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President Inslee: An Oil Major's Nightmare
By Nick Cunningham
A prominent Democratic presidential candidate laid out a plan that offers the most direct threat yet to the oil and gas industry, entitled "Freedom from Fossil Fuels."
Washington Governor Jay Inslee's entire presidential campaign centers around climate change and taking on fossil fuels. It's no surprise then that his ambitious and far-reaching plans strongly target the oil and gas industry.
But the most recent component of his wide-ranging climate platform is perhaps the most notable because while most presidential candidates tend to lay out specifics on how they will scale up clean energy, they often ignore the elephant in the room. U.S. oil and gas is still growing – the EIA expects production to jump by another 70,000 bpd in July – and is expected to break production records for years to come, something that stands completely in conflict with goals of ratcheting down emissions. While most Democratic candidates dance around this point of tension, Inslee confronts it head on.
The "Freedom from Fossil Fuels" plan would hit oil and gas on multiple fronts. First, it would end the "gravy train of government largesse for fossil fuel companies," as Inslee puts it, consisting of an array of subsidies that are unique to the energy sector and also others that benefit corporations more generally. Some of these include the intangible drilling operation cost, ending last-in first-out accounting for oil and gas, ending deductions for royalty payments to foreign governments, accelerated depreciation, and a series of other arcane accounting and tax benefits. He would also hike royalty rates on federal lands.
Inslee would initiate a thorough study of how the federal government supports the industry, including how it uses the military to protect shipping lanes, funds land reclamation from abandoned mines, and other hidden subsidies. He would end financial support for overseas oil, gas and coal projects, which the U.S. government does through an array of financing institutions like the Export-Import Bank. He would transform the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy into the "Office of Industrial Decarbonization," which would be an iconic way of marking a turning point in U.S. energy policy.
Inslee would push a "climate pollution fee," which would be like a carbon tax, but would also include methane and other potent greenhouse gas emissions.
Altogether, those measures would significantly increase costs on oil and gas drillers. But, there's more. Inslee would also end all new permits for drilling on federal land, both onshore and offshore. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke have supported similar measures. That pledge alone would send a shiver down the spine of any oil executive.
But Inslee goes even further, seeking a nationwide ban on fracking. He would implement a "climate test" for all new infrastructure, which would likely block the construction of all new oil and gas pipelines.
"We need a President who will stand up to the fossil fuel industry," Inslee said in a video announcing his plan. "We need to end the subsidies. We need to prevent new leases. And we need to stop the infrastructure that would doom us to being threatened by the climate crisis."
Needless to say, taken together, Inslee's proposals would seriously threaten the viability of the oil and gas industry in the United States. Shale drillers are already suffering from poor finances, but Inslee would dramatically raise the cost of doing business, while blocking permitting, infrastructure and even the ability to frack new oil and gas wells. Oh, and he'd ban crude oil exports. It's safe to say that the current U.S. shale industry would no longer be the same.
Let's back up and think about what all of this means. Inslee is calling for nothing less than the phasing out of the fossil fuel industry. In fact, he says that explicitly, arguing that his plan will "responsibly phase out oil, gas and coal production, carbon-intensive infrastructure and exports," which sounds…pretty comprehensive. While most politicians have called for cutting emissions, they have avoided saying definitively that the oil and gas industry needs to be scaled down and eliminated over time.
"Fossil fuel industries, and their workers, have helped build our nation since the dawn of the industrial age," Inslee said in his plan. "They have sustained livelihoods and communities. They are an intrinsic part of American society today. But the climate crisis demands that we transform our economy and leave these 19th century energy resources and their pollution behind."
The disruption to the sector would be profound. Inslee calls for protecting workers and helping them transition. He even cast the transition in a positive light – the switch to clean energy would create millions of new jobs and Inslee's plan includes measures to strengthen unions and worker protections while also backstopping pensions and health care plans. Funds raised from fees on the industry would be reinvested in impacted communities.
To be sure, Inslee is trailing in the polls, garnering low single digits and far below the top four or five candidates. But, it's still early. And, even if he fails to gain traction, other candidates will come under pressure to adopt some of his policy proposals. Inslee's multi-part climate change platform has been dubbed the "gold standard" by environmental groups and by prominent progressive leaders.
The release of Inslee's plan is also well-timed for maximum impact. The first Democratic presidential debate takes place Wednesday and Thursday night this week, and it is being held in Miami, which is on the front lines of rising sea levels. As such, there may be a particular focus and pressure on what the candidates will do to confront the oil and gas industry.
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I was once the lone child among men, fishing and floating Montana rivers. The Big Hole and Jefferson were primary, but there was the Beaverhead, Madison and Yellowstone too, in spring, summer and fall, in heat and blustery chill. Those days come back in bits: learning to row and to fish, to pass the time at first, but then for passion, bait, then lure and finally fly, waiting for a strike (fish on!), laughing at the men's joking, their hearts lightened by water, sun, fish and beer, waiting for the takeout and for the shuttle to end, the leaves green and budding, gold and falling, grey and fallen, swimming and heat in summer, shivering in spring and fall, sand in squishy shoes, wet pants and boat floor, hatches of caddis, mayfly, salmon fly, bugs in eyes and shirt, frenzied fish (in my dreams) and fishermen, and at the end of the day a stop at the takeout bar. There, a kid's limitless desire for sugar could be sated — 7Up and red Nibs please — and for the men, who would be loose and happy, one last drink to push away the sinking feeling of a good day ending. One would start the jukebox, someone else a game of pool and the drinks would be passed around, making the day just a few moments longer, prolonging the feeling of life, of youth and of Montana rivers.


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How migrant women fleeing domestic abuse are being let down by the government
Tuesday 8 December 2020, 8:45am
Rachel Younger
ITV News Correspondent
Since Covid-19 restrictions began there has been a well documented spike in cases of domestic violence.
But what if you ask the authorities for help and are turned away?
That is what is happening to migrant women - many of whom are brought to the UK for arranged marriages.
The hostels who take them in have been overwhelmed.
With demand increasing and funding proving harder than ever to secure, some are having to turn survivors away.
ITV News contacted 24 specialist organisations offering help or accommodation across the country and 16 replied.
All of them have recorded a significant increase in demand since the start of the lockdown.
Almost two thirds - 10 of the 16 - have seen demand double or more.
One charity in the North of England told us they've had to turn away 50 women since restrictions began.
Over the course of last week we met women at three shelters in the North East of England, the North West and London.
All of them were educated and some had travelled widely before agreeing to arranged marriages in their home countries.
But when their husbands brought them to the UK, the violence began and in many cases, quickly grew worse in lockdown.
Their stories of abuse and coercion are as horrific as any I've heard.
But unlike other survivors in the UK, their immigration status is also used as a weapon against them.
All were told by their abusers they would be deported if they reported the abuse and many of them faced lengthy struggles to get help from public services.
We agreed to disguise their identities to protect them.
Priya's hands shook as she described the way her husband treated her.
"You just feel like someone is controlling you and you can't do anything," she said.
"You are just waiting for the next attack."
Priya eventually ran to a police station in the middle of the night. She knew no one and had nowhere to go.
But her local authority failed to find her a space in a refuge for one simple reason. Her immigration status was tied to her husband, meaning there was no guarantee her care would be funded.
It was a similar story for every woman we interviewed.
The British government has made a commitment to end violence against women.
But if their immigration situation is uncertain that promise is less clear cut.
Figures from an Amnesty report earlier this year show that four out of five migrant women have been turned away from refuges often because they have no recourse to public funds.
Essentially that means the authorities don't have to help them however much danger they're in.
Sonja, again not her real name, still looks like a teenager.
Despite having to rely on other peoples cast-offs, she's stylishly dressed, pairing trainers with a floaty skirt beneath her hijab.
Then she begins to share her story and the tears roll down her cheeks.
Speaking through a translator she explained how her much older husband would routinely beat her. It is a sickening account.
"Every time he hit me he would put his hand on my throat and press my throat really hard," she says, her whole body shaking.
"He would make threats - 'I'll kill you.'"
Safety4Sisters is a small organisation supporting migrant women in the North West of England.
Funded entirely by donations, the requests for help have been so relentless they now face the prospect of having to turn women away.
Sandhya Sharma who runs the charity said: "Women are living in life-threatening conditions and need more support in the pandemic. But in our experience they are being given less support to leave."
The Home Office wouldn't provide us with a minister to interview.
But in a statement, a spokesperson said: "Anyone who has suffered domestic abuse must be treated as a victim first and foremost, regardless of immigration status.
"That is why the government is working closely with charities to build a solid evidence base on how to deliver tailored support to migrant victims.
"In the meantime, a £1.5 million Support for Migrant Victims Scheme will open for bids shortly."
But for Priya, the promise of help to come rings hollow. She knows as well as anyone that it is needed now.
"Every woman is human. She has the same heart. Whether she's white, brown, black she has the same feelings," she said.
"So why is the government not taking care of foreign women?"
The government is backing a landmark Domestic Abuse Bill, designed to strengthen protection and help for survivors.
But as campaigners have long warned, without urgent amendments, it won't provide some of the most vulnerable migrant women with the support they need.
Rachel Younger: Twice as many women killed by men during Covid lockdown, charity reveals
Domestic abuse killings double and calls to helpline surge by 50% during coronavirus lockdown

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We'll see you at the checkout!
But while we wait for what we pray is an inevitable scorcher coming our way, we're busy putting together our dream summer wardrobe.
Marks and Spencer recently dropped what will no doubt be the sell-out dress of the season via a pale blue and white striped number, but it's now fallen to another British high street stalwart to provide us with the summer shoe.
Without further ado, let us introduce you to your new favourite summer sandal, courtesy of .
White, leather, slingback and sitting pretty atop a 10cm semi-block heel perfectly suited to long nights wandering up and down the pier... the shoe has enough classic elements to off-set the modern split-toe strap.
And if you're still not convinced, then trust the influencers.
But if they start selling out... then we're having them. Deal?


