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Learn Photo Editing
A start to finish guide to merging 2 images. Read more
By BrownTrout Paginated View I received a couple of requests for a tutorial on making a Mmmmmotion pic so I figured I'd take a stab at it. Page 1 : Making it mmmmmmove
After seeing several of the Mmmmotion contests, I think most of the mistakes have to do with incorrect subject focus or just plain "overdoing it." I tried to address both issues here. Hope some of you find this useful... For starters, there are several perspectives you can take when setting a picture to motion. Take the following race car pic in its original form...
Page 2
You can choose to set yourself in motion but the result is usually not appropriate for what we are trying to do.
While realistic... this would be the view if your head was traveling at 100 mph.
Instead, consider how things would look if you were actually taking a picture. You would set either the car (foreground) or the road and trees (background) as the focal point of the image. Page 3
Focusing on the car, your background would appear to move like this (note: your wheels would still be moving, and thus... radially blurred)
If your focus was more distant (the trees perhaps), then the car would appear as the moving component in the image, like this
For this tutorial, we will go with the background as our point of focus. Page 4
Step 1: Using the polygonal lasso tool, crop out your car from the background
Cut and paste the cropped car into a new layer so that only the background remains
Since a true moving object appears semi-transparent around the edges, we will need to clone in some of the edges where we cut the car out. Page 5
Select your cloning tool and set the opacity to about 75%. Begin carefully cloning in the egdes so that you have a smaller exposed (cleared) area with somewhat fuzzy edges.
Our last step is to select the car shape we originally cut out and use the motion blur tool to set it in motion.
Make sure the direction of the blur is consistent with the direction the car is actually traveling in. Be cautious not to overdo things here... your car is not traveling at light speed! A setting of 15-20 pixels will probably be enough
That should get you started with a laterally moving object. Now what do you do if the object is coming at you?? Page 6
You still need to select some point of focus before you start. This would once again be an object in the foreground or the background itself.
Take my recent Jackass entry for instance. In this pic, the focus is on the shopping cart and the people. The blast cloud behind them is what I chose to set in motion.
Step 1: Make a layer copy of your original source image then crop out those parts of the image that should remain still for the most part (because they are the "focal point" of the image)
Copy the cropped area of your layer copy and paste it into a new layer like so, then make it invisible in the layers pallet.
Now go back to your original layer copy and apply a radial "zoom" blur to it. Once again, try not to overdo it. A setting of 15 pixels should be enough for our purposes
Now select the cropped layer of the cart and people (making it visible in the layer pallet) and using the eraser tool, partially erase the edges of the image that are closest to the blast center. Setting the eraser opacity to 50% should do nicely
Now you should have something close to this with the focal point fairly sharp and the background blast in motion.
How I puppetized Charlize!
By Ziaphra Paginated View
A guide to turning a human into a puppet. Page 1
In this tutorial I am going to attempt to show you how to 'puppetize' Charlize from this...
In this tutorial I am going to attempt to show you how to 'puppetize' Charlize from this...
The first step is to use your smudge brush at about 46% opacity and smooth out her skin, hair and teeth until they have a plastic look to them. Page 2
Now draw some oval shapes in the darker skin tones and place them on her joints...look at the angles of her joints to help you with the placing. Just keep adjusting them until they look right. Notice that I have some darker ovals and some lighter ovals...the lighter ovals are placed where I thought more light would fall.
Page 3
Where you only have one oval on a joint, eg, the neck/chin, shoulders, elbows and wrists, you have to copy and paste these joints from your background over the top of your ovals and then erase as much as is needed until it looks as though there is a gap between the joint and the oval. Now go to your background layer and using your clone tool, get rid of the bits of knee etc that you can still see behind the ovals.
Page 4
After cloning, this is how your joints should look.
Now using your pen tool, draw in the lines that hold the joints together. I added a shadow to the knee lines for more effect.
Page 5
Here you need to blacken her mouth and move her chin and lower lip down to give the full puppet effect. I also drew in two faint brown lines to define her chin/jaw more.
Page 6
Next I airbrushed a lighter skin tone onto all of her body and gaussian blurred it until it looked right (you will have to play with this until you are satisfied with your result). I also added highlights to her hair in the same way. This gave Charlize more of the plastic puppet look that I was looking for. Now draw in the dots/holes where you would like to attach the strings.
Page 7
Using the pen tool, draw in your strings and there you have it...all done!!! Good luck.
Reduce the opacity of that layer to about 65% or whatever you feel looks correct. Page 6
at 5% to lighten the shadow as it recedes from the image casting it, with repeated overlapping strokes Shadows get lighter and softer as they recede ■ there are invisible surfaces that could receive cast shadows, I believe the image usually is enhanced by the illusion of unlimited space
A few people wanted to know how I created the rain effect in the "Turrets" contest, so I tried my best to write a tutorial, and here it is! Page 1 : Step 1
Today we're going to attempt to create a simplistic yet realistic rainy day. This is basically a beginner tutorial, and my first attempt at writing one, so stay with me here. We're going to try to reproduce the effect achieved in turning this image:
How to create rain
Rainy day
First thing you need to do is open the picture you want to add rain to. You can use any picture you want, or you can use the one provided. Next, duplicate the background layer (CTRL+J) by either dragging the layer to the "Create a New Layer" button at the bottom of the layers pallet OR going to Layer > Duplicate Layer...(this requires you to click "OK").
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Here's the fun part! On your "background layer copy" go to Image > Image Adjustments > Curves. (CTRL+M) and make your setting something like this: Or you can play around with them to get the desired effect you want. This gives the image that "dark rainy day" appearance. Page 2: Step 2: The Rain
Next step, the rain! Create a new layer (Shift+CTRL+N) by clicking the "Create a New Layer" button -"as before, OR go to Layer > New > Layer... name it "Rain" and fill that layer with White (CTRL+Backspace). Head up to Filter > Noise > Add Noise... and your settings should be close to this:
Then head over to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur... and the setting should be close to this:
Then head over to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur... and the setting should be close to this:
Now you need to head on over and adjust the levels. (CTRL+L) Go to Image > Image Adjustments > Levels. and my settings are:
Levels j^y
But you can make them however you want. Page 4: Step 5
Last step!! Go to the top of your layers pallet and change the mode to "Screen" and Voila! You have a rainy day!
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Optional step! To double the amount of rain in your picture, just copy the "Rain" layer (CTRL+J) and press CTRL+T to pull up the transform handles. You can go to Edit > Free Transform... as well. Click just outside the bottom right handle, until the cursor looks bent. Then hold Shift and turn the layer clockwise until the bottom right corner becomes the top left corner. Then hit the "Commit" button at the top!
Linking Worth1000 Tutorials Directly From Photoshop
Using Photoshop's Help Function to Link to Worth 1000
By Groggie Paginated View
Photoshop has a customizable help function where you can write your own help function, or link to web pages for help. In this tutorial, we will be linking directly to other tutorials on Worth 1000. Page 1 : Navigate to the Tutorial
First, you need to find which tutorial you want to start with. In this tutorial I will be linking to c1010010's Unwrapping Hatteras. So, click on it, and it will bring you to the tutorial. You should see this:
Now, click on 'Print View'. It is next to the author's username, and highlighted in red. This will bring up a page without your username, without advertisements, and without the navigation bar. Highlight the URL and copy it. You will need that later in this tutorial. Page 2: Editing the Howto File
We need to tell Photoshop where and how it is going to link to the webpage, so find Photoshop's 'Additional How To Content' folder. In Windows, the default location is Programs/Adobe/Photoshop/Help/Additional How To Content. On a Mac, the default is Applications/Adobe/Photoshop/Help/Additional How To Content. ***If you are using Photoshop CS2, you can not link to a webpage through the help menu. Instead, you will have to save the print view as an [b]html[/b] document inside of the 'additional how to content' folder.*** We need to edit the file 'Add_001.howto', so open it with your favorite text editor! Once opened, you will see a string already entered.
The first set of quotations is the main folder. The second is the text that will be clicked to link to the tutorial. Press return and type the following string including quotations: "Worth 1000 Tutorials" "Unwrapping Hatteras" http://www.worth1000.com/tutorial.asp?sid=161114&print=1
***If you are using Photoshop CS2, instead of using the URL above, only use the file name of the saved page (For example: unwrappinghatteras.html). Notice: If there is 'http://' or any extension other than '.html', CS2 will launch it's own help application.* You can simply paste the url in after the second set of quotations. Now the text file should appear as follows:
Be sure to save the file and you may now close the text editor.
file:///C|/Worth1000/05.htm (1 van 2)13-6-2006 23:16:51
Be sure to save the file and you may now close the text editor.
file:///C|/Worth1000/05.htm (1 van 2)13-6-2006 23:16:51
Page 3: Open Photoshop
Did you ever imagine seeing a Photoshop tutorial where the last step is to open Photoshop?
If you had Photoshop open prior to saving the 'Add_001.howto' file, you will have to close and reopen Photoshop for changes to take place.
Once Photoshop is open, in the menu bar, click the 'Help' dropdown. At the very bottom of the list, there should be a choice for "Worth 1000 Tutorials". If you hover your mouse over it, the dropdown will extend and should read "Unwrapping Hatteras".
Click it and your default browser will appear with the Unwrapping Hatteras tutorial showing!
You can add as many as you like, and they will be automatically alphabetized in Photoshop. Here, I have also added Norrifs "Turning People Into Statues"
By McGuffy* Paginated View
Here's how I created the Wormhole effect for Future Glimpse 6. Page 1 : Displacement
The effect I used for wormhole is easy to do and has marry uses from rippling water to warping the fabric of space-time.
1. Start off with the image you want to poke a hole in, and create another blank image at the same size and resolution, out in grayscale (Image - Mode - Grayscale).
Page 2: Making the Warp
Working on the blank image, create a new Gradiant Fill, alternating dark gray and white as shown below. The more stripes you create, the more waves your wormhole will have. For a mild ripple, use a lighter shade of gray. For a really warped look, alternate between black and white. You'll also notice I got farther apart as I moved from left to right - this detail makes the outer waves larger than the inner waves, a characteristic of rippling water. I chose a medium gray below:
Page 3: Twirl it!
Next, you're going to apply a Twirl filter to the gradiant (Filter - Distort - Twirl). Play around with the amount to get the effect desired. It doesn't have to be perfect, there will be plenty of time for editing. I used -450 here:
When you're happy with how it looks, save it as a PSD file, such as WARP.PSD.
Note: Instead of the twirl filter, you can apply the gradiant as a radial (it will have a bullseye-type effect when applied). This gives you a slightly different look. Experiment! Page 4: Setting Up
Back to your source image. First, make a copy of your source onto a new layer (Ctrl-J or Layer - Duplicate Layer). At this time, you can also place your "destination" image between ihie source and the duplicate, as shown below. Note that my "destination" is m in my source, sized to fit in the "hole" we're going to make later. We can resize and reposition this layer as necessary once we make the hi
Page 5: Warp Reality
With the top (duplicate) layer selected, apply a Displacement Filter (Filter - Distort - Displace). In this example, I used a horizontal and vertical scale of 50, Stretch to Fit, and Repeat Edge Pixels (which aren't important since the displacement map we created on page 3 is the same size as our source image). Apply the filter, specifying the warp file you saved in step 3 as the displacement map. Your image should now look like this:
Page 6: Restore Some Reality
Now you're going to define the wormhole. Apply a Layer Mask to the displaced layer. Set your foreground color to black, background to white, and select a scft-edged brush.
Now, simply "paint" around the outside of the warp to expose what's underneath it. Remember, painting witti black will Mask the area you're painting, painting with white will Reveal the area you're painting. Simply press X to toggle your foreground/background colors, painting in and out until you achieve the look you're going for:
Page 7: Poke the Hole
You could use the soft-edged brush to paint in the center hole to expose your destination, but I prefer the Ellipse Marquee Tool. Still in the Layer Mask, use the tool to make an ellipse in the center of your warp (you'll see how to best fit it to match the warp's waves), then feather it (Select - Feather) about 8 - 15 pixels (varies based on the resolution of your images - experiment!), and with your foreground set to Black, press Alt-Delete to fill the selection with black, exposing the center hole of your warp. You'll end up with something like the following:
Page 8: Getting Things Just Right
Now's your chance to move and resize your "destination" (the AJaska layer in this example). Play around with positioning, size, levels, all that good stuff. You can also return to your Layer Mask and touch up the Masked and Exposed areas of the Warp layer. Page 9: Finishing Touches
To round off the image, I use the Smudge tool to smooth out any areas that seem to be too pixellated from the Displacement filter. I also use the Burn tool to darken slightly the opening of the hole, adding just a bit of depth. For some really cool effects, try the Liquify filter on the warp layer before starting your Layer Mask. You can also change the perspective of the displacement map (step 3) for an angled appearance to your wormhole. I hope you find this tutorial helpful, and I'm sure you'll find many cool uses for this effect. Please Message me with any questions or comments.
By DerAlt Paginated View
In response to a request on methods of getting a soft fur edge I'm posting two examples. While the approach is similar in both examples, it depends on what type of fur/hair you need to deal with. Page 1 : Example 1
In this example, the squirrel has soft but distinct fur. To replicate it takes a bit of time and practice but can be easily accomplished by anyone. Page 2: Example 2
In this first step, removing the background, I used the eraser tool. This can be done just as well by masking but I prefer the eraser.
Use a medium sized soft brush and remove all traces of the background including anything that shows through the fur. A small soft brush should be used where the fur isn't as thick as around the face, ears and paw. Page 3
Using the smudge tool with a small brush at about 30% pressure, "pull" out areas of color to simulate fur around the entire squirrel. It may take several strokes to accomplish each bit of fur but that adds to the more casual look of the new edge. Vary your stroke direction so that all the fur isn't unrealistically going in exactly the same Page 4
On another layer, using a one pixel brush at 50% or less opacity, pick up color from the edge of the squirrel and stroke individual hairs. (using the ALT key changes the brush to the eyedropper tool)
Again be careful to vary the length and direction of these strokes. Have some of them cross over other hairs for a more realistic appearance. Keep in mind also the varying length of fur that exists on different portions of the animals body. Page 5
For a finishing touch, use the smudge tool with a very small soft brush at about 30% and stroke over each hair you've added. "Pull" the tip of each one of these hairs to a softer point. This will result in a softer more photographic look. The whiskers were added in the same way as the fur strands, with a one pixel brush at about 50% opacity but with a longer quick stroke.
I added a black background to make it easier to see the finished fur. Page 6
In this case, with the longer more defined fur, all of it will be rendered in.
Page 7
Using the same approach for background removal, a soft eraser brush or masking if you prefer, remove the existing background and all areas of fur where the old background was evident. Keep this edge as soft as possible.I added a black background just to make the work more obvious. Page 8
On a separate layer, again using a one-pixel brush at about 50%, stroke on some hairs to imitate the fur on the original image. Use a single, quick curved stroke again keeping in mind that all hairs do not go in exactly the same direction. Page 9
Add more hair using the same technique. It's a good idea to add additional hair using separate layers for each group. This will make it easier to smooth out the hairs later especially when they cross over each other. Page 10
This is the final image will all the new fur added. Most of the hairs have been stroked with the smudge tool, as in the squirrel image, with the tips tweaked to make them look more realistic.
As you can see, the creation of a reasonable fur effect is fairly simple. It may seem work and time intensive but with a little practice, mostly getting comfortable with the fur strokes, it can be done in fairly short order.
Motion Tweens and Motion Guides In Flash a starter guide
Bv whazzat Paginated Viaw
This guide will help familiarize beginner animators with the use of Motion Tweens and Motion Guides in Flash. A very basic knowledge of the panels and tools in the Flash interface is required, and the very fundamentals of how to create tweens in the timeline and the creation of Symbols will be helpful. Page 1 : Introduction
Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of tweens!!!! Todays lesson: Motion Guides and how they make life so much easier when you're trying to animate stuff.
You probably already know about the two different kinds of tweens. There are shape tweens, which make transitions between one shape and another and generally end up looking incredibly crappy 98% of the time unless you're going for a very specific effect. That's so NOT what I'm writing about! I'm writing about MOTION tweens!
Motion tweens can be your best friend when you're animating in Flash. But if you're not familiar with motion guides then you're probably working 10 times harder lhan you need to. So let's take a look at Motion Tweens and Motion Guides. Page 2: Starting Out - Symbols
First of all, when you're doing motion tweens, and pretty much whenever you're working with animation in flash, you have to observe a general habit and rule. [b]Symbols are your best friends, too.[/b] Just about everything you make as you're animating in flash should be a Symbol. There are about a dozen reasons for this, but in the case of motion tweens it's for the sake of file size and communicating with Flash better. So now let's take a look at an example. . Page 3: Beginning A Tween
Ok. I've got a gear shape on my main stage, and I've already turned it into a symbol. I wart to make it move from the left side of the stage to the right side. Perfect opportunity for a TWEEN, wouldnt you say? Of course you would.
So at this point I extend the number of frames from 1 to 24 in the Timeline and create a keyframe at the end of it, then place my gear on the other side of the stage. Page 4: It
Hooray! It's tweening! Wow, that's great! But the thrill wears of fast when you realize just how boring it is. I wish there was an easy way to make my gear look like it was ROLLING across the stage instead of just sliding like that. Oh yeah! There is
You can highlight any frame of the tween in the timeline ana go to what you'll soon discover is your favorite panel, the PROPERTIES PANEL.
Oooo look at all the goodies! You can adjust the tween type, whether or not the transition remains to scale, the "Ease" of the tween (this changes the speed of the tween from beginning to end, say for example you wart the gear to start out moving slowly across the stage and pick up speed faster as it reaches its destination, you would choose "Ease In." Experiment with this, it's fun) and the Rotation of the object that's being tweened. Page 5: Settings
I want my gear to roll 5 times Clockwise. So I set the tabs and settings thusly and BING...
I want my gear to roll 5 times Clockwise. So I set the tabs and settings thusly and BING...
That's pretty neat. . . for about a second. I'm sick of straight lines. I'd like my gear to look like it's being pushed into the distance along an arc. How can I do this without setting a million motion tweens or going frame-by-frame? Page 6: MOTION GUIDES!
Here's where Flash really makes things easy. I'm going to remove the tween I just made and my keyframe on frame 24 that I had for the previous example, but leave the frames. So now I have 24 urtweened frames with only the first frame as a keyframe. To create a motion guide for an object:
• Highlight the layer on which the object rests.
• Right-click the layer and select "Add Motion Guide."
• A new layer appears directly above your object layer!
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This layer is specifically for creating a motion guide for the layer below it. It defaults with the same number of frames as its counterpart and the frames are blank. Now to make a guide. I said I wanted the gear to move back along an arc path. So, I'll make a simple arc using the line tool.
Even though you can see the guides in the flash interface and on the stage, they will be invisible in the flash movie.
Guides are best used with lines and not shapes, but it's possible to use just about any drawing tool as a guide. Your object will just stick to the edge of a shape, but will follow a line in a more definite way. Use the line tool, the Bezier Line tool, the pencil tool, or even the outline from the cirle or square tool will work. Experiment and check it out!
Page 7: Snapping
Page 8: More Tweening
As I move my gear toward the motion guide, I can see how the REGISTRATION POINT is drawn to the guide. That's the SNAPPING factor. Remember that.
my arc guide now, and I have my symbol. Am I ready to tween? Yes! But there s one more thing to explain: SNAPPING. You ll find snapping at times to be a big inconvenience when you don t want it to run, and at times, like now, it ll be very helpful. When snapping is enabled for objects and guides, as you move an object it will naturally gravitate toward the guide in question. Experiment with the settings from the View->Snapping submenu to get a feel for what each snapping setting will do. At this point I have snapping enabled for Snap AJign, Guides, and
Ok, now I add a new keyframe in my object layer in the last frame of the timeline. I grab my gear (by the REGISTRATION POINT) and bring it to the ether end of the mction guide. By making sure it snaps to the end, I can be pretty sure the path is going to conform to the shape of the arc in my guide layer. I wanted it to look like it was falling back, though, so I can scale the height and width of the gear to make it smaller.
Page 9: Results and Properties
And here's the result:
Cool, right? It gets cooler. Highlight any frame in the motion tween and then open the Properties Panel again. Now we can do
Cool, right? It gets cooler. Highlight any frame in the motion tween and then open the Properties Panel again. Now we can do
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Then, Qy using these settings:
Then, Qy using these settings:
It now has a cool spinning/flipping effect
It now has a cool spinning/flipping effect
Page 10: More Effects
And by going to that final keyframe again, clicking on my gear and the opening the properties panel, I can change the color, opacity and brightness settings of the gear so it changes in transition during the tween.
Like this:
These are the basics of Motion Tweens and Motion Guides. It might seem like a lot to take in but once you get a handle on these fundamentals there's a whole lot of things you can do and it only gets more and more fun.
Keep flashing, stay cool, and enjoy! whazzat
How to Build a Panoramic Tripod Head for $10
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This first volume will guide you through the basics of Photoshop. Well start at the beginning and slowly be working our way through to the more advanced stuff but dont worry its all aimed at the total newbie.
How to create a human puppet on photoshop with sting?


