The standard advice for trimming printing expenses still applies: Print in "draft mode," if you can. Use both sides of a page and do a print preview to make sure you're not printing pages with useless text such as a copyright line. Using an ink-saving font is just one more technique to consider.
And the greenest way to save on ink is not to print at all.
Now, I'm all in favor of saving the earth, saving money and casual tree hugging, but copyright lines are not useless text. Here's what it says at the bottom of the story's web page...
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2010 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
girls to play out different roles and "try on" fabulous careers, including computer engineer, the first Barbie® profession chosen by popular vote! Always a reflection of the times, this digital diva engineers the perfect geek-chic look, with hot pink accessories and sleek gadgets to match. The inspiring set also comes with a special code that unlocks career-themed content online, for even more digital play (how fitting)!
I have been in contact with Stephanie from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra the past few months, mostly to keep up with the Annual KSO Blogger's night. There was talk that it was going to be two weeks ago, but other events overtook that.
It has been an exhausting week. Dealing with the logistics and technical aspects of the optometrist surgeon’s visit has been a borderline nightmare. Not only is getting to Samban rough, but once here, you have the knowledge that whatever you do not have with you means that it is going to be impossible to get it in time. So we had been planning for two or three months, but it just didn't seem like enough time. All the traveling was worked out. All the technical issues were discussed and planned for, so everything should be alright, or should be manageable.
It ended up that the traveling was the easy part. Picking up the doctor and his two nurses, traveling over road, and then by canoe went off without a hitch. The first morning here the doctor realized that our facilities lacked two things that he needed. One was an operating table (the right length, width, and height). He also needed a table that would serve as a microscope stand. With a few pieces of timber and some odds and ends of plywood, by 1 pm, he was ready for his first patient.
The generator of ours was running fine. The fan to cool the microscope was going fine. Two patients into the day the generator started having power surges. What's going on? Fortunately, we had a UPS for the microscope, so it wasn't damaged. I cleaned the air filter and then the fuel filter. The fuel filter had so much water in it that it was shutting down the operation of the generator. The bad thing is that we only had the one drum of fuel, so however bad the fuel was, it was all we had. So, this meant that basically every hour (with the generator still running), I would quickly take the fuel filter cup off, empty the water out, clean it and get it back on before the motor shut off due to the lack of fuel. There was a little pressure involved, but fortunately the UPS also had battery back up so if the generator shut down, I still had five minutes of power before the microscope shut down. I forgot to mention that he had patients on the operating table (literally under the knife) while all this was going on.
The doctor operated on 16 people over the course of 3 days. Seven of these people had one eye done the first and second day, and then the second eye on the third day. Of these 16 people, 5 or 6 of them have basically been blind for the last 3 or 4 years or so. All of the patients were having cataracts removed. There’s something about the UV rays here in the tropics that makes cataract problems an issue. The second morning before operations started the doctor would remove the eye patch and check the eye he had operated on the previous day. Those that had no vision would stare in shock, and then be in utter elation when they could "see" again.
One old man literally sang all the way home. He had been led from his house to the clinic. That day he led the pack as he left the clinic. On the day of the operation on his second eye, he didn't even wait for those to escort him. He was walking as soon as first light hit, so he could be first in line for the operations. Saturday he had his patch removed and he had the use of both eyes. To paraphrase what he said, "That's it. I'll never be found sitting again. My children and grandchildren are going to have a full time job trying to find me. No more sitting in the house for me."
I have other stories about comments and reactions of these patients. All of them are priceless. Yes, I'm exhausted, but I'm absolutely thrilled for these 16 people who have had sight restored. During all these operations, besides fuel problems, the fan that was to cool the microscope burned up. Fortunately we had a second fan. If the doctor doesn't have the microscope, he can't operate. If the fan doesn't cool the microscope, it will not run. So we were glad that we had the two fans. The second fan burned up as well, but only halfway through the operation on the last eye. For some reason the UPS caused the generator to have power spikes (which have not stopped even after we are no longer using the UPS). The generator is what we use to power the electronics (like this computer) in our house and other equipment to do our work here in PNG. All this is fixable.
I don't know about you, but in our family the countdown for Christmas has begun (especially for the 3 kids). For some reason I've always found it really easy to have the Scrooge mentality around Christmas. So here I sit writing this email with no fan, so I'm sweating just typing. The washing machine won't pump out water on its own, so every few minutes I'm having to get up to pump out the water for it. We've also got a lot to do because the plane is coming tomorrow and we are headed into town for some shopping for supplies and to get some literacy material printed. It would be really easy to focus on the bad. When things break down out here, it is a waiting period before we can either get parts, or replace it. Sometimes replacing things has to wait until funds are available.
However, if you gave us (Karie and me) the choice between two fans, a washing machine that worked properly, or 16 people with restored sight, I think you know what the choice would be. Those 16 people have been dealing with poor sight for years, and it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself because you can't turn on a fan. We can replace fans, we can get a new washing machine, maybe not when we want to, but those types of things are replaceable. To have the ability to change someone’s life through restored vision? That is irreplaceable.
All these things I’ve mentioned remind me of the fact that over 2000 years ago an event took place in history that changed the course of human history, yet so many people are blind to the fact of what a magnificent change took place. How simple it is to restore physical sight for a doctor who is skilled and has the right tools. How hard it is to change the attitudes of those who don't care to see what God did so many years ago, and does every day. It's easy to focus on what is not right in the world. It is easy to see the defeats close at hand. Yet the victory that is in our future, because of what was done so many years ago, is so much greater than what we have to deal with right now.