Get ready to tear down obstacles of the mind and body. I believe that getting yourself back to optimal health means understanding what holds you back. So let's start today.
Thanks to TV shows and celebrities who hire trainers, I have a much higher profile than ever before. This makes trainers recognizable as being a real and active part of individual goal setting and achieving. The role that trainers play in the success of their clients is increasingly in the spotlight. However, there are unfortunately a lot of distorted views about what a personal trainer does and how a personal trainer should look therefore I always try to set realistic and sustainable goals for myself and my clients.
Passion, purpose, caring and coaching — these qualities make a far greater impact than the size of a trainer's biceps. Not that there isn't something to be said for outward appearance and taking care of the "cover". I prefer to dig deep into people's barriers and motivations for being active.
Personal trainers have many roles and are responsible for maintaining the scope of practice for their profession and within the confines of their certification.
My Holistic Life Coaching practice is based on an integral model of coaching that helps people find their true potential in their lives. I draw on over 27 years of experience as a mindfulness practitioner, behavior change specialist, personal trainer and primal health coach.
In my coaching practice I help you to optimize your ability to manifest your deepest intentions, and to live a satisfying and fulfilling life. I don't pretend to have all the answers. I simply help you to discover what's important and support you living in harmony with your deepest values. I assist in exploring what interferes with you manifesting the life and purpose you envision—what unconscious blocks, patterns, habits, and beliefs distract you from your goal.
My practice takes awareness as the fundamental ground of who we are and what we do. Awareness is the key to self-knowledge, transformation, and effective functioning in the world. Because of that, helping people develop and deepen the practice of mindfulness is central to the coaching work that I do as it provides the basis for awareness in all aspects of our life.
When you work with a health/life coach to develop a deeper practice, bring mindfulness to everyday life, and work with the difficulties and struggles. While working one-on-one in your coaching sessions you will gain practices, understanding, and insight into your experience. I will teach you how to bring mindfulness and compassion to difficulties, create a plan for growth, build resiliency, learn nutrition and the best exercise routine for you.


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Place: Little Italy (New York, N.Y.) Place: New York (N.Y.)
1. Corner of Elizabeth and Prince
2. Elizabeth Street
5. Looking North on Mott Street from Hester
7. Man with Cane at Corner of Elizabeth and Prince
8. Mulberry Bend
9. Mulberry Health Center Album -- Crowd in Front of Mulberry Community House
10. Mulberry Health Center Album -- Parade on Mott Street
11. Mulberry Street
12. Northwest Corner of Elizabeth and Prince
14. Pushcarts near Corner of Elizabeth Street
18. Woman with Baby Buying Food from Pushcart
Little Italy (New York, N.Y.) (18)[x]
Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.) (17)
Italian Americans (15)
Vending stands (15)


Aren't we all just copycats?
The whole originality debate has been explored. To the point where it's probably highly ironic that in writing this piece, I'm going full circle and reiterating something already stated.
The creative industry as a whole thrives on creating better, superior things, so why is it then that the design community acts in such a guarded manor? I distinctly remember at university, everyone would (and I am guilty of this too), at some point offer snide remarks about the work of others and make dismissive comparisons often to famous designs/designers. Whilst lets be honest, most of this work was just a blatant copy of an image you saw on Google and tried to palm off as original in a vague attempt to fool your senior lecturer, this is not the point. What if there were visual comparisons to great design because the designer was influenced by them?
"The real problem is people don't know the difference between copying, building and inspiring".
Some of the greatest inventions seemingly materialise from nowhere. I am a big fan of Hip-Hop and funnily enough it's one of the easiest ways to reiterate my point. Hip-Hop was built out of Brooklyn, where everyday people were inspired by their surroundings, hardships, parents and everything in-between to build their own culture. It was about acknowledging the greats beforehand and building a style from it; thus sampling was born.
Kanye West a creative genius in his own right (whether you like it or not), initially constructed a career sampling the greats. Q-tip, RZA and Dilla did it too, arguably better, but lets not get sidetracked in that argument. The point is these aptly named artists aren't copycats, they were just inspired by great work and built from it to create something better. So why can the design community not acknowledge and move forward like the music community and so many others have and still do?
True perfection has to be imperfect, in the same way absolute originality, will never be original. Whether you like it or not you are influenced by the world around you, everything you do and everything you say is a sum of your past. We could do with eradicating these double standards in the design community in order to promote unified development. Without touching too much on my opinions of lawsuits, copyrights, patents and other such legal jargon, it is intriguing yet somewhat amusing to note that in 2012 Gizmodo reported the following.
I understand that creatives need safeguards like patent protection in order to defend their work, and the statistics (although somewhat dated) shockingly illustrate this, just on a worldwide scale for a company like Apple or Samsung. In a perfect world we could abolish all patent protection laws and promote an almost harmonious advancement of technology and services, where we all benefit. Lets get realistic though, the world is far from perfect.
Like millions of others worldwide, I watch Casey Neistat vlogs fairly regularly. It is pretty inspirational how hard the guy works, and how he has managed to formulate such a particular style that any time anybody replicates a video along the same lines they are dubbed a fraud, thief, copycat etc. I remember him talking about his camera setup in a recent video and stating he pioneered the whole Joby gorilla-pod to DSLR vlogging setup (seen here) and whilst he more than likely did, what does it really matter? After all, other creatives wouldn't replicate your setup if it was not a good idea. Similarly at school when the teacher would say "Oh be flattered, it's a compliment they're copying you!" as a kid that infuriated me, and this is why I can relate to those who have their ideas stolen. Now though, I understand it really is flattering. Of everything around them, all the influential things they could draw inspiration from, they picked your work and your ideas, feel proud.
With the ease at which information can be accessed these days we are influenced by whatever / whoever we want and the line between inspiration and copying for monetary gain is extremely blurry. When you create something, only you know how much effort went into that process and sometimes it is easy to feel guilty if it seemed effortless. Designers, artists, writers, vloggers and other such creatives all do what they do, because they are good at it. Sometimes I feel like less of a designer and more of an organiser of ideas.
"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things." — Unknown.


5. With the exception of church staff, we will identify persons only by first name and initial of last name, unless we have permission to use the whole name.
6. If any person objects to the inclusion of their name, identifying information, or picture on our website, we will remove it within 24 hours of notice to the church administrator.


Delta United Methodist Church announces the arrival of Pastor Franklin Thomas "Tom" Hazelwood who, along with his wife Stephanie and son Robert, is moving to Delta County this week.
After being ordained, and elected as an elder in 1990, Pastor Tom served various churches and communities in Arkansas, before serving for the emergency response team of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), first as executive secretary, then as the elected assistant general secretary from 1998 through 2013. His work included responding (on scene) to disasters in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 9/11 tragedy in New York. While serving UMCOR, Pastor Tom used his pastoral care, and crisis management, skills to help people and communities chart a path toward a "new normal."
Since 2013, Pastor Tom has served as director of Connectional Ministries in Memphis, Tenn., pastor for Middlebrook Pike UMC in Knoxville, Tenn., and executive director for Glory Community in Broomfield.
Pastor Tom is looking forward to becoming an integral part of the Delta community and advocates in his theological mission statement that, "All that we are and all that we can hope to be are based on relationships" and "As we establish authentic relationships with others, we experience the kind of relationship God wants with each of us."
Pastor Tom's first Sunday is June 4. Community members are invited to join the congregation in welcoming him.


