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Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 34
Ok, so here is the scenario. I have a pretty well running free hack and slash mud, but that's really all it is. We have a few big hardcoded quests and some assembly progs, but in essence noone really does them. I want to move into incorporating the requirement of completing quests. I know there are systems out there so I don't want this to be a "how to add quests", but more of how to go about successfully moving and motivating players to do quests.
We end up with a lot of high level players that don't know jack about the mud and haven't been to 75% of the world. I want to use quests as a method of introducing them to the most basic of commands to exploring some of the harder zones. I was thinking of doing this by requiring a completion of a quest before the advancement of each level (150), or maybe every 5 or 10 levels.
To do this sounds like a lot of work. I know there are admins, coders and builders, but are there quest makers out there who specifically look for places to implement quests?
Has anyone attempted such a new thing to users and what was the result?
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Mill Valley, California
Posts: 2,306
Beyond that, just make the quests as or more efficient a way to gain <whatever> than bashing is and people will use them.
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Sweden
Home MUD: 4 Dimensions
Posts: 574
That said, implementing a lot of quests is a superb way to keep the players' interest up. Our mud started out as pure hack'n'slash, but is now full of Quests and puzzles, and even the more hardcore killers end up questing, because that is the way to get all the most desireable stuff in the mud.
A good Quest needs to be well thought out, well designed, and above all balanced, to fit the hardness of the zone and the reward you get from it. It should also be reasonably 'cheat-proof' (perhaps the hardest part of the design). Another thing you need to decide is whether the Quest should be repeatable or on-time only. Quite often you need special code support for it, although most Quests are run by scripts (mob-progs). Quests should also be IC with the general theme of the mud and the theme of the specific zone they are in. They should have a meaning, or they just look stupid. Apart from that they can range between simple fetch-and-carry missions and complex 10-step quests to 'save the world'.
In our Mud the Builders make the quests, so they are all integrated with the zones. To make the players aware of them, we often announce a new big quest on th boards. We also have about 100 Questcards, where you get small hints about available Quests. And perhaps the most important of all; we have a Quest Academy on top of our Mud School, where new players are taught the noble art of questing. Among other things that they learn there is that it often gives you more benefits to speak to the mobs than to slaughter them.
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Mill Valley, California
Posts: 2,306
He's not suggesting anything fundamentally different from that.
A mud I used to play some time ago had such a fetch-and-carry quest system built in to the leveling system. for every 3rd level above 10th (there were 50 levels AFAIR), you had to bring an item to your guildmaster to be able to level.
The items were generally trash objects put all over the mud, with a nodrop flag (to prevent the items from getting hoarded and sold, passed on to alts, etc.), and fit into the environment of the place it could be found. The quest itself was a riddle, specific to the class - and perhaps race - of the character trying to level up.
The system worked well. It made an interesting diversion from hacking away at mobs, or rather, it gave another incentive, besides just the exp. It also gave quite a chatter over the OOC channels, when people discovered a new riddle.
At the same time the system prevented powerleveling. Of course, a player who knew the mud would have no difficulty in levelling faster than a player who only knew his way around and between the major towns. I believe this is exactly what SirTank is trying to achieve.
Join Date: Apr 2002
Name: Richard
Home MUD: God Wars II
Posts: 2,052
This issue has been discussed many times on MUD-DEV, and is obviously a good idea from a game development point of view, as it allows each player to play the game the way they want to play it - and I think most people who've played games like Deus Ex would agree that it also adds a lot of replay value. It's certainly something worth considering for anyone who wishes to create a mud that appeals to a wide audience.
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Sweden
Home MUD: 4 Dimensions
Posts: 574
Most Muds define player advancement by xp, level or both. Even level-less muds usually have some equivalent to xp that defines advancement, although the nature of it may be hidden from the mortals for RP reasons.
Not all players like to kill a large number of mobs just to advance. And not all players like to solve Quests either; they may not have the inclination, patience, intelligence, language skills etc. for it.
But if you offer a variety of options to advance your char, you also give the players a free choice what they want to get good at and spend their time on. In our Mud for instance you get xp not only from killing but also from fishing, farming, gardening, lumberjacking, mining, golddigging, gemcutting, tinkering, archaeology, collecting, trading, and questing.
You can also convey exp or training points into gold or Quest tokens and the other way around.
That is what I mean by presenting a free choice.
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Mill Valley, California
Posts: 2,306
Similarly, some VERY popular MUDs (Everquest, for instance) require that you do a specific quest or kill a specific monster in order to get a specific piece of equipment. They're "forcing" you to do a single activity in order to get that piece of equipment.
I mean I agree that it seems intuitive that you'd want to appeal to a wide range of playstyles, but experience shows it's not necessary.
Further, all I was taking issue with was Molly's claim that "forcing players to do things...detracts from the fun." I think the RPIs that force people to roleplay (which is an activity, albeit it a very broad one), for instance, would certainly disagree with that. Or take another random example: City of Heroes. 150,000 subscribers or so. They force you to do certain quests at the beginning of the game in order to continue to play.
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Mill Valley, California
Posts: 2,306
I just wanted to expand on my reply since this is an interesting topic.
First, it's clear that what's fun differs dramatically from person to person. It is rarely to never possible to accurately say "Design X isn't fun" or "Design X is fun" without the added implication that what you're really saying is, "It's fun/not fun for person/group Y."
Choice is fun to some people. Many people (myself included) adored Morrowind in the single player realm because of the relatively expansive range of choice the developers chose to grant the players. On the other hand, one of the most successful arcade games of the 80s was Dragon's Lair, in which your -only- choice was which way to press the joystick, and if you didn't do it in precisely the right order and with the right timing, your game was over. A completely linear game that forces you to do things in exactly one way, but which was fun to many, many people.
To say that increasing the range of choices is an inherently good thing in terms of pleasing an ever-widening range of people is a viewpoint that doesn't seem to hold up under the light of reality. Indeed, the games that probably have the most choice (heavy roleplaying games with as little hardcode as possible) also appeal to very very few people. That's not to say that kind of game design isn't fun; just that it's not fun to most people.
But on the other hand, look at the most popular PC game ever: The Sims. Fairly free-form and provides lots of choice, though with certain major areas of typical gameplay totally cut off (killing for instance).
In summary, what choice does is create wider gameplay possibilities. This, however, has little, inherently, to do with fun. Many gamers do not want a ton of options thrown at them: They want a directed, focused experience. In the MUD arena, it's the Lineage philosophy vs. the Ultima Online philosophy. Ultima Online throws tons of choices at you. Lineage throws very few. Lineage, on the other hand, was an order of magnitude more popular.
Posts: n/a
Second, marketing and advertising can be a significant factor in the popularity of a game as well. Many have noted that one's first mud experience tend to set expectations and perceptions, particularly if one enjoys that first mud experience. Those who can capture the attention of the newbie mudder determine perceptions and expectations.
No money spent on advertising a game dooms it to the status of Smith's soap versus Ivory soap. I bet You've never heard of Smith's soap, but you have heard of Ivory soap. Which is better? Who knows?
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Mill Valley, California
Posts: 2,306
But none of this is really the point. The point is that saying "X isn't fun" isn't really a valid statement unless you include an "X isn't fun to most people', which is fine. You may be doing X and trying to appeal to the people it IS fun to. That is, after all, what text MUDs are doing to begin with. A text interface is certainly not superior to a graphical one to the vast majority of people but that doesn't make text MUDs any less fun. It just makes them fun to less people.
Posts: n/a
Of course the less is more principle isn't really going to help the OP, considering those expectations have already been set. When you're stuck with a particular game design, there's not a whole lot you can do short of a complete overhaul and rewrite to dramatically change the audience, make it a lot more appealing, or extend the average player lifetime. That's not to say that Diku-style games couldn't do with a massive interface facelift and polishing, but there doesn't seem to be much interest in that from those creating derivatives. They seem to prefer 'hey let's add more stuff' approach.
But to go further afield, I think someone using the less is more principle coupled with an onion or russian doll style unfolding game might be able to stake out a nice sweet spot in text muds.
New Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 1
We on DuneMUD implemented quests as a mean to advance your character beyond normal limits. For example, if your Knives and Daggers skill maximum is at 100%, doing a certain quest allows you to advance this skill over 100%. Another example is increasing your base stats permanently by a few points.
Players should not be forced to do anything, but they should know that if they don't do an activity (quests, in this example), they will be less powerful.
Another example is a quest where you can receive a very powerful weapon if you complete it.
I believe that forcing players to do quests to advance levels or anything of that sort will kill the MUD. Under any circumstances the player should not be forced to do anything, there are other ways of making players doing things, like rewards.
I am not talking about restrictions such X amount of stats per level or something like that, of course, those are balance issues.
Join Date: Apr 2002
Name: Richard
Home MUD: God Wars II
Posts: 2,052
As Tyche points out, it's not really something that you can easily compare, as popularity has far more to do with other factors. Are Deus Ex, GTA3 and Morrowwind popular because they are non-linear, or because of their marketting campaigns (although on the flip side, I can't recall ever seeing a game promoting itself by offering 'very linear gameplay').
However in the case of this thread it's much more straightforward. We have a fairly well-established mud in which players can only progress through killing monsters. The original poster wants to change it so that, beyond a certain point, players can only progress by completing quests.
Is it this going to make the mud more popular? Or are players more likely to prefer having the choice between killing monsters or completing quests? In my opinion, the latter is almost certainly the case. If the OP wants to encourage people to explore more then he can certainly offer incentives, but forcing (rather than encouraging) an established playerbase to change their playing style is generally a bad idea.
Posts: n/a
The other problem when implementing the choice of advancement option (quest or level-grind) is the goal stays the same (stuck with the initial game design). The reason that's a problem is invariably either one or the other will be the shorter path to the cheese. Your achievers will figure that out in very short order and if the new way is shorter... well you've shortened the the player experience time of your game. Achievers wil become explorers in the sense that they are "exploring", but not in the sense that they are real explorers. Someone (can't remember who) suggested explorers really don't exist anyway. I found it semi-convincing, but not at the gut level. One might conclude then that making the new way harder is better. Well... I believe that many HnS games are flush with achievers, and that would in my view make the quest feature little used. Perfect balance then? Maybe.
Do nothing? No, a static mud is no fun. From the staff's view who likely pursue it at their pleasure and from a long time players view it isn't either. I think you are stuck with the initial game design and to have a living dynamic game, you have to resort to content creation, expansion packs(?) - new stuff, additional levels -remorting - subclassing - specialization. New races and classes are different as they represent opportunities to screw up as they aren't extensions to the goal path but represent potential shortcuts to the cheese.
I think the above is an important question: Is a feature an extension of the path, or is it another way on the same path?
Odd as it may be, I think adding 10 levels to your game and the content go along with it is far better for the game than adding a new race or class.
Or even better... experimentation with sub games with DIFFERENT GOALS. Not subgames that feed back into the reach the hero level goal, but present new goals. You can certainly do that with questing. There is no reason questing need feed directly into the reach hero goal. And that's potentially more interesting.
Join Date: Apr 2002
Name: Richard
Home MUD: God Wars II
Posts: 2,052
Take a game like Fable, for example (a very linear game, but it does provide a reasonable amount of choice as to how you reach the end goal). You can complete each mission through either magic, combat (melee) or skill (ranged/stealth). Each of those three categories then earns its own set of exp which can be spent (along with general exp) to improve your abilities.