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From a New York Times bestselling author comes an action fantasy series like no other. Welcome to the world of Caine: Assassin. Hero. Superstar . . .
Some laws you break. And some break you. And then there's Caine's Law.The assassin Caine: a civilized man who embraced savagery, an actor whose life was a lie, a force of destruction so potent that even gods thought twice about crossing him. Now the legendary killer is back for his most stunning and bloodthirsty performance yet.Caine is washed up and hung out to dry, a crippled husk kept isolated and restrained by the studio that exploited him. Now they have dragged him back for one last deal. But Caine has other plans. Those plans take him back to Overworld, the alternate reality where gods are real and magic is the ultimate weapon. There, in a violent odyssey, Caine will face the demons of his past, find true love, and just possibly destroy the universe.Welcome to the world of Caine: Assassin. Hero. Superstar . . .From a New York Times bestselling author comes the start of a gritty action fantasy series like no other - perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie, Brent Weeks, Mark Lawrence and the Assassin's Creed novels. Praise for The Acts of Caine books:'A gritty, bloody, deeply touching work of genius' - Scott Lynch'Hands down one of the most bad-ass, brutal - and brilliant - fantasy series of the last double-decade. You know this if you're already reading it. If you're not already reading it, then good lord, it's time you found out - John Scalzi'If you like really really gritty, dark fantasy like George RR Martin, Richard Morgan (Takashi Kovaks books) or ESPECIALLY Joe Abercrombie, you should get this book' - Felicia Day
Getting Caine's Law made me feel like a kid on Christmas Day -- where Santa was the toughest, smartest, meanest SOB you could imagine, and he had a huge damn knife. Best. Holidays. EVER - John Scalzi
Expect multiple plot threads that loop wildly and unpredictably between past and present, expletive-laden dialogue, havoc, torture and mass destruction. For starters. [Caine's Law is] brutal, witty, insightful, addictive, frequently baffling and altogether astonishing - KIRKUS REVIEWS

