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20 Innovative Ways to Use Visual Content to Rock Your Facebook Page
Last Updated on September 4, 2021 by Wong Ching Ya
People keep talking about getting 'visual' with Facebook page updates. Don't know how to get started? I hereby compiled a list of major types of visual content you can experiment on your Page. Hope they will trigger your inner creativity to engage with your audience better with graphics, images and photos.
Note: I purposely excluded the amount of likes/shares/comments from the examples so you can focus on the content, not the numbers.
How to Use Visual Content to Rock Your Brand on Facebook
Express Gratitude and Appreciation:
#1 To Highlight Your Fans
Acknowledge fans for their great achievements or continuous support on your Page. For a fan to realize his/her loyal participation been addressed on your page, you can be sure they are more likely to return and even share your page with their friends in return.
If the fan is not in your friend list, you can tag their Facebook page instead:
Takeaway: Create something fun and encourage your fans to tag themselves (or even friends) to spread the word. It's a good practice to advice fans to tag only those who might be interested in the event:
#2 To Create Something Special for Fans
It can be a reminder to claim an existing offer. Create a surprise or a contest that is exclusively for fans using third party app and notify them with an eye-catching image. Make it enticing enough for click-through. A hand-written note is a good way to humanize your brand:
Or an ebook for everyone:
Takeaway: Always remember to use third party apps when hosting giveaways or contests. The last thing you need is to violate Facebook Promotions Guidelines.
#3 To Hold a 'Fans' Day'!
Page events like 'Page-Tagging', 'Boast About Your Blog Day' are great methods to engage with fans and increase page visibility. I love to have 'ShowOff Friday' where I welcome my fans to do a little self-promotion. A fantastic way to know more about your fans and what they do. More examples:
i) Blog Bragging Day
ii) Fan Page Tagging Day
iii) ShowOff Friday
Takeaway: Make sure your picture sends out a positive vibe so fans are more likely to notice and join the party!
#4 To Express Gratitude to Someone
Give thanks to a special person who contributed to your achievements. It's always thoughtful to shine a spotlight on someone (via tagging) so your fans get to know him/her too!
Takeaway: A simple yet personal picture worth a thousand words. Authenticity counts!
Fun Stuff: Invite Fans to Participate
You may find it's easier to get fans' attention when posting 'fun' stuff, let's see:
#5 To 'Add a Caption' to the Picture
Choose an interactive picture and ask fans to throw in their BEST lines. You can provide incentives for those who participated – depends on how you'd like to give back.
Seriously, who can resist a cute picture like this:
Takeaway: Share picture that depicts your brand personality. Be selective.
#6 To Share Non-Work Related Pictures
This includes cartoons, memes, inspirational quotes, jokes and anything that made people feel good and amused about. But be careful with your selection. Sometimes popular doesn't mean suitable for your audience.
Mari chose a fun quiz for her fans. Good reminder to not disclose the answer in the comment so more people can join the fun:
You don't picture works for 'Fill in the blank' too? Of course it does:
Why not some 'people behind-the-brand' photos?
Takeaway: Besides the fun, ask your fans to express their thoughts about the pictures, get to know where they stand, what they like/dislike.
Involvement: Request Opinions from Fans
#7 To Make a Brand-Decision
Involve your fans to pick the best visual element for your promotional flyer, ebook cover, website theme or even a Timeline cover. Give them a sense of belonging by taking part in your decision-making. You might even get amazing ideas for your next project!
#8 Seek Help? Why Not Start from Fans
Looking for some assistance? Start from your circle of trust (fans) with people who support you and what you do:
Mutual Understanding: Get to Know Your Fans First
#9 To Find out Your Fans' Preferences
Use pictures to learn more about your fans. Keep the conversation active with relevant questions.
Takeaway: Facbeook Insights recently updated with new metrics for 'Fans only'. You will have a better idea on fans' perceptions of your posts in general.
#10 To Ask Fans to Pick A Side
How about an easy Yes/No question with graphic included? Ask fans to express their opinions in the comments if agree/disagree is an important call to action!
It can also be something fun,
Takeaway: While some pages prefer to go for 'controversial' questions, I prefer to keep things niche-related. It depends on your brand personality and how you'd like to educate your audience.
#11 To Share Something that Resonates with Your Audience
Make sure what you shared strike a chord in your fans' heart.
Takeaway: Image can be a great communicator so try to be as relevant to your brand as possible.
#12 To Spark a Discussion among Fans
Although there are many ways you can achieve this, but I'd like to emphasize on using image/graphic for this purpose so people can tap into the conversation easily – something as simple as a screenshot:
For Brand Recognition:
#13 To Showcase Your Portfolio, Artwork, Designs
If your work is graphic or design-related, use them to express your brand for full potential and visibility! Or if you have a Facebook app for that, add the link:
Takeaway: If your client is super-satisfied with your work, ask them for a testimonial and add that to your photo description. If you're worried about copyright infringement, add watermark to the photo. Tell a story from the design and how you achieved the end result is a great idea!
#14 To Post a Screenshot for Your Latest Blog Post
While using a main post image is one way:
Another is to capture a screenshot with blog title and post excerpt. This is great for post that do not come with a main blog image – but do make sure the Title is catchy enough to make up for the graphic-loss.
Takeaway: Social Media Examiner is smart in this – did you see the Twitter (social) sharing proof on this article?
#15 To Share Your Branded Graphics, Quotes or Photos
The advantage of a branded visual content is you can include your page name or website link within. If it goes viral, more people will know its source and where to find it, even if other pages re-use it without tagging your page.
Wise words from an influencer of your niche, you're bound to see that go viral like Amy's post did:
Be the Source of Information:
#16 To Provide a Niche-Related Info with Screenshots
It can either be a new found feature or a resource that your audience should be aware of. If it's a social networking site, encourage people to connect with you:
Don't forget to highlight your favorite tip from the resource before publishing:
Takeaway: Whether it's something general or detailed, as you get familiar with your fans, you'll know the types of info they crave for. Work towards educating your fans and spice up your posting with extra tips from your niche.
#17 To Introduce an Interesting Infographic
Try adding a Call to Action in your photo description: share it, pin it, comment on it. Make sure to credit the original source so in case the graphic is too large to fit properly in Facebook photo, your fans can view it before responding.
Takeaway: Try to raise a few questions from the infographic; pinpoint a few important facts to raise awareness and suspense for full view.
#18 To Disclose Surprising Stats, Results or Findings
It can be a graph, pie chart, or survey results in any form. Not only you can invite more people to share THEIR results (and thus, improve the engagement rate), people are inclined to share your findings based on real examples.
For Announcements and Notifications:
#19 To Announce Events or a Brand Makeover
Webinars, Twitter Chats, training events – make them known! Make full use of that Timeline Page of yours.
How smart of Victoria to announce her interview with Marie Claire while adding a question for fans to participate:
#20 To Remind Fans about Your Timeline Apps
Spending all those time and effort (maybe even money) to personalize those Timeline apps below your Cover? Don't waste them. Polish them up with updated info and highlight one (or two) per week that requires their utmost attention. Renovate and re-introduce your apps with catchy app images.
Don't be afraid to experiment with your visual content. Remember, not all images will get the same compelling results as your most popular post. People are sometimes more likely to respond to a funny joke rather than a serious research. But don't post for the sake of 'popularity', always keep your major objectives in perspective. Let your fans be a part of your page instead of being marketed to. While providing value and learn from the process, have fun!
Related Post:
15 Must Know Tips for Small Businesses to Prevail in Facebook Page Posting
9 Practical Tips to Improve Your Facebook Page Performance
Now Is Your Turn
Are you all pumped up to get 'visual' with your Facebook Page this week? Do you have any more tips to share? Tell us in the comment.
What a great list. Thank you for organizing the examples and writing.
Thank you Joel, I really appreciate you liking the examples. Really appreciate the visit!
What an awesome list. It's given me a lot more ideas of interaction I can do on my page. Thank you I will share this with my page and I particularly love no 8 !!
Thank you Donna, I really appreciate you dropping by. Can't thank you enough for the inspiration at #8 too 🙂 Hugs!
Need to be careful with #1. Some people are annoyed with the tagging via photo approach. But if you do it in a genuine way like thank a fan — then I'd think it'd go over well. It's a shame you can't tag most fans. Wish that would change.
That's an important reminder, Meryl, thanks for pointing that out. I agree with you, tagging can be spammy when over-used, but to be able to tag fans for a decent purpose and we're unable to do so, that's just inconvenient sometimes.
Ching Ya, you always have the best and most timely content. I look forward to each new post! Thanks so much for featuring Fan Page Focus in tip #3.
Thank you so much Michele for your support and friendship. Most of all, thanks for the great inspiration. Love your work at Fan Page Focus, keep it up! 🙂
This is great information! Thank you so much for putting it all together. I am going to share this with my fans.
So great to see you here, Randi. Thanks so much for willing to share this article, appreciate it. Hugs!
Great info – I'll definitely be using a few to help my clients achieve greater reach… I particularly liked #9, sometimes it can be difficult to really know what the audience is looking for.
I'm with you, Kerri. It's an on-going learning process to get to know your audience. Sometimes the content ticks, sometimes not, we just need to try our best. 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting.
Thank you Brian, I'm glad you found the tips useful. Adding a screenshot of your successful post is no doubt easy and well performed. Everyobody wants to know why the post got so popular. Appreciate your visit! 🙂


