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Preview: Minecraft
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The game, the phenomenon, the blocks.
definitely an amazing game with tons of potential. i just hope he adds tooltips for the final version...
I jumped on a couple months ago... still looking for time to really play it. Luckily the community is awesome and keeps reminding me to come back.
Woo! But i hate to admit that i get bored every once in a while, then the next day i find something new to do.
So wait.. Is it supposed to be game?
Pretty good for a game still in Alpha.
I'm so very much on the fence about this. I do love me some Lego building, but I dunno, it just doesn't seem like it'd be more than a diversion rather than a real game. I know that it's because it is in beta still, but something tells me it isn't planning on getting much more complex because that would dilute the point of it all. I've read the articles posted, and looked at the pretty and awe inspiring things people have built, and I know I lack both the talent and drive to do any of that stuff. I mean, I'm the kid who builds what's on the box of Legos using the instructions and then leaves it together, I've never really been the inventive type I suppose. Guess I can just continue to observe from a far and hope that Notch and his new company continue to be successful in what they do.
it seems like a pass time more than anything to me....i played it (i dont know if i was playing a demo version because i could only build with certain blocks....didn't have the freedom that showed in the video) and got hooked in it pretty quickly (i started to build a castle >.>)....but i havent gone back to it be because i didn't have time to but also because i am not that motivated to go to it....now im not saying it is a bad game...i think its a great idea which gives plenty of freedom but doesn't seem like it's that engaging of a game to have somebody come back to it often
I also watched davidr64yt's series on Youtube but I did not try the game yet, I probably never will.
Nice preview, thanks!
Things get a lot more complicated once you start using redstone stuff to make electricity - I spent a good chunk of a Sunday once wiring up my castle doors to open up on various switches around the grounds.
It does lose its appeal in singleplayer after awhile though but if you find a good multiplayer server it becomes awesome - I highly recommend it.
How does the combat work in Minecraft exactly?
The monsters come out(usually at night.) and you right click to attack. You can build swords out of various materials(The better the grade the better damage the sword outputs. So Rock>Wood) you can also build bows. That's about it.
You can also build armor of various kinds to reduce how much damage you take. Those also take the same form of Rock>Wood.)
There's also(Also!) some people who've made traps that usually explode either killing the monsters outright or dropping them into a hole they can't get out of. But those are a little more complicated.
There's no Light>Dark or Ice>Fire type additives to the combat. It's really just that simple.
Click + hold, then point at things until they die.
I've tried minecraft classic, does that mean the full game will run fine on my PC?
Such a great game!
Might I shamelessly plug in our very own Minecraft Usergroup?
Also, we have a server! www.escapecraft.com
See you there!
I would say yes. There is a very small chance it may change in the long run, but it should work exactly as Classic did.
I need to stop being lazy and buy this game. I used o play this allot when it was free.
This game is awesome, although I've only played the Alpha so far. It's great for killing some time.
This looks like the best way to creativly waste time on irrelevant online "game". I rahter play a game with clear purpouse - and no online game ever had a good one.
Id say that this is the Perfect game for Creative Maniacs and simple game players.
The hing is: you also can put the difficulty to a point where no Monsters spawn, sounds boring, but the world of Minecraft (the one generated) will still give you enought threads to handle like damn deep cavers where you can get quite easily lost like in a natural grown labyrith or build Structures that make other players go Bwuah? O.o.
I like this game, somehow love it to have a Huge game world that gives me honestly EVERY F-ING Possibility and tells me: GO NUTS! Build Stuff or Burn down an Entire forest.
As for a Sandbox game, if you wanna call it that way, it gives you yet the most freedom of all games yet seen I think.
@Badwolf14: Seemes like you played the fully Creativity mode where you dont have to harvest your stuff and cant die and such, thats for... just running wild in the Big Scale.
The greatest thing about this game really is the multiplayer (as bugged as it is). Getting a bunch of friends on a server, all going on a Mumble/Teamspeak/Ventrilo/etc. server and building stuff together is such fun. Our clan has a server and we all have the ability to spawn things, but we're currently doing a joint project to re-create 2fort better than anyone else on YouTube has (based more on materials than the colours, and actually measuring the dimensions in game so it all fits perfectly.
Alpha is still the most recent version, just so you know.
I think the game will kick into high gear for me when survival multiplayer is solid (the Robinson Crusoe gambit is only fun so long), and if we could dial the difficulty a bit more (for whatever reason, day 2 I will *always* be surrounded by spiders and creepers - I'd love to be able to choose "give me gobs of zombies and nothing else").
I love Minecraft. I was recently made single and two months ago I had my account locked by choice. For those two months I have been playing Minecraft.
Now it's still an alpha, no real NPCs, no quests or anything because an alpha is for testing the stability of the game world. That's why it's so slim at the moment, Notch is literally getting the world working.
I recently came up with the idea of wooden scaffolding, I'm building a sky castle and when I'm done I'm going to burn away the scaffolding and use a tree plantation on the roof to access the surface world. Literally burning my bridges should stop creepers!
i love that game. the multiplayer is awesome, i built a big city with some friends.
I've been watching a bunch of "Let's Play"s and other such videos about Minecraft on youtube for a while now and I'm finding myself wanting to get into it more and more. While it does look like at points I may get bored with it, I find the idea of just exploring around and seeing what's been generated in my own little "world" to be very interesting.
Even though multiplayer is missing a lot of the single player features, building stuff in the same world as other people is way more fun
Check out the minecraft escapist group group
We have active server ops who police against griefing, tons of server mods to make life easier, and a great server that can handle 30-40 players without too much lag.
Very nice review, turned most of the rather open-minded opinions about it into coherent arguments, both pro and contra.
As for my opinion on the game itself, I enjoy it as much as I enjoyed my Legos when I was 6. Being able to put all and every creative thought you have lingering in your mind when you think "What could I do with an infinite amount of blocks?" might not be everyone's cup of tea, but when more and more storydriven games leave you with the feeling that that last confrontation could've gone different had you been given more freedom, this is the exact oposite. You get no narrative, no objectives, just building blocks in the most literal sense, for better or worse.
A game that lets you hollow out a volcano to build your base is pretty cool.
A game that lets you pour lava through a mountain using nought but a bucket to make your own volcano which you then make a base in is the kind of game for me.
It's a game you play for a few hours then stop for a bit. Then suddenly you get an idea of what you want to make! So you come back and play for a few hours again. I wouldn't really call it a "game" as I feel it's more of the blank canvas sort. So far I have built a railroad, fort, treehouse, treehouse library, lava house, castles, docks, lighthouses, underwater tunnels, and so much more. I enjoy Minecraft, and will love to see it blossom and evolve.
Best Indie EVER! Must buy for all. :)
You can right click to attack with a sword?
Hey some of these clips are from the escapist server <3
i was really hoping that this would have somethign more than talkinga bout the current alpha.
Thanks, we all know this from twenty different other articles and vids and millions of forum posts. Thnx a lot?
Still bores the crap out of me and had the same appeal runescape did
if I want a GOOD game about CUBES I'll play Cubivore
in fact I wonder what would happen if I gave Cubivore to a minecraft fan... Hmm...
I'm not sure I agree on the point of making the gameplay more focused on objectives, I must say. The minute you start doing that is the minute you start to constrain what sort of buildables are viable towards your success. Minecraft is a blank canvas and a creative tool; putting in arbitrary objectives would actually take a lot of the creativity - and the fun - out of the game for me. Especially in multiplayer.
I think there's a certain case to be made for making the world more accessible to newbies. When I first consulted the wiki (which is itself not particularly well-organised) and found out that to create most of the more complex items I had to create a specific item in the smaller inventory window, which I had only barely registered in and of itself, and then place that item on the floor, right-click and then order more items in a specific configuration...my gut reaction was "How the crap was I meant to figure that out intuitively?"
Some work could definitely be done on that aspect of the game before it proceeds into beta (because with this type of thing, a truly 'finished product' is unlikely.)
And SO close to my floating "pyramid" too :(
Though I'm even more sad he didn't include a clip of the "Tomb of Russ Pitts" just for the sake of it ;D
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Bhangra.me: Vancouver's Bhangra Story
Thursday, May 5, 2011 to Sunday, January 1, 2012
Bhangra.me: Vancouver's Bhangra Story, is an interactive exhibition that chronicles Bhangra music, dance and politics in Vancouver. From dance teams in the 70s, to international DJs in 2011, this exhibit features Vancouver's unique Bhangra story. Play instruments, listen to local DJ-curated playlists, read about Bhangra's connection to social protest, and dance in the Performance Lounge.
Co-produced by Museum of Vancouver and Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration Society, Bhangra.me has been extended to run until January 1, 2012. The first museum exhibition of its kind of Canada, Bhangra.me attempts to interpret and understand what Bhangra means to people in Vancouver. Bhangra – and by extension the greater story of South Asians in Vancouver - is deeply intertwined with Vancouver's own story.
Bhangra.me is co-curated by Curator of Contemporary Issues, Viviane Gosselin, and Guest Curator, Naveen Girn. Designed by local designers, Propellor Studio, the exhibition was created from original interviews, archival video footage, personal photo albums, community consultations, and support from Vancouver's Bhangra community. Over 55 interviews and 100 hours of documentary footage have been compiled by Cultural Researcher and Guest Curator Naveen Girn.
Share your Bhangra story. Interact online with the Bhangra.me Story Map at bhangra.me.


