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"However many sorrows you drag along with you, you'll only have walked a few steps before bumping into someone who will remind you that there's always another person with a far worse set of cards than yours in the game of life."
Ruiz Zafon, Carlos. The Labyrinth of the Spirits (Cemetery of Forgotten Books) (p. 193). Harper.
(In 1919, one hundred years ago:
WWI officially ended in June 1919.
Einstein's theory of general relativity is tested/confirmed by Arthur Eddington's observation of a total solar eclipse in Principe and by Andrew Crommelin in Sobral, Ceará, Brazil.
Women's rights: The United States Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which would guarantee suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
Prohibition begins: The United States Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson's veto.
The American-born Lady Astor is elected to the British House of Commons, becoming on December 1 the first female MP to take a seat.
Female suffrage in Germany and Luxembourg.
May 25 Madam C. J. Walker [Sarah Breedlove], African American entrepreneur (First American self-made female millionaire, Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company), dies of kidney failure complications at 51.)
The Coming of the Holidays
Sickness eventually, like most journeys, features periods of high and low adventure stitched together with periods of annoyance and joy. Then one briefly feels the excitement of reaching his or her goal. — Well, a goal if you achieve health — other options, not so much. A few days telling the stories of high excitement follow, then creeping boredom begins urging you to move on again to somewhere or someplace else. I've, alas, grown tired of my adventures with the dread disease. It's been a week since my actual treatment began. Things went right, then wrong, then right once more, and so on. I thought when treatment began I would be happy and see each visit as another adventure of sorts or perhaps even experience a few descents into slap-stick. No, no such luck, they have now just become boring.
Anyway, the Holidays are rumbling on toward us. I am disappointed that I will not be able to attend my sister's Christmas celebration this year. I will miss visiting with my Mendocino friends, Debbie, Nancy and Duncan, Maryjane and her clown, Brendan and Ashley, Katie and Quinn, Ester, and everyone else. Buon Natale to all.
Christmas in Mendocino
I usually hate the holiday season — too much expectation, scant reward. My sister's celebrations, however, are different, always better than anticipated.
More news about the Mysterious Orb.
Apparently, my announcement about the disappearance of the Mysterious Orb was premature. As you may recall, it appeared suddenly in the street in front of our home with a sign attached reading something like, "Take me — free." It sulked around for a few days. Suddenly, the sign attached to the orb sprouted some more words declaring, "I am a fountain." A day or two later, it disappeared from lurking in front of the house. I not many days after that, I dutifully reported here in "This and That" that I thought it had departed to find neighborhoods exhibiting greater empathy.
I was wrong. Naida told me today, that she has seen the Mysterious Orb skulking about in the alleyway that leads to the garages in back of the homes. She described both its demeanor and location as "slinking about." It stayed about one week moving from one unmemorable location to another until It disappeared again a few days ago.
While writing this, I thought it would be a good idea to leash up the dog for his evening constitutional and have a look around to see if the whereabouts or fate of the Orb could be discerned. And so, Boo-boo and I departed the house and set out on our search. We explored the front lawns of the nearby houses, the street and the alleyway behind the homes. Not a trace of the Orb could be found. So, I decided to ford on off the property and into the narrow woods that covered the small hill separating Campus Commons from Howe Avenue.
Suddenly, as I brushed by some waist-high bushes, I glanced down to my right and discovered the Orb hiding behind a bush from which, I was sure, it could furtively observe the alleyways and garages. It was not more than a one or more quick steps from bustling Howe Avenue.
What to make of all this: Is it not as it declared, "A fountain?" Does it secretly travel about the neighborhood spying (Remember there are at least two human "spies" living in the subdivision.) Is someone, screwing with my mind by rolling that cement ball around — gaslighting me? Why? Who? Is Naida playing a joke on me? Is this a Christmas present from an alien presence on earth? Is the dog thinking of telling me something I should know? Too many questions, too little time.
I did it.
I mentioned in my last post that my frenetic repostings of two of my blogs on Facebook and other sites were intended as an effort to beat my annual number of views received by each. Well, by Christmas Eve I did it. I am proud of me. It makes me about as happy as learning that the Mysterious Orb still exists and is prowling about outside our door tonight. I can rest until the New Year.
A Christmas Story.
On the day before Christmas, I did not leave the house until the evening. That was OK. It was a grey day with a light drizzle and I was not feeling well. I did not sleep much during the night and the side effects of the cancer treatment played havoc with my body and emotions. I spoke with HRM on FaceTime. He had just finished a day of snowboarding at a ski-resort above Lago Maggiore. He looked well and happy.
HRM at Lago Maggiore
Nikki was there also. He looked pleased but seems to have put on weight. HRM is soon off to England to spend a few days with Adrian's family after which they will all fly with Nikki to NYC to welcome in the new year among the Times Square throngs.
I rested in the afternoon. Then I prepared to attend the Christmas Eve party with Naida's children and their families. Naida spent part of the day practicing Christmas Carols on the piano. I concluded that meant we would spend a good part of the evening caroling.
I expected the side effects of the treatment will limit my eating, drinking, and singing. I hoped it would not put a damper on anyone's enjoyment.
I remember, one night in Sicily about 50 years ago following the local automobile races. The participants and their families gathered at a large farmhouse among the vineyards. The old grandmother, who was bedridden, insisted her bed be dragged from the bedroom and positioned in the center of the salon. She spent the evening lying there telling all who would listen that she was happy everyone was having such an enjoyable time singing and dancing and how much suffering her various maladies caused her. It was all great fun. Later my girlfriend and I slipped out of the house and walked through the vineyards until the music and the laughter drifting out from the open windows spread across the hills adding their silver sounds to the silver light of the full moon. There we spent the rest of the night until the first light of sunrise brightened the eastern skies somewhere beyond Mt. Etna.
Shortly before we were to leave for the Christmas party, I gave Naida the present I had bought her, a large brown leather purse. She was distressed that the present she had gotten for me had not arrived yet. She rushed out to the mailbox to see if there was a late night delivery.
She returned carrying a large box and happily announced, "It arrived!" She then left me to open the box, took the purse and went upstairs to prepare herself to leave for the party.
I set about cutting away through the tough cellophane tape that bound the box closed. After a while, I had severed enough of them to be able to rip open the box. In it, I found the box filled with dried flowers. Lot's of dried flowers.
Now, I have learned in the past few months that Naida's thought processes could be quite subtle and so I decided not to jump to any conclusions and spent the next 15 or 20 minutes attempting to unravel the conundrum of symbols and goals that this gift, one of love I was sure, represented.
I couldn't help but recall the 0'Henry story of the down and out Babbitts of NY. She who cut off her magnificent hair to purchase a watch fob on which he could hang his grandfathers pocket watch of which he was so proud and he in turn selling that same watch in order to buy her a glorious baret to display in her hair.
Eventually, I gave up trying to rationalize my way through the puzzle and carried the box upstairs. There I found Naida in distress. "I cannot find the purse," she exclaimed. "It just disappeared." Now, this was not some little purse, but one of those giant ones that someone could carry everything they own in it, even a small car. We searched everywhere. No purse.
I then showed her the box of dried flowers. "No," she said, "it's supposed to be a Hat. The winter hat you wanted, not dried flowers."
We eventually reasoned that the dried flowers belong to one of the medical students living with us who plans to wed in a month or so. "But," she said, "where's your hat?"
We drove to her daughter's house. Along the way, I noticed Naida appeared distressed. I asked her what was that matter. "I must be losing my mind," she replied. "First, your present to me disappears and then there is no hat."
The party was pleasant. We sang carols. Naida and Jenifer, her daughter, played the piano. I was a little too ill to fully enjoy it all.
Caroling in Sacramento.
After returning home, I climbed the steps to the bedroom with the dog trailing along behind. He scooted over to his bed and sat in that proud erect way dogs sometimes do. He stared a slightly arrogant stare into my eyes. "Oh ho," I thought, "what do we have here?" I looked closer and saw a small patch of brown leather peeking up from a fold in the dog blanket. He glanced were I looked. He knew he was caught out. He tried to resume his arrogant look but could only manage shame. "The game is up."
Apparently, while Naida was otherwise occupied, he dragged the leather purse to the dog bed — the purse being about the same size as the dog bed. He carefully tucked it in the bottom so it lay perfectly flat. He then dragged over one of his blankets and tucked that in so that the purse was well hidden.
I called Naida to come upstairs. When she arrived, I told her the story and added, "See you are not going senile at all." She seemed dubious. "Look at it this way," I said. "We solved not one but two mysteries. We had a good time at the party. We discovered our dog to be a master criminal and we came away with a great story. What better Christmas could one have."
She remained dubious. "Yes," she drawled, "but what about your hat."
An old year ends
On Christmas night at the early hour of 6PM, I slipped into bed, sipped from my well-steeped cup of cannabis tea and opened my computer. My thought was to make some sort of plan for the remaining six days of the year. Not so much a to-do list as a muddle-about-file which I could, now and then, dip into without too much difficulty in order to pass the time while waiting for this arbitrary section of my life to dribble on to the next.
The first thing to pass through my mind was Joyce's opening line to Ulysses: "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed."
Buck Mulligan
I haven't the slightest idea why it did. Except perhaps, to encourage me to contemplate why I would consider ending the year pondering the opening line of Ulysses. Perhaps, having not yet consumed enough tea made such reflection worthwhile. Maybe, my subconscious was attempting to jump-start the evening's descent into irrelevancy.
The second item to suggest itself as a subject worth ruminating on was the first thing I read on my computer after opening it. Under a heading entitled notable events on history on this day, I read: "1194 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of the Romans [Germany], Sicily and Jerusalem, born in Lesi, Italy."
That was something I felt was of little more consequence. Or, at least, I generally considered that someone who in his time was referred to as "Stupor Mundi" (Wonder of the World) was someone of greater consequence than "stately plump Buck Mulligan" and his shaving utensils — Then again perhaps not. Fredrick later in life was also referred to as "The Anti-Christ." Nevertheless, I still felt, someone who held suzerainty over most of Medieval Europe, was of more consequence than a fictional med-student with flamboyant grooming habits — Then again, perhaps not.
Nicholas II
"Stupor Mundi" was clearly not fictional, although his adventures and the stories about him rival that of any character inhabiting the world of fiction. As to why I would consider intentionally including the contemplation of one or the other or both into my remaining six day's of 2018, I have no idea. Perhaps it is because it is a mystery requiring a solution and that always pleases one's consciousness. Perhaps it does not. Maybe it just has something to do with the cannabis. Take chess, for example, it has always appealed to me as a worthwhile way to cut two or three hours from one's life. On the other hand, cocaine, cannabis and a host of other things, I think would do so as well, without requiring your consciousness to leap from the chair in which it had been dozing and actually exert itself entertaining you.
Strange Dream.
Since upping my medications in order to mitigate the side effects of my treatments, my dreams at night have become even stranger than usual. Last night, I found myself, a much younger man, well-dressed wandering about my dream New York. My dream NY is not at all like the NY I remember. It is a real estate development made up of large buildings in vibrant colors and streets dark, bleak, and dank. In this dream, a young man I knew, for some reason lost to the vagaries of dream memories, had been killed by the authorities. People were organizing to protest the death. The mayor and his advisers swore to put down the disturbance with maximum force.
I put myself front and center swearing to risk body and health in protest. As the police and soldiers could be heard approaching, everyone ran away leaving me alone to confront them. Alas, the police never arrived.
I then noticed another group of protestors forming. This one, well equipped with PR people. Again I put my body at the forefront willing to risk it in the name of the right and good. Again as the military closed in, the protestor's disappeared, leaving me alone once more. After about four more events like this, I decided, I was not going to give up body and soul in the name of the right and good or anything resembling it, so I went home to take a nap and ponder the imponderables of life.
The Cat in the Hat.
The day after Christmas my hat arrived. It is red. It has a fluffy band around the outside. It might be a women's hat or a pimp's. I love it.
Here I am, the cat in the red hat standing by the wreath made by Naida from detritus from the Enchanted Forest
The Cat, The Hat, The Wreath, and The Hibiscus.
From Christmas to the New Year
The first day after Christmas I spent with Dick, exchanging presents, picking up mail, and discussing Governor-elect Newsom's plans for California and the possibility of his running for President in 2020. Hayden left me a much needed back-scratcher shaped like a stretching cat. Dick gave me a fine elegant sweater.
The next day, George and Maryanne arrived bringing gifts. George brought me a brown winter hat and Mary a bitching shirt. Here I am, The cat in the red hat on the top of the brown hat wearing the bitching shirt.
The Cat, the Red Hat, The Brown Hat, The Bitching Shirt and a Pair of Sunglasses.
We ate dinner together that evening a Zocalo's a local Mexican restaurant the Naida and I have grown to like.
That night I had one of my most difficult dreams. It was a large space and horrible full of screaming, anguish, and fury. I awoke in terror and was afraid to return to sleep so I sat up. Eventually, I fell asleep. The next dream was different. Somehow I was high on a mountain on the border between Russia and some other country, I do not know which. I was living with a pleasant family of one ethnic group and a few steps away across the border lived a poverty-stricken family from the ethnic group they had been at war with for generations. We opened a cantina to service travelers. The other tribe settled down opened shops and prospered. I built a house overlooking the valley.
Capital Park.
The next day, my sister, George, Naida and I traveled into downtown Sacramento to walk about one of my favorite parks, Capital Park. During the five years or so I have been living in the Sacramento area, I would try to spend at least day or so a month at that park. I usually would have my breakfast (Coffee and Bagel with cream cheese) at a restaurant called Chicory on the corner of eleventh in a building in which I had my office when I worked in Sacramento. It was a nice attractive place with a back room with a fireplace and a few comfortable armchairs. I also liked to see what new and strange tattoos the baristas had acquired that month. After breakfast, I would cross the street and spend the rest of the day walking around the park or sitting motionless staring at a particular monument or tree.
Surprisingly, of all the Vietnam War Memorials that sprung up following that regrettable conflict, I appreciate that one in Capitol Park the most. As a work of art, it is crabbed and inward looking. That is its beauty, I think. It is a monument to neither the heroism nor the misery of war but its banality, the burden of which is first borne by the troops at the front and then later by those back home who eventually wonder what it was all for. There are no necessary wars only mistakes and aggression.
We spent a good deal of time at the Fireman's Memorial where George could pay homage to firemen friends who he served with and who died in service. Then George and Mary left, back to Mendocino, and Naida and I returned to the Enchanted Forest. There we will wait out the end of this year.
More Dreams
One night, while waiting for the year to wind down, I had a dream.
Well, first let me tell you about what I think about dreams. No, I do not buy what those strangely obsessed physicians living in and around Vienna thought during the dawning years of the Twentieth Century nor their descendants. To me, a dream is simply non-quantum reality. Time and place are simply mathematical abstractions that impinge upon our neurons. In dreams, however, time and place and most of what we think we know during our waking life are not necessary for existence. They are only arbitrary elements.
Ah… well, enough — the dreams:
I first found myself on an airplane flying into an airport somewhere. We were not too far away, perhaps beginning our descent when I heard the shout. "Kill the Jews." It came over the speaker and a few passengers jumped from their seats joining in. "The Nazis are at it again," I thought and hunkered down hoping it was only an idiotic cowardly far-right group like the "Proud Boys" trying to stir things up and then running away. Then the killing started. Somehow, I found myself in the first class section. There were a few Jewish businessmen there. They asked me to help them escape. As we landed I led them crawling through what seemed to be the airplane's engines into the large terminal. As we ran through the Terminal, others were running to escape the slaughter also. Those too old or weak would slip through a door opening into a side room off the endless corridors hoping their pursuers would not check those rooms. I felt, no I knew, in the dream, in my dream, they were going to die. I did not know who they were. They seem like everyone, every skin shade, and every dress type. I remember a Muslim dressed in a thobe, Bisht and kaffiyeh seeking refuge in one of those rooms. There were all sorts of people. "Why was I helping only the rich escape?" Then I awoke. I sat up and drifted back to sleep. The next four or five dreams all took place on public transportation, ships, planes, and trains. Always, the same — the screaming would start, then the killing. I would rush to the windows and break them. Then, I would help those trying to escape by pushing them through.
Then they would come. Large blood-shot eyes, slightly pointy teeth, they looked like Gollum although not as handsome. They ignored me like I was a wooden post. All they wanted was to get at their victims. I would put myself in their way as best I could in an effort to keep them away from their intended victims. I continued to push their prey through the windows. Often shards of glass would slice into their flesh as I pushed them. I never knew if any survived.
After each dream, I would sit up. Not because I feared to return to the dream but because I simply wanted to restore my strength. I did not know why I had to do what I was doing or whether it did any good or not, but I had to do it.
Then, in my last dream of the night, everything changed. No more was I the blind beast compelled to do what I thought was right but having no idea if it was or was not. In this dream interestingly enough, Goggin appeared. Like in real life whenever he appears, it was interesting — this time to my great surprise, I became rich — six million dollars rich. But as usual, it was not what I wanted, far from it. Perhaps I will tell you about it next year.
This mostly dismal year is now ending. Strangely, I think it is one of the best years of my life, even though it began in sorrow. I watched HRM grow from boy to teetering on manhood, discovered in Naida the love I always craved, laughed with joy of life with my Sister Maryanne and my Brother-in-law — no, George I consider my real brother, there is nothing In-law that I feel about him — My friends, Peter, Barrie, Dick, Ruth (my conscience) and yes Terry too and so many others who had been there for me when I most needed them and least expected them to be.
Tomorrow The New Year 2019 begins. To anyone who reads this far and to all those I send it to whether they want it of not, may next year last all year for you all.
One of the pleasures of being old is that now whatever foolish things I say, write or do are usually ascribed to senility or the wisdom of the aged.
Doug Jones writes:
"On Boxing Day [December 26] 2004, a tsunami resulting from a 9.0+ magnitude earthquake killed about 250,000 people around the Indian Ocean. This was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. The Indian Ocean tsunami illustrated a major theme on this blog: the importance of catastrophe in human history, and in the history of life and the universe"
"Earthquakes are one example of a phenomenon following a power law statistical distribution. The frequency of earthquakes drops off as an exponential function of their magnitude, so that on a logarithmic scale, the magnitude-frequency relationship looks linear. This is known as the Gutenberg-Ritter relation. (The deviation from linearity in the upper left part of the chart below may reflect measurement error, with a lot of tiny earthquakes not being detected.)"
"Power law distributions are found in many other contexts, for example, in the frequency of wars versus their magnitude [as measured by the number of war deaths]. A power law distribution is very different from the more familiar bell-curve Gaussian normal distribution: extreme "black swan" events that are astronomically unlikely under a normal distribution may happen at an appreciable frequency under a power law distribution. Depending on the exponent, a power law distribution may not have a well-defined variance or even a well-defined mean."
"For a technical discussion of why small scale processes sometimes aggregate to generate normally distributed outcomes, and other times aggregate to produce power law distributions, here's an article on The common patterns of nature. A take home lesson — not always covered in introductory treatments of statistics and probability theory — is that catastrophes and extreme outcomes can be an expectable part of the natural order."
"Finally, Steven Pinker and Nichlas Nassim Taleb have been squabbling about the implications of all this for the probability of a peaceful future. Here's a level-headed review. And here are a couple of blog posts from me about why the bloody early twentieth century was maybe more than just a run of bad luck."
By the way, the competing (or, a) theory is the famous and infamous "Bell Curve." That placing the data points on a two vector grid events tend to congregate forming a hump or hill and if repeated, a wave. In other words, predicting the future of historical events on a two-axis graph produces either an inclined plane or a bell curve. Why this is so, I have no Idea. Maybe someday, I will find out. Right now, however, I couldn't give a fig. (Actually, there is very little I would not give for a good fig.)
A. Trenz Pruca's Observations:
The United States is now presented with the age age-old bind of politics: Is the leader an ideologue or just an idiot?
B. Today's Poem:
All though not my favorite for here in this post, I am aware that this year's Winter Solstice Holiday's Season is coming rapidly to a close. So, I decided to post this evening's poem, In A Drear-Nighted December by John Keats. Unlike many of the other poets practicing in the poetic world, Keats could have done better.
In A Drear-Nighted December
In drear-nighted December,
Too happy, happy tree,
Thy branches ne'er remember
Their green felicity:
The north cannot undo them
With a sleety whistle through them;
Nor frozen thawings glue them
From budding at the prime.
In drear-nighted December,
Too happy, happy brook,
Thy bubblings ne'er remember
Apollo's summer look;
But with a sweet forgetting,
They stay their crystal fretting,
Never, never petting
About the frozen time.
Ah! would 'twere so with many
A gentle girl and boy!
But were there ever any
Writhed not at passed joy?
The feel of not to feel it,
When there is none to heal it
Nor numbed sense to steel it,
Was never said in rhyme.
John Keats
C. Adventures with Hayden:
Hayden and I were watching television. Rather he was watching and I was playing with my computer. Someone on the show he was watching was crying. Hayden turned to me and said, "He is crying because his grandpa died. Pookie, I don't want you to die. When are you going to start getting younger?"
"There is more than one heart unruled, on the walled shore and the new-caulked ships, watching the set faces on the ships grow more and more distant from the set faces upon the land, until the last sight of sails and gilded weather vanes is gone over the curve of the sea, and the day grows bright to noon."
Saunders, Graydon. The Human Dress. Tallwoods Books.


