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Gadget ON: MY Passport Slim 1.0TB Portable Hard Drive Review

WD recently announced the availability of WD My Passport Slim with capacity from 1.0TB and 2.0TB variant. Its a portable hard drive with a metal enclosure, and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.

I won this My Passport 1.0TB during My Passport Slim Media Gathering held at WD's concept store at SM North EDSA Annex. So with that let me share my review with it.

So better read on...
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Contest ON: Win a Lenovo Idealpad Yoga 11s on 'Yoga Pursuit of the modes' Contest

Want to WIN a Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11s that is worth around Php 44,995, Lenovo Philippines is giving away one at their Facebook page contest.


Yoga: Pursuit of the Modes (the “Promotion”) is open only to legal residents of the Philippines who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. 
How to join the contest you say! well better read on...

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Residential Needs of Adults with Severe Autism in New Brunswick Are Not Being Met


Autism parents, and some supporters, conducted protests in front of the Centracare pyschiatric hospital in Saint John 10 years ago advocating for better, autism spectific,  care for a man with a severe autism disorder who was placed there by the NB government of  the day. The man was relocated to a more decent accommodation outside New Brunswick but no modern residential care and treatment facilities have been built in NB. I drove to Centracare with the man's father on one occasion who told me while driving there that he had visited the facility and seen his son wearing only a "Johnny shirt" in a detention room with a cement floor and liquid on the floor.  When we arrived his son was in that same room, wearing a Johnny shirt, with liquid on the floor and no one attending to him just as his father had described seeing  him before.  No significant, systemic progress for residential care and treatment of NB adults with severe autism has been made since that time.  

Laverne Stewart and the Fredericton Daily Gleaner are running a five part series on the families raising children with severe autism disorders and the challenges they face as their children become adults.    The first two articles in the series have been published. I recommend New Brunswick residents to purchase these and the remaining three issues of the Gleaner series, either by direct purchase or by subscription to Brunswick News which provides online access to all the BN community papers.

'Parents of severely autistic kids desperate for more help' was published Tuesday, October 29, 2013 and features the autism challenges faced by autism mom Brenda Comeau and her severely autistic 9 year old son Brendan Bernier and the impact his severe autism challenges have had on Brendan and his mom.  The second article  'It's going to kill her and it's going to kill me', appears today, October 30 and features Cathy Hutchinson and her 29 year old severely autistic daughter Kristie Everett and the struggle to find a decent home with properly trained staff for Christie.

That article also features comments by Paul McDonnell and clinical psychologist and Professor Emeritus (Psychology, UNB) who has educated many parents of autistic children and provided the evidence based information foundation for the early intervention and school services advocacy that did achieve some successes for autistic children and teens before and during the school years:

"Paul McDonnell, a clinical psychologist in Fredericton and an expert on the autism spectrum, agrees that the needs of adults with autism in the province aren’t being met. McDonnell said he believes a multi-tiered approach is needed. “There have to be places for individuals to live and to work. I think we need a range of services because we have a disorder that has a significant spectrum of disabilities and issues. There are some very high-functioning individuals who need different kinds of services and support than individuals with very severe autism.” 

A residential facility would have to have staff who are highly trained in the autism spectrum, he said. “What we don’t have right now is any kind of consistent government policy regarding supports and services for persons with autism spectrum disorder and I think that it needs to recognize the diversity of needs and while that might sound challenging it’s not impossible to do.” McDonnell said warehousing adults with severe autism at psychiatric facilities and nursing homes is unacceptable. “These are not appropriate places for these people to be at all and that can lead to all kinds of other issues.” He said if a family is unable to cope with an autistic adult at home the province must provide appropriate care that allows individuals to live safely and with dignity. 

McDonnell said most special-care home workers are not properly trained in the autism spectrum. “I do think the training is really critical. Ongoing training and support is absolutely crucial.” Untrained individuals who don’t understand an autistic person’s needs can cause behaviour problems to escalate, which often results in more severe forms of inappropriate intervention including heavily medicating individuals who are sometimes tied to hospital beds, he said. “We can arrange it so that these individuals are not engaging in these behaviours. We don’t have to have that. It’s all for a lack of training.” 

The Spurwink Institute in Portland, Maine, houses some New Brunswickers with severe autism. The Daily Gleaner asked the Department of Social Development for the number of adults from the province being cared for at Spurwink and other facilities outside the province and at what cost. The department refused to provide that information. A Right to Information request was sent to the government to reveal those figures. Once again, the department refused to supply the information. 

