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by Gladys Diaz
If you've invested time and money in personal development and spiritual programs that help you shift your mindset, and you're still not experiencing significant shifts in your love life or relationship, I want to ask you a few questions.
Before you invested in this mindset program did you:
- Know how to date successfully so that you aren't wasting your time, love, or energy?
- Get trained in the differences between the male and female brain and how we are wired differently?
- Learn and master proven relationship skills that ensure long-lasting love?
- Master effective communication that allow you to express yourself in a way that has your partner hear and respond to you in a loving way?
- Have the opportunity to consistently practice these new skills so that you mastered them and avoided repeating old, self-sabotaging dysfunctional and painful patterns in your relationship?
If you answered "no" to even two of these questions, then you have the answer as to why you don't have the kind of love you want.
See, no amount of personal work is going to change what happens in your love life or relationship when you don't actually know and use the skills that create AND sustain lasting love.
You can be confident, think positively, meditate and pray, speak positive affirmations to yourself, visualize, and plaster your walls with vision boards, and this will only get you so far.
It's like filling your refrigerator with a bunch of healthy food, joining a gym, and buying a ton of cute workout outfits but never prepping your meals or getting on the treadmill — your body and weight are notgoing to change one bit until you stop thinking and visualizing and start taking COMMITTED ACTION.
The same is true when it comes to your love life.
Thinking positively and visualizing what you want can help you begin to set in motion attracting the relationship you want, AND you still need to have the right skills and know the right steps to take so that you can take the right ACTIONS that give you the results you really want.
Like anything else you have ever accomplished that you became masterful at, having a great relationship requires a specific skill set. It just does.
You simply can't get there by mindset alone.
Having the right mindset AND skill set are both essential, yet too many women keep trying use one without the other. And it simply doesn't work.
So here's the deal: It's time to get committed to learning what it takes to have a real loving and intimate relationship.
One that fulfills you; has you feeling truly loved, accepted, and supported by a high-quality man; and where you know how to keep the love, passion, and intimacy alive for a lifetime.
Enrollment for our next round of our Ready to Love Again (for single ladies) and Keeping the Love Alive (for women in relationships) is closing soon, and we are inviting women who are seriously committed to transforming themselves and their love lives into the community.
You must be someone who is ready to commit to investing in yourself, be willing to be coachable, and do BOTH the inner work as well as learn and apply the skills that will make this transformation happen for you.
These are the programs where our clients learn how to remove and replace the Love Barriers that have been stopping them from having the love they want.
These programs are where you'll learn how to combine the mindset work with effective and proven dating (if you're single) relationship and communication skills that will have you experiencing more fun, love, and ease in your relationship.
These are the programs where so many of our clients FINALLY learn the skills that give them the confidence AND ability have and live in the loving, intimate relationship of their dreams!
And these are the programs where you'll see why nothing else has worked before.
You'll permanently remove the barriers that are keeping you stuck and finally have the love, life, and happiness your heart desires!
If you know this is you, then reach out.
We are committed to you having the love you desire and deserve, and if we don't think the program is a good fit, we'll be honest and give you some recommendations, but we won't make you an invitation to join.
We're not going to "sell" you, and we don't need to, because we only work with women who we feel are ready for to succeed in the program (and their love lives), and our clients' results really do speak for themselves.
We're here to work only with the truly committed woman (in actions, not just words) — the woman who already knows that you're ready to have the relationship you have been dreaming of, and you're tired of waiting for it to "just happen," because you KNOW you're worthy of and ready to receive it now.
Does that sound like you?
Are you feeling it in your body right now — something that is pulling you forward?
Then let's talk.
We've got limited time on our calendar to speak this week (No, that's not a marketing tactic. We're busy, just like you are!), so if you'd like a spot, shoot us an email and tell us a little bit about your love life or relationship and what your challenges are right now.
You're probably doing a lot of things right now that might help you get the love you want, but you may be focusing on the wrong things or doing them in the wrong order. THIS is what we can help you sort through so that you are moving in the direction of your dreams!
Having the right mindset AND the right skills is the key to succeeding in any area of your life. If you're truly committed to doing the work to learn BOTH so that you can finally have the happy, loving relationship you have always dreamed of, send us an email and let us know what that looks like for you and what challenges you're having right now. We'll set up time to talk and tell you exactly what will make a difference NOW!
If you prefer, you can set up a time to talk by clicking here!


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Bed & Breakfast
The Gables B&B Picton is a charming historic residence close to all Picton's attractions and amenities.
Choose between inhouse bed and breakfast or one of the delightful self contained cottages. Close by is the boating marina, ferry terminal, and the magnificent walks overlooking the sounds and the harbour are literally on your doorstep or enjoy the local selection of restaurants, pubs, shops, and supermarkets.

subset: commoncrawl


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DEAR ABBY: I am struggling with the question of whether or not to reveal a confidence made more than two years ago. My boyfriend at the time, "Jerry," revealed to me that he was gay. We remained friends, but I moved on and started dating someone else.
Jerry never confided his secret to anyone else and, eventually feeling overcome with depression, took his own life. Jerry told me more than once that he knew how his parents would feel if he told them he was gay. He saw the way they snickered when they saw a gay couple. They made it very clear to him that they didn't think it was normal. Jerry was sure, seeing the way his parents viewed gay people, that this was how he, too, would be viewed.
His parents are now blaming me for the fact that Jerry took his own life. They say it was because we broke up. Would it be selfish of me to tell them the truth -- that THEY are the real reason? Or should I continue to keep his secret? -- HIS BEST FRIEND, ROCHESTER, N.Y.
DEAR BEST FRIEND: You should reveal that your friend told you he was gay and was worried about how his parents would accept it. However, when you tell them, do not expect them to believe you. It will be far easier for them to continue pointing the finger at you than to accept that they had a role in their son's suicide.
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I went to a restaurant tonight hoping to enjoy a relaxing evening of quiet conversation. Unfortunately, a man dominated all the conversations in the small restaurant by continually talking in a very loud voice.
The same thing happened several months ago, when our quiet dinner was interrupted by an elderly woman across the room who talked loudly the entire time we were there. She seemed to be hard of hearing, so we felt some sympathy for her. The man tonight, however, seemed to hear just fine.
Abby, if my children were talking that loudly in a public place, I'd admonish them to use their "indoor voices." How do we handle the situation when the loud speaker is an adult and a stranger? -- INDOOR VOICE, PLEASE
DEAR I.V.P.: Few restaurants today offer diners a place to enjoy "a relaxing evening of quiet conversation." The trend in recent years has been to create a "scene" with hustle and bustle and enough noise that the tables can be turned fairly quickly.
If someone was conversing so loudly that I could not enjoy a meal, I would ask the host to be seated elsewhere. And if that didn't solve the problem, I would find another restaurant that was more conducive to the kind of evening I had in mind and patronize that one.
DEAR ABBY: I make embroidered tablecloths as wedding gifts for my nieces and nephews. Some of their marriages have failed. Would it be tacky of me to request these gifts be returned to the family member for whom I made them? I put a lot of time and love into those tablecloths, and I'd like to see them stay in the family. -- TALENTED STITCHER
DEAR TALENTED STITCHER: You could try asking nicely. Often wedding gifts are divided according to which side of the family -- the bride's or the groom's -- gave the gift in the first place. However, when the divorce is a bitter one, the division of property sometimes must be decided by a judge. The time to get something like this settled would be before matters go that far, if possible.
Good advice for everyone -- teens to seniors -- is in "The Anger in All of Us and How to Deal With It." To order, send a business-size, self-addressed envelope, plus check or money order for $6 (U.S. funds only) to: Dear Abby, Anger Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Postage is included.)
4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600


