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Posted by Writing for Change College Park on May 31, 2020 June 23, 2020
Natasha is a mental health therapist licensed in the state of Maryland. She currently works under Choice Clinical Services, a women-led mental health practice with two locations in College Park and one in Greenbelt.
As a therapist, a lot of clients think you have everything together, and it's so not true—like, nobody does. I've never met one person who has everything in every part of their life together.
Content warning for brief mention of past emotionally abusive relationship (3:10-5:15). The specific timestamps are indicated in the full transcript.
NOTE: This interview was conducted May 2, 2020. The protests Natasha refers to at 23:00 are the protests against COVID-19 regulations, such as the stay-at-home orders and the use of masks.
Interview highlights:
On the transition from in-person therapy to teletherapy:
"I've had clients drop out of therapy when [social isolation became enforced] because of issues with confidentiality, and that really does suck. Like, telehealth is really important, and I think it can be a really useful tool, but there's also big downsides to it too—for both client and therapist."
On how Natasha is able to access support for herself:
"I am with my family right now—I'm living at home. So, using them as a support, it's really great. Talking to my friends who are also therapists, and understand all of this, like, very well. And even my friends who are not therapists at all, or nowhere near that—it's really nice having them, too, because you can kind of unplug with them? You know, you don't have to have that 'therapy talk' with them. So, using that.
"My cats, too, that like to interrupt me during sessions, is actually a blessing, because it's like my emotional support animal while we're all talking about really hard things. And I have my own therapist, too, that I reached back out to when all this started. So, I've been doing that. Yeah. And I think just trying—trying to stay busy, trying to stick to a schedule and a routine, because that's what this pandemic really took away from all of us. So, trying to stick as much to "normal," as we can—in air quotes, since everyone's listening. [Natasha and interviewer laugh]
"And just like trying—trying to do things that make me happy. Like, being creative. Painting, I like to paint. And going outside when it's sunny out. So, lots of little things. The little things are what keeps us sane."
Interviewer: So, Natasha, what do you do for a living?
Natasha: So, I'm a mental health therapist. I work at Choice Clinical Services. That's actually right outside of UMD's [University of Maryland, College Park] campus.
Interviewer: Mm. And tell me more about your background in mental health.
Natasha: So, I have my—I actually have my bachelor's degree in psychology from UMD. And then, I went to Towson University for my master's in Counseling Psychology. So, I'm pretty new to the field. I just graduated May 2019—so about a year ago now. When I had internships, it was like our second year of grad school, and we had the internship for a whole year, so, been in the field for like kind of two years—more with supervision in the past, but like, actually in the field now.
Interviewer: And why—I guess that I wanted to know more about why this work is important for you.
Natasha: Yeah. So, I think what initially got me interested in it was just, like, learning about psychology in high school. But I always felt like, "What can I do with a degree in psychology?" I just felt like you could only go the path of a therapist or a teacher.
And I kind of felt like that wasn't for me at all. I was like, I don't really want to sit around and listen to people's problems all day. And ironically, I'm here. And it's like, throughout school, once I started taking more psych classes in undergrad, I realized it's so much more than listening to people's problems. There is a lot of…just like, so many underlying things that can happen, and just even in the therapeutic space. Like, for a lot of people, just going somewhere—getting out of their situation, having a place that they can go to and rely on week by week, or however often that they come in, makes a huge difference. Having someone who will listen to them, and not like—a lot of people in our life tend to just give advice. And it's like, "I didn't really ask for advice on those. I just wanted someone to listen to me."
So having the power to be able to do that, and learning about all the different ways that therapy works, and how it can mean different things for different people, really got me into it. Also, just, like, helping in general, which I feel like is the obvious answer here. I always wanted to help people. And I never really—like, growing up, I never really knew how. I also felt like, "Oh, you had to be a doctor, or a nurse," or something like that in the medical field to be able to actually help someone.
So just throughout, like, my own experiences with people that I know going through mental illness, and just life experiences in general—because you don't have to have a mental illness to be in therapy. It can benefit anybody. It helps with communication in general, learning about yourself, self-awareness, all those kinds of things. So, seeing how just even learning more in psychology has helped me, and how I could apply so many of those different things to my own life, I wanted to, like, help other people do the same thing too.
Interviewer (3:10): And, if you're comfortable elaborating more, I kind of wanted to know more about, like, your personal experiences with mental health, and how that ties in with your profession.
Natasha: Yeah. So, um…wow, that got really personal.
[Natasha and interviewer laugh]
Natasha: No, I think that's a really good question, too, because I feel like as a therapist, a lot of clients think you have everything together, and it's so not true. Like, nobody does. I've never met one person who has everything in every part of their life together. So that is really, really humbling in and of itself: knowing that you can go through things and help other people.
Actually, I think when I first started taking psych classes, it was actually my junior year of undergrad, and I was—I started off as a biology major. And then, when I was in my first two years, I was actually in an emotionally abusive relationship.
And I didn't realize that until after I got out, and I was taking these psych classes, that I realized all of what was going on. And so it was—'cause it's just so subtle, and everyone only really talks about, like, physically abusive relationships. And that's pretty obvious to tell when you're in one of those. But just, like, the manipulation and even the power—I think it's called the cycle of abuse, yeah.
And just, the power struggle in that—learning about all of that just helped me realize and understand my own experience, and then also helped me understand other people's experiences, too. 'Cause I think there's a lot of value in being able to understand yourself before you can understand other people, if that makes any sense. It sounds really weird, but it also reminds me of that quote of "You can't pour from an empty cup." So, like, you can't really help other people without helping yourself first. And that applies in that area, too.
Interviewer (5:15): Yeah. I've definitely wondered about—just generally that—that quote that you mentioned was actually exactly what I was thinking because… The reason why I was very interested in learning about your personal experiences is because I sometimes wonder if, like, that's what sometimes motivates people to join the therapy field because they've already experienced that validating power, whether it's through education, being able to see something laid out in front of you or if they've already been in that space, in that therapeutic space, and being able to have someone echo back, reframe your thoughts, and then, you know, sort of like passing on the baton.
Natasha: Yeah, I think there is some truth to that, right? I mean, you can see it and look in the news when you hear about somebody going through some kind of illness, and their team of doctors—and then they're inspired by their doctors taking care of them to then go into the healthcare field, too. And I think it's the same thing, like, understanding yourself in that very intimate way, because we don't really do that on a daily basis, or most people don't do that outside of therapy as much as you do in therapy.
And then, even other people who have been in therapy before—that inspires them to become a therapist. I think there is truth in passing that baton on too: I've been really helped through this experience, [cat making sounds in the background] so now I want to do the same thing for other people. Yeah.
Interviewer: And then, speaking to that, working in the profession—And you did mention that there are all these different ways to access therapy, and all these different ways to practice therapy…[pauses as Natasha walks to open door for her cat]
Natasha: Sorry. [laughs].
Interviewer: No problem.
Natasha: My cat wanted to leave the room. Yes, you were saying, all the different ways to access therapy.
Interviewer: And also, just to practice therapy. So, I was just wondering more of, like, what is your approach to therapy when you're conducting it?
Natasha: Yeah. So, there is a bunch of different theories that you can work out of. I'd like to say that I'm pretty eclectic. I take from a bunch of different theories, depending on who's sitting in front of me at the time and what they're going through, what their needs are. I meet my clients where they're at, and I'm really open to their feedback. Like, I want to know—this is, this is their time, you know? So, I want to make the most of it. Whatever you need, I can try and do that for you.
But one of my main approaches that I go by is, you could say, psychodynamic-informed CBT. So, I think that there's a lot of value to understanding kind of what Freud said. Your first relationships, your first experiences with people, and how that can shape a lot of what your current life is looking like, or what your current situation can be like too, because—you think about it, when we're kids, everything—We're constantly learning. We're like sponges. And so, basically, you tend to mimic what you're first learning. And then when you get older, that's when you can question things and decide, like, this is what I want to be. This is not who I want to be. You can kind of differentiate from there. But, it's also a lot more ingrained than some of the things that you're actively or consciously thinking about.
So then, that's where the CBT comes in. So, that's cognitive behavioral therapy, and it's based on the idea that—So they're in similar schools of thought, but they're also very opposite, where psychodynamic says, "Yes, your past and your history makes a huge difference." And for CBT, it's like, "We don't really care about all that stuff. We just want to know what's going on right now, and how we can fix that."
So I think that you need both. You need to know how the past has influenced you currently, what's going on right now, and then how we can go in and fix that. So, a lot of what goes on there is determining some of the thoughts that you have out of habit, some of the thoughts that are more ingrained in you, where some of them came from—if they're your own or from society or from a parent or other people in your life growing up.
And then being able to challenge or balance those thoughts, because we all tend to have these cognitive distortions. Some really common ones are catastrophizing, where it's like everything feels like, "Oh, now it's the end of the world, like, this is all going to suck. I'm gonna fail this assignment. And that means I'm gonna, like, completely fail the semester." And everybody has thoughts like that. But when they're more intense and happen more often, that's when they become problematic. So, CBT really helps get at the root of those, and challenge those thoughts, and help us change them—and sometimes replace them, too, with more positive ones.
Interviewer: Speaking of catastrophizing—[both Natasha and interviewer laugh]—with this whole pandemic, how has it been like for, I guess, your interactions with your clients? How has that been, just generally?
Natasha: Yeah, honestly, it's been hard. It's been a lot harder. I really miss going into the office and working with people face-to-face. I mean, a prime example is—well, first I wanna say, I'm very grateful that I can work from home, and I'm very grateful that I can still see a lot of the people that I've been working with, and they can still get this help, because I find that they go one opposite or the other.
It's either like, "You know, my anxiety has been pretty bad and this whole situation made it even worse. So, now I definitely need to be in therapy more, now than ever." And other people, who are kind of like, "Well, you know, school is my biggest stress, and school is not really much of a thing anymore. So, I'm good right now."
But what I was saying before, how it's been difficult is—like a really good example: my cat coming in and out. And she will cry at the door, and then I have to go open the door. And let her in, let her out, and things like that. And it's the same thing on the other end for my clients—clients who now take care of their kids 24/7 have to be able to find the time that works for them, or, you know, still have interruptions with kids. With my clients who are kids, it's really hard to keep their attention. They can run off the camera, and there's nothing I can do about it because—[laughs]—I'm here.
I feel like it's harder to stay focused. I remember the first few weeks of just switching completely over to telehealth. I was getting these headaches. My eyes were hurting, like, "What is going on? This must be stress." No, it's just from staring at the screen all day long. Like, little things like that, that you never even really think about, that aren't really issues that come with the job, are suddenly issues that come with the job now. So, readjusting in that way, trying to find ways to still get to reach people through the screen, to make it still feel like it's personal—because I think adding a screen in front of things depersonalizes it a little bit. So yeah, there's a bunch of ways that it [therapy with clients] definitely changed.
And I think one of the biggest ones is just—there's not that same energy. When you're talking to a screen, you're not getting that energy from that person as much. And I've noticed that even too within some of my clients, where it's just they're kinda like, neither here nor there. Some people keep up the same energy. And I feel like we can feed off of it, and keep each other energized. And for other people, you know, it's just somewhere in the middle. And then I end up being somewhere in the middle, too. And I'm trying my hardest to try and keep up positive energy. And so, it's difficult, but I think we're just trying to get really creative with how to make it work.
Interviewer: Yeah, I've been thinking about the intimacy that sometimes can be lost within the screen. I was kind of thinking about teletherapy could, like—how that's sort of influencing it [the intimacy] more. I guess, I just kind of want to hear more about that: like, what your thoughts are about intimacy, and being able to be more somewhat personable in person. Just having, like, this sort of personalized experience with your clients.
Natasha: Yeah. So, I think it [teletherapy] works as a cost and a benefit too. One of the other things that comes with it is being in someone else's personal space. You see a lot more of what's going on. Like, you can get context to some of their issues. One of my clients that I mentioned that's a kid—seeing the kind of environment that she's living in, some of it is like, "Oh, that's interesting. Some of that makes sense. No wonder you're having a hard time staying focused." Like, that kind of thing.
But it also works, obviously, as a barrier if you're not able to stay focused in your own—because when people are more comfortable in their own home, it's not a neutral setting. They may be more inclined to, like, not give as much or not—you kind of get comfortable where you're at, and you're not doing work. 'Cause that's what therapy is, is doing work. You're doing work on yourself. And so, when you're really kinda chilling in bed and all comfortable, you're not really inclined to do as much work. So that definitely not so much speaks to the intimacy, but just speaks to that space, of having a therapeutic space, having a neutral setting and a place where you actually have to go to. When you go somewhere, you're on the way there, you're kind of changing your mindset, like, "Okay, I'm on the way to therapy now," rather than transitioning from being in school in bed to being in a therapy session in bed.
And then, also to your point of the intimacy, I think, too, is like…We utilize silence sometimes as a therapeutic intervention. So, trying to allow people that space or time to think about things. And that's harder to do not in person, because, again, being in that personal space, you can get distracted. Like, the phone's right there. You can be on your phone, and someone not really notice. I mean, you can kinda tell, but—[laughs]—it's different compared to someone just uses their phone in the middle of a therapy session at the office. Like, that's obvious.