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Fed-up Puerto Ricans march demanding governor resign – The Washington Post
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Accompanied by some of Puerto Rico's most famous performers, thousands of people marched to the governor's residence in San Juan on Wednesday chanting demands for Gov. Ricardo Rosselló to resign after the leak of online chats that show him making misogynistic slurs and mocking his constituents.
The crowd ranged from teenagers to retirees, with some waving the island's flag printed in black and gray rather than red, white and blue to symbolize their discontent with a government they call corrupt and unresponsive to its people. Musicians Ricky Martin, Residente and Bad Bunny marched and addressed the crowd.
Police erected concrete barricades and shop owners covered store windows with metal sheeting or plywood as if a hurricane were coming. The multicolored umbrellas that form a photogenic awning over the street in front of the governor's mansion were taken down.
The turnout filled several city blocks in colonial Old San Juan but appeared to fall short of the many tens of thousands that some Rosselló opponents had predicted. Many older protesters went home before nightfall as chanting young people filled Old San Juan's Totem Plaza and the first few blocks leading up to the 16th century fortress where the governor resides.
Karla Villalón has three elementary-age children and an 81-year-old grandmother. Her kids have been uprooted twice in two years when first one school, then another, was closed by budget cuts under Rosselló. Her grandmother, a retired teacher, is anguished over the possibility of losing her pension in future rounds of cutbacks.
Villalón was outraged when Rosselló's former education secretary was arrested and accused of steering millions in improper contracts to politically connected contractors. Then hundreds of pages of online chats between Rosselló and members of his administration leaked, revealing the men mocking women, the disabled and victims of Hurricane Maria.
Villalón has had enough.
"It's the final straw," the homemaker said before the march. "My kids' classrooms have mold in them. … There's just so much outrage that's been building over time."
That feeling rippled across Puerto Rico, where many are angry over what they see as neglect by Washington and the U.S. territory's own government.
The island is mired in crises. It is struggling to emerge from a debt-driven financial failure and a more than decade-long recession. It needs federal funding to help recover from Hurricane Maria, the 2017 storm that devastated the island's electrical system and a months-long failure to provide care to the elderly and medically vulnerable.
The outrage erupted after Rosselló's former secretary of education and five other people were arrested on charges of steering federal money to unqualified, politically connected contractors.
Freelance music producer Ise Sonja, 28, said he took to the streets Wednesday because he is fed up with corruption and government ineptitude. "(Hurricane) Maria woke the people up — it outraged us as a people."
Since the storm, hundreds of schools have been closed to save money and a wide range of social services and pensions are being cut back, or are under threat.
Prominent Puerto Ricans on the U.S. mainland raised their voices in the call for Rosselló to resign.
Actor Lin-Manuel Miranda led about 200 protesters at a rally in New York's Union Square on Wednesday. The group waved Puerto Rican flags amid drumbeats, chanting in Spanish: "Long live free Puerto Rico!"
"Puerto Ricans are so numb to politics in America and we get lies from the Trump administration," said Miranda. But the alleged corruption surrounding the governor of the U.S. territory "is the last straw and Puerto Ricans are standing up against it."
Singer Ricky Martin said in a video message posted online: "Puerto Rico has suffered so much and we can't deal with the cynicism of these leaders anymore. Enough already. Enough already."
Martin flew to Puerto Rico to march along with other Latin music stars from the island, including singer-producer Benito A. Martínez Ocasio, known as Bad Bunny, and rapper René Pérez, known as Residente, who released a song online Wednesday calling people to the streets.
"This is coming out early so you can eat it for breakfast," Residente raps on the song, "Sharpening the knives." ''Fury is the only political party that unites us."
In comments to The Associated Press shortly before the protest was to start, he said, "The anger is so great that for the first time I'm seeing Puerto Rico rise up and take to the streets."
In Boston, Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who is from Puerto Rico, told reporters that he hopes Rosselló resigns within the next hours or days.
"I know it's hard to do — but at the same time, as a whole, we're very upset and very mad at everything that is going on," Cora said. "I'm with my people back home."
Source: Fed-up Puerto Ricans march demanding governor resign – The Washington Post

subset: commoncrawl


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Stripper Dancer Pub Club Two Colors LED Sign (Three Sizes)
Stripper Dancer Pub Club Two Colors LED Sign (Three Sizes)
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Regular price $139.99 USD
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This Stripper Dancer Pub Club Two Colors LED Sign is the perfect beer sign for any person who has a favorite drinking spot! These custom signs plug-in and come with a chain for hanging. We have them in multiple colors and sizes. Perfect for your home bar, camp, RV, boat or any other awesome drinking place you may have!
Perfect sign for the home bar!
- Two Sizes: 8"x 12" and 12" x 16" and 16" x 24" (20cm x 30cm and 30cm x 40cm and 40cm x 60cm)
- Style: Modern
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- Place of Origin: Hong Kong
Estimated Processing and Shipping Time:
Domestic Orders 3 weeks , International Orders 3 - 6 weeks
Please read our FAQ page for more information regarding shipping. By purchasing with us you agree to our Return Policy.


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Would you like to learn more about feeding your child healthily and ensuring the whole family gets more active? Two new booklets from Weight Concern, 'Healthy Eating for Kids' and 'Healthy Active Kids' may be just what you need.
Written by our expert team and packed with handy tips, advice and helpful suggestions, the booklets offer a step-by-step guide to help you and your family make healthy changes to take through life. Health professionals working with children and families will also find them an invaluable reference point.
The set of two books costs £5.00 including postage and packaging.
To order your copies send a cheque payable to 'Weight Concern' to the address below. Please write 'kids' booklets' on the reverse of your cheque.
Please make sure you enclose your contact details and delivery address when you send us your payment.
If you are a health professional interested in making a bulk order, please contact us on 020 7679 1853 for discounted rates.
Weight Concern
1-19 Torrington Place
It has come to our attention that there is an error in the Healthy Eating for Kids booklet. We would like to apologise for this error which can be found on page 48.
"You need to multiply the amount of sodium shown by 2.5 to tell you how much salt there is."
This error will be rectified for future print runs.


