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I've upgraded the forum software. The long-term plan is to tie the fastworks passwords into the support software so the software will automatically generate access to the support forum.
PHPBB Upgraded
General discussion about tuning and related issues that do not apply to a specific brand of vehicle.
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In what now seems commonplace, every single bout from an upcoming UFC event will be available for live viewing.
UFC officials recently announced that all eight preliminary-card matchups from next weekend's "UFC on Versus 5: Hardy vs. Lytle" event will stream live on the social-networking site.
The announcement means UFC on Versus 5 will serve as the eighth consecutive event the organization has made its entire lineup available for live viewing. The streak began with April's historic "UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields" event.
Featuring a welterweight scrap between sluggers Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle, UFC on Versus 5 takes place Aug. 14 at Milwaukee's Bradley Center.
The evening's main card airs on Versus. The eight-bout preliminary card begins at 5:45 p.m. ET (4:45 p.m. CT)
C.B. Dollaway vs. Jared Hamman, Joseph Benavidez vs. Eddie Wineland, Ed Herman vs. Kyle Noke, Ronny Markes vs. Karlos Vemola, Alex Caceres vs. Jim Hettes, Cole Miller vs. T.J. O'Brien, Danny Castillo vs. Jacob Volkmann and Edwin Figueroa vs. Jason Reinhardt will make up the evening's Facebook-streamed special.
To access the stream, viewers must visit the UFC's official Facebook profile (www.facebook.com/ufc) and push the "Like" button for the page.
The UFC first began to stream select fights live on Facebook at this past January's "UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2" event.
"I'm always looking for ways to give fans fights for free, and this is just another example of that," UFC president Dana White stated prior to the promotion's first Facebook-streamed special.
Facebook is the world's most popular social-networking site and one of the most visited websites in existence.
The full lineup for UFC on Versus 5 now includes:
MAIN CARD (Versus)
- Dan Hardy vs. Chris Lytle
- Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller
- Donald Cerrone vs. Charles Oliveira
- Duane Ludwig vs. Amir Sadollah
PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
- C.B. Dollaway vs. Jared Hamman
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Eddie Wineland
- Ed Herman vs. Kyle Noke
- Ronny Markes vs. Karlos Vemola
- Alex Caceres vs. Jim Hettes
- Cole Miller vs. T.J. O'Brien
- Danny Castillo vs. Jacob Volkmann
- Edwin Figueroa vs. Jason Reinhardt
For more on UFC on Versus 5, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.
(Pictured: C.B. Dollaway)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Hard Sell
This story appears in the June 1997 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »
An offer too good to refuse? Is that what it takes to sell the family business? It's far more complex than that. "Two parts economics, three parts need and four parts emotion" is the unscientific formula people often use to decide whether or not to sell, according to Ross Nager, executive director of Houston-based Arthur Andersen's Center for Family Business.
From an economic standpoint, family businesses are not radically different from other successful entrepreneurial ventures. The value that has been built up in the business does not necessarily ensure liquidity. And one of the ways of harvesting value is to sell--especially when a firm is tempted by the steep premiums large corporations often pay for what a smaller company has cultivated. Investing gains from the sale of a business may be more financially rewarding than keeping the business.
Still, "family businesses are usually an integral part of a family," says Bill Petty, a finance professor at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, who has studied entrepreneurs who sell their businesses. "They don't anticipate liquidating unless there's a catalyst."
That catalyst is usually need. Any of the following could spark consideration of a sale:
The business lacks growth opportunities, or the head of the company thinks that competition is closing in and it might be better to get out now.
The business is looking to grow, and the offer comes from a buyer whose product lines fit and who wants to keep family members and key employees to ensure growth.
There's a dearth of management talent in the family, or the next generation has no interest in the business, and the head doesn't want the company run by nonfamily or cannot attract outside management.
Family members don't get along and are pulling the business (and the family) apart.
These can all be excellent reasons to sell--and many advisors urge their clients to consider selling when a tempting offer is tendered.
Its Just Emotion
Some advisors don't realize the decision to sell a family business is far more complex and wrenching than a spreadsheet analysis. "Like a divorce, there are `kids' involved in the separation--and they don't necessarily have to be your own children," says Nager. "[Owners] are concerned about how the sale will affect family members, loyal employees and, if the business is in a small town, the community."
Concern for employees has prevented Dwight Sherman, president of Berland's House of Tools Inc. in Lombard, Illinois, from seriously considering the many offers he has had for the family's tool superstore. When he came into his father's business in 1974, he promised he'd sell it by his 45th birthday because, he says, "I'm a person who seeks opportunity, not security." His children are still young--15, 13 and 7--and "I'm not hanging onto the business so I can hand something over to them. They're being molded to be self-sufficient and independent, and I'm not sure I even want them to be in the business.
"But we've created a good place to work for our 50 or so employees, and I worry if I were to sell the business what would happen to my seven key people. I have an obligation to them because we've created it together. I couldn't live with myself if the sale of the business weren't a winning situation for people working here," says Sherman.
So at age 44, Sherman's not selling . . . yet. To satisfy his yen for variety, he appears on television frequently and makes and hosts infomercials demonstrating various power tools.
Other emotional factors influence why business owners say no to lucrative offers:
Keeping the family business intact lets them do things for themselves, their employees and the community. They have the power to launch public service and philanthropic initiatives. They have additional opportunities to grow together. (Plus, they have at least one reason to meet with the family once a year.)
They can pass on to future generations the same opportunities and choices their relatives provided them.
They won't be betraying their ancestors' dreams for the family or the business.
Thinking Ahead
To ensure that the sale of the business is not decided solely on economic terms, think about the emotional aspects before an offer is made.
Keep the family's goals and objectives in mind; this should be a guiding force in your decision. Also, think about the cash you and other family members will get. If you're going to invest the money, be forewarned: "Many people find managing money is not as much fun as running the business and can be even more difficult," says Petty.
Ask yourself what you're going to do with your new-found time and how you'll feel about the change in status your family might experience in the community. In the final analysis, it is often in the emotional side of the "Should we sell?" question that the family finds its answer.
Contact Sources
Andersen Center for Family Business, 711 Louisiana, #1300, Houston, TX 77002, (713) 237-2724;
Berland's House of Tools Inc., (800) 339-0026, (http://www.thetoolman.com).
Patricia Schiff Estess publishes the newsletter Working Families and is the author of two new books, Managing Alternative Work Arrangements (Crisp Publications) and Money Advice for Your Successful Remarriage (Betterway Press).


text:
Drew Barrymore Pregnant Style
Drew Barrymore Welcomes Baby Number 2!
Drew Barrymore Welcomes Baby Number 2!
Drew Barrymore is the proud mom of a second baby girl! Barrymore and her husband, Will Kopelman, announced the birth of their latest addition to PEOPLE earlier today: "Happy to announce that today we are the proud parents of our second daughter, Frankie Barrymore Kopelman. Olive has a new little sister, and everyone is healthy and happy."
While we wait to see baby Frankie's first photo, we're taking a look back at mom Drew's beautiful, Boho chic maternity fashion. Throughout her first pregnancy, Drew stayed true to her eclectic, laid-back style, featuring belly-covering, stylish t-shirts and oversize jackets. But Drew is no fashion slouch, and she amped up her casual clothing with designer pieces like an amazing Dries Van Noten jacket, some on-trend accessories, and one amazing custom Chanel wedding dress.


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Fresh from Helsinki, comes the nine members of Uusinta – Finland's leading new music ensemble – in their American debut. They bring their "virtuosically fast-paced and precise" skills to a world premiere MATA commission, Jōruri Death Metal, by Japanese composer Hikari Kiyama influenced by the unlikely bedfellows of metal, Brian Ferneyhough, and Japanese folk music; its polar opposite: the quiet susurrations of Aaron Helgeson's A Place Toward Other Places; the improvisatory paradoxes of Spain's Joan Arnau Pàmies; Russian composer Alexander Khubeev's apocalyptic eschatology Sounds of the Dark Time; and two of Finland's leading emerging compositional voices: Sampo Haapamäki's searing quartet Connection and Ilari Kaila's intense and moving memorial, Kellojen Kumarrus.
Aaron Helgeson: A Place Toward Other Places (2012)
Alexander Khubeev: Sounds of the Dark Time (2011)
Joan Arnau Pàmies: [IVflbclVIvln_c] (2011)
Hikari Kiyama: Jōruri Death Metal (2014) – MATA Commission
Ilari Kaila: Kellojen Kumarrus (2006)
Sampo Haapamäki: Connection (2007)
Wednesday, April 16
8:00 pm
The Kitchen
512 West 19th St.
$20 adults / $15 students
Tickets available at: www.thekitchen.org


