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This topic contains 308 replies, has 27 voices, and was last updated by Torchie 5 months, 2 weeks ago.
October 14, 2015 at 09:55 #30879
Living Custom Car legend Barry Mazza has been working on a lot of very interesting Customs in his life. Including the Herb Ogden 1941 Buick, now owned by Kurt McCormick, a 1950 Mercury inspired by the old Ayala/Barris Louis Bettancourt Mercury and the 1955 Chevy the Aztec, which Barry still owns himself. And besides those cars numerous other very interesting projects.
For the last year or so he has been working on his latest project, and 1946 Ford long door coupe that he will turn into a late 1940's early 1950's Custom Car as if it could have rolled out of the Ayala and Barris shops.
The top on Barry's Ford is inspired by the Barris Kustoms restyled Cliff Rackohn 1947 Mercury.
Barry has been sharing his progress on the car on his facebook… and we will be following the project and add new material when Barry sends it. Right now the car has most of the body work done, and Barry is working on fine tuning the body to get it ready for paint.
46 coupe long door. Stripping bare. Filling holes.
Well….today…onward. frenched the other headlight. Love the smell of burning undercoating.
Well another attack on this poor stocker. Closed the parking light pod…..I feel merc madness….its driving me to this assault..dam!
Please forgive me…..stock guys. …now no stopping. More desecration……parking light pod is just a awful closed scar.
Well…..got the axe out…wacked off that super ugly strip on the hood. Madness is taking hold. Some one stop me!!!!!!!
Moving slower but. ..Moving. Closed the tail lights. .filled about 20 trim holes. Now what? ??
Been working my day time job so not much metal butchering going on…..HOWEVER. ..did l ouver the hood on my buds press.
I hate that super UGLY strip in the middle of the hood…….Started to remove it..stopped here. ..now its bugging me again…got to GO!
A little time today to close in the other tail light and gas door on the 46 Tail light had been pushed in. Deal with that later.
Small amount of progress. ..got the bumper braces lower pan off.
To be continued.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:06 #30880
Very slowly removing stuff to get to fenders. Everything is covered with THICK under coat making it extra hard. More later.
Considering problems with a 6 inch channel….old timers raised fenders and sectioned the hood.trying a plan B.???
Moving slowly into the belly of the beast. ……bone stock flathead.
Went back to the scene of the crime. Took off the front fender's. Some joker shaved off all the fender bolt heads. .fun and?
Finally got the "FUDGEMOBILE"..stripped off and now to put in the Chevy rear and eliptical springs..slowly.
Setting here in shop waiting for flat bed to pick up Fudgie ……going to Dales new shop for some mods that I can't do here.
Finally. ..on this hot ass morning. 46 on the flatbed heading to Dales shop for Chevy rear install. Pushing forward.
Dales guy gave Fudgie a total bottom end steam bath.Said Fudge was to filthy to go in new shop.Wife named it Fudge cause of colour of dark TEXAS rust. I guess?
Just did a compression check of this 1961 Caddy 390. 160 to 185 . I'm optimistic. This was the best of the series. Still had 4 speed hydro. Put this in the 46.??
Confess time….ever sence I saw Jack Stewarts Sled in Custom Cars 1952..I wanted a channeled Ford.
60 plus yrs coming but..WOW..7 INCH drop over. Brian is doing the deed at DALES PAINT AND BODY.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:13 #30881
After Dale and myself consider the drop… (note frame in trunk)…we're going back up at least 2 inches. Drop is extreme! Head room and engine placement consideration.
In preparation to putting in the Chevy rear on Posies springs….cut out the drop stock spring crossmember. .cleaner look.
New firewall going together. Floor boards next. Getting there.
Next ..trial fit of 390 Caddy. X member chop needed. Also Brians recess firewall. Getting there.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:21 #30882
Talk about.."on the ground"….Dale boxing the frame. Pulled the body.
After having frame sand blasted…went over to Custom Paint@Body and painted the frame with Zoloff enamel. One of the tuffest coatings ever…used on off shore rigs. Put the body back on next week.
"TWO HOURS OF PUSHING BROOM"..Roger Miller. Ok…frame is all coated. Ready for body and new mounts.
Talked with Custom Paint @ Body owner Dale about Caddy engine. We might fire it up and run it????
Picked up the trusty 350 Chevy mill. Its only got 2grand on Jasper. So good by Caddy hello Chevy.
Dale got my tranny on engine and built on the Hurst mounts. Got the engine set and rear angle set.
Dale and Brian setting up body biscuits prepairing to drop the body back down on my frame. They GET ER DONE!
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:30 #30883
Made up this pod for mount…Dale didn't like final position due to distributor clearance. Removed the mounts..go back to front position.
Got the 65 Caddy tilt column hooked to the stock Ford steering box. Got rebuild kit for box. Tried and true simple way to go.
Got it on the correct tires..decided to go with 7:10 /15 on the front. Got a pair of 49 Merc rims.
Dale put the 46 up on the lift to final some welding. We're checking out sway bar clearance with Posie low spring..hum??
Sick and tired over stressing over lift pods due to channeling rhe Ford…took a plunge with old jack stands upside dowm. Pull out the stand when not needed on lift.
Lifting problem solved for now. Lift pods will be below fender.
Decided to close up the oxygen vent…the way it rains here plus this ride is going to have OXYGEN…AIR CONDITIONER!
After cutting and "adjusting" wishbone caster added some gussets to give me peace while driving. Overkill when it comes to safety.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:36 #30884
The jack pods are perfect for the lift pods. Now I can proceed to the front end and brakes ect. Make some progress.
Maintaining safety..time for rebuild of front everything. New "ROYAL" king pins. Tie rods brakes steering cross link hoses.
Not quite a section job but….the amount of body drop on my 46 coupe. LOL!
New wheel cylinders hoses springs wheel bearings…hope for the future…hitting the road.
Wow….if I moved any slower..just seems to take so long these days.
New king pins..shoes..cyl..hoses. spring..shackles..bushings.
Now the rear..missing parts..emerg bk.
Some how the front sway bar got way out of sync. ..??? Noticed when putting in new bushings…little massage required
Finally. ..after trying some goofy idea..fabed up some serious brackets and now thats done.
On to the dash..putting in some S/W inst.
Time to get the dash shaped up and painted. Texas crud plastered on it. Taking out the ash trays…don't smoke plus they were melted. Lol
Using the die grinder to put in holes for s/w inst. Metal is paper thin so forget knock out or saw.
I'm amazed that this is progressing with out taking me to the twilight zone. Looks like I can squeeze them all in the stock panel holder.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:40 #30885
Ok…got the S/W inst installed in the panel. Now to fit it into the stock gauge pocket. Hope to finish it Friday….LOL!
Little more progress. ..closed up the ash trays…now in prime almost ready to paint…color??
Noticed with all the moving around the bushing dropped out of the Caddy column. It went to that far away place where any thing that hits the floor goes…twilight zone. Oh..to my far away pals.
Temp here in my garage 89 DEGREES.
Some more progress. ….stripped the dash…massaged the metal with 150grit some prime now paint.
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:44 #30886
Putting in the electric wiper conversion. .not exactly the "easy" bolt in as described. No stock radio with this set up.
Little more progress on 46 project…finished up install of cadillac aluminium btake pedal assembly. ..added 10ga brace to cowl to help prevent flexing. On now to dash reinstall.
Trying to keep my cool..any one thinks these repo parts are ready for prime time…get real.
I wondered why the studs had Allen grips on one end…hum..now I know.!!!
Adding a few more parts…next some wires
Prewired as much as need be..ready to go in
Starting to rework emergency brake handle to clear hanging brake pedal. Last thing under dash.
Quickie modification of emergency brake assembly due to receded firewall. Just get er done and forget it.
Making up my own cheap ass fuse panel
Put it on the firewall before dash goes in
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:48 #30887
Taking my "NEW" cheap bastard approach. .making my own gas pedal from junk.
Well..I guess this about it…needs the dash!
Well allright!! Not a big deal but.it is old guys
Little bit….more on slowmoving 46. Got in steering box and 60 Caddy tilt column.
The Eerie looking wheel house…Ha!
First blood…gutters are off…hum?
Why should any one have to ask???? Is it chopped????
All. Set to bogie…..no green tape…just cut!!
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:53 #30895
Me and my bud/neighbor Jack dropping the lid down…tomorrow get set in position for welding.
Got the four corners down and tacked. Tomorrow Jack and I will square it up and glue it solid.
Me…with Jacks help tacked down more and measured as best you can…its chopped.
Kustom Knights jacket hanging where I hung it 25 yrs ago. Marking my dis association…LOL
Dam…all done and not one inch of green tape to be seen….ok..just fool'n now comes the weld fest…LOL
Moving corners…6 of them!
Two corners set…4 to go. Then fill in curve.
Pecking around on the post..I think this is about it…you chop a car near 7 inches and its not easy put back…but..old butchers rule!
Getting a little more into it!!
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 10:57 #30896
Short work day..got things lined up on left quarter window. ..one patch in. Little avanti
Well…little more wire this AM….LEFT side is nearing what I want..next week rear window
Left quarter window is shaped up good…both quarter windows under control.
Well I sort of hate next dance…torn between doing it the way I know or let my bud Dale at Paint and Body do the sides on the Pullmax which will save tons of splicing and running wire. See which way the wind blows????
Decided to go with the Pullmax/wheel method.So…installing the rear window
Lining up rear window assault. ..not to bad!
Ok..trimming and slices done..little more trim and time to glue it together. .next week!!
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 11:01 #30897
Lock and Load….off we go miles of wire!!
Closing in..HOWEVER 90 degrees plus in the shop is grinding me down..what can you do?
I got 400 inches on this roof NOT counting thè door tops and quarter windows. Do we go into the Welders Record book???
Early on worked in a heating co assembly boiler boxs…God only knows..miles miles..tired bro..
Oh.wow…Victor just pulled in driving the Kart
Another piece….this looks like the last.?
In spite of all the stuff going on…I did get the last filler cut and fitted..little more adjust and tack in in the roof.
Final puzzle part…right side..now welding fun!
My friend Dale Warrington of Paint @ Body called to tell me he has in his possession a few spools of .023 EASY GRIND wire.
Not easy to find these days..this will sure make my top work go a little more easy as well.
More progress on left in spite of 90 plus degrees
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 11:05 #30898
Well….forging ahead but…getting bummed thinking of whats ahead….PLASTIC…the dreaded put it on..take it off…what can you do????
Fitting in the last section to close up the left.
Left side is all glued up and knocked down next week move forward stay away for a couple of days.
Back at it after some time "off the job"…doing top of the doors
working on door tops…fun!!
Slant door post allignment HELL!!!
STRANGE..wilst welding on the door frame I hit lead….now behind I see a gas weld repair..on the door post…must been wacked at one time??
Getting on top of it now…lined up and trimmed
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 11:09 #30899
Back on the chop after a few days away from it..getting the door under controll. .hope to put in bear claw tomorrow. …LOL!
I'LL be damed…now it makes perfect sense!
Got my glass shipped for the 46…"HANDLE WITH CARE"….HUM?
So much for the HANDLE AND CARE…broken windshield. .both door glasses. .shit happened
Got the bear claw set in. So progress after drinking week end
Jesus…finally….this door took more Hrs than the top…just some welds to grind down..LOL!!
Sat. Morning assult on left door..in the stretch! !
Cutting out for bear claw latch….L.O.L.
After the chop….not much left over…REALLY!
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing0October 14, 2015 at 11:13 #30900
The final stretch…I'am about burnt…
Got the left door 90% welded up..hit the new gutter line Monday…allmost got it YA
After chopping and channeling this Ford…I wonder what will happen when I cut out braces
Just finishing off left door and MIG.leaves me broken hearted….all most done..vacation then plastic..got to restore "Little Sparky"…
Tightening up the gap on the left door and its on to finish off….FINALLY done. (Sort of)
Now I dark etching primer….wow..long haul!
Dam…just when you think its over…its NOT!
Enjoy the beauty of Customizing1+
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To celebrate the Records day, get The Graduation for 12 Euros on HHV.DE ! Enjoy
The Graduation is a collaborative project with the US rapper Unreal and feat. Royce Da 59, Grams, Buddha & More. The record is a limited, hand numbered edition and come with a download card for the digital version.


