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Heroes of the Hearth is a GM-less, diceless story game by Stiainín Jackson. In Heroes of the Hearth, you tell the story of a group of villagers, the family and loved ones left behind by the fantasy adventurers who have left home to battle evil. It is included in Pelgrane Press' Seven Wonders anthology.
I recently had a chance to play the game, and I ♥ it. (I "heart" it, you see, because the heart symbol stands for love and "heart" sounds like "hearth"… Visual wordplay is difficult, ok?)
Before playing it, I'd been worried whether I'd enjoy the game. The characters were all pre-generated and I was concerned they would be flat or hard to customise. The scene structure seemed paradoxically to be very rigid and yet offer little support.
Which just goes to show that you should never review roleplaying games without playing them, because my fears were unfounded and I had a great time. Let me tell you about it!
(This isn't the first game from the Seven Wonders anthology that I have played, by the way. I was one of the playtesters for the game Rise and Fall by Elizabeth Lovegrove, and my name is included in the credits of that game. It's not otherwise relevant to this blog post, but it's the only place that my name is included in any published RPG so I'm quite proud of that.)
Creating the world
A game of Heroes of the Hearth starts with the players creating the world in which they'll play. The default setting of the game is assumed to be a Dungeons & Dragons-style fantasy world of some description. It is, at the very least, a place where you'd expect to find adventurers like the Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Paladin and Rogue. There is also implicitly a ruler, a capital, a threat, armies, soldiers, gods, and some sort of system for sending mail. It is the details beyond this that the players come up with.
Character creation is done by reading a scripted set of five paragraphs and five questions. This might seem restrictive, but we actually found that the script gave us a lot of scope for creativity, while at the same time focusing us on the most important things we needed to determine for the game.
In our game, we were a nomadic clan who lived in yurts and travelled by sled across a vast steppe. Culture revolved heavily around the dichotomy of Summer (when the steppe was arid and dusty) and Winter (when the steppe was beset by storms and thickly covered in snow). The two gods of the civilisation were twin deities, one of Summer and one of Winter, and the Emperor and Empress were thought to be the embodiments of these gods. Magically inclined and powerful people were said to be Children of Winter; those rooted in the mundane day-to-day were called Children of Summer. Sometimes a person could be a Child of both, but this was rare, and such people were treated as prophets in the local villages. All of this came out of the five scripted questions and the implications elsewhere in the book, e.g. on character sheets.
The last question of the script ties the broader setting back into the personal lives of the characters that we will be playing: "How did the village farewell its heroes?" This is one of the smartest and most important questions in the game. It says things about the world, but it also implies a lot about the sort of characters we'll play and what they are going through when the game begins. The example in the book says that the village holds a mock funeral for their heroes, as they do not expect the heroes to return. In our game, we went in completely the opposite direction.
In our game, the farewell ceremony was a ritual intended to allow the heroes to find their home again (since the village was never in the same place twice). The ritual involved the heroes and their loved ones tying ribbons on each other's bodies (arms, legs, fingers, etc.), magically linking them so that the heroes would be drawn home again once their quest was done.
Character creation
Characters in Heroes of the Hearth are pre-generated. There are six to choose from, all related to one of the adventurers in specific ways, with fixed backstories and a question to be answered during the game. Even their names are fixed, although we used our own spelling for a couple of names to make them ours (and in retrospect it would be very easy to just use different names).
The only parts of the characters that are not pre-generated are their relationships with other characters, and even those are selected from lists of Bonds. The process of picking Bonds (every character has exactly 2) is similar in some ways to Bonds from Dungeon World (I wonder whether the name was chosen for this reason). The lists provided are excellent at encouraging drama and conflict during play, which is important because after character creation is done Heroes of the Hearth doesn't have many levers to make the game more dramatic if players aren't doing it themselves.
In our game, we had three players and therefore three characters:
- Adair, my character, husband of the Barbarian woman Kain (who was restless even by the standards of our nomadic clan);
- Kailan, the local healer, twin sister of Ranya (spelled "Rayna" in the book) the Cleric; and
- Aurou (spelled "Avron" in the book), the Child of Summer and Winter and local prophet.
Aurou is a weird character because they do not have a hero of their own. Instead, they are the secret lover of one of the other heroes. This adds a level of connection to other player characters in addition to the standard Bonds, which is great for driving even more drama but it also makes the community feel smaller by reducing the number of developed NPCs. This is already an issue with the game because there is no GM to play NPCs, and the group of player characters can feel tight and insular.
In our game, in fact, Aurou was connected to both of the heroes. They were the secret lover of Ranya, with an unhealthy and obsessive relationship that had driven a wedge between Ranya and Kailan. (Someone likened Aurou and Ranya's relationship to the film Picnic at Hanging Rock, although at the time I was thinking of Heavenly Creatures, which I had forgotten the name of.)
Aurou was also Kain's child, having been brought back to the village as a baby when Kain returned from one of her numerous trips. Maybe Adair was Aurou's biological father, but Kain said nothing and nobody else really knew for sure. When growing up, Aurou was left with Adair when Kain went travelling. Adair refused to acknowledge the commitment of fatherhood (referring to Aurou as Kain's child, not his own), but he nevertheless raised Aurou and was there for Aurou when needed.
Adair had unspoken feelings for Kailan, and Aurou also developed confusing feelings for Kailan, who looked identical to Ranya except for her eye colour and hairstyle (her braid hanging on the other side).
These relationships, especially Aurou's parentage, were extrapolated somewhat from the Bonds on the character sheet, but didn't contradict anything. We felt this was in the spirit of the game, since the Bonds are designed to inspire and encourage drama, not to limit creativity by being the only relationships that the characters have.
My only real issue with character creation is that none of the player characters is a parent or elder of one of the heroes. The game suggests that people left behind could include the old and infirm, but all of the player characters are implied to be the same age as the heroes or younger. It seems like a missed opportunity, but a minor one.
Playing the game
The game is divided into three Acts and an Epilogue, separated by short interludes in which time passes and letters are sent or received. Every player will frame one scene per Act, and the Epilogue is made up of snapshots during the attack on the village when the threat arrives.
Letters are an interesting way of keeping the adventurers involved in the ongoing story without them being present. Our adventurers felt well developed, and rumours like the Emperor's demand that all soldiers must shave their heads (cutting off their village braids) and wear his uniform (removing their ceremonial ribbons) really hit home to the player characters.
In addition to the drama that arises from interpersonal relationships, the players are motivated to answer the personal questions that are written on their character sheets. For example, Adair's asks "What are you afraid of?" We hit these answers quite regularly, answering Adair's question in Act 2, Aurou's in Act 3, and Kailan's in the Epilogue.
Adair: "What are you afraid of?"
Adair most feared that Kain would not return from her travels this time. He put so much of himself into the Ribbon Ceremony that he was being magically drained of energy. Kailan noticed this and became determined to save him, but Adair brushed off her concern and compensated for his weakness by taking too much restorative potion, which were damaging with extended use. He finally kicked that habit after Kailan confronted him about his actions and made him acknowledge his fear, but their relationship was strained as a result. Eventually, Adair accepted his fatherhood responsibility for Aurou, and asked Kailan to remove his ribbon, knowing that Kain might never return home, so that he would be strong enough to join the fight against the threat when it came.
Aurou: "Do you really believe in the gods?"
Aurou coped badly after Ranya left, and formed an attachment to Kailan, whom they had previously had little dealing with. Although the village relied on Aurou to lead them to a safe place to settle, Aurou lied about this in order to please Kailan by settling down sooner. Shortly after this, when the two were alone together, Kailan put on a mask (hiding her eyes and increasing her resemblance to Ranya) and Aurou kissed Kailan, after which Kailan avoided being in Aurou's presence. A month later, Aurou stole Ranya's ribbon from Kailan's finger (Aurou having no ribbon from any of the heroes) and burned it in a ritual designed to bring Ranya home. The failure of this ritual led to Aurou losing their faith in the gods (answering their question). After being accused of selfishness by Kailan, Aurou's status in the community was reduced. Adair stepped in as Aurou's father at this stage, insisting that what Aurou did was wrong, but he also hugged them and supported them during their crisis of faith.
Kailan: "What is your secret illness?"
When the threat arrived, all three attempted to hold off the attackers. In the midst of the fighting, Kailan's heart skipped a beat. The ribbon that Aurou had stolen had anchored Kailan's weak heartbeat to Ranya's stronger heartbeat, and without the ribbon Kailan would soon die. She survived long enough to get most of the villagers to escape the attack, and was later honoured as one of the village fallen.
The aftermath
After the threat has gone, Adair helps set up the village in a new location, finally accepting responsibility and becoming a leader of the community. Aurou is never seen after the attack, but someone mysterious begins to pamphlet that the gods do not exist.
A few years later, Kain reappears out of the wilderness. Despite earlier rumours, she never cut off her braid or never condescended to wear the uniform of the ruler's armies. She comes back holding the ribbon that Adair removed (she always said she didn't need it), embraces Adair when they are reunited, and then introduces him to a young child that she has carried. Her child. As with Aurou, Adair does not know whether he is this baby's father by blood (it's possible), but this time he accepts fatherhood without reservation.
For the record, I ♥ Kain and Adair too.
I enjoyed Heroes of the Hearth. I would definitely play it again. I also think it might be interesting to try using it as preparation for a longer campaign, e.g. using it as the first session for its world creation and then picking up in subsequent sessions by playing the heroes. I think this would work, as long as everyone knew that this was the plan from the start.
I would totally play a Swords Without Master game starring Kain, for instance.
In the very long term, I do think that the script and pre-generated characters might make the game feel samey, but that would be only after many games and by then I think it will be clear enough to players that they can customise the script and characters to refresh it and make it interesting again. Fiasco has a huge selection of playsets that can provide inspiration for Bonds (see also my previous blog posts on group character creation), and the World War 2 French Resistance hack, also included in Seven Wonders, shows how easy it could be to just tweak and re-skin the game and make it feel completely new.
I'd love to hear other play reports, if you've had a chance to run this game. There was another group playing it at the same time I did, and we could hear laughter from their table almost constantly. We enjoyed it, they enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy it too. Let me know!