McDonnell said he believes the money the province is spending to keep people at facilities outside the province could be better used building an autism facility here. “It costs a little bit up front to get something going but in the long run taxpayers would be saving money and the quality of life for the families and the individuals concerned would be dramatically improved. So everybody wins in the long run.” McDonnell said the government is aware that there is an issue with a lack of resources for adults with autism. He said he’s attended several meetings with government representatives where the matter has been discussed.“But nothing has happened yet … Somebody’s got to put some pressure on to get this to happen. Somebody‘s got to say this is an important issue and we have to get going on this. It’s something we need to do. There’s no question about that.”" 

The fact that the needs of adults with autism in New Brunswick are not being met has been known for many years but the will to do anything about it has simply not been present in government. At one time it appeared that then Minister of Family and Community Services Tony Huntjens was going to make a serious effort to address these needs. Minister Huntjens had taken a very personal and real interest in the early intervention autism programs at UNB-CEL and in the needs of autistic children and adults. Unfortunately he resigned from cabinet before anything was put in place for autistic adults and no successor has attempted to seriously address the needs of adults with severe autism disorders.

Rum Raisin Rice Pudding

RIZ AU LAIT

Can anything be so elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one’s self? 
Ralph Waldo Emerson 


Once upon a time, we were poor as the proverbial church mouse, yet living quite happily and abundantly in our frugality. We marketed together, eyeing prices, buying seasonally and planning out our meals. We loved to cook and did so in our little kitchen whose wide French windows opened out onto a tiny stretch of lawn, a handkerchief-sized garden. The sun would flood in through those windows as we stood and chopped, minced, breaded, stirred and simmered. Our few cookbooks, our past travels and my days spent working as an interpreter in a cooking school, listening and watching a series of chef-instructors, were a constant source of inspiration and recipes. We went out for the occasional couscous at the neighborhood Moroccan restaurant, but we were more than content, actually quite tickled pink to play house in that little doll-sized abode on the outskirts of Paris. Not only did we stay within our meager budget, but we were well fed and satisfied.

When we met, he was working part time in order to allow himself a few days a week to devote to his photography. He lived in a communal house in the outskirts of Paris and owned exactly one mattress tossed on the floor, a worktable and chair, his camera and darkroom equipment. I moved in with my two battered suitcases and between the two of us we had all that we needed to be happy. A few months later, we were married, expecting our first child and had moved into our tiny dream house. We both worked part time yet the money was enough for our needs. We each left for work in the morning, or I saw him off to spend the day shooting, the evening in our livingroom-converted-darkroom. A day off, we took the train into the city to visit a museum or the gardens or drove further out for a jaunt in the woods and then back again. And we cooked.



Food has always been a necessary part of our life together in more ways than one: nourishment, yes; a connection to our past, our separate cultures and heritages, indeed; but it has always been a great pleasure for us to cook as well as eat, to cook for each other and for friends and family and cook together side by side. Food and cooking as love, the heart and soul of our home.



As humble as our beginnings, the food we cook has never had to be fancy to be special. Big one-pot stick-to-your-rib stews of inexpensive cuts of meat, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and carrots simmered until fork tender, tagines, crêpes or savory tarts, frugal yet scrumptious and filling dishes, leftovers that taste better than the day they were made. It is true that at times our grocery bills have gotten out of hand, our food budget exploding like a crazed, fiery asteroid; we give in to temptation or allow a lazy complaisance to set in and we turn to restaurants, take-out or ready-made. And then we look at that big, bad, glowing black hole in the budget (or so it seems) and the numbers scream at us to slow down and rethink the whole thing, reign it in and start all over from the beginning. Channel that couple who slept on a mattress in that big old run-down house in the ‘burbs or that snug little three-room doll’s house on that narrow strip of a street.


Rice pudding is nursery food in old English novels. Riz au lait is the sweet, frugal treat my mother-in-law made for her children to satisfy their sweet tooth as much as fill their tummies. Riz au lait, the Frenchman’s rice pudding, simply milk, rice and sugar, stirred long on the stove and spooned into bowls, is comfort food at its finest. We decided to kick it up a bit by cooking in rum-soaked raisins and more rum, the perfect mate to vanilla.

You will also love:





TRADITIONAL VANILLA RIZ AU LAIT













COFFEE LATTE RIZ AU LAIT








Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. 
The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. 
Elise Boulding 

RUM RAISIN RIZ AU LAIT (RICE PUDDING)

2 Tbs raisins
3 Tbs dark rum
7 oz (200 g) uncooked (round) rice for risotto or pudding
3 ¼ cups (750 ml) whole milk + ¼ cup more if needed to think the pudding
6 –7 Tbs (90 - 100) sugar or to taste
1 vanilla bean
Pinch salt
1 Tbs (15 g) unsalted butter

Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with the rum for about an hour before making the pudding so the raisins are softened and soaked with rum.

Place the rice in a fine mesh strainer or colander (so as not to lose any rice out the bottom!) and rinse under running water until the water runs clear. Drain.

