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I'm fascinated by the concept of self-actualization, the concept of reaching one's own full potential. A related concept is self-awareness, or seeing yourself as other people do.
These are fascinating concepts to me because of how easy it often is for someone else to see exactly why you aren't achieving your goals, and so hard to see this yourself.
I get the chance to talk to entrepreneurs-in-the-making every week. Almost every one of them has something specific holding them back, that seems obvious to me and other outsiders, but is invisible or insignificant to the entrepreneur in question.
I've noticed a pattern in these conversations, and I think I know why it's so hard to see things about ourselves or our situation that other people easily identify.
We're simply lying to ourselves.
We actually know about what's holding us back, but we choose to believe something else is to blame.
For example, let's say you're a freelancer who's looking for clients. You have a website, a target market, a service offering, a blog, and a small email list, but you can't find enough clients.
The lie you might tell yourself is that your foundation is solid. You studied branding and know your audience. You built a solid website and offering. Something isn't clicking, but you feel like it's close to coming together. If the right person discovers you, or if you could just find the right coach, you'll be off to the races.
In reality, you're glossing over a very important detail: you don't have a shred of evidence that people want what you're selling. Sure, you get nods of approval in conversations, but nobody is convinced enough to hit the "buy" button.
Why would you lie to yourself about this important detail? Ego perhaps. Maybe you don't want to admit that you're more of a beginner than you thought. All the work you've done felt important, and admitting that you have to take several steps back is scary.
Or, maybe you know deep down that you have to rebuild, but you don't want to put in the work necessary. Or, perhaps you're afraid of putting in your best effort because you still might not find customers… and then what? You aren't ready for judgement about your idea, because you've tied your self worth to whether this thing succeeds.
Whatever the reason, telling yourself this lie is sabotaging your success. If you could instead see yourself and your business like other people see it, you'd make progress instead of being stuck.
If self-awareness is so important to our success, we should pursue self-awareness as a primary goal in life. But like I explained, what's obvious to other people isn't going to be so obvious to you.
The solution then, is to live for feedback from people you trust, and people you're targeting. Maybe you've gotten some feedback already, but have you really listened? If you're lying to yourself to protect your ego or in hopes that you're closer than you really are, there's a good chance you're selectively listening to feedback, and tragically missing the important stuff.
When you get feedback next, record the conversation so you can listen again and again. Have someone else listen to the feedback as well, and summarize how they hear it.
You're too close to the problem to see things clearly. The only way to stop lying to yourself is to involve others. Eventually, you'll get closer and closer to self-awareness, and from self-awareness comes self-actualization.


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The Writing Process
Have you ever been to a meeting, conference, or workshop and heard a variation of this question: "Can you tell me what your writing process is?"
The typical answer follows along this line: "Everyone's process is difference, but here's what I do . . . "
While it's true that every author writes to the beat of their own drum, if you listen to enough, "What's your writing process?" answers, you might be able to discern a basis pattern. Interestingly, when you search online, you'll not only find a basic pattern has evolved for fiction writing, but that the same pattern can also be applied to most other types of writing formats. Stands to reason that learning this basic pattern might prove useful.
Writing Process – Basic Pattern
- Prewriting
- Writing
- Revising/Editing
- Review
- Publishing
Shall I define each steps in the process? I think not. Pretty self-explanatory. So why am I bothering to mention the process at all? And here's where we get to the meat of this article. I've been laboring over the question of moving forward with my WIP OR revising what I have. (Sticking to the process or diverging from it?)
And damnit, I was not able to turn up one pertinent article that recommended an ideal amount of time you should devote to each step. Nothing that offered guidance on whether you should move through the entire process or whether it was advisable to move through the process for one part of your story and then repeat as you move forward with the next part of your story. I suppose this is where the "personalization part" of the writing progress comes into play – the very part that has me tied up in knots.
More Information about my Current WIP:
- It is a romantic high fantasy
- I'm planning on a series with another 4-6 novels to follow
- This is book 1, and I expect it to come in at 120k – 150k words
- It is in first draft
- It is approaching the halfway mark at 240 MS pages
- Currently, there are 7 POV characters and 16 secondary characters on 3 continents (more to come)
- So far there has only been seven hours of story progression (this will speed up, but not significantly for this book)
I share this information because, in a nutshell, my story has . . .
. . . lots of characters
. . . doing lots of things
. . . in lots of difference places
. . . all at the same time.
In addition, there are new and unusual cultures, strange creatures, and seven distinct religions. There is magic, a different monetary system, a unique mode of transportation, atypical weather, etc., etc., and so forth.
And sometimes (I won't lie) . . . it all gets a bit confusing. Is my time line progressing accurately? Are the characters growing, changing as they should? Have I given enough backstory so the readers can follow the plot? Or is too much backstory slowing the pace? Constantly, I struggle with the question: do I continue to move forward OR do I go back and nail down the foundation of each plot line, of each character, wrapping them all up in a neat package of well-crafted world building?
Simply put: Do I follow the writing process in totality or do I follow it incrementally?
Even more simply put: Write or Edit?
If it weren't quite so pathetic, some of you might think it's funny how much time I've spent bandying this question about. Adding to my angst, I love editing and hate the creative part of writing. I'm wary of putting too much effort into editing early in the story, especially in first draft. So, no editing until second draft, right?
However, I feel it is equally important to make sure I have a complete understanding of the character arcs as well as both the major and minor plot developments. So, edit now, right?
Back and forth. Yes and no. Write. Edit. Write. Edit.
And then the most amazing thought flitted through my head. We all know that some authors work on more than one story at a time. Could not this same principle be applied to my dilemma? Could I not do some work on editing, on fleshing out characters, on honing the plot while at the same time moving forward with my continuing saga? Better yet? Since I adore editing, why not reward myself with permission to edit after I've completed 20 pages new pages or a new chapter? Something like that.
And so, just now, if someone were to ask me, "Can you tell me what your writing process is?" I'd tell them that I follow the Writing Process. Incrementally. A bit of forward progress followed by the reward of editing. I'll let you know how that works out.
Lorinda Peake
Lorinda Peake wrote her first ditty when she was ten on an English seashore while visiting her British grandmother. From then on, her family either acted in or were treated to plays, skits, or commercial spoofs. In school, she wrote poetry, fables and short stories.
Years later, she tossed down a particularly bad novel and thought, "I could do at least that well." She's been pursuing the elusive published novel ever since. Recently, she joined a group of fellow writers who decided to cajole, bully, encourage, and sometimes baby each other along towards the publishing goal by setting real and measurable writing objectives with "motivational" consequences for non-attainment.
Lorinda loves a good romance – all the more if it is wrapped in a great fantasy setting. She lives on the Texas Gulf Coast with her husband of 34 years.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Hybris-Acumatica connector links SAP Hybris with Acumatica Cloud ERP to ensure near real-time synchronization of the commercial data, automate data exchange and product information management, streamline data entry and provide a single version of the truth. The connector seamlessly integrates SAP Hybris and Acumatica ERP providing bidirectional synchronization of all the data about products, inventory, prices, customers and orders. With the help of synchronization, users eliminate the need for repetitive manual data entry, instead they input data into Acumatica or Hybris and get the updated information in both platforms.
The Hybris-Acumatica connector transforms Acumatica ERP into a Master Data Management (MDM) platform for ecommerce solutions based on SAP Hybris. Being a Single Source of Truth (SSOT), Acumatica ERP aggregates the up-to-date information about goods, customers and orders. It ensures data consistency and integrity across the whole commerce ecosystem, eliminates errors, duplicates in data and provides a unified database of the commercial data.
Recognized as a leader by Gartner for digital commerce, SAP Hybris platform covers the entire range of omnichannel B2B and B2C sales and fulfillment needs. Supplemented with the Hybris-Acumatica connector, the platform provides a unified customer experience across channels, ensures real-time availability of inventory data and its timely distribution to responsible employees, streamlines order management, helps analyze customers' real-time behavior and deliver personalized customer care at every touch point.
The Hybris-Acumatica connector allows for easily installation and configuration with RESTful API available out-of-the-box. Being a SAP Hybris extension, it takes a set of the platform advantages, but still can function independently from SAP Hybris version updates. Although the connector ensures an automated data exchange between two platforms, its architecture allows for manual customizations. It helps cover complex custom business processes by creating and modifying additional entities, adapting data integration workflows to fit specific needs.


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My husband was determined to keep this cast iron tub in our 100+ house. The problem is that it is odd shaped. It has two walls and the other end he had built a wall but it leaked and was ugly! We decided to tile the shower walls but we cannot get the wall on the end of the tub to fit the angle of the tub. If we put the wall in the way it was, the cement board and tile will hang over the top of the tub. Is there any type of material we could use to creat a sturdy wall that sits on the tub, can be cut to fit the angle of the tub and also support the shower doors?? I thought about glass blocks but did not know how we would attach the shower door frame to it safely.
Thanks for any and ALL suggestions.


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Quality Child Care Investments Reaching Child Care and Lifting Education
The San Francisco Quality Child Care Investments Reaching Children and Lifting Education (Q-CIRCLE) program was designed to improve access to quality early education experiences for the City's most vulnerable populations, such as families experiencing homelessness or domestic violence, and infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from low-income families.
Q-CIRCLE members are a cohort of San Francisco child care providers, both licensed centers and Family Child Care Quality Network (FCCQN) homes actively participating in the City's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS). Q-CIRCLE members are committed to exceeding minimum standards of quality and serving low-income and at-risk families.


