So, today, I cut out the horses and sanded them.


Now I have to figure out how to make the tails.

Anyone with a great idea on how to make the tail for the horses? If you've got one let me know and if I use it, I will bake you some healthy chocolate chip cookies. Yes, I know, this is possibly an oxymoron, but I use whole wheat flower, organic sugars, and of course all natural chocolate chips maybe organic if I can find some.

Since I was stuck on the horse, I decided to paint the princesses that I cut out yesterday. They came out pretty good, so I listed them on Etsy today.
Small Town Toys

They looked so nice, I decided to try to do a Castle theme of toys. I think it will make a great toy set for boys and girls. So, my new list of toys to make:
1. Horse and stable
2. Puppet theater
3. Castle set

I am definitely going to be working hard for the rest of the year.

I just got lost

I used to rule the world/ Seas would rise when I gave the word/ Now in the morning I sleep alone/

Sweep the streets I used to own

Primele versuri sunt din Coldplay – Lost? şi lumea în târg vorbeşte că tema este albumul anterior X and Y, care nu a avut parte de toată atenţia pe care o merita.

Al doilea calup de versuri sunt din Coldplay-Viva la vida şi se pare că aparent sunt legate de Revoluţia franceză şi de faptul că probabil se regretă vremuri trecute în care gloria se servea ca aperitiv, iar abuzul de putere era un desert servit déjà de prea multe ori.( căutând o imagine potrivită pentru post, am descoperit "roata": coperta lui Viva la Vida)

“Coldplay's musical style has been defined as alternative rock. they describe their musical style as "very heavy soft rock".” - wiki

Oricum, vroiam să ajung să vă spun că ceea ce e puţin atipic la britanica trupă, e că au refuzat orice vânzare a pieselor din discografia lor în scop comercial, altul decât vânzarea propriu-zisă a albumelor. Adică nu vor accepta nicio asociere cu orice produse sau mărci.

Chris Martin spune- "We wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if we sold the songs' meanings like that."

Asta nu înseamnă ca e o atitudine originală, U2 şi R.E.M. au abordat în mare parte aceeaşi strategie. Şi asta nu face muzica lor mai puţin comercială, e comercială până vrem noi să fie.(A propos se pare că şi Timbaland are un pic de merit aici.) Mie-mi place să cred că nu e, so far.

Enjoy meanwhile. I know I am. :D

'Sir Alberic ...? Taken by a dragon ...? Are you sure?'

'Of course I'm sure,' growled the sooty woman. 'I am Lady Lucienne, his wife, and I saw it.'

A dark-haired girl emerged from the ruins.

'That disgusting creature over there,' said Lady Lucienne, 'is my daughter, Sylvia. She and I are all that remain of this castle's former inhabitants.'

Sir Deveril, hearing unfamiliar voices, halted his tour of the walls and hurried to join us. I introduced him to the women.

'Lady Lucienne says that a dragon destroyed the castle and carried Sir Alberic away. She and her daughter have lived among the ruins ever since.'

'We must take you both to a place of safety,' said Sir Deveril. 'Do you know of anywhere suitable in the area?'

'There is an abbey at Liddington,' said Lady Lucienne. 'That's about five miles from here. I'm sure we could stay there a while. I have met the abbess on several occasions and found her to be a most kind and helpful woman.'

'Do you have any horses?' asked Sir Deveril.

'No. The dragon ate them, otherwise we would have sought refuge at the abbey long ago.'

'We have three. Sylvia can ride behind me. Tevis, can you lend Lady Lucienne your mare? I think Sir Conal's white stallion would prove too spirited for her.'

Mother and daughter returned to their ruins to gather a few items of value. When they returned, I assisted Lady Lucienne to mount Delilah, then helped Sylvia climb up behind Sir Deveril.

Sir Conal's horse was nervous of a new rider and refused to stand still for me to mount. Sir Deveril was obliged to hold the bridle as I swung into the saddle. The peasants came out of their cottages to watch as we rode out of the village with Lady Lucienne at our head.

The first part of the journey retraced the route which Sir Deveril and I had taken from Hungerford, but instead of riding up to the top of the ridge we continued along its base, following the loops of a tinkling stream.

As the shadows lengthened, Sir Deveril called for a halt. We dismounted, drank from the brook, and ate more of the saddlebags' contents. The women walked downstream and washed off some of the soot that coated their hands and faces. When they returned, Sir Deveril moved to Lady Lucienne's side.

'Tell me more about the dragon,' he said.

'It was the most frightful creature I have ever seen, Sir Deveril. Green, belching smoke, and with hideous red eyes.'

'Did it have wings?' asked the knight. 'I only enquire out of professional curiosity as, at some point, I could be called upon to fight the beast.'

'It had monstrous wings equipped with the most dreadful claws.'

'Mother,' said Sylvia. 'I didn't see any wings.'

'But it must have had wings, my dear, or how could it have flown?'

'You saw it fly?' I asked.

'Mother did,' said Sylvia.' I didn't.'

Lady Lucienne frowned at her daughter.

'It disappeared into the clouds, Tevis. That, in my day, was what we called flying.'

'I'm sure that it flew, my lady,' said Sir Deveril. 'That's the very worst sort.'

