In the summer of 2008, I mailed a postcard as part of my primary campaign for city council.  It was titled “Ann Arbor at the Tipping Point”.  (It is now out of date, but if you are curious, it can be seen here.)  It exemplified my general campaign message that we were overspending on big buildings and “special” projects (often vanity items for the mayor) while making it less and less affordable to live in Ann Arbor and receive the services that we expect as residents and taxpayers.  These trends were clear to me but in that warm sunny summer I had trouble making the points resonate.  I found that as I went door-to-door, eyes would glaze over when I started to talk budgets and services.  It was much nicer to hear my opponent’s happy talk.

Some have said that “no one could have predicted what was coming”.  Pardon me, but that is simply not true.  This article from early 2007 states that Michigan was then in a “one-state recession” after “six consecutive years” of sliding employment.  And we knew in January 2007 that Pfizer was closing and we would be losing those tax revenues. Property values in the region have been declining for some time, though Ann Arbor has been somewhat favored. (The Assessor’s data show a decrease in the rate of increase since 2003.) At the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, I heard as early as 2003 that the state was cutting state shared revenues and we began laying people off because of it.  Cities are under a somewhat more favorable formula, but the loss of those revenues have been a problem for some time now. (The mayor now says that they may go away entirely. ) I got quite tired in that summer of 2008 of going around to interviews and campaign stops and having to talk about the impending economic doom.  But I saw the storm coming, as anyone should should have.

Yes, the city hall is history.  But we are continuing to make imprudent decisions, like taking on more debt for a huge underground parking structure and diverting money from basic operations through the Percent for Art program.

Well, folks, the storm has rolled in.  At the council’s annual budget retreat, (December 5, 2009) city administrator Roger Fraser laid out the grim news and the grimmer suggestions about the city’s financial state and possible fixes.  (A nice overview is on AnnArbor.com.)  Councilmember Stephen Rapundalo summarized it nicely at the beginning and near the end when he spoke of having to “amputate part of this institution”.  (The second mention was to say we had to figure out which fingers, toes, or bigger parts would go.)  There is a list of fairly stringent short-term cuts and then some really scary longer-term changes.  But left undiscussed was the role of taking down the city’s fund balance by millions of dollars to purchase a really big new addition to city hall.  (Irony: much of the justification was to give the police better quarters, and now police have been laid off and are facing more cuts.)

Of course, I had to say “I told you so” to city chief finance officer Tom Crawford during a break.  But he advanced the same argument that was brought up several times during the day: it doesn’t matter how much you have in reserve funds, that is, in the bank.  It is operational cash flow that matters.  As was often said, “you can plug the hole today but it will still be there tomorrow”.  So in Crawford’s and Fraser’s view, the loss of millions of dollars from the city fund balance, used for such things as the city hall and the down payment on the Fuller Road Station (its former name, abbreviated FITS, worked better for me), is irrelevant; you need to get the ordinary cost of doing business down to the same level as the revenue coming in.  So – if tax collection is down, let’s get that saw out and start amputating services.

Much of the problem, as I see it, is that we are operating the city like a business.  Many seem to think that this is the right model, but I think that it ignores the very reason that we have local government.  Business is all about the bottom line.  You build each department like a separate company subsidiary and make it pay its way.  If it is not profitable, axe it.  So some services that are loss leaders have to go (be shut down) and others get shifted into a branch of the company that has a better revenue stream.  Or – some are sold off at a loss to someone else that wants to operate it. (In government, we call this “privatizing”.) Above all, you want to be able to skim the cream for your own use.

But I think we should be running our local government like a household.  In a household, you save money during the good times so that you can tide yourself over during the bad times.  If one of the children is at an age when he costs a lot (maybe he is outgrowing his clothes too fast), you don’t jettison him, but cut the rest of the household expenses (hamburger instead of steak) to support him.  You certainly don’t buy a Mercedes, then complain about how much that kid costs.