Put the rinsed rice in a saucepan and cover with water; bring the water to a boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes. Drain the rice. 

Return the drained rice to a medium-sized saucepan with 3 ¼ cups of the whole milk, 1 tablespoon of the sugar and a pinch of salt. Using a small, sharp knife split the vanilla bean down the center and scrape out all of the seeds. Add both the seeds and the pod to the other ingredients in the saucepan. Bring it just up to the boil and then immediately turn the heat down to very low and, placing a cover atop the saucepan but leaving it ajar, allow the pudding to simmer, stirring often, for 30 to 35 minutes or until the rice has absorbed almost all of the liquid. The rice should be very soft almost melting in the mouth. It should not be al dente. The pudding should be creamy, neither runny nor dry. Add the raisins and the rum about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking. Add more milk if the rice becomes too thick and gluey rather than smooth and creamy and heat through.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and remove and discard the vanilla bean pod. Stir in the tablespoon of butter and only half of the remaining sugar. Taste and add as much of the remaining sugar until desired sweetness. Spoon into individual serving dishes, glasses or bowls.


The riz au lait is best eaten warm. If refrigerated, simply reheat for a very short amount of time in a microwave.

G10 new ASUS Gaming Desktop PC announced at the Pinoy Gaming Festival

ASUS announced the G10 Gaming Desktop PC at the Pinoy Gaming Festival held at the World Trade Center Metro Manila, Pasay City. 
The G10 is powered with the latest 4th generation Intel Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce® GTX graphics for smooth multitasking and high-performance gaming.


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Lenovo Opens of its first Lenovo Exclusive Store in DAVAO City

Lenovo has announced the opening of its first Lenovo Exclusive Store for smartphones and tablets in the Philippines, allowing the company to reach more customers and expand its visibility particularly in the Mindanao region.

(L-R) Davao Chamber of Commerce President Daniel Lim, Lenovo Philippines Marketing Communications Manager Anna Abola, Banana Telecommunications Inc. President Wilson Lu, Open Communications Inc. Business Unit Head John V. Rojo, Lenovo Philippines Country General Manager Mr. Michael Ngan, Open Communications Inc. Sales Director Nestor Remata, and Open Communications Inc. Regional Sales Manager for VISMIN Nelson V. Nava
Located at the 3rd level of Gaisano Mall, Davao City, Lenovo’s concept store will house various Lenovo smartphones like the K860, P700i, S880, S560, and the latest A-series smartphones as well as the Lenovo A series tablets including the Lenovo A1000 and A3000. The LES will also display and sell Lenovo accessories.
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Creamy Baked Ziti

Happy Monday! We made it to another week... and for me, it's my second week of intense training at my new job. It's exciting and stressful at the same time because I'm learning so much and adjusting to a new office culture. Thankfully there are still 4 more weeks of training left, which is great so that I'm being set up for success. With such full work days ahead of me, I'm balancing things out a bit by sharing new recipes and posts every other day, as opposed to daily - something I've done for years. I've also adjusted my teaching schedule on the weekends to give myself some more down time... which I need, especially as we get into the new year. Being in any type of healthcare administration role at the beginning of the calendar year is always going to be insanely busy, even more so with the upcoming healthcare changes taking place in 2014. Just the thought of healthcare issues makes me want to just hide in the kitchen and cook up something to get my mind off of it lol. That said, a recent weeknight meal I made on the fly is this Creamy Baked Ziti. Browned Italian sausage and a blend of cheeses elevates your everyday pasta to something hearty...


If anything is comforting, it's a bowl of {GF} pasta drowned in sauce. Even better is incorporating cheese... and this recipe has plenty. Ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese really get mixed in the dish and if that wasn't enough, it's topped with more cheese - in this case, colby jack. It's what I had but you can certainly substitute it with more mozzarella cheese if you wanted. This dish makes for a great freezer meal too so if that interests you, prepare it as directed in a freezer safe baking dish but rather than baking it, cover/wrap in plastic wrap, then in foil before freezing. When you're ready to prepare it, thaw it slightly and continue baking as directed. You may have to bake it longer - closer to an hour - if it's been frozen. This is to ensure the middle is cooked through. With the busy work days ahead of me, I'm definitely making more of this to stock my freezer!

Creamy Baked Ziti
recipe slightly adapted from AllRecipes

1 (16oz) package{GF} ziti pasta
1 pound bulk Italian sausage
24 oz ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 cups homemade or store bought pasta sauce
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more for serving
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped for garnish


Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease baking dish.

In a large skillet set over high heat, crumble the bulk Italian sausage and brown. Transfer the browned sausage to a large bowl.

In a large bowl with the sausage, add the cooked pasta, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 11/2 cups pasta sauce. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.