Fable is actually pretty well balanced - I found all three skill categories useful, although each tends to be better in certain situations. However the approach of "use what you want to be good at" could easily extend to muds (actually many skill-based muds already do this).
However I don't see a problem with shortening certain goals for different approaches, as long as there are pros and cons for each form of advancement. Most muds have this already to a certain point - player skill, willingness to take risks, time investment and (in some cases) financial investment are all things that speed up your character advancement over a period of X days.
Of course you can fiddle around with the value of each of the above depending on what you're trying to achieve. If your goal is to make money from the mud, then you'd make it so that cash gave the biggest advantage. If you wanted people to invest time into grinding, then you'd make playing time the biggest factor. If you wanted the mud to be focused on playing skill, then you'd likely have quick (but difficult) challenges that players could complete in order to progress very quickly (so that skilled players could advance much faster than unskilled players).
In the case of quests, you'd have to ask yourself what the purpose was in having them. The original poster really wants players to learn how to navigate their way around the world, so he'd probably place a high value on questing - maybe 1.5 to 2 times as fast as killing mobs. That would strongly encourage people to complete the quests, without forcing them - from a players perspective there's a big difference between telling them "You must now change your playing style to do X" and saying "You can now advance much quicker by doing Y".
For most muds I imagine you'd want both approaches to be considered equally viable alternatives, and IMO the best way to do that (aside from balancing it as best you can) is to make each approach give something different. If the goal is "reach level 50", it doesn't mean that every level 50 character has to have the same powers. And I can assure you, even if a "level 50 wombat slayer" is equally balanced with the other classes, making it extra difficult (or time consuming) to reach that goal will make many of the players want it all the more, for the status symbol if nothing else.
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 34
Thanks everyone, you all hve definitely helped me out a lot. I guess I should have given more background on the MUD as far as logistics go. The only way to gain levels is through killing. We have quests to obtain superior items and character enhancements and special skills. In fact I made one that is probably more difficult and complex than 95% of the quests I foud available on EverQuest. Only one or two players have even attempted it, and the other 99% don't even know where to begin. I think that's sad.
My goal or want is not to provide them with an alternative means of gaining levels, but to build the skills necessary to attempt, and maybe complete some of the harder quests that exist in the game, and ones that will be added later. By not forcing them into a quest scenario, I am afraid that 99% will continue to glaze over the questing aspect in the ever lengthy struggle to achieve the top level.
I am also not a fan of power leveling. I see quests as a way to regulate the advancement of characters. I want this in the hopes that what they achieve is earned through a desire to have fun and play the MUD to it's fullest capability, and to be proud of what they have accomplished. I mean really, if they just want a super mob/player slayer, they will goto a godwars MUD. I would rather have 100 players that care about all the work and effort that was put into the mud, and enjoy as much of it as possible, compared to 100,000 drones running around mindlessly hacking away, and my server agrees ;-).
I think what I was not recognizing was placing a higher importance on questing. To not force them to quest, but try and equal the quest reward to mob slaying. experience wise. Maybe even make it more heavy towards questing since it is a minority of my players that quest. Bu that's a big undertaking, and I was looking for a smaller solution to adding more of a questing theme.
Ideally I want to cater to all 3 groups, the hack-n-slash, total questers and the ones that like both. But that is way down
the road and the transition doesn't look easy. I suppose I will
start off the incentivized way, if they complete certain quests,
they will get a bonus to gaining exp, or money or something
that would definitely help them along their hack-n-slash journey if they so choose, and what moron doesn't choose to expedite that process
Join Date: Apr 2002
Name: Richard
Home MUD: God Wars II
Posts: 2,052
Much like many snowboarders wouldn't find it fun to use a skii slope to its fullest capability - they'd rather stick to snowboarding than have to share their time between snowboarding, skiing and sledging.
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 34
I need a safe and friendly way to intruduce questing as a part, or optional part of game life, so when we run big quest s or intruduce new permanent quests, the players won't fail like they do now because they will know more about the place.
Join Date: Mar 2003
Home MUD: GateWay MUD
Posts: 68
I'm only a player, but I play a HnS MUD that has implemented questing very well, for my particular tastes.
Questing is not required, per se. You can level up by pure killing if that is your bag.
However, my wise wizards decided that to encourage questing:
1) "Avatar" status, (super-player, extra tweaks) can only be attained if a character completes a certain percentage of the available hard-coded quests. Becoming an Avatar is not 'necessary' to play the game at all... but I as a player am cooler if I am one. ;>
2) XP gain is affected by a 'Quest Bonus' system. This system is based in part on quest completion, but is also affected by the pure exploration of the character. There is something in the code that, when my char does something in a room for the first time (maybe just walks into it, maybe keys a syntax, I don't know how, I'm a player) that the Game keeps track of. These 'exploration points' are totaled, and every time i kill a mob, the amount of XP I gain from that kill is adjusted upward from the kill's base XP amount in accordance with the amount of bonus I have. (i.e. kill would normally give 100 xp to a char with no bonus at all. With a small bonus, maybe you get 105 xp. With a maximum bonus, maybe you get 125 xp. I don't actually know, my MUD doesn't show XP numbers.)
The bonus is also relative to the player character's size... it is much easier for a 50% character to be achieving the maximum possible quest bonus than it is for a 150% character to achieve a maximum bonus for its level. A small character is expected to only have entered 'so many' rooms, perhaps, 2000. A larger character is expected to have *many* more rooms under their belt in order to have a maximum bonus... say, maybe 16,000. A larger character probably has done more syntaxes, opened more locked doors, found hidden things... i suspect all these things (stuff that might give Role Playing points on other muds) affect our quest bonus.
I wish I could explain this better. I understand on a 'gut' level how it works, but have never seen the actual code. All I know is, these two things *really* encourage questing on the MUD I play. All of us players, especially the old, top end players, work to try and keep our bonus up. It encourages us to explore the MUD, rather than just sticking to the same ol' patterns and runs that we've been doing for years. It also frustrates us, because there are rooms we CAN'T FIND! AUGH! But.... we wanna. ;>
And we keep looking for them.
3) There is a finite exploration point system. There are only so many available points with which to increase your bonus. Players can check the relative percentage of points they have gained by the syntax 'done' in the quest tome room, and that command will show the relative amount of points in each domain that the character has accrued. This lets the player know... "Gee, I really need to explore Underground some more, but I'm pretty good in Callis!"
I think the main thing that makes a difference is the exploration bonus along with just questing. In a large, growing HnS mud, getting people into your cool new areas is what you want to do. It is better if the Wizards don't have to say to some player "Hey...there is a HUGE stat bonus out in that new area, why don't you go play it??"
These exploration/ quest bonuses really encourage us to explore and push ourselves. They are just another very nice goal... and nobody's forcing us. We get the mob's base XP even if we have *no* quest bonus. It is merely to our *advantage* to have the bonus. ;> You always catch more flies with honey than vinegar, the Wizzes on my MUD have dangled a lot of carrots in front of us to get us out there. These are ones that actually work.
Best of Luck with your quest implementation! Getting HnS players out of their ruts is... taxing. ;> I know, I am one, and I *love* my standard kill routine. But my wizzes even got *me* to quest... so, it CAN be done. ;>
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Trove officially launches, RaiderZ is shutting down, all that and more, I'm Zach Sharpes and this… is Free To Play Weekly!
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21 Readers CommentedJoin discussion
Action combat is better I enjoy it a lot more then TAB. Action Combat makes me feel like I'm in charge unlike TAB targeting(which I find Old slow and boring)
DA-BOMB to skyfordge ^-^ Sci-Fi my favorite theme
EVERYTHING is dependant on the other elements. SO many mmo sites have to write for the uneducated. When we make games, we do not just think "oh one feature dictates all". So many games function naturally on open action, others do not. For example, WoW would not make a good open action game. Echo of Soul would (based on mob placement, terrain challenges, and pathing routes between these two elements). SOme games that have open action, really would run better with tab targeting and vice versa. You can tell when cheap games come out just marketing on one feature they fall short because the other elements were not there. In general mmorpgs are not that fun as open action games. DUngeon crawlers, however ARE.
Personally I am used to the Traditional combat and compared to the new combat I find it very boring now honestly. The New action Combat is so free flowing and fun and i wish allot of games put work into making it work better or to have it at all such as games like Cabal 2 then maybe we can see a bit more hope in the ftp mmo world instead of players hoping from game to game constantly.
Maybe because I am a little older, but I can appreciate an older style of combat as well as a newer style. Perhaps because I was playing MMOs back when the combat was way worse than what is now considered "Old School." I just hate when people try to turn others off from trying a game simply because they don't like a certain style. What's so hard about saying that a particular game is simply not your cup of tea, and encourage people to give it a try? There are plenty of MMOs I didn't like but in which I can appreciate that there is core groups of people in guilds enjoying the content.
If you can't dodge ranged attacks, (Homing missiles) then it's fake action combat.
I guess you really asking "tab targeting or no target" in which case i'd pick no target personally but i have no problems with tab targeting as well, lot's of practice can do that to you.
Kind of sad that RaiderZ was shut down because it was a refreshing game with action combat and some issues but those could have been solved.
the only game that ever got "action" combat right was greedy and money hungry P2W so their game died.
and because of this so called "action" combat mmo's will tend to suck untill they can make the combat feel right
which they can not because they feel that nerfing it hard is a cheap easy way to "balance" the pvp . jerks .
example tera online which has the worst combat i have ever seen . they just nerf it so it is not true "action" combat
but if you spam auto attacks it moves you in the direction your facing and you have no say about it and can not cancle it and just have to keep moving that direction or if your a mage who needs to avoid shots has a 3 second period of standing still after each skill . STUPID HOW IS THAT BALANCED MORON TERA .
tab targeting is the future and the reason is because none that true "action aka arcade" combat can get it right and untill the time
that a respectable NOT p2w company can perfect arcade combat (like raiderZ did but died because its run by a P2W company and everyone hates that) , tab targeting will remain the future while "action" arcade combat will stay a joke abused by companies that think nerfing it instead of actually balancing it is a good idea.
not to mention how in tera when you avoid an attack it teleports you back into the zone of death which you avoided just because you do not live in america and have 200 mb internet .
echo of soul is 100000x better and more balanced then any arcade mmo around .
just ignore this comment and go and choose some kid who wants to kiss what you prefer's butt (arcade combat fan kids) .
it died because the devs company who create the game died not because of pwe even though that publisher is bad already same happened to the studio who made rusty heart but yeah don't make your homework at searching and put all the blame to a bad mmo publisher and don't even read the whole article.
True action combat all the way. Standing and spamming buttons to watch bigger and bigger numbers show up sucks. You don't feel the oompf from the hits either. The best you'll find that in something like GW2. TERA has good combat, RaiderZ is a bit better because of the various ways you can move into an attack and combos (if only the enemies weren't tanky as hell and the wasn't boring as hell), others are even better but we still waiting for dat NA release bcuz Korea cmon guys.
i prefer action combat, but if the game is absolute garbage (eos,cabal2….) it doesnt matter :D. skyforge is awesome im waiting impatiently
skyforge is also garbage, just not korean garbage.
I wouldn't exactly call it garbage, at least the talent tree is good, but I still won't play it.
I actually F*ing love mmobomb
old school targeted combat ofc <3
Traditional is Classic=Old. I prefer and appreciate new fight mechanics all the way. If u want old click and hit shit there are like 3billion mmos out since 1999.
Video// Skyforge suck as much as eos and all others. If u cant get lose of sf u will kill yourself with games like bns or better black desert. Korea has way more to offer then this but well we barely see anything only after 5 years when its old shit in kr already.
Hopefuly more indie publisher or other devs in /NA/EU etc. will see the poor market and attack soon. Produce some games!!
Don't worry, the game will force you to stop playing when you hit the spark/EXP cap in the game for the week. People are saying they hit the cap within 16 hours or so. So yeah, have fun with that Stamina System.
Why not both?