text:
Found 12 resultsAuthor Keyword [ Title] Type Year
Filters: Author is László Tóth [Clear All Filters]
A Comparative Evaluation of GMM-Free State Tying Methods for ASR. Proceedings of Interspeech. :1626–1630.. 2017.
DNN-Based Feature Extraction and Classifier Combination for Child-Directed Speech, Cold and Snoring Identification. Proceedings of Interspeech. :3522–3526.. 2017.
DNN-based Feature Extraction for Conflict Intensity Estimation from Speech. IEEE Signal Processing Letters. 24:1837–1841.. 2017.
DNN-Based Ultrasound-to-Speech Conversion for a Silent Speech Interface. Proceedings of Interspeech. :3672–3676.. 2017.
A feature selection-based speaker clustering method for paralinguistic tasks. Pattern Analysis and Applications. 21:193–204.. 2018.
GMM-Free Flat Start Sequence-Discriminative DNN Training. Proceedings of Interspeech. :3409–3413.. 2016.
Harmonic alternatives to sine-wave speech. INTERSPEECH.. 2003.
A Speech Recognition-based Solution for the Automatic Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment from Spontaneous Speech. Current Alzheimer Research. 15:130–138.. 2018.
Study of The Performance of Various Classifiers in Labeling Non-Functional Requirements. Information Technology and Control. 48:1-16.. 2019.
Towards an Accurate Prediction of the Question Quality at Stack Overflow Using a Deep-Learning-Based NLP Approach. Proceedings of ICSOFT 2019, 14th International Conference on Software Technologies. :631-639.. 2019.
Training Context-Dependent DNN Acoustic Models Using Probabilistic Sampling. Proceedings of Interspeech. :1621–1625.. 2017.
Various Robust Search Methods in a Hungarian Speech Recognition System. Acta Cybernetica. 16:229–240.. 2003.