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Carrot Seeds - Resistafly F1 Growing Chart
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
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- Sow Outdoors
- Harvest
Our products are all grown with the utmost care and to high standards of quality. We regularly check our nursery stock to determine exactly when they will be at the optimum time for despatch.
We despatch our fresh, nursery-grown live plants (including vegetables, trees and flowers) when they are at a stage of growth ready for you, the customer, to plant on at home.
The delivery period shown on your order confirmation indicates when you can expect to receive your order and we will endeavour to despatch your plants in this period within 7-14 days
Customer Reviews
Accurate description and fast delivery
Carrot Seeds - Resistafly F1
£2.99 each
This carrot is an F1 variety meaning it has excellent disease resistance and also as the name suggests resists again carrot root fly. Expect the crops to be large, smooth and cylindrical with excellent flavour.
For full sowing information please see the seed packet.See Full Description +
- Quantity 1x Packet of Carrot Seeds
- Height 2-25cm / 1-10in
Delivery: 5-7 working days
Stock Status: In stock


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24 hour 7 day a week key access for active members – regardless of holidays and business hours.
Evidence-based approach to treatment. Emphasis on manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and patient education.
Built by the Ruffin Amusement Co. in 1949, the Varsity Theatre is one of the most unique buildings in Weakley Co.
Sports Medicine and Orthopedics
We provide coverage at local sporting events to take care of the athletes, as well as assess injuries. We provide care for orthopedic injuries as well as physical therapy after orthopedic operations.
Painless Dry Needling Procedures
Recently, we started to offer dry needling. A procedure using small needles designed to relax muscles in the body. This cost of this painless procedure is often covered by insurance.
High Quality Custom-Fit Orthotics
Custom orthotics are specially-made devices designed to support and comfort your feet. Prescription orthotics are crafted for you and match the contours of your feet precisely.
Pediatric and Geriatric Patient Treatment
We treat pediatric patients with a wide variety of conditions. We are one of the only pediatric providers in the area. We also treat geriatric patients with a great success rate for all ages.
Official Hammer Strength Facility
We are an Official Hammer Strength facility with Hammer Strength & Life Fitness Equipment, Rogue Equipment, and a full line of cardio equipment.
Group Exercise Classes
We offer several group exercise classes every day. Starting before work and after, there is a time and a class for everyone.
Incentive Programs
With our incentive programs, we are prepared to help motivate you to achieve your fitness goals.
At the Sideline, we provide classes and programs that are suitable for most ages at a variety of intensity levels. You do not have to sign a contract to be a member of the Sideline fitness center. Located in Martin, TN it is accessible to members 24 hours a day, each day of the week.
T.J. Damron Patient
"Top notch facility. I have been fortunate (or unfortunate if you consider the circumstances!) enough to have worked with the employees of Sidelines and Brian Smith for almost 20 years. I've had several orthopedic injuries/surgeries over the last decade and Brian, along with his great staff, get me back to normal in no time! Great group of people who care about their patients. 5* from me!"
Kathy Eskew Patient
"The Sideline provides a large variety of equipment and a very helpful staff to help individuals develop a personalized plan. The PT staff is helpful and professional, and they facilitate recovery in the best possible way. I especially appreciate the cleanliness of each part of the facility. A++"


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Spontaneous competition by Markus Esser
Spontaneously, the hammer throwers of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen had decided to test their good training condition in a competition. During their training camp in Split (Croatia), the protégés of trainer Helge Zöllkau took part in an international meeting. And this spontaneity paid off.
Out of the full training Markus Esser threw 77.99m (255′ 10″). Only the day before this competition the hammer thrower squad had heared about it and decided spontaneously to compete in order to check their current performance. "This morning I have trained and then I competed in in the afternoon," said Markus Esser. He missed the World Championship qualificaiton standard only by 1.01m (Moscow, 10th-18th August). "With a normal preparation and not a training session right before the competition the qualification standard should be doable," said Germany's best hammer thrower. "The current training condition and my recent throws are really fun."
Markus' teammate Sven Möhsner became second with 68.34m (224′ 2″). Paul Hützen, a promising contendor for the U23 European Championships in Tampere, Finnland, threw 66.49m and finished fourth. The qualification standard for the U23 European Championships is 70m (229′ 7″). Couple of weeks ago he came very close to the qulification standard by throwing 68.33m (224′ 2″) in Leichlingen, Germany.
The victory in the junior women also went to Leverkusen. The German Vice Champion Daniela Manz won with 59.68m (195′ 9″). Sarah Lippold landed in third place with 58.43m (191′ 8″). "I want to finally throw over 60m (196′ 10″)," said the U23 athlete who want to throw the standard for the U23 European Championships. 64m (209′ 11″) is the qualification standard. This year Sara Lippold has increased her best to 59.15m (194′).
The first meeting at which one can throw the qualification standard for the U23 European Championships and World Championships is on 18th – 19th of May, held at the international hammer throw meeting in Fränkisch-Crumbach. Markus Esser wants to clear the standard right away.
Source: Bayer Leverkusen by Markus Paniczek


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Hair Transplant Repair Surgery 2- Month 2
Don't look now but I'm under the distinct impression that there is activity afoot in the crown region. My hair transplant results after 2 months shows that I've got a pimple, and not just any pimple either. As it turns out this little bugger eventually turned into Mount Vesuvius and was the beginning of great things. Slow things, but great things nonetheless. You'll also notice that this is the beginning of my weird facial hair phase that appears to have lasted for at least a couple of years as you'll see in some of the subsequent pages to come.


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Hold your horses, at the moment there are no available Halo 5 screenshots, but as soon as we get a hold of the game, we will be posting the halo 5 screenshots here in halo-5.net for sure. While waiting for the franchise, you can still enjoy the latest Halo game which just came out last fall, the Halo 4.
For 11 years, this multi-billion dollar science fiction video game, Halo, has evolved so much from the first franchise up to the latest. You may check the Halo trailers we have compiled in one article to see the difference of Halo then, and Halo now. Previously developed by Bungie and currently managed by 343 Industries, the Halo franchise is owned by Microsoft Studios and runs on Xbox 360 platform.
Check out the screenshots from Halo : Combat Evolved to Halo 4.
Halo : Combat Evolved
The game started when the Pillar of Autumn exited slipspace close to a round shaped space station named "Halo" by the Covenant, which is the main enemy of the game. A fleet of Covenant attacks and greatly damaged the Pillar of Autumn. A split-screen mode allows 2 players to play co-operatively through the campaign.
Halo 2
On Halo 2, players can use both alien and human weaponry, including vehicles to go through each game level. In campaign mode, players are given options for single-player and co-operative multiplayer. Halo 2 introduces an automated "playlist system to keep a steady game flow at all times, and a skill-ranking system. It also introduces a new paradigm for matching players together.
Halo 3
The weapons, and other objects of the game were adjusted to adhere the "Golden Triangle of Halo" which are: grenades, weapons, and melee attacks, that are available to the player in all situations. Halo 3 also introduces "Support Weapons" which are heavy two-handed weapons that slows the player down, but increases great firepower in return. Game mode variations include: Capture the Flag and Deathmatch.
Halo 4
In the multiplayer mode of Halo 4, players can advance their multiplayer career from:
- War Games – is a competitive multiplayer matchmaking mode. It has 4 split-screen support and can be played up to 16 multiplayers through Xbox Live.
- Forge – a map editing tool featured previously in Halo 3. It also has split-screen and Xbox Live Support. This tool enables players to edit the defaulted multiplayer maps by modifying spawn points, items and weapons.
- Spartan Ops – an episodic mode that can be played by a single player or multiplayer through Xbox Live.
- Theater – allows players to capture screenshots, create video clips, and view films.
They can also customize their own Spartan-IV super-soldier. Players can improve ranks by experience from multiplayer matches and completing challenges. The items for customized vision are unlocked by completing challenges and getting higher ranks.
Halo 5
With Cortana dead do you think Halo 5 will the loss of the villain since the beginning would make the game better? Or is Cortana too big of a character to be just easily swept away? Will she be back on Halo 6?


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Moog's 80th B-Day Celebration
May 23rd - June 23rd, 2014
Open Mon-Fri | 4:00 – 6:00pm
170 Broadway St. Asheville, NC
2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the first modular voltage-controlled synthesizer, an instrument that forever changed the course of modern music. Today, on May 23rd, Moog Music celebrates what would have been the 80th birthday of this unique instrument's inventor, Dr. Robert Moog, by transforming our newly renovated space at 170 Broadway Street into a free public gallery and photo exhibit.
Photos of the early years of the Moog synthesizer's inception [1964 – 1970] will give a view into one of the music industry's most important innovations and the man that pioneered it. The free exhibition will run daily from 4:00 – 6:00PM [M – F]. The exhibit will close on June 23, 2014.
Visitors to the exhibition will also have the chance to receive* The Sound of Moog, a 45-inch vinyl re-pressing demonstrating the sounds of the Moog modular made by Chris Swansen. Originally on flexi-disc, this recording wad included with with the early Moog modulars.
Those not able to attend the gallery in person can view the photos here.
To further celebrate Bob's birthday we are offering 10% off all Moog Merch and Apparel through Monday May 26th, use code BDAY10 at check out.
*While supplies last.


