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David Petersen: Alex, fans of Mouse Guard may not be as familiar with your name as some of the other creators on Legends of the Guard. Let's correct that. Tell us about yourself and your work.
Alex Kain: By day I'm a video game designer and writer for Venan Entertainment, Inc, a small studio in Connecticut. Since I joined up with Venan, I've helped design over a dozen games ranging from NBA LIVE and Monopoly on the iPhone to Ninjatown on the Nintendo DS. Recently, I served as a designer and lead writer for the iPhone game "Space Miner: Space Ore Bust".
By night, I'm usually working on comic-related side projects. I wrote a lot of standard novel-format stories in high school and college, but nothing has ever been quite so rewarding as seeing those stories come to life in comic book form.
David: Alex, with background is in video game design. In what ways do your game designer skills coincide with writing a 10 page comic story?
Alex: I was actually pretty surprised when I found out there were quite a few similarities between comic writing and game design! Most of the material I write for Venan has to fit comfortably on very tiny screens, so that's taught me to keep things short. Altogether a pretty handy frame of mind to be in when you're writing a script for equally-restrictive comic panels. Whether it's comparing comic panels to tiny tutorial pop-ups or page counts to memory limitations, comics and games require creativity in how we approach these restrictions. Another thing I brought over from my design work is that I try not to get too attached to anything I write - things are constantly changing and improving, and the story has to move quickly to keep up with the rest of the production.
David: Sean, tell us about yourself. You are known for your work on Redwall, but tell us more. Where did you go to school? How did you 'break in' to illustration?
Sean: Well, I had planned on going to art school for most of my childhood, but when I started talking to illustration professors, many of them thought that my interests were too diverse for me to be a happy conservatory student. After a series of unlikely events, I wound up studying archeology at Princeton. I realized pretty quickly that my interests were also too diverse for me to be a happy investment banker or lawyer, so I just took the most interesting courses I could find and kept drawing.
I actually started illustrating when I was a teenager, after I showed Brian Jacques some of my art at a book signing. He asked me to send art to his website and I contributed there pro-bono until some opportunities opened up with his audio books. Before then, I drew characters from books because it was just something I liked to do; that someone would hire me to do this seemed like a miracle. Brian and I stayed in touch, and whenever I'd see his publishers at events, I'd half-jokingly ask when they were going to give me more projects. Later, when Penguin needed a new Redwall illustrator, I was asked to take over from David Elliot.
David: Sean, with your connection to the mouse property-Redwall. Did you have any nervousness or hesitation to work on a Mouse Guard story since there seems to be a silly stigma of there being room for only 1 mouse-with-swords property?
Sean: That's a good question. I think a lot of people would be surprised to see a Redwall artist doing Mouse Guard on the assumption that we're competing. I admit I don't see it that way, probably because I came to both Redwall and Mouse Guard as a reader first. In that sense, I'm just an incredibly fortunate fan who's been blessed with the opportunity to work in two properties I enjoy and admire. If anything, I hope this collaboration will expose more Redwall fans to Mouse Guard and vice-versa.
David: How did you guys meet?
Alex: Well, I was a freshman in college at the time and I had this crazy idea to design a Redwall video game. This was back before I knew much of anything about proper game design, but I dove into the idea headlong regardless. Eventually I needed an artist to do concept material. Sean and I were introduced on a Redwall internet fan board completely by coincidence and, hearing he was an artist, I asked if he was interested in doing concept artwork for my Redwall game pitch. "He's not that kind of an artist," I was told. Fortunately, that didn't stop Sean from getting involved in the project.
Sean: Don't agree to draw for people you meet on the Internet, kids.
David: What was the process for the creation of your story? Did you collaborate on the concept? Or were the duties divided up where Alex concerned himself with concept, story, and words, and Sean focused on the artwork?
Sean: The concept is definitely Alex, although I might have snuck in on a few of the lines. Originally Alex sent me this moving script, part of which was a voice over. That was fine, except next to every line of voice over was the phrase, in parentheses, "Mouse battles beast." Then, on the last line of the speech, I see, "Mouse kills beast." I referred Alex to this Sidney Harris cartoon: LINK
Alex: Yes, well, the first and last part of the equation in that cartoon look very wordy (or number-y, I suppose), while the missing part in the middle looks like it might do better with an artist's touch. Sean would refer to that cartoon, then I'd refer to how Michael Bay's screenwriters would just write "action scene" in the scripts for his movies, and then Bay would fill in the gaps with explosions. Writing pages of very specific action cues never really feels right to me. I feel like I'm restricting the artist in a scene where they really should be absolutely free to do whatever they want.
The actual creation process for the story itself was pretty straightforward, actually. I wrote up three very different stories, and we picked the one we liked the most. The first two were pretty low-key dramatic pieces, not a whole lot of action to them at all. The third one was coincidentally the one with the huge "Shadow of the Colossus"-esque action sequence. We went with that!
David: Where did your story (about a very small town, bravery, dedication, and mentoring) come from? Was it personal?
Alex: The story's themes of bravery, dedication, and mentoring were less personal and more about analyzing what makes the Mouse Guard world interesting from a storytelling perspective - here is a group of mice trying to hold together this fraying society while a large chunk of the population is oblivious to what's going on outside their borders. It's a perfect world in which to write flawed heroes and naive apprentices.
Sean: I liked the story immediately. Looking back this might be because I'm a high school teacher. The first thing you can hope for as a teacher is that you set a good example, but the best thing you hope for is that your example will be followed. Other than that, "potential" might well be the theme of Alex and my friendship. We were kids when we met each other, but we kept working together because we saw potential in each other and in what we were doing.
David: Was the story developed to include things you both feel you do well? Were there scenes or dialogue bits that leaned towards Alex's strengths? And were there settings or things that were included because they are Sean's forte?
Sean: We had a joke about making a checklist of things I like to draw before we started. It sounds silly, but I think a lot of artists work this way. For example, I love drawing books and architecture, so we decided to represent Barkhamsted through a library. Certain items or settings may also look a bit Redwally, and that may or may not be on purpose.
Alex: I do recall that checklist! "Need rope, need a library, needs to take place around the wintertime, etc." It wasn't a bad checklist by any stretch - trying to include everything was a fun little challenge.
When I wrote up the three story ideas, each one represented a type of story that I like to write. This being one of the best opportunities I've ever had to write a short story, I wanted to make sure I focused on characters I was familiar with and a plot that was simple enough to withstand the twisting and compression that accompanies turning a script into comic panels. Sean gave me a lot of leeway in the writing process, and I gave him a lot of leeway in the drawing process, so we could focus on our individual strengths.
David: At one point in the thumbnailing process, you encountered a problem where the story needed to spill on to another page (which recently happened to me on the Mouse Guard FCBD story). Unfortunately, the rest of the issue's page counts were locked in and couldn't be adjusted. So talk about how frustrating that was (or wasn't) and how you tackled getting the story to fit.
Alex: Well, it's certainly something I'm familiar with in the gaming industry - some text won't fit in a box or a conversation goes on for too long, stuff like that. When it's just me going into a text file and editing things, that's easy. But introducing the whole "artist" side into the equation really made things interesting. Sean and I worked for quite a bit on condensing the action, re-writing the ending, trying to fit an 11 or 12 page story into 10 pages.