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Oxford study: esthetic judgments determined by what you think you know
Let's say you're fairly educated about wine. (If you read my blog, you undoubtedly are.) I invite you over to my place for dinner and open a bottle of Lafite Rothschild. You're suitably impressed. I decant it, then pour you a glass, telling you as the purple liquid drizzles into the glass that this is a very great Lafite, that if I scored it I would probably give it 100 points. After that buildup, you taste the wine. It's a virtual guarantee you're going to like it.
Now let's say that a little while later, I offer you another glass of wine. Only this time, I tell you that it's not very good–that I wanted you to see how my job consists, in large part, of tasting mediocre wine. Handing you the glass, I frown; you can tell by my facial expression that I'm sorry to make you drink something so bad. After that buildup, or maybe we should call it a build-down, it's almost certain you won't like the wine.
Now, what if I told you that both wines I gave you were the same wine? Would you be surprised? You shouldn't be, especially if you'd come across this report about a new study out of Oxford University. Subjects inside a brain scanner were shown works of art, some of which were genuine Rembrandts and some of which were fakes. The subjects' reactions to both pieces were identical, until they were told which pieces were fakes and which were real. In the former case (the "real" art), the revelation "raised activity in the part of the brain that deals with rewarding events, such as tasting pleasant food or winning a gamble." In other words, the subject felt a form of pleasure. In the case of the latter (the "fake" art), "Being told a work is not by the master triggered a complex set of responses in areas of the brain involved in planning new strategies. Participants reported that when viewing a supposed fake, they tried to work out why the experts regarded it not to be genuine." In other words, the subjects were troubled; confronted with a situation they could not fully understand, they were forced to improvise, to rationalize the discrepency.
The take home lesson of this little experiment at Oxford is a familiar one. People's esthetic reactions to external stimuli are powerfully dependent on their expectations. They will look at a supposed Rembrandt portrait and, "knowing" that it was painted by the master, be suitably impressed. Indeed, this is why "people travel to galleries around the world to see an original painting." Something in the knowledge that the painting is original arouses intense pleasure. It's not so much the art work itself as that awareness that people enjoy. On the other hand, if people "know" that a painting is fake, they will experience far different, more complex and less pleasurable thoughts and emotions–even if the painting is, in fact, real.
Pretty weird, huh? Back to my opening example of offering you the Lafite. It almost doesn't matter whether or not the Lafite is real, or just some little Sonoma County Cabernet that costs $14. It's irrelevant. What matters, according to the Oxford study, is what you think you know about it. That, in turn, depends on what I told you–and that, in turn, has a lot to do with how much you trust me, since I'm the "expert" in wine, and you're not.
It follows from this that blind tasting is the only objective way to come to a conclusion about wine, but something else follows, also, that isn't generally discussed in these types of conversations: wines of a similar variety and style are more alike than not, even when their scores vary. If I show you an apple and tell you it's a grape, you won't believe me, even if I had a Ph.D in fruit sciences and owned an orchard and a chain of produce stores. That's because apples and grapes are so different that anyone can tell them apart. You cannot fool anyone that an apple is a grape, or vice versa.
But if you can fool a fairly reasonable person into believing that wine "a" is Lafite and wine "b" is mediocre, when they may be the same wine (or if the case may be the opposite, that the "mediocre" wine is Lafite and the "Lafite" is the $14 Cabernet), then those wines must be more alike than not. They cannot possibly be apples and grapes: it's more a case of apples and apples.
But wait, you say. What if the subject of any of these experiments were a trained professional? A great taster, formidable in the intricacies of wine, renowned for identifying vintages and chateaux in blind tastings, revered for his knowledge? Could that person be fooled? Probably the chances are less, but they never approach zero. As long as a person is human, that person can be fooled, sometimes spectacularly so, as we have repeatedly seen in blind tastings. I know that nothing I've written here will add significantly to the conversation about how to taste wine. But every little conversation advances the cause down the playing field, and besides, it's fun to talk about this stuff. It never gets boring.
Good article. The message here is that authenticity matters, and that our words about wine can help people enjoy it more.
Mixed feelings on that article and how it relates to wine. Suggest people see this comment and discussion on the same topic: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/12/science-behind-snobbery-wine-and-health-update/46505/#comment-391991273
There is a movie called "Mana: Beyond Belief" (Netflix has it) which delves into how we project value into material objects, with examples from many different cultures, and categories of objects. One example I remember is that people would line up to see a certain Rembrandt (I think it was "Man with a Golden Helmet") that hung in the central rotunda of a museum in Germany (Dresden or Berlin?) similar to how people line up in the Louvre to shuffle by the Mona Lisa. Then an art historian produced convincing evidence that it was "only" painted by one of Rembrandt's students. It was moved to a side wing with few people bothering to view it. It had lost its "mana." Another example is the Tokyo fish market, where tunas are bid up in value far above their market value for sushi.
I do not see what regions they looked at. Too bad you do not link to the actual paper. But I suspect you are doing what every other blogger did when the Stanford/Caltech fMRI *ECONOMICS* wine tasting study came out: you're jumping on the title and not critically evaluating the study design, results or even bothering to read the discussion. Not that anyone harping on that study had the knowledge or understanding to recognize flaws or understand the implications of the findings not in the title but given good treatment (but conveniently left out of the title) in the final discussion presented by the authors.
In short, these papers – at the surface – confirm what has been known for a long time: you tell a novice or someone who does not really know what they are dealing with (the way an art expert would look closely at the piece of work and by examining color choices, brush strokes, etc would deduce if the piece at hand is likely a fake or not) will defer to an external cue.
What I would expect to see in the original is that, like in that annoyingly misinterpreted wine study, the areas of the brain responsible for receiving and recognizing the sensory data are NOT affected by the external cue.
The difference between amateur and professional expert lies in having the training, knowledge, skill and discipline to gain introspection into the raw sensory data and then deducing from those facts what one is dealing with. Regardless of any external cues or suggestions.
The quote in the article to which you link which says that people do not have this access or introspection is false and misleading. Else, there would not be those among us with higher skills of perception and deduction.
It's not that their brains are built differently. It's that they use them in a better, more systematic and focused manner.
In case anyone thinks that even the most prestigious publications only print the most vetted research:
(from my experience with functional brain imaging, it appears that CFS is a neuropsychiatric disorder, as is Fibromyalgia, and the two may lie on an etiologic/pathologic continuum)
(autistic spectrum is a grab bag of neurodevelopmental disorders – probably a group of neoronal migration disorders and cell migration disorders in embryologic development are not that uncommon and are responsible for a number of neorologic and non neurologic disorders)
The article cited doesn't state the precise areas of the brains that were "turned on" and those that were not, but it does indicate that an area associated with "reward" (pleasure) lit up with the idea that the work of art was authentic. (The area is probably the striatum.) And the article indicates being told it was a fake activated areas "associated with planning new strategies." That sounds like frontal lobe stuff. The straitum is not involved in rationality, but the latter is higher brain function and rational thought.
The key thing is not that the brain is tricked, but it is that the IDEA that it is a Rembrandt (or a First Growth) gives us real pleasure that we feel just like we do with music, sex, drugs, and food. It's from the endogenous dopamine release in the striatum, an area of the brain associated with behaviour and motivation.
The idea that the pleasure produced by this is something an expert does not feel or somehow can ignore or override is wishful thinking. In fact, the expert who sees the label, tastes the wine sensing that it is authentic, is probably more susceptable to the pleasure producing IDEA and subsequent dopamine release than the non-expert.
Reducing physiology to neurotransmitter systems (as if Dopamine was only present in nigrostriatal regions and only in the CNS), as opposed to interactions of circuits, is rather last-century. Unfortunately, this paradigm is the main limiting factor to understanding cognition and behavior (and treating its abnormalities).
That said, the brain is about concert and not solo performance, so you have modulation from various regions, systems and circuits.
To counter your last assertion, I refer you to the CNN footage of Sanjay Gupta assessing a Haitian infant for a head injury. By your argument, the tragedy and squalor around him should have altered his clinical judgment. After all, he is supposed to be an expert.
I forgot to mention that many regions wear many hats so to speak, So the the ventromedial orbitofrontal region (which Broadman region????) (which was likely looked at, as in the Stanford/Caltech study) is not only associated with pleasure. It is activated differently in depression, PTSD, overfocused/hyperfrontal individuals as well some subtypes of Autistic Spectrum.
Steve. We are, in fact, that. In the 21st century there is no room for Cartesian Dualism. There is no soul. We are our brains. Period.
I read about an interesting study related to this in monkeys. The monkeys were trained to perform a task could choose one of two symbols on a screen which gave them water, and clues appeared regarding how much water they would get. Except in one phase on both symbols the clues were random and had no bearing on the amount of water they got, they got random amounts, but in the other phase the amounts of water were still randomly delivered, however one symbol gave clues that actually indicated the amount of water they would recieve. Though they got the same water irrespective of the symbol chose, the monkeys quickly chose the symbol that provided them with advance information.
When their brains were examined it was seen that knowing what was coming was eliciting a pleasure response. So even monkeys find knowing something ahead of time a pleasureable thing. Knowing how much water you are going to get is not much different than knowing what wine is in the bottle or who painted the picture.
The "expert" definitely has some power over one's mind. It's crazy how many people don't trust their own palate when it comes to wine.
This is a good post because the point it makes has been duplicated elsewhere, with wine, and with experienced tasters. It was done by those Freakonomics guys, and it proves that even experienced palates are not immune to the power of suggestion.
This a good reason why you shouldn't bag wines yourself if you are going to rate them critically. You have a priori knowledge of what you are tasting and this will influence your scores. Even if you aren't skilled enough to pick out the Venge Family Reserve, the fact that you are tasting $100+ cabernets, you will probably be influenced to score wines in the flight above 95 based on that information alone…
@Patrick what study "replicating" this one was done with "experts"?
If you mean the Stanford/Caltech one that made the rounds a couple of years back, then you need to re-read it. The test subjects were not wine experts.
Steve, I'm finding parallels with the Milgram study (http://psychology.about.com/od/historyofpsychology/a/milgram.htm) manifesting the tension imposed by the experts, especially in the white jackets, those who instructed the presumed torture of others; I'm still having night-terrors on those in white jackets! Enough said about those we perceive to know everything, and isn't it a cardinal-rule that we understand that everyone has their own palate-preferences, and other's judgments should be restrained?
Here's pointless cheers to the ever irascible Mephistopheles;,/
@SUAMW: No I don't mean the Stanford/CalTech study, I mean Freakonomics Radio 12/16/2010, "Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?", which was in turn based on an article of the same name by Robin Goldstein et al in the Journal of Wine Economics April 2008. See also Hilke Plassman et al, "Marketing actions can modulate neural representations of experienced pleasantness," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Jan. 2008. So yes, experts were involved. On those studies and others I based my allegation (which parallels Steve's original point), which was that even experts can be swayed by the power of suggestion. Am I right or wrong, in your opinion?
In reality, the study cited above points out that wine professionals do find more "enjoyment" in expensive wines.
"In a sample of more than 6,000 blind tastings, we find that the correlation between price and overall rating is small and negative, suggesting that individuals on average enjoy more expensive wines slightly less. For individuals with wine training, however, we find indications of a non-negative relationship between price and enjoyment… "These findings suggest that non-expert wine consumers should not anticipate greater enjoyment of the intrinsic qualities of a wine simply because it is expensive or is appreciated by experts. (Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?; Goldstein, R. et al; Journal of Wine Economics, Volume 3, Number 1, Spring 2008, Pages 1–9)
Were these wines described in any way (more less ripe/oaky/alcohoic?), was the sensory training and any commonalities or disparities in it among the "professionals" discussed?
Curious (knowing that ripeness, alcohol and oak levels *tend* to increase with retail price) if these people *preferred* these kinds of wine…
Oh, never mind. The "study" was conducted by Goldstein…..