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Director of Product Management, Microsoft BI
(At left: the many faces of Kamal Hathi: 1 – "Seriously, we have to do formal headshots?", 2 – Explaining, 3 – Explaining, and… 4 – Explaining. Today, I ask him to Explain some things, and he happily obliges.)
Yeah folks, this is a rare treat. Kamal's title can be taken at face value – he's right there at the top of the MS BI org, reporting directly to the VP of BI. Like Ron Burgundy, he is Kinda a Big Deal. (But me saying that will make him uncomfortable. Ha ha! Nothing he can do about it in this medium!).
Even though I used to work with many of the leaders in BI at Microsoft, it's not often I get this sort of chance. Everyone's just so busy – them AND me – so it's nice every now and then when we get an excuse to talk. Most recently, Kamal was the ultimate approver of MS's decision to sponsor the ad in the back of our 2nd edition book, and, at the suggestion of the one and only Chris Finlan, we leveraged that as an interview opp as well. Here goes.
The more things change… the more it's still DAX
ROB: a lot has changed since Project Gemini – the original codename of the Power Pivot project – kicked off back in what, 2007?
KAMAL: Yes and no. The product and the team have matured immensely. Power BI is a complete and attractive product that does so much more than Power Pivot. At the same time it is still the same "soul" of the product at the core. Highly customer centric, solving the problems that our customers have been asking for. In some senses Power BI 2.0 is a return to the approach we had with Power Pivot, moving fast, listening to the user base and delivering a very functional product that is super easy to acquire and get started with.
ROB: You kinda "stole" my second question, which was, what ALSO strikes me is how much is still the SAME – the Power Pivot / Tabular engine, and the DAX language, remain at the heart of things. It's amazing to me how COMPLETE that engine is. Any thoughts on why that original vision has proven to be so robust?
KAMAL: Yes, a lot IS still the same. The goal of empowering users, the deep desire that the team has to stay in touch with our users and certainly a lot of the technology. We were well ahead of the market in many ways with Vertipaq and Power Pivot with a wicked fast and highly scalable in-memory engine, a business user oriented expression language and a self-service approach.
ROB: Yeah, let's focus in on that "business user oriented expression language." Kamal, DAX is amazing. AMAZING! Every day I marvel at its completeness, and that people like ME (and other Excel people) can learn the same language that is already becoming the language of choice for the long-time MS BI celebrities like Chris Webb, Marco Russo, and Alberto Ferrari. As a hard-core software critic, I'm telling you that DAX belongs in the Software Hall of Fame. I often say that DAX's robustness owes to it being one of the rare cases where a long-running product team got to "re-imagine" itself and sand off rough edges, without sacrificing the power of the original.
So, how? How did the team navigate that? Yes, I was around for part of that effort but wasn't aware, at the time, that something truly special was happening. I honestly think there is something profound here that all software teams could learn, but I haven't distilled it out yet.
going with "user first" instead of "tech first" is in my opinion the magic sauce here.
KAMAL: DAX is an outcome of our learnings from MDX. (***Note from Rob: MDX was Microsoft's "apex predator" formula language for BI before DAX. I was not smart enough to be able to learn it – despite many good teachers trying).
We used to talk about the "steep second step", of working with MDX. Getting started is easy but to do anything really meaningful requires a lot of work. We also wanted to really speak to the Excel users and so looked closely at Excel's existing languages and what users did with these. Ultimately it boiled down to being "true to the medium", Power Pivot is all about the Excel users and so too is DAX. So much so that we deliberately use the same function signatures where possible and extend existing semantics whenever possible.
Rob, you of all people know how we closely worked with the Excel team and had folks like you with Excel in their DNA come over and work on Power Pivot. As trite as it sounds, DAX was developed with a specific user in mind and going with the "user first" instead of tech first is in my opinion the magic sauce here.
Ah yes, let's talk about Excel…
ROB: It seems to me that you folks have kinda come full circle on Excel – "all in" on the Excel versions for the first few years, obviously. Then I perceived a bit of a "backing away" from Excel, a bit, but only briefly, in the earliest phases of PBI Desktop. And now, with Excel Services in PowerBI.com, and PBI Desktop able to import Excel Power Pivot models, and Excel 2016 Power Pivot receiving so many improvements, I think MS is striking a nice balance. What's your reaction to that narrative?
KAMAL: "Nice balance" is exactly what we are after. Excel is an amazing product, it is rich, yet approachable, with a consistent and easily understood interface. We want Excel to be really good at being a spreadsheet and remain true to its roots and core experience. Power BI is a great complement to Excel and a focused BI tool that inter-operates really well with Excel. We still have a few wrinkles to iron out here, but that is what we are shooting for.
ROB: Yes indeed, Excel is a spreadsheet! But all of the Excel people reading THIS interview, however, view it as the best BI tool in the world, rather than through the traditional "spreadsheet" lens.
People who are graduating from pivots and VLOOKUP are *not* spreadsheet users in the traditional "it's a better calculator" sense. So for us, the phrase "let Excel be a spreadsheet" makes us a bit uneasy. Let me say it differently: I have fallen in LOVE with Power BI Desktop. Love it. And the phrase you used, "complement to Excel," is EXACTLY how I see it – as a complement to Excel Power Pivot, an extension and magnifier. So, serious question: deep down inside, have you come around to truly viewing PBI that way, or are you still adjusting to that phrase?
it makes a lot of sense to provide a companion application from Microsoft and design it to be a real companion and not a competitor the way other products try to be.
KAMAL: Well, we actually went back and forth on the relationship between the Desktop and Excel. Should we have another add-in (something we obviously have a lot of experience with) or a standalone app ? Ultimately it became clear that many users were using other products alongside Excel. Pretty much every Tableau or Qlik user also is an Excel user. So it makes a lot of sense to provide that companion application from Microsoft and design it to be a real companion and not a competitor the way other products try to be. Which is what we have done.
With all this said and as we continue to deliver capabilities that make the interoperability with Excel tighter and more natural, I am getting more comfortable with the role that the Desktop plays wrt Excel and I think users will as well.
ROB: Our book is definitely "aimed" at the Excel crowd (even though 2nd edition now incorporates the Desktop), so we are thrilled to have the Power BI team advertising with us. I guess you see Power Pivot as a bridge to Power BI, just like we do? Cuz otherwise, ya know, waste of money to advertise in our book, heh heh.
Power Pivot (and Excel as a frontend, too) is a great authoring environment for Power BI.
KAMAL: Yes, Power Pivot (and Excel as a frontend, too) is a great authoring environment for Power BI. All the way from the simplest lists to the most complex data models. What you create in Excel is easily distributed via and consumed in Power BI. Power BI can amplify the insights from Excel.
ROB: OK, "rude" question: it's still amazing to me how few "Excel people" have even heard of Power Pivot or Power BI. I estimate maybe 1% of that audience is aware, today, that this amazing "gift" exists. Whose "job" is it, at MS, to fix that – the SQL team or the Office team?
KAMAL: To be clear we are one team here, with some organizational nuances. We are a BI focused team and we are working together to make sure that we have a cohesive and user centric product. You will see much clearer and broader messaging coming from us, so that everyone will have the joy of experiencing this "gift".
ROB: Oh man, that makes my spidey-sense tingle. 'Organizational nuances" – I'm going to steal that joke. When I hear "we all own it," I insta-translate that into "no one owns it," and it's gonna keep dropping between the outfielders, so to speak. To be fair, I know the SQL and Excel teams are communicating better than ever these days, so I'm not doubting that part. It's whether this is even acknowledged as a real problem, an URGENT problem, that I'm still left wondering about.
KAMAL: One of the things that has changed over the past year or so is that the "Engineering team" has evolved to being a true "Product team."
In the past we had a very technology oriented approach and built some really awesome technologies (as you were witness to with Vertipaq and Power Pivot when you were here) and then a bunch of different teams across Microsoft took that technology and "got it to market". Now the focus of the folks who develop the product, is the full product, from end-to-end. A complete view of everything that makes the user successful with the product. This means the technology, the web site, the documentation, the community, samples and yes the messaging. Essentially we now start with the user first and not tech first.
In particular, I personally am responsible for making sure that we have a big and growing community of users, who love our products and this obviously starts with awareness of all that can be achieved with our products.
So, yes we have learned that the old ways didn't quite work when it comes to deeply reaching users and we have changed how we operate.
ROB: Sounds encouraging. I'll be watching closely for sure, but you already knew that.
OK, this question is self-serving but I can't resist sneaking it in here: how often do the BI software teams at MS read PowerPivotPro.com?
KAMAL: I visit your site almost daily. Not because of you, though 🙂 . You say all sorts of stuff that I have actually learned to tune out!
But all the users who visit your site and the great comments that they leave, make it really interesting.
Your books also are good resources for new people who join the team and I see these a lot at work. Even I have one, that I crack open from time to time as I work on demos etc.
ROB: Wow, that last part rocks! I want a picture of you prepping for a demo, reading one of the books. (Then we can add the Reading face to the four-square collage at the top of this post, naturally.)
"I'm Kamal Hathi. Ask Me Anything."
ROB: It's a bit unfair that I've gotten to ask all the questions, so let's change that. You're still up for a Reddit-style "open microphone" experience where our readers can bounce questions off of you?
KAMAL: Absolutely. Let's do it.
ROB: Thanks Kamal!
OK folks, fire it up in the comments. Questions, feedback, praise, criticism, whatever, but remember, always be polite to our guests, even when we have "tough love" to share with them, because we want them to listen, to like us, and to come back.
Also: Kamal is a pretty busy guy so I'm not sure for how long he will be able to answer. I'll close comments on this post whenever he needs to cry uncle.
Pivot capabilities in tables is indeed something that we get a lot of requests for and it is something that we are looking at including in Power BI. Do not have a time line for this though. You also can use Excel PivotTables in the Excel Web experience in Power BI.
A bunch of the pivot table features I use most frequently are show values as (% of row total, % of running total in etc.) Also grouping of rows and/or columns ad-hoc. Are you working on these features being available as well?
Mmm, Excel Web Experience! I must have missed that. Do you have a link to something explaining it? I searched for it but can't find anything.
Hi Kamal,
How good is Power BI as an input tool and a BI app at the same time?
I have an opportunity that requires simple data entry across a large demographic of clients whilst still keeping track of the data within pre-defined parameters. Can Power BI handle this?
Get in touch
Power BI doesn't do data input. You will want to develop an application. If you don't have an app developer, consider using PowerApps, which can use Excel, SharePoint, the Common Data Service, or even traditional databases as the data source.
Which versions of Office 2016 include the Power Pivot addin? I can't seem to find a definitive answer. The decision to only include it in the Pro Plus version of 2013 was controversial, to say the least – has it been widened out to other versions now, especially given the wide availability of Power BI?
Jeff, you can find some further information here: https://blogs.office.com/2015/09/18/new-ways-to-get-the-excel-business-analytics-features-you-need/
It's supposed to be in ProPlus, Professional, and Excel Standalone. So, yes availability has been widened out.
Until earlier this year I was one of Rob's 99 percenters who didn't know DAX existed and to whom PowerPivot was just a pivot table. To his question of how we can make this better for people to understand, I have some thoughts to run by Kamal. Other folks are welcome to chime in to say their mileage may vary…
First, the online help seems poor. It uses the Excel formula format, which is good for Excel but bad for DAX. If I want to learn about SUMPRODUCT I have a good idea what the output will be and getting there is just arithmetic, so the examples in the help can be pasted into my spreadsheet to follow along. With DAX help topics the syntax is self-referential. Here's a sample from FILTER
"In this example, the expression FILTER('InternetSales_USD', RELATED('SalesTerritory'[SalesTerritoryCountry])"United States") returns a table that is a subset of Internet Sales minus all rows that belong to the United States sales territory. The RELATED function is what links the Territory key in the Internet Sales table to SalesTerritoryCountry in the SalesTerritory table. "
Huh? I have to deal with RELATED as well, and I'm returning a table to a table. Can you imagine how daunting this is for someone trying to discover DAX? On top of that I have to know some sort of source cube data (AdventureWorks? Contoso?) that I didn't know existed. To what data are your referring? Sure, DAX deals in data rather than arithmetic, but you have to make it easier for us!
Second, I'll hammer on about the sample data again. It's hard to find and download, so much of the language around it is designed for SSAS freaks, and I have to buy multiple books that hopefully use those particular data sets in order to grasp some fundamental objectives. And it has data from a decade ago… not necessarily a deal-killer, but as a rookie I admit I looked around to see if I'd pulled a prior version of the data!
And the data is structured pretty simply. Again, I need to buy a book to see any sort of advanced discussion of how to manipulate the data the way I need to in the real world, and it's hard to take the simple sales catalog structure and adjust it to the convoluted relationships we business users deal with.
Third, pivot tables are ultimately of limited use to me if I want to get work off people's backs and into the tool. The executives I deliver them to won't use them – the answer to their question should be directly in front of them. The pivot table may answer that question in its current format but they won't manipulate it for their "what-if" questions… especially not if I've added a bunch of sophisticated DAX measures. They'll expect me to do that . Or my staff. Yes, it's just 30 seconds of dragging and dropping but I didn't save my team any work. Yes, initially I did save hours of custom queries and subsequent cutting and pasting into a spreadsheet by using Power Query and developing the DAX measures, but that's water under the bridge at this point. Then we have to reformat the page when the new pivot results push the columns and sliders off the screen and our users wonder why everything went away.
Fourth is the many:many or related table curse. I've seen the blog posts on the "magic" formula to resolve many:many, but my data doesn't always follow the simple relationship there. Those are set for two lookup tables joined to a fact table… but I have two fact tables joined to a lookup table. A simple question – how many items were issued from A but not B – is a brainbuster for a newbie like me when A and B are separate processes and can't be joined into a single table and the only thing relating them together is an item number and issue date. (A items are purchased directly from the vendor via POs while B items are issued via MSR from our warehouse/depot. Totally different mechanism and source tables. We'd like to have an item always be one or the other, but how do we find out which ones?)
That leads to dashboards and the various CUBE functions. Using MDX for a top 10 list of something based on the combined value of 10 slicers is tough. How do multiple slicer values go into that query? Can I return both the name and the value or is it a separate way to get at each? Should I instead create a dummy pivot table on a hidden sheet and copy the filtered results to the executive page? How many blogs do I need to search to come up with that answer (I still haven't found it) when I can't even construct the MDX yet? CUBE functions appear valuable to me (I think, since I'm still a rookie) because if my executives are looking for a single number *and* their what-if questions, I can give them a bunch of key numbers and the detail underneath.
Example: What percentage of my ordered products are received at my facilities within 24 hours, and what are the top 10 vendors in terms of delivery percentage along with that value? I'll have slicers by street location, department, delivery method, order date, PO type, and so on. A lot of lookup tables are connected to my factOrder table and that connects to my factReceiving so if I am applying a PO type filter from my dimPO table and a delivery method from dimDelivery, am I correctly ensuring the filters trickle down to the factReceiving table? This may be second nature to you, but not to me! And how can I relate the Contoso or AdventureWorks data to my real-world structure?
I would suggest the following…
a) Multiple sample databases, each one to highlight a particular data structure and set of solutions. Perhaps have one each for selected industries or functions. Move away from the simple sales and financial examples you have to shipping, warehousing, transport, marketing, …
b) Explain what each database and related set of measures is for in words of one syllable
c) Upgrade your help. Steal the "DAX Pattern" idea from Marco and Alberto – or pay them handsomely – and expand the help to explain what pattern each DAX command can fit tied to the respective databases.
d) Clarify how and why Power Pivot or CUBE functions should be used according to those patterns
PowerBI has the worthy goal of trying to bring data analysis to the masses in the same way spreadsheets delivered mass market numeric analysis. It's tough, but I think you have a winning product here. It's buried under code words and shibboleths at the moment, and I'm not sure how you can change that.
I understand your frustration.
DAX is about set theory. Small filter tables used as a filter context. It's actually as simple as that.
What helped me was the this link: http://mdxdax.blogspot.dk/2011/03/logic-behind-magic-of-dax-cross-table.html
Great feedback and suggestions. I think we actually will do some of this.
One of the places where we are putting in a lot of effort going forward is explaining how to use the product. This means better docs, samples, videos etc.
Hi Kamal. Do you have any advice on how to get organizational decision makers to jump on-board with the Power BI Desktop? I have made headway with the adoption of PowerPivot within the last year, but am not sure how to push this option (which I love!).
The best bet I think is to show the full Power BI experience, from the Dashboards and Reports in PowerBI.com to the Desktop. The Desktop can create powerful yet really attractive reports with all the formatting capabilities that have been added. I think that for a lot of decision makers seeing is believing and if you can have them to experience some interesting insight that looks stunning, it will get them to ask for more. This is where you can show the power of the Desktop. Oh and by the way, did I say it was for free ($0.0) ?
Kamal, just got Excel 2016 last week, and I've been having a great time with all the new features since I'm upgrading out of 2010. However, I've had one big annoyance with the way slicers are implemented—it's almost impossible to organize them cleanly on the page, and even creating them is difficult since the slicer box was removed from the field list. In 2010, slicers would drop automatically into defined boxes on the sides of my data, but in 2016, there's no way for me to organize them efficiently (at least, to my knowledge).
Are there any plans to update slicer functionality to make reporting and analysis more clean/viable? Thanks!
We are working on refining the experience. As always we are already working on the next iteration of the product capabilities and are looking at this. No final plans yet though. So, sorry nothing definitive I can share.