Sean: Originally we had an extra page in the beginning to create more anticipation with the action. Between pulling a page of waiting and pulling a page of action, we decided to pull a page of waiting. This gave us more room to reveal the beast gradually, and to concentrate on a visual conceit that we really liked. We decided early on that a mouse would never be able to see the entire form of a much larger animal at close distance. I started thinking of Christopher Nolan's cinematography for Batman Begins--by keeping the camera very close to the combat, you get the crook's perspective of not knowing what's beating the tar out of him. In our case, the mouse can't see the entire beast and the beast is too large to interact with the mouse, so there's a confusion that goes both ways.
David: Alex, how do you approach dialogue? How do you ensure that characters have unique voices or that the speech reads clearly and naturally?
Alex: Whenever I write a scene with characters, I'm usually just improvising the dialog, letting the scene play out in my head and hoping my typing fingers can keep up with my brain. After that, I go through and break the scene down, I try to add witticisms and appropriate banter where possible, and then act the scene out. I acted quite a bit in high school, lots of plays and musicals and whatnot. I think that's very important in any medium where you're trying to portray dialog between fictitious individuals.
When it comes to actually creating those individuals, I draw inspiration from people I know - childhood friends, mentors, bullies, etc - and use them to round out the characters' motivations. Every character I write has a backstory and a motivation - I like to know them, even if they're fictitious. It's like I'm preparing to act as them in a play - it helps me improvise dialog for them in their voice, and that really helps the dialog flow naturally.
David: Sean, Talk about how you draw, what tools do you use? And how do you color you work?
Sean: I use 0.3 mm graphite on Strathmore 400 drawing paper, which I like because it scans with a nice, creamy color. I draw object or character outlines first and shade them by cross hatching. Hatching is extremely time consuming, but I love the look it gives you. I've tried other techniques but I always come back to it. After that, the scanned drawings are colored in Photoshop, using semi-transparent layers to tint the pencil lines. I have a really research-heavy process, which for this project meant rambling in the woods during a weekend in Pennsylvania. I also contacted the Princeton Plasma Physics lab about shrinking me down to mouse-size, but they haven't returned my calls or emails.
David: Well thank you both very much for your story and taking time to share about the process! Where can fans find more about each of you and your work?
Alex: Thank you, David! Working with you and your world has been an enlightening and altogether spectacular experience. I just started a new blog recently at alexkain.blogspot.com. It's fairly new, but people can check it out for posts on this project, as well as others I'm working on. Folks can also follow me on Twitter (@tdcpresents).
Sean: Thank you, David! Working in your Mouse Guard universe has been an honor. I keep a blog at seanrubin.blogspot.com, right now it's an even mix of art posts and thoughts on teaching. I'm also on twitter (@seanrubin).
Sean & Alex's story 'Potential' appears in Legends of the Guard issue 2 in stores June 23rd.


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After being jilted, practically at the altar, Genie Wainwright heads to Hawaii to escape the well-meant pity party her friends and family are bound to throw on her behalf. What she never expects is to find someone to help her mend her broken heart.
Donnie Taylor, owner of the posh Sapphire Bay Resort, has no interest in marriage—until he meets an unforgettable guest at the hotel. What starts out as a kindhearted gesture brings Donnie something he never expects—love!
Buy on:
Amazon | B&N | iTunes (Preorder on Aug 15th)
About the author:
NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY Bestselling Author Sandra Edwards writes award-winning romance in a variety of subgenres such as paranormal (mostly time travel and reincarnation), contemporary, and suspense. She lives in the U.S. (west coast) with her husband, two kids, four dogs and one very temperamental feline. Sandra's books often push the envelope and step outside the boundaries of conventional romance. For more info on Sandra's books, visit her website at www.sandrawrites.com. Sign up for Sandra's NEW RELEASE ALERT at http://bit.ly/1k31XDr.
Follow Sandra:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Harris Teeter possibly on sales block
MATTHEWS, N.C. — Carolina retailer Harris Teeter may be exploring a sale, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday evening.
According to the report, Harris Teeter is being advised by JP Morgan. WSJ tabulated Harris Teeter's market value at $1.8 billion for its 200 supermarkets.
Harris Teeter recently reported a sales increase of 3.7% for its first quarter ended Jan. 1 to $1.2 billion. The chain reported that sales increase was driven by an increase in comparable store sales of 2.5% and sales from new stores, partially offset by store closings.
"We continue to focus on driving unit sales and growing our market share," stated Thomas Dickson, Harris Teeter chairman and CEO at the time first quarter results were announced. "During the first quarter of fiscal 2013, our pricing and promotional strategies were effective in this regard, as evidenced by an increase in the number of active households and number of customer visits we experienced over the prior year. However, aggressive pricing by competitors, low inflation during the period and the generally sluggish retail environment experienced during the holiday season combined to put downward pressure on our gross profit."


text:
The PLAY event tour makes its way to Amsterdam and all the Nordic capitals.
The #1 online video event tour is back.
Organisations are constantly changing due to digitalisation and increased workforce diversity. This results in organisations having to look for new ways of communication, training and leadership.
It comes as no surprise, that thought leaders such as Tide AS and ISS have invested in online video as the solution. We are fortunate enough to have them and other forerunners sharing how they have benefited from online videos at the Autumn 2017 PLAY tour.
How to join PLAY
PLAY will open its doors in all the Nordic capitals and Amsterdam to over 500 professionals interested in maximizing their customer and employee reach with online video. Scroll down to choose a PLAY event closest to you, click on the link and register. Easy as that! The event is free of charge and places are limited, so we recommend that you act fast and secure your seat now.
Location: Conservatorium Hotel
Amsterdam is the home to many global and market leading organisations. Not to mention, the area is known for its innovative and bold take on adopting new technologies. With this as a backdrop, it becomes the perfect city for hosting a PLAY event. We have some exciting content planned and hope you can be a part of this milestone for Dream Broker.
- Arthur Leviveld, Co-Owner, Index Hospitality System
- Niko Jakobsson, Development Director, Borenius Attorneys Ltd
- Moa Wennlöf, Content & Internal Communication Manager, Mercuri Urval
Location: The National Museum
The Danish PLAY event has found its way to the National Museum again, offering three different industry perspectives on how to make the most out of Dream Broker Studio. With speakers from various industries representing the newest views in the field of online video communication, we expect to bring you some significant and even surprising content.
- Martin Hjortshøj, Head of Department, Finanssektorens Uddannelsescenter
- Anne Charlotte Abildgaard, Kommunikations-medarbejder, Region Midt
Location: Meeting Room
The Stockholm PLAY program aims to inspire and capture new ways of reaching strategic business goals. With focus on communication and training, our passionate speakers will share their top tips for increasing employee engagement, educating audiences effectively and inspiring employees of all ages with online videos.
- Marcus Hymander, Kommunikatör, ISS
- Jeanette Thorell, CIO, Haninge Kommun
- Thomas Runfors, CCO, SF Bio
Location: Posthallen
The Oslo PLAY program is well suited for top management professionals who want insight into the benefits of online videos in business communication. The event offers actionable tools from different business sectors on how to engage employees, train employees in a multicultural environment and manage change. Join the event and get one step closer to changing the way you see your business communication.
- Barbro Voss, Head of Academy, Statsbygg
- Amund Fjeldstad, CEO, Fjeldstad & Partners
- Janicke Stople, HR Director, Tide Buss
Location: Finlandia Hall
As Finland is celebrating 100 years of independence, it is fitting that PLAY is held at a landmark building designed by renowned Finnish architect and designer, Alvar Aalto. We have some truly inspirational speakers lined up and despite being from various industries, our speakers have a common interest in effective communication using online videos. They are passionate about intuitive communication and PLAY is their chance to share their success stories with online video.
