One of the most moving moments in Charles Yu's debut collection, Third Class Superhero, comes from a grammatical distinction. In a story called "The Man Who Became Himself," a man named David Howe has developed a strangely split consciousness. He eats breakfast with his wife, goes to work, feels angry or bored–yet at the same time he's watching himself do these things, aware that he has somehow ceased to be the "David Howe" everyone assumes he is. He's trapped in someone else's life, a life that both is and is not his.
This other boy was David Howe and they had lived in this cramped space within feet of each other for their entire lives, breathing the same air, hearing the same sounds, sleeping together under the low ceiling, and they had never spoken, never even noticed each other. It was as if he was in the first person and David Howe was in the third person and between them was an immense chasm of silence (47-8).
In the gap between the first person and the third, Yu is somehow able to find the ache of a lost childhood, the desperation of a life not lived, and the vertiginous terror of inhabiting a consciousness that is not one's own. And he does so with an economy and elegance that puts my convoluted explanation to shame.
Charles Yu, author of "The Man Who Became Himself", is one of the four writers featured in AALR's new series of interviews with young Asian American speculative fiction writers. Photo by Larry D. More.
Science fiction is often about the extrapolation of theory–relativity, faster-than-light travel, genetic engineering. Charles Yu is one of the few science-fiction writers I can think of for whom the most important theory is literary theory. The time machines of How to Live Safely run on "state-of-the-art chronodiegetical technology," with a "six-cylinder grammar drive" and "an applied temporalinguistics architecture allowing for free-form navigation with a rendered environment, such as, for instance, a story space and, in particular, a science fictional universe" (4). Language is a machine that allows us to occupy past, present, and future at the same time, because it has past, present, and future tenses. The narrator suspends himself in time by setting the gears of his machine to "Present-Indefinite," hovering for a decade in a personalized pocket of time, isolated from the "real" world of chronology. The plausibility of this method of time travel is cemented through a metafictional move: characters in a book, after all, are travelers through this kind of "story space," constructed in language, governed by diegetic forces that are, for them, just as irresistible as gravity. "A character within a story, or even a narrator," Yu writes, "has, in general, no way of knowing whether or not he is in the past tense narration of a story, or is instead in the present tense…and merely reflecting upon the past" (33). The narrator himself is even named Charles Yu, blurring the line between author and text. There's a Borgesian quality to Yu's narrative, a sense of infinite regress and of an exhilarating loss of distinction between book and world.
But How to Live Safely is far from an academic exercise. What sets Yu's work apart from many other metafictions is his ability to find deep emotional resonance in narrative self-consciousness. Being trapped in a moment that loops over and over again; struggling to return to or redeem our past experiences; confronting our past and future selves–what are these if not allegories of our inner lives? This is casino online the source of the profound melancholy that haunts Yu's book. When we all have the ability to travel through time (as we already do, through memory and literature), we do things like try to kill our own parents or revisit the unhappiest days of our lives. Yu's Foundational Theory of Chronogenesis is that "memory and regret are, when taken together, the set of necessary and sufficient elements required to produce a time machine" (34).
For Yu, family is the prime locus of memory and regret, and this book, like much of his work, revolves around the "father-son axis." The narrator's father is the inventor of time travel, having worked out its principles through years of tinkering in his garage, isolated from his family. But the father didn't want to use time travel to witness great historical events or to see the distant future. Instead, "he wanted to use it for sadness, to investigate the source of his own, his father's, and on and on, to the ultimate origin, some dark radiating body" (48). To his son, the father becomes a remote, struggling figure of frustrated ambition, who ironically "spent all the time he had with us thinking about how he wished he had more time" (18). The narrator's childhood home becomes a place of orbiting silences, as father, mother, and son withdraw into separate worlds. It's a story that's heartbreaking in its ordinariness, a story of any family, given new life through the metaphor of time travel.
But this is also not just any generic family. It's an immigrant family, and that immigrant history inflects this science-fictional narrative in fascinating ways. The narrator's parents came from "a faraway country, a part of reality, a tiny island in the ocean…where people still farmed with water buffalo and believed that stories, like life, were all straight lines of chronology" (70). The need for time travel, it seems, is a product of modernity, with its upheavals of tradition and its dissatisfaction with straight-line narratives. It may also be, however, that the immigrant experience provides the perspective that makes time traveling possible. The narrator is taught the basics of grammar by his mother, for whom English is a third language, after the "home language" of her island and the "mainland language taught in schools by the nationalists" (82). From his mother, the narrator "learned about the future tense, how anxiety is coded into our sentences, our conditionals, our thoughts, how worry is encoded into language itself, into grammar" (83). That consciousness of grammar, and of its emotional weight, is the time traveler's crucial tool.
If Yu cleverly plays on the American trope of the entrepreneurial immigrant, he also shows how the immigrant is often blocked from the heights of achievement. In a particularly agonizing scene, the narrator remembers watching his father pitch his invention to a prominent scientist, a man of supreme self-assurance who is "giving off the impression of doing us a favor" (173). His father, in contrast, is a striver who "thinks success must be in direct proportion to effort exerted" (174), to whom "the world has always felt just out of his reach" (175). The narrator's enduring image of the encounter is of his father "looking like an immigrant…a small man with a small hand in a large foreign country" (184).
I'm teaching How to Live Safely right now in a course on Asian Americans and science fiction. One theme of the course is the way Asia has been used to represent the future–as both promise and threat–in much American science fiction, from villains like Fu Manchu to the orientalized landscapes of Blade Runner and Neuromancer. One question we've been asking ourselves in response: what would an Asian American science fiction look like? How might it respond to this history of orientalist science fiction? How to Live Safely gives us a truly unexpected answer to this question. Yu gives us none of the trappings of cyberpunk–no picturesque dystopias, no virtual-reality fantasies, no heroes endowed with mysterious Asian powers. Instead, he shows us how a compelling science fiction narrative can be shaped around the immigrant story–around the story of a family whose frustrations and emotional struggles are all too familiar to Asian American readers. If there's a link between Asian Americans and science fiction, Yu suggests that it's not our exotic origins, but our real histories of migration, creativity, and loss that make our lives science fictional.
Oh, and did I happen to mention that Yu is one of the most dryly funny writers around? Yu's relationship to the science-fiction tradition is a delightfully irreverent one, in which staples like alternate universes and alien species collide with the routines of contemporary corporatized life. The book takes place in "Minor Universe 31," a defective realm in which "physics was only 93 percent installed" (11). It's owned and operated by Time Warner Time, which hopes to convert it into a "sparkling new four-dimensional theme park" (66). It turns out, of course, that this "minor universe" is precisely the universe created by the book, in which "the reality portions…are concentrated in an inner core, with science fiction wrapped around it" (29). Where Yu's fiction lives is on the "permeable boundary" between science fiction and reality, where our ordinary lives become time machines and immigrant stories form a bridge from past to future.
Timothy Yu is the author of Race and the Avant-Garde: Experimental and Asian American Poetry since 1965 (Stanford University Press). His poetry collection Journey to the West (Barrow Street) won the Vincent Chin Memorial Chapbook Prize from Kundiman. His poems and essays have appeared in Chicago Review, SHAMPOO, Another Chicago Magazine, and The Poetry Project Newsletter. He is an Associate Professor of English and Asian American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
This entry was posted in Book Reviews and tagged charles yu, speculative fiction, timothy yu. Bookmark the permalink.


The Telegraph top 20 creative florists.
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The fluid curve line ensures a smooth transition between these different tonal shifts.
Click on the diagonal curve line to add a point then drag this up or down to lighten or darken the image. lt's important where you place points along the curve line as this affects different parts of the tonal range from blacks (on the left) to whites (on the right). Add more points along the line then use them to target and adjust the brightness of different tones. Anywhere the curve goes above the initial diagonal starting line will mean the tones will be made brighter, and in any parts where the line goes below it, they will be made darker.
Curves work by giving you intuitive control over brightness, which is mapped out on a scale of 0 (black) to 255 (white). The horizontal axis represents the original tonal values and the vertical axis represents the values after the curve settings are applied.
In a sense, the Curves box shows a 'before and after' of the tonal tweak, with the horizontal axis the 'before' and the vertical axis the 'after'. The curve line is initially at a 45 degree angle because the input and output tonal values start off the same, so each X-axis value has an identical Y-axis value. resulting in a 45 degree line.
If you click right in the centre of the line then drag the point to three quarters of the way up the box then you're targeting the midtone pixels that were originally at a brightness value of 127 along the tonal range and giving them a new brightness value of around 191, or 75% white. lf you make a second point a quarter of the way in from the left and drag this down to the starting line, you're effectively resetting the pixels in that part of the tonal range to their initial value.
Images with punch will jump out of the screen compared with those with lifeless flat tones. The amazing S-curve will give your images this vitality with almost no effort. Create a new Curves Adjustment Layer, then drag a point up in the top half of the line and a second point down in the bottom half (a third point at the centre anchors the midtones). This curve brightens the highlights and darkens the shadows, resulting in greater contrast. Wherever a curve is steeper there'll be greater contrast, so the more pronounced the S-curve, the stronger the effect. Take a look at the Curves adjustments below to see how different curves affect the highlights and shadows.
One of the great things about applying Curves as an Adjustment Layer is the opportunity for selective control with masks. Adjustment Layers automatically come with an active Layer Mask attached. It's usually easiest if you make this mask completely black, then paint with white to reveal the effect. Once you've added a Curves Adjustment Layer (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves) and tweaked the curve. press Cmd/Ctrl+l to invert the mask to black, thereby hiding the change in tone. Then simply grab the Brush tool and paint with white to reveal the change in the areas of your choosing. This selective control is very effective on portraits because you can use masks to change different parts of the face, such as the eyes and lips. and even introduce colour shifts to enhance make-up.
Dragging up on the green channel introduces green. A Layer Mask restricts the effect to above the eyes.
A slight downwards drag on the curve darkens the image. then a mask restricts the effect to the lashes.
Dragging the reds up and the greens down adds red and magenta. while a mask restricts the effect to the cheeks.
An increase in reds combined with a boost in overall contrast gives the lips extra impact.
Both Levels and Curves enable you to tweak an RGB image's Red, Green and Blue colour channels. This is useful if you need to correct a colour cast or remedy a white balance mistake, and also for creative or dramatic colour shifts to change the atmosphere of a scene. While Levels is fine for basic colour correction, the Curves command's more intuitive interface makes it the best choice for creative colour shifts.
By tweaking the colour channels you can make a huge range of effects. just as the main RGB curve gives you precise brightness control, you can similarly restrict colour changes to parts of the tonal range by manipulating the individual channel curves. For example, dragging the bottom part of the Blue curve up then pinning the top half back into place will add a blue cast to the shadow tones only. You can also get dramatic colour shifts by dragging the top right or bottom left points on each colour channel to shift the brightest or darkest tones towards different colours.
Dragging the Red curve upwards adds red, and dragging It down adds cyan, so increasing the bottom half of the line adds red to the shadows, while lowering the top half introduces cyan into the highlights.
An upwards shift of the bottom left point on the blue curve makes the blacks in the image look blue, thereby changing the colour of the background to a dark blue.
Dragging one point downwards on the Green curve here adds a Magenta cast, which is particularly noticeable on the stem of the flower.
very useful information, specially about Digital Make-Up.