Also, make yourself heard on this and other feature requests at: http://excel.uservoice.com/
Hi Kamal – we have been using Power BI (online) since March 2015 and love, love, love the product. We have been a huge fan of Powerpivot for the last couple years and have built our data model with the 2010 add-ins of Powerpivot and Powerquery, thanks to Rob and powerpivot(pro)'s book and online training videos. We have been utilizing the trial version of Power BI pro and would like to sign up for the service in order to utilize all the visualization and sharing tools going forward. However, we have had difficulty understanding how to give Microsoft our money :). We do not have Office 365, but have Office 2016 Professional. We prefer to not transition to Office 365, but would rather use Office 2016 Professional with Power BI (online) and Power BI Desktop. Is there going to be an option to pay for Power BI (online) without signing up for Office 365?
If I build a chart in Excel 2016 (standalone) and then convert my data model to Power BI Desktop, only the connections and tables convert. None of the charts made in Excel 2016 move into PowerBI Desktop. This is cumbersome as then I have to rebuild all the charts again before publishing online. I get the same results if I publish directly from Excel to PowerBI Pro online, a rebuild of the charts is needed.
Really it's not that bad if it's one or two charts, but when I create 15 charts with multiple slicers easy conversion for sharing would be awesome.
Power BI is evolving rapidly and we are adjusting features and adding capabilities as we hear back from you and others. So we have added the initial Excel integration capabilities and now are going to evolve these. Your feedback really helps us in this.
As I indicated for the Excel features, so for the Power BI features, please do go over to https://support.powerbi.com/forums/265200-power-bi and submit/vote for the idea.
With all this said, it is important to understand that the sort of easy conversion that you are asking for is very hard and not something that we could do in a short period of time.
Our top challenge in enterprise adoption is still the 64-bit requirement. It takes a 5 minute conversation to guide people into the manual process to remove the 32-bit version of Visio and get 64-bit installed and check for incompatible add-ins and macros. What would help is a compatibility checker tool that we could configure and provide guidance on next steps to get the right software removed and added. Any thoughts on how to improve the roll out for large enterprises?
The second challenge we are fighting is how to create training for software that is being enhanced so quickly. No sooner do we create help documents then they are completely out of date. The buttons have been moved, renamed, pictures changed, or the process is completely different. We like the new features, but the change makes it really hard to onboard users. Do you foresee a point where this rapid development phase slows down? It seems like the focus was on Power Query (last year?) and now it's all out on Power BI.
With Excel 2016 Professional we noticed that the data model supporting Powerpivot and Powerquery breaks/disappears if there is anything in our PERSONAL macro workbook. As power users, it sucks to have to choose between Powerpivot/Powerquery and macros. Is this a known issue?
I believe it is a known issue. I was troubleshooting this with Microsoft R&D during the Preview. I also have a support ticket open through Office 365.
However, we never figured out that it was related to having a personal macro workbook with contents (which I do). So it's pretty helpful to know I might be able to work around the issue in the meantime. Thanks!
Anyway you can post the steps to reproduce this to the Community, Judd? We're unable to reproduce the issue. link: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2016. thanks!
In Excel 2013: 1) Have a Personal Macro Workbook 2) Open a PowerPivot file 3) Open PowerPivot window 4) Exit Excel 5) Get prompted "Want to save your changes to 'Personal.xlsm'?"
I have always assumed that something under the covers is either writing to my workbook or setting a flag that Excel thinks it's been updated. Whatever is doing this I consider a bug in 2013.
I always assumed this was a 2016 issue since it didn't start arising for me in 2013 (in which I used Power Pivot extensively). Interesting.
This is definitely not a 2016 issue. I have had this issue with 2013 since the start, and I know at least one other person with the same problem.
I confirmed today, even without the macro workbook (moved it out of XLSTART folder), Excel 2016 will sometimes inexplicably delete the data model.
Been having this problem, chronically. Looking forward to a fix from MS soon (pretty please!)
With Power BI Desktop, this should not be as much of an issue in that the install and deployment is independent of other applications including Office.
For Excel the suggestion for a best practice/roll out guide and tool is a good one. Will pass that on. Also, please do use http://excel.uservoice.com so that others can provide their feedback and vote on this.
In terms of the pace of development, we want to make sure that the product is as full featured and capable as possible as soon as possible. Frankly, we are catching up in some places and need to keep pushing hard to have a product that you all really love. So, I think that we will continue on the rapid update cadence, though I do not think that you will see as much of large scale experience changes as you did in the past months. With that said, we do respond to the community feedback and if there are places where such changes are required we will respond and you may see more drastic changes in places.
We are also investing in providing more in terms of webinars, videos, samples etc. so that your training challenges will be somewhat mitigated and you can onboard users more easily.
Hi Kamal,
1. Do you have any kind of a tentative road map for the future of the Data Catalog (when the PowerBI and Azure versions will be merged, which features will make it into the final product, what new features will be added?)
2. Has the idea of implementing a proper Data Virtualization platform (like Denodo, JBoss DV, etc) been discussed at Microsoft? If you look at how with SQL Server + PolyBase you can now transparently query and join SQL tables with Hadoop tables, and combine that with the already existing capabilities within Power Query to query almost any data source imaginable, if MSSQL/PolyBase could be extended to support running Power Query M queries, then you could write a plain SQL query that joins MSSQL to Oracle to Excel to Hadoop to ODataFeed to ActiveDirectory, and so on – and furthermore, because this query is taking place within SQL server, it is then available to any client capable of calling MSSQL (so, basically everything), and additionally, this complex query could be written once and saved in the Data Catalog for consumption from Excel & PowerBI desktop.
Of course there are other things that would be necessary to make this practical (semi-intelligent caching capability, ability to read remote statistics without existing role limitations, ability to join to stored procedures as you can with openrowset, lineage and dependency tracking, execution logging, etc) but it seems to me that most of the fundamental capabilities already have been written, they just happen to spread out over multiple different products. (I actually emailed David Dewitt some more specifics on these ideas but not sure if he replies to unsolicited emails from the internet.)
Is this functionality on Microsoft's radar???????
3. Are there plans to add "proper" support for Stored Procedures and TVF's to Power Query and the Data Catalog? As it is, you're basically limited to handcoding 'exec mySP', but it would be better if parameters were formally recognized (with differentiation between required and optional), and for those published in the Data Catalog, it would be very beneficial to have the ability for the administrator to very explicitly document acceptable values, etc. It seems to me stored procedures would be one of the primary ways DBA's would be willing to allow external access to their databases – carte blanche read access to tables (as seems to be the recommended advice in most examples) is not very realistic in the real world.
4. If you look at this demo video of the *Azure* Data Catalog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=18&v=GcAbjWOpcNg you see **much** richer metadata and search capabilities – are there plans to bring a richer experience like this to the Data Catalog search in Power Query? As is, the usability **really** starts to break down once you get beyond 30 or so saved datasets.
5. Just a comment: as others have mentioned, better documentation would be very welcome – I've had some issues with proxy configuration, afaik there is no formal documentation on this, each product has different configuration requirements, and the error messages you get when something is not right are not very helpful.
That's probably more than enough questions for now…thanks for doing this AMA, I hope other MS people will make themselves available from time to time! 🙂
Overall, a better metadata story, data virtualization etc. are certainly on the list of things that we are looking into.
Data Catalog is a really good start for the metadata management and we are exploring ways to integrate with this, no firm plans yet but this does come up a lot in terms of customer asks, and we (if nothing else) do listen to our customers.
We are working to improve docs and I will pass on your feedback on the proxy configuration.
Kamal, I worked for a very large company that viewed Power Pivot in Excel as self-service BI. Since I left, Power BI Desktop has been released, and I am sure that it is viewed the same way. However, I think that everyone will agree that the leap from "Excel to DAX" is not a trivial process. It's nowhere close to being the same experience as becoming an Excel power user. PowerPivotPro and others have stepped to fill that training and evangelistic gap, but IMO Microsoft has not provided a clear path to facilitate or motivate the Excel users of the world to upgrade their skills. What would need to happen within Microsoft to promote the usage of this fabulous tool for the masses?
Rob essentially asked a similar question in the main part of this "interview". As I said, we are going to be pushing awareness of Power BI Desktop, DAX etc. really hard and I personally am taking this challenge on.
Thank you for taking on the promotion of this great tool. Anytime I talk about PP with anyone that is promoting the use of data… At a conference.. Selling me on a dashboard tool.. An educator.. Or even just someone that says they love Excel.. They either say 'haven't heard of it' or 'yeah I read something about it'.
I am sold on all the tools, but in a growing medium sized company the obvious selling point are the adhoc reports that we can generate from Excel.
Frankly I love the look of the designer/BI.com.. But in my opinion two hurdles for us will be 1. The accountant selling the investment in a server to share the visualizations properly.. And 2. Feeling that there is a seamless connection between the established Excel model and what ports over to BI.
I look forward to updates that bring this all together. DAX and the education on PPPro are nothing short of amazing for an Excel power user. Keep up the great work!
Thanks ! Keep up the good work we will.
Power BI Desktop has a great potential of replacing Access as a Desktop Database (ETL (PQ) + Aggregator(PP) rolled in to one)
The only missing piece is allowing people to directly connect to a pbix file from Excel without using a cumbersome work around – like using DAX studio to find out the the local host number
How soon should we except connectivity from Excel to the Data model in pbix
Would love to see a version of Power BI that is completely on premise. My company won't be loading data into the cloud anytime soon!
Thank you, this clarification helped in many ways.
Yet: Still not quite clear which team I should adress to help making this vision come true:
"After Power BI showed you where you actually stand compared to budget and helped you discover the reasons for it, you then use X to update your planning figures.
These will then automatically passed into the central database/-model where the subsequent processes will be fed from (like refresh of depending calculations, approvals and other communication tasks that can better be organized centrally)."
What stands the X for in your eyes?
Grüß Imke,
As Avi mentioned, Power Planner(http://www.power-planner.com) is extending Power Pivot models into a Forecasting and Predictive Analytics tool for Excel and Power BI. For your example, we would apply the 'Goal Seeking' feature of Power Planner that analyzes the supporting data from a SQL table or Power Query to make predictions and estimates about 'X' and then writes the results back to your SQL Data Warehouse.
There is a demo you may download here that shows the high level feature set of Power Planner: https://poweronbi.sharepoint.com/sites/Partners/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=b11pebb9WsDEUeMnY8NN3P2QMhNjHhFemXnp8niut2s%3d&docid=0f4a0b65c5efa485e8c9c6f5259bb8888
Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.
Best, Chris.
Thanks for taking questions and giving us a peek inside of Q Branch!
Is it more fun to work at MS with Steve out and Satya in? 🙂
Also, do we have any early returns/metrics/analytics on how the "Frying Nemo" demo was/is being received?? 🙂
With pivot tables and resizable objects in Power BI Desktop it could possibly replace Excel as the power user's BI tool of choice. Thanks for clarifying the positioning of Power BI Desktop; competing head on with Tableau and Qlik. I think most people reading this blog get this. However, outside of this small group, not many people has got a clue, and that, unfortunately for MS, includes a lot of people involved in upgrades of the MS platform. Personally, I lost faith in MS with regard to Excel along time ago. It is, obviously, a product with lots of features that needs a great deal of regression testing once you decide to incorporate new features. Hence, the Office team will always be conservative. An example: Visual Studio gets upgraded every now and then (2005, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015), but in Office you still have to settle with VB6/7 for Applications. Not having made any major upgrade to the scripting language for 15-20 years is not that great. Perhaps, integrating VSTA into Excel some 10+ years ago wouldn't have been such a bad idea. Judging from what can be done by scripting SSIS (by using VSTA and C# or VB.NET), I wonder if MS didn't make a huge mistake a decade or so ago. I am, however, quite positive to what is being done with Power BI Desktop etc in the short term. By 2020 I forecast that accountants are still using ordinary pivot tables and Excel formulas, BI consultants are still doing the more advanced data modeling, some power users are capable of doing basic data modeling (few will know how to model many-to-many relationships etc), Excel users have to settle with a 20-25 year old scripting language, Power BI is mature, has changed name to Cortana or possibly Trump and no more updates will be available until 128 bit computers enter the scene. In essence, all the same but with more advanced tools. Sorry Rob, I see no revolution coming anytime soon on the user side. There will, however, be more usage of these more advanced tools. Agile BI tasks will mainly be performed by BI consultants or Excel power users like yourself with an interest in BI. Report writing is easy and data modeling can be very difficult. One will have to invest a lot of time in order to learn DAX, M, data modeling etc. Regarding education, in some European countries the only way to learn DAX the professional way is when Marco comes to visit, once a year or so. Unfortunately, not many people registred for the course in my country this year and it was canceled. Anyone who thinks there is correlation with sales of Power BI, upgrades of Office etc?
so, no revolution coming anytime soon on the user side. Hmm.
Guess we need to put some metrics around what is or is not a revolution to settle that one..How many changed careers, transformed companies or millions of screens does there need to be to constitute a revolution?
MS is giving us the tools PowerPivotPro is evangelizing or doing their part to show a way that non-coding, non-technical folks (the people) can stay relevant in this crazy new data world we live in.
Also, "you can lead a horse ……
Let me first point out that Microsoft is offering something great (for free), and that PowerPivotPro is a great resource for learning about Power Pivot, DAX etc. Learning this stuff is, however, not easy, especially not the data modeling part. Here are some early comments from bright people who were once students themselves:
– Although DAX looks kind of friendly up front, it gets pretty gnarly pretty fast. Cathy Dumas 2012
– I agree with your comment on "Although DAX looks kind of friendly up front, it gets pretty gnarly pretty fast." Julie Koesmarno 2012
– Ever since PowerPivot got released, one of the questions I've heard debated over and over is whether it's easy for non-IT users to learn and use DAX or not. The stock answer from Microsoft, and I agree with them here, is that anyone with basic Excel knowledge can do simple calculations in DAX, but the more complex calculations (for example, those which need to use the CALCULATE() function) are probably only ever going to be written and understood by BI professionals. Chris Webb 2011
– I have to admit that I am having trouble with DAX after years and years of straight Transactional data with SQL and with Excel formulas. Dick Moffat 2010
And some words from Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari (excerpt from Microsoft Excel 2013 Building Data Models with PowerPivot):
– Because you are reading this introduction, you are probably interested in joining the self-service BI wave, and you want to learn how to master PowerPivot for Excel. You will need to learn the basics of the tool, but this is only the first step. Then, you will need to learn how to shape your data so that you can execute analysis efficiently: we call this data modeling. Finally, you will need to learn the DAX language and master all its concepts so you can get the best out of it. If that is what you want, then this is the book for you.
We are BI professionals, and we know from experience that building a BI solution is not easy. We do not want to mislead you: BI is a fascinating technology, but it is also a hard one. This book is designed to help you take the necessary steps to transform you from an Excel user to a self-service BI modeler. It will be a long road that will require time and dedication to travel, and you will find yourself making the adaptations you need to learn new techniques. However, the results you will be able to accomplish are invaluable.
SOME PEOPLE on the business side will successfully manage to learn these skills, but they will probably need to have a very genuine interest in BI as they have to put in a lot of time and effort. At some time they probably move on to become BI (or management) consultants. At present, I do not see that happen very often. "Those guys" that Donald Farmer talked about back in 2008 are quite rare in my view. If MS decides to offer proper training, however, or Mr Collie expands his business to the Nordic countries, who knows what might happen here.
Until then, if someone knows anyone who knows anything more than basic tabular modeling in Power Pivot and that person is located in the Nordic region and also has an accounting background, that special one will most likely get a lot of job opportunities once MS learns how to market this great tool.
Mr T.,
Super thoughtful post! Thoroughly enjoyed it.
I love Italy as much as the next aspiring DAX master but it misses the point it seems to.
As Rob has made abundantly clear over the years, the #PowerBi game is not only or even primarily for the Stanford C.S. PhD's…it's for the rest of us. Perhaps "Basic tabular modeling" IS the self-service revolution. And, yes, the strong swimmers will end up on the road to Italy or perhaps die trying get there 🙂
Great comments.. Being a long time Excel guy from the business side, looking for the next level, power pivot (and this site) is such a good fit. Coding is not for me, but learning a query language like DAX is a natural fit to what I was already doing with spreadsheets. I have to wonder how many on the business/analyst side are just like me, and if properly marketed to, would get far enough to realize the vast improvements and flexibility of DAX. There is a learning curve, however the benefits far outweigh the cost for a financial analyst in Excel everyday.
The comment about business side people that take to DAX probably already have a BI interest is interesting. As I learn more about DAX the more I want to learn more about the BI side of things.
The big win is that medium sized companies with a committed Excel person can learn from this site and use a powerful, free, self-service product to provide timely insights for management.
Difference between PowerBI and PowerPivot.
I am a user of PowerPivot for Excel 2010. We create sales dashboards with slicers.
Even though I have been reading on various forums, I still don't understand what PowerBI provides more than PowerPivot, if excluding sharing features and some new visualizations.
Seems the only reason for PowerBI is to remove the reliance on Excel.


