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Pure Front end JavaScript with Web API versus MVC views with ajax
This was more a discussion for what peoples thoughts are these days on how to split a web application.
I am used to creating an MVC application with all its views and controllers. I would normally create a full view and pass this back to the browser on a full page request, unless there were specific areas that I did not want to populate straight away and would then use DOM page load events to call the server to load other areas using AJAX.
Also, when it came to partial page refreshing, I would call an MVC action method which would return the HTML fragment which I could then use to populate parts of the page. This would be for areas that I did not want to slow down initial page load, or areas that fitted better with AJAX calls. One example would be for table paging. If you want to move on to the next page, I would prefer it if an AJAX call got that info rather than using a full page refresh. But the AJAX call would still return an HTML fragment.
My question is. Are my thoughts on this archaic because I come from a .net background rather than a pure front end background?
An intelligent front end developer that I work with, prefers to do more or less nothing in the MVC views, and would rather do everything on the front end. Right down to web API calls populating the page. So that rather than calling an MVC action method, which returns HTML, he would prefer to return a standard object and use javascript to create all the elements of the page.
The front end developer way means that any benefits that I normally get with MVC model validation, including client side validation, would be gone. It also means that any benefits that I get with creating the views, with strongly typed html templates etc would be gone.
I believe this would mean I would need to write the same validation for front end and back end validation. The javascript would also need to have lots of methods for creating all the different parts of the DOM. For example, when adding a new row to a table, I would normally use the MVC partial view for creating the row, and then return this as part of the AJAX call, which then gets injected into the table. By using a pure front end way, the javascript would would take in an object (for, say, a product) for the row from the api call, and then create a row from that object. Creating each individual part of the table row.
The website in question will have lots of different areas, from administration, forms, product searching etc. A website that I don't think requires to be architected in a single page application way.
What are everyone's thoughts on this?
I am interested to hear from front end devs and back end devs.
javascript asp.net-mvc ajax asp.net-mvc-web-api
eyeballpauleyeballpaul
Similar discussion on SO about separating API and client stackoverflow.com/questions/10941249/… – Don Cheadle Sep 28 '15 at 21:48
I'm also somewhat skeptical that every new web app needs to be an SPA but one thing I'm 100% sold on as a generalist with the bulk of his experience on the client side is that a service-oriented architecture that hands off raw data rather than HTML to the client is the way to go whether you're loading prebuilt pages/views from the server and doing a lot of dynamic stuff with data after page load or building almost everything 100% with JavaScript.
The reasons this is preferable to a client-side dev are much the same as the reasons nobody wants HTML in the database. What's the client-side dev supposed to do when they want to resort a table for instance when they've been handed HTML? The performance cost of handling all that on the client is trivial compared to making another server request to do that for you. Also, HTML-building is pretty well-covered in JS-land. Sorting data and building new HTML table rows out of it is pretty trivial work for an experienced client-side dev.
And of what use is the back end architecture to a front end for another device that might need to do something exotic like implement widgets that are 100% canvas or a totally different HTML structure? Why should a client-side dev have to load up visual studio or knock on the back end devs door to make a strictly presentational tweak?
As for your concerns about the loss of strongly typed template validation, trust me when I say that if you're dealing with a competent client-side dev, you will find no .NET framework or visual studio tool that is more coal-to-diamond-to-dust-crushingly anal about well-formed, valid HTML than s/he is.
From the full-stack perspective, I like it because it means I'll never have to fish for business or app logic some yutz decided to drop into the templating layer. Not to mention the per-user load it takes off of your servers while in many cases actually improving load experience for the user in modern browsers with modern computers.
I think it's also easier to reason about the back end architecture when you've fully isolated it from all the presentation stuff. You're no longer grabbing data to mash it into some HTML. You're pulling it together to create an implementation-independent data structure that concerns itself more with general use than what's going to be done with it on the other side. IMO, that tends to lead to more consistency in how things are handled since the data is now an end goal rather than the second to last step of a process and there's fewer opportunities for unrelated concerns to get their wires crossed.
Erik ReppenErik Reppen
good point about seperating HTML code from server side logic. I really hate when languages are all mixed up. Sometimes you see code that does C#, SQL, HTML, JavaScript, RazorSharp or PHP in the same god damn file. Also non-english comments. Sure it works and it was probably pretty fast to write it then, but is a maintance problem after a few weeks. – ColacX Nov 30 '15 at 12:05
I'll offer my highly subjective 2 penny worth (for what it's worth ;)). There isn't a right or wrong answer to this and there are many real world considerations in addition to your points, for example:
Do you have the relevant experience in house? building a client side driven app is very different to a predominantly server driven one with a completely different skill set.
How long do you want it to take and which browsers do you need to support? - the more you do on the client the more browser issues you'll face; IE8 is painful and JavaScript performance is quite poor, but there there are a lot of businesses running XP/IE set ups.
What devices are your users going to be viewing the site on? JavaScript parsing and running may be fast on a recent version of Chrome - but it isn't on an older mobile device, especially not a large amount of JavaScript with a load of business logic in it
How important is initial load? Server templating is faster than client templating
This list is by no means exhaustive and sounds like a client side bashing which isn't my intention, I've made sites with a heavy emphasis on the front end end.
For me it really comes down to user experience and API re-usability. To address each of these.
If you are going to be making an app or offering an API, there's a lot of sense in using a .Net API project, this then forms the logic, checking and implementation cross platform. In this scenario a complete client side approach may be favourable, the API can be maintained separately and just provides an interface to your application. You can amend the logic and refactor comfortably and just have to keep the interface the same. You can easily write different applications for different media all using the same background code.
The strongest argument for a pure front end solution (in my opinion) is that of user experience.
Does (when considering all the downsides) a pure JavaScript browser application offer a substantial improvement on usability and user experience on a traditional website?
When creating sites that work like native applications; I'd argue the answer is an obvious yes. Most sites however aren't this clean cut though, so it's a matter of assessing whether individual user workflows benefit from a highly dynamic interface.
I take a fairly pragmatic view of this, it isn't an either or matter; JavaScript will obviously play quite happily along with Server technologies and you don't have to choose one or the other - every site isn't a single page web app - but there's nothing stopping you using Knockout, backbone and the suchlike on individual pages to improve things where it's deemed necessary.
SWaSWa
Interesting points. – eyeballpaul May 14 '14 at 1:23
I have a love-hate relationship with front end heavy applications.
On one hand, I love writing JavaScript and I love the browser as an execution environment.
On the other hand, both feel like a Formula 1 race car with holes in the engine. It really boils down to this: Can you prevent duplication of business logic between C# and JavaScript? If so, use whatever method for generating the view you deem worthy. If you are duplicating business logic in two languages, you may have a front end developer who just wants to write JavaScript, and doesn't quite see the big picture.
As for technical differences:
Rendering a partial and delivering it to the client:
Easy and fast to implement
Prevents backend business logic from being duplicated on the front end
Can result in a much larger HTTP payload to the browser. Not a bad thing on a desktop with a high bandwidth connection. Very bad on a weak mobile phone whilst you are sitting on a rush hour train speeding down the track at 60mph and 1,000 other mobile phones are simultaneously disconnecting from one cell tower and trying to reconnect to the next cell tower.
Delivering JSON and rendering a client side template:
Can result in a smaller HTTP payload than HTML, which can make the application seem more responsive over unreliable or slow network connections
Many JavaScript templating languages are fully featured, meaning we don't need a backend just to generate some HTML
Sometimes I think the newer JavaScript frameworks are throwing the baby out with the bath water --- man I hope I'm not becoming a grumpy curmudgeon programmer...
