text:
All About BTC, LTC, ETH, ZEC mining as well as other alternative crypto currencies
Those that actually solo mine crypto coins are familiar with the not user friendly way that things happen and mostly the lack of details on your solo mining statistics over time unlike when using a mining pool. Ethereum is a no exclusion from that rule when solo mining and with not that many pools and some pools having issues, even though the difficulty of the network is not that small, there are still quite a lot of people that solo mine… especially if they have more than just a few GPUs. There is now a new open source project called ether-proxy which essentially is an Ethereum solo mining proxy that can help you keep track on how your solo mining for Ether is going on with multiple mining rigs, though it will work even with a single one. EtherProxy relies on Go and needs geth (the Ethereum Go client in order to function as a backend) with the mining part happening just like you do with ethminer pointed at a mining pool. In the local proxy url you set for ethminer to use you can set the share difficulty as well as an ID for each mining instance (or mining rig) that you are using. All the basic stats that you need is being displayed in a clean and simple web-based interface for you to keep track on things like running status of mining rigs, hashrate, blocks found and so on. If you want to try the project yourself, there is already a Windows binary release available to save you some trouble or you can compile from the source code yourself.
– To check out the official project page for the Ethereum solo mining proxy on GitHub…
The C++ implementation of the Ethereum client (cpp-ethereum) is getting more user friendly with the new AlethOne GUI intended to simplify the mining process for users that are not into programming and hate to use console-based software. The AlethOne GUI is going to be a part of the eth client, though currently it is only available in a release candidate form and it will be interfacing with the eth client. The first time you run the GUI it will ask you for a password and will generate an Ethereum wallet address, then start synchronizing the blockchain. The good thing is that AlethOne presents the user with a simple interface and reports in an easy to read details about the functionality of the eth client in the backend such as the Ether balance you have or the blockchain synchronization status or even the hashrate when mining. As for the mining you get an easy option for solo mining or pool mining with a field to enter the pool URL to mine at and after you have mined some coins you have the option to easily initiate a transfer to another account.
So far the latest release candidate of AlethOne looks quite nice and works decently, though there are apparently some more things that need work before the final release is available. For example it seems that the mining is only working on the first GPU and if you have multiple video cards that you want to mine with there is no way to tell the miner to use them all form the GUI apparently. The Withdraw functionality also needs some more work in te form of any feedback returned in the AlethOne GUI regarding the execution of the transaction such as if it was successful or not etc. Regardless things are already looking good and the AlethOne GUI with some more improvement and fixes is definitely something that Ethereum needs in order to become easier to be used by not so advanced users – basic wallet and mining functionality in a streamlined desktop client.
– You can download and try the latest cpp-ethereum with AlethOne release candidate 2…
Our previous guides regarding mining and using Ethereum's Ether (ETH) coins were based on the Go Ethereum implementation (source) as we find it easier to be used than the C++ implementation of the Ethereum client (source) even though we are actually using ethminer for the actual mining which is a part of cpp-ethereum and not go-ethereum package. The Go Ethereum implementation (geth) only comes with built in support for CPU mining, while the C++ implementation (eth) contains support for OpenCL GPU mining both as a part of the client as well as a separate miner (ethminer) and there is also a fork of ethminer with CUDA support available (source).
So now it is time to get started with using the cpp-ethereum (eth) client for creatng a local wallet and for mining both solo on a local system or on an Ethereum mining pool using eth and ethminer. Our guide is for using eth and ethminer on Windows with binaries provided only for that OS (version 0.9.40 64-bit), though the usage should be the same or very similar on other operating systems, but you will need to compile or get binaries for the respective OS. We have tried to make the guide easy and simple to follow, so that you can begin using Ethereum and mining Ether in just a couple of minutes.
First we need to create a local wallet and this is the first thing you will do when you run the eth client software. But before that a word of warning, if you have a working geth installation you should know that both Ethereum clients will use the same folder for the blockchain data by default, though the contents of the folder will not be compatible. The key files that are needed for you Ethereum wallet however will be stored in different places and each client will use ts own wallet, but we'll get back to that in a minute. If you want to have two independently working installations of geth and eth, then you might want to use the
--datadir parameter for geth or the
--db-path for eth to specify different folder for the blockchain data for one or for both applications.
To generate a wallet with eth:
– Run the provided
eth-start.batfile and follow the on screen instructions
– You will be asked to enter a master password, this you need to remember as it will be used to encrypt your wallet and you will be asked the password each time you run the client
– The wallet address you will get will be shown under Transaction signer and Mining Benefactor (marked in red in the screenshot above)
– You can write down that address, just add
0xin front to indicate that it is a hex address foe Ethereum
– Don't worry, you will be able to get your address listed later on should you not write it down now
– Once the wallet address is generated the client will start to sync the blockchain, this could take some time, especially the first run when there is no data downloaded
– During the first synchronization of the blockchain you might see errors such as
DISABLE: Disabling capability ' eth '. Reason: Invalid genesis hash, do not be worried by these, they should stop appearing in a bit
To backup your wallet keys with eth:
– The default datadir for eth is %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Ethereum
– However unlike with geth with the eth client the key files are not stored inside the datadir
– You can find the wallet key files inside %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Web3\keys
– Just backup the key files and on new installation you can just copy them back to make things work
– Make sure that you remember the password used to encrypt the wallet keys, otherwise you will not be able to access them
With the eth client you would need to run a separate executable in order to get access to the console and be able to type in commands such as to see your wallet address or balance or to send coins to someone. In the geth client for example the console is built in and you can access it if you invoke it through a command line parameter when running the geth client. With the eth client you need to have the client running with
eth-start.bat and then you need to run the
eth-console.bat to access the console. You should run the console via the provided BAT file instead of directly through ethconsole.exe even though there are no parameters being sent via the batch file, the reason for that is that if you run the EXE file directly you will not be able to copy and paste into the console.
Another difference in the eth client console as opposed to the geth client is that here there are no shortcuts that can save you time when typing commands, you need to type the full commands here in order for the eth console to do what you need. In the screenshot above you can see that we have typed
eth.accounts in the console to see the wallet address, but got an error, even though this command works just fine in the geth client's console. This is because geth has the eth as a shortcut for web3.eth, but using the eth console you need to type the whole thing as there are no shortcuts, so typing
web3.eth.accounts will work, the same applies for other commands that use shortcuts that work just fine in the geth client as they will not work directly in the eth console.
Useful console commands for eth:
– To check your account address type in the console:
– To check your account balance type in the console:
web3.fromWei(web3.eth.getBalance(web3.eth.coinbase), "ether")
– To send Ether coins to someone type in the console:
web3.eth.sendTransaction({from: 'your_address', to: 'recipient_address', value: web3.toWei(1, "ether")})
– In the above line of code make sure to set properly your address and the recipient's address as well as the value you need to send, in the example above it is set to 1 Ether
Next up is mining with eth and ethminer, if you've followed our guides for using geth then you will probably already be familiar with the use of ethminer for solo mining as well as for pool mining. The pool mining part is the same here, but we are going to cover it anyway for the people that are new to using ethminer. The Windows binary package available for download below that you can use to get started contains eth as well as and ethminer for OpenCL and CUDA, do note that you can also use OpenCL on Nvidia GPUs and not only run them in CUDA mode. And while the geth client contains build in mining option that can only use the CPU, the eth client comes with a build in functionality for mining both with the CPU and OpenCL (the same mining functionality that is made available thorugh ethminer).
Getting started solo mining with eth and ethminer:
– First you need to make sure you are running the eth clint with
– Then you need to run a second instance of eth in mining mode with
– The above example will work if both instances of eth are running on the same system, if you want to connect multiple miners on different machines to a single eth instance for solo mining you need to enter the ip address of the system running the eth client in the eth miner instances
– You can run ethminer instead of eth for solo mining by just replacing eth with ethminer, the mining command line remains the same for both and when the eth client is running in mining mode it behaves just like ethminer
Getting started pool mining with eth and ethminer:
– You can use the eth client in mining mode for pools as well, just run
– To run ethminer mining in OpenCL mode in a pool you can use the provided examples for the currently working pools
ethminer-ethpool.bat, ethminer-nanopool.bat, ethminer-ethereumpool.bat
The example BAT files contain the pool information, you will need to enter your wallet address as well as to modify the pool difficulty if the pool supports it (only nanopool does not). Have in mind that currently ethpool is not accepting new miners, so you will need to use some of the other two pools available if you are just starting with mining. You can also check our guides for pool mining with geth and ethminer as well as the other one for solo mining with geth and ethminer if you are interested and decide which one works for you better.
– Download eth and ethminer compiled for Windows and ready to be used…


text:
Audrey Bading M
Audrey Bading M is a singer from Gabon.
Bading is also a songwriter, producer, dancer and poet who is passionate about the arts. She attended high school in her hometown Lambaréné.
While in high school, Bading closely worked with various local artists. In April 2014, she released the 'Believe in Yourself' album, which received airplay in Central Africa and Europe. Her first music video 'Stop Pretending', off 'Believe in Yourself', was well received. This was followed by another video titled 'If I Had a Chance' (May 2018). In March 2019, she released a single titled 'Ni wu Rondi'.
Bading was nominated at the 2016 Kora Music Awards in the Best Female Artist Hope of Africa category. Apart from music, Bading is a humanitarian who has helped disadvantaged people by providing moral, material, spiritual and educational support.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Yeoman Cashmilon Coned Yarn
by Yeoman Yarns View all Yeoman Yarns yarns
Our Price:
500 g cone
500 g cone
100% acrylic 4 Ply
**Color card set is for the complete Yeoman Line.
NOTE: This yarn is ordered twice a month - on the 1st and the 15th of each month.
Depending on when you place your order, expect to receive your yarn approx 10-14 days after the order.
We will let you know when the yarn leaves the UK and will send you tracking information about your order.
|Total Colors:
|Yarn Weight:
|DK Weight
|Standard 4.5mm
|1971 ypp
100 % Acrylic
Machine wash / Machine Dry