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Another week and yet another incident allowing football fans to again see just how silly the FA operate, or in this past weekend's case, fails to operate. Reminiscent of a clumsy, bumbling teenager attempting to un-hook his first bra strap aged 16 because of their historical callowness, the FA possess neither the ability to make an unpopular decision or the ability to re-write their own rules thus allowing common sense to prevail.
On Saturday, attempting his best George St-Pierre impersonation, Manchester United's Wayne Rooney bludgeoned Wigan's James McCarthy proper elbow to the head style during United's eventual 0-4 away win. The issue, even more vital than the incident itself (which was shocking and ridiculous by definition), was that referee Mark Clattenburg in fact witnessed the infraction yet deemed his actions in only awarding Wigan a free kick "appropriate".
It's at this point where we begin to pick up the pieces, attempt to reassemble them and form coherent thought over the whole matter. While the three parties involved – Rooney, Clattenburg and the FA – are all guilty in some shape or form, it's the sum of the absurdity that assigns the Rooney-Clattenburg incident as one of the most laughable ever.
By Clattenburg's own admission, the 35-year-old witnessed Rooney throw a haymaker of an elbow to the head of McCarthy yet somehow failed to deem the action violent conduct which would have witnessed the 25-year-old England striker miss massive matches the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool away this week and a third – likely a home FA Cup tie Vs. Arsenal.
Because Clattenburg blew a call that could have severely injured a Premier League player, the FA, under their very own laws, are left powerless to defy Clattenburg's initial opinion. When viewed as a simple mathematical equation, football fans and head-scratchers the world over are left with something resembling this:
Wayne Rooney's elbow + Mark Clattenburg's eye = FA fail
At best and when given the benefit of the doubt, Clattenburg may have witnessed only half of the incident because of the fact that it did in truth happen off the ball which only places the proverbial ball in the court of the FA to use common sense. United fans and Rooney devotees may scoff at these sentences but when the red-shaded glasses are removed from their eyes, they'll see an obvious infraction of rules resulting in a violent offense which should have led to a three match suspension.
Just because the referee didn't witness the incident in its entirety doesn't mean it failed to transpire. It's for this very reason, and because of the power of video technology, that the FA must soon consider at minimum a tweaking of rules and at maximum an overhaul or risk even more ridicule from the world football community.


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A HUSBAND-and-wife team will show visitors around Paul McCartney and John Lennon's childhood homes when they reopen next weekend.
Sylvia Hall will take over as custodian of 20 Forthlin Road, where Paul McCartney grew up, following the departure of the house's only previous custodian last year.
Mrs Hall's husband, Colin, is the custodian at John Lennon's childhood home, Mendips.
Mrs Hall, a former teacher, has been working as a full-time author and recently published a novel called Circle of Fire.
The National Trust, which owns both the properties last night said Mrs Hall had been appointed in a temporary capacity and that a search would be launched for a new permanent custodian later this season.
The last resident tour guide, John Halliday, had lived and worked at 20 Forthlin Road since the property opened to the public in 1998. He left the job in November a few days before the end of the 2010 season and Mrs Hall also acted as temporary custodian then.
She has also worked at Mendips, where she lives with her husband.
Mrs Hall said: "I'm really excited about welcoming visitors to 20 Forthlin Road.
"It's an iconic house with a wonderful story to tell – and of course we have Mike McCartney's fantastic collection of family photographs on display as well as other Beatles' memorabilia."
Mr Hall has spent the closed season researching the guitars that Lennon would have played and owned while at Mendips, and the music he would have listened to as a teenager.
He said: "It's an exciting time. There's a distinct buzz in the air and a feeling of anticipation which is gathering momentum as we head towards opening.
"Mendips and 20 Forthlin Road are only closed for 3 months from end November to end February, and the time goes really quickly.
"I'm now making sure that any last minute jobs are completed before the house opens to the public on Saturday February 26."
The National Trust said that advance bookings were up 30% on this time last year. The two houses attracted 17,000 visitors last year.


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SoHo Food And Jazz
- SoHo Food And Jazz 5290 Belt Line Road Dallas, TX, 75254 United States (map)
This is a public event.
Source:: SoHoFoodAndJazz.com
- Posted in Restaurant/Bar
- Tagged addison music, dallas music, live music
Official website for the Dallas based musician. #LuqMusic
The official website for musician Luqman Rashada. This site provides various content from Luqman, including audio, videos, and photos.
This is a public event.


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It just so happens that our neighbors are in the market for a clock that's even easier to break than normal clocks, which means we'll actually have an excuse to come over this time to check out the hot wife. The clock itself is made of two plates of glass, one of which is a mirror, attached together by four rods.
Although it looks great, the glass on glass design guarantees it will shatter the instant it gets too heavy for the piddly mounts you hang this with. Which is actually why they want this thing: they really hate their baby.
Product Page [Ezstyle via Nerd Approved]


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Full name Shaun Edwards
Born October 18, 1966, Wigan
Current age 53 years 32 days
Major teams Wasps, Wales
Other Coach
Shaun Edwards rose to prominence as one of the finest rugby league players in Britain during the 1980s and 1990s. Since his halcyon days as scrum-half for Wigan and Great Britain in the 13 man code, Edwards has forged a hugely successful career as a rugby union coach.
Edwards' rugby league career began with a high-profile contract with Wigan, signed on his 17th birthday. He followed his father Jack into the sport after having skippered England Schools U16 in both league and union.
In a hugely successful career, Edwards won nine Challenge Cups and eight Championships with Wigan while also notching 36 caps for Great Britain and captaining England in the opening game of the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.
His break in union came with a job as backs coach of London Wasps under the stewardship of Director of Rugby Nigel Melville. Edwards struck up a winning partnership with Kiwi Head Coach Warren Gatland, one that would later have a huge bearing on much of his success.
Edwards helped turn Wasps from Premiership also-rans into giants of the domestic game and alongside Leicester Tigers the most successful English club of the professional era.
During his time with Wasps Edwards has presided over a Heineken Cup win, a European Challenge Cup win and three Premiership titles, including the 2008 victory over Leicester at Twickenham.
Edwards joined Wales in 2008 following the appointment of Gatland to the post of Head Coach. As assistant coach he was responsible for dragging a meandering and disjointed Welsh side back to the heights scaled in 2005.
Edwards introduced a rugged and explosive brand of rush defence to Wales, and almost overnight their soft-centre was removed, leaving a hungry and hard-tackling unit. In Edwards' first game with Wales they laid to rest their Twickenham hoodoo with a daring comeback in the opening game of the 2008 Six Nations.
Five weeks later Wales had lifted the Six Nations trophy at a jubilant Millennium Stadium, with Edwards' defence the meanest in tournament history. Wales shipped only two tries over the course of five games.
A disappointing showing in the first summer Test against the Springboks later in 2008 showed Gatland and Edwards the distance they had yet to travel as coaches with Wales, and in the autumn of 2008 they will pitch their charges against the Wallabies and All Blacks respectively for the first time.
Edwards' gruff demeanour and hard-man looks give away little of the thoughtful and measured presence that he has become in both dressing room and in the media. His work with Wales and Wasps led in late 2008 to his selection as a coach for the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa under Wasps Director of Rugby Ian McGeechan.The Lions ultimately lost a thrilling series 2-1 to South Africa but, along with many of the players involved, Edwards' reputation continued to rise.
However Edwards endured a couple of disappointing seasons with Wasps and Wales as both sides threatened to stagnate. And Edwards found himself in trouble during the 2011 Six Nations after a scuffle with Fergus Connolly, who was also part of Wales' back-room staff.
The incident was swiftly put behind the pair and Edwards went on to play a crucial role as defensive coach as Wales went on to reach the semi finals of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand - largely based on their remorseless defensive efforts.
Following the World Cup, Edwards parted company with Wasps and was linked with a role in the England set up but he committed his future to Wales.
And that decision paid dividends as he helped guide them to a historic Grand Slam alongside Warren Gatland.
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Baby Boomers Pick Stronger Passwords than Millennials
Millennials are generally more tech savvy and comfortable with taking advantage of online services, compared to the rest of the population. Their confidence may be displaced, as a new study seems to show that the graying Baby Boomers have them beat when it comes to password security.
Internet users who were 55 years old and over picked passwords that were twice as strong as those picked by those under 25 years old, according to a recent study from the University of Cambridge. While weak passwords were prevalent across every demographic group studied, there was a general trend towards better and stronger online passwords as users got older, wrote Joseph Bonneau, a researcher with the university's computer laboratory.
The study examined a set of approximately 70 million passwords provided by Yahoo and applied various techniques to determine password strength. The accounts were anonymized and researchers had access to only the password hashes to protect individual privacy and data.
"There is a general trend towards better password selection with users' age, particularly against online attacks," Bonneau wrote.
Another interesting trend: Users who preferred to speak German and Korean tended to pick the strongest passwords. Indonesian speakers picked the weakest.
Who Picked Stronger Passwords?
Based on the analysis, it was clear there was "no good population of users" which wasn't vulnerable to guessing attacks. Gender-based differences were slight. Age was a better predictor of password strength, according to Bonneau.
There were other indicators of the type of users who pick better passwords. Users who actively change their passwords on a regular basis, login infrequently, or log in from multiple locations all tended to pick relatively strong passwords. There was a weak trend showing that users who clicked on the "Forgot password?" link to recover the password may reset to a better password. However, users who had to have their passwords manually set after reporting their accounts had been hacked did not select better passwords, the study found.
We tend to think that people choose stronger passwords when protecting accounts that contain financial data, such as online banking or shopping accounts with credit card numbers. That may not be the case, as Bonneau found that users who used Yahoo's online retail platform still chose weak passwords (just not the weakest).
From a usability standpoint, whether or not the user was prompted with a minimum password policy when selecting a password seemed to make no difference, Bonneau found. Yahoo has slightly different login forms across its services, but one has no minimum length requirement and doesn't offer any guidance, while another forces a 6-character minimum and displays a graphical indicator on password strength. Depending on the string entered, the indicator would tell the user if it was weak or strong.
Increasing password requirements or requiring better passwords for more important accounts "only seem to nudge users away from the weakest passwords," the study found.
We always recommend selecting unique passwords and strong ones for each of your online accounts. If the list gets too long, check out password managers, like LastPass and Dashlane. iPhone versions and Android versions are also available.