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If I hear "The Lord will give you the desire of your heart," one more time…
That was my thought as I walked away from a well-meaning acquaintance that was trying to cheer me up. As soon as the sentence started rolling through my head I could feel it lunging towards my heart where it intended to plant bitterness and anger.
Nope. I wasn't going to let the thought do that. I was going to get to the bottom of it once and for all. I decided to go digging, digging for the truth of this verse and why I was wrestling with it, never winning, usually with my face pressed to the floor and the air being pushed out of my lungs.
Recently I have been struggling with an unfulfilled desire. There has been much weeping and sorrow and work and money and anxiety spent over this desire I have, but still it has remained unfulfilled, lingering just ahead of me, out of reach as a dream that quite possibly may never come true. I am now wrestling with the thought that I may have to bury this desire of my heart and acknowledge that it and I will never meet.
Sometimes I find myself wanting to kick and scream (sometimes I even do, but quietly, alone, when I can hide my frustration). Sometimes I feel the weight of this unfulfilled desire like a burning in my chest, threatening to consume me.
How did I let it get so out of control? Why can't I seem to find peace? Why haven't I just let it go?
I think the answer to these questions has revolved around this verse and the truth in it. The real truth. The truth that I have heard frequently misquoted and have myself, misunderstood.
I want you to be able to see your unrealized dreams and wants and desires here, in this blog. Perhaps it is a music career, a husband or wife, fame, money, a child, health, a vacation. Whatever it may be, I imagine that you, like me have had a friend or relative or christian co-worker quote King David in Psalm 37:4 when he said "[The Lord] will give you the desires of your heart." I know that I have heard this spoken to me a number of times as well as spoken to others when we are longing for dreams that remain out of reach. In fact I have heard this verse so frequently, that I find myself standing and blinking, a bit in shock because it seems this verse will not be realized in my case.
Have you found yourself, also, standing at this crossroad of disbelief and disappointment? Have you heard your mind shouting "Hey! You promised!" and begun feeling roots of anger clutching at your already frail heart?
How can these two things be reconciled? How can the bible say He will give us the desire of our hearts but so many peoples dreams stay unfulfilled, and instead leaving us broken hearted and reeling in confusion?
I have spent much time chewing on these thoughts and questions, shaping them into fervent prayers while reminding myself to listen to what the Lord would show me from this, because I don't need a life corrupted by bitterness.
So dig with me…
Matthew Henry gets straight to the heart of this verse and says in his commentary on this Psalm:
"[God] has not promised to gratify all the appetites of the body and the humours of the fancy, but to grant all the desires of the heart, all the cravings of the renewed sanctified soul. What is the desire of the heart of a good man? It is this, to know, and love, and live to God, to please him and to be pleased in him."
This is why there has been a battle in my heart. This is why I have struggled with letting go. I have mistaken a want for the ultimate, true desire of my heart. I have stood something up like a god, in place of God and I thought He would honor it.
He wants to give me the desire of my heart, and that desire is Him.
He knows me better than I know myself and He knows what the true desire of my heart is. He also knows that I can still have that desire though I have wants that may end in what feels like robbery, loss, failure, disruption, or unfairness.
If I want to receive the desires of my heart, I need to turn myself towards that desire of my heart and let everything else fall away, knowing He is a good God who makes all things right (Romans 8:28 "We are assured and know that all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God…").
Can you find yourself in these words? Have you struggled with unfulfilled desire? Are you willing to let go of that want so that you can have your fill of your hearts true desire?
I'm letting go.


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I've been trying to put this off for a while but recently, real life commitments have finally pushed my hobby time past the point where I can maintain my Monday / Wednesday / Friday posting schedule. I had a good seven month run of it but for the next few weeks I'm going to relax my schedule a bit and just post when I've done something.
I hope to be back to normal posting in the fall when I have some more free time and the sun isn't taking me outside.
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Jeremy Papasso / Staff Photographer
Courtesy image
Months after development tensions surrounding Nine Mile Corner sparked an unprecedented "border war" between neighboring Erie and Lafayette — a two-day evidentiary hearing is slated for mid-February — developers behind the project on Monday unveiled sketch plans for the vexed mixed-use development.
The project is situated on approximately 45 acres at the southeast corner of U.S. 287 and Arapahoe Road, and will be built around a large pad that will house one or two major anchor retail tenants, according to the site plans.
"We are talking to anchors of all different categories," Tyler Carlson, of Evergreen Devco, the developers behind the project, said Monday. "There's lots of types of anchors: a Walmart or a Target. There's soft good anchors like Kohl's or T.J. Maxx, or Nordstrom Rack. Then you have your hardware anchor like Home Depot or Lowe's. Then, lastly, you have grocery anchors like Sprouts.
"We would love to have a grocery store there," he added. "Just because it has a 'daily needs' component and would help us create that 'village on the corner' feel."
A rumor circulated earlier this year that Lafayette's King Soopers was considering a relocation to Erie may have elevated the animosity between the neighboring municipalities, Erie Mayor Tina Harris speculated in April.
Roughly four large retail outlets and a handful of shops dubbed "the Village at Nine Mile" would occupy the property's west side along U.S. 287.
"That's where we're hoping to have a good concentration of restaurants, rooftop patios and more boutique retailers," Carlson said. "The anchor and some of the free-standing pads will be more likely chain types, but for the village we're looking for more of a boutique feel."
To the project's east would be high-density residential dwellings: roughly 10 buildings for housing multi-family inhabitants and a clubhouse that could feature amenities such as a pool, spa and fitness center, among other facilities.
Though housing specifics are still in the works, Carlson said, the residential buildings will most likely be two to three stories tall.
Despite praise from Evergreen and Erie officials, Lafayette residents who live adjacent to the property have come to resent the slated development's shadow.
One such resident is Kurt Eherenman, whose home in Lafayette's Beacon Hill subdivision backs up to the land parcel.
"We wanted an adequate buffer between ourselves and the town of Erie," Eherenman said Monday. "We were looking for about 150 or 200 feet but from the looks of the drawings we're only getting about 50 with some trees in between."
Lafayette filed the lawsuit against Erie in Boulder District Court in July, declaring the "intent to acquire real property for open space purposes and to protect Lafayette's unique community character."
The lawsuit came after Lafayette officials first moved to investigate the development of the corner in the wake of rumors that Lafayette's King Soopers might relocate to Nine Mile Corner, and roughly a week after Erie officials announced an offer to establish a setback buffer between Lafayette's Beacon Hill neighborhood and the contested development.
Lafayette leaders had lobbied for a buffer between the Erie development and adjacent residents in Lafayette's Beacon Hill neighborhood since development plans were first announced.
"It's kind of a worthless point at this time," Eherenman added. "It's Lafayette's job to protect the citizens from encroachment from neighboring communities and they're not doing a good job. Erie grabbed that property under false pretenses and wants it to up their retail (sales tax).
"Erie is going to develop that property come hell or high water."
Erie officials voted to extend an agreement with Evergreen last week, citing the project's embroilment in the condemnation lawsuit as a primary factor.
"Almost nine months ago to the day the town and Evergreen entered into the Nine Mile Corner Disposition and Development agreement and with each step along the way we've communicated our milestones," Erie spokesman Fred Diehl wrote in an email on Monday. "The conceptual site plan is a significant next step along the normal course of the development process as it represents a milestone in the land use application process that will ultimately include a quasi-judicial public hearing before our Board of Trustees."
The site plans will be publicly discussed for the first time by Erie trustees in January, according to Carlson, just one month before the condemnation lawsuit is heard in court.
Anthony Hahn: 303-473-1422, email@example.com or twitter.com/_anthonyhahn


