text:
Hilary and I got Brynna a pair of Big Girl Swings for her birthday (shhh, it's a surprise!). These would replace the utterly decrepit and downright dangerous swings that were attached to the swing set when we bought the house. For some time now, Brynna has been content to swing in the baby swing, after I restrung it properly with new hardware. But she's more or less outgrown that and is ready to move up to the kind of swings she likes at the park. We decided to get two so that there's one for when friends come over.
That's all well and good except for one thing: the structure of the swing set itself is definitely not up for the increased load. It may have been designed for it, and it may have been capable of it when it was first built, but at this point it is decidedly not up to snuff. The main structure has a very noticeable 10-degree list. When Brynna swings with just the little swing, the crossbar it hangs from bows back and forth, rocking the whole structure along with it. I tightened up numerous bolts a few months back, but hardware can always loosen up. I had to add reinforcement to one end just to be able to string the closeline this summer without greatly distorting the shape of the thing. In general, I've found the choice of construction to be greatly lacking as well. 4x4s for vertical posts, fine, but 1x4s for crossbracing? The framing is square all around. Have these people never seen a proper truss? See all the triangles? Squares and rectangles can, as demonstrated here, get pulled out into parallelograms. Suffice it to say: if I were to design and build a platform/swingset, I would have made very different decisions.
In any event, I decided that I wouldn't put up B's new swings until I had done some reinforcement work. I started by loosening many of the bolts. Then I took off the ladder. These would make it easier for me to pull the thing back into square. This I did with a sort of block-and-tackle arrangement.
Into the ground I drove two 12" garden spikes. On each was a pulley. The rope got strung from one stake, through a pulley on the structure, through a pulley at the first stake, through another pulley on the structure, through a pulley on a second stake, then tied off to the structure.
In all, there were the equivalent of five ropes strung between the ground and the structure. When I pulled on the free end, my pull was multiplied 5x into force pulling the structure back into plumb. By my guess, I had 50-75 lbs of tension in the line, or about 250-375 lbs of force tugging on the structure up high. This was enough to bring the posts back to vertical.
With the pulley system still in place, I applied Loctite to all the bolts and tightened them back down. The red loctite should ensure that these bolts don't ever loosen again.
I also added a diagonal brace between the posts to help keep it square (triangles, people!).
The cross piece that the swings hang from is basically a ladder. It's missing several rungs, and two were pulled out from there holes and dangling. So when Brynna was swinging before, most of the load was going through one single 1x6. Lovely. I put the rungs back into place and tightened the hardware at either end. Then, for good measure, I also added diagonal bracing across the top of the "ladder" to tie it all together.
This done, I feel like I will be able to put up the swings tomorrow without being deathly afraid of something breaking. And, gosh, it only took four hours of hot work on a Saturday.
If I'd designed and built it, it would have been a freakin' tank!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Hilary and I got Brynna a pair of Big Girl Swings for her birthday (shhh, it's a surprise!). These would replace the utterly decrepit and downright dangerous swings that were attached to the swing set when we bought the house. For some time now, Brynna has been content to swing in the baby swing, after I restrung it properly with new hardware. But she's more or less outgrown that and is ready to move up to the kind of swings she likes at the park. We decided to get two so that there's one for when friends come over.
Posted by -A at 7:35 PM 1 comments
Labels: toys, woodworking
Friday, July 29, 2011
Yup, it's that time of year again. Time for Brynna to look Oh-So-Cute while blueberry picking.
Did I say picking? Well, perhaps we should have named her Sal.
Posted by -A at 8:18 PM 0 comments
Labels: blueberries, harvest
Monday, July 25, 2011
Brynna's excuses for getting out of bed this evening:
Posted by -H at 8:56 PM 0 comments
Labels: crumpet
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Garlic Harvest
When I first put the garlic into the ground last fall, I didn't know when you are supposed to pull it out. My one previous attempt to grow garlic may or may not have made it to harvest time - we couldn't very well bring it cross-country from Minnesota. So, like most of this gardening stuff, I've had a bit of learning to do.
Cutting the scapes a few weeks back was important, because that tells the plant to not bother putting energy into the flower, and instead direct it into growing the bulb. A few times over the last couple weeks I've pulled the dirt away from one or two plants so that I could gauge the size of the bulbs, and they have definitely been getting bigger.
The next milestone in the growing was when the lower leaves of each plant started to brown and die off. Depending on who you read, after the bottom-most five or six leaves have died off, it is time to pull them. Letting things go much longer risks having the bulbs split open underground, at which point it can be difficult to 1) harvest them without breaking them and 2) store them for more than few weeks without spoiling. Having an intact skin around the whole head is important for storage.
I have also been told to avoid watering them in the last week or two prior to harvest - this can help them pre-cure in the ground and reduces the risk of having them split open. This I couldn't do, because the garlic is intermixed with other plants, and all those others have been in desperate need of watering during this scorcher of a week.
All this lead up to today: harvest day!
I quickly abandoned my small trowel and stuck to excavating with my hands. I didn't want to risk gouging anything!
After exposing the top of the bulb, I undercut a bit with my fingers, grab the neck, and slowly pull. The roots eventually give way, bringing a clump of dirt with them. Some shaking follows to clean the roots and return the soil to the ground.