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If you've been feeling blah towards your bedroom lately, it might be time to add a little life to the space where you spend a third of your hours. Maybe you're bored with the colors or the bedding, or the room just needs a little pop of something lively. Maybe you've been reading those glossy decorating magazines and your inspiration is high, but your budget is low. Many of us would love to redecorate, but money is tight, and a full room makeover is out of the question. Well, don't give up entirely. You'd be amazed at what a big impact even small changes can make. For $100 or less, you can give your bedroom a whole new feel. Try any one—or several—of the following ideas, and add a little oomph to your bedroom without feeling a pinch in your wallet.
A Fresh Coat of Paint
For the biggest impact with the least expenditure, give your bedroom a fresh coat of paint. You can buy a gallon of paint, rollers, brushes and other painting necessities for around $100 if you stay away from the most expensive designer brands. Painting is easy enough for even beginning DIYers, and you should be able to finish your room in a weekend. Whether your style is clean and white, tranquil and neutral, bold and bright or contemporary and dark, there's a paint color to please your decorating sensibilities while leaving your bank account unharmed.
Make Over Your Bed
Your bed is the focal point of your bedroom, so make sure it stands up to scrutiny. It's true that for $100 or less, you aren't going to be able to purchase designer brands or the fanciest merchandise, but you can find beautiful bedding in a bevy of styles and colors at HomeGoods, Target, Walmart or similar stores. Choose a new comforter or duvet that makes a statement, or if you already like your topper, go for a new set of sheets.
Light up With a Gorgeous Lamp
Why settle for a boring bedside lamp, when stores like Lamps Plus, Target, and HomeGoods are overflowing with terrific-looking lamps at discount prices? If your lamp base is attractive, just change the lampshade. Go for a bright color, a bold pattern or an interesting texture instead of plain white.
Spring for New Hardware
With the simple turn of a screwdriver, you can update the look of your bedroom furniture. Switch out the old knobs and drawer pulls for updated versions in sleek chrome, old-fashioned glass, rustic metal, hand-painted ceramic or polished wood. Home improvement centers have a wide range of hardware or visit sites like Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, or Etsy.
Get Growing
A potted plant or two not only adds life, color, and texture to your bedroom, it also helps purify the air. You don't need a green thumb to grow easy houseplants like Chinese evergreen, pothos or snake plant, so give one (or a whole container garden) a try. Choose a pretty pot for your plant to add to the effect.
Don't Forget the Floor
If you don't have an area rug in the bedroom, you're missing out on an easy way to give color and interest to the space. Plus, you can find great rugs at rock-bottom prices at HomeGoods, Home Depot, Target, and similar stores. If your bedroom is carpeted, layer an area rug right on top for a whole new look.
Add Touches of Whimsy
Add a bit of fun and an instant update to your décor with one or two whimsical additions to the bedroom. Weave a string of twinkle lights around your curtain rod. Hang a brightly colored paper lantern from the ceiling. Surround your bed with netting or tulle hanging from the ceiling. None of these costs more than a few dollars, but all add a big impact to your space.
Finish With the Extras
Maybe you just want a few touches of color in your room, nothing major. If so, look for inexpensive, easy items like throw pillows or shams, a toss blanket to fold at the foot of your bed, a picture for the wall, or a great looking mirror to hang over the dresser. Even a decorative alarm clock can perk up your nightstand.

subset: commoncrawl


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Anybody who knows me will attest to the fact that I'm not a planner. I have never planned anything in my life, at least not on purpose. I make no apologies for it; what would be the point when I'm at that strange stage of life where I'm old enough to know better but too old to change? None the less, being one of life's blunderers does have its disadvantages as well as its plus points. On the plus side, it's always a nice surprise when a plan takes shape almost out of nowhere and your endeavours turn out to be a success. It also avoids disappointment because expectations are usually born out of planning. The downside, however, is realising with hindsight that you maybe should have done things differently but then hindsight, as they say, is a wonderful thing.
My approach to writing has been as haphazard as my approach to life, it just sort of happened with very little conscious thought. I decided on a series straight off the bat because, as a reader, I love them. Now, in my experience there are two kinds of reading. There's the serious stuff that requires a lot of commitment and demands a fully functioning brain that's not weighed down with other things and exhausted. My friend and I have a challenge whereby we try to read a serious book every month although fatigue and other irritations like work can often get in the way. You just can't read a serious book when you are tired or busy, it simply doesn't work. We are currently working our way through Anna Karenina but I don't think we're going to be discussing it anytime soon.
The other kind of reading is the kind you do for fun and relaxation and it's into this category that the series tends to fall. For readers like myself, who love a series, it's about suspending reality and becoming part of an extended little world, where you catch up with old friends as each new story is released. There are lots of series I enjoy, Jack Reacher, Myron Bolitar, Mitch Rapp, Harry Hole, Lydia Chin/Bill Smith. There are very few women though which is partly why I created my own protagonist, Georgie Connelly.
Reading Mike Squatrito's advice, I was reassured to see that I'd inadvertently done all the right things. Each of the novels in my series can be read as a stand-alone as the stories are resolved in their own right. Georgie's character evolves in each story but essentially stays the same and she has a cast of supporting characters who are likeable in themselves. So what, you may ask, is the problem?
In hindsight, I wonder if, had I been a planner, I should have written something else before I embarked upon a series. It's inevitable that the more you write the better your writing becomes and, with each novel, I think the Georgie Connelly stories have improved. Georgie has a small army of followers (okay maybe army is a bit grandiose, possibly a small elite unit within the army) who seem to agree with me. They correspond eagerly wanting to know when the next instalment will be ready and they all concur that the series has got better as it's gone on. The dilemma a writer of a series is faced with then is that the first one, in my case Business As Usual, will always be the one that readers want to try first but is not necessarily the best.
I stand by it as a novel and, as a reader, it is something I would enjoy but the fact remains it is not my best one. There are no doubt some of you out there thinking, well go back and change it then, but it doesn't work like that. The reason why writing improves with practise is because a writer grows in confidence and the voice becomes more assured. It's often something indefinable that couldn't be changed even if you were to go back. Even successful, best selling writers develop over time. I've often discovered a series midway through and eagerly bought up the back catalogue and it becomes very apparent how a series improves with time. Even if it were possible to go back, in all honesty, I wouldn't want to. My books are a bit like boyfriends, I'm very fond of them but have no desire to revisit them. I'd rather move forward onto the next idea and see where that takes me.
The other option of course would be to end the series and maybe start a different one. Would this be fair though to those readers who have stuck with and invested their emotions into Georgie? Besides I still have lots of ideas for her yet and, of all the characters I have created, she is the one that I feel closest to probably because I've written about her the most.
The other drawback of producing a series is that there are readers who are always going to prefer a stand-alone story. In addition to the Georgie Connelly series, I have written three stand-alone novels and they all sell better than the series. The strange paradox being that the fans of Georgie, who have read the stand-alones, claim to infinitely prefer the series. It seems to me that where a series is concerned, you're either a lover of them or you're not. Does choosing to write a series then limit your potential market?
As I said earlier, hindsight is a wonderful thing and even if I could go back I would still write a series. Like my lovely readers, I am too invested in Georgie and her friends and derive more pleasure than is probably normal from writing about them. What I maybe would have done differently was delayed the series until I had a few more novels under my belt. My most recent Georgie Connelly was the seventh novel I have written and I think the best so far so maybe that would have been a better starting point.
If any of this is helpful to a would-be series writer, I can assure you it's completely accidental. Mostly I would say that writing a series is a lot of fun and I have Georgie Connelly with me most of the time. I'm always on the lookout for scrapes and adventures she might get into and anticipating what she might do in any given situation. Maybe that's the reason a series gets better over time, right there. Just like with real life friendships, the longer you know someone the more you are able to predict their behaviour and you develop that easy rhythm. Perhaps it's this rhythm that makes your characters more authentic and credible. So if you want to write a series, you'd better get on with it as, the more you get to know and love your characters, the better they are going to make you look.


text: Statement on Horsethief Canyon Fire 10-Sep-2012 St. John's Medical Center is not currently in the advisory evacuation zone for the Horsethief Canyon wildfire. All services of St. John's Medical Center are currently available. St. John's has taken steps to ensure that the hospital is prepared to provide additional medical services as necessary during this incident. The hospital has an emergency evacuation plan in place in the unlikely event that an evacuation is necessary. For more information on the Little Horsethief wildfire, visit www.inciweb.org/incident/3241. Hospital updates, as necessary, will be posted on www.tetonhospital.org. Categories: Press Releases Previous Post | Next Post


