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London calling to the faraway towns.
Now war is declared, and battle come down.
The Clash.
The night after the bombs went off, seven days ago, I went up town in the evening to see how things were. I live about fifteen minutes walk from Kings Cross. That district, and Russell Square where two of the other bombs exploded, are part of my regular beat.
I knew from previous experience of London under bombs that it was best to stay indoors all day and watch it on TV. The city goes into rigid lockdown in times of trauma and you can never get anywhere. A thaw of sorts came into effect around 9pm. The buses were back on but the Tube was totally switched off.
The atmosphere was rancid in the city centre. Gigs like Sum 41 at the Astoria were cancelled; the supermarkets were all closed down. The streets were virtually deserted and cold dank rain was falling. The only premises open were the more disreputable takeaway food joints and bars in which small groups of people were drinking heavily. There was none of the bounce for which the city is, legitimately, famous.
London was not overjoyed to be awarded the Olympics the day before the bombs went off. Most Londoners either dread the thing or are indifferent to it. The government and the athletics establishment bussed in a load of athletics freaks and local yokels to give the TV impression, in Trafalgar Square, that the "nation" was rejoicing.
Now the same elements are saying that London is grief-stricken but stern and resolute in the face of terrorism. Londoners are worried they're about to get blown up, they're sorry for the dead people and their families, but many of them are otherwise indifferent. An Italian photographer spoke for many foreigners living in the city full of foreigners when he said to me, "What can you expect? When you hit somebody they hit you back."
I went to the celebration of the end of WWII on The Mall last Sunday, The Royal Family was on display - I went because all these ancient 1940s bombers and planes were doing a flypast. The old timers who fought the War (perhaps the last major conflict fought for a just cause) are now in a very sad state, wheelchairs and walking sticks. About 30% of them were ship shape and Bristol fashion, to use a phrase they'd understand. As we made to leave, they played a song called London Pride by Noel Coward through the PA. It was an attractive song but spoke of a confident, very English, London which no longer exists.
The Queen, for the first time since I moved to London, is now talking and acting like a wartime monarch.
When I got home I put on London Calling by The Clash, a band I've sort of gone off over the years. Joe Strummer sang, "And you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!"
Read Joe's portentous fictional account of an attack of Victoria Station, written in 2003, The Fatal Advantage. Originally published by Pulp Fiction Books in the UK.
Joe Ambrose has written 14 books, including Chelsea Hotel Manhattan and The Fenian Reader. Joe is currently working on his next book, Look at Us Now - The Life and Death of Muammar Ghadaffi, which is an expanded version of a story first published in the anthology CUT UP! Visit Joe's website for all the latest info: JoeAmbrose.co.uk.
Ancient Champion - A Song For Older Skins Outsideleft contributor the Ancient Champion is taking over the world in 2018. A new single every month and a collection of short stories to come.
Punk Publishing Andy Conway and David Wake's guide to the world of DIY book publishing. Love this so much almost don't want to share it!
Walker Brigade - Therapy Animal (LP) Loving the latest LP from the Walker Brigade 'Therapy Animal'. They say Anthemic despair and savoir faire. Difficult to argue with that.
Christian Present - Ma Dernière Pelée Christian Present's beautiful, challenging and enthralling poetry...
The Rakers - Regina (LP)... Petulant, primitive & all-powerful rock 'n' roll from Baton Rouge's Rakers. Amazingly graceful and not to be trifled with.
Pixie Kisses... Our favorite poet, Pixie Vic brilliantly skewers every rock you reside on or under. Out in December.
Most Things Don't Happen... Great collection of Kirk Lake's song lyrics, poetry and prose of the past decade and more
Buried In Time... Andy Conway's Jack the Ripper takes a trip to Birmingham
Every Day I Atrophy... Award winning Chris Connolly's first collection of short stories. Get it from Amazon and elsewhere....
Ron & Nancy - the SideCartel present out loud SoCal 90s pranksters Ron & Nancy. Every one a winner, baby that's no lie.
Prehistoric Man - Soundscaper Prehistoric Man's ransacks his library of sounds. Blissfully.


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Leadership and Branding Lessons From The Cub Scouts
What can you learn watching Cub Scouts sell popcorn? Marty Brej, my friend and former boss at Thomson Reuters, recently helped his son sell pop corn for his scout troop. As he explained it to me over dinner:
- Actively Engage: Briefly & confidently explain to passers-by who you are and what you are doing
- Wear The Uniform: Be official…YOU are really the product people are buying!
- Exemplary Behavior: Behave in a way that show respect for the uniform
- Always Say "Thanks": Especially when someone declines to buy; you never know who will come back
- Market Your Best: Display your best selling products prominently and effectively
- Up-sell: …but have a fallback plan if people can't afford it
- "The Cub Scout Gives Good Will": Support what others ask of you as you are asking them to support you
It struck me that these are all essential lessons in business and leadership. These are also key concepts in networking, self-marketing and building your professional brand. I thought about breaking each out of these down further, but I think the message is pretty straight forward: be genuine and exemplary in your conduct, providing value for value. Also, buy some popcorn.
© 2014, Mark E. Calabrese
A Quick Test Of Your Brand and Influence
Try this test to gauge the strength of your brand and influence at work. Assuming your firm has Caller ID, call a few people that you know are in the office:
- THEY PICK UP: A good sign; they know it's you and they answered
- YOU GO TO VOICE MAIL: Assuming they're not on another call or stepped away, you may be suffering from "bad branding"
- YOU GO DIRECTLY TO VOICE MAIL: You may have been diverted altogether; this is not a good sign
While this test isn't fool-proof, it may give an indication as to how you are perceived, which has a direct impact on your effectiveness. Any comments?
© 2014, Mark E. Calabrese
3 Questions to Ask in Developing Your Technology Roadmap
Maintaining a firm grasp of the basics is an essential element of being an effective leader. This is especially true in developing a technology roadmap with your partners in business operations. There are three basic questions to ask and answer:
- What do you HOPE will happen?: Leveraging technology to move the firm forward requires that your business partner have a vision of where to take the firm and how this vision impacts revenue, expenses, profits, etc. As a leader, it is essential that you understand what your business partner "hopes will happen" so you can translate this vision into meaningful information and activities for your teams. This way, your teams can apply the vision to their day to day work and become an active partner in the firm's success. Make sure you know the answer to this question and make it a part of your thinking, speaking and writing so that you and your teams remain focused.
- What are you AFRAID will happen?: Learn what your business partners fear and what those fears may cost. Are the costs operational? Financial? Personal (reputation or career risk)? Understanding the risk to business operations will help you avoid real costs and unnecessary expenditures. Understanding personal risks will help you understand otherwise-mysterious behaviors on the part of your business partners. Overall, you must ensure that you and your teams are aligned with the business in avoiding risk. Your teams can further identify obstacles within their own 'field of vision' as technology specialists that may not be readily apparent to the business operations teams.
- What are you DOING about it?: Understanding how your business plans to achieve its goals and avoid risk is where you add value a solution provider and business partner. This is where the collaboration between business and technology can pay real dividends in terms of cost avoidance, customer retention and revenue generation. Active engagement between business operations and technology also provides opportunities to build a more collaborative culture within the firm. Getting your teams to understand the business they support, the goals of that business and the risks that the business seeks to avoid can transform your technology team into a business technology team. This means working to support the business' plans but also leveraging the unique brain power of your teams to propose other opportunities to move the ball forward, all with a shared understanding of the firm's goals and obstacles to success. One team – one goal.
Knowing where the business is going, identifying obstacles on that journey and being aligned with business operations are the keys to developing strategies and tactics to remove barriers and achieve the firm's vision. Leaders must ensure that this knowledge drives innovation in three key operational areas for the technology teams:
- Successful execution of one-time initiatives and projects
- Implementing effective changes to day-to-day operational processes
- Developing and implementing sound policy and procedures.
Ensuring that the activities in these three operational work streams are focused on achieving the ends of the technology strategy will significantly improve your teams' focus and increase your effectiveness as a business partner. Ask the questions – know the answers and make these answers meaningful in your teams' day to day lives.
© 2014, Mark E. Calabrese
Just The Facts: Writing to Get Your Problem Resolved
To get movement in resolving a problem, you're probably going to have to write to someone. Whether you're trying to get justice from the airline or hotel who wronged you on your last business trip or if you need to reach out to a peer to clear a log jam that's blocking your team, written communication is sometimes the best path forward. Here's a simple framework that I've found effective over the years for resolving personal and business issues:
- What's Wrong: Clearly and concisely state the problem. Keep it factual – not editorial. No emotions and no speculating on someone else's frame of mind. Just the facts.
- Impact to YOU: Be very specific and unemotional about how the problem impacts (or will impact) you or your team. Again, be concise and factual with no editorial comments.
- Impact to the READER: Make it clear that you realize you may not be the only one impacted and that this isn't 100% about you. How might the reader also be impacted? Beware of sounding threatening; you probably won't need to connect all the dots for the reader. An overview of the "dots" is enough.
- Propose a Solution: Never dump the problem on the reader, as he may well "solve" your problem but not in the way you'd hoped. This can leave you negotiating your way out of a solution that you asked for. Instead, give the reader a quick and graceful exit by proposing a solution that can be accepted or countered. Clarify how your proposal benefits all parties. This way, you stand a better chance of getting the result that you want or at least negotiating something close enough.
- Follow Up: Let the reader know when you plan to follow up, proposing a reasonable amount of time and then do so.
- Respect: Be smart about cc'ing others if you're trying to resolve a business issue. Ask yourself what impact this may have on the reader and on getting the results you want. Will cc'ing others truly help or will it "give the reader something to think about?" Don't give them something to think about. Get the problem solved.
I like to say that it's always better to give someone a printed sheet and a red pen than a blank sheet and a black pen. Applying this approach, along with some respect and common sense, should allow you to quickly solve your problem and move on.
© 2014, Mark E. Calabrese
I Was Told
Don't say this. Ever. No, really. No one in a leadership position should be caught saying "I was told." Such thinking can be indicative of a bad mindset and also sends a bad message to both your teams and your business partners. Nothing says "not me" like the phrase, "I was told."
Once you assume an executive role, you take on the responsibility of leading even when you may not like where you must lead. You do have the right to respectfully and tactfully question your own leadership, but once the decision has been made, you have two choices – deal with it or quit. Part of dealing with it is getting behind the team you are on and leading the resources assigned to you in order to execute and support your firm's mission.
The message you send to your team when you play the "I was told" card is that your first loyalty is to the team you lead. To be an effective leader within your firm, your first loyalty must be to the leadership team of which you are an integral part. The team that reports to you are your resources that you must effectively lead in order to add value to your team and to your firm by getting things done. If this paradigm is objectionable, you may be working for the wrong firm.
The message you send to your business partners is that you are not in control and that you lack confidence. Your business partners need an empowered, confident and effective collaborator – not a victim of circumstances beyond his control. It is imperative that your business partners view you as someone who can execute and deliver. If they question this ability, you'll only be adding to their stress rather than solving their problems.
Own your leadership role and set the right tone for both your teams and your business partners. You may well have "been told," but as a leader, you need to either respectfully work behind the scenes to effect change to what you were told or publicly get behind the decision and move forward.
© 2014, Mark E. Calabrese
Be Friendly – Not a Friend
As a leader, you can be friendly with your team but you can't be friends. This is one of the hardest transitions to make as you move into a leadership role. In the early part of your career, you're "one of the guys" and that works when you're a member of a team. But you can't be one of the guys once you are responsible for leading people.
First off, it's awkward. You're no longer "one of the guys" and acting as though you are will only make people uncomfortable. One of the guys can't fire you or request that the project sponsor have you removed from the team. Luckily, your best people probably don't want you to be their friend – at least not while they work for you. Strong teams want strong leaders – not best buddies. A strong leader focuses on making smart decisions on the team's behalf and not on making friends. Unfortunately, your weaker players probably do want a best buddy, assuming that "friends won't fire friends."
Not being friends doesn't mean you have to be a cold, calculating automaton. Leadership is about influence, which is earned by everything you do, say or write. Being friendly is a leadership style and while it doesn't mean kissing up to your team, it does mean being a decent human being and maintaining a positive, open attitude. It's easier to earn influence if you're friendly and approachable.
Being friendly is a good way to put your team at ease and to foster open and regular communication – the lifeblood of any good functioning team. This also sets a positive example for your team on how to relate to other people. A team that regularly earns influence within an organization will strengthen their ability to execute and get things done. This is a key cultural goal for any leader in building an effective team.
Being friends with people on your team gives the appearance of favoritism and may alienate some of your more effective resources. Instead, seek to earn your team's respect by setting a good example and by being friendly and open to their ideas. You'll be surprised how forgoing friendship while working with your team will often result in true friendships after your professional relationship has changed….and I'm speaking from personal experience.
© 2014, Mark E. Calabrese
How To Make an Enemy of Your Project Manager
Image Posted on Updated on
So you've decided to make an enemy of your project manager. You'll be surprised at how little effort will be required on your part to achieve your goal. Here are four easy steps to quickly reduce your value to your team and your PM:
- Silence: Never let your project manager know if you see any risk in making a deliverable date (particularly if your deliverable is on the critical or one of the controlling paths). Things might clear up on their own and let's face it, the project manager will just get mad if you tell her. Also, don't bother yourself with informing the owners of any predecessor or successor tasks of the risk as this will only make you look bad. The less you say, the better.
- Task Information: If you break radio silence, don't let your project manager know which task or deliverables will be impacted. If you're using a project plan, don't provide task IDs or any other information that might help the project manager track the risk back to specific work-streams in the plan. Giving your PM this information will only result in his going off to model the potential impact of the delay and start taking mitigation actions. Better to be vague and maybe tell a few other team members and let things "trickle up" to the project manager on their own (PMs know everything, anyway).
- Estimates: If you go soft on providing task information, avoid providing estimates of how significant the delay might be. This will only allow the project manager to model the impact, set expectations with project sponsors and take mitigation steps to keep the project on track. And let's face it, you'll be held accountable for your estimates. This smacks of the injustice of team members getting blamed for everything they do.
- Thought Leadership: Ultimately, the key to making an enemy out of your project manager is to provide absolutely zero thought leadership on mitigating or avoiding any impact to the project plan. Don't get creative and provide ideas. Try "thinking for management" by filtering out any idea that you are "absolutely certain will be rejected" or that might make you look bad by appearing to question management. As with estimates, your idea might be implemented and if it doesn't work out, you could be held accountable. The smart move is to sit tight and wait for someone to tell you what to do. Remember – inaction is action when it comes to making enemies on your project.
By following these four easy steps, you will not only alienate your project manager but also position your team for failure. Communication, accountability and planning can be stressful and who knows – you may even prove to be an example for other who want to avoid this type of stress. Only by failing to lead can you ever hope to lead others to failure. Good luck!
© 2014, Mark E. Calabrese

