text:
- Description
Jarvis Reclaimed Wood Standing Desk
Part of what sets Jarvis Standing Desks apart is, of course, the #1 rated frames. Another part is the care we take when sourcing tops to pair with them. These beautifully crafted reclaimed wood desk tops are hand-made in Michigan. Each top is totally unique; the result of the natural variation of wood, combined with each plank's own history.
The character of the wood is preserved through minimal planing and careful staining, resulting in a beautiful rustic desk suited to home, office, or wood cabin. For a more uniform wood finish, try our Hardwood options.
Reclaimed Wood mostly comes from barns and warehouses around the midwest that are being demolished or remodeled. Rather than throwing these materials away, people have come to celebrate the environmental and aesthetic benefits of reusing them. Reclaimed wood also tends to be stronger and less volatile than new wood of the same species—primarily spruce, pine, and fir. The team at Dust take great care designing each top as a beautiful addition to your creative space that will stand up to the rigors of everyday use.
Vincent Leman and his team of craftspeople have been creating custom tops for Jarvis for a few years now, out of his studio in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Combining modern design, honest materials, and quality craftsmanship, their pieces are made to have lasting quality and value. Vincent also designed our hardwood desk tops as well as our Jarvis Atwood and Jarvis Evolve standing desks.
The Jarvis standing desk frame features an industry-leading 350lb lifting capacity, giving it the strength and stability to lift your reclaimed wood desk top, a couple of monitors, and all the driftwood picture frames you can stand.
Jarvis: giving old boards new life since 2017.
Free Shipping & 30-Day Returns
We offer free shipping and free returns to customers in the lower 48 states. Send back any item in like new condition in its original packaging and we'll refund you in full. See details.
Low Price Guarantee
When you purchase your adjustable desk, ergonomic chair or ergonomic accessory from Fully, rest assured that you are paying the lowest price available anywhere. Learn more.
- Specifications
Jarvis Assembly
Color Variation: when it comes to finishing and staining wood, a lot of factors influence the final appearance. Natural differences in grain and density can have a significant effect on the finished appearance. Reclaimed wood brings even more wacky fun, adding age, weathering, and even species to the list of variables.
What we're getting at is, even though these are actual photos of actual tops with the same actual stain you'll be receiving, your top might not look the same.
Top Size Variation: in celebration of the inherent character of this reclaimed material, the woodworkers perform only minimal joining and planing. As a result, the top sizes and thickness may vary slightly from one top to another. Please consider the listed dimensions approximations, and allow for up to 1" fluctuation up or down. The tops are ∼1.25" thick.
Details & Dimensions
Jarvis Reclaimed Top
Top shipping dimensions
Top Size Length Width Height Weight 48x30" 55" 34" 6" 50 lbs 60x30" 67" 34" 6" 66 lbs 72x30" 79" 34" 6" 84 lbs
Unpackaged Weights:
- 48": 39 lbs
- 60": 48 lbs
- 72": 60 lbs
Jarvis frame details
- 350 lb lifting capacity (inclusive of top weights)
- Industry-leading warranty: 7 years on all frame, mechanical, and electrical components
- Adjustable foot leveling studs for uneven flooring (0.25" adjustment)
- Operating noise less than 50dB
Mid Range frame:
- Height adjustable from 26.5" to 45.75" (without top)
- Adjustment speed of 1.3" per second with soft start/stop
Extended Range frame:
- Height adjustable from 23.75" to 49.25" (without top)
- Adjustment speed of 1.5" per second with soft start/stop
- Jarvis frames ship via FedEx Ground from Portland, OR or Nottingham, MD
- Box dimensions: 42" x 10" x 10"
- Weight: 66 lbs
- Options
Wire Management Grommets
Wire management grommets are situated on the back left and right corners of your desktop. The drilled openings are circular and measure 80mm (approximately 3.15") in diameter. The covers are black plastic, and measure 95mm (3.75") across.
Power Upgrade
We also offer powered grommets, which are also available in black or white. Our powered grommets include one AC outlet, one USB-C and one USB-A port, so you can plug in up to 3 devices per grommet. You can upgrade zero, one, or both of your grommets.
For easy desktop access to extra outlets and ports, try our Clamp-Mounted Surge Protector. Fully compatible with USB-A, USB-C and Apple brick, this convenient little power strip is designed to give you all the power you need without having to crawl under your desk or add grommet holes to your desktop.
Jarvis Frames
The Jarvis frame has an industry-leading 350 lb. lifting capacity and has two desk range options: Extended Range and Mid-Range. Our mid-range option doesn't go as low or high, but works for 85% of adult heights. Heavier steel feet and a lifting column that's wider at the bottom means a more grounded desk.
Our frames come in 4 color options: Black, Silver, White and Alloy.
Alloy is a special edition color with the same steel frame, finished with an automotive-grade clear coat. The result is smooth to the touch, but displays the color, texture, and semi-reflective surface of the raw steel, complete with heat marks and welds.
Handset Options
Jarvis is available with a standard up / down switch or an upgraded programmable memory handset option with a height indicator screen. The memory handset's display screen auto-darks after 10 seconds while the standard up / down handset light stays illuminated.
- Standard Up / Down Switch handset: 2.35" wide x 1.15" tall
- Programmable Memory handset: 5.7" wide x 1.25" tall
Find a chair that moves you
Evolved ergonomic desk chairs were intelligently engineered to encourage natural movement with a more traditional look.
Capisco Chair - Completely cushioned and upholstered seat and back.
Capisco Puls - Firm, molded plastic seat with tailbone cushioning or edge-to-edge seat cushion for a slightly more plush feeling. Narrower than the classic Capisco.
Futu - Classic styling, ergonomic design, and exceptional engineering—including a patented "center-tilt" feature that connects seat back and seat pan in harmonious rocking motion.
Designed for supported standing
Supported-standing chairs put you in a leaning position relieves lower back pain caused by sitting on your tailbone and gives the right amount of support to activate your body's natural ability to find balance.
Luna - The charming and affordable Luna stool brings healthy alignment, support, and motion to your adjustable-height desk.
ILOA - A true saddle chair, opens angle of hips to encourage your spine into a natural curve.
Taking active sitting one step further
Rocking, swaying, bouncing chairs encourage healthy, energy-bringing movement to keep your body engaged and your mind focused.
Tic Toc Chair - Features a contoured swiveling seat and rocking H-base, supporting your body's natural posture and movement.
Anti-Fatigue Mats
Topo Standing Mat - With peaks and valleys that mimic variation in natural terrain, Topo gives your calves and ankles the healthy range of motion they might find on a leisurely stroll. We recommend a Topo Mini if ordering a Jarvis narrower than 42".
- Topo: 29" wide x 26.25" deep
- Topo Mini: 25.2" wide x 19.2" deep
Stand Mat - A simple black standing mat, but far from simple. The supportive foam design will help anyone stand comfortably throughout the day.
- 30" wide x 18" deep
Muvmat by aeris - Add a foot massage to your standing desk experience. Specially engineered with hidden contours that simulate the rocks, roots, and fallen branches you would encounter when walking on a forest floor, this unique anti-fatigue standing mat keeps your feet happy and body energized while standing.
- 36" wide x 19" deep
Balance Boards
Tic Toc Stand Balance Board - Developed around the principles that movement is healthy, Tic Toc Stand is designed not so much to make you move, as to move with you when you naturally shift your weight side to side—or front to back, if you want to mix things up.
- 17.6" wide x 11.5" deep
Floatdeck Balance Board - Crafted for effortless, intuitive motion, Floatdeck keeps your joints loose and body aligned, while subtly strengthening your stabilizing muscles (core, hips, knees) during long periods of standing.
- 29.5" wide x 12.2" deep
We have put together a convenient bundle of some of the most popular cable management tools ready to ship out with your Jarvis frame.
- Fully surge protector with 12ft cable (qty 1)
- 1-2 WireTamer trays in the color of your choice
- Adhesive cable mounts (qty 10)
- Zip ties (qty 20)
The Fully surge protector is ETL listed, and offers six AC outlets and two USB 2.0 ports, and protects against power surges up to 880 joules. The 12' cord provides enough cable for your desk to move up and down; no need to worry about the reach of cables when raising the desk to standing height. The number of trays available depends on the desktop size selected.
Please note that you will need a power drill to mount these accessories to your Jarvis desk.
Jarvis Monitor Arm is a fully-functional, great looking, affordable gas-activated monitor arm. The Jarvis Monitor Arm accommodates most VESA compliant monitors. Available with one (single) or two (dual) arms with optional laptop tray, and comes in black, silver or white, matching your Jarvis frame.
Fully Pole-Mounted Monitor Arm elevates your monitor into your natural line of sight, you can bring your spine back into its natural alignment. Monitor mounts are height adjustable and allow 360° rotation for landscape or portrait orientations. While they don't offer the full range of motion of the JMA, they do make it easier to back your desk up against a wall. Available in one (single) or two (dual) arms. If you are looking for a triple or quad monitor setups, please visit the Fully Pole-Mounted Monitor Arm page.
Desk Organizer
The Fully Desk Drawer provides plenty of space and compartments for keeping things organized, is made of high grade sturdy plastic, and comes pre-assembled for easy installation.
- Dimensions: 22.35" x 16.25" x 2"
- Compatible with rectangle tops only
Please note that you will need a power drill to mount this accessory to your Jarvis desk.
CPU Holders
Keep your CPU stable and accessible while freeing up valuable floor space. Choose between the fast-and-easy Buddy CPU Holder and the Fully Swivel CPU Holder.
The Buddy features simple spring-loaded height and width adjustments to hug your CPU tight. With a weight capacity of 22lbs, Buddy will accommodate small to medium CPU sizes.
Perfect for medium to large CPUs, the Fully Swivel CPU Holder makes it easy to manage cables with its 360° rotation feature.
Please note that you will need a power drill to mount these accessories to your Jarvis desk.
The versatile Beam LED Desk Lamp creates the perfect light for any task or mood. With 5 color options, four color temperatures and four levels of brightness, it's an easy solution to brighten up any space. Constructed from premium steel and aluminum components, this modern, sleek and stylish Beam Lamp is sure to complement any office or living space. Need a matching floor lamp? Visit our Beam LED Floor Lamp page for options.
Jarvis Side Table
Getting an adjustable desk doesn't mean you want everything going up and down all the time. Jarvis Side Table comes in handy for those things in your life that are just as happy sitting still.
The Jarvis Side Table was designed to complement your Jarvis Reclaimed Wood desk. The sturdy steel frames are powder coated in the same black, white, and silver as our classic Jarvis colors, and the bamboo tops are made in the same facilities as the desk tops.
Sidekick File Cabinet
The Sidekick is the perfect companion for your adjustable desk, and it's even painted to match the Jarvis frame. This unassuming set of drawers fits easily into a corner or underneath your desk, and provides valuable organization.
- Sturdy aluminum construction in 4 finishes
- Single mechanism locks all three, smooth pull drawers
- 1 pencil drawer w/ pencil tray insert
- 1 box drawer
- 1 file drawer fits standard letter size hanging folders
- Hard nylon rolling casters, with fifth caster at front of bottom drawer prevents tipping
- Dimensions: height 23.6" x width 15.4" x depth 21.7"
Jarvis Add-Ons
Our Jarvis accessories are designed to better support and help create a workspace that is unique to you.
Casters - These heavy duty plastic casters help you move your workspace when you want to, then lock it in place when you're ready to work. They add 2" to the height of the desk.
Desk Hooks - This pair of magnetic hooks will hold up to 35 lbs each and are constructed of high grade stainless steel.
Bottle Opener - Constructed of super strong stainless steel and designed with a magnet to catch bottle caps.


