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Amerikaner in Västerås
Before I get into today's boat project, I've got to explain the very peculiar custom here in Sweden of 'Amerikaner.' Not people. Cars. American Cars, the older the better. In the summertime here on sunny days you'll see people out 'cruising' – and they call it that here, adopting out English word – furry dice hanging from the mirrors and everything.
The 'Power Big Meet,' self-described as the 'Biggest 'N Baddest American Car Show on the Planet!' is taking place as I type, in Västerås, the city where Arcturus is hauled out, and where I've been commuting to daily since arriving in Sweden. Apparently it's true – over 20,000 cars will be on display this weekend, all of them American.
Even better yet? From the website…
This years theme is Davy Crocket – King of the Wild Frontier. License plates are given out as cars pass the gates and they are free! 3000 plates on Friday and 3000 on Saturday. First come… Big Meet Licens plate theme is TEXAS!
Texas and Davy Crocket. What do the Swedes think of us Americans!? (Though I must admit, our collective impression of Sweden might be a little off…)
I think it's awesome. So I took a bunch of photos today as I walked from the train station to the boat, one 'Amerikaner' after another cruising down the street. I didn't stay for the festivities tonight, but I caught a glimpse of a semi tractor trailer hauling around a flat-bed with a full band onboard, playing music as they rolled down the street. It was probably country. Appropriate too that this event is held over 4th of July. U-S-A!!! Scroll down or click here to see the full gallery.
Boat work. Arcturus was moved inside the 'varmhallen' yesterday (the indoor storage), the last day before Tommy, the yard manager, went on a two-week vacation. Props to Tommy for meeting our very American demands in the boatyard this past week – removing the propellor, lifting the old engine out and the new one in, and now moving the boat, all before his vacation, which was much deserved by this point. Swedes, with everything, but particularly with boating, have a very do-it-yourself mindset, one we discovered last year when bringing the boat over from Scotland.
"How does the Falsterbo Canal work?" asked Mia at a marina outside Malmö.
"It works." said the guy.
Uh-huh. What we didn't understand at the time, was that despite the chart showing a couple of locks on the canal, they'd since been removed – you simply drive the boat through now, nothing to worry about. Hence the, 'it works' remark.
When it came time to remove the rig last year, we discovered a DIY manual crane on the dockside bulkhead. Not locked. Working fine. So we took the mast down ourselves. Never did that before. But it worked.
Problem this time, is that we simply don't have the proper materials to get what we needed done. No prop puller. No crane for the engine. No travelift, that's for sure (by the way, the lift that Gullberg's uses is awesome. I wrote about this before, but it's a small 10-ton lift, operated by remote control. Tommy does it all himself, and just drives the lift around the yard by remote control. It's almost comical to watch).
Long story short, the boat is now inside, and we can get some proper work done. I put the second coat of grey bilge paint in the cockpit lockers and under the engine beds. Last one will go on tomorrow before Micah comes from the USA on Sunday. We paid his ticket in exchange for him helping us a bit installing the new Beta. We're going to have fun with it.
This article was syndicated from sailing blog - 59 North, Ltd.


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The third edition of the Links and Laces Golf Tournament at Los Suenos Resort's La Iguana Golf Course in Costa Rica is on track to spark many magnificent memories for players from Feb. 15-16.
That's when golfers from around the world will go pin seeking on the Central American country's remarkable landscape while the charming Links and Laces Girls from the U.S., Central America and South America act as their event hosts.
Players will also be able to experience trophy fishing, casino action, first-class restaurants and the amazing nightlife.
The weekend kicks off with an opening VIP cocktail reception followed by a day on the course like no other and wraps up with a fun and sexy awards dinner.
Competitors will hit their shots alongside the lush rainforest as monkeys and iguanas look on during this great escape in paradise weekend.
The tournament's format is a two-man scramble that includes closest to pin and long drive competitions. Zany activities are in the mix, too, and include playing twister with the Links and Laces Girls. The event includes complimentary drinks, catered booths with local cuisine and many sponsor prizes.
Prizes and contests
- First prize for net and gross teams - Free night certificates for Los Suenos, a box of Titleist ProV1 balls and the Three in One Cup (Exotic Wood Vase) for each team member.
- $1 million shootout
- $10,000 putting contest
Closest to the pin and long drive contests winner receive:
- Free night certificates at several resorts
- Gift certificates from Lindora Golf
- Free ATV tour certificates
- Free rounds at several courses in Costa Rica
For more details and to register, call Tee Times Costa Rica at 1.866.448.3182 or e-mail email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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In certain circumstances it would be helpful to see exactly what license file ties to each piece of activated software within NI License Manager. This would be an additional field in the right hand pane of License Manager as shown below.
If your project performs data acquisition of channels as Waveform data type(instead of single point), you can't associate this channel to a Aliases. Since the waveform data type receives a buffer of data, you could choose some common options for that channels, such as max buffer value, mean among others.
Since it does not exist, I had to create an workaround by acquiring data as single point and logged them using embedded data logger, then had to use Diadem to create the waveform channel.
In addition, it would also allow to acquire data in higher rates because the waveform acquisition loop runs ins parallel to the PCL.
This feature would be extrememly handy for those who are using waveform acquisition and logging, and would save me some months of work.
I am using MAX in all projects to define channels and create tasks.
Functionality that I think should be added:
- Drag and drop channels to reorder them ( there is no way to do that now...)
- Ability to create subfolders and group channels inside them like Ai AO DI DO CO.
- Ability to sort and search
- When i import channels from ini file to max, order of globl virtual channels should be equal to what is defined in ini file.
The Update Service supposedly already checked in the background and found I needed updates.
Yet when I say "view updates" it makes me wait on a progress bar while it checks for updates.
And then when I click "Upgrades and Service Packs" it has to check AGAIN with another, extra-slow progress bar.
It should just do all the checking in the background, retrieve the full list of updates, and stop interrupting our work to wait on progress bars.
The current Device Driver Installer dialog is not obvious to use. First of all you have to figure out which drivers that you need for your products and then you would probably prefer to remove other unnecessary drivers. However, this is a tedious process with a lot of dependencies.
I have seen many people just installing everything (with its drawbacks) to be safe, eventhough they only needed the NI RIO driver.
I'd like to see a more user friendly dialog where drivers are automatically selected.
My suggestion is that the user instead filters out the drivers on a product level like this:
Let say you choose Modular Instruments. Then next page could let you filter on what type of instrument you have; Scopes, FlexRIO, DMMs, RF, Switching etc...
