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"Design is too complex for one liners." Bertjan Pot
When I met Bertjan Pot for the first time last year at Moooi's Unexpected Welcome extravaganza in Tortona, I had kept him waiting for more than half an hour due to a misunderstanding with the interview times. Instead of receiving a cold and unresponsive interview in retaliation for my lateness, Pot chatted away for over an hour. With typical good humour and humility Bertjan Pot laughed at how small his first solo show was. "My first solo exhibition anywhere in the world was in Sydney with Sarah King at The School's Gallery Oh. The entire exhibition was just one of my masks - but it was just me on show"! Here is a transcript of the interview that shows that not all Dutch design is serious and conceptual - some of it is just for fun.
Q: How did your masks come about?
A: Sometimes I start the day with making a mask. The nice thing about the masks is that I get a lot of feedback from people who have seen them, telling me that I should look at the masks of different traditional groups like the Inuit or the tribes of New Guinea or some other primitive group. So it's great that they have created such an enthusiastic response. My technique for making the masks is pretty primitive. It's really just me taking some yarn and rope and stitching them together on the sewing machine. If you don't have a n injection moulding machine and you have to use primitive means to create what you wan to make – just like the people in Africa or New Zealand or wherever. You know the Inuit only had what was washed up on the shore because there are no trees growing there so if they needed wood they have to search and find it.
If you have these sorts of restrictions then you get primitive results. In a way my masks are just a clumsy, primitive technique and they just turn out that way. If I make a mask they invariably look African because it's about primitive means.
I once made a model of an interior that I had designed and I wanted a little rug to go in the model, along with a model sofa and so forth, so I set about making one. I work a lot with wooden models that I make in a scale of 1 : 10. I tried to just cut a piece of fabric in the right sort of size and shape but it didn't work so I started stitching some fine rope together and it looked really cool as a carpet. I still had that sample a few years later and I had a lot of rope left over from a rope sofa I made for the Tilburg Textile Museum, so I decided I'd try to make a very big carpet using the same technique. It wasn't working because it wouldn't stay flat - rising up in the centre so I decided to quit when it was still just a couple of feet across. Just then my assistant came along and said - "Oh, that would make a brilliant mask" and that was it. From then on I've been making masks when the mood strikes me.
Q: How did you come to be into sewing?
A: When I was fourteen I used to make a lot of kites and I had a kite buggy. And to save money I used to make my kites myself - well at first I got my mother to sew them until one day she got fed up with that and told me to make my own! So I learnt to sew and still really like the technique.
Q: It's interesting that you like these crafty techniques but are able to design quite hi tech things too – like the 'Heracleum' light for Moooi.
A: Well actually the hi tech part was all Marcel Wanders. I just developed the shape. I had this idea of where a bundle of stick-like branches are split then split again ending up like leaves on the end of a branch. Marcel investigated that concept but at a certain point the soldering cost to join all the wiring together would get so high that it wouldn't be feasible. So a while later Marcel came to the studio to the studio to talk about the project and by the end of him describing what the problems were with the design as it existed I knew exactly what he was intending to do to resolve the problem - dip it in two layers of metal that would conduct the electricity to power the lights at the end - this way there was no wiring so it looked better and was possible to produce for a reasonable cost. He developed his patented LED sandwich technology for the light and he now has his own light that uses this same technique; the 'Ink' chandelier. I don't see it as hi-tech - it doesn't use any microchips or anything like that. I think it's just clever.
Q: Where did your fascination with fabric come from?
A: I have a new product - a light that is made on a Jacquard machine. Jacquard has been around for a long time - normally it's controlled by cards with holes in them - sort of like early computer programs and the fabric has a mirror image of one design to make up the fabric's full width. But with this particular machine every thread on the loom is connected to a servomotor and is programmed by a computer. So every one of the 3600 and something threads can be pulled up or down while weaving. It's the same machine we use to create the 'Font of the Loom' products. It's double weaving and I first got fascinated by this technique when my partner bought a scarf in Japan that was mostly grey but went to white and to black in parts without any joins. It was all woven on the same machine at the same time so I had to research into how this was possible.
With the light, what is really interesting is that we have to weave two very different fabrics at the same time in to this pocket shape. Three colours of yarn go in - one is a thick white, one is silver and one is a thin white. The top fabric layer is thick white on the top but silver on the bottom to reflect the light and the thin white forms the bottom of the pocket. But the beauty of the weave is that you don't have to sew the edges together or glue anything - it's all woven into the final shape with the right combination of reflective silver interior and a white exterior. At one point we were doing quadruple weaves like tunnels and things like that but in the end it all got too complicated and it seemed better just to produce one pocket with everything in there.
Q: How do you approach proportion?
A: Every material has it's own 'right' appearance. For me the technique often comes first then the appearance comes later, so that depending on the technique it could end up big fat and blobby or thin and fragile. I like both! I did the 'Slim' table with Dutch brand Arco, then five years later we did the 'Fat' table because it was an exploration of the opposite concept. When we did the 'Slim' table I approached Arco with the idea that rather than make a really thin table in wood where the table needs to be reinforced with steel, why not just veneer the steel directly. So Arco did some research and came back with a cardboard honeycomb material inside steel sheet that they could then veneer with real timber. It was super strong but only 20 mm thick and could be 3.6 metres long with just four very slim legs at each corner. It was Arco who solved the problem I just planted the seed.
Q: Your early success came through the use of resin and fiber in the 'Random' light and the 'Carbon' chair, are you tempted to do more in that material?
A: Once in a while I still think about doing something because I still have all those materials in my studio and carbon fiber is really quite scarce now. It's actually a very nice and simple technique but on the other hand I wouldn't start with composites in that way again because of their environmental impact. For the chairs that are already out there it's fine and I hope people never throw them out but I don't know that I would accept a commission in carbon fiber or fiberglass these days because it's non-recyclable. But in regards to those early products of mine, I did them myself because I didn't have factories that wanted to work with me at that stage and so now I'm more likely to use bio resins and do things with a producer. When I was exploring carbon fiber in the early 2000's, I had designed the 'Random chair' - a low lounge chair - then I wanted to see whether it would work as a dining chair on a high base, so rather than design something myself, I just copied the Eames 'Eiffel' tower base as a test. There were only two of those chairs ever made. I think I just liked the opportunity to give it a funny name - 'Carbon copy'. They were bought by a museum and I have never had any complaints from the Eames family. After I knew it would work in this form I designed a new base and the chair was put into production by Moooi. You can't actually copy metal in carbon fiber anyway as the material needs to use different methods of connection and it ends up a different shape - you can't cut and weld, you have to have a continuous flow of the material.
Q: You mainly work for Dutch companies. Why is that?
A: The types of products I design need regular visits to the factory for me to develop the manufacturing process, so for that reason they are all in Holland.
Even the 'Jumper' chair for the British company Established & Sons is made in Holland! I had a few attempts with Italian companies but I found that they felt that a designer's drawing was etched in stone - that it was a masterpiece that they had to faithfully reproduce. I don't really work that way. I prefer a much more collaborative approach. Some designers are good at presenting a finished design that is totally resolved. I need help from others who know the manufacturing processes to get the most out of my ideas. Some of my ideas a re a bit clumsy or far-fetched and so talking it over with the manufacturer can help you find a new improved solution. I usually make my designs as 1 : 10 scale models - I don't do a lot of sketching but I'm often asked for drawings after the fact. It's easy to draw up something once you've worked it all out and make yourself look like a genius.
Q: Can you tell me a about the brand DHPH that you collaborate with?
A: Well, Bas Den Herder, who is the DH in DHPH (which stands for Den Herder Production House), used to make all the stuff for Maarten Baas and Maarten used to be my neighbour in Eindhoven when I was studying there. So we go back a far way. Since 2005 the two of them have been working together under the name Baas & den Herder, with Maarten designing and Bas heading up the production of the pieces which are mostly handmade in small batches. Bas was interested in working with other designers and created DHPH in 2012 as an outlet for other things he found interesting. He had seen the ladder light I did for a restaurant near where I live. Originally there were just four that I made myself – just for this restaurant. The 'Downstairs Light' as it's now called is basically hand made - we buy in a particular aluminium ladder and drill a lot of holes in it and fit a lot of LED lights. I enjoy talking with Bas and mulling over what his company should be like - its product placement and how it is presented in Milan and so forth. I'm not the art director of the brand but I'm involved in a lot of discussions with Bas about the products and the brand's direction. I had designed a product with Moooi in mind way back in 2003 but it proved to be too expensive for them because of the amount of handwork involved. The 'Disco Dome' is a pendant light that uses small mirrors like on a disco ball but these are placed on the inside. DHPH re-launched it last year and this year we introduced the 'Disco Dish' - a floor light version using the same technique and materials.
These days disco balls are all made in China - otherwise they would be way too expensive - but we make these lights in Holland. There is a method to making them - you don't glue the mirror pieces in individually, they are placed in strips.
Q: On your website you have divided up your projects by some interesting groupings like Tricks & Flicks, Plain & Simple , Rough & Ready, Maths & Physics and of course, Disco. Why?
A: I have regular categories too - its just an alternative way to browse the website. Grouping things by product categories is fine for some people but this method of grouping produces an interesting family of products. I think it's more fun that people can see all our shiny and silver products in one go if they go into the Disco category!
Q: Humour seems indelibly attached to your work - do you think this is the case?
A: I like to keep it playful. For me it's a way of being more open. If you take things to seriously it blocks out other possibilities but if you keep joking about things it's so much more inspirational to keep the composition open. If you try to be funny in conversation it can go everywhere where if you try to be serious you end up going down one path. I don't make jokes for jokes sake however. If the joke washes off there should still be a good product underneath.
For more information on the wild and wonderful world of Bertjan Pot, visit his website.