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"ROH: Tradition" Celebrates Adam Cole and His 275 Day Reign as World Champion!
Categories: Ring of Honor
Adam Cole reigned atop the Ring of Honor roster for 275 days as World Champion, cementing himself in ROH history as one of the all-time greats! Filsinger Games and the Ring of Honor Wrestling game honor this achievement with an awesome new playing card representing the great tradition Adam Cole created during his unforgettable reign as ROH World Champion!
But it gets better! Relive history and create your own new tradition by booking Adam Cole vs. Jay Briscoe in the brand new LADDER WAR MATCH! The Ladder War Match will be a Promoter Prime exclusive this July! So if you don't have Promoter Prime yet, what are you waiting for!?
ROH: Tradition of Honor starts mailing on July 15. And wait'll you see the bonus surprise! You'll love us. Pre-order now!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Close deals with major corporations, organizations or individuals who can propel your business to the next level
When you think about it, our entire lives revolve around selling. Whether we sell as part of our business, serve on a committee of a non-profit organization, or negotiate for a new job/car/house, we are pitching, hearing, and closing deals every day. Let's Close a Deal articulates the intuitive process that identifies how and why a deal will appeal, and then demonstrates in step-by-step detail how to present your deal in a compelling way. The sales process is not about coercion; it's about compassion. The closing part of a negotiation should honor everyone involved instead of taking advantage of them.
We make our decisions based on the manner in which information is presented to us, and what we believe will be the best deal. Let's Close a Deal explains how to present information so persuasively that it increases the likelihood of getting a yes.
Demonstratess how finding the human perspective is key to closing any deal
Articulates the sale from conception, preparation, presentation to close
Author Christine Clifford is a sought-after professional speaker and author of eight books including You, Inc. The Art of Selling Yourself, coauthored with Harry Beckwith. Author has direct experience closing major deals, having taken her company from a million dollar per year loss to over $54 million in sales and having signed the largest contract in the history of her industry with Procter & Gamble, doubling the size of her company overnight
Increase your business's chance for success by improving your ability to secure profitable partnerships. Let's Close a Deal shows you how.