Cover the top of the pasta with the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle the 1 cup of colby jack cheese and Parmesan cheese over the top.

Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with additional Parmesan cheese if desired and garnish with fresh parsley.

Sticks allo Sbrinz

Deliziosi bastoncini salati, perfetti per un aperitivo, una merenda veloce e ottimi come street food, vista la loro praticità nell'essere mangiati anche camminando!


Per realizzare 60 sticks allo Sbrinz vi occorreranno: 40g di yogurt intero, 40g di olio d'oliva, 5g di zucchero, 1 uovo medio, 65g di farina, 30g di Sbrinz AOC grattugiato, 5g di lievito per torte salate, un pizzico di sale.

Mescolare gli ingredienti in una ciotola fino ad ottenere un impasto omogeneo.
Versare l'impasto nel Decopen e riempire lo stampo Sticks fino alla linea indicata.
Cuocere al microonde a potenza media per 5' oppure in forno a 200°C per 18 minuti.
Sformare quando sono ancora caldi.
Una volta raffreddati i bastoncini, resteranno croccanti!

Nella mia cucina
Decopen e stampo sticks Lékué


Ομηρία στην Γερμανία, 1944 ( δεύτερο μέρος)


 

Το πρώτο μέρος θα το βρείτε εδώ.

-        Λεπτομέρειες που δεν έχω γράψει. Στο Helfingen θυμάμαι ότι ένας συνάδελφος, ο Στέλιος έπαθε μόλυνση από το δόντι του και δυστυχώς πέθανε. Έμεινε άταφος 4 ημέρες στο χιόνι, μέχρι που πήραμε άδεια να τον θάψουμε. Επίσης όταν πολλοί πήγαιναν να ζητιανέψουν στα χωριά, όταν έπεφτε  αρκετό ξύλο.

-        Βέβαια μπορώ να πω ότι συναντήσαμε και καλούς ανθρώπους. Συγκεκριμένα στο OMΠΕΡΖΕΣΙΓΚΕΝ είχαμε 2 σκοπούς που μας πήγαιναν για εργασία. Ο ένας ήταν Γερμανός, σοβαρός, αυστηρός ο σε άλλος Αυστριακός ήταν πολύ καλός και μας υποστήριζε κάθε στιγμή. Επίσης συναντήσαμε και έναν Ταγματάρχη της Αεροπορίας ο οποίος μόλις μας βρήκε στη δουλειά ένα πρωινό, μας πλησίασε με άπταιστα Ελληνικά. Είχε κάνει 12 χρόνια στην Ελλάδα, στου ΑΣΠΙΩΤΗ ΕΛΚΑ. Μας έστειλε ένα φορτηγό ρουχισμό και μας γλύτωσε από το κρύο. Αυτά έγιναν το Φλεβάρη του 1945.
 
 

-        Επανέρχομαι πάλι στο Χέλφιγκεν, μας είχαν και κοιμόμαστε δίπλα στα αεροπλάνα τους τα κτήνη, για να μην κτυπούν οι σύμμαχοι. Το κακό δεν άργησε να  γίνει. Κυριακή πρωί πυροβολισμοί συμμάχων για να πετύχουν το στόχο τους  Ένας συνάδελφος βρέθηκε εκτεθειμένος και έχασε το χέρι του από ένα βλήμα.

-        Επίσης θέλω να αναφέρω για το νερό. Ούτε σταγόνα, πίναμε, πλενόμαστε ,με το χιόνι. Τρείς ,μήνες είχα, να δούμε νερό.

-         Νίκος Σκαλτσάς Κείμενα και Σκίτσα.

Chinese Knockoffs Gold iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c for only S199.99

Chinese or China made smartphones are mostly clones of the Original designs, and even Apple is not spared from this copying. Goophone is of the chinese website that is now offering Goophonei5, Goophonei5c and Goophonei5s.

The name Goophone sounds funny if you think about it, but according to Redmondpie, these copycap iPhones look really like the real thing and it only cost $199.99 that is only around Php 10K or less.
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Sony Xperia Z1, Waterproof Smartphone with 20.7MP Camera priced at PHP 36,990

Xperia Z1 is the latest addition to Sony’s premium Z series of smartphones  it features Sony’s award-winning “G Lens” with a 27mm wide angle and bright F2.0 aperture, custom made large 1/2.3-type CMOS image sensor Exmor RS for mobile with 20.7MP and a BIONZ for mobile image processing engine.