So it's harder to utilize that silence. It's harder to try and make that in-person connection. It's really hard to explain. It's something that I think all of us know from the lack of it now, just how different it is. Like, even talking to your friends over the phone, or over Zoom, instead of being in person. And even though being—having a therapeutic relationship is different from other relationships, 'cause you aren't like touching your clients, you're not hugging them or anything like that, they're still just that sense of "There's someone here with me, sitting with me with my problems. And I'm not alone in this."
Interviewer: Yeah, definitely. What I'm sort of hearing—like, the immediacy is sort of lost from not being able to be in that physical space. Yeah…yeah…And I guess—there's so many things that are coming to my head but, yeah, I think that that's all very important to definitely bring up. And I'm sort of—you've mentioned, like one of your clients as an example, but I'm just sort of wondering that what sort of issues are you finding with a lot of your clients or with some of your clients that are just sort of being brought up due to this pandemic, or due to some social isolation, things like that? You did mentioned some before, but…
Natasha: Yeah. So, I mean, to state the obvious, the pandemic is one that almost always comes up. Sometimes, it's like one week they're okay with it. They're dealing with other stuff in their personal life. But then the next week it shifts, which tends to happen in therapy regardless. But with something this big and that touches every aspect of your life, a lot of people are going, I notice, like going back and forth. One week, they're talking about whatever they initially came in with. The next week, they're talking about how the pandemic is affecting them. The next week, they're back to their original stuff. The next week, again, they're back to the pandemic. So, it's, it's a little—I don't want to say, "all over the place?" Because everything is all over the place right now? [laughs] That's kind of the normal now.
But there is a lot of that back and forth. And I think it can be hard on a client just to constantly have those thoughts and feelings bouncing around within you. And I think it can be hard on a therapist, too, because it's like, if you go in with a plan of, "So this is what we worked on last time. Like, here's what we can do based on that this week." And if they're like, "Well, actually, I want to talk about something else," then you have to come up with something else in the moment, which I think the longer that I've been doing this for, the easier it is. But still having that time to plan ahead is really helpful. So you lose some of that.
And also some other clients, too—a lot of what they come in with is just like—thinking about depression, for example. Isolation is one of the symptoms, right? One of the things that can make your depression worse. One of the things that is a sign of depression. So that's what we're all doing: we're all isolating ourselves from other people for good reason, but that can make it so much worse for somebody who's already depressed, and needs that social interaction and needs to have those connections. So trying to think of ways to get creative with, "Can we set up like weekly calls with friends or family members or something like that," which is still, you know, back to what we were just talking about: that lack of intimacy. And that's a big portion of what helps with that isolation.
So, it's really difficult for a lot of clients in that way, too. And even some of my clients—actually, I don't think anyone that I'm working with, that I know of, has been going through anything like this. But I know there are clients of other therapists at other agencies, different places, just in general—like if you're in an abusive situation, you can't get out of that. Or if you're in a toxic family environment, you can't leave the house. So even trying to get creative in those ways with working with those clients, like, "Can you go sit outside when it's really nice for a while? Can you take a drive, or can you sit in the car?".
Even with some of my clients that I do work with—confidentiality, too, right? When you're in the office, you don't really have to worry about that. But when they're in their house with other people and they don't want anyone to hear, and for some people, talking about those other people that are in the house—they end up not doing that. And I've had clients drop out of therapy when all this happened because of issues with confidentiality. And that really does suck. Like, telehealth is really important, and I think it can be a really, really useful tool. But there's also big downsides to it, too, for both client and therapist.
Interviewer: And I think that—something that comes to mind is just the fact that, um—when scrolling through social media, and when I read people talking about the pandemic, some people mention that it's inciting some sort of trauma, because of things that are being lost, and things that are being changed around. And I was wondering, I just wanted to hear your perspective of it [the pandemic] being described as something traumatic.
Natasha: Yeah, yeah, it definitely is. I mean, if you're thinking in the more direct sense of people who are on the front lines and seeing lots of people die, or seeing people get to the brink of dying and coming back, and just the trauma of having to go into that environment every day. Definitely.
But then, for the rest of us who aren't on the front lines, even just like the fear, the fear response—very similar to a traumatic event. The uncertainty, not knowing what's going to happen next—that's very typical of trauma too. Like thinking of if you're in an active traumatic situation—we can even use a natural disaster for an example—like, you don't know what's going to happen. You don't know if your house is going to be hit by this storm or not. You don't know if your family members are safe.
That's—that's exactly what's going on right now, too. And then, even just like the complete uproot of our lives, how many things have changed in so many different aspects of our life? That's all part of what trauma is, and what makes the definition of trauma. So, that's a really accurate description. And there's a whole bunch of different responses to trauma. And I think numbing is one of the common ones: you're just trying to go through the day. You're like on autopilot. You just gotta get the things done that you gotta get done. You can't think about it, and you can't feel whatever it is that you might be feeling, because that's going to get in the way of things.
Or there's people who are on the opposite and feeling everything, and are really scared and are just, like, kind of falling apart, right? And you see that. You see that in so many different ways. And I think even with some of the protests and the protesters we've seen which…you know. I won't say too much about that. [Note: Interview was conducted May 2, 2020. Natasha is referring to the protests against COVID-19 regulations, such as the stay-at-home orders and the wearing of masks.]
[laughs] But even with them, I think that can even be a numbing response to a trauma, like not wanting to believe it. Being in denial. And I think that's…Someone else that I had spoken to described it that way of, you know, like you don't want to accept this reality, and you're just thinking of the ways that it's affecting you. And it's like, "What can I do?" That loss of control: trying to think of the ways that you can still provide for yourself or your family, and still take care of the things that, normally you wouldn't think too much about.
And I think that's—'cause a lot of people are upset about the people who are going out and protesting. You know, I am, too. But if you're trying to understand them from that kind of perspective, I think they're going through a trauma just like the rest of us. And that's kind of their response to it in some way that's different from the rest of us. And I think that can help us understand their perspective a little bit.
Interviewer: Mm. Yeah, different ways of trying to cope with things, different strategies. So then, as someone that is providing support for people within this situation, I was sort of wondering where you're getting support, if at all, and how you're just basically being able to access support.
Natasha: Yeah. So, I am with my family right now—I'm living at home. So, using them as a support, it's really great. Talking to my friends who are also therapists, and understand all of this very well. And even my friends who are not therapists at all, or nowhere near that—it's really nice having them, too, because you can kind of unplug with them? You know, you don't have to have that 'therapy talk' with them. So, using that.
My cats, too, that like to interrupt me during sessions, is actually a blessing, because it's like my emotional support animal while we're all talking about really hard things. And I have my own therapist, too, that I reach back out to when all this started. So, I've been doing that. Yeah. And I think just trying—trying to stay busy, trying to stick to a schedule and a routine, because that's what this pandemic really took away from all of us. So, trying to stick as much to "normal," as we can—in air quotes, since everyone's listening. [Natasha and interviewer laugh].
Interviewer: There's been a lot of talk of, quote-unquote "normal," and whether or not we'll return to it and what normal even looks like. And I'm wondering, like if people—if it's a way to cope? I don't know, sometimes, I wonder if the idea of "normal"—how much of that would be a means of hope, and how much of that might be quote-unquote "denial" in a sense. I don't know. What are your thoughts on that?
Natasha: Yeah, I think it depends. I think it depends, because you can have normal of, "Yeah, I'm just going to run out to the grocery store whenever I need things." One, in this setting that's not really safe. That's not as okay or "normal"—again, in quotes—as it was before. So, like, that might be a little bit more of denial. People who are still, might be just going out and doing things as per usual.
But, what is more of coping, and trying to keep things to a normal routine, is like trying to get up at the same time of day that you usually get up at. Trying to stick to your same morning routine, minus that commute, of course. Scheduling out time to be productive, scheduling out time to eat your meals, and then having that free time at the end of the night. Even with with a lot of my clients who are students, I'm talking about trying to stick with a similar school schedule. So, like, if you have your classes two days a week, maybe do work for that class on those same days that you tend to go to those classes, so that it's somewhat similar to what things were like before all of this happened. And I think that trying to adapt what was normal into our routines now is more of coping, whereas denial is more like trying to stick, like just sticking straight to normal, not really considering anything else.
Interviewer: Are there any more sort of skills that you equip your clients—that you're trying to equip your clients with?
Natasha: Yeah, yeah. So sticking to a routine and a schedule, of course, being one of them. Also telling people to not give up on that social connection with others, because that's what's really going to help with a lot of this, too. I know it's not the same, and it's not…Sometimes it can make you really frustrated and upset. I've been there before, too, but trying to push through that and still make those phone calls, still set up those Zoom dates or Google Hangouts or FaceTimes or whatever it is, trying to get really creative in that.
Like, my sister actually will do like her—put up her workout video on the computer and then have one of my cousins on FaceTime on her phone. And they'll work out together. Like, getting really creative that way to stay in touch with people, 'cause that's really important.
Getting enough sleep. Getting enough sleep, which is hard when you're anxious, but trying your best to get enough sleep. Making sure you eat. Taking care of those really basic needs. Because when you're in a trauma situation, and you're responding to that, a lot of that basic stuff goes out the window, and you forget about them. You'd be surprised how many times people go through the day and are like, "Yeah. I didn't even realize I didn't eat all day, because I've been so stressed out—my mind is on other places."
So, taking care of those basic needs. Trying to practice mindfulness in whatever way that works for you. For some people, it might be prayer; some people, it's meditation. Trying to get those mindfulness apps or those YouTube videos that have the guided meditations are really helpful. And even just like….going back to the basics of paying attention to your breath, your breathing. Paying attention to what it feels like in your body, and feel, feel whatever it is that you're feeling. Don't try and ignore it. Don't try and push it away. Don't try and be like, "Oh, let's, you know, let's just be really positive about this. Everything is going to get back to normal. We're gonna be okay."
If you're feeling sad, cry about it. If you're upset, like, I mean, scream in a pillow or scream out loud if you're living alone and don't have neighbors in your apartment to get it out in whatever way that you can, because we all know bottling things up never gets us very far. So just allowing yourself to go through those ups and downs, and have that good day, or have that bad day, and trying to just keep taking things a day at a time, or at most a week at a time, because none of us knows what things are going to look like even tomorrow. So, trying to plan too far ahead can make you really anxious, too. So those are a lot of like the basic skills or ways to think about things that I try and equip all my clients with, and even friends and family too.
Interviewer: And that brings me to my last question. When I was reading your bio on Choice Clinical Services, you mentioned that your goal in therapy is to help clients reach their authentic self. And I was just wondering what you feel that authenticity looks like within this time of crisis.
Natasha: Yeah, it's a little bit harder to reach that, because a lot of people try and come in with—even with people with social anxiety, trying to get to that authentic self of like, "I want to interact with people, but it's hard right now, working through that."
But then, in a time where none of us are interacting with other people, trying to find that authentic self looks very different. And that's just one example of it. So I think what it comes back down to is a lot of self-reflection and a lot of self-awareness. So right now, it's actually a really good time to work on that, because you don't have a car to go, you don't have a whole lot to do. So spending that time with yourself, getting to know yourself: the things that you like, the things that you don't like, how you want to be as a person—all of that stuff. Getting in touch with who you really are, your likes, your interests, your hobbies. And like, using this time to figure all of that out, which normally, on a regular basis, we don't always have time for, or we don't make time for it. So, and that, you can do that in a bunch of different ways, like through—I think for a lot of people—through some kind of creative outlet, they can figure that out. Just learning a little bit more about their past or themselves through therapy, like we talked about. Journaling is a really good one, too. There's a bunch different ways that you can try and figure out who you are and who you want to be.
And I think, one of the biggest things about everything we're going through right now—one of the blessings in disguise, I guess you could say, is…this is telling you something about yourself. You're figuring out who you are in the midst of chaos and tragedy, and just like everybody in the world having a terrible time.
I think we've all talked about how we're all in this together—which we are in some way, but also not, because a lot of people have access to different things. Some people have more. Some people have less. So we are all going through it, but we are going through it very differently. So learning about who you are in a time like this, I think, says a lot about us.
Natasha in her new workspace at home.
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so excited to send you the image of our Citograph 35 line up as we are packing them and sending them out.
Hooray! Shipping starts on Wednesday!
on Wednesday we start shipping the Citograph 35 lenses. We start with mirrorless lenses this week and next week we continue with the DSLR versions.
The Citograph 35 will soon become a reality!
All orders are placed and the last details have been agreed upon with the suppliers. We will certainly be on time as promised.
Some of you asked for a chart that shows each color option and its name for the survey selection choices.
first and foremost, I would like to thank everyone and I am truly grateful for your support.


