I have always admired the courage to break away from something crappy and starting anew, from scratch. As simple as it sounds- it does take a lot to tear away from something you have grown used to, something you have known as an important part of your life- and build a new one, with your own two hands, your heart and your brain.

In my own small way, I have done it with my own life- giant leaps and baby steps towards the sun; it’s still not over- I’m still walking, running and crawling towards the sun. I wish someday I’ll reach it, too. I have some wonderful friends who did it, too. For some of them it took more than it took me, because I also had a wonderful companion beside me- the crazy man who has been tolerating my whims for a long time now. As independent as I am as a person, in this journey of life- I was never truly alone. This post, though, is not about me.

This post is about my friend ‘Bea’ (that’s my name for her for this blog); who took the first epic step towards freeing herself from the old skin and grow a new one. That first step, my friends, is always the hardest and I’d say that the worst is now over. Now it’s time to pick up the dagger and dig through, to work her way through until the sun breaks- taking breaks for drinks occasionally or a few laughs- because it does not have to be all work and boring, all it matters now is not losing the sight of the sun.

There’s no looking back now. I think it’s wonderful.

I’m on my idle office moments again, so I decided to clean up my yahoo mail. I was about to click “delete all” for my sent items when an e-mail of the same title caught my attention. I opened it and read it once again, I remember the first time I read it, I was on the verge of tears. This is not the first time that I saw myself or my situation somehow parallel to a story going around cyberspace but there is one paragraph here that made me realize that maybe I am my own version of Bea in my very own version of “Best Version of You”. So let me again, as always, post the article here to share it with you. I don’t know if this is a true to life story but I know it’s possible that someone out there has been or is currently in this situation, so here it is:

The Best Version of You
>
> Manila International Airport, 2:00 am. It’s
> been two years since she
> had last seen the Manila International Airport.
> Not much has changed.
> Her last memory of this airport was when Miguel
> dropped her off. She
> was on her way to New York to pursue a career
> in Wall Street.
>
> “Promise me something will you? Please don’t
> get married until I come
> back?” She jokingly told him as she lifted up
> her backpack.
>
> “LOL. Very funny. Ikaw ang mag-promise. Promise
> me you won’t run off
> with some nerdy economist in the next two
> years.”
>
> “Let’s see, shall we. Bye, Miguel. I’ll call
> you as soon I get to New York.”
>
> That was her last memory in this place. The
> warm Manila air made her
> feel a bit restless and yet she feels excited.
> This is the first time
> in two years she’ll be seeing Miguel again. She
> was thoughtfully going
> through the immigration counters, thinking of
> how much she missed
> seeing Miguel. How different would he be now?
> Sure he sends her
> regular weekly e-mails and pictures but being
> the busy person that she
> had always been, she didn’t get the time to
> chat with him and buy a
> webcam.
>
> She’s finally out. “Where is Miguel?” She
> wondered. “Ah there!” she
> exclaimed when she saw the silver gray Nissan
> Patrol parked near the
> exit. TGW926. Yup, that’s Miguel alright. Her
> heart was leaping ahead
> of her as the driver got off.
>
> “Hey! I missed you!” He said, as he hugged her.
>
> “I missed you too. So much.” She said, as she
> hugged him back. It was
> warm. It felt good to be back. It felt great to
> feel his hug.
>
> “Let me get those.” He said pointing at her
> luggage. “Then we’ll have
> more time for hugging and chika.”
>
> “Okay.”
>
> Edsa, 4:30 am. Miguel’s cellphone rings. Mama,
> the name flashes on the
> screen.
>
> “You should really get that.”
>
> “No, you should get that. She’s been waiting
> for you. She insist that
> we go straight to her after I pick you up form
> the airport. She also
> insist that you spend tomorrow with her.”
> Miguel was talking about her
> mother. Miguel was an only child and his mother
> wanted a daughter. She
> would often tell Bea that since she doesn’t
> have a mom anymore, she
> should let Tita Doris be her second mom. She
> loved Bea as if she were
> her own daughter.
>
> “Hello? Yes, Tita. How are you nap po?… ah
> opo. Miguel already told
> me. Sige po. Okay po. I’ll see you later.” She
> turns off the phone and
> looks out the window. The phone rings again,
> this time the name
> “Sugar” flashes on the screen. Hmmm, “Sugar.”
> He was quick. He got a
> hold of the phone and answered it. “Hello.
> Yeah. Pauwi na. I’m with
> her na. Yeah. Tomorrow, I will. Promise. We’ll
> see you tomorrow.”
>
> We? Is that supposed to mean me and him? See
> Sugar? Who is Sugar,
> anyway? “Who was that?” she couldn’t keep
> herself from asking. “Sugar
> ha?”
>
> “I’ll introduce her tomorrow. Uwi muna tayo sa
> bahay. By the way,
> kamusta na si Edward?” “Edward?”
>
> “Oo, si Edward, naalala mo yung boyfriend na
> iniwan mo sa New York?
> Anong klase ka ba namang girlfriend? Kaya hindi
> kita niligawan eh.
> Baka makalimutan mo rin ako.”
>
> “Ah si Edward. Hayun. Nasa New York.” Miguel
> has met Edward when he
> came to New York to give Bea a surprise visit.
> He seems a nice guy.
> Not the geeky economist Miguel pictured Bea
> would end up with. He is
> actually a cool guy and loves Bea a lot.
>
> “He called me up, a week ago, asking a lot of
> things about you. Parang
> may balak ata…”
>
> “Balak na?”
>
> “Tell me, did he propose to you? He sounded
> like he was going to
> propose to you kasi.”
>
> “Ah look, here we are at Tita Doris.”
>
> At Tita Doris’, 4:45 am. A pleasantly plump
> woman enters the living
> room. She was in her mid-fifties, a familiar
> warm smile and two open
> arms. She welcomed Bea, gave her a big hug and
> kissed her on the
> cheek. “Hay anak, kamusta ka na? Na-miss na
> kita. Pinakain ka ba nito
> si Miguel?”
>
> “Opo, Tita.” She looked around. Not much has
> changed in this house.
> She remembers spending her college days in this
> house. She remembers
> sinking into Tita Doris’ arms when her mom
> died. She remembers only
> good things about this woman. She can’t
> remember a time when she had
> been unkind to her and yes, she loves her like
> her own mother.
>
> “Iha, sabihan mo nga yang si Miguel. Sabihin mo
> ‘wag padalos-dalos
> magdesisyon.”
>
> “Po?”
>
> “Mama naman. Let Bea rest. I’ll tell her
> everything tomorrow.” Miguel
> interrupted his mother before she can spill the
> beans.
>
> “Ha? What was that all about?” Bea was curious.
>
> “Bukas na lang.”
>
> “Okay. Tita, if it’s okay I’ll go rest now.”
> She hugged her, and
> proceeded to climb the stairs. Miguel followed
> her carrying her
> luggage.
>
> “Alam mo I missed this house. Uy sino ba si
> Sugar? Tsaka bakit parang
> worried nanay mo sa iyo?”
>
> “Bukas na. Sugar is having lunch here.”
>
> “Hmmm, intriguing, pero sige. Bukas na.” They
> were both standing as
> the door to the guest room. “Alam mo, it’s
> really good to be back in
> this house. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
>
> Tita Doris’ 10:00 am. She woke up, sunlight
> flooding her bedroom. She
> was able to rest. She got up, arranged the bed
> sheets and took a nice,
> cold shower. Minutes later, she was down at the
> garden having brunch
> with Tita Doris.
>
> “Hi! Tita. Where is Miguel?”
>
> “Sinundo si Sugar.”
>
> “Sino ba yang Sugar na yan? Nai-intriga na
> ako.”
> “Iha, I’ll let Miguel tell you who Sugar is.
> Promise me something,
> though. Whatever happens you’ll always be my
> daughter, Bea?”
>
> She felt scared. Why was Tita Doris suddenly
> serious? “Opo naman.”
>
> “Anyway, iha. I heard from Miguel your
> boyfriend sounded like he was
> going to propose a week ago. Did he propose?”
>
> Bea looked at her hands, bare of any engagement
> ring. She looked at
> Tita Doris and smiled. Before she could answer,
> Miguel showed up. With
> him is a woman she had not seen before. She was
> of medium frame,
> shoulder length hair and looked very feminine.
>