Sony Xperia Z1 are underpinned by Sony’s one-touch functions with NFC technology which will number approximately 100 compatible products by the end of the year including TVs, headphones, audio speakers, tablets, and more

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8 Years Later: Autism Youth & Adult Residential Care & Treatment Still Abysmal in New Brunswick




In May 2007 I commented on this site about the abysmal state of Youth and Adult Residential Care in New Brunswick. That commentary included the October 2005 article by then Toronto Star journalist Kelly Toughill who is apparently now a Director and Associate Professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Kings College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As an Autism Society New Brunswick representative and as the parent of a son with severe autism and profound developmental delays I have reminded the NB government, under both Liberal and Conservative administrations of the need for autism trained staff to work in group homes with autistic youth and adults.  I have also reminded them that we need an intermediate level facility based in Fredericton, close to the UNB Psychology department, the UNB-CEL Autism Intervention Training program and the Stan Cassidy autism treatment team.  Such a center could provide autism trained staff AND professional oversight and treatment for the more severely autistic youth and adults while also providing training and clinical visits as needed to group homes around the province. In the past year the government has indicated that one group home has received autism training for the staff as a pilot project.  8 years after a youth was sent to reside on the grounds of the Miramichi correcitonal facility, and with Autism Awareness month in Canada drawing to an end, there is still NO facility in place for those like my son with severe autism, the youth who had been sent to the correctional facility grounds in Miramichi, for those like the man sent to Spurwink Maine or the son of the letter writer from Woodstock whose letter appears at the conclusion of this blog post.

As parents we fought hard for early evidence based autism intervention and for the quality program to provide the training to those working with young children.  We also advocated with some success for autism trained teacher aides and resource teachers and accommodation of some autistic students with placement outside the regular classroom over intense opposition from the powerful extreme inclusion "community living" forces in New Brunswick which typically have not been of assistance to severely autistic children, youth and adults.  Adult care autism facilities  have been very much more difficult to advance achieve in part because of money, in part because it is harder to motivate parents of younger children to look ahead to the adult years and in very large part because of the ideological objections of the community living movement.  There is no choice in the matter though, we must fight hard for decent, modern adult residential care in New Brunswick or send our severely autistic adults to other jurisdictions. 

In October 2005 the Toronto Star reported on the case of a New Brunswick autistic youth who was being housed by the Province of New Brunswick on the gounds of a youth correctional facility. The youth had committed no crime. The state of New Brunswick's youth and adult residential care and treatment facilities was so bad, virtually non-existent for those with more severe and challenging autism disorder, that the province felt it was the only place that could accommodate the youth while they waited for his admission to a facility in the United States. The Toronto Star article follows this comment. Unfortunately, as the letter from Stephen Robbins posted here a couple of days ago indicates things have not improved any since then. In New Brunswick we must still export our autistic youths and adults out of the country for decent residential care and treatment.

From a personal perspective this issue weighs heavily on my mind. My son Conor was 9 at the time of the first story. He is now 11 and nearing the age of the two youths in these stories. In the meantime youth and adult residential care and treatment in New Brunswick have not moved a single steop forward. The bureaucracy does what the bureaucracy always does. It delays, it denies that problems exist, it worries about the careers of its members and whether they might be embarassed but it takes no significant action on critical issues affecting some of New Brunswick's vulnerable members.




No other place for him to stay 13-year-old must go to U.S. hospitalNo other place for him to stay

13-year-old must go to U.S. hospital

The Toronto Star, KELLY TOUGHILL, ATLANTIC CANADA BUREAU, Oct. 19, 2005

HALIFAX—A 13-year-old autistic boy now living in a New Brunswick jail compound will be sent out of Canada because there is no home, hospital or institution that can handle him in his own province.

Provincial officials confirmed yesterday the boy is living in a visitor's apartment at the Miramichi Youth Centre and will be moved to a treatment centre in Maine by November.

They stressed he is not under lock and key, has no contact with other inmates and is living outside the high wire fence that surrounds the youth detention centre.

Nevertheless, the jailhouse placement and the transfer to Maine have outraged mental health advocates and opposition critics.

"They put this boy in a criminal facility because he is autistic," said Harold Doherty, a board member of the Autism Society of New Brunswick.


"Now we are exporting our children because we can't care for them. This is Canada, not a Third World country.


``We are supposed to have a decent standard of care for the sick and the vulnerable, but we don't."


Liberal MLA John Foran echoed his concern. "This boy has done nothing wrong, is not the subject of any court order, but is in a penal institution."


Provincial officials yesterday insisted critics are misrepresenting the nature of the boy's situation and that in fact the province has done everything it can to help him.


"This individual is not being held, and is not incarcerated," said Lori-Jean Johnson, spokeswoman for the family and community services department.


"He has housekeeping, bath and a separate entrance. We are just utilizing existing resources."


Privacy laws prevent officials from discussing anything that would reveal the boy's identity, including details of his previous living situation and the whereabouts of his parents.


