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The past few weeks we have been exploring a wicked task in small groups; specifically, my group has been tackling making innovation part of the learning ethic. Innovation as learning ethic is a particularly complex problem to solve because there is a lot of uncertainty: the exponentially advancing digital technologies have led to exponential growth in innovation, essentially making the predictability of the future nearly impossible or at least hard to plan for. For example, remember when everyone tried to plan for Y2K? …and then it was a bust? No one wanted to be "that guy" who had horded years worth of food and water in their basement. Similarly, since we can't begin to fathom the technological advancements that will be available to us in the years to come, trying to create a plan that guides us towards or a more sustainable future using tools that don't exist yet can be scary. As an educator, I must train my students for jobs that may not even exist yet. I must instill the qualities of a creative problem solver and innovative thinker to help my students prepare for a world of unknowns. And, while uncertainty often causes fear, exploring innovation as learning ethic opens the door to opportunity and CREATIVITY. As a group, we used our diverse experiences, conflicting opinions, and values to achieve a greater understanding of the complex problem at hand. By actively communicating, we were able to create a visual representation and a report based on our findings to solve our wicked problem and address what we believe is the very nature of the problem. The rough draft of our project is available here.
Category Archives: communication
Maker Kit Lesson #2 UDL
Part #1: This week we spent a significant amount of time learning about Universal Design. After we read the UDL guidelines and explored free tools online, we used what we learned to modify our original Maker Kit Lesson Plan to include elements that support the UDL framework . The revision process entailed focusing on how I could minimize barriers and maximize learning by implementing multiple methods of representation, expression and engagement in terms of what I wanted my students to learn and care about. Embedded you will find my modified lesson plan. To see what changes were made, check out my original lesson plan and read my reflection underneath the document below.
Part #2: Reflection
After reading the UDL Guidelines published by CAST Center, I felt slightly overwhelmed by all of the details. For each of the three principals there were several guidelines and within those guidelines there were several checkpoints with various implementation examples. However, after analyzing my notes and original lesson plan, I found that I had actually included several of the UDL components in the activities I originally planned; I just hadn't specifically stated them as supports. I was surprised to find I could show evidence for at least two of the teacher implementation examples on most guidelines. With that said, UDL is intended to increase access to learning for all students by reducing physical, cognitive, intellectual, and organizational barriers, and although I am confident I provided options and supports, I did realize that I hadn't considered all learners while planning. I left out supports for HI students, CI students, and ELL students. So, the goal for my lesson plan rewrite is twofold: to go back and add specific details regarding the options and supports that I already have in place and to implement tools and supports for students who are CI, HI, and/or ELL (because I teach students with those specific impairments I am choosing to focus on them). Moreover, I believe that the changes made for those specific impairments will actually help students without disabilities as well, kind of like how wheelchair ramps also service individuals with strollers or luggage.
My lesson plan is A LOT more detailed and looks different in format. I started by downloading the UDL lesson plan format and copied what I had from my original lesson plan into their design. I added a few boxes to their design that they didn't have because I felt they were important components and the UDL Guidelines did stress the importance of short and long term goals, which is why I added a box that shows what they learned, what they are currently going to learn, and what they will learn in the future. I also added a box for materials because it is a cooperative learning lesson and the materials were improved to provide supports that would remove barriers, such as headphones for text-to-speech. Aside from that, my lesson plan is true to their format. I really believe this helped me refocus my planning and re-writing because I had to consider what background knowledge my students should have and how I could help them make connections.
In my original lesson I planned for an exploratory cooperative learning lesson & as explained in my original post, the content actually allows for students to learn in way that it makes sense to them. Moreover, by focusing on constructivism and choice theory, I found that my original lesson actually covered most of the 3 principals in the UDL guidelines. By paying close attention to the teacher implementation examples for each guideline I naturally began to consider small details that I may have left out, such as print documents for all auditory components I use or visuals to support vocabulary and/or instructions. By exploring online resources and reading about UDL before rewriting my lesson, I was able to easily identify barriers that existed in my original plans and I had a better handle on the supports available to remove those barriers. If you read through my new lesson, you will see I added a ton of support for hearing impaired students, ELL, and students who are cognitively impaired. I used the ideas I learned about on the free resources page we explored. Read my tweet!!
In terms of multiple means of representation, the goal of my lesson is to learn how to write a two-column proof, so there isn't much autonomy in the structure of their written proofs. However, as I stated in my original post, the path that each learner takes to complete the proof is NOT linear. There are choices each step of the way…that is the beauty in mathematical proof. With that said, to help learners understand that there is not one right method to write a proof, even if it regards the same exact visual element, I added the "driving directions" analogy to my lesson plan (you can read it in my new and improved plan). The UDL guidelines suggest that analogies and metaphors help learners make connections and assimilate new information. I did, however, add additional presentation options, different methods of taking notes for reflection, different methods of communicating and receiving feedback, and alternate methods for viewing and playing with circuits (online switchboard/drawn out circuit). I believe that the original lesson plan included appropriate levels of challenge and support, so, in the rewrite, I focused on providing more options and descriptions that would make the existing challenges and supports explicit and accessible to all learners.
By learning about the three primary principals that guide UDL, I was able to rewrite my lesson plans with improved goals that were specific to the purpose, with differentiated teaching methods that provided support and matched the goal, with materials necessary for learners to access, analyze, organize, synthesize, and demonstrate understanding in varied ways, and with informed assessments that accurately measured learner knowledge, skills, and engagement. You can read about each of these specific changes in the actual lesson plan above.
This weeks activities helped me re-think my teaching practices and supports. I have hearing impaired students that I wear a microphone for, but I hadn't really considered all of the other supports they could potentially need that would help their classmates as well. The same idea goes for my ELL and CI students. I have some curriculum redesign ahead of me!!
CAST (2011). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.0. Wakefield, MA: Author.
Ultra Micro MOOC: Knitting a Scarf
Our task this week is to design an "Ultra Micro MOOC" that teaches a specific skill or technique to a target audience. MOOC stands for Massively Open Online Courses. These courses, offered on websites like P2PU, are changing the face of education and learning. The courses are free to virtually anyone who wants to participate and has internet access. Certificates of completion are award to individuals who complete the course requirements. Although I wasn't able to actually create a MOOC, I have put together an outline of what one would look like if created. Enjoy!
In my "Keeping Warm One Stitch at a Time" course, my peers will master the basics of knitting a scarf by progressing through a series of mini lessons and sharing updates on their progress and problem solving techniques with their peers online.
Course Topic: Introduction to Knitting
Course Title and Photo: Keeping Warm One Stitch at a Time
Photo: Licensed Under CC License 3.0
Who is coming to your course? Why would they want to participate in this experience? This course will attract individual of all ages who are interested in a creative outlet for a multitude of reasons, no experience necessary. When people hear the word "knit" they often envision a group of grandmothers, sitting in rocking chairs, knitting pastel colored snowcaps, complete with a fluffy pom on top. However, knitting has been redefined in the 21st century as a creative-DIY outlet for all individuals: old, young, male, female; no experience necessary. Learners will be attracted to the experiences this course will provide for a multitude of reasons unique to their individual motives. While the final knitted product is often the goal, it is typically not the reason why individuals choose to learn to knit. Knitting is not a one-size-fits-all hobby. Some knit to give: to charities, babies, people in need, friends, etc. Others knit for themselves: for social networking, for fashion, for therapy, for accomplishment, for tradition. Regardless of whether you are knitting angry knots or joyful knots, knitting is a timeless, creative outlet and/or hobby that fulfills the various needs of learners on an individual level- it's comfort food without the calories. Knitting is a creative problem solving process that turns boring things into interesting things and often provides feelings of contentment along the way. This course provides an entry point into the creative world of knitting. In this course learners will learn the basics of knitting by creating a scarf thus increasing their skill level and interest to a point where they can seek other creative knitting options.
What do you want learners to be able to do when they are done? The learners will be able to knit a scarf by the end of the MOOC. More specifically, by the end of the course, participants will be able to cast on the stitches that are necessary to begin their scarf making process, knit additional rows to create a desirable length-counting stitches along the way to ensure they haven't dropped any stitched, cast off their stitches to complete their scarf, and add fringe for as a creative touch. Each lesson is scaffolded (Vygotsky, 1978) to help participants reach mastery learning, as discussed by Bloom (1974). Knitting is a great example of mastery learning because individuals must master individual skills in a logical, planned progression, such as casting on, knitting rows, casting off, then adding fridge, which when put together create their final product (Yelon, 2001). One great thing about knitting is that no matter what your skill level may be, once you have mastered the basic stitch, it is possible to knit an entire scarf. Through practice and experience, the skill can be mastered.
Knitting is a learning activity that is grounded in constructivist principles (Piaget, 1971). It requires learners to problem solve as they progress and create.By allowing students time to experiment and observe before they analyze and deduce, the learners will be able to see the "big picture" and how their progression relates to the overall goal (Dienes, 1969, p.32). This idea can be see in the work of Dienes (1969) and his theory for learning mathematics. Moreover, the lessons in m MOOC are set up with the end in mind. That is, the lessons are laid out in the most effective way for achieving each specific goal along the way in terms of how they relate to the final goal: a knitted scarf (Wiggins, 2005). The logical progression will help students see the purpose for each lesson and how to appropriately problem solve when they make a mistake. For example, it is typical for beginners to drop stitches as they knit; however, since they are actively engaged in their learning process, they are aware of their overall goal, and because the lessons have been scaffolded to support such errors, they will learn how they can fix their mistakes without starting over completely (Piaget, 1971). By planning each lesson this way, the teacher is able to predict misconceptions and plan activities accordingly (Wiggins, 2005, pg. 13). The lessons in my MOOC also provide periods of reflection and online discussion that allow individuals to learn from their peers, provide feedback to their peers, ask for feedback, and share their work. Through this process, thee learners will make connections within their observations and their peers' feedback in terms both relate to their experiences and their overall progression towards the end goal (Polya, 1957).
What will peers make? The final product for this MOOC will be more than a scarf. The peers will be required to make a video reflection that shows they have mastered each individual task (casting on, casting off, basic stitch, fridge) necessary to reach the final goal: their completed scarf. They will reflect on the problem solving progress along the way. The video will be posted to the course discussion forum and members of the group will provide feedback on at least one other person's video reflection.
How do those activities hang together as a course? How long is your course experience? This course is a self-paced course that runs for approximately 6 weeks and is driven by the learning theories and practices discussed above. Tasks and projects will be implemented to ensure learners master the following skills: casting on stitches, knitting using the basic stitch, casting off stitches, and adding fringe. Moreover, practice of new skills will need to occur between each lesson to ensure the learner has reached mastery and can use the skill as a foundation for the subsequent skill (Yelon, 2001). The course will consist of diagrams and videos to support students as they learn how to knit a scarf. The course will also utilize a discussion board as means to: ask questions, post assignments, reflect, seek feedback, and provide feedback. The tasks for each week of the course are outlined below.