subset: commoncrawl


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Doug Hirsch
Doug is the Co-CEO of GoodRx. Doug spent 10 years at Yahoo, Inc., first building the earliest online communities and then as General Manager of Yahoo! Entertainment. In 2005, he joined Facebook as Vice President of Product, where he built Facebook Photos and other products. Post-Facebook, Doug founded Dailystrength, the web's largest community for people facing health and life challenges. DailyStrength raised a Series A from Redpoint Ventures and was acquired in 2008 by HSW International. Doug is a magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University.


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Sigh. I always wait with such impatience to unbox my monthly Birchbox on the 10th of every month. It is one of the first things I do when I wake up! This month, I was met with such disappointment. This was my least my favorite box to date and for once I actually liked my ipsy bag better!
I went through my beauty profile to see where I had gone wrong but I had said I would prefer no perfume samples (this is the second month in a row I have gotten one!!) and I would prefer no shower gel. I tweaked my preferences a little but to hopefully avoid another month like this one.
For those of you that are new to Birchbox, it is a monthly subscription service. For $10 a month, you get a box full of deluxe size beauty products. You can review these products on the BB site to receive BB points, which can be redeemed in their store for product. The point system is amazing and the reason I would never chance my subscription.
Joie Folle de Joie Eau de parfum, value of sample $2.06.
I am super picky about perfumes, so I prefer not to get them in my subscription boxes. When I told a coworker I was getting this in my November box, she told me she bought the full size after getting this in a box. She said she gets complimented on it all the time and she won't even tell her best friend what it is because he friend loves the scent so much. So I was like ok, maybe I will like this after all. Unfortunately, I didn't see the appeal when I wore it. It smelled like any department store perfume to me. Even my husband agreed it was nothing special. Oh well, now I don't need to shell out $98 for the full size!!
Not Soap, Radio Joy Inducing Body Wash, sample value $1.76.
This is a lemon scented shower gel with a nice muskiness that elevates it and makes it more dynamic. It still can't compete with my LUSH shower gels though, especially because citrus is not my thing. I find most citrus scents to be boring and less complex.
Bain de Terre Argan Oil and Passion Flower Color Therapy Styling Oil, sample value $2.06.
I told Birchbox that I color treat my hair and that I love haircare products, so I can't fault them for including this. I got the Davines hair oil in my September box though and fell in love with it, so I really don't need another hair oil. Plus it smells like a generic shampoo you would get at the drugstore. The scent alone ruined it for me.
Eslor Firming Collagen Day Cream, sample value $17.
I just changed my profile to exclude anti aging products. I am open to anti aging products but the branding and scent of this just screams old lady to me, so if those are the types of products I will get I would prefer to stay away from anti aging products.
The Balm Cosmetics Cindy-Lou Manizer, sample value $.30.
I have wanted to try The Balm Cosmetics for awhile so this was the one thing in my box that I was actually excited about. The packaging is just adorable! The sample is very small, so it is difficult to use with my makeup brush. It doesn't apply easily because of that, so I wish the sample were wider to allow for easier application.
Dang Coconut Chips, sample value $1.47.
This was a bonus item. I wasn't excited about it, especially when I saw some lucky people got chocolate! These were surprisingly good though. Even my two year old approved, and she is picky! They are very expensive, but if I saw a box for less at Costco I would definitely buy them!
Overall, I was disappointed in this month's Birchbox. I feel that my beauty profile wasn't really followed. I am sick of the perfume samples especially! I would never quit Birchbox because of their amazing point system, but I am hoping next month is better!
What did you think if your November Birchbox?


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Welcome to our calendar page!
Our normal service schedule will include Great Vespers on Saturday evening (5:30 PM), with Orthros (8:45 AM) and Divine Liturgy (10:00 AM) on Sunday mornings. Fr. Gregory will hear confessions after Great Vespers or by appointment.
After Sunday services, we have Coffee Hour, a time of fellowship over coffee and snacks, as well as Sunday school classes for the children during the school year, and classes are available for anyone interested in learning about Orthodox Christianity or getting a firmer grasp on their faith.
Visitors are always welcome at any of our services or other events!
The calendar will start up showing a list of upcoming events, but you can change the display to view the calendar for a week or month at a time by clicking on the tabs with those words in the calendar panel below. You can also go go forward or backward in these views by clicking on the arrow symbols on the upper left!