subset: commoncrawl


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LOOKING GLASS WATERFALL in Pisgah Forest, NC -is one of the most popular falls in Western North Carolina. The name "Looking Glass" comes from Looking Glass Rock, where water freezes on its sides in the winter and then glistens in the sunlight like a mirror or looking glass. Looking Glass Creek, which flows past the rock, is also named for the impressive natural structure. Its easy accessibility makes Looking Glass Falls a popular spot for travelers along U.S. 276 near Brevard. The falls are 60 feet tall. Steps lead down to the falls, and photo spots are also located along the railing near the road. Please pull all the way off the road when parking to view the falls. How to Get There:Looking Glass Falls is located right off of U.S. 276. From Brevard, take U.S. 276 north, about 5 miles past the entrance to Pisgah National Forest. The falls will be on your right.
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Wednesday, 30 August 2017
The decorative Arts and Crafts design movement of the same period also influenced the California Bungalow architecture, which favoured the use of natural materials and championed craftsmanship over industrialised techniques. Frank Lloyd Wright's designs offer some excellent examples of Arts and Crafts American architecture. California Bungalows follow a simpler floor plan than earlier architectural styles, centred around an entrance hallway and leaning towards open-plan living.
Here is a lovely example in weatherboard in our neighbourhood in Melbourne's inner northeastern suburbs.
This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.
10 comments:
Very pretty! Teresa from NanaHoodReplyDelete
Lovely garden too.ReplyDelete
My ABC WEDNESDAY
niceeeeee house as garden aswelReplyDelete
Please have a ♥-warming ABC-day / -week
♪ M e l ☺ d y ♪ (abc-w-team)
It's gorgeous! Arts & Crafts is my FAVORITE style!!!!ReplyDelete
Wonderful home you haveand looks great too!!ReplyDelete
Have a nice ABC~week.
Daphne, ABC~team
charming little houseReplyDelete
I love this home--perfect style.ReplyDelete
Such a lovely home.ReplyDelete
Thanks for linking up at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/08/lucky-shot.html
I'd love a house like that one. I usually go on the Galveston Historic Home Tour each year and there's usually at least one little bungalow. I always enjoy the homes I could picture myself living in.ReplyDelete
I love to hear from you, so please comment. I appreciate constructive criticism as it improves my skills as an amateur photographer.


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|Cerumen Impaction
|Cerumen impaction—buildup obstructs the auditory canal and is the most common cause of conductive hearing loss
TX: Irrigation after several days of softening with carbamide peroxide (Debrox) or triethanolamine (Cerumenex)
|Otitis externa
|Bacterial otitis externa "swimmer's ear"
|Acoustic neuroma
|Benign tumor of the Schwann cells (the cells which produce myelin sheath) – most commonly affects the vestibular division of the 8'th cranial nerve.
TX: Surgery or stereotactic radiation therapy
|Barotrauma presents with ear pain and hearing loss that persists past the inciting event, associated with pressure changes
TX: Supportive (anti-inflammatories) then consider prophylaxis
|Dysfunction of eustachian tube
|Ear fullness, popping of ears, underwater feeling, intermittent sharp ear pain, fluctuating conductive hearing loss, tinnitus.
TX: Often no treatment is necessary
|Acute onset, vertigo + hearing loss, tinnitus of several days to a week
|Duration and presence of hearing loss/nystagmus can help with diagnosis
Central vertigo - more gradual onset and vertical nystagmus. Unlike peripheral vertigo, it does not present with auditory symptoms. Romberg Sign
Peripheral vertigo (inner ear) - sudden onset, nausea/vomiting, tinnitus, hearing loss, and horizontal nystagmus
|Cholesteatoma presents with painless otorrhea, brown/yellow discharge with a strong odor
TX: Surgical removal
|Otitis media
|The clinical diagnosis of AOM requires 1) bulging of the tympanic membrane or 2) other signs of acute inflammation (eg, marked erythema of the tympanic membrane, fever, ear pain) and middle ear effusion
TX: First line amoxicillin, second line augmentin, macrolides if penicillin allergic
|Tympanic membrane perforation
|Tympanic membrane perforation presents with pain, otorrhea, and hearing loss/reduction
TX: Most heal spontaneously, keep clean and dry, treat with antibiotics
|Hearing impairment
|Hearing loss can be classified as conductive, sensorineural, or both (mixed loss)
Rinne and Weber Tests
Conductive loss
Sensorineural loss
Sensorineural hearing loss
Conductive hearing loss
TX: Treat underlying cause, hearing aids, surgery, cochlear implants
|A complication of acute otitis media. Fever, otalgia, pain & erythema posterior to the ear, and forward displacement of the external ear
TX: IV antibiotics (ceftriaxone), drainage of middle ear fluid
|Meniere disease
|Vertigo attacks lasting hours, classic triad of low-frequency hearing loss, tinnitus with aural (ear) fullness and vertigo
TX: Low salt diet, diuretics (HCTZ + triamterene) to reduce aural pressure
|A perceived sensation of sound in the absence of an external acoustic stimulus; often described as a ringing, hissing, buzzing, or whooshing.
TX: No pharmacologic agent has been shown to cure or consistently alleviate tinnitus
|External Ear Trauma
|Trauma includes hematoma, laceration, avulsion, and fracture
DX: of auricular hematoma made by the characteristic clinical appearance in pt with a history of blunt trauma to the auricle