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Home » Regional Cinema » First look for Ilayathalapathy's Vijay 60 to be revealed on superstar's 42nd birthday
First look for Ilayathalapathy's Vijay 60 to be revealed on superstar's 42nd birthday
Speed News Desk | Updated on: 10 February 2017, 1:49 IST
Vijay is undoubtedly one of the biggest superstars in India. Just like Bollywood's Salman Khan, Vijay's Tamil films ensure a record opening and do blockbuster business at the Box Office. The Ilayathalapathy of Tamil Cinema will celebrate his 42nd birthday on Wednesday, 22 June, 2016.
The good news for the Ilayathalapathy fans is that the makers of his upcoming film, Vijay 60, are planning to give his fans a special gift on his birthday. Reportedly, the much-awaited first look of Vijay 60 will be released on that day. The makers are also planning to make the actor's birthday an eventful one by revealing the title of his 60th film as a gift for the superstar's fans.
The makers had recently wrapped-up the first shooting schedule in Chennai. The film, written and directed by Bharathan, will feature Vijay in a double role. Touted as an action-family entertainer, Vijay 60 will star Keerthy Suresh - of Rajini Murugan fame - as the female lead. Veteran Telugu actor Jagapati Babu has been roped in to be the antagonist. The film also stars Aparna Vinod, YG Mahendraa and Daniel Balaji.
Also read: Vijay 60: After Azhagiya Tamil Magan, Bharathan has another plum double role in store for Vijay
Vijay 60 is slated to hit the screens on Diwali this year.
First published: 2 June 2016, 3:55 IST
Vijay 60 Vijay 60 latest news
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Our list of the best things to eat and drink in L.A. this year includes a Oaxacan restaurant's frozen pink wine, a burgeoning L.A. food legend's impossibly creamy hummus, and a modern Italian restaurant's devilishly delicious chocolate-on-chocolate cake.
While it might seem heretical to skip a Dodger Dog when you're in Chavez Ravine, do yourself a favor and head to the newish King's Hawaiian Grill behind left field pavilion. The smoky pork nachos and saucy Big Island Lava chicken wings are a major up- grade on ballpark fare, and at $11, an order of pulled pork sliders with pineapple barbecue sauce might be the best deal in the (reliably pricey) stadium. Whether or not Kershaw gets the win, you'll at least be ready to brave the parking lot traffic on a full stomach.
Rosé has become the libation of choice for growing ranks of Angelenos, so it figures that bartenders found a way to convert the pink wine into a frozen cocktail. Though the slushy drink draws crowds at spots like Laurel Hardware and Thirsty Merchant, our fave is at Ivan Vasquez's Oaxacan restaurant Madre, where the frosé is made from crisp Côtes de Provence rosé, crushed passion fruit and raspberry, grapefruit juice, and reposado tequila, which adds a boozy bass note.
As a dish, shakshouka is deceptively simple: a robust Middle Eastern stew of tomatoes and bell peppers, fresh herbs, and a runny egg laid on top for good measure. When one recipe stands out over another—the cumin-rich take at Kismet, or République's spin with kale and yogurt—the difference is in degrees. At Lodge Bread Company, the stellar shakshouka boasts brightness from fresh tomatoes and sprigs of dill, sure. But its secret weapon? Thick slices of fresh-baked wheat sourdough used to sop up every drop.
Like the Warriors and Cavs duking it out in past NBA Finals, the battle for K-Town's best barbecue always boils down to the same contenders. With exquisite banchan (side dishes) and thick slabs of pork belly, Park's BBQ has long dominated the competition. But this year Gwang Yang—the U.S. branch of an upscale chain from Seoul—made its move. Marinated in sweet soy and garlic, its signature bulgogi is a profound experience, expertly charred table-side by servers, while super-marbled rib eye measures up against that of any steak house in town. And despite smoldering charcoal grills, a futuristic ventilation system means you won't leave reeking of smoke.
Long a champion of local produce, chef Jeremy Fox goes into full-on flex mode when it comes to his grain bowls at Rustic Canyon. A mixture of red Rancho Gordo quinoa, green farro, and fried sprouted rye acts as a hearty base, the latter lending an audible crunch. A community of vegetables comes mounded on top—depending on the day's farm haul, that could be roasted cauliflower, shaved radish, pickled ramps, or edible flowers—and in the center is a vibrant spin on Green Goddess dressing made from avocado and garlic. The $18 price tag might induce shock, but it ain't easy (or cheap) to make health food look and taste this good.
Finding a dreamy slice of chocolate cake in L.A. is surprisingly difficult. While the Larder at Tavern in Brentwood might make our fave standby, Thessa's Chocolate Cake at Jon & Vinny's takes the crown. Pastry chef Thessa Diadem turns the classic Dutch dessert—served Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—into a chocolate-on-chocolate blackout. Three moist layers made with two types of cocoa powder are separated by dark, creamy fudge and chocolate buttercream frosting before being drizzled with vanilla crème anglaise (a play on melted ice cream). If this is indeed devil's food, we're happy living in sin.
Done right, challah, that Rosh Hashanah favorite, is bulbous and braided like a tangled knot. It should be firm and shiny, made using olive oil (not butter), with a tender crumb that pulls away in strands. You'll find creative versions (studded with green olives or dried fruit) at Jewish bakeries like Got Kosher?, but nothing rivals the l'chaim-worthy egg bread at Bread Lounge, where Ran Zimon, the Israeli immigrant who opened shop in 2012, hews to tradition: natural yeast, no mixes, and the perfect kiss of honeyed sweetness.
As you flip past the sherry-laced classics and spicy mezcal numbers in the leather-bound drink menu at the Nomad Hotel, there's a section that bar director Leo Robitschek has dubbed "Soft Cocktails," a list of non-alcoholic sippers that deliver excitement on par with their intoxicant siblings. The Ocha, a gin-less play on the bar's Sakura Maru cocktail, blends roasted green tea with sheep's milk yogurt. The Peter Piper, made with pineapple juice, lime, black pepper, and white balsamic, hits notes similar to the tequila-spiked El Rey, so it doesn't feel like you're missing out on the show. Shirley Temples these are not.
On the ground floor of the revamped Beverly Center, Michael Mina's striking trattoria Cal Mare blasts away any lingering prejudice about eating out at the mall. The open kitchen is focused on Italian seafood, a theme driven home by the dining room's bedazzling fish-scale tiles. The cooking is equally dramatic: roasted, grilled, and salt-baked fish, billed as "Jewels of the Sea," and silky handmade pastas like egg yolk bucatini with oxtail, melted onion, and wisps of Parmesan. We've come a long way from Cinnabon, baby.
The flat white, Australia's signature coffee drink, has been a local hit since it first began cropping up at Aussie-style cafés several years ago. Almost any coffee shop worth its beans will make one for you these days, but the finest rendition is at Sydney import Paramount Coffee Project. Roughly cappuccino-size, with a few ounces of steamed milk and a thin layer of microfoam, it's smooth as a milkshake but with a sturdy smack of espresso. You might never order another latte again.
Every time Zach Pollack slides a classic margherita into the wood-fired oven at his Echo Park pizzeria, Cosa Buona, a hundred tiny details snap into place. The fermented crust puffs until it reaches a happy ratio of speckled char to doughy goodness. The bubbling tomato sauce, made from canned organic California-grown plum tomatoes, balances sweetness with subtle acidity. The fresh basil is bright and aromatic, and the molten cheese (fresh mozzarella and Parmesan) oozes just enough. If you were impressed with Pollack's pies when he was at Sotto, wait until you taste his handiwork now. Like a fine nebbiolo, this pizzaiolo's skills have only gotten better with time.
When it comes to unfussy garlic bread, few candidates can hold a candle to red-boothed heavyweight Dan Tana's, the storied 54-year-old celeb haunt situated in a yellow cottage on the edge of WeHo. With classic red sauce joint panache, the kitchen lavishes slices of crusty Italian bread with glugs of olive oil and pungent chopped garlic cloves, then covers them with a handful of shredded mozzarella that it broils to melted excellence. If you're not starting every meal at Tana's with a napkin-covered basket, you're doing it wrong.
Those who frequented Charles Olalia's tiny DTLA lunch counter, Rice Bar, knew big things were in store when the former Patina chef took over Silver Lake's erstwhile Bar Angeles space and transformed it into the lush tropical hangout Ma'am Sir. The Manila native refines Pinoy classics like sizzling pork sisig and adobo fried rice without dampening the cuisine's rustic spirit. Crunchy cigar-length egg rolls called lumpia arrive draped with sea urchin, and there's a fragrant pandan-leaf-infused old-fashioned. Who could ask for more?
With splashy newcomers like Pacific Seas downtown and Lono in Hollywood, L.A. might be experiencing a tiki bar resurgence. It's the city's oldest, though, that still rules them all. Purists often debate what matters more at a tiki bar— amazing ambiance or quality cocktails—but North Hollywood's Tonga Hut, established in 1958, pulls off both. Tiki statues and wood carvings flank the low-lit, mid-century-style space, where you can canoodle in wood-canopied booths or lounge around a vintage fireplace. At the bar, classic mai tais mingle with seasonal spins like the Lavender-Mint Sour and house specialties like the ginger-spicy Bermuda Dunes. The cognac-spiked Scorpion Bowl is as smooth as it is dangerous, a must for any reputable tiki joint.
Highland Park Brewery, Brouwerij West in San Pedro, Three Weavers in Inglewood—they're fine brewery taprooms, what with their easygoing vibes and broad selection of interesting beers. Progress Brewing does them one better, though. A welcoming oasis of IPAs in yonder South El Monte, it features 28 house brews on tap (anything from buckwheat saison to blood orange sour) and serious entertainment options like flat-screen TVs, a digital jukebox, and retro arcade games. Hungry? Partner that pilsner with grub from Tacos La Bomba, a regular at the dedicated pop-up station.
In parts of the South, boiled peanuts are as ubiquitous as moss-draped oaks and Confederate flag bikinis. Here, not so much. But at Crawfords in Westlake, a neighborhood dive where the decor is more or less "grandpa's basement," a heaping cup of the legumes (served from a simmering Crock-Pot behind the bar) will convince you that you've been missing out. Soft, salty, and spicy as hell, they're $3 and madly addictive. Just try not to burn your fingertips as you hastily pop them out of their shells and into your mouth.
Even if you visit Papa Cristo's solo, the beloved restaurant's Thursday night Big Fat Greek dinners are enough to make you feel like family. Held at long communal tables, the meal begins with tzatziki and dolmas laid out for grazing, accompanied by tastes of Greek wine. Dinner (a steal at $24 per person) lives up to its moniker: salad and soup, roasted potatoes, stewed green beans, lemony chicken, and tender grilled lamb chops. The Pico- Union restaurant's belly-dancing show is a hoot, but the highlight comes when owner Chrys Chrys—a squat, adorable man with a push-broom mustache—holds court in the dining room.
When you hear that Bavel chef Ori Menashe tested his hummus recipe roughly 400 times before serving it to diners, you might think life is too short for such obsession. But then you taste the silky chickpea spread at his new Middle Eastern restaurant, and you're overcome by a sudden wave of gratitude—blessed be the obsessives. There are typically a few styles to choose from, all scooped up with warm, soft-as-cotton pita. The duck 'nduja hummus, enhanced with parsley and a pool of spicy chorizo-esque meat, is transcendent, but it's the simpler kind, drizzled with olive oil and dotted with chile paste, that stole our hummus-loving heart.
Wielding long, thin yanagiba knives, the chefs at Aburiya Raku are masters at assembling gorgeous bouquets of raw fish. Order the moriawase platter for a gleaming assortment of the day's catch—anything from fatty tuna to baby barracuda—or opt for an entire fish, like aji, filleted and sliced to order. After you've finished the last bite of sashimi dabbed with plum-infused shoyu and topped with a hit of fresh wasabi, the bones are whisked back to the kitchen and deep-fried for a crunchy finale.
A fixture at hotel lounges and golf courses, the traditional triple-decker-with-a-frilly-toothpick club is a for- mula not to be messed with. If you're feeling splashy, there's the $38 classic bacon-avocado situation served poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel or the $28 interpretation with a fried egg from Wolfgang Puck at the Hotel Bel-Air. But it's the $9 workaday club at beloved midcentury diner Rae's that nails the perfect ratio: toasted sourdough, a generous spread of mayo, crisp iceberg, tomato, bacon, thick-sliced turkey, and a welcome layer of American cheese.
Next time your bar mates drag you for ordering such a seemingly basic drink as a G&T, take them to Bar Figueroa. The Hotel Figueroa's watering hole offers a gin tónica menu designed by barman Dushan Zaric, whose travels through Spain inspired his six concoctions. Each is a marvel in its own right, but dip your toe in with the Old Harbor, flavored with cucumber, cilantro flowers, key lime, juniper berries, star anise, and Three Cents Aegean Tonic. Extra points for the "freeze-infusing" of the goblet-size cocktail with liquid nitrogen, which makes this quaff as Instagrammable as it is delicious.
For those lucky enough to visit the Ugly Drum booth at downtown's Smorgasburg food market on any given Sunday, life can be separated into two parts: before pastrami enlightenment and after. Pit-smoked for 12 hours and piled between soft slices of Bub & Grandma's bread, Mozza veteran Erik Black's spice-rubbed brisket is as good as it gets. Fatty and juicy and mouthwatering, it hearkens to Central Texas 'cue as much as it does to the estimable Langer's version. Not only is this the finest thick-cut pastrami in L.A., it could well be the best in the country.
In a city where frozen scoops are big business, four-year-old Gelateria Uli stands out by offering legit Italian gelato that still manages to taste like Los Angeles. Owner Uli Nasibova, a transplant from Azerbaijan, fills a freezer case with flavors that hop enthusiastically between cultures, like creamy horchata arranged next to black sesame and ube (purple yam). The pistachio is one of a kind: Rather than glow-in-the-dark green, it's made from California-grown nuts that lend a pale green hue and a toasted richness along with that smooth, soft, elastic texture that separates true gelato from its icy imitators.
There was more than a little heartache when Santa Monica's Punta Cabras closed last year. After all, the place was beloved for a tostada that packed a wallop of flavor without a smidgen of animal. But now it's back in a larger space with a 1970s Baja theme and a vibe that's livelier than ever. The city's finest vegan tostada is back, too, and just as delicious. Piled with shaved pickled cauliflower—a clever textural riff that combines the zip of ceviche with raw-veggie crunch—it's enhanced with mashed avocado and spicy cashew crema spread onto a crackling fried tortilla.
A quality croissant, fortified with obscene amounts of butter if done correctly, is an easy thing to love. Petit Trois in Sherman Oaks makes a fine specimen that's crisp on the outside with a rich center that borders on doughiness. But the croissant that won us over is from Proof Bakery, local pastry legend Na Young Ma's eight-year-old Atwater Village bakery best known for exquisitely flaky delights made with organic flour. Beyond the traditional, you'll find ones filled with chocolate, almond paste, ham and Gruyère, or pistachio-raspberry jam—all of them worth waking up way too early for.
Parked at San Buenaventura State Beach on weekends, Ventura's Jolly Oyster is a mandatory pit stop for every bivalve fan traveling along the 101. The tiny blue trailer has been selling Baja-raised Kumamoto and Pacific oysters since 2011, catering to picnickers looking to shuck, slurp, and grill pristine shellfish steps from the sand. If you're not handy with an oyster knife, there's also a food truck serving scallop ceviche and fried-oyster tacos. Coastal dining doesn't get much better.


