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Tom Glenn spent thirteen years shuttling between the U. S. and Vietnam as an undercover NSA employee working on covert signals intelligence assignments before being rescued under fire when the North Vietnamese took Saigon in May of 1975. We reviewed his book, Friendly Casualties, a Vietnam War novel-in-stories, on these pages last year.
The Trion Syndrome (Apprentice House, 306 pp., $15.99, paper) is dedicated to "all combatants who suffered damage to their souls while serving this country." Glenn describes the book as "at once a domestic novel of marital infidelity, angsty teen-agers, and job strife, and a disturbing psychological study of long-held and barely repressed trauma." A close reading of the novel justifies that claim.
The protagonist, Dave Bell, shares many similarities with the author. He's a Thomas Mann scholar who has returned from Vietnam, and is tormented by nightly dreams. He's functioning, but damaged. He was changed in Vietnam, and not in a good way.
This novel is written in an experimental style, which involves switching from first person to third person when the author deems it necessary. The book is a beautifully written and edited literary novel. Readers will do better with it, though, if they have read and understood the novels of Thomas Mann and have taken a few years of German. I've done those things and I still found the novel a struggle.
Here's a brief quote illustrating the challenges in this novel: "He recognized Harry's writing style—his use of 'in order to' and the past progressive and his tendency to string present participle clauses at the end of sentences."
This sort of stuff can be fun for a Thomas Mann expert, but for normal mortals, not so much. The book does connect with the Vietnam War, to an illusive incident in Long Dinh, but most Vietnam veterans readers will find this book a difficult puzzle.
I recommend it only to die-hard Mann fans.
The author's website is the-trion-syndrome.com
—David Willson


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subset: commoncrawl


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Archive for May, 2011
New Website Online!
Posted by Joshua Carter in Film Making on May 1, 2011
I've finally completed the new website – check it out! I've tried to make it as visually appealing as possible, giving clear links to all my content including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and my blog. I've also made it easier for myself in the sense of adding films and editing the site in general.
There are a few glitches with the site with some browsers. So far I know of problems with Firefox and Internet Explorer, but it all works fine in Safari and Chrome…as far as I know. I know that black boxes appear around linked images, I know what it is but I have no idea how to get rid of it. It's not too much of a problem because I don't think it completely ruins the look of the site. I'm afraid I'm still relatively new to Dreamweaver. If you find any other glitches, please email me.
But please, go check it out!


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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
winter's here
This arrived about a week ago.There have been a few snowfalls, but this one's here to stay. It was time to put the plow on the skidsteer.After a little swearing and a little bashing, it was ready to go.Art was busy clearing the driveway and the yard...... and a nice flat parking spot. You know....just in case we get company for Christmas (wink, wink, nod, nod, say-no-more....)
Posted by Endako Jo at 1:27 p.m. 2 comments
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The contemporary business environment is a place of constant changes, with diverse personalities and points of view each striving to establish some kind of dominance in a continuously competitive space.
It's a pressure cooker of stress, under which the ever urgent demand to deliver best practice and service is to perform, consistently. It's a highly complex and ambiguous setting, one in which, we spend more and more of our time, with less and less distinction between career and life.
We are accelerating into a life/work future with more uncertainty than ever before.
All recent technological advancements point to a future of even greater reliance on IT, and with it, an even deeper trust placed in algorithms as solutions. How long will it be before every single experience we take, is managed through an IT solution?
The Cloud and AI are here, and everyday we each relinquish more data about our behaviours, and ourselves, increasing our overall dependency on the voice and word of IT.
Waze is but one example, where we blindly follow without question, instructed by a powerful invisible all knowing guide. Nothing wrong with this, it's extremely useful, and to a great extent reduces anxieties and stress. However, we are also relinquishing another little part of ourselves each time, handing our lives over, to an all-knowing algorithm.
There isn't a single industry, world wide, that won't bleed huge numbers of employees as more and more smart application arrive overnight, causing thousands of human beings to become irrelevant in a blink, and with that irrelevance, redundant.
There is no doubt we are heading into a smarter future, it could be a brighter one as well, but it also has the potential to be a far harsher one.
Time for some serious Darwinism – the evolution of our species has never been more urgent. Clearly we have to raise our own intelligence if we wish to remain competitive. As Darwin confirmed, the species that learn to adapt to the harsher environments they find themselves in, are the species that survive, everything else simply falls away.
The good news is we can, and the reason we can is we all have access to a remarkable gift, we are all born genius.
That is to say we all begin life with the full spectrum of intelligence – analytical, operational, emotional and creative.
Yet, as our early journey through life unfolds, we begin to adjust and conform to societal structures, expectations and norms. With our education these adjustments and conformities ultimately produce a 'shaped' and different thinking mind, to the one we started with.
Often with disadvantages, certainly with limitations, which are not entirely clear or evident to us, because we can't see what we no longer have.
Our unbalanced favouritism toward analytical and operational intelligence, leads to the underdevelopment of the whole.
Consequently, many of us transition out of our 'environmental shaping' usually in our late adolescence, with a reduced range of intelligence, the consequences of which are, less access to creative thinking and a limited ability for emotional growth.
Frustratingly, the absence of these critical tools is most often not conscious, meaning, we are not even aware they are missing and as such we function accordingly.
Which explains the difficulties most of us experience as we transition into adulthood, and the countless blunders and awful mistakes that many of us make along the way.
In our wisdom we appear to have placed emotional intelligence and creativity at a secondary level, considering it unimportant to some extent. Placing most of our development emphasis on goals and results, a fixation that has brought us to our present reality.
Let's be fair about that, a great deal of that focus and emphasis has led to great development and growth, but it too, has come at a cost. A cost we are beginning to see the consequences of.
Global warming is simply a result of greed, and the fixed idea that there are endless resources up for plunder, and no side affects to that plundering. A seriously limited view devoid of the creative vision for what we are doing and the absence of social collaborations and empathy for our surroundings (read emotional intelligence)
Or the concept that somehow a tiny percentage of the population can own ninety percent of everything, is also unsustainable, unbalanced and will ultimately lead to an enormous backlash of some kind. Another seriously flawed position born from an absence of vision for alternative approaches, and the inability to consider the other person (again read emotional intelligence).
There are many other side affects to our emphasis on goals and results, spend a moment and consider them.
It now transpires that the very stuff we need as we enter the next phase of the great human experiment – survival of our species, is the fuzzy stuff that we have previously devalued.
Despite all our magnificent achievements as a species, we have unwittingly limited our whole intellectual potential.
Around the world as leading business seek human capital, right at the top of the skills criteria required are, creative thinking abilities, and the resilience to work with diverse colleagues, under higher and higher levels of pressure (see emotional intelligence).
As businesses and individuals that wish to remain relevant come face to face with this glaring reality, they reach out to business schools and business coaches to help them acquire these soft skills that previously had little, if any value at all.
Of course, because they offered such little value, very few people can speak honestly to there value and at the same time help others on how to recover and develop the skills required.
LGIT is fortunate to be able to provide an answer to those business and individuals who agree with the above and seek the changes required.
The Genius Programme is a practical programme that helps individuals identify those voices of judgment that have captured their thinking, that have created unproductive thinking habits and limited worldviews.
The programme demonstrates how to let go of the old and negative fixed thinking habits at the same time introducing liberating tools that rebirth the intuitive and creative thinking within and enlivening our emotional understanding.
The Genius Programme provides everyday practical exercises that will help re-establish a full connection to our whole intelligence, reigniting the genius within.
So if you recognise some of the challenges presented above, and would like to know more or wish to attend this programme, kindly contact us: firstname.lastname@example.com or click here for further insight on our programme.
It may prove to be the smartest thing you and your business ever do.


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After a discussion about the Flux Architecture. I still wonder if it works in iOS, or just Web.— R. Peres (@RuiAAPeres) July 14, 2015
Well, it doesn't, at least for me. The thing is, with the use of Singletons, you won't be able to test a damn thing, so I went with MVVM and dependency injection.


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Public higher education in the United States is under widespread attack through shrinking public investment and attacks on democratic governance. We at WUU believe it urgent that faculty and academic staff who share our values make themselves heard, both in protest and in practical engagement with these realities.
UW-Madison is known as a national beacon of free speech and unimpeded scholarly pursuit, as an institution offering the highest quality academic instruction at the lowest possible cost, as the home of the "Wisconsin Idea" of lively democratic experiment in public policy, as a university where public service is central to its mission. Yet, there is much work to be done to keep it that way.
Today the ratio of students to full time faculty at UW-Madison is at an all time high. So too is the share of teaching borne by "associates" with no chance of job tenure, the percentage of staff maintained as "limited term employees," the amount of time it takes students to get through to a degree, and the cost of tuition and fees to students and their families. Near an all time low are faculty and staff powers in University governance. There is now a concerted attempt to significantly alter the structure of the University and the UW System without meaningful communication, let alone agreement, from participants in governance. These trends concern us greatly.
For those who share these values and concerns, WUU is a source of information and fellowship, a voice for democratic engagement, representation in the event of employment disputes and a tool for practical reform. With the impact of Act 10 on collective bargaining for faculty and staff it is now even more urgent to secure and expand our rights.
We urge you to join WUU. Our dues are kept low, so not to be a bar to membership. They are currently $5 a month, but we are not asking for dues until after our spring 2015 executive board elections. After submitting this membership form, you will begin receiving emails from WUU. We will keep you updated on current actions around the UW Budget cuts and other critical campus issues.
So please join us, and let's be about the work of better realizing our democratic values in this great institution.


