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Lignetics: Manufacturer of Premium Wood Pellets, Pres-to-Logs® Fire Logs, and Fire Starters
Welcome to Lignetics' blog where we will be posting current information about the wood pellet, fire log, and fire starter industry. We welcome your comments and additions as we develop what we hope will be an up-to-date information center on all developments concerning wood pellets and fire logs.
The uptick of pellet production has spurred discussion in the U.S. and abroad of the strategies needed to piece together a sustainable position for pellet fuel in both the power and thermal marketplaces. Industry leaders say U.S. producers may find an assortment of policy areas and regulatory schemes laden with positive potential for the pellet sector. Some standouts include developments abroad, such as the U.K.'s Department of Energy and Climate Change Contract for Difference (CfD) subsidy program and the Sustainable Biomass Partnership, as well as developments on U.S. producers' soil, such as the upcoming release of the U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan, the development of its associated accounting framework for biogenic carbon emissions and the EPA's new source performance standards (NSPS) for residential wood heaters. Others include the U.S. Energy Information Administration's densified biomass fuel survey and a number of pieces of legislation circulating through Congress, namely the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act or BTU Act. Industry advocates promote these capital activities and others in an effort to make pellet fuel more mainstream.
Pellet Potential Awaits
The U.S. EPA's final ruling for the Clean Power Plan under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act is scheduled for release in August. The plan was first proposed in June 2014 to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent based on 2005 levels from existing, new, modified and reconstructed power plants. The CPP will set forth a calculation of emission-rate targets and give direction for states to implement plans to meet those targets. "This is a key component of the plan because every state has different energy portfolios and energy needs," says Cody Kamrowski, policy and governmental affairs fellow with the Biomass Thermal Energy Council.
States will need to entertain all of the options they can to comply, and using biomass for compliance has many advantages, says Mike Jostrom, director of renewable resources with Plum Creek Timber Co. Inc. "For example, the opportunity to cofire pellets with coal-fired power plants could provide them with a great, short-term opportunity to meet their obligation with low capital costs and without sacrificing reliability," Jostrom says. "It will be important for stakeholders to work with states on how this can be done, assuring sustainability without creating barriers."
Seth Ginther, executive director of the U.S. Industrial Pellet Association, agrees that as the CPP moves forward, there could be opportunities for some U.S. utilities to cofire pellets in existing coal infrastructure, which "would help those utilities preserve investment in their supply chains as well as preserve jobs."
In November, EPA acting assistant administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation Janet McCabe prepared a memorandum with guidance on how to include biomass in state carbon-reduction plans proposed by the CPP and Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program. Issued the same day was a revised version of the Accounting Framework for Biogenic CO2 Emissions from Stationary Sources. This framework is the result of ongoing research by the Scientific Advisory Board, which was tasked by the EPA to determine the biogenic CO2 emission and climate-policy benefits of biomass. The framework has the potential to apply to any stationary sources combusting biomass, which could have implications for power plants, industrial facilities and the heating sector. "With their biogenic carbon framework, the EPA is trying to establish the scientific foundation that supports what they have known all along—that you don't really need to count the carbon dioxide emitted from biomass because it is not being removed from permanent geologic storage, like a fossil fuel is," Jostrom says. "This, of course, assumes that you are not depleting your biological carbon stocks, like forests, in the process. If the EPA gets it right and does not burden the process with too much complexity, it could provide some policy certainty that we haven't had for a long time."
The SAB's final advice to the EPA has no conclusive time line, and with a series of conference calls scheduled this summer, its findings will not be surmised by the CPP's release. According to the Biomass Power Association, this could undermine the intentions of the EPA and the administration to ensure the role of biomass in reducing carbon emissions.
Even after the final framework's release, it's uncertain what policy weight it will carry. EPA may undertake some rulemaking efforts to include it in Clean Air Act regulations, but Emily McGlynn, manager for business development and policy for The Earth Partners, says it seems more likely that it will simply be used as an analytical tool that informs policy. "The decision around how to calculate net greenhouse gas emissions from biomass will be a major driver of how wood pellets are valued in the United States, as policies like the Clean Power Plan and other carbon-pricing schemes come online," McGlynn says. "Being able to demonstrate lower net emissions should become a business strategy for anyone looking to gain more dollar value per ton of pellets."
Wood Heater Happenings
EPA's NSPS for residential wood heaters, governed under the Clean Air Act, was finalized in February, setting the first-ever federal standards for outdoor and indoor wood-fired hydronic heaters, forced-air furnaces, pellet stoves and the previously unregulated single-burn-rate stove. "Beyond regulating the amount of particulates each model of stove or boiler can emit, it deals with a dizzying array of other issues, from what needs to be in owner's manuals to how appliances are tested and what kind of fuel can be used in wood and pellet stoves," says John Ackerly, president of the Alliance for Green Heat.
Jennifer Hedrick, PFI's executive director, says that while the association agrees with the intent of the NSPS rule and shares EPA's goals of reducing emissions, they disagree with several components of the rule as they relate to pellet-fuel requirements. Though the EPA has attested they are not creating standards for pellet fuel, the PFI believes that is exactly what is occurring when the EPA outlines minimum requirements for pellet fuel in its NSPS. "We do not believe that the EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act, which governs the NSPS Rule, to set standards for pellet fuel."
According to Ackerly, the regulation of the fuel—not the stoves—is one of the most controversial areas of the NSPS standards. "The NSPS says that pellet stoves must be tested with a pellet that is certified by either PFI, ENplus or CANplus," Ackerly says. "Moreover, it says that pellets must be made of pure wood and cannot contain things such as construction and demolition debris, treated wood, plywood, plastic, manure, newspaper, cardboard, etc."
Ackerly adds that by regulating pellet fuel, the EPA could take an enforcement action against pellet producers who use some of the banned ingredients. "A number of pellet producers use demolition debris and pallets, and these producers may see their business model upended," he says.
Hedrick believes the minimum requirements for pellet fuel EPA is setting are problematic because several of the requirements are not in line with the best practices known to the industry. She gives several examples as the basis for this statement. For instance, in their ruling, EPA set a maximum pellet length of 1.5 inches with no regard for practical limitations. "We believe no more than 1 percent of pellet fuel should exceed 1.5 inches to ensure proper performance of the appliance, while also allowing for reasonable manufacturing limitations."
In its minimum requirements, EPA specified that trace metals may not exceed 100 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg), but Hedrick says EPA does not define trace metals, nor state if it means that the combined total or individual amounts of these metals may not exceed the 100-mg-per-kg requirement. EPA's 2 percent ash content limitation creates a third area of concern for PFI. "While the cap on ash will not cause concern for most if not all of the manufacturers of pellet fuel, it discourages innovation by pellet fuel and appliance manufacturers who could otherwise develop clean-burning appliances utilizing higher-ash pellet fuel," Hedrick says.
PFI also believes EPA incorrectly classifies fines as inorganic rather than organic, and the agency does not provide an actual definition for fines. "This is significant as the PFI and ENplus standards have different definitions for what constitutes fines—PFI uses a one-eighth-inch-square-hole screen and ENplus uses a 3.15 mm-round-hole screen," Hedrick says. "This is ultimately about a 30 percent difference in aperture size."