Good Morning everyone, and hope you are doing great. Also wishing you a very happy "Navarathri". Hope you all have checked out our announcement of Facebook and Twitter inclusions in Campus Cub.
Now coming back to our business as usual, We have found an interesting opportunity for those who are currently working in a small company or working for a very small pay and looking for change. Yes if you are having at least 1 year of experience in IT industry, then you are reading the most appropriate blog you can. This time Campus Cub has found career options in yet another start-up company, which most surprisingly you might have heard about it already in your day to day life. And I personally love this company and was always wishing to work with them. The reason, I keep focusing about Start-Up companies is that, if you are starting your career or in the early stages of your career and want to learn more, work in a real time applications, then you mush have worked in a start-up company which has made it's mark already.
Today we are glad to present you an position of Support Engineer with RedBus. If you have 1 year of experience and looking for a job change, then I bet you should not miss this opportunity. This position is mostly for those who are interested in support role. Please find the below job description as mentioned in there site.
2. Good to have - worked on both windows and linux platforms.
And if you want to check the requirement yourself and apply, then click this particular link to go straight to the RedBus careers page.
Hope that this post would have helped you very much and if not, then please feel free to share this blog to your friends or those who might be in need. Now that Campus Cub is very much interactive with it's Facebook and Twitter buttons, you can share this blog to others in a flash by liking through Facebook's Like button or sending through Send button and by tweeting through Tweet button which could be found at the end of this post. Please leave your valuable feedback through the comment section below or you can always reach us using the contact page in this blog anytime.