subset: commoncrawl


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As a researcher, Dr. Lorna Boschman is learning how community members share health-related knowledge via digital storytelling. As a teacher, she shares her skills in the critical and technical use of digital media in both community and academic settings.
Over the last four years, Dr. Boschman worked closely with Dr. Mary Bryson on "Cancer's Margins", an arts- and community-based research study. The national research team looked at how LBGT2Q people who have been diagnosed with breast or gynecological cancer have accessed care, are supported while in treatment, and communicated health knowledge. Lorna's collaboration on Cancer's Margins as a mentor included working with a lesbian living with metastatic cancer.
As a media artist, she shares unique perspectives from within social justice struggles. From her earliest documentary Scars (1986), through collaborations with Vancouver artists in Kiss & Tell (1992-2002), the self-advocate community in this ability (2006) and From the Inside/OUT! (2000), and a digital storytelling mentorship supporting a lesbian living with metastatic cancer in just being (2015), Lorna's experimental documentary filmmaking reveals hidden stories beneath visible layers. Talking Poles (2009-10) incorporates community-based personal narratives into an interactive public art installation in South Surrey.
In recent years, curated programs of Lorna's work have appeared as exhibitions (Milan 2014) and theatrical programs (Brussels 2014). At the 2011 Panorama of Quebec and Canadian Video, 29 Festival International Du Film Sur L'Art, in Montréal, Lorna was a featured media artist. In October 2016, Lorna Boschman was chosen by a jury of her peers as the Vancouver's Mayor's Arts Awards 2016 honouree in Film & New Media.
Lorna holds a PhD (2012, SFU) and MA (2007, SFU) in Interactive Arts and Technology and BFA (2005, ECADU) in Film/Video.
Published in November 2016


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Big Brother 2014: CBS Offers Every Season of Big Brother on DemandBy: jerrica Tisdale on October 17, 2014
Yesterday, CBS announced their new streaming service called CBS All Access. The program has a similar setup to streaming companies like Netflix and Hulu. CBS All Access offers VOD (Videos on Demand) for many of their current and classic programming. What makes CBS All Access a bit different from other streaming companies is that it also allows subscribers to watch live broadcasts of their 14 networks.
CBS All Access has some other interesting perks, especially for Big Brother fans. Deadline revealed that with CBS All Access, you can watch all sixteen Big Brother seasons on demand. Now Big Brother superfans can relive some of their favorite moments and seasons. This also helps people who want to apply for Big Brother 17, but don't have an extensive knowledge of the show's history and contestants. This hopefully ensures that the Big Brother 17 cast offer up some compeling game play.
Not only can fans relive the best Derrick Levasseur, Will Kirby, Dan Gheesling, Danielle Reyes, and Janelle Pierzina, to name a few, moments, but also save money on the Live Feeds. That's right Big Brother fans, if you subscribe to CBS All Access, you also get the Big Brother 17 Live Feeds.
CBS All Access currently only costs $5.99 a month. For people that usually purchase the Live Feeds, the $5.99 a month All Access subscription might be a tempting alternative than paying between $9.99 a month, or $26.99 for the entire season (not counting the $23.99 early bird pass). However the $5.99 discount might not be a huge one if you're only subscribing to CBS All Access for Big Brother Live Feeds.
Big Brother 17 would likely run from the end of June to mid-September. In order to see all of the Live Feeds, you'll have to pay $5.99 from June to September, which equals about $23.96. Not a big difference from the early bird pass. However, if you're a CBS lover, only paying $5.99 a month to see all your favorite shows, plus getting Big Brother past seasons on demand, and the Live Feeds, might make it a good deal.
Get the latest Big Brother news by RSS, Email, Twitter, on Facebook, and Uncensored Online
Recent Big Brother News from Big Brother Access:
- Big Brother 22 Spoilers Week 1 Power of Veto Ceremony Results (08/10/20)
- Big Brother 22: All Stars Cast Assessment
- Big Brother 2020 Ep 2 Recap: Safety Suite Comp
- Big Brother 22 Live Feeds: Kaysar and Ian Talk About Being On The Autism Spectrum
- Big Brother 22 Spoilers Week 1 Power of Veto Competition Results (08/08/20)


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The Myth of Government Innovation
by Andrea Di Maio | October 24, 2011 | Comments Off on The Myth of Government Innovation
This morning I sat in a panel on technology innovation in the context of the ACT-IAC Executive Leadership Conference, held in Williamsburg, Virginia. The panel, which was moderated by Rob Atkinson (President of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), featured Lisa Schlosser (Deputy CIO at OMB), Peter Tseronis (CIO at Department of Energy) and Curt Aubley (VPO at Lockheed Martin).
Robert introduced the panel by showing that the federal government lags behind other industries when it comes to innovation, and the discussion revolved around why this is the case, how other countries succeed, and what are the key technologies to watch for the next wave of innovation.
The discussion was proceeding quite smoothly, until when a member of the audience made a strong point, saying that the panel had started, and was being conducted, on a relatively negative tone, assuming that federal government does not innovate, while this is not true. This question gave me the opportunity to highlight that there is no other enterprise in the world that is as complex as the federal government, given its diversity of missions. Innovation does happen – and has always happened – at the agency or program level, but it is more difficult to find innovation that works at the whole-of-government level. Be it open government, mobile, cloud, different agencies have different mission priorities, culture, technology legacy, and can absorb different innovation at a different pace.
My view about government innovation is that there are three types of innovation:
Enterprise innovation, which concerns all or most agencies at the same time, through mandates or centrally-managed initiatives: open government or cloud first would be good examples
Agency innovation, which concerns a specific mission or program, and is focused to solve a particular problem: an example is the use of data analytics to detect fraud with stimulus funding.
Individual innovation, which concerns government employees who become agents of innovation by solving a problem in a new way: examples abound in state and local governments facing major budget shortfalls.
Innovation can be successful only if these three different types are recognized and an innovation framework supporting all three is put in place. But today most of the buzz is on enterprise innovation, and this is an area where governments generally lag behind due to complexity and accountability.
The other myth to debunk is that there has to be an innovation strategy. Of course this is important, but in many cases government organizations are more ready to undertake a tactical innovation, in order to solve a problem that cannot be solved with traditional tools, assuming that the innovation will not necessarily apply to other problems. This idea of "throw-away" innovation applies very well to the use of social media, which can be applied very successfully to certain category of problems, but may not to others (see my previous post).
When we will start measuring and comparing the right things, and to provide innovation with a context, the picture will probably much less bleak than the one that was discussed at the beginning of the panel.
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Author Archive for: 'GaetanaCaldwell-Smith'
Without Mercy
(L.) Niki Yapo-Held as Bethany and (R.) Sylvia Kratins as Joanna
Off Broadway West Theatre Company presents the world premiere of Without Mercy, a one-act play directed by Richard D. Harder, written by the prolific playwright Patricia Milton at the Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason, through March 25.
Should the murderer of Joanna Parks' daughter, Mercy, six years ago, be sentenced to death or given life in prison without parole? This is the question Joanna (brilliantly played by Sylvia Kratins) and surviving daughter, Bethany Matthews (an equally brilliant Niki Yapo-Held) wrestle with. But not on their own. Bethany has hired a legal advocate, Sam Sibley (a measured, believable Ian Walker), who presents the case for a plea bargain for Mercy's killer. "Agree on a plea bargain for life in prison without parole and he'll show you where her body is." Who wants to opt for death and who goes for the plea bargain and why are the issues faced by mother and daughter. A difficulty is that Joanna has shown up unexpectedly at Bethany's home with her luggage claiming to have checked out voluntarily from an alcohol rehab facility. She is not welcome. Joanna discovers that Bethany has been working with Sam behind her back, contriving, she'd say, with him to go for the plea bargain while Joanna wants revenge- death. Her words and actions cry for death.
(Below:) Ian Walker as Sam with Joanna (Sylvia Kratins)
The back and forth argument for both options is gripping. Matters concerning Mercy's "life-style" is one of the reasons given for not wanting a trial. And Sibley quotes California's disheartening statistics about death row prisoners and subsequent trials. Twists in the plot are jaw-dropping. Did Bethany contribute to her sister's tragedy? Mercy's stepfather?
In Without Mercy, Milton has written a suspenseful, heart-breaking, tightly-woven one-act in which, through her characters under Richard D. Harder's astute direction, she raises important legal, ethical, and social questions in one's own mind regarding life, murder, and death.
Take note of Bert Van Aalsburg's carefully and beautifully appointed set.
Please go to www.offbroadwaywest.org for tickets and information.