text:
The Daily Telegraph reports the alarming news "Breast cancer drug trials 'spun for impact'," saying that trial results are spun to make treatments appear more beneficial than they actually are.
The Telegraph reports on a valuable new review that identified all published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating treatments for breast cancer. Well-designed RCTs are the best way of investigating whether new treatments are safe and effective – the so-called "gold standard" of evidence-based medicine. The review looked at how common it is for authors to bias reporting by overemphasising positive results, downplaying the negative results, or both.
The researchers argue that busy doctors often only have time to look at the abstract (summary of the aims, methods, results and conclusions) of new research papers. They wanted to see if abstracts clearly reported the results of the main (primary) stated outcome trials had been designed to investigate (for breast cancer, this may be overall survival or the period where the cancer does not get worse), and whether severe adverse effects were clearly reported.
A third of all the studies reviewed put a positive spin on the results, emphasising improvements in secondary outcomes that the study was not primarily designed to investigate.
It is also concerning that about two-thirds of the 164 studies did not clearly report severe adverse effects. Worse still, this was most common among studies that found positive results for their main outcome.
This study makes for depressing reading, as such spinning of results goes against the fundamental principles of evidence-based medicine. This serves to highlight the need for objective, clear reporting of the main results of clinical trials and any adverse effects associated with the treatments being studied.
Reporting bias is not just an issue relating to breast cancer trials, and similar reviews of trials in other medical conditions would be useful.
Where did the story come from?
The study was carried out by researchers from Princess Margaret Hospital and the University of Toronto, Canada. This study reports no sources of funding and the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Annals of Oncology.
Both The Daily Telegraph and The Independent report on this research well. However, this news should not be interpreted as there being a particular problem with how research on breast cancer therapy is presented. It just happens that breast cancer is the condition the researchers have chosen as the subject of their review of the scientific evidence.
For more information about bias in the reporting of science, see Half of medical reporting 'is subject to spin'.
What kind of research was this?
The researchers explain that RCTs are designed to tell whether a particular treatment performs differently from a control treatment (which could be either an existing treatment or a placebo).
A well-designed RCT should look at outcomes that are of meaningful importance to patients – in the case of breast cancer, this could be survival without disease progression or overall survival time. However, it is important that as well as looking at treatment benefits, RCTs should also include information on the harms (such as side effects and complications) of a treatment.
Well-designed RCTs have long been agreed as the best way to see whether new treatments are safe and effective before they are approved for use. However, as the researchers say, it is essential that the results of these trials are reported objectively so that professionals are reliably informed about the effectiveness and safety of new treatments.
This study is a systematic review aiming to identify all RCTs evaluating breast cancer treatments, see how well they were reported and whether there was any evidence of biased reporting, known as "spin".
Spin is defined by the review as the "use of reporting strategies to highlight that the experimental treatment is beneficial, despite a statistically non-significant difference in the primary outcome, or to distract the reader from statistically non-significant results."
The main outcome the researchers were interested in was to see if the summary abstract in studies reporting the results of individual trials accurately outlined:
- the result of the main outcome the RCT had been designed to investigate (called the primary outcome or the primary endpoint)
- any adverse (side) effects of treatment
Their reason for focusing on whether this was reported accurately in the study abstract (rather than only in the body of the article) is because many healthcare professionals (and journalists) may only read the abstract of a paper, rather than the whole report.
What did the research involve?
The researchers performed a search of a medical database (MEDLINE) to identify RCTs in adults with breast cancer published in the English language between January 1995 and August 2011. They only included larger trials with more than 200 participants, and excluded commentaries, review articles, observational studies, meta-analyses, ongoing studies and articles for which only the abstract was available.
For each identified study, two researchers extracted data on:
- the type of treatment – whether it was given as an adjuvant (after the main treatment for breast cancer, such as surgery, to try to prevent cancer spreading elsewhere in the body) or metastatic treatment (to try to improve outcomes after the cancer has already spread elsewhere in the body)
- sponsorship (industry versus non-industry funding, or not stated)
- year of study publication
- impact factor of the journal where the trial was published (a measure of how often a journal's articles are cited by other academic articles)
- the primary and secondary endpoints (overall survival, progression-free survival, disease-free survival, response rate, toxicity or quality of life)
- whether the primary endpoint listed in the clinical trial registry (ClinicalTrials.gov) differed from the primary endpoint reported in the trial publication – ClinicalTrials.gov is a US database that registers the details of medical trials
- whether the primary endpoint was defined in the abstract or in the whole paper
- whether the secondary endpoints were also reported in the abstract
The main aim was to look at how often there was spin or bias in the researchers' reporting of the RCT's primary outcome and adverse effects in the study abstract. Bias was defined as inappropriate reporting of either of these things in the abstract. Spin was defined as presenting findings in the concluding statement of the abstract in a way that suggested that a trial was positive due to benefits seen in one or more of the trial's secondary endpoints, even though the trial did not find a benefit in its primary outcome.
When looking at reporting of adverse effects, the researchers assessed this on a scale from excellent to poor, particularly looking at whether any severe (high grade) adverse effects were reported in the abstract and concluding statement or not.
The researchers also looked at whether they found any other factors associated with bias or spin, such as the funding source, the impact of the journal where the study was published, or the type of treatment being given.
What were the basic results?
The researchers indentified 164 relevant RCTs, which included 148 trials of systemic therapy (such as chemotherapy and other treatments given intravenously or by mouth), 11 trials of radiotherapy and five trials of surgical treatments. Around half of the trials (81) looked at adjuvant treatment and the other half investigated treatments for metastatic breast cancer. The majority of trials (91%) were published in high-impact journals.
Seventy-two (44%) of the studies had positive results, with significant improvements in the primary endpoint (outcome) using the intervention treatment compared with the control.
In the remaining 92 trials (56%), the intervention did not significantly improve the primary outcome.
Fifty-nine per cent of the 92 trials that found non-significant results for the primary endpoint gave biased reporting and put a spin on the results, reporting benefits when only positive results were obtained for secondary endpoints. Twenty-seven per cent of these 92 trials did not say anything about the primary outcome in the concluding statement of their abstract.
This means that one-third of all the breast cancer trials the authors identified (59/164) had biased reporting and had put a spin on their results. There was no association between bias and the type of treatment being given (adjuvant or metastatic).
When looking at the reporting of severe adverse effects of treatment in the abstract, 110 of the studies (68%) had biased reporting of severe adverse outcomes. The researchers found that there was a significant association between the trial having a beneficial improvement in its primary endpoint and having reporting bias for adverse effects.
This suggests that there was a tendency for researchers who conducted trials that genuinely found benefits in the primary outcome of their study to want to avoid downplaying this by emphasising any adverse effects that the treatment had caused.
Conversely, trials that did not find a beneficial effect of their primary endpoint, and had put a spin on their results to report positive improvements in secondary endpoints, were not found to be more likely to bias their reporting of adverse effects.
How did the researchers interpret the results?
The researchers conclude that bias in the reporting of outcome is common for trials that do not find that the treatment being investigated improves the primary outcome of interest.
They say that the reporting of severe adverse effects is also poor, especially in studies that found that the treatment improved the primary outcome of the study.
Well-designed RCTs are the best way of investigating the effectiveness and safety of a particular treatment being investigated compared with a control treatment.
This valuable new research highlights the need for objective and clear reporting of both the results for the main outcomes that the trial was set up to investigate, and of any adverse effects that have been associated with the treatments being tested.
This is essential to allow relevant healthcare professionals and healthcare policy makers to clearly see whether potential new treatments are safe and effective.
However, there are some points to bear in mind in relation to this review:
- The review has only evaluated how common reporting bias and "spin" is in published breast cancer trials. It cannot tell us how common other types of bias may be, most significantly publication bias itself, where only trials with positive results get published in the first place.
- The review has only captured breast cancer trials published in the English language and it would be useful to apply similar methods to other topic areas.
- It is important to bear in mind that this review does not suggest that this issue is limited to breast cancer research, this is just the condition the researchers have chosen to review. It is possible that had they chosen any other disease or condition, and looked for all RCTs for treatments for these conditions, they may have found a similar incidence of reporting bias and putting a positive "spin" on results.
Professionals making decisions about whether new treatments should be approved for use take full account of the primary results and any adverse outcomes of new treatments reported in all relevant trials.
People should be reassured that this review does not provide evidence that the current surgical, radiotherapy and medical treatments licensed for breast cancer are ineffective.
Analysis by Bazian
Edited by NHS Website
Links to the headlines
Breast cancer drug trials 'spun for impact'
The Daily Telegraph, 10 January 2013
Scientists 'put positive spin' on breast cancer studies
The Independent, 10 January 2013
Links to the science
Vera-Badillo FE, Shapiro S, Ocana A, et al.
Bias in reporting of end points of efficacy and toxicity in randomized, clinical trials for women with breast cancer
Annals of Oncology. Published online January 9 2013


text:
Making Devices Smarter & Sleeker
Connecting Anything to Everything
Enabling Intelligent Automation
Making Innovation Easier
FPGA, CPLD & System Management Optimized for Low Power & Small Size
World's Smallest FPGAs
MIPI Video Bridging FPGA
Bridging & Expansion FPGAs
Power & Thermal Management
Connectivity & Acceleration
All You Need to Complete a Design
Complete Design Tools, Easy to Use
HDMI and USB Type-C Devices to Enhance Your HD Products
Help Choosing the Right Products
Need Help? We're Here to Assist You
Find the Right FPGA Software & IP Licenses
Key Reference Materials
Outside Resources to Help Get the Job Done
Browse Our Legacy Products
Direct, Rep, & Distribution
Buy Lattice Products via the Web
Buy End-of-Life Lattice Products
Who is Lattice?
Information for Investors & Analysts
What is Lattice Doing?
Is Lattice a Good Fit for You?
Silicon Image is a longtime leader in PC video and storage technologies. As a founder of the DVI, HDMI®, and MHL® standards, our audio-video connectivity products are second to none. And as a pioneer of the SATA standard, our catalog also includes outstanding products for data storage applications.