text:
Scientists from the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba meet to start combating acidification in the Gulf
WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7 | By Jessica Meszaros
Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System
A team of international scientists from along the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba recently met to start addressing the socioeconomic impacts of ocean acidification — that's when carbon dioxide from the atmosphere changes the pH balance of a water body.
Jorge Brenner, the executive director of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, said that the more acidic water becomes, the more difficult it is for some marine organisms to produce hardened structures.
"In the case of [an] oyster, well, that's the shell. In the case of a shrimp, that's the exoskeleton. The case of a coral is the whole organism that depends on the structure that they create. So, as water becomes more acidic, those structures might be more brittle and not able to be as hard as they typically are in more neutral waters," Brenner said.
He said acidification is "not terribly bad right now" in the Gulf, but due to climate change, the water will likely become more acidic in the future. Brenner added that the water moves and is continuous, so it's not going to be the same everywhere along the Gulf.
"Different shallow areas, or deeper areas, or areas where there is more current and water masses move more might have a better way to cope with acidification," Brenner said.
The U.S., Mexico, and Cuba will each be impacted differently during each season, he said.
"As the was the warm waters come into the Gulf of Mexico — early in the summer, for example — Mexico might be affected sooner than the United States, but eventually that will potentially revert as we get into the fall and the winter … It's a highly dynamic medium that allows for all of our coastal regions to be impacted," Brenner said.
Ocean acidification poses a threat to the Gulf's marine economy, which is estimated to have a combined value of $2.04 trillion per year across the U.S., Mexico, and Cuba.
So, over 30 representatives from government agencies, universities, research institutes, non-governmental organizations and students of these countries met for the inaugural Gulf of Mexico International Ocean Acidification Summit, which took place Oct. 18-19 in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Organizers of the Gulf of Mexico International Ocean Acidification Summit.
It was sponsored by the Furgason Fellowship of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
The group plans to release a document, called a "white paper," in the next couple months meant for decision makers in these countries with suggestions on how to monitor and help.
Brenner calls ocean acidification a "hidden thread" of climate change because it's not visually obvious how the water is being directly impacted.
"There is no discoloration. There is no change in many other parameters, as well. People might not realize that the water is changing dramatically, in some cases. We thought that it was important for us to start putting this in the minds of decision makers by producing an initial summary of the meeting," he said.
Brenner said this first meeting has set the stage for collaborations throughout the Gulf of Mexico and plans for them to meet regularly, although researchers need a couple seasons to make progress in their experiments, so it will likely take place every few years or so.
In an email, they outlined longer-term actions that will need to take place to support the multi-national collaborations:
Identifying shared data and information platforms.
Standardizing chemical and biological sampling methodologies.
Coordinating communications with regulatory agencies and resource managers.
Coordinating monitoring activities, collaborative research experiments, and tri-national comparison of results.
Copyright 2022 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7. To see more, visit WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7.
Environment NewsenvironmentCubaMexicoGulf of Mexicoacidification
Jessica Meszaros
Jessica Meszaros is a reporter and host of All Things Consideredfor WGCU News.
See stories by Jessica Meszaros
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The Venomous Pinks Cover Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Tempe, AR's The Venomous Pinks have chosen to cover the Joan Jett & The Blackhearts classic "I Want You." It's an incredibly faithful version of the original, but with crunchier guitars and maybe a little more of a metal edge to it. It's fast and played ferociously, just like it should be. Guitarist/vocalist Drea Doll says of the cover: "I Want You is an in-your-face, unapologetic, punk rendition of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' timeless classic. We set out to infuse our unique style and uncontrived attitude to change up the cover while lovingly nodding to its original roots."
You can watch the video for "I Want You" below. For more on The Venomous Pinks, check out their website.
Labels: covers, i want you, joan jett, joan jett & the blackhearts, Ken Sears, the venomous pinks
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There is something wonderfully dramatic about these raw chrysoprase stones. Soft green, to dark grey colors spread throughout the stones with a casual patterning. Small, sterling silver beads separate the gems as they decrease in size from center to sides. A stunning, hammered and scrolled, sterling silver toggle completes the design with an exclamation point! Length: 18"