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If you've been researching home staging training companies, you've probably encountered those that require you to hand in assignments to be graded in order for you to graduate or "qualify" for "guaranteed jobs".
I take a different approach to assigning homework than most other home staging training programs and there are several reasons for this.
I don't offer imaginary credentials. Unlike most other home staging training companies, I'm upfront about the fact that there is no such thing as an official credential needed to become a home stager. Handing out assignments that must be graded and making you jump through other artificial hoops just to pretend you're suddenly qualified to do something just isn't something I need to do.
You're learning how to operate a business so you have work to do anyway. Because my goal is to teach you how to start and grow a successful home staging business, I have created homework for each of the 5 Staging Diva Courses. But, each assignment asks you to think about or do something you should be doing any way to get your staging business started. The reason I call them homework assignments is to nudge you to do these things now rather than putting them off (it's easy to procrastinate when you're working for yourself).
Each homework assignment was designed to move you closer to achieving your goal of having a successful home staging business.
We're all mature adults. This is self-led learning and whether you choose to do the homework or not is completely up to you. The homework assignments I give in the Staging Diva Courses are steps you need to take to get your staging business off on the right foot. If you're serious about growing a successful business, I know you'll complete them.
I actually operate a home staging business. A lot of home staging training companies are led by people who no longer operate a home staging business. However, I actually do have a successful home staging business of my own to run and I don't really have time to chase all students down to make sure they've completed their homework!
It all comes down to the fact that you wouldn't have ordered the Staging Diva Training Program if you didn't want to learn what I have to teach you. I don't assign mandatory homework, but I do assign it for a reason. If you complete those assignments, you'll be more successful in your home staging business.
Just remember, with the Staging Diva Training Program, there are no marks and there is no pass/fail. Just happy and successful graduates.
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Debra Gould knows how to make money as a home stager and she developed the Staging Diva Training Program to teach others how to earn a living doing something they love.[tags]home staging homework, staging diva, home staging training, home staging credentials, home staging programs, staging diva courses, debra gould[/tags]


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|Not bad for $17
The plan was to do foam board insulation, which was going to be great and cost about 15-20 bucks to do the van. Well on closer inspection, the panels were actually beveled, meaning they are wedge shaped in thickness. Unfortunately the thickest ends were just too thick to fit. So I went with plan B, which is refectix. They had huge spools of it there, and while they are only 9 inches in width, its only 17 dollars for the roll you see above. I don't know how long the roll is, but it fills the van from wheel to wheel. The plan is now to insulate the inside of panels with this. I am more worried about heat in the summer than cold in the winter, so foil is going to be facing the shell of the van. This is counter to just about everyone I seen, who put the reflectix on the can shell itself, to reflect heat inward. I might do that too if it looks like I have enough after doing the first panel.
Only thing i am worried about is the dead space in between the shell and the reflectix, could this rust out the inside of the van? I'm thinking it will be ok, as the moisture is inside the panels and reflectix acts as a vapor barrier. It isnt a huge deal anyway, nothing can stop the rust on this van, which is turning out worse than expected anyway.
|Cabinet Doors $3 each
The people at the outreach were very help volunteers. God Bless them...I can't help but be thankful to the Lord for just the ministry i need, at just the place and time I need it.
The guy even helped carry stuff out to the van to tinker around with ideas and what would fit. I wish I could teleport this stuff to other vandweller friends online. :)
I was hoping to put up the foam today since its a crazy 70+ outside, but I have to wait for the panels. I decided to go with actual plywood for them, just directly screwed to ribs.


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Scouting Report:
Positives: Quinn is a good athlete and he has good size and strength to go along with it. He has a good first step and has good edge speed, plus he shows some hand usage and a rip move to get off blocks. He shows the shoulder dip and hip flexibility necessary to get the edge at RE on the next level. He shows some explosiveness as a hitter and has a pretty good motor and doesn't often quit when rushing the passer. He is strong for his size so he holds up alright versus the run and has solid recognition skills. He won't just crash down on the RB on zone reads and will keep contain, also does a solid job sniffing out screens. May be a good enough athlete to play 3-4 OLB in the NFL.
Negatives: Has some potential character concerns because of the suspension that led to him missing his entire junior season. I don't think they are serious, but it is still a red flag. He also made it hard for teams to evaluate him because his most recent game tape is from his sophomore season. He is a raw prospect for that reason and while he has potential he represents a lot of risk because of the suspension and because he was a developmental prospect before that. And while he was touted as a physical freak I don't think he really proved that to be true, and he certainly doesn't warrant comparisons to Julius Peppers as far as raw athletic ability. He is pretty much a one-trick pony as a pass rusher and he rarely counters and attempts to beat the tackle with an inside move. He also doesn't fire off the line of scrimmage and while he has a good first step he isn't usually the first one off the LOS. I think he has the athletic ability to develop a good swim move and a nice spin move but that is purely speculation. He also struggles to shed blocks against bigger blockers in the run game and can be moved off the ball at times. He is mentioned as a 3-4 OLB prospect but I don't know if he has the athletic ability to drop into coverage effectively. He might be a more effective pass rusher standing up but I have never seen him do that so that just makes him even harder to project.
Overall: There are a lot of question marks with Quinn and that stems from the season he missed this past year. I would have liked to see him play next year but that is obviously an unrealistic expectation because of the fallout from the suspension. He definitely has first round ability and potential, and I think he can be an 8+ sack guy at RE with some development, but he is very raw so he is going to have to come off the bench for a year or probably two years before he is ready to consistently contribute. His hand usage and pass rush moves need development and while he might be able to be a situational pass rusher before that he is a one trick pony right now so he won't be particularly effective. He has a high ceiling because he can be a good/very good pass rushing RE in the NFL but his floor is a complete bust who never develops pass rush moves and never improves as a run defender. That's a lot of risk to take with a top ten pick, so I have been very surprised that he's been projected as such a high draft pick for so long. I thought his suspension and ultimately his overall risk as a project would scare people off more than it has, at least until recently.
Projection: Top 20. I would be surprised if a guy with his natural ability fell out of the top 20 unless there was a significant character red flag that came to light during the draft process that is not openly known. However, I don't think I would pick him in the top ten even though I'm a huge UNC fan. He is a good athlete, has good edge speed, but nothing about him is elite in my opinion. He won't be an elite pass rusher in the NFL without significantly developing his pass rush moves, so while he has a high ceiling his floor is pretty low and he won't have a significant impact early in his NFL career.
1-poor, 2-weak, 3-above average, 4-very good, 5-elite
Strength: 3.5
Quickness: 4.0
Pass Rush: 3.5
Point Of Attack: 2.5
Recognition: 3.0
Motor: 3.5
Thanks for reading!


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Meet the Alberni HOME Team
We have designed our web site with your interests in mind! Drop us a line, we'd love to hear your thoughts! We are dedicated to selling your home or finding you that dream home you are searching for. You are invited to browse our website and call or e-mail us with any questions you have about buying or selling a home in the area.
Sandra Lamoureux - Realtor®
My chosen career as a Real Estate Professional is my perfect destiny! Becoming a licensed REALTOR® with RE/MAX Mid-Island Realty in 2004, I bring enthusiasm and energy to all of my Alberni Valley Clients. As a Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES), I'm also well equipped to assist seniors making a change.
When you feel ready to sell your home, you can be sure that you will honestly hear what you need to hear, in order to realize top dollar in a reasonable time frame.
When you up for the adventure of buying your first or next home, I will take the time to determine all of your needs, to help you find your perfect place, at the best possible price. And we'll have fun doing it! I thrive as a keen negotiator, so whether you are selling or buying Real Estate, I promise that I will take great care of your concerns, and help you to, "Dream with your Eyes Open!"
Five facts about Sandra
1. Loves that she gets to work & play with the love of her life Joe
2. When she's not working you'll find her in her garden, on the dock or sharing fabulous meals (that she usually cooks) with family & friends
3. Personal mantra; "Everything Happens for a Reason"
4. Believes that; together, dark chocolate & red wine is a food group, unto itself
5. She has a creative bent, and a bent sense of humour
Joe Lamoureux- Realtor
As retired member of the RCMP and having moved quite a bit during my service, I am aware of the stresses associated with finding a new home in a new community. Port Alberni was my last posting in 1984, and I've been here ever since and haven't looked back. The Alberni Valley has been a wonderful place to raise my family, and now I get to work alongside my wife as part of the Alberni Home Team. Since becoming at a licensed Real Estate professional in 2005, I've been fortunate to work with and meet so many new people. I pride myself on taking time with each new client to really get to know them and their individual needs. Whether you're relocating to the Alberni Valley, looking to sell your home, buy an investment property, your first home, or perhaps your second or third, I look forward to assisting you with your any of your local Real Estate needs!
Five Facts about Joe


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Today I get the next error when I was importing an offline repository to the OMS (Version 12c);
Error: The command name "import_update_catalog" is not a recognized command. Run the "help" command for a list of recognized commands. You may also need to run the "sync" command to synchronize with the current OMS.
The command was;
./emcli import_update_catalog -file=/oracle/anr_donwloads/p9348486_112000_Generic.zip -omslocal
Like the error message show us, you need to execute a synchronize, but you need first log, as show below;
oms> ./emcli login -username='SYSMAN' Enter password : Login successful oms> ./emcli sync Synchronized successfully ### Reexecute the import command
HTH – Antonio NAVARRO


