Rainbow

After the passing dark clouds and heavy down pours, rainbow appears!

The day just felt better!

--Iron Bowl

Head in a bag....

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/12239/headless-horror-was-suicide-say-detectives

The head was found suspended about 5 metres below the railing of the bridge on Sunday. A Puma-brand white polyester bag was also found attached to the rope. There were some Italian words printed on one side of the bag.

Police believe a man whose severed head was found hanging from the Rama VIII bridge had committed suicide.

Wow, isn't it easy to solve? Man ties his neck to a nylon rope, wraps a bag over his head and jumps off a bridge severing his head... Case Solved...

--Iron Bowl

Asiatic garden beetle

Damn U beetles!!

I WANT TO DESTROY U 

--Iron bowl

Asiatic garden beetle larvae sometimes feed on leaves and flowers. 

Adults are velvety chestnut-brown, nearly ½ inch long, resembling Japanese beetles. They lay their eggs in the soil at the base of the plants, where the newly hatched grubs eat their roots. Control these beetles the same way you deal with Japanese beetles. They are less likely to congregate in the numbers that Japanese beetles do.

Damn it I have a lot of them here!!

http://extension.entm.purdue.edu/CAPS/pestInfo/asiaticGardenbtl.htm

Asiatic Garden Beetle

Updated: April 28, 2008

Maladera castanea (Arrow)

 

C. M. F. Pierce and M. A. McDonough, Purdue University

 

Hosts:

Larvae of the Asiatic garden beetle occasionally attack and damage turfgrass, but they seem to prefer the roots of a variety of perennial plants, flowers and vegetable crops. Larvae are often found clustered in areas where orange hawkweed grows and around flower beds containing adult food plants. The adults are known to feed on more than 100 species of plants, but they have an obvious preference for certain flowers including asters, dahlias, mums and roses.  Adults will also feed on the leaves of a variety of trees, shrubs and vegetable crops.

 

Commodities Affected:
 Forestry and Natural Areas, Fruits and Vegetables, Nursery, Ornamentals, and Turf

 

Threat:

Adult beetles emerge from the soil mainly from mid-July to mid-August, but may be found anytime from late June through October. Adults can be a serious pest of vegetables and ornamentals, feeding on foliage at night and returning to the soil during the day. Unlike Japanese beetle, adults do not skeletonize leaves, but rather strip, shred and notch the foliage. Larvae feed on organic matter, roots and root hairs within the soil.

 

Distribution:

The Asiatic garden beetle was introduced to North America from Japan during the 1920’s. Since then, it has expanded its range westward from New England along the great lakes corridor to Ohio and south along the eastern seaboard into South Carolina. In 2006, Asiatic garden beetle was collected from traps in Allen, Porter, and St. Joseph Counties in northern Indiana. In 2007, Asiatic garden beetle was collected in Elkhart, Kosciusko, and Newton Counties.

Blight in Allston

I am quite saddened that Allston's construction has halted.

Harvard bought up a lot of land, causing a lot of commercial buildings to stay empty there.

I remember going to the K-Mart and Office Max a few years back, and hearing that they were getting pushed out, I was quite excited by the new developments that may be going to come up in the area. 

However it has been years and nothing is built, leaving behind empty stores, and the inconvenience that it bring. the surrounds just got darker in the midst of the financial crisis.

--Iron Bowl

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/23/dread_is_rising_in_harvards_hole/

Dread is rising in Harvard's hole

As work slows, acres of blight worry Allston

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff  |  February 23, 2009

Allston residents still cling to the watercolor images Harvard has dangled before them over the years. Bike paths leading to the Charles River. A canopy of trees shading wide sidewalks lined with cafes, boutiques, and theaters. Neighbors congregating by public art installations, gardens, and spraying fountains.

Harvard, with its deep pockets, residents believed, would help transform their industrial neighborhood into something akin to bustling, iconic Harvard Square in Cambridge.

But last week's announcement that the wealthy university would dramatically slow - and possibly halt - its expansion across the river as it copes with the recession has cast a long shadow over Allston's future and left many residents forlorn, their dreams of brighter years ahead dashed.