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I remember reading a history book many years ago about the significance of the Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. If the Persians (and boy did they outnumber the Athenians), lead by Darius, had won that day, the world as we know it today would look quite different.
Ten years later, the Persians, this time lead by Darius' son Xerxes, would return and burn down the Acropolis. But the city had been evacuated in time to save countless lives. And the Athenians, backed by other Greek city states, including Sparta (see Zach Snyder's 300 documentary lol! for context), again defeated the Persians. During the next 80 years, democracy, drama, philosophy, science, and art, flourished, not to mention the completion of one of the most ambitious architectural programs, envisioned by Pericles and executed by Phidias, in all of western history.
We didn't get a chance to visit Marathon, where a mound still exists marking the spot where 192 Athenians lost their lives (and where 6,400 Persians perished.) But we climbed to the top of the Acropolis to see what remains of those buildings.
But our visit to Athens, where we spent both our first and last nights during our 10-day trip to Greece, began at the Hotel Grande Bretagne.
This was a bit of splurge but let me tell you, there are no regrets. After flying across the Atlantic on an Air Canada Rouge flight, which was direct (amazing) but very spartan (not baller), being greeted like we were Zeus and Hera at the hotel felt very good.
We hit the ground running, literally to the top of the Acropolis. I think we somehow entered it by the back door. We ascended through little pathways lined with homes where actual Athenians lived.
Then all of a sudden, there was the Propylaea, the grand entranceway to the Acropolis, looming above. I got choked up. I was finally there.
The lineup for tickets was long–but it was the only one we'd encounter during our entire trip.
Of note: The Parthenon is still under restoration. The Erechtheion and its caryatid porch, is looking pretty good. Legend has it that Athens got its name after Athena and Poseidon battled it out to have the city named after them. Poseidon promised control of the sea. Athena offered the land. Poseidon threw down his trident into a rock here, scorching it. And Athena struck that rock with her spear and an olive tree burst forth. I couldn't find the rock but there is an olive tree. However, I don't think it's the same one. The Temple of Athena Nike is as charming as I hoped, even though it's a reconstruction. This is the mythical spot from which Theseus' father Aegeus hurled himself after Theseus forgot to put up his white sail when returning from Crete, like he promised, to let his pop know that he was alive. When Aegeus saw the black sail he thought the Minotaur got the better of his son.
After visiting the relatively new Acropolis museum, which is just as good as everyone says, I lead us on a hunt to find the Pnyx. This is the spot where like democracy actually happened: where there was a speaker's platform and from 507 B.C., after Cleisthenes transferred power to the people, where people like Deomosthenes and Pericles actually spoke! Only we couldn't find it. Instead we climbed to the top of a the Hill of the Nymphs (appropriate) and had a pretty nice view of the Acropolis.
True story: we were about a 1oo meters away from the Pnyx but because we turned right rather than left, we ended up in the Agora!
The only bit of research the Beast had done for the trip was to print out a map to the shop of a celebrity sandal maker called The Poet. Clients have included: Sofia Lauren, Barbra Streisand, Jackie Onassis, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Joe Biden's wife and daughter? We were both outfitted in 30 minutes with beautiful leather sandals. I went with the Olympia model, he with the Cyclades.
We'd beaten jet lag because it was around 7:00 p.m. and we hadn't stopped, even to eat. No joke. We drank lots of water but, for the first time in my life, I wasn't thinking about food. But when we passed Tzitzikas & Mermigas, which a few people had recommended, including the hotel, we stopped for a delightful meal. This is where we had our first sip of Assyrtiko, the Santorini white wine varietal that we had almost every day thereafter. Also, the Beast fell in love with Cretan rusk salad here, which is very similar to the Italian panzanella, only it has feta.
Just as we paid our bill, it started to rain. Then it started to pour. Then we ran back to our hotel, less than 800 meters away, finding coverage under modern stoas and hugging and laughing like we were in a romantic comedy.
It was a perfect day.
Our Athenian adventure continued nine days letter when we checked back into the Grande Bretagne after our Peloponnesian road trip, and adventures in Crete and Santorini. And it started like a dream: when we went to the front desk, they said: "Mrs. Allen you've been upgraded to the sixth floor with butler service and from a classic room to a deluxe."
Check in continued on the sixth floor, where we met head butler George and his colleague Eri. Another couple, who looked like movie stars and had been on our flight from Santorini to Athens, were checking in ahead of us. The man did all the talking, including asking about the gym (what an idiot) and whether the hotel owner was in (it was a Sunday…idiot) because he had a business proposition while the woman sat in silence with sunglasses on. We were all offered glasses of Veuve Clicquot. They declined (IDIOTS). We did not. Of note: yes, they were upgraded to the sixth floor too, but not to a deluxe room like us. We won the upgrade competition even though they were far better looking!
It was 4:00 p.m., which didn't leave much time to explore the National Archaeological museum, so we just did the greatest hits, including the bronze Zeus (some say Poseiden) and the so-called mask of Agamemnon from Mycenae. I also took photos of Amazons defeating Greeks #DownWithThePatriarchy.
Then we strolled by the Temple of Zeus, the largest in Greece, apparently, which took 700 years to finish and then, like every other damn temple, came crumbling down. Just beyond the temple is the Arch of Hadrian from about 132 A.D., which makes it practically new in this damn ancient city. On one side an inscription reads: This is Athens, once the city of Theseus, and on the other, This is the city of Hadrian, not Theseus, a subtle reminder about who was in charge now.
From here, we walked through the Plaka, and were inundated with dinner invitations. But we had a plan: drinks at Brettos, the oldest distillery in Athens. I picked up four bottles of wine here: two Assyrtiko, a Moscofilerio (a white grown in the Peloponnese), and a Kormilitsa, which is grown on Mount Athos, where, oddly, women are not allowed. Another oddity: this wine is the official wine of the Kremlin. Also, we saw a Miranda July lookalike at Brettos, which was pretty funny to us at the time.
I'd been embarrassed to ask George and Eri about what we hoped to find for dinner: gyros. We'd been in Greece for 10 days and hadn't had one yet. But still, is this what butler service at a luxury hotel entails? Turns out they were over the moon with our inquiry and told us that Bairaktaris was their favourite spot. Yes, there would be tourists, but it was damn fine food. And oh gods was it.
We ate in near silence, as we shoved French fries into our pita along with meat, tomatoes, onion and tzatziki. We also had kebobs and, duh, Greek salad, and wine. It was a perfect final meal, which cost 30 euros.
Okay our actual final Greek meal was breakfast the next morning in the hotel's Winter Garden, situated beside their famous Alexander Bar, a place which consistently ranks high on best hotel bar lists around the world. (It's called the Alexander Bar because of the splendid 18th century tapestry of the Macedonian world conqueror.) Our server Marilena, who just got back from a trip to Toronto, delighted us with conversation.
That we hadn't thought to have a drink here baffled us that morning. We'd been too fixated with the rooftop bar, though, which is where we had our final night cap. We sat, with a view of the illuminated Acropolis, and a table of Greek men dressed finely talking business.
We sipped on a Greek rosé and recollected all the places we'd visited that had seen great civilizations rise and fall. And we spoke of the historical significance of the place we were right now: How Athens' heyday was so short-lived; how it rose to lead the western world in all things, and then less than a hundred years later, lost its rank. We spoke of America, another great democracy that has produced some of the most astounding writers, artists, musicians, and thinkers the world has know, and whether it will ever be great again.
Greatness doesn't last forever. But sitting up there looking at the Parthenon that last night, it felt like it might.
Books we read:
-The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, by Roberto Calasso
-Blue Guide: Greece, The Mainland
-Blue Guide: Crete
-Outline, by Rachel Cusk
Restaurants we didn't get to in Athens:
-O Ilias (Piraeus)
-Yperokeanio (Piraeus)
-Varoukla (Piraeus)
List of things the Beast will bring to Greece next time:
– brown suede Tods
– flowing robes (male)
– ribbon (for pony tails)
– bracelet (turquoise? Sailing rope?)
– more "on brand" car rental (Alfa Romeo? Old Jeep?)
– tight single coloured bathing suit (canary yellow? Maybe with white piping?)
– Brooks Bros navy blazer
– traditional patterned (Greek obviously) canvas bag – maybe monogrammed in Greek alphabet
– reading glasses (for looking more mature when reading menus)
– 3 additional styles of sandals from sandal poet – Caesar, Diogenes, and mystery style
– Raptors jersey with my name on the back
– lightweight cashmere v-neck (off white
– monogrammed velvet slippers (Greek initials)
– cheap underwear I can throw out as we go along
Categories: Greece

