The thing about running for president is you’re going to miss a lot of work.
ABSENT: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, missed nearly a third of Senate roll call votes while running for president in 2016.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lead the way by missing 32.3 percent of the 502 votes cast in 2016, followed by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., with 31.3 percent. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont, an independent who’s actually among the most liberal members of the Senate, missed 28.5 percent of the votes.
Josh Tauberer, creator of GovTrack, told Watchdog.org that’s a very common occurrence during a presidential election.
“Everybody, when they run for president, they stop voting because they’re campaigning,” he said.
Among the senators in the top 10 for missed votes were three who left the Senate after the 114th Congress: Sen. David Vitter, R-La., with 15.1 percent (fifth), Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., 13.3 percent (sixth) and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., 12.2 percent (seventh).
Those members of Congress who aren’t running for re-election are no longer beholden to voters, though Tauberer said he hasn’t examined the numbers closely enough over the years to see if there’s a pattern of high numbers of missed votes for those leaving office.
Twelve senators missed no votes in 2016, including such notables as Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who hasn’t missed a vote in 23 years, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
View the total missed votes for each member of the Senate here, and for the House here.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., was not present for 29.3 percent of 1,325 House votes cast last year, topping that list. She’s also out the Capitol door for the 115th Congress after losing a Senate race. So is Rep. Stephen Fincher, R-Tenn., who missed 27.3 percent of votes for the dubious runner-up position.
Six representatives missed at least 20 percent of votes, while 11 missed no votes.
GovTrack notes that missed votes are not calculated for the Speaker of the House because the Speaker is not required to vote in “ordinary legislative proceedings,” according to House rules.


Anyone found some great assembly tutorials? I really want to learn assembly, thinking of making my own OS in the future, or building on an existing one so assembly would really help.
As someone who has worked on his own OS before, I would give you the following little tidbit of information: The only part of an OS that has to be in assembly is the very small boot loader - and unless you want to write your own file system too (quite difficult), there are already boot loaders written for you. I have an example for FAT 12 if you want to take a look at it.
The kernel and everything else could be (and often is) written in C/C++ if you wanted. Granted, you wouldn't be able to use the standard libraries, but it saves you a lot of trouble from assembly. You'd write some simple i/o routines in assembly, make them functions, and you'd be all set.
I was making a server OS, and the reason I stopped is because of the device drivers I would need. It's a fun project and you learn a lot, but just be aware that this is a much bigger project than you may think.
As for a tutorial, I'm afraid I can't suggest one. I've mostly learned from books.
Also - try Google. I know it's directory was a wealth of information for me when I was doing my OS.
Thanks guys, Ya I know it would be a lot of work, but its such a cool thing to do. And I will learn so much, It would probably take more than a year but I think it would be worth it.
Art of Assembly (http://webster.cs.ucr.edu/AoA/index.html) perhaps.
I also recommend Art of Assembly. It goes into detail about everything.
Again, I'll try and find the site this came from, as you'd learn a lot about the bootstrap from the rest of the tutorial. I also wrote a very simple ASM kernel that you could build off of - it has the basics of I/O done.
Erm, that bootsector doesn't put you into protected mode. Although you could do this yourself, it makes it more difficult as very few C compilers will support 16bit mode AND 32bit so you'd have to add a second stage loaded.
The bootsector I use is attached, it performs pretty much everything you could want. But you have to have the 2 files it tries to load on the disk otherwise it'll just hang (no space left for error message code). It'll load a flat binary to 0x100000, enable pmode, load the second file (a config file or whatever you want), get a map of the available memory from the bios (can't use bios functions once you're in pmode) - from a floppy, not tested on any hard drive.
Can I ask why you can't use the STL in programming the OS?
because STL makes use of new and new relies on an operating system.
You could prabably get by creating your own STL allocators. Never tried to do that though.


Q. Am I allowed to eat and drink in the library while I study?
Yes, both food and drink are allowed in the library. We only ask that you please pick up after you are done.


Does Twitter really fit into business and IT?
There have probably been more words written about Twitter than there are Twitter users. While it is considered the newest, most popular form of social networking, fitting into the category of microblogging, it is in fact used by far fewer people than Facebook, for example.
Toshiba Storage Division announced a breakthrough half-terabyte hard disk drive in a 2.5-inch form factor on Wednesday.
Employment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor for the month of July, as well as its employment statistics comparing July 2007 versus July 2008, indicate a significant decline in information technology employment.
The idea of cloud computing -- designed around an architecture whose natural state is a shared pool outside the enterprise -- has gained momentum in recent months as a way to reduce cost and improve IT flexibility. But the use of cloud computing also carries with it security risks, including perils related to compliance, availability, and data integrity.
Microsoft's launch of Dynamics AX 2009 last week in an on-premise version only -- at announcement there was no indication of a future SaaS version -- has stirred the debate once again over what midmarket companies are demanding from CRM and ERP applications and how that demand will shape the future look of business software.
Microsoft and Nortel continued their partnership in the unified communications space on Tuesday with the announcement of four new joint UC solutions.
Business Objects, an SAP company, unveiled the next iteration of its business intelligence platform, XI 3.0.
Targeted mainly at its VAR (Value Added Reseller) channel, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Version 4.0 was released to manufacturing this week.
Mashups and web services in the enterprise are old news. But IT has paid little more than lip service to web services that span business processes across the extraprise.
Google took a giant step on Friday to make it easier for companies to migrate any e-mail system over to Google Apps Gmail by offering an E-mail Migration API targeted at corporate developers and e-mail administrators.


Is there anything better than John Green's books coming to life as movies? I can't wait for Paper Towns' release this summer, and I'm thrilled that, after what feels like forever, Looking For Alaska 's movie adaptation is finally a go. But in the midst of all this excitement, we can't forget about the wonderfulness that is The Fault in Our Stars — the movie, not the book, although the book is even more incredible. There have been few times in my life where a novel that has felt so personal to me has translated so brilliantly on screen, so it's no surprise that TFIOS was nominated for seven MTV Movie Awards this year. Obviously, it deserves to win all of them, but not just because of the love story between Hazel and Gus. There are so many underrated moments in The Fault In Our Stars that can sometimes get lost in the shadow of the big ones, even though they're just as important.
Because even the major moments — like Hazel and Gus' dinner date in Amsterdam, or when Gus tells Hazel the cancer is back — wouldn't be as amazing without the tinier, quieter moments, right?
If you need to watch the movie over again to appreciate these smaller moments, you totally should. Hazel and Gus would want you to.
And sure enough, go back inside she does.
He's totally freaked out when the plane begins to take off on their way to Amsterdam, lending to the super adorable moment when he grabs Hazel's hand. But it gets even better when he's over his fear and is instead amazed that they're flying. Ansel Elgort, why are you so cute?
We all know what Hazel really wanted to say at Gus' funeral, and fortunately, she was able to say it while Gus was still alive. However, when it's time to deliver the real eulogy, Hazel realizes that it's more important to say something that will comfort Augustus' parents, and it's a sweet moment.
Because I love that Gus keeps handing him things to break, including basketball trophies. How they deal with a breakup together is the perfect way to show the history of their friendship, plus, it's funny.
It's described so well in the book, but nothing compares to seeing it on screen. As someone who drives just a bit like Gus, I found these scenes super relatable.
Can we appreciate how much younger Hazel looks like Shailene Woodley? The casting department for this movie did an awesome job.
Even though it wasn't quite as meaningful as it was in the book, a reference is still made to the "swing set of tears."
It's so sad to think that Isaac and Hazel are both losing the person who's most important to them, but fortunately, even though they haven't known each other very long, they manage to form a bond with each other. Gus might be gone, but they still have each other — and without Isaac, Hazel may never have found the eulogy Gus wrote for her.


An equation is a mathematical statement that has an expression on the left side of the equals sign (=) with the same value as the expression on the right side. An example of an equation is 2222 + 2222 = 4444.
One of the terms in an equation may not be known and needs to be determined. The unknown term may be represented by a letter such as x (e.g. 2222 + x = 4444). The equation is solved by finding the value of the unknown x that makes the two sides of the equation have the same value.
Use the subtractive equation property to find the value of x in addition equations. The subtractive equation property states that the two sides of an equation remain equal if the same number is subtracted from each side.
Check the answer by substituting (7000) for x in the original equation. The answer is correct if the expressions on each side of the equals sign have the same value.
What number would complete the sentence?


