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When the snow and ice come, people are extra diligent to look at the surface they are walking or driving on, but often ignore the overhead danger of snow and ice building up on roofs, wires, and trees. In 2010, the roof of the Minnesota Vikings' Metrodome collapsed. Though no one was injured in that spectacular roof collapse due to ice buildup, others were killed or injured due to falling ice elsewhere that year. Here are six of the most common winter hazards, along with tips for preventing harm from them.
1. Metal Roof Ice Hazards
Many homeowners are opting for the longevity and insulative capabilities of replacing old shingles with steel and other metal roofs. The slick metal can hold quite a buildup of ice before finally releasing an avalanche of ice and snow that is capable of crushing cars and people on the street and sidewalk below. Commercial metal roof systems typically seen on fast-food restaurants incorporate vertical metal protrusions called snow guards. These are staggered on each roof section and act as anchors to prevent slippage of ice and snow. Most people never notice them nor know what they are when they see them. Residential metal roof construction may not include this important safety feature.
2. Roof Snow Load Zones
America is divided into snow load zones for roof construction. Manufactured homes have ratings stickers often placed close to electrical breaker boxes that indicate the home's snow load rating. Older homes or homes that have had amateur roof construction or renovations completed may not be up to code for the annual expected snow fall. Years of moisture damage can weaken roof structures rendering them unsafe and likely to collapse.
A minimal snow load of 20 pounds per square foot means that a 20×40 foot roof area needs to hold up an extra 16,000 pounds of ice and snow in addition to the rafters, sheathing and shingles. A roof inspection completed by a qualified inspector can determine its current snow load rating permitting homeowners to make changes where necessary to prevent a collapse.
3. Icicle Hazards
Energy conservation efforts lead to an increase in snow buildup on roofs. Better insulation allows snow to accumulate on a roof because it prevents heat loss. The eave areas often lack the extra insulation needed to prevent warming in that area. This allows snow to melt and refreeze in the gutters creating an ice dam and icicles that form spear points and weigh hundreds of pounds. Many people have been killed by the impact of falling icicles.
Companies such as Advanced Roof Solutions correct this hazard by adding insulation to eave areas and increasing attic air circulation as well as the installation of heat cables to prevent ice dams. If large icicles form on a roof during the winter, it is a hazard and also a liability concern that needs to be eliminated.
4. Shed and Detached Garage Roofs
Many homeowners have opted to have a prebuilt garden or utility shed placed on their property, or they have taken advantage of a special offer from a company offering to build an inexpensive detached garage. However, it is critical to be certain that the buildings are designed to take the snow loads expected for the region. A roof collapse of a shed or garage can cause injury or death. However, even if no one is in the buildings, thousands of dollars of damage can be done in seconds due to a weak roof structure to vehicles and other property.
5. Steep Roof Slopes
Some homes have a very steep angled roof slope. New asphalt shingles may have enough adhesion to hold snow and ice in place until warmer weather melts it. As the shingles age, the gritty surface becomes smoother, which offers less of an adhesive surface area to hold snow and ice in place. Other factors such as the bright sun on a frigid day may begin to melt the layer that is in contact with the roof. This causes tons of ice and snow to slip off in seconds.
If there is a risk that a snow and ice buildup will create a hazard if it falls, a roofing company similar to Advanced Roof Solutions can install snow guards to prevent it. Snow guards come in all shapes and sizes from vertical protrusions that look like decorative roof embellishments to snow rails and fences that install at the eaves.
6. Porch and Deck Roof Snow and Ice Hazards
The roof structures of porches and decks of many homes attach to the house at one end while being supported by vertical posts at the other end. The posts are essentially holding up half of the weight of the roof. The floor surface of the porch or deck is all that is usually holding up the bases of the posts. Wood rot, often hidden by metal or plastic post covers, can severely diminish the amount of weight the posts are capable of holding up. The rot can be in the posts or the floor surface of the deck or porch leading to an eventual collapse even without a snow load.
Each year news reports include stories of roofs collapsing after a heavy snow storm or ice storm. The evening news typically shows amateur footage of huge sheets of ice in the process of slipping from rooftops onto people and cars below, especially in areas not known to get heavy snowfall. Homeowners can protect against roof collapse and snow and ice buildup hazards by having a roof inspection completed by a qualified expert and taking appropriate preventative measures.


text: It's been a year since no news was written here, and even a longer time since the latest release. Time has come to rush 0.11 which will bring many interface improvements. We are now testing it, you should too. Please help us to spot the more bugs we can find.

subset: commoncrawl


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In thrilling finales at both boys' and girls' championships today, Victorian John and Kim, of New South Wales, each prevailed on the 72nd hole to join a tremendous honour roll of past champions.
At Wollongong Golf Club, John held his nerve with a par up the closing hole – in fact nine in succession – to hold off New South Welshman Jordan Garner by a stroke in a tense finale.
And at nearby Port Kembla Golf Club, Kim went one better in nailing a birdie on the final hole to prevail after an epic battle with state teammates Hannah Park and Doey Choi.
Both winners earnt exemptions into their respective national Open championships next summer.
John, 17, said the thought of competing against a world-class field in the Emirates Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in November had been his primary motivation on the closing hole, which included a clutch 3-iron second shot for a long water carry on the par-5 18th.
"I actually stood over that shot and said to myself, `You have to hit this well if you want to play the Aussie Open' and thankfully I managed to do it," said John after his fifth and final year of eligibility for the junior title.
"I've watched some really good players win these in the past few years and I knew this was my last chance and I didn't want to regret it, so I'm really pleased to have ticked it off now.
"I can't wait to play in November and hopefully compare my game to some of the best professionals in the world – it's going to be awesome."
Kim, 16, has had a massive summer, winning the Greg Norman Junior Masters in Queensland and being named not only to next week's NSW girls' team, but also next month's open-age women's interstate series.
Grace Kim
And next summer promises to be even bigger, with a start in the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open at Adelaide's Kooyonga Golf Club now locked in.
"I'm stoked. I just heard about that and I can't think straight right now," Kim beamed.
"I really can't put into words what that means."
Kim never led outright until the final putt, but drilled her closing approach to within 2m to turn up the heat when it mattered most.
Park, who'd led or shared the lead for the entire tournament, watched in disbelief as her 2.5m birdie putt horse-shoed out and then Kim calmly rolled in her own birdie try in a storybook finish.
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About the Company
Think Renewables Group (TRG) facilitates funding for commercial scale renewable energy and energy storage projects to help finance its social business initiatives, which include manufacturing communications systems designed for areas with limited internet access as well as a project called ThinkBiz Africa.
ThinkBiz Africa is social business initiative that is developing a network of solar-powered small business (SBiz) Centres to facilitate both education and entrepreneurship in underserved communities, especially for girls. For more information, please see a 2.5-minute pitch video at http://thinkrenewables.com/tbv and ThinkBiz Africa homepage at http://thinkrenewables.com/tba .
Combining its technologies with other complementary systems is part of its overall plan to integrate renewable energy technologies, free educational information, communication technologies and low-cost user devices to enhance education and accelerate job creation in developing countries on a substantial scale.
In addition, TRG has launched a project called Climate Solutions Advancement Network (ClimateSAN). This network promotes awareness of climate change and investment in solutions that mitigate and adapt to this change. For more information, see www.climatesan.org.
TRG is headquartered in Canada and has operations in the United States through its subsidiary, Think Renewables, Inc. (TRI). TRG is member of the Ryerson University's Clean Energy Zone, which is an incubator/accelerator for innovative clean-tech companies.
Both TRG and TRI are owned by Paul Stevers. As profits are generated by these companies, they will be donated to CharityHelp International to support its humanitarian activities, including the work of CharityHelp's partner organization in Afghanistan, the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO).
About the Founder and President of Think Renewables Group, Inc.
Paul Stevers is a Canadian engineer, inventor, and the founder of several for-profit and non-profit businesses. After graduating from the University of Waterloo engineering program in Ontario, Canada, Paul launched his entrepreneurial career by co-founding an environmental business in 1984 called Impax Incorporated. In 1992, he joined a US-based company called Bio-Oxidation Inc. to lead the development of a new medical waste processing technology, which became the next generation of a system he had created with Impax Incorporated.
As part of the management team of Bio-Oxidation, he helped raise over US$10,000,000 from investors, build this company and then sell it to a large public corporation. After this company was sold, he co-founded a consulting company called Oxidation Technologies, Inc., which focused on enhancing medical waste processing technologies.
After the tragic events that unfolded on September 11, 2001, Paul decided to change direction and explore how to best help counter violent extremism in unstable areas of the world in addition to operating his consulting business. He began to spend an increasing amount of time on this issue and, over the next several years, he invested over a million dollars to develop and demonstrate ways to combine available technologies and renewable resources to help stabilize conflict zones around the world. Initially, the focus area was Afghanistan, and it now includes parts of Africa.
Paul founded CharityHelp International (CHI) in 2004 to facilitate long-term financial support for children in developing countries by enabling sponsors to build relationships with these children via supervised communications over the Internet and pay for their sponsorship online.
In 2010, he founded Think Renewables, Inc. in the US to develop a series of computer-related products that are designed to operate in challenging environments such as Afghanistan and parts of Africa. These products are now being used in several areas including education, commerce, and telemedicine.
In 2014, Paul founded Think Renewables Group to help coordinate the operations of his various companies, further develop the group's technologies and services and raise money to scale-up its operations.
About the President of Think Renewables, Inc.
Roger Eshleman completed his undergraduate degree in Natural Science. Following graduation, he worked for five years in Africa where he led the implementation of a series of Appropriate Technology projects. After returning to the US, he founded a company and led the development of a line of innovative wood waste processing systems that were then patented and manufactured. In 1992, this business expanded into the medical waste processing area. He then he sold his share in this expanded business in 1998.
For the past 15 years, he has provided engineering and management services through a consulting firm to a wide variety of organizations from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. In addition to professional pursuits, he has also traveled widely in third world countries as past board chairman of a non-profit development organization.
Director of Education, Economics and Security Strategy:
Dr. Leif Rosenberger retired from the US Government after 35 years of service in March of 2016. He was Chief Economist at the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and the US Pacific Command (PACOM) for almost 20 years. Prior to this time, he worked for a decade at the US Army War College, where he was promoted to Full Professor of Economics and held the General Douglas MacArthur Academic Chair of Research at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI).
While on sabbatical from SSI, he was a Visiting Scholar on the Economics Faculty at Harvard University. In addition, he taught at Providence College, Dickinson College and the University of Hawaii Executive MBA Program, where he received the highest student evaluations. While working for the US government, he was twice chosen as U.S. Federal Employee of the Year and twice chosen as PACOM professional officer of the year. As part of his job at CENTCOM, he was designated Chief of the New Silk Road Task Force, which is a 1 star equivalent position. Currently, he is on the Board of Advisors at the Global Economic Institute for Africa.
Director of Finance:
Michelle Moore has over fifteen years of operational, accounting, and administrative experience. She holds a degree in accounting from Strayer University and has served as an operations manager and staff accountant for several companies in non-profit, sales, and security industries. Michelle has a passion for community and believes that each person can make a difference. She personally strives to fulfill her capacity as a change-maker through her work with Think Renewables Group and its non-profit partner, CharityHelp International.
Strategic Advisor for Africa:
Dr. Jubril Adeojo, Co-Founder / Managing Director at SMEFUNDS Capital
Jubril is a certified climate & sustainable energy finance expert from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany. He holds a PhD in development finance and community development from the Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management; a MSc. in Strategic Finance with merits honors from Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom; and a BA. in Business Administration (Accounting as major) with first class honors from the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
He has worked in the Nigerian banking industry for over 11 years in three banks i.e. Oceanic Int'l Bank, Sterling Bank, and Heritage Bank, covering various areas in the banks i.e. corporate banking, commercial banking, SME banking, retail banking, internal audit and control, strategy, and financial inclusion. He is currently Managing Director at SMEFUNDS Capital.
He is a columnist for SMEClub, an online community and resource center for owners and managers of small businesses in Africa, as well as with Business Day, the most reputable business and economic news journal in Nigeria. As a columnist, He has published over 15 articles relating to integral banking, development finance, common good indicators, youth and SME development, and financial inclusion in Nigeria. He is also a senior fellow at the Trans4m Center for Integral Development, Switzerland.
In Support of:


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Pithampur is a village placed in Hemgir Block of Sundargarh district in Odisha. Placed in rural area of Sundargarh district of Odisha, it is one among the 153 villages of Hemgir Block of Sundargarh district. According to the government register, the village number of Pithampur is 383531. The village has 72 houses.
According to Census 2011, Pithampur's population is 345. Out of this, 172 are males whereas the females count 173 here. This village has 38 children in the age group of 0-6 years. Out of this 23 are boys and 15 are girls.
Literacy rate in Pithampur village is 57%. 199 out of total 345 population is literate here. In males the literacy rate is 65% as 112 males out of total 172 are literate whereas female literacy rate is 50% as 87 out of total 173 females are literate in this Village.
The Negative side is that illiteracy rate of Pithampur village is 42%. Here 146 out of total 345 people are illiterate. Male illiteracy rate here is 34% as 60 males out of total 172 are illiterate. In females the illiteracy rate is 49% and 86 out of total 173 females are illiterate in this village.
The number of occupied individual of Pithampur village is 98 however 247 are un-employed. And out of 98 occupied person 76 individuals are totally reliant on farming.


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August housing starts hold at 891,000 rate
Housing starts data released Wednesday morning shows a lull in housing construction, as the pace of residential construction showed a less-than-1% gain in August.
The official seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts in August was 891,000, up 0.9% above the downwardly revised July estimate of 883,000. Total housing starts are up 19.0% compared to the August 2012 rate.
Analysts had expected total starts to comfortably exceed the 900,000 mark.
Single-family starts, the bread-and-butter metric for a majority of LBM dealers, fared better -- increasing 7.0% to a SAAR of 628,000. Compared to a year ago, single-family starts increased 16.9%.
The data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows growth of single-family construction strongest in the West, which recorded a17.5% month-to-month increase.
Building permits were also mixed. Authorizations were at a SAAR of 918,000, down 3.8% from the July rate -- but up 11.0% from the August 2012 rate.


