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Reiner Knizia is one of the most prolific and well-respected Eurogame designers. When I look at the games in my collection, there is a very wide range of designers. Among the games that I like a lot, I find that most of them are designed by different designers. Reiner Knizia is the only designer whose games I own, and like, at a disproportionate ratio, compared to games by other designers.
Knizia's design style pretty much encapsulates the Eurogame design philosophy - simple and streamlined rules, short playing time, clever mechanisms and meaningful decisions. Knizia does have his own unique style of game design. There are more intricacies that make his games different from those by other designers. So what makes me like so many of his games, compared to other designers?
The first thing that attracts me to Knizia's game is the simple rules. It is not the simplicity itself that attracts me. When I first learn about a Knizia game, I read the rules or reviews and I can quickly understand how the game plays. Some of his games are quite clever. So once I obtained a quick understanding of how the game works, I am interested to give it a try. I have home-made quite a number of Knizia games. Because of the rule simplicity of many of his games, it is sometimes quite easy to home-make them. E.g. En Garde just needs a simple board, 2 player pieces, 2 scoring markers, and cards numbered 1 to 5. Simplicity brings me in, but simplicity itself cannot make me stay. There are many other elements of Knizia's designs that make me like his games.
Many of Knizia's games are very clever. There is often a unique game mechanism, something that makes you think, "This is ingenious!". En Garde is a very simple game about fencing. Yes through the simple rules and game play, you can really see how much it feels like fencing - the bluffing, the positioning of your pawn, guessing your opponent's hand of cards, taking a risk when moving into "attack range" of your opponent. Clever! When I read the rules of Medici vs Strozzi, a 2-player-only version of Medici (which is a 3-6 player game), I was very impressed with how Knizia managed to create this 2-player version of an auction game, which really does work, and yet has so many similarities to it's predecessor. Later when I played Medici vs Strozzi, I found that it felt different from Medici, and the strategies were different. I like Medici more. But still, I am very impressed with the design of Medici vs Strozzi.
Because of the simple rules, many of Knizia's games are easy to learn, and players can also quickly learn the strategies. It is fun to discover and explore a game, to try different tactics and see which ones work under which situations. Blue Moon City is a game like this. New players can quickly catch on, and sometimes even win the game. It happened to both Ricky and Jeanne in their first games, when they played with others who have played the game before. It is rewarding and satisfying to be able to understand a game quickly and be able to learn and apply the tricks quickly. Streamlined, clean and intuitive rules definitely help in this regard. Being easy to learn and to pick up strategies does not necessary mean a game is too simple and shallow. Sometimes a game simple on the surface can still offer some unexpected depth. It still offers players some nuances to be discovered through more plays. Modern Art, a game about auctioning pieces of art and then selling them, seems straight-forward enough. A player can quickly learn to calculate what are the possible values of a painting, even in his/her first game. However, as he/she plays a bit more, he/she will start to discover the importance of guessing which artists the other players are betting on, guaging the relative positions against other players, thinking about whether it is better to earn money up front when auctioning off own paintings or to earn money at the end of a round when selling all previously bought paintings.
Some Knizia games are very subtle. There is a lot of depth that is not immediately apparent. Sometimes the game can even seem boring at first try. However, if you give it a few more tries, you will gradually find out and appreciate the beauty of the design. Tower of Babel is one such game. On your turn, you only have two options - you draw a card, or you attempt to build part of one of the wonders of the world, and other players may offer to help you. The reward for successfully building part of a wonder is either you collect a token, or you place your influence on the wonder. Players score points by 3 main ways (there are others): (a) when a wonder is completed, (b) when your kind offer to help build a wonder gets rejected, and (c) at game end depending on the tokens you have collected. Although the basic game turn is so simple (so simple that in fact it can feel repetitive), there is a lot of subtlety in where you want to focus, how to maximise your score, and how to hinder your opponents.
Most of Knizia's games have some form of luck. In most of them, despite the luck element, there are many ways for you to mitigate the luck. So you feel that your luck does not determine whether you win or lose, but it is how well you manage your luck and how well you manage your risks that determines whether you win or lose. At one end of the spectrum there are games like
Pickomino, a simple dice game, where I would say there is a lot of luck, you still have meaningful decisions to make, so you still feel you are partly responsible for your win or loss. At the other end of the spectrum, you have games like Lord of the Rings, where there is still a lot of luck element (what kind of event tiles you draw, what die rolls you make - but you don't roll very frequently, what cards you draw etc), but there are so many things that you can do to maximise your chance of winning and to reduce your risk. You are making the decisions about what risks to take, considering the potential rewards as well as the potential penalties. Of course, if you have really really bad luck, you probably will still lose the game. In such games, the luck element creates replayability. You'll face different challenges and experience different stories when you play the game.
I find Knizia games are very well refined - well polished, well balanced. I have never come across any Knizia game that I felt could have been improved further, even for some of the games that I do not fancy. There are no rough edges or glaring issues. Knizia's works emanate professionalism. They are very well crafted. Everything is there for a reason. I have heard of a phrase which is applied to physics / science, which goes something like, "A theory should be expressed in the simplest form, and no more simpler". I see this in Knizia's design. This, is elegance. Amun-Re is one of Knizia's more complex games, about pyramid building, farming and worshipping along the Nile. It has a number of distinct elements, like auctions to buy provinces, and blind bidding when worshipping the sun god Amun-Re (where you can even decide to steal money from Amun-Re's temple). However everything is crafted very well and comes together as a game that really works.
One of the great things in Knizia's games is the tension, the angst, the frustration. All these fantastic keywords related to one important element - decisions. You have a choice. You make the decisions. You decide how big a risk to take, considering the potential rewards / penalties. Making meaningful decisions is, to me, one of the most important elements of a good boardgame. Knizia's games not only has that, but also often put in a lot of excitement into this decision-making. In a game as simple as Lost Cities, you can sometimes find yourself so torn between whether to bite the bullet and start an expedition, because your three handshake (investment) cards may mean a highly successful expedition, but you may also be heading for doom if your opponent is actually secretly holding many high value cards of that suit. In Taj Mahal and Beowulf: The Legend you spend your cards hoping to be the player with the most number of certain symbols and thus being able to win the rewards you have been eyeing. However, each card played is spent and cannot be taken back, even if you eventually lose to an opponent, who just so happened to have 1 more symbol than your 12 symbols. Ooooh... that is just painful. I have more than once played Lord of the Rings (a game I really really like) where winning or losing came down to that one last event tile draw. Sometimes you can feel your heart beating and your nerves twitching as your hand approach that fateful tile. Ra has a push-your-luck / gambling element. There are moments when you are about to win a decent set of 5 or 6 tiles, and yet you are so tempted to pull yet another tile from the bag, hoping to get a very valuable tile, but you are also so scared of pulling a Ra tile, which would end the round and make you lose those 5 or 6 tiles.
Many people feel that Knizia's games have a very thin theme, "the theme is pasted on", or the theme doesn't really tie with the game mechanics. I do not really agree with this. I think people have this feeling because he tends to try to simplify and streamline his rules as much as possible, thus many concepts / thematic elements become quite abstracted. To me, a solid game mechanic is more important than an interesting theme. Right now I'd say the importance is 70% vs 30%.
Here's a list of games by Reiner Knizia that I own.
- Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation (and the Deluxe version, which contains a variant game designed by other people, which, unfortunately, I didn't quite like)
- Lord of the Rings
- Lord of the Rings - Friends & Foes expansion
- Lord of the Rings - Sauron expansion
- Lord of the Rings - Battlefields expansion
- Traumfabrik (Hollywood Blockbuster) - self made
- Through the Desert - self made but later bought anyway
- Amun-Re
- Lost Cities
- Blue Moon City
- Euphrat & Tigris
- Modern Art - self made but later bought anyway
- Ra - self made (a LOT of work!) but later bought anyway
- Medici
- Ingenious
- Samurai - self made
- Battle Line - self made
- Tower of Babel
- Loco - don't really own this, but I play it using Sticheln cards
- Pickomino
- Medici & Strozzi - self made
- En Garde - self made
- Poison - self made
- Kingdoms - self made
- Taj Mahal
- Beowulf: The Legend
There's one quote of Reiner Knizia that I quite like, and I made it part of my blog. Scroll to the bottom.


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You know that distinctive smell that assaults your nostrils the moment you walk into a bathroom. The smell of rotten eggs. The smell of sulphur.
Why is that sewer smell in your home? Ewww. Nasty.
What is going on?
Is something wrong with the plumbing?
Is that smell from the sewer line?
What can you do about it? Call a plumber and hope it's not a major, costly repair at your home?
The pungent smell of rotten eggs or sewer gas in your home is alarming from a sensory perspective but it is not catastrophic. It is something you can investigate and solve on your own or, if you prefer, you can call a plumber for help pinpointing the origin of the rotten egg smell and what to do about it.
In this post we take a look at the annoying rotten egg smell — what it is and what's causing it.
Read more: What Is That Rotten Egg Smell: A Plumbing Mystery
Chances are that sometime, when you least expect it, your water heater will stop heating water and you're up the proverbial creek without a paddle. The statistics say so.
Energy.gov estimates about 27 million U.S. households have a water heater 10 to 12 years old and, since the life expectancy of storage water heaters (the most popular type in residential homes) is 10 to 15 years tops, a bunch of water heaters are going to be replaced in the next few years. Your's may be one.
In the conclusion to our Introduction to Water Heaters, we take a closer look at two of the most popular water heater types — storage tank and tankless — and conclude with water heater issues, a few maintenance tips, and simple ways to reduce water heating bills.
Plumbing is the most volatile system in the home. You use water daily to take showers and baths, to flush toilets, to wash clothes, to cook with, and to water the yard in the spring and summer.
Because water is distributed throughout the home it touches many locations and surrounding areas — bathrooms, counters, kitchens, floors, refrigerators, the laundry room, and outside. With so much daily use and many touch points, there's greater potential for things to go wrong that at some point you'll need to call a plumber or plumbing contractor.
The new Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards for water heaters went into effect this spring with some discomfort to homeowners.
Yes, replacing an existing water heater will cost more, but how much depends on the equipment and technology chosen.
What you get in return for that extra dinero is moderate-to-significant energy efficiency, again depending on the equipment and technology chosen.
In this post we look at the impact of the new DOE water heater efficiency standards, the types of equipment available to homeowners, and purchase considerations.
If you have any questions regarding the new standards and what it means for your home, discuss with your plumber or plumbing contractor. Some plumbers even specialize in "water heaters."
Plumbing is the one system in your home that can malfunction at any time, in any number of places, for any number of reasons.
For comparison, your air conditioner cycles on and off a several times a day. Your only real interaction with the AC is setting the thermostat and remembering to change the air filter, unless it's time for seasonable maintenance and service. As long as homeowners use a professional contractor for checkups once or twice a year, the AC should hum along nicely.
But that's not the case with residential plumbing. There are so many "touch points" for plumbing in your home that any problem can arise at any time. A running toilet. Leaky faucets. A pipe that bursts.
Most of the time residents are unaware that their behavior and activity may be causing plumbing problems, which remain unseen until something happens that warrants a call to an area plumber or plumbing contractor for emergency repair.

