text:
Part 2: Bitspark switching to Bitshares and banking the world's 2Bn unbanked
Bitspark: Unbanking The Banked with Bitshares
In part one we announced our plans to switch to Bitshares from Bitcoin as the alternative cryptocurrency for our remittance business and the reasoning as to why. In this part I hope to follow up with the questions from readers relating to how this might play out practically on the ground particularly in the absence of banks. The development of pegged cryptocurrencies not only are a better way of transmitting value and accessing formerly inaccessible currencies but it also helps to alleviate the liquidity and counterparty risks when dealing with many intermediaries around the world. The important thing to keep in mind however is how does all of this help the customer and if the customer wants cash in the recipient destination, how will payment dispersals in cash work under this system particularly without a bank involved? Let's dive in.
The Last Mile
The phrase 'last mile' in the context of the remittance industry refers to how to distribute the money to the recipient at the destination, the 'last mile' of the transaction. As noted previously, the overwhelming majority of remittance payments are made from the developed to the developing world and often in the recipient countries only 20-30% of the population have a bank account. Therefore in order for people to receive a payment they usually receive cash distributed via a money transfer shop who play a crucial role in making everything work. Without them there would be no way for people to receive their money and there needs to be adequate coverage in a given geography for the MTO to be able to distribute cash to enough people to make it worthwhile.
There is however a chicken and the egg situation with growing a distribution network of MTOs. To be able to deliver cash for a sender there needs to be an MTO near the recipient to collect the payment and if there isn't then the sender will not send the money with that network in the first place. Therefore it often becomes the case that only a few money transfer networks survive in every country, these become the dominant methods to send money because they have the geographical coverage to make it work. A new network with 10 distribution outlets cannot compete with incumbents that have 10 000 so naturally new MTO's will sign up to be an agent of the dominant network as that is what will be most profitable for them in guaranteeing a steady flow of payments to their geography.
Operationally MTOs in 'sender' jurisdictions will be receiving a lot of cash (e.g. Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, UK etc) and MTOs in 'recipient' jurisdictions will be 'paying out' a lot of cash. At some frequent interval, an MTO network must re-balance their cash reserves, that is to say they need to somehow get the cash piling up on the sender end to go to recipient end so the MTOs there have cash to continue paying out transactions. Often this happens through a complex web of banks, FX brokers and intermediaries, taking more time and becoming too costly the further out you stray from the popular recipient jurisdictions. With developing countries often having less developed and more difficult to deal with currencies and local banks, it makes money transfers difficult and inefficient. Traditionally, the MTO networks need to get money to their bank in a recipient destination and then this bank can send a transaction to the local MTOs which the MTOs can then withdraw in cash to replenish their cash reserves for payouts.
Every remittance network has their own proprietary systems and methodologies in place to make this happen, hardly any are interoperable and in most cases they actively do not want to work with each other anyway- it is a very old industry and mindset. It is therefore crucial for Bitspark to be able to resolve these issues in growing our MTO network, however to grow the same way as the established competitors is not easy and neither is going 'digital only' as only a fraction of the market is ready to use digital payments due to cash being king (having a digital balance is meaningless if you can't buy food, pay rent or receive a salary with it) in most countries around the world.
Unbanking the Banked
The root cause of many of the issues in growing a last mile network ultimately revolves around access to a currency and the local banks an MTO network has in that jurisdiction- if solved then it's easier to grow a geographic distribution of MTOs as they can access money faster at more competitive prices than others, we therefore propose that we need to remove the banks and the currency from the equation. By removing the difficulty associated with accessing liquidity denominated in the local currency which was explained in part one, we intend to eventually create a pegged fiat cryptocurrency for every national currency in the world with zero counterparty risk and exchangeable for virtually no cost.
The next issue to solve is that of the banks and 'De-risking', which is a huge issue facing the industry and a solution is sorely needed that can enable MTOs to continue to operate or at least operate with better peace of mind without a bank. This, combined with the superior economics brought by Bitspark to MTOs can assist them to operate their businesses more profitably with less risk.
Managing MTO Cash and Digital Balances
MTOs in sender countries receive cash from senders and draw down upon a digital balance given by their money transfer network provider. That is to say, if an MTO in a sender country funds their account at their provider with $1000 then someone walks into their shop with $100 cash, the MTO will debit their digital balance with their money transfer provider by $100 and receive the cash over the counter. Now they have a digital balance of $900 and a cash balance of $100 (not accounting for any fees). Likewise, MTOs in recipient countries have a cash balance of say $1000 and a digital balance of $0. When they pay out a transaction to a recipient they hand over $100 in cash and are credited $100 to their digital balance, now making their cash reserve at $900 and a digital balance at $100. Usually banks are required to rebalance this but Bitspark is proposing the below with using BitUSD as an example of an existing cryptocurrency on the Bitshares network pegged 1:1 with USD but this could be any pegged cryptocurrency:
Rebalancing a Cash Rich Sender MTO with Bitspark
- A Bitspark Sendy user has a digital balance of 100 BitUSD in their app and would like make some money. They visit an MTO and offer to sell their digital 100 bitUSD to the MTO for $101 in Cash.
- The MTO accepts this offer and exchanges $101 in cash for 100 BitUSD.
- The MTO now has reduced their cash on hand and also received a digital balance to be used for future transactions.
The amount the user or the MTO can bid or offer can be dictated by a market. In the above example it was essentially a 1% fee paid by the MTO but this can be set to anything depending on market circumstances. If everyone finds that this is an easy way to make money there will be many people offering to sell the MTO their balances so the MTO may only end up offering 0.1%, or perhaps on a busy weekend, the MTO may offer 2% as they really need to get a digital balance into their Bitspark account as they need to be able to continue processing transactions.
In the traditional world, an MTO would need to take their cash to a bank, wait for the bank to credit it into their money transfer system providers account and only then can they being sending transactions again with an adequate digital balance. This eliminates the need for a bank to exist and incentivises an active market for those willing to make some money. The individual in the example offered bitUSD but it could equally be any digital currency, like Bitcoin, it serves the same purpose of being able to convey a digital balance to Bitspark easily to credit the MTOs account.
Rebalancing a cash poor Recipient MTO with Bitspark
- A Bitspark Sendy user has $100 in Cash and would like make some money. They visit an MTO and offer to sell their cash for 101 bitUSD to the MTO.
- The MTO accepts this offer and exchange 101 bitUSD for $100 in cash.
- The MTO has increased their cash in hand and reduced their digital balance, they can now continue to pay out money to recipients in cash.
This example is the workflow for a recipient shop that will not have cash on hand but a large digital balance. Traditionally this shop would need to wait for their digital balance to be sent to their local bank account and then for them to withdraw the cash in order to continue doing transactions. In the above method this removes the need for the bank and makes things a lot quicker with a market available for individuals and businesses to liquidate an MTOs balances with cash or digital money.
These two methods can effectively 'unbank the banked' whereby MTOs can operate and no longer need the use of a bank account. In some jurisdictions it may be a requirement of the money transfer license to have a bank account but this can be a account that isn't used often so as not to worry the bank meanwhile transactions take place in complete transparency on the Bitspark platform balancing between cash and cryptocurrencies.
Interoperable and Scalable
Bitspark is designed to be a connector for money transfer networks around the world and one of the hindrances to driving greater efficiencies in the industry is the distinct lack of interoperability between platform providers. Western Union MTOs generally are only able to send payments to other Western Union MTOs, the same is true for UAE Exchange, Ria and many more. There are a few ways we seek to achieve full interoperability:
Our API has been enabling anyone to send and receive payments in either fiat or digital currencies for almost 2 years now. Existing MTOs who want to connect to Bitspark but perhaps not throw away their existing systems are welcome to use it as it is possible to integrate some or all functions of Bitspark into their own systems using our API. We have even had discussions with MTOs who are simply wanting to buy and sell liquidity via Bitspark in specific currencies with no intention yet of routing payments via our network, that is also possible.
Mobile First
All of what we have described above has been applicable to MTOs however it is also possible for mobile users of the Bitspark Sendy app to top up, cash out and send and receive payments. It is often said the next billion internet users will all be on mobile and being able to bridge the gap between traditional bricks and mortar MTOs and their users via Sendy has been an increasingly bigger focus for us. Sendy users will soon also be able to exchange cash and digital balances with others which is our solution to reaching customers in rural areas in developing countries that may lack nearby MTOs to make payments.
MTOs can reach new customers via mobile and significantly reduce onboarding and operational costs of making payments as all of the compliance work is offloaded to Bitspark and a user can topup at an MTO in 15 seconds reducing delays at the shop window, ensuring higher throughput of customers. Fees for mobile topups and cash out can be set by the MTOs and customer announcements can be made directly to the users phone, increasing return customer rates.
MTO Choice
We do not prescribe that a money transfer shop use only Bitspark, they are free to use whatever existing platforms they want to but we think given the economics of Bitspark they will likely end up using us. However keeping the other options open is also beneficial to us, often MTOs may run several systems in order to process payments via different networks to different customers and destinations- we can gain access to these networks for payments via the MTO directly and not through us needing to connect to that particular system provider. For example, if an MTO runs Bitspark in addition to System_1 and System_2 then if we have a Bitspark transaction needing to be paid out to System_2's network (maybe they have better geographical coverage) then we can send a request to the MTO to pay it out via System_2 and theyll be credited the digital balance in their Bitspark account- effectively giving Bitspark instant coverage of everywhere on day 1 with just 1 MTO using the system.
Rolling It Out
As noted, our intention to rollout the new Bitshares based money transfer system will begin with our project with the United Nations Development Program in Tajikistan and quickly follow on from there to reach our existing money transfer remittance corridors. Discussions are ongoing with UNDP and we are currently identifying the appropriate towns and partners for the pilot. In our final Part 3 we introduce our plan for incentivisation for a rollout on a larger scale across new geographies, stay tuned!


