggest challenge of my life.

He has Asperger's Syndrome and from day 1 it has stretched me more than I ever thought I could be stretched. When you love your child so much, you don't want to watch them struggle with every day life. Although he is extremely high functioning, there are still daily mountains for us to climb.

When you find out you are pregnant, you are flooded with emotions. The joy and expectations of raising a child, especially your 1st child are overwhelming. You have so many preconceived notions of who your child is going to be. Not because of who God has already formed them to be, but because you enter parenthood with desires and wishes that stem from your own childhood; whether you want your child to enjoy the type of childhood you had or if you want to offer them everything that you did not have.

When your baby turns bright red and stiffens his body every time you try to feed or hold him, you know that something is not right.

When he is only soothed by the noise of a shower for hours at time, you know that something must be wrong. When the doctors tell you it is colic, you believe them.

They are the experts. You're just a mom.

When your baby starts tip-toeing and is obsessed with celiing fans, you question if you should be concerned.

As he seems to play with non-play objects like sprinklers instead of other children, you mention autism. Everyone says it is just a phase and that he's just quirky.

And when you finally make the call for an evaluation with a pediatric neurologist despite 3 pediatricians telling you that he'd be flapping his arms or picking at the carpet if he was on the autism spectrum, you already know in your heart.

As the expert explains that your son has Asperger's Syndrome you feel the hopes and dreams which blossomed at the moment you saw the plus sign, drain through every pore of your body.

You sit empty.

And then you're ready to fight. Not for you, but for him.

You devour every book possible. You schedule therapies. Your other two babies live in the car at the expense of providing the best intervention for him.

And when I say that it has been the biggest challenge of my life, I don't mean that it has been a challenge that I'd choose to erase for my sake. It has been the greatest challenge in that God is teaching me that I am far stronger and capable than I ever thought possible. All the early doubt and second guessing in my early mama days has been replaced by a mama who gears up every day to teach him about the ways of the typicals and to teach him about himself and how his brain is so unique and brilliant because of the ONE who designed him.

Even though we faced two unexpected peaks this week, we climbed.

We climb new heights and face new challenges. I gear up again today, just like I do everyday. There is no regret or sadness or what could have beens.

I climb because I love him. I love him just the way he is. So we climb.

We climb.

Much love,

Linking up with Casey.

theolivetree said...

I read this post , it was great! You are such a great mommy!!

Kelly said...

katie you moved me to tears. this post is beautiful.
my nephew has Asperger's and he is such a delight, so honest and true. he melts my heart.
your boys are gorgeous!
keep climbing!
love you!

Jen@Just Like Heaven said...

Wow, this post is so moving! What sweet and beautiful little boys you have and you are an awesome mom!

Rebecca @ heartland farmhouse said...

Those blog books are the coolest!!!
I hope to do one too someday! Saves (me) the regret of NOT doing a proper photo album or scrap book!

Happy Friday!

Michele said...

Thanks, friend. It's a journey. So much of this journey is unexpected and not what we planned at all. We just do the best we can to embrace it and climb. One step at a time.

Michele said...

And, I think you are an incredible mother. You inspire me!

Jamie said...

Your post was so moving and beautiful. God has truly blessed you with talents, and all of your sons are so lucky for you.

Digger said...

Very inspirational. You're a great mom! Your kids are so lucky!

Digger ~xoxo~

Jessica Johnson said...

from one climber to another, i LOVE this post :) perfectly said.

Susan said...

I had never seen this post before!
So glad I had a chance to see it today. He's one lucky boy. And you're one lucky mama.

Bekah said...

God knew exactly what he was doing when he gave you Luke, you are exactly who that little guy needs! This post is awesome!

hannah singer said...

amen. keep climbing! you inspire me, katie. i love you and am so grateful for your testimony!


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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tons of FISH NET !!!

Pictured is my secret source of fish net deep in the bowels of Mexico. We sell about a ton a year. It's getting harder and harder to find. The tuna fleets are disappearing a long with the tuna. Our customers purchase it for decor, baseball batting cages, keeping the palm frowns on palapas, keeping pets and kids out of flower gardens, and hundreds of other uses. We clean it, cut it into various sizes and sell it at $3.50 a pound. Yes, while you guys are goofing off, I'm risking life and limb in treacherous Mexico. To soothe my nerves, I tough it out at the little hotel pictured. Las Rosas is it's name. What's that saying about, "all work and no play?"

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

I shot Felicia's portfolio recently. It was her first ever shoot. I was so impressed with her, I booked her for a magazine shoot the following week. She is so beautiful and has such a natural lovely smile. As well as that, she gives it that extra something which some models don't, or are afraid to give... or are too shy. She brings her personality into the shoot and that really shows. Even a new model cannot expect to be directed by me completely. She needs to bring some of herself into the shoot and try different things even though she doesn't really know what she's doing. How are you meant to improve if you don't try? Check out Felicia's first ever magazine shoot in a shop near you in January.

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Terra Dawn said...

You have such beautiful work!! I am definately going to keep my eye on you....:)


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Monday, June 23, 2014

Succulent Hostess Gift and No-Sew Banner

 Hello friends! Today I'm over at Thirty Handmade Days with this super easy tutorial on a Succulent Hostess Gift with a No-Sew Banner!

This is the perfect quick and easy hostess, housewarming, whatever-you-need gift that can be easily thrown together in less than an hour. Go check it out!!

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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Mr Toast's USA Tour - Pennsylvania

Well hello Mr. Toast! Welcome to the Hacienda! Come on in and make yourself comfortable .

Mr. Toast poses with Rigby, who looks an awful lot like his pal Newshound.

Mr Toast was surprised to see his old pal Newshound, but it made the Hacienda feel like home.

Mr. Toast is excited to try out small town life in Phoenixville PA.

The G. Lodge is one of the local faves for breakfast Mr. Toast, you must try the hash browns.

Mr. Toast is introduced to an alleged delicacy of the region, scrapple. Beware the meat toast!

Mr. Toast was excited to know that the G. Lodge restaurant was temporarily renamed the Filbert for the M.Night Shyamalan movie The Happening. Today was the last day this sign was going to be up, so Mr. Toast will have to look for it in the film next year!

Mr. Toast loves to find old things at garage sales. but what to do with it all?

Mr. Toast was amazed at how big Valley Forge National Park was.

Mr. Toast is mightily impressed that Washington and his men stayed here in the dead of winter.

Mr Toast and General Wayne- would this make it Wayne's World? Party on!

Mr. Toast just can't get enough of the historic statues!

Mr. Toast reflected a moment at the statue commemorating all of the mothers who had lost sons and daughters to war. Sigh.

Mr. Toast is excited to see what Lancaster county is all about- maybe we'll see Amish!

See, Mr. Toast, these are hex signs. Do you have a barn we could put one on?

The real Amish don't like it when you take their picture, so these faux plain people were kind enough to pose for us.

Mr Toast enjoyed his sample of shoo fly pie- very sweet!

Mr. Toast got overwhelmed by the trivet selection - could he maybe get one of each?

Mr. Toast thinks that fall comes early on the east coast. Alas, it does.

"These are more my size", says Mr. Toast.

Mr. Toast says it's always fun to stop and pick up a box of free stuff on the side of the road. The Iron will make a good doorstop, and boy these old cameras will be fun to check out!

Mr Toast was excited to find out that this was the theatre in the movie The Blob! He hopes to come back for Blobfest next year.

Better get some rest Mr. Toast, we've got another big day ahead of us!

Mr Toast decided to not even choose between Pat's and Ginos, and instead requested Jim's on South Street. He also appreciated the art deco decor, nice touch!

Mr Toast loves the fact that Whiz is considered a viable cheese option on your sandwich in Philly. He wasn't sure about the Whiz wit-out, or pizza steak, so he tried both. Yum!

Who can resist an Art museum? Not Mr. Toast! There's some really cool stuff inside-let's go check it out.

That Duchamp- he sure turned the word on end, didn't he!

Mr Toast feels like he's descending a staircase!

Mr. Toast isn't sure how he feels about Rothko, but this reminds him of the pillowcase he slept on last night.

Oh that Jasper Johns. What a silly guy!

Mr Toast likes visiting The City! Come again soon Mr. Toast, don't be a stranger!