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Q: Why a block variable in scala function could not update after executed the inner block(s)? I am new to scala. I have written a function named calculateSubTotal with a list of product id and quantities.
At first the function will pick up a product from the database for each of the product id, then calculate the individual sub total and sum up with sub total. I would like return the calculated sub total. Calculation is OK but unfortunately it returns the initialized value rather than the calculated value. Whats with my code. The code is as:-
def calculateSubTotal(productIds: Seq[Int], quantities: Seq[Int]) = {
  var subTotal = 0.0
  for (index <- 0 to productIds.length - 1) {
    val productId = productIds(index)
    val quantity  = quantities(index)
    val futureProduct = Products.read(productId)
    for {
      product <- futureProduct
    } yield {
      val listPrice = product.get.listPrice
      subTotal += listPrice * quantity
    }
  }
  subTotal
}

Look the above function always returns 0.0 as I have initialized. What will be the correct code?

A: The problem is that the resulting type of your Products.read() method is Future[Option[Product]], which means that in your current code it's executed on a different thread. The main thread (the one executing calculateSubTotal) doesn't wait for a successful execution of Products.read() and it returns the result (subTotal in this case) right away. This will allow nondeterministic results: sometimes subTotal won't be modified at all, sometimes it'll be modified partially and sometimes you'll get a proper result. The simplest solution would be to synchronously wait for Products.read() result:
import scala.concurrent.duration.Duration
import scala.concurrent.Await

Await.result(Products.read(productId), Duration.Inf)

The asynchronous solution would require rewriting calculateSubTotal in a way, that returns Future[Int].