subset: commoncrawl


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A series of social events for women and non binary people interested in tech.Facebook Community
Network, create and share with friends.
With a less than generous population of women and non-binary people in computing, it can sometimes feel that there is a lack of support and diversity within the industry. This event is for individuals who would like to help build a stronger community at goldsmiths, to share, create and learn.
We would like to ensure that everyone in computing has the opportunity to have an exciting and positive experience whilst studying or researching. Use this event to make friends, learn, and get inspired. We will have talented individuals speak about their careers and experiences as educators, researchers and creators.
We are looking for women and non-binary people who would like to share a short presentation about a topic related to tech or being a minority in tech. We would love to hear from you - no experience is needed, this is a safe place where you can practice! For others, come along and support each other, learn something new, and have an enjoyable evening of networking.
Past events: 21 October 2017, 7 December 2017, 2 February 2018, 15 March 2018, 1 April 2018
4 May - RHB 142.
Tickets available
Every two months
Different room for each event
Goldsmiths, University of London
This event is supported by
As a student-run society, we rely on the generosity of organisations to run our events. If you'd like to support this event, please get in touch.
What is Lovelace?
Lovelace is a series of socials, talks and workshops for women and non binary people at Goldsmiths who are interested in technology.
Do I need any knowledge?
Not at all - we don't believe knowledge should be a barrier to being part of a supportive community. Our aim is to help everyone grow and get support from others like them.
What should I bring?
Just yourself!
Who is this event for?
This is event is for women and non-binary people at Goldsmiths - whether students or staff, all you need is an interest in technology or other STEM fields.
I'm not a woman or non-binary. Can I attend?
Not this one - this event is only for women and enbies at Goldsmiths. If you don't fit this description, check out our other events which are open to all.
Who is running this event?
This event is run by Hacksmiths, the student-run tech society at Goldsmiths, University of London.
What's the deal with food?
We're providing light snacks and refreshments at Lovelace.
Is there a Code of Conduct?
Yes, and you must agree to it before attending. You can find it here.
How much does this event cost?
Completely free to attendees, just like all of our events.
I have another question
Please contact Isabella Maund on [email protected].
Becoming a member as a Goldsmiths student not only gives you access to all of our events, but also gives you the ability to have a say and vote in our annual general meeting.
Have questions? Get in touch


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Overview of Hostel
Please note: Check-in from 12:00 alle 20:00 You must arrive within the check-in time hours, if not we can not garantee your reservation.
Welcome to the Pink Floyd, a modern hostel with a comfortable budget accommodation in central Rome. Run and managed by the owners themselves, you can tell fro
To check-in go to Hotel Hollywood, Via Principe Amedeo 79/B.
You must arrive within an hour of the arrival time you write, otherwise we can not garantee you reservation. If you will be late you must phone to the reception..
Located near
It's located in the historical city center in Rome, close to the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica, 100 meters from the central station Roma Termini, 20 minutes walking distance to the Colosseum, Roman Forum and most important monuments If you need further information, please contact us.
Conditions & Policy
Child Friendly
Air conditioning is not included.Cancellation policy: It Is possible to cancel or alter your reservation up to 7 days prior your arrival date. 31/12/13minumom stay is 3 nights .otherwise we cancel your booking. Wi_Fi it is availabile in comune area. we dont have a kitchen .