The accused New York bomber posted on his Facebook account: "Trump, you failed to protect your nation" before attempting a suicide attack at city's main bus terminal, prosecutors claim.
Bangladeshi immigrant, Akayed Ullah, 27, has been charged with terror offences after he allegedly strapped a crude pipe bomb to his body and detonated during rush hour on Monday.
He was seriously wounded in the attack with burns to his hands and body and three other people suffered minor injuries.
A criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court said Ullah told authorities he "did it for the Islamic State".
Federal authorities have charged him with providing material support to terrorists and using weapons of mass destruction.
He was expected to appear before a magistrate judge, but it was not immediately clear if he was well enough to go to court.
A search of his Brooklyn apartment recovered a passport with the words "O America, die in rage" scrawled in it, the complaint said.
He hoped to "terrorise as many people as possible" with a bomb filled with metal screws that he believed would cause maximum damage, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, Ullah began researching how to build bomb after he had "viewed pro-Isis materials online, including a video instructing, in substance, that if supporters of Isis were unable to travel overseas to join Isis, they should carry out attacks in their homelands".
Bangladesh counter-terror officers are questioning Ullah's wife and other relatives in his home country.
Relatives and police said Ullah last visited Bangladesh in September to see his wife and newborn son. He left both behind when he returned to the US.
Bangladesh's government condemned the attack and released a statement declaring their policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.
Ullah, who was living in Brooklyn, arrived in the US in 2011 and the Department of Homeland Security said he's a lawful permanent resident.
He came to the US on a visa issued to him based on a family connection to a US citizen.
A White House spokeswoman said the incident shows the need for "immigration reform".
Law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation said Ullah had looked at Islamic State group propaganda online and told investigators he was retaliating against US military aggression.
Ullah, whose family said in a statement that it was heartbroken, is not believed to have had any direct contact with the group.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said all of the victims had suffered minor injuries.
"Thank God the perpetrator did not achieve his ultimate goal," he said.
Footage has emerged showing the suspect walking through the crowded underpass before a plume of white smoke appears and the explosion sends commuters running.
As the smoke clears, the suspect can be seen laying crumpled on the ground.


What is really good one-word synonym for "reliable"?
Reliability coefficients can assume numerical values anywhere between ___ and ___ .
Whereas the number produced by test-retest reliability is called the "coefficient of ______," the number produced by parallel-forms reliability is called the "coefficient of ______ ."
What other term(s) is/are sometimes used in place of the term "parallel-forms reliability"?
The reliability procedures known as "split-half," "K-R #20," and "alpha" are similar in that they are focused on _______ reliability.
In estimating a test's split-half reliability, half of the examinees respond to the odd-numbered items while the other half respond to the even-numbered items.
When the K-R #20 reliability method is used, examinees will be tested ___ time(s).
Who invented the reliability procedure that's often called "alpha" or "coefficient alpha"?
Which internal consistency reliability procedure--K-R #20 OR Cronbach's alpha--fits a situation where data are collected on a 5-point scale that goes from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree"?
Which of the reliability procedures that focus on internal consistency makes use of the Spearman-Brown formula?
If applied to the same right/wrong (i.e., 0 or 1) data from a test, the split-half reliability coefficient will always turn out the same as the K-R#20 reliability coefficient.
The coefficient of concordance is symbolized by the letter ___ .
Interrater reliability will turn out equal to ____ if all raters are in full agreement.
What name is associated with the interrater reliability technique that uses rank-order data and produces a "coefficient of concordance"?
What name is associated with the interrater reliability technique that uses nominal data and produces a kappa coefficient?
What do the letters ICC stand for?
Although many techniques can be used to assess interrater reliability, Pearson's r is not one of them.
The size of the SEM is ____ related to the amount of reliability present in the data.
If a student's score on a test is 82 and if the SEM = 4, that student's 95% confidence band would extend from __ to __.
Which assessment of consistency--reliability OR SEM--is expressed "in" the same units as the scores around which confidence bands are built?
High test-retest reliability implies high internal consistency reliability; conversely, low test-retest reliability implies low internal consistency reliability.
Reliability "resides" in the measuring instrument itself, not in the scores obtained by using the measuring instrument.
Measures of internal consistency will be ______ if a test is administered under highly speeded conditions.
Which of these statements is better: (a) We estimated the reliability of our data. (b) We determined the reliability of our data.
What is a really good one-word synonym for "valid"?
If reliability is very, very high . . . then validity must also be very, very high.
If validity is very, very high . . . then reliability must also be very, very high.
Content validity normally ____ expressed by means of a numerical coefficient.
The term "criterion-related validity" covers two approaches: predictive and _____.
A validity coefficient normally takes the form of a ______ .
To support the convergent and discriminant validity of a new test, correlation coefficients must turn out to be positive and negative in sign, respectively.
Which of the main validity procedures (content, criterion-related, or construct) is sometimes dealt with by the statistical technique of factor analysis?
Reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity.
Where does the validity of a new test reside, in the test itself or in the scores produced by an administration of the test?
What might cause an honest researcher to claim that his/her test has high content validity when in fact it has very little content validity when evaluated by several judges?
What might cause an honest researcher to claim that his/her test has high criterion-related validity when in fact it has very little criterion-related validity?
How high should reliability and validity coefficients be before we can confidently call them "high enough?"
If a researcher conducts a study wherein the data are perfectly reliable and valid, it's still possible for the researcher's data-based conclusions to be utterly worthless, even if it's the case that an important research question was under investigation.


In the video below, Data refers to the French language as "obscure". Picard objects to this and Data is about to make a remark as to why the French language was indeed obscure. Is there any indication given in any other materials as to why Data considered French to be an obscure language?
Born in Paris, France, Picard betrays a gallic accent only when deep emotions are triggered. Otherwise, since ethnic accents are no longer common, he carries only a touch of French phrasing in his speech. In discussions with friends, he pretends to believe that France represents "the only true civilization" to appear on Earth -- and that it delights him when a witty companion wants to prove the same for England, Italy or China. He is definitely a 'romantic' and sincerely believes in concepts like honor and duty although on issues that affect the safety if his crew and starship he can be completely pragmatic and tough as hell.
it is fair to assume this is a direct cold fact way of presenting it from Data's fact-ridden way of thinking.
This isn't a great answer, but it's fairly heavily hinted throughout the "modern" series (TNG, DS9, Voyager) that the official language of the Earth is standardized English, and that other languages are basically of hobbyist and research type use only, the way Latin is today. There is also more than one reference of inferior cultures that don't have a common language, and that is one indicator of them being inferior.
As for why French was used specifically, it may be for a light comedic moment with Picard. Or for the reasons of being one of the most widely spoken languages (geographically) in the world, mainly competing with English for geographic spread.
French is also the language other than English that business is conducted in at the UN. Other languages were added as additional working languages later. Some committees and offices in the UN only use English and French to this day (Per Wikipedia). Also CERN requires most staff to speak, write, and read both.
Once the key international language in Europe, being the language of diplomacy from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, French lost most of its international significance to English in the 20th century, especially after World War II, with the rise of the United States as a dominant global superpower. A watershed was when the Treaty of Versailles, ending World War I, was written in both French and English. A small but increasing number of large multinational firms headquartered in France are using English as their working language even in their French operations, and to gain international recognition, French scientists often publish their work in English.
With the center of Starfleet being located in San Francisco, you can imagine it has an English-centric influence on the planet. Additionally, which Africa has been growing in use of French in the last few decades, we don't know what affect World War 3 and the forming of the African Confederation (or the United States of Africa) had on their continued use of French.
Based on Data's statement, we can assume that by the 24th century, French has become a niche language.
Data is a graduate of Star Fleet Academy. There is a good chance he is quoting a professor, and thus the opinion of Star Fleet in general.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged star-trek star-trek-tng languages star-trek-data or ask your own question.
Why would Professor Moriarty “cease to exist” if he tried to exit the holodeck via the arch?
What was this character thinking in “Brothers”?