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2013 BMW M3 offered in Frozen Red, White and BlueFri, 26 Oct 2012
Hot on the heels of the BMW 6-series Frozen Silver Edition coupe, the company says it will build a Frozen Edition of the M3 in three all-American colors: red, white and blue. Last year the company produced Frozen black and Frozen silver versions of the hopped-up 3-series.
Standard equipment includes:
--BMW Individual Frozen red, white, or blue exterior paint
--Competition package including:
--Matte black 19" light alloy wheels
--Electronic damper control
--Lowered suspension (-10 mm)
--Sport mapping for EDC and DSC
--Premium package
--Black Extended Novillo leather with contrast stitching in exterior color on seats, headrests, door inserts, armrests, middle console and door pulls.
--Carbon leather trim with contrast stitching in exterior color
--High-gloss black kidney grilles
--High-gloss black side gills
--High-gloss black exhaust pipe tips
--Six-speed manual transmission
--Carbon fiber roof panel
Optional equipment includes:
--Cold Weather package
--M-DCT transmission
--Rear spoiler delete
--Heated front seats
--Automatic high beams
--Satellite radio with one-year subscription
--BMW Apps
--BMW Individual enhanced premium sound
Only 150 examples of the Frozen BMW M3 will be built, at a base price of $76,395 including destination and handling. Production begins in January.
By Jake Lingeman


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On Aug. 31, the U.S. Equestrian Federation announced the organization's new president: Chrystine Jones Tauber. She'll begin her four-year term in January of 2013. Current president David O'Connor has served as the USEF president since 2004.
Tauber hit headlines for the first time in 1965 when she won both the AHSA Medal and ASPCA Maclay finals. Throughout her career she's worn many hats as a judge, course designer, trainer and director of show jumping activities for the U.S. Equestrian Team. Tauber, 65, has been involved in governance for more than 35 years. She currently serves as the vice president of the U.S. Hunter Jumper Association and secretary of the U.S. Equestrian Federation.
"Our core values must involve what we stand for, how we conduct our business and how we treat each other," said Tauber of her vision for the USEF. "In the end we're all working together to create an image of excellence."We caught up with Tauber to hear more about her thoughts on governance, horse sport today, and the Federation's most pressing challenges.
What is your history in the horse world?
When I was younger, I rode internationally, representing the country in the late 1960s. I went on to work for the U.S. Equestrian Team starting in 1981. While I was there I managed two Olympic teams, two Pan American Teams and two World Championship teams.
I got involved with governance starting in the mid-1970s through committee work, and I've served on many committees like the licensed officials, hunt seat equitation, planning and the board of directors. I also served as the executive director of the American Horse Shows Association for three years. Through my work at the AHSA working with different breeds and disciplines, I came to have a great appreciation of all of them and what they do.
While I was working for the U.S. Equestrian Team, I served as the director of show jumping activities. That meant when we went to Games, I did what Jim Wolf does now and was the team manager for all three disciplines.
I was involved from the very start with the USHJA, and I've served on many committees there, and I currently serve as the vice president of the organization.
I've also been a USEF judge, judging hunters, hunter seat equitation and jumpers, and I've judged all the major equitation finals, most recently judging USEF Medal Finals last year. I've also judged the IHSA Finals and the NCAA Finals twice. I really enjoy the collegiate riders.
I'm also an FEI judge and an FEI- and USEF-licensed course designer. This has given me many different perspectives within the industry, and I've had a great deal of exposure to many sides of it and appreciation for what goes into our sport to keep it vital and running.
Why did you want to be president of the USEF?
I love horse sport. I really enjoy being a part of the process that helps us evolve and move forward. I really like being able to work on projects and contribute to the direction in which our sport goes.
Is it a paid position?
The president is paid for days that you're on the road or working on behalf of the Federation, and there's a cap on that. It's sort of like judging in that way.
One of the things the Nominating Committee said is: "The job description says it's 100 days a year. Do you have that?" I was able to answer that I have whatever time you need. I will make the time.
When did you decide this was something you wanted to do?
I almost feel like I've been groomed for this all my life. It came very naturally to me with my background and bank of knowledge. I feel really ready to step into this position. I've had a great deal of encouragement from people in other breeds and disciplines, which I think is really positive. A big part of the president's job is about balancing all those breeds and disciplines.
What do you see as the most pressing challenges?
I feel strongly about having a five-year strategic plan where you can define goals and lay out a strategy. Then you get everyone thinking along the same lines and on the same track. It's important to have the affiliates understand where we're headed and why. I want to see us update that plan because it's expired.
There's been a lot of talk in governance about restructuring. What it boils down to is this: Whether you want to restructure to make the board smaller or the working groups more effective, in the end it's all about communication. What's important is how we communicate with our boards and our members.
We have to be careful to stay in line with our mission. We are the national governing body of our sport. We'll continue to do core service programs—things like regulations, licensing of officials and competitions, drugs and medications and the hearing process—and do them well.
We're moving into a phase that's all about technology, which changes what we can do. That also spills into marketing, of course. USEF Network is very exciting and has all sorts of possibilities. We have an opportunity to increase visibility for our sport and elevate it to another level and bring in more sponsorship. We can also increase better visibility for our sport. Equestrian sport has always been tough to get on TV, but we can do some really interesting things with USEF Network.
I'm also excited to be an information technology hub. We're starting to help the U.S. Pony Club and the American Saddlebred Horse Association with their IT services. This is going to make us all communicate better, more efficiently and more effectively. I'd like to see more revenue generation centers where we can make money to put in our programs. Down the road IT services or maybe even drugs and medications are services we can offer to other organizations. We have to look for other revenue generation centers besides competition dues.
We've been working with a company called Echo on a program that will begin in 2013: The Mirror. Individual members can go on the web and customize your own USEF web page. I believe you will be able to drag and drop things that are of interest to you on it. We're looking at doing webinars and other ways to use technology to be more interactive. That's exciting for the future. Yes, we are in governance, and we have to do that and do it well, but we are on the brink of being able to utilize digital strategies to improve communications and expand our outreach.
How do you see the USEF addressing slipping high performance results? How big a role does high performance play in the USEF mission?
We are the national governing body for horse sport, and high performance is an important factor in terms of what we do. When the Olympics roll around, all eyes are watching, and it's our opportunity to push forward the concept of equestrianism in the wider world as well. It's important to find balance between the national and international sides. We need to come up with various sources of revenue and look for programs that can be self-sufficient.
After this Olympics in London, we're putting together a blue-ribbon panel of riders and coaches to look at every single aspect of our preparation, programs and performance to see how we can do it better in the future. It's the first time we haven't medaled in something like 50 years. It's a big portion of our mission to produce these teams, while creating balance with the national side of the sport.
How hard will it be to fill David O'Connor's shoes?
He's certainly left me big shoes to fill! He's also built the organization up from a chaotic transitional period and left us financially strong with a very strong structure. There are things in the pipeline that will need to be brought to fruition. It'll be different because it's a different time period now. He's developed the USEF model, but now we're in a stage for renewal where we can solidify what we do and go forward with new initiatives.
What's the process to become USEF president?
It's been going on for six months. Historically, for a long time we didn't have a vice president of the Federation, and for years the secretary was sort of the heir apparent, unless he didn't want the job. Over the years, some elections were more hotly contested than others, and eventually the board decided we should do something more transparent.
The bylaws were rewritten to create a process in which people could be nominated or could nominate themselves, and nominations opened in February and were open until June. Three candidates submitted quite a bit of paperwork, including a CV, a statement as to why you want to be president, and your vision. We each had an in-person meeting with the nominating committee, and they had a meeting after that to select a nominee, and I was selected. We'd scheduled a forum to meet the candidates on Monday before the Tuesday midyear-Board of Directors meeting. The two other candidates indicated that since the nominating committee had made a recommendation, they'd like to get behind the nominating committee and my nomination.
Initially, we were going to cancel the candidate's forum, but I suggested an informal meeting with the board members who were there. I had David and [CEO] John Long sit up there with me. To my knowledge, I don't know that the board has ever been able to sit down and talk without pressing agenda items on the schedule. They could ask any questions and talk about issues. I made a few remarks to open the meeting, and it led to some productive dialogue. Then the election was the next day.
Do you have a farm where you currently train or ride now?
Four years ago we moved permanently to Wellington, Fla. Prior to that I spent 27 years in New Jersey where I did a lot of training and some showing. I'd always done it on a freelance basis as an independent trainer. When I moved here I thought I'd retire. But it turns out I kept going anyway! I've been freelance teaching people in an equestrian community with a horse park called Caloosa for several years.
What about your family?
My husband George and I live in Wellington, and we have lots of family on both sides and grandkids. A lot of people ask: What does your husband think of all this? Believe it or not, he's my biggest fan and supporter, and he's even taken over the cooking! We have two pets that live with us: Willow, a Norfolk Terrier, and Minky, a tortie-colored cat.


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I'm constantly searching for The Pair of over-ear headphones, so I'm pretty chuffed that after months of stunning teaser photos the TMA-1 'phones by Aiaiai have finally gone on sale—for $170*.
They hail from Denmark, and adding further weight to the idea that Scandinavia is the king of design, they've been created with help by a tidy list of electronic acts, like 2 Many DJs and Hot Chip.
Supposedly taking inspiration from the sound quality of Sennheiser's HD 25 'phones, Aiaiai wanted to create a more durable and robust pair with minimal branding according to this interview they did with Slamxhype.
The headphones have a 1.7m cable, 6.3mm stereo plug converter, and include the following specs:
Transducer Principle: Dynamic, closed
Driver Unit Size: 40 mm
Impedance: 32±15% Ohm
Load Rating: 0.1W
Frequency Response: 20 to 20.000 Hz
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.3%
Sensitivity: 110±3dB Weight w/o
Cable: 190 Gram
On sale now Dkk 1,400, which converts to about $250 / 180 Euros. *
OR pick them up at The Ghostly, where they cost $170 as an introductory price for US residents. [Aiaiai via FutureBlog]


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Parameters are like local variables; they are reusable inputs that apply only to the specific transformation that they are defined in. When defining a parameter, you can assign it a default value to use in the event that one is not fetched for it. This feature makes it unique among dynamic input types in PDI.
If there is a name collision between a parameter and a variable, the parameter will take precedence.
To define a parameter, right-click on the transformation workspace and select Transformation settings from the context menu (or just press Ctrl-T), then click on the Parameters tab.