Perhaps a better analogy is to consider our community as an ecosystem.  We are interdependent on each other in ways that may not be easily defined or predicted.  Why does a particular local business fail? What impact does that have on the lives of those who used the products and services it produced?  And on the businesses that its employees patronized?  And on the other businesses that were suppliers to it?  If residents find that the cost of services are higher than they can afford, did they cut purchases at that business?  Do they give less to a local charity on whom others are dependent?  And so on.  Our sense of community, the physical and mental health of individuals, and ultimately our prosperity are to some extent dependent on maintaining this ecosystem.

We should be deciding what kind of community we want, what services we think are important to our sense of who we are and what we expect from our government.  The priorities in the way we spend money defines us.  Government should be seeking to fill the needs, both physical and, if you like, spiritual, of all who comprise the community, not just those who can pay.  This last is where the business model really breaks down since it wishes to make each activity pay for itself, and that often means fees.  Whereas taxes are usually based on some measure of ability to pay (whether income, property value, or whatever), fees are collected from all regardless of financial status.  In other words, they are regressive and make life less affordable for those of limited incomes who are living in our community. One of the aspects of community in Ann Arbor that appeals to me is the diversity of its people and the possibilities that this creates in our networks of affiliation and interest.  I don’t like to see policies that seem to imply that people with more limited income are unwelcome.

One of the good things that were said at the budget retreat was when Fraser openly challenged the council to decide how they want the city to look in terms of the services it offers.  He stated that he was expecting that council had little or no interest in a “revenue option”.  But some members said yes, that should be on the table.  (Two options discussed were an income tax and a Headlee override, both of which would require a vote of the people.)  I agree that some hard discussion is needed of the kind of community we want and what we expect from our city – and from ourselves to maintain it.

A disturbing theme of the retreat was that many suggestions offered by administration were not merely budget cuts but radical restructuring.  In other words, not just amputation but detaching large body parts and stitching up the body in a different way.  I’ll go into those (which include solid waste, transportation, and parks) in detail in a later post.  But we have to be sure that we do not produce a Frankenstein’s monster.  I hope that the council will not move precipitately.

UPDATE: The Ann Arbor Chronicle now has a very thorough report on the retreat.

Today’s suggestion is probably one that most people wouldn’t think a great deal about these days. In the Western World, the issue of AIDS is probably somewhat on the backburner so to speak, though that would depend on the community you live within or deal with on a daily basis.

Though AIDS remains a major health threat in Western countries, the real frontline is in the Third World, where entire countries are under serious threat from AIDS/HIV and/or the consequences of the disease on the economy, the community, the family, etc.

So helping to prevent AIDS and to assist in the provision of treatment for AIDS/HIV, as well as caring for those left in it’s wake are all very important.

Some web sites with valuable information:

www.unaids.org

www.aids.net.au

www.afao.org.au

A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton

Banyak kalangan meragukan pencapaian swasembada beras, jagung, dan gula konsumsi akan berkelanjutan pada masa-masa yang akan datang. Begitu pula dengan kelanjutan produksi komoditas pangan yang lain.

Kekhawatiran ini beralasan mengingat ada empat arus besar yang melingkupinya, yaitu penduduk Indonesia yang terus bertambah sehingga permintaan pangan meningkat. Iklim semakin sulit diprediksi karena itu pasokan pangan menjadi tidak stabil.

Kompetisi penggunaan lahan dan air juga semakin ketat. Dan, terakhir Indonesia semakin terintegrasi dengan pasar global. Geliat perdagangan komoditas pangan global akan langsung mengimbas pasar domestik.

Meski begitu, (mantan) Menteri Pertanian Anton Apriyantono, Rabu (2/9) di Jakarta mengungkapkan optimismenya. Setidaknya untuk komoditas pangan pokok, seperti beras, jagung, dan gula konsumsi pencapaian telah dilakukan.

Badan Ketahanan Pangan Departemen Pertanian menghitung rata-rata pertumbuhan produksi komoditas pangan menggembirakan dalam enam tahun belakangan ini.

Pertumbuhan produksi padi 2003-2008 sebesar 2,7 persen, jagung 8,24 persen, kedelai 3,94 persen persen, ubi kayu 2,4 persen, sayur 3,62 persen.