subset: commoncrawl


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How Mental Illness is Misrepresented in the Media04-Dec-2015
How Mental Illness is Misrepresented in the Media
Unless you majored in psychology or attended medical school, chances are the bulk of your knowledge about mental illness comes from the newspapers you read, the television shows you watch and the movies you see. Studies indicate that mass media is one of the public's primary sources of information about disorders such as bipolar, schizophrenia and depression.
The catch? Research also suggests most media portrayals of mental illness are stereotypical, negative or flat-out wrong – meaning many people gain an unfavorable or inaccurate view of those with psychological disorders simply by skimming a few sentences or picking up a remote control.
"The worst stereotypes come out in such depictions: mentally ill individuals as incompetent, dangerous, slovenly, undeserving," says Stephen Hinshaw, a professor of psychology at the University of California–Berkeley. "The portrayals serve to distance 'them' from the rest of 'us.'"
Over time, the media has slowly become conscious of these harmful portrayals, experts say. In 2013, the Associated Press added an entry on mental illness to its Style Book to help journalists write about mental illness fairly and accurately. And in recent years, Hinshaw notes, screenwriters have made an effort to portray more humanized characterizations of individuals with mental illness – for example, Carrie Mathison on Showtime's "Homeland," who has bipolar disorder; Bradley Cooper's character in "Silver Linings Playbook;" and John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning economist with schizophrenia in "A Beautiful Mind."
Still needed, Hinshaw says, are more realistic portrayals of the everyday struggles associated with mental illness. And despite new scientific advances in the understanding and treatment of mental illness, recent studies indicate that media depictions of mental illness are as outdated and harmful as ever, says Dr. Otto Wahl, director of the graduate institute of professional psychology at Connecticut's University of Hartford and author of "Media Madness: Public Images of Mental Illness."
If media representations of mental illness aren't improving, individuals can at least become aware of the insidious portrayals that shape their perceptions of real-life people with psychological disorders. That way, they can distinguish between fact and fiction, stereotype and reality and the characters onscreen vs. their real life peers.
Here are a few common, inaccurate and misleading media stereotypes of people with mental illness:
People with mental illnesses are criminal or violent. Studies show that not only are individuals with mental illness less likely to commit violent crimes, they're actually more likely to be victimized. Still, Wahl points out, many news outlets conflate mental illness with violence. A common news account of mental illness, for instance, involves a sensationalized and violent crime in which an innocent person is killed by a mental health patient. The article is laced with graphic descriptions, emotional diction and a glaring headline. It also depicts the mentally ill person as devoid of social identity and dangerous, capricious, aggressive and irrational.
This goes for fictional media, too. For instance, TV characters who've been identified as having a mental illness are typically shown as violent, says Don Diefenbach, professor and chair of mass communications at University of North Carolina–Asheville, who researches media portrayals of mental health issues.
Diefenbach analyzed the portrayals of psychological disorders on prime time television. He found that characters who were identified through behavior or label as having a mental illness were 10 times more likely than other TV characters to commit a violent crime – and between 10 to 20 times more likely to commit a violent crime than someone with a mental illness would be in real life.
People with mental illness look different than others. Maybe it's the disheveled hair. Maybe it's the rumpled clothes. Maybe it's the wild eyes. Whatever it is, Wahl notes, there's usually something "different" about the appearances of people with mental illnesses – be it on TV shows or in video games, movies or comics. These traits serve as visual signifiers to cast these characters – who are often threatening or evil – as the "other."
Many homeless people – who often lack the resources or wherewithal to take care of their appearances – are mentally ill. "But there are also a huge number of people with mental illnesses who are getting up – showering every day, going to work, etc.," Wahl says.
In short? People with mental illness look like, well, everyone else – not like their media stereotypes.
People with mental illnesses are childish and silly. Many movies and TV shows – for example, "Me, Myself and Irene," starring Jim Carrey as a patient with dissociative identity disorder, or "Monk," the show about a detective with obsessive-compulsive disorder – make light of mental illnesses. They portray otherwise serious psychological conditions as mere quirks, or those who have them as silly, funny and childlike.
These portrayals don't "convey the way most people with serious mental illnesses are in pain," Wahl says. In reality, he says, "they hurt. They're struggling."
Mental illnesses are all severe – or all alike. According to Diefenbach's research, depression only accounted for 7 percent of the psychiatric disorders shown on TV. However, 12 percent of the characters suffered from some form of psychosis – experiencing delusions or voices, or losing touch with reality.
In reality, depression is much more common than mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. "The real-world relationship is going to be that depression outnumbers the family of psychotic disorders by about 6 or 7 percent to one," Diefenbach says. Yet on TV, the most extreme cases – and the most rare disorders – tend to be disproportionately represented.
Individuals with mental illness also note that various conditions tend to get lumped together. "Mental illness" is used as a catch-all phrase to describe someone's condition, as opposed to specific medical terminologies such as "schizophrenia" or "anxiety disorder." And even then, little variation is shown from patient to patient; one movie portrayal of bipolar disorder tends to resemble another.
"There's no discussion that each disease is different in each person, because each person is unique," notes Nikki Marks, 46, who has bipolar disorder. "In real life, mental illness shows up differently in everybody. The media does not represent the complexity of mental illness in general. There's this sense that it's just a one-name-fits-everybody, or one-title-fits-everybody."
Psychiatric hospitals cause more harm than good. Hospitals for the mentally ill have come a long way since 17th century Europe, when cold, dark facilities housed hoards of physically and mentally disabled patients, along with prostitutes, alcoholics and other social outcasts. Those mental institutions resembled a prison more than a place of healing – an image that's still perpetuated by cinema, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Salamanca in Spain.
Despite sweeping reforms that occurred over the past half-century, many films and television shows continue to portray psychiatric hospitals as bereft of comfort or care – empty corridors, bare walls and intimidating wings filled with manipulative doctors whose treatments cause more harm than good. And patients are often shown as committed against their will, or psychotic and out-of-control.
While all medical facilities differ in quality and care, today's psychiatric wards and treatments are different – even if the public's perception of them isn't, experts say. And despite the common television or movie theme of a patient being sent to a psychiatric hospital against his or her will, that's often not the case.
"In reality, a great number of people elect to go to [psychiatric wards]," says Wahl, dispelling the notion that most patients are involuntarily committed. Laws differ from state to state, but on average it's very difficult to send patients to a psychiatric ward against their will.
People with mental illnesses can't recover. "Recovery is seldom shown" in the media, Wahl notes. "When people [are shown seeking] therapy, when they go to psychiatric hospitals – rarely do they get better." And if they do get better, he adds, "it's enough that they're stabilized, but not enough so that … they're integrated with the world, and have friends and jobs." The resulting message, he says, is that individuals with mental illnesses have no hope for a "normal" life.
The reality is that this isn't true: Experts say not only do patients often recover from psychiatric illnesses, but they can live health lives with the help of medications, therapy and support networks.
Pamela, a 57-year-old who lives in the District of Columbia who did not wish to use her last name, cites her story as proof. Pamela has bipolar disorder, and spent years dropping in and out of college and shuffling between doctors. But 10 years ago, she finally found a medication that stabilized her moods. She moved out of a group home, purchased a condo, held down a job and recently retired from her job as an office assistant.
"My recovery," Pamela says, "was like a phoenix rising out of an abyss."


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The Salon Project
- Jonny Ensall
- 21 October 2011
An interesting stab at reviving the art of critical discussion, undermined by technology
'A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge.' So says Wikipedia – the significant choice of source that The Salon Project uses to define its two hours of entertainment. Guests are kitted out in snugly-fitting Victorian-era costumes backstage, before being ushered into a large white room, embellished only by a pair of chandeliers, to make small talk and drink sparkling wine. This chattering is helped along by stimuli including talks from two new speakers each night (for example, an Icelandic designer who claims, without irony, that 'design is the archaelogy of the things of the future'), a piano recital and a 'tableau vivant' – a living picture created by naked models carrying mobile phones, iPods and laptops. The coiffed and primped audience are allowed to bring their camera phones in, and don't hesitate to take photographs of these symbols of technological overdependence.
Technology rubs roughly up against everything in the Salon, especially at the evening's climax, when a disturbing video is shown in which expressionless sword-carrying children are shown to have lain waste to any beauty and life the Salon had created. The children of science and progress have cut down their navel-gazing elders, whose iPods can't do anything to save them. It's an ugly message to send out after such an open-ended evening. It's preferable to see the whole event as meaningless, in a good way – a blank canvas on which anything can be created.
Yet this effort of creation is undone by technology, specifically the distracting clicks of those permitted camera phone. As clichéd as it seems, the video is prescient. The evening's progress is undermined by everyone's naturally gawkish humanity. Even the crewmembers that sashay through the crowds extemporising with self-conscious pretension about the 'frisson' of nakedness don't offer anything particular helpful. The Salon Project is a fascinating idea, rendered with meticolous detail, but, like the modern world, it's also hot, uncomfortable, and full of people that annoy you. No wonder the kids are rising up against it.
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 22 Oct.


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Noelle has more going for it than just being one of the easiest ways for Disney+ to make a good first impression.
Noelle has more going for it than just being one of the easiest ways for Disney+ to make a good first impression.
An elegantly wrought drama about a father and daughter.
Roger Ebert on James Ivory's "Howards End".
"The Ballad of Narayama" is a Japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. What a space it opens…
An article about the screening of Horace Jenkins' "Cane River" on Friday, November 1st, at the Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles.
Chaz Ebert celebrated her birthday by honoring Victory Gardens Theater in October 2019.
A video essay celebrating Antonia Bird's maligned masterpiece, Ravenous.
An article about the screening of Horace Jenkins' "Cane River" on Friday, November 1st, at the Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles.
A Far Flung Correspondent weighs in on the MCU controversy.
A new look at a modern classic from an FFC in Korea.
An article on the Chicago Journalists Association's 80th Anniversary Awards Dinner to be held Friday, November 15th, where Cheryl Burton will get the Lifetime Achievement…
An interview with director Alma Har'el about her narrative directorial debut, Honey Boy.
In Roman Polanski's "The Ghost Writer," a man without a past rattles around in the life of a man with too much of one. He begins by reading the work of an earlier ghost who mysteriously drowned, and finds it boring and conventional. Hired to pep up the manuscript to justify a $10 million advance, he discovers material to make it exciting, all right, and possibly deadly.
This movie is the work of a man who knows how to direct a thriller. Smooth, calm, confident, it builds suspense instead of depending on shock and action. The actors create characters who suggest intriguing secrets. The atmosphere -- a rain-swept Martha's Vineyard in winter -- has an ominous, gray chill, and the main interior looks just as cold.
This is the beach house being used by Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), a former British prime minister so inspired by Tony Blair that he might as well be wearing a nametag. Lang has one of those households much beloved by British authors of country house mysteries, in which everyone is a potential suspect -- of something, anyway. Lang's wife Ruth (Olivia Williams), smart and bitter, met Lang at Cambridge. His aide Amelia (Kim Cattrall), smart and devious, is having an affair with him. The wife knows, and isn't above referring to it in front of the Ghost. Security men lurk about, and a couple of service workers look rather sinister.
Just as his new ghost writer starts work, Lang is accused by his former foreign minister of sanctioning the kidnapping and torture of suspects. The World Court prepares an indictment. It would be unwise for Lang to return to Britain, and he flees to Washington for a photo op with the U.S. administration, unnamed, although the Secretary of State looks a whole lot like Condi Rice.
The PM's story is based on a best-seller by Robert Harris, who co-wrote the screenplay with Polanski. He implies parallels between his story and the Blair and (both) Bush administrations, but uses a light touch and sly footwork so that not every viewer will necessarily connect the dots. There is also a loud clanging alarm inviting comparison between Polanski's Lang, an exile sought by a court, and Polanski himself. This is also the fourth thriller in recent months to make a villain of a corporation obviously modeled on Halliburton.
The Ghost is left to his own devices in a house haunted by the unsaid, and Polanski slips into a pure filmmaking mode. I won't describe what the Ghost searches for, but I will tell you that Polanski evokes Hitchcock in a conversation with an elderly local (Eli Wallach) and some forbidding beach scenes. And that he is masterful in the way he shows the dead former Ghost providing the new one with directions, so to speak, leading to a possible source.
There is also a Hitchcock touch in visuals where an incriminating note is passed from hand to hand; the scene is so well done that it distracts from the fact that the Ghost didn't need the information in the note to arrive at the same inference.
There are a few other loose ends. The film seems to have a high incidence of black cars designed to be used as murder weapons. It's far from clear what Ruth's emotional state is on one rainy night. The Ghost himself seems too much a lightweight to explain his daring sleuthing. But the performances are so convincing in detail that they distract us from our questions. McGregor's character has no family, little pride and much insouciance, but is very smart and doesn't enjoy his intelligence being insulted. And Olivia Williams projects the air of a wife who is committed to her husband in more than expected ways.
"The Ghost Writer" is handsome, smooth and persuasive. It is a Well-Made Film. Polanski at 76 provides a reminder of directors of the past who were raised on craft, not gimmicks, and depended on a deliberate rhythm of editing rather than mindless quick cutting. The film immerses you in its experience. It's a reminder that you can lose yourself in a story because all a film really wants to do is tell it.
Our staff choices for the best films from 2010 through 2019.
Christy Lemire on the staff choice for the 4th best film of the 2010s, George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road.
Sheila O'Malley on the staff choice for the 6th best film of the decade, Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.
Tomris Laffly on the staff pick for the 3rd best film of the 2010s, Joel & Ethan Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis.