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- Develop and implement a research or public health practice project by applying principles of program evaluation or study design, and the application of appropriate data analytic techniques in an area of public health or clinical significance chosen by the student.
- Develop the knowledge and skills to design, implement, and evaluate epidemiology-related, health services or clinical research projects of clinical or public health significance including:
i. Employ measures of health and disease status encountered in epidemiologic research, health services research and public health research and practice.
ii. Accurately and effectively employ methods for the design, analysis and interpretation of observational studies including cohort and case-control studies.
iii. Define and recognize issues of exposure and disease risk, time-dependent effects, confounding, and misclassification.
iv. Effectively utilize methods for instrument development, assessment of reliability, validity and responsiveness to change; and/or diagnostic and screening test evaluation.
v. Apply methods of epidemiology to the study of infectious and non-infectious acute and chronic diseases and their prevention.
- Develop the knowledge and skills with biostatistical methods and computer software packages (e.g., STATA or SAS) for performing appropriate crude and adjusted analyses of public health, health services or clinical data, including methods or regression analysis including the ability to formulate a scientific question in terms of a statistical model, leading to quantitative answers.
- Develop the knowledge and skills with the definitions and basic issues involved in clinical trials including study design, treatment allocation, randomization and stratification, quality control, sample size requirements, patient consent, and interpretation of results. Present for critique and discussion the scientific, policy, and management aspects of clinical trials.
- Apply the principles of meta-analytic statistical methods for clinical trials and observational studies to quantitatively summarize existing data to answer questions of public health or clinical significance.
- Understand the development, implementation, and evaluation of guidelines
- Apply principles of study design and evaluation to T2 research and implementation projects.
- Demonstrate basic ethics as per responsible conduct of research guidelines.


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WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to three felony counts in Washington today as part of a settlement with federal prosecutors, ending an intense, months-long negotiation over whether the Republican lobbyist would testify against his former colleagues.
Mr. Abramoff, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, fraud, and tax evasion, setting the stage for prosecutors to begin using him as a cooperating witness against his former business and political colleagues. In exchange, Mr. Abramoff faces a maximum of about 10 years in prison in the Washington case.
The conspiracy charge included Mr. Abramoff's effort to influence at least one member of Congress and a Congressional staff member.
As United States District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle read each of the charges today, Mr. Abramoff answered softly, "I plead guilty, your honor."
"Your honor, words will not be able to ever express how sorry I am for this, and I have profound regret and sorrow for the multitude of mistakes and harm I have caused," he said. "All of my remaining days, I will feel tremendous sadness and regret for my conduct and for what I have done. I only hope that I can merit forgiveness from the Almighty and from those I have wronged or caused to suffer. I will work hard to earn that redemption."
At a news briefing this afternoon, Alice Fisher, an assistant attorney general, said Mr. Abramoff offered up gifts to government officials that included an all-expense paid trip to Scotland "to play golf on a world-famous course, tickets and travel to the Super Bowl in Florida, tickets for concerts and other events in Washington, repeated and regular meals at his upscale restaurant, and campaign contributions."
She said he provided these gifts "with the intent and often with the understanding that his clients would receive the official action they wanted."And, she said, "his actions often produced the official influence that he sought."
"Government officials and government action are not for sale," she said. "The Justice Department will aggressively investigate and prosecute these types of cases, which have a devastating impact on the public's trust of government. We will not shy away from that responsibility, no matter where the trail leads."
Official Washington has been on edge for months awaiting word of Mr. Abramoff's legal future. Once a masterful Republican lobbyist with close ties to the former House majority leader, Representative Tom DeLay, Mr. Abramoff earned tens of millions of dollars representing Indian casino interests and farflung entities like the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands.
Through a complicated web of financial arrangements, he helped funnel donations to his lawmaker friends' and their campaigns, and took members of Congress, mainly the Republicans in power, on lavish trips.
Mr. Abramoff is also scheduled to appear in Florida Wednesday in a related case, in which he was indicted last year. In that case, he is expected to plead guilty to fraud and conspiracy in connection with his purchase of the SunCruz casino boat line, and will face a maximum of about seven years' prison time.
Mr. Abramoff has been talking to investigators in the corruption case for many months, his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said.
"Eighteen months ago, Mr. Abramoff first made contact with prosecutors to admit his wrongdoing and to seek forgiveness from those he has wronged," Mr. Lowell said today. "He intends to continue to work with the Justice Department and others to fully resolve all matters of interest, to provide restitution to anyone he has harmed, and to seek absolution from all."
Participants in the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation, said Mr. Abramoff had provided a full picture of what evidence he could offer against other suspects.
On the corruption charge, prosecutors said in documents filed with the court today that Mr. Abramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon, who reached a plea agreement with officials last year, conspired to "corruptly give, offer and promise things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment, to public officials and their relatives with the intent to influence, and in return for agreements to perform official acts benefiting" them and their clients.
The document details lavish gifts and contributions that Mr. Abramoff gave a House member, identified here only as "Representative #1."
Representative Bob Ney, a Republican of Ohio, acknowledged at the time of Mr. Scanlon's plea agreement that he was the person represented as Representative No. 1 in the documents in that case, but he has dismissed any suggestion that he was persuaded to do Mr. Scanlon's bidding because of campaign aid or perks like meals, entertainment or overseas travel.
Mr. Ney said in a statement today, "At the time I dealt with Jack Abramoff, I obviously did not know, and had no way of knowing, the self-serving and fraudulent nature of Abramoff's activities," Reuters reported. Mr. Ney has not been charged.
The document also alleges that Mr. Abramoff bribed public officials, including "Representative #1," and his staff, when he funded a golfing trip to Scotland in exchange for the congressman's official actions to benefit his clients.
He is also accused of tax evasion for filing false documents and false entries to financial books and records, and filing a false income tax return in 2002, "all for the purpose of concealing additional unreported taxable income received by or on behalf of" himself, the documents state.
Mr. Abramoff is also accused of hiring congressional staffers and conspiring with them to lobby their former employers - including members of Congress - in violation of a one-year federal ban on such lobbying.
Mr. Abramoff's participation in Washington has taken place mostly below the radar, as prosecutors made the Miami case the focus of their public work and as Mr. Abramoff and his associates claimed they were preparing to stand trial, facing up to as many as 30 years in prison.
Though Mr. Abramoff's pleas in each location are separate, the deal reached with the Justice Department is all-encompassing, reducing the severe penalties Mr. Abramoff could have faced in either investigation, in exchange for his inside knowledge of certain lobbying work and legislative actions. One element of the deal is that he can serve prison time in the two cases concurrently, although the sentencing will not take place until much further along in the investigation.
The deal, a so-called "global" arrangement because it encompasses separate prosecutions in Florida and Washington, comes less than a week before Mr. Abramoff was scheduled to stand trial in the Miami case.
With Mr. Abramoff's cooperation, the Justice Department will have a potentially critical witness to alleged patterns of corruption or bribery within the Republican leadership ranks, which in some cases they believe also took the form of campaign donations and free meals at Mr. Abramoff's downtown restaurant, Signatures.
After more than two years of investigations, prosecutors have developed a list of at least a dozen lawmakers, congressional aides and lobbyists whose work appears suspect and who are now at the core of the case.
Already, prosecutors had a key witness in Mr. Scanlon, once press secretary to Mr. DeLay. When Mr. Scanlon reached a plea agreement last year, it put pressure on Mr. Abramoff to reach his own deal.
Now that Mr. Abramoff has done the same, one person involved in the case said: "When some people hear about this, they will clamor to cut a deal of their own."
Maria Newman contributed reporting from New York for this article.


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New Speedster 3
New Speedster 3 is now available to order! The Speedster 3 combines the well-proven design elements of the Speedster 2, Freeride slalom and our high-performance paraglider range: The arc, planform, aspect ratio, tab positioning, profile and intake positions are very... Read More
New Mojo Power 2
We are happy to announce that the new Mojo Power 2 is now available to order. Mojo PWR 2 is an EN-A certified, non-reflex, versatile wing for both free flying and powered flight. It is suitable for students in training... Read More
New Spyder 3 20
New size 20 has been added to the Spyder 3 range. The smaller size of the Spyder 3 is designed for the lightest pilots with a total take-off weight up to 100 kg. Heavier loaded will gain more dynamic characteristics... Read More
New Ozone Paramotor Cover
We are happy to announce we have a new accessory – the Paramotor Cover. It is made from UV and water-resistant light-weight fabric. The cover keeps your paramotor clean and protects it from excessive heat and dust. It is very... Read More
New ROADRUNNER – ground handling wing
The Roadrunner is an easy to use and highly forgiving paraglider that is designed specifically, and only, for ground-handling training. It is optimized for use in wind speeds that are too high to practice with a standard sized paraglider, but... Read More
New Ozone T-shirts
The new Ozone T-shirt line is made from 100% organic cotton. This new fabric is soft and supple, washes well over time. There are two colours merl grey and charcoal grey. Printed Ozone classic logo. Woman version and more new... Read More
How to pack a wing into a stuff bag
Stuff bags are very popular among paramotor pilots and one of the common questions we get is how to pack a wing into a stuff bag and still keep the plastic rods undamaged. Here is Lorran Michaels explaining his technic.... Read More
The Ozone Wall Calendar is back for 2020. The 12 month format hangs in size A3. Get your monthly dose of airborne inspiration – it's the perfect gift for your flying friends and loved ones. Available now from your local... Read More


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3 We note that Turner's argument that Deutsche Bank possessed unclean hands is an equitable defense to the merits of this lawsuit. This is an issue for the chancery court to consider on remand.
¶1. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company initiated a foreclosure action in the Warren County Chancery Court and attempted to serve Angela Turner by publication. But before doing so, it neither certified Turner was a non-resident of Mississippi nor alleged she could not be located in the state after a diligent inquiry. Because we find service of process did not strictly comply with the governing rules, we reverse the chancellor's refusal to set aside the default judgment she entered on behalf of Deutsche Bank when Turner did not respond. We remand the case for further proceedings.
¶11. Although Deutsche Bank published a summons in the newspaper for three consecutive weeks and filed proof of the publication, Deutsche Bank did not comply with Rule 4(c)(4)(A). It is undisputed that Deutsche Bank never filed a sworn petition or affidavit attesting that Turner was a nonresident or could not be found in Mississippi after a diligent inquiry. Therefore, it follows that Deutsche Bank did not comply with any of the remaining requirements for information that must be included in the petition or affidavit.
¶12. "The rules on service of process are to be strictly construed. If they have not been complied with, the court is without jurisdiction unless the defendant appears of his own volition." Kolikas v. Kolikas, 821 So. 2d 874, 878 (16) (Miss. Ct. App. 2002) (internal citation omitted). Actual notice does not cure defective process. See, e.g., Mosby v. Gandy, 375 So. 2d 1024, 1027 (Miss. 1979). "Even if a defendant is aware of a suit, the failure to comply with rules for the service of process, coupled with the failure of the defendant voluntarily to appear, prevents a judgment from being entered against him." Sanghi, 759 So. 2d at 1257 (33).
¶20. Because service of process in this case failed to comply with Rule 4(c), we find the default judgment entered against Turner is void. Caldwell, 533 So. 2d at 417-18 (finding judgment void for defective process by publication). Thus, the chancery court erred in refusing to set the void judgment aside under Rule 60(b). We reverse and remand for further proceedings in which Deutsche Bank will have the opportunity to serve Turner with process.3
[ipaper docId=57973243 access_key=key-186gkk5ce8159fjpobb height=600 width=600 /]© 2010-19 FORECLOSURE FRAUD | by DinSFLA. All rights reserved.