Begitu pula produksi buah-buahan naik 7,34 persen, daging sapi dan kerbau 19,5 persen, daging ayam 24,26 persen, susu 1,07 persen, telur 8,02 persen, dan ikan 6,56 persen. Saat ini surplus neraca perdagangan sektor pertanian Indonesia lebih dari 20 miliar dollar AS. Bandingkan dengan empat tahun lalu yang hanya 5-6 miliar dollar AS.

Deputi Bidang Pertanian dan Kelautan Menko Perekonomian Bayu Krishnamurti menyatakan, dari puluhan produksi komoditas pangan yang dikonsumsi masyarakat Indonesia, hany lima atau enam yang sebagian masih impor. “Itu pun tidak membuat ketergantungan,” katanya.

Masih banyak sumber pangan yang diproduksi di dalam negeri. Dengan kata lain bahwa secara makro, ketahanan pangan bangsa Indonesia baik. Namun, secara mikro memang masih ada persoalan, seperti persoalan antarkomoditas karena terjadi kompetisi lahan dan juga akses pangan masyarakat terkait daya beli.

Benarkah negara agraris ?

Anton mengungkapkan bahwa membangun ketahanan pangan bangsa harus dimulai dari mengubah pola pikir. Indonesia terjebak dalam pemahaman sempit karena sebutan negara agraris.

“Jangan mentang-mentang Indonesia disebut sebagai negara agraris lalu ingin memenuhi semua kebutuhan pangan dari dalam negeri. Tunjukkan kepada saya di mana ada negara yang 100 persen kebutuhan pangannya dipenuhi sendiri,” kata Anton.

Data Direktorat Jenderal Pengelolaan Lahan dan Air menunjukkan luas lahan pertanian Indonesia hanya 47 juta hektar (ha). Dengan lahan yang tidak seberapa itu, apakah Indonesia akan mampu memproduksi semua kebutuhan pangannya untuk 230 juta penduduk sendiri ?

Berapa juta hektar lahan yang harus disediakan untuk gandum, beras, jagung, kedelai, gula, minyak sawit, kakao, jambu mete, kacang tanah, umbi-umbian, singkong, sayur-sayuran, dan buah-buahan serta jenis pangan hewani lain, seperti daging sapi, susu, telur, daging ayam, dan jenis makanan lain.

“Sebagai gambaran, Brasil memiliki lahan penggembalaan sapi 210 juta hektar, 28 juta hektar lebih luas dari seluruh luas daratan Indonesia yang 192 juta hektar,” kata Anton. Namun, Brasil sampai sekatang impor gandum, juga sawit. Amerika Serikar yanglahan pertaniannya luas, impor terbesar adalah daging sapi Brasil. China impor kedelai, begitu pula India.

“ Yang terpenting kita harus melihat opportunity cost-nya. Kita mau pilih menanam gandum atau kelapa sawit ? Jelas pilih kelapa sawit karena di sini kita unggul, produktivitas tinggi, dan tidak banyak negara pesaing,” katanya.

Karena itu, Anton meminta dalam melihat persoalan pangan bangsa hendaknya dilihat secara utuh, tidak parsial. Bukan hanya pangan semata, tetapi juga harus dilihat secara umum. Potensi pertanian apa yang bisa digali dan dikembangkan.

Kalau yang tidak sesuai dengan alam Indonesia dan lahan terbatas, jangan dipaksakan karena membuang energi.

Muatan teknologi

Menurut Bayu, membangun ketahanan pangan ke depan juga harus mengembangkan diversifikasi. Diversifikasi produksi dengan menyediakan komoditas pangan selain gandum seperti umbi-umbian, singkong, dan sagu.

Namun, diversifikasi produksi semata tidak akan bisa menjawab persoalan. Karena itu, penting dilakukan diversifikasi konsumsi. Namun, diversifikasi konsumsi yang melibatkan bisnis industri. Jangan membayangkan industri itu sudah pasti besar, tetapi bisa dengan industri kecil.