"Harvard just holds out these images like a mirage in the desert," said Harry Mattison, an Allston resident and member of a neighborhood planning task force. "There's this continual visual that this wonderful renaissance for the neighborhood is just around the corner, but it could be decades of looking at all the blight."

More than 10 years after Harvard announced sweeping plans to expand its campus into Allston, the neighborhood remains a hodgepodge of empty lots, storefronts, and buildings used for back-office operations - all owned by Harvard. The university bought up swaths of prop erty now totaling more than 350 acres. As it prepared for future development and tenants began to leave, Harvard sucked the vitality out of pockets of Allston, residents say.

During a tour of university-owned property last fall, Kevin McCluskey, a Harvard liaison to the Allston community, waved toward a squat brick building that now houses the central pastry kitchen for Finale, a local dessert chain started by Harvard Business School graduates.

"This is one of the great business entrepreneurial success stories," McCluskey exclaimed. "Here they are!"

Residents lament that Finale's Allston operation has no bakery shop or restaurant. That may come in the future, McCluskey said, but right now, "there's no foot traffic."

Exactly.

The Volkswagen dealership around the corner on Western Avenue recently moved to Watertown because Harvard said it needed the space. Also gone: a dry cleaner, a used-car dealership, a pet store/animal hospital, and a Kmart and Office Max that once did brisk business in a Harvard-owned strip mall now devoid of most of its tenants.

"This is what we have now, another empty, rotting building," Mattison said. "Harvard has a stranglehold on commercial real estate."

A short walk away, a 5-acre crater gapes at the site of an old Pepsi warehouse, where Harvard's highly acclaimed science complex was to open in 2011. It was touted as the first piece of a 50-year plan for Allston that symbolized the launch of one of the largest construction projects Boston would see for decades. The building would bring in 1,000 construction jobs, university officials promised, half of which would go to Boston residents.

The structure was intended to house scientists who would find cures for deadly diseases, host the world's largest stem cell facility, and advance Boston's biotechnology and life sciences industry. Now, it could bemany more years before the building is finished.

Longtime residents say this is a first: the prospect that construction already underway might be halted. With that grim possibility in mind, residents are bracing for potentially years of disruption and their neighborhood looking like an eyesore.

Residents, also complaining about an increase in rats they say is a result of the science complex construction, will meet with Harvard officials tonight at the local library about the future of their neighborhood.

Unlike most neighborhoods immersed in town-gown battles, many Allston residents want Harvard to develop there. They say they don't have much choice if they want life injected back into their community, which some say has become a wasteland.

For now, though, it seems to them that the university is not developing, but land banking.

Last month, Harvard announced that it had purchased a building that houses a machine shop, without plans for its use. McCluskey said Harvard rents out approximately 85 percent of its leasable properties and is actively marketing them, even in this tough economic climate.

To be fair, Mattison said, he understands Harvard's new financial limitations. The university has tried to make good on its promises to Allston, sprucing up the neighborhood with new trees, sidewalks, and grassy fields where asphalt truck lots once sprawled. But he would like to work with Harvard to make further improvements if construction comes to a standstill.

On Friday morning, dozens of pedestrians hurried through a busy intersection known as Barry's Corner. It's where town meets gown, a short walk down North Harvard Street from the university's historic football stadium and down Western Avenue from the Harvard Business School.

John Eskew, an Allston resident, passes a series of vacant buildings and lots each morning on the way to his software engineering job in Central Square. Friday, he walked past an empty Citgo gas station, the shell of the former Volkswagen dealership, and orange cranes towering above the yawning hole that is the intended site of the science complex - far from the picturesque public square depicted in Harvard's plans.

"It would be nice to see the empty properties filled with something that brings life to the neighborhood," said Eskew, who worries that a slowdown in completing the science complex will mean further delays in finding tenants for Harvard's buildings.