This map created by Mike Hankey of the American Meteor Society depicts the sighting reports of the March 22, 2013, fireball that lit up the East Coast night sky.
The dramatic fireball that lit up skies over the U.S. East Coast Friday evening (March 22) was caused by an asteroid just 3 feet (0.9 meters) or so wide, scientists say.
Such boulder-size asteroids slam into Earth's atmosphere every two or three days, so Friday's "Manhattan meteor" — which shone as brightly as the full moon and was apparently visible from Maine to North Carolina — isn't a terribly rare event. But the sensation it created on Twitter and other social media outlets is understandable nonetheless, said NASA meteor expert Bill Cooke.
"When you have something like this occur at 8 o'clock at night over one of the most populated regions of the United States, it's going to get people's attention," Cooke, head of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., told reporters today (March 23).
The Manhattan meteor entered our planet's atmosphere over eastern Pennsylvania Friday and streaked southeast from there, flaming out over the Atlantic Ocean. While space rocks of this size sometimes produce meteorites (rocks that survive to reach Earth's surface), Cooke said, it's unlikely that scientists or collectors will snag any pieces of this one.
"The eyewitness accounts indicate that this meteor was last seen about 70 kilometers [43 miles] into the Atlantic, so I do not believe there are any meteorites on land from this event," Cooke said.
Some eyewitnesses have posted videos of the meteor to YouTube, which Cooke and his colleagues have been poring over. NASA runs a network of fireball cameras, but the instruments were apparently all clouded out or too far away to observe the event, Cooke said.
Friday's meteor follows closely on the heels of several other dramatic space rock events. For example, a huge fireball detonated without warning over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk on Feb. 15, wounding more than 1,200 people. Just hours later, a 130-foot-wide (40 m) asteroid called 2012 DA14 gave Earth an uncomfortably close shave, coming nearer than our planet's ring of geosynchronous satellites.
But people shouldn't start worrying that the sky is falling, Cooke stressed.
"If you look at the actual number of fireballs for this month so far, it's normal — it's the same as every other year before this one," he said. "It's just that people are paying more attention and looking up, I think, because of recent events."


Which of the following pronouns best complete this sentence?
Danny said that __________ are best friends.
Which of the following pronouns best completes this sentence?
Julie wants to visit with her grandmother because ______ isn't feeling well.
John said that his prize was the best because _____ was the biggest.
Did you want to go to the water park with _____?
________ are going to ride our bikes tonight.
Uncle Pete and Aunt Paula couldn't go, so we picked apples for _____.
Grandpa took my sister and ____ fishing last summer.
Which pronoun best completes this sentence?
Clean up the table for your mother and _____ will be happy.
Penguins are funny when ________ walk on land.
Did you see _____ two elephants at the circus?


Writing about a personal traumatic event has been found to have psychological and physical health benefits. Focusing on traumatic memories in writing may be a form of exposure. In imagery exposure and trauma writing, greater physiological reactivity was predictive of better outcomes. Given the importance of physiological output in emotional processing, response training was developed and found to be effective in increasing appropriate physiological reactivity in imagery exposure. If response training amplifies physiological reactivity and the benefits of writing, the hypothesis that writing is a form of exposure would be strengthened, and training may be a valuable tool to improve the efficacy of psychotherapy approaches that use writing as a form of exposure. The present study examined whether response training enhances the benefits of trauma writing. In this study, participants wrote for 20 minutes on three occasions about a personal traumatic event (n = 113) or a trivial topic (n = 133) and received response imagery training (n = 79), stimulus imagery training (n = 84) or no training (n = 83). Heart rate and skin conductance were recorded in sessions one and three throughout a 10-minute baseline, writing, and a ten-minute recovery period. Self-reported trauma symptoms and emotion were assessed in each session. One month after completing the sessions, participants completed follow-up assessments of psychological and physical health outcomes. As predicted, trauma writing elicited greater physiological reactivity and self-reported trauma symptoms and emotion than neutral writing. Response training amplified physiological reactivity to trauma writing more than neutral writing, without amplifying levels of self-reported emotion or trauma symptoms. The physiological reactivity and self-reported emotion elicited by trauma writing habituated across sessions and response training enhanced these effects. Finally, increased heart rate predicted better outcomes for all trauma writers; however, response trained trauma writers who evidenced greater heart rate showed the greatest reductions in trauma, depression and physical illness symptoms at follow-up. These results support previous research which found that greater physiological reactivity was predictive of writing outcomes. The findings are the first to demonstrate that response training facilitates emotional processing and thus may be a beneficial adjunct to trauma writing.


This vote occurred on adopting the conference report for the budget resolution that serves as the blueprint for Congress' budget priorities in fiscal 2008. The budget resolution sets overall spending targets for the Appropriations committees and outlines other budget rules. This measure sets out some $2.9 trillion in congressional funding priorities in fiscal 2008, including money for federal domestic programs and the war effort.
When the two chambers differ on a measure, members of the House and Senate meet to work out those differences in what is known as a conference committee.. The conference committee produces a conference report, which contains the agreement reached on the final bill.
The conference report also would reinstate rules known as PAYGO, which requires any bill that creates new spending or reduces revenues be offset by a reduction in spending, or creation of new revenue.
The resolution makes room for up to $50 billion in new spending for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) which helps low income families with children afford health insurance, and about $20 billion for agricultural programs. The measure would require that the committees in charge of these programs draft legislation by Sept. 10 that would find ways to save money in other areas to make up for the spending increases for SCHIP and agriculture programs, so the budget stays balanced.
"To recap, the budget resolution we bring to the floor, the conference report, puts the Nation back on a sound fiscal path. It balances by 2012 with a $41 billion surplus in 2012," said Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D. "This budget also meets the Nation's priorities. It fully funds the President's defense and war cost requests. It rejects the President's cuts in certain key priority areas. It provides increases for children's health, for education, and for our veterans health care, an area in which the American people overwhelmingly want us to invest. In addition, this budget resolution keeps taxes low."
It also contains a total of $21 billion more than what the White House wanted for spending not related to the war effort in fiscal 2008. The budget resolution projects that the budget will be balanced while at the same time increasing domestic spending. To achieve this, the measure assumes that most of Bush's signature tax cuts will be allowed to expire as scheduled at the end of 2010, meaning more tax revenues will be coming into the federal treasury. This has caused Republicans to blast the measure as a tax increase of billions of dollars. Also, President Bush has threatened to veto any domestic spending bills that exceed his budget.
"The fact is that this budget, as proposed, is not a good one. It has in it the largest tax increase in history. It is a tax increase that is especially unfortunate because it is going to take place in the context of a tax law that we finally got right around here, as shown by the revenues flowing into the Federal Government, and the fact that present tax law is generating more revenues than, historically, the Federal Government has received and is doing it in a more progressive way than has historically been done. High-income people are paying more than they have historically paid, and low-income people are getting more back in the way of tax benefits than they have historically gotten," said Judd Gregg, R-N.H.
The Senate adopted the conference report by a vote of 52-40. Democrats were unanimous in supporting the measure, while most Republicans voted against it, with two exceptions (Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine). Thus, the budget resolution was adopted and sent to President Bush for his signature.


Is it time to Remove MySQL in favor of MariaDB in Production Servers?
MariaDB is a fork of MySQL, which is community maintained under the GPL v2 license. All code in MariaDB is open source. MariaDB is a binary drop in replacement for MySQL. It includes the XtraDB storage engine as a replacement for InnoDB. Its lead developer is Michael Widenius (also known as "Monty"), the founder of MySQL.
Recently, many popular Linux distributions have moved from MySQL to MariaDB as default database server. Fedora since version 19, Archlinux since March 2013 and OpenSuse. Moreover, Wikipedia is moving to MariaDB and Mozilla is also now using MariaDB.
Famous distributions often used on server environment as Debian and Centos have not yet replace MySQL with MariaDB, but there is a lot of talk about this in their communities. A full list of distributions which include MariaDB is available here.
So, a reasonable question is raised. Is it time to remove MySQL in favor of MariaDB in production servers?
A possible reason to switch to MariaDB could be the Licensing terms. It is known that MySQL AB acquired by Sun Microsystems on early 2008 for $1bn. Sun acquired by Oracle on April 2009. MySQL Enterprise is a commercial product, but MySQL community edition is still available under the GPL license. However, nobody can be certain for the future licensing policy.
I will replace MySQL 5.1 with MariaDB 5.2 in a Debian Squeeze virtual machine (Virtualbox 4.2.4).
The whole procedure is quite simple. Select Operating System and get the repositories settings.
2 upgraded, 7 newly installed, 4 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 20.8 MB of archives.
After this operation, 8,114 kB disk space will be freed.
Stopping MariaDB database server: mysqld.
Starting MariaDB database server: mysqld.
Checking for corrupt, not cleanly closed and upgrade needing tables..
Existing Databases are not affected from MariaDB installation. All databases still operate fine.
mysql and mysqldump commands still work, configuration files remain the same.
Actually, you will not note any difference from your previous setup. The only difference is that MySQL engine has been replaced from MariaDB engine.
This will not occur with MySQL Native Driver (mysqlnd), but this is not included by default in Debian Squeeze.
I use Archlinux on my desktop, so I will have the opportunity to try MariaDB in development environment.
Concerning my server systems, where I use Debian, I will continue to use MySQL, as current Oracle license for community edition of MySQL server allows to use it. When MariaDB will be included officially in Debian, I will make the transition.
What is your opinion about MariaDB? We welcome your feedback. Leave us a comment.
Sign-up for our free email newsletter. Get updates when new tutorials and tips are published. You can unsubscribe anytime with a click.


