A conference program committee (PC) member received a paper for review . He distributed the manuscript to his research group to "solicit their opinions of the paper" and the group embarked on improving the results of the paper under review. The research group then submitted their own paper to another conference, their submission occurring three months before the first paper was to be presented at a conference. When eventually confronted (the short gap between the appearance of the two papers triggered questions), the PC member responded with "Was that wrong? Should I have not done that?" Amazingly, this PC member was not aware that a conference paper submission constitutes privileged communication. In theory, reviewers should immediately "forget" what they have read. For reviewers to use such privileged material for their own work immediately creates a blatant conflict of interest. How did this PC member, a full professor in a respected university, not know such a fundamental rule of scholarly reviewing? To understand how the ethics of program committees has declined, one must review the history of computer science program committees over the last 50 years. Until the mid-1990s, program committees met in face-to-face meetings. This had two significant consequences. First, PC members bore the cost of attending PC meetings, leading them to be careful with accepting PC service commitments. It was rare then for one to serve on more than one PC per year. Second, junior PC members had a chance to interact intensively with senior PC members. There was nontrivial social pressure on junior PC members to demonstrate their competence in PC meetings. Thus, PC service provided important socializing experience, where unwritten norms and customs were learned by observation. With the emergence of the WorldWide Web in the mid-1990s, physical PC meetings suddenly seemed wasteful, as it became possible to conduct virtual meetings without incurring travel expenses and headaches. Conference-management software tools emerged and many communities abandoned physical meetings in favor of virtual ones. Since the "cost" of PC service has dropped with the switch to virtual meetings, "consumption" has gone up. Indeed, it is quite common today to see researchers serving on several PCs per year. Of course, one cannot expect the same level of effort from someone who serves on one PC per year as compared to someone who serves on multiple PCs per year. Indeed, in the 1980s it was typical to see every submission read by five to six PC members, today the norm is often three to four reviewers for submission. Furthermore, these reviewers are often not PC members but "subreviewers." The loss in quality of conference reviewing is just one result of the move to virtual PC meetings. Another outcome is the loss of socialization that took place in PC meetings.
http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1950000/1941488/p5-vardi.html?key1=1941488&key2=3749315031&coll=DL&dl=ACM&ip=24.52.64.105&CFID=22381948&CFTOKEN=44676593

POEMS AND SAYINGS
The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap (referring to ground cover perennials).
Grow a large plant in a small pot.
Tickle the earth with a hoe, it will laugh a harvest. http://plantpostings.blogspot.com/2010/12/they-sleep-then-creep-then-leap.html
"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." Abraham Lincoln
"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." Claude Monet http://www.northerngardening.com/quotes.htm

Evaporated milk is milk which has had about sixty percent of the water removed via evaporation. It is then homogenized, rapidly chilled, fortified with vitamins and stabilizers, packaged, and finally sterilized. Standards require whole evaporated milk contain at least 7.9 percent milk fat and 25.5 percent milk solids. You'll find skim, low-fat and whole milk varieties of evaporated milk. Low-fat and skim versions are also required to have added vitamin A, while all have added vitamins D and C. Sweetened condensed milk goes through less processing than evaporated milk. Sixty percent of the water has also been removed from condensed milk, but it differs in that sugar has been added. Condensed milk contains 40 to 45 percent sugar, at least 8 percent fat and 28 percent milk solids. Condensed milk is pasteurized during the evaporation procedure, with the added sugar making any further sterilization unnecessary, since the sugar inhibits the growth of microorganisms. Governmental regulations require that vitamin A be added to condensed milk, but no other nutrients are required by law although they may be added. Condensed milk is very high in calories. Unsweetened condensed milk is a redundant term. It is simply evaporated milk. http://homecooking.about.com/od/cookingfaqs/f/faqcannedmilk.htm Note: I usually substitute a smaller quantity of regular milk in recipes calling for evaporated milk.

Hector (Ettore) Boiardi was born in Italy, and at the age of 16 found his way to New York City. He quickly became a chef at the Ritz Carlton in New York and worked at The Greenbrier in West Virginia as well. His culinary talents were legendary. Chef Boiardi accepted the job as head chef at the Hotel Winton in 1917 which happened to be a popular hotel in Cleveland. This magnificent hotel was located at 1012 Prospect Avenue. The Hotel Winton was a well-know hotel on a national level and held one of the first radio programs that was broadcast out of the Hotel’s famous Rainbow Room featuring the Rainbow Room Orchestra. (There were even “ice shows” at the Winton – where a large ice rink would be built in a restaurant and as patrons ate there would be a number of ice skaters to entertain.) Today, we know it as the Carter Manor which serves as housing for the elderly. As the Head Chef at the Winton, Boiardi began serving a lot of Italian fare. And his spaghetti dinners were becoming all the rage. Many of his patrons would ask for his recipes (which were not forthcoming from the Chef) and for samples to take home (which he sold in abundance). He would often provide his spaghetti sauce in milk bottles. In 1924, the good chef started his own restaurant the famous Giardino d’Italia. By 1928, take-out orders were so robust that Boiardi started factory production of his products. What was once a local, then regional, delicacy was now a national phenomenon and this prompted the change to the now signature Chef Boy-ar-dee. http://coolhistoryofcleveland.blog.com/2008/01/24/chef-boyardee/

Keep your baby from being bored Talk, sing, play music, change baby's position/scene, have enough light/bright colors/patterns/toys, teach finger play/rhymes/games/sounds, provide other people for interaction. 50 Ways to Entertain Baby, Family Circle Magazine, December 1953

The U.S. Department of the Treasury will pay all federal benefit and non-tax payments electronically. Benefit recipients can choose to receive their payments by direct deposit to a bank or credit union account or to a Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® card account. You must choose your preferred electronic payment option when you apply to receive federal benefit payments from the Social Security Administration, Veterans Affairs, Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Personnel Management or Department of Labor (Black Lung) You must make the switch from paper federal benefit checks to electronic payments by March 1, 2013. If you do not choose an electronic payment option by March 1, 2013, or at the time you apply for federal benefits, you will receive your payments via the Direct Express® card so you will not experience any interruption in payment. If you are already receiving your federal benefit payments electronically, this change will not affect you. Get more information at: http://www.godirect.org/

Honey Butter adapted from Family Circle Magazine, December 1953
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. honey
Cream butter. Add honey gradually until spread is smooth. Refrigerate.