One of the buttons in the bottom would be something like "Add more products?" so you could iterate this process and finally all needed drivers would be filtered out.
What do you think?
/Pelle - NI Sweden
Filename are different in Embedded Data Logger and Waveform Logging (VeriStand 2014) :
Embedded Data Logger : <Hour>_<Minute>_<Second>__<Day>_<Month>_<TwoDigitY
Waveform Logging : <FourDigitYear>-<Month>-<Day>_<Hour>-<Minute>-<Sec
Why timestamps are differents?
The format of Waveform Logging should be prefered, with year on four digit, month and day first (sorting file is immediate), hour in 24 format.
[Edited on 8/28/2014 by moderator Diego Carvajal (dcarvaja)] [Image included in original post as requested] To help debug medium and large real-time test sequences, it would be very useful if there was a sequence step that allowed the user to specify a console message.
Much like the Print Debug String VI helps debug issues when building custom devices, this step would allow the developer to insert specific console flags and see what part of his/her real-time sequence is executing.
This is a bit of a feature request for the service request manager and/or as a stand-alone (my NI web) tool!
It is needed because the NI webpage makes it terribly hard to search for CAR#'s and a CAR# is only listed when solved, and only listed for the one version where it was resolved, making it nigh-on impossible to check lists of (new) CAR#s and get notified when they are resolved.
For example, I know this CAR exists, but I'm not sure if it has been resolved and the NI search just didn't find it, or if does not exist (user input error for example) or anything..
As far as how it relates to the service request manager, I would prefer a separate tool but that it also can link to the service request manager as outlined below:
A small but significant number of tickets either relate to, or create one or more CAR#'s (or at least mine seem to create a large amount of CAR's).
When a support tech adds / associates a ticket# with a CAR#, ideally this CAR# would be automatically added to the user's CAR Tracking list..
In addition it would be great if the back-end database tracked CAR#'s and offered up a list of these numbers in the webpage overview, for example next to the "status" column. Taking it a step further, it would be very nice if NI could make it simpler to check if a CAR has been resolved and if so, what version of LabVIEW it was resolved in/with. This information could be displayed in the same web page table, or a new page to itself. The "Status" column could then also be expanded with a green check-mark if (all) associated CAR#'s have been resolved..
Tracking CAR's and manually trying to search and check them off lists locally is labor intensive, especially since the web-page "search" does not do even a passable job when you enter CAR numbers.
I/O Trace is extremely useful when debugging system-level text-based applications. Error handling for systems involving multiple drivers + software packages (RF toolkits, for example) is very difficult. After recognizing there was an error, we still have to determine which device threw the error and then query the appropriate driver/toolkit with the correct handle to determine what the error was. NI I/O Trace is a great way to quickly determine which device threw an error and at which function call. Unfortunately, the error reporting returned by I/OTrace is pretty limited. For example, consider the I/O Trace shown below of an application synchronizing two waveform generators. A property is not configured correctly for one of the generators. I/O Trace clearly indicates there is an error, however the exact cause of the error is difficult to discern from the message:
The actual error message is: "The Sample Rate property can not be configured if OSP Enabled is VI_TRUE. ". It would be great if I/O trace could provide the entire error description. Compare this to the LabVIEW error handler:
It would be nice to add a tool like RAD (NI Replication And Deployement utility) directly into MAX.
But a RAD compatible with all Targets LabVIEW Runtimes.
... a kind ok target cloner, saver , restorer ...
The custom Device allows to include in the name of generated files a timestamp, with this format: %<%I_%M_%S_%p_%d_%m_%y>T
Today, my customer prefer something like %<Y%m%d_%H%M%S>
Tomorrow? I don't know.
Having a format string configurable from System Exlorer would be really convenient.
For security reasons, many customers using Volume License Manager to administer licenses to client machines do not authorize users to download and install anything from the web. Therefore, if a critical patch is released, the client machines are unable to download this unless it is distributed by the administrator. It would be useful for the VLM administrator to be able to configure the Update Service such that all Users can run the Update Service but the service has been configured to point to an internal network share rather than an internet location outside the firewall. This way, the administrator could make critical updates and patches available for the client machines and the clients can be notified and install them.
Mapping in VeriStand 2011 consists of only text, but user could grasp the whole mapping if the number of connections is increasing. So, visualized mapping tool like dSPACE ConfigurationDesk as below image must be good user interface for users.
The only way to edit the order of VeriStand workspace screen pages once they're created is to edit the cryptic XML file where screen pages are referred to by numbers. I'd like to be able to reorder the screen pages from within the workspace. Thank you.
In LabVIEW, we have a lot of options for saving our projects as seen below:
In VeriStand, currently, you only have the option for a normal save (as shown below). I think it would be nice to have a "Save As" for saving a copy of the project and, if possible, a "Save for Previous Version".
If you want to exchange a model you have to reconfigure many things. You could use Aliases to reduce the effort for the Workspace and Workspace Tools.
But in the System Explorer you can only use Aliases for Calculated Channels.
Please make it possible to use Aliases also for Mappings, Alarms and Procedures.
Thank you,
That will be SUPER, if you can add extra option till pop-up menu "Create/duplicate Device as Simulated".
And reversed option (to create Device from simulated one) when you will like to test software with real hardware.
That will be also necessary to do check box to select, which you will like to use. For Tasks purpose, they have to also know which one they have to use.
I have many procedures that check for certain conditions before completing its intended function. If a precondition is not met, the procedure exits. It'd be nice to be able to pop up dialogs as necessary. Right now, in order to do so, I have to have the procedure call other alarms if I want any sort of feedback/popup which gets convoluted pretty quickly. Thanks.
Benefit: Simplify the process and reduce errors when using FPGA personalities
Idea: Querry the user-generated FPGA diagram and automatically create the XML file. Additionally, have some kind of editor/viewer for the XML file that would present the information similar to how it is presented in the System Explorer but allow the user to edit certain values (or just make it editable in the system explorer). Some items would be read-only (items specific to the bitfile communication) and others would be editable (heirarchy, scaling, etc).
Ultimately, the process for using FPGA Personalities would be:
- create FPGA VI using NIVS interface/template
- select interface in "utility/view" or System Explorer (XML file automatically generated)
- edit default settings if desired
VeriStand suppot 32 and 64-bit aligned fixed point data: http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/372846G-01


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Dear Bossip: I Asked My Man If He Was Gay Because Of Some Things I Found, He Said Yes, But Retracted
Dear Bossip,
First and for most, let me start of by acknowledging the books you have wrote. I enjoyed them.