Greg BurghardtGreg Burghardt
The duplication of ANY sort of logic is an issue I have been thinking about as well. But some interesting points. – eyeballpaul May 14 '14 at 1:22
In my last application I combined REST api and JavaScript front-end.
What I did was :
I created a REST API for CRUD operations.
I created a Javascript application that loads pre-defined HTML templates and populates with data returned from the REST API.
Basically the JS front-end communicates with REST API for CRUD operations and populates the HTML's with the returned data or created data, or removes the deleted data or updates changed data.
Thus we have pure HTML, we have the processing done on the client, we have less bandwidth usage by not having to load all the HTML and can give an experience truly Web 2.0 to the users.
I do not do business validations on the front end for safety and code duplication, since anyone can change the data before sending them to the server and we have to validate the data on the server again. Therefore, this would be easily hacked. All validations are done on the back-end. Validations on client-side are made only for types of input.
Facility to make changes in HTML due to the fact it is not generated by JS;
Lower consumption of bandwidth by using ajax and JSON;
Lower consumption of server processing, since HTML is populated on the client side;
Improved user experience by using JS to change the screen, allowing use of effects and increasing the rendering speed.
Better use of the HTTP protocol, by using REST.
2 applications to be maintained;
Depends on the client processing, which can be bad due to poor hardware.
Bruno JoãoBruno João
processing work on the client scales better. the server typically has to run a lot of other applications that also consumes server resources. If the server crashes everyone suffers. – ColacX Nov 27 '15 at 10:47
I did not understand your point. But if the server crashes, no matter wich architecture you choose, everyone suffers. – Bruno João Nov 27 '15 at 16:02
which is why you should make the server do less work. and have less complicated logic. thus reducing the strain on the servers. thus reducing the risk for server crashes. though they may still happen they should happen less frequently. typically when you do an update, you run the risk of introducing bugs. do less updates on the servers. keep as much work as possible on the client. – ColacX Nov 30 '15 at 11:58
Regarding the validation aspect in Web Api - It is possible to do "model validation" and respond with a 400 bad request http response.
Refer https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11686690/handle-modelstate-validation-in-asp-net-web-api/25050285#25050285
LCJLCJ
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged javascript asp.net-mvc ajax asp.net-mvc-web-api or ask your own question.
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RBI panel under VG Kannan to review ATM charges
BusinessToday.In June 11, 2019
The Reserve Bank of India has constituted a six-member committee to review the ATM interchange fee structure. VG Kannan, Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Banks' Association, will lead the review panel.
Dilip Asbe, Chief Executive Officer, National Payments Corporation of India; Giri Kumar Nair, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India; S Sampath Kumar, Group Head, Liability Products, HDFC Bank; K Srinivas, Director, Confederation of ATM Industry; and Sanjeev Patel, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Communications Payment Solutions have been named as the members of the review committee.
ALSO READ: Your ATM charges may come down soon! RBI sets up committee to look into current rates
The decision to form a committee tp review ATM interchange fee structure was taken at the seventh bi-monthly meet of RBI's Monetary Policy Committee increase ATM deployment in areas lacking in banking facilities.
The VG Kannan-led committee will examine the entire gamut of ATM charges and fees. To this end, the panel will review the existing structures and patterns of costs, charges and interchange fees for ATM transactions; the overall patterns of usage of ATMs by cardholders and assess the impact, if any, on charges and interchange fees; assess the entire gamut of costs in respect of the ATM ecosystem; and make recommendations on the optimal charges and interchange fee structure and pattern. The committee will submit its report within two months of its first meeting.
ALSO READ: Number of ATMs in India reduces, transactions continue to grow
According to RBI guidelines, the savings bank account holders can make five free transactions in a calendar month after which they will be charged a particular amount for each transaction that varies from bank to bank.
Recently, the central bank has also abolished its charges for NEFT and RTGS money transfer systems in order to promote digital transactions.
URL for this article :
https://www.businesstoday.in/current/policy/rbi-panel-under-vg-kannan-to-review-atm-charges/story/355296.html
@ Copyright 2019 India Today Group.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


When I served as an Orange County Supervisor, we did not hold meetings the Tuesday after long holiday weekends. But, yesterday was different.
To set the table, the publisher of the Voice of OC shared his concerns in the first piece below. He laid out his two beefs, homelessness at the Civic Center and the AOCDS contract.
I tried for so many years to help the homeless. I pleaded with former city manager David Ream. I debated former city manager Paul Walters at the Committee to End Homelessness. I watched the Santa Ana City Council fumble the ball year after year. They couldn't shoot straight when it came to selecting the city's SB 2 zone, where a 200-bed year-round homeless shelter should be built. The string of misplays by the City Council is lengthy and still arouses groans from me when I recollect them. I could recount them all, but for one example, see MOORLACH UPDATE — Homeless Shelter at Depot — November 21, 2014 November 21, 2014November 21, 2014 John Moorlach.
The goal to make the abandoned and empty former bus depot a refuge out of the sun and rain for the homeless has finally been approved. The County's press release that I received to share the good news is at the conclusion below. The OC Register covers it at http://www.ocregister.com/articles/santa-728087-county-homeless.html .
As to the AOCDS contract, with minimal public input, the news is provided in the second Voice of OC piece below. It was a supplemental item in the winter of 2001, placed on the agenda on a Friday afternoon, and heard quickly on the following Tuesday morning, that gave the County its "3% @ 50" pension plan enhancement, back to the date of hire. It took a fully-funded retirement system and caused it to be two-thirds funded; a status it has held for the past 15 years. I'm just sayin'.
The reasons for my opposition to the last AOCDS contract are provided in MOORLACH UPDATE — Seeking Independence — July 3, 2015 July 3, 2015July 3, 2015 John Moorlach.
God bless John and Ken.
The two local radio hosts from KFI this week intensely grilled both Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do and Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez – who are competing this November to represent the county's First District on the board of supervisors – about the homeless encampment that has overtaken Santa Ana's downtown Civic Center.
Now, it looks like a stalled plan to create a homelessness rapid response service center at a nearby abandoned bus terminal could happen within the next month.
Over the past decade, the supervisors and the Santa Ana City Council have both largely ignored the growing throngs of hopeless and homeless individuals washing ashore at the Civic Center.
The one supervisor who did try to do something years back was now State Senator John Moorlach, who I spoke with this week about the new developments.
Moorlach, a supervisor from 2006 to 2014, told me he recalled the frustrations of being rebuffed by Santa Ana's city manager when he advocated for the county purchase of the bus terminal as a makeshift shelter for the homeless. Moorlach later did get the homeless bathroom access to the facility.
He said Santa Ana officials did not want to legitimize the presence of the homeless at the Civic Center by offering services like storage, tables for eating, or just charging stations for laptops or cellphones.
"All I asked for was that they give these people some dignity," Moorlach said.
Yet he never got any of his colleagues on the supervisors' dais to really back him either.
Now nearing 500 people, the homeless village has transformed the area first designated in 1966 for local taxpayers to access their local government, their courts, the Santa Ana Library, and a host of other agencies.
Orange County Register reporters this past weekend presented a stark and well-reported account of what the civic center has become.
Civic leaders across the spectrum in Orange County have grown disgusted with the situation in recent years.