Course Outline
Introduction: There will be a video introduction that discusses the various purposes for knitting. The learners will be exposed to the final goal, the steps they will take to reach the goal, and the final product of how they will present their learning and mastery. This lesson will discuss the materials needed to knit a scarf: yarn, needles, & Internet access and will briefly discuss the time commitment for each lesson.
Lesson 1: Setting Goals
This lesson will begin by having learners choose the size of their needles, the type of yarn they would like to use, the length they would like their scarf to be and the width they would like their scarf to be. The lesson will provide information on how the size of the knitting needle affects the scarf. The lesson will also briefly discuss types of yarn and where supplies may be purchased.
Lesson 2: Casting on Stitches
This lesson will teach learners how to cast on stitches using the "backwards loop cast on", which is often the most difficult task for beginners learning to knit. Casting on is the process of adding the very first stitches onto the knitting needle before starting to knit. The lesson will provide diagrams on how to successfully cast stitches on to a knitting needle using the backwards loop method. The steps show learners how to create a slipknot, how to place the knot on a knitting needle, how to hold the yard and the needle, and how to add additional stitches. The learners will be required to take the stitches off and practice the task several times. They will decide how many stitches they want for their scarf (depends on how wide they want it). By the end of this lesson the learner will have mastered casting on stitches and will be ready to add additional stitches next week. There will be a discussion board forum where learners will post a picture of their stitches on the needle. Learners can also use this forum to seek feedback from the instructor or their peers.
Lesson 3: The Basic Stitch
This lesson will show learners how to add stitches to the row they added in the previous lesson. There will be a video tutorial and diagrams. The learners will be required to drop a stitch, which is a typical error when knitting, and learn how to fix it. They will practice unraveling the bad row of stitches and fixing it. The learner will provide a video that shows they have mastered the basic stitch and can fix a dropped stitch.
Challenge Lesson: Adding Stripes or Colors
This lesson extends the technique of the basic stitch by adding color (doubling up yarns) or adding stripes (switching out yarns). This lesson is intended for learners who are confident in their knitting, have mastered the previous skills, and are looking to add a creative touch. There will be a video tutorial for this lesson. This lesson is not required.
Lesson 4: Casting Off
This lesson will teach learners how to successfully cast off their last row of stitches to create an edge that will not unravel. If done incorrectly, the scarf will unravel. The task will require learners to create a swatch that they will practice casting off on. This will ensure they have mastered the task before they attempt to do it on their scarf. The learners post a photograph of the swatch on the discussion forum and reflect on their problem solving process.
Lesson 5: Your Creative Touch- Adding Fringe & Reflecting
This final lesson will show learners how to add fridge to their scarf through diagrams. All learners will add fringe, but will understand that it is not necessary for their future projects. The learners will post an overall reflection on the discussion forum, they will respond to their peers reflections, and they will begin putting together a plan on how they will complete their final project.
Final Project
The learners will create a video reflection that shows they have mastered each individual task (casting on, casting off, basic stitch, fridge) necessary to reach the final goal: their completed scarf. They will reflect on the problem solving progress along the way and how their mastery of each lesson helped them on the subsequent lesson. They will also share insights and tricks they learned during the process. The video will be posted to the course discussion forum and members of the group will provide feedback on at least one other person's video reflection.
"Staying Warm One Stitch at a Time" by Kristen Dyksterhouse is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Bloom, B. S. (1974). An introduction to mastery learning theory. In J. H. Block (Ed.), Schools, society, and mastery learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Dienes, Z. (1969). Building up mathematics. (rev.ed.) [Print]. London: Hutchinson Educational.
Piaget, J. (1971). The psychology of intelligence. [Print]. Boston: Routledge and Kegan.
Polya, M. (1957). How to solve it. (2nd Ed.). New York: Doubleday.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Interactions between Learning and Development. In Mind In Society (M. Cole, Trans., pp. 79-91). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press..
Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design, Expanded 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall. pg 13-33.
Yelon, S. L. (2001). Goal-Directed Instructional Design: A Practical Guide to Instructional Planning for Teachers and Trainers. Michigan State University: Self-published, Not in electronic format.
21st Century Lesson Plan: Surface Area & Volume of 3-D Figures
PowerPoint for Lesson:
Lesson Plan:
(Rationale & Connections to Reading are included in the Lesson Choice & Technology Paragraphs)
Lesson Choice: I chose to create a lesson for my Geometry Support class. The curriculum we use for our Geometry classes doesn't allow for much implementation outside of the program and the pacing is already pretty fast, so I opted to go with the course that allowed me the most flexibility. The common core standards are aligned to grade 8; however, the 8th grade standards provide a foundation for the high school standards, which address more complex ideas using 3-D figures. This lesson will help the students consolidate their learning, prepare them for the geometry lessons to come, and provide them with a real-world problem finding/solving scenario.
About the Lesson: I chose to do a three-act math lesson plan. Dan Meyer (2013), one of my all time favorite math bloggers, created the curriculum idea. His rationale is that math is a lot like storytelling, and most stories divide into three acts, each of which maps onto a mathematical task. This is how it works:
- Act 1: Introduce the central conflict of your story/task clearly, visually, viscerally, using as few words as possible. Students will become problem finders. They will be curious and pose a question about what they are wondering.
- Act 2: The protagonist/student overcomes obstacles, looks for resources, and develops new tools. Act 2 is not the teacher's job; the student takes control. However, the teacher may become one of many resources or tools students choose to utilize.
- Act 3: Resolve the conflict and set up the sequel. The third act must answer the motivating question in act 1 and pay off the hard work in act two.
Dan also talks about the importance of extension problems and the "what's next" in terms of a sequel (Meyer, 2013). I think the sequel is really the best part of this lesson. I came up with an extension activity where students would create a new package for a product to present to a company; however, students may also come up with great extension activities. There are endless opportunities for the sequel, which opens the door for great classroom discussions.
The ideas behind three-act math lessons were the building blocks, or driving forces if you will, for my lesson plan on surface area and volume. Bransford, Brown and Cocking (2000) address the importance of providing learning opportunities that spark learners' curiosity in such a way that they want to further explore the ideas (p.18). I believe that act one of this curriculum design does just that. It captures the students' attention and naturally allows for them to wonder about the problem at hand. They are not handed over the problem; they identify what the problem is. They become innovative thinkers and problem finders. Act two requires learners to be aware of what they know and how they may use it. It also scaffolds learning in such a way that they know when more information is needed and how to find (Vygotsky, 1978; Palinscar & Brown, 1984).
The best part about three-act math is that the video does much more than a textbook problem can. Even the greatest textbook problems have to provide or pose a question at some point. By using a video, I can provide a concrete scenario that forces students to inquire about something or establish a problem. Textbooks, at best, could provide a problem about volume and pop cans where the problem has already been abstracted, which robs students of the skills needed to formulate and solve problems. Traditional textbook problems don't really even ask students to solve a problem at all. Generally, they provide a question and scenario where all of the information is given, it just has to be plugged into a formula (found two pages back) and computed. The trouble with this approach is it doesn't require learners to think critically. Really, can you think back to a time where you solved a meaningful, worthwhile problem where you knew all of the necessary information beforehand? Probably not, because in most meaningful problems we encounter, identifying what the actual problem is is half of the battle (Meyer, 2013). For these reasons, I believe this three-act math lesson encompasses each of Renee Hobbs' five core competencies as fundamental literacy practices (Hobbs, 2011, p.12).
Three-act math also aligns with the learning environments discussed by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011). Specifically, in act two, the students are generating content that represents their learning. Then, in the sequel, students are using play and creation to explore packaging efficiency and costs. Ideally, they would go on to create a package for a company (p.91-99). They are being innovative and creative. In the article, Need a Job? Invent It, Thomas L. Friedman (2013) interviewed Tony Waggoner, a Harvard education specialist. Waggoner discussed the idea solving problems or bringing new possibilities to life and/or companies as what will bring new generation employees from the disappearing middle-class job to the high-wage, high-skilled job of the 21st century (Friedman, 2013). I believe that the mathematical tasks within each act contain the skills needed to successfully live and thrive in an ever-changing world.
Technology Incorporation: Although I didn't plan for it, this lesson uses several of the digital technologies listed on The Center for Learning and Performance Technologies list of the 100 Best Tools for Learning. I used iMovie to create Act 1 & Act 3. iMovie is something I have worked with before, so it wasn't new. However, I felt like it was the best option for combining short video clips, pictures, and sounds to create the videos I needed for my lesson plan. I used PowerPoint, SlideShare, and SlideRocket to create and embed this presentation into this post. I used PPT to create the presentation; however, since I had videos in the presentation, the online uploading and sharing became difficult. I initially was going to use SlideRocket, but it told me my account and files would be deleted in 80 days because they were upgrading, so I decided to create a SlideShare. Creating a SlideShare was easy and quick, I just had to upload my PPT file. After previewing the presentation on SlideShare I noticed it didn't preserve the video properties, it turned them into pictures. I read that SlideShare didn't have video capabilities, so I went back to SlideRocket. At least I have 80 days to find an alternative. SlideRocket is great for uploading presentations that have sound, videos, and other forms of multimedia. It is something I used once in the past and it worked great for this presentation. I am sad to see the site go away. Within the presentation, I used Google Conversions to provide content necessary for the students to complete the task. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011) suggest that students must focus on knowing where to find information rather than knowing the information (p.91-99). While planning my lesson, I reflected on what information I should give my students, information that is widely available, and what information I wanted them to know and build on. This forced me to identify what the real purpose for the lesson was. Did I want my students to memorize or recall formulas? Or did I want my students to know when and how to apply formulas. Going with the latter of the two, I decided to give them the conversions and formulas they needed, but only after they realized the need for them. That is, I didn't tell them this is the formula you need to use now, but instead, when they realized they needed to make a conversion or use a formula, I provided the information for them. The last piece of technology I used was Scribd. Since most websites do not preserve formulas, I saved my lesson plan as a PDF and uploaded it to Scribd, which was easy to embed right on my site.
Bransford, J.D., Brown , A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Friedman, T. L. (2013, March 30). Need a job? invent it. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/
Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand, Oaks, CA: Corwin/Sage.
Meyer, D. (2013). The three acts of a mathematical story [Blog Post]. Retrieved from http://blog.mrmeyer.com/?p=10285/
Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Lexington, Ky: CreateSpace.
Networking Popplet: Where I Go. Who I Trust.
This Popplet was created to display some of the Professional Learning Networks that I currently use. I couldn't possibly list all the blogs or people I utilize for information related to my work, so I tried to list a few for each. Prior to this master's program at MSU, I had already developed a variety of PLNs; however, I am always searching for PLNs beyond what I already use. I am excited to learn about new ways to network and grow professionally as I progress in this program.