On a rainy dark night, in front of the Opera.
But I chose Raoul to be my husband because he's the love of my life. Anyways I agree.
After one week, on a sunny day.
Christine, where have you been?
I have an idea, Christine, since we love each other, let's get married to each other secretly.
They saw each other accidentally and they were surprised. Christine told Raoul that Erik forced her to marry him so he can release Raoul and The Persian.
After the discussion, they decided to get married to each other and live the life that they wished for a long time.


text:
Roads and Infrastructure Nabi Elyas Bypass Road (Highway 55)
Update | Jan 2018
In this update, Who Profits exposes some of the international and Israeli corporations involved in the construction of the Nabi Elyas bypass road (Highway 55) in the occupied West Bank. The bypass road, set to open in early 2018, expropriates Palestinian land for a project aimed to benefit an illegal settler population, in gross violation of international law.
In a cabinet meeting in October 2015, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu presented the paving of bypass roads in the occupied West Bank, including the Nabi Elyas bypass road, as part of his government's "counter-terrorist" program, alongside measures such as holding bodies of Palestinians hostage, increasing police, military and private security forces in East Jerusalem, and promoting an amendment that would allow Israel to imprison Palestinian minors under the age of 14 for "security" offenses. [1]
This inclusion speaks volumes to the overtly political nature of road infrastructure, specifically bypass roads, under Israel's prolonged military occupation of the Palestinian territory. Since 1967, Israel has built at least 800 km of bypass roads in the occupied West Bank. [2] Most recently, in October 2017, the Israeli government pledged 800 million NIS (228 million USD) for developing road infrastructure in settlements in the occupied West Bank, including several bypass roads, to go into effect in 2018. [3] Israel's elaborate road system enables settlers to travel rapidly and smoothly between settlements and to cities within the green line, creating territorial contiguity and further incentivizing settlement expansion. Bypass roads are also used to promote real estate projects in the settlements. For example, a website advertising a housing project in the settlement of Har Bracha notes that the paving of the Nabi Elyas bypass road would make the journey to kfar Saba, a city within the green line, "even shorter."[4]
At the same time, for Palestinian communities living in close proximity to the same roads, bypass roads serve as engines of economic de-development and territorial fragmentation. As at January 2017, Palestinians are explicitly prohibited from driving on at least 65 kilometers of roads in the occupied West Bank. [5] A system of roadblocks and checkpoints ensures that most bypass roads remain off limits to Palestinians, and the roads themselves are often used to physically block the development of Palestinian towns and as pretext for further expropriation of occupied Palestinian land.
This update focuses on the case of the Nabi Elyas bypass road, demonstrating its role in facilitating settlement expansion, land grab and the de-development of Palestinian infrastructural capabilities, and providing information on private multinational and Israeli corporations involved in its construction.
The Nabi Elyas bypass road, set to open in early 2018, is part of Highway 55, a 25.5 kilometer highway that runs from the city of Kfar Saba inside the Green Line to the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. In the past, the road passed through the Palestinian village of Azzun and city of Qalqilya, but its present route bypasses Azzun from the north and Qalqilya from the south. The Azzun bypass road, approved by the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) in 1989 as part of Outline Plan 927/2,[6] involved the expropriation of 789,000 m2 of land belonging to Azzun. [7] Similar plans were made for a road bypassing the Palestinian village of Nabi Elyas, but were not executed at the time. The section that connected Highway 55 to Qalqilya was blocked by the construction of the annexation wall in 2004.
In September 2013, almost 25 years later, plans for the Nabi Elyas bypass road were revived by the ICA. On 21 December 2015, the ICA issued expropriation orders for 104,000 m2 of land belonging to the Palestinian villages of Nabi Elyas, Azzun and 'Izbet al-Tabib. [8] In March 2016, the local councils of all three villages, together with 35 landowners, petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice (IHCJ) against the expropriation. They maintained that the road, whose primary objective would be to serve Israeli settlers, not the occupied Palestinian population, was in violation of international law, and that the expropriation of cultivated agricultural land would take away a crucial source of agrarian income for Palestinian residents. The petition also noted that the planned route would block future expansion of Nabi Elyas[9], a village where overcrowding is already acute, with some 1,500 residents living in an area of 74,000 m2. [10] In November 2016, the IHCJ rejected the petition, and construction began in early 2017.
In February 2017, several Israeli and international companies were documented at the construction site of the new road, including Hyundai, Caterpillar, CNH Industrial, Einav Ahetz and Bnei Eli Etkes Surveying and Engineering Instruments. These companies, by partaking in road infrastructure projects on occupied land, are quite literally paving the way for settlement expansion.
Bnei Eli Etkes Surveying and Engineering Instruments
Profile: A private Israeli company specializing in measuring and engineering instruments and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) measuring solutions. The company is the exclusive representative of the Swiss company LEICA Geosystems.
Bnei Eli Etkes established a private statewide network of GPS base stations for RTK (Real Time Kinematic) measurements, based on LEICA Geosystems technology. The network, SPIDERNET, is the largest of its kind in Israel. It has 52 active stations, including in settlements in the occupied West Bank (Tomer, Karnei Shomron) and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (Avnei Eitan) and in Palestinian West Bank towns and cities (Ramallah, Jenin, Jericho, Burin, Sinjil, Dura) and in the Syrian Druze town Buq'ata in the occupied Golan.
On 6 February 2017, Bnei Eli Etkes equipment was documented at the construction site of the Nabi Elyas bypass road near the Palestinian village of Nabi Elyas in the occupied West Bank.
The company also has a joint project with Noble Energy, a US oil and gas exploration and production corporation, for monitoring production platforms. Noble Energy operates several oil production platforms in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Tamar and Mari-B fields. According to a 2017 report by SOMO – Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, Noble Energy's operations are directly linked to severe human rights impact, including naval attacks on Palestinian fishermen (incl. with live bullets) unlawful arrest and arbitrary detention, and the denial of right to livelihood, through the company's relationship to the Israeli navy, which enforces an illegal naval blockade around Noble Energy's platforms.
Ownership: Owned by the Etkes family. Shareholders include: Tal Hadas, Fatma Yosef and Yisrael Hadas.
Director: Tal Hadas
Partners: Noble Energy
Revenues: 5.58 million USD in 2016.
Head Office: 1 HaSdera St. P.O. Box 302, Zofit, 44925, Israel
Website: www.etkes.com
Profile: A multinational manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, trucks, commercial vehicles and buses.
Engineering machinery manufactured by the company was used for the construction of West Bank settlements and their infrastructure, settlement industrial zones and the Separation Wall. The company's tools were also documented during house demolitions in the area of the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank.
CNH EX355 excavators were used during the construction of the Israeli outpost Leshem. The same model was documented during the construction of the Annexation Wall on the lands of the Palestinian villages of Bidu, Bil'in and Ni'lin and uprooting an apricot and date orchard belonging to the Palestinian village of Artas, in order to expand the infrastructure of the Efrat settlement.
Case wheel loaders were documented building an expansion of the Barkan Industrial Zone and the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high speed railway, which crosses the Green Line twice into the OPT. Case wheel loaders were also used during house demolitions in the Palestinian villages of Khirbet M'fakara, Susya and Bir al-'Id in the South Hebron Hills.
In February 2017, Case heavy machinery was documented at the construction site of the Nabi Elyas bypass road near the Palestinian village of Nabi Elyas in the occupied West Bank.
Traded: Publicly traded in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Borsa Italiana (BIT) under the ticker symbol CNHI.
Ownership: CNH Industrial N.V. was incorporated in November 2012, following a merger between Fiat Industrial S.p.A. and CNH Global N.V.
Major shareholders: EXOP (44%); Harris Associates (10.14%); Fiat (4%); and BlackRock (2.9%).
Subsidiaries and Partners: In the field of construction equipment, CNH Industrial owns two major brands: New Holland Construction and Case Construction. Additional brand names under CNH Industrial include Steyr, Case IH, Magirus, FPT and Iveco.
Since the year 2000, N. Feldman and Son was the exclusive Israeli importer of CNH and Case products in the fields of construction and agriculture. Following changes in CNH distribution channels, the New Holland and Case agricultural machinery remained in the hands of N. Feldman and Son, while the distribution of construction equipment was transferred to Carasso Motors, a major Israeli importer of vehicles.
Revenues: 25.3 billion USD in 2016.
Head Office: 25 St. James's St., London, SW1A 1HA, United Kingdom
Website: www.cnhindustrial.com
Global Presence: The Company operates 62 production sites and 48 research and development centers worldwide.
Profile: The world's largest shipbuilder and among the top five manufacturers in other heavy industries. The company's construction equipment division manufactures excavators, wheel loaders, skid steer loaders and forklift trucks, which are distributed in Israel through Efco Equipment -a large Israeli importer of construction machinery.
Hyundai's track excavators were used in many house demolitions in the Palestinian neighborhoods of Beit Hanina, Silwan, Tsur Baher, Issawiya and At-Tur in East Jerusalem. The company's tools also preformed demolitions in Beit Jala and in the villages of Jawaya and Derath in the South Hebron Hills.
Hyundai excavators were documented during construction works in the settlement of Halamish and in the Barkan Industrial Zone. They were also used in June 2016 in construction work by the Sarfati Simon construction company in the Pisgat Zeev settlement neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem.
On September 7th of 2016, the company was documented demolishing the house of Mr. Bassam Jamil Ibrahim in the village of Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan, reducing it to concrete rubble. On November 8th 2016, the company was documented again demolishing another Palestinian house in Issawiyya, a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. For the full update on both demolitions please click here.
On 2 January 2017, Hyundai heavy machinery was documented during settlement construction work in the Salfit area of the occupied West Bank (near Ariel settlement). On 4 February 2017, the company was documented paving a new settler-only road in the West Bank, the Nabi Elyas bypass road. Approximately 700 olive trees belonging to Palestinians in the area are slated to be uprooted for the construction of the road.
The models used for all of these tasks are: 320LC-7, 320LC-9, 290LC-9 and 450LC-3.
Traded: Publicly traded in the Korea Exchange (KRX).
Major shareholders: M.J. Chung (10.2%); Hyundayi Mipo Dockyard Co. (7.98%); KCC Corporation (7.01%); Hyundai Motor Company (2.88%); Asan Foundation (2.53%); and Posco (1.94%).
CEO and President: Lee Jai-Seong
Subsidiaries:
Major subsidiaries: Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (42.3%), Sejin Heavy Industries Co. Ltd (13.1%), Hyundai Merchant Marine (2.63%), Hyundai Corporation (2.99%), POSCO (1.51%).