text:
Little Elm, Tx. Detective Jerry Walker responded to a home on the 1400 block of Turtle Cove Drive after residents reported seeing a man with a long gun at about 3 p.m..
The man became verbally combative with officers who took positions up and the man ran inside the residence. At about 4:00 P.M. the man fired at the officers and struck Detective Walker in the neck.
Officers were able to get to Walker, he was removed from the scene and airlifted to Denton Regional Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
There was an elderly woman who was inside the residence with the gunman. She was removed by officers through a window during the six hour standoff.
By 9:00 P.M. the event had ended. The suspect had been found inside the residence dead. It is not known at this time f the suspect had taken his own life or he had exchanged gunfire with Police.
His identity has not yet been released nor has any further information about him
Walker has been with the department since 1998, was the father of four children and was 48 years old.


text:
random ramblings
TAMING THE GUEST SIZE Part 1
Hi ya!
How are you all doing? Good I believe. Whatever way it is I Celebrate You!
Any English literature student wouldn't think twice as to who, when, what, and where my post title came from. Well, I am certain that the famous William Shakespeare play, "Taming The Shrew", has no relations to this post, but I am hopeful a little link may be derived. Loll!
This topic says a lot, and it has been a festering peeve in my mind since the day I ventured into the world of events. However, I do strongly advice readers the sensitivity of this post, so I beg of you, to please read with an open mind and with ultra-super shock absorbing caution. Loll! :D. Also there may not be any pictures put up in this to stimulate the urge to carry on reading.
I asked a few close colleagues in events, what their opinions were about having a large crowd at events they had attended or managed. 3 out of 5 had quite a lot to complain about, 1 said she was indifferent and the other person said she rather enjoys it (odd).
In this harsh economy crisis worldwide, where everyone is tightening their spending purse, and taking to account of every last N 1.00, whilst singing constantly to everyone's hearing, "there's no money oooo!" Why are there still Nigerians, having colossal, enormous, and gargantuan, proportions of at their events? They usually range from 1000 to 2500 and above. The main culprits are usually the singers of "there's no money oooo!" Here are some of the experiences from friends in the events industry I had spoken to.
**Theirs names, venues, and places have been changed for strictest confidentiality.
"Jumoke, it was the next thing to a horror movie, true! The annoying things is that we planners get blamed for the clients' atrocities."
Meet **Jaime. Jaime had a client who had set everything for guest size of 500 people. The bride and groom made a exigency plan for an extra 150 people, should in case their guest size expanded. However, the couple got MORE than they had bargained for. Jaime said she was in the restroom at the venue, to freshen up after ensuring the venue was set for the arrival of guests.
"Jumoke, which was how one of my assistants burst into the restroom saying, 'J the community has arrived!'"
Jaime said, she was confused, and went out to see and understand what her assistant was fretting about.
"Jumoke that was when I saw two 18 seater buses filled with women and a few men, all clad in bright red geles, red double wrappers and white puffed armed blouses, chatting loudly and bouncing into the venue."
Jamie said that by the time the bride and groom had arrived from the church, not only where there no more seats inside the venue, there were crowds of people were hovering outside at the foyer and the main entrance. Food, drinks, sweets, and all edibles had exhausted. Even contingency backups were gone in a hearts' beat. Trusting Nigerians, a small squabble had begun at the food stations. Jaime said her main concern where the couple, their parents, and the couple's friends, and they were all fine.
Jamie and her assistant did a guest size estimation and realized that there were approximately over a 1000 plus guests, as opposed to the 500 to 650 people the couple had prepared for.
My sympathies to Jamie. Let me give my own personal experience with dealing with "unplanned and not informed" large guest sizes.
I coordinated an event for one my mum's close friend some time ago. I have known this aunty since when lost my front teeth as a kid. I was told my aunt that it was going to be a wedding reception for 1000 people. The venue was quite tight, in terms of table setup for 1000 guests, inclusive of food stations and desserts station in the venue. I found out that the hall is meant to seat only 800 people, banquet style, comfortably.
As you can imagine and guess rightly, the venue was filled to OVER CAPACITY! Mind you, while I was being harassed by disconcerted, flustered, rude, insolent and annoyed guests, to find seats for them, the venue manger called me aside and informed that their last reserve of standby 1000 chairs and 100 tables are all in the venue, and I should please kindly inform people that there were no more seats. Aka, NO MOR SHEIR AND TEBU!
Can you imagine that? Here's an interesting conversation I overheard with the bride and a friend in tête-à-tête while I was dismantling the wedding cake after the reception.
Her friend: "Your people plenty o."
The bride: (bride laughs) "I don't even know three quarter of the people here!"
Hmmm….comments anyone?
An event planner friend of mine told me this "Nightmare on Elms Street" house of horror wedding (all in her words), she "supposedly" "tried" to plan and coordinate a while ago.
Event Planner's Code Name: 009 **Jane Buns (ROTFL!!!):-D
Jane Buns said that the bride came to her on recommendation from a friend in the UK. The bride was based in the Canada, however both parents of the couple are here in Nigeria. The brides' parent are in Lagos and the groom's parents in Ibadan, Oyo state. Jane said when she first met the bride, she was all smiles and teeth, seemingly naïve yet funny, and stingy. I told Jane that smiles, teeth, and stinginess should have set off red flags. Her problem with this bride was that the family were not up front about their budget and financial constraints for the wedding preparations, which made planning difficult and boiling point annoying (as Jane said).
The brides mum had insisted fervently on having a guest size of 1000 people and also having a venue on The Island to accommodate the expected guest size. All these proposed on the most minuscule budget ever. Another Red Flag. Though the bride and groom had initially asked for the wedding to take place at their place of residence, Canada, the bride's mother disagreed to this plan. So, the couple opted for Lagos, and asked for a guest size of 500 people, because the groom made it known that his extended family and friends were not up to 200 and were not the party type. Again, that was disapproved by the bride's mother.
Jane said what really rattled her chains was that after she had successfully solicited and haggled with 2 prominent venues on the Island for the traditional ceremony and the white wedding reception, at almost near redundant ridiculous prices, the expected 1000 people guest from the bride's mother did not match up!
"Jumoke, enraged cannot describe how I felt at the events!" not only was the groom correct about his small nonparty animal family, the bride's invited guests were less than 300 on the day of the traditional ceremony, and less that 500 on the day of the white wedding reception.
She said it so bad that, for the traditional wedding, once the all formalities and the ceremony was over the groom's family left. Once they left the whole place became void, only handful of the bride's family and friends were present. For the white wedding reception, Jane said that the hall seating arrangement was split into two, groom's side and the bride's side. 5 tables on each side of the hall were removed to accommodate the caterers and make shift for tables and chairs that didn't have table cloths and chair covers on them. Yet, the groom's side only occupied about 15 to 20 tables on their on side. Jane then describe hall as ridiculous because the groom's family were placed at the entrance, so if you were a guest, you would enter and notice that half of the hall was scanty while the other side was just as sparsely populated also. Hmmm…
I don't want this topic to drag on, so I will; end it here, and continue in part two of taming the guest size.
Enjoy! ♥ J!
Marrying Far Away…
"Once upon a time, set ontop of the hills of the Hobbits Shire far far away, was a wedding ceremony…"
Hola mi amigos!¿ 😀
How was your weekend? C'mon, i had you confused for a second. Lol! I will be putting up two posts. I had noticed a particular colour trend for almost 3 months and I finally decided to do a post on it. The colour is Mint Green. Yep, that is the trending colour for this summer. Remember the Pantone® colour for 2013 is Emerald Green, so we are still in line. However, I diagress. This week's post is for my brides who are on tight and heavily guarded budget. Lol! I bring to you, (drum roll, and trumpets sound)…Destination Wedding!
Until recently, anytime I had heard someone mention destination wedding, my first thought was, the person most be seriously loaded. Biased thinking right? Se la vie. 😉
I have a friend who had mentioned to me a while ago that she wanted to have a destination wedding. I asked why, and she said to avoid the hassle of unknown guests and family members and most of all to cut costs. I laughed, however I am seeing her point. I read an article online from a Nigeria couple who had a destination wedding in the South of France (no it was not Stephanie Okereke and Linus Idahosa's wedding), and it changed my point of view about DW's. So, in this post, I am going to re-highlight the points and add my own reasoning logic for you to embrace the idea of DW's.
Some of you may ask the large invisible white elephant question, isn't it expensive? Well, here is answer I believe any professional planner would say to satisfy any sceptics, "…If well planned, it will end up being less expensive, because you will make plans for what you need and only those you have budgeted for…". I can not stress this enough to both my clients and friends who complain about them being on a tight budget, CUT DOWN ON YOUR GUEST SIZE!
Luckily, this is one of the many advantages of DW's, it helps with downsizing your guests, and both you and your groom can careful pick guests that are of significance nd importance. With this, you won't have the usual "mo gbo mo branch" crowd that show up uninvited to your wedding, this includes unknown and uninvited family members, the village community counsel of elders/chieves, either parents church/nasfat group/club members, who all end up coming with their own "supporters club," or the displacement of the bridal party and the couples friends/colleagues from their reserved seating (another blog post for another day, hehehe), and let's not forget the usual yet embarrassing hulla-ba-loo for wedding souvenirs. Oi!
Advantages of a Destination Wedding
1. They're Virtually Stress-Free. How?
Hotels, Resorts and Sea Cruise lines around the world normally have full-time wedding coordinators on staff, who are also familiar with that particular country's marriage license requirements. If you're not getting married at a resort, you can hire a wedding planner in that locale who specializes in destination weddings, or you could contact your own wedding planner to start early planning arrangements with your travel agent and the hotel's in-house wedding planner.
2. Family Drama Denied!
All forms scene-stealing family drama will be avoided. This includes a very large get-together of extended families and various business associates. Predictably, each set of parents have their own ideas. One set would like the wedding to be held in a prominent part of the city or location of residence because most of their guests, or social circle are residents in the area. This would a great avenue for them to show off to their friends and business associates. On the other hand, the other set of parents may have problems with the expense of a high society, over elaborate, typical Nigerian wedding. Most of the time, the parents tend to forget that the event is, first and foremost, about the two people getting married! This usually occurs when a certain family seems more financially buoyant than the other then they want to take control and make all the decisions, paying no attention to what the couple desire for their wedding. With a destination wedding, you the couple are in charge and you set the rules to your desires in your own chosen terrority. A bride commented on DW's saying "…it would be nice to have both parent's anecdotes families in good rapport, but what's the point if they fight and snigger over trivial things about the our wedding?" – from The Knot.
3. Pay Less, Stress Less for Fun!
"The affordability of a destination wedding has many couples speeding off to the airport faster than you can say 'I do.' For instance, a couple can fly to an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica, get married, and stay for a deluxe weeklong honeymoon for a few thousand dollars, including lodging, meals, drinks, and airfare." – from The Knot.
PS>> I did a small calculation of the figures they give in the article and then i converted it to naira for you to understand it better. An example; a wedding of 150 guests wedding may (emphasis on the word MAY. I didn't say it WILL, I said MAY) cost about