Without some sort of assurance of a resolution to these concerns and others, PFI leadership determined a more formal challenge of the rule was necessary. PFI filed a petition for review with the District of Columbia Circuit Court on May 15. Hedrick clarifies that they do not oppose EPA's inclusion of graded-fuel programs within the NSPS rule, but decided to take action because they object to the agency creating its own pellet fuel standards (e.g. minimum requirements for pellet fuel). "The leadership of PFI has given significant consideration to this course of action and believes it is the best path toward assurance that fuel manufacturers can continue their operations without unreasonable burden from EPA," Hedrick says. "Concurrently, we will continue to work with EPA to attempt to address issues within the rule outside of the legal process."
Congressional Callings
The BTU Act has been one of BTEC's policy priorities for the past five years, packaging a 30 percent residential renewable energy tax credit with a 30 percent business investment tax credit (ITC) for commercial and industrial high-efficiency, biomass-thermal technologies. "The BTU Act adds high-efficiency, biomass-thermal technologies to the list of renewable energy technologies that currently benefit from the investment tax credits under section 25D—residential—and section 48—commercial/industrial—of the tax code," Kamrowski says. "These tax credits will establish parity with other renewable technologies that have enjoyed substantial tax credits over many years, thus reducing market distortion and, in effect, increasing the return on investment (ROI) and financial viability of biomass technology."
Equivalent treatment in the tax code should have been added back in 2005 when the Energy Policy Act codified all other renewable energy tax credits into section 48, says Charlie Niebling, partner of Innovative Natural Resource Solutions LLC. These credits are up for reauthorization in December and expire at the end of 2016. "If they are renewed, and there is going to be tremendous pressure to renew them, this 114th Congress has to act," Niebling says.
The tax credits have proven valuable in other renewable energy sectors in helping consumers overcome high-investment costs, Niebling says. "It is creating a strong market pull, and if you have a strong market pull for pellets, manufacturers are going to step up to the plate and invest in capacity," he says. "That's what's going to drive growth."
The BTU Act would have the strongest, direct economic effect on the biomass-heating industry, according to BTEC. There are a few other pieces of legislation at different stages of consideration in the House of Representatives and Senate worth mentioning, however, including two others that could break open the market for biomass thermal technologies and fuels using the business ITC to incentivize thermal projects. The Power Efficiency and Resiliency Act or POWER Act would provide a 30 percent business tax credit for qualifying waste-heat-to-power (WHP) property and combined-heat-and-power (CHP) property and extend the credit through 2018. "However, the bill's proposed cutoff of 20 percent electrical efficiency for qualifying projects is in our view too high, as many technologies, such as backpressure steam and organic Rankine cycle engines, can produce a combined—electrical plus thermal—efficiency of over 60 percent with an electrical efficiency of less than 20 percent," Kamrowski says. "It does not make sense to disqualify these projects with a myopic overemphasis on electrical efficiency."
The WHP bill addresses this problem and provides a 30 percent business tax credit for qualifying WHP property, Kamrowski adds. Another big bill on BTEC's radar is Sen. Ron Wyden's Bioenergy Act of 2015, which would provide grants and R&D funding for biomass thermal and biopower project development, fund feedstock processing and logistics research and require USDA and DOE to coordinate bioenergy activities.
Tracking Transparency
At the end of last year, the U.S. DOE announced plans to conduct regular surveys of U.S. pellet producers that will be published by the U.S. EIA. After collecting public comments from its first proposal, the DOE issued a request in June to the Office of Management and Budget for a three-year clearance of a new data-collection survey on densified biomass fuel on Form EIA-63C, Densified Biomass Fuels Report. Data collected on Form EIA-63C would be used to estimate densified biomass fuel consumption in the U.S., along with production, sales and inventory at state, regional and national levels.
"The information that the survey is going to be asking pellet manufacturers to provide will be extremely valuable to our industry going forward to help inform investment opportunities in new capacity, and also help inform policy makers," Niebling says. "You can't make a good public policy, as it relates to renewable energy, unless you've got the data to base it on, and our industry has suffered from a lack of good, real-time information about our size, capacity, production, inventory and the value of product produced every year."
Data gathered via the form will be published on the EIA website and in various EIA publications, including the Monthly Energy Review. The survey goal is to collect a range of data from densified biomass manufacturers, including information on pellets, bricks, briquettes, etc. Producers with 10,000 tons or more of capacity will be targeted by the effort. Producers under the 10,000-tons-per-year cap only need to submit the form once annually. Approximately 200 densified-biomass producers are expected to respond to the initial survey, with 150 respondents expected to file regular reports. "I think if the pellet industry is to mature in this country and grow to a point where it becomes a true mainstream fuel option for residential, commercial and industrial feed, we have to be willing to provide shared information."
Niebling says the fact that the EIA has determined that the domestic pellet industry is important enough to survey and publish data on is a good sign and something he hopes the industry will embrace. Ackerly agrees with Niebling, considering the survey an important recognition for the U.S. pellet industry, meaning that it is being taken more seriously as a mainstream fuel. "This will help show how much wood pellets are contributing to the renewable energy pie and give it credit for that contribution," Ackerly says. "The survey will keep track of what percentage of pellets are being exported, what percent are PFI certified and where the fiber came from."
The DOE's second comment period on the proposed information collection closed July 6.
Push From Overseas
Europe's climate policy is affecting all facets of pellet production. Reforestation and stewardship have grown as an industry focus, evidenced by the SBP. The partnership was formed in 2013 by major European power generators that use biomass, mostly wood pellets, and who saw a need in the marketplace for harmonized sustainability criteria for solid biomass. "They recognized that this was necessary to lower costs within the supply chain and ensure security of supply," Ginther says. "The goal of the partnership is for their certificate to be accepted in all European markets. In order for wood pellets, or any renewable energy, to become a true energy commodity the market demands the consistency and uniformity that the SBP certificate can provide."
The SBP fully recognizes the credibility of existing forest certification schemes like the Forest Stewardship Council and the Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification, and does not wish to compete with or replicate them. "As an industry, we have been advocating for a unified set of sustainability criteria for many years, and the SBP certificate could fill that gap for us," Ginther says. "Consistent sustainability requirements across several markets creates efficiencies within the supply chain and make wood pellets an easily traded commodity. Overall, these efficiencies mean a lower cost for the end consumer."
Ginther believes the crux of the pellet industry is that U.S. producers aim to provide a sustainable, low-carbon product at a low cost. "With one comprehensive set of sustainability criteria to follow, rather than different regulations and reporting requirements from each individual buyer, they can deliver on this promise more efficiently."
Ten applicants have been accepted by the SBP as certification bodies and are progressing toward achieving SBP-approved status. Before receiving this status, a certification body must demonstrate its competence to undertake an audit of a biomass producer against the SBP standards in a real-life situation. Under the SBP framework, the biomass producer, typically a pellet mill, is certified by the SBP-approved certification body.
