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Michelle Heagney and Christopher Smith have been appointed to the PCAV Governance Sub Committee. Both are eminently qualified, affiliated with the Australian Institute of Company Directors and have experience on various Boards. They also have knowledge of Pony Club as past Members and present parents. We are extremely lucky and grateful that Michelle and Christopher have volunteered to help guide PCAV on the Governance Review journey.
DATE: Sunday 11th October, 2015 | VENUE: Pony Club Victoria Equestrian Centre, 640 Little Yarra Road, Gladysdale
Vice President - 2 year term
The Vice President position has a two year term. There are two Vice Presidents, these roles become available on a rotational basis.
More Information | Nominate Here (Due: Wednesday, 19th August 2015, 5:00pm)
State Councillors (Zone Representative)
All State Councillors must vacate their position annually, nominations are called for and any Club may nominate an interested individual to stand for the State Councillor position. Nominees for State Councillor (Zone Representative) positions must have held an Executive Position in a Club at some time but they need not hold such a position at the time of their nomination and must be nominated by a Club which is a member of the Zone which the nominee is seeking to represent.
Notification was sent to all Club Office Bearers on July 1st as an enews. It also appears on Latest News and Facebook with links to the paperwork. Clubs can request a hard copy if required.
Following the AGM there will be a Conference where the Pony Club Victoria strategic direction and current projects will be presented and discussed. The Program will include but is not limited to, the 2015-2017 Pony Club Victoria StrategicPlan, Governance Review Update and Pony Club Victoria Equestrian Centre updates.
There will be an opportunity to tour the Equestrian Centre to see the work that has been done and the future planned developments.
Calling all interested members to serve on the following Sub Committees. Follow this link to the website for more information
State Games, Flat Teams and Musical Ride Championships Organising Sub Committee
Meets 3-4 times per year and is responsible for organising the Championship Event. There are 12 people on the Committee with three year rotational terms. Reports directly to PCAV State Council.
More Information | Nominate here
Inter Zone Teams Horse Trials Organising Sub Committee
Meets 3-4 times per year and is responsible for organising the Event and coordinating the volunteers at the Event. By appointment - Reports Directly to PCAV State.
National Mounted Games Sub Committee
Meets 4-5 times per year and is responsible for coordinating and running the NMG squad training program and organising the Inter Zone Prince Philip Games Challenge competition. There are a maximum of 12 people on the Committee with three year rotational terms, currently there are six vacancies.
All State Level events will be held at Pony Club Victoria Equestrian Centre from 2016 onwards. Following advice from the Event Sub Committees, State Council discussed the distribution of State Level Events over the year in relation to the impact on qualifying requirements, weather, day light hours, school holidays and exams. It was also noted that the first half of the year is extremely busy with all PCAV State Championships held before July. The following dates have been chosen for 2016:
State Games & Flat Teams, a date has yet to be decided, it was suggested that the date may be moved to later in the year which would give the Zones more flexibility to run qualifying events. The feasibility of running the State Games and the InterZone Prince Philip Games Challenge over a weekend to create a Games Festival was discussed. The two Games Sub-Committees will consider the concept and come back to State Council with a proposal for consideration.
PCAV will follow the scoring method set down by EA which utilises % scores for Dressage and the application of a multiplying factor to calculate penalty points. The method was used successfully at the 2015 State Horse Trials.
Converting the result to a % standardises the scores across the rings and decreases the subjectivity of dressage judging. Riders should be encouraged to look at their position in the ring in relation to the rest of the field rather than the actual score obtained.
Penalty points are calculated based on the percentage score achieved in the dressage phase.
Jumping and time faults from the cross country and show jumping are added to the dressage penalty points to reach a final score
This method will be used at the InterZone Teams Horse Trials in September and relates to the method of scoring the Dressage phase. This is the scoring method used by EA and Pony Club Australia and is used at the PCA National Championships.
The Membership fees for all fee paying categories will be standardised at $25.00 (Coach membership for Voluntary Coaches has no fee)
A pro-rata rate for Coach Membership will come into effect on the 1st September 2015. The fee will be $25 across all fee paying Coach Membership categories. Register here.
All Coach Memberships will be valid until the 30 JUNE 2016, bringing the Coach Membership in line with the Riding Membership year and it is anticipated memberships will be collected on the New National Database system to be launched in 2016.
A category will be added to the Booking system which will allow the coach to register online, the coach will need to have a validation form signed by both Club and Zone. The Volunteer Coach will then forward the signed validation form to the PCAV State Office where the validation will be recorded on the data base. Volunteer Coaches are not eligible to be registered in the Coach Directory.
A Coach Membership Card will be created using bend, peel and remove stationary. This will be sent to all existing and new Coaches in the near future, these cards will identify the Coach Membership Category and Expiry Date
All Coaches who have paid between the 1st Jan - 30th Aug will continue to recieve the magazine until the 30 June 2015. All Prorata Coach Members will need to subscribe if they wish to recieve a copy of the magazine. Currently the Subscription rate is $22.00
The logo was unveiled to State Delegates at the PCA National Conference in Adelaide on 30th May 2015 and was universally supported. The national logo is two colour using Australia's national sporting colours of green and gold.
Pony Club Australia has commenced using the new logo and is embarking on a branding process for all State and Territories which will identify Pony Club and be used on the new website/data base.
State Delegates at the national conference agreed that states would also have a two colour logo. It is now up to each state to decide on those colours. One of the colours could be white.
It was agreed that the colours should follow the colours advocated by state governments and state sporting organisations in most cases. Care should be taken in choosing a colour scheme that can be embroidered on clothes and saddlecloths, some of which are in dark colours. It was agreed that the Chair in each state would advise Pony Club Australia of their colours by 1st August 2015.
After consideration and consultation it was agreed that Pony Club Victoria, would adopt the traditional colours of blue and white. State Council also identified that Clubs currently embroider the Victorian logo in one colour on their uniforms and have requested that PCA Board consider allowing Clubs to continue to embroider the new logo in an contrasting colour on their uniforms. PCAV State Council will inform Clubs of the outcome of this request when it becomes available.
State Council endorsed a gradual phasing in of the new logo. Clubs will not be required to discard any uniforms or branded stock, the two logos New and Old (horse tick) will coexist until current stocks are exhausted. Clubs are encouraged to make the change as they bring in new stock.


text: Juvenile Probation Office A mural painted by youth from the Police Athletic League of the Olivets Boys & Girls Club depicts the portraits of two Reading Police Officers who were killed in the line of duty. Mission: We are committed to Public Safety, Justice for Victims, the Reparation of the Community, and Accountability and Personal Development of Offenders with Respectful Treatment for All Involved. The Berks County Juvenile Probation Office is an arm of the Juvenile Court of the 23rd Judicial District of Pennsylvania. The majority of referrals are received from the police departments charging youth, ages 10-17, with delinquent acts. The Juvenile Probation Office is responsible for holding offenders accountable by monitoring and enforcing Court orders and probation plans. At any given time, on average, the Juvenile Probation Office supervises approximately 750 youth, countywide. Probation officers are assigned to each school district in the County and serve not only as the liaison for each school in the district, but in the corresponding communities as well. The Berks County Juvenile Probation Office offers a wide range of programs and services for delinquent youth. The current PA Juvenile Justice System Enhancement Strategy is evidence of the mindset of system reflection and improvement and an emphasis on capacity building. The principles of Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) remain key, with the Enhancement Strategy supporting the achievement of the BARJ goals. Critical to these efforts is the use of evidence-based practices (EBP), data analysis and an ongoing focus on improving the quality of decisions, services and programs. (Hidden) JPO News Contact Information: Address: Berks County Juvenile Probation 633 Court Street 10th Floor, Services Center Reading, PA 19601 Phone: 610-478-3200 (Daytime) 610-478-3200 (After Hours--Non-Emergency) 610-655-4921 (After Hours--Emergency) Fax: 610-478-3251 Email: email@example.com Hours: Mon-Fri, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Report Child Abuse1-800-932-0313 Directions to the Berks County Courthouse & Services Center Staff Directory Pay Fines & Costs Staff Directory Directions to the Berks County Courthouse & Services Center Pay Fines & Costs