I myself launched a public wake-up campaign aimed at county supervisors – one they have largely ignored – more than a year ago in my weekly column, repeatedly calling on them to open the bus terminal as a rapid-response center for these individuals.
Ever since then, I have kept up a steady stream of columns also warning about the Civic Center situation.
To their credit, supervisors bought the terminal last December.
Yet county officials have never articulated a vision for the property, much less any kind of regional homelessness policy.
The Santa Ana City Council wasn't much better.
They have largely ignored the Civic Center homeless explosion and historically fought plans to use the bus terminal for homeless services. And last year, facing neighbor protests, they even pulled the plug on support for a county homeless shelter in a nearby Santa Ana neighborhood.
John and Ken were basically able to uncover this lack of purpose at the city by grilling Martinez on the spot about the Civic Center situation. The city of Santa Ana is the lead agency on law enforcement under the 1966 joint-powers agreement where the city and county share jurisdiction and costs over the area.
Martinez didn't do well. She didn't have much to point to. At points, like a boxer who's been hit in the head too many times, she just went silent, unable to return or block incoming punches.
Click here for Martinez's interview.
Do, on the other hand, came on the air smooth but essentially sold an elaborate fib — that the county has no jurisdiction over its' own buildings.
I found that laughable as the county controls the entire area through the same joint-powers authority that gives the city primary policing power.
John and Ken correctly kept pressing Do on the county's inaction, which is when he shot back with his plan to open the bus terminal within 30 days.
Yet that makes me – again – wonder? If you can do it within 30 days, why isn't it already open?
Click here for Do's interview.
Since these interviews ran last week, both city and county officials are now moving to significantly increase their homeless services.
Santa Ana officials on Tuesday are expected to consider a resolution (co-authored by Martinez) declaring a public emergency at the Civic Center and calling on the county do offer more services and convene a regional discussion.
Meanwhile, county officials are reportedly considering plans to get the bus terminal up and running – at the direction of Do – within a month.
According to Do's interview with John and Ken, he seems to want to frame the issue as a zoning battle with Santa Ana.
I find that odd, as I've always been told the county already has the institutional zoning it needs – as a civic center – to open a service center.
It will indeed be fascinating to see how this plays out during the next few months against the backdrop of the November election.
Listening to the John and Ken interview reminds us all of the power of media and people to shake things up.
Their tough questioning may have just gotten 500 poor, desperate people some much needed services.
That's what Labor Day is all about.
County supervisors are poised for another momentous act this coming week, scheduled to consider a large pay hike for deputy sheriffs – one I hear will cost more than $62 million over three years – during a rare special meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
Now, hiking deputy sheriff pay may or may not be advisable.
The big question is what kind of overall strategy does that deputy sheriff plug into?
There's no evidence county supervisors have done any homework on that question.
Consider that the Tuesday after Labor Day is a rare date for the Board of Supervisors to meet.
And this is the so-called conservative board that adopted the COIN ordinance to shed light on union negotiations.
Yet now, on the eve of Labor Day weekend, this board drops the deputy contract without any kind of analysis, not even a press release on what they are doing.
When I told Moorlach about how the deputy pay raise package was being rolled out by his successors, he nearly choked.
"It's a testimony to the power of public employee unions," Moorlach said.
Keep in mind this coming vote has nothing to do with ensuring we have the best policing model for Orange County or that it's fiscally sustainable.
It just ensures that every single member of this current boards gets an endorsement when they move on to their next office.
You just get the tab.
The county Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously and without discussion approved a three-year salary and benefits contract with its sheriff's deputies and district attorney investigators that will cost taxpayers an additional $62.2 million over the life of the contract.
The agreement raises salaries by a total of 8.5 percent in five steps between now and January, 2019 and includes a one-time lump sum payment for each employee covered under the contract that equals .5 percent of their current pay.
The raises will cost the county's general fund $37 million over the life of the contract, according to a county staff report, with the remaining roughly $25 million covered through payments from cities that contract with the county for Sheriff's Department services, and state and federal funds.
The Sheriff's Department has roughly 1,900 deputies covered by the contract and the DA's office has about 100 investigators.
Under the new contract, the annual base pay for entry-level deputies will go from about $62,000 to $67,500 in 2019. Deputies at the top of the 14-step pay scale will go from $93,870 to $102,107 in 2019; and sergeants' pay will go from $123,000 to $134,000, according to the contract terms.
In 2014, the deputies approved a two-year deal that included a pay hike and improved health coverage to partly cover the requirement that deputies pay their full employee pension payment in year two of the agreement.
A sharply divided board of supervisors approved that contract on a 3-2 vote. It became controversial when then-Supervisors' Chairman Shawn Nelson and John Moorlach, who voted against the labor pact, accused the deputies of pension spiking.
(Santa Ana, California)— At a special meeting of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, a unanimous board approved Supervisor Andrew Do's plan to turn the Santa Ana Transit Terminal into a transitional homeless shelter.
Access to existing programs and services that provide basic aid, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, legal aid and job training services.
Supervisor Andrew Do is setting an ambitious goal to have the transitional homeless shelter up and running within 30 days. He's confident that the county can deliver on its promise, in part, because it has done it once before.
In advance of the El Nino storms, Supervisor Andrew Do succeeded in fast-tracking the transformation of the same facility into an emergency El Nino storm center, which provided food and shelter over more than 4,000 visits during the winter.
"We can have this homeless shelter up and running by the end of the month," said Supervisor Andrew Do.
Just two years ago, a unanimous Santa Ana City Council, including Councilwoman Michele Martinez, blocked the county's proposed shelter on Normandy Place by imposing a blanket 45-day moratorium on all new homeless shelters in the city.
With nowhere else to go, the homeless encampment at the Civic Center has grown, while conditions have worsened. Over the past two years, the county has taken steps to improve the conditions. As recently as three weeks ago, the county installed new bathrooms, providing 24-7 access for homeless individuals.
In May, the Orange County Board of Supervisors also voted to open the competitive bidding process for an operator for the county's first permanent, year-round shelter and multi-service center, which was unanimously approved by the board in November. The new shelter will provide shelter to 200 people, with supportive services available to help the homeless with everything from employment to mental health care.


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Photos: Stevie Nicks plays a sold-out Borgata event center Sunday night
Updated Mar 30, 2019; Posted Jul 16, 2012
Stevie Nicks, Borgata Atlantic City
Gallery: Stevie Nicks, Borgata Atlantic City
By Marc Berman / NJ.com
Stevie Nicks played to a sold-out Borgata event center last night.
Aside from her stellar solo career, the singer is known for also being a member of Fleetwood Mac.
Upon taking the stage, the 64-year-old Nicks apologized for having to cancel a show last year in Atlantic City due to illness, and then went on to explain that this wasn't a greatest hits tour, but a showcase of her newer material from her last album, "In Your Dreams." The faithful responded with thunderous applause of approval.
The set was laced with hits including Fleetwood Mac's only number 1 hit, "Dreams," which Nicks wrote.
We saw a lot of cameras in the audience. Did you get some photos at the concert? Feel like sharing? Upload them here.


Are you redesigning your website? A redesign may improve your relationship with your customers and enhance your brand identity. With these things in mind, you can be sure to improve the financial well-being of your company.
Although the principles of having an effective web design can be complicated, they still follow logical steps. They are also based on fundamental concepts related to testing, aesthetics, and human behavior. Here are some of the best-kept secrets in redesigning your website to make it more useful.