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Playtesting is key to game design. You need people to play your game. If you can't playtest it (like a million times), you're never going to get anywhere with your game. But, sitting at home with your carefully crafted prototype waiting for playtesters to come to you isn't going to work. You're going to have to get out there. Go forth and find playtesters!
But, where do you start? For our games, we started at our own dining room table, but then soon learned we needed to venture out past that.
Where to find playtesters:
- Yourself/significant other: When you're very early in the design process, you've just come up with this game and it's a very rough handwritten prototype, you should play the game yourself. Run through it, play multiple roles, and just make sure the basics work. My husband Dave is the main game designer for our company, and when he has a new game idea floating around in his head, he starts making bits, cards, hexes, whatever, but soon after he's got some basic pieces together, he's asking me to play the game with him. Get your spouse, significant other, or a close friend over to help you run through the game and figure out what's broken right away. Dave likes to play his games with me because it helps him to talk through the mechanics and figure out what's missing. Honestly, they usually suck at this point. But, by playing it and talking through it, we can figure out how to make it better (and they do get better!).
- Friends and family: Once you feel like you have a playable game, then it's time to bring in more people. We have some friends and family members who we like to play games with, and we've asked them to play our game designs in the past. We'll provide food and drinks, and hopefully also have time to play a published game or two, so we're not just torturing them with our early game design. But, you can get some good feedback from friends and family and also just start to see how the game plays with more people.
- Board gaming Meetup groups: At some point, you need to start playing the game with people that you don't know. The feedback from your friends and family may be too nice. They like you, so they think your game is fun too. But, you'll get more honest opinions from people you don't know. We've been able to find some great local board game groups on Meetup.com, and I'm sure you'll be able to also. Just go to meetup.com and search for board games and see what you find in your area. Join the group and start attending some of their events and playing games. I would recommend not showing up at your first event and immediately asking everyone to play your game. Try to get to know people a little bit first, play some games, and then eventually ask if maybe the next time you could bring your game and see if people would be interested in playing it.
- FLGS game nights: You may have a friendly local game store near you and if you do, they probably have game nights/days there. Our local game store, Pair A Dice Games, hosts board game nights on Thursdays. I'd recommend looking for a board (and card) game night, rather than going while all the Magic, Warmachine, or RPG players are there (unless that's the kind of game you're making). Try to go when you think people who might be interested in your game will be there. You may also go and talk to the game store owner and see if you can set up a playtest event specifically for your game, either during the regular board gaming time, or at another time when the store is busy.
- Board game design groups: Have you looked around for a board game design group in your area? Search around. Ours wasn't immediately obvious to find (it's a Google group), but we heard about it from someone on Twitter after asking if there were other game designers in our area. I know I've seen other board game design groups organize through Facebook groups or Meetup, or maybe your local game store knows about it. If there isn't one already, create one! Ask around on Twitter or in the game designer Facebook groups if there are other designers near you. Then get together with them to play your games. Dave has been attending the San Diego Board Game Design Group for a couple years now and it's been really great getting feedback on our designs from other game designers. They have a different perspective than regular gamers. They might be able to help suggest things to fix your game that you hadn't thought of before. Getting together regularly with other game designers is a crucial part of game design.
- Local conventions: After you've met with other game designers and maybe played your game with a meetup group or at your local game store, it's time to start going bigger to find playtesters. There are so many local board gaming conventions – there's probably one not too far from you. You don't have to start out with Gen Con or Origins (and if you do, you'll probably be totally overwhelmed). We started with Strategicon in Los Angeles, and we recently discovered an even more local convention, Kingdom-Con, in San Diego, which Dave just attended last month for the first time. Find your local board gaming convention, and then figure out if you can add events to the schedule. Strategicon has an online form to submit events, and we've run our games several times at past cons. You post them as "demos" or "playtests" and then you have a reserved time and table in the board gaming hall to play your game. Bring some signage for your game, feedback forms, an email sign-up sheet, and get your game played by as many people as possible. While you're there, try to meet other game designers, play other people's games, and just meet other people in the industry. Maybe you'll even find a publisher who's interested in your game! Local game conventions are a great place to start networking with others in the board gaming industry. You never know who you'll meet or what you'll learn!
- Playtesting events: You can also search around for board game playtesting events near you. Unpub and Protospiel are the two major organizations that run playtesting events and they each have large playtesting conventions at least once a year. Double Exposure Inc. also runs large playtesting events, like Metatopia and First Exposure Playtest Hall at Gen Con. All of these events are usually located more in the eastern part of the United States. We participated in the First Exposure Playtest Hall at Gen Con 2015 and it was a great event. I have heard that the Unpub and Protospiel events are amazing also and I hope that someday we'll be able to attend one or more them. They're usually weekend-long playtesting events and you can get a lot of playtests in for your game. But, they may not be very convenient for you (they aren't for us). So, look for Unpub Mini events or local Protospiel events. There are some at game conventions also. When we first started looking for playtesting events near us, there really weren't any nearby. So, we decided to host our own Unpub Mini San Diego event. We've run it three times now and the fourth is scheduled for next month. They've been great events and we always have game designers flock to them. So, if there isn't a playtesting event near you, maybe you should start your own!
- Online – print & play or mail copies: Another option to find playtesters is to look online. You can post a print and play version of your game on Board Game Geek, Board Game Designer's Forum, or Facebook groups (Card & Board Game Designers Guild and Tabletop Game Playtesters Guild are good ones), and ask people there to print out your game, play it, and send you feedback. Or, you can post in those groups and ask if anyone would be interested in playing your game and providing feedback if you mailed them a copy of your game. We did this with our game Micromanage. We posted a little bit of information about our game in the playtesting forums on BGG, BGDF, and the playtester Facebook group. We had 10 people respond to us and offer to playtest the game, so we made a bunch of prototypes and mailed them off. We sent a lot of follow-up emails and even offered a prize (a gift card to Cool Stuff Inc.) if they sent feedback on the game by a certain date. It can be a lot of work (and money) to make prototypes, mail copies, and follow up with everyone to make sure you actually get feedback. But, it was a good process for us and we did get some good feedback on the game.
- Online – digital playtesting: Because of the challenges of printing and mailing physical copies of your game to playtesters, you may want to try using one of the online board game playing services,
like Tabletopia, Tabletop Simulator, or Vassal. We have only tried Tabletop Simulator so far, and it's a lot of work to get your game into the system, but it's great once it's in there. I'd like to try Tabletopia for our next game because I've heard it's a little easier to use than Tabletop Simulator. These seem like great options, although you probably still need to seek out playtesters to come play your games on these services through BGG, BGDF, or the Facebook groups. There is even a Digital Tabletop Gaming Facebook group that I've seen other designers post about their playtesting "events" they're hosting on Tabletopia or Tabletop Simulator.
- Paid playtesting services: Finally, there are companies that offer playtesting services. We haven't used any of these services ourselves, so I can't say how well they do, but if you really need playtesting, especially blind playtesting, you may want to look into these. We may look into these further and possibly use one or more to blind playtest our latest game, Prism.
- Indie Game Alliance has a free level of membership for game design studios, but for $20 a month you can join the Pro level, which includes "iterative blind playtesting through our network of experienced gamers." IGA also offers access to convention space, advertising opportunities, member discounts, and much more than just playtesting services. So, it's definitely an organization to look into as a game designer.
- I've also recently heard of two companies that provide playtesting services: Game Krackers and Coalition Game Studios. They each have slightly different offerings, and I don't have direct experience with either one, but I think they'd both be worth looking into if you need more playtesting for your game.
Playtesters are out there. You just have to seek them out. It might take some time and effort, but that's what's required to make a great game. And, in the process, you'll probably meet some great people, get some great feedback on your game, and be able to make it even better. Once you do get out there to start playtesting publicly, here are some tips on making that playtest successful.
What am I missing? Where else have you found playtesters? Do you have any experience with any of the services I mentioned, or know of any others that have served you well? Share in the comments. I'd love to hear what you think!

