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As a the owner of a contracting business, you must wear many hats, besides your hardhat. You are a businessman and highly skilled tradesman, Safety Coordinator and maybe even an Accountant. But in order to compete in the 21st century you must wear another hat, that of a marketer.
You may do quality work at a fair price but without a steady stream of new clients you will not be in business for long. These new customers, whether they a need a room addition, new roof or an efficient HVAC system are now searching for qualified contractors online. When was the last time you used a phone book?
Today's consumer searches the web for the goods and services they desire. Google, owning 67% US market share is the information super highway. Imagine your business has a billboard near, but not on that highway. Would you ever be found on a dark, lonely sidestreet? Similarly, your construction business website will rarely be visited if it sits on page 2 or 3 or 10 of Google's search results. Web traffic rarely goes past page one.
And the bad news is, that page one if often dominated by corporate sites like Angies List, Yellow Pages and worse case scenario, your competition. So all of those valuable leads go anyone but you if you are stuck on page 3.
Construction Leads?
Many a contractor has been lured into the web of a lead broker. For a nominal fee, you will get multiple warm leads per week/month. But what these outfits do not often disclose to you is that these "hot leads" are shared with multiple other contractors all vying for the same potential client. Those lead firms simply rank a website on Google page 1, in your market, and then charge you (and 3 others) for the phone leads.
So how can you cut out the middle man?
Construction SEO
SEO, aka Search Engine Optimization is a process in which your website is moved from where it ranks today, to a higher position, ideally the top of page one. This is accomplished simply stated, through tweaks to your website, social media marketing and link building.
Can You Do SEO Yourself?
In a word, yes. But think of utilizing an Internet Marketing Expert just like using a subcontractor. While you could do the work yourself, the specialist can generally handle the job more quickly and efficiently. Google is constantly updating their algorythms so doing SEO yourself would be like working a jobsite where the building codes changed every few days. Do you really need another headache?
Construction Marketing
There are other options to market your contracting firm online. These include Social Media Marketing, Reputation Management, Web Design, Video Marketing and even your own lead generation sites.
Social Media Marketing includes building and managing sites like Facebook, Twitter etc. Reputation Management may be required if your business is plagued by bad reviews, warranted or not. If your website is outdated, not mobile friendly or if your url is penalized from previous SEO practices, a new website, domain may be required. And since Google owns Youtube, and consumers love video, video marketing is pretty much necessary to compete online.
So now that you are considering using a Construction Marketing subcontractor, you may be wondering how much it costs. And we can't tell you until we have more information. Can you bid a job sight unseen with no plans or specs? Neither can we.
So if would like more information on what we do, how we can help you and what it would cost, simply complete our discovery form. Think of this as our bid sheet.
Note: Obviously we can only work with one trade type in a city, e.g. Roofer in Sacramento so if you're serious about crushing your competitors online, do not delay lest your competition hires us first.
Let's Get Started


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Tourist Assaulted On Harbour Bridge
A Dutch tourist has been indecently assaulted after two men offered to take her photograph on Sydney's Harbour Bridge.
The pair approached the 27-year-old woman who was sightseeing from the southern pylon viewing platform on April 26, and offered to take her photograph, police said.
They then allegedly indecently assaulted her before fleeing.
Police on Monday released CCTV images of two men of Asian appearance, aged between 55-60, who they want to interview.

subset: commoncrawl


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When visiting Disney California Adventure this past spring, we decided to splurge and attend the World of Color Dessert Party. The party presently does not have an official end date so keep an eye out as it could be offered on your next visit to the Disneyland Resort.
The cost is $79 per person regardless of age. We had a party of 5 so it was not cheap. One of the reasons we decided to book this party was because it provided seating for World of Color. Having seats for World of Color is a big deal. This show requires that you arrive early and stand for about an hour before the show and then stand while the show is in progress. If you have little kids they may have trouble seeing over adults standing in front of them. I was having knee issues before vacation, so I felt having seats was going to be the only way I could see this show.
Each person on their dessert plate received:
Cheese: Brie, Mild Cheddar, Manchego
Green Seedless Grapes
Chocolate Mocha Bundt Cake
Mickey Coconut Macaroon
Waffle Bowl with Berries and Lime Yogurt Mousse
Mini French Macaron
Dulce de Leche filled Shortbread Cookie
They also brought to the table a bread basket for us to share.
To drink:
Adults – 2 choices with alcohol. Champagne and a Wonderful Cooler (Sprite, Blue Liqueur, and Coconut Rum)
Kids – Souvenir 'Glow with the Show' cups that were filled with Sprite and Cherry juice. There was no additional charge for the souvenir cup and the boys loved it.
Anyone – Hot chocolate, water, sodas, and coffee
We arrived about an hour before the scheduled start time for World of Color. They were not letting people into the seating area until 30 minutes prior to the show, but we wanted to make certain to have a high-top table to have the best viewing. They have both high-top table seats and regular table seating and we wanted our best chance at being elevated slightly so the boys could easily see over the crowd.
As we waited in line to be seated they checked us in and gave everyone a wristband. We were showed to our seat quickly and were instantly greeted by our amazing server, Wendy. She was a delight (actually, all the staff at this party was amazing). Wendy was awesome and took several pictures of our family and told us to not run off at the end and she would get a picture of us with Mickey's Fun Wheel all lit up.
Ryan and I loved the desserts. The teenager in the group thought they were so-so, and my boys hated all the desserts. My older son Evan ate everyone's fruit and my younger son Joel had Ryan run off to buy a Mickey ice cream cookie sandwich. The 'Glow with the Show' cups were a huge hit albeit difficult to get home in one piece (one was broke in our luggage).
Once the show started, everyone had a great view and the boys absolutely loved the experience.
Since going to Disneyland is a special experience that we don't do every year, we are so happy we spent the money for this dessert party. It made such a relaxing and enjoyable evening. We may even do it again if we can on the next trip out to Disneyland.


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Call today to schedule your Energy Audit or free Estimate
On cold winter days, a ray of sun streaming into your house can be most welcome - a free source of heat. But what about in the summer, when those rays of sun and other, less-evident solar heat, seep into our already too-hot houses and become a costly nuisance? Well, what happens is that you lose money. But using landscaping (namely by planting trees) to shade your home can be a great way to lower energy costs.
Thanks to (get ready for a big word!) evapotranspiration (big, but not scary: it's just the tree or plant releasing water vapor), air temperatures can be reduced up to 9° Farenheit in areas around trees, which creates a cool microclimate. Adeptly placed trees can cut air conditioning costs in the summer by 15%-50%, and one well positioned tree has the daily cooling effects of five air conditioners running for 20 hours a day. And it's easy to figure out where to place these trees: close to windows!
Shading east- and west-facing windows with trees can reduce costs in any climate, and south-facing windows just need a little more thought. In a hot climate? Go for it, shading will keep energy costs down year round. In a cold or mixed climate? Consider planting deciduous trees so you don't run the risk of impeding welcome solar heat in the winter.
According to the Department of Energy, the average return on investment for landscaping as a means of low energy cooling is less than 8 years. And if you plant trees as saplings, it's likely that they will begin shading your windows within a year, and reach the roof within the next 5 to 10 years (depending on tree species and climate).
But then again, since when did we need to do an ROI calculation for planting a tree?
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Man gets 10 years for police department burglary
Marcus C. Phillips might have gotten away with taking drugs from the Phenix City Police Department when he broke in April 9, 2007. He'd already taken methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana and made it to the building's back parking lot before an officer saw him.
Phillips' actions that night got the 25-year-old 10 years in prison Tuesday when he was sentenced by Russell County Circuit Court Judge George Greene on charges of third-degree burglary and possession of burglar's tools.
"I think it's a reasonable sentence," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Buster Landreau.
A jury decided in June that Phillips used a screwdriver and other tools to bypass four doors, including an exterior door that was unlocked, to get to the evidence room. He threw drugs and guns into a garbage bag, stepped outside and was caught by a police officer.
The police department has since improved its door locks and now keeps its exterior door locked, Landreau said.