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Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 6266
Location: Knoxville, TN, USA
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 01:19
Post subject:
Requests for forum modifications need to be routed through John Murga himself, not me. I only have the power to change settings, add new sections, etc. Only John has enough access to install new things.
As for your comment on problem apps - yes, ideally by the time something is released there would be no more problem apps. I meant more in terms of the alphas/betas, before the problems have been corrected.
And anyway, when I think of it, Abiword isn't that much of a problem app. It's been mentioned over and over, which is why I said that, but there were only actually three problems or so.
(Not saying anything about the severity of those issues, only number....)
Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree. --Muad'Dib
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Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 6266
Location: Knoxville, TN, USA
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 01:34
Post subject:
From another thread:
ecomoney wrote:
Ive made a request that additional forum sections be added, under "Feature Requests", and "Change Requests" headings to the "Next Puppy Development".
Well, I think "* Requests" are already covered by the overall "Suggestions" section. I'm trying to avoid too much duplication.
But I believe you're aiming for a section where you can post usability issues that don't qualify as bugs by most of the people here, right? So why not a "Usability Issues" section? Although I'm in favor of things like multiple virtual desktops by default, I do agree that you had a valid point - it just doesn't belong in Bugs.
I mentioned a "Usability Issues" section before, but I don't believe I saw any feedback? Good idea, bad idea?
(If there was feedback and I missed it, I apologize. I've been fairly sleep deprived for the last couple days. Gonna go fix that shortly.)
Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree. --Muad'Dib
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James C
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
Posts: 6735
Location: Kentucky
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 01:52
Post subject:
The "usability issues" section is a good idea.Actual "bugs" need to be segregated so the reports won't get lost in a sea of other things.
Usability issues need to be addressed but the actual "bugs" need priority and by being easily accesslble they can hopefully be rectified quicker.
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Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 2183
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 01:58
Post subject:
Thanks for Reading PG,
New package versions I think would be better to come from existing .pets that have been tested already on puppy. For example, if a .pet of Abiword with .docx had been released to
these two guys who requested it
then the bug with it would have been picked up there, before it had been included in 4.2. But I digress....
A "usability issues" section (rather than a generic "Suggestions") box would be a very good idea for the main forum (as we are a distro that prides itself on it usability by "Puppy Newbs"). That makes a lot of sense, im sorry I didnt read it before PG
But for "Next Puppy development"?, this needs to be a list of bugs/changes/features, for which there is the most urgent need from our users to be addressed. IMHO we definitely need those three, and then some way of assessing what is "urgent" or not to go in the "Next Puppy Development" section....
Basically, anything that stops Puppy Linux benefiting more people is "urgent".
I will have a chat with John Murga about the possibility of adding phpbb mods, which ones will have to be the subject of another thread
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Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 383
Location: UK
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 04:50
Post subject: Logical fallacies and Puppy development
Subject description: Argumentum ad populum
I have been using Puppy Linux since before version 1.0 (I even had a question on the old forum about low RAM machines.)
Developers come and go but one thing remains constant. There are always people on the Forum who assume that they have a unique insight into the way forward or the best new features. The shakier the ground they are standing on the louder they shout or the more persistently they repeat their requests over and over again. They drag their hobby-horses into unrelated threads, Barry's blog or wherever.
You can usually recognise these posts by appeals to (possibly non-existant) majorities. They are peppered with phrases such as "most users", "most newbies", "many PMs from satisfied users", "the majority of Puppians", "most people" etc.
I'm not particularly having a go at ecomoney here - he is far from alone in this behaviour.
I am an electronics engineer (actually a broadcast engineer for most of my working life.) Nearly all of my friends are engineers. The company I work for has lots of hardware developers, software developers, testers, systems engineers etc. Whilst I do have dealings with non-engineers at work probably 95% of my time is spent talking to, e-mailing or in some other way interacting with other engineers.
Everyone I have ever given a Puppy disk to has been an engineer. All but two of the people I have ever shown it to have been engineers. I have never, ever installed Puppy on a single computer although I sometimes use pupsave files. Most of the time I just play around with Puppy, but I also use it as a rescue disk and virus remover for XP and Windows Server installations.
So I'd like to state with great authority that nobody ever installs Puppy, whether frugally or fully and nobody uses multi-session. In my experience everyone who uses it is an electronics engineer or software developer. And nobody is scared of a command line interface.
It's primary purpose is a learning OS which can be used as a recovery tool.
That's what Puppy is and that's the way it must stay.
Anyone who disagrees with me could you back up your counter arguments with some real statistics rather than vague appeals to the masses? Probably best to read Darrell Huff's famous book first.
I don't care if there are 1,420,000 entries on Google. How do we know it isn't five requests pointed to 284,000 times each by Google's search algorithm? As I have already proved, nobody installs Puppy anyway, so the 100, 000, 000 users who aren't installing it are perfectly happy with the current installer.
Lets have some decent discussions based on logical thinking rather than bogus statistics. And don't forget us poor engineers, we love CLI, it makes us look intelligent.
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Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 2183
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 10:22
Post subject:
@Drongo Ok, I get it, Im not going to be able to use the term "most" users/people/puppiers/developers/engineers. I think also when you use the term "nobody"/"Anybody" and "nobody ever", you should back it up by being able to say you've only given it to engineers (bar 2). Puppy is used in a great many ways, and it makes a great engineering tool. Your gonna have to have a lot of data to go on to argue against google!
My use of Puppy is generally different, and I can see many others use it in different ways, and its important they are accommodated too. I recognize this.Thats why
that uses puppy, for whatever purpose, has the ability to contribute things they wish to see for the next edition....not only a "Council".
In this case there would be no conflict, as a "redesigned to make it easier for newbs "installer wouldnt be any bigger, and wouldnt mean you would have to lose any of your engineering tools. I actually believe one of the ways of making Puppy more popular overall would be to include engineers tools. ([url]=http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=24751like this one I suggested[/url]). Puppy already has many already. This is a good thing.
"Engineers" advise others users what OS to use, their word is trusted by newbs/users. A Windoze engineer, presented with a broken XP computer has two options, spend 4 1/2 hours (insert own estimate here) of sheer hell on earth installing XP/Vista, or a twenty minute job installing Puppy Linux easily.....what are they gonna prefer?
Since over 9 out of ten computers in the world are still running with a Micro$oft OS (which breaks "frequently") then that makes sense if we wish more people to use Linux...
Back on topic...
Yes, if we make statements, and quote in general terms, we really need to back them up. With some kind of figures/data/observations/reasoned arguement. Otherwise theyre never gonna get past the council for approval.
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James C
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
Posts: 6735
Location: Kentucky
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 11:06
Post subject:
Just for the record, I boot into Puppy more than Windows, but............
I have never had a Windows install get "broken" and never had to reinstall because Windows is "frequently broken".
I prefer Linux in general, and Puppy in particular, not because Windows is defective or unusable.......... I disagree with their restrictive EULA. I , however, don't claim to speak for all the "windows refugees" and/or newbs coming to Linux or Puppy.
Mainly though, Puppy is
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Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 2183
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 12:05
Post subject:
I have never had a Windows install get "broken" and never had to reinstall because Windows is "frequently broken"
Then you must know a lot about how to fix it....therefore its not "broken" to you.
No, I wont claim to speak for all "windows refugees"...no one can. I believe Ive met "more than most" though....and got them to use Puppy instead.
Back on topic, I suggest a sticky for section posting guidelines containing something of the like....
When posting a feature/change request, please state your case why you believe the change/feature is needed, making reference to any observations or information you believe this would make puppy linux better fulfill its mission statement. If this change will effect other peoples use of Puppy Linux, then this must be doubly backed up
@James C: Yes, their EULA is only in their own best interests not ours. And if Linux fails, we will all have to live under it.[/url]
Puppy Linux's
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Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 383
Location: UK
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 12:45
Post subject: There is no tongue in cheek icon
I don't want to start another flame war on this Forum. For what it is worth, I think your work is admirable.
However my use of terms like "nobody" or "anybody" was supposed to be ironic. The two non-engineers I showed Puppy to have no interest whatsoever in operating systems and would not know, or care, what to do with a Live CD.
My point was a simple one. My needs are not those of everybody. My circumstances are not the same as everybody else's. Puppy's users are probably too diverse for anyone to say anything meaningful about them except in the most general terms.
I don't suppose we can even say how many users there are. What is a user, someone who boots into Puppy every day - and no other operating system? Or someone who dual boots Puppy and something else? Or someone who only uses it as a rescue system?
Are the majority of users live-CD users, full installers, frugal installers or multi-session users?
Most forum polls are inconclusive. Hardly anyone responds and there is rarely an outright landslide winner.
I don't know how many people use Puppy. I don't know how they use it. I don't know which features they want to improve, expand or remove.
And that is my point. Anybody who claims otherwise is probably deluding themselves.
This has not stopped a whole bunch of people claiming that they do know "what is best". They can't possibly know.
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Joined: 25 Nov 2005
Posts: 2183
Location: Lincolnshire, England
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 14:04
Post subject:
Thank you for clarifying, irony doesnt come across well on a forum! I get where your coming from now, and I agree. No one person does know every way puppy is used, and everyone has their own idea of what it should do/does need, to be more useful to them. Im on your wavelength here.
Therefore whoever co-ordinates must be a good listener, with no particular bias for any type of puppy user
I am also sorry if I come across as egotistical with my reports of what I have achieved with puppy (£30 cybercafe etc). When I reported back this and other sorts of things, I was intending for it to be a message about exactly how powerful the technology the people on here develop actually is.
Ok, my work is "admirable".....but simply not possible without you guys to create it. As I tell my clients, I am just the "delivery boy". How much do you think I admire you guys?
Puppy Linux's
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Joined: 10 Jan 2009
Posts: 266
Location: Hamilton, Canada
Posted: Mon 04 May 2009, 22:21
Post subject:
PG, let me try again.
Recognize we are different animals. I am noob, knownothing wannafix. You are expert geek gottafix. Your time is more valuable but i keep hearing (hoping?) that us noobs are important to puppy's future. Soooo, . . . .
Where you see 349 impossible sections, I see about 100 items on the menu divided into just 13 sub menus. So why not 13 new sections under software. At least divide software into system and apps. Add a handful under hardware and its done.
But i see your point that the valuable guy should not have to hunt for bugs to fix. I notice there is a forum tool called 'unanswered questions'. Can't you make a similar tool for you to find bug reports? Then all you need to ask us to do is to place a tag word on the subtitle line - "bug". Problem solved.
But those general categories! As i tried to get across, i see no / little distinction between all those general section descriptors - & your idea of a "usability issues" section -- well i must have a mental block since some folks actually liked the idea. Again, consider that a newb with a
probably considers it a
, is annoyed at having a
usability issue
possibly related to
, wants a
to deal with it, thinks a
should remove the problem in the next puppy so it should be posted under
!!!! A whole buncha ways to say the same darn thing - so tell me where the user is supposed to post his/her problem? If a beginner has the exact same problem as a regular are they really supposed to be posted in different places? Ok, why have ANY subsections in the first place, why not just one giant-free-for-all forum space. Yjeeesh. No wonder the forum is so inefficient.
Please, just one new section today. Any section. Just one.
Pretty please? !
1. Dell Dimension E521, AMD Athln 64, 2 GHz 1.93GB ram,
Puppy 533 on CD, accesses flash drive only,
FFox Nightly12.0
2. Compaq P3 733Hz 375RAM
Printer: Oki C3400 > LAN
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Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1305
Location: Stanthorpe (The Granite Belt), QLD, Australia
Posted: Fri 08 May 2009, 05:06
Post subject: Just my AU$0.02 worth
drongo said
So I'd like to state with great authority that nobody ever installs Puppy, whether frugally or fully and nobody uses multi-session. In my experience everyone who uses it is an electronics engineer or software developer. And nobody is scared of a command line interface.
Whilst I agree with a lot of what drongo said, I have consciously made the decision that Puppy is my first OS..full hdd install with Windoze running in VMBox for my cross OS compilation work. This is obviously not the norm, but I am proving to myself that Puppy with a little work can be a distro of choice for users. I'm not going to say that anyone else should go my way , but just outlining another alternative(there are always different ways of going about things).
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Official Crustacean
Joined: 04 May 2005
Posts: 15588
Location: Paradox Realm
Posted: Fri 08 May 2009, 05:25
Post subject:
The most important section we need is something called Kennel or 5.xx
Puppy Raspup 8.2
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Joined: 10 Dec 2005
Posts: 383
Location: UK
Posted: Sat 09 May 2009, 05:26
Post subject: Diversity
I would never dream of restricting how anyone uses Puppy (or any other linux distro). I think one of Puppy's strengths is the fact that it can be used in so many different ways.
What has been bugging me about the Forum for years is the number of posters who think that the way they use Puppy is the only "right way". Many of them think that they have an exclusive right to have developers fix their particular bug right now.
Unfortunately one of Puppy's weaknesses is also the fact that it can be used in so many different ways. People using live-CD (puppy pfix=ram), pupsave, frugal, proper install, USB etc are all going to experience different bugs and problems from time to time. They probably can't all be fixed on the same time-scale.
No one way of using the Puppy is "better" than any other but an intractable bug that only affects a few users may not get fixed very speedily.
But, obviously, live-CD is best so my problems must be more important than everybody else's.
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Joined: 06 Apr 2009
Posts: 1305
Location: Stanthorpe (The Granite Belt), QLD, Australia
Posted: Sat 09 May 2009, 05:35
Post subject:
I would never dream of restricting how anyone uses Puppy (or any other linux distro). I think one of Puppy's strengths is the fact that it can be used in so many different ways.
No one way of using the Puppy is "better" than any other but an intractable bug that only affects a few users may not get fixed very speedily.
Agree wholeheartedly, but we can only hope that with constructive input the most important people will be catered for (I think that's everyone...
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III. Prevailing Wage Rates
Is it possible for more than one wage schedule to apply to specifications for a particular contract?
Yes. Construction projects are generally classified as either Building, Heavy, Highway or Residential for purposes of issuing wage determinations. Wage schedules for one or more of these construction categories may have application to construction items contained in a proposed construction project. Guidelines for the selection of proper wage schedules are set forth in All Agency Memoranda No. 130 (March 17, 1978) and No. 131 (July 14, 1978). Any questions regarding the application of these guidelines to a particular project, or any disputes regarding the application of the wage schedules issued for the various construction categories are to be referred to the Wage and Hour Division, together with relevant information, including a complete description of the project and area practice.


