otpid/web huggingface dataset:
Emma K, international superstar, age 37      George M, international superstar, age 42  Here we go again. In an attempt to get away from it all, hubby whisks me off on a romantic night in DC. First he presents me with the gift of cheese. What is it about cheese that sets my loins aflame? Once again he had found his mark. And this was no ordinary cheese. No common or garden piece of Gouda. No rubbery cheddar or Dairylea square. Oh no. This cheese was art. One piece was studded with dried apricots, another had been rolled in rosemary. I savored every bite, then guzzled down as much as my stomach could hold without exploding and glugged down the Moet. Next we performed the activities that are required by law to be performed amongst married persons who find themselves naked, covered in champagne and in a bed and breakfast. Once the saucy part of the evening had been completed it was on to the concert.  I was to see George. My husband, who is 29, has no real knowledge of who George Michael is and how  Careless Whisper  is a milestone of sorts, the song that most of us thirty somethings did our first slow dance too. And so I found myself at this concert: 20,000 middle aged women in tight spandex screaming for George. And since I’d had a few glasses of champers I found myself screaming myself hoarse for George too. It was time to let go. It was time to say, I am an embarrassing old crone and this is where I can dance like a spaz and let it all hang out.  All I can say is that it was heaven. I was so close to the stage I could see into George’s eyes, into his very soul. I believe his sweat splattered me and I don’t think I will ever wash again. Although, I have to say, he doesn’t look too good for 42. All wrinkled like an old prune. Is this simply the way stars look who haven’t had ‘work’ done? Or is he suffering from some mysterious illness? I think we deserve to be told.  After the concert, things got a bit less romantic. When we got into bed, while I was still humming Georgie’s hits under my breath, I could immediately see there was a problem. There was a feather duvet under the sheet which just made me feel like I was suffocating. My husband fell asleep after about five minutes. I lay there for about five hours and then decided to take two cushions off the sofa, place them on the floor and sleep on those. Suffice to say, that wasn’t very successful either. I slept for about two hours before waking up in a really shit mood.  And then things got a bit less romantic still, when I insisted on wrapping all the left over cheese in cellophane and lugging it home. Yes, I had become my mother. There was no way I was leaving stuff at the hotel that I had paid for.  So when I got home I was carrying a reeking and sweltering bag of cheese.   Had it gone off?  It certainly smelt like it had.   Did I eat it?   Do you really need to ask?  Ever had a dirty weekend that ended with a whimper not a bang, and left you with the smell of cheese on your hands? Subscribe to Feed
Well, I don't check the mouse traps in the basement for a couple months and I'm stuck with three stinking dead mice.  And yes, I was wondering where that stink was coming from.  Pretty gross cleaning them up, since one mouse rotted and fell apart.  I think some of the cleaning will just be done by time, since it is a storage area only.     I hope got most of it and the stink clears out.  I did put on the fan.  I hope some mouse didn't just die without getting caught in a trap, since I'd never find it in the basement mess.  The smell is too non-local.    Update #1: the big stink is gone the next morning.  Success.
My best friend is gone. At around 05:30 on 31 July (Thursday), Pasta passed away.    I got Pasta when she was about 3 months old. I wasn't planning on getting her. In fact, I didn't so much get her, as she "chose" me. When I saw her, she was just a tiny fluffball. When she saw me, she rolled over, stretched her legs, and smiled at me. Next thing I knew, I had a puppy.
