The Mail on Sunday's You magazine chooses Early One Morning as its reading group book. Discussion points and more material on the background to the story can be read here.
The Greek edition of Early One Morning, is published on June 9th with a strikingly different cover.
Virago has published an exclusive piece Virginia wrote about the inspirational woman behind her ongoing love of Rome.
The paperback edition of Early One Morning is published on April 7th. Waterstones announces that it is one of their Spring bookclub choices.
The Turkish edition, Bir Sabah Erkenden, has arrived. Published by Timas, Istanbul, it has a different but equally evocative cover. The end papers depict a beautiful, muted panorama of Rome.
Virginia's publicist, Zoe Hood has been shortlisted for the best publicity campaign of the year in the hardback fiction category at the PPC (Publishers Publicity circle) awards for her work on Early One Morning.
Early One Morning is to come out in Bulgaria with the rights there acquired by ERA Media – taking it up to 11 languages in translation.
Little, Brown - publishers of Early One Morning via its Virago imprint - has announced the launch of a new standalone imprint called Fleet.
Launching in May 2016, Fleet will be headed by Ursula Doyle. The paperback edition of Early One Morning will be its launch title.
Tickets have now gone on sale for the for the Words by the Water festival at Theatre by the Lake, on the banks of Derwentwater in Keswick, Cumbria where Virginia will be appearing on March 9th. Click here to browse the programme and then either click here to book your tickets online, or phone the box office at the Theatre by the Lake – 017687 74411.
Here's the trailer for the Italian version of Early One Morning, which will be titled Una Mattina di Ottobre (One Morning in October) and published by Casa Editrice Nord.
The submission deadline for the 11th volume of the Riptide Journal of short stories (edited by Virginia Baily and Dr Sally Flint) is November 30th.
The BBC dramatisation of Early One Morning begins on Radio 4 Women's Hour.
Greta Scacchi, Juliet Aubrey and Sophie Melville star in Miranda Emmerson's dramatisation of Virginia Baily's novel of love, loss and learning to be a mother. The 10-part series was directed by Emma Harding.
Virginia appeared at Cheltenham Literature Festival alongside Rosamund Lipton, author of The Quality of Silence.
Virginia also appeared at Manchester Literature Festival, where she spoke in an event at the Portico Library with Polly Samson.
Virginia gave a talk entitled 'How to turn ideas into stories', which traced the pathways between ideas and stories and looked at the importance of music, solid objects and a sense of place in translating the abstract into the concrete and bringing a story to life.
Early One Morning is named Waterstones Book of the Month.
Virginia was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Open Book with Mariella Frostrup. To listen to the interview click here.
Early One Morning had its official launch at Goldsboro Books in London. 500 black gilt-edged limited first editions were on sale.
Early One Morning is chosen as The Pool's bedtime book club.
Virginia appeared at Ways with Words literary festival in Dartington.


text:
Falling Back on Set Liturgy: Finding Keva at Kavana
This week, Parashat Ki Tavo opens with a famous sequence. The Israelites are told that when they will enter into the land, possess it and settle in it, they shall gather the first fruits of the soil, put them in a basket, bring them to a priest, and make two declarations. The first declaration is an acknowledgement that this is the land that God promised to their ancestors. The second, longer declaration is an abridged telling of all of Israelite history in a few verses, beginning with the words "Arami oved avi...":
"My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. The LORD freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents. God brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Wherefore I now bring the first fruits of the soil which You, O LORD, have given me." (Deuteronomy 26:5-10)
These verses are already associated with two Jewish holidays: Shavuot (after all, that is when the bikkurim/first fruits were gathered) and Passover (this passage has been dropped, in its entirety, into the Haggadah's maggid section - perhaps you recognize it from there!). And, I believe this passage of Torah -- and the concept it represents, of a set liturgical formula -- also has relevance for us as we head into the High Holidays.
The Mishnah (an early rabbinic law code, codified around 200 CE) lists these verses of Torah -- which are referred to as "Mikrah Bikkurim," "the First Fruits Declaration" -- among the fixed liturgical passages that needed to be recited in Hebrew, word for word. As the commentary in the Etz Hayim chumash explains, (drawing on Mishnah Sotah 7:2-3 and Mishnah Bikkurim 3:7), "At first, those who were able to recite it on their own did so, while those who could not were assisted by a prompter. When the latter group, out of embarrassment, ceased to bring their first fruits, the procedure was changed so that everybody was led by a prompter." In other words, it was so important that every Israelite recite the same words that a system was devised to ensure consistency. Having a single, shared liturgy brought all the Israelites into alignment with one another, affirming their connection with God and their sense of shared history. This is part of the power of set liturgy.
Thinking about this example during this time of year, I hear echoes of so many other fixed liturgies and formulas that are part of our High Holiday liturgy. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we will recite over and over again the 13 Attributes of God ("Adonai, adonai, el rachum v'chanun") -- words that Moses was instructed to use in invoking God's presence at times of need and especially forgiveness. On those (and other) days, we recite other Torah verses that are prescribed for regular recitation -- for example, "Shema yisrael..." and "Yevarech'cha...." On the High Holidays specifically, we also repeat, line-by-line, specific prayers composed much later that have come to be important staples of our service, such as Avinu Malkeinu and Shema Koleinu. On Yom Kippur, in our Avodah service, we also recall how, in Temple times, the High Priest was required to be instructed about the intricacies of the atonement ritual each year, with assistants there to prompt him if he forgot the laws and to prod him awake if he nodded off. All of these examples underscore the core idea that when it comes to ritual, there are times when we fall back on set liturgical formulas. This kind of shared liturgy is powerful in its ability to remind us of themes we might not think of on our own, and also functions to unite all Jews across barriers of time and space.
In rabbinic Jewish law, there is a well-known tension between the concepts of keva and kavana. Keva means "fixedness," and refers to the approach we see here with Mikrah Bikkurim: the belief that there are words that need to be recited at specific times and in specific ways. Kavana, on the other hand, means "spontaneity" or "intention" and underscores the importance of really meaning it, of saying the words of one's heart rather than simply going through the motions in a formulaic way. Most of the time -- as the name of our local Jewish community implies! -- we (contemporary, liberal Jews) tend to incline towards the kavana side of the spectrum. We advocate for a Judaism that is personally meaningful, creative, and comes from the heart; we set up choices for how to engage and encourage individuals to forge their own Jewish paths.
However, sometimes, we also crave the stability of keva... of knowing exactly what to do or say, of having the certainty that we can "get it just right," or feeling like we're in good company in performing a ritual together in community. This is never more true than in moments of crisis or challenge, when Judaism's prescribed ritual path particularly feels like a source of comfort (for example, I think of the prescribed rituals of mourning following the death of a close relative). In this particular High Holiday season, as we enter 5781 -- with the compounding crises of a global pandemic, an economic crisis, and the questioning of so many fundamentals in our American society as backdrop -- many of us crave a degree of fixedness and security. The more unpredictable the world feels, the more we long for predictability and certainty. Given the relative isolation we are experiencing and the fact that we cannot gather in person for this holiday season, I believe that there will be extra power this High Holiday season in sharing an experience, even from our own places, by reciting many of the same words of our shared liturgy at the same time.
We are launching High Holiday registration this week! As in past years, we will continue to offer multiple pathways for participating in Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (yes, even on Zoom!)... and of course, we do want everyone to find opportunities to connect and engage in ways that are personally meaningful, with true kavana (intention). In addition, this year more than ever, we are also cognizant of what it means to create a shared experience, with words and melodies that are familiar and anchoring, with a sense of keva (fixedness), and with set liturgy that connects us to Jews around the world and to our shared history. Where prompting is necessary (as it was for the bringer of first fruits in Deuteronomy), we will rely on printed words in the prayerbook, on call-and-response, on explanation, and other tools to help ensure that we are all on the same page. Even with all the flexibility and personalization we bring to the experience, it's reassuring to remember that in returning to our set liturgy, we will be aligning with one another and with Jews around the world, and placing ourselves in the context of our history.
May these tools help us to do the shared work of the season, together -- and I truly hope to see you over Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Where host the backend when NextJS is hosted on Vercel? I'm creating a website with NextJS and will deploy it with Vercel.
NextJS has API routes that Vercel will deploy to AWS Lambda if I understand correctly.
As backend I will use mysql like here: https://vercel.com/guides/deploying-next-and-mysql-with-vercel
But what is the best place to host this?
Is AWS the fastest because AWS Lambda is used?
But what region should I use then?
Wat is the best way to make it fast in eu and us?

A: I tested the region with this code in a API:
export default (req, res) => {
  res.statusCode = 200;
  res.json({ region: process.env.AWS_REGION || "NOT SET" });
};

The result was us-west-1 for me. (I live in Europe)
I found information about this here:
https://vercel.com/knowledge/choosing-deployment-regions
This seems to be correct for a hobby account.
For Pro you can select a region, but only one.
You need enterprise for multiple region.
The best place to host mysql would be in the aws us-west-1 region but I decided to not use Vercel because I prefer a different solution.
This may be an alternative: https://github.com/serverless-nextjs/serverless-next.js

