News for today's 2018: 04/16/12

Weekend Recap

6:08 PM Tukiyooo 0

I had a great time on Friday night for the "Ladies Night Out".  It was held at a wine bar.  It quickly went downhill after the first sip of vino.  In fact, I had so good of a time that I failed to make it to my 5K.  Ugh.  Thankfully, all of the donations were electronic so the MS Society received them anyhow. <br /><br />Still, I felt extreme guilt over missing the walk.  So later in the day I mapped out my own 5K and did that around my neighborhood.  It surprisingly helped the recovery from the hangover too.<br /><br />Later on Saturday we attended a 30th birthday party for our friend Margie.  We started off the night at a delicious Italian restaurant followed by karaoke at a local bar.  I stayed sober that night and served as the official birthday photographer.  Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the birthday girl and myself :(.   But I did manage to get this one:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IAMgdTbP8bB7soVF2NxQrLh7pOrTKfh6NWMJEi4a3pq6zz9b-Fwy5yCfKwEhASvLMx-FM3UcLeioaMfliXt1RP_jOtTwkM3FFrWFLI-t-ac0w8JKGgtcadAsWFLzAXpuDJSx-V_qhxU/s1600/joel+hil+30th+bday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9IAMgdTbP8bB7soVF2NxQrLh7pOrTKfh6NWMJEi4a3pq6zz9b-Fwy5yCfKwEhASvLMx-FM3UcLeioaMfliXt1RP_jOtTwkM3FFrWFLI-t-ac0w8JKGgtcadAsWFLzAXpuDJSx-V_qhxU/s400/joel+hil+30th+bday.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> Joel also performed a rendition of "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash.  The crowd loved it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx2udTzLo38oyPIyd4AYhHJghRq3JmQwT4bYpQf74i8wiU9R_6nu86aTGSUNuSMg9qVrmZlf6jSSR3_S6bUEUklDstc9cM2aKU_eDdJUFcCZRyu2ojkpp2ojVyGcVg8amhfFk21r7qTI/s1600/joel+johnny+cash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVx2udTzLo38oyPIyd4AYhHJghRq3JmQwT4bYpQf74i8wiU9R_6nu86aTGSUNuSMg9qVrmZlf6jSSR3_S6bUEUklDstc9cM2aKU_eDdJUFcCZRyu2ojkpp2ojVyGcVg8amhfFk21r7qTI/s400/joel+johnny+cash.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br />I'm now 2/3 done with my workouts for the week.  Today I tried my latest addition to The Wave workout DVDs, the Rock Solid Buns workout.  I found it to be the easiest to follow along with of all the DVDs I've done (three total).  I'm anxious to feel the affect of this workout later today/tomorrow.  Even after having done the other two DVDs several times now, I still feel sore the day after each one.  I still plan to do a full review on The Wave soon.  <br /><br /><b style="color: #351c75;">Did you do anything fun this weekend?</b>

Weekend Recap

ICELAND opposed successfully prevailing economic orthodoxies of the American, European and IMF model