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Latest Invention Improves Quality, Saves Costs
Birmingham, AL – March 7, 2018 – Command Alkon, the global leader in digital supply chain solutions for the heavy building materials industry, announces that Bob Phare and Charlene Hohl have been awarded a US Patent No. 9,533,429 – System and Process for Mixing Concrete Having Desired Strength Characteristics. The patent addresses issues with having to replace defective concrete due to inaccurate mixing, improving quality and saving costs.
"We encourage our employees to think outside of the box. Their industry expertise and problem-solving skills foster change by developing state-of-the-art inventions that address significant issues and challenges in the industry," said Phil Ramsey, CEO of Command Alkon. "We are proud of these team members for their innovation in advancing processes that will help to improve our customer's efficiencies and lower their costs."
The patent for "System and Process for Mixing Concrete Having Desired Strength Characteristics" relates to a method and system for rapidly determining the predicted strength of concrete prior to pouring the concrete. The system and process provides for a database storing concrete family characteristics that may be updated as actual strength of poured concrete is determined. The process also allows construction workers to pour concrete with a keener knowledge of the resulting concrete strength.
Even though the general relationship between water to cement ratio and compressive strength in concrete is known, builders and concrete producers have been unable to quickly and accurately determine the water and concrete amounts for a particular delivery of concrete. Currently, during the concrete production process, a mixture of automated and manual steps are taken, but often result in an inaccurate record of exactly how much water and cement actually went into the delivery. Plus trucks that delivery concrete often add varying amounts of water while at the construction site, which may result in concrete with an inadequate strength. The patent addresses these challenges by providing a system for accurately determining the right inputs in order to create the expected compression strength for the cured concrete.
Bob Phare has been with Command Alkon for 40 years, serving in product design and management and system architecture roles throughout his career. He also holds a patent related to the Command Alkon Moisture Probe Technology. Charlene Hohl has been with Command Alkon for 20 years in programming and product management roles and currently serves as the COMMANDqc Development Manager.
Command Alkon offers expertise and technologies that automate and streamline all aspects of the construction materials supply chain for producers, suppliers and haulers of ready-mixed concrete, aggregates, asphalt, cement, and manufactured concrete. A comprehensive suite of industry specific software and automation offerings combined with employees invested in the success of construction materials operations differentiates Command Alkon as an industry leader and go-to partner. Command Alkon is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama and has offices in locations around the globe. For more information, visit www.commandalkon.com.


text: Disrupt the universe in the Nike MX-720-818. Featuring materials inspired by spacesuits like quilted stitching on the upper, it takes the largest Air unit to date and blends it with the futuristic look of the final frontier. Mesh on the upper keeps your feet cool while the clear sole features the black and grey tones reminiscent of deep space.


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Fidelity Bank is committed to providing exceptional service to all of our customers. As the second largest locally owned financial institution in Wichita, Kansas and a growing presence in Oklahoma City and Overland Park, we provide customers with a wide array of quality financial services.
The forerunner of Fidelity Bank--The Fidelity Investment Company — opened its doors for business in Wichita in 1905 as a mortgage lender. In 1942 Homer C. Bastian, Kansas' first director of the Federal Housing Administration, recognized Wichita's growth potential as a trade area. He left the FHA and purchased one-half interest in Fidelity Investment.
Homer Bastian's son, Marvin, after serving in the Army Air Force during World War II, joined his father at Fidelity as a mortgage counselor in January 1946. Homer and Marvin Bastian purchased the company's remaining stock in 1947. Using their government loan experience, they set out to meet the heavy postwar demand for housing and home loans.
In the late 1960's, Marvin Bastian became the chief executive officer of the Fidelity companies. He acquired Air Capital Savings, a $32 million asset savings and loan association, in 1975. Over the next 20 years, the company experienced exceptional growth as a thrift institution known as Fidelity Savings Association of Kansas.
By the 1980's, Fidelity had outgrown its downtown headquarters at 229 South Market Street in Wichita. Recognizing the importance of a vital downtown area, the Bastian's remained committed to the heart of the city. Next door, at English and Market streets, Fidelity constructed a $6 million, five-story office building--a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 1986.
The company's leadership expanded with the addition of Marvin Bastian's sons-Clark in 1976 and Clay in 1980. Clark is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Fidelity Bank. Clay is president of the holding company, Fidelity Financial Corporation. In 2009 Clark's son, Aaron Bastian, became President of Oklahoma Fidelity Bank. Aaron was named president of Fidelity Bank in 2014.
Since the acquisition of Air Capital Savings in 1975, Fidelity has grown from $32 million to more than $1.0 billion in assets and over 400 employees. There are currently thirteen retail banking locations in Wichita and Derby. Recently, Fidelity opened its newest office in Overland Park, Kansas. Since 2004, Fidelity Bank has opened six branches in the Oklahoma City area.
Voted Best Place to Work in Wichita in 2004, Fidelity Bank continues to offer employees a great place to work so that we can continue to provide dedicated service to our customers.
For the organization that began in 1905 as the Fidelity Investment Company, Fidelity Bank's philosophy has remained the same. Our focus is on the customer and providing them service, convenience and the opportunity to grow financially.
Fidelity Bank employees experience a culture of dedicated service to our customers, shared support between co-workers and a committed investments in our communities. We seek to deliver a level of service unsurpassed by any bank, anywhere, any size. That starts with our people, whom we endeavor to provide a home as much as a career.
We offer our employees a comprehensive group of employee benefits. These include:
• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Short Term & Long Term Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• 125 Flex Plan
• 401K Retirement Savings Plan
• Free Checking
• Tuition Reimbursement
• PTO (Paid Time Off)
• Concierge Services
• YMCA Memberships


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The star is the symbol of the Bethlehem star that informed about the birth of the Son of God. And the prophets and kings who were on their way to greet the Holy Baby were guided by it.The form of each Christmas star is traditionally eight pointed, but reduced several times. Usually the carolers made a big star from a sieve to which 4 pairs of cattle horns were fixed and glued with colourful paper; they decorated it with ribbons and put a small icon depicting Jesus in the centre of the star. The toys are hand-sewn from natural cotton textile filled with light hypoallergenic padding polyester, painted with Italian acrylics and soaked with the warm flavours of spices and chocolate.These celebrations had religious and domestic and ritual aspects. Our collection will help the young generation of Ukrainians to remember and renew the old winter customs and performances even in urban environment of the 21st century. Taking part in such celebrations, everybody can feel himself a small but essential component in the continuous row of exciting national traditions.The collection consisting of eight stars "From Roman to Jordan" covers the whole Christmas cycle of winter holidays. December,1 is the first winter holiday of St Roman, and January, 19 is the Baptism of Jesus Christ (Epiphany or Jordan) when all water in the whole world becomes sacred and the final washing in an ice hole takes place. Since old times the Ukrainians have been celebrating a number of winter holidays from Roman to Jordan. On the night of December, 13, on St Andrew's Day girls used to read their fortune and boys would behave naughty. On the eve of December, 19 children write letters to St Nicholas about their good and bad doings and the desired presents, and they find either gifts or stick in the morning. St Nicholas patronizes soldiers, travelers, sailors, helps the poor in hard times. The Holy Supper after the First Star in the sky takes place on January, 6. On this day all the members of the family should get together at home and after the rise of the first star bring the didukh (the reaped sheaf) and taste 12 fast dishes. It is Christmas on January, 7 when people greet one another with the birth of the Son of God who was born to Virgin Mary in Bethlehem in the barn. January, 7-9 is Koliada to which people get prepared beforehand making carolers' clothes, the star, masks, learning and composing Christmas carols. Every host accepts the carolers gladly, gives them presents and thanks them because the Christmas carol brings to the house peace and prosperity. On January, 12 St Basil's Day is celebrated and on January, 13 on Generous Eve (Malanka) a festive dinner, not fast, is cooked. Young people sing the whole night and keep company with the dressed in Malanka man.
Showing all 11 results


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Katy wears: Maternity lace skater dress, £35, ASOS.com
Daisy wears: Chiffon dress, £40, Monsoon kids
Although there are plenty of high street options out there, don't worry about spending a bit of money on a dress for a wedding or posh do - smart maternity wear has an uber high resale value (see my post here for more info). The most important thing is to make sure that you feel happy and confident in your chosen outfit - and that it is comfortable.
If you wear high heels, take a pair of ballet pumps/flip flops with you to change into
if you need to.


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Taylor Ryan is CafeMom's personal trainer, here each week to help us get in shape. Today, she shows us Dips—a simple arm and shoulder exercise that you can do anywhere including home, the office, and, of course, the gym. And to make sure our diet is on track, she also shares a healthy eating tip to focus on for the week.
Taylor is the head trainer for The Art of Weight Lifting, as well as Fat Blasting Boot Camps for Moms in her hometown, Charleston. Each week, she shares with us a new exercise and healthy eating tip.
Here is this week's tip:
Eat after working out. If you're trying to tone your muscles with strength training, make sure to eat a small meal rich in easily digestible protein within 30 minutes after your workout. After intense workouts, your muscles are starved and by giving them protein you are refueling them as well as jump-starting the recovery and toning phases.
People who eat a post-workout snack lose more fat, tone more muscles, and feel more energized the rest of the day.
Post workout snack ideas:
- Whey protein shakes.
- Greek yogurt.
- Peanut butter and banana or apple on rice cake.
- Tuna fish wrap or grilled chicken.
What do you eat after a workout?
Your Personal Trainer: Tighten Core Like an Olympic Athlete
Your Personal Trainer: Push-Up Up Downs


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07/01/2017 - 07/31/2017
All Day
Event Info
Grocery Outlet stores are conducting their 6th annual Independence from Hunger food drive during the month of July. You can help feed our community by looking for specially-marked food items or prepacked bags of food (at a variety of prices to make your shopping easy) at your local Grocery Outlet store. We encourage you to purchase these items and place them in the collection bins at the front of the store. The Food Bank has barrels at the following locations:
Concord Grocery Outlet at 1840 Willow Pass Rd. (across the street from the Park and Shop Center),
Pinole Grocery Outlet at 1460 Fitzgerald Avenue,
Pleasant Hill Grocery Outlet at 1671 Contra Costa Blvd,
Fairfield Grocery Outlet at 200 Travis Blvd.
Our partner agencies have barrels at the other Grocery Outlet stores in our two counties. No matter which Grocery Outlet store you shop at, please help fill up the collection bins to ensure our food-insecure neighbors can put food on their tables this summer.