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As we prepare for the annoying onslaught of holiday marketing, it raises a smile for us to think back to the days when said holidays were called "Christmas."
See how many of these most popular Christmas toys of the past half century you can remember — this astonishing info graphic below goes all the way back to 1960.
Lots of toys on the list, but it's also a handy guide to gadget evolution, reaching all the way back to the Etch-a-Sketch, bringing us all the way up to last year's fave, Elmo Live. Some of us here remember far more of these than we care to admit.
Copyright DVICE - DVICE


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If I had to pick only one, it would be teleportation.
Others would be:
- Invisibility
- Time traveling without changing the future (unless I wanted to change something)
- Flying
- Having a perfect body without any effort or plastic surgery
- Mind reading
- Telekinesis
- Healing myself and others
- Being able to ask out a guy on a date
- Making money/food/items appear from nowhere (without taking them away from someone else. I could create them like that).
I could turn on or off these as I pleased.


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The curtains came to me as a revelation. I couldn't, for the life of me, settle on a pair of curtains ! I looked at IKEA, Target, Wal-Mart, and the internet and just couldn't find anything that fit the room. I was thinking of purchasing a fabric from IKEA, but fully making the curtains was a little intimidating for me (I made my bedroom curtains from scratch and I felt like it took me foooorreevverr to make them and vowed I would never do it again). Then, one day as I walked passed the bed sheets aisle in Target, I vaguely remembered reading about using sheets as curtains. Then I quickly Googled it (thank you smart phone) and read that it can be done ! As soon as I turned into the aisle, I found "the one" set of sheets:
I purchased a twin set of sheets. This print was PERFECT for the room, and at $15.99 (no, I didn't get that sale price) I couldn't beat the price for turning it into two panels of curtains. Since the nursery is "forest" themed, the leaves pattern was perfect and the teal and green matched exactly to the other teals and greens in the room. This is how I turned the sheets into curtains (sorry for no step-by-step pictures):
Step 1: Wash and dry flat sheet.
Step 2: Fold flat sheet in half length-wise and iron the sheet (this helps to put a crease right down the middle to make it easy to cut).
Step 3: Cut the flat sheet right down the middle - now you have two curtain panels.
Step 4: Fold over, pin, and sew the long cut side to make a nice edge. Repeat for other panel. (I did read that some people use hem tape if you don't have a sewing machine)
Step 5: Depending on how tall you want your curtains will determine how you do the next part. I just folded the top of the sheet over about five inches and then sewed a horizontal line to make a rod pocket.
Step 6: Slide the rod through pocket and hang. Easy !
There are a lot of other great tutorials out there with pictures that can help you as well. The sheets worked perfectly because of the print and color, but also because it was so easy to make. I didn't have to do a lot of measuring or cutting and I only had to sew four straight lines because the other sides and the bottom hem were already done for me.
So that's how I got the perfect curtains for the nursery. The rest of the nursery is just a smorsgaboard of framed things, books, and stuffed animals. It's a pretty simple nursery.
The pennants on the wall were made out of scrapbook paper that I already had. I used a 12x12 sheet of paper and was able to cut out five triangles per sheet. Then I used a hole punch, punched two holes, and put the twine through. Pretend pressing of Staples "Easy Button."
The "Owl Always Love You" print was also made out of scrapbook paper I already had. I found a cute owl picture online, freehand drew it, and cut it out. I used my heart punch for the heart and my Cricut for the words and placed it in an IKEA frame. Done !
Lastly, the animal prints above the cube shelf were a bit more time consuming. I've decided on a forest theme pretty quickly and you guessed it...I had these pretty much made the weekend we found out we were expecting. I found these animal prints online for $88 for all four. Even though I loved them, I couldn't bring myself to spend that much. I kept looking at them, hoping I'd change my mind, and then I realized they looked like pieces of paper rather than an actual print. So I thought, "Hey, I can make these !" Over the course of a couple days, I freehand drew, cut out, and taped these little animals together. Each piece is cut out of scrapbook paper and taped with acid free tape to a piece of white 8 X 10 piece of paper. Then I placed a teal piece of paper behind the white to matte the picture. The frames are from, yours truly, IKEA.
So that's just a quick little tour of the nursery. Actually not too much was DIY, but what was DIY'd was made with love...with a few trips to IKEA (and a pit stop to the restaurant for their meatballs each time).
Here's a rundown of the items we bought for our nursery:
* Dresser: IKEA Hemnes
* Knobs on dresser: from Hobby Lobby
* Crib: SUNDVIK
* Cube shelf: EXPEDIT with 4" CAPITA legs
* Rug: GISLEV
* Curtains and Rod: Target Room Essentials Collection - Mint Leaf and Ball Cafe Rod
* Paint: Behr's Silver Drop
* Frames: RIBBA series
Hope you enjoyed the tour of our upcoming little one's room. Not sure how much DIYing I'll be doing once the babe is born, but hopefully once we get into a routine, I'll be doing more fun projects. Spring is around the corner and I'm bound to get a good garden this year and I'm sure Pinterest will inspire some more crafty projects for me to take on as well.
What was your inspiration for your little one's nursery?
Now you can Do It Yourself Too !


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Revisiting Vince Neil's Solo 'Carved in Stone'
It seemed like Vince Neil had nothing to lose in the '90s, after losing his position in Motley Crue. So, he might have thought, why not try something left field? That might explain his ambitious second solo album, Carved in Stone, which was released on Sept. 12, 1995 – and then promptly sank like one.
After his resignation or dismissal, depending on whom you ask, Neil had released the relatively solid debut LP Exposed, which reached No. 13 in 1993 (compared to Motley Crue, featuring the band's new singer John Corabi, which reached No. 7 the following year.) But more in Neil's life had changed – his wife, the subject of the album track "Forever," had filed for divorce, his band had experienced a series of personal conflicts and his manager had died during the recording process.
When he turned his attention to Carved in Stone, Neil can be forgiven by wanting to throw everything up in the air – although perhaps less so for the direction he threw it in. Hooking up with the production team the Dust Brothers, who'd worked with the Beastie Boys on the classic Paul's Boutique and would go on to work with Beck and Hanson, Neil aimed to do something different.
Listen to Vince Neil's 'Breakin' the Gun'
"I didn't really pick those guys, they were kinda placed with me through Warner Bros.," Neil said in 1996. "They thought it would be a good idea for them to do some rock and I wanted to experiment a little bit, so we got together. We experimented a lot, and went into recording a whole different way, and used a lot of computer stuff."
Different it certainly was. The intention was to mix the classic rock sound Neil was known for with hip-hop and industrial influences, teamed with found recordings and the sampling that the Dust Brothers were known for. But much like Motley Crue's own attempt to interpret current trends, it made the fundamental mistake of failing to engage Neil's core audience while also failing to capture a new one. After throwing it all in the air, he made it to only No. 139 on the chart.
It's easy to imagine the confusion a Crue fan might experience after pressing play to hear the album's opening track, "Breakin' the Gun." In a remarkable prediction of what they were about to think, an air-raid siren warms up to its fullest tone before being crushed against an Alice in Chains-type riff, which is in turn overtaken by yay-ing and scratching to a hip-hop backbeat. It might not even occur to some fans to listen out for Neil's identifiable voice – or at least nearly identifiable voice.
Listen to Vince Neil's 'The Crawl'
The second track, "The Crawl," is capable of leaving the listener equally bewildered. While it carries several trademark elements, they're brought together in such a way, and under such a powerfully placed street beat, that it's difficult to be certain the track was actually completed before release.
The song, like the LP, has plenty of strong moments, even if the target market wasn't particularly interested in them. It's impossible not to feel a touch of the feelings the Crue could put on when they suddenly went serious when listening to "Skylar's Song," written in memory of Neil's 4-year-old daughter, who had died of cancer while the record was being made.
Listen to Vince Neil's 'Skylar's Song'
In 2000, Neil looked back on Carved in Stone. "That was before Kid Rock," he told Classic Rock: "So no one was really ready for it then. If it came out today, it'd probably sell 50 million copies." It was re-released in 2004, but didn't achieve those sales figures; it could be simply because it was pitched at an audience that knew what it wanted… and it didn't want that.
In any case, it's difficult to imagine that the album's failure, alongside Crue's own downturn, didn't contribute to the two sides joining forces again in 1997. Indeed, it wasn't until 2010 that Neil attempted another solo album, launching the more traditional Tattoos & Tequila, a mix of classic-style originals and '70s covers.