Patriotism Swells in the Heart of the American Bear   Monday evening, I wandered to the back of the staging area and set our bag of Togo's sandwiches on a small table.  A few other groups had arrived beforehand and staked out their small territories, setting up folding chairs and blankets while their kids ran around screaming themselves into exhaustion.  I glanced up toward the movie screen hanging from three pulleys atop the OC Performing Arts Center but found it difficult to keep my eyes open in the warm, setting sun.  Groups of one to two people intermittently walked into the staging area from the left and right, scanning the concrete for the best view of the screen.  CM phoned that he was in the parking structure across the street and would meet me soon so I wiped the table as best I could then removed the sandwiches, chips and plastic bottles of soda from the bag, arranging them on the small space in order to be able to eat and to watch the movie at the same time.     For the past few Mondays, the OC Performing Arts Center had been screening movie musicals for free with huge tournouts for  Easter Parade  and  Grease .  This week, we decided to take advantage and watch  The Muppet Movie , a film that I hadn't seen in at least 15 years.  Silly, childish humor with a little bit of adult fun thrown in, I'd forgotten how great the music is and just how many old-time Hollywood celebrities had cameos.  Bob Hope, Orson Welles, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.  Mel Brooks, Carole Kane  ("That's a myth.  Myth!"  "Yeth?"), Madeline Kahn, Telly Savalas, Richard Pryor.  (CM figured that more than half the people in the audience had no idea who those people were.)  And all those memorable quotes!!  What fun it was to see it again!
What has come so easily for all of our children, and certainly for Steve and me as any one of us would just talk your leg off, has turned out to be pretty uphill for Jude.  His private speech therapist, Molly, who has been seeing Jude now for about four months, mentioned the word "apraxia" again today.  She threw it out there  early on with the disclaimer that she didn't really know Jude yet and it was just an off-the-cuff, first impression.  But she said it again today.    Here's the definition from www.apraxia-kids.org: Childhood Apraxia of Speech is a motor speech disorder. For reasons not yet fully understood, children with apraxia of speech have great difficulty planning and producing the precise, highly refined and specific series of movements of the tongue, lips, jaw and palate that are necessary for intelligible speech.  Sounds like a shit sandwich, doesn't it?  Why couldn't it be just a normal, garden variety speech delay?  Why does it need to be more complicated than that?   Also, I've noticed that, if I'm honest with myself, Jude really only has about six words that anyone outside our family would have a prayer of understanding.  Maybe 10 words total.  And even those, he says mostly when repeating them back.  He knows more words than that if you count signs and somehow or another, he makes his wants and needs known.  But I really thought we'd be getting to the talking by now.  It scares me to think that it may never really come.    But, you know what?  What if it doesn't ever come?  We'll deal, right?  It's not the worst thing in the world.  Trust me, I know.
Play Friday Fill Ins every week  here .  1. If I could travel back in time,  I'd go to the 1950's when my mom was a girl and get to know her as much as I could.   2. Give me  sex  or give me  chocolate .  3. I am listening to  General Hospital in the background   4. Somewhere, someone is thinking  they wish they had more time to say the  things that need to be said.   5. I'll always be  Me!   6. My idea of a good time includes  hanging out with my husband .  7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to  watching a movie with the man  tomorrow my plans include  the beach and Sunday ,  I want to attend the funeral of a friend .
Noting my email inbox at  Apprising Ministries  it appears there are still questions and concerns about the article  A Pastor’s Assessment of Richard Abanes . While answering an email from my friend Wes it occured to me that what I was explaining to him would actually help put this opinion piece back into its actual context. As a pastor I am mainly assessing the fruit of the Purpose Driven Life theology of  Rick Warren , which is the root of this difference between Abanes and me, and using Richard Abanes as a backdrop.   Here I will remind people that the assessment article is really the finale to a couple of other pieces. This is what people just coming into this situation don’t know. In 2005 when I ended up having to write this opinion piece defending myself from Richard’s initial attack on me AM had only been online for a few days. I kid you not.  Apprising Ministries  had only come online around August 27, 2005.
McCain Ad Fallout   There has been some major—not to mention odd—blowout from the  John McCain campaign ad  I linked to last night.  I thought the ad was quite good.  It linked Barack Obama’s popularity to the empty fame of the likes of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and listed the stances the McCain camp believes he is wrong on.  It was succinct, creative, and on point.  Two parties outside of the Obama camp have gotten upset.  The first is kind of logical, truth be told.  Rick and Kathy Hilton, parents of Paris, donated a total of $ 4,600 to McCain this year.  I will admit it is tacky to take shots at someone who is paying your way to the white House, but then again, pretty much everyone takes potshots at paris.  How unusual is that?  The second is no where near as funny.  According to lefty blogger Josh Marshall, the McCain ad is racist.  Various left leaning outlets have taken the ball and run with it.  Keith Olbermann, for one, is ready to run McCain out of the country on a rail.  The Obama  response  never mentions any accusations of racism, but that has not stopped his supporters.  So what is the problem?  The ad attacks Obama’s celebrity status and his lack of qualifications for office, right?  Nope, it says Obama is  after our white women.   Seriously, you cannot make this stuff up.  This is how liberals actually think.  Scary, no?