In addition to your books; I take pleasure in reading your response to articles on Bossip. The straight forwardness you have when convey your message. So, let me get to my question. I would like to know if I have come across an undercover brotha. I have known him for two years, and now we are both in the military. He has been deployed and so fourth. So, now that we're stationed in the same area we have been seeing each other more. I refuse to commit to him because he is a ladies' man and his past sends me red flags. So, why not have little fun here in there and on my terms.
However, he has always voiced to me that he wants to be more than just a friend, and he stopped talking to me for little while because I won't commit. My point to him, show me you have moved on from your past then we can talk. He has yet to fully show me, but he did introduce to his baby mama brother. So, I don't know if that was an effort, but it was not good enough for me.
Now, I have an even BIGGER issue. The other day when I was over his place, and I was bored and started snooping on his lap top. Well, I came across some "He/She" Pr0n, and Gay pr0n. Also, he had some Trans on there too. So, that got me to thinking. He does have all female friends with the exception of his brother, cousin and a couple of home boys. Initially, I contributed that to him being a ladies' man. Then I got to thinking, what straight man would have gay porn and Trans on his PC? Also, he always wears colored rubber bands when he is regular clothes. All this is running through my mind.
So, the next day we meet have lunch and I asked him to walk and talk with me afterwards. I brought it to his attention what I found and asked if he considered himself bisexual or gay. His response baffled me. He said, "I'm gay," and quickly retracted his statement. He said, "No, I'm not gay, honestly." I then proceeded to ask him that if he wasn't then why he is so calm and his reaction seemed more like he was ashamed and then mad. Like, wouldn't a straight man be offended that I questioned his sexuality??? So, Terrance, am I reading too deep into what I found and the way he responded. I have not spoken to him since because I feel disgusted and that he didn't take my feelings into consideration if that may be the case. Also, besides my finding are there signs if you are dealing with a undercover brotha? – For Future Reference
Dear Ms. For Future Reference,
Let me pull out my bull-ish calculator right quick. Let's see here, adds straight man plus Gay pr0n found on his computer equals HE'S GAY. A straight man multiplied by Trans found on his computer equals HE'S STILL GAY. Now, divide the colored rubber bands he wears (if they are all red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) and do the square root of HE'S GAY, and that equals HE'S GAY, GAY, GAY, GAY, GAY!
Girl, you discover all this information on his computer, and then you confront him and ask him if he considers himself bisexual or gay, and his response was "I'm gay," but, he retracts it quickly. Uhm, was that supposed to be funny? Was he being sarcastic? Or, perhaps it was a Freudian slip, and he realized what he said and quickly responded with, "No, I'm not gay, honestly." I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it. I'm not going to joke around and say something I know not to be true, especially if someone has some damaging or irrefutable evidence. By the way, you missed a golden opportunity to ask him why did he have Gay and Trans pr0n on his computer? Why was he visiting those sites? Is he interested in it? Has he ever done it? Is he interested or curious in it?
It's too late to go back to him now because he's had time to think about it, and will come up with some explanation like, "One of my boys was playing on my computer." Or, "One of my boys sent me this link and I was like, 'Oh, hell naw!' because I had never seen anything like it." Whatever excuse he uses, he will have one because he's had the opportunity to come up with something.
I don't understand you ladies, and when you find incriminating information about your men, yet, you still won't trust your instincts, and the blatant information you have. Are you waiting to catch him in the actual act? Are you waiting until you see him doing it and then you'll have your 'ah-ha' moment? But, you know what, it won't matter any way because he'll come up with some lame excuse of why his d**k is in another man's a**, and you'll say, "He's right. I didn't see what I thought I say. They were just playing around. He was just experimenting, and he wasn't the one being penetrated, so he's not gay." And, you'll welcome him back into your bed and life as if nothing happened. SMDH!
And, I'm sorry, sweetie, but what was the point of introducing you to his baby momma brother? What did that prove? That they are in cahoots together, and he prepped him on what to say and do when he met you. Why not introduce you to the baby momma? Hell, why even introduce you to any of them? If he has moved on, then they should be in his past, and not a part of his future. Why is hanging out with his baby momma brother anyway?
You say that he has all female friends (HELLLLLLLOOOOOOOO!) with the exception of his brother, cousin and a few home boys. Well, what about his baby momma's brother? You forgot to mention him. They are friends, too. Hmmmm, how you doin! (In my Wendy Williams voice).
But, there is a saying that I live by, "Everyone knows except you." If everyone suspects you of being gay, and you keep saying you're not, well, I'm going to go with the general consensus. And, you're in denial because you haven't come to terms with yourself. There are obviously some things you are demonstrating and displaying that causes folks to assume you're gay, and one of them, oh, I don't know, could be the fact that you have Gay and Trans pr0n on your computer. LMBAO!
Just as you stated that he seemed ashamed and mad after he retracted his statement, I feel he knows he was busted. He was caught, and you were pulling his card, and he'd never had anyone to pull his card, so you noticed all the emotions he was experiencing of anger, shame, guilt, and hurt. I truly think he's not comfortable enough to identify with his sexual identity, desires, and interests just yet. He may just be discovering who he is, or may have been struggling for years, thus, his need to be a womanizer, and sleep with lots of women. Many men who are struggling with their sexuality will overcompensate by having a slew of women to prove their manhood. Or, it's an attempt to fight his urges, and he's trying to prove to himself that he still likes and finds women attractive. There are many men who fight, and deny their sexual identity, urges, and desires. They don't, and can't understand why they have the feelings they have for the same sex. It is peculiar for them. It is difficult and a long process of accepting themselves for who they are. He may feel he will be judged, criticized, and ridiculed, and doesn't want to deal with the possible rejection, challenges, and obstacles gay men and women experience with family, friends, and co-workers who may not be accepting. Besides, he is in the military, and it's only been recent that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has been repealed. Yay, President Obama! However, I'm certain that he's probably seen and heard some offensive things said about openly gay men and women serving in the military, and doesn't want to be ostracized by his fellow military brothers.