Look! A double!
The total haul was nearly 20 heads large and small. I won't know for a while if the heads are divided into a handful of large cloves (good for cooking) or many small cloves (pain in the ass to peel!) until I start using them.
After a bit more cleaning I bundled the necks and leaves with twine and hung them in the garage. That's a nice hot and dry place where they can cure for a few weeks - turning the tough outer skin to paper, and sealing the delicious cloves inside. With nay luck, after they've cured, they should keep through the end of the year. I'll probably use the cloves from the largest head or two for planting next year's crop.
Posted by -A at 12:21 PM 0 comments
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Last weekend, we took a hike up Mt Waumbec. Just a bit off Rt 2 north of Jefferson, with a wooded summit, it is unlikely that many people would climb it if it were not one of the 48 4000-footers in NH. Waumbec just barely counts at just over 4000 feet. But, as a 3.6 mile hike, it seemed about the right length for a hike with Brynna.
Jasper was thrilled to tag along, and was good enough to carry his own food and water.
Brynna started off the hike on her own two feet, and managed to get perhaps a half mile up the trail before needing to be carried. I don't think I had a good conception in my mind about how tough this was going to be. The trail ascends over 2000 feet to gain the ridge over about 2-1/2 miles, making for a relatively steep ascent. And let us tally the weight: 7.5 lbs for the child-carrier pck (empty), 5 lbs water, 5 lbs food, 5 lbs clothing, a few pounds of incidentals, and 30 lbs of Brynna! No wonder I had to pause every ten minutes, wringing the sweat from my bandana, I was carrying some 55 lbs up the mountain!
Once we gained the ridgeline, it was a relatively gentle hike to the summit itself. Naturally, with all the hard work done, Brynna was happy now to walk under her own power.
(notice the change in pants? aside from the heat, the change was necessary because Brynna is still a novice at the fine skill of peeing in the woods)
The summit itself is an unimpressive rock cairn surrounded by trees. A bit beyond the summit is a thinning of the trees that offered a fine view of the Presidentals. It took a while due to the haze to make it out, but we were able to identify Washington from the towers on top (it was also the highest - duh!), and the rest of the peaks followed from that. It was a fine place to have lunch, at 2:30, well past Brynna's usual nap time. For Hilary and I, used to cutting book time in half, the fact that it had taken us over four hours to get this far was a bit humbling.
After this fine picture back at the summit marker (can't spot Jasper? follow B's gaze), Brynna conked out for part of the return hike, giving my a welcome respite from the unending stream of questions she puts to us these days.
So for the 4000-foot tally, Brynna now stands at 1, Hilary and I are in the low 20s, and Mark is approaching 40. We have plans for Mark to finish by the end of the year, and perhaps B will come along with us.
Posted by -A at 12:53 PM 0 comments
Labels: hiking
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Some of you may remember that my Dad and I put in some raspberry beds.
I figured it would be a few years until they bore fruit. And, indeed, some of the canes have clearly died since planting. But, nevertheless, we have harvested a small clutch of raspberries this year. I have been training some of the longer canes up into the guy wires of the trellis, and we'll see how things go in the years to come.
Posted by -A at 8:32 PM 0 comments
Labels: garden
Monday, July 11, 2011
Hmm. Am starting to wonder if Brynna is perhaps getting an unfortunate view of our jobs. Here is a conversation that took place at the dinner table this evening:
Posted by -H at 8:42 PM 0 comments
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Boating Brynna
Fabulous fun today: we rented a kayak and took B out for her first paddle!
She was extremely excited, since we've been talking about it for awhile. As you can see, she climbed right in on dry land for a little boating safety discussion.
Then a nice lady took a family photo for us before we set off:
On our first round of the pond, Brynna sat in the middle, in between the seats of our tandem kayak. Then we came back to the put-in and re-configured with Brynna in the bow. She thought she'd try out a bit of paddling before Mama joined her in the stern:
One of the reasons we are thinking about getting a kayak is to do boat support for each other during training swims. So B and I escorted Alex on a loop to see how the tandem handled with just one grown-up. It went just fine, and after chanting "go Daddy, go Daddy, go Daddy!" as Alex set off, Brynna was very glad to check in with him mid-swim:
This is my new favorite photo, taken when we were out on the water.
After I took a turn swimming (Brynna, very attentive from the bow, calling out "do you need help?" every time I paused for a few seconds), Brynna had a chance to do some swimming of her own. She can dog-paddle quite happily in her life vest, though she likes a grownup very close...and we are happy to oblige.
Especially now that we're doing some boating, we're trying to teach her to float calmly on her back in case we capsize. She's not enthusiastic about that position yet, but here she is doing a great job with a steadying hand from Dada:
We went out for a second time after Brynna's nap, to see if we could fit Jasper in the kayak as well. We tried with Brynna sitting with me in the bow and Jasper between the seats. Jasper bore up nobly, as he does with all our crazy ideas. B was not super happy squashed in my lap in the bow, and it made me paddle funny to keep from hitting her in the head, so we may need to keep working on our seating assignments. The tandem that we rented was 13 1/2 feet, another foot might let us put dog and daughter both in the center. We'd also like to trial a lighter boat, as there's no way I could get this one up onto the top of the car on my own.