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"Accessible to students and relevant to specialists, this remarkable book by a prominent educator offers a unique perspective on the evolutionary development of mathematics. Rather than conducting a survey of the history or philosophy of mathematics, Raymond L. Wilder envisions mathematics as a broad cultural phenomenon. His treatment examines and illustrates how such concepts as number and length were affected by historic and social events."
As for R.L. Wilder himself:
"Raymond L. Wilder received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Brown University, while the University of Texas granted him a Ph.D. He was instructor at the University of Texas from 1921-24, and Assistant Professor at Ohio State University for the following tow years. In 1925 he was appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, where he has been successively Associate Professor, Research Professor and Professor Emeritus. He served as President of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America." (From the 1968 Transworld Publishers Ltd. edition.)
i) The Applications of Pure Mathematics
ii) Platonic Mathematics vs. Applied Mathematics
iii) Wilder's Materialist Account of Mathematics
iv) Mathematics & Reality
v) Mathematics & Truth
vi) Logic, Proof & Set Theory
vii) Kronecker, Intuitionism & the Law of Excluded Middle
viii) The Foundations of Mathematics & Completed Infinities
While studying philosophy one often hears it said that philosophy is of no practical value and that it's a waste of time. Sometimes that's also said of higher mathematics. And it's also said of basic mathematics. Though, as in science, theoretical research has often led to practical advances and applications outside mathematics, in both science itself and technology. R.L. Wilder cites various examples of this from maths and science:The Applications of Pure Mathematics
"The cases of Faraday and his researches in electricity and magnetism (making possible the electric motor) and of Clerk Maxwell and his equations (revealing the existence of radio waves) are classical instances. There are matched by the history of mathematical logic – the utmost in abstraction, one might say – and its ultimate importance in the computing industry (von Neumann, was originally a worker in the foundations of mathematics…)..." (181)
We can see that even higher mathematics has an effect on the hollowed 'Real World' we hear so much about. As the writer puts it:
"… it appears that no matter how abstract and seemingly removed from physical reality mathematics may become, it works – it can be applied either directly or indirectly to 'real' situations – as witness radio, air travel, and the like, none of which would have been possible without mathematics." (185)
One wonders why the writer singles out radio and air travel particularly. We can say that, in a sense, maths is the distillation (or abstractification) of radio, air travel and much else in that, like physics, it captures what is truly important and fundamental to these real situations.
We can see the close relation (or, indeed, unity) of physics and maths in the history of classical mechanics:
"When the basic postulates of classical mechanics were established by Galileo and Newton… Classical mechanics was thus regarded as a branch of applied mathematics." (186)
However, "as a result of the theory of relativity, we know that the classical postulates do not correspond to physical reality" (186). The writer therefore concludes that because of this change to classical mechanics, it should no longer be seen s a branch of applied mathematics. It must be seen, instead, "as an abstract doctrine pertaining to pure mathematics" (186). This simply seems to mean that applied mathematics must be applicable, evidently, to "physical reality"; whereas pure mathematics need not be. However, classical mechanics as a branch of pure mathematics has nevertheless survived despite being overthrown by the theory of relativity. Thus, in this instance, classical mechanics, qua pure mathematics, has an independence from application and indeed the nature of the physical world.
We shouldn't, however, get too fixated on the terms 'applied' and 'pure'; at least not when we take into account the history of mathematics.
For example,
"… what is considered 'applied' mathematics today may… become 'pure' mathematics tomorrow. And, at any given moment in time, there is no clear distinction between what is 'pure' and what is 'applied'. Even the 'purest' of mathematics may suddenly find 'application'." (186)
Let's put that this way. Maths can't contradict the world. It can only confirm its basic form (as it were); just as Wittgenstein's Tractatus logic attempted to do. Wilder cites some examples here:
"A problem of great importance to an electrical industry, which had failed of solution by its own engineers, has been solved by using methods of set-theoretic topology. Topics in matrix theory, topology, and set theory have been applied to production and distribution problems; abstract concepts of modern algebra find application in electronics; and mathematical logic is applied to the theory of automata and computing machines." (186)
To state the obvious. It can be seen from the above that mathematics - in its many forms - has as many 'technological' applications as physics. However, as I said earlier, these applications may not be apparent to either the mathematicians themselves or to anyone else for quite some time. (One just wonders, for example, how set theory crosses over "to production and distribution problems" or how modern algebra crosses over into electronics.)
Platonic Mathematics vs. Applied Mathematics
Strangely enough, the Platonic and practical approach to mathematics could be found at the same time in ancient Greece:
- "… mathematics was considered to be, on the one hand, at attempt to describe the forms, quantitative and geometric, that one finds in the environment…" (186)
- Mathematics was "a description of an ideal world of concepts existing over and above the so-called real world" (186).
Wilder's Materialist Account of Mathematics
Wilder offers us what may be called a conventionalist - or even an anthropological - view of mathematics which is radically at odds with that of the Platonic one:
"Mathematics derives its concepts initially from the existing world of reality and uses them as a way of dealing with this reality…" (187)
The traditional view was that it's indeed the case that mathematics can be used "as a way of dealing with… reality" (187); though not that it "derived its concepts… from the existing world of reality"(187). In any case, it's quite hard to see how mathematics can derive its concepts from reality without, in a sense at least, already having at least some of those concepts. In addition, if mathematical concepts are derived from reality, if only 'initially', it's therefore not surprising that they can then be applied to - or deal with - that reality.
Nevertheless, there's an interesting qualification - if it is indeed a qualification - to what Wilder perceives to be this reality. He writes that this reality "embraces not just the physical environment, but the cultural – which includes the conceptual – environment" (187). In fact concepts "are just as real as guns or butter". If reality includes the conceptual, then Wilder's position on mathematics could be said to include the Platonic position as well as the materialist conception of mathematics. The point will be, I conclude, that the conceptual doesn't run free of the "physical environment". This is something, evidently, that Plato wouldn't have accepted.
Wilder then explicitly puts the anti-Platonic or constructivist position. He says that the concepts of mathematics
"were no longer embodiments of an independently existing realms of ideas, having an existence before and after the fact of their discovery, but only of a world of concepts continually under construction and having no existence until conceived in the minds of the mathematicians who created them" (187).
This sounds like pure constructivism or intuitionism. Wilder even uses the phrase "concepts under construction" to get his point across. Considering the sociological (or even the "materialist") slant of this book, it's no wonder that Frank Ramsey talked of mathematical constructivism as "that Bolshevik menace". (Having said that, this crudely sociological or materialist account of mathematics is almost as unappealing as pure Platonism.)
The ironic thing about the constructivist theory is that rather than abiding by the dictates of reality (as it were), mathematics is free to journey wherever it likes. That's because mathematics, according to Wilder, is a human construction and each mathematical concept is an individual mental construction.Maths & Reality
Wilder sees this new mathematical freedom in terms of developments which came to fruition in the 19th century. He writes:
"Following the 19th century developments, the mathematical world came to feel that it was no longer restrained by the world of reality, but that it could create mathematical concepts without the restrictions that might be imposed by either the world of experience or an ideal world to whose nature one was committed to limited discoveries. One is reminded of the mathematician who, disgusted by the uses to which a backward and laggard world was putting scientific concepts, explained, 'Thank God that there is no danger of my work ever being put to practical use!' He was giving expression to that kind of 'freedom' that the mathematical world came to feel during the past century." (187)
This freedom from "the world of experience" (or from physical reality) may make one think in terms of a Platonic conception of mathematics. However, if one is a Platonist, one must be equally committed to Plato's ideal world which would inevitably "limit [one's] discoveries". It's no wonder that philosophers have said that Platonic conception of mathematics is implicitly - or even explicitly - committed to a correspondence theory for both numbers and equations. That is, mathematicians must be both committed to - and make their numbers and equations correspond to - the abstract mathematical entities in Plato's ideal world. As one can see, this is just as much of a limitation as making one's mathematics abide by the dictates of experience or of physical reality. It was no wonder, then, that some mathematicians rejected the infinite, never mind Georg Cantor's infinite infinities. They did so because there is no actual infinite in the physical world or in the world of experience.
Mathematics & Truth
What is the role of truth in mathematics? What do mathematicians take truth to be?
Wilder writes that
"most mathematicians of prominence concur in the doctrine that modern algebraic and geometric theories are true only in the sense that they are logical consequences of the axioms that form their bases" (190).
Does he mean that the theories themselves aren't strictly speaking true? Or does he mean that the propositions found within modern algebra and geometry aren't strictly speaking true? Perhaps this is just a fact about his phrasing. Or perhaps theories aren't true in the way that individual equations or propositions are true.
In any case, what make things 'true' is that they're a "logical consequences of the axioms that form their bases". Clearly other philosophical notions of truth (such as the correspondence theory) aren't applicable to things which are true simply because they are the logical consequences of particular axioms. This is why the late Wittgenstein preferred the word 'correct' instead of 'true'.
Again, are we talking about the theories of geometry and algebra or their particular propositions? Perhaps this doesn't matter. Similarly, are we talking about algebra and non-Euclidean geometry, for example, or their individual theorems or propositions?
According to Wilder, we're definitely denying the status of truth to Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometries:
"No mathematicians who is familiar with the modern situation in mathematics will argue for the 'truth' of either Euclidean or non-Euclidean geometry, for example." (190)
However, Wilder does make an exception to this. He writes:
"But in the case of those parts of mathematics that depend on the natural number system and its extensions, as well as on logical derivation therefrom – and this ultimately includes a good part of mathematics – there are those who argue for the absolute character of their conclusions." (190).
One must ask what is the vital difference between Euclidean, non-Euclidean geometry, algebra and geometry and what Wilder calls "the natural number system and its extensions". It seems, though Wilder doesn't say this directly, that truth is the issue for the natural number system and its extensions. Is that simply because this system uses - or refers to – numbers; whereas the others don't (at least not completely)?
As I have just said, Wilder doesn't use the word 'truth' in this context. He talks instead of "the absolute character of [the] conclusions' of the natural number system and its extensions".
Logic, Proof & Set Theory
Many people associate proof with mathematics; though it is, or it was, a notion in logic (just as set theory is a logical theory). Historically speaking, "the Greeks brought the notion of proof by logic into mathematics" (191). It wasn't really a case that the Aristotelian laws of contradiction and of the law of excluded middle had no logical proofs; but that their 'trustworthiness' in mathematics "was not questioned" and the mathematical "conclusions reached by the use of such 'laws' were considered absolutely reliable if the premises were" (191). Thus it seems that in mathematics Aristotle's laws of contradiction and the excluded middle were, and are, used as axioms in mathematics. Indeed isn't it the case that these laws, or axioms, are at the very basis or foundation of all mathematics, at least until the 20th century when we had 'alternative' or 'deviant' logics?
I mentioned set theory earlier. It was "nineteenth-century mathematicians [who] introduced set theory into mathematics" (191). Wilder then goes on to provide a constructivist - or even materialist - account of set theory.
He writes that set theory "was derived from experience with the finite collections of the physical and cultural environments" (191). This is no surprise if we view sets as simply collections of their concrete members. That is, if we see them as defined exclusively in terms of their membership. Though this materialist view leads to problems if it's all about "the finite collections of the physical environment". What about the null set and 'infinite domains'?
Wilder writes:
"That extension of the classical logic and of set theory to infinite domains might lead to difficulties was not generally anticipated until around 1900, when a number of contradictions were found." (191)
If infinite sets lead to contradictions, it's no wonder that Bertrand Russell (at least at one time) argued that sets are nothing but the sum of their members taken collectively. Clearly this makes less sense when we take into consideration infinite sets. What are the members of such sets? How do we count them? How can an infinity determine a set at all?
It was because of these contradictions, primarily those found by Russell, that writers speak in terms of the 'crisis' in mathematics at the end of the 19th century. In order to end the crisis a
"new foundation for the whole of mathematics seemed necessary to meet this crisis, not just a revised formulation of the real number continuum; for all parts of mathematics depended to a greater or lesser extent on logic and set theory" (192).
This explains the obsessive search for foundations in mathematics in this period; as can be seen in Frege, Russell and many more philosophers, logicians and mathematicians. It also shows us the importance of logic - in the guise of set theory - to mathematics. (Similar crises, incidentally, occurred in philosophy; as was the case in epistemology and its equivalent search for foundations.)
One of the best known, at least to philosophers, quests for foundations in mathematics can be found in the work of Frege.
"insisted that number and all of mathematics can be grounded in logic – a doctrine sometimes called 'the logicist thesis'"(192).
From what has been said about logic and set theory's importance to 19th century mathematics, and, indeed, all mathematics, it isn't therefore surprising that Frege attempted to reduce mathematics - beginning with arithmetic - to logic. Peano attempted something similar when he "refined and utilised the axiomatic method to achieve a basis for mathematics" (192).
A decade or so later, it was "largely under the influence of the works of Frege and Peano that the work of Russell and Whitehead was fashioned" (192). This too was a logicist programme. More technically, in the Principia Mathematica "an attempt was made to derive mathematics from self-evident universal ('tautological') logical truths" (192). However, I'm not sure that logical tautologies, or 'logical truths', are required to be 'self-evident' or even evident in nature. What they need to be is necessarily true. As Wittgenstein put it later, they don't even allow the possibility of their falsehood. Their necessary truth is an effect of their form, not their content.
I've just mentioned that tautologies needn't be self-evident in nature. This lack of self-evidence, as it were, contributed to the problems which irked the logicist programme. As this foundationalist or reductionist
"work proceeded to the higher realms of mathematical abstraction, it became necessary to introduce axioms that could hardly be admitted as constituting 'self-evident logical truths'" (192).
This raises the following question. What did these philosophers, logicians and mathematicians mean by 'self-evident'? After all, what is self-evident to a mathematician may not be self-evident to the layperson. In addition, what is self-evident to the higher mathematician may not be self-evident to the lower-level mathematician. Indeed if a logical truth or axiom is necessarily true, why would we need the added property self-evidence at all? And can an axiom (or equation or logical truth) become, as it were, self-evident after one has worked on it for some time? Or would this constitute some kind of contradiction or negation of something's being self-evident?
Kronecker, Intuitionism & the Law of Excluded Middle
Leopold Kronecker, the man who fiercely derided Cantor and his infinities, can interestingly enough be seen as a proto-constructivist or intuitionist. He believed that mathematics "was a construction based on the natural numbers, which, in turn, were an outgrowth of man's 'intuition'" (193). So not only do we have here a reference to 'construction', but also one to 'intuition'.
We can now ask why the natural numbers are so special and why they too aren't constructed. In addition, what did Kronecker mean by 'intuition'? Was this term taken from Kant's philosophy of mathematics?
Wilder goes into more detail as to what it was that Kronecker believed.
Kronecker "avoided all use of numbers that could not be constructed (as can, for instance, fractions like 2/3) from natural numbers" (193), as has already said. We need to ask what exactly he meant by 'constructed' from natural numbers. Did it mean by use of the operations +, x and such like? In any case, he "asserted that numbers likep* [problems with symbols], for example, simply do not 'exist', since there are apparently no ways of constructing them from natural numbers" (193). We can say, then, that he was a kind of anti-realist or nominalist about only certain numbers in that he claimed that some numbers, p for instance, do not 'exist'.
I mentioned his acceptance of natural numbers earlier and perhaps he accepted them because they are, well, natural. In any case, "[v]irtually no one agreed with him" on this issue.
I mentioned that Kronecker can be seen as a kind of proto-intuitionist: Wilder writes that his "thesis was reaffirmed (in modified form) by Brouwer" (193). Intuitionism, according to Wilder, is indeed radical. He writes that the
"logic that had been introduced into mathematics by the Greeks was tossed overboard, except for what could be salvaged through use of the constructive methods of intuitionism" (193).
What, exactly, was thrown overboard?
For a start, and perhaps most importantly, the
"use of the law of the excluded middle, so important in reductio ad absurdum proofs, was no longer permissible except for finite sets" (193/4).
Interestingly enough, Wilder claims that to the intuitionist the law of excluded middle is acceptable; though only when applied to finite sets – which is a big exception! What is it about infinite sets that render the law of excluded middle non-applicable? In any case, Wilder does go on to say why the law of excluded middle is applicable to finite sets. For
"any finite set of natural numbers, it was permissible to assert that either at least one of the numbers was even or none was even" (194).
I can't help thinking that this isn't much of a claim! However, what is important, to intuitionism, is how this claim is proven. That is, there
"exists an elementary constructive was of demonstrating such use of the law of the excluded middle, namely by examining the numbers one by one!" (194).
So that's an example of intuitionist construction – "examining the numbers one by one". That is: Is 1 even? No. Is 2 even? Yes. OK. That's it. There is at least one even number in this set of two natural numbers.
What about infinite sets? We can say that "the same assertion about an arbitrary infinite set of natural numbers could not be made" (194). Why is that? Because we can never know what surprises an infinite set contains or will come up with. For example, we may count a billion billion numbers of an infinite set and find that, so far, it does not have property Æ [problems with symbols]; though that doesn't mean that it may not display Æ somewhere further up the line (so to speak). Thus we can't apply the law of excluded middle (either p or not-p), in this particular instance.
So what is so good about intuitionism? What does it, or did it, attempt to achieve?
Wilder says that the "great advantage of intuitionistic philosophy was its freedom from contradiction – limitation to constructive methods guaranteed this" (194). Perhaps this means that if one is constructing everything by hand (as it were), one cannot make mistakes. In addition, perhaps there's no room for speculation or conjecture in constructivist intuitionism – and that is why it's guaranteed to be free from contradictions because all such contradictions will be nipped in the bud.
Though, of course, intuitionism does have its defects.
"fatal defect was that it could not derive, using only constructivist methods, a major portion of the concepts that were regarded as being among the greatest mathematical achievements of the modern era" (194).
Perhaps these great mathematical concepts are the result of speculation or even mathematical creativity; which have no place in constructivist intuitionism. Not only that: Wilder sees this period of intuitionism "as as attempt to stem the flow of mathematical evolution – a kind of cultural resistance" (194). Perhaps all this can be blamed on the then (?) obsessive desire to route out "the threat of contradiction". However, "but not such drastic action as intuitionism demanded" (194). Again, was this a sacrifice of speculation, conjecture and mathematical creativity on the part of intuitionism?
Despite these defects and criticisms, it was still the case that intuitionism "had a great and seemingly beneficial influence" (194). For example, a "number of prominent mathematicians shared in some, or all, of its tenets – for example, H. Poincare and H. Weyl"(194). From what I personally know about Poincare, I'm surprised that he was, or was even influenced by, intuitionism with its emphasis on formalism and constructivism. He, for a start, rejected the tautological or analytical view of mathematics and emphasised the importance of creativity in this discipline.
To finish. Despite intuitionism's radical nature and its rejection of the law of excluded middle (at least for infinite sets), Wilder still says that
"its doctrine of constructivity was found to be adaptable to numerous situations within the framework of conventional mathematical theory" (194).
The Foundations of Mathematics & Completed Infinities
From the outside, the early 20th century obsession with the foundations of mathematics may seem strange. It may seem even stranger if we realise what the end result of this obsession was. According to Wilder, the modern mathematicians with
"his most powerful symbolic tools and his powers of abstraction and generalisation have failed the mathematicians in so far as 'explaining' what mathematics is, or in providing a secure 'foundation' and absolutely rigorous methods' (197).
It's quite remarkable that Wilder claims that the modern mathematicians have failed to explain what mathematics is considering the fact that even the layman would have a good go at the job.
The question is:
Why can't they explain what mathematics is? Why is this task so difficult?
Was it Kurt Gödel's results that stopped mathematics from "providing a secure foundation" as well as "absolutely rigorous methods"? Is it really the case that the search for foundations - as well as for absolutely rigorous methods - is well and truly over, let alone when Wilder wrote these words in 1968?
From what Wilder says next, it seems as if mathematics not having any foundations, or not being free from all contradictions, may not be such a bad thing. More precisely, he writes that
"perfect rigour and absolute freedom from contradictions in mathematics are no more to be expected than are final and exact explanations of natural or social phenomena" (197).
Of course, in science we don't have "exact explanations of natural and social phenomena" and such things aren't even 'expected' in science. Is this really the case in mathematics as well? Surely not. Perhaps this conclusion, on Wilder's part, is simply a result of his materialist, sociological or even Marxist position on the practice and history of mathematics. Surely even these positions accept different standards from maths – indeed, they do. Again, it's no surprise that Wilder says what he says if he believes that "the only reality mathematical concepts have is as cultural elements or artefacts" (197). This position seems to go even further than constructivism; though perhaps not as far as the late Wittgenstein.
More technically, Wilder expresses his constructivist, Marxist or sociological position on mathematics by elaborating on the notion of a completed infinite (198). This sounds like a blatant and direct contradiction. How can any infinite be complete or completed? If it's completed, then surely it's not infinite. What, exactly, does Wilder say on this issue of the completed infinite? –
"For example, an infinite decimal is not something that 'just goes on and on without end'. It is to be conceived as a completed infinite, just as one conceived of the totality of natural numbers as a completed infinity." (198)
Wilder gives us examples of completed infinities, the infinite decimal and "the totality of natural numbers"; though he doesn't say what such things actually are or what the phrase 'completed infinite' means. The following hints at an explanation; though it doesn't help the non-mathematicians much. He writes:
"Symbolically, it may be considered a second-order symbolism, in that it is not susceptible to complete perception, but is only conceptually perceivable." (198)
One has a vague idea of what Wilder means by the above. Perhaps it's a kind of 'direct insight' (as in Husserl?) or intuition into the nature of completed infinities. It can be conceptually perceived; though not seen – literally or even non-literally.


