text:
A protruding rim, edge, rib, or collar, used to strengthen an object, hold it in place, or attach it to another object. Often simply a metal ring which flares at its base so it can be screwed to a flat surface; and when a rod is inserted into the flange, it is held at right angles to the surface.
Pigment which is dispersed into a liquid, called a vehicle, which includes a binder to make it adhere both to itself and to the surface to which it is applied. Types of paint include tempera, watercolor, oil paint, gouache, enamel paint, encaustic, fresco, and secco.
See Also: ink
Works of art made with paint on a surface. Often the surface, also called a support, is either a tightly stretched piece of canvas or a panel. How the ground (on which paint is applied) is prepared on the support depends greatly on the type of paint to be used. Also, the act of painting, which may involve a wide range of techniques and materials, along with the artist's other concerns which effect the content of a work.
A private residence of grand architecture in Italy.
Example: Giulo Romano's Palazzo del Te, Mantua, Italy, 1525-1535
A slab of wood, metal, marble, ceramic, plastic, glass, or paper, sometimes with a hole for the thumb, which an artist can hold while painting and on which the artist mixes paint. Anything from ice trays to disposable paper or Styrofoam plates might be used as a palette. A pane of glass with a white piece of paper attached to its underside makes a fine palette. It's especially versatile because the color of the paper back can be made to match a painting's ground, making colors easier to choose. Cleanup of dried paints on such a palette can be done easily with a razor knife. The term palette may also refer to the range of colors used in a particular painting or by a particular artist. In Egyptian art, a slate slab, often decorated with sculpture in low relief. The largest ones were commemorative objects.
Often refers to a wood, copper or other hard surface on which to paint. Sometimes it is referred to as board. Artists of the Gothic and Renaissance periods often painted on panels, at first with tempera, and later with oils, prepared beforehand with a layer of gesso. More recent artists have painted on panels too. Today, it may be a piece of a manufactured material such as Masonite.
A wide, unbroken view of an entire surrounding area. A picture or series of pictures representing a continuous scene, either displayed all at once, or exhibited one at a time by being unrolled and passed before the audience. Originally, it was a building specially designed to house colossal, circular murals. (pr. pa-no-ra'meh)
A mass of interlaced cellulose fibers in sheet or roll form, used as a combination ground and support in drawing, watercolor and pastel painting, and the various graphic art techniques. Fine-arts papers are made of pulped linen and cotton rags; while lower quality, impermanent papers, such as newsprint, construction paper, and butcher paper, are made of wood pulp or a combination of wood pulp and cotton rag.
The basic papermaking process takes advantage of the ability of plant cell fibers (cellulose) to adhere to each other when a watery pulp made from the fibers is spread on a screen called a deckle, and dried. Today, paper is made principally from wood pulp combined with pulps from waste paper or, for fine grades of paper, with fibers from cotton rags. For newsprint, tissues, and other inexpensive papers, the pulp is prepared mechanically, by grinding the wood, sometimes boiling it with various chemicals. The pulp is poured onto a deckle, where the water drains away and the fibers begin to mat. The paper layer then passes through a series of rollers that dry, press, and smooth it, and add various finishes.
papier mâché
A material, made from paper pulp or shreds of paper mixed with resin, wallpaper paste, or flour and water (2:1 by volume), which can be molded or modeled into various shapes when wet and becomes hard and suitable for painting and varnishing when dry. To slow mold in wallpaper paste or flour and water paste, add 3 T sugar per gallon. Other substitutes (less likely to mold or mildew) are white glue and water, liquid starch and water, and methyl-cellulose paste and water (one 2 oz. package per gallon of water). Papier-mâché's permanence is relative of course, but its light weight, minimal expense and the ease of its making recommend it for many uses. Celluclay is a powdered paper product for making papier-mâché. It's a French word, literally meaning chewed-paper. The equivalent Italian term is carta pesta. It is known to have been used for low reliefs in Italy in the 15th century, and was occasionally popular in Europe for ornamental furniture, etc. (pr. American: paper mah-shay', French: pah"pee-yay' mah-shay') Also see celluclay.
A type of collage in which paper shapes are combined into one work of art. French, literally "stuck paper." (pr. pah"pee-yay' kahl-lay')
paraffin (or paraffin wax)
White or colorless flammable oil or wax obtained in the distilling of petroleum. Paraffin is often used as a material for modeling and in such wax-resist techniques as batik, either as a substitute for bee's wax, or as a supplement to it.
An ancestor to modern papers, parchment is a material on which to write or paint prepared from the skin of a sheep or goat. It replaced the use of papyrus during the ancient Roman period. Monastic scribes of the Middle Ages practically monopolized its use in Europe preceding the introduction there of papermaking techniques utilizing plant fibers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Parchment may also refer to paper made in imitation of this material.
Refers to a certain area of a painting or other work of art; a detail. It is often used to direct discussion to a transition from one color or tone to another, or to the use of a noteworthy technique in a section of a picture, or to an area overpainted by someone who was not the original painter.
A mat or other border used to frame or mount a picture. Sometimes an adhesive tape or a gummed paper used to accomplish this.
Pigments mixed with gum and pressed into a stick form for use as crayons. Works of art done with such pigments are referred to as pastels. Chalk is similar to pastel, but more tightly bound. (pr. pass-tell')
A work of art made in admitted imitation of several styles of other works. A composition of incongruous parts; a hodgepodge or pasticcio. Often a pastiche is made in order to ridicule the style of the artist it imitates. (pr. pass-teesh')
Low relief effects produced by the brushing or controlled dripping of gesso onto a rigid surface. Traditionally, this was either painted or water gilded. Medieval, Renaissance, and later painters and craftsmen used this technique on moldings and other decorations, as well as within painted pictures. (pr. pahs-tee'lee-ah)
A sheen or coloration on any surface, either unintended and produced by age or intended and produced by stimulation or simulation, which signifies the object's age; also called aerugo, aes ustum, and verdigris. Typically a thin layer of greens (sometimes reds or blues), usually basic copper sulfate, that forms on copper or copper alloys, such as bronze, as a result of oxidation and corrosion. Metal objects have naturally acquired patinas when long buried in soil or immersed in water. Such naturally formed patinas have come to be greatly prized. There are many formulae for the pickles and chemical treatments of metals which may be employed to encourage the formation of patinas. (pr. pah-tee'nah)
See Also: allegory
An element of Classical architecture. The pediment is gable, or triangular-shaped and rests at the top of the building betweens the slops of the roof and above the colonnade.
Example: Temple of Fortuna Virilus, Rome, Italy, late second to early first century, B.C.
An implement for drawing or writing, consisting of a thin rod of graphite, colored wax, chalk, charcoal, or another such substance which can be sharpened to a fine point, either encased in wood or held in a mechanical holder. Most common today are pencils which contain "leads" which are actually made of graphite, because actual lead is such a poisonous substance. Until this form was manufactured in the 19th century, the term pencil referred to small, pointed brushes, and penciling referred to a painter's draftsmanship.
A ghost image in a painting or print that the artist did not intend. In the case of oil paintings, the top layers of color may become semi-transparent as they age, revealing an image beneath that the artist assumed was covered up. In printmaking, this may happen if a previous image is not completely eradicated from the plate.
performance art
A successor of Happenings, performance art centers on the performance of a single artist's gestures, speech, or costumes to relay a message.
Example: Joseph Bueys' Iphigenia/Titus Andronicus, 1969
permanent pigment
Any pigment which can be expected to last or remain without essential change and is not likely to deteriorate under certain atmospheric conditions, in normal light or in proximity to other colors.
A system or formula for depicting three-dimensions on a flat surface. Giotto and Donatello were some of the first artists to employ perspective in their work.
Example: Giotto's Fresco Cycle at Santa Croce, Florence, Italy,, c. 1320
Any of various alloys with tin as the main component; bright modern pewter contains 6-7% antimony and 1-2% copper; the dull metal of the past contained up to 25% copper, antimony, or lead. Sometimes sculptures described as made of lead have actually been made of such an alloy as this. Caution: contact with lead can contaminate food with poison.
A photographic print made by placing an assemblage of objects on photosensitive paper exposed to light to yield an image of ghostly silhouettes floating in a void of darkened space. The first photogram was probably made around 1802.
The art and science of producing permanent images of objects on light-sensitive surfaces. Louis Daguerre (French, 1787-1851) developed the first permanent photographic images in 1839, having continued the pioneering work of Joseph Niepce. Daguerre's process is called the Daguerreotype
A photomechanical printmaking process invented in 1879. A photographic image is transferred to a copper plate which is chemically etched. The plate is hand-inked for each print.
A technique employing photographic processes to create stencil screens from graphic images, which them become part of complex printing or painting processes.
See Also: silkscreen
A public square in Italy, often of grand proportions and in front of a church.
Example: St. Peter's Piazza, Rome, Italy, begun 1506
A tool consisting of a curved iron bar with a point at one end and a chisel edge at the other, fitted to a long handle, and used to quarry, mine and break stones, and also to shape them in the most basic way.