One of the web design secrets of having an effective website is to make sure you have touched a range of emotional states. Keep in mind that the goal of a website is not about the aesthetic. Rather, it is about influencing the actions of your users.
Your site's visitors appreciate the sophisticated layout and excellent images. However, their number one goal for visiting your site is to find information, make a purchase or register for an account. Effective designers understand this concept, so they build their sites around this narrative, thereby, delivering value to their visitors.
High-quality web pages do not have to be expensive. The reason for this is that web designers can create compelling sites that convert sales offer a variety of price levels. Websites Depot, for example, offers different pricing options depending on the kind of web design you need.
If you want data-driven results pages, you should check everything. A/B testing allows you to test any element of your website that can influence user's experience. The test can be about the font color and style, as well as the size of the call-to-action button. Testing can have serious effects on your site's performance. It can also investigate how to increase click through and conversions.
Navigating a site that loads so slow can be seriously frustrating. Unfortunately, not all website owners understand the drawbacks of slow loading site. Years ago, Google made a page's loading time as an important factor in ranking a site. But do not improve your site's loading time because Google wants you to. Rather, improve it to gain revenue because a delay in page load time can significantly reduce traffic, conversions, and income.
All of these can be achieved if you hire website designers. They can easily implement these elements into your website to increase conversions and sales.
What Is SEO For Law Firms?


text:
Difference between revisions of "Half-Life"
[[Image:Half-Life - Box.jpg|thumb|256x256px|Original box art.]]
[[Image:Half-Life - Box.jpg|thumb|256x256px|North American box art.]]
'''''Half-Life''''' is a first-person shooter action game with puzzle elements made by [[Valve]] and released in 1998. I didn't play Half-Life until long after it had been out, but I still found the game to be quite enjoyable. An updated version of the game using the Source engine was released in 2005.
'''''Half-Life''''' is a first-person shooter action game with various puzzle elements developed by [[Valve]], and published by [[Sierra On-Line]] for [[Windows]] in 1998. You play the character Gordon Freeman working for a company called Black Mesa which is performing theoretical physics experiments and developing equipment for the US military. An accident occurs in the lab, and your team inadvertently opens a portal to an alien world. The aliens are quite hostile and begin killing the scientists. It's your job to try and close the portal, save the remaining scientists, and get out alive.
I didn't play Half-Life until about a decade after it had been released, but I still found the game to be quite enjoyable and technically impressive. An updated version of the game using the Source engine was released in 2005.
I own Half-Life: Source for Windows. I have beaten the original game on easy difficulty, and Source on normal difficulty.
I own Half-Life: Source through Steam. I have beaten the original game on easy difficulty, and Source on normal difficulty.
* The game's intro is a great way of introducing just how massive and dangerous Black Mesa can be.
* It's nice to see the aliens in their natural habitat on Xen, and makes you feel like kind of a jerk for killing them.
* The altered gravity on Xen makes from some interesting jumping puzzles.
* The altered gravity on Xen makes for some interesting jumping puzzles.
* I like how the game alters the menu background as you progress.
* I like how the game alters the menu's background as you progress.
* The crouch-high-jump and crouch-long-jump are both uncomfortable to use on the keyboard.
* Breaking open crates with the crowbar ends up taking a lot of time in the game.
* Breaking open crates with the crowbar ends up taking a lot of time in the game and is usually unrewarding.
* It feels like you spend far too much time underground or in tunnels. Every now and then you surface for a few seconds, but then return to the rat maze.
* It feels like you spend far too much time underground or in tunnels. Every now and then you surface for a few seconds, only to return to the rat maze.
* The NPCs continue to talk even if you're out of earshot which means you can often miss dialogue.
* The NPCs continue to talk even if you're out of earshot which doesn't make sense, and often causes you to miss dialogue.
* The human skins are pretty bad. Everyone is a sort of odd grayish color.
* The human skins are pretty bad. Everyone has a sort of odd grayish color flesh.
* Having only a couple skins to choose from for the scientists, and only a single guard skin, and having them all use the same voice, hurts the immersion.
* Every human character in the game is male except for the assassins. Would it have killed the developers to add a few more women?
* The head crabs that turn people into zombies seems like an uncreative melding of Alien and [[Doom]].
* The head crabs that turn people into zombies seems like an uncreative melding of [[Alien]] and [[Doom]].
* The barnacles are a interesting hazard early on in the game, allowing you to bypass them rather than waste bullets, but over time they slow the game down and become annoying.
* I enjoy the game's music, but it's so rarely used, and it makes the game seem rather empty.
* There are a few too many instances of monsters appearing out of thin air. I know it's thematic to the resonance cascade, but it's too scripted for my tastes.
* The training room is a bit too slow.
* It is often not clear when bosses are invincible or vulnerable to your weapons because they bleed no matter what.
* It is often not clear when bosses are invincible or vulnerable to your weapons because they bleed even when they can't be hurt.
* I know it's petty, but I don't like the box art.
* There are a serious bugs with some of the scripted NPCs which force you to reload from an earlier point and replay the section in hopes they get it right the next time around. Some places that are particularly bad are the guard at the beginning who is supposed to open the door to the testing chamber (three reloads), Gonarch breaking down the wall (two reloads), and Nihilanth remaining invincible after you've destroyed everything else (countless reloads).
* The alien trampolines are difficult to control properly and often require a lot of reloading from killing yourself on them. It would have been better if there were fewer of them, or they were easier to use.
* The alien trampolines are difficult to control properly and often require a lot of reloading from killing yourself on them. It would have been better if there were either fewer of them, or they were easier to use.
==Gallery==
File:Half-Life - Box.jpg
Half-Life is a first-person shooter action game with various puzzle elements developed by Valve, and published by Sierra On-Line for Windows in 1998. You play the character Gordon Freeman working for a company called Black Mesa which is performing theoretical physics experiments and developing equipment for the US military. An accident occurs in the lab, and your team inadvertently opens a portal to an alien world. The aliens are quite hostile and begin killing the scientists. It's your job to try and close the portal, save the remaining scientists, and get out alive.
Best Version: Half-Life Source for Windows
Though originally based on the Quake engine, the programmers greatly modified it to result in a rather impressive engine, GoldSrc. The newer Source engine was even better.
The crouch-high-jump and crouch-long-jump are both uncomfortable to use on the keyboard.
Every human character in the game is male except for the assassins. Would it have killed the developers to add a few more women?
There are a serious bugs with some of the scripted NPCs which force you to reload from an earlier point and replay the section in hopes they get it right the next time around. Some places that are particularly bad are the guard at the beginning who is supposed to open the door to the testing chamber (three reloads), Gonarch breaking down the wall (two reloads), and Nihilanth remaining invincible after you've destroyed everything else (countless reloads).
mobygames.com/game/half-life - MobyGames.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_(video_game) - Wikipedia.
strategywiki.org/wiki/Half-Life/Walkthrough - StrategyWiki.
vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/Half-Life_(W32) - Music.
Retrieved from "http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Wiki/index.php?title=Half-Life&oldid=6150"


I haven't read any books by Derrick Knight just yet, but reading the blurb and excerpt of Truly a Miracle this book will certainly on my TBR list.
This looks very interesting. I am adding to my list.
This is a new author to me but the book sounds interesting so I would like to give it a go.
Love the cover and it sounds like a really good book.
This sounds like a real tear jerker. Having had a premie baby (who is thriving now), might be a tough read for me. But, it does sound good.