subset: commoncrawl


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As a leading global manufacturer of support systems and electrical enclosures, B-Line offers innovative products for a variety of market applications within the electrical, mechanical and communications industries. From traditional and renewable energy to government and commercial facility subsystems, our customers rely on our quality products and services to support their business needs.
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I was approached recently by Plantify to review their new packaging for online purchasing of plants. I was quite intrigued by their claims since I have had very mixed experiences of buying plants on-line. It is frustrating because often the plants I want to buy are quite specialist, particularly with my growing interest in Primulas and alpines and so the nurseries that supply what I want are somewhere else in the country. I recently had a houseplant delivered which lost a third of its mass when I unwrapped it from being buffeted around and now is only a fifth of its original size due to the damage.
Plantify's approach is partly about design and partly about plants and buying them online but this review is about plant buying. They have two USPs – firstly the plants are all sourced from British nurseries, something I am keen to support, and secondly they claim their packaging is unique and aims to ensure that your plants arrive safely and in one piece. I was asked to select three plants at random from their website. I thought I would try to be clever and choose three very different plants to test their packaging but at the same time they would obviously have to be plants I wanted – so whilst I was very tempted to try out a spiky Agave I ended up not going for that option. I chose Rosa 'Eyes for You', Dryopteris erythrosora (Cooper shield fern) and an Aster. I then had an email saying that they had been unhappy with the quality of the Aster when it arrived from the nursery so wanted to offer me an alternative – Aster lateriflorous 'Lady in Black'. I thought this was interesting and wondered if it was just to ensure a good review but I was advised that if I was a paying customer they would have contacted me and discussed the problem before sending out a plant they felt wasn't up to standard. How refreshing.
As you can see each of the three plants was in a separate box all fitting snugly in the larger box – so very strong and robust. The package also arrived within 24hrs of me being told it was on its way. Inside the individual boxes the plants are held in place by two sort of cardboard catches, that's not a very good description and it is explained better on their website, but it was very effective and there was no way I could get the plants out until I had undone these.
As you can see the plants are very healthy in appearance. I was quite impressed as my previous experience has often been of substandard and tired looking plants turning up. Also included in the package was a print out of the website page for each plant with all the growing information which I thought was a simple but excellent idea as it saved me having to hunt out the information.
I get the impression that Plantify is in its infancy as the list of nurseries supplying them at present seems quite small but that could be me not looking in the right place. However the nurseries that are listed include some well-known ones which have excellent reputations such as Edulis and Taylors Clematis. Plantify is also a supporter of the Which 'Better Plants by Post' campaign. If you have a look around the website you will see that the plants are very reasonably priced. I would have liked to have seen clearer information about delivery costs but playing around on the website and choosing a hydrangea to pretend to buy it indicated that this would cost me around £7 for delivery, which isn't bad given the cost of petrol it would take to go to a nursery to find the plant.
As I have said Plantify also has a design service. There is an online garden design tool which is free to download and interestingly you can avoid having to measure up your space as it uses google maps to find your garden and that is the starting point. I'm not really interested in design but I can see it being an interesting tool to play with if you are and then of course once you have played around planting your plants on-line you will want to buy them from Plantify so it is quite a good concept.
I am all for supporting British Nurseries over imports. I do find myself wondering at the price of the plants and whether it is cost-effective for the nurseries but I also know that there is little money in plant production – maybe that is another campaign Which should have. Anyway, I was very impressed with the quality of the plants and the condition they arrived in. I will definitely consider Plantify next time I want to buy some plants online.


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Using the public transport made easy
With the GVH App you get timetable information in real time any time and for free. And the GVH App can even more: Purchase your GVH ticket for your next journey right out of the journey information - quick and easy with your smartphone.
What are the benefits of the GVH App for?
- It shows you a departure board or a connection from A to B in one module
- At buses and trams within the GVH are being displayed (in real time)
- It is displaying fares for connections within the GVH area
- You receive timetable information for Lower Saxony and Bremen
- Special transportation, re-routings and many things more are considered for the arrival and described as text
- You can determine your current position by internal location determination or by map input
- It has dynamically generated surrounding and overview maps
- You can save stations, addresses, positions or connections as favourites
- The assignment of own names as favourites is possible
- Underneath the favourites you can enter your home address or station. During looking for connections you can enter it easily by clicking the home symbol
- You can also save connections to the calendar.
- You can book Call-a-Taxi or Call-a-Bus directly
- Home Button − by clicking on the home button you can determine your destination.
The GVH App is available for iOS-devices in the App-Store and for all Android smart phones at Google Play. The application for Windows Phone will no longer be supported.
Do you have comments and suggestions concerning the GVH App? We welcome any feedback from our customers, because you help to improve our service.
Please send your E-mails to: email@example.com.


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Wow! What a day for comments!! We're so excited about all the great suggestions and ways we can make the Stay in Wisconsin blog better for you!
Before we get to today's giveaway extravaganza winners, we want to share that a Door County inn, the White Gull Inn, will be featured on Good Morning America tomorrow, May 15 at 7 am CDT as a finalist in America's Best Breakfast Challenge! After the segment airs, a voting portal will be opened at http://abcnews.go.com/gma that says, "VOTE FOR THE BEST BREAKFAST". Viewers can then help to choose the best breakfast, which will be featured live on the program Sunday morning. The link to vote will be available until about 7 pm CDT on May 15. Only 12 hours to vote! The White Gull Inn would certainly appreciate your help in showing your Wisconsin pride! View the full details here!
Now for today's winners!
1. an overnight at the Holiday Acres Resort on Lake Thompson in Rhinelander: Judy
|2. a night at the Jefferson Street Inn in Wausau: Liz K.
3. a stay at Ross' Teal Lake Lodge in Hayward: Jan
4. a free night at America's Best Value Inn in Fort Atkinson: Al C.
5. an overnight at The Delafield Hotel in Delafield: Lynn
6. a stay at the Lakewoods Resort in Cable: Shane
7. a free night at the Voyager Inn in Door County: Sara
8. $250 Best Western gift card to use while you explore Wisconsin: Joe A.
Congrats to the winners – check your e-mail for an e-mail from firstname.lastname@example.com!
We've got some great things in the works for next week, so be sure to check back for chances to vote on a special cover contest and more giveaways!
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[Produced by The Awesome Sound]
*TV switches*
Amy from The Walking Dead: "The world ended, didn't you get the memo?"
Male: "If you know what you want in life..."
Tyler Durden of Fight Club: "...It's only after we lost everything that we're free to do anything"
[Intro: Irv Da Phenom]
See I gotta let the truth out
Life will never be perfect
So all we gotta do now
Is find a way to make it worth it
In a world full of zombies
You are all that I need
You are all that I need
[Verse 1: XV]
Unh, don't fall for 'em, ice cold
With my heart on froze and my glass on chill
Just a portion of life is a fortune
Cause some niggas didn't spend that wheel
Unless they had some Vanna white they could sell
Probably weighed more than Vanna White on a scale
You know as much as you can when you don't know enough
The hard part is growing old without growing up
Gotta kush-filled bowl ready, loaded up
And a couple bad hoes tryin to roll with us
Who show off their body off like its a canvas
Just to be apart of the student body on the campus
Me and the devil have had a couple of dances
Highway crashes, bad romances
Girls taking interests like cash advances
Don't live for the glances, baby take your chances
[Hook: Irv Da Phenom x2]
If this gets old, its nothing new
Come hit this smoke, come sip this juice
Just live your life, that's what we do
Enjoy these things: Rule 32
[Verse 2: XV]
I said hey, what's your name?
She replied "Wichita"
Damn, we on Squaria now, how'd you get this far?
Well, I'm the Kid With the Green Backpack
I live life, and write raps, but I'm black
So they try to say I couldn't live my dream like Martin
Cause they know I'm from the middle like Malcolm
Look at this thing we started
Every circle wanna square nigga round 'em
You ain't in X's box? Go on, get ya Wii on
Told you I never was the one you should sleep on
Now you want the curb like Larry and Leon
Cause you ain't bout the life that the L7s be on
We on
[Hook x3]
XV gives an ode to the 2009 scary-comedy movie Zombieland by embracing one of its rules,
Rule 32: Enjoy the little things.
XV also uses the nostalgic melody Stickerbrush Symphony from Donkey Kong Country 2 for the Super Nintendo as a sample on the track.