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Gas engine TCG 2020 / TCG 2020 K1 V12, V16, V20 – For the highest ratings in ecology and economy!
Compelling arguments – Features at a glance
- Output range from 1,200 to 2,000 kWel
- Best electrical and thermal efficiency in its output class
- Runs on all gas types: natural gas, biogas, landfill gas, sewage gas, mine gas, etc.
- Low operating costs
- TCG 2020 is mainly used for CHP plants in Europe and for biogas worldwide
- TCG 2020K was especially adapted to non-ISO conditions such as high altitudes or high intake air temperatures in the field of natural gas
- More than 2000 power generators with approximately 2,800,000 kWel already installed around the globe
The MWM gas engines of the TCG 2020 series are perfectly geared to the challenges of a dynamic market environment. Our models in the output range of 1,200 – 2,000 kWel meet the high requirements of a broad range of applications and guarantee efficiency, reliability, flexibility and environmental sustainability, together with low lifecycle costs and high profitability.
|Gas engines
|12 / 16 / 20
|1200 - 2000
|Emission Standards


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This is a guest post from the Office of Wellbeing:
As a part of the Thrive Initiative, the Office of Wellbeing has opened up nominations for its annual "Thrive Dimension Champion" Awards for faculty and staff for 2018-2019.
Each day, many members of our Wake Forest community demonstrate their commitment to individual and community wellbeing across the eight dimensions: emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual.
"The Office of Wellbeing has the privilege of leading Thrive, Wake Forest University's comprehensive approach to wellbeing, but the foundation for this initiative is deeply rooted in the scholarship and actions of faculty and staff across this campus. They are the living examples of meaningful, purposeful lives that make the Wake Forest experience," says Malika Roman Isler, director of wellbeing.
This is an opportunity to nominate a friend or colleague to be recognized for their role in making Wake Forest exceptional.
Thrive Dimension Champions for 2018-2019 will be announced formally at the Thrive Dimension Champion Awards ceremony on April 23, which will include President Nathan Hatch and Vice President Penny Rue. All nominees will receive a Thrive Swag Bag containing Wake Forest and Thrive paraphernalia and a framed Dimension Champion certificate. Winners will additionally receive campus-wide recognition and a Thrive Dimension Champion trophy for display.
A form to nominate someone for the award is available here.
Information about previous winners and the awards is available here.
Categories: Inside WFU
Tags: The Office of Wellbeing, THRIVE Dimension Champion Awards
Recent Posts
- May 30, 2020
- May 29, 2020
- May 29, 2020


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We are an active member of GCnow, a collective of more than 75 leading outside General Counsel across the United States. GCnow is dedicated to establishing best practices within the outside General Counsel community and providing the best possible client service to companies of all sizes.
Patti Williams
When Patti Williams escaped from the corporate world, she took with her 25 years of business law ... More Info
Caroline Mueller
AmeriCorps VISTA Alumni National Science Foundation | Program Assistant MA Public Anthropology ... More Info
Christine Schnake
Associates from St. Louis CC (Dean's List) Thermadyne – Financial Analyst FSMX – HR Manager Re... More Info


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Frequently Asked Questions
Attendee Frequently Asked Questions
When will registration open? What are the registration rates?
Registration and Housing will open in November 2016. Registration rates are available by visiting: our Registration Information webpage.
What does my registration fee include?
Registration fees include access to all learning activities Thursday and Friday, Welcome reception on Tuesday evening, and Conference Reception on Wednesday evening. Registered attendees will also receive access to all available session handouts and the online attendee roster.
Meals included are: breakfast and lunch Thursday and Friday, food and beverage at the Wednesday and Thursday evening receptions, and morning and afternoon beverages Thursday and Friday.
Who can attend the ASAE's Great Ideas in Association Management Conference, Asia Pacific?
The 2017 ASAE's Great Ideas in Association Management Conference, Asia Pacific is open to association professionals, consultants, higher education educators, corporate meeting planners, and attorneys. Non-exhibiting suppliers/industry partners may only send one representative if they are not exhibiting and are ineligible for the Delegation rate. This ensures a high buyer/supplier ratio. No one under the age of 18 may attend the conference without prior written approval. ASAE reserves the right to refuse ineligible registrations. Please do not hesitate to contact Mallory de la Rosa with any questions or concerns regarding this policy.
Will I receive a confirmation of my registration?
If you register online, you will immediately receive an electronic confirmation of your registration from firstname.lastname@example.com. (Please note: this is an HTML-coded email and you may need to save our email to your Safe Senders list). If you faxed or mailed in your registration form and have not received a confirmation within 10 business days, please contact the Member Service Center at firstname.lastname@example.com or by calling 888.950.ASAE (2723).
Will I be refunded if I have to cancel my registration?
We'll be sorry that you won't be able to join us for this exceptional learning and networking experience! All registration cancellations and refund requests must be made in writing to email@example.com by 21 February 2017. A refund of the full conference fee, minus a $75.00 USD administrative fee, will be given for cancellations received by that date. No refunds will be granted for requests postmarked on or after 22 February 2017.
ASAE Regrets that refunds will not be given for no-shows. All requests for exceptions to the cancellation/refund policy must be submitted in writing by the registrant with appropriate documentation no later than 31 March 2017. After than time, no refund considerations will be made.
A transfer of your full registration is permitted prior to the conference by submitting written request to firstname.lastname@example.com . Onsite transfers must be accompanied by proof of the original confirmation letter. The individual submitting the transfer request is responsible for all financial obligations (any balance due) associated with that substitution. Badge sharing, splitting and reprints are strictly prohibited.
I am a member of the press — do you have press registration?
ASAE welcomes professional editorial staff (including photographers and camera crews) of print, online, and broadcast media to attend the ASAE's Great Ideas in Global Association Management Conference on a complimentary basis. Other publications staff (non-editorial positions, such as publishers, advertising directors, and advertising representatives) may attend the ASAE's Great Ideas in Global Association Management Conference only if exhibiting and must pay all related fees. A copy of ASAE's media policy can be downloaded here.
Members of the media interested and eligible to obtain press registrations should contact our Public Relations department. Please contact Sabrina Kidwai, APR, CAE at email@example.com to register.
What hotels have been reserved? What are the rates?
This year, ASAE's Great Ideas Global Association Management Conference will be held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. Room rates will range from KRW 220,000++ to KRW 260,000++. Please refer to the Hotel/Travel page for hotel information on how to book.
Can I make my hotel reservations now?
Housing for the meeting will open November 2016 on the Hotel/Travel page.
Table Top Exhibits
When are the Table Top Exhibits open for networking?
The Table Top Exhibits will be open on Thursday and Friday during the following times:
Thursday, 23 March
8:00 - 9:00 Table Top Exhibits with Breakfast
10:00 - 11:00 Table Top Exhibits & Networking
12:30 - 13:30 Table Top Exhibits with Lunch
14:30 - 15:30 Table Top Exhibits & Networking
Friday, 24 March
8:00 - 9:00 Table Top Exhibits with Breakfast
10:00 - 11:00 Table Top Exhibits & Networking
12:30 - 13:30 Table Top Exhibits with Lunch
14:30 - 15:30 Table Top Exhibits & Networking
General Programming
What is the dress code?
We want you to be comfortable so you can enjoy your meeting experience! Therefore, business casual dress is strongly encouraged. We suggest bringing a light sweater or jacket with you during the day as meeting spaces can sometimes be cold.
Will all conference programming be held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul?
All educational programming will be held at Grand Hyatt Seoul. Locations for the Wednesday tours and Thursday evening networking dinners will be noted at a later date.
My question is not here! Who should I contact?
We're sorry that we could not anticipate your needs. Please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com so we can assist you!


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Reaction to the Events in Ecuador
COHA is closely monitoring the worrisome developments unfolding in Ecuador. There have been violent protests by police and elements of the military, who are expressing discontent over the recent austerity measures outlined by President Rafael Correa. The president himself, who remains in the Police Hospital surrounded by the police opposition and supporters just north of the capital Quito, has described these events as a "coup attempt" against him.
The Organization of American States (OAS) convened an emergency meeting at 2:30 Eastern Standard Time in Washington, D.C., to consider the situation. Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, spoke with Correa earlier today, and expressed the OAS' full support for President Correa. The OAS has already issued as resolution reaffirming its support for "the constitutional government of President Rafael Correa in his duty to preserve the institutional and democratic order, as well as the rule of law." In addition to the OAS, several individual states have already come out with definitive statements in support of Correa, including Spain, France, and 10 Latin American nations.
Initial statements from the U.S. Department of State, meanwhile, have been comparatively noncommittal. Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center For Economic and Policy Research, has called upon President Obama to state unequivocally that the United States will not recognize any government other than the democratically elected government of President Rafael Correa. However, while other countries initially condemned the undemocratic actions against Correa, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State merely said that the Obama administration was "closely monitoring" the situation. Later, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela did express support for Correa's democratically elected government, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has failed to make a definitive statement on Ecuador—and the clock is ticking.
The United States' ill-advised hesitation is particularly damaging to the democratic legitimacy of U.S. policy in light of its pitiful performance with respect to Honduras last year, when it frustrated the democratic process by settling for an unsatisfactory compromise that did not return the ousted Zelaya to power. While U.S. indecisiveness in Honduras set a terrible precedent, a similar failure to respond decisively in Ecuador could result in far greater repercussions throughout the region, especially given Ecuador's prominent role in ALBA and UNASUR.
Time is running out for U.S. to speak out on this issue. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs calls upon President Obama and the U.S. Department of State to make an immediate and unequivocal statement supporting President Correa's democratic mandate in Ecuador and condemning today's unconstitutional actions against him.
Update as of 7:45 EST
Sec. of State Clinton has since come out with this official statement on Ecuador:
"We are closely following events in Ecuador. The United States deplores violence and lawlessness and we express our full support for President Rafael Correa, and the institutions of democratic government in that country. We urge all Ecuadorians to come together and to work within the framework of Ecuador's democratic institutions to reach a rapid and peaceful restoration of order."
The official statement can be found here.
To contact COHA call our office at (202) 223-4975. Outside of office hours, you may contact any of the following COHA representatives:
Andres Ochoa (in Quito): 01159398248240
Dr. John Green: (434) 390-7355