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WASHINGTON—Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today released the following statement:
"The sanctions imposed by the Administration today are welcome step and the right thing to do. Still, it's long past time that they acted against President Putin's cronies, and the sanctions announced today relied on authorities issued by President Obama before he left office.
"These are tough designations. But the sweeping scope of Russian aggression will require a comprehensive strategy. I fear that individual announcements—as important as they are—will do little to deter Russia from continuing to attack our democracy and carry out the rest of its harmful agenda around the world.
"If the White House is serious about protecting our country, it needs to get much smarter and much tougher in dealing with Russia."
# # #


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Last year's bear market hit the altcoin market very hard, with crypto prices crashing by more than 90 percent for most altcoins.
The same picture is reflected in leading altcoin Ethereum (ETH), which also had to contend with other setbacks on top of the biting crypto winter. Top of the list was the massive decline in ICO activity that had characterized the 2017 and early 2018 boom.
The platform also expected a number of protocol upgrades that have all faced delays for various reasons.
Accordingly, Pugilist Ventures founder Christopher Brookins says that a number of fundamental indicators that in theory would "be indicative of positive price momentum," point to the fact that ethereum is being undervalued.
In an opinion piece published by Coindesk, Brookins notes that Ethereum's network value has declined by nearly 93 percent; gas consumption dropped by 7 percent, transaction count down by 52 percent, while active addresses have fallen by about 73 percent.
Even network transaction volume, he notes, has reduced by about 99 percent from the previous peak.
A correlation analysis of Ethereum's fundamental metrics suggests there is a correlation matrix between the indicators and the change in ETH prices.
According to the analysis, it appears indicators of quality, that is average and median transaction values, are behind ether price movements.
It is the reverse when it comes to quantity indicators like active addresses, transaction counts, and gas- an aspect that goes against Metcalfe's' Law.
In particular, those metrics that measure the ratio of quality to quantity- like average transaction values, median transaction values, and transaction volumes (TAAR) – all show a positive correlation with the price of ether.
It, therefore, follows that ethereum may find a stable price bottom if it experiences an increase in its network transaction volume correlating to quantity metrics.
The potential for price growth is there, especially so if these metrics result in increased use of decentralized applications (dApps) that bring solutions to real-world problems.
Ethereum's TAAR ratio
The metric that measures the balance between quality and quantity fundamentals on the network is the transactions volume to active addresses ratio (TAAR).
According to data from coinmetrics.io, Ethereum's TAAR and price logarithmic, unlike that of BTC, does not act as an equilibrium gauge. Instead, it points to the movement of ETH prices as shown in the chart below.
Courtesy of Coinmetrics.io
From the above, if TAAR holds at 1000, then ethereum will likely have already bottomed out at prices close to $100. However, if TAAR crosses to levels below 500 (red line) or 300 (black line), then ether should experience further price declines.
Active addresses versus avg. daily transaction value (AAAT)
The ethereum network's AAAT helps identify the negative correlation of prices due to the impact of quantity, with data showing that ETH prices and AAAT correlate at -0.09.
It means that, for instance, when the number of active addresses (quantity) spikes higher than the percentage of the average value of transactions (quality), then the coin's prices react negatively.
While ETH prices have historically crossed below the AAAT, any move above this will signal that the network is primed for price growth. Notably, ether prices have fallen below the AAAT, which could be indicative of more declines unless quality metrics pick up positive momentum.
A look at the TAAR and AAAT shows that the two are potential factors in the counterbalance necessary to see prices move.
Courtesy of coinmetrics.io
In December 2015, TAAR declined considerably while AAAT increased- with the two meeting at the one-day and 30-day averages- and bounced off each other to see the AAAT head lower while the TAAR moved up.
In Q1 2016, ether's price increased dramatically, leading up to the significant price growth that saw the coin hit its 2017 bull run.
That same scenario is visible at the moment, with TAAR moving lower while AAAT is increasing. At the same time, the divergence between these two is growing smaller and could potentially end in another price run beginning Q4 2019.
Theoretically, the above scenario will play out if the crypto market doesn't experience any extreme negativity and demand for the token remains strong.
Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile assets and are very risky investments. Do your research and consult an investment professional before investing. Never invest more than you can afford to lose. Never borrow money to invest in cryptocurrencies.
The same picture is reflected in leading altcoin […]


