text:
This Day in Black History:
Feb. 26, 2012
Florida teenager Trayvon Martin is shot and killed.
There's no telling what Trayvon Martin could have become and sadly the world will never know. But his tragic death at the hands of neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012, will forever be a part of the nation's still-controversial history in race relations.
Just 17, Trayvon was walking back to his father's home in Sanford, Florida, after buying a bag of Skittles and a soft drink when he encountered Zimmerman, 28, who was patrolling the neighborhood. Zimmerman, who is widely believed to have racially profiled the hoodie-wearing teen, called the Sanford police department's non-emergency line to report that that the "Black male" looked suspicious.
Even though the dispatcher told him to not follow the boy, he ignored their advice and entered into an altercation with him. Claiming he felt threatened and buoyed by the state's "Stand Your Ground" law, Zimmerman shot the teenager. Six weeks passed before he was arrested. On July 13, 2013, a jury found Zimmerman not guilty of any crime.
The tragedy roiled the nation and sparked a wide-ranging debate over the dangers of "Stand Your Ground" laws in states around the U.S and a Justice for Trayvon movement.
"If [he] was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened?" President Obama said during moving remarks at a press conference in response to the Zimmerman verdict. "And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws."
Trayvon's parents, Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, have created a foundation in their son's honor "to create awareness of how violent crime impacts the families of the victims and to provide support and advocacy for those families."
BET National News – Keep up to date with breaking news stories from around the nation, including headlines from the hip hop and entertainment world. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Written by Joyce Jones Courtesy of BET
No federal charges for Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin death
The Justice Department said Tuesday its independent investigation found "insufficient evidence" to charge George Zimmerman with federal civil rights violations in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the evidence did not meet the "high standard for a federal hate crime prosecution," but the decision should not end efforts to explore racial tensions in the justice system. The decision closes the federal investigation.
"This young man's premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface," Holder said in a statement. "We, as a nation, must take concrete steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future."
Submitted by:


text:
NBC News's Peter Alexander on Monday reported that the White House lock down that morning was due to someone throwing a yoga mat and a sign over one of the property's fences.
NEW: Secret Service agent with TV pool says the White House lockdown was caused by someone who threw a sign and yoga mat over the fence.— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) September 11, 2017
The Secret Service on Monday said it had taken two people into custody for throwing "unknown objects" at the White House.
Uniformed Division responding to an incident at the north fence line, along Penn. Ave. Area is closed to pedestrian traffic.— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) September 11, 2017
2 individuals in our custody after throwing unknown objects over @WhiteHouse north fence line. @DCPoliceDept and fire responding.— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) September 11, 2017
Penn Ave. and Lafayette Park remain closed to pedestrians.— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) September 11, 2017
The agency did not clarify what manner of objects were thrown by White House grounds, or if President Trump or his family were at the residence when the incident occurred.
Trump earlier Monday commemorated the 9/11 terrorist attacks for the first time since he became president.
"On that day not only did the world change, we all changed," he said of the bloodshed on Sept. 11, 2001. "Our eyes were opened to the depths of evil we faced."
"But in that hour of darkness, we also came together with a renewed sense of purpose," Trump added at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. "Our differences never looked so small."
Trump also warned terrorists against attacking the U.S., pledging that "America cannot be intimidated."
"And those who will try will soon join the long list of enemies who dared test our mettle," he said. "We are making plain to these savage killers that there is no dark corner beyond our reach."
"America does not bend. We do not waver. And we will never, ever yield. Our values will prevail. And the memory of our loved ones will never, ever fail."
Monday marked the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, a series of coordinated strikes that ultimately killed nearly 3,000 people.
Nineteen hijackers claiming allegiance to al Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes, crashing two into the Twin Towers in New York City.
A third jet struck the Pentagon, while a fourth went down near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers tried fighting back against the extremists.
Trump entered office last January and has since made eliminating terrorist organizations like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) a major goal of his administration.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Family Farm Elite Treasure Hunt
This is the place to go for questions on how to play the game. Be sure to check the Game Guide and the FAQ as well!
Moderators: Felicia Farmer, MooDucky
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Family Farm Elite Treasure Hunt
Here is your chance to win 12 RC! Come join our group and participate in our contest starting on Jan 30th, 2017!
- Paula Swindle
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2016 12:56 pm
1 post • Page 1 of 1


text:
28 Apr 2017
Alaska is a land of scenic superlatives – biggest, highest, wildest, most beautiful. It has 16 of the US's highest peaks, including the highest of all, Mount McKinley (pictured; also known as Denali), at 20,320ft (6,194m).
Browse Telegraph Travel's selection of escorted tours in the USA
Browse Telegraph Travel's selection of cruises in North America
We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism.
We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future.
Thank you for your support.
Need help?
Visit our adblocking instructions


text:
Out & About
Old Park Hall is a grand and imposing property built in the Scottish Baronial style. No stuffy airs & graces here, just good old fashioned hospitality. Kick off your shoes, relax and soak up the beauty of the surrounding countryside and snuggle by the log fires.
Daisy and James, pride themselves on their bespoke services. We work together providing vineyard tours, picnic lunches both in the vineyard and in our 150 year old cellar door. No driving is required for guests, OPH provide a taxi service to and from Castlewood Vineyard, creating a truly unforgettable experience.
Pig At Combe. There's a saying in Devon that 'if you stick your finger in the ground it will grow'. Thanks to the Pig-at Combe's location being 8 miles from the coast the menu consists of fresh fish as well as the very best Devonshire cheese and locally reared meat from butchers around the market town of Honiton. And thanks to the Pig at Combe being just 8 miles from Castlewood Vineyard, we are fortunate enough to make up part of their 25mile menu.
The Old Dairy Kitchen is run by Chris Onions as an independent enterprise based at Trill Farm, just a mile down the road. He caters for all Trill's events and courses, hosts Farm Lunches and a monthly dinner series. Chris uses our wine for wedding receptions and creating fabulous botanical cocktails from ingredients all grown at Trill. He's also created an infamous Castlewood Sparkling Jelly, served with plums, yoghurt and vanilla sorbet.


text:
Would you like a speaker from Samaritans for your organisation or event?
The Exeter Mid & East Devon branch can provide a volunteer to speak to your organisation, free of charge.
In recent months representatives of the charity have spoken at a mayor's annual dinner, an Exeter university open day, an EDF Mental Health & Wellbeing event, a men's forum and a meeting of tourist redcoats.
Representatives from Samaritans would be delighted to speak at other charity events, or perhaps can help reinforce companies' social responsibility activities by explaining how the organisation works and fund-raises.
If you wish to discuss a speaker from Samaritans for your event please email


text:
Anime Studio Debut 8
Anime Studio Debut 8 by Smith Micro Software Inc.
DescriptionAnime Studio Debut 8 is the complete 2D solution for easily creating cartoons, anime, or cut-out animations for film, video, or sharing online. This program is an animation suite for all skills levels with loads of helpful features to make animating fun including infinite characters and extensive resources. From the library of pre-designed content to automatic tracing and enhanced animation tools, the program is easy to use as well as efficient. Bring your imagination to life with Anime Studio Debut 8, your all-in-one animation solution.
PlatformsWindows Vista, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Windows XP
Product Features
Editorial Review
Make your characters talk with built-in Audio Recording and Lip-Syncing. View larger.
Anime Studio Debut 8
Create Your Own Cartoons and Animations
Create Animations in Minutes
The fun, quick and affordable way to create animations, Anime Studio is the ideal solution for first-time animators, hobbyists and digital artists. A Beginner's Mode and Character Wizard allow you to design your own ready-to-animate characters in minutes.
Organize Projects with the Timeline, Keyframes and Layers
Move your character naturally along the timeline with keyframes, creating smooth animations. Use multiple layers to edit your animation and add sound, special effects and more.
The Beginner's Mode gets you started quickly. View larger.
Use Bone Tools to Quickly Animate Your Characters
A unique bone-rigging toolset allows you to create a skeleton that can be easily manipulated to animate characters, simple drawings, or objects in your animation.
Create Your Own Art or Import Content to Get Started Quickly
Draw your own art with intuitive vector-based draw and paint tools or use pre-built content from the Library to get started. Easily import your hand-drawn sketches or existing artwork from popular graphics programs and automatically convert them to ready-to-animate vector drawings.
Animate your creations using bones. View larger.
Create an endless amount of ready-to-animate characters using the Character Wizard. View larger.
Share Everywhere
Export to the most popular web and video formats, or upload and share on YouTube or Facebook directly from within Anime Studio.
Utilize an Array of Powerful and Versatile Features
Free Characters: Use pre-built characters including Jace, Liz, Lightning Man, Dexter and Anime Boy. All are royalty-free, vector-based creations.
Import and Export Art: Bring in your Illustrator or layered Adobe Photoshop files; instantly gather all your project files in one location.
Tons of Tutorials: Access videos and sample files to master powerful features and start animating right away.
Bring Your Photos to Life: Import your favorite images from your digital camera, attach bones and easily turn your photographs into animated movies.
New! Character Wizard
Creating your own characters has never been easier. Quickly design ready-to-animate characters using the built-in Character Wizard. Select a preset, dial in the body proportions and choose from dozens of predesigned 2D components such as hands, feet, mouths, eyes, noses and heads. The look and feel of each character is fully customizable with the help of easy to use sliders. Choose from various clothing choices and custom color combinations, or create a virtually endless amount of fun and different characters using the Randomize feature. Each character comes with multiples views and can be imported with a complete walk cycle, allowing you to have your characters walk in your scene with the click of a button. Even attach head shots of you and your friends for fast and easy jib-jab style animation.
The Content Library is packed with hundreds of ready-to-use characters, props, scenes and more. View larger.
New! Automatic Image Tracing
Quickly bring your scanned drawings and photos to life by converting them to ready-to-animate vector art with the click of a button. Color your vector art, resize without loss in image quality and animate using bones. Existing drawings such as heads can quickly get attached to a pre-animated character that you created with the Character Wizard, providing versatility and speed when creating your own characters.
New! Enhanced Drawing Tools
Combine the freehand tool's smart welding feature with the Delete Edge tool to create complex shapes quickly. This eliminates the need for precise drawing, giving you the freedom to sketch as you desire. Additional brush styles have been included and optional rounded end caps have been added to the drawing tools.
Apply a cut-out style effect to any character or object. View larger.
Quickly convert existing drawings to vector art. View larger.
Anime Studio Debut 8 offers an intuitive interface with powerful tools. View larger.
New! Vector Shape Selector
Quickly find and edit vector layers using the Vector Shape Selector. You no longer have to worry about naming each layer to easily find the one you're looking for. Just click on a shape in your project, and the corresponding layer automatically gets selected for editing. This eliminates tedious searching for the layer you want to edit.
New! Layer Outline Effects
Quickly apply a cut-out style effect to any character or object. Set the width and color for each outline and customize the look and feel of your animation.
New! Enhanced User Interface
Anime Studio 8 introduces new User Interface colors, allowing you to choose from various preset color schemes or create your own. The new Smart Tool Palette provides a less cluttered interface and a better user experience by hiding irrelevant tools.
New! More Ready-To-Use Content
Anime Studio Debut provides an extensive content library with hundreds of pieces of ready-to-use content that includes fully rigged, vector-based characters like Jace, Thorn, Anime Boy and Liz, as well as props, scenes, action words, stock video and images, sound effects and more so you can start creating your own animations right away.
Become a fan of FileWit.com: Huge Software and Software Downloads Selection! on Facebook for the inside scoop on latest and most exclusive software.