subset: commoncrawl


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Next "Taste of Design" Meeting is Wednesday, Sept 6th at 8:30am.
Thanks to all those who joined us last week for the first Taste of Design planning meeting. This year we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Taste of Design with the theme, "Designing Our Future". The event will be held on Saturday November, 18th.
• Silent Auction- collecting, organizing and inputting items
Our next meeting is on Wednesday, September 6th at 8:30am. If you cannot join us but you are interested in volunteering, please contact Amy Simons at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Thank you!


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It may seem like just a dream to have an A-lister attending one of your company get-togethers, but it's actually not that difficult to hire a highly sought after personality, and it's probably not as expensive as you may think.
Having a celeb show up to give a motivational or thought provoking speech can be one of the best morale boosts in any company, and is the main event at most corporate functions. It's now quite easy to hire one of them to attend your formal bash, as long as you have the dough.
Even prestigious establishments are getting in on the act, like Will Ferrell's hilarious visit to Harvard in 2003:
There are a whole host of companies that cater for celeb services, often known as a celebrity speakers bureau or a booking service. They basically arrange a time and place and take care of all the relevant details.
You may be thinking that the celebrities available will probably just be scraping the barrel in terms of fame. Well you'd be surprised at some of the people who do corporate gigs, like Kim Kardashian, Christian Bale, Rihanna, need I go on? There is a plethora on offer running into the tens of thousands.
It's a good idea to visit a site like the BAFTA's official webpage:
And check out some videos of celebs in action, otherwise it can feel a little bit like a kid in a candy shop.
The speaker fees vary depending on the type of celeb you pick, the duration and type of event, as well as what exactly you'd like them to do. Some speakers are professionals at delivering powerful and inspiring keynotes — Imagine Kanye West helping push your company to the next level, or Katy Perry on creating and maintaining passion in your business.
Having a celeb at your event isn't just an investment in morale but also a fiendishly clever marketing tool. Think about it, many of these celebs have a huge following online on places like YouTube and Twitter. Having a celeb at an event has the potential to bring in thousands of would-be clients! And by simply posting a YouTube video can help expose your company to millions of eyeballs.
A corporate event takes a lot of planning and entertainment is the most difficult part to pull off. Having a celeb take care of this means you're free to organize the rest of the gig.
With so many positives it's a no-brainer to hire a celebrity for your event, so what's the down side? Well in short, availability. Most A-List celebrities like Johnny Depp have an extremely tight schedule and get booked up very quickly, with some booked pretty much the whole year. As long as you treat it like an ongoing marketing strategy and organize it in advance, the chances are very high that you'll get the celeb you want.
One thing to note is to choose a celeb to fit the event. If it's a somber affair, picking a comedian probably wouldn't be the wisest choice. If the company needs a morale boost, than a successful celeb can give your staff a much needed lift in spirits.
People listen to celebs and follow them obsessively, they're natural born leaders and having one at your event will forever attach them to your brand. It will be something employees will never forget.


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Today, in honor of the feast day of St. George, England's patron saint, I am writing about that "veddy" British of traditions ~ tea. But not just any tea, rather tea with a historical twist ...
First a bit of family history ...
Tea has always had a special place in my family; growing up it was always Irish tea and it was always served in my grandmother's (now my) Irish china. As my boys grew, I wanted to continue that tradition in our home. After reading Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss, and her lovely description of sharing teatime with children, I was determined to introduce this graceful routine to our family and homeschooling life.
Of course life with three boys is often anything but graceful, so I set out to find an alternative to my grandmother's china. I was looking for something special, something boyish, and most importantly, something that could survive a few dings.
So, it was a happy day when I found this cheerful and inexpensive set at a local discount store (see below). Now, as often as we can manage - and it's never often enough - we sit down to afternoon tea, served in our own "official" Riverwood School china. :)
Tea with my boys usually means warm milky cups of something decaffeinated like Celestial Seasonings Gingerbread Spice (with a good dollop of honey). It's a holiday blend, but we buy enough to last us all year long. But tea for me? Well, as I've mentioned before, I am a devoted coffee drinker, but many's an afternoon I turn to a cup of tea for warmth, flavor and relaxation. My current favorite is Chai Vanilla Decaf by Good Earth Teas. For more suggestions, read Rebecca's post about her favorite teas here, and not to be missed is Alice's post on creating a beautifully Joyous Easter Tea ...
Recently I read here that, by tradition, in England, April 23rd is the day to wear a red rose in the button hole, that country's national flower. English or not, you can always brew up a cup of what must be considered their national beverage ~ stong, classic black tea. (Red Rose brand perhaps?)
OR you could do something entirely different - and quite American in spirit - by learning how to brew your own blend of tea, using the herbs and spices from your garden or the nearest organic market. If you're planning a garden this summer, why not tuck in a few favorite herbs? They brew up a wonderful fresh tea and dry beautifully for winter use (and make especially nice holiday gifts).
Read on below to find out more about the rather patriotic roots of this other tea ...
The Other Tea: A Potent Brew
Many of us recognize the occasion of the Boston Tea Party as fuel for the fires of the American Revolution; less illustrious perhaps was its consequences on tea drinking.
At that pivotal time, patriots further expressed their protest of the tea tax by drinking tea of another kind ~ one they could make themselves, using the bounty of the land for which they were fighting. This brew, known as "Liberty Tea" was made from the herbs and plants that grew wild in the countryside and in dooryard gardens.
With pleasant surprise colonists found herbal tea a delight to drink ~ especially once they developed a taste for it, and perhaps added a dash of rum.
Patriotic Punch: Brew a cup of fruity herbal tea to your liking (Red Zinger is nice). Sweeten with honey and add a dash of ginger ale or seltzer. Serve over ice with a sprig of mint or a slice of lemon for a cool summertime drink. For a nice touch on special occasions you might freeze edible blossoms or small berries in your ice cubes before serving.
Today we need no such noble excuse to explore the wonders of herbal tea; aside from good taste alone, new concerns over the effects of too much caffeine have made more of switch to this gentler brew.
A cup of tea is indeed full of wonders ~ it refreshes the spirit and soothes the soul. It can comfort a cold, heal an aching belly, lift sagging spirits or simply relax the mind for a sweet deep slumber.
Moderation is a good rule of thumb when exploring herbal teas, as some herbs have strong properties, both positive and negative. Consult an efficient book on herbs (Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs is one of the best). This prior research is especially important for children and pregnant women, whose bodies are most susceptible to the effects of herbs. Herbal teas are often used for medicinal purposes, but do check with your doctor or pediatrician before experimenting with herbal blends. Herb enthusiasts will find a wonderful marketplace for herbs, as wella s practical and inspirational information in The Herb Companion, a magazine available at most newsstands and bookstores.
With summer upon us, its a great time to plan an herb garden. You might choose rosemary, scented geranium, bay laurel, lavender, peppermint ~ the possibilities are endless. Check your local nursery for seeds and seedlings to plant.
To Brew a Proper Pot:
Fill a kettle with freshly drawn, cold (filtered) water, and put it on to boil. Warm your teapot by letting it stand filled with hot water. Empty the pot and and add 1 teaspoon full of dried herbs per cup as well as one for the pot and fill the pot with boiling water. Use water that has just begun to boil, lest it get flat. Let steep for 5-10 minutes, then serve. Sweeten with sugar or honey if you like.
Preserving Summer-Grown Herbs for Winter Use:
- Hang: Wash gently (do not soak, just try to get the herbs clean), gently pat dry or toss in a salad spinner to remove excess water, tie together in small bunches and hang in a dry, shaded, well-ventilated spot until they dry thoroughly.
- Oven: Clean the herb leaves, spread them on a cookie sheet and put them in an unlit gas oven or an electric oven, preheated at the lowest setting and turn off. Leave the door open a bit for ventilation and turn occasionally for even drying. The herbs should be ready in a few days.
- Microwave: Place clean herbs (gently washed and patted dry) on paper towels and microwave for about 4 minutes at 100 degrees Fahrenheit (check your owner's manual for the power selection that corresponds to this temperature). Check for doneness; you may need to zap them again, but be careful not to overscorch or they'll be bitter tasting.
- Food dryer: There are several brands of food dryers on the market to choose from. Follow manufacturer's directions.
- Store crisp herbs in tightly sealed containers (preferably glass) in a cool dark place (like pantry shelves, away from the heat of your kitchen stove, radiator or heating vent).
(Adapted from a TAB Newspapers article I wrote in October 1993)