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Stuff Ted sends, from Sci Am, Dire Wolves Were Not Really Wolves
Ever since they were first described in the 1850s, dire wolves have captured modern humans' imagination. Their remains have been found throughout much of the Americas, from Idaho to Bolivia. The La Brea asphalt seeps famously document how prey animals mired in tar lured many of these ice age predators to a sticky death. The dire wolves' tar-preserved remains reveal an imposing hunter up to six feet long, with skull and jaw adaptations to take down enormous, struggling megafauna. Though these canids had clearly evolved to handle the mastodons, horses, bison and other large herbivores then roaming the Americas, skeletal resemblances between dire wolves and the smaller gray wolves of today suggested a close kinship. It had long been assumed that dire wolves made themselves at home in North America before gray wolves followed them across the Bering Land Bridge from Eurasia. Now some well-preserved DNA seems to be fundamentally changing the story.
One of the researchers' questions was how dire wolves were related to other wolves. For decades, paleontologists have remarked on how similar the bones of dire wolves and gray wolves are. Sometimes it is difficult to tell them apart. "My hunch was that dire wolves were possibly a specialized lineage or subspecies of gray wolf," Mitchell says.
But the new evidence told a different story. Preliminary genetic analyses indicated that dire and gray wolves were not close relatives. "I think I can speak for the whole group when I say the results were definitely a surprise," Perri says.
After sequencing five genomes from dire wolf fossils between 50,000 and 13,000 years old, the researchers found that the animals belonged to a much older lineage of dogs. Dire wolves, it now appeared, had evolved in the Americas and had no close kinship with the gray wolves from Eurasia; the last time gray wolves and dire wolves shared a common ancestor was about 5.7 million years ago. The strong resemblance between the two, the researchers say, is a case of convergent evolution, whereby different species develop similar adaptations—or even appearances—thanks to a similar way of life. Sometimes such convergence is only rough, such as both birds and bats evolving wings despite their differing anatomy. In the case of dire and gray wolves, lives of chasing large herbivores to catch some meat on the hoof resulted in two different canid lineages independently producing wolflike forms.
In technical terms, the new findings mean dire wolves may need a new genus name to indicate they are no longer part of the genus Canis, to which gray wolves belong. Perri, Mitchell and their colleagues suggest Aenocyon, meaning "terrible wolf." But the researchers don't expect their findings to completely overturn tradition, and Aenocyon dirus would likely continue to be called the dire wolf. "They will just join the club of things like maned wolves that are called wolves but aren't really," Perri says.
The new findings also add layers to experts' ruminations on why dire wolves eventually disappeared as the last ice age closed. These predators became specialized in hunting camels, horses, bison and other herbivores in North America over millions of years. As those prey sources disappeared, so did the dire wolves. "In contrast to gray wolves, which are a model for adaptation," Perri says, "dire wolves appear to be much less flexible to deal with changing environments and prey."
Nor did dire wolves leave a genetic legacy beyond the decaying DNA in their ancient bones. Although canids such as wolves and coyotes often create hybrids, dire wolves apparently did not do so with any other canids that remain alive today. Perri, Mitchell and their colleagues found no DNA evidence of interbreeding between dire wolves and gray wolves or coyotes. Dire wolves were genetically isolated from other canids, Mitchell notes, so "hybridization couldn't provide a way out" because dire wolves were probably unable to produce viable offspring with the recently arrived wolves from Eurasia.
Ted's comment with the link was So much for the "Dire Wolf Project". Not necessarily, while you may not be able to reassemble the actual genes that produced the original Dire Wolf, you could still produce a reasonable simulacrum. And, if you actually have a good sample of the DNA, maybe you can recreate the original, the same way some are trying to recreate the Mammoth from its genes.
The Wombat has Rule Five Sunday: Happy Easter! ready for your amusement at The Other McCain.
Labels: Cuties, evolution, wolves


text:
The One Item Gov Wants Most Out Of Her '21 Budget Proposal
Courtesy of Michigan Information & Research Service Inc.
If Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could be guaranteed one proposal from her Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 budget proposal that makes it into the Legislature's final product later this year, it would be her education pitches.
The "weighted formula" for special education, poor and English language learning (ELL) students. The additional $250 per teacher for classroom supplies. The $42 million more for early childhood investment and $5 million to train new literacy coaches.
"There's a lot of good things in the School Aid Budget and I'm proud of that," the Governor told City Pulse last week.
Over at the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), officials agreed "there's a lot of good in the budget." In particular, they want the special $60 million increase for "economically disadvantaged students," $60 million more for special education students and $5 million for ELL students written into the "base" School Aid Fund budget as opposed to it being a "one-time" expenditure.
A "weighted formula" — a phrase used by the School Finance Research Collaborative — is designed to address the inherent funding inequities of teaching students with special needs.
Additional money for students in rural areas is also money that could be put into the budget and MASB isn't opposed to this. Their issue is that the inequities in teaching special populations are addressed.
"The intent would be to put such-and-such percentages behind (these categories) just to hold people's feet to the fire," said Jennifer Smith, MASB's director of government relations. "We know it's not enforceable year to year, but we should at least put that attempt in there."
The Legislature put additional money into the FY '20 budget for economically disadvantaged students, early literacy, English language learners, vocational education and special education students.
However, lawmakers didn't use the "weighted formula" phrase to acknowledge the additional expense, Smith said.
"Our base budget is weak. When it comes to funding for need, the base budget is weak," she said.
House Education Committee Chair Pamela Hornberger (R-Chesterfield Twp.) said she's reading through Whitmer's proposed K-12 budget now. She wants to make sure districts are treated fairly and that underserved urban areas are treated the same as underserved rural areas.
Based on the Governor's veto last year of transportation dollars to rural and island school districts, for example, Hornberger is concerned the Governor "isn't worrying about (rural students) at all."
"When I taught school in Marine City, the perception was that we were in a nice area with lots of funds," Hornberger said. "But it was a blue-collar, working-class district with a lot of kids who came from poor families. They flew under the radar. These are often the types of kids who are hurt from these types of proposals."
Another favorite in Whitmer's proposed K-12 budget for MASB was $40 million for critical school infrastructure projects. Smith said she understands that isn't a ton of money, but Michigan is one of only seven states without support for critical infrastructure and this money is a good first step.
"It's one of the big inequities in our state because a mill in Ann Arbor raises a lot more than a mill in Iron Mountain," Smith said.
Ideally, MASB would like to see a K-12 budget that at least keeps up with the rate of inflation, which the Governor's proposal doesn't do based on the funding rates put in place in 1995 after Proposal A's passage.
A 2019 Michigan State University study shows that between 2003 to 2018, the per-pupil foundation allowance increased an average of $26 per year, substantially below the rate of inflation. Since 2003, the basic foundation allowance has fallen by 18.5%, while the minimum foundation declined by 25.6%.
Smith said freeing the School Aid Fund money being used for community colleges and higher education would be helpful. Stopping the chipping away of School Aid Fund revenue through tax changes would be another.
Not including School Aid Fund in the road funding discussion would be helpful, too, she said.
"We keep getting tied into all of these things that we'd like to be removed from," Smith said. "The School Aid Fund is for schools. We should be able to have a school budget conversation separate from a General Fund conversation."


11 pm Singing of "Havaneras" and "Cremat"
Download and check all the information on the Regata Vela Clàssica Costa Brava from the Club Nàutic Estartit.
Live the Vela Clàssica Costa Brava regatta at Club Nàutic Estartit! Get excited with the images and videos and consult the press review.
The Club Nàutic Estartit is at your disposal for any question related to the Vela Clàssica Costa Brava regatta.


As our Key Account Manager you will cover Manchester and areas along the M62 Corridor, you will be required to manage an existing portfolio of Corporate level accounts to achieve agreed sales and margin targets whilst consistently retaining profitable customers. Developing new areas of spend through identifying sales opportunities across a range of categories ensuring year on year growth.
Develop successful business partnerships across a customer base whilst maintaining a value added service to ensure successful trading relationships.
Identify key areas for growth and gross profit increase by providing the entire 'Workplace Solution' within Corporate level accounts.
Negotiate and retain existing business through re-tendering processes and secure fixed term agreements.
Manage a territory which covers Manchester and areas along the M62 Corridor.
Demonstrates capacity to transmit information, clearly and concisely, both verbally and in writing, using appropriate language and channels for the intended audience.
Uses commercial judgement and is able to apply multiple factors when arriving at a decision/recommendation.
Demonstrates self-management skills, including time management, planning, prioritising and timely completion of work responsibilities and job assignments.


text:
Q: deleting a parent widget through a child QPushButton pyqt It's been a while I'm searching all over the internet for that, but still couldn't get the answer... basically I have a QVBoxLayout which contains several frames - and each frame contains a button which function is to delete its parent frame. The main code was created using QT Designer and pyuic4. I wrote the two additional functions, one works perfectly ("createFrame") but I'm struggling with the "deleteFrame" one. the label inside the frame shows the index of that frame in the vert_layout "array". the problem I noted on my code is that, using it that way, I can only delete the last frame added. So, can someone help me with this issue?
please see my code below:
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
from PyQt4 import QtCore, QtGui
import sys

try:
    _fromUtf8 = QtCore.QString.fromUtf8
except AttributeError:
    def _fromUtf8(s):
        return s

try:
    _encoding = QtGui.QApplication.UnicodeUTF8
    def _translate(context, text, disambig):
        return QtGui.QApplication.translate(context, text, disambig, _encoding)
except AttributeError:
    def _translate(context, text, disambig):
    return QtGui.QApplication.translate(context, text, disambig)

#Custom button that sends out its own instance as the signal
class MyPushButton(QtGui.QPushButton):
    mySignal = QtCore.pyqtSignal(QtGui.QWidget)
    def mousePressEvent(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.mySignal.emit(self)

class Functions:
    def createFrame(self,mainWindow):
        #just local frame no need to store it in the class
        frame = QtGui.QFrame()
        frame.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(10, 10, 241, 61))
        frame.setFrameShape(QtGui.QFrame.StyledPanel)
        frame.setFrameShadow(QtGui.QFrame.Raised)
        frame.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("frame"))
        pushButton_2 = MyPushButton(frame)
        pushButton_2.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(94, 10, 141, 41))
        pushButton_2.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("pushButton_2"))
        label = QtGui.QLabel(frame)
        label.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(20, 10, 71, 41))
        label.setFrameShape(QtGui.QFrame.NoFrame)
        label.setAlignment(QtCore.Qt.AlignCenter)

        #the vert_layout belongs to class Ui_MainWindow
        mainWindow.vert_layout.addWidget(frame)

        label.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("label"))
        label.setText(str(mainWindow.vert_layout.indexOf(frame)))
        pushButton_2.setText(_translate("MainWindow", "delete this frame and all\n its childs", None))

        pushButton_2.mySignal.connect(self.deleteFrame)