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text: A funny thing happened at a baseball game in Kansas City over the weekend. And by "funny" we mean "spectacularly wrong-headed, colossally misguided and just plain unnatural."Here's what occurred, per USA Today: Three women, exchange students from Japan, spent the early innings of a game between the Royals and Angels cheering loudly during the at-bats of Shohei Ohtani, the Angels' mold-breaking, two-way phenom.By and by, a stadium usher paid a visit to the women. He was bearing a request from the Angels dugout: Could the women please keep their voices to a dull roar when Ohtani is at the plate?They complied.There are approximately 492 problems with this scenario. In the interest of brevity, we submit the most egregious 5.1. Ohtani comes from Japan for heck's sake. Japanese baseball games feature cheerleaders. A post on the website jpninfo.com, endeavoring to explain the difference between a baseball game in Japan and what we experience in the United States:"In Japan there are whole bleacher sections appropriated for each team, complete with drums and specific cheers for each and every player. It is not uncommon to have a sea of people in matching colors sitting in a section cheering in a choreographed manner."Has the man never been greeted on the field with wild, fawning, over-the-top caterwauling? I'd bet my VHS tape of "Mr. Baseball" on it.2. Bobby Bonilla once had a semi-similar problem. Signed to a staggering (at the time) five-year, $29 million contract by the Mets before the 1992 season, Bonilla's production dropped precipitously. The New York fans did what New York fans do — they booed. In fact, they hooted so long and so loud that Bonilla began wearing earplugs on the field.Google assures me that "earplugs" translates to "mimisen" in Japanese. For what Ohtani is making, he could buy millions of mimisens.3. Ohtani's interpreter suggested the call for quiet was at Otahni's behest. "He's thankful for the cheers," the interpreter told USA Today, "but at the plate, he likes to focus and block out the noise." Ohtani gave that explanation the Heisman."I wasn't the one that asked for (quiet)," he said. "(The Angels) just did it so everyone could focus at the plate."That smells like a superstar move right there, hanging your mouthpiece out to dry while positioning yourself as decidedly low-maintenance.4. If you have 5:59, cozy up with this video of Bob Welch and Reggie Jackson battling one another in the World Series, with two outs in the ninth inning, the tying and go-ahead runs on the bases, and 55,982 fans making a racket that could be heard on the dark side of the moon. Now imagine, square in the thick of the drama, the public address announcer advising the crowd: "Reggie is thankful for the cheers, but at the plate he likes to focus and block out the noise."Right?5. Finally, I'd bet my Masanori Murakami rookie card that at some point this season, the denizens of Anaheim Stadium will take up the rollicking chant of "M! V! P!" when Ohtani comes to the plate (if it hasn't happened already). And we all know what'll happen then — he'll humbly take his place in the batter's box, a small smile playing on his lips, and let the love roll down his back.