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As a beauty enthusiast, I love trying makeup in all price ranges – luxury, high end, and drugstore. As much as I love me some luxurious and prestige beauty products, I am a huge fan of affordable makeup. Why spend $30 on a primer when you can find something that does a wonderful job for just a few bucks? Also, it's great to be able to find affordable dupes of pricey items we're unable to get our hands on or reason to purchase. Moreover, if you're new to makeup or wanting to experiment with certain types of products and shades, it's always great to test out affordable items before taking the splurge on high end products.
That being said, I wanted to share affordable beauty brands I absolutely love. Not only do these brands have great prices but the quality of many of their items are incredible for the cost, some even perform better than products that cost double, triple, even quadruple the price! Like any other brand, these do have products that didn't work for me so I'll be sharing a few misses along with the hits.
*This post contains affiliate links.
These brands aren't in any particular order, I've tried products from each and every one and believe everyone can find quite a few items to add to their makeup kit from these.
e.l.f. Cosmetics
This is definitely a brand I notice is recommended the most when someone asks which brand to turn to for affordable makeup. Their products start out at just ONE dollar! They have amazing eyeshadow trios and palettes that are $10 and under!
I personally recommend them to family, friends, and readers all the time because they truly provide great quality and are always introducing new products to their line. Lately they've introduced more products that are a little bit pricier than what their products usually cost but still, you cannot beat e.l.f.'s prices!
Some products to definitely check out are their makeup brushes, lippies, eyeshadows, and highlighters. Check out my top picks from e.l.f. I shared here! A couple e.l.f. products that didn't work well for me are their concealers and their inexpensive brushes – I'm not sure what the line is called but the ones that start at $1 a piece with the white handles.
BH Cosmetics
Great quality, great prices, great product selection. BH Cosmetics is perfect for makeup enthusiasts, beauty beginners, and makeup artists – they have products for everyone! For enthusiasts and beginners, BH Cosmetics offer a great selection of products at affordable prices and for makeup artists, they have tons of great palettes that would be a great addition to your kit! Prices are a slightly more up there compared to e.l.f. but they are still pretty darn affordable!
BH Cosmetics recently made it's way to Ulta, which is SO awesome! No need to worry about making that shipping threshold. Some products I highly recommend from the brand is the Shaaanxo Palette as well as the Carli Bybel Palette. Both of these are INCREDIBLE! The Shaaanxo palette has 9 shadows and 9 lip colors in a double sided palette while the Carli Bybel includes shadows and highlighters! If you can, I'd say get both – if you're choosing one or the other, I'd say think about what you'd use more – highlighters or lippies since both palettes contain great shadows. I also enjoy their brush sets, the packaging is stunning and the prices are great! You can often find some of their products at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Ross as well.
A few misses for me were the products I tried from the Ashley Tisdale Collection such as the Lip and Cheek Cream Tint and Eye and Cheek Palette. To me, the quality was lacking compared to their other products and collabs.
Makeup Revolution
If you've been following me for a while, you know my obsession with Makeup Revolution. You can see a few reviews and hauls I did here! This is a UK based brand that made it's way to Ulta sometime last year, which had me jumping up and down. Makeup Revolution creates so many great dupes to high end products and are incredibly affordable. They offer $10 palettes, $3 lipsticks, contour kits under $20, and more! I recommend grabbing their blush palettes and checking out their eyeshadow palettes. Do keep an eye out on reviews though, their eyeshadow palettes can be a hit and miss – one of my absolute favorites in the New-Trals vs Neutrals. It's only $10 and perfect for Fall!
Some misses for me were a few of their eyeshadow palettes. Some truly have terrible quality compared to the amazing ones they created. I found a lack in quality in some of their Iconic Palettes as well as their Fortune Favors the Brave. The latter is the one I was most disappointed with since it was a palette I was incredibly excited about and had read nothing but glowing reviews about. Maybe I got a bad batch but the quality was terrible in over half the palette.
Wet N Wild Beauty
One of the MOST affordable brands out there that don't skip on quality. Eyeshadow palettes for $6.99, eyeliners, brow products, and highlighters for less than $5 – what more can you ask for?! I am so thankful to my blogger friend Denise over at Beauty Beyond the Scale for getting me hooked on their products!
Their felt tip liquid liners are one of my all time favorites, a definite must if you like Stila's Liquid Liner! Some of my other favorite products are their highlighters and eyeshadows! I also LOVE their brow wax pencil, you'll always find it in my makeup collection. Furthermore, their liquid foundation is hands down my FAVORITE drugstore foundation apart from Milani's. Wet N Wild's is more of a light to medium coverage which is what I'm more comfortable with. It's also the foundation I've been using on a daily basis the last couple months. Lastly, I HIGHLY recommend their Gel Lip Liners. They are some of the BEST I have ever tried and the ones I almost always turn to.
So far, I haven't had any products I didn't completely dislike!
ColourPop Cosmetics
I don't think I need to say much about ColourPop – it's one I feel almost everyone is familiar with. They're affordable (prices starting at just $5), quality is on point, and their packaging is incredibly appealing! I own hundreds of their products and am a huge fan of the brand. I definitely recommend trying out a little of everything from them. I've enjoyed every type of product I tried from them – brow pencils, eyeliners, lip liners, liquid lipsticks, classic lipsticks, eyeshadows, makeup brushes, highlighters, etc.
Essence Makeup
Another brand that's incredibly affordable – prices are in between Wet N Wild and e.l.f. Cosmetics. One of my holy grail brow products is from Essence – their Eyebrow Gel Mascara. It's only $2.99 and is perfect for my everyday needs. I also enjoy their lipsticks and lip liners – super affordable and the quality is just as great as some high end products!
A product I wasn't to fond of is their Liquid Dip Eyeliner. The formula didn't work for me unfortunately.
LA Girl Cosmetics
I haven't tried a wide range of their products but have heard so many great things! I'm mentioning LA Girl in this post because they make my FAVORITE color correctors and concealers. I've been using them for years and have yet to find another product that does what these do for me.
There are other affordable makeup brands/products I adore but these are the ones that I make the most use out of and stand out to me at this time. What are your favorite affordable beauty brands or products?


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Welcome to Colored Pencil Info! We are an online Colored Pencil information site. We provide information for artist quality colored pencils.
Notice: we've discontinued sales of the color charts
Interested in Holbein Colored Pencils? Please see the Holbein section for information about ordering open stock from Japan.
New KarlBox Limited Edition Box Set Collection from Faber-Castell Review
I am a very big fan of wooden box sets of colored pencils. And my favorite box hands down is a limited edition set that F-C produced in 2011 that had a full set of drawing pencils and supplies, a full sets of Polychromos, Albrecht-Durers, Pastel Pencils, and Pastels. That set was a design marvel, with wide pull out drawers, arranged by product. So you could pull out the tray of Polychromos or the tray of watercolor pencils. The drawers slide out flat, but once you pull them out, the top layer of pencils folds up like an easel so that every pencil in that set can easily be seen and used. I use watercolor pencils a great deal at least as a base layer, and that set makes it easy to have both sets out and ready to use on a large drafting table, while easily getting the drawing pencils out as well. While this set was expensive, it was still within range for most serious colored pencil artists, and is a handy tool that they can use daily to work with. The cost of the set if I remember correctly was about $1,000.
Faber-Castell has announced a new, and very unusual box set, called the KarlBox. The set was a collaboration between fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld and Faber Castell. The box has 350 products, including a full set of Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils, and a half set of Polychromos pencils. The set is unique, in that it is arranged, not by product, ie. watercolor pencils, dry colored pencils, markers, and pastels, but rather by Color. So each pull-out drawer has, for example, Green Watercolor Pencils, Green Polychromos, Green Marker pens, and Green Pastels. The box would indeed be wonderful for the desktop. But is it designed to be used the way most artists work, and is it worth the $2850 price tag? Let's look at the contents. First of all, the price is staggering. I admit I had never heard of the designer, but I have used all of the products that this box includes, down to the handy collapseable water cup, which I literally don't leave home without!
To see if there was anyway I could possibly justify the expense of this set, like I try to justify the huge cost of chemo, would my life be made better or happier with this set? Is it worth more bills for something that is strictly for happiness? I That is the $2850. question for each artist I suppose. So I put the items in a shopping cart, again at Jerry's. Now, I dearly love Jerry's as well as DickBlick. Both are usually very good at providing quality materials at well below full retail price. This set currently is at full retail. So how much do you have to spend for the actual contents? Just under $450! You can fill the box over 6 times, at retail prices, for the price of the boxed set. Is the empty box then worth $2400? When it only holds 1-1/2 sets of Colored Pencils? How much will your children be able to sell it for on ebay used? Hard to put a price on happy, and if money were no object, of course I would be very happy to have this set, and I would use it daily. With all of your materials clearly organized in front of you, the products themselves would inspire you to do more art, and be more organized as well. But clearly, like high fashion, the price tag is strictly based on the fact that they are only producing a limited number of the sets and the designer's name. Ouch. I still have Beanie Babies.
Will this set be handy to use? To use the full range of colors, you will need to pull out all of the drawers and have room to sit them around you. Most colored pencil artists I know use either colored pencils and/or watercolor pencils, and don't generally use markers or pastels in combination with them on the same piece of work. Not to say that perhaps they should consider it. I got a set of the PITT markers for mother's day, and have to say I totally love them for daily sketching, and I use them with watercolors as well as watercolor pencils. The pastels work quite well with colored pencils, and are in the same colors as the pencils. Many artists use pastels for the background of their colored pencil works, and these are a very handy size that do not roll off of your desk. The drawing pencils are extremely good. There is no doubt that the drawing pencils, and all of the materials in the box are top quality artists products.
This 350 piece set includes:
120 Albrecht Dürer Artists' Watercolour Pencils
60 Polychromos Artists' Colour Pencils
60 Polychromos Artists' Pastels
60 PITT Artist Brush Pens
13 PITT Artist Fineliner Pens
3 PITT Artist Metallic Pens
12 Castell 9000 graphite pencils
5 Castell 9000 Jumbo extra-thick 5.3mm graphite leads
5 Graphite Aquarelle Pencils
4 PITT Graphite Crayons
1 Watercolour Brush
1 Dual Sharpening Box Castell 9000 Titanium-plated jumbo knife
1 Dual Metal Sharpener for colored pencils
1 Kneadable Art Eraser
1 Dust-Free Art Eraser
1 Sharpening Knife
1 Sandpaper Block
1 Clic & Go Watercup
Jerry's Artarama has the set, but so far none of their coupons will apply!
I keep telling people that if a woodworker wanted a good business to go into, they should make nice quality wooden pencil boxes, but they should not be something that only Ivanka or her dear Daddy could afford! It will be a shame if these boxes are bought strictly to collect, and not to be used by artists.
New Paper Stonehenge Aqua Review
Stonehenge Paper, which is made by the Legion paper comany, has long been a favorite paper for colored pencil artists. That is, artists who use the dry colored pencils without solvents or water. They now have a new paper, Stonehenge Aqua. It comes in Hotpress, which is a smooth watercolor paper with a fine-grained tooth. This is a great paper for using with watercolor pencils, or with heavy applications of dry pencils or solvents. The heavier your paper, the less buckling you will have. They also make Coldpress paper, which has a rougher texture. Coldpress paper has long been a favorite with watercolor artists. Since my old favorite paper for watercolor pencil is difficult to find now, the Hotpress by Stonehenge is really excellent. The sizes available are a bit strange though. The pads come in 7 X 10 inches, and 9 X 12 inches. I am not sure why they chose 7 X 10 inches instead of a standard 8 X 10, which would fit into a standard size frame. Custom matting and framing is very expensive! They also make full sized sheets, which you can cut down. You can also get a small 'sample' pack of both very inexpensively, in order to try it out before you invest in a lot of it. They really need more interesting covers though! I loved the colored pencils on their new design of their regular paper.
My old favorite paper was Cartiera Magnani Italia Acquerello. It does not say hot or cold press, just Grana Fine. It is a fabulous paper.
New Hand-Held Sharpeners Mobius & Ruppert Brass Review
New hand-held sharpeners are here from Mobius & Ruppert. They are made of brass, and are quite heavy. They are unbreakable. You can sharpen pencils up to 11 mm in size, as well as Lead Holders of 2mm and 3.2 mm thicknesses. The blades have been hardened. I like the 2-hole one for fatter pencils like Luminance. But the round one feels amazing in your hand, and odd to say, to feels really good in your hand! These are heavy, so you might not want to take them on an expedition to the Antarctic.
Faber-Castell has a new size available in their fabulous water-soluble pencils, the Albrecht Durer line. The pencils are called Magnus, because they are much larger in diameter than their regular line. The cores are 5.3 mm, which makes them great to cover a lot of paper fast, for example with a background. They come in 24 colors, open stock or in sets. The brush is too big for the box. Mine came with a bent tip, making it pretty useless. But you can replace it with a good watercolor brush.
The amazing Robert, at Robax Engineering has created a new pencil stand for your pencil trays. If you want to stack more than 4 trays without having them tip over, this will allow you to do it! This one is all made of a lighterweight plastic, so it is much less expensive and lighter weight than the former wooden stand. The side tabs come off for easy transportation and storage.
We are in the process of redoing all of our color charts and updating information. Our color charts are hand made, using our own templates. They are done on Stonehenge paper. For most oil-based pencils, burnishing is done with a Lyra Rembrandt-Spender. For wax-based pencils, burnishing is done with a Prismacolor blender. For Water-Soluble pencils, blending is done with a damp (not wet) brush and water. See color charts for the type of colored pencil you are interested in by located it under the brand name to the left!
You can get sheet protectors in any office supply store. Slip your color charts into those, and organize in a 3-ring binder. This will keep your charts handy, and protected from light and cups of coffee!
Our ChartShop contains pdf downloads of out newest color charts, both blank and pre-colored! These are a few examples. Download links will be sent via email as soon as you order one. Please check your SPAM email if you did not get a link, and email us if there is an issue! We have the blank Chart ready for you to color for Prismacolors- 150 set and Inktense- 72 set. Also Caran d'Ache Pablos. If you buy them, you can post a small sample to write about them, but they are designed for your own personal use. Please do not re-distribute them or reproduct them, they are copyright protected.