        #my initial idea was to include the mainWindow (instance of
        #Ui_MainWindow class in order to use vert_layout - but apparently
        #I need to modify the signal as well, right?
    def deleteFrame(self,ref,mainWindow):
        #finding the index of the FRAME (mybutton's parent)
        #that is to be deleted
        frame = mainWindow.vert_layout.itemAt(self.vert_layout.indexOf(ref.parent()))
        widget = frame.widget()
        if widget is not None:
            widget.deleteLater()
class Ui_MainWindow(object):

def setupUi(self, MainWindow):
    MainWindow.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("MainWindow"))
    MainWindow.resize(400, 284)

    self.vert_layout = QtGui.QVBoxLayout()

    self.centralwidget = QtGui.QWidget(MainWindow)
    self.centralwidget.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("centralwidget"))
    self.scrollArea = QtGui.QScrollArea(self.centralwidget)
    self.scrollArea.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(10, 10, 281, 261))
    self.scrollArea.setWidgetResizable(True)
    self.scrollArea.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("scrollArea"))
    self.scrollArea.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(QtCore.Qt.ScrollBarAlwaysOn)
    self.scrollAreaWidgetContents = QtGui.QWidget()
    self.scrollAreaWidgetContents.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(0, 0, 277, 257))
    self.scrollAreaWidgetContents.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("scrollAreaWidgetContents"))

    self.scrollAreaWidgetContents.setLayout(self.vert_layout)

    self.scrollArea.setWidget(self.scrollAreaWidgetContents)
    self.pushButton = QtGui.QPushButton(self.centralwidget)
    self.pushButton.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(310, 20, 75, 23))
    self.pushButton.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("pushButton"))
    MainWindow.setCentralWidget(self.centralwidget)

    self.retranslateUi(MainWindow)
    QtCore.QMetaObject.connectSlotsByName(MainWindow)

    f = Functions()

    self.pushButton.clicked.connect(lambda: f.createFrame())

def retranslateUi(self, MainWindow):
    MainWindow.setWindowTitle(_translate("MainWindow", "MainWindow", None))
    self.pushButton.setText(_translate("MainWindow", "create", None))

class Main(QtGui.QMainWindow):
def __init__(self):
    QtGui.QMainWindow.__init__(self)
    self.ui = Ui_MainWindow()
    self.ui.setupUi(self)

if __name__== '__main__':
app = QtGui.QApplication(sys.argv)
window = Main()
window.show()
sys.exit(app.exec_())

A: All you are currently doing is deleting the self.frame widget each time.
So only the last created one gets deleted. And not the one you actually click on.
Modified your code for what you need. Hope it helps you understand.
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
from PyQt4 import QtCore, QtGui
import sys

try:
    _fromUtf8 = QtCore.QString.fromUtf8
except AttributeError:
    def _fromUtf8(s):
        return s

try:
    _encoding = QtGui.QApplication.UnicodeUTF8
    def _translate(context, text, disambig):
        return QtGui.QApplication.translate(context, text, disambig, _encoding)
except AttributeError:
    def _translate(context, text, disambig):
        return QtGui.QApplication.translate(context, text, disambig)

#Custom button that sends out its own instance as the signal
class MyPushButton(QtGui.QPushButton):
    mySignal = QtCore.pyqtSignal(QtGui.QWidget)
    def mousePressEvent(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.mySignal.emit(self)

class Ui_MainWindow(object):

    def setupUi(self, MainWindow):
        MainWindow.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("MainWindow"))
        MainWindow.resize(400, 284)

        self.vert_layout = QtGui.QVBoxLayout()

        self.centralwidget = QtGui.QWidget(MainWindow)
        self.centralwidget.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("centralwidget"))
        self.scrollArea = QtGui.QScrollArea(self.centralwidget)
        self.scrollArea.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(10, 10, 281, 261))
        self.scrollArea.setWidgetResizable(True)
        self.scrollArea.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("scrollArea"))
        self.scrollArea.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(QtCore.Qt.ScrollBarAlwaysOn)
        self.scrollAreaWidgetContents = QtGui.QWidget()
        self.scrollAreaWidgetContents.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(0, 0, 277, 257))
        self.scrollAreaWidgetContents.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("scrollAreaWidgetContents"))

        self.scrollAreaWidgetContents.setLayout(self.vert_layout)

        self.scrollArea.setWidget(self.scrollAreaWidgetContents)
        self.pushButton = QtGui.QPushButton(self.centralwidget)
        self.pushButton.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(310, 20, 75, 23))
        self.pushButton.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("pushButton"))
        MainWindow.setCentralWidget(self.centralwidget)

        self.retranslateUi(MainWindow)
        QtCore.QMetaObject.connectSlotsByName(MainWindow)

        self.pushButton.clicked.connect(lambda: self.createFrame())

    def retranslateUi(self, MainWindow):
        MainWindow.setWindowTitle(_translate("MainWindow", "MainWindow", None))
        self.pushButton.setText(_translate("MainWindow", "create", None))

    def createFrame(self):
        #just local frame no need to store it in the class
        frame = QtGui.QFrame()
        frame.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(10, 10, 241, 61))
        frame.setFrameShape(QtGui.QFrame.StyledPanel)
        frame.setFrameShadow(QtGui.QFrame.Raised)
        frame.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("frame"))
        pushButton_2 = MyPushButton(frame)
        pushButton_2.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(94, 10, 141, 41))
        pushButton_2.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("pushButton_2"))
        label = QtGui.QLabel(frame)
        label.setGeometry(QtCore.QRect(20, 10, 71, 41))
        label.setFrameShape(QtGui.QFrame.NoFrame)
        label.setAlignment(QtCore.Qt.AlignCenter)

        self.vert_layout.addWidget(frame)

        label.setObjectName(_fromUtf8("label"))
        label.setText(str(self.vert_layout.indexOf(frame)))
        pushButton_2.setText(_translate("MainWindow", "delete this frame and all\n its childs", None))

        pushButton_2.mySignal.connect(self.deleteFrame)

    def deleteFrame(self,ref):
        #finding the index of the FRAME (mybutton's parent)
        #that is to be deleted
        frame = self.vert_layout.itemAt(self.vert_layout.indexOf(ref.parent()))
        widget = frame.widget()
        if widget is not None:
            widget.deleteLater()

class Main(QtGui.QMainWindow):
    def __init__(self):
        QtGui.QMainWindow.__init__(self)
        self.ui = Ui_MainWindow()
        self.ui.setupUi(self)

if __name__== '__main__':
    app = QtGui.QApplication(sys.argv)
    window = Main()
    window.show()
    sys.exit(app.exec_())


Design should do the same thing in everyday life that art does when encountered: amaze us, scare us or delight us, but certainly open us to new worlds within our daily existence.
A funny thing happened on the way to the farm...or at least to decorating it. When I began to dream of updating the 1970's vibe of the farmhouse I had envisioned a Pottery Barn modern meets rustic kind of decor. I knew I would literally be starting from scratch and be on a meager budget. So, while I was contemplating how to get "the look" for less I was continuing to sort and inventory what was already available.
One major budget buster was the need to replace the sad sagging 70's sofa and side chairs. Handy Hubby and I went sofa shopping and came home with an empty truck, no luck. Small room, even smaller budget, and specific seating needs limited our choices. Not wanting to sacrifice style I decided it was OK to watch TV across our knee caps a little longer, I mean we could just rest our chin on them right? I exaggerate, it really was not that bad, but, I really did want to replace the furniture that bad!
The decorating course was set when I received a " hand-me-up ". Most of the time people receive " hand-me-downs ", the older generation handing down to the younger, in my case it was in the reverse, the younger handing something up to me...a sofa!
Long story short, it was the great sofa switch: Darling Daughter got married and bought new sofa, Daughter-in-law adored Darling Daughters vintage sofa and was gifted with it, Daughter-in-law was about to call donation place to pick up Todd Oldham sofa but then thought of me. Score! My first " hand-me-up "! Free! Even though it is more modern in style that I personally prefer the warm honey tone is very neutral and would work well with what I had in mind.
Fast forward a few days and Handy Hubby and I are browsing an estate sale. Deep in the recesses of the twisting house (very bizarre lay out) I spy a small sofa that is almost the same honey tone of the " hand-me-up " and it has the same lines. A pregnant lady was giving it a test and seemed very taken with it and I was wishing we had gotten there sooner. The next morning I woke up still thinking about that sofa and convinced Handy Hubby to just go back and see if it was still there, it was the last day of the sale and I knew it would be discounted.
Another score! The sofa was still there, deeply discounted, and here is the best part...we needed a hide-a-bed for extra sleeping in the two bedroom farm house...I lifted up the cushion to inspect the sofa...and it was a hide-a-bed!!! This sofa still had the tags on it, dated 1982, and was NEVER USED! We got it for $105.00. We found out from one of the estate heirs that the lady who lived there was an heir of John Deere. She had one of the best collections of original art works I had ever seen, wish and I could have scored some of those but the discount was not nearly as deep.
Yes, a funny thing did happen on the way to the farm, or, to decorating it at least...that 1970's style and color palette is getting a new twist. Handy Hubby said the drapes look too old school but I have asked him to trust me to make them fresh modern cool. I have begun the remake on them by giving them a good laundering and removing the pleats, more to come on these after I get all the sewing done. I have pulled two colors from them for paint colors in the room, Farm Fresh Egg (a creamy off white color) and Summer Daisy (a crisp true white). I may not end up with Pottery Barn style but I am amazed, delighted, and even a little afraid of the color palette all of which are opening up a new world of possibilities.
I hope you all enjoy a bliss filled weekend!
their tips from YOU! i love the draperies.
SANDY!!!!!!!!!!! I have missed you! I know you have taken some breaks in blogging being so busy... and then it seems you came back & I was taking a bloggy break as I was gone with hubby! Saw the post about Ellie... Yes, sad to say we have a "Lion Lovey" for our GRAND... I had to rescue him as he left "Lion" at our house & I got a tearful phone call at bed time... But, Nonna thinks he is WAY TO OLD to have "Lion". But, it's not my place to break this habit & I sure wasn't gonna be the bad guy so, into my van I hop to return "Lion". Glad your little one has Ellie back.
Now, I'm off to catch up with your world.
Sounds like a good deal with those sofaes Miss Sandy - I´m sure it´s look pretty. Can´t wait to see the finished result with the curtains.
Sandy, I am so totally waiting for PICTURES of what you finally do with the sofa purchase AND the curtains! I know it's going to look fabulous! Old doesn't have to look "dated" at all. Given a new twist, which I'm sure you're going to give everything, it will be beautiful, welcoming and comfy!
I love the colors! Wonderful colors of nature! The curtains will look fabulous, I know. Those colors are coming back and I'm so glad. Can't wait to see the finished room. What luck with the sofas!
I had my sister visiting for a couple weeks so I haven't done much in my studio. A lot of garage sales! ;) And we are having one this weekend. :P We are trying to sell our "too big of a house" and downsize. That means getting rid of a lot!
You'll be the one to singlehandedly bring these colors back! When you tie them to such beautiful things as these Summer photos.....Can't wait to read more about the process.
all i know is if i am ever in your neck of the woods, you and i are going shopping together. period.
DO YOU HAVE A LOVEY?