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I have no quilt pictures this week because I'm traveling for work. I just reached the halfway point of a week of scoring Advanced Placement English essays. So, all day, I read and read and read essays. I keep before me the motivation of buying a fridge for the new house with my paycheck. Also, since this is my tenth year of doing this, I've met some great people, and we enjoy going out in the evenings to have some fun. Tonight was our traditional Trader Joe's trek. Guys, my nearest Trader Joe's is at least an hour away. It's quite tragic, and when I do get near one, I lose my senses and buy three variations of caramel and three versions of dark chocolate. You can judge, but I won't be listening. It's chocolate and caramel, and even if I manage to resist that, I just can't contend with the clever packaging. Stop it Trader Joe's with your cute typography and bright colors!
I'm really back here tonight to remind you that the 2014 New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop is up and running for the week.
I got to post last week, and then I made sure I hopped over to other blogger's pages because posting is only a miniscule portion of the fun. The real fun is getting to know new bloggers. This hop is big, big, big. New hops lists are released only once a week, so you have time to explore. I hope you visit everyone. To give you a taste of what you will find, I thought I'd give a shout out to a few of the bloggers who joined last week and then you can scroll down for this week's hop stops.
Cynthia Brunz @ Cynthia Brunz Designs – She might be my new hero and not even because of her quilts, which are lovely also. She told me that she used to manage rodeo cowboys, which pretty much makes her amazing!
Vera @ Negligent Style – She posted the best introduction photo. So cute! Go meet her if you don't follow her blog.
Sarah @ Smiles Too Loudly – If Vera has the best photo, I loved Sarah's story about how she chose her blog name the best. One of the really fun parts of the hop is getting to know the bloggers behind the quilts and the blogs.
Mary @ See Mary Quilt – Her quilting tips are golden. I want them on a plaque for my new sewing room space. Most of the bloggers are giving blogging and quilting tips, so that's another reason to follow along with the hop.
Drowning in Fabric – This blogger is keeping it real by showing her mistakes. I love that; we all know that we make them, so we need to learn to not be afraid to talk about them.
Linda @ Talking Lunchbox Quilts – It's like Linda took my bucket list and made those quilts with her cute house and sailboats, AND she introduced me to the concept of stick figure quilts. I love stick figures, but it never occurred to me to put them onto a quilt.
So, below is the list of the bloggers posting this week. I hope you have a blast meeting them. Seriously, grab some chocolate and caramel and go meet them.
- Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe
- Carole @ Fresh off the Frame
- Camelia @ The Recovering Perfectionist
- Nurdan @ Hug-a-Bit Quilts
- Paula @ Mud, Pies, and Pins
- Lori @ Sew Psyched
- Kitty @ The Night Quilter
- Christina @ Wips and Tuts
- Diana @ Sew Crafty Chick
- Marcia @ Cozy Capatiller
- Judy @ Quilt Paradigm
- Jasmine @ Quilt Kisses
- Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts
- Elizabeth @ And Pins
- Daisy @ Ants to Sugar
- Rachael @ The Floral Suitcase
- Jennifer @ Never Just Jennifer
- Alice @ Blossom Quilts & Crafts
- Jill @ Pie Lady Quilts
- Kelsey @ Lovely and Enough
- Megan @ Sew Stitching Cute
- Stephanie @ Late Night Quilter


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Looking to lose body fat fast? Lifting weights, not cardio, is the surest way for any woman to get a lean, toned physique says fitness expert Kelly Tyers
First, let's get one thing cleared up. Lifting heavy weights will not make you look like a man. Simple. What lifting heavy weights will do is give you a lean, toned physique and speed your metabolism up – meaning your body is more efficient at burning fat. In terms of those ladies out there who want fat loss (I'm steering away from the term 'weight loss' here and I'll explain why later) cardio is not always the greatest option. Pounding away on the treadmill for hours will of course get you on your way to losing some of those wobbly bits, but you will always hit a bit of a wall in regards to losing fat through cardio.
And there are a couple of key reasons why – 1: It can get boring leading to demotivation. 2: Your body can get used to this kind of training very quickly. Don't get me wrong here, I love cardio but I have noticed a change in my body a lot more by doing weight training. As with all training, it depends on your goals. If you're planning on doing the half marathon, then long terms of cardio is necessary. If you're looking to get rid of fat, then two hours of cardio isn't necessary. Some women may gain a little more muscle than others by using weights as a result of naturally having a slightly higher level of testosterone in their body, but they still won't get 'bulky'. Testosterone is the hormone needed for muscles to grow in size and levels are normally seven or eight times higher in men. Weight training can be as easy or complicated as you like. Trainers in a gym will be able to provide a programme designed to your goals, but the simplest advice I can give you as a starting point is to use compound exercises. These are where you use more than one muscle group at one time – for example, rather than a bicep curl go for an exercise that uses your biceps and your back at the same time. This way, you will target your full body more quickly. It's only when you want to get really specific that you will need to start breaking your sessions down into upper body/lower body work-out days. The other benefit of weight training is that it's a lot more variable, so avoiding the risk of boredom setting in. Each session you can do something different, whether that be the exercises themselves or the order in which you do them.
If it's fat loss you're after, weights are the way – but it's important you don't focus on your 'weight'. Most of you have probably heard that muscle weighs more than fat, which is totally true. But muscle takes up less space than fat, so rather than checking your weight get your body fat percentage checked. This will tell you how much of your overall weight is fat, muscle, bones, etc, and also give you a breakdown of your hydration level, metabolic age and your internal (visceral) fat which if high, can be very dangerous. In summary, weights will make you feel stronger, give you a lean and toned body, more variance in your training, improve your confidence and put you on the track to your desired body.


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Under the Freedom of Information Act you have the right to ask for access to information that we hold.
We will provide the information unless it is too sensitive or it will cost more than £450 to find and extract it. We will explain the reasons fully if we are unable to disclose the information you asked for.
You should send your Freedom of Information (FOI) request to firstname.lastname@example.com.
If you need more information, find out how to make an FOI request on GOV.UK.
Before you make a request
You might not need to make a FOI request to get the information you need.
Check whether we have already published the information in our FOI responses.
We also make certain classes of information available under our publication scheme.


text: Social media, meet Karl Marx. According to Neilsen Claritas, which analyzes in-depth data segmentation of consumer behavior, social networking users who are more affluent than two-thirds of the nation's population are 25% more likely to use Facebook. Thirty-seven percent of the lower third prefer MySpace. The study probed the seven most-visited social media sites and platforms: Blogger, ClassmatesOnline, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and WordPress. Findings predicated that Facebook users are more likely to use LinkedIn for professional networking than those on MySpace, while "Bloggers" and "Twitterers" on average live in urban areas (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco)." Nielsen's online data show that about half of the U.S. population visited a social networking Web site in the last year, and that number grows every quarter," said Wils Corrigan, associate VP-research and development at Nielsen. An iStrategyLabs report in July also concluded that while U.S. high school- and college-age demographics have declined over a six-month period, Facebook's reach among the 55-and-older sector has exploded, recording a staggering 513.7% increase in usage within the same period. —Tanya Meyer