Look, there is no way to know if a man is on the down low. Sorry, but despite what you heard there are no clues, hand signals, secret words, colors, codes, or looking into a man's eyes to tell if he is on the down low. But, what I do feel that you women need to ask questions of your men like, have you ever had a sexual encounter with another man, or someone Trans or Trans in your life. Have you thought about it? Have you ever had the desire? And, yes, ask him if he's gay, or considers himself bisexual. But, don't ask him if he's attracted to men, he will flat out and say no. Most men who are discovering their sexuality, and most men who are down low or bisexual do not think or feel they are attracted to men, not in the same sense of having an attraction for a woman, however, it's more of a sexual act. Also, ask your man if he has a fantasy of enjoying both male and female genitalia from someone? Does he like having his a** played with, and the idea of a woman with a penis pounding him? Is he into sucking d**k and breasts at the same time? Does he want you to use your sex toy on him often, and penetrate him? Does he hop on his knees and arch that back and want you to plow him? Chile, you women better ask these questions.
Honey, you're in the military, and I'm sure you're a smart cookie, but if you've discovered all this information, then what confirmation do you need from me? Don't they teach you to follow your instincts in the military? If you suspect something isn't right, or come across an area, or place, or some people whom you know are lying, and your radar is telling you something's not right, then SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT! If your gut is telling you something about that man, and it's making you unsettled despite what he says and does, then follow your gut! If you start running through your mind and start noticing all those little things that you overlooked previously, and now it's all adding up because of some new information, GIRL, TRUST YOUR GUT! HE'S GAY! – Terrance Dean
Hey Bossip Fam, what do you think? Share your opinions and thoughts below!
Also, e-mail all your questions Terrance Dean: firstname.lastname@example.com
Follow Terrance Dean on Twitter: @terrancedean
"LIKE" Terrance Dean on Facebook, click HERE!
Make sure to order my books Mogul: A Novel (Atria Books – June 2011; $15), and Straight From Your Gay Best Friend – The Straight Up Truth About Relationships, Love, And Having A Fabulous Life (Agate/Bolden Books – November 2010; $15). They are available in bookstores everywhere, and on Amazon, click HERE!


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Congress could take up its version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) – HR 5 or the Student Success Act – as early as next week. Our members in California and National Education Association members around the country are urging federal lawmakers to turn the reauthorization bill into one that will work for our students and our schools.
NEA has opposed the bill in committee, and we share concerns about several troubling aspects of the proposed legislation.
HR 5 would undermine the federal government's work to ensure equity for all students. The bill would undercut efforts to get targeted resources to schools that educate students width greater needs. HR 5 would also weaken collective bargaining protections involving teacher evaluation. The bill would also continue to force schools to use high stakes testing that is harming teaching and learning.
NEA is also working to stop amendments that would add private school vouchers to the bill. Our members and educators throughout the nation are urging Congress to restore bargaining rights and end the focus on high stakes testing.
Congress could amend the measure over the next several days. In its current form, the bill is not acceptable.
Please urge Congress to refocus the ESEA on its original purpose: ensuring equity for all students.
Call your Congressional Representatives at 1-866-420-3592 and ask them to:
Or email your Congressional Representatives width the same message.
Read more »
The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) is reporting some good news to its members and the public: the system's investments earned 13.8% over the past year—a drastic comparison to earnings in recent years.
"The reality is that even good investment performance addresses only part of the long-term needs of the fund, which suffered a severe setback in the crash of 2008," said CalSTRS Investment Committee Chair Harry Keiley, a high school teacher and CTA member.
CTA and its members – who have partnered width CalSTRS since its founding in 1913 – are committed to working width CalSTRS to find a long-term funding solution, as noted in the association's retirement position papers.
CalSTRS' earnings in the 2012 fiscal year handily outpaced its "assumed rate of 7.5%." The assumed rate is the factor used in estimating the fund's long-term earnings, the financial resources that help cover its projected costs – including the funding of retirees' pensions. CalSTRS has earned at a 12.6% rate over the past three years and at a 7.5% rate over the past 20 years. Over the past five years – due to the impact of the Great Recession – the system's earnings rate hit only 3.7%.
CalSTRS board members and staff caution that investment earnings fluctuate, and the stock market's volatility in recent years spotlights the need for the legislature and the governor to help the system achieve long-term stable funding. CalSTRS is responsible for making pension payments to 862,000 California educators and their families.
Both Keiley and CalSTRS Chief Executive Officer Jack Ehnes point out that good investment earnings are just one element needed to keep CalSTRS on solid ground. "The Legislature and the Governor must implement a long-term funding plan that includes gradual, predictable and fair contribution increases for all parties involved," Ehnes advises.
CalSTRS staff note that the governor and legislature alone have the power to change the system's contribution rate, the amount employers and employees pay into the pension fund each month.
CalSTRS is the largest teacher pension fund and the second largest pension fund in the U.S.
Check the CalSTRS news release about the system's earnings and the CalSTRS Investment Overview for more information.
The state Senate officially began its summer recess today, about a week after its Assembly colleagues began theirs. Now both houses are "closed" until August.
In the meantime, some schools around the state – those on year-round-schedules — are already in session. (BTW – According to Education Bug, California leads "the nation width 1,322 year round public schools, width second-place falling to Hawaii width 296. Third came Arizona width 175. Nevada width 107 and Texas width 101 were fourth and fifth, and Georgia, width 97 was sixth.")
Several hundred educators are also getting ready for some intense training this summer at a series of events being held by the California Teachers Association.
From July 22-25 in San Jose, hundreds of CTA chapter leaders will take part in the Presidents Conference, a four-day training program geared toward local chapter leaders. New presidents arrive on Monday to engage in core sessions especially tailored to assist them in learning their new role as local leaders. Also beginning on Monday, presidents of local chapters in the Community College Association will attend sessions designed to address issues unique to California's community colleges.
Beginning on August 4th on the campus of UCLA, the CTA Summer Institute, the premiere workshop of its kind, will offer sessions in areas that assist chapter leaders in the day-to-day representation and support of members. Sessions include Communications, Instruction and Professional Development, Emerging Leaders, Bargaining, School Finance, Healthcare Benefits and Issues, Legal, Member Benefits and Community Outreach.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has temporarily halted its plans to post searchable web-based information about its retirees and their pension amounts.
The hiatus came as a result of an outpouring of opposition to the plan from retirees and organizations representing them, according to a July 11 article in The Sacramento Bee, CalPERS Holds Off Launching.
Advocates for retirees and public employees argued forcefully that the planned web posting would put retirees at risk of having their identities stolen and make them vulnerable to other financial scams.
Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) is quoted as saying the delay is a good thing as it will provide time for the system to review what information should be posted and what – including Social Security numbers and other personal information – should be excluded and protected.
Advocacy groups have reportedly been considering legislation to narrow the agency's authorization to post information about its members that could be perused by the public.