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After waking up early in the morning for 3 consecutive days, we are able to catch more hours of sleep today.
We had dim sum at the cafe where we had our dinner last night. We ordered 12 plates of dim sum and each plate contains 2 pieces of dim sum which is quite pathetic but these are enough to fill up our empty stomach.
Dim sum
We hailed a cab from the street to Shwedagon Pagoda. The taxi driver quoted us K3,000 ~ S$4 which is fairly reasonable since Shwedagon is 10min from downtown.
Shwedagon is a "high tech" temple as there are security checks and lifts in the compound.
Shwedagon is a "high tech" temple as there are security checks and lifts in the compound.
Security check point
Leave your shoes here
The Shwedagon admission fee is quite expensive at K8,000 ~S$10 each.
Lift & admission counter
Map of Shwedagon Paya
What surprised me the most is that there is free WIFI in Shwedagon and this accompanied us while we are waiting for the rain to stop. Myanmar is not an extremely backward country since it can offers free WIFI at the airport and Shwedagon.
Free wifi
Bodhi tree
Shwedagon Pagoda has a history of over 2,600 years, making it the oldest historical pagoda in Myanmar and the world. According to tradition, brother Taphussa and Bhallika from Myanmar met Prince Siddhartha who had just attained Buddhahood in India. The Buddha gave eight strand of his hairs to the brothers for enshrinement in their native town of Okkalapa which is now Yangon. The brothers traveled back to their homeland in Burma and with the help of the local ruler, King Okkalapa of Burma, enshrined the eight hairs together with the relics of three previous Buddhas.
Shwedagon Paya in the background
Temples in the compound
Burmese bride taking wedding photo
Bathing the Buddha on the day which I was born
3D murals
Waiting for the rain to stop
We had lunch at Aung Minglabar (Add: 34 Bo Yar Nyunt Street). This shop is famous for the Shan noodles.
Aung Mingalar
Avocado juice can be frequently seen on the menu here but depends on availability of the season. The avocado juice in Myanmar is not as sweet as the juice in Indonesia and is 100% authentic avocado juice as no chocolate syrup as added.
Avocado juice
Another famous dish of Aung Mingalar is dumplings which cost K3,000 ~ S$4. The dumplings are pan fried and served with a crispy layer at the top.
At first glance, the Shan noodles portion is not very filling but by the time we finished the bowl of noodle, we were extremely full. The shan noodles do not have the lye added to it hence it's not yellowish and do not have the lye taste, it tasted more like ban mian but it's softer.
Shan noodle
After having our lunch, we strolled to Bogyoke Aung San Market which is 5min down the roads. We crossed an overhead bridge with railway track below and this is the circular train track. We skipped the circular train as we do not have sufficient time in Yangon.
Railway track
View of Bo Gyoke street
Bogyoke Aung San Market
Map of Bogyoke Aung San Market
Bogyoke market is full of jewellery stalls selling jades and precious stones. I wonder how do the stalls survived when everyone is selling the same thing? I bought a jade bracelet for my mum and a jade pendant for hubby. Well, these cost me US$40 as it's not those top quality jade.
Stalls inside Bogyoke Aung San Market
Giving alms
We walked back to the hotel and collected our luggage before boarding a cab to Inya lake spa.
Hindu temple
Holy Trinity Anglican Church
Maha Wizaya Pagoda
The taxi driver do not know the exact location and Inya spa do not have prominent signage at the roadside and we almost missed the location.
The 2 guys had hot stone massage while the 2 ladies had Thai massage. My masseur skill is not bad but still not as good as Ruen Thai. However the rest of them commented that their massage were average. We have asked the receptionist to help us hailed a taxi beforehand hence the taxi is already waiting for us by the time we finished our massage.
Inya lake spa
At Yangon departure hall, we have to show our e-ticket before we can proceed to check in at the airlines counter.
Yangon airport departure hall
Long queue at Jetstar counter
Portrait of Kandawgyi lake
Souvenir stalls
The airport is relatively small as there are only 5 to 6 gates. There is only one cafe inside the transit hall and it's fully occupied hence we have to wait for a table. All of us had fried rice for dinner as there are limited choices at the cafe. We pay with a mixture of Kyat and USD as the Kyat are of no value outside Myanmar.
Fried rice for dinner
Limited shops inside the transit area
From the first day of plane fright (due to the numerous recent flight disasters) to the last day of plane immune, we landed safely at Singapore and this concludes the end of our Myanmar trip.


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LeBron James is an American professional player of NBA (National Basketball Association). He has won 3 championships (2012, 2013, 2016) and 3x MVP finals. He got the first position in 2003 NBA draft.
James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio. His mother was 16 years old and raised him alone. When he was growing up he had many problem to overcome, as they moved from apartment to apartment. He started his career in Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003. In the end of rookie season he had an average of 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game. He was just the third player in NBA's history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in his rookie year. In 2010 he moved to Miami Heat. With Heat LeBron won a back to back Championship 2012-2013 and 2x MVP finals.
On June 25, 2014, James returned to Cavaliers to take the first Championship in the team history. 2 years later LeBron as a leader of Cavs(Cavaliers) won the Championship. The team's title was judge during the 7th game of the NBA Finals. LeBron won the Championship and did what he had promised to do. With the national team he has won 2X gold Olympic medals (2008,2012) and 1x bronze medal (2004). 1x gold FIBA Americas Championship(2007) and 1x bronze medal FIBA world Championship (2006).
This are some of LeBron James' career stats and awards. If you know something else about him you can write to us in the comment section.Do you want to learn about someone else? Write that too in the comment section.