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- Shop
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Our delicious Chicken Liver Pate is made to our secret recipie of herbs and spices with just a touch of whiskey flavour. Our chickens are hatched, reared and organically fed in our free range areas making the quality of the liver outstanding. As we do not rear on a commercial scale we sometimes have limited availability of this product which is an amazing taste experience. Why not pop a jar in your cart and find out for yourself.


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Today's So Shoe Me is the Patent Lace Up Oxford by To Be Announced, $180, available at Wasteland. Sick oil slick oxfords will add a trippy holographic finish to summertime style. A chunky clear rubber sole adds an instant 90s vibe and the oil slick patent leather is the perfect futuristic finish for adding a dark and dreamy rainbow colorway. This chunky oxford staple is versatile enough for all four seasons so you can pair them with warm-weather essential or winter ready layers. Pair these awesome oxfords with some acid wash cutoffs, a sheer paneled bodysuit and a clear zippered poncho for a futuristic festival look.
Style Suggestions:
So Shoe Me a pair of electric oil slick oxfords that will add a high shine petrol punch to my summer ready staples.
xoxo ~ Lisa + 312style
images via wasteland.com


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The SOS Fall Migration is slated for September 12-21, 2019, in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. to celebrate our state dance, shagging. Shaggers will come to the beach for thelast event of the season.
The SOS lounges in the area host dancing, tea parties, classes and live music. Hot spots include Ducks, Duck's II, OD Arcade, Pirate's Cove, and Fat Harold's.
Shag dance lessons will be offered at various locations throughout the event so new and experienced shaggers can hone their skills.
Join the group for block parties on the first Sunday and Monday of the event. Fun Sunday is in the street beside OD Arcade, and Fun Monday is on Main Street from OD to Hillside. Vendors will sell food, drinks and merchandise during the events.


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Day of the Dead Gathering 2, pen and ink on graph paper, doodle © 2007-2008 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
Archive for October, 2007
Taking Jack To The Cemetery
Posted in Art, Bones, Culture, Death, Doodling, Holidays, Seasons, tagged Day of the Dead, Day of the Dead art, Halloween, pen and ink drawing, pumpkin, skeleton, the practice of doodling, ybonesy doodles on October 31, 2007| 20 Comments »
halloween haiku
Posted in Culture, Death, Family, Food, Haiku, Holidays, Photography, Poetry, Seasons, Skies, Things That Fly, tagged Boo!, Family, Food, Haiku, Halloween, Holidays, mask, moon, Poetry, Seasons, sky, the Four Directions on October 30, 2007| 23 Comments »
Boo!, All Hallow's Eve by the fire, one year ago, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 2006, photo © 2007 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
pumpkin-faced Milk Duds
Willy Wonka candy corn
12 tricks for a treat?
Dead flash toothless smiles
2 Grandmothers walk the earth
Spirits dance on fire
gloved hands wipe chafed lips
crooked teeth eat twisted stems
shadows swim through oaks
hollow frosted rose
Hunter's Moon drops the sky
veils the Evening Star
-posted on red Ravine, Tuesday, October 30th, 2007
-related to posts: WRITING TOPIC – HAUNTED, The Great Pumpkin Catapult
Inner Rhythms
Posted in Art, Bones, Dreams, Personal, Postcards From The Edge, Practice, Structure, Vision, Work, tagged abstract art, Art, Casket Arts Building, connection, Gail Wallinga, graphic design, Minnesota artists, painters, painting, red Ravine Guests, the creative process, the practice of art, The Rain Collective, Wallinga Design on October 29, 2007| 49 Comments »
By Gail Wallinga
Gossamer, 36″x 24″, acrylic, oil, tissue paper, & bristles on stretched canvas, painting © 2007 by Gail Wallinga. All rights reserved.
Breathless, 36″x 24″, acrylic & oil on stretched canvas, painting © 2007 by Gail Wallinga. All rights reserved.
Second Skin, 36″x 24″, acrylic, oil, & tissue paper on stretched canvas, painting © 2007 by Gail Wallinga. All rights reserved.
I paint to bring visual form to emotions, interactions, and psychological states that I experience in life. For the past 3 years, I've been working on a series that is loosely about the theme of connection. How do we connect or not connect with ourselves or others? What is going on at the point of intersection. Or in the space behind the connection.
Here & There, 36″x 24″, acrylic & oil on stretched canvas, painting © 2007 by Gail Wallinga. All rights reserved.
Where We Meet, 36″x 24″, acrylic & oil on stretched canvas, painting © 2007 by Gail Wallinga. All rights reserved.
Sometimes I have a specific feeling or situation in mind when I start a painting. Other times, I start by spontaneously reacting to the materials that I'm exploring. But either way, the finished painting tells a story or represents a voice in the bigger picture of my theme.
My training as a graphic designer has taught me about color, composition and trusting my decisions. When I paint, I bring all of those skills to the table. I plug into the creative stream where the designer meets the artist to create something that pleases me visually and contextually.
Gypsy, 36″x 24″, acrylic & oil on stretched canvas, painting © 2007 by Gail Wallinga. All rights reserved.
Approach, 36″x 24″, oil on stretched canvas, painting © 2007 by Gail Wallinga. All rights reserved.
I paint once a week for at least 4 hours. Sometimes I'm able to paint twice a week. But I'm often thinking about and working on my paintings while I'm not in the studio. The creative process is fed by my experience as a designer, and is constantly going on in the background of my consciousness.
About Gail: Gail has been a graphic designer for almost 20 years, and principle of her own business, Wallinga Design, for 14 years. She designed the logotype for red Ravine and is the graphic designer of choice for our various mastheads. Besides her painting and design, Gail has passion for contemporary furniture design, photography, acoustic folk/pop music, and Godiva chocolate.
If you'd like to view Gail's work in person, she will be participating in the Annual Autumn Show of The Rain Collective, a Minneapolis based confluence of artists. The show is taking place this Saturday, November 3rd, 2007, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Casket Arts Building, 681 17th Avenue NE, located in the infamous Nordeast Minneapolis.
For contact information, Artist Statement, and to view more of Gail's work, see her Rain Collective profile.
Postcard for The Rain Collective, Annual Autumn Show, 8.5″x 5.25″, designed by Gail Wallinga, photographs Ryc Casati, postcard © 2007 by Wallinga Design. All rights reserved.
Halloween Tea Rose
Posted in Family, Gratitude, Holidays, Home, Life, Love, Nature, Personal, Photography, Seasons, Wake Up, tagged buds, fall, gardens, Halloween, Holidays, Nature, October, roses, Seasons, tea rose on October 27, 2007| 11 Comments »
Halloween Tea Rose, out in the front garden, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 2007, photo © 2007 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
We worked on last minute details in the yard today. It was cool, cloudy, sunny. Bending over the 7 transplanted tea roses with the green water bucket, I noticed a distinct peripheral rush of red. A confused October tea rose was sporting a new summer bud.
We hauled wet, decaying bags of leaves to the city's yard waste site, nabbed a geocache near an empty ball diamond, and drove home on winding country roads. An ordinary Fall Saturday. I didn't notice the strings of cobweb until I took a closer look. It's always good to take a closer look.
Traditionally, October is the month I feel the happiest. Something shifted this year. But tonight I count my blessings. It's the little things. Maybe the budding Halloween tea rose with the silver thin cobwebs is not confused at all. Maybe it's me.
-posted on red Ravine, Saturday, October 27th, 2007
-related to post, PRACTICE – Fish Out Of Water – 15min
Mmmmmm. Dig In!!!
Posted in Food, Gratitude, Great Places To Write, Photography, Random, Relationships, tagged Dairy Queen, ice cream, Mudslide, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, writing relationships on October 26, 2007| 8 Comments »
Twin Peaks, at a Dairy Queen in southern Minnesota after a hot day of geocaching, August 2005, photo © 2007 by SkyWire. All rights reserved.
Vanilla (sans flecks) for ybonesy. She makes me smile every day.
-related to post, White Bread Revival
White Bread Revival
Posted in Food, Gratitude, Random, tagged bland foods, love of bland foods, peasant bread, the beauty of white bread, the pleasures of simple food, toast, vanilla beans, vanilla ice cream, white bread on October 26, 2007| 35 Comments »
Maybe it's the cooler weather, but every morning this week I've been starved.
One morning I ate waffles with blueberries and plain yogurt. It was almost perfect. Except the blueberries were frozen and after I defrosted them in the microwave, the juice turned the waffles mushy. Other than that, though, perfect.
Another morning I had a chocolate cupcake from Smith's. The cake was moist, and the frosting thick and creamy. To top it off, literally, it had orange pumpkin and black bat sprinkles.
This morning I made Italian sausage, which in and of itself isn't special given that I make bacon or sausage almost every morning for my meat-eating daughters. What was special, though, was that while pondering what I might eat with my sausage, I remembered a simple yet delicious breakfast item.
White bread toast with butter.
Remember how vanilla ice cream used to seem so bland once the newfangled flavors came out?
Think back to the glass counter at 31 Flavors. You ordered Rocky Road, Mint Chocolate Chip, Pistachio Almond, Jamoca Almond Fudge. Daquiri Ice with its light green-aqua color. Or Pink Bubble Gum with tiny pieces of real gum that you got to chew if you managed to store them between cheek and gum while finishing off the cone.
Maybe you ordered Blueberry Cheesecake (although you probably never made that mistake twice) or oldie-but-goodie Butter Pecan. But you never ordered vanilla.
Even French vanilla couldn't redeem vanilla. (Did they mix egg yolks into regular vanilla? What else would account for that yellow-teeth color?)
Fast forward to the present. Just yesterday I bought Vanilla Bean ice cream from the gourmet ice cream section of my local organic grocery store. Vanilla beans have changed the face of vanilla ice cream.
Which brings me back to this morning.
What I realized while eating my chewy white bread toast (with lightly salted butter) was that peasant bread — or whatever you call that thick Italian or French country bread — is to white bread toast what the vanilla bean is to vanilla ice cream.
Peasant bread. The new Wonder Bread.