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Slope production forecast coming up short
Alaska is facing a projected $1.6 billion budget deficit next year, but the financial picture for the current fiscal year could get a little worse if North Slope oil production figures don't increase soon.
North Slope crude oil and natural gas liquids production for fiscal year 2019 averaged 496,197 barrels per day through February, according to the state Department of Revenue. That is 5.8 percent below the average daily production forecast produced by the Department of Natural Resources of 526,800 barrels for all of fiscal 2019, which began last July 1.
The delta between actual and forecasted production is notable because overall 2019 North Slope production was supposed to increase from the final fiscal 2018 average of 521,398 barrels per day. Instead, the 496,197 barrels per day of production since the start of July is also well below the year-to-date average for 2018, which was 516,870 barrels per day at the end of February 2018.
Overall, the state was expected to draw roughly $700 million from savings when the fiscal 2019 budget was passed last June.
Actual North Slope production in February averaged 517,227 barrels per day, while state officials calculated that production for the month would have to be about 582,000 barrels per day to stay on pace for the 526,800 barrels per day forecast for the year.
It's worth noting that the monthly calculation is largely based on historical production averages prorated by month — production peaks in winter months —as opposed to strictly being based on year-to-year situations, according to state officials.
Oil taxes and royalties were expected to generate more than $2.2 billion in unrestricted revenue for the State of Alaska in the current fiscal year, according to the annual Revenue Sources Book the Department of Revenue publishes each December. The revenue projection is based on the combination of the department's oil price forecast for the year as well as DNR's production estimate.
The price side of the equation is currently a slight but dwindling positive for Alaska's finances, as higher than expected prices through late summer and fall have the average price for a barrel of Alaska North Slope crude at $69.85 per barrel, or about 2.8 percent more than the $67.96 per barrel forecast. However, the average realized price has gradually been falling since Alaska oil prices fell back to sub-$70 per barrel range in November.
Another roughly 11,000 barrels per day of oil is produced from Cook Inlet oil fields, but Cook Inlet oil provides minimal production tax revenue and the volume doesn't compare with North Slope production.
Division of Oil and Gas Commercial Analyst Pascal Umekwe said the Revenue Department's annual spring update to the fall forecast will likely show "a slight downward revision" for the production forecast based on the numbers from the first seven months of the fiscal year. The spring forecast is usually published in mid-March.
State officials last year attributed actual production not meeting the fall forecast to unusually warm North Slope temperatures, which degrades the efficiency of production facilities designed to run most efficiently at very cold temperatures.
The natural gas compressors that help reinject gas at many wells to enhance oil production are not as effective at warmer ambient temperatures — which is the primary reason for less summer production each year — and can lead producing companies to focus on extracting oil from wells that have a lower gas-to-oil ratio when things warm up.
Last winter North Slope temperatures were about 14 degrees above the long-term average.
This year, February temperatures at Utqiagvik averaged 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit, or 18.7 degrees above normal. The high in Utqiagvik hit 34 degrees on Feb. 28. January temperatures were still high but more in line with historical norms at 4.6 degrees above normal, according to the National Weather Service.
Umekwe emphasized that production from the large, mature North Slope fields typically declines each year unless companies put significant work into turning it around. That work can come in the form of improving production facilities, "workovers" to existing wells or drilling new wells. The timing of that work can also impact oil production.
He also noted that state analysts who prepare the production forecast are typically able to have just one or two meetings with company representatives to gather information prior to releasing the forecast each fall. Subsequent information for the spring update comes from publicly available data.
Changes to companies' maintenance and drilling schedules after their meetings with state officials could then play into the variance between forecasted and actual production volumes, according to Umekwe.
"It is the scheduling of work, in terms of turnaround activities that were done in the summer and how production responds after that work is done. That would be a key factor as well as how temperatures in a given February compare with temperatures in a previous February," he said.
"Work being done at a production facility that dips down production for a longer period of time would be very different than work done in a similar period the previous year that wasn't that extensive — so both the intensity of the work and the schedule of the work. When I talk about intensity, it's intensity of the impact of that work on production."
Industry representatives noted that Eni, which operates the small Nikaitchuq field, had problems with its production facilities in late fall, which slowed production from the field. An Eni spokesman did not respond to questions in time for this story.


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Well, that was a blast.
Many of your captions drew forth legit lols out of me.
However, congratulations are in order to Photon Smith for submitting the most legit caption of them all as is evidenced by all the votes his* received!
Please take the time to visit with Photon Smith at his website and to personally offer him* your congratulations…and then stick around a bit to check out what he's got going on there. Looks pretty cool!
Thanks to all for the fun and laughter…
*non-gender specific


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Thursday, July 11, 2019
What: 2019 Educator Academy in the Amazon Professional Development
When: July 1-11, 2019
Application Deadline: February 1, 2019
Get more info: http://amazonworkshops.
Funding available:
Grant: $1500 Vernier Software & Technology Grant for a HS/AP Science Educator
Scholarships: $1250 Amazon Workshops Scholarships for K-12 Educators
The July 1-11, 2019 Educator Academy in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru is a cross-curricular professional development workshop for formal and informal science educators. Highlights include:
- 21st Century Instruction: 5E Lesson Design ~ Inquiry-Based
Exploration ~ STEM
- Inquiry Protocols & Resources: Vernier Software & Technology ~ Celestron Digital Microscopes
- Global and Cultural Perspectives: Service Learning ~ Sustainability ~ Global Education
- NEW! A specialized track for HS bio and environmental science educators with a focus on sustainability, conservation, and field work with the Maijuna indigenous community
- Work side-by-side with scientists and researchers on citizen science projects and field studies.
- Explore the ¼ mile long ACTSPeru Rainforest Canopy Walkway in one of the world's most biologically diverse environments.
- Work with fellow educators to explore strategies for using the Amazon as a vehicle for incorporating STEM education, inquiry-based learning, and sustainability science education into your classroom.


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In this update, GFW publishes a roundup of top forest news from around the world. Many of these stories demonstrate the power of spatial analysis in monitoring and analyzing deforestation. To learn more about GFW, a near-real-time forest monitoring tool, click here or follow us on twitter at @WRIForests.
Top Reads of the Week:
- IPCC Report: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their fifth assessment of climate change, featuring a key finding related to forests. The group reported that deforestation and land use changes have released one third of total anthropogenic emissions since 1750. Visit the IPCC site to download the report.
- Habitat Fragmentation and Extinctions: An article published in the journal Science this week found that reducing forests to isolated patches threatens to wipe out mammals at a faster rate than previously imagined. The team of conservation biologists described their findings as "an ecological Armageddon" (BBC).
- Business Risk and Land Rights: A new report titled "Global Capital, Local Concessions" utilized geospatial data to assess where land claims and industrial concessions overlap in emerging economies. The investigation found that 31% of concession areas overlap with local land rights.
- Video Captures Gold Mining in Peru: A YouTube video featuring aerial footage of illegal forest destruction in the Peruvian Amazon went viral last week. Mongabay explains how a wingcam aboard Stanford's Carnegie Airborne Observatory, which conducts 3D imaging of the earth's ecosystems, captured imagines of illegal gold mining in the southern part of Madre de Dios. The Huffington Post picked up the story, delving deeper into extractive industry activities in the Peruvian Amazon.
- Measuring Economic Change from Space: How can you measure economic output in a country with poor transparency and incomplete statistics? Analyze land use change from space (The Economist).
Land use change and deforestation
- Brazil's Recipe for Forest Success: The Economist outlines the powerful combination of technology, policy, and education that has helped Brazil reduce deforestation rates. The article mentions the important satellite monitoring done by Imazon, a Global Forest Watch partner.
- Forest Clearing in Bangladesh: Environmentalists have raised concerns about recent forest clearing in Bangladesh, including on protected land (Thomas Reuters Foundation).
- West African forest strategy:Title West Africa adopts a regional approach to the sustainable management of forests and wildlife resources, enabling countries to benefit from coordination and joint funding for forest protection (CIFOR blog).
Land tenure and indigenous rights
- Honduras Grants Indigenous Land: The Honduran government granted almost 7 percent of its territory – around 760,000 hectares – to indigenous communities in an initiative to help them protect their forests (NYTimes).
- Indigenous Tribe Battles Deforestation: Ecosystem Marketplace profiles chief Almir of the Surui, leader of a Brazilian tribe that sold the first indigenous carbon credits in the world last month. Digital mapping done in collaboration with Google Earth plays a central role in the Surui's forest management plan.
Industry and forests
- The Root of Brazil's Deforestation: Despite a decrease in deforestation, in part due to pioneering satellite data, illegal logging continues in Brazil. WRI expert Ruth Nogueron outlines the roots of the problem, and efforts taken to address them, on WRI's Insights blog.
- Greener Palm Oil Production: The head of Greenpeace's Indonesia forest campaign argues that companies must be willing to comply with and go beyond the RSPO principles to break the link between palm oil and deforestation (The Guardian).
- Paper Products and Deforestation:Our Forest team provided much of the data for this piece on the role of paper products in driving deforestation (Triple Pundit).
REDD: forests and climate change
- Carbon "Time Bomb": Once globally-significant carbon sinks, Indonesian peatlands are now also a source of carbon emissions, due to paper and palm oil plantations. This means Indonesia – and the world – will have difficulty reaching emissions reductions goals (Jakarta Globe).
Spatial analysis, remote sensing, and crowd-sourcing for the environment
- Cambodia Maps Development: DevEx recently featured Open Development Cambodia, a project that features interactive maps of the country's economic land concessions, mining concessions, as well as forest cover, protected areas and fisheries.
Think we missed a story on geospatial analysis and forest management? Let us know! All editorial choices, opinions and any mistakes are the authors' own.