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Getting hot: Hacks take New York
The tall shirtless kid with the freckles sized up the Hackensaw Boys pretty well: "Man, you know De La Soul's never had an opener like this before. That was awesome."
That was the beauty of this August's Unlimited Sunshine tour, a roving conglomerate of what's hot in the world of (mostly) independent music– exquisitely incongruous pairings of fantastic bands. As an added bonus, from the Charlottesville point of view, how often do you get to see a local staple share the stage with some of your favorite, internationally known acts?
The Hackensaw Boys had a task that no one else could have pulled off: fill that lugubrious set-up time between bands at festivals. Theirs was a simple solution– go out and play a couple of your best, fastest songs, and set the multitudes dancing (keeping in mind that for this Brooklyn-heavy crowd, old-time music is something of a novelty). Just when they're really getting into you, dash off stage and wait your turn to fill a few more idle minutes later.
There's a distinct art to the Hackensaws' lo-fi approach when you put it on the big stage, and what impressed me most about the band this time around was their individual awareness of just how much they mattered at a given point in a song, and, thus, how close they were to the mike, which was effectively executed.
There's always something ridiculously fun about that many musicians crowded into such a small space, and their fast-talking, heavily accented banter was downright vaudevillian. I was almost expecting to see dogs jumping through hoops. The crazier things get, the more the boys shine.
Despite their hometown hero status, I'd be remiss if I limited the review to the Hacks' entr'acte quickies. Modest Mouse's set was the best I've seen them do (by which I mean that Isaac Brock was less of a dick than usual). De La Soul, who, apparently, rolled up half an hour late, quickly coerced the crowd into dancing, singing, arm-waving, and the like.
Cake, headliners of sorts, made the best of the exceedingly soggy conditions ("Unlimited Sunshine" indeed) and kept the audience captivated with John McCrea's cultishly monotone pronouncements. And, possibly topping my list of all-time favorite rock shows, Wayne Coyne's Stop Making Sense meets Jesus Christ Superstar shtick (not to mention the props, which might well have been borrowed from that zenith of late '60s TV drama, The Prisoner) powered the Flaming Lips' spine-tingling animal-suit-wearing karaoke madhouse.
And in the middle of it all, the Hackensaw Boys, playing the semi-epic role of the Chorus that pops into the proceedings from time to time to keep you oriented. The entirely non-partisan crowd of New Yorkers loved every second of it, and so did I.
The Hackensaws at Barracks Road
–FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLORead more on: the hackensaw boys


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Children's eyes will light up!
Curious and hungry to learn, the tiniest tots conquer their world step by step – and who better to accompany them on these exciting adventures than Fashy: with animals to cuddle and snuggle, rattles, teething rings, rubber ducks and bathtub squirters.
Fashy items for babies and toddlers provide maximum fun and meet the highest standards of quality. They comply with the most stringent German safety norms and EU guidelines.
And if this journey of discovery gets messy, that's fine. Cute bibs and handy care and hygiene products are there to be mummy's little helpers.
Happy hunting!


