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Awesome Swift
A collaborative list of awesome Swift resources, inspired by awesome-python and listed on awesome-awesomeness.
Feel free to contribute!
- Awesome Swift
- Demo Apps
- Dependency Managers
- Guides
- Editor Support
- Libs
- Misc
- Tools
Demo Apps
Some interesting demo/poc apps written in Swift.
A list of iOS Swift demo apps
- 2048 - 2048 demo game in Swift.
- Alarm - an alarm app in Swift.
- Chat - chat like app implementation in Swift.
- CloudKit-To-Do-List - a cloudkit based to do list.
- DeckRocket - deckrocket porting in Swift.
- Edhita - text edit app.
- Eidolon - The Artsy auction kiosk app.
- firefox-ios - firefox for iOS being developed by Mozilla.
- Federal Open Data - Get federal Open Data using the Federal Data SDK
- FlappySwift - flappy bird clone in Swift.
- HackerNews - hackernews reader app written in Swift.
- HausClock - chess stile clock app in Swift.
- HomeKitDemo - homekit demo app;
- HackerNewsClient-iOS - hackernews client in Swift
- iContactU - delivered on Apple Store: reminds you to contact people you ought to.
- KeychainDemo - keychain sharing between an App and it's share extension
- LayerPlayer - explores CALayer and subclasses; written in Swift; also on App Store
- MyAwesomeChecklist - checklist app in Swift.
- Path Logger - a GPS Path Logger with Core Data
- Pocket Forecast - typhoon weather example
- ReactiveSwiftFlickrSearch - an MVVM & ReactiveCocoa Flickr search app in Swift.
- Round & Split - a tip calculator in Swift
- Stick Hero Swift - an universal spritekit based game in Swift.
- SwiftDemo - a collection of demo for Swift.
- SwiftFlickrApp - flickr app written in Swift.
- SwiftHN - hacker news app in Swift.
- SwiftWeather - a nice weather app written in Swift.
- TextEthan - a clone of TextEthan, a messaging app that allows anyone to message you
- Task - a task app written in Swift that is published in the app store.
- The Oakland Post - a full-fledged, 100%-Swift (minus dependencies) news reader.
- Valio - event time table app in Swift.
- VPNOn - vpn handler with Apple Watch support.
- Walk Tracker - GPS Walk Tracking app with Core Data
A list of Apple watch enabled projects
- Gulps - OS app for iOS and apple watch to monitor water consumption.
- Soon - Countdown app for apple watch.
- WatchOS 2 Sampler - WatcOS 2 Samples.
A list of OSX Swift demo apps
- Allkdic - a status bar dictionary.
- clock-saver - a clock screen saver for osx written in Swift.
- dshb - OS X system monitor in Swift
- Helium - floating web browser
- Panda - a simple OSX menu bar application to enable/disable Yosemite dark mode.
- RetinAssets - a simple app that generates missing images from a scaled images (3x -> 2x and 1x scale)
- Swifter - http server written in Swift.
Dependency Managers
Dependency manager software for Swift.
- carthage - a new dependency manager for Swift.
- cocoapods - the most used dependency manager for Objective-C (Swift is still in porting).
An awesome list of Swift related guides.
Official Guide
- Apple Swift Guide - Official guide by Apple about swift.
- Apple eBook - Official Apple eBook for swift beginners.
Third party Guides
- A better way to learn Swift - Learn Swift in a different way.
- Apple eBook - Official Apple eBook for Swift beginners.
- Developing iOS 8 Apps with Swift - Stanford course by Paul Hegarty.
- Learn Swift - a collection of tuts that will help you learning Swift via playground.
- Natasha the Robot - Weekly Newsletter on learning Swift
- objc.io snippets - Short, weekly snippets showing off Swift features
- Practice Swift - an interesting guide to learn Swift.
- SwiftDoc - Auto-generated documentation for Swift.
- SwiftGuide CN - A chinese written guide for Swift.
- SwiftInFlux - A well explained list of feature in flux for Swift
- Swifty - App to learn to code in Swift.
- Swift Tips - Swift tips collection.
- Swift-Weekly - Weekly Swift Language Gems, Tips and Tricks
Style Guides
- GitHub - Style guide & coding conventions for Swift projects.
- Raywenderlich - Raywenderlich Swift guide, a must read.
- SlideShare (LinkedIn) - Style guides that SlideShare (LinkedIn) uses for their Swift iOS app.
Editor Support
Support for your favorite editors.
- swift-vim - play Swift with vim editor.
- vim-swift - adds Swift support to vim. It covers syntax, indenting, and more.
- vim-polyglot - language pack for vim that includes vim-swift.
Here you can find a list of snippets and libs for your Swift projects.
Libs to help with animation
- DKChainableAnimationKit - Easy to read and write chainable animations in Swift.
- EasyAnimation - A Swift library to take the power of UIView.animateWithDuration(_:, animations:…) to a whole new level.
- Presentation - A Swift library to help you to make tutorials, release notes and animated pages.
- Spring - A library to simplify iOS animations in Swift.
Libs to work with audio
- AudioPlayer - A wrapper around AVPlayer with some cool features.
- MusicKit - A framework for composing and transforming music in Swift
Quick libs to get access to third party API services
- Federal Data SDK - Eases access to multiple federal government OpenGov APIs
- GooglePlacesAutocomplete - Simple Google Places address entry for iOS.
- PredictionIO SDK - A convenient API to communicate with PredictionIO's Event Server and ML Engines
- PXGoogleDirections - Google Directions API helper.
- reddift - reddit API wrapper
- Swifter Twitter - Swifter Twitter framework for Swift.
- Typhoon - Dependency injection toolkit in Swift.
Interesting snippets related to color management and utility.
- Colors - A pure Swift library for using ANSI codes.
- DynamicColor - An extension to manipulate colors in Swift easily.
- FlatUIColors - Flat UI color palette in Swift.
- Google Material Color - Google Material Color Palette in Swift.
- HexColor - Define UIColors as Hex integers.
- PrettyColors - Styles and colors text in the Terminal with ANSI escape codes. Conforms to ECMA Standard 48.
- RandomColorSwift - An attractive color generator for Swift. Ported from randomColor.js.
- UIColor-Hex-Swift - Hex to UIcolor converter.
- UIColorWDUtils - Extension for Hex RGB(A).
Deal with cryptography method easily in Swift * CryptoSwift - add crypto lib support to Swift. * SwiftSSL - add crypto toolkit in Swift.
Data Management
Core Data
No more pain with Core Data, here are some interesting libs to handle data management.
- AERecord - super awesome Core Data wrapper library for iOS written in Swift.
- AlecrimCoreData - a simple CoreData wrapper library written in Swift.
- CoreStore - simple and elegant way to handle CoreData in Swift.
- JSQCoreDataKit - A swifter Core Data stack.
- SugarRecord - an easy with to work with coredata and realm.
- SuperRecord - A small set of utilities to make working with CoreData and Swift a bit easier.
- QueryKit - an easy way to play with coredata filtering within your Swift projects.
- Realm - Realm is a mobile database: a replacement for Core Data & SQLite http://realm.io
Struggling using json data? Here are some interesting ways to handle it.
- AlamofireObjectMapper - An Alamofire extension which converts JSON response data into swift objects using ObjectMapper.
- Argo - Json parsing library
- Himotoki - A type-safe JSON decoding library purely written in Swift.
- json-swift - A basic library for working with JSON in Swift.
- JSONHelper - lightning fast JSON deserialization and value conversion library for iOS & OS X written in Swift.
- ObjectMapper - JSON object mapper.
- Pistachio - Generic model framework for Swift.
- PPJSONSerialization - Convert JSON string to Swift Class
- SwiftyJSON - A lib for JSON in Swift with error handling.
- SwiftMapper - JSON Mapper.
- SwiftJSONParser - JSON parser.
- yaml.swift - Load YAML and JSON documents using Swift.
Are you interested in storing your app data using SQLite? Here are some interesting resources.
- SQLite.swift - A pure Swift framework wrapping SQLite3. Small. Simple. Safe.
- SQLiteDB - sqlite wrapper for Swift.
- SwiftData - simple and Effective SQLite Handling in Swift.
If you prefer to manage XML data formatted entries, here are some helpful libs
Handle data formatting easily. * AFDateHelper - Simple date helper. * Punctual.swift - Swift date handler * Swift-NSDate-Extensions - Swift Version of Erica's NSDate Extensions. * SwiftDate - Easy NSDate Management in Swift * SwiftMoment - A time and calendar manipulation library. * SwiftyTimer * Tempo - Date and time manager for iOS/OSX written in Swift. * Timepiece - Intuitive NSDate extensions in Swift.
Alternatives to NSNotificationCenter, Key-Value-Observation, or delegation.
- Bond - a Swift binding framework.
- BrightFutures - promise and future lib for swift.
- Caravel - A Swift event bus for UIWebView and JS
- DeLorean - A Functional Reactive Programming kit.
- EmitterKit - an implementation of event emitters and listeners in swift.
- Future - A micro framework providing Future
- FutureKit - A Swift based Future/Promises Library.
- PromiseKit - async promise programming lib.
- PureFutures - Futures and Promises library
- Safe - A modern concurrency and synchronization for Swift.
- Signals - replaces delegates and notifications.
- SwiftEventBus - A publish/subscribe event bus optimized for iOS.
- ReactKit - Swift Reactive Programming.
- RxSwift - Microsoft Reactive Extensions (Rx) for Swift and iOS/OSX platform.
A collection of font related snippets.
- Font-Awesome - Use Font Awesome in project written in Swift.
- FontBlaster - Programmatically load custom fonts into your iOS app.
- GoogleMaterialDesignIcons - google Material Design Icons Font for iOS.
- MCFontAwesome - fontawesome porting for Swift.
- SwiftFonts - render all the supported fonts in Swift.
- OpenSansSwift - OpenSans for Swift.
- SDevIconFonts - Fontawesome, Iconic, Ionicons, Octicon porting for Swift.
- DBPathRecognizer - db path recognizer for letters.
Interested in using iBeacon in your Swift project? Here some interesting resources.
- iBeacon - iBeacon implementation in Swift.
An interesting list of image related libs..
- CYFastImage - display images from web.
- DePict - functional wrapper for CoreGraphics
- gifu - highly performant animated GIF support for iOS in Swift.
- ImageLoader - A lightweight and fast image loader for iOS written in Swift.
- ImageScout - a Swift implementation of fastimage - supports PNG, GIF, and JPEG.
- KFSwiftImageLoader - An extremely high-performance, lightweight, and energy-efficient pure Swift async web image loader with memory and disk caching for iOS and Watch.
- Kingfisher - a lib for image download and caching.
- MapleBacon - Swift image download and caching library.
- Misen - A script to support using Xcode Asset Catalog in Swift.
- PASImageView - async remote download your image and round them. automatically.
- SwiftColorArt - font schema generator according image colours.
- SwiftGif - A small UIImage extension with gif support
- Toucan - Image processing api
- UIImageView-BetterFace-Swift - autoresize images and if any face discovered refine the position of the image.
Do you want to create your own customized keyboard? Here are some interesting resources
- Hodor Keyboard - poc for custom keyboard implementation.
Libs to help you with layout. * ManualLayout - Easy to use and flexible AutoLayout alternative for iOS 8+. Supports AsyncDisplayKit. * SwiftBox - Flexbox in Swift, using Facebook's css-layout.
Auto Layout
Bored of using storyboard? Give a try to declarative auto layout libs.
- Cartography - declarative auto layout lib for your project.