text:
October 2007 The
Mathematician and the Genome. By
Kathleen M. Wong, ScienceMatters@Berkeley.
Excerpt: ...The
completion of the Human Genome Project in
2001 was hailed as a major breakthrough
in science. For the first time, humans could
look at their DNA and discover traits ranging
from their propensity to alcohol addiction
to the likelihood that their children will
have blue eyes.
...Since then, scientists have added the
rat, cow, chicken, dog, and even platypus
to the list of creatures whose genes have
been read like a biochemical book. Each
species has shed new light on the structure
and function of our own genetic code.
Lior Pachter has been at the forefront
of these new genomic analyses. Officially
a UC Berkeley professor of mathematics
and computer science, Pachter considers
himself a mathematical biologist. He uses
the power of mathematical modeling and
statistics to evaluate the vast quantities
of data in DNA.
...Pachter likens genome studies to recreating
plans for an existing building. "Until
now, we've just been labeling the parts,
the doorknobs and windows. Only recently
have we started to ask about the function
of the parts, and how these functions
are related to each other."
...In addition to sequence data, a profusion
of other genetic information is now flooding
the field. Measurements of gene expression
in different tissues, ways to measure
gene variations between individuals, and
other information can all help make sense
of how our DNA makes us who we are. "Mathematics
and statistics provides a good means for
synthesizing the data in a reasonable
way," Pachter says.
Just this year, Pachter began collaborating
on the Human Microbiome Project. This
new initiative from the National Institutes
of Health seeks to analyze the microbial
flora that lives in and on the human body.
Scientists estimate that each person carries
around 10 times more bacterial than human
cells, species ranging from helpful gut
microbes to pathogens like streptococci.
The project will generate a jumble of
gene fragments from both known and new
species. Pachter's role is to help determine
the rough number of creatures represented
in the mix.
"It's fun for me that I can combine both mathematics and
biology and participate in these major enterprises," Pachter
says. "The best thing is, I get to do a lot of beautiful
math to go along with it."
26 June 2007. Human
DNA, the Ultimate Spot for Secret Messages
(Are Some There Now?). The New York
Times. ByDennis Overbye. Excerpt: … Using
the same code that computer keyboards
use, the Japanese group, led by Masaru
Tomita of Keio University, wrote four
copies of Albert
Einstein's famous formula,
E=mc2, along with "1905," the
date that the young Einstein derived
it, into the bacterium's genome,
the 4.2-million-long string of A's,
G's, T's and C's that
determine everything the little bug
is and everything it's ever going
to be. The feat, they said in a paper
published in the journal Biotechnology
Progress, was a demonstration of DNA
as the ultimate information storage
material, able to withstand floods,
terrorism, time and the changing fashions
in technology, not to mention the ability
to be imprinted with little unobtrusive
trademark labels — little "Made
by Monsanto" tags, say. In so
doing they have accomplished at least
a part of the dream that Jaron Lanier,
a computer scientist and musician, and
David Sulzer, a biologist at Columbia,
enunciated in 1999. To create the ultimate
time capsule as part of the millennium
festivities at this newspaper, they
proposed to encode a year's worth
of the New York Times magazine into
the junk DNA of a cockroach. "The
archival cockroach will be a robust
repository," Mr. Lanier wrote, "able
to survive almost all conceivable scenarios." …
June 2007. Looking
Deep, Deep Into Your Genes. OnEarth,
NRDC. by Laura Wright. Excerpt:
Discoveries about the impact of the
environment on our DNA could revolutionize
our concept of illness. ...Although
some diseases are inherited through
a single genetic mutation -- cystic
fibrosis and sickle cell anemia are
examples -- the classic "one gene,
one disease" model doesn't adequately
explain the complex interplay between
an individual's unique genetic code
and his or her personal history of environmental
exposures. That fragile web of interactions,
when pulled out of alignment, is probably
what causes many chronic diseases: cancer,
obesity, asthma, heart disease, autism,
and Alzheimer's, to name just a few....
...The completion of the Human Genome
Project in 2003 armed scientists with
a basic road map of every gene in the
human body, allowing them to probe more
deeply into the ways our DNA controls
who we are and why we get sick, in part
by broadening our understanding of how
genes respond to external factors.
...In 2001, Jennifer Sass, a neurotoxicologist
and senior scientist at the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC), who
was then a postdoctoral researcher at
the University of Maryland, designed
an experiment that included the use
of microarrays and other molecular tools
to figure out how, exactly, mercury
was interfering with both our nervous
and immune systems. ...The findings
of Sass, Silbergeld, and others indicate
that mercury might play a role in the
development of diseases involving immune
system dysfunction. These diseases perhaps
include autism ... but also the spate
of autoimmune disorders that we can't
fully explain, from Graves' disease
and rheumatoid arthritis to multiple
sclerosis and lupus.
"Do we need to reevaluate our fish advisories?" Silbergeld
asks. "Are our regulations actually protecting the most
sensitive people?" We target pregnant women and children
because we've presumed that mercury's neurotoxic effects are
most damaging to those whose brains are still developing. Sass
and Silbergeld's findings don't contradict that assumption,
but they do suggest that there might be other adults who are
far more vulnerable than we'd realized -- who simply can't
tolerate the more subtle effect the metal has on their immune
system because of a peculiarity in their genetic makeup. Designing
fish advisories for those people, whose sensitivities are coded
in their DNA, is a challenge we've never tackled before....
23 May 2007. Study:
Climate Change Could Harm CropsBy
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Excerpt:
ROME (AP) -- ...During the next 50 years,
more than 60 percent of 51 wild peanut
species analyzed and 12 percent of 108
wild potato species analyzed could become
extinct because of climate change, according
to a study released Tuesday by the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural
Research. Surviving species would be
confined to much smaller areas, further
eroding their capacity to survive, the
report said. The study looked at the
distribution of various species and
predicted their ability to survive based
on current and projected climate data
for 2055. Farmers and researchers often
depend on wild plants to breed new varieties
of crops that contain genes for traits
such as pest resistance or drought tolerance,
and that reliance is expected to increase
as climate changes strain the ability
of crops to continue to have the same
yields as now, the group said in a statement.
In recent years, genes found in wild
relatives have helped develop new types
of domesticated potatoes that can fight
devastating potato blight and new varieties
of wheat more likely to survive droughts,
the statement said. ''There is an urgent
need to collect and store the seeds
of wild relatives in crop diversity
collections before they disappear,''
said Andy Jarvis, an agricultural geographer
who led the study. ''At the moment,
existing collections are conserving
only a fraction of the diversity of
wild species that are out there.'' ....Consultative
Group on International Agricultural
Research: http://www.cgiar.org
5 September 2006. This
Can't Be Love. By CARL ZIMMER. NY
Times. Across
the eastern United States, a gruesome
ritual is in full swing. The praying
mantis and its relative, the Chinese
mantis, are in their courtship season.
A male mantis approaches a female, flapping
his wings and swaying his abdomen. Leaping
on her back, he begins to mate. And quite
often, she tears off his head. The female
mantis devours the head of the still-mating
male and then moves on to the rest of
his body. ...Sexual cannibalism has fascinated
biologists ever since Darwin. It is not
limited to mantises, but is also found
in other invertebrates, including spiders,
midges and perhaps horned nudibranchs.
Biologists have debated how this behavior
has evolved in these species. Some have
suggested that sexual cannibalism is
just a result of a voracious female appetite.
But experiments have also suggested that
it is a strategy that females use to
select the best fathers for their offspring....
11 October 2005. In
the Classification Kingdom, Only the
Fittest Survive. By CAROL KAESUK
YOON. NY Times. Carolus
Linnaeus, the 18th-century botanist and
father of scientific naming, enjoyed
the unusual status of international scientific
hero. Celebrated as the creator of a
classification system that ... uses kingdoms
of life and two-part Latin names for
species, was so complete that it seemed
he had forever solved the problem of
cataloging the world's living things.
So Linnaeus would most likely be shocked
- after guessing there were fewer than
15,000 species of animals and plants
on earth - to learn that more than 200
years later, scientists are far from
finishing the naming of living things
and are once again being overwhelmed
by an explosion of new species and names.
Between 1.5 million and 2 million species
have been named, and a deluge of what
could be millions more appears imminent.
As a result, scientists have once again
been seized by 18th-century paroxysms
of fear that the field of classification
could descend into chaos with precious
information lost. For while the Linnaean
method for organizing life is still followed
and has held up well, no one oversees
what has become the rapid and sometimes
haphazard proliferation of species names.
19 March 2005. Latest
research into the X chromosome brings
startling discoveries. The Scotsman.
by ROBERT LEE HOTZ. SCIENTISTS
have found genetic evidence for what
some men have long suspected: it is
dangerous to make assumptions about
women. The key is the X chromosome,
the "female" sex chromosome
that all men and women have in common.
In a study published this week in
the journal Nature, scientists said
they had found an unexpectedly large
genetic variation in the way parts
of women's two X chromosomes are distributed
among them. The findings were published
in conjunction with the first comprehensive
decoding of the chromosome. Females
can differ from each other almost
as much as they do from males in the
way many genes at the heart of sexual
identity behave, researchers say. "Literally
every one of the females we looked
at had a different genetic story,"
says Duke University genetics expert
Huntington Willard, who co-wrote the
study. "It is not just a little
bit of variation." ...The newly
discovered genetic variation between
women might help account for differing
gender reactions to prescription drugs
and the heightened vulnerability of
women to some diseases, experts say.
...All told, men and women may differ
by as much as 2 per cent of their
entire genetic inheritance, greater
than the hereditary gap between humankind
and its closest relative, the chimpanzee. "In
Willard says, "there is not one
human genome, but two: male and female." ...The
X chromosome contains a larger share
of genes linked to disease than any
other chromosome. It is implicated
in 300 hereditary disorders, including
colour blindness, haemophilia and
Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Nearly
10 per cent of the genes may belong
to a group known to be more active
in testicular cancers, melanomas and
other cancers, the team reports.
3 May 2005. NASA RELEASE: 05-115. NASA
and EPA Team to Improve Crop Management. Can
you see the difference between traditional
corn and bio-engineered corn? NASA technology
is beginning to provide the answer in
a snapshot. The technology is called
hyperspectral imaging. It uses a special
camera to cut one snapshot into 120 color-specific
images. Hyperspectral means getting many
more images within the spectrum of just
one picture. Each image shows a unique
characteristic not visible to the human
eye. ...The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) teamed with NASA to use
the technology to ensure appropriate
management practices are used to avoid
the development of resistance in corn
pest populations. Pest resistance could
severely limit the continued use of these
new varieties of corn. With more than
25 million acres of corn planted this
year, it is physically and economically
infeasible to sample each one. This new
technology seeks to provide an active
monitoring capability to inform the grower
of pest resistance development. Early
use of hyperspectral imaging provides
the ability to distinguish between the
two types of corn and identify pest infestation
conditions. Bio-engineered corn has inserted
genes to make the plant resistant to
insects. ..."This effort will enhance
NASA's understanding of image processing
techniques to extract knowledge from
hyperspectral data sets,"
said Brian Mitchell of NASA's Space
Partnership Development Program at Marshall. "The
research being conducted with genetically
modified plants and plant growth has
the potential to contribute significantly
in our ability to grow sustainable and
nutritional crops in space. This could
prove vital for long duration exploration
...Hyperspectral imaging may be used
to treat crew injuries in space. The
Institute is working on a portable, handheld
camera to take images of a wound site.
Using that image to identify wound severity
and healing progress will allow doctors
to decide the best treatment. The imaging
could save precious diagnostic time,
which would also improve healing by ensuring
timely and proper treatment. Hyperspectral
imaging will also detect mold and toxins
in spacecraft, a needed tool during long-duration
missions to ensure crews have a clean,
healthy environment. For info..., visit:
For related material on crops
and bioengineering, see the Union
of Concerned Scientists web page
and Environment"
Summer 2004. Prescription Rice: The Brave New World of Pharma Foods, by Melissa Pamer. Terrain
magazine, pp. 10-13. Excerpt:
... Farmers in California's flat, hazy
rice fields have worked for years...to
please the demanding Japanese palate
and gain a toehold in its lucrative
market. And it's beginning to work:
roughly 40 percent of the rice grown
in California goes to Japan. ... Just
in the past few years California's rice
has finally earned some respect in Japan
and other finicky Asian markets, and
last year's crop could achieve the best
return for farmers in the state's history.
But now California farmers worry that
the purity of their rice, its hard-won
status, and their own livelihood may
become casualties of the global debate
on genetic modification. At issue is
a new kind of rice-a new kind of farm
crop, in fact-that is genetically engineered
to produce pharmaceuticals. Using the
same recombinant DNA techniques that
have created GE foods, biotechnology
companies are now making plants like
rice, corn, and tobacco into
"factories" for producing medically
useful compounds....Over the past few months,
a small Sacramento-based biotechnology company's
aim to expand its experimental crop of pharmaceutical
rice has caused a shake-up in the normally
hermetic California rice industry. In October
of last year, Ventria BioScience petitioned
the California Rice Commission (CRC) for permission
to grow 120 acres of two varieties of rice
engineered to produce artificial versions
of two human proteins-lysozyme and lactoferrin-which
occur naturally in breast milk and tears.
...Ventria's petition set off a review process.
..."One little slip. One slip, that's
all it's gonna take. If there's a mistake,
the farmer is going to pay-big time," rice
farmer Joe Carrancho told the CRC advisory
board as it prepared to vote on Ventria's
protocol in late March. In work boots and
dusty blue overalls, Carrancho held up a chart
showing 100 percent opposition to GMO wheat
from Japanese consumers. "We are fearful," he
Articles from 2004–present
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text:
Growing in Lochgelly was formed in October 2015 in part as a response to the priorities for action that was identified through the Lochgelly Community Action Plan.
At a public meeting for the Community Action Plan, the group pitched the floral displays to members of the public in attendance in the hope to access local funding to carry out the project.
The project gained public support and the group was awarded £1,500 to carry out a range of environmental improvements across the town.
Our first project was to put planters at Lochgelly Cross, which was welcomed warmly by residents. Passing residents participated in the planting at the Cross.
The planting scheme was extended to Ore Valley Business Centre, a seating arrangement placed at the old post office, planters and tubs extended down to the Macari's café and Lochgelly Centre.
Shop and business owners contributed to planters that were placed outside their premises.
The Bank of Scotland were also approached and volunteers planted out the area outside the bank. This area had been neglected for many years.
Working with the South primary school, volunteers and pupils planted out areas at Lochgelly War Memorial and Lochgelly Fire Station.
Sadly, three board members stepped down from their roles during 2016, Wendy Buchanan, Eileen Charity and George Elder. Their contributions were valued and played integral roles within the group.
We recently filled these roles and welcomed Shona McPherson "Chair", Conor Watt "Secretary", James "Jim" Johnston " Board Member", onto the group, to help take the project forward.
Special thanks must be given to active member Alex McDonald " Macari's Sweets and Ices -Main St, For continuing to work on the planters during the winter months.
Also Sandy Ritchie who became an active member and has given us half of his plot ( potting shed ) until we secure a place of our own.
Recently the work of Growing in Lochgelly was included in the application for a SURF Award, and the work of the group with many others in the local area was officially recognized with Lochgelly winning the SURF award for most improved town in Scotland.
Currently, our volunteers have been preparing the tubs during the winter to be ready for the planting season. Hopefully we will fulfill our pledges to the staff of the shops and businesses this year. We have many projects in the pipeline and have been grateful for the community support to date.
We look forward to another busy year of planting and other environmental projects in 2017.