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Poverty is a Women's Issue in Rural India l Kerusomen Celebrates International Women's Day Part 1
Empower: Freedom From Poverty Starts Here
Alone. In debt. Physically broken. "My husband tortured and assaulted me in many ways. I tried to end up my life several times; my gods were not hearing my cry." Shyamala's abusive husband left her. But instead of feeling free and relieved, Shyamala felt shame. According to her culture, she was to blame for his abandonment. "I was 28 with two young children. I struggled a lot to rear them. Then my friend told me about KGM's Women's Ministries."
At Kerusomen, we believe poverty is a women's issue. We also know that poverty is not just a material condition. In honor of International Women's Day, see how access to a Christ-centered women's ministry can restore honor and empower rural Indian women like Shyamala to fight for their future.
Shyamala's transformation began shortly after her husband abandoned her. "In a KGM gospel meeting I accepted Jesus Christ who is the source of my hope and life."
Armed with her faith and church family, Shyamala built a small business sewing clothes that fed her family and paid for her children's schooling for 20 years.Then illness set in causing her legs to swell and making running her push-pedal sewing machine painful. But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, her business failed.
"Because of the restrictions of Covid protocol, people did not want to visit my home. I became bankrupt. There was no money for buying medicine or meeting my regular needs at home. Members of KGM visited me and ever since started to help me monthly."
Shyamala still doesn't know if her husband is alive or dead. But Kerusomen adopted Shyamala into the widow rescue program to help her bridge the gap in response to the crisis caused by the loss of her business. The physical beatings she endured in her marriage have caused her health to deteriorate faster than her age. The $15 a month pays for her medication and some food.
KGM partners also paid Shyamala's $25 bank deposit, enrolling her into an ISOS Savings Group at her church. The fifty Isos members each save around $1 weekly and pool their resources in a joint bank account. Soon, Shyamala will be able to access loans from the group to help her rebuild.
But Shamala's words of gratitude speak little of finances:
"I do not have enough words to thank both KGM India and USA for being God's instruments in picking me up from shame and honoring me with God's righteousness and blessings."
Where Freedom from Poverty Starts
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27
For the women of KGM ISOS, freedom starts with a program that affirms their potential as powerful image bearers of God the Father, Who loves them dearly.
ISOS Spiritual Foundation Empowers
KGM Transformation Groups focus on integrating an intentional, effective witness for Jesus Christ with excellent business and skills training, saving and loan opportunities, and healthy fellowship. Each ISOS meeting opens with bible study and prayers. Teachings that show the value of women in God's eyes and His love for them, lay a firm foundation for lasting transformation.
It's no accident that Isos starts with a church because nobody loves women more than Jesus. And NO BODY but His Church, demonstrates that love better.
We believe we're called to stand with these women. Their big ideas, fervent prayers, and tenacious spirits inspire us. The biggest obstacle facing women in underserved villages is saving the initial $25 to join ISOS. And we pray you will be impassioned to join us in this calling.
Your $25 Gift Helps a Woman Fight for Her Future


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Democratic-backed PAC's ad says Pearce is 'in the pocket of Big Oil'
By: Dan Boyd / Journal Capitol Bureau Chief
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SANTA FE – An outside group has stirred up New Mexico's gubernatorial race, as a political committee affiliated with the Democratic Governors Association on Tuesday launched a $275,000 television ad buy targeting Republican Steve Pearce.
The 30-second ad, which will air in the Albuquerque market for the next several weeks, is paid for by Stronger New Mexico, an independent expenditure group that was created in February and has received funding from the DGA.
The national Democratic group has identified New Mexico's governor's race – which pits Pearce against Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham – as a priority in this year's election cycle as it seeks to chisel into Republicans' big advantage in governor's mansions held.
There are now 33 GOP governors – compared with 16 Democratic governors and one independent.
The ad marks the first outside attack ad in this year's New Mexico race. It claims Pearce is in the "pocket of Big Oil" and describes him as being named one of the most corrupt members of Congress a decade ago by an independent watchdog group.
Pearce, a Hobbs resident, has received hefty campaign contributions from oil and natural gas executives – including millions of dollars in the current campaign cycle – but the corruption allegation was based at least in part on the 2003 sale of his oil field service company's assets to a different company.
A House ethics panel later determined that Pearce did not violate any rules during that transaction, according to FactCheck.org, a nonprofit group.
"Michelle Lujan Grisham and her special interest allies are panicking and now running knowingly false ads," Pearce campaign adviser Kevin Sheridan said Tuesday.
Pearce's campaign sent out a fundraising appeal Tuesday that expressed concern the negative ads would hurt the campaign's momentum if allowed to go unanswered.
And state Republican Party Chairman Ryan Cangiolosi said in a statement that the allegations amount to "outright lies."
Both Lujan Grisham and Pearce have also launched television ads of their own in recent weeks, but the ads have largely focused on policy issues, and the candidates have largely refrained from attacking each other.
The head of the Republican Governors Association hosted a fundraising event for Pearce last month in Santa Fe during a meeting of the National Governors Association, but the RGA has not aired any television ads in New Mexico's governor's race.
The general election is set for Nov. 6.
© Albuquerque Journal


The Australian Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189) is an Australian skilled visa for skilled professionals who are not supported by a business, a state or region, or a relative. A visa holder can live and work forever anyplace in Australia. Certain relatives can be incorporated into the application.
You should score no less than 60 points (the pass mark) on the Points Test to be qualified for this visa.
Skilled Independent Visa is the most well known Australian Visa among the foreigners over the world. This visa has been intended for those skilled vagrants, who don't have any sponsorship from the state, an area, boss, or a relative in Australia.
The determination for this visa is done exclusively dependent on your abilities, experience, and profile score, since it's a point based visa. This visa offers changeless residency in Australia to you and your going with relatives.


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Keren Green
Screenwriter . Director . Producer
Award-winning, WGA writer-director specializing in science-fiction/action screenplays that explore the strange, unusual, and topical issues of our time – often through circumstances that involve guns, explosions, or natural disasters (and sometimes aliens).
Comic Scripts
Short Film: HOLDING SOUTH
Short Film: DEFENSE+4
Television Series: BACK ON EARTH
Television Series: PROGENY Z
Web-Series: Ghosted
Comic Script: Holding South
Short Film Script: InSight
Short Film Script: Soul Skin
Anthology: Off The Edge
Flash Fiction: Alone
Spec Script: The Walking Dead
Short Film Script: Home
"Both incredibly epic and deeply personal, "Ark" is a powerful and human sci-fi adventure with an intriguing and frighteningly topical high concept and compelling characters. The spectacle matches the scale of the circumstances and is often breathtaking as we see the apocalyptic environmental disasters reach an unparalleled scale. The script is not afraid to bring it all in portraying the near destruction of the planet, and the possible demise of the human race itself. Yet even with the stakes this high and the visceral appeal this huge, the characters are never overshadowed. The script keeps the personal touch, making for an engaging story. Cale is a dynamic and sympathetic hero, a man who has lost so much, just as everyone has, and his motivation is directly tied to his memory of his family. Just like Dr. Grace, he has not lost hope, and thus the audience won't either. Reyes is a complex and well-developed villain. He poses a real and effective threat, but he is not one-dimensional in his villainy. He really does want the survival of the species, and while he and Cale are opposed, we get the sense that they could be on the same side in different circumstances."
"The screenplay by Keren Green is excellent and has heart. The characters are interesting and well defined, the dialogue and interaction between them are good, and the story development, execution and action are well done – on par with any Star Wars or Marvel film… The story has commercial potential. It moves swiftly and is entertaining. Good guys are good, bad guys are bad. People are killed on both sides, and when the action starts, it's sustained. Some good guys die, some people do the right thing, enemies become allies, and the really bad guy dies in the end. Bravo, writer – there are shoot-outs and deaths but no graphic violence, foul language or sex scenes, so it could possibly get a PG-rating. I give it a recommend, because it's a good screenplay in this genre."
Coverage by M.
"At its heart, this is an emotionally complex, intelligently-written coming of age story about an angsty teen struggling to deal with his resentment over being torn from his home. Surrounding this is a politically complex macro storyline with a lot of subtleties and depth concerning a government that willfully ignores evil to avoid war. The imaginative world of this show is thoroughly developed with a 'Game of Thrones' level of detail featuring a number of fully realized alien species with distinct histories and cultures. There's even a well-developed shorthand throughout the piece featuring alien curse words. Impressively, the writer throws the audience into this world head-first, allowing the viewer to gradually discern information on their own from context rather than burying them in forced exposition. The exciting opening sequence launches the story right away while economically introducing a number of alien races. Spence is a profound, flawed and emotionally complex protagonist who is as noble and brave as he is selfish, giving him room to grow. His silences speak volumes as he says few words, allowing subtext to carry a wealth of meaning. The writer does an excellent job subtly showing alien racism towards humans without being on the nose about it."
Comic Scripts Prose Screenplays Series Short Film Transmedia


Keyboardist and composer, David Alan Broome presents newly composed works to highlight the recently renovated organ at St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University. The evening will feature divergent composers from around the world to explore the myriad of new sounds available to one of the world's oldest instruments.
The program includes works by Klaus Lang, Sky Macklay, Giuliano Bracci, Meredith Gilna, and Amir Khosrowpour. Also with guest performers Sky Macklay & Karisa Antonio on the oboe.