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Group Programs
Semester Abroad in the the South
Semester Abroad in the the U.S. is an immersive program that allows university students the opportunity to study English in a different cultural setting. Through experiential coursework and social interactions, students will develop increased confidence and English proficiency, while acquiring an understanding of U.S. cultural practices and traditions. From role-playing to local field trips, students will enjoy a lively and enriching learning experience.
- Offers 17 week programs in January and August, and a 10 week program in May
- Customized programs can be arranged to fit your university's schedule
- Semester Abroad in the South FAQs
If your university would like to participate in Semester Abroad in the South, please contact the ELI for additional information.
Language and Culture Short Term Program (STP)
The Language and Culture Short Term Program (STP) offers small groups a distinctive opportunity to hone English-language skills while exploring a popular tourist destination. Based in Charleston, S.C., this one-to-four week program combines traditional classroom instruction with cultural outings; highlighting the rich history and charming architecture of the downtown area. Our engaging and experienced instructors will guide students through lessons designed to increase proficiency and expand cultural literacy.
- Study topics include Southern and Charleston-area history, Charleston's unique architecture, and Charleston's connection to the sea.
- Choose the dates and times that are convenient for your group.
- Sample STP Schedule
If you are interested in organizing a Language and Culture Short Term Program for your small group, please contact the ELI for more information
"BroadStreetCharleston" by Khanrak - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.


text: Just picked up a 93 cobra "barn find". Been sitting for years and has gotten filthy over that time. Dropped tank and have been cleaning underneath the car. Pulled out the engine and trans to give everything a good look over and cleaning. Engine had polished Vortech and ceramic coated tubular gt40 which both had a lot of white spots all over them. While the engine was out decided to do a wire tuck and smooth out the fenders, firewall, and strut towers. Started the wire tuck and smoothing about 2 days ago and will hopefully be in paint by this weekend. image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg


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Date(s) - 03/16/2018 - 03/17/2018
All Day
Osceola County Sheriff's Office
Categories No Categories
Open to Teens between the ages of 15 and 19
(Must have a learner's permit for six months or more)
The Teen Driver Challenge is an advanced driving course designed to provide young drivers with the knowledge and hands on experience needed to reduce the chances of being involved in a crash. The Challenge consists of two training days totaling twelve hours. The first day includes a four-hour block of instruction in the classroom while the second day is an eight-hour block of vehicle operations. The program is offered free of charge to all teens between the ages of 15 and 19. Effective January 1, 2016, to be eligible for this course, the student must have at least a learner's permit for six (6) months.
|First Day (4 Hours)
Osceola Co Sheriff's Office-Admin
2601 E Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy
Kissimmee, FL 34744
Class Begins promptly at 6pm
|Second Day (8 Hours)
TECO Driving Pad
501 Simpson Rd
Kissimmee FL 34744
Class begins promptly at 8am
To register your teen in our 12 hour training program, you must obtain an application via the Application Link below or request via email. You can submit an application via email, fax, or you may drop it off at the front desk of the Sheriff's Office (2601 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy., Kissimmee, FL 34744) prior to class. Please submit in a timely manner to give personnel time to process the application. After your application is submitted, please wait for a confirmation. Also, be aware that in order for personnel to manage a wide range of other duties, messages related to the Teen Driver Challenge program will be returned on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.
Confirmations for the Teen Driver Challenge will not be given until an application is submitted and reviewed. After the application is reviewed and it is determined that qualifications are met, you will be notified via phone and/or email that you are registered for the Teen Driver Challenge class. Applications will be processed on a first come first serve basis. If the date requested becomes full, you will be contacted to schedule another date. Please click on the "Calendar" link below to see upcoming Teen Driver class dates. If you have any questions, please contact us by one of the methods below:
Teen Driver Challenge Line: 321-697-4436
Fax Line at 407-348-1127
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Download Application Packet


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Today we met up with two ladies that I met up with on a Mom's board on Baby Center when I was pregnant with Evan. We have been "talking" for 6 years now! One of the Mom's I had already met as she is from MA, but the other one I got to meet for the first time today. What a fun time! Here are all the kids at Kimball Farm getting ready for the animal show.
And checking out the bumper boats.
Evan checking out the animals.
All the kids and us!
Gotta make funny faces!
And all the hugs when we had to go. The kids really had fun together! It is like they knew each other.
And a little video from the day:
Yesterday we went to Southwick's Zoo and had fun as always. The sad thing is that their Elephant passed away this summer. There is a picture of him in my post from last year. So sad.


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Councillor attends workshop on Avery Hill cycle routes
Eltham South councillor Adam Thomas attended a workshop event last night, held with Hyder Consulting to consider proposals for new cycle Greenways in Avery Hill Park. Also at the meeting were representatives of the parks Department, cycling officers and representatives of the Avery Hill Park Friends Group.
A number of options were presented including options for a north/south route, an east/west route and a circular route.
key considerations that were raised in the meeting were:
- No trees should be removed and a tree management plan needed to be implemented
- Consultants needed to consider the safe exit of cyclists onto Sparrows Lane
- Careful consideration needed to be given to how the new Greenways would be shared between pedestrians and cyclists, with particular attention to safety
- Certain parts of the park which have wildlife and historical value should be untouched
- Existing pathways should be used wherever possible, such as Butterfly Lane
- Existing tracks used by dog walkers should be retained and not be affected by new greenways
- The rural character of the park needed to be maintained
- Lighting should not be intrusive and sensor activated lights should be considered
- surfacing should be sensitive to the surroundings and may need to change depending on the route and the areas of the park it will affect.
Following the workshop Hyder consulting, acting on behalf of the Greenwich Council will now develop more detailed plans of the routes towards the end of March for another consultation session with local residents.
Cllr Thomas said: "These proposals are still in the very early stages and I would encourage all residents to come forward with their ideas. We want to ensure that existing users are not detrimentally affected and it's important that the park. However we also want to encourage new users to the park and create a safe environment for everyone to enjoy."
If residents do have views please send them into Nuala Geary the Chair of Friends of Avery Hill Park on firstname.lastname@example.com


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So we watched the movie THE READER last night.
Here is the conversation this morning:
ME: "Do you think Kate Winslet is attractive?"
WIFEY: "Yes, but I don't like her nipples."
ME: "What's wrong with her nipples?"
WIFEY: "They're kinda black."
You'll have to google to see Kate Winslet's nipples...or watch the movie.
Or start dating her.
Or something.


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I must admit when I was a young twenty something old, I used to hold a piece of cigarette in my hand, just to look cool. I never liked the damn thing, but I just found it appealing and what is the word? Chic. Chic is "smart" in French. It is also "elegant", "stylish"... "Dapper", "debonair".
Oui. The French might say, "Alors, c'est tres chic!"
The Swahili equivalent is Utanashati. Sharobaro. In my youth days it was, Bitozi. Alluding to the best band of all time, The Beatles. Made in Britain. Chic. Mmmh.
Chic was a name of a 1970s African American band, which we loved to pieces. I still do, I should confess. Recently, the Chic co-founder, Nile Rodgers, (pictured)released an autobiography. Really funny, sad and very tough reading.
Le Freak their world wide hit song, blasted our radios in 1978. I remember us shouting "Ah, freak out!" and thinking this main repeated lines was "Ah, Africa!"
We thought : "How cool ! These black American brothers are singing about the motherland continent."
It was not Africa, but Ah freak out! Which rhymes or sounds similar to a recent incident with one my London Swahili students. I was teaching some of the famous Swahili idioms like Mambo Bado, Mambo Kwa Soksi, etc. When I came to the recent political trending word (remember "trending" from last week's column?) the very eager Kiswahili learner kept saying "Safari Curse"- which I had to correct. The President's work motto: "Sasa Kazi" reminded my 1978 thing with Le Freak tune.
So I held this cigarette in my hand every now and then.
Nineteen seventy something.
A musician friend of mine from those days- a political refugee from Malawi- simply called Joji, and I used to amble down Oyster Bay beach (Coco beach 2017) strum our guitars and sing. Here were mostly Asian and foreign expatriates. Plus a few rich Tanzanian kids. We did not mind. We had trekked all the way from Mwananyamala to play. In the thick of it, a cigarette dangled on my lips. Know what? I would not smoke it. This really annoyed cigarette smokers. Ha, ha. They would want to light it and I would say no, no, no.
One of them was an English lady. Teacher at International School of Tanganyika. I don't know how it is called these days. She was a smoker. She wanted the fag. I liked her and offered her the cigarette. You should have seen her eyes. They shone brightly. She wasn't that bad with the guitar, either. WE sang "Sunny" the Bony M, version. Eventually we trekked not to Mwananyamala but to her compound, Joji and I, and her excited, equally smoking female friend. We sat and watched them lighting more cigarettes and you know what? I took one and pretended I was smoking happily, coughing. Joji just shook his head.
That is what you do when you are young.
Play games.
Months later, when Miss Teacher returned from England she brought me a packet of Embassy cigarettes which those days was like a motorbike present or something in that category. We are speaking about the late 1970s recession. Ujamaa policies restricted importation of Western goods. Embassy Cigarettes were special. Dar es Salaam had Embassy Hotel too. You did not just drop in there. You needed good, good, good reasons.
But what this whole story entails is more than deluxe hotels.
Young people like to join things and matches and groups and campaigns and fashion trends. Being young without children or responsibilities is time for filling up empty, but evolving skulls. Last week this column warned about copying negative, useless stuff from rich, Wazungu world. Things that have no rewards other than image. Cigarette smoking, king amongst those.
I was talking to a certain "smart" young twenty something Londoner.
"Why are so many of you, youths, smoke cigarette and so called Weed?"
He smiled and puffed. I smelt the Marijuana. Rastas call it Herb.
"Most of us just do it for fun."
Reader did you hear the word fun?
It reminded me of Chic, 1978.
"Fun that blows your lungs, gives you cancer?"
Young Londoner chuckled. "Cars also pollute and give cancer."
I smirked. "Cars have a meaning. Means of transport. They are also being improved so that their carbon emissions become lower."
Young Londoner, inhaled, puffed, grey curls. I waved away smoke clouds hovering around our eyes.
"I think the cigarette is the most useless thing ever invented. And this Marijuana smoking causes schizophrenia and other serious mental health."
He threw his "fun" on the floor, and then stamped on it.
"Why don't you non smokers let us enjoy the simple things of life? This is my only vice. I don't drink alcohol. I will never be a terrorist. I don't do gambling. Never steal."
Simple things of life.
How about that dear reader?
Simple things of life.