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Through the Adobe@Adobe program our company is customer zero. We deploy unreleased versions of our software within our enterprise so we can provide real world testing before releasing our software to the public.
Late in 2014, our team, along with the Creative Cloud for enterprise team, embarked on a program to deliver Creative Cloud for our employees using not the ubiquitous AdobeID but rather a Federated ID – our employee's network ID – similar to how any other large organization would.
The following article is our lessons learned along with tips to help customers make the most of their experiences deploying Creative Cloud for enterprise.
Purpose of this Package
This Creative Cloud for enterprise Customer Success Package is intended to provide you with a head start, as you get ready to deploy Creative Cloud. This package includes samples of various pieces of content we used in Adobe's own internal deployment of Creative Cloud within our own enterprise. It also includes lessons learned and feedback from employees along the way.
You'll find a sample project timeline, sample communications to employees, IT help documents and links to the technical best practices guide we followed. We hope by providing this content we can help you shorten the time to deliver Creative Cloud to your employees by reusing this content.
Note: The content in this package was created to support a Creative Cloud deployment with a single sign-on (SSO) provider like Okta. If you are planning a different type of deployment such as a serialized, Adobe ID or an Adobe managed Enterprise ID some of this content may still be relevant.
Thinking about SSO, Culture & Communication
Employees of large organizations generally have many systems they need to access to perform their job. This has only increased in recent years with the move to a hybrid enterprise where many SaaS services are accessed in the cloud.
The promise of SSO for employees is that the employee only need log in to their desktop computers once. Then the rest of the day they have access to all the sites and services they need – all without re-entering their password each time. The promise of SSO for the IT Admin is that they can provision software and services for employees en masse thereby speeding up employee on-boarding, etc.
People & Process Impact
Delivering a new way for your employees to login to a service they depend on can be a challenge. Ideally you would like to personally stop by each employee's desk and walk him or her through what is changing to ensure they are prepared. In a small office this may be feasible but if you have hundreds or thousands of users spread across the globe this quickly becomes impractical.
A key success factor for this project was in preparing our employees for change. Change is never easy. Delivering clear messages to your employees can help ensure they handle the change without overwhelming your IT Support team.
In the Communications section you'll see how we tackled the creation of these messages. In the Support section you'll see how we leveraged support documents from Adobe to help us think about what our employees might need assistance with.
Project Overview
In general, Adobe's internal employee Creative Cloud for enterprise project was part of a larger program called Adobe@Adobe in which we deploy/implement software within our company before it is publicly released. With this project in particular, we were concurrently building the Creative Cloud for enterprise product and planning the internal deployment. This real-world testing provides a great way to identify and remediate software bugs.
Adobe's Enterprise Deployment Planning Guide is available to help you identify activities during your deployment planning. This guide is not intended to replace the planning guide and anyone planning a deployment should be familiar with its content before leveraging this example.
Our deployment project at Adobe was very simple. We expect customers to have various groups of users within their company that are entitled to some but not all Creative Cloud products and services. In addition, we expect customers to have contingent workers who also need access to Creative Cloud.
For Adobe's internal deployment we granted all regular, full-time, not temporary, Adobe employees full access to CCE. This greatly simplified deployment. We did not create packages to deploy to users; instead we directed users to leverage the self-service feature of Creative Cloud allowing them to download applications themselves.
Several weeks prior to the full company wide deployment, we ran a pilot with 100 users from across Adobe. It is important that you pick the right 100 users. Be sure to choose a representative cross section of your employees – both technical and non-technical users.
We were moving to a new federated ID service provider, Okta. This pilot helped us fine-tune both the SSO experience and the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop application experience for our enterprise use.
Project Outline
Our project focused on preparing users for the change and getting our internal IT support team ready to take support calls.
These roles are not an exhaustive list of participants but rather an outline of the types of roles we leveraged.
Technical Considerations
Technical Overview
This section is where someone from your IT team starts his or her work. Where you begin creating groups, loading users, setting up a trust, architecting and configuring the SSO experience for your end users.
SSO Overview
Single Sign-On is like having all the locks in your house re-keyed so they use the same key for different doors. Single Sign-On in reality is more complex since there are different ways to enable that single key. Within Adobe we leverage the Single Sign-On provider Okta to manage that sign on experience for our employees. As a customer the same Okta service is available to you. However if you already use an identity provider you can use your identity provider.
Setting up SSO
Our Adobe IT team leveraged the documentation located on the Adobe Enterprise Help Hub. The content below is from the Configure Single Sign-On article. See that article for more details on how to setup and configure SSO as well as the SSO FAQ.
When organizations configure and enable Single Sign-On (SSO), users in that organization are able to use their corporate credentials to access Adobe software. This enables users to use a single credential to access Adobe desktop apps, services, and mobile apps.
The Adobe Enterprise Dashboard offers a method for enterprise users to authenticate using their existing corporate identity. Adobe Federated IDs enable integration with a Single Sign-On (SSO) identity management system. Single Sign-On is enabled using SAML, an industry-standard protocol which, connects enterprise identity management systems to cloud service providers like Adobe.
SSO can securely exchange authentication information between two parties: the service provider (Adobe) and your Identity Provider (IdP). The service provider sends a request to your IdP, which attempts to authenticate the user. If authentication is successful, the IdP sends a response message to sign the user in.
To successfully set up SSO for Adobe software, IT Admins need the following:
- An understanding of SAML 2.0
- An Identity Provider (IdP) that supports SAML 2.0, and at a minimum must have:
o IDP Certificate
o IDP Login URL
o IDP Binding: HTTP-POST or HTTP-Redirect
o Assertion consumer service URL
- Access to your DNS configuration for the domain claim process
If you do not have IDP information, review this article and contact your IdP for the required information.
Technical Lessons Learned
For the technical work involved we only ran into one issue during deployment. And even then it was a very minor issue. We started with a group of 100 employees. This pilot group took a pre-release version of the Creative Cloud desktop software and helped us shape the experience.
We exported the group of pilot users from our Active Directory using the template that customers can find in the Adobe Enterprise Dashboard. When we deployed Creative Cloud to our pilot users one of our users reported that he was unable to login. After investigation we found that his email address had a space in front in the .CSV upload file. That space caused his record to be skipped in the upload process. One of the nice features of our Enterprise Dashboard is that during an upload of users you'll get a report of the users that were skipped. In addition the entire upload is not derailed if it encounters a problem.
The only other issue we ran into was one of data formatting. Our IT Admin needed to spend time to convert the country name to two-letter country code. When our Active Directory team exported our employee data the country was spelled out, not in the two-letter code. The export from Active Directory illustrated something that may be common in other company directories – countries were not all named the same. For instance, for the UK we had United Kingdom, Great Britain, England, etc. It didn't take them long to use find and replace in the spreadsheet and make the changes – but it was an unexpected activity.
Communication & Support
Communicating with our users was challenging because timing of the deployment. On one hand, it coordinated perfectly with the annual global Sales conference where sales teams learn about new products and services. As a result, the product team and IT were able to demonstrate Creative Cloud for enterprise to them in a production environment.
On the other hand, the deployment was also the week prior to Adobe's year-end shutdown. As such we faced grabbing the attention of a workforce preparing for and anticipating a holiday break.
Overall, the launch was effective. The entire sales organization experienced Creative Cloud for enterprise.
Our internal communications reflected Adobe's unique situation as an Enterprise customer because we changed the model for assigning accounts to employees. Historically employees received a Creative Cloud account based on their work needs. Adobe made the decision to provide every employee with a Creative Cloud for enterprise account meaning we contacted every Adobe employee to advise them of their new account and ask for their help testing this new service.
Our rollout was also complicated somewhat by the simultaneous introduction of a new corporate-wide authentication process which was an important aspect of the users message.
Finally, we eliminated standard awareness communications leading up to the launch due to timing. In the month leading up to the internal launch we were competing with fiscal year-end earnings release and the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. We decided that the return on communications during this period was too low to justify the action.
Communication Documentation
We have included both our overall CCE Comms Plan as well as sample internal communications used in our roll out. Both files are included, along with the support documents below, as part of the zip file attached to this article.
Support Documents
In looking back at the documentation that Adobe provides it was helpful to review the Switching from Adobe ID to Enterprise ID article (included in zip file below). It helped us to frame our communication and support around the fact that employees were getting a new account. All your Creative Cloud files and synced fonts in Typekit will not be accessible.
We created a number of support documents to help employees understand what is changing and how to get help without contacting our IT Support team.
Since the majority of our employees already had Creative Cloud accounts we wanted to ensure they understood how to move content between their current account and the new Enterprise account. Please see the document in the zip file titled, IT Support Document – CCE Working with multiple CC accounts for our example.
In addition, we created a Frequently Asked Questions article for use within our internal IT Support knowledge base that could help users understand what is changing. Please see the document in the zip file titled, IT Support Document – CCE FAQ.
Finally, rounding out the IT Support Documents included in the zip file is the IT Support Document – CCE Getting Started guide. It is a basic document that helps employees get up to speed with Creative Cloud and points them to the other documents we created.
Best Practices & Lessons Learned
You can never be too prepared, especially in terms of support. People across your company likely possess different levels of technical expertise. To ensure messaging and support is most valuable, technical insiders (project core members) as well as people not involved with the project should review all documents and flows. We ended up reviewing and testing our own work, which could have been more effective had we employed "real" employees.
We held several trainings with our internal IT Service Desk in addition to several communications to our Service Desk team. The emails we sent to our Service Desk team helped to give them a heads up that this project was coming and offered several times for the team to attend a training session. We also had a liaison from our IT Service Desk that was part of the weekly project team meetings. This helped our internal IT support team be better prepared for any user calls.
Conducting a pilot with a small number of users definitely helped us fine-tune the experience for our employees. However, ensure that the pilot experience and target experience is as close as possible. In our case, we were still building the new Creative Cloud Desktop app so our pilot users needed to perform a number of steps that were not needed in the final roll out; This lead to more than expected negative feedback for the pilot group.
We created a feedback form that captured feedback from our employees. This was a great way to get input into our project. One piece of feedback we received during our pilot was that signing out of Creative Cloud desktop app was not clear. We realized that for non-technical employees or employees that are unfamiliar with the Creative Cloud Desktop app signing out of it requires you to go to either the menu bar (mac) or task bar (windows) and execute a set of steps to sign out. Walking through all aspects of the experience with non-technical users would have been beneficial.


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Águila Real
La Pedrera, 27
Cangas de Onís - Asturias (Show map)
from 29 €
"Good accommodations for the price. It is not at 3-star quality but not at a 3-star price either. Very traditional Spanish hotel, which for some will mean outdated."
The Hotel Águila Real, newly built, is located in the old town of Cangas de Onís, near the new promenade along the river, and 50 meters away from a public parking.
It features 60 rooms, all of them equipped with a bathroom, TV, safety box, heating, air conditioning, and a telephone.
On top of... Ver más
Facilities Águila Real
- Central location,
- Picturesque spot
- Car park
- Elevator,
- Bicycle hire
Front desk services
- Credit cards accepted,
- Wake Up Service/Alarm Clock
- Individual safe,
- 24-hour room service,
- Heating,
- Telephone in rooms,
- Television in rooms,
- Internet in rooms,
- Hairdryers in rooms,
- Cot,
- Wake Up Service/Alarm Clock
- Internet in rooms,
- Free Wi-FI,
- Wifi
Food & Beverage
- Bar/coffee shop,
- Restaurant
- Bicycle hire
Cleaning services
- Laundry Service
Extra Services
- Cot
Common areas
- Free Wi-FI,
- Wifi
- Bath
About Águila Real
About Águila Real
The Hotel Águila Real, newly built, is located in the old town of Cangas de Onís, near the new promenade along the river, and 50 meters away from a public parking.
It features 60 rooms, all of them equipped with a bathroom, TV, safety box, heating, air conditioning, and a telephone.
On top of that, the hotel has a social hall, a cafeteria, laundry service, and a 24-hour front-desk. It features a private garage too.
It's set near the Natural Park of Picos de Europa, and it's perfect to spend relaxing holidays or to visit some of the main villages of Asturias, such as Covadonga (9 km away), Cabrales and the river Cares (36 km away), or the wonderful beaches (25 km away).
This accommodation is located 72 km away from Oviedo, 74 km away from Gijón, 109 km away from Torrelavega, 134 km away from Santander, and 179 km away from León.
Reception opening hours
24 hours
Surrounding areas
For our proximity to all points of our hotel is an ideal place for the start of all your trips (8 km from Covadonga, 18 km from Lake, 25 km from Ribadesella, 17 kilometers from the looked Fito, and 30 km from Cabrales).
Establishment opening dates
from the 2nd half of February until the Puente de la Constitucion
Specials conditions
Cancellation policy Águila Real
Reservation may be cancelled or amended up to 48 hours prior to day of arrival of the client. Failure to cancel your booking prior to this time will result in a charge of one night's accommodation apart from the initial guarantee deposit. In order to amend a reservation, please contact directly to the hotel which details figure in the voucher. If your amendment reduces the number of nights or rooms the deposit will not be refunded and will not be discounted of the modified reservation fee.
We guarantee
- Secure booking. When you book with us, your private information will be protected by a safe connection.
- Protection of your privacy. Your private information will be used just to confirm your booking.
Águila Real with average raiting
- What did you like the most?
- "Good accommodations for the price. It is not at 3-star quality but not at a 3-star price either. Very traditional Spanish hotel, which for some will mean outdated."
- Is there anything you didn't like?
- "Not the cleanest place; there was dust on the floor and stains on the towels. The decorations are a little outdated. They could be more careful with details like these and then it would be excellent."
Los clientes que vieron el Hotel Águila Real también han visto:
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Near Hotel Águila Real
- Cafetería La Regenta 0,07 km
- Los Arcos 0,10 km
- Restaurante Sidrería Llagar... 0,12 km
Leisure, Culture and Art
- Casa Dago 0,10 km
- Casa Riera 0,10 km
- Estatua de Don Pelayo 0,11 km
- Ruta de Senderismo Los Lagos... 0,11 km
- Descenso en Canoa por el Río... 0,27 km
- Paseo y Rutas en Quad 0,27 km
Drink and music
- MetroBar Tribunal 0,20 km
- Atlanta 0,20 km
- Galaxia 0,20 km
Natural Parks and Natural Areas
- Lago Enol 0,27 km
- Lago La Ercina 0,27 km
- Zoo La Grandera 0,27 km
- Clásica Cicloturista Lagos de... 0,27 km
- Descensos de Barrancos o Cańones 0,27 km
Citizen Information
- Mercado Dominical de Cangas... 0,27 km
- Ayuntamiento de Cangas de Onís 0,29 km
- Oficina de turismo de Cangas... 0,35 km
- Fiestas de San Antonio en... 0,27 km
- Muestra de Folclore de Cangas... 0,27 km
- Exposición de Quesos de los... 0,27 km
- Tienda Asturiana La Barata 0,33 km