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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It is the responsibility of Oakton Community College to provide equal access to its educational opportunities and to prevent interference with those educational opportunities by maintaining an orderly, civil, and safe educational environment.
To that end, the Board of Trustees, recognizing both the rights and responsibilities of students that accrue to them as citizens or residents and guests of the United States, the State of Illinois, and Community College District 535, authorizes the President to develop a Code of Student Conduct and Procedures to implement it.
The purpose of the Code of Student Conduct is to provide fair and reasonable rules and procedures to promote human development and to ensure that students do not engage in conduct that materially or substantially interferes with the requirements of appropriate discipline for the operation of the College. Sanctions imposed for violating the Code may range from warning through expulsion.
I. PROSCRIBED CONDUCT
A. Jurisdiction of the College
Generally, College jurisdiction and discipline will be limited to conduct which occurs on College premises and other sites at which instruction is being conducted or which adversely affects the College Community and/or the pursuit of its objectives.
B. Conduct - Rules and Regulations
Students at Oakton Community College are expected to demonstrate qualities of morality, honesty, civility, honor and respect. Behavior which violates this standard are represented by but not necessarily limited to the following list. Any student found to have committed the following misconduct is subject to the disciplinary sanctions outlined in Article III:
1. Acts of dishonesty, including but not limited to the following:
a. Furnishing false information to any College official, faculty member or office.
b. Forgery, alteration, or misuse of any College document, record, or instrument of identification.
c. Tampering with the election of any College recognized student organization.
d. Academic dishonesty as defined in P5102.
e. Violation of copyright and/or failure to acknowledge the source of material submitted for evaluation or publication.
2. Speech and Related Behavior:
a. Any verbal, written, electronic, or physical behavior, such as a disparaging comment, epithet, slur, insult, or other expressive behavior, that is directed at a particular person or a group of persons, and which creates an environment wherein the verbal or physical behavior is inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction whether or not it actually does so.
b. Behavior by any student, in class or out of class, which for any reason materially disrupts the class work of others, involves substantial disorder, invades the rights or others, or otherwise disrupts the regular and essential operation of the College.
c. Participation in a campus demonstration which: (1) Disrupts the normal operations of the College and infringes on the rights of other members of the College community; (2) Leads or incites others to imminent lawless action or which is likely to incite such action; (3) Disrupts the scheduled and/or normal activities within any campus building or area.
d. Disruption or obstruction of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary proceedings, other college activities, including its public-service functions on or off campus, or other authorized non-college activities, when the act occurs on college premises.
e. Physical abuse, verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, harassment, coercion, sexual assault and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person.
f. Participating in, making claims of, or claiming responsibility for terrorist activity (such as threats of bombs, biological weapons, et.al.), whether in fact or as a hoax.
g. Acts of hazing include participation in any act or activity by an organization or group, or by a member of the organization or group, in which a member(s) or prospective member(s) is subjected to an activity that might cause or create a substantial risk to one's physical or mental health. Hazing includes any act or activity that might cause, but is not limited to, the following: fear or intimidation; embarrassment or ridicule, physical exhaustion, endangerment, harm, mutilation, or alteration of any part(s) of the body; mental fatigue, harassment, or duress; and defacement, damage, or destruction of property. The intent of the act or the consent or the cooperation of the hazing recipient shall not constitute a defense of hazing. The College or the hazing recipient may charge an individual and/or the recognized student organization with responsibility for the hazing act(s) committed either on or off campus.
3. Attempted or actual theft of and/or damage to property of the College or property of a member of the College community or other personal or public property.
4. Failure to comply with directions of College officials or law enforcement officers acting in performance of their duties and/or failure to identify oneself to these persons when requested to do so.
5. Unauthorized possession, duplication or use of keys to any College premises or unauthorized entry to or use of College premises.
6. Violation of published College policies, rules or regulations.
7. Violation of federal, state or local law on College premises or at College sponsored or supervised activities.
8. Use, possession or distribution of narcotic or other controlled substances except as expressly permitted by law.
9. Use, possession or distribution of alcoholic beverages except as expressly permitted by the law and College regulations. Public intoxication.
10. Illegal or unauthorized possession of firearms, explosives, other weapons, or dangerous chemicals on College premises.
11. Obstruction of the free flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic on College premises or at College sponsored or supervised functions.
12. Conduct which is disorderly, lewd, or indecent; breach of peace; or aiding, abetting, or procuring another person to breach the peace on College premises or at functions sponsored by, or participated in by, the College.
13. Theft or other abuse of computer time, (as defined in Policy 1106) including but not limited to:
a. Unauthorized entry into a file, to use, read, or change the contents, or for any other purpose;
b. Unauthorized transfer of a file;
c. Unauthorized use of another individual's identification and password;
d. Use of computing facilities to interfere with the work of another student, faculty member or College official;
e. Use of computing facilities to send obscene, threatening or abusive messages;
f. Use of computing facilities to interfere with normal operation of the College computing system.
g. Use of computing facilities to violate College policy and/or local, state, or national law.
14. Abuse of the Judicial System, including but not limited to:
a. Failure to obey the summons of a judicial body or College official;
b. Falsification, distortion, or misrepresentation of information before a judicial body;
c. Disruption or interference with the orderly conduct of a judicial proceeding;
d. Institution of a judicial proceeding knowingly without cause;
e. Attempting to discourage an individual's proper participation in, or use of, the judicial system;
f. Attempting to influence the impartiality of a member of a judicial body prior to, and/or during the course of, the judicial proceeding;
g. Harassment (verbal or physical) and/or intimidation of a member of a judicial body prior to, during, and/or after a judicial proceeding;
h. Failure to comply with the sanction(s) imposed under the Student Code;
i. Influencing or attempting to influence another person to commit an abuse of the judicial system.
C. Violation of Law and College Discipline
1. If a student is charged only with an off-campus violation of federal, state, or local laws, but not with any other violation of this Code, disciplinary action may be taken and sanctions imposed for grave misconduct which demonstrates flagrant disregard for or poses a threat to the College community. The Vice President for Student Affairs will review these cases to make a determination for appropriate action.
2. College disciplinary proceedings may be instituted against a student charged with violation of a law which is also a violation of this Student Code, that is, if both violations result from the same factual situation, without regard to pending civil litigation in court or criminal arrest and prosecution. Proceedings under this Student Code may be carried out prior to, simultaneously with, or following civil or criminal proceedings off-campus.
3. When a student is charged by federal, state or local authorities with a violation of law, the College will not request or agree to special consideration for that individual because of his or her status as a student. If the alleged offense is also the subject of a proceeding before a judicial body under the Student Code, however, the College may advise off-campus authorities of the existence of the Student Code and of how such matters will be handled internally within the College community. The College will cooperate fully with law enforcement and other agencies in the enforcement of criminal law on campus and in the conditions imposed by criminal courts for the rehabilitation of violators who are also students. Individual students and faculty members, acting in their personal capacities, remain free to interact with governmental representatives as they consider appropriate.
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« Gwyneth Paltrow's Culture Picks
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Jim Dine Reimagines the Antique: Contemporary Art and Poetry at the Getty Villa
Jim Dine's installation at the Getty Villa
Jori Finkel wrote a fascinating article in The New York Times on the American artist, Jim Dine's, current installation at the Getty Villa: Jim Dine: Poet Singing (The Flowering Sheets). She explains that although we may know Dine as a famous painter, sculptor, and printmaker, one of his lesser known passions is poetry, which is a central theme of the site-specific installation.
The show is being billed as the first ever contemporary art show at the Getty Villa. It includes a large self-portrait surrounded by four female figures based on Greek terra cotta sculptures in the museum's permanent collection. Dine's poetry is written on the walls and played on a loop so that visitors can fully capture it's essence vis à vis the sculptures.
Dine explains how his poetry is essential to his artwork: "Writing is a lot like drawing…I find my calligraphy expressive…A lot of times people are not comfortable with poetry. And they're going to say, 'What's this got to do with the artwork?' I'm going to say, 'Everything.' "
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August, 2003, Volume 10 Nr. 13, Issue 121
One Flag is Not Enough
Jozef Hand-Boniakowski
Back in the mid 1980s when I first moved to Vermont, there was a brouhaha broiling over the further development of a famous local ski resort. A major issue of contention at the time between proponents and opponents was the environmental impact of the proposed condominium complex. A bumper sticker adroitly stated the anti-position: "Where the affluent meet the effluent." On a national level, today, the effluvium has reached a point of crisis inversely proportional to wealth -- wealth mostly inherited by and through the imperial families of oil and finance. The consequences of the elite plutocratic juniors coming of age affect us all. The beneficiaries waddle in adolescent patriotic groupthink. The unearned endowments of investment reach maturity bringing with them the not so insignificant psychological baggage that affects us all. Aside from being unable to identify what they really want, the affluent oligarchy, unable to come to terms with the infinite financial possibilities of their reality, share a disconnect with the working people of the once free nation. How can such wealth even begin to understand the plight of a minimum wage worker, or of the family whose head of the household works three jobs and still cannot make ends meet? Why would such wealth even care? The inability of relating to the 22% of the nation's children who live in poverty is impossible for the mighty moneyed men who suffer from the psychological freedom that having so much wealth brings. Those who spend more on a bottle of Champagne or a pair of cuff links than the typical working United Statesian annually spends on prescription medication for a sick or disabled child are not in a position to know what's best for them. The rich, especially the ruling rich, while they know what they do, do not know what wealth does to them. The sad part is that, we, the sheeple, like adult children of alcoholics, enable them.
Rhett Redelings-MacDermott, in his piece America is Shamed, calls it like it is.
Our world has changed, yes. Not because of 9/11, but because of who we allowed ourselves to become and what we allowed ourselves to accept as a result.
The problem isn't just that George W. Bush and his crew got into office. And the problem isn't just that they've undermined our country with lies, illegal wars and a largely unopposed attack on our personal freedoms. The problem is that we let them.
Being a millionaire is not enough to the millionaire. A millionaire must have two million. When two million dollars resides in the bank, there must be three million, and, so on. There never is enough wealth. There must be more. Like a drug addict, requiring ever larger hits, the super rich require more super wealth to temporarily ameliorate their anxiety, but not the sickness itself. And, like a good enabler, we let them have it. We let them have more media, more consolidation, more hegemony and more war.
The underpinnings of wealth acquisition are made manifest by a need to control. It is, after all, power that is the cocaine of the wealthy. Power is the underlying reason for super wealth accumulation. The super-controlling rich buy obedience through purchasing high-power lobbyists in Congress. They turn to manipulating national symbols to get the population to conform. If that doesn't work, then Hitlerian and Stalinist tactics will do. Conformity takes on the qualities of corporate brand loyalty -- not surprising since this illegal administration is composed of Halliburton, Carlyle Group, Chevron, Unocal, et oil, people. Slicker than black gold, darker than Texas Tea, they trickle up the wealth while goose-stepping on the Constitution. And we, like fools, wanting to be true to the ideals of the nation, that is the ideals of the super-wealthy, take on the national logos with a "patriotic" furor that insults the Constitution. Brand USA takes on a demeaning sinister significance within the projected pathology of the super rich. This sad, pathetic and self-destructive behavior is taught to us in the institutions of State indoctrination, the schools, where the disease goes unrecognized.