Thanks Beth, Cliff and Rigby!

Kristen said...

Scrapple! Oh how I miss it! (I grew up in Delaware.)

Anonymous said...

im from this area and i LOVE the g lodge...valley forge is a fav place of mine and everything here is amazing! =)

Mark Secosh said...

Hi Mr. Toast, I guess great minds think alike. On Oct 17 & 18 in Berkeley will be the Premier Performance of my Toast Quartet for flute, bass clarinet, viola and bass -- the 3rd movement of which is entitled "Toast Descending a Staircase" based on the Duchamp painting. Lemme know if you're anywhere near Berkeley on that date. All the best, Mark

Mark Secosh said...

By the way, that quartet also includes "Toast Machine" based on James Brown's "Sex Machine" and "Toasters on the Nervion" which title reveals the true design concept behind Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao.


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Sunday, July 17, 2011

Thrift - Seeing Red!

Was out my doctor's way so I decided to stop at a couple of local thrift stores. At the first thrift, I found the never-used red Dansk piaya pan designed by JHQ. This is a later pan because of the handle design and it's made in Indonesia. There is a chip to the interior enamel you can bet that happened at the thrift and might be a deal breaker for resale plus it's not Kobenstyle. New Zealand plastic canister with red top and scoop for myself. There were two but sadly one had a crack. Red pitcher marked Copco SOLD. Passed on two more red enamel pans that were unmarked and overpriced.

At this particular GoodWill I'm always finding Hellerware. Set of tomato red plates, a color I've haven't seen before. Another rainbow mug from FTD.

Stopped by a dead estate sale too. Wow! Was it overpriced! Everything was mostly contemporary and ornate. Did pick up 14 vintage knee hugger elves SOLD. Blue German Rosenthal vase by Bjorn Winblad. For Sale. I need to work on my bargaining skills 'cause they suck.

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Friday, February 22, 2013

Something normal

Last night, Jack had a visit from the tooth fairy!!! That's right you heard me, the tooth fairy! I noticed one of Jack's bottom teeth looking crooked earlier this week. When I felt it it was loose! I was immediately excited! Jack would get to experience a normal childhood milestone!  I was also immediately worried that the tooth would come out on it's own and Jack would get choked. This is the type of normal that is so precious to us! I was told when Jack was first diagnosed (dx) that these moments would never happen for Jack. I was told to take him home and love him because there was nothing anyone could do for Jack. You can imagine the grief that followed. That grief is what makes just a simple loose tooth so sweet! The tooth fairy did not bring Jack the usual monetary gift. Jack has no concept of money. So, the tooth that is assigned to him brought him Francesco from Cars 2.  Jack loved it!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The TenCare Battle of feb 2013

You all my have heard that I fought tncare and lost recently. So here's my side of the story...

Soon after Jackson was dx with Leigh's I applied with the Social Security Dept. for some help for Jackson. I think we can all agree that Jack's health situation and many others similar to it our why we all pay our taxes. We want our tax dollars to help those people in difficult situations. Well, I applied we received benefits a whole $30 a month and tncare. I didn't care about the money I just wanted the tncare coverage for Jackson. At the time the lady told me if our income increased by $5 we would no longer qualify for SSI benefits. You may ask would I want Tncare. Why would I want the government involved in Jackson's healthcare if Jackson has a private health insurance policy? Good question...
In our case, our private health insurance does not pay for Jackson's private duty nursing (Jack only gets 40hrs a week), diapers (forget about them paying for wipes), some of Jackson's durable medical equipment and has restrictions on physical, occupational and speech therapy. The private insurance called the second wheelchair that Jackson needed due to growth a convience item. They wanted him to continue using a wheelchair that was too small for him. As you can imagine using ill fitting equipment on a daily basis can cause a slew of other medical issues.  I am so glad we had tncare coverage at that time because they paid in full for Jack's wheelchair. They also pay for Jack's diapers that the insurance says is not covered in the policy.  There is a myth I would like to attack right now. Just because someone has a private health insurance policy doesn't mean that all their medical needs are met/covered by the policy and that person has no worries. I challenge all of you to really look at your health insurance policy. Read the information they send you, including the fine print. You will be surprised. The days of 100% coverage on all things is gone my friend. It is an 80/20 at best insurance world and don't forget about those outrageous individual and family deductibles that have to  met before they will even pay the 80% of the allowable charge and in some cases you don't even get to count your copay against the deductible. READ my friends, READ!

So Jack got TNcare through SSI. We had an small increase in income and lost the SSI $30 payment but got to keep the tncare. He was put in the transitional medicaid category. They are transitioning you off medicaid. The transitional category only lasts 12 months. After the 12 months you must reapply for tncare. I reapplied after our 12 months was up and was told we did not qualify for tncare but we might if we had enough unpaid medical bills. I submitted all our unpaid medical bills to see if we qualified for the Spend down category and we got to keep medicaid for another year. Oct. 2012 it was time to reapply again. This time when I submitted unpaid medical bills they didn't count. I was told they were to old to count. "What" I said. Come to find out, when you submit unpaid medical bills for spend down the bills must be incurred in the month of application or 3 months prior. I disagreed with that decision so I appealed. I scrambled around the house for 2 weeks planning my side of the case. I found every receipt I could that would count for spend down. When we got to the hearing I listened to the states evidence and their side. then I got to tell mine. I told about Jack's health condition and all the receipts I had pulled together but it still wasn't enough to meet the magic spend down number. The judge said I should have submitted the receipts at the time of application. I argued that all I was told to submit was unpaid medical bills. No one and no where on the application does it tell you what counts for spend down. I had to search on the Internet myself and call a lawyer with the law and justice center to find out the rules for spend down. None of that mattered to the so called judge. He asked me what my witness would testify to and I already knew what she would say and knew it would not change his mind.  After I realized none of my hard work mattered to him and he had already made up his mind I decided to make the hearing last as long as I could and waste his time. I was so angry and I had no way of doing anything about it. So I decided to talk as much as I could so I could delay his docket for the day and hopefully get way  backed up. I think it worked and I hope he had a crappy day like I did. I know that is not the right attitude to have but it is honestly how I felt at the time. I was a desperate, angry mother and just wanted help for my child.

For those of you that may not know difference between medicaid and medicare, SSI and SSDI, I am going to teach you.
 The federal government gives money that you paid to it called taxes to all 50 states to help cover the part of the cost of state run health care called medicaid. Each state also uses state taxes to fund their medicaid program. Each state calls their medicaid program a different name, in Tennessee it is called TNcare (tencare). Each state runs their medicaid program according to their own state laws. They have rules concerning who can qualify for medicaid, what they will cover and how long you can keep it. So who is eligible in New York may not be in Tennessee. What is a covered cost in Tennessee may not be in Ohio. Medicaid has a financial eligibility component to it. You must meet their strict guidelines concerning income and resources in order to get TNcare. They have a computer program that does it for them because it is so complicated. In Tennessee their are a bunch of different categories that one may qualify for after you meet the financial part. In other words it is mainly geared to help the low income get healthcare. They don't care what your dx is they just want to know how much money do you make. You must be under 65 to get medicaid.

Is run by the federal government. States have no authority with medicare. You have to be 65 to get benefits or be a dependent of a parent that is receiving benefits to get coverage. Again your dx doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is age and your pocketbook.

Spend down-
So now you know their is a financial component to medicaid. Your next question should be... What do families do if they make to much money to qualify for tncare but not enough to be called independently wealthy and have a sick child. In other words you ain't broke enough for the state to help but you still broke! There is a category called spend down. You "spend down" your "extra income" to meet the financial guidelines. You can count health premiums, copays, OTC, prescriptions, nursing costs, and mileage (.42 per mile) round trip to doctor and pharmacy.

SSI-Supplemental Security Income-
Income people receive from the government (again your tax dollars). There are again financial components and mathematical formulas to determine eligibility.

SSDI- Supplemental Security Disability income
There are not any financial components to this but you must prove disability. In order for children to receive benefits they must have a parent that is retired, dead or disabled and receiving benefits.

I could be wrong on some of this but this is how I understand the system to work today. Sometimes you win and sometimes you just limp away from a battle, lick your wounds and fight again another day. I am forming another plan as I type this. I will keep you posted to let you know if my plan works.


