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Top 100 Albums of the 1980s
090: Jane's Addiction
Nothing's Shocking
[Warner Bros; 1988]
In a perfect world, the Red Hot Chili Peppers disbanded upon hearing this catastrophic slab of kinky trip-funk. I'm not sure that Jane's Addiction ever amounted to more than a dreadlocked amalgam of their titanic influences (Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Velvet Underground), but I do think that God granted Perry Farrell a slim window of genius before banishing him to an oblivion of balderdash-mouth. You know you were up waiting for Britny Fox or a Bulletboys video on the Adam Curry-hosted "Headbanger's Ball" when Jane's Addiction's "Mountain Song" blew your mind. As hallucinogenic as it was socially conscious, this album's chief irony was that its killer numbers were revisitations of songs from the band's debut ("Jane Says", "Pigs in Zen"). God bless the West Coast every now and then. --William Bowers
089: Boredoms
Soul Discharge
[Shimmy-Disc; 1989]
Where John Zorn and Sonic Youth approached the avant-garde from an already rich backdrop of NYC punky-dadaism, Osaka's Boredoms seemingly came out of nowhere in the late 80s. Boredoms' first full-length gave adventurous listeners something disturbing and more than a little stupid to chew on, but Soul Discharge was arguably their greatest early example of their thrilling widescreen outbursts. They played Sabbath riffs over ramshackle, caveman Japanese Court beats; they managed to mangle even the most rudimentary garage pound, creating a soundtrack for scat-porn toons and destroying cats; and, of course, they managed to provide a lifetime of jams at a fraction of the sanity. Sure, Mr Bungle and Melt-Banana took a few pointers here, but in the end, there is no influence. Only Boredoms. --Dominique Leone
088: Spacemen 3
Playing with Fire
[Fire; 1989]
A far dronier affair than its predecessor, 1987's epic The Perfect Prescription, Playing with Fire shows Jason "J Spaceman" Pierce and Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember drifting apart, writing songs alone more often than together. The two would splinter into Spiritualized and Spectrum shortly thereafter. Though their distance from each other shows in the songwriting here, the execution is another thing entirely. Pierce and Kember's guitars still unite in blissful double-helixes, and their voices still meld together in canyon reverb. Playing with Fire, their final album really working in tandem (it would be Spacemen 3's last hurrah before the wane of Recurring, which virtually exists as a compilation of solo material from the two members), is Spacemen 3 going out with a supernova, and leaving the powerful interplanetary spirituals "Come Down Softly to My Soul", "So Hot (Wash Away All of My Tears)", and the stunning original version of "Lord Can You Hear Me?" in their vaportrail wake. --Ryan Schreiber
087: Prince
Dirty Mind
[Warner Bros; 1980]
No one ever made the combination of gender ambiguity and panting sexuality seem as right and natural as Prince, an outsider stuck in a mid-sized midwestern city with the balls to sport heavy makeup, thigh-high stockings and bikini briefs while opening for the Rolling Stones. Dirty Mind is the Purple One in stark black and white, as yet untouched by the spiritual heaviness that would color his work as the 80s wore on. At this point, all he wanted was to get down, in both senses of that word. The music is unbelievably lean, with the dry recording and minimal production serving as the perfect foil to the decidedly wet and lush physicality of the subject matter. Catchy electro-pop meets danceable electro-funk, Dirty Mind stands as Prince's first great album. --Mark Richardson
086: The Police
Ghost in the Machine
It seems strange to think that Sting could ever have found his hand so firmly entrenched in the direction of modern pop as he did circa this album. Fresh from The Police's almost single-handed reinvention of what radio rock was supposed to sound with their previous three records, Sting was transformed from cute new wave frontman to Serious Artist. Perhaps that signaled doom for the band (who were more than the sum of their parts as a matter of practice), but even with a jazzy sound overhaul (much courtesy of mega-producer Hugh Padgham), few ill effects were found on this record. Newfound textural sophistication via synthesizer and piano, horns, lots of massed vocals, and typically light-handed tackling of reggae and ska-- in addition to some of their best tunes ("Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Invisible Sun")-- translated to a curiously underrated classic. --Dominique Leone
085: Paul Simon
[Warner Bros; 1986]
Graceland was a controversial recording in its day, transcending the UN's cultural ban on South Africa to expose the vibrant mbaqanga musical movement of the nation's black neighborhoods to the world. But Graceland was a phenomenal musical achievement from any perspective-- an effortless fusion of styles (Zulu mambazo choral music, zydeco, country, etc.) that sounds like little else even today. Most of us, myself included, first heard this record around the house, that rare album our parents stumbled onto that we all could dig. Through all my shifts in musical taste in those fifteen years-- through punk, prog, avant-garde, electronic, and onward-- this disc has never lain far from my stereo. Its appeal is truly universal. --Joe Tangari
Come Away with ESG
[99; 1983]
Sisters Renee, Valerie and Marie Scroggins, and bassist Leroy Glover, formed ESG in the South Bronx at the dawn of the 1980s. Though influenced mainly by Motown soul and jazz, their rudimentary skills on their instruments forced them to create something of their own. What they came away with was the deeply minimalist and spacious sound of barebones, electronics-free dance grooves submerged in murky reverb, yet performed with a youthful vitality and laden with joyous shoutouts. Their music is almost all beat: loose, African polyrhythms and stabbing basslines beneath the girls' sing/speak vocals. Strangely, their first release came with a Martin Hannett-produced, three-song seven-inch on Factory Records, which led to the interest of NYC-based 99 Records who booked the band in punk clubs where they opened for many of the other bands on this list (Public Image, Ltd, Gang of Four, etc). They disbanded after the release of this album, but the widespread sampling of their music by hip-hop legends like Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane and Beastie Boys is a testament to its influence. Plus, it's a kickin' party record. --Ryan Schreiber
083: Talk Talk
The Colour of Spring
Talk Talk made their first big step out of new wave and into something else entirely on The Colour of Spring, opening their music to looser structures and stranger textures. The rhythms were still mechanically governed, but the guitars were huge, Mark Hollis' vocals more enigmatic, and the sonic palette much, much wider. "April 5th" and "Chameleon Day" most closely anticipated Talk Talk's future directions and today suggest something like Peter Gabriel inventing post-rock ten years ahead of schedule. Talk Talk's uniquely balanced appreciation for sweeping gestures, big sound, minimalist songcraft, and the importance of space made for some singular music, and it was on display here at its most accessible. --Joe Tangari
082: The Fall
Perverted by Language
[Rough Trade; 1983]
[text not available]
081: Cocteau Twins
Blue Bell Knoll
[text not available]