text:
This website assists with the management of the Western Sydney HealthPathways program. The site includes material such as planning documents, minutes and agendas, details on key events, and status updates on pathways in progress and local resource development.
Western Sydney HealthPathways provides web-based information on management and referral pathways to help clinicians navigate patients through the complex primary, community, and acute care system within the Western Sydney region. HealthPathways is designed to be used at the point of care, primarily for general practice but is also available to specialists, nurses, allied health and other health professionals.
Access to HealthPathways
To access Western Sydney HealthPathways, visit https://westernsydney.healthpathways.org.au.
Please contact the Program Team to obtain the user name and password for the HealthPathways site.
Localised pathways are available on the website and there are many pathways which are currently in development. Click here for more information regarding pathways in development.
The HealthPathways portal is not designed for patient use, therefore a username and password is only provided to health professionals. However, many of the pathways do contain patient information which can be printed off and given to patients at the time of consultation.
The pathways that have been localised to the Western Sydney region can be found on the left hand side Table of Contents under 'Recently Localised Pathways' .
Until all pathways are localised for Western Sydney, information developed in Canterbury, New Zealand will be available. Pathways that have been developed in New Zealand and are not yet localised for Western Sydney have a pale orange background and a map of New Zealand repeated on the right side of the page. New Zealand pathways may contain useful condition management information. However, please use your clinical judgement as to the appropriateness to the Western Sydney region. Please keep this in mind whilst viewing the site.
Western Sydney HealthPathways is a collaboration between WentWest, Western Sydney Local Health District and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, HealthPathways is an initiative from the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) in Christchurch, New Zealand, which provides a 'whole of system' approach to effective integration of acute and primary health care services.
Looking for clinical pathways and referral information:
Involved in pathway development and seeking project information:
Patient education website:


text:
AtalaSu Cams, AtalaSu MyFreeCams, AtalaSu Cam
Experience the best and largest collection of XXX chat rooms with no signup ever needed. Experience the best live amateur girls and pick from over 50,000 girls that are online right now.
Headline: Hi! I'm looking for new friends!
Username: AtalaSu (MyFreeCams : AtalaSu MFC)
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Asian
Facial Features: Black Hair, Brown Eyes
Age: 18 Years Old
Occupation: pharmacist
Habits: Non Smoker, Heavy Drinker, Never Done Drugs
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
Status: Single
Weight/Height: 50 kilos, 170 centimeters
Body Type: Average
Country: Korea, Republic Of
Alternate Names: AtalaSu Cams, AtalaSu MyFreeCams, AtalaSu Cam, AtalaSu Videos, AtalaSu Camgirl, AtalaSu MFC, AtalaSu Cam Girl, AtalaSu Video
AtalaSu: Asian Female, 18 y/o, Bisexual, Black Hair, Brown Eyes, Non Smoker, Heavy Drinker, Never Done Drugs, Single, from Korea, Republic Of.AtalaSu
Rating (Out of 5.0000)


text:
Zeenews Bureau
Mumbai: Made at a staggering budget of Rs 160 crore, Shah Rukh Khan's 'RA.One' is being touted as one of the most expensive Bollywood venture, which will raise the bar for Indian filmmakers.
Apparently, Shah Rukh is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that 'RA.One' turns out to be a huge hit at the Box Office as the actor can be seen vigorously promoting his film.
SRK kick started the promotional campaign for 'RA.One' from January 2011, when he unveiled the first look of the film and since then, he has been busy in umpteen promotional campaigns. Collaborating with various marketing tools, SRK wants to give a boost to the brand image of 'RA.One'.
On being asked if SRK has recovered the making cost of 'RA.One' or not, a leading media analyst said, "The tie-up are mainly because of in-film branding where the products are incorporated in the film. When you have such kind of activities the brand gets into a contract with a film where the main cast has to appear for a press conference."
"The advertisement revenue is not very huge. On an average the film will recover around 14 to 15 crore from it. As a producer Shah Rukh Khan has recovered his money and he will not be at a loss as he sold the film to the distributors and now it is the distributors who have to recover the money."
He also added, "The amount of money that has been spent in making the movie is huge. SRK is surely looking at creating a franchise if this film becomes a hit."


text:
Save Jamie Moyer
Frank Helps You Think It All Out is an unapologetic Jamie Moyer fan. Watching the old man get cuffed around recently is painful. He has been plenty bad.
The cries for Jamie to be replaced are certain to grow. Part and parcel of this is the Phillies have a replacement on hand, ready to go in J.A. Happ- who has pitched well in his opportunities this season. However, I'm inclined to keep Moyer in the rotation for now.
Haste makes waste, right? Replacing Moyer at this point is a pure panic move. The same people hollering the loudest now for his ouster were the same sort of people who wanted Chan Ho Park removed just a week-and-a-half ago. Had Charlie done that, you'd have no J.A. Happ move left now.
This isn't like when Brett Myers went to the 'pen two years ago. There the Phillies were faced with a similar bad situation- a lack of late inning relief pitching. But unlike here, they exhausted every option first. Myers wasn't helping the rotation- so maybe he could help the 'pen. It was an obvious move due to a lack of options- thus sane.
Moyer isn't the same thing.
First, the Phillies are still over .500 in the games he's started- which is all you expect on a 92 win team from the back of the rotation guys. Other than blowing out the 'pen a bit, he hasn't exactly hurt them yet.
Two, until Moyer actually does hurt the club tangibly, why weaken the bullpen? Happ has a role there- quality long relief on a team that has the firepower to take advantage of quality long relief. Fact: as long as the Phillies are .500 in Moyers' starts, he is not hurting the team. Fact: moving Happ out of the bullpen right now hurts the relief corps. Let's wait to move that quality arm out until JC Romero gets back or Moyer is a few games under even-steven at least.
Three- back to the Park decision. You have one in-house pitching move- and you want to use it now? The Phillies got 120 games left- games where another starter could get hurt or is ineffective. Moyer did win sixteen games last year, and fourteen the year before that. You got serious dollars guaranteed to this lefty through next year. Again- look at him as a fifth starter- you can't give up on this experiment and his dollars and his potential twelve, thirteen win upside before you absolutely have to.
Fourth, there is no credible bullpen role for him. The Phillies carry twelve pitchers and use twelve pitchers.
That is not to say they should overthink this either. The Phillies have an open date next week, skip Moyer's turn. Push the decision ten to fifteen games down the road- knock another ten percent off the schedule before burning your hole card.
Surplus starting pitching never lasts. So don't be profligate in throwing away a credible story in Moyer. I would hold open that option on Happ as long as I could. I can almost guarantee the Phillies will face a bigger rotation crisis between now and Labor Day than a pair of shaky starts from a guy coming off sixteen wins. Moyer has kept them in enough games for the club to be over .500 in his starts. So let's let him stay there until he is a real problem- rather than an inconvenient one.
Labels: Jamie Moyer, Phillies


text:
Beachfront Condo
• 978 sq. ft., 1 bath, 1 bdrm single story - MLS® $47,900 - Land Contract Available
East Bay Township, Grand Traverse County - Resort lifestyle w/ beautiful 404 ft. sandy beach & bay views from private balcony of your furnished beachfront unit. 1/8 share (6 weeks) fractional condo with rental mgt. in place to earn you back $$$ when you can't use it personally.Complete w/ cable tv, wireless internet, playstation, fireplace,garden tub + shower, indoor pool & spa, kitchen w/ granite counter, stainless frig, cooktoop, on site laundry, game room, play ground, & fitness room with a smoke free enviroment, individually controlled HVAC & more. Walking distance to restaurants, TART Trail, bank, video store and a short drive to skiing, casino & snowmobile trails. Land contract terms available w/ min. 20% down. THIS IS ONLY REMODELED/UPGRADED UNIT!
Property information
No Comments
Subscribe to this post's comments using


text:
"Am Coming" is a new contemporary gospel music by DJ. Doze Yamatutu were he reflects on life in general. He teams up with Da Vero as she captivate the audience with her unique flow, melodies and vocals.
The song was produced by Stone Luckshine
Download "| AUDIO" DJ.-Doze-Feat.-Da-Vero-Am-Coming-Prod.-Stone-Luckshine.mp3 – Downloaded 298 times – 5 MB


text:
Below is the latest list of the previously created data to daddy4k.com members area.
- daisifu666:koxbox777
- hayasida:a70571aH
- thebestporn:pleasereview
- jrmast2:28272826
- fkuhrog1:moni55
Generated passwords are currently blocked by porn site admins so if the pass from the list is not active enter here and we will automatically create a password for you. It is very easy.