Dinettes and Breakfast Nooks : Kitchen Table Andchairs Retro Kitchen Table And Chairs Small Kitchen Table With Chairs Black Dining Set High Dining Table Set. Corner Bench Dinette Set. Dining Set. Kitchen Table And Chairs. Breakfast Nook.
By Bi5MiLl4hRunamuckfestival. Dinettes and Breakfast Nooks. At Monday, November 12th 2018, 05:28:51 AM.
90 out of 100. Rated by 470 users.


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I put this on their automated software, It took one loosing trade out after another after another after another. I turned it off and it still continued to take out more loosing trades,,, I contacted them no reply… nice!


The news had thrown me back into my father's "factory mentality." He once asked how much I would make per word as a writer. I didn't have the heart to calculate the price per word, but I figured that my unpublished novel had cost me over $2 million so far in lost revenue from my former business. All told, it would probably have covered the cost of buying enough copies to make it into a bestseller.
What I wanted to say was, "I bet living 50 years in close quarters with a chain smoker couldn't have helped much." But I didn't.
Not You need to be here, or Your mother needs you here, or, for God's sake not, I need you here. My father and I routinely communicate like poker players, keeping our hearts as close as our cards.
"Do you think I should come down?" I asked, trying to force him to say it, that he needed me there.
"Do you have the time?" he asked. "She'll understand if you're too busy." The sad thing was, he wasn't being sarcastic. Work obligations always trump family.
"No, I don't have anything scheduled that can't be moved." I didn't have anything scheduled for the next 40 years, but I wasn't telling him that.
"Well, come if you think you should," he said, but quickly added, "but I don't want to tell you to come down and then have her get well by the time you get here. I just don't want to tell you one way or the other. You have to decide." He refused to sway me. He wouldn't have it on his hands.
"I'll catch the next flight," I said, making the choice that both of us knew I would all along.
I hung up, feeling like I had just gotten off a conference call with a lawyer. It was easier to approach the situation as a scheduling issue rather than as a trip that could be my last chance to see my mother alive.
When I arrived at Forrest County General, my younger brother and my father were in the waiting room. That morning, when the attendants came to my mother's room to take her for X-rays, they found her sprawled unconscious on the floor. She had somehow managed to get out of bed and fallen. When my brother asked her why she hadn't buzzed for assistance, all she would say was that she wanted "to fix her face." She had been trying to get to her makeup kit. They figured she must have been delirious.
After shaking hands with my father, I took a chair close by and carefully observed him. Before you engage with my father, it's wise to calibrate his mood, which could range from mildly controlling to tyrannically oppressive. Yet, tonight, something was different. My father had always been in charge, but here in the waiting room he was as close to passive as I had ever seen him. For one of the first times in his adult life, he was watching everything with keen interest, but not exerting authority over any of it. My brother David had assumed the lead role, and next to him, my father seemed small and submissive.
Dad politely asked the nurse if we could go into my mother's room. The nurse brushed him off, somewhat heartlessly I thought. I held my breath, waiting for Dad to shame her out of the helping profession. He acquiesced. But my brother took off after the nurse and told her, not asked her, that we were going to see Mother now.
Mom had lost a lot of weight and appeared frail, as if she would snap in my arms if I hugged her. She was breathing oxygen through a tube in her nose. Her hair, always kept perfectly in place, was flat in spots and tangled in others. Her lips were dry and chapped. There was a lot of purple bruising on her arm where she had fallen. She was only semi-conscious, but still she recognized me.
"Johnny," she said, brightening a bit. She lifted her hand for a moment before letting it drop again to the bed.
She shook her head, then a frown crossed her face. "There was something I wanted to tell you," she said. "I forgot what." Speaking was hard for her.
Again she shook her head as if frustrated by the sluggishness of her thoughts. "Oh! I know!" she said in a rushed whisper.
I looked into her washed out eyes. They were the weakest shade of blue I could ever remember them being, like the last remnant of morning sky, just before being bleached out by the heat of the day.
I promised her that I would. She seemed satisfied and closed her eyes.
Back at the house, Dad and I sat out on the porch. It was late. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. I noticed he had switched from Salem to a tiny brown cigar. The smell, even outside, was awful, but he claimed he smoked less.
"How do you think she looks?" he asked. If this were anyone but my father, I would have sworn he was asking for reassurance.
He grimaced as if I had intentionally tried to hurt him.
My mother now has severe arthritis in the fingers of both hands. There passed a long silence between my father and me.
It occurred to me that I much preferred sitting in silence with my father than speaking with him. I felt closer to him when I wasn't struggling to decide what a normal son might say to a normal father. I liked it best when no words were expected. Together we looked into the clear night sky. The stars were bright pinpoints.
He reached up and touched his face. No, he hadn't, and it seemed to scare the hell out of him. He awkwardly said goodnight and went to bed.
I sat up for a while in the den. All was quiet, except for the steady ticking of a clock somewhere in the room. The den, like the rest of the house, was decorated with Mom's arts and crafts projects. She lived to clip articles out of Redbook or McCall's or Good Housekeeping on how to make some god-awful decorative piece that she could proudly display. On the coffee table sat a 2-foot-high pyramid made of a dozen Styrofoam balls. The surface of each ball was completely covered with row after row of lima beans, glued on and then spray-painted gold. I was being watched over by half a dozen angels on the mantel made from handkerchiefs stuffed with cotton balls, shirtsleeve buttons for eyes, supported on stands made of Popsicle sticks. I wondered, if she hadn't been raised dirt poor and had gotten more than a high school education, would she have become a professional artist? She certainly had the inclination.
Mom got a raw deal, I thought to myself. She was the only one in the family who understood my need to write. She had taken the poem I read in high school and had given it a place of honor in the scrapbook. It was then she told me that she had been her high school's poet as well. "But I wasn't any good," she said, embarrassed. "You are. You should write if that's what you want." It struck me how little her opinion had mattered when I was a teenager and how much it mattered now.
Again I noticed the ticking of the clock and looked to see that it was 3 a.m. But I'd never seen that particular clock before. Its face seemed to be made out of … what? A phonograph record? I got up to examine it.
I was right. It was an old LP fitted with a tiny motor, three golden hands, and numbers glued on for the hours. Another art project. When I looked closer, I recognized the record. It was Bert Kaempfert's "Afrikaan Beat."
Now, sleep deprived, I allowed the memory of a woman who had once been my mother to slowly emerge. She is young and beautiful, full of life. She wears a beautiful red sateen dress with a short vest she was so proud of. In my memory, she carefully drops that very record onto the turntable of the new Magnavox. She twirls around to me and grins. She is holding out both arms. I take her hand with my left and place my right awkwardly at her waist. She lays a palm gently on my shoulder. That was the day I asked Barbara Miller out for my first-ever date. My mother and Bert Kaemphert patiently teach the bossa nova.
These memories, the softer ones, are stored in a hard-to-get-to place in my heart. I've convinced myself that if I indulge those maverick moments of kindness, I will lose my balance. I will be sucked back into the familiar arms, not of a loving mother, but of a cold, sinking depression. I will convince myself that the little I received was all that I deserved. But tonight the memories are coming with such clarity that I can't fight them.
There was a time before the drinking and the pills. In that time, she and I are still the best of friends. We collect SH Green Stamps. We make peanut butter cookies and tell each other jokes. And after Dad has fallen asleep in his chair, I bring her the old brown shoebox stuffed full of dozens and dozens of black-and-white photos of grown-ups in ancient dress, children more stern than their years warrant, unpainted houses, newly acquired cars and several mules.
