aromatherapy for sleep

Essential oils to better sleep

We all need to sleep. Sleep is indispensable to intellectual functions. Indeed, even lying down without sleeping can allow us to recover from physical fatigue but only true sleep is essential to recover our intellectual abilities (learning, adaptation and memorization) … and for having a good day. Sleeping better is a dream for most of us. To fight against the insomnia or any other sleep disorders, you can opt for proved, effective, and natural solutions, like essential oils.

aromatherapy for sleep

Insomnia and sleep disorders, what is it?

Insomnia is a non-restorative sleep: it shows through having trouble falling asleep, and waking up several times during the night, or waking up very early in the morning without being able to go back to sleep. Insomnia problems would affect one in five people. With consequences such as irritability, persistent fatigue, decreased physical performance…

Often insomnia begins with an external stress, work, death, divorce … This stress usually generates anxiety and / or depression. In the adult, personal worries, too heavy dinners, irregular schedules. Obviously, reasons for bad sleep are not lacking in our daily life, but it is important to preserve its sleep regarding its importance in the physical and mental health. It is therefore important not to allow sleep disorders to become so chronic as to become chronic.

Insomnia – How to act with aromatherapy?

Above all, it is important to cherish one’s sleep by adopting a healthy lifestyle. This involves eating habits (light dinner, no alcohol, and quiet activities at night) and bedding (comfortable to change every 10 years). To sleep well, we can also use natural methods, which have proven effective without adverse effects: eucalyptus essential oil, for example.

In bath, at the end of the day, or in diffusion, they will prepare you to fall asleep gently by their double action via the ENT system and the skin. Acting on the physical, nervous and emotional levels, essential oils have calming, relaxing or even sedative properties that will allow you to chase physical and mental tensions to better sink into a restful sleep. Many of them thus are very useful in the fight against insomnia.

Basil essential oil

This essential oil is recommended in cases of insomnia with nervous roots, intellectual overwork, spasms, anxiety, or even spasmophilia and depression. Basil essential oil is a very powerful antispasmodic, acting to calm gastrointestinal spasms, facilitates digestion and soothes gastric pain. It is an essential oil suitable “businessmen” who are continually in a hurry and stressed, becoming insomniac due to many concerns worries.

Clary Sage essential oil

Clary sage has been used for centuries in China, Egypt, South America, etc. Its traditional applications were diverse: to increase fertility, to cure snake bites, to cure warts, etc.

It helps soothe and calm down so you can fall asleep. Its sedative property is quite powerful, which is why it is not recommended to use it if you are going to drive or work. Hypertensive, nervous and stressed people will have it as an effective remedy to help them relax and put themselves in a good sleep situation.

Beware, this essential oil should not be confused with the sage officinal, which is used in the kitchen. If your insomnia is caused by stress or anxiety, you can mix 2 drops of this essential oil with a little vegetable oil and massage your solar plexus.

diffuser oils

Aromatherapy diffuser, what is it?

A diffuser is a small device that spreads essential oils in the air. As the essential oil is liquid, we must find a solution to disperse it in the air and transform it into gas, so that we can breathe the particles and enjoy its benefits.

Do not let an atmospheric diffuser run continuously because the active ingredients of the oils are very concentrated. The duration of the diffusion will be determined on the basis that the essential oil will be pure, and according to the mode of diffusion adopted.

How to choose your essential oil diffuser?

diffuser oils

Choosing a diffuser is above all choosing a diffusing technology. Because, depending on the broadcasting technology that you have chosen, your diffuser will be more or less noisy, powerful, robust and durable, or effective from a therapeutic point of view.

There are several major diffusing technologies: nebulized diffusers, the foggers, or ultrasonic diffusers, the diffusers by ventilation.

Each of these diffusion technologies has a specific utility: to propel particles of essential oils into the atmosphere, without heating them to more than 40 ° C! Because beyond this temperature, the aromatic molecules that make up the essential oils and essences are degraded and could become toxic.

Nebulization, what is it?

Nebulization is the most advanced diffusion technology to date. With the fogger, the essential oils are propelled by a pump, vertically through a thin glass nozzle. It is advisable to use it if you want to diffuse essential oils for a therapeutic purpose (disinfection of ambient air, Zen atmosphere, prevention of winter diseases, etc.). In this case, nebulization is indicated! Also if you want to on a large surface, it is the only one that allows a diffusion as powerful, can fill spaces up to 100 m². In a living room, for example, they work very nicely.

In addition, this diffusion is completely cold, and the particles of essential oils are particularly well dispersed during their projection: they are therefore lighter and remain longer than with other technologies.

The foggers, what is it?

Misting diffusers have a much simpler operation than nebulizers. It is particularly indicated if you want to effectively diffuse essential oils, but with minimal power. It is ideal for infusing small areas, in a perimeter of 30 m² for therapeutic effects, or 50 m² to have just an ambient smell.

Fogging is an effective diffusion technology, and they are often cheaper than foggers. And finally, they are very pretty, especially thanks to the fog that emerges.

Ventilation diffusers, what is it?

Ventilation is a very simple diffusing technology that combines robustness and reasonable price. Most ventilation diffusers work with a disposable blotter, on which the essential oils are deposited, and through which a powerful breath of air is passed. It is usually used if you want a small portable diffuser, to accompany you everywhere.

In addition, the fact that the essential oil impregnates the blotter makes this technology essential for all mobile uses of the diffusers. Nomadic broadcasters, car, etc., are very often diffusers by ventilation. Finally, they are very discreet, and their noise is almost inaudible, most of the time.

aromatherapy candles

The place of candles in Aromatherapy

Atmospheric diffusion is one of the best options for diffusing essential oils, because it diffuses the essential oils continuously in the atmosphere, and allows to pleasantly aromatize the rooms of the house while taking advantage of the benefits of essential oils. There are now candles with essential oils, which allow a warm and gentle diffusion of oils.

aromatherapy candles

Candles in aromatherapy, a requirement of purity

Beeswax, soy wax, and perhaps also bay laurel wax are often chosen by environment caring people, or by aromatherapy practitioners. People who want to make their own natural candles face some difficulties at choosing the wax. It is advisable to weigh the pros and cons for each variety, taking into account the price matter.

How to choose your candle for aromatherapy?

When buying natural candles for aromatherapy, pay special attention to labels: what type of wax is used? Check that the candle is well scented with essential oils and not scented oils or other synthetic products. Manufacturers of 100% natural or almost 100% natural candles generally highlight the fact that their products are natural.

The quality of the wax: First criterion of choice of a candle of quality
The wax used, the first quality criterion of a candle. There are three types of waxes used in aromatherapy candle making.

Vegetal Wax: It is mainly composed of soy wax, palm, carnauba or jojoba. This wax is ecological and comes from renewable materials. In addition, it contains no herbicides or pesticides. These properties guarantee the absence of toxic emanations. This wax is therefore particularly suitable for people prone to allergies or asthma.
On the other hand, in a temperature too cold, lower than 0 degrees, it can freeze an If it is too hot (over 35 ° C), it begins to melt. Avoid leaving it exposed to the sun in summer. Storage in the refrigerator may be desirable.

Animal Wax: Once widely used, animal waxes are almost no longer used in the manufacture of candles. The first reason is the respect of the species: The whale and the sperm whale from which these waxes were derived, are today species whose hunting is forbidden internationally. The second reason is the cost, especially for beeswax. It is now available only in limited quantities. It is intended primarily for a craft use.

The wick: There are different types of wicks: wicks made of synthetic fibers, cotton, or wood. Avoid synthetic strands. Instead, prefer 100% cotton wicks, which will protect you from toxic fumes and guarantee optimal ignition and durability. There are also candles with several wicks: those ones will allow you an almost instant diffusion of the scent! In addition, you can regulate the combustion according to your desire.

The wooden wicks are very trendy! More particularly adapted to vegetable waxes, they provide the charm of the crackling wick, and add a note of fire to your candle, creating a winter atmosphere.

The fragrances: There are scented candles with essential oils or scented oils. They are mixed with wax during their design. It all depends on this mixture. If you see that a candle does not diffuse its scents during the whole first hour, leave it there! Some manufacturers apply perfume enought perfume on the surface ust to make you smell beautiful at the opening of the box … but nothing after!

Candles hold a very important place in aromatherapy. They stand as a practical source of light or heat, and are capable of diffusing a wonderful therapeutic aroma. It can also be the extra touch that will make a romantic dinner unforgettable. When arranged around a bathtub, they fill the air with their relaxing and soothing smell, and make the bathing experience even more enjoyable. There are even excellent scented candles that turn into massage oil when they melt.

aromatherapy massage

Therapeutic effects of aromatherapy massage

Aromatherapy is classified as an unconventional medicine, and can be categorized among alternative medicines that make exclusive use of natural means for care. It is practiced most often through physical manipulations or massages performed with the use of essential oils. These essential oils are plant extracts that have certain therapeutic properties. They are used orally, by dermal route, or by air diffusion with different modes of diffusion.

aromatherapy massage

Therapeutic effects of aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is a massage that works on the place where it is applied to harmonize physical and mental health. Its effects on mental and physical health are well known.

Better blood circulation

With an aromatherapy massage, the body parts are gently manipulated, which increases blood flow to the muscles and vital organs. As a result, blood circulation is significantly improved through the absorption of oils through the skin and into the bloodstream. The essential oils used to promote circulation and strengthen the capillaries are for example cypress oils, incense, grapefruit, eucalyptus oil, juniper berries and sandalwood.