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Last Spring, when we had our first chance to review Supercharged Science we had already finished our main science curriculum for the year so I let my son choose projects that suited his fancy. You can read about it by clicking here, and I do recommend it because it will give you more of the overall picture of the program. This year we were given a second opportunity to use their e-Science Premium Membership. We've been studying human anatomy this year so we focused in on Unit 19: Biology 2, but here is a list of all the units available at this time. Note: A new subscriber has access to the first 7 Units and gains access to 2 additional Units each month they continue their membership. Since this is an online program, there are a few technical requirements to check.
Supercharged Science Units
- Mechanics
- Motion
- Matter
- Energy 1 (Levers & Pulleys)
- Energy 2 (Potential & Kinetic)
- Sound
- Astrophysics
- Chemistry 1 (Molecules, Atoms & Chemical Kinetics)
- Light
- Electricity
- Magnetism
- Alternative Energy
- Thermodynamics
- Electronics
- Chemistry 2 (Reactions, Bonds, Acids & Bases)
- Life Science 1 (Living Organisms, Cells, Genetics, Microscopes)
- Life Science 2 (Prokaryotes, Plants, Protists & Fungi)
- Biology 1 ( Invertebrates, Fishes, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds & Mammals)
- Biology 2 (Skin, Bones, Muscles, Cardiovascular)
- Earth Science
- Award-Winning Science Fair Projects
- Mathmagic
- Teacher Resources
- Science e-Camp (in the summer)
The unit begins with Aurora Lipper's video introduction. She explains what will be covered and previews some of the experiments. On the right you'll see links to download the PDF file for the Unit, links to the specific lessons within the unit, and a Shopping list of materials for the online lessons (the videos).
Most of the items you'll probably already have in your home (or can pick up easily at Walmart), the few more difficult items usually have a link to an online source. The next image shows the lesson we were working (Respiratory and Excretory systems) and you can see the video lessons (I would use the term activities).
The download for the Unit has 137 pages that include another materials list (this time for the activities within the document, not online), 13 pages of vocabulary terms, and then Objectives, Textbook Reading, Activities & Experiments, and Exercises for each of the six lessons in the unit. The exercises are really a bunch of questions that could be used for a quiz or test at the end of the unit.
If you want to do the online experiments, there are separate PDF downloads with detailed instructions.
How we used the product:
We read from our normal science curriculum but did the projects and exercises in Supercharged Science instead of our textbook—we even went back to do some activities on topics we studied a while ago because the videos just looked fun. The website actually includes a Conversion Chart that matches up the Units with chapters or modules in many of the common homeschool science textbooks. If you are using Supercharged Science as your only resource there is now a webpage organized by grade level and covers Pre-K through high school, but be aware if you choose this approach there are some units and projects that aren't listed in this approach.
On this particular day we were studying the Respiratory and Excretory systems—not two systems I'd necessarily combine on my own…
In this project we were testing lung capacity. All we needed was some plastic tubing (try a pet store), some water, a bowl, and a soda bottle. Turns out, both Schnickelfritz and I have a lot of air to blow out! We hade to run to the dollar store where they sell 3-liter bottles of soda to try again. Nothing was wasted though—the 2-liter was the "chest" for our working lung model below.
What We Liked:
- No need to buy any special "science" materials – there were plenty of activities to choose from that only used common household items. (This may not be true for all units.)
- Each online Lesson/activity has it's own comment section. If you leave a question there, you'll get a response shortly.
- The videos really help in setting up the projects, watching her build a certain item was much clearer than just reading a sheet of instructions.
- Supercharged Science avoids the topic of evolution entirely so I don't have to worry about "millions of years" or "goo to you by way of the zoo" teachings.
What We'd Like to Change:
- I don't know if it's our satellite internet, but sometimes the videos were blurry, or the action would freeze although the audio continued. Some mornings we couldn't get the videos to start at all. (again refer to the system requirements to make sure it will work for you)
- It is a little pricey. The subscription is $37/month ($57/month for high school material). That would be $333 for a 9-month school year. That might not be so bad if I had several kids that could benefit from the course, but I school an only child. Still, if you have a child with a real bent towards science, this is cheaper than a course at a community college.
If given the opportunity to review the program again we'll jump at the chance because we really have loved all the experiments and Ms. Lipper explains things so well. It is definitely worth visiting the Supercharged Science website and signing up for the money-back guarantee 30 day trial—especially when it's being offered for only one dollar! Find out more at the TOS Special Offer. Once your registered, you'll also receive emails from Ms. Lipper with invites to free online seminars and other bonus materials. Or you can receive a free set of sample materials by just submitting your email address.


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Leading UK urban regeneration development company St James has announced it will use Aconex solutions to manage the construction of three new schemes comprising the Albert Embankment Plaza which will offer more than 300 high end living spaces plus office and retail spaces.
Aconex provides a web-based platform to manage information and processes across projects, with insight and control provided to project participants.
Aconex is a Melbourne-based company founded in 2000. The technology has been used on some of the world's biggest construction sites including the Panama Canal extension. Clients include Brookfield Multiplex and Grocon. It has 40 offices worldwide, serving customers in more than 70 countries.
The Australian Financial Review recently reported that chief executive and co-founder of construction software business Aconex, Leigh Jasper, had defended his decision to sell-off a portion of his shares last year, despite it being a contributor to the company's sustained share price fall in the past six months.
"Entrepreneurs build businesses over many years and being able to have a modest selldown is important over time, because a lot of our net worth is tied up in the business," he said to The AFR.
Using Aconex, a project team is able to easily access both current and prior versions of documents with little training. Team members can quickly search workflows to determine what is newly assigned, pending or overdue. Time saved on processes such as requests for information (RFIs) and design reviews, which have been automated on Aconex, can now be spent on other activities related to project quality and delivery.
Located on the South Bank of the River Thames, the plaza includes The Corniche and Merano Residences, both due for completion in early 2017, and The Dumont. Together, the three developments will offer over 300 high-end living spaces, approximately 26,747 square feet of office space, and 11,650 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
Shared underground parking, art installations, water features, and landscaping will be part of the elegant new plaza. "Each building is its own separate project with different teams," said Ed Walsh, technical manager at St James.
"We needed a platform to help seamlessly control data not only across each project, but between different projects. Aconex increases workflow efficiency, keeps information and processes on track, and provides an invaluable archive.
"However, Aconex isn't just a database of communications and documents," Mr. Walsh continued. "The platform was purpose-built for construction projects, and Aconex knows how to problem-solve and optimise the platform specifically to our needs."


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All football fans love interesting statistics – and after a crazy few months of Capital One Cup football, there are plenty to go around! I've picked out 10 particular statistics that I think are really fascinating and may spark some intricate discussion.
1st – Top Goal scorer – Theo Walcott (Arsenal) (5 goals)
Walcott really shone for Arsenal in the 7-5 win at the Madejski Stadium against Reading. After a dour first half where the Gunners went into half time 4-1 down, they attacked the game in the second period, with the attack spearheaded by Walcott. The young, English forward bagged himself a hat-trick in the proceedings.
2nd – Goals scored – 307 (3.65 per match)
This statistic is a real testament to how competitive the games have been in the Capital One Cup so far this season. An average of 3.65 goals per game is incredible and fans can expect there to be much more to come!
3rd – Top assister – Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal) / Michael Jacobs (Derby) (5 assists)
Many football fans seem to think Arshavin should consider a move away from the Premier League, but being joint-top in assists in the Capital One Cup surely shows he has something to offer the Gunners? He just needs to try and convert these performances over to the league.
4th – Matches with 3 or more goals – 61 (73%)
Another astounding statistic – nearly ¾ of games played so far in the Capital One Cup have had three or more goals. It's goals galore – football fans rejoice!
5th – Most goals scored as a substitute – Miles Storey (Swindon) (2 goals)
It's a shame Paolo Di Canio's Swindon are out of the competition, as they're a highly entertaining side to watch. One thing that Di Canio certainly knows how to do is make key substitutions. Storey came on and scored in two separate games for Swindon. His goal against Aston Villa gave Swindon a foot back in the game, but Villa held on for the win.
6th – Most own goals scored (Team) – Reading (2 own-goals)
There can be no worse feeling as a footballer than letting your team-mates down in a freak accident and conceding an own-goal. Reading had conceded two of them before heading out of the competition, but in such a high-scoring season, certainly didn't let this fact go to their heads too much.
7th – Greatest number of goals in a single game – Reading 5 – 7 Arsenal (current League Cup record)
What a game! Reading were 4-0 up by the 40th minute, only for Walcott to knick one back before half-time. Arsenal managed to pull it back to 4-4 by the 90th minute, and took the lead to 5-4 in extra time. Minutes later, Reading equalised to make it 5-5. However, in pushing forward to find a winner and avoid a penalty shootout, the Royals left themselves open at the back, and conceded twice in quick succession to end the game 7-5 in Arsenal's favour. That's the greatest score line in League Cup history. Incredible stuff.
8th – Most goals conceded – Adam Federici (Reading) (9 goals)
It's no wonder the goalkeeper who has conceded the most goals was the one between the sticks for Reading on that famous night against Arsenal. Conceding seven goals in one game cannot feel good, and it's difficult to see anyone topping the nine conceded overall in the competition now.
9th – Most goals scored (Team) – Arsenal (15 goals)
Another statistic linked to that simply crazy night at the Madejski Stadium. That 7-5 victory paired with the 6-1 annihilation of Coventry have placed the Gunners well and truly at the top when it comes to goal scoring.
10th – Most common result – 2 – 1 (8 times)
It's a familiar score line, yes, but what's great about this is that even though the teams meeting in this competition are often leagues apart, the fixtures are obviously competitive, with both teams having a go at each other with no fear.


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I think my cousin Daniel forgets that I have his "other" YouTube account so I'm sharing with you guys his newest video. Hope you love it as much as me. =]
And now for what we have all been waiting for: DIVERGENT TRAILER!!
Ok moving on.
HOLY CRAP! Isn't it amazing!! AAhhhh!!! I can't wait.
Just in case you wanted another video of my cousin here it is.