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SPT Networks' portfolio in Central Europe includes highly successful brands such as AXN, Sony Movie Channel, Sony Max, AXN Spin, VIASAT3 and VIASAT6. The portfolio also includes the following non-linear services: AXN Now, AXN Player and Viasat Play. The business runs 14 localized feeds across 11 territories including Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Macedonia.
1133 Budapest, Váci út 76.
VIASAT3 is one of the biggest channels in Hungary, offering a third alternative for the viewers with its unique and daring contents. The channel is home to entertaining shows, popular movies and nationwide series premieres in 2017 too. This spring the channel premiered among others the exotic dating reality Ex on the Beach, which was shot in Bali. As of September 25, audiences will get a glimpse of the extraordinary lifestyle of The Real Housewives of Hungary. In addition, the Hungarian version of the well-known The Great British Bake Off will also be launched on VIASAT3. This local production will bring together the best amateur confectioners of the country, who will compete against each other every weekday. The contestants will face new tasks and difficult challenges in each episode to prove through their creativity, knowledge and talent that they are the best. Besides local productions, there will be several series premieres as well, such as Marvel's Inhumans. Its first episode will be aired in IMAX cinemas, followed by the full season on VIASAT3 at the same time with the world premiere.
VIASAT6 is one of the few Hungarian channels on the market which specifically addresses the male audience as its primary target group, and has a stable viewer base. The channel is home to Hungary's best known and most popular technical automobile magazine, Totalcar, whose fourth season was launched on September 7. The channel's similarly popular car magazine, BBC-produced Top Gear is also back with a brand new season, giving excitement for the fans of all vehicles every Thursday evening. In the beginning of September, the latest seasons of The Last Ship, Bates Motel and comic fans' favorite Legends of Tomorrow premiered for the first time in Hungary.
AXN brings the most exciting U.S. and international crime and action series to its viewers all day. The channel is outstandingly popular among the 30-49, female target group. Besides the premium acquired contents, a lot of exclusive, Sony original productions can be seen on the screen, for example the hit series Hannibal, or Crossing Lines. This Fall, Sony original production thriller series Absentia starring Stana Katic (Castle) will be aired, at the same time with the world premiere. In September national TV premiers like the second season of Quantico, third season of NCIS: New Orleans, and second season of The Catch will arrive as well as the spin-off of The Blacklist. Criminal Minds and the NCIS series are among the viewers' favourite shows on the channel.
Sony Max
Sony Pictures Television Networks operates category leading channels in numerous countries of the world. In the region, Hungary will be the first to have Sony channels, inspired by one of the greatest entertainment brands of the world. Sony Max is designed for young female audience with special blocks of realities, cooking shows, girly sitcoms and romantic movie comedies. The rebranded channel will even have its own locally produced show, in addition to a great amount of exclusive contents. Sony Max will offer everything, what young female audience is looking for.
Sony Movie Channel
Sony Pictures Television Networks operates category leading channels in numerous countries of the world. In the region, Hungary will be the first to have Sony channels, inspired by one of the greatest entertainment brands of the world. Sony Movie Channel brings movie experience trough modern masterpieces, recent classics and cult movies, in addition to cinematic and high quality series. The TV channel of one of the biggest movie producer companies of the world will have a bit of male skew, with contents nicely packed together into specific thematics and stunts. Sony Movie Channel is just like the friend, who makes even a Friday night spent home watching movies the best.


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Dance like everyone's watching and they like what they see.
Sing like you're a top 40 artist. Belt it out and have fun!
Make love and amazing meals.
Cherish your beloved, your friends, family and community.
Lend a hand when you can.
Do the right thing even if it looks wrong to others.
Apologize when you're wrong.
Dream big and take risks. Don't be afraid to put your heart out there or to fail.
Love out loud. Say it, don't hold back.
Be a sappy, romantic, fool sometimes.
Don't do other people's work for them.
Let life be easy like slipping into a warm jacuzzi.
Skip, go for walks, be in nature.
Do things that scare you, but don't be reckless with your life or others.
Forgive, forgive, forgive. Forgive yourself too.
Give people second chances.
Sit under the stars, watch the sunset.
Wake up early and watch the sunrise.
Sit by the fire and remember your Essence.
Remember to smile and say, "good morning."
Learn other languages, especially learn as multiple ways to say, "hello," "thank you," "please," and "good morning."
Be an ambassador of human kindness.
Meditate, journal, read, learn new things.
Go to the farmers market and give thanks to the people who grow your food.
Take time to be alone and enjoy your own company.
Love yourself.


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Editing photos is something that many people wish they were able to do – but few people actually can. Traditionally photo editors have been geared towards professionals, and tend to be too technical for laypeople to use. In general the software is notorious for its complexity – which is what makes Movavi Photo Editor stand out so much.
Unlike other photo editors, Movavi Photo Editor is focused on making it as easy and straightforward as possible to edit photos and improve them. Everything about the software from its user interface to its controls and features is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive in nature.
Because of this unique approach, even someone with no experience in photography or photo editing will be able to take advantage of the software. In short, it will let you you're your photos and requires no prior experience or specialized skills to do so.
Powerful and Diverse Features
In addition to being easy to use, Movavi Photo Editor also comes with diverse range of powerful features. With these features you can choose to either tweak or adjust your photos in small ways, or perform large-scale edits that completely alter its appearance.
Some of the features in Movavi Photo Editor include:
- Enhancing the quality of photos either manually or automatically and fixing common issues such as blurry or pixelated images.
- Removing objects, people or other elements that are in the way.
- Deleting the background of the photo and replacing it with an entirely new image.
- Adding text and customizing its appearance and style to create unique captions or titles.
- Transforming the frame and orientation of the photo by cropping, rotating, flipping, leveling or resizing it.
- Applying various filters to stylize the photo.
Using these features should give you everything you need to carry out the photo editing that you require. Whether you want to delete an object, remove a blemish, adjust the color settings, or fix a blurry photo – Movavi Photo Editor is more than up to the task. By experimenting with the features available you'll quickly be able to see what each one does – and can then apply it to your own photos so that they turn out great.


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Trainers Trick Leather
Style: N0YJR0
notify me when available
Please enter your email so we can alert you when the Trainers Trick Leather in is back in stock. We promise not to spam you. You will only be notified once.
In a throwback to retro sportswear with a distinctive striped trim around the ankle and Napapijri lettering down the side, these classic trainers are upgraded with supple leather.
- Trainers
- Upper Material: Mesh
- Outsole: Rubber
- Lining: Canvas and Mesh
- Spring/Summer 2019


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For micronizing and nano-sizing, the particle size reduction services experts at Custom Processing Services use spiral jet mills, fluid bed jet mills, and steam fluidized bed jet mills for dry products. High flow bead mills and wet autogenous mills are used for wet processing.
Micron and Nano-Sizing
A number of materials need to be reduced to sizes smaller than 95% minus 325 mesh (45 microns). Typically, top sizes of 44 microns to 10 or 15 microns with average particle sizes in the 3 micron to 30 micron range for abrasive materials can be processed using a jet mill. CPS provides particle size reduction services using several different types of jet mills for grinding abrasive products to the particle sizes listed above.
Spiral Jet Mills
Spiral jet mills use compressed gas to form a spiral air stream in the mill. The material to be ground is injected into this air stream to where the particles collide with each other as well as the sidewalls to reduce the particles. An internal cyclonic effect classifies the materials and they exit through the central portion of the spiral. Using a spiral mill for grinding abrasive materials is beneficial when very small quantities are to be processed.
Fluidized Bed Jet Mills
These mills are used for micronizing mill services by Custom Processing Services. They can also be equipped to operate under hot gasses or steam to achieve particle sizes in the nano range.
These are just a few of the micronizing mill services provided by CPS. Please contact the technical staff to learn more.