> “Sugar, the sister I never had, Bea. Bea,
> Sugar, my fiancée`.” It felt
> as if somebody had thrown cold water on her.
> His what? Blood rushed to
> her head. She blushed. Her cheeks felt very
> warm. She couldn’t
> swallow. Her heart beating a hundred beats per
> minute.
>
> “Your what?” She looked at Miguel, blushing
> then suddenly white as
> with shock. “I’m sorry, Sugar but this is quite
> a surprise. Miguel has
> never mentioned you in any of his e-mails,” she
> said as she looked at
> Sugar with a confused look. She looked at Tita
> Doris, she looked back
> as if she was consoling her.
>
> “Yeah, I got engaged. I’m keeping my promise.
> I’m getting married on
> Saturday. O di ba you’re here so in essence
> I’ve kept my promise.”
>
> She managed to smile faintly. She hugged Miguel
> and congratulated him.
> She even managed to tell Sugar “You got a catch
> here, girl. Take good
> care of him or else I will snatch him under
> your nose.” It sounded as
> if she was just joking, turning over a very
> important possession to
> it’s next owner. In the deepest recesses of her
> person, she knew she
> meant it.
>
> “He told me a lot of nice things about you.”
> Sugar said, smiling at
> her as if they had been friends for the longest
> time.
>
> “I’m sure he has.”
>
> Lunch was served. All of Bea’s favorite
> Filipino dishes. She and Sugar
> spent time chatting the afternoon away, looking
> at Bea’s and Miguel’s
> college photos and yearbooks. She found out
> that Sugar likes most of
> the things she does. They both came from the
> same high school. As she
> tried to get to know Sugar better during their
> afternoon chat, she
> realized that not only was she perfect for
> Miguel, she also seemed
> like the best gal pal Bea could find. They
> talked about the wedding
> details, the dress, the ring, the shoes, the
> tiara. They like almost
> the same places, the same styles, the same
> shops. She told Sugar they
> should do shopping marathon together. Had it
> been another day, she
> would be telling herself that this is really a
> great opportunity to
> find someone who understands her shopping
> needs. Except that this is
> not one of those days… Except that this
> woman, this perfect,
> feminine girlfriend was Miguel’s fiancée`.
>
> Bea’s phone rings. The name Boyfriend flashes.
>
> “You should really get that” Sugar told Bea.
>
> “Yeah, I guess I should. Hello? Yes? I’m good.
> I’m here at Miguel’s.
> Oh I have in front of me Sugar, Miguel’s
> fiancée`.” The words almost
> got stuck in her throat, but she still managed
> to give Sugar a smile.
> “Listen, I’ll call you later. I have very good
> news for you.”
>
> Miguel sat down beside Bea. Sugar was looking
> at them and asked “So
> tell me? Was there never a time the two of you
> were more than
> Platonic?” Bea and Miguel looked at each other
> then looked at their
> own hands. Miguel’s gaze turned to Sugar. He
> answered “Of course not.
> Bea and I were never like that.”
>
> “As in?” Sugar inquired.
>
> “LOL, oo naman. She was a handful. Too much to
> handle for me. I can’t
> keep up with her. She never stands still.”
> Miguel looked at Bea and
> smiled, his eyes turning into slits as his
> dimples gloriously show.
>
> “I guess that’s the way it is for you. But not
> for Edward.” Bea replied,
> with a little hint of disappointment.
>
> “Well, Edward is tough enough.” Miguel was
> still smiling.
>
> “Wait, speaking of Edward. I need to call him.”
>
> Bea left the garden and went up to her room to
> call Edward. “Hello?
> Edward. Here goes. Yes. The answer is Yes.”
>
> *********
>
> The wedding went well. It was one of the most
> elegant weddings she had
> seen. Sugar had everything covered and she was
> a very beautiful,
> blushing bride.
>
> “I, Miguel, take you, Sugar, as my friend and
> love, beside me and
> apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in
> conflict and tranquility,
> asking that you be no other than yourself, love
> what I know of you,
> trusting what I do not know yet, in all the
> ways that life may find
> us.”
>
> Bea felt a stab of pain hitting her heart. She
> slowly got up, walked
> away from the spectators. Tears streaming down
> her flushed cheeks.
>
> **********
>
> Bea is once again on her way to the airport.
> Miguel is driving for
> her, this time with a wedding ring on his left
> finger.
>
> “Hay, here we go again. I’m driving you to the
> airport. Kailan na
> naman kaya tao magkikita?”
>
> “Ewan ko. Tell me something,” her tone all too
> serious. “What was it
> that you love about Sugar? How did you know she
> was the one?” Miguel
> just smiled. “Dali na ano? Malay mo I need to
> decide in a couple of
> days di ba?”
>
> “You know what I love about her? The same
> things I loved about you
> before. The only difference is that she’s not
> as ambitious as you are.
> When you left for New York two years ago, I
> knew I don’t have a place
> in the life you’ve chosen. I don’t blame you
> for that. You’re good in
> your field and I thought to myself that it’s
> your right to move on
> without me. Moving away was a decision you made
> for yourself. I know
> this sounds silly and you might nag me about it
> but I found the better
> version of you in Sugar. She’s so much like you
> in so many ways but
> the only difference is she loves me more than
> you do.”
>
> She wanted to cry the tears she had kept as he
> witnessed him say his
> vows, but kept her composure. She just chuckled
> a laugh. How could he
> move on without her? Why was it easy for him
> and not for her? As she
> got off the car, she gave Miguel one last hug.
> This time she felt her
> heart heavy.
>
> “I guess this is goodbye?” she told Miguel.
>
> “Wait, I’m not letting you out until you answer
> question. Did Edward
> propose?”
>
> Bea showed Miguel her left hand. In it was a
> one carat diamond
> solitaire ring set in platinum. “Yes.”
>
> Miguel let out a sigh and congratulated her. As
> Miguel turned his gaze
> from the steering wheel to Bea’s face, he saw a
> single tear fall from
> her right eye and then she said, “If it gives
> any consolation. Edward
> is the best version of you that I can find in
> New York.”