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Friday, July 11, 2014

Autumn Gate Class

Autumn Gate Class
Date- Sept. 6th 10:00

It’s still warm here in the heartland but soon the wind will change and bring nip in the air. You know that’s a busy time to start working on our fall cards now is cool air conditioned comfort. We are coloring with Copic markers but feel free to color your card any way that best for you.

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In the first year of Harry Frazee's ownership of the club, the Red Sox missed out on the World Series for the first time since 1914. With World War I engulfing Europe, Fenway Park hosted a public drill and march by the Shepard Norwell Women's Military Company and war memorial mass over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The Red Sox

Record: 90-62, 2nd in American League
Manager: John J. Barry
Attendance: 387,856

Coming off back-to-back titles, the 1917 Red Sox won 90 games (just one less victory than the previous season) but finished in second place, a full nine games behind the White Sox.

Harry Frazee purchased the team in late 1916, with the sale reportedly contingent on Bill Carrigan's return as manager. However, Frazee's visit to Carrigan in Maine just before the New Year proved fruitless and on January 4, Frazee accepted the situation and named Jack Barry as the new player/manager.

With World War I underway, ballplayers were told that those who enlisted in the military would have their positions held open for them. Frazee nonetheless cut some salaries even below the depressed 1916 levels. Players from both teams frequently marched on the field before games in military drills.

The Red Sox leader on offense was Duffy Lewis, who hit .302. Babe Ruth and Carl Mays led the pitching staff with 24 and 22 wins, respectively. The team started 12-4 and sat in first place as late as July 31.

Though the Red Sox didn't reach the postseason, there were a number of memorable occurrences during the 1917 season. In early June, Fenway announcer Red Armstrong gave way to Stonewall Jackson, who would hold the position for many years. On June 16, a near-riot occurred due to a combination of rain and the suspected involvement of gamblers who were displeased that Chicago was beating the Red Sox. Somehow, 500 spectators ended up on the field and wouldn't leave but the game eventually resumed.

One week later, Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore combined for one of the most bizarre no-hitters in history. Ruth was ejected after he walked the first batter and vociferously objected to the call but Shore came in and retired every one of the batters he faced. Later in the season, plainclothes policemen arrested five gamblers in Fenway's right-field bleachers during an August game, as part of a crackdown ordered by American League President Ban Johnson.

At the end of the season, the Red Sox and Senators played a benefit game with proceeds going to the 101st Regiment Fund. Two days after the final game of the World Series, five members of the Red Sox were called to duty by the United States Navy, including Jack Barry and Duffy Lewis.

Non-Red Sox Baseball At Fenway Park

In the midst of the 1917 Red Sox season, four other baseball games were played at Fenway Park, including the third Fenway match-up between Noble & Greenough and the Volkmann School.

1917 Non-Red Sox Baseball At Fenway Park
May 25Volkmann School, Noble & Greenough 4
June 20Mechanic Arts High 8, High School of Commerce 3
August 3St. John's A. C. of Cambridge 6, Boston Tigers 5
August 13Boston Printers 8, New York Printers 2

More Than a Ballpark™

A pair of non-athletic events highlighted Fenway Park's earliest months of 1917. On March 19, the Shepard Norwell Women's Military Company, a 125-member group that served as a first aid organization auxiliary to the hospital corps, held their first public drill and marched around the park with Springfield rifles. Later in the month, another Spanish-American War mass was held at the park (there had also been a service held in 1915). In the Fall, Boston College played a pair of football games at Fenway Park, and six high school football games also took place there.

1917 Non-Baseball Events At Fenway Park
March 19Shepard Norwell Women's Military Company First Public Drill
March 27Spanish-American War Memorial Mass*
October 12Boston College 20, Tufts 0 (Football)
October 26High School of Commerce 26, Brockton High 7 (Football)
October 31Boston English 34, Mechanic Arts 0 (Football)
November 8Boston English 21, Boston College High 6 (Football)
November 10Boston College 34, Holy Cross 6 (Football)
November 13High School of Commerce, 37, Arlington High 0 (Football)
November 16Boston Latin 34, Mechanic Arts 0 (Football)
November 29Boston English 13, Boston Latin 6 (Football)

*Started in the 1910s, a late May memorial service coinciding with the Memorial Day weekend was often held at Fenway Park through the mid-20th Century.

The 1912 World Series at Fenway Park. (Credit: Boston Red Sox)


WARC-Truncated: length

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Friday, March 29, 2013

Rarely Seen: Me in a Pantsuit

I could give you a million reasons why I don't like pants- bunching, thigh-rub, length issues, you name it. But every Friday I step out of my comfort zone and don a pair.
I bought this pair of pants and then realized that it actually is the same color/style of another suit I have from Eloquii.
This is this week's Friday look and I'm pleased to say that I am finally rocking....a pantsuit.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Humpday Humor: Medical Bracelet of My Dreams

Monday, March 25, 2013

Summer Jacket, Winter Tights

It was cold outside but I knew the heat would be cranked up inside so I paired a short-sleeve jacket with my opaque tights. I got a lot of rave reviews on my Lane Bryant graphic skirt from a few years ago.
At some point I plan to find a chunky statement necklace with hints of purple to break up the black.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Dream House

I want this courtyard! It combines 2 of my often conflicting wishlist items; big open windows and privacy walls. This is Bob Hope's home on the market for $50 million....a bit out of my range!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Phone Detour- Droid Razr M

In the past few months I've grown increasingly disgruntled with my Droid Incredible 4G LTE. No JellyBean update in sight. Flaky bluetooth auto-connection. Enough. I ordered a Razr M and it should be here tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Humpday Humor: Awkward!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Scarf Flair

This shirtdress has been a staple in my wardrobe for about the past 7 years and it has taken me that long to decide to dress it up with a scarf! I love the fullness of the skirt but I have to admit I refer to this dress as the 'Marilyn'. Each time I wear it, 2 things inevitably happen-the day is exceedingly windy and I have to pump gas. Needless to say, I have quickly become a favorite at my local gas station!

Friday, March 15, 2013

Goodbye Google Reader

I am so traumatized by the news that Google Reader is shutting down! I've used it for years and I have no idea what I'll do without it. I hear there will be 'substitutes' but honestly I'm more worried that rss in general are being phased out.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Humpday Humor: Porm Definition

Monday, March 11, 2013

Monkey Boy

 Seth has recently decided that he is a proboscis monkey and has taken up residence in the tree in the front of the house- it is not an easy thing to explain to the neighbors.  Here he is 'taking a nap' in his new habitat. I blame the Wild Kratts entirely for all this.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Scents of the Season

New Year, new smells right? Well, for me that's certainly the case. I have a handful of go-to scents that I rotate between and for this year, I've decided on these 4:

They are:

J'Adore- by Dior (special occasions and evenings)
Happy- by Clinique (daily and casual)
Fan di Fendi- by Fendi (daily)
Envy- by Gucci (daily and special occasions)

Pro tip: I keep my fragrances in our powder room on the first floor so that I can decide what to wear right as I'm out the door. It's also a cool and dark room which is where perfumes ideally should be stored.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Humpday Humor: Liquor Totally Gets You

Monday, March 4, 2013

Winter Wear

I live for winter clothing, which I know sounds weird since I live in Texas. But few things give me the warm fuzzies like pulling on opaque tights. I think I got this sweater from JC Penney a few years ago but I definitely got the skirt from Eloquii. It's a really cool hounds tooth print with leather panels along the side.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Weekend Watching: The Inbetweeners

Somewhere during my marathon watching of The Inbetweeners I morphed into a teenage boy and suddenly had all kinds of insight into their minds. This show made me laugh so hard I cried several times and nearly wet myself once. It's crude, ridiculous and very inappropriate but also the funniest thing I have seen in ages.
The premise is that posh Will is forced to go to public school and ends up in an oddball clique consisting of worldly Jay (who talks a good game but has never actually seen any action), clueless Neil and shy but lovable Simon. They get themselves into all kinds of trouble at school and just never seem to be able to get their act together. It is a hilarious riot- which is why it made me furious that MTV recently recently tried to release American version. The good news is that the knockoff failed so woefully it was cancelled the day it aired, allowing The Inbetweeners to keep its good name unsullied.
You can get this one on Netflix streaming this weekend. I recommend it with a drink of Ribena and a package of crisps.