When the Sickness is Addiction Any Fix Will do
Tim Wise, writing the piece, "Patriotism as Pathology" reveals an example of the disease. Wise contends that there is a failure on the part of the United States citizenry to recognize the "inconsistency of condemning terrorism while celebrating one of its most dedicated practitioners." That practitioner of extermination is Christopher Columbus. Just a month after 9-11, tens-of-thousands across the United States were marching with flags in hand commemorating the ruthlessness of Columbus while dropping tons of munitions on Afghanistan, a country they could not find on the map. No matter that the majority of our citizenry have no knowledge of the Arawaks; we do not care. Neither do we care that Hamid Karzai advised the U.S. oil company Unocal on the proposed $2 billion Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline. Hamid, who? We do not care that Mr. Karzai is head of Afghanistan today nor where he came from. Ignorance about the plight of Arawaks. Ignorance about Karzai. Ignorance is bliss, until one day the entire nation is sick shooting itself up with patriotism and blood lust. As Rhett Redelings-MacDermott puts it, "Nothing makes fear subside like kicking someone's ass and feeling powerful. It doesn't even matter if they deserve it." Go team, USA! We're number 1! Nuke 'em!
Robert Gellately, in his book, The Gestapo and German Society: Enforcing Racial Policy 1933-1945, shows evidence that the Gestapo relied upon and received public support. Just as then, the pathology is at play. It is a pathology that convinces the public to believe anything without question. University of Strathclyde Professor Conan Fischer, a reviewer of Gellately's work, recalls,
Diplomatic humiliation, domestic poverty, an alleged crisis of morality, the perception that criminality was rife, and a fractured political landscape prior to 1933 allowed the Nazis to present themselves as a restorative, stabilising force.
Consider the pathology of Pat Robertson, whose Christian Broadcast Network launched a 21-day "prayer offensive," extolling nationwide viewers to pray for the divine removal of the three judges that voted for Lawrence v. Texas. Damn the sodomites. Death to the infidel! The idea being that the Lord will enable the righteous Resident Bush to stack the Supreme Court with conservatives loyal to Christ. If only one of them could drop dead, dear God, would that be so bad? They are old after all, are they not? This behavior passes as normal for millions of so-called Christians in the U.S. today. Robertson, et al, have high hopes, like Nazi Germany did, for the restorative power of the Right, in this case the Religious Right. They believe that a moral man occupies the White House. Meanwhile, the Resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has daily conversations with Jesus Christ about what to do next in an amoral world. This is not just any amoral world. It is an amoral world where George himself holds an honored divine position. Judy Keen, USA Today, (4/23/03) reports that Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a close friend of Bush, told her that Bush believes he was called by God to lead the nation at this time. Meanwhile, the United States Attorney General, John Ashcroft, speaks in tongues. The Christian Coalition gave John Ashcroft a 100 percent approval rating during the Bush cabinet selection process. This is the same coalition that backed David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, in 1990 gubernatorial elections in Louisiana. The most massive military machine ever devised in human history is unleashed in a third-world country while the world is at the mercy of schizophrenics and neoracists and the U.S. citizenry finds this acceptable.
When the sickness is addiction, any fix will do. While the wealthy inject themselves with power, the masses inject themselves with patriotism. The super wealthy would have it no other way. Displaying the United States flag takes on a added significance in a post 9-11 world. Prayer, even more so. The non-wealthy masses have taken the people's flag and abused it in their own display of inadequacy with "In God we Trust" as the new "Gott mitt uns" mantra. The recent spate of flag display is often with little consciousness, regard nor respect for the rules of flag nor common etiquette. It works as a fix, however. A hit of old Old Glory is better than no hit at all, relief better than anxiety, groupthink patriotism better than critical thinking, blind acceptance of the Resident's State of the Union lies less taxing than exercising the free thought necessary for democracy to function.
Just One More Flag Wave Before I Go
In a small New England town, the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post displays not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, but seven United States flags on their building, all within a few feet of each other. A separate octo-flag flying on a separate pole dips dutifully at half mast on relevant occasions. The VFW hall faces the main roadway, exhibiting a highly obtuse vee roofline with one flag at the top apex strutting straight out and two sets of three identical flags each making their way down either side. The need to display so many U.S. flags is both indicative and revealing. Perhaps, if the building were larger, there would be a dozen flags each side of center. It is as if the VFW were saying, "Heh, I am patriotic. I am even more patriotic than that. Much more patriotic than that. Much much more patriotic that than...much, much, much, much, much, much more patriotic than that." In fact, I cannot be patriotic enough. Like the Germans who needed to display der Hakenkreuz everywhere, or the wealthy who never have enough wealth, the masses manipulated by the wealthy, never have enough patriotism. Meanwhile, the town on either side of the VFW hall, for as far as the eye can see in all directions, has United States flags on display every 30 yards or so. We would, after all, forget that we are United States citizens if the steady stream of red, white and blue were to end. It is as if we are afraid that our patriotism would come to an end, that our next fix would no longer be available. Utility polls serve triple duty as they extol the patriots' zeal and identify our inadequacy while delivering electrons and data bytes in the nations surveillance system known as the Internet. If we only had more utility poles, we could display even more flags. We would then be just a bit more patriotic, just like the wealthy, who if they only had another million, or another country to control, could feel better about themselves.
Consider the manner in which these flags are displayed. I've driven by the "Seven Flags VFW" and witnessed all the flags entangled, wrapped around their supporting poles. I've seen hundreds of flags throughout the Northeast look like rags, twisted around telephone wires, frayed and ripped, shredded to pieces on car antennas, used as bandanas, ties and blankets. I've seen hundreds of flags outside all night long without illumination, soaked during a drenching summer, frozen folded stiff in the middle of winter, and ripped from the whipping wind. Claiming to be a patriot, it seems, is much easier than doing the work of being a good citizen. Calling the government on its lies and ineptitude is as difficult as taking the flag down in inclement weather. Yet, both are left undone. Instead, we put up another flag. We again support a purported president, when he lies again. Straightening out the flag and treating it as the symbol of the people, not the corporations; speaking out against the commander-in-thief, the AWOL chickenhawk who mislead us into an unnecessary war, we find difficult.
While John Ashcroft covers up the "indecency" of the exposed bosom of the "Spirit of Liberty" statue, George W. Bush attempts to cover up his corrupt and lying administration by wearing a flag lapel pin. Can anyone name any other president who needed to proclaim his patriotism by wearing a U.S. flag pin? The subliminal message sent is that I, as president, am not patriotic enough. I have to show the population my patriotism by wearing one. One doesn't question the patriotism of a president, unless the chosen president himself questions it. Wearing the flag pin says as much. Who would question the patriotism of the VFW hall if there were only one flag on their building? Who would question the patriotism of a town that flies only one flag and illuminates it during the dark hours of the day as required by law? A sense of inadequacy would.
One More Park
In Southwest Florida, there was a recent groundbreaking ceremony for a proposed Veterans Parkway Flag Park. Gary Bowler, of the Veteran's Midpoint Memorial Charitable Trust, said, "Veterans need this...Patriots need this. They need some place to go. It's about patriotism. Freedom isn't free." In the original plan, the Flag Park was to be built only 35 feet away from the Iwo Jima memorial. Complaints from the Marine Corps League forced the distance to increase to 100 feet. Are only Marine Corps veterans allowed at the Iwo Jima Memorial? The veterans that I know would rather have their veteran health benefits restored. Rather than raising money for the park, funds could be used to address the needs of veterans and their offspring poisoned and sickened by Agent Orange and Depleted Uranium. Indeed, freedom isn't free. When, one might ask, do the super wealthy ever pay with their personal commitment and that of their children? How often do the super rich children of the wealthy find it necessary to visit a veterans memorial because they as veterans need to "go somewhere"?
The only time you see the ruling elite visiting veterans memorials is when they supply the public with a new cache of drugs, when the public supply of brain numbing patriotism is running out and in need of replenishment. Ask yourself, when was the last time a United States president visited the mangled bodies of our veterans, the limbless torsos of those paying the price of freedom, the broken spirits of our 19-year old soldiers? When was the last time this current acting president asked the families who paid the price with loss of loved ones, "What can I do for you?" Quite the contrary this administration has diminished individual veteran benefits. It has gone so far as to cut the death benefit for surviving families at the same time that it sends troops to war. Yet we will put up more flags as more of our children go to fight in wars that "will not end in our lifetime." No matter. We have our veterans parks. We have our flags. We have our. Never mind that our veterans are sick from the illegal use of depleted uranium weapons used in Iraq. Never mind that Iraqi children play with banned unexploded cluster bombs thinking they are toys.
Doug Rokke, former head of the Army's depleted uranium investigation unit revealed the "infamous memo" from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The March 1, 1991 memo, warned about D.U.'s "impact on the environment" and suggested risks to our troops and the civilian population. The memo suggested such an environmental impact "may become politically unacceptable." Rokke declares that the memo was "a direct order to lie." During the first Gulf War Rokke, claims that we shot 380 tons of uranium. In the Iraq War of 2003, he estimates the figure to be between 1,000 to 2,000 tons. Rokke, a health physicist, an expert in D.U. puts it this way, "They see a target out there, they put their sights on it, and they pull the trigger. They don't give a shit."
Don't Put It Down. Best One Around. Put It Up.
My hometown held a bazaar last weekend. Someone lined the street with small flags by sticking the short wooden sticks into the grass. Dozens of flags touching the ground, some knocked over. Others run over. No matter. We're all feeling patriotic today. These plastic flags, by the way, are "Made in China." That's "communist" China, mind you. They were a good deal, however, and go well with the Chinese shoes worn by patriots. Perhaps, if the flag wavers have their way, even cheaper shoes and flags could soon be manufactured in the newly "liberated" Iraq. If the Chinese laborer will work for thirty-cents an hour, the Iraqi worker may work for a dime. More and cheaper flags for us as more U.S. jobs go overseas. No matter. We will at least feel more patriotic, by having more flags, more shoes, more oil, while the ruling class has more millions and more power. We, will have more dead, dismembered and sick veterans, less freedom. At least we will have parks, like Veterans Parkway Flag Park in Southwest Florida, to go to. We can always put up another flag, or two, or three...or, seven.
With each raising of yet another flag comes more attack on the patriotism of those who dissent. Hal Crowther in Weapons of Mass Stupidity - The Marriage of television and propaganda may well have been the funeral of reason, writes, "Impugning other people's patriotism to achieve political leverage is the lowest road a public scoundrel can travel, the road where neo-con meets neo-fascist." Crowther reminds us of two quotes that sum up the times. Albert Einstein said, "The tyranny of the ignoramuses is insurmountable and assured for all time." George Santayana said, "Perhaps the universe is nothing but an equilibrium of idiocies." Let's go out an buy another flag. Let's buy seven.
President Bush signs American flags for workers at Beaver Aerospace and Defense after speaking about jobs and economic growth in Livonia, Michigan, Thursday, July 23, 2003. President Bush, in campaign-style speeches in states vital to his re-election, sought Thursday to make sure voters give him credit for rebates heading to millions of taxpayers this week. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
http://www.wyethwire.blogspot.com/2003_07_01_wyethwire_archive.html#105915666121974904
From the US Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Sec. 8 (g):
The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.
The title of that portion of the US Code? "Respect for flag".
© 2003 Jozef Hand-Boniakowski, PhD