subset: commoncrawl


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For the last six weeks or so, I've had account registration disabled due to heavy spam registration attempts. Registration has now be re-enabled, but any new user must post (or at least log into) the forum at least once within 48 hours after the registration has been activated. Users that do not post or login will have their account removed, banned, and reported as spammers.
Due to the extreme increase of the number of spambot registration attempts, I am temporarily disabling new user registrations. If you would like to register on this forum, please send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com with your email address and desired username. I will manually register you and send you a temporary password.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Update 03/22/2017:
Registration attempts with usernames that consist of only numbers will be summarily deleted and reported as spam.
Update 06/30/2014:
Due to ongoing spam attacks, I am requiring all users to register with admin validation before they can post messages in any forum. This means that after registering, I will receive an email with your registration information. I must manually approve each request. I try to approve all legitimate requests within an hour, but if I am away from the computer it may take longer. Hopefully no more than 24 hours. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I've had this board destroyed too many times by scumbag spammers.
All new users should post at least one message within 48 hours of registering or their account may be deactivated.
If you are using a gmail address when registering and get the message:
Gmail addresses may not contain any periods to the left of the '@' symbol. Please re-type the email address without any periods. i.e., 'firstname.lastname@example.com' is OK, 'firstname.lastname@example.com' is not.
Try again without the periods in the address.
Gmail ignores periods in their email addresses, but phpBB does not. This is a trick that spammers employ to re-use a valid gmail address over and over again.
For instance, sending an email to the address "email@example.com" will get to the recipient even if you were to use "email@example.com". The spammers know this. So if "firstname.lastname@example.com" gets blacklisted, they can simply change it to "firstname.lastname@example.com" (which may not yet be blacklisted). Upper/lower case letters do not matter either (that goes for all email addresses, even non-gmail ones).
You can read more about this on this blog post.
Update 01/29/2013:
After installing anti-spam countermeasures (Advanced Block MOD) last November, I've blocked well over 100,000 spam registrations. This seems to be working well, so I've re-enabled user email activation. This means that after registering, you will receive an email asking you to click a link back to this board to activate your registration.
Any spam posts will be immediately removed, the account deleted and the users ip address, email address, and username will be registered in several spam databases and black-listed from any online forums or websites that use those databases. Bottom line ... if you came here to spam, you are not welcome and I will do everything in my power to make sure your registration credentials are banned from the Internet forever. Spammers are lower than lawyers, telemarketers, and used-car salesmen all put together.
Update 11/19/2012: The spamjerks are back in full force. I've had literally hundreds of new spam user registration requests in the last 72 hours and have had to completely disable all new registrations until I can get things back under control. Until such time, I will honor all legitimate manual registration requests sent to email@example.com. Please include your desired username. I will supply you with a temporary password which you must change after logging in the first time. (See this thread for more information about upcoming spam countermeasures.)
Update 07/28/2011: Apparently, the spambots have figured out a way to circumvent the CAPTCHA safeguard during registration and I have been inundated with registration requests. New registrants must make at least one post within 48 hours of registering else the account will be deleted. I apologize for this and ask that you understand it is a continuous chore to keep this forum from slipping into the cesspool that so many other forums have succumbed to because of asshole spammers.
Registration requests from anonymous email servers will be deleted without acknowledgment (i.e., trashmail.net, Anonymizer, Advicebox, etc.). All registrant email addresses will be checked against a spam database and banned if listed there. This also applies to members that use transparent or otherwise invisible links in posts or signatures. Furthermore, all registration requests that are not activated within 24 hours of submission will be deleted. If you want link popularity, go create your own forum. Don't try to leech off my good PageRank.
Bottom line is this: This is a serious forum for the discussion of Firefox extensions and extensions that I have developed in particular. Spam will not be tolerated.
If you are having problems registering (i.e., not receiving confirmation emails, etc.) please email me personally with your desired username. Send registration requests to email@example.com. This email address is for registration inquires only. I generally do not answer support questions that are sent via email or private message. It defeats the purpose of a public forum. If you are experiencing a problem with any of my extensions, it is probably happening to others. A new thread benefits everyone.
Guests may freely browse the forums, but must register to post or reply. Registration gives you the added bonus of receiving email notifications of replies to your posts.
Spam registrations are out of control and I simply will not devote the time and effort required to keep one step ahead of the spambots and idiots who think this forum is a free advertising venue for their pills, porn, and propaganda.


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Get connected with the strong local community advocating for
healthy, humane, and sustainable living through our Services,
and Resources
sections. Also be sure to check for upcoming
If you have any suggestions for our site, if you are a restaurant,
company, or organization interested in being listed, or if you
just want help going vegetarian or meeting local vegetarians,
email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Restaurants considering expanding their vegetarian or vegan offerings
are encouraged to view the vegetarian
starter guide for restaurants.


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Registration is required to log into 'Atiqot. The Israel Antiquities Authority holds and uses this data for administrative purposes only and to keep you informed about forthcoming content. If you do not want to receive any mail from us in the future, please let us know by this link.
Username and Password. Please choose a username and password (up to 8 characters).
Forgot your password? Please click "forgot password" in the Login field, enter your email address, and your user name and password will automatically be sent to you.


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Salmon Fillets
Our Farm Raised Salmon Specification is among the highest in the industry. The highest attention to trim standard is expected by the farms that we source our product from. Belly, tail and collar trim are very specific to allow our customers use of the entire fillet. At the same time our high industry standards on farmint techniques ensure sustainability of the products we sell.
Prep Tips:
Heat a grill or skillet to medium-high heat. Prepare the salmon fillets or portions by rinsing them, patting them dry and removing any remaining pin bones with tweezers. If preparing with skin on, brush skin side with oil and sprinkle the flesh side with salt and pepper, or a preferred seasoning. Brush the grate or skillet with oil and cook skin side down, covered and undisturbed for 10-15 minutes for a 1" thick fillet. When done, flesh should flake easily. Remove from grill or skillet and serve with lemon wedges or other garnish immediately.
Nutrition Statement:
All types of salmon provide a good source of high quality protein and the heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids.


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Close coupled disc couplings
The KD10 (fig 1) coupling is designed to work in place of standard close coupled gear couplings. The power capacity of the KD10 coupling is one of the highest in the industry, allowing the easiest conversion from a lubricated coupling to a low maintenance disc coupling.
The split spacer simply drops away from the hubs for faster installation and replacement of disc packs without moving connected machinery.
Meets AGMA Class 8 as manufactured.


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Nespresso official coffee of the America's Cup
Under Embargo until 2000 NZ time 23rd January 2013
Nespresso named the official coffee of the 34th America's Cup
New Zealand, 23 January 2013 – Nestlé Nespresso S.A. is pleased to announce that Nespresso will be the official coffee of the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco.
A partnership with the race organisers, the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA), means the company's premium coffee capsules and advanced coffee machines will be used to supply Nespresso Grand Cru coffees for guests, partners and fans at one of the world's great sporting competitions.
"We are proud to be supporting such a prestigious and exciting event," said Guillaume Chesneau, Country Manager Nespresso New Zealand. "Our rich history with sailing, along with our relationship with Emirates Team New Zealand makes this the perfect partnership for Nespresso."
Stephen Barclay, CEO of the America's Cup Event Authority, added "We are pleased and proud to welcome Nespresso as the official coffee of the 34th America's Cup and look forward to being able to provide spectators with 'the ultimate cup' when they come to the America's Cup Park in San Francisco."
The announcement of the new partnership coincides with the opening of Nespresso's first boutique on the west coast of the United States, in San Francisco. Nespresso is rapidly expanding its customer base in the US as more and more discerning coffee drinkers discover its coffee, sourced from only the highest quality beans in the top1-2% of the world's supply. It is accelerating the global expansion of its network of boutiques in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
"Strong supporters of sailing, New Zealanders have also become passionate fans of Nespresso. Our boutique in Newmarket, Auckland, allows us to create a unique environment in which to enjoy the Nespresso experience and invite customers to be a part of the America's Cup atmosphere as we proudly support Emirates Team Zealand and their bid to bring the Cup home" said Mr Chesneau.
- Ends -
Notes to Editors:
Nespresso's new partnership will get underway with the America's Cup World Series in the Italian city of Naples in April. Then in July the action will shift to San Francisco for the America's Cup Challenger series. The summer of sailing will reach its climax in September with the America's Cup Finals.
Nespresso began its association with sailing as co-sponsor of Team Alinghi for the 32nd America's Cup campaign, and official coffee for the event. In 2010, Nespresso and Wally, the world leader in yachting innovation, launched the Nespresso Cup, an international regatta exclusively for the Wally Class in Portofino, Italy, which was held again in 2011.
Nespresso became an Elite Sponsor of Emirates Team New Zealand, one of the challengers for the America's Cup, in April 2011.


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As the topic says, since when can ECC cryptography be freely used?
Isn't it widely used because of patents? There is no alternative to it on embedded devices and smart cards.
Just to mention: I am not from the USA. I'm a simple user who wants ECC to be wide supported.


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Emperor's Ghost Army
Season 41 Episode 20 | 52m 52s
In central China, a vast underground mausoleum conceals a life-size terracotta army of cavalry, infantry, horses, chariots, weapons, administrators, acrobats, and musicians, all built to serve China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, in the afterlife. Lost and forgotten for over 2,200 years, this clay army, 8,000-strong, stands poised to help the First Emperor rule again beyond the grave.
Aired: 11/12/14
Expires: 11/11/24Video has closed captioning.
Buy Now:
Problems Playing Video?
Episode Links
Funding for NOVA is provided by David H. Koch, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS viewers. Additional funding provided by the Montgomery Family Foundation.