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Jones makes permanent move to Blues
Bedford Blues have announced that fly half Steffan Jones will be returning to Goldington Road permanently following his involvement with Wales in the HSBC Sevens World Series.
Jones, 24, had joined the Blues in the summer on a year long loan move from Newport Gwent Dragons but was recalled by the region in early November before heading off with the National Sevens Team.
Following displays in Dubai and South Africa, Jones returned home for Christmas before finalising a permanent move which sees him switching Rodney Parade for Goldington Road where he had made eight appearances scoring one try, three conversions and two penalties.
Jones initially came through the developmental ranks at Newport Gwent Dragons and was on a dual contract with Cross Keys where he impressed during the 2010/2011 Premiership season when he made 24 starts and one substitute appearance for the Keys and scored over 300 points.
Speaking about the signing of Jones, Blues Director of Rugby Mike Rayer said: "We are really pleased that Steffan has decided to join us following his return from international duties and very grateful to the Dragons for his release.
"He was really getting to grips with way we want to play before being recalled and also offers us a great deal of options with his ability to play right across the back line."
Jones added: "It is great to be back in Bedford and training with the lads again. It's been a busy couple of months back at the Dragons and then off with Wales Sevens but I'm pleased to be back and really looking forward to pulling on the Blues jersey once again."
Jones is back training with Bedford Blues and could be in line to take a place in the squad when Doncaster Knights visit Goldington Road on Saturday afternoon in the Greene King IPA Championship.
To book your discounted rate ticket, visit www.bedfordrugby.co.uk.
Blues to host international fixture at Goldington Road


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Graduate Programme - SMRT Corporation Ltd
SMRT Engineering and Management Associate Programme (EMA)
We are looking for fresh graduates to join us as we build and shape the future of the rail industry. The SMRT EMA programme aims to equip you with the essential leadership and functional skills to enable you to succeed in your career.
The rigorous programme encompasses our comprehensive Triple 'E' Development framework – Education, Experience and Exposure to jump-start your career. You will undergo a structured training programme (Education) in the first one month of your journey with SMRT. This includes foundational training in the rail industry, safety, technical domains, and personal development. Subsequently, you will be deployed to a department to undergo On-the-Job Training (OJT) and development (Experience) to gain hands-on and practical experience while deepening your technical and functional skills and competencies. During the course of your career, you will undergo projects across departments or business units and participate in concurrent-career activities (Exposure). You will have networking opportunities with our Senior Management and Engineering Leaders which will broaden your horizon.
Permanent Way
Signal & Communication
Building & Facilities
Applicants and Application Details
Do you possess a passion to serve and a thirst for challenge? We seek graduates who aspire to make a difference in the lives of millions of commuters every day.
- Aspire to serve and make a difference
- Personal leadership and dependability
- Resilient and adaptable in a fast-paced and challenging environment
- Strong team player with effective communication skills
Application window for EMA23 is now open.
EMA23 Intake
Application period: Now until 1 March 2023
Commencement date: Monday, 3 July 2023
To register your interest for EMA23 intake, click here:
Hear from our EMAs
"The SMRT EMA programme has given me the opportunity to be part of nation-wide projects even as a fresh graduate. There is also strong support from seniors in the earlier batches to guide me along the way. As a Management Associate in Bukit Panjang LRT, I work with both the operations and maintenance teams to ensure our trains run smoothly. Your work will touch the lives of millions daily so bring your 'A' game!" – Ajay Govinda Menon (EMA 2016), Senior Executive, Operations, Circle Line & Bukit Panjang LRT
"The programme gave me opportunities to create connections with other young engineers who are fresh graduates like myself. Through gatherings with our batch mates, we are able to share with one another the experiences and knowledge gained from our respective work branches. This aids our learning curve and career in the railway industry as we get to better understand the scope of works of other branches. The EMA programme is structured suitably for fresh graduates who are driven to gain knowledge and subsequently contribute in the railway industry. The company also encourages lifelong learning through the introduction of various railway courses." – Nor Fazlinda Binte Mohd Affandi (EMA 2016), Senior Engineer, Power Maintenance
"The programme is well structured with OJT, development courses and participation in CCAs to enhance our learning in SMRT in many ways. Recently, the company implemented a career path for Executives like myself to take on the Engineering Maintenance Manager role, which allows me to be on the ground, learning and working together with our ground staff. Though it may be challenging for juniors to take on this role, it allows me to be part of the front line activities in "moving people" every day. It is challenging and exciting to be working as railway operator. Be willing to accept every opportunity given to you and take things positively!" – Ratna Yanti (EMA 2015), Deputy Engineering Maintenance Manager, Signals & Communications
"The support from mentors, networking opportunities and training were a critical part of the programme that developed us personally and professionally to take on greater responsibilities. I feel privileged to work alongside individuals in the Train Operations Department who are highly committed to ensure that the train service keeps running during the operating hours. In SMRT, you get to play active role in improving Singapore's train system. Your work will impact the journey of millions of commuters everyday. Join SMRT if you are looking for an exciting career where there are ample opportunities to realise your full potential." – Oh Kai Kiat (EMA 2011), Manager, Train Operations (North-South & East-West Lines)
"The programme provides a very good platform to develop a vast network of like-minded, enthusiastic and motivated graduates across various disciplines. It is also very systematic and structured in providing foundational knowledge of the railway industry to kick-start the career of new EMAs. I'm proud and honoured to be part of the effort that enhances components, optimises procedures as well as adopting new technologies to drive higher trains' reliability. To do well, just be sincere, look forward to getting your hands dirty and always be willing to extend a helping hand!" – Wong Choon Fu (EMA 2013), Project Manager, Rolling Stock, Thomson-East Coast Line
"I joined SMRT in 2018 as a fresh grad EMA. Being a young engineer, I was immediately enrolled in fundamental railway training and given developmental opportunities via CCAs. One memorable experience was being a rep for my department (Permanent Way) where I worked closely with senior leaders to improve the quality & processes of Work Instructions and saw firsthand the challenges and rewards of implementing corp-wide changes. If you are looking for a career to serve & make a difference, join us!" – Chin Joo Ern (EMA 2018), Executive Engineer, Permanent Way Maintenance
A Glimpse of the SMRT EMA Programme