Bila dipelajari, peningkatan persentase konsumsi gandum dalam menu makanan sehari-hari masyarakat Indonesia dari 2 persen 20 tahun lalu, sekarang menjadi sekitar 15 persen tidak lain karena adanya perubahan sifat yang fundamental.

Di mana gandum dibuat menjadi tepung sehingga dari sana muncul beragam pangan berbasis gandum. “Tentu ini tidak terlepas dari peranan industri yang begitu giat berpromosi,” kata Bayu yang tidak bermaksud mendukung impor gandum.

Karena itu, bagaimana ke depan bangsa Indonesia bisa menciptakan sifat fundamental yang baru, seperti pada gandum untuk komoditas lokal. Dengan demikian, dari sana mendorong munculnya industrialisasi pangan untuk menghasilkan nilai tambah dan menyerap tenaga kerja dari sektor pertanian.

Tantangan mendatang

Menurut Bayu, untuk menjaga ketahanan pangan agar berkelanjutan, ke depan Indonesia harus bisa mengatasi empat arus besar di atas.

“Iklim masalah serius. Bukan lagi retorik atau romantisisme saja. Beberapa daerah dan masyarakat sudah mengalami dampak buruknya. Karena itu, agenda penting terkait iklim adalah bagaimana melakukan adaptasi, bukan lagi mitigasi,” katanya.

Begitu juga dengan kompetisi lahan, peningkatan permintaan pangan karena pertambahan jumlah penduduk, dan masalah integrasi pasar global. Yang tak kalah penting adalah teknologi. Penerapan teknologi oleh negara lain akan menjadi ancaman bagi Indonesia, tetapi kalau dimanfaatkan sendiri akan menguntungkan.

Anton mengatakan, peningkatan produksi pangan harus terus dilakukan sepanjang hayat, terutama pangan pokok. Peningkatan kesejahteraan petani juga menjadi prioritas.

Terkait dengan kemampuan daya beli, tidak hanya masalah pertanian. Ini juga terkait dengan pembangunan ekonomi secara keseluruhan karena menyangkut masalah kemiskinan.

Tingkat kesejahteraan seperti apa yang bisa dicapai oleh 25 juta keluarga petani yang menggarap lahan pertanian 47 juta hektar ? Idealnya tiap rumah tangga petani untuk bisa hidup sejahtera memerlukan lahan minimal 4 hektar.

Dengan kata lain, rumah tangga petani yang menggantungkan hidup dari 47 juta hektar lahan pertanian itu hanya sekitar 12 juta. Lantas mau dikemanakan 12 juta sisanya kalau tidak dimasukan ke sektor lain? Karena itu, upaya peningkatan nilai tambah menjadi kata kunci.

Ke depan, kata Anton, bila Indonesia ingin mencukupi kebutuhan pangan dalam jangka panjang atau menjadi eksportir komoditas pangan, tidak cukup mengandalkan petani gurem. Harus melangkah ke arah industrialisasi pertanian, baik pada tingkat on farm maupun off farm.

Kebijakannya tidak mengganggu pemanfaatan lahan yang sudah ada, tetapi membuka lahan baru di luat Jawa. Polanya bisa dengan sistem intiplasma dengan kepemilikan sistem patungan. Kalau produksi lebih boleh ekspor, yang penting ada jaminan pemenuhan kebutuhan pangan dalam negeri.

“Kita mengarah ke corporate farming, dalam bentuk koperasi. Lalu dikelola secara corporate. Pembangunan pertanian bangsa kita juga mengarah ke sana. Tanpa itu pada masa mendatang tdak akan mampu lagi memenuhi kebutuhan pangan bangsa karena tidak bisa lagi mengandalkan petani kecil,” kata Anton.

Sumber  :

Swasembada Pangan Tidak Lagi Bisa Mengandalkan Petani Kecil, Hermas E Prabowo
Kompas, 04.09.2009

Op donderdag 17 december vanaf 11u30 staan de deuren van de grote feestzaal van het Cultuurcentrum open voor Compleet Kerst voor mensen die geen Kerstmis kunnen vieren in familiale sfeer. Zij krijgen dan voor slechts 3 euro een feestmenu en muzikale animatie aangeboden in een warme en gezellige kerstsfeer in aanwezigheid van talrijke vrijwilligers en het stadsbestuur.