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Breckenridge started as a mining town and is now a popular ski resort in Summit County, in Colorado. Part of the Rocky Mountains, the area provides some great opportunities for winter sport enthusiasts and also makes a great destination for a family holiday. And while skiing holidays are not generally known for being low cost trips, you can bring the cost of your holiday down considerably by booking one of the many rental homes in the area, which will free up a bit more budget for enjoying your family holiday!
The Breckenridge ski resort comprises four peaks and over 2,300 acres of skiing - most people going there on a family holiday will be looking forward to some winter sports. You can try your hand at everything from downhill slopes to cross country skiing and snowshoes, and all age and experience levels are catered for. In the summer, the area becomes a beauty spot full of hiking trails in the mountains (often accessible via the ski lifts), and you can also play golf or go cycling along trails full of wild flowers. You can also check out the area's history as a mining town in the Edwin Carter Museum, which dates back to 1875 and is thought to be the oldest museum in Colorado. For a real taste of what makes this part of Colorado unique, you can even take jeep tours out to look at ghost towns in the area - old mining towns which didn't adapt when the mines closed and have been abandoned. These eerie empty towns are a fascinating snapshot of a unique slice of history.
With a wide variety of apartments, lodges and condos available to rent in Breckenridge, there are many great deals to be found, and rental homes large enough for a family of four or more can be found from around £750 a week. In addition to being a money saving option when compared to many hotel rooms, the condos are great for kids - providing plenty of space to run around and let off steam without disturbing other tourists. If you've gone for a skiing trip to Breckenridge, younger members of the family won't be running around much outdoors unsupervised, so that extra space really comes in handy. And with all modern comforts including broadband, DVD players and LCD TVs, apartment rentals make for a much more comfortable and relaxing holiday.
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Interroll is a leading manufacturer in the motorised roller segment. RollerDrive and Controls are based on a simple principle: one motor for all applications.
Interroll RollerDrive and Controls are used in automated conveyor technology. They are based on decentralised drive technology and can thus directly ensure that systems can be adapted to individual requirements.


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Ray Park is one of those guys who's just awesome. You'd think a man hits his peak of awesomeness playing Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, arguably becoming the best part of the prequel trilogy, but Ray proved that there's no upper limit on that scale.
Since then, the lifelong martial artist has played Toad in the first X-Men film and more recently can be seen (kind of) playing Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. As Snakes Eyes, he didn't even have to speak, let alone show his face, to be the star of the film, and many want a sequel just to see more of his action sequences.
But there's another character he should have played but never got a chance to. That character is of course, Iron Fist and he still might get his chance…
Park has long been speculated to play the part of Danny Rand, the Marvel comics hero known as Iron Fist. I can't even remember how long this thing has been on IMDB with Ray Park's name attached. Park was supposed to do the film back in 2001 for Artisan Entertainment but it didn't work out and Marvel Studios got back the rights to the character.
At Chicago Comic-Con, Mr. Park was in attendance and a fan asked him what his dream role would be.
"I actually want to be Danny Rand -- I want to be Iron Fist, I want to do it... I've been blond before. I'll work on the American accent as well."
"I want to have an excuse to take my top off and show off my abs. Or, take my top off and work to get my abs back that I used to have when I was 19."
Fortunately, with Marvel Studios finally up and running and in full production with a lineup of massive films for the next few years, their production capacity is planned to increase in the near future to start covering some of the other many characters in Marvel's massive roster.
Many fans have wondered - when are we going to see Iron Fist? According to Park, when it happens, it'll likely be a team-up film with Luke Cage. This is interesting since Cage has been a character rumored about frequently online as well.
"If they ever do an Iron Fist movie, it's going to be with the two [characters] teaming up,"
It's a great idea to turn two characters that might not make for bankable solo films and combine them into something that could be. For us Park fans, it's even better to see him get a good solid acting role with some real face time.


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Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl, shows you how to build an inexpensive raised garden bed. Start are garden today. Read great companion text to the video here: www.gardengirltv.com SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE MAGAZINE: visitor.constantcontact.com
Patti Moreno, the Garden Girl, shows you how to build an inexpensive raised garden bed. Start are garden today. Read great companion text to the video here: www.gardengirltv.com SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE MAGAZINE: visitor.constantcontact.com
well said
You say Live stock…What do you mean? Great video BTW..made it look easy:)
I'd wish she'd do some updates on some of her video's. I haven't seen anything new. Nor does it seem anyone from her site respond to questions. This could be a really cool interactive channel
This from the guy who whined for 13 minutes about how cal spa wouldn't fix his hot tub after he screwed up the ph
Why the fuck are you complaining you stupid FUCK? I see you're another stupid useless douchebad who spends too much time on the internet bitching and complaining about other peoples success because you're too much of a fucking loser. Why don't you get out from under your moms bridge and go out and do something productive you JERKOFF!!!!
They are raised beds. But when her raised beds aren't in use, she keeps her livestock (chickens, Rabits, etc.) In the raised beds and their poop becomes fertilizer for the next growing season. Making the cage to hold the livestock in is completely optional so if you don't plan on buying some chickens or rabits, just stick to the script. You should watch all her instructional videos of building these so you can actually grasp the concept offered here.
Patti, build me a house will ya?
I find GardenGirl's videos to be very inspiring. I actually just started getting into vegetable and fruit gardening late last year and after doing my research decided to start out with a raised garden bed. It is about 12 ft wide X 5 ft deep X 12 inches high and was a great learning experience. The pests were the hardest and most frustrating part to deal with. Please take a look at it on my Youtube channel and give me some feedback. I love to learn from others. Thanks.
You have to see our tomatoes …..Go to my channel …… MrUrbangreen
What? These aren't gardens, they're for keeping animals.
I'm going to be building a raised bed garden, but I will be living in it. Most people call these houses but for today I'll say I'm making a raised bed garden.
Man! what's up with all the negativity??! If you don't like the content then change the darn video! And keep your rudeness to yourself! I understand people are entitled to an opinion, but that doesn't license someone to be insulting!
Yet ANOTHER do it yourselfer who gets a couple tools, someone to hold a camera and a computer and now thinks she's so awesome that she needs to do this elaborate home video (complete with Bob Villa like introduction) like shes got her own show just because YouTube is free (for the moment). Hopefully YouTube will wise up and just charge so that the world doesn't keep uploading anything and every little crazy waste of computer storage space they feel like. I'm surprised they haven't already.
How to build a box, by some broad who's kinda cute in a weird, down syndrome sort of way
Great technique! I like the stackability factor. Thank you!
I have used your steps to make six raised bed gardens. They look great! With Thanks!
Don't forget the time you spent typing your reply!
You should tie up your hair when using power tools like drills etc. Some nasty accidents can happen when long hair gets caught in power tools!
I am making one today ps you can get the supplies at the home de pot
animals need a place for shelter. They can be let out to run free during the day but need to be kept in a protected area at night. That's what cages are for. Maybe she could've used a better coice of words, such as shelter or something. Cages do make it sound harsh…
Few things though. You didn't say if you pre-drilled holes in the corner pieces where you screwed them together at the end where you connected them. Also, if you do use this for gardening boxes the corners need re-inforcement with brackets. The soil WILL cause the boxes to start coming apart from the weight of the soil inside. This title should be changed. You made it for live stock you said in video and not a garden box with soil.
nice knockers
Hi Patti
I'm a big fan, although I think everyone needs to know about this wood. I built 4 raised beds like this. Sad to say that the fire ants love it (not carpenter ants, I checked) and 3 of the 4 have major damage to them. I am going to let them go one more year and then I will be building new beds with deck composite boards (ones that are plastic engineered) and that should last 20 years. I don't want to have to build these ever 4 or 5 years. By the way, I love all your videos. Thanks
Dear Patti Moreno, I have been watching many of your videos and they are really informative and scientific. No need to mention that you are gorgeous as well.
that is the worse 4 minutes and 9 seconds i ever wasted….. really…. how to make a square box. omg. if someone cant make a square box they are flipping retarded.
Thanks for the video 🙂
I'm pretty sure that most vascular plants have specialized structures in their roots that act as a barrier to toxins. They will only let water and nutrients into the plant while filtering out toxins. So even if you built this planter out of treated wood, and the chemicals leeched into the soil, they would not end up in your food. From experience, I have two large treated wood planters in the front yard that grow many varieties of flowers with no problems. I havent grown food in them though.
I love to watch her screw the wood.
I love you garden girl. I think it is for real this time.
use stone or cement problem solved
have you tried hugelkultur?
You make it sound so easy!!
I wish!
Thank you for the info!:)
I am sure those beds will help grow some terrific cotton plants.
does health and safety exist in the USA? If that drill bit snapped it would pierce her designer sunglasses!!
not garden! garen!
Regarding Pressure Treated Wood… multiple University Extension programs have done extensive studies. I'm not aware of a single study that has found any significant issues. The chemicals in the wood are bound tightly to the wood fibers. Keep the soil PH neutral, avoid root crops like carrots being closer than 2″ to the sides for the first few years and you'll be fine. It's a personal choice, but I'd rather not kill more trees every 5 -10 years based on concerns with no supporting data.
just wanted to check on you great chanel check out our garden box
I watched some guitar movie and how the fucking hell did i end up here? o_O
Nice video but umm, everyone already knows that any precut wood other than rough cut is not really 2×4 or 2×6.
What's all this talk of chickens and small livestock? I thought this was for vegetables… So confusing.
I don't like the cutesy pie intro. Should have used that time to tell us how to prepare the site, whether to line the bottom with weed block fabric, whatever.
Thumbs up if you hate black people.
did you fill it with something? or just soil. I was thinking maybe some rocks or old pots.
Hey everyone. I want to build a raised bed next to the dog's path to his play area. I am afraid that they will get into it if is too low, so wondering how high it can be built. Most of the projects I see are only about 20″ or so. I would like something at about 4 feet. If I build it that high, what can I fill it with so I don't have to add all that soil. Would love your suggestions. Annie
You rock. Nuff said.
A nude presentation of this video would be more helpful.
Thank goodness i finally found this video. I cannot tell you how many worthless videos. Nothing but men with their saws and their egos in their yards and lots and lots and lots of talking. So thank you!!!
Pine isn't going to last very long in that application. Just an fyi, when your 2×10's were still rough cut they were 2×10, then they were planed down. You should look for rough cut cedar or redwood for this type of application.
@PeterBurgess999 Good points….she should probably remove the jewelry and while she's at it, get rid of the sunglasses and get some safety glasses with side shields and a pair of work gloves. If how-to is the intent of the video, by all means be a better example than just 'winging it'. Power tools, no matter how harmless they may look, can reach up and bite you in the ass when you least expect it.


