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Sunday, October 19, 2008

Avoid evdev devices in xorg.conf

Quick addition to my previous blog post:

If you have an xorg.conf that references evdev devices, these will generate duplicate events with the recent changes (they get added twice). Just get rid of the matching entry in your xorg.conf (you most likely don't need it anyway).

Otherwise, add Option "GrabDevice" "True" to the respective input device. This way you restore the old behaviour that forces a kernel grab. But then again, having the device in your xorg.conf devoids you of any hotplugging (for this device) anyway, so what's the point.

There was one thing I missed when testing: if you can CTRL+C the server or VT switch with Alt+cursor keys, then update to xorg-x11-server-1.5.2-6. A one-line fix that is needed if no xorg.conf is present.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

New keyboard configuration handling

Note that the changes I describe here are currently available in Fedora rawhide, but I expect they will be available soon in a similar form both in X.Org git and in other distributions.

We finally closed the last big chapter in the evdev input driver transition - the handling of device grabs (in the kernel). As described previously, evdev used to put a kernel grab on the device so no-one else could open the same device. This avoided duplicate events but the grab hindered other programs that needed access to the device too: lirc, rfkill, HAL and others.
The need for the grab was removed with quite a simple patch. However, this isn't the whole story, and another patch changes server's default behaviour.

So here's the rundown how it may affect you:

In short, evdev and kbd/mouse are mutually exclusive as they produce duplicate events if both are active. In any configuration where both are specified, kbd/mouse are ignored.

If you don't have an xorg.conf
, your devices were hotplugged through HAL. Nothing changes for you.

If you have an xorg.conf with input devices using mouse or kbd as driver, they are now ignored.
Effectively nothing changes though: due to the evdev grab these mouse/kbd devices were previously "mute", i.e. the would never send events anyway. You might as well remove the respective sections from your xorg.conf. However, having the devices in your xorg.conf provided a fallback: if HAL was not working, kbd/mouse would pick up the slack. This fallback is gone.

If you disable AllowEmptyInput, AutoAddDevices or AutoEnableDevices, then you get the traditional X server behaviour:

  1. Devices referenced in the ServerLayout are available in the server, or if none are specified,

  2. The first pointer or keyboard device in the xorg.conf become available in the server, or if none are specified,

  3. The standard configs become available (/dev/console and /dev/input/mice).

Disabling AllowEmptyInput is discouraged and should not be necessary on virtually all standard desktop systems.

Update: If you are using evdev 2.1 and you only disable AllowEmptyInput, the devices will still be added and you will get duplicate events (key repeat handling will then make each key press emit three characters). AEI defaults to (AutoAddDevices && AutoEnableDevices), so if you want to disable HAL, the best option is to set AutoAddDevices to "off".

Friday, October 3, 2008

Device properties have landed

After a few more patches, the property support has now landed in what I'd like to call the final version. Unless there's any more changes in the next few weeks, this will be added as the main component of the X Input Extension v1.5.

So here's a short description of what they are, the protocol additions and the driver-side API.

What are device properties?

Input device properties (IDP) are basically the same as Window Properties (Atoms) in the core X protocol, or RandR output properties. They are numerical identifiers with arbitrary names that can be assigned arbitrary values. The big thing about IDP is that we can now add options to drivers that can be triggered at modified by clients without having to bump the protocol or even the server. Likewise, we can add options to the server easier too.

One of the server's weakest parts was run-time configuration of input devices. Options in the xorg.conf (or nowadays in the HAL fdi file) were easy enough, but once the server was running it was difficult to do anything. Synaptics even exposes shared memory to enable run-time configuration for lack of a better mechanism. IDP should fix this lack of a decent method and hopefully unify the configuration mechanisms. In fact, synaptics, evdev and joystick already provide property support.

Your server already uses a lot of properties for various stuff. The "xlsatoms" command lists all properties currently defined and their names. The "xprop" command lists all window properties and their current value(s).

Driver API

The code to use device properties from a driver (or the server) is basically always the same:

#define MYPROP_NAME "Example property"

char prop_value = 8;
/* create atom (if it doesn't exist already anyway) */
Atom prop = MakeAtom(MYPROP_NAME, strlen(MYPROP_NAME), TRUE);
rc = XIChangeDeviceProperty(device, prop,
XA_INTEGER /* type */,
8 /* format */,
1 /* no of items */,
&prop_value /* data */,
TRUE /* send event */):

/* don't allow clients to delete our prop */
XISetDevicePropertyDeletable(device, prop, FALSE);
XIRegisterPropertyHandler(device, SetPropertyHandler,

SetPropertyHandler is called whenever a client changes the property. GetPropertyHandler is called whenever a client retrieves the property value, if you have to get data off the device - do it here. Finally DeletePropertyHandler is called when the property is about to be deleted. Note that if you set the property to be non-deletable, the DeletePropertyHandler can only called if a driver or the server wants to delete the property.

In all cases, do stuff, return Success or an error code otherwise. A NULL handler is allowed. Errors are returned immediately to the client, so make sure your property is properly documented that developers can figure out why a BadValue, BadMatch, etc. error occurs.

Here's some example code for a SetPropertyHandler

int SetPropertyHandler(DeviceIntPtr dev, Atom atom,
XIPropertyValuePtr value, BOOL checkonly)
if (atom == myprop)
if (val->format != 8 || val->type != XA_INTEGER || ...)
return BadMatch;

if (*((char*)val->data) > 10)
return BadValue;

if (!checkonly) /* do something with the value */
{ ...
return Success; /* You MUST return Success, even if you didn't handle it */

Important here: if checkonly is TRUE, you must not change any state. Check only for validity of the atom and the given value. Each SetPropertyHandler is called twice, once to check the value, then again to actually apply the data. The assumption is that if the checkonly run succeeds, the state change cannot fail. If you return an error in the checkonly run, this error is returned to the client and the second run is never executed.

A few rules: keep the handler simple. You cannot assume that you're called in any particular order. You cannot assume that the second run is ever executed. Keep the handler as local as possible, instead of having one big handler it may be better having two separate ones (e.g. one in the DIX, one in the DDX).

That's basically it. A call to XIChangeDeviceProperty() causes an event to be sent to the clients, so this is the API that should be used if the property needs changing from within the server/driver.

Protocol requests and events

As just mentioned above, there's one event DevicePropertyNotify which lists the state (NewValue or Deleted), the property affected and of course the device id. This event is sent whenever a property is changed by a client and whenever a driver/the server changes a property with XIChangeDeviceProperty(..., TRUE).

The four new requests are:

All four requests are virtually identical to the ListProperties, ChangeProperty, DeleteProperty, and GetProperty requests of the core protocol - except they allow the specification of a device ID instead of a window ID. Just look up the man page for the core protocol requests for more information.

The xinput tool has all the basic code to list, view and delete properties.

As a final gimmick, evdev, synaptics and the xserver each have a name-properties.h file, (e.g. evdev-properties.h gives you all the defines for the property names) and the command "
pkg-config --cflags xorg-evdev" gives you the necessary include paths.


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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

A Test of My Humanity

By knowing things that exist, you can know that which does not exist. That is the void.
- Miyamoto Musashi

To suffer a loss of spirit is a test of your humanity. Losing someone dear to you; a parent, a child, a spouse, a lover by betrayal - the emotions that tear through your being like a hurricane and leave you stranded on a desert in pain, every drop of life sucked out of you. Left on your knees, empty and dry, not knowing how to live or die. Your soul is ripped out of your chest and your heart lays beating in your hands. The emptiness is a bottomless pit once filled with love and presence. How does the spirit feel such pain? No physical ache equals that of a grieving soul and a heart in pain. In the aftermath of a recent personal trauma I traveled to find my spirit again and heal the pain inside while wrestling with a gaping hole of emptiness. A spirit torn asunder, scattered in pieces and I knew I would never be the same.

Intellectually, the scientist I am realized the internal pain resulted from stress and shock; hundreds of neurotransmitters and hormones raging uncontrolled in my brain and my body (beta-blockers would have helped). The same neurochemicals that regulate physical pain control psychological pain. Yet what makes me human struggled to resolve the conflict of the pragmatist and the humanist within. I had to dissociate from the pain and grief to find humility and peace. Needing to find the remnants inside and nurture their growth to fill what had been mistakenly given away, I returned to old medicine for my soul: the mountains.

As I gazed at the deserts and mountains passing below me the world became bigger and I became miniscule. Sprouting metal and mental wings, I watched time unfold below me, shape the earth and terraform history. I saw time guide the waters as they cut through the earth, smoothing mountains and eroding layers of colored sediments. Rivers and creeks gouged deeply into the land leaving threads that snaked through the terrain below. It reminded me of yards of speckled velvet thrown from above, lying quietly ruffled and wrinkled. Colored mesas and tabletops reached up to the sky above like stalagmites. Scattered straight and winding roads transected the land like large pencil marks made by humans and their machines. I imagined the singularity of elements and the bonding between them, the evolution of nucleic acids and proteins transforming into creatures, and the dynamic complexity between the inanimate and animate. I imagined life being born and dieing, all within a blink of an eye.