Another European-based program with the potential to support U.S. pellet production is the U.K.'s CfD program, which provides government support to power generators for using renewable energy sources in place of coal. The program is designed to help renewables compete with the low cost of fossil fuels, and to protect consumers from bearing the burden of costs associated with newer energy technologies. According to Ginther, it is important to note that the CfD is a private contract between the government and the generator over a fixed period, which makes it a preferred method of subsidy over Europe's Renewables Obligation. "The CfD offers more certainty to generators and often leads to lower financing costs for converting projects," he says.
Many U.K. power generators use this subsidy scheme to help finance conversions, which helps U.S. pellet producers compete with the low cost of coal and other fossil fuels in the energy marketplace. Although the CfD program affects the U.K. market directly, all member states have similar programs to assist with the costs of bringing renewable energy technologies to the grid, Ginther says.
Whether on native or foreign soil, there are opportunities on the horizon with the potential to bolster the U.S. pellet industry. Only time can tell, but these capital activities look like promising drivers to sustainably bring pellet fuel from minority to mainstream.
Author: Katie Fletcher
Associate Editor, Pellet Mill Magazine
Read the original here.
By Associated British Ports | July 15, 2015
Associated British Ports' continuous ship unloaders discharge around 60,000 metric tons of biomass from the POPI S at the Port of Immingham.
Associated British Ports
The world's largest ever single shipment of biomass has been discharged on the quayside at Associated British Ports' Humber International Terminal at the Port of Immingham ready for onward transit to Drax power station.
Almost 60,000 metric tons of wood pellets were unloaded from the POPI S—the first time such cargo has been carried by a Panamax-class vessel. The ship was loaded at the Westview Terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia on June 2, before making the 34-day journey to Immingham.
The pellets have been discharged using ABP's bespoke continuous ship unloaders, which feed the product onto a conveyor system connected to Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal, where it will be stored in eight silos, each capable of holding 25,000 metric tons of biomass, before being loaded onto trains for the final part of its journey.
IRFT is the world's largest dedicated biomass handling facility.
The world-beating shipment forms part of ABP's Humber-wide agreement with Drax Power Ltd., which will see it supply up to 6 million metric tons of biomass per year to the power station as part of its conversion to low carbon electricity generation.
ABP Director Humber John Fitzgerald said, "This shipment marks a significant milestone not only in our partnership with Drax, but in the development of the biomass and renewable energy sectors globally.
"This is a very exciting time for our 'Energy Estuary' and we're extremely proud to be at the forefront of the renewables industry on the Humber, working closely with partners including Drax, to drive innovation, boost the regional and national economy and fuel the Northern Economic Powerhouse."
Drax Head of Supply Chain and Logistics Graham Backhouse said, "This shipment provides further evidence of our new supply chain supporting the transition from coal to sustainable biomass at Drax. We are transforming the U.K.'s largest Power Station into one of Europe's largest generators of renewable electricity and this shipment is another example of how we provide the U.K. with sustainable, reliable and affordable energy."
Read the original here.
From Biomass Magazine
By Drax Group
A three-year partnership between Lloyds Register Rail, U.K. manufacturer WH Davis and Drax has reached a significant milestone as Drax takes delivery of its 200th specially designed biomass rail freight wagon.
The partnership, which has pushed the boundaries of rail engineering and lead to the design and manufacturing of the largest ever rail freight wagons in the U.K., has played a major role in ongoing developments in Drax's supply chain as part of its conversion to burning sustainable biomass in place of coal—a process which has seen Drax transform from the U.K.'s largest emitter of CO2 to Europe's largest decarbonization project.
Since entering operations in 2013, the wagons, designed by Lloyd's Register Rail and manufactured by WH Davis, have collectively travelled over 12 million miles between the Ports of Tyne, Hull and Immingham and Drax. Over the course of these journeys they have transported around 4.5 million metric tons of sustainable biomass—enough to power 2.5 million homes with low carbon, affordable and reliable renewable electricity. The wagons are 30 percent larger than any other rail freight wagon currently used in the U.K., and are able to carry a biomass load weighing 71.6 metric tons.
Peter Emery, group operations director of Drax Group plc, said, "This milestone demonstrates the sheer scale of our decarbonization project as we replace coal with sustainable biomass providing a reliable and affordable source of electricity.
"Lloyds Register Rail and WH Davis have been important partners in the development of our biomass operations. The delivery of our 200th wagon marks a major stage in a process which has been a huge success both in terms of modifications to Drax's supply chain and for UK engineering as a whole."
Mark Jackson, managing director of WH Davis, said, "We're proud of what we've achieved for Drax, providing U.K. manufactured wagons which set the standard for wagon manufacture and enable Drax to receive volumes of biomass which would be impracticable by road.
"Our subsidiary, Davis Wagon Services, is supporting Drax with maintenance of the wagons and is working with Drax to establish a dedicated maintenance facility, ensuring maximum fleet availability."
Read the original here.
From Biomass Magazine
By Erin Voegele
On July 2, the White House issued a memo on modernizing the regulatory system for biotechnology products to heads of the U.S. EPA, USDA and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The memo defines "biotechnology products" as those developed through engineering of the targeted or in vitro manipulation of genetic information of organisms, including plants, animals, and microbes. It also covers some of the products produced by such plants, animals, and microbes, or their derived products. The memo does not target products such as human drugs and medical devices.
The memo explains that in 1986, the Office of Science and Technology Policy issued the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology (CF), which describes the comprehensive federal regulatory policy for ensuring the safety of biotechnology products. An update of the CF was issued in 1992 that sets forth a risk-based, scientifically sound basis for the oversight of activities that introduce biotechnology products into the environment. According to the memo, the update affirmed that federal oversight would focus on the characteristics of the product and the environment into which it is being introduced, rather than the process by which the product is created.
The memo notes that each federal regulatory agency with jurisdiction over the products of biotechnology has developed regulations and guidance documents to implement its authority under existing laws. This has resulted in a complex system for assessing and managing health and environmental risks of the products of biotechnology. "While the current regulatory system for the products of biotechnology effectively protects health and the environment, in some cases unnecessary costs and burdens associated with uncertainty about agency jurisdiction, lack of predictability of timeframes for review, and other processes have arisen," said the White House in the memo. "These costs and burdens have limited the ability of small and mid-sized companies to navigate the regulatory process and of the public to understand easily how the safety of these products is assured; and, accordingly, they have the potential to reduce economic growth, innovation, and competitiveness."
According to the memo, advances in technology have also dramatically altered the biotechnology landscape since the CF update was released in 1992. "A further update of the CF is needed to facilitate the appropriate federal oversight by the regulatory system and increase transparency, while continuing to provide a framework for advancing innovation," said White House in the memo.
The document outlines several one-year objectives, including the development of an updated CF to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the agencies that regulate the products of biotechnology. The memo also calls for the formulation of a long-term strategy to ensure that the federal regulatory system is equipped to efficiently assess the risks, if any, associated with future products of biotechnology while supporting innovation, protecting health and the environment, promoting public confidence in the regulatory process, increasing transparency and predictability, and reducing unnecessary costs and burdens. In addition, the memo call for commissioning an external, independent analysis of the future landscape of biotechnology products.