- FormationLayout - Auto Layout lib supports group layout and size classes.
- PureLayout – The ultimate API for iOS & OS X Auto Layout.
- Restraint - Minimal Auto Layout in Swift.
- SnapKit - A Swift Autolayout DSL for iOS & OS X.
- Snappy - a light-weight layout framework which wraps AutoLayout with nicer syntax.
- SwiftAutoLayout - a small DSL for autolayout.
- Swiftstraints - Powerful auto-layout framework that lets you write constraints in one line of code.
- Tails - declarative autolayout for ios app written in swift.
- VFLToolbox - fancy Swift implementation of the Visual Format Language
Frameworks that helps with localizing your app * Swifternalization - Localize apps using e.g. regular expressions in Localizable.strings.
Utilities for writing to and reading from the device log
- CleanroomASL — a low-level Swift API for writing to and reading from the Apple System Log daemon
- CleanroomLogger — a configurable and extensible high-level logging API that is simple, lightweight and performant
- GEOSwift - The Swift Geographic Engine, make it easier to work with geographic models and calculate intersections, overlapping, projections etc.
- Easy-Cal-Swift - Overload +-*/ operator for Swift, make it easier to use (and not so strict).
- Surge - Accelerate framework for Swift.
- swix - A general matrix language.
A list of libs that allow you to decrease the amount of time spent dealing with http requests.
- agent - http request agent.
- Alamofire - elegant networking in Swift.
- APIKit - a library for building type-safe web API client.
- BigBrother - Automatically sets the network activity indicator for any performed request.
- GRequest - http request handler.
- IJReachability - check for network connection availability.
- Just - HTTP for Humans (a python-requests style HTTP library in Swift)
- ModestProposal - an HTTP toolbox.
- Moya - network abstraction layer.
- Net - an httprequest wrapper.
- OAuth2 - oauth2 auth lib.
- OAuthSwift - Swift based OAuth library for iOS.
- PeerKit - An open-source Swift framework for building event-driven, zero-config Multipeer Connectivity apps.
- RSNetworking - Network library written purely in Swift.
- Socket.IO - Socket.IO client for iOS/OS X.
- SocketIO-Kit - Socket.io iOS and OSX Client.
- Stargate - A communication channel from your Mac to your watch.
- Starscream - websockets implementation in Swift.
- SwiftHTTP - NSURLSession wrapper.
- SwiftSocket - simple TCP socket library.
- SwiftWebSocket - A high performance WebSocket client library for Swift.
- Transporter - A tiny library makes uploading and downloading easier.
- YYHRequest-Swift - http request in async.
- SwiftFormat - Auto formatting Swift code, similar to Clang format.
- SwiftLint - An experimental tool to enforce Swift style and conventions.
- iOS-TouchID-Swift - TouchID for Swift.
- JMEasyTouchID - TouchID one line wrapper.
- KeychainAccess - Simple Swift wrapper for Keychain that works on iOS and OS X.
- KeyClip - Keychain framework for iOS written in Swift.
- SwiftKeychainWrapper - a simple static wrapper for the iOS Keychain to allow you to use it in a similar fashion to user defaults.
Manage your device sensors in a faster and easier way
- MotionKit - iOS device sensors wrapper
A collection of testing frameworks.
- DVR - A simple network testing framework for Swift.
- OHHTTPStubs - A testing library designed to stub your network requests easily.
- Mockingjay - An elegant library for stubbing HTTP requests with ease in Swift.
- Quick - Quick is a behavior-driven development framework for Swift and Objective-C.
- Sleipnir - BDD-style framework for Swift.
- SwiftCheck - A testing library that automatically generates random data for testing program properties.
- Swiftest - experimental BDD-style framework.
A collection of text projects.
- Regex - Swift wrapper class for
NSRegularExpression. Includes a
map()override and an operator (
=~) for a more Swift-like API.
- PySwiftyRegex - Easily deal with Regex in Swift in a Pythonic way.
- SyntaxKit - TextMate-style syntax highlighting.
A collection of pre-packaged transitions & cool ui stuffs.
- Adaptive Tab Bar - Adaptive tab bar.
- AIFlatSwitch - Flat animated switch.
- BreakOutToRefresh - A playable pull to refresh view using SpriteKit
- BWWalkthrough - A class to build custom walkthroughs for your iOS App.
- BubbleTransition - Bubble transition in a easy way.
- CharacterText - Perform fx on UILabel.
- ENSwiftSideMenu - Sliding side menu.
- Dodo - A message bar for iOS written in Swift.
- Few.swift - Views as functions of their state.
- FloatLabelFields - Text entry controls which contain a built-in title/label so that you don't have to add a separate title for each field.
- FloatRatingView - Floating rating system.
- FrostedSidebar - Hamburger Menu using Swift and iOS 8 API's.
- GaugeKit - Customizable gauges. Easy reproduce Apple's style gauges.
- Geometry - extensions for UIView.
- GIFRefreshControl - A pull to refresh that supports GIF images as track animations.
- GoogleWearAlert - Google Wear Alert style.
- GRMustache - Flexible Mustache templates for Swift.
- GuillotineMenu - Guillotine style menu.
- Hakuba - A new way to manage UITableView without the code of UITableViewDelegate and UITableViewDataSource.
- HamburgerButton - Hamburger button with a slick animation.
- Hamburger button transition - Hamburger button transition.
- ImagePickerSheetController - A component that replicates the custom photo action sheet in iMessage.
- ios-charts - An iOS port of the beautiful MPAndroidChart.
- JTToast - Toast for Swift.
- LTMorphingLabel - Graceful morphing effects for UILabel written in Swift.
- LTJelloSwitch - UISwitch prototype.
- KDEDateLabel - An UILabel subclass that updates itself to make time ago's format easier.
- KMPlaceholderTextView - A UITextView subclass that adds support for multiline placeholder.
- MaterialKit - Material design components.
- MediumScrollFullScreen - Medium scroll style menubar.
- MIBadgeButton - Notification badge for UIButtons
- Pagemenu - Pagination enabled view controller.
- PagingMenuController - Paging view controller with customizable menu in Swift.
- Panoramic - Panoramic facebook story clone.
- Persei - Animated top menu for UITableView / UICollectionView / UIScrollView written in Swift.
- PinterestSwift - Pinterest style transition.
- PKHUD - Reimplementation of the Apple HUD.
- PNChart-Swift - A simple and beautiful chart lib with animation
- PPSwiftGifs - a convenient way to show animated GIF images as a part of iOS GUI.
- PullToRefreshSwift - PullToRefresh library.
- RubberBandEffect - Recreating Apple's rubber band effect in Swift.
- SAHistoryNavigationViewController - iOS task manager like UI in UINavigationContoller.
- Sapporo - A cellmodel-driven CollectionView manager for Swift.
- SCLAlertView - Animated Alert view.
- SDevBootstrapButton - Twitter Bootstrap buttons for Swift
- Siren - Inform users when App Store updates are available.
- Swift-Prompts - A Swift library to design custom prompts with a great scope of options to choose from.
- SweetAlert - Alert system.
- SwiftOverlays - various popups and notifications.
- SwiftValidator - UIView validation framework.
- SwiftyDrop - Lightweight dropdown message bar in Swift.
- SwiftyFORM - Forms that can be validated.
- TagListView - Simple but highly customizable iOS tag list view.
- TextFieldEffects - Several ready to use effects for UITextFields
- Twinkle - a Swift and easy way to make elements in your iOS app twinkle.
- ZFRippleButton - A ripple button animation.
Some interesting utilities to help you in your projects
- Basis - Pure Declarative Programming in Swift
- BrightFutures - promise and future lib for Swift.
- __ - Underscore.js power in your Swift projects.
- AAWindow - UIWindow subclass to enable behavior like adaptive round-corners & detecting when Control Center is opened.
- AlertKit – Alert with a single line of Swift.
- Async – Syntactic Swift sugar for Grand Central Dispatch
- Async.legacy – Syntactic Swift sugar for Grand Central Dispatch (iOS 7 and OS X 10.9 Mavericks compatible fork)
- AwesomeCache - manage cache easy in your Swift project.
- Butterfly - A lightweight library for integrating bug-report and feedback features with shake-motion event.
- Chronos- Grand Central Dispatch Utilities.
- CLIKit - a way to create cli with Swift.
- Collection Each - add each func to collections.
- CommandLine - A pure Swift library for creating command-line interfaces
- DBPathRecognizer - Gesture recognizer tool.
- Dispatcher - Queues, timers, and task groups in Swift
- Dollar - a lib similar to Lo-Dash or Underscore in Javascript.
- ExSwift - a set of Swift extensions for standard types and classes.
- Forbind - Functional chaining and Promises in Swift
- Funky - Functions and operators for functional programming in Swift.
- GCD - A wrapper of Grand Central Dispatch written in Swift
- Honour - Simple and powerful Validation Library
- Lambdatron - Clojure(ish) interpreter in Swift.
- LlamaKit - Collection of must-have functional Swift tools.
- Mendel - Swift miliframework for implementing evolutionary/genetic algorithms.
- PermissionScope - A Periscope-inspired way to ask for iOS permissions.
- protobuf-swift - ProtocolBuffers for Swift.
- Prototope - Swift library of lightweight interfaces for prototyping, bridged to JS.
- Puree - A log collector for iOS
- Pythonic.swift - Pythonic tool-belt for Swift: a Swift implementation of selected parts of Python standard library.
- Result - Swift type modelling the success/failure of arbitrary operations.
- Runes - Functional operators for Swift - flatMap, map, apply, pure
- SpecificationPattern - chainable rules useful for form validation.
- SpriteKit+Spring - SpriteKit API reproducing UIView's spring animations with SKAction.
- Stream - Lazy streams in Swift.
- swamp - Icon stamping in Swift.
- Swell - a logging utility for Swift.
- SwiftBitmask -
Bitmask<T>type intended as a replacement for
- SwiftColors - HEX color handling as an extension for UIColor.
- SwiftExP - Pure Swift 2.0 S-expression Parser
- SwiftForms - form are now easy as 1.2.3!
- SwiftMemCache - Swift Memory Cache with namespace & TTL support.
- SwiftyStateMachine - Swift µframework for creating state machines.
- SwiftyUserDefaults — a cleaner, nicer syntax for NSUserDefaults
- Swiftz - a lib for functional programming.
- Swift Sugar - objsugar ported to Swift.
- undefined - Nano framework which defines Haskell's undefined in Swift.
- Versions - Helping you find inner peace when comparing version numbers in Swift.
- Wyrd - Asynchronous programming in Swift made easy. Wyrd is inspired by Promises/A+.
- XCGLogger - a lib that help you handling better debug logging.
- Player - iOS video player in Swift, simple drop in component for playing and streaming media.
Would you like host a webserver in your device? Here you can find how to do it.
- NetworkObjects - REST HTTP Server written in Swift. Builds REST API from Core Data.
- swifter - Http server written in Swift with routing handler.
- XcodeServerSDK - Access Xcode Server API with native Swift objects.
Miscellaneous Swift related projects
- swift-compiler-crashes - A collection of test cases crashing the Swift compiler
- swiftier - Quick-and-dirty Objective-C to Swift translator.
- SwiftInFlux — List of things that are "in flux" in Swift + changelog of the language
Tools for Swift development
Generate documentation for Swift code
- jazzy - Soulful docs for Swift & Objective-C
- swiftdoc-parser - Header parsing and HTML generating utilities for SwiftDoc.org