A quick post tonight because I ain’t been doin’ my due dilligence with keepin’ y’all informed. Do you got a  Mac ? I do. Do you like  Groovy ? I sure as heck do! try installing Groovy then running groovyConsole from  QuickSilver . It works like a charm! Looks really lovely. But wait! Now try launching Firefox, or iTunes, or anything else. After reading that sentence, if you’re anything like me you immediately tried your quicksilver hot-key sequence to Launch Firefox or iTunes or Safari or whatever. If you didn’t launch from quicksilver try it now. See what I mean???!!! WTF???!!! Where’s QuickSilver? Now kill GroovyConsole. What the heck is Quicksilver doing? Playing catchup? For what it’s worth, this is not necessarily a Groovy bug, more like a QuickSilver Feature. It doesn’t spawn processes and forget about them. It runs them inline and blocks/waits for them to complete. I got bit by this before and thought I’d give a heads up.
I’m often amused when I’m monitoring enemy broadcasts.  By my guesstimate, fully ¼ of the open mouth blather since late 2005 on the BBC World Service seems to be about the “ailing US economy”.  Ads for their ever rotating set of net only “documentaries” about the US, this one dwelling death of the American dream are aired twice an hour.  In other words, to them we have been dropping to death from a massive cardiac monthly for years now.     The glaring omission is that the only reflection you find on the UK & European economies is in passing comments by interviewed guests while discussing the Americans who have to eat their young to remain obese, or throw the poor into ethanol digesters to continue driving Hummers, or the other hideous images that they can’t help themselves from sketching all day – as though one needn’t not dredge their womenfolk through flour prior to pan frying, if’n you know what I mean...  That aside,  Eurota keeps it real .  When you have a big growth in Europe, it’s usually something you need to see a doctor about.
I know I mentioned it several days ago already, but I finally got around to ripping  Zen Arcade  today.  You might be scratching your head over the other one.  Well, if you really want all the details, you can look up "Reagan Youth" at Wikipedia.  They did not use these images to promote racism, in fact, they used images like this as a means of irony and satire.  A dub of this very short (EP) record was tucked away at the end of side 1 of the  Zen Arcade  tape, because long ago when I made that tape I wanted it somewhere for easy access,  just in case , but it wasn't big enough to take up a tape of its own.  Back when I bought it, there was no one in the store who could give me any information about it, not even the manager apparently.  Back in the 80s I think I knew what was in that Hastings better than anyone who worked there.  And yet, they wouldn't hire me even though I applied several times.  I remember once I was in there and an older lady, not the generation that you normally saw looking for music in a Hastings, asked one of the drones if they had Handel's  Messiah .  The drone wiped a gob of spittle from his chin and answered, "Is that a group, or what?"  (Note:  The spittle incident was added for dramatic effect--otherwise this is a true story).  Egads.  I showed her which section it was in.  "Do you work here?" she asked.  "No," I said, "I just hang out here a lot so there will be someone here who knows what the heck is going on."  But I digress.  Literally decades went by and I occasionally thought about this record (I hesitate to call it an "album"), and the same questions kept coming to my mind.  One:  Who the heck were they?  Two:  How in the heck did they ever manage to cut a record?  This record is punk.  Nothing else.  And not really very good punk, like, say, the Sex Pistols.  But apparently they were quite popular in the punk scene, which I observed only as a mildly interested outsider.  So now that we have the internet and Wikipedia, I know who they were and how they managed to cut a record.  Yet still, one question remains:  How in the heck did their record ever end up in a Hastings in Seguin, Texas?  And it was the only one.  After I bought it, it was never replaced.