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Tommy Hilfiger Junior Swim Tape Swim Shorts in Navy. Clean cut style designed for summer and poolside wear, a lightweight mesh lined inner and quick drying polyester are offset with signature small flag branding to leg.
Fabric: This product is 100% polyester.
Product Care: Machine Wash at 30C. Do not tumble dry.
We guarantee to refund or exchange any item you're not completely happy with, providing you return it to us in an unused and sellable condition within 14 days of the date on your receipt.
We aim to process all returns within 7 days of us receiving the goods back in our warehouse. However, please make sure that you fill out your returns form in full before sending it back to us as this will help to avoid any delays with identifying and processing your return.


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Fifty Shades of Complete Disaster
I am admittedly quite late to this story, but then I have rather better things to do than worry about who's starring in the latest godawful stupid idea from a Hollywood studio system that has very clearly run out of ideas:
Charlie Hunnam, the erstwhile star of the "Fifty Shades of Grey" film adaptation has dropped out of the production after he finally got around to reading "Fifty Shades of Grey." Probably.
The "Sons of Anarchy" actor last month was cast as the BDSM freak Christian Grey in the movie version of the middle-aged mom porn book, which is widely considered to be an embarrassment to literature and has Thomas Hardy rolling over in his grave. But Entertainment Weekly reported Saturday that the actor dropped out of the film due to "scheduling conflicts."
The studio said in a statement Saturday, "The filmmakers of FIFTY SHADES OF GREY and Charlie Hunnam have agreed to find another male lead given Hunnam's immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role of Christian Grey."Fans of the book were horrified by the casting decision because they actually thought that they could get someone like Ryan Gosling to act in what is sure to be the worst movie of whatever year it will come out.
I have never read Twilight (of Our Civilisation), Fifty Shades of What the F*** is This Crap, or any of the other necrobestial gay-ass vampire novels that are selling in mainstream bookstores these days. But I have to admit that I was practically choking on schadenfreude when I read this. It's always fun to stomp all over the idiotic dreams people with horrible taste.
Unfortunately, this movie will still probably make millions thanks to millions of desperate housewives trying to live out their fantasies vicariously through this crime against cinema...


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As all insureds and claimants are aware insurance companies frequently send out "questionnaires" on a regular basis. There are questionnaires about activities, occupations, finances, physician lists, medication lists – you name it, an insurance company probably has a questionnaire asking about it. Some questionnaires are short, while others are as much as 5-10 pages. Unum has a questionnaire which requires claimants to keep track of their activities in 15 minute internals. Even a healthy person would have problems filling that one out.
The question everyone seems to ask about insurance questionnaires is, "What does all this information have to do with the definition of disability contained in my policy?" And, the short answer is: "Nothing at all."
The purpose of disability questionnaires is to obtain written information from insureds and claimants which can be "interpreted as work capacity." Since questionnaires are signed by insureds, insurers can always fall back on, "Well, you SAID you use the computer for several hours at a time." Truth is, I've seen it frequently quoted in denial letters, "During your conversation with our field representative you said….." or, "On the Claimant Statement you wrote you are able to clean house and do laundry."
Psychologically, most people are more inclined to fill out questionnaires received in the mail than not because it makes us feel good to know someone is "asking for our opinion." Disability insurance questionnaires take advantage of that fact simply by naming them "questionnaires" and not "insurance interrogatories", for example. The fact is though that insurance questionnaires are designed to encourage claimants to write as much information as they think will convince any insurance company of the credibility of their claim.
In my role as a consultant I've reviewed perhaps thousands of insurance questionnaires completed by insureds to the point that you couldn't possibly get another word on the page. Every waking moment and activity is described in detail – an insurance company's dream denial waiting to happen! Insurance questionnaires are deliberately designed with questions which when viewed as a whole signal at a minimum, sedentary work capacity. The result is insureds and claimants give away their disability claims with too much information that can be interpreted and used against them.
For example, at one time Unum devised a program which used basic information about gardening, laundry, and computer use, to equate activities to actual numbers of METS which then could be cited as work capacity. A MET is the metabolic rate of expended energy (or calorie burn) of a human body at rest. Sitting in a chair is 1 MET. Therefore, if Unum concluded carrying laundry up and down stairs 3 times a week is equal to 5 METS (or 5 times the energy expended at rest), then it could be said the individual has sedentary work capacity because 5 METS is often defined in that way. Ten METS would be light work capacity and so on.
Unum also determined that having sex more than three times per week was also indicative of work capacity. (5 METS) This is why phone interviews include questions about sexual activity. Are you kidding me?
Therefore, a unknowing insured completing a questionnaire with activities of laundry, gardening, cooking, hobbies, walking, exercising, could actually be citing 5 or more METS of activity without really thinking about it. Again, what does all this have to do with your inability to perform the major tasks of an occupation full-time? Absolutely nothing.
Being able to walk your dog up and down the street is NOT the same thing as having the ability to return to work on a consistent or sustainable basis, although the insurance company will allege that's true. If insurers used the information reported on questionnaires in a fair and reasonable manner, considering reasonable expectations of work capacity, questionnaires could be considered rather benign to the process. But, insurers DO NOT use reported activity information reasonably, and as a result claims are denied simply because insureds wrote on a questionnaire "I do my laundry", and "walk my dog."
Insurance companies are absolutely paranoid about unreported work capacity, and frequently cross the contractual line of asking questions unrelated to your ability to perform the material and substantial duties of your own or any other occupation. Imagine this example: Liberty Mutual forces claimants to apply for SSDI with eligibility requirements of total disability. Claimant applies and is approved; a overpayment is given back; and a questionnaire is sent out. Claimant writes she is able to cook and do her laundry several times a week, and her internet surveillance indicates she chats and tweets at least several hours a day. Claim is denied because she has demonstrated sedentary capacity, and at the change in definition after 24 months, alternative occs are identified. End of story.
Insurance companies rarely do anything without an agenda to deny claims. Questionnaires are designed to encourage "over speaking" one's claim to the point of giving away the farm. Although the questionnaires themselves ask for narrative responses, answers need not be paragraphs, but one liners. Although DCS, Inc. recommends that all information given to insurers be truthful and accurate, it need not exceed what is required as "proof of claim" in a policy contract.
Questionnaires are also designed to use responses in conjunction with surveillance to prove "inconsistency of report." If you document you are unable to walk greater than 10-15 minutes on a questionnaire, but surveillance indicates you walked around the Mall for half a day, the result is "inconsistency of report." In other words, your "observed" activity is greater than what you are willing to admit to on a questionnaire. Not good.
Another thing to also remember is that insurance questionnaires, phone interviews and field rep visits are all used and conducted for the same reason. This should make any insured or claimant sit up and pay attention to what he/she writes or says to any insurance company. Giving truthful answers is not exactly the same thing as answering only what has been asked and no more. This situation reminds me of the difference between Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion. Insureds and claimants may not deliberately give false information, but they certainly are permitted to provide information about their activities on a "need to know basis."
Disability insurers are entitled to medical and occupational information because it directly relates to the definition of disability in most policies. They do NOT have a need to know your hobbies, your social activities (unless you give it away on the Internet), your religion, or sexual preference.
Not all things are as they seem with disability insurers looking to deny claims rather than pay them. Questionnaires are indeed wolves in sheep's clothing and should be taken very seriously by insureds who are asked to complete them. Again, responses must be honest, but then again, you don't have to contribute your entire life's story.
Responses should be no more than one or two short sentences; don't elaborate; don't volunteer information not asked; and most importantly, don't attempt to describe restrictions and limitations which after all should only come from physicians. Further, don't attempt to "make-up" something just to have an answer on the page; if the question doesn't apply to you say so. You don't have to "fill up" the questionnaire in order for it to appear credible.
This wouldn't be a fair post if I neglected to mention that some claimants do have a tendency to overstate their disabilities and understate what they can and cannot do. I have discussions with my clients about the fact that "honesty works", and it is never a good idea to deliberately understate activity capability for the purpose of misleading the insurance company. To do so is actually insurance fraud, and of course, I don't support that.
But, what I also know is that insurers use their questionnaires to obtain information about activities in very covert ways. What could be more innocent than a questionnaire, right? Readers should consider responses on insurance questionnaires very carefully and then give short, honest answers.