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Home>>Europe Atlas>>France Maps>>France Photos
France Tourism In Brief
France is the world's number one tourist destination, it has the greatest beaches, highest mountains and the finest historic monuments, the most beautiful cities, the most idyllic countryside, the most magnificent castles, the finest rivers, not to mention the best restaurants and the finest wines in the world.
Top Recommended Attractions in France
The Eiffel Tower
The Louvre Museum
Arc de Triomphe
Versailles Palace
Notre Dame de Paris
French Riviera
Mont Saint-Michel
Loire Valley
Seine River
Sacre-Coeur Basilica
Pont du Gard
Elysee Palace
Chenonceau Castle
Welcome to France. A country that seduces travellers with its unfalteringly familiar culture woven around cafe terraces, village-square markets and lace-curtained bistros with their plat du jour (dish of the day) chalked on the board.
Cultural Savoir-Faire: France is all about world-class art and architecture, Roman temples and Renaissance chateaux, iconic landmarks known the world over, and rising stars few yet know. Stroll the lily-clad gardens Monet painted and savour un cafe at the Parisian cafe where Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir met to philosophise. See glorious pasts blaze forth and imagine the life of a French king at bourgeois Versailles. View tomorrow's art starts in squats secreted in abandoned 19th-century Haussmann mansions in Paris, or at new headline-grabbing museums up north. Drink cocktails in a shabby-chic Nantes warehouse. Listen to Marseille rap and Parisian jazz. Sense the subtle infusion of language, music and mythology in Brittany, brought by 5th-century Celtic invaders. Yes, French culture offers never-ending possibilities to fill any stay in France.
Gastronomic Art de Vivre: Or perhaps it is the French feast of fine food and wine that woos so many travellers. (This is, after all, the country that entices more than any other: more than 80 million visitors a year, ranking it the world's top tourist destination. But know that gastronomic France goes far deeper than Parisian bistro dining, long lunches outside, shopping for fruit and veg at the market and wolfing down croissants hot from the boulangerie (bakery) for breakfast. Learn how to make petits fours with the kids in Paris or flip crepes in Brittany; taste wine with one of the worldˇŻs top sommeliers in Bordeaux; visit an Atlantic Coast oyster farm; drink Champagne in ancient cellars in Reims; tour a Provenoal melon farm; harvest olives, peaches and cherries in the hot southˇ and understand that food is as much an art de vivre (art of living) for the French as an essential to survive.
Lyrical Landscape: Then there is the terroir (land) and the startlingly varied journey it weaves from northern France's cliff s and sand dunes to the bright-blue sea of the French Riviera and Corsica's green oak forests. Outdoor action is what this lyrical landscape calls for, be it fast-paced and pulse-racing, slow and relaxed, solo or en famille. Walk barefoot across wave-rippled sand to Mont St-Michel; ride the cable car to mind-blowing glacial panoramas above mountaineering mecca Chamonix; cartwheel down Europe's highest sand dune; surf in Biarritz; ski the Alps; hike from one extinct volcano to another in the Massif Central; float between locks or pedal the towpath along the Canal du Midi. The action is endless and the next adventure just begging to be had.
Europe Pictures
Maps of France
- France Political Map
- Paris Tourist Map
- Lyon City Map
- Strasbourg City Map
- Marseille City Map
- Loire Valley Map
- Paris City Map
- Paris Metro Map
- Paris Tourist Bus Map
Maps of Europe
- Western Europe Map
- Eastern Europe Map
- Central Europe Map
- Northern Europe Map
- Europe Railway Map
- High Speed Rail Map


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An introduction to the New Zealand Curriculum for Overseas Trained Teachers
Posted: 11 September 2019
Notice reference #: 1H9ySN
This course is an opportunity for teachers new to teaching in New Zealand, to develop understanding, and unpack the intent, of the New Zealand Curriculum.
The workshop will support participants to:
- Understand the New Zealand Curriculum and its components
- Understand the uniqueness of the curriculum document as a flexible framework that enables innovation
- Understand the alignment of the curriculum document to school strategic planning and vision
- Have knowledge and appreciation of how schools can use the potential of the New Zealand Curriculum to develop a 'local' curriculum that best fits their needs and school context
- Engage with the document to plan teaching and learning opportunities.
Erinna Law is a team leader of Y5–6 students at Willow Park School in Auckland. She is also a COL in school leader for the Northcote Community of Learning. Erinna has over 20 years teaching experience including early childhood, secondary, community art and English as an additional language to adults. She has worked in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Hungary.
Events summary
01 November 2019 – 01 November 2019
Further information
Contact: Kohia Centre
(09) 623 8977
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Unfortunately the answer is, "no, no it isn't." If you are determined to lose weight, I'm proud of you. This is a great place to be and a good place to start but this it isn't enough to get you to the goal line. ****If you are here about the FREE GIVEAWAY, scorll down to… Continue reading Is determination enough?
Tag: dieting
Just because
Do what is best for yourself. Just because everyone is doing it doesn't mean you need or should follow suit. Do what is best for YOU! Just because other people are doing certain things doesn't mean that you have to join along. Some people inhale cheese and greasy french fries but that doesn't mean you… Continue reading Just because


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Needham bridge dedicated to the late Father Daniel Kennedy
Family and friends of the late Father Kennedy pose by the plaque marking the Father (Lt.) Daniel J. Kennedy Memorial Bridge in Needham during its dedication June 15. Pilot photo/Christopher S. Pineo
Help us expand our reach! Please share this article
NEEDHAM -- After a ceremony and blessing to honor a late beloved priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, June 15, traffic passed over the Father (Lt.) Daniel J. Kennedy, United States Navy, Memorial Bridge at the intersection of Great Plain Avenue and Route 128 in Needham for the first time since the restoration of the overpass.
Father Kennedy, who grew up in Needham, died unexpectedly in January 2008, only seven months after his ordination to the priesthood. He had just celebrated his 34th birthday.
Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley joined a ceremony with city, state and local officials, and the friends and family of Father Kennedy, before the group made a short procession from St. Sebastian's School and St. Bartholomew Church to the bridge.
"As a priest, Father Dan was himself a bridge between God and his people. In his ministry, the mercy of Christ and the love of God was revealed to us. We gather today to give thanks to God for the gift of his life and his priesthood," said the cardinal in his opening prayer at the ceremony.
Sen. Michael F. Rush (D.) West Roxbury sponsored the bill to dedicate the bridge in Father Kennedy's honor. He served as master of ceremonies at the ceremony before the blessing of the bridge. The close friend of Father Kennedy was visibly moved as he spoke.
"A bridge is a powerful symbol, and in this case extremely meaningful. I am mindful today of the many times that Danny crossed that bridge in his life. I am mindful thinking of Danny with terms also like 'building bridges,'" he said.
Brother of Father Kennedy, Jack Kennedy, spoke on behalf of the Kennedy family. He thanked the community represented for their support, and their support since his brother died.
"We all miss Danny. We all have fond memories of Danny, and it's days like this that I want you all to know how meaningful it is for our family to celebrate his life in this way," Jack Kennedy said.
Father Matthew J. Wescott, a 2007 classmate of Father Kennedy, gave the blessing after the procession reached the bridge.
"All priests and bishops are called to be pontiffs, bridge builders, and that is what Dan did with his life. Your presence, and the size of this crowd, is testament to that reality. Notice what a bridge is. It remains immovable. It remains still and solid, so that it bridges the gap, so that you may get to where you are going. That is what Christ does. That is what his Holy Church does. That is what Dan did in his priesthood," Father Wescott said, before he blessed the bridge.


text:
Rio Olympics Probably Doomed
IOC vice president concerned for 2016
If we thought Sochi was a fail for the Olympic Games, we've got another thing coming in 2016. John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, called Rio's preparations for the 2016 games "the worst" he's seen yet, the Guardian reports.
At an Olympics forum in Sydney, Australia, Coates said construction hadn't begun in some venues in Rio de Janeiro and that infrastructure and water quality are behind schedule. To prevent what seems like an inevitable #RioFail, the IOC is swooping in.
The IOC has formed a task force to speed things up, Coates said. Steps will include implementing extra monitors, project managers, and teams of experts.
"The IOC has adopted a more hands-on role. It is unprecedented for the IOC, but there is no plan B," Coates said. "We are going to Rio. We have become very concerned. They are not ready in many, many ways. We have to make it happen, and that is the IOC approach. You can't walk away from this."


text:
I could tell I was completely and utterly tired. Way too tired to run any errands. Yet, I still did.
I did the best I could to keep pushing myself back to the front of the store so I could leave, instead of wander aimlessly around the store til I keeled over from tiredness. (you know how that is right? I always wander forever in stores when my brain is done)
Finally, made it to the cashier.
Right next to my credit card is a coupon for 5% off. As I pull out my card, she sees the coupon.
Cashier: Did you want me to scan that?
Me: No, it's only a $6 purchase. I don't want to use it today.
C: But you can use it all day.
Me: No I won't be back today. (it's after 7pm)
C: But you can use it over and over again all day.
Me: I really won't be back today.
C: But you can continuously use it in a 24 hr period.
Me: (pause and breath) I really will not be back today or tomorrow, so no.
C: But . . . and she walks away making noises like I am stupid.
Is it me? Really? Is it me?
WHY in blazes would I use a 5% coupon on a $6 purchase? 30 cents!! I completely understand I can use it all day long, but a) the day is already over and b) my next day will be insane at work and I am sure I will not be coming back. What kind of sense does that make to the cashier? What am I missing?
I personally would rather wait til my purchase is much higher to use it anyhow.