text:
Start By Sharing Your Details
We Will Find The Most Accurate Probable UPSEE Rank.
UPSEE Rank Predictor 2019:
UPSEE rank predictor 2019 from Admission Advice is a great tool to help all the students who are set to appear for the UPSEE exam in 2019.
We understand that the period after your 12th boards is really crucial as you decide your major career step in this phase. A lot of the students from the science background opt for studying engineering or architecture from a reputed university or college in India.
The UPSEE or Uttar Pradesh State Engineering Entrance exam is the entrance test for the students to get into reputed Engineering colleges in Uttar Pradesh.
The students who would want to pursue engineering in the UP engineering colleges have to get ready for facing difficult to unexpectedly difficult questions and solve them with a flicker of the clock.
Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics are the three subjects in which the students will be tested for knowledge and smartness.
UPSEE rank predictor 2019
If you are someone who has plans to appear for the UPSEE 2019 this time, we suggest you try out the UPSEE RANK PREDICTOR 2019!
Why don't you try to get an idea of your rank and the colleges that you might be eligible for admission, based on your expected UPSEE exam score!
This time, you can avoid the fear and apprehension that you usually face after any exam gets over. With the UPSEE RANK PREDICTOR 2019, from Admission Advice, you can rest easy and get a brief idea of which college would be perfect for you based on your scores!
Before you ask us what the UPSEE rank predictor 2019 is all about, we would just like to tell you that with the help of this great tool, you can get an insight into your probable rank and your position among lakhs of other students who are going to appear for the test along with you.
UPSEE rank predictor 2019
The UPSEE rank predictor 2019 from Admission Advice is an excellent tool that allows the students to have a brief and accurate insight about the ranks they are going to score in the 2019 UPSC examination.
After you are done appearing for the examination, you would need to calculate an estimated score of yours in the exam. Based on that, we will give you an expected rank in the state engineering exam by UPSEE rank predictor 2019. However, we would like to clarify that the rank of UPSEE rank predictor 2019 is not the exact rank that you will score!
Moreover, the actual rank in the exam will vary depending upon the numerous external factors like cut-offs etc. However, at Admission Advice, we ensure that you get the most accurate and closest predicted rank to your actual rank through UPSEE rank predictor 2019.
UPSEE rank predictor 2019
Why do we say this?
This is because of our past experiences. It has been proved from previous years that the rank predicted by our UPSEE rank predictor does not vary considerably from the original rank.
This is the reason we are the number one choice for our students who are eager to know about their mock rank once they finish answering their questions.
How does this UPSEE rank predictor 2019 works?
UPSEE rank predictor 2019 works on the basis of the ranking structure of the previous year. The tool first takes into account the previous year's questions and ranking.
After this, it tallies them with the current year's questions. Depending upon the differences in the difficulty level of the questions of both the years, the tool successfully calculates the expected rank of the students in the present year.
UPSEE rank predictor 2019
However, we want to bring to your notice that the main dependant factor is what score you provide us with. The more accurate your expected score is, the more accurate our expected rank would be. The main factor on which this rank depends is the score that you provide us with.
Therefore, you must carefully calculate the expected scores in each section of your paper. Add them up. Then give the rank predictor an expected score. The rest is on the tool!
The entire process is based on estimations drawn from assumptions of previous result ranks and marks. Hence, it's a request to not entirely depend on this predicted rank of UPSEE rank predictor 2019. As it could change depending on various circumstances.
UPSEE rank predictor 2019
Steps to know the expected rank using our UPSEE rank predictor 2019
The steps that you will need to follow for getting the results are:
• Provide your name and email ID.
Also, enter your phone number in the UPSEE rank predictor 2019.
• After that, you will be asked to enter your expected marks in the UPSEE exam 2019. Enter the marks and submit it to the UPSEE rank predictor 2019 tool.
• It's done! You will get a detailed analysis and rank prediction including the best colleges that you can expect!
UPSEE rank predictor 2019
Why our UPSEE rank predictor 2019 is best?
While there are other UPSEE rank predictor 2019, we claim to be the best in this field. We back this claim with 10 years of experience in this field.
We have been counselling students for medical and engineering for over 9 years. Now we have a used student database that we analyze to give you an accurate result. So, you can obviously expect the best from us!
Our results are the most accurate as compared to the other Rank predictors.
We have a team of experts who are the leaders in this section of work. They invest their knowledge in getting you the best of your efforts.
We have an experience of counselling more than 500 students in a single year.
You do not need to create an account with us or register!
Check out our UPSEE rank predictor 2019 right now and know what future beholds for you!
For More Enquiry Contact
- www.admissionadvice.in
- [email protected]
- +91 9278110022
- 18, Satyam Complex, Near Navin Hospital
- Alpha 2, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201308

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Our Success
is Measured
by Your
Our Success is Measured
by Your Happiness
Community, Not Quotas
We're your hometown Realtors with a wealth of knowledge about the Greenville area, and the hard-won wisdom that comes from experience buying and selling homes.
We measure our success by your happiness, not meeting quotas. Our clients come back to us over and over, and they refer their friends and family. We couldn't ask for a better validation of the work we do.
Clients Say . . .
We work with the Home Team as they help their clients find the perfect home. They are very professional and strive to do their best for their clients.
– Kim Wolfe Windsor
Justin McCormick from The Home Team was very professional and knowledgeable. Our house was under contract in less than 48 hours and closing was two weeks later. Justin knows the Greenville market very well and will get you top dollar for your home. We are very pleased with our experience with Justin and The Home Team.
– Matt Frank
Talk to Us!
Whether you just have questions about the market, want to get to know us, or are ready to buy or sell, we're happy to be available.


text:
Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale, the third installment of The Bane Chronicles (co-written by Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan) debuts next week. But today, we can exclusively reveal the cover. In fact, EW will be revealing the all the covers for the remaining stories in the-serialization—one a month until January 2014. Check it out after the jump.
From the official description of Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale: "When immortal warlock Magnus Bane attends preliminary peace talks between the Shadowhunters and the Downworlders in Victorian London, he is charmed by two very different people: the vampire Camille Belcourt and the young Shadowhunter, Edmund Herondale. Will winning hearts mean choosing sides?"
What do you think of the cover, Shelf Lifers? Click here for a larger version. And sound off with your comments.
Read More:
Cassandra Clare launches e-serialization based on popular 'Mortal Instruments' character
EW's review of 'Clockwork Princess'
Cassandra Clare and Daniel Sharman talk 'Clockwork Princess' audiobook — EXCLUSIVE
|Complete Coverage


text:
Settlement Assistance
Learn about how to access basic needs such as health care, schools, banking, insurance, community programming, employment opportunities and housing. Receive support while adjusting to your new home and culture.
Language Assessments
We offer free language assessments and goal setting/planning. Using the Canadian Language Benchmarks, we assess your skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
One to One Tutoring
Trained tutors work one to one with learners of English. Areas of focus may be a combination of:
- Speaking skills
- Listening Skills
- Reading Skills
- Writing Skills
- Cultural Learning
- Test preparation
One to one tutoring is flexible takes place around your schedule. Your tutor will help you improve your language skills and will be a culture guide and mentor as you adjust to life in Fort Nelson.
ESL Community Classes
We offer several free community classes every week. Our classes are based on the L.I.N.C. and ELSA curriculum.
Multilevel English Class: This class is based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks and works on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. You will also learn about Canadian and Fort Nelson culture.
Intermediate/Advanced English Class: This class is based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks from levels 4 to 6 and works on speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. You will also learn about Canadian and Fort Nelson culture.
Conversation Group: Learn more about Canadian culture, share your own culture, and learn and practice English and informal speech like slang and sayings.
Multicultural Parents Group: Come and join us for an interactive hour of family learning and fun. Drop in group for parents, infants and toddlers.
Please see the class schedule below for more details.
Trips and Special Events
Join us for group outings to see the local area and attend community events such as the Remembrance Day ceremonies, Christmas Community dinner, nature walks/hikes and more.


text:
BOSTON, Mass.—Nakira Examond recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Little East Conference leaders UMass Dartmouth past UMass Boston women's basketball 68-53 Wednesday night at Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
UMass Dartmouth 68, UMass Boston 53
(UMass Boston 19-3, Little East 9-2)
(UMass Dartmouth 19-3, Little East 11-0)
In a matchup of the top two teams in the Little East Conference standings, the Corsairs used big edges in points off turnovers and points in the paint to earn the season-sweep of the Beacons.
The Corsairs grabbed a 21-4 advantage in points off turnovers and outscored the Beacons 42-18 in the paint.
UMass Boston struggled offensively against the Corsairs for a second-straight game. Freshman Joie Grassi (Plymouth, Mass.) and Shania Osborne (Fairfield, Conn.) paced the Beacons with 11 points apiece. Grassi added eight rebounds and two blocks, while Osborne pulled down seven boards and had two blocks.
Senior Lydia Vital (Cambridge, Mass.) tacked on four points, six assists and three steals. Freshman Megan Dixon (Hanover, Mass.) finished third on the Beacons with eight points.
Alicia Kutil finished second on the Corsairs with 18 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Ashley Brown filled up the stat sheet for UMass Dartmouth with nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Wednesday night's contest started off extremely competitive, with the two teams trading leads throughout the first seven minutes. Examond gave the visitors the lead for good with a lay-up with 2:37 left in the quarter and a late Kailyn Milligan floater in the lane made it 21-17 after one quarter.
Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass.) cut the deficit to one with a 3-pointer three minutes into the second quarter, but that's as close as the Beacons would get. UMass Dartmouth answered with an 8-2 run to grab a 31-24 advantage with 4:17 left in the second.
Jalani Jackson (Brockton, Mass.) and Katie Mathieu (Coventry, Conn.) knocked down 3-pointers to keep the game close, but UMass Boston headed into the break trailing 37-30.
UMass Dartmouth put the pedal to the medal in the third quarter and pushed their lead out to 12 within the first minutes. After an early Osborne basket, the Corsairs went on a 7-0 run, behind three baskets down low from Examond.
The Beacons managed to cut the deficit back to seven on a Dixon 3-pointer, but a 6-0 flurry from the Corsairs gave the visitors their largest lead of the game after three quarters (54-41).
The two sides would trade baskets to start the fourth, before both teams went ice cold. With UMass Dartmouth leading 61-46, neither squad scored for nearly four minutes.
Geanna Williams (Cromwell, Conn.) finally broke the scoring drought but it was too little, too late for the Beacons.
- With the win, UMass Dartmouth earned their sixth-straight win over the Beacons and improved to 52-26 all-time against UMass Boston.
- The Beacons fell to 9-1 at home this year, with the loss.
- Williams led the Beacons with 10 rebounds. It marked the second time in her collegiate career that she had pulled down double-digit rebounds.
- UMass Boston shot their worst field goal percentage of the season at home this year and third worst overall. After shooting 27.7 percent at UMass Dartmouth on January 17, the Beacons shot 31.7 percent.
- The Corsairs have outscored UMass Boston in all eight quarters this year.
- UMass Dartmouth was ranked sixth in this week's NCAA Division III Regional Poll.
UMass Boston will look to set the program record for most wins (20) and conference wins (10) in a single-season on Saturday. The Beacons host Plymouth State University on Saturday at 1 p.m.