Other subsidiaries: Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Hyundai Venture Investment, Hyundai Corporation, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Hyundai Futures , Hyundai Oilbank, Hyundai Finance Corporation, Hyundai Oil Terminal, Mipo Engineering, Wartsila Hyundai Engine, Hyundai Cummins Engine, Komas Corporation, Hyundai Shell Base Oil, Hi Investment & Securities, Hi Asset Management, Ulsan Hyundai Football Club and Hotel Hyundai Co.
Revenues: Consolidated sales of 42.5 billion USD in 2016
Head Office: 1, Jeonha-dong, Dong-gu Ulsan 682-792 South Korea
Website: www.english.hhi.co.kr
Global Presence: The company has 50 overseas offices and production sites.
Einav Ahetz
Profile: A private Israeli development and roads construction company. The company executes and has completed multiple infrastructure projects in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The company is executing a project for Israel Railways estimated at 80,000 NIS that would connect the Modiin train station to the Tel Aviv Jerusalem A1 Fast Train. The A1 crosses the green line into the occupied West Bank in two areas, using occupied Palestinian land, some of it privately owned, for an Israeli transportation project aimed exclusively for Israelis. The project is due to be completed December 2019.
Einav Ahets is carrying out three projects for Netivei Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory. It is building roundabouts in the Etzion Bloc in the occupied West Bank, a project estimated at 10,000 NIS and carried out in accordance with tender 3/14. It is also providing maintenance for roads in accordance with tender 32/16, which includes the occupied West Bank. Finally, the company is carrying out water infrastructure works for the Israeli national water company Mekorot on Highway 55 – the Nabi Elyas bypass road in accordance with tender 4/14. The project is estimated at 40,000 NIS and is scheduled to be completed in November 2017. Hapoalim Bank accompanies the project.
In 2013, the company executed an infrastructure project in the Ariel settlement. In 2011, the company carried out road surfacing works for Netivei Israel in the occupied West Bank. That same year it also carried out road work on Route 98 in the occupied Syrian Golan.
In 2012, the company won a Ministry of Defense tender for carrying out excavation and infrastructure works for the construction of the Holot detention center near the border with Egypt, where African asylum-seekers are detained in violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which Israel is a signatory.
Ownership: Owned by Muhammad Masrawa and Menachem Friedman.
Shareholders include: Natan Shalom, Einav Ahets (1965) Ltd., Minimax Infrastructures Ltd. and Sharif Masrawa Infrastructures Ltd.
Subsidiaries and Partners: Muhammad Masrawa owns G.M. Stone Works Ltd. Menachem Friendman owns M.T.N. Measurements Compatibility & Management Ltd.
Clients include Israel Railways, Israeli Ministry of Defense and Netivei Israel – National Transport Infrastructure Company.
Revenues: 98.2 million USD in 2016
Head Office: P.O. Box 2092, 25 HaTa'as St. Kfar Saba, Israel
Website: www.einavahets.co.il
Profile: A private manufacturer of compaction equipment based in Germany. Part of the FAYAT Group.
Machinery of the company was used in the paving of roads leading to settlements in the West Bank, including apartheid roads which are only for Israelis, and roads at West Bank checkpoints.
On 4 February 2017, Bomag heavy machinery was documented at the construction site of the Nabi Elyas bypass road near the Palestinian village of Nabi Elyas in the occupied West Bank.
In March 2010, Who Profits research team has documented a roller manufactured by the company, at the construction site of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train line (A1), near the settlement of Mevo Horon. The new train route crosses into the occupied Palestinian territory in two areas (For further information, see Who Profits full report on the A1 train).
In 2008 and 2009 Bomag rollers were documented in Jaba (Lil) and Huwara checkpoints.
Ownership: Bomag is part of the Road Equipment Division of the Fayat Group (France). The FAYAT Group is owned by the Fayat family. The FAYAT Group owns 152 companies, has a presence in 120 countries, and its annual revenues stand at 3.5 billion euros.
President: Ralf Junker
Subsidiaries and Partners: Bomag has 12 foreign subsidiaries: BOMAG Maschinenhandelsgesellschaft mbH. (Austria), BOMAG MARINI EQUIPAMENTOS LTDA. (Brazil), BOMAG (CANADA) INC. (Canada), China BOMA Equipment & Machineries Supplies Ltd. (China), BOMAG (China) Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (China), BOMAG France S.A.S. (France), BOMAG (GREAT BRITAIN, 0), LTD. (UK), BOMAG Italia Srl. (Italy), FAYAT BOMAG Polska (Poland), FAYAT BOMAG Rus (Russia), BOMAG GmbH, Singapore (Singapore) and BOMAG Americas, Inc. (USA).
Trade names: Asphalt Manager, Bomag Compaction Management, Economizer, Variocontrol.
Israeli exclusive representative: Efco Equipment
Revenues: Approximately 788.8 million USD in 2016
Head Office: Hellerwald D-56154, Boppard, Germany
Phone: +49-67421000
Website: www.bomag.com
Global Presence: The company has a presence in about 120 countries.
Profile: A U.S. based multinational manufacturer and provider of civil and military engineering machinery. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment.
The company's machines were used for the demolition of Palestinian houses in the occupied Palestinian territory, the construction of settlements, the Separation Wall and settlement infrastructure on Palestinian land, for creating roadblocks, dispersing demonstrations and as weapons.
Caterpillar is a long-standing supplier of the Israeli army and provides it with a variety of heavy engineering machinery, including different wheel loaders, armored excavators, mini loaders and several models from the D9 armored bulldozer series (D9R, D9N and D9L). D9s were used for operational tasks such as large-scale house demolitions in Gaza, land-clearing missions in Palestinian towns and arresting or killing Palestinian suspects using the pressure cooker procedure.
The most famous heavy engineering machine used by the Israeli army is the Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer. This track-type tractor, weighing more than 60 tons, is sold by Caterpillar directly to the Israeli army through the United States Foreign Military Sales program, separately from its regular supply chain to the general Israeli market.
The company's sole representative in the country, Israel Tractors and Equipment (I.T.E, part of Zoko Enterprises), and Ramta, a division of the government-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), are responsible for retrofitting the tools. Zoko Enterprises and the Ramta Division equip the D9s with a ballistic armor suit. The standard configuration includes weapon mounts, storage compartments, a spotlight and projector lamps and communication equipment.
The collaboration between Zoko Enterprises and the Ramta Division also produced an unmanned, remote-controlled version of the armored D9T, nicknamed Pooh HaDov (Winnie-the-Pooh). The development of this vehicle took place in Ramta's factory in Beersheba and was sponsored and supervised by the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (Mafat), a joint administrative body of the Ministry of Defense and the army.
Today, the Engineering Corps holds and operates hundreds of Caterpillar D9 bulldozers in three models: D9R, D9N and D9L, including the unmanned Thunder of Dawn. Their importance to Israeli military tactics is rising steadily.
Caterpillar also supplies a variety of heavy engineering machinery to the Israeli army: various wheel loaders; 225, 245 and 330 armored excavators; and the Front Runner – a remote controlled mini loader built on the chassis of a Caterpillar MTL 257B (also known as the MiniCat). The Front Runner is another product of the fruitful collaboration between Zoko Enterprises and the Ramta Division.
According to the Israeli Engineering Corps, the armored Caterpillar excavators took part in house demolitions, in the destruction of the Mukataa in Ramallah in 2002 and in the Israeli army's 2006 raid on the Palestinian prison in Jericho. The Front Runner, which was developed for urban warfare, can also operate in the narrow alleys of Palestinian refugee camps. Zoko Enterprises also provides the maintenance, spare parts and storage services for the machinery.
Caterpillar's engineering machinery was also used by civilian companies for the construction of a large number of settlements in the OPT, including Revava, Maskiot, Oranit, Carmel, Elkana and Beitar Illit in the West Bank and the Har Homa settlement neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
Caterpillar machinery was also used in various projects serving the settlements, such as the Ariel West and Barkan industrial zones, the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem high speed railway and the headquarters of the Judea and Samaria District of the Israeli Police, located in the E1 area.
The construction of the Separation Wall and checkpoints was also executed using Caterpillar heavy machinery. The company's loaders and excavators were documented during works on the land of the Palestinian villages of Mas'ha, Al-Walaja, Qalandiya, Jayous, Ras al-Tira, Khirbet Jbara and Wadi a-Rasha and during the construction of the Anabta and Qalandiya checkpoints.
Wheel loaders manufactured by the company were used by the Israeli army for creating roadblocks or for demolishing access roads leading to Palestinian villages in the area of Qarawat Bani Hassan, Aqabah and various locations around the South Hebron Hills.
In addition, Caterpillar track excavators and wheel loaders were used for the demolition of Palestinian houses. The company's tools participated in demolitions in the Palestinian neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah, Beit Hanina and Tsur Baher in East Jerusalem and in the South Hebron Hills area. As of the past several years, Caterpillar military wheel loaders are also used as a crowd control weapon in Kafr Qaddum, during the weekly demonstrations in the village. On 4 February 2017, the company was documented paving a new settler-only road in the West Bank, the Nabi Elyas bypass road.
In August 2016, Who Profits sent an information request to the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) querying whether the IMOD or the Israeli Army had any direct contracts with Caterpillar or indirectly with Zoko enterprises, its local distributor, for the import of Caterpillar's heavy machinery. On the 15th of August, Who Profits received the response of the IMOD, which was negative to both requests, stating that no contracts were signed with Caterpillar and/or Zoko enterprises. In October 2017, the IMOD confirmed that this was still the case.
Traded: Publicly traded in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol CAT.
Ownership: Major shareholders: State Street Corporation (8.90%); Vanguard Group, Inc. (6.59%); BlackRock Inc. (5.84), Capital World Investors (3.59%); State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (3.57%); and FMR LLC (Fidelity Investments) (2.98%).
CEO and Chairperson: D. James Umpleby III
Partners: Exclusive representative in Israel: Zoko Enterprises
Additional brand names include: Anchor Coupling, AsiaTrak, FG Wilson, Halco Rock Tools, Hindustan, MaK, MWM, Olympian, Perkins, Progress Rail (including Electro-Motive Diesel, or EMD), SEM, Solar Turbines, Turbomach, Turner Powertrain Systems, Unit Rig and Caterpillar (Zhengzhou) (formerly Zhengzhou Siwei).
Revenues: 38.54 billion USD in 2016
Head Office: 100 North East Adams St. Peoria, Illinois, 61629, USA
Phone: + 1-3096751000
Website: www.caterpillar.com
Global Presence: Caterpillar distributes its products through an international network of representatives, 130 of which are located outside the United States, serving 182 countries.
[1]"Secretary Announcement at the weekly Cabinet meeting 18 October 2015" (Hebrew), pmo.gov.il, 18 October 2015.
[2] "The Israeli Bypass Road System in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" poica.org, 22 August 2008.
[3] Berger, Yotam, "Netanyahu Meets Settler Leaders, Pledges $230 Million for West Bank Settlement Development," haaretz.com, 26 October 2017.
[4] www.tzurim2.co.il
[5] "Lists of checkpoints and forbidden Roads" btselem.org, 8 February 2017.
[6] Israeli Defense Forces [sic], the Civil Administration for the Judea and Samaria Region, the Supreme Planning Council, the Sub-Committee for Roads and Railroads, "Detailed Outline Plan No. 927/2, Road No. 531, Section: Qalqilya – Azzun" (Hebrew). On file with Who Profits.
[7] "IHCJ 1960/16"
[8] "Some 1,000 olive trees uprooted to build bypass road on 'Azzun village land" btselem.org, 5 February 2017.
[10] The Supreme Planning Council, the Sub-Committee for Planning and Licensing, "Meeting Protocol No. 2017006" (Hebrew), 2 April 2017. On file with Who Profits.