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The New York Times and the Los Angeles Timeslead with the continuing fallout over Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha's call for withdrawal from Iraq. In the latest maneuvering, Republicans introduced a House resolution urging an immediate withdrawal. The GOP leadership had hoped to split Democrats by forcing them either to back Murtha or to reaffirm their support for the war. The move appears to have failed, however: Democrats (including Murtha) denounced the resolution as a political stunt and joined Republicans in voting it down. The final count was 403-3. The Washington Post, which devotes its off-lead to the withdrawal debate, offers the best account of the ugly floor fight, with details on the uproar that followed one freshman representative's "message" to Murtha that "cowards cut and run." The NYT best explains Democrats' anger over the resolution, focusing on their view that it represents a personal attack on Murtha, while the LAT doubles up its coverage by pairing its front-page lead with an inside feature on the reaction of Murtha's constituents to his call for withdrawal. The Wall Street Journal plugs the withdrawal fight as the second item in its worldwide news box.
The NYT and Post both go big with the suicide bombings that struck two mosques in Iraq yesterday, killing almost 100 people. Although both papers give the news a multicolumn photo across the top, they devote the bulk of their respective stories to a separate set of bombings at a Baghdad hotel popular with foreign journalists. Of course it's understandable that the papers simply have more details on the attack against a hotel housing over 20 Western news organizations than they do on the carnage at a pair of mosques some 100 miles northeast of the capital. (Just how close to home the hotel attack was for some journalists was made clear by the personal account of one Knight Ridder reporter.) Only the Los Angeles Times, which goes with the bombings as its off-lead, devotes the bulk of its article to the mosque attacks, highlighting retaliation against the Kurds as a possible motive. In recent months, the largely Kurdish town that was home to the mosques has had discussions about joining semi-autonomous Kurdistan.
The Post sets aside its lead for the charges brought against a former associate of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist. The associate, PR exec Michael Scanlon, was charged yesterday with conspiring with Abramoff to bribe unnamed government officials, including a congressman referred to in court filings as "Representative No. 1." All the papers point out that it's no secret this anonymous politician is Ohio Republican Robert Ney. The bad news for Abramoff and Ney is that Scanlon is cooperating with prosecutors. The LAT quotes Scanlon's lawyer as saying a plea will be presented Monday, although the NYT notes that what Scanlon knows remains uncertain. The Post continues to own this story; its helpful timeline is an excellent guide to the emerging case against Abramoff and Ney.
The Post is the only paper to front special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's revelation that a new grand jury will be called as he continues his investigation of who leaked CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to the media. The papers disagree on what the new grand jury signifies. The LAT, which stuffs the story, says experienced prosecutors warned not to read too much into the move, while the Post says it means Fitzgerald is "all but certainly" considering more criminal charges. The most interesting details in the NYT's story, plugged in a reefer, come from a Friday report by Time magazine about the Post's Bob Woodward. Woodward announced this week that an anonymous source revealed Plame's identity to him in June 2003. In related news, the WSJ notes that Fitzgerald reached a deal with lawyers for Dow Jones, its corporate parent, to loosen restrictions on information about the case.
The WSJ fronts Toyota's 2006 production targets, revealing that the Japanese auto maker has an ambitious plan for the new year that would raise production 11 percent and unseat GM as the world's No. 1 car company. The story is a fitting companion to the latest installment in the NYT's series on the decline of corporate support for employee benefits: Today the paper fronts a piece on GM's efforts to cut costs by trimming pay, pensions, and other labor expenses.
Everyone stuffs the latest on Iran's nuclear program. The NYT, which yesterday ran an ad the Islamic regime bought to defend its efforts, highlights President Bush's embrace of a Russian proposal that would allow the country to enrich uranium in Russia. The Post explains U.S. acceptance of the idea by noting that American officials recognize that their current approach has failed to resolve the crisis. The LAT describes Iran's grudging compliance with the IAEA, but only the WSJ focuses on the revelation (in documents handed over to the nuclear watchdog) that Pakistan's A.Q. Kahn provided Iran with basic information on building a nuclear bomb.
Finally, although it lacks any particular newspeg, the LAT's above-the-fold story on the abuse a Catholic missionary perpetrated on Alaskan boys is worth a read—if only for its grand sweep and rich detail.


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Our Perspectives
Defending the planet starts on your plate
12 Aug 2016 by Anissa Saudemont, Social Media Intern
Sustainable consumption and production is the theme of this year's International Youth Day. It invites us to reflect on how young people can help to achieve the Sustainable Develop Goals, especially Goal 12.
Young or not-so-young, many of us ask ourselves whether, on a personal level, we can contribute to the fight against climate change and other major global challenges. Turning off the light when leaving a room, recycling waste, reducing the use of plastic bags, having a shower rather than a bath… Many of us have already adopted such habits in our everyday lives.
But what about our eating habits? Here too, the choices we make have an impact on the environment. A simple experience can suddenly crystalize how this is indeed true:
As a student living in Montreal, I was doing my grocery shopping as usual at one of my neighbourhood stores. Automatically, I chose some garlic, the same garlic that I bought each time. Except this time, when reading the label, I realized that I had just chosen a food product from China.
That small clove of garlic had travelled 10,460 km before ending up in my shopping basket, a consumption 125 520 litres of fuel, supposing that the garlic had been transported by air. So I put back this small piece of garlic, which had, to my mind, travelled too far compared with the same product from Quebec.
The food sector represents 30 percent of all global energy consumption, 22 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and 70 percent of human consumption of fresh water.
Of course, eating is an essential part of life, one of our most basic needs. Even though we can't do without it – in fact because we can't do without it – why not at least try to do it in the most responsible fashion possible?
Each of us can do our bit to protect the environment, once we have the necessary information to make an informed choice.
So, before purchasing a food product, ask yourself a few questions:
- Is this product in season? If not, it was probably grown in a greenhouse, and its cultivation has definitely required a more significant amount of energy.
- Where does it come from? If it had to travel across the entire country, or even continents, before being placed on our shelves, just think about the amount of carbon emissions related to transport and to the marketing of imported products.
- What type of agriculture was utilized to produce it? Try to buy foods produced by small farmers rather than large-scale industrial production. In doing so, we will be positioning ourselves against crop homogeneity whilst preserving agricultural diversity.
These important questions should guide our choices as consumers. It is our duty to think more about the consequences of our actions.
Everyone knows the famous expression 'think globally, act locally', words spoken in 1972 by René Dubos, a Franco-American biologist, during the first UN conference on the environment in Stockholm.
Now we need to think global and eat local!
Doing without tomatoes, beans or mangoes in winter may be difficult for many of us. Yet it is a fair price to pay to adopt thoughtful consumer behaviour.
On this International Youth Day, we all have a role to play in defending our planet, and it all starts on our plates.
Blog post Youth Governance and peacebuilding Agenda 2030 Guest Post Sustainable development Food security Roca brothers


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A-Train (T.H. Seeds) feminized
- View full size
A-Train by T.H. Seeds is the kid of two medicinal strains, the Afghani Mazar I Sharif and Arcata e-32 Trainwreck™ and is an effective appetite enhancer and helps lowering ocular pressure and to relief stress. But it also causes the "Chinese eyes syndrome"; you will be smiling from ear to ear and your eyes will be narrow slits. Get aboard A-Train now.
Product status: In stock


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"Where do I start?"
We know, it is difficult! So we figured we would write a guide to making he right choices.
1. Pick a fabric you like
It is important to get off on the right foot when designing a House of Billiam jacket. If you start just flicking through all the fabrics with a single goal, to find the colour or print that you like the best, you can focus your mind more readily. We have always found that when designing a jacket you need to start with one decision and use that decision as the foundation for all the other decisions you make.
2. Look at the fabric you like and think what else will go with it
Once you have a fabric you like, identify the colours that you think will a) go with that fabric b) go with the colours you already wear and you know suit you.
3. Be bold or don't, there is no wrong answer
We have made a lot of jackets and because of all the jackets we have made, we know that what works and what doesn't. It is really difficult to get it wrong. We have used our knowledge of the jackets and the fabrics that work to create a massive palette that we know works. Sure, we might not wear them, but we find it hard for people to make jackets we are offended by.
We are so happy to answer any questions. Not only that, because we construct the jackets ourselves, made the patterns ourselves and chose the fabrics we use so we know everything back to front and we can help you make the decision that is right for you!