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Latest posts by Ross Kaminsky (see all)
- Chaos Is Exhausting - May 30, 2017
- There's a Huge New Demand for Guns — Not from Fear of Confiscation, but for Self-Protection - December 30, 2015
- Obama's Keystone Confusion - December 21, 2014
In a Tuesday interview with OZY.com, former President Bill Clinton opined, "Even if it takes a change in the (Obamacare) law, the president should honor the commitment the federal government made to those people and let them keep what (health insurance) they've got."
A few hours later, the Hill reported that "President Obama agrees with former President Clinton that people who like their insurance should be able to keep it under ObamaCare."
As long as Barack "Judge, Jury, and Executioner" Obama has made it a (so far successful) tactic to try Republicans in the court of public opinion as hostage-takers, it's time that the GOP at least collect some ransom.
At no point during the Obama reign have Republicans had the leverage they currently hold over the president and his Democratic congressional henchmen.
This makes the Republican debate over how — or whether — to ease the burden of Obamacare absolutely critical, not only for the 2014 elections but for the long-term relevancy of the Republican Party and the conservative movement.
There are two leading Republican-sponsored bills that aim to allow people to keep their prior health insurance plans. A bill sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) would truly grandfather all health insurance plans (not just policy holders) that existed on January 1, 2013, so that not only could people who have them now (or had them until recently) keep them, but others could buy them as well. The relief would last only until the end of 2014.
This is in contrast to a Senate bill sponsored by Ron Johnson (R-WI) that would simply make true Obama's promise that "if you like your plan you can keep it" — forever (unless the insurance company changes or cancels the plan). Relatives or employees of the plan holder may also be added to plans, if such addition would have been permitted prior to the enactment of Obamacare.
Johnson argues that he has crafted a simpler bill because it has a greater chance of passage than the House bill. And it certainly does.
But it is a terrible idea.
Republicans have been complicit in all sorts of bailouts, from cars to mortgage GSEs to banks to homeowners to cars (again).
If those were all bad ideas, a bailout of the Obama administration is even worse. Much worse. Like the most transparently bad political idea of the past decade — and that was a decade that included Republicans nominating John McCain and Todd Akin, shutting down the government without any winning strategy in mind (while distracting from the unfolding Obamacare disaster), and going along with George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism" — which my political dictionary defines as "liberalism; or a strategy to make the GOP irrelevant."
As Jonah Goldberg put it, "One of the first rules of politics when your opponent is whacking himself in the face with a semi-frozen flounder, is to let them do it for as long as possible." These Republican bills, especially the Senate bill, dramatically and unnecessarily soften the blows.
It's true that Senator Johnson's bill would tend to hurt the long-run sustainability of Obamacare by allowing people who might otherwise be forced into exchanges to keep their plans. But as Keynes noted, in the long run, we are all dead (even with the glory of Obamacare).
In order to save the country from Obamacare's eventual intentional destruction of the private health insurance industry, Republicans must win elections — starting in less than a year. Simply delaying the inevitable results of the Affordable Care Act — which is what Sen. Johnson's bill would accomplish — would be worse than doing nothing.
Not only does it allow the continuation of Obama's fundamental assault on the health care industry, but it bails out vulnerable Democrats in 2014 and 2016, decreasing the likelihood of a GOP majority in the Senate and larger majority in the House, and — this being the reason that Bill Clinton opened his mouth to begin with — taking pressure off of eventual Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton when she is asked "Do you support or oppose Obamacare?" — which a decent Republican strategy could turn into the political equivalent of "have you stopped beating your wife yet?"
And it does all this while receiving not a penny in political ransom.
The House bill is slightly better in that it allows people to keep their plans and allows others to buy those grandfathered plans — but only through 2014.
While having plan availability for only a year may seem curious at first — why not allow people to keep their plans forever? — and while there are questions about whether insurance companies would keep plans in existence if the expectation is that they will vanish in a year anyway, the politics of it are admirable: Imagine Democratic panic going into the 2014 elections if what is happening now with millions of people losing health insurance coverage were happening all over again.
There's a reason that White House Press Secretary Jay "Is My Nose Growing Yet?" Carney says that the Upton bill would "do more harm," that the Washington Post says "the Upton bill is the biggest threat to Obamacare so far," and that influential conservative PACs are supporting the measure.
But when you have a hostage as valuable as President Obama, or at least his legacy, even the Upton bill seems like too small a ransom demand.
Obama's plummeting popularity and Clinton's public thinly-veiled criticism of Obama will encourage many Democrats to vote for a Republican bill in order to save their own skins. Republicans should exact a painfully high price, not just because it's good policy, but because revenge against these bullies and tyrants would be too sweet not to savor.
In the short term, even the Upton bill will be sold by Democrats and seen by many Americans as Congress simply fixing a mistake in the bill's drafting so that Obama can keep his often-made lie-promise without even having to admit that his own Secretary of Health and Human Services set the grandfathering rules that caused this mess.
That always-intended-to-be-broken promise can and will, if Republicans don't help him, turn Barack Obama into a lame duck with three years remaining in his petty dictatorship and create a Republican majority in the Senate for the final two years of Obama's dreary anti-American melodrama.
Why would Republicans agree to bail out a president who is about to destroy what little political capital he has remaining, without getting a huge payoff in return? This is no time to play nice, no time to compromise for compromise's sake. This is time to ask "What would Obama do?" and then do it right back to him, but harder.
Both the Johnson and Upton bills also assume, without good reason, that simply allowing insurance companies to keep plans in existence means that they will. With processes in place to terminate plans, with cancelation notices already sent, and with Obamacare-compliant plans perhaps more profitable, it is far from certain that any "keep your plan" modification to the ACA will actually result in most current individual market plan-holders actually keeping the plan they like. If Republicans try to fix something that is beyond fixing, they risk looking less capable of making a difference, thus damaging their anti-Obamacare narrative for 2014. After all, if "the damage is already done," voters have a different calculation going forward than if damage can be prevented by repeal. This argues even further toward extreme caution in any bill which would appear to help Obama keep his false promise.
Republicans must be careful as they play this hand, knowing that if they call for substantial reform to Obamacare — reform so significant that it could be seen as nearly undoing the law, or at least making other changes worthy of GOP compromise — Democrats will say, "Yet again, the GOP is holding the country hostage, preventing your ability to keep your health insurance in order to get some extreme conservative policy wish."
But the GOP should bravely go down that road anyway, demanding something important — something like tort reform, or interstate purchase of health insurance combined with other structural reforms — while trying to keep partial relief from the negative impact of Obamacare limited to one year so that repeal remains an issue — the issue — in 2014.
Keeping the issue alive — a standard trick of Democrats on issues such as gay rights and immigration — should be the top priority of Republicans, above being able to pat themselves on the back and say, "See, we helped you keep your policy (for now.)" And, yes, above actually helping some people in the short term. After all, as Bastiat reminded us, "it almost always happens that when the immediate consequence (of a law) is favorable, the ultimate consequences are fatal."
This strategy is not suggested out of love for the GOP, but because anything less than full repeal of Obamacare will result in an inevitable Progressive "victory," destroying private health insurance, turning health care itself into a regulated monopoly for everyone but the rich, and cementing government at the center of one of the largest sectors of the American economy and one of the most personal aspects of our daily lives.
Republicans need to channel Willie Sutton and recognize that as long as they're going to be accused of political hostage taking, they should take the most valuable hostage possible and demand the largest ransom they can conceivably get, or at least conceivably sell as reasonable to an American public whose trust in "hope and change" is at an all-time low.
[First Published By American Spectator]


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01/01 dealers
Nissan continues to reign as the brand with the most category honors for three straight years in AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Awards. With five best-in-class rankings: Murano, Rogue, Maxima, Altima and Armada, Nissan scores more best-in-class vehicle satisfaction wins than any other brand in the annual VSA awards.*More Award Information
Drive the future forward. The 2019 Nissan Altima, when equipped with LED low-beam headlights, is an IIHS Top Safety Pick for the fourth year in a row. Get Altima's available Nissan Intelligent Mobility features like ProPILOT Assist. And experience progressive safety for yourself.*More Award Information
Introducing the 2019 Nissan TITAN. Its powerful 5.6-L Endurance® V8 easily transforms hard jobs into solid results. All backed by America's Best Truck Limited Warranty[1]. Experience TITAN's best-in-class standard horsepower[2] and torque[3] at your local Nissan store today.*Vehicle and Warranty Information
Nissan Rogue has taken home the Consumer Guide® Best Buy Award*. Again. In fact, Rogue has been outsmarting the competition, and giving you the best value in its class, for 5 years in a row. Experience the award-winning 2019 Nissan Rogue at your local Nissan store today.*More Award Information
You live for game day. And so do we. Click to find your school, and check out how Nissan is making your game day experience even more exciting. Nissan. A proud supporter of college athletics.
The Nissan Safety Shield philosophy is a comprehensive approach to safety designed to help monitor, respond, and protect while you're on the road. It goes into the engineering and development of every vehicle we make. Just think of it as our way of helping to look out for you and yours.
After all you've done to protect our country, you deserve the best. So we're giving you big savings on top of all current offers. Just print your Military Program Certificate to get started and lock in your savings. Then head to your local Nissan store today. Eligibility requirements and other restrictions apply. See below for details.
Diploma in one hand. Nissan College Grad Certificate in the other. Print your College Grad Certificate today to lock in special savings on a new Nissan. Then head to your local Nissan store to save even more with current incentives. Get started below. Eligibility requirements and other restrictions apply. Click below for details.
Nissan began selling vehicles in the United States in 1958. In the decades since—from the 1969 debut of the game-changing Z to the 2010 unveiling of LEAF, the world's first mass-produced 100% electric vehicle—our unwavering commitment to quality and constant pursuit of innovation have made Nissan one of the most prominent automakers in the country today.
Headquartered in Franklin, Tenn., Nissan's North American operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing for the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
ChooseNissan.com provides a shopping experience that helps you decide which Nissan model is right for you. Even before you step into a dealership, you can get an in-depth look at the Nissan models and their available features. Plus, with the site's localized search tools, you can find a dealer near you, get leasing information, and check out the latest offers going on at your local Nissan dealership.