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Standard Life has revealed the details of its directors' pay packages, with former chief executive David Nish continuing to be paid his £835,000 salary while on gardening leave.
Nish's notice period began on 1 July last year and he is now on gardening leave until 31 March. He is also eligible to receive a bonus over this period.
Keith Skeoch, who replaced Nish as chief executive in August, is being paid less at £700,000. However this is a £200,000 increase on his previous salary as chief executive of Standard Life Investments.
Paul Matthews, chief executive of UK and Europe, and Colin Clark, director of the global client group, are being paid £630,000 and £600,000 respectively.
It comes as the provider has seen pre-tax profits fall in its UK pensions and savings business as the fallout from lower annuity sales post pension freedoms continues.
The provider's full-year results reveal the pensions and savings arm made a pre-tax operating profit of £334m last year, down 5 per cent from £350m in 2014.
This partly reflected a £33m reduction in the 'spread/risk' margin, which measures the profitability of a provider's annuity business.
Fee revenue went from £619m to £631m, but was offset by an £11m fall in revenue earned on client cash.
Standard Life's platform performed strongly, with record net inflows of £4.4bn. Assets under administration rose 22 per cent from £20.9bn to £25.5bn, with the number of advisers using the Standard Life Wrap increasing by 123 to 1,463.
Drawdown assets rose 18 per cent from £11.5bn to £13.6bn, while 250,000 new auto-enrolment customers were added during the year.
Standard Life Investments has posted a 33 per cent increase in pre-tax operating profit, from £257m to £342m. Total assets under management went from £245.9bn to £253.2bn.


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In a report issued on Sunday, Jefferies said: "In our view, without steps for improving quality standards for drugs available in the market, the move will not have much material impact and will shift power from doctors to pharmacists."
According to Jefferies, transition to generics is a long term aim where the first step needs to be quality.
The push towards generic drugs began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi declaring that the government will bring a legal framework to get doctors to prescribe generic names, said Jefferies.
Soon after the Medical Council of India (MCI) directed doctors to write generic names in prescriptions or face disciplinary action.
According to Jefferies, the push to get the doctors to prescribe generic names, is one of the many steps the government has been taking to reduce medical costs in India.
The key ones has been
1) expansion of National list of Essential Medicines (NLEM) bringing them under price cap,
2) push by the government to increase awareness of generic drug prices and
3) increase access through Jan Aushadhi programme.
"A shift to a generic-generic model (similar to US) from the branded generic model currently in India, requires confidence among doctors, pharmacists and patients on the quality of drugs available in market," Jefferies said.
The key focus of the government then needs to be towards strengthening and empowering the regulator. It also needs to improve and standardise the drug approval process in India, the report added.
"Without quality assurance, move just shifts power to pharmacy - While the push to generic prescription is a positive step for the consumer, without quality assurance and awareness, we believe branded generics will still retain majority share," Jefferies said.
According to the report, prescriptions by generic names will shift the brand selection power to pharmacist.
"The focus of companies, in the current environment, will then shift to pharmacists for marketing their drugs. At the pharmacy level, generic-generic drugs have much higher margins than branded drugs but the lower retail price and lack of quality assurance will keep branded drugs the preferred pick for pharmacists to dispense," Jefferies said.
According to Jefferies, a move towards a generic-generic market is negative for the Indian pharmaceutical companies.
"This move, though, is a long term target in our view. It will require multiple steps including 1) strengthening the drug approval process, 2) strengthening the drug regulator, 3) increased inspection of drug facilities, 4) increased awareness of generic drugs and their quality and 5) rationalising the fixed dosage combination drugs," Jefferies said.


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End-to-End Solution Optimizes Supply Chain Management and Enhances Compliance with DEA and FDA Regulations
Bedminster, NJ – January 15, 2015 – BuzzeoPDMA, a Cegedim Company, which is focused on technology information and service solutions delivering innovation to help transform commercial, compliance and medical operations in U.S. healthcare, today announced a strategic partnership with Invistics, a market leader in supply chain consulting and inventory management software. The partnership will integrate BuzzeoPDMA's compliance expertise and Invistics' innovative solutions for controlled substances inventory management and sample distribution optimization.
Creating Optimal Visibility into Controlled Substances and Sample Supply Chain Activity Built on Lean and Six Sigma principles, advanced analytics and real-time dashboards, Invistics' inventory management software tools are designed to provide complete visibility for controlled substance and sample activity across the supply chain. Clients are able to analyze the data, streamline distribution processes, and reduce costs while enhancing their ability to adhere to current and emerging laws.
"Our partnership with Invistics deepens the level of analytics our clients can achieve in their controlled substances and sample distribution processes," said Paul Hamby, Senior Director of Compliance Solutions, BuzzeoPDMA. "Invistics' powerful software is a perfect complement to our comprehensive suite of sample management and controlled substances regulatory consulting services."
BuzzeoPDMA's sample management services include a sample accountability solution, Sample Guardian™, which provides a 360-degree view of all sample activity. Founded in 1991, BuzzeoPDMA, an industry leader, also offers many ancillary services including field inventory services, sample reconciliations, state license validation services, regulatory training, and controlled substance and listed chemicals compliance programs.
"Partnering with BuzzeoPDMA was a perfect fit for our innovative technology," said Tom Knight, founder and CEO of Invistics. "As an industry leader in regulatory compliance, BuzzeoPDMA helps us bring a total solution that maximizes efficiencies and cost reductions in supply chain management while assisting compliance with applicable state and federal regulations."
About Cegedim Relationship Management:
Cegedim Relationship Management is the Life Sciences industry's leading provider of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions. Designed specifically for Life Sciences, the company's innovative business solutions incorporate a thorough understanding of local, regional and worldwide trends. Cegedim Relationship Management enables approximately 200,000 users in many of the world's most innovative companies to stay ahead of market challenges. In addition to CRM, Cegedim Relationship Management also provides marketing, data optimization and regulatory compliance solutions in more than 80 countries. Cegedim Relationship Management is part of the France-based Cegedim S.A. Group. To learn more, please visit: www.cegedim.com/rm.
About Cegedim:
Founded in 1969, Cegedim is a global technology and services company specializing in the healthcare field. Cegedim supplies services, technological tools, specialized software, data flow management services and databases. Its offerings are targeted notably at healthcare industries, life sciences companies, healthcare professionals and insurance companies. The world leader in life sciences CRM, Cegedim is also one of the leading suppliers of strategic healthcare industry data. Cegedim employs 8,000 people in more than 80 countries and generated revenue of €902 million in 2013. Cegedim SA is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: CGM). To learn more, please visit: www.cegedim.com.
About Invistics:
Invistics provides consulting services and supporting software solutions that enable high-mix manufacturers to achieve the right inventory levels for their supply chain through advanced analytics and actionable insights. Based on Six Sigma and Lean principles, Invistics solutions help manufacturing executives improve profitability by reducing cycle times and costs, while increasing throughput and customer satisfaction.
To learn more, please visit: www.invistics.com


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An arsonist who set fire to his room at a Doncaster bail hostel causing £40,000 damage has been jailed for four years.
CCTV pictures at Doncaster's Town Moor hostel showed Martin McMullen, aged 25, smashing a fire extinguisher into a fire alarm after he had been confined in his bedroom.
He then went into a lounge and caused a large amount of damage before going back to his room, from which smoke and the 'glow' of a fire began to emerge.
Sheffield Crown Court heard firefighters put out the blaze but the room was wrecked and there was smoke damage to the building.
The other occupants were safely evacuated, said Michael Tooley, prosecuting.
McMullen had previously been jailed for 12 months for barricading himself into a room and setting fire to the contents of a waste paper bin at a hospital where he was being treated in January 2013.
On his release he was required to live at Town Moor but his behaviour became more erratic until the fire incident on June 10 last year.
When shown the CCTV pictures of his actions he 'just laughed', said Mr Tooley.
Sara Davie, defending, said McMullen was 'physically, emotionally and sexually' abused between the ages of six and 11 and began drinking heavily and smoking, aged just 10. He was also self-harming.
McMullen was diagnosed with a social personality disorder four years ago and had since received treatment, which was helping.
The first arson offence was in protest at him being transferred from the hospital where he was being treated and he was released from prison just two months before the Town Moor incident.
He was told he was being released into the community and did not feel he was ready to end his treatment and went into a downward spiral.
"He hadn't taken his medication and drank three cans of lager, which led to his outburst," said Miss Davie.
"He doesn't have a clear memory of what happened."
McMullen, of no fixed address, admitted reckless arson and criminal damage.
Judge Mark Gargan said his 'difficult' upbringing had caused him to develop significant psychological problems which lay at the root of his offending.
He said: "Shortly after your release from prison you committed a similar type of offence which gave rise to a risk of people being injured, although I accept people were evacuated in good time.
"Nevertheless this shows a troubling development in your offending."