- Ville Velin, Country Manager, JYSK
- Seppo Rytilä, Director -Group Health, Safety, Environment & Quality, Eltel Networks
- Irina Harju, Manager, Training and eLearning, Cargotec


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Recommended Method for Measuring Leasable Areas
This recommendation defines the terms and concepts required for the measurement of leasable areas; sorts the various areas into different leasable categories; explains the principles of area definition; and, based on the above, proposes a method for the analysis and calculation of leasable areas. It also introduces the concept of lease value ratio. The calculation method is recommended for use in the case of multitenantoffice buildings, although it can also be applied to single-tenant properties.
It is important to choose, introduce and accurately define the relevant technical terms to avoid misunderstandings, and to ensure that each of them is also easily understandable and clear to tenants. Furthermore, the fewer technical terms there are the better, and they should follow each other in a logical order, and be easy to remember even by the layman. It is essential to use uniformly accepted technical terms understood by everybody and defined objectively.
Ancillary area
All areas used by the tenant and required for efficient office work.
Note: These areas may be exclusive and/or common areas, such as meeting room, tea kitchen, sanitary block, server room, document storage room, general storage room, copy room, broom closet, cloakroom, smoking room etc.
Building common area
The total of all areas in the building capable of use directly or indirectly by all tenants. Note: in a leasable area analysis it is to be calculated according to the principle of maximising the exclusive area on any all-inclusive floor (see the 'Leasable Area Analysis' section for a detailed explanation). In a 'one tenant, one building' scenario this area will also be considered exclusively used.
Explanation: areas indirectly used by tenants include for example the common cleaning supply storage room, garbage room etc.
General comment: the following four technical terms should only be used if the area of the relevant floor or floor unit usable exclusively by a single tenant is leased by more than one tenant and thus the concept of floor common area also needs to be used.
Circulation area
Area used by the tenant for circulation (or perhaps for waiting) due to the architectural layout of the premises.
Note: these areas may be exclusive and/or common areas such as corridor, vestibule, lobby, entrance hall etc.
Exclusive area
All areas separable by or for and exclusively used by the tenant.
Note: in a leasable area analysis it is to be calculated according to the principle of maximising the exclusive area on any all-inclusive floor (see the 'Leasable Area Analysis' section for a detailed explanation) for the entire building. In a 'one tenant, one building' scenario the entire area will be considered exclusive area.
Floor common area
All areas of the floor that are necessarily capable of use only by the tenants of the relevant floor directly or indirectly.
Floor exclusive area
All areas with separate access by a particular tenant of the relevant floor, who can close or use it separately.
Note: the floor area exclusively used by a tenant is marked with the tenant's name (e.g. floor exclusive area of tenant X).
Floor leasable area portion
The floor area exclusively used by one tenant of the relevant floor and the pro-rata portion of the floor common area.
Calculation: floor exclusive area of tenant + pro-rata portion of the floor common area.
Gross floor area
The largest covered horizontal surface area of any all-inclusive floor, enclosed by the finished external wall surfaces; i.e. the total area encircled by the external perimeter of the building (excluding internal courtyards and air shafts).
Note: in leasing practice it can be used in one tenant, one building scenarios, subject to the mutual agreement of landlord and tenant.
Leasable area
The exclusive area of a tenant and the pro-rata portion of building and floor common areas, i.e. the area for which the tenant pays rent under the terms of the lease.
Calculation: * if the relevant floor usable exclusively by a single tenant is in fact leased by a single tenant, then it is the exclusive area + the pro-rata portion of the building common area; * if the relevant floor usable exclusively by a single tenant is leased by more than one tenant and no floor common area is needed, then it is the tenant's exclusive area + the pro-rata portion of the building common area; * if the relevant floor usable exclusively by a single tenant is leased by more than one tenant and afloor common area is needed, then it is the tenant's floor leasable area portion + the pro-rata portion of the building common area.
Multi-tenant floor area
Area capable of use solely by the tenants of the relevant floor or floor unit, which does not include the building common area of the relevant all-inclusive floor capable of use by all tenants.
Note: hereafter the term floor shall mean either floor or floor unit.
Net area
The largest horizontal surface area of any room above floor (and skirting board) level, enclosed by the internal surfaces of the finished load bearing or fixed walls of the room, irrespective of ceiling height.
Note: in the absence of an on-site measurement, this is the area enclosed by the unfinished wall surfaces as shown in the architect's floor plan; hereafter area of rooms shall always mean net area.
Other area
Any other areas used by the tenant.
Note: * these areas may be exclusive and/or common areas such as terrace, balcony etc.; * the area of open or partially open spaces (terrace, balcony etc.) shall be their hard surfaced area (net area is not applicable here).
Working area
Tenant's exclusive area, equipped with office furniture.
Note: if the office has an open-plan layout, the circulation areas between tables also form part of the working area.
Building common area multiplier
The quotient of the total leasable area and the exclusive area of the entire building. Calculation: the total leasable area of the entire building / the total of the exclusive areas of the entire building, or 1 + building common area ratio / 100.
General comment: The following two technical terms should only be used if the area of the relevant floor or floor unit usable exclusively by a single tenant is leased by more than one tenant and thus the concept of floor common area also needs to be used.
Building common area ratio
The ratio of common and exclusive areas of the entire building, expressed as a percentage. Calculation: (building common area / total of the exclusive areas of the entire building) × 100.
Note: the smallest building common area ratio, which is preferable from the point of view of leasing, can be calculated from the largest exclusive area of the entire building, which equals the sum of all leased premises obtained by applying the principle of maximising the exclusive area on any all-inclusive floor (see the 'Leasable Area Analysis' section for a detailed explanation).
Floor common area multiplier
The quotient of the area suitable for exclusive use by a single tenant on the relevant floor and the floor exclusive area of the relevant floor.
Calculation: area of the relevant floor suitable for exclusive use by a single tenant / floor exclusive area, or 1 + floor common area ratio / 100.
Floor common area ratio
The ratio of the floor common area and the floor exclusive area of the relevant floor, expressed as a percentage.
Calculation: (floor common area / floor exclusive area) × 100.
Lease value ratio
The value reflecting the function, location and utility of a room (space) expressed as a percentage, determined by the landlord.
Explanation: while the lease value ratio of a regular office area is of course 100%, in the case of a general storage room it could be, for example 50%. The lease value ratio is the 'common denominator' allowing rents to be calculated for all leasable areas using the same base rent per m2 and managing them consistently in the leasable area analysis and calculation.
Building common area multiplier
The quotient of the total leasable area and the exclusive area of the entire building. Calculation: the total leasable area of the entire building / the total of the exclusive areas of the entire building, or 1 + building common area ratio / 100.
General comment: The following two technical terms should only be used if the area of the relevant floor or floor unit usable exclusively by a single tenant is leased by more than one tenant and thus the concept of floor common area also needs to be used.
Building common area ratio
The ratio of common and exclusive areas of the entire building, expressed as a percentage. Calculation: (building common area / total of the exclusive areas of the entire building) × 100.
Note: the smallest building common area ratio, which is preferable from the point of view of leasing, can be calculated from the largest exclusive area of the entire building, which equals the sum of all leased premises obtained by applying the principle of maximising the exclusive area on any all-inclusive floor (see the 'Leasable Area Analysis' section for a detailed explanation).
Floor common area multiplier
The quotient of the area suitable for exclusive use by a single tenant on the relevant floor and the floor exclusive area of the relevant floor.
Calculation: area of the relevant floor suitable for exclusive use by a single tenant / floor exclusive area, or 1 + floor common area ratio / 100.