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Man Missed Lion Air Flight That Crashed With 189 People
A man has cheated death after he accidentally missed his flight yesterday before the plane crashed into the sea off the coast of Indonesia.
Sony Setiawan was due to be among the 189 passengers and crew on board the doomed Lion Air flight when it took off early from Jakarta on Monday morning.
However, due to traffic, Mr Setiawan was held up on his commute to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, meaning he never boarded flight JT 610.
Passenger Lucky To Be Alive After He Missed The Lion Air Flight That Crashed With 189 People On Board Due To Traffic
Just minutes after take off the plane disappeared from radar and plunged 5,000ft into the Java Sea. Officials do not expect to find any survivors as they work to collect aircraft debris, personal belongings and sadly human remains from the sea.
A Lion Air flight carrying 189 people crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta.— AJ+ (@ajplus) October 29, 2018
Officials say it is unlikely that anybody survived. pic.twitter.com/VyXkbJ1KMX
Mr Setiawan ended up catching a later flight to Pangkal Pinang on another airline and it wasn't until after he arrived safely at his destination that he heard the devastating news about his original flight.
Speaking with Australian Federal Police, Mr Setiawan said that he and his colleagues caught the ill-fated Lion Air flight on a weekly basis.
"I usually take (flight) JT610 - my friends and I always take this plane," he explained.
"I don't know why the traffic at the toll road was so bad. I usually arrive in Jakarta at 3am but this morning I arrived at the airport at 6:20 and I missed the flight."
While it appears a twist of fate saved Mr Setiawan's life, he continued to say that any gratitude that he felt was overshadowed by the grief he felt that so many people, including six of his colleagues, were not so lucky.
"The first time I heard I cried," he said. "I know my friends were on that flight."
Mr Setiawan said that making the call to his family to tell them that he was still alive was incredibly emotional.
"My family was in shock and my mother cried, but I told them I was safe, so I just have to be grateful," he continued.
Human remains, aircraft debris and personal belongings have been retrieved from the Java Sea after a Boeing jet operated by an Indonesian budget airline crashed minutes after take-off from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board.
Distraught family members struggled to comprehend the sudden loss of loved ones after the crash involving a two-month-old Lion Air plane with experienced pilots at the controls amid fine weather.
They gathered at crisis centres set up by the authorities at airports, hoping desperately for a miracle. But a top search official has said that no survivors are expected.
The disaster is a setback for Indonesia's airline industry, which just emerged from decade-long bans by the European Union and the US over safety concerns.
President Joko Widodo ordered an investigation and urged Indonesians to "keep on praying".
The crash of the Boeing 737 Max 8 on Monday is the latest in a series of tragedies that have struck Indonesia this year, including earthquakes and a tsunami that killed several thousand people.
An air transport official, Novie Riyanto, said the flight was cleared to return to Jakarta after the pilot made a "return to base" request two to three minutes after taking off.
The plane plunged into the sea about 10 minutes later. Weather conditions were normal but the plane, which Lion Air received in August, had experienced an unspecified technical issue on its previous flight.
Relatives and friends wept, prayed and hugged each other as they waited at Jakarta's airport and at Pangkal Pinang's airport on Bangka island off Sumatra, where the flight was heading.
Some, including Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, headed to the search and rescue agency's headquarters in Jakarta for information. About 20 ministry staff were on the flight.
More than 300 people including soldiers, police and fishermen are involved in the grim search, retrieving aircraft debris and personal items such as a crumpled mobile phone, ID cards and carry-on bags from the seas northeast of Jakarta.
Search and Rescue Agency chief Muhammad Syaugi said he is certain it will not take long to locate the hull of the aircraft and its black box because of the relatively shallow (30-35m) depths of the waters it plunged into.
Three specialised search ships, including one from Singapore, are to help with the search.
The jet, which was on a one-hour flight, was carrying 181 passengers, including one child and two babies, and eight crew members.
Lion Air said there were two foreigners on the plane: one of the pilots, Indian national Bhavye Suneja, and an Italian citizen.
The pilot of Flight 610 had more than 6000 flying hours while the co-pilot had more than 5000 hours, according to Lion Air.
Boeing said it is "deeply saddened" by the crash and is prepared to provide technical assistance to Indonesia's crash probe.
The 737 Max 8 was leased from China Minsheng Investment Group Leasing Holdings, according to the official China News Service.
Lion Air president-director Edward Sirait said the plane had a "technical problem" on its previous flight from Bali to Jakarta but it had been fully remedied.
The crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since an AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea in December 2014, killing all 162 on board.
With AAP.


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So you're getting married and looking for someone to lead the ceremony. If you're looking for something other than the standard, justice of the peace or church based wedding, why not have me come officiate the happy event.
I'll come to your house, your favorite Coffee shop, the park or even the back seat of the first car, you made out in… what ever you have in mind. I'm the official that will do what ever it is that you and your spouse to be, can think of to commemorate your marriage. If you're 19 and marrying your childhood sweetheart you want someone else. Second, third, fourth, late in life or festive weddings are what I do well.
A few years ago a good friend was getting married and asked me to get ordained so I could perform weddings in Arizona. By the authority granted me by the State of Arizona and The Universal Life Church of Modesto California I can now pronounce you man and wife. Next it was a western themed wedding. So I'm becoming the guy that people call for a different ceremony. Let's see what you have in mind and make it happen.
The Right Reverend Mad Coyote Joe


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16 April 2009
A little indulgence
8 comments:
- Delphine said...
do you wear those barefoot and don't get blisters? i'm looking for simple shoes that do that... but i always get blisters :(
- 9:51 PM, April 16, 2009
- ifzan said...
wow like that fred perry slip ons .
- 7:59 AM, April 17, 2009
- Make it Easy said...
get them delphine! (the cheap plimsolls) yes i wear them barefoot and NO, they dont give me blisters! :-)
- 2:59 PM, April 17, 2009
- J.Yo said...
ooh the white ones are so laid back and cool... i have one similar but with open toes.. lol.
bookstore job sounds nice, i would be like in heaven, surrounded by all the books! except a library sounds more classic and nice.. ^^
ps: i can't resist opening your blog every time i feel my brain is overloaded! T.T
- 4:42 PM, April 17, 2009
- Make it Easy said...
haha thanks so much Jessica! thats so nice of you :-)
im so happy you enjoy it!
- 8:46 PM, April 17, 2009
- Kate said...
ohh I had those plimsolls and wore them til they fell apart. They come in great colors.
- 4:17 AM, April 18, 2009
- monaka said...
im waiting badly for a weather to get warmer so im able to wear sneakers without socks.
what kind of tie do you wear?
- 9:27 PM, April 20, 2009
- ALPHABETICAL said...
The Fred Perry slip-ons and the plimsolls look great. I have to check if those slip-ons are available here.
- 5:06 AM, April 21, 2009


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Reliance Jio Offer ends on December 3
Reliance Jio has decided to end the free welcome offer on December 3 instead of the earlier announced December 31. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) existing rules, operators cannot offer welcome schemes beyond 90 days. Check Economic Times News of Customers subscribing to Jio services after December 3 to get new offers.
New Update: R Jio Free Calling Offer Lifetime Chalu Raheshe - News Report


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Update widely-used software to minimise risk
Adobe, Apple and Microsoft have issued updates to address vulnerabilities in software used on the computers and mobile devices owned by many Australians.
Microsoft has released its Security Bulletin Summary for December 2016, which details updates issued for December and the risks that they address. The company has issued 12 updates addressing vulnerabilities in products such as Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office.
Apple has issued updates to address vulnerabilities in tvOS and iOS, while Adobe has released updates for a range of products including Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Digital Editions and Adobe InDesign.
You are advised to review security bulletins from any vendor you use and apply their updates as soon as possible. Many vendors allow you to automate the process of updating their software.
Security updates address vulnerabilities in computer systems that remote attackers can otherwise use to gain access to systems or information (such as online banking details).
A vulnerability is a weakness that can leave a computer and its systems open to attack. Attacks can be carried out a number of ways, including through malicious software (malware) such as viruses and spyware that can monitor a users' activity on a computer and stop systems operating properly.
More information
Stay Smart Online has information on automating updates.
The information provided here is of a general nature. Everyone's circumstances are different. If you require specific advice you should contact your local technical support provider.


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What to Expect from Season Two of Wilfred
Wilfred, which was a breakout hit for the FX network last season, is coming back this week with its second season. And if the first season was any indication of what to expect, the second season is going to be hilarious and somewhat "off." The producers of
have already given the audience a sneak peek at the second season which lets us know just how funny it's going to be.
In fact, the second season isn't schedule to officially start until June 21
. But FX aired an episode on June 14
entitled "Progress." In this episode, Robin Williams (yes, that Robin Williams) played a psychiatrist that is trying to help Ryan (Elijah Wood's character) come to grips with having Wilfred being a part of his life. But that episode didn't air on television. It was only available through the various on-demand avenues like Hulu, the FX website, Yahoo TV and some satellite providers.
However, when the new season does officially start on the 21
, this episode will air at 10:30 p.m., right after a repeat of last season's cliffhanger episode. That episode was more of an experiment in existentialism, according to what
is writing in his will. Ryan also decides in the last episode to represent Jenna in court because the "court of imaginary Wilfreds" made him feel guilty. It's then that we find out a secret that had been hidden all season: Why Ryan was disbarred. It turns out that he used to tamper with evidence and do other unethical things when he was a lawyer and he got caught.
Another interesting thing that happened in the season finale was the writers taking a shot at Lost, the ABC show that basically captivated audiences for several seasons with its questions and storylines. That's a gutsy move for a
TV show
on cable during its rookie season, which makes us wonder what else the writers and producers will think about doing during the show's sophomore season now that it has been deemed one of the more successful shows on the network in recent years.
The cliffhanger also has something about a basement that didn't exist and it was just a closet filled with pillows, but it's difficult to explain. That's why it's best to watch the episode on June 21 at 10:00 p.m. Even though there is a new episode immediately following it, the official first episode of season 2 will not air until June 28. Get ready for a great season that will likely have a lot of dog jokes and some answers for the questions left over from season 1.
TVStoreOnline.com's licensed
Wilfred costume
is now in stock!
Elijah Wood
Jason Gann
Wilfred costume