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In all the arguments concerning gun control, one thing usually doesn't come up: anything can be used as a weapon and most criminals will commit crimes even if they don't have access to advanced weaponry. In a recent story, a man robbed a Best Western hotel with hot coffee. Police were unable to find the assailant, who made off with about four hundred and fifty dollars and a cell phone. No wonder he got away… the police probably got held up at Starbucks interrogating the barista turned arms dealer. If you can rob a hotel with coffee, what couldn't you use?
Many domesticated Americans will say, "Yes, but you wouldn't have the same level of violence if there weren't guns. Someone can't do nearly as much damage with coffee as they can with an AK-47." Assuming you could actually ensure that criminals couldn't get guns, I guess you're marginally right, Mr. Hypothetical-Gun-Control-Advocate. They wouldn't do as much damage… by themselves and in one go anyway. But gun controls cannot make the average citizen safe from the average criminal, even if the average criminal doesn't have a gun. Because when average citizens don't have guns, average criminals become more daring and more numerous. If you can make an easy five hundred using nothing more than a steaming cup of joe, why not, right? Now, if you are concerned that you might get a quail shot facial, you might think twice. Well, you wouldn't, Mr. Hypothetical-Et-Cetera. You're a decent human being, and you wouldn't even think of robbing a Best Western. It's so much easier to rob your rich neighbor staring down the muzzle of a Form 1040. But I digress.
Socialists love to make the argument that a gunless society would be a less criminal one. But I don't think this is true given our current social environment (as the Coffee Man episode illustrates). A society free of non-criminal civilian guns would absolutely necessitate a larger and more intrusive police force than we currently have to ensure public safety. And I would be extremely surprised if big-government socialists didn't know this. In fact, I think they're banking on it. See, guns aren't just to protect citizens from civilian criminals; they are even more crucial for protecting citizens from tyrants.
We need to stop saying, "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." It's catchy and all and basically true, but it leaves one of the most crucial points out of the discussion. Socialists are happy to argue about whether or not gun control works to reduce civilian crime. What they don't want to talk about is the real problem with gun control: If you outlaw guns, only the civil government will have them. Our founding fathers understood that. Alexander Hamilton said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary." What are "external controls on government"? Your guns. Period. The internal controls have already broken down. And unless you're planning on using hot coffee to ward off tyrants, I recommend you start fighting harder for your Second Amendment rights.


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Brutalist London : The Barbican Illustrated Art Printby Eye for London Prints
Brutalist Utopia : The Barbican London
Described by Queen Elizabeth as "one of the modern wonders of the world", the Barbican Estate in London is one of the largest examples of the Brutalist style and represents a utopian ideal for inner-city living.
The post-war complex was designed in the 1950s by British firm Chamberlin, Powell and Bon – a team of three young architects who had recently established their reputation by winning the the 1951 design competition for the nearby Golden Lane Estate.
With the Corporation of London as a client, the project was intended to create a mixed society of residents, but the change in politics brought in during Margaret Thatcher's term as Britain's prime minister inevitably led to the majority of homes being sold to private owners and landlords.
These days the address is highly sought after, with properties selling for as much as £4 million.
I stayed in a very ordinary looking character less estate when I moved to London, but this is Brutal Beauty.
What is Brutalism?
Brutalism, or New Brutalism as it was sometimes referred to, has its roots in modernism but emerged as a movement against the architectural mainstream. It placed an emphasis on materials, textures and construction as well as functionality and equality.
There has been a shift in attitude towards the architectural style of Brutalism – buildings once dismissed as ugly have now found themselves the objects of new found affection. People are coming out in support for some of the world's most iconic buildings – voices louder and prouder than ever.
When it comes to Brutalist architecture, London is home to some of the finest examples on the planet.
Fine art Giclee Prints on Xpression smooth 300gsm thick paper available. (I love this, as the archival inks enhance the colours, on light texture) Reminds me a bit of the texture of concrete. (see last pic for giclee ref)
Good to know:
- All prints dispatched within 6-8 working days.
- Shipping: Within UK : Royal Mail First class (1-2 Days Delivery after dispatch)
- If you want an expedited shipping, please message me for courier options.
- Rest of the World: 15-25 days after dispatch delivery by Royal Mail Tracked.
- International Shipping: Sometimes if deliveries were attempted and unsuccessful, the package is returned to the PO. Please look out for a delivery note.
- The prints are not framed. Please be aware that colours may vary slightly from what you see on your screen, depending on your monitor settings.


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Captain's Log: Stardate 11172.6
Starfleet Command file 20110921:
Classified Report on Operation Question Pop -- Successful
After a full week of encoded subspace messages (private emails) to Enterprise Officers Capt. Dave, Lt. Zoraida, Lt. Kurt, Ensign Beth and Ensign Emily, Starfleet Command's highly-classified mission, Operation Question Pop, turned out to be a complete success.
Now classified as public knowledge, and for the purposes of archiving the events as they unfolded, I submit the process here on the Captain's Log:
Day One, Stardate 11170.4: The Enterprise finishes Race 19, the final race of the 2011 EBYRA Wednesday Night Race Series. Ellen knows that there is a ring en route to my office at Starfleet Headquarters (in Tarrytown) but has no idea of when it will arrive, or, more importantly, how long it will take to actually be given to her. Weeks? Months? Years?
Day Two, Stardate 11170.7: Contact is made with UK sailmakers to produce a 8' x 10' banner. First email is sent to participants regarding the plan of attack. Captain's Log is sent out to all crew by email. Conversations with Ellen regarding EBYRA results, committee boats and politics -- all to throw her off. Deception and Behind-The-Back Plotting: Who says I'm not ready for marriage?
Day Three, Stardate 11171.0: Imagine that, UK quotes BIG on simple project. Oh well. Defender.com here I come. Big roll of 3/4 ounce white nylon sail material: check! Big supply of 12" sail letters: Check! Grommet kit: Check. Sent emails to the crew with a YouTube video and a data sheet on a C&C 37R racing information.
Day Four, Stardate 11171.2: Still need to throw Ellen off. It's 50 degrees outside and blowing 20-25, so I'll still push forward with our cruise plans to Oyster Bay and dinner at our favorite restaurant Canterbury Ales. Normally, I'd say, it's too cold and windy for cruising, but she might think the question will come at the restaurant. She does her hair and looks great. Dinner comes and goes. Nothing. Insert evil laugh here: Buwahhhh Hah Hah!!
Day Five, Stardate 11171.5: Enterprise achieves Warp 9.6 on the jib alone in 20-25 on the way back from Oyster Bay. We get back extra early so I throw in an average-Sunday plan of supermarket shopping and an evening watching the Emmys. Charlie Sheen -- "Winning" $100M settlement from Warner Bros. -- and Michael Bolton singing Captain Jack Sparrow steal the show.
Day Six, Stardate 11171.8: The big box from Defender arrives. My office, usually used for legal work, CLE processing and program event management, is now a sail loft. Encoded emails to the crew regarding the plan. Meet Kurt somewhere on 287 or Beth in the Beirut (South Yonkers) waterfront. Decide to throw Ellen off further by distributing a photo to the entire crew of a boat with a 80-foot mast going under a 12-foot bridge.
Day Seven, Stardate 11172.1: The banner is finished. Plan is set to meet up with Beth in South Yonkers to pass off it off. I'm unarmed, but I go anyway. Instructions sent to the crew on how to hang -- use any line or halyard on the Enterprise they deem necessary.
Final Day, Stardate 11172.3: Must give the crew time to set up the banner. Thankfully, a client came in to the office late in the day to discuss copyrighting an iPhone/iPad app he developed. He tells me to take my time, to which I replied, "I'm billing you hourly. Of course I'll take my time." I pick Ellen up at my place, making a further-delay plan by meeting up with Richie Coar to give him the registration for our almost-sold Committee Boat. On the way to City Island, we discuss my copyright business, EBYRA shake-ups and everything but what was about to go down.
We get to the pier and she sees, off in the distance, a banner flying, but believes it's on a boat beyond the Enterprise. Feeling cold, though, she runs back down the pier towards the car to get a jacket (the crew is thinking that she saw the sign and ran away.)
Back at the pier, getting on the launch, she asks if I know anything about the banner on the other boat, and if I know where the crew for the evening was, only planning for a short sail on what we call the 20th Race of the 19-Race Wednesday Night Race Series.
The launch makes its way to the Enterprise and she looks again:
Mission Success!! A total surprise!
So I'm on my way to boldly going where no Enterprise Captain has gone before. Not sure of exactly when, but it'll be soon. I think it was Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise-D who said it best . . .
I think the worst part of it all is that I'll now have to assign Ellen to the foredeck for the next several seasons. After all, she's basically wearing the new headsail on her finger.


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Bakewell Holiday Cottages
Lovers of traditional British food and even more traditional countryside should do themselves a massive favour and spend a few days in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside this year. The historic town of Bakewell offer the visitors a fantastic mix of 14th century history and combine this with stunning natural beauty and some gorgeous restaurants.
Why not take the opportunity to bring your family or friends along for a weekend and base yourselves at the excellent Paddock House Farm Holiday cottages? These converted Bakewell Holiday Cottages offer a self catering break like no other you've experienced before. As well as checking out the lovely market town of Bakewell, you can also spend some time in nearby Buxton and enjoy looking around the Roman health spa.
In fact, this southernmost part of the Peak District National Park has more than its fair share of charming places to visit and enjoy and that includes the myriad of atmospheric country pubs and high quality restaurants that are dotted around the sumptuous scenic countryside.
At the end of a tiring but enjoyable day of exploring and sampling the local wares, you can retire to the Paddock House Farm Holiday cottages and plan your next day at your leisure in your new home from home.
Bakewell Holiday CottagesBakewell Holiday Cottages
- Ash Derbyshire Holiday Cottage 3 bedroom sleeps 6 + 2
- Beech Derbyshire Holiday Cottage 3 bedroom sleeps 6 + 4
- Oak Derbyshire Holiday Cottage 3 bedroom sleeps 5
- Hazel Derbyshire Holiday Cottage 2 bedroom sleeps 4 + 2
- Elm Derbyshire Holiday Cottage sleeps 2 + 2
- Cherry Derbyshire Holiday Cottage sleeps 2


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No time to get a cake for that special occasion? Our trusted GoGetters can pick up and hand deliver cakes of different sizes.
Types of cakes we can deliver:
* 3 tier wedding cakes
* Birthday cakes
* Ice cream cakes
* Specialty cakes
* Boxes of cupcakes/tarts
and so much more.
*Cash on delivery only.
*No GoGet credits and/or promo codes are allowed to be used for this deal.