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Fruit & Vegetable Garden
Florida is an amazing place to start a grow operation, for fruits and veggies that is. The sun, mild temperature, rain and additional drainage provided by the sandy soil makes year-round gardening a real possibility. Though Jacksonville does have inland freezes occasionally in the winter, that is extremely rare along the coastline.
Our current operation has 6 raised garden beds and more potted plants than I care to count. The benefit of the tropical climate allows us to have unusual fruit trees that we have been nurturing from seedlings (bananas and mango to name two). Our soil and plants are all 100% organic and most of them have produced a decent crop for us this year. It took a lot of research, trial and error and hard work to get our plants to where they are today.
We will share tips and tricks with regards to starting plants from seed, which can be finicky and challenging. But it is totally worth it and will save you a lot of money in start up costs, if you do it right. We also have some favorite places to buy soil and methods to make your own soil, if you're so inclined.
But the first and most important lesson of gardening is this: You win some, you lose some. If you have a crop that fails, don't take it too personally. It is not a reflection of your desire to murder poor, unassuming plants. It's just about finding that winning combination of sun, water, soil and fertilizer. There are some methods that we've used that have cut way back on our plant graveyard. We will be sure to share them!

subset: commoncrawl


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School Inclusion Project
Northcott's Early Linker worker and Social Futures' Belonging Project worker are working together on the School Inclusion Project. It is starting in Social Inclusion Week in November 2016, visiting primary schools and talking with kids about understanding our differences, diversity and acceptance, and ways we can all be a good friend – to include others and help them feel they belong.
Kids will also receive information to take home to their parents, families and carers to talk about how we can all support belonging and inclusion.
Have a look at our fabulous new Kids Activity Book we're taking around schools now – you can download a copy for yourself here by clicking the link below.Download
For more information contact Heather.
The Belonging Award
The Belonging Award is part of the Tweed Shire Council Access and Inclusion Awards. The annual awards were started in 2013 to celebrate achievement and innovation in building an accessible community. They recognise and acknowledge action by individuals, community groups, organisations and businesses that build and promote an accessible and inclusive community for everyone in the Tweed. To make a nomination or to read more, please visit Tweed Shire Council Access and Inclusion Awards.
Nominations are now open for this years Tweed Access and Inclusion Awards.
Nominations are open until Friday 29. September 2017. You can download a nomination form below in Easy English, Plain English, Large Print and General Application formats.
Easy English 2017
Plain English 2017
Large Print 2017
More information
The Belonging Award recognises businesses actively making Tweed locations inclusive for children of all abilities. Kids with additional needs want to enjoy going to the same places that their friends do – such as the shopping centres, after-school activities like karate or soccer – and parents want to know their kids will be accepted there, regardless of their ability.
The Belonging Award aims to spread awareness of what businesses and all people in the community can do to be inclusive: not judging kids' behaviour, listening to parents' requests and feedback, thinking about how different kids experience the world around them and just generally showing understanding and caring.
Businesses who have been nominated for the Belonging Award for their actions towards inclusion for children:
2014 Belonging Awards
Winner: Get Wet Swimming
Nominees: Terranora Childcare Centre, Tweed PCYC
2015 Belonging Awards
Winner: Possums Community Pre-School
Nominees: Pottsville Beach Neighbourhood Centre, Get Wet Swimming, Murwillumbah Collision Repair
We were so stoked to win this award, to be recognised for what we do. The staff were so impressed, it has had a really positive impact on all the staff and their morale. It was really empowering for all of us.
It did raise questions about our enrolments. Since winning the award we seem to have a large number of enrolments for children with special needs. We have had a lot of referrals from Shaping Outcomes since the award.
We don't think we are any different to other services. I do know our staff excel at supporting the kids to be successful. Our staff take a lot of responsibility for achieving success. There is real staff leadership in our Centre.
We are really lucky to have two staff that have a big interest in supporting inclusion. We really harness our staff interests and skills. One staff member has an older daughter who has Autism – we see her as the expert. Another staff member is skilled in key signing. But most importantly everyone has a role in facilitating the sense that 'everybody belongs.' It's no picnic, its hard work, but it pays off. Parents share messages of major milestones for their kids all the time. The feedback from the parents was 'we knew how good you were, you didn't need and awards to prove to us how great you all are'.
2016 Belonging Awards
Winner: Billabong Swim School Tweed Heads
The first thing Judy shared with me was "I feel so lucky I found my niche in life."
Judy has a passion for teaching swimming. She's been doing this since she was 15 years old. She trained as a P.E Teacher but felt being a swimming instructor was really her calling.
Today she runs the Billabong Swim School in Tweed Heads with her husband, John. They believe learning to swim is 'a gift for life'. Judy is a big believer that all is possible and anyone can be taught to swim with the right assistance. She welcomes anyone to come along to two great locations at Tweed or Casuarina Beach to chat about supporting their individual needs.
Judy's school is a leader in the area. When the opportunity arises she invites guest speakers to talk to parents about supporting 'highly sensitive students' and working with 'gifted students'. Judy has a willingness and openness to work with all members of the family. "We want families to know they are not alone, we make everybody feel as though they belong. We provide a support system in the most unexpected setting" says Judy.
"As a swim teacher we see kids with different abilities and we reassure parents to focus on the abilities and the strengths of their child" shares Judy. Billabong Swim school currently run a specialised program called 'Rainbow Fish'. The Rainbow Fish program provides one-on-one lessons offered at half the price of a regular private lesson to parents if their children find it difficult to participate in the regular classes.
Swim teachers sometimes become aware of certain differences some kids have and Judy acknowledges it is not her place to make a diagnosis, however she will suggest to parents that they seek some support through a pediatrician or other medical professional if she believes their child could use this support.
Judy is proud of the Swim Centre's participation in research by Professor Robyn Jorgensen from Griffith University. This research identified a significant difference between children involved in the Early Years Swimming Project and their developmental milestones, compared to those who didn't swim. Some children were up to 16-18 months ahead in some developmental areas. Though Judy had long believed that kids who swim from a young age are more advanced in many other areas, she said she was still truly amazed by the evidence from the university report.
Judy said she was delighted to be nominated and to win the Belonging Award at the Tweed Shire Access and Inclusion Awards in 2016. "We try to include everybody, but to be acknowledged for it is really special. As a Business this is what we should all be doing" says Judy.
Collaborating with CVFS in the Clarence Valley
Clarence Valley Forward Steps (CV Forward Steps)
The Belonging Project shared in some of the activities organised by Clarence Valley Forward Steps (CV Forward Steps) in 2016.
CV Forward Steps is a Facebook group that supports families who have children with additional needs in the Clarence Valley. They have over 220 members on their Facebook page and share all sorts of interesting information.
Collaborating with CV Forward Steps allowed The Belonging Project to continue to promote the message of inclusion and belonging. Joining in activities like the Jacaranda Festival Dragon Boat Race and float parade, which thousands of locals attended, allowed us to share the important messages that everybody belongs and the significance of creating welcoming communities. A place where we acknowledge difference and accept everybody.
We also worked with CV Forward Steps to aid them in their efforts to acknowledge outstanding businesses in Grafton which support kids with additional needs and their families. During the Inclusion Week Celebration, CV Forward Steps presented 'The Jungle Gym' with the inaugural 'Access and Inclusion Award' for their understanding and exceptional service to kids and their families. Over 1,000 people came along to the Social Inclusion celebration at the Grafton showground and enjoyed lots of family activities and entertainment including an outdoor cinema screening.
The Belonging Project also partnered with CV Forward Steps and Carers NSW to celebrate Carers Week. About 20 parents came along to enjoy some pampering and lunch together. A few of the parents and the Belonging Project coordinator were interviewed by Prime TV to build awareness of some of the challenges carers face in their caring roles; and ways in which the community can do small things to support children with additional needs and their families.
Tweed Connections
The Belonging Project have been partnering with a number of organisations in the Tweed Shire to share the message of inclusion.
The Murwillumbah Farmers Market
The Murwillumbah Farmers Market were keen to have a children's space that included all kids. The Early Years Coordinator (EYC) from the Tweed Heads Family Centre and The Belonging Project collaborated with the Farmers Market and now, we're really happy to report, that the Tweed Heads Family Centre are providing a weekly activity for kids at the markets. This is a welcoming space for all kids and their families to share. The Belonging Project offer additional activities during the school holidays. Families shared their ideas of belonging and other issues of importance through surveys and feedback. Some of the feedback we've had has been truly inspirational.
Kinship Festival, Murwillumbah
Community members, Elders and services came together to support a fantastic community event to celebrate Families Week. The Belonging Project was invited to be a part of the Kinship Festival Committee in 2015 and 2016. The Kinship Festival in Murwillumbah was an awesome effort in community collaboration and sharing. To see footage from the 2017, follow the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfVzQBTxMt8&feature=youtu.be
During May and June 2017 The Belonging Project provided five free training sessions for family carers and Early Years Educators.
Monica Barnes offered a full day training on the Nurtured Hearts Approach to 18 participants in Brunswick Heads.
Jack O'Leary presented Mindfulness for Everyday Stress in Lennox Head to 17 Early Years Educators and shared this experience with a group of 14 in Grafton, both family carers and professionals.
Community training
In mid 2016 the Belonging Project provided free training for families who have a child living with a disability – The Art of Asking – delivered by Ric Thompson. The training was delivered in Brunswick Heads and Grafton and focused on understanding families' and childrens' needs, creating successful friendships, working with what's available in your
The project is planning more community training in the Northern Rivers (NSW) 2017. If you would like to receive information about community training when it is available please contact Heather.
Mindfulness for everyday stress
Belonging Project hosts creative mindfulness workshops
The Belonging Project facilitated a wonderful creative workshop for Early Years Educators in Lennox Head on 21 June.
Jack O'Leary guided this workshop, exploring mindfulness though the use of expressive arts. The group followed a creative process and explored communicating in different ways, through art, movement and sound.
The experience allowed participants to reflect on the way they interact with others and especially consider how they support young children with additional needs. The creative exercises at times were slightly uncomfortable but brought it home that many people only use verbal communication and how important it is to have different tools at work to help everyone to have a sense of connection and belonging.
The Belonging Project also brought this experience to the Grafton community on 28 June, in a session for both parents and educators. We had 14 participants, a mix of family, carers and professionals.
The feedback from both sessions has been positive and participants believe the workshop gave them an opportunity to reflect on ways in which they can deal with stress in their own lives and how they can in turn support others. Most participants said they will use the expressive art techniques experienced in the workshop.
The Belonging Project continues to promote the small ways we can all support children with additional needs and their families to feel included in our community.
– Heather Tannock, Project Manager
The Belonging Project is funded by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care. Please feel free to use 'everybody belongs' materials to promote inclusion in your community.
The Belonging Project acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land where we live and work and their continuing connection to land, water, sea and community. We pay respects to Australia's First Peoples, to their unique and diverse cultures, and to Elders past, present and future