To support those objectives, the memo establishes a new Biotechnology Working Group under the Emerging Technologies Interagency Policy Coordination Committee. Within one year, the working group is tasked with updating the CF and developing a long-term strategy to ensure that the federal regulatory system is equipped to efficiently assess any risks associated with future products of biotechnology while supporting innovation, protecting health and the environment, maintaining public confidence in the regulatory process, increasing transparency and predictability, and reducing unnecessary costs and burdens. For at least five years after the release of the long-term strategy, the working group is directed to produce an annual report on specific steps that agencies are taking to implement the strategy and any other steps the agencies are taking to improve the transparency, coordination, predictability and efficiency of the regulation of biotechnology products. The memo also directs the EPA, FDA and USDA to commission an external, independent analysis of the future landscape of biotechnology products and directs the three agencies to work with the OSTM and Office of Management and Budget to develop a plan for supporting the implementation of the memo in agency fiscal year 2017 budget requests and in future budget submissions, as appropriate.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization has spoken out in support of the memo. "BIO commends the White House for recognizing that coordination between the agencies that oversee the approval of biotech products – the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – must be a priority to encourage innovation by improving transparency, timeliness and predictability of the regulatory system," said Matt O'Mara, acting vice president of BIO's Food & Agriculture Section.
"BIO supports a regulatory system that is timely, predictable, based upon the best available science, and incorporates 20+ years of experience with the technology," O'Mara continued. "We look forward to reviewing the proposal in more detail and working with the administration on this moving forward."
A full copy of the memo can be downloaded from the White House website.
Read the original here.


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she must be smoking some really good stuff, or she must be getting paid a good chunk of change.
Definitely don't support forcing those who exempt themselves on religious grounds. Or force in general. But another poster mentioned how many people still smoke but there is no government mandate forcing them not too. Well there are many new laws that prevent the second-hand smoke that can potentially (again that word) endanger others. No one is making you stop smoking, but is giving you restrictions on how and where you do if it affects others and I feel the same should apply to children whose parents choose not to get them vaccinated particularly if other educational options are available.
I definitely agree with a lot of points in your post and it was very well written. I dont think arrogance helps the issue (it may come out in being impassioned about one's own child and parental decisions). I don't think we should be forcing people to do anything in regards to their own children, however I think the potential dangers to other's children need to be more heavily considered. Also the possible affects of growing numbers of children not being vaccinated overtime and what that will look like in a few generations.
I think you're touching on an important point here. Every parent should have the right to raise their child as they see fit, but when you choose not to give your children soda or candy etc you harm and affect no one outside of your immediate family. Increasing numbers of children not being vaccinated could POTENTIALLY harm many other children and thats where I believe we need to err on the side of caution. Neither side can guarantee 100% that vaccines are a danger to others, or that not being vaccinated is a danger to others, but personally I don't want another parent's decisions putting my child, and future children for that matter if herd immunity dies, at risk.
totally agree with you Brian Fields. I am obviously concerned for my own child but imagine one or two generations from now if children are increasingly not vaccinated? imagine the kind of force these diseases could come back with.
definitely true. Jenny McCarthy said vaccines cause autism so IT MUST BE TRUE!
totally agree.
and just to clarify, I know there has been no small pox outbreaks for decades upon decades. just making a point that some (the majority it seems) of parents feel confident in vaccinesthat have full faith and backing of the medical community. I believe every parent has the right to question in regards to their own child but why at the risk of other's peace of mind?
Oh and whats your answer to polio? Measles? I'm not interested in arguing whose ultimately wrong and right nor do I want to tell you what do with your child. However, I think there is a valid reason that non-vaccinated children en masse are a potential danger to other students, therefore I don't want my child exposed to the risk.
As a parent, I respect the right of each parent to make their own personal choices in raising their children. THEIR OWN CHILDREN, not putting other's children at risk. When large numbers of parents stop vaccinating their children the group immunity goes down and the risk of contagious diseases being contracted goes up. Remember when polio and small pox broke out in classrooms last year? Neither do I. And I'd like to keep it that way. If you don't want to vaccinate your child for whatever reason that is fine, but don't keep them in public schools at the expense of my child's health.

subset: commoncrawl


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|Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister
Re: Who is Perl? (Anthropomorphizing Everything)by Reverend Phil (Pilgrim)
|on May 23, 2002 at 14:08 UTC ( #168772=note: print w/ replies, xml )
|Need Help??
I think Perl may just be the old man *and* the garage. Or the high school teacher *and* the shop class. I know that my love for Perl would not be so complete were it not for the resources out there - the community resources for sharing knowledge and advancing the capabilities of the language (modules). Perl is the idea that for nearly any job, someone with an open mind and a full garage can pick through whatever tools available and show you one way to tackle the problem, given these tools and his specific flavor of ingenuity. Perl is the idea that an intelligent person can determine that one good way to fix this thing is to tighten that screw, and if need be, I can use the back end of this here claw hammer, or possibly a butter knife, and tighten that screw.
In Section Meditations


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And I recognize that there have been critics of the process. They tend not to be folks who I think are directly involved in what's happening in Afghanistan. Those who are recognize the gravity of the situation and recognize the importance of us getting this right.
And the decision will be made soon. It will be one that is fully transparent so that the American people understand exactly what we're doing and why we're doing it and what it will entail. It will also I think send a clear message that our goal here ultimately has to be for the Afghan people to be able to be in a position to provide their own security, and that the United States cannot be engaged in an open-ended commitment.
So I am very pleased with how the process has proceeded. And those who participated I think would acknowledge that it has been not a academic exercise, but a necessary process in order to make sure that we're making the best possible decisions.
In "Obama to Consider Four Afghan Troop Options," a related article for The New American online posted on November 13, this writer discussed the heavy concentration of people associated with the Obama administration's operations in Afghanistan who are members of the internationalist Council on Foreign relations. Most prominent among them are Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander, General Stanley McChrystal.
The latter two are reportedly not of the same mind when it comes to expanding the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The Washington Post reported that Eikenberry: "sent two classified cables to Washington in the past week expressing deep concerns about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan until President Hamid Karzai's government demonstrates that it is willing to tackle the corruption and mismanagement that has fueled the Taliban's rise. Eikenberry's memos, sent as President Obama enters the final stages of his deliberations over a new Afghanistan strategy, illustrated both the difficulty of the decision and the deepening divisions within the administration's national security team."
Curiously, CFR members are also counted among leading Republican figures who have been critical of Obama's delay in deciding the future of the war — such as former Vice President Dick Cheney (who recently accused Obama of "dithering" in his troop decision) and Senator John McCain, Mr. Obama's opponent in the race for the White House, who said last week that he was disappointed and angry that the president has delayed his Afghanistan decision.
While it is true that the CFR as an organization has always declined to take an official position on U.S government policy, its members have dominated the U.S. State Department since the Truman administration and have almost always used that influence to maneuver the United States into a series of undeclared wars under mandates from the United Nations or one of its subsidiary agencies such as SEATO or NATO.
