text:
IRS Grants Tax Relief for Oregon Storm, Mudslide Victims
Notice: Historical Content
This is an archival or historical document and may not reflect current law, policies or procedures.
OR-2008-01, Dec. 13, 2007
(12/17/07: Added Polk and Yamhill counties)
(12/27/07: Added Washington County)
PORTLAND — The Internal Revenue Service today announced tax relief for Oregon taxpayers in the Presidential Disaster Area struck by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides beginning on Dec. 1, 2007.
The disaster area consists of the following counties: Clatsop, Columbia, Polk, Tillamook, Washington and Yamhill.
Deadlines for affected taxpayers to file returns, pay taxes and perform other time-sensitive acts falling on or after Dec. 1, 2007, and on or before Feb. 6, 2008, have been postponed to Feb. 6, 2008.
In addition, the IRS will waive the failure to deposit penalty for employment and excise deposits due on or after Dec. 1, 2007, and on or before Dec. 17, 2007, as long as the deposits are made by Dec. 17, 2007.
If any affected taxpayer receives a penalty notice from the IRS, the taxpayer should call the number on the notice to have the IRS abate any interest and any late filing or late payment penalties that would otherwise apply during the period from Dec. 1, 2007, to Feb. 6, 2008 –– Dec. 1, 2007, to Dec. 17, 2007, for failure to deposit penalties. No penalty or interest will be abated for taxpayers that do not have an original or extended filing, payment or deposit due date, including an extended filing or payment due date, during this period.
IRS computer systems automatically identify taxpayers located in the covered disaster area and apply automatic filing and payment relief. Taxpayers within the covered disaster area do not need to self-identify by writing on their returns or using the disaster designation in their tax software.
Affected taxpayers who reside or have a business located outside the covered disaster area are required to call the IRS disaster hotline at 1-866-562-5227 to self-identify for disaster relief.
Covered Disaster Area
The counties listed above constitute a covered disaster area for purposes of Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(d)(2) and are entitled to the relief detailed below.
Affected Taxpayers
Taxpayers considered to be affected taxpayers eligible for the postponement of time to file returns, pay taxes and perform other time-sensitive acts are those taxpayers listed in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(d)(1), and include individuals who live, and businesses whose principal place of business is located, in the covered disaster area. Taxpayers not in the covered disaster area, but whose books, records, or tax professionals' offices are in the covered disaster area, are also entitled to relief. In addition, all relief workers affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization assisting in the relief activities in the covered disaster area are eligible for relief.
Grant of Relief
Under sections 6081, 6161, and 7508A, the IRS gives affected taxpayers until Feb. 6, 2008, to file most tax returns (including individual, corporate, and estate and trust income tax returns; partnership returns, S corporation returns, and trust returns; estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns; and employment and certain excise tax returns), or to make tax payments, including estimated tax payments, that have either an original or extended due date falling on or after Dec. 1, 2007, and on or before Feb. 6, 2008. For original filing due dates falling during this period, the relief is provided under section 6081 and if additional time to file is needed beyond Feb. 6, 2008, an affected taxpayer may file the appropriate extension request to obtain the remainder of the 6-month period provided by section 6081. For extended filing due dates falling during this period where the full six-month extension period has been used, relief is provided under section 7508A. In such a case, no additional time to file is available after Feb. 6, 2008.
The IRS also gives affected taxpayers until Feb. 6, 2008, to perform other time-sensitive actions described in Treas. Reg. § 301.7508A-1(c)(1) and Rev. Proc. 2007-56, 2007-34 I.R.B. 388 (August 20, 2007), that are due to be performed on or after Dec. 1, 2007, and on or before Feb. 6, 2008. This relief also includes the filing of Form 5500 series returns, in the manner described in section 8 of Rev. Proc. 2007-56. The relief described in section 17 of Rev. Proc. 2007-56, pertaining to like-kind exchanges of property, also applies to certain taxpayers who are not otherwise affected taxpayers and may include acts required to be performed before or after the period above.
The postponement of time to file and pay does not apply to information returns in the W-2, 1098, 1099 or 5498 series, or to Forms 1042-S or 8027. Penalties for failure to timely file information returns can be waived under existing procedures for reasonable cause. Likewise, the postponement does not apply to employment and excise tax deposits. The IRS, however, will abate penalties for failure to make timely employment and excise deposits, due on or after Dec. 1, 2007, and on or before Dec. 17, 2007, provided the taxpayer made these deposits by Dec. 17, 2007.
Casualty Losses
Affected taxpayers in a presidentially declared disaster area have the option of claiming disaster-related casualty losses on their federal income tax return for either this year or last year. Claiming the loss on an original or amended return for last year will get the taxpayer an earlier refund, but waiting to claim the loss on this year's return could result in a greater tax saving, depending on other income factors.
Individuals may deduct personal property losses that are not covered by insurance or other reimbursements, but they must first subtract $100 for each casualty event and then subtract ten percent of their adjusted gross income from their total casualty losses for the year. For details on figuring a casualty loss deduction, see IRS Publication 547, Casualties, Disasters and Thefts.
Affected taxpayers claiming the disaster loss on last year's return should put the Disaster Designation "Oregon Severe Storms/Flooding/Landslides/Mudslides" at the top of the form so that the IRS can expedite the processing of the refund.
Other Relief
The IRS will waive the usual fees and expedite requests for copies of previously filed tax returns for affected taxpayers who need them to apply for benefits or to file amended returns claiming casualty losses. Such taxpayers should put the assigned Disaster Designation in red ink at the top of Form 4506, Request for Copy of Tax Return, or Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return, as appropriate, and submit it to the IRS.
Affected taxpayers who are contacted by the IRS on a collection or examination matter should explain how the disaster impacts them so that the IRS can provide appropriate consideration to their case.
Taxpayers may download forms and publications from this Web site, or order by calling 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-829-3676). The IRS toll-free number for general tax questions is 1-800-829-1040.
This page is designated as historical and is no longer updated. Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 20-Dec-2019


text:
Predators, Bally's Corporation (BALY) Announce Sports Betting Partnership
United Airlines (UAL) Reported Q4 Beat, Provides Q1/2022 Outlook
Go back to Predators, Bally's Corporation (BALY) Announce Sports Betting Partnership
Predators, Bally's Corporation Announce Sports Betting Partnership
NASHVILLE, Tenn. and PROVIDENCE, R.I., Oct. 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nashville Predators and Bally's Corporation (NYSE: BALY) announced today entry into a partnership designating Bally's as an Official Sports Betting Partner and the Official Free-to-Play Partner of the Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena. The partnership, which runs through 2025, will grant Nashville Predators intellectual property rights to Bally's, as well as provide Bally's with access to team logos, marks and certain content rights. The agreement marks Bally's first partnership with an NHL franchise and its first with a professional sports team in the state of Tennessee.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Research Spotlight: Michelle Krogsgaard
Michelle Krogsgaard is building a better mouse — one that eventually could lead to new approaches for cancer immunotherapy.
With support from The Mark Foundation, her lab at the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center is developing mice with humanized T cell receptors (TCRs) that allow immune cells to recognize the mutated proteins that cancer cells produce. The goal of this work is to develop in vivo tools that enable engineering of the human immune system to become more effective at attacking cancer.
"Our research is aimed at improving current therapies," she says. "We hope to find ways to make these treatments better at fighting cancer while preventing some of the toxicities, as well as the resistance, that we often see with the therapies we have now."
Krogsgaard's research has the potential to contribute across a range of immunotherapies, from adoptive cell transfer therapy to immune checkpoint blockade to anticancer vaccines.
One application is to use humanized mouse models to generate TCRs that recognize snippets of mutated proteins in cancer cells called neoantigens. Once generated in mice, the TCRs would be cloned and transferred into a patient's own T cells rendering them more effective at recognizing and killing cancer cells when transferred back into the patient.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy, a form of adoptive cell transfer immunotherapy, has demonstrated clinical efficacy in a handful of blood cancers but has proved less successful when applied to solid tumors. Krogsgaard asserts that instead of a (CAR) TCR, "the full T-cell receptor that's designed to recognize the neoantigen would be put into the patient's T cells. This approach has shown more promise than CAR T cells in treating solid tumors."
Another application is to use the mouse model to identify the TCRs that recognize neoantigens capable of stimulating the immune system, and then apply that knowledge toward designing novel anticancer vaccines. "Our project is focused on identifying these receptors and creating what you could call a 'living library' across a range of neoantigens," she says.
TCRs will be developed in the context of humanized major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs), which will enable the generation of a TCR repertoire with significant diversity to provide reasonable immune compatibility across multiple ethnic groups. This could lead to fully personalized therapies as well as treatments that are more off-the-shelf. "You can delete the MHC, which is what's responsible for rejection and graft versus host," she says. "Or you could imagine treatments with some HLA matching, so more patients could tolerate it." Identification of TCRs that see neoantigens from common driver mutations like RAS could also lead to a more broadly applicable therapy that could be partly HLA matched.
The wider focus of Krogsgaard's research is understanding the mechanisms of how the immune response to cancer is mediated and identifying the underlying mechanisms at play when patients don't respond to treatment. She works at an intersection of science that is relatively unique: biophysics and immunology — using biophysical, imaging and proteomics techniques to investigate TCR signaling cascades by isolating receptors and measuring their interactions with other signaling proteins.
Krogsgaard used support from a first ASPIRE award to establish humanized mouse model feasibility: "I'm not going to lie," she says. "It was a very ambitious project to design a mouse that expresses the full human T cell repertoire as well as human MHCs." Future efforts will focus on translating knowledge gained about melanoma-specific neoantigens into new therapies.
Krogsgaard notes that funding from The Mark Foundation is very different from more traditional research support in that it allows her to do research that is high risk, but potentially with a much higher reward: "Funding from most other sources requires projects to be very hypothesis-driven," she says. "When you want to develop research tools, like new mouse models and new reagents, that's not something where it's easy to get funding."
But if you want to make big discoveries, "you have to take these big risks," she notes. "The Mark Foundation gave me time to show what I could do, and now it's enabling me to move into the second phase of this project. There's no other foundation that I know of that does that, so I think it's very unique."
Krogsgaard's collaborators — and the co-principal investigators on both of her ASPIRE Awards — are Jef Boeke and Jeffrey Weber, also of NYU Langone. Boeke, Director of the Sol and Judith Bergstein Institute of System Genetics, is contributing his expertise in synthesizing large pieces of DNA that are needed to generate entire TCR and MHC repertoires. Weber, a medical oncologist and immunotherapy expert, is sharing his clinical experience and providing patient samples.
"Without these collaborators, I could not have done this project," Krogsgaard says. "Their work is very important, and they're with me all the way."