Nothing is static and nothing acts in isolation. Everything is connected in a meaurable or immeasurable way. Everything is mutable to some degree. The dichotomy of our consciousness to reason and make choices between our biology and our environment scares most people. Yet that is what makes us human: the capability of making decisions and choices. Even indecision is a choice. And every decision and choice is a trade-off with consequences, good and bad. Sometimes that requires considerable strength.

Relative to the stage below, I realized that my pain, my thoughts, my drama, my life were inconsequential to the play below. All before and after me are actors on this stage of time forever caught in a play billions of years old and which never ends. I don’t need to rationalize my existence nor that of others. The meaning of my life does not derive from without but from within and my interaction with my surroundings. My life, my death are one in the same. It is Humility. I again resolved myself with the world around me, acknowledging my capabilities, fears, faults and desires and the essence of who I am and can be. No one can take that away.

At 11,000 feet in the air and without hesitation I faced an old fear and conquered it. By embracing my fears, my death, my weaknesses, I regained my strength. Again life infused my soul and my spirit soared like an eagle over the mountains upon which I stood. My only remaining fear was to act without honor or in dishonesty to myself. And to unconditionally give it all away. That will not happen again.

Let the healing begin.

The truth is that strength lies in the interior of the Warrior: in his heart, his mind and his spirit… The heart is essential in helping the intellect to understand the spirit.” - Miyamoto Musashi, ‘Book of Five Rings’

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Strategic Research Sponsor of the American Bar Association's Section of International Law

Mario Barrera Vázquez joins Thompson & Knight

Mario Barrera is now a part of Thompson & Knight’s tax practice group, joining its office in Mexico City. He arrives from Basham Ringe y Correa.

Barrera has been listed in Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Tax for three consecutive years. His practice covers a wide array of domestic and cross-border tax issues, including advisory and planning work. He has extensive expertise in transfer pricing and reorganisation matters.

Luis Gomar, head of the firm’s Mexico City office and a partner in the international energy team said: “Mario’s nearly 20 years of experience counselling clients on domestic and international tax law will complement and expand upon our existing breadth of expertise.”

Mario Barrera is recognised in the corporate tax section of Who’s Who Legal: Mexico 2017.

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Choose Affordable Bedroom Furniture For Kids

January 15, 2017 Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Google+ Furniture,Interior Design

Choose Affordable Bedroom Furniture For KidsWhen shopping for boys’ bedroom furniture it may a difficult task to find something that they like especially since boys are particular about what they want. If you have a son that is in dire need of new furniture then you will be happy with the choices that are available here. Some of the options include black and dark browns which include the complete bedroom set such as bed, bench, dresser, writing desk, chair, night stand and more.

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Friday, July 27, 2012

I meant to post yesterday. But you see. Something arrived early.

That's right. My Brother drum carder! I beamed at the delivery guy and thanked him profusely. He probably thought I was a little nuts.

The first thing I carded was some alpaca. I ran it through three times for luck and managed to diz it off into roving.

This is three batts worth (I didn't weigh anything - I was too excited) that I spun and then chain plied.

Here is the green-ish hand dyed roving that I spun and plied the other day. It's hard to get a picture of all the amazing colors in this one hank of yarn. Green, purple, blue, yellow, orange, brown. Seriously. I love this yarn.

And now I think I'll try blending some firestar with another dyed twist of roving (another of the yellow/orange braids I posted about).

As my two youngest are fond of saying "me so happy!"

  1. That looks like a fun "toy"! I'd be distracted from posting too! I have some carded wool at home, but I've never touched alpaca before... is it soft?

    1. Alpaca is super soft. Super, super soft. (:

  2. I am drooling over that green yarn!

  3. Oh a drum carder! That would be so fun. Can't wait to see what you make.

  4. Yay! What fun that must be. Definitely something that's on my 'need-to-have' list. And the yarns are gorgeous! Love the green but I'm a sucker for natural tones. :)

  5. Eeeek, how exciting for you!!! It's a beauty! Your handspun is lovely. Have fun usung your carder this weekend.

  6. Yippee!!!! And now I have - what? - DIY yarn envy. That's some beautiful yarn you've made there.

  7. Oooh that green yarn is gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this, I was looking at the Brother carders myself. Glad to see you're enjoying it. :)


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Augustus John, R.A.

Sunday, 30 January 2011

4th Colour

The fourth colour is down with no hiccups, 3 more to go I think. Next colour will be two small areas of red for the rose hips. This should be finished this week then I can begin printing the next block. Unusually, I have three prints at various stages of development, all on the go at once.

Wednesday, 26 January 2011

Third Colour

With all of the blue removed, and the third colour printed to establish the base colour of the branches. Just how much of the block has been removed becomes apparent. From now on only small areas remain to be printed. There is very little room for error and the registration has to be spot on. But with some careful baren work the printing wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined. (Touch wood!)

Next colour will be a light green for the grasses down the left hand side and a few leaves poking through the snow.

Ideas for prints and designs I want to work on are coming thick and fast. As well as this print, I have another block already carved to print the first colour once this one is finished. Another print I have at the design stage may be a bit ambitious. The subject is one I keep returning to in other media but haven't tried as a print. What I want to do may be a bit too subtle for a linocut. We'll have to wait and see.

Monday, 24 January 2011

Second Colour

If I really knew what I was doing I would have thought about this before diving in head first. It was only after I had carved away all the first colour, that I realised just how difficult I had made things. With so much of the block gone, there was very little left inked up to hold the paper. Not so much of a problem if I was using a press, but rubbing with a baren there was always the chance of the paper slipping. Anyway with some careful printing so far so good.

Sunday, 23 January 2011

Jumping on the Snow bandwagon

Its that time of the year, so here is my offering.

After what turned out to be quite a lot of carving I printed the first colour. Another five or so to go.

Sunday, 16 January 2011

Oystercatcher at Winscar Reservoir.
Reduction Linocut (9 Colours). 190mm x 170mm. Edition of 6.

Finished the Oystercatcher print for the 2009 Huddersfield Bird Report Cover, and delivered it on the promised date. For a change I managed to print the entire edition without any registration problems. Started out with 6 sheets of paper and finished with 6 prints.

Sunday, 9 January 2011

Eight Colours down- One to go

Printed the main blue for the dark plumage of the Oystercatcher and so far so good. Only the final dark to go now. I know most printmakers, when asked in interviews will say that cleaning up is the thing they hate most about the process. I quite enjoy cleaning up between colours, it gives me time to think and plan the next move. For me, I find printing the final colour the worst part. With a reduction print so much depends on getting the last printing right. Get it wrong and there is no recovery.

Monday, 3 January 2011

Oystercatcher, progress on the next 3 colours.

Colours 5,6 and 7. Although the light green printed as colour 6 is out of order. I should have printed it as colour 4. Hopefully it will still work out.

Only two colours to go now to fill in the black plumage of the bird, so it should be complete by the end of the week. Then I can go back and finish off the trawler print.

Sunday, 2 January 2011

Happy New Year

Two days in Scotland for the New Year and a couple of sketches.

A frozen Loch of the Lowes in Selkirkshire. Quite a contrast from the atmosphere of what is essentially the same view that I drew on 31st August last Summer. The loch was almost completely frozen over apart from a short patch of clear water near the shoreline.

and a male Brambling feeding in my brothers garden with a mixed flock of Chaffinches, Siskins and House Sparrows.


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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Something's Coming

I got to preview "West Side Story" tonight before we interpret on Thursday. The production is very good - good actors and dancers, the sound was good, everyone seemed to have good energy.  I still prefer the movie version because that is what I saw first, but this was a very good production.

I think next year, I will try to pass on the show that comes right after Christmas - it is always a challenge to get it all in during the holidays.  I suppose it will depend on the show because I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last year. When I saw it was "West Side Story" this year, I couldn't turn it down. I've done this show one other time but I was/am looking forward to doing it again.

Here is "Something's Coming" from the movie "West Side Story":

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Sunday, 26 February 2012

Caution Wide Load....

This is the sign that should be put on the rear of quite a few of the ewes at the moment. They are certainly very wide. Missy is the first ewe due on the 14th March (which is 2 weeks on Wednesday), isn't looking too wide, so I suspect she is just having a single lamb, where as Frea (due 19th March) is very wide. I'm hoping it's because of the way the lamb(s) are laying, and not more than twins. Next week we will have to start and set up the lambing pens as the following week Missy, one of the Scotties and Frea will be penned up in readiness for them to lamb.
On Friday we finally collected our Mazda Bongo Camper van. It's everything we hoped for, the conversion is so professional and the 7 hour ride home was very comfortable. I can't wait to try it out.

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Sunday, September 19, 2010

All rolled into one

Okay so I mentioned in the last post how far behind I was blogging. I decided to just roll them all into one post so I can feel "caught up". So here is what has been happening in the Wilson household the last month (or so).