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Not just a slogan, we actually try to have "everything in flags"! From our nylon flags Made in America to our custom made-imported patches we have products from around the world. Can't find what you are looking for? Just ask! Many of our product lines are inspired by customer inquiries. We are always on the lookout for new additions.
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Code Signals, Officer Flags, Courtesy Flags, even novelty nautical...
March 29, 2018
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Trueburger: Reviews
Trueburger: Reviews | restaurant info + video | full episode video |
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Name: Karen
Occupation: Stenographer
Location: Oakland
Favorite Restaurant: Trueburger
Reviewed Trueburger: Thursday, June 2, 2011
When you see the Trueburger sign outside this urban gem, you're already getting a glimpse of what you are about to experience. This is a place that offers a straightforward, fresh, and focused approach to the burger. They grind their own Angus beef daily, cook the patties on a griddle, and present it on custom-made egg buns with lettuce, tomato, and a garlicky aioli sauce. Onions and pickle are included on request, and for an extra charge, you can add bacon, cheese, griddled onions, or double your cholesterol intake with an additional burger patty, or get the Double-Up, double beef AND double cheese. The unexpected bonus is that Trueburger is also an amazing value. Their original burger sans the add-ons is only $4.95.
Sponsored By
I love the menu at Trueburger. It's refreshingly simple and unburdened by those overreaching burger combinations and toppings that only mask the flavor of a good burger, but there's also enough variety to have something for everyone. The vegetarian-inclined can enjoy a portobello mushroom burger, fried crisp and oozing with smoked mozzarella. They also offer hot dogs with various accoutrements, homemade chili, and three types of chopped salads. But I can't bring myself to order anything but a burger here.
On my most recent visit to Trueburger, I ordered the cheesy Trueburger with bacon. The meat was crispy on the outside and still a little bit pink inside, and full of good meaty flavor, mingling nicely with the crisp lettuce, tangy sliced tomato, smoky and pleasantly chewy bacon, and perfectly squishy bun. And the fries are no mere side order. I try to share them with my husband to save calories, but it's not easy. They're consistently good – fresh, hot, and the right amount of crispy, never pallid and bland or over browned and tough. You can get cheesy sauce with them, but I prefer an extra side of the garlic aioli or the chipotle sauce that comes with their spicy coleslaw dog to use as a dip.
Trueburger has the usual fountain drinks available, plus a variety of bottled specialty soft drinks, but a fairly recent addition to the menu is bottled beer, a delight for those of us who like to indulge while indulging. We happily guzzled the locally made Drake's Amber Ale from San Leandro with our burgers and fries. And for folks with a sweet tooth, the hand-spun shakes made with premium ice cream and optional mix-ins are a must-have. On recent visits I've enjoyed the Oreo shake and vanilla shake with orange cream (a refreshing and much improved version of the 50/50 bar), but my favorite to date is the special vanilla Twinkie shake I had on my last visit. While slurping up this thick and luscious shake blended with real Twinkie bits through a straw, one need only savor the moment.
Just one block away from Lake Merritt, you can get your food to go or enjoy it on the premises in a friendly, casual, and comfortably communal atmosphere, rubbing shoulders with the mixed crowd of Oakland locals looking for a burger fix. True Burger is a great place to go when you have that burger craving. You will leave feeling gratified, satisfied, and even with a little cash to spare.
Name: Brian
Occupation: VP/Sales Channel Manager
Location: San Francisco
Favorite Restaurant: Patxi's Pizza
Reviewed Trueburger: Friday, June 3, 2011
Trueburger is a tiny little joint in downtown Oakland that serves up some truly fantastic burgers. Owned and operated by two former sous chefs of a much more upscale restaurant, Trueburger has a very relaxed, comfortable atmosphere and seating for maybe 30 people. Customers queue up to place their orders at the counter, and then grab a seat -- if there are any.
Located on Grand Avenue and a block west of Harrison Street, Trueburger will be conveniently located if you live or work near downtown Oakland. My wife and I live and work in San Francisco, so she took BART, while I chose to drive. Trueburger is about a 10-minute walk from BART (19th St. Oakland), and parking in the area is near-impossible. Seek out the little parking lot on Valdez Street, just north of 23rd that is free after 6:00 PM.
The place was a zoo. After waiting in a long line to order our food, we got lucky and snagged a table big enough for our group of five adults and a toddler. Many others weren't so lucky, and ended up eating their burgers while standing on the sidewalk. It's that kind of place. Think Ike's in the Castro.
But I have to admit, that was one darn fine burger. Cooked perfectly medium-rare, with some pinkness in the middle, the burger was juicy and flavorful. The gooey cheese was succulent, and the soft bun and fresh lettuce and tomato were perfect. I ordered the Bacon Cheesy Trueburger, and the bacon was thick-cut and extremely flavorful. This was no skimpy, limp, flavorless bacon like you get at most fast-food places. This was serious bacon.
The absolute star of the show was undoubtedly the True Deluxe, a cheeseburger plus a whole portabella mushroom that has been stuffed with smoked mozzarella, breaded, and deep-fried. Oh, dear God. It was good. It was really, really good. The fresh mushroom flavor powers through all the rest, and the crisp coating is heavenly. If you can fit the whole thing in your mouth, it's one of the best burgers you'll ever eat.
My group powered through a whole host of calorie bombs at Trueburger, including the Spicy Coleslaw Dog, a fresh sausage that packs some surprising heat, buried beneath a thick coating of fresh coleslaw. The slaw received mixed reviews from my group, but the spicy dog was tasty, and the whole thing worked well. The Whole Spiced Dill Pickle was fat, juicy, and fantastic, and the shakes made for a tasty dessert, although one was about twice as thick as the other. The four beers on the menu were sufficient.
The only disappointment was the fries. Usually a favorite of mine, these were a bit blah, and the cheese sauce option was disgusting: it had a nasty, unnatural color and was completely devoid of flavor. There's nothing worse than empty calories that lack flavor. I want my empty calories to taste good!
Overall, Trueburger reminds me quite a bit of In-N-Out, but with a juicer burger that gets cooked a perfectly pinky medium-rare. The True Deluxe will make portabella mushroom fans weep with joy as they shove the massive, paper-wrapped burger into their face. If you live or work in downtown Oakland and don't mind potentially waiting in a long line and having to fight for a table, you won't find a better burger than at Trueburger.
Name: Julie
Occupation: Marketing Manager
Location: San Francisco
Favorite Restaurant: Mercury Lounge
Reviewed Trueburger: Saturday, June 4, 2011
Trueburger is a very small restaurant in Oakland that takes gourmet burgers to new level. I arrived at around 6pm for dinner on a Saturday night and a small crowd had already begun to form. I realized quickly that this was a popular place in the neighborhood and with good reason. By 6:30, the place was packed. The menu was small. I stood in line and placed my order with the cashier and decided on a getting a True Deluxe burger (a combination of their only vegetarian option, the mushroom burger and their signature Trueburger), a side of order of french fries, and bottled root beer. I picked up my order at the counter once my name was called after a brief wait. The over-the-counter service was quick and cordial.
The True Deluxe was a medium sized (but VERY filling) burger on a fresh toasted egg bun that was absolutely delicious. The Angus beef patty was tender and juicy and medium-cooked, which happens to be just the way I like it. But for me, the standout for this burger and what made it unique was definitely the inclusion of the fried portobello mushroom on top of the beef. Crispy and filled with mozzarella cheesy goodness, this mushroom ingredient added an unexpected combination of a chewy AND crunch factor to the burger and struck a perfect balance with the rest of the ingredients, which included garlic mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles upon request. They provide an option of also ordering additional ingredients, such as bacon and grilled onions. To my delight, the fries were cooked perfectly -- crispy and not too salty and the traditional thin kind, which I prefer over wedge fries. I would recommend sharing one order of fries, which was large enough for two people.
As far as décor, the restaurant is very small, simple, and clean with a few small tables. Artwork was sparse, but fit the simplistic, cozy vibe of the place. Upon entering there is an interesting black and white mural of the Oakland cityscape that occupied most of one wall, showcasing city pride and adding an interesting artistic dimension. Since the small tables were completely full, most of the customers, after looking around and weighing their options, seemed resigned to do just do takeout, instead of waiting. Therefore, one of the only drawbacks of this place, I think, for some customers, would be the lack of seating. For peak dinner hours, this is not the place to bring a group of over 4 people, in my opinion to dine, and they do not accept reservations. Luckily I arrived right in time to find street parking right next to the restaurant and get a small table for two after ordering. Also, I would have liked to have the condiments, napkins, and utensils on the dining tables or on my ordering tray instead of on a small side table to get myself. But considering the size of the tables, this is understandable.
I would recommend Trueburger for a casual dining experience, and if you are craving a juicy, yet unique burger from what you are normally used to. It was a good bang for my buck considering the quality, flavor, and balance of the ingredients. If I was with a large group I would most likely just order takeout from here instead of dining in, considering the size of the tables. In summary, I would definitely come back if I was in the neighborhood and get the True Deluxe again. I can see that burger becoming my fast favorite; I would also try their milkshakes and root beer float for desserts.


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With the end of summer looming, our attention has already switched to the upcoming Autumn/Winter season. Essentially, this means reassigning some of the hides for birds of prey such as buzzard and red kite. For this next season, we'll be working on three hides to bring you plenty of buzzard photo opportunities with our stunning light morph buzzards perched on gate posts, feeding on the ground, and perched in branches/boughs.
The single-seater PhotoHut Mini™ (a.k.a. Little Owl Hide) will be relocated to an area that is used by buzzards, little owl and kestrel – using gate and fence posts for perching portraits and flight shots. The large 3-seater PhotoHut™ will be geared toward some ground-feeding, but also perching on gnarly tree branches with beautifully clear backgrounds. The PhotoArks™ are already just below the traditional nest site for the pale morph buzzards and we'll be gearing these toward ground-feeding on carrion.


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And so does our house. This week we ordered a new chair which we are still waiting for delivery on as I type. Then I was told my very old (like 25 yrs) ottoman should be replaced so that is done and we got a new little table coming to go between my couch and Momma's chair. It may seems silly because we have other end tables, but I like sitting close to her while we watch Tv. That way we can hear each other better when we make our remarks. I also upgraded our Xfinity service. For the first time in several years we will have cable and internet. The price difference for the upgrade won't break the bank so we decided to go for it.
Being a family of three I try to get everybody's input on any changes that we make to the house. I want everyone to know their opinions matter. I have worked where even though I am doing most of the work I didn't get a say in it. It feels so frustrating and I didn't want to deal with that at home.
Once I find out what is going on with the chair I will get busy taking care of other things that need to be done. A shower, the bird cage, going through my receipts for my tax appointment and probably a nap because I have to work tonight and a crazy day tomorrow.
The weight loss is going well. My doctors are all very pleased. I just have to quit slacking on the exercise.
So things are going well and I am pleased about that. How about for you? Well going to go get busy. I will visit again soon.


