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Have you ever wondered what goes on at a meeting?
North Bucks has a Showcase evening,where you can see how Toastmasters can improve your speaking and leadership skills .
Our club has recently produced 2 members whose speaking skills have led to their representing our Division at National Contests.
This evening ,we can show you how our meetings can give proven results in your personal development.
The programme is a fraction of the cost of many courses,with incredible results.
Come as our guest,free of charge,and see why Public speaking is fun.
Take a look at our Facebook page.
Cecile wins the speech contest.
Louise wins the topics.
Both winners come from North Bucks speakers,and go forward to the next level on the 11th October. For details of all contests see: http://mktoastmasters.co.uk/2014/08/22/autumn-2014-contests-dairy-humorous-speech-and-table-topics/
Elena was 3rd in topics, Sue was second.
Delphine came 3rd in the humorous speech,and Dave was second.
Here's the round up of what we saw today,as the 4 clubs went head to head in the next round of the contest.
The topics asked the question…what character would you be in a book?
Atma said he would be a hero,and change the world.
Elena was a touch risqué in being Anastasia Steele ( a shade naughty).
Johnathon wanted to be Sir Winston Churchill.
Delphine eventually decided on a fairy,noting French books were not so inspiring.
Trisha fancied taking on the carer role in Mice and Men.
Sue wanted to be Hermione in Harry Potter,but wanted a more burly husband.
Louise,who was first up,explained her son was mistaken for Harry Potter,and subsequently as his mother appeared,she was mistaken for his real mother.Stories of gothic clothes,capes and snakes won the competition.
From the humour point of view,we were entertained from start to finish.
Atma explained the perils of arranged weddings,Indian style.
Sue talked about planning a honeymoon,and the subsequent vaccines and other risks of exotic travel.
Tony cheekily told us about the embarrassment of his wife's shopping habits.
Johnathon showed his attempts at pizza skills,and the subsequent disaster.
Delphine's speech was the repercussions of not putting her birthday details on Facebook,and her mother forgetting the day. Delphine came third.
Daves attempts at DIY were hilarious,as he managed to create more damage than repair.He came second.
Cecile led us through an incredible journey of the perils of translating languages.All I can say,is that she really was awesome,and will wow the next level.A well deserved first prize.
There was a lot of work behind the scenes,and people were thanked.
Red,our division governor,explained about the next levels of the contest,and how the programme is changing.
It was an incredible day.Please support your area representatives on the 11th October.
Republished Daniel Sandars 1/10/2014 from original material on Facebook by Louise https://www.facebook.com/events/671701122916565/
12 members, including a guest, came together for some midsummer madness, led by Jennifer.
Harsheed told us a suitable joke.
Steve sneaked in as many references to football as he could, such as fixtures, half time, and a game of 2 halves.( I must confess I was curious about the score at the time of the interval)
Cecile introduced topics, with Carmel first up, explaining her madness was not confined to midsummer.
Barbara talked about her nights out in Milton Keynes , based around the ley lines.
It was Jims creativity that won us over, as he explained a Midsummers wedding, winning best topics and humour.
Emma's third speech was a magical story of being lost at sea. She drew us in with salty sea tales, and had us singing a sea shanty.
Maggie's evaluation was, as always, very encouraging, winning her best evaluator.
Musttapha relayed an emotional tale of loss, and family support. Harsheed evaluated sensitively. I was impressed as he had one second's notice of being an evaluator.
Louise tackled the abstract concept with a tale of modern art. It opened with lights being flicked on and off, to represent Martin Creeds Turner prize. What followed included a piece of blu-tack, loo rolls and abstract art from a child. Topped with the joys of taking a scientist on an artistic journey (which did not compute), and ending with references to a moving modern art theme , which included lovers reuniting.
Jim's evaluation was informative and humorous, suggesting a powerful ending, with her personal art.
Steve brought everything together with his take on the evaluators and topics. The General evaluator award went to Harsheed for stepping in so promptly.
Carmel headed up the ah counts and grammarian, awarding smooth talker to Maggie.
Barbara timed us.
We welcomed Stephanie as a guest.
The meeting ended on a high, as we are back to President's distinguished club status, and Carmel handed over to Steve, with a speech of thanks.
Now it's time to set leadership and speech goals for the next year.
Remember to bring your manuals to the meetings, and please ensure you confirm your attendance prior to the meeting on the D71 website.
Jim is in charge of the next meeting. See you then.
Every year, each Toastmasters club is asked to participate in several contests, with the winners having the possibility of representing their club at the next level and ultimately in the International Club.
The International Speech Contest is currently ongoing, and North Bucks has a real success story to report.
At our meeting on 6th March, Delphine was a well deserved winner of this contest and went forward to represent North Bucks in the Area 44 Contest.
This contest was held on the 29th March, where Delphine again triumphed against representatives of all 4 clubs in Area 44.
The next round was the Division G contest in April. Delphine again triumphed, and goes forward to represent Division G in the District Contest. District might not sound that impressive, but the District is actually the whole of UK and Ireland, and the contest is held at the conference in Ireland in May. To get this far means that Delphine's speech is effectively the best presented by all 23 clubs for this contest this year.
This is a great achievement and all of us at North Bucks, and I am sure Area 44, are very proud of her and wish her all the best in the District Contest.
16 people came together for the sunshine that is Toastmasters.
Led by Jennifer, the theme was weather, and the meeting reflected an upbeat view of it.
Anthony took on the timer role for the first time, assisted by the general evaluator, Louise. The meeting was managed with great precision, to ensure time was kept.
Emma stepped forward to count the grunts as a first role, awarding the smooth talker to Jim.
Jim was the grammarian, with eclectic as word of the day
Delphine set us up with a joke, which turned into a mini speech. We were suitably warmed up for the rest of the evening.
Maggie's topics were weather related, and very much in the story teller theme.
Jim was a tornado, with a lot of hot air blowing around
Carmel was the rain, with tales of freak storms
Delphine was the sun, though she wanted to be rain, and the rain won. Delphine also won best topics!
Steve was a very droll snowflake, with references to the perils of health and safety.
Lynda evaluated the topics.
Micks advanced speech was based on true events and told in a story telling style. We were transported to the antics of the 1960s dance halls, and at the end Mick invited us to join him for a dance. A bevy of lovely ladies leapt up to join him, watched by the grumpy guys…a bit like the school disco!
Delphine evaluated.
Femis 8th speech was about the history of money, starting with chocolate. Femi smoothly took us on a history lesson, with facts and figures aplenty. He left us wanting more.
Gareth proved his evaluation skills with yet another fine feedback session. He won the award for this and we look forward to hearing more from him.
Cecile took us through what I can only describe as a stand-up comedy routine.
She described the French political system with the title 'French politics, love and money'.
Her only prop was a pair of glasses, though she managed to portray a middle-aged lothario on a motorbike, a scheming mistress and enthusiastic children. The room roared with laughter as Cecile's third speech brought the house down. Best speech and humour were awarded.
Carmel stepped in to evaluate, which she very well with more humour.
Louise brought it all together with the general evaluator role. There was a reminder that the GE role is about giving feedback to all, without repeating anything that has already been said. There were more recommendations and commendations for many, as the evening came to a close.
Lynda reminded us about the promotion day on the 12th,and Steve encouraged entries to our speech contest in March.
We also have a club officer gathering on Saturday at Cranfield.All are welcome.
Meet up promotes all the clubs and is well worth joining.It's free too
14th July 2014 – under new management!
Beverly Kepple welcomed 16 Toastmasters to her first meeting as president:
Dave Minzey, Beverly Kepple, Jonathan Worth, Trish Page, Ian Haynes, Gonza Avila, Miriam Selwyn, Patience Clottey, Sandeep Sharma, Mary-Ann Avotri, Jamie McGee, Monet McGee, Emmanuel Bolade, Ty Harvey, Jenny Chalmers.
The S@A, Trisha Page, started the meeting on time.
Club Business
Beverly Kepple (President) : a Xmas event was being planned. Grapevine, who we have shared a venue with in the last two years, are going elsewhere – suggestions for alternative locations were invited.
Ian Haynes was TME. Gonza conducted a World Cup warm up on favorite teams, goals and best moments from the tournament. The word of the day from our Grammarian, Sandeep Sharma, was Magnanimous.
1) Patience Clottey gave a No 6 speech entitled 'I am not superwoman' (7.30)
2) Miriam Selwyn gave her No 3 speech (Get To The Point) called "Fishy Business" (7.45)
3) Ty Harvey rehearsed his wedding speech (6.51)
The Table Topics session was run by Jonathan Worth whose theme was the Seven Deadly Sins. Speakers were
1) Mary Ann on Pride and what it's like to lose it at the hands of your 10 year old daughter (1.19)
2) Monet on Lust and she saw that the world seem to run on Lust (1.31)
3) Beverly on Envy which she felt if it was removed would solve a lot of the world's problems (1.6)
4) Trisha on Gluttony and the need to distract yourself from food (1.59)
As General Evaluator, Jenny gave a short speech on how to evaluate.