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Angel Ornaments
Add a little piece of heaven to your Christmas tree this year with these charming angel ornaments. Get the whole family involved for a Christmas crafting day!
Before you get started crafting, read the information below on using patterns.
Using Patterns
When individual project instructions direct you to cut out a shape according to the pattern, begin by downloading the pattern as a PDF. All patterns are at actual size, unless otherwise noted. Print the pattern from your computer.
If the pattern has an arrow with the word "fold" next to a line, it is a half pattern. Fold the printed pattern at the line. Then cut along the line, going through both layers of paper. Open for the full pattern.
To attach a pattern to felt, roll two-inch lengths of masking tape into circles with the adhesive side out. Attach the tape to the back of the pattern in several places. Place the pattern onto the felt, and cut through both the paper and felt layers along the lines. If you are using a half pattern, open the pattern and similarly tape it to the felt before cutting.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Dizzy Izzy Clothespin Angels
Dizzy Izzy Clothespin Angels
Looking for child-safe ornaments that will also add humor and fun to your Christmas tree? Here are the angels for you! These amusing clip-ons will keep your children happy at tree-trimming time and they'll make the whole family laugh.
You'll Need:
- 1x4x2-inch wood block (for each ornament)
- Band or scroll saw
- Drill, 1/8 brad point drill bit
- Fine-grain sandpaper
- Acrylic paint: peach, rouge, blue
- Flat paintbrush
- Stylus
- Iridescent shredded plastic
- Tacky glue
- Scissors
Burgundybow with gold bead
- 41/2 inches flat lace, 1/2 inch wide
- 41/2x11/4-inch piece Christmas fabric
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Needle and thread
- 3-inch wire wings
- Mini clip clothespin
- Small satin bow
To Make Dizzy Izzy Clothespin Angels:
- Cut out doll body with saw. Drill hair holes as indicated on pattern. Download angel pattern here. Sand body smooth.
- Basecoat doll body with peach paint. Paint cheeks rouge. Using stylus, dot eyes with blue or your choice of eye color. Allow to dry.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Make eyes with stylus and paint.
- Take some strands of plastic and twist bottoms of strands together, making a point. Apply glue into hair hole and insert hair with tweezers or fingers. Allow glue to set. Repeat for all holes. Trim hair. Glue burgundy bow to head.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Twist plastic to make hair.
- Sew lace to raw edge of fabric. Iron dress flat. Fold dress in half (right sides together) and sew back seam. Turn dress right side out. Fold neckline down 1/4 inch. Starting at seam, sew running stitch across top of dress. Place dress on doll body. Pull gathers firmly to doll and knot off with seam at back of doll.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Gather dress and knot off.
- Apply thin line of glue along seam of dress. Allow glue to air-dry a few minutes to become more tacky. Attach wire wings to doll and hold wings in place until glue sets.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Glue wings in place.
- Apply thin line of glue to bottom of angel body. Attach mini clothespin to bottom. Allow glue to set. Glue satin bow to front of clothespin. Allow 24 hours to dry before using ornament.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Angelic Clay Ornaments
Angelic Clay Ornaments
These dangling angel ornaments are fun to make and even more fun to hang on the tree. Make an angel for each member of your family -- change hair color and lengths to personalize!
You'll Need:
- Polymer clay: peach, red, white, green, black
- Toothpicks
- Pointed knife
- Wire paper clips
- Wire cutters
- Ruler
- Garlic press
- Baking sheet
- White craft glue, craft brush
- 5/0 red sable brush
- Toffee acrylic paint
- Waterbase gloss varnish for polymer clay
- 1/2-inch brush
- 8 inches green or red ribbon, 1/8 inch wide
To Make Angelic Clay Ornaments:
- Work clay in your hand to soften it, then roll it into coil. From peach, make 1-inch-high egg shape (with flat back) for head. Use tip of toothpick to sculpt eyes, nose, and mouth. Add small balls and snakes (thinly rolled coil of clay) to build up forehead, nose, cheeks, and eyes. Refine face. Make small snakes of red clay for lips.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Sculpt facial features with toothpick.
- Snip off loop of paper clip. Push open ends of larger loop into top of head.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Push snipped clip into top of head.
- From white clay, roll about 14 snakes, each with a point on one end. Cut them in varying lengths, from 11/4 to 21/2 inches long. Longer snakes will be at top of wings. Blending blunt end of each snake into angel head, arrange snakes into wings. Gently press each snake into the one above it.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Creat wings out of white clay.
- Use garlic press to make hair in color of your choice. Arrange hair on angel head.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Make hair with garlic press.
- Using green, make 6 or 7 holly leaves. Arrange them in a semicircle. Gently press them into each other.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Make holly leaves out of green clay.
- Break toothpick in half. Balance halves on top of paper clip, next to the head. They act as support for holly leaf halo as piece bakes.
- Slide knife under holly leaf halo and place on angel's head. Gently press holly leaf tips next to face into hair.
- Make several tiny red holly berries. Place 3 on each leaf tip next to face and 1 at top center. Gently press balls onto leaves.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Attach red holly berries.
- Bake at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours. A long baking time with a low temperature is recommended so that white wings won't scorch and thick head is still baked all the way through. Let cool.
Ornament TipBe sure to keep all utensils used with clay for nonfood purposes only!
- Turn over and rub white glue into area where wings and hair meet. Let dry.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Apply glue on back.
- Using 5/0 brush, paint on eyelashes with toffee paint. Let dry. Using 1/2-inch brush, coat with varnish. Let dry 24 hours.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Add eyelashes with toffee paint.
- Thread 8 inches of ribbon through paper clip. Tie an overhand knot near open end for hanger.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Dancing Among the Stars
Dancing Among the Stars
Stars cascade over the tops of these angel ornaments -- a welcome addition to any Christmas tree.
You'll Need:
- 11x14-inch sheet clear plastic canvas, #10 mesh
- 1 skein each embroidery floss: brown, rust, black, pale peach
- 2 skeins each embroidery floss: yellow, teal, purple, tangerine
- 3 skeins white embroidery floss
- Embroidery floss scraps: green, brown, blue, rose
- 1 reel gold cable, 10m
- Scissors
- Tapestry needle
- 1 yard gold wire, 28-gauge
- 1 package gold rochaille beads
- 2 packages amethyst stars, 11mm
- 1 package gold stars, 22mm
To Make Dancing Among the Stars Ornaments:
- Use 10-strand lengths to stitch designs (download angel designs here) with continental stitch. Use 4 strands gold cable to stitch halos. For eyes and mouths, use 10 strands to work French knots, wrapping floss around needle once. Dots on face indicate where to insert and reinsert needle.
- For braids, thread needle with 12 strands brown floss. Insert needle at lower left of X, leaving 31/2 inches of floss; bring needle up at upper right on X. Trim floss even with 31/2-inch length. Repeat procedure for remaining part of X. There will be a total of 48 strands of floss. Split strands into 3 bundles of 16 and braid for 11/2 inches. Wrap end with a short strand of matching floss. Use 8 strands white to overcast edges.
- For star garlands, cut wire into three 12-inch lengths. Thread needle with wire and insert through threads on back of angel; twist to secure. Pull needle up through dot on hand; wrap around bar.
- Thread wire with 20 rochaille beads, 1 amethyst star, 15 rochaille beads, 1 gold star, 15 rochaille beads, 1 amethyst star, and 20 rochaille beads. Insert wire on opposite hand, wrap around bar, and secure on back.
©2006 Publications International, Ltd.
Here are the three different angel designs.
Learn how to make even more handmade Christmas ornaments -- snowmen ornaments, in fact -- on the next page.


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China state media urges 'severe punishment' of Google, Apple et al
Newspapers call for legal sanctions against US companies accused of cyber espionage
Chinese state news outlets today urged "severe punishments" for "US government pawns" such as Google Inc and Apple Inc, for their role in alleged cyber monitoring and data theft within Chinese borders, Reuters reported.
Communist Party-linked newspaper The People's Daily and the English-language China Daily condemned Google, Apple, Yahoo Inc, Cisco Systems Inc, Microsoft Corp and Facebook Inc for compromising Chinese cyber security, but did not give details on specific offences the companies are supposed to have committed.
China's state-run media has been highly critical of US cyber policy since former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked privileged documents to international newspapers last summer. At least one document appeared to reveal a covert operation to monitor servers owned by Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies.
Snowden's revelations of NSA-run surveillance programme Prism included details of a secret court that compelled US Internet companies to disclose personal information held in user accounts for the purposes of national security. Companies listed as part of Prism included those named today by The People's Daily.
"US companies including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, etc. are all co-ordinating with the Prism programme to monitor China," the People's Daily said on its official microblog.
"To resist the naked Internet hegemony, we will draw up international regulations, and strengthen technology safeguards, but we will also severely punish the pawns of the villain. The priority is strengthening penalties and punishments, and for anyone who steals our information, even though they are far away, we shall punish them!"
The war of words between Washington and Beijing over cyber espionage has escalated in recent days following last month's in-absentia indictments by US federal prosecutors of five Chinese military officers for hacking into US companies' servers.
China has responded by banning Microsoft Windows 8 on government computers and introducing screening of foreign companies who supply IT services, software or hardware to Chinese organisations.
Google is so far the only company on the People's Daily's list to have responded with a comment.
"We cannot say this more clearly - the [US] government does not have access to Google servers - not directly, or via a back door, or a so-called drop box," said Google's chief legal officer, David Drummond, in an emailed statement. "We provide user data to governments only in accordance with the law."
Google has already had its services blocked by Chinese censors in preparation for today's 25th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, when Beijing authorities moved against pro-democracy activists.


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Union Berlin v Holstein Kiel
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Best betting odds for Union Berlin v Holstein KielOur suggested bet prediction tip for this Club Friendly game located in World is a for . has odds to win the football match, odds provided by probably the best online bookmaker, Unibet. If you want to bet on this soccer game, our advice is to to bet on a for .
Game: Union Berlin v Holstein Kiel
Location: World
Competition: Club Friendly
Kick Off Time: 16:30 GMT
Date: 13.11.2019


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Bore Lee u kandžama velegrada; Action, Croatia, 2003; D: Ivan Ramljak, Mario Kovač, Krešimir Pauk, S: Boris Ivković, Ana Franjić, Mario Kovač
Bore Lee, karate fighter from Sinj, arrives to Zagreb via train in order to learn Yoga and relax better. He becomes the student of teacher Anayoga and falls in love with her. But Bore can't cope in the huge city while two troublemakers order him to give them his money, so he beats them up. Also, Bore prevents a robbery in the club Močvara. But those men are actually members of a notorious gang whose boss wants Bore in order to become king of the underground. Thus the gang kidnaps Anayoga, so Bore is forced to work for them. Still, he beats them up and wins, but they kill Anayoga, so he returns to Sinj.Amateur Boris Ivković, obviously inspired by Bruce Lee, invented the nonsensical fighter hero Bore Lee and used avarage home cameras to shoot amateur movies about him. The feature length film "Bore Lee in the Claws of the Big Z" broke in ice in Croatia and became his first flick to get a regular DVD distribution, but disappointed the critics. When the viewers finally checked the movie out due to it's hype, they quickly discovered it's just a piece of trash, and not particulary fun either. Except for terrible technical conditions (the camera lens is foggy at moments, some dialogs can't be even heard entirely) even the sole story is terrible, lethargic and too serious. It's just Ivković trying to imitate Segal. Some fragments are confusing, like in the scene where Bore speaks with himself ("I'm a beliver and that's why I'm going to listen to that preacher on the square!"), while the best parts the ont that are spontaneous and at least partly try to insert humor in the silly story: the bad guy summons his "Virgins of evil"; Bore beats up a rival and all of a blue some dog runs into the shot and starts barking at them.