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The Diversity of Gender & Sexual Orientation Identities of Transgender Individuals
Check out our latest video with Laura Kuper to learn more about the recent IMPACT publication, published in the Journal of Sex Research.
This study explores the diversity of gender and sexual orientation identities of transgender individuals from an online sample of 292 participants, 18 to 73 years old (mean age of 27.88). Over the past 10 years transgender has become a popular umbrella term used to refer to individuals who identify with a gender–other than that associated with their birthsex. Sometimes this term is applied more broadly to include individuals who are gender non-conforming and gender variant. Just under 300 individuals completed this survey, spread out among rural, urban, and suburban locations across the country. The sample was relatively young, and had a higher percentage of white and more highly educated participants than that of the general population.
This research shows the full spectrum of both gender and sexual orientation among the transgender/gender non-conforming and gender variant group. It presents the varying terms used by individuals when identifying both gender and sexual orientation. Genderqueer was the most common term used by participants born female bodied (73%). Transgender, female, and transsexual were the most popular terms among the group that were born male bodied. Sexual orientation identities also varied greatly among each group; pansexual, and queer were the most common orientations among the group born female bodied; straight/heterosexual and bisexual were the most common reported identities among the group born male bodied. Participants also reported on their current and future intentions with regard to hormones, top surgical reassignment surgery, and bottom surgical reassignment surgery. These results highlight the diversity present within the transgender umbrella.
For more about the many different ways of expressing gender, check out the IMPACT Program's interactive Gender Identities & Expressions Map.
Please note: Any statistical data cited in our videos is accurate at the time of publishing.
Filming & Editing: Fasika Ketema
Graphics & Post-production Assistance: Farrin Abbott
Source: Kuper, L. E., Nussbaum, R., Mustanski, B., (2011). Exploring the Diversity of Gender and Sexual Orientation Identities in an Online Sample of Transgender Individuals. Journal of Sex Research, 49 (2-3), 244-54.


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GlobalFloodMap: Interactive Sea Level Rise Map
GlobalFloodMap is an interactive sea level rise map that displays predicted flooded areas due to rising sea levels. Based on Google Maps, this tool tells us how the world is expected to look like if global sea levels continues to rise.
To use the map, input the number of inches for sea level rise. For every inch, you will get a list of flooded places as well as the number of people expected to be displaced. View markers over towns and cities to see whether they will be flooded or not. You can also select and zoom-in on each individual country to understand how they will be affected by rising sea levels.
Global Flood Map is a timely resource and educational tool to illustrate the effects of climate change.
- Enter the number of inches of sea level rise to see flooded areas on the map.
- Use the search function to find your city.
- Left sidebar displays the flooded places and the expected number of people flooded.
- Based on Google Maps.
- Links available for information on each individual country.
Check out GlobalFloodMap @ www.globalfloodmap.org [No Longer Available]


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True Health & Wellness: January Update
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony: We are having our 1-year anniversary at True Health & Wellness! To celebrate we are having a ribbon cutting along with prizes, specials, demonstrations, and refreshments. It will take place on Thursday January 21, 2016 from 5:30 pm – 7pm. See you there!
Food Rules & Labels Workshop: Thursday January 28, 2016 starting at 6pm we are giving a workshop on food rules and food labeling. Learn basic rules you can implement in your daily eating habits. Don't get fooled in the market anymore! RSVP today because seats are limited!
Detox Health Challenge: We are kicking off our 1st annual detox weight loss challenge starting January 2016! We will help guide you through proper nutrition, supplementation, and fitness while undergoing a detox program. If you have extra weight, joint discomfort, stuffy head, or just want to jump-start your metabolism we are here to help! You will also be given the chance to win great prizes! Check in starts 1/4/16!
January New Patient Deal: We are giving all new patients a special deal for January. We want our community, friends, and their families on the path towards better health & wellness.
We are lowering our prices to help get your health on track, $80 for new patients' first visit, which includes a chiropractic or acupuncture consultation, examination, and first treatment. ($80 savings!)*.
New Patient Visits may include*
- Full history
- Full physical exam
- Acupuncture or Chiropractic treatment (these may include acupuncture, spinal adjustments, soft tissue therapy, cupping, gui-sha, kinesio-taping, nutritional counseling
January Raffle: We are giving our monthly winner a $25 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods Store! We hope this will give one lucky winner a chance to get some gear to help with their New Years Resolutions!
How to enter: Everyone who receives either acupuncture or chiropractic treatment at True Health & Wellness for the month of January will be given an entry to the raffle. Our winner will be drawn at random at the end of the month. It could be you!
Insurance Coverage: True Health & Wellness is able to provide coverage for American Specialty Health (ASH) plans. These may include Aetna, Signa, Anthem, Blue Cross, Blue Shield, Health Net CA, and more! We also are able to accept most PPO's, Blue Shield, and Medicare. We are happy to call and see what coverage you may have available by your insurance provider. If you are unsure about your coverage, let us find out for you!
Office Hour Changes:
Dr. Nathan Yeargin will be out of the office: January 14th – January 17th
YouTube Channel: We are on YouTube! Subscribe to get the latest info on Health & Wellness. Let us know if there are any topics you would like us to cover!
True Health And Wellness Channel
True Health & Wellness
12721 Newport Ave Suite 2
Tustin, CA 92780
Mon-Fri: 9am-12pm &
Sat & Sun: By appointment only
Email: email@example.com
Dr. Nathan Direct: email@example.com
Dr. David Direct: email@example.com
Phone/text: (657) 333-6061
Yelp: True Health and Wellness
Instagram: truehealthandwellness
Facebook: True Health And Wellness
YouTube: True Health And Wellness Channel
*Some restrictions and/or exclusions may apply. One new or returning patient (not under care for more than 3 months) visit per person, laboratory and radiological tests are not included and may be needed at an extra cost before treatment can proceed.


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We provide the tools and collect the information necessary to assist you with finding the most affordable solution to becoming comfortable and self-efficient. The federal government offers a 30% tax credit, as well as accelerated depreciation on the cost of a solar installation. This maximizes individual returns and makes going solar a more attractive, financially feasible option. For those who choose energy efficiency upgrades, there are government and state programs that offer rebates for these programs, as well. Smart Energy Solutions offers many different financing options to make either route, whether stand-alone or combined, more feasible and cost-friendly.
Our energy efficiency team is BPI- and RESNET-certified, and our solar employees are NABCEP-certified installation professionals. By requiring these certifications, we ensure that each member of our team has the qualifications necessary to build each system to the highest standards. By utilizing high-quality solar products, the best installers, and a proven system, our installations are a cut above the rest. We handle the necessary permits, project management, and everything else throughout the process.
No two projects are alike when it comes to energy efficiency or solar installations. Our auditors and engineers will create a custom proposal for you, which will maximize your return on investment and take into consideration the architecture of your building or land. Your individually-designed plan will also factor in increased energy efficiency, deliver a reduction in your electric bill, and do so in a way that will also ensure maximum comfort for you and your family.
Missouri Sun Solar has saved us on average $100 a month. They have one of the best crews around. Very professional!
Sun Solar is great on price and great on service, I don't know how they do it. They installed my solar system and were patient as I changed my mind about the size of the system and location – its performed great so far. If you go solar you've got to consider them.
Eric, the salesman, came down, looked at our property, wasn't pushy. It was like "here's what we do, here's what it will cost you. Here's what the rebate should be, here's what the tax credit should be," gave us an estimate of a 25 year savings and then gave us the prospective plans and we went through with it! The electrical crew did a fabulous job! We have kind of a complicated system because we have three buildings and they put it together just perfect. The panel installers did a great job, absolutely no issues whatsoever. We have recommended Missouri Sun Solar to several people. A lot of people have been like we were, it almost sounds too good to be true. But those folks are going to come out and look at our system – a picture is worth a thou-sand words and we can show them what it's doing, show the meter running back-wards and they believe it. The folks that have come out and worked, the electricians, the panel guys – they've all been a joy, they're professional. They haven't left a mess. Sometimes you hire contractors and they leave stuff lying around and don't clean up after themselves, there's absolutely been none of that. We had to change some things on the fly and they were very upfront, explaining to me what they were doing because it was like a second language to me when they start talking voltage and wattage. They took the time to explain what they were doing, why they were doing it and they coordinated with Empire. I think that's very important – I think Missouri Sun Solar has built a great relationship with Empire in the last 60 days that no other solar company has. Missouri Sun Solar and Empire have a great working relationship.


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This Huffington Post headline made me laugh. And not for the reasons you might presume*
* I lean toward the left, I'm a woman, I'm awesome…
I laughed because I think it should've been written as follows:
2012 Election Showed Women with Functioning Brains Don't Like Old Men Making Decisions that Impact their Reproductive Health
Or maybe:
2012 Election Reveals Few Non-Millionaires Give a Hoot about their Taxes
One more for good measure:
2012 Election Demonstrates that Women Have Progressed Since Biblical Times
K. I'm done now. This really isn't an anti-Republican post, not at all. It's a pro-women and pro-reality post.
I think this article is pretty awesome. In a very articulate way it elucidates that 2012 campaigners may have completely overlooked how their strategies would come across to an incredibly powerful and important demographic. They swung, but missed. Working in communications for nearly a decade has engrained one solid truth into my brain that seems to have been neglected here: Never, ever, forget to consider your audience.
The most perfectly orchestrated message in the world can crash, burn and offend if it's not delivered in a way that makes sense to the target recipients. While there are hundreds of factors that go into the development of campaign strategies, and even more that play into how people make voting decisions, I think it's interesting to consider what could've happened if the approach was tweaked.
The article accompanying this headline is interesting and well written, and worth a read. Here's an excerpt:
"As Republicans dust off their Election Day drubbing last month, their party must confront the reality that the ranks of unmarried women are growing rapidly, and these voters overwhelmingly have backed Democrats for decades.
Women increasingly are graduating from college and joining the workforce, and postponing marriage. From 2000 to 2010, the number of unmarried women increased 18 percent, according to census data.
Republicans have spent the past month tallying up all their demographic weak spots, including with Hispanics and Asian-Americans. But some warn that single women, already one-quarter of the electorate, represent the most serious threat to the party's viability."