An acid solution in which to soak metals either to clean them or to achieve an artificial patina. Many metals, including bronze and silver, when newly cast are covered with oxides which are easily removed by pickling.
picture plane
In perspective, the plane (a flat level) occupied by the surface of the picture-- its frontal boundary. When there is any illusion of depth in the picture, the picture plane is similar to a plate of glass behind which pictorial elements are arranged in depth. Artists indicate the supposed distance of subjects beyond the picture plane through the use of changes in the sizes of things, the ways they overlap each other, and (when subjects are placed on the depicted ground, as opposed to flying above it) by positioning them on the area taken up by the depicted floor, ground, or a body of water. Abstract Expressionists worked directly on the plane itself, unconcerned with recession in depth.
piece mold
A mold made in interlocking sections which can be used in making several casts since the mold is easily removed each time without being damaged. Piece molds are most often made of plaster, but might also be made of clay.
pied de biche
A claw chisel with two long points. This is the French name (literally "deer's foot") for what in Italy is called a calcagnolo. (pr. pee-ay' deh beesh)
See Also: bush hammer
The representation of the dead Christ's body lying in the lap of the Virgin Mary. The first pieta was done in Germany in the 14th century.
Example: Michelangelo's Pieta, 1498-1599
Finely powdered color material which produces the color of any medium. made either from natural substances or synthetically, pigment becomes paint, ink, or dye when mixed with oil, water or another fluid (also called vehicle). When pressed into wax it becomes a crayon, pencil or chalk.
See Also: binder, fugitive colors, permanent pigment
A pottery technique, fundamental to manipulating clay. Making a pinch-pot is pressing the thumb into a ball of clay, and drawing the clay out into a pot by repeatedly squeezing the clay between the thumb and fingers. Among their first adventures with clay, K-2 students should have ample opportunities to make pinch-pots, the initial goals of which are: thin walls (from center of bottom to the lip), a smooth inner surface, and identity marked on the underside.
A unit of liquid measurement (in the US) equal to 16 ounces (fluid), or half a quart. To convert pints into liters, multiply them by 0.4731176; into tablespoons, x 32. Abbreviated pt.
Any of a variety of thick, dark, resinous substances obtained from the distillation residue of coal tar, wood tar, or petroleum. One type is burgundy pitch. Pitch is used as the material of a model on which to hammer (raising) sheet metals. It is commonly used for waterproofing, roofing, caulking, and paving.
pitcher (or pitching hammer; pitching tool)
A broad, heavy stone carving chisel, used to strike off pieces of stone in roughing out a carving.
plaster trap
A receptacle fitted under a sink to provide a filter in the draining system. Waste plaster is strained off when tools, etc., are being cleaned. Using plaster without such a trap risks expensive repairs to drainage pipes.
That which is modeled, or which can be modeled; also said to have plasticity or plastic quality. (Distinguished from glyptic.) Or, having the qualities of sculpture; being well formed. Also, any of various organic compounds produced by polymerization, capable of being molded, extruded, or cast into various shapes. It can be made highly transparent, translucent, or opaque.
See Also: acrylic plastics, cell, cellocut, cellophane, fiberglass, Plasticine, polyester resins, polymer, polystyrene, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, resin
A brand name ("a trade mark owned by the Bluebird Toys group of companies") for a modeling clay (oil-based as opposed to ceramic water-based clays) is available in many colors. It cannot be fired or glazed. It softens as it is modeled by the hands (because of their warmth), pieces being joined to each other by pressing them together and blending with fingertips.
The three-dimensional quality of sculptured or constructed forms. Plasticity can also refer to the quality of a material which can be easily manipulated-- modeled, molded or pressed into a desired shape; malleable and yet holding its shape. Clay is an example of a material which can be extremely plastic. Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976) enjoyed the plasticity of wire; Claes Oldenburg (Swedish-American, 1929) has enjoyed using vinyl, plaster and several other materials for their plasticity.
A smooth, flat, relatively thin, rigid object of uniform thickness. May refer to any of the following: a sheet of metal, electroplate, a sheet of any material prepared to be inked in order to make prints, a print (especially when produced for a book), a light-sensitive sheet of glass or metal used in a photographic process, or a very shallow vessel
A heavy, precious, non-corroding, ductile, malleable metal, usually grayish-white, used mainly in jewelry in the form of alloys.
plein air
French for 'open air'. French painters of the Impressionist style favored painting outdoors, en plein air.
Example: Claude Monet's Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (in Sun), 1894
An insertion, generally cylindrical in shape. When applied to metal sculpture, it refers to an insert of the same or similar material as the sculpture. Such an insert is best threaded, screwed into a drilled hole (for example where there has been a flaw), and then sawn off and filed down.
A print made from stencils. Some notable examples are the twenty pictures produced by Henri Matisse for his book Jazz
While it usually refers to a specific location, to a sculptor, a point is a simple metal tool with a pointed end used to rough out (dress) the basic shape of a stone carving. Hammered vertically and with force at the stone face, it not only punctures the stone's surface but causes a rough circle of stone to burst off around this puncture. Handled softly it can gradually reduce the surface, giving it an overall crumbly or pulverized appearance. A fine punch can also be driven into the stone as a defining hole. In addition, the point can be used obliquely to score the stone in long jagged lines. In typography, it is the smallest unit of measurement: although actually .01384 inch, for practical purposes, it is 1/12 of an inch, and twelve points equal one pica.
See Also: calcagnolo, claw chisel, dot, pied de biche
polyester resins
Synthetic plastic resins in liquid form are made to solidify by the addition of a catalyst. Resin, reinforced with glass fiber, is commonly used as casting material, but may also be modeled when thickened with an inert filler such as powdered chalk. It can be cut and abraded when hard.
A chemical compound made by grouping molecules to form natural or synthetic resins. Acrylic resins are polymers in a thermoplastic or thermosetting form of either acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, esters of these acids, or acrylonitrile, and are used to produce paints, lightweight plastics, and synthetic rubbers
A painting of multiple panels that fastened, or hinged together.
Example: Jan van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece, 1432
A plastic which is available in two forms: Toughened polystyrene is a rigid plastic in sheet form, while expanded polystyrene is a light-weight, granular mass, usually worked in sheets or blocks, but also available in loose granules. (pr. pah'lee-sti:"reen) Styrofoam is a trademark used for expanded polystyrene plastic, often mentioned in print as [lower-case s] styrofoam.
See Also: foam board
polyvinyl alcohol
Abbreviated PVA, polyvinyl alcohol is a thick white liquid which dries to a tough clear plastic skin. It is an adhesive and may also be used diluted with water as a release agent or sealant.
polyvinyl chloride
Abbreviated PVC, polyvinyl chloride is a flexible sheet plastic which can be sewn, glued, or welded. Shapes made from PVC may be stuffed, inflated or filled with water. Inexpensive plastic pipes, and their related fittings, commonly used by plumbers, are usually made of PVC.
A hard, white, translucent, impervious, resonant ceramic body, also known as china, invented in China between AD 600 and 900. This clay is primarily made of kaolin, a fine white clay. Also, an object made of porcelain; and sometimes any pottery that is translucent, whether or not it is made of kaolin. Porcelain is regarded as the most refined of all ceramic wares.
post and lintel
A beamed construction originating in prehistoric structures in which two posts support a beam, or lintel.
Example: Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England
potsherd (or potshard)
A fragment of broken pottery discarded by an earlier civilization, likely to have settled into firmly stratified mounds over time and provide archaeological chronologies.
potter's wheel
A revolving horizontal disk, sometimes called a head, on which clay is shaped manually into pottery vessels. The simplest form of wheel is the kickwheel. To operate it, the potter kicks or propels some form of disk, crank, or treadle in order to keep the turntable spinning. Also commonly used today are power-driven wheels whose speed can be regulated by the potter as he or she works.
Objects, and especially vessels-- pots, which are made from fired clay, including earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Ceramics.
The doctrine employed by 18th-century French painters. These artists preferred a stress of line over color, in reference to Nicolas Poussin.
A long, slim panel of a hinged altarpiece, usually placed horizontally at the bottom, or vertically at the edge of the composition.
Example: Jan van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece, 1432
A winged or wingless naked male angel or cupid in painting or sculpture
Example: Michelangelo's Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, 1508-1512, contains many putti.
Download FREE coloring
book pages to color at
home or school.
View Pages »


text:
The company "AbrisArt" present you a wonderful and exquisite Mini Bead embroidery kit Holiday Time from Ukraine, which you can buy right now. Will be an excellent gift for any occasion. It's very extremely bright and beautiful embroidery patterns. Let the work done according to our scheme with the motifs of bead embroidery kit, bead embroidery, DIY Embroidery Kit, needlework kit, beadwork pattern, hand embroidery, home decoration, gift, beading stitch kit, needlepoint kit embroidered on canvas decorate your home and create a feeling of comfort and tranquility. The Natural Art canvas used in these kits is designed to bear the weight of the beads and will keep its shape over time. Your Mini Bead embroidery kit Holiday Time include design printed in full color on durable natural Art canvas, glass beads Preciosa Ornela, needle for embroidery and instructions are in English. Thread is not included, but any sewing or beading thread may be used. White or transparent thread is recommended.
Mini Bead Embroidery kit contains:
– schemes for embroidery beads (Art canvas);
– beads PRECIOSA ORNELA;
– beading needle;
– English instruction.
The size, cm: 15×15
Number of colors: 12 bead colors
Technique: Half-Cross stitch
This product is Made in Ukraine. This is not a Chinese product!
When buying any kit, we give a NICE GIFT from our store.
