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Tytho: Time is money and tax automation saves on both - Eliza Alberts-Muller and Monica Erasmus
Eliza Alberts-Muller (near right) and Monica Erasmus, indirect tax and transfer pricing partners, respectively, at Tytho - a global team of IT, supply chain and tax experts who streamline and automate processes - speak about the evolution of technology, the impact it has on tax and what expectations they have for the future.
As tax experts, how do you view technology?
Eliza Alberts-Muller: First, it may be good to set the scene. Our current evolution is that of a digital nature, regardless of whether you wish to be part of it or not. However, the pace of the technological evolution is somewhat faster than we will have predicted. Did you know, in 1991, there was only one website and, in 2014, that number surpassed one billion - that is simply unfathomable. We as tax professionals, therefore, need to act now and embrace the new technologies that are digitising our society, and forcing legislators and governments to step up their game.
Monica Erasmus: I agree. I think that the focus is on whether a tax department can reach a workable level of technological maturity. Innovation leads to solutions but deciding which is right is another matter as there are no silver bullets. Personally, I had more than 80 meetings this year alone to discuss our transfer pricing documentation management tool, of which only a few companies enquired about the back-end technology.
Was this surprising? No, but it shows that there is a disconnect between technological know-how and how they translate into the tax world through tax tooling. In essence, automation only enables processes, enriches calculation capabilities and enhances data mining. Our goal is to minimise the one-tool-one-trick approach that focuses only on 'how can I make my transfer pricing report?' - and broaden it to include how to simplify and harmonise the transfer pricing documentation process; divide the accountabilities in this process; and find the baseline process, master data and management reporting needs that fort the organisation, and with which other software, should any transfer pricing tooling interact.
Could you elaborate on how technology is impacting indirect tax, as well as transfer pricing?
EAM: Well, the invention of the ERP system(s) in the early 90s has allowed us to integrate the various business functions into one platform, the demand for which came from the increased scale and scope of MNEs. This single platform is an offering that, combined with the globalisation and centralisation of supply chains, makes indirect tax determination and compliance more intricate - a prime example of how technology increases the need for advanced VAT and tax automation solutions.
Countries are shifting towards more state-of-the-art processes due to technological considerations; for example, big data is leading to more-sophisticated reporting and auditing systems. The demand for transparency - driven by technology - and the fight against tax fraud has also led to change, with the implementation of standard audit file for tax (SAF-T) in an increasing number of countries - a step towards government's having direct access to your transactional data. Brazil already does this and many others are considering it.
ME: In the past 12 to 15 months, most large companies have focused on how to identify, retrieve and report data for country-by-country-reporting (CbCR) purposes. In the past six months, companies are initiating more in-depth discussions around the automation of transfer pricing documentation. In terms of off-the-shelf transfer pricing software solutions, the technological functionality is quite fragmented and bespoke, but there is a lot of investment and development going as we speak to address this tax-technology vacuum.
What has surprised me is the shift in openness of tax departments to new technologies, like cloud computing and open-source, and software as a service - SaaS, which is extremely scalable and nurtures self-service computing. SaaS could relieve the in-house IT department of a large number of mundane IT activities, like periodic compatibility updates and configuration, while enhancing the capabilities of tax professionals through 24/7 accessibility from their mobile devices.
How will these changes impact the function of tax professionals?
ME: We are, as a function, overstretched, understaffed and underfunded. Companies are just starting to ask the right questions that delve into automation for transfer pricing purposes. Few tax departments have established an overall tax technology portfolio, roadmap or dedicated tax technology role within their organisation.
I sincerely believe that in automation, the true winners should be the people. I realise, that statement contradicts the objective of replacing manual data input and complex analytical work with machines. However, I believe automation almost always ultimately leads to a reallocation of work rather than a mere reduction of numbers. We can manage more work, requiring a more complex review, with the same number of people.
EAM: We can expect an increase in the demand, from tax departments, for more efficient data processing and management tools. In the past, we were the adviser; we used our own knowledge to ask the questions, while now we facilitate a system that automatically makes the same enquires. Frankly, I think it's fair to say that we cannot predict how things will look in ten years' time because we are at the tip of the iceberg in tax automation.
What should businesses be thinking about with regard to tax technology?
ME: First of all, you need to consider the simplest form of automation; namely, 'what is the baseline process and reporting I want to establish?'. A lot of time is taken by tasks that do not add value in terms of the content analysis. We believe that these should be off the desks of the specialists to unburden them, allowing them to free up time to tackle the more complicated issues.
Everything we do in tax includes document management and workflow. Currently, document management of companies relies on shared drives, email and portals, which become an inefficient labyrinth of data and reports. Workflows, as well as document management, are killing efficiencies. If we look at transfer pricing documentation technology, almost all tools focus on building a document modular, and have some kind of workflow management and repository. However, the logic of how modules are connected to actual transfer pricing files and how all the different parts connect are very different. Furthermore, we see a lot of complex tools; the user interface is essential and if you cannot find what you need easily then you should consider another tool.
EAM: It's time to invest in technology; the iron thumb has been lifted and tax authorities are not only supporting change, but also driving it - it's no longer an option not to. So, on that note, I would suggest businesses think first and foremost about the keys questions: are you in control of your tax-relevant data in your ERP system(s)? Does my reporting and filing data match my ERP transactional and master data? The answers to these questions validate if you are comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges. Additionally, we find that tax departments are constantly asking how they can take advantage of current enterprise technology. What we see is that businesses are welcoming an integrated approach and are interested in finding the root cause (rather than applying a patch); laying down their argument for a tax technology solutions' budget allowance that ensures the data sets match, so that they don't need to.
Where would you advice MNEs start?
ME: It is unfortunately unavoidable that they start by becoming interested in understanding broadly the back-end capability of the tax tooling they look at - how well it would interface with other software or how agile customisation to future needs would be.
Technology requires some form of budget and, if you want funds, you need a plan that articulates what your priorities are, and how you will integrate that plan within your current system. So, we advise tax departments to start building that plan, with the key stakeholders in finance and IT. Build your technological portfolio or roadmap across the taxes; CbCR can bolt on quite nicely with tax provision and reporting tooling or data extraction for other tax reporting purposes.
EAM: I would like to add, while it is important to think about the future of tax technology, we have to work in the here and now, and right now we need to focus on how technological c hanges are impacting legislation and creating challenges for new and existing businesses. You have to adapt to your environment; therefore, we advise you to think about the following:
- The world is changing and tax is not exempt.
- Find out if you know and are comfortable with your current situation.
- Create a taskforce to highlight the root causes of your issues and wishes.
- Allocate a budget; change doesn't come for free.
- Remember, this is a never-ending process, review the above annually.
ME: Finally, don't wait, start the discussion now.


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The Story Behind "Silent Night"
Posted on December 18, 2015
The song, Silent Night, brings us home with still, silent voices in harmony all over the world every Chrismtas. However, did you know there were rodents in the story behind Silent Night? Yes, in fact it was because of mice that Silent Night was written. On a cold Christmas Eve in 1818, Jospeh Mohair was dismayed to learn that mice had nibbled through the organ bellows in his little Austrian parish church. He couldn't bear to think of a Christmas Eve service without music.
As he went out on some pastoral visits, Jospeh was summoned to the cottage of a family to bless their newborn baby. As he awoke in the peaceful Austrian hills, his spirit was caught up with this child and thoughts of Christ's birth. The words of a poem settled on his heart, and he hurried home to pen them down. Rushing to his still flustered organist, Joseph asked him to write music for his poem. France Grubbier then wrote a simple melody using the only three chords he knew. That very evening at the midnight service, "Silent Night" was sung for the first time, by two men accompanied by the guitar.
Nearly 200 years later, Silent Night has been arranged and re-arranged in a wide variety of styles, from the simple guitar to a full syphonic orchestra. Here is a list of the top arrangements of this song available at PraiseCharts. Browse through the different arrangements to find the perfect one for your worship service.
Silent Night
More from this series ...
Category: Song Stories
Tags: christmas eve, Christmas Carol Song Stories
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- The Story Behind "Joy To The World"

subset: commoncrawl


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Do you play war games? Enjoy free online games? Then prepare yourself! The hottest free to play multiplayer war game of 2017 is here! King Arthur's death has left an empty throne. Raise your dragon and build your army in the quest to lift Excalibur and become the next King of Avalon. In this dragon war, your mighty dragon is the key to ruling your kingdom. Stay alive by forging alliances with your friends and build an empire together. This is a game of kings entangled in a game of war. Who will be victorious in this clash of kings?
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Candidates for liver transplant or patients recently submitted to liver transplant are particularly at risk of suffering pulmonary hypertension for different reasons. The study "Severe pulmonary hypertension in liver transplant candidates" documents that advanced liver disease with portal hypertension is associated with pulmonary hypertension. Advanced liver disease or cirrhosis causes fibrosis and changes the actual architecture of the liver. Progression of the disease varies according to each patient, affecting other organs and tissues as well.
In addition, patients who were submitted to liver transplants are also at higher risk of suffering pulmonary hypertension. The two most common pulmonary vascular complications in patients with cirrhosis that can lead to pulmonary hypertension are hepatopulmonary syndrome and portopulmonary hypertension, as explained in the study "Pulmonary hypertension after liver transplantation: case presentation and review of the literature." The research demonstrated that pulmonary hypertension is common in patients with severe liver disease either before or later after transplant.
The first study mentioned, which included 1,205 patients submitted to liver transplant, demonstrated that the incidence of pulmonary hypertension in the patients who received transplants was 8.5%, while mild pulmonary hypertension was 6.72%, moderate pulmonary hypertension was 1.16%, and that of severe pulmonary hypertension was 0.58%. The incidence of the disease has varying impact when it is developed before or after the transplant.
Read full article at http://pulmonaryhypertensionnews.com/pulmonary-hypertension-liver-transplant/Share