California Teachers Accept Award on Governor's Behalf; He Addresses 9,000 Educators via Video
(Photo above) Governor of California Jerry Brown speaks via a live video feed during the presentation of America's Greatest Education Governor. NEA Today/Rick Runion
The National Education Association at its annual Representative Assembly in early July named California Governor Jerry Brown its "Education Governor of the Year."
The 325,000-member California Teachers Association nominated Brown for the prestigious annual award for his ongoing commitment to public schools. He led the fight for his Proposition 30 last year to stop billions in education cuts and generate $47 billion over the next seven years for schools, colleges and other essential services. He also last week signed into law his historic overhaul of public school funding that provides more money to help at-risk English learners and low-income students succeed.
Leaders of CTA – Davis Counselor Dean Vogel, Pittsburg Elementary Educator Eric Heins, and San Bernardino Youth Services Teacher Mikki Cichocki-Semo – accepted the award on the governor's behalf.
Later, the governor addressed the Representative Assembly via video feed, thanking California's teachers for their courage and support that helped quality and pass Proposition 30, the revenue measure that stopped another $5 billion in cuts and began the turn-around of the state's finances.
The governor recalled his signing the state's collective bargaining law more than 38 years ago and the continued need to provide local participation and leadership from teachers who are closest to the students. He advocates giving those in the classrooms and local school districts "maximum authority."
"Teaching is lighting a fire, and the job of politicians is to enable teachers to light that fire….not to regiment students like they're on parole," Brown said. He also downplayed the role of testing in education, noting that "you don't [get students to] learn by hammering people. You [get them to] learn by inspiring them."
As the 2013 NEA Representative Assembly kicked off today, nearly 10,000 attendees from all over the U.S.—of which more than 1,000 are from California—tackled important business after an energetic welcome to the four-day Atlanta, Georgia conference.
During NEA President Dennis Van Roekel's keynote speech, the association launched its Raise Your Hand Campaign urging delegates to take on leadership roles, fight for social justice and work together to create positive change for students.
New Business Items were also a focal point of the agenda.
CTA President Dean Vogel speaks to the Representative Assembly
CTA President Dean Vogel spoke on behalf of the delegation in support of New Business Item 3, which CTA had submitted. With this NBI, the "NEA calls for a moratorium on using the outcome of the tests associated width the Common Core standards, except to inform instruction, until states and districts have worked width educators to create authentic, locally-developed curriculum, assessments and professional development related to the Common Core."
"Everybody's tired of this testing nonsense and people are waiting for a voice to tell them the truth… and that voice is the National Education Association's and the time is NOW," said Vogel to a cheering crowd of delegates supporting the NBI. The Rep Assembly adopted NBI 3.
The business continues tomorrow at 10 a.m. on the 4th of July holiday. The CTA caucus will convene at 7:00 a.m. Look for an update on tomorrow's business and stay connected to our Facebook page to view pictures and posts directly from delegates on the floor. You can also follow the event on Twitter by using the hashtag #NEARA13.
Educators are criticizing a newly released, corporate-funded study that labels teacher preparation programs in the United States – and especially those in California – as failing.
The Teacher Prep Review released by the National Council on Teacher Quality claims the study is an unprecedented evaluation of more than 1,100 colleges and universities that prepare elementary and secondary teachers.
Critics of the report, including Stanford University Professor Linda Darling-Hammond, a nationally recognized education expert, have noted that the "comprehensive" report is "nonsense," nothing but a paper review of course descriptions and has nothing to do width the quality of the programs.
Theresa Montaño, a California State University professor, makes the case that the report hits California's teacher preparation programs for the very thing that helps build a strong teaching force: educating a diverse workforce and sensitizing them to the challenges of today's multi-ethnic classroom.
Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson told L.A Times reporter Howard Blume that "It's disappointing that this report applied a one-size-fits-all checklist. Those who are serious about examining the quality of teacher preparation efforts will have to look elsewhere for more reliable and useful information."
CTA continues to monitor the progress of a bill that would change some suspension policies in an effort to keep students in school, but also ensure the safety of students and educators in the classroom. AB 420 (Dickinson) focuses on the disproportionate suspension and expulsion of African American and Latino students as a result of the overuse of "willful defiance" that can be interpreted differently from educator to educator. CTA has a WATCH position on the bill that was approved by the Senate Education Committee and now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
What the bill does:
One issue of great concern to educators is to ensure that a teacher continues to have the ability to control their classroom. CTA drafted the following amendment now in the bill: "A teacher may suspend a pupil in any grade level from class, including for a first offense and from a one-room schoolhouse, for disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or other school personnel engaged in the performance of their duties."
AB 420 continues to allow (makes no changes to) student suspension and expulsion of students for a variety of other reasons, which include threats, violence, robbery, extortion, damaging school or private property, committing an obscene act, habitual profanity or vulgarity, harassment, threats, bullying, etc. Some alternatives to suspension and expulsion identified in the bill include a conference width parents and student, study teams, restorative justice programs, referrals to the school counselor, psychologist, social worker, etc.
CTA's lobbyist testified that while educators believe in equity, and that suspension and expulsion should be a last resort, CTA remains concerned width tying the hands of school staff at any grade level. This bill and policy related to this bill was the subject of a lengthy debate on the floor of the June 2013 State Council of Education. Some educators were concerned that administrators have previously disregarded the current law that allows teachers to suspend from the classroom by immediately sending the student back to class, because there were no established alternative programs at the school site. Additionally, there are no funds in the bill for resources to implement training and/or alternative suspension programs, but school districts and local bargaining teams could use the flexibility in the local control funding formula to establish district programs. CTA is working width the sponsors of the bill and the author on these and other areas of concern.
Educators are criticizing a newly released, corporate-funded study that labels virtually all teacher preparation programs in the United States – and especially those in California – as failing.
Every child deserves a chance to learn and no child succeeds alone.
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Home > Natural gas > How natural gas travels
How Natural Gas Travels to Your HomeSourceGas is the delivery company that maintains the safety and reliability of the local underground distribution system that delivers the gas to homes and businesses across northern Arkansas.
SourceGas' natural gas delivery system consists of approximately 5,595 miles of gas mains and serves over 148,000 customers in 18 counties in Arkansas. The diagram above details the major components of the system that safely delivers natural gas from wells underground to your home.
Natural gas is a fossil fuel composed almost entirely of methane (a hydrocarbon gas) usually found in deep (1) underground reservoirs formed by porous rock. In making its journey from the (2) wellhead to the customer, natural gas may travel thousands of miles through (3) interstate pipelines owned and operated by pipeline companies or through SourceGas' transmission pipeline system.