N 3.7m to which it can easily skyrocket to more than N 6.5m if your guest size increases — plus a few extra hundred thousands of Naira for a honeymoon. Do a comparison of costs for a wedding in your locale or aboard (aboard meaning outside of your country, FYI: Ghana is aboard).
To help ease the financial burden, many couples should opt to travel to a place where they can havee their dream wedding, have their honeymoon, and still have some money left over to start their new lives together. Hotels and Holiday Resorts offer great discounts for early and large group bookings. So you can speak with a travel agent to help with arrangements on special discount packages for your guests on airfares, transportation and hotel bookings too!
PS>> You don't pay for your guests airfares, hotel accommodation or feedings. However, you both can decide on whom you both can afford to pay half if their travel expenses for.
4. You Are In Charge!
That's right! You call the shots. Many formal/traditional weddings mean a lot for some couples, some may link them to the traditions and culture, some others want the experience to be different and unique, with a ceremony and location that reflect their individualism, and style.
Early selections of your dream wedding location saves you both time, money and unneceassary expenses while planning. There are many places on this beautiful world has to offer for your unique wedding, let's start with the common and yet popular locations: Dubai (like Tuface and Anne), The Caribbean Islands, France (like Stephanie and Linus, to me whose wedding set a bar for Nigerian celebritity weddings. Tiwa Savage my eyes are waiting for yours), Italy, Spain, UK and US. For those who do not want to be too far from home, here are some African countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, Seyechelles, Mozambique, South Africa, Morocco, and The Gambia.
Then for those who want the Nigerian experience, there's, Lagos (Lekki town after the New Lagos Free Trade Zone, Akodo La Campainge Tropicana, Whispering Psalms Badagary, Tarqwa Bay, any of the private beach houses on Ilaje), Ogun State (Abeokuta), Oyo (Ibadan), Ondo, Cross Rivers (Calabar, Tinapa, Obudu Hills), Akwa Ibom (Uyo, Eket), Delta State (Warri, Asaba), Edo (Benin), Rivers State (Port-Harcourt, Bonny Island) etc. You can ask a travel agent or the local tourist board for a state, or your wedding planner, for information, brochures listing ceremony sites, Hotels, Resorts or Sea Cruise-liners in various International countries and Nigerian States. Recently, governments have began working to ease restrictions and attract to-be-weds.If you're not getting married at a resort, you can hire a stateside wedding planner who specializes in destination weddings, contact a wedding planner in the town you plan to wed, or start early and do it yourself. Either way, you won't have to plan an elaborate reception. Best of all? You make the rules! Feel free to wear white bed sheets, a sundress, or that hot pink maxi dress you've haf you eye on, or you both can wear shorts (even a bikini!), or go barefoot, or you both can go nude! ROFL!! Just kidding. The simple truth is if you have dreamt it, then you can do it.
5. It's Simply Perfect!
It is great for "been-there-done-that" couples who are older, renewal of vow, or getting married again, and choose a destination wedding. This is because DW's are simple, quiet and private. Either the bride and/or groom have done the Naija o wan bé – up scale society wedding before, or they both just want something quieter, less expensive, and with hassle this time around, or they may also just want to be someplace anonymous, without the watchful eyes and whispers of the home crowd.
6. It's a Once-in-a-Lifetime Vaycay
At a typical Nigerian wedding, both you and your groom are on the go, meeting, greeting, thanking whomever that person is, kneeling, prosrating, and non stop smiling, wondering when will this all end. However, for destination weddings you are on vacation time throughout. As expected, you will be required to arrive a few days early (2-3days early), to fill out all the important and necessary paperwork, so that by the time your wedding day arrives, you've had days of relaxing fun, and sight seeing with your groom, family, and friends.This may just be the opportunity to spend a no-rush, quality playtime with family, and far-flung friends.
PS>> Before you make up mind completely about having a Destination Wedding, you and your groom should sit and discuss it between yourselves. Write out all the pros and cons and weight it. Don't involve a third party just yet, unless you are both certain of your choice.
Here is a to do list I got from an article:
1. Pick out a destination with your partner so you can start to make plans.
2. The Weather Factor. It is important to know what the weather would be like at your desired destination spot at the time you want to get married. For instance, you don't want to be saying I do during a monsoon or rainy season.
3. Prepare a realistic budget. Make adequate research on prices for accommodation, food & beverages, travel, cakes, musicians, photographers and other services that you may need. Because you will be going out of your comfort zone.
4. Arrange travel plans. Negotiate a good travel package for your guests with a reputable travel agency. Do not forget to include all important information such as names of your guest, hotel plans. If possible drop one of you invites with the agency.
5. Travel Insurance. Having a good insurance is very important. A good insurance policy will cover you for injury, medical assistance and also the in case of loss of property. It gives you the needed peace of mind.
Click here for more information about the above to do list article.
What more can I say? You can consult with your wedding planner or a wedding planner who specializes in Destination Weddings. They would be able to help you in making the necessary enquiries for your needs.
So, enjoy!
SOURCES: Google, Pinterest, The Knot, Our Wedding Story Nigeria
Posted from WordPress for Android
Brides in Techni-Colours
Hi y'all!
How are you all doing? Been a long minute. Lol! My technological challenges started up again hence my long absence. I am tackling each issue one at a time, please bear with me.
The title of this post may give you an insight into what you are about to read. Hence the no feature image at the top. I am sure some would be wondering what colour analysis am I about to embark on. Lol! Just keep reading and you will soon find out.
Who remembers Jessica Biel's wedding dress? For those who may not know, she is Justin Timberlake's wife. Yay! If you still don't whom I'm speaking of Google it!
Anyway, when I saw a few photographs of the wedding online, I thought the colour of her wedding dress was a bit off, I assumed the lighting of my laptop was the reason for her dress peculiar colour. However, I later realised that that was the colour of her dress, frost pink!
I did investigations, and I found out that my favourite fashionista and my style inspirationist (lol! New word.) Sarah Jessica Parker(SJP), of "Sex and the City" , had done the same thing when she got married 1997 to Matthew Broderick. She wore a black wedding dress.
Jessica Biel's reasons, "I wanted the dress to be very romantic and feminine and a shape that I very rarely wear. I have never been crazy about all-white wedding dresses, for me at least. [Giambattista Valli] had created that same fabric in a fuchsia-and-pink combination for a dress in a previous collection, and I asked him if he could create that same pattern in a white combination, and he suggested pink. It was a bit of a leap of faith at the time, but it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. [Putting it on], I felt like I had made the right choice. I felt elegant. And it moved like a dream." – source from The Huff Post
Let me bring this topic to home soil. There was an article a while back in Bella Naija on a popular Nollywood actress, Ufoma Ejenobor. When she got married, she wore a metallic silver wedding dress made by Frank Osodi.
This was her reason, " …Because everybody wears white! Everybody has their unique picture of what they want their wedding dress to be like. I've been obsessed with "The King & I" and there was this lovely dress Mrs Anna wore, it was gold and green and I thought that was the most beautiful dress I've ever seen. My dress was made by Frank Osodi. He didn't think the mix of gold and green would go well so he asked me to choose any colour and he would mix it with white. Because I wanted to run away from white, I thought of a colour that would contrast with white so we came up with metallic silver." – from Bella Naija. CLICK HERE for full interview.
As you know I am a huge fan of colours, and in my own opinion wearing a coloured wedding dress is a ver bold, brave and exciting thing to do. If you are the non traditional type and you have the liver to pulling it off, take a cue from Nike and "just do it"! It is different, it is unique, and it says a lot about your individuality. Afterall, it's all about involving your personal style into your wedding and creating fun memories for your wedding.
Last year I did a post on "What's your Style" (click here) where I quoted John Fairchild. He said, " style is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma".
Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920s, wedding dresses were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1940s, when it became popular to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. Although there has always been a style that dominates the bridal market for a time, and then shifts with the changes in fashion, a growing number of modern brides are not choosing to follow these trends. This is due in large part to non-traditional and non-first-time weddings, and women who are marrying later in life.Today, Western wedding dresses are usually white though "wedding white" includes shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. Mary, Queen of Scots, wore a white wedding gown in 1559 when she married her first husband, Francis Dauphin of France because it was her favorite color, although white was then the color of mourning for French Queens. The first documented instance of a princess who wore a white wedding gown for a royal wedding ceremony is that of Philippa of England, who wore a tunic with a cloak in white silk bordered with grey squirrel and ermine in 1406. White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event to incorporate some lace she prized. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for white in accordance with the Queen's choice.
The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia. Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this was not the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) The white gown is in fact a symbolic Christening gown. It is a variation of the white surplice worn in the Western Catholic tradition by members of the clergy, church choirs and servers and the gowns worn by girls celebrating their first communion and at their confirmation and also by women making religious vows. Jews have gone to great lengths to follow these Western (Judeo-Christian) customs, whilst adhering to the laws of Tzniut. Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings.
Now, answer me this, do you see an average Nigerian parent agreeing to your choice in wedding dress colour? Lol! I can picture some parents I know ranting, screaming, sobbing and wailing in their native dialect, (please imagine this scenario in your mother tongue it's funnier), "…this child wants to kill me oooh! You want to make me the laughing stock ehnn!?" , all in despair and aversion over your decision to wear black polka dotted dress for your wedding. ROTL!!
Before you embark on this BRAVE adventure for your wedding, you need to consider the pros and cons of this decision and a solid reason for doing so. This was a latter part of the article I read on Sarah Jessica Parker's choice of wedding gown.
"SJP chose a non-traditional gown in a stark shade of black. Though her decision was a bid to escape unwanted media attention, the trendsetter now says it's her biggest regret to date. In fact, if she and Broderick ever renew their wedding vows, Sarah says she'll most definitely go for white. "I'd wear a proper wedding dress," she said in an interview with Harper's Bazaar. "Like I should have worn that day." "
What to do …
1) you need to speak with a bridal image consultant. Reputable bridal houses have bridal consultants who can help you with choosing the proper tone or colour shade that will match your skin tone and style of your wedding. Not everybody looks good in fuchsia or red or deep purple.
If you are on a tight budget, your wedding planner (if you are using one), could serve as an image consultant or you could ask 3 friends, whom you trust their sense if style. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT ask more than 3 people, if not you are heading for great confusion. Too many mouths, thoughts opinions, ideas, and I feel's, create confusions and bad decisions.
2) the idea of a second dress for your wedding reception fits in here. If you have already discussed with your parents, and they hadn't liked the idea of a coloured wedding dress, you can suggest the second change of dress. With this you can go all out with style and colour(s), if it is within your budget. If not….let's go to step 3.
3) in your white wedding dress you could add a touch of your colour into your dress. It could the colour of your bolero jacket or your sash around your waist that flows down or just a fancy bridal studded belt etc e.g..
In the picture collage, the ombre wedding dress is my personal fav, however not my colour but its lovely. It was designed for Gwen Stefani in 2002 by John Galliano. So, there you have it! Either ways you will still be the trending bride no matter what colour you decide to wear. Here are some celebs who didnt wear white at their own weddings