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Flavors of the World: Dill of Europe and Western Asia
"A weed is but an unloved flower."— Ella Wilcox
A Weed by Any Other Name...Would Still be a Weed
I love the herbs in my garden—piney rosemary, I adore your lush evergreen foliage and sweet purple-blue blossoms. Chives, you shout of Springtime—your tender onion-like greens are the perfect foil for fingerling potatoes, tender fresh asparagus, and creamy Easter deviled eggs. Dear oregano, you are a bit of a tramp—you self-sow and new clumps of you appear in the most unexpected places, but you easily transplant and seem to adore being sheered.
And then...there is dill weed. No one need ask why your surname is "weed". Compared to you, even oregano is tame. But your green fronds are so lacy and delicate, your flowers glisten gold in the summer sun, and (best of all) your scent reminds me of my mother's pantry where stone crocks held crisp briny garlic dill pickles.
But It's Not Just for Pickles
Let's play a bit of word association. When I say "dill", what is the first word that pops into your mind? If you did not say "pickle", you need read no further. You don't need this hub.
However, if in your thought of dill is synonymous with pickles, please keep reading. Dill appears in so many other ways in so many different cuisines. Here are a few:
First to Russia
The Ural Mountains bisect western Russia and Kazakhstan. In this vast area, the soils, the weather, and life are hard and severe. Here peasants relied on root crops for their subsistence. Few families had even enough money to afford a simple beast of burden; they worked the soil with their bare hands. A standard meal consisted of boiled water plus what foodstuffs could be gleaned from the land—usually potatoes, turnips, cabbage, and beets.
Thus a steaming bowl of beet borsch is a meal commonly associated with Slavic/Russian culture.
No, I didn't make a mistake (or two). True borsch is served hot and is spelled without the "t".
According to Dara Goldstein, author of "A Taste of Russia," there are over 100 variations of this sturdy beet soup. She says that as one travels west, more and more beets are included in the base.
The authors of the book The Joy of Cooking created a version of borsch that I totally love. Unlike the food of Russian peasants, it includes a bit of beef—what a blessing that would have been for my maternal grandparents! I have adapted the original recipe:
Russian Borscht With Meat
- 3 to 4 medium beets (about ¾ pound), leaves removed
- 1 pound boneless beef chuck, cut in 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 ribs of celery, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 5 cups beef stock
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 medium turnips, peeled and diced
- 2 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Sour cream for garnish
- Fresh dill for garnish
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Wrap each beet in aluminum foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast in oven until tender, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool.
- While the beets are roasting, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge (coat) the beef cubes in the flour, shake to remove excess flour.
- Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large stockpot. Add half of the beef cubes and brown on all sides. Remove from heat; repeat with remaining beef cubes. You don't want to cook all of the beef at one time—the pan will be crowded and the beef will steam instead of turning brown. You NEED that browning to give the beef cubes an attractive brown color (instead of grey), and to add flavor.
- Reduce the heat to medium; add the onion, carrots, and celery to the pan. Sauté until the onions are softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the reserved meat, beef stock, tomatoes, potatoes, and turnips.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, about 30 minutes.
- Remove peel from the roasted beets and cut beets into matchstick pieces. Add to the pan along with the shredded cabbage.
- Simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables and meat are tender about 30 minutes.
- Stir in red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Simmer for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt and/or ground black pepper if desired.
- Serve with dollops of sour cream and sprigs of fresh dill
What makes this recipe work?
- roasting the beets makes them sweeter, less "earthy" tasting
- onion and garlic provide a bit of heat
- beef adds a meaty umami flavor and enhances the broth
- tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice provide tartness in contrast to the sweetness of the beets, carrots, and celery
- potatoes help to thicken the soup a bit
- and the sweet, bright, lemony flavor of dill and the creamy tang of sour cream pull all the flavors together.
Then to Norway: Cured Salmon with Fresh Dill
The crystal-clear fjords and ice-cold arctic waters of Norway have influenced a rich heritage of fishing that has existed in this enchanting country for thousands of years.
No Norwegian lunch would be complete without gravlax. The name literally means "dug salmon" and refers to the medieval practice of burying (gräva—"to dig") raw fish (laks, "salmon") in the sand above the high-tide level to cure it. Today gravlax is cured by burying not in sand but in a dry rub of sugar, salt, and fresh dill. This produces a fresh, delicate, sweet-salty herby fish that is traditionally eaten on open-faced sandwiches.
Norwegian Gravlax
- One two-pound salmon fillet, skin on
- 3 tablespoons salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 bunch dill, coarsely chopped
- Trim salmon fillet. Scrape the skin well to remove scales and use tweezers or pliers to remove any bones.
- Blend together salt, sugar, and black pepper. Sprinkle half of the salt mixture in the bottom of a roasting pan, then sprinkle one-half of the dill over.
- Place the salmon in the pan, skin-side down.
- Sprinkle on remaining salt mixture and dill. Press with hands to ensure that salt adheres to salmon flesh.
- Cover and refrigerate 3 to 4 days, turning fish over every day.
- Scrape seasoning and dill from fillets before serving.
What makes this recipe work?
- much like the process of preparing ceviche, gravlax produces an incredibly moist fish
- although one must plan several days in advance before serving the gravlax, it is an easy dish to prepare.
- easy enough to make for your family, but fancy enough for company.
- a perfect accompaniment to a summer picnic or potluck
And to Turkey: Grape Leaf Salad
Turkish Sarmas Salad
"Anitalectric" posted a fresh salad on the website Food52 in which dill plays a starring role. She likens the salad to a deconstructed dolma. Although her concept creates a refreshing vegetarian meal which my family enjoys, I don't think this meal can technically be called a deconstructed dolma. To me, this is more akin to a Turkish Sarma. Dolmas are served hot and contain minced cooked meat. On the other hand, sarmas are vine leaves stuffed with rice, currants, pine nuts, herbs, and spices which are served cold.
I have made a few changes to her original salad and present it here:
- 1 cup raw white rice
- grape leaves from a jar, chopped (enough to make 1 cup)
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ½ cup chopped dill leaves
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta
- 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
- Cook rice according to instructions on the package. While rice is cooking, place chopped grape leaves in a sieve and rinse under running water to remove excess salt. Squeeze out excess moisture and add to the simmering pot of rice (without stirring).
- When the rice is cooked, stir gently to combine the rice with the grape leaves. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add all remaining ingredients except for pine nuts. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Garnish with toasted pine nuts and serve at room temperature.
What Makes This Recipe Work?
- The inclusion of whole grain (rice) and feta cheese (protein) provide a balanced vegetarian meal option
- golden raisins are sweet and provide a perfect contrast to the slightly bitter taste of the grape leaves
- the dill leaves and lemon lend a citrus-like tang to the dish
- feta cheese is creamy, and pine nuts provide a contrasting crunch.
- toasting the pine nuts enhances their sweet, nutty flavor.
Afghanistan and Persia (Iran)
Shayma Saadat has posted on her blog SpiceSpoon a dish which typical of Afghani and Persian cooking. Fresh dill plays a major part in this fragrant side dish, Chelo Shimit (Rice and Dill).
Fast Facts About Dill
- Related to: parsley, carrots, fennel, cilantro
- Native to: eastern Mediterranean and western Asia
- Etymology: Dill comes from old Norse word dylla, meaning to soothe or lull
- Mentioned in: Egyptian medical texts 3,000 years ago
Do You Want to Grow Dill in Your Garden?
It's not difficult, assuming that you live in the proper climate. Here are a few facts you need to know:
Botanical Information
- Genus: Anethum
- Species: A. graveolens
- Height: 16–24 inches (40–60 cm)
- Flowers: White to yellow
- Sun: Full sun
- Soil: Rich, well-drained
- Companion Planting: Best for cucumbers; poor for carrots and tomatoes
Growth Requirements
- Type of Plant: annual
- How to cultivate: start from seed in early summer—does not transplant well. The soil should be 60 to 70 degrees F. for best results.
- Days to germination: 10 to 14. After another 10 to 14 days, thin plans to about 12 to 18 inches apart.
- Good companion to cabbage and onions. Do NOT plant near carrots!
- Light requirements: Full sun
- Water requirements: Regular watering
- Soil: Loamy
Dill has no fat, sodium, or carbohydrates. A one-cup serving is only 4 calories, but provides 14% of your total daily needs for Vitamin A, 12% Vitamin C, 2% Calcium, and 3% iron.
Questions & Answers
Do any other cultures use dill?
Dill is famous for Scandinavian foods, and as noted in this article Russian and Middle East foods as well. But following well-worn Eurasian trade routes, it also made its way into Indian cuisine, where it is used in dal with lentils or fried with other spices as a tadka, a last-minute topping before serving.Helpful 1
© 2016 Linda Lum
Thanks for including how and where to plant dill, Diva. I'm growing cucumbers in my hugelkultur bed, so I think I'll add some dill seed to the mix and see what happens. I'd love to have my own fresh stash!
I love dill weed. I add it to egg salad and deviled eggs. I also cover salmon with it just before baking. Salmon and dill were made for each other. Same with eggs and dill. The taste is so fresh and light.
By the way, the first word out of my mouth when you mentioned dill was not pickles, but weed. However, I disregarded your instructions and read ahead anyway. :-)
Nicely done and so interesting. I've been thinking of reading up on dill and here you have a great post on it. I've always thought of it as a Russian flavor thus was surprised to read of its use around the world. I really want to try the vegetarian salad first (I see what you mean about it not being a deconstruct dolma, but I still like the thought :) ), then move on to the salmon from Norway. Thanks bunches!
Pickles would have been the last thing I'd associate with Dill!
The first thing I thought of is a steaming bowl of home-made tomato and Bacon soup garnished with fresh dill! (Then again it is Autumn here)
Borsh would be another (neither of us have Russian ancestry, but we've both been to Eastern Europe and love the food)
Great hub and I'm looking forward to some great soups this winter
Hi Carb Diva, When I think of dill, I think of porquetta. It's an Italian pork roast. You simply cut big slits in a raw pork roast and stuff it with fresh dill and garlic and sprinkle salt and pepper and a little olive oil and roast it until it's done. It makes the best sandwiches with small hard rolls. You can eat them hot or cold. In fact, the Italian tradition is to eat them cold. I love dill with chicken also. Thanks for posting about this herb. I love it. You have some fascinating recipes too.
Blessings to you.
The first two paragraphs are food writing at its best. I kid you not...everything that followed was bonus material. From a purely writing criteria, you had an "A" after two paragraphs.
You've done such a beautiful job with this hub incorporating so many multicultural elements from around the globe. I'm not a fan of dill but I'm a fan of you! It made me think a good hub idea would be aversions to certain spices. People seem to have strong reactions to some (like cilantro) for genetic, psychological and other reasons (super tasters). I strongly dislike dill and both my mom and brother cannot tolerate anise, cilantro and fennel. The topic usually inspires much conversation.
I was between and caught this early. I love dill. I failed the test and only think of dill as that dainty little plant. You just made me put it on my list to plant. Culture and recipes -- you are the crowned princess of food.