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Posts Tagged 'Haroche'
The Vorkosigan Saga Reread: Memory, Part 4
Posted in Memory, Vorkosigan, tagged Barrayar, books, Bujold, Duv Galeni, Haroche, ImpSec, Kosti, Memory, Miles, reread, science fiction, Simon Illyan, Tsipis, Vorkosigan, Vorpatril on May 22, 2013| 2 Comments »
Listen to the slow, steady ticking of the clock. Slow down your heartbeat and breathing to match it…clear your mind…prepare yourself to receive another installment of the Vorkosigan Saga Reread. You will find yourself reading a summary of two more chapters in Lois McMaster Bujold's novel Memory, from her saga of Miles Vorkosigan and his friends and family. Last week Miles received a horrific blow in being essentially fired, but have no fear, Miles will bounce back, though possibly not without some help. You will begin reading in 3…2…1….
Miles keeps himself upright until he's safely inside Vorkosigan House, whereupon he collapses into a chair and shivers for an hour. Bladder pressure eventually drives him to get up.
I should get drunk. It's traditional, for situations like this, isn't it? He collected a bottle of brandy from the cellar. Wine seemed inadequately poisonous. This burst of activity dwindled to rest in the smallest room he could find, a fourth-floor chamber which, but for its window, might have passed for a closet. It was a former servants' room, but it had an old wing chair in it. After going to all the trouble to find the brandy, he had not the ambition left to open the bottle. He crouched down small in the big chair.
On his next trip to his bathroom, sometime after midnight, he picked up his grandfather's dagger, and brought it back with him to set it beside the sealed brandy bottle on the lamp table by his left hand. The dagger tempted him as little as the drink, but toying with it did provide a few moments of interest. He let the light slide over the blade, and pressed it against his wrists, his throat, along the thin scars from his cryonic prep already slashed there. Definitely the throat, if anything. All or nothing, no playing around.
But he's already died once, and it didn't fix anything. They could just bring him back, and they might botch it worse this time. He just doesn't want to be alive right now. He contemplates fleeing back to Naismith's life, but doesn't move. He tries drinking less water, so he has to get up less, and by dawn he's slowed down to one thought per hour.
Sometime after sunrise he hears Ivan's voice, and wishes it would go away. Eventually, though, footsteps arrive outside his room, and Ivan tells Duv Galeni that he's found Miles. Duv is taken aback by Miles's appearance, but Ivan says it's just something Miles does…though even he is nonplussed by the unopened bottle, and the knife, and admits it may be worse than usual. Duv points out that Miles isn't even blinking, and suggests calling for medical help, but Ivan says this is a family matter, and gets an idea. They leave, though taking the knife with them, and Miles sits in relief for close to an hour before they reappear, take his boots off, and pick him up. He hopes that they're going to put him to bed, where he can sleep for a hundred years.
Instead, they take him to the bathroom, and he wonders if they're going to drown him. As they prepare to throw him into the huge bathtub, Miles suddenly notices that it's full of ice, and begins, belatedly, to struggle. Ivan tells Galeni that ever since Kyril Island Miles has hated the cold. He begins to flail and complain, and Ivan shoves him back under repeatedly until Miles can fight him off and escape. Miles then punches his cousin in the chin, surprising Ivan, who complains that his fingers don't break when he tries to do that anymore.
Ivan asks him if he feels better, and Miles swears at him; Ivan tells him to change out of the wet clothes, shower and depilate, then get dressed and come out to dinner with him. Miles says he doesn't want to go out, and Ivan says there's more ice in the freezer downstairs. Miles accuses Ivan of enjoying this, which Ivan freely admits.
Once they get to the restaurant, Ivan urges Miles to eat, and once he does he realizes he's famished. Ivan asks what's going on with him; Miles asks why they came, and Galeni says that Illyan asked him to check on Miles. The gate guard told him that Miles was still inside, but there was no response on the comconsole, so he enlisted Ivan, who had more of a right to barge in, to help him. He'd half expected to find Miles hanging from a rafter, but Ivan said that Miles was more likely to blow himself up spectacularly somewhere with lots of bystanders. Miles promises to explain, but in private, since it's to do with ImpSec business.
Back in Vorkosigan House, Ivan brews tea and makes him drink it, then tells him to spill. Miles tells them about his seizures, and not informing ImpSec, or anyone except Mark and his Dendarii doctor, about them, in hopes that they could fix it medically and he could avoid a medical discharge. Ivan pries further, and Miles tells them about Vorberg and the accidental bisection, and then the falsified report. Galeni said Illyan had told him Miles had resigned by request, and he'd almost thought it was some kind of internal investigation, except Miles didn't seem to be acting.
Ivan was still processing it. "You lied to Illyan?"
"Yeah. And then I documented my lie. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, yes? I didn't resign, Ivan. I was fired. On all of Barrayar right now, there is no one more fired than I am."
Ivan asked if Illyan had really ripped off his ImpSec eyes, like Haroche had claimed. Miles said that he removed them himself, after he had a seizure right there in front of Illyan. Haroche said that it came as a shock, because everybody knew that Illyan thought the world of Miles, and Miles said that it had been a while since his coup of the Dagoola IV rescue. Galeni said that according to Haroche, Illyan had been grooming Miles as his successor. Miles protests that as a field agent he doesn't have the right skill set, but Galeni said that Miles had been due for a posting as Haroche's assistant, to fill in the gaps in the "Domestic" side of his ImpSec experience. Haroche had stopped five different assassination plots against Gregor (including the Yarrow Incident), so Illyan had wanted some of his experience to rub off on Miles. Ivan asked about the Yarrow Incident, and Miles and Galeni explain that it was a great success, well known inside ImpSec, and unheard of outside of it–ImpSec failures are the only ones that get attention; an isolationist faction had planned on dropping a freighter (named the Yarrow) packed with explosives on the Imperial Residence. Miles asks when this apprenticeship was supposed to happen, and Galeni said within the year.
"Chief of ImpSec at age thirty-five. Huh. God be praised, I'm saved from that at least. Well. No joy to Haroche, to be required to paper train some Vor puppy for the express purpose of being promoted over his head. He ought to be quite relieved."
Galeni said apologetically, "I gather he was, actually."
Miles reminds Galeni that this story is strictly private, that officially he just got a regular medical discharge. Ivan leaves briefly, and returns with a valise–he's moving in for a few days, until Miles picks himself up and gets the house organized, with a proper staff, including a driver and a cook. He threatens that if Miles doesn't, he'll get his mother, Lady Alys, to pick his staff instead. Miles is still less than enthusiastic, and Ivan encourages him to live the life of a Vor lord in the capital a little bit more. Vorkosigan House is his, and his life's possibilities have widened again–though Miles thinks that it's at the expense of Admiral Naismith's possibilities. Naismith was, it turns out, killed by that needle-grenade on Jackson's Whole after all.
Miles had read of mutants, twins born joined together inseparably in their bodies. Sometimes, horrifically, one died first, leaving the other attached to a corpse for hours or days until they died too. Lord Vorkosigan and Admiral Naismith, body-bound twins. I don't want to think about this anymore. I don't want to think at all.
And this is Miles's darkest hour. The only comparable one that I recall, so far, was after Bothari's death back in The Warrior's Apprentice–even washing out of the physical exam didn't take that much out of him. It's interesting how little he wants to resort to the usual outlets–suicide, or alcohol–too drained of energy to even open the bottle, and, as he said, having already tried death.
Ivan comes through in spades, though. I remember how he got so drunk at the Emperor's Birthday in Mirror Dance when he thought Miles was dead, so he knows now how much his cousin means to him, and is prepared to deal with it. Kudos to Galeni for thinking of him–as a matter of fact, Simon Illyan should practically have thought of that himself, but I guess he was reluctant to bring Ivan in on the whole thing. Even though Ivan was on the list of those who knew about Miles's double identity, this was more of a matter of keeping Miles's shame private, plus Illyan might not have that much respect for Ivan's capabilities. But he knows how to rouse Miles out of his stupor–the cryo-freezing, as much as Kyril Island, has instilled Miles with his cryophobia, or at least cryoaversion.
I'm not sure that it would have worked, trying to turn Miles into the head of ImpSec. It would, at least, put Miles in a position where he had fewer superiors–pretty much just the Emperor himself, in fact. It would keep him from traveling around much, so it would have forced him to abandon the Admiral Naismith persona anyway. Unless he was the most hands-on ImpSec Chief ever, though I imagine that Gregor would have to put his foot down there. And it is true that Haroche wouldn't feel that good about being passed over for, and by, a young Vor lord, however stellar a record he might have had, so that is definitely a relief for him.
The next morning, even after sleeping late, Miles finds Ivan in the kitchen, since he's apparently taking time off work until Miles is back on his feet. Miles decides the easiest way to get rid of him is to hire a staff on a strictly temporary basis, then discharge them with glowing recommendations once Ivan's gone. Ivan encourages Miles to tell his parents what's happened, before the rumour mill beats him to it. Miles agrees that he should, but it'll be difficult…he asks Ivan if he could do it instead, and Ivan refuses vehemently…unless Miles really can't bring himself to do it.
Miles dresses in civilian clothes from three years ago, then banishes his Barrayaran and Dendarii military uniforms into another bedroom so he won't have to look at them. He sits down at the comconsole, but can't manage to compose any messages to his parents, or to Elli Quinn, for that matter; he wonders if he'll ever be able to patch things up with Quinn.
He turns his mind to the staffing problem instead. His own discharged lieutenant's pay would barely suffice for one servant in the hard Vorbarr Sultana job market, so he contacts the family business manager, Tsipis, to find out what other options he has. Miles tells him only that he'll be staying on the planet for longer than anticipated, and asks how much of the family funds he can draw on; Tsipis tells him he can use all of it. Miles was given joint authority when his parents went off to Sergyar. The only things he can't do are sell off Vorkosigan House and their residence in Hassadar. Miles asks if he can hire a driver, and Tsipis says he can staff Vorkosigan House fully if he wants to; the Viceroy's Palace on Sergyar is paid for out of Imperial funds, apart from his father's armsmen.
Miles says he's not planning on reopening Vorkosigan House quite yet, and Tsipis realizes he needs money for day-to-day expenses. He offers to deposit it into Miles's military service account, but Miles says he'd rather keep it separate. Tsipis says he'll give Miles the accumulated household funds to start, and the usual weekly allotment after that–which turns out to be 80,000 marks, and 5,000 a week after that, rather more than Miles had expected. Tsipis offers to go over the accounts in more detail, in case Miles wants to take a more active money management role, but Miles tells him some other time, and signs off.
He tries to adjust to the thought that he can buy whatever he wants…except perhaps the Dendarii. He can't think of much else that he wants–what he wanted was achivements. To make admiral younger than his father, to be a Great Man, but there was no opportunity to be a Great Man at the moment.