SOURCES: The Huff Post, Pinterest, Elie Saab, Monique Lhuillier, Munaluchi. History from http://www.marryjim.com
Posted from WordPress for Android
Happy Easter, Resurrection Sunday!!
Hola mi amigos!
Happy Easter, Resurrection Sunday!!
The post I promised of the baby shower, didn't work out as planned. What happened? I forgot to take pictures. 😀
However, today is Easter Sunday, and Church service was a Blast!!! In case you are wondering what church i attend, it is The Common Wealth of Zion Assembly, COZA.
So here is my small Easter message to everyone, dont get it twisted, I am in LOVE with Jesus, I am in LOVE with God and that makes me a full fledge Christian.
Victorious Empty Tomb
One victorious empty tomb,
One life,
One death,
One world changed forever.
God's power is very great for us who believe… the same as the great strength God used to raise Christ from the dead and put Him at His right side in the heavenly world. God has put Christ over all. Ephesians 1:19-21 (NCV)
Jesus Christ has defeated the grave and made a way for us to have eternal life through Him.
We Celebrate Jesus!
He died that you and your family may live. The veil was torn so that you and your family are loosed from every and any bondage. He shed his blood that you and your family are free.
Praise God for sending His Son for us. For God is for us no one can be against us through Christ Jesus.
Praise the Lord for His Victory, and our salvation on this amazing Resurrection Sunday!
He is risen! He is alive!
Glory to God! Thank you Jesus!
Have a Glorious day!
Poppy Red Valentine
"Love, is in the air;
Love, is everywhere…"
Happy Valentine's Day people! Yes, its February, the celebration of love is here! Love is an everyday celebration, though Feb 14th was set apart for it especially. However, historically 14th of February wasn't filled with love, laughter chocolates and gifts. It was actually quite gruesome! Lol! 😀
Nevertheless, I am not here to talk about the dark, gruesome, medieval times. I'm here to share with my readers, Poppy Red Valentine…
As we all know Poppy Red is one of the colours featuring this year, in Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2013. I have done posts on Emerald Green (Click Green Christmas), Tempting Monaco Blues, and now its Poppy Red Valentine time… Remember, you can always follow me on Twitter @dewsofkeziah or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DewsOfKeziahEvents and drop a comment, I will make an effort to reply as soon as I can.
Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2013 described Poppy Red as an exuberant a seductive, sensual and celebratory shade. They also went on to say that, Poppy Red is a knockout colour for dresses or a kiss on the lips (which we have to agree, e.g. the craze for rouge lip sticks etc. Lol). Pantone Fashion Colour Report Spring 2013 advised, every woman's wardrobe and beauty essentials should include this spirited, true red.
The True Red
Red is a part of the 3 families in the Primary Colour Kingdom. Lol! Remember my stories on about the families of Blue, Redd, and Yellow? Anyway, Red is actually a warm colour, and a lot of males tend to pick red. Hmm I'm thinking your guesses are as good as mine, Lol!
Moving on!
Sadly, Red is usually seen on the negative as anger, danger (burning), temper, evil or devil, especially if your parents are the traditional spiritual type of Nigerians. Believe me, I have had clients, especially the bride's Mother or Father screaming blue murder at their daughter for picking the colour Red.
On the other hand, in China, the bride wears red on her wedding day, and the door posts of her house is also painted Red. This is because Red is identified as the color of joy, prosperity, happiness, and fertility.
Red is also said to be the colour of Tuesday and it is also connected with the colour of blood, life, vitality, warmth, fiery heat, passion and lust. Red has a strong symbolism such as action, confidence, energy and enthusiasm. The Red rose symbolizes passionate love, thus its frequent use in bridal bouquets, and Valentines Day.
How to use Poppy Red in your décor
Poppy Red isn't your everyday crimson kind of red, but with more softer hues, which gives an almost faded reddish orange outlook. Like every other solid primary colour, if Red it is not directed properly in its use, it can become overwhelming and turn into a "Red Hot Mess"!
So, when using Poppy Red(or any other shade of Red) as a single block colour in your event décor, let the colour be in splashes against another softer or calmer colour e.g white, grey or soft pinks. howvever, Red could also but combined with other solid block colours to create the WOW effect in your decor design, for example, black, blue, green, yellow, purple. I would give a colour combo palette of this colours when using the Pantone Colours for Fall 2013.
The Poppy Red inspiration board below will show you, and hopefully inspire you with ways you could apply the splashes of Poppy Red into your décor.
The last picture on the inspiration board (bottom right), has white table cloths with white square-shaped plates, stainless steel cutlery, clear martini glasses, all against a white background. The splash of red is featured as the table runner which goes across the table center, where the centerpieces are of various red bouquets, all placed in small cylinder vases, which have been wrapped up with red cloth ribbons. Small Red scented candles were set to accentuate the centerpieces.
The plate settings has red napkins, which are neatly folded into rectangles and placed in each of the white square plates. The chivari chairs, are all red with red seat cushions, with red circular Chinese lanterns hanging from above, all of different sizes bunched up together.
If you are going for something more contemporary style where the décor is flexible for weddings, social or corporate events, have a look at the inspiration board below and see how the Poppy Red can be initiated into the décor without overwhelming it.
I totally Love the centerpiece with the large single rose.
So that it for Poppy Red Valentine. Enjoy!
PS: A quick Heads up, Pantone's Fashion Colours for this Fall are out. You can click on the Pantone below to link you to the website.
Sources from:
- Wedluxe
- Preston Bailey
- Colour theory
Tempting Monaco Blue
Hi y'all!
These rain flashes from the past week have been a blessing. I like it. Lol! Though, it seems like we're in the rainy season, but not. Confusing, isn't it?
By the way Valentine's Day is about two weeks and a few days away. Any plans for that day, or is it going to be like any other day?
In a next few posts I'm going to talk about adding a little "Pattern" into your décor designs, ideas or inspirations for your next event. Are there any questions in regards to the "Sweet Turquoise Peach" post? Remember, you can always send me an email on firstname.lastname@example.com or you can follow me on my Twitter account @dewsofkeziah or like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/DewsOfKeziahEvents and drop a comment.
In this post, I'm going to use one of the Pantone Spring 2013 colours. Yep! There will be no colour combos. However, I would talk about which colour compliments it and that makes it pop! And I would also be open to any comments or suggestions for colours that could or would be a good complimenting combo with it. This way, you can get your colour expert swagger on.
The post topic is a give-away to which colour I'd be using. "Monaco Blues", sounds like a movie title, Lol!
Last year's Pantone Fashion Colour Report for 2012 had a blue shade in it called Sodaite Blue, which has almost the same hue as the Monaco Blue in the Pantone Fashion Colour Report for 2013 as shown in the palette slide picture below.
I know, you can ALMOST not see the difference. I didn't really notice their differences until I had to use Pantone colour palette numbers, CMYK and RGB to recreate the colours using my CorelDraw® software.
Getting to Know Blue and Its Hues
Remember Blue is a part of the 3 families in the Primary Colour Kingdom the families of Blue, Red, and Yellow (which I have mentioned as in past posts as a fearful lover to Red and Yellow, Lol!). In general, the colour Blue is said to be calming, committed, communicative, cooling, dependable, expansive sedate, serene and trustworthy. However, electric or brilliant neon blues, turn out to be an engaging colour that becomes more sensational, dynamic and exhilarative!
Using Monaco Blue for your event would be really cool. You can easily refer to Monaco Blue as Navy Blue, and to Sodaite Blue as Mid-Night Blue, by using these simple vocabularies to describe it to anyone, for better understanding. The Monaco Blue can be perfect as a single colour for any event. It gives an ambience of serenity, elegance, royalty, calming, and enriching depth into your décor. However, be warned, the colour Blue can be an expansive overwhelming colour, if not directed properly.
Where and How to Use Monaco Blue
This colour would be great for events taking place outdoors, also wonderful for beach weddings, ceremonies or corporate events.
"Anchoring Monaco Blue is a classic shade that offers both stability and depth to the entire palette. Combine Monaco Blue with Poppy Red and Linen, or Monaco Blue and Emerald for a fresh collegiate look." Pantone® fashion colour report 2013.
You see the above quote right there, nails it. The pictures below are to give you an idea of how Monaco Blue with Poppy Red and Linen Nude, Monaco Blue with African Violet and Nectarine, Monaco Blue and Dusk Blue, Monaco Blue and Emerald Green or Monaco Blue with Lemon Zest and Tender Shoot colours could look like when combined. These are all colours of the Pantone® fashion colour report 2013. Click on the links to open new tabs.
If you are a Tommy Hilfiger nut or you have a thing for boats ships or the nautical world, the first Monaco Blue combo of Poopy Red and Linen Nude should appeal to you. These colour combinations can generally give you an inkling insight into using Monaco Blue on how to combine it.
So there you have it, Monaco Blue. Enjoy!
- Colour theory
Sweet Turquoise Peach
Hi y'all!
This 2013 I will be adding some widgets to the blog as the year goes on, especially one called "I'm part of post a week 2013". This will prompt me to put up posts once a week. So keeping my fingers crossed I intend to follow it through.
Also as I had announced last year, that some changes will be made to the blog. I have decided NOT to change the name of this blog. Lol! I will tell you about it some other time. However, the blog is being worked on behind the scenes by my meek self and my tech geeks to make this blog service you and I better. I would update you from time to time as things progress.
So how has the New Year been so far? With the weird flashes of rains that has been occurring, aka Global Warming. Hehehe!
In this post we are doing colour combos of Turquoise Blue and Peach, with highlights of gold. Thus the post topic: "Sweet Turquoise Peach". Another common name for all shades of Turquoises is "Aqua" or Cyan for the lighter shades. It wasn't until I began this blog that I found out that there were 2 types of Turquoises. There's Turquoise Blue and Turquoise Green. They both pretty much explain their hues and intensity by their names. The palettes below show what I am trying to say.
From the colour palettes I'm sure you get the picture.
The chosen colour combos of Turquoise Blue, Peach and a touch of Gold are actual colours for a client's weddings in April. Though they are not within the Pantone Colours for 2013 L, I will still talk about the lovely colour combination anyway.
These colours are sweet! And they can be used at any season of the year. Though they are spring/summer colours and are usually recommended for beach, tropical or nautical weddings, it doesn't matter! If you love a certain colour for your type of event, use it! No matter the season, weather, or region.
Peach is from the family of Orange, which is birthed by the combination of Red and Yellow. In the colour palette of Tangerine Tango post, you'll also be able to identify the colour Peach in its hues.
The inspiration board I made below should be able to give you ideas of how the turquoise blue, peach and gold can be implemented into your event(s).
Picking the Colour Flow for Your Décor
You could have the overall background to be just one colour with accents of the other colours to bring all the colours together.
For example; in the picture below, it shows the overall décor in Turquoise, with the floral centrepieces, and the couple gazebo, adorned with Peach and Pink flowers. The roof/ceiling of the tent/marquee has Gold stars scattered all over, and as an added advantage, the incandescent chandeliers or warm white, is giving off a golden glow consequently highlighting the gold stars.
Also, you could use Gold as the main colour as the overall décor design. Then your Turquoise Blue and Peach become added touches to the golden décor theme. Like the Marie Antoinette Gold themed décor picture from Wedluxe.com below.
In these pictures you can tell that the Wedding Style is Formal with a Modern twist. The tall French windows, the cutlery, the deep set gold chiavari chairs, the menu card design and the cute peachy pinky wedding favours with "Merci" written on them in elegant calligraphy. Hmm…breath taking, isn't it. I'm sure it was.
Another way to give a flow to your décor colours is by using Peach as the main colours and using turquoise and gold as the décor centerpieces or table settings like in the Marie Antoinette in Peach reverse. Lol!
So there you go, Turquoise/ Aqua Blue with Peach and a touch of Gold!
♥ 'Jumoke Abudu!