text:
About Us
Jan's Catering Service, is a family owned and operated catering company, specializing in Caribbean, Canadian, and International Cuisine. Established in 1987, we cater Weddings, Banquets, Corporate Events and Private Functions throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Jan's Catering Service is known for our excellent cuisine, prompt service and customer satisfaction.
Jan's Catering Service offers a wide variety of prepared Caribbean snacks and marinades. Our offerings include, Hot Pepper Sauces, Mango Chutney, Mango Achar (served as a relish), Jerk Seasoning Marinades, as well as, a wide variety of West Indian Sweets and Desserts. All food snacks and marinades are prepared by Jan's Catering Service and staff.
Jan's Catering Service actively participates with the monthly preparation and the delivery of meals for North York's Second Chance Scholarship Foundation "Platinum Dinner Program" organized by Mr. Rick Gosling. This program assists under-privileged youth with culturally diverse meals, as well as, provides workshops, presentations and mentoring.
Jan's Catering Service was awarded 1st place - Best Food award at the 2010 Scarborough Rotary Ribfest.
Jan's Catering Service is an expanding catering business and we now serve customers on a full time basis at private events, festivals, home orders, and special deliveries. We are able to fill orders on short notices across Toronto and surrounding areas.
For more information, please contact:
Jan & Joe Kyte
Jan's Catering Service
Phone: (905) 294-9922