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Forumwarz is the first "Massively Single-Player" online RPG completely built around Internet culture.
You are currently looking at Flamebate, our community forums. Players can discuss the game here, strategize, and role play as their characters.
You need to be logged in to post and to see the uncensored versions of these forums.
|skyline gt-r stolen by the claw
|Posted On: 04/05/2008 9:40PM
|View JThizz's Profile | #


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In his State of the Union Address, President Obama placed economic inequality center stage. He framed this issue in terms of fairness or justice to the poor. If our goal is to help people escape poverty, though, we need to ask some more urgent and personal questions.
A debate about the "gap" between rich and poor isn't a debate directly about people—it's about, well, a gap. Focusing on the gap between individuals distracts us from focusing on poor individuals themselves. Rather than pretending that economic inequality is the main problem, we need to do better at both targeting real injustice and helping all citizens move up the economic ladder.
As I argue in the current issue of National Affairs, reframing this debate will require questioning some basic assumptions about poverty, equality, and justice. For example, it means challenging the common notion that "inequality per se is inherently unjust, and therefore that the gap between rich and poor is as well. That perceived injustice in turn spurs support for redistributionist policies that are intended to make levels of prosperity more equal across society."
Inequality as such is not evidence of injustice. It's too simplistic to reduce the concept of justice to mere equality without asking "equal in terms of what?"
America's founders knew that, while human beings are equal in some key respects, they're not equal in every respect. Every human life, by virtue of being human, is equal in dignity and worth. Thus, when it comes to our standing before God and the law, and the value of individual lives, justice demands equal treatment of all.
In most other contexts, however, justice calls for treating different people differently. "The natural rights and duties of man belong equally to all," wrote James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and an original justice of the Supreme Court. But Wilson noted, "When we say, that all men are equal, we mean not to apply this equality to their virtues, their talents, their dispositions, or their acquirements. In all these respects, there is … great inequality among men."
Since all of us possess equal dignity and an equal claim to life, every person should have access to at least the basic resources required to sustain life in his society. Responsibility for establishing a baseline of dignity lies with a variety of social institutions—including families, churches and businesses as well as government. Above this threshold, a just government also has an obligation to protect people's freedom to exercise their differing abilities and faculties, and also to protect the property they accumulate as a result — even if these holdings vary widely.
A simple but overlooked principle sums this up: Where people are equal, it is just to treat them the same; where they are different, it is unjust to treat them the same.
The attempt to provide material equality to all citizens through government redistribution doesn't heed this principle. The redistributionist ethic in question actually risks doing injustice by failing to take account of key differences among individuals and depriving them of the rewards of their successes.
In part 2 of this post, I'll show why the redistributionist approach also wrongly assumes that the key problem is the economic gap itself—that is, that unequal wealth as such causes hardship for the poor.
To help the poor we should focus on them directly, targeting not the gap that lies between them and the rich but the true causes of their poverty and the effective paths to their flourishing.
Read more of Messmore's piece, Justice, Inequality, and the Poor, in National Affairs.


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The Midwest Conference on Masonic Education will be holding its 60th Anniversary meeting on April 24 - 26, 2009 in Springfield, Illinois.
It just so happens that this also marks the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln and there will be loads of Lincoln-related activities in Springfield to attend.
Registration is just $50, and rooms at the host hotel are $94.


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Crazy Bulk steroids are known to be the best legal alternative steroids and are therefore considered to be safer than the real one. This is one of the most popular reasons why many are switching on legal steroids these days. This is also known to be as effective as real steroids and many users even claim that it is better. This starts by helping you burn excess fats first as these are hindrances to having a better body. Once the fats are eliminated, you can see that your body would immediately look leaner. These steroid alternatives also help in the gain of more muscle mass and making them stronger too. However, you have to note that this is only as effective as your lifestyle and routine. This will not give you maximum changes if no proper diet and exercise is established. One of the best things about Crazy Bulk legal steroids is that there are no side effects at all and there are no controlled substances too.
Please note that we don't sell steroids to people under the age of 21 and it's your responsibility to make sure that steroids aren't illegal in your country. We strongly oppose the anabolic steroids abuse or any illegal or banned substances usage. Our main purpose is to bring you legal steroids to help you achieve your bodybuilding goals. All steroids for sale contain only ingredients that are well established dietary supplements and contain nothing illegal or banned. Currently our pharmacists are working very hard at creating the perfect steroids cycles and blends to provide you with the most powerful legal steroids sale ever.


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Adams State School of Business welcomes FFA
FFA leaders enjoy a break and some pizza in a School of Business classroom.
On Monday, November 4, approximately 130 Future Farmers of America high school students attended their district leadership meeting at Adams State University. Hosting their meeting and luncheon was the ASU School of Business and its Agribusiness program.
"I can certainly tell the FFA kids were here" laughed Business Chair, Dr. Mike Tomlin, "we're missing 35 pizzas! It's always great to have FFA on campus," he continued, "once you see the blue jackets you know you have great kids, well-mannered kids, and hey, they are the future leadership of Colorado agriculture."


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I am a senior product designer at Flatiron Health where I spend my time researching and designing products that increase the availability of effective cancer treatments and improving the survival and quality of life through clinical research. Before that, I spent time at the Washington Post on new products and Adaptly on advertising software.
As a designer, I believe design needs to explore the treatment of people and act as their advocates. At the same time, I am not afraid to admit that I am surprised by human behavior daily. I believe in design that has something to say. I design holistic solutions that are central to both the user experience and the goals of an organization—not wireframes, mock-ups or prototypes.
I am also the Director of the AAJA Voices program, along with Maya Sugarman. With public trust in the media at an all-time low, we believe this student program is how we help train the next generation of journalists—journalists who produce quality editorial work, who understand the larger impact their work has on society, and who are deeply engaged with driving the industry.
I also like systems, semicolons, and spreadsheets. I really dislike touch screens. I spend a lot of time thinking about how technology affects who we are as human beings. I spill things. I always have an opinion. I like to have passionate debates. I care about people.
For more about my work, check out my resume here, or contact me at email@example.com.
I also hang out here:Spotify • Instagram • Twitter


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Last updated: 10/12/2014 14:44:29
Choosing a bar to go to can often be hit and miss. Once you find that special one though many people end up being a regular. So how do you find new Bars in Rugby to go to while swerving the dives?
Browse our comprehensive list of Bars in Rugby and get an idea of what to expect before hand! All of our reviews are genuine, left by our users after their night out in Rugby .
So if you are looking for Bars in Rugby , or are planning a night out in Rugby and don't know the area too well, be sure to have a look at the listings we have on our site to make a more educated guess!


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For those of you prototyping with larger Atmel AVR microcontrollers such as the ATmega32, it can be inconvenient to continually assemble a circuit onto a solderless breadboard that includes power, programming header and a few basics – or you might want to create a one-off product without waiting for a PCB to be made. If these are issues for you, or you're interested in working with AVRs then the subject of this review may be of interest – the ATmega32 Development Kit from Protostack. The kit is one of a range that spans from the ATmega8, and gives you almost everything needed to work with the microcontroller. We've assembled and experimented with the ATmega32 kit, so read on to find out more.
The kit arrives in a typical anti-static package with the contents and URL on the front:
The PCB is large, measuring 127 x 94 mm, made from heavy 1.6 mm FR4 PCB and all the holes are through-plated. And as you can see from the images below, there's plenty of prototyping space and power/GND rails:
The included parts allow you to add a power supply, polyfuse, smoothing capacitors for the power, programmer socket, external 16 MHz crystal, a DC socket, IC socket, a lonely LED and of course the ATmega32A (which is a lower-power version of the ATmega32):
You can download the user guide from the product page, which details the board layout, schematic and so on. When soldering the parts in, just start with the smallest-profile parts first and work your way up. There's a few clever design points, such as power regulator – there's four holes so you can use both "in-GND-output" and "GND-output-input" types:
… and the layout of the prototyping areas resemble that of a solderless breadboard, and the power/GND rails snake all around – so transferring projects won't be difficult at all:
If you need to connect the AVcc to Vcc, the components and board space are included for a low-pass filter:
And if you get carried away and need to use two or more boards at once – they're stackable:
Moving forward
After assembling the board and inserting the ATmega32, you can use an AVR programmer to check it's all working (and of course program it). With a 10-pin interface USBASP inserted, I headed over to the AVRdude folder on my PC and entered:
avrdude -c usbasp -p m32
which (as all was well) resulted with:
Awesome – it's nice to have something that just works. Let the experimenting begin!
It's a solid kit, the PCB is solid as a rock, and it worked. However it could really have used some spacers or small rubber feet to keep the board off the bench. Otherwise the kit is excellent, and offers a great prototyping area to work with your projects. If you order some, Protostack have a maximum delivery charge of $9 so you won't get burned on delivery to far-flung places. Larger photos available on flickr. And if you made it this far – check out my new book "Arduino Workshop" from No Starch Press.
Please note that the ATMEGA32A Development Kit in this review is a promotional consideration from Protostack.
In the meanwhile have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column? And join our friendly Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it's free, helpful to each other – and we can all learn something.