text:
No products
Where did the summer go? It's the FINAL WEEK of our August Snus Sale!
All good things must come to an end. This is the Final Week of our August Snus Sale...and the summer. I, Moe [...]
Radioactive Swedish Snus?
At the legendary SnusCentral.com Snus Shop, we monitor radiation levels around the clock to ensure your fresh [...]
Back from the Dead Snus?
These two Skruf and Offroad high nicotine snus products were discontinued by their makers but months later, showed [...]
The Prismaster is an inexpensive portioning tool for making a prilla out of loose-weight snus.
The Prismaster is an inexpensive snus portioning tool for making a prilla out of loose-weight snus. Considering the price, you get your money's worth.
See How to use a Prismaster on SnusCENTRAL YouTube!
Great Tool
If you are new or returning to Los after a long break, this tool is a must. Can't beat the price!!
It isnt bad but could be made a little more, narrower. I have to compact it a little more when I push my snus out but other than that, for $2 its much cleaner than using your hand
Gets the job done easy for me. I'm totally new to loose and this makes it easy and enjoyable
This thing works very well, keeps your hands clean, and keeps snus from moving around much in your mouth. As a user of American moist snuff (Copenhagen) this is so much easier and tidier than pinching a dip.
I'll sometimes use this to "dip" a pellet of snus in my lower-rear jaw at work, and it stays put much better than Copenhagen did, even though snus is much finer ground, and it takes less effort.
You won't get any points for skill with this because it takes none, but if you are more concerned with ease and control and a nice packed pris, you won't go wrong here. I regret not buying more of them for myself, to keep in different locations. I surely will on my next order.
There are some in this world who just cannot handbake a pris to save their life. Me...well, I definitely am used to loose American tobacco, but Snus is a new ball game. You are definitely going to need a tool to get you started on loose. You may or may not like loose that much, so why drop $35 plus on it? I you are new to los snus, then the Prismaster is the single greatest deal on Earth for you. It allows you to fully enjoy and try los without having to drop a lot of your hard earned money on an Icetool. If you are seriously into los, then the Icetool is a good thing to have, but for 2 bucks, you can't go wrong here. It is extraordinarily effective. It may not be as flashy or as stylish as the Icetool, but this thing right here will help you get into the los scene. It may be cheaply made, but it holds up over time, does its job well, and is only $2 bucks! This right here is the best selling point of the product. I use it so I don't have to get my hands dirty and it works like a charm. 9/10!
Good ol' Prismaster. It may not be as flashy as an Icetool, but it gets the job done for under $3.
It's a good little tool to be honest. It held up just fine. I still have it sitting in my desk drawer. It's received plenty of attention, and has held up fine with no problems.
Bottom line.. the Prismaster is the best "bang" for your buck. If you aren't familiar with hand baking, this will make sure you are able to pop in a nice pris of los no problem.
US Government Mandated Warnings for Americans
Depending on the month, this product can cause mouth cancer, can cause gum disease and tooth loss,
is not a safe alternative for cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco is addictive.
If you are NOT an American, the below doesn't apply to you


text:
LINCOLN will maintain permanent contacts with other similar projects and activities in order to be part of the European research and scientific community. For this purpose two main projects were selected since the beginning of the project:
HOLISHIP will develop innovative, holistic ship design optimisation methods, in which all main design functional requirements, constraints and performance indicators are considered. This includes:
The result will be an integrated design software platform for the entire life-cycle of the maritime product under consideration, enabling also virtual testing and demonstration of the product.
Coordinator: Apostolos Papanikolaou
SHIPLYS will develop a Ship life cycle software solutions able to:
The calculation and modelling to achieve the functionalities required are difficult and time consuming, especially for SMEs without a large overhead of trained staff and tools, SHIPLYS aims to address these challenges.
Coordinator: Ujjwal Bharadwaj
Your Name (required)
Your Email (required)
Your Message
Before to continue is necessary to read and accept our Privacy Policy
I agree to Terms of Usage


text:
The Best of the Best:
With all that was going on within my personal life (See Part 1) with almost losing my wife multiple times, and multiple different medical conditions, besides attending Sex Camps I also decided to finally meet and receive a better understanding of the Sex Positive community, see what it was all about, what I could learn and most importantly what I can do to advocate and assist as many people and groups as I can.
Back in 2012, I started my initial outreach to this exciting community of advocates, professionals and educators who sit on the front-line fighting like superheroes protecting, educating and promoting a message we all have a fundamental human right to be sexual, express our sexuality, a sexual identity and explore a sexual desires freely in an environment free of violence, judgment and stigma while respecting the privacy of those who share our views.
It was during the election cycle of 2012 I found a purpose as I saw what appeared as several laws which threatened the safety and rights of Sex Workers and professionals by a series of poorly written laws which could easily be manipulated to infringe on our rights, such as L.A.'s infamous Measure B, California's Prop 35 and several states had same-sex measures on the ballot, but all where confusingly written, or terms like trafficking was used to confuse the implications of the laws.
It was during this time, I used my voice on Twitter and limited followers to promote and educate as many as I could on what the implications these laws would have and could ruin the lives so many people for simply working, writing, expressing or educating on issues sexual subject matter.
Though my efforts were bitter sweet as many of the same-sex referendums passed, many other measures passed threatening their livelihoods and status of life. Thus I decided to attend my first conference:
CatalystCon a.k.a. #ccon:
I had bought my tickets for this conference before a medical emergency transpired with my wife, so I was not in the best head-space for this conference and was nowhere near ready to fully absorb all the awesome information all the presenters provided and find my true voice in helping in the cause of promoting a Sex+ Lifestyle.
My day started early on the brisk March day as I attended one of the pre-conference workshops hosted by Tristan Taormino (http://puckerup.com/). I probably had a look of utter shock on my face as this presentation commenced. Ms. Taormino's eloquent presentation provided me with a scope and how to present myself and this wonderful community to help people understand what we are all about.
It was in Ms. Taormino's class that I met a wonderful woman by the name of Emerald (@Emerald_theGLD) (http://thegreenlightdistrict.org/wordpress/) who must have seen the look of shock, which she was right as I felt I was truly unworthy to be in the room with all these incredible pioneers. Her aura and personality made me feel welcomed and accepted. I can never thank her enough for that moment in Ms. Taormino's class as it set the stage for me for the rest of the conference.
Another notable mention was the chance to spend a few minutes to chat with the incredible Elle Chase (@LadyCheeky) as I was following her lead at the time of a Tumblr blog of shared images which promotes a positive views of the many faces of sexuality, Her blog http://www.ladycheeky.com/ is an incredible space to visit and admire her work in finding images which tell an incredible story and focuses on promoting a positive body-image message.
Another major defining moment that weekend was the opportunity to meet Sabrina Morgan (@SabrinaMorgan) (http://about.me/SabrinaMorgan). If you have not had the chance to meet her or hear her speak, I recommend that you do so at the first opportunity you can. This woman is more than meets the eyes as I describe her to friends as an incredibly poised, smart spitfire of positive energy whose bravery in presenting her information inspires me as every time I have spoken with her (in person, twitter or e-mail) she has increased my knowledge, understanding and love of more diverse people. This time if I get a chance to give her a hug, I will not be shy or meekish and take her up on the offer.
Lastly a major highlight for me that weekend was the chance to meet the conference organizer, Dee Dennis (@DeeDennis). I know how busy she was organizing and orchestrating the events to be kind enough to take the few minutes to talk and even share a nice hug.
I know there were so many people at this event, and I feel horrible in not naming everyone I met or shared in conversation but I feel I have gone on long enough you get the idea.
I do recommend you register for CatalystCon East 2014 ASAP as the line-up looks incredible and there is a lot to learn, a chance to network, collaborate while enjoying the energy of this incredible community.
Part 3 of the 2013 Year in Review will focus on the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance 2013 Summit.