Because gas flowing from higher to lower pressure is the fundamental principle of the natural gas delivery system, (4) compressor stations may be located every 50-60 miles along the pipelines to boost pressure that is lost through friction. Also along the route, the natural gas may be (5) stored underground in depleted oil and gas wells or other natural geological formations for use during seasonal periods of high demand. SourceGas also operates compressor stations and underground storage facilities to ensure adequate natural gas supplies are always available for its customers.
Interstate pipelines interconnect with other pipelines and other utility systems, offering system operators flexibility in moving the gas from point to point. The natural gas eventually reaches SourceGas through a (6) gate station, where it is measured and injected with an odorant for safety, then distributed to customers through SourceGas' local distribution system of steel and plastic pipelines.


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Current Residence: My mind, which is better then where I actually dwell.
Favourite genre of music: I LOVE oldschool Hip hop the older the better, classic Soul, Neo Soul, and etc
Favourite photographer: Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, Jamel Shabazz, Gordon Parks, Sr., Jacob Riis
Operating System: West Indian Logic
MP3 player of choice: Ipod Classic 80 gig
Shell of choice: 10 Deep, Mishka, Retro Jordans, Mighty Healthy,LRG, Upper Playground,Adicolor Blue, Dunk hi and lo
Wallpaper of choice: Always changes.
Skin of choice: My own
Favourite cartoon character: Huey Freeman, Beetlejuice, Karl Foutley, Michaelangelo, Andy French, Stewie Griffin, The Gorillaz
Personal Quote: "Art is what the artist says it to be"


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Archive for August, 2009
Pop quiz: Name a show Garret Dillahunt won't be on this season. Burn Notice, you say? Wrong!
The former Sarah Connor Chronicles killing machine, who in the past month has completed guest stints on CSI, Lie to Me, and Law & Order: SVU, is en route to Miami to shoot a role on the USA smash, sources confirm to me exclusively.
Dillahunt will play Simon, a scary-smart new client of Michael's (Jeffrey Donovan) — and perhaps the first person to outsmart him. The episode — which will air this winter when the show returns to finish out its third season — also features the return of Frasier's John Mahoney as Management.
I'm thinking Dillahunt's agent deserves a raise.
Forgive the obvious pun, but as Burn Notice moves toward its season three finale, storylines are heating up.
So is viewer curiosity.
Thanks to E! News, here's a look at a few of the more pressing questions on the minds of fans…
What does the future hold for Nate Westen?
He's getting a wife! "I don't think they cast her yet," said actor Seth Peterson. "I'm going to try to get my own wife in there. And also he's back at the casinos, so his gambling has revved up again. I just happen to be a poker player so, for me, it's easy to play."
Is Michael Shanks' Victor really dead?
Producer Matt Nix isn't sure: "I love Michael Shanks. He is a friend. Honestly, my wife has this thing where she made me promise if you kill somebody he's got to be dead. We talked about if there is some flashback we can do. Maybe we can come up with something someday because we love him and we love working with him. He's an amazing actor. And it was a character that was fun in the beginning, but in the end, we all really came to care about."
Is Jay Karnes reprising the role of Brennen?
Here is what Jay Karnes told E! about his character's fate "It seems to be breaking down in one of two ways. Brennen comes back as an über, über bad guy, or Brennen comes back as a client, which I think is kind of interesting. Brennen needing help from Michael Westen, I like that idea.


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In Luke 12:13-40 we have a series of parables which may on the surface seem to be isolated. However, upon closer study we find that there is a progression through out these parables that tells us about how Jesus viewed material wealth and possessions.
In Luke 12:13-21 we read about a man who asked Jesus to intervene in a financial matter between him and his brother. Jesus warns that life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.
He further warns those listening that we should be rich toward God and not lay up treasure for ourselves. This is a clear warning against storing up wealth on earth for our own use.
Many people who say they believe the Bible will justify themselves by saying that they are simply storing wealth so that they can work for God in some manner without requiring a paid job to support them. Generally, this is just an attempt to ease their conscience. Most of these people dont specify when they will stop collecting and start the so called ministry they are considering.
The second section in Luke 12:22-34 builds on this.theme and even works against this self justification.
In Luke 12:22-34 Jesus tells the disciples not to be anxious about the things that we need (i.e. food and clothing). His encouragement in this passage is to "seek His kingdom and these things will be added to you" (Luke 12:31).
So, we are not to store up wealth for ourselves on earth and in the case where we can't do that we shouldn't be concerned about the things we need as God will provide them.
If we go back to our first objection – that we might be storing up wealth so we can serve the Lord – doesn't that just go to show that we are anxious about what we might eat and wear while we are working for him? God takes care of all that – so wealth is not a requirement for ministry (despite what some modern missionary agencies say).
Another interesting facet of this passage is that we are told in verse 31 that we should seek Gods kingdom, while in verse 32 we are told that it is Gods pleasure to give us the kingdom. The kingdom is ours for the taking (or leaving). We are not to be concerned about what we need, and we should not gather store up wealth – rather Jesus encourages us in verses 33-34 to sell all that we have and give it to the poor in order to get true wealth.
The last section is Luke 12:35-40, which is a parable that commends servants who are concerned about doing what their master wants – they stay awake to wait for the bridegroom to return so that they can welcome him appropriately. The point here is clear – the servants were working for the master, not for themselves or their own gain. This is the way Jesus wants us to be when he returns.
Its easy to get distracted by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (Matt 13:22), but we must not.
I'll close this section with a thought from Henry Scougal and an example from scripture. Henry Scougal said "The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love". What is it that we love? What is the most treasured thing we have?
Job was a classic example. We read in Job 1 about how in one day he lost his oxen and donkeys, sheep and camels, servants and children to various calamaties. For most of us, in such cases we would be devastated, but Jobs reaction reveals much about his heart. In Job 1:20-21 we read "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said 'Naked I came from my mothers womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord'".
What was it that Job loved the most? It was obviously the Lord. All the things he had were as nothing compared to the value of God.
So may we be.


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Coach Bird is a family first person who has been married to his bride for 28 plus years. Coach has three children Seth, Sam and Sarah. Coach was an Army veteran with 18 years of service, mostly in the Indiana National Guard retiring as a First Sergeant. Coach also spent a number of years working in the health care industry and hospitals. He left Biomet to help his wife in her business Running Around Screen Printing.