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Las Vegas Pool Parties
It goes without saying that Las Vegas is a place where pool access is a necessity. The scorching desert sun mixed with the dry arid air does little to help you feel refreshed.
Pool Parties In Las Vegas
Casino owners are well aware of this fact and have gone through extensive measures to ensure that you will always have a place to cool off, going so far as to equip their pool areas with what could pass as mini apartments. In Las Vegas, shelter from the sun is key – and pool cabanas are an essential part of sun protection.
The next time you're lounging about in a Vegas pool party, take a look around. The numerous amounts of enclosed structures surrounding the outer parameter of the pool area give the feel of a small enclave. If you've never thoroughly inspected a Las Vegas cabana, you may be surprised to find that this small shelter leaves its renter in a better position than the students that inhabit a college dorm. At their core, Las Vegas pool parties' cabanas are like mini apartments.
Pool parties are littered throughout a Las Vegas weekend. At any given point in time during the three day stretch from Friday to Sunday, there is most likely a sponsored pool party going on. While these parties offer a chance to attend a social gathering, they make it difficult for more private individuals to enjoy an intimate experience while not being completely secluded from the party. Luckily for those with both a decent cash flow and good timing, the cabana rentals that are available on any normal day are also available during special events.
Typically outfitted with flat-screen HD televisions, mini-refrigerators, comfortably plush lounge seating, personal misters, and the occasional access to waiting staff, cabanas are a life saver on a brutally hot day. With an open view to the pool, all cabanas offer the ability to remain in a private environment without feeling too separated from the even that's going on. In your own private cave, the DJs music still pounds heavily – so don't expect to be able to relax in piece.
During events like Hard Rock's Rehab where the guest list can sky rocket to over a thousand people, what normally seems like a decent amount of cabanas suddenly seems so minimal. In the case of a Las Vegas pool party, reservations are vital. Depending on which event you're attending (as there are upwards of over a dozen during the weekend), you should be able to call ahead of time and reserve your spot in one of the coveted cabanas. Be wary, though, because what normally costs in the low hundreds on a normal day sky rockets to the low thousands during any pool event. With the crowd that builds up in the pool, though, the cost is worth having a little grotto to retreat to, especially if you're trying to get to know someone a bit better.
Despite the increased price and limited availability, a Las Vegas pool party is made only sweeter when spent in a luxurious hide-away. If you're already going to spring for the jacked up cover charge and the outrageous drink prices, you might as well go for the full opulence and sip your overpriced alcohol in the shade with a T.V.


text: Bed and Breakfast project 3 orange (Medium) August 27, 2018 0 By aplauz Related Post navigation Previous PostPrevious Car vinyl stickers. Customised. Bed and Breakfast. Project 3 Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Notify me of new posts by email.


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wikiHow is a "wiki," similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.
This article has been viewed 8,989 times.
Learn more...
New Zealand is a country filled with fun opportunities for any teenager. Like anywhere in the world, you can try all sorts of indoor activities from gaming to reading, or you can get out into New Zealand's great outdoors and experience a huge range of amazing activities. The choice is yours and it's all good as gold!
Method 1 of 2:
Spending Time Outside
1Play rugby or netball. New Zealand has the best rugby team in the world (the All Blacks) and the best netball team, too (the Silver Ferns). New Zealanders also love cricket, soccer, basketball, and rugby. Gather a group of your friends together to play one of these sports. If you have a good time, you should make it a weekly event.[1] X Research source
2Try some classic kiwi activities. Bungee jumping, biscuiting, sea fishing, whitebait fishing, whale watching, skiing, going to hot pools, and pig hunting are just some of the activities teens can enjoy in New Zealand. Gather a group of friends and do a new activity every weekend.
3Go hiking, or tramping. Put on your favorite pair of outdoor shoes or boots and head out to one of the many amazing tramping locations across New Zealand. You can follow some of the more well known routes or you can go to somewhere only the locals know about. Try camping as well, and hone your skills in fire making, camp cooking and sleeping under the stars.
- There are many amazing places to hike and camp in New Zealand, but here are some suggestions: the Abel Tasman National Coast Track, Tongariro National Park, Mount Cook National Park, and the Abbey Caves.[2] X Research source
- Never tramp alone. Always go with at least one other person and preferably in a group. Always let people know when you leave, where you're going and when you expect to be back.
- Hypothermia is a real issue when tramping. Don't get caught out overnight without adequate warmth. Even if you're going on a short day tramp, always have a thermal (polyprop), rain jacket and a warm jacket just in case.
- Have plenty of water and trail mix to keep you well hydrated and energized.
4Visit places you haven't been to yet. Perhaps you haven't been to Rotorua or Dunedin yet? Or maybe you'd like to take the train across the North Island or catch a train across the South Island? Plan for some expeditions that show you more of your country.
- Plane fares are reasonable between major cities and towns. You might want to consider buses for the less major hubs though, as the flights will be a lot more expensive.
Method 2 of 2:
Spending Time Indoors
1Cook dinner for family and friends. Dinner is the largest meal in New Zealand, and family and friends will come together to enjoy the meal you've prepared. Try a curry, a stir fry, or a classic New Zealand barbecue.[3] X Research source Spend all day preparing a big meal, and invite lots of people to come together and eat. Try your hand at whitebait fritters, pavlova or make fruit salad featuring kiwi fruit and feijoa.
2Watch TV made in New Zealand. If it's raining outside, you might not have the option to go to one of New Zealand's beautiful natural places. Many TV shows on New Zealand TV might be imported from other countries, but you can also find programming from native New Zealanders. Some favorites are "Shortland Street" and "West Side"
- Look for local comedy. Kiwi comedy is second to none, in the opinion of some, and cultivating your own sense of self-deprecating humor can come in handy for the rest of your life.
- Look for local current affairs programs. Keep up-to-date with what's happening in your neck of the woods and hopefully worldwide too.
- Watch Maori TV. If you don't already speak Te Reo, learn some by watching good Maori TV shows. The Maori channel also shows some good English language films too.
3Play games. Play games, such as board games or video games. Ask your friends for suggestions, or go to online gaming forums and check out what other people are suggesting. You can play games on your cell phone, too.
- In the New Zealand iTunes, there will be a list of the top free and paid apps. This will give you a good idea of what's popular right now and some of those apps are made by Kiwis!
4Take up a creative hobby. There are plenty of cool things you might like to try, even if you don't have the skills yet. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
- Draw or paint. There are lots of different ways to learn to draw or paint. From Bob Ross videos on YouTube to books on drawing from you local library, artwork is a great way to be creative and develop your skills. Go to a nearby art store and buy supplies, and then find something you want to depict.
- Make jewellery: This can be a fun way to learn a new skill and make plenty of gifts for your whanau (family). You could also try to sew clothes: Make a whole new wardrobe by learning to sew and then tinkering around with the sewing machine and your favorite fabrics, try denim, wool mix fabrics, cotton, whatever you like.
- Weave flax. You can make all sorts of amazing things from flax, from baskets and clothes to toys and jewellery. Make sure you only pick flax that's not tapu. Flax weaving is a tradition that is special to New Zealand's history and culture.[4] X Research source
5Learn a new language: The world is your oyster when you know how to speak other languages. There are many to choose from and lots of online language resources (and the library). If you haven't tried learning Maori, give it a shot either with traditional language learning methods or by asking someone you know to teach you a few words. If you have a specific place you want to travel, start learning that language.
6Grow an edible garden. New Zealand's climate lends itself to all-year growing in most zones (except where it snows for part of winter). By growing your own food, you'll save money, learn a lot about delicious vegetables, fruits and edible flowers and you'll please your mum and dad no end. Ask your friends or neighbors to join in and help. If you don't have space for a garden, get involved in a community garden.
7Plan to travel. If you feel like you want to leave New Zealand for a little while, start budgeting for a trip abroad. Make goals for places you want to go, how much money you would need to get there, and how you are going to acquire that money. You might want to travel somewhere close, like Fiji or Australia, or perhaps you have always wanted to go to Europe.
- In New Zealand, entrepreneurial thinking is king, so being budget-wise is a good skill to learn early on.
- If you want to do the famous Kiwi OE, "overseas experience," you'll need good budgeting skills to achieve this successfully.