If you require after-hours medical attention of a non-urgent nature, please contact the National Home Doctor Service on 13 SICK or 13 7425. For urgent matters, please contact 000.
This entry was posted in Practice News and tagged public holiday, queen's birthday on June 8, 2018 by Practice Manager.


text:
OpenSPOT Notes
Building the Microship Trimaran
Make it Anywhere with a Mobile Lab
Kayak Stands
Keeping Rodents out of your Pole Building
Building a Heavy-Duty Piano Drawer
Elevated Music Stand for Casio PX-5S and other Digital Pianos
Packaging a Home Piano Studio Desk
Articles by Bob Stuart
Speaking-Media
Harbor Digitizing
Art without engineering is dreaming;
Engineering without art is calculating.
Steven K. Roberts, N4RVE
Artificial Intelligence – Mini-Micro Systems
By Steve | December 1, 1983
This article holds a sort of strange distinction in my memory… it was the first one I wrote while fully nomadic on my computerized recumbent bicycle, just a few days after leaving Columbus at the end of September 1983. Of course, I was also posting online about the trip itself and doing a series in Online Today magazine, but that was all rather self-referential. This one was pure trade-journal freelancing, and I slaved right up to deadline on my little Model 100 laptop, at last sending the article via CompuServe from my host's kitchen phone line, late one night in Indianapolis.
After midnight. Gently, furtively, I removed my hosts' telephone from their kitchen wall and plugged in the modular jack. I felt like someone in a Mission Impossible episode, hunched over a miniature computer system in a dark midwestern house, the family asleep and unaware of the satellite-borne data transmissions originating beside the Cuisinart. The article winged its way through the ether and came to rest on the spinning platters of a CompuServe disk drive somewhere in Columbus. In the morning, my editor at Mini-Micro Systems would sign on and transfer it to a Boston typesetting system, while Kacy would do likewise to make a copy for our files. Ain't technology wonderful?
by Steven K. Roberts
Mini-Micro Systems
New applications raise social and legal issues
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the subfield of computer science concerned with symbolic reasoning, inference and problem solving—all subjects that historically have required "human" intelligence. Applications for AI techniques are moving beyond the "toy" problems that characterized early research. The technology has now become applicable to areas as diverse as very-large-scale-integration (VLSI) design, database query and medical diagnosis.
AI is drawing the public eye more than ever before, largely because of the Japanese Fifth Generation Project that is causing such alarm. With the sudden influx of funding from government and industry, the AI community now finds itself with more tools, people and energy to address the complex issues of natural language, vision and expert systems. In short, the field should no longer be viewed by practicing systems engineers as an interesting but remote topic.
Perhaps the most complex and critical problem is the need to invest computer systems with the ability to deal efficiently with "natural" human language. Natural language can help machines interact much more successfully with computer-naive users. Why should people have to become "computer literate" to take advantage of system resources? It is much more sensible to make the computer "human literate." In addition, there is a growing awareness that the representation of human knowledge by a machine requires something other than the old, reliable database techniques. In the AI community, arguments flourish in which formal logic is pitted against intuitive and "natural" paradigms as the foundation for a knowledge base. Formalisms such as predicate calculus are gradually yielding to the more flexible approaches embodied in a number of commercial products (MMS, October, Page 153).
I researched this and other AI articles at the 1980, 1981, and 1982 AAAI conferences.
But the problems remaining are many. Human speech is fraught with ambiguities, context dependency, unspoken "common-sense" information and the beliefs and goals of the speaker. Consider the following request that one might make to an assistant—or to a natural-language database-d query system: "Can you get me data on 370 sites using Release 3.4? I'd like them sorted by state."
This statement would be quickly understood in context by the average human listener, especially one familiar with a company's software products. But the problems facing a computer program that attempted to interpret such a command are staggering. "Can you get me data…?" A reasonable answer to this is "yes." But the speaker is politely disguising a command, not investigating the machine's capabilities, and the literal interpretation must be ignored. This requires, first of all, a general understanding of human communication style and social conventions.
Second, the request is rife with ambiguities: "…data on 370 sites…." Does the speaker want information about 370 installations, or is he interested in a type of computer? How is the software to decide without some contextual understanding of the situation? Resolving this requires the development of a shared context between speaker and listener, something that happens so smoothly with humans that it is seldom noticed. The more sharply limited the context, the less potential ambiguity present in any utterance.
Third, the speaker has issued an incomplete and vague command. What kind of data does he want? Company name and address? Status of account? Object dumps from the systems? In a real-life human situation, the listener would probably have a reasonably good idea of what the speaker has in mind, perhaps refining it with a cryptic comment such as "Updates, too?"
Fourth, the request implies a set of specific goals on the part of the speaker. Traditional systems generally require some sort of procedural instruction—instead of being told what someone wants, they have to be told how to do it (Fig. l). Understanding the goals of the speaker gives the listener a much more accurate picture of the situation, along with the ability to refine the results and to recover gracefully from errors.
Finally, the listener must possess a degree of common knowledge to deduce correctly that "them" refers to the sites, to discard the polite verbiage "I'd like" and so on. This kind of knowledge is not codified anywhere, yet it must become part of the basic repertoire of any natural-language system.
Like language, vision is inseparable from intelligence. It is trivial to connect a camera to a computer to represent a visual scene as an array of pixels in memory—but that's just raw data. Converting raw data into a semantic representation of the objects present in the scene requires an appreciation of the underlying complexity of human image processing.
Biological visual systems incorporate numerous hierarchical processing steps that successively strip the input field of extraneous data. After considerable preprocessing, the image is subjected to layer after layer of pattern-recognition steps—first with the intent of identifying such "primitives" as lines at various angles and later to extract culturally dependent information such as the generic shape of a human face. After all this has taken place, the information—no longer an "image" in an optical sense—is presented to the higher levels of the brain for final interpretation (see "A simple visual experiment," Page 232).
Although nobody has claimed that machine vision must model the human system in every respect, the human system does handle some sticky problems that have stymied computer pattern recognition: rotation, scaling and identification of a human face, regardless of expression. These capabilities cannot be achieved by correlating an image with a library of templates (except in sharply-limited application domains) because there are too many ambiguities in the image. Lines making up an object can be obscured by noise or uniform lighting, extra lines that don't really exist can appear as a result of pattern or texture, and objects can partially hide behind other objects, presenting a surface not explicitly defined to the system. To compound these problems, humans deal with visual data holistically—processing an entire scene—while computers do it pixel by pixel. For these reasons, a general-purpose vision system will probably elude researchers for some time to come. In the meantime, the most impressive results should be obtained in highly-specialized robotics applications such as edge detection and image irradiance.
The development of systems that can be put to work in a consulting capacity is another major research area in AI. Unlike natural-language systems, which deal with a wide range of human verbal expression, expert systems are defined as application-oriented machines, placing them immediately in the realm of the practical.
The object of expert-systems research is to create a new class of computer programs—those that embody judgmental and experiential knowledge about a complex application. Traditional software is limited by its underlying philosophy to the manipulation of relatively static relationships between data items. Expert systems, on the other hand, are distinguished by their embodiment of "heuristic" knowledge, and even the "meta" knowledge that humans use to direct the general problem-solving process. Some notable examples are programs that deduce the nature of plant diseases, interpret mass spectrograms and prospect for metals (Fig. 2). Each of these programs is comparable in performance to its human counterpart.
Expert systems must be able to learn to be useful as consultants. This suggests that the software should avoid the classic function-data differentiation in which all heuristics are called "code" and all facts are called "data." The code needs to change as the system learns so that the "rules" change along with the gritty details.