Attention! Frame not included embroidery kit.
IMPORTANT! This is a KIT, not a completed work.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
PlayStation 4
Enjoy a huge variety of farming operations focusing on agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry. Operate real machines from John Deere, CLAAS, Case IH, DEUTZ-FAHR, New Holland, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valtra and many others in three diverse American and European environments. Now with the exciting addition of seasonal cycles and production chains!


text:
The demand for homes this year is extraordinary as record-breaking numbers of hopeful buyers continue to shop for homes. In a normal year, the peak homebuying season comes to a close by early fall. However, 2020 is anything but a normal year, and the housing market is no exception. Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), explains:
"Home sales traditionally taper off toward the end of the year, but in September they surged beyond what we normally see during this season…I would attribute this jump to record-low interest rates and an abundance of buyers in the marketplace, including buyers of vacation homes given the greater flexibility to work from home."
What's drawing so many buyers to the market?
As Yun mentioned, record-low interest rates are key. Today's rates are strengthening purchasing power for buyers, too. Sam Khater, Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, emphasizes:
"Mortgage rates today are on average more than a full percentage point lower than rates over the last five years."
If you're a homebuyer right now, there's no question that you want to take advantage of this opportunity – and you're not alone. Competition among buyers is definitely increasing as more buyers enter the market and mortgage interest rates remain so low.
Who's planning to buy a home right now?
Today's affordability is appealing to all generations and seems to be especially attractive to younger buyers who want to begin growing their wealth through homeownership. There's a distinct increase this year in the percentage of those in younger generations searching for homes. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) notes:
"Between the third quarters of 2019 and 2020, the share of Gen Z adults planning a home purchase rose three points to 14%. Millennials, however, are the generation most likely to be considering buying a home (22%)."
Here's a graph showing the year-over-year increase in homebuying interest by generation:According to Mark Fleming, Chief Economist for First American, millennials are reaching their prime home-buying years, a likely driver in this increase:
"Record low mortgage rates and millennials continuing to age into their prime home-buying years has boosted demand, but a lack of housing supply remains a challenge."
What's the biggest challenge for today's buyers?
Finding a home, however, as Fleming notes above, is clearly a challenge today. Yun also explains:
"There is no shortage of hopeful, potential buyers, but inventory is historically low."
With so many buyers actively searching for homes this year and so few houses for sale, it's more important than ever to work with a trusted real estate professional to navigate today's market. From pre-approval to bidding wars and guidance on down payment assistance resources, having an agent by your side might make the difference in your ability to land your dream home.
Bottom Line
Let's connect if you're ready to buy a home. More buyers mean more competition, so you need an expert guide to help you stand out from the crowd.


text:
Full-Service Cleaning Services in Pekin, IN
Carpet Cleaning
Your carpets should be cleaned about once a year, even under the best of circumstances. Just like most other fabrics, your carpets will benefit from the occasional deep cleaning. You wash your clothes and blankets, so why not your carpets? Vacuum cleaners can only do so much. They work well enough for dust and crumbs, but what about the dirt that has settled into the carpet fibers? What about deep-set bacteria and other harmful substances? To tackle those problems, your best option is to hire a team of professionals to deliver a complete cleaning.
Think about what you bring into your house every day. Dirt and grime from the outside world make it into your carpet on a daily basis. Do you have pets? You may kick your shoes off at the door, but your pets certainly don't. What about kids? If you have kids, you've dealt with some spills and stains over the years. Like we said, your carpets take on the full force of whatever life brings into your house. Carpet cleaning can press the reset button and give those carpets new life.
Upholstery Cleaning
You can brush the crumbs off of your couches, and you can even run a vacuum cleaner over the cushions, but that only cleans the surface of your upholstery. What about the deeper levels? Think about spills, for example. When something gets spilled on your couch, you clean up the mess as quickly as you can, but how do you know that you've cleaned the entire mess? Those small spills often go deeper into your furniture than you realize, and they stay there long after you've forgotten about them.
What about pollen and similar substances? You carry dust and airborne allergens into the house every time you come in from outside. These substances stick to your clothes, and you leave a lot of them behind when you sit on your couch. Your sweat also gets into your upholstery after a lot of use. Like we said, you can wash the clothes without any problems, but you need a way to deep clean your soft furniture. In fact, you should have your upholstery cleaned about once every 1-2 years. You can have it cleaned more often if it has started to smell bad or if your kids and pets put your furniture through a lot of hardship on a regular basis.
Tile and Grout Cleaning
Our technicians use state-of-the-art equipment that is effective and completely safe for your tile and grout surfaces. With our experience and advanced techniques, we can guarantee that your hard floors won't suffer any damage from using the wrong chemicals. We can make your tile floors shine like they did when they were brand new!
ANR Restoration has years of experience cleaning and protecting all types of tile materials including:
- Porcelain
- All types of tile
- Natural stone floors
- And more
Certified Equipment and Techniques
Of course, just because your carpets, upholstery or tile and grout need to be cleaned doesn't mean that you should trust just anybody to take care of this part of your home. You need a reliable, professional service that has all the right experience and certifications. At ANR Restoration, we provide all of the care that your carpets, upholstery and tile and grout need. We use specialized, state of the art equipment that goes far beyond the rental cleaners you'll find at your local store. Even better, our team members have all been trained and certified by the IICRC, so you know that you're getting only the best for your home. When we clean your carpets, upholstery or tile and grout, we only use chemicals that have been proven safe for your family.


text:
This website is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security which can be made only by a prospectus or offering memorandum, which has been filed or registered with appropriate state and federal regulatory agencies, and sold only by broker dealers and registered investment advisors authorized to do so.
The Inland name and logo are registered trademarks being used under license. "Inland" refers to some or all of the entities that are part of The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Inc. which is comprised of a group of independent legal entities some of which may be affiliates, share some common ownership or have been sponsored and managed by such entities or subsidiaries thereof including the Inland Real Estate Investment Corporation (Inland Investments) and Inland Securities Corporation. Inland Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC, is dealer manager and placement agent for programs sponsored by Inland Investments and Inland Private Capital, respectively. For more information on Inland Securities Corporation, visit FINRA BrokerCheck.


text:
Established in 1988, Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing is a family owned business that has been a trusted name in the industry. This company has been providing exceptional basement waterproofing services to the residents of Southern Ontario for over three decades. As a company that takes immense pride in its expertise and dedication, Aquaseal has consistently delivered top-notch solutions to protect homes from the perils of water damage and foundation issues.
One of the primary services offered by Aquaseal is Exterior Basement Waterproofing. This essential process involves the application of protective coatings and sealants to the external walls of a basement foundation. By doing so, the company effectively safeguards the foundation from water infiltration and moisture-related damages. Utilizing advanced waterproofing materials and techniques, Aquaseal ensures that the basement remains dry and secure, preventing potential issues such as mold growth and structural deterioration
Interior basement waterproofing systems are essential solutions designed to prevent water infiltration and moisture issues in below-grade spaces. These systems are installed on the inside of basement walls and floors, providing a barrier against water penetration from the surrounding soil and groundwater. One common method involves applying waterproof coatings or sealants to the interior surfaces, creating a waterproof membrane that stops water from seeping through cracks and pores. Another approach is the installation of interior drainage systems, such as French drains or sump pump systems, to collect and redirect water away from the foundation. Interior basement waterproofing is an effective way to protect basements from water damage, mold growth, and structural deterioration, ensuring a dry and healthy living environment while preserving the integrity of the property.
Foundation crack repair is a crucial aspect of basement waterproofing, and Aquaseal specializes in it. Through the use of advanced techniques like Epoxy Resin Injections and Polyurethane Injections, the company effectively seals cracks and voids in the foundation walls. These injections create a strong, impermeable barrier, preventing water from seeping through and ensuring the structural integrity of the foundation.
A common entry point for water is through basement windows and window wells. Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing offers comprehensive solutions to address this concern. By installing well-designed window wells and efficient drainage systems, the company prevents water from pooling around the windows, thus keeping the basement dry and habitable.
A reliable sump pump is an essential component of any comprehensive basement waterproofing system. Aquaseal offers professional Sump Pump Installation services, ensuring that the pump is strategically placed to efficiently remove accumulated water from the basement. This proactive approach significantly reduces the risk of flooding and water-related damages.
Weeping tiles are an integral part of basement drainage systems. Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing installs high-quality weeping tiles around the perimeter of the foundation to redirect water away from the basement. Additionally, they offer weeping tile cleaning services, as these tiles can become clogged with debris over time, hindering their proper functioning. Regular cleaning ensures optimal performance and helps maintain a dry and secure basement environment.
Aquaseal's high-pressure water jetting service is an effective method for clearing stubborn blockages in drainage systems and weeping tiles. By using powerful jets of water, the company can dislodge debris and sediment, enhancing the overall efficiency of the basement waterproofing system.
In situations where exterior waterproofing is required, Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing offers professional excavation services. Equipped with mini excavators and bobcats, the company can efficiently excavate the area around the foundation, providing access to the external walls for waterproofing applications. Their experienced team ensures that the excavation process is carried out with precision and minimal disruption to the property.
Aquaseal provides dump trailers for the removal of excavated soil and debris from the site. This ensures a tidy and organized worksite throughout the basement waterproofing process.
