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Category: Anywhere But Here
SO MAYBE I'M NOT THE IDEAL CANDIDATE TO STAY ALONE IN A CASTLE AFTER ALL…
October 25, 2013 | Accidentally on Purpose, Anywhere But Here, Books, Chick Lit, I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship, Jenny Gardiner, memoir, Naked Man on Main Street, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, Via Francigena, Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me, women, women's fiction | 1 comment
I'm sorry I stopped blogging — after leaving Tuscany my internet was pretty unreliable, so I fell off the wagon. I'll try to do a round-up now that I'm back home since a lot of folks wanted to hear about the rest of my trip!
I drove to Procena castle from Castiglione D'Orcia, wondering as I went if I ought to have stayed longer or if it was indeed time to move on. As much as I loved Tuscany, it felt lonely being all alone there. In a city you can be on your own and not feel so void of companionship, but Tuscany felt much more a place to share with others. I was my own fifth wheel, go figure. That said, there is something so magical about the mystical light of Tuscany — it renders even unglamorous concrete-like chunks of upturned dessicated earth into beautiful pastoral scenes. Field after field in Tuscany had been tilled for the season, and the muted earthtones on their own were unremarkable in color, but with the low-cast peach-colored late-day sun painting the fields of beige, tan and brown into a masterpiece of breathtaking beauty, well, it was hard to part with that. It didn't help that the Sunday I left was overcast and threatening rain all day. Still, in Tuscany, angry storm clouds lurked with such stark beauty…It's a rare landscape that can be highlighted with inclement weather.
The view from Procena Castle
As I left the Tuscan region and entered Lazio, I was less impressed with the natural beauty of the area. Roads were practically bombed out with potholes — having grown up in Pitsburgh, I've known my share of potholes over the years, and I was afraid a few of those were going to swallow up my little Panda Smartcar whole, or at least snap an axel. As the car crawled up the final hill toward Procena, I was still a bit apprehensive about what I'd gotten myself into.
I parked my car in the outside-the-town-wall car park and lugged my backpack up the road, following signs for Castello di Proceno. I knocked on the locked door and was eventually greeted by a man who was a dead ringer for Alfred Hitchcock. Given the sort of spooky nature of an imposing and very old castle, that might not have been the best first thing for me to encounter, particularly as it was an overcast and rainy day that never seemed to garner enough light to feel like daytime. Nevertheless Giovanni was a kind and lovely host and soon brought out his wife, Cecilia (aka Pucci, a childhood nickname that stuck). Now while Pucci was delightful and sweet, she reallllly fit the whole ancient castle décor, kind of dark, hollow eyes (but honestly she was SO sweet) and very petite and I mean I do have a vivid imagination, you guys know that. I think they had a certain chiarascuro thing going, that dark-in-the-shadows thing that gave me pause. Maybe it's just so little windows in those old buildings means more shadows on people's face…Whatever it was, I just kept imagining they were a family of vampires and at the stroke of midnight, well…
Being alone in a castle isn't necessarily a great thing for me, I now realize. My room wasn't in the castle proper, but in the ramparts, the buildings at the base of the castle tower surrounding and protecting the five-story castle. I had a bit of a hike uphill and through a winding alley to then climb several flights of steps, through a lovely garden. I was greeted by collection of mismatched cats who clearly ran the place — replete with missing legs, snipped ears, I think one had an absent eye (I later learned Pucci's son brings home the injured critters).
All around the courtyard of the garden there were doors that hid things I felt a need to check out because, well, I was alone in a room in a potentially haunted castle. I was pleasantly surprised each one ended up being some sort of supply area, potting shed, etc, all in impeccable condition, void of clusters of spider webs, no squeaking mice, no bats flying out to attack me. Put my own grimy garage to shame. And my hosts were not spring chicks. While I couldn't' exactly put a finger on their ages it could have been early 70's but could easily have been mid-80's. And they had a LOT to maintain in this place. I was so impressed. Though when my WiFi kept failing and I trekked down the street to the office with Giovanni to figure out how to make it work, I was reminded of my fathers hoarder home, with piles of stuff surrounding his antique computer (and what other kind of computer would we expect in a castle?!) along with a dusty copy of Microsoft Office 97 for Dummies. Seriously. Big props for me, figuring if we unplugged that little black plug attached to the little flat thingy by the computer, maybe the wifi would start working in five minutes (yeah, my technological know-how was no better than Alfred Hitchcock's!). Unfortunately what this meant is if I'd slept in the dusty decrepit office, my wifi would've worked reliably as I'd have kept on unplugging/replugging that thing, but since I was 3 stories up (and up the street), that wasn't gonna happen. Oh well. My only problem is night time was my research time, figuring out directions, where I was going to go, etc. And Scott and I were wrapping up last-minute plans for me to meet up with him in Rome in just two days, so being in contact was fairly important. Oh well, so I just hung out and tried not to feel like the very old collection of things on display were never used to bludgeon to death people from another century. Yeah, that imagination can run wild.
And then, as a dark, wet, dusk settled in, so did an intimidating blanket of fog that made me feel right at home (as in scared to death) being alone at a castle. You can imagine my glee when I learned that an American couple, Jeannine and Lennie, who'd cooked with Pucci that day (one of the many services she does, this spunky wunderkind, is teach cooking classes) had offered for me to sit down to dinner with them to enjoy the bounties of their lesson. I was happy to take them up on that, as I'd been alone for so long anyhow, and feeling especially alone in the big scary castle in the fog and dark. Add to it I hadn't spoken much English in a while, well, I'd have dined with pretty much anyone at that point. Dinnertime couldn't come fast enough. And thank goodness they'd included me as there was no one else staying in the whole place, so it was just us.
Pucci invited us up to her kitchen as they finished off the food they'd prepared earlier in the day. I was grateful because this was not going to be a meal I'd order, but rather what I was served, and I knew one of the two pasta dishes was laden with anchovies, a deal-breaker for me. Luckily Jeannine and I realized in time that they'd forgotten to douse the dish with anchovies and so we begged them to hold back some untainted pasta for the two of us. Say what you will about "mouth feel" and "umami" and all those certain je ne sais pas ingredients, anchovies taste fishy, so I was glad I had something I'd eat that night.
We retreated to their enoteca, literally a cavernous grotto that had Etruscan caves in it. It was a combination of very cozy and a little creepy. I think if it had been full of conviviality, people lauging and drinking and eating, it would have felt more cozy, less creepy, but instead it was just us, and the rest of the place empty. Their lovely chef Luccia brought down food as it was finished off and I don't know, I'm sure this sounds so rotten of me, but there was this thing in my head that kept harkening back to Bugs Bunny episode with that Jekyl/Hyde character who she reminded me of, so I guess I kept sort of putting all of these characters in the role of Elmer Fudd as the evil Mr. Hyde. I swear I was hoping for about ten deadbolts on my door that night to protect me from things that might go bump in the night. I'm such a weenie.
This is the view of the Castle Tower from my porch
At any rate, dinner was delightful. Pucci was the consummate hostess and regaled us with lovely stories from her past and the castle's past.
I had a fireplace in my room but hadn't thought about actually using it, but Jeannine and Lennie said they'd fired up theirs so I decided when I returned to my room to do so and was glad I did. It provided a certain level of psychological comfort to me as I fell asleep, like leaving the TV on while nodding off. Warding off the juju. Besides which it was awfully cozy. I forgot to mention my room was nice (though the décor was a bit weary)–very spacious, a large room with a bed (well, it was actually a cot but we'll pretend we didn't notice that), a few chairs, then another full kitchen then a whole patio overlooking the valley below, very pretty. When the entire area was swallowed up by fog until after 10 a.m.the next morning, I waited to see the view after the fog parted, and it was exceptional.
I then wandered the property, which was sprawling, and I wondered how this older couple could maintain it all. I assume they have help but I didn't see anyone else working the place. They had a whole 'nother restaurant down by the pool, where I sat down and wrote for a few hours, relishing the beautiful clear early autumn day. I even dozed off, very peaceful. Later in the afternoon, Pucci gave me a promised tour of the actual castle. Very cool. We entered through her home (all part of the ramparts), and first she showed me her living room, which featured a harpsichord that had been in the family since the mid-1700's, as well as a harp and a mandolin from the era. And then I looked upward to see the walls near the ceiling lined with Etruscan pottery, all harvested from beneath the castle when it was first built, and remaining with the castle proper since then (construction started in the 9th century, and there are records in the Vatican of the bell tower operating in the 11th century). I asked if she dusted them and she said she was terrified she'd break one. Mine would be coated in dust, for sure (and only in part for fear of breakage, but sheesh, who wants to be tasked with dusting ancient pottery anyhow?!).
Just your average 2500 year old pottery decorating a home
We then started climbing the castle, which was actually a very tall, narrow tower, which had tapered and very steep ladder-steps, some of which were practically a 90-degree angle (how did she do this? I was afraid I'd kill myself and I probably had 30 years on her! I swear Italian women are the spunkiest; those ladies have the most stamina ever). Each floor brought new surprises. The castle had been in her family's hands since the mid-1600's (can you imagine?!) and they had vestments from the church in display cases from that far back, clothes from the Napoleonic era, also in glass cases. And a framed note from some long-ago Pope (a distant relative). There were your run-of-the-mill castle things: the torch holders the you pull from the sconce in the wall and use to run out the Beast (oh, wait, that was in Beauty and the Beast), there were all sorts of weapons, it was just amazing, that this was all from her family over hundreds and hundreds of years. I think my family heirlooms date back to about 1975.
On the top floor of the castle
We finally got to the top, I got to cross the drawbridge (it was small and verrrrrryyyyy high up! I subsequently learned they'd been looking for a drawbridge repairman, but that was good I was unaware of that!). Atop the castle, leaning into the crenelated walls, I could see how that King would feel good surveying his terrain, smugly protected. I saw slits along a floorway and asked if that was where they poured the boiling oil. I was joking, but it turns out it was indeed for that purpose! And Pucci showed me the pockmarks in the walls from catapult ball attacks (remaining catapult balls can be found decorating the garden and even using almost as finials on garden walls. Funny).
Insert boiling oil here
Pucci talked about growing up in a castle — you can imagine what a cool place that would be to be a child. Her boy cousins of course picked up weapons to play with while she got to be the princess (no doubt with some historical accuracy from her family tree). I asked her how they were able to preserve their treasures during World War II, and she said that when it became apparent the war was ending badly for the Italians, her father buried their treasures behind a wall that got cemented in, so that it wasn't pillaged. It was quite a treat to be able to tour this fabulous historical relic — so hard to imagine growing up in your run-of-the-mill suburbia the sense of history that so many Europeans maintain. (even that kids in Italy get to go on field trips to things like Pompeii, like how cool is that?). Also cool, her husband Giovanni's family had the first printing press in Lazio, and they are on display in the entryway to their home.
Note catapult ball imprints
the drawbridge
markings on walls from 1500's
peering into castle from above
the keys to the castle, literally
catapult balls decorate the garden
Surveying the territory below
Castle bell from around the 10th century
drawbridge chain–looks pretty rickety
printing press from I think the 1600's
what every castle needs–an ancient boar mounted on the wall
I left well before dawn the next morning in order to get to Fiumichino airport in Rome to meet Scott. I didn't get my quaint basket with homemade breads and jams as I did the first morning, pity. I did manage to get myself lost, which was probably because I was still spooked wandering the empty streets of Procena, a very dying village that once housed some 11,000 residents and has since whittled down to about 300. At 5 a.m. it was, yeah, the common theme here, foggy and spooky. One of the many village cats must've gotten into mischief ,as someone's flower pots had been knocked over and dirt was strewn about the cobblestone road.
I got myself lost in the dark by forgetting to take a hard-to-forget sharp right turn while leaving the hilltop town, ten miles later got back on the right road, but my directions, loosely translated from Italian, weren't quite enough to get me to my destination without wondering if I was making wrong turns. I stopped once on the highway to ask directions and the sweetest man who was driving a truck for a glass repair business, escorted me for about 50 KM to ensure I was on the right route. How nice was that? I met so many kind people on this trip who have helped me along the way. There are a lot of good people in the world.