History of Team Bird has been around since 2003 starting as my son Sam's middle school team and progressing into what today we call Team Bird Elite. The name of Team Bird was coined while at the Huntington HUFF course as we disembarked the family Yukon XL and Mitch Harper/Ty Murphy remarked, "hey there is Team Bird." The name stuck with the small middle school runners.
Our first official meet was the middle school state championships then held at Southwestern Parkway in south west Indianapolis at the park. We were made up of five Indian Springs and two DeKalb runners at that time. (They allow some mix teams for participation.) We were pretty bad that first year and quickly understood the time needed to compete. Later we entered our first USATF meet held at Indiana University on a very cold snowy day. At that point Team Bird gained momentum growing year to year, even starting the Elementary Championships as a means to recruit or as feeder to the Team Bird Club. At one point over 90 runners were members of the club covering every age division. One of our clubs highlight was our Intermediate age group in 2005 where Bobby Moldovan was the National Champion, and for many years after was the "poster runner of USATF youth web site" the famous foot in the water hole.
Since those early years many stories and friendships have come about, from members of the Team Bird Club. We now have many married alumni, countless post collegiate runners and still have those who run at collegiate today. Our facebook has an alumni section that we encourage past athletes, current runners, parents, and coaches to join. You can find it at Team Bird Current & Alumni.
Coach's Credentials
Coach: Gary Bird
Address: 670 W. Keiser Road Columbia City, IN 46725
Phone: 260-229-3324
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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10th & Wolf Showtimes and Tickets
Read Movie Reviews about 10th & Wolf Write a Movie Review for 10th & Wolf
Release Date: 2006-08-18 (Limited)
Genre: Drama,
Rating: R
Duration: 1hr 47min
Based on the true-life accounts of FBI Special Agent Joseph D. Pistone, otherwise known as "Donnie Brasco," this is the story of Marine Sgt. Tommy Santoro, who in 1991, thought he had left behind his family's ties to organized crime. Returning home to South Philly, he faces the biggest moral dilemma of his life as he reconnects with his brother, Vincent, and cousin Joey, who both have become something he vowed never to be--mobsters. His homecoming turns him into something much worse.
Cast and Crew
- Starring
Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper, Brad Renfro, Giovanni Ribisi, Piper Perabo, James Marsden, Lesley Ann Warren, Dash Mihok, Brian Dennehy
- Directed by Robert Moresco
- Produced by Leo Rossi, Joseph Pistone, Alain Silver, Suzanne DeLaurentiis
- Written by Chazz Palminteri, Robert Moresco, Joseph Pistone, Allan Steele
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Oct. 27, 2012
Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery
Tulane 55, UAB 45
Tulane Game 8
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, La.
Saturday's game marked the ninth meeting between Tulane and UAB. With the win, the Green Wave now hold a 5-4 lead in the all-time series. It is the second consecutive time Tulane defeated the Blazers after earning a 49-10 decision on Sept. 17, 2011, at Legion Field in Birmingham.
With the win, Tulane improves to 2-6 on the year and evens its Conference USA record at 2-2. The last time the Green Wave were .500 in league play four games into the conference season was 2002 when Tulane defeated Houston 34-13 on Sept. 7, lost at East Carolina 24-20 on Sept. 14, lost at Memphis 38-10 on Sept. 21 and defeated Cincinnati 35-17 on Oct. 12. That year, Tulane finished 8-5 overall, 4-4 in C-USA play and defeated Hawai'i 36-28 in the ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl.
The Green Wave offense posted season-high marks across the board with 26 first downs, 153 rushing yards, 466 passing yards, 619 total yards and 55 points.
Tulane's 55 points against UAB marks the first time the Green Wave surpassed the 50-point plateau since a 54-49 win over Rice on Nov. 13, 2010, in the Superdome, and are the most by the Wave since defeating the Blazers 59-55 on Oct. 23, 2004, in Tad Gormley Stadium.
Tulane's 26 first downs were the most by Tulane since equaling the mark against Memphis on Oct. 22, 2011, in the Superdome.
The Wave's 619 yards of total offense marks the first time a Tulane team surpassed the 600-yard barrier since posting 633 against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 26, 1998.
Tulane's 153 rushing yards were the most since the 2011 season finale when the Green Wave tallied 185 at Hawai'i on Nov. 26, 2011.
The Tulane defense forced four turnovers with three interceptions and a fumble recovery. The Green Wave have now forced at least one turnover in each game during the 2012 season and in each of the last nine games dating back to the 2011 season finale at Hawai'i. The last time Tulane had four turnovers in a game was against Rice on Nov. 13, 2010 (three interceptions, one fumble recovery).
Senior quarterback Ryan Griffin set a Tulane single-game record with 466 yards passing. He surpassed the former mark of 447 by Patrick Ramsey against Army on Sept. 18, 1999. It was Griffin's third-straight game with 300-plus passing yards, becoming the first Tulane quarterback to accomplish the feat since J.P. Losman surpassed the 300-yard mark in the first four games of the 2003 season.
Griffin tallied a career-high five touchdown passes against the Blazers, surpassing his previous best of three on seven occasions. He fell one scoring strike shy of the Tulane single-game record of six set by Lester Ricard against UAB on Oct. 23, 2004.
Griffin tied a season-high with 34 completions (on 42 attempts), which is two shy of his career high of 36 at Tulsa on Oct. 16, 2010, and at Marshall on Nov. 27, 2010.
For his career, Ryan Griffin has now completed 711-of-1,181 passes (.602) for 7,700 yards and 47 touchdowns. He moved into first place in Tulane career completion percentage - ahead of Mike McKay (.599 from 1981-82) - second in pass attempts - moving ahead of Shaun King (1,163 from 1995-98) - tied for second in 300-plus yard passing games - equaling King and Lester Ricard (2004-06) -third in passing yards - moving ahead of Terrence Jones (7,684 from 1985-88) - and fifth in touchdown passes - surpassing Jones (46) - while remaining second in completions
Junior running back Orleans Darkwa's one-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter was the first rushing score of the year for Tulane. The last time the Green Wave scored a touchdown on the ground was at Hawai'i on Nov. 26, 2011, when Darkwa and Albert Williams each scored rushing touchdowns in last season's regular-season finale.
Darkwa finished the day with a season high 74 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. All three marks were season-highs for Green Wave running backs.
For his career, Darkwa has now run 448 times for 2,019 yards and 26 touchdowns, becoming the ninth player in Green Wave history to run for at least 2,000 yards in his career. He currently ranks fourth in Tulane history in touchdown runs - surpassing Jamaican Dartez (25 from 1995-98) - ninth in rushing yards - surpassing Toney Converse (2,014 from 1997-99), André Anderson (2009 from 2006-09) and Jerald Sowell (1,962 from 1993-96) - and 10th in rushing attempts - surpassing Anderson (444).