All in all, a delightful day.
Posted by -H at 8:30 PM 0 comments
More Patriotic Displays
Posted by -A at 8:28 PM 0 comments
Double Fortune
Posted by -A at 1:31 PM 0 comments
Labels: food
Thursday, July 7, 2011
I Totally Agree, B
Brynna: why will Daddy pick me up from Annie's?
Me: because I have to be at work tonight
Brynna: What the...??!!!?? You be at work again???
Posted by -H at 7:09 AM 0 comments
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Unwelcome Hitchiker
What a fine way to start the day!
I must have picked up that nail late yesterday, because this tire was flat as can be when I rolled out this morning. I noticed the extra drag right away, and feared that the parking brake was dragging. But when I pulled into a parking lot a block later, wondering how the heck I could fix a stuck parking break, I noticed the right rear tire.
On the plus side, this little incident forced me to have a good look at the tread wear. On this tire it's pretty far down. The wear bars (those nubbins that bridge the tread groove) aren't quite even with the tread yet, so theoretically I've got some life left. But I can see all of Lincoln's hair, and combine that with this massive puncture, extensive cracking, 5 years and 50,000 miles of use, and I'd say this guy is near replacement.
UPDATE 2011-07-07: Interesting addendum to the above story. When I got the tires replaced last night, they told me it'd be best to put them in the rear. This went against what I thought was the conventional wisdom of placing the best tires in the front for a front-wheel-drive car, since that's where the steering, power, and majority of braking occurs. However, after some research, I found a compelling reason to put them in the back. Under normal conditions, so long as there is decent tread in both the front and rear, it doesn't make much difference. In adverse conditions, however, like making a turn on a wet road, having the less-worn tires in the back tends to help. Like a drogue chute, they keep the car from spinning around. If the "grippier" tires were in the front, the car has a tendency to pirouette around the front end, swinging the back end around. This is a condition called oversteer that, while plenty fun on a racetrack, is harder to control than the reverse condition of understeer. Plus, in an understeer condition, the nose of the car tends to be out in front, which is the preferred orientation if you're going to hit something.
Posted by -A at 7:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: car
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Little Patriot
Our little patriot likes to see the small-town parade go by.
(ok, so this was from Memorial Day. Same idea, though).
Posted by -A at 1:31 PM 0 comments
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Salt Water Swim
Training for triathlons in New Hampshire, your water palette has about two options: chlorinated or freshwater. Spend enough time in the water, and the discerning connoisseur can begin to tell the subtle differences between pond-water and lake-water.
But then, like after the discovery of fine wine after a lifetime of beer, you get smacked in the face with something totally unfamiliar: salt water. Of course Hilary and I have been in the ocean in a variety of places (Penobscot Bay, the Caribbean, California, the Baltic Sea), so we know what salt water is like, but never for more than some good natured splashing about.
Yesterday we were at a friend's place on Long Island Sound (literally - the front yard extends down to the water) for a 4th of July picnic. Planning ahead, we'd decided it was a good time to try some distance swimming in the ocean. A neighbor that was at the party pointed out two rock jetties at either end of the beach and informed us it was about 200 meters between - he does "laps" on that stretch occassionally. He also informed us that, at a balmy 68 degrees, on a sunny 80-degree day, we wouldn't need our wetsuits. Actually, we ordinarily would have donned them, because 68 is still wetsuit water in our mind, but no one else playing in the water was wearing them, not even some unknown woman who was also doing "laps".
So Hilary and I waded out to our waists and stood around like fools for about five minutes before taking the plunge. As you could expect, after the initial shock it wasn't too bad.
We ended up doing an out-and-back twice, for perhaps 800 yards. There were some light swells that kept things interesting. Waves aren't something we usually have to deal with in New Hampshire. Also unlike most lakes and ponds in NH, the water was quite clear, and we could see seaweed colonies clinging to the rocks 6-8 feet down, swaying with the water. The salt water definitely took getting used to. Not just a tinge of saltiness, but really and truly salty like sweat off your brow. Every breath would result in the fresh taste of salt on our tongues. We didn't drink any, per se, but it was always there. How do long-distance swimmers avoid getting pickled from the inside-out? We've never heard of mid-swim water breaks during an Ironman, but you have to wonder if it would make sense to put a floating freshwater cabana out to sea.
Brynna didn't have quite as nice an experience. She was very excited to get in the water at first, but the cold stopped her by the time she got to her ankles. The incoming waves threw her for a loop as well. The rocky-gravely shore beneath didn't agree with her tender feet, nor did the hot sand further up. Plus, she was dealing with a lot of lost sleep from driving down friday night and a lack of a proper nap beforehand. So, in the end, she kinda crumped out.
Jasper, on the other hand, had a grand time. He'd never experienced salt water before - being an Iowa dog originally. After diving in a bit, he tried to drink the water and came up coughing. Undeterred, he tried again, with the same result. From then on he mostly stuck to dashing around up to his belly.
Posted by -A at 9:46 AM 0 comments
Labels: tri
Posted by -A at 9:37 AM 0 comments
Labels: crumpet
Friday, July 1, 2011
Real vs Pretend
Brynna seems to have a firm grasp on the concept of "pretend".