Scott's flight arrived on time, as did I, so we were able to hop a train to Salerno right away and get going. The plan was to take a ferry from Salerno to Positano, then take a bus up to our B&B in Nocelle, at the top of the ridge, about 30 minutes from Positano. We'd been warned that the ferries didn't run in bad weather, so when we arrived to brilliant sunshine in Salerno, only to be told the ferries weren't running (I asked the woman why and she pointed to the clear blue sky and shrugged), we had to figure quickly what to do, which turned out to be to quickly purchase tickets for the bus, set to arrive in a few minutes.
Evidently we weren't the only ones needing a Plan B, as by the time the bus arrived, a throng of humans pushed their way to get onto the bus. Luckily Scott was trying to load our luggage into the belly of the vehicle, and luckily the driver had suddenly opened the back door of the bus, so he got on, and I was turned away, as the bus was belching out people. But I shouted out in Italian that my husband was on the bus and I simply had to get on, so he let me on (along with a few others) despite there being nowhere for us to be. At one point I thought I would ride the entire way with my face pressed up to the windshield, but then a really sweet Englishman traveling with his wife gave up his seat for me (she was fine sitting on the steps, apparently), so I was able to get a seat next to a very friendly Italian pastry chef on his way home from work. I feel sorry for the locals who must rely on the buses for their daily commute (this includes school kids) — our bus was filled with students trying to get home, plus all tourists who'd started the day traveling by ferry to another Amalfi Coast town but had to get back to their starting point via the lone remaining transportation option, the bus. The trip was about an hour, with poor Scott fighting off carsickness standing, jammed, way back in the back while I chatted pastries with my little Italian buddy up front. I'd never have been able to offer him my seat through the pressed flesh regardless, or I would have. He was a little green around the gills by the time we got to Amalfi, where we had to catch another bus, which we foolishly thought would be substantially more calm.
Alas, the bus that was leaving shortly after we arrived there was mobbed by throngs of tourists, so we had no chance. It was to be a 30 minute wait for another bus, but the problem was there was no system as to where to meet the next bus, nor where to line up. There was a cluster of bus drivers taking a classic Italian smoke break, but were unable or unwilling to provide a hint of information about transportation clues: imploring questions were met with ambivalent shrugs, a tight suck on a cigarette, and a return to important conversation with their stylishly dressed coworkers (sweaters tied around their necks, very chi-chi for bus drivers).
Finally we realized we had to divide and conquer if we were to get on a bus any time soon, so I served as scout searching for the next bus that might be arriving while Scott waited in line, hoping something would materialize on that end. After a while one of the bus drivers who'd not given up information about which bus might be Positano-bound then climbed aboard a nearby idle bus and several of us accosted him, demanding to know if it would become the Positano bus. He shrugged in a positive-ish way, leading us to guess that perhaps we would be on the right bus if we got on. So I rushed on with others in the front of the quasi line while Scott tried to load our bags onto the bus. But the driver wasn't opening the baggage storage section, so finally we ended up with our pile of bags jammed on yet another bus for another 45 minutes on windy cliffside roads with hairpin turns and absolutely breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, and about twice as many humans as should safely be on the thing.
When we arrived in Positano we had about ten minutes to spare before catching the next bus to Nocelle. We grabbed a gelato so I could use the restaurant's bathroom (which I'd needed since Salerno, natch!) and smugly gloated that at least this time we could have comfortable seats on the bus. Ha! When the bus arrived, it was packed to the gills, only smaller than the previous buses. But our driver was nothing if not an optimist, and he just kept piling more riders on (our bags stacked up inside the bus yet again. I laughed at the small child who was perched atop a locked safe that was behind and above the drivers seat. He was like a bird in a nest peering down at the crowd. Lordie, another thirty minutes hoping we didn't end up through the windshield. The bus drivers are amazingly gifted at avoiding collisions (I couldn't help but wonder how often buses go over the cliffs, simply because of my macabre imagination), and at one point the entire overpacked bus applauded as our driver passed another vehicle with about 1-1/2 millimeter's space before a huge sideswipe would've happened. Patience is quite an Italian virtue, and the locals must have it in spades, so it was a good lesson to remind us that this wasn't a pain-in-the-ass-transportation-nightmare, but rather an exhilarating adventure that we'd laugh at for years to come.
When we reached the end of the line, and there were no more buses as options (the last few miles involved the bus waiting at the foot of a hairpin turn for 10 minutes while a truck made its way down the steep hill; no room for two vehicles on the road), though we knew we had more to go. Mind you, I'd been traveling with my backpack and nothing else for three weeks, and was quite used to it. But when I found out that Scott was going to meet me for the last week, I wisely suggested we FaceTime in my closet so I could give him a nice long list of things I sure wouldn't mind finally having. Like clothes. Underwear. Perfume. I had packed three outfits for four weeks and I can't tell you how sick I was of them. So Scott ended up with enough this and that I'd requested that he brought a whole extra suitcase for me (also with enough room to bring home some wine and olive oil and balsamic vinegar, necessities). Otherwise it would have been him with a small suitcase, and me with my easily manageable backpack. But hey, I wasy dying for some perfume and make-up by then…
my clothes for a month
So we were met at the bus stop by our B&B host, Nino, a genial, cheerful and surprisingly fit man I'd guess was in his late 60's or early 70's, who hoisted my (oversized) suitcase on his shoulders while Scott lugged his bag and I wore my pack for the next ten minutes of walking up and down many steps (an Amalfi Coast thing), dodging lots of dog poo (and what looked distinctly like horse dung but I couldn't figure out how that got there!) until we finally reached our destination.
(That horse poo? Well, Two days later I would see a man escorting two horses down a very steep flight of steps en route toward the village parking area, by the bus stop. I had no idea horses were so fleet of foot! They were far more graceful than I was on those steep steps! And the dog poo? While I cursed the locals for not curbing their dogs, I soon realized there wasn't anywhere else for dogs to go anyhow, with the treacherously steep and untamed terrain, and mostly they weren't anyone's dogs, but rather many stray dogs that make the circuit, mooching and living off the land, living the good life. Our Bridget would love it.
The view from our B&B in Nocelle
Okay, back to Nocelle. It's a beautiful tiny village with the most breathtaking views imaginable. You can see for miles, the dramatic and rugged cliffs of the Amalfi and purest blue Mediterranean waters and you just cannot get enough of it. Sunsets? Forget it, they're too beautiful to describe. You just feel so blessed to have an opportunity to partake in it.
We had a lovely dinner at a nearby restaurant that first night, and started off early the next morning with no particular plans but to wander around Positano. We hopped a (crowded) bus and headed down toward the town, and decided to get off midway down, knowing we could find stairs to continue our walk if need be. We wandered into a ceramics shop (the pottery in the Amalfi coast is very pretty) and happened upon a woman presenting a lecture of some sort about authentic Amalfi pottery to a rapt group of people. We soon realized this woman was Christine, an Aussie transplant about whom we'd read in Rick Steves' guidebook, a lawyer who'd married a local and had become the unofficial town historian and gave great tours. We asked if we could tag along, and spent the next few hours touring Positano and getting great insight into the are. Along the way she regaled us with fun tales of life in Italy: how the first day of school had been the day before, and the mothers were up in arms because classes had been consolidated Montessori-style because there weren't enough students to fill up a grade. The mothers were all clucking their displeasure and her husband decided he wasn't going to stick around with that going on, so he bailed and left them behind. And so in true Italian fashion the moms decided they were going to go on strike, and on day two of school, there was no school because there were no students for the school.
Christine took us to her husband Vicenzo's showroom — his family owns the butcher shop in town, and he'd become a sommelier in addition to being an expert on local charcuterie and cheeses, so we did a great tasting in his shop and she urged us to attend his wine tasting class that evening as well. Christine's tour was delightful and turned what could feel simply like a large, albeit scenic tourist trap into a really interesting place to spend some time. Even the animals we encountered had stories. Apparently the local shops adopt the stray cats and dogs as their own and when open feed and house them by day, and various animals go by different names depending upon which shop they happen into at that time. One dog, I think he was named Arturo, actually hopped a bus from Praiano, a town about 20 minutes away by bus, each morning, even though dogs aren't allowed on the bus. We saw him sunning himself in the piazza near the duomo, a very contented stray indeed.
Arturo, the bus-hopping dog
Christine told us how she'd met her husband while taking time off as a lawyer in Sydney and backpacking through Europe. She arrived in Positano and unbeknownst to her, the boys in the town had a longstanding system of "tagging" pretty girls they wanted to end up with during the tourist season, and Vincenzo had tagged her with his buddies. The boys are known as "squallows" and are also called sharks, and they serve as wingmen for each other to facilitate their goals. Each spring the boys ditch their local girlfriends in favor of the new blood coming in to visit. So Christine was tagged by Vincenzo, and as she told him of her plans, that she was taking the bus in the morning to catch a boat to Capri, well, he told her the time to catch the bus, but he gave her the wrong time, so that when he showed up a few minutes later with his motor scooter and offered her a ride, how perfect that she had a way to get there. And when no boat materialized (he'd told his friend she'd hired not to show up), then he borrowed someone else's boat so that he could take her on his own. She said this system is known enough now that girls show up in Positano with no place to stay, knowing that they'll find housing and food one way or another. Though she said when they were dancing at the only nightclub in town, on the beach, on that first night, and he started getting a little too familiar, she slapped him across the face, and he knew then that he wasn't dealing with the run-of-the-mill female he was used to dealing with. She finished her travels and his missed her so much he visited her in Australia, and the next thing they knew, they were married. I could only imagine how much the local girls must have hated her, as she was taking away one of the few locals from their options. And in this part of Italy, you don't want to get on someone's bad side, or you'll end up with the malocchio, the evil eye, and they sell cornutos everywhere–those horn necklaces, to ward off the bad juju.
Love the teens making out on the beach below–very Italian…
I'm going to stop writing now and post this, and will finish the rest of our trip in the next posting,which I hope to get up on my blog in the next day or so!!
Beautiful Positano
September 15, 2013 | Accidentally on Purpose, Anywhere But Here, Books, Chick Lit, humor, I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship, Jenny Gardiner, memoir, Naked Man on Main Street, relaxation, road trip, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, Slim to None, Via Francigena, Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me, women, women's fiction | Leave A Comment
We'll start first with a quiz. Anyone who can define from your memory the follow terms gets an A:
Polyspaston
Archimedean screw
Large armed lodestone
Jovolabe
Condensation hygrometer
Yep, if you're like me, you haven't a clue. And still don't. But that's okay; I had fun trying to figure it out nevertheless.
Last week I decided for my first museum in Florence I'd go somewhere a little more off-the-beaten-path: I decided to get my science on (yes! those who know me will think I've lost my marbles!) and visit Il Museo Galileo, which was a most fascinating little museum that very few people go to. But for, uh, engineering types, I gathered. Because besides me the place had mostly engineering-type looking middle-aged guys there, most of them shaking their heads in marvel at the genius behind so much Renaissance science.
It is the largest collection of all things scientific in Italy, thanks to I think Lorenzo the Magnificent (or was it his son?) — one of those Medicis who wanted to preserve and consolidate scientific discoveries in one place.
I found the artistry of many of the designs to be the most interesting (maybe because I hadn't a clue what the hell the things did!) and I loved the ancient globes and maps, of which there were a few. My morbid curiosity piqued, though, with the preserved remains of Galileo's finger and tooth (of course I took a picture). And I was most amused as I go around with a pedometer attached that my friend Birgit gave me, and they had a very old-timey pedometer that was about the size of a bicycle — not very practical for every day useage.