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The winners of this week's Comment Game are:
Congratulations all! Please email me at firstname.lastname@example.com to confirm your address and claim your prize. All for now, Sue x
A daily papercrafting blog which features my handmade cards showcasing Creative Expression's products including my own line of cutting dies and embossing folders, Cosmic Shimmer, Ranger and more which use various techniques and ideas to hopefully inspire the creativity in you.
Morning Sue. I've seen this sample a few times now and each time I think the same which is maybe the dome should be lighter and the background a tad darker as the black card used for the dome takes over and the beautiful fairy fades way back instead of showing just how pretty and delicate she is. I don't dislike your inspiration I think it's just a shame that the dome takes centre point and not the fairy. Hope I've explained myself in a way that is understood without offending 😕
Many congratulations and Happy Sunday to our 3 winners of the comment game.
Have a lovely day Sue whatever your plans, wherever you are in the world xxx
Hello Sue and all
What little girl doesn't love a fairy card? This is lovely and colours perfect for a little girl too.
Congratulations to the comment game winners and I forgot to congratulate Judith yesterday too, must be after seeing all the winners from Sues fabulous release, I hope you enjoy playing with your prizes.
Muriel x
Only been card making for a few months and love your dies, so disappointed that you are retiring some of your dies. Wanted to purchase the Seville, as I have seen a beautiful card made with this die, but was told that it is no longer available.
lovely magical card. x
Morning Sue
(And an early one at that)!
Pixie powder - can't go wrong. Fairies - sooo gorgeous. Sparkle - the final piece to a perfect puzzle!! All in all gorgeous x
Early as off to my sisters near Birmingham. She is 40 tomorrow and doesn't know I'm coming. Also my mum was 80 yesterday and her and my dad are arriving to surprise my sister. I am going to surprise both x
Laine has been given instructions to fill my shoes over the next couple of days in my absence x
Congratulations to the winners x
Crafty hugs
Yvonne x
Sooo pretty! I do love a shaker card. Debra x
Very pretty. I love the fairy.
Morning Sue.
Thank you a very pretty card.
All little girls love fairys and some big ones too.
Take care and have fun keep warm too.
Oh congratulations to all the comment winners have fun Kitty.
Congrats all winners. Pretty card Sue.
GM Sue. Love the globe and the clouds. Great card.
Morning Sue and all Wilsonettes
Lovely card as always using the pixie powders and fairy cant go wrong with them.
Sending love and healing hugs to all that need them xx
Have a good day all
Hunnymummy54 from MK
Love the globe sue my granddaughter would love this for her birthday in March I like the pixie colours you have chosen
Thank you love June Horrocks xxxx
Congrats to our winners today xxx
A sweet card Sue, every little girl loves fairies. Stay warm, xx
Good Morning Sue
Love your magical fairy card.
Congratulations to the winners.
Jan x
Good morning Sue. Lovely snowglobe filled with sparkle! Congratulations to today's winners. Sue xxx
Good morning Sue, love shaker cards and this snowglobe with pixie powder and fairy is quite magical.
Congratulations to this week's comment game winners, enjoy your prizes
Marion S x
Morning Sue and all Wilsonettes.
Lovely card sue. It looks to me like the dome is floating through the clouds. It's a card my grand-daughters would love. Anything to do with fairies is their thing.
Take care all and have a good day. Xxx
Hi Sue, lovely card. The pixie powders and the fairy are quite magical.
Barbara V
Good morning Sue,
A beautiful card, love the pixie powder background, no wonder you didn't want to waste it!
Congratulations to the comment winners. X
Magical really does describe this card. How about this, Steph Cotterill: Make the outside of the snow globe an intense blue instead of black, and use Tumbled Glass on the sky behind the clouds ever so lightly. And I hope, Princess Pixie, while you are out surprising your sister and your parents, and Laine is filling your shoes, that we will hear from her. Hi Laine!
I have been cutting Jewelled hearts and Passion flowers in all the pinks I have, for Valentines.
Congratulations to all the comment winners!
Enjoy your Sunday!
Hi Sue
A lovely card. I sort of agree with Steph, the black needs balancing - maybe with a black layer.
B xx
Hi Sue and lovely wilsonettes x
Fantastic card Sue x your fairy is beautiful and I love those clouds x definitely would have been a shame to waste the pixie background its gorgeous x thankyou Sue x
Congratulations to the winners x
Theresa w in Berks xxx
Hi Sue
What a gorgeous little card I think any little girl would be thrilled to receive it. You are right the Pixie Dust background belongs there along with 'Tinkerbell".
Congratulations to the three winners!
Crafty Hugs
Heather xx
Beautiful card Sue x xhazel
Very pretty card.
Hi Sue,
Beautiful, enchanting card Sue. And you are right, it would be SACRILEGE to throw ANY pixied card away.........
Hugs, Rose
Beautiful card,love the pixie background.
Congratulations to the winners.
Cute card very girly. Congratulations to all the winners
Hi Sue,
Just love that magical Pixie background and glittery stars in the treat cup and those soft fluffy clouds are growing on me too!...
PP Yvonne - have a wonderful day tomorrow...
Congratulations to the Comment Game winners too...
Good Morning Sue and all.
Beautiful shaker card this morning , the sparkle is a beautiful finishing touch and the cute clouds in the back ground. This is a perfect card for little girls.
Congratulations to the winners..... Wendy
Good Morning Sue. Beautiful card. I love the fairys too. I do personally like the colours you have used but I would try cutting the fairy in black or navy so she stands out. I don't have this die.... It was on my list...then my sister... knowing how much I love fairys bought me a magazine just for the free gift, it was a beautiful standing up fairy...but by using just her wings they made the most beautiful butterfly. So it was like two dies in one. Congratulations to todays winners
Thinking of our missing friends.... where are you all.
Best Wishes to all. Kind regards Ann Toppcards Leeds
Hi Sue,
Beautifully ethereal...adore shaker cards and you've elevated them to a completely new level.
Krafty Runner x
Hello Sue
Gorgeous card! Just love the colourful Pixie Powdered background with the delightful Fairy stamp!
Lesley S x
Lovely card today.
Congrats to the winners.
Morning Sue and all Wilsonettes, a beautiful card today, with the pixie powder pattern certainly making it pop.
PP you will be missed for a few days but I am sure that Laine will do a sterling job of being your secretary. Have a wonderful time with your Mum and Dad and surprising your sister, what a day that will be.
Congratulations to Helen Bell, Val Verrall and Lynda's craft's, enjoy your prize.
Stay safe, healthy and happy, hugs, June Smith xxx
Morning Sue, I don't have your dome die but I like the way in which you have made the background with the clouds. The fairy is a delight and I am wondering what she and her fairy friends would be like flying through your trees as I have that particular die. Must give it a whirl.
Congratulations to today's 3 lucky winners. Hugs xx Pauline in S.A.
Morning Sue,
A very pretty card, love shaker cards. Well done to the winners.
Hello Sue, a lovely magical card, and as a shaker card, just perfect. Well done to the comment game winners. Have a great day everyone. Bx
A lovely girlie fairy card. What's not to like.
This card shows how effective waste pieces of pp backgrounds can be.
Anne (Northampton)
Hi SUE
Like others have said what little girl doesn't like a fairy card
Love how you done this card very effective
Congratulations to the comments winners
JOY Xx
Hi Sue - such a magical card for any little girl or even a bigger girl! Am with you on not wanting to throw any pixie powder papers away - congratulations to the three lucky ladies today, sending best wishes
beautiful card Sue and congrats to the winners
Gr Karin
Hi Sue, Lovely card very pretty , love Jean Z xxx
Very pretty I must try that colour combination of PP's I don't often put red and green together- but that maybe because I am colour blind ... Of course flowers are a different thing ...
I've just returned and caught up with lots of posts - all of which were lovely. Gosh I've missed looking in - The only downside of not having Wi-fi! Congratulations to the comment winners and to all the lucky die launch winners. Home for just 10 days now before going off again, but this time I'll have Wi-fi!
Doreen R
Hello Sue
This isn't my type of card for some reason I don't like the globes and I am not sure why but I do like the pixie powder background.
Yvonne have a lovely time away.Congratulations to todays winners
Hi Sue, a gorgeous card. A beautiful fairy in a snow dome. Congratulations to the lucky winners.
I'm another one who is not too sure that
I like snow globes, but any little girl
Will love it.
Congrats to today's winners,
Doreen x
Hi Sue
Lovely card. Love that little fairy. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations to all the winners.
Have a great day everyone.
Hi Sue
Pretty card Congrats to the winners
Annx without an "e"
Love this card, it's absolutely magical! Congratulations to the comment game winners. xxx
Good afternoon Sue,
Sorry this card isn't for me but I know that many will love it. Congratulations to all the lucky winners. Yvonne xx
I have to agree Sue, you can't throw away any pixied paper! It took me a while to get the hang of it, but now I'm hooked! Love the clouds, would be nice to see some fairies peeping out, but as I don't have any of these dies can't give that a try! Thank you Sue.
Congratulations to the comment game winners
Ah so pretty, have just bought some of the domes so will give it a go, love this idea with the clouds behind...luv Ursula xx
Hi Sue
It would be a shame not to use up a piece of pixie powder background especially when it's as lovely as this, and with the glittery stars and the fairy I'm sure any little girl would love it. Congratulations to Helen, Val and Lynda hope you enjoy your prizes
Myra don't you dare stop commenting I would miss you
Marie from Longridge in case you missed it you were one of the lucky winners of Sue's dies
PP have a lovely time surprising everyone
Love and hugs to everyone especially all our missing friends
To My Wonderful Dear Friend Sue. 🥇Award Winning
Sue, I Love This Exceptional Card For Many Reasons I Love The Beautiful Fairy Just Stunning
Then The Stupendous "Pixie 🧚♀ Powdered Background" You Mentioned You Don't Throw Any Away
I May Be Wrong But These Colours Also Look Like The Colours You Used To Make Your Daughters
Card Out Of, I Love That Die "The Heather Die Named After Your Daughter"
Today's Card:-
I Love The Fabulous Stitched Details On The Clouds, I Don't Know Whether I'm In A Minority But
I Do like "The Domed Snowglobe" Cut Out Of "Black Foundation Card"
Famous Products Used In Today's Card ✨🥇
"Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass Distress Ink Pad"
"Creative Expression Coconut 🥥 White/Black Foundation Card"
"Creative Expression Mounting Foam"
"Creative Expression Cosmic Shimmer Specialists Dries Clear Acrylic Glue"
"Creative Expression Acetate"
"Creative Expression Domed Snowglobe Treat Cup"
"Creative Expression Cosmic Shimmer Clear Micro Beads"
"Creative Expression Cosmic Shimmer Iridescent Stars 🌟 "
"Creative Expression Lava Red/Emerald Green Pixie 🧚♀ Powders" (Tremendous Products)