Sociale vereningen als Sint-Vincentius, De Brug en organisaties als vzw Basis en buurtwerking Ter Hilst zorgen ervoor dat rond de kerstperiode vereenzaamde mensen samengebracht worden op deze fijne namiddag, met de financiële steun van serviceclub Kiwanis.

Tickets zijn enkel verkrijgbaar bij bovenstaande verenigingen.

www.hasselt.be, 011/23 94 10

Autor: ryanairblog

Wie die irische Low-Cost-Airline in einer Pressemitteilung vom 24. November 2009 bekannt gibt, wird der norwegische Flughafen Oslo-Rygge neue Ryanair-Basis. Rygge ist somit die 37. Basis im Streckennetz der Iren und erhält zunächst drei fest stationierte Maschinen, die 16 neue Routen anfliegen werden. Buchbar sind die neuen Routen, ab dem morgigen Mittwoch, 25. November.

Auch deutsche Flughäfen profitieren von der Basiseröffnung im hohen Norden. Rygge wird ab März 2010 mit den deutschen Flughäfen Berlin-Schönefeld, Memmingen und Weeze verbunden. Von Bremen aus ist Oslo-Rygge bereits jetzt mit Ryanair zu erreichen.

Der Flughafen liegt etwa 60 Kilometer südöstlich der norwegischen Hauptstadt Oslo, welche mit dem Shuttlebus oder der Bahn zu erreichen ist.

Die Pressemittelung findet ihr auf www.ryanair.com

For generations, most people never sought specialized knowledge after completing school. What they learned about business, managing, selling, or their profession was acquired on an accidental hit-or-miss basis.

Now that’s changed. Today there are seminars, workshops, short courses, and conferences where you can learn the latest techniques and knowledge about anything you need to know. These sources of specialized knowledge have three advantages over conventional education. They are taught by experts, not be people whose only qualification is a degree. Second, the subject matter relates directly to your needs. Irrelevant information is avoided. And third, you’ll acquire as much useful information from other attendees as you do from the instructors. Specialized learning meetings attract only sharp people eager to make more money and enjoy greater success.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, and my Lectures.

The suggestion for today is to acknowledge and express thanks for those who have improved the human condition – for humanity in general and for myself in particular.

Today is known in the United States as ‘Thanksgiving Day.’ Here in Australia we know no such day – something which could be seen as both a good thing and a bad thing. Good, in that it is not another day commercialised and bad, in that there is no particular day for acknowledging our gratitude to those that have improved our lives, etc.

But why do we need a particular day for this – can we not be thankful and express our gratitude on a daily basis? I think we can. I am not calling for a false expression of gratitude and thankfulness, but that which is real and true – surely we can all find something to be thankful for? I know it isn’t hard for me to find plenty to be thankful for throughout each day.

A response to reading ‘365 Ways to Change the World,’ by Michael Norton

Terug naar de basis is een van mijn thema’s, net als kiezen en beloven ooit. En het lukt steeds beter, dat teruggaan. De werk-privébalans is hersteld, m’n lief woont sinds vanmiddag officieel bij mij in, naast kat Frits is er nu ook Friese Stabij Jens en er is steeds meer rust in mijn leven. Als ik mijn beide blogs teruglees, dan zie ik groei.

Tijd dus om verder te schrappen, verder terug te gaan naar de kern: de simpele waarneming, de eenvoudige verwijzing naar iets moois, de constatering van gebeurtenissen en het gevoel, de verwondering in een beperkt aantal, scherp gerangschikte tekens. Tijd om voort te gaan, zoals dat hoort en gelukkig stemt. Tijd voor een nieuwe, bijpassende vorm.

Eerst was ik er sceptisch over, over deze vorm, probeerde ik hem te omzeilen, vond ik hem de inhoud onwaardig. Maar nu geloof ik er wel in; hij heeft zichzelf bewezen. Had ik dat maar eerder gezien. Ik word blijkbaar ouder of althans: ik omarm verandering minder snel als verbetering. Soit!