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Legends of the Mountain State
This is the phenomenal book that began the bestselling series, Legends of the Mountain State. Here is a thirteen story collection — an anthology that will entertain readers— as West Virginia makes a perfect backdrop for epic ghost tales. Specters haunt the dark mines, dense mountains, and coal camps. Legends of the Mountain State is a superior horror anthology filled with all new tales to keep the lights on at night and the out-of-state tourists away from West Virginia.
We have assembled an A-team of nationally known and critically acclaimed storytellers. Here is a list of the contributors:
Thomas F. Monteleone is a 4-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award, the highest honor for writers in the horror genre. He has written television scripts for American Playhouse, George Romero's Tales from the Darkside, and a series on Fox TV entitled Night Visions. He is also the author of the bestseller, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel.
Tim Waggoner's novels include Forge of the Mind Slayers, Darkness Wakes, Pandora Drive, The Thieves of Blood, the Godfire duology, Like Death, and A Nightmare on Elm Street: Protégé. He teaches creative writing at Sinclair Community College and is a faculty mentor in Seton Hill University's Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction program.
Kealan Patrick Burke is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Currency of Souls, The Turtle Boy, The Hides, Vessels, Midlisters, Ravenous Ghosts, and The Number 121 to Pennsylvania, and the editor of the anthologies: Taverns of the Dead, Night Visions 12, Brimstone Turnpike, Quietly Now, and Tales from the Gorezone. He lives in Ohio with his wife, and son.
Scott Nicholson is the author of six Appalachian Gothic thrillers, including They Hunger and The Farm. He was a 1999 winner of the Writers of the Future award and a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award. As a journalist in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, he has won several state press association awards and has written a number of writing articles. He is also the current vice-president of the Horror Writers Association.
Joe Nassise is the author of the internationally best-selling series, The Templar Chronicles. He's a Bram Stoker Award and International Horror Guild Award nominee, as well a former president of the Horror Writers Association. He lives in Arizona with his wife and family.
Bev Vincent is a contributing editor with Cemetery Dance magazine, the horror industry's standard. His first book, The Road to the Dark Tower, an authorized companion to Stephen King's Dark Tower series, was published by New American Library in 2004 and was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. He co-edited The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book with Brian Freeman for Cemetery Dance Publications.
Mark Justice is the author of Bone Songs, a collection of stories from Delirium Books, Deadneck Hootenanny (Novello Publishers) and, with David T. Wilbanks, Dead Earth: The Green Dawn ( PS Publishing). He also hosts the nationally-recognized radio program Pod of Horror. He lives with his wife and cats in Ashland, Kentucky.
G. Cameron Fuller is an author, editor, and writing teacher who lives in Charleston, West Virginia. His fiction, nonfiction, and personal essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and books, and has won numeroous writing contests and Fellowship competitions. For several years, Fuller was on the editorial board for Writer's Digest.
Michael M. Hughes is an up-and-coming writer in the horror genre with his first novel in the works for this year. He went to college in Elkins, WV and spends many weekends in Great Cacapon and Berkeley Springs. He lives in Baltimore with his wife and daughter, where he writes fiction, lectures on paranormal topics, and performs as a mentalist.
Jude-Marie Green is an author of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. She is also an assistant editor (and review columnist) for Noctem Aeternus Magazine. She lives in Southern California with her cats and books.
Brian J. Hatcher is a writer, poet, oral storyteller, actor, magician, fire eater, and indy wrestling manager from Charleston, West Virginia.
Trent Walters is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer. His work has appeared in The Golden Age SF anthology, Electric Velocipede, Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet, Pindledyboz, and BSFA's Vector. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Marta Murvosh is a journalist in Northwestern Washington. She is a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
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Solving the Scalability Problem
February 08, 2005
A Canadian firm says it has the technology to allow metro mesh networks to grow to hundreds if not thousands of nodes. Now, it needs someone to pay attention.
Scalability is fast becoming the Holy Grail of mesh networking.
Municipalities and telecom operators alike are eager to deploy so-called mesh networks, Wi-Fi based networks designed to blanket large geographic areas such as college campuses and downtown business districts. There are technical hurdles, however. In essence, available bandwidth decays as the network gets bigger. Hence the scramble for scalability.
One recent entry is the field is Toronto-based OrderOne Networks, where partner Charis Davies says he has a solution to the scalability problem. No fancy antennae or signal-strength boosters needed here. Rather, Davies and his team have taken an architectural approach to the problem. "We have introduced a few new ideas in terms of how we look at networks," he said.
A lot is riding on the industry's ability to overcome the scalability challenge. Industry analysts have estimated the potential market for mesh networks in just the public safety sector alone at more than $1 billion. Several big-name firms such as Tropos Networks, MeshNetworks and Ember Corp. are vying to get a piece of that market.
Davies says his two-person shop has something these other firms may want to license, and while his notion could have great power in expensing the potential of mesh networks, it also is relatively simple to understand.
In the conventional idea of a mesh network, messages propagate widely. In order for data to go from node A to node B, the information will essentially be broadcast out among all nodes connected to the system, eventually finding its way to the target.
Davies has centralized that architecture. His self-deploying network will configure itself into a Web that converges upon a single node. Within the network each node will recognize a direct path between itself and the hub. Now, suppose data is headed from A to B again. This time the information shoots along a single direct path to the hub and then out to the target, rather than being broadcast hither and yon and eating up precious bandwidth along the way.Within this architecture, "there really is no practical size limitation to it," Davies claims. "It is quite easy to build networks with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of nodes."
If that's true, analysts say, a solution such as this could give a big boost to the deployment of such widespread networks. "Scalability is always a concern," said Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies in Campbell, Calif. "You have a lot of people out here trying to solve this. Scalability is critical to the growth of mesh overall."
With competition heating up among various providers of mesh-networking technologies, Davies is eager to begin licensing his technology. He's looking for large-scale users, and has engaged in discussions with the Defense Department and with telecommunications providers.
But it's a tough sell right now, with potential users wary of buying into a technology that comes on the heels of many less-the-successful efforts. "The biggest problem we are getting right now is that people won't even look at it. They don't believe we could have solved this problem when people have worked on it for 30 years," Davies said. "Other people have made this claim before and all those claims have been proven false."
Perhaps seeing will be believing. "We have a full-fledged simulation that can support 800 nodes or more, so you can actually build these networks and see them actually do the things these networks are supposed to do," Davies said. In the near future he plans to establish test beds for the technology, "to show it working on a limited scale in real life."
All this presumes that mesh deployments will be the Next Big Thing. While some are withholding judgment, Davies already is a believer. Take away the scalability constraint, he said, "and now you have a large network that requires much less human management. If you look at it that way, it is absolutely clears that mesh is what is going to happen, because it is cheaper and it is better."
But that is far from certain, as competing technologies continue to knock on the door. Bajarin for instance points to an emerging technology supported by Intel. Known as WiMax, this technology can purportedly propagate a signal from three to five miles from a single base station.
"If you look at covering an area wirelessly, that kind of thing is more interesting to us than a mesh network, with its higher cost and greater complexity," he said. With mesh, he said, "it takes so many nodes, so many hubs, it is just a crazy degree of organization."
Yet mesh has a big edge right now, in that it is already is being deployed in the marketplace, where WiMax remains a soon-to-be, but not-quite-yet, solution.


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When Pizza Domenica opens to the public on Thursday, it may mark the first time a serious restaurant has ever sprung fully formed from a happy hour.
The happy hour in question happens every day from 3 to 6 p.m. at Domenica, the popular downtown Italian restaurant owned by Alon Shaya and John Besh. The crowds who flood the place for half-price pizzas and drinks are such that Shaya jokes about stationing a bouncer outside behind a velvet rope.
"People book their tables for happy hour a month in advance now," Shaya said. "It's really, really, really busy. We've got huge demand from people asking us if we're going to grow."
Pizza Domenica, which will open Uptown at 4933 Magazine St., is the pizzeria Domenica's happy hour regulars have been asking for. The Uptown restaurant is smaller, more casual and less multifaceted than the mothership, but it provides chefs more space to prepare pizzas around the custom-made, wood-fire oven.
"It's an open kitchen. When you walk in, the pizza oven is one of the first things you see," Shaya said. "All the cooks will be working around the oven. It's all white tiles. It's super duper sexy."
The variety of pies on offer is greater than at Domenica, and they're rounded out on the menu by selections of salads, crostinis and antipasti, which includes Shaya's famous whole roasted cauliflower.
Shaya is particularly proud of Pizza Domenica's glycol-chilled beer tap system, which cools the 12 draft brews to "anywhere to between 35 and 45 degree." There will be more than 40 beers in all, including a large selection of imported bottles from Italy, along with around 35 wines, all available by the glass, and batch cocktails served by the pitcher.
Pizza Domenica diners will order their food and drinks at a cash register before sitting down.
"We feel that the majority of the people are going to come in, get a beer, get a cocktail, get a pizza and then leave," Shaya said. "So we want to make it fast for them. We're trying to find a balance between keeping things really simple and giving (customers) a level of service they don't get at a fast food restaurant."
As for happy hour, the only thing Shaya knows for sure is there will be one.
"We're working on figuring out what our happy hour is going to be," he said. "That has by far been the most consistent question I get about Pizza Domenica."