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Read this tip to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Activities and other Kid topics.
To occupy a small child while you are on the phone give him/her a couple of long strips of Scotch tape to keep busy.
|Guru Spotlight
|William Pirraglia


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Toi Wāhine Directors
Deborah has been manager at the Meteor over the past 4yrs of operation under the One Victoria Trust and has extensive experience in programming and managing performing arts events.
Deborah is passionate about telling local stories, especially those of Waikato women.
Her experience with festivals over the past four years has included working with three fringe festivals, Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival and a film festival. The knowledge gained in these enterprises has informed her production and scheduling of Toi Wāhine.
EMAIL: email@example.com
(Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Ati Awa)
Sophie grew up on the banks of the Waikato River in Hamilton East and credits the thriving arts scene, namely theatre companies Electra and Slip of the Tongue, for igniting a passion for the Arts .
Since leaving Hamilton over 20yrs ago she has spread herself over the fashion, television and events industry including a long stint in talent management. She is passionate about Toi Wāhine and is excited to return to where, for her, it all began.
EMAIL: email@example.com


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Tampa Wedding Planner | Tampa Bay Event Designer | Florida wedding ceremony officiant
Your Wedding Planner and Wedding Designer
Don't forget to decorate the cake table at your wedding reception. Make your wedding cake stand out with a bright accent color.
Make sure you preselect some great Thank You Cards to send to your guests after the wedding.
Wedding Tip: Consider Having Your Wedding Ceremony and Reception at the same location.
Set realistic goals if deciding to lose weight and tone-up before your wedding day.
Copyright © 2019 Champagne Wishes - All Rights Reserved


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Michael Rosenbaum has dropped out of NBC's Mission Control.
The comedy, newly picked up to series, is from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Productions.
Smallville villain Rosenbaum was set to star opposite Krysten Ritter (Breaking Bad, Veronica Mars) in Mission Control.
According to Deadline, the part of NASA astronaut Bus - originally played by Rosenbaum - is to be recast.
The show, set in 1962, is about a woman and man who are competing to land on the Moon first.
Rosenbaum was announced to have landed the part in February. His recent roles include the TV series Breaking In and Back in the Day.


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Indie rock band. Loud. Screaming vocals. Clashing sounds. Rock star hair whips.
That's probably how a word association game would turn out for the independent rock scene. Zeus, the Toronto-based rock band, formed by childhood pals Mike O'Brien and Carlin Nicholson, embodies all the qualities of the anti-stereotype.
The Canadians made a North American tour stop in Waterloo to support the release of their fourth studio album Classic Zeus, which dropped last month. Their sound can be described as a mix of classic rock meets 21 century synths, accompanied by smooth and soft vocals.
Solo act Taylor Knox and rock band The Golden Dogs warmed up the intimate crowd at Starlight with their contrasting loud and heavy music. After what seemed like an eternity of set up intermissions, Zeus finally opened their set with "Where Is My Love," a track off Classic Zeus.
They continued to pump up the crowd by performing fan-favourite throwbacks to their first album from 2009. Unlike pop concertgoers who scream every lyric to every song, this crowd was here to enjoy and actually listen to the live performance.
That's not to say that none of these people knew the lyrics by heart. When Zeus asked the crowd to sing along to the hook, they screamed out every word on beat. But of course, they reverted to their quiet selves moments later.
Although Zeus didn't speak to the crowd too much, they did tell the story of how they began in an air-conditioned garage in East End Toronto. The closest thing to a fan conversation was a five second bonding moment over how great air conditioning is.
Despite the lack of conversation, Zeus interacted with the fans in other ways, like letting them sing right into the mic to fulfill their rock star dreams. Everyone had a blast.
Tuesday night's crowd was a great reminder of how music is ageless. While you may question your mother's choice to blast Iggy Azalea in the car, we had university frat boys, parents, and even grandpas all enjoying a nice cold beer while bobbing their heads together. Some even made use of Starlight's dance floor and busted out a couple moves.
What impressed me were the wide musical talents of the Zeus band members. They were swapping keyboard, guitar, and vocal duties left, right, and centre — something you don't see too often.
If you're unfamiliar with Zeus, give their music a try. It won't be long before they're back in town again.
Home Arts & LIfe Zeus rocks the stage at Starlight


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Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday January 30, 2011 Blacksmith shop
Hello faithful reader.
Took a trip to the Blue Heron charity casino in Port Perry at Xmas and stopped at the Scugog museum for a photo or two.
Spotted this shop. Pretty dull day out so colours were mute.
Thanks for listening
Posted by DJB at 8:39 AM No comments:
Monday, January 17, 2011
Monday January 17, 2011-Kay's Birthday lunch
Hello faithful reader.
Its actually on the 18th, but we held a pot luck brunch on the 15th for my Mother in Law's birthday. I'm told it is her 88th.
In the picture is grand Daughter Erin.
Thanks for listening
Posted by DJB at 10:45 AM No comments:
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New York/New Delhi: Yahoo will be soon called Altaba and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will step down from the board of directors. Yahoo has been overtaken by US wireless communications service provider Verizon for a mere $4.8 billion.
"Six Yahoo directors will be leaving after the Verizon sale, including Mayer," The Wall Street Journal reported.
The Yahoo acquisition might be benefitial for Verizon to perk up its operations in the digital ad space. AOL has properties like The Huffington Post and technology websites Techcrunch and Engadget — and now Yahoo Finance — which together can become a strong digital advertising platform for Verizon.
Vishal Tripathi, Research Director at global market consultancy firm Gartner today stated: "Verizon will surely monetise both Yahoo and AOL operations to get the best out of this deal."


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How to use essential oils with babies
There are many schools of thought here. I take a middle of the road approach but I encourage you to use your own judgment. Some say that essentials oils should not be used on a baby under 12 months. Most agree that oils should be used very sparingly for babies under 3 months. 1 drop is adequate if you use them at all
Cautions when using aromatherapy
Great caution should be exercised when using essential oils on babies under three months of age. They are still developing in many ways and are adjusting to life outside the womb. Essential oils are too strong in most instances to use at this stage.
Here are the important safety precautions:
Never give oils internally and don't use them directly on the skin (blend them first- this is very important, they can burn sensitive skin if not properly diluted)
Don't use oils in or too close to the eyes. If any oil accidentally gets in the eyes, flush with milk rather than water.
If any irritation occurs, discontinue use.
Always check for contra-indications and make sure the oil you are using is safe to use on babies.
Avoid using essential oils for babies that have a medical condition that would be aggravated by the use of the particular essential oils.
Safe oils to use with babies
Most aromatherapists believe the following oils are considered safe to use with newborns:
From 3 months old on, you can also use:
After 6 months you can add:
Palma Rosa
Tea Tree
How to give the oils:
Massage- Always dilute essential oils with a carrier oil before using on the skin, they can cause skin irritation. The safest carrier oils to use with babies are olive, jojoba, grape-seed, avocado, apricot kernel, and wheat-germ oils. Nut oils should not be used until 12 months of age in case of a severe allergic reaction.
Recommended dose:
3 months and under- 1 drop of essential oil in 2 T of base oil
3-24 months- 2 drops essential oil in 2 T of base oil


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You'd think it would be fun, being invisible. But Ethel is soon thrown into a heart-stopping adventure when she discovers that she is not actually who she thought she was
With a lively supporting cast including a centenarian great-grandmother and a pair of teenage twin villains, Invisible provides thrills and laughs with an emotional core that will appeal to readers of both sexes and all ages.
What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible It is published in the UK by Harper Collins
Readers in the UK can buy What Not To Do If You Turn Invisible here
Readers in the US may order from Amazon (UK). It will be published in the US by Schwartz & Wade (Penguin Random House) in October 2017.
You can purchase What Not To Do if you Turn Invisible here:Amazon Waterstones Harper Collins


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Kevin Malcolm : HEAVY DAYS
Kevin Malcolm
Opening: Friday May 24rd, 19:00
Open: May 24rd – 26th, 12-5 pm as part of OSLO GALLERY WEEKEND
Heavy Days presents new sculptural and collage works which approach concrete through its use in construction, and develop an exploration of its materiality in relation to the human body.
A slump test measures the workability of concrete; its malleability when wet is directly related to its strength and integrity when set. Simultaneously, a slump test is a diagnostic tool in the evaluation of leg and back pain disorders; flexibility is assessed to determine neural tension and spinal damage. Neither test is conclusive, only suggestive of the likelihood that failure will occur.
A new series of collages activate the appropriative tradition as a mirror of content, namely a repurposing of space, both within image culture and the built environment. A photograph of a figurative sculpture built into a wall in Salvador Dali's garden lays atop a newsprint page from an advertising brochure using images of DIY concrete work to impart a rugged authenticity to jeans.
Unsurprisingly the form, the content and the intent are embedded in the material. Indeed, the material is the content. Concrete is inescapably present but into which mold should it be poured or from which form cast? Can it bind an aggregate of our desires? It is mute and yet we would have it speak. What realistic expectations can we have of cement, sand and water?
Kevin Malcolm (Glasgow, 1979) is a Scottish artist based in Copenhagen. His work deals with the tensions between image and source, highlighting the role of photography in the experience of space, place and history. Encompassing sculpture, photography, collage and works which fall somewhere between these definitions, his practice questions the construction and display of visual information and how it figures in our relationship to the built environment.