Decrease of anxiety

An aromatherapy massage can calm the nerves and induce relaxation. It decreases anxiety by stimulating the release of endorphins, which are natural body pain relievers and stress-reducing hormones. Generally the essential oils used to eliminate anxiety are oils of rosewood, sandalwood and vanilla.

Improved mental health

The properties of essential oils such as sage and vetiver, activated by the stimulation of massage on the body, activate the olfactory nerves in the brain, which amplifies the production of serotonin and improves the mental capacity of a person.

A restorative sleep

To avoid insomnia, aromatherapy massage is recommended to facilitate sleep. When used to promote sleep, it is advisable to do an aromatherapy massage in the late afternoon or evening, using lavender, marjoram and aralia bunch oils.

Elimination of toxins

The gentle manipulation of the body with the purifying scents of essential oils promotes lymphatic drainage, which contributes to the elimination of toxins. Lemongrass and myrtle oils are most used essential oils used for body detoxification.

In order to relax after a hard day of work or a stressful week, nothing beats a good relaxing massage session. And to optimize the effects of massage, do not hesitate to use the suitable essential oils!!

Choose your essential oil according your needs

Each essential oil has its peculiarities and properties. Not only during a massage, but also in an aromatic bath or throughout an air diffusion, it has to be chosen according to the expected result. For aromatherapy massage sessions, several essential oils allow you to relax. They can be used individually, or by synergizing with some others, depending on the practitioner in charge of the preparation.

The essential oil of bergamot

The essential oil of bergamot is appreciated for its multiple benefits on the digestive system and against the skin diseases. It also has a relaxing virtue, acting against anxiety and stress, and can be used for treatment in case of breakdown. By massaging with bergamot oil, the sweetness of its aroma helps the patient to relax while a firm and vigorous massage technique relaxes the treated areas.

Lavender essential oil

The essential oil of lavender, comes amongst the most popular essential oils. It has many benefits that relieve about thirty ailments. It acts on the nervous and the immune system. In addition, it is often used for relaxing massage because of its ability to relax muscles and improve blood circulation. Its effects also reach the mind by eliminating stress and anxiety.

aromatherapy alarm clock

Aromatherapy alarm clock

Most of the alarm clock that are encountered in our life have focused on our sense of hearing. But more and more, the new generation of alarm clocks seem to be interested, for our greatest pleasure, in other senses such as the sight, or the smell, with the essential oils which we are going to address.

Imagine How good it could be to wake up naturally with a ray of sunshine or the smell of a good coffee, or right? If you are the kind of person who stimulated by a scent, the aromatherapy function of these new alarm bells should interest you, this could be the solution for a more dynamic and balanced awakening!

aromatherapy alarm clock

Are the aromatherapy alarm clocks really effective?

There are several types of aromatherapy alarm clocks that available on the market nowadays. The first ones incorporates a diffuser to help you wake up, using a dawn simulator in addition to your favorite essential oils, all without any sound. Some models will also simulate a sunset to help you fall asleep by airing your favorite essential oils.

The second model incorporates a standard audible alarm in addition to the aromatherapy option.
Both will allow you to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy at the beginning of the day. This means that you are giving yourself the opportunity to reduce anxiety, increase your energy level, stop potential headaches and strengthen your immune system. You also get an alarm clock that can serve as a bedside lamp and clock.

How to use aromatherapy alarm clocks?

Its use is very simple. You just need to pour a few drops of the essential oil mixture into your diffuser, respecting the number of drops indicated on the leaflet. Broadcast by beach of 30 minutes, in the morning waking preferably. To get up and have some peach in the morning, here are some essential oils that you can use with your aromatherapy alarm clock.

Black pepper scent to start the day!

Yes, black pepper is not just a spice that we use to enhance the taste of our good dishes, it is also an essential oil particularly famous for its tonic properties. It promotes a good general state of form. Do not panic, you arent going to sneeze if you use the right diffusion synergy. The essential oil of black pepper brings a woody and slightly spicy touch to any good mixture.

Peppermint to refresh your mind!

Peppermint is an indispensable tool when it comes to fatigue. Indeed, this essential oil has enough virtues to help you start the day. It is effective against hangovers, and the day after party for example and will also help you to overcome your headache. In addition, menthol found in Peppermint essential oil helps stimulate the heart muscle and increases alertness and concentration!

It is especially handy if you have trouble waking up with your aromatherapy wake up. The smell alone will make your nostrils quiver and naturally trigger a waking cycle. It is a powerful essential oil that has many benefits, including being a pest control.

Fragrances for the morning!

One of the best fragrances to wake up is eucalyptus essential oil, but contrary to a popular belief, ginger does not act only as an aphrodisiac. It is important to know that the essential oil of Ginger is a very good tonic and it has the faculty to stimulate the nervous system. This will allow you to be fully energized in the morning. This essential oil brings to the synergy a fresh and lemony scent; that is ideal to wake up in joy and in a bright mood.

Sleep styler – how does it work?

Could hairstyling really be a comforting expertise? After testing over one hundred materials, we have come to find out the kitten-soft milled microfiber that compose the sleep styler. These plush rollers hold 4-five instances their very own weight in water, creating them perfect for drying (and setting) hair overnight although you sleep.

the sleep styler could replace the traditional flat ironWhat is Sleep styler?

Right up until the sleep styler, there were two options for hair curling: both damaging locks with heat tools, or sitting for hours with unpleasant curling rods. With the sleep hair curler, you can now sit comfortably sit with although curling your hair. These ultra-comfy memory foam rods are a type of simple-to-use option to each day curlers, sized flawlessly to get these massive, bouncy curls you adore. Furthermore, this simple tool was developed to curl or straighten hair, possibly eliminating the need for employing any heat tools at all.

With so many females getting to be a lot more aware of organic hairstyles and the damaging effects of constant heat, the sleep styler is getting to be the best indicated asset for your hairs. It straightens your curls, curl your straights or just improve your texture with these simple-to-use rods. They are the perfect option for shoulder-length or longer tresses. The removable outer tends to make them simple to wash.

How does Sleep Styler work?

The sleep styler is crafted in a way that it’s ever-so-simple to use. Merely wash hair as typical, wrap damp hair around with a twist (for curls) or flat (to straighten), go to bed on the comfy cylinders, and take away in the morning. These factors conserve time in the morning and space below the bathroom sink. It is bet to set them just before bed, or just before you binge watching your favored Television shows. Use them fully heat-free to prevent breakage. Just wrap hair and hold firmly in area with the self-adhesive, ultrasuede strap.

The sleep styler is the 1st to feature components your head will really afford, such as a substantial-performance microfiber wicking exterior. This material achieves a drying procedure without having drying-out your hair, in this kind of a way curls come out shiny and silky. In addition, the sleep styler could change the standard flat iron, blow dryer and curling iron, producing luscious curls without having the risk of irreversible heat styling injury. Each and every microfiber roller houses a piece of marshmallow memory foam, which is really soft and comfortable to sleep on. You can even shift from your side to your back although sleeping, and in the two positions, the rollers molded simply on best of your pillow and will nonetheless really be actually comfortable. The memory foam core is as soft as that substantial-finish mattress, that means you won’t need to over bother by yourself by sleeping on your encounter (or sitting upright) just to get the perfect up coming-day hairstyle.

In the morning, it only take about thirty seconds to take away and slip out simply without having ripping any hair. This is a excellent option for these who need a break from styling tools but nonetheless want styled hair, and for these who are looking to conserve time in their morning routines.

What are the Sleep Styler versions available?

Along with these style variations, sleep styler comes in two various lengths:

Brief model – It is 1.five-inch rollers best suited for hair that is amongst shoulder and mid-back length, or hair that is long and fine. In accordance to their internet site, this edition functions comparable to a standard roller, with a “more robust curl” and further texture.

Prolonged model– This 1 is Also 1.five inches in diameter, but its longer style allows it to accommodate hair that is mid-back length or longer, or hair that is thick.


Episode 47: LadyLyn

On this week’s Open Mic Spotlight podcast, Chattanooga singer-songwriter LadyLyn brings her soul-infused melodies to the studio and discusses her past history in college sports, the years spent singing solos in church and how she taught herself how to play the guitar.  Across a handful of tracks, she offers both original songs and covers, revealing an endless emotional reservoir from which she so casually draws inspiration as she explores the influence of countless musicians who have mined these well-worn sounds and driven her to create a distinct and ferocious roar all her own.

Having started her musical journey years ago on piano, she switched to guitar and discovered a deep echoing resonance hidden within its strings, allowing her to explore a deeper understanding of both herself and the expressive mechanics of her music. With the simple but intense interplay between her voice and her guitar acting as a guide, she crafts an honest and forthright lyrical landscape where shimmering chords and strummed rhythms capture the full experience of her pop and soul reverberations. She balances an intimate acoustic perspective with broad emotional associations, creating a deliriously creative blend of sound and purpose.

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National Archives

Guatemala’s 36-year civil war created the neighborhood that I now work in. The conflict raged through the countryside, particularly in the highlands where indigenous people worked the land. The commonly accepted estimate is that 200,000 civilians died and/or disappeared (who are presumed dead, but their bodies were never found) n the civil war. It is impossible to know actual numbers, and this doesn’t include the number of military personnel that were among those killed. There are periods during the civil war where the estimated population dropped dramatically. But this decrease was not only attributable to those that died. To escape the widespread violence and death that was pervading almost every community in the Guatemalan highlands at that time, throngs of people fled Guatemala; many ended up in the U.S. Those who couldn’t get out swarmed to the city in hopes of safe haven. However, many indigenous populations did not speak Spanish, and their skills were closely tied to agriculture. This was the perfect storm for the rampant poverty seen in Guatemala City today. There was nowhere for these people to go and not much they were qualified to do in the city. This gave rise to the slums surrounding the city dump: scavenging the dump was a means for survival, and shelter could be sought on the otherwise undesired area surrounding the landfill. For those unfamiliar, PBS has a comprehensive, though not impartial, timeline of the civil conflict:

The civil war has remained a dark shadow in Guatemala’s past; those that remember it are very reluctant to discuss it. Those that don’t remember don’t want to know. But, in 2005, that memory was jolted back from the recesses of the mind. An explosion at a military building led to a search for bombs that needed to be disarmed. What was found certainly must have felt like a bomb was dropped. Discovered in one of the old, decaying buildings were rotting stacks of records. These records turned out to be a large portion of the National Police Archive, which chronicled the events of the civil war.