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Dontyne Systems Expands Office Space
August 18, 2014—Dontyne Systems continues to expand its customer base across the world and has secured work for development of customer specific software as well as for its popular Gear Production Suite (GPS) program. Dontyne is experiencing an increased uptake of its user-friendly gear design, manufacture and inspection tools particularly in the North America market where it is represented by a dedicated support team. Increased market demand has necessitated larger office space at a prime location in Newcastle, U.K. to provide an ideal environment to host software engineers, transmission designers and technical sales personnel joining Dontyne in the coming weeks and months. The increased personnel will dramatically extend Dontyne's development speed and support capabilities. The office will also provide a good venue for customer specific training for groups of 4-8. Dontyne Systems is an exhibitor at IMTS 2014 Chicago 8-13th September Booth #N-6778 where live demos of the software tools will be offered along with the chance to win a tablet device!
|Dontyne Systems


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Last Updated: 3-May-2020


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Ah, yes, that's a bit of a lame title for the blog post this week, but it's eerily prescient. Last year (in October) we launched Corrugated Sky Publishing with the publication of our first anthology, Tales of the Black Dog. We started a second anthology with the hopes of printing it this spring, but that came and went and then the summer sun burned down on us and we still didn't have a finished book in hand. And now it's October again, and we are very, very close to getting the second anthology in print. So close that we will probably have it next week, just in time for Halloween — again!
This second book is called Smoke and Steam and it's big: 260 pages, which means that what started out as four Steampunk short stories morphed into four Steampunk novellas, including "Wings over Staria" by JC Rock, "Hekatite" by Karen Garvin, "Heart of the Matter" by Michelle Schad, and "Freedom for a Foster" by Cathryn Leigh. We'll have the book available in paperback and ebook versions on Amazon, but while you're waiting for our second anthology, why not pick up a copy of the first one — Tales of the Black Dog? After all, it contains some great horror stories, and what better time of year to read them?
With the anthology all but finished except evicting a few typos and finalizing our print files, it's time for me to get back to other writing projects. The looming question, with November coming up, is whether I'm going to do NaNo this year. I did it last year and managed to meet the word count, so technically I had a "win," but the story never quite jelled into something worthwhile. It was supposed to be a noir mystery, but the only "noir" was my character riding a bus at night and the only "mystery" was the plot. I loved my title (Killing Palatino); I also liked the art I came up with for the cover. Maybe I'll dust it off sometime, but not this fall.
I do have another book idea that I've been thinking of developing. It would be a young adult story and the protagonist would be a young girl who lives in a country where being healthy is considered a social duty and being overweight is illegal. I want the politics to be in the background, not in-your-face, but I'll need to develop an interesting character who has motives and desires. I have some ideas, but you're going to have to wait at least until December to learn more … as will I!


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By David Funkhouser — June 23, 2010
Nanotechnology may be an "emerging" science, but we're already slathering its products on our skin, wearing them to go hiking and ingesting them in medicines and food. With more than 1,000 consumer items using nanomaterials already out there, a new California study urges government to take action to find out which ones might be dangerous and start getting them under control.
"We must determine the toxicity of molecules and nano particles before the public and workforce are exposed; otherwise citizens become experimental subjects," said Carl Cranor, a professor at the University of California at Riverside and a member of the study's science advisory panel.
The report, prepared by the University of California/San Francisco's Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, recommends that state agencies try to speed up the regulatory process, and look at whether they can act under existing policies to put curbs on some materials, rather than waiting for new legislation.
The study says the agencies should:
• Start identifying whether nano-sized materials are more toxic than the bulk material.
• Find out how much nanomaterial is being used in particular products.
• Figure out how much of the material the public and environment are being exposed to.
• Require labeling for products that employ nanotechnology that has already been linked to cancer and reproductive effects.
The more than 1,000 nano-enhanced products on the market include toothpaste, sunscreen, cosmetics, food, clothing, cleaning products, paints, air fresheners, sports equipment and electronics. (For an inventory of products, click here.)
Nanomaterials' sometimes astounding properties have already been shown to offer great potential in a variety of fields, from medicine to electronics. But the study points to a growing body of research that shows exposure to some kinds of nanomaterials may pose serious health risks. And nanomaterials are for the most part unregulated.
The California Environmental Protection Agency commissioned the study, which argues that the state should determine whether chemical materials are safe before they go into the marketplace. To read the study, click here.
One of the lead authors, Amber Weiss, said the California EPA wanted more information on the possible health effects of nanomaterials in consumer products and on the environment. She said it's key for policymakers to balance the different exposures, risks and benefits of the various uses for nanomaterials.
"A lot of the consumer-based products are in my opinion not giving us a lot of benefit," Weiss said. "I don't think personally think that all these things are posing a big risk to human health at the moment, [but] there's a lot of unknowns out there."
She said the study authors hope the document will serve as a guide for the nation as well as for California.
And the nation could use some guidelines. The federal EPA has been studying the issue for several years now, but there are barely any rules regarding the use of nanomaterials.
The federal Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are limited in their authority to act before products show up on store shelves, noted Jennifer Sass, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who served on the study's advisory panel. The FDA, for instance, cannot force cosmetic companies to provide safety data on their products, some of which now contain nanomaterials.
The CPSC can't impose safety standards if an industry agrees to write its own standards; it can't inform the public about products without the manufacturer's consent; and it can't require pre-market testing, Sass said.
Congress is working to rewrite the 34-year-old Toxic Substances Control Act. Some lawmakers are pushing for a shift in policy that would require industries to establish the safety of chemicals before they go on the market.
Pesticides are an exception under current federal policy. This spring, the EPA told manufacturers they would have to treat nanomaterials such as nano-silver in pesticides as "new" chemicals—which puts the onus on the industry to prove they're safe.
Because of their extremely small size, measured in billionths of a meter, nanoparticles act differently from their larger versions. They have far more surface area, which makes them more reactive with their surroundings; and they're small enough to pass through cell walls and interfere with biological processes.
Some nanomaterials are already known to be dangerous, and they need to be better assessed, the California study says. Carbon nanotubes, used in electronics and to strengthen sports equipment, may pose risks similar to asbestos fibers, which can cause fatal lung damage if inhaled. Other studies have shown genetic and developmental damage in mice resulting from exposure to nano-scale titanium dioxide—a common ingredient in suncreens and UV-blocking clothing.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control in January asked industries making or importing carbon nanotubes to report how they handle the materials, and how they're tested for safety. A spokeswoman said the new study would not change the department's current strategy of seeking more information on how certain nanomaterials are used and tested.
The city of Berkeley is apparently the first in the country to require researchers and manufacturers to disclose what nano-based materials they're using or making, how they're handling them, and to what extent they're toxic. In the latter case, the problem is that in many cases, they don't know.
(This story originally appeared on the New Haven Independent web site on June 23, 2010.)