For the second consecutive week, Tulane had a pair of receivers eclipse the 100-yard mark as junior Ryan Grant had six catches for 184 yard and sophomore Xavier Rush had eight grabs for 126 yards. Both players had a pair of touchdown grabs.
Rush' reception total was a career high, surpassing his former high-water mark of six vs. Memphis on Oct. 22, 2011, and at UTEP last weekend, while tallying his second career 100-yard game. Grant, meanwhile, posted a career-high in receiving yardage while equaling his career-best in catches.
Grant extended his consecutive games with a catch streak to 16 on Saturday against the Blazers. The last time Grant - who missed the final 12 games of the 2011 season due to injury - failed to catch a pass in a game he played in came on Oct. 9, 2010, against Army.
For his career, Grant has now caught 80 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 100-plus receiving effort was the fourth of the season and the sixth of his career. Grant now ranks tied for eighth in Tulane history in 100-yard receiving games and moved into a tie for 13th in touchdown receptions - sharing the distinction with Tristan Smith (2001-03), Jeff Liggon (1993-96) and Robert Griffin (1980-83).
Sophomore running back Rob Kelley tallied career-high numbers with nine receptions for 66 yards. He finished the day with 125 all-purpose yards while adding 59 yards on eight rushing attempts.
Freshman CB Lorenzo Doss pulled down a pair of interceptions on Saturday against UAB, becoming the first Tulane player to tally a multiple-pick game since Shakiel Smith had a pair against Rice on Nov. 13, 2010.
Doss interception total was two of three on the day for Tulane as sophomore DB Sam Scofield added one of his own. The last time Tulane had three interceptions in a game was last year at UAB (Sept. 17, 2011).
Junior PK Cairo Santos remained perfect on the season kicking field goals with boots of 21 and 32 yards against UAB. For the season, he is now 12-for-12, including a 7-for-7 showing from 40-plus yards.
Ryan Griffin's 16-yard touchdown pass to junior WR Wilson Van Hooser with 8:00 to play in the third quarter was the first points by the Green Wave during the stanza this season.
Griffin's first-quarter touchdown pass to Rush came on the heels of an Aaron Bryant fumble recovery. It marked the first time during the 2012 season that Tulane scored a touchdown following an opponent turnover. The Green Wave have now forced 14 turnovers had have turned those into two touchdowns and four field goals.
Three Tulane players extended their double-digit starting streaks on Saturday vs UAB -senior DE Austen Jacks (33), senior CB Ryan Travis (33) and senior OT Eric Jones (23).
Tulane's game captains for Saturday's contest against UAB were sophomore WR Xavier Rush representing the offense, freshman DB Darion Monroe representing the defense and junior PK Cairo Santos representing the special teams.


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Musician Kapri Dabrowska talks about her life as a performer in Poland and her favorite type of music to listen to as well as her inspirations.
How and when did you first get into performing?
I wanted to be a performer ever since I can remember. Even as a toddler, I would climb any and all stages I could see, dance around and sing. The first time I claimed I wanted to be a performer was when I was 4 years old playing in the living room at my grandparents' house. My grandparents never listened to the radio, but my mom would, in the morning before she would drop me off. My grandma was doing chores, I was playing with my toys, and all of a sudden I said "grandma, I'm going to be a singer when I grow up". A little surprised, my grandma asked: "ok, why?" and I responded with "because I hear music in my head all the time". Back then, of course I didn't understand the concept of having a song stuck in my head, like we all do, but that was enough to get my mom to sign me up for some vocal lessons, and later on to a music school.
What was life like in Poland?
Poland is a fantastic place! It's totally different from the US though- particularly food, everything just IS organic, until labeled otherwise. The music scene is also different: a lot smaller; most of the top artists still stick to their day jobs. In LA, the scene is fantastic. Living in Poland for years I rode horses, and I still have my two horses Kapriola and Kaprikorn. I ride them when I come to visit. I also have a dog, Cekin, that I sadly didn't bring to LA with me, that lives with my grandparents now.
Who were your biggest inspirations growing up?
That's gonna be kinda hectic... I was the biggest fan of Guns n' Roses since I can remember. I was also a huge Spice Girls fan as a kid. At the age of 11 or so, I started getting more into classic rock, grunge and hard rock, stuff like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, P.O.D., Queen, Nirvana. My mom would always play those bands, and I would listen. My inspiration with punk and pop-punk came to me really late, after I graduated high school, and it stayed. I loved (and still do) Sum-41, Blink-182, Green Day, Sugarcult, Less Than Jake, Yellowcard, Good Charlotte, Mest... the list goes on. Also, ever since I discovered Butch Walker in 2004 he's been a huge inspiration to me, both lyrically and melody wise.
What type of music do you like writing and performing?
I write all kinds of music, really! Sometimes I can wake up, write something that would totally work for Taylor Swift or Avril Lavinge, and then right before going to bed I would come up with a song that sounds totally like Operation Ivy! I really don't have much of an MO when it comes to songs: I write how I feel when I feel it. I do like to write songs about people who piss me off though. So much for MO, haha.
When it comes to performing, I have been performing various genres over the years, but I feel most comfortable with pop-punk, and that's what my band Side Effect plays.
What has been your most favorite gig to play so far?
I loved the Battle Of The Bands for Rock On The Range. It was an incredible experience, and I can't wait for another round of the Battle. The details will be on our website www.wearethesideeffect.com.
Who or what would be your ideal collaboration?
I'd say it really depends on a song. Mostly I am looking for a person who either understands the emotion or the situation I'm writing about. I also like people who are strong melodically, because I prefer working on lyrics and words. I do write melodies too and plenty of songs I wrote by myself, or with my band members.
What advice do you have for upcoming performers?
Don't give up - you just picked the hardest career there is. It's gonna require very hard work from you, for the rest of your life, and with no guarantee of success. If you can't handle uncertainty for the rest of your life - it's time for a new profession.Don't try to do everything by yourself - DIY does not mean "do everything yourself while you juggle a day job". It means gather a team of people you trust and work with them. If you try to do everything completely on your own you will fail and you will end up hating what you do. Be on top of your game. Sometimes if you wait for a day, you will be a day too late and even though there are plenty of opportunities, some opportunities don't come around the second time. Some people will remember you as a slacker and never get back to you again. Lastly, go out! meet people, and meet the right people! And later, maintain those relationships!