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|screenshot via @LozCrouch
And if you wish to support my work and my voice, please do so here. I feel it is important for people to hear alternate views that are less popular in the mainstream. Please help make this possible.
Thank you.
I'm a Pakistani-Canadian who blogs about sexuality in South Asia, religion & politics. If you have a story you'd like to share, contact me at: nicemangosDOTblogATgmailDOTcom You can support blog via patreon https://www.patreon.com/nicemangos or PayPal
|screenshot via @LozCrouch
Its really disgusting to read so many posts that presume we in the U.S. don't give a shit about the deaths of these fantastic Americans.ReplyDelete
You sound a lot like an apologist here. Don't you say how atheism is now going the same way as religion is? Of course there is going to repercussions when blatant anti-islam is being propagated by the New Atheists. Or did you fall for it too, and as such there will always be radicals and moderates. So there you have it, radical atheists, not that it is something new - communist governments have been persecuting religion violently in the past.ReplyDelete
Atheism is a lack of belief in a god that has nothing to do with this crime.
But "New Atheism" is a violent ideology that motivated this killer to do what he did.
Thanks for this clear-headed look at this issue Eiynah.ReplyDelete
An accurate assessment of this episode given what we know so far. Thumbs up.
Thanks for the detailed clearification.
One can't help notice what muslims call islamophobism actually has effect to some extent. It does lead to dislike of muslims. Even for us atheists who are supposed to be rational, emotions do cause behaviors. Even though Jihadist Joe is hilarious, he brings down view of ordinary muslims along with Salafists.
I agree, religious beliefs could give rise to horrifying groups such as IS. This kind of confrontation leads to muslims getting their guards up. What should be done is to sincerely explain the gaps in their beliefs and get them to come to the conclusion to leave their ideology.
You called BS on people complaining the incidence wasn't given importance in the media, when it was. However, when the news first broke it wasn't on any major US news organizations, definitely not as part of the top stories. What they pointed out was that fact coupled with the fact that if the victims had not been Muslim the story would have made a bigger impact sooner. When people started pointing out that the story was nowhere to be seen, that's when it appeared and made major headlines. It took a while.
Also, you can't really compare how a developed/civilized/democratic nation such as the States handles this situation with how a third world country like Pakistan or Saudi Arabia would deal with this. When developed regions like Europe and North America, especially the US, claim to be democratic/civilized and implore, sometimes force, other countries to adopt the same values, they have to live up to them. As a nation of immigrants, the US has to treat all minorities and groups equally. You can't compare the many complexities - social, and political - of race and religion between such contrasting nations. Developing nations are just that, developing. They are dealing with issues that come before a society tackles social issues - the developed countries went through the same process and stigmatized/discriminated/attacked minorities in their history. The other nations are unfortunately behind the times.
Although I agree with your point, in certain countries the same attack against a minority would not be given such gravitas, there are good and bad people everywhere. Even with this incident, it brought out a lot of Islamophobic comments from 'rational' and 'civilized' people. In much the same way, there are good people in those less-tolerant nations that would stand for and stand by minorities.
Pointing out the inconsistencies of what muslims expect to be treated like and how they actually treat minorities themselves is definitely one way of helping people recognize the hypocrisy that is present in our claims of the perfect 'infallible' islam, and moral superiority that so many muslims feel over westerners. Just because the countries are developing, doesn't mean we cannot point out human rights violations and excuse it away. And no, people didn't stop complaining about how little importance the case was given even after the vigil. I thought that was complete BS. And even those complaining in the very beginning, should have given the media some time to get the story together. It did, and those people still claimed victimization.
That's not to say that Fox news type channels aren't absolutely a part of the problem, as they too spread ignorance and often don't know what they're talking about. But this victimization claim of muslims is untrue most of the time. There is not as much "islamophobia" as there is anti semitism. And still you hear more muslims going on about how badly they are treated. It's true, we are profiled and unnecessarily harassed at airports... but these false constant claims only water down the real instances of bigotry... crying wolf will only have us taken less seriously when actual cases of bigotry happen.
I don't appreciate fox news, and I don't appreciate the constant whining of self victimized muslims. Islam is more respected in the west than any other religion is in Muslim countries. Hypocrisy.


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Slack claim to be in the business of "making your working life simpler, more pleasant, and more productive". We're about to be cynical, so let's acknowledge that this claim is probably at least partly true.
Then let's acknowledge that they are actually in the much more profitable business of making money and driving product usage by belching out a cataclysm of urgent red circles and desktop alerts and mobile notifications. We should also note that they will be in this business until the not-too-distant day when every single office worker is either face down in a pool of their own blood or rocking back and forth in a county asylum muttering "Slackbot told me to do it".
Yammer, tibbr and Chatter present themselves as Facebook for work. Facebook At Work presents itself as Facebook for work. However, none of these products are actually Facebook for work. Slack is. Slack packages up the things that other people type and presents them in a way that compels you to keep reading and searching and clicking and creating more typing of your own. Slack is ninety-five percent extremely dull, but seems more interesting than it really is because you know the people involved. Slack is mostly a sea of irrelevance, but occasionally surprises you with the delicious and variable reward of Shit Going Down. You open up Slack to answer a specific message or check a specific point of information, and then wake up twenty minutes later knee-deep in things you don't really care about feeling like you just ate six donuts. Slack shouts at you with exciting red numbers, and you love it for this. This is all familiar to you.
Everything bad about Slack is fundamentally Slack's fault. Slack's sane default for a new user is to play a sound and send a desktop notification every time anything happens anywhere. There is no way to simply turn off the screaming red circle on the dock icon. There is no way to simply fold away the sidebar so you can focus on whatever it is you are trying to do. These UI nitpicks help us understand Slack's conception of the Good Life. Fine tune controls on the level of noise each channel is allowed to make give the illusion of control and serenity, but, to go directly and without shame to the cigarette company analogies, what we've got is Marlboro Lights when what we really need is some way to stop smoking.
To be clear, if you are having a deliberate and hard-earned break from whatever it is you do when you are using your brain, and are freely choosing to focus wholeheartedly on goofing off on Slack, then I support you unreservedly. Personally, if and when I have the time to goof off on Slack then I generally prefer to finish working early and go home. I do see the value in workplace camaraderie, but not as much as in having a really great bath. For once I really don't mean to be judgmental; everything is a tradeoff, and I almost definitely have fewer work friends than you.
Slack claims to reduce the number of meetings you have. A survey of 461 Slack owners and administrators estimated that Slack had reduced the total number of meetings that they had by an average of 25.1% (±4.53 margin of error with 95% confidence).
A quick digression to pick on a marketing page minutia: this addition of an error margin and confidence interval is tiresome integritywashing. Slack knows that the reader knows that any survey results a company publishes about itself are pointless and should be ignored at all costs. Presumably by publishing the mathematical uncertainties they hope to convince the reader that they are not like the other companies, and that they are instead being evenhanded and scientific. However, as they are well aware, the primary uncertainty in the 25.1% number is not the sample size, or anything else that can be communicated by statistical analysis. The primary uncertainty is the fact that the data are all imaginary numbers made up by Slack owners and administrators who invented them based on nothing. Or at least I can only assume they are - the page wisely stops short of a methodology section. This means that the error margin and confidence interval are completely useless for evaluating the data, and their only possible function is to misleadingly increase the perceived Scienceyness of the survey.
Anyway, Slack claims to reduce the number of meetings you have, by an average of 25.1% (±4.53 margin of error with 95% confidence). Taking the claim at face value and ignoring the fact that, despite its two decimal places of error margin, it is made up, this sounds like a wonderful thing. Everyone with an office job knows that everyone with an office job hates meetings, and has bonded over this fact with other people with office jobs at dinner parties.
But reducing the number of meetings is not a moral good in itself. Meetings can be fantastic. A specified, planned period of time where you can get your thoughts together and come out with a set of defined objectives can be a beautiful thing. When a meeting is run with care, empathy, and a rigorous, adhered-to agenda, it can be a wonderful way to achieve spiritual enlightenment and enhance shareholder value at the same time. On the other hand, Jason Fried describes group chat, using words that I wish I had thought of first, as "an all-day meeting with random participants and no agenda". Replacing conference rooms and video calls with an amorphous, atemporal and poorly capitalized wall of text is not progress.
Everyone who has heard about forced context-switching will tell you about how horrible it is, and they will all be correct. However, without forced context-switching Slack loses a lot of its shine and sparkle. You should not expect any quiet mode features that work or are enabled by default. There is no way to send a message saying "hey, no rush, but if you could XYZ sometime in the next day or two that would be sweet." If you have ever sent or received such a message, you will have noticed Slack's innovative feature whereby when someone types the words "hey, no rush but" they are auto-corrected in the mind of the receiver to "DO THIS NOW NOW NOW NOW I HATE YOU". Sending your request by email would allow the recipient to deal with it in their own time and mark it for later, but when Slack is available sending an email feels creepy and weird and like sending an intimate Snapchat asking for last quarter's growth figures.
I know all this, but I still send Slack messages for non-urgent requests because they just get resolved so quickly.
This is not to say that Slack is an undiluted hot sewage enema. Slack is great for a lot of things. I just want:
You'll notice that these are either extremely urgent or not urgent at all. Slack is good for the kind of conversations that are so important and immediate that it is fine to force people to drop what they're doing and read them, or so unimportant that it is fine if no one does. It's terrible for everything in between. Unfortunately this describes the vast majority of workplace communication, and double-unfortunately Slack still need this to happen inside their product in order to make their usage figures look juicy.
To do Slack's work for them and add in the features that they inexplicably missed out:
Turn on Do Not Disturb mode from 12:00AM to 11:30PM everyday
(see here)
In a further moderately revealing UX choice, it is not possible to go into permanent Do Not Disturb mode. 23.5 hours per day is is the best you can do. It's fine to leave a small 11:30PM - 12:00AM chink in your armor, since you should either be asleep or negotiating with your captors for your release at this time. Perma-Do Not Disturb is preferable to turning off notifications entirely, since you want people to be able to reach you quickly if they really need to.
Remove notifications from the Slack dock icon
(see here)
Even if you have turned off desktop notifications, you'll still be tabbing through different applications whilst you do your actual work, and I defy you to ignore a "5" in a red circle for longer than 7 seconds. Turning icon notifications off entirely is not possible in the Slack app, so you'll have to do it in the OS X notifications center.
Build your own protective shield
Despite your best efforts, you may still catch a hypnotic glimpse of an unread channel whilst tabbing between windows. Slack has no "neutral" mode that you can go into when you don't want to be distracted, but you can make a decent substitute by creating your own Slack team and logging into that on the same machine as your main one. You can press Cmd-1 when you want to turn off the spigot of noise, and Cmd-2 when you want to flick it back on again. It takes a bit of training to get yourself to remember to do this, but it's surprisingly restful once you do.
When I'm getting a dopamine rush for workplace chatter, I can't help but feel that something has gone quite wrong. That said, a company making an enterprise product that people are kind of scared of is probably doing very well. It's relevant. No one is scared of a fax machine anymore.