The National Police were implicated in some 93% of the violence during the civil war, but nobody had the evidence to prove it. The National Police were disbanded as part of 1996 Peace Accords, and the existence of police records was denied. Within a week of their discovery, the national civil court ruled that the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman, or PDH, could conduct a search of the records; it was the first time a human rights investigation received judicial support in Guatemala. A total of 30 additional police archives were discovered throughout Guatemala, with the PDH having jurisdiction over all of them.

Safe Passage has been paying particular attention this year to doing more education with volunteers to raise awareness about Guatemala’s history. One such effort was a trip arranged for volunteers to visit the National Police Archive. This week we all piled in the bus and took the trip across the city to spend the afternoon at the archive facility, learning more about what happened during the conflict, as well as the process of bringing about justice. The day was simply unbelievable, and I’m so glad we had the opportunity to go.

Upon arrival, we were taken into a large meeting room, where our guides gave us a history of the civil conflict, and an overview of the archive facility. After our introduction, we were brought in two smaller groups to tour the facility. We were taken from room to room to see the documents being cleaned, sorted, scanned and analyzed. The environment was clean and technical — almost medical, although darker — but, yet, somehow it didn’t feel barren. And, most surprisingly, it didn’t feel uninviting. I was constantly overwhelmed with the importance of these records: to individual families to Guatemala’s national history and to our collective history.

There are some 80 million documents in all — it is the largest collection of documents to be studied for a human rights investigation in history. In addition to the documents, a mountain of other pieces of evidence, from photos to floppy disks, were discovered. Sadly, the documents were found in a pretty precarious state. The warehouse was old and leaky. Between seasonal rains and poor protection, the water and mold damage was too severe to save some of the records. Damage was also caused by cockroaches, mice and the like. Luckily, the vast majority of the archives were at least partly salvageable.

However, in a country as unstable as Guatemala has been, just having the documents now doesn’t mean that the process can be finalized. There is a very real fear that when the next president is elected in November 2011 that the project may be shut down entirely. Archivers, largely funded by a $2 million grant the governments of Switzerland and Sweden, are cleaning and scanning documents to make as many electronic records as possible, should the project ever be shut down. They must find the delicate balance between meticulous care of the documents and the perceived need to work as quickly as possible.

So, where do you even begin copying 80 million documents when you may only have a few years to do it? Luckily, Benetech stepped in to help. Benetech is a social venture based in California that harnesses technology for social change. One of their key services is data management solutions. They devised a plan to randomly sample the 80 million documents contained in the archive, and then will run a sophisticated data mapping model on the data mined from the documents to analyze trends and fill in the missing gaps. Once the documents are scanned, secure electronic copies are saved in Switzerland to ensure the integrity of the digitized archives should anything happen in Guatemala.

The most striking reality of the day was watching the archivers at work. They wore coveralls, hairnets and latex gloves to protect the documents they were working on. However, the surgical masks they wore were intended to protect their identities as much as they were meant to protect the papers. As soon as we entered a room, there was the immediate shuffle as masks were checked and re-positioned. Although certainly a less dangerous place than it was 15 years ago, this country is anything but innocuous. People can still be marked for knowing too much. These archivers are doing necessary work for their country, but it places them at a very real personal risk. A number of other security measures also serve to protect workers’ identities, even extending as far as how they arrive at the archive site.


Monday, March 9, 2015

Manual and Scientific Labor in Marine Novels: Everyday Work on the Sea

About six years ago, at the very beginning of my dissertation research, someone suggested to me that I read Moby Dick. Similar to Kamila Shamsie's recent story in the New York Times,  I resisted this suggestion believing that a narrative about men, obsession, and whales had little to do with my research and even less to do with my life. I did try to pick it up, but it wasn't until I downloaded it on the Kindle that I was able to make it all the way through. I think the Kindle tricked my mind into believing the book was shorter than it is. Whatever the reason for my new found ability to make it through, I ended up really liking (and slightly loving) the book. However, I wasn't really convinced that I knew what to do with it. So I sat on the story and felt happy when I saw pop culture references to it (Scully's dog is named Queequeg in the X-Files).

Then, I ran across Margaret Cohen's The Novel and the Sea. Cohen is a literature professor at Stanford University and her specialty is the study of the Novel. The study of the novel is not merely the study of books, but the special narrative form of the novel, a genre characterized by the description of everyday events. Sometimes included under this umbrella is the Romance- a narrative that describes uncommon and marvelous events (Moby Dick is often included in this genre). I'm not a specialist in Novel studies and I'm grossly oversimplifying the field, but I picked up Cohen's book because her argument is this: literary theorists have often noted that the novel is characterized by a lack of labor in the narrative but the marine novel is different. That is, the genre of the novel was developed to be read by a certain class of people for leisure purposes. Rich people read novels. Even though the form of the novel is something that is believable, that doesn't suggest that it was everyday life for everyone. Everyday life for rich people wasn't a life of labor but of leisure. The novel wasn't about labor. But Cohen suggests that this is different in the marine narrative.  In the marine narrative, labor, the very act of knowing and surviving on the sea, takes center stage regardless of the class of the characters presented. In some ways, the suggestion is that you can't write about the sea and write about leisure only- labor is the default way of learning the marine environment.

Cohen uses a lot of examples, including Robinson Crusoe, Moby Dick,  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Toilers of the Sea (among many others). As I read Cohen's work and her arguments about labor, I admit that I was a bit lost- not because it isn't a great book but because I wanted to actually read the books from which she drew her examples. So I did. I read all of these books in the last couple years and I've been thinking about them in relation to labor. And something interesting happened when I read these books myself- I began to wonder, not just if the marine novel was special because it contained labor, but because of the types of labor they described.

While reading the books, I noticed two types of labor descriptions involved in working on the sea: physical labor or the labor of working on a ship and mental labor or the work required to know the ocean and its inhabitants.

Physical Labor:

The physical labor described in these books is the work required to keep a person alive and a ship afloat for any length of time. In all of these narratives, the reader is not just offered glimpses of what this takes, but is given an in depth lesson on seafaring. In Moby Dick, we are offered images of what it is like to ship out from Massachusetts, to bunk with strange bedfellows and stand watch on deck.Ishmael gives an in-depth portrait of the physical labor required to hunt whales, break them down, and drag them to port. Both Melville and Hugo outline the etiquette of speaking with other ships, and getting information and mail while at sea. Even a romance like Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues identifies boring, everyday requirements of seafaring in the Nautilus- finding food, burying the dead, and surfacing for air.  Hugo's Toilers of the Sea introduces the reader to the inner workings of steam ships, navigating around the Channel Islands, the names and ways of navigation of every reef formation in the area, and a large amount of information on ropes and knots.

In addition to the everyday, the romantic portion of these novels, the uncommon, involves extreme physical labor. In Robinson Crusoe, Crusoe describes the physical labor required in salvaging from wreckage, building a homestead, raising goats and crops, and generally surviving alone on an island for forth years. In Toilers on the Sea, the protagonist Galliat also salvages from a steam boat and each backbreaking step, from building a makeshift forge to sleeping in rock crevices and scavenging for crabs on the rocks is recounted for the reader.

This type of labor seems to be the one on which Cohen focuses. She suggests that this labor is telling because it signifies the way that a form of knowing the sea through physical labor. The authors show their understanding of the marine environment by recounting how amazing their characters are at working on and in the water. All the protagonists are great navigators, they know the water and its peccadilloes because they are experienced workers in that environment. Through physical labor one becomes an expert at marine survival.  When you read these works, you see this form of the narrative and Cohen's work really resonates. But I couldn't help but think of another kind of labor that I saw in these narratives and that was mental labor.

Scientific Labor/Mental Labor:

In one of the most famous chapters of Moby Dick, the reader is introduced to a taxonomy of cetaceans. Really the chapter is just a laundry list of whale names and the reader (at least this reader) is a bit baffled- why include this in a book about hunting a whale? Amidst an adventure narrative, characterized by physical toil, we encounter this seemingly sterile way of knowing the ocean- by naming. In Moby Dick, I might have thought this was indicative more of Melville than the marine novel, but I saw a similar way of knowing in Verne and Hugo. In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the narrarator spends a large chunk of the chapters describing the species seen from the windows of diving suits or the Nautilus. In lieu of toiling for survival, as the crew is obviously doing everyday, the prisoners on the Nautilus perform another form of labor- that of naming the ocean creatures and observing their habits. Even in the physical act of wearing heavy gear to walk under water, we are granted a lesson on the newest marine technologies:

"It is to use the Rouquayrol apparatus, invented by two of your own countrymen, which I have brought to perfection for my own use, and which will allow you to risk yourself under these new physiological conditions without any organ whatever suffering. It consists of a reservoir of thick iron plates, in which I store the air under a pressure of fifty atmospheres. This reservoir is fixed on the back by means of braces, like a soldier's knapsack. Its upper part forms a box in which the air is kept by means of a bellows, and therefore cannot escape unless at its normal tension. In the Rouquayrol apparatus such as we use, two india rubber pipes leave this box and join a sort of tent which holds the nose and mouth; one is to introduce fresh air, the other to let out the foul, and the tongue closes one or the other according to the wants of the respirator. But I, in encountering great pressures at the bottom of the sea, was obliged to shut my head, like that of a diver in a ball of copper; and it is to this ball of copper that the two pipes, the inspirator and the expirator, open."