In the meantime, residents, fearing abandonment, savor the small signs of Harvard's commitment to Allston: improvements to local playgrounds, the handicap ramp at St. Anthony's church, the weekly farmer's market - all subsidized by the university.

They've taken note of the personal appearances made by Harvard's president, Drew Faust - at a summer barbecue in a soon-to-be-developed park behind the public library built on Harvard-provided land, and at a ribbon-cutting for a neighborhood complex where Harvard students tutor local children.

Perhaps this is all residents can hope for in the near future.

"A lot of people think Harvard could be the goose that lays the golden egg, and now they see Harvard as reneging," said Ray Mellone, chairman of the Harvard Allston Task Force who has lived in the neighborhood for 73 years. "But Harvard can't wave a magic wand over everything and make it all happy for everyone."

Tracy Jan can be reached at tjan@globe.com.  

Woot!!

Atlantic Division
	W	L	Pct		Home	Road	Div	Conf	Last 10	Streak
Boston Celtics	45	12	.789	--	24-4	21-8	12-1	30-4	7-3	1 W
Philadelphia 76ers	27	27	.500	16.5	17-12	10-15	4-6	16-17	5-5	3 L
New Jersey Nets	24	32	.429	20.5	11-17	13-15	4-5	13-20	4-6	5 L
New York Knicks	23	32	.418	21.0	16-12	7-20	3-7	13-18	3-7	1 L
Toronto Raptors	22	36	.379	23.5	11-16	11-20	4-8	14-21	3-7	1 W

Looks like another great year for the C's

--Iron Bowl

Don't Drink and Die

In 2006, more than 11 percent of Massachusetts youths ages 12 to 17 reported binge drinking - defined as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting - during the prior month, according to the survey. For drinkers age 12 to 20, the rate was more than double: 23 percent. And the number of high school students reporting any drinking in the previous month, according to 2007 state data, is even higher: 46 percent.

From time to time teens will have too much alcohol on board, wander off and die of alcohol poisoning. Alcohol also leads to many alcohol violence related incidents, vehicle accidents, falls and drowning. It is not uncommon to find a 16 year old intoxicated when hanging out overnight at a friend's party.

The fact that the underaged drinkers are usually binge drinkers, usually means that these underaged drinking leads to more accidents and deaths as the younger drinkers are less tolerant of alcohol. There are dozens of these incidents in every town that don't make it to the level of a death, but it may end up with bad acciedents unwanted pregnancies or at least lots of vomitting.

When accidents occur, related parties often lie about the drinking which may impede authorities in case of an emergency. On New Year's Eve, with winds howling, snow swirling, and temperatures hovering near zero, a 16-year-old high school student, drunk on rum, left an unsupervised party at a friend's house, wandered out into the night, and went missing in Marblehead. He was lucky to be alive but he suffered from frostbite and severe hypothermia.

The recent deaths of two Massachusetts teenagers - 17-year-old Taylor Meyer last October in Norfolk and 16-year-old Elizabeth Mun last weekend in Andover, who each wandered away from unsupervised parties and died in cold, shallow bodies of water - have shocked parents and teenagers alike. But Ben Barber's story, hauntingly similar to the two girls' deaths in many ways, reveals an unsettling truth: that these episodes, while rare, are perhaps not as unlikely as parents and children would like to believe, especially when teenagers are left to supervise other teenagers.

I do drink beer with friends during a ball game or wine after a meal, and most adults I know understand their drinking limits. I don't understand the appeal of alchol to teenagers and I hope their parents know the severity of the consequences these unsupervised parties could lead to.

-- Iron Bowl

Open your doors, Obama.

$75 Billion can stop foreclosures, but will it stop the decline in housing prices? No. Will protection measures spur more investor confidence in the U.S? No. A solution is needed to stabilize the home pricing and stimulate economy And create jobs. Sadly, the reduction in skilled workers and free trade will make the task harder.

Since 9/11, there is a decline in H-1B Visa quotas, with lesser skilled workers in the workplace, many companies resort to outsourcing overseas, resulting in even more job losses in the country.