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Samsung's Bixby digital voice assistant has just launched alongside the Galaxy S8 and S8+ and already we have hints to expect it to replace S Voice on Samsung's Gear smartwatches, wearables and smart home devices.
When we asked a Samsung rep if Bixby is coming to the Gear smartwatches in future, he said: "Definitely, Bixby is the assistant that we're going to empower many other Samsung devices with - the watch, the TV, the fridge."
Still, that doesn't mean Bixby is a shoo-in for a Samsung Gear S4: "At this moment there's no specific roadmap to say when it will arrive [on watches]."
Read next: How Viv plans to beat Siri and Alexa in the AI assistant game
Bixby is Samsung's attempt to create a rival to Apple's Siri, Google's Assistant and Amazon's Alexa, though there does seem to be some slight differences. Bixby will seemingly work primarily as a voice-based interface for app shortcuts, instead of just something you'll ask for weather updates.
Bixby will work in Korean from launch, US English from May and more languages - including British English - "over time". We got a few demos at a pre-Unpacked event. On the phone, it works with the context of your location and also what's on the screen so you can tell Bixby to make a photo album called London and it will know to use the selected photos you're looking at.
As for controlling apps, it will only work with selected native Samsung apps at first - the dialler, gallery etc. But when Bixby does come to a future Gear smartwatch, we'd expect Samsung to have made headway with getting big name third party apps on board too. This is the play Google is making for its voice services - accessing info and functions within third party apps. It's all about saving time, something that smartwatches are supposed to do.
"Confusion around activating a voice interface is a barrier we have removed to make it feel easier and more comfortable to give commands," said InJong Rhee, Samsung's executive vice president.
"Instead of taking multiple steps to make a call — turning on and unlocking the phone, looking for the phone application, clicking on the contact bar to search for the person that you're trying to call, and pressing the phone icon to start dialing — you will be able to do all these steps with one push of the Bixby button and a simple command."
Latest Samsung news
Though Samsung has now officially confirmed the assistant will arrive on the Galaxy S8, some questions still linger. Chiefly, just how much will Bixby remain a work in progress after release; Samsung itself described the launch as the "first step" before also indicating an SDK is in the works to open up things to third-party developers.
And, of course, the great unknown here is the work of Viv Labs, the AI company owned by the creators of Siri that Samsung acquired way back in October. While at the time it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that the technology would form the guts of the fresh assistant, what we know so far would indicate the full potential of Viv's smarts won't initially be involved.


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Book Titles Workshop
The most important part of developing your book is creating a title that gets your audience to say 'I want that'.
No matter what business you're in, or what outcome you want people to have. If your title doesn't compel them to raise their hand and get a copy, your content won't have the chance to educate and guide them.
Book Outline Workshop
We talk a lot about the importance of being compelling vs convincing when it comes to the content of your book.
Once you capture someone's attention with a title that gets them to say 'I want that', the content of your book should compel them to take the next step with you. The next minimum viable commitment.


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Although I'm American, by birth and by blood, I'm also something else too: my mother was English.
I recently applied for a British passport – and was approved! Joint citizenship for Americans is now allowed, so I can carry both. It means, in a few weeks, a second passport will be winging it's way to me. I'll be the bearer of not one passport, but two!
How did this happen? After filling in many forms and providing much data to show 1) I am me, and 2) I am related to my mother, I was granted approval to 'naturalise' as a British citizen. Yesterday, I attended the all-important naturalisation ceremony to receive a shiny new paper, confirming the same.
It was a lovely event, with a prominent citizen from my locality addressing and welcoming us all, cups of tea and biscuits afterwards, and a view over a verdant park. A quiet day to reflect.
Has this changed me at all? In a bureaucratic sense, possibly. Both halves of me are now recognised by relevant bureaucratic powers.
And yet fundamentally, there is no change. I am who I am, one man from two sides of a very large pond. I savour cool Jack Daniels as deeply as a room-temperature Glenmorangie. I drift away to Hotel California as effortlessly as I do to Stairway to Heaven. And I enjoy Hemingway and Proulx, as much as I admire Austen and Conan Doyle.
These halves of me – they've been here all along.


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The Tasting:The Fifty Best held a "blind" tasting of brandies with 11 members of our wine judging panel. Strict tasting rules were applied. The order of service was established beforehand by lottery. Each of the brandies were poured into fresh glasses from new sealed bottles and served at room temperature. Only ice water, neutral unflavored crackers and chips were available to cleanse the palate.The judges wrote down their impressions of each wine on score sheets. The scoring was done on a 5-point system, with 5 as the best. Gold and Silver medals are awarded according to a set range of final point scores received from the judges. There were no double gold or bronze medals awarded for this tasting.The tasting notes that follow are summaries of the judges' opinions, with all replicated commentary eliminated. The appelations and countries are identified for each brand.
GOLD MEDAL WINNERSAsbach PrivatBrandAged 8 Years Fine Old Brandy(Germany)Aroma: Dark chocolate, caramel, brown butter, grape, banana liqueur, nutty, wood, oak, toasted oak, subtle oak.Palate: Apple, pear, aged fruit, orange peel, lemon zest, buttery, wood, oak, toasted oak, peppery spice, calvados with caramel notes, rustic, smooth.Finish: Apple, pear, orange zest, chocolate, creamy, caramel toasted almonds, toasted, cinnamon, nutmeg, peppery, wood, oak, soft, good mouthfeel. Gold Medal
Clos Sainte-Rose XO Alambic Brandy(XO Alambic, WA)Aroma: Caramel, buttery, honey, corn, grappa, grape must, earthy, funky, wood, toasty oak, cedar.Palate: Butterscotch, butter, caramel, light maple syrup, light vanilla, apple juice, grain, toast, light oak, heavy barrel, smoke, smooth, easy.Finish: Caramel, cinnamon spice, pepper, tannic, smoke, wood, oak, pairs well with a cigar. Gold Medal
SILVER MEDAL WINNER Knowledge of Good Apple Brandy(StilL 630 Distillery, MO) Aroma: Apples, pear, sweet plum, caramel, chocolate, vanilla, buttery, baked goods, floral, dusty, wood, oak, small oak barrel.Palate: Green apple, pear, grapes. honey, toffee, chocolate fudge, burnt vanilla, floral, spicy, woody, smooth oak, oak barrel, whiskey.Finish: Caramel, buttery, toasted, sandalwood, peppery spice, spicy complexity, woody, creamy, soft, velvety, smooth. Silver Medal
Disclaimer: This section of the website is intended for visitors 21 years of age and older.If you are not of legal drinking age, please exit by clicking here.
Please drink responsibly!
Comments or questions welcome, please e-mail to: email@example.com


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Kioka - Lunch Box
Children'sRepeatClosed Captions AvailableRated: G7 mins
11:25am Saturday, September 01 2012
Kioka, Episode 12 - Lunch Box
Series Synopsis
When Kioka, a curious and imaginative little girl, shakes her magical snow globe her room fills with snowflakes and she's transported into the snow globe where all her toy friends have come to life!
Episode Synopsis
Episode 12 - Lunch Box
What is in your lunch box? Kioka opens her lunch box and it has broccoli, apples, bananas, carrots, and a cupcake!
Previous Episode Synopsis
Episode 11 - Camera
Kioka brings her camera to show the gang. The all have fun with it, taking all sorts of funny pictures.
Future Episodes
- 11:25am Monday, September 03 (R)
- 11:25am Tuesday, September 04 (R)
- 11:25am Wednesday, September 05 (R)
- 11:25am Thursday, September 06 (R)
- 11:25am Friday, September 07 (R)
- 11:25am Saturday, September 08 (R)
- 11:25am Sunday, September 09 (R)
- 11:25am Monday, September 10 (R)


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I see white people. Usually this wouldn't be so significant. I live in New York City. They're not the majority here, but they exist in significant numbers — 47 percent, in fact. These white people that I'm seeing now have caught my attention because of where I see them and how many of them I see doing the unexpected, like getting off the A-train in Brooklyn at Nostrand Ave, cycling at midnight on Franklin, or carelessly walking down Albany and fumbling with their iPhones as they walk in the direction of the projects.
Of course, everyone — and by that I mean the black people who live in my neighborhood — has seen white people before. But that doesn't stop the curious stares as they ride the train past the stop where everyone expected them to exit (it was Grand Army Plaza, then Franklin Ave. Every two years, the final exit is one stop further), or all the heads that turn — men and women – watching a pair of white girls in short shorts and sports bras, their real ponytails wagging, as they jog down the street, or the block guys with confused expressions watching the skateboarding Goth teens (read: white) haplessly goofing off on the opposite corner.
I watch the guys, and I think of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" and realize "oh, this is how they felt — sort of." Then I think of a story I just read on "Clybourne Park," a Pulitzer Prize play currently running on Broadway. It's 50 years later, and the Chicago neighborhood of Hansberry's make-believe family is filled with black middle-class homeowners, and white people are moving back. I make a note in my iPad to buy tickets.
Gentrification, that hazy mix of capitalism, race, and class that wreaks havoc or at the very least significantly changes existing communities (depending on your perspective) has come to yet another Brooklyn neighborhood — and fast. Of course, it's not the white people who are the problem. Nor is it a fear, hatred, or some passed down DNA flashback to the Door of No Return that makes some black folk resistant to their arrival in their communities. lt's the knowing of what's to come because of what came in others. The arrival of people with more disposable income leads to building owners charging more rent, to bodega owners charging higher prices, to the businesses you frequented closing and opening up as someplace shiny and new, and eventually to the displacement of residents who've called that particular neighborhood home because they can no longer afford to stay.
As soon as the building of the Barclay's Stadium in downtown Brooklyn became a serious consideration, people began to either fret about or rejoice over what would happen in my Crown Heights neighborhood — the still "black side" of Brooklyn where gentrification on the of-color side Eastern Parkway seemed like a trickle. I did a little of both.
Read more: here


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2 comments:
I have been looking at your blog for kolams for a while, and yesterday I was inspired and drew a kolam in my backyard.
You are so creative!!. How do you draw these designs and put it up?
Thank you for posting these kolams.
- December 12, 2008 at 11:33 AM
- Kamala said...
Hi Sarita,
Thank you for your comments. I used to draw in paint and upload it to my site.
- December 12, 2008 at 8:19 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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March 9: John Carter is first out of the gate for March. Based on the Barsoom fantasy series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs written beginning in 1911, this is Pixar's first live action picture. Let's see if Pixar can bring its solid reputation and success from animation to live action. For those interested, you can download free ebook and audiobook versions of all of the books through Project Gutenburg and VoxLibris. Easy links for these are found at Wikipedia.
March 23: The Hunger Games is the first movie of a likely trilogy or more. Casting seems excellent and fingers are crossed for a hit.
March 30: Mirror, Mirror is a comedy fantasy based on the Snow White fable. Julia Roberts stars as the evil queen with an over-the-top portrayal reminiscent of Glenn Close as Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmations.
March 30: Wrath of the Titans is classical fantasy starring Sam Worthington (Avatar).