text:
• Made with natural rubber
• 100% waterproof
• Soft cotton lining
• Extra wide opening for easy on
• Non-slip soles
• Soft and flexible natural rubber for increased comfort
• Can be layered up with Stonz Rain Boot Liners for extra warmth
• Safe from PVC, phthalates, lead, flame retardants and formaldehyde
• Vegan friendly
Not sure about size? View size chart.
Collections: FEATURED COLLECTION, RAIN, RAIN BOOTS, SHOP ALL, SPRING/SUMMER
Category: 0-2 years, 2-6 years, black, boot, booties, boots, boys, bright, children, comfortable, cotton lining, extreme weather, flexible, galoshes, girls, kids, natural, neutral, non-slip, overshoe, practical, print, protection, Rain, rain boots, rubber, stonz print, toddlers, warm, waterproof, wellies, white, wide opening, youth
Type: Rain Boots
Sign up to get a promo code for 10% OFF your first order and information on new releases and great content every month.
© 2020 Stonz.
Powered by Shopify


text:
@2020 Cox Enterprises, inc
Mrs. Chambers is past chairman of Atlanta Newspapers. Active in the community, she served as the U.S. ambassador to Belgium from 1977 to 1981, has served on numerous other boards including The Coca-Cola Company, and is a founding member of the Forward Arts Foundation. Mrs. Chambers was elected to the Cox Enterprises Board of Directors in December 1951. She is the daughter of Cox Enterprises founder Governor James M. Cox and the sister of the late Barbara Cox, former chairman of Dayton Newspapers.


