text:
Before I start my review, it's important you know my qualifications so as to give credence to my opinions.
Qualifications: None
Excellent. Let's begin.
So I left work on Friday and started the drive to Indianapolis... forgetting that, out here in the Midwest, overnight is when they do major road construction projects. So I check into my hotel around midnight, and pull up Music for All's website to see when the Grand National Semifinals will start.
Sorry, but no way. Maybe 20 years ago I could have done it. But even catching two-thirds of semifinals was a butt-aching and bladder-busting feat of endurance. I have NO IDEA how Alan Irons manages to watch EVERY performance on both days of Prelims followed by Semifinals and Finals. So, I apologize to the following bands, because you are not in my review:
Adair County H.S., KY (6:30 AM performance slot and they still won Class A)
Jenison H.S., MI
DeSoto Central H.S., MS
Central Hardin H.S., KY
Norton H.S., OH
Beechwood H.S., KY
Archbishop Alter H.S., OH
Franklin H.S., TN
Prosper H.S., TX
James F. Byrnes H.S., SC
Bassett H.S., VA
Union H.S., OK (only band from morning block to make Finals)
I arrived in time to see...
BROKEN ARROW H.S., OK - "The Age of Discovery: Return to Xeno"
Repertoire: Not in program
Talk about starting the experience off with a bang! Broken Arrow's show based on the exploration of the strange planet "Xeno". Repertoire was not announced, but I caught several selections from "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff. Guard wore bright yellow costumes, canteloupe orange face masks, and purple hair. It definitely went well with the alien theme. Band wore kaleidoscopic digitally printed tops and no shakos. Can't say it really matched the theme of the show, though. Broken Arrow's show was just pure, raw power. The kids have a ton of talent and the design staff makes sure they utilize all of it. Visually and musically impeccable, although the percussion as a whole and battery specifically sounded very under-powered and got completely overwhelmed in many parts by their OVER 9000-rated brass section. An obvious contender for the title right from the get-go.
MY PLACEMENT: 1st of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT IN BANDS I SAW: 2nd of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT OVERALL: 2nd of 37
Repertoire: Dance Panels (Aaron Copland), Four Factories (Carter Pann), Liminal (John Mackey), Greyed Rainbow (Eva Cassidy), Panambi (Alberto Ginastera)
Oh, a private school with a ton of money, people think. Not true. Chicago Heights is NOT a wealthy neighborhood, and Marian Catholic does an AMAZING job making sure plenty of underprivileged children can attend their school. It is one of the most diverse bands you will ever see, and Greg Bimm deserves his reputation as one of the great band directors of all time. BUT... and obviously the judges disagreed with me, but I didn't think they were very good. I sat up high for Semifinals, and the top tier bands had a clear sound that carried distinctly. Marian (and many other good-but-not-great bands, IMO) had a sound that got all muddled and mashed together by the time it reached the back of the stands. Their show design (industry destroying nature, nature rejuvenating and overwhelming industry) was pretty bare bones and (sorry!) actually kind of boring. They looked visual pretty clean, but I didn't see nearly the level of demand that I saw from other bands. I didn't even have them CLOSE to Finals, but the judges saw and heard things I did not.
MY PLACEMENT: 18th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 10th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 10th out of 37
THE WOODLANDS H.S., TX - "In the Garden of Cosmic Speculation"
Repertoire: Not in program
I did not take many notes for this band. They didn't have any real weaknesses. They sounded terrific and they looked great. Really, only a little ensemble fuzziness separated them from the medalists, but with competition this fierce that made all the difference.
MY PLACEMENT: 6th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 6th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 6th out of 37
OWASSO H.S., OK - "Radium"
Repertoire: Not in program, but included "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons
A show loosely inspired by the research of Marie Curie, Owasso had a lot of energy and effect, and the first truly rockin' drumline of the day. But they were a pretty noticeable step down from the contenders. I thought they might have been good enough for Finals, but wasn't surprised when they missed out.
MY PLACEMENT: 11th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 14th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 15th out of 37
ROUND ROCK H.S., TX - "Errand into the Maze"
Repertoire: Sensemaya (Silvestre Revueltas)
The classic story of the minotaur in the labyrinth, only this time with a female protagonist. The music, interestingly, was all either direct excerpts from Sensemaya or original variations on Sensemaya. Musically they were solid--c'mon, it's a Texas band after all--but visually I thought they were a bit dirty. I was actually pretty surprised they made Finals over O'Fallon and Homestead.
MY PLACEMENT: 14th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 11th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 12th out of 37
MARCUS H.S., TX - "PrODDigy"
Repertoire: Not in program, but I heard a lot of Paganini Variations, both Barnes and Wilby versions
Similar to The Woodlands, I didn't take a lot of notes. When a band sounds this good, you're a fool to not just stop and listen. That said, there were a couple of visual flubs and the group didn't really feel "locked in" in Semifinals.
MY PLACEMENT: 8th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 5th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 5th out of 37
AVON H.S., IN - "Test4ment"
Repertoire: Symphony No. 4 (David Maslanka)
Jay Webb is retiring this year after 25 years at the helm of Avon H.S. What will happen to the Marching Black & Gold? Will they be like Carmel H.S. after Richard Saucedo and maintain their level of excellence? Or will they follow the path of Lassiter H.S. post Alfred Watkins and gradually fall apart? I think the kids were so eager to win one more title for Mr. Webb they were a little tight in Semifinals. Their visual book involved a lot of panels and made for a bit of a cluttered look that I think hurt them (1st in Music GE, 2nd in Music Perf, 4th in Visual Perf, 5th in Visual GE). Still, this is obviously one of the best bands in the country.
MY PLACEMENT: 4th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 3rd out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 3rd out of 37
CASTLE H.S., IN - "Fly to Paradise"
Repertoire: Not in program
In 2016, Castle H.S. made Grand National Finals for the first time, led by an outstanding vocalist by the name of Sophie Rinehart. Hours after Finals, on the way back home to southern Indiana, the car Sophie was riding in was slammed into by a drunk driver. Sophie (17 years old), her father, and her grandmother were all killed. In 2017, Castle H.S. performed a show about angels, quite obviously inspired by and dedicated to Sophie Rinehart. It may sound trite, but it most definitely was not. It was, quite simply, one of the most passionate, emotional, BEAUTIFUL field shows I have ever seen. Maybe it wasn't National Champion worthy, but it was a lot better than the judges scored it, and that's saying something.
MY PLACEMENT: 5th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 7th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 7th out of 37
O'FALLON TOWNSHIP H.S., IL - "The White Canvas"
Repertoire: 1000 Airplanes on the Roof (Philip Glass), Night on Fire (John Mackey), Black Hole Sun (Chris Cornell)
O'Fallon covered the entire field. Literally. White tarps were unrolled until there was no green left. No yard lines. No hashmarks. Just an endless white field. This was just the start of what was easily the most original show of the entire weekend, for me. O'Fallon had a big sound for a group that looked to be only about 140 or so, and their visual book had everything but the kitchen sink. Army-style belly-crawls from spot to spot. Marching on their knees while playing. Barrel-rolls into playing positions. I really thought they earned a Finals spot, but the white canvas was an unforgiving exposure machine, and no mistake went unnoticed by the judges.
MY PLACEMENT: 10th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 13th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 14th out of 37
PLYMOUTH-CANTON E.P., MI - "arOund"
Repertoire: Symphony No. 1 (Gustav Mahler), Concerto for Violin (Philip Glass), Second Military Suite in F (Gustav Holst), Stormworks (Stephen Melillo), You Spin Me Round (Percy/Burns/Coy/Lever)
No notes, sorry. Nothing about this show stood out or impressed me. They were pretty obviously good enough to be in Semifinals, and pretty obviously a long way from making Finals.
MY PLACEMENT: 19th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 21st out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 24th out of 37
BLUE SPRINGS H.S., MO - "Burtonized"
Repertoire: Danny Elfman music from Tim Burton movies
Obviously I'm a better Effect judge than technical judge. I thought Blue Springs was surprisingly weak musically (they ended up 7th in Music Performance) but had an excellent visual performance (9th in Visual Performance). Well, they were 14th in Music Effect and 6th in Visual Effect, so I at least had part of a clue. Blue Springs was right around my Finals cut-line, but the judges had them in the clear by several points.
MY PLACEMENT: 12th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 8th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 8th out of 37
CENTER GROVE H.S., IN - "Light Motifs"
Repertoire: Summer from "The Four Seasons" (Antonio Vivaldi), Lento for Brass from "Dance Movements" (Philip Sparke), Red Drum (Josh Torres), Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (Benjamin Britten)
There were a whole bunch of ideas here that probably looked great on paper but just didn't quite gel in the finished product. For starters, to mask their relatively small size (~125), the entire show took place on a black, semi-circular tarp that stretched only from 30 to 30. The woodwinds all wore green jackets, the brass all in blue, the percussion all in red, and the guard all in white. Then, each section of the show featured ONLY those colors/instruments. After a brief intro, Summer was all woodwinds, Lento all brass, Red Drum all battery, and then Young Person's Guide finally brought the whole ensemble together (the front ensemble accompanied every section of the show). A neat concept, but didn't quite work. Each wind player was playing for basically only about four minutes of the show, and the visual vocabulary was extremely limited by the confined space.
MY PLACEMENT: 21st out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 16th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 17th out of 37
CARMEL H.S., IN - "Serenity"
Repertoire: Spiegel im Spiegel (Arvo Part), Meditation from "Thais" (Jules Massenet), original music by Richard Saucedo and Michael MacIntosh