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Classics enthusiasts will tell you that the Ancient Greeks had a story about everything.
Then they'll tell you that over and over and over until you're sick of hearing about how the Ancient Greeks had a story about everything.
But, compulsive stereotypical didacticism aside, it remains true: Greek myth has insight into every facet of human existence from the mundane to the cosmic.
And that includes the phenomenon of suicide.
This was on my mind as I arrived in State College, Pennsylvania, to perform for the Pennsylvania Junior Classical League Convention at Penn State.
It was on my mind because of the recent news that one of my favorite singers, Chris Cornell, had taken his life. Check out his version of Nothing Compares 2 U: it's a heartbreaking take on an already heartbreaking song and it captures perfectly what made Cornell one of if not the best rock singer of our time: an otherworldly combination of power and nuance almost always tinged with a mysterious but compelling mix of anger and sadness.
As is often the case with musician deaths, the news of his passing flooded me with memories connected to his music: middle school art class hearing Outshined for the first time; high school going to Lollapalooza with Temple of the Dog blaring out of the van speakers...
And the manner of death also resurrected the unfortunate number of family members and friends who have succumbed to the same fate or been touched by loss to suicide, going all the way back to high school when we lost our friends Mari and Liz to the same demon that took Chris Cornell.
And, to connect to my first point, it also made me think of the Greek hero Ajax, who committed suicide in the context of the Trojan War, largely as a result of a disagreement he had with Odysseus over the armor of Achilles.
One of the most incredible images in Greek art is a vase painting of Ajax setting up his sword in order to fall on it:
So Chris Cornell and Ajax were on my mind as I rolled into the Nittany Lion Inn on the picturesque Penn State campus. My show wasn't until 10:00 pm so I had some time to explore the campus and see the 600 seat room in which I'd perform for the 450 or so high school-aged convention attendees.
The room was gorgeous: epic and live sounding. I wore a lapel microphone while I sang, something I don't usually do, but something that suited the room wonderfully, and created an ambiance around my voice that isn't always present with a regular microphone.
It made me feel like the whole speaker system and really the whole room was an extension of my voice and body and this was electrifying to me as I very consciously tried to channel a bit of Chris Cornell-magic during my performance.
The last chord was still ringing out when the students began applauding and soon were giving me an extended standing ovation, an incredible feeling.
The discussion that followed was typically great and we touched on Odysseus' standing as a hero.
Much of the debate around Odysseus' morals (or lack thereof) generally centers around his fidelity (or lack thereof) to Penelope. This is a question way beyond the scope of this post but high school audiences in particular love to discuss it and generally show disgust at Odysseus' dalliances.
But during this discussion with the kids it occurred to me that Odysseus' role in Ajax's suicide is perhaps a worse mark against his soul.
I remembered book 11 of The Odyssey, in which Odysseus comes face-to-face with Ajax's ghost and Ajax refuses to speak with him and turns away.
That night in a dream I came face-to-face with my own ghost. I was back in the room in which I'd performed but there was only one person in the audience: Chris Cornell. I asked him what he thought about my show and just like Ajax he refused to speak to me.
But he didn't turn away.
He smiled, slowly rose, and gave me a standing ovation.
Rest in peace those who have fallen victim to suicide, from Ajax to Chris Cornell and everyone in between. It's a brutal disease and I'm not sure we talk about it in the right terms if at all. Many illnesses have mortality rates and depression is no different. It seems different because the act of taking one's life gives the illusion of control over the mortality. But this isn't the right way to think about it. Some people, no matter how hard they try, just don't make it.
So practice compassion around depression and suicide, for the individuals and their families. For those who make it and those who don't and leave behind grieving families and friends. The Suicide Prevention Hotline is always there at 1-800-273-8255.


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After viewing the movie, I must state that the story brought a greater awareness of the Holodomor to my attention. The Holodomor was one of the saddest and most tragic of chronicles in the history of the Ukrainian nation. Millions of Mennonites and Ukrainians perished of starvation their lives ended in the most ignoble of circumstances.
The movie identified how the Holodomor was perpetrated by Josef Stalin, not only to eliminate the last traces of resistance to collectivization of farmland but also to promulgate and validate the aims and dogmas of Soviet Communism.
The movie Bitter Harvest had a message. The man-made famine in Ukraine and other famines that have occurred throughout the world will never be forgotten. Famine-genocides have no place in world society. They are painful and ever-fading memory in the minds of eyewitnesses and survivors. As Canadians of different cultural backgrounds, we stand determined that inhuman acts shall never be allowed to happen.
Published on Friday, March 10th in the Winnipeg Free Press.


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jerry suspects that roselle intends to kill him.
and he seeks to locate his old army buddy "whitey" wilson to help him avoid this fate, perhaps by murdering roselle.
stopping outside of syracuse with his new acquaintance pandora wilson on his way to meet whitey in rochester, he buys a newspaper with a sensational headline.
a body identified as roselle's has been discovered in an alley in brooklyn.
earlier that evening roselle had been seen leaving her apartment with a mysterious stranger...
is it a man? roselle wondered.
"hello, miss wilson. it's such a pleasure to see you again, after all these years."
"and it is so wonderful to see you, dear," "miss wilson" answered, in a high, fluttery voice.
"are you not going to invite me inside?" miss wilson asked in the same obviously fake voice..
roselle felt a colder stab of fear, which she quickly suppressed. what was she doing, losing her nerve? like jerry? she wasn't jerry, that was for sure.
"sure, come right in." roselle stepped aside and waved "miss wilson" into the apartment.
"nice place," miss wilson announced in a more normal voice - and a woman's voice - as she surveyed the sitting room and the bar with her back to roselle. she took off her black hat with its veil and sailed it across the room onto a sofa.
roselle thought she recognized the voice…
"it's not as dirty as it looks," she told roselle, "but maybe you don't want it on your lovely furniture."
now roselle did recognize the voice.
miss wilson picked the big handbag off the coffee table and put it on the left side of the sofa beside her hat. then she turned and sat down on the right side of the sofa, facing roselle.
with her disguise completely removed, the visitor was now a young woman who could have been roselle's twin. only the color of her hair - blonde - was noticeably different.
"hello, agnes." roselle tossed the coat she had been handed on to a chair beside the bar. she kept her eyes on the bag on the sofa. "make yourself comfortable, why don't you?"
"a little."
"a little. that's a big admission, from you." agnes noticed roselle's eyes fixed on the bag. "ha, ha! do you think i have a gun in here?"
"well, do you?"
"as a matter of fact, i do. i have one in the bag, and a little one in my pocket." agnes smiled . "but i'm not going to shoot you." she reached into the bag, kept her hand in it for three full seconds with her eyes on roselle , and took out - a box of players cigarettes.
"i don't know what you want or what you are doing," roselle answered. "do you want a drink?"
"i will have one, thank you. just one. are you still a lush?"
"i have a drink when i want one."
"how nice. i suppose you have a lot of things when you want one." agnes lit a cigarette and pulled an ashtray closer to herself on the coffee table.
agnes shrugged. "whatever you're having."
roselle poured herself a glass of straight gin, because she needed it. she decided to give agnes one too, to maybe befuddle her.
"so what is this all about, agnes? i am not in any particular hurry, but you know i was never one for polite talk about nothing."
"in a halloween costume? and using a fake name?" roselle handed agnes her glass of gin.
agnes looked at the glass as if it might bite her and took a small sip and put it down on the table.
roselle sat down. "is this about the lawsuit?"
when they were both fourteen years old, roselle and her cousin agnes had been two of the named parties in an intrafamily lawsuit that neither of them could make head or tail of.
but they did understand that in the end roselle had the largest single chunk of the family fortune and agnes had almost nothing.
"mm." roselle took a big swig of her gin, and it felt so good she took another. "so what do you want?", she asked, in a little nastier tone than she had intended.
"mmm. mmm !." agnes flared up. "it's easy for you to go mmm mmmm! i'm the one who was left with nothing!"
roselle's eyes went back to the bag that supposedly had the gun in it . but she just took another, smaller sip of gin.
roselle was a little surprised by this revelation but just nodded. "yes, but -" she started to say, but agnes interrupted her.
"do you realize what kind of people i've had to associate with all these years? people who don't even have servants!" agnes's eyes glistened. "people who - who have actually been servants themselves!"
roselle repressed a laugh. "but agnes, sometimes people who don't have any money can be actually be kind of interesting . and fun. you can have have fun with them - "
suddenly a terrible thought flashed on roselle. "you didn't - you never had to work for a living, did you?"
"oh, no, no, i never sunk that low!" agnes sniffled, looked at the drink on the table, but did not pick it up. instead she took another cigarette from her box and lit it from the one she had been smoking.
"i am glad to hear it." roselle took a deep breath. "so - what do you want ?"
where is this going, roselle wondered. "uh - we say a lot of silly things when we are kids."
agnes laughed. "i know you kind of skipped over the part about not spending your life drinking. but what about the rest of it? you want some excitement?"
"no, i don't want you to give me money. i have too much self-respect for that, thank you. i want you to help me get some money."
"and how am i going to do that?" roselle asked.
"i have a way to get some money. but i need someone to help me. and i have decided that person is you, dear roselle. i am giving you a chance to make some small amends for the terrible wrong done me as a child."
"don't want to?" agnes picked up the bag . "then i might have to show you just how serious i am. but we don't want that, do we?"
roselle took another sip of gin.
"come on," agnes said. "it will be exciting. we have to meet some dangerous characters. you'll like that, won't you? the kind of dangerous characters you meet when fortune forces you to walk on the dark side, as i have been. isn't that what you always wanted?"
"are you going to put your witch costume back on?" she asked agnes.
"of course. it is all part of the game."
"all right. you put your costume back on and i'll finish my drink." and maybe another, roselle told herself.
"and then we'll go?" agnes asked.
"and then we'll go. it sounds like it might be fun."
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text: The goal of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is to establish a relationship where risks and benefits are shared. With mutual responsibility, value for money is maximized by introducing innovation, best practice and efficient risk transfer, while reducing public debt by procuring private quality controlled services. We facilitate the formation and communication between the partnerships and assist in adopting innovative financial solutions for capital projects.


