text: In 2007, one year after Twitter was created, 3.7 percent of students in sixth through 12th grade said they had been cyberbullied, according to data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. In May of this year, the website Statistics Brain reported that 52 percent of students say they have been affected by cyberbullying in some form, and the most common targets are girls, based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Cyberbullying Research Center. Pierce said she believes social media has made it easier to be bullied. "It doesn't necessarily have to be a stranger on the Internet. The majority of the time, it's people that you know. You post something on Facebook or Twitter, and they think it's easier to be rude on the Internet because they aren't having to say those things to your face." But as harmful as the effects of cyberbullying can be, there isn't an easy way to put a stop to it, said Carlsbad Municipal Schools Superintendent Gary Perkowski. "For staff and students, we can't very well tell them what to do with that (social media). We don't have a policy that says they can't talk to their peers," Perkowski said. Short of talking to students and asking them to stop if their posts are having a harmful effect on another student, Perkowski said the district has no control over what students post on their social media accounts once they get home. If a teacher or someone in authority can prove that a tweet or Facebook post was uploaded on campus during school hours, only then would the district have more teeth when addressing the issue. But for a former Carlsbad High student, who the Current-Argus agreed not to identify, talking to her school principals and even Carlsbad police officers didn't help. The student, who graduated in May, said someone created a Twitter account in her name using a picture of her from her Instagram account. "They were making me look like a bad person in my name," the CHS alumnus said. The account user posted mean things on other people's accounts and made the student appear as though she thought she was better than everybody else. The former student said she believes she may have been a target of cyberbullying because she had a lot of friends and people knew who she was because she played sports. She emailed Twitter three times and followed the company's process for requesting that an account be shut down, but she had no luck, she said. She still doesn't know who's behind it, so she said she's choosing not to blame anybody and forget about it. And as far as the validity of the information posted on "Carlsbad SLUTS" and other means of cyberbullying, Pierce said she doesn't know if the tweets/posts are truth or fiction. "It's tough to say, and it depends on the situation. Things can get easily exaggerated, and people want to make themselves feel better or make (another) person look worse."


text:
The wildly popular augmented reality game Pokémon Go! put Virtual Reality technologies squarely on the map for millions of ordinary people the world over. The business sector sat up and took notice as the realization began to dawn that this could be the next big thing in technology platforms with the potential to disrupt existing markets and create completely new ones.
According to a new survey conducted in September for Nordic Business Forum by Kantar TNS (formerly TNS Gallup), in the next five years or sooner, a majority of business leaders in Finland will be looking for ways to ride this new wave of innovation. Interest in the technology cut across all sectors and represents the views of leaders in all areas of business, not just decision makers with a technical education. The study also found that while decision makers see the potential of Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies for improving products and services and developing experiences, most companies appear to be having difficulty navigating from to intent to action.
Virtual reality immerses users in a virtual world, while augmented reality superimposes a digital layer on the real world, much in the same way that the whimsical Pokémon creatures would appear on users’ screens during their quests. In January 2016, the global investment banking giant Goldman Sachs published an innovation profile that focused on virtual and augmented reality technologies.
The firm sketched a baseline scenario in which virtual and augmented technologies would generate revenues of USD 80 billion by 2025 (USD 45bn in hardware and 35 bn in software, and driven more by VR than AR) and head-mounted devices (VR goggles or HMDs) would become increasingly popular as the technology improved. Moreover, Goldman Sachs projected that apart from the realm of video games, VR and AR technologies would disrupt sectors as diverse as the military, healthcare, education, live events, retail, engineering and real estate.
This then, is the brave new world in which companies in Finland and beyond will have to forge a competitive advantage. Kantar TNS set out to test the temperature of companies’ appetite for virtual and augmented reality technologies by interviewing decision makers from just over 500 companies, 410 of them from Finland. Other respondents represented Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Norway, as well as beyond the Baltics and Nordics. Some 350 interviewees had commercial or business educational backgrounds, while 122 came from technical fields.
Substantial interest in virtual technologies
The study found that the vast majority of business leaders – 84% altogether – said they are likely, fairly likely to try, or definitely interested in trying virtual technologies in their companies. Close to one-third of these respondents (30%) said they are “definitely” interested in testing the technology. However, asked whether or not their companies had made plans to or were already using virtual technologies, just 10% were able to say that they are already using it – many of them larger firms – and another 13% said that they had tried it out in random projects. Some 14% had made plans but had not yet followed through, while 33% had made no plans at all to use virtual technologies in the workplace.
Kantar TNS research lead Katja von Alfthan parsed the results, noting that the survey revealed huge interest in virtual technologies from the business side, given that just a small percentage of respondents represented IT functions. She added that many of the companies that said they were “definitely” interested in trying the technology were somewhat more often in the services sector than other industries and that the majority of interviewees were board members (59%), an important group of decision makers. Combining the leaders who expressed a “likely” interest in trying virtual tech yielded an even broader distribution across business sectors. However, the outcomes suggested that actual uptake appeared to lag behind interest in the innovation.
“We can see the same that we see with many innovations and new technologies. There’s a certain curve of adoption that shows there are companies that are ahead and have already found a way to use the technologies, some have not yet tried but see huge potential, and some haven’t paid any attention whatsoever to those technologies,” von Alfthan explained.
Virtual technologies revolutionizing experiences
What made Pokémon Go! excite the public imagination was its ability to shape user experiences. Even people who loudly proclaimed their disdain for modern digital games were soon hitching a ride on the Pokémon train, if only to see what the fuss was all about. The whimsical reboot of a now-classic 1980s computer game successfully harnessed the move towards an experience-based economy with an experimental technology to shake up the game sector and transform how people consume content.
The decision makers who participated in the survey by NBF and Kantar TNS showed they are acutely aware of the increasing weight of experience in building business competitiveness. The results indicated that 57% of business leaders interviewed felt that virtual tech could be used to develop customer experience in their companies. A similar proportion (58%) could see it used for education, while communication and marketing were also likely targets for VR deployment (56% and 52% respectively).
When asked in which areas virtual technologies could deliver business benefits, 62% pointed to developing new products and services. Some 48% saw the innovation as an enabler to access new markets, and 35% said it would help increase the effectiveness of internal processes. Overwhelmingly, business chieftains proved they were aware of the potential for VR technologies to develop and tap into experiential opportunities to deliver clear business benefits.
“We can see that the world is moving towards experiences. Businesses talk about competitive advantage being around customer experience. People are building processes around experiences. Consumers are also going for experiences – micro-moments, major experiences. There is a real opportunity for VR to add to experience,” noted TNS Gallup’s von Alfthan.
“Given the large degree of interest, I’ll bet we’ll see many more companies taking virtual tech on board as a topic in their strategic planning and moving forward with their business. Many are interested because it sounds trendy and exciting and promises opportunities for growth, but they may not have the tools or resources to allocate to pinpoint, analyze and validate real opportunities,” she added.
Speed bumps on the path to adoption
Almost all of the captains of industry surveyed agreed that virtual tech is more than mere hyperbole – a whopping 82% said that they disagreed somewhat or fully with the assertion that virtual technologies are just hype. Moreover, a vast majority – 92% – agreed fully or somewhat that the B2C sector would benefit from such technologies. An equally emphatic proportion of 89% also fully or somewhat agreed that the B2B sector would reap benefits from the innovation.
In spite of their apparent enthusiasm for the technology, just 43% said they either fully or somewhat agreed with the claim that they knew where to find expertise on VR technologies. Responding to a separate query, a mere 27% said they would turn to a consultant or research company for more information about technologies and related content. A large majority – 83% – said they’d go it alone and conduct independent research online.
Researcher von Alfthan noted that there are a few components to VR technologies: there is hardware and software, but both are hardly usable without content. Companies are still grappling with a huge question mark over how to develop content, and more importantly, how to adapt VR to a value proposition – in other words, how to develop it to ensure that it becomes profitable for the business.
“It’s very difficult to know where to start. This may be the reason why onboarding has not kept pace with interest. They see the benefits and they sense opportunities to develop their offering as a company. They see that virtual tech may be interesting, but then the next logical step is to plan to make it happen. So what do they do? Google? Who will take the lead there? They are stumbling in the dark, they don’t know how to turn opportunities into growth,” the analyst remarked.
Kantar TNS Digital Insight Consultant Saija Ahlgren noted that it is not uncommon for many companies interested in digital business opportunities to lose their way on the path to digital transformation.
“Tech service providers are busy developing their digital service portfolios but unfortunately they are failing in building their marketing messages. Tech service providers are tempted to talk about their shiny new products and technical features instead of what matters to the customer,” she declared.
Reading the runes
The survey asked decision makers to anticipate what the landscape for VR-based business applications could look like in the near future. Roughly 4% predicted a significant increase in such applications as early as this year while 14 % saw the development occurring next year and 49% felt it would occur in the next couple of years. Another 25% saw the technology influencing new business applications in three to five years. Just 3% thought it would take more than five years.
Of the respondents who believed VR would bring new business services in the next couple of years, 7% said there would be a significant increase in the use of virtual technologies in their own companies this year. Another 15% of this group felt significant uptake would happen next year in their firms, while 42% projected that it would take a few years (around 2018) for their firms to ramp up virtual technology usage.
Among the other group of leaders who did not anticipate a significant increase in virtual technology-based business applications within the next five years, just 5% felt their companies would increase their usage of the technology this year and another 5% projected increased use next year. However, 28% said their firms would likely use the innovation more in the next two years, compared to 33% who projected ramped-up usage in three to five years and 18% who felt it would take more than five years.
In their January report, Goldman Sachs’ analysts forecasted that due to its ease of use and the large number of potential use cases, VR and AR could rise to become a new de facto computing platform, with adoption driven by both consumers and enterprises. On top of that, the researchers reviewed the adoption curve for tablets and smartphones to derive a potential adoption curve for VR and AR technologies. They predicted a rapid early-adopter ramp up, followed by a slowing pace as adoption hits the lagging majority of users.
If the Goldman Sachs analysis holds true, Finnish corporates would do well to include adoption of virtual technologies in their strategic planning to ensure they stay ahead of the emerging technology curve rather than lagging behind it.
Virtual NBF decision maker study: Kantar TNS, September 2016
Profiles in Innovation: Virtual and Augmented Reality – Understanding the race for the next computing platform, Goldman Sachs Equity Research, January 2016
Kantar TNS is one of the world’s largest research agencies with experts in over 80 countries. We provide actionable insights to help companies make impactful decisions and drive growth. With expertise in innovation, brand and communication, shopper activation and customer relationships we help our clients identify, optimise and activate the moments that matter to drive growth for their business. We are part of Kantar, one of the world’s leading data, insight and consultancy companies. | www.tns-gallup.fi