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Tracer Ammunition
When a bullet exits a rifle barrel, it can be traveling between 800 and 1,000 meters per second (2,625 to 3,280 feet per second) -- much too fast to be seen with the naked eye. In the days of black powder, a fired bullet sometimes left a trail of smoke, marking the path of the projectile through the air. But with the advent of smokeless powder, shooters received no feedback about a bullet's trajectory until it arrived at the target.
Enter the tracer round, which includes an additional incendiary compound, usually a phosphorus or magnesium mixture, in the base of the bullet. When a tracer is fired, the powder in the cartridge both propels the bullet and lights the incendiary mixture. As the bullet travels through the air, it gives off an intense light and trails smoke, helping the shooter see the bullet go downrange. Military forces often use this type of ammunition in machine guns, in which every fifth round in the magazine or belt includes a tracer.
Today, tracers can produce a variety of colors for daytime and nighttime applications. White tracers can be seen during the day, while red and green ones can be seen at night.


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UK-Power Supply Clipex vat: £4.00 inc vat: £4.80 From: £3.30UK Power Supply Clip Learn More
Cisco-SPA232D Dect Base Stationex vat: £59.00 inc vat: £70.80
Out of stock
The Cisco SPA232D Dect Base Station
Next Working Day Delivery From £5
(Orders placed before 5pm)
Cisco SPA232D Dect Base Station Datasheet Learn More
Cisco-SPA 500Sex vat: £40.00 inc vat: £48.00
The Cisco SPA 500S is the replacement product for the Cisco SPA 932
The Cisco SPA 500S is a 32 Button Attendant Console for Cisco SPA 500 Family Phones
The Cisco SPA 500S is ideal for managers, administrators, and operators who want to simplify incoming call handling by quickly directing calls and centrally monitoring lines
Delivery From £5
Cisco SPA 500S Datasheet
Learn More
Cisco-SPA 500DSex vat: £71.50 inc vat: £85.80
The Cisco-SPA 500DS Expansion Module
Next Working Day Delivery From £5
(Orders placed before 5pm)
Cisco-SPA 500DS Expansion Module Datasheet Learn More
Cisco-Replacement Curly Cordex vat: £9.00 inc vat: £10.80 From: £9.00This is a suitable replacement curly cord for any Cisco IP phone
Cheap carriage from £5 NEXT DAY DELIVERY Learn More
Cisco-Power Cubeex vat: £15.00 inc vat: £18.00
Out of stock
Power Supply for Cisco 78xx and 88xx series Phones
Delivery From £5 Learn More
Cisco-PA100-UKex vat: £10.00 inc vat: £12.00
Out of stock
5v Power Supply for Cisco 3xx and 5xx series Phones
Delivery From £5 Learn More
Cisco-MB100 Wall Mountex vat: £18.00 inc vat: £21.60Cisco MB100 Wall Mount, Supports Cisco SPA 3xx Series and Cisco SPA 5xx Series Learn More
Cisco SPA 514Gex vat: £90.00 inc vat: £108.00
The Cisco SPA 514G is the replacement product for the Cisco SPA 941 & 942
The Cisco SPA 514G is a 4 Line IP Phone With Display, PoE and PC Port
The Cisco SPA 514G is ideal for power users including sales and customer service representatives who depend on the phone to get their jobs done
The Cisco SPA 514G requires a POE switch or an AC Power Adapter
Delivery From £5
Cisco SPA 514G Datasheet
Cisco SPA 514G User Manual
Learn More
Cisco IP Phones: Enhanced User Experience in Every Conversation
Cisco IP phones are reliable and feature rich. They are both stylishly designed and intuitively operated, delivering advanced voice over IP features
Cisco voip phones are aimed primarily at Small Businesses, allowing them to improve and simplify communications across their companies
From reception areas and rest rooms to executive and mobile handsets, the Cisco IP phones are a suitable phone for any requirement. Your communication methods will become more flexible and reliable enhancing your staff's productivity, whilst reducing your overall communication costs
Cisco IP Phones are designed with one thing in mind: to ensure that every conversation brings out the best in terms of voice quality, performance and reliability. That is one of the many reasons why Cisco is the most popular in the VoIP and networking equipment arena
Cisco basically cover any angle that a business enterprise needs. Whether it's intended for small business applications or a huge enterprise level deployment, you can always count on Cisco's line of VoIP products
The Cisco small business IP telephony solutions can easily integrate with existing open source PBXs. Installation and configuration are an easy task for administrators using a web based interface that is menu driven
Cisco Unified IP Phones series are equipped with colour LCD for better viewing. A full range of programming keys are integrated on the Cisco IP phones main panel as well, providing users with hundred of ways of to customise and control the unit. Customised XML based services further expands the level of information that users can access, such as web content, employee directories and even stock quotes
Cisco VoIP phones allow users to not only engage in voice communications, but access data such as directories, messages and others. Added features to the already standard functions of are integrated, such as intercom functions, group messaging, enhanced speakerphone function, conferencing, voice mail access and call history management. These features make these phones an ideal choice for installation into lobbies, office cubicles, break rooms and administrative offices. Complete network compatibility ensures that Cisco phones are immediately recognised and ready to use when plugged into the network
Cisco recognises the need for IP telephony that is mobile at the same time. This leads to a series of wireless Cisco IP phones that can put productivity levels to greater heights. Apart from the usual call functions, these phones can also be used to provide a rich set of features such as information on demand and specialised applications. This makes Cisco phones a common sight in different sectors, such as industrial, healthcare, retailing, among just a few. The durable external designs also make these phones the perfect choice for working under different conditions and environments, including deployment in hazardous areas. This is what makes Cisco a standout brand in providing the best VoIP solutions in the market today


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Want more happy in your inbox!?
I am so happy to share that I have developed a monthly newsletter chock full of tips, inspiration, and of course, a dose of our Cavalier puppy, Lemon! You will get first dibs on upcoming mini session slots, be in-the-know about all of the latest news at #mmphoto, and get an exclusive look at what's going on behind the scenes!
To kick this all off with a bang, I am thrilled to offer y'all 10% OFF your next photo session*! Whether you want to use that at the next next mini session marathon day (hint, hint, it's coming up in October!) or finally schedule that anniversary shoot or growing session for your little one, take this as your sign to make it happen! All you have to do is subscribe to the newsletter & start planning!
*This offer is not available for wedding bookings, however it can totally apply to engagement sessions!