house projects | What did she do today?
Spring farm work has begun! I took down the growing pen for the chickens by myself, so I can move it somewhere other than under my bedroom window. That was a bad idea, since they start crowing long before they are ready for butchering. The upside to that location was the ease in which I could monitor the structure. I was able to shoot a raccoon from the living room window, when it was trying to get in. I'm trying to figure out where I can locate them this year that will allow us to keep them safe, but not so close they wake me up.
I am planning on planting some sort of ground cover where the growing pen used to be. Maybe wheat or rye, maybe clover. Not sure. I want something green, and pretty, but useful for fodder. I will be putting housing for the baby rabbits in that area.
I did another round of rabbit breeding today. A new doe, who has yet to be named, but might be annabelle…not sure, was bred to Guy (pronounced Gee, he came from my friends rabbitry where all the rabbits are given French names). Josie, who was not pregnant, but should have kindled this weekend, was bred to Almanzo, and I tried breeding the new doe's sister to Charleston but she wouldn't breed with him, Henry, or Guy. Maybelle lost a baby bunny. That means she has 4. I have no idea what happened as it was big and chubby and they all seemed so healthy, but things happen, and there isn't always an answer.
Last year I started a project, that I never took the time to figure out how to finish, but today I got a good deal more done. That was the plumbing for the outdoor utility sink. I got a great faucet for only $3.00 at a yard sale, but it's inner gaskets needed to be replaced. I did that, for only a couple dollars, and reassembled everything, and it works! I still need to put in the drain pipe so that it will drain into the dry well we dug last fall. I picked up a stopper for the sink, so now I can do all the washing of the animal items outside!
The daylight hours ended with me picking fiddleheads in the back yard! 6 pounds of them. I hope we like eating them, because there are plenty more where that came from. I love foraging. It's a really neat way to get your food. It gives you time in nature, which is very relaxing, it's free and who doens't like free food, and it gives you fresh and healthy food. I really enjoy learning what I'm looking at too. It got to the point that I could tell by the way the leaves were bulging that a little patch of fiddleheads were just under the surface. I found one section where the fiddleheads are smaller and thinner, and one section where they are taller, thicker and more robust. I'm interested to see which are yummier.
Oh, and Random beauty in my back yard…there is a swampy part of a tributary that runs into the Isinglass River, behind my house, and in that swampy area is a beautiful Blue Heron that calls it home. I saw the bird sitting on a rock in the middle of the river, but when I pulled over to take a picture it moved over to the more secluded area in the weeds. I watched it for a while and got a couple of ok pictures. It really is a marvelous bird, and so majestic when it takes off in flight.
2008 was my start on becoming more self sufficient. Less dependent on the industrial food system, and the mall, is where I started. I feel good about our progress. I had my first vegetable garden this year. We were quite successful and learned a lot. I LOVE tomatoes fresh from the garden. Fresh green beans taste nothing like frozen, canned, or even beans from the market. Carrots left to be hit by a good frost (or frozen into the ground, even) are the sweetest, most delicious I've ever encountered. You need to be very diligent with the squash seedlings, for it you don't have them properly labeled you will not know what is what until they grow fruit…is that a Zucchini plant, a Pumpkin or a Butternut? Tomatoes really need substantial supports, little bamboo sticks are not enough, even thought they are cute. Root veggies need softer soil, with a little sand in there so they go deep and don't just grow fat, and potato tires do not work well with hay and a rainy spring, nor do they work well with freshly fertilized soil.
We learned more, but that was a good recap. We also started raising a flock of chickens. I never knew how fun those little critters are to have around. They are very amusing, low maintenance and quite friendly. We are up to 8-9 eggs a day, enough for our family and my parents, right from the back yard. This year we built a coop and a makeshift run that needs to be taken to the next level in the Spring.
I started my journey of putting up food. Canning and freezing specifically. I did a lot of borrowing of supplies, having never done this before. I stuck to tomatoes and peaches for the most part. I've had some very yummy meals made with those jars of tomatoes. What a treat to have canned peaches with our oatmeal from time to time. Enjoying blueberry pancakes and an occasional bowl of blueberry rice pudding with frozen berries we collected for free from the plants near our house. I meant to pull out a bag of frozen homemade cider for Christmas, and forgot, but that's okay, we have all winter to enjoy the 3-4 gallons we have in there.
Lots of crafting took place in 2008. I think the items I'm most fond of are the Sweater Vest completed on the last day of the year, which is drying so has yet to be photographed.
Using my craft to help others is something I tried my hand at this year, with coordinating the Knitting to Keep Warm event at my Local Yarn Store. This is something I'd liked to do more of next year, both with coordinating events for others to get involved with, and doing things on my own to donate to those who need them.
I've taken cooking and baking more seriously this year. Our life circumstances never had us eating home cooked meals, cooked by me at least. We worked in a group home where we had a cook. We ate out a lot. Then we moved to the country and had a baby. Well, 2008 was the year to learn how to cook at home. It's gone pretty well, and I'm looking forward to diving deeper in 2009.
We entered the year of 2 with our daughter. She has been a lot of fun, lots of talking, puzzle making, reading and coloring. She helps daddy make breakfast, and is a fabulous chicken farmer. She is creative and needs little stimulation from us or her toys, to play happily, but enjoys time with her parents and likes to help with the sewing machine.
Looking back on 2008 I am pleased to say I enjoyed this year. It has been a year of reevaluation, change and new adventures, all of which, while challenging, have definitely enriched our lives. Thank you for being here, reading, commenting and taking the journey of 2008 with us!
Having a garden again this year. It's being expanded to the piece of land that lies at the other end of my property. We've tilled, and will be planting a large tomato crop. We did buy a lot of tomatoes this year, and we don't want to have to do that, so we know we need to plant more. Lots of Roma and sauce style for sure. Dad and Mini will be looking for the Sun Globe sweetness of those beautiful orange cherry tomatoes, and of course some nice big cutting tomatoes for sandwiches and salads. The seed catalogs have arrived so January will be spent pouring over those and deciding what to buy again this year, and what to try for the first time.
Chickens! We have decided, with the help of our local heirloom chicken farmers to expand our poultry focus. We will be raising some chickens for meat purposes, along with maintaining and probably adding to our egg layers. We enjoy eating chicken, and while we are fortunate to be able to buy chicken from local raisers, we feel the cost and experience of raising our own will make sense. We are also going to be trying our hand at a half dozen turkeys, Narragansett breed, the old New England Turkey, to be shared with my parents, and a couple ducks. Duck eggs are great for baking, very rich and delicious to eat on their own, and we think it would be fun to have a couple ducks wandering about, eating slugs out of our garden. We are looking at the beautiful Blue Cayuga.
Lots of crafting! I look forward to incorporating mini into more of my crafting now that she is able to follow directions and understand what we are doing. She bakes and has become a fabulous egg shell puller (Husband cracks she pulls them apart), and is quite proficient with a whisk.
Clothing is a big focus in my crafting. I don't tend to get into a lot of crafts for crafts sake, but rather am looking for crafts that are fun to make and fun to use later. Kitchen items like potholders, and an occasional pin cushion are about as "frivolous" as I tend to get. Though I won't say never. I have plans for some exciting sewing projects, both to create from patterns and to create from scratch. I love to see my family members enjoying comfortable clothes I've made. I also enjoy being able to put on an outfit in the morning knowing that most, or all, of it was made by me. It's just a fun feeling.
Knitting has become my favorite crafting endeavor so there will be lots more of that. Especially baby knitting!
The most exciting plan of 2009 is that we will be welcoming our second baby girl into this world. I am 6 1/2 months into a very smooth sailing pregnancy, due in March! Mini is excited to be a big sister and kisses her good night and talks to her through my belly every night. We have not had to do a lot to prepare this time, so it seems it's flown by. We have most everything we need, as we kept all of mini's clothes (all the garments I sewed and knit will have a new life) and toys, car seat, co-sleeping crib, breast pump and the like. But the baby does need her own hand knits, so the purchases I made yesterday are, in large part, for her.
I want to focus this year on contentment. I have found myself content far more of the time, than ever before in my life. It's a feeling I enjoy and one I want to foster all the more. I'm going to be sharing my journey in that area, as well. Contentment seems to be a mindset, one where even though there is more to have or experience, what you have is enough and you are satisfied. I want to enjoy what I have, personally, relationally and materially, rather than worrying about what else I could have.
I hope 2009 provides pleasures and contentment for my family and yours.
Getting organized. I've been very disorganized lately, much more focused on doing things than cleaning up after the doing…instead just jumping on to the next thing. I still had canning supplies cluttering the laundry room, and we have to do the sorting of the toys and determine what should go and what should stay so there is room for the new items, and my bedroom looks like a bomb went off…to say nothing for the clothes I didn't want to deal with so threw in my soaking tub for later! It's a great hiding place since it surrounded by curtains and is so big…I know, pathetic and lame.
I was able to organize the mud/laundry room. Put away all the canning supplies, including the new canning goodies I got for Christmas!! My in-laws got me all outfitted for next year. I shouldn't need to borrow anything…unlike this year when I borrowed everything except jar lids which I bought. I have a new 23 quart pressure canner, water bath canning bucket, jar lifter, metal funnel, and LID LIFTER!! I'm so excited to have a way to pick up those lids without burning my fingers next year. I also received the book, "Putting food by" and will be reading that from cover to cover, before the middle of the summer, so I know better what I'm doing, and why, next year. So all that has been put away, as have all the garden supplies. There is now room to drag out the drying racks, which is great since it's really been too cold and unpredictable to hang the laundry out lately.
Husband and Mini made another toy box today so we can get that stuff organized. She really doesn't have a lot to weed out as we try to purchase toys that will grow with her so we can buy less and have it last longer. I'm pleased that has actually been the case. Stuffed animals are our biggest problem. It seems they multiply in their bin!
I have been working on the Mangyle and a new sweater for Mini today. I cast on Mini's sweater last night when we went to see "The Day the Earth Stood Still". It was surprisingly flat, and uninspiring. The director also did "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", which was compelling on all levels, so we were very excited to hear he was directing this film. He wrote Excorcism and did not write the Earth Stood Still, so that might explain the stark contrast. There was an adorable little boy whose mom had died when he was a baby, his father died recently, was about to lose his only remaining caregiver, his stepmom who loved him very much, and I didn't care. Not one bit. How does that happen? It's too bad, as the special effects were delightful, but the only thing the film had going for it, really. Glad I knit. I got a good start on the sweater, worked on it a bit today and am a couple inches away from splitting for the arms. It's going to look fabulous with her Christmas socks. Mom is working on mittens from the same yarn. She has one almost done and she just started today. Pretty impressive for my mom's knitting attention span…in case you remember the sweater I reposessed..
Our town library has a neat little gizmo available for residents to borrow. It determines how much electricity is used by the appliance or item that is plugged into it. I used it to determine that leaving my toaster plugged in, not being used, for a whole year will cost a little over $55.00. I'm going to check other times that are likely to have a great impact like computers and such, but still, saving $55.00 by unplugging the toaster when not in use, seems quite worth it. I decided to plug a simple string of small christmas lights into the gizmo, and I determined that they will cost about $.01 an hour to run. Seems reasonable for the amount of enjoyment derived from them. This piece of information spurred me on to decorate the tree.
By now you may have figured out that I tend to over think things…well I don't know if "over think" is the right term, as it seems like such a negative quality…I guess I just think a lot about things. Well, tree decorating is not immune from this deep thought.
Do I go with a matchy matchy tree of big bows, and ornaments in a couple colors?
Well, I went somewhere in the middle. I have been hanging the ornaments from the advent journey on the bare tree since I had not determined what to do with them. I liked the look. So I decided Red, Silver and white on the green tree would be fabulous.
I was freed up by the electrical gizmo to use the lights, so small clear lights, red garland from Ten Thousand Villages, Silver balls I bought on clearance a few years back, silver snow flake garland and ornaments collected and received as gifts, and the handmade advent journey ornaments. I'm still figuring out the topper, but for now my husband stuck mini's little Precious Moments angel on top, and he looks pretty cute.
Oh, yesterday, Bazzar Bizarre, lots of fun! Very busy, lots of the same vendors as last year, but many new folks with great stuff, too. Some food vendors, which I don't remember from last year, and I thought it was a nice addition. Live entertainment, a cool venue. Yes, lots of fun. Can't say I really bought much, as I was trying to stay focused on Christmas Shopping, and didn't find much for folks on my list. I did find many things I would like to have recieved as gifts, but I did stay focussed.
A cool lamp maker. She makes the little tiki umbrellas, by hand to then create these fabulous colorful lights. I did buy a little kit to make mini origami stars. I'll show you those tomorrow. She is very into little details, which impressed me greatly. I couldn't find a reason to buy the light, though did think about it for a little while.
"The LORD said to me, 'They have spoken well.
Moses speaking to the Isrealites when reiterating the law to them. This is cool for a couple reasons, first it is talking of Christ being the second prophet, so it's a prophecy of Christ's coming. Another being that the first Moses brought the Law to the people, where Christ, the second Moses, would bring Grace and fulfil the law. This fulfilment brings the relatioship between man and God full circle.
This weekend was well used. Saturday was spent time with family participating in one of our holiday traditions. There is an organization called Samaritan's Purse which, every year, organizes an amazing event. People all over the country take shoe box and fill them will necessity items and toys, to be sent to a child in an impoverished nation somewhere around the globe. My family, parents, husband and I, have been participating in this opportunity for several years. This is the first time we got to talk to Mini about what we were doing. She was surprisingly excited about buying things for someone else, and I was quite pleased to see that. We collected such things as school supplies, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and the like, and included some fun toys including a beaded necklace kit, some fabric with needles, pins, and thread, musical instruments, and a little candy, since that is a big hit with the kids that receive these gifts. On top is a doll that I made. I usually purchase a small stuffed animal, but felt this year I wanted to take it another step further and give more of myself, than necessarily buying everything. I hope the girls who receive these items are encouraged and see the love, that someone who doesn't even know them, can share. If this sounds like something your family would enjoy being a part of, there are drop off locations in every state, but the dates for collection are from 11/17 through 11/24, so you have to get started right away!
I've been wanting a table for behind the couch. I don't like coffee tables, especially with little ones around. Not only do the little ones have a habit of grabbing things when they are down so low, but the whole concept seems dangerous for bumps and falls. But without a coffee table, where do you put your drink and the like? I've been using a TV tray, but they don't look like part of the decor, and I don't like putting them back and taking them out. Finally, the Sofa Table would give me a place to set a nice little table lamp, which would provide more direct light when I'm working on a project, as well as use less energy than the 3 bulb overhead light in the living room.
So I set out looking for a table to fulfill all my living room needs. I found a few, but the prices ranged from about $129.00 to over $200.00. Well, I'm too cheap for that, so I decided to make one.
I have some paint kicking around that I might use, if not I'll just need a quart of paint to take care of this project. Even with the paint and nails factored in, I spent less than 1/2 the cost of the least expensive option I found during my search. I'm pretty excited! I can't wait to have it painted, but that is for another day.
The scarf is coming along nicely. I'm somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 done. I love how it looks, and as long as I'm paying attention, any level of attention, the stitch pattern is a delight…as soon as I hit auto pilot I mess up and have to rip out several rows to get back. So I must pay better attention!
Tonight, while I completed the hand stitching on the dolls, my husband and Mini put together the great pine box we picked up at IKEA a couple weeks ago, for a mere $15.00! It's for Mini's toys. I was so impressed with how helpful she really was. She even helped fasten the screws in place. She's really such a remarkable gal, especially with fine motor and logic skills. I hope she takes to crafting the way I have, it will be such a fun thing to share with her. So far she seems to have enthusiasm for it, but I know that sort of thing ebbs and flows with kids.
I hope you had an enjoyable weekend too!
What a day! I had some successes and some failures. Needless to say, I'm a little frustrated with the later, as it constitutes a waste of time and some money, but hey, you can't be good at everything, and I'm not…certainly my greatest weakness is my "kitchen skills". My mom is amazing in the kitchen and while she overcooks almost every veggie she puts on the table, and can't figure out for the life of her how to cook a steak with the broiler (both are two of the few things I do excel at), she can cook. She can take a bit of this and smidge of that, a bucket of something else, and make a really yummy meal. She doesn't bake a lot, but she does that well, too. She made all our bread growing up, as well as pretty much everything else, from scratch. I don't think anyone will ever know why I didn't glean wisdom from the years of living with her, in this area. Maybe I really was such a brat that I couldn't be bothered to learn, maybe my mom was a doer not a teacher…I'm sure it's a case of both, but regardless, I'm not a fan of kitchen time. I love good food. Good both in the healthy and wholesome sense, but also in the Yummy sense, and sometimes I stumble along and succeed, and others, not so much.
Today I canned a bunch more tomatoes. Some in simple sauce form and some are diced tomatoes. This is a very utilitarian straight forward kitchen skill, so one that went very smooth and I have several more jars of winter stash to show for it. 17 quarts and 5 pints to be exact.
One of the few dishes that I feel I possess bragging ability is my corn chowder. Mom did show me how to make that, and I got a groove over the years with how I make it, which is a variation of Mom's…my secret ingredient is a bit of nutmeg. It really expands the flavor. I made some corn chowder tonight, to bring to a potluck at a friends house. 5 mintues before leaving, late already, I realized I never put in the potatoes!! Chowder without potatoes! Crap. Well, too late to even microwave and throw them in, so off we go with my very literal CORN chowder. The extremely gracious hostess, unsolicited by me beyond telling her of my faux pas, grabbed a couple potatoes, microwaved and added them before we served, so that little catastrophe was averted. The chowder was very yummy and several folks commented to that effect. Yay!
Not so successful was my attempt at "sun dried tomatoes" in the oven. I left them in too long and they are a bit crunchy, instead of that leathery feel they are supposed to have. I don't know if they are lost or not, so I bagged them and will deal with them another day.
Pesto was next on the list. I bought all the ingredients necessary to turn that basil into some fabulous pesto. The directions I found online indicated you could use a blender if you lack a food processor. I tried, not really that effective, so I made one batch and will see about borrowing a food processor to do the rest. It's really too thick for a blender. I was able to mix up the first batch with a lot of hassle, and I'm too tired to really taste it tonight, but the small sampling I did have seemed adequate.
Finally, for today, that sweater I've been working on. Not sure how I did it, but I misplaced my markers on 3 of the increases, at some point, so the increase lines are skewed. I need to pull out about 1/2 of the length, which is more than half of what I've knit so far, since it increases as you go. Very disappointing…and frustrating.
So today had some ups and downs, but overall I'm happy that I forged ahead, and tried, even if it didn't all end up glowing in the end.
I started this morning early, well at least for me. I woke up at 8am, and went with my mom to the town library perennial sale. Mom got a wagon full of plants, and I went away with a modest basil and Iris. The basil is small and the Iris is just greens for right now, so not very photogenic.
On the way home, to work on the chicken coop, I mentioned to my mom that my Dorking Hen that I was going to be getting from the Yellow House Farm, should be ready soon, as they would be old enough for sexing by early June. Mom decided we had time go see if she was ready today. I'm thrilled we went because Joe had separated the hens from the roosters last night! I got my pick of all the hens. It was a hard choice. The white dorkings were beautiful birds, but he had a couple that were bred with Sussex and they were incredibly beautiful. I decided I needed one of those two, but how to decide! When Joe pointed out since they were going in with the already established trio, it might be good to get two so they had buddies, and wouldn't be the odd hen out. Great logic, so the deal was done!
We had a delightful time looking at all the chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. The farm specializes (all they do, really) in heritage breeds that have been risking extinction thanks to the invent of mechanized food production, who are more interested in birds they can fatten quickly. Both of the guys who own the farm are very friendly, knowledgeable, and excited about what they do and sharing what information they have. I'm excited about the Barrington Farm Tour that is happening on June 29. They Yellow House farm is one of the stops and I think the baby will love seeing all the birds.
Upon arriving home dad and I worked on the Chicken coop (windows in, roof on, doors in process). I put all 5 girls outside together so they could meet in an area that has more to think about then the box they are in inside. Besides the original 3 have been inside for days, due to the rain, so they needed some fresh air. They all seem to be getting along quite well, a little pecking and charging, but overall they are happily coexisting. I think the decision to take both was a good one, as most of the day those two hung out on one side and the other three on the other side.
I'm hoping to get some close ups of the new girls, so you can see their excellent coloring…maybe tomorrow.
That is the mini tour, as they were the most photogenic today.
I also picked up more tires today. Some for the second layer of the potato towers, as you can see the potato plants are getting big. Some will be for the garden addition…I've run out of planting space in the regular garden area and still want more! So tires as raised beds seems like a good solution.