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Growing Jobs and the Economy
I understand and value the connection between Michigan's businesses, job creation, and a thriving community. By maintaining our state's prevailing wage law we can provide workers a fair wage and help build a stronger community and economy, however we also need to support our small businesses because they are the economic engines of our future. By working collaboratively, we can increase economic development, expand educational opportunities, increase support for skilled trades training programs, create jobs, and help our businesses grow and succeed.
Safer Roads and Infrastructure
We need to further invest in our roads and bridges if we want to have a first-class transportation infrastructure system in Michigan. Better roads drives up tourism dollars, lowers vehicle repair costs, ensures goods get from farms to stores to homes, increases public safety, creates jobs, and maintains a more vibrant community and state. We need corporations to pay their fair share and more support for public transit and other modes of transportation to alleviate congestion, improve public health, and reduce wear and tear on our aging roadways and infrastructure.
Investing in our Kids
As a former teacher, I understand that funding for education is crucial to our student's and Michigan's future, and I know we need to better support teachers because they are educating our next workforce and community leaders. In order to have a quality education, we need to improve our education policies and invest in public schools to ensure that our students get the best education possible. We need to stop funding for-profit charter schools that are failing to educate our students, and we need to hold accountable all schools that receive public funds and that includes cyber schools.
Protecting Our Natural Resources
In Michigan, we are blessed with the Great Lakes and an abundance of waterways, forests, and natural beauty. It's our duty to protect and maintain the environment on a global scale, and within our great state to ensure our natural resources stay pristine for future generations to enjoy. We need to strengthen our protections for clean water and air, and toughen penalties for corporate polluters. I will continue to work hard to ensure that environmental concerns are heard and that we adequately invest in our natural resources.


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Tuition for International Students
Tuition and Fees for the 2020-2021 school year:
Tuition & Fees Breakdown
- Tuition: $25,700*
- International student fees: $6,250
- Gift income paid to host family: $3,000
- The host family your child will live with receives a tuition credit in the form of gift income paid by the natural family. This helps support the family beyond the monthly stipend (homestay fee) provided by our international agency partner.
- Academic tutoring support: $1,500
- Instruction through a private tutor, arranged by the School, is required for an international student during his/her first year at Nichols. After the first year, the student must be approved by the Academic Review Committee for each year the student attends Nichols in order to determine the level of support required. If deemed necessary thereafter, the tuition will continue to include the $1,500 fee. Unused dollars are non-refundable. Tutoring required beyond the $1,500 fee will be charged to the student's family in addition to tuition. One exception to this fee exists: When English is the student's first language and the student will not require academic tutoring support, the Admissions Office will waive the fee.
- Books and miscellaneous: $1,750
- Of this, $1,500 is designated toward book store expenses. Unused dollars for books are non-refundable. Book costs beyond the $1,500 will be charged to the student's family in addition to tuition. The remaining $250 will cover activities designed especially for international students. Programming is provided by the School and the International Students Coordinator.
- Gift income paid to host family: $3,000
Additional Fees
* Note the tuition cost will rise proportionally with Nichols School student tuition as set per grade each school year. These figures are provided for the purpose of an example of what an international student's family will pay for the present school year.
** Fees are nonnegotiable.