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Go Back
Go To Articles Directory Home Page
To get the current article, - See Below (at the bottom of the page) -.
For top news titles, see below.
Web sites and videos listed in this page are frequently updated.
If you find that this page is useful (quality of web sites, images and videos, ...), you can add it to your favorites.
Bookmark Page !
Do You Have What It Takes To Pursue The Hottest Women In The World?
This book is intended to be a 'How to' book, explaining step by step what you need to do to embark on your journey. In short, how to go about meeting and marrying a Russian woman from soup to nuts.
About the Author: John has been successfully married to a Belarussian wife for over five years. He has traveled extensively through Russia and other CIS countries. He will tell you why you should consider Russian women, how to meet them, how to bring your special woman home, and how to survive married life.


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When it comes to importing and updating records in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, there are two distinct functions: importing records using the import wizard and updating existing records by exporting to Excel. But what if you have a list of records that are not exported from CRM, and you want them to update CRM data? In this blog, we will discuss just how you might do that with a fancy workaround.
Using built-in functionality in CRM, this solution involves creating an entity and workflow combination. You will import your spreadsheet into the custom entity and then use a workflow to automatically apply your updates to the correct records. Once the tool is built, you can reuse it to quickly update your data.
Before getting into the details, this method works best if:
•You have records coming from the same source repeatedly such as another database or a subscription-based list.
•You have a unique identifier, such as an account number, in your source data, as well as in CRM. If your data does not meet this requirement, this solution will not work.
•You have hundreds (not thousands) of records in your source data. With larger amounts of records, you should run these updates in batches of less than 1000, or ideally, use another solution such as SSIS or Scribe.
Note: For the least amount of interruption, you will want to perform the update during off-peak hours.
Begin with some data in a spreadsheet that contains updated account information.
Step 1: Create a new entity titled 'Account Update'
Create fields for all columns/types of information you wish to update. Also, make sure you create a lookup field titled 'Account' or something similar that will be able to search for lookup to the Account entity. In this case, we will need to have fields to match all of my sample data columns (Account Name, Account Number, Street 1, Street 2, City, State, Zip, and Main Phone). Publish all customizations.
Step 2: Create a workflow to automatically sync newly imported data from entity 'Account Update' to 'Account'. Here's how:
Under Settings/Processes, create a new process.
Configure exactly as shown below. You'll need to add only one step: update records. Make sure your look-up field that you added (titled "Accounts" here) is selected in this step.
Select properties and for each field you wish to update, select a corresponding Account Update field for it to sync to, as shown. It is important to note that your Account for may look different than the one shown. You can customize the form to show any type of information you choose. Here I have moved all of my edited fields to the top for simplicity sake. Publish all customizations
Step 3: Import the data and map the information to their corresponding fields. Select import data under Data Management
Browse for the update spreadsheet. (Note: your spreadsheet will need to be saved as an XML Spreadsheet 2003).
Once you get to this screen you will select Default (Automatic Mapping) and click next .
Select the newly created, 'Account Update' entity under Microsoft Dynamics CRM Record Types
When mapping your fields, make sure you're setting the look-up on your update entity to use that unique field on the record you're updating. In this case, I'm setting the account lookup on the Account Update entity to use the Account Number as the key.
If the update has ran correctly, your account information should match the spreadsheet you imported.
Once you have built your basic solution, you can include more complex logic depending on your specific challenges.
•Add a check condition to your update workflow to see if the field in the source is blank, and to ignore it if it is. (This allows you to import incomplete data.)
•Option set support: If you did not use global option sets in your original entity, you can use check conditions to set the value of that option set based on the value imported into your update entity. (If you did use global option sets, then you can just map them like you do text fields for this solution.)
•Transformations: If your source data does not exactly match the format in your CRM, you can have your workflow transform the data before it is updated to the destination field.
There you have it—some things to think about when updating records in your CRM. Make sure to check out our other blogs for even more Dynamics CRM information!
Happy CRM'ing!


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Movers in Riverside
When searching for movers in Riverside, you want a high quality moving company that can offer affordable moving services. Daly Movers has the Award Winning Service that gets them noticed among Riverside movers. Daly Movers can deliver your local, long distance or international moves as well as provide for all of your storage needs.
Look at all you get when you choose Daly Movers as your movers in Riverside:
- Award winning service
- 30+ years of local moving and storage experience
- A+ Better Business Bureau rating
- AMSA Certified ProMover
- Quality service at affordable prices
- Specials discounts for AAA members, seniors, veterans, and more
- Environmentally friendly move practices
Fill out our on-line Free Moving Estimate see why Daly Movers are the trusted expert movers in Riverside.


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Project Understanding has a number of programs designed to help people get back on their feet, providing a place to live and become self reliant.
SHORE at the WAV
Supportive Housing Opportunities in a Residential Environment
The goal of this program is to assist those who desire to end their homelessness. SHORE at the WAV is Case Management of previously homeless families and individuals in permanent, supportive housing apartments subsidized by Section 8 funds.
Open: By Appointment
Phone: (805) 628-3332
Kristie King
Case Manager
Homeless to Home (H2H)
If you are homeless and are looking for help to find housing, please call H2H between 9:00 am and 4:00pm, Monday-Friday at (805) 231-2299. Program requirements for the intake portion are:
- Proof of Income - last 2 check stubs, SSI/SSA/Disability award letter or bank statement if direct deposit, food stamps, and/or unemployment stubs
- Proof of Address - rental agreement; if renting a room, letter from landlord
- Proof of Dependents/Custody - rental agreement (if listed on it), legal paperwork and awarding custody
- If homeless, ID and mailing address
Open: Monday-Friday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Phone: (805) 652-1326, ext 401
Hank Koozehkanani
Program Manager
Tender Life Maternity Home
Where Courage Meets Compassion
to Build New Lives
This program provides homeless pregnant woment with safe housing and support services that promote self-sufficiency. Program requirements include:
- Phone interview
- In person interview
- Homeless and pregnant
- Pregnant only, no other children
- At least 30 days of sobriety, proof if available
- Present proof of income, or Cal Works
- No felonies preferred; staff will decide on case by case basis
- Cannot house severe mental health clients
- Domestic violence: you must have completed a 30 day Domestic violence shelter before you will be considered for the maternity home.
- Proof of legal status
Tender Life Maternity Home:
871 E. Thompson Blvd, Ventura, CA 93001
Intake Form
Get started by filling out this form. A representative will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
Donate to Project Understanding Housing Programs
Project Understanding relies on volunteers and charitable donations to serve people in need in Ventura County.
Tenderlife Maternity Home Walk 2018
Please join TenderLife Maternity Home on Saturday, April 7, 2018 for a WALK for our annual "Tenderlife Maternity Home Walk-A-Thon" Location:…Read More
2018 Hope Worth Giving Breakfast
Project Understanding of San Buenaventura is pleased to announce its 7th Annual Hope Worth Giving Breakfast which will be held…Read More
40th Anniversary Celebration
Click here to edit Spacer module. A message from Project Understanding Welcome to 2017! We are overwhelmed with gratitude at Project…Read More
"When Santa Claus Dreams"
An Ode to Volunteers Santa Claus envies me, He dreams of riding in my van. All he drives is a…Read More
Annual Adopt-a-Family
What would it feel like to help a needy family at Christmas or Hanukkah? There are so many families in need…Read More


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By that we mean Strategic Armory Corps. What did you think we meant?
As a refresher to all the Jarheads and Sailors in the crowd, Strategic Armory Corps is a member of JTF Awesome which was formed with the goal of acquiring and combining market-leading companies within the firearms industry. They're all names you've heard of (in case you need a reminder, check out this post from when they came aboard). If precision is what you're after, they got it. If you want to go quiet, they can do that too. We look forward to seeing what more they'll be bringing to the table in the near future.
But today is just about viewing some of the goodness they had on display at SHOT Show 2017. Of course you can visit SAC online here, but we recommend going through the photos first, of course.
Comms Plan
Primary: Subscribe to our newsletter here, get the RSS feed and support us on Patreon right here.
Alternate: Join us on Facebook here or check us out on Instagram here.
Contingency: Exercise your inner perv with us on Tumblr here, follow us on Twitter here or connect on Google + here.
Emergency: Activate firefly, deploy green (or brown) star cluster, get your wank sock out of your ruck and stand by 'til we come get you.


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Download Festival announces even more bands for 2016
Download Festival, the world's premier rock and metal event, adds another 14 acts to an already huge bill, including All Time Low, The Temperance Movement, The Wildhearts, and Napalm Death. Download Festival takes place on 10-12 June 2016 in Donington Park. Tickets are on sale now.