"Perfectly, Captain Nemo; but the air that you carry with you must soon be used; when it only contains fifteen per cent. of oxygen it is no longer fit to breathe."

"Right! But I told you, M. Aronnax, that the pumps of the Nautilus allow me to store the air under considerable pressure, and on those conditions the reservoir of the apparatus can furnish breathable air for nine or ten hours."

"I have no further objections to make," I answered. "I will only ask you one thing, Captain--how can you light your road at the bottom of the sea?" "With the Ruhmkorff apparatus, M. Aronnax; one is carried on the back, the other is fastened to the waist. It is composed of a Bunsen pile, which I do not work with bichromate of potash, but with sodium. A wire is introduced which collects the electricity produced, and directs it towards a particularly made lantern. In this lantern is a spiral glass which contains a small quantity of carbonic gas. When the apparatus is at work this gas becomes luminous, giving out a white and continuous light. Thus provided, I can breathe and I can see." "Captain Nemo, to all my objections you make such crushing answers that I dare no longer doubt."

This type of information- the scientific and technological details of marine science are integral to the marine novel narratives.

I'm pointing this out because these two types of labor (ways of knowing), physical and mental labor, seem intertwined in these narratives. Our protagonists survive because they physically and mentally know the sea. While the inclusion of physical labor may be revolutionary in the sense that it introduces the wealthier reader to the brute physicality required of sea life, the understanding that mariners must have both this physical knowledge and an academic understanding of the environment is equally as interesting. These physical laborers are also thinking beings- they not only know the ocean physically, but they know it and name it and construct the ocean with both physical and mental labor. But what does this mean and what might it tell us about the nature of oceangoing and our image of the ocean?

One of the interesting things about this intertwining, braiding, knotting of ways of knowing to me is that is is possible in all classes of workers on the ocean. While we might be tempted to think of Gilliat (Hugo's unemployed (?) protagonist) as being the ultimate in physical laborers and someone like Professor Pierre Aronnax (Verne's marine biologist) as the ultimate in mental laborers,  the truth is that most of the characters in these novels utilize both ways of knowing the sea.

Gilliat is a perfect example: he performs great acts of physical labor to strip the engines of a wrecked steamer and these acts are described in extreme detail in the novel. Gilliat becomes weathered by the ocean- it strips him of clothing, weight, and water and leaves behind a desiccated husk; he is the closest thing to a merman one might imagine- a reluctant Tritan. But this physical labor is married with a mental labor of knowing the submarine environment. Gilliat describes not just the things he needs to know to physically survive in the moment, but all the things he knows about the sea in general- the seasons, waves, different spaces on a ship, different types of knots and sails. Half the book is a lesson in types of ships (the other half a tirade on Hugo's hatred of Catholicism but that's a different blog post on ways of knowing). In one particular chapter, Gilliat comes across a particularly disturbing creature- a "devil fish". This organism (The Monster) is described first in comparison to other land animals, and then the author goes into detail about how it is shaped, how it hunts, and then finally its scientific categorization.

This definition, which goes on for an entire chapter, intertwines ways of knowing and identifying the organism- folk understandings from mariners and academic understandings from zoologists. But it is done seamlessly so that the reader believes that Gilliat knows these things because he knows the ocean.

These marine narratives make me think of Anne Secord's work on Science in the Pub. Secord's work suggests that not only did a wide variety of classes participate in science, but they did so because it meant something important to their everyday lives. In her study, artisans participated in the scientific practice of finding and naming new botanical species because the practice was meaningful in their culture. Horticulture, herbalism, and floriculture were part of the everyday life of artisans in the English countryside. Far from only being an academic pursuit, the ability to identify, find, and cultivate a variety of botanical species could mean extra money or even health to these individuals. While many individuals cared about this knowledge, scientific naming offered a common ground on which to build commonalities with other people of like mind. The very act of naming and acknowledging formed groups.

As I was reading these marine novels, I kept coming back to Second and thinking about her artisan botanists, sitting in a pub passing specimens around a group and naming. These artisans formed part of the scientific process, but they are unnamed and unacknowledged. That is, their contributions to scientific knowledge isn't particularly well understood. But also, the importance of scientific understandings to their everyday lives is also not well understood. What does the scientific naming of these plants mean to them? Secord explores both of these lines of inquiry and the paper (linked above) is worth a first, second, or third read.

We can apply these ideas to the marine world and just think about it- Yes, the physical labor of being on the water is important, but it appears that the scientific understanding of that environment is equally as important. There have been far more sailors than scientists on the water. Their knowledge of the environment has contributed much to scientific understandings of that vastness; but their scientific understandings might also have contributed to their survival in that environment. Marine novelists seem to recognize this by intertwining the physical and mental into a seamless narrative about the sea.  While it might initially seem as if the scientific language is thrown in to appeal to the possible audience of novels (middle to upper classes), we can also read it through the lens of Secord's work to see that it is an important way of knowing the sea for anyone who works on it. It is part of the everyday life of sailors, this knowing and naming.

This doesn't mean that all mental labor on the ocean is scientific naming- we need not only point to Linnean taxonomy to suggest that scientific work is happening. Gilliat's (Hugo's) knowledge of the Sea Devil is half scientifically informed and half folk epistemology.  And of course, I'm reading the author's knowledge as the character's knowledge. So I'm welcome to suggestions of how wrong this might be.

However, what I'd like to emphasize is that it seems, as I read more in this genre, that knowing the sea requires physical and scientific knowledge. Of course, we can say this about everything in life, but it is important to me that the marine space and novels about it are where this is laid bare for the reader.  And it might be more important to ask why a narrative about this space can do that (since Cohen suggests that this is rare and special).


Andrew Harper

desert walker : explorer : conservationist : photographer

Andrew Harper has been walking and exploring the Australian deserts since 1995 and has journeyed over 15000 kilometres across all of Australia's nine major deserts either as a solo explorer or as leader of commercial camel expeditions with the Outback Camel Company.

In 1999 he brought to fruition a 17 year dream of walking across Australia along The Tropic of Capricorn, a 229 day, 4637 kilometre journey raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Stage 2 of Capricorn Expedition, a two stage walk across South America began in October 2017. More information here -

In 2007 he founded Australian Desert Expeditions, a Not-For-Profit Registered Environmental Organisation that partners with leading universities and national research institutions to conduct scientific & ecological surveys in the far reaches of the inland deserts. Andrew believes that Australia's long cameleering exploration heritage can successfully partner with modern science to further our ecological knowledge of Australia's great arid wilderness.

A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he has crossed the Simpson Desert - the worlds largest parallel sand ridge desert - 12 times in various directions, the latest solo journey being  reconnxpedition, a 35 day, 700 kilometre crossing in 2012.

On Australia Day 2015, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), for his service to environmental science, research and adventure tourism.

When not walking deserts, he takes to the water and kayaks the inland rivers and has been actively campaigning for the introduction of a container recycling scheme in NSW.

"The desert deserves to be approached gently, so its mood is revealed. The way people have always approached the desert was on foot, as we have done today. That reveals the country - the continuum of country."


Barnsdall driving directions and distance

Barnsdall : Route planner and distance

Location of Barnsdall

Barnsdall is a city located in the south of the united states in the county of Osage, and the state of Oklahoma. Barnsdall lies near cities of Ramona, Pawhuska, Ochelata, Wynona, Avant, and Nelagoney. Barnsdall is geographically situated on 36.5659721 latitude and -96.18545039 longitude.carte-plan-Barnsdall


Club Soda Vs. Sparkling Water

Updated July 19, 2017

Sparkling water and club soda are both examples of carbonated water. Carbonated water is water that is infused with carbon dioxide, which creates an aerated, bubbly liquid.

The first human-made carbonated water was produced by British scientist and inventor Joseph Priestly in the 18th century. It is also possible for carbonated water to occur in the Earth naturally.

Sparkling Water

Sparkling water, which can be produced naturally or by adding carbon dioxide to water, contains no other ingredients. Flavoring may be added, but the foundation is simply carbonated water.

Club Soda

Club soda is produced in a slightly different fashion from sparkling water. Traditionally, club soda contains a small amount of salt; however, commercial club soda producers may also add ingredients such as sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and potassium carbonate or sulfate.

Sparkling water that is carbonated naturally, or in the Earth, results from water that is affected by unusual geological conditions, generally related to volcanic activity or volcanic gases. Club soda is always produced artificially.

When mixing drinks, club soda and sparkling water are often interchangeable, and much depends on personal preference or availability. In some cases, a drink's quality will depend on the strength and slight saltiness of club soda or the smooth fizziness of sparkling water.

About the Author

Jeff Katz has been a professional librarian, educator, historian, writer and editor for almost 20 years. He holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of British Columbia and a BA degree in Classical Studies from Hunter College of the City University of New York.


(in Catalan)

In this TV3 report, there are interviews with Maria, Mateo and Jan.  María is the mother of Mateo, a 7 year old leukaemia patient from La Coruña who underwent a transplant thanks to an unrelated donor from the United States found by the José Carreras Foundation.  Jan is a young Catalan who donated his bone marrow to an Italian patient in 2008.