Dave Minzey evaluated Patience Clottey (3.40). Gonza Avila evaluated Miriam Selwyn (3.20). Steve Whiting evaluated Ty Harvey (3.00). Emmanuel Bolade evaluated the Topics session (5. 54)
Jenny Chalmers was GE and Meeting Evaluator; Jamie McGee was the Timekeeper; Sandeep Sharma was Grammarian and Beverly was the Grunt Counter.
Most Grunts: Steve Whiting. Best Speaker: Ty Harvey. Best Topics Speaker: Monet McGee. Best Humour: Gonza Avila. Best Evaluator: Steve Whiting. General Evaluator's award: Ty Harvey for his Wedding Speech and the improvement from the previous delivery.
Dave Minzey gave z brief outline of the option for a December Christmas event at the Crown in Stony Stratford. Prices to come.
Nina Cirana, Susi Jensen, Prakash Shah, Tony Fasulo, Lynette and John Dale.
Next meeting
Monday 28th July
24th March 2014
We started the meeting 2 minutes late. Meeting attendance: 18 including several guests (Chris, Gavin and Sarah). Apologies were received from: Nina Cirana, Gonza Avila, Prakash Shah, Vicki Greenwood, Darren Marshall, Mary-Ann Avotri, Steve Marshall and Phil Chippendale.
President John Dale reminded us about the Area Speech and Evaluation Competitions which starts at 1pm at Cranfield on Saturday 29th March. Tony Fasulo (in the speech contest), Beverly Kepple and Trisha Page (both in the evaluation contest) will represent Eldergate. Treasurer Jenny Chalmers reminded members that renewal fees are due.
Dave Minzey was Toastmaster of the Evening. The word of the day from our Grammarian, Lynette Hill, was 'exhort'. It was well used by many.
There were 3 main speeches. Beverly achieved Competent Communicator with her number 10 speech – 'Dreams of New York' (10.04) – well done Beverly! Patience Clottey delivered speech number 3 – 'Just Do It!' (5.40) and Miriam Selwyn entertained us with speech number 2 – 'From Mr Smith to Wordsmith' (5.59). They were evaluated by Ian Haynes (3.03), Trisha Page (2.39) and Ty Harvey (3.19).
The Topics session was run by John Dale – inspired by a recent weekend away in Lincolnshire – on the theme of favourite places, weekend breaks and ideal holidays. Topics speakers were Suzi Jensen (0.47), Lynette Hill (0.35), our guests Sarah (0.29) and Gavin (0.49), and Varsha Chandarana (2.14). The Topics session was evaluated by Tony Fasulo (4.28).
Jenny and Varsha were General Evaluators; Emmanuel Bolade was the Timekeeper; and Ty Harvey was the Grunts Counter.
Best Speech: Beverly; Best Topics: Varsha; Best Evaluator: Ty; Most Humorous: Patience. General Evaluator Award went to Varsha for being Jenny's little helper!
No post-meeting gathering at The Slug and Lettuce this month as it is closed for renovation.
Next meeting
Monday 14th April.
10 March 2014
We started the meeting 6 minutes late. Apologies were received from Nina Cirana, Matt Orton, Brian Bollen and Margaret Bollen. We wellcomed several guests (Chris Alcock, Jamie and Monae McGee)
President John Dale reminded us there was a committee meeting after the club meeting.
Trisha Page was Toastmaster of the Evening. The word of the day from our Grammarian, Ty Harvey, was 'meticulous': it was very well received and used during the meeting.
There were 3 main speeches, all icebreakers!
Vicki Greenwood – 'From Nervous State to Eldergate' (5.52); Steve Whiting – 'A Mixed Bag' (7.56) and Prakash Shah – 'The Seasons of My Life' (8.11). They were evaluated by Lynette Hill (1.05), Tony Fasulo (2.04) and Gonza Avila (1.56). This was the first evaluation for Lynette and Tony and they both excelled.
The Topics session was run by Dave Minzey on the theme of pets. Topics speakers were Gillian Hogg (2.07), our guests Monae (2.03) and Jamie (1.14), and Darren Marshall (1.28).
Ian Haynes and Emmanuel Bolade were General Evaluators; Jenny Chalmers was Topics Evaluator (3.28); Varsha Chandarana was the Timekeeper; and Mary-Ann Avotri was Grunts Counter.
Best Speech: Prakash; Best Topics: Monae; Best Evaluator: Gonza; Most Humorous: Emmanuel. The General Evaluator Award went to Lynette for her first Evaluation.
Next meeting
Monday 24th March.
24 February 2014
We started the meeting with 21 people and finished with 24! There were several guests including Darren, Esha, Jay, Kingsley and Susi. There were apologies from Nina Cirana, Patience Clottey and Vicki Greenwood.
President John Dale presented a badge to Kala Flynn for achieving her Competent Communicator award. The word of the day from our Grammarian, Matt Orton, was 'tumult' or 'tumultuous'.
The 2 main speeches were by Tony Fasulo and John Dale. Tony's speech, entitled "We are not alone" was his 7th (Research Your Subject) and was timed at 7.09. John's speech – 'Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones' – was part of the Time Management project in the Competent Leadership manual (7.26). They were evaluated by Dave Minzey (3.18) and Gonza Avila (2.24) respectively.
The Topics session was run by Trisha Page, broadly on the subject of neighbours. Topics speakers were Varsha Chandarana (1.09), Susi Jensen (1.31), Lynette Hill (0.43), Mary Ann Avotri (0.55) and Kala Flynn (2.02). Congratulations to Susi on her first Topics speech and welcome back to Mary Ann! The Topics session was evaluated by Emmanuel Bolade (5.38).
As a start to thinking about who will be on the committee next year, the TME introduced a "Get to Know Your Committee" session … a genius idea, as Emmanuel said – where members of the committee introduced each other in turn. Dave Minzey emphasised that the club can only be as good as the people who run it.
Jenny Chalmers was General Evaluator; Ty Harvey was the Timekeeper; Richard Foster-Fletcher stepped in as the Grunt Counter. The TME chaired an open evaluation of the meeting. A brief note was requested summarising who's who on the committee and their responsibilities (in hand). With a full meeting room again, it was noted that the TME should print 30 copies of the agenda in future.
There was no Best Speaker award as there were only 2 speeches. Best Topics speaker was Kala. Emmanuel won both Best Humour and Best Evaluator. The General Evaluator Award went to Ian Haynes for his brilliantly run meeting.
At least half of those present then adjourned to the Slug and Lettuce for food, drink and conversation.
Next meeting
Monday 10th March.
27 January 2014
There were 24 attendees, including guests: Gavin, Amy, Dashn, Prakash, Susie, Darren, Hubert and Lynette. Apologies were received from: Nina Cirana, Margaret Bollen, Brian Bollen, Chris Mitchell, Richard Foster-Fletcher, Kala Flynn, Mary-Ann Avotri and Gillian Hogg.
President John Dale presented badges to Emmanuel Bolade and himself for achieving their Competent Communicator awards, plus Advanced Communicator awards to Jenny Chalmers (Silver) and Trisha Page (Gold) and the Distinguished Toastmaster award for Dave Minzey. He noted the speech and evaluation competitions will be the next meeting and it will commence at 6.30pm to allow for guests from outside our area.
The word of the day from our Grammarian, Ty Harvey, was 'vex', 'vexes' or 'vexed' and was well used. Main speeches were by Patience Clottey, Tony Fasulo and Varsha Chandarana. They were evaluated by Ian Haynes (2.53), Jenny Chalmers (2.43) and Trisha Page (2.10) respectively. Patience delivered her second speech (organise your speech) called "Is Technology an Enabler or an Intruder?" (7.00), Tony his fifth (the body language project) entitled simply "Caught" (6.28); and Varsha the folk tale project from the Advanced Manual on Storytelling (12.21) – "What would you do?", a new twist on the familar tale of the emperor's new clothes.
The Topics session was run by Emmanuel Bolade. Topics speakers were Ty Harvey (which planet would you like to visit?) (54 secs), our guest Amy (my favourite colour) (33 secs), Steve Whiting (my favourite actor) (52 secs), and guest Prakash (prime minister for the day!) (59 secs). The Topics session was evaluated by Gonza Avila (4.30).
John Dale and Dave Minzey were General Evaluators of the evaluators and the meeting; Matt Orton was the Timekeeper; Vicki Greenwood was the Grunt Counter.
Beverly Kepple was excellent as TME.The meeting ran late but this was out of the control of our TME.
There was no award for best speaker as only 2 speeches were within the time limits for their projects. Best Topics speaker – shared by our guests Amy and Prakash; Best Humour – also shared, by Tony Fasulo and Gonza Avila; Best Evaluator: Gonza.