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France says that in the name of equality of the sexes the hijab should be banned. The French obsession with what Muslim women wear and how they interact with society is well known. Even though FIFA has agreed that the hijab doesn't pose a safety risk, France is doing this to uphold "Republican values," like infringing on religious freedom:
The Agence France-Presse reports:
The French Football Federation (FFF) said Friday that it would "not authorise players to wear a veil" while playing for France or in organised competitions, a day after world footballing authorities said the hijab could be worn on the pitch.
"Regarding the participation of female French national team players in international competitions on one hand, and the organisation of national competitions on the other, the French Football Federation reiterates its duty to respect the constitutional and legislative principles of secularism that prevails in our country and features in its statutes," declared a statement from the FFF.
The FFF's announcement came after a French MP had urged the government earlier on Friday to ban the Islamic headscarf for women soccer players.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), custodians of the rules of football, on Thursday overturned its 2007 ban on the Islamic headscarf, a garment it had argued was unsafe and increased the risk of neck injuries.
Critics said the ban promoted inequality at the highest level of the world's most popular game.
Iran, the Asian Football Confederation and Jordan's Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein, who is also FIFA vice president, were at the forefront of the fight against the ban.
French lawmaker Gerald Darmanin wrote to Sports Minister Valerie Fourneyron asking that Paris denounce the U-turn "in the name of universal and republican values".
He also called for a "clear signal to ban headscarves in football fields in our country", adding that sports "must continue to promote equality of the sexes".
The wearing of the Islamic veil, limited historically to conservative Gulf monarchies, has gained ground, including in sports, since the 1979 Iranian rvolution and the creation of an Islamic republic.
Use of the veil spread quickly as Islamist movements grew in the wake of last year's Arab Spring uprisings.
France has outraged many Muslims with a law against full face-covering veils which came into force in April 2011.
Categories: Current Affairs


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'Jewish Lobby Runs America,' Says the Bottom of CNN's Screen
CNN taps Rick Sanchez's Twitter responses for a "Talk to Rick" screen crawl showcasing viewer opinions. But apparently nobody edits it, because anti-semitic commentary made it on the air during an interview with Wolf Blitzer on Israel policy.
First @Beau1969 said, "Israel is greedy." Then @kingyahoo said, "It is simply posturing, Rick, don't you know Israel is boss and USA, simply an obedient servant? Jewish lobby runs America." Notes Politico's Ben Smith: "Not even the 'Israel lobby'!" Video and screengrabs via Politico.


text: I'm really liking this illustration by mark frauenfelder an awful lot. It's part of a recent group show about animals at the roq la rue gallery. Mostly strange and often scary animals, for what it's worth. But this piece, along with a couple of others, makes me happy in it's colorful, atomic, modern, flat sensibility. Fun, fun.


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Earlier this month I took a good hard look at Hard Reset, the upcoming single-player shooter coming out next month from Polish developer Flying Wild Hog, telling you all about my favorite parts of the game. Now I can show you.
Thanks to Hard Reset's experimentally short public relations campaign, only a week and a half passed between the release of a watermarked press preview not for public consumption and the non-marked version you see here.
Fine, if they're going to be fast, we can be fast as well. Let's look at what I loved about Hard Reset.
This second demo was shorter than the first, coming to a stop shortly after the video's abrupt ending. There was an overwhelming sense of disappointment as my play time was cut short, which can only bode well for Hard Reset. I've played through two demos in relatively rapid succession and I still want more.
Thankfully the full game should hit PC next month. I'll probably make it.
You can contact Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.


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Building Cabinets With Pocket ScrewsUpdated: Apr. 21, 2020
Intimidated by cabinet work? Even a novice can make fine joints with pocket screws
You might also like: TBD
- Time
- Complexity
- Cost
- Multiple Days
- Intermediate
- $101–250
Buy a good pocket screw jig
Pocket screw joints are best described as a screw version of toenailing, where boards are joined by angling a fastener through the edge of one into the other. The concept is simple, but the precisely engineered drill guide (the jig), drill bit and pocket screws are what make the system so easy and foolproof.
We purchased a standard kit that contained the Kreg jig shown, the special clamp and the stepped drill bit with a stop collar and square driver bit. Avoid the temptation to buy an inexpensive jig; you'll never experience the real benefits of pocket screws if you're frustrated by a poorly designed tool. Less-expensive jigs lack the self-aligning lip and built-in clamp found on this and other high-quality models. You can get higher-priced pocket hole jigs that have more elaborate clamping systems and built-in motors to speed up the operation, but the end result is essentially the same. This short tutorial will show you how to use a pocket screw jig.
The joinery system is incomplete without the specially designed pocket screws. These screws have a narrow shank with a thread-cutting tip to avoid splitting hardwoods, and a strong head with a square recess for slip-proof driving. The most common length is 1-1/4 in., the best size for joining 3/4-in.-thick material. Corrosion- resistant exterior screws, washer head screws for joining particleboard, and hi-lo thread screws for softwood are also available.
Pros and Cons of Pocket Screws
Pocket screw joints have many advantages over more traditional joinery:
- You can assemble large frames without needing an arsenal of expensive clamps because the screws provide the clamping action while the glue dries.
- No fancy cutting is required; joints are simply butted together, saving time and reducing tool costs.
- The use of an alignment clamp during assembly ensures flush joints without any tricky measuring.
Pocket screw joints aren't perfect:
- Every joint leaves behind a long, oblong hole that looks bad when it's prominent, like on cabinet doors. Luckily, you can order wood plugs in just about any species to fill these odd holes—you just glue them in and sand them flush. Dowels, biscuits or mortise-and-tenon joints would be a better choice if the backside of a joint will be highly visible.
Building the coat locker
Photo 1: Butt-joint plywood panels
Clamp the pocket hole jig to the horizontal panel (A) and workbench. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for setting the stop collar on the special bit to the correct depth. Insert the bit into the jig's metal sleeve before you turn on the drill. Start the drill so the bit is turning at full speed. Then bore the clearance and pilot hole in one step by pushing the bit into the workpiece until the stop collar contacts the metal sleeve. Bore three holes on both ends of the eight horizontal panels.
The coat locker we built is constructed of 3/4-in. birch plywood with 3/4-in. solid-birch boards for the face frame, drawer sides and front, baseboard and top edge. The back and drawer bottoms are 1/4-in. birch plywood. We purchased the plywood and boards from a local hardwood lumber supplier. This is usually the best source for good-quality hardwood boards, and you can have them cut to the right width and planed smooth on all four edges. You can also get your materials at home centers and full-service lumberyards.
Even though this coat locker is built with simple pocket screw joints, many of the parts must be cut to precise dimensions. Use a power miter saw to cut the face frame, edge band, drawer sides and moldings.
Cut out the plywood parts and drill pocket holes in the horizontal fixed shelves (A) and top and bottom pieces (also A). See Photo 1. For this project, the pocket holes will either be hidden from view or filled, so there's no need to precisely locate the holes.
Join all of the horizontal panels (A) to the uprights (B1 and B2) with pocket screws, making sure to face the screw holes to the hidden or least conspicuous side (Photo 2). Check the cabinet box for square by measuring diagonally across the corners.
Since screws enter the center upright panel from opposite sides, be sure to offset the pocket holes so the screws don't collide.
Now you can use the box as a pattern for cutting out and joining the face-frame parts.
Figure A: Coat Locker
A complete Cutting List, Materials List and Shopping List are available in Additional Information below.
Cut the frame and drawers
Photo 3: Drill the face frame
Clamp the jig to the end of a face frame board and bore holes for two pocket screws. Drill the opposite end, and all other face-frame parts that need pocket screw holes. Remember that only one half of each joint needs pocket screw holes. Drill parallel to the grain as shown.
Photo 4: Glue the pieces
Spread wood glue on both pieces to be joined. Clamp the joint together to hold the faces flush, and drive in the 1-1/4-in. pocket screws. We used a special locking pliers-type clamp provided by the jig manufacturer.
Photo 5: Attach the frame
Attach the face frame to the box. First bore pocket screw holes every 16 in. along the inside front edge of the box, placing them in concealed locations when possible. After checking the alignment of the frame to the box, spread an even layer of wood glue on the edge of the plywood and use a clamp to hold the frame in position while you attach it to the box with pocket screws. Remove excess glue with a damp rag. When the glue is dry, sand the outside edge of the face frame flush with the box, being careful not to sand through the thin veneer on the plywood.
Photo 6: Build the drawer
Cut 1×6 boards to form a box that is 13 in. long and exactly 1 in. narrower than the drawer opening in the face frame. Bore pocket holes on the end drawer pieces (Q) as shown and screw the box together. Use a framing square to square up the drawer. Then nail on the 1/4-in. plywood bottom with 1-in. paneling nails. Attach the 12-in. epoxy-coated slides to the drawer with the screws provided, aligning the front (the end without the wheel) of the slide with the front of the drawer box.
Photo 7: Attach drawer slides
Shim the sides of the drawer compartments flush to the face frame with scraps of plywood and shims ripped to the proper thickness. Then attach the other half of the drawer slides, holding the front edge of the slide even with the front edge of the face frame. (Check the manufacturer's specifications for exact placement.) Use a spacer to hold the drawer slide parallel to the cabinet bottom while you screw it in.
Photo 8: Pocket-screw edges
Band the edge of the plywood top with 1-1/2-in. strips of birch (K1 and K2), mitered to fit. Spread wood glue on both edges and secure the 1×2 band to the plywood (C) with pocket screws as shown. Wipe off the excess glue with a damp rag. Use an orbital sander to sand the 1×2 flush with the plywood. Position the top on the cabinet so that an equal amount hangs over both sides and the front. Hold the top in place with a clamp while you attach it through the top of the cabinet box with 1-1/4-in. drywall screws.
Photo 9: Finish the details
Mark, miter and nail on the 2-in. cove (N1 and N2), the 3/4-in. x 3-in. base (L1, L2) and the 1-5/8 in. base cap (M1 and M2). Use 6d finish nails for the base, and 1-in. brads to attach the moldings. Drill pilot holes for the nails to avoid splitting the moldings. Attach the hook strips with pocket screws. Then cut a piece of 1/4-in. plywood (D) to fit the back and attach it with 1-in. paneling nails. Draw lines to indicate dividers to help in placing the nails accurately.
Cut the 3/4-in. solid-birch face frame parts to length using a power miter saw. For tight-fitting joints, the edges of the boards must be square to the face and the end joints cut perfectly square. Bore the pocket screw holes (Photo 3). Now assemble the frame without glue and set it onto the box to check the fit. Take the frame apart, adjust the size if necessary, reassemble it using glue, and attach it to the box (Photos 4 and 5).
Photos 6 and 7 show how to assemble the drawer box and attach the slides. We used the inexpensive epoxy-coated drawer slides shown, but for better access to the drawer interior, you could install full-extension slides instead. Use whatever shimming material you have around to build out the sides of the drawer compartments flush with the edge of the face frame. Then you can mount the slide as shown in Photo 7.
Attaching the drawer front (T) so it's perfectly aligned is a little tricky. Start by drilling four 5/16-in. holes in the front of the drawer box. Place the drawer in the opening. Use double-faced carpet tape or hot-melt glue to temporarily secure the drawer front to the drawer box. Gently open the drawer and clamp the front to the box. Attach it with four No. 8 x 1-1/4- in. pan head screws with No. 10 finish washers under the heads. Snug the screws but don't tighten them. The extra-large holes will allow you to tap the drawer front into exact alignment before you fully tighten the screws.
Construct the cabinet top by attaching edging strips (K1 and K2) to the plywood (C) with pocket screws (Photo 8). Use this same procedure for edge-gluing boards for a tabletop or attaching wood nosing to a counter.
Complete the cabinet as shown in Photo 9. Glue wood plugs, available from the Kreg Company, into the exposed pocket holes on the cabinet interior and sand them flush.
Now you know how to use pocket screws in some of the more common cabinetmaking applications, but don't ignore other possibilities. Once you get the pocket screw joining bug, I'm sure you'll come up with your own innovative uses for this ingenious little connector.
Additional Information
Required Tools for this Project
Have the necessary tools for this DIY project lined up before you start—you'll save time and frustration.
- 4-in-1 screwdriver
- Circular saw
- Cordless drill
- Drill bit set
- Framing square
- Hearing protection
- One-handed bar clamps
- Orbital sander
- Pocket hole jig
- Safety glasses
- Speed square
- Tape measure