She begins. "This here is your great-great aunt …" and she lets the stories fly.
When my mother narrated a snapshot she didn't just say who was in it. Each photo was a vital thread in an intricate web of stories that revealed the essence of who we were, indeed, why we were. Depression-era, dirt-farm poverty, then the first family automobile, shiny and new; skeletal, half-starved girls who later show up beautiful and buxom, with beauty parlor perms. There was direction to our story, and it leaned toward hope. No single event was so burdensome or shameful that it could not be redeemed.
Sitting there alone in their den, I laughed aloud. That's why she was trying to get out of bed. They were coming to take her for X-rays. No way was my mother going to let them take a picture of her looking ugly.
The next day the pulmonologist called my brother, my father and me into a small conference room and showed us the X-rays. He was very worried and strongly recommended that we put Mother on a ventilator. We agreed.
But no one had spoken to Mother about it.
David and I told her how the upside outweighed the downside. The pulmonologist spoke at length. Dad hung back by the entrance, nodding.
She insisted that she would get well on her own and to stop pushing her to do something she was damn well set against. Even in her weakened state, it was the strongest, most in charge, the most direct I had ever seen her. She was fierce.
And in that moment I gained a glimpse of who my mother really was. All this time I had believed my father to be the strong one, the one who was always in charge. But I had it backward. Watching mother fight for her life and seeing Dad lost and confused, I knew for certain that, without ever verbalizing it, they had struck a deal. My mother would let my father, who had come from a hard-drinking, violent family, have what he had never had, a sense that he was in control, that he was the strong one.
In return, my father gave her what she had hungered for since before that pitiful farmyard picture was taken. Namely, to be treated with dignity and respect, like she was somebody special. Mom's drunken escapades, the ones I hated so much, were not spontaneous, unpredictable sprees. They had been strategic. Each incident had been preceded by some act of disrespect on my father's part. As soon as he broke the contract, she went out and showed him who was really in control.
I had only understood these two people as parents, which in the scheme of things, is not knowing much about somebody at all.
My novel was finally published, only after I took my ex-agent's advice. I changed my name. Well, actually, I didn't need to. I queried the novel under the name on my birth certificate—Johnnie Johnson. In the biographical information, I made sure to keep my identity both gender- and race-neutral.
My agent had been right. After sending it out to several publishers myself, I received four requests. One was ready to sign without any rewrites. Of course, I told them the truth when they called, that I was a white male, but by that time it didn't matter. They had read the novel and liked it.
I felt vindicated when the first national review declared, "Odell, an African American, is the rare writer on race who allows for a range of responses--and for the possibility of change." I really hated to alert them to their mistake as to my race. Whether the reviewer was right or not in her estimation, it was the best compliment she could have paid.
A couple of months after the novel was published, I drove Mom to the museum in Jackson to see the traveling exhibit from Versailles. She held out for an hour before we had to take a rest in the museum cafe. She feels sophisticated now that I have introduced her to cafe lattes and she orders one with an obvious sense of accomplishment.
I had no idea what she was referring to.
My mother went on to tell me about a summer afternoon in the 1940s. Her father has just come home, drunk. He calls the whole family together in the yard. He takes great pains to line them up against the side of the barn, from the smallest to the tallest. They think maybe he's going to take their picture. And sometimes he's been known to bring presents of candy and fruit back from town to hand out to them, so everybody is giddy with excitement. Even though, this time, he seems drunker than usual.
He tells them not to move and then disappears. He returns holding his shotgun. He announces that he is going to kill them all one by one. Nobody moves.
Unsteadily, he raises the gun and aims at the smallest boy. Just that moment his wife races from out of nowhere, screaming, tugs down on the barrel. He hits her in the face, knocking her to the ground. He aims again.
My mother related this story to me in a calm, casual voice, as if she was telling me how to make a banana pudding or naming relatives in an old photo. I, on the other hand, sat horrified.
She took another sip of her latte. "You know, Johnny," she continued, almost as an afterthought, "if a neighbor hadn't rode up at that very moment, I do believe he would have killed us every one." She smiled sweetly.
All I could think was, there is not enough time in the world for me to know who you are. I will never know what it took for you to get here, to this place, today. I will never know what price you paid for survival. I'll never know the bargains you struck, the close calls you had, the secret oaths that you swore. I'll never know what you had to forget.
Perhaps I can never forgive you for your abandonment, the things I know for sure, but also, I will have to admit this: What I don't know about you is bigger than the universe. Whatever it took for you to survive, whatever that twisted resolve to stay alive called upon you to do, God bless you for that.
Jonathan Odell is the author of "The Healing" and, most recently, "Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League," a novel that was inspired in part by his mother, one of many ill-suited 1950s housewives. Born in Mississippi, he currently lives in Minneapolis, where he is at work on a memoir and another novel.


Introduced in 2002 as a new source for San Antonio's water supply, the Trinity Aquifer was the first non-Edwards Aquifer drinking water through SAWS pipelines. It began with two small projects – Oliver Ranch and Bulverde Sneckner Ranch – but now a number of production facilities use the Trinity Aquifer as a water resource, serving ratepayers in the high-growth area of north central San Antonio. As part of the 2017 Water Management Plan, the Trinity Aquifer plays a major role in providing additional sources to enhance the region's water supply.
The Oliver Ranch project is located in north central Bexar County where it provides Trinity Aquifer water to SAWS service areas. Water from this project was the first non-Edwards water to enter the SAWS distribution system. Under an initial 10-year contract, delivery of water to the SAWS system began in February 2002. A new 15-year contract was signed, effective July 1, 2010, with the option to extend for an additional 10 years. Currently, water is produced and chlorinated on the Oliver Ranch site and pumped to the SAWS Indian Springs Storage tank.
The Bulverde Sneckner Ranch (BSR) project, also in north Bexar County, is in close proximity to the Oliver Ranch project. A total of four wells were completed on the property by SAWS. Like the Oliver Ranch project, water is chlorinated at the Oliver Ranch facility site. Delivery of water to the SAWS system began in June 2003. The original contract had an initial term of five years with three 5-year renewal options. In January 2006, an amended and restated contract was signed for a 15-year, 1 1/2-month timeframe through Feb. 15, 2020 with a possible 6-year extension. Hydrologic modeling was conducted for this property in conjunction with the Oliver Ranch property.
When San Antonio Water System assumed ownership of the former Bexar Metropolitan Water District in 2012, the utility also took over an existing water supply agreement with Water Exploration Company, Ltd., (WECO) for the purchase of water from the Trinity Aquifer.
SAWS renegotiated the water supply contract for a term of 15 years, with two optional five-year extensions. Total cost of purchased water depends on the amount produced.
As of July 1, 2013, SAWS is obligated to purchase up to 17,000 acre-feet*An acre-foot of water is equivalent to 325,851 gallons. per year in monthly increments not to exceed 1,417 acre-feet*An acre-foot of water is equivalent to 325,851 gallons., if water is available for production.
SAWS pays for delivered water, meeting all state and federal drinking water standards.
Pumping by WECO may not reduce the Trinity Aquifer below 600 feet mean sea level at test wells.
These projects augment water supply to one of the city's highest growth areas. By utilizing this water source, as opposed to pushing Edwards Aquifer quickly, SAWS customers save on operating and energy costs.