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Norman Sandridge, Howard University, Center for Hellenic Studies
Before I talk about how a collaborative online commentary can be part of a responsible Greek major, I want to echo Ryan's point about collegiality in Sunoikisis. Besides creating opportunities for undergraduates at smaller institutions, Sunoikisis enables faculty to create ad hoc departments full of colleagues with similar interests and passions. I want to thank the "department" that has been kind enough to have me as a colleague for the past three years, namely, those who helped create the Education of Cyrus commentary: David Carlisle, Ryan Fowler, Allen Romano, Sarah Ferrario, and Jennifer Gates-Foster. I also thank Ryan Fowler, Kristina Meinking, and Kenny Morrell for inviting my students and me to participate in the introductory Greek course that Kristina is going to speak about next.
For my presentation I'm going to try to do four things:
- First, I will explain how the The Education of Cyrus, or Cyropaedia, cries out for collaborative commentary.
- Second, I will describe the advantages of a collaborative online commentary over the traditional book commentary and the single-author online commentary.
- Third, I will explain how the Cyropaedia commentary fits into the Sunoikisis Greek curriculum that Ryan has introduced, including a report on how the commentary has been used by undergraduates.
- Fourth, I will offer some final thoughts on how our commentary, known as Cyrus' Paradise, can be considered "responsible".
My presentation will be narrower than Ryan's, in the sense that I'm talking about a single text and how an online commentary meets the needs of a third-semester Greek course; but my presentation will also be broad, in the sense that the mode of online commenting I describe can work with any text and serve the needs of any language course
To begin, I want to say briefly what the Education of Cyrus is, so that it will be clear why it requires collaborative commentary. The Cyropaedia was composed by Xenophon around 365 BCE. It provides a largely fictitious account of the Persian king Cyrus the II, who is also known as "the Great" because he was the first king of a vast multinational empire that lasted over two centuries. From Xenophon we learn about Cyrus' youth in the Persian educational system, then his conquests, culminating with the sack of Babylon, and finally his very Socratic deathbed speech to his sons. An epilogue that some have deemed spurious tells of Persian decline after Cyrus' death. Xenophon's purpose for writing the work is, seemingly, to educate would-be leaders with the example of Cyrus.
Even though it is true that any ancient text requires an interdisciplinary approach, this is extremely true of the Cyropaedia. To know the work well one needs to know fourth-century Greek prose, particularly the historical and philosophical context in which Xenophon wrote. Ideally, one would be familiar with the Greek language from Homer to Plato because Xenophon draws heavily from the vocabulary and motifs of earlier authors. One also needs to know Achaemenid history and archaeology in order to figure what is Greek and what is Persian about the Cyropaedia's characters, themes, values, language, and artifacts. One needs to know Cyrus in other Greek historians like Herodotus and Ctesias. And it doesn't hurt to know about narratology and Iranian folklore; the Cyropaedia after all has been described as the first novel in "western" literature. Moreover, the reception of the Education of Cyrus spans from Alexander the Great through the Roman Republic and into the Renaissance, then on to the founders of the US constitution. Even today Cyrus is important for Iranian and Iranian-American political identity (note the recent tour of the Cyrus Cylinder in the US).
With this background I want to talk now about the commentary itself. I won't go over everything in detail; those who want more detail may follow the slide show tutorial on the webpage. I will highlight some of the features of the commentary that enable a remarkable amount of intergenerational collaboration and new discovery. (I'll explain what I mean by "intergenerational" in a moment.) Those of you who have a laptop or an iPhone may follow this part of the presentation by going to www.cyropaedia.org.
Cyrus' Paradise operates on the CommentPress platform, which is both a theme and a plugin to WordPress. The main layout of the site consists of text on the left and commentary on the right. As with any blog, you can supplement the text with multimedia and links. The site also contains a normal blog page that features scholarly investigation at any stage of development. There are, by the way, a number for recent posts on the reception of the Cyropaedia and on Xenophon's use of Iranian folklore.
One of the more innovative modifications we made to the site is what we call a question-based style of commenting. For example, if you click on the comments for Cyropaeida 1.1.1, you will see that one question is Why does Xenophon introduce his narrative with a reflection rather than a direct statement? If you are interested in an answer to this question, you can click. You may read the replies and if you are satisfied, you may move on. If not, you may pose follow-up questions or give your own answer. If you are not interested in the question at all, you can continue scrolling for a question that does interest you; or you may pose your own question.
To my knowledge no one has ever done a commentary that introduces comments by posing questions. In a book this would take up too much space, and the only one who could answer the question is obviously the author. The most a reader can do to search for information in a book is skim the comments or index. By contrast, a question-based style of commenting has the advantage of organizing dozens of otherwise untethered comments. And this approach invites more discussion than traditional online commenting. For example, if someone comments on a passage and you reply to it, you run the risk of challenging that commenter, whereas you are helping the commenter if you supply your own answer to the question posed. Also, it may be that you have a really interesting question you don't know the answer to. You can benefit the users of the commentary by opening up new avenues of investigation. Such a feature is particularly valuable to readers who are new to a text or who may be introducing a new methodology. Finally, this question-and-answer approach lays bare the process of scholarly inquiry, warts and all, including misunderstandings and false starts, which can serve to caution those headed down a similar path. In short, the comment threads are like Socratic dialogues, in which participants are all philologists in the truest sense: they love hearing accounts of things.
In addition to being organized according to questions, the comments and blog posts are fully searchable. So, for example, there are 25 comments, four blog posts, and 19 bibliographical entries that mention Herodotus; these pieces of information would make good starting points for an investigation into Herodotus' influence on the Cyropaedia. What is interesting about this search is that the comments and posts were left by different users. There is thus implicit collaboration built into the commentary unintentionally. We are all in effect "writing" a paper on Herodotus in the Cyropaedia every time we talk about Herodotus. This feature holds particular promise for undergraduates and grad students new to the work.
The commentary may also be searched according to commenter. So, if you want to see how a particular scholar interprets the Cyropaedia, you can. If you are looking to hire a new colleague, you have the chance to see how your candidate engages in scholarly debate. Is she knowledgeable? Is she helpful? Is she polite? Since all the comments are time-stamped, you have the opportunity to see how a commenter's views evolve over time.
So far I have been discussing Cyrus' Paradise in a way that might suggest that it is designed primarily for professional research. But this is not the case. Cyrus' Paradise was designed from the outset to be intergenerational. The commenting feature of the site introduces students to the history of questions scholars have asked about the text. Even if students are not ready to answer these questions on their own, they can begin pondering them as they learn to read the text. The text on the main site is supplemented with multimedia and questions designed to spark the curiosity of beginners and experts alike. Most importantly, the first four chapters of Book One are supplemented with tutorials on all the available grammatical, syntactical, and vocabulary resources. Users hover over the footnotes and then link directly to relevant passages in Smyth and Goodwin. Students can even listen to a reading of the text and, as with any blog format, they can have their own discussions. Their comments and questions may guide future students on a similar path. One advanced undergraduate at Illinois-Wesleyan, Melissa Huang, has participated quite a bit on the site. She posed questions about the Cyropaedia in its historical context and offered helpful bibliography on the influence of the Cyropaedia on Alexander the Great.
Given this present focus on students, I want to explain now how Cyrus' Paradise fits into the Sunoikisis curriculum as a third-semester Greek text. So far it has been used at three institutions: by Nancy Sultan at Illinois-Wesleyan, by David Carlisle at Cornell College, and by Joe Jansen at Rhodes College. It has yet to be used in a collaborative course on the model Ryan discussed, though in all iterations members of Sunoikisis have consulted on how to organize the course and have fielded questions from faculty and students. For example, in Nancy Sultan's course I regularly engaged in discussion with Melissa Huang on the commentary. These resources, both live and electronic, are particularly useful for faculty at smaller institutions who may not be very familiar with the Cyropaedia but who like the idea of participating in a collaborative online commentary. I'd like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to use Cyrus' Paradise for a Greek course. I can promise we would be available almost daily to field questions and engage in discussion. It might also be a good opportunity to become involved in other Sunoikisis courses.
In Sunoikisis, Cyrus' Paradise offers what we are calling a "bridge" course to the upper level Greek courses that Ryan talked about in his presentation. Specifically, the exhaustive grammatical and syntactical resources allow instructors to flip their classrooms and address more targeted questions during class. The audio recordings allow students to focus on the oral/aural components of learning a language. For example, you can have students write down what they hear on the recordings, have them make their own recordings, or even translate by listening (for example, you can have them imagine they are an interpreter at the UN). As Kristina will explain in the next presentation, the elementary Greek course uses vocabulary drawn heavily from Xenophon and it encourages students to spend most of their time reading passages about the young Cyrus.
The feedback on Cyrus' Paradise from students and faculty so far has been encouraging. Students of course have long read Xenophon's Anabasis in the third semester, but they appreciate the philosophical nature of the Cyropaedia and the interdisciplinary approaches to studying it. Joe Jansen has reported that the tools of the commentary have allowed him to cover more text than in a typically Greek III class and that an online commentary is especially useful to average students who might be reluctant to ask many questions in class.
I have so far tried to explain how Cyrus' Paradise functions as a collaborative online commentary, and I highlighted the fact that this commentary was designed for students at all stages of Greek. This type of commentary has several obvious advantages over a book: it can hold more information, including multimedia; it can be edited and updated rapidly and at any time; it can incorporate a range of expertise no single scholar is likely to possess; it is searchable according to questions, commenters, and even individual terms; it is free and instantly available to anyone in the world. Cyrus' Paradise also has advantages over other online commentaries, which, although very user friendly and erudite, are nonetheless produced by a single or at most only a few scholars. Consequently an online commentary that is not collaborative can expand only narrowly and at a linear rate. Because it relies on collaborative commenting, Cyrus' Paradise has the potential grow exponentially.
From what we can tell based on anecdotal feedback from users and online stats, Cyrus' Paradise is a popular and valued resource. In 2012, the first full year of use, the commentary's pages were visited almost 13K times. In 2013 that number has increased by 30% to almost 17K page-visits at the time of this writing (Dec. 16, 2013).
But you may still be wondering about the quality of the comments. Who are the contributors to Cyrus' Paradise? Can anyone comment? The answer is, no, only registered contributors can comment. Typically these contributors have an advanced degree in one of the fields pertinent to the Cyropaedia. But authorized contributors might also be students working on advanced degrees or even highly motivated undergraduates (as in the example of Melissa Huang above). Ultimately, users of the site have access to all of the available professional information on each authorized contributor.
You might also wonder, are all 1,100 of the comments on the site brilliant, succinct, and helpful? No, they are not, but neither is every comment in a Socratic dialogue. But like the participants in a Socratic dialogue, all of the authorized contributors bring informed questions and sincere attempts to understand the text. Comments are supported with parallel passages in Xenophon and other ancient texts, as well as secondary literature. None of the comments are sloppy, confusing, or ideologically biased. Those who use the site for scholarly papers will find ample bibliography and may site anything by commenter and date; each comment has its own web address. Worst-case scenario, users of the site may be inconvenienced by a wordy or unhelpful comment. No one is likely to be misled.
Another problem you may be wondering about is how do you get authorized contributors to give their best, most recent, and important work? This remains a challenge, both for us in the humanities and the sciences. For a good illustration see Michael Nielsen's Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Discovery. Nielsen sees a classic tension between the good of the individual, in this case the scholar seeking academic recognition, and the good of the community, who stands to benefit immediately from open-source and expert information. One partial solution we have found is to have contributors share conference papers they have presented on recent scholarship or to summarize relevant passages of work about to be published as a kind of advertisement.
Our most successful attempt at getting the best work from contributors came in the form of an online symposium we hosted in June 2012. Approximately eighty participants registered for the symposium and around thirty made contributions to the site, some in the form of blog posts and some in the form of lengthy dialogues about the meaning of a single passage. This June we are planning another online symposium with targeted commenting on the most popular passages. Using the stats of most visited pages on the site, we can determine what is trending and what is most popular over time. I would invite any of you to participate in this online symposium (you don't have to travel or stay in an expensive hotel). Finally, we are also exploring a procedure for giving authorized contributors scholarly attribution equivalent to a published article or book review. I won't go into the details here, but would be happy to discuss in the Q & A.
In sum, my presentation has sought to illustrate both the need for a collaborative online commentary to the Cyropaedia and the means by which this commentary comes to serve the needs of the Sunoikisis Greek curriculum. I will go a bit further: we may have debates about who is allowed to comment or how to get the best work out of commenters; nevertheless online collaborative commentary is here to stay. Indeed I believe it is the future of reading all ancient literature. Going forward we may even see this collaborative commentary taking place over video rather than in writing.
To conclude this presentation, I want to pick up on one of the words in the title of our panel, "responsible". There are many ways to think about the word "responsible" in this context, but we can focus on four here. First, a collaborative online commentary is responsible because it is free to all users. Second, it is transparent and democratic; in theory anyone is capable of adding useful content to the site, and we can all see who said what and when. Third, it doesn't take a lot of money or a computer programmer to put a collaborative commentary together. I myself have almost no background in computer programming and could probably teach you how to create your own commentary over a long weekend. Fourthly, we may wonder if an online commentary is responsible enough to preserve a valuable place for the instructor in the home institution.
I think the short answer is, yes, though more discussion is certainly warranted. For a lot of reasons we will always need instructors to have regular face-to-face interaction with students. If anything, all of the activity I have witnessed in Sunoikisis requires more time and effort from faculty, albeit a very rewarding kind of activity. Instead of worrying that online tools may threaten our employment, I think it is helpful for us to highlight the many ways in which we can now enhance the student's education and the new roles we can play in this process. Classics has always been interdisciplinary; we have always had the chance to talk politics, philosophy, archaeology, etymology, grammar, history and historiography all while reading a single paragraph of ancient Greek. Advances in the digital humanities, like the Cyropaedia commentary, allow us to make this point even more clearly. Looking ahead, I think an online commentary can enable us to do two more things:
- First, speaking for myself, I'm trying to become better at diagnosing the individual student's talent, proficiency, and interest in the subject matter. Using Cyrus' Paradise, I can challenge students to work on their own, but then use class time to figure out how well they're doing with it.
- Secondly, I'm also trying to think more carefully about the reception of the texts I teach. What aspects and passages of a text like the Cyropaedia should be studied at this moment of time? Should we focus on leadership, Greco-Persian interaction, the history of the novel, or Xenophon's elegant prose? Of course the answer will depend on what's going on in the world, our campus, or in our own lives. But now we have the resources to be extremely flexible in entertaining these questions.
Apropos of these two goals, I want to close with a scene from the Cyropaedia. Early in Book One (Ch.4), Cyrus visits his ailing grandfather Astyages. Xenophon says that whatever Astyages needed, Cyrus was the first to leap up and tend to him. This passage is significant for the fact that it contradicts other versions of Cyrus' relationship with Astyages. In Herodotus, Ctesias, and others, Cyrus makes war on Astyages in order to conquer the Medes. In Xenophon, however, Cyrus "conquers" Astyages by the exercise of therapeia, or what we might call "nurturing care". He is the quintessential physician-leader. We, too, I think can think of ourselves as leaders and as physicians, who, by the way, have not been put out of work by medical websites like WebMD. Like physicians, we are in a position to diagnose the areas where students need to improve, and we can prescribe a very specific course of study to help the student become healthy. To extend this analogy, a collaborative online commentary may be thought of as a pharmacy from which we draw the healing drugs to treat whatever is ailing our students.