I’m a handful, I’m too much to handle, I’m not the type who’ll just sit in one corner, I’m ambitious, maybe, this is how he thinks about me, I’m not sure if I’m reading the hints right. I am not looking for the best version of him, or may be I am but I am unaware. With him, I’m not sure if he’s looking for the best version of me, someone less ambitious, someone easier to handle. The forever could have beens, the frozen state of what ifs, I am tired of writing the same old sentiments but I can’t help it, I need to unload what’s crowding my mind. I can’t promise that this will be my last article, for as I said, I can’t help it.

Today on my Twitter account, I posted some tweets while I was watching the webcast of the Heritage Foundation’s event today, titled “Measuring Innovation and Change During Turbulent Economic Times.”  It was a good event.  I’ll be penning another blog entry from this conference later.  Lots of stuff to look into from this conference and that’s a good thing.

Although Assistant Secretary Alan Krueger didn’t attend, there was a speech posted on stress testing which he was going to speak to.  I thought I’d post something on it, because it’s both eye-opening and refreshing to see what he has to say on the availability of macroeconomic data.  I posted the whole speech on Scribd here:

I’m not going to expound on the whole speech, but needless to say there are some very interesting comments in here, and you don’t have to look far.  The first page is far enough.  He said in his current job:

I have been constantly surprised at how little quantitative information can be brought to bear on fundamental policy questions, or, alternatively, how difficult it can be to find valid data on important and well-defined economic variables.  In part, this reflects a lack of timeliness of certain key statistics; it also reflects the fact that existing data are not useable or sufficiently detailed, or that relevant data simply do not exist.

*GULP!* So at best , he feels like they have relevant data, but it’s not timely (i.e. it’s received on a lag).  The alternative is the data that folks may want simply doesn’t exist.  There’s always a lot of ranting and raving about economic statistics every month, like the numbers are cooked or the statistic is faulty.  This is at least an admission by some people in government they don’t feel like they have the data they need, and to me that’s a lot more plausible than believing the folks who put these things together are trying to lie to you.  Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of doubts about our government, but c’mon.  This the gang that can’t shoot straight.