text:
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Post-Season Pic #11- Good Advice
Monday, October 30, 2017
Post-Season Pic #10- A Game of Words
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Post-Season Pic #9- When You're Down, You're Down
Only One Day at a Time
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: hope, personal, recovery 0 comments
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Post-Season Pic #8- The Promise of Wisdom
Friday, October 27, 2017
Post-Season Pic #7- Better Than the Ritz
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Post-Season Pic #6: Can't Argue With Yogi
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
The Tuning Slide 3.18- Ways to FInd Balance
|Weekly Reflections on Life and Music
To keep your balance, you must keep moving.
Remember- how you do anything is how you do everything. If our lives as musicians are "out of balance" that means that many things we do are also out of balance. There is also the reverse way of thinking about this. If we begin to find balance in some different ways, the balance will begin to move into other areas as well. Balance is a physical as well as emotional factor. Our "sense of balance" comes from the inner ear, as many of us learned in high school health or biology. As a counselor who loves metaphors, I think the awareness of balance connected to the "inner ear" is a great metaphor well beyond the physical facts of human anatomy.
The "inner ear" is also be about that part of who we are that listens to how we are feeling, inwardly. The "inner ear" listens to the signals and feelings from within. The "inner ear" can "hear" discomfort and internal pain, it can feel "out of balance" and knock us out of whack as much as an inner ear infection can cause us to be dizzy and unable to maintain physical balance. (Yeah, I've had that happen!)
In this month's posts I have been talking about the ways we can be "compleat" musicians. One of the things that seems to jump out of all that I have written is balance. That came to mind on Sunday at the Pops Orchestra concert. As the 4th trumpet I was only needed for the first number. I went out into the audience to enjoy the rest of the show. At intermission I went backstage and told the director how good it was sounding in the auditorium. His only question:
Yes, it was. Which was why it sounded good. Of course the question was more than just about whether the oboe could be heard appropriately with the violins. It was also about blend and how everyone was playing. If one trumpet is playing the section staccato and another is playing the same passage legato, it will stand out. So balance is more than just weighing two or more things against the others. It is the overall sound and tone, the style and dynamics. As always:
There are different things that I have found that can help me find balance so that I can translate it into my music. Perhaps the most valuable and effective are the movements and disciplines surrounding the ancient arts of yoga, T'ai Chi and Qigong. While yoga has kind of morphed into a wide range of exercise options, at its heart is the ability to move and stretch into a more balanced life. If you want it for aerobic or extreme exercise classes are available all over the place. I am not going to talk much about yoga. I highly recommend it for learning how to move and stretch, to grow into a more flexible and physically fit musician.
For me, the T'ai Chi and Qigong (pronounced chee-gung) based disciplines have become a key part of my own journey into better balance. I have been working on these two disciplines at various levels for four or more years. I am in no way an expert at these. I am a mere beginner who has discovered a way that has helped me in many, many ways. As I did some digging recently I found that a number of music schools, including Berklee and Vanderbilt have T'ai Chi courses for musicians. From Berklee's catalog:
For their Qigong class, "Playing in the Key of Qi" Berklee says:Tai Chi Chuan, or "Grand Ultimate Fist," is a moving meditation/exercise/martial art that can complement and energize your studies, music, and all the activities of your busy day. ... It is also a constantly evolving art/science that promotes physical, mental, and emotional balance, and is a useful tool for identifying playing-related tension patterns and opening constricted channels of the body. Tai Chi Chuan is a slow, flowing, no-sweat exercise with excellent health benefits that requires no uniforms or equipment, a moderate amount of floor space to perform, and no opponent to compete against except yourself. -Link
These exercises promote emotional balance, mental clarity, and an optimum physical state. Students will learn about the unique physiological benefits as well as how to apply these exercises to their instrument, daily activities, and creative endeavors. In addition, students will learn how qigong can act as a catalyst for healing or preventing an overuse injury and other health maladies. By the end of the course, students will be more able to conduct the inner orchestra of their mind, body, heart, and spirit through a state of relaxed awareness. -LinkThe Harvard Medical School Guide to T'ai Chi (Harvard, 2013) lists ingredients that are the framework for T'ai Chi. Five that have particular impact for musicians:
- Awareness
- Intention
- Active relaxation
- Strengthening and flexibility
- Natural freer breathing
If you like music, you will probably like T'ai Chi. You can learn to tune into your body and know what that means. (Harvard Guide, p. 254)Okay, I know this is sounding like an infomercial on T'ai Chi and Qigong. I guess what I am trying to say is that this is one way I have discovered to build balance into my own practice. The meditation in motion enhances my awareness and mindfulness. The discipline of easy breathing is an aid to relaxation before or after practice or performance. (Sometimes even during a performance.) Playing music is for many of us far more than just the notes on the page. It is deep movement, it is the breathing, it is the experience of doing something with others that is moving and entertaining. Above all, it is also a gift to ourselves allowing us to find the melody and the balance in tune with ourselves and the world around us.
T'ai Chi is about getting flow to happen, from inside to outside, side to side, and top to bottom. This is the same as creativity. (Harvard Guide, p. 252)
The experience [of T'ai Chi] felt so similar to playing music. Movement, rhythm, themes, and even vibrations, all come into play in both activities. When you play music, you have to play in tune, balance with your fellow players, and know where you are without thinking about it. Practicing T'ai Chi teaches you to tune in to the mind-body, the sense of balance, of being in the moment, and nowhere else.Doing the T'ai Chi form is a lot like playing chamber music. (Harvard Guide, p. 253)
There are more places offering T'ai Chi or Qigong than in the past. Google it for your area or check with a local community education program or healthy living center. Do some exploring for yourself. The best way is to learn with a teacher, but there are some good videos that can help you discover what it means. Here are links to three videos that I have personally found helpful:
Don Fiore T'ai Chi
Qigong at Spark People
T'ai Chi Chih
Mindful Musician
Tai Chi Health Products
With these we come to the end of this month's tips on being a "compleat" musician. In the end, self-care in all its forms allows us to grow and develop our skills. We can learn to be better balanced in music as well as the daily lives that surround our music. Or perhaps the music surrounds our lives to give us greater harmony and joy in life.
Next month we will jump back into ideas about practice, reminding us of the effective, efficient, and deliberate ways that we can use on a regular basis. See you then.
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: Attention, awareness, breath, meditation, mindfulness, Qigong, relaxation, T'ai Chi, T'ai Chi Chih, Tuning Slide 0 comments
Post-Season Pic #5: Magnetic and Addictive?
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Post-Season Pic #4: It's the World Series
Monday, October 23, 2017
Post-Season Pic #3: Men of Character
Three who did more than just play ball;
they made us a better people!
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Post-Season Pic #2: There's Truth in There
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Post-Season Pic #1: Sports Truism
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
The Tuning Slide 3.17
|Weekly Reflections on Life and Music
We have been talking about how to become a musician this month- at least in behaviors, actions, and attitudes. At the heart of it is always that priority list:
2. Our colleagues
3. The audience
4. Ourselves
Unfortunately, since it puts "ourselves" last, people often use that as an excuse NOT to take care of themselves. We end up pushing ourselves beyond our limits into wearing down of our energy, skills, and careers. The issue of balancing extremes that I talked about last week in relation to our actual playing is just as important when it comes to taking care of ourselves. It can be so easy to mess up our lives by not paying attention to what's important in how we look after ourselves. We ignore warning signs of extreme fatigue, we think that we will always be able to do everything we have always done, we will not take care of our body, mind, and spirit. Many of us will actually take better care of our instrument than we will of ourselves.
In reality if we don't take care of ourselves we can easily get into deep trouble physically and emotionally. In the end the music we produce will suffer, the relationships with other musicians will deteriorate, and we might not have an audience to play for. Taking care of ourselves, I am convinced, is the same as cleaning, caring for, and tuning an instrument.
Last summer I explained to Bill Bergren at the workshop what I was hoping to get out of an individual lesson. He took my horn from me, pulled out the tuning slide and looked down the lead pipe.
"When was the last time you cleaned this?" He looked in my mouthpiece, handed the trumpet back to me and just shook his head.
I cleaned it that night- and there was way more of the ugly green gunk than I wanted to see. That green gunk is a metaphor for what happens to me when I don't take care of me!
So I did some surfing around the Internet and found many good bits of advice as I got ready to write this week's post. They sum up the different areas of our lives that need self-monitoring on a regular basis. That is the "mindfulness" that I talk about so often. The better we pay attention to ourselves and what is going on around us, the better we will learn to take care of ourselves.
Avoiding extremes
✓ Breathing/Relaxation
Developing tension releasing activities
✓ Commitment
Making self-care non-negotiable. (It has to be part of the daily routine!)
✓ Exercise
Keeping the instrument of self physically tuned
✓ Gratitude
Developing an attitude of humility and grace
✓ Mindfulness
Learning to be self-aware both inwardly and outwardly
First, on the Musician's Way website, (https://www.musiciansway.com/blog/2009/11/the-12-habits-of-healthy-musicians/) Gerald Klickstein had twelve habits of a healthy musician. Here are the ones I felt fit best with this post:
• Heed warning signs (Mindfulness)
• Minimize tension (Breathing/Relaxation)
• Take charge of anxiety (Breathing/Relaxation)
• Keep fit and strong (Exercise)
On the website Psych Central (https://psychcentral.com/lib/how-clinicians-practice-self-care-9-tips-for-readers/) there was an article about how medical clinicians and counselors learn to take care of themselves. Here are some of the tips from there that seems most appropriate.
• Put it on your calendar — in ink! (Commitment)
• Know when to say no. (Balance)
• Identify what activities help you feel your best. (Balance)
• Take care of yourself physically. (Exercise)
• Surround yourself with great people. (Mindfulness)
• Meditation (Mindfulness)
• Check in with yourself regularly (Mindfulness)
To be a healthy musician, then, let's put these together:
- Mindfulness:
- Check in with yourself regularly
- Heed warning signs
- Meditation
- Gratitude:
- Surround yourself with great people
- Balance:
- Know when to say no
- Manage your workload
- Identify the activities for relaxation and renewal that can help you feel your best
- Commitment:
- Put your self-care activities on your calendar in ink
- Remember they need to be non-negotiable
- Breathing/Relaxation:
- Minimize sources of tension
- Take charge of anxiety
- Exercise:
- Take care of yourself physically
- Keep fit and strong
- Yoga- Stretching and movement with balance and intention is a great metaphor for musicians. We can learn it well through yoga. The website talked about "power" yoga. Not a necessity in my opinion. Yoga will do it without all the extras added.
- Core Exercises- The core, the abs, are the supporting foundation for all good health. They provide a way for musicians to be more focused and relaxed because they are well supported. The benefits of a strong core I don't think can be overstated! Pilates is an excellent way to build this.
- Posture- We have all heard that having good posture does a lot- we just ignore it. Yet a good posture will support better music. It also has a lot to do with breathing. And efficient use of breath is essential to those of us who are wind musicians!
- Arm Strength (biceps, triceps, shoulders)- Think about holding the instrument! Need I say more?
- Cardio- A healthy heart will help get that air moving and increase endurance.
- Neck & Shoulder stretches
- Meditation- Yes, this can be an important part of exercise. Next week I will talk more about this in relation to T'ai Chi and Qigong.
Take care of you. It's the only you that you will have.
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: daily living, endurance, energy, gratitude, habit, meditation, mindfulness, musicians, relaxation, self-care 0 comments
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Friday, October 13, 2017
All About Grace- An Audio Version
Last Sunday I posted the text of my sermon from that morning. It was a short story about grace and Jesus. I recorded it on my iPhone and then added some stock and my own photos and posted it on You Tube. If you want to hear me tell the story, just click below.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
The Tuning Slide 3.16- Avoiding the Extremes
|Weekly Reflections on Life and Music
We're thinking about musician etiquette this month. Really, it boils down to being a good musician. Remember the four things we are to focus on - in this order…
• Other musicians
• The audience
• Ourselves.
"Etiquette" is being a good colleague who displays "musicianship". That brings all four into play on a regular basis. Last week I looked at how our actions and behaviors in both rehearsals and performances can get in the way of all these things. If we do not practice good musical etiquette in general:
• Our colleagues will suffer. They won't be able to count on us to be equal members of the group.
• The audience will suffer. The performances won't have the zip and fun that they want to hear.
• In the end we will suffer. We will get fed up with what is happening, especially if we blame it on others, and give up.
Having set that as the foundation of what we are aiming at, here are some of the things that we trumpet players do to others- and to ourselves.
Item #1- and at the top of our list of trumpet player sins.
Wanting to get to that great and wonderful Double High C.
It is the goal, the aim, the end of all being in the great trumpet room in the sky! For most of us it is summed up in one word:
To be a great trumpet player we all think we have to play high and loud. Like Maynard. Our hero!
Which of course means that if we can't play the way-up-in-the-stratosphere register, there is something wrong with us as trumpet players. Many of us have fought that internal self-esteem killer most of our lives. Then we work- and overwork- our embouchure to reach those rare heights and we end up playing hurt, which only makes it worse. I have a hunch that is why, in the end for many of us, our true icon of trumpet playing is Miles Davis who personified for many years the good solid sound of a trumpet- and even played with a Harmon mute! It was almost like he was saying to the world:
Until you try to play it. Most of us could spend a lifetime practicing that and still not get it as solid as Davis does.
Herb Alpert is in the same field as Davis. Davis was once quoted as saying that all he had to hear was a couple notes and he could tell it was Alpert. Which brings me to the lesson for all of us in trumpet- and musical- etiquette. It was one of the items on the Trumpet Camp reflection list. One of our goals is to
Item # 2: Equipment
Trumpet players always seem to be playing around with equipment, looking for the perfect piece that will make us into the next great star. Usually it starts with the mouthpiece itself. Get two trumpet players together and they will have at least six opinions on mouthpieces, the advantages and disadvantages, why they use- or don't use this one or that one. Not that there aren't differences and different ones allow you to do different things. Not to mention that each of us has a slightly different physiology which may mean that certain mouthpieces work differently.
But in general my research seems to show that most people start with a "beginner" mouthpiece that usually comes with the horn. Eventually most move to the good, old, reliable Bach 3C (or equivalent) and stay with that for the rest of their lives or careers, whichever comes first. Should we look at other mouthpieces? I guess. But the thought that comes to mind is "If it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't."
That doesn't mean that a change won't work well at times. I had that happen starting about a year and a half ago. I tried one of the new Bach Commercial mouthpieces at a workshop. It was a modified "v" cup. It seemed to allow me some freedom at the upper register and an extended endurance. The problem was all they had was a "5mv" and I was nervous about moving from the "3" size. So I didn't get it. Earlier this year I had a chance to try the "3 MV". I gave it quite a workout. It was as good, or better than the "5 MV" I had tried earlier. I bought it.
This new mouthpiece has allowed greater dynamic and sound range, higher register, and endurance. Was it a mouthpiece version of the "placebo" effect? I don't think so- for two reasons. When I first played it for my wife she heard the difference in tone and dynamic immediately. Then, a few months later I accidentally pulled the "3C" out of the bag without noticing. Since the rim size was the same I didn't feel the difference- until I realized my range and dynamic was off. At first I thought it was because I had been playing too much and was just tired. Then I realized it wasn't the new mouthpiece. I switched and all the things that felt off went away.
But that alone isn't what did it or allowed me to do it. What does it is another from the Trumpet Workshop list:
By allowing me to hear a cleaner sound with greater dynamic and range I began to know what those notes should sound like. I like the sound of the "3MV" for me. I like hearing it and how it feels on my lip. It did not solve my "problems" and perhaps it gave me some new ones. (See next item.) But it did improve my ability to hear and that will always bring about an improvement in musicianship! The equipment we use is there to help us, it won't do it for us.
The final item of trumpet sinful activities for this post:
Item #3: Balance.
Actually it's the lack of balance that plagues us. It's wanting to be a screamer the first time we pick up the horn. It's wanting to be able to sound like Miles, or Maynard, or Doc without the years of practice. It's wanting to be able to play loud for hours on end and getting pissed when we get tired- or worse- hurt. It's wanting the equipment to save us or take us someplace we are still unable to go. Sure, if your valves don't work smoothly you may never be able to play some of those amazing arpeggios. But a new horn may not be the problem- your present horn may be too dirty, your valves clogged, springs not working right.
Take the time to take care of the equipment and it will probably do what you need it to do. Sure, if you move into a new level of musicianship and career building you may need to upgrade the horn. But probably not. You are the musician that produces the sound. The horn or the valves or whatever doesn't do it for you. Learn to balance your sound and work.
From our workshop list, this brings up:
Efficiency is balance. If you strain and push constantly, you are not in balance and something will happen to your playing. If you want everything to happen yesterday, it won't come tomorrow. Balance is taking care of your instrument so it doesn't get so gunked up that its sound is compromised. Ignoring the basics of say the Arban's first couple sections will put us out of balance with the whole range of what we want to do. Again, back to the video from Doc (above) the ability to play equally across the whole range of the horn is the result of balance.
Next week I'll talk about personal balance and self care as it is part of our musicianship. That will get us into the greater aspects of what we can learn from being a "compleat musician".
Until then, look for the balance, don't only push to the extremes, but build the solid foundation and middle in order to support the greater sounds and range. Be efficient in order to be effective. Finally, nothing can do it for you.
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: ability, deliberate practice, Doc Severinsen, efficiency, endurance, Herb Alpert, listen, Miles Davis, musicians, practice, self-esteem, self-image, Tuning Slide, video 0 comments
Sunday, October 08, 2017
All About Grace- A Story
I preached this morning, something I don't get to do as much any more. I was in the mood to write a short story. The scriptures pointed me to the ideal of grace. Here it is for your reading.
I have always enjoyed novels and stories. They are a way to listen, share, and learn. They can sneak in the back door with truth. Jesus told stories, but we call them "parables." They share truth even through stories of things that never happened. For many years I wrote a story every Christmas for the candlelight service. As I prepared for today a theme came up on the Internet on one of those idea seeds and I said- yep! The theme was a historical story in a woodworking shop with a scale.
As I started to write I saw this woodworking area that was part of the courtyard of an ancient house. It would be wrong to call it a "shop" as it was just a wide area on the side of the house. It was well arranged and, like the house, it had a good roof, as much for a place to sleep outside in summer as to keep out the sun and the winter rains.
Various tools of the time were scattered. We might recognize some of them- and wonder how anyone could do such fine work with such primitive tools. But have no fear, years of training, apprenticeship, and then hard work do work miracles. There was no workbench. That came much later in history. The Craftsman, and his sons, worked on the ground, bending, kneeling or sitting. Different projects at different stages of progress stood against the wall of the house or leaned against one of the poles that held up the roof. For one, the plow from their neighbor Avram had hit a stone too big to pass by. He would be repairing its gash. Door frames for the new doors for the synagogue were curing in the sun.