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Wednesday, August 31, 2011
* ReCycle Craft: Milk Carton Weaving!
This recycled milk carton project was inspired
by our recycled cup weaving project!
We used the same technique as our cup weaving project.
But this time we started by cutting down two empty
and washed out cardboard 1/2 gallon milk containers.
To help the glue stick, the girls and I sanded the outside
of both cartons lightly with a sanding block.
Then, we mixed up an Elmer's white school glue and water solution
to use as homemade Mod Podge.
We painted the exterior of each container with the glue and water solution
and pressed on our paper. For the "spotty" carton we used a scrap
of old wrapping paper and the rainbow band is a strip cut off of a
tissue paper package. The other box is an old road map from the beach.
Allow the glue time to dry completely. Ours took a couple of hours.
Then, you'll need to cut even slits with a pair of scissors around the container.
I used my nice, new, sharp X-Acto brand scissors that Elmer's Glue sent us!
After that, you're ready to start weaving.
I recommend using an assortment
of yarns, threads, string for a variety of textures.
Tuck your loose ends inside the cup (or tie them together inside).
We use our cups to hold art supplies
like pens, markers, scissors, and paint brushes.
Happy Re-Cycle Crafting!
pink and green mama, MaryLea
Labels: Elmer's Glue, Mod Podge, Recycle Crafts, School Age, Weaving, Yarn
Sunday, August 28, 2011
* ReCycle Craft: Paper Cup Weaving!
This fun little project was an extension of our Elmer's Glue
Kid's craft camp fun... we had so many fun Elmer's glue project ideas
we just couldn't stop ourselves!
It's inspiration came from Gail, at That Artist Woman Blog,
she's awesome (have I told you that before?) and her cup weaving lesson
(go check them out, they're beautiful!)
Crafty play date fun!
Because crafting is more fun with friends.
For this project, we started with some paper party cups
leftover from an old birthday party.
I mixed up a batch of watered-down Elmer's white school glue
to make our own homemade Mod Podge.
The girls used foam craft brushes to apply coats of watery glue to the cups.
(don't make it too watery, keep it thick)
We used pretty paper napkins (from my paper napkin stash).
Separate the layers of the napkins, most napkins have 3 layers,
you only need the top one or two layers for this project.
Apply a thin layer of the watery glue to the cup,
then press on the napkin - you can add a tiny bit on top of the napkin if it's too dry,
but be careful because it will rip and tear easily!
We set our cups aside to dry for a couple of hours.
Then, we cut small slits evenly around the top edge of the cup.
Look closely and you'll see we made little "V" shaped cuts
into the round cups.
Then, I set out a variety of yarn and string
and showed the girls how to weave their yarn
over and under around the cups.
We tucked the loose ends inside the cups.
Sorry for the blurry "action" shots, it's tricky
to get good photos of crafts in progress!
We used fuzzy yarn, crinkly yarn, brown rope, and
different rainbow yarns.
You could use embroidery floss too!
The final cups are great as little pencil holders on our desks!
These would be great gifts for grandparents or teachers : )
Coming up next, we'll show and tell
our recycled milk carton weaving!
pink and green mama, MaryLea
Labels: Elmer's Glue, Mod Podge, Recycle Crafts, School Age, Weaving, Yarn
Thursday, August 25, 2011
* Melted Disney Princess Crayon Rainbow Canvas!
After making our melted crayon rainbow,
"C" announced that she wanted one for her room too.
I remembered this stash of Princess Crayons
(from our trip to Disney World three years ago).
They were never very fun to color with
which is why we had them leftover... now I know why,
they're made out of some kind of weird, harder wax than the crayola crayons.
I started out by gluing them to the top of our canvas (14" x14" square with wrapped edges)
with my glue gun. Had to use a lot of extra glue to secure them on the back
since they're molded figurines on top and I didn't want their heads to break off!
Then, we propped up the canvas on a stool in the art studio
and I got out my embossing (heat) gun from my stamping stash.
This was easier and faster to use than the hair dryer we used on the other project -
it also seemed to "splatter" less because the heat and air are more directed.
Open a window, this step is fumey.
See what I mean about weirdo wax?!
It's thick and clumpy and doesn't spread out! Ugh!
I started to panic that it wasn't going to work and thought the princesses looked
weird with their crayon stump bottoms!
So... to help spread the wax I grabbed a plastic gift card/hotel key
from my stash and used it to spread the hot wax with downward strokes -
like you're spreading frosting on a cake.
The plastic melts/warps a bit from the heat so you might want to use
a metal, artist's palette knife if you have one handy.
That's better.
Although the princess stumps do still look a bit weird - sort of like they are pooping rainbows...
Um, oh well. The girls like it, so I guess we'll call it done!
So there you have it, our two melty rainbow crayon canvases.
"E"'s traditional crayon rainbow and "C"'s princess crayon rainbow.
Happy Rainbow Making!
Fondly, Pink and Green Mama
Labels: Crayon Fun, Rainbow, Recycle Crafts
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
* Make a Melted RAINBOW Crayon Canvas!
My awesome bloggy friend, Meg Deurksen from Whatever blog
made one of these Rainbow Crayon Canvases with her kids this week
and it was love at first sight for me.
Rumor has it, that these have been all over Pinterest this summer
but I've been playing with my kids and had no idea what we were missing out on!
So, instead of starting dinner on Thursday night, we made this instead!
The girls helped pick colors and lined them up in order
but the rest of the project was pretty much done by me while they watched
and had a dance party in the art studio.
We started by lining up crayons along the top of a square canvas
(from our craft supply stash) to figure out our spectrum order
and to see how many we'd need. (dark photos = crafting at dinner time)
The canvas is 14" x 14" with wrapped edges.
I used my glue gun on high heat and glued the crayons down
with their color names showing.
Once all of the crayons were glued down it was time to start melting!
I propped up the canvas against a stool in the art studio and put a newspaper
down on the floor underneath to catch any drips.
I used my hairdryer on high heat (but low blowing)
and it melts them but it takes FOR-EVER.
Also, you have to play with it because the blowing air
splatters the wax if you're not careful!
Once the colors really started melting, I used the hair dryer
to heat up the canvas on the back side and get the big blobs of wax
to run all the way down to the bottom of the canvas.
I wish I'd had one of these to hang up in my art classroom,
it would have been awesome with my color wheel clock!
I love the way it looks like a Morris Louis painting!
"E" wants to hang this one in her room.
I'll show you the even girlier version we made
for her little sister's room in my next post! : )
A special thank you to my friend Meg for inspiring such a fun, COLORFUL project!
pink and green mama
Labels: Color Wheel, Crayon Fun, Mixed Media, Rainbow
Saturday, August 20, 2011
* Elmer's Back To School Giveaway!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. *My family and I received a box of school supplies from Elmer's.
We did not receive any additional compensation to write this post.*
My lovely friends over at Elmer's were generous enough to send me and the girls
some back to school supplies to get us off to the right start for this school year!
Good news for you my lovely Pink and Green Mama readers...
Elmer's is giving away a
Back to School Prize kit to one of my readers!
The kit will include:
- The all-new Elmer's X-TREME School Glue Stick
- Small foam tri-fold
- Project Popperz
- Mini bi-fold foam
- Disappearing purple glue sticks
- Gel school glue sticks
- School glue
- School glue dual tip pen
(love this for Science Fair posters!)
Comments are now closed for this giveaway.
Elmer's is embarking on a new partnership to help children in need get essential school supplies this back-to-school season through the Kids In Need Foundation, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to providing free school supplies to economically disadvantaged school children and under-funded teachers.
Good Luck!
pink and green mama, MaryLea
Help Elmer's Help Kids in Need!
Millions of kids go without school supplies every year.
Millions of kids go without school supplies every year.
Elmer's is partnering with the Kids In Need Foundation
to provide essential school supplies to students who need them the most.
For every "like" on the Elmer's Facebook page <http://www.facebook.com/elmers> through Sept. 1,
the company will donate one Elmer's product.
Plus, they will make an additional donation
for every unique view the video receives on the Elmer's Kids In Need tab.
With just one click, you will help a child in need!
*My family and I received a box of school supplies from Elmer's.
We did not receive any additional compensation to write this post.*
Labels: Elmer's Glue, Giveaway, Product Review, Sponsors
Thursday, August 18, 2011
* Permanent Marker and Watercolor Resist Weaving
As part of our Elmer's Kid's Craft Camp giveaway
we received these Project Popper permanent markers and some
nifty X-acto brand crazy cut scissors!