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The History of
Coatbridge Co-operative Society

Chapter 2

Coatbridge Co-operative - the early days

Thomas Gilchrist J.P. was the driving force behind the formation of the Coatbridge Cooperative Society. Tom was a native of Lanark town who had come to Coatbridge as a young man to further his career as a journeyman mason. He eventually started his own business. He took a lively interest in public affairs.
Although he was a businessman for many years as builder and quarrymaster, he still clung closely to his working class roots and he laboured earnestly towards the betterment of the conditions of the working class. By way of encouraging them to habits of thrift he took a deep interest in the Co-operative movement which was beginning to be noticed in the district.

Thomas Gilchrist J.P.
From a photograph of an oil painting at North Lanarkshire Archives.
The painting is badly damaged and this photo was "airbrushed" by Carrick Watson

Thomas and Dougie McLellan, who was a storekeeper in the iron industry, were appalled at the prices that were being charged in the local shops. They had attended meetings held under the auspices of the recently formed Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society and had become convinced that having a local co-op would improve the lives of the workers and management alike. They believed that this would give them and their fellow townspeople more control of food quality and prices.

They tossed the idea around with some friends and held many meetings before the Pioneers of the Coatbridge Co-operative held their first official meeting in 1871.

They arranged a public meeting in a hall in Ellis Street for November 10 th . This meeting was well attended, mostly by miners and iron workers. The meeting unanimously agreed to form a Society. They elected a working party a provisional committee.

The first general meeting of members was called on 7 th January 1872 when it was decided to start up the business of a Retail Co-operative. The provisional committee was confirmed in office.

This committee comprised:

Mr. Thomas Gilchrist, President.
Mr. Alex. Cunningham, Treasurer.
Mr. Dugald M'Lellan, Secretary.
Mr. James Waddell, Director.
Mr. John Williams,
Mr. Archibald Brown,
Mr. William Allan,
Mr. Thos. Summerville,
Mr. David Strang,
Mr. William Gall,
Mr. Thomas Kelloch,
Mr. Hugh Wilson,
Mr. Thos. Eaglesham,
Mr. David Bell,
Mr. David Brown,

At this first general meeting it was agreed to become members of the SCWS and to adopt the principles of the Rochdale Pioneers. However the meeting decided to depart from these principles to create their own rule that members be allowed credit to the extent of of their share capital.

A sub-committee was appointed to make arrangements to start the business
James Waddell, David Bell, Thos. Eaglesham, Arch. Brown, David Strang, Thos. Gilchrist.

First Salesman Appointed

The sub-committee decided that it was of prime importance that a salesman was required to help spread the word about the co-operative. The salesman would also manage the shop. James Haddow was employed at a wage of 25s (1.25) per week and commenced work on January 19 th 1872.

The sub-committee and James were looking for suitable premises and decided that a vacant house in Baird Street would suffice for the early days. The shop was officially opened for business on 3 rd February 1872. The first days trading amounted to 6 4s 8d.

The Society held their first quarterly meeting on 1 st April in the Lesser Temperance Hall in Sunnyside Road. It was decided that members would subscribe one penny in the pound of profits to defend the principles of Co-operation.

The committee felt it was time to expand and on October 28 th they took out a feu (fee) on land in Muiryhall Street with a frontage of 150feet at 2s per pole (16.5 feet) this was equal to approximately 18s.

At end of December 1872 Edward M. Bell was appointed Honorary Chairman. Edward owned a manufacturing business involved in the iron industry.

Dougie Mclellan had resigned due to ill health and James Hall was appointed Secretary in his place. David Bell was appointed treasurer. They finished the year with 126 members. Total sales amounted to 3460 8s 8d and profits were 240 0s 1d. Capital including Share capital and loan funds amounted to 361 10s 3d. They paid out an average dividend of 1s 6.5d (approx. 7.5p) What an extraordinary first year!

On January 17 th 1873 the committee decided to build 3 blocks on the Muiryhall Street feu at an estimated cost of 1,900 19s 1d. and agreed to take out loan capital at 5%.

They decided to erect a bakery at an estimated cost of 5596 6s 11d.

They opened a Drapery shop in December but decided that members would not be allowed credit for drapery purchases. The following year they decided that the drapery shop would now close early at 7pm.

Over the next few months they moved their main place of business to Muiryhall Street and started to run down the Baird Street premises.

They drew up new set of Society rules which were then agreed. At same time the committee canvassed the members for more funds to erect a new building. They took out an additional feu for property adjoining Muiryhall Street at 3/ per pole (5.5 yards).

In 1874 they purchased their first horse! This could be used by staff to use when uplifting purchases from suppliers.

At this time they decided to buy all their bread supplies from the Old Monkland Baking Society.

In the first 10 years up to 1881 they:

  • Built new shops and offices on Muiryhall Street

  • built 5 blocks of houses on Muiryhall Street

  • Opened branches, No. 1 Branch Langloan, No. 2 Branch Coatdyke, No. 3 Branch Whifflet,

  • started the Bakery and introduced machinery

  • started a drapery department

  • started the Coal trade

  • started a Penny Savings Bank

  • started a Furniture trade.

  • built stables and vanmans house

  • appointed a General Manager

  • held annual soirees from 1875

Thomas' friend Dugald McLellan sadly passed away in 1875.

Thomas Gilchrist, their main driving force, moved to a new challenge as a Director of the SCWS in 1878. He was also a Dean of Guild in the new Coatbridge Burgh council.

He passed away in 1892 and his funeral was the largest and most influentially attended that has ever been witnessed in Coatbridge

Coatbridge Cooperative Society had a spectacular growth in the first ten years, considering that it had limited finance and was managed by a committee.

By the year 1897 they had 3,388 members and had accrued 71,000 in capital. Their total profit to date was over 200,000. Their average dividend was 3/- (15p)

The End of the Beginning

The research continues -

Still to come - The Coatbridge Co-operative Society set up over 30 branches in most parts of Coatbridge, Airdrie, Gartcosh, Annathill, Chryston, Bargeddie, Glenboig, Glenmavis ......see list at co-op branches.htm  link below!

NOTE We are aware of the location of 29 Branches but need info on the remaining branches.

If you can offer any information - photographs of shops, people, carts,

We need details of all events but particularly after 1939

see coatbridge-co-operative/index.htm

See Thomas Gilchrist - Founder of Coatbridge Coop obituary

see Co-op branches

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Going to CTIA

I'll be at CTIA on Tuesday the 12th. If you'll be there and want to chat, please drop me a note.

What if Palm made a smartphone and nobody cared?

These must be frustrating times for the people at Palm.

The company recently pre-announced that it's creating a 3G Treo for sale through Vodafone later this year. This was a very important breakthrough for Palm. It has been trying for years to get broader distribution for its smartphones in Europe, without great success. Now the world's largest mobile operator is embracing the company, and saying specifically that it'll offer the new Treo in at least the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. That's a huge increase in reach for Palm, and it should help to produce incremental sales for the company.

What was Wall Street reaction to the announcement? Nothing. No change at all in the company's stock price.

I don't pretend to understand why stock prices move the way they do. Palm ought to be rewarded for this breakthrough. But there are also some reasons for caution. The first is that this will be a Windows Mobile Treo, not a Palm OS Treo. I believe there's pent-up demand in Europe for a well-made Palm OS 3G smartphone – Palm sold huge numbers of handhelds into Europe, especially Germany, and I'm sure some of those people would trade up to a well-designed 3G phone using the same OS. I'm less certain of the demand for a Windows Mobile Treo in Europe. There are already a lot Windows Mobile devices on the market there, so Palm is entering a crowded field.

Supposedly sales of the Windows Mobile Treo in the US have been disappointing, so Wall Street may be fearing the same thing will happen in Europe.

Of course, it's possible that Palm also has a Palm OS 3G Treo in the works for Europe. Palm doesn't like to pre-announce its Palm OS-based products (supposedly, the only reason it pre-announces the Windows Mobile-based ones is because the US government views any Microsoft deal as a "material event" that has to be announced early to prevent stock manipulation by insiders). The same requirements don't apply to Palm OS-based products, so it's very possible that Palm's going to ship a Palm OS Treo through Vodafone as well.