A useful expert system must also be able to explain the conclusions it reaches. A medical-diagnosis system that ponders a bit and then prints "remove patient's liver" would not be trusted. The chain of reasoning—the inferences and rules used to derive the conclusion—must be presented.
But the largest problem frustrating the large-scale proliferation of expert systems is simply the acquisition and representation of the knowledge on which they are based. Every specialty has an associated culture and folklore, and codifying this in a useful fashion is much more difficult than simply typing a set of rules into a heuristic database. For a system to remain useful, it must grow along with advances in the field, or it will soon obsolete itself. Designers of expert systems must interview human experts to capture their wizardry in machine-readable form, an activity that is hampered by a shortage of "expert-system experts," or knowledge engineers.
The user interfaces associated with expert systems are still relatively crude because of slow progress in machine comprehension of natural language. When natural language catches up, it will simplify the user interface, facilitating knowledge acquisition.
The specialization of expert systems introduces some further difficulties. Narrow-minded judgments are made by machines whose application domain is restricted enough to eliminate ambiguities in the language. A lack of general-world knowledge at the root of machine "understanding" forces them into rather limited roles.
Limitations and problems notwithstanding, expert systems are being applied to a rapidly-growing range of fields. One of the most famous is the Mead-Conway VLSI system, which embodies much of the knowledge in this complex field. Of all the research areas in AI, expert systems are the most likely to yield commercial products in the near future.
Social and Legal Issues
A question that inevitably arises when artificial intelligence is discussed outside the AI community is whether there will ever be a machine that can think. It's a sensitive issue, and one that seldom fails to spark heated controversy. Most people cling tenaciously to the last bastions of unsimulated humanity: creativity, humor, awareness and feeling. But we can expect continued advances in machine performance to permeate society more and more. Jobs that can be codified heuristically are candidates for computerization, threatening the vast community of "middle management" with the same replacement paranoia that afflicts the blue-collar population. This could backlash into an uprising against intelligent machines, raising the issue of "legal rights" for the machines.
Although barely visible, this is already occurring. As corporations become AI based, the legal distinction between company and computer could begin to blur, opening the door to the scenario in which a computer would indirectly possess the legal rights currently reserved for corporations. This boundary crossed, it would be difficult to argue that intelligent machines should not be fully enfranchised members of society. Although it sounds absurd, given the state of the art and society's historical tendency to extend rights as situations arise, it is not an unreasonable extrapolation.
Questions such as these are still largely reserved for idle musing and cocktail-party chatter, but developments in the field suggest that society should begin to think about them. Computer vision and natural language are on their way, and competent expert systems are now on the market. We must start to make room for machines that think.
Steven Roberts is president of Words'Worth Inc., a Dublin, Ohio, consulting company, and author of Industrial Design with Microcomputers (Prentice-Hall) and several other books and articles about related technologies.
Posted in Articles by SKR and tagged Artificial Intelligence, Mini-Micro Systems
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Season Ending Stories, New Sports Opportunities
The Rehoboth Beach Senior Women's Softball season has officially come to an end. The winning team, the Delaware Diamonds, had a fantastic season, posting a 10-2 record and having a great time doing it.
The Diamonds' line up consists of women ranging from 48-77 years old. This group has lots of talented players, including Gabby Dillard who was named MVD (Most Valuable Diamond). Gabby was moved from 3rd base to left center mid-year to cover for an injured player and she was amazing. That's about the time that the team learned that, as a much younger player, Gabby was a Golden Glove outfielder for the state of Delaware.
Dottie Pope is the head coach, assistant coaches are Dee Pecora and Barb Sweeney, and the manager/scorekeeper is Karen Dorris. The players include: Mary Anderson, Patricia Battersby, Valendia Branch, Teresa Crivelli, Gabriella Dillard, Debbie Dorris, Christie Douda, Jackie Doyle, Barbara Ellis, Cindy Knotts, Patty Lake, Dee Pecora, Dorothy Pope, Kit Ryan, Dianne Steinbach, Barbara Sweeney, Robin Verdery, and Sandy Yanaga.
According to Dottie, the Diamonds are also a group of compassionate women, many of whom are in the helping professions like Dee Pecora. Dee is a nurse and decided it was important for the league to have an automated external defibrillator (AED) available during games, so she bought one for the league.
The Diamonds insist that their entire line-up is always ready to sub if needed, and their last game was a prime example. Dottie Pope, who hasn't played in over 30 years, was called upon to take over 2nd base. She borrowed a glove, put on some cleats, and ended up going 2 for 3 at the plate and making some great plays at second base. She must have been some great player 30 years ago to sub like she did.
The Diamonds played their last game against the Shore Sharks and didn't need the win in order to win the season. But Dottie's philosophy is that the last game win of the season sets the momentum for the next season. The Diamonds won 10-7 and hope to use that momentum to take them to the national Senior Olympics in 2020.
Olympics Are Us
The Rehoboth Senior Women's Softball league put together a winning Senior Olympics team this year. The Softball Rebels (a team from the league), recruited two players from other teams and represented Delaware for 2019. The Rebels beat teams from Connecticut and Maryland and won the tournament. It is the first time in the history of Delaware State Senior Olympics that a Delaware team beat an out-of-state team to win the tournament. The Olympians included: Michelle Lee (coach and player), Patty Rickman (coach), Polly Bryan, Allison Dann, Val Jones, Dana Macelrevey, JR Fletcher, Nan Martino, Chris Hodakievic, Jackie Shahan (pitched 4 games in the heat!), Julia Spetz, Tami Murry, Nancy Kennedy-Howard, Michele Peters, Jackie Doyle, and Rina Pellegrini.
If you are interested in playing softball next year, either go to the website, or email Rina Pellegrini. The league would like to add another team for 2020.
Goodbye Golf for now
Autumn means an end to the golf season for many locals. So instead of playing golf, a group of us decided to head over to Scotland to watch Team USA play against Team Europe in the Solheim Cup.
The Solheim Cup is played every two years, alternating between a course in Europe and one in the US. This year the tournament was played at Gleneagles in Scotland (which is about an hour away from the most iconic course in the world—St. Andrews).
While in Scotland, local golfers Margie Moore and Sheree Mixell, along with this reporter, and Pattie Magee, took the iconic picture crossing the bridge at St. Andrews. The Solheim Cup was won by Team Europe, despite the best efforts of Team USA and the loud cheering (and patriotic outfits) of the American fans from Kings Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach.
Bowling Is Up Next
One sport just getting started for fall is bowling. The Rainbow Ladies Bowling League meets on Tuesdays at Millsboro Lanes. Don't miss the chance to stay active this fall and get to know our local bowling legend, Rina Pellegrini, while you're doing it. Rina is the league coordinator and you can contact her at if you're interested. ▼
Anita Petit is a former marketing executive and current small business owner in Rehoboth and NJ. She's played multiple sports all her life, but now concentrates primarily on her golf game.
Photo above: In Scotland, Solheim fans from King's Creek Country Club, from left, Kathi Westcott, Anita Pettitt, Sheree Mixell, Margie Moore, Pattie Magee, Teri Caswell.
‹ October 18, 2019 - Live Theatre Strikes Again by Michael Gilles up October 18, 2019 - It's My Life by Michael Thomas Ford ›


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Tyrrell 003 – samochód Formuły 1, skonstruowany przez Tyrrell, używany w sezonach 1971 i 1972. Kierowcą bolidu został Jackie Stewart.

Wyniki

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A fun and thrilling way to soak up a stunning forest setting!
Remarkably good fun for the whole family, Treetop Nets offers a unique way to get close to nature. Unlike other high rope courses, this one is entirely surrounded by high walls of netting, meaning there is no need for safety harnesses – a UK first! Comprising of gigantic trampolines, walkways, slides and tunnels, some nets reach the dizzying height of 9m from the ground. It's an exhilarating way to spend quality time with your loved ones whilst soaking up some stunning scenery!
This voucher entitles one person to a Treetop Nets experience. This voucher is valid for 10 months, one person. This experience is available week round. This experience is for ages 5 and over. You should allow 1 hour for this experience. It is advised that you wear clothing that covers your arms and legs, skirts are not recommended. Open toe footwear is not permitted, long hair should be tied back and all jewellery and scarves shoulder be removed. Please note, Zip World reserves the right to refuse admittance should appropriate clothing not be worn. Maximum weight is 120kg. All dates are subject to availability. Catering available on site at an additional cost.