text:
Little is on his best behavior, visions of sugar plums are already dancing in his head and have been for weeks. He's working on the letter that will be so carefully placed by the plate of cookies and we have the Santa Tracker bookmarked.
I know it won't be much longer and I'll have to pack away the Santa plate, and there won't be any need to buy the carrots with the greens attached, but I'll enjoy every crazy moment because the magic of Santa only lasts so long.


text:
Alternate Reality
(split 2233)
(split 2233)
Shuttle 7 was an unnamed alternate reality Federation Takayama-type shuttlecraft that was in service to Starfleet in the mid-23rd century, attached to the USS Enterprise.
In 2259, this shuttle was parked in a hangar located near to the Golden Gate Bridge. This shuttle was later seen landing in the main shuttlebay of the Enterprise. Much later, this shuttle tumbled onto the shuttlebay floor as the starship spiraled into the atmosphere of Earth. (Star Trek Into Darkness)


text:
Member Biography
Jian-Ting Zhang, Ph.D.
980 W. Walnut St.
Indianapolis, IN 46202
Phone: (317) 278-4503
Research Program Membership
Full member:
Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
IU School of Medicine
Andrew and Peggy Thomson Chair of Hematology/Oncology
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
IU School of Medicine
Dr. Zhang's research interests include:
The research in my laboratory focuses primarily on two aspects of cancers,experimental therapeutics and cancer biology. In experimental therapeutics, we are investigating the structures and functions of ABC transporters, 14-3-3sigma, and fatty acid synthase. We also perform drug discovery research targeting these proteins as well as STAT3 and survivin using chemoinformatics and rational design. In cancer biology, we are investigating how translational initiation factors are involved in regulating signal transduction, cell growth and differentiation. More specifically, we are interested in the role of eIF3 complex in tumorigenesis and cancer prognosis.
Ph.D. - State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 1989


text:
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Kratom for pain relief ?
June 17th, 2009
A close friend of mine recommended Kratom for relief from my back pain (due to a climbing accident a few years ago) They swear by it, but having done some research I see it can be addictive although it seems to have no side affects. Has anyone come across or used Kratom?
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replied June 19th, 2009
yea, i've taken kratom before, not for too long, it is a pain reliever, i think it was used as a treatment for opium addiction a long time ago. I'm not a doctor so you'd probably be better off checking with a doctor or specialist who knows about this type of stuff, but from my experience it may work, and would be no more addictive than any controlled substance pain killers such as vicodin, percoset, oxycontin, morphine, dilaudid, etc., probably less if anything. In my opinion Heroin is to methadone as Vicodin is to Kratom
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replied June 22nd, 2009
Thanks. I have been doing quite a bit of research and there are some amazing stories out there as well as some warnings. Will try some in small dosage and see how it goes.
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replied July 1st, 2009
Kratom is grown only in thailand, and thailand is the only place its illegal, people chew the leaves to aleviate pain or make a concentrate tea. I've tried the concentrate tea 25x potentcy.... It doesnt really work well and it makes you a little nauseas. Poppy Pod tea works much better as a pain reliever.
Kratom works on par with tramadol, but no doc should have a problem perscribing you that
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replied November 22nd, 2009
Yeah, I take Kratom twice daily for my chronic nerve and hip pains. I have 95% of the signs for MS but my doctors are relucktent to diagnose same. I have also done lots and lots of research on Kratom. It is known for being addictive if consumed every day for several years (2-3). In my case, my entire body is in pain at one time or another. If you ask me, I would risk the addiction if it meant less or no pain any day of the week and twice on sunday. I
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replied November 22nd, 2009
Kratom is indiginous to several regions outside of Thailand and is also illegal in Malaysia (and a few other parts of the world).
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replied March 23rd, 2018
Kratom's pain relieving effect, or its analgesic properties are probably its most known benefit and the main reason why people are using it, the higher concentration of alkaloids found in each particular Kratom strain, the better is its pain relieving capacity. Currently, the best kratom strain for pain is up for debate because of variations in strains and growing conditions. However, certain strains have been proven highly effective like Indo, Borneo, Bali, Malaysian Strains.
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7 Jan 2013
The best-selling English-language book from Wales over the Christmas period (October-December) was Shadow - The Dai Morris Story (Y Lolfa), with Who Beat the All Blacks (Y Lolfa) in second place.
Shadow - The Dai Morris Story
The story of legendary Welsh rugby player Dai Morris, a member of the successful 1970s squad - a man who worked shifts in the coal mine in the morning and played for his country in the afternoon.
Who Beat the All Blacks
This book commemorates one of the top ten greatest rugby moments ever, a match on 31 October 1972. The teams and score: Llanelli 9 New Zealand 3. The day's events are recalled by those who were there.
Return to top of page
Books from Wales on-line


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Perfluorinated compound
A perfluorinated compound (PFC) is an organofluorine compound containing only carbon-fluorine bonds (no C-H bonds) and C-C bonds but also other heteroatoms. PFCs have properties that represent a blend of fluorocarbons (containing only C-F and C-C bonds) and the parent functionalized organic species. For example, perfluorooctanoic acid functions as a carboxylic acid but with strongly altered surfactant and hydrophobic characteristics.[1]
Many perfluorinated compounds are useful. For example, fluorosurfactants powerfully reduce surface tension by concentrating at the liquid-air interface due to the lipophobicity of fluorocarbons, due to the polar functional group added to the fluorocarbon chain. Elements commonly incorporated into fluorocarbon based compounds include oxygen, such as in the carboxyl group present in some flourosurfactants, and chlorine, in chlorofluorocarbons, which were formerly used as refrigerants, and are presently implicated in ozone degradation). Fluorosurfactants are widely used in the production of teflon and related fluorinated polymers. They have also been used to confer hydrophobic, stain-resisting properties to fabrics and fire-fighting foam.[2]
Classes of PFCs by functional group
Representative members of this large family of compounds are listed below. Also numerous are compounds that contain many fluoride centers but also some hydrogen, e.g., trifluoroethanol.
Perfluorinated alkyl and aryl halides
- Trifluoroiodomethane, an alkylating agent
- Pentafluoroethyl iodide, an alkylating agent
- Perfluorooctyl bromide (perflubron) is a contrast medium for magnetic resonance imaging, computer tomography and sonography. It has also been used in liquid breathing.
- Dichlorodifluoromethane, refrigerant
- Chlorotrifluoroethylene, monomer
- Dichlorodifluoroethylene (three isomers), monomers
Perfluoroethers and epoxides
- hexafluoropropylene oxide , precursor to perfluoromethyl vinyl ether (CF2=CFOCF3), a useful monomer
- Krytox, perfluorinated polyether used in special greases
- Pentafluorophenol, a moderately strong acid
Perfluorinated alcohols are unstable with respect to dehydrofluorination.
- Perfluorotripentylamine (and related derivatives) are found in Fluorinert, electronic coolants.
- Hexafluoroacetone, building block in organofluorine chemistry.
Perfluorocarboxylic acids
- Trifluoroacetic acid, a moderately strong acid useful in organic chemistry
- Heptafluorobutyric acid, a moderately strong acid that is useful in organic and analytical chemistry
- Pentafluorobenzoic acid, a moderately strong acid of interest in research community
- perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), surfactant used to make fluoropolymers such as Teflon
- perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of fluoropolymers, like PFOA.
Perfluoronitriles and isonitriles
- Trifluoromethylisocyanide, the simplest perfluorinated isonitrile.
- Trifluoromethylacetonitrile, the simplest perfluorinated nitrile
Perfluorosulfonic acids and related derivatives
- Triflic acid, a useful strong acid
- perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS) used as a replacement for PFOS in 3M's reformulated Scotchgard.
- perfluorooctanesulfonyl fluoride (POSF), precursor to PFOS-based compounds.
- perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), used in 3M's Scotchgard formulation.
- perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS,) used in the semiconductor industry, 3M's former Scotchgard formulation, and 3M's former fire-fighting foam mixture.
Perfluorinated aryl borates
- Na[B(C6F5)4], salt of a weakly coordinating anion.
Environmental and health concerns
While there are some natural fluorocarbons such as tetrafluoromethane, which has been reported in rocks,[3] the vast majority are man-made.
Greenhouse gases
Low-boiling perfluoroalkanes are potent greenhouse gases, in part due to their very long atmospheric lifetime. Their use is covered by the Kyoto Protocol.
The fluorocarbons PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) have both been investigated by the EU and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which regards them being harmful to the environment.[4]
Fluorosurfactants tend to bioaccumulate, since they are extremely stable and can be stored in the bodies of both humans and animals. Examples include PFOA and PFOS, frequently present in water resistant textiles and sprays conferring water resistant properties to textiles and fire-fighting foam.[4] Data from animal studies of PFOA indicate that it can cause several types of tumors and neonatal death and may have toxic effects on the immune, liver, and endocrine systems. As of 2010 data on the human health effects of PFOA were sparse.[5]
A 2016 study covering 2/3 of drinking water supplies in the United States found unsafe levels of fluorosurfactants were detectable at the minimum reporting levels required by the EPA safety limit of 70 parts per trillion (ng/L) for two types of PFASs: perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in 194 out of 4,864 water supplies in 33 states across the U.S. Drinking water from 13 states accounted for 75% of the detections, including, in order of frequency of detection: California, New Jersey, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Illinois.[6] The other third were not studied, firefighting foam being singled out as a major contributor.
Since 2015, the Air Force has been testing 82 former and active military installations nationwide for fluorosurfactants contained in fire fighting foam.[7] In 2015, PFCs were found in groundwater at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine and Grissom Air Reserve Base, Indiana, and in well water at Pease Air Force Base, New Hampshire, where 500 people including children had blood tests as part of a bio-monitoring plan through the state Department of Health and Human Services.
See also
- ↑ Günter Siegemund, Werner Schwertfeger, Andrew Feiring, Bruce Smart, Fred Behr, Herward Vogel, Blaine McKusick "Fluorine Compounds, Organic" Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2002. doi:10.1002/14356007.a11_349
- ↑ Sedlak, Meg (October 2016). "Profile - Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)" (PDF). sfei.org. San Francisco Estuary Institute. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ↑ Murphy CD, Schaffrath C, O'Hagan D.: "Fluorinated natural products: the biosynthesis of fluoroacetate and 4-fluorothreonine in Streptomyces cattleya" Chemosphere. 2003 Jul;52(2):455-61.
- 1 2 US Environmental Protection Agency. "FAQ". Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Fluorinated Telomers. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ↑ Steenland, Kyle; Fletcher, Tony; Savitz, David A. (2010). "Epidemiologic Evidence on the Health Effects of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)". Environmental Health Perspectives. 118 (8): 1100–8. doi:10.1289/ehp.0901827. PMC 2920088. PMID 20423814. Retrieved 2011-05-11.
- ↑ http://phys.org/news/2016-08-unsafe-toxic-chemicals-million-americans.html
- ↑ Associated Press (19 September 2015). "Grissom officials: Well tests show no chemical pollution". LIN Television Corporation. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Perfluorinated compounds.