Brick sealing is another vital service offered by Aquaseal. As bricks are porous materials, they can absorb water and lead to water damage if left unprotected. Aquaseal applies premium-grade sealants to protect the bricks from water infiltration, thus preserving the structural integrity and aesthetics of the property.
Over time, tie rods and snap ties used in concrete construction can deteriorate and create vulnerabilities in the foundation. Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing specializes in repairing and reinforcing these elements, ensuring the foundation's stability and water resistance.
Aquaseal is committed to delivering personalized solutions to its clients. They offer professional consultations, where experienced technicians assess the specific needs and challenges of each property. Based on this evaluation, Aquaseal recommends tailored waterproofing solutions that address the individual requirements of their customers.
For over 30 years, Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing has been the go-to company for basement waterproofing in Southern Ontario, including port britain, ON. With a comprehensive range of services, including Exterior and Interior Basement Waterproofing, Window Well and Drain solutions, Epoxy Resin and Polyurethane Injections, Sump Pump Installation, Weeping Tile Installation and Cleaning, High-Pressure Water Jetting, Excavation Work with Mini Excavators and Bobcat Service, Brick Sealing, Tie Rod and Snap Tie Repairs, and expert Consultations, Aquaseal has earned a stellar reputation for excellence and customer satisfaction.
Their expertise in foundation crack repair, basement crack repair, cold cellar repair, and concrete crack repair has contributed to the preservation and protection of countless homes in the region. Homeowners in Southern Ontario can rely on Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing to keep their basements dry, secure, and free from water-related damages for many more years to come.
John R. Foundation Crack Repair
I was dealing with an annoying foundation crack that caused water seepage in my basement whenever it rained. Thanks to Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing, my worries are over! The team responded promptly to my inquiry, and their technician, Mike, was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. He explained the whole process in detail and fixed the crack efficiently. I'm delighted with their professional service and the peace of mind they've given me. Highly recommend Aquaseal for anyone facing foundation issues!
Sarah M.Sump Pump Installation
Wow, what a transformation! Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing came to my rescue with a top-notch sump pump installation. My basement used to be a waterlogged nightmare during heavy rains, but not anymore. The crew arrived on time, and they were extremely organized and focused throughout the installation process. The sump pump they recommended works like a charm, and they even took the time to show me how to maintain it properly. I'm thoroughly impressed with their service and attention to detail. If you want to keep your basement dry, Aquaseal is the way to go!
Emily P.* Window Well and Drain
Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing exceeded my expectations with their window well and drain installation. I had some serious water seepage issues around my basement windows, and it was causing mold growth. I called Aquaseal, and they promptly assessed the situation. The team came up with a well-designed plan and tackled the project professionally. They installed high-quality window wells and an efficient drainage system, which has been a game-changer for my basement. No more dampness or mold worries! Thanks to the entire Aquaseal team for their expertise and friendly service. I wholeheartedly recommend them for any basement waterproofing needs.
To see more trustworthy reviews click on Homestars, BBB or Google Reviews to see what others are saying!
Copyright @ 2008 Aquaseal Basement Waterproofing Contractors / Foundation Concrete Crack Repair, All Rights Reserved-Reproduction of this site in parts or in its entirety without written consent prohibited. Note also all registered trademarks and copyright laws. We provide basement waterproofing solutions and are leading basement waterproofing contractors providing wet leaky basement waterproofing proven solutions in Southern Ontario.
Aquaseal is committed to respecting the privacy of individuals and recognizes a need for the appropriate management and protection of any personal information that you agree to provide to us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfil your request.


text:
RUO is the Institutional Repository of the University of Oviedo. Its goal is to provide Open Access to the scientific production, as well as to guaranty the preservation of the digital objects. As a result, documents are stored in order to increase the visibility of the contents created by members of the institution. The University's commitment to Open Access is specified in the Open Access Institutional Policy.
All of RUOCommunities and CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsxmlui.ArtifactBrowser.Navigation.browse_issnAuthor profiles


text:
Here's the text of a presentation I just did for a student group at UC Davis. The Powerpoint slides are linked here.
• You shouldn't be here.
• What I'm going to say is just going to ruin everything.
• You should be in church.
• Seriously, some of you really should go to church instead.
• Ok, I warned you.
What you believe:
The chances are very good that you consider yourself to be a Christian.
If you are a Christian, then you believe that Jesus was a real person.
So you probably also believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
That is, Jesus was a supernatural being of some sort and the most important event concerning him was his execution then his magical revival from the dead.
But believing that Jesus was resurrected is irrational for you.
Believing in Jesus' Resurrection is Irrational for You:
The body of evidence is small, weak, and riddled with unanswered questions.
There are other alleged supernatural events about which you have far more substantial evidence, yet you reject those beliefs on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence.
So by rejecting those better supported claims and accepting the magical claims about Jesus, you are employing a grossly inconsistent epistemic standard.
You engage in an ad hoc lowering of the bar about Jesus, yet in other comparable cases you sustain a higher level of proof that would lead you reject Jesus.
My goal: to get you to acknowledge that your continued believing in the resurrection of Jesus is unreasonable and inconsistent with your epistemic policies.
What's the evidence we have concerning the resurrection?
The Gospels: some history
Jesus is thought to have been executed about 35 A.D.
The first four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are our only source of information about the events.
Mark was written around 65 A.D.
Matthew was written between 70-100 A.D. and Luke was written around 70 A.D. The agreement is that they were based largely on Mark and another source, now lost, called the Q source.
John was written around 90-100 A.D.
None of these works were written by eyewitnesses, and none of them were written by the disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
The authors of the books heard the stories from others. We do not know how many people the stories passed through from the events to their being recorded. It could have been 2, 20, or 200.
Problem #1: The Paucity of Evidence
So if we are being careful about what we know and what we don't, this is what we have:
3 hearsay sources (Mark, Q, and John) written 30-90 years after the fact with an unknown number of transmissions before.
This picture is brief and rough; the discussion of the details is vast.
#2: The 3 Stories are Surprisingly Contradictory:
Luke: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary (James' mother) and other women go to the tomb, find it open, talk to two men in shining garments, and then go tell what they saw to the other disciples.
Mark: Mary Magdalene, Mary (James' mother), and Salome go to the tomb, find it open, and find one man sitting there in white inside. They talk to him, then they run away in fear and they do not say "any thing to any man; for they were afraid."
Matthew: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to the tomb. A great earthquake opens it by rolling the stone away. They go inside and find an angel of the Lord in white. Then they leave with fear and joy and run to bring the disciples word.
John: Mary Magdalene (by herself) finds the tomb open. She goes and gets Simon Peter and the other disciple "that Jesus loved." The two of them go to the tomb and find it empty. They leave, but Mary stays crying. Then two angels appear to her. Then Jesus himself appears to her. She talks to him and then goes to tell the rest of the disciples.
#3: Probability, Reliability and Transmission:
Suppose the police must escort $10,000 in drug money across the country from New York to Los Angeles.
The money will be in police custody for the whole trip, but it will change hands between three different cops for different legs of the journey.
There is corruption in their police departments so that the general likelihood that a given cop is honest is .8.
If a corrupt cop gets custody of the drug money, he or she will take some.
If an honest cop gets custody, he or she will deliver it to the next leg of the trip without taking any of it.
Question: What are the odds of all the money arriving in Los Angeles?
Answer: .51. (.8 x .8 x .8)
If you add two more cops at the .8 honesty rate it goes down to .32 (And that's despite the fact that majority of cops in each department are honest.)
That is, even if the links in the transmission chain are individually probably reliable, the cumulative effect quickly undermines the result.
The cops here represent the people who transmitted the Jesus story from the alleged eyewitnesses to the authors of the Gospels.
How Reliable are Eyewitnesses to Miracles?
What about the original reports of Jesus' resurrection? (Do we have $10,000?)
Can we determine the reliability of eyewitness miracle testimony?
We can.
Lourdes, France: 80,000 pilgrims a year for over a century= more than 8 million people.
Suppose, charitably, that half experienced something they took to be supernatural.
66 miracles have been declared to be real by the official investigating body of the Catholic church.
Miracle testimony reliability= 66/4,000,000 or .0000165
(A probability needs to be greater than .5 to be reasonable.)
Odds on the Jesus Story?
Now we can improve our account:
.0000165 x .8 x .8 x .8= .000008
That's about 8 in 1 million.
If we reduce the number of "real" miracles at Lourdes, as we should, to a still generous 5, and lower the reliability of the transmitters or add a few more links, then the result is
.000000021 or about 1 in 5 million.
The point: our confidence in the Jesus story is orders of magnitude smaller than it needs to be for us to take it seriously. Given what we know about the original reporting and the transmission of these stories it is exceedingly unlikely that they are true.
It Gets Worse
Question: Would the early followers of Jesus have been more or less reliable about reporting miraculous events than the people at Lourdes?
Answer: Much less reliable.
#4: You reject supernatural claims with more evidence:
We have even more reasons to doubt the reliability of the original believers because of who they were and when they lived.
Several important differences between them and us undermine their reliability even more:
Supernatural Belief Threshold
How disposed is a person, in general, to accept or reject claims about supernatural entities, forces, or events?
Low SBT = they are more readily disposed to believe that supernatural claims are true. Their error rate with regard to supernatural claims would be high: they would conclude that miracles were more common than they really are, for example.