He starts his staffing search by calling retired Vorkosigan Armsmen in the area, but they're either too old or their wives won't stand for them going back into service, and he won't compel them. Giving up that for the moment, he gathers some kitchen scraps in an attempt to woo Zap the Cat (whose orneriness rather reminds him of Mark). At the gate, Corporal Kosti has a visitor, his younger brother Martin, and a large box which proves to contain his lunch. They're not sure how to deal with Miles out of uniform, so he tells them about his medical discharge. Zap the Cat emerges and accepts the scraps with only minor clawing.
Martin complains to his brother that nobody wants to hire him for two months, before he's old enough to enter the Service. He's afraid his mother will find work for him to do, probably cleaning; Miles tells them about cleaning drains on Kyril Island. He asks Martin if he can drive, then offers him a temporary position as his driver; Corporal Kosti warns him not to get Miles killed on him. Miles says he can start today, as they need groceries anyway, and he can live in Vorkosigan House and study up for his entrance exams. Not wanting Martin to be taken unawares by any seizures, Miles mentions those as well, including their origin in cryo-revival; both Kostis are suitably impressed. Martin gives the box to his brother, and Zap the Cat goes crazy meowing for it, even after Corporal Kosti gives her his regulation rations.
The inside of the box lid turned into a clever tray or plate, with little compartments. Onto it Kosti placed two temperature-controlled jugs, a bowl, and cups; there followed an assortment of sandwiches on two different kinds of bread with variously colored fillings, cut into circle, star, and square shapes, the crusts removed; carved fruit on a stick; buttery cookies; and round tarts with flaky, fluted, sugar-sprinkled crusts, oozing dark, thick fruit syrups. From one of the jugs Kosti poured a pinkish cream soup into the bowl; from the other, some spicy hot drink. Both steamed in the cool air. For Zap the Cat there was a wad of prettily tied green leaves that unfolded to reveal a meat paste of some kind, apparently the same as filled one of the sandwiches. Zap dived in the moment Kosti spread it on the floor, growling ecstatically, tail lashing.
Miles is impressed at this; the corporal explains that his sisters are married, and only Martin is left in the house, so their mother is getting a little bored. Miles inhales the delectable smells of the lunch, and offers Ma Kosti a job as his cook. Ivan samples her cooking the next day at lunch, and immediately advises Miles to double her salary or else someone will steal her away. Miles also hires Ivan's cleaning service to stop in a couple of times a week to clean the house, but unfortunately, even now that he's completed his staffing, Ivan is reluctant to leave Ma Kosti's cooking. He tries delicate hinting that Ivan's free to go back to work anytime, so that Miles can go back to brooding, but Ivan ignores the hints.
After a week, Lady Alys contacts Miles, expressing her condolences over his medical discharge, and invites him to an "intimate luncheon" with Gregor the next day. Gregor has "Requested & Required" Miles to show up an hour early for a personal meeting. Miles knows the meeting is about what he did, to give him a chance to apologize to his Emperor in person. He knows they have to clear the air between them sometime, since at the very least they'll have to deal with each other as Count and Liege Lord at some point in the future, but he almost feels he'd rather apologize with a ritual self-disemboweling.
I always forget that Martin Kosti is only looking for temp work, until he can join the military, but I can't remember if he does end up staying on longer than that, or if the book's just resolved by that point, or what. I seem to recall that Ma Kosti sticks around, though. (What happens to the Kosti house that she and Martin were rattling around in? Do they just sell it so they can both live in Vorkosigan House? I guess it might not be a mansion or anything, but a family home might have some sentimental value…)
I also enjoy the conversation with Tsipis, a timely reminder that, even without his ImpSec job, Miles has plenty of resources to draw on. He's not going to be out on the street by any means. (He's more likely to end up in prison…) Though, as Miles realizes, he doesn't know what he wants enough to spend money on. His immediately goal is just to get Ivan out of the house, possibly under false pretenses, so he can go back to brooding, but sooner or later he's going to have to acquire some new goals.
It's interesting to note that it's with the Kosti brothers that Miles really begins to spread the story of what happened to him, compelled by simple honesty to two harmless Barrayaran souls who don't deserve to be strung along. So while he's unwilling to tell Tsipis that he's likely back on Barrayar for good, to commit to actually being back to living in Vorkosigan House, he tells the Kostis the story of his medical discharge, his seizures, and even a fair amount of the truth about how it came about. He lets them believe that he happened to be killed by a needle-grenade while working as a simple ImpSec courier, but apart from that, the details match up. I'm sure that, on some level, he knows that this information will begin to percolate throughout Barrayaran society, so he's decided to promulgate a story that's pretty much as close to the truth as he's authorized to tell–his Dendarii job, and his forced resignation, both being classified.
Normally after I do my weekly summary, I read the next two chapters of the novel in the next day or two (often on my iPod, since I had them all as ebooks). This is the first one where I've had trouble stopping. I could not stop after Chapter Six, but went on to Chapter Seven a week early. (And toyed with the idea of a three-chapter week, but decided not to.) Last week I went on to Chapter Nine for the Gregor scenes early too. I wonder if I'll be able to hold myself back to only one chapter this week… Seriously, my favourite book in the series. Come back next week for two more chapters…no promises about any more.
Posted in Memory, Vorkosigan, tagged Barrayar, books, Bujold, Dendarii, Duv Galeni, Haroche, ImpSec, Memory, Miles, Naismith, reread, science fiction, Taura, Vorkosigan, Vorpatril on May 8, 2013| 1 Comment »
Clever ideas for blog post introductions having temporarily (I hope) forsaken me, I will prosaically welcome you back to the Vorkosigan Saga Reread, the results of my rereading the Vorkosigan Saga, as I've done several times in the past. This time, though, I am endeavouring to share with you my insights into the novels and stories of Lois McMaster Bujold, at least the ones that concern the Vorkosigan family of Barrayar and their close friends and associates. This week we cover the third and fourth chapters of Memory, the prosaically-titled but nonetheless fascinating story of what happens to Miles Vorkosigan when everything that gives his life meaning is put into jeopardy…
Because they need adjoining rooms, for security reasons, Miles and Taura are obliged to take luxury suites on the ship to Tau Ceti. After that he will have to travel as boring old Lieutenant Lord Miles Vorkosigan, and deal with people suspecting him of having a cushy courier job because of his family connections. But he has a week until then to spend in room service-catered luxury, with Taura.
After Taura completes her security sweep of the cabins and they leave orbit, Miles tells her to take a week-long vacation. He reminisces about their first time together, and he can still remember every time they've made love, both before and since his relationship with Elli Quinn.
Oh, they'd tried to be good. Dendarii regs against cross-rank fraternization were for the benefit of all, to protect the rankers from exploitation and the officers from losing control of discipline, or worse. And Miles had been quite determined, as the young and earnest Admiral Naismith, to set a good example for his troops, a virtuous resolve that had slipped away . . . somewhere. After the umpteenth we've-lost-count-again time he had been almost killed, perhaps.
Well, if you couldn't be good, at least you could be discreet.
Taura kisses him and then heads to the bathroom to freshen up. He encourages her to take her time and be decadent. She rarely gets to indulge her feminine side, but she feels safe to do it with him. He does sometimes have to discourage her from the extremities of pink that she keeps trying to festoon herself in. She does not disappoint when she returns, in creamy and shimmery fabric. She's also trimmed her claws, to keep from leaving embarrassing scratches this time. He notices that he feels a little defensive about his arrangement with Taura, and wonders if he's breaking his own rules by doing this.
Later he wakes to watch her as she sleeps, a rare gift for her to feel safe enough for that. Her flesh is hot because of her heightened metabolism, which is also shortening her lifespan, though an active Dendarii medical project is lengthening that as much as possible. Taura already has a few grey hairs, at the age of twenty-two.
It's a good thing she loves Admiral Naismith. Lord Vorkosigan couldn't handle this.
He thought a bit guiltily of Admiral Naismith's other lover, the public and acknowledged Quinn. Nobody had to explain or excuse being in love with the beautiful Quinn. She was self-evidently his match.
He was not, exactly, being unfaithful to Elli Quinn. Technically, Taura predated her. And he and Quinn had exchanged no vows, no oaths, no promises. Not for lack of asking; he'd asked her a painful number of times. But she too was in love with Admiral Naismith. Not Lord Vorkosigan. The thought of becoming Lady Vorkosigan, grounded downside forever on a planet she herself had stigmatized as a "backwater dirtball," had been enough to send space-bred Quinn screaming in the opposite direction, or at least, excusing herself uneasily.
Admiral Naismith's sex life is astonishing and mostly free of strings, but it's not satisfying him anymore. Lieutenant Lord Vorkosigan, he suddenly realizes, has no sex life at all, and he wonders when that happened.
Taura awakens and they eat, Miles feeling no guilt about ordering everything because he knows she'll take care of any leftovers. They reminisce about his rescue of her, and he reminds her that he was actually sent to kill her. She says he changed that, and he seems to like rescues better than any other mission. She wonders if he's like one of those people who give other people the gift they want themselves–if he needs to be rescued, or wants freedom that he doesn't have. Miles changes the subject, and then the food arrives.
He asks if she had been surprised to find out his true identity, and she says she'd always suspected he was secretly a prince. Miles says far from that, never having wanted the Imperium, and he wonders if Admiral Naismith is more real than Lieutenant Lord Vorkosigan; it certainly seems to be the easier identity to slip into. Returning to the earlier topic, he says he doesn't really want "freedom", especially not in the sense of having no responsibilities. He wants to be himself, to the fullest, and achieve whatever destiny that brings him. He wonders if being Naismith is that; he's never been able to bring himself to abandon Barrayar entirely and take the Dendarii with him, especially with the consequences Miles having a private army would bring down upon his father. He doesn't look forward to taking his father's place one day, being Count, and the duties that go with that…
Taura asks after Mark; Miles says he went to Sergyar with their parents, then continued on to Beta Colony, living with their grandmother and studying accounting. Miles doesn't understand that choice, and wonders why they aren't more similar; Taura says maybe he'll learn to like accounting later. Miles's thoughts turn to the Duronas, and he wonders if Mark knows how they're doing on Escobar…and if they could help him out with his medical issues, sub rosa. If he went to visit Sergyar, he could maybe sneak from there to Escobar…and maybe even convince Illyan he's visiting Rowan Durona for romantic reasons. Then he could get cured and resume his duties without anyone else being the wiser. He begins to wish he hadn't deleted the other copy of the mission report.
Resolved to his Escobar plan, he turns back to a gastronomically-sated Taura to fulfill other appetites.
A lot of backstory in this chapter…and backstory that you've seen if you read all the other books. But it does add on a few details, like the fact that Miles and Taura's relationship is now depicted as an on-again off-again thing. After the pass she made at Mark back in _Mirror Dance_, based only on the fact that Quinn wasn't on the mission, it shouldn't be that surprising. I'm not as sanguine as Miles that Elli is, or would be, okay with it. Maybe she knows, maybe not. Maybe she doesn't envision a married life with Lord Vorkosigan on Barrayar…but she might nonetheless want them to be monogamous and committed to each other with the Dendarii. He even thinks to himself that he may be breaking his own rules. After all, Elli was incensed when he chose Taura as a bodyguard for this trip, so I'm sure Quinn knows about the hanky-panky that was likely to ensue, and she didn't like it.