H-1B Visas and quotas:
1999 & 2000 - 115,000
2001, 2002, 2003 - 195,000
2004 - 132,000
2005 - 117,000
2006 - 85,000

The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration & Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations.

The regulations define a "specialty occupation" as requiring "theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor."

The H-1B program brings in skilled workers from all around the world. The best brains from Europe, India, China and primarily. These workers in turn contribute much to the economy by providing services the average American does not have the skills for. In an article in Businessweek.com (Feb 10, 2009), according to a research done by Vivek Wadhwa, a senior research associate at the Labor and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School, more than half of Silicon Valley startupswere founded by immigrants over the last decade. These immigrant-founded tech companies employed 450,000 workers and had sales of US$52bil in 2005.

Placing limits on bringing foreign workers to the U.S. is not the answer to the country's rising unemployment rate and may undermine efforts to spur both job growth and innovation. New research highlights the significant contribution made byforeign nationals to the U.S. economy and undercuts arguments that foreign students may be "crowding out" Americans in science and engineering and leading them to pursue careers in professions like medicine or law.

Studies also suggest that immigrant workers may even increase patent activity, a good proxy for innovation, by workers who are U.S. citizens. Increased numbers of H-1B visas strongly correlate with increased numbers of patents applied for in the U.S. by immigrant inventors. Researchers also found no evidence that increasing H-1B visa awards decreased innovation by U.S.-born researchers in the form of patent applications, a decrease that is often described as "crowding out." To the contrary, their analysis identified a weak but still positive impact (often called "crowding in") on the numbers of patents filed by non-immigrants in regions where the number of H-1B visas awarded were highest.

In today's technological age, the more knowledge you have as a worker, the more knowledge you have as an economy, the faster your income will rise. America got to be the wealthiest country in history today not because of protectionist policies or state-owned banks or fearing free trade.

In my opinion, a definite way to stimulate the economy is to allow skilled, well-off Internationals to come in and buy up foreclosed properties, start new companies, and generally bring money and skills into America. Asian professionals and entrepreneurs for example are generally accustomed to longer hours, and consider not working or failing to pay bills to be shameful. Opening the door to immigrant money will help alleviate the credit crisis by helping banks recover their finances, and drive job creation and small business growth. 

With the current restrictions on H-1B visas and corporate layoffs, a lot of skilled Internationals are being forced to go back to their home countries. They take with them industry knowledge and are not unlikely to continue to serve those very same markets, from overseas draining money out of the US rather than drawing it in. 

Detroit is an example of where American Union workers are not competitive in today's global market. In this financial crisis, we need to give out more green cards and not greenbacks, stimulate more start-ups and not focus on bailouts.

More people and hard workers are needed to dig us out of the mounting debts. More start ups are needed to become the next Google, Microsoft and Apple. A new mindset and a new perspective is what I would expect to the "Change" rhetoric by Obama, I hope immigration reform that recognizes the value of welcoming the world's best and the brightest would be one of the changes that will help pull America out of its crisis.

 

By Robin Low

CEO of Greenyarn LLC. (Boston, MA)

Former H-1B Visa holder turned Entrepreneur

Unsafe Construction sites in Singapore.

I have seen several horrible unmanaged and dangerous road works in Singapore, but today's is very disturbing.

At 3.30pm, I was driving on Lornie Road towards the City and there was a road widening. There are many foreign workers carrying tools while some others are trying to block traffic to get some things from the other side of the road over.

Although the traffic was slow, the fact that these workers run across the road between cars driving at 40km/h is really scary. No one bothered to stop for them as these workers seemed to run across even without signalling when there is oncoming traffic. There was of course cars trying to cut in from all sides and insufficient cautions before the roadworks as usual, but together with the crossing of the road, I know something is definitely going wrong.

A black Toyota Wish (MiniVan) with aftermarket taillights, Sport rims with a metalic blue lip (SGX8558X)  Somehow tried to overtake a Van, barely hitting a foreign worker and then the most horrible thing happened; the Toyota Wish ran over a cat. (I don't know why the cat or how the cat got on the road) I would assume the normal thing for someone to do when you run over an animal is to stop to see if any help can be rendered to the animal, but to my horror, the driver continued to drive as though nothing has happened. 