Through this news we want to show you the importance of bone marrow donation: an altruistic gesture without any risk, which can save a life.  Find out more by calling (0034) 900 32 33 34 or HERE.

Webpage updated 04/18/2018 12:34:39


TCS Daily

Economies as Ecosystems

By Charles Matthew Rousseaux - December 7, 2004 12:00 AM

"He who plants a tree / Plants a hope."

-- Poet Lucy Larcom

Are economies ecosystems? The parallels are striking.

The energy driving ecosystems ultimately comes from the sun, while the energy driving economies ultimately comes from another boundless of energy source -- human imagination and innovation. Inspired individuals -- energetic, enthusiastic, and perhaps just a bit sun-struck -- plant their seeds of innovation, creating new products and starting new companies. Those seeds are fragile at first. Many fail, crushed by competition, starved by high costs or strangled by burdensome regulations.

But, under the right conditions, like those described in the Milken Institute's recently released Best Performing Cities Index, innovators and entrepreneurs can create thriving business ecosystems and bustling, prosperous communities.

The annual report ranks cities according to overall economic output. Growth of wages and jobs and salaries is factored in, as is technology output growth. To smooth short-term economic bumps, the study also factors in average growth over the previous five years.

The study does more than designate which cities are doing better than others; it literally describes what works and what does not. It shows where individuals and industries are choosing to plant.

Unsurprisingly, citizens and seeds both prefer places with relatively open land, clear skies and a lot of sun. Florida had seven cities among the top 20 performers, including the Fort Meyers-Cape Coral area, which topped this year's survey. Las Vegas was the second-best performer for the second year in a row. In fact, sixteen of the top 20 cities were in the South and West, and the other four were along the Eastern Seaboard.

But there's more top performance than sunshine and sea breeze. As the study noted, "Over the long haul, the key to regional stability is the diversity of its ecosystem." Diversity allows cities to withstand the shocks of sector downturns and recessions. Diversity also assists the process of constant renewal and rebirth, essential to the thriving of both economic and biological ecosystems.

What factors keep economies fertile? Fast-growing companies are one critical component. Many of the best performing cities were located in metro areas with high levels of entrepreneurial activity. The Midwest lacks national leaders in both categories. As the study suggested, "Over the long-term, cities with strength in entrepreneurship will be among our Best Performing cities."

Access to capital is important, although low interest rates have made funds fairly easy to obtain. Regions with more human capital, in the form of skilled workers, will tend to adapt better to structural changes in sectors of the economy than regions with less. Rapid access to new knowledge and new innovations will also reinvigorate regions, and can be a critical factor in keeping them competitive in the knowledge-based economy.

Intellectual capital is not, by itself, sufficient to produce thriving economic ecosystems. As the Milken study noted, somewhat to its surprise, "None of the top 20 research universities are located in any of the top 20 best performing cities." That finding might simply be due to the way that employment and wage outputs were emphasized in the study, since a region's long-term competitiveness seems at least partially dependent on a strong knowledge-based economy.

Regions need growth in other sectors as well. Many of the best performing cities were strong in the service sector. Tourism was important in regional growth (while fun to imagine, a "Disneyland Detroit" is not likely to be much of a draw), as was home construction.

The aging population is having an effect on regional development and that is likely to continue. Demographically speaking, the fastest growing part of the population (by percentage) is that over 85.

The snowbirds that flock to sun-drenched states bring their bank accounts with them. Those older birds (who seem to flock together) call on younger bucks for medical care and meals. For instance, Lee Memorial Health is the top employer of the top-performing Fort Myers-Cape Coral area. Those younger professionals need housing and schools, creating more demand and more growth.

The Milken study considered the largest cities as a separate class since, "Metro areas in their mature stage with little land available for expansion and high density, face difficulty recording job growth as rapidly as metros in their early-and mid-stage growth cycles." Few of the largest cities performed exceptionally well, and the only metropolis to crack the top 20 best performers was the Washington D.C.-MD-VA-WV area.

An unspoken subtext in all of this are the amazing accomplishments that free market capitalism makes possible in even poorer performing cities. As economist Thomas Sowell noted in his recently published book, "Applied Economics," "Considering what a monumental task it is to supply tons of food every day to a city the size of London or New York," (New York City ranked 169th overall on the Milken list) "It is remarkable that we take it for granted that such a task is performed without anyone's being in charge of seeing that it all gets done."

In his book, "Eco-Economy," Lester Brown of World Watch Institute argued that the economy should be restructured around ecological principles. Yet that seems to happen naturally in free-market economies -- diversity, sustainability and prosperity arising from ingenuity and entrepreneurship. While Axl Rose and Upton Sinclair style jungles can occur, so can thriving economic ecosystems.

Thanks to the free market, sun-struck, and perhaps sunburned individuals can take their passion, and, in the words of Irene Cara, "make it happen," producing profitable products and adding to the prosperity of communities. The Milken study shows the potential, and the factors that make it possible. Thriving seeds of human ingenuity: What a feeling indeed.

Charles Rousseaux is the speechwriter for Interior Secretary Gale Norton. The sunny views expressed are his own.

TCS Daily Archives


Design and Consultancy

Appointing a specialist AV designer for a complex project can save you money and a great deal of time during the planning and execution stages of a project. Our commercial design approach spanning over 35 years will ensure your development encompasses all the latest proven technologies. Our non bias approach to system design and specification will provide you  the app solutions with a comprehensive packaged solution ready for tender in line with budget and operating brief. Areas of design include all AV technologies, lighting, and interactive in-room TV

Flexible tender packages are available and can be scheduled to meet with specific requirements.


For hundreds of years yoga has been valued for its healing qualities; from stabilizing metabolism to increasing flexibility and range of motion, yoga’s power to help the mind and body is endless. Some would be surprised to find out that certain poses, breathing methods, and mental exercises based in yoga can even be used to manage stress and anger.

Most of us can admit that at one time or another we’ve gotten angry—maybe even angry enough to effect our mood for the entire day, or throw off our interactions with others. Though anger is an emotion as necessary as happiness, we sometimes need ways to calm ourselves down and refocus on what the issue is at hand. When we initially feel a wave of anger, there are several traditional and some not-so-traditional methods that tie in with many of yoga’s teachings that can be used to control anger.

Firstly, it is important to realize and accept that you are in fact angry. Taking deep, cleansing breaths is always your first defense against an outburst or overwhelming feelings of anger. When you’ve acknowledged the feeling of anger, it is then critical to consider what may happen if you lose control of your anger, as yoga and meditation focuses so much on self-actualization. When you’ve followed these steps and still feel your anger or stress spiraling out of control, there are several breathing exercises and yoga poses that can help!

Here are 5 tips and poses straight from yoga class to help curb anger:

1. Savasana, or Corpse Pose, is one of the most relaxing positions and is valued for its ability to calm the entire body and mind. To get into Savasana, lay on your back with arms relaxed at your sides and palms facing up. Allow your feet to fall open comfortably and let your breath return to it’s natural rhythmic state. Focus only on the sound of your own breathing until you feel complete relaxation.

2. Child’s Pose is great for strengthening the mind-body connection and for keeping us in-touch with how we’re feeling. Child’s Pose is another position designed specifically to calm the muscles and mind, and it built for relaxation. To get into Child’s Pose, begin by kneeling on all fours. Push back and bring your arms around to the sides of your body with head resting on the ground. To stretch your shoulders reach your arms out in front of you for an extended Child’s Pose.

3. Nose breathing, one of the lasting traditional aspects of yoga, is an anger-coping mechanism that can be used anywhere. One of the best nose breathing exercises is the Three-Part Breath. The Three-Part Breath, also known as the Complete Breath, is the simplest and most rewarding of all yogic breathing exercises. It is both purifying and energizing and, if done slowly and evenly, can produce a sense of serenity and balance. The Three-Part Breath is done by sitting tall and inhaling, bringing your breath deep into your abdomen (try placing a hand on diaphragm or abdomen to make sure you’re breathing deeply enough), then into your rib cage, and finally into your chest and throat. Exhale completely and let negative thoughts and emotions go. Try to make the length of time you take to the inhale the same as when you exhale to achieve the full effect of this exercise.

4. Relaxation Breath is a slow-paced technique used to induce a state of deep relaxation and centeredness. It’s another simple exercise that can be utilized for stress and anger in daily life as it can help reverse the physiological effects of stress, including lowering the heart rate and decreasing blood pressure. To practice Relaxation Breath, lie comfortably on your back and relax your body from any tensity. Place your right hand on your chest and your left hand on the upper part of your abdomen. Breathe so only your left hand rises during the inhale and falls during the exhale. Your right hand should remain virtually motionless. Make sure to give an equal amount of time to the inhale and exhale.

5. If you’re someone who can’t sit still with your anger, or if breathing exercises haven’t worked for you in the past, try something more intense! You can do a series of poses to quickly push away anger and reap the hormonal benefits of exercise. A great three-part series of poses is Half Sun Salutation to Plank Pose, to a more relaxed pose like Savasana or Child’s Pose. To begin with the Half Sun Salutation, stand straight up, with feet together and hands folded in front of your chest (as if you were praying). While inhaling, sweep arms up and focus on your fingertips, making sure to keep waist pushed outward. Exhale deeply, bring palms down to the floor into a forward fold position while being careful to keep head tucked. Next, inhale deeply while bringing the body into a an upward forward fold, finally, bring arms back above head, allowing hands to meet, you can repeat this pose as needed. A great pose to follow the Half Sun Salutation is Plank Pose. Plank Pose is achieved by basically holding a push-up position. Start with hands parallel and shoulder width apart, making sure legs are straight, push up with your arms and core, making sure to engage your gluts, hold this pose for as long as you can. You’ll then want to round out your practice with a relaxation pose, like Child’s Pose.