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Gas Fire and Wall Heater Safety (HTR1) training and assessmentJune 27, 2012
The types of appliances covered by HTR1 training and asessment includes:
- Gas fires
- Wall heaters
- Convector heaters
- Stoves, which may be open, balanced or fan assisted
- Flueless gas fires (with and without catalytic converters)
- Greenhouse heaters
The Gas Fire and Wall Heater (HTR1) course is not fuel specific and the range of appliances may be either Natural Gas (NG) or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Prior to taking HTR1, gas engineers will need to hold a valid appropriate core gas safety assessment and CPA1, or equivalent Gas Services N/SVQ or QCF qualification. The core assessment is determined by the fuel supplied and the type of dwelling where the appliance is fitted, for example:
- NG wall heater or gas fire fitted in a house, flat or bungalow = CCN1
- LPG wall heater or gas fire fitted in a house, flat or bungalow = CCLP1 (PD)
- LPG gas fire fitted in a Residential Park Home = CCLP1 (RPH)
HTR1 is designed to assess the competence of a gas engineer to install, exchange, commission, disconnect, service, carry out repairs and attend to breakdown of appliances. However, as with all ACS assessments, HTR1 will only assess an engineer's competence in matters of gas safety, it will not assess other key skills such as building works or electrical installation etc.
Due to the range of appliances and work activity covered by HTR1, during assessment gas engineers must be able to correctly identify the appliance type, apply the guidance given in the manufactures instructions and appropriate British Standard, and ensure that the appliance is safe to use.
Typical HTR1 training, for an installer undertaking this module for the first time, will include:
- Installing and commission an appliance
- Attending to breakdown and diagnosing gas safety faults
- Carrying out a service and identifying any installation or component defects
In addition to the practical HTR1 assessment, a number of underpinning knowledge questions covering the requirements of British Standards (BS) 5871 parts 1 – 4 must be answered correctly. Gas engineers undertaking HTR1 as a reassessment are not required to carry out the installation element and will answer fewer knowledge questions.


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Atlas Linux OS
The Atlas Linux OS is a openSuse / .rpm based Linux distribution with tools specified for the daily use of the Atlas City and Atlas Initiative Group members. This Linux distribution will be extremely light in comparison to most popular distributions, however will contain a solid amount of software both designed and not designed by the AOSDT and Global Community Portal. However, to keep the software light, Atlas Linux OS will be taking on a cloud-based approach similar to that of Jolicloud.
For more information, go to http://globalcommunityportal.com/one/doku.php?id=atlas-linux-os
This project does not contain any packages


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During this quadrennium United Methodists are studying the acts of inhumanity that people have committed against indigenous peoples around the earth. Each annual conference is slated to have an "Act of Repentance" during a regular annual session.
Our Philadelphia Episcopal Area will join in this observance during both of its 2016 annual conferences (Eastern PA and Peninsula-Delaware). This gives us time to learn and reflect upon what has happened in the past, to repent and ultimately move toward reconciliation.
At a recent conference at the United Nations Church Center in May 2014 the plight of indigenous peoples and the concept of "repentance as decolonization" was discussed. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR7i5iWXBvA) As Native American people in the United States were "colonized" onto reservations and robbed of their land and ways of life, the act of decolonization would be the true fruit of repentance.
Giving back the benefits of that land would be a worthy sign that majority-culture people understand the wrong that was done to those who were the First Nations in this country. We can make progress toward this goal by respecting the culture and property of Native peoples and finding ways for the U.S. government to assist them in getting higher education, employment, property ownership, health care and social services. This requires advocacy, and advocacy only comes through awareness, the awareness that Native American communities have been denied the very fundamental rights afforded to other people in this country.
At this United Nations Church Conference on Indigenous Peoples Dr. Heather Elkins, a professor at Drew University Theology School, participated in a video project in which she showed a piece of art that was painted by Native American contemporary artist Leslie Gates. It is a figure of a Native American who was on the "Trail of Tears," the brutal forced exodus of Native people from their lands that was part of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The United States government implemented it under the presidency of Andrew Jackson.
This artwork showed a solemn figure covered with a blanket. The blanket, when seen up close, comprises hundreds of canceled U.S. postage stamps. These stamps are the ones we see frequently with U.S. flags on them and the words "Liberty," "Justice" and "Freedom" inscribed on them.
The stamps shown as "canceled" remind us that for the Native American people their liberty, freedom and justice have been canceled because of racism, greed, oppression and evil. During the Trail of Tears thousands of Native people were marched along a perilous route from their homes in the East to barren reservations in Oklahoma, often during the bitter cold winter. There were many deaths due to exposure, disease and starvation.
As some prepare to celebrate Columbus Day on October 13, others will decry the sordid history of exploitation and genocide it represents. Indeed, it is important for us to remember indigenous peoples who suffered at the hands of Europeans who came to America and treated its Native occupants cruelly for the most part.
If we are truly repenting for the misdeeds of our forebears we need to "un-cancel" the stamps of liberty, freedom and justice. We need to decolonize our hearts, amend our ways and write a new, living chapter of redemption in our history together.


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Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds
Jamyang Buddhist Centre Leeds was founded in 1996 under the spiritual direction of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. As a non-residential centre run by volunteers and two staff, our aim is to provide a peaceful place for meditation and a community of support for the study and practice of Buddhism. We honour the work of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and are affiliated to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) which is part of the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
We regularly host highly respected Buddhist teachers – both lay and ordained from the FPMT network. As a registered charity, our aim is to make teachings available to anyone who requests them. The geographical area we serve is mainly Northern England but some students travel to us from all over the UK.
We offer weekly meditation classes, suitable both for beginners and those with meditation experience, as well as a dynamic programme of courses. We run residential retreats three times a year and on some weekends there are group practice sessions where we try to work more deeply on purification techniques. Everyone is welcome to attend our classes and courses.
A note about our name: Jamyang is the Tibetan name for the wisdom aspect of the enlightened mind. Another translation of the word is Gentle Voice.


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Live an experience like no other! Book an appointment to visit our new homes in Casselman.
Live an experience like no other! Book an appointment to visit our new homes in Casselman.
New homes in Casselman Nation View Village will be one of Devcore's largest new home developments in Eastern Ontario. Ideally situated only 45 minutes away from Ottawa, located at the door step of the US border, Cornwall and only 1 hour drive to Montreal, Casselman is the perfect community for dynamic families that need to commute in different directions every day. Not to mention that Casselman is a fully developed community with so much to offer its residents.
Be one the first to access our list of models, prices and early bird promotions for our latest subdivision in Casselman. Being part of the VIP community will allow you to reserve homes or rental units at the earliest possible time.Register to a mailing list
Do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone if you have any questions about our New homes in Casselman Nation View Village. It will be my pleasure to provide you with all the necessary information you require. If you decide to come see me at the Sales Office, we are open at the Embrun sales office Monday-Thursday from noon to 6pm and Friday to Sunday from 11am to 5pm.


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Here's a story from Helen Lee, a student who participated in a study abroad program in Prague where she interned for The Prague Visitor.
"Looking back on an entire semester abroad can be overwhelming. How could I possibly sum up everything I learned and experienced? With less than two weeks left in Prague, I feel anxious about leaving my life here behind and returning to the states.
In around four months, I've adjusted to a semi-Czech way of life. I am quiet on public transportation, I avoid eye contact, and I don't feel the need to smile at every person I pass. I have my favorite coffee shops, my classic gelato scoops, and I have an established daily schedule. And as it becomes more and more alarmingly clear that I'm approaching a week of "lasts" – last day of class, last day at my internship, last weekend trip – I feel a looming dread.
I learned a lot about myself here. We all heard the clichés before we arrived in Prague: study abroad will change your life! You learn so much! You gain independence! And as much as I'd like to stray away from these clichés, they only proved to be true. I grew immensely as an intern for The Prague Visitor. I've learned how to manage myself in a professional environment. I have become more confident in my abilities and am more inclined to speak up with ideas I have. I've learned a great deal about the magazine industry and its place in the overall media spectrum. And after past internships at large companies, it was a nice change to work for a small office.
One of the most important lessons I learned is that it is possible to find work you are passionate about. Over the years, it's been hard to be a journalism student and hear left and right about the decline of journalism. I've considered switching to public relations and communications more times than I can count. But after spending my semester doing work I love, I am re-committed to pursuing journalism work in the future."
Listen to Helen's podcast from The Prague Visitor where she further recounts her experience studying and working abroad.