domain: news


Palm Vein readers will be installed in all recycling ATMs supplied to Ziraat Bank.
According to GRGbanking, the installation is based on the contract the two companies recently signed.
According to the contract, all GRG recycling ATMs supplied to the bank will be equipped with the technology and 1505 pieces of palm vein readers are going to be installed in the Ziraat Bank project. The Bank has currently 2,900 ATM machines and GRGbanking is considering to implement the technology on these machines all of these.
Palm vein authentication technology uses the vascular patterns of an individual’s palm as personal identification data. Compared with a finger, a palm has a broader and more complicated vascular pattern and thus contains a wealth of differentiating features for personal identification. The technology offers contactless authentication and provides a hygienic and non invasive solution, thus promoting a high-level of user acceptance.
It is the first time for the Turkish bank to introduce this technology for customer identification. The field testing of the device was carried out in December last year. GRG’s solution of implementing these palm vein readers has gained high trust from the bank. It only took several weeks for GRG from the beginning of the design stage till the end of implementation.
“The successful cooperation between GRGBanking and Zaraat Banking on Palm Veins Authentication technology will help to boost the adoption of the biometric technology in the financial industry worldwide.” Said Dr. Eduardas Vaigauskas, General Manager of GRG Banking Equipment(HK) Co., Limited
Do you know more about this story? Contact us anonymously through this link.


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Welsh teachers have packed a conference hall in Cardiff to speak out over pay and working conditions in the profession.
Speakers from the main teaching unions NASUWT and NUT also said they wanted to 'defend' the education system here, which they claim politicians 'are determined to wreck'.
The Welsh Government says measures have been put in place to raise standards and performance, but added issues concerning pay and conditions are a matter for the UK Government as they are not devolved to Wales.
UK Education Secretary Michael Gove has said he's striving to achieve higher education standards through his policies.
Today's rally was held ahead of planned industrial action later this year.
More top news
A row has erupted in the Senedd after Cymdeithas yr Iaith refused to answer questions by UKIP in a committee hearing.
The Senedd's told how Chelsea Manning is recalled at her Welsh school. Simon Thomas AM also described her "severe" prison conditions.
A single mum was 'unlawfully' jailed for 40 days for not paying Council Tax, a High Court Judge has ruled.

domain: politics


Few things have the ability to bring you back to your childhood — like a chorus of aquarium filters bubbling away — but whether you are looking for that $5 goldfish you had when you were young, or are in the market for an elaborate, underwater environment, Fish World USA in Auburndale offers a treasure trove of booty. Comment.
Certain Whitestone students have been rummaging through garbage cans and ransacking the cupboards of extended families to help fund a playground at their school, finding thousands of dollars most people mistake as trash. Comment.
It was unexpected but welcome news for two Queens Catholic priests, including one from Floral Park, after Pope Benedict XVI promoted them to auxiliary bishops of the Diocese of Brooklyn, according to Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. Comment.
U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) hopes a proposed bill allocating $70 billion to teachers and first responders around the country will pass with presidential support, although a nearly identical piece of legislation did not gain enough support to even come to a vote in the Democratically led U.S. Senate last year. Comment.
City Comptroller John Liu threatened to reject a taxi contract between the city and car manufacturer Nissan, saying the designs are not handicapped-accessible, but the city Taxi & Limousine Commission and the city Law Department said Liu has no standing to do so. Comment.
A committee of seven has been tasked with finding nearly 450 graduates of a Fresh Meadows high school that no longer exists. Members of the Bishop Reilly High School class of 1971 have organized a reunion set for early next month with hopes of bringing everyone together again. Comment.
Hipsters who are moving into the neighborhoods of western Queens are pulling inspectors from the city Department of Buildings away from their usual hot spots in the eastern part of the borough, according to the department. Comment.
Dr. Robert Aquino, former chief executive officer of Parkway Hospital, was sentenced to four months in prison Tuesday for bribing former state Sen. Carl Kruger in an effort to keep the Forest Hills institution open. Comments (1).
It’s time to “Dream Big” in Queens as the Big Apple Circus launches its annual event later this month fully equipped with jugglers, horses, dogs, acrobats, magic and more. The new 34th season show will feature the Flying Cortes trapeze act, a staple of the event. Comment.
The NYPD has fulfilled a request by Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis for more boots on the ground to combat rising crime trends in the 105th Precinct, but the community’s wishes for a new precinct appear to have been looked over once again. Comment.
A 28-year-old Boston man pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime last week after stabbing a gay man in Jackson Heights who was walking down the street with his boyfriend last year, the Queens district attorney’s office said. Comment.
The York College Foundation held its 5th Annual Scholarship Benefit Concert at York Monday night of last week. The event featured a performance by Patti Austin & Trio entitled, “The Ella Fitzgerald Tribute.” Comment.
Property owners in Willets Point are rejoicing after the city dropped its bid last week to use eminent domain in the Iron Triangle, but the decision does not mean the city is turning its back on redevelopment. Comment.
In the final nail in the coffin of a notorious political career, former state Sen. and City Councilman Hiram Monserrate pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court Friday to funneling taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit to finance his 2006 Senate campaign, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan said. Comment.
A man named Chieu Nguyen walked into the College Point state Department of Motor Vehicles office March 27 and applied for a learner’s permit using forged documents purchased in the Bronx, according to a criminal complaint from the Queens district attorney’s office. Comments (1).
State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) said he is asking the city Department of Transportation to do another comprehensive review of the Ed Koch-Queensborough Bridge off-ramps after a fourth car accident took place near the bridge last week. Comment.
Leaders of the 82nd Street Partnership, a small business improvement organization, were pleased the borough president and mayor’s offices set aside $200,000 to improve the Dunningham Triangle, a vital piece of open space in the dense neighborhood. Comments (1).
The New York Racing Association, which oversees the racetrack at Aqueduct, said Friday it fired two top executives after a state report revealed they illegally withheld $8.5 million in bettor winnings. Comment.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) visited Kaufman Astoria Studios Friday to demand the federal government kill a recommended review for an outdoor studio lot at the site so that the project could move ahead quickly. Comment.
Emergency responders were called to the intersection of 229th Street and Hoxey Drive in Bayside last Thursday, where an SUV collided with a utility pole. At least one person was taken to the hospital following the accident. Comment.
Two former Queens residents received lengthy prison sentences for their roles in the stabbing death of a 41-year-old father of two after an argument in Bellerose in February 2010, Queens district attorney Richard Brown said last Thursday. Comment.
Firefighters responded to an accident at the corner of 141st Avenue and 241st Street in Rosedale Friday morning. According to an FDNY spokesman, three people, including two with minor injuries and one person who was in serious but stable condition, were injured in the multi-vehicle crash. Comment.
Three candidates for the new Queens congressional seat based in Flushing discussed their platforms at a forum last week, while behind-the-scenes legal battles played out in State Supreme Court. Comment.
The wrong-way driver who fled the state after causing the death of beloved Maspeth bar owner George Gibbons was sentenced to up to seven years in prison Monday, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.
While Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $68.7 billion proposed budget poses no threats to teaching positions, the cuts to firehouses, after-school programs and the library’s budget have some in Queens rallying for another fight. Comment.
City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), who announced the marshals of the 2012 Queens Pride Parade Monday, looked back on how far the parade and the state had come since its inception 20 years ago. Comments (1).