The impact was quite strong as I can hear the hit from 2 cars away and I can't believe some one who nearly hit a worker would just continue to drive as though nothing happened. I was quite sad after that probably the poor guidance of traffic and chaos caused by the unmanaged roadworks has caused the death of an animal.

If this continues, I believe more severe accidents may occur. But anyways, I called the police (non-emergency) line to report about the death of the cat and the "accident" and their reply was there is no accident as no life was lost, no property was damaged and no one was injured. A reply I probably expected in this cold and uncaring country.

--Iron Bowl

Bees and Flies

Bees may look like flies, but they are pretty different.

Bees are productive, they help flowers become fruits and make honey. But they do sting.

Flies are relatively harmless, sometimes annoying, but they do carry diseases.

Which insect are you?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bees:

People work in a company, adding value, being professional and giving their best and support the company, but if they are good workers and really add value, there are some expectations to keep them positive. A little encouragement, "Well done!" and some bonus pay does really keep them going forward.

Flies:

However there are some people who are just working in a job and doing their part to keep things going. Occassionally, they keep information to themselves to make their "work" seem important and themselves irreplacable. Most of the time, they are not very productive, just doing the minimum to be around. These people enjoy office politics and often buzz around when things are going bad. They will use this as examples as failures of others to make themselves look good rather than solving the problem.

I say flies should be swatted!! Unfortunately, in real life, many bad companies and government organizations, they are the ones that remain.

So if you find a lot of flies in your company, I guess its time to leave as its a pile of shit!

-- Iron Bowl 

Rabbit.... In the year of the Ox

Rabbit Ratings

RABBIT: 67% (7 favorable and 5 neutral months)
The past year may have provided the Rabbit with many challenges and difficult situations, but this year will be a relief. The Rabbit has a very favorable outlook this year. Though it is not part of your usual plan, you may find that being assertive and bold will allow you to achieve unforeseen success. Your attraction to the finer life may lead you to living it. Personal relations are of great value to the Rabbit and will be emphasized throughout the year. Put your best foot forward in the year of the Ox and you will reap many benefits and rewards.

Rabbit Career

This year is one of change. Though the Rabbit is not prone to taking risks, you may benefit greatly from taking bold new steps in finding the career you desire. Complacency in your current job could lead you to such actions. September and October are two months that are favorable for a change. You may want to seek a position that allows you to utilize your social skills and your abilities to relate to people on a personal level. Set your sights high and you will get what you want in this highly favorable year.

Rabbit Relationships

The Rabbit's family and friends will be a source of great pleasure for the you this year. They will offer support, encouragement and will be the wellspring for meaningful and enjoyable times. Personal relations are held in high regard and could be taken to a new level. Rabbits seeking new friends or romance should make an added effort to go out more and come in contact with others-you will be well rewarded for your efforts.

Rabbit Health

The Rabbit should not encounter any major health issues this year, but you may want to take precautions during certain times of the year. The Rabbit's sensitive constitution may leave you vulnerable to colds and flu during the winter months. You may want to get a flu shot during this time and make sure that you get plenty of rest to avoid any setbacks

Rabbit Wealth

The Rabbit should enjoy a new level of wealth. If you are inspired to make a career change, this will prove to be a successful venture financially. You will be particularly pleased with some of your purchases this year, as many could relate to redecorating or changing the appeal of your home. Beware of any risky investments and continue to do the things that accumulate your level of savings.

-- Iron Bowl... Hope this is true!

Linked in the internet

Damn, when you start to do stuff and inform your friends about your status, with Twitter and Facebook, the whole world seems to be able to know about stuff. I think people ought to realize the amount of getting linked in...

I was shocked for people to see me on the news and somehow searched me on the internet and tried to friend me on facebook!!

I wonder if I can friend Obama on Facebook??

But anyways, when everything is linked, one has to be sure before he makes any post...

-- Iron Bowl