He goes on to talk about what GDP tells us, what it can’t tell us, and why we need other statistics to augment our understanding:

For example, pollution and other negative externalities are not subtracted from GDP, and leisure time is not valued in GDP. Hence, when thinking about the longer-term health of the economy we also turn to statistics like the poverty rate, or the state of consumers’ finances, or the state of the environment, or how people spend and experience their time.

This is a way of saying that any statistic is incomplete.  GDP doesn’t say anything in and of itself about market liquidity and interest rates.  Models are only approximations of what’s going on in the world and those approximations are rather limited.  How much of the world can you capture in an equation with 6 variables, after all?

But this should also point out that in general, any of the statistics that get reported have lots of cross-currents that can affect the number that gets reported and there’s nothing that says these numbers can’t get revised.  In fact, his speech goes on to cite the following factoid:

Fifth, even with large samples, some of our timely data can be unreliable in a statistical sense. For example, the absolute annual benchmark revisions to nonfarm payrolls have averaged 0.2 percent over the past decade, with a range from 0.1 percent to 0.6 percent – and this year the preliminary benchmark adjustment was 0.6 percent, suggesting much deeper job loss last year than originally reported. As another example, the annual (absolute) revision to quarterly real GDP growth has averaged 0.4 percentage points in the last few years.

What this tells me is the estimates we see get reported are probably going to be getting revised quite a bit right now.  That 3.5% GDP number we saw at the end of last month may very well get revised downward, especially on the back of September’s higher than expected trade deficit.

He goes on to talk about areas where they lack data like in the area of “interconnectedness” to assess systemic risk, counterparty risk in hedge funds, and the hope that maybe – just maybe – those loan mods will start paying off if we just get more data.  I’m not going to rehash it here, because it’s mostly political blathering and it promotes bad practices like setting up this non-sensical list of too big to fail (TBTF) firms without letting anyone know who’s on the list.  But the market will figure it out because of required SEC disclosures.  And moral hazard continues unabated.  But that’s another post for another time.

But the projects between the BEA, BLS, and the Federal Reserve are encouraging.  Government agencies sharing data to create a more cohesive framework for analyzing the economy is a huge win, and since I do work with this stuff some nowadays, I’d be happy doing more one-stop shopping for my data than playing the proverbial dog that chases its tail to get everything I need.

Because after a while, even dogs get dizzy chasing their own tail and for this dogs, those dizzy spells don’t go away as fast as they used to.

Din-Din!

Yay for Josh’s Birthday : ).  I discussed taking Josh out for dinner, but ended up cooking for him.  In his words my meal would be better than any meal we would have enjoyed out.  If you haven’t noticed he’s a keeper!

• Potatoes
• Chives
• S&P
• Plain Rice Milk (vegan dinner)
• Olive Oil
• Cumin, 2 T
• Garlic, 5 cloves
• Brussel Sprouts
• Zucchini
• Carrot
• Spinach
• Napa Cabbage
• Parry Pan Squash
• Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chili
• Serano Pepper
• Red Onion
• Broth, 1 C
• Worcestshire, 2 T
• Apricot Jam, 2 T
• Thyme, fresh
• Butter Beans, 1 can

Veggie Galore

Boil potatoes (bought at the Farmer’s Market) in salted cold water until tender.  I used red and white fingerling potatoes and left the skin on.

Chop veggies into bite size pieces.

Heat oil and sauté onion and garlic until they start to soften.  Then add brussel sprouts, zucchini, carrot, napa cabbage, and patty pan.  Once veggies have sautéed about 5 minutes add can of tomatoes, serano pepper, broth, worcestshire, apricot jam, thyme, S&P, and cumin.  Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce starts to reduce.  The veggies should be tender crisp in a ‘thick’ sauce.

Ingredients for 'Filling'

Remove veggies from heat, add can of butter beans, and set aside.