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Gary Shteyngart, author of "Super Sad True Love Story"
I haven't yet purchased the book. We are in the process of reorganizing our home. Books, books, books---ours, our kids, plus library books, newspapers, magazines. There is a constant paperflow and clutter in the house. I began to think - should I go digital with my reading? [NOTE: I purchased and read a hardcover copy of this entertaining and future-gazing book shortly after this posting appeared.]
There was a recent article in the NY Times that discussed the potential impact of digital editions of books on mega booksellers, such as Barnes and Noble. The article noted that, as in the film "You Have Mail" the romantic comedy which had Tom Hanks' "Fox Books" book chain pushing Meg Ryan's "The Little Shop Around the Corner" out of the book business, digital books sold online at lower prices may now be threatening the large book chains with their relatively high mortar and brick overheads, in the same way the big chains previously muscled the little book stores out of business.
The Times article notes, ironically, that the independent book stores that have survived have proven that they can make it (BookCourt is only a couple of blocks away from a large Barnes and Noble also on Court Street). Like music/CD stores, the big book chains may be fighting a tough battle for survival. The little stores may prove to be the Last Bookstores Standing.
In any case, as I was reading the sample chapter of Super Sad True Love Story, I happened to think that it was ironic that one of the charms of author readings was the opportunity for booksigning. With the move toward digital by many readers, What now? I mean, the point of the reading is of course seeing the author in person and hearing him or her read aloud and perhaps answer a few questions. But it was also always fun to buy and walk away with a signed copy. It definitely gave the act of reading a certain extra frisson.
Will printed books now go the way of the vinyl LP record? A specialty item, less available and higher priced, perfect for signing and collecting but not necessarily for reading? Will the remaining bookstores (or Starbucks for that matter), offer downloads at the reading? Will that offer a better "vintage" than an e-book purchased at a differnet time online? Maybe the store will throw in a signed photo of the author.
The late Serbian writer Milorad Pavic (author of Dictionary of the Khazars and many other volumes), believed in novels taking many other forms - dictionaries, acrostics, nonlineqar works, books with 100 possible endings. Prescient, he also was interested in the novel as computer file or program.
Although it is a great to hold and read a book -- that connection between the internal (reading) and the external (the book as commodity), in some ways, it would be easier without the physical burden of years and years of accumulated books -- In conversation, one of our daughters (15) acknowledged preferring bound books. Buit part of the joy of books is gonig to a shelf, having something pique your interest again, and picking up the book to delve in and enjoy the experience again. In my opinion, browsing books on a shelf is completely different than browsing CDs on a shelf or music files on your Ipod. I enjoy reading stuff online, but just as often, I will print an article out to read later.
I tend to think that people appreciate that you are paying for the author's talent (and occasionally, genius) and the bound book is only the medium for the author's mesage. But there is still something special and wonderful about that antique commodity, the printed book. If it is black and white and read all over -- I am on it. I for one hope the printed book never goes away. Completely.
Sample excerpt at Barnes a nd Noble website here. (Ironically, the first edition of the book avaialble at the B & N website is the e-version. The printed copy says "also available as an e-book.)

domain: library


text:
What did Mr Pompeo say?
In a statement on Monday, Mr Pompeo denounced China’s claims on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, saying Beijing had “no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region”.
He said the US, which has previously said it does not take sides in territorial disputes, rejected Beijing’s claims to waters off Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
“Any [People’s Republic of China] action to harass other states’ fishing or hydrocarbon development in these waters – or to carry out such activities unilaterally – is unlawful,” he said.
“The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire.”
…Four years after an international tribunal in The Hague ruled that China’s claims in the region had no legal basis, the US has for the first time officially made its stance clear…


Windows is a highly powerful and prescient operating system and is usually extremely quick (especially with OS 10 and above). But when the dilemma of a slow startup arises on your system, you would want nothing more than to fix it a soon as possible.
The reasons for a slow startup over time are aplenty. They can be due to corrupt/out-of-date drivers, pre-launched programs on your system after rebooting or even low space on your hard drives. You need to ensure that apart from these, you don’t have any underlying issues with your system. This is why we have brought to you, a few innovative ways to fix this slow startup on your Windows 10/11 system. Read on below to find out.
Fix #1: Disable fast startup feature
This is a problem which many users fail to comprehend fully when enabling it. While it promises to start the system faster than usual, it usually has opposite effects to the system’s initiation. To disable it:
- Go to Settings and navigate to System.
- In the left-hand menu, select Power & Sleep and go to the section.
- Look for Related Settings in the right-hand section and click Additional Power Settings below.
- This will open up the Power options with related Power settings in the Control Panel.
- In the top left-hand menu, choose ‘Choose what the power buttons do’.
- To make any necessary changes now, click on the option ‘Change settings that are currently unavailable’ with the admin sign. You’ll need admin privileges for this.
- Once there, under Shutdown settings, untick ‘Turn on fast startup’ and click on Save changes to turn on the changes.
If you don’t see the option for Fast startup, you’ll need to turn on Hibernation from your PC. Here’s how you do it:
- From the Start menu, go up to Windows Powershell (Admin)
- Once opened, type in the command, “POWERCFG /HIBERNATE ON”. Hit Enter.
- Hibernation would now be enabled on your computer.
- Close Powershell and follow the pre-mentioned steps to disable Fast startup now.
If this method doesn’t solve your issues and you are still facing slow startup or boot times on your Windows PC, follow the methods given below.
Fix #2: Disable all startup programs upon reboot
You don’t usually need all the programs you used prior to your next boot. For this reason, you can disable all prior programs upon restarting your system next time. Here’s how you can do it:
- Go to Task Manager by pressing buttons CTRL + ALT + DEL together or by right-clicking on taskbar and clicking on Task Manager alternatively.
- Upon opening, go to the Startup Tab to see all the programs running currently on your system.
- All programs will usually have their Status – Enabled and most of their Startup impact will be – High, which explains why the slow startup is arising in the first place.
- Click on each program individually (the ones you don’t really need) and click on Disable on the bottom right corner of your screen to disable their startup on booting.
Fix #3: Change your virtual memory settings
Virtual memory allows physical memory to be temporarily transferred from RAM to Storage on your disk. This helps to bridge the gap for physical memory shortages at times. Hence by changing virtual memory, you can invariably solve your slow boot issues. This can be done by:
- Going to Performance by entering the same on your Search Bar below.
- Once opened, select the option ‘Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows’.
- Once there, go to the Advanced tab, and under Virtual memory, click on Change.
- A separate window will now open, and under ‘Total paging file size for all drives’, if your Currently Allocated memory is well below or even just below Recommended memory, you don’t need to make any changes.
- But if the former is well above the recommended memory, uncheck the option above for ‘Automatically manage paging file size for all drives’.
- A host of options will now be unlocked below. Select Custom size thereafter.
- In the box for Initial size, enter an amount which is usually well below the recommended size (If the recommended size is above 4000, enter the initial size as 3000 and so on).
- For Maximum size, enter the value given exactly next the Recommended option and click on ‘Set’. Click on OK to close all windows and reboot your computer.
You’ll notice that your system’s startup or boot times has become a lot faster than before.
Fix #4: Update your graphics drivers
If you don’t update your graphics drivers on a timely basis, or don’t usually have an updated one already, the former can interfere with your booting operations. Here’s how you can update them:
- Go to Device Manager by clicking on Start and scrolling above.
- Expand ‘Display Adapter’ and right-click on the graphics card you’re using to select the option ‘Update driver’.
- If you already have your driver software downloaded on your computer, click on ‘Browse my computer for driver software’ and follow the instructions on-screen to update your driver.
Fix #5: Disable few background services
There are some services which run in the background of your system during startup. No doubt, they are making your Windows PC boot slower. You can disable these background services from the Microsoft Management Console. Don’t disable any crucial services as some of them are required for proper functioning of your OS.
- Open up Run and enter ‘msc’.
- Find the services – Background Intelligent Transfer Service, Telemetry, Windows Search and Connected User Experiences.
- Right-click on each and choose Properties.
- Now select Stop and choose the option Disabled next.
This should speed things up with the booting or startup of your Windows 10/11 PC.
Fix #6: Upgrade to SSD
Upgrading to an SSD system instead of the traditional HDD is a plus for a speedy and hassle-free life with Windows. They are expensive and require an initial investment, but the average startup times on an SSD system is way quicker than an HDD.
For those who don’t know, SSD is basically a new generation of storage device that stores data on instantly-accessible memory chips. SSD stands for solid-state drive. The processing speed of SSD is way faster than the old traditional HDD and that’s the reason why they are being used in new computers.
Fix #7: Defragment your Windows 10 PC
The data on hard disk is normally stored in fragments at various locations. Fragmentation makes your hard disk perform redundant functions and in turn can slow down your computer’s speed. Defragmentation, on the other hand, can make your PC run smoother and boot up faster. You can defragment your hard disk using the built-in Disk Defragmenter tool on Windows. Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Go to the Disk Defragmenter by typing it on the Search Box below.
- Select the disk you want to defragment under current status.
- Click on Analyze disk to see how much defragmentation is needed or if it is needed at all.
- Check the percentage of defragmentation required in the disk in the Last Run column after analyzing is done. If the percentage is above 10%, go ahead with the process.
- Now click on Defragment Disk and enter your admin credentials to begin the process.
Fix #8: Scan virus malware on system
Sometimes the viruses can also cause slow startup problem on your Windows 10/11. If you believe that your system has been infected with some malware or virus, you can go for a quick scan of your system using Windows Security tool. Just follow these simple steps:
Open the Windows Security tool by searching for it in the Search Box. Go to the ‘Virus and threat protecting‘ option. Now click on ‘Quick Scan‘ to scan for viruses and subsequently removing them from your computer. Wait until the scan is completed and then restart your PC to see if you got some boost in your boot times.
Fix #9: Turn off Linux terminal
You most likely have your Windows sub-system for Linux feature turned on if you have been currently playing around with the Linux bash terminal. This can cause slow startup/boot issues. Here’s how you can turn it off:
- Type in Windows Features in the Search Bar and select the option.
- Scroll down to find a checked option ‘Windows Subsystem for Linux’ and uncheck it.
- When it’s done, reboot your system for changes to take effect.
The online community of Microsoft is extensive and has expert opinions on just about everything related to Windows. If you are facing any issue during startup on your Windows PC, you can go to the online community of Microsoft to look for your specific problem or even make a query which would be resolved within 24-48 hours.
We see from the above, a list of comprehensive methods by which we can fix this slow startup issue on Windows 10/11. Bear in mind that you need to check for updates frequently and ensure your files don’t get corrupted along with these above steps. If you have any further queries, feel free to drop a comment below.