text:
<< Click to Display Table of Contents >>
Navigation: Design and Tables >
The ABCs of Requirements Management for Access
Mike Gunderloy
While Access itself is a development product, developers need to think about much more than writing code. When working with clients, it's crucial to understand the requirements for the application before writing code. In this article, Mike looks at some of the fundamentals of requirements management for the Access developer.
Let me start with a true story from my own consulting history. I won't tell you who the client was (my lawyer would frown on that, since he had to get involved in extricating us from the situation), but this was well after I was established in the Access field as a trainer, writer, and developer. Along with a couple of other coders, I signed on to do a major job for a mid-sized (about 100 employees) manufacturing company. What they wanted seemed fairly simple: a bill of materials database, with links back to their accounting system, to let them track the custom work they were doing for various clients of their own. The company's vice president was pretty savvy about PCs himself and had decided that Access was the language of choice for this project.
We started early one Monday morning with some simple entity-relationship analysis, talked to enough people to make sure we understood the structure of their bills of materials, and started writing code. Not wanting to spend much time in their small town, we did the bulk of our work off-site, issuing periodic, upbeat progress reports by phone and e-mail. After a month, we went back with what we thought was a finished application and a large invoice.
That was when the trouble started. "I was promised it would do inventory forecasting," said one person in the accounting department. "Where's my daily report?" was the question of someone high up in production. In short order, we realized that what we built had nothing to do with what they needed, wanted, or expected. Worse yet (from our point of view), our contract called for building software to the client's satisfaction. We clearly hadn't ascertained what would satisfy them, and things quickly turned ugly over the issue of a large invoice for a product that they didn't think was relevant to their needs.
In retrospect, what we left out of the picture was requirements management. "Build a bill of materials database" isn't a requirement. "Generate a report on expected inventory levels for the next three weeks, for all base-level items, on a daily basis" is a requirement: It's clear enough to build a bit of software from. Had we taken the time to collect requirements, we could have avoided the nasty end result of a canceled project and a dissatisfied customer.
What is a requirement?
Let's start with the basics. Before you can make good use of requirements, you need to understand what a requirement is. The definition I use is that a requirement is a specification that tells you what should be implemented in an application. Some typical requirements you might see for an Access database could include:
•A user-level facility: "The user must be able to specify how many weeks the aging report covers."
•A general system property: "All employee data must be encrypted so it's not available to an external program."
•A development constraint: "All code must use the Reddick VBA naming convention."
It's just as important to understand what a requirement is not. Requirements don't include:
•A completely abstract description of the system: "Build an accounting program."
•Database language: "The employees table must have a many-to-one relationship to the departments table."
In the first case, the demand for an accounting system isn't detailed enough to be considered a requirement. Think of this in terms of testability: What test would determine if you had built an accounting system? If you can't think of a way to prove that a requirement was met by the final software, then it's probably too abstract to be a good requirement. When that happens, you must break the requirement down into smaller requirements. For example, one requirement for an accounting system might be: "The system should store supplier and payment information on all invoices received."
The second case fails because requirements should always be written in the language of users (the problem domain), not in the language of developers (the computer domain). Leave the computer talk for the design phase of your project. The second requirement should probably be rewritten as: "Each employee should be a member of precisely one department."
The fact that requirements should be in "user language" means that developers are usually the worst possible people to come up with the requirements for a project. There's no substitute for talking to the actual users of the system. Asking over and over again: "What else do you want the program to do?" is a vital part of the process. If you're not thoroughly versed in your user's business, you'd better alternate that question with, "Can you explain to me what that means?" Some developers dislike this sort of interaction, thinking it somehow lowers their prestige. I suspect they're the least likely developers to deliver useful systems.
Requirements as contract
A thorough set of requirements represents a contract between the client and the developer. On one side, it says, "I expect you to build software that does these things." On the other, it says, "I understand that this is what you need the software to do." The mistake many developers make is to consider the requirements as an immutable contract. This is simply unrealistic. For one thing, no matter how patient you are in eliciting requirements from users, you're not likely to get everything in a few meetings. For another, the business changes even while you're building the software.
I was recently involved in a project to build a utility with a graphical "Wizard" interface. After the Wizard asked some questions, it would build a text file that was used by another program. The written specification for this program ran five pages, and when it was done both the client and I were satisfied that the requirements described the software. When I was about 75 percent done, the lead developer for the other program came to me with an additional requirement: For some scenarios, they needed to be able to launch the utility I was writing from a command line, supplying all the necessary arguments and suppressing the user interface entirely.
I could have reacted as many developers would, by simply saying, "That's not in the spec!" Instead, I took the time to sit with the other developer and the manager involved and write some additional concrete requirements so that we both understood the work involved. Then I worked up an estimate for the additional work. The manager approved the estimate, we amended the requirements document (and kept both the old and new versions so we could track the changes), and the additional work proceeded. The result was a satisfied customer and more billable hours for me.
According to research reported by Capers Jones in Assessment and Control of Software Risks (Yourdon Press, 1994), "Creeping requirements changes average about 1% per month." For a project of any magnitude, you simply must plan ahead for this. On a year-long contract, the expected requirements changes will amount to an extra month of work. Clients who aren't expecting this will be unhappy with the additional cost. If you're not expecting this, you won't finish the job. Make sure that all parties understand up front that the requirements document is subject to change, and that major changes will incur additional costs. As Steve McConnell says in Code Complete (Microsoft Press, 1993), "A plan to follow the requirements rigidly is actually a plan not to respond to your customer."
What do you do with a customer who won't understand this point or, worse yet, won't budget any money for requirements analysis at all? Walk away and find another customer. If this simply isn't feasible, make sure your contract is strictly time and materials, and have your lawyer check that you won't incur any penalties when the project is canceled without being finished. Anything else is a huge gamble. (For more on which projects to walk away from, see Ed Yourdon's book, Death March [Prentice Hall PTR, 1997].)
Requirements and iterative prototyping
Fortunately, those of us working in Access have a powerful tool for helping elicit the requirements that users didn't think of during the first set of interviews: iterative prototyping, or "false-front" development. The idea is pretty simple. Armed with the requirements, go back to your cubicle and slap together the user interface for the application. Don't get hung up on the final data model, report design, menus, or anything else. Forms with buttons leading to other forms with textboxes are plenty. Hardwire the text in the textboxes to reasonable values -- that is, when you open the customer form, it should show a customer, but it doesn't have to be coming from a customer table. Write the minimum code, or even macros, necessary to make the demonstration application flow when you push buttons, select values from combo boxes, or whatever.
Then, take the demonstration version of the application back to the users and run through it. Show which buttons lead where, how you've grouped functionality together, and what input controls exist. Talk through the application, relying on paper when necessary ("When you push this button, we'll print a report that looks sort of like this sketch"). All the while, of course, take notes on where the users see problems with the demonstration.
On one recent project, the requirement was to allow selection of a customer service agent and display a list of the orders handled by that agent. When I got to that point in the demonstration, I showed the customer how to select an agent from a combo box and see the orders in an associated listbox. "How do I sort the orders so I see the oldest ones first?" was the response, and I knew immediately that we'd missed a requirement. I assured the user that they'd be able to do that in the final version and added that to my list of requirements for the day. No, I didn't insist that the manager sign off on a new estimate for something that minor. Your initial estimate should be realistic enough to handle this sort of minor change without having to quote a new price to the customer.
Other requirements management techniques
There are whole books out there on requirements engineering (the discipline that analyzes the software requirements process) that explore techniques ranging from simply standardizing on a template for your requirements documents to using a formal, mathematical language for specifications. Without trying to cover the field, let me suggest a few techniques from my own experience:
1. Don't assume that you know everything, even after talking to the users. Any software project of substantial size will affect multiple stakeholders: end users, managers, technical support people, customers, and more. Make sure you collect requirements from every group of stakeholders that you can identify. It's up to your client to decide on the requirements that are actually important enough to be implemented, but you should try for a complete wish list.
2. Plan for a requirements review. This should be a formal meeting between the developers and the client after the requirements document has been compiled. Often, you can convince the client to schedule this meeting by simply insisting that you can't refine your cost estimate until they sign off on a set of requirements.
3. Plan for conflict resolution. In an ideal world, this wouldn't be the job of the software developer. In the real world, you'll often be the one who discovers that two groups of users have contradictory requirements for the software. Make sure you understand who holds the political power in the organization, so you know who can settle these disputes. Try to limit your participation to collecting information and suggesting the relative costs of different implementations of the software.
4. Do everything you can to make the requirements document easy to read. Don't use technical terms if you can avoid it, especially computer technical terms. If you must use technical terms, define them. If the document is long, include a table of contents and possibly an index. When you print the document, leave margins wide enough to scribble in. It's in your best interest to have this document widely reviewed in the client's organization. Encourage people to submit their comments before the requirements review so that they can be incorporated.
5. Spell out who is responsible for what in your requirements document. I usually include a section labeled "Ownership" that, at the minimum, lists who has the responsibility for funding the project, maintaining the requirements document, writing the code, testing the code, and signing off on the final product.
6. Either keep all versions of the requirements document that you circulate or put the requirements document into your source code control system. Using change bars and annotation marks in your document also helps. Keep track of when changes are made, why they're made, and who authorized them. Toward the end of the development process, you might find that you need to be able to justify additional time spent. It's much better to say "Tom in accounting needed this, and your project manager approved it in our June 3rd meeting" than "I think someone in accounting asked for that feature."
How do you justify all this concentration on requirements to clients who might not understand the software development process as well as you do? One way is to cite some figures from Code Complete, based on studies done at IBM, TRW, and GTE. Suppose that one of the requirements for a project is erroneous and that it would take an hour of your time -- $100 -- to correct by doing a more rigorous requirements analysis. Without that requirements analysis, that same defect would cost:
•$500 to correct during design.
•$1,000 to correct during coding.
•$2,000 to correct during unit test.
•$5,000 to correct during system test.
•$10,000 to correct during maintenance.
All but the most devil-may-care customer will understand this argument and be willing to spend the extra time up front to avoid spending a lot more time (and money) down the road. In fact, it's a general principle of software construction that errors detected closest to the point at which they happen are cheapest to correct. Had I understood this basic point, the debacle I described at the beginning of this article would never have happened. With no requirements, 100 percent of the requirements must be wrong, and the cost of correcting this problem during the system test is simply prohibitive.
Fortunately, the problem is relatively simple to correct. Even the simple act of sitting down with the customer and the users for a few meetings to generate a Word document listing requirements is a powerful tool for making sure that you're building the software the client wants. If you do this much, you'll generally be ahead of the majority of developers in Access, VBA, and Visual Basic. Once you're at that point, you can investigate using a more formal process. In a future Smart Access article, I'll review a product, Requisite Pro, that will help you set up such a formal requirements management process.