Regardless of which software ends up on the Vodafone devices, the other thing I'm not sure of is how well the Treo product design will play in the countries of Europe. I should explain this, for the benefit of my readers in the US.

Many Americans make the mistake of believing that Europe is full of Europeans. It's not. It's full of French people, Germans, Italians, British, and so on – each from very distinct cultures with very different beliefs and traditions. Other than the World Cup, I'm aware of only two truly pan-European cultural institutions. One is the Eurovision song contest, and I'm not going to even try to explain that. The other is the practice of displaying your mobile phone on the table during a meal.

Go to lunch or dinner in any country in Europe, and when everyone sits down they'll take out their mobile phones and put them on the table. There's even a proper place to put the phone, about like this:

Note that you don't lay down the phone straight – it needs to look like you just casually dropped it on the table.

Then everyone at the table surreptitiously checks out everyone else's phone. There's a subtle hierarchy of status associated with which phone you carry. I haven't decoded all of it yet, but definitely you get some extra status for having what's perceived to be a stylish phone. Brand also plays a role, although I think that varies from country to country. For example, carrying a Siemens phone is OK in Germany, but will peg you as a cheapskate anywhere else in the western half of the continent. Nokia has good status, depending on the model you carry, and I think SonyEricsson gets you tagged as a little more creative than average. If you have a Motorola it says you're an American.

And then there's the Treo. I've been told by several European friends that slapping down a Treo on the table gets you labeled as a geek. And not a nice geek in the American sense (visionary and probably rich), but geek in the bad sense (socially misfit and physically underdeveloped). The keyboard, which American users tend to regard as a badge of business power and importance, comes across as pathetically computer-obsessed to a lot of folks in Europe. At least that's what I've been told by people over there.

It's possible that image is evolving as RIM and Nokia bring more keyboard-based phones to market. But if not, Palm will have a lot more trouble on its hands than just what OS it's running.

The other question about this hypothetical Vodafone Palm OS phone is whether Palm can even build it. As I've speculated before, it's not clear that the current version of Palm OS can easily be revised to work with the 3G networks in Europe. Now Brighthand has pointed out that PalmSource/Access missed its deadlines for delivering the next version of Palm OS, freeing Palm from a series of fairly substantial minimum payments it was required to make to Access.

If the Access platform won't be available in time, what else could Palm do to fill the gap? David Beers has compiled a lot of evidence indicating that Palm's working on its own Linux-based operating system for smartphones. I don't know if it actually is, but let's speculate irresponsibly for a moment.

Adapting Linux to mobile devices is not as easy as most people think – the OS was created for PCs and servers and doesn't naturally understand concepts like power conservation and limited memory. Palm certainly could be trying, perhaps with help from one of the companies already making working on mobile Linux, but it's not a slam dunk for a company of Palm's size.

We know for sure that Palm is working on a secret new product that's neither handheld nor smartphone. It's also not based on Palm OS, so the software for it must be something different. It could be Windows Mobile, but I'm betting that Palm is creating a new operating system for this new class of device. Would Palm work on two new operating systems at once? I doubt it. So maybe what Palm's doing is creating an OS for its new product category – now far advanced in development – and then adapting that OS to its smartphones as well. That OS might or might not be based on Linux.

If Palm did create its own OS, that would complete the circle of Palm's long, strange evolution – the company would be back under the management of its founders, owning its brand name, and with its own proprietary OS.

Again, I don't know if it'll actually happen, but the idea's kind of poetic, isn't it?

What is Google's search share, really?

It sounds like such a simple question. But like an impressionist painting, the closer you look, the more the image deteriorates.

ComScore says Google accounts for 44% of Internet searches in the US.
Netratings (owned by the Nielsen survey people) says Google's share is 49%.
Hitwise says Google's share is 60%.
says Google's share is 85%.

What the heck is going on?

First of all, no one on Earth knows what Google's actual share is. In order to get that number, you'd have to know the exact number of searches conducted on every search engine on the Internet, and the search companies don't release that data. So various companies are using different methodologies to estimate the number.

Netratings and ComScore monitor panels of people who have web meters installed on their computers (similar to the way Nielsen measures TV ratings). Hitwise aggregates and weights the usage logs from ISPs. Alexa tracks web usage by people who have installed its toolbar.

The methodologies are different, but they shouldn't produce that much of a skew. Part of the disconnect may be due to differences in definitions. When is a search a search? Is it when someone goes to the search site, when they receive results from a search site, or when they actually click through on one of the results?

Alexa says it's measuring click-throughs. It's not clear what the other three are measuring, although I suspect that Netratings and ComScore are tracking searches conducted and not click-throughs. If either of them are just measuring visits to the search page, Yahoo's and MSN's traffic would be padded, because their homepages offer a lot more than a search box.

Even if Hitwise and Netratings are measuring actual searches, I guess it's possible that the average Google search generates more click-throughs than the average Yahoo search. That would explain the Alexa result – although I don't know why people would be more likely to click through on Google.

The disconnect is especially interesting to me because many weblogs report traffic that differs radically from the supposed search engine share. Many of them report more Google traffic than you'd expect from the ComScore and Netratings numbers.

(If you don't have your own website, I should give a little background – blog authors can get statistics showing where every visitor came from. We can't see who you are, but we can see which Internet domain you came from. If you used a search engine, we can see what query got you here and which search engine you used.)

The visitor logs for Mobile Opportunity show interesting trends from time to time. For example, my post on Adobe's plans to expand Flash into a platform got a fair number of readers from Adobe and Microsoft, but many more visits from the Yahoo corporate domain. Hmmmm. And for several months early this year, a lot of people at Motorola.com were searching online for the phrase "rokr failure."

As for which search engine generates the most traffic here, Google is the winner hands down, with 94% of the search engine referrals. MSN has 4%, and Yahoo only 2%. I don't know why that is. Maybe people looking for mobile-related information are more likely to use Google. Maybe Google drives more traffic toward weblogs in general, or specifically to Blogger-based weblogs (Google owns Blogger/Blogspot). Maybe people who do searches on Google are more likely to click through on the results.

Or maybe Google really is as dominant as Alexa says it is.

To test these some of questions, I did identical searches on Google, Yahoo, and MSN. I used "motorola rokr failure" as the search phrase because I knew Google ranked Mobile Opportunity high on that search.

Here are the top ten results for each:

It's remarkable. No web page showed up in the top ten in all three search engines. There is almost no overlap between the top Google and Yahoo results, and MSN has a little bit of each. It's almost as if there were two separate Internets, one being indexed by Yahoo and the other being indexed by Google, with MSN trying to straddle them. I know that's not really the case, but clearly each of the search engines are using very different search algorithms.

I did a few other duplicate searches, and all showed the same sort of diversity. I couldn't spot any obvious biases in any of the engines – for example, Yahoo doesn't seem to be systematically excluding blogs. And I can't say that one search engine's results are objectively better than another's; they all found some good results and some clunkers (seriously, Google – you listed an Overstock auction when you didn't list BusinessWeek?)

So I don't know what's going on, other than that Yahoo's search engine doesn't like me.

I'm sure other people with more time and insight have investigated this issue. Please post a link if you know of a good article on the subject.

In the meantime, hello to all you searchers from Google, and I hope you found the information you needed.

What a difference three years makes

In 2003, Po Bronson wrote an influential article in Wired labeling Silicon Valley the new Detroit. Three years later, the article reads as both visionary and completely off base.

The visionary part was Bronson's prediction that Silicon Valley wouldn't return to being a lifestyle trend-setter.

"It was a new culture that both captured the world's imagination and had it running scared. Rich people in New York felt poor. Smart people in Redmond felt stupid. Producers in Hollywood spoke a whole new lingo. Every Fortune 500 company felt vulnerable to itty-bitty startups. Silicon Valley was an argument in the form of a place. It argued for a new way to live, a new relationship between owners and employees, a new bond between work and play."

Bronson was right in declaring this idea dead. Today you don't find a lot of people around the world who want to live the Silicon Valley lifestyle (or who even believe there is one). Most established companies have gone back to ignoring the tech industry, and the wild parties of the Bubble period seem to be a thing of the past.