Beans Added

Heat oven to 350°.  Meanwhile mash potatoes.  I used a mixer and added plain rice milk,  S&P, and freeze dried chives (the stores were out of fresh).  They fluffed nicely even with the skin on.

Homestyle Mashed Potatoes

Assemble pie, I originally intended to use a 9×9 square dish but as you can see I had enough food for the larger size.  Make peaks with the mash potatoes so they brown and turn crispy in the oven.

Ready to Bake

Bake until nicely brown and the veggies are boiling up the sides of the potatoes.

Cooked!

I bought a bottle of wine due to the label picture.  Always a bad idea!  This wine was awful tasting and we drank it as a wine spritzer with bubbly water which made it enjoyable.  The shepherd’s pie was awesome.  Definitely some heat from the serano pepper and can of tomatoes, but in a good way.

Birthday Meal

]]> http://gboutdoors.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/shackleford-banks-november-2009-2/ Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:55:30 +0000 garybanks http://gboutdoors.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/shackleford-banks-november-2009-2/

We had 16 people on the trip.  The remnants of hurricane Ida made for an adventurous time going down — winds, rain, coastal flooding.  We shortened the trip and did not head out to Shackleford until Saturday morning at 9:00am.  Temperatures were in the mid 50’s, winds were 10-15mph NNW and overcast most of the time on the island.  Two gentleman kayaked over while the rest of us took the ferry (thanks Bo).  The shelter and pen areas were flooded a bit so we camped closer to the ocean.

Everyone setup just before noon and then went about their day.   We all gathered for dinner around 6:00pm and were heading to our tents by 7:30pm or so.

Our kayakers left around 9:50am and the ferry picked up the rest at 11:00am.  Just as we landed on Harker’s Island the sun came out and temperatures warmed right up!

Jeannie posted some nice pictures here.

I går var jag på Ica (Bea) och handlade mat och välling. När jag kom fram till kassan och skulle betala var det någonting fel på mitt bankkort. Kassörskan sa att hon kunde “parkera” kvittot medan jag åkte och hämtade pengar och jag ställde mina påsar bakom hennes kassa.

När jag kom tillbaka till affären kom jag på att jag glömt handla ägg och smör. Gick fram till kassördskan och sa att jag hade pengar med mig men bara skulle handla lite till. Hon sa då att hon snart skulle lämna kassan men att jag kunde betala mina varor i vilken kassa som helst.

Betalade mina nya och gamla varor i en av kassorna. Sedan gick jag och tog mina påsar bakom kassan som kassabiträdet nu lämnat.

Lämnade affären men blev snart ikappsprungen av en anställd i butiken. – “Hallåååå, du måste betalaaaa”. Fattade först inte att det var mig hon skrek till. När hon upprepade sig så vände jag mig om och tittade på henne. – “jag har betalat”, sa jag. – “Nej, kvittot är parkerat, du har inte betalat”. Känner att jag börjar koka inombords. Vet egentligen inte varför för jag visste ju att jag inte snott nåt. Tyckte bara att situationen var jobbig eftersom folk tittade konstigt när de gick förbi. Började rota i väskan efter kvittot men hittade det inte först. Rotade och rotade och blev alldeles svettig. Gick in i  affären igen och precis då hittade jag kvittot som var på drygt fem hundra kronor. Räckte fram det till tjejen som sprungit efter mig. Där står också två andra anställda från butiken och glor på mig. – “ok”, säger hon bara lite buttert, vänder på klacken och går därifrån. Jag vänder mig och går jag med.

Var så arg att jag hade kunnat börja gråta. Är säkert lite känsligare än vanligt just nu. En “vanlig” dag hade jag nog bara ryckt på axlarna och inte tänkt på det mer men i går var det inte roligt!! Usch!!!

Fy fan för att vara tjuv på riktigt. Tänk att åka fast och behöva stå där med skammen. Hugaligen! Kände tillräckligt med skam av att bli oskyldigt anklagad…. riktigt obehagligt!