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News and Views
Resilient Royals Get Three Away Points
30 August 2014
By Hob Nob Anyone?
Reading pulled off a surprise 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough this weekend to secure their first away win in the league this season. With a huge injury list there weren't many that thought Reading would pick up anything other than a solid defeat, but Reading's young side put in an impressively resilient display away from home. Simon Cox scored the vital goal early on with a chip from distance on just seven minutes to put Reading ahead. It was to be the only goal of the game as Reading held out well to frustrate the home side.
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Take a quick break from your workday to appreciate just how bad this fake Irish accent is.
A series of ads have been released in the US by the RATE Coalition, a group of businesses and organisations who want to reform the tax code in the States.
To get their point across they've got an American actor to put on a thoroughly dodgy Oirish accent while talking about the advantages of Ireland's low corporate tax rates with diddley-eye music plays in the background.
Because obviously he's in a pub as well.
Set faces to cringe.
Have you come across worse fake Irish accents? Let us know in the comments.
READ NEXT: New DAFT Report Shows Being Close To Luas or DART Adds 6% On Average To House Prices


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We meet the lovely lady behind Hooks and Dragons.
We love your beautiful creations but tell us a bit about the artist behind them.
Hello there, I'm Tracey, otherwise know online as Mrs A. I'm the person behind the crafting blog Hooks and Dragons. I live in the Forest of Dean with my husband, eldest son and two crazy cats.
For most of my adult life I've suffered from depression. 7 years ago I experienced a particularly bad relapse and subsequently developed a general anxiety disorder. As part of managing my anxiety I began to look at mindfulness techniques on the internet. Crochet was something that lots of people said helped them. I remembered my Nan taught me to crochet when I was a girl and I wasn't too bad at it, so decided to pick up a hook again.
Initially I made random hats and gloves that ended up being stored unloved in a bag in my craft corner. Then in 2016 my sister-in-law announced she was expecting and I decided to make 'Dave The Bump' a crochet unicorn using a free pattern I found online. I posted pictures of 'Dave The Unicorn' on Facebook and Twitter when he was finished and was amazed when other friends asked me to make them one.
These days I design and publish my own patterns for crochet softies. I love the amazing variety items of people ask me to create out of yarn, things I would never think of making myself. In the last year I've designed everything from a squid hat, the full set of Queen members complete with instruments and a 5 foot long Hogwarts Express.
Have you always been creative or did your talent evolve over time?
I've never really considered myself to be particularly creative or artistic. I think that comes from having a ridiculously talented family. I've always felt my own attempts to draw, sculpt or paint don't compare to their work. And I've always had the mindset that if I can't do something really well there's no point in trying to do it at all.
Nevertheless once I started crocheting I realised I have a particularly useful skill. This is the ability to break an object down in my head into its constituent shapes and and I understand what sort of patterns are needed to create those shapes. A lot of my designing is trial and error though. That's the great thing about crochet, it's easy to rip back and start again when things go pear-shaped.
What is it that you enjoy most about your work?
I love unveiling newly designed items and seeing peoples reactions to them.
However I think the greatest satisfaction I get is when people from different places around the world share photos of items they've made using my published patterns. The idea that these creations exist because of something that came out of my head is really very cool.
Have you achieved anything in your crafting life that you are particularly proud of?
Well as I said above I love knowing people around the world are crocheting using my published patterns.
In the last year two of my patterns, a viking hat and Winnie The Pooh have ranked #2 and #3 in Googles keyword searches. Basically anyone in the world who googles a search including the words crochet viking hat or crochet Winnie The Pooh are going to come up with my patterns.
Other than crafting what else do you like to do?
I'm a steampunk. I spend many weekends in the summer at steampunk fayres and markets. Steampunks dress up in amazing outfits that can include top hats, Victorian dresses, mock military outfits, goggles and corsets. I also partake in several unique steampunk sports.
One of which is teapot racing is as the name might suggest a sport where people race teapots mounted on remote control vehicles over a specially designed course. I have my own teapot racer called The Full Mon-Tea which has a fabulous crocheted teapot and crocheted steampunk driver.
If you had to choose your favourite from your creations, which would it be?
Oh, that is a really hard question. Like many crafters I say that every new creation I make is my favourite to date, but I guess if I had to choose one it would be my dragons.
What advice would you offer to someone new starting out in the craft world?
Craft because it makes you happy. If you make money out of your crafting then that's an added bonus, but if you craft just to make money it will soon become a chore and you will lose your love of it.
If you could change one thing about what you do, what would it be?
I wish more of the general public valued the time, effort and skills crafters put into their work. So often people try to devalue our work, comparing it to mass-produced items they can buy on the high street, or only thinking about the basic material costs of the item.
What do you think has helped your business the most?
The imagination of the wonderful people who commission items from me. Their requests have allowed me to develop a huge range of items, and branch of in ways I would never have thought of myself.
For example one friend asked me to make a small crocheted version of the legend David Bowie. People loved him and this has led to the development of my mini-me famous softies. One of my mini-me's has actually been seen by the famous person they were based on. Last year the 80's pop icon Midge Ure was given a mini-me crochet version of himself (in his 80's heyday) and has Tweeted several photos of himself with it over the past few months.
Has any person helped or supported you more than any other?
One person comes to mind. A Twitter friend, she was someone who encouraged me to develop my crochet hobby into a small business. Where other people told me my work was good enough to sell, she put her money where her mouth was. She had commissioned a wide range of items off me over the past few years.
Tell us a random fact about yourself.
I love brightly coloured hair. Last year I've had pillar box red, bright blue and deep purple hair (although it's a rather normal shade of brown at the moment).
How would our readers find you? (websites, social media etc)
My blog http://hooksanddragons.com is where you can find my free published crochet patterns. I'm on Twitter as Mrs A http://Twitter.com/hooksanddragons or Facebook on http://facebook.com/hooksanddragons
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Don't Ignore These Helpful Coffee Tips
While people often enjoy coffee, many have no clue how to make it themselves. If you are looking to improve your coffee brewing skills, all you need are few new tips and techniques. You will learn how to make coffee the best ways there are to do it.
If you want to brew coffee one cup at a time, think about buying a coffee maker from Keruig. Keurig systems give you the opportunity to pick and choose exactly what kind of coffee you want, one cup at a time. All types of makers exist, each having different features.
If you don't want too much sugar in your diet, try Stevia. Stevia is all natural and sweetens better than sugar without the glucose. You can find it in many grocery or health food stores.
When you have coffee beans that are whole you should never grind them and keep them you should brew it right way. The coffee can have a reduction in flavor once this process begins. By only grinding enough for a pot of coffee, you will ensure freshness and the correct strength.
Never reheat coffee after it's been brewed. Contrary to some old wives' tales, reheating it will not produce any harmful chemicals. Some compounds in coffee begin to break down within a half hour of brewing, especially when it is nuked or left to sit on a burner. It may taste especially bitter or otherwise "off."
If brewing at home, coffee can prevent cabin fever. This can be especially beneficial to self-employed people who generally spend most of their days alone. Alternatively, many restaurants offer the same.
The varieties of coffee beans to choose from can be mind-boggling. There are those who like dark roasted beans, while some prefer milder flavors. You can also find coffees that are flavored with hazelnut or raspberry extracts. Most people prefer to add flavor with a creamer rather than by using flavored coffee.
While freezing bulk coffee can extend its shelf life, you should be careful not to freeze your coffee for too long. The quality of the coffee will begin to deteriorate if you keep in in the freezer for too long.
In order to boost the flavor of your coffee, think about using a French press. This press will squeeze out more oil from the beans into the cup. Regular coffee machines allow those flavor-rich oils to soak up in the paper filters.
Most coffee lovers do not like to be stuck with poorly-made coffee. Use these tips to make excellent coffee easily. Print the info here out and keep it near your coffee maker for continued, great-tasting coffee.
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Andrew Wodzianski was our first "Inside the Artist Studio" story (last January). He makes his puppeteer debut this Saturday for ELVIS' BIRTHDAY FIGHT CLUB extravaganza so we figured it may be as good of a time as any to rerun it.
All Photos: Chris Svetlik
Intrigued by the way artists make do in a city notorious for its lack of building stock that is both suitable and affordable, we've decided to go on a mission to investigate and document the work spaces of the city's creative class.
Local painter Andrew Wodzianski's Chinatown live-in studio space is a shrine to high and low culture: it's a pastiche of Herman Melville, John Waters, Mies van der Rhoe and DC Comics artfully sewn together by someone who looks like he belongs more on Savile Row than Massachusetts Ave.
Join us as we discuss with Andrew Wodzianski the tragic loss of trannies, what it's like to wake up to your own naked idealized image and how a unfortunately painted hallway can find it's way in your work via your subconscious.
BYT: How long have you been in this space?
Andrew Wodzianski: I strolled into this uberexpensive Chinatown closet in November of 2004.
What drew you to this area?
I had made the decision about a year or two earlier. I knew that I wanted to move into the city. I was working and living in the suburbs, which was making my soul puke.
I found my self constantly coming into the city for events and it just got to be a monotonous bastard road trip over and over again. So, I thought to my self, "Why not just live here and do a reverse commute?" So, around 2002 or 2003, I started house hunting. I began gravitating towards Chinatown, knowing that I was working in Southern Maryland and I could have a fast escape from the city. I bought this place as a blue print and a year and a half later I moved into it. I think I was one of the 4th or 5th people to move in.
When I moved here. This building was the fringe of China town and in the six years since that fringe has pushed back about 3 blocks. So, trannies that I could access just by crossing the street to the parking lot are now unfortunately, bumped up to K St.
I know that you are a big fan of camp. What do you think about the zoning regulations that in Chinatown all of the signs have to be in both mandarin and English?
This is the tragically ludicrous and the ludicrously tragic. I live one block east of Chinatown proper. Unfortunately it's a dying neighborhood that remains on life support as a marketing ploy.
It's interesting that you say that. Explain.
There is an appeal to the exotic. Chinatown in cities across our nation have that. Of course there is an indigenous Chinese population that lives there, but those populations have dwindled, especially in D.C. I mean, this is a pale, pale shadow of what it used to be. The thing is, the Chinatown neighborhood is the one god damn neighborhood that survived the riots.
Being one of the first tenants in this building at a time when it was located on "the fringes" of development paints a pretty desolate and creepy picture! Kind of like the Shining meets New Jack City-light.
Yea, it is a little bit like life imitating art. Steven King is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine.
Were you working in here at that point? How did that desolation affect your psyche?
It wasn't my intention to work here when I first moved. I had been hammered with lectures regarding studio safety while in graduate school, and I'm long enough in he tooth to have seen some of my friends and teachers succumb to years in the studio because of lousy studio practice. They would get knocked off by liver cancer or—
Oh, from drinking like tormented artists?
I mean, everyone has their vices, but it was more from working with the toxicity of the chemicals. I don't want to say that they were negligent, but it was more of a cultural thing. If I were in this for the long haul, if it's my intention to take this to my dying last stroke, I have to be able to do it as long as possible. It was driven home in graduate school that to work, and to eat, and to live in the same space is a bad idea and that you need a separate space. So, I didn't work here at all for the first two years.
My day job is as a professor in Southern Maryland, my dean and president, were very, very gracious to me and allowed me to use their art lab as my studio, which was great, but it had me going to campus all the time and I wasn't really enjoying my home. So, after about 24 months I had had enough about it. So, then I started to strike this balance where I would do the majority of my work here in this space, and I would do some of the more labor-intensive stuff at the campus.
What does that entail?
Stretching canvases, building frames, varnishing, sanding things out, and anything that requires dust or paint spattering. I would do those things on campus. Once things were drafted out and plotted, then I would bring that work back here. As you can see it's rather clinical, and relatively clean. I still eat and I sleep here. I have a cute little, overpriced hospital filtration system that removes particulates from the air, and plus I always have the windows open so I have pretty good airflow I think. Although, in a decade, a trip to the Cleveland medical clinic may prove otherwise.