5:51 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALyG0bkVP2PWjp3P0sOhhU3xOJBbMForfGipcm1SuyrC3NDcmrN0rwElfpr9yjwDDkZAQiGTIr0FGD03RVIZDT8wMh_Bn7qefz3aiALpPHzoc-S2fp1CHQU1ui6Wmkk3dE6xLs86FJIZg/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALyG0bkVP2PWjp3P0sOhhU3xOJBbMForfGipcm1SuyrC3NDcmrN0rwElfpr9yjwDDkZAQiGTIr0FGD03RVIZDT8wMh_Bn7qefz3aiALpPHzoc-S2fp1CHQU1ui6Wmkk3dE6xLs86FJIZg/s320/images.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE PRESIDENT OF ICELAND TELLS HOW HE HAD THE BALLS TO STAND UP TO BRITAIN</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">By Adam Taylor</span></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Via Business Insider</span></i><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The president of Iceland sits in his study drinking tea from an immaculate china set.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If a collapse in the financial sector can bring one of the most stable and secure democracies and political structures to his knees as happened in Iceland,” Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson says to me, “then what could it do in countries that have less stable democratic and political history?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The tiny country is unique not only in its stunning geography but also in its open democracy. This democracy was pivotal in the choice to let three giant banks fail during the financial crisis.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For Ólafur, the crisis of 2008 was personal. Once the darling of the left wing, he worked as finance minister for several years before he became president of the country in 1996, a largely ceremonial role that he’s inhabited ever since. Like many in the country he was once a cheerleader for Iceland’s financial sector, privatized at the start of the 21st century — and the sudden collapse was a painful reminder that Iceland was a small, isolated place.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, of course, most headlines we see about Iceland seem positive. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iceland-imf-loan-2012-3"><span style="color: blue;">Iceland is repaying its IMF loans early</span></a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-iceland-is-seeing-a-really-quick-recovery-2012-1"><span style="color: blue;">unemployment is down</span></a>, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/another-awesome-fact-from-icelands-banking-recovery-2012-2"><span style="color: blue;">growth is above average</span></a>. The streets of Reykjavik seem calm and happy.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Other countries, of course, haven’t been so lucky. The crisis remains front page news in Greece, Italy and Spain — countries that followed a very different response from Iceland’s.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ólafur argues that his country’s strength came from recognizing the problem was not just an “economic and financial challenge”, but a “profound social, political, and even judicial” challenge.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the crisis, the country held a full judicial investigation, and went against “the prevailing economic orthodoxies of the American, European and IMF model</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.” Ólafur says that he likes to think that the IMF learned more from Iceland during this time than vice versa.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A key example of this approach is Iceland’s refusal to pump money into failed banks. The decision was controversial at the time, but now looks increasingly wise. “I have never understood the argument — why a private bank or financial fund is somehow better for the well being and future of the economy than the industrial sector, the IT sector, the creative sector, or the manufacturing sector”.</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is, of course, another aspect. A tricky situation arose when the U.K. and Holland demanded money for their citizens’ depleted Icesave accounts, and Iceland refused. The incident sparked a major diplomatic scuffle, with Iceland refusing to pay out and the U.K. even using “anti-terrorism legislation” against the state.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For Ólafur, it’s also a personal aspect. He was head of state, though he did not control the government — in effect his position was more like being an elected Queen of England than being Barack Obama. But constitutionally he had the right to veto government legislation — though it had never been used by his office previously.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ólafur decided to block government legislation to pay back the U.K. <i>Twice</i>. Both times the legislation went to a nationwide vote, and failed.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“It was absolutely very tough indeed,” Ólafur says. “Every big financial institution, both in Europe and in my own country was against me, and there were powerful forces, both in Iceland and Europe, that thought my decision was absolutely crazy.