If there were supernatural ideas circulating about that were false or unfounded, this person would be more likely to believe them and repeat them.
The person with a low SBT would mislead you in the direction of accepting more of those claims than are true and well-supported.
If someone is largely ignorant of the important background information concerning a topic, then their lack of information reduces their reliability.
So my ignorance about it should diminish the confidence you have about one of those claims being true, all other things being equal.
That's why you shouldn't believe me when I insist that the Detroit Lions will win the Superbowl.
And that's why you shouldn't get your political views from Lindsay Lohan.
Religiousness and supernaturalism are inversely related to education:
We have good empirical evidence that as a person's education level increases, their belief in survival of the soul, miracles, heaven, the resurrection, the virgin birth, hell, the devil, ghosts, astrology, and reincarnation drop off dramatically. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?pid=359)
Gallup Polls have consistently found similar results. (http://www.gallup.com/poll/109108/Belief-God-Far-Lower-Western-US.aspx)
Religiousness, superstition, and supernaturalism are positively correlated with ignorance. When people have more education, they are less likely to believe.
We can make the same sort of projection back across time:
Consider the difference between your education level, or the general level of knowledge that the average American with a K-12 education has and the level of ignorance of a simple fisherman or a beggar living in the first century in Palestine.
Almost all of the information that you take for granted, the technology, and the methods for acquiring information were unavailable to them.
A tiny fraction of the population would have been literate.
Their mathematical abilities would have been worse than today's average 3rd grader.
They did not know that the Earth moves, or what the Sun was.
They did not know what electricity, hydrogen are.
They did not know what caused disease, or pregnancy, or death.
If religiousness, superstition, and supernaturalism rise as education goes down, then they must have been rampant among the people who had contact with Jesus (if he was real at all.)
Were they skeptical?
How much skepticism, doubtfulness, or disposition towards critical scrutiny does a person have?
If a person habitually reflects on the evidence carefully, makes a conscious and careful effort to gather the broadest body of relevant evidence, and actively seeks out disconfirming grounds for a claim, that, all other things being equal, is favorable with regard to their trustworthiness as a source of information.
If a person whose skepticism is high becomes satisfied that X is true, then you could be more confident that it is true, all other things being equal, than you would be if your source for the same claim was someone who is generally gullible, uncritical, and who does not reflect or seek out disconfirming evidence.
The Point
The early believers would have had a low Supernatural Belief Threshold, a high level of Ignorance, and a low level of Skepticism.
SBT: For Iron Age people 2,000 years ago, the world would have been full of mysterious forces, magical events, spiritual entities, stories about supernatural happenings. Hundreds of the events that you observe every day and know the causes of would have been complete mysteries to them. For all they knew, headaches were caused by magic. The possibility that someone could come back from the dead would have seemed like common sense to them. (Bereavement hallucinations)
Ignorance: They were ignorant of the information that we have concerning religious tendencies, religious group dynamics, psychology, alternative explanations for paranormal beliefs.
They were ignorant of the 2,000 years of examples of allegedly supernatural events that turned out to be easily explainable in natural terms.
In that 2,000 years, we have learned a staggering amount about how human psychology works, errors in reasoning, problems in eye-witness reports, gullibility, mistakes, social-religious phenomena, and so on.
Skepticism: They would have been much less skeptical overall than many people who are good sources of information now are.
They would not have been trained or practiced or even familiar with the notions of disconfirming evidence, alternative explanations, bias, and justification.
They were deeply committed religious converts.
#5: You already reject supernatural claims with more evidence
The early Christian stories are often defended as reliable on the grounds that:
there were multiple eyewitness accounts,
the story would have been too difficult to fake given the public nature of Jesus' execution,
the witnesses would not have had any ulterior motives about reporting something that would get them persecuted,
the followers were so convinced that they gave up their jobs and their possessions,
many of the events of the New Testament have been historically corroborated: the reign of Herod, the destruction of the temple, the growth of the early church.
and so on
The Salem Witch Trials
Between 1692 and 1693, dozens of people were accused, arrested, stood trial, and were tortured or hanged for "Sundry acts of Witchcraft," possession by devils, and other supernatural ill deeds.
Strange behavior in some little girls fed suspicions. They would dash about, freeze in grotesque postures, complain about biting and pinching sensations, and have violent seizures.
Ultimately over 150 people were accused.
William Phips, the governor of Massachusetts got involved. A court was established.
Thorough investigations were conducted. Witnesses were carefully cross-examined.
Evidence was gathered. Many people confessed.
The entire proceedings were carefully documented with thousands of sworn affidavits, court documents, interviews, and related papers.
In the end, 19 people, including Sarah Goode, and Rebekah Nurse had been sentenced and executed.
Today, the Salem Witch Trials are a frightening example of how enthusiasm, hysteria, social pressure, anxiety, and religious fervor can be powerful enough to lead ordinary people to do such extraordinary and mistaken things. "Witch hunt" has come to be synonymous with an irrational and emotionally heated persecution.
What evidence do we have that the women in Salem were really witches?
First, hundreds of people were involved in concluding that the accused were witches.
They testified in court, signed sworn affidavits, and demonstrated their utter conviction that the accused were witches.
Furthermore, they came from diverse backgrounds and social strata.
They included magistrates, judges, the governor of Massachusetts, respected members of the community, husbands of the accused, and so on.
These people had a great deal to lose by being correct—men would lose their wives, children would lose their mothers, community members would lose friends they cared about. It seems very unlikely that they could have had ulterior motives.
The trials were thorough, careful, exhaustive investigations. They deliberately gathered evidence, and made a substantial attempt to objectively sort out truth from falsity. In the court trials, they attempted to carefully discern the facts.
That there were witch trials in Salem and that many people were put to death has been thoroughly corroborated with a range of historical sources.
We have a great deal of historical evidence about Salem
The trials were a mere 300 years ago, not 2,000.
We have the actual documents; we do not have any of the original Gospels, only copies from centuries later.
We have the actual, sworn testimony of people claiming to have seen the magic performed; the Gospel stories are retellings of stories that were passed by word of mouth through an unknown number of people.
For the Salem witch trials, we have enough evidence to fill a truck. Some of the original documents: http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/texts/transcripts.html
Evidence for Magic in Salem >> than Evidence for Magic in Jerusalem
By any reasonable measure of quantity and quality, the evidence we have for concluding that there were real witches in Salem is vastly better than the evidence we have for concluding that Jesus was magical.
Yet it is simply not reasonable to believe that the women in Salem really were witches or really performed magic.
It is obvious to any reasonable person that even though they were tried, convicted, and executed for witchcraft, they were not witches and they did not perform any magical acts. You don't think they were witches.
Nor do I need to defend any particular alternative explanation, such as the rotten rye grain/hallucination theory, in order to reasonably conclude that they weren't witches. I can be sure that they weren't witches even if I don't know all of what really happened.
The Salem Witch Trials show that it is possible to meet an even heavier burden of proof than what we have for the resurrection of Jesus, and it remains unreasonable to believe that anything magical happened.
No clear headed person should accept the claim that the historical evidence makes it reasonable to believe that Jesus came back from the dead.
Conclusion: Believing in Jesus' Resurrection is Irrational for You
The evidence you have smaller, weaker, and too riddled with unanswered questions.
We have good reasons to think that the people who originally told the stories were not reliable. 1/ 5 million.
If you think it is reasonable to believe that Jesus came back from the dead, you're employing a grossly inconsistent double standard: There are many other alleged supernatural events that you have better evidence for, yet you adopt a high level of skepticism and proof and reject them. (Salem Witch Trials)
It is unreasonable to engage in an ad hoc lowering of the bar about Jesus, and accept a tiny, tenuous group of hearsay stories from a group of Iron Age religious converts about outrageous magical events.
The Problems:
Problem 1: Only three hearsay sources.
Problem 2: The stories about the resurrection are contradictory.
Problem 3: The probability of a claim equals the factorial of the reliability of all points of its transmission
Problem 4: The early believers would have been highly receptive to supernatural claims, their ignorance of relevant alternative explanations would have been high, and they would have had a low level of skepticism.
Religiousness and supernaturalism are inversely related to education.
We can make the same sort of projection back across time.
Problem 5: Your evidence for magic in Salem (and other supernatural events) is better than your evidence for magic in Jerusalem. (Reject them both!)
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Case Against Christ
36 comments:
Hi Matt! This is a nice summary of several good points against Christianity. However, I think it is missing one key subject that Christians almost always respond with when their logical arguments fail them.... faith. A slide or three on why the extreme form of faith employed by religion (maintenance of faith in the face of contradictory or completely lacking evidence) is wrong, unhealthy, etc would have made the presentation more complete.
However, I doubt it would have mattered. The more extreme the lack of justification for their faith, the more they seem to hold it with pride. It's like one of those sci-fi movies where the monster feeds on negative energy. The more you shoot it, the stronger it gets. - May 1, 2009 at 5:53 AM
- Baconsbud said...
I would like to see some of the comments that christians employ to argue against you on this summary.
- May 1, 2009 at 6:17 AM
How did it go over?
- May 1, 2009 at 6:28 AM
- nomad said...
Sometimes I think that being irrational is precisely the objective of the believer; to take that day of rest from rationality; to escape into that blissful cloak of religiosity.