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For some reason, you can't seem to login into your newly created Windows account. After hours and hours of searching on the internet you've tried many solutions but none of them seems to work. If this sounds like your problem, read on and see whether this fix will help you.
Introduction to the problem
After creating your new user account (using the normal way) you are unable to log into your newly created (local) accounts. The newly created user accounts still show up on the user lists but when you log in you get an error message:
"The User Profile Service failed the logon. User Profile cannot be loaded".
This problem can persist even after you installed the latest Windows updates, upgraded to Windows 10 (happened to me) or after deleting and recreating user accounts. Whether the user account has a password or not does not seem to affect the problem.
This issue seems to affect Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10. I experienced this issue on a Windows 8 machine that was later upgraded to Windows 10.
A word of caution
- Be cautious when applying the fixes mentioned in this article. Back up all data before changing or deleting any user account.
- While these fixes should not do any harm to your system they are not recommended for absolute beginners. If you are a beginner and would like to try this then be sure to have the number handy of someone who can fix computers (should anything go wrong). This is not to insult you as I am sure you are a very smart and intelligent person, but the type of changes can be risky.
Before jumping straight to the fix let's have a look at the Windows error logs to see where exactly our problem lies:
- Create a new user account and Attempt to log in (knowing that the login will fail). This will generate an event which we can now easily find in the event viewer.
- Go to the Windows Event Viewer. You can access the event viewer by right-clicking on the start menu and then clicking Event Viewer.You can also find the event viewer by typing "event viewer" in windows search for via the control panel: Control Panel > System and Security >Administrative Tools > Event Viewer
- Find the error relating to the failed login. In the left panel of Event viewer, click to expand the Windows Logs Folder then go to Application logs. In the middle pane scroll down until you find an error with its source from the user profile service. This error will most likely have several warnings below it.
- Read the error and warning details. Clicking on the error will reveal information about the error. The error will probably look something like this: "Windows cannot log you on because your profile cannot be loaded. Check that you are connected to the network, and that your network is functioning correctly. "
The error informed us what was wrong, but doesn't tell exactly why. To find out, we need to have a look at the warnings which should be located underneath the error. The first warning you see will probably say this: "There are too many profile copy errors. Refer to the previous events for details. Windows will not log any additional copy errors for this copy process. ". This warning now tells us why the login failed. Look at the errors that are below this one to find out what files or folders couldn't copy.
These copy errors will vary but should look similar to this (error can affect any kind of folder and not necessarily the Macromedia folder):
Windows cannot copy file <\\?\C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\www.macromedia.com\bin\airappinstaller\airappinstaller.exe> to location <\\?\C:\Users\TEMP\AppData\Roaming\Macromedia\Flash Player\www.macromedia.com\bin\airappinstaller\airappinstaller.exe>. This error may be caused by network problems or insufficient security rights. DETAIL – Access is denied
There may be quite a few warnings similar to the one above. That is okay. Based on the errors and warnings we saw here we see that for some reason or another Windows cannot seem to copy certain files and folders that are necessary for the new user account.
Since it is a local account we can rule out this being a network problem which leaves us to conclude that this error must be caused by the insufficient security rights (as stated by the warning).
Basically the folder " C:/Users/Default" as well as some as well as some subfolders are denying the computer the permissions to access and copy these in order to create a new account. This is rather strange but nevertheless we can now aim to fix that by changing the permissions of the problematic folder.
The Fix
- Enable hidden files and folders. The folder's permissions that we are about to change is hidden by default. For instructions on how to enable hidden files and folders click here.
- Go to your Users folder. By default, the User's folder is located on the hard drive Windows is installed on (usually C:\Users). However, this can change depending on your computer was set up. If you are a bit confused as to where this is, go to your File Explorer (or My Computer) double click on your main your main hard drive (usually C: ) and then find and go to the "Users" folder.
- Open up Advanced Security settings for default folder. To do this right click on the folder called "default" and then click on properties. Remember this folder is hidden by default and you will not find it if you did not enable hidden files and folders. From the properties windows, click on the 'Security' tab. From there click on the 'Advanced' button'. A new Window will appear..
- Change the folder owner. Remember this is risky, so if you haven't made a full backup yet, now would be a great time. In the Advanced Security settings window, you will find details of the name of the folder as well as who is assigned as the owner (see screenshot).
If the owner is not set to 'system', then change the owner to "system". However, it already is set to 'system' then change the owner to 'Administrators'.
To change the owner click on 'change; which will be located next to the owner name. A small window appears titled 'Select Window or group'. Type in 'Administrators' (without quotation marks) then click on the "check names" button. The text you typed in should have changed to look like this "Computer Name/Administrators". Once you changed the folder owner click on the 'APPLY' button and then the "OK" button. Some messages may pop up and a few file operations may happen.
If you get an error message: press "advanced.." which will open another new window, then click on the "Find Now" button located on the right. A list of users and user groups will appear below. Double click on "Administrators". And then click on "okay". You should now be back to the "Advanced Security settings "window.
- Logon to your account. Go back to the account which gave you the error "The user profile cannot be loaded". You should now be able to log in without any trouble
That's all for this post. Feel free to adapt this to make your own solution.
Did you find this guide useful? I'd love to hear your feedback and opinions in the comments below. For more fixes and articles please subscribe.


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Monday, January 25, 2010
Editing and Revisions
Most notably, editors are essential for serving as a sounding board for ideas, catching unintentional repetitions, and identifying passages and plot developments that don't work. Word by word revisions are less important, and in some cases counterproductive. Finishing the manuscript of a novel is after all very different from writing and editing a magazine or newspaper article.
Two Case Studies…
In recent years, two cases in particular have called into question the issues of editing and rewriting. In 2007 Penguin published On the Road: The Original Scroll. This was the quasi-mythological first draft of the manuscript that Kerouac showed to publishers in the early 1950s. The novel wasn't published until 1957, in a very different form. Many readers consider the earlier draft to be more interesting: with no paragraph breaks, the writing seems livelier, more rhythmic, more that of an avant-garde novel. The published version of On the Road pales by comparison. A major problem with the published novel is that the characters aren't particularly sympathetic. Read by an adolescent, On the Road is exciting; read later in life, the book is dull as dishwater, the characters either pitiful or unintentionally comical. With the earlier version, this may be less of a problem, since the language of the novel stands out as the main character.
Legend has it that the editors ruined Kerouac's book. As it turns out, this isn't true. The novel as originally written simply wouldn't have been published by a mainstream American publisher. (True, a decade later, Grove Press might have brought it out, as they did Naked Lunch.) And so, Kerouac went to work revising his manuscript, over a period of years. Malcolm Cowley brought it to Viking, several times. The Viking editor who finally acquired it was Keith Jennison; the manuscript editor was Helen Taylor. Neither of them "ruined the book." The major revisions were by Kerouac himself. This information comes from a Publishers Weekly article by Sterling Lord, Kerouac's longtime agent (August 27, 2007).
Instead of a being a writer who produced an unpublished, avant-garde work, Kerouac wrote a bestseller and became a cultural icon, seemingly overnight. He hated himself for it, and never recovered. The moral here doesn't so much concern what editors do to books, as what publishers and the culture demand and the extent to which writers are willing to compromise in order to be published.
A different but equally problematic case is that of Raymond Carver. It appears that Gordon Lish, Carver's editor at Esquire and Knopf, heavily rewrote a number of Carver's stories, changing endings, deleting large amounts of material, altering the style. Carver reportedly was not happy, but he allowed the changes. The problem isn't whether Lish did a good or bad job—one would have to study the original versions, which are now available thanks to Tess Gallagher, and compare them to the published stories. The real issue is whether an editor has the right to radically rewrite literary fiction to this extent—and if he does so, shouldn't he be credited as a coauthor? Lish may have been a despicable person with a crazed ego, or he may not have been. The thing is, no writer with an ounce of self-respect should have allowed such radical revision to take place.
Bad Editing and Good
How and at exactly what point agents assumed an editorial function is a tale waiting to be told. I can imagine an agent who is a skilled editor—they no doubt exist—but I have never encountered one. Salesmanship and attention to written detail are not characteristics that are necessarily or commonly found together.
The worst case scenario is when an agent pulls a manuscript in one direction, and the editor subsequently pulls it in another. The writer then feels abused, like a rag doll, as if he or she is writing a work for hire and has very little control over the work. It's the literary version of sitting in a noisy cube and dealing with incompatible demands. Marx, I believe, used the phrase "alienated labor."
Editing and requests for revisions are tricky enough when coming from people who know what they are doing. Things go downhill fast when one is revised by an editor who doesn't actually know the rules of English grammar and who doesn't understand what the writer is trying to do. This is similar to having an incompetent electrician rewire your apartment. And yes, over the years I've seen this happen—editing that actually makes a manuscript worse. (Fortunately, it wasn't mine.) An editor who knows grammar but is deaf to the rhythm of prose is even worse—they will have grammar on their side but will run roughshod over the subtlety not to mention spirit of the text.
Aside from incompetent editing that simply screws up sentences, there's also the request for revisions aimed at making a manuscript more sensational (ie, "appeal to a wider range of readers.") We see this in an attempt to transform a literary novel into a commercial one. The result rarely strikes the right tone for either. One can also imagine editing that weakens or dilutes a manuscript, whether out of general timidity, fear of offending, or from some other motive. This is something like what happened to On the Road.
Nearly as problematic is editing that makes a manuscript neither better nor worse, just different. This seriously ups the ante in terms of confusion. It also adds to the publisher's costs without delivering any clear benefit to either writer or publisher.
What Makes A Good Editor?
To my mind, the most important thing is that writer and editor listen to and understand each other. If I were to attempt a list of attributes that are desirable, I would suggest the following no doubt incomplete ones:
An editor should be widely read in the literature of the present and the past, have a knowledge of the arts and of the world that goes beyond the confines of popular culture, and should be sensitive to the nuances of language and to differences of style. He or she shouldn't think that "one size fits all" or that the same solutions are necessarily appropriate to different manuscripts.
Writers can make things easier by not being arrogant or convinced of their own infallibility. But nor should they allow themselves to be induced to make changes they think are simply wrong.
Ah yes, and if life were perfect, we'd have healthcare reform that actually worked.
2 comments:
- Carol SklenickaJanuary 25, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Thanks for the interesting and pointed discussion of Gordon Lish's editing of Carver. I tell the story of Carver's long relationship with Lish in RAYMOND CARVER: A WRITER'S LIFE published last year by Scribner (where I had a supportive, wise, tough, and sympathetic editor). I speculate there that Carver was probably troubled by Lish's editing as early as 1971, when "Are These Actual Miles?" became "What Is It?" in ESQUIRE. But it took Carver years to have the nerve to object. If Kerouac damaged himself by compromises he made with Viking, we have a parallel worth investigating.ReplyDelete
nice post.. i have been thinking about this a little. that is interesting about 'on the road.' i want to read the original script version now.ReplyDelete
i read this recently, as well, which seems good to me: http://heheheheheheheeheheheehehe.com/2006/07/this-is-11000-word-post-with-tao-lin.html
thinking of various aesthetic choices as simply 'different' rather than 'better'/'worse' seems helpful and relevant for a society that, i hope, is increasingly opening to diverse (but as yet marginalized) ways of living. seems like 'better' is the same logic as what is at work with homo- and trans- phobias. seems like removing the hierarchy involved in evaluative standards like good/bad seems to also suggest a broader kind of liberation, and i like that