Here's our final project,
go back and check out our other Elmer's glue projects
from the past 2 weeks for more fun ideas to try with your kids!
I thought this would be a great project for both products.
We started out by making two almost identical drawings
with the permanent markers on some student-quality watercolor paper.
Use these markers outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, they're super stinky!
Then, have fun painting your two paintings with watercolors.
The markers are permanent so they won't bleed like water-soluble markers would,
although that might be a cool effect to try out too!
You can paint them with the same colors but I like to mix it up
and use different colors, it makes the final product more interesting.
Let your watercolor paintings dry completely (go outside and play!)
Then, we got to work cutting up our two paintings into strips
with the crazy-cut scissors (you can also use regular scissors for this step)
Cut one picture into horizontal strips.
Cut the other picture into vertical strips.
You may need to trim down a few pieces and discard some skinny bits
to make the next step work.
Now it's time to do some paper weaving.
Carefully lay out your pieces and get a glue stick ready.
We used our Elmer's glue stick of course!
This step is tricky to get started so a grown up will need to help out.
Start weaving your first/top horizontal piece of your horizontal-cut painting
across the top of your vertical-cut painting.
Over, under. Over, under...
Use a glue stick to tack down/attach each piece for this step.
Then, you'll move on to weaving the next piece of paper
over, under, over, under... in the opposite pattern as the previous piece.
Continue weaving your paintings together,
and use some glue to tack the loose ends around the perimeter.
Final project. Artsy (and fun) woven watercolor paintings.
I'll draw a name by random number generator
Comments are now closed.
Pink and Green Mama, MaryLea
All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Elmer's glue provided me and my family with a crate full of art supplies
to review and keep. I did not receive any additional compensation for this post.
Labels: Elmer's Glue, Giveaway, Markers, Product Review, School Age, Sponsors, Watercolors, Weaving
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
* Permanent Marker and Rubbing Alcohol Technique for Tie-Dying Art and Craft Aprons With Project Popperz
As part of our Elmer's Kids Craft Camp week,
the girls asked if we could make tie-dyed art aprons
with the Project Popperz markers Elmer's sent us.
We used the same technique that we used when we used
permanent markers to "tie-dye" hankies at my daughter's
2010 Rainbow Birthday Party.
My little cutie-patooties at work in the art studio
(I did have a fan going and an open window!)
The girls made patterns of dots with the Project Popperz markers
(we protected the table with layers of newspapers underneath)
Then, we carefully applied rubbing alcohol (with a pipette)
to the center of each design
and the desired tie-dyed effect is achieved!
This is a project best done in a well-ventilated area
or outdoors, the markers and alcohol are stinky!
One of our finished aprons!
(names blurred out to protect my kiddos)
The girls love having personalized aprons
now in the art studio for all of our (messy) crafty fun!
Comments are now closed for this giveaway.
pink and green mama, MaryLea
All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Elmer's glue provided me and my family with a crate full of art supplies
to review and keep. I did not receive any additional compensation for this post.
Labels: Create, Elmer's Glue, Markers, No Sew Project, Permanent Marker, Product Review, Sponsors
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- * ReCycle Craft: Milk Carton Weaving!
- * ReCycle Craft: Paper Cup Weaving!
- * Melted Disney Princess Crayon Rainbow Canvas!
- * Make a Melted RAINBOW Crayon Canvas!
- * Elmer's Back To School Giveaway!
- * Permanent Marker and Watercolor Resist Weaving
- * Permanent Marker and Rubbing Alcohol Technique f...
- * Elmer's Gel Glue Batik Aprons
- * How To Make Elmer's Glue Rainbow Glue - ReCycle ...
- * Black Glue and Watercolor Resist: How To Make Bl...
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- * Elmer's Kids Craft Camp Giveaway Week!
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Opinion | Morgan Liddick: Another lesson in the great truth of human behavior
Now we know what happens when a dilettante tries to solve intricate problems in the Middle East by "leading from behind": the problems get worse. Much worse.
Consider the horror show unfolding across Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Our hapless Secretary of State flounders through yet another round of meaningless negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, hoping to achieve something to divert attention from the train wreck of an unravelling administration. Blinded by the quest for political cover, neither he nor the president he serves seem to notice that the region is burning down around them.
We are witnessing another lesson in the great truth of human behavior: power abhors a vacuum. The festival of carnage in the Fertile Crescent is in large part due to the incompetence, weakness and vacillation of this administration's foreign policy. Barack Obama evidently meant what he said when he expressed his preference for a United States which was neither exceptional nor a leader, and we are now paying the price of his doctrine of diminishment and retreat.
Inability to achieve a status of forces agreement in Iraq was the first element in the debacle. Although we had years to achieve this important treaty, it is now clear that the current Administration had neither faith in its underlying strategic importance nor commitment enough to pursue it. Consequences included U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq and a subsequent resurgence of Sunni resistance to the Tehran-leaning Maliki government. Fighting in Fallujah, Ramadi and across Anbar province is only one symptom of what will come.
Indecision and perfidy on Syria's civil war also spread unhelpful messages. To the Russians and Iranians, refusal to enforce a clearly-stated threat was a signal that the United States was ceding the Levant to them; we were not prepared to put our military might where the president's mouth was. To Damascus, Obama's hot-potato reaction to his own "red line" was a green light to butchery of those opposing the bloody-handed regime of Bashir Assad. Armed by Moscow, aided by Tehran and Hezbollah's Shi'ite army, Assad was quick to start the slaughter.
Our Hamlet-like unwillingness to become involved was a self-fulfilling prophecy for Syrian rebels. The Obama Administration feared the secular Syrian resistance was not strong enough to force change in Damascus so it refused to supply useful armaments, particularly anti-air assets; the resistance is now being crushed by Assad's air force and Hezbollah allies. We also refused to supply arms over concern they would fall into the hands of "Islamic extremists," enhancing their power. But said extremists had other suppliers, so they rapidly supplante secular military opposition to Damascus. Our dithering brought about the very things we sought to avoid.
U.S. Middle East policy is challenging due to the absence of familiar types and common experiences; political leadership there is not well-endowed with Jeffersonian Democrats or an appreciation for Montesquieu. Consequently, we are best served by Kissingerian Realpolitik, not Carteresque wishful thinking; American presidents who navigated this maze successfully set ideological prejudice aside, admitted ignorance and listened carefully to their experts. None of these behaviors are present in today's White House so we should expect that, absent real involvement from us, more mayhem will follow.
What is currently unfolding in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq is a trans-national, sectarian civil war, pitting Sunni Muslims against Shi'ites, Alawites and — at least in Syria — an increasing number of secularists concerned with the growing influence of Sunni fundamentalism. This conflict promises to dramatically restructure the post-World War One map as various Muslim groups carve out new confessionally-based entities; Iraq, Syria and Lebanon will probably vanish in all but name at the end.
The process is likely to be long and bloody — remember, Lebanon's religious civil war lasted 13 years, ending only with the exhaustion of all sides. Iran and Russia will be the overall winners, the former exercising de facto control from western Afghanistan to the Mediterranean. Our prestige will suffer another blow. This entire strategic region will be destabilized and roiled by continuous, insoluble conflicts that will make the Israeli-Palestinian problem that so bedevils John Kerry look like a child's puzzle.
We will have only ourselves to blame for ensuing dangers. President Obama had opportunities to forestall these developments but dismissed them, largely to satisfy domestic constituencies and his own peculiar vision. And we approved, returning him to office because the other guy was not as glib or cool. Remember that, as the body count grows and the flames spread: we wanted a leader who thought it a good idea to discard the fire extinguishers as the conflagration approached.
Remember, to avoid repeating the mistake.
Morgan Liddick lives in Summit County.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.