Part and Massenet on the field? This isn't your standard marching band show. True to its name, "Serenity" is a broad, luscious musical portrait. There are no stabbing brass chords or aggressive marcato passages. The music ebbs and flows, growing and receding. While other bands go for power, Carmel puts on a clinic of absolute control. Their intonation and tone quality was just godly, the best I've ever heard from a high school marching band. Even the body movements were fluid and always leading into the next point, never stopping abruptly. The band flowed across the field like liquid. I don't know if I absorbed the full effect in the first sitting. There's just so much to digest here. But as soon as Carmel performed I knew it was a two-horse race between them and Broken Arrow.
MY PLACEMENT: 2nd out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 1st out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 1st out of 37
CENTERVILLE H.S., OH - "Beyond"
Repertoire: original music by Andrew Markworth, Giant Steps (John Coltrane), Hello (Adele Adkins), Beyond (Daft Punk)
This was the only note I wrote down for Centerville: "What?" They had some sort of space exploration theme to their field show, which was jarring mashed up with jazzy music. Look, we get it: you're the Centerville Jazz Band. But at some point you're going to have to realize the thematic limitations of the jazz idiom and stop trying to shoe-horn it into every possible field show concept. Anyway, their performance level was simultaneously both excellent (compared to an average band) and mediocre (compared to the top bands at this show), and the concept just didn't work for me. They were pretty obviously not going to be in contention for a Finals spot.
MY PLACEMENT: 17th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 17th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 18th out of 37
FLOWER MOUND H.S., TX - "Fractured Moments"
Repertoire: Facades (Philip Glass), Orient Express (Philip Sparke), On the Shoulders of Giants (Peter Graham), I Need Thee Every Hour (Annie Hawks/Robert Lowrey), Antipanico (Stephen Melillo)
An avalanche of white and gray hits the field. White pants. White/Silver/Gray jackets in a stained-glass motif. White shakos and plumes. White props. The show starts completely devoid of color. And then, midway through, they add color. And more color. AND MORE. First the jackets come off, revealing dazzling bold colors in that stained glass motif, by section. Saxes were yellow and gold. Trumpets red. Percussion green. Etc. Then the shakos are replaced by secondary shakos (hidden until this point) that have large, jagged blocks of color attached to the top, matching each sections jacket color. By the show's end there is every color of the rainbow on the field in an eye-dazzling display. This was by far my favorite visual program of the entire event. They play pretty darn good, too. Flower Mound had the best soloists, IMO. Both their sax soloist and trumpet soloist were obscenely good.
MY PLACEMENT: 3rd out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 4th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 4th out of 37
NORTH HARDIN H.S., KY - "From Darkness"
Repertoire: From a Dark Millennium (Joseph Schwantner), Symphony in One Movement (Samuel Barber), Escape from "The Little Prince" (Hans Zimmer), original music by Ben Lee
I took no notes and don't remember this show at all. I guess that's insulting, but... well, there it is. Sorry.
MY PLACEMENT: 20th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 20th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 22nd out of 37
HOMESTEAD H.S., IN - "Of Fire and Ice"
Repertoire: The Divine Comedy (Robert W. Smith), original music by Kent Klee
The highlight of this show was the ice-skating rink. Yes, you read that right. On the front sideline to the left of the pit, Homestead had a little soloists bandstand that was front by a small (10-yd diameter max) ice skating rink. And yes, they had an ice skater soloist from the guard. That might be a first. I thought they played really well, though I did notice some visual problems. Still, I thought they were a safe finalist and was pretty surprised they didn't make Finals.
MY PLACEMENT: 9th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 12th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 13th out of 22
WALTON H.S., GA - "J is for Jack"
Repertoire: Night Steam (Michael Daugherty), The Jazz Police (Gordon Goodwin), Magic Beans (James Pluth), Trittico (Vaclav Nelhybel)
Jack o' Lanterns, Jack and the Beanstalk, Jumping Jacks, Jacks (the game with the caltrops and the bouncy ball)... what thematically connects all of these? No idea! But that was their show!
MY PLACEMENT: 22nd out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 22nd out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 28th out of 37
Repertoire: Eden (Sarah Brightman), The Pines of Rome (Ottorino Respighi), Merry Mount Suite (Howard Hanson)
DB is another very large, very loud, powerful band. They sounded great and they moved a lot. I liked them, I just thought a few bands were better. They were right on my Finals cut-line, so I wasn't that surprised they advanced to the Finals.
MY PLACEMENT: 13th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 9th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 9th out of 37
WINSTON CHURCHILL H.S., TX - "lOZt"
Repertoire: The Rite of Spring (Igor Stravinsky), Concerto for Orchestra (Bela Bartok), Creep (Radiohead), Wine Dark Sea (John Mackey)
Yet another Wizard of Oz inspired show, Churchill at least had the creativity to make this show about (I think) the WIZARD getting lost and stuck in Oz, and his attempts to get home. Granted, this is an insanely high level to compare them to, but Churchill was the weakest performers of the Texas bands in the competition. The played pretty well, but there were visual issues and the total package wasn't nearly as "tight" as the other top bands. Their performance level was pretty clearly a few spots short of Finals.
MY PLACEMENT: 16th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 15th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 16th out of 37
LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP SCHOOLS, IN - "What's in a Name?"
The Lawrence Township band told the story of Rumplestiltskin with a nice twist: their male vocal soloist played Rumple as sort of a mix of Prince and James Brown. Very extroverted, scenery-chewing showmanship. They needed him, too, to help draw attention away from the band's modest size and talent limitations. This show had the design to make Finals but the execution just wasn't there.
MY PLACEMENT: 15th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 19th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 21st out of 37
WILLIAM MASON H.S., OH - "Graidation: The Music of Percy Grainger"
Repertoire: Harkstow Grange, Molly on the Shore, Irish Tune from County Derry, The Warriors
Here it is. My biggest whiff of the whole event. Mason finished 3rd in 2016, so I was eager to see their show. Perhaps based on that I gave them the benefit of the doubt on all the warning bells that went off when I watched them. The first warning bell: the show just doesn't work. Flower Mound did the "color" theme infinitely better, and the music of Grainger is tough to adapt to the field for an entire show. The second warning bell: their brass was absent. The brass barely played and was not strong when they did. This was a woodwind heavy show. I thought their woodwinds were excellent, but the brass (and to a lesser extent, battery percussion) didn't add a whole lot to the final product. The third warning bell: I thought their visual program was excellent. That's a problem because I *really* don't know what I'm talking about with regards to visual. The judges killed them in the visual caption. In the end, my score is about three points too high, I really should have put them nearer the cut-line for my rankings. When I saw they missed Finals, I still figured they would be 13th or 14th. But man, the judges destroyed them. 20th? Ouch.
MY PLACEMENT: 7th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, SEEN: 18th out of 22
ACTUAL PLACEMENT, OVERALL: 20th out of 37
By this time I had a headache and a bladder ache and a neck cramp and a sore behind from the hard plastic seats. I cut out of Semifinals early to rest up for the evening's Finals. Apologies to Fort Mill H.S., SC; Fishers H.S., IN; and Mililani H.S., HI; I did not see your shows either.
Finals thoughts will be posted tomorrow or this weekend.
Hostrauser's BOA Grand Nationals Semifinals Review
Topics and polls that cover the overall marching band activity
Moderators: malletphreak, Hostrauser, instrumental director, Trumpet Man 05
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text: Word has it the decision is made. Thursday it becomes official. Sheila Oliver will remain as speaker of the Assembly. Lou Greenwald will be majority leader and Vincent Prieto will replace Greenwald as chair of the budget committee. John Wisniewski will be something called a "prominent" deputy speaker, whatever that is. Missing from the lineup is Joe Cryan. No surprise that. He got the majority leader job as a kind of consolation prize for not getting speaker as he had been Democratic Party chairman, the job Wisniewski now has. Prominent Democrats were embarrassed by Cryan's act. He wasn't the image they wanted for their party. When he was party chairman he made enemies he shouldn't have. So his fellow Ds have dumped him on the curb. But he's still a full time undersheriff (Where does he find the time?) A lot of his fellow Democrats privately say they would not be unhappy if Cryan left permanently.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
[04 Mar 2012 | Sunday]
Quote: One Pearl & Many Cults
~ Do You Know the Difference? ~
Differences can be very subtle!
The following is an excerpt from a book.
Today ~ In our day the value of true natural pearls is obscured. Large-scale farming of cultured pearls, mass-produced fake pearls, and the merchandising of freshwater pearls have made "pearls" commonplace. The average person viewing a strand of pearls does not usually know or care about the strand's composition. In fact it is very difficult for even a gemologist to differentiate between natural pearls and some of the high-quality imitations. An x-ray is generally considered the best way to reveal the true nature of a pearl. We read in Scripture that God uses His own unique way to reveal the truth of the character of a human being, and it is reasonable to believe He can similarly determine the genuineness of a local church.
God has the ability to look beyond the surface. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
There is another parallel here; religions and cults are currently abundant, and at first glance many look like reality. It takes skill and attention to detail to differentiate many of them from true Christianity with its one and only Creator and living God. In pearls and in truth, it is the very center that confirms reality. At the center of truth are the core doctrines concerning God, and in particular the second member of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. There is only one way to heaven. "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him'" (John 14:6-7).
~ from "ONE PRECIOUS PEARL: God's Design for His Church, pgs 93-94 (ISBN: 9780741462329)
Learn more about this important book at Amazon, the Publisher, or the Author's website.
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW


text:
New Math For Nonprobability Samples #AAPOR
Moderator: Hanyu Sun, Westat
Next Steps Towards a New Math for Nonprobability Sample Surveys; Mansour Fahimi, GfK Custom Research Frances M. Barlas, GfK Custom Research Randall K. Thomas, GfK Custom Research Nicole R. Buttermore, GfK Custom Research
- Neuman paradigm requires completes sampling frames and complete response rates
- Non-prob is important because those assumptions are not met, sampling frames are incomplete, response rates are low, budget and time crunches
- We could ignore that we are dealing with nonprobability samples, find new math to handle this, try more weighting methods [speaker said commercial research ignores the issue – that is absolutely not true. We are VERY aware of it and work within appropriate guidelines]
- In practice, there is incomplete sampling frames so samples aren't random and respondents choose to not respond and weighting has to be more creative, uncertainty with inferences is increasing
- There is fuzz all over, relationship is nonlinear and complicated
- Geodemographic weighting is inadequate; weighted estimates to benchmarks show huge significant differences [this assumes the benchmarks were actually valid truth but we know there is error around those numbers too]
- Calibration 1.0 – correct for higher agreement propensity with early adopters – try new products first, like variety of new brands, shop for new, first among my friends, tell others about new brands; this is in addition to geography
- But this is only a Université adjustment, one theme, sometimes it's insufficient
- Sought a Multivariate adjustment
- Calibration 2.0 – social engagement, self importance, shopping habits, happiness, security, politics, community, altruism, survey participation, Internet and social media
- But these dozens of questions would burden the task for respondents, and weighting becomes an issue
- What is the right subset of questions for biggest effort
- Number of surveys per month, hours on Internet for personal use, trying new products before others, time spend watching TV, using coupons, number of relocations in past 5 years
- Tested against external benchmarks, election, BRFSS questions, NSDUH, CPS/ACS questions
- Nonprobability samples based on geodemogarphics are the worst of the set, adding calibration improves them, nonprobability plus calibration is even better, probability panel was the best [pseudo probability]
- Calibration 3.0 is hours on Internet, time watching TV, trying new products, frequency expressing opinions online
- Remember Total Research Error, there is more error than just sampling error
- Combining nonprobability and probability samples, use stratification methods so you have resemblance of target population, gives you better sample size for weighting adjustments
- Because there are so many errors everywhere, even nonprobability samples can be improved
- Evading calibration is wishing thinking and misleading
Quota Controls in Survey Research: A Test of Accuracy and Inter-source Reliability in Online Samples; Steven H. Gittelman, MKTG, INC.; Randall K. Thomas, GfK Custom Research Paul J. Lavrakas, Independent Consultant Victor Lange, Consultant
- A moment of silence for a probabilistic frame 🙂
- FoQ 2 – do quota controls help with effectiveness of sample selections, what about propensity weight, matching models
- 17 panels gave 3000 interviews via three sampling methods each; panels remain anonymous, 2012-2013; plus telephone sample including cell phone; English only; telephone was 23 minutes
- A – nested region, sex, age
- B – added non nested ethnicity quotas
- C – add no nested education quotas
- D – companies proprietary method
- 27 benchmark variables across six government and academic studies; 3 questions were deleted because of social desirability bias
- Doing more than A did not result in reduction of bias, nested age and sex within region was sufficient; race had no effect and neither did C and those made the method more difficult; but this is overall only and not looking at subsamples
- None of the proprietary methods provided any improvement to accuracy, on average they weren't powerful and they were a ton of work with tons of sample
- ABC were essentially identical; one proprietary methods did worse; phone was not all that better
- Even phone – 33% of differences were statistically significant [makes me think that benchmarks aren't really gold standard but simply another sample with its own error bars]
- The proprietary methods weren't necessarily better than phone
- [shout out to Reg Baker 🙂 ]
- Some benchmarks performed better than others, some questions were more of a problem than others. If you're studying Top 16 you're in trouble
- Demo only was better than the advanced models, advanced models were much worse or no better than demo only models
- An advanced model could be better or worse on any benchmark but you can't predict which benchmark
- Advanced models show promise but we don't know which is best for which topic
- Need to be careful to not create circular predictions, covariates overly correlated, if you balance a study on bananas you're going to get bananas
- Icarus syndrome – covariates too highly correlated
- Its' okay to test privately but clients need to know what the modeling questions are, you don't want to end up with weighting models using the study variables
- [why do we think that gold standard benchmarks have zero errors?]
Capitalizing on Passive Data in Online Surveys; Tobias B. Konitzer, Stanford University David Rothschild, Microsoft Research
- Most of our data is nonprobability to some extent
- Can use any variable for modeling, demos, survey frequency, time to complete surveys
- Define target population from these variables, marginal percent is insufficient, this constrains variables to only those where you know that information
- Pollfish is embedded in phones, mobile based, has extra data beyond online samples, maybe it's a different mode, it's cheaper faster than face to face and telephone, more flexible than face to face though perhaps less so than online,efficient incentives
- 14 questions, education, race, age, location, news consumption, news knowledge, income, party ID, also passive data for research purposes – geolocation, apps, device info
- Geo is more specific than IP address, frequency at that location, can get FIPS information from it which leads to race data, with Lat and long can reduce the number of questions on survey
- Need to assign demographics based on FIPS data in an appropriate way, modal response wouldn't work, need to use probabilities, eg if 60% of a FIPS is white, then give the person a 60% chance of being white
- Use app data to improve group assignments
Representativeness of surveys using internet-based data collection #ESRA15 #MRX
Live blogged from #ESRA15 in Reykjavik. Any errors or bad jokes are my own.
Yup, it's sunny outside. And now i'm back inside for the next session. Fortunately, or unfortunately, this session is once again in a below ground room with no windows so I will not be basking in sunlight nor gazing longingly out the window. I guess I'll be paying full attention to another really great topic.
conditional vs unconditional incentives: comparing the effect on sample composition in the recruitment of the german internet panel study GIP
- unconditional incentives tend to perform better than promised incentives
- include $5 with advance letter compared to promised $10 with thank you letter; assuming 50% response rate, cost of both groups is the same
- consider nonresponse bias, consider sample demo distribution
- unconditional incentive had 51% response rate, conditional incentive had 42% response rate
- didn't see a nonresponse bias [by demographics I assume, so many speakers are talking about important effects but not specifically saying what those effects are]
- as a trend, the two sets of data provide very similar research results, yes differences in means but always fairly close together, confidence intervals always overlap
evolution of representativeness in an online probability panel
- LISS panel – probability panel, includes households without internet accesst, 30 minutes per month, paid for every completed questionnaire
- is there systematic attrition, are core questionnaires affected by attrition
- normally sociademographics only which is restrictive
- missing data imputed using Mice
- strongest loss in panel of sociodemographic properties
- there are seasonal drops in attrition, for instance in June which is lots of holidays
- has more effects for survey attitudes and health traits, less so for political and personality traits which are quite stable even with attrition
- try to decrease attrition through refreshement based on targets
moderators of survey representativeness – a meta analysis
- measured single mode vs multimode surveys
- R-indicators – single measure from 0 to 1 for sample representativeness, based on logistic regression models for repsonse propensity
- hypothesize mixed mode surveys are more representative than single mode surveys
- hypothesize cross-sectional surveys are more representative than longitudinal survyes
- heterogeneity not really explained by moderators
setting up a probability based web panel. lessons learned fromt he ELIPSS pilot study
- online panel in france, 1000 people, monthly questionnaires, internet access given to each member [we often wonder about the effect of people being on panels since they get used to and learn how to answer surveys, have we forgotten this happens in probability panels too? especially when they are often very small panels]
- used different contact mdoes including letters, phone, face to face
- underrepresented on youngest, elderly, less educated, offline people
- reason for participatign in order – trust in ELIPSS 46%, originality of project 37%, interested in research 32%, free internet access 13%
- 16% attiriont after 30 months (that's amazing, really low and really good!), response rate generally above 80%
- automated process – invites on thursday, sustematic reminders, by text message, app message and email
- individual followups by phone calls and letters [wow. well that's how they get a high response rate]
- individual followups are highly effective [i'd call them stalking and invasive but that's just me. i guess when you accept free 4g internet and a tablet, you are asking for that invasiveness]
- age becomes less representative over time, employment status changes a lot, education changes the most but of course young people gain more education over time
- need to give feedback to panel members as they keep asking for it
- want to broaden use of panel to scientific community by expanding panel to 3500 people
the pretest of wave 2 of the german health interview and examination survey for children and adolescents as a mixed mode survey, composition of participant groups
- mixed mode helps to maintain high response, web is prefered by younger people, representativeness could be increased by using multiple modes
- compared sequential and simultaneous surveys
- single mode has highest response rate, mixed mode simultaneous was extremely close behind, mixed mode multi-step had the lowest rate
- paper always gave back the highest porportion of data even when people had the choice of both, 11% to 43% chose the paper among 3 groups
- sample composition was the same among all four groups, all confidence intervals overlap – age, gender, nationality, immigration, education
- metaanalysis – overall trend is the same
- 4% lower response rate in mixed mode – additional mode creates cognitive burden, creates a break in response process, higher breakoffs
- mixed mode doesn't increase sample composition nor response rates [that is, giving people multiple options as opposed to just one option, as opposed to multiple groups whereby each groups only knows about one mode of participation.]
- current study is now a single mode study
Comparing probability and nonprobability samples #AAPOR #MRX
prezzie #1: how different and probability and nonprobability designs
- nonprobability samples often get the correct rresults and probability samples are sometimes wrong. maybe they are more similar than we realize
- nonprobability sampling may have a sample frame but it's not the same as a census population
- how do you choose, which factors are important
- what method does the job that you require, that fits your purpose
- is the design relevant, does it meet the goals with the resources, does the method gives you results in the time you need, accessability, can you find the people you need, interpretability and reliability, accuracy of estimates with acceptable mean square error, coherance in terms of results matching up with other data points from third parties [of course, who's to say what the right answer is, everyone could be wrong as we've seen in recent elections]
- nonprobability can be much faster, probability can be more relevant
- nonprobability can get you right to the people you want to listen to
- both methods suffer from various types of error, some more than others, must consider total survey error [i certainly hope you've been considering TSE since day 1]
- driver will decide the type of study you end up doing
- how can nonprob methods help prob methods, because they do offer much good stuff
- [interesting talk, nice differentiation between prob and nonprob even though I did cringe at a few definitions, eg I dont see that quality is the differentiator between prob and nonprob]
prezzie #2: comparison of surveys based on prob and nonprob
- limbo – how low can you go with a nonprob sample
- bandwagon – well everyone else is doing nonprob sample [feelings getting hurt here]
- statistical adjustment of nonprob samples helps but it is only a partial solution
- nonprob panel may have an undefined response rate
- need to look at point estimates and associations in both the samples, does sampling only matter when you need population point estimates
- psychology research is often done all with college students [been there, done that!]
- be sure to weight and stratify the data
- education had a large effect between prob and nonprob sample [as it usually does along with income]
- point estimates were quite different in cases, but the associations were much closer so if you don't need a precise point estimate a nonprob sample could do the trick
prezzie #4: sample frame and mode effects
- used very similar omnibus surveys, included questions where they expected to find differences
- compared point estimates of the methods as well as to benchmarks of larger census surveys
- for health estimates, yes, there were differences but where the benchmark was high so were the point estimates, similarly low or moderate point estimates, total raw differences maxed out around ten point
- there was no clear winner for any of the question types though all highs were highs and lows were low
- no one design is consistently superior
Combining a probability based telephone sample with an opt-in web panel by Randal ZuWallack and James Dayton #CASRO #MRX
Live blogging from Nashville. Any errors or bad jokes are my own.
– National Alcohol Survey in the US, for 18 years plus [because children don't drink alcohol]
– even people who do not drink end up taking a 34 minute survey compared to 48 minutes for someone who does drink. this is far too long
– only at 18 minutes are people determined to be drinkers or abstainers. [wow, worst screen-out position EVER]
– why data fusion? not everyone is online [please, not everyone is on a panel either. and what about refusals? this fascination with probability panels is often silly]
– RDD measures population percents
– web measures depth of information conditional on who is who
– they matched an online and RDD sample using overlapping variables
– problem is matching can create strange 'people' that doesn't explain real people. however, in aggregate, the distributions work out. we think about it being right on an individual level
– "The awesome thing about having a 45 minute survey"…is the statistical analyses you can do with it [made me laugh. there IS an awesome thing? 🙂 ]
– [SAS user 🙂 Have I told you lately….. that I love SAS]
– There were small differences in frequencies between the RDD and web surveys for both wine and beer. averages are very close but significantly different [enter conversation – when does significantly different mean meaningfully different]
– heavy drinking is much much greater on web surveys
– is there social desirability, recall bias 🙂
– not everything lines up perfectly RDD vs web, general trends are the same but point estimates are different
– so how do you know which set of data is true or better?
– regardless, web does not reproduce RDD estimates
– problem now is which data is correct, need multiple samples from the same panel to test
Really Simple Statistics: p values #MRX
Welcome to Really Simple Statistics (RSS). There are lots of places online where you can ponder over the minute details of complicated equations but very few places that make statistics understandable to everyone. I won't explain exceptions to the rule or special cases here. Let's just get comfortable with the fundamentals.
What is a p value?
P value is a short form for probability value and another way of saying significance value. It refers to the chance that you are willing to take in being wrong. (I know, once in your life is too many times to be wrong.)
No matter how careful you are, random chance plays a part in everything. If you try to guess whether you'll get heads or tails when you flip a coin, your chance of guessing correctly is only 50%. Half the time, you'll flip tails even if you wanted to flip heads.
In research, we don't like 50/50 odds. We instead only want to risk that 5% or 1% of our predictions are wrong. And, if you just picked 1% or 5%, you've just picked a peck of picked peppers. Whoops, I mean you've just picked a p value.
P values are almost always expressed out of 1. For example, a p value of 0.05 means you are willing to let 5% of your predictions be wrong. A p value of 0.1 means you are willing to let 10% of them be wrong. Don't let that pesky decimal place fool you. A p value of 0.01 means 1% and a p value of 0.1 means 10%.
When you do a statistical test in software like SPSS or Systat, it will tell you the exact p value associated with your specific set data. For instance, it might indicate that the p value of your result is 0.035, or "Men are significantly taller than women, p=0.035." That means there is a 3.5% chance that men are NOT actually taller than women and this result happened only because of random chance.
Really Simple Statistics!
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Paul the Octopus, Phd in Statistics, Lettered in football
[tweetmeme source="lovestats" only_single=false]The normal curve is an enigma for many people. We speak of good luck and bad luck, hope that we always have good and then curse when it turns out bad. Like when Cinnabon is closed on the same day you forgot to eat breakfast.
So far, Paul the Octopus has had a lot of good luck in predicting World Cup match winners. Perhaps he always goes for the food that is closest to him or the food that is in the best light or the food that moved most live-like or the food next to his preferred tentacle. I'm assuming, of course, that like humans who prefer left or right, Paul too has his own tentacle preferences. I'm also assuming that he isn't juiced up or taking bribes.
Wouldn't it be great fun if someone could collect up all the relevant variables and run some predictive modeling? Time of day, day of week, feeding schedule, lightness, location, direction, colour, and who knows what other selection criteria are of supreme importance to our eight legged friend. What kind of r square do you think we would get? 0.3? 0.8? Woah… too far into geeky stats there.
As fun as it is to listen to the Oracle of Paul, he won't defy the odds. He'll just take his rightful place on the normal distribution whether it's on the extreme right or just slightly to the left of right. But I know we're all hoping for the extreme right.
In Paul we trust.
Read these too