We were feeding Dolly breakfast this morning when Brynna told me to lay Dolly on her back. I explained that this was a bad idea, because Dolly might choke if we fed her when she was flat on her back.
Cue withering look from my daughter: "it's pretend food."
Posted by -H at 10:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: crumpet
Wake-up Call
I have the day off from work today. Mostly I'm spending it finishing up office notes, doing laundry, and packing for our weekend away in Connecticut...but at least I am not physically at the hospital!
Last night, I explained to Brynna that in the morning, we should sleep in really late. I told her that the first time she woke up, she should just go back to sleep. Same with the second time. And then the third time, she could come into my room and we would snuggle and fall back asleep together.
This morning, I woke up to a big smacking Brynna kiss.
I looked at the clock: 7:07.
I looked back at my daughter, who had a giant grin on her face. "Mama, I slept really, really late!"
She was interested in about twenty-five seconds of snuggles and then leapt up, refusing all of my attempts to tuck her back in next to me.
I will admit, she's certainly my cutest alarm clock...though I would have preferred the wake-up call to be an hour or two later!
Posted by -H at 11:48 AM 0 comments
Labels: crumpet


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Pipe Adaptor
The Pipe Adaptor (PA mount) is simply bonded to the outside of the pipe work allowing to fit a transducer. The ultrasonic pulses are directly transferred into the pipe wall, suppressing the build up of bio film and inhibiting marine growth as barnacles and other lava critter's from embedding.
The Sonihull Ultrasonic Antifouling System in combination with the PA mounts have proven themselves the most credible alternative to impressed current/cathodic protection systems. Maintenance free, with no expensive anodes to replace, and completely safe on aluminium and steel vessels.
The PA mounts are suitable for all rigid pipes as steel, aluminium, Wavistrong ™ (Future pipe), stainless steel, titanium, rigid plastics. The PA mounts are available from stock in a number of standard sizes.
sonihull pipe adaptor datasheet
Stern Drive Adaptor
Stern Drives are problematic to protect due to the application of the many different materials they are composed of. With their moving parts and soft bellows regular antifouling paint are no option. The Sonihull Ultrasonic Antifouling System coupled with the Stern Drive Adaptor and bolted to the steering ram offers a great protection to this valuable and important part of the boat. Obtaining a realistic reduction in fouling of 80%. The transducer is simply screwed on the adaptor transferring the ultrasonic signal to the stern drive.
Mono & Duo Transducer Extension Cable
Transducer extension cable.
Available lengths 5 meter.
Sonihull8 Extension Cable
Transducer extension cable.
Available lengths 10 and 20 meter.
Monitor Cable
Monitor cable for system integration.
Available lengths from 10 meter.
Weldable Aluminium Mounting Ring
Weldable marine grade aluminium mounting ring, available: anodized / non anodized
Dimensions are 95 x 20mm.
Aluminium Mounting Ring with bottom
Marine grade, non anodized, aluminium mounting ring with bottom for bonding (not suitable for welding)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Beaumont/Port Arthur
When thinking of the French Quarter in New Orleans, good times, great music and the best food around come to mind. And with Mardi Gras right around the corner, what better time to visit Southeast Texas' own little slice of the Big Easy right off I-10 East in Vidor — French Quarter Bar & Grill at 500 South St.?
When Mike Mak's father, S.K., and mother, Nancy, emigrated from Hong Kong to the United States, the couple was looking for the perfect city to start a new restaurant. After living in Chicago for a short time, S.K. hoped to find some place with a little more temperate climate.
"He didn't like the cold weather," Mike says.
In Southeast Texas, there is no shortage of options to satisfy a salsa craving if you have a hankering for Mexican food. Carlito's Mexican Restaurant, located at 890 Amarillo St. and facing College Street, is one of Beaumont's best options for a quick, filling lunch at a great price — and has been for two decades.
When I was a boy, my dad used to take me fishing at my grandma and grandpa's farm in Lufkin. They had two fishing holes on about 50 acres of land that were stocked with perch and catfish.
Located in an historic building in Beaumont's Old Town, The Fig Pig is a unique establishment that experiments with menu items to create savory dishes designed to satisfy your palate while remaining as local, seasonal and gluten-free as possible.
Woogies is not your average sandwich shop.
The Texas Monthly BBQ Festival is to meat aficionados what Jazz Fest is to music lovers. It was a cool Sunday morning in Austin and smoke was in the air — as was the anticipation of eating some of the best barbecue on the planet. Those lucky enough to get VIP passes were let in an hour early to sample from their choice of the 24 joints that were serving up small portions of their award winning que.
Veteran Beaumont firefighter James Gillard said he never had any intention of running his own restaurant. After all, James, who has been a fireman with Beaumont Fire and Rescue for more than 23 years, says working as an engineer for Station 14 keeps him busy enough. That all changed, however, the first time he tasted a Firehouse Sub.
Food-truck culture is sweeping the country, from Los Angeles to Austin, and Southeast Texas may be next if the would-be entrepreneurs at Boss Burger have anything to say about it.
If you're looking for a real taste of Italy, it doesn't get much more authentic than Frankie's Italian Grill. The atmosphere alone gives the impression of taking a vacation, with Italian décor, low lighting, a close, intimate setting, and drawn blinds to block the distractions of the outside world.