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A study showing that new parenthood rarely equates with happiness!
'About 30 percent remained at about the same state of happiness or better once they had the baby, according to self-reported measures of well-being. The rest said their happiness decreased during the first and second year after the birth.'
Of those new mothers and fathers whose happiness went down, 37 percent (742) reported a one-unit drop, 19 percent (383) a two-unit drop and 17 percent (341) a three-unit drop.
Being a new parent is hard work - sleep deprivation combined with new responsibilities can weigh heavily on us. The study showed that people's drop in happiness fell into three categories - one being the overwhelming responsibilities of new parenthood. One of the questions I have is whether happiness rises back once children become older?


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Helping You Hear The World Around You
At Chatham Acoustic Hearing Solution we can make hearing care fit into your lifestyle. Book your complimentary hearing test today to get started!
|Monday – Thursday
|Saturday – Sunday
|By Appointment
Helping You Hear The World Around You
At Chatham Acoustic Hearing Solution we can make hearing care fit into your lifestyle. Book your complimentary hearing test today to get started!
Monday – Thursday
Saturday – Sunday
By Appointment
It's about being a better you!
Who We Are
We specialize in providing customer focused hearing assessment services as well as the highest quality hearing aids in and around the Chatham and surrounding regions. Learn more about the Chatham Acoustic Hearing Solution difference.
Customer FocusedWe put the customer first. We are here to provide unbiased hearing assessment to help improve your quality of life!
Our Goal
Everyone in our office, from our receptionist to your Hearing Instrument Specialist, has one goal in mind–to help you hear better.
Quality ProductsFrom the smallest rechargeable hearing aid to the most powerful in the world! We have it all at unbeatable prices.
Modern Technology
Discover a wide variety of hearing technology making hearing aids comfortable, discrete and affordable.
We can come to you!We're happy to accommodate your busy schedule with home visits or appointments outside of our regular business hours!
We're mobile!
If you can't make it to our office we're happy to provide hearing assessments and delivery service, find out more here.
Friendly TeamChatham Acoustic Hearing Solution is a community minded business that believes in treating each one of our clients like family!
We Care Like FamilyThat's why you'll always be greeted with a smile when you arrive and leave with an even bigger one on your face.
Hear from our clients
"Chatham Acoustic Hearing Solution is caring, thorough, wonderful to deal with. Chris and Cindy are super people. My husband is very grateful to Chris because now he can hear lots of things that he was missing before and had no idea he was missing. He is glad he went to Chatham Acoustic Hearing Solution for hearing help."
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"One visit to Chris and you feel like family. He is very easy going and makes things seem so natural. He is willing to work with you to make things work perfectly and there is no pressure. Spread the word folks.
This is the place to go for friendly hearing needs"
What We Do
If you are noticing a difference with your hearing, a hearing test is a good start to evaluate the problem. Chatham Acoustic Hearing Solution can provide a thorough hearing test, as well as treatment options that are best suited for you.
Complimentary Hearing Tests
Take the first step towards better hearing! You could be missing more than you're aware. We provide free, no-obligation hearing assessments!
Clinic Services
Our clinical services range from hearing tests, Flex Trial Program, hearing aid repair and replacement, cerumen removal (wax removal) and more!
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Can't make it to our office? We're happy to provide hearing assessments and delivery service throughout Chatham, Wallaceburg, Dresden and more!
Tinnitus Management
Tinnitus is the perception of sounds or noise within the ears with no external sound source. We can help you with different tinnitus management strategies.
iFinance & Financial Assistance
iFinance helps us offer simple, fast and convenient payment plans to suit your budget. You may also qualify for a number of government sponsored programs.
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Our expertise and top-of-the-line products go far beyond just hearing aids! We provide in-ear monitors, noise protection, bluetooth technology and more!
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We offer products from the best hearing manufacturers in the business. From the smallest rechargeable hearing aid to the most powerful in the world!
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Complete the following form and we'll be in touch within 24 hours to confirm an appointment date and time!


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Unicare is a family-owned, Canadian company based in North Vancouver, BC, that is committed to excellence in senior living.
With senior retirement communities in British Columbia, Alberta and Washington State, Unicare provides three levels of senior living, depending on the type of care and support required:
Unicare acquired its very first residence, Garneau Hall, a 97 suite retirement residence in Edmonton, Alberta in 1999. Later that same year, Unicare obtained Orchard Park, a 82 suite, Assisted Living residence in Washington State. In 2002 the addition of Inglewood Care Centre, a 231 bed Long-term Care facility in West Vancouver, BC, marked Unicare's entry into provincially licensed health care.
Over the next several years, Unicare added two seniors communities in Surrey, BC — Pacific Carlton and Sunnyside Manor and one in Kelowna, BC — Fernbrae Manor in the Okanagan Valley. In 2006, Unicare was proud to add Lakeside Gardens in Nanaimo, BC, to its family of residences.
Today Unicare is directed by a management team with expertise in all areas of senior living and supported by dedicated staff at all our seniors communities. We invite you to take a tour of a Unicare community — we're sure you'll see our commitment to the increased quality of life that our community members enjoy.
We welcome you to come and visit one our thoughtfully designed communities!Find A Location


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Amanda Bynes Amanda Bynes Amanda Bynes. You guys are probably starting to get sick of Amanda Bynes. But still, who can look away? I keep going from thinking that she's mentally ill and needs help, to wondering if she's all doing this for attention, to believing she's just screwing with us and having fun.
Her latest tweets have me almost certain that she's just screwing with us. She has to be. She posted photos of face photoshopped onto animal bodies.
I find these photos far less disturbing that her "sucking on sour patch kids" video. A GIF of that for you from ONTD:
After she posted her photoshopped delights, she then spent hours retweeting everything that fans tweeted at her, including more Amanda photoshops. That is a damn successful Twitter campaign if I ever saw one. I don't know what it's a campaign for…maybe to become a meme? Just, work with me here.
She's also been tweeting at almost every blog and/or magazine that has made comments about her being mentally unstable. To Complex Magazine she tweeted,
Stop acting like I'm doing something wrong. I'm obsessed with myself on twitter.
And to Life & Style,
Please stop saying I have erratic behavior.
She also made it very clear to College Candy that thinks she looks "fat" in a photo that they posted and that she does not, in fact, pay people to be her friend, as they suggested. The woman photographed with her was, "My assistant Nadia."
Check out her other photoshopped artworks as well as the "fat" photo.


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FREE STANDARD SHIPPING ON QUALIFYING ORDERS OVER $82.00 - Offer valid at kitterytradingpost.com. Tax and shipping not include in qualifying amount. Offer is for standard ground shipping only to United States excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Offer valid on Alpine Skis, all other additional/oversized freight charges still apply. Offer not valid on firearm purchases. Offer not valid on retail store purchases, previous purchases or special orders. Offer limited to stock on hand, and is not redeemable for cash. KTP reserves the right to exclude certain products from this promotion. Offer subject to change without notice.
Princeton Tec Remix 300 Lumen Headlamp
Product Info Item# 100035009
The Remix is equipped with an asymmetrical single arm bracket, easily accessible battery door enclosure and large push button switch. Combine these features with a simple and lightweight design and you have a headlamp built to perform in any environment. Whether your requirements call for long distance spotting, or close range area light, the Remix is up to the task. The end result; true versatility in a compact, water resistant, and self-contained package.
- One Maxbright and three Ultrabright LEDs
- Multiple modes
- Easy to use
- Large push button switch
- Uses three AAA batteries
- Color: Black
- Water-resistance rating: IPX-4
- Burn time: 28 hours (spot high), 53 hours (spot low), 61 hours (flood high), 150 hours (flood low)
- Distance: 73 meters (spot high), 53 meters (spot low), 28 meters (flood high), 10 meters (flood low)
- Weight: 2.9 oz.
- Suggested use: Backpacking, camping, hunting, fishing
- Made in USA
More About Princeton Tec
In their pursuit to be the world's best, they've traveled the earth by ocean, by air, by bike and by foot. They've consulted great athletes, scaled mountains, traversed the poles, touched the ocean floors and rolled two wheels on every continent.
Princeton Tec is constantly inspired by what our ever evolving environments have to offer and the human spirit that challenges us to tackle them. This spirit motivates them to push technology and design, so that they can ensure that you have, not only the best lighting solutions, but solutions where technology is applied and the performance makes sense for how you use them.
|Light intensity
|Brightness levels
|Burn time
RMX300-BK - White Maxbright & 3 White Ultrabright LEDsMore Info
Product Details
Princeton Tec Remix 300 Lumen Headlamp
|300 lumens
|28 hours (spot high)
RMX300-RD-BK - White Maxbright & 3 Red Ultrabright LEDsMore Info
Product Details
Princeton Tec Remix 300 Lumen Headlamp
|300 lumens
|28 hours (spot high)