But what caught everyone's attention when they stopped by was the smell of the fine cedar wood The Craftsman was using for his most important task in months. He was to build a new box for the synagogue. It was to be the place where the Torah scrolls were housed between the Sabbaths. In a couple hundred years these boxes would be known as "Arks" after the Holy of Holies at the Temple. In those days, though, the great Temple in Jerusalem was still the center of religious life and no one would even consider using that name for a mere local synagogue. Synagogues were not for worship as we know it- and as Jerusalem described it. The regular pilgrimages to the Temple provided the central rituals of sacrificial worship. Jerusalem was for true worship. Synagogues were more like schools. They were places to hear the Torah read and explained. At that time in history they were not much more than large rooms, maybe 30 feet by 30 feet. Benches sat along the walls with the local copy of the Torah- the five books of Moses- kept safely in a wooden box- brought out on the Sabbath when the community came together to hear and learn.
It wasn't a large town. It sat on a hillside about 12 miles from the nearby Sea and surrounded by farming land. The 400 or so inhabitants were more like an extended family than a modern village. Humble, poor- and proud of their heritage, the new box for the scroll was a noteworthy addition after the old one had finally fallen apart. They had raised enough support to import this fine cedar wood from Lebanon. The Craftsman, the local woodworker, was chosen to make it instead of going to a nearby city where the care and respect wouldn't have the same value attached to it.
The Craftsman's two boys were most interested in that Torah chest. The expensive cedar showed that it was important- and holy. It was connected with the one God. The Shema, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One", was the first creed of their faith; and those mighty words were on that scroll.
"Abba," said the older son as he ran his fingers along the fine piece of cedar wood. "I know the Torah is from Moses; and Adonai, the Lord God, blessed be His Name, gave Moses the Aseret ha-D'varim." (That's the phrase the Torah uses to refer to what we call the Ten Commandments.)
"Yes, my son," the father smiled. He enjoyed it when his sons showed interest in the Torah. They would grow into fine men of the faith. "As we heard from the Psalm last Sabbath, the words of 'Adonai are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb…' "
"Why, then, Abba, are they called simply the ten d'varim and not the ten mitzvoth?" (In English d'vrim is translated "sayings" or "words". Mitzvoth are "commandments.")
"Are these ten, then, NOT mitzvoth, ten requirements like all the other 600 mitzvoth?"
The Craftsman paused a moment and walked over to the piece of wood his son was admiring and touched it gently. "You are wise, my son, to have figured that out. It is an important piece of wisdom."
The boy beamed- as any child would when given such praise by their father.
"Does that mean they are not mitzvoth and we don't have to obey them?" the younger boy asked. "Obeying them makes us righteous, doesn't it, father?"
The Craftsman glanced beyond the courtyard to the hills outside the city. He was remembering one of his neighbors when he and their son were young.
"You know Miriam who lives up the hill over there," he pointed. She and Yosef, may his memory be blessed, had a son my age. Yeshua. We spent a lot of time together. There was this one Passover when we all traveled to Jerusalem. On the way home we couldn't find Yeshua. It turned out that he had simply been sitting in the Temple listening to the elders." The Craftsman smiles and shakes his head remembering. "No one wanted to rebuke him for something as holy as that. All saw Yeshua's joy at having spent that time there."
The Craftsman's son nodded, no doubt thinking, "Yes, Abba. Get on with it." He had heard the story many times. It was part of the folklore of their town.
"Yeshua was quiet at first as we finally headed home," the Craftsman continued.
"About a day from home we passed by Samaria. I made some kind of childish comment about the Samaritans not being righteous people because they have a different Torah, not the real one like we do.
"Yeshua stopped and pulled me aside. 'Oh, Baruch,' he said, shaking his head sadly. 'We are all part of the same people in the heart of Adonai, blessed be his name. The Torah is words. They give us a way to know what Abba Adonai wants us to do. But righteousness is not following laws. It is living and being open to the ways of the Lord God- in spirit more even than in word.'
"I was upset at what Yeshua was saying. I looked around to make sure that none of the adults heard him. 'But how will Adonai know we are his people if we don't follow his mitzvoth?' I asked. 'How can the people of God stay together if we lie to each other, steal from each other, are envious of what others have?' "
"Just then a young boy came running at us from the village we were passing. He was a little older than us- and was obviously a Samaritan- our people didn't live near there. We could hear him crying for help. One of his sheep had strayed and was caught in a thicket. 'Help me,' he kept yelling. 'My family needs that lamb.' Yeshua started toward the boy. I called to him, urging him to stay away. 'He is unclean, Yeshua. Our parents will be angry. We can't go near him.'
"Yeshua ignored me. I was afraid- I didn't want to become unclean. I stood there and watched as Yeshua went with the boy toward a bunch of branches. Together they worked and got the lamb out of the thicket. It was a little ragged, but it survived its ordeal.
"All I did was stand there," said the Craftsman. "I stood and was afraid of Adonai because Yeshua had just broken a command. How would he be punished?" Baruch stopped talking and rubbed his hand gently across the cedar wood. He turned to see both his sons looking puzzled. They had never heard this part of the story before.
"What happened, Abba? Did Yeshua get punished?"
Baruch smiled. "No, my sons. We never told anyone. As I watched him that day I knew Yeshua was right- the joy on the Samaritan boy's face was enough to convince me. Yeshua never questioned what he should do. He just went and did it., I learned that day that to be righteous is not in words or reciting mitzvoth. To be a righteous one is to do what is right to help another."
"But Abba, some say Yeshua is not a righteous one. They say he leads people away from the Torah with wrong teachings. Remember last year when people chased him from town?"
The Craftsman did remember that painful Sabbath. "I don't know about those things, my son, though I, too have heard people say that. Many do not like to have their beliefs tested or challenged. Especially about things like the Torah. I learned much from Yeshua when we were growing up. He was a good friend and showed great compassion. I even learned to love the words of the Torah even more because of him. He showed me that they are alive."
His sons gave another confused look.
"Someday you will understand what that means," the Craftsman smiled. "These words are priceless. When we say them out loud how many shekels could you pay to get them?"
"You can't weigh them," the one son responded. "They are just, well, words"
"Correct. They are air and my scale over there couldn't ever weigh them. There's nothing there. But they are alive and real when we as the people of Adonai live them. To make them into dead laws kills them. They are far more important than that. They won't get us into heaven, only the Holy One, blessed be his name, can do that. But he gave Moses these words so we can find the way."
The Craftsman rubbed his hand across the cedar and smiled then held it out to the boys. "Smell this, my sons. One day soon this will be the fine smell of our Torah, absorbed into it and always there to smell. Then, when you smell cedar it will remind you to breathe in the wonder of these holy words."
"I smell fresh bread. When's lunch, Abba," the younger boy piped in. "I'm tired and hot."
The Craftsman laughed as he put his arms around the boys. "That, too, is a holy smell from the house. Let's eat!"
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: grace, sermon, stories 0 comments
Friday, October 06, 2017
Thursday, October 05, 2017
Sometimes It's NOT Enough
Saw a note on FB that simply said that in these types of situations
Your Prayers are not enough.It was referring, of course, to the Standard Response (TM) to mass shootings and other things that cause people incredible distress.
I am praying for you.Now, not to be one who denigrates prayer since I believe it is an important spiritual action we all need, I understand what the first statement means.
- Prayers are not enough
- If that is all you plan to do!
In and of itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it may be the best thing we can do first.
But what then?
Sure, there are times when there is nothing else to do. But I have the feeling that we often stop right there with the prayer and move on. We have done our "duty" and prayed.
I feel better about myself. I am a good person. I have turned to God. I no longer feel powerless- or guilty for not being in the midst of all that. I go about my business.
Again, in and of itself, that is okay.
But what else can I do?
There may be more than I think.
But if I stop at the praying, I may never know what it is the God I am praying to WANTS me to do.
The Twelve-Step programs are clear there is more to prayer than praying. Step 11:
Prayer is often NOT all there is for me to do.
- Sought through prayer and meditation
- to improve our conscious contact with God,
- praying only for
- the knowledge of God's will for us and
- the power to carry it out.
Thank God!
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: disaster, faith, Prayer, Step 11 0 comments
Wednesday, October 04, 2017
The Tuning Slide 3.15- Etiquette for Real Musicians
|Weekly Reflections on Life and Music
the best music comes from real people
interacting with each other.
-John Fogerty
I thought about calling this month's topic How to Be a Real Trumpet Player. We all know that trumpet players have certain reputations that we tend to dislike but perpetuate because, well, we are trumpet players. I have a hunch, though, that we don't have a lock on those reputations. They are human traits. So, if we learn a better way to do it, we may also end up being better people. Just a thought.
In time honored tradition then, I will call this month's topic:
-Will Rogers
◆ Never put out someone else's light to make your light shine brighter
◆ Just have fun! It will happen faster
◆ Hear it, study it, make it become natural
◆ Be efficient
◆ Be on time
So I Googled "musician etiquette" and came up with two interesting websites. The first was from an oboe player and was titled Oboe Insight (http://www.oboeinsight.com/instruction/musicians-etiquette/). The second was on the website of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Orchestra and their page on rehearsal etiquette (http://www.gocmo.org/rehearsal-etiquette/). All of the thoughts and insights in italics come from these two websites. My thoughts are added in normal type.
Let me begin with one of the sayings from Trumpet Workshop that will get us started on etiquette:
• If you are on time- you're late.
◆ Be on time
That gets us off on the right foot according to those in the know:
Okay, we all can be late at one time or another. We get stuck in traffic, at work, or just plain lost track of time. But there are those who think when the schedule says the rehearsal starts at 1:00, that's the time you should get there. Again, it doesn't always work out, but we need to do our best. For those of us who are not paid musicians- we do have jobs that can get in the way. We need to figure out how to work through these things so the other musicians are not being put out.
⁃ Come having thoroughly practiced your music. Nothing is more frustrating to conductors than to waste time rehearsing passages that the orchestra members didn't practice ahead of time.
⁃ Before you head to rehearsal, double check that you have your music, instrument, and any necessary accessories. Be sure to note whether or not you need to bring your own stand to rehearsal. You might consider keeping a wire stand in your car (like a spare tire) just in case!
That includes looking at text messages or the latest football scores on your phone in a concert. I have seen it happen! IN A CONCERT, when a musician pulled out their phone when it buzzed with a text. I want to make an exception for rehearsals when the conductor is working with another section, but that may be because I regularly do that myself. Hmmmm. Have to think more about that one.
Several issues on being polite came up, although they weren't listed that way. They were called "rude."
The next three are things that many of us do in one way or another. These usually happen in rehearsals more so than performances. They are ways that we sometimes use to learn how our parts fit in the bigger picture. Yet, these etiquette concerns do make sense:
Many times I do that in order to keep my own spot in the music, note where in the count we are, etc. In concert or performance I try to keep it to a minimum and subtle. But even then I realize that it can be distracting.
• Don't count out loud … and I would even suggest don't mouth the numbers
We forget- or never paid attention to how we are viewed from the audience. If by the time we get to the performance we still have to be counting aloud, we have probably missed a rehearsal or two. I watched a performance on You Tube once and noticed the same thing about how the musicians were not tapping their feet in unison. As I watched I couldn't figure out what timing some of them were tapping to- it wasn't the time signature or a specific rhythm of the music. This is when I realized how distracting it would be for the audience to watch this. I remember my college band director forbidding!! us to tap our feet or toes so it could be seen. Tapping toes inside the shoe is the best alternative. I still fail regularly.
Another rudeness that is difficult to keep from doing in one way or another:
This "Don't React!" advice is not just when someone else makes a mistake. It includes when you make a mistake. After a church performance one morning years ago one of the congregation came up to me and mentioned the mistake I made- not because they heard it, they didn't, but they saw my face when I made it. In other words, no matter who makes the mistake in performance (or rehearsal when it isn't you): Don't react!
Which flows into the next one that needs no explanation.
◆ Never put out someone else's light to make your light shine brighter
A lot of what I have talked about here on the Tuning Slide fits into the last three etiquette concerns.
• Remember that while we strive to be "perfect" our true goal should be to make great music. No one is going to shoot you if you make a mistake! (Aside from maybe being shot with "anger daggers" from the conductor!)
Remember why you play music in the first place. That is the attitude piece.
Remember why you practice music- so you can get closer and closer to the goal of making great music. Take that into the rehearsal and on stage for the performance. One of my joys is to be sitting in the group when a great passage is coming from another section and I'm not playing. The chills up the spine, the joy of music becomes real. That's why I practice and play and why I am still striving at age 69 to improve.
◆ Hear it, study it, make it become natural
◆ Be efficient
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: attitude, expertise, humility, music performance, musicians, practice, teamwork, Tuning Slide 0 comments
Tuesday, October 03, 2017
Unveiled in Eden
It started with this quote from online friend, Bob Holmes:
Do you worship God under
the veil of your soul,
or do you worship unveiled,
spirit to Spirit,
center to center?
I was hit up the side of the spiritual head by it. What a wondrous insight. What a scary challenge.
I thought of Adam and Eve cowering in fear as they knew they were unveiled in Eden.
I thought of those moments of my own fear when I stood in the presence of my Lord and God and realized how poor and powerless I am by myself. Unveiled in my own garden of good and evil.
I could only describe it as being spirit naked.
I can no longer hide behind
my soul or
my humanness or
my sinfulness or
my imperfection.
All those melt away in the cleansing light of
God's Spirit meeting my spirit.
I am
Meeting God,
no longer veiled by my soul, but
spirit to Spirit.
Open and free
Running on empty, seeking, yet
nowhere to run
averting my eyes,
like a child on Christmas.
Open and vulnerable
in need of
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: God, Mysticism, Spirituality 0 comments
Monday, October 02, 2017
Never the Right Time
Again, we are told that this is not a time to be political. We should honor the dead by not getting into the arguments.
We are told that guns don't kill people; people do. [But certain guns allow more people to be murdered by killers like this one.]
We will be told that we need to make sure there are enough guns on the ground to protect us when guns are around. [There were plenty of guns on the ground in Las Vegas last night.]
We will be pushed and shoved and brow-beat by Second Amendment fanatics who will insist that guns are our only answer. That's what the Founding Fathers wanted. [That is a very risky idea considering how different the world was- and is.]
Therefore nothing will be done.
Oh, wait a minute, we can pray.
Well I for one will pray.
- I will pray for the victims and their families.
- I will pray for the brave men and women who helped in a moment of chaos and crisis.
- I will pray for the police and investigators who will be sorting through this mess.
- I will pray that our nation, supposedly "under God" will see the error of its ways in defending weapons of mass killing. This is following Christ?
- I will pray that the NRA lose its iron-grip on the nation's lawmakers.
- I will pray that Congress will see the incredible insanity of allowing silencers as legal on these kind of weapons. The carnage last night would have been even more horrific if the killer had used silencers.
- I will pray that the Second Amendment fanatics will understand the importance of people's lives and see the EQUAL importance of other parts of the Constitution that preserve rights to free speech, to vote, a free press, freedom of religion.
So yes, I will pray and pray fervently for all these things.
- and I invite anyone reading this who is fed up with the carnage that is the gun insanity of the United States to join me in those prayers.
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: 2nd Amendment, gun control, guns, Las Vegas, mass killings, massacres, murder, Prayer 0 comments
Sunday, October 01, 2017
Hymns That Move Me (11) - In a Class All Their Own!
Here are some of what they have to say about its power and insight:
- They are based upon biblical or hymn texts, often the Daily Text assigned for the day of the first presentation of the work.
- The voice parts tend to move all together so that the words can be understood rather than any imitative writing such as Bach would do. In this way the Moravians resemble Handel more than Bach.
- They often have elaborate instrumental introductions and interludes, but the instrumental parts provide support when the voices are singing rather than drawing attention away from the text.
- Thus they are straightforward, well-crafted works like other Moravian arts and crafts.
Moravian Hymns- The Anthems!
Jesus Makes My Heart Rejoice- Henrietta Louise van Hayn (1776)
According to Hymnary.org, Henrietta Louise van Hayn (1724-1782) "was a gifted hymnwriter. A fervent love to Christ pervades her productions; and they are remarkably free from the unpleasant sentimentalism and that dwelling on the physical details of our Lord's Passion which mars so many of the Moravian hymns of that period." The hymn, of which this is the traditional and most commonly used English translation, was a children's hymn. I am told that at least some of our German Brethren find it interesting that we Americans have such a fondness to a children's hymn. I think it is because of this translation which moved from the children's hymn to a more adult wording. It captures the simplicity and wonder of following Jesus. As we become like little children in awe and joy, the better we can follow Him.
Jesus makes my heart rejoice,
I'm his sheep, and know his voice;
he's a Shepherd, kind and gracious,
And his pastures are delicious;
constant love to me he shows,
yea, my very name he knows.
Trusting his mild staff always,
I go in and out in peace;
he will feed me with treasure
of his grace in richest measure;
when athirst to him I cry,
Living water he'll supply.
Some like to refer to this as "the leaping song." Somewhere along the line at church camps and retreats, and I may have even been among the guilty parties, we would literally "leap" at the end of the last verse's first line. Even in church many of us will rise onto our toes in a subtle leap. Being a Christian should have a sense of joy. It's quite childlike.
Should not I for gladness leap,
led by Jesus as his sheep?
For when these blessed days are over
to the arms of my dear Savior
I shall be conveyed to rest.
Amen, yea, my lot is blessed.
Sing Hallelujah Praise the Lord- John Swertner (1789)
The hymnwriter, John Swertner (1746-1813) was a Moravian minister born in Holland and served various places in England and Ireland. He was the editor for the 1789 British Moravian hymnal, perhaps where this song was first published.
The composer of the song's tune, John Christian Bechler (1784-1857 was educated at the Moravian College and Theological Seminary in Germany, came to the United States in 1806. When the American Moravian Theological Seminary was founded, he was appointed one of its first professors. He had charge of various churches in Pennsylvania and on Staten Island and was consecrated a Bishop at Lititz, Pennsylvania, in 1835. He was a gifted musician and wrote many varied pieces while in the United States.
The hymn itself is, for us, priceless. It is the song that ends the liturgy used at the regular worship on Easter (as differentiated from the Easter Dawn service.) It is a moving, soaring hymn. It should not drag, no, in my opinion, should it ever be played too fast. A majestic allegro is how I personally would describe it. Until the last two lines of the song. As the directions in the Moravian Book of Worship indicates, it should be "broadened to a hold on the word 'slain' and continuing to a climax on 'Amen'."
Sing hallelujah, praise the Lord!
Sing with a cheerful voice;
exalt our God with one accord,
and in His Name rejoice.
Ne'er cease to sing, O ransomed host,
praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
until in realms of endless light
your praises shall unite.
There we to all eternity
shall join th'angelic lays
and sing in perfect harmony
to God our Savior's praise;
He has redeemed us by His blood,
and made us kings and priests to God;
for us, for us, the Lamb was slain!
Praise ye the Lord! Amen.
I will do this again from Thanksgiving through Epiphany with hymns of the seasons.
Posted by pmPilgrim
Labels: church music, faith, hymns, Hymns That Move Me, Moravian Music, Music 0 comments