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Computer tampering in the second degree is classified as a felony offense in the state of New York. This means that you must take the charge seriously and mount a vigorous defense in order to preserve your good name and reputation. There are a variety of reasons that such a charge can be issued against an individual, but it largely involves the accusation that a person has authorized a computer or serve without access and set out to do some type of harm as a result of that access. In any event, you will want to retain the services of an experienced NYC criminal lawyer in order to preserve your legal rights throughout the ordeal.
Computer Tampering in the Second Degree Explained
When law enforcement officials believe you accessed or destroy computer data as a result of gaining access in an unauthorized manner, a charge of computer tampering in the second degree may result. Unauthorized access to computer or server can be gained in a variety of ways, and this is further defined by New York penal code 156.26. Some of the methods include determining the password of another person and using to access that person's computer with his or her permission, giving a password to another individual who is not authorized to gain access, actually hacking into the computer of another person by way of the Internet, or pretending to be somebody you are not in order to gain access to a system that would not other wise be available to you.
This particular is levied in the second degree if the damages that you caused exceed a value of $2,000, but under $50,000. Computer tampering in the second degree can also be charged against a person that gains unauthorized access to computer material that contains medical records specific to certain people, and such data is then used to alter information that results in serious physical injury. One can also be charged for this crime if he or she were aware of the risk that results from such access that could cause physical injury.
An Example of Computer Tampering in the Second Degree
Imagine that you are a computer technician and you are being sued by another entity for a breach of contract. You might become angry that you are involved in a lawsuit and, as a result, you hack into the computer system that belongs to the attorney for the plaintiff. While you are in the system, you proceed to alter or destroy 30 different documents and pleadings relating to the case in addition to a variety of contract and memos that represent the work of the client. Most of these documents can no longer be recovered as a result of your hack. The documents must then be recreated, creating a lot of work on the part of the attorney. The damage is estimated to be $5,000. This is the basis for the charge of computer tampering in the second degree due to the dollar amount involved and the fact that the access was unauthorized.
Defense of a Computer Tampering in the Second Degree
There are actually several different approaches that your NYC criminal attorney can take with such a case. If you believed that you had access to the computer in question, your innocence can be established. This is regardless of whether or not you actually had permission to access the computer or server. It could also be that someone else accessed the data from your machine, in which case you could be deemed innocent as well.
Todd is a miracle worker who will work tirelessly for you and your family. He is one of the few attorneys i've met - who I earnestly trust to protect me, and who I am happy to refer to our friends and fellow family members. The Spodek Law Group is someone you want on your side, because they will treat you just like family. Todd and his team are available 24/7, and they always answered our calls. Even when we were being irrational, and crazy - they were calm and super helpful. Just call Todd. He gives you a free consultation and is very understanding.- Donna & Robert
85 Broad Street, 30th Floor
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85 Broad Street, 30th Floor
New York, NY 10005
35-37 36th St,
Astoria, NY 11106
195 Montague St.
14th Floor,
Brooklyn, NY 11201
© Copyright 2018 | Marketing by DotComAttorney Advertising


text:
By Julie I. Fershtman, Attorney at Law The stable or instructor gives the customer a liability release to sign. Later, he sues the stable, and
Tag: boarding contracts
Legal Aspects of Boarding at a Friend's Barn
Cindy and Sam have been long-time friends and once rode together. Now, as Sam recovers from a serious illness, his barn has been empty. He


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Free Town Centre Parking in December*
All day on Saturday 2, 9, 16 & 23 December, and after 3pm on Thursday 7, 14 & 21 December
As part of the Christmas festivities and to support local businesses Kettering Borough Council is offering FREE parking in the Town Centre on the following days in December*:
• all day on Saturday 2nd, 9th, 16th and 23rd December 2017, and
• after 3pm on Thursday 7th, 14th and 21st December 2017
These are in addition to the free parking that already operates in Council owned car parks on Sundays (all day) and evenings (after 6pm).
The FREE parking will be in Kettering Borough Council car parks on London Road, Queen Street, School Lane, School Lane Pop & Shop, Wadcroft and Commercial Road. Make sure you come to Kettering to enjoy the free entertainment and visit the town's shops and restaurants.
There will be plenty of chances to support your local town centre with late night shopping on Thursdays in the run up to Christmas. Small Business Saturday and the Teenage Market return on 2nd December and you'll find further entertainment in the form of a Christmas Market (Thursday 14th December, 4-8pm), Foodie Friday Christmas Lunch (8th December, 11am-3pm) and a chance to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol for free on the Big Screen on the Market Place (Thursday 21st December, 5pm), so make sure you wrap up warm and join us!
For the latest updates about Christmas in Kettering this year go to 'This is Kettering' on Facebook, @ThisisKettering on Twitter or www.thisiskettering.com
Shirley Plenderleith, Head of Public Services at Kettering Borough Council, said:
"There's never been a better time to get into Kettering town centre. I am looking forward to seeing everybody enjoying the free activities on offer."
Councillor Lesley Thurland, Kettering Borough Council's Portfolio Holder for Finance, said:
"We recognise that this is an important time of year for both families and businesses. Offering free parking days and fun and festive entertainment will encourage people to support our local businesses and the Town Centre and help make Kettering a popular destination this Christmas."


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|Paris - July 2010
So: I discovered recently . . . that some artists on Jamendo are removing their albums . . . and when they do that . .. my reviews and poems are erased also. So, I have decided to preserve some of my favorite poems and reviews along with the links to the albums . .. and if the albums disappear from Jamendo my poems will still exist . .. .
Although the links will may not work . ..
I also want to share how grateful I am to the musicians on Jamendo . .. for sharing their music and their art with the world - freely . . . they have always inspired me and many of them have become friends and many have encouraged me . . . perhaps more than they can possibly know . . .
And so often . . . the music has crept into my heart and found a home where I am inspired to write and create .. .. I know that I can always go to Jamendo to find inspiration . . . so thank you, my friends . . .
Please don't forget that these are some of my favorite reviews and poems (my own personal writings). . . not necessarily my most favorite albums or musicians . . . . . . . . . . .
As I walk along this lifeline
I see the shadowy beginnings
and I hear the tearful goodbyes . . .
The march of time
goes slowly by
rending what we hold most dear . . .
This temporal place
these bloody shreds
We cling to in despair . . .
Dance with me my beloved
for we soon must say
Hold my hand my love
and look into my eyes
I see myself inside of you . . .
and you within my heart
you are forever there
we must be apart …
Poem for: "GoodBye" by Van Syla
Sympathetic . . .
pointed beauty
laying a mesmerizing track
leading your unwary footstep
to its peaceful end of day
and saves your silent tear drops
in the sweetly fragrant cup
of a tender rose petal . . .
and all your golden dreams
offer a point of joy
toward the coming dawn.
Poem for: "Aurora" by Van Sylahttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/54164
Be drawn into the life of a tear.. .. ..
drama, pain,
despair.. .. ..
and ultimately a release
of tension,
as the tear finds its way out
to begin its journey,
and slowly fades away
as it travels
while calm begins to prevail.. .. ..
peace follows the salty trail
of the tear .. .. ..
a little sorrow still
and then
a gleam of sunshine.. .. ..
relief to the weary soul
while the tear
is only forgotten.
text for: "Once Upon a tear" by creixhttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/68774
Nothing less than Awesome
Define the experience of this album:
More feeling than sound. More breath than heart. A sound sculpture, cold and infinitely dripping in the eons it takes to melt marble on an ice cold planet, deliberate, malevolent, reaching zenith at every turn. It is more hurt than healing; but this kind of hurt you need, to know that you are alive. If you are alive, after listening to this creation.
This water color of the darkest center of the densest sonance, the loneliest resonance, the deadliest dissonance, a pitch, a note, a peal, the sound of a babies laughter floating in the dregs space. A cacophony of spacial sound, from the far-flung congregational multitudes of galaxies, whirling, singing, calling in the darkest dark and the brightest light.
Laughter, at least there was laughter, before we all were flung away.
A piano.
An island before we drown.
And then we rise, a dynamo, a celestial power, a shattered star.
The angels played their gentle violins and sang their welcoming song in voices that sound like a muffled gong and groan like the behemoth dying on the sand.
We are reborn in a field of exigency and fear comes on us like a multitude of murderous wasps and we are nothing more than an iota in a population of sound.
And in the end - a long drawn out moan, a solo groan - an end.
Review for: "BackVieW" by KraftiMhttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/3700
Surrounded by the deep blue glow we float down a long misty river, slowly, our minds are at peace with our bodies while we listen to the voices of the gods, as they sing of mysteries and places that only exist in a space and time entirely a mystery to our finite brains.
We are not afraid, but content to listen, and observe, with little consideration for what will happen next. The pace is agonizingly slow, like swimming through ambrosia or honey, but we are in no rush, we like it here and will stay, forever, for we think we dream. But we are under a spell like the tales of old, mesmerized by the songs of the gods.
We have been captivated and held on this long trip down the misty river - to live forever as a slave to these gods of music, but again, we don't care. Perhaps we have found heaven.
Review for: "MÚSICA DESDE LA PENUMBRA" by Jorgestradahttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/27346
First of all, before I rave about the music, I would like to complement the artist for that beautiful album cover. I thought it was very eye catching. Nice colors which capture the spirit of the music.
the songs are warm and brightly shine
Bouncy! Like deer, bounding about the golden field,
leaping, leading trails of sun caught dust
hoofs high in joyful spirit
laughter in the eye
I feel that I can run as free as they
I try
and with the tribal drums I fly . . .
the essence of the music
where wings can grow on me.
Review for: "THÈMES POUR ÉCRAN NOIR " by EGAZMODhttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/59639
What a Wonderful Place . . .
Where was I ? the mild scent of burning incense - I was sitting, cross legged on a flower encrusted carpet, it could have floated away with me - I think it did, gently . . .
I remember the melody
the flute . . . drums
and the voice,
that wonderful warm
that soul warming
that heart enwrapping voice . . .
what was it saying to me?
His voice held me captive
I could not move - yet - I think I went somewhere - someplace so beautiful - someplace so mystical - how could I explain this - someplace so peaceful -
maybe it was a form of rapture.
Review for: "Marugelara" by Shyam Monkhttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/59754
alluring . . .
subtle intensity
pulsing through to the edges of space
and time
with bits of stardust drifting along the way
loosely -
digging into the core of the spinning galaxy . . .
from within the deepest waters
luring the questioning with a simple song . . .
into dreams of peace and
cobalt blue electricity . . .
Review for: "green eyes" by softspacehttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/59848
Delicate Elegance
Close your eyes while you listen to this beautiful romantic parisian styled tune
- - you see misty reminders of time gone by - in gentle colors of pastels and gray.
A shadowy gathering of figures from long ago - in wistful longing for those days,
they dance in sedate remembrance
to the soft and gentle tune
while the singers sigh and
when the storm begins to call
the vision melts
like ashes in the rain. . .
So swiftly gone away.
Review for: "souvenirs Parisiens BSO" by PeerGynt Lobogrishttp://www.jamendo.com/en/album/59564
More to come . . . .