Next meeting
The Eldergate speech and evaluation competitions on 10th February, starting time 6.30pm
13 January 2104
The meeting started 'nearly' on time!
John Dale was Toastmaster of the Evening. Emmanuel Bolade was voted on to the club committee as VP Membership.
Apologies were received from: Brian and Margaret Bollen, Nina Cirana, Kala Flynn, Richard Foster-Fletcher and Vicki Greenwood. We welcomed three guests: Susi Jensen, Darren Marshall and Gavin.
The word of the day from our Grammarian, Beverly Kepple, was 'exquisite' and was well used.
There were two formal speeches and one training session. Ty Harvey delivered his 4th speech from the Competent Communicator manual – 'Flying the Nest' (5.55), about leaving home for the first time to work in an Alpine ski resort. The objectives of this project are all about the use of words – vivid descriptions, sensory language – and Ty's very clear recollection of a night out dressed in women's clothing certainly met the speech objectives!
Matt Orton followed with his icebreaker (6.42), in which he introduced us to himself, his 'exquisite' Slovakian wife, some very large fish and finally, the reasons why he had decided to join Toastmasters. Great start Matt – well done!
The training session on Evaluation was led by Dave Minzey DTM and concluded with a very useful Q&A session (11.55). A second training session on evaluation is scheduled for 24 March with the aim of encouraging more of our newer members to take on evaluation roles at meetings.
The Topics session was run by Trisha Page, taking a range of inspirational words and asking what they meant to the speaker. The Topics speakers were Jenny Chalmers on courage (1.40); Lynda Andrews, our Area Governor, on teamwork (1.50); Darren Marshall, our guest, on trust (1.37); and Gonza Avila on vision (1.40).
Evaluators were John Dale evaluating Ty Harvey (3.24); Emmanuel Bolade evaluating Matt Orton (2.54); and Ian Haynes evaluating the Topics session (5.28).
Dave Minzey and Jenny Chalmers were the General Evaluators – of the evaluators and the meeting respectively. Tony Fasulo was the Timekeeper. Miriam Selwyn stepped in as the Grunt Counter at the last minute.
As there were only two formal speeches, there was no vote for Best Speaker. Best Topics Speaker: Darren Marshall. Best Humour: Ty Harvey. Best Evaluator: Emmanuel Bolade. The GE's award went to Trisha for demonstrating that Topics can be about fun rather than fear!
Next meeting
Monday 27 January, and afterwards at the Slug & Lettuce
Intro : Apologies for the gap in transmission – North Bucks' meetings have been continuing over the winter months, and I will endeavour again to ensure that this blog is updated after the event with any relevant information.
The following meeting notes are supplied by Louise.
17 people attended the second meeting of 2014, including 2 guests.
Jim presided with a theme of paraprosdokians, and set the scene with a joke.
Agnes was the timer, and had to cope with some blatant disregard for red lights. This led to the meeting going on for longer than planned.
Lynda was the ah counter and awarded the smooth talker award to Mustapha.
Veselina used Flabbergasted as her word of the day, which was used in so many forms.
Margaret's first topics' outing was a session where she invited participants to talk about their educational aspirations, after being accepted to Oxbridge from the area of Newham in London.
Carmel, Mustapha, Emma and Steve all participated, with Steve's down to earth interpretation winning.
We were treated to an evening of French flair as Cécile's second speech had us in stitches as she talked about teenagers. Props included a flamboyant wig. She won best speech and humour and was evaluated confidently by Gareth.
Delphine told an advanced story of the perils of dropping litter. Props included multiple scarves, and Delphine set imaginations going as she pretended to be a tree. Maggie evaluated, giving superb feedback as our resident story teller.
Louise returned to planned speeches after a year away, and this was reflected in a Keynote speech of up to 20 minutes duration. The speech was about a series of 3 accidents and subsequent recovery, enhanced by meeting others on the journey. Louise cracked an egg at the beginning to demonstrate the shock of an impact. Femi evaluated with style and panache. He checked the audience response prior to his evaluation, in order to give comprehensive feedback. He won best evaluator.
Tip. If speeches are longer, negotiate extra feedback time to accommodate the project.
Micks' general evaluator role led him to remind us about handovers. Handshaking gives a clear ending to the speaker. He also reminded us that feedback slips need to follow the same pattern as the evaluators, with praise and recommendations, as well as signed and directed clearly to whom they refer.
This quote may help when you give feedback.
'Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.' – Napoleon Hill
Next Meeting : 30th January – Workshop based around vocal variety and body language. Everybody welcome.
It's been a while since I've provided an update of our North Bucks meetings, but as we enter into Autumn, our meetings have continued every 2 weeks without interruption or pause.
17th October saw another fine meeting, shepherded by our Toastmaster for the evening, Delphine. The theme of the meeting was Autumn, which carried over into our word of the Day (Deciduous) and our Table Topics, led by Nicola, a returning visitor from Bedford Speakers.
This session featured contributions from Mick, Lynda, Carmel and Nalinda, and was won by Mick, who had to explain the concept of Autumn to a group of 5 yr old Martians in 2076.
Our prepared speeches featured an Icebreaker from Cecile, explaining how she really wanted people to mistake her for English, and the confusion in her house over the pronunciation of pyjamas. Cecile was evaluated by Maggie, and deservedly won both Best Speech and Best Humour.
Second up was a third speech from Agnes, who explained how we should all beware of teflon in our kitchen, and that it is guilty of far more than just stopping our food from sticking to our pans. This was a persuasive third speech, well evaluated by Mick.
Our final speech was the second speech from Veselina, which asked how much substance there was to the friendships that we have in the virtual world. This was another thought-provoking speech, with astute recommendations from Jim.
Louise was General Evaluator, Steve was Topics Evaluator, whilst Maggie and Jim shared the award for Best Evaluator.
Of special note was the encouraging number of guests at this meeting. As well as Nicola, we had returning visits from Habee, Anthony and Nalinda, who all indicated that they planned to sign up to the fold. We're looking forward to their Icebreakers.
Our next meeting, on the 31st October is our traditional Halloween spooktacular. Fancy Dress is encouraged, as is food and drink for the interval. Please sign up for roles and, if possible, bring along a guest!
9 December 2013
The meeting started 'nearly on time!'
Our President told us there will be a special Toastmaster Workshop run in the Ridley Suite at the MK Christian Centre in Oldbrook on Wed 12th Feb 2014, from 8am till 9am and again from 10am till 11am. The aim is to show local businesses what Toastmasters can offer. All 3 local clubs will be involved in presenting short 'model' Toastmaster meetings for guests invited from local companies and organisations.
Emmanuel Bolade was Toastmaster of the Evening (TME).
The word of the day was Eloquent/Eloquence and was very well used (especially by our TME!!)
Speeches were very varied, from speech No 4 (How to Say It) from the Competent Communicator manual (Tony Fasulo – "Double Take" – 6.07 mins) to No 2 Advanced Bronze from the Interpretative Reading Manual (Phil Chippendale – "Journey of the Magi" by TS Eliot – 5.37 mins) and lastly No 9 Advanced Silver from the Speciality Speeches manual (Ian Haynes – "Parklife" – 11.54).
The Topics session was very capably run by Beverly Kepple on the subject of Christmas.
Topics speakers were John Dale (1.43), Matt Orton (0.51), Vicki Greenwood (1.05) and Jenny Chalmers (1.40)
Evaluators were Jenny evaluating Phil (2.19), Gonza Avila evaluating Tony (2.30), Varsha evaluating Ian (4.02) and Trisha Page evaluating the Topics session (4.02)
Varsha was General Evaluator; Vicki (a new member) was the Timekeeper; Matt (also a new member) was the Grunt Counter. Ty Harvey was the Grammarian. John made himself useful as President, Sergeant at Arms and General Evalautor of the meeting!
Best speaker: Ian. Best Topics Speaker: Jenny. Best Humour: Jenny. Best Evaluator: Varsha. General Evaluator's award: Vicki. Emanuel was also congratulated on his performance as TME – his first time in the role.
Next Meeting
13 January 2014
25 November 2013
The meeting started just a little late. Apologies were received from Nina Cirana, Beverly Kepple, Chris Mitchell, Gonza Avila, Richard Foster-Fletcher, Kala Flynn and also from our prospective new member Steve Whiting
Varsha Chandarana was excellent as Toastmaster of the Evening, particularly her warm-up where everyone took turns to add a sentence to a story.
The word of the day was 'vexatious. Emmanuel Bolade (Grammarian) gave a very thorough explanation of the word which was very well used.