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Corey Kaster – President of IM Northwest and C. Kaster Agency
Born in Oregon City, I grew up in the Portland area. Throughout school I was always noted as, "very organized, good at school, but is always talking." At the time I couldn't figure out why that would have been a bad thing, and now I know it isn't. Always moving, I like anything active, preferably outdoors – working out, hiking, mountain biking, camping, snowboarding and boating. Other interests include being a technology fiend (if it is new, updated, upgraded, or beta, I am all over it) as well as recently diving into the depths of social media. I never am out of reach of my iPhone, though I know it's place and don't let it disturb meetings, etc. Currently running on a PC platform, I am converting to MAC as these computers die.
Insurance Masters NW/C. Kaster Agency
Insurance Masters NW and C. Kaster Agency began in late 2005 after Corey graduated Portland State University. Armed with a degree in Marketing and Management I was recruited by Farmers Insurance Group. I knew I had to escape the corporate world after being oppressed for the last years of school by a corporate giant. When Farmers contacted me, I researched the company both on the products/services side as well as their agency program. After also researching the market in the Portland area I realized the LGBT community was under served.
I had the concept of starting an agency that met clients needs, educated them in a friendly environment, and supported the needs of the community. Many people did not feel comfortable with their current insurance agent/company and were looking for someone who understood them. I has created an Agency to address those concerns. Offering services for auto, home, life, business, recreational vehicle insurance, and more, I serve the Portland-Vancouver Metro area.


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I kind of realized the prev post was not too cny-ish and so I decided to do a small post abt CNY preparations!
Basically 3 things to do:
OBVS not done by me.
*Daddy has a head full of white hair =/ At least he is not balding:P
*Um. ignore my jeans
3.Face stuffing
All of these are what is going to make me super duper fat. Starting from the left: Those tube like things are deep-fried crispy spring roll things with sia mi (spicy dried shrimp) or ba hu(pork floss).The leaf shaped thing is a covered pineapple tart made by Wayne's (bf) mum. Those flat rectangle things next to it are seaweed crisps. The first two balls are some ba hu cookies (cookies with pork floss) and the 3rd ball is a sugee cookies (milk and ghee cookies). The chocolate thing is some cookie with a chocolate layer topped with mini hearts fondant. The rose-shaped thing is a covered pineapple tart made by mum. The leaf-shaped thing with icing sugar on top is this cookie with a peanut filling inside and next to it is an 'open' pineapple tart, both bought from my tuition's kid's mum. And the long cigar thing is a chocolate filled cream wafer!The picture below is an almond cookie. I missed it out when i took the 'cny goodies family portrait' and also an excuse to show you my pretty nails! (again)
These are the most amazing cream wafers ever!
Only tried the choc one so far though!
NO MORE EATING!*Thanks to Char for taking such a nice pic:)
Yes. I believe this is more cny-ish. will update with a cny post if i look gd in the pictures. HAHA
Happy Chinese New Year again!:)


text: Late last year I noticed my bow navigation light was no longer working on my 2008 Outback. I changed the bulb, and of course that wasn't the issue. I tried to check the wire connections to the light fixture itself. That sucker is in awkward spot! I can't see it no matter how I try to crane my head in there, let alone be able to get a hand or a tool on it if the connection was loose. I also checked the wire connection at the dash switch, seems fine. Any suggestions?


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Using the UP24 fitness tracker in sleep mode, I have data from before and after earthing. I slept for nearly five and a half hours without getting up to use the bathroom. That length of time is significant in and of itself because one of the problems with being diabetic is waking up to urinate several times a night. I don't have blood sugar info for these dates. Blood sugar levels do matter in these cases because high glucose levels cause one to pee more often, even during the day. EMF interference from home wiring is a significant factor. The image on the right simply looks less chaotic.
Looking back, I have had problems sleeping for decades, long before I developed diabetes. With normal blood sugar levels I wasn't getting up as often, but there were many days when I'd be sleepy during the day, even nodding off at work. Even though the technology existed to fix the problem, I didn't know what it was. I just thought I wasn't able to get enough sleep.
For the next "experiment," I'll have a "control" night where I don't use the grounding strap, and a night with it, and I'll take blood sugar measurements before and after.


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When someone in your team does a great job, it is important that they are rewarded appropriately and made to feel valued.
Back slapping and verbal thanks will only go so far before they start to appear empty. When your words are not backed up by action they will begin to feel hollow, and you will lose credibility as a leader.
When motivating your team, make sure that you recognize hard work through a genuine system of bonuses, promotions and pay rises, to keep people giving 100% of their efforts.


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Culled from Flatbed's archives and cleverly curated, "The Aviary" demonstrates how for several decades this fine art print workshop has remained at the forefront in its collaborations with top regional artists.
Using a whimsical point of entry — bird art — this exhibit nevertheless produces a veritable who's who with prints by John Alexander, Kelly Fearing, Frank X. Tolbert, Dan Rizzie, Julie Speed, Luis Jimenez, James Surls, Alice Leora Briggs, Mary McCleary and David Everett.
Details: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Through July 30. Flatbed Press and Gallery, 2832 E. Martin Luther King Blvd. Free. 512-477-9328, www.flatbedpress.com.


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Children of Gebelawi
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
First English-language edition
|Naguib Mahfouz
|Original title
|أولاد حارتنا
|Philip Stewart 1981
Peter Theroux 1996
|1959 (translation 13 April 1981)
|Heinemann (1981)
|Media type
|Print (Paperback)
|355 p. (paperback edition)
|0-435-90225-3 (paperback edition)
Children of Gebelawi, (أولاد حارتنا) is a novel by the Egyptian writer and Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. It is also known by its Egyptian dialectal transliteration, Awlad Haretna, formal Arabic transliteration, Awlaadu Haaratena and by the alternative translated transliteral Arabic title of Children of Our Alley.
It was originally published in Arabic in 1959, in serialised form, in the daily newspaper Al-Ahram. It was met with severe opposition from religious authorities, and publication in the form of a book was banned in Egypt.[1]
It was first printed in Lebanon in 1967. An English translation by Philip Stewart was published in 1981 and is no longer in print; the American University of Cairo had controlled the world rights since 1976 and had licensed Heinemann Educational Books to publish Stewart's version, but Heinemann sold back its rights a few weeks before the Nobel Prize. However, Three Continents Press still had license to publish on the American market, and Stewart wanted to continue publishing quietly in America and to avoid a world-wide relaunch of such a controversial book, but when he refused to sell his copyright, American University of Cairo commissioned a new version by Peter Theroux for Doubleday to launch, Theroux's copyright has been backdated to 1959.[citation needed]
It was this book that earned Naguib Mahfouz condemnation from Omar Abdel-Rahman in 1989, after the Nobel Prize had revived interest in it. As a result, in 1994 – a day after the anniversary of the prize – Mahfouz was attacked and stabbed in the neck by two extremists outside his Cairo home.[2] Mahfouz survived the attack, yet he suffered from its consequences until his death in 2006.
The story recreates the interlinked history of the three monotheistic Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), allegorised against the setting of an imaginary 19th century Cairene alley.
Critics claimed that Gabalawi stands for God. Mahfouz rejected this, saying that he stood for "a certain idea of God that men have made" and that "Nothing can represent God. God is not like anything else. God is gigantic." The first four sections retell, in succession, the stories of: Adam (Adham أدهم) and how he was favoured by Gabalawi over the latter's other sons, including the eldest Satan/Iblis (Idris إدريس). In subsequent generations the heroes relive the lives of Moses (Gabal جبل), Jesus (Rifa'a رفاعة) and Muhammad (Qasim قاسم). The followers of each hero settle in different parts of the alley, symbolising Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The protagonist of the book's fifth section is Arafa (عرفة), who symbolises modern science and comes after the prophets, while all of their followers claim Arafa as one of their own.
Central to the plot are the futuwwat (plural of futuwwa, 'strongman'), who control the alley and exact protection money from the people. The successive heroes overthrow the strongmen of their time, but in the next generation new strongmen spring up and things are as bad as ever. Arafa tries to use his knowledge of explosives to destroy the strongmen, but his attempts to discover Gabalawi's secrets leads to the death of the old man (though he does not directly kill him). The Chief Strongman guesses the truth and blackmails Arafa into helping him to become the dictator of the whole Alley. The book ends, after the murder of Arafa, with his friend searching in a rubbish tip for the book in which Arafa wrote his secrets. The people say "Oppression must cease as night yields to day. We shall see the end of tyranny and the dawn of miracles."
- 1981, UK, Heinemann ISBN 0-435-99415-8 Pub date 1981, paperback (as Children of Gebelawi - Stewart's translation)
- 1988, USA, Three Continents Press ISBN 0-89410-654-6 Pub date 13 April 1981, paperback (as Children of Gebelawi - Stewart's translation)
- 1990, Israel, Am Oved ,[3] Hebrew translation by David Sagiv as Children of our neighborhood בני שכונתנו, end notes by Prof. Sasson Somekh.
- 1996, USA, Doubleday ISBN 0-385-42094-3, Pub date 1996, hardback (as Children of the Alley -Theroux's translation)
- 1997, USA, Passeggata Press, ISBN 0-89410-818-2, Pub date 1997, paperback (as Children of Gebelaawi - Stewart's version revised)
1. Children of Gebelaawi, 1997 edition (referenced above), introduction, pp. vii-xxv.