While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us "that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas," we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We're of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.
For this week's New York Times crossword puzzle, pick up a copy of this week's The Examiner on newsstands now.


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It's December 14, 2019, 09:37:31 PM
Total Members Voted: 6
Can I choose which arm I want to saw off?
yes i would
Seeing how I will probably be able to have a team of scientist develop me a new arm which would be better than a natural arm for half the money I will seriously consider this.
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text:
Our Premium Starter Kits come equipped with one (1) English product guide. If you would like to receive the French, please add this complimentary French Product Guide to your order.
As an A-to-Z reference for all things Young Living, the Canada Product Guide is an absolute must-have! Whether for your own personal use or to make sharing Young Living easier, this guide brings together a wealth of information all in one convenient printed place. Use the Canada Product Guide to become more familiar with our leading products, as an on-the-go price reference sheet, or as a sharing tool to introduce Young Living to your friends and family. It's got everything you'll need for any situation. Keep a look out for how-to-use tips, detailed descriptions, new products, and exciting developments at Young Living featured throughout this information-packed tool.


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Our work is not 'new' or independent. It co-exists with, and emerges from, other offerings around the world. Meet our partners!
This is not the truth is a platform for emerging narratives towards co-creation of systemic changes. All in favor of a regenerative paradigm shift, enabling multiple voices and realities to come across on encounters and stories. We love inspiring questions about what future we want to create as humanity, in this universe of multiplicity. We are about people and reflections on shapeshifting.
We are from Brazil, in service of life on Terra, spread throughout the world, with our hearts belonging to Rio de Janeiro.
Swaraj University is an exciting, radical reimagination of higher education – a series of grounded un/learning practices and communal resuscitation projects taking place in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was designed and birthed in 2010 as a two year learning programme for youth. The vision of this program is to nurture the heart's calling of young people with an understanding of how their actions/choices are interconnected and impacting all our communities and nature. The two year program initiates the process of being self-designed learners, and engages youth in developing the skills and practices they need to manifest their vision.


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Dear MagicSpam Customers,
Release 2.1-6.2 addresses the following issue found in the previous release:
- Bug Fix: Fixed visual bug where the 'Deliver to Spam Folder' system option was not displayed when the 'Advanced Options' checkbox was toggled
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MagicSpam PLUS for MailEnable PATCH release 2.1-6.2 is now available
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text:
I get all my best recipes from Famous Julie.
You all thought the title of my blog was a cutesy little spin off of a popular phrase…
But it's actually true. My mom really did teach me how to play with my food. Mr. T thanks his lucky stars every day for that.
Famous Julie dug this recipe out of a Taste of Home magazine a while back.
Boy, does she know how to pick 'em.
- 3 cups shredded chicken
- 1 (10 oz.) can Rotelle tomatoes
- 3/4 cup salsa verde
- 1 (4 oz.) can green chilies
- 1 (4 oz.) can sliced olives
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 corn tortillas
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese
- To make filling combine chicken, rotelle, salsa verde, green chilies, olives and cumin in a bowl. In a shallow dish, combine cream and salt. Dip corn tortillas in cream, fill with ⅓ cup filling, roll and place in greased 9x13.
- Pour remaining cream mixture over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350° F for 35-40 minutes.
I like to top mine with cilantro, olives and grape tomatoes.
Top yours with whatever your little heart desires.
You really can't go wrong.


text:
October 19, 2018: Another year, another reinvigorating experience at the latest ACE Producers Content Development Workshop in Helsinki!
I delivered my 3-day Advanced Development Workshop to a lively group of 18 experienced feature film producers from 13 different Creative Europe supported countries, as well as one Australian and two Canadian colleagues.
ACE 28 Selection
Marco Alessi - Dugong - Italy
"Li muerti" by Massimiliano Verdesca
Francesca Andreoli - tempesta - Italy
"Valley of Thieves" by Caterina Carone
Christophe Audeguis - a cup of tea - France
"Ducks" by Neary Adeline Hay
Daniel Bekerman - Scythia Films - Canada
"The Eden Project" Director TBD
Maria Blicharska – Donten & Lacroix Films – Poland/France
"Comrades" by Olivier Patte and Rafael Lewandowski
Katja Draaijer - Baldr Film - The Netherlands
"Alpha (a.k.a. The Mountain)" by Jan-Willem van Ewijk
Sophie Erbs - Cinema Defacto - France
"The Hunt of the Puma" by Marcela Said
Alise Ģelze - Tasse Film - Latvia
"Lovable" by Stanislavs Tokalovs
Dyveke Graver - Oslo Pictures - Norway
"A Prayer for the Dying" by Dara Van Dusen
Milos Lochman - moloko film - Czech Republic
"Nightsiren" by Tereza Nvotová
Mike MacMillan - Lithium Studios Productions - Canada
"I Will Not Go Quietly" Director TBD.