This much is known: He suffers from a severe form of autism and is a ward of the state, under the guardianship of the minister of family and community services. He was living in a group home until recently, but became so violent that he was judged a danger to himself and others. At a psychologist's recommendation, he was moved to a three-bedroom apartment on the grounds of the Miramichi Youth Centre, a prison for about 50 young offenders. Two attendants from a private company watch the boy around the clock, at a cost to taxpayers of $700 a day.


Johnson said she does not know any details of his care.


Doherty said the jailhouse placement and move to Maine highlight the desperate need for better services for autistic children in New Brunswick and across Canada.


He said staff at most group homes in New Brunswick aren't trained to deal with autism and don't understand the disorder.


"If you don't understand autism, things can become very bad very quickly," said Doherty, who has a 9-year-old son with the disorder.


"We have been pushing for (better facilities) in New Brunswick for several years. This is not a crisis that has popped up in the last two days. Residential care is a critical element for these people and it is not being provided."


Johnson said the provincial system of group homes and institutions that care for children and adults with psychiatric disorders and mental disabilities works for most people.


"We do have existing resources, but once in a while, there will be an exception. Here, we are looking at a very extreme case."


The boy will be moved to an Augusta, Me., treatment centre at the end of the month, said Johnson.


The centre, run by a non-profit group called Spurwink, specializes in dealing with autistic adolescents.


A Spurwink representative did not return a phone call from the Toronto Star.


Provincial officials could not detail the cost to keep the child at Spurwink, nor did they have information about why he's being sent to Maine, rather than a Canadian facility in another province. "


....

Keep autistic children in the province

Daily Gleaner (Fredericton NB)

Published Wednesday May 23rd, 2007

Appeared on page C7

This is a letter to Premier Shawn Graham.



I am a father of a 13-year-old autistic boy. We had to fight for services for our son from the day he was born: to get diagnosed, to get Applied Behavioural Analysis therapy (before it was mandatory), to get teacher's aides in the classroom, to keep him in school, and to get hospital treatment when his compulsion to bite and pinch got to the point where he was covered in wounds and bruises.


I am afraid my wife and I do not have much fight left in us these days. Our son has lived under constant supervision 24 hours a day for the last year. Two workers stay in our home with him during the day (two are needed to restrain him during his rages). While we commend them for all they have done, the workers are merely a Band-Aid solution.


Our only option at this point is to send our son out of country to the U.S. for treatment that he desperately needs.


Services at the two facilities, in Maine or Boston, will cost the government $200,000 to $300,000 a year. Right now my son is costing the government $15,000 to $20,000 a month because of the government's lack of direction when it comes to older autistic children.


My question to you, Mr. Graham, is that it may have been cost effective at one time to send these children away (out of sight, out of mind). But now with it being 1 in 150 children being diagnosed within the autism spectrum disorder, maybe we should re-evaluate the direction our province is going in.


I realize that there may be no other recourse for my son but to be sent to these facilities in the U.S. for treatment.


I hope in the future we may be able to prevent our children from having to leave Canada to get the services they so desperately need.


Stephen Robbins
Woodstock, N.B."

Children's Fall Baking Party

Happy Friday! We've made it through the work week and so far I'm enjoying my new position at a new firm. It's been quite a week full of new information, new colleagues, new schedule, and a whole lot of adjustment but I'm looking forward to settling in as time goes on. Thankfully, I have my boys to come home to. I've mentioned how Patrick will occasionally surprise us with his culinary skills and prepare dinner every now and then. But Joel is a budding sous chef himself. He absolutely loves to be in the kitchen, especially when it comes to baking so that he can watch the magic that happens in the oven through the oven window lol. Because he enjoys it so much, I invited a few of his friends and their parents over for a Children's Fall Baking Party. It was a fantastic time to get the kids involved in the kitchen, learn about kitchen safety and baking basics, and of course, enjoy our sweet creations. A special thanks goes to my friends at Krusteaz for partnering up with me to provide some easy to make baking mixes for our party!


It got pretty chaotic (naturally) during our kitchen playdate but I have to give it up to Joel for being so photogenic while he demonstrated what all the kids would be doing. I think he has a good chance at following his mommy's footsteps and getting some tv time! Joel and his friends prepared Molten Deep Dish Cookies. These were delicious and really fun for the kids to make. If Joel can make them, you certainly can too!

Here, Joel demonstrates how the baking mix is placed in a mixing bowl. To the baking mix, we add 1 egg and some softened butter. We stir until a soft dough forms...

Once we have a soft dough with all the ingredients fully combined, we divide the dough into 12 big balls. [This is where we got a bit messy and the moms had to help everyone out, so my apologizes for the lack of pictures.] Each ball of dough is divided in half and flattened out. We placed one flattened piece in each well of a standard muffin pan. Then we took the chocolate filling packet included in the baking mix and placed a dollop of chocolate in the middle of each flattened cookie set in the muffin pan. Lastly, we placed the remaining flattened piece on top of each dollop of chocolate in the muffin pan. Then it was time to bake up for 18-20 minutes!