'Sylvia,' I said, 'what actually happened when the dragon attacked the castle?'

'It's very hard to say exactly. It was during the middle of the night. We were all asleep - even our guards, it seems!'

'I was awake, dear.'

'Yes, Mother. Well then ... most of us were asleep. I was awoken by all the shouting. "A dragon! It's a dragon!" people were screaming. I looked out of the window of my chamber and saw a dark shape standing beside the portal. Flames poured from its mouth. It burnt down the gatehouse and entered the bailey. I ran to my parents' room and found Mother there, looking out of her window.'

'I saw it all, my dear,' said Lady Lucienne. 'Your father had gone downstairs with his sword to fight the beast. I saw him run out of the keep doorway - utterly fearless - and strike the creature.'

'But it was useless,' said Sylvia. 'The dragon snatched him up and carried him off. A little later, it came back to burn down the castle.'

'How did you both escape?' I asked.

'We went to the chapel,' said Sylvia, 'and sheltered there. Thank goodness it was set apart the other castle buildings.'

'An awful and extraordinary story,' said Sir Deveril. 'You ladies have shown remarkable courage in the face of severe affliction, but now we must press on to Liddington before darkness overtakes us.'

We arrived at the abbey as the sky went dark and rain began to fall. Lady Lucienne approached the gatehouse and pulled the bell rope.

'It's me,' she said to the nun who came to the door, 'Lady Lucienne of Wroughton. May I speak to the abbess, please?'

The matted hair and filthy gown did little to confirm Lady Lucienne's identity. The nun looked her up and down. Sylvia, who came to stand behind her, was in an even worse condition. But when the nun looked beyond the women to see Sir Deveril and me in the shadows, she gave a sharp scream.

'Please,' said Lady Lucienne, 'this is my daughter and these men are friends. May we at least come in for shelter?'

The nun looked doubtful.

'We admit men to certain parts of the abbey, but only if they leave their weapons outside the gate. The abbess will come to speak with you in the almonry.' She raised a finger. 'Be sure you proceed no further!'

We agreed and Sir Deveril and I removed our swords and daggers.

'Oh, Tevis,' he whispered as we filed through the door, 'I feel quite naked.'

There were no chairs or any other concessions to comfort in the almonry. We stood around awkwardly and dripped until the abbess arrived.

'Lady Lucienne!' she exclaimed. 'What awful thing has befallen you? And who are these men?'

'Esther, my home has been burnt and my husband carried off by an evil dragon.'

'No!'

'Yes, and these men have brought me here for safety. Please let Sylvia and me stay here for a while.'

The abbess smiled.

'Of course. Stay as long as you like.' She turned to us. 'I'm afraid, though, that we haven't the facilities to give hospitality to men.'

'That's quite alright,' said Sir Deveril. 'Lady Lucienne, we shall go now and make our own arrangements, but tomorrow we will return to see how you are.'

'Thank you so much for rescuing us from the ruins of our dear, dear castle,' said Lady Lucienne.

'Yes,' said Sylvia, looking directly at me. 'Thank you.'

Sir Deveril took our leave of the ladies. When we entered the gatehouse to collect our swords, we found two nuns engaged in a mock battle with them. Seeing us, they dropped the weapons on the floor and ran away, giggling.

She needs a brighter future for her family. Mature women exploit their relationship expertise. They work for stable security and promote family development, closeness, and harmony. Immature women seek materialistic brighteners—more money, continuous shopping, unaffordable housing.

Those things are not that important to men. Their male nature focuses more on the present than the future. Wife expects husband to respond favorably to her wishes about their future. However, it takes skill so as not to interfere with his near-term thinking, interests, and plans.

Mature wives focus and coach husband on building and sustaining their marriage. Immature wives pressure husband for greater effort, for more and better of whatever he does. (When he never measures up, it sends loud messages that he’s inadequate and may even be insignificant.)

His needs are far simpler than hers. He only needs a place to flop, eat, throw his things, and prepare for tomorrow’s ‘battles’.

Such a place is easy to come by elsewhere. Consequently, in marriage he expects fun and comfort to compensate for loss of independence.

It’s her home to build and dominate. When she does it well, it’s a castle to him.

Tradeoffs leads to cooperation—good! Disrespect for their opposing natures leads to competition—ungood!

A ABC divulgou esta quarta-feira as primeiras imagens de uma das suas novas séries da mid-season, Castle, um drama cómico ambientada no mundo policial. Veja o trailer, a seguir ao intervalo.

Criada por Andrew W. Marlowe (Hollow Man), Castle trás Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Donas de Casa Desesperadas) no papel de Rick Castle, um escritor de livros policiais que se vê chamado ao departamento da polícia criminal de Nova Iorque para ajudar à investigação de uma assassino que imita os homicídos dos seus livros. Castle vai cooperar principalmente com a agente Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), uma mulher que definitivamente não lhe é indiferente. Perto dele estão também a mãe, diva da Broadway, interpretada por Susan Sullivan (Dharma & Greg), e a filha adolescente, vivida por Molly C. Quinn. A eles juntam-se ainda os seus companheiros de poker James Patterson, Sue Grafton e Stephen King e a sua ex-mulher Gina (Monet Mazur), que é também a sua editora. Fazem ainda parte do elenco Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Lei e Ordem), Colby French (Heroes) e Jon Huertas (Generation Kill).