text:
Re: Changes since new Cubit policy
tchitcherine wrote:Stalking? I have no idea where you live, and don't want to know. I do want to know what is happening with ChessCube, however, which is why I'm still here. You see, I've spent money here, and I'd prefer to know that I didn't waste it.
Then stop calling me out and personalizing this - I have nothing against you personally and I did not come up with the new policies - so stop whining about me.


text:
Two weeks ago I went to the Philly Archives to find copies of the marriage certificates that I had found in the index on Family Search. I had found the license numbers for my mother's parents, James J. McCarry and Theresa V. Gunther. For James' parents, James F. McCarry and Bridget Welsh. For Theresa's parents, Emil Gunther and Catherine McCarron. And James F.'s brother Patrick McCarry and Frances Gallagher. I was able to get all but my grandparents that day because the archives only has microfilm for up to 1915 and they were married in 1920. So last week when I was back in the city again I went to city hall and ordered the copy of their certificate at Orphans Court. It arrived today. Adding to both the answers and more questions.
First big information I was looking for was to confirm where James F. McCarry was born. I had information from different census that said he was born in Connecticut. But his death certificate said he was born in Philadelphia and that his parents were unknown. So I needed to confirm where he was born in Connecticut and where in Connecticut. Also who his parents were so I could confirm that the family I had for him was correct. Well this was all confirmed. He was born in Waterbury , CT, 14 May 1873. His parents were Patrick McCarry and Margaret O'Connell. This was confirmed by his brother Patrick's marriage certificate. And his place of birth was also confirmed on my grandparent's marriage certificate. So I am very happy with this result!
The second big information I was looking for was answers about my grandmother's father, Emil Gunther. This man has been such a mystery! My grandmother talked about her father all the time. I knew he came from Germany. the only place she ever said was that it was the Black Forest. Not a big help! Had an idea when he was born. My cousin had given me a date a few years back. I have not been able to find him in a census and a few years ago I found out that my grandmother's oldest sister was her half sister. So he had been married before my great grandmother. and the mystery grew! then this past October I found Catherine McCarron Gunther's death record. My grandmother had always said her mother died when she was a little girl. Well she died in 1914. So I went to the cemetery to find out about her death and was hoping that Emil would be buried there also. I had a bonus that day. Not only did I find that Emil was there and that he had died in 1924, but also there was my grandparent's first child that had died at 11 months old in 1922. So I ordered their death certificates but they have not come yet. So I will have to follow up on that information. Coming back to the information from the marriage certificates. Well his place of birth on both his marriage certificate and my grandmother's was..... you guessed it......Germany! So I still have no idea where in Germany he was from. So that will be a continued work in progress. But there was another mystery on his marriage certificate. It said that this was his first marriage. that did not match what I had known. So he will continue to be a work in progress.
So on to the questions that came out of these certificates. Emil was not the only one that gave me questions. First, my great grandmother, Bridget Welsh McCarry. the information I had from her death certificate was that her birthdate was 23 Nov 1875. Her son Thomas was the informant, her husband, James F, had died 10 years before. Well when I saw their marriage certificate her birth date was 6 April 1873. I could see if she lied about her age because she would have been under age if she was born in 1875. And there was not a consent with the certificate. But these dates do not match in anyway at all! So I need to try to find a birth record for her. Another work in progress.
The second question that came out of the certificates was my grandmother, Theresa V Gunther McCarry. I grew up hearing how she was 15 when she was married. Well she was married in 1920 and her birth date on her death certificate was 31 May 1905. My mother was the informant. this would make her 15 when she married. Well her certificate said she was born in 1902 and that she was 18 years old at her marriage. So another work in progress.
So I am really excited to get these documents in the last couple of weeks. While I am disapointed that not only did I not get all the answers I was looking for, but more questions were added, I ask the question.....what would we do if we had all the answers about our family?????
Happy Hunting!!!!!!!


text:
James Christopher "Jamie" McMurray (born June 3, 1976) is a professional American race car driver. McMurray is best known for winning the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 as a substitute driver in his second Winston Cup start, and is one of three drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year. He currently drives the #1 Bass Pro Shops/McDonald's Chevrolet Impala in the Sprint Cup Series for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with crew chief Kevin Manion.
In 1999, McMurray made four starts in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 2000, he ran 15 Craftsman Truck races and posted one top-five and four top-ten finishes. During 2001 and 2002, he competed full-time in the NASCAR Busch Series, driving the #27 Williams Travel Centers Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Brewco Motorsports. The latter year was better for McMurray, as he won two races and finished sixth in the overall points standings.
Before the fall race at Richmond in 2002, Chip Ganassi announced McMurray would be the driver of a Texaco-Havoline sponsored Dodge in 2003. Ganassi planned to have Jamie drive the #42 Dodge for seven races in 2002.


text:
Ravens defensive lineman says he discovered Tom Brady's flaw
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady has a flaw, significant enough to be fatal, if exploited, one Baltimore Ravens defender insists.
It's not obvious, unless your job is to study hours and hours of game film of No. 12 of the New England Patriots.
CLASSLESS?Belichick ripped for snubbing TV
'ARROGANT (BLEEPS)':Suggs goes off on Pats
Baltimore Ravens second-year defensive lineman Pernell McPhee discovered it ahead of Sunday's AFC Championship Game victory over the Patriots: The 6-foot-4 Brady releases the football too low, McPhee says.
"He throws all of his balls low," McPhee says.
So how has he gotten away with it through three Super Bowl victories?
"He just throws it fast and he always gets good pockets," McPhee said the Ravens' victory. "But I tried to stay in front of him after watching film and knowing where he likes to go and how he likes to do it. So that was my best advantage, just get my hands up."
It worked. McPhee batted a Brady pass intended for tight end Aaron Hernandez halfway through the fourth quarter. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe fielded the pop fly at Baltimore's 16-yard line, preventing New England from cutting into a 28-13 lead with the Ravens' second interception.
Perhaps to show the first time was no fluke, McPhee swatted another Brady pass later in the game.
"I just kept thinking, 'You keep throwing the ball low, we win the game,'" he said.
McPhee might have done it a few more times when these teams met in the third week of the season, but he was rushing the edge to make up for the absence of outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, who had torn his Achilles in the off-season.
Now Suggs is back, McPhee is helping man the middle, and the Ravens are headed to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans thanks in part to the keen eye of a 24-year-old, fifth-round pick out of Mississippi State.


text:
Eve Andree Laramee
Home | Works & Projects | Videos | Interviews | Resume | Texts | Bibliography | Photo | Drawings | Contact | Store
"I am interested in the ways in which cultures use science and art as devices or maps to construct belief systems. I try to draw attention to areas of overlap and interconnection between artistic exploration and scientific investigation, and to the slippery human subjectivity underlying both processes. Through my work I speculate on how human beings contemplate and consider nature through both art and science in a way that embraces poetry, absurdity, contradiction and metaphor."
Eve Andrée Laramée has been exploring the mutable, triadic relationship between art, science and nature for over twenty years. Her work has been exhibited throughout the United States and in Europe, including exhibitions in New York, England, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Israel, Poland, China and the Czech Republic. Her work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, MassMOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston among other institutions.
She has received awards from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Museum, the Andy Warhol Foundation, MacDowell Colony, among others.
Her work is included the collections of the MacArthur Foundation; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University; UCLA Armand Hammer Museum, among other public and private collections.
Laramee is currently Professor and Chair of the Art Department, and Director of the Center for the Arts, Society and Ecology at Pace University, New York. She has taught Interdisciplinary Sculpture and Performance Art History at the Maryland Institute College of Art, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Rhode Island School of Design, Sarah Lawrence College, New York University, and Fairfield University. She lives in Brooklyn, NY and Santa Fe, NM.