We carefully removed the cookies and let them cool on a wire baking rack. The hard part was waiting for them to cool a bit. Obviously, some of our little chefs couldn't wait long enough lol...

When you bite into these Molten Deep Dish Cookies, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the ooey gooey chocolate filling...

The verdict? The kids LOVED them! The parents loved the kids loving them {and making them too!}...

The Krusteaz baking line doesn't just stop with these delicious Molten Deep Dish Cookies either. They have pancake mixes, muffin mixes, bread mixes, dessert bar mixes, etc... all of which are easy to prepare - or your kids to prepare! Krusteaz was so generous to even provide our friends with more baking mixes to take home and enjoy. Everyone was sent home with a Classic Sugar Cookie baking mix,  Pumpkin Spice Pancakes baking mix and Chocolate Swirl Muffins & Crumb Cake baking mix to enjoy for the weekend. Joel's friends surely didn't hesitate baking up in their own kitchens too...



So here's to a sweet ending to the week and hope you check out Krusteaz to bake with for yourselves or with your kids. With a full and extensive product line, I'm pretty sure you'll find something delicious to bake up and Krusteaz makes it so easy by saving you time and making it fun! To learn more about Krusteaz check out their WebsiteFacebook Page, follow them on Twitter, and for some great recipes, view their Pinterest board!

Sony’s Sony’s One Touch, One Christmas Campaign

The Filipino Christmas is one of the longest celebrations in the world. Once “ber” months come, colorful lights are sure to dawn the streets & carols start to fill the cool air.

This season, Sony Philippines joins in the festivities by sharing the gift of one touch as it introduces its wide array of NFC enabled devices in an interactive product display.
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Beer & Paprika Beef Stew Bread Bowls

This weather has made it blatantly known that fall is really here. It seems like just a week ago it was in the upper 70s and I could still get away will wearing flip flops outside. Blah... I guess it was about time for me to accept that the summer sun and warmth will be taking a hiatus for awhile. Thankfully food has helped me transition to the weather a bit. These Beer & Paprika Beef Stew Bread Bowls especially made it easier to stay in, snuggle and get cozy with my boys. Slow cooked beef simmers in a savory bath of beef stock, beer, and paprika while carrots, potatoes and peas joins the party in a crusty popover bread bowl just before serving...

We loved this dish (although I enjoyed my beef stew sans bread bowl and with GF bread on the side instead. I used gluten free beer (Bard's brand made with sorghum malt) but you can use your favorite beer if GF is not an issue. It really lends itself to give the stew a nice complex flavor. The addition of paprika also works nicely with the flavor and adds some color too. I cooked the carrots and potatoes separately so they would retain their shape and color since the beef cooks for several hours in a slow cooker. It's a nice way of getting an aesthetically pleasing bowl of stew.

Beer & Paprika Beef Stew Bread Bowls
recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman


3 tablespoons olive oil

tablespoon butter

2 pounds beef stew meat

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 (12oz) can or bottle (GF) beer

4 cups beef stock 

tablespoon worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

1-1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

4 whole potatoes, quartered

1/2 cup frozen peas

Minced parsley for garnish

Bread bowls or popover bowls for serving

In a large pot over medium high heat, add oil and butter. When hot, add half of beef and brown. Remove from pot and set inside a slow cooker; repeat with remaining beef. 
To the now empty pot, add diced onions, garlic and celery; cook until softened. Add beef stock, beef, Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Transfer mixture to slow cooker and pour over beef. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours or on high for 3-5 hours.
In a small saucepan, boil carrots and potatoes in water until softened. Once softened, add carrots and potatoes to the sauce pan.
Add carrots, potatoes and frozen peas to slow cooker, then cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. 
Serve in bread bowls or with crusty French bread. Sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired. We loved serving them in East Riding Farm Popover Bread Bowls for something light, buttery and perfect to pair with the stew! Definitely check them out, as they also have different sizes such as bite sized and regular sized popovers. They're convenient as a frozen item you can use as needed and warming them up in the oven is quick and simple too.

Trend Micro Promotes Online Privacy and Security with “What’s Your Story” Video Contest

In line with its ongoing advocacy to keep kids and teens safe online, Trend Micro Incorporated, the leading global security company, today put out a call for young Filipinos from the age of 13 and above to submit video entries designed to inspire others their age to ensure their safety on the Internet.