Speeches were very lively and visual. Trish Page delivered a speech from the Advanced Manual: Speciality Speeches ('Sell a Product') with "An offer you can't refuse" (11.52) which was evaluated by Ian Haynes (2.55)
Ty Harvey presented speech 3 from the Competent Communicator manual ('Get to the Point') entitled "Bread" (7.50) and gave a full demonstration on how to make tasty bread … and brought along some yummy examples! He was evaluated by Margaret Bollen (2.55)
Lastly, was Tony Fasulo (6.17) also on speech 3, with "Courage overrated". Tony was evaluated by Phil Chippendale (2.45).
The theme of the topics session was 'Choose your own ideal Xmas present' with Jenny Chalmers as Topics Master. It was a lively and humorous session. Matt Orton spoke about a house brick (1.55); Patience Clottey on a 3 month cruise (0.48); Jose, our guest, about an 'Oxfam cow' (1.11); Vicki Greenwood, our new member in her first Topics speech, on Mandarin lessons (0.33); and Brian Bollen about 12 wooden spoons! (1.56)
Topics evaluator was John Dale (5.40).
Other roles were filled as follows: Brian Bollen – General Evaluator; Dave Minzey – Timekeeper and Sergeant At Arms; Vicki Greenwood – Grunt Counter
Best speaker: Tony Fasulo. Best Topics speaker and best humour: Brian Bollen. Best Evaluator: Margaret Bollen. General Evaluator's award: a tie between Ty (!) and Varsha.
Next meetings
The tall tales evening and Christmas meal will be on 2nd December, 7 for 7.30 at the Slug & Lettuce.
Next club meeting is on Monday 9th December.
11 November 2013
With our secretary Trisha Page indisposed at the last minute, thanks to Jenny Chalmers for taking a note of the meeting.
The meeting was not endless – 'endless' being the word of the day.
On his return to the fold following a lengthy absence, Richard Foster-Fletcher stepped in to replace Trisha as Toastmaster of the Evening. Apologies were received from: Nina Cirana, Varsha Chandarana, Chris Micthell, Trisha Page, Tony Fasulo, Phil Chippendale. Steve Whiting attended as a guest and joined at the end of the meeting.
Miriam Selwyn gave her icebreaker entitled 'A bit about myself' (6.59). Gillian Hogg gave her fourth speech 'Remember, remember' (5.34). VP Education Beverly Kepple spoke on 'How to use the Leadership Manual' (7.40).
The Topics Master was Ian Haynes and his theme was Security. Steve Whiting spoke for 1.55; Brian Bollen for 2.57; Matt Orton for 1.27; Vicky Greenwood for 0.54 (well done for a first attempt); and Ty Harvey for 1.30.
The evaluators' timings were Beverly Kepple (Miriam) 2.40; Jenny Chalmers (Gillian) 2.36; Dave Minzey (topics) 5.26. Beverly's speech was the subject of a written evaluation by Margaret Bollen as her 9th speech from the Competent Communicator Manual (Persuade with Power).
Other roles were filled as follows: Emmanuel Bolade – General Evaluator; John Dale – Grammarian; Kala Flynn – Timekeeper; Ty Harvey – Grunt Counter; and Dave Minzey – Sergeant at Arms.
Best speaker – Gillian; best Topics speaker – Ty; best humour – Miriam; best evaluator – jointly to Dave and Jenny; GE's award – Miriam, for her icebreaker speech.
Next meetings
Monday 25 November.
The 'Tall Tales' evening and Christmas meal will be on 2 December and people were requested to: sign up as contestants, advise Trisha of their meal choices, and pay her £11.
2 meetings in the New Year will include short (15 minutes) educational workshops on evaluation techniques – 13 January and 24 March.
The club speech and evalaution contests will be held on 10 February.
28 October 2013
With our secretary, Trisha Page, otherwide engaged as both Topics Master and a speech evaluator, many thanks to Varsha Chandarana for stepping in at the last minute to take notes of the meeting.
The meeting began just after 6 and finished just after 8. It was conducted gaily – 'gaily' being the word of the day. 4 guests were welcomed – Saeed, Vicki, Jose and Lynette.
With his speech number 10, Emmanuel Bolade persuaded the room to 'Be better'. In his second speech, Ty Harvey not only demonstrated how to structure a speech well but instructed everyone on 'Internet Dating'. Patience Clottey broke the ice with her lovely introduction 'Going round in circles'. The speech times were Emmanuel 10:43, Ty 8:10, Patience 6:44.
The theme of the topics session was Time. Tony Fasulo told the room about the 'time of his life'. John Dale gave his views on the USA and whether they should have kept Halloween to themselves? Varsha Chandarana spoke about the use of herbs – parsley mainly although 'thyme' was mentioned. Emmanuel provided a post watershed bedtime story 'once upon a time'. The topic timings were Tony 1:40, John 1:42, Varsha 1:17, Emmanuel 1:59.
The evaluators timings were Trisha Page (Emmanuel) 2:45, Ian Haynes (Ty), 3:06, Gonza Avila (Patience) 3:15, and Beverley Kepple (Topics) 4:50.
Awards were made as follows: best Speaker – Patience, best Topics speaker – Emmanuel, best humour – Emmanuel, best – Evaluator Beverley. Jenny Chalmers gave the General Evaluator award to Patience for her icebreaker speech. By completing his 10th speech, Emmanual also achieved the 'Competent Communicator' award.
Next meeting
The next meeting will be on 11 November.
As part of any other business it was noted that the tall tales evening and Christmas meal will be on 2 December.
14 October 2013
A lively meeting. 17 people in attendance, including 4 guests. Apologies were received from Nina Cirana, Tony Fasulo, Gillian Hogg, Chris Mitchell, Richard Foster-Fletcher, Patience Clottey and Gareesh Madhas.
We started 3 mins late and finished late too. Ian did a great job as TME…. his warm up about things to do for free in MK dove-tailed perfectly with John's Topics Session!
Our President, John Dale, welcomed our Area Governor, Lynda Andrews. He highlighted the Area 44 club meeting to be held at the Slug and Lettuce on 4th November, 7.30pm. John reminded us that layout of the room (including whether or not a projector and laptop are required) needs to be requested by the Friday prior to the meeting and that coffee for our meetings requires a small contribution of £1 each.
Jenny Chalmers gave us the word of the day, which was MISCELLANY, referring to a mix of things.
We had 2 formal speakers and a workshop from the 'Better Speaker' series on Impromptu Speaking led by Ian Haynes. The first speaker was Dave Minzey (9.30) evaluated by Emmanuel Bolade (2.50). His speech was the bringing-history-to-life project from the advanced manual on Storytelling – 'Nature cannot be fooled', about the Challenger space shuttle disaster. The second speaker was Gonza Avila (8.28), evaluated by Trisha Page (2.40). For the vocal variety project in the Competent Communicator manual, Gonza invited us to play the part of a panel considering his request for investment in new computers.
Topics was conducted by John Dale with the subject of Milton Keynes. Following on from the educational workshop, speakers were given 15 seconds to think prior to speaking. The topics speakers were 1. Beverly Kepple on whether or not MK should continue to expand (1.26); 2. Phil Chippendale on his experiences of A&E at MK Hospital (1.57); 3. Jenny Chalmers on a life-changing experience in MK (1.10): 4. Matt (a guest) on HS2, trains and transport in MK (1.27): and 5. Ty Harding on what MK would be like in 50 years time (1.22)
A special interactive evaluation session was led by Ian (9.15) where it was noted that Ty had made a magnificent improvement in 'Impromptu Speaking'.
Margaret and Beverly shared the role of General Evaluator.
Miriam took on the role of Grunt Counter for the first time.
Emmanuel was very informative in his role of Timer.
As there were only 2 formal speeches, there was no Best Speaker award. Best topics speaker was Beverly, best evaluator was Emmanuel, most humorous speaker was Gonza! The General Evaluator's award went to Ian.
Next meeting
28th October when we will be meeting at the Slug & Lettuce afterwards for nosh and natter, including a committee meeting.
23 September 2013
Members were almost outnumbered by visitors as there were 6 guests and 11 members. The meeting started late but somehow we finished early! There were apologies from Nina Cirana, Chris Mitchell, Tony Fasulo, Varsha Chandarana, Margaret Bollen, Brian Bollen, Gareesh Madhas and Mary-Ann Avotri.
Our President, John Dale, mentioned that the Area Contest is on Saturday 28th Sept at Cranfield Speakers, from 10am till 1pm. (Please do come along and support your Eldergate entrants: Tony Fasulo in the Speech Contest and Emmanuel Bolade and Trisha Page in the Topics Contest. Unfortunately, Richard Foster-Fletcher is unable to make the competition). John also reminded us that we should have a committee meeting following the second meeting of October.
Our Toastmaster for the evening was Jenny Chalmers and she started us off with a very amusing warm up of sentences starting with successive letters of the alphabet… from A going right through to Zed!