When I got home from the convention in Aug. my sweet family surprised me with a little Birthday party! I didn't even have to buy my one cake this time. I guess I whined enough about it last year. Anyway getting older wasn't so bad this year!

Disgusting I know!!! At least you didn't have to fight her for it! Cricket kept dragging this gross, bloody, squirrel all over the garage and leaving trails of blood, so I had to run her off with a stick, pick up this creature, and carry it out to the woods! Yuck!!! The following week she had a baby bunny...I spare you the pictures!

Flat as a fritter! Yep that is the flat tire that I changed...All by myself. I had no choice to because it was almost time to pick up the kids, and there was nobody to help. It is a sense of accomplishment though! Yay! Oh when Jeff took the tire to see if they could fix it they pulled an entire half of pair of pliers out. The only part sticking out was the very end of the handle...we had to get a new tire!

Raider football started a couple of weeks ago. They have not had a very good start to the season, and it may not get any better, but Jeff is still coaching up those boys to be young men, and he is really good at it!

Homegrown Watermelon...all on accident! We grew this bad boy with a seed that was probably dropped on the way to compost one day. I ended up growing right by the swing set. We had no idea how long to let it grow, so we picked it last week when it looked to be about the size of the ones we had been buying...very scientific!

It turned out to be quite yummy! Maybe next year we will grow some "for real".

The fair was in town this past week. Unfortunately we have to pass by it to get to the grocery store or anywhere else in town for that matter. Since Jeff took the big boys to the Clemson/Presbyterian game last Saturday, I decided I would take the little ones to the fair. They had a good time and rode a couple of rides (all we could afford without taking out a loan), and all they really wanted was cotton candy. We watched the Rodeo until it started pouring.

These precious cuties FINALLY started pre-school last week. They are going 3 days, and I can not tell you how excited I am to have a little chunk of time to myself! I have big plans too... most of which include exercising, so watch out for the skinny me! They loved the first week, and we love their wonderful school!

Yay! I am officially caught up! I feel so much better. Now I have to stay on the ball!!!


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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Window on Eurasia: Unless West Sets ‘Clear Limits,’ Putin Will Expand Russia Up to NATO’s Borders, Russian Commentator Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 30 – Vladimir Putin will seek to expand Russia’s influence and control right up to the borders of NATO because the West has shown that it is not ready to interfere in any serious way to defend countries that have not been able to get into the Western alliance up to now, according to a Russian political scientist and commentator.

            That is “an enormous tragedy” for Ukraine and the other non-Russian countries but it is one for Russia itself, Aleksandr Avmalgin says. Moscow’s advance is “not for Russia but for the Putin criminal group which is engaged in a raiding action at the international level even as it puts in place an autarchic economic model” at home (

            Putin’s aggression, he continues, is leading to “the degradation of Russian society itself,” in much the same way that Hitler’s war led to a similar decay in German society of the 1930s.”

            Consequently, Avmalgin argues, “if the West does not show Putin clear limits beyond which he must not go, they he will not stop, and the world could move toward a nuclear war.” Unfortunately, he says, “the West does not have such a plan now,” and that promises the continuation of a “lengthy” period of uncertainty.
            According to Avmalgin, Putin is acting the way he is both because of tendencies typical of aging authoritarian regimes which see their power slipping and decide to double their bets and because of the increasing willingness of the Kremlin to listen to the hitherto marginal neo-imperialist ideas of people like Aleksandr Prokhanov.

            Until the Crimean Anschluss, Putin appeared to be acting as someone who wanted to boost Russia’s standing by promoting himself as the leader of “’a conservative international,’” a policy which “in principle, people in the West were prepared for.”  But after Crimea, no one in the West could accept that that was really all that the Kremlin leader wants.

            Instead, it became obvious, Avmalgin continues, that Putin wanted to “reshuffle the deck” of the international order so as to gain greater power at home and abroad.  But it is his international actions that are the most frightening because if Putin thinks he can cut off Russia from the world as Stalin did, then we are dealing with someone who is out of touch with reality.

            Such an effort would ultimately fail but it would lead to a significant further degradation of Russian society, a society so weakened already that there is unlikely to be any rising against Putin. The Kremlin leader is already “conducting a bloodless purge,” allowing those who disagree to leave and rewarding with the spoils of conquest those who agree to stay.

            With regard to Ukraine, however, that strategy didn’t work and won’t, Avmalgin says.  “Putin’s policy toward Ukraine will be much harsher.”  He will seize as much as he can territorially and seek to put the rest of Ukraine under oligarchs loyal to himself.  “Unfortunately,” the analyst says, Putin’s “chances for this are not bad.”

            Ukrainians and the West need to recognize that that second part of Putin’s program will represent “an enormous historical challenge, more than the loss of Crimea or the Donbass represent.”  It would put in Putin’s hands “enormous resources” and show that “it is possible to buy everyone and everything.”

            Putin’s moves up to now, Avmalgin says, have been those of a coolly calculating security officer. One can’t oppose that “with the aide of sincerity and openness.”  Such things only give the Kremlin new openings.

            “The people in the Kremlin,” he says, “having the psychology of intelligence officers do not believe in the sincerity of revolutions, ideological breakthroughs or public policy.” Instead, they believe that everything public is organized by people like themselves behind the scenes and they act accordingly.

            “The Kremlin uses the tactic of diversionists and of ‘green men,’ constantly lies and when the other side wants to know how it is possible to lie that way, it laughs” because it thinks that “we all are intelligence officers.”

            Avmalgin notes that the situation now is much worse even than in Brezhnev’s times because then at least, even as the regime used the KGB more or less freely, it always did so together with “appeals to universalistic values.”  Putin’s regime has dispensed with this: it lies, and it takes what it wants.

            According to the Russian analyst, Moscow is going to organize “’a Bosnian scenario’” in the Donbass,” leaving it within the borders of Ukraine “formally” but making it so autonomous as to be beyond the control of Kyiv,” much as it has already done in Moldova’s Transdniestria.  This will create “’a gray zone’” which will like radiation have an impact on the rest of Ukraine.

            Because of this, some are saying that Ukraine would be better off to cede this territory. That would be true but only under one condition: Ukraine would have to receive the guarantees of EU and NATO membership so that any concession now would not simply create a new place des armes for further Russian demands and destabilization in the future.

            But there is another problem that Ukrainians and the West must face up to.  All societies are “corrupt, but the situation in the Ukrainian elite is especially bad. Many of the leaders are pursuing their own agendas rather than acting in the best interests of Ukraine.  And there is the very real fear that one or another of them could be bought off and betray Ukraine.

            Dealing with that is Ukraine’s first challenge. Unless it is met, Avmalgin suggests, the future will be very bleak indeed, whatever else Moscow does.   But it is likely to prove impossible unless NATO and the West impose limits on Putin's aggression.

Window on Eurasia: Rural Russians Turning to Internet Rather than Television for News, New Study Finds

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 30 – That many Russians in the major cities now rely on the Internet rather than Russian state television for news and information is an old story, but even in rural areas, a new Moscow study finds, residents are turning to the Internet for news and information and increasingly view TV only as a source of commentary and entertainment.

            Given that the Kremlin has been using television to mobilize what it views as its natural conservative base, this shift in rural areas could presage a shift in political values among a segment of the population many analysts believe will always be in Vladimir Putin’s pocket, given the growing gap between what Moscow TV says and what the facts of the situation are.

            According to research findings presented at a recent conference organized by the Moscow Higher School of Economics, rural residents are increasingly aware that Moscow television distorts the news and consequently are turning ever more often to the Internet for information, viewing TV primarily as a source of entertainment (

            In her presentation to the conference, Yevgenya Petrova of the Don State Technical University reported on the results of the 64 in-depth interviews she conducted with people in the Koksov settlement 160 kilometers from Rostov-na-Donu and 15 kilometers from the nearest town.

            She said that residents generally talked about television as a form of entertainment and relaxation rather than as a source of news.  Many said they ignored television reports when they were not about local events or when they had not acquired information about them from other sources, such as the Internet, on the basis of which they could make judgments.

            Repeatedly, Petrova suggested, rural residents said that the Internet is “a significant source of information” and that they did not expect from television new information as much as reflections about it and interpretations of content they had known earlier.”  But that disjunction is not yet having the impact many might expect, she said.

            As one respondent put it, “you know that with us the nation is very sick ... all have high blood pressure. But the television somehow works ... Let those who are supposed to know – the MVD, the Investigation Committee, the procuracy, the administration know ...Not everyone needs the truth.”

            That pattern, Anna Kachkayeva, the dean of media studies at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, added is” “characteristic not only for rural areas. “In the cities, the number of people who are prepared to close their eyes to the fact that information in the media may be unreliable has been growing,” as polls show.

            In the short term, such attitudes may benefit of Putin’s regime, but in the longer one, they will contribute to a split between rulers and ruled that will make any modernization ever more difficult.  At the very least, both new rural interest in the Internet and these attitudes present a new challenge to Moscow and others who seek to reach a Russian audience

Window on Eurasia: Would You Like Pelmeni with Your McShchi?