But Bronson also predicted an end to the potency of Silicon Valley companies themselves.

"I doubt startups will ever become commonplace again....The hype machine keeps puffing, but the truth is that the pace of change in Silicon Valley is no longer special or extraordinary. In the past few years, Hollywood has been transformed by reality television, which has created new fortunes and new stars. Washington has swapped out an administration of 24,000 Democrats and replaced it with 24,000 Republicans. Wall Street has been altered by new rules governing conflicts of interest. The music and book industries have far more new products running through their pipelines than the tech industry."

Three years on, venture funding hasn't rebounded much, but startups are commonplace anyway. The scope of change in online software is breath-taking, and it feels like we're only scratching the surface of what's to come. Apple has the entire music industry on the run, and a company called Google – not even mentioned in Bronson's article – is re-inventing advertising. High tech isn't necessarily sexy, but it's definitely dangerous. I personally think it's more dangerous than it was at the peak of the bubble in 2000, because the software startups today are much more efficient (enabling a lot of low-cost experiments), and because the rest of the world has turned its back on the industry, allowing surprises to bubble up unnoticed.

I don't want to beat up on Po Bronson; it's more or less impossible to predict the future. But it's good to ask why he was partly right and partly wrong, because that may help us anticipate what's coming next.

Soon after the Bubble burst, it felt like everything associated with it was garbage – the culture, business models, and the technology. It turns out that the bubble culture really was an illusion. Partying every night and jumping jobs twice a year rich turns out to be economically unsustainable, not to mention physically exhausting. And the huge bolus of venture capital that the Valley struggled to digest (and largely wasted) shows no signs of returning.

But the technology was still maturing, and the business models were just getting started. Once the stupid, weedy startups were cleared out, we were left with a crop of extremely efficient new companies, and new technologies and businesses that were just starting to have an impact. That crop is only now starting to flower, and we won't see its full impact until the end of the decade at the earliest. But to me it's already clear that the impact will be enormous.

So, is Silicon Valley dead? Yes, as a cultural icon. But as a disruptive economic force, it was just taking a rest.


text:
Modesliga 2nd Season 4th Session
Date: 18th June 2011
Day: Saturday
Venue: Ara Court

Address :
Lot 997, Jalan Dahlia,
Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara
47400, Pealing Jaya.

Time: 8pm - 11pm

Action Courts: 5 till 10

Click to enlarge

Admission FREE.

All welcome to watch the teams in action.

Thank you and have a modes day.

"Where modes is our priority"

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RedState Gathering: Karen Harrington (R CAND, FL-23 PRI).

There are a bunch of these, particularly of Florida-specific content: early voting has started in the primary, which means that the election is going on right now.  Accordingly… Karen Harrington is running to get the right to challenge Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the general election for FL-23.  I touched base with her at the Gathering about that:

Karen Harrington’s site is here.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: Note, by the way, that these videos will not be of the speakers’ remarks and Q&A sessions; these are the one-on-one interviews I (usually) got in afterwards.

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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Style Icon Secrets

Just a little tidbit for you "The City" fans, this month Olivia Palermo is sharing her daily ensembles with British Vogue. Love what she's wearing and that we get an insight into her wardrobe this month. Visit the "Today I'm Wearing" blog here.

Milltini said...

awesome! i love stuff like this. OP may not be my fav, but ya gotta give the girl credit...she can dress!

MollDoll said...

that she can!


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Saturday, 9 February 2013

Flog It Blog It, Fancy some spaghetti bolog-neighs?

Molly The Wally Barks Out Loud!

Hilarious gags at the expense of those companies involved in the horse meat scandal rocking Britain.

We have recently been shocked by revelations that beef products have been adulterated with horse meat. From burgers to lasagne the scandal continues and more and more products and companies have been affected. Yesterday came further revelations that Findus beef lasagne contained up to 100 per cent horsemeat. This has sparked safety fears among thousands of consumers who have been inadvertently eaten contaminated products.
However despite the seriousness of the whole issue as usual the scandal has given the perfect opportunity for some hilarious gags at the expense of those companies. Bookmaker Paddy Power also joined in the fun, offering odds on which animal would be the next to make its way into Britain's food chain, the favourite being deer at 2/1,I'm putting a tenner on bigfoot!

2/1 Deer
5/2 Donkey
4/1 Dog
6/1 Rabbit
16/1 Squirrel
33/1 Zebra
40/1 Swan
40/1 Greyhound
100/1 Lion
100/1 Penguin
100/1 Bigfoot

So we take a look at who is horsing around on the intermutts!

Anyone for spaghetti bolog-neighs?

You think Tesco Horse Burgers are bad, you should try their Quarter Pandas.’

Told my mate I had a hot date with an Italian Stallion, well it sounds a lot better than saying I'm sitting at home eating a Findus lasagne for one!

Frozen Meat Importers to face more hurdles shocker!

What's the fuss? For years we've been told that Ready Meals contain too much Salt and Shergar!

BREAKING News…….Findus Fishfingers test positive for 60% seahorse!

Horse and Hound, the trade magazine of the French beef sector!

Tesco, everything you want from a store and a little bit mare.’

I selected some burgers on the Tesco website… I then clicked on “add to cart”.’

‘I think someone is trying to kill me. I woke up this morning and found a packet of Tesco burgers had defrosted in my bed.’

I hear that they are putting uniQuorn in the veggie burgers too.’

The scandal continues! What next? We shudder to think? You got to laugh but we also hope it costs these awful companies a lot of green papers.

  1. Lesson: Don't buy process food. Put a fiver on bigfoot for us, too.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & roxy

  2. I'm laughing so hard I can barely type Molly...once again you've brought the cold harsh spotlight of Blogville publicity to an issue of urgent impawtance...Put$10 US on possum for me

  3. Once again the English have the market well stock with "BEEF" products, hope you didn't eat to much and start making nosies like a horse.

    Sus & Bites

  4. Ohoooooooo Molly - can´t stop laughing .....your news and stories are so amazing....can´t fantasy is just running against a big wall....more jokes like this - here we have carnival all over the Rheinland and Cologne - this post is the best.
    Wuff and LG
    Aiko - Alaaaaaf

  5. I am sure there must be a lot of neigh-sayers at these companies....denying it all!

  6. Great post Molly! I hope they all start with a fresh supply of Karma meat!!!

  7. YOU are killing me over here; I am laughing with my full belly (I just ate breakfast) risking an upchuck. YOU ARE TOO MUCH MOLLY! Good heavens, HORSE MEAT? I knew the French used to eat are just a genius with the photo enhancing!

  8. Well I'll be this puts an entirely new twist on being hungry enough to eat a horse. Molly you and your pees find the most interesting stories...and that is why you are my Director of Communications you are in the know and thus we are in the know.
    Hugs your BFFF

  9. Do they sell "Mare Meatloaf"? I to hope that the green papers fly out of their pocket.

  10. Oh Molly, we had a big laugh at these! It is very serious indeed but it seems two
    Legged ones always find humour in these things!!!

  11. I was not aware of this scandal, but must say that your in-depth reporting made me pee my pants with laughter!

  12. Molly you always find the best fun with current events.

  13. Way too funny Molly! That's what Mommy is making for dinner tonight but she's not going to use any horse meat, that's fur sure! We'll have to tell her to check the package of meat in case they try and pull a fast one on us.

    Lily Belle & Muffin

  14. It made me want to be a vegetarian now!!!

  15. Woof! Woof! My mom wished she did not read the articles about horse meat. Many are having a ball on it ... joking about it. Thanks for the laughs Molly. Lots of Golden Woofs, Sugar

  16. FURST.... this is all news to US... we had no Idea..

    SECOND... WTH is that LOL about the PENIS thingy.. WHO would laugh at a PENIS?

    THIRD... What will be next??? Will we learn that Peeps are putting OUR FOODS in THEIR foods??