Blijft over iedereen te danken voor het bezoek, het stille volgen, de reacties. Het ga jullie goed. En tot Twitter!

Vaarwel lief blogje, je was en blijft me dierbaar!

1- Entre no servidor ao qual você vai executar o QuickTest (no exemplo acima, o nome do servidor no SAPGui se chama SANDBOX);

2- Acesse a transação RZ11;

3- No campo “Param. Name“, coloque o valor “sapgui/user_scripting” (como na imagem) e clique em “Display“;

4- Em “Current Value“, se o valor for “FALSE“, clique em “Change Value“;

5- Ao abrir a janela para alteração, coloque o valor “TRUE” no campo “New Value” e mantenha a opção “Switch on all servers“, para que a alteração seja replicada para os demais servidores do mandante (caso exista).

Clique em salvar e saia do servidor. Execute novamente o logon e reinicie o QuickTest Professional.

Até a próxima!

Right now, I’m taking this site-specific art class at Boston University, taught by Hugh O’Donnell. In the class, I’ve begun focusing on PoS as a collaborative drawing performance piece.  I gave myself several new conditions that I must draw the portraits under:

The next couple of points are optional, depending on the circumstances (at least for now):

I more than encourage anyone who is interested in this project I’m designing to follow my bullet points.  If you do, please send me a picture of your drawing and/or video of your performance, and I will post it on the blog with credit to you.  The purpose of the PoS project is to get other people drawing- as much and as often as possible, sharing with strangers.  Drawing isn’t lofty, and everyone can do it.  I hope to use this project to teach others how to see/draw.  Please do the same, and tell me about it!

Now, this is what I call ‘Delicioso’.. talk about a sweet n’ savory winter meal. This hearty chili packs in powerful antioxidants from the raw honey and cacao nibs and a dose of protein from the  beans and pumpkin seeds.  Try this tasty chili tonight for a cozy way to warm up your weekend.

Ingredients

• 3 Dried chili peppers
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp. Smoked sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. Raw honey
• 1 ounce Cacao nibs
• ½ tsp. Fresh Ground white pepper
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 c(15.5 ounce) an Kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can Chick peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup Fresh basil, finely chopped
• ¼ cup Pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup Water
• 1 (28 ounce) can Crushed tomatoes
• ¼ cup Strong coffee
• 1 Yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Carrot, shredded
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced

Directions

• In a large pot over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion, carrots, and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in raw honey, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add tomatoes, chili peppers, and cacao nibs, and stir until well blended.
• Add beans, water, and coffee, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chili thickens and flavors have time to develop, about 45 minutes. Add a little more liquid if chili becomes too thick.
• Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds and fresh basil before serving.
• Enjoy!

Do you recall a few weeks ago, when I had the pleasure of dining at Rouge Tomate and interviewed their Culinary Nutritionist as well as visited the Back To Basis Farm Market last month?  Well, next Thursday, November the 19th marks the one year anniversary of Rouge Tomate and they are celebrating with a Basis Farm To Chef event…and you’re invited!  I had the pleasure of

Rouge Tomate, one of the greenest restaurants in Manhattan, is proud to celebrate its New York one-year anniversary with a special event co-sponsored by Basis Farm to Chef.On Thursday, November 19^th from 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Rouge Tomate will host a Farmer’s Market Forum featuring produce and representatives from 10 local farms and a 3-course $29 price-fixed Farmer’s Market Lunch prepared with ingredients procured from four of the farms being showcased.  This celebration comes on the heels of Rouge Tomate receiving its first star from the Michelin Guide, a true honor for a health-conscious restaurant in its first year of operation.

A member of the Green Restaurant Association, Rouge Tomate exhibits its commitment to sustainable, environmentally conscious practices in everything from the architectural design to the development of the menu. Under the direction of Executive Chef Jeremy Bearman, the Modern American restaurant features delicious cuisine with seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers such as those involved in Basis Farm to Chef.  Basis Farm to Chef is a service provider that helps bring together small and mid-size farmers with chefs and consumers who want to buy locally produced food.  At the upstairs market, the farms will offer food samples, describe their operations and discuss the benefits of eating seasonal and local foods. Downstairs, Chef Bearman will be preparing a delicious menu that locavores will not want to miss.