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For six years Burma was so neutral that it would take foreign aid grants from no one. In a surprising policy switch last month, the Government decided to take aid neutrally from all cornersand started off with a four-year pledge of $37 million from the U.S. for road and school construction. Last week, presenting his new budget, Finance Minister Kyaw Nyein showed how well the new-style fiscal neutrality works. Among expected revenues:
From the U.S. (first annual payment of ICA funds): $13,272,000.
From the Soviet Union: $4,879,000 in credits.
From the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development: $5,733,000.
From the Colombo Plan (British-and...


text: Thin, light, powerful. And even more colorful. Refined new shape, stylish new color Zenbook is a finely-crafted Ultrabook™ with a harmonious blend of style, practicality and performance. UX303 takes this to another level of sophistication with a fresh new shape and gorgeous Smoky Brown color scheme, further enhanced by the iconic spun-metal finish that echoes the spirit of Zen. The classic lines of the ultra-light, all-aluminum Zenbook have been enhanced with a slimmer profile, tapering to just 3mm at the front. It's chic, elegant, timeless, and powerful — it's Zenbook UX303! Crisp, vivid and stunningly - detailed display Experience unbelievable levels of detail with the 13.3-inch QHD+ touchscreen display, featuring an incredible 3200 x 1800 resolution — five times higher than a standard HD display. With 300nits brightness, a contrast ratio of 770:1 and an anti-glare coating, blacks are deep, whites are stunningly pure, and the wide gamut (72% NTSC) ensures accurate colors. You'll be truly amazed at the crisp, vivid and lifelike images and video. Share the enjoyment with wide viewing angles With its in-plane switching (IPS) LCD panel, Zenbook UX303 has wide viewing angles of 170 degrees . This means you can enjoy undistorted, clear and bright images no matter what angle you view the screen from. It makes UX303 perfect for sharing photos or videos with friends, family or colleagues. Video calls in crystal clarity Zenbook UX303 is the ideal travelling companion, in more ways than one. The built-in 720p HD camera with 30fps video recording means you can keep in touch with family and friends via crystal-clear video calls, and the high-sensitivity image sensor gives great image quality, even in less than perfect light. Performance to spare When it comes to performance, Zenbook UX303 has all the power you need, and more. With the latest 4th-generation up to Intel® Core™ i7 processors, blisteringly fast graphics and state-of-the-art storage, UX303 will never keep you waiting, whatever the task. Effortless multitasking, smooth video playback, and super-fast application launches — Zenbook UX303 is always ready when you are. It's supremely energy-efficient too, meaning fewer trips to the power socket Advanced storage for maximum performance High-speed storage is crucial for fast application startup and an effortless computing experience, and it doesn't come much faster than the up to 500GB hybrid hard disk and up to 512GB SATA 6Gbit/s solid-state disk (SSD) in Zenbook UX303. Saving or loading large files and documents is amazingly fast compared to traditional hard disks, and boot time is also reduced significantly. SSDs are rugged and durable, too, giving Zenbook superb reliability . Desktop-grade graphics power To get the best out of its amazing screen, UX303 uses powerful up to NVIDIA® GeForce® GT840M discrete graphics, with a massive 2GB of video memory. This gives desktop-grade performance with stunning image quality and silky-smooth rendering of high-resolution videos or the latest games. USB 3.0 for 10X faster transfers All three USB ports on UX303 are SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, allowing data transfers that are up to ten times faster than the older USB 2.0 standard. With compatible storage, even multi-gigabyte video files open in a fraction of the time. USB 3.0 also has more power for mobile devices, and exclusive ASUS USB Charger+ technology means that devices recharge in up to half the time compared to a normal USB port. For convenience, devices can even be charged when Zenbook UX303 is turned off. Resume in 2 sec Works longer, works smarter Energy-efficient components like the up to Intel® Core™ i7 processor and solid-state drive mean Zenbook UX303 needs to spend less time tethered to a power socket. Exclusive Super Hybrid Engine II technology can boost battery life by up to 25% for less demanding tasks, and with Instant On taking just two seconds to resume, you can start work again immediately from where you left off. SonicMaster technology for incredible sound An incredible laptop deserves incredible sound, and so the ASUS Golden Ear audio engineering team developed SonicMaster, incorporating ICEpower®, Bang & Olufsen technology. SonicMaster produces sound like you've never heard from a laptop, with deep rich bass and crystal-clear vocals. Powerful full-range speakers To achieve its premium sound quality, UX303 uses high-quality speakers with oval voice coils and oversize magnets. Combined with large resonant chambers and the aluminum chassis design, these produce remarkably powerful full-frequency sound. Easy audio optimization with AudioWizard Different sound sources need different audio settings, a task that is made incredibly easy with UX303's exclusive AudioWizard. With five presets for different scenarios — music, movies, speech, gaming and recording — AudioWizard ensures that you always get the best possible sound, whatever you're listening to. Integrated array mic for the clearest chats The integrated array microphone gives you high-quality audio for video chats and conferences. Noise suppression filters out ambient noise while acoustic echo-cancelling reduces feedback and echoes. Beam-forming focuses the recording area to a 60-degree cone so only your voice is picked up. Built to touch Touch is at the very heart of Zenbook UX303. With its ultra-sensitive touchscreen, precise multi-touch touchpad and superbly-engineered backlit keyboard, every part of UX303 is designed for the ultimate touch experience in Windows 8.1. Precise, accurate touchscreen All too often, touch control can be a frustrating and imprecise experience, but not on Zenbook UX303. It uses high-fidelity touch actuators that are 30% smaller than the industry standard, resulting in incredibly precise touch performance. Whether you're drawing, writing or navigating in Windows 8.1, UX303 reacts instantly and accurately. Spacious touchpad with Smart Gestures Featuring the same 16:9 aspect ratio as the display, the large multi-touch touchpad on UX303 is designed to be as intuitive and accurate as possible. Smart Gestures simulate many of Windows 8.1's touchscreen functions on the touchpad, for example the right-edge swipe to show the Charms bar. Smart Gestures also work in a wide range of applications. Backlit keyboard for a better typing experience A keyboard is still the best way to get things done for most people, so we made sure Zenbook UX303 has the best available. Each key is expertly tuned to require just the right amount of force to press and have just the right amount of travel, so it's both quiet and comfortable for two-finger and touch typists alike. And since an Ultrabook™ is designed to be used anywhere, we made the keyboard that way, too. Its backlight adjusts automatically to suit the level of ambient lighting, so you'll always be able to see the keys, even in complete darkness. The Desktop reinvented Windows 8.1 is all about you. New multitasking features make it easy to do two things at once, too. Just snap two apps side-by-side and you can browse the web while watching a video, or chat with a colleague while editing a document. And with its Bing-powered search feature that shows your file, app and web search results in one unified view, Windows 8.1 means you spend less time searching and more time doing. Store, share, and sync ASUS cloud services provide a complete platform for online living, accessible anywhere from a host of devices. With ASUS WebStorage, convenience is the main priority, offering you easy storage, sharing, and syncing of everything from business presentations to photo albums and favorite multimedia content. Each Zenbook UX303 comes with 3216GB of WebStorage space free for threeone years. Keeping you connected Zenbook UX303 has everything you need to stay connected to the wider world with the latest wireless technology. Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi gives complete mobile flexibility, supporting both older 2.4GHz and newer 5GHz wireless networks for super-fast interference-free performance. Zenbook UX303 also has the brand new Bluetooth 4.0 for use with the latest ultra-low power wireless devices, so you can connect to compatible smartphones and tablets without ever having to worry about battery life.


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Anyone who has suffered from migraines knows that any relief is good. These debilitating headaches cause individuals to have pain, intense sensitivity to light, and sometimes nausea. Women are three times more likely than men to suffer from these headaches, which can be triggered by female hormonal changes during the month. Medication to treat these headaches does exist, but may have side-effects, such as being hard on one's stomach, as well as other possible effects. Also, for some people, a single one of these headaches can last for days, which means more days of medication. Belgian researchers have developed a new portable transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device, which has recently been FDA-approved for use in migraine relief, and it may also help with other issues.
This device, being marketed as Cefaly, is also being used in France, Canada, Australia and elsewhere. Researchers did a study involving 67 sufferers out of five Belgian headache clinics. To be eligible for the clinical trial, an individual had to suffer from at least two migraines per month. Enrolling neurologists involved in the study, as well as their patients, were "blind" or uninformed of conditions being used during the trial, making this a double-blinded study. This is the most objective type of clinical trial possible. The study was also random and sham-controlled.
Essentially, researchers had the enrolled neurologists from the five clinics choose migraine-suffering patients over the period of one month. At one month, subjects were randomly given, via their regular neurologist, a battery-operated Cefaly device, which looks like a plastic headband or thin pair of earphones that are worn across the forehead, resting on top of the ears, like sunglasses. An electrode is placed on the forehead, and electrical pulses are sent to the trigeminal nerve in the face. This nerve is responsible for facial sensation and has also been linked to migraines.
During the study, some of the devices emitted verum, or real electric pulses. Others emitted sham (or fake) stimulation. Neurologists at the involved clinics did not know whether their patient(s) was getting real stimulation or not, only the researchers had that information, which was not disclosed until the study was complete. To get FDA approval for a new device, studies would necessarily be blind, to prove (or disprove) true migraine relief as being indisputably linked to the use of the portable TENS machine.
The results are very hopeful for sufferers of these intense headaches. There was a clear reduction in number of headaches per month experienced by those who had verum stimulation, as opposed to the group that did not. Unfortunately, the device cannot reduce the intensity of migraines, but only reduce the number of times per month they occur. That said, the Cefaly device produces results within the same range as other headache treatments, including medications, but with no side effects. Even better, the device has three settings: the highest level is for use during migraine headaches, the next is a preventative setting (individuals are told to use Cefaly for 20 minutes per day) and the last is a setting used for relaxation. The last setting is being regarded as a possible alternative to anti-anxiety medications as well as sleep-aid medications. Time and further studies will reveal how successful the device is in these other areas of use, but for now, things look good.
Cefaly is available at Costco and other stores, and is still fairly expensive. Over 2,300 users in France and Belgium were surveyed about their level of satisfaction with the device, and just over half were happy with the product and will continue using it. Now that the FDA has approved the new device, migraine headache sufferers in the U.S. can use the battery operated, portable TENS machine to seek relief from their headaches. One of the few complaints about the device is that it made wearers sleepy during treatments.
By Julie Mahfood
Follow Julie Mahfood on Twitter @Julie11153717
Los Angeles Times
NCBI, US National Library of Medecine


