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On Labor Day weekend, Matt and I traveled back home to Louisville, Kentucky for my older brother Tony’s wedding to the ever-wonderful Anastasia.  Weddings are always so much fun and we love seeing all the family and friends that come into town to celebrate a new family.

Wedding day started off bright and early with hair appointments!

Her dress was absolutely beautiful!

My sisters, Claire and Natalie, showing off the flower girl flower bundles.

Here are Anastasia’s shoes. Now, this is a good story. So, their wedding happened to be on the same day as the big UofL/UK football game and oddly enough, most of her family members are big Kentucky fans and our family roots for Louisville. She had shoes dyed blue for her “something blue”, but since UK’s colors are blue and white and she is a big UofL fan, she had one of her friends draw this on the bottom of the shoes to show a little Cardinal pride.

Mona getting all dolled up!

Now, we depart from my pictures and into some photos that I borrowed from Facebook. Since I was in the wedding, I didn’t have a chance to take any pictures during the wedding or the reception.

The wedding ceremony was at Our Lady of Lourdes in Louisville.

Here’s the entire wedding party. It was a big group!

Now, for those of you who don’t know, I have two sisters and four brothers ranging in age from 26 to 6. And we were all in the wedding. My poor mother.

But, it turned out to be a beautiful day. The weather was perfect and everything fell into place.

The reception was at the Starks building in downtown Louisville on the atrium floor. It was a courtyard converted into an indoor room, so we were surrounded by buildings and the ceiling was glass which meant lots of natural light.

The awkward sweet tradition of tangling arms while drinking champagne.

To satisfy the family members who gave up their tickets to the game, Tony and Anastasia had the game on in the corner. Unfortunately, the Cards lost the game. But, hey, at least we scored!

It was a beautiful day and we are so blessed to have Anastasia as a sister! Congrats Tony and Anastasia!

Wedding and Reception photos taken from here and here.

Well, I just don’t have time to put up the first dining room post today, so I thought I would let you have a look see at the European Excursion that Matt and I took a few years ago.

We started in New York, visiting some of our dear friends, Greg and Lynn, who were living in Long Island at the time.

We hit all the New York stops: a show on Broadway, Starbucks, Central Park, the Apple Store. Good times. Then we caught a flight to Athens!

That picture is of an olive tree and the Acropolis above it. Did you know that olive trees can live basically forever? There are olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane from the time of Jesus! Athens was pretty cool and everyone was super nice to us obvious American travelers.

We then boarded a cruise ship to take a tour of the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea.  First stop, Cairo by way of the port in Alexandria.

Besides being massive, the pyramids are pretty much what you would expect. It was a little strange to see cars just parked all around them with the occasional camel walking by.

Next up, the Holy Land. We visited Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes, and these places:

The Holy Land was amazing, but we were not able to spend nearly enough time there. Hopefully we’ll be able to go back sometime!

After Israel, we hit up a few more stops in Greece including Rhodes and Santorini and Ephesus, Turkey. By the way, Greece was by far the most beautiful country we visited, Santorini in particular.

St. Paul’s Bay (Rhodes)

After the beautiful country of Greece, we stopped at the not so pretty country of Tunisia, in Africa. If you’ve never heard of the country, do not be alarmed, neither had we. Apparently their claim to fame is having been the location where George Lucas decided to film Tatooine. We also saw these spices at an open market that was otherwise a bit scary.

We learned later that there is terrorist activity in Tunisia. We still can’t figure out why the cruise ship decided to have Gabes, Tunisia as a cruise stop.

Anyway, our next stop was Malta. A tiny tiny country south of Italy, Malta was so refreshing after being in Tunisia!

This is part of their port.  It was beautiful! Did you know that Malta is the most Catholic country in the world? They are 98% Catholic.

On our way to Rome, we floated past the active volcano Stromboli, near Sicily:

After the cruise ended, we stayed in Rome for a week. I think that we would have stayed in Italy for a month if we could have.  The center of our culture and religion is in Rome, the food is divine, and we were surrounded by so much culture that one week was just not enough time to take it all in.

Here’s St. Peter’s Square from the top of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Colosseum:

And what trip to Rome is complete without hanging out with the Pope?

After Rome, we headed back home to Louisville, Kentucky for a family visit, just in time for Halloween with my youngest brothers and sisters.

This trip home also marked Matt’s first ever solo pumpkin carving experience.

We were disappointed proud of him.

Overall it was a fantastic trip!

Next up, Dining Room, Take 1!

As many of you know, this is the week before the Kentucky Derby. Matt and I are hosting our 2nd Derby Party this year, the first one at our house. While it is very exciting, the preparations for the party are also exhausting. So, this week I thought I would share some of my past Derby experiences with you.

If you live in Louisville, you have to go to the Derby at least once in our life. In 2006, I had the opportunity to go. But, since I was a poor college student, I could only afford the infield (still expensive at $40!).  Look, there are the twin spires!

Look how crowded it was! If you squint, I’m sure you can see someone really famous like Nick Lachey in Millionaire’s Row. (I actually don’t even know which on is Millionaire’s Row!).

There were lots of people dressed in strange get-ups trying to get the attention of the local media. Like this guy dressed as a jockey…and his horse.

When it came down to it, it was hot and there was no shade. We had to arrive super early in order to get a piece of grass and we all couldn’t get up at the same time because we might lose our spot of grass. There were lots of drunk people and this was the closest we got to see the horses:

We watched most of the actual Run for the Roses on the big screens and stood on tippy toe to see the horses whoosh by. It was wonderful to experience once, but I’m not sure I would go back to the infield for the Derby.

The best part of the day were these folks.

Some of my besties from back home. This was just a few weeks before I moved away from Louisville to Florida.  It’s hard to believe that was 4 years ago! We weren’t even old enough to order Mint Juleps! I miss them dearly!

Tomorrow, I’ll share with you how we brought the Derby fun to all of our Florida friends. They didn’t know what they were missing!

Past Posts

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La Fenetre Soleil’s Thursday night actually put an end to the severe mood swing that I had suffered from earlier that day, and was obviously a start to such a great weekend ….

My weekend trophies:
_ Friday dinner with bé Vân: Chinese dumplings in Hà Tôn Quyền – district 6 are the best!

_ 1 new necklace with 3 big green beads
_ 1 new pair of ear rings
_ 2 DVDs: One is to prepare me for the coming Pirates of the Carribean 3
_ 1 bright turquoise pullover to spare a casual day and 1 white cotton shirt with green beads … I showed them to daddy, and here’s what he said “Geez, your taste and my taste share nothing in common” … oh dear, the shiny sparkling beads alone are so cải lương, but the top itself isn’t that sến … I’m already too into green to care too much … I always thought Parkson sales and Diamond sales were the worst … Well, it doesn’t seem true anymore …. even though, every once in a while, it would be quite terrifying to know the Noir dress my friend bought from Parkson sales at half its marked price is actually an Everich dress which is being offered in all Everich stores at only 1/3 of what my friend had to pay. It’s ugly to know that prices are are marked up way too high in the only two department stores of Saigon and some of the products are not the so-called “branded” things everybody think they are Oh well, I couldn’t care more.

_ Saturday dinner with mom, auntie and cousin: Yeebo is one of the best hot pot places in town

_ and the list ends here with the tiny little things that matter:
* A chubby confession
* A three-digit number that appeared on the electronic scale last night … One simple calculation …. I lost 1.35kg, hahaha, target number 1 of this month achieved in less than 1/3 of the duration allowed.
* A lot more comments on my new hair …
1,2,3 ... click

Sunday plan: Watching Sài Gòn Nhật Thực with Heo and Cún in the afternoon … My movie brother already gave a warning that we wouldn’t be able to stop laughing not because it’s a great comedy, but because it’s a bad storyline that cannot be any worse … hahaha …

Late Sunday night:
Sài Gòn Nhật Thực was replaced by some other movies which didn’t attract us too much …

_ Window shopping in Parkson for an air-coned walk … hahaha …. After I talked Heo into buying a new makeup removal tint and a tube of silky mask, we crossed the street to Eden Mall … Our first stop was this Diana store right at the entrance … At a glance, I saw a bunch of clothes marked with 990,000VND price tags from Diamond Plaza. Outdated! Heo grabbed a gray hat nearest to her and put it on her head …. Umm, it was neither great nor ugly … “How much is it” “990,000VND” “Looks like every single item here costs 990,000VND” This is when one of the four shop assistants sneaked in our conversation “Most of them cost a few billion dong. 990,000 items are promotional ones” Darn, you’re a real rude shop assistant – customer service equals zero. “Heo, let’s leave this place” …

_ Snail early supper: As Cún joined us, we headed off to a snail place in Bình Thạnh …. It wasn’t the best snail place and we missed out a chance to try ốc bàn tay, hanging out with Cún and Heo is always so much fun …

And Heo finally bought enough from Triumph to exchange for its umbrella promotion gift … We also got Heo a pinky hat from a seller we passed by on the way back … 30,000VND … a real bargain for something that would last beyond this summer …

After leaving Cún and Heo, I took mommy to buy flat shoes for my sis in Phú Nhuận district … It was the best deal ever for two pairs of shoes: one for sis, one for mommy … I’d probably have to pay 1.5 times of this price for these two pairs in a store in district 3. On the way back, we stopped by BUD’s ice cream: 1 scoop for me, 1 scoop for mom, and 1 tint for dad. Sweet end for a Sunday.