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This article contains corrected information.
A year ago Carole Casey, a New Jersey teacher nearing retirement, toured North Shore condominiums as possible places to be close to her daughter, who lives in Winnetka.
Casey, 68, was not impressed until she came across Mallinckrodt in the Park, a 1917 convent that was preserved and renovated into 81 condominiums, one of the few new multifamily developments in the 19th Century village of Wilmette.
"I loved the historic restoration," said Casey. In October, she paid $465,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath unit in the building for buyers older than 62, developed by the Highland Park-based Pickus Cos. and Oculus Development LLC of Chicago.
"I like the high ceilings and big windows," she said.
The village, which required that the developer save the building, has preserved other hallmarks of its history.
It has 14 miles of brick-paved streets running through much of town east of Ridge Road, 1925 street lamps and a canopy of trees, some 200 years old, that line its quiet roads, explained Kathy Hussey-Arntson, director of the Wilmette Historical Museum.
While the older, east side has more of the historic elements that add charm to Wilmette, people throughout the village have supported the rules and ordinances that preserve the brick pavers, street lights and tree canopy, explained Lali Watt, a village trustee.
"Clearly many people, even those like me who live in newer West Wilmette, want these elements," she said. "Our village may not have the biggest, fanciest houses, but we value education; not just through school but through many other activities that go on like soccer and scouts. And people who value a child/family centered community also treasure the sense of history that keeps us grounded and provides continuity."
Quality of life
Meanwhile, like many of the other more than 27,000 residents, Casey relishes getting outdoors.
"I'm taking tennis lessons and like the beach," she said.
The village crown jewels, water activities and other fresh air amusements, flourish as days get warmer and longer. Gillson Park on Lake Michigan with its tidy beach, sailing and summer camp; the outdoor pools at Centennial Park and the public Wilmette golf course all figured into Suzanne Lord's decision in February to buy a new, $1.4 million six-bedroom, six-bath house in central Wilmette.
"The outdoor and water-oriented recreation is part of the town's appeal," said Lord, a 46-year-old advertising executive who bought the house with her husband, Chris Rossi, a 46-year-old financial planner. They have five children.
"My 12-year-old daughter will attend Gillson day camp this summer and I'll investigate the golf course and French Market," she said. The market, next to the town center Metra commuter rail stop, sells locally grown produce, other edibles and crafts from April through October.
Of course, like many of the other affluent families that fill the village, Lord was also drawn by the excellent schools and upscale housing stock, from historic estates overlooking the lake in the east to smaller ranch houses interspersed with McMansions in the central and west sections. Located just 16 miles north of Chicago, she and Rossi also have easy access to their downtown offices.
For all of its prosperity, Wilmette prides itself on having a down-to-earth, small-town atmosphere. But some residents think that a larger supply of below-market rate housing would inject more economic diversity.
"For the last two years, there's been a lot of discussion about affordable housing because prices are too high for teachers and firefighters, and seniors get priced out," said Susan Morrison, 53, a 15-year Wilmette resident.
Earlier times
In 1872, the village was incorporated with about 300 residents, a mix mostly of farmers and real estate speculators. With a rail link to Chicago, it lured those fleeing after the1871 Great Chicago Fire and others seeking vacation homes, said John Textor, a board member of the Wilmette Historical Museum.
By 1940, the population had grown to about 17,000 and from 1950 to 1960 to 28,000. "We haven't changed much since then," he said.
The low-slung brick buildings in the village center, like the town itself, have elements unchanged by time. The exterior of the Wilmette Theatre, for instance, looks much as it did when it opened in 1913 charging, 10 cents for a movie. Now adults pay $8 for a film and $10 to $22 for one of its live concerts or plays.
The main village retail district, the town center, has chain stores like Panera Bread cafe but is dominated by one-of-a-kind shops.
"Wilmette residents are very supportive and usually turn out to be friends sooner or later," said Joe Spera, owner of Al's Meat Market, where steaks and chops are cut to order.
Adding to the village's international charm is the filigree-domed Baha'i House of Worship, one of only seven Baha'i temples worldwide. Encircled by blossoms and fountains, it attracts international visitors year round.
Affordable units
Among its 10,000 dwelling units, 3,000 are in multifamily buildings but just 149 rental apartments and condominiums are classified as affordable. To meet the village criteria, a single person cannot earn more than $52,800 and either the applicant or applicant's child must be a village resident, explained Erika Fabisch, the village housing committee liaison.
So far, the units have been reserved for seniors who are at least 62 years old, like Margaret Skullion, 74, who a year ago bought one of 12 lower-priced units at Mallinckrodt paying $199,900 for a two-bedroom, two-bath flat.
But in a bid to expand the availability of more affordable housing, people of any age who meet the village income and residency requirements can qualify for eight affordable units being developed as part of a 62-unit condominium building planned for 611 Green Bay Rd. in the town center by a joint venture of Lincolnshire-based RIMCO Cos. and JDL Development Corp. of Chicago, Fabisch said.
The affordable units will sell for about $230,000 for a one-bedroom to $305,000 for a two-bedroom. The 54 market-rate units are priced from $399,000 for a one-bedroom, one-bath to $1.15 million for a three-bedroom, 2- to 21/2-bath.
While some residents oppose adding affordable housing, the potential supply is also limited by the lack of land.
"The challenge is that the community is built out, and land values are high," said village trustee Watt. "Something has to come down for something to go up."
New construction
New home construction, mostly in-fill houses built where others were torn down, this year will likely fall to 50 units compared to 77 in 2005, said John Adler, the village development director.
With new home sales down by about half this year, sale prices also fell 5 to 7 percent on average during the first quarter, said Daverille Sher, a Realtor at the Baird & Warner office based in Winnetka.
The slowdown has even hit the construction of homes that previously would have sold more quickly.
For instance, the Enclave at Sheridan Pointe is an unusually large development of 15-single family lots—with 11 in the southeast corner of Wilmette and four over the Evanston border. In 18 months, the developer, Red Seal Homes of Northbrook, has closed on one house and has buyer commitments on six more. "If we had opened in the summer of 2005, I suspect all the homes would have sold in the first weekend," said Brian Hoffman, Red Seal chief financial officer
At 905 Osage Lane in the north central Indian Hill Estates section of the village, Klein Design & Construction of Northbrook has had a 4-bedroom 41/2 bath house on the market for 14 months. It has cut the price to $2.275 million from $2.475 million, according to Sher.
There is easy access to transportation including the CTA, Metra, Sheridan Rd. and the Edens Expressway (Interstate-94).
Also key are the nine fine public schools from pre-kindergarten through grade 12.
For instance, the New Trier High School District 203, which also serves Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe, Northfield and parts of Glenview, in 2007 outperformed all of its suburban counterparts on the ACT tests.
Avoca School District 37 runs two small schools with grades kindergarten through eighth grade and the Wilmette School District 30 runs six schools with grades k-8.
Latest Real Estate
The village also has a dozen private schools.
But one major attraction of the village are the private activities like block parties, BBQs and pot-luck dinners that help cultivate small town ties.
For 12 years Ken Morrison, 53, an attorney and the husband of Susan Morrison, has enhanced his town relationships by volunteering as a scout master.
"It's like I have 50 sons and I meet their parents, many of whom have become close friends," he said.


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Wow. Long time, no blog.
I am very overdue in thanking all of you who emailed and/or commented your condolences on the loss of my sweet Samantha. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know that you care. Every time I lose a pet (much too often lately) I'm always amazed at the wonderful people who take the time to contact me and let me know that they understand my pain.
As I told many of you: while the loss of Samantha was awful, it was easier to deal with than the loss of Max. Samantha lived a full life (13 years is a long life for a large dog) and her degenerative myelopathy never impacted the quality of her life. For that, I am so very grateful.
I am also grateful that I adopted Sadie when I did. I never would have if I had known how little time I had left with Sam, but Sadie continues to be the perfect addition to the family. It's also comforting to me that Samantha gave Sadie her stamp of approval.
Speaking of Sadie….
So far, she has lost 2 lbs. That's not much, but at least the scale is moving in the right direction!
One of the most charming things I've discovered about Miss Sadie is her love of sleeping on her back:
She also loves water:
Kishka continues to accept her new sister completely.
She's even figured out that she's the dominant dog now and she likes to boss Sadie around.
She also likes to get into mischief with Sadie. Here they are checking out a bird's nest:
Thankfully, Sadie can't get her large butt over the fence and Kishka obeyed me when I told her to not even think about it.
Brace yourselves, I have actually have knitting content.
I've finished two washcloths and started a third for Warm The World:
I've even started a new blanket:
Details for all projects are on my Ravelry page.
Speaking of Ravelry…..
My love for the Ravelry forums has plummeted in the last few months. When the forums first started I loved them because they were so different than all the other knitting forums that are out there on the internet. I never post on any other knitting forum because they seem to be populated by whiny knitters who take themselves way too seriously.
Sadly, that is now my opinion of most of the Ravelry forums. For example: there are many knitters losing their shit (on multiple threads) over this article. I thought the article was pretty funny, but that's not my point.
I am absolutely amazed at all the people who have whipped themselves up into a frenzy over what someone else (and a stranger to boot) thinks of their hobby. Are people really this insecure and/or that much of an egomaniac?
It's knitting, people. It's not life or death. Get over yourselves.


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iReporters are helping change the future of journalism and redefining how CNN tells stories. We're lucky that the iReport community is a warm and welcoming place where people are passionate about the news. Every member brings something unique to iReport, but a few exceptional members go above and beyond to make the community a better place. We honor them in recognition of their hard work and sense of collaboration, which embody the spirit of CNN iReport.
Jannet Walsh is a photographer by trade, but she's always willing to try new things. She has expanded her storytelling skills to include time-lapse photography and video editing, all on her iPad. Through bouts of unemployment, Walsh remains relentlessly positive and has used iReport to reinvent herself as a talented multimedia storyteller.
Misael Rincón has a passion for storytelling. He is one of iReport's few contributors who report in both English and Spanish, sharing beautiful photography from his native Dominican Republic. Rincón has a great eye for spotting stories that resonate with the CNN community.
Rachel Cauvin brings New York City's diverse cultures to life. If there's a parade, you can count on her to be there in the crowd with her camera. Her photo essays, bursting with bright colors and quirky characters, bring warmth and cheer to the iReport community.
If there's a visual story to be told, Jim Jorstad is sure to find a creative angle and run with it. He's also a relentless evangelist for iReport's power to inspire and connect one another through storytelling. He first caught our attention with his in-depth coverage of the Wisconsin recall campaign, and continued to stretch himself with feature pieces about extraordinary people.
Lia Ocampo has a knack for finding feel-good, quirky stories about people doing good things. She came to iReport in 2010, when she lived in the Philippines, and stayed with the community after she moved to New York last summer.
Jim Brenneman has been with iReport since the early days, sharing his sometimes fun, sometimes biting commentary in cartoon form. Whether he's lampooning election candidates, poking fun at Groundhog Day, or responding to the situation in North Korea, his drawings always make you stop and think.