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Forever in Blue Jeans
A mysterious art exhibition and a few imaginative spring collections cast denim in a whole new light
Over time, denim has risen from the very bottom of the fashion food chain to the tippity top. Witness the spring collections of Dries Van Noten and Valentino, two designers who rarely send the material down the runway, but made the utilitarian cotton a sophisticated centerpiece. Just as the working-class woven reaches the upper echelons of design, and in turn the willowy frames of high society, a revealing new exhibition reminds us of the fabric's humble beginnings.
When one ponders the history of the fabric, certain images may come to mind. Levi Strauss & Co.'s original pair of dungarees, first sold to miners in 1873 during the California gold rush; Jane Birkin in impossibly low-rise bell bottoms roaming the streets of Paris with Serge Gainsbourg; Brooke Shields ensuring nothing got between her and her Calvins. Seventeenth-century barbers, beggar boys and seamstresses? Probably not. "When you think of the history of jeans, you think of the Marlboro man. You think of cowboys and America," said Alan Salz, the owner of art gallery Didier Aaron in New York. The gallery is playing host to a much-buzzed-about exhibition this month, which debuted in Paris's Galerie Canesso during fashion week last fall, entitled "The Master of the Blue Jeans." The show consists of seven oil paintings previously pegged to other artists of the period and now believed to be from the hand of just one. This unidentified artist specialized in depictions of Italian peasants wearing jackets, aprons and dresses made from what was then called "genes," fustian cotton named after its assumed city of origin in Genoa, Italy. (French weavers in Nîmes are also credited with creating a cloth referred to as "de Nîmes," hence the word "denim.") "What this exhibition helps illustrate—because very few garments from this era survived as people wore their clothes until they practically disintegrated—is that denim had been alive and well long before it came to America in the 18th century," added Mr. Salz. In addition to the scarcity of denim from this era being in textile museums, none of the mystery painter's contemporaries, including Diego Velázquez and Georges de La Tour (who also painted Italy's poor), depicted the cotton fabric in their works, which makes these portraits particularly intriguing. The Master of the Blue Jeans also stands out for the treatment of his subjects, giving them an air of nobility typically reserved for the upper class.
There is a freshness to the enigmatic artist's paintings, which show denim in a light—and era—we've never seen it in before. The same can be said of including that of Stella McCartney, who created several all-indigo looks. Her collection includes an architectural shift dress that plays up the material's stiff qualities, and a denim polo dress layered with indigo silk trousers. "Denim is already ingrained in a woman's wardrobe, so I wanted to make it richer by playing with silk indigos, denim knitwear and denim silks combined with actual denim pieces," said Ms. McCartney. "Incorporating them all into one story, so one can't tell what is actual denim, modernizes it and makes it not just a casual item."
At Valentino, the fabric is given a ladylike quality, in the form of a sweet A-line dress with tuxedo ruffles in a deep shiny indigo, while Dries Van Noten stitched white and light blue denim onto the sleeves of a boat neck shirt and cut rich billowing wide-leg trousers in a navy cloth. New York-based designer Derek Lam made royal blue denim the centerpiece of his California-inspired spring collection, with a V-neck tunic layered under a chambray trench, among other pieces. Phoebe Philo took the material in its most cerebral direction, pairing a full-length denim skirt with a boxy t-shirt for Céline—certainly not what the Master of Blue Jeans would have expected all those years ago. "You wouldn't have found a princess of Genoa wearing denim," said Mr. Salz, who explained the fabric was reserved for the drapery and bed linens of 17th-century aristocrats. "But now every princess does."
Write to Alexa Brazilian at email@example.com
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I'm a sucker for deep male voices and German band Northern Lite's lead singer definitely qualifies as having one of those. Love their track "Black Day" that they sent our way. Great mid-tempo electronic track that chugs along at a brisk pace. Check out their video for the track and grab the radio edit of the track that they are letting us post as a free download for our readers. Their new album 'I Like' is being released Nov 25th.
MP3: Black Day (Radio Mix) - Northern Lite


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Wow! This week went by so quickly! Today was Homecoming at our school, and the varsity football players, aka Pigskin Poets, came to our classroom to read stories to the kiddos. I wish I had a picture to share with you, but the awwwe in their faces was priceless! … [Read more...]
Five for Friday – Random Fall Fun
TGIF, friends! I'm linking up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! This week, we learned all about fire safety and began our new fall centers! On Monday, I introduced the kiddos to this fun Extinguish the Letters/Sounds game! I called out a letter or … [Read more...]
Apple Investigation FREEBIE
It's finally Friday, and you know what that means... Five for Friday brought to you by Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching! Here's to a whole lot of random and a FREEBIE! I'm going to start with the beginning of the week, Sunday! It was a busy day, friends! I worked hard to … [Read more...]
Kissing Hand FREEBIE & First Week of School
All I can say is WOW! This week seriously flew by, and it was amazing! I am linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching to share my first week of school fun with you! This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Any purchases made through one of our … [Read more...]
Five for Friday – Back to School
Hi, friends! This is my first Five for Friday link up! I'm super excited to share a few things I've been working on in my classroom! This week, I went into school to work on my bulletin boards! I wanted to change the paper and borders so they were all … [Read more...]