But my Sunday didn’t end there … I can’t wait for Thúy to come back here … She got an air chair for me, something that can replace the bean bag on my wish list …. Oh dear ….

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Adobe Dreamweaver CS6 12.1 Crack [2018]

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Opendoor is an online home-selling service aimed at streamlining the sales process down to a few days. The Company works hard to understand what consumer's home is worth, and makes it easy for them to sell their home for a competitive price. Opendoor is helping clients find and seamlessly buy their dream homes.
Company Growth (employees)
San Francisco, US
Size (employees)
412 (est)+4%
Opendoor was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in San Francisco, US

Key People/Management at Opendoor

Eric Wu

Eric Wu

Gautam Gupta

Gautam Gupta

JD Ross

JD Ross

Ian Wong

Ian Wong

Evan Moore

Evan Moore

General Manager

Opendoor Office Locations

Opendoor has offices in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas and Scottsdale
San Francisco, US (HQ)
116 New Montgomery St
Dallas, US
1440 Regal Row
Scottsdale, US
6360 E Thomas Rd

Opendoor Financials and Metrics

Opendoor Financials

Opendoor's revenue was reported to be $200 m in 2017 which is a 300% increase from the previous period.

Revenue (Y, 2017)

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USDY, 2016EY, 2017E

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Opendoor Operating Metrics

Opendoor's Customers was reported to be 6.2 k in 2017
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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Curiosity plays Liege, Belgium on Nov. 18th

"Last week I've seen the Belgium Cure cover band, they are absolutely great, and have another show scheduled on 18/11 in Liege, Belgium (concert hall "Le Tipi"). Infos here. This is really worth it, and their sound is really close to our fav band. Here is a vid from last week." (Thanks Eric)

  1. These guys are better than good. I like the fact that the singer actually plays guitar too.

  2. I'll be there...

    the 15th in London for Reflections by the Cure and the 18th for Trilogy by Curiosity.
    What a beautiful week :-)


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Archive for September, 2014:

Trunk updates, 30 September 2014

Hi crawlers! It’s been a while, but now that the tournament is over, the 0.16 season has kicked off with a bang. Here’s what’s new so far in trunk!

  • New god: Ru the Awakened, a new temple god, lord of sacrifice and power!
    • Periodically offers the player a choice of three permanent sacrifices in exchange for piety. All abilities scale with piety; piety never decreases.
    • Leaving Ru incurs no wrath, but leaves all your sacrifices in place (permanently).
    • 1*: Enemies may fail to attack you, or even attack each other or themselves instead.
    • 2*: Enemies that hurt you may be punished with status effects.
    • 3*: Draw Out Power: restore health and mana to yourself, break free of webs and constriction, and cure confusion and petrification. Inflicts minor self-drain and exhaustion.
    • 4*: Power Leap: Blinks you three tiles and deals high AOE damage at your destination. Costs exhaustion.
    • 5*: Apocalypse: Deals very high damage to all monsters in LOS and inflicts statuses. Costs heavy drain and exhaustion.
  • Monster changes:
    • Mermaids have been renamed to sirens; sirens have been renamed to merfolk avatars.
    • Mimics now cackle and vanish (forever) when discovered. This optimizes their psychological damage potential (PDP).
    • The Serpent of Hell is considerably tougher; it now has three heads which can attack and/or breathe separately, and can also summon (dragon-shaped) backup.
    • Mnoleg now has a pair of tentacles, acting similarly to eldritch tentacles.
    • New monster: elemental wellsprings, appearing in Cocytus. They fire powerful waves of water which produce hostile water elementals – but deplete their own ‘health’ in the process.
    • New monster: bennu, the divine phoenix, appearing in Tomb. Attacks with fire, draining, and holy; when killed, explodes into ghostly flame and instantly returns to life (once).
    • Curse skulls now move – fast!
  • Completing a ziggurat (by exiting from the top floor, zig:27) makes all subsequent zigs harder. Dare you face the terror of the Megazig?
  • Ziggurats now only require two runes to enter, instead of three.
  • A Hall of Blades area (not branch) is now guaranteed on Elf:2.
  • Demigods now gain one stat of their choice on 2/3 levels (2,3,5,6…26,27), instead of gaining one stat of their choice on every third level and one random stat on every other level.
  • All species can now choose ‘unarmed’ when playing backgrounds that allow a weapon choice.
  • Necromutated characters can now memorize spells normally, even ones that undead characters are unable to cast.
  • Dragon Form now provides a spell power & success chance enhancer for Dragon’s Call.
  • The captain’s cutlass is now +5 (was +10) and can disarm enemies.
  • TSO’s Divine Shield no longer benefits from Shields skill.
  • Zin’s Hell effect protection has been halved; it now caps out at a 50% chance to block the terrors of Hell at max piety, down from 100%.
  • Zin’s Recite is now more effective at very low Invocations.
  • A third page has been added to the god description (^) screen, listing causes and effects of divine wrath.
  • Some effects (Shatter, banishment, etc.) now display animations.
  • Stealth is now displayed as a bar in the % screen. (The old ‘stealth words’) are still visible with @.)
  • Monsters no longer appear on the minimap.
  • The init file now allows you to specify an arbitrary monster tile for your character to be displayed as. Play as the Royal Jelly you always knew you were!
  • Porcupine-shaped players now have blood.

Happy crawling!

More fanart!

I have had the luck to receive some great contributions lately, which I immediately added to the Crawl Art page. This time we get one very busy minotaur, an overlord and, a novelty, miniatures!

As usual, if you made some Crawl fanart yourself, or know someone who did, then do not hesitate to contact me (either by email or by tavern message).

Many thanks to all the contributors, and may your inspirations run free!

0.15 Tournament Results

The 0.15 tournament is over. For 16 days, players could compete for tournament points and banners by playing 0.15 games on the public servers.

For the second tournament in a row, the winning player was Tolias, with 7940 points. Over the course of the tournament Tolias won an record-breaking 26 games, many of them with Nemelex’s Choice species/background combinations. In second place was Yermak, with 7156 points and 17 wins. Yermak received 17 of the 20 Tier III banners, more than any other player. In third place was johnnyzero, with 6975 points and 17 wins, including the second-longest streak in the tournament (7 games).

The fastest wins in the tournament were achieved by Bloax (turncount, 13320 turns with a VSTm of Cheibriados) and perunasaurus (realtime, 1h 11m with a MiBe). tlatlagkaus had the highest score, 42M points with a VSBe. ebarrett had the longest streak, of 10 games. Snack was the only player to attain Tier III of Lugonu’s banner, The Heretic. Both the first victory of the tournament and the victory in the tournament with the latest start were claimed by perunasaurus.

The clan competition was won by knock knock knocking on holy pans door (28664 points). HuAs Priest (27291 points) and AWBW – SpannLords (18656 points) were second and third respectively. There were 127 clans in all.

The tournament ended with one more record: 106 wins on a single day! (Note that this page only lists 100 wins due to time zones.) Here are some assorted statistics on the tournament games (with quits removed), compared with the 0.14 tournament (in parentheses):

Players with at least one game: 2326 (2318)
Players with at least one game to reach XL 9: 1527 (1589)
Players who got a rune: 743 (787)
Players who won a game: 370 (325)
Total wins: 992 (743)
Win %: 1.71% (1.31%)
Total player time: 33903 hrs (35858 hrs)
Avg player time: 14.6 hrs (15.5 hrs)
Proportion of players using webtiles: 85.1% (80.4%)
Proportion of winners using webtiles: 76.0% (70.6%)

0.15.1 bugfix release

Hi crawlers:

With the tournament now over comes another long-standing Crawl tradition – the release afterwards containing all of the bugs found and fixed during the tournament, 0.15.1:

  • Assorted crash fixes.
  • Monsters don’t benefit from player throwing skill.
  • Monsters no longer flee at random on re-entering a level after a short time.
  • Several messages correctly no longer appear for out-of-sight monster actions.
  • Dithmenos’ stealth bonus works properly again.
  • Several spell icons that missed the initial 0.15 release.

Builds for most platforms are now available over at the downloads page.

Happy Crawling!