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 30 – One of the more notorious if somewhat humorous aspects of high Stalinism was Moscow’s effort to claim that Russians invented baseball, the radio and other things that all too obviously came from abroad as part of a campaign to boost Soviet patriotism and undercut any positive feelings about the West.

            Now, in an echo of this, Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed developing Russian “fastfud” on the basis of national cuisines, something that he suggested could “compete with McDonald’s,” help the Russian economy, and most important allow Russians to stand up to the West (

            But in yet another confirmation of the well-known dictum that history repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second as farce, Putin’s proposal may have exactly the opposite effect he intends, not boosting a common Russian identity but rather promoting the identities of distinct ethnic groups within the country.

            Putin made his proposal Monday in response to a question about Osetian pirogi at a meeting with legislators. He said that Russia has many remarkable cuisines, adding that it was necessary to develop their production because they were “better in quality than in [many] fast food places.”

            “You,” he said, “if you will think about this can create at the regional and municipal levels suitable conditions for such small and mid-size businesses by giving certain preferences.” One must be careful about that, but “nevertheless, this can be done.”

            There are already non-Russian groups pushing for exactly that: In Tatarstan, for example, there is a network of TatMak restaurants which serve Tatar food (, and the Russian president may have no problem with that.

            But the Kremlin leader may have problems if, as has already happened in Chuvashia, local activists demand that Chuvash food be given pride of place even on Russian trains when they pass through that, in local schools, and in Chuvash cities.  If others do the same, such steps would do little to promote a common identity.

Instead, as former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin suggested, Moscow may be trying for something better but things in  Russia will tend to turn out like they always do.

Window on Eurasia: Deeper Social Trends, Not State Policies, Affecting Fertility Rates in the Russian Federation, Demographer Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 30 – Even the slightest uptick in birthrate figures in the Russian Federation is celebrated by Moscow as evidence of the efficacy of Russian government actions, but in fact a new study shows the impact of government policy on this most personal of choice is much less than many assume.

            Not only do the summary figures Moscow routinely trumpets conceal still-enormous differences among the nations of the country with non-Russian and especially non-Orthodox peoples typically still having higher fertility rates and larger growth rates because of higher ones in earlier generations, but they conceal some deeper trends that may matter even more.

            In a study, a summary of which as posted online yesterday, Yevgeny Andreyev of the Center for Demographic Research of the Russian School of Economics, calls attention to several of these trends on the basis of his study of demographic statistics in the USSR and the Russian Federation for the period of 1965 to 2012 (

            The data show, he says, that “government measures in the area of demographic policy do not always lead to a growth in the fertility rate.” Instead, at least three deeper and broader patterns are at work, patterns that the state can affect at the margins but does not seem able to change in any fundamental way.

            First, Andreyev points out, over the last few years Russia has benefitted from a worldwide trend.  Beginning in 2008, he notes, there was “a worldwide trend” away from “the super-lower fertility” of the previous decade.  “In all countries where the fertility rate was 1.2 to 1.3 children per woman, it growth began.”

            Second, fertility patterns changed in the Russian Federation according to what the demographer calls “conformist fertility.” “In the USSR, unlike countries with a market economy, all women had a similar or almost similar number of children. Now, a polarization has begun” with women in business often having none and those not having three or even more.

            And third, other social problems, including patterns of alcohol consumption, clearly appear to have an impact on fertility rates, although the exact relationship remains a hypothetical one pending further research. Some surveys suggest that “families of men who drink have fewer children,” but one cannot yet say this is true across the entire country.

            Government policy can affect these trends at the margins, but unless that policy is far more radical than has been the case recently, it will not change them dramatically. In support of that view, Andreyev points to the impact of Gorbachev’s extremely unpopular and ill-fated anti-alcohol campaign.

            Thanks to that effort, the Soviet Union reached a fertility rate of 2.2 children per woman per lifetime, the first time it had reached replacement levels since 1963, an outcome that even pro-natalist Soviet government policies had not achieved. Another benefit of that campaign was that live expectancies reached their highest level ever – one that Russian men have not approached since.

                Andreyev says that the data do not support the frequently-advanced claims that Vladimir Putin’s maternal capital program has been responsible for the growth in fertility rates.  In fact, fertility had begun to grow “long before the December 2006 adoption of that law” and the boost in the numbers in the months following in fact reflected pre-legislative behavior.


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Friday, May 23, 2014

Kung Fu and The Mind

Our fast paced world erodes mental focus by slicing it into small blurry pieces. The practice of Kung Fu rebuilds and strengthens the mind through methods of intense mental focus.  The training methods  at Wing Chun Dallas Kung Fu are designed to continuously sharpen the minds awareness through a focused awareness during the entire workout.

When practicing Kung Fu the mind's focus should be pushed to it's limits. Properly training the mind's focus during every exercise creates an awareness that can unlock new areas of skill development.  This is a key characteristic of a skill based practiced vs. one which requires extreme cardio conditioning or explosive strength. For more information about our unique approach please email Sifu Michael Herrera for class times or read more at

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Man Sao and Wu Sao

Proper positioning must be constantly refined through meticulous training.
At Wing Chun Dallas Kung Fu our training methods focus on applying simple concepts to practical situations of self-defense.  A great example of this is the concept of  Man Sao (inquisitive or asking hand) and Wu Sao (guard or protective hand) which can be used in a simple yet profound way.  The basic idea behind these positions is to protect the centerline while transitioning into applied techniques of Wing Chun.

Every aspect of engagement must be continuously reevaluated.

The forward hand Man Sao can be used to investigates and negotiate opportunities in the forward gate while Wu Sao protects and maintains the rear gate.  From this position the hands should be able to smoothly transition from the forward to the rear gate while exchanging responsibilities during collision. Developing unique qualities of movement during these transitions is the focus of our daily training.
Sifu Michael Herrera in a basic Man Sao and Wu Sao position.

The meticulous practice of Wing Chun Kung Fu allows for the refinement of basic techniques, such as Man Sao and Wu Sao, into an art form. Becoming more effective through higher levels of position and timing during initial movements can unlock access to future techniques.  If you would like to know more please email for class information or visit


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When in Unix you should really do as Unixans do. They store application configuration to the /etc folder and user preferences to user's home folder using dot (.) for first name of file.

So if your application is called maestro then it should store its' configuration to /etc/maestro.conf (or /etc/maestro/config.xml or /etc/maestro/app.ini - it doesn't matter as long as it is in the /etc). And it should store its' user preferences to ~/.maestro file (or to ~/.maestro/.profile.txt - as long as it is in users' folder, starts with a dot and the filename hints about its origin).

Even Gnomes' GConf (you may run it from cmd line using gconf-editor) follows this convention by creating a ~/.gconf file in your home folder.

Your application should also be configurable via environment variables and command line parameters. But what if a collision of settings occur? Then you should use following priorities - low) read config file, mid) check the environment variables, high) check command line parameters.

Configuration source with highest priority should prevail. For example - if an option is defined in config file and is also passed as a command line parameter the one passed at the command line should be used.

Easiest way to implement all this is to try to read each settings from config file, then from environment vars and then from cmd line overwriting it each time a new value is available. This way the last read setting will prevail. There are multiple libraries available to assist you with reading config files and parsing command line parameters. Though options are many for C++ I recommend using Boost.Program_options. It will provide the user of your command line tool with experience he is familiar with including command line script files. I explained my preference for the Boost library here.

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Saturday, 1 December 2012

Saturday - Akamas Clean Up...

We were taking part in our first sortie as members of the ACT (Akamas Cleanup Team) today.  We had missed the inaugural cleanup in September as we had Jane and John coming to stay with us so we were keen to pull our weight this time.

It was a dry and bright morning but we were uncertain as to whether there might be a chilly wind coming off the sea so we dressed in layers and apparently this is what a discerning beach cleaner wears nowadays!!!  I was armed with my new gloves - courtesy of Jumbo's and my pickup stick which turned out to be more trouble than it was worth unfortunately.

Our team leader Keith Watkins leaves nothing to chance with his emails so we knew that we were scheduled to clean the North Beach of Gerannisos and then if there was time to tackle the South Beach but there had been some rain recently and so the tracks down to the beach might be difficult to pass or indeed impassable.  He had supplied all sorts of information including maps and we had arranged with Running John and Running Susan that they would come to pick us up at 9.30am.  They didn't mind driving if John acted as navigator as it is so easy to get lost on the back roads of the Akamas.

They arrived at 9.30 in their lovely shiny red truck and as you can see from the sky is was turning into a glorious day so our layers were probably unnecessary but you know what it is like - if you don't have them you need them and if you do you don't!!  We packed up all our bits and pieces including our packed lunches and my John took up his position as wing man to Running John.  Our journey was about 13 kilometers as the crow flies...

...we did not travel as the crow flies, we traveled on a road that wound its way round and round the side of a mountain and came face to face with the runners taking part in the Cyprus half marathon!!!  How the hell did that happen???????  There were no signs, no roads cordoned off and nowhere for us to turn round so you can imagine how surprised the runners were to have to negotiate with a big red truck bearing down towards them.  On the plus side it allowed us to see close up Simon who was participating and cheer him on enthusiastically on the minus side it was pretty hairy when we had to pass by the ambulance vehicles who were interspersed amongst the runners.