SAWS originally signed contracts in February 2000 with the Massah Development Corporation and the BSR Water Supply Company to purchase water from public supply wells completed in the Trinity Aquifer system.
SAWS and Massah Corporation signed a new contract in July 2010, under which SAWS will purchase water from public supply wells completed in the Trinity Aquifer system. This agreement will remain in force for 15 years with an option to extend another 10 years.
SAWS signed an amended and restated contract with BSR in January 2006 for 15 years and 1 1/2 months with a possible 6-year extension.
The source of the water comes from the Lower Glen Rose and Cow Creek aquifers within the middle of Trinity Aquifer.
Water is pumped directly to the 3 million-gallon Oliver Ranch Water Storage Tank, near Bulverde Road and U.S. 281 North, and is then transferred to the Indian Springs Water Storage Tank near Bulverde and Smithson Valley roads or the Winchester Water Storage Tank near U.S. 281 North and Marshall Road. Water is provided to the SAWS system from any of these locations.
The projects' capital costs were about $12.8 million.


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The History Dish: Cabbage Cake and the Jewish Vegetarian Movement
Published on April 18, 2016 in history dish. 2 Comments Tags: bread, cabbage, jewish, vegetarian.
Cake Filled with Cabbage: buttery, sweet and savory.
In the early 20th century, a group Jewish people believed that the less meat you ate, the closer you would be to god. By refraining from eating meat and fish, one could avoid the necessity of slaughtering living beings. This idea was epitomized in The Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook (originally published as Vegtarish-Dietischer Kokhnukh: 400 Shpeizn Gemakht Oysshlislekh fun Grsin, or Vegetarian-Dietetic Cookbook: 400 Recipes Made Exclusively from Vegetables), a kosher cookbook published in 1938. Originally printed in Lithuania, it was recently re-released and translated into English. For a special event promoting the book's release, I was asked to prepare a recipe; typically for me, I picked the weirdest recipe I could find: cabbage cake.
Because the laws of kosher dictate the separation of meat and dairy, there are many vegetarian (and vegan) recipes among Jewish cultures. In New York City, as well as in other Jewish centers, dairy restaurants and appetizing stores flourished at the turn of the century, alongside their meat counterparts, delicatessens. Additionally, vegetarian meals were more affordable; so often, a Jewish family on a budget–or in a situation where they had little access to meat–would turn to vegetarian recipes like the ones offered in The Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook.
The book's author, Fania Lewando, ran her own vegetarian restaurant and kosher cooking school in Vilna, Lithuania. In her introduction, she enthused on the virtues of a vegetarian life, spoke on the health giving properties of plants, and gave a a brief history of vegetarianism as "a Jewish movement."
And she offered great practical advice, like "Throw nothing out, everything can be made into food. For example, don't throw out the water in which you have cooked mushrooms or green peas; it can be used for various soups. Don't throw out the vegetables used to make a vegetable broth. You can make various foods from them, as shown in this cookbook."
Many of her recipes are simple and practical; others are fashionable, and sometimes even outrageous. In the pages of her cookbook, you can find Pickle Soup, a stew of root vegetables, peas and pickle brine; Buckwheat Kasha Cutlets, a homemade meat substitute similar to the foods Kellogg served at his vegetarian Sanitarium; Stuffed Imitation Kishke, the vegetarian version of a traditional sausage of stuffed beef intestine; and even a recipe for Kvass, a fermented beverage made from rye bread.
Cabbage Cake — or "Cake Filled with Cabbage" — intrigued me because who fills a cake with cabbage? But like the many bizarre recipes I am tempted to try, I saw potential. It layered a buttery, savory yeast dough with a slow cooked mix of butter, cabbage and onions.
Assembling the cake.
Cake Filled with Cabbage
Adapted from the Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook, By Fania Lewanda, 1938
Translated from the original Yiddish by Eve Jochnowitz
4 cups white flour
1 packet yeast
1/2 cup milk, warm
1.5 cups (three sticks) unsalted butter
1 Head of cabbage, shredded (about 2 pounds)
1 cup chopped onions
In a large bowl, sprinkle cabbage with 1 tablespoon of salt. Set aside.
Make the dough: Pour 4 cups white flour into a bowl. Dissolve yeast in milk, stirring gently with a fork. Add to flour. Add 5 egg yolks, 2 eggs, sugar, a pinch of salt and 1/2 cup melted butter, stir until combined. On a well-floured board, knead for three minutes. Return to bowl, cover with a towel and set aside. Let dough rise one hour.
Wrap cabbage in a towel and squeeze–or press through a strainer–to remove water. Over medium-heat heat, melt 1 cup butter. Add cabbage and onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown.
On a well-floured board, divide dough in half, and roll into two sheets, each about 1/4 inch thick.
Grease a baking sheet. Lay one sheet of dough on the baking sheet, cover with cooked cabbage mixture, and then cover with the second sheet of dough. Pierce it all over with a fork and allow it to rise 30 minutes. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Brush top of dough with a beaten egg, and bake 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is toasty brown and bubbly.
Out of the oven!
Since I made this cake for an event, the results were fed to about 100 people. I was worried the cake might be too weird. But in the end, it's all about the experience; which is why I pick the recipe that sounds the most interesting, not the one that sounds the most delicious.
But thankfully, Cabbage Cake was both interesting and delicious. The yeasty dough paired perfectly with the buttery cabbage, that savory filling contrasting with the slightly sweet crust. The crust was crisp, and the filling melt-in-your mouth. It was an all around hit, and a dish I would make again as a vegetarian side or even a main course.
If you live in the new York City area and you'd like to learn more about the history of Jewish cuisine, I'm giving a special program at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum on May 18th. It will feature a tour focusing on the diversity of Jewish food, as well as a cooking class! Sign up here!
2 Responses to "The History Dish: Cabbage Cake and the Jewish Vegetarian Movement"
I went to your tour tonight at the Tenement museum. It was fun and it brought me to your blog! Anyway, are you sure the book was printed in Lithuania? I believe that Vilna was still part of Poland in 1938. This dish does resemble something I've eaten in present day Lithuania, but it would be called something like cabbage pie (kopustu pyragas).
The recipe provided above doesn't provide any dimensions for the pan. Is that the amount you made to serve 100? Because that seems like an awful lot of butter and eggs — which would also not have been cheap — just to serve 4-6 people.


According to Compass Direct News, Shi was found guilty of "illegal business activities" in June of 2009 by a Beijing court. Sources said Shi's store operated legally and sold only books for which he had obtained government permission, and that his Holy Spirit Trading Company printed Bibles and Christian literature without authorization. The last three years, while in prison, Shi suffered from complications of diabetes. His physical condition slowly deteriorated as he was denied medical treatment. Shi and his wife Zhang Jing are now asking for our prayers that God will refresh their spirits together in a "quiet place" after a separation of approximately three years, and restore Shi back to full health.
China is ranked No. 16 on the Open Doors 2011 World Watch List of 50 countries which are the worst persecutors of Christians.
As southern Sudan's historic independence referendum came to a close, this nation is rapidly preparing to split in half. Caught in cross-fire is the border region of Abyei where violence has erupted.
The future of Egyptian Christians following Mubarak resignation is undecided. "This is an extremely critical time. But we trust in God, and we hope and pray for a new Egypt," shares George, a partner with Open Doors in Egypt.
On Feb 18th, 2009, on his way to the market, Hrudayananda Nayak, a 42-year-old father of two was attacked because he was a Christian. His earthly body was found the next day.