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Express Meditation for Mental Balance
There as sometimes in our lives, when we are forced to face challenging situations or be asked to deal with obstacles. So forgetting to care for ourselves, to love and to deal with our needs is usual. In the next article, we suggest a healing express meditation that will help us to find peace in… Keep Reading


text: I just got a new pair of future fins today, and was about to go out this afternoon, but i ran into a little bit of trouble. i can't for the life of me get my old fins out of my board. i haven't taken then out in a year or so and im guessing theres a lot of salt build up in the crevasses. anyone know a way i can get them out? its really annoying me right now


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Introduction: Cheap and Easy Yarn Picture Frame
Build your own picture frame, using only cardboard, yarn, scissors, and bobby pins. A great option for framing lightweight paper art on a budget.
Piece of Art to Frame
Cardboard sheet (made from a box or any spare cardboard)
Yarn: any variety and any color. To spice up your frame, use several colors. (Acrylic medium weight is pictured.)
8-10 Standard Bobby Hair Pins (any color)
Duct Tape (optional)
Teacher Notes
Teachers! Did you use this instructable in your classroom?
Add a Teacher Note to share how you incorporated it into your lesson.
Step 1: Create the Cardboard Frame
Materials For This Step:
Duct Tape (optional)
Ruler (optional)
SAFETY NOTE: Avoid your fingers as you cut the cardboard during this step.
- Obtain a flat cardboard sheet. If you are creating your cardboard frame from a box, be sure to cut the flaps and sides of the box so that only the flat and solid bottom piece remains.
- Compare the size of your cardboard sheet to the piece of art. The length and width of the cardboard should be at least 1" larger than your piece of art. Use a ruler if necessary!
- Trim your cardboard sheet so that it is 1" larger than the piece of art on each side.
- EX: if your art is 6"x12", the frame should measure approximately 6.5" by 12.5" with the inner box measuring 5.5" by 11.5.
- Optional: Use Duct Tape to measure the inside of the frame, as pictured above. It may help to make the corners neat and tidy. Place the square duct tape pieces one inch from the edge of the frame on all sides.
Step 2: Cut Out the Center of Your Frame
Materials for this step:
Ruler (optional)
Duct Tape (optional)
- Cut out the center of the frame. Puncture the center of the box with the scissors to begin cutting a inner edge of the frame. Measure 1" of solid cardboard to act as the frame and remove all excess in the middle.
- Again, follow your safety precautions and avoid fingers.
- Be careful not to cut into the solid border, as this will weaken your final product.
- Lay the cardboard frame over the art. The frame should lay so that the art is fully covered, and overlaps slightly.
Step 3: Wrap the Cardboard Backbone
Materials For This Step:
Cardboard Backbone
Yarn (in any color or variety; recommended: medium weight, acrylic)
- Tie your yarn onto the frame. A basic overhand knot is pictured.
- Place the knot on the backside of the frame. Designate which side of the cardboard you'd like to be the back.
- Wrap the yarn around the frame until all cardboard is covered. There's a little room for creativity on this step.
- Tie a knot to finish your project. Tuck the yarn tail into the wrapped yarn on the back of the frame to hide it.
Step 4: Optional: Use Multiple Colors
second color of yarn (recommended: use the same yarn weight for the entire frame)
- Tie a knot to end color 1.
- Tie another knot to start color 2.
- Hide the "tails" of color 1 and color 2 by tucking it under color 2 on the back of the frame.
Step 5: Attach the Art to the Frame
8-10 bobby pin
Completed frame
Piece of Art
Reminder: the art should be lightweight. For heavier art, you may need to devise a different method of attaching the frame.
- Set the back of the frame on top of the art and flip so that both are facing down.
- Use the bobby pins to secure the frame to the art. It is recommended that you place the bobby pins in all four corners and one on each side of the frame.
- Slide the bobby pins through the wrapped yarn on the back of the frame and onto the art.
- Look at the front of the art, and be sure that no bobby pins are visible. Change the angle of the bobby pins until they are all hidden, yet secure.
- Slide the bobby pins through the wrapped yarn on the back of the frame and onto the art.
Step 6: Hang the Art
Framed Art
- Cut 2 to 4 pieces of yarn that measures 1.5 times the length of the framed art.
- Use the same yarn you used to wrap the frame, or choose a new yarn. Note that it must easily fit into a bobby pin, so a medium weight yarn would be preferable.
- Tie your yarn strands together at both ends with a simple overhand knot. Leave a 2 or 3" tail on both ends.
- Slide the knotted ends into the bobby pins at the top corners of the art. Use additional bobby pins to reinforce, if necessary.The knot should be below the bobby pin.
- Look at the front of the art, and be sure the tails of the hanging yarn is hidden.
- Use the yarn hanger to display on a wall and enjoy!
Be the First to Share
Ooo I love this, it's a great scrap buster for yarn, and it looks great next to the artwork!


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Key Callouts:
* Interbank risk continues to recede. The Euriobor/OIS spread, our preferred measure of systemic risk in the banking industry, tightened 5 bps last week. This is a bullish input in our model. See our note from Friday quantifying the impact of the change in Euribor/OIS on the stock prices of C, BAC, JPM, GS & MS. A similar trend occurring in the TED spread, which fell by 2 basis points to 50 bps last week. Receding interbank risk both in Europe and the US means reflating the discount in the US global banks.
*Bank CDS in both the US and Europe tightened last week.
*European sovereign swaps were mostly tighter. However, Portugal has gone parabolic, widening 15% last week to an all-time high. It's interesting to observe the reduced correlations. In 4Q11 all swaps and equities generally moved together. Now we're seeing Portugal blast off, while other PIIGS countries and the European and US banks are tightening.
*The MCDX measure of municipal default risk continued to fall sharply week over week.
*Quantitative view - Out macro quantitative model suggest that on a short term duration (TRADE), there is slightly more upside than downside in the XLF (0.4% downside vs 0.6% upside)
Financial Risk Monitor Summary
• Short-term(WoW): Positive / 8 of 12 improved / 1 out of 12 worsened / 3 of 12 unchanged
• Intermediate-term(WoW): Positive / 9 of 12 improved / 2 out of 12 worsened / 1 of 12 unchanged
• Long-term(WoW): Negative / 0 of 12 improved / 9 out of 12 worsened / 3 of 12 unchanged
1. US Financials CDS Monitor – Swaps widened for 16 of 27 major domestic financial company reference entities last week.
Widened the most WoW: CB, MTG, PRU
Tightened the most WoW: BAC, MS, GS
Widened the most/ tightened the least MoM: MTG, RDN, CB
Tightened the most MoM: BAC, MS, AIG
2. European Financials CDS Monitor – Bank swaps were tighter in Europe last week for 34 of the 40 reference entities. The average tightening was 2.3% and the median tightening was 9.4%.
3. European Sovereign CDS – European Sovereign Swaps mostly tightened over last week. Italian sovereign swaps tightened by 6.8% (-31 bps to 426 ) while Portuguese sovereign swaps widened by 15.2% (193 bps to 1462).
4. High Yield (YTM) Monitor – High Yield rates fell 11.0 bps last week, ending the week at 7.94 versus 8.05 the prior week.
5. Leveraged Loan Index Monitor – The Leveraged Loan Index rose 13 points last week, ending at 1626.
6. TED Spread Monitor – The TED spread fell 2.0 points last week, ending the week at 50 this week versus last week's print of 52.
7. Journal of Commerce Commodity Price Index – The JOC index rose 4.7 points, ending the week at -9.38 versus -14.0 the prior week.
8. Euribor-OIS spread – The Euribor-OIS spread (the difference between the euro interbank lending rate and overnight indexed swaps) measures bank counterparty risk in the Eurozone. The OIS is analogous to the effective Fed Funds rate in the United States. Banks lending at the OIS do not swap principal, so counterparty risk in the OIS is minimal. By contrast, the Euribor rate is the rate offered for unsecured interbank lending. Thus, the spread between the two isolates counterparty risk. The Euribor-OIS spread tightened by 5 bps from last Monday to 77 bps today.
9. ECB Liquidity Recourse to the Deposit Facility– The ECB Liquidity Recourse to the Deposit Facility measures banks' overnight deposits with the ECB. Taken in conjunction with excess reserves, the ECB deposit facility measures excess liquidity in the Euro banking system. An increase in this metric shows that banks are borrowing from the ECB. In other words, the deposit facility measures one element of the ECB response to the crisis.
10. Markit MCDX Index Monitor – The Markit MCDX is a measure of municipal credit default swaps. We believe this index is a useful indicator of pressure in state and local governments. Markit publishes index values daily on six 5-year tenor baskets including 50 reference entities each. Each basket includes a diversified pool of revenue and GO bonds from a broad array of states. We track the 14-V1. Last week spreads tightened , ending the week at 128 bps versus 134 bps the prior week.
11. Baltic Dry Index – The Baltic Dry Index measures international shipping rates of dry bulk cargo, mostly commodities used for industrial production. Higher demand for such goods, as manifested in higher shipping rates, indicates economic expansion. Last week the index fell 136 points, ending the week at 726 versus 862 the prior week.
12. 2-10 Spread – We track the 2-10 spread as a proxy for bank margins. Last week the 2-10 spread tightened to 168 bps, 11 bps tighter than a week ago.
13. XLF Macro Quantitative Setup – Our Macro team's quantitative setup in the XLF shows 0.6% upside to TRADE resistance and 0.4% downside to TRADE support.
NYSE Margin Debt - December
We publish NYSE Margin Debt every month when it's released. NYSE Margin debt hit its post-2007 peak in April of 2011 at $320.7 billion. The chart below shows the S&P 500 overlaid against NYSE margin debt going back to 1997. In this chart both the S&P 500 and margin debt have been inflation adjusted (back to 1990 dollar levels), and we're showing margin debt levels in standard deviations relative to the mean covering the period 1. While this may sound complicated, the message is really quite simple. First, when margin debt gets to 1.5 standard deviations or greater, as it did last April, that has historically been a signal of extreme risk in the equity market - the last two times it did this the equity market lost half its value in the ensuing period. We flagged this for the first time back in May 2011. The second point is that margin debt trends tend to exhibit high degrees of autocorrelation. In other words, the last few months' change in margin debt is the best predictor of the change we'll see in the next few months. This is important because it means that margin debt, which retraced back to +0.53 standard deviations in November, still has a long way to go. We would need to see it approach -0.5 to -1.0 standard deviations before the trend runs its course. There's plenty of room for short/intermediate term reversals within this broader secular move, as we saw in November and December's print of +0.55 and +0.53 standard deviations. Overall, however, this setup represents a headwind for the market. One limitation of this series is that it is reported on a lag. The chart shows data through December.
Joshua Steiner, CFA
Allison Kaptur
Robert Belsky
Trouble viewing the charts in this email? Please click the link at the bottom of the note to view in your browser