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Posted on January 1, 2020 by changingoutlooks under life, Weddings & Families
Dear Akash & Vasu,
I wondered what to write as my first blog for 2020. Thank you both for being my inspiration!
In the stereotypical world that we live in, many articles & write-ups can be found about the mother in law/daughter-in-law relationship. The son in law somehow never gets written about.
You both became part of the family even before your respective weddings took place. I do not mean this superficially. Your attitude and the way you simply blended in with all of us endeared you right away. From attending golden jubilee anniversaries to birthdays to poojas at home, you both went with the flow. Not just that, you rolled up your sleeves and worked side by side with all of us. This is in stark contrast to how some other sons in law behave – remain aloof towards their in-laws' side of the family.
As a spouse, your ability to accept our girls as they are and encourage them to pursue their dreams is phenomenal. I have observed intelligent conversations between you all and it gladdens my heart, not just as a mother, also as a woman. In observing you, I have found you to be of complete integrity, true character, loyal & honest. I have seen you rationalize situations even when your wives were being a little stubborn about the same. Today, I would like to salute that and praise you unabashedly.
All marriages have to be worked on. It is not easy. It is everyday work. A lot of times, women believe they are the only ones who invest in a relationship and work at it. I am proud to say that you both have done the same in so many different ways. I understand the pressures you may go through, the uncertainty & insecurities that crop up once in a while. You have handled a lot of that with aplomb and I feel happy that we have established a relationship where we can talk about it comfortably.
We have raised daughters who love you wholeheartedly and who understand marriage is total commitment and a covenant that goes beyond broken promises and hearts. It is not be taken lightly and I know, they will stand by you. Yet, some aberrations will happen, mistakes will be made, by both of you. You know the best part, I trust you all to deal with them and handle it to the best of your ability.
You may have understood by now that we women think a little differently. For a wife, if the husband makes an effort to build a relationship with her parents, then she feels cared for and secure. Our girls are no different and you have made them feel secure & cared for. Thank you for doing that.
There is a saying – a man who treats his woman like a princess is proof that he has been born and raised in arms of a queen. I have often told both your mothers, that we are blessed to have you both as sons in law and a part of our family. As a mother, I would like to thank Archana & Rama for the value system they have given you. And today I can happily say…
Thank you dear Akash & Vasu for being who you are and how you are. Stay happy & stay blessed!
Posted on March 18, 2019 by changingoutlooks under Uncategorized
I was curious and excited to attend the Make In India – Defence Manufacturing Conclave in Hyderabad in February 2015 for two reasons. One, because it was hosted by the think tank I am part of and two, I was going to get an opportunity to hear India's Raksha Mantri, Manohar Parrikar.
The conclave proved to be a different one altogether. For the first time, I saw a Defence Minister sit among the audience, attentively listen to all the speakers, make notes and ask questions. I was introduced to him in my capacity as an office bearer of an Ex Service Men (ESM) organisation, Akhil Bharatiya Poorva Sainik Seva Parishad (ABPSSP) and also as an entrepreneur. We exchanged a few pleasantries and I told him that I would like to brief him about our activities for Veterans & their families, from time to time. He said he would be in touch and that was that.
I initially thought that he would restrict his meetings to the President & Secretary of ABPSSP to get regular briefings about ESM welfare and certain critical issues pertaining to OROP, which had become an agitation at Jantar Mantar at that time. Imagine my surprise, when one day I get a call from him, asking me when I would be in Delhi next and could I meet him! It was a jaw drop moment for me.
I made a trip to Delhi from Bangalore to meet him and shared an update about skill building for veterans and their families through ABPSSP. He asked incisive questions about how many actually benefit in terms of employment, self employment, what kind of opportunities are presented by the corporates. I answered his questions with data and he smiled & said, "I like the fact that you are stating numbers." Thus, began our work towards the welfare of the ESM community. During the course of our association, he once remarked, "I appreciate your never say die spirit and I hope you continue to be Jhansi ki Rani, fighting for causes you believe in so strongly."
From then on, our meetings became regular and he always had questions & suggestions. He asked me if I travelled to different states to meet the ESM & their families and I said, "Yes Sir, I do. We have adopted a few places, especially villages where our bravehearts come from and we are now focusing on developing them as Adarsh Graam under the Veer Sainik Graam Yojana project of ABPSSP." He helped us a lot in approaching the local authorities & state governments in Jharkhand, Odisha & Chhattisgarh.
My trips to Delhi became more frequent as my daughter moved back to the capital from UK. I could now ask for frequent meetings which I did for purely selfish reasons – I got to learn so much from Manohar Parrikar. He became this mentor, elder bother and friend all rolled into one and the more I got to know him, the more fascinated I was by his memory, sharp grasp of complexities and result oriented approach that saw many a change in the Ministry of Defence. I discovered the humane side of Mr Parrikar. His quiet visits to families of martyred soldiers, action towards their problems that were stuck in the bureaucratic labyrinth of the Ministry, ensuring quick decisions were implemented & cross verification of the same, his simple approach when he interacted and easy manner of communication, are all traits that made him differently unique in the world of politics. When he decided to work with you, he did with complete trust. No halfway measures for him.
During one of our conversations, I requested him that he must come home during my stay in Delhi. He said,"Let's talk when you land in Delhi." He gave me a second jaw drop moment when one evening, he announced that he is coming over for some simple "ghar ka khana", chilled beer & masala peanuts. It was an evening to remember with my parents, daughter and a couple of close friends with whom he was also familiar. My daughter told him, "Uncle, I thought as Defence Minister you will have guards surrounding you, black cat commandos will come home and do a thorough check of our place, something like a James Bond movie." He laughed heartily and said, "I am not James Bond and I am coming to meet a friend and the family. Why would I need security to surround me?" That was Manohar Parrikar for you.
I was extremely hassled when he had to go back to Goa as Chief Minister and felt (countless others also would have felt the same) that we were losing a Defence Minister to gain a Chief Minister. He very patiently explained why it was necessary for him to go back to Goa. The last meal we had together at his Delhi residence where he asked me if I had read Robert Greene and I said, "I have read one book of his – The 48 Laws of Power." He gave me a copy of 33 Strategies of War and said, "Read this. You will understand much more about power & politics."
He was very happy when I wrote to him about getting my book of poems published in August 2017 and called to tell me that he wanted an autographed copy. I told him only if he gives me sometime when I came to Goa. So, when I did make that visit to Goa, he did spend an hour, despite an unimaginably busy schedule. His personal secretary, Upendra Joshi, remarked that "It is amazing how Sir makes time for everything." That was how Manohar Parrikar built relationships – he gave people time & listened to them. Subsequently, when he read the book, he called again to congratulate me on the poems I had written about soldiers.
Very recently I messaged him about my daughter getting engaged and invited him for the engagement. He declined stating health does not permit him to travel, but, if he got better, he would try to make it for the wedding.
Now, that is not going to happen. The void you have left, Manohar Dada cannot be filled. A deep felt gratitude to the Almighty for having given me the opportunity to get to know you and work with you for a while.
God speed and rest in peace. Till we meet again.
Cancer took my inspiration, guide & friend away, don't you see?
Time was a ticking bomb thrust decisively.
If cancer had any idea what beauty lay within your soul,
I can promise it would have seen the glow.
Silence began moments ago,
When a voice said its time to let go.
Even though you are gone now,
Your memory will always remain in our hearts.
Your smile and face will never fade.
We will think of you as we go on each day.
The good times we remember
And the days spent together, will be in our memories forever.
When I sat down to watch the TV tonight,
And I started to cry…
I thought of your strength & then your pain
And asked Lord Almighty why?
I'll just leave it at that and know you're in a better place.
Your heart is right with God.
So, Manohar Dada we love you & we will miss you so much.
I also know you are at peace today.
So watch over us and make sure we're okay.
And I will see you again someday.
Posted on January 2, 2019 by changingoutlooks under Uncategorized
I ended my 2018 by watching Nathicharami on 31st December. It was one of the best things I did on new year's eve.
I must admit, the desire to see the movie was because I heard the music before and loved every bit of it. Then I saw the official trailer and my curiosity was piqued. I do not know of other Kannada directors having explored the subject of what two young Indian women go through in a particular phase in their lives. I saw the movie & spoke to some friends who had seen it. Most of them emphasised on the theme as "awakened sexuality of the young widow". I beg to differ here.
To me, the entire experience was going through Gowri's journey after she becomes a widow. It is about how she battles loneliness, sleepless nights, parents who pressurise her to get married again (perhaps for the wrong reasons), a predatory boss and her own desires that make her feel guilty. Salvation comes in the form of two office colleagues & friends who help her with a dating app and connect her to Dr Carvalho, the psychiatrist. He helps her peel the layers of her emotions, and, deal with the mental conflicts. Loved his metaphors and one liners!
A parallel story unfolds with Suma, an educated woman from a village, yearning for her husband, Suresh's love & affection. I appreciated the unfurling of this marital relationship, where Suresh is always condescending in his behaviour towards Suma and criticises her supposed "village mentality". The director, beautifully leads you to question Suresh's frustration at one level & audacity at another level, because he also displays "village mentality" in the movie.
Yes, sexual desires or sexuality has been used as a subject to bring out deeper issues like guilt, societal reaction & gender sensitivity. Nathicharami is metaphorical, refreshing & relevant. Metaphorical, because it shows Gowri anchored to a time & relationship in the past. Refreshing, because it talks about consent for sex in a marital relationship & sensitively explores predefined notions of morality & desires. Relevant, simply because it opens up a sea of questions that ordinary women today face in the many facets of relationships.
The movie by award winning director, Mansore, has good cinematography and amazing music by Bindhu Malini. Her unique voice is what you hear in the songs and her ease of combining various musical instruments to create hauntingly beautiful music is testimony to her musical expertise. The use of the trombone, drums & guitar is melodious and it is the kind of music I would love to play while I sit in my balcony or on my terrace, sipping a glass of wine and watch the sun go down & the moon come up with the stars shining.
I wish more and more directors, producers and actors give us such wonderfully crafted & engaging movies like Nathicharami. We will promise to stand by them.
Gift Yourself a New Year…
Posted on December 31, 2018 by changingoutlooks under life, Uncategorized
Once in a while it hits people that they really don't have to see the world in the way they have been told to. That is the beauty of exploring, learning, understanding & accepting newness in life. That is serendipity (in a way) and letting go of what we are conditioned to or cling on to. All of us like to feel we are in control of our lives, plan every step and steer the course of all happenings exactly at the time we want it to happen. We all want to know what's going to happen before it does, like to play scenarios out in our heads, use favourite words to make sense of this world as much as we can. Even though we know, in the back of our minds, that it may never fully happen.
Somewhere, between being a daughter, a wife, a mother, a friend, an entrepreneur, I realised that no matter what pre planning I do, there will always be moments in life that will be unexpected, out of the blue and hit you like a ton of bricks. And then, you are in a free fall.
Now, the beauty of free fall is that, it is the right moment to find your wings. Wings help you fly.
There is flip side to free fall, too. When you fall, if you do not allow your wings to come out, spread and flap them, you are likely to hit the ground with a big thud. The most important thing then is to trust your instinct, let go and allow your wings to emerge.