Communications covers a lot of different things, but in this section I mean writing in the service of business. In the past I've done catalog copywriting, some PR, and most recently Human Resources writing. If you need to communicate more efficiently with your customers, colleagues, or employees, let me know.
Earlier this year, I wrote some PR materials for Chalk Creek Software as part of an overall PR and identity package done by the fine folks at QuestionOxygen. Now I've learned that the whole thing is finally going to press! My task in the writing segment of the project was to help Chalk Creek project an (accurate) image as dependable, forward-thinking developers who chose the appropriate technologies for their projects out of experience and logic and not out of fads--a company that doesn't hide behind buzzwords. (I did have to talk them out of inserting "solution" into the text during a revision cycle, but that kind of thing happens.) It was a fun little project, and it'll be nice to see it printed.
I've just finished up my part of a large communications project--rewriting Human Resources documents for the various job positions of the Washington Mutual Consumer Bank. It was an interesting process of getting to understand the existing docs, and then reworking them for clarity, more consistent voice, and more consistent organization. (I suspect they'd been written over a long time by several different people, which is where these variances can creep in.) It was a fun project, and it was nice to be able to exercise my writing skills again. And it was--as always--a pleasure to work with the rest of the Emerge Communication team.


Antique (early 1900s) Royal Crown Dresden | Dresden double-handled serving plate. Hand-painted florals, brushed gold edge. Germany.
Antique (early 1900s) Royal Crown Dresden | Dresden Germany double-handled cake/pastry plate. Hand-painted florals, embossed gold edge/details.
In EXCELLENT! antique condition, there are a couple of chips to the kiln foot on the REVERSE of the plate, not at all noticeable unless the plate is turned over (please review each of the posted photos for a complete visual of the item). Otherwise, there are NO! chips, nicks, cracks or fleabites, MINIMAL! loss to the embossed gold edge or accents and MINIMAL! crazing. The sprays of pink and yellow hand-painted florals are bright and vibrant with NO! fading apparent.
NOTE: Right up until about 1870, Royal Crown Dresden used porcelain blanks (unpainted wares) purchased from the Meissen factory. These Meissen blanks would be painted by the artists at the any of a number of Dresden-based studios and then resold under the Royal Crown Dresden banner.
Approximate measurements: 10" across (handle to handle) x 9"