Famous Cutting Dies Used In Today's Card ✨🥇
"Sue Wilson's Twinkle Twinkle/Clouds ☁/Stars ✨Die Set" (From The Fillables Collection 9 Cutting Dies)
"Sue Wilson's Fairy 🧚♀ Snowglobe Scene Die Set" (From The Fillables Collection 2 Cutting Dies)
"Sue Wilson's Domed Snowglobe Die Set" (From The Fillables Collection 4 Cutting Dies)
Sue, You Started Today's Card With A Piece Of "Coconut 🥥 White Card" You Then Cut Out A Number Of Clouds ☁
From "The Twinkle Twinkle Clouds/Stars Die Set" You Inked Them Very Carefully With "Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass Distress Ink"
So It Gave The Clouds ☁ A Faint Blue Colour, Then You Glued Them Around Your Background Card, You Trimmed Them
Even With The Edge Of The Card, Then You Cut Out "The Snowglobe Aperture" Using The "Snowglobe Die Set"
You Filled With Some "Iridescent Stars 🌟" Also "Clear Micro Beads" Into A "Snowglobe Treat Cup"
(You've Mentioned Previously That The "Micro Beads" Help The Other Items In The Shaker Cups Move More Freely)
You Then Glued A Piece Of "Acetate" Over The Back, Then You Inserted The Cup Through The Aperture You Had Created
Then Taped It Into Place From The Back.
Sue, Then You Cut "The Fairy 🧚♀ Snowglobe Scene Die" Out Of "Coconut 🥥 White Foundation Card" You Glued
This To The Back, So It Showed Through The Treat Cup You Backed This With A Piece Of "Pixie 🧚♀ Powdered Card
You Had Left Over From A Previous Project The Colours Were "Lava Red/Emerald Green" "Beautiful Colours Together"
You Then Cut Out "The Domed Snowglobe" In "Black Foundation Card" Then Glued It Over The Front Of The
"Treat Cup" You Added "Mounting Foam" To Your Background Then Attached It To A "Coconut 🥥 White Mat/Layer
Which Also Included Your "Famous/Signature/Piercing" Card Size Is Seven Inches x Seven/Half Inches
Sue, Thank You For Sharing Today's Extremely Beautiful Card, Also For The Inspiration Which I Truly Appreciate........
Take Great Care My Wonderful Dear Friend Sue,
Extremely Wonderful Warm Fond Wishes To Colin Also Heather
Sue, Lots Of Love Also Huge Hugs 🤗
Love From Sam xxx
*A Huge Congratulations To This Weeks Comment Winners Helen Bell/Val Verrall/Lynda's Crafts Enjoy Your Gifts......................
Hi Sue this is a stunning card it is just so pretty. I love all of those dies they are amazing. Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Take care. Hugs Jackie
Hi Sue
When I think of a snow globe I think 'Christmas'! Now you've opened up a whole new door for me it doesn't have to be for Christmas at al lol!
I love today's card!
Hugs x
Heather T
Hi Sue,
A pretty card .
Evis M.
Beautiful card, just got the clouds I ordered last month. Arlyn
Hi Sue, although I like all the individual elements I'm sorry to say that this card is not for me but I do know some little girls that would love it though.
PP - safe journey and enjoy surprising everyone. I'll check back later to see if Laine has surfaced lol
Myra - stay right where you are and don't you dare go anywhere!
Marie P - your name *is* on the list and you are a winner :D
Congratulations to this week's comment game winners - Helen Bell, Val Verrall and Lynda's craft's - enjoy playing with your prizes.
Perfect piece of pixie powder card behind your sweet Fairy.
Good Morning Everyone,
Fairies don't do much for me but this is a cute card and shakers are always a happy surprise.
Congrats to the lucky winners!
Stephanie K
Hi Sue,
Lovely little girls fairy card,my granddaughter would love it,
Best wishes
Karen M
PS congratulations to winners
Hi Sue
What a pretty card today, the fairy makes a beautiful snow globe doesn't it, and the pixie powder background is a lovely setting for it. I've just caught up with the blog launch and I was so suprised to see my names as a winner, thank you so much. We've been away at a wedding so the perfect end to the weekend. Congratulations to all the other winners too.
Love Diane G xxx
PP enjoy your time with your family and happy birthday to your mum and sister xxx
A very whimsical card today Sue.
Love this card, just back from Stevenage craft fair and bought loads of your new die releases
Can't wait to play with them now
Afternoon Sue
Not to sure about shaker or the globes but i love fairys and of course it wouldent be the same without the pixie powders .
Catherine V94 xx
stunning globe card!
Hi Sue, I adore how you have placed this gorgeous snowglobe in the clouds, so magical !!
Congratulations to the Comment Winners, enjoy your goodies !!
Lots of love from Patricia xx
Hello Sue,
A very pretty card! Not really me but I can definitely see it's appeal and the skill which went into it. I love those little clouds and bought that set as I've seen them used in such interesting ways! Jess Watson made a lovely card using two clouds for the sentiment!
Yvonne - have a safe journey and enjoy the Birthday celebrations! It's lovely to get together as a family!
Laine - I'll be waiting with baited breath for your posts! We have missed you!
Frances( Fluffycat) - I'm here and thanks for caring . I'd miss you all too much. I thought about just looking at the card each day but that seemed unfair to Sue as well!
Pat L - I'd miss you too and I wouldn't dare go anywhere now!! Ha ha! I've got to bore you with the Craft Room Upgrade!!
Ann - from Leeds, it was what you said the other day that made me have a rethink! Thank you for that!
I was distracted yesterday and forgot to congratulate the card winner! Sorry about that!
Congratulations to today's winners!
Love to all, Myra ( Friend of Maureen,) xx
Hi Sue,
Beautiful card, love it. Love the shaker cards and think they are always fun.
Di B. x
Hi Sue and everyone
A lovely fantasy card today. I agree that piece of pixied paper was too good to waste, it looks lovely behind the fairy. The clouds are so sweet.
Yippee.... thank you so much Sue for me being a comment game winner. Congratulations to Val and Lynda too.
I've only just checked into the blog as have been lost in my own little world making a birthday card for my hubbys friend. I've almost finished, but have come up with a very long winded 8"x8" design and I keep nitpicking. Just have some flowers to make, probably roses or camellias I think. Oh yes and to attach the word Mum, stamp a sentiment inside and then I'm done.
So it was a lovely surprise to see my name as a winner. Thank you Sue. X Thanks also to all who left good wishes. X
Love Helen xxx
Hello Sue.
A very pretty card, great dies and pretty background. I think this would work for so many occasions. Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations to the Blog Launch and Comments Game winners.
Best wishes
Very pretty. X
Hi a sue very pretty card I love the pixi powdered background
Congratulations to the three winners enjoyou your prizes
Pretty card sue love the clouds. Laura O Springfield
Hi Sue, sorry to be so late. Have been celebrating one of our grandsons 16th birthday today. It's been a lovely family day.
Love this card it is really so pretty Love the Pixie Powder background.
Thank you for sharing, Big Hugs, Brenda xxx
Thank you Sue fo4 this lovely card. Have had problems leaving a comment today and hope I can do so now. Take care all and hugs to all our absent friends.
Hi Sue,
Lovely and cute shaker card.Thanks for sharing.
Congratulations to the three winners, enjoy your prizes.
PP- Have a safe journey.Happy b-day for your mum and your sister and enjoy yur time with your family. The other family, the Wilsonettes, will miss you.
Marie P. - You won "the lotery", too; your name is on the list. You won Bella die set!Enjoy your prize.
Hugs from cold Toronto to you all and special hugs to all missing friends
Still a newbie to Craft / not longer the newest, or the only across the pond Wilsonette
Such a lovely card, Sue! I love the shaker! Congrats to the winners.
Lovely card. The pixie powder background to the snow globe is so pretty.
Congratulations to Helen, Val and Lynda's craft's on your comment game win. Enjoy your prizes.
Take care everyone.
Hi Sue,
The little fairy in the snow globe is set off perfectly by the pixie powder background, lovely.
Thanks for sharing,
The clouds look very effective. Always love Pixie powders but works very well with the treat cups, which I havent tried as yet!
Good morning Sue and all the Wilsonettes.
Beautiful Card Sue. I love it.
Great big thanks to Pat L,Frances and Carmen=Dorothy. I am still shaking with shock! I don't know how I missed seeing my name as a winner because I diligently read the blog every day that my eyes will let me see.
It must be true for 3 of you to have mentioned it . I will send you my thanks and my address Sue.
Still can't believe it WOW!!
I'm sorry, I forgot to congratulate the other winners.
Also I'm not sure how to contact Sue.
Marie P.
Very pretty and Whimsical
شركه عزل فوم بالقطيف
شركه عزل فوم بالاحساء
شركه عزل فوم بالجبيل
شركة رواد الحرمين الموقع الرائد فى عالم الخدمات المنزليه والاول بالمملكه العربيه السعوديه
لما يتمتع به من خدمات مميزه ، فالبرغم من اننا مؤسسه ربحيه الا ان
مزاولة نشاطتنا كلها مرتبط على نحو وثيق بتلبية
شركه عزل فوم بالدمام
شركه تنظيف منازل بالدمام
شركة رواد الحرمين الموقع الرائد فى عالم الخدمات المنزليه والاول بالمملكه العربيه السعوديه
لما يتمتع به من خدمات مميزه ، فالبرغم من اننا مؤسسه ربحيه الا ان
مزاولة نشاطتنا كلها مرتبط على نحو وثيق بتلبية
شركه عزل فوم بالدمام
شركه تنظيف منازل بالدمام
شركة رواد الحرمين الموقع الرائد فى عالم الخدمات المنزليه والاول بالمملكه العربيه السعوديه
لما يتمتع به من خدمات مميزه ، فالبرغم من اننا مؤسسه ربحيه الا ان
مزاولة نشاطتنا كلها مرتبط على نحو وثيق بتلبية
شركه عزل فوم بالدمام
شركه تنظيف منازل بالدمام
شركه تنظيف منازل بالجبيل
شركة تنظيف بالباحة التنظيف من الأشياء المهمة التي يجب الاهتمام بها فهناك العديد من الشركات التي تقوم بعمل التنظيف بشكل ممتاز كما تعمل بدقة كبيرة وكفاءة عالية.
فيتم التنظيف بعدة طرق مختلفة ولكن تحتاج الى ايدي عاملة مثل شركة تنظيف بالباحة
حتى يتم العمل على أفضل وجه فيجب القيام بالتنظيف باستخدام مواد التنظيف التي تتناسب مع كل ما تقوم بتنظيفه سواء كان سجاد او أثاث أو ستائر أو أرضيات أو غيرها من الاشياء الاخرى والاماكن الاخرى.
فتحتاج عند القيام بالتنظيف إلى أدوات تعمل على التنظيف بشكل جيد وبطريقة جيدة تنظف بعمق ولكنها لاتتلف الاشياء الخاصة بالمنزل.
كما يجب أيضا الاهتمام بالتعقيم للحمامات والمطابخ والتنظيف بدقة لأن تلك الاماكن أكثر تعرضا في بيتك او منزلك للاتساخات بشكل كبير شركة تنظيف بالباحة
وتحتاج إلي التنظيف بشكل مستمر .
كما أن هناك أيضا العديد من الاشخاص الذين يعانون من الاتساخات الموجودة بالاثاث والكنب بمختلف أنواعه فلكل نوع من أنواع الكنب طريقة مختلفة عن الاخري في التنظيف سواء كان من الجلد أو قماش أو مغطى بالخشب فيجب تحديد نوع المنظف الذي تقوم باستخدامه في التنظيف قبل الاستخدام حتى لا يتسبب في أي ضرر للكنب أو للاثاث.
لا تقتصر عمليات التنظيف علي مكان محدد دون الآخر بل إنها من الأمور الهامه لجميع الأماكن سواء كانت منازل أو فلل أو شقق وايضا جميع أنواع الاثاث وخاصه السجاد والانتريهات الذي تتراكم فيه الاوساخ والأتربة والروائح الكريهه.
كما يجب أن تتم عملية التنظيف للخزان أيضا والذي يعتبر من أهم الأغراض في كل منزل، ومن أهم أساليب النظافة أن يتم مراعاه التنظيف الجيد لمواسير الصرف والمجاري التي تعتبر من أكثر الأماكن التي تتعرض للانسداد وتراكم الحشرات بها وتتسبب في الأمراض.
كما يجب أن تتضمن عملية التنظيف أيضا التخلص من القاذورات بشكل مستمر وعدم تراكمها في المنزل فهي من أهم أسباب انتشار الحشرات والروائح الكريهه والتي هي مصدر للأمراض المختلفه.
النظافة من الأمور الضرورية والتي يحثنا عليها الدين الإسلامي وتتطلب تنفيذ دقيق واتباع الخطوات التي توفر اعلي نسب حمايه ممكنه والتخلص من مشاكل المنازل التي تنتج عن انتشار هذه الاوساخ المزعجه.
شركة عزل أسطح
من المعروف ان عزل الأسطح من المهام التي من الممكن ان تقوم بيه شركة عزل أسطح فهي من المهام التي من الممكن ان تساهم بشكل كبير في حماية الأسطح شركة عزل اسطح بالباحة
وهذا من الكثير من العوامل الضارة والتي من الممكن ان تؤثر على الأسطح