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When it comes to assessing the various facets of the transportation and logistics landscape, it's no secret that parcel express and ground activities follow a different playbook than other modes.
One big page of that playbook centers around the fact that this sector, unlike others, is still largely predicated on the actions of its largest players—the duopoly of FedEx and UPS. But that's not to say that this sector is solely about these two bellwethers, as the United States Postal Service (USPS), despite its financial travails, continues to make steady progress with its shipping and package group.
In fact, the ongoing emergence of e-commerce has also helped to further open doors for regional parcel express players of all sizes, although the pricing power of the big two makes justifying alternatives a bit of a challenge.
To help Logistics Management put the current market into perspective, we've called upon Jerry Hempstead, president of Hempstead Consulting; David Ross, transportation and logistics director at Stifel Nicolaus; and Rob Martinez, president and CEO at the parcel shipping consulting firm Shipware LLC.
In the remainder of this article, this distinguished trio will provide their insight into what's currently driving parcel market trends, the pricing picture, and what to watch for in the future. However, one prevalent takeaway the panel shares is for shippers to do their homework when it comes to assessing rates and service in terms of comparison shopping.
They agree that now, more than ever, high-volume parcel shippers need to carefully vet their providers and open their eyes to the small but growing role that regional parcel express providers are now playing.
Logistics Management (LM): How would you describe the current parcel marketplace?
David Ross: We've seen consistent growth in demand for U.S. small package deliveries, with ground-deferred shipments preferred to air-expedited shipments.
Rob Martinez: David is right on. I would actually describe the market as exciting. Many industry developments occurred in 2013, including significant growth in USPS Shipping Services; emergence of regional parcel express carriers as viable alternatives to UPS and FedEx; double-digit growth in e-commerce; and as a result of that growth we saw new players in the same-day delivery market, including Amazon Fresh.
Jerry Hempstead: But don't forget that at the beginning of 2013 there were uncertainties regarding the negotiations between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. From the ebb and flow of package counts divided between the two big carriers, it was obvious that fear, uncertainty, and doubt played well for FedEx and dampened the early numbers of UPS. This variable was eliminated midyear and the playing field has once again been leveled.
LM: How would you describe the current rate and pricing environment for parcel shippers?
Martinez: For FedEx and UPS customers, 2013 was a bear and 2014 will be no different. Annual rate hikes again outpaced inflation, many surcharges were increased, and the dimensional weight changes implemented in 2011 continued to adversely affect shipper costs.
UPS and FedEx continue to be focused on yield management, and shippers report that it's more challenging than ever to negotiate UPS and FedEx parcel contracts with multiple sets of list rates, different fuel surcharges, complex revenue-based incentives, discount exclusions, minimum charges, and multiple punitive contract clauses.
Ross: The rate environment puts shippers at a disadvantage because there are really only two major players controlling roughly 90 percent of the volume. They set the pricing. Optimizing modes is where the savings opportunity is for shippers, not in pure rate negotiations.
Hempstead: Dave and Rob are certainly correct. No matter how good a negotiator you are or have been, chances are your delivery cost has gone up, and gone up much faster than the CPI for the last five years. The exit of DHL from the domestic playing field in 2009 has left shippers at the mercy of a duopoly. Shippers have little recourse. If one marries a carrier, chances are that there are yearly increases built into the agreement someplace.
One of the largest effects has been in the escalation of the minimum charge. This is important because shippers with big discounts often experience the biggest jump in minimums. Since DHL departed, the ground minimum is up over 35 percent. The benchmark ground commercial base price for a Zone 5, 5-pound transaction is up over 45 percent. Their net profits have soared since DHL exited, and for those that follow pricing nuances, FedEx has matched the price of UPS for the most part on the ground Tariff.
LM: Where do you see rates going in 2014 and what's driving them?
Martinez: Effective January 6, 2014, FedEx rates increased an average of 3.9 percent for air and 4.9 percent for ground, while UPS implemented 4.9 percent average increases for both air and ground products on December 30, 2013. These "average" increases, however, are misleading. Two- and three-day air products increased 5.25 percent to 5.55 percent, and lightweight ground packages increased an average of 7.5 percent for 1-5 lbs. and 7.0 percent for 6- 10 lbs. Lightweight FedEx SmartPost packages increased an average of 7.5 percent for 1-5 lbs. and 7.1 percent for 6-10 lbs. Ground minimum charges increased 6.8 percent to $6.24, and many accessorial charges increased. Rate increases are being driven by a combination of UPS and FedEx's yield management strategy, few competitive alternatives, and the market's tolerance for GRIs.
Hempstead: When you consider all of the complexities of carrier pricing—service types, zones, fees, surcharges—I can't envision many shippers skating by without some pain. The carriers have become very sophisticated in where and how they tinker with the Tariff.
The announcement of "average" increases by all of the carriers is rather deceptive, and there is no shipper that has a shipping profile that matches the way carriers determine this average. With that in mind, the only certainty is directionality. Shippers know rates are going up, but the amplitude is impossible to approximate.
LM: How are market conditions affecting service and what role is the up and down economic recovery playing?
Ross: Market conditions are having an impact on service. Whether the economy is up, flat, or down, parcel service continues to improve—with the exception of the recent snag around Christmas, but that was poor peak readiness.
Martinez: Outside of the holiday season, in which a combination of high package volumes and inclement weather affected service performance, overall service at FedEx and UPS has been relatively stable. We were concerned when FedEx announced in 2012 that the company was revamping the Express segment through a combination of cost reductions, payroll reduction, and service repositioning to shed $1.7 billion by 2016. However, service performance at FedEx Express continues to meet historical levels.
Hempstead: The impact of the havoc that the economy brought on is seen in the downtrading of international shipments and the use of more intelligent shipping software that can correctly select the lowest possible price option to fulfill customer expectations. This has caused the carriers to rationalize networks, in particular in the air, to maximize profits without compromising service.
The reality is that the number of available shipments has been constantly increasing. The variable has been the services purchased by the shippers, and it has taken the carriers some time to adjust to those changing demands. For example, USPS Parcel Select has aided both the integrators and the USPS so that shippers have a system for residential delivery that makes sense for all parties.
LM: How is the ongoing emergence of e-commerce changing the parcel marketplace?
Martinez: It's safe to say that e-commerce is having an enormous impact on the parcel marketplace. We're commonly seeing 40 percent year-over-year annual package volume growth with many of our e-commerce clients. And while UPS Surepost and FedEx SmartPost package volume posted significant growth in 2013, the USPS stands to be the real winner because it handles the final mile delivery for the vast majority of these shipments. Moreover, these USPS products will be taking a healthy rate increase later this month.
In addition, the explosive growth of e-commerce is creating new opportunities in parcel delivery. Regional carriers like OnTrac—that provides parcel services to the eight Western U.S. states—are gobbling up market share from Amazon, NewEgg, and many other high-volume e-commerce companies. And in the ever intensifying battle to exceed customer expectations and using delivery as a competitive advantage, same-day services are springing up in major metropolitan areas.
Hempstead: The most significant change is the rapidity at which the mix of business, from commercial to residential, has occurred. It appears to be on a hockey stick trajectory. The e-commerce companies have gained the trust of purchasers, and this allows the buyer the convenience of shopping and comparing from the privacy of their own home. This trend will only continue, and I see the future of shopping malls threatened as they are quickly being obviated by the online experience.
LM: Given the financial challenges of the USPS, what possible changes might shippers expect?
Hempstead: The only politically saleable solution for the USPS is to raise its prices to cover its operating expenses. Going to five-day delivery, closing unproductive post offices, tinkering with employee retirement and benefits are just not going to garner any support from either side of the aisle in Congress.
Ross: I agree. We expect further rate increases, but parcel is not where the USPS financial challenges lie—it's mainly on the mail side. With Congress still involved, we don't expect the financial struggles to improve much. Still, as parcel is the bright spot at USPS, investments are being made to improve service—like increased track/trace capabilities—so shippers should expect better shipping options for small packages.
Martinez: While it's certainly true that the USPS faces significant financial and legislative challenges, declining mail volumes, as well as increased labor, health care, and pension costs, the shipping and package services segment is actually doing quite well. It's been the bright point, boasting consistent and solid revenue and package volume growth.
Therefore, I don't believe we'll see negative changes at all. If anything, the Postal Service is likely to continue to offer new service and product enhancements like we saw with Priority Mail this past year. With all this in mind, we believe that the USPS will continue to grow its shipping business segment, and play a major role in the delivery of lightweight, residential deliveries well into the future.
LM: What advice do you have for parcel shippers in 2014?
Ross: Know your freight and your lanes and figure out what service level is really needed. Carriers are targeting specific package weights with their annual rate increases, and if shippers keep shipping as they always have, they may take unnecessary rate increases. Ground service has improved in terms of transit times and reliability; so regional shippers that are using express should take a hard look at shifting to the carriers ground products.
Hempstead: There are just so many complexities now—different services, different zones, and different accessorial charges. This makes it easy to get distracted. The two things shippers should have in their toolbox is a robust shipment processing system that complies with the changing carrier requirements, and the services of a qualified, experienced expert in the parcel industry.
Martinez: Analyze, optimize, and diversify. We're seeing shippers save 25 percent to 40 percent through a combination of least-cost routing and modal optimization strategies as well as carrier optimization including the USPS, UPS, FedEx and regional parcel carriers.
LM: Have regional parcel players made inroads in market share gains in the last year? What can they do to better compete with the "big boys"?
Hempstead: The regional carriers continue to grow and prosper. However, this really doesn't seem to have the attention of the national integrators. FedEx has entered into a new service offering of same-day city deliveries using delivery partners. As the USPS continues to raise the Parcel Select prices, the regional carriers become more relevant. This option becomes available to shippers who can use the services of a regional carrier within their footprint, but also as a practical alternative to the USPS for the hybrid services. Some of the regionals are already beginning zone skip pools to facilitate moving orders across regions for entry onto their networks.
Martinez: Indeed, the "super" regional carriers—OnTrac, Eastern Connection, LaserShip, Pitt-Ohio, Sir Spee-Dee, Lone Star Overnight, Courier Express, TransTek— have been making inroads and growing market share. The regional carriers offer many benefits over UPS and FedEx including cost savings, larger next-day delivery footprint, later pickups, earlier deliveries, easier contracts with fewer accessorial charges, same day-delivery options, and customized solutions.
An industry trend that favors the ongoing expansion of regional carriers is the trend to move inventory closer to customers. Companies like Amazon have opened dozens of regionalized distribution facilities all over the country to decrease shipping times, reduce costs and better serve customers. Regional carriers stand to benefit immensely.
Ross: Yes, but keep in mind that the regionals only have less than 3 percent of the market. Even increasing their market share by 35 percent is barely noticeable to FedEx or UPS.
In our view, they just need to keep doing what they're doing—providing fast, reliable service at a competitive rate on a regional basis. We don't envision a national network being established, as that would require significant real estate infrastructure investment, and the "big boys" would likely hold rates flat or cut them to prevent any new national parcel company from gaining enough density to make money.
LM: How much different could the parcel landscape be in five years?
Martinez: We see it changing in a few ways. First, the USPS will play a major role in parcel delivery and will take considerable market share away from FedEx and UPS. Within five years, the USPS will be the single largest player in residential parcel delivery.
Parcel select companies that leverage the USPS for final mile delivery will continue to grow faster than air and ground services. With the growth in e-commerce, return shipments will continue to rise. Companies like Newgistics, that specialize in returns, will be the beneficiaries of the trend. Finally, the same-day delivery market will grow as online shoppers realize the benefits and convenience of receiving an order the same day it is placed. Once the shipping operators find the right price point, we can expect rapid growth and expansion of same day service offerings.
Ross: B2C is driving all of the change, and Amazon is certainly experimenting quite a bit. USPS should remain king of B2C delivery, as the low-cost home delivery option, while FedEx should continue to slowly take share from UPS.
We don't see DHL re- entering the U.S. market, but small local B2C start-ups should emerge to handle e- commerce deliveries. Regional carriers are likely to grow at above-market rates, but still not capture any more than 3 percent to 4 percent of the total.
Hempstead: The potential exists that the USPS may intentionally, or unintentionally, put itself in a position that it's not the optimum method to accomplish residential deliveries for Fedex, DHL, and in particular UPS. The economics are such that UPS Surepost already diverts many transactions over 10 pounds to their own driver to deliver—the price increase slated for January 26 most likely slips this number to 8 pounds or less.
Amazon has sent a warning message out to the private carriers that it's willing to explore alternatives to traditional services. However, I don't see their flying device as the solution. The reality is that Amazon now has sufficient critical mass in its control to become its own parcel shipping company and sell that service to other sellers.
So, although Amazon may be a big customer of FedEx and UPS, they could become a threat as a competitor. What's most likely is that they will find creative ways to work together to leverage each other's strengths.