Poires Belle-Hélène: To poach or not to poach?
In the last few months before I started my master's degree, I worked as a crêpe-maker. Beyond the wages, this job was beneficial for me in two respects. For one, my spoken French improved enormously (if you want to get better at a language, having people yell at you in it is a pretty effective way). I also learned that, in spite of my interest in cooking in home kitchens, I never, ever want to work in a restaurant again. In this busy kitchen, we churned out crêpes in all seasons (the leadup to Valentine's Day was particularly brutal), and I still remember the recipes: a Provencale crêpe had egg, tuna, mozzarella, and a scoop of red pepper pesto, while a Savoyarde crêpe had an 80-gram bag of Raclette cheese, ham, and tiny boiled potatoes which came ready to serve in big cans from Belgium. One dessert crêpe we served was the Poire Belle-Hélène, which was topped with sliced canned pears, vanilla ice cream, and dark chocolate sauce.
I was surprised to learn from Carolynn's blog post that the pear, chocolate, and vanilla combination was one of the many culinary developments of Auguste Escoffier. I wondered how the name "Belle-Hélène" came to be. After all, Escoffier had introduced the world to Pêches Melba, another poached-fruit dessert, which was named after Australian soprano Nellie Melba. Knowing this, I wondered if Escoffier knew a certain someone in his youth, a particularly attractive Hélène, who had lent her name to the dessert. I couldn't help but imagine Escoffier sitting alone in his restaurant after all the patrons had gone home, eating leftover pears in chocolate sauce and thinking about his unrequited love. It turns out, however, that the combination was named for the Jacques Offenbach satirical operetta La Belle-Hélène, which premiered in Paris in 1864. The dish was named to promote the operetta, which told the story of Helen of Troy and skewered the opulence of Napoleon III's reign. If a real-life Hélène helped to inspire Escoffier to make this dessert, she has been lost to history. Escoffier's wife's name was Delphine, a name which I couldn't find anywhere in Le guide culinaire.
While the name sounds fancy, Poires Belle-Hélène are quite simple to make. Furthermore, you can make or buy all the components ahead of time, assembling the dessert just before serving. This makes them ideal for a restaurant dessert (as long as your servers get to the kitchen before the ice cream melts), as Escoffier likely realized. Thinking of my own restaurant days made me wonder if the substitution of canned pears was a fitting one. I decided to try the dessert two ways: one version where I poached the pears in vanilla syrup and a second version using canned pears. I wanted to know if, once the pears were covered in chocolate and ice cream, their freshness really mattered.
I had three pears in my crisper drawer, organic Bartlett pears from Argentina which had been waiting patiently to be turned into smoothies. I peeled and quartered them and got to work on a light sugar syrup: 1 1/3 cups of sugar dissolved in a quart of water. Once the syrup was bubbling, I popped the pears in. This would have been the ideal place to slip in a split vanilla bean, but, being a historical cook on a budget, I ended up splashing a couple teaspoons of vanilla extract into the syrup after the pears were done cooking. I also opened a can of the only preserved pears available at my supermarket, also Bartletts, although these were grown in the United States and preserved, halved, in syrup.
I made a chocolate sauce according to Escoffier's directions, but was baffled by the fact that I was supposed to melt the chocolate in water, adding three tablespoons of cream and a "walnut of best butter" at the end of the cooking process. As I'd predicted, the sauce tasted a bit watery, so I ended up adding more cream, finally ending up with a thick, heavy chocolate sauce. I had store-bought vanilla ice cream, which melted immediately when placed next to the warm poached pear and very warm chocolate sauce. I didn't have the crystallized violets the recipe called for, either, but thought that a few slices of candied ginger would go well with the pear.
Tasting the two pears side by side surprised me: even though my fresh pears hadn't been the greatest quality, they tasted much better than the canned pears, which were flavorless by comparison. Depending on your location and income level, it's not always easy to find good-quality fresh fruit. However, the poaching process added so much flavor to my fresh pears that I'd highly recommend it. Poaching the pears yourself also means that there's a chance to customize their flavour; instead of vanilla, some wine, ginger, or berries would make a great addition to the poaching liquid. The leftover syrup could be drizzled over pancakes, added to batter for bread pudding, or - in my case - used to make a quick jam out of the flavourless canned pears and the rest of my candied ginger, following Catherine Parr Traill's method. As for my chocolate sauce, maybe it would have been better for me to follow Escoffier's recipe more closely; when I pulled it out of the fridge the day after I made it, I found myself with a rich chocolate pudding rather than a pourable chocolate sauce. Oops. I suppose that's the result of all the extra cream I added.
Whether you can make Escoffier's mother sauces in your sleep or you're just starting out in the kitchen, Poires Belle-Hélène is an easy dessert to make. Even better, the recipe is adaptable to just about any budget. You could poach another fruit such as peaches or plums, depending on what's in season; make your own ice cream or buy whatever's on sale at the grocery store; make a chocolate sauce yourself or use a jarred version. If you decide to make this dessert -- whether in honour of a beautiful person named Hélène or because you're really passionate about mid-19th century opera -- I recommend taking the time to cook and flavour the fruit yourself. I found it made all the difference.


NVIDIA GT200b to rain on AMD's R700 parade?
NVIDIA isn't resting on its laurels and will not allow, the performance of AMD's flagship HD 4870 X2 surpass it for long, according to this report from NordicHardware.
The self confessed answer to NVIDIA's troubles, according to the Santa Clara, CA based company, is the GT200b. In reality, apparently a 55nm die shrink of the current 65nm GT200, the GT200b will supposedly be pivotal in NVIDIA's planned fight back against the acclaim and esteem held by reinvigorated AMD's, HD 4800 series.
Whilst AMD's arch-rival still subscribes to its 'speed is everything' school of thought, it realises that a broadening of its forte is necessary. Where better to start, than by raining on AMD's HD 4870 X2 parade?
It is possible that NVIDIA is planning its own dual GPU solution, using the GT200b as a foundation for this and rumours suggest, that a possible September time-frame would be the prime time for an NVIDIA fight back. The 55nm GT200b may, of course, be drafted in to aid its creator in more than one battle with AMD.
Expectations are rife that AMD's HD 4870 X2 will clench power from the GTX280, however with NVIDIA staging its own comeback, the question remains whether this will be on a pure performance standpoint, or whether the company will attain success in the all-important, price to performance stakes.


For this task you will need a vacuum, fabric cleaner, a cloth, and a soft towel.
Vacuum the item to remove any dirt or particles that may stain the fabric.
Spot test fabric cleaner on a part of the furniture you will not see to make sure it will not stain the upholstery.
Apply fabric cleaner gently using a cloth and following the instructions on the packaging.
Wait until the fabric cleaner has worked its magic, and dab with soft towel until the marks are removed.