For more tips and poses like this you can read Beth Shaw’s YogaFit: Second Edition, or visit

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The Friends of St. Francis Childcare Center maintains a high teacher to student ratio, insuring that each child receives personalized attention.  Our 6 primary teachers are all experienced early childhood educators with a deep understanding of childhood development, who strive to support and involve parents in their child’s wellness every step of the way.


New Orleans Neighborhood Series: The Garden District

The Garden District is one of the most enchanting and beautiful districts in New Orleans. Characterized by lush gardens, tree-lined streets, and opulent homes, the neighborhood is a popular real estate hotspot for residents and even celebrities like Beyonce and Jay Z. Today, the district is considered one of the best preserved collections of historic mansions in the Southern United States.

As we learn about New Orleans and its history, this spotlight on the Garden District can offer some insight into NOLA’s varied past:

The first land parcels in the Garden District were dotted with large, sprawling plantation homes including the famous Livaudais Plantation. The land was eventually sold off in sections to wealthy proprietors who wanted to live away from the crowds that inhabited the French Quarter. It was first established as part of the city of Lafayette in 1833 and became a part of the city of New Orleans in 1852. Originally designed, planned, and surveyed by architect Barthelemy Lafon, the district saw major development until 1900. Originally, the district was planned with only two houses per block, surrounded by lush gardens, from where it’s famous name derives. As New Orleans became more urbanized the large plots were divided into smaller lots for more construction. Today, visitors will see a couple large, early 19th century mansions sitting next to gingerbread-style Victorian houses on many of the neighborhood’s blocks.

Part of the district is declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974 for its architectural history.

Famous Landmarks

Most visitors and tourists visit the district for it’s architecture beauty rather than its gardens, but both are part of the Garden District’s unique experience. Visitors should check out these historic architectural landmarks while in town:

Adam — Jones House, 2423 Prytania Street
The house was constructed for John I. Adams, a merchant who purchased the section of the former Jacques Francois de Livaudais plantation which later became the Garden District. Adams purchased the property in 1860, built the residence, and lived in it until 1896. Shifting various owners over the next century, it was restored from 1961–1962 by Mrs. Hamilton Polk Jones. It was established as a historical landmark in 1995 by the New Orleans Landmarks Commission.

George Washington Cable House, 1313 8th Street
Located on the Garden District’s west side, the building was built by author George Washington Cable in 1874 after the publication of his short story, Sieur George. It’s also the house where Cable wrote and was influenced by native New Orleans culture. Mark Twain was a guest here. The single-story structure features a full-height basement and columns that includes an arcade.

Buckner Mansion, 1410 Jackson Ave
Known for its many ghost stories, The Buckner Mansion has reached more popularity since its appearance on the TV series American Horror Story: Coven. Built in 1856, the 20,000 square foot property was owned by cotton king Henry S. Buckner. It also used to be Soule Business College from 1923–1973. But now, it’s a popular destination for tourists, film crews, and vacationers for its beauty and southern charm. Staying at the mansion will cost a pretty penny ($20,000/night) so it’s best to go for a tour.

Brevard-Rice House, 1239 First Street
The beautiful antique mansion was owned by the Brevard heirs from 1859–1869. Later purchased by Emory Clapp, who constructed a library on the left wing, it remained in the Clapp family until 1935. Then it was owned by a slew of other notable people in New Orleans society. Today, it is owned by novelist Anne Rice and her husband. Tourists can take a gander at the stunning columns and architecture as it was created a landmark site in 1991.

Joseph Carroll House, 1315 First Street
After you stop by the Brevard-Rice spot, check out this cast-iron beauty that was built in 1969. The elegant Italianate mansion also played host to Mark Twain in 1886. While here, be sure to check out the carriage house as well.

Walter Grinnan Robinson House, 1415 Third Street
One historical house you need to admire when you stop by the Garden District is the Henry Howard mansion. The 1859 creation features adjacent servant quarters and stables–which underwent a renovation– that offers historical and cultural insight into the antebellum south.

This spotlight on the history and the prominent landmarks in the Garden District can offer you a walking tour that helps any guest appreciate the decadent architecture and the complex history of New Orleans.

Originally published at mohankailas.com on August 15, 2017.

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By clapping more or less, you can signal to us which stories really stand out.


Buddhism, enlightenment, photography, tanka

Oneness Beyond Color

Carpe Diem #1378 Finally … Enlightenment

The Silk Road was a hard slog, as is the path to enlightenment.  It might help a little to consider some of the unobvious ways the images in this post are alike.

Oneness Beyond Color
|Glass ball and blossom:
|so unlike yet so alike.
|Enlightenment glows
|beyond breakage or wilting;
|beyond illusions of death.

enlightenment, haiku, history, photography

Oh Come, All Fibo-ku

My response to

Carpe Diem Weekend-Meditation #10
Fibo-ku winter time

could be called a “fibo-bun” because it is like a haibun but has syllable counts from the Fibonacci sequence in the haiku part.

Several cultures have responded to the long nights of winter with festivals or structures celebrating light at roughly the time of the solstice.  While not quite old enough to have personal memories of Stone Age passage tombs aligned with the sunrise (on a few of the several days that amounted to the solstice with Stone Age time-keeping), I do remember multicolored Hanukkah candles and the cheerful chiaroscuro of multicolored Xmas lights draped over trees and large shrubs.

Nowadays I see mostly different kinds of Xmas lights.  Some people set out ugly jumbles of inflated Santas and other symbols of the gifting frenzy; others outline their houses with harshly uniform white lights.  But some still carry forward the old Xmas lighting tradition (with LED-s now).  And the glorious vocal music of Hanukkah and Xmas still transcends the literal meanings of the verses (2 of which inspired my titles here).

Darkness worse than long nights and garish decorations hangs heavy in today’s air.  Maybe this darkness will also recede.  My lights are up.

Yet in the Darkness Shineth
|blue, and
|yellow lights:
|winter solstice celebration
|defies dark tribal hatred to sing of love and light.

enlightenment, haiku, humor, miracle, philosophy

Miracle: Satori from an MBA

It started so gaily.

A tongue-in-cheek post about writer’s block led to
 a tongue-in-cheek comment that led to
 a tongue-in-cheek post that led to
 a tongue-in-cheek comment that seemed to
merit a tongue-in-cheek reply.

But the volleyball hit the floor before I could whack it upward.

That last comment in the cascade included the question

What made you the lucky poet whom God speaks through?

While the comment’s “you” is me and my claim to prophecy was indeed tongue-in-cheek (and perceived as such by the commenter), I could not get past the fact that many people do claim (seriously and stridently) to speak for God.  Many of those who are serious and strident are also willing to coerce people they cannot convince.  Many of those who are willing to coerce are also willing to kill people they cannot coerce.

lesson-learnedNON SEQUITUR © 2014 Wiley Ink, Inc.. Dist. By ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

While I cannot just keep it tongue-in-cheek, I still see the wisdom in Oscar Wilde’s remark that life is too important to be taken seriously.  So I will continue semiseriously.

Sometimes it is hard to distinguish literature from either literal truth or bogus claims to tell it.  Now I will tweak the font as a gentle reminder that the rest of this post is just lit.

Management consultants are often hired by executives who want an outsider with “MBA” after their name to bless what they have already decided to do.  While God could bless well enough on His own, He did want advice from a management consultant on how to get out of a procedural rut.

Aware that the complexity of the Real World (and how to thrive in it) was beyond immediate comprehension, He had endowed some otherwise unremarkable creatures with abilities to observe and learn; to imagine and reason; to build bridges and write poems.  He had tried repeatedly to nudge them in good directions by inspiring a few of them, with a little success and a lot of failure.

As He told the consultant:

I keep it simple and age-appropriate, but they oversimplify half of what I tell them and obfuscate the rest.  The Golden Rule gets thru as something to proclaim but not as something to practice.  Absurdly much of what they think has been revealed to them is just their own bigotry and bullshit.

The consultant read over the case histories and concluded that there was a personnel issue:

U have been inspiring people who mean well but score high on credulity and low on humor.  Maybe it would help to go outside the box.  For example, U could inspire a nerdy atheist who digs sacred music and pushes the envelope of haiku poetry.

God was skeptical:

Does anybody like that exist?

The consultant smiled the enigmatic Mona Lisa smile that sometimes appeared when he was moonlighting as a Zen master.  He leaned forward and spoke softly:

Does anybody like U exist?

At that moment, God attained enlightenment.

enlightenment, haiku, humor

There are many images for the Biblical 6 days of creation, and one of them is particularly apt for illustrating this post’s haiku.  The following photo of an exuberant stained glass window comes from the Witterings blog, which also has a fascinating discussion and beautiful closeup photos of the window’s details.

When God finally rested, did He just chill out?  In response to

(with some inspiration from The Write Idea | Six days), here are 2 haiku dealing with that question.

First Sabbath
 After 6 hectic days,
 writer’s block dissipated.
 God wrote a haiku.

Thus saith the Lord:
 The world I made
 is bigger and better than
 dogmas can describe.

enlightenment, grammar, history, humor, language, politics, science

Writing Well – Part 1

Here are links to all posts in this project of reviewing and supplementing the splendid book

The Lexicographer’s Dilemma by Jack Lynch.