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Short-term experiments have indicated that warmer temperatures can alter fungal biomass production and CO2 respiration, with potential consequences for soil C storage. However, we know little about the capacity of fungi to adapt to warming in ways that may alter C dynamics. Thus, we exposed Neurospora discreta to moderately warm (16 °C) and warm (28 °C) selective temperatures for 1500 mitotic generations, and then examined changes in mycelial growth rate, biomass, spore production, and CO2 respiration. We tested the hypothesis that strains will adapt to its selective temperature. Specifically, we expected that adapted strains would grow faster, and produce more spores per unit biomass (i.e., relative spore production). In contrast, they should generate less CO2 per unit biomass due to higher efficiency in carbon use metabolism (i.e., lower mass specific respiration, MSR).
Indeed, N. discreta adapted to warm temperatures, based on patterns of relative spore production. Adapted strains produced more spores per unit biomass than parental strains in the selective temperature. Contrary to our expectations, this increase in relative spore production was accompanied by an increase in MSR and a reduction in mycelial growth rate and biomass, compared to parental strains.
Adaptation of N. discreta to warm temperatures may have elicited a tradeoff between biomass production and relative spore production, possibly because relative spore production required higher MSR rates. Therefore, our results do not support the idea that adaptation to warm temperatures will lead to a more efficient carbon use metabolism. Our data might help improve climate change model simulations and provide more concise predictions of decomposition processes and carbon feedbacks to the atmosphere.
It has been proposed that global warming will enhance metabolic activities of microbes, and in doing so, provide a positive feedback to global warming due to high rates of CO2 production . Nevertheless, studies have shown contrasting results regarding the response of soil microbes to warming and C cycle feedbacks (e.g. ref [2–5]). Moreover, little is known about the capacity of fungi to evolve in response to warm conditions, and the potential consequences for the C cycle. Given the relatively short generation time of some fungi (e.g. Neurospora spp., ref 6) it is possible that they can adapt to warming at ecologically-relevant timescales; recent studies support this idea (e.g. ref ). However, the specific changes in physiology and function of adapted fungi remain unknown.
We can examine evolutionary responses of fungi to warming by conducting selection experiments on a model fungus with a particularly fast generation time. This approach should provide information that we can then compare with community and ecosystem level observations . Toward this end, we selected the renowned model fungus Neurospora discreta, because it is a globally-distributed saprotrophic fungus that persists in natural fungal communities [8–12]. Moreover, it is readily manipulated under laboratory conditions, where it can complete thousands of generations within a few months .
Laboratory studies on individual fungal species have already improved our knowledge regarding physiological responses to climate. For example, experimental work with Neurospora crassa showed that this fungus can acclimate to changes in temperature, suggesting that fungi can respond to seasonal changes and to different climates . Additionally, previous research using N. crassa  and Saccharomyces cerevisiae  showed that under short-term temperature stress, fungi increase their metabolic activity (core metabolism) and reduce their growth. It also showed that yeasts and filamentous fungi can acclimate quickly to warming, reaching a steady-state which cannot be reverted . In contrast to these acclimation experiments, adaptation has rarely been specifically addressed. In our work, we examined the adaptation of N. discreta to warm temperatures. We chose three strains of N. discreta that had been isolated from relatively cool environments, and exposed them to 16 °C and 28 °C for 1500 mitotic generations. We then assessed changes in four physiological traits: mycelial growth rate (MGR), relative spore production (i.e., spores per unit biomass), mass specific respiration (MSR), and biomass production. To date, there is no standard measure of fungal fitness . We selected relative spore production as an indicator of reproductive fitness, because it has been suggested that high fitness in saprotrophic fungi is associated with the ability to quickly colonize new environments by allocating resources to spore production [17, 18]. In addition, we used MGR as another fitness trait , because fast mycelial growth could also improve colonization ability.
We also examined mass specific respiration (MSR) as a general measure of the efficiency with which fungi use carbon sources, as previously suggested . MSR has been widely used by soil microbial ecologists as a proxy to measure adaptation (e.g. ref [4, 5, 20]) and quantify carbon use efficiency. It has been hypothesized that carbon use efficiency will be greater as microorganisms adapt to warmer temperatures (i.e. higher microbial biomass accompanied by lower MSR); several studies support this idea to some extent (e.g. [2, 21]), but more recent studies have predicted that carbon use efficiency will decline with increasing temperature (e.g. ).
We performed these selection experiments to address the question: "What physiological changes coincide with fungal adaptation to warming?" We hypothesized that the adapted strains will grow faster (Hypothesis 1) and have higher relative spore production (Hypothesis 2), than the parental strains in the selective temperature. In addition, we expected lower MSR by the adapted strains than the parental strains in the selective temperature, owing to more efficient carbon use metabolism (Hypothesis 3).
Our adaptation experiments consisted of exposing three different strains of N. discreta to moderately warm (16 °C) and warm (28 °C) temperatures for 1500 generations. These strains were originally isolated from Tok, Alaska; Perma, Montana; and Wells, Nevada (Table 1) . These sites were relatively cool, with mean annual temperatures ranging from −4.7 °C to 8.1 °C (Table 1). The strains grew along 30 cm race tubes while exposed to the selective temperature. We inoculated one end of the race tube with an initial population size of 5 million spores. When the strains had reached the opposite side of the tube (i.e. that 100 % of the area was colonized), we took the last 15 × 20 mm strip of culture (about 5 million spores, and 25 million nuclei) and transferred it to a new tube. These transfers continued until the strains had crossed 15 race tubes, for a total of 450 cm. Prior to starting the adaptation experiment, we assessed MGR, biomass production, relative spore production, and MSR of the parental strains at incubation temperatures ranging from 4 to 28 °C. After the adaptation regime was completed, we performed the same assessment on the 16 °C-adapted and 28 °C-adapted strains.
We incubated parental strains for 48 h at 4, 10, 16, 22, and 28 °C, and then measured MGR, biomass production, relative spore production, and MSR; they grew faster as incubation temperature increased—a pattern typical of parental and adapted strains alike (Figs. 1 and 2, temperature effect MGR: F4,8 = 190.87, P < 0.001; temperature effect biomass: F4,8 = 420.94, P < 0.001). In contrast, relative spore production by the parental strains peaked at 10 °C (Fig. 3), the incubation temperature closest to the mean annual temperatures of the Montana and Nevada sites. Regardless of adaptation status, relative spore production displayed a unimodal-shaped relationship to incubation temperature (Fig. 3, temperature effect, F4,8 = 141.87, P < 0.001). MSR of the parental strains remained consistently low at the three coolest temperatures, increased three-fold at 22 °C, and declined at the highest temperature (Fig. 4). Indeed, increasing temperatures (up to 22 °C) augmented MSR in parental as well as adapted strains (Fig. 4, temperature effect, F4,8 = 20.87, P < 0.001).
Mycelial growth rate of parental and adapted strains of N. discreta measured at different incubation temperatures. Bars are means of all three geographical strains and their replicates + 1SE (n = 9). Asterisks indicate significant pairwise differences between adapted and parental strains within a given incubation temperature (P < 0.05). Arrows indicate the selective temperature for each adapted strain.
Fungal biomass of parental and adapted strains of N. discreta measured at different incubation temperatures. Bars are means of all three geographical strains and their replicates + 1SE (n = 9). Asterisks indicate significant pairwise differences between adapted and parental strains within a given incubation temperature (P < 0.05). Arrows indicate the selective temperature for each adapted strain.
Spore production of parental and adapted strains of N. discreta measured at different incubation temperatures. Bars are means of all three geographical strains and their replicates + 1SE (n = 9). Asterisks indicate significant pairwise differences between adapted and parental strains within a given incubation temperature (P < 0.05). Arrows indicate the selective temperature for each adapted strain.
Mass specific respiration of parental and adapted strains of N. discreta measured at different incubation temperatures. Bars are means of all three geographical strains and their replicates + 1SE (n = 9). Asterisks indicate significant pairwise differences between adapted and parental strains within a given incubation temperature (P < 0.05). Arrows indicate the selective temperature for each adapted strain.
Overall, the parental strains appeared to be better adapted to cooler temperatures (10 and 16 °C) based on patterns of relative spore production (Fig. 3). MGR, biomass and MSR were sensitive to incubation temperature as well—they all increased markedly at higher temperatures, with the exception of MSR at 28 °C (Figs. 1, 2, and 3). How did the warm-adapted strains compare?
Contrary to our expectations, MGR of the 16 °C-adapted strains was not higher than parental strains when both were incubated at 16 °C (Fig. 1). Neither was biomass (Fig. 2). In fact, across all incubation temperatures, we observed a significant interaction between adaptation state and incubation temperature (MGR F9,16 = 3.4, P < 0.001; biomass: F9,16 = 310.98, P < 0.001), but not in the expected direction at 16 °C. Instead, there was a trend toward a decline in MGR at 16 °C. With respect to the 16 °C adapted strains, we rejected Hypothesis 1, that adapted strains would have higher MGR than parental strains in the selective temperature.
Nevertheless, Hypothesis 2, which predicted that adapted strains would produce more spores per unit biomass compared to parental strains in the selective temperature, was supported. Specifically, 16 °C-adapted strains produced more spores per unit biomass than the parental strains at 16 °C (Fig. 3, P < 0.001). Moreover, relative spore production of the 16 °C-adapted strains peaked at 16 °C—at a warmer temperature than did the parental strains (Fig. 3). Accordingly, the interaction between adaptation state and incubation temperature was significant (F9,16 = 86.83, P < 0.001).
Unexpectedly, MSR of 16 °C-adapted strains was significantly higher than that of parental strains in the selective temperature (Fig. 4, P = 0.005). This finding was contrary to Hypothesis 3, which predicted the opposite. The interaction between adaptation state and incubation temperature was significant (Fig. 4; F9,16 = 24.33, P < 0.001).
In summary, the 16 °C-adapted strains appeared to display higher fitness at 16 °C, in terms of relative spore production (Fig. 3). However, this adaptation was not accompanied by an increase in MGR and biomass (Fig. 1 and 2) as previously hypothesized. Additionally, this adaptation was also accompanied by an increase of MSR rather than a decrease. Did strains adapted to an even warmer temperature display similar physiological shifts?
The 28 °C-adapted strains displayed physiological shifts that were very similar to the 16 °C-adapted strains (adaptation state*incubation temperature effect MGR: F9,16 = 178.87, P < 0.001; biomass: F9,16 = 379.26, P < 0.001). Specifically, MGR and biomass production by the 28 °C-adapted strains was significantly smaller than that of the parental strains when both were incubated at 28 °C (Fig. 1 and 2, MGR P < 0.001; biomass: P < 0.001). Furthermore, relative spore production at 28 °C increased significantly compared to the parental strain (Fig. 3, P < 0.001). We note that relative spore production by the 28 °C-adapted strain tended to peak at the 22 °C incubation temperature, but was not significantly different from the 28 °C incubation temperature (P = 0.91). Finally, MSR of the 28 °C-adapted strain was higher than the parental strain at 28 °C (Fig. 4, P < 0.001). Accordingly, Hypothesis 2 was supported for adaptation to 28 °C, but not Hypotheses 1 and 3. Similar to the 16 °C-adapted strains, adaptation to 28 °C was accompanied by a reduction in MGR and biomass, as well as an increase in MSR.
Strains isolated from the three field sites varied significantly in MGR, biomass, relative spore production, and MSR. Nevertheless, there was no noticeable relationship between mean annual temperature at the site of origin versus biomass, MGR, MSR, or relative spore production.
Biomass and mycelial growth rate were each of interest in this study. We measured mycelial growth rate as a potential indicator of fitness (in addition to relative spore production). We quantified biomass because it was required to calculate relative spore production and MSR. In addition, microbial biomass is a common component of ecosystem models of soil dynamics ; the biomass data from this study can be used by modelers for parameterization or validation. Mycelial growth rate and biomass were strongly -but not perfectly- correlated (Additional file 1: Fig. S1; Spearman's rank-order correlation ρ = 0.75, P < 0.001).