In other words, Miles does something stupid and insensitive again, which is a little out of character for him. He's still in denial, or is it bargaining now? Promising that he'll go to Escobar and get things fixed up on the hush-hush, and then everything can go back to normal. But there are those nagging doubts–he's not satisfied with either of his identities right now, Lord Vorkosigan being dull and sexless, but Admiral Naismith starting to feel a little hollow. He's still leaning towards Naismith, but his health issues are putting Naismith in danger, and threatening to take the choice out of his hands, so he's panicking.
Maybe it's just me, but after so much was made of her short lifespan, I began to wonder if Taura was ever going to actually die. They make the point, several times, throughout the later books, that they'd managed to heroically extend her life by quite a bit, but I confess that it began to wear on me a bit. They don't have to show her on her deathbed, coughing up blood and shedding hair by the bucketful, but…well, I suppose it's painful to say goodbye to loved characters sometimes, even if one is the author. And not every death can be a heroic sacrifice used as a crucial blow against the enemy. Lois McMaster Bujold is certainly no George R.R. Martin, and it's true that more advanced societies accept death less casually (at least, according to the Steven Pinker book I'm reading right now), and have the technology to fight it more successfully in Bujold's far future. But it exists, it's a fact, and reminding us that one character is living on borrowed time, and then continuing to lend her time, can begin to wear a little thin. I think they did establish by the time of Cryoburn that she was dead, at least. Not that I dislike the character that much (though she's not actually a favourite), but an author has certain obligations to follow through on these things…
Upon arriving in Vorbarr Sultana, Miles is picked up by an ImpSec car, which he wishes would dawdle a little more on its way to the ugly headquarters building. As he stands outside the door, he's fast losing confidence in his Escobar plan, and decides he'll have to deliver his notes on the seizure verbally to Illyan, pretending that he thought they were too sensitive to commit to even a confidential report.
Decision made, he heads inside, checking his coat and heading for Illyan's office unescorted. Illyan's secretary is chatting with General Lucas Haroche, Head of ImpSec's Domestic Affairs division, in charge of covering investigations of plots based on the homeworld, as Guy Allegre does on Komarr. Miles generally deals with the Galactic Affairs office on Komarr, if not Illyan himself, but he hadn't been given time to stop in there. Miles greets them, and the secretary asks for the report; Miles says he'd rather deliver it in person, but the secretary says Illyan is out of town. Reluctantly, Miles leaves the cipher-case with the report, rejecting the secretary's offer to pass on Miles's extra verbal information, and makes do with leaving a message for Illyan to contact him as soon as possible.
He asks if Illyan left any orders for him, but he didn't, despite the supposed urgency of Miles's return. Miles asks if he can go visit his parents, hoping to skive off to Escobar after all, but he's told that he has to keep himself available on one-hour notice. Haroche asks after Miles's parents, but Miles says his mail hasn't caught up with him yet, and Haroche likely has more up-to-date information than he does, but Haroche tells him that Sergyar has been split off from Domestic Affairs into its own bureau, despite the small size of its colony. Miles expresses surprise, but allows that Sergyar's position in the nexus gives it a certain importance. He bids them farewell and says he might as well head home.
On his way out, he bumps into Duv Galeni. Last Miles had heard, Galeni had been working on Komarr, but Galeni says he'd requested a transfer back to Barrayar… He's interested in a Komarran woman from the Toscane family, who has come to Vorbarr Sultana as a government lobbyist, and decided to follow her. Galeni admits his relationship is still more hopeful than actual, and Miles wishes him luck. Miles says he's headed home, and Galeni bids him farewell. At the exit, Miles pauses to consider how exactly he'll get home, since the entire Vorkosigan household has decamped to Sergyar, and so there won't be any Armsmen there to pick him up. He considers the safety of ordering a public taxi, and decides that the weather is not awful, so he'll walk home.
His walk is uneventful–no attention spared for his deformities, and he's not sure whether having his spine straightened had that much of an effect, or if Vorbarr Sultana's denizens are getting better. Vorkosigan House is situated on a block that used to have three mansions; one of them was torn down to make a park, and the other bought by the Imperium and turned into offices.
Vorkosigan House sat in the center, set off from the street by a narrow green strip of lawn and garden in the loop of the semicircular drive. A stone wall topped with black wrought-iron spikes surrounded it all. The four stories of great gray stone blocks, in two main wings plus some extra odd architectural bits, rose in a vast archaic mass. All it needed was window slits and a moat.
The guard kiosk is manned only an ImpSec corporal who salutes Miles, telling him that his luggage has already arrived. He says the most excitement they've had since the Count and Countess left was a stray cat getting caught in the defenses; Miles spots a few signs that the cat is none the worse for wear and has in fact been adopted by the guards. Keeping a pet on duty is against regulations, but Miles realizes the man must be bored and decides to overlook it; he asks what they named it, and the corporal admits they called it "Zap". Miles heads inside, considering how young the corporal seems to him. He opens the automatic door and enters the disconcertingly empty house.
Keeping the lights down, he explores in unaccustomed solitude, finding half the furniture gone and the rest covered up. There is a lightflyer and a groundcar, but the risk of seizures makes him an unsafe driver or pilot. He's been cadging a lot of rides since his cryo-revival. The kitchen is empty of food, which he makes a note to get some of if he's going to be here for any length of time. Maybe a servant, too–not a stranger, but maybe some pensioner could come back for a few days. Or maybe he can just get some instant meals. There's still wine in the cellar, so he brings up a couple of bottles of "a particularly chewy red" from his grandfather's day.
He heads up to his third-floor room, turning on the lights this time; his room hasn't really been lived in for a while, even when he was recuperating a few months ago. He considers his utter freedom to do whatever he wants, except go to Escobar to get his head examined. He unpacks his clothing and changes into more comfortable clothes. He's been avoiding alcohol in case it exacerbates his seizures, but now he's planning to stay in until Illyan calls for him, so he pours himself some. Planning to have some food later, he instead drops off to sleep after two-thirds of a bottle.
By noon the next day the problem of food was becoming acute, despite a couple of painkillers for breakfast, and the absence of coffee and tea turning downright desperate. I'm ImpSec trained. I can figure out this problem. Somebody must have been going for groceries all these years . . . no, come to think of it, kitchen supplies had been delivered daily by a lift-van; he remembered the Armsmen inspecting it.
He inspects the computer records, finds the name of the supplier, boggles at the quantities they were ordering, and instead just walks down to a nearby store. He grabs coffee, tea, eggs, and some prepackaged food ("Reddi-Meals!"), as well as some cat food.
He gathered up his spoils and took them to the checkout, where the clerk looked him up and down and gave him a peculiar smile. He braced himself inwardly for some snide remark, Ah, mutant? He should have worn his ImpSec uniform; nobody dared sneer at that Horus-eye winking from his collar. But what she said was, "Ah. Bachelor?"
After he's finally had some food, he still has lots of time to kill, some of which he spends looking up medical clinics and ranking them by reputation and likelihood they'll keep his visit secret from ImpSec. He paces around the house, dredging up old memories.
For his evening meal, Miles decided to keep up the standards. He donned his dress greens, pulled all the covers off the furniture in the State dining room, and set up his wine with a proper crystal glass at the head of the meters-long table. He almost hunted up a plate, but reflected he could save the washing up by eating the Reddi-Meal! out of its packet. He piped in soft music. Other than that, dinner took about five minutes. When he'd finished, he dutifully put the covers back on the polished wood and fine chairs.
He wishes some of the Dendarii were there so he could have a real party. The next evening, he's driven to call Ivan, who's surprised to see him back in town. He tells Ivan about how he's rattling around in Vorkosigan House; Ivan says it's appropriate for the formerly-dead Miles to be in such a mausoleum. Ivan says there's not much going on, between Emperor's Birthday (where he'd had to deliver the Vorkosigans' bag of gold) and Winterfair, but apparently Gregor is having a state dinner in a couple of days, and Lady Alys had asked Ivan to bring some younger people for dancing later. Miles surmises she really wants Ivan to bring a date, or a fiancée; he says he doesn't have a date, and Ivan says he should ask one of the Koudelka girls.
"Did you ask Delia?" said Miles thoughtfully.
"Yeah. But I'll cede her to you if you like, and take Martya. But if you're escorting Delia, you have to promise not to make her wear high heels. She hates it when you make her wear high heels."
"But she's so . . . impressive in them."
Miles asks Ivan for a ride, pretending his is in the shop, before he realizes that would result in Ivan driving him. Instead, he remembers Duv Galeni and offers to invite him along. Galeni can bring this Komarran girl along, impressing her with an official state dinner, and he can drive Miles instead. Ivan says he'd been to do something to welcome Galeni to the capital anyway, and this is just the ticket.
I enjoy the scenes with Miles in the empty Vorkosigan House, living the bachelor lifestyle. I'm almost surprised that Vorkosigan House is quite that deserted, but I guess it is still under guard, so it's not likely that squatters are going to break in and set up house there. At the moment he's still convinced he's going to be out of there soon and back to the fleet, so he's not putting down any roots yet.
Illyan does seem to be deliberately avoiding Miles at this point. He should have been able to determine when Miles would be returning to the capital and make himself available, if he'd wanted to–there doesn't seem to be any actual crisis calling him away, though I suppose that part's a bit vague. So it seems that summoning Miles back, just to make him wait, is less an urgent need for Miles than it is an urgent need for Miles to not be with the Dendarii right then. Could it be that Illyan has some dire suspicion about Miles's intentions? Or perhaps he knows something that would make it dangerous to leave Miles in charge of a mercenary fleet? Or to be doing combat missions in space armour? Nah, couldn't be.
Finally, we have one of the more fateful conversations in Barrayaran history. If it hadn't been for Miles not wanting to drive but not wanting Ivan to drive either, would they have thought to invite Duv Galeni along? Would the meeting between Gregor and Ms. Toscane have taken place at the right time, before she gave in to Duv's deliberate charms? Also, the return of the Koudelkas, or at least Delia; probably we won't see much of Kareen, who may very well be on Beta Colony right now, if Mark is…
It's the Barrayar scenes–most of the book, from Chapter Four onward, really–that make Memory one of my favourites, so I'm glad that there's a lot of them coming up. Though admittedly they're not all cheerful ones…as we'll probably find out in the next couple of weeks. Oh, sure, a lot of them just look like Miles being at loose ends, but I enjoy them nonetheless. So come back next week, and we'll see…