Dubbed ”What’s Your Story?”, the global online competition, this year launched for the first time in APAC, aims to encourage the sharing of online usage experiences among teens and young adults to spread awareness about the dangers that lurk online and how best to safeguard oneself through online safety practices.
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MY Passport Slim the First 2TB DRIVE with Metal Case Php 8,490

WD (Western Digital) company, announced the availability of its My Passport Slim line of portable hard drives, the first thin drives to offer up to 2 TB capacity, a metal enclosure, and 256-bit hardware-based encryption.

The included WD SmartWare Pro data protection software allows users to back up their data to their My Passport Slim and keep an extra copy in their Dropbox account for peace-of-mind.

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10 SOUPer Bowls of Delicious Warmth...

Snow. That is like the S-word I fear hearing this time of year. Supposedly we got some flurries overnight but I'm thankful there's no visible trace of such thing this morning. With weather like snow enters conversations, I want nothing more than to stay indoors. It's great to have snow if I don't need to drive in it! And should those snowfalls come, I hope to be warm and snug with a big pot of soup cooking away. Continuing on with comfort foods this week, today I'm focused on soups. 

Every kitchen should have one solid pot and I prefer a good dutch oven. They are sturdy, and withstand high temps allowing it to be used both on the stovetop and in an oven, and well, just think of all the wonderful meals you can create in it! I'm a huge fan of Anolon cookware and I use my stainless steel 5-quart covered dutch oven quite a bit. It's not quite as heavy as their enamel coated cast iron cousins, which makes handling and cleaning a breeze. Everything from soups, roasts and daily meals can me prepared in it so I definitely use it often. 
With the professional-quality Anolon Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel 5-Quart Covered Dutch Oven, making delicious gourmet-class dinners at home has never been so enjoyable. Boil pasta for penne primavera showcasing tomatoes and zucchini freshly picked from the garden. Or, create a steaming batch of bison chili to ward off the chill of a winter night. The cookware's durable three-ply construction features an aluminum core between layers of stainless steel for excellent, efficient heat distribution all the way up the sides of the pan. This cookware is suitable for use on all stovetops, including induction, and the polished, sophisticated stainless steel exterior is easy to clean. Comfortable, stylish handles are dual riveted for strength, and the deep-seated coordinating stainless steel lid seals in heat and moisture for a clean, professional look and performance. The cookware is dishwasher safe for convenient cleanup and oven safe to 500°F. Like all the durable, versatile pots and pans from the Anolon Tri-Ply Clad Stainless Steel collection, this Dutch oven is a great addition to every home kitchen.
Going back to soups, do you have a favorite one you enjoy making? I've shared 10 great soups below but if you need some additional ideas or inspirations to put a twist on familiar favorites, check out this book, The Soupmaker's Kitchen. It's full of wonderful recipes, often using what you already have on hand and utilizing your ingredients to their maximum potential leaving little to no waste!


How to Save Your Scraps, Prepare a Stock, and Craft the Perfect Pot of Soup 
Soup is more than just a recipe. There is almost an art behind making soups and stocks. And making your own stock will save money, reduce kitchen waste, and with fresh ingredients will simply taste better. By learning how to organize your kitchen and cooking processes to use every part of your ingredients, you will also be extracting the most flavor and nutrient value from your food. 
THE SOUPMAKER'S KITCHEN (Quarry Books, July 2013, $24.99 US / $27.99 CAN) by celebrated cookbook author and chef Aliza Green is a cook’s complete guide to making soups, broths, potages, minestra, minestrone, bisques, and borscht. Learn how to set up your kitchen to use your ingredients most optimally—from saving vegetable scraps for stock to tips on freezing finished soups. Explore more than 100 soup recipes – plus variations on each – from all over the world, and in every style ofsoup you might want to eat. Recipes include:
  • Hungarian Woodlands Mushroom Soupwith Sour Cream and Paprika
  • Tuscan Pappa al Pomodoro
  • Senegalese Peanut and Yam Puree with Ginger
  • Provencal Soupe au Pistou with Savoy Cabbage, White Beans, and Leeks
  • Wild Salmon Chowder with Sweet Corn & Gold Potatoes
  • Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken CoconutSoup)
  • Cream of Cauliflower with Nutmeg and Chives
  • Kerala Red Lentil Soup (vegan)
  • Vietnamese Pho Soup with Beef Brisket
  • Caribbean Callalou Soup with Crabmeat and Coconut
With a strong foundation in stocks included, THE SOUPMAKER’S KITCHEN is divided into chapters based on major soup families, such as clear broth-based soups, bisques, stews, chowders, and more. Each chapter includes an introduction, several delectable recipes, and invaluable tips to aid you in the process.

Here are 10 SOUPer recipes that will surely warm you as we head into the colder months. These can be made in a dutch oven or any good soup pot you have on hand. Enjoy the warm these bowls will bring!...

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup



White Chicken Chili





Loaded Baked Potato Soup



Guinness Beer Soup



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