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Blue Waves begin work to return to where they were
On an unseasonably pleasant Monday morning, with a refreshing breeze blowing under a blue sky shaded by gray/white clouds, the Riverhead Blue Waves were back to work on the practice field. As with all other high school football teams in New York State, the clock on the new season began for Riverhead.
The race to put together a team for the 2013 season that the Blue Waves hope will successfully defend their Suffolk County Division II championship has begun. Some personnel changes have been made since the last time Riverhead was on the playing field for a loss to Garden City in the Long Island Class II championship game last November. Ryan Bitzer is gone. Quinn Funn is gone.
Some lesser known names will be moving into the spotlight this coming season, but that doesn't mean they can't play.
"There are new names, but remember, the program is conditioned to bring those kids through the middle school," coach Leif Shay said. "You may not know that name, but we've known that name for five years."
Jeremiah Cheatom, an all-county senior running back and outside linebacker who was named to Newsday's All-Long Island Second Team, voiced confidence in his up-and-coming teammates. "We always had guys in the shadows who are excellent, too," he said. "These are good players. Everybody on our team, they know what our guys can do. Just guys out of town, they don't know. We're going to have to show them."
Unlike last year, Riverhead doesn't have to contend with the hype that comes with being the top seed in the division. This year they aren't ranked No. 1, but No. 3 isn't far away from that. They face the challenge of playing a schedule that coach Leif Shay believes is about as tough as it gets. That schedule includes road games against No. 1 East Islip and No. 2 Bay Shore.
No doubt about it, it will not be easy, but then again, Riverhead has a number of things working in its favor. For one thing, Cheatom, a splendid runner, isn't a bad player to form an offense around. Also, the Blue Waves are blessed with athleticism and look good at the skill positions, with plenty of starting spots up for grabs.
"Right now everything is wide open," Shay said. "This is probably one of the deeper teams I've had."
Where Riverhead took a big hit, though, was on the offensive line. Building the line, Shay said, is going to be something for the team to focus on.
The team does have impact players: middle linebacker/tight end Mike Van Bommel; defensive end Troy Trent, a junior transfer from Longwood; wide receiver/cornerback Danny Czelatka; free safety Jaron Greenidge; left tackle/defensive tackle Ethan Greenidge (6-foot-4, 290 pounds); outside linebacker/running back Ryun Moore.
And a new quarterback: senior Cody Smith. Smith, who backed up Bitzer last year, brings a contrasting playing style to the one his predecessor had.
"He's going to bring a very different type of quarterback to this team," Shay said. "He's not going to have those finesse throws that maybe Ryan had, but he'll make those gritty plays. When it's fourth-and-one he'll stick his neck in there and make a tough play for you. The toughness that he brings to the position is kind of fun. He's more a Brett Favre-type of quarterback than a Tom Brady-type of quarterback."
Smith holds the advantage in the competition for the starting job, but Shay said Kenny Simco, a junior, has been looking sharp, too. Simco was the starting quarterback for the junior varsity team last year.
Andrew Kinard, a senior who played defensive end and outside linebacker last year, said the outlook is good. "We have a physical, mental team, and if we play together, play strong, play hard, play smart, we'll get there; we'll get back to LIC," he said referring to the Long Island championship game. "We have better skill players, a lot more speed, and I feel our run game is going to be better than it was last year."
That 29-16 loss to Garden City was a tough way to end a 9-3 season, but it may yet bring a benefit to the Blue Waves.
Cheatom said the experience of winning the county championship game against North Babylon was one of the best experiences of his life. The loss to Garden City was something else. "It was devastating," he said. "The thing that ran through my head was, 'What could I have done to fix those mistakes?' But you can't take it back. Things happen for a reason. That must have happened for a reason because it's given me more fire and motivation for this year."


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Attorney Action Club
The Attorney Action Club is a network of San Francisco Bay Area lawyers who host monthly topical discussions on attorney work life balance and law practice management.
The Attorney Action Club is a network of San Francisco Bay Area lawyers who host monthly topical discussions on attorney work life balance and law practice management.
Enter your email address to get added to our AAC list. You will be notified about our upcoming meetings plus other specific information about our club
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your email address safe.
Welcome to Attorney Action Club Website (beta launch). We have tons of plans for the new site, each of which will help you further the goals of the AAC by building your Legal Networking, Work Life Balance, and Free Continuing Legal Education.
The beta site allows you to publish your professional profile, link to your website and socials, articles and post to the Attorney Action Club blog. The site also contains our upcoming schedule of speakers, allows you to RSVP for our monthly program, track your MCLE, and allow each of us to easily find the contact information for people we have met at the meetings.
The new website is another tool we can all use to get to know each other. Learning about each of our areas of expertise is the magic of the Attorney Action Club. When legal professionals in diverse practice areas get to know, like and trust each other, referrals are exchanged. Attorneyactionclub.com improves our monthly forum considerably, allowing each of us to showcase our talents and stay in contact with each other outside of the monthly meetings.
Here is a list of upcoming features of the site:
An SEO optimized platform to promote your business
Connect with Attorney Action Club members you have met at the monthly meetings
Showcase your business within our SEO optimized wordpress platform by posting and promoting your articles and blogs;
Review our schedule of upcoming speakers;
RSVP for each "Third Thursday" MCLE presentations
The AAC has been a wonderful part of my professional life - I have met people who have enriched my practice and honestly, its just great being in a room with HAPPY lawyers. So rare. I know I have been MIA lately, I read Attorney eMyth and took a deep dive into the business of my business, but I am not BACK to networking and learning, so I am excited for the upcoming speakers at AAC.
Warm regards to you all!
[February 2018 Video] Everything You Need to Know About Renting Property Using Airbnb | Michael J. McLaughlin
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[January 2018 Video] Growing Your Firm Using Proven Methods in 2018 | Leo Manzione
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Business Retirement Planning: It's a Team Effort!
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| 0.4°C Belfast
Popular contestants Femi Santiago and Leo Ihenacho have missed out on a chance for a place in the live stage of The Voice as two of the coaches finalised their teams.
Sir Tom Jones and Kylie Minogue made heartbreaking decisions about which contestants they should champion for the closing rounds of the show.
Kylie decided to drop Femi despite stealing him from Will.i.am's team days earlier after being impressed when he serenaded her during the battle round of the show.
Will even told her she should have kept him on her side for the live section of the BBC1 series.
Another departure which will have surprised viewers was Leo - known as Leo The Lion - who has been vocal about his crush on Kylie. The singer had been expected to make it through but Kylie instead pinned her hopes on Jamie Johnson, Lee Glasson and Rachael O'Connor.
Leo, 36, had already tasted pop success with a stint in now-defunct chart act The Streets.
For this weekend's knockout stage of the contest the coaches had to slim down their teams from seven contestants to three for the live quarter-finals.
The singers who have made it through to the first live show on March 22 for Team Tom are: Bizzi Dixon, 43, from Leicester; Georgia Harrup, 27, from Huddersfield and Sally Barker, 54, from Leicester.
Team Kylie is: Jamie, 19, from Gillingham; Lee, 31, from Coventry and Rachael, 17, from Derry in Northern Ireland.


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Eric Baradat
At this time when so many feel isolated, here's a Hanukkah gift that connects you and those you care about to Israel, the Jewish people and to one another.
It's not so easy to visit Israel - or, in many cases, each other - this year. So our connections through shared values, ideas and discussion are now more important than ever.
A Times of Israel Community gift membership entitles your recipient to one full year of membership benefits, at a special, discounted price.


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Unused Account Ferret 2.11
Unused Account Ferret helps network administrators to identify and remove unused user and computer accounts. UAF queries the domain controllers and displays a list of unused accounts based on the parameters that you supply. You can then disable or delete the unused accounts manually, or let UAF do it for you. UAF can also delete the Microsoft Exchange mailboxes and home folders that are associated with the unused accounts.
Info updated on:


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MPAA head Dan Glickman sent a letter yesterday to both Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and to US Trade Representative Ron Kirk in which he called for a serious US push to pass the secretive Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. That's certainly expected—ACTA contains a host of goodies for Hollywood and the recording industry—but what came as a surprise was Glickman's irritation at various ACTA "protests" which create "apprehension over the Agreement's substance."
He's referring to online outlets that have hoisted the anti-ACTA flag over the last year, accusing the treaty of being a pretext for ramming "three strikes" laws through without Congressional oversight or empowering Customs agents to check the contents of your iPod. Based on our reporting, neither of these items appears to be in the draft text, but the secretive nature of the negotiations and the bland, impenetrable public statements about ACTA have fueled plenty of suspicion.
The process has created a debate over the very notion of "transparency" as applied to international negotiations, but it's not a discussion Glickman wants to be having at the moment. His letter argues that "outcries on the lack of transparency in the ACTA negotiations are a distraction. They distract from the substance and ambition of the ACTA "—which sounds like a roundabout way of asking negotiators to ignore the cries of a clamoring public and simply get on with the business of cobbling together a Hollywood-friendly trade agreement.
This is certainly how groups like Public Knowledge are painting the letter; staff attorney Sherwin Siy called Glickman's words "a pathetic excuse for logic. It borders on the Chewbacca Defense for its use of non-sequitur. The 'substance and ambition' of the ACTA? And what, pray tell, is so important in the substance of ACTA that it trumps the fundamentals of open government?"
Or, in other words, "You bring the pitchforks, I've got the torches; we march on the castle of the evil tyrant come nightfall!" And, frankly, we should be marching on the castles of those who try to trump the fundamentals of open government and turn public power to private ends.
But that's not quite what the letter says. The next (unquoted) paragraph says that the MPAA "appreciates" the US Trade Representative's efforts to open ACTA up to (a tiny bit of) scrutiny. (Siy certainly knows about this, as he was one of the 42 people invited to see and comment on the US-drafted Internet section of ACTA).
"We support this objective and encourage the US government to direct the [transparency] process so that we can engage in a meaningful dialogue on substance rather than procedural matters," says the letter.
Glickman & Co. are actually asking USTR to open the process further in order to have a debate on the issues raised by the text rather than a having arguments about transparency, or arguments about terrifying items that aren't actually in the text. Remove the process objections so we can talk about substance; isn't this exactly what the reform groups want?
Only real transparency will do
It sounds like a good idea to us, but of course much depends on what is actually done. The "open" process so far has consisted largely of draft texts shown to a few public interest lawyers under strict nondisclosure agreements—pretty pitiful stuff for a fast-tracked trade agreement that won't need Senate approval, but will try to export the DMCA to the rest of the world. This is being done in our name, and we want to see and weigh in on our trade agreement before the negotiators are done and it becomes a fait accompli.
As for those negotiators, here's what they have to say. "A variety of groups have shown their interest in getting more information on the substance of the negotiations and have requested that the draft text be disclosed," said USTR this month (PDF). "However, it is accepted practice during trade negotiations among sovereign states to not share negotiating texts with the public at large, particularly at earlier stages of the negotiation. This allows delegations to exchange views in confidence facilitating the negotiation and compromise that are necessary in order to reach agreement on complex issues. At this point in time, ACTA delegations are still discussing various proposals for the different elements that may ultimately be included in the agreement. A comprehensive set of proposals for the text of the agreement does not yet exist."
Glickman may care about little more than throwing a sop to critics in order to get the agreement concluded, but the USTR should in fact follow the MPAA lead on this and get serious about transparency, and quickly. ACTA is expected to be concluded in 2010, and asking for public input a couple weeks before signing is simply not good enough; as the outcry over ACTA has shown, people care about these issues in a way they did not a generation ago. They aren't going to be satisfied if they're presented with a stinker and asked to simply hold their noses.
Once real transparency arrives and the US drops its ridiculous claims about "national security," Americans—and the millions of other who will be affected by ACTA—can have a real debate about bringing DMCA-style anti-circumvention laws to the rest of the world and about whether noncommercial P2P activity can ever deserve criminal penalties.
USTR has made some steps toward transparency, including the creation of a special ACTA webpage, which supplies little specific information. But at least USTR is willing to hear from the public; the very brave and possibly foolish Kira Alvarez, a top USTR negotiator, has posted the phone number of her office. Members of the public with questions of ACTA can give her a call at 202-395-4510.