You will never know you can fly if you do not unfurl your wings, flap them and push yourself to soar. You'll never know the strength in your muscles if you don't flex them. You'll never know who you can become, if you don't take the first step.
Two and half decades ago, I was jolted from that familiar, comfortable bubble I had built in my life. And I went into a fall. I also discovered I could fly. That changed everything.
There will always be winds of change, forcing us to come down at times, falter in some cases, change direction completely and soar. Allow for those serendipitous periods in life, which will give you the freedom to discover a new you.
May that be your gift to yourself this year! May 2019 bring out the serendipiter & the discoverer in you! Happy 2019!!!
Play It, Sam.
Posted on November 27, 2017 by changingoutlooks under Uncategorized
26th November, 1942, when Warner Brothers and director, Michael Curtiz held the premiere of "Casablanca", they thought they were giving the world another Hollywood flick. Little did they realise that this movie would become an icon and change so many things for so many people.
Casablanca catapulted Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman to a new level of stardom, with dialogues & lines from the movie woven into every romantic, flirtatious conversation for 75 years. The story is iconic – a devastating romance between Rick Blaine, an expat cafe owner and Ilsa Lund. The two characters played Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman leave an indelible mark on your mind with powerhouse performance. Released during World War II, to capitalise on the Allies invasion of North Africa,Casablanca is about triumph of idealism over cynicism, passion over protest, and human nature in all its glory.
Here are some facts that people may not be aware of, even though you may have watched the movie umpteen number of times.
Playwright Murray Burnett co-created expat café owner Rick Blaine, piano player Sam, Czech resistance fighter Victor Lazlo and fresh-faced Ilsa Lund when he and his writing partner Joan Alison penned a play called "Everybody Comes to Rick's" in 1940. The play was intended for Broadway, but never made it. Warner Bros, however, saw the potential and decided to make a movie out of it. The rights were purchased for $20,000. No sequel has been made, even though a lot of producers and directors approached Murray Burnett for the same.
Imagine, if the movie was called "Lisbon". That was the original title of the play and the story was set in Lisbon. It was later changed to Casablanca. Yet, Burnett never visited the city in his lifetime.
Humphrey Bogart was the quintessential romantic guy I wanted in my life, when I saw the movie. I wanted to be romanced & loved the way Ingrid Bergman was in Casablanca. Imagine my surprise when I read that in real life, he was 5 feet 8 inches with Ingrid Bergman towering over him by two inches. The director had to make Bogie stand on wooden blocks or make him sit on piles of extra cushions to make him look taller!
There is no doubt that the film looks exotic and I have always thought that Casablanca during the war, looked like that. Did they shoot the movie on location? No, hold on. It was almost entirely shot in Warner Studios, Burbank, California. They did such a great job, that generations of men & women fell in love with Casablanca, the place.
Originally intended for an early 1943 release, showing Casablanca to the public was a rushed affair. It premiered on 26th November 1942, in New York City. The film then went into wide release on January 23, 1943, to coincide with the Casablanca Conference, a high-level meeting between Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt in Casablanca.
Many of the actors had first-hand experiences of the war and of Nazi brutality. S. Z. Sakall, who played the waiter Carl, was a Jewish-Hungarian who fled Germany in 1939 and lost his three sisters to a concentration camp. Helmut Dantine, who played the Bulgarian roulette player, spent time in a concentration camp and left Europe after being freed. Curt Bois, who played the pickpocket, was a German-Jewish actor and refugee. Conrad Veidt, who played Major Heinrich Strasser, was a German film star and refugee, and even though he fled the Nazis, he was often cast as a Nazi in American films.
Director Michael Curtiz was a Hungarian-Jewish immigrant who had arrived in the U.S. in 1926, but some members of his family were refugees from Nazi Europe.
The last surviving member of the cast was Madeleine LeBeau, who played Yvonne, Rick's girlfriend. She died on May 1, 2016, at the age of 92.
The line "Play it again, Sam" is one of the most widely quoted lines from Casablanca — but it never appears in the film. In the famous piano scene, Ilsa leans on the piano and says, "Play it once, Sam" and "Play it, Sam." Rick also says, "Play it" — but nobody says, "Play it again, Sam." Most attribute the phrase, and the misunderstanding, to Woody Allen's stage play of the same name, which became a major motion picture in 1972.
There have been many spoofs, TV serials, radio plays based on Casablanca, but, never a full fledged remake. Among the famous parodies are the Marx Brothers' A Night in Casablanca (1946) and Neil Simon's The Cheap Detective (1978). The film is also heavily referenced in The Usual Suspects (1995) and in Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam (1972), where Rick appears to give Allen's character life advice.
Ingrid Bergman, who remains for many, the most beautiful woman to act on silver screen, never actually wanted to be starred in Casablanca. The screenplay was apparently rewritten a dozen times and she, during the filming, did not know, whom she would finally land up with, Rick Blaine or Viktor Laszlo.
The music for the film was written by Max Steiner, an Austrian-born, Hungarian-Jewish composer and arranger who gained fame for his score of Gone With the Wind and King Kong.
The classic song "As Time Goes By" was included in the original play, but Steiner didn't like it and wanted it excluded from the film adaptation. But Bergman had already shot the scenes with the song and cut her hair for her next role, so they couldn't be re-shot, and the song stayed.
After the movie was released, "As Time Goes By" spent 21 weeks on the hit parade.
75 years and still going strong. Casablanca is a movie that can still stir many hearts. It definitely does mine. Every time I watch it.
The 365 Page Book Called 2017
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves….its first chapter is New Year's Day."
It's that time of the year again! The winter season signals the year-end and tells us that a new dawn is approaching. This "change of year" symbolism is important for two reasons: first, it allows us to take stock of the year that has gone by and second it provides us with the hope of being able to start afresh and not get weighed down by the past.
I have never been where I am today. I have never been the age I am today, or had the experience I have today. The river of life flows and I find myself in places I have never been before. What an exhilarating moment of truth that is!
Everything is new. It is a starting point. At the same time there is a flow from the past that influences the process of ringing in the new. There are so many dreams and aspirations that one has in a lifetime. These change as we grow older and gather more experiences. Mine have changed too! I have realised that I want more for some of the people in my life, I dream more about what we will be as a society and a country. I see a lot of great people out there contributing in building a India of our dreams. You may not even hear of these contributors in your lifetime, for they focus on their actions. I want to highlight a few of them today for they have genuinely made a difference.
Dreamers Doers started by Manjunath Hebbar is a platform for all those social entrepreneurs who want to showcase their work and collaborate with the like minded to impact social causes positively.
Skip Armour brought to us by Chakradhari Rowe that helps a common man understand what is safety & security for an individual, a society and therefore, a country.
Swayyam that teaches us eco conscious low impact living and how to connect back to the earth for our basic living. Malvikaa Solanki, the brain or rather the heart behind this can teach the young & old a thing or two about the "earthy" choices we make in life.
Bal Utsav that brings life-changing education to children living in poverty. They revitalise government schools, support teachers, facilitate interventions in the space of water, sanitation and hygiene. The founders, Ramesh Balasundaram & Binu Ramesh Verma are ever ready to facilitate learning for children and parents alike.
Durga India, a project by I'm Every Woman started by Priya Varadarajan and yours truly is focused on creating awareness among the girls & women about their own safety in an increasingly unsafe world. Durga's effort to create safer public spaces for women, including public transport, gets them to work with Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation & install safety alarms in buses.
The Results Cafe, a self improvement project started by Mandeep Kataria & Prashant Reddy that enables & empowers people to stick to their resolutions and not get waylaid. Powerful, for in the end, we all need that push at some time.
These may seem like drops in the vast ocean…but, remember the old adage. They are doing their bit to create a better, stronger and self sufficient India. An India that is crossing the threshold and moving into a space where the world has to sit up and notice. Which brings me to the point of all the nay sayers out there. You can criticise, negate and shoot down any contribution made by anyone, be it an individual, a community or even the government. The fact is there are people whose purpose is to make a positive difference…even if it is to one individual. Negativity does not deter them. They look at the larger good and spread that goodness around them.
The above mentioned dreamers have influenced my own life in such significant ways that I initially did not even realise it. Who I am on the 1st of Jan 2017, somewhere is a result of that influence. What binds us together is this vision we have for this country of ours, for our society, community and people. We all want the following:
A Swachch Bharat that is eco friendly. A national conscious against littering, spitting, throwing trash everywhere.
A country where girls and women feel safe and are safe. Both are equally important – the feeling & the being.
An India where basic amenities are available to all citizens, in a manner in which they can afford it. That means no freebies for political gain.
A youth that understands the power of our Constitution, the power of voting and contributing to the electoral process.
Adherence to law and order. No negotiating as far as this is concerned.
I am sure every upright citizen wants the same. So, when there is a collective dream, the only thing we have to do, is follow it.
I picture ourselves and India starting a book called 2017 stretched out to 365 pages before us, beckoning to a future somewhere in different chapters that calls us to drive a positive change. All that we will become lies out there, in those pages. The beauty of starting this book is we all can write a sentence, a paragraph or a chapter. It doesn't matter. What matters is that we write.
We spend December 31st & January 1st walking through our lives, chapter by chapter, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the chapters of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.
Praying that everyone writes beautiful lines in the Book of 2017! Happy New Year!
If you don't become the ocean, you'll be seasick everyday…
Rest in peace Leonard Cohen.
In Beautiful Losers, his second novel, he said, "Do not be magical, be magic." Cohen was magic and therefore, magical. Poet, novelist, songwriter, singer all rolled into one, Leonard Cohen entered the music scene in New York in 1967. For almost 60 years he mesmerised those who heard him.
I first heard Cohen in 1983 at a friend's place on a rainy afternoon in Hanoi, Vietnam. Those were the days of a cassette recorder and when Cohen's voice echoed in that room, eight other voices went silent. It was a distinct voice…one which took "500 tons of whiskey and, you know, a million cigarettes" to develop as he said in an interview. The album was "Recent Songs". To say we were hooked would be an understatement. There was this hunger and curiosity to know who Leonard Cohen was. Personally, I thought & still think he was the only other person whose songs influenced me as much Bob Dylan. His response to Dylan winning the Nobel Prize for Literature was, "giving the award to Dylan is like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain"
One of the most fascinating and enigmatic song writer/singer, Cohen rarely made it to the pop music charts. Influencing many musicians and winning numerous awards, including The Companion of the Order of Canada (highest civilian award in Canada), Cohen's folk-rock music commands the attention of critics and younger musicians more firmly than any other musical figure from the 1960's who continued to work till the outset of the 21st century. The testimony to this was the release of his latest in October 2016 – "You Want It Darker" a solemn album of elegies. The power of his words can be felt in his last letter to his muse Marianne Ihlen. It said, "well Marianne it's come to this time when we are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine." She died in August 2016.
Cohen's successful blending of poetry, fiction, and music is made most clear in "Stranger Music: Selected Poems and Songs", published in 1993, which gathered more than 200 of Cohen's poems, several novel excerpts, and almost 60 song lyrics. It may have seemed to some that Leonard Cohen departed from the literary in pursuit of the musical, I would call him as a quintessential Renaissance man who straddles the elusive artistic borderlines.