Floor common area ratio
The ratio of the floor common area and the floor exclusive area of the relevant floor, expressed as a percentage.
Calculation: (floor common area / floor exclusive area) × 100.
Lease value ratio
The value reflecting the function, location and utility of a room (space) expressed as a percentage, determined by the landlord.
Explanation: while the lease value ratio of a regular office area is of course 100%, in the case of a general storage room it could be, for example 50%. The lease value ratio is the 'common denominator' allowing rents to be calculated for all leasable areas using the same base rent per m2 and managing them consistently in the leasable area analysis and calculation.
Area Categories
The areas of an office building are different mainly in terms of functionality. Areas can be leasable or non-leasable. Leasable areas can be identified by their function, and they can be exclusive or common. The categories below are divided into leasable and non-leasable areas, showing the functions typically present in an office building.
Note: further categories can be added if required (e.g. if the building incorporates a retail unit with street access etc).
Exclusive areas
Exclusively used and/or common areas
Parking areas
The parking is also a leasable area, but rent is determined per parking space rather than per m2.
Note: the square metre equivalent of a parking space can be calculated from the base rent per m2: for example, assuming a base rent of EUR 12 per m2, the m2 equivalent of a parking space in an underground garage renting at EUR 80 per month will be 6.66. In the case of average base rents the equivalent parking area is 6-8 m2.
Areas beneath doors and windows
Areas under the structure
note: if the area measured beneath the column (at floor level) is greater than 0.5 m2 * area beneath internal non-load-bearing walls fixed because of functional considerations (hereafter: fixed walls)
note: e.g. area beneath the walls of sanitary blocks and walls of mechanical shafts etc. * undeveloped area under the stairs leading up from the lowest floor, with a ceiling height below 1.9 m
Attached building components
Note: * the technical areas required for the operation of the building are usually not considered leasable areas; * fire stairs and escape routes are not considered leasable areas.
Electrical / IT areas
Note: IT (Information Technology) means low-voltage telephone and computer cabling (data cabling). * electrical/IT rooms: * electrical switch room – central switchboard * central generator room – central UPS room etc. * area occupied by electricity/IT ducts/shafts: * closed or open shafts – electrical cabinet etc. * circulation areas exclusive to electrical/IT rooms: * vestibule/entryway/entrance hall – corridor/circulation area * stairway – lift lobby * internal staircase – external walkway etc.
Mechanical areas
GIF – Tricks in Calculating Leasable Office Area
Before embarking on this little essay, I must point out that I am working from my experience gathered during almost 10 years of negotiations with tenants, directly or through agents; negotiations that were often arduous and which, if we were lucky, led to the signing of a lease contract. I hope therefore that these subjective comments, critique and recommendations may serve as a starting point for discussion, potentially within this very forum.
As it is well known, the two key components of office lease contracts are the rent and the size of the leasable area. The product of these two figures is generally equal to the developer's net income.
Given that multiplication is a basic mathematical operation and that it is the product that interests the developer, he will attempt to increase leasable area, while keeping the rent at a level that still attracts tenants.
Knowing the total cost of a project, developers seek to earn a target yield, which is also dependent on the aforementioned product of multiplication. Disregarding for the sake of simplicity the additional important components of any carefully worded lease contract, success in finding tenants lies in a relatively low rent applied to the largest possible leasable area.
Tenants tend to focus on rental rates per square metre, which are easily compared to others on the market, and often pay little attention to the size and calculation method of leasable area. Unfortunately, there is no generally accepted and uniformly used recommendation or guideline (let alone a standard) for measuring leasable areas in office buildings in Poland. There is chaos in this field today!
A typical example is the widely different interpretation of the commonly used term gross area. Whenever this term is used at a meeting, I always ask what the other party means by it. The most frequent answers are:
So which is the correct answer? Unfortunately, in the absence of a generally accepted and uniformly interpreted terminology, there is no unambiguous choice of answer. It is also unfortunate that a consensus is lacking not only amongst clients, but also within the real estate profession.
In the following, I include a brief summary of the recommendations of the German GIF (Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung) concerning terminology and area calculation, with special attention to the categorisation of the various rooms within an office building as leasable or non-leasable. It should be noted here that the GIF was the outcome of a joint effort between the DIN 277 German National Standard and the Deutscher Verband Chartered Surveyors. The table on the next page is a simplified summary of the relevant stipulations of the GIF.
As you can see in the table, the GIF calculates the 'usable area' by including the ancillary areas (e.g. sanitary block, tea kitchen, etc.). Experience suggests that knowledgeable tenants are only interested in the working area they can furnish (often referred to as net-net area in our internal slang), and not in the ancillary areas.
The GIF categorisation of areas
GIF = Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung
This is natural, as the size of this area will determine the possible number of workplaces (the ratio between open-plan and cellular offices, and the size of ancillary and circulation areas are also key to determining leasable area). Working areas usually cannot be quantified in building brochures. Depending on the features and layout of the building, the ratio of working area to the total leasable area of the building can be surprisingly low, especially in building with a cellular layout.
The GIF recommendation includes in the leasable area all the areas under movable partitioning walls, the ancillary areas, the lobby and the circulation areas, and also the lift lobbies. However, it classifies as non-leasable the areas under load-bearing structures or other non-movable walls, and also the mechanical rooms, mechanical vertical shafts, lift shafts and staircases.
The area of individual rooms is always calculated between the internal surfaces of the fixed walls (net area), even if there are cable ducts or mechanical fittings (cooler/heater) or perhaps a wall with machinery fixed to it.
I leave it up to the reader to decide whether the above main principles of calculating leasable area and the terminology of the GIF are adequate generally and specifically for the local environment in Poland.
There is a famous case, well known in professional circles, which proves the importance of the above problems, where a tenant withdrew from a signed lease contract due to a mutual misunderstanding over the leasable area measurement.
Given the current market conditions for commercial office space, there is an increased need for a leasable area calculation that is correct and also transparent to tenants.
The above confirms the need for a unified terminology and area measurement method that is adapted to the local market and accepted by the key players in this market. In preparation for that ultimate goal, our forthcoming issues will include further descriptions and finally a summary of national recommendations.
BOMA – More Tricks in Calculating Leasable Office Area
Before delving into a discussion of the mysteries of BOMA, I wish to share with you, dear reader, an interesting and surprising experience that I had in connection with my article on the subject of measuring office space in the previous issue.
I was representing the landlord of a Buda office building at a series of public procurement negotiations over the past few weeks. At one of the first sessions, the leader of the tenant's representatives asked whether the area we were offering for lease was to be understood as net-net? I was so startled that I answered with a question: Where did you learn this unusual term? He cited a recently published article, which stated that all potential tenants should look to the net-net area as an especially important piece of information. When he added when and where this article was published, I was able to reveal myself as the author, and after the initial surprise the atmosphere of the meeting became much more pleasant.
And now let us see what that American acronym, BOMA stands for. The legal predecessor of the Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA International or BOMA) was formed in 1907 with a mission to represent the interests of owners and managers of commercial properties. BOMA consists mainly of US and Canadian local associations. Besides its increasing dominance, this international association's primary task is to collect, analyse and arrange information on commercial properties, and to formulate recommendations and standards on this basis. On a not so marginal note: the key local associations of BOMA already possessed and/or managed more than 550 million m2 of commercial office space – by 1996.