I've lost track of my days but I think that was last Sunday. That evening I went to a restaurant in Piazza San Spirito which is a sort of funky area across the Arno (in the Oltrarno). We'd been there last year, I knew to order the half portions because their servings are so immense. So I ordered a half portion of homemade gnocchi in tomato sauce and as I awaited its arrival I was amused by a nearby accordian player who chose to play Hava Nagila, not exactly the most Italian of songs. Must be hired for a lot of Jewish weddings in town.
When my gnocchi arrived, I was surprised to see this scalding bubbling vat of gnocchi drenched in some horrid truffle cheese sauce which smelled so vile it churned my stomach. When I finally got the waitress' attention, I asked her where my order was, reminded her this was not what I had asked for. She told me the gnocchi with tomato sauce wasn't available in a half order so I got this instead. Uh, right. We call that the African "yes", as when we traveled in Africa this often happened. Odd, though, in the heart of Florence. I think I could safely presume that my subsequent plate of spaghetti al pomodoro probably had some spit in it from the waitress' ire…
I finally got to enjoy using a real live washer and dryer at the hostel. Was overpriced and exceedingly long: an hour for the washer, which I'd put in cold so as to not have all colors bleed together (they did anyhow), and the dryer TWO HOURS even though the temperature, I am convinced, was set to Scalding Pot of Boiling Oil setting. Even after two hours, my meager 8 things in the washer still hadn't dried. Very strange. Makes me appreciate my aged 15-year old washer and dryer that make a lot of noise but get the job done (knock wood). But it was interesting that the washing machine automatically put soap in. Handy.
I've noticed a lot of people out there in the world are void of spatial awareness. Either that or they don't give a care that you are walking right where they've decided they want to go. Which means you have two choices: divert on your path, or crash into them. Well, I've chosen choice three: I stand my ground and let them get out of the way. This is especially necessary when carrying a large backpack on your back, but I've taken to doing it on principal. I guess it is a pedestrian survival of the fittest thing. But it works: it doesn't annoy anyone, but it keeps me from having to zig and zag all over the place while getting from one place to another.
On Monday since many things in Florence are closed, I took a bus up to Fiesole, a lovely hillside village overlooking Florence. I wandered around, climbed to the scenic top and wandered around a lovely monastery (it was St. Bernard's, yet again he shows up on my trip — I've found so many times, in Siena, in Switzerland of course, St. Bernard had gotten around. This monastery had the cell in which he resided (creature comforts were definitely not his gig). I then sat in on I forget what it was called, not vespers, but it was noontime and five monks were in the small church chanting prayers. It was a little DaVinci Code-esque, these guys cloaked in brown robes, ropes knotted around their waists, hoods draping over their heads. Also a bit mesmerizing to listen to.
After that I got back down to Florence, tried Gelateria Caroze, supposedly the best in Firenze but didn't hold a candle to my favorite one (my gelato tasted like cilantro, a deal-breaker for me), and decided to invest in a Firenze Card (all-you-can-tour pass, kind of like at Disney, and gets you to the front of the line everywhere) and started out at Palazzo Medici, a palace where the Medicis lived when they weren't at one of their other palaces all over the place.
I spent the afternoon at the Palazzo Vecchio, yet another Medici art-fest. I climbed the campanile (the bell tower) for sunset and it was a spectacular one, with tufts of melon-colored clouds painting the landscape. I love that in Florence many people have terra cotta-colored satellite dishes, so that they blend in with the terrain and aren't so obstrusive when people are looking down on the city. And I had divine tortelli rossa at Vini et Vecchi Sapori again. Yummm…
Tuesday I spent the morning with David at the Academia. It is really such a beautiful work to behold. I enjoyed just sitting with it for a while, and eavesdropping on tour guides. I was interested to hear one, who was an art history teacher with students, pointing out that David isn't circumcized, even though he should have been — he said this was one of many subversive designs Michaelangelo included to stick it to the man (artists I guess have done that throughout history). He also mentioned that back in the day most statues were lacking that piece of male anatomy, as people stole them all the time. So dismembered statues were the norm. Go figure — people had a sense of humor back then even. I can see putting THAT on my mantle back home…
Another conversation I overheard at the Academia between to very expensively-dressed American women, one of who lamented that after all of her travels, she's seen more artwork than she can care to mention. Her friend then said to her with a straight face, "So, are these the kinds Of things you put in your house now?" And I wanted to ask her, "You mean statues by Michelangelo?" Weird…
After David I checked out the Cappelle Medicee, I surmise several of the Medicis were entombed there but regardless upon their deaths they were enshrined there. It's a humble little shack. I was amazed at the amount of reliquaries housed there (and elsewhere) — all sorts of gewgaws from saints throughout the ages, whether it was a body part (there was some martyr's head at the Duomo museum in Siena, the whole gorgeous skull in a beautifully ornate silver box) to fingers to teeth to just things I guess they owned. I suppose the modern day version of this is having an autograph from Michael Jackson that you'd frame, now that he's dead?!
I then wandered the San Lorenzo market, feeling not a need to buy a thing (and noticing the prices for similar things I'd seen in San Gimignano totally jacked up here), and inside at the large indoor food market. It would have been nice to buy things to cook but wow! I haven't cooked in weeks! Not exactly the kitchen in which to prepare anything but ramen noodles at the hostel…
I saw a dog that was the spitting image of our dog Bridget, snapping away at a fly. I swear it must be in their DNA, those dingos…
I spent the afternoon at the Palazzo Pitti, which is an exhausting tour. Just gobs and gobs of priceless artwork, room after room of splendor and wretched excess, just fascinating to see and sort of sad you ultimately say "Meh, another fourteenth century masterpiece. Whatev!" I'm convinced that were the Medicis alive now, they'd star in their own Hoarders type reality show. Or have a documentary made about their greed and gluttony and desire to Have It All, Dammit. After a while I was just wondering when the palace would run out of rooms so I could go pass out from sheer exhaustion. Tuesday I ate at Trattoria (or Osteria?) Casalingha in the Oltrarno — was good food, mostly locals, which is always a good sign. But it poured rained starting around sunset Tuesday. I went out with a rain jacket in my backpack but should've packed an Arc. I'm lucky though as it's mostly been the only rain I've had to contend with but for Switzerland on that first day.
Wednesday I toured the Museo dell'Opera dell Duomo (the museum in which the statues, famed doors of the Baptistery, etc are held in safekeeping and restored). Unfortunately much of it was closed off due to rennovations, but I'd seen some of the most famous statues last year when we went with Kendall's art history class, so it was okay. I also toured the Baptistery and climbed the campanile and read a book at the top, waiting until the bell tolled (it wasn't as loud as I'd expected).
I then returned to the Galleria Uffizi, again, lots of beautiful artwork. By then I was beat and hung out at the Piazza della Signoria and ran into a nice Aussie guy I'd slept with (haha! gotcha!) in one of my many hostel rooms (I had to change rooms almost every night because of the last-minute nature of my booking; I was lucky to get any room at all, and I am most grateful for Dennis, one of the managers, who took good care of me). I was in a 6-bed room with one bathroom in the hall, then a four bed room with one bathroom, then a deluxe four bed room in a more separate and private area (with a nice young couple from the UK) and private bathroom. The hallways here were weird as they had this eerie light that vibed from purple to pink to green all night long. And the passkey was magnetic, which was kinda cool. I then got bumped to a six-bed room for three nights with a two bathrooms shared by I'm pretty sure half of Florence. THAT was less than perfect, especially as invariably someone had an alarm (the classic iPhone ring) blaring at 5:15 a.m. so they could catch their train or flight. That got old fast.
Very young Wednesday night I ate at Trattoria Nella again, then wandered the streets. Saw a bride in a very frou-frou meringue dress greedily licking a cone of gelato as she promenaded by — she looked like a girl playing dress-up. When the sun goes down in Florence, the African immigrants show up with knock off purses galore, spreading sheets out on the Via dei Calzaiuoli. Funny, this whole subculture of immigrants selling schlock in Italy — lots of southeast asians selling little wooden linkable trains to spell children's names, or gooey ooze that they'd continually slam against a wooden block on the ground, all day long, tempting someone to purchase it. And faux paintings of all sorts of scenes. It's a gauntly of "non, grazie" to every vendor wherever you walk.
I then happened upon that Charlie Chaplin-esque street performer again — the one who drew the huge crowd. I was able to finagle my way in when people thought he was done and was passing a hat but then he chastised people for walking on his stage (!!! it's the street!!) when he wasn't done with his performance. While he passed the hat he'd kept his three "victims" (three people he pulled from the audience, one a now-shirtless Asian man with a beer gut who had had doing all sorts of embarrassing things). One was a little boy of about six, with that sweet as can be face that little boys have that just tug away at your heartstrings. Well, this performer sort of had the boy park it for a while while he brought others from the audience in, did a few kind of raunchy skits, and he'd put the music on and off occasionally, and the music was a bit sad sounding. I don't know what prompted it but I looked over to the little boy and could see he was figting back tears, yet no one did anything about it. I assumed his family was nearby, but nothing, Finally the guy came back and sat next to him and that poor little boy couldn't fight his tears anymore and just started crying, it was so heartbreaking. Meanwhile the performer ignored him! And FINALLY the kids parents came over and he ran off, so ashamed. But people rushed him, snapping away as he sobbed outright — it was so weird. Poor little thing. I'd regretted giving the guy any more for his performance after that. He was kind of aggressive and had an attitude (and said he'd been doing it for 27 years — maybe time to retire?!).
In florence I've had to constantly dodge people's pictures, which can be futile as everywhere you turn someone is being photographed. I've also taken so many pictures of couples, families, you name it, together, I should hang up my shingle. I also turned into a total gelato snob and won't eat it unless it's amazing artisanal gelato. Probably not such a bad thing to cut back on…
A few references in various pieces of art I noticed, that made me laugh. In a famous Statue of Apollo somewhere, it referred to the "ecstatic look in his eyes", which reinforced what an art oaf I am, because all I saw was a cold marble stare! (though in my defense I think the look in David's eyes is so compelling: it's sort of like "Yeah, okay, took care of that. Come on world, give it to me!")
Another one said the artist Ghirlandaio was "in the grip of restless spirituality." I'm picturing the guy speaking in tongues, taunting snakes at a backwoods revival meeting in Appalachia…
At the Uffizi & Palazzo Pitti — every surface, every nook & cranny is greedy for your undivided attention — I would forget to gaze up, where you'd be treated to even more extraordinary artwork. And every piece of art has so much going on in it, it's impossible to give each piece the attention it deserves. The Italians are fortunate to have such an embarrassment of riches at their fingertips.
It made me think about the sort of legacy that will be left behind from our generation and it will likely be nothing more compelling than cat videos that we will bequeath to future generations of humanity. Only they won't be able to play it because there will be some newer technology that took the place of whatever one we are using now…Ahhh…our lasting heritage…
I tried to find the original Dwarf Morgante statue (he's the Bacchus-like figure astride a tortoise) but couldn't figure out where it was. I think it was at the Museo de Bargello but never made it there. Oh well, I saw the fake one…
Oh, in restaurants one thing that sort of bugs me is they never come give you the bill, and it's impossible to get anyone's attention to ask for it. Especially when alone, after a while you just want to get going, but you wait and you wait and you try hard to catch someone's eye…Meals go on for HOURS simply because the check hasn't been delivered. At least my Italian has improved somewhat. Though I am lazy if someone speaks English, I defer to it for ease. I do get a little charge when I execute an Italian phrase properly (or at least without failing miserably). And I understand much more of it (and know if someone is saying something they don't realize I can understand!).
Thursday I left Firenze, boo hoo. It was time to move on. On the way out I stopped at this fabulous sandwich shop, a little carryout called i Frattelini — the BEST sandwiches in town. I was catching a bus to the airport where I was renting a Radio Flyer with an engine (a Panda Smart Car).