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Frequent Links
Annie Award
|Annie Award
|40px 42nd Annie Awards
|File:Annie Award.png
|Awarded for
|Excellence in film animation
|United States
|Presented by
|First awarded
|Official website
The Annie Award is an American award for accomplishments in animation. The Annies have been presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972. Originally designed to celebrate lifetime or career contributions to animation, since 1992 it has given awards to individual films.
Memberships in the ASIFA-Hollywood consist of three main categories: General Member, Patron and Student Member. Joining ASIFA-Hollywood is open to professionals, students and fans of animation, for a membership fee. Selected professional members are permitted to vote for the Annie.
The 42nd Annie Awards ceremony took place on January 31, 2015, on the campus of UCLA.
Award categories
- Best Animated Feature
- Best Animated Home Entertainment Production
- Best Animated Short Subject
- Best Animated Television Commercial
- Best Animated Television Production
- Best Animated Video Game
Individual achievement
- Animated Effects
- Character Animation in a Feature Production
- Character Animation in a Television Production
- Character Design in a Feature Production
- Character Design in a Television Production
- Directing in a Feature Production
- Directing in a Television Production
- Music in a Feature Production
- Music in a Television Production
- Production Design in a Feature Production
- Production Design in a Television Production
- Storyboarding in a Feature Production
- Storyboarding in a Television Production
- Voice Acting in a Feature Production
- Voice Acting in a Television Production
- Writing in a Feature Production
- Writing in a Television Production
- Editing in a Feature Production
- Editing in a Television/DVD/Internet Production
Juried awards
- June Foray Award
- Ub Iwerks Award
- Winsor McCay Award
- Special Achievement in Animation
- Certificates of Merit
Balloting controversies and criticism
In 2008, the Annie Award nominees for "Best Short Subject" included two Walt Disney cartoons, a Pixar short, and two independent films: Picnic Pictures' The Chestnut Tree, and Don Hertzfeldt's short, Everything Will Be OK. Official rules for the Annie Awards state that voting members must view all nominated achievements in their entirety before casting their ballot for a winner. Members are directed to view the nominated films on a secure website.
When the online ballot launched on January 15, the two independent films were not included for voters to judge. ASIFA acknowledged this error over a week later, at which point all the votes were reportedly thrown out and the balloting system was reset. Voters were instructed to return and re-vote the category. "The Chestnut Tree" was now uploaded properly to the ballot, however Everything Will Be OK was again not included: this time, the online ballot only played a portion of this film's 17-minute running time to voters, abruptly cutting out in the middle of a scene. ASIFA again took several days to repair the ballot, but this time allowed voting to continue.
By the time the ballot officially closed on February 1, Everything Will Be OK was only available to voters for less than 24 hours of the entire 18-day voting period.[1]
Even though ASIFA apologized to Don Hertzfeldt, they took no further action and carried on with the event, awarding the prize to the Pixar short Your Friend the Rat.
In 2009, DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda swept the Annie Awards in an overwhelming defeat against the eventual Oscar-winner WALL-E, which was shut out in every category. In an Oscar prediction article, New York Times writer David Carr noted, "Oscar watchers were stunned when Kung Fu Panda took all the awards from the International Animated Film Society. That was an inside job, full of backstage politics you don't want to know about."[2] Animator Bill Plympton (himself a recipient of ASIFA's lifetime achievement award), also criticized the organization's balloting practices, writing in his blog, "I think that Jeffrey Katzenberg, who knows a good publicity opportunity when he sees it, bought ASIFA-Hollywood memberships for his entire studio, and then told them to vote the party line... The unfortunate reality is that it feels like the elections were rigged - they were bought! What a travesty." [3]
In 2010, Walt Disney Studios decided to cease submissions and support for ASIFA-Hollywood's Annie Awards. At issue was the fact that anyone could buy a membership (and voting ballot) to ASIFA, whereas members of the Motion Picture Academy and other awards-giving bodies must be voted in only by their peers. Disney also believed the scales are tilted in favor of DreamWorks Animation, who gives each new employee a free membership to ASIFA-Hollywood.[4]
Due to Disney's complaints, ASIFA-Hollywood changed the rules on voting for individual achievement categories, making those categories only available to professionals. ASIFA-Hollywood head Antran Manoogian said that this was just a first step to a future move where Annie voters would have to be approved by a committee and non-professionals would now be ineligible to vote.[4]
That was not enough for Disney president Ed Catmull, who had called for an advisory committee of toon execs representing each studio to recommend rule changes to the ASIFA board. Catmull said, "We believe there is an issue with the way the Annies are judged, and have been seeking a mutually agreeable solution with the board. Although some initial steps have been taken, the board informed us that no further changes would be made to address our concerns." [4]
Notable nominations
See also
- ^ "Why Don Hertzfeldt Probably Won't Win an Annie". Cartoonbrew.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ David Carr (2009-02-19). "The Oscars - The Contenders, the Pools and the Show and the Hopes". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ "Bill Plympton Studio". Plymptoons.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ a b c Debruge, Peter (2010-08-25). "Disney withdraws from Annie Awards - Entertainment News, Film News, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
External links


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... Their future is in our hands...
Now available:
A very special work of art donated by artist/sculpturer, J.A.Pippett. The piece is called EARS and was sculpted by the artist as a donation to the Elephants of Africa Rescue Society in time for the 2004 fundraising event.
The piece accounted for up to $6000.00 in donations at our 2004 fundraiser and we could not be more greatfull to have a man like J.A.Pippett on our side. Another reason this piece is so important to us is that it depicts the logo of our elephant sanctuary and our very own little elephant modeled for the piece. The logo says "their fate is in our hands"
2005 brought yet another tremendous donation from J.A.Pippett, Part II of the EARS collection but this time, with "Josef" in the caring hand of man. Josef is probably the most famous and loved animal at the Wild Things compound located on the Vision Quest Ranch with the EARS' elephants. For more information on Josef, please visit www.wildthinginc.com .
EARS director Charlie Sammut (sitting) and Lisa receive bronze from artist, J.A. Pippett
"Josef" the lion models for sculptor J.A. Pippett to create the above clay.
And just when you thought the generosity couldn't get any better, Joe stepped up to the plate in 2006 with EARS III, depicting our very own little bear, Brandi, in the hand of fate.
There will only be 20 editions of each piece available and 1 thru 3 of each are already sold. Cost today For the Lisa or Brandi piece is $2800.00. All proceeds go 100% to the EARS organization. Call for a quote on the Josef piece. For more information, contact Charlie at (831)455-3180
Rt: J.A. Pippett with "Brandi Bear" discuss the finer things in life... like good art.
Once again, our friend ~ donor and animal enthusiast, scupture Joseph Pippett has graced us with a very special gift in creating these stunning belt buckles depicting our very own Elephants of Africa Rescue Society (EARS) logo. For those who follow Joe's FB (and those who should friend him today), you know that Joe now has a gorgeous new line of designer fashion buckles and we could not be more proud to be a part of his endeavors.These EARS buckles are cast sold brass with a choice of Silver or Bronze patina. Diameter is: 2-3/8" with EARS engraved on the back along with the artist's signature. Cost is $325. We're hoping this is a must have for many of our Wild Things, EARS, elephant or animal enthusiast fans since Joe is donating any profits from this project to the elephants of EARS.
Above: Andre Balyon atop Buffy
When Andre offered to visit one day to study and paint the elephants of EARS, the directors were both honored and excited. When they were invited to home to see the finished piece at his home, it was truly emotional. It was our very own Butch front and center with Lisa and Buffy grazing near by. He even included Butch's pet ostrich in the painting. It was perfect!!!
André's generosity is a blessing to EARS. The original is for sale in his gallery and he has offered a great portion of the proceeds from the sale of that piece to EARS.
Mr. Andre Balyon
Introducing the artwork of Mr. André Balyon, a personal friend and generous donor to EARS. A Ducth artist with a gallery in Carmel California, Andre is a world renown for his portrait and landscape art. Check out his work at www.andrebalyon.net .
Giclee prints are available now: $900 unframed and $1500 framed (professionally). The original to this piece is also available for $38,000. It is on display at the Vision Quest Ranch for serious inquirers. For more information contact Charlie at (831)455-3180. Special thanks to Andre Balyon for all you do for elephants and for being our friend.
Lynn Lupetti
From one of our dearest and most treasured friend and supporter, world renown artist, Lynn Lupetti, has donated this special limited edition of our very own beloved Lisa.
This giclee is available only through EARS. Currently, the cost of this piece is $1500.00 but it will increase as few become available.
We hope all who purchase this painting will understand and feel the same magic we feel when we see it.
Special thanks to Lynn and her husband Ed for making this possible.


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Picture this: Fin + Roe Photo Correspondence
There is a HUGE demand for photo correspondence these days. How do I know? I send out a lot of personal holiday cards (around 100) each year, and I always seem to get around 80 or so delivered to my mailbox. Most of those are photo cards, featuring the smiling faces of new babies born over the past year, groups of unruly children in soccer uniforms, or perfectly preened young ladies in their holiday best. I LOVE the shots of cute children. The big bummer? The photo retail giants out there offer a limited selection of designs. Worse, those designs often fall short when it comes to enhancing and highlighting the best part of photo cards: the picture.
Which is why I wanted to tell you about Fin + Roe. Besides the fresh colors, modern patterns and the ability to mix and match, I love the way this company's designs let the photography SHINE! So if you're thinking about a holiday photo card this year for your family, check these guys out. As a stationery designer myself, I feel compelled to create my own cards from scratch each year. It's become a holiday tradition. But for those who prefer to have a little elf create your cards for you…do take a look at Fin + Roe's adorable collection. The grandparents and your friends will thank you. And If you're one of those people who send me a card each year, I'll have something a little more unique to deck my halls with. Alright kids…smile for the camera!
2 Responses to "Picture this: Fin + Roe Photo Correspondence"
thanks you so much for the nice post! i really appreciate it! 😉
-lori @ fin+roe
They are awesome, Lori! I have tons of those cards from holidays past. It's hard to toss them every year, so we put them all into a photo album. It's nice to see the progression of the kids and families as the years go by!