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text:
Forum wear

Thank you for visiting our website! Below you will be able to find the answer to Forum wear crossword clue which was last seen on Eugene Sheffer Crossword, December 7 2017. Our site contains over 2.8 million crossword clues in which you can find whatever clue you are looking for. Since you landed on this page then you would like to know the answer to Forum wear. Without losing anymore time here is the answer for the above mentioned crossword clue:

We found 11 possible solutions in our database matching the query Forum wear

Possible Solution

"Forum wear" in other crosswords:
Puzzle Solution
Eugene Sheffer November 16 2017 TOGA
Eugene Sheffer August 19 2017 TOGA
Eugene Sheffer June 16 2017 TOGA
Eugene Sheffer May 31 2017 TOGA
Eugene Sheffer April 5 2017 TOGA
Thomas Joseph March 29 2017 TOGA
Eugene Sheffer January 24 2017 TOGA
Thomas Joseph January 20 2017 TOGA
Universal October 9 2016 TOGA
Eugene Sheffer September 17 2016 TOGA

Want to know where TOGA has appeared as a solution before? Click here for more information on that word.

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Eugene Sheffer Clues September 17, 2016

God of war
Cold and damp
Leslie Caron film
Send forth
Oil cartel
Calendar abbr.
Fishing gear
Missile shelter
Church game handouts
Making all the stops
Actress Adams
401(k) alternative
"Hi, sailor!"
French Mrs.
Soviet space station
Bakery buy
Office notes
Percussionists beat them
Skin soother
Roof overhang
Forum wear
Mother of Zeus
Lion's share
Roofing goo
Beach blanket?
TV host Kelly
Util. bill
Ship's hospital
Asian noodles
Yucatan year
Endearing, as a smile
Inventor Nikola
Large store
British "Inc."
Like Abner
Xbox enthusiast
Bond foe
Gentle soul
Buckeye State
Deep-fried franks
Corn Belt locale
Bothers persistently
"The Bells" author
2001, to Cato
Milk dispenser
Divisible by two
Cash dispenser
PBS funder

Type in your clue and hit Search!

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Monthly Archives: February 2011

SustainACTIVITY: A rockin’ clothing swap for Spring! This Saturday 2/26

Why buy when you can save?  Why shop when you can swap?  Yay, Ms. Sallome Hralima brings her famed clothing swap back to the block!  And she has a nifty promo video for it, too (see below on the “more’ … Continue reading

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Factory farming on the famished road: Africa & Animal Welfare

Check out this video post, courtesy of, a vegan, animal rights website: Africa Animal Welfare Action Conference. It discusses the intensification of factory-style animal farming in Ethiopia.  This may come as no surprise to anyone following the encroaching of … Continue reading

Posted in Food Justice | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Agave, A-go-away!!!

No wonder my sugar cravings haven’t dissipated!  I’ve been eating agave!  Turns out that agave may cause negative health affects similar to high fructose corn syrup!  OMG.  Somebody give me some raw honey—quick.  Apparently this is about as raw a … Continue reading

Posted in Good Food & Recipes | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Picture this Peak Planet

This dandy chart visualizes the kind of limits we’re pushing on the planet–right, about, now.  By Christian Guthier, via Creative Commons.

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SustainACTIVITY: Architectural design show, anyone?

JUGAAD URBANISM:  Resourceful Strategies for Indian Cities At the Center for Architecture, NYC until MAY 21, 2011 (Please share with me any design show highlights you come across!) A friend put me on to the opening night of this exhibit … Continue reading

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Healer & husband foster sustainability model site in Illinois

Just heard about a sustainable living farm and building site in Pembrook, Illinois, called the Black Oak Center.  Through their work, they are demonstrating how a “back to the land” effort can truly enrich communities with good health, and that … Continue reading

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text:
Chariho School Parents’ Forum

What is Chariho School Parents’ Forum

A meeting place for Chariho parents and taxpayers – managed by Bill Felkner, Hopkinton representative on the Chariho Regional School Committee.

The views expressed on the blog represent the personal views of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views or position of the Chariho Regional School District or Chariho School Board. Any opinions, recommendations, statements, or other information or content presented or disseminated are those of the respective author(s), who are solely responsible for their content.

Visit the Links and National News sections at

You can contact me at

  1. What the blazes is the new bond issue all about that is legal and well thought out? Certainly not one I can support for the following reasons:
    1. The illegal act of adding a new “school” (RYSE) which is against the CHARIHO ACT.
    2. The current thinking that the BOND is the vote at which voters will “approve” RYSE
    3. The expectation that the taxpayers will allow the school committee to pprove, WITHOUT A BID certain services, stating that we have only a “single, approved licensed source” for this “model”? WHY? WHO set up this “model”? WHO licenses the providers? The “single source” model? WHY do we HAVE to use this care model for services? How much more then other care mode4ls does this cost? Is the cost woth it? Now I know that it would be nice to have a flat screen TV, send my kids to Harvard or Yale, but I can’t afford it! So, when looking at all of the other cost outlays I have, I will stick to my old TV, and the kids will go to a less expensive college. I also have to pay the rent and taxes, so I can’t afford all that I want. Shouldn’t that be the same for the school district???
    4. Which one of the 57 administrators FORGOT to tell the building committee where the well for water is? NOW, after all the palns have been drawn up, it is found that a new building is scheduled to go right where the well is! BUT, if you listen to CHARIHO, that is OK, we’ll just drill a new well! WHERE? Through the five or six feet of oil contamination?

    Hopkinton is going to be like Humpty Dumpty soon…..All the 57 CHARIHO administrators horses and all the 57 CHARIHO administrators men will not be able to put Hopkinton togeteher again. We will all be BANKRUPT! The only thing left will be school buildings, serving “acceptable”, top of the swamp expectations with the most expensive RYSE costs in the state!

    Comment by Georgies Mom — May 20, 2007 @ 12:02 pm | Reply

  2. 🙂

    Comment by bibomedia — March 4, 2008 @ 2:59 pm | Reply

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Go Color Your World With Hope!

2016 is like a white canvas before us! It’s a challenging year ahead for everyone.  There are tough decisions to be made as our country faces another presidential election and new threats to our safety and peace. There is debris from 2015 still to sort through and put right even as threat of more upheaval looms heavy on the…

Steady On

Love this post I found on facebook shared by Broken Believers. Photo credit: One step at a time…sometimes shaky steps. We sang a song (from the first chapter of the book of Joshua) at a church I attended many years ago that pops into my head at some critical moments… “Be strong and courageous do…

Faith Grows In The Midst

I saw this on Facebook and hope it is okay to share it here.  I couldn’t have written it better. It is what I have lived and how I have survived…prevailed!…through some very dark and painful circumstances.  You can do this! Find more at Simple Reminders.

Reflections from Settled Street

Originally posted on dinkelislandsmalltalk:
I walked today on a street called “Settled.”  The early sun cast long shadows across the road.  Houses were tidy with manicured lawns and decorative flags.  Birds tweeted busily among the bushes and trees.  A light breeze brushed my cheek.  It felt good to be on Settled Street today. Sometimes I…


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What It Is Always Usually Like To Put Together A Vegetable Garden

In case you begin try to learn just how to plant your own personal garden, we really should start slowly. If you feel compelled a place that is certainly certainly 25 to 30 square foot, that is certainly plenty of room for 30 plants, that’ll be a ideal plant bed. This amount of room will be not too small so that you can see for those a green fingers, but isn’t so big that you’ll burn out belonging to the work. When you understand that gardening is designed you, we can make it bigger.

The perfect place for the brand new garden, should be exactly where payday advances be at minimum 6 hours of sunlight. Be sure that the garden isn’t too next to large trees since they can take nutrients off from the plants. You must also have about three feet of room through the building or fences for any garden. As soon as you reside inside an area that is frequently hot, you might need the plants beneath many shade. The garden can still do well in warm weather on condition that the vegetation is proven to grow in extreme temperatures. We do know people in business who seem to have a closed mind when it comes to something new such as a method for marketing or advertising, and they are leaving a lot of money behind as a result. You will be positioning your self for the greatest gains with this simple approach. If you have tried and tested outdoor pillows in your business, then how did that go for you? Only you know, in the end, what is best for your business; even though we have encouraged you to have an open mind and test.

patio cushions is distinctive because it is a powerful phenomenon affecting millions of people. Perhaps you have seen this at some time or another throughout the course of your day. When you start reading more, you will understand all that is concerned and it could surprise you. Given that, people have seen enough so they do have a handle on it even if they tend not to understand all of it. Not only that, but it is entirely natural and usual to want to find what you are looking for. That is why we want to provide you with some appropriate tips about this topic, and with any luck , they will help you in the future.

If you do lose money on some lame method that does not work, then you have learned a valuable lesson and just move on. Actually, one very smart move for newbies is to buy slow and do a lot of reading and asking questions, if possible, about whatever it is. There are many marketers who deal with beginners and these businesses are honest and legitimate, but it is the small percentage who are not honest that cause perception problems. What we are writing about in this article is well known and without question, but you still really have to discover more in order to get the most out of it. If you stay in IM long enough, then you will encounter unsavory people at some point, and then this is when your diligence will save you. Having good soil happens to be necessary for your garden but that will be a thing that is improved. But what also is recommended to ward off from places that are rocky, or steep to where water pools.