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Where NBC falters, YouTube steps in.
When we talk about why we love watching the Olympics, we usually talk not just about competition, but about human interest. We're drawn to stories of athletes struggling and striving and persevering. We become invested in the competitors not just as foes on a field, but as people who decided to pursue feats that precious few of their fellow humans could ever even imagine accomplishing.
Under that logic, the Paralympics, which began on Wednesday, should be approximately 5,000 times more appealing than their Olympic counterparts. The feats achieved, and barriers crushed, are almost unfathomably greater for the group of athletes who are currently competing in London. But while U.K. broadcasters, as one example, are offering more than 400 hours of coverage of the Paralympic events -- 150 hours of them in prime time -- their U.S. counterparts are airing only highlights packages. Four hours' worth of them, in total. And not on NBC itself, but on NBC Sports.
This has all meant that, if you are an American who would like to watch the Paralympics, there have been exceedingly few methods available to you.
Until today, that is. A few minutes ago, YouTube announced that it will offer streaming coverage of the Paralympics. As YouTube's Tommy O'Hare notes in a blog post,
The channel will feature 500 hours of live competitions accompanied by a real-time commenting feature for viewers in the United States and Canada. Additionally, others around the world have access to over 1000 hours of on-demand catch-up footage of current and previous games, interviews with Paralympic athletes and other behind-the-scenes footage.
O'Hare elaborated to me in an email: "We're excited to offer full, around the clock coverage of this Summer's Paralympics, fulfilling our goal to broaden access to sporting events of all kinds."
Around the clock vs. four hours! Nice. It's worth noting how valuable this kind of experiment could be -- not just to YouTube, but to NBC and the people who are, de facto, its customers. NBC is betting that there's effectively no public interest in the Paralympics. YouTube is betting otherwise. And, being a digital product that streams instead of schedules, YouTube is freer to do that betting than NBC is.
Which is to say: The Paralympics streaming is both a win for viewers who want to watch the proceedings and a win for the Internet as a proving ground. NBC, being what it is, has to make educated guesses about what kind of coverage people want. YouTube, being what it is, can experiment and gather data. It might find that NBC bet right: that the audience for the Paralympics is slim. But it might find that NBC underestimated the public's appetite. Either way, this is the Internet as its own kind of athletic field, where public preference rather than athletic prowess is put to the test.
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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On the fourth anniversary of the deadly attack at Fort Hood, Texas Sen. John Cornyn is continuing his crusade to expand the benefits provided to its victims.
If the Honoring the Fort Hood Heroes Act is passed, the benefits would be expanded to match those afforded to the victims and families who have lost loved ones in combat zones and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The victims would also be awarded the Purple Heart.
Additionally, the bill would classify the incident as a terrorist attack, rather than an instance of workplace violence.
On Nov. 5, 2009, Army Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 31 others on the base. The incident is the worst mass shooting on a U.S. military installation. Hasan was found guilty and sentenced to death in August after representing himself in court.
"As we observe the somber anniversary of the terrorist attack on Fort Hood four years ago, I would call on my colleagues in the Senate and the House to support the legislation Congressmen Carter and Williams and I have introduced to award the Purple Heart and related benefits to the victims of the attack and their family members," Cornyn said in a statement. "They have had to wait too long for the benefits they so rightly deserve."
Texas Reps. John Carter and Roger Williams introduced a companion version of the bill in the House.
"While we can never undo the atrocities of that fateful day, this is an important way we can show our support for the victims and their families," Cornyn said.


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OK, a little morbid I know, but it is a question I am asked on far too regular a basis. "What happens if you leave or get in an accident?" Technically it's called key person risk and is the reason you have teams, good documentation and source code control with non-stop backups.
Technically I have only left a project twice before I wanted to and before a convenient delivery point.
- Large public sector integrated web site, knowledge-base and licensing site. I left 1 month before go-live as the contract renewal negotiations broke down. The site eventually went live 18 months after I left.
- Geospatial data management system - I left when the scrum master decided they knew more than the architect, about a month before an on target delivery. System still not live 1 year later.
The reality is that you don't survive key person risk easily, it's a huge nightmare and usually puts you back about a year. How to avoid it? Have a happy team that communicates and try not to let too much jealousy creep into negotiations.
Story time:
Once upon a time a large digital consultancy was hired by a multi-billion dollar computer chip manufacturer to create an online game. The brief was that the game should have sufficient difficulty that at the end of 8 weeks a winner could be declared and presented with an expensive gaming laptop. The rules of the game were defined by the sales manager as a flying game where the player had to pass various obstacles, the complexity and difficulty of which were beyond human reaction times until the last few weeks of the game.
The project was delayed through negotiations and when it was eventually agreed it just so happened that the star developer who helped the Sales team was on a vacation, his first in 3 years. The sales team decided to hire an external consultancy that they knew and had used before to undertake the work, they did not engage with the in-house engineering team, preferring to keep all the details in one place.
When the star developer returned he was reserved to undertake due diligence on the progress from the external consultancy (part of the ISO27001 quality assurance the agency had.) He asked for the brief, the backlog, the progress against plan and a login to the code repository. It turned out there were a few missing items, notably:
- There was no brief (it was verbal and conducted in 'brainstorming' sessions)
- There was no backlog (The sales team simply reviewed the prototypes)
- There was no plan (The sales team simply set a deadline)
- There was no code repository (The developers did everything on their laptops)
There was however a working prototype and a copy of the code from 1 week previously. The prototype would work as long as you did not use the controls, it was an early prototype demonstrating the visuals of the game.
The Star Developer called a meeting with the sales team and expressed his concern, raising warning flags that in his opinion they were unlikely to meet the deadline some 6 weeks away, however the sales team had confidence in the external consultancy as the lead salesman only lived down the road from the consultancy, which was run from a converted Victorian house in his street. The Star Developer asked to be included in the next review at the end of the week and asked that the consultancy be informed that a code review was required.
The end of the week came and the external consultancy had to cancel the meeting due to unforeseen circumstances, the following week came and went with no submissions. The sales team where not worried, the prototype was nearly there weeks ago, and there were 4 weeks to the deadline, it wouldn't take long to test surely?
The in-house testers had not written a test plan as there was no brief, after a 1 week of discovery they estimated 2 weeks to write the scenarios and 4 man weeks to test them.
The Head of development called a crisis meeting, attending were:
- 2 of the sales team
- A representative from the external consultancy
- The Star developer
- The Lead tester
- The Head of development
At the crisis meeting the external consultancy relayed a sad story. I turned out that their lead developer had been involved in a road traffic accident, he had been hit by a bus whilst cycling to work.
Not to worry, the Star developer was now available, if the consultancy simply supplied the code completed to date, they would complete the project. The external consultancy explained again that their lead developer had been involved in an accident, he was still in hospital.
The Star developer explained that he would be able to continue the work, all he needed was the code completed to date, the external consultancy explained that their lead developer was travelling to work with his laptop, which was destroyed in the accident. The laptop contained the only complete copy of the code.
The development was brought back in house and an attempt was made to continue from the submitted prototype, it turned out that the game parameters had not been documented or understood; if the user simply shook the mouse long enough then they would win the game. The entirety of the codebase had to be thrown away.
The conclusion of the engagement was that the entire project had to start again, the sales team negotiated that the project was put back 3 months and the competition was completed, the engagement still made a small profit but the client rolled future engagements over due to their standard policy of re-competing suppliers every 2 years.
The lessons learnt are numerous and may well be longer that the story, but it does go to prove that if you say "What happens if the developer goes under a bus?" You may get more than you wished for.