text:
There now, steady, love, so few come and don't go
Will you, won't you be the one I'll always know?
When I'm losing my control the city spins around
You're the only one who knows you slow it down
Be my baby
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Be my baby
I'll look after you and I'll look after you
The Fray - Look After You
Today I feel kinda happy, Another day off from RL work and people are making me smile Inworld. So decided to do another Vogue blog. This is the Adrina Dress, newely realesed this week and perfect to stand out in a crowd. I really love this golden color on me. The quality is always amazing and mesh! I added a beautiful updo from Vanity Hair which really adds the edge to this outfit and gives it the personality completely. You can never have too much nice hair! That is my weakness in Second Life. I completed the look with group gift from WTG. Beautiful gold earrngs and bracelet, but I can never enter that store without buying something. Shopaholic!
Want Theese Items:
Dress: Adrina Gown in Gold from Vogue
Shoes: Essence in Cream from NCore
Jewerally: Autumn Moon in Gold from WTG (Group Gift)
Hair: Wake Up Alone in Light Red from Vanity Hair


text:
Expectation of Student Performance
Students in the Los Angeles High School Math/Science Magnet School are expected to maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0, and are encouraged to strive for 3.0 or higher. This is to meet the goal of developing the students study habits, skills and competencies needed to be successful in a math-science career and/or higher education. Magnet expectations include the following:
- Students will be enrolled in four years of math and science in addition to all courses that meet the University of California A-G requirements.
- Students will pass core classes with a grade of C or better.
- Students will maintain outstanding attendance; students will strive to improve their study habits.
- Students will participate in extra-curricular activities, including clubs, sports, and student councils.
- Students will develop leadership qualities and an appreciation for giving something back to the Magnet School through volunteer activities such as peer tutoring and mentoring of younger students.


text:
Nama Produk
3pcs Spigen Curved Crystal Screen Protector Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7 Edge Screen Protector Spigen Steinheil Curved Crystal Film
Double edged protection for the Galaxy S7 edge screen is what our Curved Crystal Steinheil protector is made for. In true innovative nature, the protective film is developed with precise curvatures to mimic the devices screen for full coverage from edge to edge. With its exact cut-outs and clarity, the Curved Crystal delivers the original touchscreen experience while actively protecting your display in unhindered transparency.
2 Front Screen Protectors
Curved edges for exact fit and full coverage of screen
Scratch-resistant coating
Dry Application: easy to install and remove (bubble-free / no residue)
Compatible with Samsung Galaxy S7 (2016)


text:
How much do product descriptions impact sales?
There aren't that many case studies out there about product descriptions, so it's hard to say definitively.
One e-commerce study found that 20% of purchase failures are potentially a result of missing or unclear product information.
But some products seem to sell just fine with a title and a picture. So does it really matter?
Yeah, it kind of does.
I mean, you have to say something about your products, right?
People do tend to gravitate toward certain words when shopping online.
So yeah, a bad product description can potentially turn someone away from a sale. But if you currently have poor product descriptions, it's not too late.
You can easily turn a bad description of a product into one that sells with a few minor tweaks.
The difference between a good and bad product description
What exactly makes a product description "bad?"
It doesn't really have as much to do with the length of text or the verbiage that you use. At least, those aspects aren't as important as you might think.
The main goal is simply to explain what the product does and why someone should buy it.
When a product is self-explanatory, for example…….


text:
Peshawar: Key Taliban commander Mullah Nazir was among five others killed in a US drone strike North Waziristan Agency of Pakistan's north western tribal region during Wednesday-Thursday midnight, a report said.
"Mullah Nazir was moving towards Wana from Bermal when the drone targeted his vehicle in Sarkanda area," Wana's Assistant Political Agent told BBC.
However, Taliban have not confirmed the death Nazir, a member of Ahmedzai tribe, yet.
Meanwhile, another drone strike in early morning killed four more people in Mubarakshai area of the agency bordering Afghanistan.
Sources said that the unmanned aircraft fired four missiles on a vehicle.


text:
As the presidential candidates engage in furious pre-caucus spin, one of Sen. Hillary Clinton's most prominent Iowa supporters said Wednesday that she's already accomplished what she needs to in Iowa and can declare success even if she finishes in third place.
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack told ABC News that Clinton has shown that she can appeal to a wide swath of Democrats, which is what she came to Iowa to do.
Sure... We are certain she was planning on this all along.
With Dennis Kucinich recently giving a codified endorsement to Barak Obama and Ralph Nader giving an endorsement to John Edwards - and depending on whether or not you give those endorsements any credibility - there is a possibility of Obama and Edwards getting a little more traction from the left.
I view this more as the reality that while the media had pre-ordained Queen Con as the Democratic party front runner from the get go, the people that actually vote in this - the democratic party members - have never bought the media propaganda and think of Hillary Clinton as something between a moderate conservative and a full blown Joe Neocon Lieberman wingnut Republican. Her biggest problem? She did very little to dispel that perception of herself both before and during the primary campaign. In fact, she seemed to try and re-enforce that perception with some of the idiotic votes, positions and statements.
Even with all of the campaign money in the world...
You cannot buy credibility.


text:
License policy for Live
A regular Live license is intended for a single user and cannot be shared.
Each license covers the use of the software on two active computers owned by the registered user.
A new authorization may become necessary in the event of replacing essential hardware components (motherboard, hard drive, graphic card, etc.) or after an operating system reinstallation. In such cases, you will be informed by an automated email to your registered address and additional authorizations can be requested from your user account.
You can find all the details about your rights as a licensed owner of Live in our End User License Agreement.