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Tales on Instagram!Mother's Day photos went about as well as could be expected considering the circumstances #pandemic #5kidsisalotofkids 😂 Actually, in all honesty, if your plans were seriously derailed this year, can I suggest starting a small tradition of getting IN the photo with your kid(s) just one day a year- just Mother's Day. We spend all day every day documenting these little stinkers (ahem, angels) from every angle possible, but we also need to be documented WITH them. No matter the wide range of emoji faces we got, I believe the kids and I will want to look back at these pictures some day ❤ #getinthephoto #dontevendressup #Andytook7000photos #theremayhavebeensomethreats #andTeofellintheriver #coolcool❤Easter 2020 good things: Easter baskets, Easter egg hunts, chocolate, good food, grandparent goodie drop offs and zoom family dinner. 💔Easter 2020 not great things: not physically being with extended family, family photos taken under threat and a personal lack of "Alleluia". 🌷I know we are an Easter people. I know Alleluia is our song. But right now, my spiritual and emotional edges are so frayed, that trying to dive into that truth seems impossible and even a little painful. 🐣So, praise God for Easter traditions that bring happiness to children and still taste good for us adults. And if your Easter wasn't full of profound theological Joy (or even plain ol' happiness), if trying to declare "He is Risen!" made you cry instead of smile- you're not alone. ❤ ✝And maybe this season- Easter (not Lent)-is the time for growth for some of us. It is a season that begs us to hold the grief/anger/sadness/fear of our lives and the joy of a risen Lord in the same cupped hands. I'm glad this season is 50 days; I've got a lot of work to do. 🌅I'm just going to take a second to appreciate this man right here. He is a full time engineer, full time dad, full time spouse and, somehow, is still making the time to produce these face shields for local healthcare workers. ❤ He's 3D printing 'round the clock, staying up late to tweak the design, and coordinating safe delivery to those on the front lines who need them.👏🏻 You know how we're supposed to "find the helpers" in times of crisis? Well, I found one. For sure. #weareallthehelpers #diyPPE #stayhomestaysafe Thank you @josefprusa for the original design and for all our customers @catholiccurio who are funding this effort ❤. We have seen an outpouring of generosity that, I think, attests to the deep desire in every human to be a helper. It is an amazing truth to witness.
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The EU Delegation to Armenia and the European Training Foundation (ETF), the EU Agency in charge of supporting countries in the EU neighbourhood to undertake reforms in education and labour policies, are inviting the media to a discussion on the latest developments in EU and Armenia cooperation for better education reforms.
The event will be held on 18 March 2018 in Yerevan (10:00-17:00, Marriott Hotel, Ararat Hall). Media registration is at 10:15 to cover the opening of the event. The event agenda is enclosed.
The event will mark two key steps towards progress of the EU and Armenia cooperation in the field of education and training systems reforms:
Now at its 5th edition (2019-20), the 'Torino Process' is an initiative of the European Training Foundation. It is a periodical assessment tool used by countries bordering the EU to measure the effectiveness of reforms in countries' education and training systems, in a lifelong learning perspective. Armenia has been using the 'Torino Process' since 2010-2011 showing, despite relatively low expenditure on education, an overall high educational attainment. However, public spending is still low (7.3%) in vocational education – the pathway towards better employability.
The EU-Armenia policy dialogue is an initiative of the European Union expected to allow the EU to follow closely the preparation of future reforms and strategies in the Education field.


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Foytina suggests that you physically visit and see the properties being on your shortlist with your own eyes! Surely it will help you to decide which one to go for whilst clarifying any matters that cannot be seen on pictures, videos or explained by words. Booking your property viewings with Foytina should be your priority when looking to buy property in Cyprus.
If you are not already living in Cyprus, Foytina Real Estate Agncy advice you to make inquiries whether you will need a visa to enter Cyprus. Nationals of the countries that have no agreement with Cyprus on visa-free travel shall apply (either on their own or through a tour operator) to the consular department of the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in their country to obtain a visa. You could also visit Cyprus by a Schengen single-entry or multiple-entry visa. If you are a European Citizen, then no visa is required.
Foytina can assist you in reserving a hotel in Cyprus at our internal corporate rates or even a self-catering villa/apartment if you prefer. We do collaborate with various hotels and villa ownes around the island in order to secure that you are in comfort and relax.
If you are already established in Cyprus, Foytina suggests that you meet with the agent corresponding to the property you wish to view at the respective Foytina office. Alternatively, the agent can collect you from your house or hotel, whatever is more convenient for you. Same can be the case if you are flying into Cyprus!
It is preferred that the agent of Foytina shall be driving you in order to enable him to get to tour you around, answer your questions and generally communicate with you directly. In the course of communication your requirements towards property will become more specific and will be more thoroughly discussed and opinions will be exchanged.
Foytina's agent will show you the properties already being on your shorlist and any other that might have come up which meets your requirements. As a result of property viewings, you will meet up again with Foytina's agent in order to summarize the impressions of the visits and outline a plan of further activities.
Surely you might happen to find the property you have long dreamed of at the pages of our website. Then it would come to nothing more than viewing that property. Anyway, once you feel and say 'This is the one! I want it!', Foytina's agent shall organise the very next steps ahead to conclude the deal.
During the walk-through to a property, you should be taking notes and pictures for a later consideration when doing your homework as the more properties you view, the more are the chances of getting confused or forgetting basic details and features of a property. Properties which you reject for some reason, should be immediately taken off your shortlist; properties which highly touch your interest must be highlighted and a second viewing must be arranged before Foytina's agent returns you back to your hotel; if you however feel ready enough, you must place your -reasonable- offer to deal the property and instruct your Foytina agent to get you an answer within 24 hours!!!


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… is today. In 2006 there were 25% less executions than in 2005.
This has been a year for honestly pro-life feelings, as the Dallas Morning News ended its 100 years of support for the death penalty. see http://cabdrollery.blogspot.com/2007/04/death-losing-sting-in-texas.html
Today it has an editorial supporting a new legislative review commission for eliminating as much injustice as possible in sentencing.
Thank you Ruth!
[...] on the nest: The killing, The killing revisited, The day against the death penaly…, The death penalty, The Saudi's, The end of another dictator. This entry is filed under [...]