Our little world here in Samban can now see a little clearer because of what one doctor did. Hopefully, we can see the greater vision of what Christmas means through the gift of God's Son.
I took about 160 photos, so I'm not going to bore you with all of them. Really. Here's the best of them...
Caroline waffled about seeing the big man. But, simple distractions and about a 20 minute wait in line and we were next. When I asked her what she was going to ask of Santa, her reply was, "Paper. Crayons. Markers. Pupcake. No pie. Cake. A doctor's kit."
The kids had fun and rounded out the morning with a stop at Burger King for some chicken and fry-fries.
Lowden J25, Avalon "Legacy"
My daughter, Grace's CD
My daughter, Grace's CD
wires and stuff
Some of his silverware . . . but seriously, folks. Mark was the funniest and most honest person I've even known. He was serious about his work, rather than himself --reversing the usual trend.
I play a Taylor 514-C that Doug White presented to me as a gift back in the mid 1990s, after the Takamine Santa Fe that I'd bought from Bill Mallonee was broken into pieces when it was run over by an airplane. (I bought the guitar from Bill after my beloved 1970 Guild D-25 was stolen.) I was drawn to the Taylor 514-C because it had a darker tone than the other Taylors that were out at the time. It's aging nicely!
I would echo Pat Terry's list. Honestly, I'm not listening to much music right now -- except for some old 78s from the early 20th Century that I sometimes play on my late grandmother's Victrola (which is almost the antithesis of an iPod). Some are from the 1910s and feature really cool Hawaiian guitar parts. Unfortunately there is still something wrong with one of the Victrola springs and half way through a song I have to get up from the sofa and start cranking the thing again.
But, in general, I'm inspired by artists who have a body of work; I've never really been inspired by new artists. The more dead they are, the better! Willy Deville, who died earlier this year, was a great, under appreciated singer/songwriter. Warren Zevon died a while ago, but I like the two records he did before he was diagnosed with cancer: "Life'll Kill Ya" and "My Ride's Here" (much of which he wrote with the also now dead Hunter S. Thompson). I like the Ray Davies song "Working Man's Cafe", and "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. As far as the current state of the music industry goes...I find the songs and attitude of Charlie Peacock inspiring. (And he's very much alive!)
Capturing good music is a lot like collecting butterflies or bottling bees. And the secret to not sinking under is in having a good sense of humor -- you've got to hold onto that for as long as you can.
My favorite guitar is still my 1970 Martin D28, which I bought brand new and have used on every project I've done since then.Q: What are you actively listening to? What music is inspiring you?
I've been listening to Wilco, Rosanne Cash, Johnny Winter, and Leonard Cohen... and of course, there's always some Lennon/McCartney thrown in for good measure.Q: In a sentence or two, what did you take away from working with Mark Heard?
Mark always drove home the importance of doing whatever was vital and real to me at the time. In the end, I think as songwriters that's all we have to offer.
Yes, Angie did buy this at the store a few weeks ago. But I'm talking about the new cell phones that Angie and I have.
Blackberry 8330 Curve
This is a screen capture of one of the most viewed photos from Yahoo! News.An Indian army soldier displays his skills on the sidelines of the Polo Season 2009 in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009. The Hyderabad Polo season began Sept.14 and ends Sept.29. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
They were as beautiful as they were fearsome. Their bodies shimmered with metallic scales that swirled with color. The dragon closest to him glittered orange and gold, like the strikes of a thousand matchsticks, but its winglike fins cycled between shades of blue.
According to an AP story...An Oscar Meyer Wienermobile crashed into the home and outdoor deck of Nick Krupp in Racine, Wis. on Friday morning, July 17, 2009. According to a witness, the vehicle was parked in the driveway. The driver lurched the vehicle forward instead of backing out of the driveway, hitting Krupp's deck and cracking the foundation of his house.
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Okay, boys. The Montreal Expos. Poor attendance. What can we do about them?
Yeah, I know they were the first expansion team in Canada. But they haven’t won anything. And should they get hot again, like they were in 1994, we can’t afford another strike to crush them. It wouldn’t be good for the major market teams.
Besides, they’ve already done their part. The produced Carter, Raines and Dawson. It’s time to shut them down.
(unintelligible)
What? We can’t just yank their franchise? Why not? I’m commissioner.
Okay, let’s play monopoly. No, not the Parker Bros. game. Real stuff. Let’s buy them. Get Loria on the phone. Have him move their management to Florida. Leave the team in Montreal. That’ll teach ‘em.
(phone rings)
Oh, crud. The Twins are on the other line. Seems that they have to play at the Humpdome. We like symmetry, and that will leave us with an odd number of teams.
We’ve got to keep them around for a while. What to do? What to do?
Let’s put the team in a better park. Hmm… Where to put them? What about Puerto Rico? I know a lot of their fans will visit them there. Not. Even if they don’t get more attendance, the ballpark down there is smaller and it will look like there are more fans because there are less seats. And San Juan is warm all year. In Montreal the fans come to the Parc Jarry in parkas in July.
(unintelligible)
What? They moved out of Parc Jarry? When? After the Olympics? What Olympics? Why doesn’t anyone let me in on these things? Crud.
Any chance we can sneak a grinder into Cooperstown? That @#$%& Carter was inducted wearing an Expos cap. Spraypaint? Hey, call that punkrockpainter guy. Maybe he can create new postcards with any other logo. We must erase the memory of the Expos from the collective minds and history books of baseball.
Cattle. That’s all the fans are. Cattle. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting some sort of assurance that the baseball card companies will verify any game used material that they put on cards. Distance ourselves from that one, too.
Remember Mother this Sunday! Here are things she loves and never has enough of.