Getting out of town was interesting. First off I had NO idea how to drive this car. It's sort of a training bra for driving a stick shift — who knew? So it expected me to change gears and I was like, damn, this little thing sure does lack pick-up. I was like the Little Engine That Could just trying to get out of the parking lot. I finally figured out that, which helped. And finally figured out how to get onto the A1, which was interesting and only a few flubs to do that. Once on there I was fine, and found my way relatively easily to Poggio Istiano, a lovely farmhouse in Florence we'd stayed at before. On the road before arriving here, I happened upon two pilgrims who'd been walking the Via Francigena since leaving their home in France 2-1/2 months ago (!). A husband and wife. I gave them my power bars. It had been raining on them, and yes, they were slogging along the very busy Cassia (SS2), a two-lane road that is the road to Rome from here, the cars drive very fast and there is no allowance for errors. Absolutely no shoulders on the road, either. While some of the Via Francigena is off-road here. I'd say 50% of it is on the roads, which made me glad I'd abandoned my walk. I just wasn't comfortable walking on roads like that all the time. It was funny that the VF quite literally goes through the farmland here where I'm staying, I think on the far side of their property line.
The farmhouse is gorgeous, the property spectacular, the views, amazing. The color of light here is so beautiful. There is only another couple staying here and they speak no English, so it's a little quiet to be here alone. I laugh because the woman goes around tending to the flowers — dead-heading geraniums, pulling weeds. Such a paying guest!
Thursday night I went to "grab" a quick bite. I was told of a "nearby" restaurant, which turned out to be like 30 minutes away, me in the mini-mobile on very dark roads, no lights, windy hairpin turns up mountains and down. Needless to say I was mildly stressed. I kept going back and forth, certain I'd missed the place I was told to go to, as she'd said it was nearby! But I finally found a human being in a town and asked directions and it turns out had I gone 1 KM more than I had after having turned around, I'd have found it…Oh well. Was a tiny Osteria, all locals. The guy kept insisting I order more than the pasta I'd ordered (which they were out of, so I ordered another one, which they were out of, so I ordered yet another one). It was good but I was so beat by then, I would've been happy with cheese and crackers.
I spent a delightful day Friday in Montepulciano, such a lovely Tuscan hilltown. I followed Rick Steves' directions and went to a Cantine (they have the cellars in the basement of the palazzo) at the top of the hill, owned by the same family for 1000 years (!) and this older gentleman named Adamo took a hankering to me (I think it's the hair color) so I got preferential treatment over all the others who were touring. This guy was a hoot — a total schmoozer, and his daughter (I think she was his daughter) Antonietta, was delightful. I tried to find a vineyard (cantina) as I left town. Some Americans from California, for whom I took a picture (!) said they knew wine and it was the best around. They showed me from afar where it was, said you just go down this road and go left. Oy! Turns out the vineyard shares a name with a town, and when I failed to find the vineyard and asked directions, I got sent by THREE people to a town 30 minutes away. I was so damned determined to find it. So I googled mapped it that night and yesterday set out to find it. Stopped in Monticchiello (like home!) for lunch, then headed there, though directions from Google had me going on a "white road", which is basically a non-road, from gravel to good-luck-hope-you-can-make-it. Google said it was for about 250 meters. It went on for 10 KM. I was four-wheeling in this damned Smart car, but by then I'd been lost enough I realized that eventually in Tuscany you end up at a crossroads and there just aren't that many roads around, so you can't get *too* list (she says, laughing).
Had a lovely dinner at Rocca D'Orcia last night — a fortified castle town atop a hill. The place was in front of an ancient cistern, and the restaurant was quaint, the food amazing, and the tiramisu the best I've ever had…Delish…
Yesterday evening the owners hosted a birthday party for 5-year old Matteo, grandson of the owners of the farm. His festa buon compleano
;-).
And this morning I laughed as an older German man who was staying here this weekend took out a hose and washed his car before departing. An odd thing to do on holiday, but such a good idea I hosed down the Panda, as it was covered in dust from my four-wheeling episode….
The only other guests of note shared a wall with my room last night. I'm guessing they were young. And yes, the very thick walls are oddly quite thin…
Today I head to Castello di Procena — a castle! I'm staying the night in a castle! I"ll be there till Tuesday morning when I have to figure out my way to the Rome airport and I pick up Scott! We then take the train (finally!) to the Amalfi Coast. Can't wait! Will post more when I've got more to post!
Hanging in Firenze
September 8, 2013 | Accidentally on Purpose, Anywhere But Here, Books, Chick Lit, humor, I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in this Relationship, Jenny Gardiner, memoir, Naked Man on Main Street, News, relaxation, road trip, Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, Slim to None, Via Francigena, Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me, women, women's fiction | Leave A Comment
Yes, when the Italians kept questioning my sanity when I was headed to Fidenza instead of Firenze, it was because they knew anyone would be pazzo to go to the former rather than the latter.
Florence is my kind of city. Vibrant, gorgeous, and very user-friendly. Easy to get around (though a bit easy to get lost while navigating the many tiny streets), and you can choose to go the museum route, the church route, or just wander aimlessly and absorb the vibe. Since I've been here before, I've been doing just that: taking it all in and meandering the streets.
I've been staying at a hostel which is actually pretty nice, all things considered. The location is unbeatable, just steps from the Duomo, which I find to be such a breathtaking masterpiece of architecture. Walking down my street, I'm taken aback by it's imposing presence just 50 meters away — it fills the panorama. Of course when you get to the piazza del Duomo, it's overrun with throngs of tourists and vendors selling amazingly useless tchotchkes that somebody must buy. There's such a buzz of activity, it's very infectious. But also makes you want to get far away from the influx of tourists ;-). I also love the Piazza della Signoria, just a few blocks away. It's where the gorgeous Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery are located. The Piazza is filled with statues (including the fake David that some people actually think is the real one!). My favorite is Perseus holding the head of Medusa.
On Thursday night I headed over to Trattoria Nella, one of my daughters favorite restaurants in Florence where we ate last fall when we visited her. A terrific little local place, reminded me of Cheers, where everybody knows your name. There was a couple from California there, and we all got to talking with the owner, who is a professional french horn player and was performing in Rigoletto on Friday night. I'd hoped to make it to it but timing just didn't work out. Just as well as it turns out it wasn't where I thought it was so might have been lost, as it turns out the California couple was and never found it. There were a handful of the owners friends just hanging around the place, and one, who reminded me of the opera signer Andrea Bocelli, was a self-appointed DJ with a fondness for the BeeGees, alas. But what was funny is with every song he joined in, like his own personal karaoke, wailing with the falsettos and all. It was quite hilarious.
On Friday I just meandered about the city, worked my way across to the Oltrarno, across the River Arno. When we were last hear last November, the Arno was raging with flood waters after record heavy rains. Now it seems a bit stagnant, still with the heat of summer lingering. It's still a lovely view from the Ponte Santa Trinita, looking across to the tourist-overrun Ponte Vecchio. At the other end of the Ponte Santa Trinita is the best gelato at Gelateria Santa Trinita, so it's a daily destination ;-). I also made it to my daughters (and my) favorite pizzeria, Gusta Pizza, down the Via Maggio a few blocks and over toward the Piazza San Spirito. I sat in the shade on the church steps and wrote for a few hours, very peaceful (albeit with a little pigeon-shooing a necessity). Speaking of pigeons, I saw another dead one — this is getting ridiculous!
Friday night I was lucky enough to get a reservation at a tiny osteria we'd been to last year — had heard good things about it, but then it was booked for ever, yet they had one time slot available Friday night, fortunately. I was shocked that Tomasso, whose parents own the restaurant and who oversees it himself, remembered me from when we were there last November. He even remembered what we'd ordered! So surprising. He was delightful and treated me like a friend, and even offered to let me return Monday for dinner, despite there being no reservations. Apparently in the past year their restaurant, which has been around for 27 years, got ranked as one of the top restaurants in Florence. It's fabulous, homemade pastas, just delightful, simple yet awesome food.
After dinner I wandered into the Piazza della Signoria again, and caught some of the Italy/Bulgaria World Cup qualifying match that was on a large screen on a nearby restaurant patio. Then I heard what sounded like a marching band, and saw around the corner in front of the Palazzo Vecchio was a large municipal band, and a host of performers. It was so sweet — there were baton twirlers, then ballet dancers, and folk dancers, and some noted conductor. I managed to get a seat on the ground in front and hung out there for a while.
On my way back to the hotel I heard a loud crowd a few blocks away, and a street performer who'd held the audience in his thrall the night before was at it again. Amazing, he had at least 100 people gathered around, and while he engaged his audience with his schtick, I think the biggest draw was that he played his music very loud, and it was sort of patriotic marching music that drew people in. I'm sure he was making lots of money.
I saw a girl of about 12 standing atop the back rack of her fathers bicycle — quite a balancing act on both of their parts. I can't imagine tooling through the streets (and wending through hoards of tourists) that way! I also saw a dog planted not so securely on the floorboard of his owners motorcycle!
I've seen a lot of tshirts with references to moustaches on them. Not gonna ask.
And I laugh at the many women who force their boyfriends and husbands to take countless glamor shouts of them in front of famous works. They'll be walking along and then the woman jams her cell phone or camera into the guy's hand, no questions asked, then she strikes her pose, to the side, jutting out her ample breasts or behind, and he snaps away. It's like a silent "Yes, dear."
I'm amazed at how many Russians are here — wherever I go hear I hear Russian being spoken.
Yesterday I wandered again, working my way to the Giardini di Boboli. The Boboli Gardens are part of the Palazzo Pitti, a massive Renaissance Palace in the Oltranaro. I've never toured inside, only been in the gardens, which are a sight to behold. I think I'll try to get to the palace either today or Tuesday. I was intent on finding one of my favorite statues, it's actually quite bizarre, it's of Bacchus astride a turtle, looks like he's had quite a night of partying. I bought a deck of cards with that picture on the back for Kyle years ago because I thought it was so funny, then I became intent on finding the thing. It was a little underwhelming in person, though I know it wasn't the original — in Florence, as in probably most cities filled with antiquities, the originals are often put away for safekeeping and protection from the elements in museums, and copies (often still old) are the ones remaining in their place (like the fake David in the Piazza della Signoria, where the original David once stood).
So after finding Bacchus, I walked around the gardens for a while, sat down in the shade to read, and promptly fell asleep for a few hours. A very relaxing/lazy Saturday afternoon. Last night I ended up back at Trattoria Nella, as did the California couple. It turns out they closed the place on Thursday and there was quite the drunken debauched time that I'm glad I missed. They were all laughing about it, the french horn player was strumming a broken guitar he keeps up above the bar, while all swilling grappa and Campari in abundance. Definitely glad I missed that. But they were well on their way to repeating the performance last night. I kept waiting to just get my bill, passed on the grappa and the Limoncella and instead the french horn-playing owner kept filling my glass with more chianti. So my "meal" ended up taking about three hours until I finally got the bill and left.
It's really quite a gift to be able to not have to be somewhere, and to be able to just be in the moment and not worry about what to do in a few hours, or days. Which is not to say I don't think about it — especially since my plans have evolved quite a bit from my original intent, I need to figure out where I can go and do it on the relative cheap. Not like I can hang out in Florence in a 150 Euro a night hotel. So I have been pondering my next move, which could be to a farmhouse we love in Tuscany, but might be to the Amalfi coast, if I can get a room at the hostel down there (otherwise too expensive). Scott comes in in a week, at which point we will probably hike the Via Francigena for a few days or perhaps we'll make the trek to the Amalfi Coast to Positano (so beautiful there), and end up in Rome for a few days.
Today I think I'll go to the Galileo Museum, which I hear is interesting and not overrun with tourists. A nice cool retreat in from the heat. The weather has been spectacular but hot, and I saw large storm clouds rolling in yesterday afternoon, and today is overcast, so I expect rain might be on the horizon. All the more reason to find a museum. Tomorrow most of them are closed, unfortunately, so if open I will probably go to the interior courtyard at the Palazzo Strozzi, an art museum. The courtyard looked like a nice place to beat the heat and write for a while.
once again i've tried to add pictures but the app is crashing, so none to add right now! sorry!