What do you normally wear while you're working?
I don't wear this (points to his 3 piece suit). That said, on the rare occasions that I'm still on campus and doing finer detailed work, I'm still in my suit. That usually amazes my peers, colleagues, and students. Normally when I'm here, I have no inclination to leave. But, if I do, I usually put on some sort of garb fit for going out.
So, you are always dressed up when you aren't working inside of your apartment?
Yea, I'm pretty confident with my button downs. I have some god-awful cargo pants that I work in.
Oh my god. An eighth grade boy would wear these!
Yep. I rock those out.
So, when you are painting here, do you ever have to put anything down?
No, I am a remarkably controlled, contrived, methodic, premeditated artist. All levels of creativity are hammered out in the beginning phase. By the time I'm actually dedicated to an image, to a size, to a format, when the work is brought here, it is glorified grunt work. I am just a technician.
Do you listen to anything when you work?
I only play music over when I have guests over. But, when I am painting, I play National Public Radio. I am a news junkie. I have my cute little radio set to 88.5 WAMU. I can tll you every days programming schedule from 7am to 7pm.
What are your work habits? I would either take you as a manic painter or a controlled painter.
I have a lot of extraneous things that interrupt my painting. Fortunately, I'm able to say "No" enough that I'm able to carve out blocks of time. If I can get a block of time going for my self then I know physically it has to stop around the fifth hour because my eyes will get tired. I feel like I could do more when I was younger, but maybe that just wasn't good painting. I feel more confident in being able to stop after four or five hours.
How does the physical space of your studio limit your work?
While I could work larger, I really need to paint things that could fit under this ceiling and also fit in my car. Because of street parking, I have a compact car, and because I have a compact car, that limits my width to a very precise dimension. I've stretched that as far as I can go. Quite specifically, I drive a Ford Focus. A goddamn Ford Focus. If I throw down those seats I have a 36-inch width to work with. I can make it as long as I want to. I've had 10-foot canvases, it scares the crap out of people on the beltway, but it works. And as I work with diptychs and triptychs, and the idea of canvases being joined together, I can create something longer as well.
So did that interest in triptychs grow out of your special limitations?
Well, that's interesting. It was a means to and end originally, but then I realized that since this is the form I'm working in then I tried to manipulate it as an afterthought and be more deliberate about how I was composing things knowing that the formation had to fit in the back of an American car. So that's been a pretty interesting issue. Most of my pieces are based on logistics first and then I work around it. I put the parameters up, I put myself in the proverbial box, and then I see how well I can creatively work my way out of it.
Can you tell me about the color underneath your door and how that relates to your work?
Yea, you had asked me about how my space was influencing my work. I didn't even realize how it influenced my on an aesthetic level until after I had a solo show in Norfolk and I had all these scary clown paintings on display. I had some friends to come down and see the exhibit and they were like "God damn it Andrew, this is like walking down your crazy hallway." So in the hallway I've got the welcome rug on acid. So when the lights are out and I'm falling asleep on my cute little Berlin sleeper sofa, I have this constant reminded that there is this glowing orange emanating from underneath the door that is so horror movie cliché that it isn't even funny. But, it didn't even occur to me that my clown paintings were taking on that saturation or that intensity. This could be arbitrary analysis, but prior to developing that clown series, I was going to be developing a palate with vibrant oranges, purples, and blacks.
What is it like to wake up and see your work first thing in the morning?
I had this painting that was larger than the rabbit suited guy over there and it was about 8 or 9 feet tall, and at the time it was in the corner right near my sleeper sofa. So, when I woke up in the morning I would see myself naked looking down on me and I was like "I need to get that painting out of my house!" I'm having this weird queer out of body experience that is not helping me wake up in the morning at all that is making me panic.
Does it make you panic or start your day off on a delusional foot?
It's like, "Fuck I gotta do some sit ups" or "Damn I need to get a haircut."
I see you have a lot of masks around your space and that masks and disguise are themes in your work
Even before my these work in graduate school, which was basically glorified disguise, I was interested in—not that I would have been able to use this term as a 13 year old child—but, mask-iconography and disguise. There was just a fascination with monster movies as a child that has never left me, as I've grown older I've been able to take that fascination and apply it to other realms of study. Whether it's ritual, or gender identification, sport, or warfare. I also love head coverings.
What's appealing about them? The play that comes with it? Or, the dramatic seriousness?
Well, for me personally, its play. I would like to in a union way, I'm the trickster. So, I'm more likely to take it from a comical, jester, kind of front. That said I understand that masks and disguise could be used as incredible serious and practical ways. And you can see that from the art around my house.
So are you interested in that dichotomy?
Absolutely. It's the personality conflict, it's such a goddamn clichés, but it's the human condition. I like the idea that we all play different roles in our lives, you are a daughter, a journalist, a reader, and a volunteer, whatever they may be. In my case, I'm a professor, I'm an artist, and I'm a Samaritan. When you have a mask in our day-to-day situations we switch instantaneously, but when you are given a mask you change and there is this release and there is a transformative affect that I think is liberating.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a dying rust belt town in Northwest Pennsylvania between Pittsburgh and Eerie, in a town called Franklin, Pennsylvania. My father had gone to school at the Carnegie Institute, he got his engineering degree, he got courted by a few different firms, but decided to strike out on his own. At the time, Franklin had been bubbling with development with the steel industry and he thought that it was up in coming, a gamble that was ultimately wrong. He did well for himself though and was able to carve out a niche and became a city engineer for Franklin and neighboring boroughs.
My father's practice was in a three story Victorian home that was part of the historical society. It was just a big monstrous haunted house. He had carved out an office on the first floor and would wake up religiously everyday, put on a suit and tie, and then walk down stairs. He crossed this threshold, he was at work. He was influential to me as far as his Puritan work ethic and the idea of having a division of spaces.
To me, your description of living in this creepy haunted house, your Dad's live-in work space and his Dad dressing up, kind of resonates in the life you are living now in this space, you've created a space covered in creepy masks and horror imagery references, where you dress up in suits and execute serious focused work.
Yea, you are definitely on to something there. There is clearly a connection there.
+ To learn more about Andrew Wodzianski and his work please view his website
+ Previous Coverage of Andrew Wodzianski: Delivering a Coffin To A Gallery
+View other editions of Inside The Artist's Studio:
Adam De Boer
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Below are examples of the actual cases David M. Dunlap has handled as a trial lawyer. Click on each title to review the specific case studies.
Premises Liability
- Dunlap was hired by a local surgeon after the surgeon was knocked over by a neighbor's dog who was running wild through the neighborhood. The client was taking his Sunday morning jog through a gated community when another neighbor's dog ran across the yard and lunged into the client knocking him to the ground. The client suffered a very badly broken wrist when he instinctively put his hand down to break his fall. He also suffered a significant neck injury including a herniated disc. The client was required to undergo surgery for the arm and surgery for his neck requiring him to miss significant amounts of work and lose surgical patients. The insurance company for the homeowner denied ownership of the dog and contended that our client was not injured as he claimed he was. After the denial Mr. Dunlap filed suit against several defendants pursuing the case up to trial where the matter was settled for $900,000.00. In addition to the $900,000.00 recovery, the client was also paid disability insurance requiring no reimbursement under his policy.
- Dunlap represented a single mother with four young children working nightshift as an orthopedic floor nurse in Jacksonville. One evening she took her children to a local Walmart store in Jacksonville to shop for groceries and baby items. As she pushed her cart with her infant child in the seat around the endcap of an aisle way, a display of scooters came tumbling down from the shelf hitting her on top of the head, back of the neck and shoulders. Although she checked out fine at the hospital she later began having severe symptoms involving numbness, tingling of her arms, loss of neurological function and significant weakness. She was ultimately advised by her doctor that she had sustained a herniated disc in her neck which required surgery to remove the disc and fuse the bones of her spine together to avoid further injury. Walmart refused to take responsibility for its negligent stacking and display of the products in its store. Mr. Dunlap filed suit against Walmart and after lengthy litigation and trial the jury awarded the client $668,743.00 for her injuries and damages. Although Walmart took the case to the appellate courts, we prevailed resulting in payment of the verdict to our client plus interest on the award and all of our trial expenses.
- Dunlap represented a wonderful, hard working lady who was employed by Village Inn Restaurants in the Baymeadows of Jacksonville as a waitress. She loved her work and had many steady customers whom she saw each day. Early one morning at work two maintenance men from Coca-Cola Bottling Company showed up at the Village Inn to repair or replace a soda fountain machine in the kitchen area. Despite our client's multiple requests of the Coca-Cola employees to keep their tools off the floor and out of the way, they left their toolbox and other equipment on the floor just behind the kitchen door. As our client came through the kitchen door with a large tray of dishes she did not notice the toolbox on the floor, tripped over it and suffered a very severe fracture of her upper arm. The injury was incredibly painful and required surgery with metal rods, screws and plates to fix the fracture. Coca-Cola blamed our client for not looking where she was going and refused to pay appropriate compensation. Mr. Dunlap filed suit against Coca-Cola and won a $350,000.00 settlement for her injuries. The client also received workers' compensation benefits from the Village Inn over and above the claim against Coca-Cola Bottling Company.
- Dunlap's client worked as a cook part-time at a local Jacksonville Beach church and also fulltime as a waitress at a local restaurant. The church hired an outside contractor to completely pain the exterior of the building. One afternoon our client was preparing a Wednesday night dinner for the church members and exited the kitchen to go to her car to retrieve some items. The painting contractors had turned a large rubber mat upside down on the sidewalk where it became wet from the air and the ocean spray. Our client stepped on the rug, slipped and suffered a badly broken hip which required hip replacement surgery. In addition to pursuing her workers' compensation benefits we obtained a $325,000.00 award paid by the painting contractor for her personal injuries.
- Dunlap represented a 59-year-old client who had been employed as a Certified Nursing Assistant for over 20 years. Upon reporting to work early one morning she opened an interior doorway to access the employee lounge and tripped over construction materials left in the room by a third-party construction company who was doing remodeling work to the nursing home. Our client suffered a fracture to the humerus bone near her shoulder of her dominant arm resulting in a surgical repair. Not only did we assist her with her workers' compensation claim obtaining permanent total disability benefits, but we also pursued a personal injury liability claim against the construction company for negligently leaving the materials just inside a dark interior office doorway. Mr. Dunlap obtained a $200,000.00 settlement against the construction company for the broken arm and disability in addition to the workers' compensation benefits. The recovery, coupled with the workers' compensation benefits, allowed this client to retire and take care of her future medical needs.
- Mr. Dunlap personally represented a wonderful, hardworking Filipino lady who made her living cleaning other people's homes. While at one such home she was directed to clean a stain on the outdoor driveway/carport. Having to retrieve water from around the side of the house, she tripped and fell on a lightning ground rod, which was partially obscured by landscaping mulch. She had not been warned of that hazard and was not familiar with the area. When she fell she landed against the side of the house, injuring her neck requiring a multi-level cervical fusion. While the proof of negligence of the homeowner was very difficult in this case, Mr. Dunlap, through lengthy litigation, obtained a $190,000.00 settlement for his client.
Trucking Case
- Dunlap represented the Estate of a 77-year-old retired grandmother who was being driven to a doctor's appointment by her grandson in Nassau County. A logging truck returning from the mill in Fernandina ran a red light and turned left directly in front of the client on A1A at I-95 resulting in a collision. The grandmother was killed instantly and the grandson suffered serious injuries. The trucking company claims they had the greed arrow to make a protected left-hand turn. We met with traffic engineers and had accident reconstruction and trucking experts establish that given the computer sequence of the light at the intersection and the vehicles who were at the intersection it would have been impossible for the truck to have had a green light or a green turn arrow proving the truck was at fault for the collision. The trucking company paid $1,350,000.00 for settlement of these claims.