  1. Introduction
    What does the rise of “proper” English have in common with a physics conundrum about gravity?
  2. Babies, Names, and Snobs
    We name words by wrapping them in square brackets to avoid overloading more common conventions.
  3. Descriptivism, Prescriptivism, and ????
    We add a new ISM to the familiar duo of attitudes toward English language usage: readabilism.
  4. Why is English Spelling Such a Mess?
    An insight into the difficulty of spelling reform has wide-ranging significance, far beyond spelling.
  5. Ambiguity Sucks!
    Ambiguity is almost always at least a little harmful to clear communication. It can be disastrous.
  6. What is the Point of Punctuation?
    Careful punctuation helps avoid unwanted ambiguity.
  7. Yogi Berra’s Paradox
    Sometimes bad English is good English that’s good because it’s bad.
  8. Blood & Gold End This Series
    Apart from a concern about the examples on 2 late pages in the book, I could applaud those pages until my hands bleed.

Writing well ain’t easy.  If the word “ain’t” in the previous sentence raised hackles, U really need to read The Lexicographer’s Dilemma by Jack Lynch.  If not?  Read it anyway.  This post starts a series of posts that includes a glowing review of the book, with my own additions and amplifications for some points (and a few mild disagreements).

One of the few complaints I have about the book is that the title is too narrow.  Yes, the book considers lexicography.  It also considers grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vulgarisms.  In just 276 well-written pages (not counting source notes and such), it considers all these things with serious historical scholarship and considerable humor (mostly dry; sometimes LOL).

Why a series of posts?  Doing justice to the scope of the book in a single post would be tough unless what I wrote was only a book review, and the single post might still be quite long.  Better to write a separate post of moderate length on each of several themes in the book, adding something worthwhile to each.  In between posts in this Writing Well series, I can post on other topics.  If I think of yet another way that the sane and decent people in the USA might resist the Age of Trumpery, I want to interrupt the series rather than interrupt work on a single humongous draft.

Can a noncontiguous series work?  Across the Room and Into the Fire is working quite well for Óglach, with Part 6 (out of a projected 7) posted as of this writing.

Example 1.1: Recency of “Proper” English

Example numbers in this series have the form (part number).(number within the part), just in case I want to refer to an example in one part when writing up another part.

The following quote from page 10 of the book poses a conundrum that cries out for the kind of historical investigation exemplified by the book.

For just one third of 1 percent of the history of language in general, and for just 20 percent of the history of our own language, have we had to go to school to study the language we already speak.

When something is that strange, asking how the Hell it happened is not just idle curiosity.  It might lead to major insights.  Here is something similarly strange in physics.

For every chunk of matter in the entire universe (no matter what it is made of), the gravitational mass is exactly the same as the inertial mass.

For everything we can get our hands on, the equality of the 2 kinds of mass has been verified to more decimal places than I can count on my fingers.  Why is gravity like this?  Isaac Newton had no idea at all.  His theory of gravity could use this fact but could not explain it.  Early in the previous century, many physicists were uneasy about this apparent cosmic coincidence.  They were also uneasy about a piddling tiny difference between how Mercury orbited the sun and how Newton’s theory predicted it would orbit the sun.

One of the uneasy physicists was Albert Einstein, whose more elaborate theory of gravity gave an elegant explanation of the equality of the 2 kinds of mass and yielded predictions that were slightly different from Newton’s.  When Einstein published his theory in 1916, the only known differences were just barely measurable by those who cared about nerdy stuff like the perihelion of Mercury’s orbit.  Today, we know of many other differences.  Thanks to our knowledge of some of them, your GPS is more than just an expensive paperweight.

Jack Lynch wrote the book that anchors this series.  The historical perspective helped me refine my own views.  Want to see many examples of clear writing that is balanced and nuanced w/o being wishy-washy?  Read the book.

Óglach is among the bloggers who demonstrate that good writing can thrive in the blogosphere.   Thanking all those I know would take up too much space and omit those I do not know, but I must thank him for the inspiration to try a noncontiguous series.

Miriam Sargon taught the AP English class that I took in my senior year of high school.  (My post on lexicography will say a little more about that class.)  Back in the 1962/1963 academic year, well-informed people could still believe that Enlightenment values were winning (albeit slowly and with many setbacks).  She did not preach those values; she exemplified them.

baseball, enlightenment, humor, philosophy, politics

Riff on a Yogi Berra Quote

Some of the many humorous quotes (mis)attributed to Yogi Berra are trenchant expressions of genuine wisdom, akin to Zen koans.  (In his Washington Post obituary, the subtitle “American philosopher” is well-chosen.)  One of his gems is so widely applicable and important that it deserves a special name.  It is also so widely quoted that 2 versions are common, as indicated by {|} below:

Yogi Berra’s Law
{The game|It} ain’t over til it’s over.

Yes, the original context was baseball.  With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9-th inning, the home team may be trailing.  Yogi rightly admonishes both the home team (to resist despair) and the visitors (to resist complacency).  A lot can still happen with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9-th inning.  I prefer the shorter version of the law because it is more explicit about the law’s generality.  “It” could be almost anyhthing.

My current context for heeding Yogi Berra’s Law is the imminent inauguration of Donald Trump as POTUS.  At best, this event marks the start of 4 long and nasty years in the US.  At worst, this event might combine with trends elsewhere (in China, Europe, and Russia) to start a new Dark Age.  Considering the worst case is prudent, not alarmist.

Mindless repetition of platitudes like

  • It can’t happen here.
  • Every cloud has a silver lining.
  • It is always darkest just before the dawn.

is no substitute for the eternal vigilance that Jefferson said is the price of liberty.  (There are other prices.)  I resist the complacency of those platitudes; I also resist despair and continue (in my own small way) to be a citizen rather than just a complainer.

In a late inning in the biggest game of my lifetime, the Enlightenment is trailing.  That sucks.  But 2+3 is still 5 and Yogi Berra’s Law is still true.
enlightenment, humor, politics

Like the other Enlightenment values (liberty; rationality; tolerance), fairness is always under attack.  Fairness differs in being much harder to determine.

If lumping fairness with (liberty; rationality; tolerance) sounds odd, please note that fairness to me is subtler than crude egalitarianism.  Credit where credit is due.  Ability rather than ancestry as qualification for high office.  Opportunity for upward mobility.  Respect for differing priorities.  Willingness to forego getting all I want so that everybody has a shot at getting all they need, w/o trying to impose the same wants/needs categories on everybody.david-goliath-trash-talking

Downloaded from Clipart Kid, the image of David and Goliath trash talking illustrates a subtlety of fairness.  It may look unfair that Goliath is the only one with armor and heavy weapons.  Should David have them too?  No, he would still be a scrawny youth, just encumbered by all that stuff.  Let David have what suits David’s (not Goliath’s) skills and will not interfere with Plan B:

If my shots miss, run like Hell!

Deciding what is fair and then doing it can be a lot of work, as the endless stream of affirmative action lawsuits illustrates.  Dunno how that story will end.  I do know a true story about the difficulties of being fair in the real world that has a happy ending.  I blogged about it in 2015, before I had a responsive theme.  My post would have been unintelligible to anybody surfing on a phone or tablet (Harrumph!) rather than a real computer.  Now that I have a responsive theme and a renewed urge to defend Enlightenment values (thanks to the current dismal state of US politics), I have revised that post in many small ways, partly to make it more explicit about fairness.  The WordPress previewer assures me that it is indeed intelligible on all 3 platforms.  Here is the link:

Moving the Earth


U.S.-England Draws 13 Million Viewers

ABC Telecast Marks Top Opening Round FIFA Delivery Fifth Best All-Time In This Nation
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The Group C match between the U.S. and England drew almost 13 million viewers, the most ever for a FIFA World Cup opening-round match in this nation and the tops for a U.S. men's national team contest since 1994.

The much-anticipated June 12 telecast on ABC, which ended in a 1-1 draw, drew a 7.3 national household rating, 8.39 million households and 12.96 million watchers during the match window from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (ET), according to fast national data from Nielsen.

The three-hour telecast, including the pre-match coverage from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., averaged a 6.1 household rating, 7.03 million households and just under 10.8 million viewers

The overall three-hour telecast ranks as the fifth all-time soccer match in the U.S. behind three World Cup finals and a round of 16 game in 1994, all televised on ABC:

1. U.S.-China, Women's WC Final (7/10/1999) - 18.0 million viewers (11.4 rating)
2. Brazil-Italy, WC Final (7/17/1994) - 14.5 (9.5 rating)
3. Brazil-U.S., Round of 16 (7/4/1994) - 13.7 (9.3 rating)
4. Italy-France, WC Final (7/9/2006) - 12.0 (7.0 rating)
5. U.S.-England, First Round (6/12/2010) - 10.8 (6.1 rating)

On the local level, U.S.-England netted its highest rating in San Diego, where it pulled an 11.5 rating, followed by an 11.2 in San Francisco, with Las Vegas third with an 11.0. Cincinnati (10.8) and Salt Lake City (10.2) rounded out the top five, according to Nielsen data.


Enchanté - Tabby Cat

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Enchanté - Tabby Cat

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A laceweight silk yarn with an elegant sheen. Available in a range of hand dyed subtly variegated colours this yarn is a pleasure to knit, crochet and weave. Tabby Cat is a hand dyed soft shade with combinations of cream, taupe, beige, yellow, olive, grey, brown, orange and charcoal.

Project suggestion: only 1 ball of Enchanté is required to knit an average length scarf using a lace pattern. Needle size will vary according to the pattern used - 4mm(6US) to 5mm(8US). This will produce a scarf that feels as light as a feather. For crocheting 2 balls are needed for an average length scarf using a 4mm(GUS) hook.

Our yarn has been lovingly hand dyed by our artisan dyers in small batches to ensure every ball of yarn has layers of colour and beauty. The yarn is unique and individual in nature so there will be variances between batches. We do try to match batches for every order.