- May 1, 2009 at 9:15 AM
- nomad said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- May 1, 2009 at 9:18 AM
I have one quibble. You ask "So for the visitors at Lourdes, what is their reliability for reporting miraculous events?", and then calculate on the basis of 4 million reports. But clearly there are not 4 million reports in existence. Your 4 million is a guess at how many believed they had seen a miracle, which is different. It's also possible that the Church's criteria for a miracle are too strict - they don't want to be laughed at, after all.
- May 1, 2009 at 12:36 PM
- Matt McCormick said...
The talk went well, RS. Thanks for asking. I didn't hear any comments that I thought were serious challenges to the basic points here.
They did bring up faith, predictably. As they always do.
But here's a mistake that non-believers often make that I'm not going to. When someone invokes faith as a justification for their belief, they are, I take it, stating that they are going to believe despite the fact that the evidence overall weighs against believing, or that the evidential situation is ambiguous, as they see it, about believing. We have heard this so many times and so many people say it that I think non-believers feel like there's really a point here that needs to be addressed. But if someone invokes faith as their answer, I see that as an open admission of their being patently irrational. They''ve just conceded that yes the argument you're giving is devastating to the reasonableness of belief, but I don't care, I'm going to believe anyway. I don't know what answer I could give to that, other than to point out that they've just disengaged from rational, intellectually honest discussion about something of vast importance. I've commented here in a number of places about the dangers of thumbing your nose at what's true and reasonable like this. But people persist, and we seem to be so used to hearing it that we think they've got a point.
Consider what the faith response amounts to in this context. I have argued with sound empirical research and substantial evidence that we should assign an astronomically low probability to the truth of the reports about Jesus resurrection. The resurrection is the single most important, foundational claim for the whole edifice of Christianity. So if this argument is right (it is), then the entire Christian religion is based on a mistake. In response, they say, "Well, I'm going to believe anyway because I don't care about the facts or being reasonable."
Those of us who don't believe should be completely intolerant of this sort of response. Everyone has a moral, social, and epistemological responsibility to hold up their side of the social contract here. If I have to live with you, vote with you, be subject to your laws, put my kids in your classrooms, or generally share citizenship with you, you don't get to just check out on something so important, believe what you want, and ignore science, the facts, and the evidence. "I have faith" = "I am irrational and dangerous."
MM - May 1, 2009 at 2:11 PM
As long as you insist upon rationality in the believer you will continue to beat your head against that wall. Irrationality is precisely the point, as I alluded to before; and precisely because they believe its okay to be irrational in this one isolated area. It is what I take it to mean when said that the non-fundamentalist believer has compartmentalized his mind. He can be the most rational person in the world in every other aspect of life -he can be the head of the Human Genome project- and yet still feel the need to be irrational in this one, unique, compartmentalized area of his mind. Why such people feel no cognitive dissonance, I have no idea.
- May 1, 2009 at 4:45 PM
previous comment by nomad. somehow cannot enter as.
- May 1, 2009 at 4:48 PM
- Teleprompter said...
Good summary.
This information could be useful at some point. I'm going to remember this post. - May 2, 2009 at 12:04 AM
- Charles said...
Too bad they don't teach critical thinking in high school.
- May 2, 2009 at 12:35 AM
- Ketan said...
You wrote:
"Those of us who don't believe should be completely intolerant to this sort of response" (with regard to believer invoking faith as basis for belief).
I'm asking this doubt absolutely in the earnest, what can the nonbelievers really do? In what form do you propose to allow "intolerance" to become manifest?
One can maybe consider faith as inadmissible basis for belief in academic debates, but what about day-to-day life? As ungullible pointed out, and so did I in my comment on one of your posts, the more you prove theists to be wrong, firmer their belief seems to become.
On the whole, nice summary! Can be used as a "template" to prove all the religious scriptures wrong ;) Congratulations!
Take care. - May 2, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Officially atheistic governments murdered over 100 Million people in the 20th century alone.
The key leaders of all these governments were atheists...Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot and thousands of their assistants.
What are the odds that an atheistic leader in the 21st century will murder millions of people.
At least Three Million to one in favor of that proposition.
Math Whiz - May 3, 2009 at 12:10 AM
Loved the presentation at UCD!
Thank you! - May 3, 2009 at 12:17 AM
- Scarecrow said...
"Officially atheistic governments murdered over 100 Million people in the 20th century alone."
No totalitarian governments killed those people for political ends. Because they were TOTALITARIAN.
Atheism is not a political philosophy dontcha know.
The communist government power structure was overlaid on top of a totalitarian christian culture, they were more like a religion than not. With a rigid hierarchy and a cult of personality much like the orthodox christian religion it replaced.
I can't believe you actually brought that tired old canard up in this discussion, sheesh stay on topic will ya. - May 3, 2009 at 6:38 AM
- Baconsbud said...
Anon. where did you get that number. Christian lead governments still have those bet. I wouldn't be surprised if you could say 1,000,000,000 have died due to christian government actions and still be short. Of course it is all how you define what a christiain government is, just as you are defining those governments. I could use some numbers from different groups and say that the christian government of the USA killed over a million Iraq people. Am I right in this?
- May 3, 2009 at 7:54 AM
- Charles said...
I wish people would stop bringing up these tired arguments. It doesn't matter how many Stalin killed. How people behave when they hold a certain claim, has no relevance on the truth of the claim.
- May 3, 2009 at 8:25 AM
- Charles said...
That goes for the Spanish Inquisition too.
- May 3, 2009 at 8:26 AM
Officially atheistic governments murdered over 100 Million people in the 20th century alone.The human population of Earth has grown greatly since science and medicine have been increasing the human lifespan. Therefore I suggest that it might be useful to look at the percentage of the population killed rather than raw numbers. Using this measure, Cain was a great criminal for having killed 1/4 of humanity. But that pales in comparison to Yahweh, who killed the entire human population of the planet except for eight or so people; Noah, his wife, their kids and the kids' spouses. So it really doesn't work in the Christian's favor to paint mass murder as a bad thing.
- May 3, 2009 at 8:27 AM
- Beachbum said...
Hello Matt, Great presentation;
I would like to add to your commentary and train of thought; with the consideration of the witch hunts, timeline, comparable ignorance, etc. Can I "invert" your line of reasoning? That is, what if the commentators of antiquity had our current understanding with respect to the sciences, history, myths, etc. I would like to think there were some honest men among them. Which means that at least some of them would have had the scruples to conclude that the Jesus myth was just unsubstatiated rumor.
Which brings me to my point, our current exemplars of religiosity are, in the course of legitimate debate, basically stomping their feet and in the most adolesent vitriol proclaiming that they refuse to eat their peas - priceless! And I am (with this rhetorical device) graphically portraying how this "argument" should be received in any logical debate. Besides the best evidence I know for a lack of faith is the Pope Mobile and lightning rods on churches -- go figure. - May 5, 2009 at 7:51 PM
- Matt McCormick said...
Interesting ideas, BeachBum. I'm not sure exactly where you're going with it. There probably were some doubters in Jesus' time about the stories they were hearing. But since the fox has been watching the henhouse for all of these centuries, I seriously doubt that even if any of these doubters had tried to write down their concerns they would have made it through the centuries to us. The almost sole guardians of the texts upon which modern Christian belief is based are also the people who have the greatest vested interest in seeing modern Christian belief spread. So they would have never let us see any serious challenges to the orthodoxy. I'm surprised, actually, that we still have non-cannonical works like the Gospel of Peter and the Gnostic Gospels at all.
However, there are lots of people who practice religion, even the Christian religion, who would simply accept my argument and acknowledge the sketchiness of believing in a real, literal resurrection. They find my literalness and fundamentalism, as it were, odd and off the point. Being religious for them probably isn't about believing that the resurrection claims are true. It's something else. I can't see, however, why they would engage in all this play acting and going along if they don't really believe. I mean, what the hell are you doing singing, praying, going to church, doing rituals, teaching your kids Bible stories, and so on if you don't really believe all that stuff. So as I see it, you're crazy if you don't believe it but act like you do, and if you do believe it, then you're being starkly irrational.
MM - May 5, 2009 at 10:27 PM
- The Invisible Pink Unicorn said...
Math Whiz = Piece of Meat
People with a Brain = Group of Hungry Alligators
The only bad thing about an e-feeding frenzy is
there are no pictures...
Anyway, I'm sorta new here and would like to take a moment
to say that the presentation was well put together, a real
home run! Subscribed. - May 10, 2009 at 9:03 PM
- 精神年齢 said...
- July 6, 2009 at 6:50 AM
- Unknown said...
Hi Matt,
The points regarding Lourdes France are good and could be expanded to include the Black Stone of Mecca. The issue of faith can be shown to be fallacious when we learn that you are more likely to be trampled to death in the hordes that visit Mecca than you are to be helped or healed. In 2004, for example, 244 people were trampled to death on the Hajj for throwing stones at stone pillars resembling the Devil. Was the Devil stronger and therefore able to retaliate? Was he Devil mocking a weaker god? Or, is it more likely that large groups of people in a confined space creates an atmosphere of chaos?
Ah yes, the reply will be that it is "God's will" and that we cannot understand his divine plan. I'll leave that for another commenter. - July 10, 2009 at 9:04 AM
最近仕事ばかりで毎日退屈してます。そろそろ恋人欲しいです☆もう夏だし海とか行きたいな♪ firstname.lastname@example.com 連絡待ってるよ☆
- July 17, 2009 at 8:01 AM
- 家出 said...