Formal speeches were given by Emmanuel (speech no 9 from the first manual) "Plan Your Exit Strategy" and by Dave Minzey (speech no 2 from the High Performance Leadership project) "Speechcraft in India". Both speakers went over their allotted times (Emmanuel 8.06 minutes and Dave 20.03 minutes)
Their evaluators, Ian Haynes and Beverly Kepple were excellent in their roles, giving good feedback.
As we were 'short on the ground', Dave Minzey also took on the role of Topics Master, with his very popular theme – inspired by Michael McIntyre's 'spice jars' sketch – of talking household objects! First up was Ian Haynes as a frying pan (1.54), then Ty Harvey as a 3 year old credit card (.35), Matt (a guest) as a vacuum cleaner (1.09), Steve (also a guest) as his front door (1.19) and finally Miriam Selwyn an alarm clock (1.14).
Our Topics Evaluator was Gillian Hogg. Gillian kept good timing with 3.42 mins. She praised Dave for his excellent Topics subject.
John also multi-tasked this meeting, being timer and grunt counter. Dave received the duck for the most grunts! (but then he did talk the longest – Ed)
As there were only 2 speeches, there was no best speaker award, but best Topics and most Humorous Speaker went to Ian, with Ian also sharing best Evaluator with Beverly. General Evaluator was Trisha Page who gave the GE award to all the guests who really joined in.
Next meeting
Monday 14 October
9 September 2013
For a report on the Humorous Speech and Topics Contests, please see the Eldergate Members Blog page.
19 August 2013
Our meeting started and finished on time. Dave Minzey (Sergeant at Arms) opened the meeting and gave us an interesting warm up session which showed that only two members actually knew their own blood group!
Our President, John Dale, noted the apologies: Jenny Chalmers, Varsha Chandarana, Nina Cirana, Chris Mitchell, Phil Chippendale, Martin Pebody, Deborah Dow, Tony Fasulo, Richard Foster-Fletcher, Brian Bollen, Margaret Bollen. We had one guest, Charlotte.
Minutes from the last meeting were acknowledged and seconded.
Our Vice President of Education, Beverly Kepple, handed round both the up and coming schedule and the schedule for our contests (Humorous Speech and Table Topics) on 9th Sept and asked for volunteers as both speakers and officials.
Our Grammarian, Trisha, chose 'Decorum' as the word of the day. It was used by 2 people once and 2 people twice!
Formal speeches were all from the Competent Communicator manual: Gonza Avila (5), The Silver Peugeot; Gareesh Madhas (2), It's a Secret; Ty Harvey (1), The Tree of Life. They spoke for 6.48, 7.09 and 5.12 respectively.
Our Topics Master, Dave Minzey, chose the topic of 'Fracking'. His chosen speakers were Emmanuel Bolade (1.44), John Dale (1.44), Miriam Selwyn (1.04), Patience Clottey (.20) and Beverly Kepple (1.51)
Speech evaluators were John Dale (3.27), Emmanuel Bolade (3.29) and Beverly Kepple (2.41). and Gonza Avila as Topics Evaluator (4.09).
Gonza had virtually a clean sweep, winning best humour, best evaluator and best speaker! Beverly won best topics speaker and the General Evaluator's award went to Patience for her first role as Grunt master.
Our President presented Icebreaker pins to both Ty and Gareesh for doing their first speeches (the latter a few weeks ago).
9 members met up for food and drink at the Slug and Lettuce after the meeting.
Next meeting
Monday 9th September: Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests
12 August 2013
Another lively meeting. 17 people in attendance, including 4 guests. Apologies were received from Varsha Chandarana, Nina Cirana, Chris Mitchell, Richard Foster-Fletcher, Gareesh Madhas, Deborah Dow and Martin Pebody.
We started on time and finished one minute early, despite juggling the Topics Session to after the refreshment break.
Phil Chippendale did a great job as Toastmaster of the Evening … his warm up was both relaxing and invigorating at the same time!
Our President, John Dale, mentioned our up and coming Humorous Speech and Table Topics contests on 9th September and asked for volunteers in all roles. We voted to hold a social gathering at the Slug and Lettuce after the contest. John also mentioned that the North Bucks Speakers competition is on 19th Sept. Please do put your name forward to help them if you can.
Emmanuel Bolade was voted in as our newest member.
The word of the day was CAMPANOLOGICAL which refers to ringing the changes/changing (campanology…bell ringing)
We had 3 formal speakers. Ian Haynes (13.16), Tony Fasulo (5.44) and Emmanuel Bolade (7.25). Ian did speech 8 towards his Advanced Communicator (silver) award. Tony and Emmanuel presented speeches 2 and 8 respectively from the Competent Communicators manual.
The Topics Session was conducted by Trish Page with the subject of accidents. Gonza Avila (1.12), Patience Clottey (1.07) Brian Bollen (1.42) and Miriam Selwyn (.27) all spoke.
Evaluators were Brian Bollen (3.30), Jenny Chalmers (2.30), Gonza Avila (2.14) and Dave Minzey (6.32) (Topics)
Best speaker was Tony Fasulo, best topics speaker was Brian Bollen, best evaluator was Jenny Chalmers, most humorous speaker was Tony Fasulo + crutches!
The General Evaluator's award went to Miriam Selwyn, one of our guests, for attending and participating despite a 3rd degree burn on her arm (mistaken as evidence of having given blood!)
Next meeting
Monday 19th August due to the Bank Holiday on 26 August.
Only a week after the Tall Tales, and it was back to Willen for another busy meeting. This one saw the election of a new committee, one person completing their CC projects, two people completing Speech 9, and a first-time guest winning Table Topics !
Maggie led the meeting with a firm steer, and amongst our multi-taskers today were Louise as General Evaluator / Grammarian, Jim as Ah-Counter / Speech Evaluator and Carmel as Topics Evaluator / Speech Evaluator. All did sterling work, with Louise setting batology as the word of the day.
First up was Topics, introduced by Tim and based around the theme of Summer. Lynda gave us a story about a picnic where the gas cylinder ran out, and she had to resort to other means of fuel. Mick followed up by expanding on the picnic theme. Harsheed explained the best things about the summer, before our first-time guest Agnes gave her tips for going on holiday to the UK. Carmel evaluated and Agnes was the deserved winner.
Jennifer delivered her speech 9 on how to stop your habits becoming your destiny. Jim won best evaluator and drew attention to the triads at the beginning of the speech and to the facts peppering it. Excellent Speech 9 – looking forward to Speech 10.
Steve delivered his Speech 10, looking at why he is doing Toastmasters, what he feels he is getting from it, and why he thinks the CC manual is only the beginning. Carmel praised the development from Speech 1 through to Speech 10 with characteristic good humour.
Finally, Delphine gave her ninth speech, with fashion ideas to help us to love the rain. Mick evaluated, praising Delphine's powers of persuasion and drawing attention to her effervescent presentation skills. Delphine won best speech and best humour.
Before the meeting closed, Lynda chaired the election of next year's committee, who will hopefully steer the good ship NBS through another successful year.
Attendees : 16 including 3 guests.


text:
award is presented to individuals, agencies, businesses, or
organizations in recognition of significant contributions that have
enhanced OSLHA's ability to serve its membership or to enrich the lives
of the communicatively impaired. This award may recognize a
member or non-member for dedication in either a broad or focused area
of service. This award is in the form of a plaque that is
presented during the Business/Awards Luncheon ceremony held at our
annual convention. The Award of Appreciation was established in
2001 and first awarded in 2002. It was renamed in 2013 in honor of long-serving and passionately dedicated OSLHA Executive Director, Nancy Bailey who retired in late 2013. To nominate someone for
this award, review the OSLHA Award Criteria.
Joe Fisher
Larry Games
Gregg Thornton
Laurel Health Care Company
Chuck Machock
Barb Pearson
Nancy Zimpher
DisneyEllen FoulkesSusan GivlerRichard KretschmerLinda Kemp

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Survey: Swift, Certain and Fair Approaches to Sentencing Family Violence Offenders
The Sentencing Advisory Council has been asked to advise the Victorian Government on whether to apply 'swift, certain and fair' approaches when managing people who have been sentenced for family violence.
You can find more information about 'swift, certain and fair' approaches to sentencing in our discussion paper, factsheet and terms of reference.
We would like your ideas and input.
Scope of This Survey
This survey has five questions:
- You don't have to answer all the questions.
- You can answer each question briefly or in detail.
We've provided some brief information about 'swift, certain and fair' for you to consider before you begin.
Finally, you will be able to choose the level of privacy and confidentiality for your comments.
What Does 'Swift, Certain and Fair' Mean?
Originally developed in the United States, a 'swift, certain and fair' approach to sentencing involves:
- Targeting offenders serving a sentence in the community who are subject to conditions (such as attending treatment or staying free of alcohol and drugs).
- Deciding which conditions should get a fixed penalty if breached.
- Establishing a 'behavioural contract' with each offender – so offenders know exactly what is expected of them and what will happen if they breach a condition.