- In 2012 Mr. Dunlap was hired to represent an elderly couple for a very tragic situation. Following Mass one evening this couple pulled out onto Beach Boulevard from Assumption Church. Unfortunately, the gentleman had left his cane on top of the vehicle and during the turn the cane slid off the vehicle and skidded across the intersection. The couple pulled over and as the gentleman was walking into the intersection to retrieve his cane he was hit by a bus being operated by a private company in Jacksonville. He sustained traumatic brain injury and multiple orthopedic injuries which ultimately resulted in his death many months later. Mr. Dunlap immediately hired an accident reconstruction computer engineer to preserve the line of sight evidence for the bus driver and calculate time and speed formulas proving that the bus driver had more than enough time to observe the elderly gentleman entering the intersection before she hit him. The case was settled following the gentleman's death for $1,437,500.00. The recovery allowed the widow to be financially independent and to receive in home health care and assistance when the time came.
Motorcycle Accident
- In 2013 we tried a Motorcycle vs. Bus case in Duval County. The client was a concrete finisher and father of four young children. While riding home from estimating a job one evening, our client hit a City Bus that turned left in front of him at a traffic light. The collision was captured by three cameras on the bus. The client suffered major life threatening injuries including a torn aorta, broken legs, multiple facial fractures and a Traumatic Brain Injury. He was not wearing a helmet. The Bus company claimed our client was speeding and that trees in the median blocked him from the view of the bus driver as she began her turn on a green light. The bus company blamed our client, the City of Jax, and the Florida Dept of Transportation. We used expert accident reconstruction engineers, video experts and medical experts to prove the fault was mostly on the Bus driver (61%).The jury awarded $2,635,741 in damages for the client, his wife and their children. The jury found our client partially at fault (39%) and found no fault on the City or State as the defense claimed. This case had every complex engineering and medical issue and witness imaginable. There were over 70 witness depositions taken in the case which lasted over two years.
- In October 2014 a 47 year old single Mom was riding her scooter to work in Orange Park, FL when another vehicle changed lanes knocking her off her scooter to the pavement. The client suffered a severely broken leg requiring surgery to set and repair the break. We found witnesses who were working on a construction project next to the road who advised us the driver of the car was on a hand held device and not paying attention to the traffic around her. We sued the driver and her employer. After 18 months of medical treatment and recovery from the broken leg, a blood clot in the leg and chronic pain, we settled the client's claims two weeks before trial for $1,062,250. We then assisted the client in working with a Structured Settlement company to provide financial security for her for the rest of her life.
- In 2015, an 18 year old young girl, and high school student in Jacksonville, was riding her scooter home from a friend's graduation party when another vehicle pulled out from a side street directly in front of her resulting in a T-bone collision. The client suffered facial fractures and multiple facial lacerations. Mr. Dunlap was hired by the child's grandmother who is a lawyer in south Florida to represent the family. After months of medical treatment and negotiation with multiple insurance carriers, Mr. Dunlap obtained a $660,000.00 settlement for the child.
Medical Negligence
- Dunlap was hired by a client from out of state who had come to Florida to undergo an abdominal surgery commonly known as a "tummy tuck". The surgery was done in St. Augustine by a plastic surgeon from the Tampa area who travelled to north Florida occasionally to do similar plastic surgery procedures. The surgery was done inappropriately and the client developed significant skin infections which ultimately resulted in necrosis and widespread infection. After multiple plastic surgeries to repair the problems, Mr. Dunlap filed suit and through litigation obtained a policy limits settlement from the surgeon.
Insurance Fraud
- In January 1998, 24-year-old woman was driving her Toyota Tercel home with her 28-year-old husband and their three children, all under age five in the back seat. The kids were properly belted in the car seats. As she pulled away from a stop sign in west Jacksonville her car was broadsided by a speeding bus resulting in the death of her husband and the death of two of the children in the backseat. The impact caused injuries to her along with a complete loss of consciousness and traumatic amnesia. Fortunately, the third child sustained minimal injury. Within days of attending the funeral of her husband and two small children and while under a doctor's care for stress, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, an Omaha Nebraska insurance adjuster flew to Jacksonville and with the aid of a local insurance attorney went to our client's home and paid a minimal settlement amount her all the while advising her that the accident was her fault and that she had to take responsibility for the loss of her family members. The insurance carrier even hired an additional lawyer to "take care of her" and set up an Estate so the minimal settlement could be pushed through the court system without question. Approximately two years later, she was attending a family function and ran into a Jacksonville Sheriff's Officer. Only then did she learn that the driver operating the bus that hit the vehicle killing her husband and her two children had tested positive at the scene for both marijuana and cocaine in his blood. She was referred to a south Florida firm who contacted Mr. Dunlap to co-counsel and pursue a claim for fraudulent inducement of a settlement again the insurance carrier. After a lengthy and complex litigation which spanned six years, as well as a two-week jury trial, Mr. Dunlap and co-counsel obtained an additional $3,000,000.00 verdict from the Duval County jury for this claim. More importantly, the jury confirmed what she always knew and what we worked so hard to prove, that she was not at fault for the death of her husband and children. As the jurors exited the jury box hugging and crying with her the years of struggle and hard work had clearly paid off.
- In 2006, a former University of Kentucky football player was enjoying a successful business sin the building supplies industry in Volusia County. The housing industry was booming and his hard work was paying off. That same year he was called on by two financial managers and consultants from a local Jacksonville financial planning business. They convinced our client to take $100,000.00 per year to put into an investment which was promised to go in tax free and to be paid out over time in the future for medical needs or other quality of life needs in a tax free fashion. After four years of making $100,000.00 contributions plus paying other fees and life insurance premiums, the IRS advised our client that these deductions were illegal and not allowed. When our client attempted to recover the money he had put in and end of the investment program, the company advised him that he had no ownership in the funds, had no ownership in the life insurance policy, was not entitled to receive any of his money back and would need to go into tax court litigation to try to help ease his problems. Mr. Dunlap co-counseled with attorney Jeff Liggio from Palm Beach, Florida and filed suit against Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, an employer benefit plan and several individual financial consultants in Duval County. After six years of complex litigation, we were able to obtain full and complete reimbursement of our client's contributions into the plan, his lost interest on those monies, all totaling $800,000.00. Additionally, we were able to obtain a court awarded attorneys' fee for all the work done in the case which will result in a recovery far in excess of the $800,000.00 recovered for the client. We were able to show that our client was fraudulently induced into participating in a plan that the sellers knew was not approved by the IRS and not a viable or honest investment plan.
Construction Company Liability
- A young single mother of five children traveling in a pickup truck on I-95 south in St. Johns County lost control of her truck, swerved across the traffic lanes and slammed into an unguarded bridge abutment causing the car to flip over landing on the other roadway beneath the overpass killing her. As a single car collision with no witnesses, a deceased driver and two children with no recollection of the collision, Mr. Dunlap was faced with the difficult task of reconstructing the accident to determine what had happened. Accident reconstruction experts along with Florida Highway Patrol Homicide Trooper assisted Mr. Dunlap with computer animated reconstruction from photographs taken at the scene, crush damage to the vehicles and other physical evidence. The investigation revealed the defendant construction company was adding a lane of travel to the area and had removed the metal guard rail approaching the concrete bridge abutment at the overpass of State Road 206 on I-95 south. When the truck went out of control, it should have hit the guard rail and been redirected back onto the roadway. Without the guardrail the fatal collision occurred. Mr. Dunlap filed suit against Ranger Construction Company, a highway contracting agency, alleging negligent removal of the metal guardrail creating an exposed hazard to the motorist and by computer assisted reconstruction was able to prove that had the guardrail remained in place the truck would have bounced off and come to rest in the designated clear zone resulting in no injury or much less injury. After years of litigation the case was settled on a structured settlement basis for each of the five children so that each child receives significant payments several years after reaching age 18. Even though the deceased mother was found at fault for the accident by the State Troopers and no other vehicles were involved, Mr. Dunlap's experience with highway construction litigation allowed him to evaluate the crash scene, identify the construction defects and be successful in this litigation by obtaining a $530,000 settlement from the highway construction company.
Construction Injuries and Deaths
- 36-year-old Michael Paugh moved to Jacksonville from Virginia to be near his older brother and to take a job with a construction company which was building the elevated portion of I-95 near the I-95/I-10 junction. Our client was a laborer in charge of keeping the decking of the concrete bridge clean of debris. One morning Mr. Paugh needed to use the porta-toilet provided by the employer on the jobsite located on top of the elevated bridge. The toilet was placed near the edge of the elevated highway in an area where concrete had not been poured. Someone had taken a 4×8 sheet of Styrofoam used for pouring concrete forms and placed it in front of the door of the porta-toilet which was easily mistaken as a plywood platform. As Mr. Paugh stepped onto the Styrofoam board it gave way to his weight resulting in a fall of 50 feet to the ground below. Mr. Paugh suffered broken bones to most all of his body, including multiple facial fractures. Mr. Dunlap represented Mr. Paugh in the workers' compensation claim with his employer, but also sued the employer directly for gross negligence in violation of multiple safety procedures. After several years of complex litigation, the case was settled just prior to trial for $800,000.00 in addition to the workers' compensation benefits which were paid for his total disability. The compensation was set up in a structured settlement which has allowed Mr. Paugh not to return to work, but to focus on regaining his strength and enjoying his lifestyle as much as possible given the severity of his injuries.
Wrongful Death
- In a very tragic sad case, Mr. Dunlap was hired by the parents of a young UNF student who was traveling from north Jacksonville to UNF with his girlfriend to study one evening. In the 5:00 o'clock traffic a construction truck ran out of gas going up the Dames Point Bridge resulting in traffic backing up behind it. The young student and his girlfriend stopped appropriately behind the broken down truck and were suddenly and unexpectedly hit by another vehicle at highway speed. The driver of the truck that hit our client's from the rear was impaired and intoxicated by alcohol and was arrested and charged. Unfortunately, he had minimal insurance coverage. Mr. Dunlap initiated a lawsuit against the construction company and was able to prove that their driver had a criminal history and had been fired from many previous jobs. He was unfit to be placed in a position of trust and responsibility where the company had placed him. He had violated multiple company rules regarding maintenance of the vehicle and filling the company with gas at the beginning of his day's work. It was shown to be inevitable that that vehicle was going to run out of gas and cause problems for someone. Unfortunately, it resulted in the death of this young student. After filing suit and engaging in vigorous litigation against the construction company who blamed the other driver for 100% of the fault, Mr. Dunlap obtained a $1,000,000.00 settlement for the family allowing them closure with the loss of this wonderful bright young man in the prime of his life.
- Mr. Dunlap represented the family of a 67 year old gentleman who was killed on a job site in Brunswick, Ga. The gentleman was directing the flow of dump trucks delivering dirt for preparation of a construction site. A contractor working on the job had a poorly trained driver who backed up her truck over our client killing him. We proved the driver was not following established job site procedure and that the dump truck was in poor condition, including the absence of a fully functioning back up alarm on the truck which would have alerted the client to the backing vehicle. We were able to achieve a settlement for this family in the amount of $750,000.00
Maritime Injuries and Death
- In the early morning hours of Easter Sunday, a horrific boating accident occurred in the Intracoastal Waterway. Several passengers on the boat returning from a restaurant in St. Augustine were killed when the boat hit a dock and crane under construction on the Intracoastal Waterway. Mr. Dunlap was hired by the spouse of one of the passengers killed in the collision. After vigorous investigation with the Florida Marine Patrol and St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, Mr. Dunlap along with other attorneys representing other families who lost loved ones in this collision reached a confidential settlement with the restaurant and the owner of the property building the dock. Alcohol was clearly involved in the collision and there was a dispute as to who was actually operating the boat at the time of the collision. Although inconclusive, our client was identified as the driver. Nonetheless her family was able to make a recovery to allow them to move on from this horrifically tragic incident.