- July 19, 2009 at 4:25 AM
If your right and we return to nothing what difference does all this make? You win!
- January 5, 2010 at 7:24 PM
- Matt McCormick said...
I'm not interested in winning or anything else. Just trying too figure out what's true and reasonable.
- January 5, 2010 at 7:56 PM
- Baconsbud said...
"Anonymous said...
If your right and we return to nothing what difference does all this make? You win!"
Are you so small minded to think that without some creator that nothing matters. I find meaning and purpose without belief in some god because I know that there is always the chance my actions will make life better for someone else. Yeah someotimes mistakes are made and harm is done but many christians do the same things even with their beliefs. I don't see that believing in a god makes anyone better but in many cases it makes them worse. - January 6, 2010 at 1:39 AM
Matt, thats exactly what your trying to do. Don't care, because my arguments wouldn't matter on this site. You win! Baconsbud, you should try to recognize sarcasim when you see it. God bless us all. Tiny Tim
- January 6, 2010 at 5:36 AM
Matt, after reading your very fine article proving that christians are nothing more than inferior dimwits. I have no choice other than to except that your superior unsinkable arguments are of course completly correct. You see going against what you have said here is like peeing up wind and expecting nothing back. So,
You win! One thing I'd like to see is if you would exspend as much energy talking about Islam and their Moon God Allah. Of course being dimwitted I would just have to hope. God bless us everyone. Tiny Tim - January 6, 2010 at 8:34 AM
- Matt McCormick said...
Thanks for reading the posts, anonymous. Your tone suggests that you're angry, so I have a question: why is it that my skepticism about Jesus' resurrection has made you so upset? Wouldn't it be better if people could reflect on the issue without so much personal anxiety?
Take a look at these posts for details of the argument:
And on the topic of Islam: If you're suggesting that similar concerns undermine the historical reliability of Islam, you're absolutely right. Many of the same sorts of doubts apply. The history of the Koran is different, however, so the details differ. But in general, we should be highly skeptical about the truth of supernatural claims coming from ancient religions because of the level of education of the people making them, the unreliability of transmission across the centuries, and alterations of the texts by people with vested interests. That's one of the reasons why it's a mistake to be a Muslim too. For the moment, I'm just concentrating on Christianity in my book.
MM - January 6, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Matt, Im not angry. It's just that you have made your arguement that anyone who believes in what the bible proclaims can't be very educated. My purpose is to point out that when you start by downgrading some one. Anything said after that is of no value. From the side of the ones you say are unknowing. By the way I have a PhD in Biblical studies [new testimant]. No anger, it's just that if you truly want all sides you have to consider not telling people from the beginning that their beliefs are not important as far as your concerned. Thats why I keep telling you, that you win. I won't comment here anymore just wanted you to know what your projecting.
- January 6, 2010 at 12:19 PM
- Matt McCormick said...
You're not reading very closely, anonymous. My claim is very specific: the first followers of Jesus were not educated, mostly illiterate, and they would have had an Iron Age world view that was heavily populated with mysterious supernatural forces, spiritual events, and magical happenings. This isn't a controversial claim, it's just history. And this "uneducated" worldview would have significantly affected the sorts of things they would have believed about their religious figures. In considering what they said was true, we have to consider the source. You wouldn't have accepted medical advice from them for the same reason: they simply would have had no clue about the existence of heart disease or dietary factors that cause it. Likewise, they would have thought a lot more events in the world were magical, mysterious, or supernatural in origin than is accurate. If you've got a Ph.D. in Bible history, then you'll know that more than anyone.
What does that imply about the modern believer? There are lots of educated believers now, but my argument is that they should not believe on the basis of the early followers beliefs.
Do you have any constructive criticisms to make of the argument, or just irrelevant comments about me and my method? Give us some plausible reasons to think that when a superstitious, illiterate Iron Age peasant who is a religious zealot thinks he saw a magical event, WE should believe him? - January 6, 2010 at 12:46 PM
- Baconsbud said...
Sure I can always tell when something is sarcastic by the body language as you type. Oh that's right I can't see though the screen while you are typing. If you read enough of these blogs you see this type of comment not as sarcasm but as actually views people have. Most people meaning for something to be sarcastic either end the comment with lol or sarcasm.
- January 6, 2010 at 2:55 PM
- Unknown said...
An excellent, wonderful, succinct review. This is coming from someone who recently left the faith. Thank you for this well argued post!
- October 28, 2010 at 8:48 AM


text:
A nationwide community committed to igniting the potential of students through engaging events, sessions, and hackathons.
Platform | Substack | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Daily |
Issues | 14 | Subscribers | Read | soarxnetwork.substack.com |
Curious about how many subscribers SoarX has or want to find similar newsletters? Reletter has got you covered. We collated all the information we could find from across the web in our database of over one million newsletters.
Check the email archives, get traffic estimates, engagement scores and more to discover the best advertising opportunities.
Our search tool helps you locate relevant newsletters for any topic and compare their stats for better sponsorship decisions.
Recent posts by this newsletter. Browse the email archive.
Our highly anticipated 5-Day Python Bootcamp starts tonight at 9 PM, and there's still time to secure your spot!
Our highly anticipated 5-Day Python Bootcamp starts tomorrow! Don't miss this golden opportunity to learn from the best in the industry.
Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to elevate your coding skills!
The writers behind this newsletter.
A nationwide community committed to igniting the potential of students through engaging events, sessions, and hackathons.
You can find recent issues that have been published by SoarX on Reletter by scrolling up to where it says Latest Issues. Tap on the link for any of the most recent emails or hit More Issues to see older ones.
To see how many people subscribe to SoarX, simply upgrade your Reletter account. We provide readership numbers and lots of other stats for this newsletter so you can decide if it's worth reaching out to.
Newsletter advertising can be extremely effective when it's done right. Before you pitch SoarX as a potential sponsor or partner, make sure that you've done your research and checked its newsletter stats with Reletter.
Then, personalize one of our winning pitching templates and send it to the right person using the contact info provided.
Newsletter ad rates (or CPM) vary depending on many factors, including industry, number of subscribers, open rate, ad placement and more.
To find out how much an ad will cost, contact SoarX using the contact information provided and ask for a copy of their media kit.
Scroll up to where it says Similar Newsletters to see other publications like SoarX. You can also search our email newsletter directory to discover other newsletters that cover the topics you're interested in.
Reletter provides this newsletter's website URL above, where you will often find their contact information. We also provide links to associated social media accounts and pitching templates so you can reach out fast.


text:
Human composting services in Mill Creek, WA
Earth is a Green Funeral Home that provides human composting services in Mill Creek, WA. We gently transform bodies into nutrient-rich soil.
Instant online priceMill Creek soil transformation
Soil transformation, also referred to as body composting or natural organic reduction, is an environmentally-friendly alternative to cremation and traditional burial. Over a 45-day process, a body is gently transformed into nutrient-rich soil.
Families choose how much soil they'd like returned - to scatter or plant - and the remainder is sent to local conservation sites where it's used for land restoration projects, such as reforestation and growing trees. The process returns the nutrients in our bodies to the natural world, and helps protect the planet for future generations.
Whether you're making arrangements for a loved one, or looking for a prepaid funeral plan as part of your own end-of-life planning, Earth offers the most sustainable funeral process in Mill Creek, combined with an industry-leading online experience.
Modern, eco-friendly Mill Creek funeral home
Carbon neutral
Online convenience
Exceptional care
State-of-the-art soil transformation facility
We own and operate the world's most advanced soil transformation facility. Designed in conjunction with a leading sustainable architect, our King County facility uses 100% renewable energy and offers a beautiful send-off for a life well lived. From here we serve Mill Creek and surrounding counties in Washington.
Tour our facility onlineOlympic Peninsula final resting place
Surrounded by Giant Maple, Red Cedar and Douglas-fir trees, we own five acres of tranquil land on the Olympic Peninsula. Using soil from the Earth process, we're restoring and conserving this land for future generations. Return to nature and rest in beauty through soil transformation.
Tour our land onlineThe Earth Package
The Earth Package takes place in the days immediately following the passing and without a viewing or funeral service beforehand.
Our package includes everything you need:
Services of a licensed funeral director
Collection & care from place of passing
Filing of all necessary paperwork & permits
An Earth soil transformation
Portions of the soil returned in biodegradable containers
5 Impact Trees planted by One Tree Planted
Access to the Earth Family Portal
Here when you need us
Immediate need
For families who have recently lost a loved one. Learn moreImminent need
For families expecting a loved one to pass in the next 6 months. Learn moreEarth Prepaid
For individuals and couples planning for the future. Learn moreZip codes served
Local Mill Creek information
Nearest facility
Earth | PNW
4620 B St NW, Suite 102, Auburn, WA, 98001
Soil collection hours are Monday through Friday, 12-4pm
We own and operate Washington's most advanced soil transformation facility.
For your convenience, all arrangements are made online, over the phone or at our facility.
Families can collect their loved one's soil from our facility during collection hours, or we can return it via USPS or hand-delivery. We notify you when your soil is ready.
Death certificates in Mill Creek
Earth orders death certificates on your behalf. Should you wish to order them directly, you can do so via Snohomish Health District's Vital Records Office.