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Irish Wedding Photographer – Best of 2017
What a [expletive deleted] deadly year! Warning: this is going to be an insanely long blog post. Contact your broadband provider and increase your cap. Get some ice ready for your scrolling finger. Before we get into the below, have you watched the video above? If not, please do so with immediate effect. It took me ages and I love it. It encapsulates everything I'm proud of this year. If you hate wedding photography, skip to the end. If you hate baby pictures, stop watching at the 2 minute mark 🙂
I knew when I started making the video I wanted it to be fast and short so I knew loads and loads of weddings would have to be ommited so I also wanted to showcase EVERY wedding I shot this year and so below you will find a few shots from each wedding followed by a huge pile of lovely messages pulled from emails, Instagram messages and carrier pigeons. It's been so exhilarating reflecting on everything I've shot this year and it's been incredible to go through everything and pull out a few images that have stayed with me. These aren't necessarily the "best" images from each wedding and I'm nearly positive in many case they won't be the couples favourites but these are the ones that give me the happy feels and the type of images I want to keep taking in 2018 and beyond. I have excluded weddings where the couples have asked for all images to remain private and also engagement shoot images (as they're getting their own blog very soon!) Looking back it's made me realise how much I've neglected the blog too so I'll be scheduling lots of the below for the blog in early 2018. Most of these haven't even reached Instagram so I'll be making up for lost time in Jan and Feb there too. Instagram rules by the way and had so much fun on the stories this year – follow the fun here
As my finger hovers over the *publish blog* button and I get ready to write up my Xmas Out of Office message I want to take this opportunity to sent out a MASSIVE, heartfelt THANK YOU to all the incredible couples who have asked me to document such incredible, personal and special moments for them this year. I'd also like to give a virtual fist bump to all my photographer friends for being so brilliant and supportive. Big shout out to the "Clicklikef**kateers" in particular!
Aside from all this photography lark it's been an incredible year for myself and Anne Marie as we were able to bring home baby Flynn – born on the 7th June – slap bang in the middle of High Wedding Season! He's brought unimaginable joy to our lives and we love him more each day. Except last night, he was a pain in the arse last night.
We hope you all have a very special Christmas and an incredible 2018. I'm now taking bookings for 2019 and have a feeling the next few years are going to be very special indeed.
John, Anne Marie, Flynn and remembering Max
Lana & Brian
Emma & James
Ibiza & Nash
Alexandra & Pierre-Luc
Laura & Andy
Dan & Eva
Lisa & James
Louise & Tomas
Hannah & Adam
Sile & Aled
Emily & Niall
Review: John is a true professional and such a great guy to have around on your wedding day – we had the absolute craic with him and he summed our day up perfectly through his photos! His style of photography is absolutely stunning – we never once felt that we were posing for the day!! I would highly recommend him to everyone…. thanks so much John! Emily & Niall
Storm & Kelvin
Aoife & Nick
Gemma & Conor
Sinead & Gary
Lorraine & Ruairí
Laura & Conor
Louise & Phil
Nicola & Brian
Aoife & Steven
Karen & Cormac
Shauna & Lee
Roisin & Owen
Claire & Stephen
Leah & Simon
Jessica & Anthony
Sinead & Conor
Laura & Stephen
Review: We couldn't have been happier with our wedding photos from John. The photos surpassed all our expectations and captured the day exactly as we remember it, filled with love, fun and lots of colour 🎉 John was a true professional and such a lovely guy. We couldn't recommend JAM SHOOTS enough
Audrey & Dave
Sheenagh & Chris
Review: We couldn't be happier with our wedding photographs – they've gone above and beyond all our expectations! The photos bring you right back to the moment and you feel all the emotions you had on the big day! John captured our day so perfectly – I haven't stopped looking at our pictures since we got them back last week! I couldn't recommend Jam Shoots enough – Amazing photographer and an all around sound guy to have around you on your wedding day! Thanks so much! Shee and Chris x
Ellen & Niall
Review: John did an amazing job with our wedding photography and has given us such a beautiful set of photographs. They have captured so many wonderful moments and really tell the story of the day – we just love looking at them. They are artistic and beautiful and make great use of light and space. As well as all that (if I still haven't convinced you!), he's lots of fun to have around. Many of my friends and family commented on how great he was – in the midst of chaos, he was discreetly snapping away, not a bother, with fantastic results! I'm so glad we booked JAMshoots and have no hesitation at all in recommending him.
Ciara & Ken
Anne & Cathal
Review: Finally getting around to leaving a review and it's a very easy one to write – honestly cannot recommendation John highly enough. Not only is he absolutely amazing at what he does but he is also an absolute gent. Went above and beyond on the day and made everyone feel so comfortable, people are still commenting on how nice he was. Have also had so many lovely comments on our photos which we just love and will treasure for years to come. John, thank you so much for capturing our special day so perfectly. Anne & Cathal x
Erica & Liam
Denise & John
Review: Thank you so so much John for capturing our wedding day so perfectly, from start to finish it's amazing and exactly what we wanted. Our biggest thing was we didn't want to spend hours getting pics and miss our reception drinks so it was perfect, quickest photo shoot ever. Every time I look through my gallery I relive the day, people that weren't even at my wedding have said after looking at the gallery they felt like they were at the wedding. We are over the moon but don't know how we're gonna choose our favourites. I'm sure you'll have lots of enquiries coming your way because I've already had to give your details to friends & family. Would highly recommended Jamshoots. Thanks again John from Denise & John Flavin
Ciara & Aidan
Jen & Damien
Review: John is a legend and a pure gent.
He put us at ease the first time we met him.
He photographed our wedding on 15/9/17 in Kildare.
I love photographs but wouldn't be too keen being the other side of the camera but I honestly have so many gorgeous pictures I will be happy to hang on the wall for a very long time to come.
Nothing was too much hassle from day one. He answered every silly question without delay.
He is very laid back and his work is amazing what else can you ask for.
I would have no hesitation is recommending him- you will not be disappointed.
Thank you so so much John.
Jen and Damien Xx
Roseanna & Fergus
Mary-Jo & Kevin
Helly & Chris
Anne-Marie & Conor
Emma & Cathal
Bernadette & Edward
Saja & Dirk
Rebecca & Adrian
Lauren & David
Grace & Paul
Sarah & Steve
Amy & Sam
Kate & Shane
Jennifer & Scott
annnd here comes the testimonial train for 2017:
They look really fantastic. Really love them. You have done an amazing job. It really brings to life memories of the day."
… there is just a huge smile on my face as I look at the slideshow. It is fantastic. Thanks a million
Those photos!! Oh my god!! UNREAL!! We showed our close family & friends the slide show and everyone was blown away!! We just love them!!
John, these are amazing! …They look SO amazing! Thanks so much again for doing a wonderful job! I've watched the slideshow maybe a million times and showed all my family!
Thanks again for the pictures. I'm in love with them and my mom cried when she saw them! I'm amazed with the quality of your work and the time it took you to do it!
Wow wow wow! John every time you send something through we go nuts!! They are just beautiful!! God, so emotional looking at them!
From the Thank You card: Thank you will never be enough but it's all we have! We LOVE all our photos. You captured the day beautifully and we will treasure these shots for many years to come. You were a pleasure to deal with from the get go and made us very comfortable getting our photo taken – no easy feat!"
Lisa: We are absolutely blown away by the photos, I have watched the slideshow over and over (and over) again over the past couple of weeks. And I've shown it to anyone willing to stop near me for a few mins, everyone Ive shown it to were equally as impressed.
Such beautiful memories to have of our wedding, we really couldn't be more pleased. It is exactly how I would like to remember the day. Honestly delighted to have heard about you and to have gotten you to capture our day.
The photos are amazing – they really captured the spirit of the day! I have watched it over and over already!! They day was such fun and filled with laughter and that really shines through in the pictures.
They are AMAZING
Thank you So much for everything on the day, It was All absolutely perfect so much of which was down to you personally,
"Thank you so much we absolutely love it. … so many amazing moments captured."
OMG John!!!! They are just unbelievable, wow wow wow …. myself and Niall both enjoyed your company so much it was just the best craic having you part of the day – the laugh we had when you were running around the tree with the spray can is something I won't forget too soon!!!
… Ah amazing amazing amazing!!! These just keep getting better John wow!!!!
Laughing out loud looking at the pics with the girls and my sisters (what were we talking about!!!!😂)
wow I knew you were bloody good but wowwww we are ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON with the photos, you have the day summed up so perfectly I haven't stopped watching the slideshow all weekend!
We are in love with them all.
I am just so happy we chose you as our photographer. They are really unique, beautiful and tell a lovely version of our day. Thank you so so much I will be recommending you to all our friends.
Thank you SO much we really love it!!! It brings the day back to life and really captures it in a lovely relaxed beautiful way which is what we were after!
Thank you so much. We are both absolutely over the moon with the how the photos turned out. it's been so lovely reliving the day through your pictures
It was such a pleasure to have you part of our wedding day. Thank you for capturing it's perfectly
Thank you again John, you're a star.
Stop those are amazing ahhhh can't wait to see the finished result!!! You are a legend thank you so much
John…oh my god these are so amazing! Must have looked at them 50 times already, I can't believe you have them to us so quickly what a fab surprise you are deadly!! We love them thank you so much. … fair play you were a total dream team on the day and it was such a pleasure to have you there capturing our special day. I think you can tell in the pics how happy we were… Thank you so much for being our photographer. Our engagement pics were so perfect and really put us at ease, and you were so lovely on the morning at my place and just great on the day of course.
We were delighted with the slideshow as it's a great collection of pics and overview of the day…On the day we found you to be a pleasure to deal with and felt that you really listened to our needs.
Hi John we just want to say thank you so much, we got to look through the photos the other day and they're awesome, thank you so much for capturing the day for us…
… we will be recommending you to anyone we know.
These are fab. … We Love Them
We are blown away by the photos John. Thanks for the sneak preview! They are amazing! Even from those pictures we can see you've really captured the day for us!
Wow. We love them! Thank you. So nice to have the sneak peek. John the whole weekend was amazing and you were wonderful….
The slideshow is amazing, we absolutely love it! I think we've watched it ten times already. … You completely captured the day. It's perfect.
John!!! We absolutely LOVE it!! Oh my god there so so so good …You're a very talented man, thank you so so much
John thanks so much for everything, you were class.You gave friendly direction when needed and were totally inconspicuous at the same time! We had such an amazing weekend, it was incredible. Absolutely love that photo u sent and look forward to seeing the sneak peak pics!
We actually can't thank you enough – We absolutely love it! Thanks a MILLION!!
Thank you so so so so SOOOOOOOOOO much!!! We absolutely love the pics – they're genuinely amazing and we're so so happy with them – Thank you so so much!
We absolutely love them 😀 We are so happy with how the pictures turned out … WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM…
Oh wow, it is absolutely fantastic. The shots are just stunning!!!!! Everyone we have showed it to love it as much as we do. Thank you so much.
We've watched it about 20 times already. Absolutely love it. It really captures our day.So happy with your work. We've just spent the evening looking at the photos and we love, love, love them. You captured our day so well. Thanks so much for everything. Everyone who had seen our photos has commented on the quality of the photography and said they look like photos from magazines! So many of our guests also commented on how good you were (I think you'll have more bookings in the future from guests at our wedding). We really couldn't be happier and can't say thank you enough. You were such a pleasure to have there on the day and such a professional, and most importantly great fun on the day.
Slide show is amazing!! Thank you so much for the work you put in on your wedding day … you were so easy to work with on the day and you were like some sort of ninja photographer appearing in the background and taking snaps!
Delighted we had you as part of our wedding day!!!
Wow 😍 just wow! I'm so in love with all of the pics, I just want to keep watching it over and over! You managed to capture the feeling of the whole day so absolutely perfectly – the pics are all that we could have hoped for and more and I didn't have to pose for hours!! 😂 You're amazing at what you do! We're just over the moon!
Cannot thank you enough!!!!
Thank you SO much for the photographs – I'm so happy with them, every time I look through them I find new favourites!! Thank you for everything – I'll surely be recommending you on to all my bride&groom friends
We had so much fun and lots of our guests commented on how great you were – easy-going and unobtrusive.
(slideshow) Ahhhh! Thanks so much John! We LOVE it, adore it, can't get enough of it! (overuse of exclamation marks but I can't help myself)!!! We just sat down and watched it twice through and relived our wedding all over again… No doubt we'll watch it many more times before the evening is out!
Thank YOU for Sunday! You were amazing and made us all feel so comfortable
We've just gone through the gallery and couldn't be happier, they are truly amazing and capture the day perfectly.
You are super talented, we've had so many comments about how amazing the slideshow is and one or two looking for your details which I gladly passed on!
Oh my god john,
It is amazing… I can't believe how much you caught of the day!!! I'm thrilled with it
We are absolutely thrilled with all the images. Couldn't have asked for any more, we love how yourself and Paula (second shooter) really captured every aspect of our day!
Thank you so much for making the process so easy and prompt.
Thank you again for being fantastic.
OMG John we LOVE LOVE LOVE every single one of these pics, so excited for the rest of them. Thanks so so much, we were so happy to have you, was great not to miss half of our day but still capture amazing pics.
Thank you so much… the pictures are fantastic, we've shared them with basically everyone!
THANK YOU so much for the fabulous photos. We and all our family love them!!
We will def purchase a few prints to frame for Christmas.
Thank you once again for everything on the day. You were so chilled out and made it enjoyable.
Will be highly recommending you to any friends due to get hitched!
We've opened this link I don't know how many times, thank you so much for the highlights…. we love it! There's so many special moments captured so beautifully.
(sneak peeks) Oh John they're amazing!!
Thank you so much for sending these on. All of the family are very excited to see them. We had so many compliments on how you worked on Friday, thank you so much for helping us on the day and managing everyone!
(slideshow) Jooooohhhnnnnnnnn!!!! They're amazing! Thank you so much! Sitting on a beach in the Bahamas, delighted we found wifi to get that email. Our battery is about to die we've watched it that many times. We're so excited to share them with the family.
You're truly amazing
You really are amazing. We can't wait to share these with the rest of the family. You've no idea how happy we are with them.
Honestly, having you as our photographer was one of the best decisions we made in our whole wedding.
John I LOVE the pictures!!!
You are a star!! They are so so gorgeous and we cannot wait to share them!!! ….
just had a chance to look at the gallery, OH MY GOD!! we are in LOVE!!!! Thanks again so so much for everything!!
We cannot thank you enough for our absolutely beautiful slideshow. Reliving our day has majorly dulled the horrific post wedding/honeymoon blues!
You just captured the most precious moments and your absolutely beautiful work has caused such laughter and tears. We just cannot thank you enough for this amazing memento of our day.
We're really looking forward to seeing the gallery and working on an album. It's nice to know we have that to look forward to ☺
WOW…… is all I can say!!!Thank you so so much the shots are fantastic!!
We couldn't have asked for a better photographer on the day it felt like it was a friend taken them
Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa John! <3 …I LOVE those portraits! The mood all over is awesome!…The moments you got are crazy. Thank you so much!\
Hey John these are just FAB!!! We absolutely love them – thank you so much!! These are and will be so precious to us in years to come. You captured the day so well – those group shots at the ceremony are just amazing, the one with everyone laughing (and I spy my friend with a tissue wiping her eyes, haha!)
I cannot wait to see the rest of them. You did so good!
(on the slideshow) It is amazing. Is it normal to watch it over and over again and cry at your desk?
A massive thank you again to both you and Gareth (second shooter) for everything – we had the most amazing day.
We're just back from honeymoon and delighted to see the preview shots – they look amazing! Really looking forward to seeing the others
AMAZING! They're absolutely unreal! Thank you so much
Oh my god they are amazing!!
Thank you so much!! Can't wait for the rest of them!! Wow, we both absolutely love the whole album!!! You did an amazing job!!
We literally can't thank you enough! Scott and I started scrolling through these pics and I started balling my eyes out in our cab ride in Toronto lol (the cab driver was probably like wtf? Lol). You absolutely NAILED our day and we had such an absolute blast spending it with you!!! We wouldn't change a single thing! I wish you knew how much we appreciate you and everything you've done…it definitely cannot be expressed in words. These pictures are INSANE, I can't wait to see the rest, I'm going to have to stock up on Kleenex I have no doubt lol. We love ya buddy! Talk soon!