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Lego Minifigures, 7 Pieces, from 5 years, Theme: Disney
Lego Minifigures, Figurine, 8 Pieces, from 5 years
Lego Minifigures, Lego Ninjago, Lego The Movie, 20 Pieces, from 5 years, Theme: Ninjas
Lego Education, Lego Minifigures, 213 Pieces, from 4 years
Lego Minifigures, Lego The Movie, 20 Pieces, from 5 years
LEGO Minifigures 71017 - Pink Power BatgirlWhen Commissioner Barbara Gordonâ¢ decided to help out Batmanâ¢, this is NOT what she had in mind. Thanks to a blast from the Bat-Merch Gun, sheâs found herself wearing a bright pink crime-fighting suit. How is Batgirlâ¢ supposed to swing stealthily through the shadows and bust bad guys in this outrageous outfit? Looks like theyâd better try that merch gun one more time!
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Professor Hugo Strange
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Doctor Phosphorus
LEGO Minifigures - AstronautâThatâs one small plate for a Minifigure, one giant brick for minifigure-kind!âAll his life, the Astronaut has been obsessed with exploring outer space. He read every book he could find about the space program, built his own pretend rocket-ships out of spare bricks, and even tried eating the astronaut way â out of a tube. That got messy fast.Now that heâs made his way through real astronaut training, the Astronaut is finally on his way to his first new planet. He canât wait to get there! Heâs brought a flag to plant on the surface and everything. He wonders if heâll encounter any unusual life forms when he arrives. If he does, he hopes they like the spiffy new beard he grew during his long space voyage!
LEGO Minifigures - MariachiâWould you care for a serenade?âCome and listen to the music of the marvelous, mustachioed Mariachi, a master of his craft! Whether heâs playing solo or as part of a full band, he always raises the mood and energy of his surroundings with the rhythms of his guitar, passed down in his family through the generations.The Mariachi plays and sings about history and tradition, about life in the countryside and the city, but what he really excels at is songs of love. Whether youâre on a first date, attending a wedding, or celebrating many long years of happiness together, the Mariachi and his spirited serenades are the perfect accompaniment to courtship and romance!
LEGO Minifigures 71017 - Nurse Harley QuinnSomething strange is going on in Arkham Asylum!Psychiatrist Dr. Harleen Quinzel has disappeared, and a new nurse has taken her place. What madcap medical antics can we expect from Nurse Harley Quinnâ¢, and how does she feature in The Jokerâs ultimate plot? If Batmanâ¢ isnât careful, this laughing nurse just might make him take his medicine!
LEGO Minifigures 71017 - The Joker â Arkham AsylumBusted! Apparently orange is the new purple, because The Jokerâ¢ has been captured and locked up in high-security Arkham Asylum. It looks like The Jokerâs reign of laughter and larceny is finally at an endâ¦but could it be that this is all part of the Clown Prince of Crimeâs sinister master plan? Watch out, Batmanâ¢, or The Joker might still have the last laugh!
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Wonder Twin (Zan)
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Tropical Joker
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Vacation Alfred
LEGO Minifigures - Disney - Buzz Lightyear
LEGO Minifigures - Mr. Good And EvilâShould I build or deconstruct today?âTransformed by a laboratory accident, Mr. Good and Evil has been split into a good side and a bad side. Half of him wants to help people and solve problems, while the other half craves nothing but chaos and destruction.Because both halves are in the same body, theyâre constantly trying to sabotage each other. As a result, everything good that he tries to do ends up at least a little bit bad, and everything bad comes out a little bit good. According to the other Minifigures, it actually makes him a pretty decent neighborâ¦if you donât mind all of the arguing!
LEGO Minifigures - Disney - Maleficent
The LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures 71023 Watermelon Dude
LEGO Minifigures - SantaâHo ho ho!âRumor has it that a legendary minifigure known as Santa comes flying through the sky on his sleigh to give out shiny new bricks to anyone who needs to get some building done. Then, as soon as heâs done, heâs off on his way again with a belly-shaking laugh.But who is this jolly old man of mystery? Heâs supposed to live up at the North Pole, but the LEGOÂ® Arctic team never reported running into him during their millennial expedition. And where does he get all of those bricks, if not at the LEGO factory in Denmark? The world may never know for sure!
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Vacation Batgirl
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Wonder Twin (Jayna)
LEGO Minifigures 71020 - Mermaid Batman
The LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures 71023 Giraffe Guy
LEGO Minifigures 71017 - CatmanThomas Blake was a world-famous big-cat trapper who grew bored of hunting and decided to become a super-villain. Inspired by Batmanâ¢, he made himself a cat-themed costume, complete with a utility belt containing cat-lines, cat-arangs and other gadgets. Although many of his fellow villains consider him a laughingstock, Catmanâ¢ is a fierce fighter with his own unique sense of honor!
LEGO Minifigures - KickboxerâKicking and boxing â itâs the perfect combination!âThe Kickboxer has always loved combining different activities. As a kid, she would merge her chores and hobbies so she could try hockey-lawnmowing and homework-fingerpainting. But as she got older, not every combination worked out so well. Football-archery caused some trouble, and swim-jogging was nearly a disaster.With the tough sport of kickboxing, though, sheâs finally found just the right combo. And thanks to lots of training, sheâs gotten really good at it, too. When sheâs in the ring with her protective equipment on, boxing and kicking away against a skilled opponent, she sure is glad that she didnât go with her other idea of parasail-bowling!
LEGO Minifigures - The Simpsons 2 - SelmaÂ
The LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures 71023 Flashback Lucy
LEGO Minifigures - Weightlifterâ299â¦300â¦301â¦âThe Weightlifter has sworn to become the strongest man in the entire world. He runs around the city looking for things to pick upâ¦and he wants to pick up EVERYTHING. As long as an object isnât nailed to the ground, heâll scoop it up and try to lift it over his head.The only thing that the Weightlifter pays attention to is how heavy something is. If it weighs more than the last thing he lifted, then itâs just what he needs, whether itâs a person, an auto, an elephant or a house. No challenge is too big for the Weight Lifter!Visit our LEGO Parts section for a great range of Accessories, Parts, Weapons and more...
LEGO Minifigures - Gail the Construction WorkerâWait, Iâm confused. Who are we talking about?âEach member of the Bricksburg construction crew has his or her own special way of standing out. Everybody knows Gail: sheâs the perky one! No matter how hard the dayâs work may be, you can always count on her to stay cheerful while she builds and sings along to the Everything is Awesome song.But as perky as Gail is, even she has never really noticed Emmet among her fellow construction workers. As far as she knows, heâs just another smiling yellow face in the crowd. Maybe if he does something really important, then sheâll finally remember his name!Skills
LEGO Minifigures 71018 - Battle DwarfLEGO Minifigures 71018 â Battle Dwarf Bolster your Minifigure collection with the Battle DwarfÂ If youâre looking for a minifigure thatâs a little different, the Battle Dwarf from the Lego Minifigure Series 17 line-up is definitely worth a look. This quirky Minifigure makes an instant impression with his fierce facial expression, fiery red hair and tattoos, while his shorter stature means heâll stand out from the Minifigure masses when placed in a crowd. Whatâs more, thereâs some awesome accessories to be had here. The Battle Dwarf not only includes a detachable beard, he comes armed with a war hammer and battle axe that will make fine additions to your wider arsenal of Lego accessories. A great addition to fantasy themesÂ Got an idea for a fantasy themed build brewing? Whether itâs a pre-existing set or a custom creation of your own making, this Battle Dwarf figure will make a welcome addition to your Lego brick builds.Â Find more must-haves fromÂ Lego Minifigures Series 17 and other lines in our online assortment today.
LEGO Minifigures - Banana GuyâDid somebody say BANANA?!?âWhenever somebody at a party mentions bananas, you can bet that the Banana Guy will be there. Heâs just a wild and crazy guy in a banana suit who loves two things: bananas and partying. It doesnât matter what kind of party it is; as long as thereâs music and dancing, heâll be boogieing down banana-style until either the party ends or the Gorilla Suit Guy shows up.The Banana Guy never takes his banana costume off in public (he doesnât want anybody to slip on the peel, which the Clumsy Guy definitely appreciates), so nobody is quite sure whoâs behind those sunglasses and that grin. But thereâs one thing about the Banana Guy that can be said for certain: heâs an excellent source of potassium!
LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures 71022 Wizarding WorldÂ Harry Potter Hogwarts Robes and His OwlÂ HeadwigHarry Potterâ¢ has been faced with increasingly difficult challenges each year at Hogwartsâ¢ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Thanks to the help of his friends, Ron Weasleyâ¢ and Hermione Grangerâ¢, and his pet snowy owl Hedwigâ¢, Harry has become a skilled wizard and a true force for good in the Wizarding World.
LEGO Minifigures - Intergalactic GirlâNo thanks needed. Iâm just doing my part to make the spaceways safe!âThe name of the Intergalactic Girl is cheered by life forms on every inhabited planet, moon, space station and asteroid in the cosmos. As an interstellar adventurer, she and her daring outer-space exploits are the stuff of legend throughout the known universe, and even a few of the unknown bits, too.With nothing but a quasar zapper, a pair of antigravity boots and a can-do attitude, the Intergalactic Girl has single-handedly saved solar systems from black holes, rescued civilizations from cosmic conquerors and captured entire fleets of Blacktron battle cruisers. She never has time to stay for the celebrations afterwards, though, because thereâs always another space crisis waiting just around the next nebula!
LEGO Harry Potter Minifigures 71022 Wizarding WorldÂ Draco Malfoy Quidditch Uniform and Golden SnitchThe spoiled, snooty son of a long line of wizards and witches, Draco Malfoyâ¢ looks down on anyone with a less prestigious heritage than himself. Upon entering Hogwartsâ¢ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he developed an instant rivalry with Harry Potterâ¢ and has done everything he can to make Harryâs time at school unpleasant. Draco plays Seeker on the Slytherinâ¢ House Quidditchâ¢ team, chasing the Golden Snitch on his expensive Nimbus 2001 broomstick.
LEGO Minifigures - Genie Girl"Are you suuure thatâs what you want?"The Genie Girl considers herself to be a professional Wish Consultant. Most genies will grant the exact spoken wishes of anybody who rubs their magic lamps, but she likes to make sure that whoever is wishing really knows what theyâre getting themselves into. She doesnât want there to be any silly wish mistakes on her watch!The official rules say that the Genie Girl isnât allowed to tell her lampâs holder what to ask for, but she can still nudge wishes in the right direction by pointing out their possible accidental down-sides (you wouldnât want to ask for super-powers and get the proportional speed of a slug, or wish for a castle and end up with one thatâs under water). Once youâve picked the right wish, all she has to do is wink, and itâs granted!
LEGO Minifigures - Gamer"Prepare to face my ultimate super mega ultra combo move!"The Video Game Guy is an expert on anything and everything to do with video games. Heâs recorded all of the top strategy tips, memorized every combo, and found all of the hidden rooms and bonus coins â even a few that the game programmers themselves didnât know about.Although heâs played every kind of video game that you could name, the Video Game Guyâs favorites are the classics. Thereâs just something about those clunky old 8-bit graphics and those bleeping, blooping tunes that really gets his gamer adrenaline racing. Plus, itâs way easier to get the high score when nobody else remembers how to play!
LEGO Minifigures - MechanicâSure, I can fix thatâ¦but wouldnât it be even cooler with a rocket engine?âNobody is better at quick repairs than the Mechanic. He can fix any dent, ding, rumble or rattle with his handy wrench and toolbox, and he doesnât mind getting dirty in the process. No matter the problem, heâll have your vehicle running as good as new in no time flat...but he never quite seems to know where to stop!To the Mechanic, thereâs no auto in the world that wouldnât be improved by adding a couple of stylish fins, a fancy spoiler and a big engine on top of the hood. And while heâs at it, he might just put in a submarine propeller, some ejector seats, a couple of extra wheels and a booster rocket or three. If thatâs what he does with a car, imagine what heâll do with a spaceship!
LEGO Minifigures - The Simpsons - ScratchyÂ
The LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures 71023 Crayon Girl
LEGO Minifigures - Fitness InstructorâDonât fall down now! Weâre just getting warmed up!âThe Fitness Instructor has devoted herself to one thing and one thing only: getting people in great shape! With the help of a boom-box full of energetic workout tunes and a wall full of degrees in aerobics, yoga and more, she leads fitness sessions and promotes good health wherever she goes.With her endless energy and enthusiasm, the Fitness Instructor makes exercise look like so much fun that you just canât resist joining in. But if you do, be prepared for the workout of a lifetime, because sheâll keep going and going long after everybody else is ready to drop from exhaustion!
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domain: hobby