Once you program as well as prep your own garden, it is easy to begin digging in the birthday dirt and begin developing a good time. Types of you would definitely imagine, gardening is actually a very dirty hobby. In case you start planting, you will would like to remove any kind of debris, grass, weeds or perhaps rocks. When who is completed, dig up in regards to a foot deep of ground, make it level then add plenty of minerals or compost just to make sure. If necessary, start adding some lime any time you find the soil is acidic as well as add some peat moss if you agree the soil is simply too sandy. Introducing a few fertilizer will probably help your plants grow well neutral to acidic soil. Follow the directions, in the event you purchase seeds to plant. When selecting plants instead, get ones that are fitted with wholesome roots, and instead gives off and stems, that can be green as well as healthy lookin. Whenever planting, we should get the little sized plants growing right in front while the bigger ones are growing inside of the back. You should plant as soon as the frosts are fundamentally over. Whenever growing seeds, the package will deliver you good instructions on when you plant. As soon as you planted everything, you’ll be wanting to be guaranteed to provide the correct amount of water to each plant. Situation you lack many plants, we can simply water by way of a sprinkler possibly a bucket of water. Because you happen to deliver your watering with the cooler components of when real, it will possibly be more effective. The correct way much water is required depends on the rose, but most need approximately an inch of water pay for. Throughout the hotter climates, the plants can require as much as 3 x a week. Now it is simply a point of watching your own plants grow.

Everybody is caught off-guard at one time or another with new areas of information, much like outdoor gazebo, because they walk away feeling like there is so much more. Even though the points encompasse a potentially vast scope, there are always details that exist and which you should never overlook.

Plus it is true that the amount of overlapping smaller yet related areas will reveal much more in the end. But do not feel shy about exploring anything that you feel may shed more light on this. Then, since you know it is important, simply drill down to discover more about it.

In the end, though, this is clearly your option to pursue or not.

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Armed and Ready to Battle the Ever Evolving Adversary

In the second quarter of this year, cybercriminals tried to inject more than 1 million malware programs into financial companies worldwide, a 50 percent jump from the same period in 2015. ~Kaspersky Lab

Financial services firms will need the highest increase in security spending to avert cyber attacks. Financial services companies face a “13-fold rise to $292.4 million per company in cyber security spending to fend off 95% of cyber attacks.” ~Deloitte Transforming Cybersecurity in the Financial Services Industry report

54% of businesses surveyed had come under attack from ransomware in the last 12 months. The survey contacted 540 companies, and it found that the most commonly targeted types of business were in the healthcare or finance industries. ~ An Osterman research survey

Indonesia is ranked second among countries where cyber attacks are launched and is the most prone to cyberattacks. The most alarming fact is that in 2015 there was a four-fold increase in cybercrimes from 2014. ~Office of the Coordinating Minister, Indonesia

The average number of attacks against financial services institutions is four times higher than that of companies in other industries. Adversaries are constantly changing their attack strategies, so that cyber security leaders need to be always vigilant and watchful for the next threat. In this dynamic landscape, we must make certain that we are adaptable even in challenging situations, and look for solutions that are preventive rather than reactive.

2017 Speaker Faculty

View All Speakers

Key Topics To Be Addressed in 2017 Include:

  •  Unmasking the enemy and understanding their intentions
  •  Understanding the current cyber threat landscape and next generation adversaries in financial services: What do you need to be prepared for?
  •  Effectively managing risks and driving innovation in the fight against cyber crime
  •  Are your people the weakest link? Explore strategies for managing up and down to positively impact the workforce
  •  Strategies to protect your organisation against APT
  •  Building a cyber security strategy that is agile and leverages technologies to effectively respond to cyber attacks
  •  Hacked! Building an effective response strategy
  •  Effectively balancing security risk management and business enablement
  •  Combating malware and ransomware threats facing financial institutions today

Reasons to attend

Highly interactive program that facilitates real outcomes from peer-to-peer engagement. Meet with senior vendor representatives for outcomes-based discussion. Avoid harassment from junior sales reps

Build your network of APAC business leaders within cyber security and risk

Destination-location ensures everybody is there to network, not to attend for a few hours and then leave for external business

Case studies from a cross-spread of APAC regions and the specific financial sector allow you to draw the most relevant ideas from your peers

What Our Past Attendees Had to Say

Invitation Only

  • Heads of Risk, Security and IT only
  • Meet Heads of Security from vendors
  • Thought-leaders in APAC cyber security

Request an Invitation

Highly interactive

  • Size and location facilitate networking
  • Discussion-based sessions, not lectures
  • Pre-profiled one-to-one business meetings

Why Attend?

Not your standard conference

  • 5 star resort venue
  • Smaller audience facilitates better networking
  • Customize your itinerary

The Exchange Format


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Settling in with New Generation Wines

An evolving discovery…sometimes all it takes is a framework to see the full picture.

Activities come and go, with steady change on the forefront

Spring 2016 on the island has been a busy one in a positive way, with events abroad, wine competitions, MW visits, tending to the vines, attending local tastings, maybe a new label launch, adverse weather…etc  and before you know it, its harvest again with 2 to 3 weeks advance nonetheless.

It’s go! #CyHarvest15 Kala Krasia


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Ezousa Winery

Ezousa Winery in the western region of Paphos best embodies the drive behind upcoming wineries willing to challenge existing wine culture in tune with customer changing tastes without compromising  indigenous grape varieties such as Maratheftiko and Xynisteri.

michalis constantinides ezousa winery

Under the leadership of Michalis Constantinides and a consolidated market presence in Cyprus, the Ezousa wines have become a bastion of enduring quality as mythical river from which the winery takes it’s name.

Wines from Ezousa Winery

Ezousa Xynisteri white 2012

Ezousa Xynisteri

Ezousa Eros Maratheftiko Rosé Wine

Ezousa Eros Rosé

Ezousa Eros Maratheftiko Red Wine

Ezousa Metharme Maratheftiko

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Tag Archives: Ruel Bayani

My one and only “One More Try” rant

I can’t believe One More Try is going to be the last movie I’ll see for 2012. Where do I begin talking about this movie? Summing up all this madness seems like a good start. The movie starts with a montage sequence between a long-haired Dingdong Dantes and Angel Locsin frolicking around Baguio City. It’s a typical boy-meets-girl sequence with playful, cheery music that begins with their eyes meeting across the park and ends with the two having sex in front of the fireplace. Then cue the title, “One More Try” that appears onscreen in a slinky cursive font. Oh you know it’s gonna be THAT type of film.

End montage sequence and we now see a huge house somewhere in Metro Manila. Cut to a very modern looking bedroom with Dingdong Dantes in his underwear, this time with shorter hair to indicate the passage of time because having long hair, apparently, is a thing of the past. He is now happily married to Angelica Panganiban, a successful career woman whose work involves vague things like having to wear over-accessorized “I am woman” power suits while saying things like ‘we closed the deal’ or ‘agency’  hell I can’t even remember. Anyway the point is, Dingdong and Angelica are the ideal couple (we witnessed this in their brief harutan moment in the start before it all went downhill) but the problem is Angelica can’t conceive a child (even if her swelling belly is very obvious haha kidding, i love that she’s full-figured). Moving on now–

Back at Baguio, we now meet Angel Locsin who is a single mother. And since they live in Baguio, their clothes and every decorative item in their house is either made with aztec prints or woven cloth or covered in shiny varnished wood. Of course, Angel’s boyfriend, Zanjoe Marudo, also happens to work in some kind of wood sculpting shop. Now the conflict arises when we find out that Angel’s 5-year-old son ( WITH DINGDONG!! big shocker), Buchok/Bochoy/Bockchock/Bokchoy is diagnosed with some kind of bone marrow disease along with his ever-apparent staring-into-space-syndrome. Seriously, this kid cannot act and why he was named after a vegetable, I have no idea. Cue the flashbacks from Angel’s visit to her OB/GYN Carmina Villaroel who says that it’s only a matter of time before poor Bokchoy dies from his strange bone marrow disease. I wish I had paid attention for the name of the actual disease to do more research on it because it seems that the only solution anyone could think of was for Angel Locsin and Dingdong Dantes to have sex again to create another human being, take his bone marrow and use it to cure dying Bokchock. Sorry for that long sentence, my editor will kill me. There’s so much stupidness that I can just go on and on.