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This post by Peter O'Neill is part of the #JUMPchallenge, a blogging competition designed to raise awareness on how to join up online and offline marketing, launched to support Econsultancy's JUMP event in October.
In this post, originally published on his blog, Peter looks at the issue of measuring and evaluating marketing performance across multiple channels...
As a web analyst, my focus on this is related to measuring and understanding the performance of marketing campaigns – based on the idea that the more that you understand about the performance of past campaigns, the more you can improve your future campaigns.
The approach that I am developing towards evaluating marketing performance can be used across both online and offline marketing. It is intended to be used to optimise the financial return that is gained from investing in marketing via multiple channels, taking into account the performance of individual channels and their combined impact on business performance.
The future is campaign attribution??
Working with online businesses, the common approach is to use campaign attribution to allocate revenue to the different marketing channels that are being used. (I am going to keep it simple here by only referring to e-commerce websites that have revenue as their goal although the same principles can be applied to non e-commerce websites using alternative conversion actions).
Whichever campaign attribute technique is used (first touch, last touch, weighted attribution, etc), it provides a revenue figure that each marketing channel can claim credit for earning. With this data, the business owner or marketer can calculate the ROI against marketing spend by channel and to understand what the impact would be if marketing spend for a particular channel was increased or cut.
There are known issues right now with this approach due to limitations in the various models. However, web analytics and other marketing management tools are developing more sophisticated techniques for attributing revenue to the different touch points.
This is naturally incredibly valuable information as long it reflects reality and I just don't think it does. It can only be based on known online touch points prior to a purchase being made online and this leaves out so many factors:
- Offline marketing influences are not captured as these cannot be tracked online (except in the use of vanity URLs or similarly identifying features).
- Non marketing influences such as a friend's recommendation or product reviews are not captured.
- Only online touch points on the same computer used to make the purchase are captured, when people could easily have researched the purchase on a different computer.
- Purchases made offline are not captured but these could also have been impacted by online marketing and should also be used in any ROI calculations.
Beyond all this, marketing campaign attribution relies on being able to convert a person's buying decision into simple numbers, to calculate the weighting each touch point had on that decision.
I don't believe this is actually possible as people would not be able to accurately say themselves what motivated them to make a purchase – did you book that holiday 15% due to an email, 25% due to a link on an affiliate marketing site and 60% due to a paid search link?
This is further complicated by the interaction between different information sources and the requirement to develop a model that works with all people (maybe some people are impacted by the first touch point and others by the last touch point).
What are business owners and marketers really trying to achieve?
My philosophy about all this is still in development (and I totally reserve the right to change my mind based on feedback from others) but my current recommendation is to lose the belief that you can accurately or usefully attribute revenue between different marketing channels. Instead I think you should evaluate the performance of marketing at two levels:
- Overall business performance.
- Individual marketing channels based on success actions.
The real question that business owners and marketers need the answer to is what to do for the next campaign, not how much revenue did each marketing channel make in the last campaign.
While that information would be great to have in order to plan future campaigns, I don't believe it is possible to calculate. Instead the focus should be on gathering useful information that is accurate and that will allow for the optimisation of future marketing campaigns.
Evaluate overall business performance
As a web analyst, I could list off several pages of potential metrics for understanding performance across different marketing sources and several might even be valid KPIs. But at the end of the day, only one number is going to matter and that is profit.
The measure of success of a marketing campaign is quite simply whether the incremental profit generated was greater than the incremental marketing spend (including salary costs for people working on the campaigns) during the defined time period. A simple way of looking at things maybe but it is what the CEO is going to do.
This simplistic approach to evaluating the performance of marketing covers both online and offline marketing and also purchases made through websites or in store. As the public is using multiple channels to research your products and then makes the purchase via whichever method is most convenient (or offers best value), this approach covers all angles and most importantly covers all customer behaviour.
Note that it does rely on a decent forecast being made of what revenue would be if nothing changed, whether this means no marketing at all or no extra investment in additional marketing channels.
This approach may also just be the best way of evaluating how different combinations of marketing channels perform. While there are numerous statistical and econometrical approaches that can be used, the business bottom line is the one true test. Different combinations of marketing investment across multiple marketing channels can be compared between regions or different date ranges in order to determine the optimal combination.
Evaluate individual marketing channels based on success actions
Being unable to attribute revenue to marketing channels does not mean that their performance should not be measured or evaluated as successful or not. Instead of linking performance purely to purchases and thus revenue/profit, each channel should be evaluated based on predefined success actions.
These are specific to each marketing channel based on what you are trying to achieve with the investment in that channel. This applies to both online and offline marketing channels.
The success actions can be linked to website behaviour, other online behaviour or any offline behaviour. Examples of potential success actions include:
- Website visits from a particular traffic source.
- Website entries on a particular landing page.
- A level of engagement with the website (e.g. view at least two product pages) for traffic from a particular traffic source.
- In store voucher redemptions.
- Use of a particular hashtag on Twitter.
- Increased brand awareness as measured by a survey.
- Increased sales of a particular product, either online or in store.
- Increased sales within a particular store.
These success actions need to be defined in advance as part of the marketing planning process, both what the actions are and at what level can the performance of that marketing channel be considered a success given the investment in it. It is this information that is used to review the performance by marketing channel and to decide on future investment in it.
Learn from experience
So if you want to achieve excellence in using multiple marketing channels, my advice is to measure performance, compare against forecasts and use what you have learnt to improve future marketing campaigns.
Do not try and split your revenue between marketing channels, it is just not possible to do accurately. Instead evaluate individual marketing channels against success actions relevant to what you are trying to achieve with that marketing channel.
Be prepared to experiment with different channels, all the old ones and the new ones. But look to the bottom line to understand which combinations work best. Use the data gained from previous marketing campaigns to improve and optimise your future marketing campaigns.
Comments (3)
Interesting article. Many advertisers choose to pay media owners based on a cost per acquisition, or pay affiliates to drive consumers to the sale.Without some form of attribution method, or worse still, deduplication in place-how would they go about paying these advertisers?
Also, one action will generally cause a reaction across other channels. E.g. a major TV campaign is likely to cause an increase in searches for the brand. Would you agree that we still need to see how these touch-points work together across channels; and that a user path to conversion needs to be understood. My issue being that if you can understand this path to conversion (including offline data), then it would make some sense to find some way of attributing value to each area, in order to apportion budget to each channel.
I totally agree that this is a continuous process and test and learn needs to be at the forefront of any future marketing campaign, and that there should be a greater focus on understanding the overall KPIs before running marketing activity.
Thanks for the feedback Joseph and I don't think I am going to actually disagree with any of your comments.
My focus within the article was on evaluating performance with a view to optimising future marketing performance, not evaluating how much to pay the advertisers. In my mind, these are two different things. You could evaluate the performance of an affiliate campaign that was to drive visitors to print a voucher based on the number of vouchers redeemed (effectiveness of campaign) but pay the affiliate on the basis of the number of click throughs to the website or the number of vouchers printed within 7 days of a click on the affiliate site, etc (agreed payment trigger). Especially as the predefined success action might be at a later stage in the purchase process and therefore somewhat out of control of the advertiser, it makes sense to evaluate in different ways.
I also agree that understanding how touch points work together across channels as part of the user's path to conversion would be incredibly valuable information, I just don't think it is possible to capture data that will lead to this understanding. I gave some of the reasons why this data either can't be captured or linked up across channels and even if all of the data was available, it would be difficult to accurately tie the data to a person's (ir)rational behaviour.
Instead I think we should give up on campaign attribution as a method for optimising future campaigns (still useful for paying advertisers and regular performance reporting). The alternative I am currently suggesting is to evaluate each channel against success actions that reflect the reason for investing in that channel along with the ROI for the total marketing campaign. The best way of understanding how multiple channels work together currently appears to me to be testing different variations (with a bit of econometric modelling thrown in).
This is the kind of post that's right in my wheel house. Although many traditional advertising firms don't want to be measured and certainly don't want to be held accountable for the success of the ads they create and/or place, that's exactly what every company should be demanding. Ultimately, if it can't be measured it can't be managed, so you should be constantly evaluating, measuring, and adjusting all of your marketing efforts. Over time you should gain the intelligence you need to fine tune your marketing strategy and have your finger on the pulse of your audience. This will allow you to spend your marketing dollars much more effectively, reduce your costs, increase your revenue, or both. Brett Relander Tactical Marketing Labs @BrettRelander