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Volvo seems to be really pushing the Volvo C30 as a fun hatchback, but I think this optional feature is abit too whacko. Stickers as decorations for cars are quite common-place – Proton has been quite notorious in the past with its compulsory optional stickers that cost a few hundred ringgit, and Naza has recently announced a new line of Edisi Grafix stickers for the Naza Suria.
The Volvo C30 is now available with a choice of about 20 designs which include things like the rainbow pattern above, polka dots, zebra stripes and many more. These designs are actually an applique film, which is removable, and also serves to protect the car. The film is designed to last about two years, after of which it can be replaced with a new design or removed completely.
Each designs cost about 2,000 Euros, or about RM10,000 ringgit. Check out three more designs after the jump, or click here to view all the designs available!


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President, Strengths Developer;
Principal, Plant Focused Fitness
Hilary's passion is helping
organizations and their people to maximize their professional
effectiveness and discover and leverage their unique talents and strengths to bring high levels of
engagement, productivity, and
purpose while creating a strong competitive advantage.
Author; Founder, The Energy
Ari Whitten is the #1 bestselling author of the cutting-edge book Forever Fat Loss and the creator of the ground-breaking Energy Blueprint system. He is a nutrition and lifestyle expert who has been running a nutrition counseling and personal training business for over a decade.
Internationally Renowned Strength
and Conditioning Coach;
Educator; Author
Ian is an internationally renowned coach, educator, and author. He is regarded as a world authority in the development of speed, agility, and conditioning for team sports. His unique game speed system and RAMP warm-up protocols are widely adopted by many coaches and organizations.
Business Administration, Leadership
and Management Lecturer,
Providence College; Assistant
Professor of Management,
Assumption College
Dr. Pastille teaches management at Assumption College in Worcester, MA, focusing mostly on courses that encourage and develop ethical decision making and the appropriate use of technologies that support human performance.
Professor Emeritus, York University;
Father of Modern Periodization;
Founder, Tudor Bompa Institute
Tudor Bompa is often regarded as the father of sports periodization theory. He is also an Olympic athlete and coach, a prolific author, and a Professor Emeritus at York University in Toronto.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist;
Arthur Ciaramicoli is a licensed clinical psychologist, who has been treating clients for more than 30 years. He is also a former educator, an active lecturer, a seasoned media expert, and an accomplished author.
Family Physician; 6-Time Best Selling
Author; Founder, DrFuhrman Online
Joel Fuhrman is a board-certified family physician, six-time New York Times best-selling author and internationally recognized expert on nutrition and natural healing, who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional methods.
Founder, Cap Elite
Eddie Enriquez is the founder of Cap Elite. CAP Elite was established in 2003 with the focus of training athletes. CAP stands for Centers for Athletic Performance, becoming the first CrossFit gym in the Montgomery, Conroe and Magnolia area in 2008 and has been the training ground for many of other gyms in the area.
NBA and NFL Strength Coach,
Celebrity Personal Trainer
Jon Hinds founded MBG in January 2000 as the first 100% functional training gym in the country. This was a very daring step to take as all gyms at this time used machines for fitness… not the body! Jon argued that true health is based on the pure intuitive movements of running, jumping, crawling, climbing, reacting and rolling mixed with natural whole body alignment training and plant-strong nutrition.
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at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC
Dr. Steinbaum is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. She is a National Spokesperson for the Go Red for Women campaign and chairperson of Go Red for Women in New York City. She is on the New York City Board of the American Heart Association.