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"And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them." Mark 10:16
This summer, Bethel will be offering a week-long safe, stable, fun and loving camping environment to kids ages 7-11 who have experienced abuse, neglect or outright tragic life occurrences. A large part to making this event happen is the involvement of volunteers to act as counselors, assistants and "friends" to these kids for a week.
You'll get to participate in a variety of fun games and activities like painting, tie-dye t-shirts, coloring, campfire, tug-o-war, swimming and even archery! In addition to this, the camping trip adds a bunch of stuff that these kids may have never experienced: a Fishing Trip for the boys, a Tea Party for the girls!
But of course, it isn't so much the recreation that matters, but the influence you will have on your campers. Spending this one-on-one time is vital for each kid to feel loved, accepted and to grow in Christ. However, the number of kids who get to attend depends upon how many volunteers the camp has. Last week, less than half of a goal of 24 boys were able to go on the trip simply because there weren't enough male volunteers!
Volunteering for this trip does not cost any money, only a week of your time and a few training sessions. Pray over this decision and discuss it with the people in your life!
- Camp Dates: August 8-13, 2010
- Location: Boulder Creek (down near Santa Cruz)
To participate, you'll need 1) an application, 2) an interview, and 3) a LiveScan specifically for Bethel. In order to be a part of this ministry you have to get fingerprinted for Bethel even if you're already on file with the State.
Mandatory Training Dates: July 10 (9am-3:30pm), Friday, June 23, 2010 (6pm-9pm), & Sunday, June 25, 2010 (1pm – 3pm).
Check out these sites to find out more about this non-profit org.:
or, e-mail Jolynn of RFKC at [email protected]
Westgate Church Vision
I – Impacting the Kingdom
M – Maximizing our campus
P – Partnering with other churches
A – Assisting the poor
C – Caring for the sick
T – Teaching the next generation.
"He defends the cause of the fatherless…" Deu. 10-18.


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First published in 1995, this is a new illustrated edition of this classic story. Every day, Jo-Jo the donkey carries his load of melons to the great city of Venice. Every day, all day, he is bullied by his owner and pestered by flies, and he longs with all his heart for something more … to BE something more than just a donkey.
One day, while he's standing in St Mark's Square, beneath the statue of the four golden horses of Venice, Her Highness, the Doge's daughter, runs out of the palace to get a melon. She notices Jo-Jo's kind eyes and strokes his neck, the first kindness he's ever been shown. This happy pattern continues every day of summer, until one morning the Great Doge announces to the Venetians that he intends to buy the finest horse in the city for his daughter. Could this be Jo-Jo's chance to be more than just a donkey?
In an endnote, Michael Morpurgo reveals that he was inspired to write the story after standing in St Mark's Square on his first visit to Venice, and gazing up at the four golden horses — the most beautiful sculptures he had ever seen. The fact that his wife adored donkeys was the extra bit of inspiration he needed to create the character of Jo-Jo. The result is a book that reads like a timeless fable, while bringing a little bit of Venetian history to life.
Title: Jo-Jo the Melon Donkey
Author: Michael Morpurgo
Illustrator: Helen Stephens
Publisher: Egmont, $16.95 RRP
Publication Date: August 2013
Format: Paperback
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book
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|This portable play mat converts to a bag to carry toys.
This past weekend we welcomed the arrival of my newest nephew, nephew number nine for me! Although my husband and I find ourselves fertility-challenged, the rest of my family are prolific breeders. Naturally, I decided to wait until the baby arrived to get on Pinterest and look at baby gift ideas. You will find many, many options on my "Gift Ideas", "Kids", and "Sewing" boards. One I thought was fab is a portable play mat for baby that cinches up into a bag for travel. You can order a pattern, and I think a completed mat, from Etsy (see my Pinterest Sewing board for the link), but I wanted something slightly different so I designed my own. I'm hoping my sister will be too busy with her 6, 2, and 5-day old kids to read my blog so this gift is a surprise! If not...surprise!
The original mat/bag is a hexagon, patchworked together of strips of cloth. It's adorable and cinches up into a circular bag with a long drawstring, but I didn't think it looked long enough for a baby to really lie down and play or sleep. The baby in the picture is sitting up. I also didn't have enough matching material to make the drawstring, which looks about four feet long! I decided to make a longer mat that folds into a bag without the use of a drawstring. This makes it less ideal as a bag; small items could possibly fall out the sides, but it's great for carrying larger toys, burp cloths, and things like that. When you get where you're going you can unfold the mat and spread baby's toys out on it.
|Lay newspaper pieces out to the size you want.
I used newspaper to make my pattern. I like to use newspaper because the fold lines and columns act as measuring guides and make it a lot easier to map out symmetrical pieces. Start by spreading your papers out to the size you want. Tape the edges of the paper sections together to make it easier to draw your pattern out.
|Measure to make sure the pieces are even.
Start adapting your pattern to get the shape you want. I folded the newspaper pieces into shape, but you could also just draw the pattern out. I wanted a kind of elongated octagon shape, so I folded the corners up. Measure to make sure you have the pieces even. See my cool vintage yardstick? I love it because it's from my grandfather's auto parts store! When I'm not using it to measure I hang it up as artwork!
|This was a little too long.
I got the mat the size and shape I thought I wanted, but when I tried to gather it up like a bag it was too unwieldy. I decided to make it a little shorter by folding the ends up a bit more. When I had the general shape and size I wanted I measured all around to even out the pieces.
|The finished size.
|I found the center and drew four triangles.
I started by marking the center of the mat. I drew diagonal lines intersecting at the center to make four triangular pieces. Then, I divided the triangles into two pieces each. You could add seam allowance to your pieces at this point, but I decided to add it when I cut the fabric out.
|I divided the triangles into pieces.
|I cut out the pattern pieces.
The look I wanted was a solid -color rectangle in the center bordered by a patterned band. I looked thorough my stash and found a frog and bug print vintage corduroy. I think my mom bought this when she was expecting me in case I was a boy. I was not, however, and we never got any boys, so the fabric passed on to me! I found a cute sparkly star print on red cotton left over from a dress we made for one of my nieces long ago. I thought the sparkly stars would interest the baby and I liked the nature theme I had going. Keeping up with that theme, I decided to use another Pinterest idea. I recently saw the cutest pillow appliqued with a smiley-face sun with "rays" made of multi-color fabric (the link is on my sewing board). I decided to make an applique of a sun with ribbon "tags" for the baby to play with. My kids loved those Taggies books and things as babies, and this is the same idea.
|I added seam allowance to the fabric before I cut.
|Marking the seam allowance.
When I'd picked the fabric it was time to cut. I added seam allowance of 5/8 inches by measuring from the folded edge on one side and marking the fabric with pencil on the other sides. I cut along the pencil marks. On the backing fabric I measured out 3 inches to add fabric for a "cheater" binding. That turned out to be a bit much so I trimmed it to 1 1/2 inches when I cut it out. I will write more about this later.
|I add the extra fabric for a cheater binding.
For the sun applique I picked a yellow embroidered gingham scrap left over from a dress I made my daughter years ago. I thought the baby would like the pattern of the embroidery to feel and look at, and I don't have enough of this to make much of anything else. I love the sunny color, too! I remember, with her dark skin and black hair, my daughter looked like a little Black-Eyed Susan in her dress!
|I cut one circle of fabric and one of interfacing for the applique.
|I clip the edges of the circle so it will fold over without puckering.
Since the sun is circular, I clipped the edges a tiny bit all the way around to help it fold over neatly. Then I pressed the edges of the fabric over the interfacing to finish the edges.
|I press the fabric over the interfacing to finish the edge.
After this, I embroidered the face on the sun. I used satin stitch for the mouth and felt appliques for the eyes and cheeks. I machine-stitched the appliques on using blanket stitching. This is a little messy. The unfortunate brain malfunction that made me wait until Wednesday to make a mat I plan to deliver on Saturday caused me to rush. If I do another of these I will take my time and make sure it's neater. When the sun's face was finished I sewed on the ribbon tags. I folded each piece of ribbon in half before sewing and applied them with the loop facing out.
|The finished sun applique with ribbon tags for rays.
Once I'd finished piecing and sewing the quilt top together I sewed the sun applique on. I considered embroidering "You are my sunshine" across the top of the red rectangle, but my machine only makes small, like shirt-size, monogram letters, so I settled for just putting the baby's name on one of the ribbons.
When the top was all finished I cut a piece of quilt batting the same size as the top and pinned the quilt layers together: top, then batting, then backing. I didn't want to do any large scale quilting on this. My great-aunt always hand-quilts hers with matching motifs, like spaceships on space fabric or flowers on floral fabric, but I don't have time, so I just used a machine clasp stitch, like a little starburst, here and there to join the layers. Then it was time for the binding.
I am unfortunately terrible at binding quilts. Every time I get the quilt all done but the binding it looks great and then when I try to bind it nothing lines up and I end up with this horrible wadded up mess along the edges. So, for this quilt I decided to use a "cheater" binding I saw on Pinterest. You just cut the backing a few inches bigger than the front and fold it over and sew.
Well, it looks easy, but I messed it up pretty good. I think if I'd used a different fabric it would have worked. The only piece I had large enough was a really thin, crepey pique that's also a little stretchy and it just didn't fold over neatly or press crisply. (Again, the procrastination; I didn't have time to shop for fabric!) So, it looked awful as usual and I had to sew a band of seam binding over it to mask it. I used an embroidery stitch for this so it sort of looks like I meant to do it! Hopefully, the baby won't mind.
|Ribbon handles and ties allow the mat to fold into a bag.
When the mat was all finished I added the handles and ties to turn it into a bag. I added two ribbon handles on top. Then I added one ribbon to each side so the mat can be folded and tied into a manageable-sized bag. If you don't mind a larger portfolio-sized bag you could add two ribbons at each side and tie the sides shut. You could also add two to four ties on each side so even small items stay in the bag. I just felt like it was too large like that, and my sister has a diaper bag to carry small items, so I made the smaller folded option. Another thing you could do with this is add pockets to the mat top before quilting it. Then you could keep diapers or small toys in the pockets and an older baby could play on the mat by putting the toys in and out of the pockets. There are really so many possibilities for this project! I might sew some variations, even without any new nephews, and sell them, if I can get the binding to look better. Check my store for that: http://stores.ebay.com/atelier-mandaline.
|The play mat
All in all, I think this is pretty cute. In addition, I don't think my sister has anything like this. The new baby has three boys 2-5 years older than he in the family, as well as an older brother, so he's not lacking for anything in terms of clothes, blankets, or toys. I really hope they like it.
|The mat as a bag
|The bag can carry toys.
In other news, while on my walk to the lake today I spotted a tree with lovers' initials carved into it long ago. I just had to take a picture. I know it's bad for the trees, but I thought it was just so sweet! I wonder if that couple is still together. What great joy it is to love someone, to welcome a new member to the family. It truly brightens the day just like sunshine!
|Lovers' initials carved into a tree.