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How schools can host their own Web 2.0 video sharing community
A new project for a video hosting platform called Video.Show has been announced by some of our developer evangelists. The code doesn't cost anything, in fact it is offered as an open source project. It also appears to be ready for usage, not just a vision.
A blog post on the topic caught my eye because of the first bullet point regarding who should be interested:
Your company or school wants to distribute e-learning or educational content over the web for internal or external access;
This is an important type of opportunity because it gives a school the power to decide whether they want to use a public service (such as Soapbox) or host their own site in a protected and value-added manner using Video.Show. This is an opportunity to demonstrate how the school is safely delivering a rich learning experience to the students. The solution looks cool, which is a very big deal. If a school were to host their own video community it would need to satisfy the "cool" factor or it might face student rejection.
Typically a solution like this makes sense after a technology proves itself in subset of courses and moves from the individual innovator to something the institution is interested in supporting. The Video.Show solution delivers an open source solution residing on a trusted and supportable platform.
From Tim's site, I found a reference to a very interesting implementation of the Video.Show solution - http://www.filmsforlearning.org/. The site includes a social community and online commenting system for student published video content. There appears to be a great online community supporting the site - http://community.filmsforlearning.org/.


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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
At the end of the school day, I hurried to the Regensi Hospital. In a spacious modern ward, I found Agung sitting up in bed, his head supported by a number of pillows. On chairs on either side of him sat his mother and one of his sisters. Agung still looked pale but he gave me a sunny smile.
"How are you?" I asked Agung.
"Fine, mister," he said. "The doctor says I have to stay a few more days."
"He's eaten a little food," said his mother, a woman whose thin face and threadbare clothing suggested she had had a hard life.
A muscular looking female nurse left her desk at one end of the room and came over to talk to us. "Agung is doing well," she said. "He's no longer so dehydrated."
"What's made Agung ill?" I asked.
"A virus," said the nurse.
"Does the doctor know which virus?"
"No, but Agung's temperature is down. He should be able to go home in a few days."
Within two days, Agung was striding around the ward and chatting up and charming the nurses. Some of his young friends came to visit him and he showed them round the public parts of the hospital. Within a week of his arrival in hospital, Agung was able to go home.
Paying hospital bills was relatively easy as I had been left some money in the will of a much respected female friend from London. This talented lady had been adopted as a child and she suspected that she might have been related to a world-famous Scottish writer who had links to an aristocrat who had been a top politician.
Mo, my driver, was kept busy. Every morning, after he had delivered me to school, he set off to various kampungs and hospitals. There were numerous children who had to get their medicines. One of the many with TB was Yayat. When Yayat got better, and was able to leave hospital, it was discovered that his mother was dying of cancer and had to go into hospital. Agung's friend Gadi had an operation to remove his appendix and his scar took a long while to heal. A young lad called Bayou was given a heart operation. Hermanto's mother was one of several who received treatment for typhoid.
As I settled into the back of my Mitsubishi van, at the end of a tiring school day, Mo reported bad news in a soft and sympathetic tone. Leper Iwan was dead.
As Mo related what he knew of Iwan's death, my main reaction was a feeling of depression caused by guilt. Mo had made the usual delivery of money to Iwan one month previously and had found the boy to be in reasonable health. But, at some point after that, Iwan had started vomiting up blood. Medicine from the local doctor had not led to any improvement. Iwan did have extra money in a bank account I had opened for him, a bank account to be used in the event of sickness requiring hospital treatment. But Iwan had not visited a hospital, possibly because he knew that hospitals did not welcome lepers. Iwan had tried to phone me, but could not get through. I had recently changed my phone number and had forgotten to give the new number to Iwan. It was many months since I had paid Iwan a visit.
Next evening, I went to see Iwan's granny. The toothless old woman tried to appear cheerful but she was obviously missing the boy she had been mothering for many years. She told me she was going to move in with relatives. I asked her what had made Iwan so ill. She said the local doctor did not know. There were no indications of TB or dengue fever.
The house in which Iwan had stayed belonged to Min's family. Min's mum decided to sell it, in order to help pay for her house in Lamaya. It was difficult to find a buyer for a home that had seen the deaths of a boy from tetanus and a boy who had had leprosy. At least that was the argument of the young woman from whom we had originally bought the place. We had paid her twenty two million rupiahs, equivalent to around 6,000 pounds sterling. This astute lady offered to buy the house back for twenty million rupiahs, a sum now worth around 1,000 pounds sterling. The offer was reluctantly accepted.
Indonesia's economic crisis continued, which meant that poor people had a struggle to buy enough to eat. When I was visited each late afternoon by my youthful neighbours, Agung, Fajar, Hermanto, Saban and a few others, I began providing them with meals of chicken and rice. I pointed out to Ami, the maid, that her portions of chicken looked incredibly small, but she indicated that to kampung Indonesians these were normal sized helpings. The little street singers, Ali and Dikin rounded off the evenings with musical entertainment. I loved these evenings because of the company of the bright eyed children and the happy singing. It was like being at an enthusiastic and well-mannered scout jamboree. On occasions we would watch a video, which was usually Mr. Bean or a Disney cartoon. As the days went by, the number of children arriving for a free supper grew in number. At its peak there were almost thirty children gathered in my lounge, and they were always helpful and polite. Without being asked, they would help with the serving of the food and the tidying away of the empty plates. These people were used to domestic chores. After some months, Ami announced that she thought she might be expecting a child and could no longer cope with all the work of cooking for the multitude. Sadly the free suppers came to an end and the number of visitors returned to previous levels.
Ami showed no obvious signs of being pregnant and by the time I left Indonesia she had still not had the child that she was obviously keen to have.
I had dinner with Carmen and Fergus at the five star Meridien hotel, opposite Jakarta's World Trade Centre. I had always regarded the Meridien, owned by a member of the Suharto clan, as a favourite oasis of luxury to which I could escape when I had had enough of equatorial heat and dust and squalor. The interior of this modern and relatively small hotel suggested luxury liners and comfortable colonial architecture. The food in the main restaurant, prepared by a French chef among others, had once been among the best in Jakarta. By 1998 standards seemed to have slipped. Perhaps it was the economic crisis or perhaps it was a change of management and staff. The hotel seemed less French and more British.
Carmen, Fergus and I sat in the Brasserie. Fergus, who liked to watch his figure, ordered a simple nasi goreng rice dish from the a la carte menu. He was drinking water. Carmen and I ordered wine and went for the international buffet which included regional French and local Indonesian food. The soup was not hot, although it tasted nicely of onions. The coq au vin was tepid.
"How's the Nasi Goreng?" Carmen asked Fergus.
"There's a fair amount of chicken and prawns. But it's not as good or as cheap as they do in Blok M," said Fergus, adjusting his dark glasses.
"It's a breakfast dish," said Carmen. "You can't expect too much."
"How's the coq?" Fergus asked Carmen.
Carmen gave one of her loud titters. "The chef's coq has a good flavour," she said.
"Mine's not very hot," I complained, being slow on the uptake.
"Kent, you're suffering from Jakarta stress," said Carmen, perhaps detecting a tendency on my part to be over-critical of the food. "We all are."
"It's the ninjas," I explained.
"Ninjas?" queried Fergus, who preferred the sports pages to the news pages of the press.
"Mysterious deaths in East Java," said Carmen. "Have you seen the Jakarta Post stories about the murders of over a hundred people? Murders by black-clad figures dressed as Ninjas. Villagers have set up vigilante patrols to protect themselves."
"I remember reading about that," said Fergus. "Someone was killing village witch doctors. It's what happens when there's political turbulence. You get this kind of paranoia. Some villager imagines seeing Ninjas. Vigilante patrols are set up and they end up killing innocent people."
"It isn't just dukuns getting killed," I said, probably sounding stressed. "It's Moslem preachers and mentally backward youths."
"Mental patients have been dumped in villages," said Carmen, her voice rising with excitement.
"Along come the village vigilantes. They think the mentally backward youths are Ninjas. The youths get their heads chopped off. The heads are paraded on poles. It's a psychological warfare operation."
"Run by Ninjas?" said Fergus, smiling and sounding sceptical.
"The Kopassus regiment, the army's special forces, have used Ninjas in East Timor," said Carmen. "They dress their people up in black costumes. They try to terrify people in order to control them."
"Some of the Ninjas are said to have arrived in villages in trucks," I pointed out.
"Bodies have been chopped up," said Carmen, "and bits of bodies have been chucked into mosques. Sounds like a black-op."
"It's like when Suharto came to power in 1965," I said. "There have been 'death lists' going around."
"Why would anyone threaten Moslem preachers?" asked Fergus.
"To undermine democracy," said Carmen. "There may be elections next year. The murdered Moslem preachers are members of the pro-democracy NU organisation. That's the largest Moslem group in the country."
"The NU is Wahid's group?" asked Fergus.
"Correct ," said Carmen. "Is this country going to continue to be run by the army? Or is there going to be democracy? If there's lots of instability, then the army remains in control."
"The army is creating the terror?" asked Fergus.
"The top generals were trained in America," said Carmen. "These Pentagon people are experts in psychological warfare. They know all about creating fake terror."
In early November 1998 there was a four-day special session of the Indonesian parliament. It met to consider a future election and possible reforms such as a withdrawal of the military from politics.
The military, claiming that parliament needed to be guarded, recruited a 'Moslem' militia. Many people thought that these civilian guards, called Pam Swakarsa, were simply lowbrow thugs and knaves whose real job was to intimidate students and other reformers and protect the old order. Truckloads of these vigilantes, armed with sharp sticks and wearing green headbands, toured key parts of Jakarta. They played Islamic music and threw stones at students. When I spotted a horde of seated Pam Swakarsa, as I drove past parliament, I noted that they looked like sullen cut-throats. Reportedly, these Pam Swakarsa were the origin of Laskar Jihad which later fought in Maluku, Indonesia's Spice Islands. And some have seen Laskar Jihad as being similar to al Qaeda: knaves and petty criminals at the bottom and the security services at the top.
On November 9th, thousands of students and demonstrators did manage to assemble outside parliament in order to demand that former President Suharto be put on trial and that the army get out of politics.
On November 13th, a large crowd, marching to parliament, were met by marines, police and soldiers from the elite Kostrad regiment. Towards the end of the day, things got violent. While the military used tear gas, the crowd threw rocks. In the area of Atma Jaya University, bullets hit students and street kids. Troops and mobs fought pitched battles. The fighting continued on the 14th November and there was some looting. The violence resulted in the deaths of at least nine demonstrators.
The parliament passed some very moderate reforms, and promised elections for June 1999, but the military remained the power behind the throne. Top positions in government would continue to be held by military figures.
On November the 23rd, when I opened my Jakarta Post, I could see that Indonesia was changing for the worse. In the Ketapang district of Jakarta, not far from the Presidential Palace, 'Moslems' had attacked 'Christians' and at least six people were dead. Some victims had been publicly mutilated. A newsmagazine later showed photographs of a savage mob hacking a man to death. Eleven churches had been looted and burned. My unease was deep.
Within the next few days I paid a visit to my elderly former-neighbour Mr Samsu; I needed to know what was going on.
"This is about gangsterism and politics," said Samsu, who was seated very comfortably on his sofa. He had a Buddha-like calm.
"Not religion?" I queried.
"One gang," said Samsu, "is Christian. The other is Moslem but it also contains Christians."
"These are gangs operating in the Ketapang district?"
"Yes. The trouble began at a very large Chinese-owned gambling club. There was reportedly a dispute about protection money. The gang that normally protects the club is an Ambonese gang which happens to be almost entirely Christian. Ambon is in Maluku, the Spice Islands. The gang also controls parking and the collection of protection money at shopping malls in north west Jakarta. A rival gang, which happens to be mainly Moslem, allegedly tried to collect protection money from the gambling club's Chinese-Indonesian owner, but he refused to pay."
"So there was violence. But how is it that the police and military can't prevent these things?"
"The leader of this mainly Moslem gang is said to have military links and to have helped recruit for those Pam Swakarsa who were guarding parliament. He is also said to be linked to a member of a very powerful family."
"And the Christian gang?"
"Same thing. They are rumoured to have links to a different group in the military and to have links to a different member of that most powerful family."
"News reports made it look as if this was Christians attacking a mosque and then local Moslems attacking the Christians."
"The whole thing may have been staged by a certain group. Local people report that strangers were brought in on trucks."
I woke up early and found myself vomiting blood. I phoned for a taxi to take me to hospital. It was not as bad as on the previous occasion when I had been sick; the floor of the taxi did not get hit. I was admitted to the Regensi Hospital where I stayed for several days. The doctor's verdict was that it was an unknown virus which had made me ill. He also suggested that I was suffering from stress and that perhaps it was time for me to consider leaving Indonesia.
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Welcome to our culinary playground!
Whether you bring a friend or make new ones while you're here, Schoolhaus puts the FUN in cooking fundamentals. So, tie your hair back, slip into some comfy clothes and closed-toe shoes and prepare to jump in!
We provide all the ingredients and supplies you'll need, including an apron, which you are welcome and encouraged to stain all to hell. Best of all, the homework is delicious!
- This event has passed.
Cook Like a Star: Guy Fieri (ONE SPOT LEFT!)
May 7, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm$75
The mastermind behind the hit TV show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Join us as we explore the food stylings of Guy Fieri in this class.
*Guy Fieri will NOT be at the class*
*Wine and beer available for purchase.
Please note that taxes will be added to ticket price
Bookings are non-refundable and cannot be transferred to another class. If you are unable to attend, you may transfer your booking to another person, 19+. No exceptions, please.
Class Information
With the occasional exception, classes are approximately three hours and $75 + GST. Though refunds are not available, feel free to have some lucky soul 19+ to attend in your place.
Private Classes
Schoolhaus can be booked for private functions such as:
Christmas Parties
Corporate Team Building
Staff/Client Appreciation
Young Chef Parties
For more information on our private classes, click here.