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In this article, I'll discuss some of the issues involved in integrating C++ code with a Java application. After a word about why one would want to do this and what some of the hurdles are, I'll build up a working Java program that uses objects written in C++. Along the way, I'll discuss some of the implications of doing this (such as interaction with garbage collection), and I'll present a glimpse of what we can expect in this area in the future.
Why integrate C++ and Java?
Why would you want to integrate C++ code into a Java program in the first place? After all, the Java language was created, in part, to address some of the shortcomings of C++. Actually, there are several reasons why you might want to integrate C++ with Java:
- Performance. Even if you're developing for a platform with a just-in-time (JIT) compiler, odds are that the code generated by the JIT runtime is significantly slower than the equivalent C++ code. As JIT technology improves, this should become less of a factor. (In fact, in the near future, good JIT technology may well mean that Java runs faster than the equivalent C++ code.)
- For reuse of legacy code and integration into legacy systems.
- To directly access hardware or do other low-level activities.
- To leverage tools that are not yet available for Java (mature OODBMSes, ANTLR, and so on).
If you take the plunge and decide to integrate Java and C++, you do give up some of the important advantages of a Java-only application. Here are the downsides:
- A mixed C++/Java application cannot run as an applet.
- You give up pointer safety. Your C++ code is free to miscast objects, access a deleted object, or corrupt memory in any of the other ways that are so easy in C++.
- Your code may not be portable.
- Your built environment definitely won't be portable -- you'll have to figure out how to put C++ code in a shared library on all platforms of interest.
- The APIs for integrating C and Java are works in progress and will very likely change with the move from JDK 1.0.2 to JDK 1.1.
As you can see, integrating Java and C++ is not for the faint of heart! However, if you wish to proceed, read on.
We'll start with a simple example showing how to call C++ methods from Java. We'll then extend this example to show how to support the observer pattern. The observer pattern, in addition to being one of the cornerstones of object-oriented programming, serves as a nice example of the more involved aspects of integrating C++ and Java code. We'll then build a small program to test our Java-wrapped C++ object, and we'll end with a discussion of future directions for Java.
Calling C++ from Java
What's so hard about integrating Java and C++, you ask? After all, SunSoft's Java Tutorial has a section on "Integrating Native Methods into Java Programs" (see Resources). As we'll see, this is adequate for calling C++ methods from Java, but it doesn't give us enough to call Java methods from C++. To do that, we'll need to do a little more work.
As an example, we'll take a simple C++ class that we'd like to use from within Java. We'll assume that this class already exists and that we're not allowed to change it. This class is called "C++::NumberList" (for clarity, I'll prefix all C++ class names with "C++::"). This class implements a simple list of numbers, with methods to add a number to the list, query the size of the list, and get an element from the list. We'll make a Java class whose job it is to represent the C++ class. This Java class, which we'll call NumberListProxy, will have the same three methods, but the implementation of these methods will be to call the C++ equivalents. This is pictured in the following object modeling technique (OMT) diagram:
A Java instance of NumberListProxy needs to hold onto a reference to the corresponding C++ instance of NumberList. This is easy enough, if slightly non-portable: If we're on a platform with 32-bit pointers, we can simply store this pointer in an int; if we're on a platform that uses 64-bit pointers (or we think we might be in the near future), we can store it in a long. The actual code for NumberListProxy is straightforward, if somewhat messy. It uses the mechanisms from the "Integrating Native Methods into Java Programs" section of SunSoft's Java Tutorial.
A first cut at the Java class looks like this:
public class NumberListProxy { static { System.loadLibrary("NumberList"); } NumberListProxy() { initCppSide(); } public native void addNumber(int n); public native int size(); public native int getNumber(int i); private native void initCppSide(); private int numberListPtr_; // NumberList* }
The static section is run when the class is loaded. System.loadLibrary() loads the named shared library, which in our case contains the compiled version of C++::NumberList. Under Solaris, it will expect to find the shared library "libNumberList.so" somewhere in the $LD_LIBRARY_PATH. Shared library naming conventions may differ in other operating systems.
Most of the methods in this class are declared as "native." This means that we will provide a C function to implement them. To write the C functions, we run javah twice, first as "javah NumberListProxy," then as "javah -stubs NumberListProxy." This automatically generates some "glue" code needed for the Java runtime (which it puts in NumberListProxy.c) and generates declarations for the C functions that we are to implement (in NumberListProxy.h).
I chose to implement these functions in a file called NumberListProxyImpl.cc. It begins with some typical #include directives:
// // NumberListProxyImpl.cc // // // This file contains the C++ code that implements the stubs generated // by "javah -stubs NumberListProxy". cf. NumberListProxy.c. #include <StubPreamble.h> #include "NumberListProxy.h" #include "NumberList.h"
<StubPreamble.h> is part of the JDK, and includes a number of important system declarations. NumberListProxy.h was generated for us by javah, and includes declarations of the C functions we're about to write. NumberList.h contains the declaration of the C++ class NumberList.
In the NumberListProxy constructor, we call the native method initCppSide(). This method must find or create the C++ object we want to represent. For the purposes of this article, I'll just heap-allocate a new C++ object, although in general we might instead want to link our proxy to a C++ object that was created elsewhere. The implementation of our native method looks like this:
void NumberListProxy_initCppSide(struct HNumberListProxy *javaObj) { NumberList* list = new NumberList(); unhand(javaObj)->numberListPtr_ = (long) list; }
As described in the Java Tutorial, we're passed a "handle" to the Java NumberListProxy object. Our method creates a new C++ object, then attaches it to the numberListPtr_ data member of the Java object.
Now on to the interesting methods. These methods recover a pointer to the C++ object (from the numberListPtr_ data member), then invoke the desired C++ function:
void NumberListProxy_addNumber(struct HNumberListProxy* javaObj,long v) { NumberList* list = (NumberList*) unhand(javaObj)->numberListPtr_; list->addNumber(v); } long NumberListProxy_size(struct HNumberListProxy* javaObj) { NumberList* list = (NumberList*) unhand(javaObj)->numberListPtr_; return list->size(); } long NumberListProxy_getNumber(struct HNumberListProxy* javaObj, long i) { NumberList* list = (NumberList*) unhand(javaObj)->numberListPtr_; return list->getNumber(i); }
The function names (NumberListProxy_addNumber, and the rest) are determined for us by javah. For more information on this, the types of arguments sent to the function, the unhand() macro, and other details of Java's support for native C functions, please refer to the Java Tutorial.
While this "glue" is somewhat tedious to write, it's fairly straightforward and works well. But what happens when we want to call Java from C++?
Calling Java from C++
Before delving into how to call Java methods from C++, let me explain why this can be necessary. In the diagram I showed earlier, I didn't present the whole story of the C++ class. A more complete picture of the C++ class is shown below:
As you can see, we're dealing with an observable number list. This number list might be modified from many places (from NumberListProxy, or from any C++ object that has a reference to our C++::NumberList object). NumberListProxy is supposed to faithfully represent all of the behavior of C++::NumberList; this should include notifying Java observers when the number list changes. In other words, NumberListProxy needs to be a subclass of java.util.Observable, as pictured here:
It's easy enough to make NumberListProxy a subclass of java.util.Observable, but how does it get notified? Who will call setChanged() and notifyObservers() when C++::NumberList changes? To do this, we'll need a helper class on the C++ side. Luckily, this one helper class will work with any Java observable. This helper class needs to be a subclass of C++::Observer, so it can register with C++::NumberList. When the number list changes, our helper class' update() method will be called. The implementation of our update() method will be to call setChanged() and notifyObservers() on the Java proxy object. This is pictured in OMT:
Before going into the implementation of C++::JavaObservableProxy, let me mention some of the other changes.
NumberListProxy has a new data member: javaProxyPtr_. This is a pointer to the instance of C++JavaObservableProxy. We'll need this later when we discuss object destruction. The only other change to our existing code is a change to our C function NumberListProxy_initCppSide(). It now looks like this:
void NumberListProxy_initCppSide(struct HNumberListProxy *javaObj) { NumberList* list = new NumberList(); struct HObservable* observable = (struct HObservable*) javaObj; JavaObservableProxy* proxy = new JavaObservableProxy(observable, list); unhand(javaObj)->numberListPtr_ = (long) list; unhand(javaObj)->javaProxyPtr_ = (long) proxy; }
Note that we cast javaObj to a pointer to an HObservable. This is OK, because we know that NumberListProxy is a subclass of Observable. The only other change is that we now create a C++::JavaObservableProxy instance and maintain a reference to it. C++::JavaObservableProxy will be written so that it notifies any Java Observable when it detects an update, which is why we needed to cast HNumberListProxy* to HObservable*.
Given the background so far, it may seem that we just need to implement C++::JavaObservableProxy:update() such that it notifies a Java observable. That solution seems conceptually simple, but there is a snag: How do we hold onto a reference to a Java object from within a C++ object?
Maintaining a Java reference in a C++ object
It might seem like we could simply store a handle to a Java object within a C++ object. If this were so, we might code C++::JavaObservableProxy like this:
class JavaObservableProxy public Observer { public: JavaObservableProxy(struct HObservable* javaObj, Observable* obs) { javaObj_ = javaObj; observedOne_ = obs; observedOne_->addObserver(this); } ~JavaObservableProxy() { observedOne_->deleteObserver(this); } void update() { execute_java_dynamic_method(0, javaObj_, "setChanged", "()V"); } private: struct HObservable* javaObj_; Observable* observedOne_; };
Unfortunately, the solution to our dilemma is not so simple. When Java passes you a handle to a Java object, the handle] will remain valid for the duration of the call. It will not necessarily remain valid if you store it on the heap and try to use it later. Why is this so? Because of Java's garbage collection.
First of all, we're trying to maintain a reference to a Java object, but how does the Java runtime know we're maintaining that reference? It doesn't. If no Java object has a reference to the object, the garbage collector might destroy it. In this case, our C++ object would have a dangling reference to an area of memory that used to contain a valid Java object but now might contain something quite different.
Even if we're confident that our Java object won't get garbage collected, we still can't trust a handle to a Java object after a time. The garbage collector might not remove the Java object, but it could very well move it to a different location in memory! The Java spec contains no guarantee against this occurrence. Sun's JDK 1.0.2 (at least under Solaris) won't move Java objects in this way, but there are no guarantees for other runtimes.
What we really need is a way of informing the garbage collector that we plan to maintain a reference to a Java object, and ask for some kind of "global reference" to the Java object that's guaranteed to remain valid. Sadly, JDK 1.0.2 has no such mechanism. (One will probably be available in JDK 1.1; see the end of this article for more information on future directions.) While we're waiting, we can kludge our way around this problem.


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19 December 2013 at 11.07am | Comment on this article
Last night, The Royal Opera's Parsifal was screened live across the world as part of our Live Cinema Season.
The screening also included exclusive backstage films during the intervals, including an introduction to the opera and glimpses into rehearsals with Antonio Pappano and tenor Simon O'Neill. In case you missed these last night, watch them again:
The screening follows the launch of the ROH's Wagner appeal, which raises funds to keep Wagner's operas alive.
Read audience reaction to the live cinema screening of Parsifal, and add your thoughts
Find out more details about the Live Cinema Season 2013/14 and sign up for the ROH cinema newsletter. The next live screening will be The Royal Opera's Parsifal on 18 December.
The Royal Opera House Cinema Season is supported by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.