The first tall buildings, which already carried, in embryonic form, the design principles of the later skyscrapers of America, were office buildings built at the end of the 1800's. The fast economic growth of the time eliminated the obstacles to the construction and use of tall buildings. The most important achievements were the development of the technology of a safe and reliable lift, the ability to provide buildings with a dependable energy supply and, last but not least, improvements in the production of structural steel. Real skyscrapers have been built since the late 1920's. The 102-storey and 381-metre high Empire State Building in New York dating from 1931, the 100-storey and 344-metre high John Hancock Center in Chicago from 1970, the 412-metre high and 110-storey, tragically destroyed World Trade Center from 1972 and the 109-storey and 443-metre high Sears Tower in Chicago from 1974, proud bearer of the title of 'tallest' for many years, are perhaps the most famous. These prominent skyscrapers are (or were) predominantly office buildings.
As early as in 1915, soon after the first 'real' office buildings were completed, the need arose for developing a uniform office area calculation method. BOMA then headed the effort of developing the first Standard Method of Floor Measurement for Office Buildings, which was elevated, with the approval of the American National Standards Institute, to the industry standard in 1955, after numerous changes reflecting the evolution of office buildings and the emergence of new needs and opportunities. Today it bears the title Standard Method for Measuring Floor Area in Office Buildings and mainly helps property developers/owners, managers, architects, interior designers, engineers, appraisers and agents to coordinate their work.
Notably, in accordance with the American usage of the term, this standard is essentially a 'strong recommendation' for the unified definition of the areas of old and new office buildings.
The main aim of the standard is to give a clear and unambiguous terminology for office building areas that could otherwise be understood and categorised differently, defining, among other concepts, usable area, leasable area and building common area. The standard also includes diagrams, to demonstrate and explain the text.
Below, I am describing some of the interesting points of the aforementioned BOMA standard, limiting the discussion to those that are unusual, if not unknown, in this country. The first feature to mention is the 'magnanimous' interpretation of the different calculations of area using dissimilar data and methods. In general, no one would be surprised if the area figures shown in construction drawings are not exactly equal to those measured on-site. Often, the landlord's calculations based on on-site measurement produce results that are different from the calculations carried out by the tenant on the same basis. BOMA allows for a maximum deviation of ±2%. Any deviations beyond that must be submitted to the judgement of an independent expert, whose own measurement results will determine the dispute.
Another interesting, and to us unusual, BOMA concept is dominant portion. In Hungarian practice the distance used to calculate the net areas of rooms bordered by outer building walls is usually measured to the interior surfaces of the walls or the walls below the windows (measured above skirting board level), even if these walls are much lower than usual. BOMA however offers the definition of dominant portion, whereby the distance to the inner side of the external perimeter wall can be measured either to the wall below the window or up to the window pane, giving a longer distance. BOMA requires measuring the distance up to the dividing unit (wall or window pane) whose surface dominates, i.e. exceeds 50% of, the vertical floor-to-ceiling height!
Similarly to the GIF (Gesellschaft für Immobilienwirtschaftliche Forschung) recommendation described in our previous issue, gross area for BOMA means the total area encircled by the outer surface of the permanent walls of the building, excluding any external walkways, balconies, terraces etc. that are beyond the outer wall surface. The recommendation points out that it is not customary to calculate the gross area as leasable area, unless a single tenant leases an entire building. This gross area is often referred to as built or constructed area. In most cases, this is used as the basis for calculating the construction cost of a building. The background logic of the BOMA definition of leasable area is interesting. According to BOMA, leasable area is calculated by deducting the so-called major vertical penetrations from the gross area of a building. By definition, these are penetrations that are essentially unchangeable throughout the life of the building, and include the area of staircases, lift shafts, vertical mechanical ducts and walls covering these etc., but not load-bearing columns, vertical shafts and cable ducts accessible from the floors.
By the BOMA definition, the office area is generally equivalent to the actually usable and furnishable, exclusively used net working area (net-net area!). If the exclusively used area includes ancillary rooms (e.g. sanitary block) as well, then these areas are also included in the figure. The term storage area also means a net area of exclusive use. The building common area and the floor common area are two different concepts. Their sum is equal to the total commonly used net area.
Usable area means for BOMA the sum total of the net office and storage areas plus the net building common area proportionate to the given floor. The table on the next page is a simplified, schematic representation of the components of leasable area on an office building floor, as described by BOMA
The BOMA categorisation of floor areas
BOMA = Building Owners and Managers Association International
As seen above, the terminology and office building leasable area definitions of the standard recommendations developed and published by BOMA International, essentially on the basis of North American experience, are rather unusual for us. However, this does not mean that nearly 100 years of BOMA's experience should not deserve special attention in the effort to develop a unified area calculation method here in Poland.
RICS – Yet More Tricks in Calculating Leasable Office Area
After the summaries of the German (GIF) and the American (BOMA) area categorisation recommendations discussed in our previous issues, let us now look at the relevant recommendations of that respectable and long established professional organisation, the British Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
A few words about the RICS itself should serve as introduction. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors was established as a professional organisation in 1868. It has over 80,000 members worldwide and it is currently one of the largest professional bodies in the real estate business. British citizenship is not a precondition for membership, and foreign members now number over 10,000. Admission to the RICS requires passing both written and verbal examinations, as well as practical experience in the profession. Its members are property experts with global knowledge and familiarity with the whole lifecycle of properties, able to contribute professional advice to furthering the efficient operation of the property markets of their respective countries.
In addition to offering training courses and continuing education, the RICS regulates and monitors the professional and ethical aspects of its members' work. It also develops recommendations covering various areas of the real estate profession. One example of this is the RICS Code of Measuring Practice. The main purpose of these area calculation recommendations is to provide clear and consistent methods for calculating the area and/or volume of land, plots and buildings with diverse functions.
In the following, we will limit this discussion to the recommendations of the Code of Measuring Practice (5th edition) focusing on those parts that expressly concern for office buildings.
These recommendations are not mandatory, although in practice most real estate experts, property managers, brokers and architects follow the rules defined in the Code. Area calculation following the RICS recommendations may serve as the basis for the sale and lease of properties, as well as valuations and the resolution of complex taxation issues. It should be noted here that since 1993 it has been a crime in the United Kingdom to sell or lease property citing false area information. The RICS specifically states that information can be considered misleading and therefore constitutes a criminal offence even if it is clear to property professionals but is overly technical and too complicated to be understood by the average buyer or seller.
The recommendations also discuss the issue of measurement accuracy. They are not specific, stating only that professionals should aim for the greatest possible accuracy within the limitations of their measurement devices and expertise. The measurement method and the expected accuracy will of course differ when measuring several hectares of land or a single office space. The recommendations lay down general guidelines but do not specify any variances to be observed.
Although it is self-evident for us, the RICS recommendations draw special attention to the need to use the metric system, replacing the decimal point with a comma and separating thousands with a space rather than a comma. The latter is especially worth mentioning here, because although the Hungarian spelling rules are unambiguous on this matter, a lot of documents nowadays deviate from these rules and apply a British or American spelling, or even a mixture of the two.
Expressly to make area measurement and calculation methods transparent to the layman, the RICS recommendations describe and explain in detail only three basic, interrelated terms.
These are: * Gross External Area (GEA) * Gross Internal Area (GIA) * Net Internal Area (NIA).
The following is a description of the main features of the above key concepts as they relate to the office market.
Gross external area stands for the area enclosed by the outer perimeter of the external walls of each floor of the building. It excludes open balconies, canopies and roof terraces. The recommendations suggest using the gross external area figure for urban design, property tax calculation and the valuation of existing, mainly residential properties for building insurance purposes.