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In our quest for smooth skin, there are often some bumps along the way. Literally. Razor burn and rashes are never fun post-shave or wax, but few things are as annoyingly painful as ingrown hairs.
Ingrown hairs occur when the dead skin that's been removed from waxing or shaving clogs a pore on your leg, interfering with the growth of a hair. The hair then grows sideways instead of straight out, causing an irritated bump on your skin.
If you leave the ingrown hair alone, it will more often than not heal itself and just vanish over time. But what if you're planning on going to the beach tomorrow and you're embarrassed by the tender bump on your leg?
We don't blame you.
Luckily, there are ways to nix ingrown hairs fast! Try some of these home remedies to banish your ingrown hair before it can even get started.
1. Use an Egg Shell Membrane
Put the shell membrane (the thin layer on the inside of your cracked egg shell) and leave it there, allowing it to dry up and shrink on the bump. When it's shriveled, pull off the membrane – the hair from the bump with come with it painlessly.
2. Exfoliate
Make a mixture of sugar and extra virgin olive oil, adding some tea tree oil for smell and extra healing properties. Rub the mixture on the ingrown hair for a couple minutes, then let it sit for five more minutes before washing it off. Make sure you save the scrub, because you'll be using this treatment once daily.
3. Dissolve Some Aspirin
The quickest way to get this salicylic acid is by dissolving two aspirin – it is the main ingredient in aspirin, after all. Add the acid to a few drops of honey to make a paste, then apply this directly on the ingrown hair.
We suggest doing a test first, to make sure your skin isn't sensitive to the acid before putting a big glob on the afflicted area.
4. Baking Soda Before
If you already have a bump, baking soda can also be as a natural exfoliate to ease redness and itching. Mix baking soda with little water to make a concentrated solution then soak a cotton ball in the solution then place it on the affected area. Wash the solution off your skin after leaving it for about 10 minutes. Apply this remedy daily for a week.
5. Salt
Instead of sugar, try exfoliating your ingrown hair with salt instead. Salt reduces swelling, redness, irritation, and promotes the healing of infections. Combine salt with water to make a paste, then soak said paste in a cotton ball, placing it on the affect area. Wash off after about ten minutes. Repeat twice daily.
6. Black Tea Bags
While this won't necessarily help take the hair out, it will help with the pain and swelling of the bump, making it look much less conspicuous.
7. Remove with Tweezers
If you're looking to get right to the point (pun intended), you can always pull out the ingrown hair with tweezers. Make sure both the area of your leg and the tweezers have been disinfected with rubbing alcohol first. Then, when the hair shows itself, pull it out.
Cover it with antibacterial cream to keep it clean afterwards.
8. Leave It Alone
Again, leaving the ingrown hair alone will usually work with time. But even if you are working to get the bump gone ASAP, you shouldn't be touching your ingrown hair.
Your hands are covered in germs, and infecting the open wound on your leg with bacteria is not going to help ANYTHING. It's just going to make things worse. So hands off!
Check out some more advice from Howcast:
Have you gotten rid of ingrown hairs in a weird way? Share them in the comments section below.


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Great News For Los Angeles Weight Loss: Fit Body Boot Camp Is In Town!
If you have tried out more than many things to attain your weight loss goal, and you feel you've come to the point where you will do whatever to just get rid of that stubborn belly fat, then it's a good move to use the web to see who has the best weight loss program in Los Angeles. But, don't make any fast decisions… at least not until you read this page that shows all your (better) alternatives.
Michael Duivis here, founder of the Fit Body Boot Camp locations in the Los Angeles and OC. I don't plan to sell my bootcamp on this webpage, but I'd instead wish to offer you all the details I have on Los Angeles weight loss services so you can decide yourself. For most of my life I was overweight to the point that I believed I was one of those individuals who just would not get in shape regardless of what I tried. That's until I committed myself to years of researching the right and wrong exercise techniques.
This is then the primary issue that 99% of all Los Angeles has with trying to lose weight in Los Angeles weight loss centers. Weight loss centers in Los Angeles may have you going strong at first, however your weight loss will soon slow down, and most often go back to where you were in the first place. The most prominent reason is that Los Angeles weight loss centers don't incorporate the exercise part, which is why they will always be only a single component of the many things you need for effective weight loss. To successfully get a lean body and keep fit throughout your life, you want to incorporate not only healthful eating routines, but also a strong drive and a workout program that works.
And everything that one needs to lose weight, Fit Body Boot Camp is happy to provide you. I know how you feel since I was once overweight myself; this is why I have as objective to get as many others in Los Angeles in shape as well.
If I were in your shoes I'd be asking myself if I'd ever join a bootcamp. Due to various reasons the phenomenon of fitness bootcamps has been given a bad rep because of how they used to be a re-enactment of the army. And the good news is that Fit Body Boot Camp is quite the opposite. Fit Body Boot Camp has as #1 objective to give you results without any question in our minds. We actually promise it to you.
In case all the above has made you interested, then here's exactly what I'd like you to do: Call us at 1 (800) 425-1296 to set up a free 1-week trial, or click on this activation box below to get it online. Or for more info click on Los Angeles Weight Loss Centers.
We get tons of members in our exercise class from Los Angeles, and nearly all of them join the longest term, which usually is a year-long deal designed for you to transform your lifestyle. It is pretty obvious that most individuals in Los Angeles know exactly what they desire, and know how to maintain an exercise program to keep on top of their own fitness 24/7. We are getting a lot more popular in Los Angeles, and also we are looking forward to get in the Los Angeles tv news in the nearby future where we would like to offer the local Los Angeles citizens with the most important tips on keeping yourself healthy. We all understand that tiny black dresses come in pretty handy at the local Los Angeles shopping malls and nightclubs.


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Home / Fantasy Warlord Range / 10300 Soldiers of Carylls (5 Different Miniatures)
Five different white metal miniatures.
NOTE: These miniatures are supplied without Weapons.
From elsewhere in the Fantasy Warlord range select your choice of Weapons (30000 series of weapon sets) and if you wish Shields (40000 series of shields) to use with these unarmed miniatures.
Fantasy Warlord 28mm scale miniatures are not supplied with bases and are supplied unpainted and unassembled. Refer to the weapon and shield sets you prefer for arming these miniatures.
More in this Collection
26000 Ogre Hero
22000 Dwarf Hero
22910 Dwarf Wizard
21000 Elven Hero
40001 Good Orientated Shields (Pack or Singles)
From £0.25 - £1.25
40002 Evil Orientated Shields (Pack or Singles)
From £0.25 - £1.00


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Name/TitleEquipment: Negative Pressure Ventilator (Iron Lung)
About this objectNegative Pressure Ventilators ("Iron Lungs") had been used over many years to assist impaired respiration in patients suffering from
Poliomyelitis ("infantile Paralysis"). The standard American prototype from the 1920s was the Drinker model but this was both heavy and expensive.
In the 1937 Polio outbreak in South Australia, in response to a request from the Department of Health, the Both Brothers, Edward and Don, produced a much lighter cabinet respirator with several extra features at less than one tenth of the cost of the Drinker version. This was immediately successful and the design won world acclaim.
Edward was in England during the 1938 Polio outbreak and following a similar request from authorities there gained major financial support from Lord Nuffield of Morris Motors fame. Over 1500 Iron Lungs of the Both design were produced in the Morris factory at Cowley. The epidemic was severe and the steady output of Both respirators could barely keep up with demand.
Edward Both received an OBE in recognition of his work.
Date MadeCa 1940
Measurements 229 x 130 x 76 cm
Subject and Association DescriptionThe Both brothers also produced the first electro-encephalograph and humidicrib, as well as x-ray equipment, nerve stimulators, foetal heart-recorders, suction units, tomographs, defibrillators, cardioscopes and blood transfusion equipment. All the apparatus was manufactured in the Adelaide workshops of Both Equipment Limited, which relocated to Tavistock Street (now Frome Street ) and later to King William Street in Kent Town .
Object TypeEquipment
Object numberAR#1230


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Apparently the blog-hosting services have made it so easy to create a blog that many tire-kickers feel no commitment to continuing the blog they initiate. In fact, 1.09 million blogs were one-day wonders, with no postings on subsequent days. The average duration of the remaining 1.63 million abandoned blogs was 126 days (almost four months). —The Blogging Iceberg (Perseus)
Predictably, Orlowski is all over this one, especially because the news broke during Harvard's $500-a-head BloggerCon. Don't miss the comparison between blogging and a dog licking its own genitals.
KairosNews points to Oliver Wrede's reaction to the Perseus survey; Wrede notes that the survey was skewed towards the personal blog, and didn't seem to include users of the power-user weblog tools such as MovableType.
My trawling of BlogDex reveals "Deflating the Blog Bubble," which sensibly suggests that — gasp — blogs might not be the solution to all the world's problems. (That article suggests that blogs are mostly of interest to upperclass white men, which is interesting in light of Orlowski's assertion that most blogs are written by teenage girls.)