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An exchange about the super exciting ways I spend my free time.
Me: You know, I think having the Aerogarden on all of the time is actually helping my Seasonal Affective Disorder a lot since the lights are so bright.
GC: I think you actually need direct contact with the lights for a certain amount of time for the positive effects to take place.
Me: My face is all up in it frequently, I like watching how fast all of my herbs are growing!
GC: You know you just admitted that you like watching grass grow.


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Raisin and Nut Granola
Call me crunchy, but I love me some granola. Granola and fruit. Granola and milk. Granola and yogurt. Granola just plain ole' by itself. Love it. What I don't love about granola – at least the store-bought kind – is the price. So, as often as I can (as it's a bit of a process), I try to make my own at home. It's really easy, quite healthy for you, and save you boatloads. I've adapted my recipe slightly from the one in Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson (of 101 Cookbooks fame). Her recipes are amazing and she has tons of ideas for making your cooking more natural and healthy – everyday. Hooray! Check it out if you haven't done so already.
I like to use walnuts and slivered almonds in my granola because I really like the flavors and different textures they bring to the mix. Feel free to substitute whatever nut varieties you choose. Or skip the nuts altogether!
Everything except the dried fruit is mixed together before baking. You can add the fruit (raisins, craisins, etc) at the beginning and bake for the full amount of time, but I find that raisins , if baked for too long, will turn really hard and will stick more easily in your teeth. No one likes that! So I usually add them in with about 10 minutes left to bake so that they get slightly cooked but not too hard to eat.
Adding the raisins…
And voila! Easy, cheap, and delicious homemade granola. Be sure to store it in an airtight container or zip top bag to keep it crispy. I keep mine in a large Italian mason-style jar along with the rest of my grains like quinoa, barley and brown rice.
Raisin and Nut Granola – makes about 6 cups
Adapted from the recipe in Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson
4 c Old Fashioned Oats
1 c Walnuts, roughly chopped
1 c Sliced Almonds
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
Zest of 1 Orange
1/3 c Unsalted Butter
1/2 c Light Agave Nectar
1 c Raisins
2-3 tbsp Honey
Preheat the oven to 275°F with racks on the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine the oats, walnuts, almonds, sea salt, and orange zest. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat and stir in the agave. Whisk until combine and the butter is melted then pour over the oat mixture. Stir to ensure that everything is well coated. Divide the mixture evenly between the two baking pans and spread into a thin layer. Bake, stirring a few times, for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the raisins over the baking sheets. Stir the granola and bake again for another 10 minutes, or until the oats are golden brown. Remove from the oven and press down the granola with the back of a spoon to help it clump together. Drizzle with honey and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition Information* (Approximate Values): 310 Calories, 8.5g Fat, 5g Fiber, 10g Protein, 37g Carbohydrates
*Serving size is about 3/4 c granola