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Web;

namespace VideoStoreRedux.Models
{
    public class Rental
    {
        public int Id { get; set; }
        public int MovieId { get; set; }
        public int CustomerId { get; set; }
        public bool Returned { get; set; }
        public DateTime CheckOutDate { get; set; }
        public DateTime ReturnDate { get; set; }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Android ANR: thread waiting on lock that it already holds? I'm seeing an ANR in my Android application. The stack of my main thread shows this happens while it is running a DB query. As per the Keeping your app responsive guidelines, this is probably wrong and should be moved to a worker thread.
However, I want to check that this operation is just slow and not deadlocked. What I'm confused by, is the stack shows this thread tid=1 is waiting for <0x41788f70>, which is held by ... tid=1! How is this possible? Surely if it is this thread holding the object, there's no need to wait? What am I missing here?
I can't find any other reference to the handle <0x41788f70> anywhere else in the stack dump.
Thanks for your help.
Here's the stack of the main thread:
"main" prio=5 tid=1 TIMED_WAIT
  | group="main" sCount=1 dsCount=0 obj=0x41788ea0 self=0x41677588
  | sysTid=19868 nice=-11 sched=0/0 cgrp=apps handle=1074336084
  | state=S schedstat=( 530094727 210277810 1460 ) utm=36 stm=17 core=1
  at java.lang.Object.wait(Native Method)
  - waiting on <0x41788f70> (a java.lang.VMThread) held by tid=1 (main)
  at java.lang.Thread.parkFor(Thread.java:1205)
  at sun.misc.Unsafe.park(Unsafe.java:325)
  at java.util.concurrent.locks.LockSupport.parkNanos(LockSupport.java:197)
  at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteConnectionPool.waitForConnection(SQLiteConnectionPool.java:735)
  at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteConnectionPool.acquireConnection(SQLiteConnectionPool.java:397)
  at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteSession.acquireConnection(SQLiteSession.java:905)
  at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteSession.prepare(SQLiteSession.java:586)
  at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteProgram.<init>(SQLiteProgram.java:58)
  at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteStatement.<init>(SQLiteStatement.java:31)
  at android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase.compileStatement(SQLiteDatabase.java:1126)
...
  at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:136)


The Banbury Shirt in Red/ Denim is the perfect country shirt. The classic check design is timeless, making an effortlessly easy outfit, with a subtle pop of colour. Crafted from finest 100% cotton, this shirt is both breathable and comfortable, suitable for all year round. Cut with a classic fit, the Banbury shirt is cut with a looser fit across both the waist and chest, making a more relaxed fit with more movement than a slimmer fit shirt. The button-down collar and chest pocket complete this classic look shirt.


All those car manufacturers suggesting they might look elsewhere for production facilities in the event of Britain leaving the EU, so we are soothingly told by those urging the hardest break possible come the end of next month, are just another manifestation of Project Fear. It is nothing more than scare stories. They want to sell us their motors, therefore they will want to make them close to the market. We should not be unduly concerned.
As to the supply chains and just-in-time manufacturing needing no customs barriers and no more delays than our increasingly sclerotic motorway network imposes already, well, everyone else manages, don't they? They're still investing. You can't, so it is told, just up and move a car factory elsewhere. You'll see. It'll all turn out OK.
But now has come the bad news. Already, as Fleet News has observed, "Fresh inward investment in the UK automotive sector plummeted in 2018 - down almost half (46.5%) on 2017 to £588.6 million - amid fears over a 'no deal' Brexit, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) … British car production also fell to its lowest level for five years in 2018, with 1,519,440 new cars leaving UK factories, a decline of 9.1% and the second consecutive annual fall". The industry does not want a no deal exit.
And now has come far, far worse. Sky News Tweeted out this taster "Sky Sources: Japanese car-maker Nissan is cancelling plans to build its X-Trail model at its plant in Sunderland". Mark Kleinmann's article has just confirmed the news. "Nissan will drop another bombshell into the heart of Britain's car manufacturing industry next week by announcing the cancellation of plans to manufacture its X-Trail model in the UK … Sky News has learnt that the Japanese car-maker's executives will confirm the move on Monday, casting further gloom over an already-embattled sector".
There was more. "Sources said the X-Trail move would be interpreted as projecting renewed doubt over Nissan's future investment in the UK … Precise details of Nissan's impending announcement were unclear this weekend, but sources said it was likely to initially involve abandoning the X-Trail production plans which had been announced in the autumn of 2016". No-one should be surprised. Others may follow suit.
Also, there was this ominous warning. "The consequences of the announcement for the longer-term future of Sunderland were uncertain, although some car industry insiders believe that Nissan may seek to further scale back its operations there during the coming years". The only unknown is that we don't know who is next. But someone will be.
When Margaret Thatcher opened the Sunderland plant in 1986, she said "It was confirmation from Nissan that within the whole of Europe, the United Kingdom was the most attractive country - politically and economically - for large-scale investment".
Mrs T's industry minister Keith Joseph put it more directly: "The deal [is] tangible evidence of the benefits to the UK of membership of the European Community; Nissan [has] chosen the United Kingdom because it [gives] them access to the whole European market. If we were outside the community, it is very unlikely that Nissan would have given the United Kingdom serious consideration as a base for this substantial investment".
What would the Sunderland area be without Nissan? Project Reality just arrived.
I was at a car supply chain manufacturer last week. Without their product there would be no JLR, Ford or Volvos rolling off production lines.
4 years ago we worked hard to secure their presence in the UK and they invested millions over a German plant.
They have costed scenarios and any Brexit deal will cost them. It could be as much as £2m a year, if it is that's 700 more car supply chain jobs going to Germany.
If Nissan does go it'll be the final epitaph for the despised Thatcher and the tories.
Not that it'll help the economically besieged north east.


text:
Q: Which tool to backup an ext4 partition? I'm searching for a tool to backup a whole ext4 partition to an image. I tried the latest version of mondo, which is not working. What are good alternatives?

A: Modern versions of e2image (1.42.7 or later) allow efficient cloning/backing up of Ext2/3/4 partitions from the command line.
e2image -ar /dev/sdaX ~/sdaX.img

*

*-a ensures that file data, and not just the filesystem structure, is copied.

*-r ensures that the data is stored in a raw image format (like you would get with dd), as opposed to QEMU's QCOW2 format.
The resulting image will be efficient in terms of disk space usage, because:

*

*e2image will not copy blocks that are not in use by existing files

*when outputting to an image file, it will store it as a sparse file, so that large blocks of zeroes will not take up any space on the disk.

Care still needs to be taken when copying sparse files, to ensure that the zeroes aren't written out when copied.
One way to avoid this is to store the image file inside a squashfs image.  This is a read-only, mountable filesystem that compresses the data inside, but still allows the image file within to be seekable and mountable.

A: Try Clonezilla. It runs in a liveCD environment, and supports any sort of partition (including ext4), to a variety of stores (NFS, SMB, SSH, local filesystems).
I use it all the time to image workstations in our labs.

A: dump and restore for ext4 (sudo apt-get install dump) were just designed for that matter.  Check this if you are curious:
https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/41445

A: I like dd

dd if=/dev/sda1 (or just sda for the whole disk) of=/home/user/backup.img

and

dd if=/home/user/backup.img of=/dev/sda1

to get it back

A: 'Disks' (gnome-disk-utility) is default in Ubuntu these days.

A: Take a look at fsarchiver
It can be found on the latest SystemRescueCD
Reportedly made by the same guy who authored partimage.
It sports a lot of improvements including:
 - ext4 support
 - ntfs support
 - file-level instead of block-level
 - compression using multiple cores
Basically, after a partition is saved/compressed it can be restored to different size partitions, and partitions of different formats (so you can use it to convert a partition's format too), and if part of the backup gets corrupted it doesn't destroy the whole image (like it would on a block-level backup.
The only downside (if you consider it a downside) is, it's only a command line app at the moment (but it should get a gui eventually).