A produção está a cargo dos ABC Studios sob a batuta de Andrew W. Marlowe, Armyan Bernstein, Laurie Zaks e Jane Raab. O piloto foi realizado por Rob Bowman (Ficheiros Secretos, Day Break).

Here is the premise: Fillion plays a fiction writer named Nick Castle. A string of copycat murders based on murders from Castle's books start happening in New York. Enter young, sexy, sassy police detective, Kate Beckett (Stana Katic). She gets Castle to help her solve the case. They flirt and make innuendos. Then, we all fall asleep. Fillion is definitely a charming looking dude and he probably could play this role in his sleep but...cop shows just suck.

I'd been flown to the UK as a surprise to share the end of my boyfriend's three month jaunt, planned with his mate before we'd met.

How does it happen that one day you meet a stranger for the first time and feel a ridiculously powerful connection?

Okay, so we didn't end up together - we never made it down the aisle. But whilst it worked, we fired on all cylinders. It was magic. It was something.

Possibly the strength of our bond is what allowed him to talk me into doing something I never thought I'd ever do.

It was during one of the endless and expensive calls we had whilst he was gallivanting all over the UK. At first he said he'd ring me once a week because of the cost. But that seemed unlikely when he called me the very next day. And the day after that. And the day... well, you get the picture.

I miss you he said. Every day. Our phone calls were long and beautiful, discussing you know - everything.

Send me some raunchy photos to keep me company he begged. Although he couldn't see how much I was blushing, he soon heard all about it.

He knew, ofcourse, of my body issues. I'm too tall, I'm not delicate, and I'm not waif thin. I'm not pretty. So said the negative internal voices - thanks, brother.

For many years I was my older brother's physical and verbal punching bag. Mum went back to work once we reached a certain age. From the time I started high school, there was always a good hour or so before any parental figure showed up. Time my brother - a very angry person for reasons unknown - used to full advantage.

To bait me, to hurl threats and insults against the way I looked and my intelligence, to smack me around as he saw fit. It's something that for the most part, I've moved past now, thankfully.

When someone tells you every single day of your life how ugly/stupid/fat etc you are, it sinks in. Throw enough mud...

Of my brother's "conditioning", the hardest part to overcome were insults about my looks. I knew I was more intelligent than him - that was easy to see. But I never drew much male attention, so I bought the rest hook, line and sinker.

A remaining side effect to this day is that I can't look in a mirror or at a photo of myself, and see what other people see.

So as you can imagine, my boyfriend/soon-to-be-fiancé had asked me to do something that was anti every instinct I had. I was supremely self-conscious about my physical appearance.

However, I was madly in love and I really wanted to be able to do this for the man I loved.

I recruited one of my closest friends who had some skill as a photographer AND would be cool about the request. Giggling, we planned the ‘photo shoot', working some alcohol, pizza and chocolate into the equation.

My ultra-tiny one bedroom unit was transformed. The sofa was pushed into the kitchen. A sheet was taped to the wall and props came out - sheepskin rugs, elaborate cushions etc. And costumes - there were several changes of scanty clothing to consider. I'm nothing if not creative!

A fine scotch lubricated proceedings. We turned on some music and um, got started...

Unexpectedly, it was a blast. Initially I felt strange being half naked with my friend B taking pictures. But with each costume change and more alcohol we were increasingly amused.