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30 years of the bilan de compétences in France - colloquium and General Assembly in Paris
Mercoledì 24 Agosto 2016 06:23
On the occasion of 30 years of the bilan de competences and 25 of the law that legalized the process, the CIBC network and Centre Inffo assemble national and European forces on one of the key today's topic – lifelong guidance and accompaniment of career paths. Following the conference of 4 September 2014 that helped to highlight all the questions posed by the reform, this event will bring responses that are currently being proposed in order to strengthen the coherence of multidisciplinary, interinstitutional and multifactorial systems implemented by the reform (training, guidance, validation). The objective is to take into account all the dimensions and existing devices and to enhance the overall logic of the system.
Compcert - final preparations of the training programme for bilan de compétences counsellors
Lunedì 22 Agosto 2016 18:18
According to plan all Project partners from France, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic have met from 07-07-2016 to 08-07-2016 to the final transnational Project meeting in Prague. The discussion initially focused on the final completion of the curriculum for the training of competence counsellors (Intellectual Output 2). Together final decisions were made, so that by the end of July 2015, the curriculum will initially be available in English.
CEDEFOP: Bilan de compétences as a tool for tackling skills mismatch?
Lunedì 22 Agosto 2016 17:38
More than one in four (27%) European employees are in dead-end positions with skills higher than needed to do their job and limited potential to grow. At the same time, 22% of employees say that their skills have not developed since they started their current job. These are some of the findings of Cedefop's European skills and jobs (ESJ) survey, discussed at a high-level conference in Thessaloniki on 7 and 8 December 2015. FECBOP was present as a representative of organizations providing career guidance across multiple sectors in 11 partner countries.
Altri Articoli...
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BEEF Daily would like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to those who have served our nation to protect our freedom. I know it comes with great sacrifice to step into the big shoes of a soldier, and I want to take this opportunity today to show my appreciation. My grandpa, Alvin Nolz, served in the Army. He enlisted when he was 20 years old, and from 1951-1953, he helped America in the Korean War by working as a cook in the Service in both Japan and Korea.
Before Alvin left America, he had been farming for a single year, and he left behind his livestock operation to help our nation. Upon his return in 1953, he jumped back into farming, and in 1956, he married my grandma, Devona. Together, they farmed, raising cattle, sheep, dairy and pigs, and they saved their money until they were able to purchase our current operation in 1970. My dad joined my grandpa in the business after he graduated from college, and in 1983, our purebred Limousin business was established. But, at the end of the day, I know it's all thanks to one man who was brave enough to enlist in the military to serve our country. Thanks, Grandpa. You are my hero.
A little history from the United States Department of Veteran Affairs:
World War I – known at the time as "The Great War" - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of "the war to end all wars." Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
Finally, I have recited a poem for all of you to listen to on this Veterans Day. It's Called, "The Common Soldier." Listen to it below. Have you thanked a Veteran today?
BEEF Daily Quick Fact: On June 1, 1954, President Eisenhower signs legislation changing the name of the legal holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. (Source: The History of Veterans Day)


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Crescent Butterflies
Total TimePrep/Total Time: 30 min.
Makes1 dozen
- 1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
- 2 giant Slim Jim snack sticks, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup marinara sauce, warmed
- Unroll crescent dough on a lightly floured surface; roll into a 12-in. x 9-in. rectangle. Seal seams. Cut with a butterfly cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place 1 in. apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Press a snack piece in the middle of each butterfly; carefully pinch dough around the long sides of snack piece.
- Brush wings with butter. Sprinkle with cheese and Italian seasoning. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Serve warm with marinara sauce.
Nutrition Facts1 each: 130 calories, 8g fat (3g saturated fat), 11mg cholesterol, 282mg sodium, 10g carbohydrate (3g sugars, 0 fiber), 3g protein.
Every product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Recommended Video
Aug 5, 2012
Crescent Butterflies are a specific shaped surprise treat for a Nature studying group or Gardeners. The original recipe calls for using a package of Crescent Rolls from the store and rolling it to create a specific solid piece of pastry. There is now a solid piece of dough also being sold by Pillsbury in the same dairy case. There is no need to try sealing any lines cut into the Crescent Roll dough. Using a commercial Butterfly shaped cookie cutter will offer the Butterfly Shaped Dough cut pieces. You must cut 2 giant Slim Jim snack sticks into 2" pieces to use as bodies in the center of the Butterfly Dough. After baking, and cooling - serve with heated marinara sauce as a desirable snack! Serve with joy and enjoy your guests delight! Read all the comments published at the end of this page.
Nov 17, 2011
These are excellent. Will definitely make again.


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|Preceding Day
|Sunday 08 March 2020
|Following Day
|Preceding Day
|Sunday 08 March 2020
|Following Day
Thankyou Chas for your support to Freemasonry in Nottingham and doing the best for your friend, and supporting… https://t.co/v7SWIWRDIQ
Bro Brailsford on his initiation and Bro Tim Carr his proposer at tonight's meeting with @4068Notts @timcarrcatering https://t.co/twpzKm8acE
RT @ChasBlackUK: Another night on the tyles #unitedserviceslodge at @NottsMasons
A trio of meetings today! #NottsMasons - Anybody going? https://t.co/of5tAhT2U4
RT @HantsMason: 5 years ago this article was published in the Sunday Express featuring our PGM @MichaelWilks2. Freemasonry embraced Social…


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Oakland at Detroit for ALDS Game 3
Series tied 1-1
DETROIT – The Oakland Athletics are matching the vaunted Detroit Tigers' rotation pitch-for-pitch. After settling for a split against Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the Athletics will attempt to take the series lead when is shifts to Detroit for Game 3 on Monday. Tigers pitchers have notched 29 strikeouts in the first two games but the offense produced only two extra-base hits - both in the first inning of Game 1.
Detroit finished near the top of the majors in most offensive categories during the regular season and scored three runs in the first inning of Game 1 only to be held scoreless in the following 17. Oakland did not exactly tear the cover off the ball at home either, but Stephen Vogt got the hit that counted with his walk-off single in Game 2. Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera managed two hits in the first two contests and continues to battle groin and abdominal injuries.
TV: 1:07 p.m. ET, MLB Network
Headed to Game 3 in Detroit? Check this traffic list
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Jarrod Parker (12-8, 3.97 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Anibal Sanchez (14-8, 2.57)
Parker went 19 starts in between losses before falling flat in September. The 24-year-old allowed seven earned runs and failed to get through five innings in two of his last three starts. Parker made two starts against Detroit in the 2012 ALDS and lost both, surrendering a total of seven runs (six earned) on 14 hits in 12 2/3 innings.
Sanchez led the AL in ERA and finished strong by going 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA in five September starts. The Venezuela native struggled at home against Oakland on August 26, yielding four runs on five hits in five innings. Sanchez made one start against the Athletics in the 2012 ALDS and suffered a loss despite giving up just two runs in 6 1/3 frames.
1. Tigers 1B Prince Fielder is 1-for-8 with a single in the series and 1-for-10 against Parker in his career.
2. Oakland LF Yoenis Cespedes is 4-for-8 with two runs scored and two RBIs in the series.
3. Detroit CF Austin Jackson has struck out five times in eight at-bats, including four times in Game 2.
Show us your game faces! Send in your fan photos by clicking here.


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Audyssey's new iOS-compatible speaker dock squeezes sophisticated software engineering cred—found in the high-end audio equipment you might already own—into one diminutive grilled black slab. With years of university research under its belt, the tiny guy wallops your iPod.
The Audyssey dock pounds out a surprising amount of power from a box the size of a large lunchbox (albeit a very heavy one), using two 4" drivers and 2 3/4" tweeters. You're free to park your iPod or iPhone into the dock connector, or stream tunes over Bluetooth or via micro USB. Another clever function of the box—again, accomplished through refined audio wizardry—is the inclusion of dual microphones, turning the dock into a full telephony station—whether Skype or traditional phone call. The station has two built-in mics, each of which spatially track the location of voices in the room, and alternate between acting as input and blocking out noise or echos.
At $399, the Audyssey dock is certainly not a dorm essential (or possibility), nor will it replace your home theater (despite being impressive for its size). But those looking for an alternative to similarly-priced and featured docks would be served by giving it a listen. [Audyssey]


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Challenge #86
Anything Goes with Recycling / Old Stash
- You can create a - Layout, Card, Canvas, Mini Album, Mixed media, "Off the Page Creations".
- Must be newly created as of 17th of March 2017
- Enter a direct link to your creations into the link tool, not to the main page of your blog. This makes it easy for the Design Team to find your creations to leave comments
- You may enter each of our Challenges up to Four Times
- If the entire on the Challenges does not meet the above requirement your entry will be disqualify!
This Challenge is due Thursday 30th of March 2017, 23:55PM European Time.
Please, be aware of the time zone differences - on the top left you will find the Date and Clock on the Blog.
We would like to thank our Wonderful Sponsors
Our Sponsor for Challenge #86 is
My painting work is an array of little people, odd creatures, wounded children. Soulful faces, deep emotions each one telling a story from within...!!!
My art with guache watercolor or oil,art dolls,resin dolls.
Also visit my fb' page: https://www.facebook.com/chrishanthi.liaropoulou
My art with guache watercolor or oil,art dolls,resin dolls.
Also visit my fb' page: https://www.facebook.com/chrishanthi.liaropoulou
The Gorgeous Creations of the Design Team Ladies
Please click on the Designers name to visit they blogs
Rachelle DT
Digi image - Waiting for the Bus
Recycling - Flowers are from used Baby Wipes and old train ticket
Andreja DT
Old paper and flower stash
Monika DT
Digi image - Waiting for the bus
Old Stash paper
Agnieszka K - DT
Recycling flowers
Lia - DT
Digi image - Waiting for the bus
Old Paper stash and old punches
Meena - DT
Digi image - Flower Sisters
Old Stash
Khushboo - DT
Old pattern paper and flowers stash
Agnieszka W - DT
Digi image - Flower Sisters
Old paper stash, pearls and doily
Meet our Guest Designers for Challenge #86
Thank you for your beautiful GD Creations
Irena S - GD
I have used a old gelli print.
Old stash of jeans, scrap pieces of canvas, old butterfly(brown one).
Veronica - GD
I recycled some packaging to make the tag and old stash
Riddhi - GD
The item I altered is a lid of an old tin can.
We hope our designers have you inspired.
We can't wait to see your creations and we
hope that you will join and share them with us!
Have fun!!
Happy Crafting!!
Please remember to follow us!!!!