Jan Macola - Mimesis Film - Czech Republic
"Resurrections" by Petr Vaclav
Alan Maher - Marcie Films - Ireland
"Chronicle in Time" by Andrew Legge
Emily Morgan - Quiddity Films - UK
"White" by Emily Young
Elli Toivoniemi - Tuffi Films - Finland
"Love of Wolves" by Zaida Bergroth
Izabella Tzenkova - Kotva Films - Bulgaria/USA
"Serenity" by Aslihan Unaldi
Alexander Wadouh - Chromosom Films - Germany
"Mission" Director TBD
Michael Wrenn - Invisible Republic - Australia
"These Kingdoms" by Shane Danielsen
We were then joined by other ACE consultants to discuss the producers' projects, both on the creative and financial sides.
Many thanks to Jacobine van der Vloed (ACE Director & Head of Studies) and Antoine Simkine (ACE President) for their kind invitation and to everyone involved for making this experience another memorable one!
For more information on the ACE 28 producers, please click on either of the group pictures above. For more information on the ACE Producers network, based in Amsterdam, please click on the logo below:
Note: if you've attended this 3-day Advanced Development Workshop in Helsinki, make sure you register before the end of October 2018 to access the online documentation. Detailed instructions are available here.


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FCF (Free Cash Flow)
You can use this FCF in the following manners, by comparing it with the EPS, DPS and Market Price per share:
1. Compare FCF/share with EPS
e.g. FCF/share divided by EPS = 80%.
2. Divide FCF/share by the DPS (Dividend per share)
e.g. FCF/share divided by DPS = 1.6x
This looks at the ability of the company to distribute dividends by looking at its free cash flow.
3. FCF yield.
e.g. FCF/share divided by Market share price/share = 5.3%.
Where the FCF yield is high, the investors should be attracted to the stock.


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MESA, Ariz. When it comes to throwing strikes, As pitcher Paul Blackburn is usually the last guy manager Bob Melvin has to worry about. But making his sixth appearance of the spring, Blackburn was just off.
Surrendering a home run to Chris Taylor to lead off the game was just the beginning of what was a bad day at the office for Blackburn. He allowed seven runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts through 3 1/3 innings in Tuesdays 8-2 loss to the Dodgers.
Expected to begin the season in the As starting rotation, Blackburns rough outing was probably not enough to change those plans, but it came as a bit of a shock to Melvin.
Its by far the worst weve seen him as far as the command goes, Melvin said. I think that wont be an issue for him the next time out. He ran into a pretty good lineup and when you get behind and have to throw the ball over the middle of the plate, theyre gonna make you pay.
Blackburn said he found himself getting in his head and distracted on the mound by constantly trying to make adjustments on the fly throughout his outing.
I think it was me just trying to fix everything at once instead of focusing on what I should have been focused on, Blackburn said. Ive been working on a lot of stuff in spring and today, nothing was there. I went through my head on about four or five things to try to fix and thats not the right place to do it.
Things got so bad for Blackburn in the four-run first that Melvin began to get the bullpen going at one point as he had recorded just one out in the inning. Blackburn eventually got through it and turned in a scoreless second, but the struggles soon came back as he was ousted in the fourth after allowing three runs in that frame.
Entering Tuesday with a 3.86 ERA this spring, Blackburns poor outing ballooned it up to 6.08.
Blackburn will likely get one more start this spring, which will present him with the opportunity to put this ugly start behind him and head into the regular season feeling a little better about himself.
All together it just wasnt good. Quality was terrible, Blackburn said. I didnt keep my defense in the game at all. I didnt even give them a chance. Everything was just bad.


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Simplify Your Marketing Plan by Owning the 5 Tiers of Your Customer's Journey
If you're not using the 5 Tiers of Customers & Their Journey to improve your organization and simplify your marketing, then you must be ok with the status quo and feeling overwhelmed. Here's why. Your customers are real people like you on an epic journey. They are hunting for a solution to their problem. Like a super vitamin, their journey is packed with power for your organization and marketing. And if you understand and empathize with their journey, you can win the day for them and you!
In this article, I'll share the 5 Tiers of Customers and show you the gold mine they bring to improving your organization and simplifying your marketing.
First, we must understand the 5 Tiers. Then we can develop what one writer calls "a pathological empathy for our audience." (I love that statement. We'll come back to it often.) Finally, we'll connect our findings and empathy to our organization and marketing. You'll gain insights to help you focus and clarify what you do and how you market it.
The 5 Tiers of Customers & Their Journey
The 5 Tiers represent the journey of your audience or customer. Every journey starts the same. Your audience has a problem they need help with. So they set out for a solution. The journey progresses like the 9 Rings of Dante's Inferno…_only with 5 tiers. In the end, our beloved hero (our audience or customer) is either victorious or stalls out. There is triumph. Or there is tragedy.
Tier 1: The Curious
In Tier 1, our hero is curious. He or she leaves the comfort and security of home to begin the active search. For our audience, this used to be a physical search—like get in the car and drive downtown. Later, it would look like thumbing through the phone book or yellow pages. Now it happens online. Through search or social media, the hunt is on. The Curious hero is a customer who has not formally met your organization or business yet. Perhaps they've seen you around. But they've never stopped to see how you might help solve their problem.
Tier 2: The Confused
In Tier 2, our curious hero finds his or her way to your organization. But the perils of the journey force our hero to make swift decisions. Any delay and the evil problem may overtake him. After a brief look around, confusion confounds our hero. Oh no! (We will come back to why this happens to our hero later in this series.) For now, this customer is someone who came across your brand and was confused about how you could help. So they move on.