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Seeking Redemption in Cyntoia's Story
Dan Birman spent six years capturing the evolution and nuances of a case that is both depressingly common and refreshingly multifaceted. He met 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown after she murdered a man. Instead of a lost cause, he found a very bright young woman trapped in a juvenile justice system that leaves no room for redemption. His film Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story premieres on Independent Lens on PBS Tuesday, March 1, 2011. Check your local listings.
What impact do you hope Cyntoia's story will have?
My hope is that one person's story, produced in depth and over time, will help to change our entire approach to juvenile justice. Cyntoia Brown received a life sentence with no room for the possibility that her history, youth, and bad circumstances, could be overcome. Indeed she has overcome them all within a few years - only now, her chance for freedom will come when it's too late for her to be a productive member of society.
What led you to make Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story?
I was driven to make this film because I recognized my own knee-jerk reaction to her story. Initially Cyntoia, in concept, was not a sympathetic character because I thought her story was just so similar to the daily grind of news reading. Another youth becomes violent through drugs and prostitution. Then I heard my own voice ignoring the obvious flaw in my thinking - a 16-year-old girl facing murder charges. There had to be more to the story. Then I met Cyntoia; there was no question, this film had to be made. It could not be made through traditional means though. I needed to spend whatever time it would take to go to the heart of her story to answer a very basic question: "Why did this happen?"
What were some of the challenges you faced in making the film?
There were big challenges along the way. First was access. I am an L.A. producer entering a southern story. Her family did not know me, I had to gain the trust of the juvenile justice system, the county jail, do this all from 2,000 miles away, commit the time and my own funds to make it all happen.
How did you gain the trust of Cyntoia, her family, and law enforcement personnel?
It took some convincing to get the family to allow me in. Their plate was full. Now they had to figure out what it would mean to have a documentarian at their doorsteps.
Access to the juvenile justice system was an issue: the Sheriff's office, the judge, and even more, being able to bring a camera into the courtroom - this was the first time in this juvenile court's history. The county Sheriff agreed to allow me access to the prisoner if I promised to answer the question, "Why?"
Cyntoia had to be okay with being challenged on camera, in every aspect of her life. I made only one promise - that I would ask intelligent questions and look for the buried issues so that we might shed light on youth violence. By doing so, she would have a purpose - to help prevent others from going down the same path.
What would you have liked to include in the film that didn't make the cut?
Unfortunately, I was unable to include Cyntoia's adoptive father into this story. He was not interested in participating, and I do think the audience will want to know more about their relationship.
Tell us about a scene in the film that especially moved or resonated with you.
I interviewed Cyntoia following an emotional breakdown during which she cut off much of her hair and shaved her eyebrows. The interview seemed difficult during the process, so I put those tapes away thinking it was a bust. Two years later I looked at those tapes and realized that I had gained Cyntoia's insight into what really happened. Upon reflection, my own difficulty with the material caused me to miss just how important this was. Her epiphany is profound as it is the most important piece of the story about her relationship to abusive men.


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"I was born deaf and 8 weeks ago I received a hearing implant. This is the video of them turning it on and me hearing myself for the first time :)"
Best YouTube comment: "To those thanking god. Thank the scientists. Thank those who worked their asses off to make this possible. Not your imaginary friend."


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DURBAN, South Africa — Protesters crowded a hall inside the Durban conference center where UN climate talks are being held Friday, vowing to "occupy COP" and disrupt the negotiations on their final official day.
Several dozen youth delegates and environmental activists, along with country representatives from small island nations, sang the traditional South African miners' song "Shosholoza" and waved signs saying that any delay in action on climate change would mean death in Africa.
The protesters were removed peacefully by security after about two hours, and had their accreditation badges for the conference, known as COP 17, revoked. Ten Greenpeace activists, including executive director Kumi Naidoo, are among those evicted and banned.
An all-night #occupycop17 vigil is scheduled for later in the day.
More from GlobalPost: COP 17: South Africa suggests extending talks
More than 190 countries have been negotiating on what will replace the Kyoto Protocol when its carbon-emission limits expire at the end of December 2012.
Other talks have focused on the creation of the Green Climate Fund, as a way for developed countries to help poor countries hardest hit by climate change but least responsible for it.
But climate change negotiations have stalled, with major divisions between the United States, China and India, and while the two-week conference is supposed to end Friday, host South Africa has suggested extending it by an extra day.
More from GlobalPost: COP 17: Canada is the bad guy at climate change talks


text:
If you are a fashion designer, it is important that you consider protecting your intellectual property and trademarks. Australia's $1.3 billion fast fashion industry is bursting at the seams as more fashion designers enter the industry every year. Without a thorough understanding of intellectual property, it can be difficult to know exactly which part of your fashion business you should endeavour to protect. However, although it might be difficult to identify every piece of intellectual property inherent in your business, there are a few examples that are pivotal to the future success of your business.
Difference between Trademark and Intellectual Property
The term intellectual property is a term used to encompass a number of different legal protection methods. These include copyright, trademark, patent and trade secrets. Trademarks are essentially any mark you use to identify your work or your business on a product and can be in the form of letters, words, diagrams, colours or smells. Therefore, you can see that trademarks can constitute just about anything, so long as it identifies you and your business to customers. Many fashion labels trademark their symbol or phrase word.
Protecting Trademarks in Fashion
Many business owners fall into the trap of assuming that because their trademarks are unique to their business, it will prevent others from using it. However, you should not allow your fashion design business to fall into this trap. If your trademark is not protected, anyone can use it for whatever purpose they desire. If you do not protect your trademarks, you could find a fashion design business set up next to yours, using the same trademark as you. Although immoral, legally this would be a scenario that you could do nothing about if you were not to protect your trademarks.
How Do I Protect a Trademark?
To protect the trademarks of your fashion design business, you will have to embark upon a rather arduous voyage. Registering a trademark can be a daunting task for many business owners as anything you believe to be a trademark of your business will have to be registered with IP Australia. This government body will then compare your trademark with others in Australia and around the world to determine whether it is unique, and thereby able to be registered as a trademark.
Not only will this process be taxing upon you, as you will have to wade through a significant number of procedures, but it can also prove to be a costly endeavour if a business was to challenge the legitimacy of your trademark. Therefore, it is important that you seek legal advice before attempting this process, as it has the potential to save you a great deal of both time and money. Also, having a trademark lawyer who is familiar with your business and trademark can be a great boon in the event another business attempts to unscrupulously use your intellectual property for their benefit. This will allow you to quickly and effectively ensure your business and its reputation is protected.
As more and more fashion retailers enter the industry to target fashion-conscious consumers, more designers are promoting their products in a highly competitive market. To avoid copycats and protect your brand, register a trademark.
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text:
Feb 29, 2016
Haley Tolbert of Calhoun Community College has been named the ACCC Softball Player of the Week for February 22-28.
Tolbert, who prepped at Huntsville High School, led Calhoun to a 4-2 week, with a .666 batting average, while tallying eight runs batted in. She also scored four runs, while adding two home runs and two doubles.
The sophomore catcher from Huntsville, Alabama is currently hitting .373 in 19 games, with a .431 on base percentage and .549 slugging percentage.