text:
By the Editorial Board of The Tibetan Political Review
The 15th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile meets from September 16 to October 1 of this year. One if its key tasks will be to consider candidates for the seven Kalons (ministers) nominated by the Kalon Tripa (Prime Minister), Lobsang Sangay. In order to ensure that the Tibetan people get the best administration possible, it is imperative that the names of the nominees be publicly disclosed now so that they can be thoroughly vetted.
Under Article 21 of the Tibetan Charter, the Parliament votes whether to confirm the Kalon Tripa's nominees for the seven members of the Kashag (Cabinet). These seven Kalons are: Nangsi Kalon (Home Minister), Chidrel Kalon (Minister of Information and International Relations), Sherig Kalon (Education Minister), Choedhon Kalon (Religion Minister), Desung Kalon (Security Minister), Troeten Kalon (Health Minister), and Paljor Kalon (Finance Minister).
The Kalon Tripa will likely nominate qualified individuals to these important positions. However, we believe that any democracy is made stronger through checks and balances. The Central Tibetan Administration's functioning would be improved by fully vetting the Kashag nominees. This vetting is a duty that constitutionally falls to the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile. Not carrying out a full vetting would be a dereliction of the Parliament's duty.
Tibetan democracy is structured similar to a presidential system (with a directly-elected executive separate from the legislature) rather than a parliamentary system (where the head of government is the leader of the legislative majority). In presidential systems such as the American and Tibetan ones, the legislature has the important power to vote whether to confirm the chief executive's Cabinet.
Looking to the example of the United States, the President informs the Senate (the upper house of Congress) of a particular Cabinet nominee; the Senate investigates this nominee, including holding confirmation hearings where the nominee is questioned under oath. The Senate then votes on whether to confirm the nominee.
The purpose of this confirmation process is three-fold. First, the Senate assures that the nominee is qualified. Second, Senators can get the nominee's views and policies on record. Third, the Senate serves as a political check by ensuring that the Cabinet nominee is politically acceptable, not only to the President (who nominates) but also to Senators (who confirm).
Articles >


text:
- Date Started: August 15, 2019
- Ending Date: September 23, 2019
- Availability: 18 years old or older, open to residents of United Kingdom
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- Prize(s): Gladiator X GameMax Crusader Gaming PC
A gaming computer or gaming rig is a personal computer designed for playing computationally demanding video games. Due to the integration of common hardware components onto the motherboard since the 1990s, a modern gaming computer is comparable to a mainstream computer with the addition of performance-oriented components, such as video cards and high core-count CPUs. Gaming computers are often associated with enthusiast computing due to an overlap in interests; however, while a gaming PC is built to achieve performance for actual gameplay, enthusiast PCs are built to maximize performance, using games as a real application benchmark. Whereas enthusiast PCs are high-end by definition, gaming PCs can be subdivided into low-end, mid-range, and high-end markets. Video card manufacturers earn the bulk of their revenue from their low-end and mid-range offerings.
Because of the large variety of parts that can go into a computer built to play video games, gaming computers are frequently custom-assembled, rather than pre-assembled, either by gaming and hardware enthusiasts or by companies that specialize in producing custom gaming machines. In order to generate interest, gaming computer manufacturers that sell complete systems often produce boutique models, allowing them to compete on aesthetic design in addition to the hardware inside. (source: wikipedia.org)