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Website celsiusgrads Celsius Graduate Recruitment Ltd
Graduate Sales Executive x4
Basic Salary £18k- increasing to £20k after 6 months + £8k OTE
Celsius Graduate Recruitment are on the lookout for four dynamic graduates to join our clients' diverse team based in Manchester. Our client have been established for over 25 years and are the UK's leading IT learning solutions provider with over 1500 project management courses including Microsoft, Cisco, VMWare and many more. The solutions they provide are an integral part of helping organisations transform the performance of their teams through innovative learning experiences.
You will progress through a continual training programme throughout your employment, attend training academies and have a clear progression track, which could also lead to Account Management, Senior Account Management, Team Leader and Management roles in future.
In your role as a Graduate Sales Executive, you will be expected to meet and exceed sales targets and build relationships with a database of between 200-300 potential accounts. This will be a phone-based role, which will lead onto face-to-face interaction with clients. You will work with a mixture of marketing-generated leads as well as generating your own opportunities and gain a deeper understanding of your marketplace to analyse buying patterns using internally generated reports.
To be successful in this a Graduate Sales Executive role, you will need to be/have:
• A new business attitude
• Integrity, commitment and a dedication to providing a quality service
• High-level of confidence and able to integrate with a young, dynamic team
• Self-motivated with clear professional and personal goals
• Money-driven and eager to succeed in a professional environment
• Ability to identify new opportunities and deliver against them
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Able to work within a fast-paced environment
This is a great opportunity for 4 graduates to join an award winning, innovation-leading organisation in Manchester. If you think you have what it takes and are looking for a career not just a job, then this is the company for you.
Get in touch now with the Celsius team now on 0161 274 9800. We can offer you career consultancy as well as hints and tips on how to land your dream role. Alternatively, send us an email to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Town: Manchester
Reference: 4124/19CEL
In your role as a Graduate Sales Executive, you will be expected to meet and exceed sales targets and build relationships with a database of between 200-300 potential accounts.
Job Status: None
Salary Type: Per Annum
Up to: 18000
Salary Override: Basic Salary £18k- increasing to £20k after 6 months + £8k OTE