Gross internal area means the area enclosed by the internal perimeter of the external walls of the building of each floor. It excludes the areas beneath the external perimeter structure (walls, columns) and, by definition, any open balconies, canopies and roof terraces etc. In contrast with the practice of many other countries, the RICS recommendations consider this area figure to be the best suited for estimating the costs of planned projects, for valuing and selling existing buildings currently used for non-office purposes and for calculating the operating costs of such buildings.
Net internal area stands for the area within the building that is equal to the sum of the areas of rooms of different functions enclosed by load-bearing and/or fixed (not removable) walls. This area, which the RICS also calls usable area, excludes common entrance halls, staircases, corridors, mechanical rooms, meter cabinets, lifts and any building areas with a ceiling height below 1.5 m high and areas between walls/structures narrower than 0.25 m. Unusually, the recommendations exclude from the usable area all sanitary blocks and broom closets, regardless of where they are within the building. In addition to the areas beneath load-bearing walls, the areas beneath the internal load-bearing columns of the building are also excluded. The RICS recommendations use the concept of building common area, but consistently exclude these from the usable area.
The usable area is the recommended basis of calculation for the purposes of selling, leasing, valuing and operating an office.
The areas defined by the RICS and their categorisation are shown, in a simplified form, in the table on the next page.
As seen in the table, the RICS recommendations are essentially just a guideline for defining and calculating the various area types. However, they do not specify the components of leasable area and do not describe the method of leasable area calculation.
The RICS categorisation of areas
RICS = Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Due to the general nature of the recommendations, British property experts may calculate leasable areas based on their experience and the conventions of the local market, concentrating at all times on the accuracy of the results of the calculation method chosen and on ensuring that the results are clear and transparent even for the layman.
Dawid Jusupović
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Krzysztof Falkowski
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The number of construction fatalities declined by nearly 10% between 2009 and 2010 and by almost 40% during the past five years, according to an analysis of new federal data prepared by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials pointed to an industry-wide commitment to improving workplace safety as a key reason for the safety improvements.
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Get Migrate: 2to4-Months Cloud Migration and Implementation
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With the holidays finally here, everyone will be out and about doing a bit of holiday shopping in an attempt to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones. Now, finding the right gift for someone can be difficult, but it is possible. However, hiding a gift can be even more difficult. This is especially true when you live with the person that the gift is for.
Some people get really creative when it comes to hiding their gifts for others. Some of these places may truly be clever, while others really aren't. A perfect example of a bad hiding spot for presents is leaving it in the car overnight instead of bringing it inside. Doing this can increase the chances of the gift being stolen by a thief. That is something that nobody wants, especially around the holidays.
That's Not The Best Hiding Spot
Hiding presents from loved ones is always a little bit of an endeavor. Things get even harder if the person has a knack for hunting down hidden gifts. This leads some people to hiding the present in their car where the loved one is less likely to stumble upon it. Sometimes they do this because the person that the present is for is currently inside the house, which makes sneaking the present inside difficult.
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Even if they don't see the present itself in the vehicle, a would-be thief may target the car for another reason. Maybe they see a purse or a cellphone lying forgotten on a seat. Maybe they simply checked the door and realized that the car was left unlocked. It doesn't take much to entice a thief into breaking into a vehicle to steal something, and once they are in, they will likely do a thorough search.
The 9 PM Routine
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Many crimes are crimes of opportunity. They occur because a good opportunity presented itself to a would-be thief. They didn't necessarily go out planning to rob that person, but when they discovered the car door or garage door was left open, they just had to search for anything valuable.
Simply locking all doors, both car and house, a person can greatly reduce the chances of someone robbing them. However, there is a little bit more to the 9 PM Routine. It also involves removing valuables from cars, and turning on exterior lights around the house. Removing valuables from car prevents them from being noticed by a thief. Turning on the lights removes the cover of night that thieves like to use when committing their crimes.
If a person wants to keep themselves and their stuff safe, they should practice participating in the 9 PM Routine each night.
Better Safe Than Sorry
Hiding holiday gifts from loved one's can be difficult, which is why so many people get very creative with the spots they choose. However, one of the worst spots is in a car overnight. There, the gift becomes an easy target for anyone looking to make a quick score. If a person wants to make sure that their perfect gift for a loved one gets to the intended individual, then they should find a better hiding spot for the present.
Following the 9 PM Routine is also a pretty good idea, as it can keep a person's stuff safe all year round. By practicing it every single evening, a person can fall into a good habit, and will be much happier than if the chanced it and had their car broken into.


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Audience Response System Enables Simultaneous Multi-Group Training
Alchemy Systems, LP, the global leader in food and workplace safety training, has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded the company a patent for its "Multimedia Training System and Apparatus." Alchemy filed the patent application in 2010.
The patent specifically covers the Audience Response System for Alchemy's interactive and hand-held training program SISTEM® (Standard Industry Skills Training and Education Media). The platform is unique because the training and the testing can occur simultaneously in different locations at any time on the same frequency—a capability lacking with other training disciplines. SISTEM enables instructors to determine the level of worker comprehension instantaneously through hand-held remote controls and respond accordingly at any time during the training.
"The award of our patent confirms SISTEM'S uniqueness, innovation and value in enhancing food safety in the workplace," said Jeff Eastman, CEO at Alchemy. "It is also a testament to our interactive capabilities that convey the knowledge and verify worker comprehension essential for compliance with federal and state regulations.
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For more information on the SISTEM platform, go online to alchemysystems.com, email firstname.lastname@example.com, or call 1-888-988-8832.
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I appear skinny but anyone who's seen me without a shirt knows the truth!
My chest, arms, and legs all look healthy (as far as I'm concerned) but my stomach is this fatty mess.
It's not that I don't try. I run 8km every morning. I do burpees until I can burpee no more after each run. I love the simplicity of burpees. No doubt there are better workouts made up of several different isolating exercises, but burpees feel like they cover a lot and I tend not to get bored doing them and feel great afterwards.
I've been doing this for years, occasionally dropping one or the other or both for a short time, but always eating well. I walk a lot too. So the problem I believe is I have a weak core and none of these exercises are doing much to strengthen it?
Considering my current workout, what is the best and simplest exercise I should try to add in to start hardening up my core. I've incorporated standard situps/crunches in the past without much luck at all. I think it may be my sides (obliques?) that are in the worst shape.
I'd like to keep it simple and introduce only one, or maybe two, new exercises. At least to begin with.
Any advice on how to move forward would be much appreciated!
- Gender: male
- Age: 32
- Height: 6'1" (185cm)
- Weight: 165 lbs (75kg)
- Waist/Hip ratio: 0.875 (35W/40H)
I do not have calipers but one online calculator that compares waist/hip ratio to wrist/forearm ratio said 21.5% body fat. Another formula from Wikipedia that uses age, BMI and gender said 17.5%. I have a feeling it is probably over 20% though. The skin near my pecs I can barely pull away from the muscle. The fat on my stomach, and butt for that matter, I can grab and fill my hand :/
Caloric intake is around ~2000-2500 per day made up of vegetables, rice, beans, lentils, sometimes pasta, sometimes tofu, sometimes other things, toast, cereal. I am vegan and do not eat meat, eggs or dairy. I do drink soy milk. I do not drink soda or high-fructose corn syrups or refined sugars, etc. and generally pay attention to everything I eat. I think I balance carbs, protein and good fats pretty well. I drink a lot of water.


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Our staff is committed to providing quality service and professional assistance to help families complete the necessary forms to obtain benefits that are provided through the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for deceased veterans.