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The Team
Quinton Jay
Quinton Jay, is the proprietor of Bacchus Wine Shop, has over 16 years of experience in the wine industry has actively contributed to the success of many wine ventures in the Napa, Sonoma and Oregon. Entrepreneurship runs in the family. You will often find his Mom in the shop.
His knowledge of how wine goes from grape to glass gives Quinton a true appreciation of what makes a great wine. He also wants to take the mystery out of wine and food pairing, making it easy and fun to plan a meal with his recommendations on what to serve with various meats and dishes.
Jeanelle Kammer
Wine Club & Special Events
Jeanelle, Manager of Bacchus Wine Shop, has several years of retail sales and management experience in both the U.S. and France. Most recently she was the Northern California district manager for Tumi Luggage and from 2003-2008 opened Tumi's west coast operations. She and Quinton subsequently collaborated on wine promotion events and she shares his passion for wine, and the bounty of food and wine that our region has to offer.
Jeanelle has a Bachelor of Science in Merchandising Management from Michigan State University, with a Minor in French. Come by and ask Jeanelle about your favorite wine and food pairing. If we can get it for you, we will!
Ken Tsang
Resident Chef
A native of Hong Kong, Ken's love of food and the use of spice and simple ingredients began early, watching his parents prepare authentic Chinese cuisine and surrounded by international culinary influences.
His passion and curiosity ultimately took him to San Francisco to attend California Culinary Academy, a branch of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, graduating from the culinary program with top marks and completing an apprenticeship. His classically trained-techniques and knowledge of Chinese cuisine allow Chef Ken to create dishes using local and sustainable ingredients while adding creative Chinese influences.
As a private chef for individual clients as well as companies such as Google and Cirque du Soleil, Chef Ken has expanded his love of food to include cuisine from cultures such as Indian, American, Latin and South American and he takes great pride in changing people's perspective of ethnic food.
Ryan Lawson
Ryan Lawson is that rare person that began pursuing his career at a young age and performs it exceptionally well. As a native of Millbrae, where his parents still live, it was on a shopping trip to Pape's at the age of 14 Ryan that was offered a part-time job helping around the shop, and so Ryan's journey in the meat business began.
He moved to New York briefly a few years ago to work at El's, a high-end grocery purveyor in Manhattan, where he studied the fine art of dry aging beef. Ryan then returned to his native Millbrae and to Pape's, and is considered by the Pape's crew and customers to be THE expert in the process of dry aging.
An avid hiker and backpacker, if you don't see him at Pape's Ryan is likely camping in the mountains or deserts of California. His calm demeanor, sense of humor and excellent customer service are among the many reasons many people won't buy their meat anywhere else.
Perry DeLuca
advisor / investor
Perry has wine in his blood and was once described at a wine conference where he was a panelist as someone who started drinking hearty burgundy in his sippee cup (it happens to be true).
Perry's great grandmother Rosa Greco opened her own wine store in Sicily in the early 1900's. From the 1940s until the early 1970s his grandfather Frank Titone and Uncle Bruno Giardina owned and operated Wilkins Liquors on Clay and Presidio in Laurel Village San Francisco. Wilkins continues to operate under different ownership to this very day.
Much of his family has continued in the industry as his father John ran the California Wine Institute from 1975-2003, his sister Carla completed an award winning film documentary on Prohibition in 2005 and his brother in law currently works at Delicato Vineyards and winery.
Perry has worked as an advisor or lender to many of the major wine companies in California. He is a past Board Member at Sonoma State's wine business program, and is a current member of the public policy committee of the Wine Institute. He also is a Board Member for Trentadue Winery in Healdsburg.


text:
About the project
I had the great pleasure to work with the guys from Gamepax on this icon set, specially made for the game "Nova Craft".
Drawing item icons is one of the jobs I enjoy the most!
This icon set was made in collaboration with Velislav Ivanov (Nordik)
You can see more, regarding our process here:
Sergey Punchev & Velislav Ivanov (Nordik)
Follow PUNCHEV.com on
- Client Gamepax
- Date 07/14/2017
- Tags Iconography
- URL View Project


text:
Archive for March, 2012
ROMNEY'S STATION WAGON – CAMPAIGN 2012March 27, 2012
a son and father moment 4 years after the financial meltdownMarch 27, 2012
how to get rid of lingering mywebsearch blocking or hijacking search in your firefox browserMarch 27, 2012
I did not have the mywebsearch toolbar, nor one of its nefarious programs listed in my programs menu, and yet my google search from the firefox search engines toolbar (its always next to the navigation toolbar), was still being hijacked or blocked by mywebsearch.
I ran hijackthis, and discovered that access to a file was being blocked. That was the clue that solved this problem. If you see the same problem when you run hijackthis, and the file is "Hosts", then do this:
Go into C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc. You will see a file named hosts, and a backup file that is named hosts.xxxxx, (the x's being a bunch of numbers). Just rename the backup file "hosts" (not with quotes obviously), and remove the first hosts file. I didn't remove it as I was not sure if I was making a mistake, I just renamed the first host file "host.backup". But obviously it's not needed, it's the hijacked file, so you could probably just remove it. If you open "hosts" to see what's in it, use notepad, and you will see that bing and google are listed there instead of localhost, and they have been given false ip addresses by mywebsearch malware. Unfortunately, my windows 7 wouldn't just let me edit the Hosts file in notepad and save it. But, my renaming method works just as well. Unfortunately, mywebsearch is still hijacking the search page when I search from the navigation (address) bar. That was resolved with the next solution.
To stop the mywebsearch from hijacking search from the address bar, type config:about into firefox address bar. The cursor is automatically placed into page search, so just type mywebsearch. This will show you all the lines with mywebsearch in it (and maybe some others, ignore the ones that don't have mywebsearch). Change the line with a boolean choice to false. and the other 2 lines change to http:\\google.com.
mywebsearch will leave your firefox completely now, except for auto fill in the address bar. Clear the appropriate history from the tools bar, or clear everything if in doubt.


text:
Student Transfer Options
Annually Defined Transfers
- School choice options that are permitted under School Board Policy 5.30 which are designed to offer one year educational choice options for families in unique circumstances in an effort to provide educational consistency for students and families.
- Transportation is not generally provided for these options.
- Academic Year Completion transfer click here.
- Pending Move transfer click here.
- Rising 5th, 8th, or 12th Grade Student transfer click here.
- Sibling of Exceptional Education Student transfer click here.
Apply Online @ www.seminoleschoolchoicesapplication.us