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Jennifer Horrigan (Chairman)
Jennifer brings 25 years' experience across investment banking, financial communications and investor relations. She was most recently the Chief Operating Officer in Australia of the independent investment bank Greenhill & Co. Jennifer is also a director of APN Funds Management; Industria REIT (ASX: IDR); Convenience Retail REIT (CRR); QV Equities (ASX: QVE) and Breast Cancer Trials. Jennifer's qualifications include Bachelor of Business, Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance (FINSIA) and Graduate Diploma in Management (AGSM).
Bruce Morgan
Bruce joined the Redkite Board in 2013. Former roles include Chairman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a partner of the firm for over 25 years. He is a Director of Origin Energy, Sydney Water, the University of NSW Foundation and the European Australian Business Council. He is also a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Sarah Goodman
Sarah has 20 years' experience as a Company Director of large charities and not-for-profits, and commercial enterprises. She also has 22 years senior executive experience in risk management, governance and strategic regulatory policy, gained in four large financial services groups and in two Australian regulators. Sarah's qualifications include being a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and a Bachelor of Laws (University of NSW).
Adam Spencer
One of Redkite's most high profile and dedicated ambassadors. In December 2013 Adam brought down the curtain on a 15-year radio career at the ABC on 702 and Triple J. Adam is an Ambassador for Mathematics & Science at the University of Sydney, an international keynote speaker (TED), an in-demand MC & conference speaker and successful author.
Mark RigottiMark is the Global CEO of Herbert Smith Freehills, an international law firm. This involves him spending time and working with a wide range of diverse cultures and teams. Prior to this, Mark ran a leading corporate, capital markets and fundraising practice for 15 years spanning Australia and the United Kingdom. He is involved in many professional and community organisations including the Business Council of Australia and the Securities Institute of Australia.
Joost de Kock
Currently General Manager Enterprise Transformation with the Australian Government Department of Human Services. Former Partner and Managing Director of the Boston Consulting Group (Sydney and Canberra). For over two decades Joost has advised private and public-sector clients on strategy, business model design, and technology-driven transformation. Through personal experience, Joost has become passionate about helping children with cancer and their families, especially through innovative uses of digital technology.
Dr Robert (Bob) Every AO
Dr Bob Every AO is a metallurgist by profession (Bachelor's Degree 1968 / Doctorate 1971). Past roles include CEO of Steel & Tube Holdings Ltd NZ, MD & CEO of Tubemakers, President of BHP Steel, MD & CEO of OneSteel, Chairman of Wesfarmers and Boral. Bob is also a Patron and past Chairman of Redkite. Bob has been awarded a Centenary Medal and an Order of Australia.
Alex Scandurra
Alex Scandurra is an influential player in the start-up world as CEO of Stone & Chalk, an accelerator for start-ups seeking to disrupt the financial services sector. Alex is also the Founding Director of FinTech Australia and sits on the ASIC Digital Advisory Committee and the Advisory Board to the NSW Dept of Finance, Services and Innovation. A former Australian Army captain and graduate of the London Business School, Alex also has experience working on leading infrastructure projects for Nokia and Lend Lease.
Stephen Conry AM
International Director and Chief Executive Officer Australia – JLL, Australia's largest commercial property services firm. He commenced his career with JLL in 1982, at the same time studying Property Economics (graduating 1986), Stephen has served on various Business and Community Boards and Committees and is currently a Board Member of the Property Council of Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Property Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Chris Bromhead
Chris is a senior legal adviser whose experience extends across a broad range of industry sectors and international jurisdictions. Prior to leading a number of large in-house corporate teams, including BT and Perpetual, Chris was a partner in a Sydney law firm. Chris currently divides his time between not-for profit work, his legal consultancy (most recently with Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney), and academic pursuits, where he is a founding member of a new insurance law faculty. On the weekend, when he isn't in the surf, Chris is working on preserving the historical and cultural heritage of Tamarama SLSC, Australia's oldest surf lifesaving club.


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The knowledge we claim to possess, the very general knowledge provided by modern physical theory included, is an intricate web of theoretical principles and practical, almost bodily abilities and it cannot be understood by looking at theories exclusively.
– Paul Feyerbend, The Tyranny of Science
After this little quip Feyerbend lays it low and true: most popular accounts of science and many philosophical analyses are therefor chimeras, pure and simple (108).1 Being a software engineer / architect I've had occasion to relate to Feyerbend's words, where he mentions on a slightly different note the work of engineers: to evaluate a project an engineer needs both theoretical and on-site experience and this means that he should have theoretical as well as practical schooling (108). He continues, saying:
A variety of disasters has convince some administrators that the top-down (theoretical) approach is defective and that engineering practice is an important part of the education of even an engineering theoretician. (108)
As I read posts by young or old philosophers I am almost tempted to have them go back t school and Major in some practical area, say mechanical engineering, architecture, biology, etc., where they can actually spend summers interning and gaining practical insight into their subject form a bottom-up perspective. I often think of political theorists of the past few hundred years and wonder just how they thought their strange theoretical generalizations would ever support practical application. Too bad those young revolutionaries of former eras didn't have some school of Revolution 101 to show them that in actual application their ideas might just take on a life of their own and connect back to human emotion and anger, follow the death drives right down into the cesspool of some slime bucket of catastrophe.
I've even seen some intelligent software engineers come up with great theoretical programs that were useless in real world applications for the simple reason that they did not take into account the actual humans that would use such programs day in and day out. Are philosophers like this: do they build abstract theoretical applications without actually taking into account the truth of things, people, world as something real instead of something theoretical. Do they end up as Feyerbend suggests building conceptual chimeras, pure and simple. As Feyerbend himself remarks: "Every 'systematic' philosophical treatise that considers only ideas and their mutual relations is an exercise in futility" (108). But then he adds:
Embedded in an ongoing enterprise, ideas play an important, thought not easily comprehended, role. Treated by themselves they are like fossils that are studied as abstract shapes, without considering the processes from which they arose. (108-109)
Looking at both Galileo who was schooled in practical engineering then applied his own theoretical insights, Feyerbend tells us about certain later philosophers who suggest they know better than Galileo and can actually reconstruct his system and show us the underlying structure of its grand science. These so to speak philosophers of science take such a person's (Galileo) and lay it out before them on the rack, analyse it, and relate its ingredients to their favorite categories (111). Feyerbend then remarks:
In the philosophy of science the process has been called 'logical reconstruction', the idea being that the great inventors don't know what they are doing and need a reconstruction to tell them what they have achieved. The trouble with such an approach is that the reconstructed formulations are mostly barren – they don't have the power to suggest new actions, ideas, procedures. Only the incomprehensible utterances of scientists seem to have such power. (112)
Let us hope the incomprehensible cries of scientists continue to surprise us with strange machines and technological wonders for years to come. Yet, the point that Feyerbend was truly making might otherwise go unsaid, and that is the punch line:
Which means either that there cannot be any discoveries unless one leaves the house of reason, or that the house of reason is very different from what philosophers and other idea-mongers make it out to be. (112)
I would opt for the second of those two positions… what about you?
1. Paul Feyerbend. The Tyranny of Science. (Polity Press, 2011)