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- Died while serving on active duty after May 27, 1941
- Served after January 31, 1955
- Served in peacetime and left military service before June 27, 1950, after serving at least one enlistment or because of a disability that was caused – or made worse – by their active military service
- Served in the Selected Reserves, or served in the military forces of the Philippines while in service of the United States and died on or after April 25, 1951.
What are burial benefits and how do I apply?
The veterans death benefits help cover the burial, funeral and transportation costs associated with the deceased's services and disposition. For those being buried in a national cemetery, survivors can receive assistance with the burial and funeral costs, the plot or internment, and the transporting of the veteran's remains for burial.
You must file a claim for a non-service-connected burial allowance within two years after the veteran's burial or cremation. There is no time limit to file for a service-connected burial, plot or interment allowance.
You can apply online at https://www.va.gov/burials-and-memorials/application/530/introduction or by mail after completing the VA Form 21P-530.
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5109 Russell Road
Quantico, VA 22134-3909
For more information regarding VA burial benefits and memorial items, visit https://www.va.gov/burials-memorials/ or contact the VA office at 1-800-827-1000.


text:
HSUS Lawyers Keep Busy Suing Agriculture Groups
The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) is ramping up its efforts and looking to tighten a chokehold on agriculture through its litigation arm.
October 4, 2012
The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) is ramping up its efforts and looking to tighten a chokehold on agriculture through its litigation arm. Under the pretext that it is fighting for animal welfare, HSUS employs 25 lawyers and works with 2,000 more on a pro-bono basis. All that legal talent has allowed HSUS to win about three dozen cases in the past seven years – cases that are setting new standards for the way ranchers are able to manage their livestock and produce food in the future.
Yesterday, I urged folks to save their money and not donate to HSUS, an organization that doesn't want to save dogs and cats, but instead wants to abolish animal agriculture and promote a vegan diet.
Over the past couple of weeks, BEEF magazine has also been following the lawsuits HSUS has imposed upon the beef and pork checkoff programs.
Today, I want to highlight an article by Joe Satran in the Huffington Post, "Humane Society's Litigation Arm Walks Tightrope Between Radicalism, Complaisance." Talk about putting a fox in charge of the henhouse!
The article summarizes HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle's announcement on Tuesday that he is pursuing a seat on Tyson Foods' corporate board. That same day, HSUS also announced that a group of Iowa pork farmers had teamed up with the anti-ag organization as plaintiffs in its suit against the National Pork Board.
Satran writes, "The ultimate dream for animal rights advocates would be something like the application of the 14th Amendment's equal protection to animals as well as humans. Such a ruling might ban the rearing of domesticated animals for meat altogether. And some major thinkers in the field -- most famously Steve Wise of the Nonhuman Rights Project -- are actively pursuing it."
Activists already have a precedent with their success in banning horse slaughter in the U.S., and I'm sure HSUS would be very happy to see a ban on cattle, sheep and hog slaughter, as well.
Can you imagine a world without meat? Neither can I, but HSUS can and is using its $130 million annual budget to work toward that goal.
HSUS isn't PETA. You won't see these folks standing naked on a street corner holding a lurid sign. No, these boys are much slicker. They are wolves in sheep's clothing, and it's difficult to see farmers team up with an organization like this that is just as likely to regulate them out of business as they are to put a dent in or eliminate the national beef and pork checkoff programs.
Many may call me a dramatist for blowing the whistle yet again on HSUS, but this is an issue we can't ignore. HSUS has the motive, the money and the momentum. What are we going to do to defend ourselves? Or, better yet, what are we going to do to be proactive in protecting and preserving the future of food production?
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Thursday, October 2, 2008
Gorilla Suits
I was in Oakland, Californy a couple weeks ago doing a show with my good buddy and far superior stand-up comic, Johnny Steele, and he agreed to let me turn one of his lines into a cartoon. Thanks, Johnny! Say hi to Allison for me.
This cartoon gives you another chance to fill the comment section of this blog with our thoughts about vegan vs. meat-eating lifestyles.
Here are some of my comments, based on the myriad comments on yesterday's blog post, "Chicken Chaser."
Some may not make sense without reading those comments first:
By "meant to eat" I did not mean to imply intent, as in creationism or intelligent design. I should have said "evolved to eat."
Though we are classified as omnivores, human anatomy is ill-suited to eat much meat at all and doesn't need any to be healthy. Consumption of animal products (meat, fish, eggs, dairy) is one huge reason why so many of us die of heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Length of intestines, type of digestive enzymes in our stomachs and saliva, shape of jaws and teeth, lack of physical hunting skills, strong aversion to the sight and smell of a dead animal, are all natural indicators that we are not well-suited to meat eating. True meat-eaters are attracted to that smell.
Someone mentioned the postition of our eyes (front-facing) as that of a predator, not prey (side-facing). Our eyes are that of a creature that needs depth perception for living in trees, not that of a predator. Few primates are true predators, but all have stereoscopic vision. Pandas have stereoscopic eyes but are completely herbivorous.
John Mayer's comments on yesterday's post (Chicken Chasers) best represent my beliefs and knowledge on this subject. Check them out, or go to his site: http://www.vset.net
"Personal choice" is a factor in whether or not you eat meat, of course, and some feel that we veg-heads should leave them alone. I never evangelize in person and try not to do too much of it here, but for those of us who do not believe that humans are inherently more valuable than members of other species, there is a "helpless victim of cruelty" issue that makes it difficult to keep our opinions completely to ourselves. We see animals like most people see human children: subject to the same emotions and needs as adults, but unable to procure them for themselves in all cases. So if I assail you for eating meat, it is born of the same impulse that you might experience toward someone abusing a human child. Our rights end where someone else's begin.
It bears noting that evolution takes millions of years for substantial changes to begin to show. Humans were undoubtedly 99% vegan for the vast majority of our early history, like chimps and gorillas, our closest relatives. It was relatively recently in our evolution that humans began to stray away from the tropics, developed tools and language, and began hunting big game. Recent enough that our bodies have not changed substantially since then. Except in this way.
Enough of the serious stuff. How about this?
31 comments:
- Jeremy said...
Weird, the rabbit's mouth looks like human female labia.
I like the flat screen TV touch, very modern.
Is it just me, or is Dan appearing in more and more comics lately? I wonder if this cartoon will slowly become a cartoon starring Dan? That would be cool to try out for a week. - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- derekamalo said...
howmany differant ways can piraro draw himself ...ive counted ten last couple years
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Penny Mitchell said...
It's always interesting to see people wince and get so upset when they see a deer or dog or cat plastered along the side of a highway...and then go eat a hamburger. We're awfully good at segmenting our emotions in this society.
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Jezzka said...
that is johnny steele on the couch there.
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Jeremy said...
Johnny Steele doesn't wear eyeglasses.
Good point, Penny! :) - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Jezzka said...
johnny doesn't wear glasses? then who the hell is that on my couch?!! and how did he get into my make-believe house?! who said that?
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Wife Off The Grid said...
Penny - I couldn't agree more. I have many friends who are part of the "horsey set" and when I make comments about eating horse meat they are appalled and yet they think nothing of chowing down on a cow or chicken or pig....
I always make a point of asking professionals who are involved in caring for animals (ie. vets, humane society workers, wildlife rehabilitators, etc) if they eat meat and in amazes me that most of them do. In other words they will devote their lives to saving SOME animals but think nothing of eating OTHER animals. Go figure.... - Thursday, October 02, 2008
I'm a vegetarian, have been since for 19 years.