- Regular measures (such as drug testing) to check that each offender is sticking to the conditions of their sentence.
- Responding to breaches quickly – by holding a hearing (where the offender must appear in court) within 72 hours of a breach being detected.
- Responding to breaches consistently – by imposing fixed sanctions for every breach in accordance with the agreed behavioural contract.
The aim of this approach is to change the offender's behaviour, and reduce the number of offenders who breach the conditions of their sentence.
Some researchers believe that the fixed penalties in 'swift, certain and fair' approaches must be short periods of custody – between a few hours and a month, depending on the type of breach.


text: I went to the local football game on Friday and had a blast. It was against the big rival team. I was shocked though at how little the school showed up. I guess people do not come out to football games anymore. I was really cold though.and we were freezing so that could.have had something to do with it. We won 49-14 woot! !


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This chapter is provided as a preview. Anybody who wants to can access it for free at http://www.EastCoastGames.com . We ask that no copies, physical or electronic; be lent or given. Offering this portion of the novel is expressly prohibited.
Manfred VII
All the passengers heading for the colony
were concerned about what happened in
In any case, Carmen and Jared were meeting to work on the builders. Their purpose was to decide how to make the platinum. The biggest concern was getting it into a presentable form.
They were using an empty cargo-hold as a workroom. They had a few computers set up along with all the builders and Jared's tools. The equipment was spread out along an old table they had found in another part of the ship. The chairs were the worst part of the room. They were wood and had no cushioning or even ergonomic design. Just looking at the chairs could make a person uncomfortable. They were a few decks from the galley, where the good chairs were, and neither of them felt it was worth the work to bring better chairs down.
Jared said of the platinum, "We haven't really done any special shapes besides balls and items we scanned."
"The shape can't be two hard. We can plug in the dimensions."
"It'll take some time. On top of that, a plain bar might concern them. Most bars have numbers and markings on them. How do we explain the lack of those markings?"
"It shouldn't matter," she pointed out. "It's platinum. They'll find that out quickly enough."
"We can't risk not being prepared for the question."
"What if we say the place we bought it had no time to stamp it?"
Jared remarked, "What if they think we just had somebody change its shape? Then they'll think we have a precious metal machine!"
Carmen shook her head. "No. They don't realize how simple what we are doing is. They probably think the 'Midas Machine' took as long to make as one of those diamond-creating machines, in which case a machine to make platinum would take as long. Plus, why bother making a machine for platinum once you have a machine for gold?"
"Platinum is more valuable, so it makes sense to make one."
"Exactly, so we would never have made a Midas machine in the first place!"
He nodded, "OK, I get what you mean. Therefore, we can make plain bars, but it'll take time. We still need to make it work faster."
"How are the hardware changes going?"
"Slow. It's hard to work in these conditions."
"What if I changed the code to compensate for physics? It probably won't solve the issues here on a rocking ship but for movement in one direction we can probably get more accuracy."
He agreed, "Sounds good! Every bit helps. I'll still make the hardware changes. Hopefully they'll be done before we get there."
"Cool," she said with a smile. "So now we better get to Kara's birthday!"
He smacked his forehead, "I forgot about it completely. I was going to make her something."
"Like what?"
"I hadn't decided yet. I was thinking something with the builder, but I had no time to think about it. What's Keith giving her?"
She chuckled, "Oh, you'll see."
"Hey, no fair, I want to know! As your father I command you to tell me!"
She laughed, "Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Besides, you'll know soon enough anyway."
"I hate waiting for surprises."
"This isn't even a surprise for you."
"It's still a surprise. Plus, it's a secret. Everybody wants to know secrets!"
"If I told you it wouldn't be much of a secret!"
They laughed as they got up to go. Carmen powered down the computers and Jared put the builders in a safe spot in case the ship entered a storm. Thus far, they had been lucky and had fair sailing. Neither of them could imagine how rough an Atlantic storm could be.
When they got to the galley everybody else was already there, except for Kara. The captain and some of the crew were also there. Michelle walked over to them and said sarcastically, "I was worried you wouldn't make it. Do I need to draw maps for you two?"
Jared said, "Maps sound good to me." Michelle swatted his arm affectionately in response.
The galley was set up with balloons and streamers. There was even a Happy Birthday sign, but it was dog-eared from extensive use to celebrate other birthdays. On the buffet table, lunch was ready, along with a carrot cake that Aaron had made. Beside the table was a small pile of gifts. One of the packages was a huge green box.
Aaron stood and said, "OK, we're ready. I'll get her."
"Get yourselves good hiding spots," said the captain. Everybody crouched or found a place to hide. Sarah and the captain shut off all the lights as Aaron left. With the portholes covered, it was very dark.
After a few minutes Sarah whispered, "Here they come."
When Aaron opened the door, Sarah and the captain turned on the main lights and everybody shouted, "Surprise!"
Kara screamed in delight, "You remembered."
Sarah and Aaron walked over and hugged her. Sarah said, "Of course we remembered. Nine hours of labor are hard to-," she cut herself short when she realized Michelle was listening.
Michelle laughed, "It's OK, and I know what's in store."
Kara noticed the presents, "How about I open these now!"
Aaron said, "Nope, you know the tradition. Eat first, then gifts."
"But, Dad, I'm an adult now."
Sarah said, "You might be 18, but you'll always be our girl."
Kara frowned in dismay, "All right."
Everybody got a plate of food and started eating. Kara was the second to finish. Michelle wasn't hungry because of the medicine for the nausea, so she ate very little . . . which seemed to concern Jared. Fortunately, it was still early in the pregnancy and the fetus didn't require much food.
As soon as Kara finished, she waited as patiently as she could for everybody else to finish. While waiting, she noticed how slowly some people ate. Her father, for example, would take small bites so if somebody started to talk to him he could quickly swallow the food to reply politely. Then there was her mother who had bigger bites but had to follow each bite with a long drink followed by a pause. Keith ate his food fast, but his conversation with Carmen took a toll on his speed. Carmen was eating at about the same rate.
Kara noticed that the captain was unconcerned with his appearance while eating. He made loud chewing noises that could be heard a table away. He chewed his food with his mouth open. He would take huge bites, which were usually too much for him to handle at once, so he seemed to chew it for an excruciatingly long time. When he was done, he swallowed it all down at once.
When they were all finally finished, she glared at her father looking for his approval to continue. He nodded his OK. She walked to the pile and picked out the huge green box. She picked it up and read the tag. "This one's from Keith . . . that explains the color scheme." Her mother shot her a disapproving look. She shrugged and started to open the box. After unwrapping and opening it she pulled out a slightly smaller box, this time wrapped in red. Inside the red box was a slightly smaller blue box. She continued to find smaller boxes in yellow, orange, brown, black, and finally a box barely a few inches on all sides wrapped in white. Inside it was a folded envelope. She opened the envelope and pulled out a USB flash drive. On its label, it listed two album's worth of music tracks for a boy band called the Escape Artists. She smiled and said, "This is one of my favorite bands! Thank you, Keith!"
She continued through the gifts. Carmen had got her an electronic book of poetry. Her parents got her a laptop. Michelle gave her a sweater. When she opened it Michelle said, "I'm sure it's not something you were hoping for, but I've gotten into a knitting mood. I hope you like it."
It was a nice sweater. The sweater was thick enough to keep a person warm on the coldest of days. It was mostly red, but had a pattern with a few other colors. Kara tried it on and said, "It's nice and warm, thank you!" She kept the sweater on for the rest of the day.
When they were finally done and Kara had thanked everybody, Aaron announced, "It's time for cake."
He cut a huge piece for Kara, but Kara said, "Dad, I can't eat that much." He cut it in half then lifted his eyebrows asking if it was better. She nodded and took a piece. The cake was very rich and moist. Everybody had a piece.
Copyright (C) 1998-2001 East Coast Games, Inc. and 2001 - 2006 Forest J. Handford
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text:
Main Office
Andrea Mason, Ph.D.
The Human Motor Behavior laboratory is a research facility located in the Department of Kinesiology at the Natatorium on the beautiful University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. The study of motor behavior broadly encompasses the psychological and physiological processes that affect motor performance. Under the direction of Dr. Andrea Mason, the Human Motor Behavior lab at the University of Wisconsin is an active research environment where faculty and students collaborate on projects aimed at gaining a better understanding of the planning and performance of simple and complex manual activities in both natural and virtual environments.
Current projects in the Human Motor Behavior Laboratory
Equipment in the Human Motor Behavior Laboratory
List of recent publications
Current people in the Human Motor Behavior Laboratory


text:
Owl Cake Pop Tutorial
Wahooooooo!!! 1000 facebook likers. It still boggles my mind that there are 1000 people out there, and at least one pig – miss olive, that I know of, who choose to spend your precious time checking out what crazy things I have made. I am beyond words thankful for your support and encouragement. To spread


text:
Popular Tags
By Date
Upcoming Conferences
NFC and the rise of the smart token
Date: 20th March 2012
Topic: Monthly Features
Author: John Elliott
Tags: contactless payment, near field communication
The world of contactless payment is shifting, says John Elliott, of Consult Hyperion. Public transport ticketing needs to take a step forward, not back.