Visit their website for up to date opening hours.
Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office
The medical examiner investigates all sudden or unexpected deaths in Mill Creek. If your loved one is at the Snohomish County Medical Examiner's Office, we will help you navigate their paperwork.
More information can be found on their website.
Is soil transformation the greenest funeral option?
Traditional funeral practice is highly pollutive. Read more about soil transformation and the environmental benefits.
How to plan a celebration of life service
Celebration of life services are an increasingly common way to honor a loved one's life. Learn how to plan one and the benefits.
Preparing for a loved one to pass at home
People are increasingly choosing to pass in their own home. Learn how to plan for the imminent death of a loved one at home.
Prepaid Funeral Plans: How to Choose Your Best Option
Prepaid funerals are an important part of end-of-life planning. Read more about the different options and reasons for purchasing.


text:
Many people try to do their own home repairs. It is easy to look at instructions and videos online and try to tackle a repair themselves. When it comes to roof repair and replacement, however, hiring a roofing professional is worth it.
A professional roofer has years of experience. No video can give you the knowledge the comes from years of training and practice. A professional roofer also knows about the materials and tools needed to get the job done correctly. Roofing is more complex that it initially seems and missing a small point can lead to problems later. An experienced roofer will also know where to look for the root of the problem, what caused the leak or damage in the first place. A professional roofing company will be licensed and insured. New roofs installed by a professional roofing company come with warranties. DIY projects can't get help for faulty work or materials.
Climbing up on a roof is dangerous work. Falls from roofs are a common occurrence. A professional roofer has been trained in the proper way to move materials to the rooftop and has all the safety equipment and experience needed to get the job done safely.
Repair or replacing a residential roof is a big job. It can take a professional roofing crew two or more days to finish a home. A DIY job will take much longer as it lacks the proper tools, equipment, know-how, and man power. A DIYer will need to look up instructions and refer to reference materials while a professional already knows how to get the task completed. Not only is getting it done quickly more convenient, but the roof is exposed during the process, which can result in further or developing problems.
Doing it yourself, as opposed to hiring a professional contractor doesn't save as much money as it might seem. Roofing companies can get materials at a discounted rate so they get better quality materials for the dollar. A DIY project will most likely require purchasing new tools. There are long term costs resulting from mistakes, improper materials and installation. Professionally roofed homes have fewer maintenance costs in the long run.
If there is a possibility you will be selling your home in coming years, hiring a qualified professional roofer adds value to your home. In addition to design and curb appeal, a home inspector will recognize a professionally installed roof. Warranties will transfer to the new owner and they will also have access to the information on the roof's materials and construction. These things give potential buyers peace of mind therefore making your home more desirable.
Before you climb onto your roof, consider all the benefits of hiring a professional roofing contractor to get the job done right.


text:
The nose is an area of the body that contains many tiny blood vessels or arterioles that can break easily. In the United States, one of every seven people will develop a nosebleed some time in their lifetime. Nosebleeds can occur at any age but are most common in children aged 2-10 years and adults aged 50-80 years. Nosebleeds are divided into two types, depending on whether the bleeding is coming from the front or back of the nose.
What is an anterior nosebleed?
Most nosebleeds or epistaxes begin in the lower part of the septum, the semi-rigid wall that separates the two nostrils of the nose. The septum contains blood vessels that can be broken by a blow to the nose or the edge of a sharp fingernail. Nosebleed coming from the front of the nose or anterior nosebleeds often begin with a flow of blood out one nostril when the patient is sitting or standing.
Anterior nosebleeds are common in dry climates or during the winter months when dry, heated indoor air dehydrates the nasal membranes. Dryness may result in crusting, cracking, and bleeding. This can be prevented by placing a light coating of petroleum jelly or an antibiotic ointment on the end of a fingertip and then rub it inside the nose, especially on the middle portion of the nose (the septum).
How to stop an anterior nosebleed?
- Stay calm, or help a young child stay calm. A person who is agitated may bleed more profusely than someone who's been reassured and supported.
- Keep head higher than the level of the heart. Sit up.
- Lean slightly forward so the blood won't drain in the back of the throat.
- Using the thumb and index finger, pinch all the soft parts of the nose or place a cotton ball soaked with Afrin, Neo-Synephrine, or Dura-Vent spray into the nostril and apply preassure. The area where pressure should be applied is located between the end of the nose and the hard, bony ridge that forms the bridge of the nose. Do not pack the inside of the nose with gauze or cotton.
- Apply ice — crushed in a plastic bag or washcloth — to nose and cheeks.
- Hold the position for five minutes. If it's still bleeding, hold it again for an additional 10 minutes.
What is a posterior nosebleed?
More rarely, a nosebleed can begin high and deep within the nose and flow down the back of the mouth and throat even if the patient is sitting or standing.
Obviously, when lying down, even anterior (front of nasal cavity) nosebleeds may seem to flow toward the back of the throat especially if coughing or blowing the nose. It is important to try to make the distinction between the anterior and posterior nosebleed, since posterior nosebleeds are often more severe and almost always require a physician's care. Posterior nosebleeds are more likely to occur in older people, persons with high blood pressure, and in cases of injury to the nose or face.
What are the causes of recurring nosebleeds?
- Allergies, infections, or dryness that cause itching and lead to picking of the nose.
- Vigorous nose blowing that ruptures superficial blood vessels.
- Clotting disorders that run in families or are due to medications.
- Drugs (such as anticoagulants or anti-inflammatories).
- Fractures of the nose or the base of the skull. Head injuries that cause nosebleeds should be regarded seriously.
- Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia, a disorder involving a blood vessel growth similar to a birthmark in the back of the nose.
- Tumors, both malignant and nonmalignant, have to be considered, particularly in the older patient or in smokers.
When should an otolaryngologist be consulted?
If frequent nosebleeds are a problem, it is important to consult an otolaryngologist. An ear, nose, and throat specialist will carefully examine the nose using an endoscope, a tube with a light for seeing inside the nose, prior to making a treatment recommendation. Two of the most common treatments are cautery and packing the nose. Cautery is a technique in which the blood vessel is burned with an electric current, silver nitrate, or a laser. Sometimes, a doctor may just pack the nose with a special gauze or an inflatable latex balloon to put pressure on the blood vessel.
Tips to prevent a nosebleed
- Keep the lining of the nose moist by gently applying a light coating of petroleum jelly or an antibiotic ointment with a cotton swab three times daily, including at bedtime. Commonly used products include Bacitracin, A and D Ointment, Eucerin, Polysporin, and Vaseline.
- Keep children's fingernails short to discourage nose picking.
- Counteract the effects of dry air by using a humidifier.
- Use a saline nasal spray to moisten dry nasal membranes.
- Quit smoking. Smoking dries out the nose and irritates it.
Tips to prevent rebleeding after initial bleeding has stopped
- Do not pick or blow nose.
- Do not strain or bend down to lift anything heavy.
- Keep head higher than the heart.
If rebleeding occurs:
- Attempt to clear nose of all blood clots.
- Spray nose four times in the bleeding nostril(s) with a decongestant spray such as Afrin or Neo-Synephrine.
- Repeat the steps to stop an anterior nosebleed.
Call a doctor if bleeding persists after 30 minutes or if nosebleed occurs after an injury to the head.


text:
A walk in the park Faded Demin - 01-14
A walk in the park Faded Demin - 01-14
A Walk in the Park Faded Demin
Item: 01-14
This design has borrowed parts from a Gothenburg motif from the 17th century artwork Suecia antiqua et hodierna. By reducing the urban elements from the original picture, it seems like the figures stroll around in a park.
Double Roll Length |
33 Feet |
Double Roll Width |
21 Inches |
Pattern Match | Half Drop |
Pattern Repeat |
25.19 Inches |
Material |
Non-woven |
Pasted |
NOT pre-pasted |
Roll Calculator
Roll Calculator
Wall Width
Wall Height
Please fill out the form to see how many rolls you need
Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
Our orders of samples ship with USPS from our showroom in Florida.
Free shipping on orders of wallpaper rolls over $150. $45 shipping rate on roll orders under $150. We use UPS, FedEx and DHL for all wallpaper roll orders.
Within the US: Regular, estimated lead time (from order to delivery) is 6-8 business days on orders of regular wallpaper rolls. The lead time for our customized wallpaper is 10-12 business days.
Please note that items from our producer Ulricehmans Tapetfabrik will have a lead time of 10-12 business days (from order to delivery) from July 5th to August 2nd due to vacation period in Sweden.
Orders to Canada: We need to add 5-6 business days to the regular lead time according to above as we need to ship the orders to our showroom in Florida before shipping to our clients in Canada. Any fees for customs and duties will be added at check out.
Standard products purchased through Scandinavian Wallpaper may be returned for any reason within 45 days from your original purchase from our website. Items must be returned in their original product packaging. A 25% re-stocking fee will be applied to wallpaper returns. Return shipments must be made in appropriate packaging and at customer's expense. Once the returned wallpaper has been verified in good condition a credit will be issued. Wallpaper samples may not be returned for any reason. Contact us at email@example.com with your return request.
You have no right to return a product made to your specifications or that is clearly personalized. As a general rule, all of our photo-walls/murals are made to our customer's specifications or are clearly personalized.