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Brilliant moon,
is it true that you too
must pass in a hurry?
is it true that you too
must pass in a hurry?
Above the veil
of mist, from time to time
there lifts a sail.
Nine time arising
to see the moon
whose solemn pace
marks yet only midnight.
Kisa Lagoon--
the morning sun rising
autumn dusk
Brother of W. Corwin Chase. The brothers taught themselves the art of the color woodcut in the mid 1920's using Frank Morley Fletcher's manual and produced magnificent color woodblocks for only about ten years.
Labels: alvin coburn, bashô, gakoku, henri riviere, hiroshi yoshida, issa, poetry, waldo chase


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In my last posting I left you all hanging as to what is going on and where I may end up. So much may change between now and then so to save confusion if I don't want to elaborate too much now.
I posted this in a hurry last night and of course it wasn't finished or corrected….hence the update.
Learning and Experiencing an Ancient and Natural Art Form – Wool Felting
For the past four days I have been helping Jessica make sacred felt yoga mats for a wonderful order she received – 23 pieces in all. Several months ago I helped her for a day and enjoyed the felting experience. When her invitation came for assistance it all seemed to be in alignment with the movement showing up so I told her I would be there!. It also was evident my return to the Mt Shasta area was necessary to align with some karmic relationship journeys I have had playing out since arriving in this very powerful vortex a year ago.
I had planned to walk you through this ancient art form but as I write this at the end of Day 4 both Jessica and I are pretty much "fried" after completing half the order which I have discovered is no small accomplishment. I will give you a very brief rundown now and in a few days when the rest of the order is complete and sent I will share the rest and photo if the process, it is fascinating and I think many will be interested.
Wool Felting is all done all by hands and feet, lots of "foot stomping" of wet wool to create felt…it is physical, timing consuming, beautiful, emotionally revealing for both the felter and the wool itself. As the felt mats start to take shape each has its own "personality and message", it is amazing. Wool Felting dates back as far as Sumeria around 2nd century BC and had been done for thousands of years throughout the Middle East and Asia and by many indigenous peoples. I hope to have some photos of the process shortly. Wool felts are used for mats, mattresses, coverings of many uses including yurts. Warm in winter, cool in summer, offer neutralizing of electromagnetic waves fields when sat upon, especially wonderful for babies and those who are confined to bed. Visit Jessica's website http://www.sacredfeltcollection.com
Because I have been so busy I felt guided to share a story with you on a topic of great interest…Near Death Experiences. Then today while taking a break I met up with Ashalyn and fellow Shaman, Juvy. During our time together I heard his latest poem of his recent dying and coming back to life experience. It is a beautiful poem and I was moved to tears. My surprise was the complete synchronicity of our meeting, the subject matter and the fact I used a special photo taken last winter in the story below ( Juvy's staff, cape and hat standing in the snow) Because of this I will now include another photo of Juvy himself… he is such a beautiful, powerful and pure man on his Shamanic path. I am grateful for the work we have done together.
After reading the following story, has anyone had a similar experience…let us know! I also hope to have more new photos shortly.
Journey to the Light and Back
It was December 27, 2007 and I had been restless for several weeks with indecisive thoughts of what to do next and where to go. Although I had been staying in Asheville I had been led to Waynesville, NC by a friend, and over those past weeks it had shown up several times but I was resisting. Going back to live in a small town was bringing back many challenging memories of my life "serving churches in the South and Mid-West" along side Tim, my now ex-husband and friend.
Having planned to run some errands and make a couple of work inquiries yet nothing was panning out, no one was available, even though they were scheduled in their offices. What to do next!
"Drive to Waynesville" was an intuitive message coming forth.
"Just go!"
"OK!" So I drove the 45 minutes west along Hwy 40 on a pretty yet cold morning.
In Waynesville I parked by the Court House in a 1-hour spot and walked around historic downtown for a while, getting another feel for the town. "Should I move here!" was the question running through my mind.
After a stop for coffee I made my way to the Crystal Dragonfly, a small lovely book and gift store on Main Street, hoping to speak to Ursula, the owner. Susan was there instead. Susan is a gentle, very spiritual and powerful English woman whom I had met briefly only once before. Susan also did shamanic healing work.
From the beginning of our conversation we felt a strong connection and understanding with each other. We talked of our journeys, our work and our great desires to find "our home", both realizing that this place is but a stopping point for an undetermined period of time.
Our conversation was stopped with the arrival of a young customer, her friend and her father. They looked around and chatted until the father produced a stone from his pocket and presented it to Susan.
"I would like to show you this stone and what it does" he announced. He instructed Susan to place her ear right on the glass counter and listen. He then placed the stone on the glass, touched it lightly and waited. On its own, the stone began to move back and forth slowly at first and then it amazingly moved faster and faster until a high pitched, fast vibration sound could be easily heard and then it stopped.
Susan was amazed by what she felt and heard with her ear on the glass counter. I watched from about 6 feet away. I could hear and feel the strong energy emanating from the stone even at that distance. It was powerful and incredible to watch!
He shared the story of how it came to him and said he didn't know what type of stone it was and asked if either of us perhaps knew! We didn't yet we both agreed it was very unusual, ancient and powerful. We both felt it was a prophesy stone of sorts.
Casually the man passed me the stone. Wow! It was strong and I took in its energy yet not really able to explain what I was receiving. (Several days later Susan shared what she observed at that moment. "As you held the stone you became lighter, less visible, as though someone was erasing a picture. In essence, you were disappearing".
I put the stone down on the counter and the conversation continued. Shortly the man's wife arrived and she entered the conversation. I was drawn to the stone again, picked it up, this time for just for a few moments.
My thoughts moved to leaving so I could continue my day yet as I did so, there was a strong pull for me to stay, when unexpectedly another friend arrived. What a surprised! We talked. Susan and the family continued their conversations in the store. My friend left and I returned to the conversation, standing just to the left of the man.
This time the man was talking more about his own journey and wanting to understand more about spiritual teachings. Susan and I had both told him we believed the stone was very much a part of his learning something new although we had no idea what that would be. My curiosity was peaked as to his profession. He was very much an analytical thinker and seemed to be struggling with the concept of trusting unknown realities.
"May I ask what you do?"
"I am a scientist" he shared.
"What discipline?" I asked
"Medicine!" was his response, to which Susan and I laughed and now realized this man was being asked to see and learn about energy and vibration healing in ways beyond the traditional allopathic medicine he was practicing. He was in fact a cardiac specialist. As if unaware he turned and gave me the stone once again. I took it for just a moment and returned it to the counter and stepped into the hallway.
Feeling thirsty and a little hungry I was thinking about lunch when a wave of unsteadiness came over me. Wow! Strange! It started getting stronger and I needed to sit down. This feeling was different to when my blood sugar would drop, usually due to waiting too long to eat. This was something else! I made it to the table in the hall, sat down and then felt myself melting into the seat. My head was on the table, and then I was on the floor.
I hear a voice "Are you alright?" All I was seeing was a huge white light filling the entire hall area. Everything was white and getting more and more luminous. I was melting further and further. A voice says "can I listen to your heart, take your pulse!" It was the doctor/scientist.
Then from the lofty ethers I hear "she hardly has any pulse, I can hardly hear her heart, and we need EMS!" It was the doctor again!
"I know what is happening, I'm not in my body, I'm alright" replied the voice coming from somewhere in, around or above me. I sensed panic all around me but I was calm.
I kept hearing the doctor saying EMS, no pulse, bad heart, urgent!
From my observation place above I say again, "No I am alright. I'm not in my body." Of course no one else could hear what I was trying to tell them. The incredible white light was everywhere, so bright and then a vibrating charge that feels like a charge of thousands of volts of electricity coming though my body out my hands. My hands feel on fire, shaking uncontrollably with blue sparks of light shooting out from my palms and fingers. I then began gulping for air, my throat was getting tight, I could not swallow. I remember hearing the voice saying "I can't breathe, I can't breathe."
My voice from above asks to hold the doctor's hands and without realizing it he takes my hands, the change of electricity when through from my hands into his and throughout his body. I was also asking for Susan. "Get Susan, get Susan!" I could hear myself saying, no one else heard me yet Susan now arrived beside me. My voice asks her, "Please help me ground!"
The doctor is still on about EMT who hadn't yet arrived! He appeared scared! Through the mist of luminous light I could see other people in the hallway standing in a distance.
Susan was shocked at what she saw, what I looked like. She knew this was serious and she tapped into the voice coming from above and outside of me. My physical body was there but "no one was home" so to speak. (Susan later confirmed my palms were bright red/orange with spark of light coming from my palms and fingers)
I watched her from above as she did her energy work, she was nervous for she knew I wasn't there. My physical body was still holding the doctor's hands and vibrating. The heat was amazing and the luminous light was still glowing powerfully.
(Susan later revealed what she had "seen and felt". "You had moved beyond this plane and there were two situations running. The voice from beyond the body was saying ground me yet the soul moved out and was/had decided to leave for it/you were tired. We were both experiencing this place in the Void although I cannot explain what happened. Soul decided to return and you moved back into grounding. The doctor was anxious saying "she won't make it another twenty-four hours, she has to go to the emergency room!")
Minutes ticked away, I am still insisting from above, "I am alright and I know what is happening, I am not in my body that is why you can't feel my heart or pulse." Slowly I start coming back, the light fades, the vibrating subsides and I see people around me, looks of shock and fear are on their faces. They have witnessed something unexplainable.
Reluctantly the doctor had to leave (for his own professional reasons) as I was coming back, After a sip of water and being moved to a comfortable chair I was returning to normal. I finally agreed to go to the emergency room, someone would have to drive me there, but no one wanted that responsibility. OK! I still resisted until finally giving in. I knew I was OK but perhaps more in curiosity as to whether tests would reveal anything odd. EMS was called and would you believe five paramedics arrived!
"What happened? How do you feel? Any pain?" were the questions asked by the young paramedic tending to me.
"I had a powerful spiritual experience!" was my reply
"Tell me about it then!"
So I told him that a doctor had brought in a stone into the store, it was very powerful and I held it for a while! Sounds crazy but you had to see and feel the stone to understand!
"A doctor!" he exclaimed
"Yes, he was hoping to find out more about the stone!"
The paramedic took my response, filed it away I guess and went about his business
A few hours later after blood work, EKG, blood pressure checks and a several short naps, I was cleared to leave. All was normal at least in that department. Yet from the metaphysical perspective, I had been given a very powerful and profound experience which I knew would truly reveal secrets in the days, weeks, months and years to come.
For all intents and purposes, it felt like a high vibration living ascension experience.
A month later I started teaching classes on Play Meditations with an octave of the Singing Crystal Bowls. During these sessions I would also do healing work with those present. I noticed a marked increase in my healing power and knowledge being transmitted during those times. This also proved true in the Reiki /High Vibration Energy classes and attunements I conducted. Everyone was tweaked up several more notches then expected, as though being primed for the times ahead. In the years since then there have been many quite to very subtle awareness, knowledge and messages from this experience and I continue to pay attention.
As for the doctor, Susan and I agreed that this experience would probably be a life changing one for him (we found out months later that it was.) With all his years of medical experience, what he knew was of no use at that moment in time for all was happening and being directed by Soul and the Higher Realms, it was a Shamanic teaching experience.
This experience of course made me think about how many people actually have a "shamanic death/rebirth" on the operating table and it is treated with standard procedures. Is this an area that should be addressed in medical training and nursing practices? There is so much more to understand!
We are being opened to Fifth Dimension Mysticism in remarkable ways now….just pay attention before setting your intention!