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Serves: 12
Need 5-1/2 qt slow-cooker
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup(s) ketchup
- 1/3 cup(s) cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup(s) packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup(s) tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon(s) sweet paprika
- 2 tablespoon(s) Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoon(s) yellow mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
- 4 pound(s) boneless pork shoulder blade roast (fresh pork butt), cut into 4 pieces
- 12 soft sandwich buns or ciabatta rolls, warmed
- Dill pickles (optional)
- Potato chips (optional)
- Hot sauce (optional)
- In 5 1/2-quart slow-cooker pot, stir onion, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, tomato paste, paprika, Worcestershire, mustard, salt, and pepper until combined. Add pork to sauce mixture and turn to coat well with sauce. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook pork mixture on low setting as manufacturer directs, 8 to 10 hours or until pork is very tender. With tongs, transfer pork to large bowl. Pour sauce into fat separator. Turn setting on slow cooker to high; cover and heat sauce to boiling to thicken and reduce slightly. While sauce boils, with 2 forks, pull pork into shreds. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and toss with sauce to combine. Cover slow cooker and heat through on high setting if necessary. Spoon pork mixture onto bottom of sandwich buns; replace tops of buns. Serve sandwiches with pickles, potato chips, and hot sauce if you like.


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Here at Martenson Central, we are endlessly keeping a close eye out for the emergence of deflation, defined here as the purchasing power of the dollar going up.
Technically, inflation and deflation are terms that indicate a particular combination of money surplus or deficit (respectively), demand for money (of which velocity is but one measure), and demand for various goods and services (which themselves may be in abundance or short supply).
The reason that the inflation vs. deflation debate has been so noisy, yet simultaneously so murky, is that all of these intersecting variables impact the final equation. It is like the difference between trying to balance a single broomstick on your outstretched hand vs. trying to balance a broomstick with three well-greased hinges at points along its length. The former is tricky enough to balance; the latter would be impossible for nearly everyone.
Some try to reduce the inflation/deflation debate to a single broomstick ("...all we need to do is look at declining credit and see that we are in deflation!"), but in my opinion, that is far too simplistic a view. We still need to consider base money creation, velocity, and the relative level of faith in current and future monetary policy among the majority of market participants.
Because we cannot really know all the variables and how they are feeding back and forth between each other, we must simply look at the final impact to gauge where we are. Fortunately, we can do this with relative ease.
Again, what we care about at the end of the day is whether our future money will buy more, or whether it will buy less -- and, naturally, whether we will even have any coming our way.
The argument for deflation says that because of declining credit, people will hold onto whatever money they have for dear life, unsure if more money will be forthcoming. In this case, the velocity of money will slow and collapse.
The argument for inflation includes the idea that existing debts are a form of money and that the world's central banks are busy printing up more than enough new money to swamp both the commodities markets and people's preferences to hold something that can be created without any effort or cost.
Many in both the inflationist and deflationist camps say that prices are not worth analyzing because they are the result of, not the cause of, either "-flation." But it would be a mistake to ignore prices simply because they represent the passenger, not the driver, in the story. Knowing where the passenger is going can give you a pretty good indication of where the driver is headed, and therefore it's important to keep a close eye on prices when assessing inflation/deflation.
On the plus side for inflation are commodity prices, which are again nearing their all-time peak and which have been compounding at an average annual rate of slightly more than 10% over the past decade.
But they seem to be at a critical juncture on this longer term timeline. Either they will break out from here, or they will be rejected, creating a massive double top not unlike the one seen in the stock market in 2000 and 2007.
Still, commodities could fall back a long way before they would violate the trend line in place since early 2002, when prices began the ascent that would see them finally break out of a long-standing range.
In my book, ten years is a respectable amount of time to assess commodity prices. Beware those who cherry-pick the 2008 topping event as their reference point, as they are missing the larger story of the trend line that I have drawn in blue above.
But commodities are just a small component of the overall price landscape. If one trusts the CPI statistic -- and I really have my doubts about its construction and methodologies (that's putting it mildly) -- then it would seem that prices are actually quite tame and that disinflation (in which inflation is declining slightly month-by-month but still rising overall) is the greater concern, as the Fed has claimed.
But even here, when viewed on a longer time frame, I really do not see anything to suggest that we are facing a dire catastrophe of price collapse:
What I see in the above chart is that prices first climbed at one rate between 2001 and 2004 (first red line segment on the left), then climbed at a faster rate until a blowoff in 2008, have since recovered, and are climbing again quite handily.
For the record, I happen to think that the CPI systematically undercounts inflation due to underweighting certain components (especially medical care) and completely avoiding the impact of taxes on spending and costs. Given this, the fact that the CPI is higher this year than last year, we have to score another one for inflation.
But it's almost certain that inflation is higher than stated by the CPI, so we might want to rate that one just a little bit more strongly than a literal interpretation of the CPI might suggest.
On the subject of house prices, the situation strongly favors deflation. And given the importance of housing to the health of bank balance sheets and consumer wealth effects, this is certainly one of the demons that the federal government and Federal Reserve are fighting tooth and nail:
While house prices are above where they were a year ago, the bounce has been anemic at best and has recently turned down again. This is a very poor sign. Score one for deflation.
Stocks are now at two-year highs, bonds are up quite strongly over the past several years, and oil is at a two-year high. All of these weigh towards inflation being the dominant theme of the day.
With regard to prices alone favoring inflation, we find that commodities, stocks, bonds, medical costs, college tuition, and the CPI itself are all up over the past year, and in the case of everything but stocks, the past decade.
The point of this approach is to keep prices firmly in view when thinking about inflation and deflation. While the theories about the role of money and credit as the drivers of the '-flations' are very important to understand, what we really care about at the end of the day is the final impact on our purchasing power. By nearly every measure, except in limited cases sprinkled throughout (with housing being the most visible and important), we find that prices have been rising smartly. Or we could say that the dollar and other fiat currencies have been sinking, which is a more accurate way to think about the dynamic.
This should not surprise anybody, as it is the obvious result of massive printing efforts undertaken by nearly every OECD central bank in response to the prior crisis caused by too-cheap money. Nor should it confuse students of our economic system, who know that continuous increases in asset prices and real things are essential to the very functioning of the entire system. Growth is a requirement of our monetary system and, by extension, our economic system. With growth, everything is fine and the status quo can be preserved. So naturally there is strong support for all manners of growth within and across our political and financial institutions. Without growth, the system misfires and threatens to collapse.
Those who read history also know that inflation is by far the more common outcome of a situation in which there is entirely too much sovereign debt that cannot be repaid by ordinary means. All one needs is to take a quick glance at the balance sheets and off-balance-sheet obligations of practically every developed country to realize that collective insolvency is the correct term to apply.
So at this point in the story, we see that prices have been rising, our fiscal and monetary authorities are trying quite hard to foster even more rapid price escalations, and they are doing so because the system demands it of them.
Right now, based on prices, we have to score inflation as the winner, although we'll be the first to change our tune should the data change
Part II of this report covers the rest of the story by going into money and credit (the true drivers of the '-flations') more deeply, as well as other economic data important to helping us figure out where we are in this story, how much time might remain before another "adjustment" arrives, and what we might do about protecting our wealth and opportunities. Click here to access Part II (free executive summary; paid enrollment required to access).