Thank you for speaking from specific vantage points at every stage in your life. Thank you for the quiet nights, the solitary reflections, the 360 degree perspectives, the wry smiles and the truth.
Letters From Home…Saluting Military Spouses Across The World
Posted on October 23, 2016 by changingoutlooks under Uncategorized
If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't know adventure. You don't understand why green & brown camouflage bags & fatigues are better than any designer clothes & accessories. If you're not in love with a soldier, you don't know what it's like to say that good-bye. If you're not in love with a soldier, you won't know what it means to stay away for years shouldering your share of family responsibility, while he is responsible for protecting the country. If you're not in love with a soldier, you can't know the immense joy, the uncontrollable smile, or the butterflies in your stomach when you see your soldier march into an airport lounge, get off on the railway platform and walk towards you with his lopsided smile. If you're not in love with a soldier, you don't know what it's like to wait for a phone call or email or a text message for days. Yes, even in this age of super fast internet connectivity.
This open letter is for all those who wish to know what a military spouse goes through. We are the "silent ranks" and there is a reason why we are silent. We wait…for letters, phone calls, emails and most important, homecomings. But, hold on, there's more. We wait for practice camps, new commanders, military exercise schedules and dates for field.postings. We also wait for leave approvals and short weekend breaks…which sometimes get cancelled.
We are not perfect wives. The staying away gets to us and sometimes nothing seems to go right. We get tired of taking decisions all by ourselves, at nights the pillows are soaked with our tears when we consistently try to stay strong. We become a single parent in that period of separation and learn to grin & bear it. There are times when I go numb with the loneliness…however, when I think of how much I love my soldier, I am proud to be an army wife.
We are like other wives, yet, different. We clean our homes & mop floors but, are unsure for how long we will do it in the same place. We plant and grow gardens wherever we are, but we can't grow roots. So, potted plants become as dear a possession as any. Like other wives we too buy furniture. It can't really be fancy antique stuff. It has to be sturdy enough to last various postings and moves. We learn to entertain by serving a six course meal wherever possible, and with just bread & eggs too…with the same ease & panache. We make new friends all the time, yet, never discard the old ones. Because we know we will meet somewhere, sometime and that bonds us for life. The same holds good for our children…they learn to network and build lasting relationships.
Sure, I have been frustrated at times and been angry at certain situations in our life. When the exigencies of military life have kept us apart not just for days & months, but, for years, I felt that life is unfair. However, I also realise that it is the same for my man in uniform. I also know that he goes through the same levels of frustration of not being home with me & the children. I pray that he is safe when he is posted at the borders, not just because he is fighting the enemy. He is fighting harsh weather conditions also. I also know that when he is posted to certain operational areas and there are tragedies that take place, I am the only person he will turn to, to share his emotional upheaval. I am his rock, anchor & stronghold…I am the woman he loves. And that, is a feeling I will never exchange for anything in the world.
As military wives, we take care of our homes & families for months & months, without letting our husbands know some of the challenges. Not because we don't want to tell them. But, because we want them to focus on protecting you & us. Like someone very correctly said, "He risks his life for people he doesn't even know, imagine what he'll do for me."
There is a universal recipe for being a military wife…3/4th cup patience, 3/4th cup tolerance, 1 pound courage and a dash of adventure (every now & then). Mix all ingredients together with large tablespoons of elbow grease. Marinate frequently with salty tears. Keep aside for a year. Pour of excess fat. Sprinkle lightly with money regularly. Knead the dough until payday. Season with spices from across the country. Bake throughout the soldier's tenure. Serve with complete pride.
So, the next time you meet a military wife, do look beyond the obvious that is shown to the world. Discover the inner strength & the fortitude the lady hides behind her words & smile…you will get to know a "woman of substance."
This post is also a tribute to two beautiful ladies, Radha Patil & Shakuntla Malik, both army wives & women of substance who have been responsible for shaping me as an individual…Radha Patil from the day she gave birth to me and Shakuntla Malik in my formative years. You both continue to influence my life in myriad ways. Thank you!!!
War Does Not Determine…
War does not determine who is right…only who is left.
Vijay Path & Tololing Range in the background
1999. Kargil. 527 brave-hearts dead. 1367 injured. Rest of us are left…far behind.
Two years ago I wrote a piece – A War…Hundreds of Martyrs…A Lifetime Of Memories – when I made my trip to Kargil after 15 long years, to pay homage to our martyrs, among whom were friends I lost. Today, marks the 17th anniversary of the Kargil War.
17 years and the souls of our dead soldiers turn to us to ask. What did they fight for? What did they die for?
They died protecting the land that would have been with Pakistan today.
They died protecting the people who would have suffered in the hands of those Pakistanis soldiers & eventually Pakistani administration.
They fought to retain the freedom of the land which is ours…the freedom & the land.
They fought so people in Kargil, Dras, Leh and the surrounding areas could live peacefully. Not just our generation, but the future generations also.
Are we an ungrateful nation? Yes and no.
No, because there are some who have not forgotten the sacrifices made by the Indian Army. There are some who continue to fight to protect the same land & freedom. Not necessarily from the borders or in Jammu & Kashmir. Some of us fight battles in towns & cities to educate the rest of the population about being grateful. About being thankful that they are Indian & free.
Yes, we are ungrateful, because there is a section in our society that does not think national interest or national security. The ungratefulness comes to the fore when terrorists are eulogised and their killing is called unconstitutional or human rights activists are holding placards asking for humane treatment of those terrorists. My question to such people is have you lost someone close to you, someone who died simply because he wanted to protect you? Quite a few of us have. So, listen to us. For we will tell you what it means. What it means to hear that he will not come back again to meet you, to laugh & share a drink with you, to plan important events in life, to get married, to have children, to eat what his mother cooks, to support his father as he gets on in years…in short to experience life.
Yes we are ungrateful when we allow misguided citizens of this country to take the security forces for granted. Aren't the security forces human? What gives anybody the right to harm them? And, when they are harmed, why should they not protect themselves? Would you and I not protect ourselves if somebody pelted stones at us? Would we not defend ourselves? Let us allow our defence & security forces to protect the country, instead of protecting themselves from an ungrateful nation. Remember, there is no flag large enough to cover the shame of a thankless country.
As parts of the country gear up to honour our martyrs & their families, it is time for the rest to pause & think about the dead soldier and how it is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organise the peace. Peace has to be organised, otherwise war will not end; and if war doesn't end, we end as a country. That is not acceptable to a large majority of us.
Sometimes, you have to pick up a gun to put the gun down. I will not mourn our soldiers who die protecting us. I am thankful and grateful we are still a nation that produces such heroes!
We Serve With Pride
No matter how much frustration there is,
Fear, trepidation, anxiety or unease.
Despite all the hardships & adversity aside,
As long as I wear the uniform I endure all with pride.
For service and loyalty are what matter to me,
Honour, courage, respect and integrity
Are the armour I wear to counter all foe
They give me strength when into enemy land I go.
I depend on my comrades, and defend them I must,
They in turn they depend on me keeping the trust.
Together we shall overcome the toughest of test,
Our resolve will never waiver as we all give our best.
Jai Hind Ki Sena! Salute!
Living…with a dash of sass
Posted on December 25, 2015 by changingoutlooks under Uncategorized
There's something about the year end that puts most of us in an introspective mood. This year end is no different. There have been ups & downs, mostly ups, which include my girls doing well in their respective lives, a brilliant holiday we all enjoyed together, setting up a second home in another city and the launch of a couple of new businesses. The downside is realising that we are fast losing one generation of people to the inexorable process of ageing. While on one hand, I understand this is part of life's cycle, it nevertheless saddens me that this process deprives us of one of the most extraordinary generations that India has seen. The veterans of World War I are no more and the people born during World War II are in their late 70's or early 80's.
I have spent time with that generation. I have sat through their stories of growing up in an India that you and I can only visualise and never experience. This is not to undermine any other generation's experience. I am writing to share what I have learnt from these septuagenarians and octogenarians. This particular blog is dedicated to all those who belong to the 15th Course of the National Defence Academy for you all have influenced me to lead a rich life!
Find Ways To Do
One of the easiest and simplest thing is to find reasons why we can't do things. They are called excuses. My biggest lesson from these stalwarts is to find one simple reason to do things. That one overwhelming "why" that will ensure the barriers come crumbling down. Living in different cities, leading hectic lives make it difficult to meet close family & friends. However, the older generation has taught me that it's important to cherish those relationships. I still see them make an effort to be a part of everyone's lives around them.
Share Your Life
My parents have shared their lives with my brother and me. It just made communication so much more easier for all of us. I never had a problem expressing to my parents what was going on in my mind and why. I also realise that this was only possible because they were genuinely interested in our lives and shared activities with my brother and me. A lot of things I do now in my life are because of activities initiated by my Dad and his friends, while I was growing up.
Almost everyone I have met in that wonderful age group focus on quality of life and they choose happiness as the one determining factor. Most of them have gone through some kind of illness/surgery/treatment in the recent years. They see a sense of fragility that belongs to these experiences as directly contributing to their ability to savour life. "Tomorrow is unknown, future uncertain at our age. Lighten up and live life completely today." Wise words from wise people.
Accept Life & Connect With Yourself
The terrace at my parents' place offers a lovely view of the green canopy of trees in a quiet residential area. A wall of windows at my second parents' home overlooks a lovely verdant patch of lawn bordered by flowering shrubs and lemon tree. Having spent ample time in both places, I see that later life has brought all four of them a sense of wholeness, acceptance, and the ability to enjoy small pleasures. They love the place they live, people visit them and are always welcomed, they entertain the way they want to and not because they are expected to…a complete sense of liberation & contentment.
Build A Life With Someone You Respect & Love
It sounds simple. Yet, very few can say this. Most of the couples I know, in their grand old 70's and 80's are the ones who have celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. What I have observed and learnt can be succinctly shared in the following words…you have to like each other. Be friends, try to get past the initial heaving and panting, and make sure there's a real friendship underneath that. I don't think identical interests are important, but shared values are. That is the bedrock of the relationship. And critical. Build on that a set of dreams that both cherish & work towards.
And as my soul mate and I complete three decades of knowing, understanding, accepting & loving each other, I can happily say, we both love certain kinds of things. We both love movies, good movies, and part of our courtship involved staying up all night and talking out what an Ingmar Bergman film really meant. We both love to read, and we love to talk about what we read. A similar sense of humour — that is a very important part of our life together. The ability to make each other smile and laugh has seen us through some difficult times.
Here's wishing all of you all a magnificent 2016 and praying that Santa Claus fulfils your dreams (incidentally, I still believe in magic and miracles for my life has been so). I sign off with C Joybell C's quote, "The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself."


