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Admit it. As the battle over the future of healthcare divided our nation throughout the past few months, you remained squarely on the sideline. It's not that you didn't have an opinion on whether Obamacare should remain the law of the land or be replaced by one of two Republican offerings — the American Health Care Act or the Better Care Reconciliation Act — it's just that you felt, well…stupid.
There was so much to understand and keep up with, and when that one guy in your office would give an impassioned defense of the preexisting conditions clause or rail against Medicaid, you felt like perhaps you weren't quite informed enough to get involved.
Well, I've got news for you: that guy in your office? Total fraud. Nobody understands healthcare in this country. Not the people who receive it, not the people who provide it, and certainly not the lawmakers who determine its fate. Perhaps that last great bastion of journalism in this country — The Onion — put it best with this headline:
Man Who Understands 8% of Obamacare Vigorously Defends it from Man Who Understands 5%
Continue reading on Forbes.com
Authored by Tony Nitti, Withum Partner and writer for Forbes.com.


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The bright walls of La Puerta belie the disappointment. Its move to Broadway has not worked out. Instead, owner Tina Castro says, the last four years have been a slow fade — even as the food and drink scene on Capitol Hill has exploded to the point where CHS reports on a new bar or restaurant planning to open nearly every week. The story of Castro and La Puerta is not quite a counterpoint to the changes on Capitol Hill and the part of E Pike La Puerta called home for more than 20 years but it is a small but remarkable element in the amazing churn and transformations. There was a time when Quinn's did not exist let alone Poquitos.
It is prime time for happy hour on a recent weekday and the enthusiastically decorated Mexican restaurant has only a scattering of customers. Castro says this is a typical daily scene for her business which has been struggling to make ends meet. With what Castro says is poor visibility from the street view and an overall unstable customer base, especially with the rise of so many new Mexican restaurants in the area, Castro sadly reports that business as been tough over the past few years. In an attempt to keep the restaurant afloat, Castro said she has been forced to cut her kitchen and wait staff down to a minimum and sell many of her possessions including a house in her hometown of Guadalajara. Still unable to generate enough income to meet her monthly lease and utilities bill, Castro says she expects that La Puerta will soon be no more. Even so, she commutes daily to Capitol Hill from her home in Mukilteo to keep La Puerta open.
Castro first came to Seattle from Mexico in 1960 when she was 25 years old at the urging of a cousin who raved about life in the Pacific Northwest. Castro found a job working in the kitchen of the Acapulco restaurant in the Seattle Center where she met her future husband who was working as a busboy. She then went on to work several years each in the kitchens of Azteca and Guadalajara restaurants, learning English so that she could become a waitress. In the 1980s, her friend Rafael asked her to help out with his cafe on East Pike, which eventually became the site of the original La Puerta after the friend moved back to his native Colombia.
After enjoying more than 20 successful years on Pike, Castro said the change came suddenly in 2007. She said she was informed by the building owner that the property had been sold and had two months to move. The old-school Mexican restaurant found itself without a home. Quinn's, one of the harbingers of the explosion in the bar and restaurant scene on the Hill, had moved in, overhauled and wiped away a restaurant seemingly unprepared for the changes the street was about to undergo.
Castro's search for a new space brought her to the Broadway Market. Despite rent being double what she had been paying, Castro decided to move in after being convinced that her customers would follow her to the new location and that she would benefit from the shopping mall's draw.
Five years later, Castro finds herself struggling to make rent payments. She gazes around the second floor space and ponders fifty years in the restaurant business in Seattle. At seventy five years of age and struggling with hearing loss, she doubts she'll continue to work in restaurants after La Puerta, but smiles at the prospect of spending more time with her five sisters, children, and grandchildren, all of whom live near her home in Mukilteo.
In the meantime, the Broadway Market's developers have taken on new financial backers and are making preparations for a multi-million dollar overhaul of the shopping center. La Puerta still has a home. But, yet again, change it might not be able to keep up with has come.

subset: commoncrawl


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$0.435 \frac{m}{s^{2}}$ in the upward direction.
Work Step by Step
Apply Newton's second law to the elevator. Choose up to be the positive direction. $$\Sigma F=F_t – mg = ma$$ $$a = \frac{ F_t-mg}{m} =\frac{21750 N-(2125 kg)(9.80 \frac{m}{s^{2}})}{2125 kg} \approx 0.435 \frac{m}{s^{2}}$$ The answer is rounded to 3 significant figures. The positive sign confirms that the acceleration is upward.