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2007-09-01 »
Disturbing adventures in preprocessing, continued
I've been getting quite some interest in my earlier article, In praise of the C preprocessor. First, pcolijn wrote to point out that Java can delay evaluation of expensive toString() operations until later, so the cost of an unprinted log message can be pretty unimportant.
Then, fellow alumnit slajoie (I forgot how awesome his website was) wrote me to say that actually, the exact side-effect-reducing behaviour possible in C/C++ via the preprocessor was available in .Net due to a highly specific language feature:
using System; using System.Diagnostics;
class Test { public int i = 1000;
[Conditional("FOO")] private void MaybeAdd(int incr) { i += incr; } private int SideEffect() { return ++i; } public static int Main(string[] args) { Test o = new Test(); Console.WriteLine("{0}", o.i); o.SideEffect(); Console.WriteLine("{0}", o.i); o.MaybeAdd(o.SideEffect()); Console.WriteLine("{0}", o.i); return 0; }
Compile this with "csc foo.cs" (or use mono's gmcs) and run it, and you get "1000 1001 1001". But use "csc /d:FOO foo.cs" (or use gmcs) and you get "1000 1001 2004".
The magic "[Conditional]" attribute not only makes a function not get included if you leave out the define, but it makes the caller of the function not evaluate its parameters at all. They're still type-checked, however. And note the neat way in which you don't have to define both the normal and "empty" versions of MaybeAdd() - it's automatic.
This is used already by System.Diagnostics.Debug.Assert and the related Trace stuff, among other things.
The decision to implement a particular feature of the preprocessor via a specific language feature (instead of simply providing a generic solution like cpp) is an interesting one that C#/.Net takes in several other places too. For example, C# generics aren't nearly as powerful as C++ templates, but because they're tuned for a specific purpose (and #@%! function pointers aren't insane in C#, so you don't need them for that) they actually work much better than templates in C++.
UPDATE: Oh dear, the C# situation is even crazier than I thought. Apparently conditional attributes weren't enough for them. Now we have partial methods in which functions that are declared, but not defined, can be called without a problem but their parameters aren't even evaluated. I don't understand the explanation ("lightweight callbacks") for why this is useful, but I assume it must be, because it seems like way too much work to invent otherwise.
2007-09-03 »
More on expensive gasoline
In my article about climate change, I mentioned in passing that "anybody who thinks the current price of gasoline has anything to do with 'peak oil' does not understand economics." Now, to be fair, some people really don't understand economics, which I guess is actually to be expected if you haven't studied it.
But you really can't understand gas prices without it, so here we go with some ECON101.
Introduction to price optimization, without even using calculus
Let's say I'm a widget vendor in 1999, and my company is the only company able to make widgets. (Because of a monopoly, patents, whatever.) I'm selling widgets to you for $0.50 each, and people buy 1000 widgets this year. Now let's say, as an experiment, that I raise the price a bit each year, so that by 2007, widgets are $1 each, and because of the increased prices, people are now only willing to buy 750 widgets a year. Quiz time:
How much money did I make in 1999 vs. 2007?
Did I do the right thing by raising the price?
What does this say about the trends in worldwide widget production?
$500 in 1999 and $750 in 2007 (or $625 in inflation-adjusted 1999 dollars).
Absolutely. You made more money, but wasted fewer worldwide resources and did less work, which means you could get away with hiring fewer people and therefore ditch some unproductive middle managers. If you hadn't had a monopoly, or people hadn't needed widgets so badly (less price elasticity), you might have been in more trouble.
As the only producer of widgets in the world, I will have reduced my production rate because I'm selling fewer widgets and I don't want to fill warehouses with extras - that costs me money. This doesn't mean the world is running out of widgets, it means I'm smart enough to cut the supply of widgets because I make more money that way.
And back to oil
Now replace "widgets" with "1L of gasoline in Canada" in the above example, and you have the story of the worldwide oil market.
The only difference is... did people really reduce their gasoline consumption to 75% of its initial value just because the price per litre doubled? Actually no, I just made that up. Here's what it actually looks like (the red line is U.S. oil consumption; the green (or is it black?) line is irrelevant for our purposes, but click the image if you're interested):
(It doesn't matter whether we graph supply or consumption; they'll be about the same, because as with widgets, nobody wants to keep around warehouses with billions of barrels of oil.)
Wouldn't you love to run a business where consumption goes up even though you doubled the price? Okay, actually, as wlach points out, consumption (production) has actually been flat for the last couple of years, suggesting that maybe prices are high enough now.
But just as a thought experiment, imagine that gas prices doubled one more time. Would you drive less than half as much as you do right now? Really? If not, it's in their best interests to do it all over again. And you'd surely see the production actually go into decline as they make more money while you buy less gas.
Oh yes, the world is running out of oil, all right. But that has nothing to do with its price.
2007-09-05 »
Making banking not fun
26 pages of pain about converting a project from MS SQL to PostgreSQL - one direction only. The document could be useful, if you find yourself stuck in such a situation, but it's also educational if you're interested (as I am) in how compatible different database systems are with each other. Answer: they aren't.
SQL today is in about the state that C was in in the early 1990's: implemented differently by lots of different low-quality vendors. People had to choose, then put up with, a different vendor's combination of features and misfeatures depending on their needs. Then Linux and gcc came along for free and set the bar for competition so high that we hardly remember there used to be a bar (or a market for non-Microsoft C compilers).
SQL today is also similar to 1990's C in that it's the best standard we've got, and the alternative pain we'd be in without it would be truly astonishing.
2007-09-07 »
Caffeine consumption
I'm quite enjoying these statistics-based posts I've been doing lately. And I just figured out why: because it's totally countercultural! If the whole world is running on idiotic rumours and half-baked opinions, it's kind of fun to do the exact opposite.
Today I have an easy one: people have often commented that even though I don't drink coffee, I get plenty of caffeine because I drink plenty of soft drinks, so I'm not really any different. My answer is always, "don't soft drinks have a lot less caffeine, though?" And then the conversation dies because nobody really knows.
Well, here's the answer: coffee has about 6.4 times as much caffeine per volume than coke. I don't drink 6.4 times as much coke as you drink coffee, that's for sure. Also, green tea has about 25% more caffeine than coke, but less sugar (unless you add it), so it's probably even less of an upper. Tazo Chai has about double that, or 1/3 as much as coffee.
And there's actual evidence that caffeine makes insomnia worse (surprise), so that could help explain why I sleep better than a lot of my friends.
On relative availability of information
The web contains about a zillion sources of information about how much caffeine there is in everyday household items, which is mostly unimportant.
But I had to search for a long time to find even vague trend information about gasoline prices, which are earth-changingly important.
Not surprisingly, people act a lot more religiously in debates about oil/gas and environmental trends (with almost no information) than debates about caffeine.
2007-09-09 »
Generics in C# vs. Java
Jonathon Pryor wrote a very well-thought-out article comparing Java and C# generics.
He tries hard to be fair about it, although his preference for C# is pretty clear. Anyway, it makes a good educational article in case you wanted to learn about the screwy details of generics implementation in both languages at once.
2007-09-10 »
Google Patents
I just tried out Google Patents, and it's pretty cool. You can check out the idb backup patent from dcoombs at my last company (which has been continuing to improve the technology; after I left, they finally released some of the coolest parts that we'd been working on for more than 3 years).
There's also one with my name on it: something about abstract application notation, which I worked on several years ago for a company one of my friends founded in University.
In general, I'm against the software patent system because it's pointless - I just can't believe that less great software would be written just because you couldn't patent it. And because it's pointless and takes resources and works best if lawyers write as incomprehensibly as possible, it's also inefficient and gross on any number of levels.
Venture capitalists sure do like it if you have a patent or two in your name, though.
I do like the original idea of patents: society gives people a limited time monopoly on a particular invention, but in exchange for that, they have to give society something really valuable in exchange: the knowledge of how they did it.
Google Patents is cool because it at least helps society benefit from the patent information it paid so dearly for.
Now, if only Google Translate had a "legalese to English" button.
2007-09-11 »
A browser is part of the operating system?
Back in 1998, we hated Microsoft for saying a web browser was a critical part of an operating system.
Now an operating system without a built-in web browser would be crazy. How would you download Firefox?
2007-09-12 »
Joel Spolsky in Kitchener/Waterloo and Toronto
For anyone who didn't already know, the infamous Joel will be in Kitchener/Waterloo and then Toronto doing presentations about Fogbugz 6 and software management and things.
My timing is off, as usual - I'll be in Montreal at the time. But if you're in the area, you should go. Joel is awesome, and Fogbugz is awesome. And Fogbugz 6 might be even better.
2007-09-13 »
"Extortionist Database Architecture"
For some time now I've been talking about how the whole world of database/business/financial software is incredibly messed up. The whole system is just a morass of consultants trying to sell you crappy software that will end up costing you 10x as much in consulting fees.
But apparently there's a term for this: "Extortionist Database Architecture." Check out an interview with Vivek Ranadive of Tibco where he talks about it.
The first part of the article is really great - it frames the problem perfectly - but the rest descends into marketese. It mostly tries to sell us SOA as the answer to everything, which seems to me to be, er, unlikely. (The article is sponsored by Sun.)
The Harrah's example is especially evil, because the hard part of implementing the story he describes isn't the software at all; it's deciding which triggers should cause which reactions. If you could do that, you could build it on just about any architecture.
In other silver-bullet related news...
Improve your database performance 10x with our new database architecture! We use the highly innovative technique of storing data in columns instead of rows, resulting in a massive speed increase!
How can you go wrong? <bonk>
2007-09-15 »
Bus bathroom design
Today, a quick note that combines two of my favourite topics: bathrooms and user interface design.
I recently ended up travelling by bus from London (Ontario) to Toronto. For various reasons, I also had the chance to use the washroom on this bus.
The washroom had a great UI innovation: when you lock the door, the light comes on. Why is that so great? Well, think about it like this:
- You never want to use the washroom in the dark.(*)
- You never want to use the washroom with the door unlocked.
- It's hard to tell sometimes whether you have the door locked.
- It's easy to tell whether you have the lights on.
- It's hard to remember to turn off the lights when you're done.
- It's easy to remember to unlock the door when you're done.
This simple design innovation feels great. You go into the washroom: oh, great, another screwy industrial bathroom door lock design. I wonder how I lock it. Let's see... click - and the light turns on! It's really satisfying, because the user gets instant feedback that they have accomplished what they wanted. Even though you weren't even trying (yet) to turn on the light, the fact that it turns on is an instantly understandable signal that you have made something happen, and since you were obviously fiddling with the door lock, you can easily assume that what you made happen was the locking of the door.
Side note
Actually, there's a tiny little night-light thing that makes it possible to see even when the light is off. This serves two purposes: on your way in, you don't get obsessed with turning on the light (which would be frustrating, since there's no light switch). On the way out, you can unlock the door without immersing yourself in total darkness.
(*) In Spain, almost all washrooms seem to have motion-sensitive lights. Basically, this means that if you want light, you have to wave your hands around occasionally while you poo. While traveling there I developed a love-hate relationship with these motion sensors. Briefly: lights that turn themselves on and off based on a vague concept like "motion speed beyond a fixed threshold" and "no motion for a fixed amount of time" are exactly the opposite of delightfully immediate user feedback. And secondly, pooing in the dark is an interesting experience that in many cases beats waving your hands around every 30 seconds.