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Calls are free from landlines and mobiles
Laura Morgan
Director of Medical Negligence
Alison Saul
Director of Personal Injury
Claire Critchley
Head of Professional Negligence
0808 301 8622
Every day, thousands of people in the UK are affected by injuries and disorders caused by carrying out repetitive tasks at work. Collectively these injuries are often referred to as repetitive strain injury (RSI) or work-related upper limb disorder (WRULD). More precisely, the most common conditions affecting the arms, wrists and hands are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendonitis and Tenosynovitis (or de Quervain's syndrome), and Epicondylitis (often referred to as tennis elbow or golfer's elbow).
There are, however, other RSI type injuries that affect your back, knees and wrists, or which cause hernias.
The symptoms of RSI and WRULD are caused by work that involves doing something over and over again, day in day out, or by having to work in an awkward or uncomfortable position. Muscles don't always have enough time to recover between repetitive activities and therefore the damage done as a result of these working conditions can often be serious and even permanently disabling.
That's why your employer has to give you sufficient breaks, rotate the work that you do, assess your workplace to reduce the risk of RSI, and provide you with proper training. An employer should also deal with any complaints of these symptoms that you report to them. If they don't, this could mean that they have been further negligent and that the negligence has caused you additional harm.
As some of these conditions can also occur naturally, and can therefore arise just as spontaneously in people who do not do repetitive work as in those who do, it is important to speak to a specialist lawyer with expertise in occupational illnesses who can give you clear advice to help you decide whether to pursue a claim against your employer.
Our experienced occupational illness solicitors can advise and support you throughout your claim. We can advise you about the benefits you are entitled to from the Department of Work and Pensions because of your injury. We can also access rehabilitation treatment for you so that the cost of this treatment and any necessary aids or equipment can be funded through your claims process. Above all, our experts can help you secure the compensation you deserve.
For an informal, confidential chat about making a claim with one of our expert personal injury solicitors, call us now on 01515505228 (calls free from landlines and mobiles). Or just complete the 'Start a new claim' option on the right and we'll call you straight back.
Alison Saul, Director of Personal Injury leads our Personal Injury and Road Accident teams. A fully qualified solicitor with over 15 years of experience and expertise, Alison is dedicated to achieving the highest levels of compensation for her clients as well as ensuring high quality client care.
Alison is assisted by her team managers, Philip Waters Lee Quinn, Jenna Hargreaves, and Kathryn Langton. Philip, Lee, and Jenna lead legal teams focussing on Road Traffic Accident cases while Kathyrn leads our Personal Injury team. Together they have a wealth of experience in personal injury compensation.
There are many people injured in accidents each year through no fault of their own and the circumstances will be difference in each instance. Our team has extensive experience of successfully managing a wide range of personal injury claims, so we can help you secure the maximim compensation you deserve.
Philip, a qualified solicitor, has over 18 years' experience in personal injury compensation. Having previously worked for a large insurance company, he has extensive insights in how to engage effectively with insurers to achieve the level of compensation our clients deserve. Philip deals with cases of high value, complex cases, and recently secured £1.6 million in compensation for one of his clients who suffered catastrophic injuries in a road accident.
Lee has over 15 years' specialist experience in Personal Injury claims and also manages a wide variety of high value, complex cases. Lee has extensive experience of working with insurance companies, acting for both claimants and defendants, and so understands how to secure the highest levels of compensation for the victims of road traffic accidents.
Jenna is a qualified solicitor and has studied to become a barrister. Jenna leads the internal reviews of our case management processes to ensure excellent, efficient case handling and high levels of client satisfaction.
Kathryn, also a qualified solicitor, specialises in accidents at work, public liability and accidents abroad. Kathryn deals with a wide variety of cases, often including accidents that involve serious, complex injuries.
For an informal, confidential chat about making a claim with one of our expert personal injury solicitors, call us now on 0808 231 5461 (calls free from landlines and mobiles). Or just complete the 'Start a new claim' option on the right and we'll call you straight back.
Here are the 10 steps we both need to go through to make your claim for compensation. We understand that you may not have been through this process before, so we hope you find this 10 step guide helpful.
Often people have been exposed to harm at work many years ago. We make sure we understand exactly what happened and work with you to draft a detailed, accurate statement in your own words about your work history, exposure and the symptoms you are now looking to claim for.
Once we have your statement, we obtain:
You must prove that you worked in an environment where harm was caused to you because your employer failed to protect you from the risks of developing an illness or condition.
Once you have proved negligence and breach of duty, you must also prove that your condition was caused by this negligence and not by anything else. We need expert medical evidence to assess this, so we will arrange for you to see an expert who will assess your current condition and consider what the future holds for you.
The calculation of your compensation comprises:
Personal injury compensation aims to place you back in the position that you would have been in but for your illness. So you are responsible for doing what you can to minimise your loss.
This means that attending treatment to aid your recovery or alleviate your symptoms, and returning to work when it is safe to do so.
We will advise you on any benefits you could claim from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) during your claim.
As you must disclose all documents that are relevant to your claim, you must keep all original accounts, payslips, and receipts for expenses/medical treatments safe until your claim has been settled.
Although It is not always necessary to issue proceedings in Court, we prepare every case as if it were going to trial.
The trial will take place before a Circuit or High Court Judge who will make a decision on the evidence that we have prepared.
If you are successful in your case, the amount of compensation you receive will be decided either by negotiation with the Defendant or, if your case goes to trial, by the Judge. We will agree a date by which your compensation will be paid to us so that we can pay your compensation to you as quickly as possible.
Because the circumstances surrounding every claim and their effects are different, it's very difficult to give a definitive answer on how long it takes to settle a claim. Often it depends on how quickly our clients provide us with essential information, how quickly we can get medical records and assessments, and whether the insurance companies are willing to provide realistic offers to settle the claims.
Whilst we aim to settle your claim as quickly as possible, we also want to ensure we secure the maximum compensation for you. This often means we have to do some hard negotiation with the defendants – which takes extra time. Our aim is to balance progressing the claim as fast as possible with getting you the maximum settlement.
We realise that you'll be keen to know about the progress of your claim so we will send you regular emails and texts to keep you up to date, and also to remind you if there is any information we're waiting for from you.
No.1 Europa House,Conway Street,Birkenhead,CH41 4FT
This firm maintains professional indemnity insurance in accordance with the rules of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Details of the insurers and the territorial coverage of the policy are available for inspection at our offices.
Copyright © 2019 Your Legal Friend. All rights reserved.


text: Hi Maarten >>>>> "Maarten" == Maarten ter Huurne <maarten at treewalker.org> writes: Maarten> As far as I can see, this decorator could be applied to any Maarten> function that returns a Deferred, not just to inlineCallbacks. Yes, that's right, and it could be used in that case if you didn't want to deal with the deferred you were about to return inside your method. I wrote it specifically for inlineCallbacks because that case is a bit different. With inlineCallbacks, the called method never has its hands on the deferred that the caller will receive (whereas in a typical deferred-returning method you either create the deferred yourself or call something that does). In fact, the deferred the caller receives will normally be returned back to the caller before the called method has finished. Also, a return out of an inlineCallbacks function may happen at many places (due to the hidden _DefGen_Return raise done by defer.returnValue), so it's not as simple to arrange to do things at the end of the method as it is in other circumstances. Terry


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The only thing I can think of is Island Treasures, or maybe I missed it in there somewhere.
I'd probably die trying to get my family out, my DVD/Blu-ray collection (over 1,600 titles), my Stephen King hardbacks, my STAR TREK collectibles and, yes, this monument to U2. If I only had a split second to make a grab for U2, I guess it would have to be the deluxe editions of BOY, OCTOBER, WAR, UNDER A BLOOD RED SKY and THE JOSHUA TREE, as well as the MFSL CDs for WAR, THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE and THE JOSHUA TREE. But that would be a dark day of the blackest despair.
Haha, nah. I think it's funny that Gp2 just types it all out, instead of posting a photo of it all.
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Register or LoginHaha, nah. I think it's funny that Gp2 just types it all out, instead of posting a photo of it all.I have the list already set as an Excel file; easy enough to copy and paste. I haven't ever photographed my collection, though, so that's a bit more of an assignment...I'll see if my kids will get off my back long enough to take some snapshots this weekend, though...
Please do, i'd actually really like to see your collection, since it seems you and i are the kings of the collections around these parts.


text: Hi there! So, my problem is, that have a Logitech G25. As far as I know there is nothing wrong with it, because I use it almost every day in other games. When I try to set up my controls in the game, in the bottom left corner it says 0 controllers found. Autodetect doesn't help either. Do you have any suggestions what could I do? Thanks in advance!


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Silver Plated Corporate Gift Set
(Pen, Keyring, Business Card Holder)
Dimension: 6.5 x 7 x 1.25 Inches Approx.
A smart choice for personal use and perfect gifting option for Corporate, for Executives, Professionals, Clients, one's Boss, Doctor, for employees and business associates, for someone you revere….for someone you love…….
• Crystal Studded Pen – Silver plated, a very lovely, sleek, silver plated crystal studded pen, Exquisite design pen, writes smoothly. Glittering crystals are very elegant, royal and stylish. It adds to your personality. Whether it is peeping from your pocket or you are writing with it, you score a point while appearing for a meeting a client or your near dear ones. An excellent way to impress someone.
• Bullion Silver Bar Key Chain – Silver plated, royal. The Key chainis metallic, has a Cylindrical shaped. Is a novelty item. Looks fabulous and is trendy.
• Business card holder – silver plated, with beautiful design. Good quality velvet inside. It closes automatically with a magnetic flap. A smart way to carry / store your business cards, credit cards, ATM, smart cards etc.
Use them to feel the difference. Great for gifting. Both are placed in a presentable gift box. A royal gift at an affordable price.
Silver Plated Corporate Gift Set - 1
- Code: SL-51
- Availability: 5
- Weight (in grms): 0.00
- Size (L x W x H) in cm: 16.50 x 17.50 x 3.00
Tags: Corporate Gift


text:
venerdì 29 marzo 2013
In the Street...We Love Elena Perminova #2
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Here's Liberty reading the November issue of Miniaturas.
This time there were some pictures of Liberty in the article so she was a little more interested, lol!
I blogged about this little Christmas porch last year when I wasn't blogging much about miniatures at all, my how things have changed!
I built the porch as a project at the club. It was a way to learn new skills. Everything was made from scratch, right down to the door and weatherboards. I even learned how to install wiring and lights.