  17. EEK! Mowzers, those were some *cough* interesting spins on a news item we hadn't heard. Ewwwwwwwwwww......!

  18. Absolutely horrific but typical of human nature to come up with some hilarious jokes around it.

  19. You made the scandal hilarious, Molly! Me and my family sat and laughed our heads off at that! Bologneighs!!!!!!!!! Woof!
    Have a great weekend!
    Pip :D

  20. So funny! Never have I been so glad to be a vegetarian, LOL!
    Lynne x

  21. How awful. Might be a good time to explore being a vegetarian...

  22. Bawhehawhaha... they won't FINDUS in here.... seahorses in the fishfingers - oh Molly you are such an entertainer - I love you! but honestly I hope they will lose a lot of green papers. -EASY RIDER- (I can't comment it says I'm not me)

  23. Were having Devils on Horseback HORSES DOEUVRES tonight! yum!! Betty

  24. Eeek and I also wanted to say you gave Pip and Puddles a fab time yesterday

    urban hounds

  25. There are so many on the Continent that eat horse and think nothing of it.. Thankfully my mum doesn't eat any of the above... not one in the ol frezer either. She would gag on Chicken :-) Nope she doesn't eat that either :-) x x x
    luvs Freya Rose Blossom X

  26. Hay Molly,

    GOOD GOD! Will there be any horses left to run the Grand National this year at Aintree, I fancy the 2.30 at the Findus frozen food section, an each way bet seems fair to me!

  27. Put my money on squirrel, especially since Puddles was just in the UK!

  28. Oh my... that sounds a little disturbing... Glad I've never eaten or heard of those brands before! I ate some rabbit once when I was in Mexico. I thought it was a chicken leg.

  29. To be honest, Wrigs would eat it all regardless of what kind of meat it was, but the human half of this team is more persnickety and doesn't like to eat animals of any kind--especially not horses!

    Susan and Wrigs

  30. So that's what they mean by the whole Filly Mignon thing? Wowzers.
    Mom said when she and Dad lived in Belgium and travelled around, they ended up eating all kinds of things she'd rather forget. Don't get her started on her years in Korea. (shudder)
    PLay bows,

  31. Maybe sometimes it is better just not to know . . . we are going with penguin next! Lee and Phod

  32. Howdy Molly, thanks for the laughs. Wonder if anyone still felt like grazing after they had finished eating? No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

  33. Yep, the equine contretemps you are facing has made the Big Time: 340 million appalled American viewers who want to know who we can sue. What, you guys don't immediately react to problems with "who can we sue?" How strange. The news here is saying the 'mistaken' substitution was 'not an accident.' And how would you ever know whether all the tainted meat had been removed from all the places/products it showed up in? We wouldn't be buying any non-chicken products for about 6 months - maybe more.

    We are curious that Dog is at 4/1 but Greyhound is at 40/1. Did greyhounds get drummed out of the canine species when we weren't looking?

  34. Molly....
    "Spaghetti bolog-neigh"s!! Crack. Me. Up!! ;-D
    "Tesco, everything you want from a store and a little bit mare." I smirked at that one!! ;-D
    Really?! This is horseshit. Whoops!! Did I actually write that expletive?! I do not allow myself to say it!! Now, would you excuse me, Friend. I need to wash my mouth out with soap!! A strong soap!! Hee, hee, hee.... ;op
    Love, Raelyn.... Plus Rose, my BEAUTIFULLY UNIQUE "Mystery Dog"!!

  35. All that horse meat hasn't made me run any faster. Maybe the horses thought if we hide in this Lasagne we won't be found.

    I'm geting a little woried that it might be in dog food aswell, i just asked Sheba if she enjoyed her tea and she said neigh.

  36. Hey Molly!
    Wow, this is horrible news! My peeps love horses, so they are totally bummed to hear this. At least it's good for some the unicorn meat! BOL
    Grr and Woof,
    Sarge, COP

  37. The poor horses! People must be so sad and so sick... just another great reason to be vegetarian, or shop at a local butcher that you trust instead of the big chains.

    I can't wait to see your Valentines day ball gown Molly! Have a great weekend xoxo

  38. NO, not unicorn! That is where we draw the line!!
    Gonna eat more Veg!

  39. Molly, you always have the latest news with a funny twist. We had managed to stay on our chairs until we got to the seahorse in the fish fingers. Now we are rolling on the floor.

    Happy Weekend,
    Cindi Lou & The Kitty Krew

  40. I think I could eat dog meat...and if you'd like to taste it I can send you Barum and Luna, my dear dog siblings...just kidding, poor dogs that I love so much...or not...
    I think Big foot is big enough for everybody!
    Licks from Pink

  41. Molly I love it, thank goodness we shop in Asda in our Family but I guess maybe they could be adding a little big foot or seahorses to their meat too, who knows?? As a dog, I must admit that I would eat pretty much anything! Mum says if its tasty she would probably eat anything too but she draws the line at unicorns, she hears that they are a magical endangered specie! Go figure! BOL!
    Great post Molly, you have to laugh at these crazy companies! Love, Licks and Hugs from your Furiend Frank XxxxxxxX

  42. LOL at least you all can laugh about it. I like the way the Unicorn was in what looks like a Spam container. lol

  43. The whole horse thing is making our tummys turn over... see we live in the Horse Capital of the World, Lexington KY... horses are not in our burgoo, but racing around our tracks making us money.

    We wouldn't mind some unicorn though... :D

    Shelle, Milo, Dixie and Newby,


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Alvin Loeffler
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Loeffler, Alvin
Raymond Sleeth
B: 1943-10-02
D: 2017-12-08
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Sleeth, Raymond
Mary Haidarian
B: 1930-03-25
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Haidarian, Mary
David Cyr
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Cyr, David
Joanne Wesley
B: 1960-02-03
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Wesley, Joanne
Edmond Skibba
B: 1951-06-17
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Skibba, Edmond
MaryAnn Hendryx
B: 1939-05-09
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Hendryx, MaryAnn
Marilyn Goeden
B: 1938-08-30
D: 2017-11-23
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Goeden, Marilyn
William Erwin
B: 1949-01-27
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Erwin, William
Ralph Hetzel
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Hetzel, Ralph
Ferne Ponto
B: 1926-10-06
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Ponto, Ferne
Peggy McKendry
B: 1943-04-01
D: 2017-11-14
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McKendry, Peggy
Rodney Nichols
B: 1953-10-25
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Louis Melotik
B: 1931-11-03
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Albin Janiszewski
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Patricia Schiefer
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Monday, May 31, 2010

Let me outside

This girl loves going outside.  She will standing out the door yelling and yelling.  If a door opens she is out it.

 She wants out so she can do things like drink sitting water.  Oh girlie!

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Cinco de Mayo and veggie tacos...

I realize that Cinco de Mayo is mainly just an excuse for bars to bring in more coeds but I am a little Mexican so I love the excuse to eat a little Mexican food.  Cinco de Mayo snuck up on me this year.  I woke up and realized I had no plans.  A grocery trip later and I was ready.  I made green salsa, steak tacos, beans, rice, guacamole, mango and pineapple and Orchata.  On a whim I invited my buddy Erika and her family.  Dinner was so yummy.
For something different add cabbage, onion, and cilantro.

Green Salsa
Boil 7 tomoteos and 1 cilantro/Anaheim/or jalapeno.
Blend peppers, 1/4 onion, a tomato, a pinch of salt.

Here is a meatless taco version.  Make a salad of shredded cabbage, lettuce, tomato, sliced avocado, cilantro, and mango.  Toss on some olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.  Pretty good.

Pool Fun?

It has been exceptionally hot in the midwest this last week.  Old people dying in unairconditioned homes kind of hot.  The kind of hot that gets national news.  To give the residents some relief, my community opened the pool a couple of days early.  G bear and E were thrilled.  Peach, not so much.  I'd like to think her bad attitude was the result of not having had a nap all day.  Just as likely, she just hates the pool.  Poor girl.  I found the kids suits at TJ Max.  I hadn't been there in years but on a whim decided to check it out.  Three suits including Ezra's swim shirt $30.  Not garage sale prices but didn't break the bank either!

Tiny Girl in a Float

Friday, May 28, 2010

Conjunctivitis, Proof positive my kids are babies...oh wait they are babies!