Earlier this month, the Transport Secretary, the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, expressed her view that the Government and the rail industry can – and must – do more for passengers and for taxpayers. Her goal, outlined in a paper entitled 'Reforming our Railways: Putting the Customer First', goes on to state her commitment to building on recent efficiency gains in order to improve the performance of the industry, as well as the passenger experience.
As part of this vision, the Government has announced plans to expand existing smart ticketing schemes such as London's Oyster card by rolling out smartcards across both England and Wales, and across different operators.
Although this may sound like progress, it may actually be a step backwards for both operators and passengers. London's Oyster scheme has undoubtedly been a success, but a great deal of technical and commercial progress has been made in payment systems since 2003.
Payment schemes
Standards for electronic payment/ticketing schemes currently fall into two categories: either proprietary or open. Proprietary products such as Oyster were specifically developed for the transport environment, offering fast throughput and an all-in-one medium to meet the needs of multi-modal operators. These standards can be specific and tailored, as they do not have to conform to any interoperability requirements.
By comparison, open standards such as ITSO and EMV (Europay Mastercard Visa) are designed for national or global acceptance. Each is primarily designed for a target environment – ITSO for transport and EMV for payments – but both could be used to cross the boundary. As such, open payment systems offer the prospect of using contactless bank cards and new media for transport ticketing in place of dedicated smart cards like Oyster.
This widespread acceptance of contactless debit and credit cards for travel in the UK would help to reduce the production and distribution costs connected with traditional paper-based and smart card ticketing channels. Unlike proprietary systems, these open standards offer operators benefits that include greater interoperability, low issuance and improved security. In addition, this type of open payment model could reduce costs through the use of off-the-shelf equipment from a range of suppliers, rather than bespoke equipment made to proprietary specifications.
The opportunity to use contactless debit and credit cards in this way will also offer much greater convenience for passengers, since they will be able to use a card that they already have, instead of having to carry and top-up an Oyster card, and they will not need to take any action before they travel. As such, visitors arriving in the UK with their contactless bank card would no longer need to queue up to buy an Oyster card or top-up their Oyster card in order to use public transport.
Token improvements
The major payment schemes are already working on producing a dedicated data area on bank cards that will allow operators to record tap data which could be used for other payment models and revenue inspection, and so all of these benefits of a smart card system can be retained, including the significant operational, cost-saving and security benefits associated with reduced cash-handling costs.
However, the major shift is away from the smart-card based systems (ITSO, Oyster) designed in the 1990s to modern account-based systems (held in the back office) which use 'smart tokens' to identify which account to use to pay. In the future we could see any smart token being used to authenticate (payment card, Oyster card, ITSO card).
In the not-too-distant future, NFC mobile phones will also be used to pay for travel or store transport tickets in a similar way, using the same contactless technology as Oyster, but as part of an open, rather than proprietary, system. This is just shifting the smart token inside the mobile phone and taking advantage of its Internet access to provide other channels for purchases and account top-ups. Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range, high frequency wireless communication technology that enables the exchange of data between devices that are close to each other.
Tipping point
We predict that more NFC-enabled smartphones will be being issued than non-NFC-enabled devices by 2013. The ultimate tipping-point for mobile contactless transactions is expected to be around 2015, however, as this is the date by which the combination of NFC-enabled smartphones, contactless and mobile POS and 'mobile wallet' applications will drive the rapid growth in the number of mobile contactless transactions.
Technological developments like these will continue to drive progress in this area, providing much greater flexibility as well as broader social inclusion, thanks to the strategic collaboration between some of the world's leading mobile technology developers, smart card manufacturers, service providers, and standards bodies. As such, by pursuing open – rather than closed – payment systems to achieve these goals, it will be possible to make public transport more convenient for passengers, and also less costly for operators.
• The Transport Secretary's paper can be downloaded from


text:
Dental bridge is a form of fixed or non-removable prosthesis that are constructed to replace one or more missing teeth. Its cost is depends on treatments. It is a great way to restore your smile.
Dental bridge is a form of fixed or non-removable prosthesis that are constructed to replace one or more missing teeth. Its cost is depends on treatments. It is a great way to restore your smile.
Dentures are a way of life for people and are required for several reasons. Generally an aged persons required dentures. Dental treatments in Perth is very affordable and many times special offers on dental solutions.
Root canal therapy can be mostly painful. The best way to avoid root canal therapy is taking care of your teeth. For your better teeth, you need a best toothpaste. In order to find a list of the best candidates for your teeth, you should directly speak to your dentist.
Cosmetic dentistry has completely changed since few years. Now a days to maintain your teeth problem is very difficult. So you need a good dentist or best dental clinic in your area. It must be finding the most consistent dental clinic can assure you of high quality and healthful services.
How do you choose the right dental practice? Trust and modern technologies are essential. We've worked hard to give you both! Over the past three years, we've completed a number of changes to make sure that our patients have access to the most reliable, modern and effective dental technologies. As our patient, you deserve the best.
Finding the right dentist is one of the most important prerequisites for avoiding serious problems and keeping your smile perfectly enchanting. Are you looking for the best Swanbourne dental clinic? You've come to the right place! We offer a one-stop solution for all of your dental needs.
As experienced Claremont dental professionals amongst Swanbourne dental specialists, we assist patients of all ages and we constantly work on improving our qualifications and increasing our experience with the newest techniques in the field.
Why choose us over another dental practice in Swanbourne? The experience, the available technology and the state-of-the-art clinic are just some of the factors that set us apart.
We Keep Your Teeth Healthy and Your Smile – Perfectly White
Let us face it – a healthy, bright smile is essential for building your self-confidence and feeling happy when you look at your reflection in the mirror.
All of the Ashton Avenue dental clinic professionals focus on offering quality dental care service to every patient, which is a prerequisite for healthy teeth and an impeccable smile. We'll do our best to help you overcome common dental problems like tooth decay and gum disease.
On top of keeping your teeth and gums perfectly healthy, we'll also give you access to the cosmetic procedures that will immediately transform your smile. Give us a call right now if you're looking for:
A Vast Range of Services
Apart from specialising in cosmetic dentistry solutions, we also offer various other types of oral health procedures.
As a Swanbourne dental centre that offers comprehensive solutions, we give our clients access to the following:
We also provide specialised dental treatments like sleep dentistry and sedation dentistry, ensuring our patients are as comfortable as possible during treatment. Special senior dental services are also provided at our Swanbourne dental clinic.
Why Choose Ashton Avenue Dental Clinic?
The quality of services that our patients benefit from is the first reason why you should choose us over other professionals. Attention to detail and personalised approach set us apart and make our patients come back time and time again.
Many patients feel anxious about going to a Nedlands dental centre. We understand such concerns and offer helpful techniques to aid in relaxation. We also have beautiful waiting rooms that give patients entertainment options. Watching DVDs or reading magazines – both are viable options before the appointment takes place.
Finally, we offer multiple payment options to make dental care affordable to just about everyone. The clinic has flexible hours as well, facilitating our busy professional clients in booking an appointment. Since we know that emergencies occur at the most inopportune times, we offer emergency dental services at our Claremont dental clinic, ensuring that we're there to take care of patients whenever an emergency occurs.
Give us a call today, ask questions and schedule your first appointment. We'll be more than happy to welcome you and make sure you get the oral health care services you're looking for.
Looking for the professional that will give you state-of-the-art routine dental care? Want to make sure that you have emergency dental care available upon necessity? Are you looking for a Swanbourne dentist that specialises in pediatric oral healthcare? Ashton Avenue dental clinic is the place that can address all of your needs.
As experienced dentists in Claremont and amongst Swanbourne dental specialists, we focus on assisting patients of every age, and we constantly improve our qualifications. With multiple dental services, the latest dental technologies, and a modern clinic, we're prepared to address all of your oral health needs in one place.
Beautiful and Healthy Smiles are Our Main Priority
A beautiful smile is one of the most exciting and attractive accessories. We're confident that everyone can have a pearly white, stunning smile. This is the main reason why we give our patients access to a range of specialised cosmetic dentistry services.
For a start, we'll address common dental problems like tooth decay and gum disease. Next, we'll suggest a procedure that will give you the smile you've always been hoping for. From teeth whitening to porcelain veneers and smile design – we can do it all.
Many Services to Choose Among
The best Swanbourne dental clinics give their patients access to a diversified range of services and Ashton Avenue dental clinic is no exception. The full-range of services can be examined in detail on our website and here are just some of the popular options:
We also provide specialised dental treatments, such as sleep dentistry and sedation dentistry, ensuring our patients are as comfortable as possible during treatment. Special senior dental services are also provided at our dental practice in Claremont, in the surrounding suburbs of Mount Claremont dentist practice and Nedlands Dental centre.