text:
Q: persisting variable value in unit testing in visual studio 2010 I'm just getting started doing some unit testing in vs2010.  I have a test method that sets a private int variable and then a couple of other test methods that attempt to use that variable.  The variable does correctly get set when the first test executes but when it then moves to the next test the variable is reset to 0.  How can I keep the value of that variable for all tests?  Here's some example code.
public MyClassFixture{
  private Controller controller;
  private int id;

  public MyClassFixture(){
    controller = new Controller();
  }

  [TestMethod]
  public void Should_Generate_New_Id(){
    id = controller.GenerateNewId();
    Assert.IsTrue(id > 0);
  }

  [TestMethod]
  public void Should_Get_New_Record(){
    var record = controller.GetNewRecord(id);
    Assert.IsNotNull(record);
  }

}

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Levy's Suede Acoustic And Dobro Guitar Strap 2 1/2'' Signature Series w/ Black Piping Brown by Levys at Tritone Guitars. MPN: MSS6-BRN. Hurry! Limited time offer. Offer valid only while supplies last.
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The Government of Greenland's tourist figures show a steady growth in tourist numbers. The statistics for 2005 show about 33,500 visitors to Greenland.
In recent years, Greenland has experienced a large increase in the number of cruise ships calling. Large transatlantic cruise ships have found a visit to Greenland convenient as the country is located on their routes between Europe and North America. Moreover, a number of cruise ships visit Greenland in the summer season sailing a more or less fixed route. These vessels are typically smaller and use a number of Greenlandic ports where passengers get on and off.
There are about 52 places to stay in Greenland. These are hotels, seamen's homes, hostels and folk high schools.
July and August are the prime months for tourists.
Greenland's tourism statistics are badly out of date. Their official tourism site is wonderful.