Pinkeye, a word no mother wants to hear after bringing her kidlets home from nursery.  More than once the kids have picked it up and it has been a nightmare.  The goop, the gunk, the eyes crusted shut in the morning.  Then comes the drops.  All three of my kids make the drops regiment a nightmare.  Kicking, screaming, running, scratching, it takes both Dr. J and me to get the job done.  I used to feel bad for the kids.  I thought wow those drops must really sting.  Last week Dr. J and I both got a sore throat.  He was fine the next day.  Mine moved to my chest, then into my sinuses.  Within a week I had a full blown case of pink eye.  We were pretty sure it was viral but drops were provided to be sure.  I was worried.  I'm not a huge fan of things going in my eyes and the kids behavior gave me pretty strong evidence the drops were going to burn.  Dr. J volunteered to help me out.  I lay down on the bed and put he dropped two drops in the corners of both of my closed eyes.  Then I opened them and started blinking.  I was ready to start screaming, gnashing teeth, kicking my hubby.  And then the truth hit me.  THE DROPS DON'T HURT AT ALL.  NO STING!  NO BURN!  NO NOTHING!  Water splashing in your eye in the shower hurts more.  The drops are like tears, just part of your eye.  The idea of having something put in ones eye, definitely unpleasant, the drops themselves are nothing.  I told all this to Ezra and said, "What is the deal sweetie?"  He laughed and gave me sheepish look and ran upstairs.  Kids, who knows.

Monday, May 24, 2010

What's in the Mail...

Your mail says so much about you. Today's mail...

1) Huggies Coupons. I guess this makes sense. I've been changing diapers on and off again for six years. Can you believe it...SIX YEARS! Oh my! These coupons happened to come with coupons for Huggies "Jeans". I'm sorry but these made me feel a little sick. I'd rather just stick with cute cloth diapers. Also it looks like pigtail girl's mom has been changing diapers for six years as well. Yuck!

2) Fitness Magazine.

3) Classic Kathy Smith Step DVD. Are we seeing a theme here.

4) Ready Made Magazine. I love how funky the ideas are in this magazine. Way too funky for me to actually try out but they are fun to look at.

5) AT&T promotion. They just won't give up.

6) Wells Fargo statement. $16 in a savings account we keep forget to close whenever we are home is the only tie we still have to Utah...oh wait that and our family :)

7) A request from my condo company asking me to bring my drivers license in so they can get a copy. Seeing as this is the third one they've sent out I'd say my mail tells you I'm a procrastinator.

8) A postcard from Grandma and Grandpa Morgan letting us know they renewed their magazines through Ezra's school fundraiser. In the ps section grandpa wrote, "Always remember Transformers more than meets the eye." Funny in laws who love my kids. Aren't I lucky!

9) A credit card statement...containing my mother's day gifts. Lucky my hubby remembered. Married to someone tacky :)

10) And drum roll please...2 U2 Tickets. Ok hopefully this concert is still on. I heard about Bono's emergency surgery. But if it is I can cross off something I've had on my list for 12 years. I'm a lucky girl :)

Chosen (The Lost Books, #1) Chosen by Ted Dekker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked Chosen up at the library because the cover art looked good. I've been reading a lot of young adult/older child fiction recently because the books read fast and I feel like they are about all my overwhelmed mama brain can handle. The story started out great and I really thought it was going to be a winner. Then Dekker brought in some humor in the form of bats. It got a little cheezy. I still think the book was worth reading. Yes the romance is underdevloped and the story is a little simplistic but the main charter was definitely likeable and the basic story line was intriguing. I like the idea of the Forest Guard, fighting off the disease that causes them to become part of the hoard with magical waters and bathing :) Maybe I should read it to my kids to encourage more showers. Chosen is part of a huge series of books that starts with three graphic novels and ends with a whole slew of books following this one. I will not be reading the graphic novels. My mind just doesn't work that way. I can't stand them. I will be checking out the following books least for now.

View all my reviews >>

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Bog Child

Bog Child Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I gave this book a five because when I finished it last night I just couldn't stop thinking about it. It begins in 1981 in a Northern Irish town bordering Southern Ireland. Fergus McCann is the second son, studying for his A level exams, trying to do well enough to leave Ireland and become a doctor. While out gathering peat with his Uncle Tally (Unk), Fergus finds the body of a 2000 year old Iron Age Child.

You have several stories going on. While studying for exams Fergus is falling in love Cora who has come with her mother to study the "Bog Child". He is befriending a soldier from the other side. He is being forced into becoming a runner for the IRA. Meanwhile the McCan family is in an uproar over the fact that Joe, the oldest son and member of the provisional IRA is on jail on a hunger strike. Woven throughout is the life of "Mel" discovered through dreams Fergus has.

After reading a third of the way through the book, I skipped to the end. I just don't handle surprises well and I wanted to know if someone was going to die. Knowing the end I returned, finished the story out and then skipped back to beginning to reread to see if there were clues I missed.

It tells an interesting piece of history. It part historical fiction, part mystery, part coming of age novel. It has a good Irish feel to it. The F bomb gets dropped one time that I remember. There is also a little bit of teenage hormones.

I don't know that this story would be for everyone but it is the kind of story that you finish and you just want someone else to talk about it with. Definitely interesting.

View all my reviews >>

Getting Crayon Out of Washed and Dried Clothes....

Yes it is possible.  I had this horrible moment yesterday.  I pulled my son's light clothes out of the dryer, his white uniform polo shirts,  khaki uniform pants, underwear, socks, his Taekwondo uniform, all of it was marked up with red crayon.  Red crayon also marked up the whole inside of my dryer.  After an initial freak out I decided it was time to clean up the mess.  I used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to clean off the drum of the dryer because my experience has been there is very little Mr. Clean can't clean.  All the red came off easy.  Then I got online to see if anyone had advice about how to get the crayon off the clothes.  What did I ever do before the internet?  Sure enough I wasn't the only person who had ever had a kid sneak a crayon in the wash via pocket, and after scratching any ideas that seemed super tedious (scrapping all the crayon off by hand) or involved ingredients I didn't have (glo be gone) here is what I finally settled on.

1) Put the clothes in the washer, and set the water to hot.  I'm thinking as hot as you can get it to get the wax melting.  If you are worried about your water getting hot enough consider adding a pot of boiling water.  I didn't, but I like things to be easy.
2) Add your laundry detergent (I just used what I had on hand which was All Free and Clear), a 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 4-6 Tbs. of dish liquid (the stuff sitting on your counter that you would wash dishes by hand with).
3) Let the clothes soak for 10-15 minutes.
4) Let the wash run normal.

I followed the instructions but in the back of my mind I thought I was done for.  I just knew all of the clothes were going to have to be replaced.  I was a fool to doubt.  When I pulled out the clothes almost all of the red was gone.  Considering the mess I started with it was a miracle!  Those pieces that were clean I just sent through my newly cleaned dryer.  Their were a few pieces that still had a few traces of crayon on them.  I threw those ones back into the washer and did the process again with them.  Eureka!  Everything was then clean.  Thank you internet!!!

*This post is by far my most popular.  It hasn't worked for everyone but at least three times a month I get an e-mail or a comment from someone saying it saved their bacon, so hopefully it will work for you.  Since the original writing of this post I've had to do this three more times.  I have four kids, am notoriously bad about checking pockets, and find that those crayons from restaurants have a way of sneaking home in pockets.  So far it hasn't let me down.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

My Sister Rocks

We are a family not built for running. I mean really we just don't do it. We come from a long line of sitters. In fact I'm pretty sure one of the main reason that my familia has children is so they have someone to get them a glass of water while they are laying on the couch reading a young adult book. What can I is both genetic and learned. There are the few that choose to buck the trend. Most recently both my cousin and my sister ran marathons. Can I just say that I'm so impressed. I've decided a marathon is like a baby being born. You don't just go out and run it, you train for months, sort of like the months of growing a baby. It is physical work. It takes time. You get stronger everyday. Then you go and do it. Just like a birth it is extremely physical and taxing. It is also an emotional endeavor. My sister said there were multiple times that she just wanted to cry. Then you finish and there is an extreme emotional high. In fact it passes to multiple people. When I talked with my sister I was filled with extreme joy. I was awed by her accomplishment. I knew this goal took dedication. It took time from her family. She was up early mornings training. She got blisters, sore muscles, toe nail damage. At one point she had to quit running because she had strained the tendon. She kept at it. This Saturday all her efforts paid off. She ran the Marathon in just under four hours. Up hills, down hills she kept moving. My sister is amazing. I'm so proud of her!

Angi doing what my family does best :)

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