Coming earlier this year than ever before, the Journey to Easter, produced by the Edgefield United Methodist Church, will be a one-time showing at the Kendall Mill Building on Sunday, April 6. It will be held at 3:00. Always a popular and inspirational event, it will include all parts of the Easter story under one roof – unless there is good weather and the live animals and "market" will be outside.
The actual journey from the first production eleven years ago to today is an interesting story. Because it is such a special event for the public, this newspaper sought an interview with some members of the church who have followed its history in order to hear of how it began and how long it has sustained as a popular religious event.
It all began in the church building itself, under the leadership of Rev. and Mrs. Cooley. The idea was to augment the traditional Easter egg hunt (held at the church for many years) into a teaching event for the children and families, to put into rooms live tableaux of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Christ (Jesus riding on a donkey – live donkey at times; his carrying the cross; the Upper Room and Last Supper). There was not a Resurrection scene, for the Journey to Easter always preceded Easter Day.
As more and more people attended, they added a way to teach about the culture of the time by having a market where members of the church dressed in the attire of the day and "sold" pottery and baked goods.
This Journey to Easter grew under the Bouknight pastorate, even larger. Last year, under their new minister of two years, Rev. Canon, they took this Journey to the American Legion Hut where they turned it into a play and more music was added — as opposed to tableaux — with spoken dialogue depicting Christ's journey to the cross. There was a seating of the audience for two plays, and the "market" was held in the nearby Scout Hut. There were so many attending that they had to have standing room available.
With that success, they decided to move the entire event into one space, Kendall Mill building, with only one performance. There the market can be outside or inside, and if outside, they will have live animals of the day to enhance the realism of the event.
This is an event open to all, and it is being held prior to any of the Easter observances leading into Easter morn.