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Infrastructure Engineering
There was a time, we felt we need to Bridge the gap between growing demand for quality services and their availability...+ More About Us
The existing practice in Engineering is at some level great but can we apply it? we now look for efficiency, look for speed...+ Explore Services
Engineering on the digital edge and requires testing and implementation... what is the future is, self driven cars, hovercraft or Hyperloop!+ Explore Solutions
Instruments We use
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What We do
Since more than a decade, we have evolved into a an infrastructure consultant of global standard, we have offices countrywide and are expanding our services. We have always remained committed to one clear mission: to provide best design that improves the human condition.View All Services
We believe the accurate Field Investigation and survey, its Quality control, Interpretation, and Analysis forms the basis of any efficient Engineering decision, thereby resulting in cost-effective and sustainable developments. One of our main emphasis is, therefore, to provide services in field investigation and execution, besides Detailed Engineering Design.
Laboratory TestingSoil and Geomechanic Testing Concrete Aggregates Bitumen Rock Test
Our Clients
The key objective of the organization is to seek excellence in every aspect of our work and to ensure that our client's requirement is fully understood and met within budget and programme constrain. BPCIPL provides services to a variety of clients and often leads multidisciplinary teams in projects for Government bodies, state agencies, cities, private clients and reputed organization.
Client speak
BPC has done very satisfactory work for their assignment of DPR. They are honest and innovative in their work.
State Rural Development AgencyWest Bengal, India
We find BPC Consultants dependable for geotechnical works in North East with their long association of the area.
N F Railway Guwahati
Not only have the deliverables/products been of excellent quality, but working with the staff of BPC INDIA has been a delightful experience.
PadecoMumbai, India
BPC has 200 plus strong trained manpower base with Engineers, Technologists, Professionals, and Experts under different Vertical sector.
- BPC INDIA has over the last 15 years demonstrated its track record of technical assistance in a number of infrastructure projects across India
- BPC is now operating in 7 regional office in India including NER and have own workshop and material testing laboratory.
- We are An integration of multidisciplinary organization we are and the growing demand for quality services and care for data handling, we have dedicated client portal where client can access deliverables and can browse past project data.
In over 300 Projects, the company has provided Technical assistance in totality from field to lab to fit into the framework of the analytical design of different elements of transport infrastructure under both Government and Private sectors.
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Finding stylish-design led fashion just got a little easier! One of the main grumblings I've had since jumping onboard with Red Carpet Green Dress, is that a design-led curated selection of ethical fashion is simply not easy enough to find, and when you do stumble upon a store you like the majority of its offerings might not suit your taste. I've long since been on the hunt for sustainable fashion which enables you to make a style statement, and ticks all of the boxes – affordability, wearability and beautiful aesthetic. Now, I'm pleased to say, I need look no further. The ladies of Gather&See have done all the work for us…
Founded by Alicia Taylor and Stephanie Hogg in 2014, Gather&See's carefully pored over sustainable collections (currently over 40 designers strong) hits the sweet spot, bringing together designers with ethical motivations and shoppers looking for more that surface aesthetics. Fast becoming the go-to for eco-on-the-go and occasionwear, the retailer does what is so badly-needed with ease, offering easily digestible edits through The Gatherer online, with interesting focus on Organic, Heritage and an insightful share during Fashion Revolution Week, alongside insightful glimpses behind the scenes of the brands you are shopping, styling tips and thought pieces.
Oh, and as summer approaches, it's certainly worth taking a peek at their Holiday Edit. It features timeless swimwear brand Apricoss, fair trade/made in Ghana and India brand Osei Duro – think stunning traditional prints and lush fabrics of the best quality – and Conditions Apply, modelled by yours truly above, whose collections are made by garment workers paid a living wage, given flexible working hours and offered loan-support if need be to feed a cycle of sustained employment generation.
Gather & See is an outright treasure trove for the conscious consumer and its offering is a thoughtful one; to make the cut designers are meticulously screened, and must live up to at least 3 of the company's 5 founding philosophies – Fair Trade, Organic, Eco-Friendly, Small Scale Production and Heritage. These key tenets of the sustainable fashion movement steer the selection process before brands even make it onto the website. I interviewed co-founder Alicia Taylor, whose growing company has seen customers from over 25 countries and bagged press in The Sunday Telegraph, The Observer and Harper's Bazaar, for my sustainable style series – take a look here.
Kendrick Lamar, Kunta Kente and Vibes. Rocking the flyest wide leg trousers from @GatherandSee – they offer carefully curated collections from the very best in sustainable fashion talent from around the world. Showcasing designers that pride themselves on aesthetics and ethics – more on them next week! I'm in love with their website. Have a good Saturday people – downtime 🙏🏾 New podcast live about Edward Enninful. Link in bio then click LISTEN. 🙏🏾 _______________________________________________________ #WhyITribe #TribeVibes #Outtakes