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An unforgettable river cruise...for the wrong reaon
Place: Sumida River Location: between Hamarikyu Onshi Garden and Asuka Ferry Station Date & Local time: 10 September 2010, 1:00 pm
Note: This was the smelliest river cruise that I have taken in all my travels. The river was pretty polluted, which was disappointing. Me and Dad were following the itinerary in Frommer's guide which stated that this ride was not to be missed. If you are willing to walk to Daimon or Shimbashi Station, then do so. The river cruise cost 720 yen per person. The cost became just as unbearable as the river's smell.
Despite the less than pleasant air quality, there were alot of interesting sites that we saw along the river. When the boat left Hamarikyu Onshi Garden, a big gate opened for the boat to pass through. It was interesting to see a big wall covering the garden's sights.
The first sight that I saw on the cruise was a tall silver building. I thought it was very modern and the lines were rather smoothed. I wished I knew the building's names.
There were four bridges and one freeway that crossed like a bridge over the river. My Dad was amazed at its design. As an engineer, he thought it was the most innovative bridge that he has seen. Rather than being straight, the path was curved. It looked like a long flyover the river.
There were other bridges as well that were memorable because it reminded of bridges in other countries. The suspension bridge reminded us of San Francisco and the wire bridge reminded us of the Glebe Point Bridge in Sydney.
The red bridge which you will see just before you land on Asakusa's ferry station is one that I will never forget. It was the prettiest and the most elegant bridges that I saw. It was neat and the red colour was not imposing.
There were other interesting sights alon the river. As mentioned in Frommer's, we did see some apartments where residents hanged their laundry. We also noticed paintings on fabric anchored against a long wall that ran alongside of the river. They seemed traditional paintings, however the cruise boat did not give any commentary on what they were. I also saw a ferry station with a colourful roof.
The most interesting and possibly the most unusual sight was the building for Asahi Beer. There was a gold sculpture that is shaped like a water droplet on its side. The tail however flexed like a tadpole. The building served as a large black plinth for the gold sculpture.
It was also interesting that there were water gates in the early part of the river cruise. This was so interesting as I only had enought time just to take the picture. I wondered if these waterways were lined with buildings as well. I could not really take a peek behind the gates.
We also saw restaurant boats along the river cruise. Unfortunately, we could not get any information on how to board one. The boats are not large and they only seem to have one story. It is not as high as a paddle wheel boat.

domain: geography


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When I met Tayler and Chris at Fallbrook for their winter maternity session, I knew we were going to be creating some stunning images. Tayler stepped out of their truck with this gorgeous red maternity gown, and it just “Popped” against the winter white of the snow.
Tayler and Chris have come to me for the past few years for their family photos. They are a photographer’s dream family; always smiling, always prepared, and always up to try anything.
Fallbrook in Oswego is such a gem for photographers. It has the best of many settings: Stream, barn, fields, willow trees, and trails. My initial plan had been to head to the willows, but the wind had a different plan for us. We headed toward the trails, and found the perfect area to capture most of our photos.
After leaving the trail, we quickly visited the stream. I knew I was going to love this image the moment I saw it in the camera, and it is one of my favorite maternity images ever!
Tayler coupled her dress with the same floral wreath that she used for her maternity session with her son. It is a lovely idea to use the same accessory for each session.
To inquire about maternity sessions, stop on by the homepage and shoot me a message!
Details: Fallbrook Winter Maternity Session