Many conservatives oppose affirmative action while supporting school vouchers. Let's take a look at the ideology behind both issues.
Why are prominent supporters of school vouchers some of the most vocal opponents of affirmative action?
Take any number of conservative think tanks, from the New York-based Manhattan Institute to the Washington, D.C.-based CATO Institute, and you will find them ardently organizing to support vouchers and oppose affirmative action. Ditto with conservative publications such as The Weekly Standard and The National Review and with conservative pundits such as William Bennett and Linda Chavez.
One could focus on the irony that conservative voucher supporters portray themselves as defenders of low-income Black and Latino children and then turn around and oppose affirmative action policies that would increase the college opportunities of these children a few years later.
But there's more at work than irony, coincidence, or political opportunism. Both positions spring from a conservative worldview that glorifies hyper-individualism and harbors a deep antipathy toward the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s. What makes it difficult to untangle this worldview is that, particularly on affirmative action and school vouchers, conservatives have masked their attacks with populist rhetoric and have consciously linked "individual rights" to "civil rights."
The conservatives have "redefined fairness to apply only to the individual, not to the group," notes Jean Hardisty, author of the book Mobilizing Resentment: Conservative Resurgence from the John Birch Society to the Promise Keepers.
The conservative perspective rejects the broadly democratic, egalitarian definition of rights that guided the civil rights and other social movements. Instead, conservatives articulate a narrow, individualistic conception of equality based on the right to be free from, as the conservative Center for Individual Rights puts it, "a meddlesome, interest-group-infested government."
The Center for Individual Rights has led the legal opposition to affirmative action and organized the lawsuits against the University of Michigan undergraduate program and law school - cases that will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court by the end of June. Many of the organizations filing friend-of- the-court briefs opposing affirmative action - the CATO Institute, Center for Equal Opportunity, Pacific Legal Foundation, Reason Foundation, and Ward Connerly's American Civil Rights Institute - are prominent supporters of school vouchers.
One of the links between their views on affirmative action and vouchers is financial: The groups all receive significant support from right-wing foundations such as the Bradley Foundation and the Olin Foundation. In recent years, according to the web-based watchdog group mediatransparency.org, the CATO Institute has received $15.6 million from conservative foundations; the Center for Equal Opportunity, $2.7 million; the Pacific Legal Foundation, $4 million; the Reason Foundation, $5.2 million; the American Civil Rights Institute, $3.2 million; and the Center for Individual Rights, $4.3 million.
There is also an ideological unity. Supporting their positions is the belief "that institutional racism doesn't exist and that people rise and fall on the basis of individual merit and responsibility," Hardisty said in an interview.
Under the conservative perspective, the government should not be involved in protecting and expanding the rights of groups historically subjected to discrimination. Instead, government should get out of the way and let individuals flourish.
Perhaps no one better articulates this bedrock conservative principle than Clint Bolick. And no one is more skilled at using the rhetoric of civil rights to turn back the clock on the gains of the Civil Rights Movement.
Bolick, co-founder and vice president of the Institute for Justice in Washington, D.C., is known to education activists as the country's leading legal architect of school voucher programs. But he first splashed into the national limelight with his opposition to affirmative action.
It was Bolick, for instance, who wrote an opinion in the Wall Street Journal in 1993 that dubbed Lani Guinier a "quota queen" and helped scuttle her nomination to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. A few years later, he authored the book, published by the CATO Institute, The Affirmative Action Fraud: Can We Restore the American Civil Rights Vision?
In his book, Bolick argues that the number one myth in this country on race is that "racism permeates American life." To the extent racism still exists, he argues, it is on an individual level that can easily be combated by existing civil rights laws. Bolick argues that to even talk of covert or institutional racism is "destructive" because it leads to racial polarization and, more importantly, treats people as members of groups and calls into question the core American value of individualism.
Based on his belief in individualism and the dangers of viewing oneself as a member of a group, Bolick writes in the book's introduction that "before long I came to view these approaches - eradicating government race and gender preferences and promoting individual empowerment - as two sides of the same coin."
In a brief he wrote for the Michigan affirmative action case, Bolick programatically connects these two sides of the coin. First, he argues that affirmative action exacerbates the educational problems of people of color because it creates "the cosmetic illusion of progress." Second, he promotes his favorite alternative education reform - school choice programs like vouchers.
Sometimes conservatives couch their programs in terms of "individual choice" (the buzz word for vouchers). Sometimes it's "personal responsibility" (and the alleged lack thereof that leads to welfare and crime problems). Sometimes it's "merit" (as in, people who work hard get ahead, people who don't, don't).
People succeed or fail in society based on their own personal responsibility and merit.
Institutional racism is a figment of the liberal imagination and racism is merely a problem of overt prejudice by a few bigoted individuals - and what's more, would probably disappear if liberals didn't talk so much about race.
The government and civic institutions must adopt a strict "colorblind" approach, because to do otherwise promotes "reverse racism" and sets back the struggle for racial equality.
Government structures have been captured by "liberal elites" who shun traditional American values such as individualism and who promote dependency on government programs.
"Think of this situation as something of a road map," Apple writes in his book Educating the "Right Way": Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality. "Using one key word - markets - sends you onto a highway that is going in one direction and that has exits in some places but not others. If you are on a highway labeled market,your general direction is toward a section of the country named the economy. You take the exit named individualism that goes by way of another road called consumer choice. Exits with words such as unions, collective freedom, the common good, politics, and similar destinations are to be avoided, if they are on the map at all."
Apple says the conservative perspective is particularly limited as a vehicle for social change that will broaden our democratic institutions.
"With the conservative individual philosophy, we are just individuals, and by promoting our own self-interests, this will add up to lasting change," Apple said. "That's nonsense. The engine of social transformation has always been social movements."
In fact, Apple argues, the conservative individualist philosophy actually sets back the struggle for reform: "If we view ourselves merely as informed consumers making a good choice, that makes it almost impossible to form a larger social movement."
Barbara Miner (rsminer@execpc.com) is the former managing editor of Rethinking Schools.


Method 1. To make the sauce, pour orange juice, wine, and honey into a saucepan. Add the cinnamon and star anise and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered 20-40 minutes until reduced to a third. Set aside. 2. Preheat the oven to 200°C. 3. Heat a small frying pan over high heat. Add the coriander seeds and dry toast them for about three minutes. 4. In a bowl, mix the toasted coriander seeds, carrots, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. 5. Spread the carrot mixture out on a large baking tray and bake in oven for about 15 minutes. 6. Remove tray from oven and add the sweet sauce (including cinnamon and star anise). Stir well and return to the oven for seven minutes, until the carrots are cooked through, but still have some crunch. 7. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 8. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the peas. Simmer for one minute, then drain into a colander. Run under cold water, then drain. 9. Gently stir together carrots and peas. 10. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Violence erupts again during protests after 52 people were crushed to death when police fired tear gas at a festival.
Demonstrators have clashed with police in central Ethiopia a day after a deadly stampede at a religious festival that started when police fired tear gas and warning shots.
Protesters blocked roads in several towns in the Oromia region on Monday as the Ethiopian government declared three days of mourning to ease tensions in the region after at least 52 people were killed in Sunday's chaos.
INSIDE STORY: What is triggering Ethiopia's unrest?
Witnesses said many people were crushed and others fell into ditches as they tried desperately to escape the police. Shoes and clothing littered the scene of the disaster as a small group of angry residents dug for bodies in a deep ditch.
"We're digging because people are buried inside the ditch. Fifty-two dead is a lie," Dagafa Dame, one of the diggers, told AFP news agency.
Oromo activists called for "five days of rage" after the stampede.
Clashes between security forces and protesters continued on Monday morning in Bishoftu and Ambo, an Ethiopian government official and witnesses told The Associated Press.
"Some people tried to come out en masse this morning to protest the deaths of holiday-goers on Sunday and also demand the release of people arrested during the celebrations," said Nimona Negash, a tuk-tuk driver in Bishoftu, where the disaster occurred.
"Today's protesters were peaceful but dispersed by police violently."
Negash said family members of people who died in Sunday's stampede and others looking for their loved ones were flocking to Bishoftu, 45km south of the capital Addis Ababa, creating tension there.
"I went to the place where the accident happened this morning, and I've seen people being pulled out," he said. "More and more people are coming out of a deep ditch. I saw seven bodies being pulled out, then left the scene as I was unable to watch more."
Fikadu Tessema, a spokesman for the Oromia region, said on Monday some groups were trying to "continue the violence that they orchestrated on Sunday".
He said they were trying to blame the deaths on security forces who fired live rounds. "I can assure you 100 percent that all the 52 victims died of a stampede and didn't have bullet wounds on their bodies," he said.
"The current situation in Oromia is not out of control. We are taking measures to bring back our peace."
Oromia has experienced violent, sometimes deadly anti-government protests since November 2015 as people have called for wider political freedoms and the release of detained opposition figures and journalists.
Ethiopia's government, a close ally of the West, has often been accused of silencing dissent and at times blocking internet access.
The US recently spoke out against what it called the excessive use of force against protesters, calling the country's situation "extremely serious".