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With our strong team of Trust Officers, Financial Advisors, Private Bankers, and Support Professionals, we are ready to provide objective, sound advice and implement your plans. We take the time to understand your needs and goals at every stage.
Dave Kondas is the Director of Wealth Management and is responsible for overseeing the trust, financial advisory, private banking and investment services. Dave brings with him over 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. Dave is very active in his community as a member of St. John's Catholic Church, Defiance Rotary, Defiance Area Foundation, Defiance Eagles, Defiance Elks Lodge and is past president and current member of the Defiance Optimist Club. Dave graduated Magna Cum Laude from Defiance College with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Review Dave's background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Shari Wyse is a Financial Advisor and a Certified Financial PlannerTM at First Federal Bank. She holds a degree in finance and marketing from Defiance College and holds a Series 7 and Series 66 Securities Registration and a Life and Health Insurance license from the State of Ohio.
Shari places emphasis on well-calculated decisions by working closely with each client to develop a personalized financial plan. She focuses on retirement planning, investment management, and long term care and life insurance. Shari uses a wide variety of investment tools that will benefit her clients' needs.
Shari primarily serves clients in Bryan, Montpelier, Wauseon and Archbold, Ohio.
Review Shari's background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Brian is a Financial Advisor for First Federal Bank. He earned his degree in business administration, specializing in finance from Defiance College. He holds a Series 7 and Series 63 Securities Registration and a Life and Health license from the State of Ohio.
Brian has joined the Wealth Management team in order to help individuals and their families obtain a better, brighter future. He specializes in investment management, retirement, retirement income planning, college planning, and life insurance. As a financial advisor, he is able to offer a wide range of products and services that put the client first in all business decisions. Each meeting is geared toward the client's personal situation and is focused on achieving their goals, both short and long term.
Brian serves clients primarily in Defiance, Napoleon, Hicksville and Paulding, Ohio.
Review Brian's background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Dan is a Vice President, Financial Advisor for First Federal Bank. Dan works with clients with a focus on planning to achieve financial goals. He specializes in retirement and financial planning, investment analysis and partnering with young professionals to help steer the course of their financial future. As a Financial Advisor, he is able to provide guidance and money management from a variety of sources.
Dan earned his degree in Small Business/Entrepreneurship with a minor in Religious Studies from The University of Findlay and holds a Series 6 Securities Registration and a Life and Health Insurance License from the State of Ohio. He serves clients primarily in Hancock County.
Review Dan's background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Chris comes to First Federal Bank as a Financial Advisor with nearly 20 years of experience. He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a degree in finance and holds the designation of Certified Retirement Counselor.
Chris takes pride in knowing his clients leave a consultation with him understanding how their money can work for them to provide for future needs. He has experience with a wide variety of financial products including insurance, retirement planning and an array of personal investment products.
Chris is located at the Maumee First Federal Bank office and primarily serves clients in and around Maumee, Oregon, Genoa, Perrysburg and Bowling Green, Ohio as well as Adrian, Morenci, Hudson and Tecumseh in Michigan.
Review Chris' background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Eric is a Financial Advisor for First Federal Bank and works with clients to understand the opportunities and successes of a proactive approach to financial planning. He specializes in finding solutions for his clients' insurance, investing, retirement, estate planning, and wealth preservation needs.
Eric earned his degree in Business Administration from The Ohio State University. He serves clients primarily in Marion, Upper Sandusky, Carey, Harpster, and Columbus, Ohio.
Review Eric's background on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
Jennifer Scroggs serves as First Federal Bank's Vice President, Senior Trust Officer. She specializes in interpreting, communicating, facilitating and executing complex estate planning matters by maintaining knowledge of current trends and changes with regard to fiduciary matters. In her role, she collaborates with high net-worth individuals and their advisors to articulate their goals and needs, develop a comprehensive wealth plan, and coordinate both internal and external advisors to implement the plan. Jennifer has experience managing complex family dynamics, intergenerational interests and trusts and estates with unique assets.
She earned her Juris Doctorate from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and is a graduate of Ohio University. As an active member of her community, Jennifer was nominated for the 2016 Jefferson Award for outstanding community and public service and was a recipient of Toledo's 20 Under 40 award in 2011. In addition, Jennifer is a board member for the University of Toledo Education Foundation, board chair for Toledo Botanical Gardens and committee member for the Promedica Legacy Advisory Network (PLAN).
Jennifer serves clients in Toledo, Bowling Green, Oregon, Maumee, Perrysburg, Bryan, Montpelier, Wauseon and Archbold, Ohio.
Mark Klopfenstein is a Wealth Advisor and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) at First Federal Bank. He graduated magna cum laude from Cleary University with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
He provides clients with tailored solutions to understand the opportunities and successes of a proactive approach to financial planning.
Mark primarily serves clients in Toledo, Oregon, Maumee, Perrysburg, and Sylvania, Ohio
Jennifer Mason serves as a Trust Officer for First Federal Bank. She is passionate about understanding, educating, and guiding customers with their complex financial picture. In her role, she collaborates with high net-worth individuals and their advisors to articulate their goals and needs, develop a comprehensive wealth plan, and coordinates both internal and external advisors to implement the plan. In addition, she also manages IRAs, Roth IRAs, and individual investment management accounts. Jennifer is part of a team of experienced local trust administration professionals who understand the intricacies of executing a well-developed estate plan.
Jennifer has over 20 years of financial institution experience and is knowledgeable in financial planning, alternative investments, insurance, consumer lending, business development, fintech, and alternative dispute resolution. She graduated from Texas Women's University with a MBA and New Mexico State University with a BBA in Finance.
She is actively involved in her church and has spent time volunteering or fundraising for 4-H, Relay For Life, Children's Miracle Network, Make-A-Wish Flight, and Kidd's Kids. A native to the region and a graduate from Ottawa-Glandorf High School, Jennifer now lives on a farm with her family in Lima, Ohio.
Michele serves as First Federal Bank's Trust Officer. She specializes in in guiding clients through significant life events and crafting solutions that align with their complex financial priorities. In her role, she collaborates with high net-worth individuals and their advisors to articulate their goals and needs, develops a comprehensive, understandable wealth plan, and coordinates both internal and external advisors to implement the plan.
She earned her bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University and earned the designation of Certified Wealth Strategist® from the Cannon Financial Institute.
As an active member of her community, Rice currently serves as a member of the Advisory Board for Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio. In addition, Rice has served as a board member and past Board President for Susan G. Komen Northwest Ohio, former board member and past Board President for The Aurora Project, Inc., past Community Advisory Committee member for the United Way of Northwest Ohio and past member of the Development Committee for the Toledo Zoo.
Michele serves clients in Bryan, Montpelier, Waueson and Napoleon, Ohio and Adrian, Morenci, Hudson and Tecumseh and Ann Arbor in Michigan.
Lukas is a Wealth Advisor Associate at First Federal Bank. He earned his bachelor's degree from Taylor University where he studied finance and economics and holds a Series 66 License. He is responsible for finding solutions for his clients' investing, retirement, estate planning, and wealth preservation needs.
He primarily serves clients in Toledo, Oregon, Maumee, Perrysburg, and Sylvania, Ohio.
Rod Walton is Senior Vice President, Senior Private Banker. He earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from The University of Toledo and brings over 35 years of experience. Rod is actively involved in his community and serves as Vice Chair and Board Member for the Marathon Center for the Performing Arts, Trustee of the Findlay Country Club, Member and Past President of the Findlay Rotary Club and Member and Past Chairmen of the Findlay/Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.
Rod serves clients primarily in Findlay and Fostoria markets.
As a private banker, Dawn enjoys building relationships with clients to help them understand their entire financial picture and coordinate a customized financial strategy.
She takes an active role in improving the quality of life in the community in which she lives and works. Currently, she is a Lenawee County Commissioner for District 4, serves as co-chair for Graze to Raise and Hickman Cancer Center, is Secretary of the Economic Development Corporation, Brownfield Development, Hospital Authority Board and Habitat of Lenawee Board. Dawn also volunteers with multiple non-profit organizations, including the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce, Madison School Board, Civitan of Lenawee, Health and Human Services Grant Committee and Lenawee United Way.
Dawn has over 25 years of banking experience and is knowledgeable in a wide range of banking services including consumer and business lending, branch management and business development.
With over 30 years of banking experience, Beth has the skills to choose available products and services that work best for her clients. She will be responsible for handling accounts and introducing clients to investment, retirement, trust and wealth management solutions.
In recent years, Beth volunteered her time to serve as past board chair for ProMedica Flower Hospital Foundation, past chairman for ProMedica Women's Collaborative and a committee member for ProMedica P.L.A.N. (ProMedica Legacy Advisor Network).
Beth serves clients primarily in Sylvania, Toledo, Maumee, Oregon and Perrysburg.
Tim has provided banking solutions for Fort Wayne, Indiana residents for over 30 years. As a Vice President, Private Banker, he is able to provide his clients with knowledgeable advice from his time serving in other financial roles including commercial lending, consumer lending, mortgage lending, branch management and private banking. He has held a Series 7 license and a mortgage loan originator license in the past.
Born and raised in Fort Wayne, Tim enjoys helping others in his community achieve financial success by listening to their goals and helping them to plan accordingly.
Tim has served in a leadership role for many local non-profits including the Embassy Theatre, Canterbury School, Fort Wayne Leadership Forum, Greater Fort Wayne, United Hispanic Americans, the local chapter of the Indiana University Alumni Association, Concordia Lutheran High School and Emmaus Lutheran Church.
Tim serves clients primarily in the greater Fort Wayne, Indiana area.
Mary Alice is a Vice President, Private Banker with over 40 years of banking experience. She is responsible for handling accounts and managing finances for individual customers at the bank. As a private banker, she enjoys building relationships with clients as their Trusted Advisor to help them achieve their financial goals.
She takes pride in improving the quality of life in the community in which she lives and works. Mary Alice is currently secretary of the Zonta Club of Defiance and serves on the board for NAMI Four County, Defiance County 4-H Endowment Committee and Defiance County Farm Service Agency committee member. She also teaches Sunday School and is in her church choir. She is also involved with Tinora Athletic Boosters, Tinora Music Boosters and Tinora Academic Boosters.
Mary Alice serves clients primarily in Defiance, Napoleon, Hicksville, Paulding, Bryan and Montpelier, Ohio.
As a Private Banker, Myron helps his clients understand their overall financial picture while providing products and services to help them reach their goals. With over 16 years of experience in the customer service industry, Myron provides superior service and is an advocate for helping his clients protect and grow assets, develop specialized financing solutions for future generations and plan for retirement.
Myron brings value to his clients by customizing a strategic wealth strategy that will work best for their financial needs. He is also actively involved with his community and volunteers to support many local organizations.
He serves clients in Lima and Delphos, Ohio.
As supervisor of the Trust Operations Platform, Stephany brings nearly 30 years of trust experience to the department. She oversees the trust accounting system which includes statement reporting, tax reporting, and data entry. Stephany is very instrumental in preparing requirements for department audits and making sure our policies and procedures are in line to assure quality customer service. A graduate of Bluffton College with a bachelor's degree in business, Stephany has also completed course work in Trust Operations from Cannon Financial Institute earning the designation of Certified Trust Operations Specialist from the Institute of Certified Bankers.
Jenna received her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and a Juris Doctorate from Capital University Law School. As Trust Administrator, Jenna supports existing relationships by managing the administration of trusts. With her experience in estate and trust planning and probate law, she serves as liaison between trust officers, clients, investment managers, tax preparers, attorneys, and other account professionals.
As Trust Operations Administrator, Heather is responsible for much of the daily trust accounting, reconciliation and cash management functions. She is responsible for department support, and is often the first point of contact in customer service for the team. Heather brings over 20 years of experience to the Trust Platform in various trust roles. Heather graduated from Bluffton College with a bachelor's degree in business.
As Financial Advisor Assistant, Doris provides the primary client service and administrative support for the financial advisory platform. She assists our Financial Advisors in the Findlay, Lima, and Toledo areas, and works to continuously improve brokerage back-office operations. A graduate of the European School of Administration, Doris has over 10 years financial service experience and holds her Life Insurance License from the State of Ohio. She also earned the designation of Certified Securities Operations Professional from the Institute of Certified Bankers.
As Trust Employee Benefits Administrator, Brittany is responsible for the primary administration of the retirement plans with a focus on maintaining a positive experience for all account relationships. A graduate of Bowling Green State University, Brittany assists with the development and implementation of innovative solutions for improved client service.
As Financial Advisor Assistant, Jessica is responsible for the primary customer service and administrative support for the financial advisory platform. She provides assistance with the daily activities for both the trust and investment divisions within Wealth Management. Jessica has over 10 years of financial service experience.
Securities offered through Money Concepts Capital Corp. Member FINRA/SIPC. First Federal Wealth Management is an independent firm not affiliated with Money Concepts Capital Corp. Not FDIC Insured. Not a Deposit. May Lose Value. Not Guaranteed by the bank. Not Insured by Any Federal Government Agency. www.moneyconcepts.com