domain: artistic


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I recently renewed my friendship with my college roommate and his wife, fellow physics students, at a Reed College reunion. I discovered Wes and Ellen still like to hike, and that they had never explored the Sierra Nevada mountains. Better yet, they are retired and have the time to do things like this.
We made plans to hike together sometime, and then my employer asked if I could go to San Jose for a couple of days in the beginning of August. You Bet ! Wes and Ellen graciously agreed to rendezvous at the Fresno Airport, where I would drive to from San Jose when my work was over. They would spend a few days before the hike getting acclimated, seeing the tourist sights like the Giant Sequoias, and would be on hand to pick up the wilderness permit before picking me up, so we could hike in the first day.
You can browse a complete collection of pictures by: Charlie and Wes.
You can jump directly to points in the trip by clicking on the map above.
You can click on any of the photos to see a larger version, uncropped and uncorrected.
You can download the TOPO! source file to see more detail in the maps.
Map 1 - Twin Lakes Trail
We got to Lodgepole late in the afternoon, with plenty of daylight left to hike in a few miles. We had a pleasant dinner at a picnic table near the Lodgepole campground, then eagerly headed up the trail. Our objective was to get as far as practical, get off the trail a healthy distance, and find a place to camp.
Although we were thinking of stopping at Willow Meadow, we were still feeling energetic enough to go on to where the trail crosses Silliman Creek. There we found a lovely spot out of sight of the trail and made our first camp.
|At Lodgepole Trailhead|
The views at sunset throughout the trip were marvelous, starting with this spire just to the west of Mt. Silliman. This very morning I had been staying in a first class hotel, giving a technical talk to hundreds of people, and acting like a respectable grown up. Now I was in the mountains. It did not take long to get into the right frame of mind.
|Sunset at Silliman Creek Campsite|
Our first full day of hiking would take us past Twin Lakes, up and over Silliman Pass, and down to Ranger Lake. The trail climbs from 7,800 feet to over 10,000 feet at the pass, and then down again to 9,100. For the first day, with a full 10 days of food in the pack, this was plenty.
The first thing we noticed was a profusion of bear droppings. Luckily, there was no bear in sight.
The trail is pleasantly shaded to Twin Lakes, where we stopped and had lunch. We saw surprisingly few hikers on the trail. There was a group of climbers on one of the Twin Peaks, rapelling down from the top.
We pushed on to Ranger Lake, where we found one other party camped. We continued to the far end of the lake (where the best campsite is located). Everyone is pretty tired.
|I had told Wes and Ellen of the exceptional beauty of the lake and its reflections,
but a steady wind all afternoon and evening spoiled all that. The next morning,
though, the air was calm and the sun shone on Mt. Silliman, and the view was a glorious as
I believe that Ranger Lake is one of the prettiest places I have been in the Sierras.
|We were planning on climbing Mt. Silliman on our last day, ten days hence. We all took a good look at it. It was very sobering, seeing the sheer cliffs and knowing how much climbing it would take to get to the top.|
|Mt Silliman from Ranger Lake|
Map 2 - Sugarloaf Creek
This would be the longest hiking day of the trip. I don't know what I was thinking when I planned it, because it was too much -- far too much. The map said only 8 miles, but the signs indicated it was much farther. After we had hiked quite a ways, one sign said four miles back to Ranger Lake and ten to Roaring River. When we got to Roaring river, it said eleven to Ranger Lake. In any case, it was more than eight miles, and the last few miles, where we had to climb steeply, were particularly challenging.
We had observed brown patches in the trees in Sugarloaf Valley from Ranger Lake, and had wondered what they might signify. Ellen correctly guessed they were the result of fires. We hiked through some of these areas, some burned a while back, and some burned much more recently. The earlier burns had abundent fireweed growing
We had lunch where the trail crosses Sugarloaf Creek. The water as lower than I had ever seen it. What usually required wading was a simple rock-hop. The trail to this point had been nicely shaded, but was getting sunnier and hotter all the time.
We pushed on, passing only a few other parties and arriving at 3:00 PM, after hiking eight hours. Only two days, and we were halfway around the circle, and were exhausted.
On checking the trail register, I see a familiar name: Bill Finch. He passed by a few weeks ago.
|Roaring River campground has a few numbered sites, which were all full. We had
to search a while to find a suitable place to set up our camp. As soon as we did, we
all lay down to nap.
I began to think that my itinerary, which called for us to climb Mt. Brewer on the way up Cloud Canyon, was way too ambitious. Looking up toward Moraine Ridge confirmed that tomorrow would be another challenging day, followed by several more hard hikes.
I discussed the idea of skipping Mt. Brewer with Wes and Ellen, who were receptive to the idea of taking two moderate days to get to Glacier Lake instead of three hard ones. So that became the new plan.
|Nap Time at Roaring River|
Map 3 - Cloud Canyon
My own physical condition was favorable. I am not in particularly good shape, being about 30 pounds over my ideal weight. Also I was not nearly ruthless planning the food, taking far too much. It was embarassing that I had two Garcia Bear Cannisters packed with food, plus a stuff sack left over. wes and ellen had one Bear Keg between them (plus a little left over). How could two people eat half what I needed ? Answer -- I didn't need that much food. I think my pack weighed twice as much as either of theirs too. When I weighed it at home it was 65 pounds, but that was before everything was in it. I should really do something about that.
Even so, I was experiencing far fewer of the distressing symptoms of altitude sickness than normal. I was able to sleep soundly from the first night on, I had no headaches or agitation, things were great ! Perhaps it was that I had been in California for a few days already. Normally I am coping with (1) a full day of air travel, (2) three hours of jet lag, and (3) the altitude. With the malaise of the travel out of the way, I felt a lot better.
The only worry was a blister developing on my right heel. The left one actually hurt more, but I could see a blister developing on the right. I hoped it was because of the gruelling distance we had covered the previous day.
|The trail up Cloud Canyon is so beautiful. It climbs moderately in most places,
passing numerous stock fences, meadows, and camping spots. The creek is always
We stopped at Cement Table meadow to have lunch. While we were there we met a dayhiker, headed up from Roaring river to Colby Pass and back. We had a nice chat, in which he told us this was his 73rd birthday, and that he was training to compete in the Hard Rock 100 mile race.
With that encouragement, we put the thoughts of our own sore feet aside.
|Roaring River had a helthy amount of water, more than Sugarloaf Creek, but less than I
am used to. The meadows were dry, which made hiking easier. Many of the
meadows were still green, but some (like Big Wet Meadow) were turning brown.
Even though the air was pleasantly cool in the shade, the sun was merciless. We huried through the sunny spots to get back in the shade, because it was so hot in the sun.
|Big Wet Meadow in Cloud Canyon|
|The tributaries feeding Cloud Creek -- Brewer, Cunningham, table, Colby, were all
running, at least a little. As we ascended, the main creek became more and more
modest, but never gave out entirely.
That's Wes up ahead. Wes and Ellen generally hiked faster than I did, but they always thoughtfully stopped to let me catch up. I tried to avoid being rushed, but even if I had wanted to it would have been almost impossible for me to keep pace with them.
|We passed the Colby Pass trail turnoff, continuing up Cloud Canyon. Since it was
still very hot in the sun, we were looking for a shady spot to make camp. Although
there were a few stands of trees, we did not find any flat spots among them, and so we
pushed on higher and camped just above the tree line.
I put my tent up as a sun shade, so that I could lay down and get some rest. I took the tent down after dinner. I much prefer to sleep under the stars when possible. So often there are mosquitos, the threat of rain, or some other reason to hide in the tent. Besides, not having to fold up the tent makes my getaway the next morning all that much quicker.
We passed a trail crew camp. It was apparently their day off. A few of the crew were lounging around camp, some were up higher in Cloud Canyon, and two had headed for Triple Divide Peak. We met these two, on their way down. They had attempted the west ridge, but found it dificult going and had given up. I don't blame them.
|Campsite high in Cloud Canyon|
Map 4 - Upper Cloud Canyon and Kings-Kaweah Divide
We got started as early as possible, to take advantage of the shade provided by the steep canyon walls. We made it up to where the climbing becomes really steep before we had to deal with the full sun.
This is the last point at which there is a good spot to camp, with water, in Cloud Canyon. The miners used this location for one of their camps, as evidenced by various scraps of metal and debris. There is a section of red rock amongst the granite, and on this soil the trees grow. An old miners' trail switchbacks up through the trees, and heads up to Coppermine Pass from the miners' camp.
We wanted to go to the other side of the canyon, to Glacier Lake. So we headed up a series of cracks and slabs on the east side of the canyon. After ascending through some cliffs we spotted a moraine, which we climbed to. From below it looks impressive, like maybe Glacier Lake is just behind it. But once we got to it, there wasn't much but one ridge after another. Each time we climbed a higher ridge, more were revealed.
At least the footing was sound and there were few gullies we had to descend. We just kept going up and up, until finally we reached Glacier Lake. It was shortly after noon, but it seemed like a long day.
|Glacier Lake, which has the coldest water I know of, was still surrounded by a few snow fields. Situated at the foot of Triple Divide Peak, in a band of black rock, it is an austere and slightly menacing place.|
|The best campsite is on a small ledge beside the lake, just wide enough for a tent.
Again I set up my tent for the shade, but I had to take it down to have enough
space to cook dinner. Wes and Ellen set their tent up in the only other flat spot
around. We all crawled into our tents as soon as we arrived and did not come out
In the background, where the white and black rock meet, is the climbing route up Triple Divide Peak. It climbs to the ridge, then goes right on the ridge up to the peak.
Wes and Ellen had no desire to climb the peak, so we again decided to skip the ascent and move on toward Coppermine Pass the next day.
|Campsite in Glacier Lake|
|This is the view from Glacier Lake, across the upper end of Cloud Canyon, toward the
west. The section of red rock, with trees, is visible on the right. Most of
the skyline is Glacier Ridge, separating Cloud Canyon from Deadman Canyon. On the
left, the ridge separates Cloud Canyon from Lion Lake (the Kings-Kaweah Divide). An
informal miners' trail makes its way up through the trees, across the slopes, and over the
Lion Lake section of the ridge.
|West from Glacier Lake -- Coppermine Pass|
It is difficult, from the Cloud Canyon side, to see where the Kings-Kaweah Divide ends and Glacier Ridge begins. The instructions on it in the guidebooks are not clear. For instance, from Secor: "The path crosses Glacier Ridge just north of the divide that separates the Kings River watershed from the Kaweah River. This is a steep and difficult route ..." This is inaccurate: the path does not cross Glacier Ridge, but bypasses it on the south slopes of the Kings-Kaweah Divide (as shown on the map).
I have been over Coppermine Pass several times over the years. Most of the time I have approached from the west, where the route from the copper mine is clear. Of the times I have climbed east to west, in every instance but once I have either followed the miners' trail from its beginning in Cloud Canyon, or have come through from the west and then retraced my steps. The one time I crossed from Glacier Lake directly, I located the miners' path, but then lost it under extensive snow fields, and wound up climbing the wrong place.
Determined not to make the same mistake again, I confidently identified the wrong notch and assured Wes and Ellen we would only climb to the ridge once we were on the miners' path. For good measure, I had created a GPS waypoint from the maps at the location of the pass. We searched back and forth for the miners' path, but cound not find it. The GPS was leading us right to it, however, so I continued on higher and higher hoping to find the path eventually. I finally got to the ridge, exactly at the waypoint, but alas it had steep cliffs on the other side, and was not the pass I was looking for. I explored along the ridge, left and right, looking for the pass, but I could never find it.