When starting the Admin Server of our domain we encountered following error:

####<Nov 13, 2009 11:58:23 AM CET> <Critical> <WebLogicServer> <machine-name> <as> <Main Thread> <<WLS Kernel>> <> <> <12
58109903043> <BEA-000386> <Server subsystem failed. Reason: java.lang.NumberFormatException: null
java.lang.NumberFormatException: null
        at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Integer.java:415)
        at java.lang.Integer.parseInt(Integer.java:497)
        at weblogic.ldap.EmbeddedLDAP.validateVDEDirectories(EmbeddedLDAP.java:1035)
        at weblogic.ldap.EmbeddedLDAP.start(EmbeddedLDAP.java:212)
        at weblogic.t3.srvr.SubsystemRequest.run(SubsystemRequest.java:64)
        at weblogic.work.ExecuteThread.execute(ExecuteThread.java:209)
        at weblogic.work.ExecuteThread.run(ExecuteThread.java:181)
>

The first thing we tried is restoring a backup of the ldap folder. This backup can be found at: ../domain-name/server/adminserver/data/ldap/backup/ and should be restored at ../domain-name/server/adminserver/data/ldap/ldapfiles.

When this was not working, we kept looking and stumbled upon a site that told us that this error could be caused when the volume that contains these files is running full. WebLogic will corrupt these files. And the solution is to add ‘replica.num=0′ to the ../domain-name/server/adminserver/data/ldap/config/replicas.prop file. Or just remove this file..

Source: http://ghattus.com/2008/10/number-format-exception-while-starting-weblogic-server.html

Nel riproporre in questo Cantiere le poesie di Bea e Daniela crediamo di interpretare la volontà di tanti amici che le hanno conosciute e le hanno amate attraverso i loro versi.  Si tratta di due donne speciali, due nostre amiche che ci hanno “momentaneamente”  lasciato. Noi sentiamo che non potrà essere per sempre: le loro voci erano troppo belle perchè da qualche parte non ci sia ancora chi le possa ascoltare.  Per questo  le vogliamo sulla nostra mongolfiera.  Saranno sempre  con noi in questo viaggio,  continueranno a tenerci compagnia sulle nostre pagine, e a farci sentire la bellezza viva della loro poesia.  Chiunque passi da questo cantiere le potrà conoscere,  e le amerà così come le abbiamo amate noi.

Det var typiskt engelskt höstväder när jag tog med mig byrackan på långpromenad i morse. Kallt och vindigt med hög luftfuktighet som liksom kyler ner en inifrån. Men det var faktiskt härligt trots vädret, och jag fick en chans att prova kameran i min nya mobil.

Vi hittade en kastrull bredvid ett träd, mycket udda.

Jäkla Primark. Jag hann bara använda denna tröja några få gånger innan den föll isär.

Det är inte lätt att knalla i trappor när man har en lååång kropp och fyra lååånga ben.

Färgglad fritidsgård i Hanwell.

Vill Bea tugga ben? Jajamen. Kuriosa: På denna mark gick Charlie Chaplin i skola för en herrans masa år sedan. Det ni.

Finaste öronen

När jag kom hem från jobbet igår väntade en mycket trevlig överraskning åt mig på hallgolvet – en check från mitt försäkringsbolag.

I somras slet Bea av en klo när hon sprang runt på ett fält, och som den nojiga rookie-hundägare jag är tog jag henne direkt till veterinären för det kom en hel del blod. Vetten tvättade och förband såret, och hela kalaset hamnade på den nätta summan av £140.

Jag skickade iväg en claim till mitt försäkringsbolag eftersom självrisken bara är £60, men om jag ska vara ärlig så hade jag inga större förhoppningar om att få några pengar för det var ju trots allt  inget nödvändigt veterinärsbesöket.

Dessutom är Bea försäkrad med Tesco (vilket, för er som inte känner till stället, är en matvarukedja liknande Willys) för att de är billiga och jag var väl inte helt hundra på hur bra de är. Men igår fick jag alltså tillbaka hela summan som jag tycker mig ha rätt till, så jag är hur nöjd som helst.