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No. There are no absolute guarantees regarding medical procedure outcomes. Some results may be unavoidable or unexpected meaning that a "bad result" may not be due to medical malpractice. A New Hampshire medical malpractice claim requires that the healthcare professional must have been negligent in treating the patient. To determine if a medical professional was negligent and caused the patient's injury, the patient must be able to establish certain elements to the cou
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Parents can access their student's grades, class schedule, attendance records, assignments, interim progress reports, report cards, and registration information on-line.
To Register for an eSchool parent login and password
Please contact your child's school secretary to receive your password and login or if you have any problems accessing eSchool. Passwords are case sensitive.
Quick Links
Use the following Icons to Navigate eSchool:
Registration: Your student's demographic information
Home: Your student's class schedule and assignments
Attendance: Your student's attendance record
Classes: Your student's scores on published assignments with two views
-Quick View - assignment scores only
-Full View - assignment scores plus course averages
Grades: Your student's interim progress report, report card, and test scores


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On Wed, 29 Nov 2006 22:41:11 +0100, Roy T. Fielding <firstname.lastname@example.com> wrote: >> It basically can't be implemented by web browsers. See for instance >> https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=109553 ... We've tried it >> as well, broke the web, and then backed it out again. > > No. It is pathetic that some vendors choose to drop features rather > than deploy version-specific workarounds, but not entirely unexpected. Vendors have tried and have tried to deploy workarounds. By blacklisting/whitelisting servers etc. Didn't work out. >> Perhaps Content-Base or so can be resurrected... > > That is impossible without changing the HTTP version number. It's not like HTTP is validated or anything. The whole HTTP specification seems quite open to incremental additions and changes. Anyway, I'm saying we can't implement it. You say we can do trickery. I'm not that concerned with what the (eventual) HTTP specification says on the matter, but it would be nice if it reflected reality (e.g., implementations). If that's impossible, fine. I suppose we have to deal with the way we have dealt with HTML over the past eight years or so... (Trying to get interoperability based on real world usage and deployment without any standards body to help with that.) -- Anne van Kesteren <http://annevankesteren.nl/> <http://www.opera.com/>Received on Wednesday, 29 November 2006 21:59:05 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Monday, 9 September 2019 17:47:10 UTC


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What is a Network Device Security Review?
A Network Device Security Review is where a Pentest People security consultant will look at the configuration from your network devices to ensure that they are configured in the correct way using the latest technologies. Any potential security issues will be raised and remediation advice provided.


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Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.
Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.
Collect and analyze performance data with APM software
Admins must ensure that their applications are performing as expected. APM tools provide the necessary functions to discover and address possibly critical performance issues. Continue Reading
How to smartly manage APIs through their full lifecycle
Even the most useful and well-designed APIs need to be managed. With the right tool, you can keep the upper hand on the API lifecycle from start to finish. Continue Reading
Why use new lifecycle tools in API management platforms?
Explore how full-lifecycle API management platforms can bring discipline and maturity to enterprise API strategies and end snags in API workflows, versioning, retirement and QA. Continue Reading
service-oriented architecture (SOA)
Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a software development model for distributed application components that incorporates discovery, access control, data mapping and security features. Continue Reading
EAI (enterprise application integration)
Enterprise application integration (EAI) is the task of uniting the databases and workflows associated with business applications to ensure that the business uses the information consistently and that changes to core business data made by one ... Continue Reading
Service mesh amplifies microservice management capabilities
Kubernetes emerged to help development teams better orchestrate microservices, and now, service mesh stands to help teams more easily handle microservice integration.Continue Reading
When data APIs go neglected, business intelligence suffers
Many businesses have mature API management practices in place for integration via REST APIs and application APIs. Unfortunately, those API strategies can create data silos for most business ...Continue Reading
API management platform trends to watch in 2018
As major vendors move to acquire and integrate API management platforms, business should get to work crafting a holistic API strategy.Continue Reading
Understanding the benefits of serverless functions
The use of serverless functions can help developers minimize the time spent managing resources by segmenting third-party dependencies. Zach Flower explains.Continue Reading
New Kubernetes releases and growing support stand out in 2017
New releases and rapidly growing adoption rates made 2017 a big year for Kubernetes. Twain Taylor takes a look at this year's big news around the evolving Kubernetes project.Continue Reading
VR in business is coming, but architecture must support it
In the hunt for competitive advantage, companies are trying to find real value from VR in business. We explore what businesses are doing and why microservices are a key part.Continue Reading
How to avoid pitfalls when implementing microservices
What can go wrong when migrating to microservices? Plenty, experts say in this article about implementing microservices and its technical and cultural consequences.Continue Reading
GraphQL vs. REST: Nailing down the pros and cons of each
While no one can deny the popularity of REST, GraphQL has emerged as a viable contender to REST, particularly when it comes to certain data structures. Zach Flower explains.Continue Reading
Why use open source tools for containerized apps?
An expert looks at the top three open source tools -- Kubernetes, Elasticsearch and Prometheus -- that enable running containerized applications at scale.Continue Reading
The advantages of service mesh for containers, microservices
Find out about the challenges and opportunities around creating a new application development stack for containers with the help of service meshes.Continue Reading


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A northeast Illinois man who stood accused of using a needle and thread to sew his son's buttocks shut has accepted a plea agreement and will not spend any time in prison.
Randy Swopes, 52, of Waukegan, entered an Alford plea Friday to aggravated battery. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence to possibly win a conviction. Swopes was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 250 hours of community service.
Swopes' son reportedly suffers from Crohn's Disease. According to WebMD, the condition is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes, "inflammation or ulceration of the digestive tract."
In January 2008, the disease caused Swopes' son, then 14, to develop a fistula. One Crohn's information website describes a fistula as, "an abnormal tunnel connecting two body cavities that are not usually connected, such as the rectum and the vagina. A fistula can also be a body cavity to the skin such as the rectum to the outside of the body."
Fistulas are typically treated with medication and sometimes surgery.
In the case of Swopes' son, the fistula was on the boy's buttocks. Rather than take the teen to the doctor for treatment, Swope opted to take care of the problem himself andsewed the fistula shut using a needle and thread, Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Danielle Pascucci told the Lake County News-Sun.
The home surgery did not work as intended and the wound became infected. The boy was hospitalized for about a month while he recovered.


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Metro: Duroc (lines 10 and 13)
English-speaking Dr. Guglielmina specializes in gynecology and gynecologic surgery, with a calm and very professional demeanor and gentle bedside manner, which can be hard to find in this country. Practices at the American Hospital of Paris and at this address on Wednesday mornings.
Metro: Anatole France (line 3)
At her office in the American Hospital of Paris, American-born and educated, Dr. McGinnis, is an OB/GYN well-known in the Anglophone community for many years. She periodically offers her expertise in women's health through special talks sponsored by AAWE and Message anglophone women's groups.


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I have recently returned from the Asia-Pacific launch of the new flagship supercar from Lamborghini - the Aventador. The event was held at the Sepang F1 circuit over two days. Many thanks to Lamborghini for the opportunity and hosting a brilliant event.
You can view more from the event by watching the launch video.


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If you are in the market to purchase a blender, you might be shocked by the measure of decisions there are. There are submersions blenders, ledge blenders, blenders intended to smash ice, blenders only for smoothies, blenders that are additionally nourishment processors, and so forth. It can be overwhelming to choose. So how would you pick the most powerful blender?
The main thing you have to choose is the thing that you intend to utilise the blender for. Would you most like to mix beverages or influence smoothies or make green smoothies? Will you pulverize ice with it? Shouldn't something be said about the ability to crush grain or blend mixture? Numerous blenders today are mix blenders/sustenance processors – is this something you might want?
Next, you should investigate your financial plan. Since blenders can keep running from $20 to $500, there is a significant decision.
When you know your financial plan and your fundamental utilization of the blender, you can limit your decisions.
Something else to take a gander at is the limit. There are single serve blenders which are awesome on the off chance that you are living alone, however not really what you need on the off chance that you want to make smoothies for your family. Most different blenders will be around 4 to 7 containers. Some like the Blendtec offer 3-quart limit. I suggest a bigger size with the goal that you don't wind up flooding the holder.
Next, take a gander at the wattage. The higher the wattage, the all the more powerful the blender. At that point, you need more watts. The individuals who need a blender for green smoothies will need a powerful blender to separate the greens enough.
Different outlines offer different advantages. Do the sharp edges turn out for cleaning? Does the top fit firmly? Would you be able to include fixings while the blender is mixing? These choices may enable you to pick one mixer over another.
At long last, investigate the size and outline. Will it be on your counter or in your cabinet? Investigate the tallness to check whether it will fit where you need it. Do you like the shading?
Investigating these different choices will enable you to pick the blender that is perfect for you.
This kitchen framework is amazingly adaptable and has numerous extraordinary audits. It can deal with pounding ice, making green smoothies and blending mixture. It accompanies two holders that give you the alternative of utilising it more like a blender or more like a sustenance processor – relying upon what you are making.


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Welcome to the JewelMaster website
Everybody at JewelMaster is committed to providing the best software to support your business, whether on site of "in the cloud"
Whether it is Retail software, Wholesale software, Manufacturing software, Pledge\Pawn software, Hardware or any other need, we can supply. The website is a taster. The only way you can really see what it can do, is to have a demonstration. You can purchase your solution or rent your solution, hosted in our own accredited cloud.
Contact a Partner and begin the process.