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For porn addiction, hypnosis can be remarkably effective, releasing you from the compulsion gently and quickly.
Is your porn addiction risking your relationships with real people?
Dulling your senses, leaving you feeling empty and worthless, porn isn't the release it promises to be.
It unbalances your attitude to sex, wastes your time and money, and then there's the self loathing that comes afterwards.
And like many compulsive behaviors, porn addiction is usually a secret addiction, spoiling trust in relationships.
Reset your natural sexual needs
The Overcome Porn Addiction hypnosis session allows you to break the negative addiction trance and be free to enjoy a healthier relationship with sexual imagery.
All you need to do is pop on your headphones at your computer, or plug into your CD or mp3 player. You will listen to a short introduction designed to shift your thinking about addiction, and then experience a skilfully crafted hypnosis session that will break your addiction at a deep and powerful level.
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Our talent door is always open for recruiting junior athletes ages 12-19. Apply any time throughout the year.Register Now
Our athletes have come from many different sporting backgrounds. Now, with the flexibility with our part time option for youth athletes, we allow you to sample triathlon while still attending club & school programs in a schedule that fits the stage in your sporting development.
Full Time athletes may attend all practices put on by the Academy for their squad.
Part Time athletes are restricted to attending a maximum of four ETA coached sessions per week.
Weekday swims take place 6:00am – 7:30am. Join the Team Snap for full schedule details.
6:00am – 7:30am
6:00am – 7:30am
6:00am – 7:30am
6:00am – 7:30am
6:00am – 7:30am
9:00am – 10:30am
5:15pm – 6:30pm
7:30pm – 9:30pm
5:15pm – 6:30pm
5:15pm – 6:30pm
|Bike5:15pm – 6:45pm
11:00am – 12:00pm
We train at a variety of locations throughout Edmonton.
Description: This large park provides a perfect area to practice group riding in the city, while avoiding any major traffic.
This is also the base for many long runs, interval sessions, and brick workouts.
Meeting point: The North side of Hawrelak park in the first parking lot on your left.
Description: Weekday morning swim practices from 6am to 7:30am. Meeting point: The main pool hall.
Description: Outdoor cycling in a criterium environment. Athletes take to this 1.5km loop and focus on pack riding.
Away from any major traffic, this area is the perfect fit for continuous loops, while the coach
can watch all groups from the sidelines.
Meeting point: The South side of the research park.
South Research Park
Description: The team gathers on the north side of the track for some hard cycle and run brick sessions. Indoor cycling is a staple here during the winter.
Meeting point: The North side of the indoor track.
Description: The Alberta Legislature provides a great 1km loop, and steep hill practice up from the river valley.
Meeting point: The South parking lot, along Fortway Drive.
Description: Peter Hemingway pool provides a 50m lap pool. Sunday practices after cycling take place from 11am-12pm.
Meeting point: Main Pool Deck
Description: Confederation Park Track (behind Louis St. Laurent Jr and Senior High School).
Meeting point: Behind School on Track
Description: Alfred H Savage Centre provides easy access to running and cycling trails.
Meeting point: Outside main building
Squads are groups of athletes gathered by age. All squads are based on athlete age as of Dec 31 of the current year. The Tri Skills Squad, or Youth Squad is based on athletes ages 12-15.The Talent Development Squad is made up of Juniors aged 16-19. The Under 23 (U23) Squad is made up of athletes 20-23 and train with the juniors or seniors dependant on individual ability. All athletes 23+ are considered seniors.
One post-dated cheque for $400.00, which is security to work the ETA Casino (this cheque will not be cashed if athlete and/orparent provide a volunteer to work the Casino which takes place approximately every 18 months).
|13-15 Tri Skills – Part Time
|13-15 Tri Skills – Full Time
|16 – 19 Talent Development
|Athletes 20 +
|Post Secondary Athletes
We believe in an athlete centred coach driven model. Many of our youth & juniors have come from various sports or are still currently involved in another sport while in training with the ETA. We offer part time fees for our Tri Skills Squad, and a flexible youth & junior development coaching program for those athletes who wish to stay with their current club and sample triathlon as a possible new sport. We do this as you don't have to specialize so early in triathlon at the youth ages and Kevin prefers to get your run training from a combination of unstructured games or ball sports as well as structured run programming.
Many enquiries we have come from programs requiring 10-12 session per week commitments and wrongly assume the ETA will be the same. We will meet and discuss with any new parent a best practice model for the athlete that is fun, possible and sustainable for a child.
Athletes at this level are either graduating from the junior program or can compete competitively at a regional or national level in triathlon or in one of the three disciplines and can enhance the daily performance environment at the ETA.