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|28 Dec 2009
Uploaded the file, anything else?
Edit: This is in fact a .NFO file i was asked to upload as I'm not getting a mini dump (I labeled it wrong)
|My System Specs
|28 Dec 2009
I'm starting to think it is overheating, but i don't know how to prove it! I've now got a cooler to put underneath the laptop (only cost £10 so i don't know if it works?).
My main concern is the fact that if it's overheating why is it not doing it all the time. Why only now and again and every 10-15 days? Any info would be great
|My System Specs
|30 Dec 2009
I don't know what i'm looking for in this txt file, any help?
|My System Specs
|30 Dec 2009
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
|My System Specs
|30 Dec 2009
I've done that, had it as kernal memory dump & also small memory dump (256KB). I'm not getting a mini dump file. The file i uploaded was a .NFO file i was asked to upload but I've labeled it wrong .
|My System Specs
|05 Jan 2010
Did it again the other night, just cut out like it ran out of power. Still no memory dump file. Any ideas?
|My System Specs
|14 Jan 2010
Win7 x64 + x86
Nope, no BSOD issues - so it's probably that the system is crashing before the dump collection process is completed. Not a problem, just difficult. Please stop the system from rebooting automatically and copy down all the info for the BSOD's.
Problem devices:
I would suggest visiting the Laptop manufacturer's website and downloading all of the drivers from there.
Please blow the vents on the laptop out with canned air (DON'T use an air compressor or a vacuum cleaner - they'll damage things).
|My System Specs
|15 Jan 2010
Not Available (probably COMPAL Embedded System Control) ACPI\CPL0002\2&DABA3FF&1 The drivers for this device are not installed. Took me a while to sort the Bluetooth out, didn't have the new drivers for win 7.
ENE CIR Receiver ACPI\ENE0100\3&11583659&0 This device cannot start. Same with this
So the above i have sorted out and haven't had a problem but like i said they are random. Had them happening when i had vista installed with all the updated drivers installed. I thought it was over heating but i now have a cooling deck, the last time it happened it was on it. I've checked the vents and they are clear. And it is set not to restart.
The only thing I've changed is it's now on balanced power plan, it was on high performance and it hasn't happened since. If it was overheating would win7 write it in a memory dump?
|My System Specs
|30 Jan 2010
The good news is that the black screens have stopped . But I'm now having crash's, not like a win 98 crash where you can't move the mouse and the whole thing becomes unresponsive. It's just slowly but surely locking up, still functioning but what ever i do is making it worse.
When it happens i only know because when i try to open anything it will either not open it or open a window with nothing in it. Can open the start menu but can't access the options for shutting it down. Tried to restart but alt+ctrl+del doesn't do anything. So pressed the power button so it shut down, but it doesn't and black screens. I do get an error sound, but i can't see because it's black screen. Have had one recently but to do with bluetooth says something about a stack error?
Also had an error the first time this happened when i was playing dragon age, came up with something to do with the video card not being accessible but that was only when i tried to click on something.
I'm completely lost with this....
|My System Specs
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So this one is driving me mad. I am experiencing some random bsod/black screens. I did a format but the problem remains. I am running driver verifier and its crashing/black screening. As you will see below in the dump files(there are several of them), the bug reports keep changing. I tried to...
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Hey, idk whats going on with this computer. Decided to come here for additional help to see what you guys would say. I'm computer savvy so you dont have to explain stuff too much in detail. I've attached my mini dump file. Edit: I have a 350w PSU that came with the old HP i bought a while back....
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Hi, I'm new to the forum and my computer is being a d!ck. Yes, only d!ck can describe it. During last week, I was scanning my computer with Advanced System Protector. The program did not scan any files for the whole night so I stop it but the computer hangs and I was forced to restart. That is...
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Ada Lovelace Day
13 October 2015
This is an international day designed to celebrate the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths.
Ada worked on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine and is said to have developed the first algorithm for its use. She is often described as the world's first computer programmer. More information at findingada.com including a complete worldwide event listing.
VLSCI has, with kind permission of the artist (Lisa Congdon, email@example.com) produced a poster to celebrate Ada Lovelace Day, 13 October 2015. Feel free to download, print-out (A3 colour) and distribute this poster wherever you wish and help us join in this international celebration. High and low resolution versions are available from the VLSCI website at: https://www.vlsci.org.au/page/publications.
Hear more from Ada at Brainpickings.