text:
Q: Creating a generic VMware control library In our organization, we're running several VM solutions from VMware:

*

*VMware ESX

*VMware ESXi (now called Hypervisor/vSphere)

*VMware Workstation

I'd like to be able to control all of these in a transparent way (send power commands, revert to a given snapshot to begin with) as part of an automated process of our product.
My problem is that there are far too many APIs and i've failed to find any good samples on how to achieve this.
Anyone has any experience with creating this sort of library? which VMware APIs need to be used?

A: You can have a look at the VIX API here: VIX API Reference Common Task. It's COM based, so you'll have to import the COM object as a reference.
See also this article here: Automating VMWare Tasks in C# with the VIX API

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Ryan Hickman, a 7-year-old California boy is being praised for his entrepreneurial skill and love for the environment after he made $10,000 by starting his own recycling business — cash he said he's saving for college. See ryansrecycling.com.
Ryan Hickman, of San Juan Capistrano in Orange County, Calif. began recycling when he was just three years old, accompanying his father on daily trips to a local recycling center, KGTV reported.
"We had gone to the center with a couple of bags, and he really loved the actual act of putting all the cans and bottles into the machine and getting the money for it, and that kind of got him hooked," father Damion Hickman told the station.
The second-grader's business, "Ryan Recycling," has recycled some 200,000 cans and bottles to date, KGTV reported.
The boy, along with his family and friends, carefully sorts through bags of recyclables each week. He also sells T-shirts on his website and donates the proceeds to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, according to the station.
Ryan's business has earned him international attention, with news media as far away as Hong Kong profiling his story.
The boy also received an award this week from San Juan Capistrano's city council and mayor for his work to help the environment.
"If you already recycle, just keep on recycling. If you don't recycle, start recycling," Ryan told ABC News 10.