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Johnson & Johnson Company Earnings Send Shares to All-Time High
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) reported second-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The health care giant reported quarterly adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.48 on revenue of $17.9 billion. In the same period a year ago, J&J reported EPS of $1.30 on revenue of $16.5 billion. Second-quarter results also compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $1.39 on revenue of $17.71 billion.
On a GAAP basis the company posted EPS of $1.33, which excludes litigation expenses, integration expenses related to the acquisition of Synthes and program costs for the DePuy Hip program.
J&J boosted its earnings guidance for the full year to an adjusted EPS of $5.40 to $5.47. The consensus estimate had called for EPS of $5.41 on revenues of $70.81 billion. For the first six months of the year, the company has posted revenues of $35.38 billion and diluted GAAP EPS of $2.55.
The firm's CEO said:
Our strong second-quarter results reflect the progress we've made against our near-term priorities of delivering on our financial commitments, restoring a reliable supply of over-the-counter products to consumers, continuing the successful integration of Synthes and building on the momentum in our pharmaceutical business
Worldwide consumer sales rose 1.1% year-over-year to $3.7 billion, including a negative currency impact of 0.6%. Pharmaceutical sales rose 11.7% to $7 billion. Medical devices and diagnostics sales rose 9.6% to $7.2 billion.
J&J raised its quarterly dividend to $0.66 a share in May.
Shares are trading about 1% higher in the premarket this morning, at $91.30, a new 52-week and all-time high if it holds. The current 52-week range is $66.85 to $90.81. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $89.20 before today's results were announced.
Filed under: Healthcare (Business) Tagged: JNJ


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|Kenwood Sovereign Entr� Entertainment Hub and DV-5900M DVD Player
|Monday, 01 December 2003
Page 1 of 3Introduction
The Kenwood Sovereign Entré entertainment hub and Kenwood Sovereign DV-5900M DVD-Audio Mega Changer combination is a high-tech source component system that bridges the gap between home theater and computer audio. While the changer can be used without the Entre' hub, it really excels when the two are used together. The $1,400 DV-5900M is a feature-laden Mega-changer that need not make any excuses about quality. When the DV-5900M is connected to the $1,500 Entre hub, the already above-average graphical interface becomes remarkably advanced.
DV-5900M DVD Changer
The DV-5900M DVD-Audio changer has a huge array of features, quality and ease of use. This changer is relatively large in size, measuring approximately 17 inches in width, eight inches in height and 21 inches deep, weighing 23 pounds. It facilitates 403 CDs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs and/or DVD-Audio discs, including MP3-encoded CDs. Just about the only type of discs it won't play are SACDs. The changer holds the discs in a tightly packed vertical orientation, with three widely spaced slots, dubbed the "rental zone," for easy access. Other convenience features include the ability to daisy link three changers without sacrificing playback quality, an onscreen menu system, automatic disc titling, a 15-character dot matrix display and a keyboard remote control, in addition to a more normal full-featured remote and RS-232 control. The RS-232 port allows the changer to interact with the Entré hub discussed below. In addition to the RS-232 port, the Kenwood features the necessary inputs and outputs to daisy chain the digital, stereo analog, component composite and S-video signals from three changers. I noted that there was no capability to daisy chain the 5.1 analog signal, so your DVD Audio discs are limited to the first changer. From reading the above, one might get the impression that the Kenwood is all flash, which is not so. The DV-5900M has real video and audio muscle. On the video side, it utilizes Faroudja's FLI2200 and FLI2220 chip sets to provide high-quality progressive scan playback capabilities. (For more information on progressive scan and the Kenwood's progressive scan capabilities, please see Bryan Southard's review of the Kenwood Sovereign DV-5700 in the AudioRevolution archives.)
The Kenwood is no slouch in the audio department, either. In addition to the ubiquitous DTS and Dolby Digital decoding, the DV-5900M features bass-managed analog outputs for both DVD-Audio discs and those discs that were decoded by the internal DTS or Dolby Digital decoders. The DV-5900M's digital outputs can pass a 24-bit/96kHz signal, while the internal DACs are rated at 24-bit/192kHz for the front left and right channels and 24-bit/96kHz for the remaining channels. The Kenwood is also capable of virtual surround and down-mixing with numerous setting options. The audio settings include dialog enhancement, dynamic range and a "Pure Audio" mode that turns off the video circuits.
Entré Entertainment Hub
The Entre' is designed to be the hub of a networked entertainment system, providing integrated control of Kenwood Sovereign receivers and DVD changers in addition to music management. The Entré features a 20GB hard drive, internal CDR/CD-RW drive, Internet connectivity via a local network or the Entré's internal modem. I used the Kenwood Entré to control the Kenwood DV-5900M DVD changer, which provided me with an enhanced graphic interface system and increased functionality. The increased functionality and interface was significant. While the changer's own graphic interface was adequate and in fact better than my older Sony CDX-850 changer, the Entre's interface was a level beyond.
With the Entré connected to the DV-5900M, I loaded it with about 150 DVD videodiscs, a dozen DVD-Audio discs and a few CDs. The Entré detects when new discs are added and uses Openglobe to access the CDDB, Movie DB and Gracenote Internet databases. These databases identified over 90% of the discs. The Entre' then sorted the music discs from the DVDs and placed them in alphabetical order. One potential shortcoming was that the Entré lists DVD-Audio discs as movies. Kenwood says this is a byproduct of the Internet databases and they anticipate proper recognition of DVD Audio discs as "Music" discs rather than "Movie" discs as the databases are updated.
The Entré menu categories include Movies, Music and Radio. The Movies category lists all the DVD movies in alphabetical order. The guide in the Music mode lists all the CDs in the connected changers, MP3s stored on the internal drive and any audio disc that may be in the internal drive. The Radio mode was the most surprising for me. If the Entré is connected to any Kenwood Sovereign receiver, the Radio mode lists all FM/AM stations received by the receiver's tuner, as well as all available Internet radio stations. I was surprised to find music to listen to over Internet radio, as this had previously been an unreliable and ever-changing source of music. The Entré provided me with easy access to Sirius and Radio Free Virgin "radio stations" that were streamed over the Internet connection.
The Entré's connectivity also allows for transfer of music files from network-linked computers and to certain supported portable MP3 players. While there are numerous other innovative features, the last one I will mention is the CE-commerce feature. I did not register for this feature, but it allows one to order music via the remote control, so if you like what you are listening to, all you need to do is pick up the remote and voila, a few button pushes later, your new CD is on the way.
The set-up of the Entré and DV-5900M is more complicated than a standard DVD player, but Kenwood has thankfully provided detailed manuals that walk you through various connection options. You will need more cables than normal to take full advantage of the Entre's OSD, as you will need to route the video cables through the Entre' to your processor. Kenwood also suggests that you set up an audiotape loop. However, the Entre's only digital output is optical, and there are no provisions for 5.1 analog audio.
I connected the Entre' to my computer network and Internet by utilizing the Home PNA connection. This connection allowed me to connect the Entre' to a phone jack with an ordinary phone cable in my audio room. My router is in my home office, which is set up in a different room. In the home office room, I plugged a phone cable into the phone outlet on one side, and connected the other to a Netgear Home PNA to Ethernet adapter, and then into my router. All of the network connections were easily made in less than five minutes. This connection allowed the Entre' to access the Internet and also transfer music files from my networked computer. Got all that?