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Outdoor Living Design from Eden Pools
Outdoor Kitchens
Take your barbecue to the next level with a custom designed, fully equipped outdoor kitchen. Choose from our selection of features, including built in grills, hot-plates, refrigerators, kegerators, cabanas, built in bars, and custom built stone pizza ovens. Perfect for entertaining!
Backyard Entertaining Spaces
Outdoor living rooms offer a sheltered area to relax in the fresh air. They can be equipped with a full entertainment system, custom built awnings, fine stonework, rustic fireplaces and so much more!
Fireplaces and Fire Pits
Nothing sets the mood quite like the glow of an open flame on a cool evening. From rustic outdoor fireplaces to open fire pits and fire bowls- your friends and family will love gathering around the fire for s'mores, stories or even a romantic cuddle.


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Dems hold big edge in Florida in early and absentee voting
A huge increase in early voting has given Democrats a decided advantage over Republicans in Florida -- a major departure from statewide voting trends four years ago, according to a Miami Herald analysis of early and absentee ballots cast so far this year.
Through Thursday, Democrats cast 46 percent of the 3.4 million early and absentee votes in Florida, while Republicans cast 38 percent.
That's a big shift since 2004, when Democrats were outvoted 44 percent to 41 percent by Republicans in early and absentee ballots, according to a study of Florida voting data.
The recent Democratic gains have been most pronounced in early voting, where Democrats have outnumbered Republicans by 432,000 out of nearly two million voters.
Black voters have made the difference, accounting for 16 percent of the early and absentee voters so far -- with 86 percent of them registered Democrats. In 2004, black turnout for early and absentee voting was a bit more than 10 percent of the total.
Black turnout has been especially high in the state's urban areas. In Broward County, blacks accounted for 39 percent of all early voters at the polls through Thursday; in Miami-Dade County, it was 30 percent. In Orange County, 30 percent of all voters were black; in Duval County, it was 36 percent.
Party affiliations do not necessarily predict voter behavior, particularly in North Florida, where many registered Democrats are philosophically aligned with the GOP. But Democratic Party leaders say the early-voting trends show that they have shaved away the Republican Party's advantages in the state.
By Thursday, early-voting numbers for the state already had smashed the total 2004 turnout by nearly 38 percent. Absentee ballots so far have also exceeded the total cast four years ago.
Already, nearly one-third of all registered Democrats and Republicans in Florida have cast a ballot. Duval elections supervisor Jerry Holland said he expects as many as 45 percent of the state's votes could be in before Election Day.
With similar turnout booms around the country, observers say the election could be historic.


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So we're already in March, the year is steaming on ahead and I've decided to jot down everything I want to achieve this month. A kind of March to do list. It might be interesting to you, it might not, but it also then holds me accountable to tick everything off my virtual to-do list for the next few weeks. A lot of my goals are very much University related, any student will tell you that around Easter is an absolute nightmare for deadlines and they all seem to come at once.
So that leads me nicely onto my biggest and most important aim for the month. I want/need my dissertation to be practically finished by the end of March. It's due mid/late April so that gives me chance to fine tune it and get it bound and ready for submission. I'm currently sitting on around 3,000/10,000 words which seems to be about the average. It doesn't sound loads but trust me a lot of hard work has gone into this thing. I'm feeling quite on track after discussing things with my supervisor and finding lots of relevant evidence so fingers crossed I can get this sorted. I'm also well aware that this has to take priority so if any of my other aims don't get achieved I'm not going to get too down about it.
On top of the dreaded D word, I also have another couple of assignments to do so my other Uni goal is to get these completed to the best of my ability. I'm hoping they won't seem as difficult as the word count is so much less than my dissertation, surely anything has got to be better than 10,000 words.
In March I want to read at least 3 books, I'm thinking this will be a nice break from doing lots of work during the day. I'm also off on holiday at the end of the month so hopefully in my first few days there I'll be able to get through at least one book. At the moment I've started reading Neil Gaiman's The Ocean At The End of The Lane , I'm not very far in at all but I've reverted back to a bit of fiction to relax my brain at the end of a long day of Uni work. I'll let you know what I've managed to read at the end of the month. If anybody can suggest any good holiday reads as well do let me know!
Speaking of holidays my next aim is to prep for mine, I've got a few weeks left but I need to get organised and sort out all my toiletries and clothes to make sure I'm ready. As I'm going for a couple of weeks I need to make sure I've got enough summery clothes to last me the whole time. I'm the queen of under packing for a holiday that's longer than 7 days, so this time I'm determined not to do the same thing again. I might need a quick trip to the shops to grab a couple of last minute bits, but I have already picked up another Swimming Costume and a couple of pairs of shorts so hopefully there's not too much left to get now.
On the subject of Clothes, March calls for the change from my Winter Capsule Wardrobe into my Spring capsule. I need to sit down and have a think about what items need to be put away until next Autumn/Winter and what items can come out of storage for the sunnier months ahead. This is easier said than done when you live in the North of England and have just been hit by the Beast of the East snow storm. I thought Spring had sprung but apparently I was wrong and a classic dollop of snow was dropped instead. I'm going to try very hard to rotate my wardrobe round but I think I am going to have to cling onto a few jumpers for a little bit longer until things really warm up. I can't wait for my summer capsule when I will finally be able to ditch the knitwear and whack out the shorts.
Another aim is to raise as much money as possible for the British Heart Foundation by doing a Dechox this month. My previous post explains all you need to know. Basically I'm being sponsored to give up chocolate for the whole month to support a brilliant charity! My hope for the month is that by going cold turkey, I might be able to ween myself off chocolate in April so I don't eat quite so much from now onwards!
My final aim is to remain in contact with all my different groups of friends, with a big workload and a holiday I reckon it may be easy to get side tracked and stop keeping up with my friends. So in a bid to counteract this happening, I've already booked into my diary to meet up with Amy and Laura next week for a chilled night in with some food. As it's in the evening it won't cut into my manic typing all day in the library sessions. I've also arranged to go for some nice drinks with some blogger friends towards the end of the month, we're planning for a few cocktails and to go "out out" which will make a nice change to go out with people I don't see very often!
What are your plans for the month ahead? Do we have any similar goals, let me know in the comments below! Also would you like to see a little pre-holiday haul of some of the bits and pieces I've picked up for my trip?
Meg x


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I longingly remember being a Systems Administrator configuring all my infrastructure through a variety of consoles. Those days are far behind me now since I spend much of my time helping customers navigate the new cloud world where infrastructure is managed through automation. It can be difficult to orchestrate pieces of the infrastructure into your server provisioning lifecycle but some vendors are embracing the new provisioning methods. Rubrik is one infrastructure company that has built a platform to thrive in this new automated world.
Startup Funding – An Example with Rubrik
The way companies get off the ground has often fascinated me. Companies start with an idea, but building a company requires really hard work to turn that idea into a product that is consumable by a customer. That hard work costs money. Where does it come from? This post will use a recent startup, "Rubrik," to walk through how the process works.
Is Rubrik Really a Cloud Solution???
Rubrik calls themselves the "Cloud Data Management Company". This provoked Eric Shanks to ask the question, "What are the characteristics of a cloud product?" This is a very difficult question to answer and leaves too much room for ambiguity. This lack of formal definition creates the opportunity for almost any product vendor to call their product "Cloud Ready." In this article, Eric sets out some definitions to see if Rubrik truly is a cloud solution.
Rubrik's Doing All the Boring Enterprise Backup Stuff
Rubrik's that new backup solution that makes traditional backups a snap – pun intended. I'm a former Systems Administrator and there was absolutely nothing I hated more than managing backup jobs and reviewing why the backups failed all the time. I viewed backups as that thing I had to do each day as fast as possible, so I could get to the interesting parts of being a Systems Administrator like fielding support calls and patching servers. Hey, I was young and it was a phase I was going through, back off.


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Public gets to weigh in on whether Sheriff's Office merits accreditation
Beaufort County residents will have a chance this weekend to say whether the Sheriff's Office should receive national accreditation, a designation officials say will make it more accountable to taxpayers, less likely to face a lawsuit for misconduct and increase its chances of receiving grants and other funding.
Residents and agency employees can give their thoughts on the office's ability to comply with more than 450 guidelines Sunday in the County Council Chambers. The guidelines set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies cover everything from vehicle chases to evidence collection to the office's relationship with the media.
"We want the citizens to come and be a part of this process," said Sgt. Robin McIntosh, sheriff's spokeswoman. "We want their input."
Sunday's session is part of an on-site assessment by CALEA inspectors to ensure the office complies with the commission's guidelines.
The accreditation process began in December 2008 when Sheriff P.J. Tanner hired former Beaufort police chiefs Jeff Dowling and Bill Neill and paid them each $60,000 to manage the office's bid for accreditation.
Since then, the pair has been reviewing and retooling hundreds of internal policies to provide to CALEA inspectors for their approval.
The Sheriff's Office would be the third police force in Beaufort County to earnaccreditation from CALEA, an independent commission created by police groups to elevate national law-enforcement standards.
The Beaufort Police Department was accredited in 2007 and the Bluffton Police Department last year.
Accredited agencies must apply to be recertified every three years.


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Design and Boutique Hotels Turin
Design Hotel Turin – WorldTop7 presents Turin's best boutique hotels that are arty, hip as well as trendy! Our selection of cool accommodations in Turin are full of sophistication and style having hip and modern contemporary design and décor.
Most of our recommended design resorts in Turin have the charm of old incorporated with trendy designs. This creates a whole new level of style and comfort. Furthermore most of our boutique hotels feature exclusive spa treatments, swimming pools and modern fitness facilities.
As a result our trendy and new hotel suggestions for Turin have the world's most skilled and innovative contemporary cuisine. The modern design will surely fascinate both the sense of sight and taste.
Design Hotels Turin
Hotel Principi di Piemonte Turin Italy
Hotel Principi di Piemonte Luxury abounds at the Art Deco Hotel Principi di Piemonte. Built in 1936 for Fiat founder
Villa Tiboldi Turin Italy
Villa Tiboldi A gem of a Piedmontese hideaway surrounded by ancient vineyards, the luxury Villa Tiboldi positively oozes romantic appeal.