The current disagreement we are witnessing among prominent CFR members, therefore, may be regarded more as a difference of opinion about method, rather than end goals. As to what those goals are, we should recall that all of the post-World War II military operations entered into under the direction of CFR-dominated administrations ended in stalemates or worse — culminating in the withdrawal of U.S. troops without the stated objective ever being achieved. Vietnam today, for example, is under complete communist control, despite our years of effort and over 50,000 U.S. lives lost.
During the war in Vietnam, President John Kennedy, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Secretary of State Dean Rusk, U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge, and Generals Lyman Lemnitzer, Maxwell Taylor, William Westmoreland, and Andrew Goodpaster were all CFR members.
Given the present leadership of our operations in Afghanistan, can we expect several more years of war, and thousands more casualties, followed by the eventual withdrawal of our troops, with the Taliban still in charge and al Qaeda still in place?
Perhaps that is what all of the disagreement over how many troops we should send to Afghanistan is all about — planned chaos.


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Home › Games & More › Games › Solo Play Games › The Brain Cube
The Brain Cube
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$29.99Sale $15.00
Are you ready to meet the ultimate puzzle-cube challenge? Without the help of those familiar colored squares, players must solve this puzzle by twisting the cube to line up folds in the brain, making it a real head-spinner. To help you get in a cerebral mood, The Brain Cube is made of Kraton, a squishy material that feels eerily like a brain. Designed by Jason Freeny, an American sculptor known for his brilliantly original dissection of pop-culture toys, The Brain Cube exercises your visual perception, problem solving, concentration, and tactile perception skills. Cube away, cube genius! <!--Ready to Make Your Head Spin? Nothing against those run-of-the-mill puzzle cubes out there (you know the ones), but your brain is ready for a bigger challenge. Your brain is ready for The Brain Cube. This cranial spin on the classic cube challenges players to line up folds of the brain instead of colors, making it much harder to solve. Designed by Jason Freeny, an American sculptor know for his brilliantly original take on toys from pop culture, The Brain Cube exercises your visual perception, problem solving, concentration, and tactile perception skills. To help you get in a cerebral mood, The Brain Cube is made of Kraton, a squishy material that feels eerily like a brain. Cube away, cube genius!
The IdeaSolve the puzzle cube by twisting the blocks to align folds of the brain.
The BrainsExercise visual perception, problem solving, concentration, and tactile perception.
The A-HaComes with a cardboard recreation of a solved cube for reference.
Brain Health Expert Says
A clever spin on the traditional puzzle cube, The Brain Cube uses the frontal, parietal, and motor coordination areas of your brain as you plan subsequent moves, visualize different spatial alignments, and rotate the puzzle accordingly.
The Brain Coach Says
Yep, it's a Rubik's-style puzzle cube, but with brain instead of colors. Even the packaging is cool - the glass jar will keep your brain cube fresh until you need it - formaldehyde sold separately.
Hold a brain in the palm of your hand!
Product Details
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|Recommended Age
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Customer Reviews
Add Your Review!
poor packaging
I was very excited about Jason Freely's Brain Cube, and was truly anticipating it (made a space in my display case) . The problem I found was the graphics were printed crooked on the glass jar. I thought it was super cool to suspend the cube as if it were floating in the jar, but because of the crooked graphics it's not displayable.
Good but needed work
I Very much enjoyed this puzzle it looks amazing in my collection of puzzles and every person i have showed it to has loved it. It was a huge challenge, but it was very fun. However when I fiirst got the puzzle it fell apart due to the fact that two of the centers came unscrewed from the center and since the cube does not have adjustable centers I had to cut off the rubber coating on the centers so that I could screw them back into the core. One of the screws did not hold and I was forced to super glue it, I then super glued the rubber pieces back on and now it works great I havn't had any more problems. Overall I think this cube is great and as a speed cuber and a collector of many rubiks type puzzles I recommend this puzzle to anyone who wants to impress their friends and get some enjoyment out of a very cool and interesting puzzle
I think your photogr
I think your photography work is great. Enjoy your blog, you seem like such a nice, sweet, canirg person (and smart!). Enjoy your work on kink very much!
Excellent gift for my neurosurgeon!
I'm testing for neurosurgery number four. I can't wait to give this to my surgeon. I hope no one has given him one already. I thought of keeping the cardboard 'solution' and letting him work it out on his own, but when I mentioned this to the salesman he agreed that was cruel and included an extra cardboard solution for me to keep. I can't wait to give it to him. I played with the one in the store for a long time. It seems sturdy and well made or I wouldn't have spent so much. It's a work of art beyond being an awesome puzzle. It even arrived stil suspended in the jar.I'm still testing toward surgery. No guarantee of another surgery, but from the words of the doctors so far it seems likely. Even if they decide not to recommend surgery, I'm getting this to my neurosurgeon. If he's received one already, I'll find another on his team to gift it.
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Compression Socks
Want to keep the performance and good look of your casual socks, but need some compression for travel or medical resons? Check out Rock/Creek's selection of compression socks from brands like Goodhew, Sockwell and Smartwool. There are also some running compression socks for longer runs & faster recovery!


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Painting Improvisations: A Visual Jazz Exploration Week of March 30-April 4 , 2014
$650.00 – $3,550.00 (based on accommodation type)This workshop's start date has passed.
Workshop Details
The performing and visual arts share a common language and process. Visual artists can learn valuable lessons from jazz musicians, whose creations depend on exploration, improvisation, and collaboration.
This workshop will lead participants through a series of visual exercises that develop the skills needed for risk-taking in the arts. Participants can discover ways to remember the fearless play of childhood while letting go of concerns about "abiding by the rules" or "getting to the right answer/representational image." Students will identify specific and universal aspects of the creative process that produce joy, and explore ways to infuse them more frequently into their art making. Participants with diverse interests will find ways to incorporate nonobjective abstraction (patterns, abstract designs, free-flowing marks, or "visual jazz") into their creative process and final artwork.
Whether your artistic interests fall in landscape, figure, still-life, or abstract painting, there will be something valuable for you in this workshop. Each day, additional mystery materials will be provided to participants for group activities.
You can view Joanne's artwork at www.beaulerugglesgraphics.com.
Recommended reading: Nachmanovitch, Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art.
($50 materials fee paid directly to the leader)


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Anthony Cobbs
Pastor Anthony is the founding pastor of Breakthrough Church, a new nontraditional church plant in northeast San Antonio that seeks to help people live abundantly in the freedom that is found in Christ.
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Class of 2013, Twinkies Do Come Back!
It is hard to believe how long it's been since I walked the stage, graduating from high school. According to my kids, I graduated in ancient times, the year of our Lord, 1988. The idealistic, naive young man that received his diploma then had no idea what life had in store. During this graduation season, many […] [Read More]
I'm Praying For Rihanna!