End flashback scene with OB/GYN and now we see Angel Locsin on her way to Dingdong Dantes’ fancy electronics store (you can see that he owns the shop by the way he stands in the middle of everything making phone calls with the earpiece he has to indicate his power!! Cos only important people own them , yes??– sorry i’m getting carried away). Angel tells him hi and hello and after some pleasantries she drops the bomb and says her kid is diagnosed with bone marrow disease (the more I type bone marrow, the more I’m starting to crave bulalo). Dingdong says OK and makes a phone call to his wife and later on that evening, Angel, Dingdong, and Angelica all sit down to dinner and engage in a staring contest.

see this kid stares a lot

Bla bla bla it’s all very funny from this point onwards because you can feel that the screenwriters were beating around the bush with getting to the sex thing. So let me cut to the chase and get to the sex thing, aka the reason this movie was made in the first place. Carmina the OB/GYN (not a surgeon! take note!) advises Angel and Dingdong to go through a couple of random tests for bone marrow randomness and if those tests fail (of course they will), they will hvae to resort to the situation I mentioned earlier- creating a new life to take the new bone marrow from to transfer to dying son Bockhock. I know nothing about surgery or even bone marrow for that matter but logic dictates that if you have a dying kid, you do something about it. The “bilang isang ina” argument kept getting old and died when Angel practically begged to have sex with Dingdong only to save the life of her son. THIS MAKES NO SENSE if her kid were really dying. We see that he is really sick and ‘dying’ in a scene where he collapses in Fun Ranch and in another scene where all the grownups make a big deal out of his headache after a day at the beach (there is such a thing as too much sun). This means that if she resorted to having sex with Dingdong to make a child they’d have to wait more than nine months and Bokchoy would have already died by then. In a world where it is possible to send sick people out of the country for medical treatment given that they have unlimited funds, the sex thing seems highly illogical. It was only brought up a few times to which Angel said “wala kaming visa”- end of story. Cue even more GRRRAAAA THIS IS DUMB.

Since this is still a love story and as most love stories go, challenges and other idiotic stuff are expected to arise. Angelica agrees to the sex but only under her conditions (ahem supervision hahahha) . Makes sense, considering loaning your husband for unli-sex isn’t exactly the easiest thing for a wife to do (i’m not kidding, she really said ‘unli-sex’). After much persuasion, the sex did happen but in an unnecessarily glamorized manner: picture an icy cold swanky hotel, sexy shower sequences, darkly lit rooms and a score that resembles one of a rape scene’s. The filmmakers are trying to tell you here that something is going to go wrong and by this time I was getting tired from laughing so hard. After that Angel finds out she DIDN’T get pregnant. I guess this is where the movie derives its title from (cue even more laughter).

As if nothing else is an option, as if saving your fake dying child is more important than wrecking a marriage (geez they were willing to stretch his life for more than nine months!), all of a sudden, all morals go out the window even if other options were more feasible. It’s hard to fathom why producers and scriptwriters have to create such absurd situations for the sake of justifying the drama that goes on in everyday lives. The overused adultery/infidelity genre has now reached a new low with a very weak hook- to save a life. Still sounds highly unbelievable and it gets stupider ever time I retell the story to willing listeners. My final verdict still remains, though: I want bulalo.


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Exotic Vacations

If you want to go on vacation somewhere away from all those tourists, Yahoo travel may have just the destination for you. In this article, they present ten exciting locations where you can really get away from it all, maybe permanently.I actually would like to visit a few of these places like Iran and Iraq. Both countries have wonderful historic and archeological sites to visit. Iraq is still somewhat unstable but I think it would be safe enough with some obvious precautions, such as staying with a group and not wandering around Baghdad alone. Iran is also a bit unsettled but the population is not as hostile toward Americans as one might think. President Obama missed a huge chance when he didn’t openly support the protests in 2009.

Antarctica is almost completely unspoiled by human contact and unlike many of these destinations is completely safe, at least from war and terrorism. Still, I think it might be a little too cold for my liking. Cuba and Myanmar have fantastic natural scenery and Cuba was a popular vacation spot before Castro took over. I think, though I would prefer to wait until after the Castro brothers die or are overthrown. The same sentiment goes for the military junta in Myanmar. I would also prefer to avoid actual war zones like Libya and Afghanistan. I really wouldn’t want to get in the way of our troops in Afghanistan. They have a hard enough job without having to mess with stupid war tourists.

Chernobyl would be interesting. The population was evacuated after the disaster in 1986 and the town has remained untouched ever since. It would almost be like visiting a time capsule or a contemporary version of Pompeii. There is still a danger of radioactive contamination but I think if you followed the rules, the risk should be minimal.

Then there are the destinations that I have to wonder about. Places that no sane person would want to go to, like North Korea or Saudi Arabia. Why would anyone want to go to North Korea?

Nick Bonner of Koryo Group (which has been running North Korea tours for almost 20 years) says, “By visiting North Korea and interacting as much as you can, you have a positive impact on engagement. You are bringing civilians into contact with Westerners and providing job opportunities.”

No you’re not. They don’t let you talk to anyone.

Tourists in the country must stay with government minders at all times, and there are strict rules about what they can photograph and see.

Security personnel may also view any unauthorized attempt you make to talk to a North Korean citizen as espionage. North Korean authorities may fine or arrest you for unauthorized currency transactions, for taking unauthorized photographs, or for shopping at stores not designated for foreigners. It is a criminal act in North Korea to show disrespect to the country’s current and former leaders, [Kim Jong-un], Kim Jong-il, and Kim Il-sung. Hotel rooms, telephones, and fax machines may be monitored, and personal possessions in hotel rooms may be searched. …Persons violating the laws of North Korea, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned.”

And Saudi Arabia?

Strict conduct rules govern visitors and locals alike. For example, women visitors must be met by a sponsor upon arrival into the country, can be arrested by the mutawain (religious police) for improper dress, and are not allowed to drive. Tourists are required to abide by local laws, as violations (including homosexual activity and adultery) may be punished with lashings or the death penalty.

There is nothing to see there except sand. Well, there is Mecca and Medina, but they don’t let you in there unless you are a Moslem, and I am not sure if I could fake it.

I think I will just stay in the US for now.

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  1. Own a Submarine Base « David's Commonplace Book Says:

    […] David's Commonplace Book Random stuff that interests me « Exotic Vacations […]

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Behind the Scenes at Boston Stands with the ACLU @ Paradise Rock Club 3.18.2017

Perhaps you saw my photos from the Boston Stands with the ACLU benefit show at The Paradise and thought to yourself “That’s unusual. Johnny is usually right up front when he takes pictures, but most of these photos are from the back. Was it crazy crowded and he couldn’t get up front? Was he trying out some new perspectives? Was there something else going on that prevented him from standing in one spot for 6 hours?” Well, I have answers to these imaginary questions you may or may not have asked yourself! Yes, it was sold out! Yes, but only because it was so crazy packed I couldn’t get up front! And yes, because I was also busy taking all of these photos!

Some really wonderful people were involved with putting this show together. The night raised $24,800 for the ACLU. The musical lineup was unbelievable. Seriously. Did that really happen? Jokes were told. Songs were sung. My head is still spinning. I’m going to take a nap. Right after I leave these here…

Check out performance photos from all of the acts on this amazing night:

Ken Reid
Bill Janovitz
The Gravel Pit
The Sheila Divine
Evan Dando
Juliana Hatfield
Nada Surf

The Dirty Truckers – Washed & Ready (2006)

The Dirty Truckers
Washed & Ready

Washed & Ready is another batch of gritty rock n’ roll tunes from The Dirty Truckers. Tom Baker is still at the wheel, but the rest of his crew has changed. Dave Foy replaces Jim Delios behind the drums and Tad Overbaugh joins in on guitar. Most importantly, long time ‘Trucker Jamie Griffith makes his debut on bass.

Tom still draws from the well of The Replacements on songs like “Off The Hook”, “Without A Sound” and “All She Ever Wanted,” but the songs are catchier this time around. “Heavy Metal Weekend” begs for a crowd sing-along (and gets it during live performances). The ‘90s indie rock influences that occasionally popped up on Bush League Romance are gone, replaced by a more straight up rock & roll feel. It’s a revved-up romp in the vein of The Rolling Stones (“Not Missing A Thing”) and Tom Petty (“Cunnin’”).

Like their debut album, Washed & Ready features two cover tunes. “Help You Ann” (Lyres) is solid and energetic. The album closer, Nick Lowe’s “Ragin Eyes”, features a fantastic harmonica solo by Jed Parish (The Gravel Pit).

Six years is a long time between albums. Thankfully Washed & Ready delivers more of what you would expect from The Dirty Truckers.

Where to get it:


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Want to Get Back to Normal? Strong Unions are Key

December 7, 2017 // 0 Comments

By LEE SAUNDERS Daily flirtations with nuclear war. Suspending freedom of the press. Fifty-nine people executed during a country music concert. Neo-Nazis and white supremacists marching openly in the streets. American citizens begging for their government’s help after a storm wiped their hopes and dreams off the map, only to then be threatened with revocation of that aid because Wall Street wants its money. Foreign powers sabotage our elections; our leaders sabotage our health care because of an ill-conceived campaign promise. Saying “This isn’t normal” has become clichéd, but finding solutions to get us back to normal isn’t yet commonplace. We don’t have to look too far to find those solutions. They are right beneath our feet. At their best, labor unions provide the stability that allows democracy to flourish. When working people organize, they can call out corruption and [More...]