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Matt Milburn - Coronation Street
Tue, 14 Aug 2018
MATT MILBURN is back in CORONATION STREET as the character of Tommy Oprington.
Click for more
What hasn't Britain's longest-running soap covered since its 1960 debut? Heck, even Prince Charles has appeared onscreen. The residents of Coronation Street are ordinary, working-class folk, and the show follows them through regular social and family interactions -- with the occasional soap-worthy murder plot thrown in for good measure.


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The day to day running of the business is managed by Dr Lewis MacKinnon and his wife, Stephanie MacKinnon.
Stephanie spent a little time studying in Oxford before returning to her home in north east England, where she met Lewis when he was training as a junior doctor.
Steph works in accounting and finance but has used this skill set across a number of sectors. She has worked as a financial controller and duty manager at a UK wide hotel chain, an accounts manager at Scotland's largest independent TV production company and a finance officer at a charity specialising in social housing, care homes and nursing homes for people suffering with dementia.
She currently works a full-time job with a housing charity in Leederville and fits the accounting, HR and administration at Skye Medical around this.
Lewis and Steph married in Perthshire in Scotland in 2013 and emigrated to Perth, WA in early 2015.
Lewis and Steph planned Skye Medical Armadale over several months and spent a lot of time decorating and renovating "The Old Rectory" at 11 Prospect Road, Armadale to make it what it is today.