Tier 3: The Collector
Progressing to Tier 3, our hero adds you to his or her collection of possible solutions. Soon the fork in the road will force our hero into a decision. For now, your organization is in the mix of weapons the hero could use to slay the enemy. This is a customer who came across your brand while searching for a solution. You are valuable enough for them to keep in mind, but we have yet to convince the hero you are the answer to his dilemma.
Tier 4: The Casual Fan
The time has come for the hero to face off. With your help, the hero beats back the villainous problem who flees the scene to lick his wounds. You've given our hero some much-needed relief from the attack of the problem. Congrats. You now have a new casual fan. Though the enemy is not ultimately defeated, our hero knows you can help keep him at bay. This is a customer who trusted you enough to help him/her address the problem. They appreciate your help in keeping the problem at a distance.
Tier 5: The Champion
In the 5th and final tier, our hero charges into battle, slays the problem, and wins the day in stunning fashion. And you were the piercing arrow. You played a pivotal role in his victory. Our hero (customer or audience) is the champ. As he proudly struts forth on his victory lap, he recounts the climactic moment where you—the trustworthy arrow—made the difference. Your place in the hero's story is forever solidified. Zeal and passion exude whenever he gets the chance—or makes the chance—to talk about you. If ever there is another in need of such an arrow, he will champion you to no end. This is a customer who loves you.
To recap, this is the journey of every customer or everyone in your audience. It's not whimsy. It's real. Your audience or customer has a real problem in need of a real solution. They are on a journey in search of a solution. Their journey will end in triumph or tragedy. The question in this series is, what role will you play in their journey? And what role should their journey play in your organization and marketing?
Start With These Questions for the 5 Tiers
If you cannot empathize with the journey of your audience, you will miss out on reaching your maximum impact and making the world a better place. Next time we will zoom in on the problem driving your audience's journey. It's the key to unlocking the power of the 5 Tiers so you know what to say to your audience. Then we'll unpack how you use the 5 Tiers of Customers & Their Journey to improve your organization and simplify your marketing. For now, take a few minutes to consider where customers may be getting stuck along the journey. Here are a few questions to consider:
- The Curious: Can our customers/audience find us? Are we visible where they'll be looking? What could we do to improve our visibility to make us easier to find?
- The Confused: Can our customers or audience understand how we help them? Are we clear?
- The Collector: Is there anything we can do to be more convincing about how we help our audience/customer?
- The Causal Fan: Why do our customers see us as a partial solution and not an ultimate solution helping them defeat their problem?
- The Champion: How are we identifying our champions? What's working and how can we do more?
If you love simple math that adds up to growing your impact, then you're going to love this simple formula. Here it is.
The more you know about your hero's problem, the easier it is to be the solution + The easiest solution usually wins.
2 Ways to Better Understand Your Audience's Problem
You want to win in helping your hero—your customer. That's why you're here. So let me share two rules you can use to better understand the problem facing your customer. If you'll use them, you will make it easier for your customer to choose you. If you don't, your customer will end up choosing someone else who did. There's no neutral ground here.
The Setup
If all this series of articles did was help you simplify your marketing, that would be great. But you will also learn some great ways to improve your organization. And this comes free from your customer by way of their 5 movements. Last time we did a flyover of The 5 Tiers of Customers & Their Journey. We ended with some questions for you to evaluate how well you empathize with your customer.
There are 3 parts moving this drama along. (We called our drama The 5 Tiers of Customers & Their Journey.)
- Our hero (your customer)
- Our hero's problem or dilemma
- The solution to the hero's problem (you and others who offer a possible remedy).
New let's focus on the second part—our hero's problem.
Rule 1 About Your Customer's Problem: Size Matters
The size (or scope) of the hero's problem matters. You must take this into account. A bump is different than a broken bone. The better you understand this, the better able you are to posit a simple solution to your customer. And the easiest solution usually wins.
The size of your hero's problem determines…
- Speed (Urgency): How quickly the hero leaves the comforts of home. For example, a fire in the home means he's off in a flash. A need for updated curtains likely means she will keep an eye out in the normal course of life.
- Time: How long the hero will need to make a decision. Larger problems make for longer decisions. Choosing a refreshment happens faster than choosing a retirement plan.
- Progress: How fast the hero will progress through the 5 tiers (based on urgency and time). Most industries have a standard pace or sales cycle. What's yours?
- Awareness: How aware the hero is of the problem? Some problems are obvious or established. Some are not. Some are old but in need of a fresh solution. Consider home recipe and ingredient meal services like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh. Both are about 5 years old. They made us aware of a real, but new problem: how do normal, busy people cook great meals at home. Most of us did not wake up with that problem 'top of mind'. Rather, it was just below the surface. Their marketing made the customer aware of the problem. Or take Cyber Monday. It's a new twist on an old problem: where can I get 'amazing' deals on holiday gifts…AND avoid the crowds?
Rule 2: Popularity Matters.
The popularity of your hero's problem matters. How many heroes have this problem? For example, every human needs water. So the market is overflowing with solutions for the customer. The more popular the problem, the more you need to be clear about your solution. This makes it easy for your customer to choose you. And I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet, but the easiest solution usually wins.