I was terrified about getting them developed. B took care of that for me and left me in peace to peek at the results. Drink in hand, deep breath, and I opened the packet.

~~~~~~~~~ To be continued...

~Svasti

We paused by a pool to refresh ourselves with its icy-cold water. Then, releasing the three horses to graze, we settled down on a tree trunk and ate our lunch.

'There were times yesterday,' said Sir Deveril, 'when I thought I'd have to find a new squire.'

'So,' I admitted, 'did I.'

The knight waved his chicken leg at me.

'Tevis, I must give you further instruction. You were adequate against a novice, but an expert swordsman would run you through in an instant. And the trouble is that when you stand up against an unknown opponent, you don't know until it's too late which category he's in.'

'Was Fergus a novice?'

'Oh, quite definitely,' said the knight. 'Is there any more bread?'

We sat for a while the meal and talked of this and that and nothing in particular. Then, considerably rested, we rose, mounted our horses, and continued the journey to Wroughton.

Our path skirted a waterfall where dippers hopped from rock to rock, then drifted into a gloomy wood of yews to emerge, much later, on to a great ridge which offered views, both east and west, across a major part of southern England. We halted to listen to the song of the skylarks and watch the clouds scud along on the horizon.

'In Gomshall,' I murmured, 'I only dreamt that such beauty existed. If you hadn't taken me for your squire, I'd still be pumping the bellows in a smoke-filled forge.'

'It was an honest profession that you shared with an honest man,' said Sir Deveril. 'You mustn't regret it. Now, give me Sir Conal's sword.'

I dismounted from Delilah and looked for the weapon among the goods tied on the white horse. When I found it, I passed it up to Sir Deveril. He studied it for a while, the lifted it to the sky.

'We stand on a hilltop,' he said, 'somewhere between heaven and earth. Now is the time to renew any vow we've made. I dedicate this sword, and the hand that holds it, to the fight against dragons and the rescue of damsels in distress.'

'Are there dragons, Sir Deveril?'

The knight gazed down upon me from his position high on Samson.

'Must be, Tevis, or why would the world need people like us to fight them?'

'That's true.' I considered this for a while, then drew my own sword and raised it. 'I'd like to join you in that dedication, Sir Deveril.'

'Say the words, Tevis. Say them and mean them.'

I did so.

'Never forget this moment,' said the knight. 'Now, remount, please. We still have to find Sir Alberic.'

When I was back in the saddle and comfortable, he spurred Samson to a gallop along the level ridge that stretched ahead to the horizon. I sheathed the sword and followed as best I could with Sir Conal's great stallion tied behind Delilah. Every so often we passed by barrows - great mounds beneath which lay the bodies of warriors whose names and exploits were long forgotten by the land over which they fought. Sir Deveril halted for me where the ridge fell to the floor of the plain.

'Ready for the descent?' he asked.

I nodded.

'Follow me, then.'

We rode over the edge of the world and rushed down the escarpment. At its foot were cross-roads where an ancient track stretched left and right as far as we could see. While we stood there, wondering which route to take, a great flock of sheep appeared and surged around us, driven by weather-beaten men from the west. On enquiry, they told Sir Deveril that he would find Wroughton in the direction from which they had come.

We turned left and cantered along the track at the foot of the ridge until a small town came into view. Smoke ascended from the cottages' chimneys as we rode through the main street, looking left and right for a castle, but it wasn't long before the town lay behind us, dwindling into the distance.

'Was that Wroughton?' I asked.

'I thought so, but clearly it wasn't. Ask further directions from the next person you meet.'

We spotted buzzards in the sky and deer in the fields, but it was half an hour before we saw another human being. It was a shepherd again, tending his flock beside woodland.

'Wroughton?' he said. 'You passed it. Turn round and follow this track. Make sure you don't stray from it! The first village that you come to will be Wroughton.'

'No,' said Sir Deveril. 'We've been there and we saw no castle.'

'But you can't miss it,' said the man. 'It's the only stone building, apart from the church, in the whole village - a great, grey ugly thing on the far edge.'

'Thank you,' said Sir Deveril. 'We shall now try again.'

We turned the horses and retraced our steps for another half hour.

'On the far edge ...,' murmured Sir Deveril, in the middle of the main street. 'A great, grey eyesore ....'

Yet there was no castle. We searched among the cottages until we found a yokel with a pig on a string.

'Where's the castle?' I called.

Trembling, he pointed down a track that passed between two barns. We rode along it, but still couldn't see anything except vegetable plots. The smell of fire, however, still hung in the air. We cantered a little further and reached a great heap of smoke-blackened rubble.

'Is this-? No, what am I saying? Was this Sir Alberic's castle?' gasped Sir Deveril.

'Wait a minute,' I said.

I rode all round the ruins and returned to him.

'The path goes no further,' I said. 'This is it.'

'Then Sir Alberic must be dead, for no life remains in here.'

We dismounted and walked in numb horror amongst the burnt stones and charred timbers. As we clambered over the castle's remains, Sir Deveril fell behind. He had discovered the foundations of the outer wall and was tracing the outline of the bailey within it. As I arrived at the wreckage of the keep, a woman poked her head out of it.

'What do you want?' she demanded.
'We wanted to see Sir Alberic,' I said.

The grubby woman shook her head.

'He isn't here, squire. The dragon took him away.'

The rock close is a wild garden that was built on top of "an area of ancient druid mystery and fairy enchantment" where, if you stand long enough and look hard enough, they say you can see ghosts of salmon catching ghost flies, and in times of danger a herd of ghost cows comes up from the lake and grazes in the field by the castle. It definitely was a very magical, fairy-like place. We decided it was the inspiration for Fern Gully. [gallery]