In the year since Rouge Tomate opened its doors at 10 East 60^th Street, the restaurant has had a huge impact on the community, partnering with a number of eco-conscious organizations and health charities including Go Green, The Green Market, New York Restoration Project, Operation B.L.U.E and Action Against Hunger among others.

“As Rouge Tomate prides itself on seasonal and local cuisine, a farmer’s market is the perfect opportunity for us to celebrate our year of success and showcase our sustainable and delicious menu,” said Emmanuel Verstraeten, Founder and CEO of Rouge Tomate. “When I began Rouge Tomate in Brussels eight years ago, I never thought that that one day we would open in New York.  It has been a truly special year, from our first reservation to our first Michelin star. We are proud to celebrate our anniversary with a great organization like Basis Farm to Chef.  We hope to see you all on November 19^th.”

To make reservations for Rouge Tomate, please call 646.237.8977 or visit www.rougetomatenyc.com

Rouge Tomate was envisioned and founded by Emmanuel Verstraeten, who opened the first property in Brussels in 2001. Based on the resounding success of the original location, Verstraeten opened the flagship location in New York City in 2008.  Rouge Tomate’s commitment to health, balance and well-being is evident in every aspect of the restaurant – from sustainable, eco-friendly design and practices to the constant collaboration between the executive chef and the staff culinary nutritionist.

Rouge Tomate is located at 10 East 60th Street (between Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue), and is open Monday through Saturday.

Founded in 2008 in New York City, Basis is a mission-driven company committed to good food for all. We are passionate about good food that is traditional, localized and 100% traceable. We partner with farmers and local communities to sell good food at affordable prices. Basis is launching a new chain of small-format retail food stores, starting in New York City, that will only sell good food. No toilet paper. No Twinkies. Just good food from good producers. Basis also offers delivery, storage, and marketing services for farmers interested in selling their products directly to wholesale customers, including the 20,000+ restaurants in New York City.

And Just in Time for The Weekend, Here’s A Few Articles In The News This Week:

Fast Eating Limits Gut Hormones that Induce Fullness

Kellogg Removing Antioxidant Claims on Some Cereal Boxes

A White House Chef Who Wears Two Hats

New Couples At Risk For Packing On The Pounds

Perishables Sales Booming at Retail

Kids Menus? O Grow Up!

If there are 4 systems installed SAP, how should I connect all of them in one network so that I can administrate the 4 systems with one among them as main server?

After installing an R/3 System, you can use transaction RZ20 to monitor the system. To monitor all systems of your system landscape centrally from one system:

1. Customize the alert monitor by choosing Tools > CCMS > Configuration > Alert monitor or calling transaction RZ21.
2. Then, to specify the remote systems by System ID and RFC destination (which must have been created beforehand), choose Technical infrastructure > Create remote monitoring entry.
3. Next, to change your monitor definitions (you can only change your own monitors), choose Tools > CCMS > Control/Monitoring > Alert monitor or call transaction RZ20.
4. Activate the maintenance function by choosing Extras > Activate maintenance function.
5. Then, double-click on the monitor and choose Monitoring change. Parameter R3 system defines which systems can be monitored by an alert monitor. Change parameter R3 system from (only the current R/3 System can be monitored) to (all R/3 Systems defined in RZ21 can be monitored). Save the changes.

It will help you monitor & use some other activities centrally.

What are the daily activities you have to do as SAP administrator?