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What is Edge Cloud?
From thousands of data centers to orders of magnitude more
In today's networked world, data centers, run by large operations such as Amazon, Google, Equinix, DRT, and the like, are interconnected and stream data and applications over the network to end users.
A large provider of content might lease capacity in a data center or operate its own. A global operation might have one or two per continent. These large data centers sit at the center of the cloud, which means they're multiple hops removed from the end user.
There's a burgeoning category of applications and content, including streaming video to mobile devices, latency-sensitive IoT apps, and security filters that needs to be pushed deeper into the network—closer to the edge and closer to the user.
This shift to the edge is necessitated by a number of factors. Latency is the oft-cited reason, but cost is also a part of the equation.
Driven by a need to get data and applications closer to the user, the edge cloud will be composed of orders of magnitude more data centers, scaled down and a short distance from end users.
The rationale is pretty simple: If an application runs closer to the user, perhaps one or two short hops away, not only is the latency reduced, but the data traverses a shorter span of the network, which reduces the resources required. Compare that to today's centralized data center world. If information travels from a data center in a major metro, it might go through many routers and run over thousands of miles of fiber on its journey to the end user. The transport cost and potentials for delay are considerable.
Massive growth over the next decade
Over the next five years, as applications shift to the edge, a new breed of data centers will crop up around the globe. Looking ahead a decade, there could be orders of magnitude more data centers sending content and apps to users over shorter lengths of fiber and network hops.
This is the edge cloud.
In Edge Cloud, location matters. Techniques such as Geo-analytics will be used to place Edge Cloud Data Centers (so-called "edge nodes") in close proximity to clusters of end-users or devices that will benefit from higher performance and lower cost. Such locations might include tele-dense areas of mobile users that are streaming video, along highways for public safety applications, near factories or warehouses using manufacturing or logistics automation, or close to healthcare facilities.
The edge cloud will be a unique ecosystem of open and interconnected data centers. In fact, that ecosystem, including data center operators and carrier partnerships, will be the underpinning of edge cloud achieving critical mass.
One thing is clear: The edge will be closer to the user—maybe just across town or down the street. Edge cloud will utilize caching that will respond to, or-better yet-anticipate, local streaming demands. In addition, localized edge compute will be able to host persistent or on-demand applications with strict latency constraints.
The economic advantages of edge cloud arise from the shared use of generic (or white box) resources across a range of applications—from mobile apps, to vCDN apps for video and software downloads and website performance, to IoT apps, and DNS, DDOS, and vRAN apps for mobile edge. These new edge cloud nodes will in many ways resemble large data centers, today's goliaths, but may operate at a central office, a cell tower aggregation site, or a headend. With that kind of affordable, flexible architecture in place, the edge cloud will be able to spin up content and applications as needed.
How Ciena will help
Ciena and its Blue Planet software will bring a wealth of AI-enabled analytics, enabling real-time resource sharing from the core to the edge and distribution across an ecosystem of operators. The Ciena approach will enable automated SaaS-based revenue sharing within the ecosystem. Along with that, Ciena will orchestrate services and virtualization functions that enable the rapid spin-up of applications in real time.
Blue Planet Multi-Domain Service Orchestration (MDSO) and NFVO (Network Functions Virtualization Orchestrator), both open and vendor-agnostic software platforms, will enable the rapid creation, deployment, and automation of end-to-end delivery of services and applications across the edge cloud.
For edge cloud players, Blue Planet software will:
- Shorten time-to-revenue and lower costs by simplifying and automating service delivery across multiple vendor and technology domains
- Enable the rapid innovation of new services and provide full self-service control of the edge
- Quickly adapt to new latency-sensitive demands by efficiently customizing and optimizing the network while improving quality of experience.
Blue Planet will also provide intelligent and automated NFV orchestration capabilities to the ecosystem to orchestrate resources across the many edge cloud data centers, simplifying integration across physical and virtual platforms.
Knitting all of this together will be the powerful Blue Planet Analytics (BPA), which will provide edge cloud ecosystem participants the ability to make smart, data-driven business decisions. BPA's robust and flexible framework collects, processes, and stores data from multiple sources across the network. Blue Planet uses analytics and AI techniques to identify usage trends and service-affecting congestion, visualizes these issues to support root cause analysis, predicts future patterns, recommends ways to reoptimize resources, and ultimately will automatically adapt resources within strict policy rules. Blue Planet Analytics will also be able to recommend tradeoffs between cost and performance among the various applications competing for resources. BPA can also anticipate potential network and service disruptions before they happen.
With more than a quarter century of industry leadership in networking, Ciena supports more than 1,300 of the world's largest, most reliable networks. Over the years, Ciena has been at the forefront of innovation, with many industry firsts across all areas of communications infrastructure. The advent of the edge cloud will be another in a long line of focused accomplishments for Ciena.
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Sally Griffith Cimini
Office Location(s)
Practice Groups
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Sally Griffith Cimini is a Partner with Leech Tishman and chairs the firm's Employment and Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Groups. Based in Leech Tishman's Pittsburgh office, Sally is highly regarded for her experience in the areas of employment law and alternative dispute resolution. For many years, Sally served on the firm's Management Committee.
Sally has over 32 years of experience devoted exclusively to counseling and litigating on behalf of private and public sector employers in all aspects of the employment relationship, from hiring through termination. She regularly advises clients on employment discrimination issues, workplace and sexual harassment, disability accommodation, Family & Medical Leave Act compliance, employee handbooks, human resource policies and practices, wage and hour issues, use of temporary/leased/contract employees and independent contractors, performance appraisals, workplace investigations, drug and alcohol testing, workplace privacy issues, disciplinary action and termination, reductions in force, employment at-will/wrongful discharge, alternative dispute resolution, union avoidance, employment agreements, restrictive covenants and confidentiality agreements, severance agreements, waivers and releases, and unemployment compensation claims.
Sally routinely represents employers in employment discrimination litigation before the federal and state courts as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and City of Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations. She also represents employers in all aspects of labor relations, including collective bargaining, grievances, arbitration and National Labor Relations Board proceedings. Sally has extensive experience with wage and hour practice before the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division.
Sally is well-known in the field of alternative dispute resolution, particularly as an employment dispute mediator, arbitrator and early neutral evaluator. She regularly serves as a mediator, arbitrator and early neutral evaluator for the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Sally is a mediator and arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and also provides services as a private mediator. She is also a panel mediator on the UPMC Intermediation Panel. Sally has served as a contract mediator for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and as a member of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) Panel of Distinguished Neutrals. In May 2014, the Pennsylvania Bar Association awarded her its annual Sir Francis Bacon Dispute Resolution Award in recognition and appreciation for her pioneering efforts to develop and enhance mediation throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She is the past president of the Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania, and formerly chaired the Pennsylvania Bar Association's ADR Committee.
Prior to joining Leech Tishman, Sally was a shareholder and associate at various prominent law firms in Pittsburgh. During the course of her career, she has practiced employment and labor law in both private practice and as in-house employment counsel for a major electric utility in Pittsburgh. Her work has always focused on employment and labor matters, prior to, while attending and since graduating from law school. While attending law school, Sally worked as a personnel specialist at Union Switch and Signal and also spent time as a law clerk for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
Sally has published numerous articles on employment law and is a regular speaker on employment, labor law and human resources issues and has served on the faculty of the Pennsylvania Bar Institute's Employment Law Institute and other PBI employment programs for many years.
J.D., Duquesne University School of Law
Certificate in Personnel & Industrial Relations, University of Pittsburgh
B.A. in Speech Communication & Theatre and Journalism/Public Relations, Duquesne University
Court Admissions
West Virginia
Ohio (Inactive Status)
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court, Pennsylvania
U.S. District Court, West Virginia
U.S. District Court, Indiana
U.S. District Court, New York
Babst, Calland, Clements and Zomnir, P.C.
Polito & Smock, PC
Buchanan Ingersoll, PC (now Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC)
In-House Employment and Labor Counsel, Duquesne Light Company
Baskin, Flaherty, Elliott & Mannino, P.C.
Law Clerk, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
Professional Memberships
American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section; Section of Dispute Resolution)
Pennsylvania Bar Association (Former Chair and Vice Chair, ADR Committee; Member, Labor and Employment Section; Member, Women in the Profession Commission)
Allegheny County Bar Association (Council Member, Labor & Employment Law Section; Member, ADR Committee; Member, Women in the Law Division Model Policy Committee)
Allegheny County Personnel Board (Member)
Association for Conflict Resolution
College of Labor & Employment Lawyers (Fellow, 2018, 2016)
Mediation Council of Western Pennsylvania (Immediate Past President; Former Program Chair)
Pennsylvania Council of Mediators
Pittsburgh Human Resources Association (Former Board Member; Former Newsletter Editor; Former Membership Chairperson)
Society for Human Resource Management
Tri-State Society for Human Resources Management (Founding Member; Board Member; Former President)
Professional Accolades
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Review Rated Attorney
Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers
Best Lawyers
The Best Lawyers in America: Mediation (2010-2018), Alternative Dispute Resolution (2015-2017), Litigation- Labor and Employment (2011-2018), Employment Law- Management (2011-2018)
The Best Lawyers in America: Women in the Law Edition: Mediation (2016-2018)
Best Lawyers Pennsylvania (2018)
Best Lawyers Pittsburgh Mediator of the Year (2018; 2016)
Best Lawyers Pittsburgh, Mediation (2010-2018), Alternative Dispute Resolution (2015-2017), Litigation- Labor and Employment (2011-2018), Employment Law- Management (2011-2018)
Super Lawyers
Top 50 Women Pennsylvania Super Lawyers, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Magazine (2009-2011)
Pennsylvania Super Lawyer (2005, 2007-2017), Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Magazine
Top 50 Pittsburgh Super Lawyers, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Magazine (2009-2011)
Pennsylvania Bar Association
Pennsylvania Bar Association Sir Francis Bacon Alternative Dispute Resolution Award (2014)
List of speaking engagements/published articles available upon request.
ADR Training
Advanced Mediation Training, Center for Dispute Resolution (2000, 2004, 2015)
Mediation Workshop, Harvard Law School (1999)
Conflict Resolution and Mediation Training, Pittsburgh Mediation Center (1998)
AAA Employment Arbitration I & II Training Programs
ABA Section of Dispute Resolution Mediation Training
Certifications & Designations
Certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Human Resources Certification Institute
Advanced Workplace Practitioner status, Association for Conflict Resolution