text:
Text Size
Gail Struss
Phone: 610.439.5915
Assistant Chief Struss is a 1987 graduate of Emmaus High School. She attended Lehigh County Community College and graduated with an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice in 1989. She graduated from Shippensburg University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice.
She worked as an adult probation officer for Lehigh County from 1991 until she joined the Allentown Police Department in February of 1997. She began her career in patrol on the 4th Platoon. In 1999, she was transferred to the Vice and Intelligence Unit and in 2004 she transferred to the Youth Division as a detective. In 2005, she became a school resource officer and she was assigned to Raub Middle School. In January 2011, she was promoted to Sergeant and she was the supervisor of the Youth Division. She was then promoted to Captain in September of 2013 where she was responsible for the 2nd Platoon and PSA II. In January of 2016, she was promoted to Assistant Chief.
Assistant Chief Struss was a member of the Crisis Negotiation Team from 2000-2016. She served as Assistant Commander of the team from September 2013 until March 2014 when she was named Commander of the team. She also was a certified instructor from 1994 to 2016 in the Protective Safety System.
City of Allentown - 435 Hamilton Street - 610-439-5999
| Login


text:
In January, over lunch at work, a new colleague shared that she'd read every inch of this blog.
Then after searching for me on Facebook, all that came up was a damning podcast from Trailer Talks. She recommended I take a good look at my social media profile. In a way that left no doubt, hey - you don't look that credible. You should do something about that food on your face.
That was when it began with this colleague. I guess you could call it political behavior. Hints about making audio recordings of meetings. Writing things down. Look you forgot to lock your monitor! Not quite meeting the bar, performance-wise. (Too bad, damaged by a brain injury.) She'd found the dirt on me, on the Internet, and dirt can be politically useful.
After all, I do work in a truth-free zone, a utopian bubble where no one can admit to anything. My colleagues can't be vulnerable with each other, or quirky, or flawed. We pretend to be strong all day long.
For a few weeks, I thought ill of this person. I let the conversation and the behavior that followed percolate for a while. Went on a few bike rides, in case there was something to salvage from the experience. Maybe she was a lost cause (or not). But maybe, just maybe, there was something to be learned here...
Despite my anger, this week I found something. The story of my recovery is not told that well. The hopeful part of the story. This blog tells (some of) the dark stuff, the outpouring of disbelief and disappointment that I needed to express. If you have a brain injury, even best case scenario you can expect everyone who is supposed to be helpful, family, doctors, employers, insurance companies, to slide out from under you or lash out. Guess we can add colleagues to the list....
That's just the way it is right now. We know so little about brain injury, and how to diagnose and heal it. In the face of uncertainty people are not altogether good. Some of these people act brain-damaged when they are not.
I'll work on it.
It might take a little while. After all I have a demanding full-time job with at least one colleague who believes what people believed 20 years ago: that brain injury is a permanent, intractable thing. A stigma.
In the meantime, a strategic tip for everyone. If you want your brain to work well and be healthy for the long haul, consider incorporating aerobic exercise into your daily routine.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Two worlds
2 comments :
- Rachel UngerMarch 26, 2017 at 8:14 PM
It's funny how two people can read the same blog and come to such different conclusions. Your harpy of a coworker sees one thing - I see someone incredibly strong, who goes out there and makes her way and doesn't give up. You are recovering, you are figuring out how to recover more and sharing how you do it, and it's inspiring.ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
When flipping through iphoto this morning, I stumbled over these two pictures. I remember taking them in the subway on … More
Tag: Det löser sig
Three shortcuts to enlightenment and one Hallelujah
I have been back home for a while now. Got back into my shoes, bought a subway ticket and ironed … More
International workmen, Barcelona dust and changing perspective
I have never lived in London for more than two weeks but spent a bit of time there, especially with … More
Nordic mañana
"They are kicking us out of the apartment!" "Boat sinking now!" "The city hall is on fire!!" "What? Where? What … More
Sensitive bankers and Sonja Catani
Today's inspiration: Sonja Catani and the latest bank bankruptcy. HQ lost its license for banking a couple of days ago, … More


text:
Derek Hoke Premieres New Song, "Little Devil"
Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of "Little Devil," a stark yet sticky new track by East Nashville-based singer-songwriter-guitarist Derek Hoke. The song is from Hoke's new album, Bring the Flood, which will be released October 9 via Little Hollywood.
In its own plaintive, reverb-drenched way, the album (and "Little Devil") is indicative of the exciting new sound coming out of the greater Nashville area in late 2017—a sound that's not quite country, not quite rock, not quite blues, surf or acid jazz—yet full of pith and delicious retro references.
"'Little Devil' follows the very long musical tradition of writing about a girl that's nothing but trouble," Hoke tells us. "There's E.L.O.'s 'Evil Woman,' Marty Robbins' 'Devil Woman,' etc. The list goes on.
"I had the melody and the chorus to the tune for a few weeks. Just hammering the same four notes out on my '68 Tele over and over. I used a Prescription Electronics Yardbox to get the point across. Once I had the verses and chorus, my producer Dex Green and I started putting it all together. 'Simple caveman drums' was how I described the rhythm I wanted to hear. That's how we got drummer Matt Chamberlain (Fiona Apple, the Wallflowers) involved. He played a killer straight beat that still swings hard. Dex brought on his friend Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) for the solo and outro.
"We used a Danelectro Back Talk on it; it's one of best reverse delays out there. Luther played one of his many Gibson hollowbody guitars while we twisted knobs on the pedal. It took us all out of our comfort zones. When we listened back, we knew it was worth it. It definitely added something unique to the project."
Assisted by contributions from friends and neighbors, including Dickinson, Elizabeth Cook, Langhorne Slim and Aaron Lee Tasjan, then molded into a cohesive whole by Dex Green, Bring the Flood finds Hoke more visceral, honest and intuitive than at any other point in his career.
For more about Hoke, visit derekhoke.com.
Source: www.guitarworld.com


text:
Our official website is www.indomax.in
|» Products
|» Satin Ribbon Printer
|» PIY Satin Ribbon Printer
We have commenced our business since 1997 by providing a wide gamut of PIY Satin Ribbon Printer. Extensively used by automobile dealers, perfume dealers, florists, bookstore keepers and wine merchants, the offered printer is ideal for designing ribbons with label rewards. This printer is manufactured with the use of pristine quality components and advanced techniques by our dexterous professionals. Available in various technical specifications. the provided PIY Satin Ribbon Printer can be purchased with us at cost effective prices.
Key points:
INDOMAX All Rights Reserved.(Terms of Use)
Developed and Managed by Infocom Network Ltd.


text:
I need to send a template email to about 700 email addresses, and need to personalize each email for the recipient's name, position, and employer. In addition, I have one attachment that I need to send to all recipients. (This is for a research survey.)
I'm working on Mac OS 10.6 and don't have MS Outlook. Normally I use Gmail for all my accounts, but not sure how to do a mail merge with gmail. Is there a way I can upload my list of recipients and associated fields to a Google Doc or Google Contacts, then create an email template that includes the attachment?
Are there any other solutions on the Mac that I could use?


text:
Shopify Review
For anyone who wants to establish an online store, Shopify is definitely worth looking at. It provides you with a versatile platform where you can showcase whatever you are selling, and so much more. In light of getting a better perspective on whether you should be using it, here is a breakdown of what you can expect.
Try it for free-14 day Shopify trial
Extensive Choice Of Mobile Storefront Themes
One of the first things you are going to notice is the big range of mobile storefront themes at your disposal. More specifically, there are more than 100 to choose from, and many of them have been designed by third-party professionals, contracted by Shopify. Some of the themes are available for free, while others come with a price, and Shopify runs a strict quality check before putting them out there.
You will also be happy to know these themes stretch across a broad spectrum in regards to different retail industries. Whether you want to open a clothing, jewelry, or even a hardware store, your options are amazing.
Wide Range Of Apps
In addition to giving you a good-looking "retail" space online, Shopify offers more than 1400 apps, all focused on making your business better. The apps include valuable tools, related to customer service, reporting, shipping, social media, and the list goes on. Once again, you won't have a problem supporting your online store thanks to these innovative tools.
Keep in mind that some apps require a monthly payment, and some are free to use. And as you can expect, all the apps can deliver crucial information and insight into your business, giving you a strong edge over the competition.
All-Round Support
The great thing about Shopify is that you can reach their support center at any time of the day, any day of the week. You can phone them, send an email, or opt for a live chat with one of the staff.
The Issue Of Transaction Fees
Even though Shopify makes running a business incredibly easy and convenient, there are transaction fees involved. With different plans come different fees, which range between 0.5% and 2.0% per sale. For some, this might be a little extreme, but considering what you get in the process and that Shopify uses this money to keep their platform competitive, it's a small price to pay.
However, if you implement Shopify Payment, the fees disappear. But for those who are going to use another plan, Shopify is very transparent about the fees. At no point will you have to wonder why they take their percentage.
Customizing Your Store
Something that might not sit well with everyone is the unique coding language Shopify has created, namely Liquid. In order for store owners to make detailed changes to their sites, they need to learn the Liquid code, or they have to hire someone who does (typically a Shopify expert).
The Bottom Line
There is no doubt that Shopify is one of the best places for entrepreneurs who need a powerful platform. It can accommodate any type of business, it offers a wide range of tools and themes to enhance business functionality and professional image, and you can choose how much you are going to pay for fee transactions.


text:
Sprig Meal Delivery Service
Prepared Meal Delivery: Locally sourced organic food, fast delivery, chef created, eco-friendly packaging
What sets Sprig apart from the meal delivery competition? How about an average delivery time of just 15 minutes. While many services require 24 hours or longer notice, Sprig delivers high-quality locally sourced food, fast.
Last minute business meeting? Forget to go to the store? Soccer practice ran late? Forget Pizza or drive-thru, use your Sprig app to select from their ever-changing menu, focused on seasonal ingredients, and have a healthy meal on it's way.
You can even enter your address on their site and they'll give you an estimate of how long it will take to deliver – talk about power!
Founding Executive Chef Nate Keller and his team of award-winning chefs create fresh menu's daily that have included such options as:
- Mushroom and Swiss Chard Lasagna with Saffron Cauliflower
- Chicken Pipian Verde
- Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese
- Butter Chicken Curry
Each menu item is clearly labeled to indicate if it is vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free or even just if it is spicy – your dietary restrictions are valued.
Here's a cool fact, Sprig will often introduce a guest chef from a local restaurant to craft the daily menu and highlight their own culinary style. Things are always fresh at Sprig meal delivery service…on many levels!
Sprig's meals are individually priced, starting at $10 per serving plus a $2.75 delivery charge.
Sprig uses compostable packaging, plant plastics and pressed bamboo. Dishes are compostable when you are done.
Sprig is currently delivering fresh meals using locally sourced ingredients to San Francisco, Palo Alto and Chicago, but they are expanding and want your suggestions for the next city they should conquer. And by conquer, I mean, deliver to your door in an average of 15 minutes, even in the traffic-burdened cities of San Francisco and Chicago.
Sprig allows you to be impulsive with what's for dinner.