Can Snowboarding Be Saved?, Snowboarding | OutsideOnline.com, kith/kin: This is also a follow-up to my article about Alta Resort, 1.19.14 … book jackets and wine labels … : Definitely a kith/kin issue.
It sounds like borderline bigotry to say it, but I have “snowboarding friends.” In fact, from adulthood on, most of my skiing memories are tied up with snowboarding. Frankly, skiing would be a lot less fun without it. From twin tips and fat skis to better clothing and a more laissez-faire attitude at ski resorts, the advent of snowboarding dramatically altered my once-stale sport. So please trust that I’m not just a hater when I say this: Snowboarding is screwed.
Many a destination resort will admit privately that snowboarding now accounts for less than 15 percent of total revenue. Others have seen snowboard visits cut in half. Sales of snowboarding gear are down dramatically, too, a whopping 29 percent over the past six years. Where did all the snowboarders go? Many are skiing. Others simply quit.
It didn’t really have to be like this. The problem isn’t so much snowboarding, but the snowboarding industry. The sport was invented by humble folk in the Midwest (by a friend’s grandfather) and Vermont (by some older classmates of my wife), but it was adopted by Southern California. Actually it was more of an alien rendition than an adoption. Most snowboarders in places like Maine, Montana, and Colorado have little affiliation with the carefully cultivated image of “action sports.” Then there’s the ageism. Over 30 years old but still get out and shred? The industry lives in absolute dread of you
via Can Snowboarding Be Saved? | Snowboarding | OutsideOnline.com.
Cronut’s humble offspring, The Doughscuit!, The Salt : NPR: Probably not good for my low carb diet 🙂
I was 10 doughnuts in when I came to Endgrain Restaurant\’s table, and I was in no condition to want or enjoy anything.
But their doughscuit — half doughnut, half biscuit — was transcendent, an impossible mix of doughnut-fried sweetness and crumbly biscuitness. Every last nook of free space in my body was full, and I bought extras. I ate one at home later. The next morning I had more. I\’m not entirely sure I\’m going to finish writing this sentence without going out to get another.
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The doughscuit is more humble. It\’s got a hardworking biscuit for a dad, not a fancy croissant. It doesn\’t have the little ® next to its name. All it should have next to its name, forever, is an exclamation point.
via Meet The Cronut’s Humble Offspring: The Doughscuit! : The Salt : NPR.
Jon Stewart, Georgia’s Snowpocalypse, ‘The Weather Channel is Located in Atlanta!’ , Mediaite:
On Thursday, The Daily Show tackled the paralyzing snow that struck Atlanta, Georgia, over the week that caused nearly 24-hour traffic jams and resulted in strong criticism for Mayor Kasim Reed and Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.
Host Jon Stewart played clips of Deal explaining that the lack of preparedness was due to the lack of warning the state had prior to the storm. “Sure, no, I guess that’s probably the case,” Stewart said, “Unless anybody in that room had been watching what I guess you would call the weather.”
“The Weather Channel is located in Atlanta,” Stewart observed. He went on to mock the two elected officials for celebrating their own contributions to the state while the catastrophic storm was unfolding.
Stewart went on to feature a “25-news-box pileup,” in which his own correspondent broadcast live from Georgia with nearly 30 of his colleagues.
America,Britain, Decline could actually help the middle class, income inequality, Salon.com:
In fact, it was only a year after the Suez debacle that UK Prime Minister Harold MacMillan declared his countrymen had “never had it so good.” Certainly, they had never been richer, healthier or more educated.
And today, even in the midst of economic funk, the UK is an incredibly nicer place to live and work than it was a half-century ago – let alone the height of empire (Dickens anyone?).
Choose your measure of the quality of life – from income and health, to education and minority rights, through freedom to move—things are just so much better than they used to be.
The message is clear: You can have relative decline and absolute progress all at the same time. There is a clear and positive lesson to be learned by the American people from Britain’s imperial retreat.
ACCOUNTING FOR PROGRESS
For example, British life expectancy in the 1870s was around 40 years. After the Second World War, it reached 65 and today it is above 80.
Average incomes in 1870 were a little over $3,000. At the close of the Second World War, GDP per capita was about twice that and today it is about seven times higher than when Queen Victoria doubled as Empress of India.
To be sure, the anachronistic jollity of Britain’s royal family still ensures frequent spots on CNN and Star TV. But in less regal pursuits, the UK has managed to import some decent cooking and the culinary height of a meal out is no longer toad in the hole or spotted dick.
Meanwhile, Britain has emerged as an essential global citizen in areas from development to the environment to peacekeeping. For no good reason beyond the remnants of imperial design, it still has a seat on the UN Security Council and a nuclear arsenal.
via America, take it from Britain: Decline could actually help the middle class – Salon.com.
kith/kin, fortune cookies add ons, genealogy: At the 21st birthday celebration of my nephew, we laughed at the arrival of the fortune cookies. We have always added “in bed” ro the end of the fortune. The twins add “with a chainsaw” … any other add ons? And Happy 21st birthday to my twin nephews, Charlie and Zack!
And an aside: I was talking with my SECOND cousin, and she asked her relationship to the twins. I said second cousin once removed. I think I am correct.
via http://www.ages-online.com/homepage/learningCenter.cfm
Can an App Improve Vision?, WSJ.com: interesting
The Ache: In presbyopia, the eye’s lens loses elasticity with age. The ability to focus on near objects deteriorates, resulting in the need for reading glasses.
The Claim: A 12-week, scientifically tested training program, newly available as an iPhone app, uses a technique called perceptual learning to reduce—or even eliminate—the need for reading glasses.