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/**
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 *
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 * @author  Wojtek Gancarczyk <wojtek@aferalabs.com>
 */
final class Register extends Resource
{
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Getting ready for the weekend and what better way get in the mood than with a pile of new jams from Buscrates. If you're a regular you know this Pittsburg native has been a returning feature for us the last year and a half.
His productions are most often on the funk/boogie side but for this release he goes all in. As far as we can tell they're all new tunes except for his slick cover of Valentine Brothers' Computer Boogie covered here earlier.
We don't know for sure but judging from the title and the Prince-70s-funk-jam sound on the EP, Funktropolis is an ode to the Minneapolis sound with a 16-bit Ensemble twist. Planning on spinning Dâm-Funk, Kleer or Roger Troutman this fine Friday? Add this EP to the blend and I guarantee it'll keep your head nodding.
FunkTropolis by BusCrates 16-Bit Ensemble If you've missed out on our Buscrates special in our Beat Generation interview series, here's a second chance to grab the exclusive track Phoenix rising.


text:
Баттерфілд () — переписна місцевість (CDP) в США, в окрузі Ель-Пасо штату Техас. Населення — 114 осіб (2010).

Географія
Баттерфілд розташований за координатами  (31.842565, -106.082215).  За даними Бюро перепису населення США в 2010 році переписна місцевість мала площу 8,40 км², уся площа — суходіл.

Демографія
Згідно з переписом 2010 року, у переписній місцевості мешкало 114 осіб у 32 домогосподарствах у складі 26 родин. Густота населення становила 14 осіб/км².  Було 51 помешкання (6/км²).

Расовий склад населення:

До двох чи більше рас належало 0,0 %. Частка іспаномовних становила 93,0 % від усіх жителів.

За віковим діапазоном населення розподілялося таким чином: 35,1 % — особи молодші 18 років, 57,0 % — особи у віці 18—64 років, 7,9 % — особи у віці 65 років та старші. Медіана віку мешканця становила 31,0 року. На 100 осіб жіночої статі у переписній місцевості припадало 119,2 чоловіків;  на 100 жінок у віці від 18 років та старших — 105,6 чоловіків також старших 18 років.
За межею бідності перебувало 34,9 % осіб, у тому числі 25,0 % дітей у віці до 18 років та 0,0 % осіб у віці 65 років та старших.

Цивільне працевлаштоване населення становило 26 осіб. Основні галузі зайнятості: будівництво — 38,5 %, роздрібна торгівля — 19,2 %, науковці, спеціалісти, менеджери — 19,2 %.

Джерела

Переписні місцевості Техасу
Населені пункти округу Ель-Пасо (Техас)


This past Saturday, Mercury stationed direct. We can all look forward to less wonkiness in the realms of time, communication, travel, and technology. Mercury is still, however, in the "retrograde shadow" until May 11, which means it is traveling back through its retrograde territory. We may still experience a few kinks in our best laid plans, though the intensity is much less. Same rules of engagement apply–try to roll with the punches, give yourself more time than you think you need to complete tasks, try to take some "off" time, and try to have a sense of humor about it!
I must confess, though I often get a kick out of Mercury Retrograde, and sometimes deeply enjoy the visionary, interior dimension to it when I slow down; I didn't do so great with that this past week. By Thursday my sense of humor was failing terribly as I found myself caught in an old habit of showing up late to appointments, feeling totally cramped for time, and just generally pissed off and exasperated. When I finally slowed down enough to surrender to the experience and recognize that none of the screw-ups were terminal, I felt such a sense of relief.
The period where Mercury backtracks through its "shadow" is, in fact, a useful time for us to integrate new vision, new learning that occurred for us under the surface while it was retrograde. Since Mercury is/was in the sign of Aries, this can have a lot to do with a growing consciousness around our purpose and mission-ultimately our willingness to dive into the game of life full heartedly.
Over the past three weeks have you had insights pop up around what it is you're truly here to do-flashes of excitement, bursts of energy, as you received hints about how your most passionate life might feel-what kinds of daring or surprising new activities or interests have been emerging? Track that, see what pattern emerges. It's a great time to follow the thread of where our scattered, organic, sporadic passions and enthusiasms might take us-what do they tell us, when taken as a whole?
Venus is center stage this week. Today (Tuesday) she squares Pluto, and on Saturday she opposes Saturn just 8 hours after her conjunction with the Moon, as she continues her initiatory descent into the Underworld. Within Shamanic Astrology Venus is understood to represent the Sacred Feminine. Her cycles represent the specific dynamics occurring for the Collective Feminine at any given time.
The Feminine, within Shamanic Astrology, is understood as the directional flow of Spirit INTO matter; as opposed to the masculine, which has to do with the flow of Spirit up and OUT from matter. Of course I am not speaking of gender, as we all possess both feminine and masculine energies within.
This week is an extraordinary one where the Sacred Feminine is deepened and intensified through tomorrow morning's Pluto square; then grounded and contained by Saturn just after passing through the 6th Gate where she will undergo a profound release and stripping away of all that stands in the way of her full experience of pleasure, full emotional feeling, and full embodiment. We are all experiencing these cycles, as is our Earth.
To personalize it, now is a useful time to ask–what do we need to strip from our consciousness and life patterns that robs us of pleasure, full embodiment, and an embrace of our emotional wellbeing and full presence?
I feel it is also useful to realize that the current version of the Sacred Feminine is Scorpio, which helps us to root ourselves fully into the Earth experience, and to feel experientially that life is organic, ecstatic, and filled with life force. The way Scorpio (like Pluto) gets us to this place of full aliveness (and remembering that we are embodied), is by annihilating the dimensions of ourselves (and humanity as a collective), that stand in the way of this wholeness.
As we see in the world around us (and at times feel within us); this annihilation process is not pretty, or rational, or fair from our linear mind perspective. In order for us to keep our hearts alive and connected, it is vital for us to hold a space of compassion for the suffering around and within us.
Yet it can be helpful, too, to recognize that it is in fact the Scorpionic Life/Death process, which our masculine-oriented culture (and minds); have so greatly feared, that will clear the decks for us to begin anew. When we can surrender to the process, it all gets much easier.
On the morning of Saturday April 30, just after Venus passes through the 6th Gate, Mars and Jupiter join up in the morning sky. This conjunction happens just as Mars has emerged from the Underworld, and represents a potent expansion of the Sacred Masculine within the collective. As I wrote in my last report, it is just extraordinary, the way Mars and Venus are on the front lines right now, in the midst of this Aries alignment.
To me it has to do with a very elemental and primary (Aries) restructuring of human culture, where we are remembering how to dance in balance with the masculine and feminine. The masculine is is experienced more "in the world" at the moment, as Mars is experiencing a "rebirth/emergence process and Venus is in a release/Shamanic dismemberment process preparing to enter the Underworld in July.
And with all the powerful Aries energy we are currently experiencing (with Uranus in Aries of course felt especially strongly), we may feel as though the more receptive, grounded, peaceful version of the feminine is just not as present within our world. Realize, though, that this coming Tuesday we will experience the New Moon (Sun and Moon) in Taurus, and that soon after Mercury and Mars will move into Taurus. By the middle of May, Venus also will have moved into Taurus and by June 4, Jupiter will have moved into the earthy sign as well.
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The surname Mack has Scottish and English origins. Mack family history shows that the name has two possible derivations. The first is the Yorkshire surname, "Macwra", which derives from the Danish Viking given name "Makr"; the second possible derivation is the Old English and Gaelic "Macrath", which means a male descendent of the graceful one. Mack genealogy shows that the earliest known recording is believed to belong to John Makke of Berwick in 1424. Mack and Mac are common nicknames for people with Scottish names starting with "Mac" or "Mc". Famous Macks include American baseball player, manager, and team owner Connie Mack (born Cornelius Alexander McGilicuddy).


Spring Copenhagen is a Danish company founded in 2015. The products of Spring are a mixture of traditional Nordic values and a hint of playfulness.
Spring Copenhagen is a Danish company founded in 2015. The products of Spring are a mixture of traditional Nordic values and a hint of playfulness. The designer find their inspirations in retro objects of the 50s and the modern Scandinavian lifestyle.
That's why the first product of Spring Copenhagen is a pepper mill by designer Sven Erik Tonn-Petersen in the shape of a bird, which was designed in the mid-50s. Due to complex manufacturing, the production was discontinued and only now resumed by Spring Copenhagen.
At first glance many design objects of Spring are reminiscent of animal figures and toys having the same style like the pepper mill. Only on second glance the well-thought-out design and function of the object can be seen. Spring Copenhagen designs authentic design for everyone.
Nis Hauge Nis Hauge (1972) is a Danish designer who is engaged in the design and development of innovative wooden sculptures, wooden toys, and functional design for everyday use and inspiration.


text:
Psilocerea toulgoeti är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Claude Herbulot 1959. Psilocerea toulgoeti ingår i släktet Psilocerea och familjen mätare. Inga underarter finns listade.

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