Building muscle is like building a house. Obviously, time and effort play a big role but so do materials. You can't build a mansion from a wagon full of bricks, and you can't have epic mass without a substantial amount of muscle building blocks – amino acids. The branched-chain amino acids are unique because they are both the material and the signal for building muscle, and the high levels of BCAAs in BCAA Revolution NRG maximally stimulate protein synthesis while the other ingredients make this amino formula the best on the market!
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If you want to get big, you need to get some BCAAs. BCAA Revolution NRG gives you all that and more. Keep your body in an anabolic state, and keep pushing your limits in the gym. Recovery, energy, and performance – BCAA Revolution NRG does it all!
Beta-Alanine synthesizes to carnosine which helps keep your pH levels in check by absorbing positive hydrogen molecules (H+) that are produced during periods of heavy exercise. By absorbing the H+ produced by strenuous exercise, your muscular pH levels are kept at an optimal level which will allow you to train harder and longer!
Directions For BCAA Revolution: As a dietary supplement, mix one scoop (15 grams) with approximately 10-12 oz. of water during and immediately following your workout. For optimal results, mix 2 scoops (30 grams) with 20-24 oz. of water and sip regularly throughout the day.


text:
Wikileaks shows Google's Eric Schmidt is extra cozy with US Government
by: kidsleepy, Nov 1 2016 - 7:12pm
By kidsleepy on November 1, 2016 - 19:12
It's November 1st. The 2016 U.S. election is now just a week away and yet with all the talk of Russia it feels more like the Cold War. The way you can tell it's 2016 is that this is the year Wikileaks ripped the curtain back and showed us the toxic beast behind the curtain is not in fact a Wizard but a bunch of elitist political hacks running the Democratic party who out of a twisted allegiance to the Clinton Family, not only walked away from a sure thing with Bernie Sanders but actively colluded to ensure he would fail to get the nomination.
The political and media view of Wikileaks is a far cry from 2008. Back then it was championed for exposing secrets of the war in Afghanistan. Now that its sights are on American politics in general, and Hillary Clinton in particular, the same people who viewed the organization as a free speech champion now see it as a toxic pariah meddling in the election. Wikileaks' function and purpose haven't changed, only the subject matter. If anything, Wikileaks is apolitical.
But if social media and online living has taught us anything it's that anyone can become a target. This is true for Hulk Hogan as it is for Hillary Clinton and all who emailed John Podesta. Which brings me to Google's Eric Schmidt. He once famously said "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place." In the remaining week before the US election with so many more Podesta emails to be released, it will be interesting to see if that quote doesn't come back to haunt him.
Wikileaks has shown with every email who pulls the strings on the media, and just how many special interests take precedent over the desires of the American voter. So in this case it's no surprise to see Google's Eric Schmidt popping up in the latest Wikileaks dump. Google itself has its own lobbying Political Action Committee Google NetPAC.
According to Ballotpedia: "In the third quarter of 2015, GNP spent $3.65 million in lobbying regulation of online advertising, privacy and competition issues in online advertising, and online advertising and sex trafficking. In the second quarter of 2015, the PAC spent $4.62 million on lobbying and in the first quarter spent $5.47 million in lobbying."
So it should perhaps come as no surprise in the latest Wikileaks dump that an email from 2014 to Cheryl Mills who was Counselor and Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from 2009 to 2013, Schmidt offers up some "2016 thoughts." Presumably these were offered up the same way Mills offered help to The Clinton Foundation-- out of the goodness of their hearts, and not meant in any way to curry favor. Mills then went on to forward Schmidts thoughts to John Podesta, Hillary's campaign manager Robby Mook, and David Plouffe who in addition to having been a Senior White House Staffer was also considered President Obama's campaign guru.
Schmidt's message begins: Here are some comments and observations based on what we saw in the 2012 campaign. If we get started soon, we will be in a very strong position to execute well for 2016.
He then lists in a very detailed manner his thoughts on everything from ensuring the campaign headquarters are staffed with "enthusiastic, smart and low paid permanent employees," to cloud storage, organization, logistics, and getting lots of data about the voter.
Under the section Voter:
Key is the development of a single record for a voter that aggregates all that is known about them. In 2016 smart phones will be used to identify, meet, and update profiles on the voter. A dynamic volunteer can easily speak with a voter and, with their email or other digital handle, get the voter videos and other answers to areas they care about ("the benefits of ACA to you" etc.) The scenario includes a volunteer on a walk list, encountering a potential voter, updating the records real time and deepening contact with the voter and the information we have to offer.
In addition there is discussion on digital paid and earned media and building "Build tools that measure the rate and spread of stories and rumors, and model how it works and who has the biggest impact. Tools can tell us about the origin of stories and the impact of any venue, person or theme. Connect polling into this in some way." He continues into Google's bread and butter, analytics.
Analytics and data science and modeling, polling and resource optimization tools
For each voter, a score is computed ranking probability of the right vote. Analytics can model demographics, social factors and many other attributes of the needed voters. Modeling will tell us what who we need to turn out and why, and studies of effectiveness will let us know what approaches work well. Machine intelligence across the data should identify the most important factors for turnout, and preference.
It should be possible to link the voter records in Van with upcoming databases from companies like Comcast and others for media measurement purposes.
The analytics tools can be built in house or partnered with a set of vendors.
And then in what can only be surmised as irony, Schmidt also lists Rules including no special interests.
Its important that all the player in the campaign work at cost and there be no special interests in the financing structure. This means that all vendors work at cost and there is a separate auditing function to ensure no one is profiting unfairly from the campaign. All investments and conflicts of interest would have to be publicly disclosed. The rules of the audit should include caps on individual salaries and no investor profits from the campaign function. (For example, this rule would apply to me.
More than 250 people have either gone to the White House from Google, or gone from Google to the White House, since President Obama took office. In light of this, it's a little late for Special interests, no?
As discussion stems around Wikileaks' motives, it is important to take a step back and view this email with the same scrutiny. Now more than ever it should be obvious that Silicon Valley, like the NRA and The National Education Association, is one more special interest group in a slew of special interest groups who use their power to influence the election. The only difference is Google doing so on a global basis, and now, thanks to Wikileaks, we can read all about it.
Adland is supported by your donations alone. You can help us out by donating via Liberapay, the Paypal button here
or by using our amazon affiliate links to buy yourself an ad book or something else nice.
CD copywriter with 18 years experience who has worked in many cities including New York, Atlanta, Montreal and currently Los Angeles. I snark because I care.
@Kidsleepys
Google's ad traffic is like the news: Fake.
by: Dabitch, Aug 25 2017 - 11:10pm
Burger King redubs "Connected Whopper" ad, triggers Google devices again
by: Dabitch, Apr 14 2017 - 11:45am
The Google/YouTube ad ban increases ad spend on established media channels
by: Dabitch, Apr 4 2017 - 9:30am
More big tech
Alphabet shareholders call for Google's parent company to be broken up
by: Dabitch, May 10 2019 - 7:32pm
Jesus Jones just one of untold artists stiffed by PledgeMusic
by: kidsleepy, Apr 25 2019 - 7:02am
Wordpress shuts down several feminist blogs without warning.
by: Dabitch, Nov 21 2018 - 8:46pm

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


here is my general lee project.got it for free from a neighbor.its too small for me to be comfy riding it but the wife collects dukes of hazzard stuff and laid claim to it as soon as she saw it.(go figure)..it will get orange tires and grips when i am done with it.
cool, gotta love those Generals.
It pains me to say this, but I'm actually so hard up to improve my MTB bike (getting ready to race in Lance Armstrong's Mellow Classic....read more at wwwthe-pedal-pusher.com) that I'm ready to part with my 1999 DK PRO XL. It's one of the bikes I considered untouchable...and I'll likely hate myself forever for even mentioning it. But, the untouched version is under 'my bikes' . I've since upgraded to profie 3pc crank and spider with 44t chainring. I laced Shimano DX hubs with DT spokes to brand new (as in less than 2 miles new) Sun Rhyno Lite rims with Tioga Comp X tires. I can't lie, my GHP PRO XXL fits me better, but, the wheels on my DK are far better. I'll be posting "PRE-BAY" tomorrow or $400 plus shipping.
where did those pedals come from?
Just checked it out. Nice bike. Wish I had the extra money.
sorry didn't mean to post twice. That's the bourbon and the bad internet connection talking!
I've got these two in my possession right now. Both really nice rides.
is that the same one you have in your bikes?
I thought the original General Lees were awesome frames. I've seen quite a few of them that snapped...but then again we've all seen most all our favorite companies snapped at least a handful of frames (except Standard...I've barely seen any with severe damage). If I could get my hands on a pro sized original DK race frame/fork (chrome with the yellow/blue decals) I'd definitely pay good money. I saw one on ebay right when I got back into riding. It went for super cheap, but I didn't know they'd be so rare to come across.
Posted my 99 DK PRO XL on the For Sale forum. $400 shipped.
as long as it finds a good home we will forgive you for selling it.
I haven't even gotten a nibble on it. I was actually racing it earlier in the season. Still fast as can be.
Yeah, I saw it nice bike. I guess every body is broke.
Just posted in the catch all section... I am considering by general lee stickers but have to buy 25 sets at a time are there enough people out there that would want to buy a set If I had them done. And we are talking exactly like the factory ones..
Next what is the diff. between the 6 pack 8 pack and the 99 general lees. They all look very similar frame wise.
I LOVE my first model dk Legend! Ill post some pics this weekend! I gotta thank Blayne for sending me a bike I loved as a kid! I also rode DKS for a long time, mid school era. My favorites are the OG legend and the OG General Lee!
Question...has anyone tried DK's new race cassette hubs? I'm wanting to know how the engagement is. How soon it engages as compared to Profiles or other cassette hubs.
been wanting one to polish out for my octane.
Does anybody have a DK legend head tube pic with sticker. I think it is a 99+ ish year.
Does anybody know anything about the 6 packs?
Yeah, that's the one I got. But it came with a threaded fork. Any ideas. the fork matches the paint color but the headset is threadless.
I had one DK... and I miss it terribly. I dont know why.. it was just a cool bike. Matter of fact, out of all the sweet, sig series, customs, one-off's, brakeless, you name it... I am planning on getting a DK complete here pretty soon. They are just good bikes... built to ride and look good. Not the "primo" choice, or the sweetest looking or most trendy.... just solid bikes that get it done for a good price. I am a DK fan.