text:
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PRDnationwide — Research Hub — Sydney Hotspots 2011
Sydney Hotspots 2011
The purpose of this Property Watch report is to assess suburbs of Sydney that have the potential to perform over the coming year. Suburbs have been chosen based on current pricing levels, infrastructure, property trends, access to amenity and other factors.
What happened in 2010?
As seen from the map to the right, 132 suburbs recorded at least ten per cent growth over the year, backed by a significant number of transactions. The Hotspots 2010 table shows the suburbs within Sydney that achieved the highest median price growth over the year. The highest growth in the house market occurred in suburbs along the M2 Motorway and in the Inner west, where the suburb of Newtown saw its median house price increase 29 per cent over the year from $662,500 in September 2009 to $857,250 in September 2010. Newtown has experienced a process of gentrification in recent years, attracting young professionals who seek inner city living and close proximity to entertainment and dining venues. The highest priced house sale in Newtown during the year was for a property off of Copeland Avenue transacting for $3,200,000. The Eastern Suburbs and Lower North Shore dominated Sydneys unit market, where the suburb of Rose Bay achieved the highest median unit price growth, increasing 43 per cent in the year to September 2010. The change in median price is associated with the type of market participants; while first home buyers dominated the market in 2009, buying at the lower end of the market, the 2010 market was dominated by second and third home buyers buying at the top end.
House rental growth outperformed that of unit in the 12 months to September 2010. The Leichhardt LGA topped the rental growth list, experiencing an increase of 18.3 per cent in rental price between September 2009 and 2010. After a strong growth in property prices in 2010 rent prices are expected to stay firm in 2011, returning to the long term rental yield equilibrium.
Hotspot picks for 2011
What is the market going to do in 2011? At this stage, the coming year appears to be one of consolidation for some and strategic positioning for others . The strong capital growth demonstrated in 2010 is not likely to repeat itself, however, buyers now have greater control on the market, and can expect greater flexibility when negotiating on prices. Interest rates are likely to play a pivotal role in the coming year, with a mid year increase tipped to affect price growth on the one hand and housing affordability on the other, while negatively impacting buyers confidence. 2011 may pose a great opportunity to repositioning or investment in well located properties, with potential for capital growth and increase in rental yields. Three key factors assist us in determining the most likely suburbs to experience strong capital growth in 2011. They are:
Population growth , which generally puts pressure on property prices.
Infrastructure and investment to support current and future population increases and development of amenities.
Employment opportunities and diversity which includes proximity to employment nodes or potential job growth.
The top picks for 2011 are well located suburbs that were mostly overlooked during 2010. They are supported by good infrastructure and population growth and in many cases, are within close proximity to suburbs that have been in the top performers list in 2010.
Sydney hotspots 2011.pdf
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text:
Ore landskommun var en kommun i dåvarande Kopparbergs län (nu Dalarnas län).