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Theoretically, students should go to school and learn simply for the sheer love of learning and the knowledge that studying hard will eventually land them a good paying job (though that assumption is getting harder and harder to prove in these current economic times).
But is learning for the love of learning and a promise of a brighter future enough?
Or, should we pay our students to learn?
Isn't Paying Them Just a Form of Bribery?
Some may argue that paying students to get good grades, whether they are elementary, middle school, high school or even college students, is akin to bribery. These people worry that students will always expect a reward for every good action and test and that they won't be intrinsically motivated to study just for the sake of learning.
While there is some truth to this concern, the simple fact is that not everyone is a good student.
Continue Reading


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Friend's Email:
Subject: I have found a CD that I think you would enjoy
|Stan Getz
At Storyville (24bt) (Mlps)
Genres: Jazz, Pop
24bit digitally remastered Japanese limited edition in an LP-style slipcase.
Larger Image
CD Details
Album Description
24bit digitally remastered Japanese limited edition in an LP-style slipcase.
CD Reviews
NO ONE BLOWS like this anymore!
James E. Scalise | Downers Grove, IL | 11/30/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a Live date that came along between the Bop era and Cool jazz. It was one of those rare times when everybody came to play.
Along with the leader GETZ is: JIMMY RANEY, AL HAIG, TEDDY KOTICK
and TINY KAHN. These white boys could BURN! To hear this with today's recording equipment would really be somethin', but none the less you'll DIG IT. These guys were tight and inspire each other on every cut. STAN was the MAN! A TRUE JAZZ GEM!!"


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2015 Green Honor Roll Finalists
Every year, to celebrate Earth Day, GXT Green recognizes leaders in sustainability. These include companies, organizations, individuals, and educational institutions. This year, we had a strong list of 11 nominees contending. We are excited to announce the following 5 finalists for the 5th annual GXT Green Honor Roll.
And the winners are...
Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation:
The Blue Ocean Society, located in Portsmouth NH, offers boundless efforts to protect marine mammals in the Gulf of Maine through education, research and conservation. Marine Naturalists Jen Kennedy and Dianna Schulte formed the Blue Ocean Society in 2000 with a mission to inspire activism to improve our environment, and protect marine mammals. They run an educational facility in Hampton Beach NH which helps children learn about sea animals including a "touch tank" museum. In addition, their actions include regular volunteer beach cleanups along the NH coast. Since 1993, Blue Ocean Society has collected over 62 tons of debris from beaches! And just to be sure that they don't make matters worse if some of their cleanup bags blow away, they use ECOgrade photodegradable bags for all of their cleanup sessions. http://blueoceansociety.org/
The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences:
Manomet is a nonprofit organization with more than 30 scientists and staff working from the north slope of Alaska to the southern tip of Argentina. Manomet's mission is to conserve natural resources for the benefit of wildlife and human populations. Through research and collaboration, Manomet builds science-based, cooperative solutions to environmental problems. Among their prominent programs is their Grocery Stewardship Certification (GSC), a practical, proven environmental certification program to help grocery store leadership reduce their environmental footprint through continuous improvement and employee engagement. This group is actively educating grocers on how to become more sustainable in all of their practices. https://www.manomet.org/
MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative:
The Sustainability Initiative at MIT Sloan is built on the promise of a new future. They believe that environmental, societal, economic, business, and personal wellbeing are parts of an interconnected whole. They are committed to creating a new vision for progress and prosperity and a world that will flourish and thrive for generations. They empower students, faculty, researchers, and business leaders to join together in this endeavor. http://mitsloan.mit.edu/sustainability/
Tops Markets:
Tops Markets' home base is in Buffalo, NY. According to ECOwatch, Buffalo is #6 and nearby Rochester is the #4 greenest city in the US. Tops is well integrated into this environment. In 2014, Tops converted all of their distribution center lighting to LEDs. This $1.1 million investment has reduced energy usage by 2/3. In addition, they converted their tractor fleet of 55 vehicles to run on CNG (compressed natural gas), reducing carbon emissions by 50%. To further their commitment in 2015 , they are initiating an even more visible "green program", considering replacement of their paper and plastic bags with ECOgrade degradable bags. http://www.topsmarkets.com/
University of Massachusetts, Lowell:
According to the Boston Globe "UMass Lowell is among the nation's leading centers for plastics technology, and its Plastics Engineering program...is helping to push new boundaries of how these versatile materials are used, produced and processed." This includes experimentation on ways to improve the sustainability of plastics and development/enhancement of sustainable plastic replacements. We applaud their continued investment in developing sustainable solutions to plastic pollution and oil dependency. UMass Lowell is dedicated to making the world a better place. http://www.uml.edu/Engineering/Plastics/default.aspx
Please join GXT Green in congratulating these organizations for their efforts.
To see the full list of nominees, as well as winners for previous years, please click on the links below:
Full list of GXT Green 2015 Honor Roll Nominees
GXT Green 2014 Honor Roll Winners
GXT Green 2013 Honor Roll Winners
GXT Green 2012 Honor Roll Winners
GXT Green 2011 Honor Roll Winners


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Change Font Smoothing Settings in Mac OS X
Mac OS X 10.6 simplified the font smoothing (anti-aliasing) for Mac OS X and all apps within it, but for some the change is unwelcome. If you feel like your screen looks different, it probably does, and the change can be very profound on certain LCD displays. Using the Terminal we can adjust the font smoothing to the same precision that we could prior to 10.6, so launch the Terminal and enter the following command:
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 2
the 2 on the end is for medium smoothing which used to be called 'best for flat panel', 1 is for light smoothing, and 3 is for strong smoothing. After you execute the command you'll want to reload the Finder and other apps that are open to see the changes in effect, you can reload the Finder by killing it:
killall Finder
Now your font smoothing will be reflected in the settings you chose.
I found this hint on MacWorld, where the author was complaining of the way fonts looked in 10.6 on his Hackintosh Dell Mini 10v, the changes are very profound on smaller screens and the improvement was very nice on my Hackintosh Netbook (an Acer Aspire) as well.


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These are a list of shops that have been found useful for supplying model train gear.
The most famous hobby shop in Australia since 1940's. Stock not only trains but RC planes and boats etc. Very limited range of Australian rolling stock. Site is being re-done as of August 2010.
Tinkering Tools Online Store stockist and supplier of hobby & craft tools. We have a great range of products sourced from local and overseas suppliers. We take pride in offering a selection of good quality products for all your creative needs & ideas. .
A general hobby Shop located at 21a Swanston St, Melbourne CBD. Has a good supply of Victorian model railway kits plus ready to run locos and rolling stock.