After adaptation to 16 and 28 °C, N. discreta displayed an enhanced metabolic rate at those temperatures, perhaps in order to support higher production rates of energetically-expensive spores. Accordingly, tradeoffs in resource allocation may have led to the slower MGR (Fig. 1) and lower biomass production (Fig. 2) in the adapted strains. We rejected Hypothesis 1, because MGR in the warm-adapted strains was not higher at the selective temperature, compared to parental strains (Fig. 1). Nevertheless, Hypothesis 2 was supported because adapted strains of N. discreta produced significantly more spores per unit biomass at the selective temperature (Fig. 3). Finally, we rejected Hypothesis 3, because adapted strains produced higher MSR at the selective temperature (Fig. 4), suggesting that adaptation did not lead to greater efficiency of carbon use.
Higher relative spore production in the adapted strains may indicate greater fitness at the selective temperatures. Similarly, in experiments carried out using Aspergillus niger, the rate of spore production was used as a measure of fitness. In this case however, colony surface area was used as a unit of biomass, and contrary to our observations, there was a positive trend between biomass and number of spores . More recently, mathematical models have shown that for asexual fungi in nature, higher production of spores facilitates the extension of the colony while avoiding the risk of extending the mycelium into a resource-poor area . In addition, previous studies have reported that fungi that invest in dispersal structures (i.e. spores) instead of vegetative structures (i.e. hyphae) tend to colonize more litter patches and are more prevalent within the ecosystem .
The adapted strains of N. discreta may have grown more slowly because they were allocating a greater proportion of resources to spore production instead of biomass. Dettman and colleagues  also performed temperature-selection experiments with Neurospora spp., but they adapted the strains to a cooler temperature of 12 °C. Their cold-adapted strains exhibited an increase in MGR at 12 °C, compared to the parental strains. However, the authors discussed that their method of propagation of lineages (transferring the fastest-growing hyphal tips) might not be the best approach to allow efficient competition and adaptive response . In fact, transferring the fastest growing mycelial sector has been identified as artificial selection, whereas transferring of random samples of mycelial-produced spores has been identified as a more accurate way of replicating natural selection . In our work, we transferred mycelia and spores together, rather than only the fastest growing hyphal tips.
The increase in MSR at high temperatures following adaptation was unexpected. This result might be explained by the increased production of spores in adapted strains (Fig. 2). Spores are known to have energetically-costly compounds such as nutrients for survival during dormancy and complex structural molecules for efficient spore dispersal. For example: the fibrous layer of "rodlets" in the surface of Neurospora's spores make them highly hydrophobic and readily dispersible through air; these compounds are not present in vegetative mycelium and are composed mostly of hydrophobic proteins [27, 28]. In addition, studies in Penicillium chrysogenum, showed that production of spores is usually accompanied by thickening of the cell wall of the hyphae and reduced growth rate due to extensive vacuolation and plugging of the hyphal septum; these processes are metabolically costly In fact, a positive relationship between production of spores and MSR has been reported in previous studies .
Our findings contrast with those often observed in short-term acclimation experiments. Typically, MSR declines following acclimation of microbes to higher temperatures, although underlying mechanisms are a matter of debate. For example, Luo and collaborators  observed a decrease in soil respiration as temperature increased. They suggested that this response was the result of acclimatization to warming by microbes, and concluded that acclimatization might weaken the positive feedbacks to global warming. However, Kirschbaum  argued that the apparent acclimatization was due to depletion of labile carbon in the soil. Later, Bradford and collaborators  indicated that reduced MSR from microbes resulted from both mechanisms operating in concert. The observations of Schindlbacher and collaborators  were an exception; they found that acclimation to warming enhanced MSR. Crowther and Bradford  conducted one of the few studies that have assessed the temperature acclimation of fungal species, instead of the microbial community as a whole. They observed an increase in MSR and declines in growth efficiency at elevated temperatures (28 °C) after 10 days of incubation. Since these studies were generally short-term, the fungi likely had minimal opportunity for adaptation.
The response of MSR to temperature in our adaptation experiment may have differed from that of the majority of the acclimation experiments because our experiment selected for higher relative spore production. Sporulation was likely to be less important in shorter-term studies with fewer generation cycles. In ecosystems exposed to global warming, selection for high sporulation rates may lead to increases in MSR at the evolutionary time scale, even though MSR may initially decline owing to short-term acclimation.
Evolution of natural populations occurs by many processes such as gene flow, genetic drift, sexual recombination, and mutation. Those natural processes were not necessarily replicated in our study. The adaptation process that we carried out was performed under controlled conditions, and the sample size for each transfer was kept as consistent as possible. In addition, we focused on one fungal species, so it remains unknown whether similar adaptive responses will occur in other species. Nevertheless, we incorporated some genotypic variation in our study—we used strains of N. discreta that were collected from three different sites and that varied initially in spore production and biomass (Table 2). Moreover, for asexually reproducing strains of fungi, selection is easily affected by changes in temperature, because the direction of selection is strongly dependent upon changes in its environment, and not on sexual recombination . Therefore, our results should not be affected by the lack of sexual reproduction.
Temperature has a direct effect on microbial physiological processes that control decomposition . For example, Allison and collaborators  simulated changes in soil carbon under global warming under three scenarios: MSR increases markedly with temperature; MSR increases with temperature, but only moderately; and MSR does not vary with temperature. Their model predicts that soil carbon losses are greatest when MSR remains constant, and smallest when MSR is most sensitive to temperature. This pattern occurs because high MSR leads to low microbial biomass and slower ecosystem-level CO2 efflux. Our results are most in line with the first scenario, in which MSR increases in response to warming and is particularly sensitive to temperature following adaptation. This pattern may also be true for wild populations of Heterobasidium parviporum (a root-rot pathogenic fungus), since the annual respiration activity of this fungus is increasing with annual air temperature in boreal ecosystems of northern Finland . Based on the modeled predictions of Allison and collaborators , we might expect that the adaptation responses we observed in N. discreta would lead to a mitigation of soil carbon loss. If this response were widespread globally, it might slow the enrichment of atmospheric CO2 under warmer conditions. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether other fungi will adapt to warming in similar ways.
In conclusion, our data show that fungi can adapt to warm temperatures. This adaptation might be accompanied by evolutionary tradeoffs such as increased allocation of resources to spore production but reduced MGR and higher MSR. Our results provide little support for the idea that adaptation to global warming will lead to increases in carbon use efficiency. Incorporating this information to climate change model simulations could help provide a more concise forecast on decomposition processes and carbon feedbacks to the atmosphere.
We selected three strains of N. discreta isolated in 2000 and 2001 from AK (Tok, Alaska, FGSC 9979), MT (Perma, Montana, FGSC 8572), and NV (Wells, Nevada, FGSC 8565) . Mean annual temperatures at these sites is −4.7 °C in Alaska, 7.5 °C in Montana and 8.1 °C in Nevada (Table 1). In addition, the mean annual precipitation at all sites was low (234 to 351 mm y−1). Strains were maintained on VMM agar (Vogel's Minimum Medium: 1x Vogel's salt solution, 1.5 % sucrose, 1.5 % agar).
For each parental strain (AK, MT, and NV), we conducted three adaptations to 16 °C and another three to 28 °C. The selection experiment lasted 1500 mitotic generations. For each parental strain, we used these 3 × 16 °C adapted and 3 × 28 °C adapted strains plus 3 replicates of the parental strain to assess physiological traits at five temperatures (4, 10, 16, 22, 28 °C). The four measures by which we assessed physiological traits were: MGR, biomass, relative spore production (number of spores per unit biomass), and MSR. For each physiological trait, the total number of data points was 135: 3 geographic regions (AK, MT, NV) * 9 adapted and parental strains (3 × 16 °C + 3 x 28 °C + 3 x parental) * 5 temperatures (4, 10, 16, 22 or 28 °C).
For all physiological measurements, our inoculum was 5 million spores in 5 ml VMM broth or agar. We prepared the inoculum by adding spores from mycelium (grown on VMM agar) after 5 days of growth, flooding the culture with 20 ml of 1 M sorbitol, filtering the liquid, and recovering the spores by centrifuging for 5 min at 2,500 rpm. The spores were then washed in fresh sorbitol, recovered by centrifugation (3x), and stored at −20 °C. We used a Neubauer chamber to determine the spore concentrations in dilutions of the stored spores.
We initiated the adaptation process by adding 5 million spores to 20 ml VMM agar in 30 cm race tubes. Based on a total growth of mycelium over 450 cm, we estimate that the adaptation process involved 1500 mitotic generations (briefly, 100 cell cycles are completed every 30 cm of growth based on a cell cycle time of 1.5 h and a mycelial extension rate of ~ 2 mm/h at 22 °C on VMM agar) . To transfer mycelium between race tubes, we collected the last 2 cm of agar with mycelium and spores. The final collection was done in the same manner, except mycelium was transferred to a 50 ml tube and grown for one more week before harvesting spores.
Each physiological test was initiated by adding 5 million spores to 5 ml of VVM agar at 9:00 pm, incubating in darkness for 12 h at 22 °C, and then shifting the culture to the treatment temperature (4, 10, 16, 22 or 28 °C) for an additional 48 h, also in darkness. By standardizing inoculum, germination time, and germination temperature, we could assume that all cultures were at the same life stage when they were shifted to the treatment temperatures.
Spore production was quantified on VMM agar as described for inoculum preparation and reported as the number of spores per g of fungal biomass.
MGR was measured in the selective environment (race tubes with VMM agar) after growth for 48 h at the treatment temperature. MGR was reported as mm per hour on the average of all replicates divided by 48 h of incubation time.
Biomass was determined in VMM agar after growth for 48 h at the treatment temperature by melting the agar (autoclaving at 121 °C for 10 min) and filtering through Whatman #1 filter paper . We then dried the mycelium for 48 h at 60 °C and weighed it to determine fungal biomass (mg).
MSR was measured in VMM agar (same samples used to determine biomass) using septum vials and an infrared gas analyzer (PP Systems EGM-4, Amesbury, MA, USA). After 48 h of incubation at the treatment temperature, we equilibrated gas concentration of all samples by opening the vials under a laminar flow hood for approximately 15 min. We proceeded to close the vials tightly and then incubated the samples for four more hours. We measured CO2 concentrations in ppm before and after the four-hour incubation and, by calculating the difference in CO2 concentration between the two time points and dividing by biomass, we could calculate MSR as mg CO2 g−1 fungal biomass h−1.
For each physiological test, we conducted a nested repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The independent variables were adapted state (parental, 16 °C-adapted, and 28 °C-adapted) and strain origin (AK, MT, and NV), with strain origin nested within adapted state. Incubation temperature was the repeated measure. The dependent variable was spore production, biomass, or MSR. Kolmogorov-Smirnov post hoc tests were used to assess pairwise differences. Significant interactions between adapted state and incubation temperature would support our hypotheses if the 16 °C- or 28 °C-adapted strains also displayed significantly higher sporulation, less biomass, and lower MSR than the parental strains when all were incubated at the selective temperature. Differences were considered significant when P < 0.05. We ranked all data, because they did not conform to assumptions for normality or homogeneity of variances. All statistical analyses were done using the statistical program R (www.r-project.org) and SYSTAT (SPSS, Evanston, IL).
We thank Hau Truong for lab assistance; and Linh Anh Cat, Caitlin Looby, Mia Maltz, and Yevgeniy Marusenko for comments on the manuscript. This study was funded by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de México (CONACyT) and UC-MEXUS (scholarship no. 216015 to ALR-O), Secretaría de Educación Pública de México (complementary scholarship to ALR-O), American Association of University Women (AAUW) (International Fellowship to ALR-O), and NSF-DEB1256896. Two anonymous referees and associate editor for their comments on our manuscript that improved the quality of our paper.
Additional file 1: Figure S1. Correlation between biomass and mycelial growth rates of parental and adapted strains of N. discreta measured at different temperatures (ρ = 0.75, P < 0.001). Each symbol represents a different combination of incubation temperature and adapted state (parental, 16 °C-adapted, and 28 °C-adapted). Symbols are means ± 1SE of all three geographical strains and their replicates (n = 9).
ALR-O conceived and designed the study, performed research, analyzed data, and wrote the paper. JWT helped revise the paper and design the study. KKT helped design the study, analyze data, and revise the paper. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.