Administrativ historik
Kommunen bildades 1863 i Ore socken i Dalarna.

Tillhörde Orsa kommuns kommunblock under 1960-talet fram tills att området överfördes till Rättviks kommun.

År 1974 uppgick denna landskommun i Rättviks kommun, efter att formellt från 1971 till 1973 varit en Ore kommun.

Kyrklig tillhörighet
I kyrkligt hänseende tillhörde kommunen Ore församling.

Kommunvapnet
Blasonering: Sköld, kluven av silver, vari en grön fura, och av grönt, vari en stolpvis ställd kedja av silver.

Detta vapen fastställdes av Kungl. Maj:t den 28 februari 1947. Idag förs vapnet av Ore församling.

Geografi
Ore landskommun omfattade den 1 januari 1952 en areal av 967,90 km², varav 882,10 km² land.

Tätorter i kommunen 1960

Tätortsgraden i kommunen var den 1 november 1960 49,2 procent.

Politik

Mandatfördelning i valen 1938-1970

Referenser

Sveriges kommuner 1863-1951
Sveriges kommuner 1952-1970
Indelningar i Rättviks kommun
Tidigare kommuner i Kopparbergs län

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Home » Executive Coaching » Personal Performance » Raising Your Game » Are you a "fetch" person?
Success Thinking: are you more the one that knows and "fetches" what you want, or do you wait for others to "bring" it to you and whinge when they don't?
What is your natural position when it comes to you "going after" what you want? I'm not talking about an unhealthy ego here. I'm talking about your propensity to "look after yourself" and get what you need or want.
Are you more pro-active to put in motion what needs to happen so that you get or "fetch" what you want, or are you more likely to be passive and wait for things to happen or even for things to be "brought" to you?
Bring and Fetch are terms I use from the German language. We speak of a "Holschuld" which is an obligation to "fetch" something, and a "Bringschuld" which is an obligation to "bring" something. For instance, if I owe you money, then it is my obligation for me to "bring" it back to you in repayment. It would be morally incorrect for me to expect you to have to come and "fetch" it from me, wouldn't it?
This is one of my most fundamentally used coaching concepts. I am well known for this in my client circles. "Fetch" is an attitude. I refer back to it in most coaching sessions. I'm always looking for it. It is also one of the most important aspects I'm looking for in my initial exploratory conversations with a prospective client and forms a part of my decision whether that prospect is in fact "coachable".
A universal success principle is to "surround yourself with great people". I consider this relevant both in work and in life. Are the people around you those that wait for you to "bring" or do they "fetch" what they want? I consider being a "fetch" person an attribute of being a "great people".
Back in the work context, let's say there's a role you are interested in that becomes vacant in your organization. "Fetch people" will be awake to and aware of such an opportunity and pro-actively knock on the boss' door to see what they might need to do to be considered for that role. Less pro-active people might sit back and wait to see if the boss will consider them and "bring" them the opportunity and then probably whinge if they weren't considered or chosen.
Let's use your annual performance review as another example. How "hungry" or ambitious are you to "fetch" what you want? In the future development section of that important discussion, do you have a selection of prepared ideas and suggestions of projects or learning activities you want to "fetch" to stretch or broaden your experience, or do you passively allow the boss to choose which future growth opportunities to "bring" to the table? You may also want to read my Performance Management Trilogy.
Is measured and managed performance part of your or your organizations' culture? Is there good incentive for its people to "fetch" more for themselves and therewith for the organization?
Is your organization a learning organization that encourages a "fetch" attitude? With other words, does it encourage "having a go", knowing that in the pursuit of better outcomes for the company, its clients and for yourself you may make some mistakes on the way? Or does it "punish" mistakes, thereby killing any initiative taking? If it isn't a learning organization, wouldn't it be time to consider whether "you are on the right bus"?
Good leaders are always watching and waiting for promising talent to come and "fetch" more – those are the people they want to develop, nurture and keep.
So where are you placed on this question? Are you more inclined to "wait" and see what is "brought" to you? How do you respond when it isn't? Or are you more "gung ho" and make a point of more pro-actively "going after" what you want – as in "fetching" it?
If you are more the former and now having been made more aware of the differences, and decide to want to change that, what will you need to do in order to change that attitude and become more "hungry" and pro-active?
My own personal experience as someone that was initially more the former has been that this can be learned and developed. Today I am very capable of "fetching" what I want. I've also become so much more adept at influencing outcomes in my favour.
So what will it take for you to achieve that? In my experience, first a choice; then a decision and then some goals that will drive you to want to practice whenever an opportunity presents itself. That will drive awareness which in turn will have your "antennae" in receive mode more often. A few successes will encourage you and asking someone you trust to give you feedback from time to time will hold you accountable.
What I found? After a while it dawned on me (in hindsight) that I had changed my attitude and my behaviour towards this and that I was far more pro-active in finding the results and outcomes I needed and wanted. Having become a "fetch person" myself, my focus is now on assisting as many others as I can to achieve the same.
This is such a great concept. I often use it when talking to young people getting started in their careers. It's amazing how so many people simply assume that they have to wait for stuff to come to them.
Helping them to see the benefits of being a fetch person is very rewarding.
So thanks Heiner for your teaching on this so many years ago – it also changed my life.


Whenever I provide the music for the wedding ceremony I find it interesting to see the variety of music that is chosen.
Sometimes the music selection is a varied mix of songs from across the decades, what I like to call a 'Radio 2 playlist', something for everyone. This gives me a chance to play songs that people like but aren't particularly good to dance to.
From my point of view it's always good to have a bit of variety. Playing the same music all the time would become boring very quickly. Although I have my usual few tracks lined up it's always useful to have requests to break up the day and evening.


This client approached us to assist in the design of a kitchen living area in a property that was to be extensively extended at the rear to create a significant space for true integrated living, incorporating family, tv area, dining and kitchen. The family were very much into cooking together and their youngest daughter was very much at the heart of this family cooking process and therefore had very detailed requirements which we worked through to ensure our designs met all the criteria. The overall design was also to integrate with the new outside patio space so that they could bring their beautiful garden space into the heart of their home.
Our approach was not only to advised on the kitchen design but the client also involved us in conjunction with their builders so that the whole project would be fully thought through and detailed planning would ensure the project stayed on budget.
The end product was spectacular.


P.S. I'm partnering up with my friend Michelle of Coffee & Champagne this week for a fun NYC week full of summer activities. Make sure you're following on Snapchat (username: runwaychef) and our Instagrams (mine, Michelle's) for all the behind-the-scenes (and for some fun summer things to do in the city)!


text:
Wildfire threatens homes and properties throughout B.C.
VICTORIA – In a report released today, B.C.'s Forest Practices Board warns that little progress has been made in protecting urban interface areas from catastrophic wildfire and we are all responsible. In 2010, the board issued a report and recommendations to government and communities to address the risks of wildfire in urban interface areas. This followup report finds that the work done in the past five years has not addressed the hazard in a meaningful way.
"In 2010 we said that both provincial and local governments need to support forest fuel reduction efforts and homeowners have to take responsibility and FireSmart their properties," said board chair Tim Ryan. "Less than 10% of hazardous forest fuels have been treated – at enormous cost to government – and few property owners have taken the steps to protect themselves from wildfire."
The 2015 wildfire season is off to an early start with the Little Bobtail Lake fire near Prince George threatening properties and the board is very concerned that British Columbians are not prepared for what could happen this summer. "Government does not have the resources to respond to every wildfire and protect every community that is at risk," said Ryan. "The solution has to be in prevention and readiness to withstand a wildfire."
The report acknowledges that some excellent work has been done and the Province has committed millions of dollars to the effort. But the scale of the problem is so large, and the costs of treatment so high, that it's merely a drop in the bucket. "B.C. has been lucky it hasn't had any catastrophic urban interface fires since Kelowna in 2003, but that has been luck and nothing more," Ryan said. "Today, Kelowna is an example of what communities can do to protect themselves."
The report urges the public to take personal responsibility and ask local politicians and fire departments what the risks to their community are, to support the return of prescribed fire to reduce forest fuels, and to take simple steps to FireSmart their own properties. The report also provides a number of suggestions to improve the situation.
The Forest Practices Board is B.C.'s independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices, reporting its findings and recommendations directly to the public and government. The board investigates and reports on current forestry and range issues and makes recommendations for improvement to practices and legislation.
More information can be obtained by contacting:
Darlene Oman
Phone: 250 213-4705 / 1 800 994-5899
Fuel Management in the Wildland Urban Interface - Update
More than 200 million seedlings (about 3 for every tree cut) are planted every year to supplement natural regrowth.


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