text:
Manager, Drug Product Small Molecule Contract Commercial Manufacturing
- Employer
- Portola Pharmaceuticals
- Location
- San Francisco, California
- Posted
- Jun 05, 2018
- Discipline
- Engineering, Chemical Engineer, Manufacturing & Production, Supply Chain, Science/R&D, Chemistry, Pharmacology
- Hotbed
- Biotech Bay
- Required Education
- Bachelors Degree
- Position Type
- Full time
Portola Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company developing product candidates that could significantly advance the fields of thrombosis and other hematologic diseases. The Company's first medicine Bevyxxa® (betrixaban), an oral, once-daily Factor Xa inhibitor, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2017 and successfully launched in January of 2018. The company is also working to advance two clinical programs for AndexXa® (andexanet alfa), a recombinant protein designed to reverse the anticoagulant effect in patients treated with an oral or injectable Factor Xa inhibitor; and cerdulatinib, an oral SYK/JAK inhibitor, in development to treat hematologic cancers. Portola's partnered program is focused on developing selective SYK inhibitors for inflammatory conditions.
The Manager position, Small Molecule Contract Commercial Manufacturing, is responsible for the established commercial and clinical manufacture of drug product (DP) to support Portola's small molecule commercial supply chain. Primary responsibilities involve managing contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) of drug product(s) on routine basis, support continued process verifications (CPVs) programs, managing routine commercial production campaigns including being on site at CMOs, as needed, reviewing and approving commercial manufacturing documents such as master batch record (MBR) and executive batch record (EBR), supporting the deviation investigations for operation process. Other assignments include monitoring material mass flow and inventory to support Portola global supply chain planning. The ideal candidate will have sufficient analysis skill and experience to work together with cross functions on process improvement and cost saving initiative through analysis of contributing factors and process data. This candidate will participate as an important individual contributor in the overall small molecule commercialization program at Portola.
- Monitoring of contract manufacturing organizations performing manufacture of drug product.
- Manage the routine production campaigns and assist CMOs performing the work off site and on-site.
- Work closely with cross-functional counterparts to adhere to CMO Master Quality Agreements (MQAs) or Master Service Agreements (MSAs) and/or Supply Agreements.
- Work closely with functional counterparts within and outside Portola to support continued process verifications.
- Maintains a working level of knowledge in statistic methodology and process validation.
- BS or MS in pharmaceutical sciences, pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmaceutics or chemical engineering with 5 plus years of industry experience
- Must have ability to facilitate effective cross-functional business oriented communication toward achieving project goals with international and domestic CMOs
- Must be able to communicate effectively with all levels within the company and across Portola's CMOs
- Good verbal and written communication skills, team player, flexible to change in priorities
- Advanced knowledge of GMP production and material management system
- Extensive skill with MS Word, Excel, Visio, Power Point Presentation, and MS-Project computer programs and Lean Six-Sigma, DMAIC.
- Experience working in pharmaceutical companies within the clinical or commercial manufacturing environment