So now why would the courts remove PortMiami and other vital economic engines from my district?
We need businesses that offer jobs and benefit our residents so that our community can prosper just like any other.
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson continues to preach jobs and now they are taking those jobs.
I encourage the Florida Supreme Court justices to reject the CP-1 map approved by Judge Lewis.


I absolutely ADORE my Mexican American culture and heritage!!
My family (mom's side) hails from the beautiful city of Aguascalientes, Mexico and I am so thankful that my family has never forgotten where they came from.
I get an overwhelming feeling of pride and joy when I experience anything that has to do with my Mexican background. Seriously you guys, I have to hold back tears. I really get choked up. From dancers, music, art, festivals, and food- there's something that pulls at my heartstrings and takes my breath away.
The dance below is specific to Aguascalientes. It is about cockfighting- which at one point was a big part of La Feria de San Marcos, a HUGE festival that takes over the entire city. The shout "Viva Aguascalientes" sends shivers.
Confession: I have always wanted to be one of these dancers.
The next video is a nod to my Aztec background. This touches my heart in an inexplicable way too! Maybe a past life? LOL. Mexico is such an amazing country.
Confession: Maybe I want to be one of these dancers too.
Maybe I do this in my house- I'll never tell on that one lol.
Ah… the beautiful art of Mexico- who hasn't heard of Frida Kahlo or Diego Rivera?! The vibrant colors and passion that are in each of their work… incredible! Below is my favorite painting by Diego Rivera.
Ok Ok NOW TO THE FOOD. Yes, there are TONS of Mexican restaurants out there, but most that I have been to aren't very authentic. A lot of the food is canned or premade products (hence why many places taste the same). It's always that little hole in the wall place that people scoff at that has the BEST food. Mostly because it's probably family run and they are making everything from scratch.
I'm so lucky to have grown up eating delicious authentic Mexican food. My grandmother passed her amazing cooking skills down to my mom- and I am trying my best to catch up. My abuela was a machine in the kitchen. She could make food for the whole week – ahem for our entire family- in just a day. When we cook, we cook for an army so we always have days of leftovers.
Which brings me to these carnitas. When I taste tested these- I was in heaven. It brought me back to being called inside to eat- I would be so upset because I had to stop playing- BUT- when I'd walk through the door, the smell of my Abuelita's carnitas would bring me so much joy. It was like a mouthful of sweet delicious memories. I couldn't stop, you guys! I may have had a few more taste tests here and there. It was just so damn good!
I am so incredibly excited that I can make this for my family with little to no fuss. I have named it: Carnitas Aguascalientes. In this recipe, I will tell you a secret ingredient that is missing in many recipes I've seen online.
After I made the carnitas- I made the chicken version! OMG- so good. If I tried to include the chicken in this post it would be quite the big enchilada- haha. I'll try to wrap it all up for you guys 😉 in two separate posts. Stay tuned.
Let's hear your best grito!!
If not, the carnitas are not going to be yummy.
C'mon. Please tell me you tried! Ah, well. HERE WE GO!!
**Side note** I tried a new recipe creator "app" thingy for my blog. What do you guys think? I'm not sure how in love I am but here it is!
Cut up your pork into 5 or 6 even pieces. Leave the bone in. Cut around it if you have to.
Turn on your Instant Pot to sauté. If doing this in a slow cooker, you will need a pan and your stove.
Sashay, sauté! You just want to sear the pork on the outside. Make sure that you flip it fast because it does tend to stick and fizzle.
Once all pieces are seared. Set them to the side.
You should have a good amount of grease from the pork- if not add some olive oil. Sauté your onion.
When your onion is nice and soft, add your garlic and cook for a minute.
Add your red pepper flakes. Just a few dashes will do.
Add in your salt. Be careful not to add too much! The pork will add a salty flavor.
Toss in your ground pepper.
Toss in half of a lime. Leave the skin on! Yeah! Secret ingredient- ding ding ding!
Now we add in our chicken broth. Stir again and mix well.
Pile in your pork! Make sure it's not too crammed- also remember we are keeping the bone in!
Turn on your Instant Pot and set to pressure cook for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Make sure you set your valve to seal!
For those using a slow cooker you will probably need about 8-10 hours.
What to do in 1 hour and 10 mins!? UM clean up and get your garnish prepped! Then pretend you are putting on a baile folklorico performance!
When the time is up, do a quick release of pressure for your Instant Pot. The liquid will be very hot! Be careful! For slow cookers- carefully remove the lid.
You whole house should smell absolutely amazing. It makes me want to give a big 'grito'! Aaaaaaaayyyyyy ahh haaaa haaaaaaiiiiii!
If you are serving these as carnitas, cut them up into smaller cubed pieces. You can pop them in the broiler to crisp up the outsides.
If you are serving these as taquitos, shred them up! Definitely, broil until the outer layer/pieces are crispy.
I found that Mission Street Size flour tortillas work best. They also have corn tortillas- but that choice is up to you.
The mini flour tortillas can be heated up in the microwave for about a minute. I lay out about four or five on a plate and cover with a damp napkin.
Garnish with pico de gallo, cilantro and a slice of lime on the side. HEAVEN!!
If serving as carnitas, the Cilantro Lime Rice pairs really well!
I premade some for a friend and her family. You can do this if you are doing meal prep. They are so easy to reheat!
What size instapot did you use? I have the 6 qt, will everything fit?


You are invited! — Read Banned Books!
Exercise your right to read! Read from your favorite banned book.
Someone doesn't want you to read, but we do!
Rare Books presents books, pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines that were banned, forbidden, censored, redacted, expurgated, published anonymously and otherwise attempted to be kept from public consumption. From religious and political writings to science, philosophy and poetry, these pieces of paper were deemed by some too dangerous to exist. On display are first editions of Galileo's Dialogo (1632), Hobbes' Leviathan (1651), Swift's Travels (1726), Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), Salinger's Catcher in the Rye (1951) and others, too hot to handle hot off the press.
When Travels by "Lemuel Gulliver" was first published, only a few close friends knew that the real author was Jonathan Swift, the Dean of the Anglican St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. Swift, a native Dubliner, was involved in several political controversies during his lifetime, particularly in relation to the treatment of the Irish by the English.
Travels was a none-too-subtle, bitter satire of English royalty, politicians, scientists, and historians. Styled after popular travel and exploration narratives of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the imaginative storytelling lambastes the much-lauded human reason of the Enlightenment. In Travels, Swift suggests that no change in governmental form would ever effect any lasting change in political behavior. Mankind, never noble for long under any circumstances, would always face the same unequivocal self: full of greed, excess, corruption, exploitation, violence, and decadence.
Benjamin Motte, a London printer, received an anonymous letter requesting that "Captain Gulliver's" memoirs be published. A manuscript, probably copied in a hand other than Swift's, was delivered, and one short month later, the book went on sale, after the publisher negotiated the softening of several passages. The book's first printing sold out in a week. The combination of deadpan reporting, exotic experiences, and jaundiced backward glances at English society made the book an immediate success. Thus, the successful publication of a book politically loaded in a time before freedom of the press was but a gleam in a few revolutionary's eyes.
The frontispiece is a fine example of eighteenth-century English book illustration. The engraved portrait of Swift is by John Sturt and William Sheppard (II?). University of Utah copy ("Teerlink B" edition) gift from Robert Steensma, second University of Utah copy ("Teerlink AA" edition) gift of Anonymous.
"Contentment is analogous with a man and his books" — Anonymous gives again!
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Ever wondered about book collecting? "Anonymous" recently donated copies of The Amateur Book Collector to Rare Books.
With these humble beginnings, the magazine published issues for the next 25 years.
While the Marriott Library already holds issues from 1959 to 1975, it is with great pleasure that we add these earlier issues (1951 through 1955) to our collection.
Vol. 1, no. 10, June, 1951 celebrates the 100th anniversary of the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, a book we featured in our 2010 exhibition, "Public Sentiment: A Nineteenth-Century War of Words," where you can read about the impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin on 19th century attitudes regarding slavery and see an image from our first edition.
Congratulations to Floyd and Greg!
KYLEE EHMANN of the Daily Utah Chronicle writes about the Rare Books exhibition SHHHHH!
"Poulton said that while an exhibition like this may seem dated in an era where information is primarily spread via the internet, she thinks it's important for students to know the historical ways people have communicated controversial topics.
All these books are a permanent part of Rare Books. Anyone can visit the books in person on level 4 of the Marriott Library, as part of the exhibition through November 1, and in the Special Collection Reading Room after the exhibition ends.
Sir Thomas Browne took up a suggestion made by Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) in his Advancement of Learning that there should be a list compiled of erroneous beliefs in the fields of natural sciences and general knowledge. Browne, a tireless observer, used a combination of authoritative testimonies, reason, and experimentation in an attempt to dispose of hundreds of current common fallacies.
One of the most fantastic of Browne's studies is in part 3 of Works, "Urn-Burial: Together with the Garden of Cyrus." Browne begins with the Garden of Eden and traces the history of horticulture down to the time of the Persian King Cyrus. The king is credited with having been the first to plant trees in a quincunx, a distinctive spatial arrangement of five objects. Browne claimed to have discovered that this quincuncial arrangement also appeared in the hanging gardens of Babylon, leading him into a discussion about the mystical qualities of the number five.