Climate Activists Ready to Fight

December 6, 2017 // 0 Comments

By ALFREDO ALVARADO With President Donald J. Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement and his appointment of a climate skeptic to lead the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the battle to protect the environment has gotten more contentious. Those developments and the hurricanes that have swept across the Caribbean were some of the topics discussed at a forum sponsored by the DC 37 Climate Justice Committee. The committee chair, Local 1501 President Jeremy Sanders, Jon Foster, founder of the committee, and the union’s Political Action and Legislation Dept. organized a panel of activists for a lively discussion and a short film on Oct. 5 at union headquarters. Eddie Bautista, one of the panelists and executive director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, said unions have stepped up their support for the transition to renewable energy and highlighted [More...]

South Asian Labor Group Holds Its Annual Convention on Dec. 9

December 5, 2017 // 0 Comments

By GREGORY N. HEIRES The Alliance of South Asian American Labor will hold its 10th annual convention on Dec. 9. The theme for ASAAL’s convention is, “South Asians in America, We are Stronger Together!” The convention, which will take place from 3 to 9 p.m. at DC 37 headquarters at 125 Barclay St. in Manhattan, will have panels on the 2018 midterm elections, challenges facing the South Asian community and organizing the youth. Several guest will speak at the dinner. The invited guests include state senators, and members from the Assembly, U.S. Congress members and labor leaders from around the country. Honorees include Terrence Melvin, president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists and secretary-treasurer of the New York State AFL-CIO, DC 37 President Eddie Rodriquez of Local 1549 and Local 375 member and DC 37 Executive Board member Ahmed Shakir, who is the national treasurer [More...]

Union Fights State Workers’ Compensation Changes

December 4, 2017 // 0 Comments

By MIKE LEE The union is taking part in an all-out effort to fight proposed changes to the workers’ compensation system in New York — changes that affect all workers injured on the job. The NYS Workers Compensation Board has proposed medical treatment guidelines and regulations that would eliminate monetary awards for dozens of arm and leg injuries, while also denying workers the right to have an independent medical examination. The change would also deny benefits and care to workers injured on the job who fail to answer all the questions posed by an employer’s medical examiner. Workers’ compensation, which has been on the books in New York for a century, is threatened by right-wing business interests, such as the Business Council, that pressured the state Workers’ Compensation Board to issue proposed changes to longstanding regulations earlier this year. The board’s action [More...]

Why We Must All Fight for the Dream Act

December 3, 2017 // 0 Comments

By ROBERT B. REICH By repealing DACA — Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals — Trump has endangered these young immigrants and the economic security of America. In 2012, the Obama administration created DACA as a temporary way to address the needs of young people who came to America as infants or toddlers, and know no other country. To apply and qualify for DACA, these young people had to risk entering the system by giving their identifying information. Once approved, they were granted two years of “deferred action” on deportation, with the promise that they could reapply every two years indefinitely. This allowed “dreamers” to go to college, get a job, and pay taxes without fear of deportation. DACA was never perfect, but for 800,000 immigrant youth it meant freedom from fear and an opportunity to fully contribute to the country they were raised in. But now these young [More...]

Leading the Way: The Transformation of a Union

November 16, 2017 // 0 Comments

By GREGORY N. HEIRES The union has embarked upon an ambitious, multi-year program to improve services, amplify the voice of members, expand organizing, engage activists, and reach out to the communities where our members live. With this effort, the union seeks to lead the way for the city’s labor movement, even as unions around the country are being targeted by deep-pocketed, right-wing, anti-government groups. These groups and their corporate and political allies have devoted decades to silencing the voices of working families. So far, their work has been successful: In the 1970s, nearly 35 percent of workers belonged to unions. That number has since plummeted to 10.4 percent this year. After decades of attacks, unions now only represent 6.4 percent of private-sector workers.Today, the network is turning its sights on public employees and their unions. A new model of unionism “We [More...]

DC 37 Activists Help Re-elect de Blasio and Defeat the Constitutional Convention

November 9, 2017 // 0 Comments

By ALFREDO ALVARADO DC 37 helped Mayor Bill de Blasio win another four-year term with his landslide victory over his Republican opponent. “We should all feel elated,” said District Council 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido about de Blasio’s victory. Voters throughout the state also soundly rejected a ballot proposal to hold a constitutional convention. “Union members across the state sent a strong message on Election Day,” Garrido said. “This is a tremendous victory for organized labor in New York and for all working people,” said Mario Cilento, president of the New York State AFL-CIO. DC 37 was among the more than 150 community organizations and labor unions that joined the New Yorkers Against Corruption coalition to spread the word and get the vote out against a constitutional convention, which was the first proposal on the election ballot. Beginning in the summer, [More...]

A Union Mission to Puerto Rico

November 4, 2017 // 0 Comments

By HENRY GARRIDO Putting aside the Trump administration’s lackluster response to the devastation from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, we all should be proud of the dedication of the government workers who are providing crucial humanitarian aid on the island. Thousands of federal, state and local public employees from around the country have volunteered for the disaster relief effort. Six members of DC 37 — a nurse and five construction workers—were among 320 union workers who left New York City on Oct. 4 on a flight to Puerto Rico in a humanitarian mission sponsored by the AFL-CIO. The workers on the United Airlines union-made Boeing 777-300ER flight included doctors, nurses, electricians, carpenters, masons, engineers and truck drivers. The city’s outpouring of support for Puerto Rico reflects our special ties with the 3.5 million people on the island. The 723,621 Puerto Ricans [More...]

Legislative Conference Explores Critical Issues Facing the Union

November 3, 2017 // 0 Comments

By ALFREDO ALVARADO The fight to keep pay loans out of New York, the financial crisis at the city’s public hospitals, the federal budget’s impact on New York City and the effect of a ruling by U.S. Supreme Court next year in the Janus v. AFSCME case were topics of discussion at DC 37’s 42nd Annual Legislative Conference. “Even though pay day loans are banned here, it doesn’t mean they’re not trying to get back in,” said Assemblywomen Yuh-Line Niou, who represents Manhattan’s 65th District. Niou was one of the speakers at the Oct. 28 conference at DC 37 headquarters. She acknowledged the work the union has done to protect union members against pay loans and pointed to New York State as a model for other states to follow in the fight to protect consumers. “DC 37 has been on the front lines fighting to protect New Yorkers against predatory lending,” Niou said. Sally [More...]

Union Organizes Against Constitutional Convention

October 10, 2017 // 0 Comments

By GREGORY N. HEIRES As the Nov. 7 elections  approach, DC 37 is stepping up its work with a coalition fighting against a ballot question on whether the state should hold a constitutional convention. Established earlier this year, New Yorkers Against Corruption is spreading the word about the danger of holding a convention, which would open the door for special interests to chip away at crucial protections and rights enshrined in the state constitution. The group’s campaign includes a media outreach and door-to-door canvassing. “A lot is at risk,” said Jordan Marks, the group’s campaign manager. “Voting rights. Criminal justice. Environmental protections. Women’s health and a lot more.” Besides working with the coalition, the union is also focusing on informing members about the constitutional convention. Polls show that the convention is not on the radar screen of most [More...]


text:
Electrical circuits and mechanical parts come to you as easily as breathing. You’ve discovered that, given time, you can easily construct or reverse-engineer any device or machine. No feat of technology feels out of your ability to create or destroy.

“What can’t be broke ain’t worth fixing…Hyderburble!”
Elementery Fubari Mechanics, Nox Vicheswasen. 2E 0539

“The Engineer is not intended to fight on the front line. They are more valuable far in the back, secluded to some locked garage with an endless supply of materials, tools and a problem to solve. There is no telling if the tools will survive, but you will be sure that the materials will be gone and they will have made something 'very cool and explodey.' If it solves the problem, that’s good too.”
Employing Crafters for Tactical Advantage, Brondo Maxamillion, 2E 0003

“The Engineer, the crafter, the builder. They are by far the true gods of this universe, able to manipulate matter itself to change reality and laugh in the face of evolution. Nothing is out of their reach if they are simply allowed to work. This last prospect can be both beautiful and terrifying.”
Times I Laughed, Foolnool. 1E 0001


text:
Good Evening, Mr. Presidents

I practiced all week.  The proper inflection, correct annunciation, strong handshake (trying practicing that by yourself), and friendly smile.  The follow-up witty comment.  The polite good-bye.

I worked on that witty comment for hours.  I asked friends and strangers.  I contemplated websites.  I dreamed endlessly.  And for naught.

When the time came, I barely managed to squeak out a proper greeting.  And I know I sounded like a raving idiot when I told him I was a big fan and he was the first president I ever voted for.  But it was all worth it, because he gave me a huge grin and a quick hug.

Hear that?  I got a hug from President George W. Bush.

But I guess I should start from the beginning.  It was a star-studded event.  I worked the registration desk where the first person I checked in was Jerry Springer.

He gave me his name, I asked for his photo ID, he repeated his name like I was an idiot, I repeated that I needed to see a photo ID for security purposes.  He hands me his ID.  I look at it.  I finally look up at him.  Yep, Jerry Springer, well, actually Gerald Springer which is why I had such a hard time finding him on my list.  Good start to my evening, right?