text:
Tell me what you have and I'll tell you
what you can make!
BarBug! shows you how to make a K G B (2) Mixed Drink.
BarBug! is now serving up a K G B (2)! He shows you his K G B (2)
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recipe and makes suggestions for spirits, mixers and the proper serving
K G B (2) Mixed Drink
Serving Glass: ShotLayer Ingredients1/3 oz Kahlua Coffee Liqueur1/3 oz Baileys Irish Cream1/3 oz Galliano (2) means there are multiple drinks with this name
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DIABALY, Mali — Most of the rebels who took over this central town for five days this month were Malian and spoke the local languages of the north and the south. But their commanders were different, local residents said. They were foreigners who spoke Arabic.
Six bodyguards protected the most senior commander with the gray-speckled beard and black turban. The Islamist militant ate Algerian-made spaghetti and Mauritanian-made canned tomato sauce. Malian fighters only served as his translators or brought him intelligence reports.
"The Arabic speakers were in charge," recalled Moussa Sangire, 71, a retired soldier who lived next to a house taken over by a group of foreign fighters.
What began as a home-grown, Malian-led rebellion is now firmly entrenched as a conflict directed by al-Qaida's West and North Africa wing, mostly foreign fighters from Algeria and Mauritania, according to western diplomats, Malian military officials and analysts.
As French and Malian forces advance in northern Mali, they are learning more about the rebels who have held this Texas-sized swath of territory for months, mostly out of view of outsiders. Diabaly, briefly held by the militants, has now changed hands and offers a small window into the leadership of the jihadists.
They are an enemy that appears determined to broaden the conflict into a wider struggle against the West. The first reaction by the insurgents to the French forces' takeover of parts of the town of Gao on Saturday came from a top regional al-Qaida leader, published on the Arabic website of the Al Jazeera television network. He vowed to resist what he described as a "new Crusader aggression," adding that a "jihadist Islamist emirate" would be created in northern Mali.
"It seems that these groups are being led by AQIM," said Bertrand Soret, chief political adviser to the European Union delegation in Mali, referring to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. "The tactical backbone of the rebels is more influenced by AQIM."
In Diabaly, the jihadists covered their pickup trucks with mud and parked them under the thick canopy of mango trees to hide them from French air strikes. They stole ubiquitous scooters and used them to patrol the town and blend into the population. They mounted antiaircraft guns on the rooftops of homes.
Some residents described seeing Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, a senior AQIM leader, though his presence in the area could not be independently verified.
The rising influence of the foreign fighters could bode well for efforts to negotiate with Malian insurgents to defect and turn against AQIM. Some local fighters have already defected, suggesting they were unhappy with the direction the fight was taking.
But it also means that French forces could face a full-blown guerilla insurgency punctuated by suicide bombings, home-made bombs and ambushes, tactics used in Afghanistan, Algeria and neighboring Nigeria. Many of the foreigners are veterans of these and other conflicts, according to Western diplomats and security analysts.
Western diplomats in the capital, Bamako, predict that the French forces, with their air strikes, superior weaponry and manpower, will likely take full control of Gao and the other two major militant strongholds of Timbuktu and Kidal after some resistance, as the militants retreat tactically or meld into the population.
But the real struggle for the north, they said, would likely unfold afterward, as less experienced Malian and African forces secure the towns. The jihadists can take advantage of the vast northern desert they have lived in for years to disappear, train and rearm — creating a base to stage stealth attacks against French, Malian and other African soldiers in and outside urban areas.
"The million-dollar question is at what point they will work out that they can't defeat the French on the battlefield," said a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing military matters. "Once they reach this conclusion, we have to anticipate an asymmetrical terror campaign."
During their brief siege of Diabaly, which ended a week ago, the militants unveiled some of their tactics: using civilian neighborhoods as refuges and to deposit weapons and ammunition, and turning local people into human shields. To accomplish this, they were polite with most Muslim residents, offering them dates and peanuts.
One Arabic-speaking commander, through a Malian fighter, informed Hamidou Sissouma that they were only interested in killing French and Malian soldiers. Clutching a black walkie-talkie, he handed Sissouma a ringlet of Muslim prayer beads as a gift.
"He said 'We're not going to hurt you. Our mission is to teach you the proper religious ways'" recalled Sissouma, 45, a teacher. "They were so kind. They were trying to win the people over."
In March, secular Tuareg separatists took advantage of a military coup in Bamako to seize the northern half of the country, pushing out the weak Malian army with the help of arms smuggled from former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's arsenal. AQIM fighters and other religious extremists piggybacked on the rebellion and soon marginalized the secular Tuaregs, installing a harsh brand of Islamist law and justice, enforced by public amputations, stonings and whippings.
Initially, a home-grown group called Ansar Dine or "defenders of the faith" was in control. Iyad Ag Ghaly, its leader, is a prominent Malian Tuareg religious hard-liner who has been fighting for a separate Tuareg state since the late 1980s. But gradually, Western diplomats and analysts said, AQIM and its offshoot, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, began to assert more authority over the rebellion. Increasingly, Ag Ghaly needed money from AQIM to finance his movement, and the al-Qaida affiliate, its coffers flush with millions of dollars from kidnapping westerners, were happy to oblige.
"He has been relying more and more on AQIM, and now he has been taken over by AQIM," Soret said.
Further bolstering AQIM's presence within the rebellion was the split last week inside Ansar Dine, with the defecting faction saying it was willing negotiate with the French and Malian forces.
AQIM's origins can be traced back to the Algerian Salafist Group for Preaching or Combat, an insurgent group that initially fought the Algerian government in the 1990s but later embraced al-Qaida's philosophy and changed their name to AQIM.
Today, Soret added, AQIM's goal is to "internationalize the conflict as best as they can." It appears to be working to some degree. Since the French military intervention on Jan. 11, AQIM has been lionized by radical groups and in extremist Internet chat rooms, with some referring to Mali as a religious war. The taking of hostages this month at a natural gas plant in neighboring Algeria, in which at least 37 foreigners were killed, has also bolstered their image in global jihadist circles.
On the ground, the foreign fighters have overseen the fighting to the minutest degree. In Diabaly, residents said the foreign commanders walked around town inspecting the damage from French air strikes. They sent Malian jihadists on scooters, dressed in plain clothes, to gather information.
In one house, residents said they recognized Abou Zeid from his photo shown on television the night before. Born in Algeria, he is considered one the most violent jihadist commanders in the region, linked to several kidnappings and executions of Europeans.
Moussa Komare, 48, who lived near a house occupied by Abou Zeid, said the medium-height, bearded commander was surrounded round-the-clock by six bodyguards. He had arrived on a Wednesday, two days after the town was captured.
While he was there, he did not leave the compound, said Komare. The bodyguards referred to him only as "our leader."
If true, the presence of Abou Zeid on an obscure front line would underscore the extent to which AQIM is directing the Mali conflict on the ground.
On late Thursday night, a day after he arrived, he left Diabaly, said residents. The next morning, the rest of the jihadists began pulling out, and by Saturday they had all vanished.


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The first step toward a healthier reproductive system is balancing your hormones through diet, says holistic health counselor Alisa Vitti, founder of the food therapy program FloLiving.com and author of Woman-Code. Here, her list of fertility-boosting noshes to eat now.
The fruit is high in monounsaturated fats, which could improve fertility. One study found that women who ate the highest amount of these healthy nutrients while undergoing IVF therapy had triple the success rate of those who ate the lowest.
Sunflower Seeds
Take down a handful three times a week. Rich in zinc, the little suckers can help balance the reproductive hormones that lead to high-quality human eggs.
More From Women's Health
The spice has insulin-reducing powers and may help increase your ovulation rate. Sprinkle it into your smoothies.
Eat 'em in poached or soft-boiled form (no scrambling!) twice a week. Keeping the yolks runny preserves their vitamin D and B6 content, both of which spur the production of progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy.
The seed is rich in compounds that help lower insulin and testosterone levels, a process that can enhance ovulation. Cook up a quarter cup to eat with dinner three times a week.


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Guess we should've seen this one coming.
A guy in Norway—inspired by post by some kids wanting a puppy—posted a picture on Facebook Thursday afternoon claiming that his crush would sleep with him if he received 1 million "likes."
It went viral after a few hours and now has the thumbs-up from nearly 1.3 million people.
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The dude, Petter Kverneng, said it started as a joke because his female pal, Cathrine, had friend-zoned him for years. He added that they plan to "keep what we promised" and do the deed.
Um... gross.
We have to wonder if Cathrine is really that into the whole idea. She doesn't look that thrilled with the photo in the first place—not to mention, she probably thought nothing would actually come out of it because it was a joke among friends.
Let's hope she doesn't feel pressured into actually having sex just because a bunch of people pushed "like" on Facebook. But part of us wonders if maybe she's kinda into Petter and figured she'd put the fate of their relationship in the hands of the Internet Gods.
Either way, we think she should a campaign of likes to get out of it. Something tells us she'd come out on top.
Want more from Meagan? Follow her on Twitter.
Photo: Facebook


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Looking at Phuket's primary and secondary condominium sector and analysing pricing points from the ocean up to 10 kilometres inland, what is clear is that developers and sellers are not maximising what is one of the leading Unique Selling Propositions/Points (USPs) in the trade – location, location, location.
Based on the Phuket numbers from FazWaz, which lists more than 7,000 condos in Phuket, the average value of condominium units located from the ocean front up to just under two kilometres away is 100,000 per square meter (psm), while the number actually escalates up to B117,000psm at a distance of two kilometres. Getting inside the data, what has driven the later number is actually views versus direct proximity to the beach.
Once you move inland on the island and the views disappear, the mean average rapidly drops dramatically to B34,000psm at midway point between three and four kilometres from the beach.
The storyline here is how developers have used low-cost land and delivered entry-point pricing. Underlying land cost remains a critical component of ultimate condominium pricing throughout Phuket.
As you shift away from the beach to increasingly urban areas inland from four to six kilometres, the pricing surges upward again with many units in the B80,000psm to 120,000psm tier. This recurs again when viewing city properties of eight to 10km with pricing averaging B80,000psm to 90,000psm. Urban land prices and strong demand are key factors propelling numbers.
What is clear in the FazWaz data are two things. First is that unlike in many comparable resort real-estate markets, developers have been unable to maximise premium pricing levels in relation to properties near the ocean. Sea views seem to still carry greater weighting for demand with both developers and owners.
Second is that inland properties are rapidly pushing up in value as a result of key commercial, retail and transportation infrastructure. In a nutshell, moving into the next decade Phuket's property story is not just about the beach.
While the broad trends are very telling, from our analysis of the data on how individuals projects rank in terms of engineering the highest levels of cost, the reality is that developers who have a positive reputation and experience rank high. Other key factors that push up pricing are properties offering investment units with guaranteed returns and those with strong design elements or distinctive qualities.
– Bill Barnett
Bill Barnett is Managing Director of leading Phuket-based hopsitaltiy and real-estate consultancy C9 Hotelworks and a key writer for the FazWaz Property Insider. Visit C9Hotelworks.com and FazWaz.com


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Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (pronounced ˈReighf Finds'; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor. He has appeared in films such as Schindler's List, Quiz Show, The English Patient, Oscar and Lucinda, Red Dragon, Tarvu's Piano, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and the Harry Potter films.
While playing Tarvu at the piano in the famous sequence, Fiennes's hands were actually a computer-generated composite of the hands of the world's best pianists (one finger from each) - however Fiennes insists that this is not true, claiming that they are his own hands, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.