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Friday, 09 March 2018 14:31
There is nothing more important than your brand's reputation. Of course, the company will determine its on and offline reputation, which is why you must do everything in your power to shape how you're perceived by your current and prospective customers. Find out how you can protect your brand's reputation.
Create a Formal Social Media Policy for Employees
Your employees are representatives of your business. The comments they make online can, therefore, influence how others perceive your brand. Preserve your positive image by introducing a formal policy regarding what your employees and freelancers can post online related to your company. This will ensure every member of staff does not talk about the brand negatively, as they will understand what they can and can't say across social media.
A Crisis Communication Plan
It's hard to predict when a problem can place the brand in a bad light. A crisis communication plan must, therefore, be created, so both the business and employees will have content prepared, and they'll also know where to say it and who to say it to. Also, designate an articulate, professional member of staff who can calmly speak on behalf of the business to the media.
Secure Your Data
There are multiple reasons why you must actively secure your data. Not only will the information help to shape the future of the business, but a data breach can also have serious consequences for your business. For example, data loss can lead to financial and legal ramifications due to negligence, company downtime, and ransom fees. The data loss could also force customers to lose trust in your brand, and it might be difficult to recover your reputation, as a result. It is vital to adopt the best cybersecurity technologies and techniques to protect your sensitive files. Also, if you do lose data, you should immediately hire professional digital forensics Los Angeles services for assistance.
Encourage Reviews and Respond to Complaints
If you believe you run a helpful, value-for-money, professional brand, you have nothing to fear with online reviews. Encourage your past and present customers to write reviews online regarding their experience with your company, which could encourage others to trust your business. You must also address any negative reviews on a site in an instant with a polite, friendly, and helpful comment. Ask the past customer for their contact information, or provide yours, so you can speak to them directly to resolve an issue. Once you have rectified the problem, you should ask the customer to edit their review to state how you quickly provided a solution.
Say Thank You
A thank you goes a long way in business. Boost your reputation by sending your clients or customers a thank you note, which will make them feel valued and can have a positive impact on the perception of your brand. What's more, they will likely share with their family and friends how your business went above and beyond, so it is an effective way to encourage word of mouth marketing.
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Western Carolina Sailing Club
2018 Junior Sail Camp
Western Carolina Sailing Club
Registration begins the 1st week of May, 2018:
· On-line registration (REQUIRED)at www.wcscsailcamp.com
· On-line payment at www.wcsc-sailing.org or bring a check to the "Session 1 Class" of your choice (dates below).
· Classes fill up very quickly, and will be managed on a first come, first serve basis. Register Soon!!
2018 WCSC Jr Sail Camp Dates:
June 16th or June 30th (Sat.) 9:00am – 11:00am (Session 1 Class - Required)
July 7 & 8 (Sat. & Sun.) 9:00am – 3:30pm
July 14 & 15 (Sat. & Sun.) 9:00am – 3:30pm
There will be an Ice Cream Social and Awards held on July 15th at 3:30. Sign-up for your student and any family members is appreciated. Sign-up sheet will be available at the Session 1 Class or the first weekend of camp.


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Bio-inspired Robotics
The Biological inspired robotics research lineup is mainy focused on the biomimetic issue of biological systems. We take advantage of new developments in materials, fabrication technology and sensors in order to approach bio-inspiration to an artifical counterpart in terms of: morphology, locomotion, and behaviour.
Click here to view Projects or Publications of this topic.
In Addition, please Follow this link for more details of the Bio-inspired research


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Thomas Böcker
Salzgasse 6
01067 Dresden / Germany
Phone +49 351 3324029
Roger Wanamo began his career as a composer for theatre productions at age 19, though his love for music started much earlier when he began learning the classical piano at five years old. From 2004 to 2010 he studied composition with Juhani Nuorvala and Hannu Pohjannoro at the Tampere Music Academy, Finland. He also participated in master classes with Michael Finnisy, Georges Aperghis, Jouni Kaipainen and Jukka Tiensuu.
Roger Wanamo has been arranging for the Game Concerts and other projects at Merregnon Studios since 2007.


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Corona Luxury Commercial Real Estate Photography
Photographing a Luxury Residential Community
{Photographed exclusively with the Sony a7s}
Photographing a Luxury Residential Community like the Artisan on Main in Corona is the most luxurious residential community I've had the pleasure of photographing to date. All images in the collection are photographed with the Sony Alpha a7s. The residential community of this Corona luxury commercial real estate photography project is very large {over 500 units} yet has every amenity that upscale residents desire and is just down the block from the Corona MetroLink station. It was a hot day but we were blessed with some magnificent clouds in the sky which made for some great visual drama and a stunning cloud swept sunset for the twilight shoot.
Marc Weisberg is an award winning photographer and Sony Artist of Imagery based in Irvine, California. Specializing in Luxury Architecture & Real Estate Photography, Food + Wine Photography, and Weddings & Family Photography, he's easy to work with and produces clean, crisp, and technically flawless images. Marc's photography is published internationally in over a dozen books and magazines. You can contact Marc by phone at 949.494.5084…. or email.


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Handy Tips And Advice To Succeed At Investing
You must understand real estate investing to do it well. Many fail when they invest in real estate because they don't know enough about investing in the first place. Fortunately, you don't have to be one of them. If you're thinking about investing in real estate, you do not want to miss out on this article.
Before making an investment in real estate, analyze the current market and do your research. Check around 100 properties, and make a spreadsheet with notes. Important qualities to weigh are expected rent, current prices and repair budgets. This will help you decide what deals are the best.
Learn as much as you can about real estate before putting any money into the market. It's crucial to learn as much as you can before you delve into the real estate world. Your library can be a great resource for books and DVD on real estate, home repairs and other areas of real estate investing.
Listen more in negotiations than you talk. You might be surprised to know that people sometimes don't do themselves any favors when they negotiate. Finally, by listening closely, you will know when to offer your best deal.
Pick properties that you're confident will raise in value. Make sure that you take the future into consideration. Think about long-term pricing and estimate the projected rise in value to determine the prospective value to be had.
When you are trying to determine the monetary worth of a home that you are considering buying, don't neglect to factor in potential rental income. This can allow you to make thousands of dollars during the course of the year from people who are staying in your place. This adds up to a bigger gross profit at sale time.
Figure out what your time is worth when investing. Is your effort worth what you are getting out of it? Would your time be better spent scoping out additional opportunities? If you can outsource certain jobs, then you should do so. You should free up some of your time so you can concentrate on the business at hand.
Sure you could diversify your portfolio with real estate around the county, but why not look farther afield? What about the next county, state or even abroad? Chances are you are going to find some great real estate for investment purposes in your area, and you know this area best. At the very least, it would probably be best to get started there.
Get yourself signed up with a foreclosure listing service that helps you find great investments sooner. Signing up for these foreclosures listings can save you time so that you do not have to go to the courthouse to find foreclosures. Usually, such lists are current and full of options.
As you can probably tell at this point, great advice will help you do better in the real estate arena. If you want to succeed, follow these tips and continue to learn more. The more knowledge you have about this, the better profits you will receive when you invest in real estate.
Investing Guide To Help You Get Started
Do you believe that investing is only for wealthy people? If so, you're incorrect. Many people invest so they can have more money. This piece offers great advice to help you start investing.
Reputation is important when you are stepping into this arena. You always want to keep an open and honest relationship with your clients. This will ensure you maintain a reputation for having integrity, which will serve you well over your investment career.
Learn about general property values in your locality. Mortgages and rent in local neighborhoods can help you figure out the home's value better than any financial statement. Once you have a good understanding of the street level conditions, you can make wiser decisions.
Avoid purchasing property before having a property inspector come and take a look at it. The seller may offer to pay for an inspector to inspect the property but they may know the inspector who will favor the seller. Always get your inspection from someone whom you personally trust.
When you are re-strategizing, know what your sunk costs are in addition to the price of the house. You have closing costs, legal fees, staging costs, and more that may affect the bottom line. When you are calculating your margins, make certain you add all your costs to the line item list you are making.
When negotiating a deal it is best that you do a lot more listening as opposed to talking. When you do the talking, you may negotiate backwards. Listening will also help you determine what approach to take before you even open your mouth.
Consider the possibility of renting the house out when you're projecting how much a property is worth. This could net you a lot of money. Then after some time, the home could be resold for even more money.
When you are buying property for investment, you should hire an affordable handyman. If you don't, your profits may be sucked up by repair costs. A great handyman is helpful in emergencies that could occur after hours.
You want to become familiar with a neighborhood before investing in properties there. When buying investment properties location plays a big part. It is crucial to know the local zoning laws and anything else that is involved with the property. Speak to neighbors and get an idea about how quickly properties are rented in the area.
Buy local properties. It is much easier to make informed decisions on property when you have a through understanding of the market and neighborhood you are buying in. You won't be worrying about some faraway rental property because it will be in your neighborhood. You should be close to your property, so you can have more control.
Think about the value that is found in non-recourse loans if you plan to partner with someone. This kind of loan will protect your investment if the deal turns bad. You will have more freedom when it comes to earning money, as well as fewer risks than other partnerships or loans.
It is possible to grow your money by investing. Of course it takes knowledge, but that is why you are reading this. Utilize the information from this article and begin building your portfolio. You are certain to be more financially successful.