We eventually got through this unexpected obstacle and carried on down the road until we found a sign post inviting us to turn left for Peyia which seemed odd as Peyia seemed to be the wrong direction (little did we know) or right for Neo Chorio and all Keith's instructions mentioned a road from Neo Chorio.  Our map indicated a left turn at some point but not where we thought we were at the moment.  How wrong could we be???  We should have taken the left turn to Peyia as the bit of coastline is deemed to be near Peyia Forest and therefore Peyia district.  What should have taken us about 30 minutes max took us an hour and a half but through some really spectacular scenery.  Thank God we were in the truck as some of the roads were very dodgy indeed and thank God that Running John is so laid back.

We tried to contact Keith to let him know what had happened but signal strength in the Akamas can be variable to say the least but we did managed to get a message to him and a message back to say that the roads to the original beach were impassable and that they were at a different beach further North and he had left clear signage on the road.  Once we got our bearings at Fontana Amorosa (some way further North than we needed to be) we eventually caught up with the cleaning crew and you can see Running John's opinion of my John's map reading skills - in fairness the maps we had were worse than useless and we will know for another time - plus there was that lovely scenery...

We aren't sure of the name of the beach which we cleaned but it was beautiful if you could look beyond the crap that had either been dumped there or washed up.  In all twenty five willing volunteers armed with bags suppled by the Community Board of Neo Chorio rolled up their sleeves and set to work.  It was a stunning day and there was no cold wind from the sea so our layers were confined to the truck.  We apologised for our late arrival but the team members come and go to suit themselves so Keith was just glad for our help as long as he had it.

When we stopped for lunch we were joined by Orexi Elena and her three children who had come to join in the adventure.  They probably don't appreciate it at the moment but they will never know how lucky they are to have the childhood that they enjoy.  They have such freedom and spend so much time outside in beautiful surroundings.  They were armed with gloves - a million sizes too big and seemed particularly interested in the bones that were one the beach which John tried to convince them were human!!!  Whatever they were they had been picked clean by the elements!

The beach looked stunning by the time we came to leave although some of the others stayed on way after us and continued clearing some of the shrub land adjoining the coast.  I know that people will say that people using the beach should be more responsible for their rubbish but I am not entirely sure that what was on the beach was more likely to have been washed up as this was quite remote so not one that it overly used.  Plastics manufacturers have a lot to answer for and you wouldn't believe how many cigarette lighters and cyalume's we found.

When we left, Running John loaded up the back of his van with our bags and many others to drop them off at the collection point up the road.  That was a laugh as we kept losing bags as we went over bumps!!  We kept saying that the whole day had been a right old laugh - even when we were out in the deepest darkest part of the Akamas able to see the coast but not able to get to it.  We said it would provide us with one of those 'Remember When?...' conversations.  The next clean up is scheduled for sometime in January - weather permitting and we have heard from Keith that our happy band managed to clear 120 10 litre bags of rubbish - how fab is that!!

If you are thinking of volunteering - do it!

1 comment:

  1. Well Done - lovely to recognise so many faces.

    Wendy and Bill


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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Brush Dancing

What motivates you as a painter?  Something you see? Something you feel?  Often, for me, it's music. Maybe I'm an actor at heart, but when I'm listening to music, I am immediately transported to some imaginary place and I take on a character specific to the type of music I'm hearing.  And sometimes that translates into my painting.

Music has always played an important role in my life. I love it. Everything from classical to jazz, rock and sometimes even rap. And yes, I often start dancing
while I'm painting. The two paintings  above resulted from my listening to Jimmy Buffet's "Desperation Samba ( Halloween in Tijuana)." And no, I wasn't drinking margaritas--although one or two might have helped!  My point is, there are all sorts of things that can get the creative juices flowing--music, a walk, or maybe just sitting quietly for a moment or two.  Whatever works, do it!

Meanwhile, here's what's on the canvas now--I love purple and these flowers in contrast with the white pitcher and lace just screamed "paint me!" Not finished yet, and I'm still working on the portrait of Charlie....but sometimes a little diversion is good for creativity too!  This is 8 x 10, in oils, using a reference photograph by Karen Barefoot, Holidaysburg, PA.

Betsy Grant said...

Boy I can sure appreciate what you said about music, as well as your comments on creativity. I like this new painting with the purple flowers. Keep up the good work

jeannette said...

Neat to find someone like you, because I come from a musical family -so, I love music, and I'm the only one who developed my painting skills!

Hope to see more paintings on your blog -some just show their painting without any text at all.Cheers!

Betsy Grant said...

Art - painting, sculpture - you name it, inspires me as a musician! Visit me again at where I love to hear artists comments about life.


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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Seeing that I'm in a posting mood...

I had an appointment with my friendly neighborhood optometrist today. Except that the friendly neighborhood happens to be 16 miles away.

Well, being diabetic, I have to have my pupils dilated every time I go and today was no different. It was recommended that I get trifocals. It's a drag getting old.

It was partly sunny here in Ohio today, and I forgot my sunglasses. Being the fool I am, I hopped into the WIXYmobile and headed west. There were times that the sun was so bright and I started getting sick to my stomach. I headed towards Wadsworth to get some items at the Evil Big Box Store.

As I was going to the the store, I was listening to our resident loudmouth afternoon radio lack-of-personality, Mike Trivisonno. I do have to give Triv credit for my record day, as far as hits go. This was when I called his show and he cut me off and was rude to me. But that was then and this is now and he's still a buffoon. Back to my story. One thing I heard Triv say was that the democrats fixed the New Hampshire primary.

Triv then had a caller who said that anyone who said that he was part of Cleveland's problems were insane. This caller identified herself as Alicia Battle. For those of you who were unaware, Alicia Battle was a person who claimed that she bought a winning Mega Millions ticket, but lost it in the parking lot of the convenience store. She then tried suing the lady who did buy the 162 million dollar winner. Yeah, that's the type of person I'd want sticking up for me.

Anyway, it was still bright, so into the Evil Big Box Store I go. I was walking around trying to kill some time until the sun starts to set. I also needed some ink cartridges for my printer. So I go back to the electronics department and take a look at the selection. The rational thing to do is buy both cartridges packaged together, right? Wrong. The B&W cartridge was 18.17 and the color cartridge was 33.27. The combo package was 53.27. You do the math.

I think a lot when my vision's impaired.

Liquid said...

Sure hope your eyes are better this morning but that you are still thinking sharply! lol

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I remember him! He stole your banana pudding....right off my blog! Sneaky critter, he is. Alicia probably met him in the parking lot to devour it. Hmmmmmmmm.

Have a super day!

Pat Jenkins said...

ok you say you where DIRVING around when your VISION was impaired. i must alert the authorities in northeast ohio in the future!!

74WIXYgrad said...

I wasn't doing any dirving. I was driving.

stacys1175 said...

I sure hope everything went ok at the eye doctor. I got new glasses last month anyway thats crazy about that lady and the lottary ticket. that was the first time i have heard the story. :)

Amias said...

Cliff you are too funny. The closing on this one was right on cue. Most of us think a lot when our vision is impaired. Look like Mike and Alicia eyes need a little dilating.

Ha ha ha ... printing in color costs more. Oh, how I long for those black and white days.

bizdecision said...

Larry the Cable Guy's rant about big box stores that have "clinics" is hilarious. He blasts Wal-Mart.

Pat Jenkins said...

my vision was ipmaired!!! excuse me!!

Frasypoo said...

I hate it when they dilate your eyes !
The last time they did it,I had to wear those plastic fake glasses and rode home on the bike !!I could have died ~~~
Hope you saw my post on cheap frames !!!
Printer cartridges are a big sham!
Walgreens refills ink in some cartridges!
I vaguely remember Battle !!!


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W. Pa. authorities seize 15 pounds of heroin

SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) – Investigators in western Pennsylvania say nearly 15 pounds of pure, uncut heroin was seized from the Pennsylvania Turnpike in western Pennsylvania earlier this month.

Authorities in Somerset County said they haven’t seen this much unadulterated heroin before but figure it’s worth millions.

Somerset County District Attorney Lisa Lazzari-Strasiser said a trooper pulled over the work van after running the license plate and discovering it didn’t match the make and model.

A criminal complaint said driver Maria Pina and passenger Gilberto Ocampo, both of Illinois, seemed nervous but consented to a search.

That’s when police spotted an air compressor that looked tampered with. Inside, officers said they found 7 kilograms – about 15 pounds – of uncut heroin.

Pina and Ocampo remain jailed on $500,000 bail each.

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Two Men Missing on Lake Superior Found

Filed under: U.P. News Updates |

Great Lakes Radio News UpdateMARQUETTE, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News)Two Keweenaw Bay Indian Community commercial fishermen who were reported missing on Lake Superior have been located.