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The decision was hugely controversial, and remains a sore spot in relations. For him, it was a matter of history. “What is our primary legacy to countries and nations in modern times?” He says, “Europe is and should be more about democracy than about financial markets. Based with this choice, it was in the end, clear that I had to choose democracy.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He also blames the British for their role, specifically Gordon Brown, by whom he believes Iceland is owed an apology. Ólafur likens the situation to the Falklands war, adding it was a “great offense” that “one of the most peace-loving countries in the world, a founding member of NATO, a strong ally of Britain during the Second World War was put together with al-Qaeda and the Taliban on the official list of terrorist organizations.”</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Iceland essentially had no choice, Ólafur says.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“If you take the relative size of the Icelandic economy and the British economy,” he explains, “and you transfer over to the British economy the sum that the British government was asking the Icelandic taxpayers to be responsible for due to the failure of this private bank, it would have been equal [...] to asking the British taxpayer to be responsible for an £800 billion bill [$1,275 billion] for a failed British bank in Spain and Italy and Greece.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To Ólafur’s credit, the Icesave debts are likely to be settled soon, using money from the estate of Landsbanki. He believes that if the U.K. and Holland had waited a while longer there would have been no conflict.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After 2008, Icelandic relations with Europe may have been strained. It was during a dinner with foreign diplomats that year that Ólafur reportedly said <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cms/posts/edit?id=4f86060b6bb3f7c15d000006"><span style="color: blue;">“The North Atlantic is important to Scandinavia, the U.S. and Britain. This is a fact these countries now seem to ignore. Then, Iceland should rather get some new friends.”</span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ólafur dismisses the quote, going on to say that his problem isn’t Europe, but <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the European and American banking system.</b> He says Iceland’s lesson is that “If you want your economy to excel in the 21st century <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a big banking sector, even a very successful banking sector, is bad news.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“You could even argue that the bigger the banking sector is, the worse the news is for your economy,” he adds, later blaming the huge growth of Iceland’s banking sector on the prevailing European banking philosophy and incompetent rating agencies.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Instead, the country is hoping to use not only its creative and intellectual capital, now freed from the finance industry, but also its unique geographical situation.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The Arctic has become one of the most crucial regions for the future of the world, both in terms of economy, trade and climate and health,” he says, adding that he feels Iceland, a member of the Arctic Council, has a ten year head-start on the issue, which is now attracting the interest of the EU, China and South Korea — countries with no geographical claim on the area.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This future is something that Ólafur clearly sees himself as a part of. He had originally told the country that he would not run for president again — he had been in office for 16 years and felt he could work better without the day-to-day stress.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, <a href="http://www.goiceland.is/2012/03/olafur-ragnar-grimsson-runs-for-a-fifth-term-as-president/"><span style="color: blue;">after an online petition circulating managed to get 30,000 signatures</span></a> last month, Ólafur decided to run for a fifth term. The elections will be held in June.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While other candidates have come forward, that 15 percent of the population who have already signed up would likely give Ólafur reason to believe he will win. He says it was the “public will” of Iceland that caused him to change his mind. “If a large part of the nation wants me to continue, I will bow to that public will,” he says.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But if that turns out to not be the case, that’s also fine with me.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