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Make your downtown Annapolis engagement photography session unique by spending some time inside the myriad shops instead of just posing outside of them. Start off on Main Street by embracing your artistic side at The Clay Bakers. This shop is the city's premier paint-your-own pottery studio, so sit down and paint a joint creation for your future kitchen. Your engagement photographer can snap shots of you and your beau having fun painting together, and they can also create a series of shots that show how your piece evolved as you painted. Make sure to paint your wedding date on whatever you choose to create, that way you will have a cute keepsake for decades to come.
Walk north past the Maryland State House up to Maryland Avenue, where you will find the quaint Annapolis Bookstore. Head inside and your photographer can take pictures of you and your fiancé poring over stacks of old, rare books or sitting side by side in cushy leather chairs. Sit and read for a while, or incorporate the titles of some great literary love stories into your photos. Find Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, or one of your favorite epic love stories with as happy an ending as you have found with your true love.
To finish off your Annapolis engagement photography shoot, walk over to Dock Street and find Storm Bros. Ice Cream Factory for a cold and tasty treat. Share a sundae with two spoons while your engagement photographer captures the faint blush when you hit spoons going for the same chocolate chip. Feed each other small spoonfuls of ice cream, and feel free to "accidentally" miss your fiancé's mouth and dab some sticky cream on his/her nose. The more fun you two have, the more chances your photographer will have to capture that natural rhythm and fun that exists between you as a couple. The best part about ending your shoot at one of Annapolis's most adored ice cream parlors is that while you indulge your senses, your photographer will be able to get some entertaining shots for your engagement album that you will treasure forever. Win, win!
While many couples choose to involve their sporty side in their Annapolis engagement photography shoot by getting sailing or kayaking shots, you and your fiancé can spend a fun day firmly on land and still end up with some great shots with a sporty bent. First, drive to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Golf Course, which is slightly north of the city in the suburbs. Book a reservation in advance to play a round of golf out on the course's vibrant green, perfectly manicured fairways as your photographer looks on and snaps some candid shots. The fee varies depending on the day and the time you wish to golf, so check with the club to be sure of the cost for your tee time. Your engagement photographer can follow you around on the green and capture your perfect form as you put the ball into the hole. Wear your best golf clothes so your photographer can catch you and your honey's preppy side.
For avid bike riders, try having your Annapolis engagement photography session on the 13-mile Baltimore & Annapolis Bike Trail. The paved trail winds through more rural areas of Maryland between the two major cities, and intimates surprising views and natural backdrops that are unknown to those who haven't rode the trail. Choose a mile stretch or so for your engagement photography session to take place, and your photographer can get some amazing pictures of you and your fiancé holding hands while biking down the path, or posing by your bikes beside a pretty wooded meadow. The joy and excitement pasted on both of your faces will be forever captured in your engagement album for you to look back on and remember why you got married in the first place!
Convinced that amusement parks are for kids? Indulge you and your fiancé's inner children and hold your Annapolis engagement photography session at Six Flags America. Less than 30 minutes west of Annapolis, this theme park is home to thrill rides, water slides, a host of other rides to suit you and your future spouse.General admission prices will run you around $50 per person, but you can always check the website for specials deals or look for coupon discounts. Undoubtedly you will need to consider admission fees for your engagement photographer as well so that they can come in and snap shots as you run around the park. Ride a twisting wooden coaster or a top speed metal one, and then follow it up with a tame ride like the Carousel or an antique car ride. No matter what fun you two partake in, your photographer will be there to capture it all in fun, candid, journalistic-style photography.
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- Facilitate payment plans for your future SAP projects
Talk to our team now to understand what SAP Payment Services can do for your business


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Overfocusing: Cognitive Inflexibility and the Cingulate Gyrus
Tuesday, September 18, 2012 64 Comments
Stubborn? or Stuck!!
by Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC
A bit of Review to Catch You Up
As I said in the previous article entitled ODD & Oppositional Rising: Most of us know somebody who seems to have an argument for just about everything — somebody who almost always has to "go through NO to get to yes."
I likened those individuals to old television sets with stuck channel changers (way back before the days of remote controls).
Almost ALL of us, I added, ADD or not, have a small — perfectly "normal" — part of our personalities that balks unless a task or idea is totally appealing in the moment we are "supposed" to take it on.
We don't WANT to change the channel — we want things to keep on being the way we thought they were going to be – NOW!
ADD and Oppositional Rising
A subset of those who qualify for an ADD diagnosis seems, a bit more than average, to struggle with changing that channel. (be sure to click ODD and Oppositional Rising for more on the concept)
A subset of individuals who do NOT qualify for an ADD diagnosis struggle similarly.
- ADD or NOT, these individuals are not diagnosically Oppositional Defiant [ODD], but it can try your patience mightily to work and live with these guys.
- In the previous article, I explained why I referred to that change-averse group as being at the effect of ODD Rising.
In THIS article, we're going to take a look at what being "stuck" looks like, and to begin to look at what has to happen in our brain to be ready-willing-and-ABLE to "change our minds," which is not too very different (in concept) from changing a channel on an old television set.
The Sticky Channel Folks
The genesis of my list of cingulate behavior problems, below, came from conference notes taken at a session by Dr. Daniel Amen, well over a decade ago. It illustrates the range of behaviors that have, at their root, lack of cognitive flexibility due to communication glitches involving the cingulate gyrus.
Cingulate Behavioral Problems
- worrying "by default"
- holding onto hurts from the past
- uncooperative, argumentative
- automatic tendency to say no, deliberately uncoorperative or oppositional behavior
- rumination (over-focusing on thoughts — can be/don't have to be obsessions)
- stuck on behaviors (can be/don't have to be compulsions)
- hair-trigger anger/frustration response (either "over the top" or "freezing you out")
- road rage
- addictive behaviors (eating disorders, alcohol or drug misuse or abuse, chronic pain)
- obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or OCD spectrum disorders
- cognitive inflexibility
So what is Cognitive Flexibility?
Cognitive flexibility is a term used to describe a person's ability to deal successfully with new situations. If we expect to navigate life's transitions successfully, learning how to shift rapidly and gracefully to adapt to new systems is a critical skill.
Most of life's tasks and domains are easier for those who are adaptable, but there are many situations in life where cognitive flexibility is essential.
Starting a new marriage, a new relationship or a new job, changing schools (or changing classes) requires those involved to incorporate new systems.
Some people have a great deal more difficulty with change than others, even changes of the types above, that the rest of us navigate with relative ease.
State Management
Even if we aren't crazy about the idea, most of us understand intuitively the need to be flexible in differing situations because "the rules" change.
For example, we tend to behave one way at the office, another at a football game, and still another in formalized situations like church services, funerals and weddings. As long as they are not pervasive – or deliberate – most of us can manage even sudden changes in expectations with emotional ease.
If we suddenly see our boss approaching at the football game, or if, in the middle of a spousal disagreement, unexpected guests were to ring the doorbell, most of us would be able to shift our emotional state as necessary, and practically immediately.
Those with cingulate problems are likely to remain "edgy," however, even if only in ways that those of us who know them well can pick up. More than a few of my clients have described a feeling of "walking on eggshells" when they pick up those "edgy" signals, hoping to avoid the explosion that is likely to follow in private.
What's going on that some of us can bob and weave with life's ebb and flow and others can't seem to change the channel whenever it becomes necessary or appropriate?
A channel changer in our head: the cingulate gyrus
Commonly associated with cognitive flexibility, stimulation studies have found a particular structure in the brains of mammals to be responsible for bodily responses to associated emotional sensations (pleasure, as well as fear and anxiety). Not surprisingly, feelings of safety and security are frequently attributed to this part of the brain.
Signals from this structure seem to help us understand how to alter behavior in a variety of situations or in different surroundings, especially of a social or cultural nature
Attribution: Thanks to Gray727; Wikipedia Commons
Regulation Responsibility
The cingulate gyrus is an area of the brain that is commonly associated with communication and sociability. Interestingly, it is also associated with maternal bonding. In fact, the more highly developed the cingulate gyrus, the more clearly attachment is expressed.
A brain with a highly developed cingulate gyrus is also more likely to express language. This makes sense when you consider that the cingulate gyrus is considered a part of the limbic system, in the innermost part of the brain, involved in memory, emotion, arousal, and learning.
However, the primary function of the cingulate gyrus in human beings seems to be facilitating cognitive flexibility. This is the part of the brain that allows us to adapt to change — to shift our attention from option to option, idea to idea — to go with the flow.
When functioning properly, the cingulate gyrus promotes future-oriented thinking in ways that help us organize actions to be able to attain realistic goals, helping us to continue to grow and change throughout our lives.
Cingulate gyrus dysfunction (improper functioning in this area of the brain) is not its own unique medical diagnosis, however — it becomes part of the diagnostic pattern recognized in other disorders. Improper functioning in the cingulate gyrus contributes to any number of disorders related to cognitive inflexibility.
- Instead of learning from those frustrating, embarrassing, or painful experiences that we all encounter from time to time, those with cingulate problems are more likely to get "stuck," dwelling on the negative feelings.
- As a protective measure, an individual with an overactive cingulate gyrus tends to exhibit an emotional developmental level similar to a two-year old child, saying NO without thinking, frequently without even listening to the question.
Another Site, another explanation (and some great suggestions)
Using the characters from Winnie the Pooh to illustrate the various types of ADD, Douglas Cowan Psy.D. explains it in the manner below in his ADHD Information Library:
Since the Cingulate Gyrus helps us deal with thought patterns, cognitive issues such as obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders and addictions are frequently linked to this neurological component, sharing a common "stuck" quality that is indicative of overactivity in this brain structure.
Abnormal functioning in the cingulate gyrus and its related structures might have been brought on by chronic stress or trauma. Some research has indicated that this area of the brain is abnormally stimulated in individuals with characteristics of the autism spectrum.
Thanks to Coloring Drawings for the Winnie the Pooh gang
BY THE WAY: Since stimulant medication frequently used for ADD can exacerbate problems related to the cingulate gyrus, "over-focused" ADDers are often treated with antidepressant drugs.
There are other types of [non-pharmaceutical] alternatives that are frequently effective as well – so while you are waiting for the second part of this article, jump over to Doug's ADHD Information Library to take a look at what he has put together about "over-focus" (the page includes a video by ADD icon Dr. Russell Barkley).
Cowan's site presents a well-balanced look at [non-pharmaceutical] alternatives as well as medication, so be sure to check it out.
There is helpful information in my previous article entitled ODD & Oppositional Rising, so if you haven't read it yet, you might want to.
Meanwhile, stay tuned. In the next part of this article I am going to include some client stories that may sound all too familiar to some of you who are still struggling in ways that they have learned to manage.
As always, if you want notification of new articles in this series – or any new posts on this blog – give your name and email to the nice form on the top of the skinny column to the right.
(You only have to do this once, so if you've already asked for notification about a prior series, you're covered for this one too) STRICT No Spam Policy
Related articles here on ADDandSoMuchMore
- ABOUT ADD Comorbidities – Comorbid or Co-occuring?
- ADD Seldom Rides Alone
- Trouble with Transitions
- ABOUT ADD and Sleep Struggles
- Differential Diagnosis – distinguishing ADD from Comorbidities
- Remembrance of Selves Past
Related Articles
- Amen Clinic's ADD Overview
- ADHD Information Library: Over Focused ADD
- Study: Many With ADHD Can't Control Emotions (inkarasworld.com)
- Brain Imaging in PTSD: Part II (brainposts.blogspot.com)
- Adding Letters To The Alphabet Soup (littlefallofrain.wordpress.com)
- Help For The ADHD Mom & Child (kidsincowtown.wordpress.com)
- Is It Lying or Is It ADHD? (rakadd.wordpress.com)
- Nevada Equine Assisted Therapy (sucessfuleducationforfosterchildren.wordpress.com)
- Selections: Reason or Emotions… (theaaroncraig.com)
- Conservatives And Liberals Have Different Brains (CBSNews.com)
- Sharp as a Tack at 90: Here's Why (nlm.nih.gov)
- When it comes to competition, the anterior cingulate does it best. (blogs.scientificamerican.com)
- The Anterior Cingulate: a Cortex in Competition (madinamerica.com)