Washing Instructions - Gentle hand wash in cold water.  Test wash sample.

Knitting/Crocheting: When working with more than 1 ball of the same colour, take yarn from 2 different balls, working 2 rows at a time and carry yarn up the side to work an even coverage.

* The above image is only a repesentative sample as the colour will vary on every monitor.

Yarn Specifications
Colour Tabby Cat
Weight 2 Ply - 30g Ball (net at standard condition) - 30g/300m - 1.05oz/329yds
Fibre 100% Cultivated Silk - Hand dyed in Australia using low metal dyes.
Tension 36 sts x 52.5 rows = 10cm/4" - 2mm (0US) needles

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Calcined Petroleum Coke with stable quality and FC 98.5% S 0.5% max

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1.Structure of Calcined Petroleum Description

Calcined Petroleum Coke is shortly called CPC, main ingredients are carbon,. Black grain, it is produced from green petroleum coke,  the fixed carbon is mainly from 98%-99%..   Very difficult to melt.  Insoluble in water,  soluble in sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide solution. Mainly used for steelmaking, foundry.

Quick Details of Calcined Petroleum Coke FC 98.5% S 0.5% max:

Place of Origin: China mainland

Type: Carbon additive

Brand Name:CMMR

Shape: Carbon particle

Application:Additives of Metallurgy

Advantage and competitive of Calcined Petroleum Coke:

1. strong supply capability

2. fast transportation

3. lower and reasonable price for your reference

4.low sulphur, low ash

5.fixed carbon:98% -99%

6..sulphur:lower than 0.7%

Specifications of Calcined Petroleum Coke FC 98.5% S 0.5% max:

0.5 MAX

Usage/Applications of Calcined Petroleum Coke FC 98.5% S 0.5% max:

Additives of Metallurgy

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Packaging:1mt big bag or according to customers' requirements

Delivery:As soon as possible

Calcined Petroleum Coke FC 98.5% S 0.5% max

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Q:What kind of coke is used for steelmaking? The difference between metallurgical coke and foundry coke.
Coke is a special and molten iron cupola coke. Coke is the main fuel cupola molten iron. Its role is to melt the burden and make the hot metal overheating, the support column to maintain good ventilation. Therefore, the foundry coke should have large blocks, low reactivity, porosity is small, with impact crushing strength, low ash and sulfur enough
Q:What is the reasonable ratio of coal to coke
Coal is mainly composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus, and carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and three of the total possession of more than 95% of the quality of the machine, is a very important energy, metallurgy, chemical industry is an important raw material
Q:What is the density of coke?
Do you want to transport by rail? Ha ha, you might as well ask the freight forwarding clerk, he / she will tell you the various models of the volume and the weight can be installed, the conversion of the density of the pile is more accurate.
Q:Coke crushing equipment prices, manufacturers offer is how much
The index of pore structure is mainly expressed by the porosity rate (the percentage of the total volume of coke), which affects the reactivity and strength of coke. Different uses of different coke porosity index requirements, the general requirements of metallurgical coke porosity in the 40 ~ 45%, 35 ~ 40% in coke, coke export demand in about 30%.
Q:What are the quality indicators of coke
Coke is a solid product of high temperature carbonization, the main component is carbon, is a crack and irregular pore structure (or porous). The number of cracks has a direct impact on the strength and crushing strength of the coke, the index is generally measured in terms of crack degree (the number of cracks in the unit volume coke). The index of pore structure is mainly expressed by the porosity rate (the percentage of the total volume of coke), which affects the reactivity and strength of coke.
Q:Coke and coal is one thing
How coal is formedCoal has been hailed as the black gold, the food industry, it is one of the main sources of energy used in the human world since eighteenth Century. Although its important position has been replaced by oil, but in the future for a long period of time, due to the exhaustion of petroleum, inevitable decline, but because of the huge reserves of coal, coupled with the rapid development of science and technology, the new technology of coal gasification is becoming more mature and widely used, coal will become one of the human production life cannot substitute energy.
Q:How to calculate the average particle size of coke
Broken before and after the comparison of granularity, see D50 on the line. There are many kinds of average grain size, and the calculation steps are more complicated.
Q:Coking coal, coke, coal, steam coal what is the difference?
Coke is used for blast furnace ironmaking and iron ore in the steel furnace to play the role of the heating skeleton to support reducing agent
Q:What is the effect of coke moisture on the blast furnace?
2, if the long-term use of water containing high coke and blast furnace gas purification system and dry, it will affect the normal operation of the purification system (filtration pressure increased, serious and even lead to normal filtration, also lead to dust can not be normal unloading etc.); more serious for the blast furnace with net gas said not even a normal discharge (top pressure tank or a pressure higher than indoor clock dozens of kPa
Q:What is the use of coke
Finally made coke, this process is called high temperature coking (high temperature carbonization). Coke obtained from high temperature coking for blast furnace smelting, casting and gasification. Coke oven gas produced in the process of coking and recovery is not only a high calorific value of fuel, but also an important industrial raw material for organic synthesis
We enjoy convenient access to major transportation networks. Furthermore, all our products are manufactured with advanced equipment and strict QC procedures in order to ensure high quality.

1. Manufacturer Overview

Location Shizuishan,China
Year Established 2004
Annual Output Value US$5 Million - US$10 Million
Main Markets "

Mid East；Western Europe；North America"
Company Certifications The Authentication certificate of Quality Management system

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a) Certification Name
Validity Period

3. Manufacturer Capability

a)Trade Capacity
Nearest Port Tianjin
Export Percentage 61% - 70%
No.of Employees in Trade Department 50 People
Language Spoken: English；Chinese；
b)Factory Information
Factory Size: Above 300,00 square meters
No. of Production Lines Above 5
Contract Manufacturing Design Service Offered
Product Price Range Average


Collection remains the predominant reason for many a museum's existence. Most museums collect because they believe that objects are important and evocative survival of human civilization worthy of careful study and powerful educational impact. They carefully preserve their holdings as to transmit important information to the present generation and posterity. Art museums are said to concentrate on beauty and their mission is often defined as the direct transmission of the artist's aesthetic understanding to the beholder through the picture or object. History museums treat artifacts or objects as social documents, and are especially interested in ethnography and social history. Other museums, such as science museums and botanical gardens, focus on gathering specimens for identification or establishing collections of the living.

It is fundamental to have a plan when establishing a museum. A museum should pick a certain period or theme for its collection because an encyclopedic one would be too financially difficult. Next, a location must be chosen to house the collection. To determine this, local interest and economy, physical space, and the neighboring museums must be considered. Sports events, theme parks, and neighboring museums can be a competitive factor, but other museums could also be useful for exchanges. There are three main museum methods for acquisition of objects.

Gifts and bequests are the most common kind of collections, with many smaller museums totally dependent on these. A deed of gift is drawn up and the museum tries to ensure that there are "no restrictions", so that in the future, there will be no conflicts with the donor's family. Larger or wealthier museums also acquire objects by purchase from private sources, dealers, or at auction. Items must be determined to be suitable by a number of sources. Exchange or loan is also used to mutually benefit and improve collections. This method allows a museum to save money, free storage space, and increase advertising.

Formal exchange is difficult though, because materials to be traded are usually uneven in value, so sale or extended loan is more feasible. Authentication is a priority when accessioning a work. The scientific methods of paint analysis, canvas backing check, and material sampling are ways to determine authenticity, as well as historical and stylistic analysis. De accessioning is a very important concern with museums. Some never do, some will de accession only to similar institutions, and some will freely sell or exchange to refine or enhance their collection, but it is done with tact and after informing relatives..


Pragmatic MVP, References

The Pragmatic MVP is a talk I gave at TalTech Expo 2015 on building effective early stage prototypes. Below is a list of websites, articles, and books I used in preparation for that talk.

The Ultimate Guide to Minimum Viable Products

What is a Minimum Viable Product and Why is it Important?

An MVP allows you to continue to validate your idea, which is of the utmost importance, but also allows you to test your product or service for very little cost.

7 ways to test his idea to startup with a Minimum Viable Product / MVP
this blog is in French, you will need to translate it

the biggest cause of failure of startups is very simple (if we talk figures only): it is the fact NOT TO LAUNCH.

Harvard Business Review : Don’t Let the Minimum Win Over the Viable

An MVP should be the easiest way to test your hypothesis, but that doesn’t mean that building one is easy.

What it Takes to Make Your Product Viable

One major problem is what we choose to measure... While they’re all valuable at some level, none answer the most basic question about innovation, which is “How do I make the next product I build and send out the door as successful as possible?”

Innovation 101

I firmly believe that a human centered design approach, addressing desirability, is the most impactful way to innovate.

What Does “Product Quality” Really Mean?

Quality is a complex and multifaceted concept.

cupcakes: the secret to product planning

The cake model of product strategy is actually two different models for how to evolve and improve the scope of a product over time.

IEEE : Software Engineering Body of Knowledge V3

This is how Apple’s top secret product development process works

Designers are treated like royalty at Apple, where the entire product conforms to their vision. This the polar opposite of the way it works at other companies.

Lean startups find their moment

Wikipedia : Requirements Analysis

Why low-fidelity prototyping kicks butt for customer-driven design

low-fidelity prototyping can be really useful because it aids an iterative, customer-focused approach

The What, Why, and How of Mockups

mockups, wireframes, and prototypes can be confused with each other, making it difficult to find accurate information on each.

A Late Edition

Was not used as a reference but an interesting perspective that fit into my ideas. The Tyranny of the Minimum Viable Product

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