We have the Experience and the Right Approach
Why should you choose our Claremont dental practice? We have the experience and the specialisation to deal with the most common dental problems. In addition, we have specialised treatments that will address complex issues and give patients a great outcome each time.
We are committed to ensuring that every patient receives personalisation, attention to detail and a friendly service. Going to a dental clinic can be a terrifying experience for many patients. This is why we focus on relaxation techniques and we've also created a peaceful atmosphere inside the clinic.
In addition, we believe in the importance of having flexible services available. Our patients can choose among multiple payment options. On top of that, our clinic has flexible hours and emergency dental services during off-hours.
Come pay us a visit!


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Published byLoren Maidment Modified over 2 years ago
by Sam C. Chan Sensible Strategies & Specific Plans For Small Businesses Reducing IT Costs 2/13/05
General Strategies minimize support calls & urgency minimize mistakes & risks compartmentize damage minimize restore efforts & time strengthen resilience optimize resources early detection standardize! simplify!
Specific Plans of Action Improve Reliability Reduce Support Costs Reduce Recovery Costs Reduce Admin Costs Reduce Urgency
Improve Reliability standardized, quality hardware strategically partitioned HD properly installed software eliminate unnecessary software power protection RAID
Reduce Support Costs remote support in-house level 1 support pre-installed diag/repair tools install/deployment images lib DDNS/Static IP (WAN) Reserved DHCP (LAN) documentation
Reduce Recovery Costs backup strategy proper replication drive imaging XP Offline files Volume Shadow Copy hot-standby site
Reduce Admin Costs dedicated server managed anti-virus patch management software licensing (vs. packaged) establish & enforce IT policy proactive audit & review network monitoring black-box approach User Training
Reduce Urgency stand-by server Internet-server independence redundant station redundant premises cabling redundant printers on-site spare parts
Summary Improve Reliability Reduce Support Costs Reduce Recovery Costs Reduce Admin Costs Reduce Urgency
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Egremont Crab Fair - Latest News
09/02/2017 - The Johnny Cash Roadshow
Egremont Crab Fair are pleased to announce that the Johnny Cash Roadshow will be coming to Egremont on Friday 19th May 2017. Tickets are now on sale for this event. Please see the Entertainment Page for details
07/12/2016 - Website Update
Website updates are ongoing. Pages are being created then uploaded to the site on a regular basis.
The Entertainment Team are busy organising events for throughtout 2017. Details of events will be published on the Entertainment Page as soon as they are confirmed.
01/12/2016 - Website Update
We are currently in the process of updating the website. We will keep updating our Facebook and Twitter accounts, and will let you know when the website is fully up and running. Like our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter for updates.
Website Admin: firstname.lastname@example.com
Copyright - Egremont Crab Fair
Website by: Cumbria Custom Designs


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A senior Lexus engineer has let slip that a new V8-powered version of the RC Coupe will debut at the 2014 Detroit motor show.
The Japanese brand?s new coupe has already been confirmed to be offered with a four-cylinder hybrid and petrol V6 powertrains, but Lexus IS chief engineer Junichi Furuyama says a V8 model will make its first appearance at the first major motor show of 2014.
Furuyama-san says the new model - which is expected to wear the RC F badge - will boast different styling to the regular RC coupe, including a ?bulging? bonnet line to accommodate the 5.0-litre V8.
?To give the V8, we need some changes, especially in the engine room,? Furuyama-san says. ?For example, IS F has a unique [bonnet line]. The V8 is very big. This cannot accommodate a V8, so we need to change the styling.?
Furuyama-san also suggested the new RC coupe may differ slightly in production guise, despite Lexus suggesting the new model was a production-ready vehicle prior to its unveiling at this week's Tokyo motor show.
As the international press kit states: ?Lexus designers have infused the RC design with deeply contoured lines never before seen in the Lexus line-up?, and it appears some of those lines won?t make it to the actual car. Furuyama-san says the RC shown is ?almost? how the production version will look.
?I want to produce it exactly the same as this car,? he says. ?But there is some difficult portions to produce. We need a little adjustment for mass production,? he states, before pointing out that the sharply creased panel line from the door to the tail-light may be toned down on the real deal.
However, he indicates the lines may change even further, as a convertible model may be less than two years away from production, despite a drop-top version being ?a little bit difficult?.
?We are preparing - if we decided to provide the convertible from this model, it is possible from an engineering perspective,? Furuyama-san says of the extra structural bracing under the body of the car, which has been developed with a potential drop-top in mind as a replacement to the ageing IS250C. As a result of the extra body-stiffening, he says the RC Coupe is actually heavier than the IS sedan on which it is based, despite being shorter and wider.
But he claims ?there is no actual plan?, and that he has ?no idea on a hard- or soft-top?.
?The main purpose of the RC is ... to create an aggressive image of our brand. The coupe is suitable for that purpose compared with a convertible. A convertible is really for older people,? he says, ?the coupe is for a younger person.?


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The Karma KingEeg, Harald Rosenløw: Karmakongen
Magnus's mother has always impressed upon him that he is the son of Norway's late King Olav V. The flat in which he and his mother live reclusive lives in the small town of Tønsberg is regally furnished in velvet, silk and gold. One day a neighbour gives the boy a picture of a dissident Vietnamese monk who set fire to himself, and also tells him of the man who parked his car, then vanished. The neighbour's daughter, Maja, induces Magnus to open up, and the story of the self-immolated monk lives on.
Harald Rosenløw Eeg has a highly personal style of writing, a style which, with layer upon layer of underlying text, is both oblique and challenging.
First published: 2000, Aschehoug Children and Young Adults
Languages: Norwegian
Harald Rosenløw Eeg: Biography and bibliography


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Facebook Marketing for USA Company..WE DO NOT WANT TO BUY LIKES
This project received 16 bids from talented freelancers with an average bid price of $149 USD.Get free quotes for a project like this
Project Budget$30 - $250 USD
Total Bids16
Project Description
Hi There
we are looking for an active social media marketer to help get us more likes and people chatting about us on Facebook.
We only want to reach people who are in USA and drink coffee.
We do NOT NOT NOT want to buy likes..
We want to hear from you and tell us what you will do to reach out and find people who are USA Coffee Drinkers and how will you get them to join our facebook page and to be a real and active facebook user..
Send us examples of other usa facebook accounts you have worked on and price to do this.
If you cant show us a facebook page that has real follow activity, real comments and real likes then dont waste our time.
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Enter keywords or a search phrase below:
I noticed that on one of the sites I order kits and supplies from that there is a listing for a Revell 1/25 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, #RMX854381. It indicates that it is not in stock, but can be pre-ordered. I did some quick searching, but can't find that kit number anywhere. Is this actually a new release or is it a kit that has been around for a while and just out of stock. The only '70 Charger I can turn up doing searches and on eBay is the Fast & Furious kit. Anybody have any idea?
On the bench - 2010 Challenger Showroom Replica
There's a just announced Revell kit coming later in the year. Idk anything about it, just that it's on the way.
Time well wasted, is not time wasted - John Lennon
Well, good morning, KWT. That's good news. I'd love to add a '70 Charger to my stash. After I put this post up it hit me that I could just contact Revell, so just sent an email to them. I'll post any reply I get from them.
I saw the new Revell '70 Charger R/T built up and on display on the Revell table at the Milwaukee NNL and it looks great. I've been wanting a '70 Charger kit for awhile now, but not bad enough to pay big-bucks for. The kit should be out 'bout Sept. or Oct., which is long before I finish all the models that I have already.
High octane
Hey, guys. Sorry. I'm not being rude. I'm being run ragged with medical appointments right now. Seems I've developed some sort of glitch with the old ticker. Doctors, specialists, X-rays, labs, etc, etc. I'm sure you know the routine.
I did get a reply from Ed Sexton at Revell and you guys are 100% correct. The Charger is indeed scheduled for release in September. Looks like we've got something to look forward to.
Looking forward to a '70 Charger kit, yes however I look forward to every day and thank God for them.
High octane
Looking forward to a '70 Charger kit, yes however I look forward to every day and thank God for them.
Being really stupid is the new smart!!
I wonder if this is a reissue of kit # 85-4319 F&F '70 charger, Dominic's car? I have had this kit for a few months now and if the car in question is this car, I think you guys are gonna like it. Only problem is the massive hole in the hood but it is what it is. Bill
Probably based off that kit... but this is a new release.. stock version.
Just my luck, I buy the rod & they promise a stock version, I procrastinate with the '29 &'30 Ford and someone drops the mold. sheesh! I can't catch a break. LOL Bill
So what's wrong with building two Chargers? I just love dem Mopars!
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