Five pounds away from my goal and this week has been rough.  What I wouldn't give for a slice of toast, heavy wheat toasted dark.  I'm also craving Cheez-It crackers (my most favorite food), any kind of sandwich, pizza, and an anti-pasta salad.  Those are my most favorite foods, those are what satisfy me most.  Now I have 5 lbs to go and I am no doubt deprived.  5 lbs. sounds easy enough, but why are there so many food commercials?   [caption id="attachment_228" align="aligncenter" width="220" caption="I can live on these...and have."]   [/caption]
Virtualization offers quite a few advantages for customers running large data centers but care needs to be taken when using memory replication technologies like DataGrids. The particular problem here is that each virtual machine looks like a real server as far as middleware running within that virtual machine. Each virtual machine has its own IP address for example. If you are keeping a primary copy and a backup copy of critical data in a DataGrid then it's essential that those copies have a few common failure modes as possible.  The first most obvious one is simply make sure they are in different processes. This is quickly followed by make sure they are in separate servers. This is where virtualization gets you in trouble. A DataGrid might mistakenly place the primary and backup copies in two virtual machines running on the same physical server. This clearly is dangerous. A single hardware failure and you'll lose both copies.
Samsung recently announced the i8510: an amazing 8.0 Megapixel Cameraphone! Also known as INNOV8, the Samsung i8510 will launch in August for Europe and in September for the rest of the world. The Samsung i8510 proudly features HSDPA 7.2 Mbps (900/2100), EDGE / GPRS (850/900/1800/1900), Symbian OS V9.3, a 2.8-inch VGA 16M TFT LCD screen, a 8MP CMOS with Auto Flash and Dual Power LED, Image Stabilizion, Face Detecting Software, and Auto-Panorama Shot. There are also included media players, A-GPS, and FM Radio with RDS. The i8510 can support up to 510 minutes of talk time and up to 310 hours of standby. Read more  here !
Veeam Software announced general availability of Veeam Backup Version 2.0. Veeam Backup is unique in the market because it offers both backup and replication for virtual environments in a single product, as well as the fastest file-level restore. Version 2.0 includes added functionality, as well as a new optimized backup engine that allows for up to five times faster backup and replication performance than the 1.0 version.  read more
That  is  the question.  A quick update: After the most incredibly busy summer of my life, I'm back at school--at the most incredibly busy school year of my life. Yes, that's right, folks, I'm a senior, and unlike most seniors, I have to be done with my thesis by October 6. No, that's not typo: I have until October 6.  So, as you can imagine, I'm pretty fucking occupied until then. I never have time to read fashion magazines. I haven't seen my friends in two weeks.   Also, I've found that my interests have shifted--I still adore clothes, but the more time I spend thinking about the dismal state of the environment (and my brother is an environmental scientist, so I spend a lot of time thinking about this), the more I think that it's desperately, direly important that everyone start making changes in EVERY aspect of their lives to help save the planet.   So, what does this all mean? Will I be giving up the frivolous fashion blog? It seems like a logical conclusion. But, after much thought, I've decided not to. Being more conscious of your impact on the world doesn't mean that you can't still enjoy your life. In fact, I find that the more I simplify my life, the more I enjoy what I have.   I'll be blogging a lot less until I finish my thesis, but when I do, you can expect to see a lot more of  this  category, as well as some stylish lifestyle tips.   In the meantime, go donate some clothes that you don't wear to charity. Someone else will really, really appreciate it. I promise.