A toilet plunger should be periodically bleached to sanitize it.
Sometimes toilets become clogged and require the use of a plunger.
The first step in fixing a toilet is determining the cause of the issue.
A toilet plunger is a tool designed for use in unclogging toilets. Plungers are used to break a seal inside the pipe to allow water to drain freely from the toilet bowl. In some cases, a plunger alone may not be enough, and it will be necessary to use a snake to clear out the clog. Hardware stores are a common source for plungers and they are also sometimes available at general stores, drug stores, and so forth.
The most basic toilet plunger design consists of a rubber cup on the end of a long stick. The cup is fitted over the opening at the bottom of the toilet and, using the stick, the user presses and releases several times to create a vacuum intended to pull the clog free. Other toilet plungers are more bulb-shaped, designed to create a tighter seal inside the toilet's plumbing. These plungers can be more effective at clog removal, in addition to less messy, as there tends to be less splashback.
Rubber and plastic toilet plunger designs are both available, including accordion-folding plastic to allow people to create a stronger vacuum. Plungers should ideally be used when there is some water in the plumbing, although it is advisable to at least partially bail out the toilet bowl to limit splashing. If using the plunger does not clear the clog, it might be too firmly lodged to be removed with a vacuum alone. In these cases, a snake should be purchased, rented, or borrowed and fed down the pipe to clear the clog.
Using a toilet plunger skillfully can require some practice. Too much aggression can break the seal created by the plunger and ruin the vacuum, in addition to making a mess. Being tentative may not create enough force to move the plug. Addressing clogs as soon as a toilet starts to drain more slowly is strongly recommended, as they are easier to remove when they are smaller.
Plungers are often stored next to the toilet in a dish or cup for convenient access. It is advisable to rinse the toilet plunger after use and periodically bleach it, as it can attract and hold bacteria. In addition to causing unpleasant odors, colonies of bacteria in the bathroom can also make people sick. Moisture around the plunger can also promote the growth of mold and mildew, and it is important to shake the plunger off in the toilet bowl to remove as much water as possible.
What is a Toilet Pipe?
What is a Toilet Drain?
What is an up Flush Toilet?
This may sound strange, but I was looking for a decorative toilet plunger when I moved into my new house. I hated the look of my old one with the red rubber cup and yellow handle, since it clashed with the house.
I really couldn't find any plungers that were pretty, but I found a plunger holder, and that helped disguise it. My bathroom is decorated with an ocean theme, and the holder I found has an underwater scene with fish and sand on it. It is built to hold both a plunger and a toilet brush, and it covers up the majority of both of them.
I did buy a plunger with a turquoise cup and a white handle, and even though it isn't decorative, it matches my bathroom better than the old one. I suppose a plunger can't be very pretty and functional at the same time.
@shell4life – There are a few things that you can do to ensure that your plunger will do its job. The first thing is to have the correct amount of water in the toilet.
You should have enough toilet water to cover the bottom half of the plunger cup. If you don't, you can pour some in before you begin.
The next important thing is the pumping method. Always remember to go down slow and up fast. I call it pushing and jerking.
If you push and jerk about four or five times, you should be able to make it work. After your final jerk upward, pull the plunger cup off the hole and try to flush. If you have succeeded, then it will flush as usual.
@Perdido – I have trouble using my plunger, too! I feel like I have created strong suction, but once I release, the clog remains, and I usually have to get someone to help me.
Is there a secret trick to it, or do I just need practice? I feel like if I had some pointers, I could get the hang of it. Otherwise, I will probably just be stuck making the same mistakes and needing assistance.
My toilet can't hold much toilet paper before it starts to clog. I have to remember that, and sometimes, I overestimate how much it can hold, so it looks like I do need to learn how to properly use a plunger.
My office keeps a plunger in the bathroom just behind the left side of the toilet. Many people are afraid to use it, though, and I understand this.
I tried to use it once, and I guess I just didn't have enough force. I was scared of getting splashed by the dirty water, so I didn't give it my all.
I gave up and put it back in place. Then, I put a sign on the closed toilet lid that said, “out of order.” The janitor came by and took care of it, and though I felt bad for leaving him that mess, I knew he would be much more capable of handling it than I would.


Have you made Brown Sugar Slices?
1. Cream lard and sugar, add vanilla and eggs and mix well.
2. Sift together flour, soda and cream of tartar and add to first mixture.
3. Add nuts then form dough into two rolls. Place in plastic wrap and chill several hours.
4. Cut in 1/2 inch slices and bake in 350 degree oven 10 - 12 minutes.


Q: I made oatmeal no-bake cookies, but they were extremely dry and crumbly. Would it matter that I used quick oats instead of old-fashioned? Or would the dryness of my house or humidity matter? I used the Food Network recipe.
A: Chances are if the no-bakes turned out dry and crumbly it was because you overcooked them. While we call them cookies, oatmeal no-bakes are really more of a confection or fudge with oats stirred in.
When it comes to candy, the longer it is cooked, the drier and harder it becomes. The same thing happens when fudge is overcooked, it becomes very dry and crumbly, and this recipe is very similar to fudge.
The use of quick oats versus old-fashioned would do nothing but make cookies less chewy as the quick oats are simply old-fashioned oats cut into smaller pieces.
I doubt the conditions in your house were to blame. If your house is very humid, it's possible the no-bakes might get sticky, and if it is very dry, they could dry out faster than normal, but not if they were stored in an air-tight container, and not right away.
Next time you make oatmeal no-bakes, carefully watch the length of time you cook the sugar; don't over-boil it.
Here's the recipe for those who are interested in trying it.
Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment.
Bring the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, then let boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add the oats, peanut butter, vanilla and salt, and stir to combine.
Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, and let sit at room temperature until cooled and hardened, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to three days.


When on Mount Gerizim the Children of Israel enter the covenant of God and become His people. The Gerizim covenant wording contains the following curse, "Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them (Deuteronomy 27:9-10; 26)." Paul takes up this statement in, For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them (Galatians 3:10))." Sadly, this passage is commonly interpreted to mean that if a believer begins to observe the Commandments, he 'falls from grace' and places himself under the curse of the Law. This interpretation completely omits the Paul who concurred with the idea that we live by our observance in, But the law is not of faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them (Galatians 3:12 on Leviticus 18:5)." This reading in Paul is also at the root of Christian Anti-Semitism.
The Torah does tell us that we 'live' or 'die' as pertaining to our obedience to the Torah (Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 27:26). This are not teachings of Men but Oracles from the mouth of God which Paul would not dare to disagree with. What did Paul mean then? The problem is simple: ignorance of Judaism and reading the text with an already established theology. This problem caused the translators of the English texts of Galatians to fail in making the difference when Paul speaks about a trusting obedience in the Law of God, or about the legalistic perversion of it often promoted by religious folks. A legalistic perversion of Torah makes the Commandments a ladder by which we obtain God's favor, regardless if we have a loving trust and relationship with Him, a type of ritualistic obedience that is found in many faiths, including with Christian who decry the Pharisees of the Master's day as 'legalistic'.
Paul agrees with the Torah, but also knows how to balance verse with verse. Follow me here through a Rabbinic exegesis of the definition of a life of faith through Hebrew Scriptures. These Scriptures work to complement each other's understanding, not against each other. As Paul did, the Rabbis did recognize the absurdity of basing eternal life on absolute obedience to the 613 Commandments so Rabbi Simlai brought up King David who trimmed it eleven (Psalms 15), Isaiah who condensed it to six (Isaiah 33:15-16), Micah who simplified to three (Micah 6:8), Amos to one (Amos 5:4), to which Habbakuk agreed (Habbakuk 2:4) which is the statement Paul uses in his contention for a trusting obedience as opposed to a legalistic faithless one. As you can see, the principle of 'living by faith', within obedience to Torah is not something that Paul invented, but that was often brought up by the prophets to remaind people that ritualisatic 'obedience' is ot the thing. Actually, some of the prophets claim that God would rather do without the offerings when done in the wrong spirit ((1 Samuel 15:22).
As we discover the beauty of serving God through obedience to Torah, may we never forget that our service is nothing without our love. Alongside with the prophets of old, this is what Yeshua came to remind us and to teach us: the dimension of love and trust in our service.