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IN STAR WARS EPISODE VII NEWS, as the production of the new film moves into Pinewood Studios, casting directors for the film on both sides of the Atlantic have sent out a cryptic description of the few new leads J.J. Abrams is looking for. Here's the breakdown: "A young man aged between 20 and 25, witty and smart, fit but not classically handsome; a man in his late twenties, also fit, but this one is handsome and confident; Late teenage girl, independent, good sense of humour [sic,] also physically fit; a second young female, also late teens, tough, smart and physically fit; a man in his late forties, obviously physically fit, this one is a military type; and finally, a guy aged around seventy, strong opinions and tough." … THERE IS A RUMOR FLOATING OUT THERE Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have both been assigned fitness trainers and nutritionists by the producers of the new film, in order to ensure they can be in good shape when filming reportedly starts in January. Jedi Knights anyone ? … AND GEORGE LUCAS recently commented that he is excited to see what J.J. Abrams does with his baby. Said Lucas: "J.J.'s a great director and we're friends. I think he understands the whole thing and how it works. "And if he doesn't, Kathy will keep it straight." But cautioning the media, Lucas added, "No matter how you do it, it's a complicated cultural icon. Therefore you're always going to be in trouble no matter what you do, so, the best thing you can do is just plow forward and try to do the best story you can." In a separate interview Lucas stated that he hasn't had a chance to speak to Abrams about the new film as of yet, but he nonetheless voiced approval of the current progress of the project: "I have not spoken to J.J. He's been busy with Star Trek, and I'm sure that he'll let me know when he's got some questions. So, you know, that's all going well. Kathy tells me it's working out great." … AND SPEAKING OF GEORGE, the 69 year old retiree just got married to 44 year old Mellody Hobson. Lucas and Hobson got engaged over the Christmas holidays after several years in a long-distance relationship; Hobson in Illinois, and Lucas in California. Hobson is a contributor for CBS News, and Chairman and President of Ariel Investments in Chicago, and is also Chairman of the Board of Dreamworks Animation. Congratulations ! … DIRECTOR J.J. ABRAMS recently attended a "Produced by" conference on the 20th Century Fox Lot in Los Angeles and had this to say about the upcoming film: "I think that the thing is so big and so massive to so many people that the key to moving forward is honoring but not revering what went before." Abrams also commented on the production schedule of the film by stating, "Most likely we are going to be moving to London at the end of the year for the Star Wars movie." … OKAY, NOW I HAVE SEEN IT ALL — Behold ! Time Traveling CGI Turkeys ! btw, the movie is called Free Birds:
THE LEGO MOVIE NOW HAS both a poster and trailer. Both are below:
A FRESH DRAFT OF A SCRIPT FOR THE LOGAN'S RUN REMAKE will be written by the creator of the Bio Shock video game, Ken Levine … UNIVERSAL have revealed that Jurassic Park IV isn't quite dead yet. They even debuted some temp marketing for vendors at the Licensing Expo 2013 in Las Vegas on June the 18th. The poster, which seems neither to have a subtitle or a # pinned to the new Jurassic Park film, seemed to confirm to onlookers that the Studio is planning to release the film in the summer of 2015. It has also been revealed that the film will be shot in 3D … ACTOR RYAN REYNOLDS has dropped out of the reboot of Highlander, following in the footsteps of the project's director, Carlos (28 Weeks Later) Fresnadillo … THE SEQUEL TO RIDLEY SCOTT'S ALIEN PREQUEL, PROMETHEUS, now has a screenwriter. The currently untitled film will be penned by Jack Paglen. Paglen is the writer of Transcendence, the directorial debut of Oscar winning cinematographer Wally (The Dark Knight) Phister … AS FOR THE TOMB RAIDER REBOOT, Marti Noxon, a writer a producer on the WB's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has been hired to write the script for MGM, who currently hold the rights. Noxon was also responsible for the screenplays for the films, I Am Number Four, and the remake of Fright Night … TERMINATOR 5 appears to be headed to theaters sooner than expected. Arnold himself recently stated that, "Terminator 5′ starts filming early 2014." And actor and former professional wrestler, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is negotiating to join the production, which will reportedly focus on Skynett's attempt at killing Sarah Conner's parents somewhere between the late 1940's and early 1950's. Johnson is currently shooting Hercules for director Brett (Tower Heist) Ratner, based upon the comic book, "Hercules: The Thracian Wars." Laeta Kalogridis, who scripted the film Shutter Island and worked on Avatar for James Cameron, is co-writing the script for Terminator 5, which is said to be almost complete. Distribution rights to the franchise were recently sold to Paramount Pictures … THE FIRST TRAILER FOR THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (due in theaters December 15th) has been revealed:
AFTER YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT HELL, CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE may soon finally find its way to the silver screen. Veteran producer Jon (Predator, Chronicle) Davis is currently attached to the project, through 20th Century Fox, and hopes to develop the material into a multimedia franchise, as well as a series of major motion pictures in the action-adventure genre. The 1980's children's books were immensely popular back in the day, utilizing a unique type of interactive storytelling that allowed readers to choose the path the principal character(s) would take, at intervals of just a few pages. Thus the readers choices determined the fate of the characters, and the stories spanned many genres and story cliche's readily available in public domain, such as flying saucers and the abominable snowman. Many producers over the years have attempted to get the project off the ground, either as a single film that left open the possibility of a sequel, or an abashedly honest attempt at a franchise. Steven Spielberg held the film and television rights at one time, as did actress Nicole Kidman … MAN OF STEEL 2 is being "literally" fast-tracked into production for next summer. Director Zack Snyder and screenwriter David S. Goyer, have reportedly already launched into pre-production without a completed screenplay. Director Snyder commented, "I haven't yet gotten to speak to the studio about all these awesome details (because I've been overseas on the junket). So my hope is, when I get home I can sit down with everyone and it'll be like 'Okay, so what are we going to do?.. we need to do something…"' Regarding the sequel, Snyder further commented, "We almost destroyed the world last time, now what!?" … AND SPEAKING OF MAN OF STEEL, ACTOR JAMES FRANCO was recently asked to review Man of Steel, and dropped two very interesting comic book movie related pieces of information within the context of his review. One relates to Henry Cavill showing a very early ambition to play Superman. Franco commented that during the filming of Tristan & Isolde in 2006, "What Henry took seriously back then was Superman. He wanted to be Superman more than anything in the world." Franco adds that Cavill was actually up for the role of Superman in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, but lost the role at the last minute to fellow actor Brandon Routh. Franco further commented, "The night of the premiere (of Man of Steel) I saw Henry from afar on the red carpet and knew 'this' was the moment his whole life had been building toward. His dream had come true, and I was happy for him. It was the role he would have killed to do, with the right director (Zack Snyder) and the right producer (Chris Nolan)—people who would keep the story and the characters focused, grounded by Chris's regular team of David S. Goyer and Emma Thomas." The other nugget dropped and left for general perusal by the public during Franco's review, was the reason that Sam Raimi left the Spider-Man franchise. *Please note this quote has been taken out-of-context from the review itself: "Kids like comic-book-style heroes, teens like flashy action and sex, and therefore these films make money. Adults—the third audience—respect money. So these films are made. Again and again. And if Brandon Routh doesn't work as Superman, or if Sam Raimi can't agree on the villain for a fourth Spider-Man, they will just make new versions without them." For the record, James Franco gave Man of Steel a favorable review …THE 39TH ANNUAL SATURN AWARDS were handed out on June 26th. The Saturn Awards honor the best in horror, sci-fi, and fantasy. Check out the listing of winners below:
Best Science Fiction Film: Marvel's The Avengers
Best Fantasy Film: Life of Pi
Best Horror/Thriller Film: The Cabin in the Woods
Best Action/Adventure Film: Skyfall
Best Actor: Matthew McConaughey (Killer Joe)
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games)
Best Supporting Actor: Clark Gregg (Marvel's The Avengers)
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)
Best Performance by a Younger Actor: Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi)
Best Director: Joss Whedon (Marvel's The Avengers)
Best Writing: Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)
Best Production Design: Dan Hennah (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
Best Editing: Alexander Berner (Cloud Atlas)
Best Music: Danny Elfman (Frankenweenie)
Best Costume: Paco Delgado (Les Miserables)
Best Make-Up: Heike Merker, Daniel Parker, Jeremy Woodhead (Cloud Atlas)
Best Special Effects: Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick (Marvel's The Avengers)
Best Independent Film Release: Killer Joe
Best International Film: Headhunters
Best Animated Film: Frankenweenie
Best Network Television Series: Revolution
Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series: The Walking Dead
Best Presentation on Television: Breaking Bad
Best Youth-Oriented Series on Television: Teen Wolf
Best Actor on Television: Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Kevin Bacon (The Following) – tie
Best Actress on Television: Anna Torv (Fringe)
Best Supporting Actor on Television: Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad)
Best Supporting Actress on Television: Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead)
Best Guest Star on Television: Yvonne Strahovski (Dexter)
Best DVD/BD Release: Touchback
Best DVD/BD Special Edition Release: Little Shop of Horrors: The Director's Cut
Best DVD/BD Collection Release: Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection
Best DVD/BD Television Series Release: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 1 & 2
The Lifetime Achievement Award: William Friedkin
The Dan Curtis Legacy Award: Vince Gilligan
The Visionary Award: Richard Matheson
The Life Career Award: Jonathan Frakes
… UNIVERSAL PICTURES has optioned the rights to and will produce a film based upon Locke & Key, the comic book published by IDW and created by Joe Hill (son of famed author Stephen King) and Gabriel Rodriguez. A favorite on the New York Times Bestseller List, the comic tells the story of three siblings who, after the gruesome murder of their father, move to their ancestral home in Massachusetts. They soon discover the house has magical keys that give the bearers a vast array of powers and abilities. However, a devious creature is also after the keys, forcing the family to make a stand against evil. Star Trek and Transformers screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci will pen the screenplay. The property was previously a pilot for a TV series produced by Dreamworks and intended for the Fox network. Fox passed, and the producers shopped it around, but were turned down everywhere due to the expense of producing the show on a weekly basis. … THE JAPANESE HAVE MADE a live action version of the classic late 70's cartoon, Battle of the Planets (otherwise known as Gatchaman.) For those who wouldn't remember, the storyline of the cartoon is set in the near future and follows five special agents of the International Science Organization in Tokyo as they try to protect the world from the mysterious terrorist group who call themselves Galactor. Utilizing technology that surpasses anything on Earth, Galactor has declared war on the entire world and has already subjugated half of it. Trained to draw out the power from the mysterious crystal-like object called a "stone," our five heroes will be called "Gatchaman." Check out the trailer:
SCREENWRITER BRAD (WILD HOGS) COPELAND will write Knight Rider for The Weinstein Company. The original "Knight Rider" series aired for four seasons on NBC beginning in 1982. It starred David Hasselhoff as Michael Knight, a crimefighter aided by the Knight Industries Two Thousand (KITT), a highly advanced vehicle with its own A.I. personality. … AUTHOR DIANA GABALDON'S S/F BOOK SERIES (of which there are currently 7 with an 8th on the way) will soon begin production as a television miniseries, under the initial book's title, Outlander. The Starz channel will partner with Sony Pictures Television to begin producing the show in Scotland this fall, for a 2014 premiere date. The adaptation is being written by Ronald D. Moore or both Star Trek: The Next Generation and BSG fame. The "Outlander" series spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history, and adventure in one grandiose tale. It follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire's heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. … DIRECTOR ROLAND (INDEPENDENCE DAY) EMMERICH recently commented on the sequel, and or sequels to Independence Day, and confirmed at least one previous rumor to be true. Said Emmerich, "Will Smith can not come back because he's too expensive, but he'd also be too much of a marquee name. It would be too much." He added, "We have like maybe half of the people that you know would know from the first film and the other half people who are new." Concerning the nature of the film's storyline, he had this to say: "We're not doing a total reboot, we're doing something that's totally unusual." Screenwriter James (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man) Vanderbilt is now at work polishing a draft originally written by Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin. Studio 20th Century Fox is hoping for a July 4th weekend release two years from now … AND NOW THE BAD NEWS, prolific author Richard Matheson has died. Hearing of his passing, friend and fellow author Harlan Ellison wrote, "I am downsmashed." Author and screenwriter Richard Burton Matheson was born in New Jersey in 1926, and raised in Brooklyn New York. After graduating high school in '43, he served as an infantry soldier during the Second World War. In '49 he got a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and moved to California in '51. He married in '52 and had four children, two of which became writers themselves. Chris Matheson is a notable screenwriter, who among other credits, co-wrote the Bill & Ted films. And Richard "Christian" Matheson became a very notable writer in television his self, working on shows such as The Incredible Hulk, The A-Team, Knight Rider, and Nightmares & Dreamscapes (based upon the Stephen King story collection.) The elder Matheson reportedly published his first short story in a local newspaper at the age of eight. Eventually, his stories would appear in multiple publications, including "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" and "Galaxy Science Fiction." In 1951, Matheson met writer Charles Beaumont, and joined a writer's group called "The Southern California Sorcerers," which also included noted author Ray Bradbury. Matheson later became a writer of the "Southern California School of Writers" in the 50's and 60's, along with fellow Twilight Zone writers Charles Beaumont, Ray Bradbury, William F. Nolan, and George Clayton Johnson. In addition to prolific work on Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, Matheson remained a prolific fictionist, and his work inspired several notable films, including The Incredible Shrinking Man, Somewhere in Time, What Dreams May Come, A Stir of Echoes, and of course The Last Man on Earth (1964,) The Omega Man (1971,) and I Am Legend (2007) — all three adapted from Matheson's novel "I Am Legend." In fact, the book "I Am Legend" has been acknowledged by filmmaker George A. Romero as the primary influence for his seminal horror film, Night of the Living Dead. And Steven Spielberg has acknowledged that Matheson's episode of the original Twilight Zone, "Little Girl Lost," was one of the primary influences for the film he co-wrote and produced, Poltergeist. After hearing of his death, Spielberg said, "Richard Matheson's ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories and gave me my first break when he wrote the short story and screenplay for Duel. His Twilight Zones were among my favorites, and he recently worked with us on Real Steel. For me, he is in the same category as Bradbury and Asimov." The TV movie Duel was in fact Spielberg's big break. It was a harrowing tale of a motorist being terrorized up and down a California highway, by a faceless truck driver in a rig covered in grime and rust. Spielberg eventually utilized what he had learned from filming the movie, while shooting JAWS, and the rest is movie history. Matheson also adapted screenplays based upon a handful of works by author Edgar Allen Poe, for low budget producer/director Roger Corman. These included the Vincent Price films, The House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Raven. Matheson's credits additionally included an episode of the original Star Trek titled "The Enemy Within," the original Night Stalker TV films, and an episode of Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories. During his long career, Matheson earned a Writers Guild Association nomination for 1985′s Amazing Stories and won the Hugo Award, The Edgar Allen Poe Award, the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Horror Writers Association, and a Lifetime Achievement award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. Matheson had been working on a new screenplay for a remake of The Incredible Shrinking Man when he died at his home in Calabasas, Calif., of natural causes. He died just days before he was to receive a Visionary award at the 39th Annual Saturn Awards. Richard Matheson, storyteller, was 87 years old.