text:
Ulrike Küchler studied Comparative Literature, Philosophy and American Studies in Potsdam and Tübingen and completed her M.A. in 2008. 2008 to 2009 she was a teaching assistant at the Department of German Studies, Brown University and 2009 to 2010 she was employed as a research assistant/ lecturer at the Department of German Studies/ Comparative Literature at Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen. She taught courses on artificial life in literature, utopias and dystopias as motifs and in theory as well as an introductory seminar on Comparative Literature. She is and was in editing for several journals, amongst others the International Journal of Literary Culture arcadia, and presented papers and organized panels at various conferences, amongst others at the NeMLA 2010 Convention (Montréal) and the ACLA 2011 Convention (Vancouver). Ulrike Küchler is a scholarship holder of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. Since October 2010 she has been writing her dissertation at the Friedrich Schlegel Graduate School of Literary Studies (Berlin).
In her dissertation project Ulrike Küchler investigates the particular forms and functions of medial problems as related to artificial life in literature. Ever since the 18th century the creation of man and art is brought into dialogue with the techniques that created them thus challenging the boundaries between artificial creatures, mediality and artistic forms of expression: literary texts stage automata as a composition of (medial) prostheses including writing machines, speaking machines and music machines; at the laboratories of art and technology artificial creatures emerge from artistic experiments with phonographic sounds, photographic projections and filmic presentations; synaesthetic experiences of multimedia spaces transform both man and world into artwork themselves; finally, artificial artists and recipients challenge the question of the very artificial reproducibility of art. Such, both canonical and lesser-known literary texts (amongst others by Jean Paul, Villiers de l'Isle Adam, Yevgeny Zamyatin and Richard Powers) reflect, comment and transform the discoursive construction of man and machine as well as medium and art. They tell stories of how man will be capable of eventually calling machines into life, they transfer new medial techniques into poietic principles and therefore question man's relation to both himself and such medial novelties. The dissertation is thus concerned with hybrid figures and modes of narration that are liminal beings between seemingly disparate forms of existence – especially with regard to its methodology and the comparative text corpus and due to intermedial and interdiscoursive references the project thus eventually turns out to be a liminal being itself.


text:
We believe that the family is the basic relational building block of humanity. God wants us to have great families so he has given us instructions, principles, and practical things we can do to achieve just that! The Family Institute is our effort to provide our community with opportunities for education and the development of skills to help create strong families. We want to help strengthen your family! These classes vary in time , locations, and class offerings. Check back often to see what is new! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or there are some classes you are looking for but we don't offer. We might be able to accommodate or recommend where you can go to find a class you are looking for.
Reveal is a class designed so that you can explore life's questions and learn how followers of Jesus Christ answer them in a humble, authentic environment. Here is what we will explore in our 5 sessions together – Worldview, Spiritual Decisions, What is truth?, What sources are valid?, Who is Jesus?, Why a Savior?, How can I live?, What happens at the end?
Thursday nights beginning March 10th
7pm – 8:30pm
New class beginning on March 7th 4:30pm.
We all need a plan for our money. Financial Peace University (FPU) is that plan! It teaches God's ways of handling money. Through video teaching, class discussions and interactive small group activities, FPU presents biblical, practical steps to get from where you are to where you've dreamed you could be. This plan will show you how to get rid of debt, manage your money, spend and save wisely, and much more!
Click on the link to register!


text:
The LEGO Galaxy Explorer is amongst one of the most popular sets of all times. In 1980 LEGO published the Idea Book 6000 that contained an alternative build for the Galaxy Explorer. The building instructions were sketchy at best. I built the Galaxy Explorer 6000 model for the Moonbase 42 at the Christchurch Brick Show 2015 and I also created an LDD file for it. The building instructions are available here. It has been great fun to re-create this spaceship from my childhood. I hope you enjoy it.
Here is the original 497 Space Explorer in all its glory:
2 Comments
Hi (from a fellow researcher),
I'm trying to build the 6000 but you seem to be using two 6 x 14 plates which are instead not part of the original set (and also not listed among the parts of your MOC). The same happens e.g. for the piece you attach underneath in step 15.
Could you please clarify these problems?


text:
Order Toll Free (855) 557-4658
Beach Umbrella Tote
Old Price
Discounted Price
Get $5.00 OFFOn any purchase above $25.00 when you sign up today!
Expires - November 30, 2019
Oops, there seems to be an error, please re-enter your email address.
Exclusive! Perfect for a day of fun in the sun, or at least wishing you were back at the beach with your toes in the sand! Fun, roomy Beach Umbrella Tote features original artwork printed on both sides. Durable, non-woven polyester coated for easy cleaning. Imported. 14"w, 12"l handles.
Customer ReviewsWrite a review
I love this TOTE!
Aug 12, 2016 | By Jennifer
I always love Paragon totes but this one is my favorite! I get many compliments on it and it always makes me feel like I am on the beach!
Your Satisfaction is Guaranteed
No sale is ever final. We unconditionally guarantee all merchandise. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, return it within 60 days of receipt to make an exchange or receive a refund (excluding shipping and handling charges). After 60 days, we will be happy to send a merchandise credit certificate to you, good towards a future purchase.


text:
Michael Cusack | Drawing into Painting
Michael's successful short course continues in 2014. Students will again explore the move from drawing to painting with a particular focus on mixed media and experimentation. Using a range of drawing and painting techniques and thinking about composition, mark making, and materiality, students will begin to work in a series through the use of oils, acrylics, inks, crayon, oil sticks, collage, and other mediums. Suitable for all levels from the complete beginner to more experienced artists wanting to extend their current art practice.
6 week course for $320 Course Code DR04
Dates | 6 Fridays 10am - 2:30pm 7 March - 11 April 2014
To Register or for more information call 0431 034 892


text:
Greeting the new year the Fever Brothers expand their team inviting Casimiro Erario & Soul Creative to proudly present a new sophisticated release. The protagonist is the piano, and the rest just flows through the night.
Fever Brothers – The Pianist (Original Mix)
GooeyPoo Presents – The Sunset Sessions 4
GooeyPoo presents… The Sunset Sessions 4
1) Mustafa feat. Tasita D'mour – The Boss (Chill In Ipanema Mix)
2) Jet feat. ZG.Dr – Rooted (Earnshaw's Vocal REconstruction)
3) Ziggy Funk feat. Taliwa – Everyday (Frankie Feliciano Classic Vocal Mix)
4) Rasmus Faber & Alf Tumble – Leave Me Alone (Original Mix)
5) Typheni – Is It Love (Original Mix)
6) Random Soul feat. Kristen Pearson – Love Me Right (Original)
7) Robin S – Show Me Luv (Seb Skalski ReWork 2012)
8) Kings Of Tomorrow – Let Me Tell You Something (Sandy Rivera's Mix)
9) The Marvelettes – Please Mr. Postman (Andrea F. Autumn Letter Booty)
10) MJ – Who Is it (MK mix)
11) FCL – It's You (San Soda's Panorama Bar Acca Version)
12) Cody Chesnutt – Look Good In Leather (The Reflex Stems Re-Vision)
Download from here – GooeyPoo presents…. The Sunset Sessions 4
Erin Leah feat. Sheila Ford – Radio Billie Stereo Ella (DJ Spen & Gary Hudgins Jazzy Sensation Mix)
Erin Leah's debut on Quantize ('Rocker') was met with a unanimous reception earlier this year, and rightly regarded as one of this years deep house favourites. When Erin sat down to write Radio Billie Stereo Ella, she began weaving a nostalgic landscape with jazz of the 1920's and 1950's in her recent thoughts with a style and purpose all her own, she began to tell the story in song. Erin works through a live instrumental that carries an old soulfulness of classical music but somehow feels like it is alive in today's music world. It is comprised largely of live elements played without sequencing as shown in the piano, strings and percussion parts. She celebrates musicality with playful harmonics. Alongside the Original, Spen & Gary Hudgins deliver 2 killer jazz-licked reworks, with Spen & Thommy dropping a stellar trademark Dub. The ever impressive N'Dinga Gaba moves things a little deeper in the mix with another of his jaw dropping deep & smooth late night moments, with Seed in the City & Bradford Taylor James providing equally stellar deepness alongside Erin's ice cool Original.
Jose Burgos & The Playas – Californication
KPD – Tropicana (Original Mix)
Sexy jazz fused with house makes one fantastic combination. This track just screams summer and party vibe energy.
Quantize Recordings presents two bright new talents, DJ Greg & Hozay who bring the heat with 'Give Me'. Enlisting the vocal talents of Lisa Moore, Greg and Hozay combine sunshine-filled melodies, jazzy keys and Latin percussion with the exquisitely poised vocal performance to devastating effect. On remix duties DJ Spen and Thommy Davis impart some melodic house soul into proceedings that showcase 'Give Me' in another radiant light. Quantize Recordings, a platform for both delivering hits from well established artists as well as gems from unearthed talents, are pleased to welcome DJ Greg & Hozay to the stable.
Logistix pres. Deon Nathan – I Feel (Original Mix)
UK House producers come to King St with a tune de force that'll be played for a good long time. The Original Mix, as heard recently on New Breed of Soulful House, with its superb production vibes, coupled with the dulcet vox of crooner Deon Nathan, has all the feel-good qualities of a soulful house record. Spinning us further into into a deeper groove are remixes by Tony Loreto and Chris IDH, Samson Lewis and Souldynamic, who give us some fantastic shuffling rhythms and pretty synth washes on their Main Mix and Dub.
Scott Diaz brings the funk to the latest hit from Bryan Jones and Hugh Cleal, titled 'Pick Me Up'. This will get everyone shaking their thing on dance floors every where.
'Say Nothing' oozes with classic house good vibes courtesy of Mr Fresh who delivers a catchy piano hook, signature boompty beats and a warm bassline, embracing Billie's soulful song. Upbeat vibes continue to roll as the UK's man of the moment, Matt Early, rolls out a super classy outing injecting a jazzy brass hook and delicious rhodes. Rounding off the package is a hot remix from Italy's Niva, who aims for the main room with a peak time power punch.
Furniture Crew – Bring it Back (Fuck It´s House Edit)
Furniture Crew have remixed their number one hit Bring It Back. Le babar, Milty Evans, Ryan Truman an Jakhira have all taken part and flipped the track in their own unique way.