The GlassesOff app provides training meant to help reduce the need for reading glasses. Shown, an exercise to identify which way the E faces. GlassesOff
The Verdict: A 30-person study published in February 2012 in the journal Scientific Reports found that after trying the program—now on sale as an iPhone app called GlassesOff GLSO -3.59% —participants on average could read letters 1.6 times smaller than they could previously. The program is much more likely to show improvement in adults 40 to 60 years old, scientists say.
The self-guided app, launched this week by GlassesOff Inc., starts with a vision test, followed by a personalized training program users employ three times a week for 12 to 15 minutes per session. In one test, users must decide whether an E is facing up, down, right or left. The test gets harder when the E becomes smaller or lower-contrast. At the end of the session, users receive a personalized assessment of how much the app is likely to help them in various tasks, such as reading an article.
The training consists of identifying fuzzy, striped images called Gabor patches, which can be hard to see against a similarly colored backdrop.
The app is free for two or three weeks after a user signs up. To continue using it after that costs $59 for four months. The company, which has offices in Israel and New York, is offering a temporary $10 promotional price. After the initial program, the company offers a personalized maintenance program of one or two sessions per week at extra cost.
Bookends, Origami: Book Ends provides the largest selection of origami books in the UK … Just in case you need origami books or papers in the UK.
Origami Books
At Book Ends you will find what is probably the largest selection of origami books in the UK – approximately 150 titles. There are books at all levels of difficulty, some written especially for children, others for adult beginners through to highly complex models for experienced folders. We have been the official supplier to the British Origami Society for many years. Many members have published books on origami and we stock all of these along with books from the USA and Japan. In April and September each year, we attend the BOS Conventions where we sell our full range of books and origami papers.
via Bookends: Origami. Book Ends provides the largest selection of origami books in the UK.
Pick A Crystal!,
Rawforbeauty: I picked the green malachite … funny, but I hate green …
Pick A Crystal! Look at the 6 crystals below
No.2 Green Malachite
If you are attracted to this stone, you are (or are about) to go through a major life transformation. This transformation may be practical, changing the way you live and work, but it also goes much deeper. It is about spiritual evolution, energy blockages in your mind and body from past experiences being untangled and released. You are becoming wiser and in the process learning to truly value yourself. You may find the process unsettling, initially you become more aware of what you don’t want, rather than what you do. That’s fine. First we must acknowledge the need for change, only then can we start to look for alternatives. Malachite is the stone of prosperity and abundance, when you start to look up, luck and fortune are waiting. It can signify the end of destructive romantic relationships and the dawn of pure love. By picking this stone you are unconsciously telling the Universe, ‘I am ready for success. I am ready to lose the negativity. I am ready to be passionate about my life’.
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If you’re still a skeptic about crystals, I hope you’re willing to keep an open mind and do some research into them. You will be amazed by what you find. I recommend starting here, by watching The Crystal Movie by Spirit Science.
via Rawforbeauty – Pick A Crystal! Look at the 6 crystals below,….
fyi, diy, bookcases: See More On Cabinets & Shelving | How to Build a Small Bookcase | This Old House.
Davidson College, LGBT student life, flag policy, DavidsonNews.net, follow-up: Another follow-up …
Quillen asked students what obstacles stand in the way of broader visibility for LGBT students. She explained that while campus culture is the realm of students, the administration will do what it can to make LGBT students feel at home. Many students suggested physical manifestations of the LGBT community, such as an LGBT campus center, LGBT-related art installations or an annual LGBT pride event.
“I would love to move past the point where flags matter, but at the moment we don’t have any other tools for this frustration to be resolved,” said one student.
“I do think we need flags because that’s the first step in the process of getting the building, getting the artwork … we don’t have anything else,” another student explained.
The Committee on Campus and Religious Life will meet in the coming months to discuss alternatives to the college’s current flag policy. Meanwhile, debates about the visibility of the LGBT community at Davidson College will likely continue.
via Campus debates LGBT student life, flag policy | DavidsonNews.net.
On the Square, Tarboro NC, Our State Magazine: Another reason to visit Eastern NC. I bet there is a fun inn in the area between On The Square and Chef & the Farmer in Kinston NC. As I said before, Anybody game for a road trip? …
The restaurant was awarded Wine Spectator magazine’s “Best of” Award of Excellence, making On the Square one of three restaurants east of Greensboro to hold this title. This is quite a feat for a place where a bottle of wine can cost less than $15 and the entrées (fresh fish is the local favorite) are priced so that everyone in town can enjoy them.
The offering of high-style dining at these prices ensures that On the Square remains a place where reservations are recommended. But Southern hospitality dictates that, reservation or not, diners will be greeted warmly and accommodated promptly, often by Inez herself. Monday through Friday at lunch and Thursday through Saturday for dinner, Inez and Stephen relish the chance to share good food, fine wine, and the company of friends.
You could say it’s their supper club.
On the Square
115 East Saint James Street
Tarboro, N.C. 27886
(252) 823-8268
Classic 18th Century Paintings, photography of children, Slightly Viral: Wouldn’t that be fun to do with your 4 year olds? And I agree with my friend, ” She is so expressive with just her eyes…amazing for a little girl.
Bill Gekas is an Australian photographer with a love for classic paintings. But last year Gekas took his love a bit farther and decided to recreate the classics through photography…using his gorgeous 5-year old daughter as the subject.
And the outcome is, well, take a look for yourself…
It’s not easy to get a small child to look natural in an 18th century scene…
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