No one may "need" a custom-made, one-of-a-kind rifle that costs thousands more than a production gun. But if you have to ask why anyone would "want" one, perhaps you just don't understand the situation.
I am often asked, Why a custom rifle? The arguments against having one made are normally something such as, "Factory rifles are just as accurate," "Factory rifles work just fine," "I can get just about any caliber I need in a factory rifle" and so on. They are, for the most part, correct arguments. Factory rifles today, I am often asked, Why a custom rifle? The arguments against having one made are normally something such as, "Factory rifles are just as accurate," "Factory rifles work just fine," "I can get just about any caliber I need in a factory rifle" and so on. They are, for the most part, correct arguments. Factory rifles today, in the main, are very accurate. As a rule, they do work just fine--or at least good enough. And most factory-made rifles are available in most calibers on the market. Why, then, a custom job?
Two views of a magnificent rifle from the California shop of Steve Heilmann. Steve is primarily known as a premiere metalsmith, but he can do it all when it comes to crafting a fine custom rifle. This .280 Remington is a fine example of his artistry. He started this project with a small-ring G33/40 Mauser action. He did all the normal blueprinting and grinding on the action. He even fashioned a custom bolt handle for the action. Heilmann added a custom-contoured Krieger barrel and chambered it for the .280 Remington cartridge. He also designed and fashioned the custom scope-mount bases for S&K one-piece rings. He then fitted Fisher-Blackburn radiused bottom metal. Heilmann stocked the rifle with a stick of quarter-sawn California English walnut featuring very good figure and exquisite color. He added a hand-rubbed oil finish and checkered the stock 24 lpi with a nice point pattern. The total weight of the finished rifle, including scope, is 7 1/2 pounds.
Well, before I attempt to answer that reasonable question, it is first necessary to define just what a custom rifle is and, by inference, is not. Most dictionaries will define "custom made" as being made to individual specifications or some variation of that statement. Following that definition, a custom rifle is one made to an individual's order in fit, finish and function. Any caliber for which a reamer is available or, in some cases, for which any cartridge (custom reamers can also be made) can be ordered. The only restrictions placed on the buyer are basically determined by time and money.
Custom rifles run the gamut from a barreled action--sometimes a custom barrel, sometimes not; action sometimes "blueprinted," sometimes not; bedded into a commercially available synthetic or laminate stock and sent out the door--to a full-blown custom job. The full-blown job includes reworking the action, fitting a custom barrel, utilizing hours of highly skilled labor making absolutely certain that the resulting action feeds cartridges from the magazine with all the effort of cutting butter with a hot knife, then whittling a lovely stock from a stick of customer-selected walnut. The customer decides what checkering pattern he wants on the stock and how many lines per inch. On the metalwork, the customer decides if he wants a matte finish or high-gloss, hot-bath blue or slow rust blueing, open sights or scope only. The list goes on and on.
There are several makers that do all the metalwork as discussed above but then fit the metal into a synthetic or laminate stock. There's nothing wrong with that, assuming all the rest of the work is done. Many hunters prefer synthetic or laminate stocks, and there are makers out there that will provide just what they want. One who jumps to mind is D'Arcy Echols. He went so far as to design a synthetic stock for his Legend rifles and persuade Kelly McMillan to build them for him. Echols leaves no stone unturned in creating these rifles, and they are in every way custom rifles. He is also perfectly capable of building a wonderful walnut-stocked rifle should the customer prefer it.
The David Miller Company, consisting of David Miller and Curt Crum, crafts a line of custom rifles utilizing a wood laminate stock. Called the Marksman rifle, it is very popular with its clientele. The Marksman doesn't have all the bells and whistles that are incorporated in the Miller Classic custom rifle, but it costs about half as much as the Classic.
Other makers take a straight factory-barreled action and custom-stock it. Most do little, if anything, to the metalwork. In this case, the resulting rifle is not really a custom rifle; rather, it is a custom-stocked factory rifle. There's nothing wrong with that either, assuming that the price is consistent with the labor involved.
Most custom makers are somewhere between those extremes in what they do. There is a place in the trade for all of them. I sort of draw the line at taking a factory-barreled action and a commercially available synthetic stock and putting them together and calling the results a custom rifle. To me, it is not. But the rest are fair game.
e question posed by the title of this piece: Why? Well, there is really only one justifiable reason, and that is because you want one. No other reason is necessary, or proper. Personally, I treasure my custom rifles and take great pride in owning and using them. I've owned many factory rifles in my life, all of which served a purpose and did so quite well. I still own a few. However, I've never had the same attachment to them as I have to my custom jobs.
Some say it is snob appeal. Perhaps in some cases that is so, but it is not in the vast majority that I'm aware of. Most aficionados who I know own custom rifles for the same reason I do: because they enjoy and appreciate them. These rifles are, in essence, a part of the family.
I recall Jack O'Connor once writing that he felt so strongly about one of his .270s, he intended to have it buried with him. He didn't, however. He was cremated, and the rifle is, I believe, in the Jack O'Connor Museum in Lewiston, Idaho.
Whether he changed his mind or the family made the decision after his passing, I can't say. But I've never seen or heard of that kind of attachment to a factory rifle.


English (Traducir este texto en Español):

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.

Geography
The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
English (Traducir este texto en Español): <br><center><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png/90px-Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png"></center><br><br><b>Baden-Württemberg</b> is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.<br><br><b>Geography</b><br>The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
English (Traducir este texto en Español): &lt;br&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http:&#47;&#47;upload.wikimedia.org&#47;wikipedia&#47;commons&#47;thumb&#47;5&#47;5e&#47;Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&#47;90px-Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&quot;&gt;&lt;&#47;center&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Baden-Württemberg&lt;&#47;b&gt; is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;b&gt;Geography&lt;&#47;b&gt;&lt;br&gt;The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
English (Traducir este texto en Español): &amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;center&amp;gt;&amp;lt;img src=&amp;quot;http:&amp;#47;&amp;#47;upload.wikimedia.org&amp;#47;wikipedia&amp;#47;commons&amp;#47;thumb&amp;#47;5&amp;#47;5e&amp;#47;Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;#47;90px-Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;&amp;#47;center&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;b&amp;gt;Baden-Württemberg&amp;lt;&amp;#47;b&amp;gt; is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;b&amp;gt;Geography&amp;lt;&amp;#47;b&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
English (Traducir este texto en Español): &amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;center&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;img src=&amp;amp;quot;http:&amp;amp;#47;&amp;amp;#47;upload.wikimedia.org&amp;amp;#47;wikipedia&amp;amp;#47;commons&amp;amp;#47;thumb&amp;amp;#47;5&amp;amp;#47;5e&amp;amp;#47;Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;#47;90px-Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;#47;center&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;gt;Baden-Württemberg&amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;gt; is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;gt;Geography&amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
English (Traducir este texto en Español): &amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;center&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;img src=&amp;amp;amp;quot;http:&amp;amp;amp;#47;&amp;amp;amp;#47;upload.wikimedia.org&amp;amp;amp;#47;wikipedia&amp;amp;amp;#47;commons&amp;amp;amp;#47;thumb&amp;amp;amp;#47;5&amp;amp;amp;#47;5e&amp;amp;amp;#47;Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;amp;#47;90px-Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;#47;center&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;gt;Baden-Württemberg&amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;amp;gt; is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;gt;Geography&amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;gt;The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
English (Traducir este texto en Español): &amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;center&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img src=&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http:&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;upload.wikimedia.org&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;wikipedia&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;commons&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;thumb&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;5&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;5e&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;90px-Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;center&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Baden-Württemberg&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Geography&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.
English (Traducir este texto en Español): &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;center&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;img src=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http:&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;upload.wikimedia.org&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;wikipedia&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;commons&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;thumb&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;5e&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;90px-Grosses_Landeswappen_Baden-Wuerttemberg.png&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;center&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Baden-Württemberg&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine—but one which has some of its major cities straddling the banks of the Neckar River (Tübingen, Stuttgart, Heilbronn, Heidelberg, Mannheim). It is third largest in both area and population among the country's sixteen states, with an area of 35,742 square kilometers (13,800.1 sq mi) and 10.7 million inhabitants (both almost equivalent to all of Belgium). The state capital is Stuttgart.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Geography&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#47;b&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Rhine (German: Rhein) forms the western border as well as large portions of the southern border. The Black Forest (Schwarzwald), the main mountain range of the state, rises east of the Rhine valley. The high plateau Swabian Alb between Neckar, Black Forest and Danube is an important European watershed. Baden-Württemberg shares both Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the foothills of the Alps with Switzerland.