text:
After the opening two days in Qingdao four races have been completed across all three Paralympic events as scheduled. Despite the rain on Sunday, over 6,000 spectators watched the opening day of racing on course area A, whilst Monday brought the sun and a little more breeze, with the wind picking up to 13-14 knots.
2004 Paralympic gold medallist Damien SEGUIN (FRA) leads the 12-strong one-person keelboat 2.4 Metre fleet after a dominant start that looks ominous for his rivals. The Frenchman, who won the 2007 IFDS Disabled Sailing World Championship in Rochester and was recently runaway winner at the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères, opened his account with a third place before a trio of bullets propelled him into an seven-point overall lead. Amongst the nine competing two-person keelboat SKUD18s, Niki BIRRELL and Alexandra RICKHAM (GBR) hold a narrow overall lead following 3,5,1,1 scores. It's similarly tight amongst the three-person keelboat Sonars, with Jostein STORDAHL, Aleksander WANG-HANSEN and Per Eugen KRISTIANSEN (NOR) holding a three-point overall lead in the 12-boat fleet.
A total of nine races are scheduled, with racing continuing through until 15 May.
For more on the Paralympic Games go to www.sailing.org/paralympics.
IFDS Qingdao International Regatta - www.2008ifdsqdregatta.com
ISAF Disabled Sailing microsite - www.sailing.org/disabled.


text:
Flyfour and I arrived with the children, three slow cookers full of soup, (the fact that at the end of the night we took home three almost full slow cookers of soup isn't important) and a car boot full of decorations, a marquee and enough glow sticks to light twenty-two and a half raves.
Flyfour and I quickly put up the Marquee and set to work decorating it, covering the windows with black bin bags and generally making a haunted house to be proud of. We didn't argue too much whilst putting it all together and we agreed when we were finished that it was a Haunted Marquee to be proud of.
It went really well, the Children were loving the scares they were getting and as Flyfour kept moving where he was in the Gazebo, children who returned were able to enjoy the experience multiple times and the Children were returning multiple times. Not just to get sweets, but because they told me they were enjoying the scares they were getting.
There is one story I want to share, which I'm sure will enter into the stories of legend for my family and will be shared for many years to come and for the purposes of this story, we shall call the child involved George.
George is a child I know really well and he is fabulous fun. He is eight years old and the sort of cheeky chappie who is confident and generally a good laugh. At the door I asked him how scary he wanted it to be and he told me that he wanted it to be really scary. After a brief joke about how I was going to make sure it was super wet your pants scary. So I told Flyfour that it was a brave eight-year-old and that it was one of the children I knew and George walked tentatively into the Gazebo.
I peeked into the Gazebo and watched as George worked his way past the hanging dangling scary things towards the sweets left apparently temptingly unguarded in the back of the car. I could see Flyfour hidden in the shadows to one side of the boot, apparently unseen by George.
George made it all the way to the boot when Flyfour creeped up behind him.
"Why are you touching my sweets?!" he said in a low growl
George was startled.
He had thought that he was alone in the Gazebo and as he spun round to face Flyfour, he brought his hand up to protect himself from the ghoulish figure before him. The only problem was this hand was clenching the bucket full of sweets he'd been collecting from various trunks along the car park and
The bucket hit Flyfour squarely in the face.
Now, I'm a bad wife, because the first thing I did at this was howl with laughter. The second thing I did was encourage George to come to me so that Flyfour could assess if there was any damage to his face.
I know it was a bad thing, but George was perfectly fine, Flyfour was perfectly fine and it's a story we'll remember forever.
Did anything fun happen to you or your loved ones this past Halloween?


text:
Take a sneak peek at artist Matt McCann's wonderful illustrations for Chekhov: Stories for Our Time, with an introduction by Boris Fishman and translated from the Russian by Constance Garnett, Ilan Stavans, and Alexander Gurvets:
Matt McCann: Artist's Statement
My mental picture of Anton Chekhov before this project was hazy. I vaguely summoned a playwright with a tenacious goatee whose work I hadn't ever read, though I had spent some time with some of the other Very Serious Giants of Russian required reading, e.g., your Tolstoys, your Dostoevskys — with a smattering of Gogol and Turgenev. I figured he was probably a good read, too, but probably just as Very Serious, and since I had already read some of the others, I'd figure, Why bother? It didn't help that, like many Very Serious artists, he was tubercular and died tragically young.
Boris Fishman's invitation to reconsider Chekhov through the prism of the 1890 photograph he discusses in his introduction — that with the white suit and mongoose — was, for me, a revelation. I read a draft of that introduction before I had read a single solitary word of Chekhov, and it completely informed my idea of the man as someone who, along with his generous and total humanity, possessed a whopping dollop of humorousness. So I saw my task as an attempt to mirror that humor, as though making drawings I thought the mischievous-looking fellow wrangling that rodent might giggle at.
For stories where there wasn't humor, I sought to achieve at least a visual wryness that I read into these stories, even the darkest ones, or tease out a tiny sliver of the story that I thought warranted further consideration. Sometimes that produced weirdness, like a bird with four wings.
In some, I just gave in, guiltily, to cartoonishness. Maybe too often. Maybe these illustrations can or should be dismissed as frivolous — serious literature interrupted by silly nonsense doodles.
Anton Chekhov doodled, though, too. He was pretty good.
—Matt McCann


text:
Marissa Webb Fashion Show Spring/Summer 2017
I met Marissa Webb about 3 years ago at her showroom, before she became the coveted designer she is today, but I instantly fell in love with her effortless style. And if there's one thing Marissa Webb can do, it's put together an incredible runway show. Every famous blogger from Happily Grey to Song of Style sat front row because it is not a show you miss if you can help it. Since Fashion Week dispersed all over the city, I literally had to give up my show before and after Marissa's show in order to make it on time. And it was so worth it. The looks were wearable, chic, and just the right balance of feminine with edge. Marissa also included her signature olive color throughout the collection, a color that has since slowly been creeping into my everyday attire. My absolute favorite look was the silky blush dress paired with a beige leather jacket. Bravo, Marissa! You never cease to impress.


text:
Elder Law Attorneys Serving Western Pennsylvania
What is Probate?
Probate is the process by which an "Estate" is distributed according to Will or law to heirs of a deceased. It involves the appointment of an Executor or Administrator, the collection of assets and debts, the filing of an Inheritance Tax return and the distribution of assets. Dealing with the probate process while grieving can be a trying experience. At Pecori & Pecori we have guided thousand of estates through the probate process. It is our goal to make what can be a confusing process as simple and stress-free as possible.
Estate Planning
Why Plan Your Estate?
To protect your family and ensure your wishes are met. No one likes to think about the possibility of their disability or death. If you postpone planning for these events until it is too late, however, you run the risk that your needs will not be met or that your intended beneficiaries — those you love the most — may not receive what you would want them to receive.
Elder Law
What is Elder Law?
Elder Law and Special Needs Law are specialized areas of law that involve representing, counseling and assisting seniors, the disabled and their families in connection with a variety of legal issues from Estate Planning to Long Term Care planning to coordination of available government benefits and insurance.
Meet Robert Pecori
Robert Pecori, Esq.
I am proud to say that I am the third generation to practice in my family's firm. It has been a privilege to practice with my father and my grandfather, Emil Pecori, Sr., who taught me much of what I know about Estate Planning and Probate.
Beyond the law, my grandfather and father taught me how to be a gentleman and how to listen to people. These traits have served me well over my 23 years of practice. I often meet clients during challenging times in their lives and I view it as an honor that they allow me to help them through it.


text:
Last week I visited Sonoma California. It's a beautiful and quaint town in in the Sonoma Valley and a center for Californias wine industry. All that is well and good, maybe even wonderful but the draw for me is an exquisite little store, Chateau Sonoma. It's always an inspiration to visit there because they have the most unusual treasures. Their vast array of antiques from France are shown throughout their shop in the most beautifull vignettes. Typically they have a yearly 'French Flea Market' at the end of May, near memorial day weekend. They are joined buy other purveyors of French antiques to make it an event you won't want to miss!
It's probably slightly quirky but I have always wanted a Guignol Puppet theater. I came across one in France many years ago. It was in perfect condition, very expensive and forever etched in my memory. You can just imagine my surprise when I saw two last week though not in perfect condition they exuded the charm I love. And THEN I saw that they had an authentic reproduction of the Paris Opera complete with marionettes my heart almost stopped. It was up high and my photos don't do it justice but it is the pièce de résistance of 'magical' replicas. I can't help but wonder who it belonged to. If you are ever in Sonoma be sure to take the time to visit Chateau Sonoma it's brimming with charming objects every where you look.


text:
DIY Easter Basket for Your Dog
We wanted to show you how easy is can be to create an Easter basket for your dog or other fur kids! Children aren't the only ones who can enjoy a surprise from the Easter bunny and search for eggs hidden around the house! We started with an Easter basket and grass, which you can find at your local drug, grocery or craft store. For the goodies in the basket we have a variety of toys and treats we picked up at local pet stores, including Greenies from Your Pet Stop and treats from Northview Pet Food. To fill the Easter eggs, we made homemade dog treats in the shape of bones and bears. If you'd like to make these for your dog's Easter basket, here is the recipe: Dog Biscuits 2 ½ C. Whole Wheat Flour 2 Eggs 1 ¼ C. Pumpkin ¼ C. Water ½ Tsp. Cinnamon Mix all ingredients together. Flour counter & rolling pin. Roll out to ¼ inch thick. Cut out shapes. Bake 20 minutes at 350º. Keep in air tight container in the fridge. Arrange the toys, treats and goodies in the Easter basket and whoa-la, it's done! Hide Easter eggs throughout your house in places your dog can find easily. Their strong sense of smell will lead them to every treat-filled egg you have hidden. (Please watch your dog carefully as they search for eggs so they do not chew on or ingest any plastic eggs.) We also filled some little Easter baskets with homemade dog treats for our 4-legged friends and neighbors! Have fun making your pet's Easter basket! Share your basket ideas and tips in the comments or post photos on our facebook page! {Lori}