Do not waste fuel; concentrate your cooking; when a hot oven is needed for roasting meat or baking bread, plan to cook at the same time other things which require a high temperature; potatoes can be cooked in the pan with the meat; other vegetables and fruits can be cooked in the oven; and if a coal fire is used, a variety of food can be cooked in a steamer on top of the range without extra fuel.
Have the ashes sifted and save the cinders, which yield a quick top heat.
Economize gas by using the minimum amount necessary to keep food cooking at the desired temperature. When the boiling point is reached a small supply of gas will maintain the temperature.
Fireless cookers save much fuel and unnecessary heat, and are especially useful for any food which requires long, slow cooking, or for those foods of strong odor which so often scent up the whole house.


text:
Dasyhelea pygmaea är en tvåvingeart som först beskrevs av Samuel Wendell Williston  1896.  Dasyhelea pygmaea ingår i släktet Dasyhelea och familjen svidknott. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Svidknott
pygmaea

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The end result should be seamless and include all of the items in the keyword list. All items should be clearly recognizable. Integrate them in an original way. The 4 items can interact in some way, but this is not a requirement. Let your imagination run wild and make a scene with these 4 totally unrelated items.
Source for hand? Writing surface?


text:
Q: Unable to return json values retrieved from MongoDB to HTML page in python flask I'm able to retrieve required value from MongoDB individually and also able to print same values but unable to return all those values to HTML page. When I try to return those values I'm able to see only first value though I have used for loop in jinja.
My code is as follows:
@app.route('/webhookdisplay', methods=['POST', 'GET'])
def webhooksdis():
    collection10 = db['webhooks']
    a = collection10.find({"name": "abc"}, {'_id': 0, 'recorded_at':0, 'expiry_time': 0, 'version': 0, 'created_at': 0, 'account_id': 0, 'device_id': 0})
    for i in collection10.find({}):
        d = i.get('data', {}).get('geometry', {}).get('coordinates')
        print(d)
        name = i.get('data', {}).get('geofence_metadata', {}).get('name')
        print(name)
    return render_template("webhooks.html",  name = name, a = a, d =d)

In the above code name has None values also, so when I try to return it individually shows TypeError: 'NoneType' object is not iterable. Suppose if I return those values which dowsn't have None values it gets returned but displays only first value.HTML code
{% for i in d %}
{{ i }}
{% endfor %}

This jinja works for all values but I require for individual values which I'm retrieving in flask:

{% for item in a %}

   {% for key, value in item.items() %}
{{ key }} : {{ value }}

{% endfor %}
{% endfor %}

**Expected Output** All values including None values should be returned which I'm retrieving in flask so that I can render in HTML page

A: What is the output of:
print(request.data)
print(request.form)
print(request.json)
print(request.get_json())

?
UPDATE:
a is a list.  So try:
{% for item in a %}
    {% for key, value in item.items() %}
        {{ key }} : {{ value }}

    {% endfor %}
{% endfor %}

A: You can use jinja for template rendering.
Using below pseudo code you can populate JSON data:
{% for key, value in a %}
  {{key}} : {{value}}
{% endfor %}

A: if a:
    filtered_data=[{"name":device["name"]} for device in a]
    print(filtered_data)
else:
    print("Document does not exist !")


text:
Founded in December 2019 in New York City, Valiant Scribe sits at the nexus of faith and social issues. Independent of each other and complementary of the other. It seeks to shine a light on topics ranging from mental health to climate change.
It is an initiative to raise awareness for human rights worldwide in simple, digestible works of art and literature that appeal to all. Valiant Scribe enjoys readership from one-hundred and twelve countries and has published authors from eighteen countries - and growing.
Valiant Scribe is independently funded (self-funded) and is supported by volunteers.
Valiant Scribe calls to writers and artists who have a heart for the human condition.
Debra Ayis,
Valiant Scribe is under the care of Debra, an award-winning writer, and poet who arguably loves to read more than she writes.
She currently co-leads a writers group based in New York. She was a volunteer contributor to Our Daily Bread's youth branch: YMI (Why am I?), and its American branch: ReclaimToday.
Jaime Grookett,
Jaime is an American writer and poet. She plays an editorial role at Valiant Scribe, and is in charge of digital author features, and content creation.
She teaches writing at Drexel University where she is earning her MFA in Creative Writing. She is an activist writing to bring awareness to social justice issues.
Currently, she is working on a short story collection and a poetry collection.
Tricia Clarke,
Tricia is a Trinidadian-born writer, poet, memoirist, and educator living in New York. Currently, she is an instructional coach, curriculum developer, and teacher of adult college students and pre-service teachers.
She edits and proofreads issues of the Valiant Scribe Journal.
Andrew Scott,
Proof-reader, Data & Admin Volunteer
Andrew Scott is a native of Fredericton, NB, Canada.
During his time as an active poet, Andrew Scott has taken the time to speak in front of classrooms, judge poetry competitions as well as had over 200 hundred writings published worldwide in such publications as The Art of Being Human, Battered Shadows and The Broken Ones.
Currently, he is working towards publishing a new poetry book, Letters to You.


text:
Chinese yuan surges as rate raised to 6.23%
China's yuan surged to a 19-year high on Thursday, climbing to as high as 6.1707 per dollar, as the People's Bank of China raised its reference rate by 0.13% to a record high of 6.2300 amid increased global usage of the currency. The yuan usage for global trade and investment rose 32% in March from the previous month.
Financial Markets…The 5-year borrowing costs for U.S. government debt fell to the lowest level since November at an auction today as concerns over global growth and signs of continued central banks' assistance boosted demand for safe-have assets. The U.S. Treasury sold $35 billion of 5-year notes at a yield of 0.710, the least since the auction on November 28, with the bid-to-cover ratio of 2.86.
European stocks gained for a fifth day, with the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.3% to extend its weekly gain to 3.6%, as the U.K. GDP data report showed the country avoided a triple-dip recession. Decent Q1 gains in major European companies and growing speculation on further monetary easing by the ECB also supported the region's shares.
High-income Economies…Preliminary UK GDP estimates showed that the economy narrowly avoided a triple-dip recession in Q1, expanding by 0.3% (q/q sa) after contracting by the same amount in Q4 last year. The modest rebound was led by services which grew 0.6%. Manufacturing and construction remained weak, contracting by 0.3% and 2.5% respectively.
US labor data show signs of improvement after entering a soft patch around Easter. Initial jobless claims, which had spiked to 451,000 in late March, have since steadily fallen back, reaching 339,000 in the week ending April 20th. This is only slightly above the 5-year low of 334,000 hit in early March. The 4-week moving average dipped to 357,500, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week, while the 4-week moving average of continuing claims fell to 3,071,750, a decrease of 17,500.
Unemployment rate in Spain set a new record at 27.2% in Q1, up from 26.0% in Q4 2012, reflecting the severity of recession and austerity measures there. The number of unemployed breached the 6 million mark for the first time ever. Public sector firms shed 71,400 jobs between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 while private sector jobs fell by 251,000.
Developing Economies…East Asia and Pacific: Indonesia's police have warned against hoarding of gasoline (petrol), whose price is due to rise by 44% next month. The government is attempting to reform fuel subsidies which are costing $2bn last year, increasing oil imports and contributing to the country's $24bn current account deficit.
Latin America and the Caribbean: Colombia's long and short-term credit ratings were upgraded by S&P, to BBB (the second investment grade notch) up from BBB-, with a stable outlook. S&P is the first of the three main agencies to put Colombia on the BBB level, which is the rating around which Peru, Mexico and Brazil are generally rated.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Rwanda raised $400mn in its debut dollar bond. The 10-year Eurobond offering is selling at a yield of 6.875%. Rwanda is rated B with a stable outlook, five levels below investment grade and joins other sub-Saharan African nations including Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, Gabon, Senegal and Namibia in selling international debt.
See the rest here:
Prospects Daily: Chinese yuan surges, UK avoids triple-dip recession in Q1, Colombia sovereign ratings upgraded
Related Topics:yuan
Thailand probes insider dealing claims in CP take over
Oil gains on Syria, commodities rally
The World Bank's mission is to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity
About 14% people carry no cash in China
HSBC's Currency Expert Says Speed of Yuan Drop Is Frightening
China driven trade in Asia is pushing up Yuan momentum
How to Trade the EUR/USD Currency Pair: Professional Tips
The behaviour of the EUR/USD pair is a kind of indicator showing the comparative condition of the US and EU economies. If the US economy steadily grows, and problems arise in the EU, the EUR/USD decreases.
EUR/USD is one of the most popular currency pairs for Forex trading. Since the beginning of trading in 1999, the currency pair has undergone significant changes. For the first two years, the future for the euro was uncertain and the quotation was declining, reaching a minimum of 0.8200.
Thailand remains ASEAN's largest Exporter of Vegetables
Currently, the kingdom has FTA agreements with 17 countries, 13 of which no longer levy import duties on Thai vegetables, including China, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Chile, Peru and 6 countries in ASEAN.
National News Bureau of Thailand
Thailand has FTA agreements with 17 countries, 13 of which no longer levy import duties on Thai vegetables.
LAMPANG (NNT) – Despite economic stagnation and border closures, due to COVID-19, Thailand remains ASEAN's largest exporter of fresh refrigerated vegetables, while being 14th in the world.
Gold rush hits Thailand as prices surge
The value of gold has rocketed by Bt7,000 per baht weight since the beginning of this year, generating returns of over 20 per cent.
Photo : Adam Jones
People flocked to sell their gold at China town. The Gold Traders Association announced the buying and selling prices of gold has increased by 50 baht to a historic high.