1. Check that all the application servers are up : SM51 – SAP servers
2. Check that daily backup are executed without errors : DB12 – Backup logs overview
3. Check if SAP standard background jobs are running successfully: SM37 – Background jobs
4. OS monitoring : ST06 – Operating system Monitoring. Check CPU, Memory, Swap, Disk and Lan response time.
5. Extents monitoring : DB02 – Database monitoring. Check for max-extents reached
6. Check work-processes : SM50 Process overview. All work processes with a running or waiting status.
7. Check system log : SM21 System log. Check for errors ,warning, security, message-bends, database events.
8. Review workload statistics : ST03 – Workload analysis & ST02 – Tune summary instance
9. Check for any failed updates : SM13 – Update records
10. Check for old locks : SM12 – Lock entry list
11. Check for spool problems : SP01 spool request screen. Check for spool that are in request for over an hour.
12. Review and resolve dumps : ST22 ABAP Dump analysis
13. Check for users logged in : SM04 / AL08
14. Checking .trc file in SAP trace directory for block corruption on daily basis.
    C:\ORacle\sid\saptrace
15. Archive backup
    brarchive -f force -cds -c
    Insert the archive backup tape
16. Review NT system logs for problem
    -> NT system log- look 4 errors or failures
    -> NT security log- failed logon 2 sap servers
    -> NT Application log -look 4 errors or failures

Name the T-codes used for system monitoring.

ST22 – Check for the core dumps if any and report to the respective consultants and try to know why it happened.

SM21- Check  for errors.

SP01 – Check if any spool jobs have failed.

ST02 – Check if any swaps are happening, swaps are not good for performance.

ST04 – Check Database alert logs and Performance.

ST03 – Check for hit ratios and response times.

SM59 – Check for connectivity testing if there are other systems also connected to your SAP R/3 system

DB13 – Check if the database jobs have run successfully.

DBACOCKPIT – Database administration (includes DB13,ST04, ST06 too)

SM37- Check for any cancelled scheduled job and take action appropriately.

SM12 – Check for any pending locks from the previous days.

SM13 -  for any hanged updates, or updates pending for long or updates in PRIV mode.

What is archiving?

Archiving is a process when you archive old master/transactional records which are not in use any more from long time. You archive those records keep on some backup device. These records can be displayed, and only Display, can never be reloaded in tables again physically.
This will free up the space in tables from those records which are not in use any more but exist in tables physically.

What is reorganization?

Reorganization basically removes deleted data from tables. During different transactions you delete some records, which are deleted virtually but not physically. Even Archive process delete those records virtually.
So you run Reorganization to free up the space consumed by deleted records.

How do you find that an operation mode switch occurred?

• Go to sm50. If the no of dialog work processes or background work processes changes then an operation mode switch took place.
• Go to transaction sm63. Here you can see the time when the operation mode is set. You can guess when the operation mode switch occurs.
• Go to transaction RZ04, here you can see the list of operation modes and their time. You can guess that from here.
• Go to transaction rz03 , here you can see the current operation mode in which the server is running.
• Call transaction Code sm62. Then view system events. If there is an event called SAP_OPMODE_SWITCH then operation mode switch occurred at that time. If you click on activity log you can see the time and date when the event was triggered. It is time and date of operation mode switch

1. Check that all the application servers are up : SM51 – SAP servers
2. Check that daily backup are executed without errors : DB12 – Backup logs overview
3. Check if SAP standard background jobs are running successfully: SM37 – Background jobs
4. OS monitoring : ST06 – Operating system Monitoring. Check CPU, Memory, Swap, Disk and Lan response time.
5. Extents monitoring : DB02 – Database monitoring. Check for max-extents reached
6. Check work-processes : SM50 Process overview. All work processes with a running or waiting status.
7. Check system log : SM21 System log. Check for errors ,warning, security, message-bends, database events.
8. Review workload statistics : ST03 – Workload analysis & ST02 – Tune summary instance
9. Check for any failed updates : SM13 – Update records
10. Check for old locks : SM12 – Lock entry list
11. Check for spool problems : SP01 spool request screen. Check for spool that are in request for over an hour.
12. Review and resolve dumps : ST22 ABAP Dump analysis
13. Check for users logged in : SM04 / AL08
14. Checking .trc file in SAP trace directory for block corruption on daily basis.
    C:ORaclesidsaptrace
15. Archive backup
    brarchive -f force -cds -c
    Insert the archive backup tape
16. Review NT system logs for problem
    -> NT system log- look 4 errors or failures
    -> NT security log- failed logon 2 sap servers
    -> NT Application log -look 4 errors or failures