Meanwhile Wes and Ellen had ascended to ridge, took a good look at the cliffs on the other side, and wanted to get down. I convinced them that we should go down and look some more, which they reluctantly agreed to do. We crossed the head of the canyon to below the wrong notch, which I knew to be too far, and never found the path. I was mystified -- where could the pass be ?
In the face of this uncertainty, we decided to return to Cloud Canyon, spend the night at the miners' camp, and hike back down and up Deadman Canyon. While we were descending, we came across the path, but at that point we decided to continue down. The path turned out to be well marked with cairns, and we had no trouble following it the rest of the way to the miners' camp below.
|We stayed at the miners' camp, which was especially comfortable.
Overnight I pondered what to do next. I did not relish the thought of hiking all the way back to Roaring River, then all the way back up to Elizabeth Pass. We were almost there ! In the morning I proposed that Wes and Ellen stay in camp, while I followed the miners' path back up top the pass. If I still could not locate the pass, then we would descend as planned. If I could find the pass, then we could consider our options then.
|Miners' Camp Cloud Canyon|
The next morning I followed the path up through the trees, across the slopes, seemingly to where we had been the day before. I made sure to stay on the path, and sure enough it led right up to the pass. It was just a little to the right of where we had climbed before, just where I knew "it had to be" but could not find it. I checked the GPS, and it told me I was 0.2 miles away from the position of the pass. In fact, it still said it was where I climbed the day before. I took a waypoint at the "real" pass and plotted it on a map, shown below.
On the first try, I reached the ridge at the waypoint "COPPER". The real pass was almost 700 feet to the northwest, at the waypoint "REAL PASS". The map shows the pass, and although it is not clear exactly where they meant it to be, it is apparently closer to where the real pass is located than where I originally put the waypoint. For future reference, the pass is as UTM 11S 0361146E 4051346N.
What happened was that I created a waypoint using the map at what I thought was the correct spot of the pass, and I followed this waypoint as if it were authoritative, winding up in the wrong spot. I knew it "looked wrong" but my trust in the GPS led me to follow it up anyway. In fact I had not marked the correct spot, so the GPS became a hinderance rather than a help. The lesson is to remember that a waypoint is only a guess derived from the map map alone, and once you have the map and are standing on the terrain itself, you have much more information to go by.
|After finding the real pass I descended and conferenced with
Wes and Ellen. We decided to give the pass another try the next day. We spent
the rest of the afternoon lounging in the shade. It was especially pleasant to take
a break from all the strenuous travel.
The next day we again followed the trail up to the pass. The last few hundred feet beneath the pass are very steep. Although there are switchbacks, they are collapsed in one place, and a little class 2 scrambling is required.
|Coppermine Pass "Trail"|
|The view from Coppermine Pass is spectacular. The northern slopes of Triple
Divide peak, its three ridges, and the upper parts of Cloud Canyon are all laid out below.
On the other side, Lion Lake, Tamrack Lake, and the Kaweahs Beyond all stand out
|Triple Divide Peak, Glacier Lake from Coppermine Pass|
|Wes had warned me that he was uncomfortable with too much "exposure" but I
have to admit I did not understand exactly what this meant. It turns out that
Coppermine Pass and the route from it to the copper mine is what he was talking about.
I am afraid he did not enjoy it at all. I know for myself there is a point,
near the top of a cliff, where I will go no closer. I guess he was experiencing the
same thing all the way from the pass to the mine.
Seeing this reaction, I knew it was a good thing we did not attempt to climb Triple Divide Peak, because climbing the ridge is much the same, even more.
|Route from Cloud Canyon to Deadman Canyon|
|As we crossed over Deadman Canyon, the clouds started to build up, for the first time on the trip. The sun was so brutally hot that I secretly welcomed clouds, although I knew they would probably continue to build until we had rain.|
|Clouds above Deadman Canyon|
As we crossed the Elizabeth Pass trail, we all had has a discussion of whether to continue cross country or return via the trail. The route so far had been both more exposed and more strenuous than Wes and Ellen could enjoy. The Elizabeth Pass trail was going to be our last chance. I promised them that the way ahead would not be as bad as what they had just been through. Although they both eyed the Lonely Lake pass suspiciously, they agreed to give it a try.
|After crossing into the basin of Lonely Lake, we quickly got off the slabs and onto
the gentler slopes to the north. The little string of lakes and meadows were mostly
dry or nearly so, but a few of the larger ones were still attractive. We stopped for
the night at one of them, a little above Lonely Lake itself.
|Pond above Lonely Lake|
|A little while later, a party of four came up from the Tablelands, looking for Lonely Lake. When I told them it was just below, they were quite relieved, and hurried off to it. We did not see or hear them again until the next morning, when we saw them crossing Lonely Lake pass into Deadman Canyon.|
|I began to realize that as my pack weight was decreasing, I had less and less trouble
keeping up with the others. In fact I occasionally had the opposite problem, pushing
on too far or too fast when the others needed to rest. I reminded myself not to
hurry, to let Wes and Ellen enjoy the opportunity to explore the way to go.
As we headed from Lonely Lake towards Pteradactyl Pass Wes spotted a buck below. We watched it spring effortlessly from rock to rock, in contrast to our painful crawl.
I was relieved that the cross-country travel became easier as we approached the tablelands, and that we could stay a safe distance from high cliffs.
|Wes and Ellen heading to Pteradactyl Pass|
|We crossed along the Kern-Kaweah Divide, past many kinds of
flowers blooming in profusion. The clouds kept building during the day, so that when
we arrived at Upper Big Bird Lake it looked like it was raining back in Cloud Canyon and
For the first time I set up my tent with the rainfly, just in case. As the clouds continued to thicken, we could hear thunder from the north. We decided to cook dinner early. Sure enough, just as we were finishing and rinsing out the dishes, the rain started, quickly turning to hail, then back to rain. It continued for an hour or so, then let up.
|Upper Big Bird Lake|
|Thunder and lightning continued in the north and east for a while longer, but the sky above us cleared up.|
|Campsite at Upper Big Bird Lake|
|The area around Upper Big Bird Lake has great views all around. Both Wes and I
took the opportunity to photograph storm clouds, flowers, and the sunset.
Before the rain we met a party of hikers climbing up from Big Bird Lake. Instead of climbing up the lakes at the south end, another group of hikers had convinced them to climb via the lakes to the northwest. These turned out to be much more difficult than they were prepared for, so they were arriving at the crest late in the afternoon. Despite their experience, they asked me for directions to Pear Lake, which I gave them. Off they went. I hope they made it a ways before the storm hit.
|Wes photographing storm clouds|
|The golden sky, highlighting the swirling clouds made everything seem dramatic.
The next morning, the storm clouds to the east were replaced by smoke clouds. There was a strong scent of smoke in the air at daybreak, although it dissipated (more or less) as the day went on.
|Cliffs surroundng Big Bird Lake|
Map 5 - Upper Big Bird Lake to Pear Lake
|There are various ways to go across the Tablelands back to Pear Lake. I let Wes
and Ellen choose a route, avoiding the descent into Table Meadows and the steep descent
into Buck Canyon.
We came across a park service experiment, consisting of several wire cages stuck in the shallows of a lake in the Tablelands. There was a card describing the experiment, but I neglected to copy down the explanation.
We had lunch on the shores of a beautiful pair of lakes northwest of Moose Lake, then started the serious descent.
|We arrive at Pear Lake shortly after noon, after a steep descent on the rocks. I
think Wes and Ellen were relieved to get back to a trail.
No one else was present, so we had our pick of campsites. We chose a relatively secluded spot up on the rocks across the stream from most of the campsites. Throughout the day several parties arrived, so that by evening about half the campsites were occupied. There were people swimming, fishing, swordfighting with tent poles, and the usual clamor of campers. We had camped by ourselves since Roaring River, six days before.
The clouds again threatened during the afternoon, but if they produced rain it was to the east of us. By the evening the clouds were again beginning to clear.
|Again the day started out with the distinct smell of smoke, although this time we
could not see anything distinct. Was tht haze in the distance smoke from a forest
fire, or smog from Fresno ?
The Pear Lake trail is quite spectacular, with parts of it carved out of the cliffs. I mentioned to Wes that there was an alternate route that avoided the cliffs, but he opted for the more scenic route. Here Wes and Ellen are crossing one of the more spectacular cliffs.
|Pear Lake trail|
The series of cliffs comes to an end with the biggest of all, the Watchtower. The trail skirts along the top of it, but does not go out on it. We stoppped to admore the view for a few minnutes, then hurried on.
|We were hoping to find a ride from the Wolverton trailhead back to Lodgepole, saving a
couple of miles of walking. We passed dozens of parties heading up the trail, Only
one lone hiker was heading down, and he passed us quite early on.
As soon as we got to the trailhead, we set up near the parking lot entrance to try to snag someone going to Lodgepole. It only took about one minute before a car pulled up. It was the hiker that had passed us that morning. He graciously offered to drive us all to Lodgepole. This ended the trip on a positive note.
|At Wolverton Trailhead|
As before with the altimiter, I learned a lesson about relying on technology rathen then on more basic navigation skills. Knowing that I had an "infallible" navigation tool in the GPS let me relax instead of studying the map and concentrate on where I needed to go. The crippling part about technology is that its mere presence does the damage, even if you do not use it.
I have been using the GPS in the Catskills, where the forests limit visibility so you cannot navigate as well by sight. Tlthough the GPS has its own problems in the forst (you cannot always get a fix), it still is much easier than map and compass. I am not convinced that the same applies in the Sierras above treeline. Since the maps and guidebooks rarely have exact coordinates , waypoints will always be a guess, and probably less accurate than one made when you are actually there.
The other lesson, one I have also observed before, is not to rush to make changes in plans. When something goes wrong, it always seems like I need to think for about one minute, and then decide what to do next. There is rarely a need to hurry. It would often be better to think for an hour. After that time I would be rested, less frustrated, and would have had time to consider all options. When I think of the times that I have gotten into the most trouble, it is always after changing plans on the spur of the moment, only to get into worse trouble.
In this case, I believe the decision to abandon looking for the miners' path was premature. The drive to descend was drivem partly out of frustration and partly out of exhaustion. Both would have been alleviated with an hour's rest. We would still have had plenty of time, either to continue over the pass or descend, after resting.
Because the summer was very dry to start with, and because we were starting in August rather than July, I had expected to see relatively few wildflowers. I war wrong -- there were flowers all over the place, but especially at the higher elevations.
After the rain at Upper Big Bird Lake, the setting sun lit up the remaining clouds. I sat and watched as the sky changed color again and again.
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text: Music and language have thrilled my soul for as long as I can remember, but at age 38, I discovered new songs were actually inside my heart and mind. After years of being told (accused?) of being very analytical (admittedly I scored an 800 on the analytical section of the SAT twice and wanted to scream), I wrote off my secret dream of life as a creative. Whatever happened in my late 30’s – hormone surge? mini-stroke? blow to the head ? – it was a dramatic internal shift. I got a brand new lens to see the world through. Many of my words and melodies come to me in the dark of night (or in the car). Because I am slow and stubborn at times, my biggest life lessons have also come through darkness, usually of my own making. I believe this whole crazy world is a setup to showcase love, grace, and redemption, my own soul included. You might think that is naive, but the more I live, the more I believe it.