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Finding quality journal articles for Arts and Social Sciences
The Library subscribes to a wide range of databases which you can use to find quality journal articles. The databases available via the Library spread across a number of subject disciplines and this session will focus on some of those relevant to the arts and social sciences.
The workshop will provide an opportunity to examine the enhanced functionality of databases relevant to arts and social sciences such as those provided by Proquest, e.g. IBSS (International Bibliography of Social Sciences) and JSTOR, providing the necessary skills to find quality journal articles.
By the end of the workshop you will be able to:
Who is this workshop for?
If you are undertaking research and need to find quality journal articles then this is for you. Students from departments or schools across the arts and social sciences including Literature, Social Sciences and Politics will benefit from attending this workshop.
This workshop is run by a Library Skills Adviser
To book your place on this workshop, click on one of the dates below for the booking form
14:15 - 15:45, Monday, February 8, 2016 10:15 - 11:45, Monday, February 29, 2016
The following workshops are part of the search skills series:


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Our Story
A Leap of Faith
Monkey Business Catering is a family business. A culmination of generations of women (and men!) who lived creatively, sought to uplift their guests and serve practically. They have served their God, their families and their guests through delicious fresh baking and wholesome foods.
To understand who we are you have to hear where we have come from.
Our Faces
Our Vision
We are all individually unique (clients and staff), we use these differences to spark creativity in our service and products.
We love kindness and operate in a way that seeks the best outcome for all.
Our products, packaging and mode of service delivery must be as easy as possible to access and use.
We are always looking for the right people to join our team. If you love people, food and share our values (creativity, uplift and practicality) look us up on LinkedIn and send your resume through to email@example.com
About Us
Monkey Business Catering is a boutique catering business founded in 2014 which prides itself on its fresh products, flexibility and family atmosphere. We are looking to expand our team of 'monkeys'.
We looking for someone who bakes because they love to.
Work Conditions
- Minimum 3 hours per week.
- Hours vary as per bookings.
- Most shifts will be from 7 am to 1 pm weekdays (these hours have a little flexibility)
- Award wage
- Very delicious leftovers (the odd shaped things or extras)
Job Requirements
- Love of food and people
- Cooking experience (qualifications not necessary)
- Creativity
- Knowledge of food safety requirements
- Driver's license
- Flexible availability
- Able to work independently
What to expect
- Preparation cooking
- Business catering orders for groups of 10-250 people
- Large party bookings for 40-200 people (Birthdays, Weddings, Conferences, Dinners)
- Delivery of food orders to a variety of Toowoomba businesses
- Small team environment where everyone is valued
You will have a unique opportunity to see how a family business runs and there is plenty of scope to help with product development.
'The Monkey'
Putting 'Monkey' in 'Monkey Business'
'The Monkey' is our official mascot. He shows up at functions, weddings (dressed appropriately, naturally), and has done grand tours of Asia, Canada, Europe. You can see some of his glamour shots on Instagram.
The Environment & Us
Our product, packaging and mode of service delivery must be as easy as possible to access and use. Part of this promise is to practically reduce our impact on the environment around us.
We compost.
We recycle.
We package sustainably.
We are honoured to be the recipient of several awards from the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce's Heritage Bank Business Excellence awards as well as other accolades listed below.
2019 Top 3 Caterer's in Toowoomba
2018 Top 3 Caterer's in Toowoomba
2018 Business of the Year, Heritage Bank Business Excellence Awards
2018 Category winner, Hospitality, Heritage Bank Business Excellence Awards
2018 Division winner, Hospitality, Catering and Equipment Services, Heritage Bank Business Excellence Awards
2017 Division winner, Hospitality, Catering and Equipment Services, Heritage Bank Business Excellence Awards


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"Shinhwa Broadcasting" Cancelled
K-pop's longest-running idol group SHINHWA members have decided to step down from their self-titled TV show in two weeks time.
SHINHWA's agency Liveworks Company released the official statement Friday morning about cancelling the weekly TV show, which the idol group has laughed as shed tears from last March.
"We recently decided on cancelling the program with the producing crew of JTBC since the show is meaningless when two of the SHINHWA members are away, as seen in the title of the show," SHINHWA members were quoted as saying.
After launching its second season last November without member Kim Dong-wan who had decided to focus on his musical, the remaining members has continued the show as four members without Andy, who stepped down from the show the same month after embroiled in a charge of illegal gambling.
The idol group went on to deliver that, "Yesterday, we finally decided to cancel 'Shinhwa Broadcasting' we have been in for last two years on January 19 next year, when the final episode will be aired."
"As SHINHWA is only formed with the six members, we thought it is quite hard on the remaining four members [Eric, Hyesung, Minwoo, Jun Jin] to continue 'Shinhwa Broadcasting.' We appreciate all the support and affection you've showed for the TV show," an official with Liveworks added.
Reporter. Cory Lee
Courtesy of Liveworks Company


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Tennis For Free's Dream Team 2019 (US Open Edition)
Welcome to Tennis For Free's TFFDreamteam 2019, the fantasy tennis league for the Grand Slam Tournaments. Please familiarise yourself with the rules before entering
This is the US Open dreamteam, the last in the season and whether you are new to tffdreamteam.com or have played previous editions, you will need to register again and pick your mens and ladies teams.
You can swap and change your team as much as you wish until 4.00pm BST on Monday 26 August. We advise that any registrations or changes be completed by 3.55pm to ensure your place in the competition.
The scoring format is the same as previous editions (see scoring for more details).
We hope you enjoy US Open Dreamteam and if you can spare a small donation to the charity it will be greatly appreciated.
Player lists updated - 24th August 2019


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Harrod UK
Harrod UK are based in Lowestoft, Suffolk and are the UK's leading manufacturer of sports equipment and nets. Official supplier to Wembley Stadium, England Hockey and England Netball and also the London 2012 Olympics.
"Our relationship with Circleline is quite unique, very much a partnership between two companies. Our association goes back over 20 years and Circleline have seen us through 3 re-brandings, numerous catalogues and 3 websites. In that time they have always managed to surprise us with fresh ideas and always have an enthusiastic approach. Our creative output is widely accepted as industry leading and this speaks volumes for their work."
Les Saunders
Sales & Marketing Director


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It's beginning of end for fans' patience
Another Opening Day is upon the Mets and their weary fans. Usually, it's a day to celebrate, a day to dream, a day to revel in the possibilities.
For Mets fans, this Opening Day feels different. Not the beginning of something, but the end of something.
The end of their patience with the Sandy Alderson regime.
For two-plus years, Alderson has gotten more mulligans than a Sunday's worth of golfers at Bethpage Black. That's fine. He hasn't had a lot to work with in terms of money or options.
As Newsday's Jim Baumbach reported late last week, the Mets' home-opening sellout streak could end Monday at 14 seasons. Even if it doesn't, it only will be because the Mets moved heaven and Earth with last-minute ticket deals and giveaways to artificially jam Citi Field for one afternoon. Let's see what the ballpark looks like Wednesday night for Game 2.
After Monday, Mets fans will be right if they vote with their apathy. Alderson & Co. have left them only the future to look forward to. The roster Alderson inherited was a toxic wasteland. He has almost cleared it to the point that something good could grow. But not yet.
Not when your Opening Day outfield is Lucas Duda, Collin Cowgill and Marlon Byrd. A lefty DH and two fourth outfielders. Remember when Alderson said "what outfield?" in the offseason? Not much has changed.
So enjoy your Opening Day, Mets fans. And then take the rest of the spring off -- if we ever actually get spring weather around here -- and early summer, too.
After Monday, unless Matt Harvey is pitching, Mets fans should read a good book and reserve judgment on the Alderson regime until the real Opening Day of this season:
Aug. 2.
On Aug. 2, the Mets will return from a road trip to host the Kansas City Royals. (It's not the opponent we're talking about, obviously.)
No, Aug. 2 will be the Mets' first home game after the July 31 trade deadline. If Alderson hasn't plucked a few prospects from contending teams in deadline deals, if Zack Wheeler isn't in the rotation and Travis d'Arnaud isn't behind the plate, something will have gone wrong in this latest rebuilding season.
Actually, Thursday's season opener for the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s in Sacramento almost has more importance than Monday's big-league game against the faceless Padres. Sacramento is where top prospects Wheeler and d'Arnaud will be.
Alderson's best move so far was acquiring Wheeler from the Giants in 2011 for Carlos Beltran. Mets fans have to hope Alderson can turn Daniel Murphy or Brandon Lyon or Shaun Marcum or LaTroy Hawkins or John Buck into something similarly appealing in a deadline-day deal this year. It won't be easy.
Aug. 2 will be when you will know if Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada have blossomed into All-Star-type players; if captain David Wright has stayed healthy and productive in the first year of his eight-year, $138-million contract; if Harvey and default Opening Day starter Jon Niese have settled into a nice groove as a 1-2 punch; if Bobby Parnell really can be a closer.
On Sunday, the Mets held a brief workout at Citi Field. Wright was asked what words he would use to describe this year's team.
"Scrappy comes to mind," he said. "You look up and down the roster, you're not going to see a lot of household names. You're not going to see a lot of flash or I guess sexiness, per se."
So that's Alderson's job: To bring sexy back to the Mets. Soon. Even Mets fans won't wait forever.


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Fun Friday Finds — time for thank yous!
By Sharon Parker ~ Arty Didact
Writing thank you notes doesn't have to be a chore with so many fun cards available, handmade in Minnesota, of course.
Third Row (Left to Right): Oodles of Color, STELLA and HODGE, Created by Kristin M, Bryanica