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Today (March 1? 2018) the World Wide Web is 29 years old. This year marks a key event in the history of the web: for the first time we are experiencing an important moment - more than half of the world's population wants to be "online".
3r3163. How do we connect to the Internet the remaining half of humanity? 3r3r1616.
3r3163. Are we sure that the rest want this? 3r3r1616.
There are quite a few real factors that threaten the web, including the ones I described in my The last letter - from misinformation and questionable propaganda to the possibility of leakage of personal data. But I still insist that the web is a free, open, creative space. For all.
The difference between people who have access to the Internet, who do not have it, is aggravating existing inequalities — inequalities that pose a serious global threat. No wonder if you are female poor, living in a rural area, a low-income country or a similar place, you will most likely always be offline. Today, being offline means not being able to learn and earn money, not having access to valuable services, and not having the right to vote in democratic debates. If we do not invest in reducing this inequality, the last billion people will not be connected with the world until 204? . We leave the whole generation behind.
In 201? the UN announced that the right to access the Internet is the same right as the rights to clean water, electricity, shelter and food. But until we make access to the Internet accessible to all, billions will still be deprived of this basic right. The goal was set - the UN recently approved the proposed "Alliance for Accessible Internet" 3r-354.
minimum internet access threshold. : 1 GB of mobile traffic for less than 2% of average monthly income. However, in reality, we are still far from achieving this goal. In some countries, the cost of 1 GB of broadband mobile Internet is still worth more than 20% of the average monthly income.
What is required for real achievement of this goal? We need to support those policies and business models that expand access for very poor people by creating public access, for example, public networks and WIFI.
We must invest in providing reliable access for women and girls, expanding their opportunities through digital skills training.
Today, the worldwide network that many people connected several years ago did not recognize. What once was a rich selection of blogs and websites has shrunk under the powerful weight of several dominant platforms. This concentration of power allows multiple platforms to track which ideas and opinions are reviewed and approved.
These dominant platforms firmly stay in place, creating barriers for competitors. They find new companies, buy new ideas and hire the best talents in the industry. Add to this the competitive advantage their user data gives, and we can expect the next 20 years to be much less innovative than the previous ones.
Moreover, the concentration of power between only a few companies has led to the use of the Internet as a weapon, a tool for achieving personal goals. In recent years, we have witnessed conspiracy theories in social networks, fake Twitter and Facebook accounts, which provoked social unrest, interference with elections, and identity theft.
In search of answers, we looked at what these platforms are. The companies that own them know about the problems and try to eliminate them - every change they make affects millions of people. Responsibility - and sometimes the burden - when making such decisions falls on the shoulders of companies, the goal of creating maximum profit, and not the public good. The situation can be mitigated by a socially-oriented legal or regulatory framework.
The future of the web depends not only on those who are online now, but also on those who are still not connected. A modern, powerful digital economy requires rigid standards that balance the interests of both companies and online citizens.
This means that we care about the link between the incentives for the development of the technology sector and the interests of users and society as a whole, as well as consulting with various sectors of society in the process.
Although the problems associated with the global network are complex and large, I think we should treat them as bugs: problems with codes and software that were created by people — and can be fixed by people. Create a new set of incentives and code changes will certainly follow. We can create a network with a creative and supportive atmosphere.
Today I want to challenge all of us - we should have more ambitions for the web. I want it to reflect our hopes and be the embodiment of our dreams, and not reinforce our fears and differences.
Internet activist John Perry Barlow once said: "To invent the future, you need to anticipate it" (3-33122. Ed. his "3r3123.). Maybe it sounds utopian, maybe it seems impossible after two years of failure, but I want us to imagine this future and build it.
Let's gather the brightest minds from business, technology, government, civil society, art and academia to fight to protect the web. In the Web Foundation, we are ready to do our job in this mission and create the network that we all want. To make this possible, let's work together.
3r3163. 3r3133. The creator of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, changed the world, but he himself remained the same. (2016) 3r3r1616.
3r3163. Tim Berners-Lee: we need to re-decentralize the Internet 3r-3228. (2014) 3r3166.
3r3163. 3r3144. On April 3? 199? WWW became public domain 3r33228. 3r3r1616.
3r3163. 3r3149. Tim Berners-Lee: Facebook can fragment the Network (2010) 3r3166.
3r3163. Solid technology: it's time to rebuild the web (2018) 3r31616.
3r3163. 3r3164. Tim Berners-Lee goes on the warpath: "One small step for the web "
3r3179. 3r33180. About #philtech [/b] 3r3182. 3r3183. #philtech (technology + philanthropy) [/b] - these are open publicly described technologies that equalize the standard of living of as many people as possible by creating transparent platforms for interaction and access to data and knowledge. And satisfying the principles of filteha: 3r3323229.
1. Open and replicable, not competitive proprietary.
2. Built on the principles of self-organization and horizontal interaction.
3. Sustainable and perspective-oriented, and not pursuing local benefits.
6. Inclusive, and not working for one group of people at the expense of others.
Social technological accelerator startups PhilTech - a program of intensive development of early stages projects aimed at equalizing access to information, resources and opportunities. The second stream: March – June 2018. 3r3-33229.
A community of people developing filtech projects or simply interested in the topic of technologies for the social sector.
Telegram channel with news about projects in the #philtech ideology and links to useful materials.
05/10/2018 Charles Nutter. How to transfer an ancient monolithic project to JRuby and is it worth it?
04/10/2018 What is ZFS? And why are people crazy about her?


text:
"""
usage: mpdallexit (no args)
causes all mpds in the ring to exit
"""
from time import ctime
__author__ = "Ralph Butler and Rusty Lusk"
__date__ = ctime()
__version__ = "$Revision: 1.19 $"
__credits__ = ""

import sys, os

from mpdlib import mpd_set_my_id, mpd_get_my_username, mpd_uncaught_except_tb, \
                   mpd_print, MPDConClientSock, MPDParmDB

def mpdallexit():
    import sys    # to get access to excepthook in next line
    sys.excepthook = mpd_uncaught_except_tb
    if len(sys.argv) > 1  and  (sys.argv[1] == '-h'  or  sys.argv[1] == '--help') :
        print __doc__
        sys.exit(-1)
    mpd_set_my_id(myid='mpdallexit')

    parmdb = MPDParmDB(orderedSources=['cmdline','xml','env','rcfile','thispgm'])
    parmsToOverride = {
                        'MPD_USE_ROOT_MPD'            :  0,
                        'MPD_SECRETWORD'              :  '',
                      }
    for (k,v) in parmsToOverride.items():
        parmdb[('thispgm',k)] = v
    parmdb.get_parms_from_env(parmsToOverride)
    parmdb.get_parms_from_rcfile(parmsToOverride)
    if (hasattr(os,'getuid')  and  os.getuid() == 0)  or  parmdb['MPD_USE_ROOT_MPD']:
        fullDirName = os.path.abspath(os.path.split(sys.argv[0])[0])  # normalize
        mpdroot = os.path.join(fullDirName,'mpdroot')
        conSock = MPDConClientSock(mpdroot=mpdroot,secretword=parmdb['MPD_SECRETWORD'])
    else:
        conSock = MPDConClientSock(secretword=parmdb['MPD_SECRETWORD'])

    msgToSend = { 'cmd' : 'mpdallexit' }
    conSock.send_dict_msg(msgToSend)
    msg = conSock.recv_dict_msg(timeout=8.0)
    if not msg:
        mpd_print(1,'no msg recvd from mpd before timeout')
    elif msg['cmd'] != 'mpdallexit_ack':
        mpd_print(1,'unexpected msg from mpd :%s:' % (msg) )
        sys.exit(-1)
    conSock.close()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    mpdallexit()

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