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I watched STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS more than once because I needed to observe the film from multiple perspectives. First, from the angle of the 10-year-old emotional fanboy inside of me; and then from the perspective of a grown man with an extensive background in screenwriting and film making.
Here's how to understand THE FORCE AWAKENS, and that's by answering these two questions:
1) Does it function adequately as the product of a four-billion-dollar deal between billion dollar corporations who've presented the movie as a tool to keep a highly lucrative IP in the dead center of pop culture awareness?
Yes. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.
2) Does it hit upon the emotional milestones that we've held dear for decades as old-school STAR WARS fans?
Yes... sort of.
If you were in the generation of the Original Trilogy (meaning you were born sometime between 1970 - 1980) and you were expecting to "feel like a kid again" then you've set yourself up to fail.
There's no way on earth you'll ever "feel like a kid again" because we've absorbed too much pop culture over the last thirty to forty years and the expectation to recapture certain levels of emotional connection (via nostalgia) will always fall flat. Our lives, mainstream media and the world itself is remarkably different than it was in late 1970s and early '80s. Even if the film had reached harder to elicit specific emotional reactions, it would have appeared to be far more manipulative and trite.
Of course, we're not totally to blame because Disney went out of their way to develop a marketing campaign that promised to deliver on the missing emotional core of the Prequel Trilogy. There's a great article from Kotaku about Disney's marketing push that clearly outlines the manner in which our emotional memories were toyed with in order to generate hype for The Force Awakens. I strongly suggest reading that essay when you get the chance, but here's the key idea from the piece:
"This is a Hollywood blockbuster that walks a perilous marketing tightrope between emotion and intellect. Disney have had to precisely target a finite reserve of emotion and nostalgia through marketing material that asks us to remember some Star Wars films, but not others. The way that this has been done has been nothing short of fascinating. It's no coincidence, for example, that the major musical theme of the full length trailer is "Han Solo and the Princess" from The Empire Strikes Back, as it's the only major musical theme from the whole original trilogy that didn't return in the prequels. We haven't heard that particular piece of music in Star Wars since Han, Leia, and Luke disappeared from the big screen in 1983.
But the key strategy for this targeted nostalgia, especially because so little dialogue has accompanied the trailers so far, has been visual. Every Force Awakens trailer has contained any number of carefully crafted callbacks to the original films, all designed to reassure us that it's the spirit of 1977 (and not 1999) that's being captured today."
Clearly, the goal of the marketing drive is to say: "Remember how you felt BEFORE the Prequel Trilogy? Well, prepare to feel that way again!" Some portion of the audience went in expecting a level of emotional fulfillment that would be impossible to achieve under any circumstance. Therefore many disgruntled STAR WARS fans are walking out feeling cheated and furious for wasting their time - yet AGAIN.
Does it hit upon the emotional milestones that we've held dear most of our lives as STAR WARS fans? Yes, I believe it does. For a specific generation of fandom.
One thing a lot of Original Trilogy fans refuse to consider is that there's a massive population of younger people who view the STAR WARS saga in chronological order as opposed to "Originals first, then Prequels."
My generation tends to view STAR WARS as IV, V, VI, then I, II, III, VII.
The younger generation tends to view STAR WARS as I, II, III, CLONE WARS, REBELS, IV, V, VI, VII.
That's a significant difference in viewpoint and expectation. Younger fans see this as a continuation of a fantastic saga.
Older fans went in expecting the experience of 1977's A NEW HOPE seemingly forgetting that the first STAR WARS movie came out of nowhere without any kind of direct pop culture predecessor. STAR WARS was a lightning bolt. There's no other way to describe it in 1977. The 21st century pop culture and cinema market landscape cannot mirror the market conditions or socio-historical background that allowed the first STAR WARS to flourish. The cinema and zeitgeist of the mid-1970s was dark, painful and packed with B-movie schlock or intense examinations of the human condition via crime, corruption and sacrifice in an increasingly grey moral spectrum . STAR WARS came along as a beacon of clearly-defined black and white morality with an otherworldly mis-en-scene that removed the audience from the doldrums of their lives.
That's the piece of the puzzle that can't be understated.
THE FORCE AWAKENS isn't constructed to placate the desire to recapture simpler times from the lives of the Original Trilogy generation. It's a massive entertainment machine with the bottom line of selling as many tickets, toys, video games and t-shirts as possible to justify the immense expenditures of the parent companies.
With all that out of the way, what about the product itself - the movie?
THE FORCE AWAKENS is a defacto remake/reboot of EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE. It thematically and structurally copies about 70% of the first STAR WARS movie from the desert planet opening with a droid carrying precious data in its memory banks to a giant laser cannon destroying planets to a fantastically-choreographed space battle/bombing run by X-Wing fighters to blow up the enemy base.
The story centers around three characters: Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Finn is a "reformed" First Order Stormtropper who saves Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac) from the clutches of the enemy before they both crash land on the planet Jakku where Rey lives a very meager existence as a scrap scavenger.
Through a series of improbable events - likely the ways of the Force - Finn is thrown together with the fun new (toy) droid BB-8 and Rey as the First Order wreaks havoc on Jakku to track down BB-8. They want the droid because he has the location of the self-exiled Luke Skywalker. It is not clear why the First Order and Kylo Ren want to find Skywalker, but we do know that Kylo was a former student of Luke's who turned to evil, and this caused Luke to lose faith in himself and the Force.
Kylo is soon revealed to be the son of Han Solo and General (Princess) Leia who is obsessed with fulfilling the legacy of his grandfather Darth Vader. It's an interesting twist on Luke's story from the Original Trilogy as Kylo struggles to avoid the Light Side of the Force despite being naturally pulled to being a Jedi.
Ren and Kylo's stories form the emotional core of the movie. Ren is reluctant to leave Jakku because she believes her family who abandoned her as a child will someday return to take her home whereas Kylo deliberately rejects a loving home for the sake of chasing darkness. On paper, it's a great juxtaposition, but in application, the script only touches on the surface of their respective journeys.
Through Finn's journey, we learn that the First Order (aka the new Empire) doesn't use clone troopers; instead they kidnap babies and mentally program them into child soldiers. For reasons still unknown, Finn overcomes his programming during a violent razing of a village on Jakku. There's even a moment when Kylo turns to Finn as if he's caused a disturbance in the Force. We're constantly teased about who will become the next Jedi although the revelation in the third act is telegraphed horribly.
And that's the biggest problem with the movie: there's no real shock moment. (Note: there is one "shock" moment, but you know what's going to happen five minutes before it occurs - a la the death of Han Solo).
Too much of the screenplay is spent clearly telegraphing the next sequence to the point where anyone who's taken a screenwriting course can tell you exactly what's about to happen. Thus, because of the utter predictability of the story, you'd hope the filmmakers would have taken a chance in the narrative but we're left with an extremely competent but emotionally distant experience when it really counts.
Don't get me wrong, there are some wonderful moments in the movie, especially during the space battles and escape sequences - not to mention the utter joy of seeing the STAR WARS world realized from the mind of JJ Abrams - but as a finished product the film feels incomplete. We know it's the first chapter of the new trilogy but as a movie, there needs to be a sense of completion as any film needs to stand on its own.
A good example of this would be THE LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING which is the first movie in a trilogy but has a full emotional experience within its considerable running time. If more screen time in THE FORCE AWAKENS were spent on completely developing Finn and Poe as characters, there would have been a more satisfying experience. Instead, we're given the impression that there's "much more to come" in regards to Finn, Poe. General Hux, Supreme Commander Snoke, Captain Phasma and the rest of the new trilogy universe.
Again, there's a lot to love here. Daisy Ridley as Rey is a wonderful find. She has the ability to tell a story with her face and I can't wait to see what else she can do as an actress. John Boyega actually does great work with somewhat flat material and I know the guy has strong acting chops so we're going to get much more of Finn's story in the future. Seeing Han, Chewie, Leia, C-3PO, R2 and (eventually) Luke interacting with the new characters is really cool and - in my opinion - the true draw of THE FORCE AWAKENS.
So what's the final word on this?
On a scale of 1 - 10, I give STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS a solid 7 out of 10. It skirts the fringes of Original Trilogy nostalgia while setting up a future Trilogy in a manner that will satisfy younger fans but may ruffle the feathers of older, hardcore fandom who unfairly expect emotional resonance in a product moving in a new direction from a corporate machine interested in developing the long game of franchise sustainability.
If you can reconcile that reality, you'll have a great time. If you cannot, then you will be very unhappy.


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- In-Home Care
- At Home Senior Care Options
- grandPad Senior Tablet
- Interactive Caregiving™
- Light Housekeeping
- Respite Care
- 24 Hour Home Care
- Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease Care
- Veteran's Care
- End of Life Care
- Bathing & Grooming
- Senior Body
- Senior Mind
- Grocery Shopping & Errands
- Incontinence Care
- Companion Care
- Fall Risk Reduction
- ALS & Parkinson's Care
- Transitioning Home
- Diet & Nutrition
Dementia Care And Alzheimer's Care In Jackson, TN And Surrounding Areas
You are not alone. We can give you the support you need in Jackson, TN for dementia care and Alzheimer's care
Providing home care or senior care to a loved one can be difficult in itself. Caring for a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer's disease in the home can be physically and emotionally draining. We understand the challenges faced by family caregivers and can help ease the burden. This is why we offer customized dementia care and Alzheimer's care plans to residents of Jackson, TN and the surrounding communities.
Comfort Keepers of Jackson, TN provide customized dementia care and Alzheimer's care for clients who are experiencing symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Our Comfort Keepers in home caregivers are specially trained and ready to help.
How Comfort Keepers Can Help
Our specially trained dementia care specialists from Comfort Keepers will
- help maintain a safe environment for the client.
- engage the client in activities that can stimulate the senses, such as music.
- provide meals and bathing assistance.
- support the client and family through the changing behaviors often seen with dementia.
We customize our in-home care to meet each client's special needs, taking into consideration his or her health and ability. Depending on the client's needs, Comfort Keepers can provide care for just a few hours a week or provide full-time, in-home care. Through our 24-hour senior care service, a team of Comfort Keepers coordinates caregiving responsibilities in shifts. This offers clients and their families' full-time peace of mind.
Interested in learning more about dementia care and Alzheimer's care in Jackson, TN? Contact us today at (731) 201-0358 to schedule a free in home consultation.
Certified Dementia Specialists in Jackson, TN
Our Dementia Specialists are trained with Teepa Snow P.A.C. Certified methods and complete over 20 hours of training that include classroom study, role play, both individual and group projects, and hands-on clinical practicums. These are methods taught by Teepa Snow.
Ora Mayfield (above) is a P.A.C. Certified Instructor and has trained our 8 Dementia Specialists.
Belinda Harris
Daphne Lelcesona
Debbie Griggs
Kara Braughn
Mary Carter-Butler
Paula Peay
Rebecca Wright
Wyomia Ray
What is Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease Care?
In general, dementia is a decline in mental ability, such as memory loss or an inability to complete familiar tasks, serious enough to interfere with a person's daily life. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 50 to 80 percent of dementia cases. Our services help people with these symptoms by focusing on their remaining abilities and strengths, while assisting with tasks that have become difficult for the client to perform.Contact Us


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Mouse over the picture to see a video clip of the ultrasound, it will automatically load and then play once it has finished downloading and restart any time you come back to the page or mouse over the image.
If you want to save the file right click on this link and then select "Save As" (this shouldn't take long with broadband but over dialup either option will take about an hour to pull down)
We got great news today at Wendy's ultrasound appointment. We will be having a little girl and they now predict she will join us on Nov 14th, being a girl I'm sure we will arrive whenever she is ready ;) Needless to say we are very excited to know that she looks healthy from head to toe and Alden will soon have a little sister to play with. To all of those little boys out there I will be watching you very closely so don't even think about chasing my girl. If you somehow mange to catch up to her you will likely find that she is too busy doing sports to be interested in you. If you can keep up she will have many tests for you to pass whether you know it or not. She has now arrived in Steamboat so go see Neve on the blue link.