text:
The Watford Property BlogA great place for investors and homeowners to get updates on the local market as well as insider tips for selling, renting or managing your property.
Thank You 2018! Can't wait to help more people move in 2019!
Buy To Let Property of the Day! Trevellance Way – Watford
There has probably been a few less properties reach the market in the last few days for obvious reasons but here's one I've just had a look at....... https://youtu.be/f4x8209rbMs Check out the full details...read more
Property Inspections – Whatever the Weather!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S0VnSdXSJg&feature=youtu.beread more
How's The Market? (In Watford)
How's the Market? (in Watford) Here's a questions that I get asked more often than anything else. As I spend most of my time talking to landlords and investors I'll consider my answer from their point if view which is more likely to as a buyer rather than as a vendor....read more
Buy to Let opportunity on Chalk Hill – Watford
https://youtu.be/eFbVAbyo2tA Great opportunity for Buy To Let investors being advertised by the lovely people at Trend and Thomas. For full details jump onto rightmove - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52562241.htmlread more
Watford Unemployment Drops to 4.2% and its effect on the Watford Property Market
It was late May 2016, The Right Hon. Member for Tatton, Mr George Osborne, published an official HM Treasury analysis stating UK house prices would be lower by at least 10% (and up to 18%) by the middle of 2018 compared with what is expected if the UK remained in the...read more
£25.83bn – The total value of all Watford Property
"How much would it cost to buy all the properties in Watford?" This fascinating question was posed by the 11-year-old son of one of my Watford landlords before the Christmas break (doesn't that seem an age away now!). I thought to myself, that over the Christmas...read more
£88m a year black hole in the watford property market – is buy to let immoral? (part 2)
An Englishman's Home is His Castle as Maggie Thatcher lauded - everyone should own their own home. In 1971, around 50% of people owned their own home and, as the baby-boomers got better jobs and pay, that proportion of homeowners rose to 69% by 2001. Homeownership was...read more
Watford's private renting set to hit 12,526 households by 2021 – Is Buy to Let immoral? (Part 1)
Can we blame the 55 to 70-year-old Watford citizens for the current housing crisis in the town? Also known as the 'Baby Boomer Generation', these Watford people were born after the end of the Second World War as the country saw a massive rise in births as they slowly...read more
Watford OAP's sitting on £5.23 bn of Property
Watford people aged over 65 currently hold more housing wealth in their homes than the annual GDP of the whole of Luton … and this is a problem for everyone in Watford! Many retiree's want to move but cannot, as there is a shortage of such homes for mature people to...read more
Watford Semi Detached House Prices rise by 441% in 20 years
The semi-detached house with its bay windows and net curtains has long been ridiculed as an emblem of safe, lacklustre and desperately uncool suburban life; the homes of the likes of Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping up Appearances and more latterly Alan Partridge – but they...read more
Watford Property Market – Q4 Update
Well, hasn't 2016 been eventful. The ups and downs of Brexit, the Queen's 90th, Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, Trump, Bake Off to Channel 4 and something close to the hearts of every buy to let landlord and homeowner in Watford ... the Watford property market. So,...read more
Watford Landlords and Tenants : What does the Tenant Fee Banning order mean for you?
Tenant Fees set to banned within 12 to 18 months Rents due to rise as those fees passed to Landlords Landlords won't be worse off – and neither will tenants or agents With our new Chancellor of the Exchequer revealing a ban on tenant fees in his first Autumn Statement...read more
Watford First Time Buyers Are Paying 15.5% More Than 12 Months Ago
Figures recently released by the Bank of England, show that for the first half of 2016, £128.73bn was lent by UK banks to buy UK property - impressive when you consider only £106.7bn was lent in the first half of 2015. Even more interesting, was that most of the...read more
Grover Road (Bushey Station) VS Regent Street (Watford Junction)
I took a call from a local investor this week who was looking at two different properties and wanted a second opinion on them. He sent me the links to the two properties on Rightmove – which I'm happy for anyone considering a purchase to do – and asked me to weight up...read more
Watford's Property Market – One Week After The Referendum
If you're anything like me then your facebook feed is no doubt full of Brexit news, stories, anger or petition requests to get the vote re-counted and if I'm honest I've tried to avoid it for the last 24 hours as there is a lot of negativity going around. Of course...read more
50.3% of Watford Voters voted to leave the EU – What now for Watford's Landlords and Homeowners?
It was a very close call in Watford with just over half of the voters putting a cross in the leave box at the polling stations yesterday but today it has been announced that the UK will be leaving the EU. The final votes are in and it has come as quite a surprise as...read more
Whippendell Road (WD18) Vs Judge Street (WD24)
One of my clients is looking to make an addition to her rental portfolio and had been looking at a number of properties over the last few months. She's not bothered about the increased stamp duty and based on discussions we had prior to the increase she was of the...read more
What area should YOU be looking at for investment property in Watford?
There are so many things to consider when looking for your next investment property. One question I get asked on a regular basis is, "what area in Watford should I be looking to invest in." Much of the time that will come down to budget and quite importantly the type...read more
What's going on with house prices in Watford?
Hello Landlords of Watford! It's been a while since my last update so apologies to those who have missed my blog posts and thank you to those who have sent me a nice note and given me a bit of a kick up the backside to start writing some local information again! One...read more
Has the Watford property market screeched to a halt?
Hot off the press Zoopla's stats are out and have just come into my inbox. These figures include house price movement in the last 3, 6 & 12 months periods which is a handy way to gauge what's going on in the Watford property market right now. Zoopla is great for...read more
Bank of England Agent in Watford. What does he have to say about property here?
I ditched my normal Thursday morning breakfast meeting today to go to Watford's Chamber of Commerce meeting where specialist guest Alex Golledge - Deputy Agent form the Bank of England for the South East and East Anglia regions - was giving his view on interest rates....read more
Purpose Built or Converted Flats in Watford. Which makes the best buy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK4AfjGwEdA If you're in the office or can't turn the sound up then feel free to read the story below...... "This question pops up quite often when discussing the local market with investors and the answer often comes down to opinion....read more
1 Bed Flat in West Watford with Potential
Check out this 1 bed flat available for sale in West Watford through Purple Bricks for £235,000 This has caught my eye as the dates on the listing are strange. It's newly listed today although it says open house on 12th December. If I remember rightly this flat was...read more
Which part of Watford do you wish you had bought in last year?
I was having a chat to a landlord this morning. It started the same way most of my conversations do at the moment. "Do you think of the Stamp Duty increase will affect buyers?" "Are you trying to buy more property before April?" "Are you waiting to see what happens...read more
Can you get a great yield in Watford?
Following a recent conversation with a local landlord who was struggling to find a property in Watford with a great yield I asked another local landlord if they'd mind if I shared their recent success story and how they got a great yield in Watford. Although these...read more
Lovely 2 bed maisonette on Grove Mill Lane, Watford
So I've just stumbled across this lovely property that is being marketed by Hamptons International (Rickmansworth) and have to say, I love it! Now does the fact the I love it make it a great buy to let investment????? In a word........no. However if like me you like...read more
What does 2016 have in store for the Watford Property Market?
One week into January. Most of the decorations are down. The debauchery over Christmas has ended and people are starting to get their act together again. This might be health-wise, business-wise or perhaps investment-wise. I've had a number of calls in the last few...read more
I give this 3 days in Watford's busy property market…..
Check out this 3 bed terrace listed today by the team at Elliot Residential..... Obviously needs some from the pictures and the description but I think you could do it without breaking the bank. Popular size house. Popular area - right next to the highly sought after...read more
Could this be your next HMO in Watford?
One of the first properties I stumbled across this morning is this 3 bed semi-detached property being marketed by the guys at Open House. One quick look at the floor plan and I thought 'hmmm this might work as an HMO.' Here are the key contributing factors..... - 3...read more
1 bed flat – 5.5% yield
I get quite a few calls from people with budgets around the £200k mark which these days doesn't fetch you much in Watford That said, here's a nice example of an affordable 1 bed victorian conversion with off street parking being marketed by the lovely people at YOUR...read more
Could this 3 bed semi in North Watford represent a good investment?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ46IvXZBZo Check out this weeks video considering whether a 3 bed semi in North Watford represents a good investmentread more
Safe Buy To Let in North Watford – 4.5% yield
This is a typical terraced property being advertised by the lovely folks at Oak Estates. Now you may not get too excited about the 4.5% yield but in Watford that is pretty good as it's getting harder and harder to find properties with the elusive higher yields. This...read more
Everything In Watford Rents!
Every so often I'm asked by a 1st time landlord "Will I find tenants for my property?" My answer to this question is always, without question, a big fat YES! I then proceed to tell the landlord that everything in Watford rents which leaves them looking a little...read more
1 Bedroom Flat. Great Location in Watford. 4.8% yield
Just stumbled upon this 1 bed flat on Grosvenor Road Watford being marketed by Orchid Estate Agents. I'm not sure if the photos does it justice actually as I think this could be a lovely flat. As a conversion it looks like it's pretty spacious and I think £225,000 is...read more
I Just Love Property! Especially The Watford Property Market.
I decided to go a little off piste today with this blog. There have been a couple of occasions in the last week where I've been asked both directly and indirectly "why?" I do what I do and what makes me tick? So here's a relatively brief answer….. I've always been...read more
Redevelopment in Watford…..How will it effect property?
This isn't my first post about redevelopment in Watford in it's more than likely it wont be my last with the £1.5 billion planned spend on our lovely town. Well....I say lovely....but it is tired in places so it's great news to hear that money is being spent on it....read more
What About The Rental Yield In Watford?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10bBpyBqUY If you're not so keen on watching video blogs - especially if you're at work! Please the write-up below..... Following last week's article about property prices in Watford and how they had increased £1583 per month over the...read more
Property Prices in Watford have increased £1583 per month
Thought I'd try something a little different this week.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcTKWf556Zsread more
Vicarage Rd – 3 Bed Terrace – back on the market. Could this be your next HMO?
I drove passed this house a few days ago and noticed that the SOLD sign had been removed from one of the agents boards. Having just jumped onto Rightmove it would appear that Warren Anthony have indeed re-marketed the property from 28th September. Here's what is looks...read more
WD18 Vs WD24 – Where would you invest?
I was having a chat with a first time property investor yesterday about where they should be spending their money when it comes to property investment in Watford. They weren't that fussy about what type of property it was and had looked at a few different areas. They...read more
2 bed flat – North Western Avenue – 5.7% yield
Ok so this flat is not the most attractive from the outside being advertised by Your Move but we have to remember as investors that we must buy with our heads and not our hearts. To be fair, this would probably look a hell of a lot better if the picture was taken on a...read more
Auction Property – Vicarage Road – Watford!
Check out this opportunity. 3 bed terrace on vicarage road with plenty of potential. Listed yesterday with Marcus Barnard with an auction 'guide price' of £275,000. There are a couple of options for this property. Refurnish and rent as a single let to a family....read more
Good deals don't hang around long in Watford…
On the 14th of September I posted this opportunity for a buy to let investor: 1 Bed Flat in Holywell Road It looks like it's sold subject to contract already! For anyone that's been looking for a while this will come as no surprise. In the current market you have to...read more
Nice looking 1bed flat in Holywell Road – West Watford 5.1% yield
Nice looking 1 bed flat on Holywell Road - West Watford put on the market just before the weekend by Warren Anthony. If rented at around £895 you'd be looking at a 5.1% yield. You could potentially get more for this too. No expensive service charges on this one...read more
Should I be getting more for my rental property in Watford?
Most weeks one of my blog readers will call me to talk about the Watford Property market and ask me about how much they should be receiving in rent for their existing rental property in Watford. I took a call last week from a local property investor who is doing all...read more
Watford Property Prices Set To Increase 24.8%
There has been a fair bit of bad news recently for landlords, I'm mainly referring to the reduced tax relief on buy-to-let mortgages. I'm not going to write about this today as I've already mentioned it in another blog but it's not all bad news for landlords at the...read more
Is there an opportunity here? Brixton Road 2-3 beds.
People keep telling me they can't find the right property in Watford. But are you looking hard enough.... Is there some potential in this 2 bed terrace on Brixton Rd being advertised by Colin Dean for £325,000? Have a look at the full details here: BRIXTON ROAD 2 BED...read more
Shakespear St 4.6% Yield.
This is a nice property in great condition on Shakespear St. WD24 being marketed by the guys at Harry Charles You could rent this out for £1,250 in it's current condition which would achieve you a 4.6% yield and you would rent it out very quickly. It would...read more
"I just can't find a Buy-To-Let property deal in Watford!"
As you can imagine I speak to a fair few property investors and landlords each week to discuss the local market, what's going on, where to buy and what to buy. The answer to these questions is different for everyone but it's a fairly simple process to find your answer...read more