We started out on a real trail then Austin decided that he wanted to go "up" so we went "up."  Never a good idea though.  We were on a trail that used to be a trail but I don't think it was anymore.  We finally met up with a real trail.  The problem was that there were also men working in large machinery above us.  I thought that something was probably wrong with that situation so we walked back down and when we got to the base of the real trail we had to cross some red tape and a sign that said, "Durchgang Verboten.  Lebensgefahr."  (Passage Forbidden.  Deadly Peril).  So I'm pretty glad that we got out of there, it sounded pretty dangerous.  

Initial impressions

- A little on the cheeseball side BUT it reminds me a bit of those early 80's shows I loved so much (Remington Steele, etc.) and I think Nathan could be gangbusters in a serious/cheesy role like Rick Castle. BUT if that's the vein the show is in, I need to see more of the female lead to see if she can hold her own or if she'll just be kind of boring
- Like the interplay with the daughter...less cliche and stronger scene-vibes over all then some of the cop parts
- Had several very funny moments which bodes well (love the lines about "this is better then shark week" and Nathan's "that was so cool!")
- Since all the scenes are more then likely from the pilot, which isn't always the best anyway, I have hope that it has enough potential to get even better

Also on the mid-season list of things to look forward to...Dollhouse, the latest creation from the genius mind of Joss Whedon. Now you may have heard that production got shut down briefly so Whedon could re-group and re-write...which got a lot of people worried. I am not one of those people. The man knows what he's doing and if he's not happy with something, odds are he's right to re-do it...nothing is half-assed with this guy and speaking as a fan of everything else he's done, I think we'll love it even more if he gets a chance to put his best foot forward with this new world he's creating. If you haven't seen the preview for the show, check it out:

There's just something extremely fascinating about castles, these massive stone juggernauts that even today stand as the pinnacle of medieval might and power. When you think of kings, of emperors, queens and lords, that all ties in with the image of the Castle, a majestic stone structure that's built to weather the toughest of blows whether it be nature or our fellow man dealing them. It's easy when you stand at the base of these structures to picture the sheer power these would have bestowed to the lords over the people, its size and construction is built for intimidation and military prowess. Dramatics aside, there's also the sense of age and time that accompanies the castles of old. You see, Canada was established well past the castle era, and although Quebec sports an impressive set of early defenses, for the most part our bastions of might in the past were wooden fortress and the earth itself, torn up to form walls of mud and wood to hold back the cannons of the enemy. None of those forts really exist anymore and time has washed clear the bloodstains of the colonial era, other than the occasional monument or a cheesy recreation, there's nothing left.

Not so with Europe. Those massive stone castles stand as a sort of testament to mans violent past. Built solely for defence, lacking almost any sense of comfort or style, such as the one in Newcastle which was designed in the Norman style. Tight corridors and narrow flights of spinal stairs, large bare stone rooms, minimal windows to keep the defence of the structure rigid. These buildings were built to withstand it all, and many have, even the test of time.

In Newcastle I believe the price was 50p to wander the bare building, large and empty. It was a rainy day at the time, and to enter onto the premise I walked under the old Black Gates, the remains of the original outer castle walls that would have once surrounded the area, now only the massive stone gatehouse long ago stained black from wear remains. Drawbridge down and wooden planks dark and damp from the water, this long structure stands out amidst the modern industrial surroundings and the heightened train tracks next to it, an ancient monolith of the past. You pass through the old gates and follow the path under the train tacks and towards the castle proper which lies just on the opposite side, another strange monolith from the past as the huge stone structure sits by itself in a parking lot, train tracks on one side, city buildings on another, and on another the last remains of the walls remain, now having been converted to a small park that leads towards the river and into more industrial land.

Up the flight of stone stairs and into the structure you're faced with the small novelty gift shop and a small wooden booth where a bored but kindly older man sells you a ticket. In one direction lay a bare stone room where a series of pictures have been set up to list some of the castles history as well as another smaller display listing the various ghostly happening that have occurred there and a few notable people and encounters there because of those encounters, doorways lead into the castle proper. The building is built like a box, with a large central room in the middle surrounded by staircase in the corners and various smaller hallways and rooms, one unfortunate stone stairway leading up into a flat stone wall for whatever reason, the original castle builders having left it unfinished for unclear reasons. Up leads to the main hall, often used as an exhibit for various local functions, and further up to the roof where you're allowed to wander at will. By this time the rain had begun to clear luckily and while the sky was still appropriately darkened for proper medieval ambiance lighting (Thank you Newcastle) I was able to get a stunning view. Heading deeper into the castle towards its base you're faced with inter-connected large stone rooms, one a small chapel and another gated off to prevent people from falling down the large pit it seems to lead into. A prison I presume. What's especially noticable here is the way the stonework is built from various different types and eras, pieces having been reused, moved, rebuilt and switched around over the years. So you'll see an appropriately worm smooth stone from who knows when sitting atop a seemingly freshly carved stone from only a few hundred years ago. Another reminder of those castles long past.

Other than the occasional plaque with a few words of history written on them or stone monuments propped up against the walls, the place is barren and empty. No fancy showmanship for touristy delight, it hasn't been prettied up or decorated for the most part, although a few rooms do contain some threadbare displays. And for me that's what made Newcastle a unique and entertaining experience. The place was all but empty when I was there so no large crowds or the yelling of bored tourists, it wasn't decorated with silly out of place childrens displays. Just the castle, here and now. See it, enjoy it, soak up the ambiance and enjoy. Very cool.