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Taking a break from crafting and going back to some serious work - This is all about what my four year old have been up to these few days.
Steggie wants a bite!
His SuperdeeDuper Plant. Can you imagine a four year old having a science project? What do they do when they're 10?
Grow apple tree! (That's what he said he planted and it smells like one too.)
Mom, is it growing still? Can I water it some more?
He took a picture of this too. His wedding portrait, he said with Evangeline! LOL!! I asked why his hand is stretched like that. He paused and said he was just giving thanks. ROFL!!!
I did not realise that he also took a snapshot of the back of that card. Guess who this is? It's a portrait of his other girlfriend - Phooi Yee! Now, do you think they'd share the card?!


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UK-based interactive entertainment developer Dubit has opened its first US office, which is headed up by former Moshi TV exec Brad Schultz.
Schultz has been appointed VP of brand strategy and will oversee the growth of Dubit's L.A.-based production facilities and support the company's expanding US customer base, which now accounts for more than half of its business.
Schultz joins Dubit from his previous venture with kids talent network Tryout.net.
His prior roles include director of digital media at interactive kids entertainment channel Kabillion, where he helped expand and monetize the channel in more than 40 million US households. Schultz was also founder of mobile games publisher Flying Penguin. More recently, he was head of Moshi TV at Mind Candy, where he launched the company's video initiatives and developed the plans for the recently released Moshi Monsters Movie.
At Dubit, Schultz will work with brands looking to extend their entertainment to children online, from initial research and business design through to digital production services.
Dubit was formed in 1999. The UK firm has operated in the US for a number of years and is currently working on the virtual world for the forthcoming movie Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return for San Francisco-based Summertime Entertainment.


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Bring back the joy of giving – it's time to make donors smile
Stop for a moment. Forget any fundraising crisis. This might be hard considering recent blogs which have included headlines such as: "When fundraising hurts" "relationship fundraising: It's complicated" "Have we reached boiling point?" "The price we pay for losing sight of the donor" Headlines to do your head in. Fundraising is under the microscope; because [...]read more
donor care
Stop fundraising for one moment and think about donors. I meet them every week and I wonder whether many fundraisers really realise what the State of the Donor Market is. Perhaps the impact we are having in donors is considered less than the impact on beneficiaries. This blog is not proclaiming a death knell for direct [...]read more


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The importance of belief
March 30, 2011
Belief is the essence of religions throughout the world, and having belief. And religions throughout the world have at least one commonality: there is not a religion that I am aware of that does not exhort its followers to believe AND as a result of believing to become more perfect – to follow the path. So belief is transformative in its very nature. Without belief it is impossible to follow, impossible to succeed, and impossible to become what you truly are. Which last statement, obviously, is a paradox, for how can you become what you already are? In the same way that the acorn is and is not an oak tree, but all that is the oak tree is in the acorn, but latent.
Before going further with his discussion we need to review another word that is closely allied to belief, which is the word 'faith'. Not everyone would agree with me, but I think that we must not try to put on words like faith and belief the murky history of fanaticism, intolerance and mass murder. People kill other people, but can they really be for religious reasons? True, the murderers of all religious hues always claim the reasons are religious, but how is that tenable when all the true major religions eschew violence? Because someone says they killed for their faith – for Jesus, for Buddha, for Islam – does that make them religious?
We need, I think, to bear in mind that not all witnesses speak the truth; that man can be a self-serving animal; and that even serial killers rationalise their actions – in fact, are most likely to produce 'God' as their witness and defence: God told them to do it. A classic case would be Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, who claimed he murdered prostitutes because he was told by God to do it. Is that faith or belief? Delusion or deception springs to mind, and the idea of taking at face value the comments of deranged people who claim they are acting for God - that is, have faith – is at very best dubious.
To return then to the real 'concept' of belief, we need to get (through religious experience and writings primarily, and also through what has been observed in the secular world through research and experimentation) that belief is not a concept. It is not a simple idea that we mentally assent to: certainly there may be a conceptual component, but more than that for it to be a belief there is an emotional affirmation with it that goes to the root of our being and how we feel. And that is why it is transformative, because our emotions, far more strongly than our thoughts, transport us. Emotion: e-motion, that which is moving us, causing motion, providing the fuel, the energy to take us further forward in the quest of our lives.
Belief, in fact, lies in the heart – the traditional residence of the human soul – and not the brain. Belief being in the heart also means that true belief inspires courage – 'cour' (Latin) – which again is always associated with the heart (e.g. Richard the Lionheart). Thus to renew ourselves we need to pay more attention to how we feel and draw on this strength in our thinking and imagination. What we believe will become our reality; that is what all the scriptures tell us.


text: The topic of digitization has triggered widespread discussion about the changing business models of banks and insurance companies. The use of new technologies such as Big data, cloud computing, social media or mobile computing reduces market entry barriers. New competition is coming from financial services start-ups, called FinTechs, and technology giants from other industries (e. g. Google, Apple, Vodafone). Both groups are capturing share in traditional market segments or are reinventing markets altogether. Shadow banks and niche financial services providers are continuing to ramp-up competitive activities, putting considerable pressure on the CIOs of banks and insurance companies to act.


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Financial literacy and basic banking
Financial literacy – building economic strength and independence
Our values based banking model calls on us to not only provide savvy financial products and services but to look at all the ways we can build our members wealth and well-being. Financial literacy is one of the first steps on the road to economic strength and independence. We have developed a number of initiatives and continue to work with community partners to provide programs for both individuals, businesses and organizations.
Financial literacy for individuals and groups
Aboriginal financial literacy
The Aboriginal Financial Literacy Committee, a group of partners who work directly with Aboriginal youth and adults has launched a series of financial literacy and support tools. The initiative, part funded by Vancity, provides financial literacy videos and a Financial Fitness handbook.
Each One, Teach OneYour financial well-being depends on your ability to understand and use financial information in a way that helps you make good decisions. That's why in 2008 Vancity launched Each One, Teach One workshops to support community organizations working with newcomers, refugees, individuals facing barriers to financial services, and people living on low-incomes.
Watch the video
Workshops are available for groups from 10 to 100, day or evening, lasting one hour or a full-day. Topics include taxation and tax filing, contracts, and developing a credit history. Additional sessions cover basic banking, budgeting, and understanding the credit bureau.
If you're interested in attending or hosting a workshop, contact Vancity at 604.709.6930 or email@example.com.
Credit Card financial literacyAligned with our values based banking philosophy, we're committing to providing a credit card that's aligned with values too. It means transforming how we serve members. By providing the right card to suit your needs and the right tools and information to support you when using your credit card. So you can make payment and purchasing decisions with confidence.
We have rewritten the cardholder agreement in clear language along with a 'must-have' quick-start guide distributed with every new credit card issued.
And to help if you are not paying off your balance in full, an online calculator will demonstrate how altering payment amounts can save you money in interest charges. It's only the beginning. Learn more.
Watch our video series on Getting inside a lender's head
Financial Fitness toolkits
Vancity brought some of Canada's brightest minds in not-for-profit financial leadership together to create the Financial Fitness toolkit series. Each of the three handbooks in this series covers an important area of not-for-profit financial management. Download the handbooks for free.
The Canadian Social Enterprise GuideThe Canadian Social Enterprise Guide is a comprehensive published resource and collection of social enterprise stories designed for project managers, executive directors, directors, and employees of organizations considering creating a new enterprise, expanding or formalizing their existing revenue-generating programs.
Get in touch
Have a question or want to learn more about our financial literacy initiatives? Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com


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I'm calling this an "un-tutorial" because I did everything wrong. I bought the wrong amount of fabric, spent more money than I should have, and basically went about the construction of this thing the wrong way.
So instead of posting my "how-to" pictures I took along the way (which are all wrong) I'll try and share what I should have done.
Here is what I started out with. My $12 Salvation Army nightstand. I didn't paint it (even though it would have been cheaper) because I have it turned sideways. I bought it because of it's size. It just fits next to the bed really well and looks better paired with the trunk on the other side. I was inspired by Debbie's skirted table at Bungalow and decided that fabric would be a good alternative to paint.
One thing I forgot is that I'm not a great sewer. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type person and while that usually works out for me, it did not work for me on this project.
The first thing I got wrong was the fabric. The striped fabric was just too much to put next to our patterned duvet. I should have just gotten enough of it for the piping and gotten more of the cream muslin. I'm so sad to say that the striped fabric was $16.00 per yard (and that was the sale price!). I should have just gotten a fourth of a yard instead of a whole one. I ended up spending $35 on fabric when I should have spent $25. I realize $10 isn't that big of a difference, but since I'm only spending what I can earn from Craigslist on decorating, it's quite a hit.
Next, I should have been patient and followed this tutorial on how to cut fabric on the bias.
Then I should have watched this video on how to attach piping so that it makes corners.
This is probably the biggest mistake that I made. I didn't attach the piping to the top panel of my skirt before I tried to put the other panels on. The result was a whole mess of pins. Doing this the right way would have made the rest so much easier.
I managed to get the side panels attached (kind of) before I called in the help of a friend.
She was the doctor and this was the ER. She has way better equipment and a ton more experience than I do.
I tried to stay out of the way while she fixed the mess I had made. Thanks again, Becca!
Even though I made a ton of mistakes, I'm really happy with the end result and I think I could do it right if I had to do it again. Thank goodness I don't.
I'll be linking up to:


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So the other day I got to interview one of the world's most outstanding young magicians.
Sam Powers was in town to promote his upcoming role in The Illusionists 2.0 at the Arts Centre in January.
We got to talking about his early career and how, at the age of 18 or 19, he was summonsed to attend an audition for a "private party."
The call-out for close-up magicians to mingle in the crowd was ignored by many more established talents who were offended by the request they audition. "It's unheard of to audition for close-up work," Sam revealed.
But teenage Sam – still wearing braces on his teeth and keen as mustard – went along. "I got the job and I still didn't know what it was. We had to meet in a car park in Double Bay and get in this minivan with other entertainers and start heading up Bellevue Hill when I realised it was the … Packer wedding."
I tell you people, this guy is good. Suddenly I was transported back to that rainy October night near the turn of the millennium staked outside the Packer compound along with half the press pack of Australia.
What I wouldn't have given then to know how Sam made the engagement ring Tom Cruise gave Nicole Kidman disappear. Or about the Cuban cigar bar lined with hundreds and hundreds of the most expensive stogies ever to go up in smoke.
The $10 million wedding of James Packer to swimsuit model Jodie Meares (she later refined the spelling to Jodhi) was the pinnacle of '90s excess.
It would be the last "celebrity" wedding I attended uninvited, but not the first.
My role as a wedding gate-crasher started in 1991 when Gretel Packer, married financier Nick Barham in the tiny village of Easebourne in Sussex in what was then gleefully described as the most expensive non-royal wedding in British history.
As well as gleaning riveting details of the numbers of lobsters ordered and bottles of Krug drunk at this comparatively modest $2.5 million shindig, I also stumbled onto the fact John Singleton – a guest in the same hotel where I was holed up – had "secretly" married Liz Hayes.
Princess Anne's wedding to naval commander Tim Laurence at the Craithie Parish Church, close to the royal estate of Balmoral, was next. At least on this occasion the bride and groom did not seek to hide from public or press pack.
The last wedding stake-out was for the second marriage of Fergie, the Duchess of York's sister Jane Ferguson to Rainer Luedecke at Jonah's – a boutique Whale Beach hotel and restaurant.
It was New Year's Day. Having partied in the city I hadn't made it home to change and Tara Brown – then still A Current Affair reporter – had loaned me her black jumpsuit pinned up with paper clips because her legs are about a foot longer than mine.
It was stinking hot. Most of us in the press pack were hung over and our mood was not helped when a colleague from a rival Sunday newspaper strolled past the security cordon into Jonah's on the arm of an ancient guest.
I still remember that sick feeling, thinking we'd been scooped – only to find out much later that the reporter had been virtually imprisoned well away from the wedding party.
For all the hoo hah and expense not one of those marriages survived. I guess they just lost the magic.


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text:
by Ginnie Horst Burkholder
It seems like a lifetime ago that we were first confronted with the words "Lewy body." At that moment, we began the long road to acceptance. At times the journey has been daunting. Chronicled here are some of the thoughts along the way.
This morning Nelson asked if I was done with my cereal dish. I was so pleased that he was helping me clear the table — until he stood at the microwave ready to put the empty dish in there. How can one ever heal when the loss multiplies in front of your face? There is an endless letting go, an endless sadness, an endless mourning. And it wears down the spirit and eats away at hope. There are times when I can't wait for the joy that is supposed to come in the morning.
How is it that he can turn the heater off when I am using it, but not turn off the lights after using them? How is it that he can pick a piece of lint from my clothes, but he cannot see that the toilet needs flushing? How is it that he can clear away the dish that I am still using, but not push in his chair? Where is the sense of it?
The caregiver of a spouse with dementia must give up all rights to reason in the relationship. There is no room for reasonable. There is only "this is the way it is and will be."
"Choose to fight it," and "choose to accept it." I go in and out of those two doors over and over again. And there are so many doors like them. There are doors that say, "why me?" and "why not me?" There is the door that reads, "I can't do this any more," and the other one that says, "I can and will do this." The doors are always open. I want to close the one that says, "I can't accept this," and walk permanently through the "I will accept this" door. But about the time I think I have done that, I am thrown back into anger and pain and grief, and am fighting my way back to the door of "acceptance."
It will never be my turn to be the one cared for in this relationship. It will never be my turn to let him cover the bases, fix the broken, cover my back, get our ducks in a row. Never. The door that says "my turn" is permanently closed.
The triggers are endless. A spousal caregiver has no shortage of triggers to work on their own issues. There is no counting on memory or comprehension to navigate a problem, no hope that the person beside you can pick up and carry life while you relax. It's not going to happen. The caregiver carries all his or her own baggage, and then must accept all of the spouse's baggage without qualification. If you don't, you lose it. Today I lost it, and now it is time to forgive myself and move on.
This morning I awoke thinking about how the disease is like a kidnapper. It carries you off to a place where no one would go by choice. You feel violated and helpless, and you just want to go home, but home is not an option. Something bigger and more powerful is making the decisions for you. You are not consulted. You have limited, few, or no choices. You go along. In the case of the disease, you go along out of commitment. You go out of love that takes on a different wardrobe than the one it wore when you were both healthy. You give yourself what you need when you can in order to continue in this relationship where love is costly.
Acceptance is like a greased watermelon. Just when I think I have a good hold, it slides to the floor and lies at my feet — messy, undone, and sweet but not very tempting. Do I want to try again? Or shall I give up? Somehow I keep coming back to that endless supply of greased watermelons and trying once more to hang on to the wholeness and the sweetness of it.
You learn eventually. As a spousal caregiver you must change, or you will be filled with constant stress. So you give up your right to this or your preference for that, and you accommodate the needs of the person you care for. And if you are wise, you find other places and times to assert your own needs and wants.
The moments and hours of acceptance are there. They are noteworthy. They are critical. They are undocumented. When I am accepting, I have no need to process the emotion. I do not write about acceptance. I just feel it, savor and enjoy it.
This morning Nelson said to me, "You take such good care of me." He acknowledged it, and I loved him for it in that moment without the burden of regrets and heaviness. We have come a long, long way.
© 2007 Ginnie Horst Burkholder
To e-mail Ginnie about this story, click here.


text:
Your engagement ring will stick close by your side for the rest of your life, just like your fiancé will. So what happens if after they pop the question and slide the ring on your finger, you don't like the shape, the size, or the band that the diamond is sitting in? Is it okay to say something? Is it okay to take it back to the jeweler and see if they can start from scratch and design the ring of your dreams? In the end, your engagement ring should be something you're proud to show off to the world and something that you'll have to look at every single day. If it's not triggering an automatic smile, here are four things you can do to fix that — without offending your fiancé.
1. Point Out the Things You Love About It
Start off by having a conversation with your fiancé. Know that they spent a lot of time trying to pick out the perfect ring, and if they didn't get it exactly right that's okay. Let them know what you love about it. Maybe it's the cut or the setting. Then ask if you two can go together and change one or two things about it that you don't love. Make it something you do together so that nobody feels left out or offended by the change.
2. Don't Rush Into a Decision
If it isn't love at first sight, give it a couple of days. Wear the ring around and see if it grows on you. It may not be perfect, but it doesn't mean it can't be something you grow to fall madly in love with. First impressions, even with rings, can be tricky and misleading. Before making a huge stink over it, give it a week or two.
See More: Going Engagement Ring Shopping Together? Read These 7 Commandments First
3. Find Out Why
In a nice way, ask him why he picked this ring. Perhaps there's a story behind it or it's similar to the one his mom or grandma wears. Maybe when he saw it, it made him feel a certain way. Sometimes that story will be powerful enough to understand his reasoning and a ring with a story is better than a perfect ring anyway.
4. Just Be Honest
If after a few weeks, you can't stand to wear it and it makes you feel really awful, be honest with your fiancé. Let him know that it's not your style and have specific reasons why. Ask if you can go pick out another ring or make a few changes to it together. Know that this is common and in the end, it can be worked through. Consider it your first marital challenge and find a way to move through it without making anyone feel bad or upset.
Jen Glantz is a "Professional Bridesmaid" and the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She's the author of All My Friends Are Engaged and frequently wears old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store and on first dates.