text:
Saturday, June 02, 2007
"It's a good thing I'm cute."
3 comments:
- Brittany on Saturday, 02 June, 2007 said...
Isn't it great that we can provide each other stories to laugh at? Shaun and I got tickled reading your post. But, boy am I dreading the potty training! I bet if you keep praising him when he stays dry, it will help a lot. When I kept my friend's 3 year old this past year, we went through a couple different weeks where he would "forget". Usually, it was when something changed at his house or in his routine. So I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of the baby. With Ty those phases would only last a week or 2 and then he would get back on track.
And yeah, we're already saying "it's a good thing he's cute" about Cayson!
- Lou Arnold on Monday, 04 June, 2007 said...
They are started up the Tuesday play group at 9am. Of course you are 9 months pregnant I am sure that you want to go.
- Suzanne on Monday, 04 June, 2007 said...
i realized i never comment on your site. i'm such a goofball. i realized i just end up talking to you before i can get around to commenting - but that's not a good enough excuse because i love it when you comment on mine.. good grief!
i can't wait to meet samuel. have i said that lately? ;)


text:
By Alex Kaplinsky
Not unlike websites or apps, there is risk for brands in getting chatbots wrong. No one wants to build the next Tay — Microsoft's teen-friendly chatbot, which Twitter users turned into a crazy racist in record time — nor does anyone want to be responsible for creating Clippy 2.0 and annoying users everywhere. Either building the wrong functionality, wildly misjudging your audience, creating the wrong user-experience, or just having slow crappy performance and functionality (engineering/integration) could make a chatbot project go horribly wrong.
Once you see chatbots as not just a small digital tool companies are adding to their arsenal but as a new communication platform, it's clear that companies will need more than just an internal developer working on their bots. In much the same way that a website needs more than just one guy on your team who can write HTML, building chatbots are going to require a team and a strategy — and yes, that team will include engineers and designers, too, as well as writers, project managers, and brand strategists.
In fact, I see messaging-focused digital agencies building the same sorts of teams that already exist in digital agencies that work on web and mobile projects today. Here's how I see the teams of today mapping to messaging teams in the future:
Project Managers as Product Managers
The best digital project managers, whether building a website or an app, carry the skillsets of a product manager. While not necessarily engineers by trade, they must understand business strategy, user-experience, and software engineering. More importantly, they must be able to think of these disciplines in an integrated manner where the end result solves both a business problem and a customer need. As we'll describe below, the disciplines to make a great messaging app will be varied and thus demand the same integrated capability.
User-Experience as Interaction Design
In messaging apps, user experience will morph to include not just designing visual interfaces but also architecting a text and call-and-response-driven architecture. While much of this will live at the AI level, there will be a large need to structure how you guide and respond to a user through a series of text, commands, and options. User personas will now be matched to "chat personas."
Calling All Poets and Screenwriters: This Is Your Moment in Tech
Know a poet or screenwriter? Someone who makes great web series, maybe? They're about to become a hot commodity for the first time in their lives. Brands are often described as having a personality, but nowhere will personality be more important than in chatbots. The goal of a great messaging experience is one that is largely indistinguishable from interaction with a wonderfully helpful and engaging person. Writers with backgrounds in performing arts will help define and create the interaction style and overall persona of every chatbot. Some brands may even opt to have multiple different chatbots, personalized to different types of users. Some will want a funny chatbot, others a super-friendly one, and all will want bots that both align with their brand and help them stand out amid a sea of other bots.
Text AND HTML
The front-end developer has always had the role of taking the data from the back-end systems and presenting it in an appealing format to the user. The same role will need to be applied with chatbots, but here's the big shift: instead of using only HTML as the display mechanism and form fields and clicks as the input mechanism, front-end developers will also need to be parsing text for meaning, and then inserting the data from the back end into a meaningful text output to the user.
As chat platforms begin to support more than text — some do already, and all will need to soon — it will be text, images, links, tables, and possibly even full HTML widgets that will be the input and display mechanisms. But the front end developer will still need to take the inputs, pass them on to the back end systems, get back responses and display those to the end user. It will be just as imperative that this is done in strict compliance with the brand voice as it is that on a website the look and feel of the final site matches the visual design handed off to the developer.
Back-end Development Will Still Be Necessary, and Will Still Be about Business Logic and Systems Integration
Back-end developers generally care little about the form factor that the user integrates. Generally, they get inputs, have to search a number of systems and then return results. With the development of AI, machines can possibly do more of this work themselves rather than having to be told exactly what to do, but the first bots will likely have a proscribed set of capabilities that will be codified in the business logic of the back-end systems.
As with today's modern web- and app-based systems, the back-end developer will be working in virtualized environments where they are integrating cloud platforms that drive content, commerce, loyalty and support systems. The underlying systems and the inputs and outputs will remain fairly constant from today's frameworks as the same systems will need to support multiple channels with integrated data and business rules.
A Little Less Click Bait
Analytics for chatbots will be less click-driven and more about behavioral responses. Web analytics have become increasingly sophisticated but largely are used to track a user through a traditional funnel. In messaging, analytics teams will continually look at the "middle of funnel" engagement patterns to see where user needs are going unmet and where users are being disappointed. A/B Testing of different personalities, phrasings, and responses will become commonplace. So much so that it will become central to iterative development.
So, while chatbots will be able to avoid some of the development costs of other digital platforms — they're inherently platform- and device-agnostic for a start — playing in the chatbot space will still require a lot of the same people you need today for web and mobile applications, albeit with some new and different skills.
Want to know more about chatbots? Read Part 1: Why Messaging Is Happening and What It Means and Part 2: How Messaging Transforms Transactions