In questo nostro Cantiere non era previsto uno spazio per le recensioni e la pubblicità ai libri degli amici che ci vengono segnalati in uscita, non perchè non fosse utile o interessante, anzi, ma semplicemente perchè esorbitava dalle nostre possibilità tecniche di essere aggiornati  e seguire il mercato editoriale. Penso però che per questo libro che raccoglie le poesie della nostra Bea non possiamo non fare un’eccezione.  E’ un grande e prezioso regalo che lei ci ha fatto, e di cui le siamo riconoscenti, ed è anche un’occasione speciale per diffondere la sua arte e farla apprezzare anche a chi non ha avuto la fortuna di conoscere questa donna e poetessa straordinaria.   Grazie Bea.

Tracce d’infinito, di Beatrice Zanini

Edizioni Il Foglio Letterario

Promo e Modalità di acquisto

There is growing intelligent dissent to the administration’s stimulus policy.  Critics argue that recent growth is the result of market principles.  Edward P. Lazear wrote Monday in the WSJ, that he forecasted a return to growth without stimulus spending.  He goes on to argue, along with others, that  housing programs have had questionable results.  Lazear said that Uncle Sam is fibbing about job growth as well, reporting job retention as if it where job creation.  John Irons of the Economic Policy Institute agrees.  The administration has an incentive to report positive unemployment numbers- the most popular, but also misunderstood indicator.

Unemployment is only part of the overall picture.  Other improving indicators reported this week tell us that the economy is turning around-but for whom? It depends on how you define growth.  A technical definition says that growth is positive GDP.  That means little to most people.  Real growth, theoretically, is an improvement in living standards for the entire country.  That’s why Main Street understands the unemployment rate.  Accordingly, the media use it as the sole judge for growth.  The problem is, as Lazear mentioned,  job growth is the final component of recovery- behind financial stability and GDP growth.  Unemployment lags years behind an actual recovery.   If unemployment is a lagging indicator, Lazear cannot empirically link failed stimulus policy to persistent unemployment.  He says that the administration is ignoring job losses while inflating job creation numbers.  Isn’t he doing the same thing by ignoring market stabilization and GDP growth? 

BEA Released GDP Data This Week 

According to the BEA, GDP is up for a number of reasons.  Look closely at the report.  Exports rose 14 percent over last quarter and consumer spending rose 3.4 percent.  Market Watch reported that positive numbers where in part due to stimulus spending, but as I argued in the past, these gains are only temporary.  The purpose of the stimulus is to stabilize the economy so that private markets can function again.  There is no wider conspiracy.  The government will roll back stimulus as soon as it sees the return of private investment.  There is evidence of this already: government spending actually slowed by 3.5 percent.

Not all the news was good.  Personal income fell and prices rose.  Hopefully this is a temporary trend based on slight price increases and high unemployment.  However, as long as export growth remains positive, I see no need to fear 70s style stagflation.  

Savings and Long-Term Growth

According to the old Solow Model, a country’s savings rate is positively related to long-term growth.  Today, personal savings is around five percent, that’s up from around one percent just four years ago.  This bodes well for long-term growth in the US.  And now is a great time to invest.  As private investment (including people’s savings) replaces public spending in the next few years, markets will rebound.  Private investment will power an upswing in the business cycle, spark growth and reduce unemployment. The sooner the government rolls back stimulus, the better.  In the mean time, citizens can take advantage of great opportunities in real estate and other deflated markets.  This transfer of savings from a stock to a flow will jump-start the economy in way no stimulus could.  It would take tens of trillions of dollars in government spending to match the power of private investors.

Thomas J. Powell

Donna, intrecciata da capelli biondi
il mio abbraccio si sfalda e vola
calamitato da tuo infinito
fra interminabili silenzi
t’incontrerò un giorno, sulla via lattea
perla approdata nella galassia
ora lucente, ora soffusa
avvolta lassù, diffusa
anche nelle pareti del mio cuore
tu rosa, tu coraggiosa.

Aurelia Tieghi

Jepp, fjortis som jeg er, prøver jeg også å fikse videoblogg. Se den og kommenter!

Sjekk også ut t-skjortesamlinga mi i sidebaren.

Un addio

senza bagaglio

Una panchina

vuota sfugge

e se strizzo gli occhi

un luccichio

mi fa compagnia

Pierluigi Ciolini

Ricordando Bea

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