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I am going to admit . . . this was the first time I have ever been to an Indian restaurant so I wasn't exactly too sure of what to expect. I love Neutral bay for its food and all though I must say however as a side note, parking was almost impossible to find!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Grissini Ristorante, Menai
This modern Italian restaurant is opened up by the Head Chef of Little Italy so I guess that could explain why it was so packed out for it's location. The only booking I could get was for 8 pm and even when I arrived (and left) the restaurant was still pretty much packed out.
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ALTOONA, Pa. – Sadie McConnell (New Enterprise, PA/Northern Bedford) scored two goals and Sydney Emershaw (Dallas, PA/Dallas) made nine saves to help lead the Penn State Altoona women's soccer team to a 4-1 win over non-conference opponent Juniata College on Wednesday night at Spring Run Stadium.
McConnell upped her season goal total to a team-high four with her scoring output. Meanwhile, Haley Giedroc (Howard, PA/Bald Eagle) scored her first career goal for Penn State Altoona (3-2-1).
Emershaw improved her season record to 2-1-1 with the victory, making a season-high nine saves between the pipes.
Penn State Altoona took an early lead on an own goal by Juniata (2-4), when a defender on the visiting team inadvertently headed a Lady Lions' corner kick into her own net at 5:07.
The home team doubled its lead less than five minutes later. Kierra Irwin's (Altoona, PA/Altoona) well-placed ball down the middle of the field led McConnell toward the box, and McConnell took the pass and beat the keeper with a shot at 9:52 to make it 2-0.
Emershaw helped to keep Juniata off the scoreboard in the first half, making five of her nine saves in the period.
However, Juniata cut its deficit in half shortly after the intermission. Kristin Racis sent a free kick from the left side of the field into the box, and it was tapped into the goal by Amanda Kopacz at 47:56 to bring the Eagles to within one, 2-1.
But Penn State Altoona answered soon thereafter. Giedroc pulled the trigger on a long shot from around 40 yards out, floating it overtop the leaping Juniata goalkeeper and into the goal at 53:10 to put the Lady Lions back up by two, 3-1.
McConnell added an insurance goal for Penn State Altoona at 67:45, when the ball deflected sharply upfield and was taken by McConnell, who outraced the defender and sent a shot into the bottom right corner of the net to increase her team's lead to 4-1.
Despite the win, Penn State Altoona was outshot 21-10 by Juniata, including the Eagles holding a 10-6 edge in shots on goal. Juniata also recorded nine corner kicks to the Lady Lions' three.
McConnell led Penn State Altoona in shots, recording game-highs with three shots on goal and five total shots attempted. Giedroc had two shots, including one on goal.
Next up for the Lady Lions is the team's first Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opener, as Penn State Altoona hits the road for Buffalo, N.Y. to take on conference opponent D'Youville College this Saturday, September 22 at 2:00 p.m.


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If you missed October's meeting, join us next month on Wednesday, November 4th, 2015 at 7 pm (This session is full. You must be a library member and registered to attend).
Next book title: Between Gods: A Memoir by Alison Pick
Chosen as the CSL Reads title for this year, the author will be coming for a visit on October 22nd, at 7 pm. The group will not only have the chance to read the book before she arrives but will then get together to discuss her work after the fact. Pick is the author of two novels: Far To Go and The Sweet Edge, as well as collections of poetry. In her memoir, she openly shares her struggle with choosing a religion and dealing with depression. As there are many themes to focus on, the club should have an engaging conversation, especially if they have attended the author visit. Melissa anticipates a successful turnout for the next meeting.
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Few of us are islands, completely disconnected from any larger brand. Where those connections exist, they're usually to your benefit.
The question, "What is a brand?" is a Pandora's box we won't open much here, but we like to say that it is the wrapper that value comes in. For your purposes, know that you probably don't have what most people consider a brand, and you probably never will. Many small organizations get worked up about their logo and looking "unique," but compared to whom? Let your messaging articulate your brand and its promise, and leave decisions about fonts and colors up to your "parent" brand and the (likely) uptight people who control it.
Brand is the wrapper that value comes in.
The look and tone of your marketing and communications should reflect you or your organization and it should be consistent, despite the fact that you may have multiple people on multiple teams working on different initiatives. Set up your workflow to account for this by putting specific individuals in charge of editing content. You might dedicate one person to reviewing visual elements for consistency and one person to reviewing copy.
If this isn't possible, start building organizational tools that will help provide consistency such as a brand guide that contains visual standards and requirements for use of logos, colors, fonts, etc. Many organizations maintain a style guide, which is essentially a list of rules for how to refer to program names, frequently used terms, names of people, and other elements. These guides are living documents that are constantly being updated and added to. They provide consistency and serve as a resource to the members of your communications team. Maintaining a collection of key messages can also aid you in these efforts (see below).


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The problem with being able to design your own packaging is... well, designing your own packaging. I can't seem to stick with one version very long before getting the itch to redesign everything!
Here is the latest incarnation of packaging that I used to send Puppy #9 to its new owner. Thank you to Victoria for adopting him - he is one of my personal favorites. I just love his facial expression.
For more pictures of the packaging and close-ups on the front and back text, click here.
Want a puppy of your own? Check out the PUPPIES section of my shop and pick one for yourself!


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The World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) has asked the government to hand over the evidence that they collected in their investigation into Lance Armstrong and doping in American cycling. Â The Taylor Hooton Foundation supports this request and is hopeful that the government will turn over any relevant evidence that is has on the case.
WADA officials said federal agencies in the United States gathered "significant evidence" in the criminal investigation that was abruptly closed last week with no charges filed and no explanation given.
Execs at WADA said it would be very helpful to the doping officials if that information was turned over to USADA (US Anti Doping Agency). Â USADA has not wrapped up its probe into doing in the world of cycling.
Federal prosecutors dropped the investigation of Armstrong last Friday, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the world's most famous cyclist and his teammates joined in a doping program during his greatest years.
"There has been significant evidence taken on anti-doping areas, on what may have occurred in the way of doping. It would be very, very helpful if that information was handed over," Fahey said of the U.S. probe that was led by federal agent Jeff Novitzky, who also investigated baseball players Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.
Social tagging: anabolic steroids > banned substances > cycling > illegal > steroids > testing


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The Inn at Whitewood Village
Call (330) 499-1399Directions
Get directions to thisWebsite
location on Google Maps.
location on Google Maps.
Open websiteShare
in new tab.
in new tab.
Share this business
on social media.
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We treat your loved ones as our Mothers and Fathers, Grandmothers and Grandfathers. Come be a part of our family. - Jerry McClain
At The Inn At Whitewood we are committed to delivering the best in senior assisted living. With a caring, professional, and friendly team, our goal is to ensure that each resident receives the utmost in personalized care and services. We treat your loved ones as our "Mothers and Fathers, Grandmothers and Grandfathers".
The Inn at Whitewood Village is a assisted living facility located in North Canton, OH.


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As if I haven't done it previously before, it is a love and hate task for me to write about the more embarrassing parts of myself (i.e. read here my bad habits I'm working on). It feels very vulnerable but therapeutic at the same time doing a PSA kind of thing letting people know of…Read More
All articles filed in Finance
A Beginner's Guide To: Saving Money
Saving money gets a bit trickier as we get older. Here's some of my personal tips in getting started with it.Read More


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2005: The Year of Search
Wow Danny, you have been busy! Wish I'd had this posting to read on the plane last week, it could have occupied my entire flight!
Basically what Mr. Sulllivan has done is reviewed all the hot topics in Search in 2005. There are an amountable number of links to topical articles, surveys, and forums from Search Engine Ad Reps: Friend or Foe? by Heather Lloyd-Martin illustrating frustrations advertisers can feel towards the search engines, to one of my all time favortie forums postings, Can We Agree Automated Comment & Link Posting Is A Bad Thing?. As we all know it was a big year so there is a lot to cover.
2005 in Review: The Top Search Industry Stories of the Year
As for Nic'n'Cher's year in review…..our most successful blog, What do Nic'n'Cher think? Views On Search Engine Marketing, Optimisation & Industry News: 'Failure' Has Been Googlebombed……but who is the real failure?, provided us with some interesting comments. Poor Nic didn't know I had started a George W. Bush vs. The World debate! Regardless, I think we got the our point across.
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The General Store
The General Store
The first stop for every season.
The General Store is a perfect blend of outdoor outfitter, resort souvenir shop, and bodega!
- Magnets, pens, & key rings featuring the Massanutten logo
- Mugs, glasses, and stickers
- Massanutten logo t-shirts & sweatshirts
- Virginia Lottery
- Footwear from Columbia, UGG, Chaco & Keen
- Life is Good and United by Blue apparel and accessories
- Dakine and Kavu lifestyle accessories
- Outdoor apparel from Columbia, Under Armour, Roxy, Quiksilver, Obermeyer & Billabong
- Gourmet coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and tea - available all day long
- Snow sports apparel including gloves, goggles, and helmets (seasonal)
- Fishing licenses & equipment rental (seasonal)
- Resort gift cards
- Build Your Own 6-Pack with Virginia Craft Beer!
Everything you need, right here!
Open daily from 8 am - 9 pm
The General Store is at the top of Massanutten Drive, in the heart of the Ski Area.
4620 Massanutten Drive, Massanutten, VA 22840 | 540.289.4998