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From morning until night your fingers moved
Doodling on paper while chatting on the phone
Knitting as you watch TV
Even in the end
Your fingers found a way
To rub more love into our hearts
Opening your bible we sat in awe
To read the letter you left for the generations that began,
You ended with words that made us laugh and cry,
“P.S. Sorry I was such a grouch.”
Even after you died
Your fingers used a pen to offer a final gift
Gazing at the mystery of your life we ponder the unknowable
How many smiles are born from your efforts?
How many belly’s filled?
How much comfort do your quilts provide?
How many rosary beads did you press in worry and hope?
A Mother’s fingers keep moving until
Every itch is scratched
Every cup is filled
Polishing each project with a unique zest for life
Moving to a rhythm orchestrated by palms in a one-pointed prayer
A prayer backed not just by grace
Many daily efforts endorse your vision of love
Each moment you scratch more love into our hearts
From morning until night your fingers move


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Mediterranean Couscous Salad ~ plain old pasta salad mixes it up with a zesty tabbouleh and a glossy pearl couscous. No mayo means it’s the perfect choice for barbecues and picnics.
Couscous is originally from North Africa, and is actually pasta that’s been rolled into tiny grains. It’s super quick cooking and makes a really convenient side dish. I’ve used Israeli couscous for this salad, which is a variation that has larger grains. It has a wonderful texture and makes a nice change from the standby pasta salad. It makes a beautiful presentation for entertaining, too.
The lemony minty flavors of tabbouleh are refreshing and unexpected in a pasta salad, and people really love it.
Try my traditional Tabbouleh recipe if you’d like to see the original inspiration for this salad. And for a pretty variation, check out my Jeweled Tabbouleh, it’s topped with colorful fruits and nuts.
Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- 1 cup pearl or Israeli couscous this one has larger grains
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup finely chopped baby cucumber or any thin skinned cucumber like Persian or English
- 1 cup baby tomatoes halved or quartered depending on their size
- 1/4 red onion minced
- 1/2 cup parsley finely minced
- 1/4 cup fresh mint finely chopped
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/3 cup roasted pine nuts optional
- 1/3 cup Kalamata olives optional
- Cook the couscous according to the package instructions. Usually it simmers, covered, in 1 1/4 cups boiling water for about 8 to 10 minutes until the water is absorbed.
- Put the hot couscous in a bowl and add the olive oil, lemon, sea salt and pepper. Give it a toss to combine and set aside.
- Add the vegetables, parsley and mint to the couscous and toss well. Taste for seasoning and refrigerate the salad for at least a couple of hours to chill thoroughly.
- Sprinkle in the feta, and the pine nuts and olives if using, when you are ready to serve.
- Don’t skimp on the herbs; they’re key to the flavor. Likewise the lemon. This is a good opportunity to use those pretty multicolored heirloom cherry tomatoes, too!

domain: food


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8.5″ x 11″
5 – Color, Screenprint, Archival Paper, San Leandro, 2019 Edition of 125
In the past couple years the Galeria de la Raza has gone through changes brought on by gentrification. They lost the space they had been in for 46 years and had to scramble to find a new home. They have an amazing staff that has secured their future in the Mission, as they settled in their temporary home I was inspired by their struggle to create this piece. Arte es Vida. Art has become a big part of my live and I see how ingrained it is in our culture of both as acts of resistance and resilience, art is a reflection of who we are as a people. But as in the case of Galeria de la Raza, we’ve had to defend it, the staff struggled to make sure it had a future home. As we face an uncertain future we know that art will be the thing that keeps us going that inspires us to keep fighting and keep loving and building a future for us.


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Bob Rush Collection
Bob Rush, prominent Salida attorney, had a large collection of framed photographs that adorned his office. He graciously donated his collection to the Salida Library.
The library is delighted to offer a curbside pickup service for our physical materials while we are closed.
Read more about curbside pickup.


People who want us to (a) care and (b) be worried about the implications of mobile location tracking say that we should be more protective when it comes to having our phones tell the networks where we are, as this data, if hacked and stolen, could lead to us being blackmailed, kidnapped, hit over the head with pipes and, in a worst case scenario only hinted at in the report, eaten by German sex cannibals.
The actual scaremongering report [PDF] says we're being tracked by over 52,000 mobile phone masts as we go about our business of flopping down between various screens and eating various flavours of crisp, and this data could one day be used by criminals to... we're not sure. Steal things when we're out? Kidnap us and demand incredibly small ransoms from people who won't even notice we're missing for three weeks? Blackmail us because we happened to walk down that street with the prostitutes ten times in one evening?
One of the key reasons it says that location tracking is bad is that it "places your children at risk" because this blatant bit of emotional manipulation infers that -- shock! -- paedos might know when and where children are dropped off at school. Which isn't exactly classified information, as children tend to go to the nearest school at the usual school times.
The report's obvious conclusions are further drawn into doubt by the fact that it spells Vodafone wrong throughout. In short, we're being tracked all of the time and if you're worried about it leave your phone at home, especially if you're off out abducting. [Krowdthink via Guardian]


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What’s Bueno: Liberté Yogurt!
AS YOU KNOW, one of the current food trends is Greek-style yogurt. Greek-style yogurt is currently trending. [Eugh.]
So when I saw these things at the 99¢ Only Store at two for 99¢ only…
…I knew I had to try them. Oh, sure, I act like I don’t care what other folks think, but the truth is, I’m very insecure. I need you, what, six people to know I’m eating the trendy foods.
Anyway, holy mother of God, this yogurt is the best yogurt in the history of yogurt! I’m not kidding! It’s amazing! Oh ho ho, let me tell you, brother – you have never tasted yogurt like this yogurt. It’s nectar of the gods, in yogurtal form. It’s-just-that-good!
I devoured it in a matter of mere seconds. This involved me darting my long, Gene Simmons-like tongue into every recess of the plastic receptacle so that not a bit, not a single beneficial bacteria culture of delicious yogurt was wasted. And as I was carrying the empty cup to the trash, I noticed this:
Total fat 18%! Saturated fat 37%! And sugars – 26 grams! For six lousy ounces! No wonder it tastes so good! It’s all fat mixed with heaping tablespoons of sugar, practically!
This changes everything!
…Oh screw it, who am I kidding? This changes nothing.
Well, maybe to offset this delicious taste treat, I’ll try and limit myself to just one of Marie Callender’s nutritious 16.5 ounce Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pot Pies for dinner tonight. Try.