My architecture teacher, who is a pescatarian (spelling?), said that every vegetarian she's ever known has had at some point neurological problems due to vegetarianism. She said she used to be a vegetarian but now eats fish to combat neurological issues.
Has anyone else ever heard of this? When she told me I started getting worried about having been a vegetarian for so long. - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Mike Duffau said...
i left my opinion about it on the Chicken Chasers blog....enjoy!
keep punchin' - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Lorie said...
Dear julianmaestas,
She's crazy. - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Penny Mitchell said...
What lorie said. ;-)
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Jeff said...
"I never evangelize in person and try not to do too much of it here"
You have to be joking. Almost every post you make here is telling not to eat meat or to vote Obama or anti-republican.
Just in a quick glance, it seem to be a 2-1, maybe even a 3-1 post ratio somehow linking in the above topics. - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- isee3dtoo said...
Referring to the comic:
I love it when someone says "It's good for you, it is 100% natural". My reply has been for years "So is arsenic".
Recently, my 77 year old mother was being hustled by a well meaning young lady trying to sell her something 100% natural. My mom replied "So is arsenic". As my mom puts it the young lady then looked at my mom and said "Why would you say that, arsenic would kill you" and my mom replied "Its 100% natural". Needless to say, my mom didn't have to hear the rest of the sales-pitch.
I love it. - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- isee3dtoo said...
Concerning the blog:
I can't stand the smell of rotting flesh, but that is why God gave us FIRE ...mmm.... BBQ! - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- HollyBerry said...
that's me sitting on the couch... i scrutinize every single advertisement i see and make up the "new" slogan as it would be if it told the truth. my friend gets mad at me.
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- HollyBerry said...
well, evangelize actually means to convert to christianity, so both piraro AND jeff are wrong.
i see jeff's point, that yes- dan does talk about his beliefs a lot on here, and he does it quite often.
but i have to say, jeff. piraro doesn't try to convert anyone.. he simply tells how his own choices are good for him and wants to share the wealth.
when you discover a new great way to cook potatos, the first thing you want to do is spread the good news. but people already like chips, and french fries and baked potatos, so they don't want to try your new-fangled way of preparing potatos. you want to try in all your being to at LEAST get people to TRY your new potato, but you know that if they don't like it they can yunno, NOT eat it.
he knows being vegan is healthier than most diets out there, and he is trying to share his knowledge. but i wouldn't call it evangelizing. he's not trying to make us blindly obey him for any kind of gain. and i say "good for you" for at least having beliefs and sticking to your guns. shows the strength of knowledge, and nun of us iz dummys, yo. - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Lorie said...
"Weird, the rabbit's mouth looks like human female labia."
What does human male labia look like? - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Jeremy said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- SAYOTTE316 said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Janta said...
It doesn't really matter to me whether we have evolved one way or the other, and I don't get into arguments about that. What matters is that we can survive perfectly well and healthy (even healthier!) on a vegan diet, and so it comes down to choice. Most of us have that choice. On that note, I hope you all had a happy World Vegetarian Day! :) As for me, I'm looking forward to World Vegan Day on the 1st of November. I'll be going to a Vegan Day picnic amongst the blossoms in the Botanic Gardens, but for those of you in the northern hemisphere, look out for potluck dinners or food give-aways somewhere near you :) If you're an omnivore, just try it! It won't kill you (or anyone else, for that matter) :)
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Superhero Spouse said...
Darn you, Dan, where'd you find that photo of me pre-plastic surgery? I was sure I'd had them all destroyed!
- Thursday, October 02, 2008
- munchy365 said...
jesus christ, long comment o.o
that fat person picture was the same one i used in my blog, theif. but i deleted that post yesterday anyway - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- isee3dtoo said...
sayotte316 -- This may sound rude, but if you want people to comment on your long stories, and I know you have a blogspot website, why not post the stories on your blogspot website and invite people to join you?
My response to something that long is how fast can I scroll to the bottom. Not the response you want. Individual comments should be shorter than the blog in my book.
I do admit I have no idea if your comment is relevant to the Dan's blog for the day because once I noticed the length, I said who cares? - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Pseudonym said...
I'm always torn on comments like this.
On one hand, people should know where their food comes from. Even for omnivores, what humans eat has ethical implications, and we should all be fully informed.
On the other hand, a lot of pseudoscience gets trotted out by both sides. Any causal connection between omnivorism and stroke, for example, is tenuous at best and nonexistent at worst. (There are no credible studies which link them causally, and the non-credible ones usually don't control for things like sedentary lifestyle.)
And yes, there's pseudoscience on the other side, such as the "our eyes face forward" bit.
Apart from certain groups like the Inuit who are carnivorous by necessity, humans and their near-relatives (e.g. Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, chimpanzees) are all occasional meat eaters. In our early milennia, most of our diet was from gathering, with the occasional hunt thrown in to give us the nutrients that gathering usually doesn't.
Westerners typically eat more meat than we've evolved to handle. A diet that involves, say, one meat meal a week, is probably the closest to what we've historically consumed.
Having said that, only affluent Westerners could possibly eat a vegan diet, because it relies critically on modern agriculture, transportation and so on. In most places in the world, an organic localvore environmentally-sustainable vegan diet is essentially impossible. In particular, pretty much all subsistence farmers couldn't manage it.
That's why I think that lacto-ovo-vegetarianism, with some fish for omega-3 thrown in, is much more realistic for most of humanity. - Thursday, October 02, 2008
- Jeff said...
We are using evangelize as in the first example.
1. evangelize - preach the gospel (to)
preach, prophesy - deliver a sermon; "The minister is not preaching this Sunday"
2. evangelize - convert to Christianity; "The missionaries evangelized the Pacific Islanders"
convert - cause to adopt a new or different faith; "The missionaries converted the Indian population" - Friday, October 03, 2008
- Jeff said...
"jeff. piraro doesn't try to convert anyone"
Shortcake, I didn't mean he is try to convert people or anything else, I just meant that he evangelizes, preaches, speaks a lot about those subjects. - Friday, October 03, 2008
Can't we just get along?
- Saturday, October 04, 2008
- Janta said...
Pseudonym, you can eat flax seed oil for omega 3s. No need to kill fish :) I take flax seed oil every day. You can have it in a fruit smoothie, on your cereal or in your salad dressing. Or you can just take it straight (I have 1 tablespoon morning and evening, and sometimes one during the day as well). I can highly recommend it to anyone with asthma.
- Saturday, October 04, 2008
- Janta said...
Oh, and you need to make sure flax seed oil is kept refrigerated. Best to buy oil produced locally rather than imported from overseas. And you can't cook with it, because it loses it's properties when heated. But it really is fantastic :) One less excuse not to go vegan/vegetarian, haha
- Saturday, October 04, 2008
- Pseudonym said...
Oh, and you need to make sure flax seed oil is kept refrigerated.
I think that supports my main point. If you live in a climate where you can't grow flax seed, if you're a developing-world subsistence farmer, if, if, if... then a vegan diet is inappropriate, and quite possibly irresponsible.
The more I look at it, the more I see that veganism is a luxury that only affluent people in the developed world can afford. Only we have the time and technology to be able to maintain it properly.
Of course, none of this changes the undeniable fact that the overwhelming majority of people in the affluent developed world eat far more meat than we have evolved to handle. - Sunday, October 05, 2008
- Milko Georgiev said...
Nice cartoon! Nice strokes! But the relation between food and strokes is different.
- Monday, January 04, 2010


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So Pretty It Hurts
A Bailey Weggins Mystery
Author: Kate White
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