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May 1, 2012, 9:26 am
"Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" producer on the run
While you were likely sleeping, Ben Dicke began his 24-hour treadmill marathon to fund a production of "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson." He'd been at it for seven hours when we stopped by. (He's on the median between Champa and Stout streets.)
He looked pretty fresh for a guy who'd already covered some serious ground.


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TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 24 (UPI) -- Rookie safety Mark Barron's interception of a Tom Brady pass and his 22-yard return for a touchdown Friday highlighted Tampa Bay's 30-28 win over New England.
The Buccaneers built a 23-7 lead early in the second half and fought off a Patriots' comeback bid while improving to 2-1 in the exhibition campaign.
Josh Freeman threw for 102 yards and Tampa Bay rookie running back Doug Martin ran for a score. Both Martin and Barron were taken in the first round by the Buccaneers.
Freeman completed 10-of-19 passes and Martin picked up 53 yards on 13 carries. Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky threw an 8-yard touchdown pass in the fourth period.
Brady played into the third quarter, during which he drove New England 84 yards in eight plays and hit Rob Gronkowski with a 16-yard scoring pass.
The New England quarterback finished 13-of-20 for 127 yards. Backup Ryan Mallett threw for two touchdowns in the fourth period.
The Patriots are 1-2 in the pre-season.


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My son just turned two, and we had a teddy bear picnic themed party to celebrate! I wanted to make some extra special treats for the kids, and thought teddy bear cake pops would be perfect! I don't have much experience with cake pops, so I stuck to the basics. I used store bought cake mix and frosting because I was short on time, and didn't know how difficult this project would be. It turns out that cake pops are pretty easy and fun to make, so next time I won't hesitate to branch out with different flavors and frostings.
Here is what the cake pop mixture looked like. I baked one box of cake mix in a 9×13 pan and then crumbled it up and added about 3/4 of a container of store bought chocolate frosting.
Next I rolled the mixture into balls. These are about 1″ in diameter. I set them on a parchment lined pan to prevent sticking.
I used 4-1/2″ lollipop sticks for these cake pops. To get the cake balls to stay put on the lollipop sticks, I dipped the end of each stick into the melted chocolate about 1/2″ deep. Then I immediately stuck the lollipop stick into the cake ball and placed it on the styrofoam block to dry.
I used two 12 ounce bags of Wilton light cocoa candy melts to cover 48 cake pops. The Wilton melts worked wonderfully because they were the perfect consistency. With other brands, I usually have to add shortnening or paramount crystals to thin the coating; but with the Wilton melts I didn't! Pouring the chocolate into a tall narrow glass like this pint glass is helpful because it allows you to get the most dips out of your chocolate.
My technique for dipping each pop is to fully submerge the pop in chocolate and then pull it directly back out without swirling the pop around in the chocolate. I found that if I moved the cake pop around in the chocolate, there was a much higher chance that it would fall off of the stick. When I dipped the pop straight in and back out, I had almost no problem with cake pops falling off the sticks. Once I had the pop out of the chocolate, I would swirl it around right near the surface of the chocolate (as shown in the above picture) to get excess chocolate off.
The cake pops dried surprisingly quickly (probably withing 10 minutes). You can see the change in sheen once the pops are dry to the touch.
The next step is decorating the pops! This is the fun part! I used fondant for the decorations and colored three small pieces brown, black, and tan. I used AmeriColor chocolate brown, super black, and ivory gel pastes to get the shades that I wanted. For the muzzles I rolled out the tan fondant using my small fondant rolling pin with pink bands.
I used the bottom of a standard decorating tip to cut out the circle that forms the muzzle or mouth area of the bear. The toothpick cut in half is used to make a small hole for the mouth.
Decorating tips work great when you don't have a small enough circle cutter for what you are doing.
To make the teddy bear ears, I rolled a bunch of small brown balls of fondant and used a fondant sculpting tool to indent the center of each ear.
I cut each of the indented ovals using an x-acto knife and used the top portion as an ear. Originally I cut these in half to make two ears, but I found that the ears were too small so I just cut them about 3/4 of the way to the bottom and re-rolled the excess fondant.
The eyes and nose are just small balls of black fondant rolled into oval shapes. The eyes should be smaller than the nose and more oval in shape.
Once you have the eyes, nose, ears, and muzzle all ready to go, things come together pretty quickly. Here is a plain cake pop with no decoration.
Step 1 – Add the muzzle. My fondant was sticky enough that it adhered to the cake pop just by itself. If you are working with a drier texture of fondant, you could use melted chocolate or royal icing to stick the details to the pop.
Step 2 – Add the ears. Put them on the cake pop so that you can easily see them when you take a step back.
Step 3 – Add the nose. Again my fondant was very sticky so the nose easily stuck to the muzzle, but you could use a bit of water to get the nose to adhere.
Step 4 – Create the mouth. I used a cut toothpick to make a tiny hole for the mouth. For the teddy bear pop that is smiling in the first picture of this blog, I just used a fondant sculpting tool with a flat edge. You could also use the tip of a ruler.
Step 5 – Add the eyes. Here is where your teddy bear really comes to life!
The only problem with these cake pops is that they are almost too cute to eat!
I had a great time making these cake pops, and will definitely make more cake pops in the future, but as I learned at Hudson's party, they do have one limitation, heat. The temperature was 82 degrees, and even in the shade it wasn't cool enough for these poor bears!