Yikes! My daughter's favorite entertainer is Nicki Minaj. Needless to say, when I hear my daughter speak on how awesome Nicki is and know that she knows the lyrics to all of her songs, I cringe. There are maybe two or three (edited) songs I don't mind her listening to (see "Moment for Life" and […] [Read More]
Look Both Ways
Like most responsible parents, my mother spent considerable time teaching me to look both ways before crossing the street. At the time, my main concern was avoiding those big, speeding cars driven by crazy folks that wanted to hurt children (that's what she called them). She taught me how to be smarter than those drivers, and to think ahead. I […] [Read More]
A Super School Year
The summer draws near an end, and a new school year is upon us. I can't help but reflect on a summer filled with what seemed like endless superhero movies. Back in my earlier years, a summer like this would have been as sweet as Peter Parker getting a love letter from Mary Jane. But averaging […] [Read More]
It Could Have Been Any Theater
For the first time in years, I had the desire to attend a midnight premiere of a movie. I anticipated the release of The Dark Knight Rises for months and grew increasingly excited as the opening date drew closer. I convinced my wife and children to come along, and there we were, at a jam-packed theater, […] [Read More]
What T.V. and the Movies Taught Me About Fathering
Father's Day is one of the toughest days of the year for many people. It doesn't matter if a person is 7 or 70, the acknowledgment of one's father is either a joyous occasion, an empty one, or an all out struggle. The role of father is ambiguous if a father is absent physically or […] [Read More]
Signs You're Growing Up
Up until recently, it had been a ritual for our family to dine out on Sunday afternoons. Now my wife cooks and we as a family are able to sit down together and enjoy each other's company over a good meal. Though the food is good and the fellowship is good, it is also good […] [Read More]
Think Like a Christian
Like most men, I am not a big fan of romantic comedies. I can bear with one every now and then because I am usually sitting next to the most beautiful woman in the theater (brownie points), but you generally won't hear me making the selection. This past weekend turned out to be an exception. My […] [Read More]
The Easter Suit
Confession: I am not a fan of Easter. I absolutely adore Resurrection Sunday, the day we celebrate Jesus Christ being raised from the dead. Easter, on the other hand, is a commercialized, pastel splattered barrage of candy, colored eggs, and new clothes. Perhaps it is this last item that has me all Scrooge-like (I know, […] [Read More]
To Be a Great Leader, Learn How to F.O.L.L.O.W.
Recently I took part in a session on mentoring presented by the San Antonio chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. The fraternity focuses on achievement and hosts a number of opportunities for young males to experience role models, especially African Americans, who are making significant contributions in various fields. The male participants ranged in age […] [Read More]
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Ok, so Fanjo, out of Belarus, obviously does not just design children's rooms, but to me these are rooms that stand out from the rest in the realm of children's design. I've just picked a couple to showcase here, but I am amazed at the creativity of Fanjo. What impresses me is not only the overall design of the room itself, but also the detail paid to each enchanting piece within the room. For the youngest set, I think my favorite is Young Flat (pictured above). This room would easily transition from infant to child, allowing the design elements to endure longer then most others out there. Many aspects will even endure through the tween and teen years. This is fabulously functional kind of design I am looking for as a parent. From the whimsical light fixture to the creative shelving and storage and the not overly girly design, this one is a winner. If you look at the Young Flat design site, you will see that Fanjo really has significant talent for overall modern home design, so don't miss it. Here I am just focusing on a couple of contemporary children's rooms.
The MyMi room has a forest theme with so much storage and specialized areas for play, work and sleep. Again, this stunning design would be so easy to transition over the years as your child grows older without having to revamp the entire space. There really is a place for everything in this room and it is infused with the cheer and creativity that will boost the imagination of any young child. For those of us who reside in urban areas, this design is a particularly wonderful way to bring a bit of nature into your home. There are two wardrobes for storage, a bed, desk, screened dressing area and still room for play. All of these elements blend seamlessly together to create a harmonious and natural space.
So both of these designs are somewhat gender neutral, but certainly more on the feminine side. I have boys and I totally see where a slight change of color palette from the peach and pink to maybe some blues or yellows and a few other minor adjustments would make these wonderful rooms perfect for boys too. Not only would these rooms provide a creative and relaxing space for children, but also one that will last throughout childhood and beyond with a little tweaking here and there. The designs are modern and streamlined with a calming sense of joyfulness and exploration. What better way to surround your child? For more information about these room designs and products therein, please contact Fanjo at email@example.com or click the links provided above. Don't forget to take a peak at the other great pictures of these rooms below!


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Soccer as Life
For lovers of the beautiful game
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2010 World Club Cup
For the first time in the competition's seven-year history, a club from outside Europe and South America will compete in the final of the World Club Cup. The FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2010 is being played in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emrates this month. The competition each December pits champion clubs from different continents. […] [Read More]


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He may have lyrically described himself as a "walking, talking question mark," but as a musician and producer, Jamie Lidell is quite comfortable with what he likes and the sounds he makes. Over his decade-plus career, the English pop maestro has blended old-school soul and R&B with more contemporary electronic and digital elements, resulting in a unique take on electro-funk and neo-soul. His last two albums, Jim and Compass, reflect a more traditionally soulful approach, whereas Multiply and his new album, Jamie Lidell, are filled with far more funky and hard-driving dance numbers — and just enough nastiness to elicit a double take.
This week, Lidell hits North America in support of his new effort. Before he used his SkyMiles, however, Consequence of Sound caught up with the songwriter to discuss the new album, lessons learned, and improvisation.
Your last two releases were very soulful albums. Your latest seems to return you to that electro funk foundation you worked so well with on Multiply. You once said something to the effect that "getting typecast as this neo-soul Brit…sends shutters up [your] spine". Is this album a response to or a preemptive strike against such typecasting?
Well, I kind of think Compass was that album and this is just me having fun again. I was definitely conscious of the fact that typecasting was going on. But to be honest, there's always going to be some kind of typecasting. I can split the crowd quite often, I think, as a musician. I can create a lot of hate it seems just by being a white Brit soul guy; of any kind, whether it's weird electronics or with a band. Some people really hate that concept. [Laughs.] I'm just in that zone now where I'm just making music that I like and I feel lucky that I get to do that.
It was something of a talking point about you sort of self-titling your album Jim, but there doesn't seem to be much blowback with this album, a truly self-titled album. You've previously discussed personality within your music. Was there a reason for self-titling this album?
It would be nice if this was material that existed before Muddlin' Gear and I was finally releasing it. [Laughs.] That was the kind of thought that I had recently, "Yeah, this is my first album! I'm just re-releasing it after all these years." [Laughs.] In some weird way, although that's not literally true, it is funny how much this music sounds a little bit like the kind of stuff I was making when I was 16, when I first started experimenting. It's quite amazing to me the through lines and stuff that remained. I think you always think as an artist you're really growing and changing a lot all the time; it's amazing how many things keep cropping up in my work. I think I just knew with this album I had taken it upon myself to really focus myself and put a lot of coherence in what could be quite a scattered output. I knew that I needed to come back strong after Compass if I wanted to even capture the attention of what seems to be a waning attention span in the modern world.
Having a fifth album as a prospect as an artist on an independent label, I must tell you, is not a very easy one; it's tricky. It's tricky to make people care. And I understand; the marketplace is a very bizarre one at the moment, very speedy and fickle. I knew I was coming back with something ambitious. I just wanted to catch people's ear in a way. And people who haven't heard of me, perhaps. I wanted to come back with something almost obnoxiously bold, so I thought what better way than to self-title an album. And to create a talking point as a result doesn't hurt.