Why am I grouping these two vegetables? They both are abundant in the spring, and they have similar flavor profiles (their chemistries are quite different, but both vegetables are highly acidic, and contain abundant antioxidants, especially cynarin in artichokes and glutathione and rutin in asparagus). These diverse compounds register on the palate as "bitter," and that has to be factored into recipe design, which I have done for you!
I developed this basic sauce specifically for artichokes after visiting the Central Coast of California to celebrate New Year 2002. I picked up baby artichokes for 10 cents each at the San Luis Obispo Farmers Market. Using the Simple! Sensible! Sensational!® theoretical principles to guide me, along with a general notion of Mediterranean flavors (the original home of artichokes is Sicily), I came up with this sauce. Later, I was able to find baby artichokes for the same price on sale at my local supermarket. As an aside, "baby" artichokes really aren't "babies"; they are merely lateral flower buds, which are always smaller than the primary bud (oh, you did know that artichokes are flower buds, didn't you? Yes, they are.).
When I couldn't get fresh baby artichokes, I used asparagus, and was really happy! I've even made this sauce using roasted asparagus; this added a whole new flavor dimension. You could also use mature fresh artichoke hearts (trimmed of leaves and the choke, sliced thinly, but not pre-cooked), or canned or frozen artichoke hearts (not marinated, please, unless you are willing to adjust the other proportions yourself!).
up to 1 t sugar (if needed to offset the possible bitterness of some artichokes or some sundried tomatoes, if using).
In a large skillet over medium high heat, add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the sliced asparagus or artichokes and the lemon juice. Saute, stirring often, until the asparagus or artichokes have softened and caramelized slightly. Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and then reduce heat until the mixture is simmering only slightly. Continue cooking until the asparagus or artichokes are soft and the water has reduced, about 30 minutes, allowing all of the flavors to merge while creating a syrupy sauce around the larger pieces. Serve or use immediately.
Artichoke/Asparagus Sauce for Pasta/Rice/Potatoes: The above sauce proportions are enough for 2 to 3 portions of cooked pasta (1/4 lb pasta prior to boiling), or cooked rice (1 c cooked rice per portion) or boiled/steamed potatoes (about ½ lb of potatoes per serving, prior to cooking). Optionally (but preferably, you can add some grated hard cheese, such as pecorino, asiago or parmesan.
Artichoke/Asparagus Sauce for Bruschetta: You can "cheat" by just putting the Artichoke or Asparagus Sauce on slices of plain crusty bread, or you can toast the bread in a toaster or a toaster oven, or in the oven or under the broiler, or in a dry cast iron skillet over high heat, or on your favorite grill. Optionally, you can add some grated hard cheese, such as pecorino, asiago or parmesan, or some fresh goat cheese.
Artichoke/Asparagus Sauce for Pan-Seared or Poached Fish: Cook the fish separately while preparing the Artichoke or Asparagus Sauce. When fish is done to desirability, spoon the Artichoke or Asparagus Sauce over the top. There is enough sauce for 4 portions when used in this manner.
Artichoke/Asparagus Sauce for Pan Fried Chicken, or for Pan Fried Lamb Chops or Pork Chops: Use the olive oil specified in the Artichoke or Asparagus Sauce recipe to brown the chicken, lamb or pork in a large skillet. After browning the meat, remove to a plate. In the same skillet, prepare the artichoke sauce, scraping the bottom of the pan after adding the artichokes and lemon juice to remove any of the brown bits. When the rest of the ingredients are added to the sauce, add the meat back into the skillet, and simmer with the sauce to complete the cooking. After about 30 minutes, serve.
Artichoke/Asparagus Quiche: Prepare the Artichoke or Asparagus Sauce as indicated, but allow to cool to room temperature when complete. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together 3 to 4 large eggs, and add ½ c milk/cream. Prepare and bake a 9" piecrust of your choice (pastry, white rice, wild rice). Place ¼ c grated cheese in the bottom of the piecrust (for this quiche, I like a strong flavored cheese, like feta, chevre, gorgonzola, pecorino, asiago or parmesan). Add the egg-milk mixture to the room temperature Artichoke or Asparagus Sauce and mix thoroughly. Pour into the piecrust over the cheese. Top with another ¼ c of the strong-flavored cheese, bake for 30 minutes, and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. I like it served with a salad with a simple vinaigrette; it's so delicious you could cry.
This simple, flavorful recipe is an easy way to use what some consider to be difficult vegetables. This recipe is also a great way to increase the amount of vitamins, fiber and various antioxidants and other phytochemicals in your diet. Give some of the variations a try using both asparagus and artichokes, and let me know how you like them. If you continue experimenting with variations and applications, send me a note at 773.508.9208 or email me! Mangi!


The festival's founder says critics' claims of gentrification are "fueled by falsities."
After facing criticism and losing its venue, the It's the Bronx festival has been postponed, according to organizers.
The festival was slated to launch on Saturday as the largest talent showcase "by the Bronx and for the Bronx" at the Andrew Freedman Home with 30 musical performers, 40 visual artists, 20 panelists and dozens of food and drink vendors, and there were plans to run monthly.
But on Wednesday, the festival's founder Marco Shalma sent an email blast saying that his team has been "confronted by continuous xenophobic, bigoted and racist remarks from a few individuals, fueled by falsities suggested in the form of a sloppy, one-sided 'investigation' for which none of our team members has been approached for a response."
The new festival will expand monthly to provide a platform for local talent.
Ticket refunds were available as of 8 p.m. Thursday, he said.
"We do understand that due to the sensitivity of issues brought by certain members of the Bronx creative community there is a bigger conversation to be had," Shalma said in a statement. "We will address these and other items in a town hall meeting hosted by the Andrew Freedman Home in April so we can collectively move forward for the benefit of all Bronx creatives."
In a phone interview, he told amNewYork that the people criticizing the event claimed they represented "the only true art in our borough," and that there has been a cyberbullying campaign launched against the artists and musicians who were planning to perform.
Bronx-based art/media collective hydrOpunk has been publicly critical of the festival and Shalma, writing on Instagram that "the Bronx is still burning with gentrification." They accused Shalma of being an "outsider" who is "commodifying our culture, way of being and using it as a tool to rebrand and ultimately sanitize our Bronx."
In a statement Friday, hydrOpunk denied Shalma's claims, saying "at no point have we ever bullied, harassed, intimidated anyone in our community." However, they accused him of exploiting the arts for his own benefit and described the It's the Bronx Festival as an "elaborate 'art washing' scheme to make way for luxury developments in the South Bronx."
Shalma said "unfounded claims" of gentrification started hitting the festival's Instagram page last fall, with some bigoted remarks about Shalma's Israeli and South African heritage, he said.
"We are self-funded and the 12 of us were born or raised, or have been living and working in the Bronx. We are anti-gentrification; we don’t approve or comply with that," he said. "We paid no attention to [the criticism and bigotry] and wanted to focus on the community," he continued. "We kept going and it got worse and worse. But for every one of those nasty voices, we had 100 people supporting the cause and the artists."
But earlier this week, the festival's venue, the Andrew Freedman Home, called off the event, saying that it did not have time to find out whether the criticisms of the festival had merit.
Additionally, the venue said it did not have a tally of ticket sales and couldn't tell if it had enough space or adequate insurance to cover the value of the artwork that was going to be displayed.
"We are a community service organization with deep roots in the South Bronx that extend back to the 1970s, and have a long history of listening to and responding to the concerns of our artists, neighbors and families," it wrote in a statement on its website.
"Knowing now that there is significant controversy surrounding 'It’s The Bronx' and lacking the time to understand whether or not the criticisms have merit, our only choice at this time is to cancel our participation in this event."
Walter Puryear, the Andrew Freedman Home's director, further explained his decision to cancel.
"We are very open to doing a community event to give the artists who are in the festival the opportunity to show their work," he told amNewYork. "This has nothing to do with artists within the show. We are deeply apologetic that we had to cancel but we felt if we did this event it might be misconstrued and our mission might be seriously tarnished if it were to come out later that it did have an affiliation with developers."
How to help Bronx artists develop while maintaining the borough's character will be up for discussion at the Andrew Freedman Home's town hall.
"We feel like there needs to be a conversation about artists in the Bronx and their influence and social responsibility," he said. "Artists not only change and beautify the environment but they can also be rebranded. If they're not aware they can be easily used and manipulated. We've seen how things have played out in Brooklyn, the lower East Village and in Queens and I can't deny that I see a pattern forming or getting ready to play itself out here — that is what had us very concerned."


The firstWord() operator has one parameter, data - a quoted a string, and it returns the first word of the data string. The delimiter used to define words is one or more spaces (possibly also line break(s)?).
The data parameter is evaluated so could be an expression. For example, if the note 'First Line' has the body text "Winter is coming.", then $MyString = firstWord($Text("First Line")) should give a result of "Winter".


The 37-year-old actor - who was voted People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive 2011 - joked that working with fellow heartthorb Ryan on 'The Place Beyond The Pines' was like a testosterone-fuelled competition about who was the most attractive.
Bradley laughed: "It was treacherous. We had Sexiest Man Alive matches every lunchtime. Who walked most sexily, who are lunch most sexily, who opened doors most sexily. He won every time. Just kidding. He's a really good guy."
The modest actor is embarrassed at the amount of times he gets quizzed about the title - which has now been stolen by 'Magic Mike' actor Channing Tatum - and he hopes it won't follow him around forever.
Bradley told more! magazine: "Every time somebody mentions it to me, I record them and play the conversation back when I get up in the morning just to remind myself. No, I don't really think about it much because it's nothing to do with me, it's just a thing that was here one minute, gone the next and it's not like I walk down the street and people yell at me, 'Here comes the Sexiest Man Alive!' "
Christina Aguilera loves hiking with her boyfriend.
The 'Voice' mentor loves spending time with Matthew Rutler but admitted the footwear for hiking is not her usual choice. She said: "My boyfriend and I started hiking. He got me in a pair of sneakers - no heels, no red soles. So out of character for me."
Christina also revealed her son Max, four, - from her marriage to Jordan Bratman - doesn't mind when paparazzi follow them. She explained: "Paparazzi followed me at my son's soccer game the other day. I was complaining but he said 'Don't worry Mama. They're not taking pictures of you, they're taking pictures of me."