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Full Demo
November 28, 2012
Wav:175.2 MB • Download contains 280 x 24 bit wav loops (367 loops at 127BPM)
Spf Samplers presents "Analogue Techno Synth Loops". The sample pack was produced with an arsenal of analogue synths and sequencers.
Analogue Techno Synth Loops is packed with 250+ synth loops that can help add that warmth and texture you get with analogue synths.
So if your looking to warm up your productions this pack is perfect for you.
Analogue Techno Synth Loops was produced with a large array of synthesizer including Access Virus C, DSI Evolver , DSI Mopho Keyboard, DSI Tetr4, Elektron MachineDrum, Elektron Monomachine, Elektron Octatrack, Novation KS Rack, Waldorf Q Rack, Waldorf XT every one of these synths was run through the Empirical Labs Distressor and the Joemeek SC2 and everything was sequenced on the dynamic beast the Octatrack.
As you can see from that impressive list you are truly getting a huge array of synths to choose from.
Instead of having to spend thousands of pounds on equipment you can get the true sound of these analogue synths in one techno sample pack.
And to help you out each loop is name with the synth that it was created with.
Analogue Techno Synth Loops is perfectly suited for Techno, Deep Tech, Minimal Tech, Minimal House and IDM.
The techno sample pack has a raw quirky edge that can help inspire any producer.
The techno sample pack continues an abundance of arpeggio loops, bass loops, drones, atmospheres and synth loops. Everything is at 127BPM and key'd where necessary.
* Other Genres that this package may be useful in:
• Tech House
• Minimal


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All sources consider babycentre.co.uk trustworthy and family friendly. Website babycentre.co.uk has a credible reputation.
Last full test run on: 2017-07-16
Family Friendly Filter add-on is a content filter to block sites containing pornography and any other kind of inappropriate material for your child (sexual and adult content, gambling, recreational drugs and drug-related content, violent, weapon-related content, hacking and cracking, content that enables dishonest behavior, illegal content, etc...). Our goal is to protect children and world wide society from unworthy and inappropriate websites content. In case you have any questions or suggestions in this matter, please contact our developers team.
ALLOWS access to babycentre.co.uk
Norton ConnectSafe evaluates babycentre.co.uk for any unsafe and insecure content. The results are critical for families with young children.
UNKNOWN: Not yet rated. Use with caution.
SafeSearch is used as a parental control tool to filter out any inappropriate for your children search results on your devices: phones, tablets or personal computers.
SAFE: Very low or no risk issues.
McAfee assesses babycentre.co.uk for a meaningful set of security threats. Featured dangers from annoying pop-ups to hidden Trojans, that can steal your identity, will be revealed. McAfee does not analyze babycentre.co.uk for mature or inappropriate content, only security checks are evaluated. McAfee SiteAdvisor results for babycentre.co.uk can be consulted here.
EXCELLENT Child Safety reputation.
The WOT calculates reputation of the babycentre.co.uk. This reputation system receives ratings from users and information from third-party sources, assesses the babycentre.co.uk for safety features and confirms, whether babycentre.co.uk is suitable for children. WOT results for babycentre.co.uk can be consulted here.
Still concerned with babycentre.co.uk? Please, contact our team. We will carry our full audit of the babycentre.co.uk of your interest and update the information of the analysis.


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Who is Serge Normant?
This was the question upon my lips when I got offered the chance to try out his haircare products. It turns out he's a renowned hairstylist and, 4 washes later, it also turns out that his hair care products are VERY GOOD.
I had never heard of the Serge Normant range until last weekend and I was absolutely buzzing to try his brand of transformative hair care and styling products. (seriously this almost never happens – its EXCITING for me!)
My first of two strangers-soon-to-be-acquaintances was the Meta Morphosis Hair Repair Treatment with Keravis™, Moroccan Lava Clay & Nopal Extract…
First hands up. What is Nopal Extract? Turns out it's a type of cactus which is full of antioxidants and nutrients. It more commonly goes by the name "Prickly Pear" and is commonly found in Mexican cuisine. FACT.
Second question. What is Keravis™? – all I can find on it is that it's a vegetable protein which nourishes the hair cuticle to encourage strength and shine. But hey, it's trademarked, it's gotta be good right?!
What's different?
The thing I noticed about this treatment was the texture – it had this grainy, thick feel to it unlike anything I'd ever used (I think it's the Morrocan Clay in it)
Either way, it feels like its full of teeny tiny building blocks for your hair. The only thing I didn't like was the smell – it smells like plasticine maybe herbal plasticine at a push? Again, I think that's the clay there.
How to use it?
This treatment can be left on between 5 and 20 minutes – for those of you thinking – "twenty minutes in the shower? I'm going to wrinkle up like a prune! The waters going to go cold!" – HERE'S what I do….
- The 5 minute treatment I use all over my hair in the shower. Boom.
- As for the "up to 20 minute" part ….
In the morning, first thing – I dampen the ends of my hair in warm water under the tap – I then apply the treatment to the ends and secure in a high pony so the lengths don't touch my clothes.
I then do my face and perform other such unnecessary-but-totally-necessary getting ready activities and, up to 20 minutes later, I rinse the ends in the sink (giving them a shot of cold water for good measure) – and then blow dry and go!
My hair is noticeably less brittle, and feeling more reinforced. It's not particularly softer or more silky at the moment, but I've only used the treatment 3 times so far.
My hair feels a lot stronger though and all my ends are thicker and better finished.
I cant stop twisting it about! It's addictive!
I also got to try the Meta Sheer Dry Oil Finishing Spray with Oils of Camellia & Olive Fruit. Sounds delicious eh?
The Meta Sheer Spray is an all-over shine spray which can be used to add texture, calm and nourish without weighing hair down or add greasiness.
So remember ages ago when I was like – oh-ma-gadd, I love Argan oils, I just wish they came in a spray cos they're too hard to apply evenly?
Well, regardless of whether you do or not – this is almost what I've been searching for! An oil product that comes in a spray! HOORAY.
The Meta Sheer Dry Oil Finishing Spray can be used on either wet hair or dry hair. Use it on wet hair, before blow drying for some frizz control and extra protection. Or use it on dry hair for a smooth finish.
It's lightweight and so easy to apply. It smells nice too – so is easily masking the "herbal" plasticine smell I was discussing before..
This is light enough for thick hair but it's not a moisturising spray – however its perfect for defuzzing and getting rid of pesky flyways.
Face Value Beauty Blog tip – to get rid of those annoying antennae hairs which stick out at the top of your head, spray this onto your crown from a good 10 inches away (you may need to practice your long armed misting skills..)
So there you go – build up your hair, then let it shiiiiiine. You can find out more and buy the Serge Normant range at LookFantastic here.
The quality of these products is great and I would certainly spend more on these, just for the quality. However I'm not sure if I would pay £56 for the Meta Morphosis treatment though it is unlike any other hair treatment I've used. Now that I've found out how much it is, it's staying on for at least 20 minutes EVERY time!
What's your maximum spend on hair care? Are your high-end hair products noticeably better than your high street? Would love to hear what you think!!
psssst – I'm on holiday until June, so there may be a delay to my response. Please check out my exclusive Bioderma Sensibio giveaway in the meantime! Please also nominate me for Best Newcomer in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards. I'm also on Twitter & Instagram @FaceValueBlog. BIG LOVE x


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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Top 11 Favorite Models
So, in the meantime, here's a list of eleven of my favorite models. (I really did try to narrow it down to 10, but I just couldn't cut Iekeliene!)
11. Iekeliene Stange: I have no idea how to pronounce her first name, but I love her bone structure and her quirky personal style.
10. Abbey Lee Kershaw: She just has such a cute little face!
9. Anna Selezneva: Gorgeous model who's been rockin' the Balmain runway.
8. Behati Prinsloo: She looks like she has a silly personality. I bet she'd be fun to hang out with.
7. Klara Wester: Her face is perfect! I love her in the new Guess ads.
6. Lara Stone: She's got a sort of Brigitte Bardot look going on.
5. Siri Tollerod: Her legs are so incredibly skinny! I love it!
4. Adriana Lima: Brown hair and blue eyes is my favorite combination, and she is a beautiful example.
3. Natalia Vodianova: The photo in the top right-hand corner is one of my absolute favorite photos. It's got that Old Hollywood vibe and Natalia looks incredible.
2. Mona Johannesson: Another girl with a perfect face. I am still in love with the Barbie ads she did for M.A.C. Cosmetics. And I want her nose!
1. Bianca Balti: The photo in the bottom left-hand corner is the first picture that I've ever see of her. When I saw it I was amazed. I couldn't stop staring at it. The flawless skin, the perfectly shaped lips, and those captivating eyes that are the ideal shade of blue... She is just the epitome of beautiful. And she's Italian :)
18 comments:
I love Lara and Bianca. All of them are soo beautifulReplyDelete
Great pictures!ReplyDelete
didn't know all of them yet.ReplyDelete
love abbey and behati.
I love Adriana Lima:DReplyDelete
augh, i have the biggest straightgirl crush on abbey leeReplyDelete
i met her once whilst shopping in beacon's closet, she's groovy
what a great post!!! love your blog! all the pics are gorgeous!ReplyDelete
Abbey and Natalia are thes best ones! :)ReplyDelete
great pics!ReplyDelete
I love Anna and Siri. Abbey is quickly growing on me and Lara is amazing.ReplyDelete
totally agree with your choices! I think Lara is the most beautiful. She has this special look about her. Great photos :)ReplyDelete
Klara Wester is not a classic beauty, something simple and i-know-everything-look at the same time. my favorite!ReplyDelete
such a good list!ReplyDelete
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