This album was recorded in Nashville, in a studio that you built there, and you currently live there. Was this album completely conceived and birthed in Nashville or were you kicking it around before you movied to town?
It was basically completely Nashville grown. Before my wife and I moved into our current house, which is the home of the studio where this album was made, we had a rental place. Actually, a house that used to belong to Ben Folds; a really lovely place, I must say. I didn't have much room to set up stuff. I just had a sampler and a couple of keyboards in what was effectively a kind of corridor, an off-shoot of one of the main rooms. That was the room where I wrote "Big Love" and "What a Shame" and a couple of prototypes for "In Your Mind" and a couple of songs that ended up on the album. Their gestation kind of started in that rental place; they went through various incarnations until they finally found their Technicolor home in the main studio. I was kind of working on stuff, but I've got to say it was strictly a Nashville geographical gestation.
Do you think this album could have been recorded in Berlin or Paris? How did Nashville affect the final product, or did the city affect it at all?
It's a popular question, and it's a question that remains a little bit of a mystery to me, in terms of a clean answer. And I've searched myself for a good answer to this over the years, actually, because it's been something people have been curious about, just with my relative nomadic existence, the itchy foot and what have you. Just knowing that I'm in a different place, I think the activity, the action of moving itself, is definitely a powerful force to me to create something. In a way, it's a creative act. It's kind of a like a destructive thing to move house and also a creative act to make another one. So, it kind of reflects that, in a way, if you will, metaphorically.
But also, yeah, in terms of like a time-space, Nashville operates on a totally different level to a metropolis like New York. The "New York minute" is definitely not something you find in Nashville. The spaciousness, the lack of choice, the lack of, somewhat, diversity, and also the push and pull, the pros and cons of a metropolis; you don't get in Nashville. There's more time to dream, more time to create. I'm ultimately living a much slower-paced life with a lot more predictability. Which, actually, for a guy like me, is not a bad thing; it allowed me to stretch out mentally. I took my time making the record, and I got very detailed. It's interesting; I think people don't really understand the kind of work it takes to make a record like I've just made, because they think it's just some kind of thrown-together '80s pastiche or something. It's quite the opposite, actually. The whole thing is grown from the ground up sonically and in terms of the whole construction. It's a very time-consuming affair, and I've put the time in.
Well, speaking of building the album, after Jim you said that you felt you were leaving large parts of your love of music out, and therefore, to get an overview of Compass, you quickly sketched out a lot of the songs. How did you approach this album? Did you maintain your philosophy that "there's no fucking rules"?
Yes, though I had a lot of songs that never made the cut. Not because they weren't good songs but because I didn't like the way they sat with the others. In the past, I might've not filtered them out. I think I was a little bit more conscious of trying to present a coherent fraction of my output with this record. It wasn't something I set out to do; it evolved. I had a handful of songs. I maybe wrote 20 or 25 songs for this record and ended up with 11. So, the others, the b-sides and stuff, range from much slower ballads to more stretched-out jams that were a little bit more decadent, in a different way. I mean, a song like "Big Love" is an extremely decadent affair, but I'm talking about the kind of decadence where it's the more "going nowhere" music, minimalism that creates another kind of decadence. I had a handle on what I wanted to present a little bit once I started to hear some songs. The whole process is relatively organic. I definitely don't start with a rule book, though. I definitely start with "Ooh, I like where this is going."
A few years ago, you suggested an uncertainty about how to be marketable, and earlier you were talking about that. Last summer you said that you thought this album might be your "time to get on the airwaves." What did you learn between Compass and now?
It's hard to say what I really learned. I don't know if I've fully learned the lessons I should have learned a long time before Compass. It's really hard to make pure music. It's really hard to make pure expression. You always feel like if you did do that you might not be able to communicate properly. If you speak in your own, almost "Id language," you might feel like it just might fall flat, so it's some kind of mediation between pure visceral expression and a decent, coherent, chapter-by-chapter book resume of ideas. It's a constant push-pull for me — that balance, how far you go. I'm still exploring that. I want to get back to a purer… I feel like I really enjoy… I'm a contradiction on a lot levels, like everyone I think. But I really love pop. I love the pop form. I love a good song. I love something with some real meat on it. I love it like a resolve, a great bridge going into a double chorus and some decadent backing vocals and the percussion and some horns and the ride out. I love a good Quincy [Jones] production where everything feels so calculated but in a really effortless way. At the same time, I really enjoy really decadent, stretched-out pieces by Can and noise pieces, pure electronic music, and real angry hip-hop and angular music. It's all in the mix somehow in my mind with what I really appreciate and love.
I think nothing has really changed in terms of marketing and all of that stuff; I still remain, in a way, in the dark about the way the industry really works. I think there are some people who claim to have this formula or the keys, or at least it seems that way, and I think, constantly over time, that the industry is shifting too quickly to be predictable. It's very hard to make the right moves; I just do my best. I just try to think about what feels right. On a business level, I've never felt completely that I have a grasp on what it is I'm supposed to be and how I'm supposed to market it. All of that stuff, in a way, is a disgusting thing to try and incorporate into your worldview, but it is real. I'm sorry. That's not a very clear answer.
Was there a reason you pared down the number of contributors on this record, especially compared to how many people worked on the last album? Was it because you initially started in such a small space?
It could definitely be part of it. Some of the explanations are really simple. I bought some drum machines, and I never really got into using them, and I just kind of wanted to. [Laughs.] So, it's kind of like I just wanted to plug some gear in because I was just really excited to hear some sounds. I still have a really simple, childish joy of just hearing good drum machine or a really powerful synth just making a pad. Just working on sounds, there's a simple pleasure, a bit like a painter just working with really primary colors. There's a real rudimentary pleasure just putting it on the canvas and just going, "Ah, man, look at that thing; it looks beautiful." It's like that with a drum machine of a certain caliber; you just hear it rolling, and that thing is singing. For me at least, I hear drum machines like that; some people hate drum machines. I was taking pleasure in just hearing sounds. That inevitably led me to finish tracks in my brain at least and sketch them out quickly.
I was working primarily with this keyboard guy, Mr. Jimmy, a really exceptionally talented keyboard player. Between the two of us, we could get a lot of ground covered in a short period of time. Just jamming with a guy like that yields a lot of ideas really quickly, so I had a lot of raw tracks within a few weeks and months. From that moment, I can tinker and really get deep on the sound levels and the production levels. I took the record about 90% of the way on my own, and then I really needed to enlist the help of Justin Stanley; I got my good friend Jake Aron, who's a fantastic producer. He's part of the band Fort Lean, the bass player in Fort Lean. He's also worked a lot with Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear. He's an all-around great musician and engineer. I worked with him and Justin Stanley, who's an old friend and collaborator from Jim, and they kind of took it the rest of the 10%. There's a big difference between 90% and 100%, I think, in production, so I was conscious of that. Especially as a vocalist, someone who's putting layers of my own vocals down. You can become quite blind to what's good and bad after a while.