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Capri Blue Bubblegum Mini Pink Volcano Candle Tin
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text:
I've joined LSH Extra!
Adrian wanted me to be a new author for LSHE, so I signed up!
So now I'm an author for Adrian's blog.
Go check out the latest posts on his site including, the winners of his membership comp, heros of the week and MORE!
That reminds me, I need to announce the winners of my membership comp as well.


text:
Hi all
sorry I havent been around,
my mum who as dementia as been ill.
It began when she was sick 3 times ( I totally freaked out thinking she had something I could catch)
I felt so bad that I couldnt help out cos of my emet.
The gp game out & my mum was taken into hospital for emergency surgery, she had a hernia & thats what made her vomit.
She was fed via a tube through her nose into her stomach & was in hospital for 10 days.
my mum is home & made a full recovery.
I feel like such a failure for thinking of myself & my phobia but I cant help being so scared of being sick.
I know I will never recover from this fear now I'm almost 43 & getting much worse.
anyway chat to u all soon


text:
(Column 2 of 2 for this week!)
The D&D v.3.5 sourcebook Unearthed Arcana provided optional rules for incantations, a form of magic that allows non-spellcasters to wield supernatural power through long, exacting rituals. The ritual system presented in the True20 Freeport Companion adapted the incantation rules to that system, and added a Forbidden Lore skill which was used to cast these occult spells. The d20 Freeport Companion included Forbidden Knowledge rules as well, and was originally meant to include incantations. These rules were cut from the final draft, in part due to a lack of examples. However, a few references to them still remain in the published text, including a full write up of one incantation, "Call Forth the Fiend."
Unearthed Arcana's incantation rules can be found in the d20 System Reference Document (online here). When I compiled my fan errata for the d20 Freeport Companion, I adapted those rules for use in Freeport campaigns; see the Freeport Incantation Rules for d20 page at Tim's Errata Archive.
Since then, I have moved on to playing Pathfinder, and have recently acquired the Occult Adventures sourcebook. The Occult Ritual rules in that book (see page 208) are derived from Unearthed Arcana's incantations. It appears that the stars are now right to discuss how to use those ritual rules in Pathfinder Freeport campaigns, and how to convert existing rituals from previous Freeport titles to these new rules.
In the Pathfinder edition of Freeport: The City of Adventure, Forbidden Lore has been changed from a Knowledge skill to a pool of points that modifies Knowledge checks regarding Things Man Was Not Meant to Know. Freeport's modularity has always been one of the line's great strengths; this new design choice now allows GMs to use occult rituals without forbidden lore, or vice versa.
All of the sample rituals in Occult Adventures are suitable for use in Freeport. The Call Beyond the Veil, Haunted Communion, and Ritual Exorcism rituals should be used in place of the Exorcism and Seance rituals appearing in the True20 Freeport Companion. This leaves only Awaken the Dead and Conjure Demon to convert to Pathfinder.
Awaken the Dead replicates animate dead, but only creates one zombie per use of the ritual.
School necromancy; Level 4
Casting Time 40 minutes
Components V, S, M (grave dirt, at least 1 pint of animal blood)
Skill Checks Knowledge (arcana) DC 30, 2 successes; Knowledge (religion) DC 30, 2 successes
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft/character level of the caster)
Target one corpse
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; SR no
Backlash The caster is exhausted
Failure The caster takes 1 permanent negative level
Effect One corpse within range is animated as a zombie. The zombie is fanatically loyal to the caster. It can be destroyed by the usual means of dispatching undead. (If the optional insanity rules from Freeport: The City of Adventure are being used, then everyone present when the zombie rises must succeed on a DC 15 Will save or gain 1 Insanity Point. In addition, the caster automatically acquires 1 Insanity Point for creating a zombie.)
Unlike a standard Occult Adventures campaign, Freeport's ritualists are frequently obsessed with contacting evil outsiders to bargain for their services. Therefore, this setting includes rituals that allow any knowledgeable mortal to risk their soul in attempt summoning a fiend.
The Conjure Demon ritual is actually not a single ritual, but a category of many different spells used to call a fiend to appear and serve the casters. All are based on the planar binding series of spells, with the spell level determined by the Hit Dice of the creature(s) called: 5th for lesser planar binding (1-6 HD), 6th for planar binding (7-12 HD), or 8th for greater planar binding (13-18 HD). Apply those spells' duration, saving throw, and SR entries to the ritual rather than the usual conjuration benchmarks.
Use the occult ritual rules to determine additional details of each individual summoning. Many fiends seek out any chance to access the Material Plane, so they encourage the creation of rituals that make success easier to obtain. Add casting time restrictions, expensive components, limited targets (one species of fiend), and dangerous backlash in order to reduce the DC to cast the ritual. Many demonic rituals also allow secondary casters, with the most powerful of these spells practically requiring a large cult to perform successfully.
Let's use the Call Forth the Fiend incantation from "Fury in Freeport" (d20 Freeport Companion, page 158) as a worked example:
School conjuration (calling) [evil]; Level 5
Casting Time 50 minutes
Components V, S, M (caster's dung, blood of a freshly sacrificed victim, powdered remains of a good holy symbol worth at least 100 gp)
Skill Checks Knowledge (arcana) DC 28, 2 successes; Knowledge (planes) DC 28, 2 successes; Spellcraft, DC 28, 1 success
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft/character level of the caster)
Target one skulldugger or two dretches
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; SR no
Backlash The caster takes 2d6 points of damage
Failure Three dretches appear and attack the caster
Effect To begin this ritual, the caster must mix the material components and use them to inscribe a pentagram on a flat surface. Once the circle is inscribed, the remaining time is spent chanting the required invocations. If the ritual succeeds, a skulldugger (see previous column) or two dretch tear a hole in reality and appear in the circle. They bow before the caster and await its instructions. The caster can bid the conjured minions to perform one task subject to the normal limits of the lesser planar binding spell. Should the task be impossible, the fiend is freed from the ritual's effects and may go its own way. Fiends called forth by a successful casting of this ritual never attack the caster.
The DC has been calculated as follows: base 28, plus spell level 5, -1 for expensive material components (this modifier normally requires 500 gp, but procuring the holy symbol and victim add sufficient difficulty to earn the reduction), -3 for limited targets, -1 for backlash = 28.
Note that the DC is higher under the Pathfinder rules. However, the caster only needs to succeed on half of the necessary skill checks (rounded up) for the ritual to succeed, while the v.3.5 rules required the full number of checks (with failed checks adding additional checks and casting time).
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Creatures of Freeport: Skulldugger
(Column 1 of 2 for this week!)
Skullduggers are undead creatures fashioned in the Abyss by a demon prince possessing vast necromantic lore. These minions are used to communicate with the arch-fiend's cult in the Material Plane as well as to spy upon mortals and demons alike.
More information on skullduggers can be found in The Book of Fiends, by Green Ronin Publishing. An advanced skulldugger stat block appears in the "Call Forth the Fiend" sidebar on page 158 of the d20 Freeport Companion (AKA 3rd Era Freeport Companion). I will be updating that ritual spell to Pathfinder's occult ritual rules in the next column, so am providing a Pathfinder conversion of the skulldugger here first.
This skeletal creature has bat-like wings, horns atop its bestial head, bony claws, and a jointed tail.
Skullduggers are undead creatures fashioned in the Abyss by a demon prince possessing vast necromantic lore. These minions are used to communicate with the arch-fiend's cult in the Material Plane as well as to spy upon mortals and demons alike.
More information on skullduggers can be found in The Book of Fiends, by Green Ronin Publishing. An advanced skulldugger stat block appears in the "Call Forth the Fiend" sidebar on page 158 of the d20 Freeport Companion (AKA 3rd Era Freeport Companion). I will be updating that ritual spell to Pathfinder's occult ritual rules in the next column, so am providing a Pathfinder conversion of the skulldugger here first.
This skeletal creature has bat-like wings, horns atop its bestial head, bony claws, and a jointed tail.
CE Medium undead (extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
CE Medium undead (extraplanar)
Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +3 natural)
hp 16 (3d8+3)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +3
DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, immunity to turning, undead traits; Resist acid 5, fire 5
hp 16 (3d8+3)
Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +3
DR 5/bludgeoning; Immune cold, immunity to turning, undead traits; Resist acid 5, fire 5
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (average)
Melee 2 claws +3 (1d4+1), gore +3 (1d6+1)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +7)
3/day--burning hands (DC 12), clairaudience/clairvoyance, invisibility, locate object
1/day--greater teleport (self only), see invisibility
1/week--plane shift (self only)
Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (average)
Melee 2 claws +3 (1d4+1), gore +3 (1d6+1)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +7)
3/day--burning hands (DC 12), clairaudience/clairvoyance, invisibility, locate object
1/day--greater teleport (self only), see invisibility
1/week--plane shift (self only)
Str 12, Dex 14, Con --, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +5, Fly +8, Perception +6, Stealth +8