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Today Dell is announcing our new PowerEdge C8000 shared infrastructure chassis which allows you to mix and match compute, GPU/coprocessor and storage sleds all within the same enclosure. What this allows Web companies to do is to have one common building block that can be used to provide support across the front-, mid- and back end tiers that make up a web company's architecture.
To give you a better feel for the C8000 check out the three videos below.
- Why — Product walk thru: Product manager for the C8000, Armando Acosta takes you through the system and explains how this chassis and the accompanying sleds better server our Web customers.
- Evolving — How we got here: Drew Schulke, marketing director for Dell Data Center solutions explains the evolution of our shared infrastructure systems and what led us to develop the C8000.
- Super Computing — Customer Example: Dr. Dan Stanzione, deputy director at the Texas Advanced Computing Center talks about the Stampede supercomputer and the role the C8000 plays.
Extra Credit reading
- Case Study: The Texas Advanced Computing Center
- Press Release: Dell Unveils First Shared Infrastructure Solution to Provide Hyperscale Customers with New Modular Computational and Storage Capabilities
- Web page: PowerEdge C8000 — Optimize data center space and performance


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A notorious Russian hacker gang is responsible for ongoing attacks using malicious PDF documents, a researcher said today.
Users can thank the Russian Business Network (RBN), a well-known collective of cybercriminals, for the malware-armed PDF attachments that began appearing in in-boxes yesterday, said Ken Dunham, director of response for iSight Partners Inc. If the rigged PDFs succeed in infecting the target Windows system, the attack code installs a pair of rootkit files that "sniff and steal financial and other valuable data," said Dunham via e-mail.
The rogue PDF documents are attached to spammed e-mail and arrive with filenames such as BILL.pdf, YOUR_BILL.pdf, INVOICE.pdf or STATEMET.pdt, said Symantec Corp. in a separate advisory yesterday. They exploit the "mailto:" protocol vulnerability disclosed more than a month ago by U.K.-based researcher Petko Petkov.
When recipients open the attacking PDF, it launches a Trojan horse dubbed "Pidief.a" that knocks out the Windows firewall and then downloads another piece of malware to the compromised computer. That second piece of attack code is a dedicated downloader that, in turn, retrieves the two rootkit files from a pair of RBN-controlled servers and drops them onto the hacked PC.
According to Dunham, the RBN servers and the rootkit files are familiar to researchers. "[They] are the same as those used in zero-day Vector Markup Language (VML) attacks from September 2006," he said. The VML vulnerability, disclosed early that month, was so aggressively exploited that a group of security professionals issued an unsanctioned patch, prompting Microsoft to release one of its rare out-of-cycle fixes in late September.
Adobe Systems Inc. fixed the flaw Monday and released updated 8.1.1. editions of both Reader and Acrobat that plug the hole. Users of older versions of the popular programs must either upgrade to 8.1.1 or apply one of the temporary work-arounds that Adobe provided to stifle attacks. On Monday, Adobe did say that it would update Adobe Reader 7.0.9 and Acrobat 7.0.9 "at a later date," but it did not set a definitive timeline.
Although Adobe patched the newest versions of Reader and Acrobat, the vulnerability is ultimately Microsoft Corp.'s responsibility. The software vendor owned up to that two weeks ago, saying that it would patch common protocol handlers such as "mailto:" in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.
Only users running the Internet Explorer 7 browser on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 are vulnerable to the PDF exploit.
Adobe's security bulletin includes links to the Adobe Reader and Acrobat updates.


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"Sex is not about exchange values. It's a gift economy."
The Flamethrowers: A Novel. By Rachel Kushner. Scribner, 383 pp., $26.99.
By Janice Harayda
Ah, those single women of the 1970s, always tossing their metaphorical tam-o'-shanters into the air like Mary Tyler Moore or getting stabbed to death in their beds like Roseann Quinn, the inspiration for Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Born in 1968, Rachel Kushner isn't buying it, as well she shouldn't. In this historical novel rooted in the downtown Manhattan art world, she offers a more complex portrait of a single woman living by her wits during the waning of what is euphemistically called the Disco Decade.
Kushner brings an astringent documentary sensibility to The Flamethrowers, which tells the story of a motorcycle enthusiast and filmmaker in her early 20s who arrives in New York at the end of the Nixon era. Her heroine, known as Reno, has an affair with Sandro Valera, an artist and scion of a family of industrialists back in Italy who have grown rich by exploiting the poor. While she and her lover are visiting his relatives near Lake Como, she becomes swept up in dangerous political currents set in motion by factory strikes and the violence of the Red Brigades.
Reno's first-person narration alternates throughout the novel with third-person accounts of the World War II and other experiences of Sandro's father, the head of the fictional Valera tire and motor vehicle company, so large "it was practically a public utility." The flashbacks to an earlier generation may describe scenes that Kushner's protagonist has imagined or heard about from her lover, and they support a sweeping theme that spans decades and continents: High-speed 20th-century machines (and machine-made art) can serve as either weapons or as armor. As Sandro says, a weapon is "almost a work of art." And a work of art is a weapon.
Kushner explores other complex themes that, along with her point-of-view shifts, dilute her portrait of Reno, who seems to exist as a foil for others' ideas more than a character in her own right. After crashing a motorbike on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Reno asks a mechanic to call Sandro in New York to let him know. She reflects, after the man tells her that a woman answered the phone at her lover's loft: "A woman? I figured there was a language barrier, or that he'd dialed the wrong number. Or maybe someone from Sandro's gallery had come over, not unusual, to photograph artworks or prepare them for shipment."
Single women have a genius for rationalizing the behavior of their errant boyfriends, but the obtuseness Reno shows in that passage and a number of others clashes with the intelligence she displays elsewhere in the book. Reno is a font of elegant observations, whether they involve a young woman who arrives at a gallery "in a black sliplike dress, tiny shoulder blades like a bird's wings" or Sandro's belief that "Sex is not about exchange values. It's a gift economy." But Reno's words tell you more about the people in her orbit than about her. For all its virtues, The Flamethrowers resembles a handsome car in which the clutch never quite gets let out all the way.
Best line: One of many "best": Reno is struck by how much Northern Italians care about clothing: "I understood this was a cliché of the Milanesi, but it was also true. In Milan, it had bordered to me on comedy, women riding bicycles in platform heels and tight skirts, holding huge black umbrellas."
Worst line: Quoted in the review above. Kushner would have us believe that Reno thinks, on learning that a woman has answered her lover's phone: "I figured that there was a language barrier, or that he'd dialed the wrong number." That's a rationalization worthy of the title character of Sophie Kinsella's "Shopaholic" novels. If you believe it, I would like to sell you a bridge over the Arno.
A reader's guide to The Flamethrowers appeared on One-Minute Book Reviews on Oct. 29, 2013.
Furthermore: Published in April 2013, The Flamethrowers is a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award for fiction. Kushner's earlier Telex From Cuba was shortlisted for the prize.
Jan is an award-winning critic who, as book editor of the Plain Dealer, was a judge for the National Book Critics Circle awards. You can follow her on Twitter by clicking on the "Follow" button at right.
© 2013 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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I'm moving to a new blog - www.allisonkreft.com
Hope to see you at my new blog & website.
March 01, 2013 | Permalink
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Please visit www.allisonkreft.com for the latest updates.
January 27, 2013 | Permalink
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Just some quick pics from around the booth.
I covered these vintage cameras with washi tape & my paper designs.(I'll do a special blog post about these later)
Here is a layout I created with the Compostion & Color collection.
Stickers, folders, trim & more! Macarons...
My new collections.
My typewriter covered with one of the chevron designs.
Here are some great layouts from our talented design team.
Washi tape, mini paper bags & more trim.
January 14, 2013 | Permalink
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January 13, 2013 | Permalink
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Before all the CHA maddness starts (which to be honest it all ready
has)- I wanted to post about this very special magazine issue. I was
lucky enough to have my creative space at Hambly Studios featured in Creative Spaces Vol. 1.
This is Megan Hoeppner's special project, and she is such a doll to work with. I was excited when I heard she was working on Creative Spaces Vol. 2 which went on sale yesterday.
You can see a sneak peak here. I can't wait to check out the new issue!
January 09, 2013 | Permalink
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December 27, 2012 | Permalink
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December 11, 2012 | Permalink
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December 02, 2012 | Permalink
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November 27, 2012 | Permalink
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I just found out that my new collection is now shipping at 2 peas.
Here was the first time I used it. I can't wait to play with it again now that it's shipping!
November 06, 2012 | Permalink
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First, second and third positions These phrases refer to hand and body placement. In first—the only seated position—you rest your hands in the middle of the main handlebar. In second position, you lift yourself straight up and out of the saddle, placing your hands on the edges of the handlebar. In third position, your butt is out of the saddle, your spine is elongated and your hands rest lightly on the very ends of the handlebar.
Adding resistance On the crossbar, there is a small knob that, when you turn it clockwise, adds resistance to the flywheel, making it more difficult to pedal. It's the weighted flywheel in front that makes Spinning such a uniquely tough workout.
Hill climb Your instructor will tell you to turn your resistance knob until you feel as if you are climbing. You typically tackle hills seated in first or up and out of the saddle in third position.
Sprints You can do these all-out pedaling intervals in any position. During a standing run—done in second—use your core to hold your body over the tip of the seat to avoid knee strain.
Nope. Spinning's quick rotations will make your legs leaner and more toned while building your endurance, instructor Laurie Cole says.
This cardio superstar is a killer abs sculptor, too. Engage your core throughout class by visualizing your belly button pulled in to your spine, Cole says.
At first, by sitting far back on the seat and wearing padded shorts like these from Zoot ($65; ZootSports.com). As you improve your form and strengthen your core, the discomfort will disappear.
Cycling shoes clip into pedals so you can lift up as well as push down, better engaging your hamstrings, butt and thighs. (We like the Shimano SH-RT80, $110; Shimano.com.) If you're not prepared to spend the cash, it's fine to wear sneaks.
Photo Credit: Bill Diodato