2007-09-17 »
Because otherwise you won't know when it's done starting
I was just searching for something else and ran into a discussion in wlach's blog from awhile ago. I replied to it at the time but it's worth reposting here, since I think it's useful information.
The question was, basically: why do daemons fork themselves into the background, anyway? It's so easy in Unix to do it yourself (by adding an & sign after the command) but very hard to force a self-backgrounding program into the foreground.
pmccurdy responded by linking to an article that may or may not have been written by djb (of qmail/djbdns fame) saying that self-backgrounding daemons are wrong, and explaining why. It's a good article.
But it doesn't actually answer the question. The real question is: why would incredibly smart people, like the original designers of Unix, have made daemons fork automatically into the background when it's so annoying and besides, they also invented inittab and inetd which do the right thing?
The answer is that when you background a subprocess yourself, you don't know when it's "done starting." For example, if I'm starting syslogd, I don't actually want to move on to the next program (which might require syslogd's socket to be listening because it sends log messages) until syslogd is actually ready to receive connections, which is later than when it's simply been forked off. If you background the process yourself, there's no way for you to know... except polling for the socket, which is gross.
So the original Unix designers actually did a really clever thing: they had the daemon fork() itself after binding the socket, so when syslogd goes into the background, you know it's ready to receive connections.
Incidentally, this is intimately related to a question that was asked around the same time on wvstreams-devel about wvfork()'s "strange" delays in the parent process. Unlike fork(), the wvfork() in WvStreams can suspend the parent process until the child has finished setting itself up - for example, listening on some sockets or closing other ones. With wvfork(), the parent does the backgrounding (as it should be) but the child can still notify the parent that it's ready (as it should be), so you get the best of both worlds... except you have to use the non-standard wvfork().
Someone also mentioned that KDE programs auto-background themselves on startup, which seems ridiculous since they're not even daemons. That's considerably more crazy, but it was also done for a good reason. The reason, as I understand it, is that to improve shared memory usage and speed (ie. data structure initialization, not .so files themselves) they actually ask the 'kdeinit' program to fork itself and load and run the library corresponding to their program. After that happens, the program you ran isn't actually doing anything, so it quits. But if kdeinit isn't running on your system, the program (a bit confusingly) doesn't fork into the background because it doesn't need to. Try it and see!
2007-09-18 »
Newflash: people can't do statistics
My two recent articles about climate change vs. objectivity and expensive gasoline got some rather more vigorous responses than what I'm used to.
The scariest responses I received were of the form, "panels of experts have analyzed the evidence, and they know a lot more about it than you or I do, so we should trust them."
Well, panels of experts have analyzed a lot of things. Here's a few experts who analyzed a huge set of scientific papers and found that most scientific papers are wrong. They hypothesize that this is because the people writing the papers are desperate to show that their work has uncovered something meaningful, so they twiddle with the statistics until they can discover something that seems mathematically significant.
Now ask yourself: if the most important assignment of your entire career was to determine, based on non-repeatable experimental observations (sensor readings over the last 100 years), whether global warming was real or not, and whether it was caused by humans or not... how honest would you be with yourself about the significance of your results?
Programmers have it easy. We may not know much either, but at least we know for sure that our trends don't follow 1000-year cycles.
2007-09-19 »
The three banking programmer virtues
Larry Wall, the designer of perl, says that the three great programmer virtues are laziness, impatience, and hubris. (Oddly, the top google hit for "programmer virtues" is on open.nit.ca. I'm honoured, but that's not actually a very good link. Use this one instead.)
While talking to dfcarney today, I was trying (again) to explain the difference between the kind of programmers I'm used to dealing with - let's call them "hackers" - and the kind of programmers that made the banking software at Pacific & Western Bank, which is where the initial Versabanq products come from.
Most programmers and most software companies, whether banking-related or not, are crud. That's because 90% of everything is crud. Let's discard that 90% for now.
The banking programmers I'm talking about are actually good at what they do. But they're also nothing like the "hackers" I'm used to dealing with. It occurred to me today that this is because the things that make you successful at writing business software are the antithesis of the three programmer virtues. Business software developers don't have laziness, impatience, and hubris, they have diligence, patience, and humility.(1)
Laziness is about finding an efficient way to do something so you don't have to do it over and over. But business rules are complicated (being invented by politicians), and often a generalization is harder to understand and maintain than a simple enumeration of the details. Instead of being lazy and thus more efficient, you're diligent and thus more precise.
Impatience is about wanting the right solution right now, and getting annoyed when the computer is being too lazy to give it to you. But most successful businesses, to the dismay of Web 2.0 companies everywhere, are slow and boring and conservative - and patient. For a bank, doing the wrong thing right now would be deadly; patiently doing the right thing in five years will make you such huge profits that it'll be worth the wait.
Hubris is about believing you can do a better job than everybody else, and thus being willing to take the risk of doing things differently in the hopes of doing them better. But financial systems are complicated, and programmers rarely have the expertise to define those systems by themselves. They need to have the humility to admit that actually, in business software, most of the time it's someone else who has the answer.
Thinking of it this way, you can begin to see why so much excellent genius-powered software is terrible for business, and why so much useful business software seems to be so inefficient.
It's a classic compromise situation, and you know how much I hate those.
In fact, it might be the most important compromise in all of computer programming. Wouldn't it be cool if there were a solution?
Absurd Footnote
(1) I did a search for these terms to see what came up. How ironic: Larry Wall's second state of the onion speech mentions exactly these three terms as the "virtues of community." I'm not sure how that ties in to what I'm saying here, but it probably does.
2007-09-22 »
SetUp/TearDown methods in unit tests are apparently considered bad now
Xunit, a replacement for Nunit (the .NET unit testing library) was just announced. It's actually done by one of the original designers of Nunit, so it's worth paying attention.
Among other design considerations, it removes support for the [SetUp] and [TearDown] tags, forcing you to do all your test initialization at the top of each test, and all your test cleanup at the bottom. (This isn't actually so bad, because if you can just encapsulate it in a single function and call that function.)
I find this interesting because I've always had a bad feeling about SetUp/TearDown, but I never knew why. WvTest (our C++ unit testing framework) supports no such thing, and I never once missed it when writing tests. But I thought maybe I was just missing something.
Now that someone else has implemented the feature and learned the hard way not to use it, they can explain the actual problems: first, if your test function doesn't call the SetUp function itself, you have to go looking elsewhere to see if there is one and what it does; and second, the one-universal SetUp function tends to become a kitchen sink of all the setup you need for all your tests, so even simple tests end up running an overly complex SetUp function, creating things they don't need and masking the simplicity of the test itself. The solution is simple: just remove that feature from the test framework, and suddenly your problems are gone! And if you really want a SetUp() function, one explicit call at the top of each test isn't a lot of typing, and it's much more clear.
Interestingly, the only testrunner in Xunit is a command-line one - just like WvTest (oddly, the command line is the one that seems to be missing in recent versions of Nunit - or maybe it's just hidden away somewhere). The importance of command-line testing was strikingly obvious to me from the beginning. How can you run your tests automatically in the autobuilder if they need you to click a GUI button?
Now I just need to wait for them to adopt the last of my WvTest innovations, which I actually just stole from perl's self-test framework. Print every assertion as it runs, don't just do a report at the end. This makes it easier to see in detail what's going on, but it also means that you can build a basic "GUI testrunner" by just running the command-line testrunner and piping it to a program that counts and filters the results. WvTest has such a filter written in tcl/tk, so when I said above that "the only testrunner is a command-line one" I lied a bit) . And the GUI testrunner will work with any program that produces output in WvTest format!
(Perl, incidentally, just has a simple filter that converts the verbose test output to a series of "." characters, which is the text-mode equivalent of a completion bar. If any test fails, you can re-run it and see its output, but in the expected end-user case where all the tests pass, it just gives a pretty summary.)
In any case, it looks like Xunit will be a good choice for a unit testing framework for our .Net work, where WvTest doesn't exist. We had recently ditched Nunit because it was too bloated and complex. Xunit has less stuff - perfect!
2007-09-24 »
Versabanq employment elevator pitch
Salespeople or company founders develop an "elevator pitch" to let them convincingly explain their product or company in the time it takes to ride up an elevator with a potential customer.
We're getting pretty good at explaining our products to customers, and we don't need any financing right now. That's not the problem.
The problem is that people keep asking me why the heck I'm still doing banking software. "Why aren't you bored yet?"
I'm definitely not bored, but all my answers come out sounding too lame and/or complicated. I need an elevator pitch!
Why banking software isn't boring: first attempt
My #1 goal at Versabanq is to make banking fun... for programmers. That's because the financial software world, and more generally the business software world, is filled with incredibly bad, incredibly profitable software that solves customer problems just barely well enough to extract boatloads of money for the armies of consultants that still struggle to make it run. In case anyone remembers, this is what the entire computing world was like before Microsoft(1) came in and rewired everything. Business software isn't special, it's a reminder of how all software used to be - and Microsoft didn't get around to revolutionizing this segment before they fell apart.
Old-style business software companies are in a classic Innovator's Dilemma - they have no reasonable choice but to sit around extracting huge profits until the right new technology finally arrives and wipes them out.
My goal is to be the one doing the wiping.
How could that not be fun?(2)
(1) Past and present NITI employees might pick up on the familiar spurious references to Microsoft. It's no secret that I greatly respect many of Microsoft's accomplishments, if not their (mostly unnecessary) evilness and recent stupidity. NITI, which still exists today and still makes an excellent product that competes directly with Windows Server, has a tough job: the small-business server market has already been largely cleaned up by Microsoft, so competition is harsh and profit margins are low. The business software market isn't in that state at all.
(2) I'd love to hear your comments about my elevator pitch. The NitLog software I'm using does not support comments but you can always email me. Thanks!
Note that everything I write in this journal is my own opinion, not necessarily the opinion of Versabanq management. The above explains my motivation for doing what I do, but is not a statement of direction for the company itself. Versabanq's direction is determined by far more than just my random opinions. In case you buy or sell stock in Versabanq's parent (TSX:PWC), you might do it based on the fact that I'm highly motivated - but that's all you should conclude from any statement anywhere in this journal.
2007-09-28 »
If I ever need to apply for a job, this will be my cover letter
Saw this resume last week and he looks perfect for your department. He's got expertise in all kinds of software development as well as a specialization in social engineering. We've totally got to bring him in for an interview!
-- Steve