1. Make sure the griddle is nice and clean before first use. Wash it in soapy water, rinse it and dry it.
2. Never get the electrical control elements wet or get any cleaning products on them. Never place your electric griddle in the dishwasher.
3. When scraping food off the surface of your griddle, only use plastic, nylon, or wooden utensils. Metal utensils will scratch and ruin your electric griddle's nonstick surface. Excess oil can be removed from the electric griddle using paper towels.
4. Clean your griddle after each use. Wait until the surface is cool. Try cleaning the griddle first with a regular nonabrasive kitchen sponge and water. Most of the time that is enough to clean the electric griddle. If there is residue left on the griddle, then you can use a mild abrasive like soft scrub. You can also mix a little baking soda with water to make a natural scrub at home that is safe for your electric griddle. Scrub gently using a fine cleaning pad made of nylon mesh or just a regular cleaning pad. Steel wool or abrasive kitchen cleaners will ruin the surface of your electric griddle pan.
Electric griddles, like the Presto electric griddle, are a great way to make cooking easy. Regular and proper care of your electric griddle will ensure your enjoyment of your electric griddle for many years to come.


1 Locating Affordable Dental Implants in Katy, Texas– Why So Pricey?
5 How Do I Get Dental Implants in Katy TX?
You assumed every little thing was great. No one appeared to discover that you were missing out on a few teeth, then a person went across the line. You were provided gran sandals and also a crocheted blanket for Xmas, the idea being that it was time to huddle on the sofa with your cat and also a glass of cozy milk.
Locating Affordable Dental Implants in Katy, Texas– Why So Pricey?
Losing your teeth has actually begun to make you look old. You barely speak with any individual anymore anyway, so why not resolve in for an early nap? Nonsense! You do not have to resolve when affordable dental implants are simply a call away.
Perhaps relative will certainly be much more sensible and direct regarding it, yet someone should inform you that affordable dental implants could be life-altering. Discovering affordable dental implants begins with a web search as well as the desire to take a trip a bit. Chances are you will need to go to a significant city to locate a dental professional who makes it his business to supply cost effective oral services to people who require them. It could feel like false economy if you need to pay for train tickets or gas, but simply note the distinction in price and also it soon becomes clear: traveling is well worth the effort to have your smile once more.
The reason dental implants are so costly is that great deals of individuals get associated with making them, inserting them and also completing them. Include this to the expense of products plus the dentist's helicopter fees, and quickly you will certainly need to offer your automobile to be able to eat steak again.
How Do I Get Dental Implants in Katy TX?
Dental experts can reduce costs by doing exactly what every consumer does to save loan: getting in mass. Considering that there is no such thing as a bad dentist, it is clear that these treatments happen typically enough for a specialist to get materials beforehand. If he is educated, he could carry out more of the work himself instead than sending you to a different person to tackle each section of the process. All this can conserve you loan, after you request a solid sedative to get you through the procedure.
Most of these dental methods advertise services over the net. Web advertising and marketing helps to maintain prices down and get to more individuals, while broadening their customer base at the very same time. Even more clients as well as lower media costs amount to financial savings we can pass on to customers. When you see one of our dental practitioners, make certain to ask for an expense analysis for the dental implants.
Consider taking benefit of these solutions prior to any individual needs to trigger you. Surprise them with a new smile. The advantages start with self-confidence, which is crucial to living a complete life. Not every person that loses teeth will certainly be elderly. Many young people struggle with dental conditions or injuries which bring about missing teeth. When you could not smile or talk freely, this cuts you off from individuals and hampers your chances of success, specifically if you desire to function in a customer care capacity.
Worse still, your jaw needs teeth in it to remain healthy and balanced. Without anything to support, your jaw begins to atrophy like a muscle that never gets utilized. Your mouth will alter shape to make sure that, also if you want to get dentures ultimately, they will certainly not fit. Act quickly to avoid this from happening and provide us a phone call today.
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The Brightened Mind: A Simple Guide to Buddhist Meditation (Paperback) | Tampa's only full service INDEPENDENT bookstore.
The brightened mind is one that is able to make better choices," says Sumano Bhikkhu. Having left the hectic world of Chicago real estate decades ago to become a Thai Buddhist monk, he knows what he's talking about. This simple, short introduction to meditation, particularly well suited to young people, can help anyone rattled with the stresses of living in today's society rife with financial uncertainty, war, crime, and the psychological assaults of bosses, teachers, and the media. His methods increase awareness, strengthen positive mental states, and develop insight. Eventually, the feeling of being overwhelmed becomes replaced with a sense of innate brilliance and trust in one's natural abilities. Moreover, the meditation Sumano teaches opens access to the infinite wisdom of the Universal Mind. An appendix on lovingkindness is an added benefit, providing the tools needed to face all challenges with a poised, cool, and compassionate heart.
Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu was part of the original group of monks and yogis to visit England in the mid-70's. He was the first Westerner to be ordained in the tradition of Ajahn Chah. During the seven years he lived and trained in England, he worked to restore the old Victorian estate that has become the Dharma lotus of Theravada Buddhism. From this auspicious beginning more than ten centers in Europe have been established and are flourishing. As a lay individual, Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu was one of the original benefactors in the purchase and development of Cittavivekn, a cave in northeast Thailand. Since 1998 he has traveled throughout the world leading retreats and spreading his dream of establishing a Spiritual Park outside of Bangkok which would bring together all the world's religions in the spirit of Unity and Peace. This center would teach skillful ways to live in the world and to accept and respect all Beings as brothers and sisters. He has written many books on contemplative practice in the forest tradition. Those available in the U.S. are Questions from the City, Answers from the Forest, and Meeting the Monkey Halfway.
"The American Buddhist monk Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu (Questions from the City), one of the early Western students of Ajahn Chah and founder of ten Theravada Buddhist centers across Europe, is an experienced author. This most recent, brief, accessible book focuses on a simple aspect of Buddhist practice: meditation, keyed to bring about focused awareness, which ultimately will bring readers closer to the Universal Mind. VERDICT Not for beginners in Buddhism, Ajahn Sumano's cheerful and direct text will be a true eye-opener for practicing Buddhists.
"This simple, short introduction to meditation, particularly well suited to young people, can help anyone rattled with the stresses of living in today's society rife with financial uncertainty, war, crime, and the psychological assaults of bosses, teachers, and the media. His methods increase awareness, strengthen positive mental states, and develop insight. Eventually, the feeling of being overwhelmed becomes replaced with a sense of innate brilliance and trust in one's natural abilities. Moreover, the meditation Sumano teaches opens access to the infinite wisdom of the Universal Mind. An appendix on lovingkindness is an added benefit, providing the tools needed to face all challenges with a poised, cool, and compassionate heart.
"This simple, short introduction to meditation, particularly well suited to young people, can help anyone rattled with the stresses of living in today's society rife with financial uncertainty, war, crime, and the psychological assaults of bosses, teachers, and the media."
"This is beautifully put, and a valuable reminder that meditation can be something we let happen rather than make happen. Sumano's strength is in emphasizing the "naturalness" of meditation. We don't try to "do something," then Ajahn reminds us, but rather meditation is ultimately "a way of undoing and letting go into the smile."
The extraordinary thing is the very compact way in which he's done this, by simplifying his presentation of the spiritual path down to those three key activities of letting meditation happen, paying total attention, and committing ourselves to excellence. I'd highly recommend Sumano's spiritual manual.
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