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Packt Publishing has published a book called Inkscape Beginner's Guide. I've had the chance to read this book and here I will share my thoughts about this book. I don't really belong to the people this book it targeted to – Inkscape beginners – but I have tried to look at this book as if I was not fluent Inkscape user already.
In brief, this book explores a wide variety of features available in Inkscape 0.48 in a straightforward and easy-to-follow way. Copious amounts of screen shots are used so that it is easy to see what kind of results one should expect when trying out the features described in the book. Naturally, the flip side of this is that none of the features are discussed in depth – the book would become huge if they were.
The book starts from the very beginnings, such as what are vector graphics, SVG and Inkscape and how to install Inkscape. In fact, it is not until chapter 4 that the reader is shown how to draw something. If I was writing a beginner's guide I probably would get into the drawing part earlier on, but how this book is written has its merits too: the basics are explained before the things that build upon them.
The target audience of the book seems to be aspiring print or web designers. Before drawing their first shape, the reader is shown how to define the page size and how to set up the different margins used in print design. Many of the examples show web page design tasks and there are several mentions of things "your programming team" can do, such as programmatically modifying the SVG file you have created.
Unfortunately the book has a slight unfinished feeling to it. Nothing big, for example the first chapter tells SVG is based on XML on multiple occasions, but never really tells what is XML. An other part of book shows how to change the page background opacity by changing the hexadecimal colour code from ffffff00 to ffffffff without telling what those codes mean and when the alpha slider is clearly visible in the provided screen shot. One chapter declares it will show how to use spiros, but shows spirals instead. Small things and a beginner would not even notice most, just multiple things that feel slightly odd.
One big thing I would change is the way how the Bezier tool is presented in the book, though this is really mostly a personal preference. Anyhow, it is a tool that I use often and make heavy use of its short cuts, but the book only shows how to draw straight lines with sharp corners and how they can be turned into round lines and corners afterwards. If I was doing my drawing the way it is shown in this book, it would take a lot more time. This is a general trend in the book elsewhere, too: it shows things you can do with Inkscape, but often not how to do them efficiently.
Not so much about the book contents, but I do like how the e-book is made. I got myself the PDF version and it looks well made and does come with full index. If I want to jump to, say, chapter 9 which explains filter effects, I can just select it from the side bar in Evince (or other PDF reader). Only issue I have with it is that my name appears on every page of the PDF – obviously it is there to combat piracy, but it also causes a mental highlight fairly often when you spot your own name on the document.
So, to recap: this book gives a wide overview of how to use Inkscape, but somewhat lacks in depth. I would believe this book can be useful for beginners – just as its title says – but not so much for anyone who already knows his way around Inkscape.


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The rear camera is an 8 MP unit with f/2.0 aperture and the front camera is a 2 MP unit. Juicing up the slate is a 4,000 mAh battery which is capable up to 11.5 hours use.
The Fonepad 7 (FE171CG) will be available in black, white, gold and red colors for RM 529. It will be available in Malaysia early next month and the Fonepad 7 (FE170CG) will be continue selling as well.


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- This event has passed.
Stunning in Silver with Cristine Grimm
July 27, 2017 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm$60 – $65
Thursday 6:00-9:00 p.m.
July 27
Class Fee: $65 ($60 Members)
Age 14-Adult
Do you love unique, silver jewelry? Come and join certified Art Clay instructor, Cristine Grimm, in exploring Art Clay, the clay that turns to 99.9% pure silver when fired. Start out small, making earrings or small pendants with basic techniques that can be used anywhere, anytime, without a kiln. Cristine is a master instructor who will bring all the tools and tricks necessary to create something you'll enjoy wearing or adding to your next beading project. Cost includes silver clay, the use of all necessary tools, and a necklace and jump ring for wearing home.


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The Exchange Hotel is a venue like no other.
The Grade II* listed building is located in the heart of Cardiff Bay and offers guests the opportunity to take a step back in time and explore one of Wales' most significant buildings.
Filled with rich history and grandeur throughout, The Exchange has been restored to its former glory with original features preserved and the Grand Hall reinstated as the most iconic venue in the city.
Preserving the DNA of The Exchange has been at the forefront of the restoration.
The building, which has suffered tremendous damage over the years was left in a state of sever disrepair with damage encapsulating not only the exterior but the interior and supporting structure.
The process to restore this beautiful building began in 2016 where a team of skilled workers set about preserving it for the future all whilst ensuring its use as a hotel would wholly celebrate its history.


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As I already mentioned, I have a new Apple Mac Mini and Verizon wireless internet. My review so far...LOVE. IT.
Here are some comparison shoots. My Mac "Mini" on top of my old Dell tower. Huge difference!
The old modem next to my new, tiny, wireless, portable Verizon modem.
Here is a before look...
And the after (with the old tower...still have to save a few more documents and delete everything before purging it). Once the old tower is gone, I will be left with only the Mac Mini under the printer and the wireless modem on the corner of the book shelf. I am thinking thin hanging file folders for some more organization needs to take the place of the tower.
Now...off to surf the net! Just... Because... I... Can!!