Then I offered to help usher attendees into the event.  Which meant that I got to stay and listen to President Clinton and President Bush.  It was awesome.  Not only did I get to see (LIVE!) two past Presidents of the United States of America, but I got to hear reflections on their presidency and ideas on issues facing our nation.  I was content.

But the evening was not yet done.  I worked the photo room where certain guests received a photo with President Bush and President Clinton.  At the very end, a couple of staff members, including myself, jumped in line for our chance for a photo.  I was going to be cool, collect, like I meet famous people every day.  But I started babbling because I got to meet a man I truly admire.  Who kept us safe after 9/11, who provided leadership in the wars that followed, who lowered the tax rates, etc…  And then (and I know I’m repeating but I’m still really excited!) he gave me a grin like he knew it was overwhelming and he understood.  He gave me a quick hug and we both moved on to great the next person in line!

I moved on to shake President Clinton’s (another great president) hand and I managed to get my emotions under control.  I shook his hand, murmured a polite platitude, gave him a friendly smile and stood next to him for the group photo.  It was awesome.

This entry was posted in Random Ramblings and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

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Demozoo - Design/Look & Feel improvement thread

langhuxley - 13:31 24 September 2016 #

Since last Wednesday, you may have visited Demozoo and felt like something was …off. Rest assured, that wasn’t you -it was me. Sorry about that :) There’s a lot of structural shovelling going on right now, so chances are you noticed that fonts have subtly changed here and there. Also, there’s a distinct lack of drop shadows on the page layout.

The short of it: Work is underway to improve the look and feel of Demozoo!
The main objective is to clean up the layout and page structure so Demozoo works better and looks more beautiful on different devices.

We’ll be approaching this overhaul with incremental improvements -in practice this means that bits and parts of the site will update over time ...a section here, the overall look of a form there, etc.
The downside is that sometimes a part of the site will look goofy and weird for a while until we caught up with all bits used on a page.
The upside is that the process is on-going -you do not have to wait an inscrutable period for a total redesign that turns out terrible.

We have some priorities set for now -especially smaller screens are a concern we’d like to address because that’s never been a strong point of Demozoo until now. With the #2 and #4 platforms for visitors being Android and iOS, that’s the opposite of great.

This thread could be considered a “fix me beautiful” for the design and layout of Demozoo. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for what part of the site we ought to take a good hard look at ASAP, fire away! :)

dipswitch - 16:33 24 September 2016 #

forum font is a bit too small...

langhuxley - 01:04 25 September 2016 #

Hum. The font size hasn't changed at all -especially wrt the rest of the site. Are you by any chance using Demozoo on a somewhat recent Mac or iOS/Android device? Give me more information so I can actually do something about it :)

menace - 09:55 25 September 2016 #

I believe the issue is that the previous font was somewhat fatter, so now more text fits on a line, giving the impression that the font is smaller. I actually had a browser open with a demozoo page, and I took the opportunity to take a screenshot before and after;

[old font](https://www.dropbox.com/s/uuz2h528cec84ga/demozoo_old_font_cutout.png?dl=0) vs [new font](https://www.dropbox.com/s/93hdnujxthctnsx/demozoo_new_font_cutout.png?dl=0)

menace - 09:56 25 September 2016 #

Err, crap, why can't I ever remember that the FORUM part does not support Markdown. Gah. But I'm sure you can parse the mess above to give a meaningful result anyway.

langhuxley - 11:45 25 September 2016 #

Markdown would be a lovely feature request by the way.

And yes, that's precisely what's happening -letters are sightly more condensed across the board, lines fit a little more (maybe even too) snugly.

dipswitch - 19:11 25 September 2016 #

nope, i'm using demozoo on firefox with win7. but, nevermind, just a bit of zoom did the trick (even though i'm sure the font has changed somehow) =)

ltk_tscc - 19:55 25 September 2016 #

Well I like the font... but +1 or +2 point won't hurt.

exocet - 10:47 26 September 2016 #

I agree the font is a bit small for us old farts :)

CONS - 19:45 27 September 2016 #

What? What are you writing about? Do I need new glasses... again?

langhuxley - 00:07 11 November 2016 #

From the desk of "things people actually can see":

By grace of https://github.com/demozoo/demozoo/issues/260 , the search results of demozoo look more legible even if they spoil a few things happening below board. Should you use the search bar without using suggestions (just hit enter after the query), the results should be readable now.

ltk_tscc - 12:17 12 November 2016 #

Much better :)

What about some sorting or filters: Groups, Sceners, Parties, Prods... now it's a wild mess when you have 100 results.

Saga_Musix - 13:36 12 November 2016 #

"Improved search" is a separate ticket. :)

ltk_tscc - 19:51 12 November 2016 #

Improved search does include improved results yet?

mikro - 02:09 26 November 2016 #

A random idea -- maybe it would be useful to have a field "after <date>" and "before <date>" in your database so the sorting would at least somehow work for productions without known release date.

langhuxley - 11:23 28 November 2016 #

Yet another update from the desk of "stuff people can see": Listings for production (on overview, group-, scener and party pages) have been retooled and made more consistent. We've also decided to crop thumbnail images to a square preview and show a production type icon for the ones that lack a pretty picture. It's a lot less cluttered.

People that were (understandably so) griping about font sizes: we're testing a larger, more legible font size. Expect more on that soon.

ltk_tscc - 18:55 28 November 2016 #

Having the release dates that far-off seems pretty strange to me.

menace - 07:39 11 December 2016 #

We pushed an adjustment to font sizes last night, so would be interesting to hear back whether CONS still needs his glasses for this website? :)

Tom - 23:26 6 February 2017 #

Since pouet is not working lately, let's give this forum a chance ;)
Let's see if BBcode works [url="javascript:alert('hi')"]test[/url].

As for the improvements topic (super obvious stuff, probably other people asked already):
No post editing preview?
How about ability to edit/remove posts shortly after posting them?

Tom - 23:30 6 February 2017 #

Also.. I see now "No BBCode please".

How to paste animated gifs though? :(

menace - 03:32 7 February 2017 #

Tom: Thanks for lending us a visit :) There is no way to edit or preview posts currently, that is correct. If you feel that is something we need, then feel free to post an issue on our GitHub.

And, as for the lack of animated gifs, I see that as a plus rather than a minus ;)

No HTML or BBCode please. URLs will be link-ified


text:
Home > family, health/safety, holidays > This Thanksgiving, Safety First

This Thanksgiving, Safety First

Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 14:30 EST Leave a comment Go to comments

Not the offending dish towelAs a member of my company’s safety team, I received an email from our corporate Workplace Safety Engineer (yes, that’s his real title) with the following common sense safety reminders for those who will be cooking the family dinner tomorrow. I can personally attest to the importance of the second bullet point. A few Thanksgivings ago at my parents’ house, my brother used a dish towel as a pot holder to take something off the gas stove, and the edge of the dish towel caught fire. In his panic to get rid of the burning dish towel, he threw it at me. The incident has come to be known as The Thanksgiving When Cliff Tried to Kill Me.

Be aware of the dangers in your midst! And have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Cooking is the number one cause of home fires, and the biggest reason is that people start to cook something on the stove and forget it’s there. Distractions are highest during the busy holiday season when the kitchen often becomes the gathering place for visiting family and friends. The Home Safety Council is urging families to practice safe cooking habits to prevent injuries while preparing and enjoying holiday meals.

Follow the Home Safety Council’s simple tips to make sure your favorite holiday meals dont go up in flames this season:

  • Always stay in the kitchen while cooking on the range, especially when frying food.
  • Keep things that can burn, such as dish towels, paper or plastic bags, and curtains at least three feet away from the range top.
  • Keep your cooking area clean. Do not let grease build up on the range top, toaster oven, or in the oven.
  • Keep children and pets away from the range when anyone is cooking, and keep a close eye on them at all times. Put tape on the floor three feet around the stove to create a “kid-free” zone. Teach children to stay away from the stove.
  • Before you start to cook, roll up sleeves and use oven mitts. Loose-fitting clothes can touch a hot burner and catch on fire.
  • If clothes do catch fire, “Stop, Drop, Roll, and Cool” by dropping immediately to the ground, crossing hands over your chest, and rolling over and over or back and forth to put out the flames. Cool the burned area with cool water right away and seek medical attention for serious burns.
  • If you can, cook on the back burners.
  • Always turn pot handles toward the back of the range to prevent small children from reaching and pulling down a hot pan.
  • Keep pans, hot drinks, and trays that have just come out of the oven away from the edge of counters and tables where children cannot touch them.

For a complete list of cooking safety tips, visit http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/.

Categories: family, health/safety, holidays
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text:
Pumpkin Bread With Cream Cheese Glaze

3 Nov

Moist, slightly sweet, spiced quick bread enhanced by a simple glaze. Enjoy for breakfast, dessert, or with afternoon tea/coffee. Please excuse the appearance of the glaze, I didn’t sift the powdered sugar (oops!) and even though it doesn’t look perfect it tasted it!