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What Sets First Class Dental Staffing Apart?
Our service is run by an experienced dental office manager/certified dental assistant with 30-years of experience in dental office operation.
We have an understanding of the dental practice from the inside out. You can be assured that both applicants and dental offices will be of the highest caliber. We aim to match our clients with the most suitable applicants. We pride ourselves on making placements that last. Our referrals are experienced dental professionals that have been interviewed, screened and background reference checks are performed. We know the importance of finding applicants for our clients that have both the technical and interpersonal skills necessary to fill the position.
At First Class Dental Staffing Agency we are always available to assist you with your staffing requirements, even if something should happen at the last minute. We can be reached 7 days a week, your emergency becomes our number one priority!
516-395-4435(24/7 Emergency Service)
We specialize in
- Short term or long term temporary assignments as well as daily temps
- Staff vacation time, sick leave, family emergency & maternity leave
- Permanent part-time and full-time placements
We welcome you to First Class Dental Staffing and look forward to helping both applicants who are looking for employment and dentists who are seeking the very best team members.
Milva Wolfer
Dental Placement Specialist


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WilloWind Energy submitted an application to South Lanarkshire Council on 6th December 2012 for Calla Wind Farm. It was proposed that Calla Wind Farm would consist of up to 6 wind turbines.
On 17th December 2013 South Lanarkshire Council rejected the proposal. WilloWind Energy had considered submitting an appeal but after a detailed review, WilloWind Energy has decided to undertake a comprehensive reappraisal of the application with a view to submitting a revised application for a smaller scheme.
Further information will be provided once this assessment has been finalised.


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If you're reading this blog on a regular basis like you should, you're aware that my best friend Harvey passed away this past November. But you're probably unaware that April, Harv's widow, has created a pretty superb blog of her own titled Running Rocks. Check it out.
hornswoggle [hawrn-swog-uhl] v. Slang. to swindle, cheat, hoodwink or hoax
June Carter Cash (1929), Clarence Thomas (1948), Glenn Danzig (1955), Frances McDormand (1957), Joss Whedon (1964), Jason Mraz (1977)
About two weeks back, I decided to watch more news-type TV programs. The decision was completely arbitrary. I didn't feel as if I was ill-informed and was perfectly capable of participating in conversations involving current events. And although some people who know me maintain I'm a liberal (which I'm not admitting to), I thought why not watch everything from every side of the fence? At the very least, it'd be informative and I'd come out on the other end a more knowledgeable person and feel better knowing more of the world around me.
But I don't feel better at all. At least not yet.
Sure, I know that the current health status of the president of Yemen is not very good. I know that Republicans love to procreate. I know that we're going to finally start pulling troops out of Afghanistan. I know that Prince Harry is into his brother's new wife's sister. I know that I don't want to live in Greece. I know all that and much more.
But I'm not getting the satisfaction I thought I would. Watching all this news is muddling. And I'm fully cognizant that it might be my fault. I may be over-analyzing what I'm viewing but I can't help it. I mean, everyone's got a motive. It's not only the national media and their eschewed coverage but even local newscasts run segments on its parent network's reality shows.
So-called "news" is, on every level from top to bottom, simply promotion of one kind or another. They're pushing angles, manipulating facts, steering interviews, etc., shooting for targets of all sizes. It's murky, smoke-and-mirrors type shit, designed to over-stimulate and cause fear.
Granted, it's not all that bad. The other day there was a story about a rescue cat who saved a woman's life. That was kind of cool.
No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth ↔ Robert Southey
Caution: Hipsters will want to look away. Despite my dislike of Coldplay (I mean, c'mon, their new EP is titled Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall), I've always loved "Fix You." And this version from The Voice's Javier Colon is worthy of some notice here.
→ Comcast has reintroduced The Slowskys ad campaign. In case you're wondering where I stand on this issue, I'm pro. Very very pro.
→ Good for Lappy, one of the all-time great guys to ever don a Flyers' sweater. Definitely could've used him last season.
→ All right, people, allow this guy to rest in peace. Let's move on.
→ Set your DVRs. The second season of Louie starts tonight on FX. I'll also be checking out Wilfred.


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August 2017
chicagotaxteam.com | (312) 664-6649 |150 N Michigan Ave #1120, Chicago, Illinois 60601
DRAG IT THROUGHTHE GARDEN How I Promote the Firm, Chicago Style
Believe it or not, I was not born an attorney. No one is. It's a long and sometimes arduous journey to get here. One of the things that makes my story unique is my stop as "The Hot Dog Guy."
special events. It's a fun promotion because I get to be out there meeting people face to face and having conversations, and they get the best Chicago hot dog.
Recently, the law firm gave away 210 Chicago hot dogs at Joe Walsh's annual picnic. You know Joe Walsh — former congressman and host of the nationally syndicated "Joe Walsh Show." I advertise on Joe's Chicago show, and he is a good friend of mine. This was the second year that our law firm gave away real Chicago hot dogs to his listeners and guests. Maybe you are asking yourself the most important question: How good are the Rock & Roll hot dogs? Well, they are the very best Chicago-style hot dogs because we use the very best Vienna beef No. 10 dogs. You've probably heard the expression "drag it through the garden," meaning "load it up with everything" — mustard (no ketchup, please), relish, diced onions, sliced tomatoes, sliced pickles, sport peppers, and celery salt. Now, I'm not a hot dog snob. If you want ketchup, I will include it. You should eat the hot dog the way you like it (even my wife puts ketchup on her hot dog). As life goes on, we tend to leave things behind — everything from hobbies to friends. Maybe something that you're looking for in life is something you lost along the way. Maybe it can help you on your journey, just like my hot dog stand still does for me. I'll tell you about our Halloween special in another issue.
When I was working my way through college 25 years ago, I bought a hot dog stand. I was working as an iron worker at the time, and the hot dog stand was a perfect addition. I could work my own hours and be my own boss. I sold hot dogs at Clark & Ontario, right across from the Rock & Roll McDonalds in River North. I named my stand the Rock & Roll Hot Dog Stand. I sold hot dogs on the weekends from 10 at night until the bars closed, and business was pretty good. I made a killing off the late-night bar crowd. Rock & Roll hot dogs got me through college. Since I became an attorney, I don't have to sell hot dogs anymore. But I believe our past is a part of us, and if we can incorporate our past experiences into our daily work, it brings our life around full circle. That's why I use my hot dog stand to promote my activities now, 25 years later. The hot dog stand sat idle for some years. I thought of selling it, but there is no real value in a used hot dog stand. Besides, my kids and family loved the hot dog stand and the hot dogs. Then, I realized that the Rock & Roll
Hot Dog Stand would be a great way to promote the law firm.
The law firm gives away hot dogs at
– Steven Leahy
community occasions, church functions, and
(312) 664-6649www.chicagotaxteam.com
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To illustrate today's blog, here are some pictures of our journey from Gretna Green to Glencoe. It took us about half a day, driving via Glasgow, along the banks of Loch Lomond – where we picnicked at the Falls of Falloch and had our picture taken by one of the national park rangers there – but we made very good time.
Our hotel was "okay", drawing on its stunning location for its 4 stars rather than its own service. It was very clean and tidy, but the bed (or 2 pushed together) was a bit uncomfortable down the middle and we had a 5-mile hike to anywhere in the hotel – pool, restaurant, reception, etc – and the room was a bit chilly. But the location was faultless and the food was very good. (Postscript: Okay, so it may not have been quite 5 miles really …)
We stayed in the Isles of Glencoe Hotel in Ballachulish for 3 nights and I'll write more about our few days there when I post those pictures. Meanwhile, back to the blog …
We'd promised ourselves at least one do-diddle-day over the weekend and that day turned out to be Saturday. We'd worked out that we hadn't had a lie-in for about 4 weeks, because even on holiday we had to get up for breakfast. But we were still up by 10am, pottering around.
We nipped out to get some bits and bobs, and when we got back we walked up to the lake with the dog and had a chat with the one and only angler there that day.
On Saturday evening we headed off to find a cinema we've never been to before, Cineworld at Sheffield, and decided we'd definitely be back. Parking was difficult, but there were plenty of restaurants to choose from, and we ended up in our old favourite, Pizza Express, because our film was starting at 8:20pm and we know we can always rely on them to get us in and out in time whenever we go.
We went to see Big Game, starring Samuel L Jackson, and had to go there because it wasn't on at any of our other regular cinemas. We were very impressed with the amount of seating room we had, and the cleanliness of the place and general good service.
Sunday morning we were up and off to Birmingham to see my parents, to take them our souvenirs for them from Cyprus, and to do the same on the way home for the poet's parents in Doncaster.
This also gave us the chance to show them all both the wedding pictures and the holiday pictures, as I took the tablet/notebook switch.
Yesterday was a bank holiday for us, and so we went "window shopping" for new settees (as the old ones are nearly 10 years old now and not doing our backs any favours), a new bed (as I think we both need a proper divan now to support our aching, ageing bones) and a trailer tent (because we want to hitch up and take off at a moment's notice and I can't really sleep on the floor in the dome tent for longer than 1 day).
I say "window shopping", but we ended up buying 2 out of 3, and they should be delivered in 7 – 10 days. That's the bed and the settees. We couldn't find a single showroom in the area for trailer tents so may go off to Manchester next weekend to have a look there instead.
On Saturday my lovely new 2015 – 2016 academic year diary arrived, and when we got home I spent a few hours filling that in with birthdays, bank holidays and Monkey Dust gigs we already have in.
And so to today, when we're both back at work. It's a short week and I have a lot to pack in. I'm starting a new edit, which has a deadline date of 3 June, and I'm cracking on with the writing. So keep an eye on those progress meters in the sidbar.
Enjoy the pictures. 🙂