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I honestly cannot understand the self-righteous panic response that we witness whenever a student accidentally brings some kind of knife to school, even under the most completely innocuous circumstances. I bring this up because it has happened again.
Some North Carolina kids accidentally brought some knives to school under completely innocuous circumstances, and another school seems to be in the process of freaking out. Do these teachers and administrators remember their own childhoods?
This time the terrifying threat to public safety came in the form of a steak knife, a butter knife and a carving knife in the backpacks of two second-graders at Barnette Elementary School in Huntersville, N.C.
WSOC-TV fills us in on the horrific details:
According to a police report, three knives were found in the book bags of two boys in second grade: a steak knife, a butter knife and a carving knife. One of the boys put the butter knife in the back pack of the other boy's sister. Both were charged with having a weapon on school property and were turned over to their parents…
CMS officials said a teacher found the knives in the boys' open book bags but said the students never intended to hurt anyone. When the school resource officer asked them about it, police said the children said they were going to cut down trees after school.
CMS officials said regardless of their intentions, the district has zero tolerance for weapons of any sort on campus at all.
Except for the butcher knives in the cafeteria, and the softball bats in the gym, and the mop handles in the closet, and the rocks at the edge of the athletic field, and the yardsticks in the classroom, and the letter openers in the secretaries' desks.
If intentions really are irrelevant, how can the school permit all these weapons on its campuses? And who the hell files criminal charges against second-graders who didn't intend to (and didn't) harm anyone?
Idiots and assholes, that's who.
What sort of response do you think is appropriate for these violations of school rules?


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i've been really into cooking & it's been super fun "experimenting" in the kitchen, even though i don't get to keep a record of everything in the midst of craziness
however, i was able to capture some of the action while preparing a 6-"course" menu on mother's day which included the following:
1) shrimp ceviche
2) purple asparagus
3) cream sauce gnocchi with sweet corn and arugula
4) garlic butter lobster tail
5) ribeye steak skewers
6) mini cakes from patisserie chantilly [previous post]
i must say i am very happy that everything turned out delicious! because i was cooking most of the dishes for the first time! ...cooking without recipes, must i add! (i never really follow recipes when cooking)
1) shrimp ceviche
i love shrimp ceviche...without cilantro and although i never made shrimp ceviche before i knew it would be pretty simple, as long as the ingredients were fresh! and sure it was! because this was my sister's favorite dish of the night
2) purple asparagus
i love some veggies with all my meals so i had to add some veggies when cooking a course menu!
i was hoping to find some broccoflower prior to grocery shopping, but my whole foods didn't have it that day... so after thinking what "color" i can add, i ended up bringing some purple asparagus to stick in the oven!
even though it was cooked to perfection, there were two downsides 1) it's deadly $$$ & 2) color fading to green once cooked
3) cream sauce potato gnocchi with sweet corn over fresh arugula
this...i actually looked up a recipe on pinterest and added my own twist to it which turned out great!
again, using fresh ingredients can actually make a whole lot of difference, including actually using corn-on-the-cob instead of frozen or canned corn in the gnocchi!
4) garlic butter lobster tail
picking main menu as my adventurous dish? yup, that's what i did!
i was pretty confident that it will turn out okay with the help of "garlic + butter", which makes anything taste awesome! but once i started working on it, i realized that i don't know how to open up the lobster tail! but thanks to couple of youtube clips, i was able to take out the meat safely & thanks to cooking-time calculations from youtube chefs, my lobster tails turned out perfectly!
5) ribeye steak skewers
when there is sea, there must be land as well....at least on my dinner table! why? because my sister is not a huge fan of seafood!
marinated meat + fresh veggies on skewer in the oven and it's ready! all you have to worry is not to poke yourself when skewering ;)
6) mini cakes from patisserie chantilly
i love cooking but i am not so talented when it comes to baking! so instead of wasting my time & energy, we picked up some delicious japanese pastries from one of our favorite bakeries as our dessert!
grocery shopping alone took about an hour (because you have to stop by at least 2 markets to get the freshest ingredients) & cooking took another ~3 hours or so...
but cooking is fun & i love seeing happy smiles on my loved ones as they eat my meal, which means, i look forward to some more adventures in my kitchen!
i am now happilyfull ♥
see you on my next adventure!


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This is the third lesson in our free business model canvas course. in this lesson we look at the role of marketing channels in the business model canvas. Marketing channels are how you deliver your value proposition to your customers. This is fairly broad and includes not only all the marketing channels that you can think of but also more prosaic approaches to getting goods in front of customers. These include shops, warehouses and milk delivery floats (if you were a kid in the UK in the 1980's or earlier). What brings all these channels together in the business model canvas together is –
"How do you get the value in front of the customer so that he (or she) will buy?"
So when we talk about channels here we are talking about marketing and distribution channels. Everything as diverse as a pipeline carrying gas across the Baltic Sea to regular tweeting.
Finding the Pathway to Your Customer
Value propositions are delivered to customers through communication, distribution, and sales. These are known as your Channels.
Finding the right pathway to your customers could be the biggest challenge. Choosing the wrong marketing channel will not attract customers to your product or service. Worse it will means that you waste time and money looking in the wrong place for customers. Getting your channels right is super important. As a business you have limited resources to invest in developing and building channels. As a result you need to allocate resources carefully.
This then comes back to understanding your customer. If you have identified her clearly you will have a good idea of where she hangs out. An elderly grandmother will be reached using quite different channels to a male football fan. Both could be reached by magazines – but totally different ones. Which works for the customer you are targeting? What evidence do you have for this before you do anything?
When we look at channels in startup marketing we make educated guesses about the best place to look and the best way to engage with customers. The Bullseye chart below helps you do this quickly and effectively.
Channels in the Business Model Canvas
In the Channel block, ask yourself:
How can my products reach my target customers?Do you use a mobile app, a store, sales staff or do you sell to shops directly?
Selecting your channels with the Bullseye Framework.
Your product has been proven successful; now it is time to experiment the best channel for your business using the Bullseye Framework.
In this module, we will discuss options and show how you can pick and track your channels.
Choosing Your Channels in the Business Model Canvas
In this section we cover how you go about choosing your marketing channels. If you have an existing business this may seem a bit startup focused. However what you can do is put real data in looking at the customer acquisition cost (CAC) and the ROI of each channel to see how they perform. Then constantly run small experiments in new channels to see if you can find new ways to reach customers that are more cost effective than the existing ones.
Brainstorm your Marketing Channels
Start brainstorming! Which is the most suitable channel? Why?
Viral Marketing, Public Relations, SEO, Social Media etc..
Download the file for more information.
Ranking the Marketing & Distribution Channels
Rank each channel according to its potential, cost, volume and ease of testing. What I normally do is to start with a table in excel with each of the channels in it's own row. You can see a sample here.
When I think about how easy something is I think about the amount of resources, cash and effort it will take to get a test campaign up and running. A speaking engagement normally takes longer to arrange than a Google PPC campaign for example.
The impact is how likley it is that it will drive results. This is a bit of a guesstimate as you don't have any data and you need to be happy to be proved wrong. You should also take into account how easy it will be to break through the noise of your competitors. If they all have SEO nailed to a T then that's not going to be a great place to start even if it is the number 1 choice of all marketers where you live.
Finally the last column is all about cost – or really rather return. At this stage it's all a bit intangible. How much is it going to cost to deliver. Then set that against the expected returns because of who you expect to respond to that channel
For each of these aspects I use a rating of 1-10 and then multiply them all together to give a score out of 1,000. For some it's going to be obvious that they are no starters. (they scored 1). Others are going to be nicely spread about.
Thinking About Distribution Channels
Many business model canvases tend to think of Channels as being purely marketing channels. In reality many are distribution as well as marketing. Think of how Nestle and P&G distribute their products into supermarkets, how Ford distributes its cars to dealers and so on and so forth. Physical distribution is super important because not everything is or should be sold online. Real world distribution still works for many categories of good.
Distribution Channels are often orders of magnitude more expensive than marketing channels to set up due to the physical plant and space required to make it happen.
Marketing Channels Prioritisation
This lets you prioritise three channels to work on. For a small team that's plenty. For a big team 80% of the effort is still likely to go on the top 3. Right now (in 2018) My main focus is the blog and email marketing. These are supported by Youtube and Meetups.
Once you have your top three channels I repeat the process again but this time I brainstorm 20 – 30 ideas for EACH channel and rank them the same way. Here I am now explicitly thinking very much about my customer and what sort of content or engagement they will want to consume.
Once you have the campaign ideas prioritised within each channel it is time to head out testing
Testing Which Marketing & Distribution Channels Work Best for You
These decisions are all based on assumptions. Hence, it is important to start learning fast and ensure cost is as low as possible. Test the top 3 channels and move them away from the centre based on the effectiveness. Remove the least promising result and replace with one of the channels from the outside circle.
Note for testing: At this stage, it is important to test your assumptions by setting up experiments that will cost you as little as possible. Your idea has many assumptions and is likely to change in the future. Spending months on a website, paying to find your customers is a good lesson but a waste of code effort. There may be alternative ways to test without paying for a website.
Test smart, save your time and money!
- Use testing in everything that you do – data is always better than opinion
- Capture the results systematically
- The shorter the experiments the better. Testing the result in a day has more value than creating certainty in 3 months
- Be creative in thinking of the experiments, you will get better and more creative in it over time


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The last week was all about wrapping presents, preparing food for the holidays and enjoying some cozy nights with our closest friends ( and lots of wine&cheese )! Different from Christmas in the US and Canada, the main day of celebration in most European countries is tonight, Christmas Eve. We celebrate with the whole family and friends, an amazing dinner, lots of music and lots of Christmas presents! Since Christmas is by far my favorite holiday I couldn't be more excited! I deeply hope, every single one of you will be showered with love and laughter and will have an amazing night! I am so thankful for you guys! Happy Holidays! ♥ Mila.
[A miniature boat-riding lady is topping one of my presents. Cute.]
[A branch one of my oldest friends gave my in early December. It started blooming just in time. Every year. Oh, how much I love this tradition.]
[I love wrapping Christmas presents!]
As always-you can find me here, here and here as well. xo Mila.