Time: 15 min prep, 1 hour cook               Serves: 8

  • Bread

  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp pumpkin pie seasoning (I used Trader Joe’s)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola. You may also sub 1/4 cup with apple sauce)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • Glaze

  • 3 tbsp cream cheese, softened
  • 4 tbsp confectioners sugar (sifted)
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • dash vanilla extract

How to make it

  • Bread

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with flour.
  • Add first 8 ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix to combine. Create a well in the center and add remaining ingredients into it. Mix until just incorporated.
  • Spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 50-75 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Mine baked for 65 minutes.)
  • Remove from oven and place pan on cooling rack. When cooled enough to handle, carefully remove bread from pan and place on cooling rack. Cool completely before adding glaze.
  • Glaze

  • Combine ingredients and whisk until smooth and well incorporated. Place loaf on a sheet of parchment paper (leave a few inches free on all sides). Drizzle glaze over top of the loaf, allowing it to drip down the sides.

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text:
3 Replies Latest reply on Mar 3, 2010 10:03 AM by Alexander Lengson

    "removeAllMessages" method of the queue mbean is not accessible programmatically via MBean

    Alexander Lengson Newbie

      Hello All,

      There is "removeAllMessages" method in the JMX console for the mbeans from "jboss.messaging.destination" group

      I was trying to invoke it programmatically, but by some reason appropriate mbean does not provide such operation in runtime.

      Giving that reference

      MBeanInfo info

      is the correct reference to the queue bean,

      MBeanOperationInfo[] ops = info.getOperations();

      returns me an array which does not contain operation with name "removeAllMessages".
      It does contain part of the operation from those listed in JMX console, but not all.

      Is that intentional behavior and there is other way to invoke that method? Or is it bug actually?

      JBoss 5.1.0.GA

      Thank you,


text:
Add Your App to the ironSource Dashboard

To start monetizing and promoting your app with ironSource, you will need to add your app on the ironSource dashboard.

Developers with live apps in an app marketplace should provide the app URL; if your app isn’t live yet, please use a temporary name and add the URL once the app is live in the app marketplace. Follow the below steps to add your app to our dashboard:

Step 1. Navigate to the App Section

First, log in to your ironSource dashboard. Then navigate to the Apps tab on the left sidebar. There you will see a ‘New App‘ button on the upper right.

Step 2. Add Your App

If your app is live in the App Store or on Google Play, enter your app’s URL as it appears in the App Store or Google Play and click ‘Import App Info‘.

If your app isn’t live yet, simply enter a temporary app name and define the platform.

Then select ‘Add AppYou should then be redirected to the below window with a success message.

Note:  Your app will now appear on the Applications Management page in the Apps tab. This page provides an overview of all your apps, their platform, monetization ad units and user acquisition campaigns.

What’s Next?
Once your app has been added to our platform, you can:


text:
[review] ”Heartbeats” is a film that will break your heart. ★★★★

Heartbeats is a film that broke my heart.
Xavier Dolan’s look at lust, obsession and the pain that comes with that, is so real as it permeates from the eyes of all three of the main characters.
Set in present day, but with visual cues harking back to early French New Wave film, Heartbeats tells the story of two very best friends Maria (Monia Chokri) and Francis (director Xavier Dolan), whose obsession with their new found friend Nicolas (Niels Schneider) will test their relationship.
Each of them lust after Nicolas, and as such, each of them in their own superficial way, attempt to lure him, slowly cutting into their own relationship deeper and deeper.

The casting of this film is extraordinary. Niels Schneider is perfectly cast as the Adonis-Cupid-like Nicolas who sweeps into the film with charm, and beauty rarely seen on screen before. His look and performance blends together characters from Derek Jarman’s masterpiece ‘Sebastiane‘  and Visconti’s ‘Death in Venice’.  It’s hard to resist Nicolas, and as such that makes the film that more painful.

Monia Chokri, as Maria, a sophisticated girl who seems the need to reinvent herself in every scene, hoping to catch the eye of Nicolas, is wonderful. But for me, it is Xavier Dolan himself who gives not only the standout performance of the film, but one of the best of the year.
Rarely has someone on film been able to express his grief, sadness and yearning with a tilt of his head or a nervous tick, quite like Xavier did. I found myself sympathetic for his character as the film progressed, all the while, hoping that his dreams and wants were fulfilled.

The film is shot so beautifully by Stephanie Anne Weber Biron, rich colours harking back to 50’s fashion, along with slight out of focus
slow motion scenes. The soundtrack grows with luscious tracks such as ‘Bang Bang’ by Dalida  and ”Pass this on” by The Knife.

And collectively, the film is a dream bubble, fragile and precious, that lingers over your head and heart, until bursting with the final scenes.

Heartbeats is one of the best films you will see in 2011.
It is screening at ACMI from 7 April – 1 May
Tickets: $14 concession  $11 ACMI member.
Screener DVD supplied by ACMI

 4 stars out of 5.
 [A nominee for my best film of 2011, best supporting actor of 2011 and best director 2011]

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A fine WordPress.com site

“What if I feel less feminine?”

on June 23, 2014

The first of the symptoms started today, but that is just “feminine dryness” where everything is now beginning to heal up and clear up.  Nice!!  The staples were removed today, which is a massive relief.  I feel so much more comfortable.  It seems I was allergic to the metal of the staples, and that may be what is causing my rash, but it was also causing severe irritation around the entry sites on both sides of the staples.  That should clear up now.  I’ve also finished all antibiotics as of today, so am now medication free.  Today is a massive milestone as now it should just be a case of time.

So with no other symptoms yet, I started wondering about some of the concerns with hysterectomies.  One of the main concerns was that “If I have my Uterus removed, will I feel less feminine?”.  OK, so I’m not the most girlie girl in the world, and in all honesty I’ve never been that attached to my uterus – it’s been nothing but an annoyance since I hit puberty.  I had a very lax attitude to this whole operation, and at no point did I ever think I’d miss my uterus or feel differently.  You do tend to wonder if this attitude will come back to bite you at a later date.

I feel no different without it. Actually that’s not quite true, I feel better without it.  How feminine I feel, or any other feelings I had before this operation are still there. I’m still me, I feel no different now it’s been removed and I have no regrets at all that I did the right thing.  What is very noticeable is the lack of pain that I had from over where the cysts were on my ovaries.  I always knew it existed, but I hadn’t realised it was a permanent fixture in my life, and now it’s not there, it feels lovely. Even with the uncomfortable feeling that comes with hysterectomy recovery, the loss of that pain is very noticeable.  The other noticeable difference is a change in my colour.  I’ve been fighting anaemia for so long now, and living on iron tablets to get by.  I see myself in the mirror and I look healthy.  I feel healthy, despite the operation recovery going on I feel better and with more energy than I have in years.  I am taking the recovery slowly, as I know all to well how much damage I can do if I don’t follow the strict 6 week rule, but I can’t wait to see how I am in 5 weeks time when that’s all over.  I feel better today than I have in such a long, long time.

It’s still early days for me.  It’s been 13 days since my first operation.  I already feel amazing and am so glad that I put myself through this.  Hopefully things will continue forward in that same way.

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text:
Random Acts is an Arts programme.

Random Acts is a 3 star programme

Image for the Arts programme "Random Acts"

Random Acts

Channel 4's nightly short-form arts strand, showcasing specially commissioned three-minute films chosen for their bold and original expressions of creativity.

Genre: Arts

3/5 Stars

When is Random Acts next on TV?

It's next showing on Channel 4 December 15th, 12:00am and on Channel 4 Plus 1 December 15th, 1:00am. See more...


text:
PG certificateThe Electric Horseman is a Film programme that first aired in 1979 and has been classified a PG certificate.

The Electric Horseman is a 3 star programme

Image for the Film programme "The Electric Horseman"

You may also like

  • Giant
    [1956, 4 Stars, Film]

The Electric Horseman (1979)

Directed by
Sydney Pollack

Light comedy about a former champion rodeo rider hired to promote a breakfast cereal who takes off on the $12 million horse condemned to share his degrading assignment. What pushes him over the edge is the discovery that the animal is being pumped with dope to keep it calm. As he heads into the desert in protest, a female reporter hungry for a scoop gives chase.

Written by ,

Genre: Film

Running Time: 120 minutes (approx)

Production Year: 1979

3/5 Stars

Classification: PG Certificate

Production Country: USA

Filmed in Colour

Image for Robert RedfordRobert Redford...Norman 'Sonny' Steele
Image for Jane FondaJane Fonda...Alice 'Hallie' Martin
Valerie Perrine...Charlotta Steele
Image for Willie NelsonWillie Nelson...Wendell Hickson
John Saxon...Hunt Sears
Nicolas Coster...Fitzgerald
Allan Arbus...Danny Miles
Wilford Brimley...Farmer
Will Hare...Gus Atwater
Basil Hoffman...Toland
Timothy Scott...Leroy
James Sikking...Dietrich