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Our speciality coffee blog covers everything from the best blend for an Aeropress to monthly news reports on the world of coffee.
We created this platform to share our expert knowledge and spark fascinating conversations about tea, coffee and everything in between!
Don't forget to leave a comment, we love hearing your thoughts and opinions.


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I wanted to start this post by saying something like "Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss' legal crusade against Facebook has finally come to an end." But the thing is, I've already written that post. Twice. And here we are again.
Just to recap, for those at the back: Winklevosses filed their "No, seriously, Facebook was our idea" lawsuit in 2004. In 2008 they settle for many millions of dollars. A few month later they say they got "swindled" and start litigation over the settlement that made them rich. They also fight their own lawyers in a malpractice dispute-and lose. They take their fight to overturn the settlement to a federal appeals court-and lose. They petition for a bigger appeals hearing-and lose. They say they'll go to the U.S. Supreme Court, but think better of it and instead ask to re-open the whole case, claiming Facebook didn't give them key evidence. And the conclusion is-prepare to be shocked-they lost.
U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock filed a one-page order dismissing the case today without comment. Which is really the only appropriate response at this point.
Of course the Winklevosses' new lawyers believe there was serious discovery misconduct, so perhaps they'll be back with exciting, sparkling new arguments that absolutely must be heard for the sake of truth, justice, and social-networking… or something. In any case. Story over.


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KURO JAPANESE CRAFT KITCHEN NOW OPEN AT SEMINOLE HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINOMarch 28, 2015
On Saturday, March 28, 2015, the AAA Four-Diamond rated Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Hollywood unveiled the highly anticipated Kuro, a sophisticated and wholly unique Japanese Craft Kitchen. Located inside the hotel and overlooking the property's gorgeously remodeled pool, Kuro gives diners an interactive dining experience unlike anything else in the region. Sumptuously designed by David Mexico Design Group, Kuro features an open dining room, chef's table (omakase bar), sushi bar with view into the hot kitchen (sauté, tempura, robata grill) and pastry section, in addition to two private dining rooms and an alfresco dining patio.
The farm-fresh Japanese menu offers new-style, handcrafted creations by Kuro's Executive Chef Alex Becker, who also serves as the resort's Creative Culinary Director. Chef Becker's cuisine applies classic Japanese techniques to contemporary, artisanal creations using both locally sourced and fresh imported ingredients direct from Japan. Guests will discover a truly unique dining experience at Kuro. Servers act as culinary guides to create a personalized experience that teases the palate with flavors and textures, beginning with lighter fare and continuing on to spicier and richer dishes; each course or dish building on that which came before it.
The culinary team at Kuro boasts an impressive combined pedigree. Chef Becker worked for the Nobu empire for nearly a decade, opening up its restaurants in Hawaii, Los Angeles and New York City (Nobu 57) before joining SBE's Katsuya as Corporate Executive Chef; in that role he opened multiple restaurants for the brand around the globe including Dubai, Kuwait, Los Angeles and South Beach. Executive Sushi Chef Shuji Hiyakawa was a protégé of Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and, at Kuro he presides over the compelling sushi offerings, bringing his discerning palate and flair for presentation to the eclectic menu. Spearheading the concept is the property's Vice President of Food & Beverage Justin Wyborn who has nearly 20 years of hospitality experience, including 14 years with the Nobu brand, opening eight locations worldwide and overseeing operations for locations on the West Coast.
The expansive menu encompasses an assortment of selections, allowing for a variety of combinations to satisfy the most astute gourmands. Chilled options include Hokkaido Scallop Sashimi with yuzu, pickled ginger and sea salt; Seared Salmon Sashimi with moromi miso, apple and Japanese 12-spice; and Tuna Tataki with kochujang sauce, creamy avocado and lime. Salad selections include Niwa Salad with local greens, baby vegetables and Kuro dressing; and Mushroom Katsuo with sautéed mushrooms, arugula and tosazu dressing. Tempura options include Corn Kakiage with furikake and ichimi spice; and Maitake Mushrooms with butter lettuce, chives and yuzu dressing. Using an authentic Japanese charcoal grill, Kuro's Robata dishes include Chicken Momo with yuzu kosho paste and olive oil; Wagyu Tacos with spicy cilantro, soy shallots and aji Amarillo aioli; and Beef Negima – ribeye, scallions and yakitori glaze. The Land and Sea sections offer creative dishes using traditional ingredients. Standouts include Salmon Cartoccio with mixed mushrooms, spicy tomato salsa and kimizu sauce; Koji Lamb with cauliflower, kabocha croquette and blueberry demi; and Ribeye Miso with pine nut miso, grilled asparagus and shiso dressing. The menu at Kuro also features a full selection of sushi including maki, nigiri and sashimi.
For Desserts, Pastry Chef Ross Evans has created a beautifully balanced menu complementing Kuro's savory selections while embracing the technical precision and clean flavors that Japanese cuisine is known for. Must-tries will indubitably include Chocolate Hazelnut Bar with spiced ganache, strawberry gel and sesame brittle; Apple Tobanyaki – soy caramel apples with mocha, roasted pecans and yamazaki ice cream; and Kuro Goma Panna Cotta with ginger gelée, cucumber pearl, pomegranate foam and nori sponge crumble.
At the helm of the innovative cocktail program is award-winning Mixologist Jared Boller. Handcrafted cocktails showcase fresh Japanese ingredients in modern recipes with hints of classic flavors, pairing harmoniously with Kuro's cuisine. Drinks, divided by the five flavor profiles – sweet, savory, bitter, salty and umami – include Ni, a rum based cocktail with yuzu, watermelon, Thai basil, fennel, syrup and togarashi; San, a vodka based cocktail with absinthe, shiso and grapefruit; and Ichi, a scotch based cocktail with sea salt, cucumber, lime juice and dry vermouth, among others. Kuro also offers Japanese-imported and local craft beers, Japanese whiskeys, shōchū, 30 sake brands and 110 wine labels.
Designed by the prestigious David Mexico Design Group, Kuro features a theater-style, open concept design. The 240-seat restaurant encourages social interaction with its high-energy vibe and bustling ambiance. Guests enter Kuro from the resort lobby, gliding by a jaw-dropping wall comprised of 100,000 hand-placed sea shells. In fact, the elements of land and sea are reinforced throughout the space, from rows of driftwood on the walls and ceiling imitating waves and the textures and patterns of Florida beaches within the geometric floor tiling to the river rock and beach glass encapsulating the base of Kuro's gorgeous central bar. Floor-to-ceiling bay windows line the perimeter of the 9,500-square-foot restaurant, bringing the outside in. The airy dining room offers a variety of seating options, from the cypress wood communal table and boardwalk oak tables to long banquettes and rounded booths overlooking the pool. The sushi bar offers an unbroken sightline into the kitchen; adjacent to the sushi bar are two private dining rooms, one featuring an elevated Chef's Table with the other doubling as the glass-enclosed wine cellar. Kuro's poolside terrace façade incorporates imaginative interactions where guests can dine at tables positioned atop a stunning glass floor with water flowing underneath. No detail was left to chance as the chandeliers in Kuro are constructed with nearly three miles of chain, crafted to resemble floating jellyfish.
Kuro is located at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at One Seminole Way in Hollywood, Florida. Dinner is served Tuesday – Thursday and Sunday, 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Telephone: (954) 585-5333; www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com.
Social media: Facebook: @SeminoleHardRockHollywood, Twitter: @HardRockHolly, Instagram: @HardRockHolly; Hashtag: #KuroHardRock


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Tokyo International University in Kawagoe. These college students are currently enrolled in a Willamette University Volunteerism class focused on teen pregnancy. Assistant Principal Paul Sell and Childcare Director Jennifer Gelbrich recently had the privilege to meet with these students and answer questions about our program. The volunteers also had an opportunity to be a part of Mrs. Leighty's 3rd period class and loved getting to hear from a few of our student moms.
Each Wednesday in the fall semester, Tokyo International student volunteers spend their morning working in our infant/toddler classrooms playing, reading, talking and learning from our children and staff. It is one of our favorite days, as these volunteers show us that even though there might be a language barrier, the language of play is universal. We hope you get an opportunity to see how our youngest students and visitors from Tokyo University enjoy each other and this unique experience.
Archive > Announcements Archive >