ICELAND opposed successfully prevailing economic orthodoxies of the American, European and IMF model

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 …

take it outside

5:41 AM Anonymous 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy Monday! I hope that everyone survived the weekend and there is no storm damage outside your window today. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now that the pollen has finally stopped falling from our big old Oak trees in the backyard, we can get started on one of the projects I have on <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/01/2012-goals.html" target="_blank">my 2012 list</a> - the deck.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">While there is a lot of unsexy things that need to be done to the deck - new stairs, railings and replacing several boards - there is also a decision to make.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Is our outdoor space going to be a place for dining?<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytQjX4s3eQzouTAjTlsq8BNlRxWdaaPoFMQYV7ICaHgYf-n2fdKOlXyttWU86vxCgi1Y-uiNAKA8tqhPHaji0qskw7dpOu9orEMrDDv4VTywXeCAIrASkNGR8hMerbewxCKPqCzv1JT9Z/s1600/7299919771.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytQjX4s3eQzouTAjTlsq8BNlRxWdaaPoFMQYV7ICaHgYf-n2fdKOlXyttWU86vxCgi1Y-uiNAKA8tqhPHaji0qskw7dpOu9orEMrDDv4VTywXeCAIrASkNGR8hMerbewxCKPqCzv1JT9Z/s640/7299919771.jpeg" width="424" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://buddhainteriors.tumblr.com/post/7299919771" target="_blank">Buddha Interiors</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649608191/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5l9syk1MmBDJZXjF6HHOdVkgYZ5OCyEzYZFLhBIs5hUAghPCL60Y-t2BtAZnwxI6ptg4kivHOUD4XW-0yZ2AGWDtx0IHRyE1fQ9v7SmCqS1KCqANcXSIIgngAyxUiXlYpjC4XqESuSbYH/s1600/sunniestpatio35pse2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5l9syk1MmBDJZXjF6HHOdVkgYZ5OCyEzYZFLhBIs5hUAghPCL60Y-t2BtAZnwxI6ptg4kivHOUD4XW-0yZ2AGWDtx0IHRyE1fQ9v7SmCqS1KCqANcXSIIgngAyxUiXlYpjC4XqESuSbYH/s640/sunniestpatio35pse2.jpeg" width="448" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649608233/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RjGKzKOT6uYDvhOX-nQFycgiTfublH44NE2i6yiW5iCklH86rzZN0872WrW6TcnfvMhai7qBAFC7zp9kg0R72vv4LYHhFFtH9ake9YzubI5y-pyBYqxkKprguYH_ZKmw2vQvz7Cz0JvH/s1600/backyard-retreat-l.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4RjGKzKOT6uYDvhOX-nQFycgiTfublH44NE2i6yiW5iCklH86rzZN0872WrW6TcnfvMhai7qBAFC7zp9kg0R72vv4LYHhFFtH9ake9YzubI5y-pyBYqxkKprguYH_ZKmw2vQvz7Cz0JvH/s640/backyard-retreat-l.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/gardens/front-back-screen-porch-patio-00417000071944/page39.html" target="_blank">Southern Living</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649610367/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Or, will it be for lounging?<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-AcXunOfPBoSIKfWWK2Ad0LpYr-0fUPTks746Q1MQEVcwnoG8w0nCiKPUOuHF3vkAA6NidER-s4yQoYYbDzwVi-RqafbGQAPP9syfUtToL6YrEsP3TU-x3roy4VLORLg6KL97ZmEzxyt/s1600/home-tour-cape-cod-style-cottage-in.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-AcXunOfPBoSIKfWWK2Ad0LpYr-0fUPTks746Q1MQEVcwnoG8w0nCiKPUOuHF3vkAA6NidER-s4yQoYYbDzwVi-RqafbGQAPP9syfUtToL6YrEsP3TU-x3roy4VLORLg6KL97ZmEzxyt/s640/home-tour-cape-cod-style-cottage-in.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/decorating/cape-cod-cottage-makeover-decorating-ideas-00417000072851/page18.html" target="_blank">Southern Living</a> via <a href="http://www.mixandchic.com/" target="_blank">Mix and Chic</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649454493/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U14J0xiQN8ICRdOK4sgYfmfKQDj-bTsTDWyZ6kj7EGYp4tK_JvzeNfcZbmuP-ILymJrtz5t5qXVa8VG3TFvcMz3wxQXIa5Y2I9anILZkuEBuxZeUVXk_tWWb1B3miuUMNTnfRUgNOihA/s1600/outdoor+living.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4U14J0xiQN8ICRdOK4sgYfmfKQDj-bTsTDWyZ6kj7EGYp4tK_JvzeNfcZbmuP-ILymJrtz5t5qXVa8VG3TFvcMz3wxQXIa5Y2I9anILZkuEBuxZeUVXk_tWWb1B3miuUMNTnfRUgNOihA/s640/outdoor+living.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649113503/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWpCZ1ddpIZprLE-krOacaBieblhqZmdHN7DazOimdczIlDwK2iwTrZxu0DGzTFKFga5iOhNZoqW7fYYoU0aYjYar_VqCRq08jeYeNzOUaHrqhIB17ECeLp4_nPmLVrQbG5bBp_vIOXRA/s1600/updated-traditional-design.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpWpCZ1ddpIZprLE-krOacaBieblhqZmdHN7DazOimdczIlDwK2iwTrZxu0DGzTFKFga5iOhNZoqW7fYYoU0aYjYar_VqCRq08jeYeNzOUaHrqhIB17ECeLp4_nPmLVrQbG5bBp_vIOXRA/s640/updated-traditional-design.jpeg" width="500" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Beautiful via <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/6896205649113502/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Do you have an outdoor space? Do you use it for hanging out? For eating? Eating while you hang out?