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Candace Parker had a blast in her All-Star debut. Parker scored a record 23 points to lead the West to a 102-98 win over the East on Saturday at Uncasville, Conn., and earn MVP honors.
The Sparks star was voted a starter for the 2011 game, but she couldn't play because of a knee injury. This time, she put on a show.
After a quiet first half, Parker helped rally the West after the break. With her team trailing by 11 early in the third quarter, Parker scored seven straight points.
Then, after Sparks teammate Kristi Toliver hit back-to-back three-point shots to the tie score, Ivory Latta hit her own three-pointers to give the East an 81-74 advantage heading into the final period.
Parker, who finished with 11 rebounds, and Toliver wouldn't let the West lose for the fourth time in the past five All-Star games. Parker broke Swin Cash's All-Star game record of 22 points with a layup midway through the fourth quarter.
Toliver finished with 21 points. Epiphanny Prince and Latta scored 15 points each to lead the East.
Pacers get Scola in trade with Suns
The Indiana Pacers bolstered their front-line depth with the acquisition of Luis Scola from the Phoenix Suns.
The Pacers sent forward Gerald Green, center Miles Plumlee and a lottery-protected first-round draft pick to the rebuilding Suns.
Scola, a 6-foot-9 forward from Argentina, played his first five NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets before coming to Phoenix a year ago when the Suns submitted the winning bid under the league's amnesty rule. He appeared in all 82 games for the Suns, averaging 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. It was the fifth time in his career that he's played in all games.
Scola, who has averaged 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds in his career, joins a team that figures to contend in the Eastern Conference after he toiled for a season with a Suns squad that compiled the worst record in the Western Conference and second-worst in the franchise's history.
Charlotte shooting guard Gerald Henderson and the Bobcats agreed to a three-year, $18-million contract, said a person familiar with the situation.
The Denver Nuggets re-signed backup center Timofey Mozgov to a three-year, $14-million contract.
Mahan gives up Canadian Open lead when wife goes into labor
Hunter Mahan gave up the lead in the Canadian Open when his wife went into labor, and Brandt Snedeker grabbed the top spot a few hours later.
Mahan was 13 under after two rounds when he got a call before he was scheduled to tee off Saturday at Oakville, Ontario, saying his wife, Kandi, had gone into labor. The American rushed to the airport for a flight to Texas.
Snedeker had a nine-under 63 at Glen Abbey to take the lead after the rain-delayed third round. He won the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in February for his fifth PGA Tour victory.
Sweden's David Lingmerth was a stroke back after a 65, and Matt Kuchar and Jason Bohn were 12 under. Kuchar had a 64, and Bohn shot 66.
Germany's Bernhard Langer took three-shot lead in the Senior British Open, mastering Royal Birkdale at Southport, England, with superb links play for a four-under 66. Langer, the 2010 winner at Carnoustie, had a nine-under 201 total.
South Africa's David Frost was second after a 68. American Mark Wiebe, tied for the second round lead with Langer, had a 70 to drop four strokes back.
Gabriella Then of Upland won the U.S. Junior Championship, beating Lakareber Abe of Angleton, Texas, 2 and 1, in the 36-hole final at Sycamore Hills in Fort Wayne, Ind. The 17-year-old Then will attend USC in the fall.
Scottie Scheffler of Dallas won the U.S. Junior Amateur at Truckee, Calif., beating Davis Riley of Hattiesburg, Miss., 3 and 2, in the 36-hole final at Martis Camp Club.
Isner to face Anderson in Atlanta Open final
Top-seeded John Isner and second-seeded Kevin Anderson set up what Atlanta Open officials believe could be the tallest final in ATP Tour history.
The 6-foot-10 Isner beat Lleyton Hewitt, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5), and the 6-8 Anderson topped American Ryan Harrison, 6-3, 7-6 (3).
Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice pressed front-running Moreno from the outset, then took command in the stretch to win the $600,000 Jim Dandy Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in New York.
Mike Smith rode the Todd Pletcher-trained Palace Malice, who ran 11/8 miles in 1:47.37 and finished a length in front of Will Take Charge.
Demetrious Johnson used an armbar on John Moraga late in the fifth round and successfully defended his UFC flyweight championship with a submission victory in Seattle.
In the co-main event, Canada's Rory MacDonald took a unanimous decision over Jake Ellenberger in a welterweight.


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On the tails of the release of more realistic Barbie body types, Hijarbie is the fashionable Instagram project of Haneefa Adam, a Nigerian woman who runs a modest fashion company called Hanie. A sizeable population of women in the world are Muslim and wear hijab, so it's no surprise why this Barbie who dresses fashionably in hijabs and abayas is so popular.
Barbie is known for her beautiful outfits, and this is no exception. Adam is hoping to introduce some realistic diversity into Barbie's closet. Much of the inspiration for this doll comes from fashion icons who also specialize pairing their hijab with stylish clothes.


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bass guitar, electronic music production
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sorry biglou, you are required to do at least 5 years in a dungeon before moving up to a woodshed or one car garage. no way around that faces southwest, afternoon sun, if there is any , is blaring
the big thing i notice is, i can see...when bright, directional sunlight is on the edge of a pot you are throwing,, you see EVERYTHING. i actually think this window is upping my quality
i often think of this....would i want someone to find this in 3000 years? makes it easy to smash things. i try my best to catch it when the work is still green, so i can smash it back and re-use the clay into something worthy. acheologist of the future might think, Wow, this guy moved around alot! but i tthink they will be too busy with ipods and gas powered cars to take much interest....
thanks all, this is the first view of any kind i've had in 20 years of clay...what i'm loving abou tseeing the lake is that it in never the same view twice, every day, every hour of the day, there is some new, subtle aspect to it, always some thing new to see
haha! nope, nothing so violent going on....today was the first sun since i got set up, epic!
...or even easier: "Pyro"
i don't consign, i reject the business arrangement where the artist risks all, and the gallery owner risks nothing. if they like the work, and believe in it, and the artist enough, they should buy outright, and be thankful for the quantity discount. the price they put is then their business, if they can get 3 times what i needed, then more power to 'em. the quote above was to a collector who was with me long before the gallery. i never consent to exclusivity either, and this is made clear, the gallery take it or not, and they do. the 'system' is skewed in favor of the galleries. if you consign 60/40, or let yourself be taken for 50/50 , AND grant exclusivity? you are a fool, and must not think very highly of yourself or your work.
not saying i would undermine my gallery, when i do a show i always have a stack of the gallerie's cards there and end up sending a bunch of people their way, essential promo for them. it happens that customers are not ready to buy at that moment, or any of a number of scenarios. all the galleries know beforehand that i'm going to be doing a local fair and i allow some to come, at the end of the show, to do their wholesale buying. no ethical qualms if it is all out in the open. i'm over it with galleries that demand exclusivity, making it as if they are doing you a favor by taking and selling your work, they should be thankful that i'm giving them the opportunity to make money from my toils. the relationship isn't adversarial, but it can't be a one way street either.
Cass reacted to a post in a topic: Another Pricing Topic
my prices vary by venue...if the fine craft gallery can't get more for your work then imo, they are not doing their job properly, or they are not all that 'fine' art show prices are lower, maybe 20%, and if one of my regulars finds me at a show they are happy to get a piece for a bit less, i even use that to push them saying,'get it from me here, cuz next week in the gallery it is going to be a bunch more!" and it always works. perfect opportunity to give them your cell # and say they can call you direct , anytime, if the want to come see the latest batch at your studio, they love that (and saving $). it's ok for prices to vary is the bottom line, my job is to get as much as possible for my work over various venues so i can get groceries and send my boys to college, period.if a conflict comes up (very rare) you explain why the price is different. people with money understand business, everyone is happy in the end.
this forum filters the word strange? that is strange! 2 days of good work so far, and the window is no distraction, pure bliss
i always prefer winter results, the colder the better
thanks Marcia i've 'tried' to leave MT 3 times, the mountains keep calling me back! now, it's for life....
Cass reacted to a post in a topic: New Studio Space, Fav Ever
such is the beauty of raku, the size of the piece (how long it holds the heat), glaze thickness, glaze fit, clay body, reduction material and amount, outside temperature, time before moving to reduction chamber, ambient humidity, mother's maiden name, what you had for brekkies that day...all these will effect the outcome it's when you stop expecting something, or ever trying for a certain outcome, that it becomes fun...sounds hokey maybe, but it's true. (for me, not directing this statement...anywhere)
Cass reacted to a post in a topic: Burping Raku Pots
Babs reacted to a post in a topic: Burping Raku Pots
not recommended for all, so many variables in the clay body, etc, whatever floats your boat! i should say too...i burp when i can tell things a running way too hot, sometimes i have 5-7 good sized pieces reducing and i know if i don't cool things down a bit i will get white where i want black
some carnage may take place, you never know! hhaa had to plastic off my part of a multi-use basement. i've staked my claim


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It seems no two teams know each other better than the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City when it comes to the MLS Cup Playoffs.
They have become rivals through the simple fact that they've met in the Eastern Conference playoffs the past two years. Houston have received the last laugh both times, bouncing SKC out of the playoffs while moving on to MLS Cup. Sporting, meanwhile, have been forced to relish in their regular season success.
Now the teams will meet for a third year in a row with a MLS Cup berth once again on the line. With that in mind, Houston know their opponents are going to try to take the fight to them when the two-leg series kicks off Saturday at Houston's BBVA Compass Stadium (1:30 pm CT; TICKETS).
"Kansas City's a team that's sick of us," said center back Bobby Boswell. "We make it tough, it's not going to be a fun game. You watch the way they play against other teams and they're a pretty good possession team. Against us, they come and know it's going to be a dogfight and try and make it into a dogfight. We have no problem with that either."
Sporting have been criticized in the past for not rising to the occasion against Houston. This year, especially in Houston, that has changed. Sporting ended Houston's 36-game home unbeaten streak in May.
"I think it was a good statement from our team when we came down here and beat Houston," SKC goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen said on a conference call with reporters. "That gives us the belief that we can do it again."
In October, Sporting notched another BBVA Compass result with a scoreless draw. Both times SKC did not shy away from a challenge, notching 41 fouls in two games in Houston. Under head coach Peter Vermes, Sporting is capable of playing beautiful soccer. In Houston, however, the intimate environment and willingness to bring a physical nature to the game is something the Dynamo know a lot about.
"[Kansas City's the] same group of players but obviously they have a little more experience," Dynamo captain Brad Davis said on the same conference call. "We match up well against them and have very competitive games. I don't see anything in that aspect changing."
With SKC eager to continue to debunk the negative perceptions that come with a matchup with the Dynamo, Houston know they will have to find a way through to get an advantage in the first leg of the home-and-home series, a situation in which they have thrived against their conference rivals in the past.
"I wouldn't say we've had their number because we've had many different results in the regular season, just the results in these two Eastern Conference [series] have gone our way," Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear said on the Friday conference call.
The question remains, can Houston once again break SKC's pressure and find a way to repeat history?
"You've got to move the ball quickly," Kinnear said after Friday's training. "You have to be strong on the ball, but you have to be thinking a step ahead. If you can play and move and break their pressure it does open up the field."
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.