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| 14.4°C Dublin
IT'S now five years since Irish house prices started to collapse, wiping up to 60 per cent off the price of properties -- and pushing hundreds of thousands of homeowners into negative equity.
Most of those homeowners have been stuck in the negative equity trap for some time now. As well as being unable to sell their home because the sale proceeds would not be enough to repay their hefty boomtime mortgages, many have been forced to become reluctant landlords -- and at a prohibitive cost.
The dramatic collapse in house prices has prompted many homeowners to rent out rather than sell their own home. Doing so allows them to move house and put off selling their property until prices hopefully pick up enough to ensure a house sale pays off their mortgage.
Renting out your home, however, can burn a deep hole in your pocket.
You could pay as much as 55 per cent tax on the profit you make on rental income, says Cathal Maxwell of the tax website, paylesstax.ie.
The tax you pay consists of your higher rate of income tax (which could be 41 per cent) and the universal social charge (7 per cent). An ordinary PAYE worker therefore could pay up to 48 per cent tax on rental income, depending on how much they earn.
If you're self employed or living off investment income, you could also have to pay PRSI of 4 per cent on rental income -- bringing the total amount of tax paid up to 52 per cent. If you're self-employed and earning more than €100,000, you could pay as much as 55 per cent tax on rental income as your earnings over €100,000 attract a universal social charge of 10 per cent.
You can reduce your tax bill by writing off 75 per cent of your mortgage interest against rental income. However, your mortgage interest is only a portion of your mortgage repayment -- you can't write your full mortgage repayments off your rental income.
This could leave you substantially out of pocket if you're only getting enough rent to cover your mortgage repayments -- or indeed, if you can't even secure the rent to cover your mortgage repayments.
There are other expenses which you can deduct off your rental income when calculating the amount of tax you should pay.
Along with the tax on rental income, you must also usually pay the €200 non-principal private residence tax if you rent out your home.
Letting agents can save you the hassle of finding tenants and dealing with tenants' problems. But they don't come cheap.
You could pay a letting agent 6.25 per cent of the rent to find tenants for you -- plus 23 per cent VAT. So if you make €14,400 in rent on a property a year, you'll easily lose about €1,107 to your letting agent.
If your letting agent manages the tenancy as well as letting it out, you could pay fees of between 12.5 and 15.5 per cent a year (plus VAT). So you could pay €2,745 a year to your letting agent if you make annual rent of €14,400.
However, you can deduct letting agent fees from your rental income when calculating your taxes, thereby reducing your bill.
"If hiring a letting agent, ensure the agent is licensed and bonded," said Margaret McCormick,of the Irish Property Owners' Association, which represents landlords. To check if a letting agent is licensed, contact the Property Services Regulatory Authority (www.npsra.ie).
A landlord's house insurance is easily 50 per cent more expensive than insurance for a home you live in, according to David Hughes, director of online insurer, getcover.ie.
"Tenants are usually not as careful with your home as you would be, so there tend to be more claims for a rented property," says Hughes. "As a result, landlord insurance is significantly more expensive than insurance for a property you live in yourself." If you want to keep your house insurance bill down, it could work out cheaper to rent to a family, professionals or retired people. "Student tenants tend to result in higher house insurance premiums," said the IPOA's McCormick.
That cheap tracker mortgage you snapped up could be a thing of the past if you rent out your home.
Some banks will pull your tracker mortgage if you rent out your home -- but this will depend on your tracker mortgage contract and your financial circumstances.
If you're renting out your home because you're having difficulty paying your mortgage, you should be able to hold on to your tracker. But if you're renting out your home so you can buy another property or rent out a larger home, you could lose your tracker -- and end up with an interest rate three times the size.
A PTSB spokeswoman said a customer could lose their tracker rate and be moved on to a residential investment mortgage interest rate of 5.8 per cent "if the customer is simply moving from one property to another for lifestyle or other reasons".
A spokeswoman for AIB said its approach "is not to amend the tracker rate, particularly in cases where the house continues to be the customer's only property. But if a customer wishes to buy a new home, this will be subject to a separate contract. As a customer may only have one principal dwelling house, the existing mortgage would then be classified as a buy-to-let and would be subject to discussion."
A spokeswoman for Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland said each customer's case would be considered individually.
If you rent out your home, you must register the tenancy with the Private Residential Tenancies Board, which costs €90.
You must also get a BER (Building Energy Rating) cert for your home. A BER cert usually costs between €100 and €150 but it could be higher. You must pay the €100 household charge -- which is to be replaced by the property tax next year.
All the above financial headaches will pale in comparison to that caused by a tenant who does not pay the rent. "You could be 18 months trying to get a tenant who doesn't pay the rent out of your property," said McCormick.
"It's good to get references for tenants from employers and previous landlords -- but it's very difficult to protect yourself from troublesome tenants."
Still want to play landlord?
Sunday Indo Business


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Prince smiling again as Kate improves
Prince William has emerged smiling from the hospital where his pregnant wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, is responding well to treatment for acute morning sickness.
TWO Australian radio hosts have pushed Prince William and his wife Kate off the front page in the UK by pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles.
In a breach of protocol that has stunned the British, radio DJs from 2Day FM managed to trick staff at the private King Edward VII Hospital into revealing detailed information about Kate, who is pregnant.
The Duchess of Cambridge was admitted to hospital on Monday suffering Hyperemesis Gravidarum or acute morning sickness, and has been on a drip and medication since.
The radio presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian telephoned the hospital and were put through to a nurse in the duchess' ward, posing as the Queen and Prince Charles.
"She's sleeping at the moment and she has had an uneventful night. She's been given some fluids, she's stable at the moment," the nurse said believing she was talking to the ruling monarch and the heir to the throne.
"I would suggest that any time after nine o'clock will be suitable to visit. We'll be getting her freshened up."
The nurse added: "She's quite stable. She hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off."
The hoax call was done on Tuesday just a day after Kate was driven to hospital by Prince William who was then forced to publicly reveal she was pregnant, ahead of the normal 12-week period for making pregnancies public.
The palace has refused to comment about the embarrassing hoax saying they were leaving responses to the hospital.
Hospital chief executive John Lofthouse said the hospital denounced the action as foolish and regrettable.
"This was a foolish prank call that we all deplore," he said. "We take patient confidentiality extremely seriously and we are now reviewing our telephone protocols."
The apparent security and protocol breach has been headline news all day in the UK where such stunts involving the royals are rare and frowned upon.
Critically there is wide disbelief that two hosts with such poor imitating accents could get through the security cordon thrown over the royal couple. Greig simply asked to speak to her "granddaughter" Kate and a nurse replied "yes ma'am".
"Are they putting us through?' Christian asked on air. "If this has worked, it's the easiest prank call we've ever made. Your accent sucked, by the way."
After a nurse came on the line and said Kate was on fluids to rehydrate, Grieg replied:" Oh well I'll just feed my corgis then" while two colleagues made barking sounds in the background.
Still in Queen character she then asked her colleague, posing as the 64-year-old Prince Charles, when he could get her down there to the hospital.
The radio station later apologised for the prank, tweeting the stunt was done with the best of intentions and wishing Kate and Wills all the best. It is understood station lawyer heard the recording before it was broadcast.
The prank dominated UK news websites overnight with many expressing outrage.
The Telegraph asked the question: How is it OK to dupe a hospital? while The Sun called the DJs "brazen" and The Daily Mail reported on Buckingham Palace's fury at the privacy breach.
The British press has been on its best behaviour in light of the Leveson inquiry into ethics and standards of British media, a report of which was released last week and recommended it be regulated, with a new regulatory body underpinned by new laws. The move is being fought by editors who believe they can be disciplined enough to self regulate.
It is not the first time that the royal family have been targeted by hoax callers. In 1995 Canadian DJ Pierre Brassard, posing as then Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien, was put through to the queen.
The pair spoke for around 15 minutes and Brassard even managed to elicit a promise that the queen would try to influence Quebec's referendum on proposals to break away from Canada.
Originally published asAussie radio hosts sorry for royal prank


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20 Sep Craft Spirits Carnival
Posted at 01:59h in Events 0 Comments
Cutler's will be at this years 2014 Craft Spirits Carnival being held Ft. Mason in San Francisco on Sat. & Sun. Sept. 20th-21st. Looking forward to a great event with several of California's craft distilleries participating in this years event, it is sure to be a great weekend.


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We provide an on going event program for a brand new event space in Southampton for Hammerson. The Esplanade is a large open space in front of the old city walls which The Fair have been contracted to provide a series of events. Our teams work on Event Feasibility, Creative Production through to Event Health & Safety, Curation, Live Event and Technical Production to create events that animates the space, drive footfall and support the surrounding restaurants.
To create a destination in Westquay South and support F&B through increase footfall and sales. With a series of events in the program, we aim to establish Westquay South as an event and social destination.
We work with Hammerson to develop a year long event program which is a combination of cultural, performances, screenings and art.
Delivery for 2 week Wimbledon Event
Complete event management and production for over the two weeks.
Design and curate the creative theming for the event.
Source and manage all suppliers – Manage relationship with site management
Display of brand collateral.
Manage and run an operating bar throughout the two weeks, serving a selection of wine, beer and cocktails. Managing and running a Pimm's bar and bus throughout the event.
Health & Safety and crowd control plans
Risk Assessments
Measuring footfall and attendance
Staffing of support team and timetabling of Ambassadors
Ensure a high quality presentation at all times
Manage team of security on site from build to de-rig
14 full days of Wimbledon Matches
Over 49,000 people engaging with the event over the two weeks
2 bars
8m LED screen against the city wall


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In the 1951 sci-fi movie "The Day the Earth Stood Still," pedestrians are seen descending staircases on the edge of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. These days, the stairs are still there, but now they're blocked off. They led to a once-busy 75,000-square-foot below-ground streetcar station built in 1949. The station has been closed since 1962.Private capital built the streetcar systems. Rent-seekers destroyed them.
Dupont Circle's ghostly streetcar station is another reminder that America once had an extensive and efficient interurban transit system. Now, as cities from Buffalo to San Diego look to light rail — today's iteration of the streetcar, which itself evolved from the horse-drawn omnibus — it's worth thinking about the astonishing transit system we built and then threw away.
A century ago, there were nearly 34,000 miles of streetcar tracks connecting neighborhoods to downtowns, and towns to neighboring towns. (I've been told that it was possible to travel from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia on local streetcars and trolleys, although that would have been one long and unpleasant trip.)In fact, it was once possible to ride local streetcars and interurbans from somewhere near Albany all the way to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The fastest running was between Cleveland and Toledo, and again in the Chicago area. But only an intrepid adventurer would essay such a trip. There may be such an account in the rudimentary rail enthusiast press of the day.
Overwhelmingly, those tracks were built by private investors. In the late 19th and early 20th century, it was streetcars, not automobiles, that created the first suburbs.Look at video of the John Kennedy funeral. The march from the White House to the parish church is along Connecticut, and the tracks are visible. Seeking a streetcar suburb? One still exists, complete with the cars. Shaker Heights in Ohio used to be served by Shaker Heights Rapid Transit, now an authority.
If you live in an urban area, the evidence is all around you. I live in D.C., not far off Connecticut Avenue, which is broad and gently graded because of the streetcars that once ran along it. The Chevy Chase Land Co. built Connecticut Avenue across miles of farmland to take people from the suburb that still bears the company's name to downtown D.C., eventually linking up to that now-deserted Dupont Circle station.
Connecticut Avenue's streetcar tracks are long gone, but down in Georgetown, you can take a bumpy car ride along blocks of cobblestoned side streets where trolley rails remain in place.