Take Action With This Free Resource
Not paying careful attention to your customer's problem is like ignoring the lobster-red tint of your skin the first day at the beach. You're gonna get burned…and it's gonna hurt worse tomorrow. Grow your impact instead. Download this handy PDF. I've packed it with specific questions. You can work through them yourself or with your team. Each question helps you address the speed, time, progress, awareness and popularity of the problem facing your customer. Remember, the more you know about your hero's problem, the easier it is to be the solution. And the easiest solution usually wins. Grab your free guide here…
Here's The Good News
Did you know this entire series is based on a clear gospel principle? Jesus knew our problem well—sin. He took full ownership of our problem so he could be the solution. Note, he didn't just provide a solution, he was the solution. You follow the pattern of Jesus when you make the effort to know your customer's problem and serve them with a solution.
The Pay Dirt At The End of Your Customer's Journey (A Recap)
Imagine a high-profile consultant. He's got a 100% success rate. And he just handed you 3 goals guaranteed to grow your impact.
Now imagine his advice cost you nothing. Zilch. Nada.
Wouldn't that be great?
No more searching for what to do next. No need to experiment with marketing hacks to get more customers. No more doubts flooding your mind, 'will this work?' No more anxiety about where to lead your organization next. Instead, this imaginary consultant has shown you the way forward. Like a postmortem Obi Wan Kanobe saying "Luke use the force," he points the way.
Oh, what a wonderful Christmas gift it would be.
Good news. If you'll tap into the 5 Tiers of Customers & Their Journey, your Christmas wish can become a reality.
The Pay Dirt At The End of Your Customer's Journey (A Recap)
There's gold in them there Hills…the 'Hills' being your customers. After a brief Thanksgiving intermission, we're back to part 3 of this series. Here's a quick recap of the gold we've already mined from your customer's journey.
What We Unearthed in Part 1
- Your customers are on a journey that begins with a problem and ends when they find a resolution.
- Your customer is the main character, or hero, in this 5-act story.
- The 5-acts chronicle the hero's journey from The Curious to The Champion. (Review the 5 acts here.)
Part 1 Pay Dirt
The better you empathize with the 5 Tiers of your customers and their journey, the better chance you have of growing your impact.
What We Unearthed in Part 2
Two things matter when it comes to your customer's problem.
- Rule 1: The size of your customer's problem impacts urgency, progression, and awareness.
- Rule 2: The popularity of your customer's problem impacts competition and clarity.
Part 2 Pay Dirt
The more you know about your customer's problem, the easier it is to be the solution…and…the easiest solution usually wins.
The Best Consultant You Can Hire But Never Have to Pay
Our opening scenario featured a top-tier consultant handing you free, killer advice. Well, this Christmas I'd like to offer you the best consultant you can get. He's available at no cost. Your customer's journey offers you the best advice money can buy…for free.
Here is what your customer can tell you about where to head next. Your goal, on a silver platter, served up by your customer's journey is (drumroll)…
Make your customer a champion. That's it.
(Let the cymbal crash die down.) Ok. Most businesses have stated or unstated goals. They're internal. You bat them about at staff meetings. Maybe post them on a bulletin board in the office.
Internal goals for your personal brand or business can be great. They might look like…
- Double profit margin by the 4th quarter.
- Decrease customer complaints by 10%.
- Add Department X by this date.
But there's a problem.
Don't Amputate Your Customer from Your Business Goals
The problem with internal business goals is how easy it is to cut off your customer. Like a junior high lunch table, you can quickly fill the 6 seats and forget you've got 8 friends.
Think about it for a second. What would help you double your profit margin by the 4th quarter? Making more of your customers champions. Want to decrease customer complaints? Make more of your customers champions. Thinking of adding a new department, service, or product? Here's a helpful question for consideration. Will it help you serve more customers and move them from Curious to Champion?
It sounds so obvious. But you'd be surprised how many of your internal business goals cannot be traced back to making life easier/better for your customer. They are separate from your customer's goals. Your goals amputated your customer. (gulp) Their goals are orphans. Nobody wants to more orphans. Especially not at Christmas!
Here's another way to look at the same principle. If a business goal does not help your customer move from Curious to Champion, you've just created the competition for your own goal. You picked a destination and then put in your own roadblock. You created a plan and threw the wrench in it. Thinking you can grow your impact without growing your customer (not just quantity of customers, but improving their quality of life big or small) is like not listening to your friends while muttering the mantra 'be the best friend you can be…be the best friend you can be…'.
Pay close attention to your customer's journey. It's real-time feedback pointing the way to more impact.
Action Steps to Heed Your Top-Tier Consultant's Advice
I've got 5 questions to you can ask yourself. They'll help you listen to your customer's advice—the best advice you'll ever get.


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Be Careful of What You Publish on the Internet
Posted On July 30, 2013
You need to view the Internet as a Novel that everyone can see, not a diary. People who do not know you might find your webpage. If you want the information to be restricted, the Internet is not the place for it. Even with a password, sometimes search engines or others might find the Information and view it. Also remember once you post something you cannot take it back. You can delete it but it might always be there.