My favourite taillight is the Planet Bike Superflash.  It's bright, easy on batteries and only costs $14.75 at  MEC .  This is a good thing as I like to leave lights on my bikes so they are always ready when needed. With several bikes on the go at any given moment this would be a problem with a $150 taillight!  MEC finally got in the  new Stealth version of these lights .  Unless I'm missing something it's just the same light with a clear front and black rear case.  Not really a big deal, but I guess if you are uber finicky about how your bike's appearance this new version might be worth looking at. Personally I just grabbed them because they were the same price as the old version and I am easily manipulated by marketing tricks like this...=-)   The Lazy Randonneur - www.thelazyrando.com
Unlike Ross Douthat, I don't think you can blame progressives for suspecting that the conservative movement  may not be above nefarious scheming .  That said, this is a pretty good line: Here's a tip for liberals: If your candidate is going to stage enormous rallies in front of tens of thousands of chanting Germans (with monuments to Prussian military might in the background) in the middle of his Presidential campaign, it isn't the GOP's fault if the footage comes out looking a little like Hitler at Nuremberg. | Douthat |
Every successful (or even unsuccessful) entrepreneur says that number one priority for people like him should to be network like mad. In fact, at a recent event  Proto.in , I actually saw this in practice.    So why do entrepreneurs network so vigorously? Well, some studies show that  70% of the deals funded come through referrals .  Some VCs even insist that all the business plans that come to them directly (through email) usually end up going to either spam or trash folder. Neither folder is a good destination. So moral of the story is:  if you *ever* want to get venture funding in your life make sure you know a couple of people who know VCs . And what better way to know these people except going to conferences, having a chat and then exchanging business cards with them.
I have come across several postings about problems with TFS installation.  Some of the error messages are TF220059, TF31002, 32000, 28002 etc.  However, most, if not all, are due to failure to follow the installation instruction.  I have personally encountered TFS installation problems because I, too, did not follow the instruction and tried to circumvent, workaround or skipped a few steps (thinking I have extensive server installation experiences and took short cuts).   To ensure success, you  HAVE  to follow the installation   instruction   to a tee!  Especially, the prerequisites for TFS.  Since my first success, I have tried several installations on different OS and SQL Svr versions combinations and they were all successful.  Again, please just follow the installation guide.
John McCain has recently critized President Bush for his handling of Hurricane Katrina - in fact, he's vowed, "Never again!"  Quite commendable. Until you realize that this picture was taken Monday, August 29, 2005 - Several<em> hours </em>after Katrina hit New Orleans at 6AM. Several days after we all knew something really bad was going to happen. Apparently the emperor didn't fiddle alone while Rome burned.
Media Matters   (updated below) Today I listened to Sean Hannity's radio show.  His guest was Jerome Corsi, the author of the forthcoming book  The Obama Nation . In 2004, Corsi co-authored the book Unfit for Command with Swift Boat Liar John O'Neill (I have written about Corsi  here  and  here ).  On Hannity's show, Corsi bragged about the number of footnotes in the book (which means little in terms of accuracy--note Ann Coulter's  thoroughly endnoted but dishonest book  Slander  ).  As luck would have it, around the time  that Corsi was crowing to Hannity about how well-researched the book was, Media Matters posted on their web site how  the first reported allegation from the book is false  based on an article promoting the book on WorldNetDaily,  a far-right web site  that Corsi writes for.   UPDATE:  Media Matters has  a post  on Steve Sailer, noted racist and contributor to the Washington Times,  I wrote about Sailer  on the Moon blog last year.   UPDATE II:  Department of I'm-Not-Making-This-Shit-Up. WorldNetDaily, the site that carries Corsi's column, has  a column  by apocalyptic author and theologian Hal Lindsey titled  "How Obama prepped world for the Antichrist."  I mentioned Lindsey in  my article  about the satanic scare.   UPDATE III:   Media Matters uncovered another falsehood  that Corsi made on Hannity & Colmes.   UPDATE IV:  Media Matters  has more  on Corsi's falsehoods.   UPDATE V:   Media Matters' comprehensive post  debunking Corsi's book.
I didn’t realize it but instead of the loving, educated, nice comments I usually get, two came through today that I had to make sure my dear readers saw, thus it must be National Attack FoodieDani Day. The one for Bobby Flay wasn’t sooo bad, but I had to defend myself. Now the Jose Tejas one was laughable and yes, I got a bit snarky admittedly. But hey, I’m a Cancer and we’re some calm folks but when you come at us we pinch pinch…   Here’s the links….for your reading enjoyment….
It's not about being cocky or unreasonable. Nor is it about being inconsiderate, selfish, or egoistic and self-centered. Yes, I have the power and I am using it. No, I am not ashamed. I may sometimes make decisions that are not in the favour of the majority, even at the cost of being disliked. I think of things people may or may not foresee, but I do. It is my responsibility. It is something I do because I am the chosen leader of the organisation.