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It was too late for Man --
But early, yet, for God --
Creation -- impotent to help --
But Prayer -- remained -- Our Side --
How excellent the Heaven --
When Earth -- cannot be had --
How hospitable -- then -- the face
Of our Old Neighbor -- God --
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Poem: 623.
It was too late for Man --
Volume: Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson
Year: Published/Written in 1955
Poem of the Day:
Sep 5 2015
Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, It was too late for Man --, has received one comment so far. Click here to read it, and perhaps post a comment of your own.
More Poems
(1775 poems)
Emily Dickinson books


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The New 8-week Cholesterol Cure
Portland, OR (PRWEB) July 1, 2008
The latest paperback release of Robert E. Kowalski's healthy blood pressure book coincides with the launch of an improved website and two new Endurance Products. Frequently touted by Kowalski in his books "The Blood Pressure Cure" and "The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure," Endurance Products have long been helping people gain control of their health. At the new website, EnduranceProducts.com, customers will find valuable information regarding heart health and two new heart-friendly products that join the already comprehensive supply of their proprietary dietary supplements that can help naturally lower cholesterol, provide energy, battle free radical damage, and support better overall health.
Originally published in 1987, "The New 8-week Cholesterol Cure" and most recently "The Blood Pressure Cure: 8 Weeks to Lower Blood Pressure without Prescription Drugs" cited Endurance Products as the best source for the immediate release Phytosterols along with SR niacin to promote healthy cholesterol and SR L-Arginine needed to help readers comfortably attain healthy blood pressure levels.
In the book, Robert E. Kowalski describes how Endurance Products is the provider of "the best formulation of my favorite method of promoting healthy blood pressure, EP® L-Arginine 350mg Sustained Release." A paperback edition of the book, released in April, encourages readers to take advantage of the high-quality, sustained release, competitively priced products manufactured and sold at the new website EnduranceProducts.com.
The advantages of a sustained release tablets can be found outlined both in Kowalski's books and on the Endurance Products website. Confirmation of the desirability of Endurance Products by Robert E. Kowalski has attracted many to the site: "Sustained Release, Immediate Release or Chewable…The right delivery makes a difference!"
It was Innovite Inc. that developed a novel wax matrix (vegetable source) sustained-release tabletting process with L-Arginine. The supplement material intended to support healthy blood pressure levels, or for other purposes, is compressed into tablets and released uniformly and continuously into the system, while a cold-extrusion technique furthers the material's stability profiles. Untouched by heat, moisture, and solvents during extrusion, Innovite Inc's manufactured products maintain maximum potency and quality.
To learn more about any of the Endurance Products or books by Robert E. Kowalski on healthy blood pressure, visit EnduranceProducts.com.
About Endurance Products:
Since 1976, parent company Innovite, Inc. and its offshoot Endurance Products have been custom manufacturing bulk nutritional supplements. The company specializes in advanced tabletting technology with one area of concentration being the successful development of effective Sustained Release products that support efforts to achieve and maintain healthy blood pressure levels.


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Helsinki in Frames - Hakaniemi - Pitkäsilta bridge - Picture 1/2 - http://www.hel2.fi/kaumuseo/helsinkiinframes/hakaniemi/pitkas...
from Bookmarklet1
eivindn liked this
"With the move from the Old Town to Vironniemi in 1640, the city needed a better road network. The route north went across the wooden Pitkäsilta bridge over the Kaisaniemi bay to the island of Siltasaari. Up until the late-19th century Siltasaari was an island in more than name: it was joined to the mainland by two wooden bridges. One was the Pitkäsilta bridge and the other the Pikkusilta, or 'little bridge'. When the strait between Hakaniemi and Siltasaari was filled at the end of the 1800's, the Pikkusilta bridge fell redundant and was demolished. Pitkäsilta had originally referred to the longer of the two bridges. The present three-arched granite bridge was finished in 1912. Industry brought large working-class neighbourhoods to the north of Pitkäsilta. At the turn of the century there were already almost 20,000 inhabitants. The city plan for Kallio and Sörnäinen dates back to 1901." · silpol


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The new video from Congo-born, Belgium-based rapper Baloji is out now ahead of his forthcoming EP 64 Bits and a Malachite, set to be released in October. "Capture" is one of the first tracks off the release and features rising South African star Petite Noir and Kinshasa-based singer Muanza. His style mixes Congolese soukous with rap and a touch of American soul, funk and R&B.
Written and produced alongside Metronomy's Olu, the video is set in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Shot and created by the young rapper himself, it's a moving portrayal and celebration of Baloji's birthplace.
64 Bits and a Malachite will be launching alongside Baloji's malachite eyewear collection created in collaboration with Komono.


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Visit us at HIGH POINT MARKET from APR 14 – 18, 2018….we are at FP-215
We offer a complete range of fine quality leather stationary and motion upholstery.
Our collection is all about comfort, style, quality, vibrant colors, exquisite detailing, and brilliant leather finishing.
What customers are saying about us
Jai says:
"Couch is really comfortable. It also reclines to a point where we can use it as another guest bed. I've fallen asleep on it several times when watching TV. Color is really nice…."
Mimsy says:
"I love this loveseat. It's beautiful, well made and so comfy!"
Lei (from NJ) says:
"Very nice style and excellent quality. The firmness of cushions just fit what we wanted. Good service and delivered earlier than we expected"
Kathy (from NJ) says:
"I looked at many leather sofas on Amazon and also other home decor/furniture websites….I liked this one the best for leather quality and the dimensions of the sofa and loveseat. The furniture is beautiful, high quality. Very well made. Leather is gorgeous. I would describe it as a very dark burgundy, almost black. If you want a lighter color, Amax has other furniture that is brown and light brown. The sofas are comfortable and the seat cushions are comfortably firm. Not hard and not soft, just right for us. We would highly recommend AMAX leather furniture…."
Rebekah Whirledge says:
"I bought this sofa sight unseen with no reviews, which made me a little nervous. I don't leave many reviews, but they are helpful so hopefully I can help others out when considering purchasing this sofa. The sofa was delivered in one huge box, but took only about 20 minutes to assemble with a few people helping. I've had it for just a day now, so I'll have to update this review in the long term, but so far I am very happy with my purchase! The leather is a nice, rich dark brown. I'd say it's slightly darker than the photos suggest on Amazon. Seats are firm, but comfortable – very supportive. Back cushions are softer than the seats, so you sink nicely into them. The cushions all have Velcro on the backs to stick them in place, so they are not leather all around. Be aware that this a slightly smaller sofa/chaise than maybe what would be normal. Three people can fit comfortably on it. My husband, who is 6′ 2″, can sit on the chaise with his legs out and his feet stick out over the edge of the chaise just slightly. That's not a big deal for us though. I'm looking forward to many years spent watching Netflix on this sofa! So far, I give it 5 stars!"
Gary Hobbs says:
"This is a well-made leather couch and was easily worth the money I paid."
Viki Whitner (from Marietta, OK) says:
"I love this loveseat. It's beautiful, well made and so comfy!"
A. Thomas says:
"Love this sectional, was the grey I have been looking for. Fits well in the space provided. Very comfortable and love the idea that each piece lets out to almost full bed. Love it."
Ondina (from NY) says:
"LOVE this sectional! I have a short wall and had difficulty finding a full leather sectional with recliners that would fit until the Burbank! Its a petite sectional that is great for small spaces! Very comfortable and the recliners are fabulous! The leather is very nice, good quality and the color is a beautiful rich brown! Very very happy with this sectional! PS the delivery was seamless!"
Dahabo (from Apple Valley, MN) says:
"I love this furniture it looks great and elegant."
Maritza (from Marietta, GA) says:
"This is a beautiful chair, I love it!. Great quality! I'm definitively happy with this item."
Anita (from CA) says:
"I really like this sectional. I love the console on the loveseat. There are two plug outlets and also 2 USB plugs. There is plenty of room in the console. The reclining chairs are great. I absolutely love the middle drawer on the sofa."
Rebecca (from Orem, UT) says:
"This sofa is very comfortable and looks/feels great quality! Definitely worth the price. I have gotten so many compliments on it since i have put it in my home. very elegant."
Mathew (from Furlong, PA) says:
"We are so very happy with this sofa set. It is absolutely perfect for our new home. We highly recommend it."
Jessica (from Gardiner, MT) says:
"…it arrived very well packaged with no damage. We love the set so far. It's very comfortable and looks great. Everyone has been commenting on the quality."


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Porto Spritzer
If you like it, save it!
Save and organize all of the stuff you love in one place.Got it!
If you like something…
Click the heart, it's called favoriting. Favorite the stuff you like.Got it!
Author Notes: With some clients, we had gone for a porto tasting at The Château Frontenac's famous Champlain restaurant. It's host, Mr. Perreira, a legend in Quebec, was the one leading the tasting. This was his last drink... I was so impressed to attend such an event, and was even more so when we learned he had passed away a few weeks after. Cheers! —sisabelle
Serves: 1
ounces White porto
Mineral water
splashes Lime juice
- Put some ice in a short glass
- Add 2-3 ounces of white porto
- Top with mineral water
- Complete with a splash or two (or three!) of lime
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Spring Refresher
More Great Recipes:
Cocktail|5 Ingredients or Fewer|Vegan|Vegetarian|Spring|Summer