James Denomie and Floyd Forcia, Jr., went out on to Lake Superior with their fishing vessel last night near Lac La Belle, and did not return at their expected time. A rescue effort was organized by the U.S. Coast Guard and the KBIC Tribal Police.

According to authorities, the men were located and are reported to be in good condition. No other details are available at this time.

Great Lakes Radio – Delivering reliable and accurate local news to you on air, online and on demand

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Wobbly Times number 58

There are no animals who prefer to be tied up, caged etc. as opposed to being free. I think the instinct for freedom is tied to our being animals and that getting more and more political power is the key to getting in tune with that instinct. Of course, in civilised class society, we're socialised in ways which tend to make submission to our rulers look more and more attractive by satisfying an even more powerful instinct: survival. After all, THEY have armed bodies of men on their side. We must break this link because it ties us down; it keeps us in cages. We can do that by making political power equal for all individuals; but that means we have to create a classless society.

The ability to think critically is what Marx promoted which is the opposite of dogmatic memorization of concepts frozen in time for all time--idee fixe. Humans create ideas. This is fine. Reason is our great adaptive characteristic as animals. When the ideas, which humans create using their reason, begin to rule i.e. take on a personality of their own, we get the upside-down thinking, which dogmatists adhere to and rulers use to keep their flocks alienated from their own power. For dogmatists, self-emancipation self-empowerment become associated with memorising fixed ideas, true for all time. I think the first step towards making a dogma out of the utterance or writing of a person is to give those notions the sort of finality which attaches the person's name with the suffix 'ist' or 'ian' or some other such designation e.g. Buddhist, Marxist and so on.

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Mongolian Grills, Texas style.

A couple of weeks ago, a couple of good friends wanted to take us out to dinner.  Their suggestion was a Mongolian Grill with a unique name: HuHot.  I had never been there before, but the concept was not new to me.  I love the idea of creating my own meal, so I was looking forward to the visit.

The search for true "Mongolian Dining will not end in truth there; bring a native to the restaurant and he’ll likely 1) wonder why there’s no mutton, camel, horse or yak meat; 2) comment on the pitiful lack of fat on the available meat; 3) recoil at the sight of any vegetables; and 4) inquire as to the nature of “samurai teriyaki sauce.”

The point is this: There’s very little that’s Mongolian about HuHot Mongolian Grill, though the shack’s brass will tell you that Genghis Khan and his marauding band of conquerors, lacking “traditional cutlery,” used their swords to slice thin strips of meat and vegetables, then used their shields to sear them over an open fire.
Then again, such inaccuracies are symptomatic of many Asian restaurants not only here in San Antonio, but in Ulan Bator as well. Yes, it seems that Mongolian barbecue has finally spread to the land of Mongols — BD’s Mongolian Barbeque (a HuHot rival) opened a franchise in the Mongolian capital last year. So be it, I guess. Why settle for authenticity when imitation will do just fine? Anyone up for mutton fat cooked inside the stomach cavity of a deboned marmot? I didn’t think so. Japanese teppanyaki it is, because that’s essentially what HuHot serves up.

The name itself is a bastardization of Inner Mongolia’s capital, Hohhot, which, in native tongue, means “Blue City” — a reference to the burg’s cloudless skies. HuHot replicates the effect here by suspending blue disc lights resembling vinyl 45s from the ceiling. Everywhere else, the décor is ablaze with fiery reds, oranges and disturbingly humorous murals of sinister beasts eating other beasts, a true representation of our carnivorous tendencies.
On to the rapacious extravaganza. Your nomadic journey begins as first you grab a bowl from a food station where an assortment of meats — chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, calamari, mussels and scallops and that quintessential Mongolian delicacy, alligator (alligator? just kidding) — lie partially frozen in metal trays. Then pile on your choice of noodles — ranging form udon style egg noodles to thin rice noodles and even Japanese yakisoba.   Head to the next station and dump any number of stir-fry–friendly vegetables into your bowl before pouring multiple combinations of the 20-plus sauces sitting in station No. 3. Five to seven ladlings of such sauces as “mild samurai teriyaki” and “spicy kung pao yow” are recommended for the fullest flavor. The penultimate stop before your journey’s end is the grill (a large, circular, heated steel tablet), where a trio of perspiring chefs cook up the contents of your bowl.

As we waited for them to meet us there, I wandered around the restaurant to familiarize myself with their set up. They had a plentiful supply of proteins available, including a great selection of seafood. (I had tried to give up red meat for lent, so this idea was working out well.) My favorite part of the seafood offering was the mussels, still in the shell. They had good fish and tasty calamari.

The results for me were mixed (in more ways than one).  At the very least, strips of meat should be offered, but in the name of cooking expediency, density is sacrificed. In addition, as much as I love sugar snap peas, their sweetness didn’t mesh well with the dish at all, though the sauce did pack a sufficiently peppery wallop.

Finding the right flavor combinations can be a challenge, and the suggestions HuHot provides don’t always work. So back I went into the fray, having lost the first battle, but determined to win the war. Round two featured more seafood, broccoli, yakisoba noodles, green beans, asparagus, celery and a mishmash of sauces — spicy barbecue, ginger, Szechuan and garlic chili. Again, the mealy texture of the formerly frozen vegetables sealed the fate of this dish, and the overabundance of greens even made it a tad mushy.

Ironically, this haven for meat-lovers will please vegetarians (a class of diners completely unbeknownst to most Mongolians), given the variety of fresh vegetables on hand.

Their vegetable selection left a little to be desired, as many of the choices were clearly vegetables that were put on the line in a frozen state, then allowed to thaw in their own water.  This left the green beans and asparagus tips a bit mushy.

The sauce choices were so numerous that I was not able to replicate my sauce profile on different dishes, despite going back 3 times.

It was fun watching the cooks grill my meal, and I was able to keep an eye on it the entire time.  (No hidden or surprise ingredients when eating...)  I was also able to strike up a conversation with another diner who had taken a generous portion of mussels.  It was her second visit to the restaurant, and she was giving them another try, as her first visit was not as good as she had hoped.

Overall, I was happy with my meal.  I got full, and there were no objectionable flavors to the meal.  The only concern I had with the entire visit was the cleanliness of the location.  We were there around 6 p.m. on a Friday evening, and they were not yet busy.  However, the floor area around the grill and food bar was filthy.  There was mashed up food that had been stepped on, sauce and water puddles, and the staff did not seem to mind walking through it.  The catch tray around the grill was also full of burnt and spilled food.

From a food safety standpoint, one of my concerns also involved cross contamination of the dishes.  The cooks around the grill use the same spatulas the entire trip around the grill.  They scrape the spatulas against the catch pan, then move around the grill to the next dish.  If a diner were to have a seafood allergy, or potentiallly some other type of food allergy, they would have been in trouble, because the cooking process does not eliminate the food residue.

Conversely, at Genghis Grill, as an example, each bowl cooked on the same round grill gets its own set of cleaned, sanitized cooking sticks.  If you express a food allergy, the Grillmaster annnounces it to the rest of the cooks and they use a second set of sticks to segregate your bowl from the rest of the dishes.

I might go back.  I might be alone when I go back, but I might go back.  Overall, it wasn't bad.  Not terrible, not great, but not bad.

HuHot Mongolian Grill on Urbanspoon

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Monday, December 1, 2008

AT THE WELL...Keeping "Mary" in Christmas

TRACY is hosting our discussion this week. Over AT THE WELL, the ladies are all giddy and celebrating! Now that Thanksgiving is over, the excitement of the next holiday has everyone laughing and rejoicing. The hustle and bustle of the CHRISTmas Season is upon us.
  • The shopping lists
  • The gift wrapping
  • The card writing
  • The baking
  • The concerts
  • The parties
  • The decorating
(~Hit the PAUSE button~)

Ok, right here is where we pause and rewind the tape. Remember how I said the ladies over At The Well are all laughing and rejoicing...

For some of us, the "to-do" lists are just too long.
The expectations are just too much.
All of the gifts cost too much money.

It doesn't take long for any of us to cash in that laughter and rejoicing for grumbling, complaining and an attitude of "I'll be glad when it's over!"

What has happened to the simplicity of Christmas?

(hit the PLAY button now....)

The hustle and bustle has robbed us of our joy. We have forgotten that the beauty and the joy of giving is as simple as a wooden stable.

The greatest gift of all is Jesus Christ.
He is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Think about that first Christmas...
  • there was no fuss - just hay!
  • there was no feast, there was no worry, no complaining.
  • Only love.
  • Only joy.
  • Only peace.

The wisemen brought gifts.
Three gifts for baby Jesus.

The simplicity of love, joy and peace was wrapped in the manger not wrapped under a tree.

If you are looking for ways to put the "Mary" back into your Christmas...
  • I suggest "love"
  • I suggest "joy"
  • I suggest "peace"
These are three things that can make our Christmas have meaning!

I suggest "simplicity"

MATTHEW 2:11b "And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

Three gifts were brought to baby Jesus. In our house, we express our love towards our children with 3 gifts at Christmas.