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So long as we keep expecting that what funnels through public discourse are choices that lead to results we are stuck in the nightmare fantasy of control. Brexit. Trump versus Clinton. All of the day's public questions are mired in manipulations. We remain complicit so long as we feel we must make the choice our… Continue reading The fantasy of control
Tag: Warfare and Conflict
"Never Forget!" A recipe for psychosis
Today is an anniversary. A day we have been entreated for fourteen years now to never forget. An insistent cry that was already there, ready-made from previous assaults on American Exceptionalism. A vehemence that has had little to do with remembering the loss of life and everything to do with justifying aggression. This phenomena is… Continue reading "Never Forget!" A recipe for psychosis
It's a crime, part II
Must we be pure? Whenever we confront the depths of our corruption we hear this whining plea. Ego deflates us, How can I meet such a standard? A false question. We are what we are. We will do what we feel we must do. What is in question is what do these questions mean? Who… Continue reading It's a crime, part II
Our Predicament is Both Tangible and Elusive
We stand at a portal of transition, neither here nor there. The things we do to maintain our selves this day and what will keep us going farther down our track have little in common. Our predicament could be said to lie right at this point of divergence. What works – however poorly – today… Continue reading Our Predicament is Both Tangible and Elusive
Peeling away layers of Ego I found anger and disappointment blocking the way to compassion. There's another block hiding beneath them, contempt. We see it all around us. This is a society choking on contempt. Every faction and group is held together by the contempt in which it holds the rest. The path to anger,… Continue reading Contempt
There is a pressure on every interaction we have. A push. Sometimes an impatience to get to a result. Sometimes a leeriness that we are being manipulated. Sometimes a form of disappointment in advance, an expectation that things will not go well. Taken together we might call the result anxiety. Meta-worry another cause to add… Continue reading Violence
Being Stuck
Déjà Vu is a common experience for those stuck in abusive situations. We find that the current crisis looks much like the last. No amount of feigned surprise, or pronounced insistence from the abusers that, "This time is different!" can shake the feeling we've been here before. And, most likely, we'll be here again. If we… Continue reading Being Stuck
I've long had a sense that the story of the Twentieth Century is hidden behind the stories that century's victors told about themselves. World Wars, I and II, were not what they appeared. Actually, they were more what they appear to be and less what was so shrilly repeated about them in an attempt to… Continue reading History
"Why Is It Important for You That History Have a Direction?"
This question is asked by John Michael Greer in a reply to a comment on his most recent post. He has been slogging through the log-jam of our cultural resistance to abandoning the bi-polar insistence that we are bound either to Heaven or Hell, Utopia or dystopia. That if we cannot have our heart's desire… Continue reading "Why Is It Important for You That History Have a Direction?"
Political Failure, a Clarification
There's a critical piece missing from the last post. That is, what does political failure entail? If we look at it from within the assumptions of "the game," the conclusion that what is needed and inevitable is a grand failure will be misunderstood. Saying that any one leader, any one party should fail, is just… Continue reading Political Failure, a Clarification
Argo F… Yourself!
We do what we're good at. Propaganda shows the violence of hegemon's victims while hiding the violence they react against. Today's propaganda has a willing audience and volunteers lining up to provide it. No need for a dark "Ministry of Propaganda," or "Palace of Truth." In this heyday it can even afford to play with… Continue reading Argo F… Yourself!
Coherence is Provisional
Ideology works through the process of consensus. Someone's ideas gain followers and a movement is born to support these ideals and find ways to garner wider support; either through negotiated agreement or through some form of overt or covert coercion. Some movements gain broad support. Others limp along, held in high regard by a few… Continue reading Coherence is Provisional