take it outside

Happy Monday! I hope that everyone survived the weekend and there is no storm damage outside your window today. Now that the pollen has finally stopped falling from our big old Oak trees in the backyard, we can get started on one of the projects I ha…

A quick, free way to run meetings

12:46 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Submitted by Fiona Beal </i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Today I came across this meeting site which said. “Meet Face to Face Online, hang out with co-workers and teams, run as many meetings as you want, no software or signups needed. Best of all, it's free”. This sounded great – almost like a free group Skype but maybe with video? The site is called ‘<i>meetings.io</i>’ and the address is <a href="http://meetings.io/">http://meetings.io/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuN2Rp6e8OQnZF2bSFQFo-3Jr2k28C4GVLYlNyT19R1o9ECXvERKJDwtUeikrCAMgtjkU2gIavgEewMo6UwQYQzQe5L9zsGQlhRgpECRFOTH00dGyKXIETJVAHCfTJ8kAfM8MMV1fMON0/s1600-h/image%25255B4%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg5uoQTJ8l7bz5FDRfFBamJ6PDb8i6_RZGBlbJbY9I1AiY038PAPR2Xa7ScVBUGFxByjhkW4Gw8YhyPneEiLlmeQ3C2Asp5U50gr6qYJk5PV_cl3tczBUNVM71bMiOTb2QfRHzaXj8sBk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 1</u>: To start off you click on ‘Get a meeting room’.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_bfyg66ivmQu_LdFUs7CskGu6janK6s_wiC_mzMmwkNRi4CUhVaLWAbDXdZtBOxwHWMQRuGVth7WV22oDasRErB1KbbjB8hj21b5glQDvKH3Ot39dFGfcaNSOM1vF9KLXfMHAhyphenhyphenEhvs/s1600-h/image%25255B9%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO8Fc4gZZtUTb6I9132mojqbRJJx3_P4Hbx_RxS0yl6097U2hdBeeioZgAxEKVcqeIO5tgZ4KHp3phfcHeBddPcYysaZHZ4KMTM4j97A_EhG-Nbo_DLjS25WHJrFHNXm5rlStvNu08Y4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 2</u>: This takes you to a meeting room number that you can enter at any time.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyt2Uujt7HyY6xhiICIr886TPhzH0fNjWm4cS3vvhHy-zsOzohkLK9XAFhdZKroPKxguoe8RxJzG0jiHfnqcuXYYfMIZdz2kDAPo0P2AM-zEiJQPcVHd4gV34vm8XIc6p50CcudmXOV74/s1600-h/image%25255B13%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq8gicIu8miDRmQO7UTQiL6e7oelskHOmPKDv-RyD4u0giqm5Lze2Ee8AzVe1amHsuYbSg819ihZ427e3ylJ6QX0vqdDVZEaiVyIzvJqY1zUCMuszefC1cpR6hiJcu8cKHsJdVfp70VY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 3:</u> You now enter the meeting room with your name.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl9CxxFfyYBkPPyzM-PIqrwwFjMj9p6ouFi9zsdw68k5VqPrVRMfJSAabq-bm1H8D2C-ESxP-771KJCOIl79mhr38LqpWhQVoGJQ8PMMbOSLPyKddpevHevPqyizJJmwPUIGb0-sf1fo/s1600-h/image%25255B16%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaijrH0o-U_ip2oobB4wIsx5gbnvND8AzpPLKU0vHWUeMjuhh6uklBJqslMYrtbjmIuO_MEZcrbLpSQNdgnK_rREnmvKy_ZXUqFkOFQsXI8za5F3lTEiRA0rBvLiCV9oAXL2DbO7fhjQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 4</u>: You are asked a question about your bandwidth.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcuEKpb321krNKwiP3U3qBmP2SZ4kmDnQ1-WJt8TEMIyeumSdRQbz_-o7NQQQde7ZYot8ouRHL02r47kkzosxSyvgJZJqUCTESOohFwhPwoVduJB2ev_TC-QMp9K-TOOMilFJ8UoCGN8/s1600-h/image%25255B19%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJlEgmH-Uk1r4gyvLNFEiy_3VWoq1l8tCRYzXOg23re9MpgEKTJmJdXnCRbFtfRezcZexjmz8MrjjPIYvaRapv6QbdqYbenXrH7A6FUZYrgeoC5wuZitjTGSePAAe0VbHm-NFq8KCgL0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Step 5</u>: It asks if you want to allow meetings.io to access your cameras and microphone</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8UqxdpgOqlGwKNnhDt3qFE1WHTVfYtTp0tnDvPfIqj_k6drVs4BZfQVLL_qihBgN8kL6ZSXTvYwbbuuUcv9CX0-WcIOka671QvBsIZkcNPGq4rot_jWI-4T27S7bFg4Nh1mF01-uRI1w/s1600-h/image%25255B22%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqF5-eYpR9syrKiFYZLofDSxzKTYYp6hinLwWq_AgylkkRF1tje7OYKLDI7V91FEmI_ZkccxODOC6Uu0WfLbWsGBFNcOhZhRtxhTU9uBrY24welNNas97rJxXAcDOMXQxH6IdGJtxnwyg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="173" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I didn’t go any further than that, but this looks good! I think I’ll try it out on some colleagues later.Another look at the site shows amazing features.  This site looks well worth exploring.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Application for schools</u>:</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Groups could use this to discuss and plan group projects at home.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2. If you are in a collaborative global project this site could be used for discussions.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">3. Teachers could have a quick meeting from home when time for a meeting doesn't fit into the school day. <br /></span></div></div>

Submitted by Fiona Beal Today I came across this meeting site which said. “Meet Face to Face Online, hang out with co-workers and teams, run as many meetings as you want, no software or signups needed. Best of all, it's free”. This sounded great – al…

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take it outside

A quick, free way to run meetings

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