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The Katrina Martin School of Dancing travelled from Dunoon on November 19 to take part in the International Gathering of Highland Dancing weekend, surrounded by the Christmas magic at Disneyland Paris.
Despite the devastating Paris attacks on November 13 with the terrorist shootings in the French capital, Team Martin, after reassurance from the Foreign Office and event organisers, made the decision to still attend the event.
"We had some reservations about attending the competition after the devastating attacks in Paris", says Katrina, "we were travelling via the train to Disneyland Paris just six days after the tragedy and parents were concerned.
"After many discussions, we had five members of the team who felt that they just could not travel and enjoy the experience.
"We were sad that not all team members were able to attend but with the situation as it was, we totally respected everyone's individual decision."
The competition itself – which was originally to be held outwith Disney in a local Sport Centre - was relocated within the Disneyland Paris resort for safety and as a result the remaining members of the team felt confident enough to travel.
"The build up to the event was trying," said David Bridge, managing director of Take Us 2 The Magic, event organisers.
"All things considered, the event operated perfectly, everything was in place, remained in place and it worked superbly.
"After all the reservations, all those who attended the Gathering were wonderful.
"All the dancers were a credit to themselves, their parents, their teachers and the world of Scottish highland dancing.
"It was a little bit of magic amidst the tragic events"
Kristina had a very successful trip with Corah MacLeod winning the 'Minnie Mouse' trophy within her category and an amazing 40 medals between the eight dancers was achieved.
The dancers also took part in the Pre Parade along Main Street USA which was an amazing experience for each of the dancers making it a trip of a life time.
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Strange Adventures in Infinite Space (Windows Mobile)
Published by
Developed by
Also For
DescriptionStrange Adventures in Infinite Space is a strategy game. The player sails the high sea of stars in his or her own deep space exploration vessel. Stars, planets, black holes, nebula mass, alien patrols, items, lifeforms and other encounters are randomly generated for each new Strange Adventure. The full version of the game includes 21 different ship types, 69 different weapons, drives, shields, gadgets and artifacts, 18 alien lifeforms, 17 different planet and star types and 7 unique alien races. The player can explore exotic star systems, as well as seek out new technologies, artifacts and lifeforms.
There are no Windows Mobile user screenshots for this game.
There are 7 other screenshots from other versions of this game or official promotional screenshots.
Promo Images
There are no promo images for this game
Alternate Titles
- "SAIS" -- Formal abbreviation
Part of the Following Groups
User Reviews
There are no reviews for the Windows Mobile release of this game. You can use the links below to write your own review or read reviews for the other platforms of this game.
Critic Reviews
There are no critic reviews for this game.
There are currently no topics for this game.
TriviaAlot of the planets in the game are named after Roger Zelazny's Amber book series. Names like Oberon, Amber, Zelazny, etc...
Related Web Sites
- Official SAIS Page (Page dedicated by Digital Eel, along with the source code of Strange Adventures in Infinite Space. It contains the download links (PC, Mac OS9 and Mac OSX) for the full game which is now offered free of charge by Digital Eel.)
- SAIS Fansite (Strange Adventures In Infinite Space Fanpage. Downloads section includes game mods and patches.)
Kabushi (243631) added Strange Adventures in Infinite Space (Windows Mobile) on Jan 05, 2006
Other platforms contributed by lilalurl (732), Rich Carlson (12) and Kabushi (243631)
There are no game credits on file for this release of the game. Everything in MobyGames is contributable by users.


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Enell Sports bras
You can be assured of the quality of the Enell sports bra and it's ability to control your chest, due to the wide range of celebrity endorsements from people like Oprah Winfrey and the American version of the Biggest Loser. This sports Bra was rated by runners world as one of the best sports bra for Runners in the double DD cup size and up range. Further excellent reviews include Weight Watchers online, Shape and Huffington Post magazines. The style is best describe a practical and may not appear too fashionable, but if you are a D Cup side or above this is a perfect even under the most vigorous workouts. They have both maximum and medium support styles available. The specialist moisture management performance fabric has been carefully selected to control your temperature and control moisture, This helps increase the comfort and enjoyment when taking part in your favourite activity. The sizes range from Enell ranges from 32c up to 52G if you don't see your size ask us and we can special order.
The Enell Sports Bra in Black is a soft cup sports bra that has been specifically design for fuller figure athletes a...£48.00
The Enell Sports Bra in White is a soft cup sports bra that has been specifically design for fuller figure athle...£48.00
2 Item(s)


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Recreation vehicle (Stockton Beach Recreation Vehicle Area only)
Conditional registration
Non-complying vehicles are only offered conditional registration if it is safe to do so and a complying vehicle cannot perform the function.
The following factors are considered when deciding an Application for Conditional Registration and the conditions that are applied to the registration:
- The nature and extent of any failure of the vehicle to meet applicable vehicle standards
- The safety of:
- The vehicle operator
- The vehicle's passengers (if any)
- The vehicle mixing with other normal complying vehicles
- The vehicle mixing with pedestrians
- Time of day or night of operation
- Special considerations relating to the area of operation (if any).
Note: Operators of oversize and overmass vehicles must also comply with the conditions of the relevant access notice or permit. For more information contact Special Permits Unit on 1300 656 371 for intrastate permits, and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator on 1300 696 487 for interstate permits.
Driver licence
A driver or rider of a motor vehicle in the Stockton Beach Recreational Vehicle Area (RVA) does not require a driver or rider licence. The driver or rider cannot be less than 8 years of age.
Vehicle requirements
- Only non-complying motorcycles and 'quad bike' type all-terrain vehicles, such as those pictured, may be conditionally registered for recreation use on the Stockton Beach Recreation Vehicle Area. For use of ATVs by surf life-saving clubs on other beaches see All-terrain vehicles.
- No other types of vehicles, including dune buggies and ultra-light utility vehicles, are considered recreation vehicles and recreation vehicles cannot be used in any other area.
- Quad bike ATVs have handle bars and a saddle type seat. Dune buggies and ultra-light utility vehicles have a steering wheel and car type seats.
- Recreation vehicles are NOT eligible for UVPs for use on Stockton Beach.
- All conditionally-registered recreational vehicles require a Vehicle Suitable for Safe Use Declaration.
Equipment requirements
All lighting must be fitted as near as possible to the position specified in Schedule 2 of the Road Transport (Vehicle Registration) Regulation 2017 for light vehicles or Schedule 2 of the Heavy Vehicle (Vehicle Standards) National Regulation (NSW) for heavy vehicles.
|Daylight / floodlit use
|Amber rotating beacon
|Brake and turn lights
|Headlights, tail, number plate and clearance lights
|Rear reflectors
|Rear and side reflective tape
|Rear vision mirror(s)
|Daylight / floodlit worksite use only
|Vehicle to be floated from site to site
|Restricted to a maximum speed of 40km/h or the manufacturer's recommended speed, whichever is less
|SP40 + free text
|Recreation vehicle restricted to designated area of Stockton Beach
Roads and Maritime Services office use
|Code type
|Vehicle shape
|Compulsory Third Party insurance class
|Conditional registration:
RECG: General recreation vehicle, ATVs and 2 or 3 wheeled motorcycles with engine capacity greater than 300ml
RECM: Recreation cycle – motorcycles with engine capacity 101-300ml
RECL: Recreation cycle – motorcycle with engine capacity less than 100ml
|Registration usage
|Not applicable


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For the Moment is a 1993 film written and directed by Aaron Kim Johnston and starring Russell Crowe and Christianne Hirt. The plot revolves around airmen training in rural Manitoba, Canada, with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The main focus of the story is the wartime romance between Russell Crowe's character and a local girl.
Johnson was inspired to write the screenplay based on the stories of his father who was an instructor and bomber pilot in the war, and his mother's experiences as a young woman on the home front.
With principal photography taking place over August–September 1992, one of the first jobs for the production was to scout possible locations. The film was shot at former Royal Canadian Air Force stations in Manitoba used during the War, including Brandon Airport and Rivers itself.
Although there isn't much flying in the movie, it gives a good sense of the locations. It's possible to watch clips and match them against images from the bases. The brightly painted barracks at Rivers still feature on the town's website. It probably falls under the category of a 'romance' more than anything else, but the beautiful scenery and the yellow Harvards and Ansons offer an emotive glimpse into Earle's world.


text: Don't miss this year's Moonlight Madness in Downtown Dexter this Friday, November 9th for another great night of shopping with our local retailers and fun with family and friends. participating stores will be offering great promotions around town, and be sure to register at each one for a chance to win some of the $800 in mad money that will be given away at 9:15pm at the Welcome Center Train Depot on Main Street. Remember, you must be present to win. Moonlight Madness is proudly sponsored by the Historic Downtown Dexter Association. We look forward to seeing you Friday night!


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Contact Victor
Contact Information
Our Company
Contact Victor Leon
The content in this advertisement is for informational purposes only. This is not an offer for extension or credit or a commitment to lend. All rates, fees and loan terms are subject to formal loan application, credit risk, appraisal evaluation and other lending criteria. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply. Arkansas Mortgage Banker License 108435; California – DBO Residential Mortgage Lending Act Licensee 4131348; Registered Colorado Mortgage Company; Florida Mortgage Lender License MLD826; Illinois Residential Mortgage License MB.6760694 Indiana-DFI First Lien Mortgage Lending License 11238 Kansas Mortgage Company License MC.0025034; Kentucky MortgageCompany License MC96693; Michigan 1st Mortgage Boker/Lender License FL001994; Michigan 2nd Mortgage Broker/ Lender Registrant SR0016995; Minnesota Residential Mortgage Originator License MN-MO-40179067; Missouri Company Registration 141728; Licensed Nebraska Mortgage Banker; Oregon Mortgage Lending License ML-5206; Tennessee Mortgage License ML-5206; Texas – SML Mortgage Banker Registration; Washington Consumer Loan Company License CL-186805; Wisconsin Mortgage Banker License 700297BA
About Victor Leon
I am very proud to represent Diamond Residential Mortgage Corporation. My goal is to provide you with the best customer experience possible, and I welcome the opportunity to guide you through the home loan process and help you select the loan program that best suits your needs.
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Sydney-based street artist Scott Marsh is known for his provocative murals – one of a two-faced Bill Shorten, another of Egg Boy and an anti-Adani mural among them. Now he's back with an interactive project inspired by the egg-wielding teenager Will Connolly, Egg Boy, from one of his most recent works.
Marsh is holding an Easter egg hunt this long weekend. He'll be hiding eggs and a dozen "bunnies" (murals of bunnies), in locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Over three days Marsh will be dropping hints about the whereabouts of the bunnies, and eggs planted near them, on his Instagram account, and if you're the first person to locate and "feed" (read: throw an egg at) one of the bunnies, and then DM (direct message) a video to Marsh of you doing so, you'll win a limited-edition Marsh bunny print.
There will also be two eggs filled with gold paint at some of the locations. If you're lucky enough to hurl one of those against his mural, you'll score your choice of an original artwork from Marsh's online store, valued at up to $4000.
Because these are Marsh murals the bunnies won't look like actual rabbits. The first one he's revealed is of far-right senator Fraser Anning (the man targeted by Egg Boy earlier this year) wearing bunny ears.
"I think everyone would like a chance to be Egg Boy for a day, minus the bogan chokehold," Marsh tells Broadsheet. "So why not win some art and have some fun at the same time?
"I threw a few eggs yesterday – it was very therapeutic."