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As a developer myself, whenever I read a set of patch notes or a feature blog post, I'm always interested in the details behind the note. We try to make our notes a little more specific than the infamous "Various bug fixes and improvements" when we can, but there's always a deeper story behind that one line of text. For this Dispatch beta period, we're going to release a series of developer-centric blog posts to provide some more context to those who are interested in the direction of Dispatch.
If you are light on time, our recently released patch notes will tell you about the new features we've made and the old ones we've retired. Our GpsGate blog posts will explain how our new features can help your business and fulfill your customers' needs.
These developer blog posts are designed to provide some extra insight on the creation of the plugin for those looking for more technical details or the intent behind the various features and are purely optional reading material.
In the coming weeks we will have some deep dives on the design and the implementation of our various key features touching on topics like our new native apps, our route management and optimisation, the analysis panel and our developer APIs.
This week we'll be looking at our motivations for redesigning both the server and the user interface of Dispatch.
Let's start at the very beginning.
The main motivation for this redesign of the Dispatch plugin was to address 3 key issues that we were having with Dispatch 4.
- Performance
- The resistance involved in creating new features
- Usability of the UI at scale
Performance is one of the simplest concepts to understand in software for both users and developers. While using the features of the program, everything should work responsively and not stutter and stop when it's stressed. To get to this level of usability in modern software with its terabytes of data flying around between thousands of interlinked features, performance, for developers becomes a never-ending quest and a state of mind.
In a piece of software, the very slowest component immediately becomes your performance bottleneck. It's obvious when you think about it. Who cares if the server is flying at 88 miles per hour if your user interface is immediately choked by the data it's getting. If your data storage takes a long time to load your data, every subsequent component is waiting around idle.
To achieve good performance, every aspect of the system between the user's screen and the store with your data needs to be designed in a way that does not block anything else. Every time you implement a fix or feature, you need to consider how it will work when there is a lot of data and a lot of users. If you do this in every aspect of your system, then you can have good performance.
GpsGate Server is used by many different types of partner and solves so many business cases that we won't ever be able to add every feature that everyone would like. Despite this, we have a strong commitment to working with our partners and turning their feedback into features whenever we can. We typically have a much faster turnaround time on features and fixes than most software developers and we look for opportunities to design our systems in a way that can help us with this goal. It's important to us that Dispatch provides a platform that aids our ability to be responsive with updates and we saw an opportunity to make it better at this with Dispatch 5.
When a large system is working smoothly and there are no performance issues, the next thing to address is whether the data that you can serve to the user is useful. If your system can display 1 million items to the user, can they use that information in a meaningful way? There's a chance that you're just making a lot of noise that is hard to interpret. For the performance to be meaningful the system needs a way of displaying all the information that will help the user the most, while ideally having the rest of the data close at hand.
The concept of usability is a very complex one and is best addressed in discussions about specific features. We will leave this topic for the posts about our features in the coming week and instead concentrate on performance and adaptability.
These two concepts are unrelated at first glance but it turns out that a shift in design can help you in solving both at once.
Traditionally the best way of gaining performance has been by optimising code to do as little work as it can to achieve the goal that you want. The fewer operations that the processor must perform, the faster it will go. If your processor is faster, it can do more operations in a certain time and the faster your software will go. Both principles still hold true and are still valuable tools to improve performance but in a modern system there are a massive amount of operations taking place at once. Very quickly you will hit a point of optimisation and server capacity that can't really be tweaked all that much better.
With the increase in complexity of systems come more moving parts in the system. This is a blessing as well as a curse. A lot of the functionality of these smaller parts don't need to be very connected to each other aside from when they start and when they finish. With this in mind, it's almost always possible to break each small part of the system down into a self-contained little black box that only needs two things outside of their own world. When they start an operation, they will need to be given instructions and data to process, and when they finish they'll need to tell some other part what they managed to produce.
The Server
In Dispatch 5 we have rewritten the server back end to use a message-driven architecture. All the system has been split into smaller parts that do their own work and spring to life when they are sent a message telling them to do something. When they are finished, they send a message to the other parts that will want to know about the result, who in turn can act on this message.
Breaking the system down into very self-contained parts like this creates a small amount of extra work compared to extremely optimised code that directly links into parts of other systems to bypass a few redundant operations. In exchange for losing a few extreme optimisations you get many benefits:
- The code to deal with each part of the system is completely separated from other aspects of the system. This instantly solves a lot of our concerns about making sure that the system can be updated and fixed easily. You can change inside one feature without causing a lot of side effects.
- The code to run an operation of a certain type has nothing to do with other parts of the system. They communicate only by sending a message to each other when a message is ready. This means that we get access to "asynchrony†when it makes sense; the ability to run the code at the same time as another operation without waiting for the other operation to finish. Asynchronous programming is not a new concept and GpsGate Server has taken advantage for it for years, but a message-driven architecture allows asynchrony without adding a lot of the complexity that comes with traditional asynchronous programming.
- As we just created some asynchrony we now also have scalability. Instead of trying to supercharge our processor even more, we can just throw more processor cores at the workload and benefit from them. An operation can run on any free resource and fall asleep when it's either waiting for a message that it needs, or has no work to do, freeing up the resources for another operation.
- As all our processes communicate with passing messages we don't need to stop at multiple cores. We can have the different parts, usually called micro-services, live on different servers that are tailored to what they're trying to achieve. A server with a lot of disk storage for the database and a lot of processor power for the route optimisation, for example. GpsGate 5 now has support for the track store running on a cluster of these servers and in the future Dispatch will also be able to be scaled to a cluster that you can tailor for your business case.
The Interface
Things have subtly changed on the server now. In a message-driven architecture you should no longer start an operation and wait for a response. Waiting is a waste of time as the part of the system you are communicating with will send you a message when it's finished. If you would like, you can even ask it to stream messages to you as it finishes each part of an operation.
This concept is something that we want to exploit on the interface side. Using HTML5 server sent events we can split up our server communication logic to be two different systems. One system sends requests to the server when the user wants to do something or wants more data. One system processes any incoming data that is received from the server. This means that operations in the interface finish immediately and release control back to the user. It also means that the instant the server is finished processing some data, it can inform all the connected clients - web or app - that the new information is available. This messaging happens without leaving any processes sitting waiting for responses on the client side. As there are no processes waiting, it also means that on the server side you don't need to have an operation that is sitting and waiting for the response data for each request that is sent in. Now you don't have a server that is being choked by lots of longer running requests.
As well as the communication with the server being rewritten, our web interface refresh and new apps are designed to work with large amounts of data. A lot of effort has been put into making sure that with this increase in server responsiveness, the user interface can keep up.
We will share more details about the interface in the upcoming blogs.
What is next?
Throughout the beta period for our live Dispatch 5 release we will be concentrating on fixing bugs and tuning the performance even more based on our own testing and feedback from all our beta testers. We are proud of our new system but we're not ready to call it finished. There will be glitches and bugs and we'll be working to get them smoothed out.
Alongside bug fixing, the development team will be making sure that all the features listed in our Known Issues patch notes section are included in the plugin and working before we go live.
Our design team is working on constant improvements to both the user interface and the wider user experience for GpsGate Server and their efforts will be debuted in Dispatch 5 as soon as they are ready. Other plugins might take some time to be updated but Dispatch 5 will be at the front of the line.
While the beta period is ongoing we have some of the team working on our first major feature release. Our current plan is to have a beta build ready very soon after Dispatch 5 is released to the update channel. We will share more about our first feature patch nearer to the end of our beta, but it will introduce some very requested features such as the ability to add media to Dispatch custom fields and a more powerful search functionality in the Dispatch panel.
Feedback group
We will be releasing blog posts during the beta phase highlighting new and upcoming features for Dispatch 5, but we are also running a Dispatch 5 beta feedback group. Members of our beta feedback group will get emails with the developer deep dive posts, be assigned specific feature feedback assignments to communicate with the developers and be a part of shaping the development of Dispatch 5 for our first feature patch and beyond!
Our first round of specific feedback gathering will be targeted at our Mobile apps so sign up now if you haven't already!
Sign up to our beta feedback group here.
Andrew is a developer at GpsGate in Stockholm. He works mostly on designing systems for GpsGate 5 and in his spare time enjoys trail hiking to the fridge.


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Regency Apartments is a beautiful renovated building with elevator access. Apartment suites on upper levels provide balconies for those who enjoy relaxing outside or BBQ'ing. Located in close proximity to the hospital and local college, Regency offers 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartment suites.
Resident insurance is now included on all new leases, ask our leasing team for more information!


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Single Review – Shop Boyz: Party Like A Rock Star
Die hard hip-hop fans, don't be fooled by the title. The Shop Boyz are an Atlanta (ATL) based group, and are the latest assemblage to take the scene by storm. The group consists of, Demetrius "Meanie" Hardin, Richard "Fat" Stevens and Rasheed "Sheed" Hightower.
The Shop Boyz combine hip-hop, crunk, and rap to produce what they have trademarked as 'Hood Rock'. The single 'Party Like A Rock Star' taken from their latest album Rockstar Mentality, has exploded into the clubs, and is rising up the billboard charts rapidly.
The Shop Boyz vocals are similar in sounding to that of D4L, however their tunes pack a punch proving they cannot be pigeon holed, or directly compared to anyone else in the game. Conversely, the fusion of genres is reminiscent of the Run DMC & Aerosmith duet entitled – 'Walk This Way'.
The single is a big club tune – full of energy and diversity, it should be added to your collection immediately. The remix featuring Lil Wayne, Chamillionaire & Jim Jones is equally as good as the single, and can be found on track two of the single.
Click Here To Listen To – Shop Boyz: Party Like A Rock Star
[Issue #47 09/2007 – Young Voices Magazine]
Photo Source: – Album Artwork Wikimedia
Photo Source:- Mr Static


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With everything you need for a relaxing bath, this bathroom essentil gift set from Bubble T Cosmetics is sure to please any bath lover.
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Sold Out $64.00
Get to know me
The Red Chained Charmed Dress features large puff sleeves, wrap skirt detailing, mock neck and zip closure.
Color: Red Chains
Note: This style ships within 1-2 weeks of ordering. Your card will not be charged until your order ships.Details:
- Fabric: Poly
- Dry Clean
- Imported
- Model is 5ft 10 inches, Bust is 32", Waist is 24", Hips are 34"
- Model is wearing a size S
- Fits True to Size


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We are really excited about providing training days for people to learn, gain and practice new skills, knowledge and experiences. We aim for the days to be fun and engaging while helping people take leanings away that they can implement, helping to improve and enjoy running.
We have a choice of two separate days, one more specifically designed around trail running, skills and sessions to help, the other for those who would like to move up to or improve upon their longer distance skills, although called an Ultra training day it is also suitable for those who want to progress up to longer trail distances such as marathon
The excellent location and facilities at the Yorkshire cycle hub and surrounding moors make for a perfect venue where we can mix practical training and theory in a comfortable environment, with a cafe on hand to keep us all fed and watered.


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Hi everybody, I decided to put my work and the work of my students the WolbPack also on this blog as I can alert people on updates here and also post other thoughts related to our work. Please look under Academic Life: Gregor Wolbring and Academic Life of my students: The WolbPack for all the info about my work and the work of my students.
Cheers Gregor


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This Warranty comes on every vehicle we sell, New or Used.
This Lifetime Powertrain Warranty covers your internally lubricated parts within the engine block, cylinder head(s), transmission case, transfer case and the front and/or rear drive axle housings. We cover fluids and Filters such as coolant, fluids, lubricants and filters when required in connection with the repair or replacement of a covered part.
So what that means to you is, on almost any big repair that correlates with the items mentioned above is covered for the life you have the vehicle! No mile limitations, no time limitations, just you and the open road!
We believe this is how car buying should be, and this is cay buying done right. Learn more by coming in and talking to our Finance and Insurance team to see if this is the right fit for you, your budget and your family.
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