Newcastle was not my favourite city by any means, the fact that all I've spoken about this entire entry are castles, largely in general terms, speaks a lot of how barren I found the rest of the city, but there was nothing wrong with it either. Unlike Manchester there was no sense of disliking the place... I just couldn't find much entertainment. There's probably plenty to see if you knew where to look and all, but as a one-day traveller there's only so much information open to you and so many places you can get to with limited means, aka walking. Still, nice experience and an impressive castle which gave me an excuse to rant about how damn cool the things are.

After this was Edinburgh, and another excuse to rant about medieval worksmanship, but that's for the next entry.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5
• Part 6
• Part 7
• Part 8
• Part 9
• Part 10
• Part 11
• Part 12

This post feeds off off Part 12 and is based on Alex's post here.  We are going to rework the last post and remove the decorator pattern.  Instead, we'll create a calculator that manages any number of other calculators, which are injected as an array.

So, in keeping with my shameless plagirizing of Alex's code, here is the abstract class for our new calculators:

And now our total calculator:

And the GST calculator:

The shipping calculator:

Lastly, our calculator of calculators, the reworked DefaultCalculator:

So, we'll inject an array of calculators (total, shipping, and gst) into our default calculator. Binsor, away!

component "default.calculator", ICostCalculator,DefaultCalculatorNoDecorator:
    _calculators=[@total.calculatornodec,@shipping.calculatornodec,@gst.calculatornodec]

component "total.calculatornodec", AbstractCalculator,TotalCalculator

component "gst.calculatornodec", AbstractCalculator, GSTCostCalculatorNoDecorator:
    GstRate=Convert.ToDecimal(1.20)

component "shipping.calculatornodec", AbstractCalculator, ShippingCalculatorNoDecorator:
    FragileShippingPremium=Convert.ToDecimal(0.0)

Just like we did in our post on arrays, we inject an array of dependencies.  Changing the order is just a matter of switching the order in the binsor.  All good.

Running the program gives the same output as the last post.

Next post, which is the last in the series until Alex writes more (whew), is on the "Startable" facility.

Back in November of 2007 the Scottish Parliament's economy, energy and tourism committee launched an inquiry into tourism, intended to find out if the target of increasing tourism revenues by 50 per cent by 2015 is realistic. In its written response to the inquiry, the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce claimed the target was set as a result of political ambition rather than a factual analysis. Since then, similar views have been expressed by those in the business.

I hope the recently released visitor numbers for Scotland's attractions managed by Historic Scotland aren't a precursor for the Scottish Government's other famous 50% growth target, which is to produce 50% of the country’s electricity from renewables by 2020. (Of course, I know the two are unrelated, but that 50% is still an interesting coincidence, and I can't help wondering if the same spin-doctor was advising them on the best number to announce).

This hasn't been the best of years for weather. Indeed, as I write, I reckon our first hit of frosty cars arrived three weeks early this year, because what I woke up to see this morning didn't happen until the end of the month last year. My perception this years - regardless of whatever numbers the weatherfolk throw at us - is of a cool but dry (ok, drier) summer than in recent years. And, I make that analysis on real things like the number of times I get soaked when I'm out, or feel the sun, and both have been relative strangers over the past months. I won't even bother going into the financial year, we all know how that has gone.

Historic Scotland tells of something around a 10% fall in the number of visitors to its attractions (there goes the 50% target if that continues), which it attributes to both the weather, and the various financial crises we have seen over the year. Over the summer season, which lasts from April to September, their 360 sites saw 1.9 million visitors, as compared to over 2.1 million last year. Their star performer is Edinburgh Castle, which saw a fall of 13% in its visitors this year, with many similar falls across their main attractions.

I'd have to admit I haven't helped those visitor number in recent (or this) years, as I visit Stirling Castle fairly often - it's both nearer and nicer than Edinburgh, as there are less of those pesky tourists mobbing it - but I don't pay to go in, and just enjoy the outside. It's a handy break in the trip home if you've been far north, and there's an excellent chip shop in the road just below the castle.

A few years ago we'd pulled up there and collected out fish supper, and were just about to sit there and tuck in when all hell let loose around as the Fire Service arrived and we were surrounded by those nice red fire engines. Turns out that the tenement above both is and the chip shop had burst into flames - nothing to do with the chip shop! - and none of us at street level had any idea of what was happening, since we couldn't see the roof, but those a few streets away could.

We weren't in the way, but were boxed in, so just carried on eating until they were finished.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1025616380836422450]

hum, ahum

Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be the reason why I'm freeing my trapped soul
Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be a reason why I'm making examples of you

Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be the reason why I'm freeing my trapped soul
Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be a reason why I'm making examples of you

Ahum, ahum

Must be, a reason, why I'm, king of
Must be, a reason, why I'm, king of

Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be the reason why I'm freeing my trapped soul
Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be a reason why I'm making examples of you

Ahum, ahum

Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be the reason why I'm freeing my trapped soul
Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be a reason why I'm making examples of you

Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be the reason why I'm freeing my trapped soul
Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be a reason why I'm making examples of you

Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be the reason why I'm freeing my trapped soul
Must be the reason why I'm king of my castle
Must be a reason why I'm making examples of you

Diane May your day be filled with Joy and Happiness!

I have known and been friends with Diane now for over... ah, 17-years.  We have grown to be best friends and have shared many moments together.  Over the past few years Diane has taken on the role of Number One Sherpa... but somehow I still carry all the gear!  But she does watch it, the tent, and direct traffic while I am focused on shooting what ever event or activity we are at.  Sometimes she even plays that voice of reason (worrywart) when I am taking and pushing myself or my photography.  Complete with tears of fear!  I think she may think I have a death wish, but when I feel right about getting the shot, I do what I think I need to grad it/them.  I have hung over Castle walls, knelt on the edge of the Grand Canyon, and sat nearly (it's not as bad as she tells the story either) in the path of speeding Autocross drivers as they speed by.  All this while Diane held my leg as I hung over that wall, begged me to come away from the edge (She did still manage to take a Great shot of me in action there though), and pleaded with me to move further out of reach of those speeding cars.  Honestly, it is a down right wonderful feeling to feel that concern while I attempt to attain some memorable shot.

From Friend to Adventurer, to superb Faire companion, she always tries to have fun and keep a cheerful outlook. As she has said: "Once you share a tent with someone for a week..."  

A fantastic friend she is too, from getting up at 3AM to head over one state and catch the Sandhill Cranes as the Sun breaks over the horizon, to reading foreign directions on a map while I navigating a road in Paris at 11PM on a Friday evening.  Who else would think to find a US based restaurant chain, and ask for directions there?  Or, ask her how much fun it is to flip a raft after being guided Backwards over a drop in the river and getting wedged on an undercut rock!  There's always that 500-mile tandem bike ride from the Twin Cities to Chicago. 30mph down hill with Diane screaming and pounding on my back to slow down!!!

Diane, You are indeed a Very Special Friend and I am very glad to be called your friend.  Let's keep this friendship alive as you approach this side of the big hill.   It's a long slide down from here,  just like the Snail says: "Wheeeeeeeeee"

Thanks loads for letting me be your friend.  And thanks for all the help you have provided me these past few years with all the photographic endeavors we have partook in.  I'm not done yet either, and could always use a Lead Sherpa!

Can't wait to experience Yellowstone in the Snow this year.  And You are one friend that won't abandon me on my adventures down to Antarctica!   By The way, How's my 100-400mm Zoom?  Been a while since I've seen, held, or used that myself!

Enjoy this entire day!

 Go Ride a Harley... You know exactly what I mean!    

:P

Love Ya kiddo!

In code, it looks like this:

  1: [Transactional]

  2: public class Foo

  3: {

  4:     [Transaction]

  5:     public virtual void Bar()

  6:     {

  7:         // Do something in a transaction

  8:     }

  9: }

 10: 

Let's suppose that later, we want to test this code. Say, we want to verify that code in Foo.Bar() method is executed in a transaction. Moreover, we want to assure that the marking attributes will not be deleted accidentally.

We can test that within two aspects. First - an integration test: a real application part will be spawned and a call will be performed. After, we should verify that changes was committed by transaction. It takes time to run such a test (integration test usually runs slower) and effort to write & verify such a test. Second way to test that - is to check presence or required attributes. This will be a fast unit test that will just check that attribute is still applied to a method.

Those methods complements each other. Ideally, it should be both written.

Let's see how we can verify that attributes required by ATM are applied to required methods.

First, we've defined the API that we want to use to do our check:

  1: CustomAssertions.ShouldUseATM<Foo>(foo => foo.Bar());

Yes, you see it right, we want to make it type save, refactor-able and nice looking.

This helper class should verify next assumptions, all required by ATM:

• Tested class should be marked with TransactionalAttribute;
• Method should be marked by TransactionAttribute;
• Method should be virtual.

Solution we came to this problem is the next class:

  1: public static partial class CustomAssertions

  2: {

  3:     public static void ShouldUseATM<T>(Expression<Action<T>> methodExpression) where T : class

  4:     {

  5:         ThrowIfTypeNotMarkedAsTransactional(typeof (T));

  6:

  7:         var methodInfo = ((MethodCallExpression) methodExpression.Body).Method;

  8:

  9:         ThrowIfMethodIsNotMarkedWithTransactionAttribute(methodInfo);

 10:         ThrowIfMethodMarkedWithTransactionAttributeIsVirtual(methodInfo);

 11:     }

 12:

 13:     private static void ThrowIfTypeNotMarkedAsTransactional(Type classType)

 14:     {

 15:         object[] foundAttributes = classType.GetCustomAttributes(typeof (TransactionalAttribute), false);

 16:         if (foundAttributes.Length == 0)

 17:             Assert.Fail("The type '{0}' is not marked with [Transactional] attribute", classType.Name);

 18:     }

 19:

 20:     private static void ThrowIfMethodIsNotMarkedWithTransactionAttribute(MethodInfo info)

 21:     {

 22:         var found = info.GetCustomAttributes(typeof (TransactionAttribute), false);

 23:         if (found.Length == 0)

 24:             Assert.Fail("Method '{0}' from '{1}' type is not marked with [Transaction] attribute",

 25:                         info.Name,

 26:                         info.DeclaringType.Name);

 27:     }

 28:

 29:     private static void ThrowIfMethodMarkedWithTransactionAttributeIsVirtual(MethodBase methodInfo)

 30:     {

 31:         if (methodInfo.IsVirtual && !methodInfo.IsFinal)

 32:             return;

 33:

 34:         Assert.Fail("Method '{0}' from '{1}' type is marked with [Transaction] attribute, but is not declared as virtual.",

 35:                     methodInfo.Name,

 36:                     methodInfo.DeclaringType.Name);

 37:     }

 38: }

 39: 

So far, we're pleased with how it works for us.