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Michael Masterson
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mr randal
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Posted: 05 Feb 2013 at 9:03pm
Michael Masterson
Tell me your name and where you grew up and have lived up to now.
My name is Michael James Masterson.
I was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ, but being nomadic, have lived in quite a few different places across the globe, like Munich, Germany; Minneapolis, MN; Tulsa, OK; San Francisco,CA, Fairbanks and Girdwood, Alaska; Winston Salem, NC; NY, NY and, now, in Chadds Ford, PA.
You are a shirt-maker now- what were some of your previous jobs and passions?
I've been in and out of the restaurant industry for most of my working life, briefly even co-owning a bistro in Girdwood, a small Alaskan ski town.
Working in food and beverage has always been a fantastic way to bring in fast cash--a decent income, without a ton of hours--to stage other plans and interests (music, art, rock and ice climbing).
The passion that's lasted the longest is my involvement in the music industry. For over 17 years, I was active in the underground dance music scene: Dj'in, recording music, publishing records, and of course, dancing...poorly.
I've also always been silently fanatical about the documentation of culture at play: photographic journalism and the cinema, specifically.
Also, from time-to-time, I enjoy these things called "books." Seems like many have forgotten what these things are.
When did you get your first inkling that you would like to design and create some form of clothing?
This is an interesting question. I grew up around women on both sides of my family whom, I kid you not, all used machines to make clothing and quilts. I feel like I'm always hearing stories about folks and their "antique Singers," and have come to the awareness that most of us have memories attached to these machines. Looking back, fortuitously, I guess my first sartorial memory is piercing my left forefinger on my grandmother's Singer treadle machine. Go figure.
The first time I wondered` "hmmmm.....how could I make......." was in 2000, in Alaska. My then girlfriend, now wife, was making me a pair of fleece pants, to brave the minus 40-60 fahrenheit Fairbanks weather. I asked her to make me a shirt. Her response was, "Michael, you don't just make a shirt." I didn't actually touch a sewing machine for nearly another decade.
What was your impetus to lay hands on a sewing machine again after your wife's pronouncement (and a widely held belief in America these days) that one simply doesn't sit down and make something complex with one's own hands?
Wait… people still make complex things with their hands in America?
Oddly enough, Nearly a decade later, the initial push came FROM my wife, Brie. We were working together on a "craft project" over a holiday get-away in Vermont. Cutting one inch squares out of Goodwill sweaters and blazers, we pierced them onto wire to make wreaths.
The wool shapes reminded me of my childhood Atari video game pixels. So, influenced by space invaders or whatever, I made an 11X7 inch robot of sorts, in jest, to pass the time. I was aiming for Maximilian from the movie The Black Hole.
Brie then suggested that I stitch the fabric squares together on a piece of material and make a bag of sorts.
My mother had a home machine with many embroidery features. Over two days, several hours a day, I fought desperately to stitch them together.
I was near miserable but driven by the work. Aside from my lack of any knowledge, thread broke, stitches dropped, needles broke, bobbins tangled and jammed in the hook, tension this--tension that. It was awful. Simply put, I fell in love.
I went home and made a few more bags. When people saw them, they asked to buy them. It didn't take long--maybe a week or two of sewing, before a desire to figure out how to sew clothing crept back into my mind. I envisioned a Prisoner coat, or more appropriately, a liberator coat, a garment with many pockets, a Get Out of Town Fast coat, for obvious reasons.
two views of Michael's workshop.
So the first garment you wanted to make (after the bags) was a jacket?
Yes. At the time, my knowledge about "uniforms" (military and prison) and workwear was minimal, visually-informed, at best.
After seeing an Australian film about Mark Reid set in a prison, I envisioned a coat -- more philosophically informed than historically-based, that spoke to the neurological war being fought for our minds. So many people are prisoners to culture.
About a year later, I finally made my first garment: a hooded zip-up made from upholstery fabric. It was specifically designed for a graffiti writer, with internal pockets large enough to secretly conceal 6 cans of aerosol paint.
Upholstery fabric sounds difficult to work with- how did your machines (and you) handle that?
Sometimes, it's best not to know anything about what you're diving into. This was like that. Had I known more, I wouldn't have thought I could do it.
I'd never made a pattern before. Ever. I traced the hoodie from a sweatshirt. It was fun and painful.
By this time, I had a new industrial single needle and a home-model overlock. The home machine wasn't going to cut and wrap the thread around the upholstery fabric, so I used the single needle.
I really fell in love with the weight of the fabric. It was a lot heavier, and much easier to navigate and zipped through the machine much easier than the heavy wools I'd been using before.
Was this hoodie used for its intended purpose by any graffiti artists?
Yes, It was made for one graffiti writer in particular. His name I must decline to reveal. However, if you are in the greater Philadelphia area, you'd see his work.. He is still using it to this day. He still has the only one……
two more views from the workshop.
What was your next project, after the bags and hoodie.
After I finished the first hoodie I felt challenged to make a few more. Turns out, the same people who bought my bags, wanted hoodies too.
I quickly realized I was in over my head, so I decided to focus on smaller things: I needed to learn how to pattern and also study various sewing techniques. My wife's sister, Shari Trnka, was a designer and had her own clothing company for many years. I went to spend some time with her in Olympia, WA at "design camp." There was no sleep to be had. In 11 days, we designed the core essence for seven garments- my first "run".
So what skills did you glean from working with your Sister-in-law on this production run?
Aside from learning about the (sacred) geometry of the human body, transformed from flat pattern to garment, it was also my first glimpse into building a time machine--not a time-traveling machine, but rather a machine that depletes time at a rapid rate.
I also learned that wine and chocolate go hand-in-hand with patterning.
And that nothing sucks more than cutting with shitty scissors.
How did this first batch of garments turn out?
I made a line of four of the seven designs and Brie and I started a micro brand, selling only at indy craft shows. That evolved into my desire to focus on one garment at a time...make one thing and do it incredibly well. Dare I say to polish it before moving on. This is where all things came full-circle, from the time I'd asked Brie to show me how to make a shirt--until This moment. I had, by total accident become a shirt maker.
I didn't actually make my first shirt for some time, although it was always in the back of my mind. I needed to learn so much before tackling it. I'd have these micro-panic attacks just thinking about it. Nightmares. Seriously!
I kept coming up with "plans" for how to go about it: apprentice with a tailor; buy a Butterick pattern; copy something from the second-hand store. But I wanted it to be something that I had patterned and graded 100%, from the ground (bolt) up.
Most of the goods I was making were nowhere near as fitted as the shirt needed to be, with the exception of the women's pin dress (still my favorite dress). Most goods were certainly tapered on the sides, but were still boxy, meant to fit a wide range of body types, and also to be unisex.
So after making that batch of four-of-seven designs how did you go about narrowing your focus down on learning the intricacies solely of shirt making?
I destroyed several hundred yards of beautiful fabric through sampling, testing machines, theorizing size grades, cutting room errors, you name it, until I had something that was even close to being considered a wearable shirt. And that's wearable--not produceable! From there, I patterned close to 30 variants of a men's button down.
From there, I had to refine the details--the construction, order of operations for production...if I told you the machines had the ability to communicate, would you believe me?
Also, in between the cracks, I received a nudge that I translated into advice, from this fella in Oakland. It's taken out of context, but reads as follows:
"...The real progress comes from examining your own work, studying about different techniques and creating what reflects your point of view."
Sometimes, it's the simple explanations that kick you in the ass. These words changed everything. They gave me permission to do things my way. To further push the experimental process.
Can you tell me about the type and acquisition order of your sewing machines during this process?
At an earlier phase I had replaced my newer industrial machines. Again by route of accident.
In the back of a small sample shop in Philadelphia, I'd noticed a handful of older machines. Chunky, black baked enamel, wood tables covered in oil and dust. I asked about the machines and was told that they were en route to the Chesapeake Bay, to be used as boat anchors. I wasn't sure what the going rate for boat anchors was, but I offered the guy a small stack of cash and the machines were mine.
I quickly added up the cost of repair in my head; there was no way I'd be able to monetarily execute the salvation of these five machines. So, I took the one that looked the most difficult and took it apart, piece by piece. I'd worked on cars a bit, but that was really the bulk of my mechanical knowledge. It took a bit of time--an hour or two every day for about two months. Then, rapture! Just as I was getting ready to thrown in the towel, the beast locked stitches! Turned out it was a Felling machine, a Singer 231-7. My first greasy love. I literally cried like a baby. I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.
After fixing the rest of the units (I had one casualty), I discovered that I'm geographically located in a fantastic area for locating antique sewing machines. Philadelphia and the surrounding areas were at one time a center of the US textile/garment industry. There are lots of old machines rusting away here. I began collecting and obsessing. I soon became adept at visually figuring out what a machine does.
The most challenging part of acquiring these machines is negotiating with the folks who own them, but it's also the exciting part of the process. It's amazing what you can learn just by listening to someone who thinks you're totally bananas! 65-90 year old mechanics.....they have a lot to share, and very few care to listen.
There are some exotic-rare machines that I'd love to get my hands on, but for the most part, I currently have everything I need. For instance, it'd be cool to have a Bulldog (a union special 43200g hemmer), but what the hell do I need one for? I don't have room for one (it's time to move soon); I don't make britches....yet.
Currently, I have 17 active, running antique machines and a handful of others that I use for parts, or are just too obsolete to fix (affordably). Not all are used in the latest run of shirts, but most are.
I'm using antique machines made by Singer, Union Special and Reece.
mr. Masterson's machinist's assistant
Edited by mr randal - 05 Feb 2013 at 10:12pm
mr randal
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Part two of this interview will be conducted, transcribed and photographed at Inspiration LA, where Mr. Masterson will be presenting his wares.
mr randal
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A preview of Mr. Masterson's work:
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Great interview. Really looking forward to see his work in person at Inspiration.
Bob Dale
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Deja vu ? I could swear I've read something remarkably similar to this. A guy
Obsessed with machines making things. :D
Consider me stoked !
Happy Hooligan
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awesome interview! And really cool guy too.
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cant wait to meet him at inspiration! awesome interview Mr. Randal
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Echoing all of the above - definitely plan on tracking him down this weekend!
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Mr. Masterson is an ever evolving master of chambray shirting material.
Get some when you can!
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^ seconded. STRONGLY. I'll be doing so as soon as I can.
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