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Road Bike – Cervelo PC2 for Sale
- This item has been sold
- Street Adress: Pearl on the Lough, Taipa, Macau
- Country: Macau
- Region: Taipa Island
- Listed: February 20, 2013 4:53 am
- Expires: This ad has expired
Cervelo PC2 for sale – great condition – going cheap!
Family is expanding so sadly not much time to ride anymore and need the storage space.
5 years old, ridden less than 20 times – race bike only, been sitting inside in the storeroom for the last 3 years. Sadly now time to find it a new home.
Great condition. Shimano gears, suits male or female 168cm – 190cm…
Please feel free to email me for a viewing or if you'd like me to send more photos.
Location in Macau
2,826 total views, 4 today
Information about the ad poster
- Listed by: samantha512
- Member Since: February 20, 2013
Other items listed by samantha512
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NEW YORK, N.Y. – Joyous at the release of a decade's frustration, Americans streamed to the site of the World Trade Center, the gates of the White House and smaller but no less jubilant gatherings across the country to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden — cheering, waving flags and belting the national anthem.
The site of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York, more familiar these past 10 years for bagpipes playing "Amazing Grace" and solemn speeches and arguments over what to build to honour those who died at the World Trade Center, became, for the first time, a place of revelry.
"We've been waiting a long time for this day," Lisa Ramaci, a New Yorker whose husband was a freelance journalist killed in the Iraq war, said early Monday. "I think it's a relief for New York tonight just in the sense that we had this 10 years of frustration just building and building, wanting this guy dead, and now he is, and you can see how happy people are."
She was holding a flag and wearing a T-shirt depicting the twin towers and, in crosshairs, bin Laden. Nearby, a man held up a cardboard sign that read, "Obama 1, Osama 0."
Dionne Layne, 44, of Stamford, Connecticut, spent the entire night at ground zero with her two children, ages 9 and 11. She planned to spend the rest of the day with them at the site because "they can't get this in a history class. They have to be a part of this."
Layne said she witnessed the second tower come down on Sept. 11, 2001, from Brooklyn, where she lived at the time.
Uptown in Times Square, dozens stood together on a clear spring night and broke into applause when a New York Fire Department vehicle drove by, flashed its lights and sounded its siren. A man held an American flag, and others sang "The Star-Spangled Banner."
On an overcast morning in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where a hijacked plane apparently meant for Washington crashed in a field after passengers fought back, a few visitors gathered Monday at the fence-lined overlook that serves as a temporary memorial while a permanent one is built.
"I thought of Sept. 11 and the people lost," said Daniel Pyle, 33, of Shanksville, who stopped at the site on his way to work at a lawn care company. "I wanted to pay homage to the people lost that day. I think this brings a little bit of closure."
In Washington, in front of the White House, a crowd began gathering before President Barack Obama addressed the country late Sunday to declare, "Justice has been done." The throng grew, and within a half-hour had filled the street in front of the White House and begun spilling into Lafayette Park.
"It's not over, but it's one battle that's been won, and it's a big one," said Marlene English, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, and lobbies on defence issues. She said she has baked thousands of cookies to send to friends serving in Iraq and Afghanistan over the years and that she was at the White House because they couldn't be.
The celebrations began to come together late on Sunday night, after Americans began hearing about the death of bin Laden from bulletins on television, texts and calls from family and friends and posts on social networking sites.
Bin Laden was slain in his luxury hideout in Pakistan, early Monday local time and late Sunday night in the United States, in a firefight with American forces. Obama said no Americans had been harmed in the operation.
Along with the outburst of joy over bin Laden's death, there was an increase in security — at least in New York, where authorities said there would be extra police at all three area airports "out of an abundance of caution." The Port Authority also said there would be more police along the George Washington Bridge and at ground zero.
As news of the president's announcement began to filter across the country, the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies were in the middle of a baseball game in Philadelphia, and chants of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" began in the top of the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Fans could be seen all over the stadium checking their phones and sharing the news.
The chant — "U-S-A! U-S-A!" — echoed in Dearborn, Michigan, a heavily Middle Eastern suburb of Detroit, where a small crowd gathered outside City Hall and waved American flags. Across town, some honked their car horns as they drove along the main street where most of the Arab-American restaurants and shops are located.
At the Arabica Cafe, big-screen TVs that normally show sports were all turned to news about bin Laden. The manager there, Mohamed Kobeissi, said it was finally justice for the victims.
There were smaller, spontaneous gatherings around the nation — a handful of Idahoans who made their way to the state capitol in downtown Boise, a small group who waved flags and cheered on an Interstate 5 overpass south of Seattle known as Freedom Bridge.
People said they were surprised that bin Laden had finally been found and killed. John Gocio, a doctor from Arkansas who was gathering what details he could from TV screens at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, marveled: "After such a long time, you kind of give up and say, 'Well, that's never going to happen.'"
The celebration in New York came precisely one year after a militant from Connecticut spread panic by driving a bomb-laden vehicle into the heart of Times Square. As the most intense manhunt in history wore on, year after year after Sept. 11, the city dealt with smaller scares — the Times Square plot, subway and bridge threats, orange alerts.
"It's really a terrific day for not just America but for the world. To have this cancer pulled from us is the right thing," said Guy Madsen, 49, who drove to the city from Clifton, New Jersey, when he heard of bin Laden's death. "This is judgment day, and we're winning."
Several hours later, the first copies of Monday's tabloid Daily News hit the streets, with a big picture of bin Laden on the cover and the headline: "ROT IN HELL," with the last word in 4-inch-high (10-centimetre-high) type.
Over that same decade, the city has lived on with the pain from the day itself, more distant but never erased. Stephanie Zessos, who lives in the neighbourhood and works for the fire department, said sadness also was mixed in with the late-night celebration.
"I texted a friend of mine who's a firefighter who lost a brother on 9/11, and he said the pain will never go away," she said.
Similarly, Gordon Felt, president of an organization for families of people who were on United Flight 93, which crashed into a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, called the announcement of bin Laden's death "important news for us, and for the world." He said in a statement that "it cannot ease our pain, or bring back our loved ones" but does bring "a measure of comfort."
Associated Press writers Tom McElroy in New York City, Jessica Gresko in Washington, Jeannie Nuss in Chicago and Jeff Karoub in Dearborn, Michigan, contributed to this report.


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Two years ago today I moved to Helsinki. Having missed the anniversary last time, I've gone out of my way to remember the date this year. I try to compare the duration of my residency to grad school or to the time BB,CS,LB,TE and I spent on DeepLeap. Has this felt half as long as grad school? Twice as long as that time in Austin? Time is a fickle shade.
Some reflections on the city of Helsinki and my life in and around it.
Even after two years, Helsinki is still largely inscrutable. In particular, the local habit for covering ground floor windows in shops and various commercial spaces with posters confuses me. You find this walking around the outer fringes of Kamppi or the fuzzy edges of Punavuori. What happens in these protected spaces? In a place with little light and few people, why retreat even more? Opacity is special here in a way I have yet to unlock.
My favorite breakfast of 2010 was an ad-hoc assortment of unexpected delights, consumed on a day when the air was crisp with promise. Finland can be amazing at breakfast time. Milk that comes in beer bottles, pea tendrils on bread, a pillow of cheese, and milk chocolate? See also: special opacity. Thanks to Jenna and Anni for this.
May and June were a single day. Even looking at (lots of) photos now I have difficulty remembering that period of time in any plural unit. Largely because I was so consumed by the studios that I was organizing with the rest of the team at work. This is a snapshot from one of those studios, on a day when we visited the Aalto house to have a small team dinner. Alberto and I lingered in front of the house taking pictures as everyone else filed inside and I snapped this just as Emily popped her head out to look for Alberto. The simple gesture of looking again is rendered so touchingly here by Emily that this photo is very special to me. These two people had met three days before and yet already they and their collaborators shared a unique amity. It makes me happy to think that our project created moments like this. In its many quiet pockets—the forecourt of a confident house, say—Helsinki can be a city of remarkable hospitality.
Petri's excitement about the fire was only multiplied when I introduced the special delight of smores (with digestive biscuits instead of graham crackers) to our picnic.
A tour of the plants at the botanical gardens prophetically ended here. It had been a hectic month of small pieces loosely joined. I was ferrying between desks in Kallio, Ruoholahti, and Punavuori. Working late hours. Working weekends. Pulling things together.
This was minutes after we wrapped the event that I moved to Helsinki to put together. Well before this image was taken, even before the event started, I knew that the idea of my moving to Helsinki to produce an event was a conceit. I'm tempted to believe that the reason Marco is smiling because he knew this all along. I was exhausted but proud and all I remember of the dinner that followed this photo is that it was good.
Douglas came to visit and we took day trips to Turku and Tallinn, both of which are parallel Helsinkis to a non-native. Geography is surprisingly complicit with the rules of mathematics: (T+T)/2 = H? Fall had settled into the trees by then and the shadows were starting to run long.
When a tiny tear of sky rips open during fall it's a special thing. This morning I was headed to Tel Aviv where the temperature was 20 degrees warmer and the sky 120 degrees around the color wheel.
Walking through Plague Park rarely saves any time but it's hard to ignore during fall, spring, and winter when it's liable to be beautiful. In summer it smells like a toilet, because it is a toilet. Apparently a significant percentage of Helsinki is not potty trained.
Weekend mornings I make a pot of coffee and stretch bits of work out across my long desk. When the sun is low like this is reminds me of Cambridge and the mornings I spent there dull-eyed and unshaven, sipping coffee and listening to Concord avenue wake up. From my apartment in the center of Helsinki I rarely hear any traffic. The soundtrack to this photo is the heavy rumble of the #3 tram lumbering by. To an American that's what Europe sounds like. Trams.
Cities each have their own best scale. San Francisco congeals at the scale of the neighborhood. Manhattan is a place of heroic battles fought within each plot's zoning envelope. Helsinki is composed street by street.
No one here seems to be able to identify the neighborhoods reliably, and while many of the buildings are interesting few are captivating. Streets here, on the other hand, are artful. Humans are small in a city whose scale is the street. Maybe this is why doorways are often diminutive in Helsinki.


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April wish list
30 Mar 2020
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