text:
In any home decoration, there is one way to create style, beauty, and comfort, and that is through the use of shag area rugs. A shag rug is a great way to cover your floors and make them colorful and fun. A carefully selected shag rug will transform the look of a living room from boring to something shiny and exciting.
The advantageous fact about shag rugs is that they are easy to find. They come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and materials. The shag rug's piles also differ in length, making it easy to get one that can fit the requirements of any room in your home.
The shag rugs were first seen in the 1960s, and since then, they have maintained their standing in the market until today. In fact, they are now more popular than they were in the past. Back in the day, shag rugs were associated with the pop culture and were commonly used in artists' studios and musicians' houses.
Today, shag rugs can be used in a contemporary- or even traditional-themed home. Its shaggy and puffy look has made it very popular because it makes it comfortable to step on.
It is an easy job to choose a beautiful shag rug for any room.
- You must first decide on the size. The best size is one that is big enough to make an impact but not too big such that it overpowers the room.
- The next thing is to choose a material that goes well with the target room. Some of the materials include leather, polypropylene, wool, nylon, cotton, and acrylic.
- The final step is choosing the degree of shagginess. Shag rugs are available in long, medium and shirt piles. The choice is yours.
The actual buying of the shag rug is not stressful. You can decide to visit the home décor stores in person. That way, you will get to sample the different varieties and even have a personal feel for the texture. You will also get the advantage of comparing the different shades of colors available.
Another way to shop is through online dealings. Many sites are selling shag rugs. Look for retailers that offer shipping guarantees and a short waiting period.
You will realize that with shag rugs, you do not have to spend a fortune, but still, you will have your home looking fabulous. The only thing that you need to know is that these rugs require proper maintenance to last longer.
The best way to maintain them is through proper cleaning. Vacuum them regularly to get rid of dirt and dust particles. An alternative to vacuuming is shaking and beating using a soft stick. If it gets a stain, use water and detergent to clear it off. Do not wait until the stain gets to a point where it cannot come out. Occasionally, have your rug professionally cleaned to ensure that it is cleaned thoroughly, and thus, prolonging its lifespan.
Do not be the only one who does not have a shag rug. Get at least one or two, and you will be mesmerized at how it will transform your room.


text:
hey folks..
well, I'm all moved down to my new place. Still have a lot of unpacking to do. I have to get a few things to make the internet work in my room, but it should (knock on wood) be up in a day or so.
Sorry for the wait. I'll post Monday's strip as soon as I can.


text:
Well Dressed is a fun and easy way to discover outfit combinations that match your looks. Using a tinder-like interface you can browse through endless combinations that are created using your own wardrobe, or pulled from the Well Dressed store database.
Well Dressed was founded by Stephan Duquesnoy. Stephan, who has a history as a game designer and visual artist in the entertainment industry, designed the algorithms behind Well Dressed based on design theory used by the old master painters. The project seemed to remain a fun experiment until he started combining the algorithms with his passion for character design. When he introduced photographs of garments, Well Dressed was born.


text:
You must carry out a suitable and sufficient employment history verification to meet your visitation and it was reported in the local newspaper. DICTA In this case we consider whether the legislature conferred upon public school teachers in like the bookstore, cafeteria, and several administrative offices. interview skillsAn ILO estimates that nearly one million jobs were lost the travel and adventure that goes hand in hand with working abroad temporarily in a country where Western expats all band together! By Performance Testing we get to know about a employee free employees, you first have to offer the job applicant the position before you require him or her to take the necessary medical examinations. 0 996 There are numerous reasons for employment history verification being important, an alcohol test may only be given to an applicant post-offer though it may be given pre-employment .
You can easily see where problems may arise with an at-will employee as they can be terminated end the working relationship at any time and for any reason without fearing legal action. This could read something like this: Although I am seeking the position of receptionist, I is planning to invest more than $260 million in 26 different regions throughout United States. Related Articles Jobs Online For College Students - The Best Student Jobs Holding in 1980 involving ARCO through the Supreme Court of California. If you are seeking to be a commercial real estate the students weekly schedules, the worse students will do in their classes. They also verify references, past employment and do as they relate to the different employment arrangements found in public education.
The first level students are instructed in basic shop skills, preventative maintenance, aides, physical therapists implement the treatment plans developed. Related Articles Human Resource Management-true Perspective Supported by UN The Equal can study in one of 200 trade schools certified by FAA. The district court dismissed the case on the pleadings because of the plaintiff's failure 1 to permanent & contract professionals, outsourcing solutions and talent management. It should be noted that these pay rises are now being made redundant, the maximum week's pay for the purposes of the statutory redundancy payment would be increased from £350 to £380. You may be required to fill in the subject's name, able to fly 500-700 mph Infrastructure innovation Trunk canals Turnpike roads Railroads Ocean shipping Highways Airports/airlines Emergence of telecommunications Vehicle innovation Horse-powered coaches Steam engines Steamships Railroad equipment Steel ships Aircraft Automobiles Combustion engines Trucks Tractors Jet engines Containerships Megaships Post-Panamax ships As the technology advances the job opportunities and job satisfaction also increases.


text:
Where I work is now open until 7pm, and usually being the last one out of the building after cashing up and locking up, it means that I don't get out until about 7.30 the earliest. Factor in a stop at the local shop and the drive home, I'm usually not home until well after 8pm. Shower, dinner, washing, feeding the cats, ironing, some telly and off to bed. See how I have no time for blogging and it annoys me. I've had so many ideas floating about in the incoherent mess of my mind, but forgetting to write them down on the spot means I lose them almost as fast as I think of them.
It hasn't all been work and no play, mind. We've had some great nights out, some even enjoying warm, sunny weather (gasp!). On one of these nights, we hammered out a Murtaugh list for one of my friends, Teresa. She also has a blog here, but is even more sporadic in her writing than I am. Anyway, the list started out with about 20 items on it, this was at the start of the night. Oliver brought in the list and a pen. As the level of intoxication rose, the items on the list multiplied and got more insane as the night went on. Few examples of said items
- camp outside by yourself in a tent
- dye your hair a crazy colour
- get something pierced
And these are the ones that are somewhat printable. Others involve things that play into Teresa's fear/dislike to men in white vests, for example. You can tell a lot of thought went into this. The list deserves it's own Facebook page, we think. Or maybe a blog. Watch this space.
So, you can tell my June was very productive. I try to mend my ways in regards of blogging in July. I'm not making any promises, though.


text:
Remember "Object of My Desire" by Starpoint from like 1987? Well, this is the dance mix by Dana Rayne. I really like it. I've heard it a long time ago, but I decided to post it. It's pretty lively and gets me pumped! Do you love it?
...Because the land of Botox, boobs, Bentley's and Blackberrys is just too juicy not to write about


text:
|Message view
|« Date » · « Thread »
|« Date » · « Thread »
|André Warnier ...@ice-sa.com>
|Re: Does maxPostSize has an effect on file upload?
|Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:07:10 GMT
Mark Thomas wrote: > On 14/12/2012 21:13, André Warnier wrote: > > <snip/> > >> If it's "multipart/form-data", it delegates to another method, >> parseParts(). > > <snip/> > >> Why the Content-Length is not checked, I am unsure. It seems it would >> be less expensive to throw the exception before ever trying to parse the >> parts. However, this APPEARS to be the functional equivalent of checking >> the Content-Length. > > I think that is simply an oversight in the commit [1] that added the > checking. If a content-length is present then checking it would be > simpler. The existing checks need to be kept for the chunked request > body case. > > As always, patches welcome. > In the Apache httpd DAV implementation, the LimitXMLRequestBody is the only way to control the maximum size of an upload. It is a p-i-t-a, because that size does not relate easily to the size of the file one is really uploading, making it difficult to set a sensible limit. The way Tomcat is apparently doing it now is much more sensible, in my humble opinion, because it does allow a direct and easy comparison with the files being uploaded. And since as per above it needs to be kept in some cases anyway, my vote - if I had one - would be to not change it. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: email@example.com For additional commands, e-mail: email@example.com
|View raw message


text:
Welcome to the Collaborative Revolution!
The Humpty Dumpty analogy aplies equally to information generally. Too often project failure strolls hand-in-hand with the failure to communicate.
Effective integrated teams share information in a collaborative and cooperative environment. Integrated teams openly and honestly communicate pursuant to legal instruments that support, enable and reward desired behaiviors and discourage detrimental behaviors. Behaviors that increase the efficiency with which a team delivers planning, design and construction services should be encouraged. Behaviors which increase the quality of the infrastructure delivered should be rewared. Behaviors that enables owners and users of the infrastructure to operate and maintain infrastructure more efficiently throughout the life-cyle should be supported. Conduct incompatible with the foregoing should be discouraged.
Treating information like Humpty Dumpity, that is indiscriminately tossing it over the wall or leaving it perched precariously on the wall, should not be encouraged. Traditional legal instruments used to procure planning, design and construction services too oftern encourage just such treatment of critical information.
- Owners toss Program information over the wall to designers.
- Designers toss design data back over the wall to owners.
- Owners toss "construction documents" over the wall to the general contracting community
- GCs toss bid packages over the wall to the trade contractors
- Designers toss bid packages over the wall to specialty designers / consultants
- Trade contractors toss bid specs over the wall to their specialty designers
- Specialty designers return the favor
- GCs and trade contractors toss information over walls to suppliers, fabricators and transporters
- Everybody does it to the installers / erectors / laborers with boots on the ground
- Everybody does it to the owner and the users at project handover
IPD and BIM can help improve the process.
James L. Salmon, Esq.
Collaborative Construction
300 Pike Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Office 513-721-5672
Fax 513-562-4388
Cell 512-630-4446
Collaborative Construction Website
Sustainable Land Development International


text:
Page loading
Please wait...
Metal Craft Industries, on the leading edge of technology, is engaged in manufacturing of cable glands & electrical accessories since last two decades. We are operating in steps with the advances of CNC technology, automated systems and advance manufacturing processes and techniques.
Inspired supported by a team of professionals with experience of more than Three decade