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The Box
Notice the notepad
Guest Pass up close.
The box unfolded.
Darcy Lee this Blog is about earning enough money to buy a house. It's also about Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Extra Terrestrials, Donations, Money, Work, September 11th 2001 9-11 World Trade Center and Immortality Health and living a long life. Can proberly think of more stuff it's about. I'm running this blog to make money for a house. I would really like a house. Could be possible even. Donate To Me.
Here is a a letter that I sent to over 100 different law firms asking for representation in court regarding my story. So far I have gotte...


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By Steve Ginsburg
NEW ORLEANS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten felt the sting of domestic violence as a youth and became determined to make a difference when he got the chance.
"A lot of people made sacrifices to help get you to this point (in the NFL)," the eight-time Pro Bowler told Reuters on Friday. "For me, my grandfather made a huge impact on my life.
"So when I made it to the NFL, giving back was in the forefront of what I wanted to be about. I wanted to give an opportunity to young kids who have had challenging times."
Witten is among three finalists for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, given to the player who makes the greatest off-the-field impact to the community.
A pair of six-time Pro Bowlers are also being considered for the award, tackle Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
Witten went to live with his grandfather - a high school football coach - to escape his parents' violence.
To honor his grandfather, Witten's SCORE Foundation has created outreach programs and funded projects for victims of domestic abuse in Texas and his native Tennessee.
"This is one of those awards where everybody is a winner," said Witten, a finalist last year when Matt Birk of the Baltimore Ravens won the award.
Fitzgerald said he was merely following his late mother's drive to give back when he launched the First Down Fund, which works with children and families in crisis.
Carol Fitzgerald died in 2003 of breast cancer.
"Last time before she checked into the hospital before she passed away, she went to visit a friend of hers that was in the same hospital," Fitzgerald told a news conference.
"She always put others in front of her, even in the most severe times. Those were kind of examples she always set for us."
Thomas helps the Cleveland Foodbank as one of his many charitable endeavors.
"This is extremely humbling," Thomas said of being a finalist. "This is one of the highest honors that an NFL player can receive as an individual award."
A Pro Bowler every year since he entered the league as the third pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Thomas said athletes have an obligation to be role models.
"We're thrown up there on the stage," he said. "We're given a tremendous opportunity to do good in our communities. It's our obligation, our duty, to give back because of what the fans and the cities have done for us."
The winner of the award will be announced during the NFL Honors gala on Saturday, the eve of Super Bowl 47 between the Ravens and San Francisco 49ers at the New Orleans Superdome. (Reporting By Steve Ginsburg, Editing by Larry Fine)


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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.-LA Boxing, the premier boxing-based fitness gym franchise in the nation, has become an official sponsor of USA Boxing. The nationwide chain of gyms will now be the Official Boxing, Health and Exercise Club of USA Boxing, the National Governing Body for amateur boxing in the United States."We are delighted to be associated with LA Boxing, and its franchisee network across the country. We're particularly excited about the growth that lies ahead for LA Boxing, and the level of quality and professionalism that marks its entire organization. As the Olympic Games approach, I know that the members of LA Boxing will enjoy being affiliated with the sport's National Governing Body,"commented Jim Millman, Chief Executive Officer of USA Boxing. LA Boxing has enjoyed tremendous growth since its inception in Costa Mesa, Calif., in 1992. President Anthony Geisler joined the initial LA Boxing gym in 2002 and quickly discovered the growth opportunity for the concept. After creating the LA Boxing Franchise Corporation in 2004, he began advertising the franchise opportunities for LA Boxing. The corporation now boasts 99 locations in 19 states and Puerto Rico, with each location providing the best training and workouts in a safe, healthy and fun atmosphere."This sponsorship promises to be a wonderful opportunity for our franchises across the country, and for our brand on a national level,"said LA Boxing President Anthony Geisler."USA Boxing is the most authentic and credible organization partnership we can have in Amateur Boxing, and we're looking forward to a long and mutually successful relationship with them". The new sponsorship grants LA Boxing the title of Exclusive Boxing, Health and Exercise Club of USA Boxing as well as rights to USA Boxing's newly created Gloves Not Guns program. Additionally, LA Boxing will receive benefits on-site at official USA Boxing events and identification on membership print and online communication materials.
BOXING: LA Boxing Becomes the Exclusive Health Club of USA Boxing
March 06, 2008, 1 a.m. (ET)


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Southwest grad launches Carticulate cartography business
Even in the age of dashboard navigation systems and Google Maps, when smart phones can conjure up satellite images of your neighborhood or another continent, there's still a place for a talented cartographer or two.
Here's an example: This fall, Matt Forrest and Kate Chanba, the two design-minded map-makers who recently launched a small business called Carticulate, caused a small stir in some of the local corners of the Internet when they released their version of a Minneapolis skyway map. Their innovation was to re-imagine the meandering skyway network as seven interconnected, color-coded "lines" — like a subway system — with "stops" at Downtown landmarks and "transfers" where the skyways merged.
"During that three-day span, we had like 700 hits on our website, which was pretty wild," Forrest recalled.
Forrest is a Southwest High School graduate who grew up in Southwest and met Chanba, another Twin Cities native, in the well-regarded cartography program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With a few paying projects under their belts, including a similar redesign of the Asheville, N.C., transit maps, they're moving Carticulate to New York City in the new year.
The pair are optimistic about the future of cartography, even though the industry, they say, is going through a bit of soul-searching. Technology has democratized cartography, giving anyone with an Internet connection access to highly accurate maps. Social media like Twitter and Foursquare are making where we are at any given moment part of who we are.
"The thing people ask you is: So you're a cartographer; isn't cartography dead?" Chanba said. "… Maybe just because we're young and have access to these new tools, we're really excited about the future of it."
Youthful curiosity
Forrest traced his interest in maps and cartography, the science of map-making, to his youth in Minneapolis. As a third-grader at Fulton Elementary School (now Lake Harriet Community School) he won an atlas in a class contest, and he remembered being fascinated by its oversized pages.
"My parents will tell you the same thing: I was always looking at maps and atlases," he said. When the family went on a road trip, the map rested in the young Forrest's lap.
The interest resurfaced in high school when Forrest developed a precocious interest in local electoral politics and joined former School Board Member Chris Stewart's successful 2006 campaign. Forrest studied past election returns and developed a series of maps Stewart used to target likely voters.
"I had no knowledge of mapping at all," Forrest recalled. "I think I broke a lot of the rules I know now."
UW–Madison offers one of the premier cartography programs in the country, but Forrest arrived at the school undecided about a major. After an advisor told him to walk through the school's science building and check out the options, he signed up for a geography class almost on a whim. Pretty soon, he felt at home.
Chanba, too, almost fell into cartography. An artistically inclined journalism major who probably would have preferred art school, she chose a cartography class to fulfill a science credit in her senior year. She ended up staying in school an extra semester to take more cartography courses and met Forrest when the two partnered on a final project.
After graduation, they reconnected over coffee in Minneapolis and decided to combine their skills in a professional partnership. Chanba is the talented illustrator and graphic designer with a background in maps, and Forrest is the cartographer with a designer's eye.
"We wanted our maps to be clean and articulate design-wise, so that's where the name came from," Chanba explained.
An eye-catching revision
When they formed Carticulate, Forrest was out of college and back in Minneapolis, living in a Loring Park apartment and walking to work at Thrivent Financial for Lutheran's office on 4th Avenue between 6th and 7th streets, where Stewart helped him land an entry-level job. In the mornings, he walked four blocks to the skyway entrance at the Minneapolis Convention Center, then walked another eight blocks or so through the skyways to his office.
"The skyways are a pain to learn; I think anyone would tell you that," he said.
He spent a lot of time looking at the backlit skyway maps scattered throughout the system — and decided they were all wrong. The maps overlaid green streets on a dark blue, almost purple, background — a serious problem for the colorblind — and Nicollet Mall was depicted as a distracting, bright yellow snake slithering through Downtown.
Forrest's revision was inspired by Harry Beck's 1933 London Underground map, a famous early example of a cartogram, a type of map that distorts actual geography to more clearly convey information. Kristen Montag, who works for Meet Minneapolis, the city's visitor and convention bureau, was one of the hundreds who took notice when the map went online.
"It reminded my of going to New York City and following the red line, or something," Montag recalled.
It was on the strength of the skyway map that Carticulate won the Asheville, N.C., job, and both Forrest and Chanba see transit system work as a major part of their young firm's future.
Tom Hedberg, a cartographer and founder of Minneapolis-based Hedberg Maps, who Forrest sought out for some post-college advice, also took notice.
"It's exciting to see more cartographers taking a fresh look at the world in which we live," Hedberg wrote in an email. "Matt and Kate have a great future."
Reach Dylan Thomas at [email protected]
* To see the map for yourself go to: carticulatemaps.com/portfolio-view/minneapolis-skyway-map


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PG's Joe Coffey is On Location in Van Nuys, CA, for the 2009 LA Amp Show where he visits the Fender area. In this video segment, we get to see and hear from Fender's little '57 Champ.
The '57 Champ is a small but mighty tone machine crafted within the their '57 Tweed series. It is an all-tube 5 watt comb with a 8" Weber Alnico speaker. It features a 6V6GT power tube, 12AX7 preamp tube and 5Y3GT rectifier tube. It is covered in the traditional lacquered tweed and is hand-wired with two inputs. This little tone monster has been used by Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Keith Richards and countless others during recording sessions.