  So we arrived on a Wednesday.  Not only that but we left the house at 3:45am to catch the plane.  This was accomplished by one of my favorite methods, staying up all night.  That was basically out only course of action seeing as Anne and I hadn't packed yet.  All I can say about that is, it's great to be with someone who thinks like me.

  Catching the plane was painless, and I came to realize something.  I've only visited Netherlands once, and yet I've already been in Schiphol 4 times, and it'll be 6 by the time I come back to The States.  I would love to tell you all about the plane ride, except I was passed out for the entire thing.  I only woke up a couple times to check if Anne was doing all right then I went right back to sleep.  The silly thing is I somehow woke up about 30 seconds before we flew along the southern coast of Portugal, and past the house we'd be staying in.  Considering how bad my internal clock is, and the fact that I've only ever see the house in pictures, I'd call that pretty good.

  Once we hit the airport things went smoothly.  Anne's father was there to pick us up, along with Rutger, her brother.  It took about half an hour to get to the house.  I found the drive interesting, if not familiar, as the country side made me think a lot of Peru, and the way the country is built.  Anne's father made a really interesting comment that a lot of the country felt like it was only half built, as if they had started a project and just decided 80% of the way through to move on to the next one.  And ya know what, he was right.  That's exactly how it felt.  Even 2 blocks away from our place there is a house that has been only half complted for at least 8 years now, and that's perfectly normal.  As we got closer to the house though, things became quite a bit nicer.

  I do not believe I could describe the house adequetly.  It was commisioned by Carien's father, and is fairly old for the region.  It is host to beautiful vined flowers, and tapestries.  The charm is very down to earth, while maintaining a classy feel.  There is a pool in the backyard, that shines a brilliant blue when the sun sets.  It remains cool without air conditioning, even when the heat is stifiling outside.  As the kicker the ocean is visible pool side, and one is within a 5 minutes walk to the beach. Truly a marvelous place to vacation.

  One of the things I've found myself really appreciating is the Sun.  It's an odd thing to say considering I left Colorado in large part due to the sunny weather.  Maybe since I don't see a terrible amount of it in Seattle or Utrecht, I now appreciate it.  Don't get me wrong, I've no want to be in a terribly sunny place again, but while I'm here I'm going to soak it up and enjoy it as much as I can.

  I have lots more to say about the trip, but no time to say it.  What I can say is that I am having a blast out here.  I've been enjoying the sun, the ocean and the pool.  We've seen a castle, been to the mountains, and eaten traditional Portugese food.  I am very glad I took this journey to another part of Europe, and strongly recommend it to anyone.  I will do my best to get another post out for the Monday morning reading, but it might be til Tuesday when I can sneak up here next.  All the best to you all.

While not perfect, this enjoyable sequel improves nicely on the original time management game. If you're ready to check into your room, dear reader, here's what you need to know about Jane's Hotel: Family Hero.

Beginning in the Canary Islands, hotel patrons arrive at the hotel and greet you at the main desk. After you give them keys to the room they settle into one of the four rooms and begin to ask for some amenities such as fancy drinks, souvenirs, telephone use or a newspaper. As the manager, you will first click on the appropriate amenity, such as an espresso maker, and then on correct door that pops up with the request - as indicated by a pop-up speech bubble of sorts. There are a wide variety of guests, each with its own animation and voice, but they don't seem to act any different from one another (such as the teenager with headphones being more impatient than the cane-using senior).

Unlike the original game, Jane now has two handy assistants who will help fulfill a guest's needs. For example, you will likely see a picture of a small vacuum cleaner in the speech bubble, meaning the guest would like their room cleaned. By clicking on the maid button and the room she needs to tidy up, off she goes until the task is completed; you can chain more than one room together for bonus points, therefore you simply need to click on multiple rooms (with vacuum cleaner icons) in succession and the maid will go from one to the next.

The maid helps with other jobs as you begin to advance through the hotels, such as watering plants, bringing clean sheets to a room, dry cleaning services, and more. The other assistant is a porter who is great for odd jobs such as fixing broken-down machines, such as the espresso machine that always seems to go on the fritz. As with the maid, the porter will pick up other duties the more you advance throughout the game's 50 levels.

After you make your daily cash quota and move onto the next day, dozens of upgrades can be purchased to increase the skills of the three workers (manager, maid and porter) such as faster shoes for Jane, a better vacuum cleaner (the "Turbo 4000") for the maid or a digital camera for the porter. Furniture that's relevant to the hotel can also be purchased to spice up the place, including nice paintings for the French hotel, a medieval knight statue for the English castle or floral trimmings for the resort in the Canary Islands. You can also buy places for guests to lounge in the lobby, which increases the number of guests you can handle at once, and therefore making you more cash at the end of each day.

One issue, however, is you can't save your cash for a more expensive luxury because your money doesn't carry over between levels. For instance, say there's a $400 crystal chandelier you want but you only have $200 left after paying for staff upgrades (which are arguably more important). Problem is, that $200 doesn't carry over because you start each day with $0. Other minor niggles include graphics that are average compared to today's casual games and only one game mode to play.

Shortcomings aside, Jane's Hotel: Family Hero is an enjoyable hotel management game that is sure to provide many hours of increasingly challenging fun. Multi-taskers especially will relish in the furious mouse-clicking required to juggle all the guests' requests at once. We enjoyed our stay here, and we hope you will too!

Review by Gamezebo, Inc.