The command line entries are really simple.
To save a partition:
fsarchiver savefs /mnt/backup/gentoo-rootfs.fsa /dev/sda1

Where '/mnt/backup/gentoo-rootfs.fsa' is the path being saved to and '/dev/sda1' is the partition being cloned.
To restore a partition:
fsarchiver restfs /mnt/backup/gentoo-rootfs.fsa id=0,dest=/dev/sda1

Just reverse the options above. From what I understand (in the documentation), it looks like the id=0 is necessary because an image can contain multiple partitions. For more directions on usage (such as saving multiple partitions) checkout the QuickStart guide.
SideNote:
As it turns out, I'm actually writing this (as entertainment) from a Linux Mint LiveCD while I'm cloning a newly updated windows factory install clone. I scoured the net earlier looking for a better partition cloning alternative because I want to finally trash this Ghose '03 disc that I've been using for years. I'll drop a note to let you know how it went after I finish the restore.
Update:
Just finished the backup with no errors. It took a little while because I didn't know about the options to make it multi-threaded when I started. The compression was set to the default value (equivalent to gzip -6), the partition was 4.48GB on disk (highly trimmed/updated XP + Chrome) and the output file weighs in at 2.3GB. No complaints here.

A: Why do you want to create an image? In most cases a file based backup (like a tar ball) gives you much more flexibility when restoring it, e.g. you can restore it on a different file system or even multiple file systems.

A: In addition to the filebased strategy: try the command rsync to backup your data.
A program similar to this is called Déjà Dup: https://launchpad.net/deja-dup


Although I appreciate your concern about my well-being, I assure you that there is no reason for me to withdraw or return home. According to the National Prion Clinic, prion disease cannot be transmitted from one person to another through relatively close contact. In cases of prion disease, the brain and spinal cord are thought to be extremely infectious. As a result, direct contact with them seems to be the most common form of transmission. The people who have died studied abroad in Scotland during the time there were outbreaks of mad cow disease, a type of prion disease that affects cattle. During their time there, they ate haggis and brawn, meals made from the stomach and brain of cattle, respectively. These students most likely ingested the brain of an infected cow and, thus, became afflicted with vCJD, a form of Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease resulting from an abnormal folding of the prion protein. The deviant prion protein caused the normal proteins located in their central nervous system to transform into the misfolded or disease-causing form, resulting in the death of their neurons and the formation of holes within their brain. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the disease that took the life of my peers will not present any danger to me, unless I eat the parts of their central nervous system.


Todd has over 26 years of financial services experience, including 19 years as a Certified Financial Planner. Prior to joining Stepp & Rothwell, Inc., he held consultative and managerial positions at American Century, Fidelity Investments, and State Farm Insurance. Todd has been a Certified Financial Planner since 1999.


Oboy! Have I got a book for you! I'm sure you've heard about it. Room. That's the book. THE book. Emma Donoghue, transplanted from Ireland to Canada, proves once again that the Irish truly do have a silver tongue.
Room, the book, shows us microcosms and macrocosms as very separate worlds. You read about Room's world, Outside's world, and the world of language from a life-long isolated five-year-old's perspective. Donoghue very cleverly interprets words, and situations described in words, as that child would. She speaks in the child-talk of a boy without even once having it sound as contrived "baby talk". It's real.
This is a serious study of captivity, treated in a manner by which the reader recognizes the violence and depravity of it while admiring "Ma's" bravery and creativity in keeping Jack safe. Even though the subject at hand is very disturbing, the story is an enjoyable read and a page-turner to the very end.
Donoghue exhibits her creativity on so many levels in this book: the treatment of the subject matter, the language, the solution and the resolution. This is a must-read. Don't walk–RUN–to your nearest library and put your name on the Hold list.


If you know me at all, you'll know I engage about pretty much anything as long as I've something sensible to say, or useful to share. I'm a talker severely lacking in fence-sitting skills! Jazz, reputation management, communications, PR 101, coffee, good wine, politics (perhaps especially politics!), feminism … plus any variety in between. I am pretty much as you find me – "work me" and "real life me" are one and the same – for one, life's too short to fake it and for another, in my line of work being credible and authentic is vital. When you work with ideas for a living, being yourself is the very best you can be and delivers the very best for clients. For better or worse this adds a vein of inescapable reality to how I touch off the world whether that be in person or virtually, 9 to 5 or beyond.
What you see is what you get… there's no alternate version of me trying to spin the smoke and mirrors.
So, on finding that I can't have children as I did some months ago as part of a routine check-up, it should have been a no-brainer to blog about it, right? Well, yes and no. Truth is, it's not news I went looking for but rather "one of those things" that came to pass. It's also news that's personal. But, I'm also the one who's engaged in the debate on what it means to be a "modern woman" and I've been vocal on what is, in my opinion, a huge lack of respect for those who choose to be childless by choice. So, that in mind – however personal my own news is, I felt sharing it was the only legitimate way I could continue to engage on the topic. Come what may, we all have skin in this game. And so it became the very obvious blog I avoided writing.
The irony is that I'd spent my life to that point saying, vocally, strongly, repeatedly, that I didn't want kids – and I didn't. I was never moved to want kids. I don't see a baby and swoon or coo – it's just not me. Never has been. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, or with me, for not being pre-disposed towards babies. As I've written before, childless by choice is, I believe, a perfectly legitimate decision that should be celebrated and embraced as much as any other lifestyle choice in the 21st century. But in the Ireland of 2015, it's still not seen as such. I've encountered, more than once, sneered comments such as "love yourself too much to have kids, do you?", "too married to your job to have a life?", "too selfish to give up your social life for kids, are you?" along with the chestnut of "who's going to take care of you when you get old"? (as if the latter is a sensible reason to bring another human onto the planet).
For me, there are many and varied ways that any of us can contribute to the world leaving it better than we find it – creating the next generation isn't the only (or most important) way, and I simply don't believe in demonising the childless choice. So in some ways when I found that it's not possible to have children, the "don't want to" becoming a "can't" shouldn't have made a difference.
But it did. What was once the choice I felt I owned, is no longer mine to make. And that's the thing… when a choice (any choice) is taken away, the ground shifts and it's an adjustment of sorts.
We're still surrounded by messages that say a woman's "main worth" is as a mother. This portrayal depicts having children as where Woman comes into her "own" and for as long as I live in a nation that still enshrines the special role of the mother in our constitution (to the point that a basic human right to termination isn't legally provided for – another day's work entirely) the fairly strong messages that "choosing not to" is unnatural and more, that "not being able to" is a failure, remain.
I genuinely believe my childless choice would have endured irrespective. It was well founded and thought-through, contrary to the frustrating "ah sure you'll change your mind" response I used to get, as if one day an epiphany would deliver me to my feminine senses. But the reality now is that I can't know that for sure, and that too is a change.
There have been less-than ideal moments… the knee-jerk "I won't be able to tell you any of my baby news so" that caught me off-guard. The moment where trading in my routine breakfast fruit-plate for a less healthy option (because in truth I'd skipped dinner the night before and was ready to eat my desk and its contents) led to the comment "you'll be telling us some good news soon?" which stung a little if I'm fully honest.
The off-the-cuff "your clock must be ticking at this stage" remarks which used to irk me, continue to do that but also somehow matter more. I've come to wonder how they'd respond if I told them that what they heard ticking was not the stereotypical, fantasy, biological clock but my very real short fuse for such mindless babble.
There are the inaccurate assumptions about my career ambition which remain. The assumptions were never true, but now can never be fully proven so. This group, who were always of the view that my passion for what I do as my leave-behind to the world was merely a passing phase, destined to somehow be sublimely surpassed as motherhood approached… they were wrong then as now but from their ranks I can see the patronising nods. I was "driven" before but now "it's understandable – she can't have kids you know". That rankles. A lot. It's an adjustment.
But there have been some other reactions that have shown me I'm very lucky with a tried and true bunch of friends who get me just as I am, and for whom the news is just another thing they know alongide my love of skyscraper heels and red wine.
There was the poor bloke I unintentionally blurted it out to, who having thoughtfully and supportively been kind, also gave me the truly priceless response that defused me and gave me my very first belly laugh about it ("Just think of the money you could have saved on birth control over the years…"). For that one moment of levity I will be forever grateful – it took the pressure-cooker heat out of it. There's my best friend who, after pausing to consider, thoughtfully promised as only she could, to continue to foster and let-loose her inner child during gin o'clock so that I can always use my "serious mommy voice" somewhere it matters. The friend who just gave me a hug and let it go with no expectation that it needed to be talked through.The colleague who quietly, kindly, told me he's there to chat if I ever want to – he knows what it's like. The fabulous friend who'd always wanted kids but told me that although she'd had the same news years ago still hadn't told anyone because she simply couldn't find the words to capture her hurt that her dream was no longer an option. She knew it was different for me, but somehow it meant I understood at least a little better.. and so many more.
My learning so far is that if we could all stop assuming we know what looks like a "normal" and "appropriate" family or lifestyle, that would be a huge start. For the record, no one I know or love wants to be "normal" or "appropriate" and depending on where you stand at any one time, those definitions can unexpectedly shift and evolve.On a practical note, please don't stop telling me your baby news. I was always happy for you – I just didn't want that for me. I still don't. And I won't break if I hear it – even us non-moms are built of sterner stuff. I'll celebrate with you and for you as I always have, and as for the things I'll ask you to celebrate with me, I'll be back to you with details!
Life never looks like we expect it to, but I can absolutely promise mine won't be dull and that's just about the best any of us can aim for!