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I feel lucky as an author to be able to express myself in different ways. Writing for Harlequin's Silhouette Special Edition is excellent practice for honing and refining the art of conveying intense emotion and conflict. It requires some discipline, and I feel as if I've been flexing my mental author muscles. 🙂 I'm looking forward to finishing the second book, as much as I've loved writing it, because I'm getting hungry for the creative freedom I can get while writing for Samhain. Next up on my writing goal list the second book in the Princes of the Underground series. If you haven't read the first, here's an excerpt.
Velvet Cataclysm
by Beth Kery
In his battle to resist, he found the impossible. His soul.
Christina Astor's telepathic ability is an asset in her job as a psychiatric social worker. What's driving her crazy, though, is her elusive, gorgeous landlord. She senses that Saint Sevliss wants her with an all-consuming hunger that's somehow…different. Just how different becomes all too clear when his dangerous world collides with hers.
For centuries, Saint's kind have been called vampire and werewolf. Even soulless. But their true nature remains a mystery. Bound by a magical mandate to control his bloodthirsty clone, Teslar, at all costs, Saint will do anything to keep Christina away. She infuses his gray universe with life and color, but his world—and his need—would destroy her.
When an attack reveals the true power of Christina's gift, one thing is certain—Teslar won't rest in his underground labyrinth until he possesses her, body and soul…
"You've got a lot of nerve, you know that?" She slammed the door shut and swept across the room like a wildfire on the rampage. "It's you who put this fixed idea in Aidan's head that we shouldn't move away from Whitby. Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?"
"You're wrong. No intervention was required on my part. Aidan is very upset about the idea of leaving Whitby. It's his home."
"Wrong. Whitby Manor is your home," she corrected, pointing accusingly.
She stepped back when he stood abruptly, quick as a snake at the strike.
"It's my home because you're there," he growled.
Christina was set off-balance by his unexpected revelation accompanied by a focused explosion of feeling. The vivid memory of the gazebo made her recover. "Maybe you should have thought of that before you brought your girlfriends to what should have been our first date."
She'd never seen Saint show an emotion as mundane as incredulity until now.
"First date? You saw what I am! Saw it with your own eyes, and yet the only thing you consider is that I was unfaithful to your infantile fantasies?"
She snarled and picked up a heavy marble paperweight from her desk, fully prepared to hurl it at Saint's stunned expression of disbelief. A frustrated cry left her lips when he was suddenly beside her, restraining her wrists. He wrapped his arms around her and pushed her back into his chest.
"Calm down."
For a few seconds, she was dazed by his resonant, deep voice and the sensation of his body pressed against her. She twisted furiously in his hold, but her body slowly sagged. When she realized she was following Saint's order without conscious thought, her fury erupted.
"_God_, I hate you! How could you have done that to me?"
"I am what I am. If I could change my nature, I would in a second. You gave me no choice but to reveal to you the truth about why your dreams are merely that—the fantasies of a child."
Fury bloomed in her chest, feeling as if it would explode through the skin at any moment. "I told you the other night. I knew you weren't like everybody else. I didn't guess you're…whatever you are…a vampire?"
"Humans have called me that. The truth is a bit more complicated."
"Vampire or not, you're an asshole. Some things remain consistent across the species. Even the paranormal variety."
She braced her legs and twisted viciously to push herself out of his hold. She might as well have been trying to throw a mountain off her. His strength was effortless, as though she were being restrained by steel instead of flesh.
"Let go of me."
"When you calm down."
She tried to ignore the shiver of excitement that raced down her neck when she felt his voice rumbling from his chest to her back and his warm breath brushing her ear. She inhaled his familiar scent. As usual, it started an unstoppable chemical cascade of arousal in her body. Her lack of control over her reaction infuriated her further.
"I'm about ready to scream myself hoarse. Do you want to upset Aidan?"
"No. Do you?"
She twisted her neck around and glared up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Do you think you're really doing the best thing by taking him away from Whitby?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Who's making that decision? The loving mother? Or your battered ego?"
She went completely still. For a few seconds she thought she'd go stark raving mad if she didn't get to punch Saint Sevliss's gorgeous, smug face just once. He stared down at her with those amazing blue eyes while she panted and her breath burned in her lungs.
Using every ounce of her willpower, she forced herself to calm. She inhaled slowly several times, trying her best not to notice the sensation of Saint's arms enclosing her expanding and contracting ribcage.
"Let go of me, please," she said with as much dignity as she could muster.
When she felt him slowly release her, she gave full rein to her fury. She turned, stepped back, cocked her fist and swung. Two weeks of pent-up anger and frustration went into a well-landed right hook to Saint's angular jaw. His chin swung at the impact of the blow.
He slowly turned to face her. What she saw in his eyes made her take a step back in alarm. He halted her retreat by grabbing her upper arms and hauling her next to his body. Anxiety and anguish mixed with Christina's fury when she stared up at his face.
How can he feel so much and show so little? It was as if her punch had popped the lid off a tightly sealed container of frothing, scorching-hot emotion. A tear skipped down her cheek when he shook her.
"I didn't want to hurt you, Christina. I hate myself for having done it. But you gave me no choice, the way you were pursuing me."
His heat seemed to pour into her body. She experienced his inner turmoil clearly, felt his desperation, his need and his pain in equal degrees to her own. It was unbearable, the friction it caused inside of her. Without thinking about her actions, she struggled to get her right arm free from his hold. Much to her surprise, he released her. She grabbed a handful of soft hair at his nape and jerked fiercely.
"I would think you'd be glad we were leaving. Wasn't that little show you staged the other night precisely for that purpose?"
She sobbed as tears spurted down her cheek. Despite her unbridled fury, she couldn't stop staring at Saint's mouth for some god-awful reason, couldn't stop from pressing her body against his long, hard length, or rubbing her aching nipples against his ribs.
"I was trying to stop you from getting me into bed. I'm trying to keep you safe from me. Can't you see that? That doesn't mean I want you and Aidan to leave Whitby for good."
"Well, I guess your little plan didn't work too well, did it?" She jerked on his hair one last time for emphasis before she went up on tiptoe and pulled him down closer to her face. She didn't stop until she felt his warm breath brushing against her lips. "Why in the hell do I need to be kept safe? You must know by now I can read people's minds, Saint. I have never been afraid of you."
His upper lip curled; his eyes blazed. She cried out in surprise when he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her roughly until they were groin to groin, heartbeat to heartbeat.
"You should be afraid." He swooped down and took her mouth in a ravaging kiss.
A torrent of emotion and sensation surged through her. Christina dazedly realized Saint was right. A woman should be afraid she might drown in the deep, frothing well of carnal delight that suddenly submersed her entire being.
Nevertheless, she craned up for him hungrily, all vestiges of rational thought burned into a mist by her lust and need.
Five Lips from Two Lips Reviews: I was enthralled. I can't wait for the next one to come out.


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Alexandre Dayant is a Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute, where he works on a new project mapping and analysing foreign assistance in the Pacific.
Prior to joining the Institute in 2017, Alexandre was a management consultant for PwC, where he worked on strategy development and implementation projects in the infrastructure, health, telecommunications and banking sectors.
Before PwC, Alexandre completed master's degrees in International & Development Economics (Australian National University) and Econometrics (La Sorbonne) and undertook internships in marketing, international business, and finance. While in Australia in 2012, Alexandre worked for the Federal Minister for Small Business Brendon O'Connor on a comparative study of OECD assistance to small business for the Australian Government. He also completed a summer course in International Law and International Relations at Harvard University. Alexandre speaks fluent French, English, and Spanish.


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Karni-Bain (BAI), Carl, (Ms. Swan)
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"Ms. Swan" by Carl Karni-Bain (BAI)
10 x 11" acrylic and oil stick on poster board --framed
Carl Karni-Bain (BAI) received his fine arts training at the California College of Arts and Craftin Oakland California with an emphasis on classical drawing and painting. He has exhibited extensively in, the San Francisco Bay area, North Carolina, New York, and Europe. His work forms part of the permanent collection of the University of North Carolina, Charlotte and the Harrison Museum of African America Culture. His works can be found in private domestic collections as well as internationally in Australia, France, Canada, Sweden, Holland, David Gresalfi writes that BAI has made the concept of the mask his chosen vehicle for exploring the boundaries of abstraction and representational form. By reminding us of our earliest obsession with recognizing and reading faces, he asks: What is it that you want to see in His figures and faces seem to lack exterior warmth, while retaining and communicating a powerful sense of mystery.
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Gifts from Japan! Since 1947, Tokyo-based Gakken has created some of the most sought-after science, music, and engineering kits for kids and adults.
MAKE Magazine is pleased to be the only retailer in North America selling these educational and collectible kits. Our team personally selected the kits while visiting the Gakken headquarters in Japan. The attention to detail in these products is so incredible you won't believe it. From vacuum tube amp kits to mechanized metal centipedes to Stirling engines, the Maker Shed store has the best of the best from Japan
Select an image or link below to learn more:
Vacuum tube amp kit - Build your own retro, vacuum tube based amp for your iPod or portable music player. You can also experiment with sound by inserting normal straws of different lengths in the rear of the speakers
Edison-Style Cup Phonograph kit - This replica kit uses the same technology that Thomas Edison used, replacing Edison's waxed pipe and stylus with a plastic cup and a needle, but the end results are the same! You record your own voice on a plastic cup — and play it back!
Stirling Engine Kit - The Stirling Engine kit is as majestic as a piece of art, and is used to understand the basics of thermodynamics. You can try three different experiments: the generator, the fan, and the car.
Gravity clock kit - Build your own beautiful gravity clock, customize it using own counter weight!