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This timeline reflects legislative action in states that have attended the NCSL Family Opportunity Forum from 2003-2016.
Visit our state action map to view all legislative action by state.
| 2003-2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | Additional Resources |
Connecticut will replicate Washington's model to measure cost effectiveness of public programs with support from the Pew Center on the States
Iowa raises the state EITC from 7% to 10% of the federal credit. Measure vetoed by governor
Iowa appropriates $195,678 for tax preparation and EITC outreach
Maine—Bank on Working Group publishes "Save and Protect Your Money With a Bank or Credit Union" brochure
Maryland legislators meet with state officials to market the split refund option
Maryland Senator Katherine Klausmeier is appointed by Governor to State Workforce Board
Nebraska authorizes financial institutions to reward savings
Washington authorizes financial institutions to reward savings
Washington appropriates $394,000 for asset building coalitions
Washington legislators convene a forum on children in the recession
Washington legislation revises manufacturing program to increase competitiveness
Hawaii appropriates $670,000 for financial education, IDAs and EITC outreach
Iowa appropriates $200,000 for tax preparation and EITC outreach
Maine establishes the Bank on Maine Working Group
Maine authorizes financial institutions to reward savings
Maryland authorizes financial institutions to reward savings
Maryland urges their Congressional delegation to change the federal law to allow major banks to offer prize-linked savings products
Maryland offers the split refund option to state tax refund recipients for the first time
Rhode Island authorizes financial institutions to reward savings
Washington provides online application for public benefits, education and training
Washington appropriates $438,000 for asset building coalitions
Indiana raises state EITC from 6% to 9% of the federal credit
Iowa appropriates $475,000 for microenterprise and $150,000 for IDAs
Iowa makes financial literacy part of K-12 curriculum
Maryland raises the refundable portion of its EITC from 20% to 25%
Maryland creates financial literacy task force and passes foreclosure protections
New Mexico appropriates $500,000 for IDAs
Utah doubles IDA funding to $100,000
Washington enacts tax credit at 5% of federal EITC
Iowa forms Successful Families Caucus and gains support from the Northwest Area Foundation
Iowa makes its EITC refundable and expands it from 6.5% to 7% of the federal credit
Iowa increases funding for EITC outreach to $250,000
Kansas expands its refundable EITC from 15% to 17% of the federal credit
Montana reallocates workforce training funds to high-poverty areas
New Mexico establishes a refundable EITC at 8% of the federal credit
Rhode Island forms Joint Legislative Commission on Family Income and Asset Building
Iowa EITC outreach increases $200,000
Mississippi introduces predatory lending and financial education legislation
Pennsylvania Family Savings Accounts increase $500,000
Pennsylvania Fresh Food Initiative increases by $10 million
Utah allocates $3.4 million in CCDBG funds for child care slots
Washington authorizes $618,000 for asset building
Washington authorizes $1 million for IDAs
Iowa commits $100,000 in support of EITC (1500 taxpayers served, $2 million increase in return)
Kansas passes IDA legislation
Pennsylvania appropriates funds for family savings accounts, employment assistance, Fresh Food Initiative, and consumer protection against predatory lending
Washington—Pierce County launches asset -building coalition
Washington passes IDA legislation
2003 - 2004
Pennsylvania establishes a Task Force on Working Families
Pennsylvania governor's budget reflects Task Force recommendations
Utah's EITC yields $82 million


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MARYSVILLE – A Homeland Security helicopter and search and rescue were called in today to find a missing 3-year-old boy – who was at his daycare.
The helicopter flew down from Bellingham during lunch hour and drew a lot of attention as the incident took place near State Avenue in the 1500 block of 9th Street.
Cmdr. Mark Thomas of the Marysville Police Department said a number of unfortunate circumstances led to delays in finding out where the boy was.
The dad called in the report. Along with the chopper and searchers, some police and detectives were called in on overtime to help.
When police got in contact with the mom, she said the child was in daycare.
But police wanted to lay "eyes on the kid," Thomas said, "in case that lead didn't pan out."
Trouble is, the daycare was on a field trip. "That's why it took so long to confirm," Thomas said.
He added it's disappointing the amount of resources that were used, but the "interagency cooperation was outstanding, and it was a great ending."


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click on the cover to buy – a portion of sales goes to E-book Africa
/ by Beth Wareham
A well-known fact about Chelsea is that she likes to pee on her friends. She entices them into her shower or quietly dog-paddles up behind them in a pool and releases a yellowy bubble that envelopes her victim. It's a kind of warm liquid Hollywood fairy-dust, Chelsea's pee.
I have no idea why she does this. I wasn't an insider. I was part of Chelsea's entourage's entourage, a self-confessed mangy lot. My group never had a chance of getting peed on directly; we could only go to her pool when she wasn't home.
One strange day, one of Chelsea's inner most circles got mixed up with the outer most circle and asked if I wanted to see her bedroom.
Huge, orderly and airy, she had a California King that didn't look any more used than any other California King I'd seen. (Have you seen the dent in the middle of Rhianna's?) The room was weirdly peaceful. I don't remember a television screen of any kind.
What I remember confounds me to this day. It wasn't the bedroom of a celebrity at all; it was the bedroom of a writer. One entire wall was floor to ceiling bookshelves, all stuffed, with everything from architecture to art to
politics. The range was stunning.
Funny girls write great books. They understand detail. They choose really interesting detail. And as both Chelsea and Tina Fey become Netflix regulars, let's see what "on demand" does to their creativity.
I can't wait.
Follow us on twitter @shadowteams @giantsweetheart


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This last week I've spent time in the southern island of New Zealand. I've been there before, and visited places both new to me and where I'd travelled before. I went with my lovely wife Caroline, and our friends Nick and Zoe, spending a week in Queenstown, with an overnight excursion to Milford Sound. The point of the holiday for me was to relax, walk a bit, see some of the most beautiful landscape in the world (and cleanest air and water), and spend quality time with those people I most value.
It's less than 4 hours flight to New Zealand, and we stayed in a lakeside apartment. The view from our apartment was already refreshing.
|The view from our apartment
|Anniversary couple, Nick and Zoe at Milford Sound
|AJ Hackett Bungy platform
|Shotover Jet Boat
|Caroline giving scale to a hut from the early Chinese settlers to Arrowtown
|Arrowtown was more than just history, nestled in magnificent scenery
|It was worth getting up at 5.45 am to get this view of Mitre Peak, Milford Sound
|Mitre Peak, Milford Sound. Picture postcard beauty


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STORIES of a monster swimming in the River Lea Navigation have resurfaced… fully six years on, as the media seeks stories connected to the 2012 Olympics.
The "latest" attack saw a goose dragged from the surface of the Lea close to the main Olympic site in East London. The media blamed the usual suspects – pike, catfish, snake, mink or otter.
Find out the latest truth about fishing and the Olympics in our first issue of 2012, on sale January 3.
For for the full story, grab this week's Angler's Mail magazine.
And get the magazine every week for top tips, big news, best products, and venues that are in form.


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(Yeah, I coulda picked the English one, but attitude sounds so much classier in a foreign language. It also needs no interpretation.)
Couple thoughts on this. First, while I believe that Genie Bouchard is not all of that, it is also about time that someone challenged this "tennis is polite" norm nonsense. Because as all of us who actually play tennis know, there is not a whole lot polite about the grind of the game. When you shake hands with your opponent and you say "good match," do you not mentally add "for ME!" Why is tennis the only sport where you have to be quiet and polite to your opponent when you certainly don't want to be? Bouchard's refusal to bow to the polite quo (just made that up, thanks) hopefully will open the door to tennis being like other sports, where you're allowed to want to win. Now, if we could just get rid of players walking into a big match hand-in-hand with a little kid, that would be good.
I said couple thoughts. The other one is that if you're going to create a maelstrom by not shaking an opponent's hand, it would be helpful to go ahead and also win the match. Otherwise, this happens:


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KISS, that fun phrase every computer science teacher loves to share with his students, is the at the heart of this whole post; TrinityCore (a World of Warcraft server emulator) is a simple, straight forward C++/MySQL project, while Core3 (a Star Wars Galaxies server emulator) is about as "Mad Scientist" as one can get with programming. The difference is… well, it's truly dumbfounding – so much so that I thought I would take some time to write about it.
If we go way back to my early 20s, I had a good laugh at my friend for playing Everquest, until he bought me a copy and it absorbed me into its oozing mass of unkempt humans and never ending flows of pretty text too. Man that game had a text message for everything!
You fart
You giggle
Kazantoopia runs away in disgust!
You take two steps
You take two more steps
You stop and look around
OK, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it sure was game that had a funny way of drawing you into it and it basically made me give up single player games for more than a decade. Sure, I moved on from EQ to SWG and WoW (primarily), but I was always playing some kind of MMO. Of course, being a creative person who really wanted to be a part of the worlds I was visiting, I always wished that I could hop in there and make the tweaks and changes to the games that would make them perfect (for me!).
Luckily for me, after I had my fill of online interactions with an increasingly shitty community of people who play online games, I discovered that a bunch of folks far smarter than myself had built systems to emulate the servers of some of the MMOs I liked to play. I did play Star Wars Galaxies, on and off, until it shutdown in December of 2012, but after playing the Mist of Pandaria beta for World of Warcraft, I threw in my towel and walked away from WoW – Blizzard had simply taken a game that I liked and made it into a game that I no longer liked. Unfortunately, for the longest time I had a computer that wasn't capable of running the 64Bit virtual machines used by these mysterious server emulators, so it took me until early 2014 to start puttering around with them. Since that time, I have learned way more about programming, GNU/Linux, client modding, and project management than I ever knew before and as a result, I have some worldly opinions about what is and isn't fun work with.
I think the following summary really speaks for itself.
TrinityCore Requires:
– Windows or Linux
– A moden C++ compiler
– Some C++ standard libraries
– A MySQL database
– A text editor (or programming a IDE)
Core3 Requires:
– Linux 64Bit
– Specific versions of the gcc C++ compiler
– Some C++ standard libraries
– Knowledge of the included non-standard C++ libraries
– A whole other custom java program called Public Engine
– IDL compiler (automated C++ creator with its own syntax)
– Specific versions of Lua
– Specific versions of Java
– An understanding of custom C++ hooks for Lua that SWGEmu created
– A MySQL database
– An array of obfuscated Berkeley databases
– A text editor (or programming a IDE)
– A prayer that you don't need to look something up, because the documentation usually doesn't exist
I am by no means being harsh, nor am I being soft, that's just the reality of the design philosophies of the two projects. As you can see from the requirements alone, TrinityCore is obviously easier to work with than Core3, but it gets better. Wait until you get a load of this!
Things that TrinityCore does/has that Core3 can't do / doesn't have:
– Excellent documentation.
– A massive list of commands built into the server's command line.
– A help system that describes the function of all of those commands.
– The ability to use all those server commands on an admin account inside the game.
– Even more commands that can be used inside the game for damned near everything, from database lookups to moving characters from one account to another.
– A sensible relational database for all object and account data that can be manipulated with standardized tools.
– The ability to add new interactive content by simply adding new data to the database.
– C++ that's "just plain old .cpp and .h files" lol…
– A preconfigured system designed to easily add custom C++ and database content.
And finally…
Things that really fucking suck about Core3 that aren't an issue with TrinityCore:
– The documentation sucks. There's not enough of it and what is there is disorganized and often out-dated.
– Client tools are required to look up some important information.
– Said client tools only work in Windows.
– The need to create/edit an arse load of Lua files to make even the most simple content.
– The lack of discipline and planning shown by the way previously completed content is frequently broken by new content and/or arbitrary changes to dependencies.
And my personal favourite:
– The development team has a history of being hostile in general, but their especially disinterested in discussing anything related to the creation of content beyond the scope of their desire to emulate SWG patch 14.1 (bugs and all…).
Now, I have nothing but respect for the good people who have spent thousands of hours building SWGEmu's Core3 architecture and indeed, it's better than anything I could put together on my own, but the plain truth of the matter is that in many ways, it's really not fun to work with at all. When you add the convoluted nightmare of the client, modding SWGEmu quickly becomes a tedious quagmire of, well, stuff that feels more like boring work than fun hobby programming. On the hand, while I can't say what it's like to modify the WoW client, as I haven't had the desire to do so, I can say that modifying the TrinityCore server is pretty much a dream come true.
I really enjoyed my time playing World of Warcraft during the Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King. Now, thanks to TrinityCore, I have a fun little WotLK themed programming hobby, which I call "Solozeroth", to play around with and learn from. And I must proclaim with utmost of joy and exuberance, puttering with TrinityCore is a genuinely fun way to practice and learn industry standard MySQL and C++!
PSA Soap Box Happy Hour:
Make sure you buy a copy of World of Warcraft or Star Wars Galaxies if you're going to be working with either, eh. Having spent well over $1,000 on each over the years myself, funnelling my hard earned dollars into Blizzard and Sony Online Entertainment by purchasing game boxes, subscriptions, expansions, and services, I don't feel bad at all for continuing to use my CD/DVDs of the games (especially given that it's otherwise impossible to enjoy those versions of the games). Don't be thieving arsehole, buy the games. 🙂


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If you have been reading this blog, you already know that marine heads are different from household toilets in several meaningful ways, even if you live ashore. If not, know this: the marine head must pump the bowl contents up with a minimal amount of water, rather than flushing the contents down with prodigious quantities of water.
Because it is a pump, the marine head has moving parts, and more importantly, it has check valves - devices that are supposed to only allow fluid flow in one direction. The Joker Valve is one such check valve - all the bowl contents must pass thru the joker valve on their way to the holding tank.
Howz'at work, you might ask? Well, if I squeeze the valve a little, you can see how the lips open - you are looking here at the discharge end of the valve. Yup, everything that goes in the bowl has to go thru there.
Now, joker valves do not last forever. To work properly, after the lips have been forced open by passing fluid or solids, they need to spring back closed to prevent backflow. And over time, the lips lose the ability to do this. And so the valve must be changed out. The ones in our heads have been in there for 2 years, and their time is up - after use, the bowls slowly fill up with the stuff that has most recently been pumped out. Yeah, not pleasant. Today I will replace them both.
|Top to bottom:
Jabsco, Raritan, Groco
To the left are three different joker valves, showing two different designs and three different materials of construction. Our heads were made by Jabsco and so we already have a data point for the upper valve - it was what came with the heads, and lasted for about two years.
Today, I installed the Raritan valve in the aft head and the Groco valve in the forward head. We'll see how they do over the next couple of years or so.
And here's what a joker valve looks like when coming out of service - it's easy to see why this one doesn't work any more...


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Repetition is the Key to Brand Development
October 26, 2010 Leave a comment
We build websites that make you happy. get to know us… Find us: www.silex.co.in
October 26, 2010 Leave a comment
August 4, 2009 Leave a comment
50 new Nissan Cubes are driving off dealer lots this month. Each one's being driven by a brand advocate, the reward for months of creation and promotion by musicians, DJs, dancers, programmers, designers, bloggers, podcasters, poets, writers and artists, and all kinds of creative thinkers. Nissan openly called The Hypercube a social media marketing experiment, choosing to invest only in this channel, and is now pleased to announce (or tweet, perhaps) the successful proof of their thesis.
Nissan Canada's creative agency, Capital C, went beyond the boilerplate hey-make-us-a-video and please-retweet-our-propaganda "campaigns" that are all too common these days, by offering prizes on which creative minds could really envision spending time and effort.
Continue reading about the program and its outcome…
The Contest
Of 7000 applicants, 500 elite were given Hypercube canvases to audition for the mass public, stumping for daily votes with photos and animation, video, poetry and song. Competitors even took their campaigning offline, including Telma "TSwizz" Costa, who created and distributed pins to drive traffic, and Sean "Cube Man" Williams who literally drove offline traffic in his homemade cardboard Cube costume.
You can view all of the winning canvasses at thehypercube.ca. Here is just one of the intense and daily updated canvases:
The Platforms
The Hypercube site was just the town hall of this experience, though, as competitors posted images to Flickr, tweeted up a storm, created videos on YouTube…
…built web pages and blogs, and invoked social graphs from their other communities. For example, contestant Andre Molnar looked to leverage the passionate Drupal community, by promising to create the "Drupliconcube," a Nissan cube "decked out in Druplicons, spreading the Drupal love to the streets.
More than just pleas for votes, these daily updates became meaningful interactions between the competitors. Williams sent out a YouTube dance-off challenge to his fellow participants, and created this mashup:
The Outcome
Such a momentous story had to end with an explosive climax, and on June 24, it did just that. Contestants gathered with friends at events simulcast in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Contestants performed live between DJ sets and mingled over drinks, until winners were announced across the country via big screen video.
But the real prize goes to Nissan Canada, who now has tons of authentic content to work with, generated by skilled creatives at a low cost. The winners are required to update their canvasses twice a month for the next year, but the brand will get a lot more than that, I predict, as these content generators are eager to share their experiences on the road.
Moreover, this campaign was just the spark, a great success already, but the story of the Nissan Cube and the CubeCommunity is just beginning. Cubecommunity.ca teases us with a "coming soon" page, but the long-term strategy is obvious, as the community has all of the core requirements, starting with deeply invested and passionate community leaders.
All too often, big brands create deep connections with new communities, but then drop these connections as soon as their campaign is over. Nissan has demonstrated how to think and plan long term; find–no, create passionate advocates who themselves created a plethora of content and awareness; and build a brand in partnership with their customers. I'm happy to admit, the bar's just been raised for "social media marketing."
May 21, 2009 Leave a comment
This week one brand harnessed the power of Facebook connect. In order to grab the attention of risk-takers, the movie Crank High Voltage (the sequel to the first action-thriller-comedy) encouraged users to allow the movie to take over their Facebook page. That's like allowing someone you don't know too well to borrow your car. They don't tell you where they might drive it, but they do promise to return it after they're finished. Oh, and they warn you that it might cause a bit of mayhem, but it'll be exciting because you could win some cash. Do you do it?
Pretty risky, but also kind of intriguing. And that's what Crank High Voltage hoped to accomplish in 14 days on Facebook. But what did the movie's fans think? A few Organic peeps weighed in.
Its really funny
-St.John Oneil-Dunne, Global Business Development
I think its great for attention. I don't know enough about the film to know how well it integrates the appeal.
-Chad Stoller, Executive Director, Emerging Platforms
So I risked my facebook "reputation" and did all those challenges. I must say. I'm very disappointed. I really like how they utilized the functionality of Facebook to create these challenges: updating my status with link to the site, and videos, upload images and tagging…etc. Unfortunately, the content of the challenges is not that impressive in my opinion. Maybe this is the tone of the movie, but this is not what I remember with their first movie, nor from the new trailer. I was hoping the challenges would be more about achieving some missions or more sneak peak about the movie, rather than telling all my friends who I "hook up" with, and what kind of STD I've got…. NOT GOOD… Or am I just lacking a sense of that kind of humor??
-Euphenia Cheng, Designer
So, it looks like they lost at least one fan. Did they go too far or not far enough?