If it was good enough for a King,
it is good enough for our children.

What are some ways that you keep the "Mary" in your Christmas? Why not share your ideas with us and post your link in Mr. Linky over at TRACY'S, so we can all be blessed by your ideas. Be sure to check out everyone's chatter about today's topic.

Mae said...

yes ma'am its that time of the year again, one of my favorite. Stop by and pick up your award. I love what you do here.

Megan DiMaria said...

Thanks for the lovely words about Searching for Spice. I'm so glad you enjoyed reading it.

Merry Christmas!

A prisoner of hope,

Jennifer said...

Beautifully and simply put, Laurie!

I remember a former pastor saying that they did the 3 gifts for their children also. Needless to say, we are not one of those families. I know our limits on what we can spend, how much we can take on during this season and when to say "stop".

I love this time of year! It puts a smile on my face from Thanksgiving until New Years...just love the holidays!

My way to combat the "grumbles" is to get it done early and coast the rest of the way till Christmas.

Love you!

LauraLee Shaw said...

Oh, perfectly stated. Simplicity. Love it. Nuff said!

Heather B. said...

I love your point about the first christmas, it really brings the real meaning of Christmas home to me!

Thanks, lovely post.

Merry Christmas!

Laurie Ann said...

A breath of fresh air! I loved your post, Laurie. I especially love that you wrote, "The simplicity of love, joy and peace was wrapped in the manger not wrapped under a tree." Amen!

lori said...

ahhhh yes...there wasn't a mall, no credit cards, the only noise was that of the animals in the barn...
ahhhh yes...what a fabulous post!

peace Laurie!

Terri Tiffany said...

I really enjoyed this post! It's easy to get caught up and forget why we celebrate.

DarcyLee said...

When we focus on that first Christmas, it makes today's Christmas season much more simpler. Thank you for that reminder.

Joyfull said...

Great post to awaken our hearts to simplicity. Thanks for being a blessing.

Named Alicia said...

Great thoughts! Thanks for the reminder that Christmas is about simplicity, the simplicity of a baby in a manger. Oh, how thankful I am for that baby!

Patty Wysong said...

This is the first time I've heard of the three gifts--neat idea!!

Jenny said...

We do the same thing-3 gifts for each child. I also try to keep the total for all three gifts under $100.

Daniel's Mom said...

This was very amazing,thank you Laurie. I like the gifts of joy,peace,and love.

I really like the 3 gift idea too. I cannot wait to teach Daniel all about Christ,all year long. Christmas is just special to me.


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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

barkitecture: noun. The architecture of doghouses

(REPOST from April 2005)

Barkitecture Posted by Hello

Barkitecture is Fred Albert's whimsical book, published in 1999, by Abbeville Press. This book has spawned a number of creative fundraisers run by animal service organizations with participating architectural firms and regular lovers of dogs like myself.

In celebration of our dog Ally Woo's 8th birthday, I'll be writing not only about my sweetheart,

Ally Woo Posted by Hello

but the other two dogs in my life - my first grand dog, Digglet Woo and my god dog, Bijou over the next several posts.

Meanwhile download a PDF sample of this inspiring book! Perhaps, you'll be inspired just like me in building a house for my dog Ally as my first outdoor project. I'll post some construction photos of the "AllyDome" later on...

Chessie's Doghouse Posted by Hello

Chessie's Doghouse. John M. Collins, Locust Valley, New York.

This exquisite English timber frame doghouse was modeled after an eighty-year-old children playhouse on Long Island. The antique hand-hewn beams are held in place with mortise-and-tenon joints, and are topped with an authentic thatch roof. Antique glass fills the custom-made windows, which are held in place by bone-shaped latches. A matching leash holder flanks the front door.

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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Texas Lightning

Ever heard of the band "Texas Lightning"? I discovered them via Coverville Episode 210

Last year the furious five released their first longplayer and presented themselves on an extensive tour of Germany. Only half a year later the Texans won the preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with their selfpenned hit "No No Never". This made them the very first countryband in the history of europe's most important song contest to enter the finales. Up to now "No No Never" has sold over 450,000 copies in Germany and therefore has reached triple gold status – while the Album "Meanwhile, back at the Ranch..." has reached gold-status as well with over 100,000 copies sold. It's not a joke, it's country.

Good country pop music - they have a great version of Michael Jackson's "Man In The Mirror" and Prince's "Kiss" and are reminisent of Asleep at the Wheel, Dan Hicks & His Hotlicks and Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen - bands I was listening to probably twenty some years ago!

Always fun to discover new music considering "radio" with a couple of exceptions tries to prevent the process. Based on today's playlist, one would think that Lynard Skynard or Led Zeppelin only made two good songs. I have to make the assumption that being a musician these days in today's music business climate is probably the most entrepreneurial undertakings one can dive into!

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Wednesday, 28 February 2007

Cafe Modena

Found a little treasure in the city a couple of days ago. Café Modena is on the corner of Creek and Adelaide St in Brisbane's CBD and it serves by far the best coffee I've ever had.

Now I'm not a huge coffee connoisseur like my mate Grendel over in WA, but I am slowly getting a taste for good fresh coffee, as opposed to the run of the mill stuff most cafés in Brisbane serve.

Modena however would probably rate pretty high even with Grendel! Alen, the owner and barista, is passionate about coffee and he’s a perfectionist! Every cup he makes (about 200 an hour he tells me) is perfect in temperature, milk, strength and personality. Alen is a real open and friendly bloke, and when I ordered a ristretto (only my second ever, and the first pulled by a fair dikum barista) he was very talkative about his coffee blends and grinds - obviously a ristretto is recognised as having some real coffee enthusiast links.

Alen gets a custom blend for his cafe, roasted fresh at Bowen Hills (a company called DiBella, which I haven’t heard of before), and he takes so much time with every coffee to make it exactly right.

The results are amazing, my ristretto was fantastic! I now understand Grendel’s comments on crema and full flavour, this shot certainly was an experience. It had a full flavour, slightly chocolaty, with a really sweet and long lasting aftertaste. Actually I was anticipating it so much I forgot to take a photo before finishing it, but I found the cup enough of a novelty to take a photo of it empty, pretty funky!

After I finished I spent some time chatting with Alen before trying a long black (I’m not really a fan of milky coffees) and again he took so much time to warm the cup, press the coffee properly and pull the shot straight into the hot water, again the crema on top was just right for a long black and the temperature was perfect! (and I remembered to get the photo!)

Really really impressed, and it’s just a shame it’s no where near an RACQ branch so I won’t be able to get there too often! While I was enjoying my long black I also was able to admire some of the scenery which graces Brisbane’s financial district (Yes that is a Porsche 911 Carrera Turbo!!!)

Read some of the reviews and check out some more photos and coffee ideas at

1 comment:

"Grendel" said...

Sounds like you've found a winner there Jarrol - and you are right about the Ristretto - it is code for "Give me your best", sadly many cafes are not sure what a ristretto is, or how to give you a really good one.

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Monday, 25 July 2011

Quality or Quantity Time? A balance of course!

Hello friends!  I hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer...I am having a busy one, which is why my blogging is a little less frequent!

So, lately I've been thinking about when I first went back to work after my first maternity leave.  I was a little obsessed with the number of hours I spent with my little one to the point of counting how many waking hours I spent with her in comparison to the sitter!  This really didn't do anything for the quality of the time I did spend with her I'm sure!

As a mom, of course I want to spend as much time with my children as I can.  More important however, is how I spend that time with them.  If I am so stressed out about all the things not getting done or about work or about all the other things in life there is to get stressed about...I won't be a very nice person to be around and the kids would perhaps prefer not to be around me so much!  Maybe an extra hour or two in child care or with Dad to get a few needed 'mommy' things taken care of wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Most of the time, I am a bit too focused on all the things that I have to do and wanting to accomplish something and not 'waste time'.  I have to constantly remind myself that taking time to do an activity with any or all of the kids, chosen by them, is not a waste of time.  (Even if it is watching a movie that we've all watched several times before!)  This is quality time...the kind of thing that tells them that they are important enough to me to put aside all the things I 'need' to do long enough to spend time with them.

On the other hand, I have come across people that spend very little time with their kids and when they do it is always a big production... something big and probably expensive every time they spend time together.  This is not necessary... and it is a symptom of the guilt on feels for how little time they are spending with the kids... hopefully, this is not a problem you have and if it is, I pray you will work on only have so much time with the kids until they're gone.

Now that our older two are getting old enough to really chip in around the house, they are also old enough to understand that the more they help out, the more time we'll have to all do fun things together.  We also can take advantage of the time spent together on chores to get caught up on the events of the day or week and to discuss many other things.  This too can be quality time together.

Well, these are my thoughts on the subject...and no, I don't count the hours anymore... but of course things are always different with the third child anyway ;)

Enjoy those little people and may they grow up to be your friends that always know that you have time for them!

Tuesday, 21 June 2011

The Struggle to Keep the Weight Off - Ju Jubes and Jelly Beans!