text:
We've put together this handy guide so you can find out everything there is to know about organising that stock room or reclaiming the garage floor with Monster Racking shelving units from MonsterShop.
No matter the size of a room, adding just one rack with 4 or 5 shelves transforms the storage space and helps you have a good sort out. So if you wanna tidy up then get comfortable, we've got garage racking and warehouse shelving information to help choose a rack that's going to do the job.
Top 3 useful thoughts to have before buying storage shelving
Where's it gonna go?
Measure the space because the size of the rack determines what you can put on each shelf. How many could you fit side by side, will you be able to reach everything, maybe they'll sit against one wall or perhaps evenly spaced into rows to fill a room?
What am I going to put on them?
Heavy products or light accessories, the shelf capacity differs depending on the type of racks. You might not have much stuff now but will the shelves fill up when you finally get round to organising the garage or as your business expands?
What's my favourite colour?
Our metal racks are powder coated in blue, grey, black, blue & orange or even the simple but long lasting galvanised steel – depending on the size and make - whatever colour you go for they will definitely jazz up that gloomy garage.
So do you think you're ready? Ready to choose some racking units that are going to store your stuff good and proper?! Here we go…
T is for Tough
T-Rax are the popular choice for racking units, holding up to 1400kg with strong T shaped locking mechanisms that can be fitted with the help of a rubber mallet - which comes free when you order three or more (except T-Rax 160cm wide).
The 75cm wide T-Rax is perfect for compact spaces, standing at 150 cm high and 30cm deep, it would be ideal to help tidy up your office or garden shed. Just don't underestimate this small but mighty shelving, when each MDF topped shelf can hold up to 150kg (that's 750kg per racking unit).
If you're looking for something bigger, but equally epic, then how about the 90cm wide T-Rax; which reach 180 cm high and 45cm deep. Apart from the obvious size difference, these storage shelves can hold way more weight, up to 280kg can be evenly distributed across each thick MDF topped shelf – giving each racking unit a massive capacity of 1400kg.
But if your space is in desperate need of a facelift and you've got a lot of stuff to store, our 120cm wide racks will be the best bet. Again holding 280kg per shelf and 1400kg per unit these extra large shelves are one of the largest Monster Racking units*. Available in 45cm or 60cm deep, all sizes stand at 180cm high with thick MDF topped shelves, to completely and utterly organise your garage or stock room.
*Up until recently, this was the largest T-Rax that money could buy… But you hollered and we listened (you might need to sit down for the next bit to avoid any fainting based injuries).
Monster Racking can now proudly introduce the 160cm wide T-Rax – that's 1 metre and 60 centimetres wide!
Shelving. Just. Got. Serious.
160cm wide and 60cm deep shelves standing at 180cm high will fit perfectly alongside your other T-Rax to create a mega shelving system in your warehouse, stock room or garage. Holding 265kg per shelf and 1325kg per unit, the shelf capacity might seem less than other T-Rax but the massive amount of shelving space available 100% makes up for it.
Maybe you're looking for something that fits oh so perfectly into the corner of a room? Upgrade your T-Rax racking system and utilise every bit of that storage space, with a T-Rax bay which can do just that.
With a 265kg capacity they're just a little bit below the standard T-Rax 90cm & 120cm shelving but they're just as TOUGH and not forgetting how beautiful they'd look in your warehouse, garage or office.
Assemble the matching T-Rax 90cm or 120cm shelves (45cm deep units will work best) alongside for a shelving system that looks as good as it does.
Fun fact: Buy the standard and corner racking in a bundle to get a bargain.
Whether you're after the cold cobalt blue or sleek & simple black, the T-Rax garage shelves are strong enough to stand alone. To make the racks sit flush against each other and create extra support, you can use the T-Rax bay connectors to join them side by side - it's the shelving equivalent of holding hands (so cute).
Galwix - Galvanised Greatness
Jazz up your office, workshop or garage with some simple racking units - and with two bays per pack you're getting an absolute bargain!
Galwix steel shelving bays look completely different to the other powder coated shelving units. But that's okay, they're made from tough stuff – galvanised steel to be exact, hot dipped in zinc to give it extra protection and make it last longer.
And when it comes down to it they're quite similar to our T-Rax range…
With a T-Rax style connection these racks are just as TOUGH and measure 90cm wide, 180cm high. But it's that shorter depth of 30cm and a 175kg MDF topped shelf capacity which makes them unique, they'd be just great for storing accessories like plastic bins, cleaning equipment and stationary.
Don't forget there's two units per pack, cue so many possibilities for shelving & workbench arrangements!
Q is for Quick
Q-Rax shelving units are what DIY dreams are made of, not only are they fantastic QUALITY (so they'll look great), they are QUICK to assemble. We're still waiting for the call from Guinness Book of Records, but you could easily beat the time for the fastest flat pack assembly - thanks to the keyhole mechanism.
The 90cm wide Q-Rax would feel right at home in your garage, workshop or office helping you organise tools and equipment. Let's be honest though, the 120cm wide Q-Rax are where it's at. You can't deny the largest Q-Rax of them all and its spacious shelves will help you find everything you need, all without tearing your hair out!
You'll find both these racks are happiest when holding 200kg per shelf, either free standing or bolted side by side to create a super shelving system. Available in a light grey or cold cobalt blue - measuring at 50cm deep and 182.5cm high - they're a smidge bigger than the T-Rax, giving you more space for storing stuff.
S is for Strong
S-Rax are one of the most recent additions to the Monster Racking family, n'awww! It might still be our baby but these STRONG racking units are far from puny – plus they look seriously snazzy with blue AND orange powder coated paint.
Four shelves might be one less than our other racking units but once they are evenly spaced (or arranged to suit your storage situation), this rack would be ideal for storing taller items that can't fit in other shelving bays or as two gigantic workbenches.
Don't forget they've got the same TOUGH connection as our T-Rax range but measure a gigantic 150cm wide, 50cm deep and 180cm high - so whether you're having a tidy up in the garage or just looking for somewhere to organise stock, there'll be plenty of sturdy shelf space for all kinds of odds and ends.
Z is for…Zebra?
Just when you thought you'd made up your mind, we had to go and find (probably) THE best shelving units in the world - also known as our Z-Rax.
We've broken tradition a bit, because the Z doesn't really stand for anything and it doesn't need to (zebra was the first word that came to mind okay). The Z shaped shelf supports are way stronger than the flat supports of the T-Rax or Q-Rax, so each of the 5 shelves can hold a mahoosive 360kg.
If the giant 1800kg capacity isn't enough, then just think about how fast you can build a Z-Rax using the keyhole mechanism, yep it's got the QUICK interlocking system of the Q-Rax AND all the TOUGH of the T-Rax (if not more).
But if you're a bit of a perfectionist, we've got just the shelving unit for you! Take your Z-Rax shelving system to the next level and use up every single inch of that storage space, with a Z-Rax bay that fits perfectly into a corner.
The 265kg shelf capacity means they're obviously not as strong as the standard Z-Rax 90cm shelving but who cares when they're just as easy to assemble, and not to mention how satisfying they'll look in the garage, workshop or stockroom (mmm perfection).
Just arrange the matching Z-Rax 90cm shelves alongside for a shelving system that looks as good as it does. Top tip: You can even buy the corner and standard racking in a bundle to save a bit of cash.
Measuring up at 90cm wide, 45cm deep and 183cm high (check out the corner racks for more measurements) - they're absolutely perfect for your stock room, tool shed or warehouse, with the same incredible QUALITY as the Q-Rax. What more could you ask for really?!
Top tips for remarkable racks
1) Try not to keep these shelves in a damp or humid environment because the MDF boards will (time) warp when hanging about in any kind of moisture – just give each board a lick of varnish or MDF sealer to help keep them looking lovely.
2) The top, middle and bottom shelves have gotta stay put, to keep the racks stable, but you're more than welcome to move the other two shelves up and down or take them out (with our 4 shelf S-Rax just the top and bottom will need to stay in place).
3) Adding extra shelves to a racking unit will give you more space to put more stuff! But extra shelves doesn't mean extra weight: let's say you buy a T-Rax 90cm which comes with 5 shelves as standard, that's 280kg per shelf and 1400kg per rack – adding two more shelves will decrease the weight capacity of each shelf to 200kg (1400kg divided by 7). The overall rack will still be able to hold 1400kg, so it all boils down to what you're storing on the shelves.
4) Each rack can be split in half like a tasty KitKat to form two delicious workbenches, which are fab for workshops, garages and garden sheds – but sadly not edible. You'll have loads of room to work on projects across the sturdy surface, plus the shelves underneath for handy storage.
5) All our racking is free standing (we've got a load in our Monster warehouse) but if you want to make them even more stable you can bolt them together or get yourself some of the T-Rax bay connectors (only for T-Rax of course).
If you still can't decide, have a little gander through the Racking & Shelving Bays category where you'll find all the pictures, prices and more helpful info.
Or come on round to Monster House in York, North Yorkshire and have a nosey round our garage shelving & racking showroom.
Don't forget if you do decide to place an order before 2pm Monday to Friday, you'll receive it the next working day for free if you live in mainland UK (excluding Scottish Highlands).


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Concan Bar & Grill
Call 830-232-4471 to place your order
Offering year-round dining and a full-service bar, The Patio Grille overlooks the practice greens, driving range and a trickling stream meandering through manicured lawns. Call 830-232-4471 to place your order.
Our Specialties
- Breakfast Tacos
- Burgers
- Sandwiches
- Wraps
- Subs
- Soups
- Specialty Items
- Beer
- Wine
- Mixed Drinks
- Full service catering for special events


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A few weeks ago I experienced one of the most peculiar nights I can remember. A new location, fun circumstances and a totally unfamiliar accommodation.
I arranged a get-together on the Harju of Jyväskylä for Team Retkipaikka before the big Retkelle convention.
If you're interested in the history of this event, you're in luck! This article is about that. You see, spending the night in Harju is not permitted unless you have a special permit.
So how did we end up choosing Harju as a camp site? Where did it all began?
We decided on the Retkelle convention in the Spring of 2017 and while we were at it, we threw in some incidental activities as well – an event for under 50 people. This was under my care and I chose not to mess with the classic: first a few key note speakers about subjects I knew would interest people and then some light fun during the evening. And since this is Retkipaikka we're talking about, some of it had to take place outdoors.
We began planning in the Fall of 2017 with representatives of the city and the first topic would be the location. We wanted to attract the attention of the media, provoke questions and interest among the people. We would create something really special!
This was not the first time the idea of a tent hotel had popped into my head. The concept is either stolen of improved upon from that of Nuku Yö Ulkona, so it's not exactly new.
Someone asked me why we didn't choose one of the regular campsites or use the facilities of come company. If it was just about accommodation, this would've been just fine. But we were looking for an experience to people who mean a lot to me. These guys promised to help me with the convention without having any prior knowledge about it.
One does not simply build a tent hotel in the middle of the city without permit and a keen eye for detail
The next step was to find someone to build the tent hotel site. Thankfully I had someone in mind already: the nature and wilderness guide students of Gradia Jämsä! They jumped on immediately and even the county of Laukaa was more than interested.
We even had portapotties and waste management was all set up and you could either spend the night in your own accommodation (tent etc.) or in one of the Tentsiles provided by the hosts. Gradia also lent us some regular tents just in case.
Trust the team – they'll do their best and more
Right before the big moment, I was so anxious and excited – but in a good way.
Team Retkipaikka had a seminar as guests of VisitJyväskylä and then transitioned to Harju on foot.
On top of the stairs we could hear a flute faintly playing.
I had requested my friend Osma aka Sammalsielu (Moss Soul) to provide some evening entertainment and he started off with a bang. Like the Piped Piper he lead Team Retkipaikka to the Forest Hotel, where the giant tipi-like hut was set up.
The whole experience was just nuts. Kalevi, representing the county of Laukaa greeted us and showed us the perimeter and went through some general rules.
Laukaa bread and Moss Soul
After a group photo and some pretty epic gifts from the head honchos of Retkipaikka (a handmade knife from the heritage of Rikhard Sotamaa, a Kupilka with the Retkipaikka logo and or course, a t-shirt), we sat down to enjoy delicious cuisine and talk all night long.
After dinner Osma performed what can only be described as a shamanistic ritual. The steady beat of his drum and his calm song took us on a journey of the soul.
First time in a Tentsile
The one we chose housed three people: me, Heikki and Kea. The idea of a suspended tent did make me question a whole lot of things but as it turns out, it was a very lovely experience.
If you feel at home in a waterbed, you'll feel at home here. The rainfall during the night made a calm rattling sound against the tarp.
Come morning, we had pancakes, porridge and bread. A nice hearty meal is just what you need to sustain you for a weekend of conventioning.