When discussing songwriting, you mentioned how artists like Beck write with the guitar, but that you write with your voice. I did not take this to mean that you write all your lyrics and then the melodies. What is it to write with your voice?
It can be all kinds of things, definitely. A lot of the songs on this album like "Blaming Something"… actually, "Blaming Something" is a weird one because "Blaming Something", for example, started, a classic example, and then I got known, I guess, on the electronic scene at least, as a vocal improviser who spontaneously creates; I have no plan, and I just go out and make noise with my voice, beatbox, anything I felt was working, basically creating a hybrid of technology and the vocals. I'm not sacred. I'm not like a beatboxer that tries to get up on the mic with no effects and deliver a perfect rendition of "Push It" by Salt-N-Pepa. I'm the kind of guy who just uses the voice, spills over effects on it, and says,"Oh man, it sounds great with all this pitch shift on it." I just use the voice as an oscillator almost, like you would on a synthesizer or like the string of a guitar. Once you have the string vibrating, you can modulate it any which way you want, but the fact is you're playing the guitar. For me, I just play the voice. I've always been into that; it's how I think.
Once I developed the looping stuff and really got into that, I did turn that kind of into my instrument. I think of a lot of songs that way. I layer harmonies and beats and cross-rhythms and all the counterpoints, put a lot of melodies with the vocals. I can get a vague idea of a rhythm track much quicker that way than I can sitting in front of a sequencer, so I tend to favor that approach. When it comes to layering legitimate vocals, sometimes once the bed track is established, I'll ad lib a few takes and listen to the recordings, because it's a bit different, your recollection of a take versus the cold facts of a playback. So, I'm trying to get into that state where I'm listening to the cold playbacks as quickly as possible going, "Okay, it's not as good as it could be, but the melody shape there is really good; I'll keep that." What I'm doing is, in a sense, building a jigsaw puzzle of melody over time from a kind of cut-up approach of ad lib collage, and from that I'll try to establish… basically, I get the melody first is what I'm saying. And then work the lyrics out after. Not for every song, but for a lot of songs.
You've also indicated that you write with improvisation in mind. Do you ever improvise on the record, or is that only for the live setting?
It's funny. The idea of writing, ultimately, to me, is improvising. You basically record an improvisation, and by doing so, you turn it into a statue. A lot of the times, when I'm making stuff, the ideas and the shapes, they will remain kind of final versions, but they're essentially an improvisation. I'm always just throwing stuff down and throwing other ideas until I feel like they're gelling.
You said how you felt like this was going back to pre-Muddlin' Gear. Do you think you'd ever do another Super_Collider album or another album like Muddlin' Gear again?
It's funny. I actually wrote to Cris Vogel recently. He's living in Berlin. He's a very unique guy, Cris — an exceptional electronic artist. There's no one like Cris; there'll never be anyone like him. I've met a lot of people who make music, and there's no one like him. I really respect that. He taught me so much about how to create sound, and he'll always be one of my mentors. We had a hard time trying to make the third Super_Collider album. We actually made about four songs, but they were kind of canned. We never saw it through. I actually wrote him and said, "Why don't we make another Super_Collider album?", and rather than dismiss it, he said, "Wouldn't that be something?" We both scratched our chins a little bit and left it at that for a while. That was interesting; who knows, I might've opened a box.
You talked once about your first time meeting Prince and how it was somewhat of a disappointment. Have you ever gotten a second chance to talk with him?
No, I've not. And I feel bad about talking shit about that rendezvous. I mean, I can't imagine what it feels like to be Prince. He's an idol of mine, and I guess I just wanted him to like me. [Laughs.] I hope I get to meet Prince again. We can have a one-on-one. I'd like to play him at ping-pong; I hear he's a big fan.


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COBLESKILL — Two men were arrested for stealing a pickup truck in Esperance, Schoharie County, State Police said.
Gerald Hext, 20, of Cohoes and Connor Brady, 19, of Schoharie were each charged with grand larceny in the Sunday incident. Hext also was charged with driving while intoxicated. Both were released and issued appearance tickets for Esperance town court.
— Staff report


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Anti-Defamation League targets bullying in U.S.
PHOENIX -- The Anti-Defamation League is taking a lead role in bringing educational programs about bullying to parents, educators and students across the country.
ADL has partnered with "Stand 4 Change," an anti-bullying initiative, in attempt to make history on May 4. The goal is to have every child in every school in America stand in unison (9 a.m. Arizona time) against bullying.
"ADL has had anti-biased programs in schools since 1985, but have formulated a program specifically for bullying," said Bill Strauss, Arizona ADL spokesman.
One major focus is to reach out to the bystander, in hopes that people who witness bullying behavior will speak out and help protect the victim.
"We believe that making allies out of people who otherwise don't want to get their uniform dirty in this fight is a critical element," Strauss said.
No one is off limits to a bully.
"From the color of their skin, to the way that they pray, or choose not to pray, from what they wear, from how big they are or how small they are," Strauss said.
Technology is making bullying even more pervasive. In the past, bullied children found respite at home, but now computers and phones make it easier for bullies to prey on victims from afar, too.
That's why Strauss said ADL committed to help raise awareness by joining a series of national activities and initiatives to stop bullying and cyberbulling.
"The truth is bullying is not only an issue for the schools and the home," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director.
"The impact of bullying is one that carries over beyond the school years and affects the behavior of adults and the entire society."
Besides the hopes for setting a record, the students participating in "Stand 4 Change" hope their actions will draw national attention to the issue by using peer pressure for something positive -- to bring attention to bullying.
ADL has also partnered in bringing Lee Hirsch's new documentary film "Bully" to screens in multiple cities, and has organized educational follow-up activities surrounding the film's release.


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Ever since Sage released their official SalesLogix community website & forums, I've wanted a better way to search and browse the forums. I've been working on a desktop client that does just this in a better, faster, and more efficient way. So, I'd like to announce the public release of Community Explorer.
(click to view larger image)
Community Explorer is a desktop application that will allow you to search the official Sage SalesLogix community forums and blogs in a much faster, precise, and effective way - letting you get to the information you need faster. It also allows you to simply browse the community forums in an easier way, similar to browsing a newsgroup or e-mail.
The current version is beta, so expect to see releases with bug fixes. There are also more features planned for Community Explorer, including viewing recent posts & threads and even toast-like desktop notifications alerting you of new activity in the forums.
Take a look at the Community Explorer page and install it to give it a try. I would love to hear your feedback!
Ryan, You ROCK! One of the huge downsides to web based forum postings is the ability to search and lookup information. I just downloaded the program and I am looking forward to "playing" with it.
Thanks for providing such great tools for the community.
Thanks Ted!
This post was mentioned on Twitter by GeekFetch: SalesLogix Community Explorer - The Desktop Client for the Sage SalesLogix Community Forums: Ever since Sage relea... http://bit.ly/9JdW1v
As always, another great tool from CustomerFX team - this gives me back the control I missed from the newsgroups!
Thanks Mike! There are some huge things on the horizon for this tool that will give you more of the warm fuzzies you got from the older newsgroups. This is just the start of things.


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Recent Headlines
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