"I'm an investor. Should I go for a 2 bed or a 3 bed terrace in Watford?"
One of my blog readers emailed me over the weekend to ask whether they should buy a 2 bed terrace or a 3 bed terrace in Watford. They were sure they wanted a freehold rather than leasehold property but weren't sure whether to go for 2 or 3 bedrooms. The first question...read more
Mortgage Interest Relief for Buy To Let Investors
OK. So this isn't a post about the local market but whether you are currently an investor or thinking about becoming one this stuff REALLY is important! I've discussed this topic with a number of my landlords and to be honest it's best to have it explained by and...read more
90 days in the Watford Property Market
I often get asked by investors, "So what's going on in the Watford property market at the moment?" and sometime I'm not sure if they are prepared for my lengthy response! But as I do get asked this question quite a lot I thought it might be worth having a look at the...read more
Investment Opportunity! Park Road, Nascot Wood, Watford. £250k
I can't help but have a look when I see the words 'INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY' highlighted within a local agents summary on Rightmove. This flat looks spacious, in reasonable condition although a new kitchen wouldn't hurt. It's in a fantastic popular location in Nascot...read more
Solid 2 bed terrace. 4.4% yield
If you are looking for high yields then this one probably isn't for you but there is plenty of potential for growth here with these terraced properties being so popular with both investors and first time buyers. We could rent this easily for £1200 per month which...read more
Gross Yield Vs Net Yield
I was talking about rental yields in Watford to a local landlord friend mine the other day who is a self-confessed accidental landlord. He inherited his investment property from his parents who died a few years ago. They lived in a typical 3-bed terrace on Benskin...read more
It's no suprise to see Watford at the top of this list!
Check out this article in the Telegraph. No wonder investors are snapping up property so rapidly in this area! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/buying-selling-moving/11780834/Revealed-the-most-in-demand-Tube-stop-for-house-buyers-isnt-even-in-London.htmlread more
They asked me where the cheapest streets in Watford were. So I told them.
I really do enjoy my regular conversations with landlords or investors which often go a little bit like this: "Where is my next deal going to come from James?" or "Where should I be buying next?" or "What should I buy next?" My first answer is often "I can't answer...read more
1 bed flat in WD24 – Watford. 5.6% yield
Just having a look at this 1 bed flat in North Watford marketed by the folks at Taylors. Assuming you can achieve around £800 per month for the flat you would be looking at a 5.6% yield which is very good! Check out the full description on Rigthmove here: 1 Bed Flat -...read more
Perhaps not your conventional buy-to-let property in Watford but…..
Just doing my usual daily browse around the portals and found this Semi up for sale with Claytons at £350k+ For full details check out it out on Rightmove HERE You could convert the garage, go 2 stories on the side, extend the back and go into the roof. So many...read more
Will development in Watford affect the local property market?
A few weeks ago I was invited to speak at a Barclays buy to let evening they were holding for their premier account holders. A number of property industry experts were invited to explain a little about what they do and how they could help the investors in the room. So...read more
Flip this Watford property for a profit?
Although most of the conversations I tend to have are about rental yield, many of my client would love to flip properties too. I just stumbled across this 4 bed house on Mildred Avenue which needs a complete refurb but has been priced accordingly. If you are...read more
1 Bed Flat in Yarmouth Rd – 5.6% yield!
Check out this great little buy to let property in Watford. It's a very nice 1 bed flat being marketed by Imagine at £205,000. Based on the pictures alone I'd say you could achieve £950 per month for this one which gives you an appealing yield of 5.6%. Close to the...read more
Watford properties show over 400% increase since 1996
There has been a lot of talk this year about the increase in value of properties in Watford and the surrounding areas. Not so long ago we looked at some interesting and current insights when comparing both 1 and 2 bed properties. But it has to be said that property...read more
Chester Road WD18 VS Cecil Street WD24
Last week I took a call from one of my blog readers. Although she wanted to pick my brains about specific areas and where might be the best place for her to buy, she actually had very good local knowledge and knew a lot about the developments going on in town and some...read more
Which properties are selling in Watford?
The newspapers are regularly filled with stories about how property prices are rocketing upwards, when will the next crash happen, how first time buyers are being priced out of the market. We love to read these stories because after our favourite topic of...read more
Croxley Rail Link Green Light. Property Investors Red Light?
The Croxley Rail link is a hot topic locally and a subject that I have been discussing personally with Watford property investors for quite some time now. The big question for the landlords/investors I have been speaking to is what difference the project will make to...read more
Great little property near Watford Junction just £265k
Check out this delightful little 2 bed terrace on Nevill Grove, WD24 being marketed by the people at Taylors. Its becoming more and more difficult to find terraces with this kind of price tag in this area and properties are being snapped up for £10k above the asking...read more
Could this be your next HMO in Watford?
I was just having a browse on Rightmove to see what's out there and stumbled across this 3 bed house on Princes Avenue being marketed by the team at Elliots for £369,950. I seem to be getting asked a lot of questions about this type of property at the moment and...read more
2 Bed Penthouse Flat in Central Watford. Just £259,950
This is a cracking little 2 bed 2 bath duplex apartment being marketed by Dey, King and Haria. This is right in the centre of town but also walking distance to the Junction Station so would rent out instantly. There is also a bit of a cache to being in a penthouse so...read more
Investors in Watford are nuts not considering the Knutsford Estate!
Most of the investors I talk to are looking for smaller units for their property investments. This is because they are cheaper to buy and usually provide a better yield and hence a better return on investment. But it is worth considering the larger properties too. I...read more
2 bed flat off Queens Road, Watford. New Build. Close to Station. 5.2% yield!
Check out this 2 bed flat just of Queens. It's a new build in a very popular area for young professionals/commuters. It's a stones throw from the station and is currently being marketed by Imagine for £255,000. Now it's not the largest 2 bed flat out there and there...read more
It's all about the HMO's in Watford
The Buy to Let market in Watford is booming at the moment but choosing the right property for you can be a bit of a minefield. HMO's are something that I get asked about quite a lot and if you're not familiar with the term it means 'House in Multiple Occupation.'...read more
Weekly Wednesday tax tips. Number 4.
You must insure your property with the right insurance. This is not simply buildings and contents insurance. It must be Landlord Insurance. There are loads of options out there and a good broker will help you work out the right options for you. The great news is...read more
Quirky 3 bed flat on Water Lane. 6% yield
This 3 bed flat on water land is being marketed by Proffitt and Holt for £249,950 and for the money it looks like you get quite a lot of flat! That said it's hard to tell exactly what this place is like as there aren't enough photos! If you look at the floor plan then...read more
Regent Street Terrace. 4.8% yield. Great buy!
Here's a great property to add to your buy to let portfolio that is being marketed by Quest for £310,000. This is a really decent sized terrace so the price is good. It's in a great area for rental, close to the station so appealing to professionals and would achieve...read more
Watford, Watford, Watford! Why invest anywhere else?
If you're a regular reader then you may have guessed by now that I'm passionate about my local area. I like to know what's going on and where so I can pass this information onto my landlords/investors so they can make better informed decisions. One of the things I get...read more
Weekly Wednesday tax tips. Number 3.
Maintenance costs are on the most frustrating things as a landlord but keeping on top of your maintenance will look after your property over the long term and look after your investment. Most maintenance costs can be claimed against your taxable income so don't worry...read more
Lovely little terrace on Acme Road 4.8% yield
Here we have a staple Watford property investment being marketed by the good people at Connells. This type of property is very popular with investors due to it being freehold rather than leasehold so no service charges of course. They are also very popular with...read more
37% increase in average asking price for flats in Watford
If you're not keeping a close eye on the property market at the moment and you own rental property in Watford then you could be in for a pleasant surprise when you get it valued. I bumped into a client of mine last week who has a couple of flats that we manage for him...read more
3 bed terrace on Bradshaw Road – 5.3% Yield
Here we have a rare 2/3 bed terrace in a very popular area in Watford being marketed for £270,000 by Coopers. First these houses passed the £250k mark. Now they have passed the £270k mark and are difficult to find for any less. This is a nice example of a...read more
Wednesday weekly tax tips. Number 2
Very simple: You can offset your Letting Agents Fees against your rental income. Make sure you do!read more
There are no 'Flipping' property deals in Watford!
Before I get any unhappy comments about the profanity in my headline I should tell you that this week I'm talking about flipping properties for profit. i.e. Buying, refurbishing (or not) and re-selling and making some money in the process. Hang on a minute I hear you...read more
Wednesday Weekly Tax Tips. Number 1.
Welcome to our weekly Wednesday Tax Tips! Number 1: The wear and tear allowance This is an allowance that HMRC offers landlords who have fully furnished properties to make it simpler to work out the cost of wear and tear in furnished properties. Note: the word...read more
Kingswood Estate prices out of control with 31% Year on Year increase!
Most of the investors I speak to are looking for certain types of property in the obvious areas in Watford. And to be honest they have a good reason to do so. WD18 and WD24 are the most popular areas due to their proximity to town, the young professionals market that...read more
Have local investors missed the 'Oxhey Village' Boat?
Following my December Newsletter Simon, a local design consultant got in touch with me to ask about house prices in Oxhey Village. He'd bought a property there in 2012 and said that prices appeared to have gone through the roof in that area. This got me thinking...read more
2 bed flat off North Orbital Road. 6.3% yield
Whilst browsing the portals for some favourable Watford property investments I came across this 2 bed flat just off the North Orbital Road being marketed by Harry Charles for a steal at £179,950. It may not seem quite as attractive as some of the newly build 2 bed...read more
2 bed flat in Nascot Wood. 5.6% yield
This is a lovely flat that has plenty of period features being marketed by the folks at Oak Estates for £289,950. I really don't think the pictures on this one do it any justice and would suggest if this is in your price bracket it could be well worth the investment....read more
Are service charges prohibitive for Watford's property investors?
I had an interesting email from fellow property investor, leasehold expert and property manager Bernie Wales after one of my recent Watford property investment updates. Bernie asked my thoughts about the Chiswell Court development on the corner of Sandown Road and...read more
One excellent purchase for one lucky investor!
I posted this lovely property on Souldern Street up about 2 months ago that was on the market for sale @ £275,000. https://caleyandco.com/general/deal-of-friday-lovely-terraced-house-on/ It sold quickly and looks like it has made it's way back onto the rental market...read more
3 Bed terrace on Judge Street. £279,950
It would appear that terraces of this proportion are going for this kind of price now and actually if you look at some of the others on the market this on is at the cheaper end of the scale. It's being marketed by Oak Estates as 3 bed property for £279,000 but it...read more
2 bed semi in central Watford – 4.9% yield
This is a nice looking 2 bed semi being marketed by the purple army - Imagine. At first glance it might seem a little expensive for a 2 bed house but that's just the way prices are going at the moment! You could rent a property of this quality for £1,295 which gives...read more
Merry Christmas
Just wanted to say thank you to all of the followers of this blog this year. We've had a frantic end to the year and will be closing down for a few days over Christmas so wish you all a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. I look forward to helping you all...read more
What's the most popular housing stock in Watford?
Watford is full of investors looking for their next property to buy regardless of whether it's a flat, small house or larger residence that they can chop up into rooms lets. It's clear we are in an area where the property market is currently performing very well which...read more
1 bed Flat. Leavesden Road. 6.2% yield!
This property is being marketed for £152,500 by a couple of agents including Imagine and McDonald and Lloyd. It's very simple. It has already been refurbished so you could get a tenant straight in for a minimum of £795 giving this flat a nice yield of 6.2%....read more
2 Bed Flat. 5.2% yield. Safe investment.
This is a nice flat in a nice block in a cracking location making it very easy to find quality professional tenants. It's being marketed by Imagine for £285,000 and was first listed a couple of weeks ago. As Christmas is coming up and people are thinking less about...read more
Investing in Watford's micro-community. The Square.
I was at a networking event this morning meeting new people as you do and bumped into one of my lovely local neighbours (hello Paul!). He lives in The Square in Watford, as do I, and we were discussing what a lovely little micro-community it was. It's not an area you...read more
1 Bed flat on Rochester Drive. Potential yield of 6.2%
Here's an interesting 1 bed investment opportunity being marketed by Your Move for £155,000. It's for sale by informal tender which means you have to put a bid in within the next 6 days. If you can bag this for anywhere near the bargain guide price then you would get...read more
2 bed flat near Watford Junction with an impressive 6% yield.
As flats go in Watford there are some lovely one and some ugly ones! Both types can be good for investors. This flat is a good example of a middle of the range 2 bed flat that is offered for sale by Harry Charles for a VERY reasonable £210,000. It would rent for...read more
Watford, Bushey, Rickmansworth. Which town will pass the affordability test?
A landlord gave me a call last week to discuss the affordability of property in Watford and the surrounding areas. It was quite convenient really as I'd been looking into affordability the same week so had some interesting figures to reveal to him. With the...read more