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The FT House Price Index for September was published on Friday 7 October, providing the most accurate guide to the real trends in residential property prices using Land Registry data. Chris Giles, the FT's economics editor, answers your questions on the housing market.
Will we see a slow decrease in house prices from 2005-2007?
Paul Shanahan, Gravure Graphics Ltd
Chris Giles: Anyone who says they are sure what will happen to house prices is either deluded or lying. The best that we can do is gauge the current level of the housing market against many historical comparisons to get an idea what will happen after 2007.
Broadly speaking, over the past 50 years, though the UK housing market has been very volatile, prices have tended to rise a little faster than the size of the economy on average. Since the size of the economy determines households' purchasing power, this is a reasonable guess for what is likely to happen in the long-term.
In recent years, the nominal size of the economy has been growing at about 5 per cent a year - split between 2.5 per cent real economic growth and 2.5 per cent inflation - so house price growth little over 5 per cent would be a good long-term bet. It is a little over 5 per cent because restrictions and a growing number of households is likely to increase demand for housing a bit faster than supply.
The problem is that at the moment the level of house prices is very high compared with the long term average I have been talking about. This could have two explanations: either it is a bubble, or there are particular circumstances linked to a one-off fall in real interest rates that make the current house prices sustainable.
This is the big debate among housing analysts. If the first explanation is true, prices will not rise at anything like this rate over the next few years and might fall; if the second explanation is true, people could expect the housing market to grow steadily from here.
I'm thinking of buying a flat as a long term investment. Is now a good time to buy or should I wait for a bit longer to see if prices come down?
Helen Percival
Chris Giles: See my last answer for the long-term outlook. But your question is really difficult to answer because it strikes at the heart of what is not known about the market.
If prices are likely to stagnate, there are certainly better risk-adjusted investments you could make than housing. But if you've just missed out on a one-off rise in the market, but which is stable, then housing is not a bad long-term asset: like equities and index linked bonds, it is a real asset that provides a return and (in the long-run) is reasonably inflation proof, but you must remember that the volatility of the housing market is high, so housing is a risky asset too. Buy at the wrong time, and there are lots of eminent economists as well as some more flaky analysts who think this really is the wrong time, and your long-term returns could be extremely poor.
I cannot tell you what to do, but in deciding you should weigh up the costs of waiting (the chance that the housing market will take off again) against the benefits (the returns from an alternative investment you would make with your money). Good luck.
Everyone in my road seems to have had their loft converted within the past few years. Given such works change the scale of the property and can increase the value of the property, does the FT House Price Index account for this? Calculating prices on a square metre basis would help but I have not seen these data in the UK market.
Sarge Gupta, Twickenham
Chris Giles: The FT house price index looks at all properties of the same type. So you are right that if all properties of that type had big improvements and so could sell at a higher price, the index would show it as house price inflation rather than an improvement in the housing stock.
In aggregate, I suspect the effect is not large - the FT house price index could also understate house prices because it does not take account of depreciation from lack of maintenance - but it could be and, with the data we have, we have no means of knowing whether it is.
My suspicion that it is not important is based on two things. First, while the mix adjusting we do can have a big effect in any one month, over time those effects tend to cancel out. Second, the rate of investment in the housing market is small relative to the stock of wealth tied up in the market itself.
The lenders' data is slightly better on this score as they have more detailed information to do a mix adjustment.
To what extent do you think that the recent run up in prices has been down to speculative activity, eg. in the buy-to-let sector. Given the historically low yields on rental property, and the evidence over the last year that recent high growth rates in house prices is not going to continue how do you see speculators/property investors behaving in the coming months? What effect could this have on the wider market?
James Womersley, West Yorkshire
Chris Giles: I think this is an extremely good question. While I don't know the answer, it clearly has the potential to have a large effect. If investors realise they can no longer rely on capital gains to supplement low yields, some will begin to question whether property is such a good investment. If that number is large, it could ripple through the whole housing market.
It is precisely for this reason that I think it is premature to say the housing market has stabilised at a high level. We will need a few more years before we can be sure of that.
When house prices are compared to income, is it:
1. the GROSS or NET (after tax) salary of the main earner, or
2. the GROSS or NET (after tax) joint salary of husband and wife or partners.
What is regarded as the normal/safe multiple? And what is regarded as the normal/safe percentage for mortgage repayment as compared to Gross or Net household income?
Bal Lall
Chris Giles: It depends on the analyst. I think the only sensible measure is house price to after tax household income (2 in your definition). This gives a slightly lower multiple of house prices to earnings than definition 1 because the number of two earner families has increased over time, but does not change the fact that house prices to earnings ratios are at all-times highs - and on this measure - property looks grossly overvalued.
There are good reasons, to think that the sustainable multiple has risen in the past decade. Nominal interest rates have fallen, reducing the extent to which initial mortgage payment levels are a constraint on borrowing. Second, real interest rates have fallen, allowing people to borrow a higher multiple of their incomes safely. The question is whether the sustainable multiple has risen as far as the actual multiple. Again, anyone giving a definitive answer on this unknowable fact is rather silly.
Do you think a new planning tax will reduce house prices or increase them?
Jim Pollock
Chris Giles: If the tax raises significant sums of new money, it would reduce the value of seeking planning permission to build property. At the margin it would probably reduce the supply of new properties, and therefore have an upward effect on house prices. But I think the effect would be small. The big effect of the tax would be to transfer money from developers to the exchequer.
The latest boom appears to have been driven less by increasing incomes than by increasing affordability, as interest rates dropped. So long as buyers could service the debt, they were prepared to keep paying more. Where do we stand now in terms of affordability? If, as I suspect, we are back to the levels before interest rates dropped, then the market will remain stable for so long and interest rates do, albeit much more vulnerable to relatively small rate increases.
Michael Taite, Worcestershire
Chris Giles: If you include the repayment of a mortgage as well as the interest costs, affordability for a 'average' new buyer in the market is no longer particularly new. Lehman's estimate it is almost 12 per cent above its average since 1987.
The vulnerability to interest rate changes has clearly increased as debt burdens have risen, but the big question is whether people think houses are worth their currently high levels. If not, then it does not matter much what the levels of initial affordability are, prices will fall.
How do you think the high street downturn will affect consumer confidence in the housing market?
Scott McLean, Practice Head, Hotwire, 33/41 Dallington Street
Chris Giles: Normally the question is put the other way round, and the housing slowdown has clearly had some effect on the retail environment, although it is likely not to have as large an effect as in the past. If the high street downturn reflects an increased desire on the part of households to increase saving and reduce borrowing, then that bodes ill for house prices.
It is not that the high street has a direct link to the housing market, but that a third factor - households willingness to borrow and save - probably affects both.
Is it a healthy situation that the main providers of data on the UK housing market (apart from the FT) also have significant financial interests in the continued good performance of this market?
Matt Griffith, London
Chris Giles: Not really. But I, for one, do not suspect for one moment that the Halifax or the Nationwide doctor their figures to help their lending portfolios. You sometimes have to take their broader comments about the state of the market with a pinch of salt.
I find it odd that so many people think that buyers returning to the market in the last couple of months means prices will rise. To what extent would you agree with me that buyers are returning to the market to go bargain hunting? And in the event this is more true than not, would it accelerate the decline in prices? If average sale periods or the number of unsold properties were declining I might take a different view but as it is, it seems obvious what will happen.
Guy B Fancourt, Surrey
Chris Giles: To be kind, the reason people have been linking the number of buyers to prices is that the relationship has been quite good in the past. But I agree with you that the rise in buyers does not imply that prices are just about to start rising again. What I do think it shows is that quite a lot of buyers interested at current prices, so it is an indication of greater stability in the housing market
Do you believe that the inclusion of residential properties into self-administered pensions after April will generate enough demand for buy-to-lets to cause prices to rise significantly?
Michael Finlay
Chris Giles: No. Very few people understand how SIPPs work and there seems to me to be a lot of misinformation about the products. Worst is when people claim you can buy a £200,000 property with 40% tax relief, so it costs you only £120,000.
What these examples rarely make clear is the following.
1) you can only get tax relief up to your annual salary. So you need to be earning £200,000 a year to get that amount of tax relief. This applies to only about 100,000 people in the UK.
2) Once a property is in a SIPP, it is treated like any other pension asset. So it must ultimately be turned into an annuity and tax must be paid on the income of that annuity.
3) The reasons why rich people hold lots of other assets that can already be put into SIPPs - flexibility, low charges etc - will apply to property.
While there are some rich people who were previously constrained from investing property in a SIPP, who will do so, I suspect the effect will not be large.
What impact do you consider SIPPS will have on residential house pricing in 2006 and the HIP in 2007 ? Do both of these pieces of legislation create structural changes in demand and supply in the residential property sector which potentially could result in new demand pressures that could drive asset prices?
Chris Harris, Cheshire
Chris Giles: You are right that they 'could' drive asset prices. But as in my previous answer, I think the scale of the changes are small enough not to make a material difference to house prices in the short-run. The big question is whether the market is currently over-valued. The answer to this question, which will play out over the next few years, is much more important than relatively small changes to regulations governing housing demand and supply in the pipeline.
After the death of my mother I have her house to sell. I was advised to put a price of £695,000 on it but, when I pushed the agents on lack of progress they suggested that to seize the autumn market we drop the price by £50,000. In the same road the properties, of which there are about 20, range in price from £500k to £2.5m but I believe there is potential to make the house worth at least £850,000 with some investment.
Do you believe it is worth my while investing £100k and taking the risk that I will cover my investment in the next year? I will have to pay the remainder of the inheritance tax in November but my mother's funds should cover this.
Kate Farrington, Principal Consultant, Penna plc, London
Chris Giles: The market in the next year is particularly difficult to call. But here are some quick facts.
1) Right now, the prices in the market seem to be pretty stable. Prices stopped rising in the South East last year and have been pretty flat ever since - some months they go up a touch, some months down. Don't believe any one index - particularly the Halifax index at the moment, which shows almost a 4 per cent rise over the past two months - that suggests there have been any decisive movements in house prices recently.
2) The house price annual inflation rate is falling and there is a good chance it will hit zero in the next few months on some measures.
3) But activity, the numbers of people buying and selling, has been rising back to normal levels.
These facts suggest that the market is showing no signs of imminent implosion and is healthier than it was a year ago. That should be pretty encouraging for you. The one risk is that as the annual rate of inflation falls to zero (as it is likely to do because last year's rises will fall out of the calculations), sentiment might change and buyers might again become very scarce.
My endowment won't pay the mortgage in 2011/12 short by 50-60k. I am working and just about manage to pay my bills. I will be 60 years old in January 2007 and would like to retire due to ill health; I can work up to 2001/12. Do you think I should put my house up for rent in 2007 and sell in 2012 or should I sell now and retire - my present equity is enough to retire and live on in India.
Chris Giles: I cannot give you any financial advice. You need to weigh up your equity position now and whether this would give you security in retirement, compared with what it would be if you worked on till 2010-2011
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What Has Changed Recently With Businesses?
Methods of Measuring Returns on Marketing Investment.
With worldwide organizations now spending almost twelve percent of yearly income on marketing, measuring results has never been as imperative. Management of the company must investigate if there is any substantial revenue the business gains from the huge marketing investments made. It is important for the company to make sure there is wastage of resources. Investments made in product marketing are huge but measuring results as per this ventures is difficult since product promotion relies on human feelings that are not easy to measure. In any case, there are approaches to comprehend if the promoting is a hit or a flop. This article explains the various ways that the company can use to quantify the effect marketing strategy on the efficiency of the organization.
The most common method used by organization to measure the impact of product promotion on the efficiency of the company is the A/B testing. Also known as split testing, it is a scenario where you provide two different versions to the public. At that point, you assemble the outcomes and the one with the most noteworthy ROI is the victor. When you separate why it was fruitful, you can use the basics all through campaigns from now well into what's to come. There is need for the business to consider using their website for this research operation since they can easily control the content and ensure use of all the relevant programming and online tools to analyze the findings. On the homepage, for instance, there might be two employments of suggestions to take action given location. It is important for the business to put more resources on the A/B testing to obtain the right results.
The second method for measuring returns on marketing ventures is the prototype. Getting some information about an item or service is a certain approach to gather general feedback. The main limitation of this technique is that it depends heavily on the feelings of the participants. Basically asking 'have you seen the brand?' and 'what do you think?' won't evoke an appropriate reaction while they are attempting to recall and manage the pressure. Instead of questioning of the clients, the business can invest in printing questioner and hand them out to the public to gather their response on a particular brand or product. Since the model is new in the market, it causes individuals to think and give an honest opinion how the brand or product has improved their livelihood.
The third technique that the business can use to gauge the market is the price.
In conclusion, the article has effectively explained all the common methods that the company can use to gauge the performance of a marketing strategy it uses if it benefits the organization and make decisions as to whether to continue with the product promotional plan or not.


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Sunday, 8 January 2012
The "Frostbite" Run
Today was the annual frostbite run organised by the Lothians Classic club, a great day weather wise with no frost, some rain but hey who would complain about that. The runs been cancelled the last two years due to weather but as I've said today was excellent, even the high winds we've been having settled down for the day. The run was quite short and with a stop for tea from the flask in a layby it was over not long after it started. A free lunch at the Leadburn (who says there's no such thing as a free lunch) for those who took part courtesy of club funds was excellent.
Although there were a few modern bikes there was a fair smattering of nice classics as well. What else would you do on a Sunday in January, a great way to pass the day!
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Last week I joined Startup Direct as an intern. Quickly I learnt that it is the friendly, knowledgeable yet professional team here that drive the success behind the business. The team guide both potential loan recipients and potential mentors through the application process with affable ease. They are kind, patient and helpful and provide a wealth of expertise for anyone to draw on.
As an intern in a new environment and with personal experience of unfriendly work environments I have been pleasantly surprised by the positive attitude of the team I have joined. With Charlie's Hootsuite tips, Anna's business plan guidance, Tommo's banking knowledge, Raj's presentation marketing advice and Lorraine's mentoring magic the team is continuously teaching me new things. From Izzy the other intern to James the CEO the team clearly values each application they receive. I will try and replicate this positive friendly approach forward in the work that I do now and in the future.
Also a young person in a time when we are continuously been told about youth unemployment and a lack of jobs out there, I have been positively inspired by some of the businesses I have heard about and seen the statistics for whilst at Startup Direct. The personal loans provided by the Startup Loans Company are encouraging enterprise opportunities to a wide variety of individuals who would not have any other opportunity to get a loan. In a time of expensive student loans, growing house prices and increasing living costs, starting up your own business could be an alternative source of revenue for any individual and from my personal experience I think it could help reduce the backlog of intelligent young people who are unemployed.
Overall so far I can only say positive things about my internship. It is exposing me to hands-on experience with a positive, motivated, knowledgeable team. I'll keep you updated!


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Today I took sleeping bags, travel bags, cooking pans, jackets, toothbrushes, toothpaste and blankets to a friend who will take them to a Calaid depot in London where they will be transported to Calais for the refugees there.
She has completely filled her car with donations from our friends.
It is not enough, but it is something.


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VW profits unlikely to increase in 2012
* VW profits to remain stable * No boost in earnings * as it pays for new technology...
VW Group won't increase its profits in 2012 because it will be paying for investments in new technology, the company has revealed.
Chief among these costs is the new MQB platform, which was unveiled last month, and which will form the basis of many forthcoming Audis, Seats, Skodas.
The technology will provide a common platform that's capable of producing many different models on a single production line.
The new platform made its debut in the new Audi A3 that was launched at last weeks Geneva motor show.
It should boost profits and yield substantial savings, with production costs expected to be slashed by 20%, while assembly times could to be cut by 30%.
Initial expenditure on the MQB platform, has resulted in VW announcing that it is seeking to match last years record 9.4 billion operating profit in 2012, but is forecasting an increase for 2013.
Volkswagens chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, said: We need to recoup our substantial development and start-up costs.