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Enjoying one of our eye treatments is like having a mini facial for the area around your eyes. If you're looking for puffy eyes treatment or are experiencing bags under your eyes, a Jiva eye treatment can make a world of difference!
Cleansing Treatments
We live in a dirty world. Smog, dust, car exhaust, and other forms of airborne pollutants can really do a number on our skin. And these pollutants can give you a tired, harsh looking complexion, speeding up the aging process and wreaking havoc on your natural beauty.
But with a cleansing facial treatment from Jiva Spa Toronto, you can strip away these pollutants, repair the damage, and look your best!
Classic European Facial
The basic European facial is geared toward those who don't have any specific skin issues, and just want to look their best. The classic European treatment includes an enzyme peel, masque, and a face, neck, and shoulder massage.
Acne Facial Treatment
Acne can be one of the most embarrassing and troublesome skin conditions. But whether you suffer from teenage acne, or you're looking for adult acne treatment solutions, Jiva Spa Toronto's acne facial treatment can help! It includes a deep cleansing, exfoliation, and extractions, to help keep your skin clean and clear and looking its best!
Anti-Aging Facial Treatment
If you're noticing your skin beginning to sag and fade, a firming facial can help! This anti aging facial treatment is designed to tighten and firm your skin by restoring the collagen in your face. A relaxing massage will follow, finished off by a thermo mask that will leave your skin feeling firm and healthy.
Deep Hydrating Facial Treatment
A deep hydrating facial treatment increases the moisture reserves in your face. It's like a nice cool glass of water for your skin after a hot day! If you suffer from dry skin, this dry skin facial is for you!
Sensitive Skin Facial Treatment
If your skin is sensitive and to other treatments, our sensitive skin facial treatment is for you! It helps reduce redness, helps control rosacea, reduces visible blood vessels, and will provide soothing relief to your skin!
Jiva Signature Facial
Our signature cleansing facial treatment is perfectly customized to meet all of your unique skin needs. Designed to purify, hydrate, cleanse, and exfoliate, this relaxing facial is complemented with a neck and shoulder massage, this soothing treatment is sure to please you.
Body Scrub
For the best body scrub spa, Toronto's Jiva Spa is the place to be! An exfoliating body scrub combines a relaxing massage with an exfoliation treatment to keep your skin healthy and smooth, like a facial for your entire body!


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From Latin operātus, past participle of operārī ("to work, labor, toil, have effect"), from opus, operis ("work, labor").
operate (third-person singular simple present operates, present participle operating, simple past and past participle operated)
- (transitive or intransitive) To perform a work or labour; to exert power or strength, physical or mechanical; to act.
- (transitive or intransitive) To produce an appropriate physical effect; to issue in the result designed by nature; especially (medicine) to take appropriate effect on the human system.
- (transitive or intransitive) To act or produce effect on the mind; to exert moral power or influence.
- (Can we date this quote by Atterbury and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- The virtues of private persons operate but on a few.
- (Can we date this quote by Jonathan Swift and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- A plain, convincing reason operates on the mind both of a learned and ignorant hearer as long as they live.
- (Can we date this quote by Atterbury and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- (medicine, transitive or intransitive) To perform some manual act upon a human body in a methodical manner, and usually with instruments, with a view to restore soundness or health, as in amputation, lithotomy, etc.
- (transitive or intransitive) To deal in stocks or any commodity with a view to speculative profits.
- (transitive or intransitive) To produce, as an effect; to cause.
- 2012 January 1, Robert L. Dorit, "Rereading Darwin", in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 23:
- We live our lives in three dimensions for our threescore and ten allotted years. Yet every branch of contemporary science, from statistics to cosmology, alludes to processes that operate on scales outside of human experience: the millisecond and the nanometer, the eon and the light-year.
- (transitive or intransitive) To put into, or to continue in, operation or activity; to work.
- to operate a machine
- 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, "Obama's once hip brand is now tainted", in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
- Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
to perform a work or labour
to produce a physical effect
to produce effect on the mind; to exert moral power
to deal in stocks
to produce, as an effect; to cause
to operate a machine
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
- operate in Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- operate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
operate pl
- second-person plural present of operare
- second-person plural imperative of operare
- feminine plural past participle of operare
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- en:Medicine
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English ergative verbs
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian adjective forms
- Italian verb forms
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin participle forms


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Plotlines, Outlines, Godplay
I Feel You
Here's an odd little story I submitted to a local literary magazine for their 'Siblings' issue. It didn't make it through to selection, and so I share this tale of strangeness with you here.
Plotlines, Outlines, Godplay
Here's an odd little story I submitted to a local literary magazine for their 'Siblings' issue. It didn't make it through to selection, and so I share this tale of strangeness with you here.
While editing older writings, I came across this narrative exercise from my MA coursework. For this assignment we had to take a scenario/vignette and write it in three ways, altering tense and POV in each.
My short story, The Sin-Eater, has been selected to appear in 36 Hours: 36 hours, 20 writers, 1 anthology.
I wrote this opening with the grand plan of developing the story through the manic mechanism of NaNoWriMo. But as I've come to expect every single year, I start out fizzy and end up flat. I don't see these characters living beyond the few lines I've put down here. Enjoy, as you can, their brief mortality.
I submitted this short story for Short Story Day Africa 2014. This year's theme was Terra Incognita. Though I do read in the genre, writing speculative fiction is indeed unknown ground for me. My story didn't make the longlist so I thought I would share it with you here.
The writing life is rough. Gritty as sandpaper against the skin of all four of your cheeks. Some people talk of bleeding onto pages, they're not […]
She sways and spins, her position held by hips as broad as a baobab. The feather-duster in her hand sheds ostrich plumes. They rain down hope on the woman kneeling before her. Mama Eve raises feet clad in green plastic mock-crocs. She stamps on a heap of cowrie shells, filling the room with brittle crackling.
We were introduced to the Black Box writing technique by supervisors Silke Heiss and Paul Mason in an MA seminar that dealt with conceiving the bones and sinews of a story.
Elements are chosen randomly from five categories; character, situation/incident, place/setting, time and theme.
These selections are then used to develop the framework upon which the narrative hangs.


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On our previous posts on "Getting to know Starting and Established Business Online", some known online stores here in Cebu gave us their insights on how they run their shops. But where does one really start when venturing the world of online selling? Here are a few steps on setting up your own store on Facebook:
1. Decide on your product.
Just like any business, you need to have a business plan; so think about your product first and foremost. Are you going to focus on one product and specialize on it or are you going to sell anything you fancy? Do you have a solid and dependable supplier or manufacturer of your products? How would you stand out and make yourself different from the hundreds of sellers out there? Be unique and try to offer something truly original.click here to see cool potential products!
2. Make a business plan.
Think about the logistics, which may comprise of the following elements:
- Are you creating the product by yourself? If so, make sure you have the time and can keep up with the demands of your customers.
- Decide on how to ship your products. Canvas different couriers and their rates and reliability. If you will have meet ups make sure it's in a public place and don't forget that even though you are having meet ups you will still have to shell out money for transportation in going back and forth and even food.
- Decide on your store's name; do remember a good catchy name goes a long way. It helps people to remember your name right away. Think about your logo, overall theme and color scheme of your store. Whatever you make might soon be the one you will use on your store's stickers, labels and even receipts. So make it a good one!
- Have an easy ordering process and a lot of payment options. Most likely there are other online sellers selling the same products as yours, so one deciding factor a customer will look for is on how convenient you are. Be polite and responsive, have an FAQ corner on your page to be easier for them. A lot of customers are definitely turned off by sellers who are snotty and unfriendly. Remember just because you can't see your customer doesn't mean they don't have feelings!
have an effective business plan by choosing the right products
3. Create your online store.
Make a Facebook page for your business by following these easy steps:
- Log in to your Facebook account and go to www.facebook.com/pages/create.php. You will then see a page that has 6 main page categories; choose and click the one that you think fits your business idea best, but usually the Brand or Product option suits almost any type of starting Facebook business. After clicking that box, you will then see a drop-down menu where you can choose a specific category for your product.
- After clicking a specific category, you will then be instructed to put a name for your business. After which, you can add a profile picture for your business page.
- Next, fill in the About field completely.
- Then, change your cover photo.
- Finally, add some info to your About Page section.
Once everything is ready, don't forget to like your own page, manage permissions through your Admin Panel, and start sharing some interesting stuff to your Facebook friends!
4. Advertise, advertise, advertise.
Making the page (and inviting FB friends to like it) is the first and easy step. Maintaining and making it visible is the tricky part. For Facebook, the more status posts, likes and shares you have, the more visible you are to your customers. In short the more activity the more visibility. BUT make sure not to overdo it and spam your customers' news feeds. This is a surefire way for you to be "unliked" or even blocked. Remember, it's all about balance. Other than posting and sharing your pictures and statuses, there are also Facebook groups for both buyers and sellers where you can advertise for free, just remember to read the admin rules first. Learn the power of hashtags as well. When using hashtags, it's not about quantity but it's all about quality. Tag your photos with the BUYERS in mind. For example, instead of using hashtags like #cute, #pretty to describe a shirt you're selling, use #clothes, #girlshirts, #shirtsph (ph means Philippines specifically) instead since these are the hashtags a buyer will usually use when looking for something specific.
So go on start your online selling journey and keep in mind the most important of all is enjoy and love what you're doing! 🙂


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I am still buisy with the french vintage ornamental theme, this time it is metal crowns and crucifixes in zinck with lots of dark patina. I made two sizes of crowns..a large one for (big) kings and a small one for (little) princesses. I will post the same items with a rusty/golden patina later.
The items will be listed on Petit Brocante and displayed at the Farum Fair in Denmark also.


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