Languages Abyssal; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ eyes of the master
Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 15
Feats Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +5, Fly +8, Perception +6, Stealth +8
Languages Abyssal; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ eyes of the master
Environment The Abyss
Organization solitary, gang (2-5), or swarm (5-20)
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Eyes of the Master (Su) The soul that animates a skulldugger is forever bound to its demon prince. Through this unholy bond, the creating demon prince can see with the eyes of the skulldugger at will. Normally, there is a 1% chance that the demon prince is watching at any given time. For skullduggers on important missions, this chance rises to 25%.
Immunity to Turning (Ex) While most undead are animated with negative energy, a skulldugger is powered by an evil soul. It is thus unharmed by positive energy channeling, and is unaffected by turning effects such as the Turn Undead and Command Undead feats.
Conversion Notes:
Note that in Pathfinder, undead have d8 Hit Dice rather than d12, but gain bonus hit points based on Charisma.
The skulldugger's immunity to turning requires the most dramatic change between systems. In Pathfinder, clerics can channel energy to directly harm or heal undead, but must spend a feat in order to turn or command them. I have therefore rewritten this ability to account for that change.
In Pathfinder, the skulldugger's gore attack is also be considered a primary weapon (cf. the gargoyle), negating the need for the Multiattack feat. That has been replaced with one of the feats from the advanced skulldugger's list: Improved Initiative.
With Pathfinder merging the Balance, Jump, and Tumbling skills into Acrobatics, and of Listen and Spot into Perception, several skill ranks are freed up for other uses. I added Fly to complement its Flyby Attack feat, and Stealth to aid in the skulldugger's role as a spy.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
The look and feel of "Time of the Tarrasque"
My current Freeport campaign just needs one last session to wrap up, then I'll be taking a short break from GMing while another member of our group runs something for us. That will give me some time to recharge before we start my next Pathfinder campaign, the long-awaited "Time of the Tarrasque." However, I won't be completely idle during that time. It's been quite a while since my players created their characters, so I'll be trying to find time to talk with each of them so that everyone can refresh their memories and get a chance to tweak their stats. I also want to run some sort of prelude-type session with each player, so that we can work out some more background details, and determine how and why each of them are in the city of Zahallan when we start the campaign proper. (Two of my players need more of this than the others, because their characters come from well outside the starting area.)
I recently added an Inspiration page to the campaign wiki in order to share non-rules material that will help convey the look and feel of the game. So far I have created a few Pinterest boards for visual reference and inspiration for the game:
I recently added an Inspiration page to the campaign wiki in order to share non-rules material that will help convey the look and feel of the game. So far I have created a few Pinterest boards for visual reference and inspiration for the game:
Lands of the Sun: Asasor is a sultanate of humans and halflings. Natives Asasorans of both races are dark-skinned, and the culture has an Arabian/Moorish look and feel. (Artwork of black halflings is hard to come by, so I've pinned several pictures of dark-skinned elves--not drow--to suggest possible looks for this nation's halflings.) The campaign begins in the desert frontier region, where orcs and hobgoblins are recurring threats, so I've included pictures of those races and other desert denizens. Our PCs will include two half-orcs and a human from Asasor or the nearby Lokoran Desert.
Fendorlis: One of our PCs will be a high elf from Fendorlis, the elven kingdom to the north of the desert. This nation was recently conquered by kobolds who serve dragons, so most of the survivors either fled the forest or remain there to carry on the resistance.
Thovalas: Thovalas is a matriarchal human empire on the northern continent. Thovalans are fair-skinned, and their culture is like Rome ruled by Amazons. Our one Thovalan PC is a half-elf, so I've suggested that her player look over the Fendorlis board as well.
I shared those boards with my players this week, and asked them to let me know if they want to use any of the pictures there as portraits for their characters. My wife has already picked this one for her half-orc inquisitor.
Working on these boards has reminded me yet again just much fantasy art out there is blatant cheesecake or fanservice. I've tried to minimize that in compiling these boards. I want the world and its characters to seem real, but things like absurdly impractical armor can easily break that illusion. It's even more difficult when you're trying to find decent pictures of Amazons! (Pun intended.)
I will continue to add to (and occasionally cull) these Pinterest boards as our preparations for the game continue, and as the campaign plays out. And watch for future columns here about "Time of the Tarrasque"!
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
Because of its bizarre environment and weird denizens, S3 was one of the first RPG modules to include a booklet of illustrations. This booklet was as thick as the adventure itself, and included a handful of color pages, making this the most lavishly produced AD&D adventure at the time, and for several years afterward. The interior art and illustration booklet featured many of TSR's most prolific artists, including Jeff Dee, but the overall look was dominated by Erol Otus, who did the cover and most of the brand-new monsters.
I once tried to run this module using the AD&D 2nd Edition rules. As written, the adventure starts with the Duke of Geoff recruiting adventurers to investigate rumors of strange monsters in the mountains, but that sounded far too cliched for my taste. Instead, we used the Complete Book of Humanoids to create a party of evil humanoids banding together to beat the pesky low-landers to the rumored treasure. The game only lasted a couple of sessions, for a number of reasons: first, the party didn't work well together (in retrospect, I didn't give them enough motivation to be allies) and second, the adventure itself was far larger and more unwieldy than I was used to.
Despite that first attempt fizzling out, this adventure is far too cool and weird to not want to try again. I would definitely use a more recent edition of D&D (or possibly a d20 variant) because I am no longer familiar enough with the 1st or 2nd edition rules to use them again after all this time, or to want to. However, which system I end up using will very much depend on what my group is playing if and when I carry through on running Expedition.
Many of the new creatures from S3 were reprinted in the 1st Edition Monster Manual II, and those selections were later converted to Third Edition in The Tome of Horrors. Necromancer Games has since released v.3.5 and Pathfinder versions of this bestiary.
After the release of d20 Modern, d20 Future, and Future Tech, an article on the Wizards of the Coast website discussed how to introduce some of the items from this adventure into a D&D game. "Return Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" gave rules for future tech weapons and armor, as well as converting one of the robots featured in the module to D&D v.3.5. Since then, I have tried my hand at converting the rest of the monsters to v.3.5 (and later found a fan conversion of the full adventure online).
Thanks to the Tome of Horrors being Open Game Content, Paizo was able to include the froghemoth and vegepygmy in the first Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary. At least one more S3 monster has appeared in a later volume. One of the Pathfinder Adventure Paths involves alien tech appearing in a fantasy world, which spawned a couple of future tech sourcebooks for the system. Those books (or the online SRD) might be useful for converting elements of Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, and, of course, there is already at least one full-length fan conversion out there.
D&D v.3.5 and Pathfinder are far crunchier systems than 1st Edition, so running Expedition to the Barrier Peaks with either one would require me to track far more information. (Both those fan conversions I mentioned have at least double the page count of the original module, and that's just for the stat blocks and other game mechanics.) That complexity can make for a very rich gaming experience, but can cause some real headaches at times. For example, combats usually take longer than in previous editions, and this dungeon is packed to the rafters (and beyond) with hostile creatures.
I never played or liked Fourth Edition enough to consider running it myself, so let's move on.
I'm still learning Fifth Edition, but the complexity and feel of the rules are a lot closer to 2nd Edition than to Third--it has something of a nostalgic or "retro" feel but still offers a robust diversity of options. That makes it an attractive option from the perspective of character creation and game play, and the Dungeon Master's Guide even includes a (tantalizingly brief) page on alien technology. On the other hand, I would need to build at least half the monsters in the adventure from scratch, and I'm certainly not up for that challenge...yet. (I would have the same problem with converting this adventure to any non-d20 system--and then it wouldn't be D&D, which misses much of the point of the experiment.)
After some web searching, I've discovered that during the D&D Next playtest (for what would become Fifth Edition), Wizards of the Coast produced a conversion of Dungeons of Dread (a collection of the modules S1-S4). Unfortunately, this playtest packet doesn't seem to be available anywhere online since the final Fifth Edition rules were released. Maybe by the time I can track down a copy of that packet, I'll be familiar enough with the new rules to be ready to run an 8th-12th level adventure in this new edition.
[UPDATE October 2016: Thanks to one of my readers, I now have a copy of the DoD playtest packet.]
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