text:
Bias Strip Piecing On The Curve
Get your bias-strip curve on and celebrate your mistakes! Learn the innovative ruler-free technique of bias-strip piecing on the curve, how to troubleshoot and flatten internal bubbles as they arise. Learn to create wedge-curves along with a variety of options for utilizing both techniques in fixed patterns or improvised compositions. This is an advanced technique that takes time to master, pushing you to the brink of beginner's mind. Imagine the possibilities!
Click here to view the class supply list.


text:
Brainstorming is a common way of getting a group of people to generate ideas. However, they can be overused and/or badly used. A good brainstorm should be thoughtfully planned with a well-framed question. Take a look at our tips on how to run a successful brainstorming session.
This is a tool used in guided conversation between a "first listener" (a catalyst) and the ideas person (the practical innovator).
When ideas are submitted, it's the role of the catalyst or manager to sit with the innovator and help them think through the idea. This is a very good way to refine ideas when they come through an ideas management system or even before they go into it.
This conversation is a sure way to improve the quality of the ideas that are submitted. It provides the chance to test the viability of an idea, clarify the problem and the impact wanted, and even to improve or change the idea so it will work better.
When employees are asked to come up with ideas, use the sheet during the necessary conversation. Download your copy of the Catalyst Chat Sheet.
Change the Question is a tool that will help you come up with new opportunities simply by changing the questions you ask.
It is very easy to get stuck in patterns of thinking which have been defined by existing situations and assumptions. This activity prompts different questions and usually different answers. The answers themselves may not be the right ones, but they should open up some new thinking. Take a look at the activity sheet.
To really understand customer needs you need to see the other person's world the way they see it, appreciate the other person as a human being, understand how the other person feels and look for things that frustrate and delight. Download our Customer Tools for help with understanding your customers' unmet or unarticulated needs.
Does your organisation's culture foster and recognise innovations and innovators from all levels and parts of the organisation?
Is it easy for all employees to implement new ways of doing things and doing new things?
This guide is for those who have learned that people—employees—are an organisation's most valuable resource for developing a positive climate for innovation. It will provide an overview of changing the innovation climate in your organisation by inspiring your employees to engage in innovation so you get successful innovation as well as enhanced performance.
This template provides guidelines for a qualitative assessment of your organisation's performance in innovation. The assessment process uses as benchmarks an adaptation of Darrell Mann's internationally recognised Innovation Capability Maturity Model, aligned to the Hargraves Institute's Principles of Innovation, as they apply to The Catalyst Approach and the Innovator Recognition Program (IRP®).
Things that get measured, get done. Download our metrics process that will help you develop your own metrics scorecard.
This tool has been designed for you to gather evidence for recognition or credentials. It will also help you think through your next steps in your career progression. It captures important experiences so that you can use them in interviews to show evidence of innovation, collaboration, team work and so on; kick start the recognition process or apply for a credential.
When you have completed a project, or implemented an innovation, work through the questions and take notes on the map. Download your copy of our Mindset Map.
Other Views is a tool that will help you get different perspectives. Considering an idea from other perspectives can increase and improve the ideas generated, because people are being forced to think differently. Our activity sheet will show you how you can do this.
It's followed by an exercise "What Would Steve Jobs Do?", where you have to come up with solutions and ideas from the perspective of a well-known innovator or leader. This is a good way to help people think "big and different". Download the activity and exercise sheets.
Pitch Perfect is a guideline that will help to get team members to think through the audience perspective when they are pitching an idea. When presenting ideas people often think about what they want to say rather than what the audience (often decision makers) wants to hear. This activity provides some key questions to consider before the presentation.
Find Your Message is a model that will help you establish a clear and concise summary of an idea. In presenting an idea, the presenter needs to be certain of the message behind the idea that s/he is delivering, in order to make a positive and convincing impact. Download both activity sheets.
Download this useful tool that will help you think through the best way to test your idea.
This tool can be used to make decisions about which concepts are going to be the most effective for your business. When you have a lot of ideas you need a way to systematically work through them to decide which ones have potential now, later, in different circumstances, or not at all. Take a look at our Traffic Light Filter worksheet, it will show you how to use it and provide tips on getting the best results.
It's very important to trial quickly and comprehensively. Make sure there is room for refinement and change. Download this template and it will help you plan an evaluation of your innovation.
Download this exercise that will help you decide how to get the best user feedback when testing your idea.