Quiz: Which Broadway Musical Do You Belong In?
Every Broadway enthusiast has imagined themselves taking the stage in one of their favorite musicals. Will you be found at Dear Evan Hansen, or do you see yourself defying gravity in Wicked? Will you let loose in School of Rock, or discover yourself in Anastasia? Well, wonder no longer by taking the quiz below to see which Broadway theatre you'll be calling home. Share your results with friends, and don't forget that you can book group tickets to any of the shows in the quiz by visiting the show pages at the bottom.


text:
Home / About Us > Dr Marc Prentki
Dr Marc Prentki
CRCHUM � Pavillon R
900, Saint-Denis � Room R08.412
Montreal, QC H2X 0A9
Pancreatic β-cell
Glucolipotoxicity
Marc Prentki, PhD
Professor of Nutrition and Biochemistry
Canada Research Chair in Diabetes and Metabolism
MDRC Director
Marc Prentki was trained in Biochemistry at the University of Geneva where he obtained a PhD degree in 1980. His thesis was in the field of the cytoskeleton, under the direction of Dr B. Jeanrenaud. He then joined the laboratory of Prof. Albert Renold in Geneva, where he worked as a post-doctoral fellow on intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and insulin secretion. He next joined in 1984 the laboratory of Dr F. Matschinsky at the University of Pennsylvania to work as a postdoctoral fellow on Ca2+ signaling, and was soon promoted to Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He returned to Geneva in 1987 to work as an Assistant Professor at the Institut de Biochimie Clinique. His research focus was on pancreatic β-cell metabolic signaling and glucose regulation of gene expression. In 1994 he joined the Departments of Nutrition and Biochemistry at the Universit� de Montr�al where he is now full Professor.
In 2004, Dr Prentki, with the help of several investigators, founded the Montreal Diabetes Research Center that he currently directs. He was awarded in 1994 the prize of the Federations of European Endocrine Societies, a Canada Research Chair in Diabetes and Metabolism in 2006 and was awarded the Albert Renold prize of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in 2011.
Marc Prentki showed in the 1980s that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate is a second messenger causing early mobilization of Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum. He also observed using microfluorimetry that Ca2+ signals are oscillatory in the β-cell in response to carbamylcholine and that the frequency of oscillations vary as a function of the agonist concentration. This suggested that frequency in addition to amplitude encodes cellular Ca2+ signaling.
The research of Marc Prentki has increased our understanding of the mechanism of glucose and fatty acid regulated insulin secretion in health, obesity and diabetes. Notably he proposed together with Dr B. Corkey that malonyl-CoA acts as a metabolic signaling molecule in the β-cell and that anaplerosis is implicated in glucose-induced insulin secretion. Collaborative work with other groups has shown that malonyl-CoA also regulates insulin action, food intake and body weight at the level of the hypothalamus. In 1996, he introduced together with B. Corkey the concept of glucolipotoxicity that has important implication for the development of type 2 diabetes. His group also first showed that GLP1 promotes β-cell growth and protects the β-cell from the glucolipotoxic insult. Recent work from his lab led to the concept that glycerolipid/fatty acid (GL/FA) cycling acts as a signaling and fuel detoxification machine producing signals for insulin secretion and action as well as cell growth. In particular long chain saturated monoacylglycerol was identified as a metabolic coupling factor for glucose-induced insulin secretion. With respect to the field of metabolism and cancer, he provided possible links between obesity and cancer by showing that unsaturated fatty acids activate PI3-Kinase and the protooncogene PKB/Akt in breast cancer cells, and that their action on cell growth involves the fatty acid receptor GPR40 and possibly enhanced GL/FA cycling. Finally he co-directed with Drs B. Posner, R. Sladek and P. Froguel a large-scale project on the genetics of type 2 diabetes. It led to a landmark publication in Nature (2007), the first successful whole genome scan for any disease and the identification of novel susceptibility loci.
Current projects in the laboratory fall into four areas. The laboratory addresses these investigations using a broad panoply of technologies, including rodent KO models, RNA silencing, metabolomics/proteomics and transcriptomics, in vivo assessment of glucose/lipid metabolism and insulin signaling, as well as biochemical assays. The group works on both basic research and industry funded projects related to drug and biomarkers discovery.
Metabolic signal transduction in the pancreatic β-cell. We seek to identify the signals that mediate the link between fuel metabolism in the β-cell and insulin release. In this respect a particular effort is made on the study of several enzymes and metabolites of the GL/FA cycling. We also address the question of the pathways that negatively inpinge on insulin secretion, particularly via "metabolic deceleration".
Relationship between three fuel-driven metabolic cycles that generate metabolic coupling factors in the β-cell
Molecular basis of β-cell compensation and failure in type 2 diabetes. Various animal models of obesity and type 2 diabetes are used to define the relative contributions of altered β-cell growth and apoptosis, exhaustion and metabolic signal transduction. With respect to β-cell adaptation to fuel surfeit and glucolipotoxicity the focus of the research is on the role of GL/FA cycling and the unbiased discovery of novel patways.
Fuel detoxification processes. Very little is known about the processes whereby cells detoxify the excess of nutrients they face in obesity and diabetes. Using metabolomics and candidate genes aproaches our group is currently identifying novel pathways and enzymes implicated in this process in the endocrine pancreas and other tissues.
Novel targets for obesity and metabolic syndrome. We study enzymes and pathways of the GL/FA cycle implicated in the control of energy homeostasis, insulin sensitivity, appetite and adipose tissue browning. In collaboration with other teams at the MDRC we investigate the role of hypothalamic and brain reward areas in these processes.
Islet β-cell failure and the natural history of T2D
Prentki laboratory members, February 2014


text:
1925 Kenneth 2016
Kenneth Barnett
October 17, 1925 — November 9, 2016
Kenneth Barnett, 91, passed away at his residence on Wednesday, November 9, 2016. He was born in Somerset on October 17, 1925 to the late Orville Gilbert Barnett and Vesta Hail Barnett.
Kenneth was a member of the First Christian Church where he was very much involved with the Orwin Men's Sunday School Class. He proudly served our country in the United States Army. He attended the University of Kentucky and later Embry Riddle Aircraft School where he received his pilot's license. He was an aircraft mechanic for Eastern Airlines. Kenneth loved flying and did so up until the last few years. He enjoyed fishing and gardening and one of his greatest pleasures was keeping up with UK basketball.
In addition to his parents, Kenneth was preceded in death by a brother, Gerald Barnett and a niece, Carol Barnett.
Kenneth is survived by a brother, Donald Barnett of Altamonte Springs, FL; cousins, Joyce Mize and Ronald Hail; nieces and nephews, David Barnett, Ken Barnett and Patti Morris (John) all of central FL and Leisha Young (Ralph) of Springfield, OH. Also surviving are great nieces and nephews, Sarah Almquist, Jonathan Barnett, Matthew Morris and Jessica Greenwell.
Visitation for Kenneth Barnett will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2016 from 1:00 pm until 2:00 pm at the chapel of Somerset Undertaking Company and Crematory. A celebration of life honoring Mr. Barnett will follow at 2:00 pm with Rev. Steve Lesher officiating. Interment will be at Lakeside Memorial Gardens.
The family requests expressions of sympathy take the form of contributions to First Christian Church, Orwin Men's Sunday School Class, 1115 Highway 39, Somerset, KY 42503.
You may leave online condolences at www.somersetundertaking.com
Somerset Undertaking Company and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Somerset Undertaking
To order memorial trees in memory of Kenneth Barnett, please visit our tree store.


Please donate to the benefit of Ty Patrick Flood. You may donate directly to the family by Credit Card, PayPal or EFT by clicking the DONATE NOW button below. You may also sent personal checks to the family, or make a tax deductible donation to the Federal Criminal Investigator's Endowment Fund via the address at the bottom of this page.
Funds Donated directly to the family will provide immediate relief, however they are NOT tax deductible. The Federal Criminal Investigators Association (FCIA) also is soliciting TAX DEDUCTIBLE donations to support its effort to assist the Flood Family. You may donate to the FCIA by sending a check payable to the "Federal Criminal Investigator's Endowment Fund". Please reference the "Flood Family Drive" in the memo line of any check so that we may track our fundraising efforts.
The Federal Criminal Investigator's Association is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to FCIA are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The FCIA's tax identification number is 52-1273746. FCIA and the Endowment fund will disperse 100% of the funds raised.


Global product placement spending grew 12% to US$8.3 billion in 2012. The increased sophistication used to integrate brands into TV programs and movies and the uptake of product placement by emerging BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is said to be driving product placement growth.
TV remains the most consumed advertising medium worldwide but as viewing of first-run programs on TV is steadily declining in favor of watching programs over the internet, traditional 30-second television advertising is slowly becoming less effective, according to new research.
The research comes from PQ Media data and also found an increase in DVR penetration, a shift in media consumption habits and new technology disruption and a relaxation to global product placement regulations were among the reasons why marketers are increasing their investment in branded entertainment for the third consecutive year.
The US remains the world's largest product placement market with spending up 11.4% to $4.75 billion, fueled by strong growth in the TV, internet, mobile and music categories.
Mexico ranked third behind Brazil with spending of $674 million in 2012, followed by Australia, France, Japan and the UK who all spent in excess of $100 million for the year.
Global spending on movie placements also rose 8.1% to $1.66 billion in 2012.