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Backdrop Falls has just released the music video of "Out of My Mess," off their latest album There's No Such Place As Home. The band says the video is a tribute to women, and a mirror of the video "True North" by Bad Religion.
You can watch the brand-new video below.


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How could you not love a holiday centered around candy and costumes? If you haven't guessed already, we here at ModCloth are simply mad for Halloween, and we've been counting down the days until All Hallows Eve with cute costumes, decorative DIYs, and today, an eye-catching undead make-up tutorial!
If you were left feeling inspired by our latest Modster Mash costume, "New Ghoul," you're in luck – we're sharing all the gruesome details on how we created the look in our studio. Whether you're looking to replicate the entire look itself or simply seeking an easy to achieve zombie make-up tutorial, the steps below will take you from alive and well to the grooviest ghoul in school!
"New Ghoul" Zombie Make-up Tutorial
What we used (available at most costume shops):
2 ply facial tissue
Graftobian brand blood paste
Mehron brand liquid latex
Mehron brand color cup in green
Ben Nye brand f/x color wheel in CK-1 Bruises
Ben Nye neutral set colorless face powder
False lashes
Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes black liner
Small make-up brush
Foundation brush
Makeup sponge
Metal stipple sponge
1. Begin with a clean, makeup-free face. Decide where you'll be building your wound and brush a small amount of liquid latex onto that area. Cover with a layer of facial tissue and, using your tweezers, pick the tissue little by little to create texture.
2. For the neck wound, apply a light layer of liquid latex, just as you did on your face. Next, take a four-inch section of facial tissue, roll it in your hand, and apply to the latex. Repeat on the opposite side. Brush a light layer of liquid latex over the tissue rolls to seal them.
3. As the latex dries, continue to add small amounts of tissue to your "wounds," picking with tweezers as you go to create more texture.
4. To create an undead pallor, mix small amounts of dark beige (in the CK-1 Bruises color wheel) and green color cup foundations, slowly building the color. Once the desired hue is achieved, use a make-up brush to apply the makeup to your face and neck, being careful to blend your ears and any exposed hairline.
5. Next, using a makeup brush, apply lavender-hued liquid makeup (from the CK-1 Bruises color-wheel) to your eyes, and around each wound. Use a makeup sponge to apply a light wash of lavender around your hairline, neck, and nose.
6. Using a color to match, accentuate the arch in your eyebrows and, following the instructions of the package, apply fake eyelashes, adding an exaggerated cat-eye with the black eye-liner pencil.
7. Next, apply a light layer of Ben Nye neutral set colorless face powder to set your foundation and add to your deathly tone.
8. Continue to add lavender to your wounds and any areas you'd like to accentuate. Add a little blood red lipstick
9. Using the metal stipple sponge, pat on more purple for a slightly splattered effect. This step is also a great time to slip into the rest of your costume and fix your hair, as you'll soon be adding blood to complete your look.
10. Dipping into your Graftobian brand blood paste, apply blood to the hollows of each wound, building as you go.
11. Add small splatters of blood in and around your wounds, across your hairline, and anywhere else you feel could stand to be a little more disgusting. Finish up the look with a few accessories and your best zombie shuffle, and prepare to scare the pants off anyone who crosses your adorably undead path!


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Join the Public Sector Community
For accountants and finance professionals in the public sector, this Community is the go-to for the key resources and guidance on the issues affecting practitioners like you. With a range of dynamic services, we provide valuable tools, resources and support tailored specifically to your sector.
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Woodworking Faux Pas: 6 Things You Should Never Do When Tackling a New Project
When you're just getting started in the world of building things, you'll find it can be rather hard to develop the "best practices" to help guide you down the right path. You're busy trying to figure out what the difference between a bevel and a miter is, but what you really need is someone to say "do this, not that."
It wasn't until I took a few classes and befriended some woodworkers that i really started to learn how to not do dumb things. Here's a list of six things I wish I would have learned before I wasted money and time on early projects.
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How to: Care for and Protect Your Leather Boots and Shoes for Winter
This time of year, footwear choices can be a gamble. Overthink it, and you're stuck in snow or hiking boots all day. Under-prepare, and your socks and feet stay wet, cold, and covered in road salt.
The answer, of course, is to opt for the middle, and choose a natural weather-resistant material that's stylish no matter what the season: leather.
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How To: Make the Perfect Homemade Salsa
Though it's the way most of us consume them, salsas are not just for chips. That limitation is a shame, because these Mexican table sauces can be so much more than watery blend of canned tomatoes and vinegar intended for scoping. I was born in Mexico, so fresh, bright and bold salsas are close to my heart.
So, join me on a virtual south-of-the-border trip, and learn the basic techniques of making the perfect homemade salsa.
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Weekend Project: Perfect the Perfect Homemade Pizza
It's that time of year when our special dinner nights are in that "in between" phase. Gone are the chili nights, the slow-cooked soups, and the long braises of winter, but it's not quite time for all day cookouts, the throwing together a plate of summer produce and bread and just embracing the simplicity of the season.
To which we say: good. Use this transitional time to nail down something technique-based, like perfecting homemade pizza.
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ManMade Summer Guide: How to Make the Perfect Ceviche
Ce·vi·che: A Latin American dish of marinated raw fish or seafood, typically garnished and served as an appetizer, or, in my mind: the best summer dish one can make at home!
Ceviche has this rep of being a complicated dish, and it's "raw" preparation can be intimidating. Except: It's not complicated, and it's not raw, just unheated. So, follow this guide to master the basics, and you can adapt and rock it like a pro. Let's get (not) cookin'!
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How to: Make Your Own DIY Smoked Cocktails
Some anthropologists argue that just one dominant feature separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom: we use fire and heat to cook our food. Like salt, smoking has long been a means of preserving food, and over time, we've learned that it also tastes pretty awesome as well. Those flavors are why we're still willing to use the grill and light fires when we have access to electric heating elements: the taste just can't be matched.
Many drinks and spirits come with smoky qualities - lots of teas, coffee, beer, and whiskeys. But you can also smoke entire cocktails or mixed drinks to add a whole other level of flavor and complexity. As my friend Mike remarked after trying one of my smoked Old Fashioneds, "I don't know if I can ever drink a regular one again."
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10 Highball Recipes Every Man Should Know
A cocktail is a mixed drink that contains at least one base spirit and a modifier (liqueurs, bitters, fortified wines) mixed with something to give the cocktail a little flavor, such as another spirit, fruit juice, etc.
A highball, on the other hand, is much more basic. It's a single spirit and a non-alcoholic mixer, and rather than being built in a shaker or a mixing glass, they're typically assembled in the very vessel in which you'll drink it.
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How to: Polish Your Shoes - The Quick, Easy, No-Fuss Way
Everytime I have a layover at the airport, I like to walk around the terminal and watch people...guess where they're going, why they're traveling. And everytime, I inevitably walk by the shoe shine stand, sometimes occupied, and sometimes not, and I think to myself, "Someday, I'm gonna own a pair of shoes that deserve to be shined for $14 in the airport.
And, really, someday...I will.
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How to: Sharpen an Axe (A Step-by-Step Guide)
Like kitchen knives, scissors, and most things designed to cut solid material into smaller pieces, an axe is only as good as its edge.
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How to: Make the Ultimate Martini at Home
You don't find too many recipes that begin with, "First a note about substituting ingredients or tools. Don't. This method has been exhaustively tested and retested for excellence and the smallest variation can result in catastrophic and unintended consequences."
Somehow, that deserves to be respected, and when the blog post is entitled "Perfect" without
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How to: A Quick and Easy Way to Reattach a Book or Notebook Cover
Last week, the unthinkable happened: the pages of my notebook separated from the cover.
Okay, well, it's not really unthinkable...I'm pretty tough on it. It goes everywhere with me, falls off the workbench daily, gets covered in sawdust and paint, regular interacts with power tools and sharp things, and I'm pretty sure this is the one I threw across the room when I just couldn't get the math right for a project.I've had this one for nearly two years, and it's spine has been covered and reinforced by layers of duct tape for more than half its life. So, unthinkable? No, but discouraging, nonetheless. This thing still has at least 20% of its
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How to: Make the Ultimate Old Fashioned...The Old-Fashioned Way
Two years ago, I posted a basic recipe for making classic cocktail, the Old Fashioned, during ManMade's inaugural Cocktail Month festivities.
And two years ago, I was wrong. Quite wrong, in fact. I was just learning about cocktails, and was operating with the notion of the Old Fashioned I'd had in bars and restaurants,
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How to: Five Commandments for Making Great Burgers at Home
We're nearing August, and the whole northern hemisphere is well into prime grilling season. By this point, your grilling game is at its peak - you're well seasoned, and so are you grates. You've been trying a few recipes you've never done before, learning how to better control your fire, so now it's time to revisit a classic, and perfect the burger.
If you're gonna go through the effort of making burgers at home, make them amazing. Here's how:
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How to Start a Fire: By Hand, No Matches
You can imagine the scenarios: extra-minimalist camping trip, Joseph
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How to Tie a Bow Tie: A Gentleman's Guide
Unless you're Orville Redenbacher, you're more of an occasional bow tie wearer rather than a daily guy.
Or perhaps you've never worn one, and have no idea what you'd look like in a real, hand tied deal rather than that ribbon-y thing from the tuxedo rental place.
Either way - you likely don't remember exactly how to tie
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10 Easy-to-Remember Classic Cocktail Recipes that Every Man Should Know
There are drinks that are fairly easy to serve, such as beer and wine, as you simply need to open and pour. Many spirits can be enjoyed in nearly the same way: whiskey neat, brandy in a glass, sake warmed. There are the highballs that are fairly easy to figure out: the vodka cranberry, rum and Coke, gin and tonic. There are the drinks that are so open to interpretation, you'll likely never make them the same way twice: the Bloody Mary comes to mind, as does any number of adverturous use-what-you-have mixes.
But then, there are the classic cocktails, those time-proven combinations that have proven themselves for decades. Besides being tasty, these have emerged as the standards for a reason: they're made from typical ingredients that you can find easily, at any store, and probably should be keeping in your own home bar.
They're so essential, I'm making the claim that every man should have these recipes memorized so he can shake one up at a moment's notice. Trust me, you want to be that guy that knows how to mix drinks: at a get together, after a date, at a work function or meeting. None of these are particularly difficult to commit to memory, and once you've got 'em, you've got 'em, and they'll never go out of style.
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Five Ways to Open a Beer Bottle without a Bottle Opener
Whether you're stuck without the appropriate tools, or just want an opportunity to show off some cool parlor tricks, there are plenty of ways to open a beer or other capped bottle without an manufactured bottle opener. Since we got such a great response for our Five Ways to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew, we thought we'd assemble five of these beer bottle tricks.
Oh, and yes, it is possible to do this with your teeth, but please, please don't. It's not worth it, and people aren't really laughing with you...
1. With a lighter. Check out this classic simple machine principle at work from the Wired wiki. Also works with a spoon