Those that know me really well may have questioned my expertise on a couple of my posts.  I wouldn't necessarily be known as an expert in keeping the house tidy etc... But, when it comes to candy... that is my area of expertise!

I have never been a skinny person, and I don't really aspire to be, just healthy.  When I speak of a struggle with weight, I speak of the struggle with questions like "Why can't I pass up the after Easter 50% off specials on chocolate?" and "Why are JuJubes on sale every time I go to the bulk food store to by something else?"  I am my own worst enemy when it comes to stocking my cupboards (I have a stash at work and at home) with things that I shouldn't be eating.  And of course, as a working mom, I don't have hours each day to get a workout in.  If I have an hour a few times a week, I'm doing good.

So, what to do?  I am currently trying to keep of the weight that I lost over 6 months ago... a little after having my third child.  I am trying to stay motivated by telling myself that I don't want to have to lose it again.  At some point I'd love to lose a little more...but one step at a time.  So I've developed a few techniques:
  • first, I almost never completely eliminate the treats I love...that drives me to those terrible binges
  • second, I use the treats as a reward for doing some exercise....(I know, if I did the exercise without the reward, the benefits would be even greater...but it's a start!)  If I don't have time to do any workout today...then I simply delay my treat to tomorrow.  Somehow I manage to talk myself out of it that way.
  • third, yesterday is gone...don't dwell on a bad day... it can start a cycle that turns into a bad week etc.
  • finally, set reasonable goals...we don't all have time to workout as much as we'd like.  Some days, the goal is simply to get a 15 minute walk in at my lunchtime.
So, what works for you...I'd love to hear it!

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Quick Bathroom Clean-up Tips

Okay, so on the last post we decided to lower our standards...but in the area of the bathroom, you don't want to lower your standards too much!  This has always been an area that I can't stand being dirty...I mean it's the room where you're trying to get can you do that if it's dirty?

Anyway, I have come up with a way to both keep it from getting out of control and clean it up are my tips:
  • Stop using soap!  How can we get clean without soap?  Okay, so what I really mean is stop using bars of soap.  At our house we use shower gel in the shower and liquid hand soap at the sink.  The difference is amazing!  There is no soap scum to clean up, meaning that cleaning the sink & tub are much easier.
  • The 'change towel clean up' - every time you change the hand towel in the bathroom, take the dirty towel and wipe down the sink & counter.  If it's a full bathroom, do the shower every so often this way too, and even the floor.  The idea here is not to aim for perfection, but maintenance.
  • Antibacterial wipes - so the above method won't clean away many of the I like to keep antibacterial wipes handy for an added clean up from time to time.  Be sure to get the taps, door handles, toilet handles etc.  I do this a little more often these days since I never know when the kids are going to leave the door open and the littlest is going to make a visit!
  • Gel pucks for the toilet - without promoting a specific brand...there are some stiff gel toilet cleaners that you apply to the main bowl area to keep cleaning it every time you flush...they don't turn the water blue, but I find them way more effective than the tank pucks I've used in the past.  They also keep the bathroom smelling a little fresher.
  • The 'change toothbrush clean up' - this one is less frequent...but when I get a little more ambitious and it's time for a toothbrush change...I clean those little hard to get corners with the toothbrush before throwning it away.  (Make sure you have a replacement before doing this!)
I find these tips keep the major bathroom cleaning to a minimum, which is important when we don't have a lot of time... or when we just don't enjoy this type of job!

Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Company's Coming! Uh-oh...

Are there certain friends that you would dread dropping by?  Not because you don't enjoy their company, but because the standards to which they keep their house are so much higher than you are able to acheive at your own frankly feel embarassed.

There are a few memories of my childhood that really stick with me...and one of them is every now and then my mother would get off the phone and shout out "Marilyn's coming over!"  We all knew what this meant... That statement would immediately trigger a flurry of activity.  Things were picked up off the floor, all the flat surfaces that had collected miscellaneous items would be cleared off, a quick sweep and perhaps some dusting.  Marilyn didn't live very far away, so there was only so much we could do...  And then her visits were always followed by a few days of not being able to find things because they had been so hurriedly stashed...

Why are we so affected by other people's standards?  Why do we put ourselves through so much agony?  I admit that I have inherited, if you will, a certain degree of this same attribute.  I want my house to be more tidy... and I'm not able to always keep it that way and usually for good reason... yet, I'm thrown into a slight panic each time I hear that we may have guests arriving.

What are the solutions?  I think they're relatively simple:
  • First, less stuff...easier said than done for some?!  I like to give the children each a box before gift giving seasons and have them fill it with things they don't use anymore to give/throw away... that way, each time they get new things it doesn't just add to the pile.  Dad is a little more challenging...
  • Second, a place for things.  The older children in my house are to keep their things in their rooms (The one year old is exempt for the time being...)  This way, the main living area is not cluttered with things.  There are hooks near the front door for the school backpacks and not being able to reach the closet hangers in no excuse... and there is a boot box to store the off season items.  I rotate the baby's toys and store the extras in the Ottomon that has storage inside.  We also put up some extra cupboards in the laundry room which helps provide a place for other miscellaneous items like phone chargers, lunch bags when not in use, empty paper towel rolls being saved for crafts etc.  Having all of these things out of the way makes it so much easier to keep the house tidy enough to not be mortified ;)
  • Third, get the family to help.  This goes without saying...Mom, working or otherwise, shouldn't be doing everything.  You don't do any favours to your children to allow them to contribute to a mess and not help clean it up.  I have explained to my children on several occasions... the more we work together, the more time mom with have to do things with them.
  • Finally, lower your standards!  I recently had to come to the conclusion that if I was waiting for my house to be perfect to invite guest over, I was going to wait a long time... I can't be perfect and my friends will just have to understand that I value other things like spending time with my kids over keeping the house perfect
So, drop in anytime...and take my house as it is;)  We'll enjoy a cup of tea together and each others company!

Monday, 18 April 2011

Family vs. career - stop feeling guilty!

I regularly fluctuate between wishing I didn't have to work at all, and really enjoying the work I do and feeling a bit guilty about it.  After all, shouldn't I want to stay home with my children at all costs?

Well, I've come to the conclusion that I need to stop feeling guilty. The guilt will affect my performance and mood in all areas of my life and then I won't enjoy anything and no one will enjoy being around me!

If I really had the option to not work, I would definitely take a good long break from my career to see my children to a certain age where they are a little more independent.  After that, I would most definitely go back to work to a job that I love and to an environment that is flexible enough to adapt to my family life.

At the moment, I don't have the option, the family budget just won't allow it, so I count my blessings that I am working in an environment that is flexible and where work life balance is valued.

My 11 year old wants to work in a job like mine... so she must see something good about it ;)

Happy balancing!

Monday, 4 April 2011

Going back to work - how to get organized?

Well, after almost a year off work, that dreadful date was approaching and I was going to have to return to work, ready or not.   I don't know about everyone else, but for me it was a time of mixed feelings, but mostly I felt that I wished there were some way I could stay home a little longer.  My little "sunshine" was just getting to be so much fun and someone else was going to get to enjoy him!

But like it or not, we were not in a situation that allowed for me to not go back to work, so I had to face reality.  I have been able to manage only going back into the office 3 days a week to start and working from home for a bit, and using some of my banked vacation time... but it is nonetheless quite a change in routines.  Oh, I didn't mention yet that I have two other children that are in school...

I do posess the ability to be quite organized actually, but I do have to work at it, and I tend towards being just as organized as I need to be...and perhaps I hadn't needed to be for a while ;)

So, I blew the dust of that part of my brain and thought about some of the things that I used to do to make running a household a little simpler when we don't have all day to plan dinner and do laundry (of course we never have all day for these things...I'm joking!).  Here's what I remember:
  • Plan meals in advance - this saves time, money and defaulting to unhealthy eating, my husband and I used to decide at the beginning of the week what would be for dinner each night and who would make it.  It can even be based on the weekly specials to save even more!  Doing the shopping in advance will follow from this.
  • Use a family calendar - this prevents mom and dad from both scheduling something on the same night without a sitter!  (And whoever forgets to write something down gets to rescedule if there is a conflict)
  • Have a routine - say, for example, you always do two loads of laundry on Tuesdays and Thursdays and catch up on the weekend, everyone in the house will know when to have their laundry in the right place to be washed (or at least they'll learn quickly!)
  • Get the kids involved - the older children can certainly chip in and do their share.  They can likely help fold laundy and certainly put their own away, they can pack their lunch, empty dishwasher etc.  not having to worry about all these little things will add up to a lot less stress!
  • Have things ready the night before - the kids showered, lunches made and clothes laid out.
  • Try to keep a tidy area - okay, maybe this is a personal thing... but if when I walk into the house I always see a mess... it immediately puts to mind all the things that need doing.  If we can keep the entrance and maybe the kitchen tidy, I'm so much happier!
Okay, so that's a start...and it helped me even to write them down... some I have always had in place, and some I had let slide for a while.  Let me know your ideas too!

Check out my other blog offering IT help to parents at