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I'm going to have to be straight up with you from the off. As far as I'm aware, there is no way to make your business completely watertight to the perils of mental ill-health striking. There will always be a difficult phase to grapple with as a result — the key is to manage the scale of the consequences and how lasting their impact is. That is what I'll be exploring here.
The first thing to address is the elephant in the room. It's not easy to tell people that we work with that we have mental health issues. Most people may choose not to and, for those that do, they might fear that HR meeting for weeks and then maybe not even tell the whole truth once it comes around. Perhaps it's easier when the business is your own, you might propose. Ultimately, you're the boss, you call the shots and there's no one around to fire you very easily (you might have a co-founder and/or a board of directors though, who can indeed do that). I have told both a company I was working for and people working for my own company that I have struggled with my mental health over the years. Yes, I do believe it is easier to tell your own employees or team, but that doesn't make it easy. I really didn't want people to doubt my resilience.
That said, telling people is, to me, extremely important when you're an entrepreneur. Paying people's salaries is a huge responsibility and, in the same way that you are investing in them, they too are investing in you. They chose you as their employer and they are funneling their time, effort and care into your vision. So I personally feel I owe them the respect of telling them that while I have up phases, I could possibly have down phases — I also might not. You don't need to share your daily mental health diary with them, nor give a blow by blow account of your first break down — you can just let them know that you have had problems with your mental health in the past and the impact this has had on your work. In my case, that was not being able to get myself into the office or log onto my emails for periods of time, so my team needed to know that. I hadn't just disappeared. This is just my take on it though and you shouldn't feel obliged to tell anyone if you don't feel comfortable doing so.
If you're feeling apprehensive and want to think about how you can tell your team, please feel free to reach out to me — I'd be happy to have a chat/email exchange to help you work out the best way for you, or even just to give you the encouragement you might need. If you don't want to be open about it — which is more than fine — then the plans you put in place can just be presented as "what to do in case anything happens to me". No one needs to know what they "anything" might be.
Assuming we've ticked that "telling people" box (and, conversely, it'll probably feel better than you imagine), we need to put together a mental health proof your business toolkit. It's a toolkit that is neatly compartmentalised, like all good toolboxes.
Preventative Action — before the shit has hit the fan
Reactive Action — once the shit has hit the fan
Ideally, you'll have some strategies in place in each segment. The thing that underpins and unites both these compartments is the foundations, without which the strategies you create will be ineffectual and more unhelpful than helpful, as they'll lull you into thinking that you've got some measures in place when the reality is that you haven't.
Firstly, you need to understand your behaviours and what is likely to happen when you are becoming unwell and when you are unwell — understand those behaviours in great detail and how they might impact the business. Secondly, you need to be 100% honest with yourself. Perhaps you might like to believe that your next bout of depression will last for a month, but given that it's always lasted for 6+ months in the past, putting a month long action plan in place is just going to leave you, your team and your business screwed over for 5+ months — which is enough to kill off any business. It can be tough to be honest with ourselves about the impact of our mental health because it can involve diving back into painful memories and then imagining it in your future too. If you need support to be able to do this, I strongly suggest you get it — there's strength in knowing where you need help and asking for it.
When co-founder & COO at Stemettes, I wasn't ready to be so open about my mental health. When founder & CEO at Salomé, I was very open about it, regardless of whether I was ready or not. But on both occasions, when the shit hit the fan, I was nowhere to be found. If you can't communicate with a depressive (which is often the case), then whether you've discussed it beforehand or not, you need to have physical documents and instructions in place for people because you sure as hell aren't going to be jumping on a conference call with your team any time soon.
Here's what my versions of Preventative and Reactive Action have looked like as an entrepreneur.
Preventative Action
As founder of Salomé, I told my steering committee fairly soon after I'd assembled the team that I had struggled with my mental health in the past, on a fairly consistent basis. It was easy as they were a bunch of creatives and the majority of creatives will experience mental health issues at some point in their lives. I proposed that I come up with a plan for the business to be able to run in my absence and asked if they were happy to take things over in the event that things took a turn for the worse for me. They kindly said "of course" (bearing in mind they were a voluntary team) and one girl in particular volunteered to be the stand-in leader of sorts.
What did I do? Given my extreme love of spreadsheets, I created a spreadsheet with everything that anyone would need to run the business, in quite a lot of detail. As I was creating this document in the early-ish days, I saw it as a living document and added to it as I went along. It had timelines, contact details and more on it.
The result? Well, yes, things did take a turn for the worse, and yes — the team stepped up to the plate admirably. Given that, unfortunately, I found it too difficult to even sound the Red Alert, they had to work out that they needed to step in from cryptic messages left on the website and vague emails that my sister made me send. The best thing to come out of it was that our writers and customers were communicated with. Salomé dealt with hundreds of people on a quarterly basis, for each issue, many more than we would if we were just selling a product as a one month old business. And so, thankfully, most people were eventually updated on what the issue was and why there hadn't been a magazine released or their writing hadn't been read. When I came back to the business, even if to hand it over to someone else, my email to let our audience know about the path forward was met with complete understanding and people volunteering to step up and form the new team. Which made my heart sing.
Reactive Action
Get people to do the stuff that you can't. I felt embarrassed that, when things felt really tough in my head, the things I would normally do with such ease became really, horribly difficult. Things like sending an email to my steering committee: impossible. Telling people that the next issue of the magazine was going to be delayed: almost out of the question. That's understandable; mental illness does strange things to your mind, of course, and no one can be blamed for how they react. As such, the people around you will completely understand — and even if they don't understand, they certainly won't judge you for it.
What did I do? When I couldn't send an email, I got my sister to sit down with me. It's a bit like being a school child really. She had to sit next to me to make sure I wrote it and then when it was done she had to read it over to check that it was ok to send (I wanted her to do this, to be honest). When someone else I know was going through a terribly tough path and her body was in melt-down, she was too ill to write the emails herself, so her friend came round and sent them all for her, with her permission. When things are hard, it doesn't matter what needs to be done, all that matters is that it gets done and damage is kept to as much of a minimum as possible.
The result? By hook or by crook, I sent those damn emails. I really didn't want to, but my sister cornered me and made me — it didn't even come from me. I wasn't able to, but it's best to be as transparent as possible with the people around you so they can help you in the most useful way possible.
These are just a couple of examples of things you can do to prevent and respond to mental ill-health, to protect the health of your business. There are, of course, many others which I can't cover in this article, but will do with time. But what it typically comes down to is two things: 1) being prepared and 2) being transparent. By doing both of these things, it makes the process so much easier. You may be lucky enough that you have colleagues and family or friends who eventually work things out, but the quicker that a situation can be responded to, the less of an impact mental health issues are likely to have on your business, your colleagues and your future.