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Why and How to Offer Gift CardsGift cards were the most requested gift last holiday shopping season. Get on board with these four how-to tips.
Gift cards are ubiquitous at grocery stores and big retailers, but some small businesses have been hesitant to offer any kind of pre-paid certificate program because of fears they'll be too costly or confusing.
But the numbers speak for themselves: Gift cards were the most requested gift of the 2015 holiday shopping season for the ninth straight year according to a National Retail Federation survey. Consumers spent an average of $47.87 per card according to the most recent NRF data available, and the NRF predicts gift card spending will continue to grow.
"Every business, including the smallest of small businesses, should offer gift cards," said Jennifer Martin, a small business coach and consultant who owns Zest Business Consulting. "It gives your biggest fans an opportunity to buy a gift for someone they love, and you're getting a guaranteed purchase of a certain amount from someone who hasn't been a client before."
They can also boost profits. Most gift card recipients — 65 percent according to research firm CEB Global — tend to spend more than the face value of their gift card.
Many consumers also shop differently with gift cards. "They're using gift cards for splurge items. They're spending on things they might not normally spend on," said Martin.
Other advantages to offering gift cards include marketing and customer research. Asking customers to provide an email address to register their gift card is a good way to grow your email list. The customer wins because by registering the card they can get a replacement if it's lost. "There's a higher level of service by offering a gift card," Martin said.
Your POS system may let you track how much money is being spent in gift cards, what people are buying with them, how much they are overspending gift cards by and other metrics that can be helpful in understanding your customers and what they want.
Choose plastic vs. paper
If you decide to venture forth, you'll need to decide whether to offer gift certificates (usually printed on paper and filled out at the register) or gift cards (swiped at the register for a designated or pre-paid amount).
Paper certificates are the cheapest option, but Martin said in this day and age, cards are worth the extra cost. With tools like Photoshop, paper certificates can be reproduced.
People also tend to think gift certificates can be used only once, even if that's not the case, because they're not swipeable, according to Martin. Consumers under age 45 prefer cards.
Gift cards, when synced with your POS system, are also easier to use, and customers don't feel pressure to spend the cards all at once if they don't want to. The cards can be branded with your store's logo so clients have a tiny billboard for your business in their wallets.
Research gift card providers
Shop around when choosing a gift card provider, Martin advised. Most business owners get their cards either through their credit card processor or a third-party gift card vendor. There are pros and cons to both.
For example, your credit card processor or merchant bank may not charge for the gift cards, but you might be very limited on customizing the design. Third-party merchants might have more design flexibility but not be able to integrate with your POS system.
"Do you homework because if you have a cash register connected to software, you want to make sure your software plays nicely with a card," Martin said. "Don't buy from the first company out there."
Martin also advised that if your business will add any caveats around redeeming gift cards, you need to write them down. If you don't want the cards to be redeemed for cash or used to buy more gift cards, list those policies on the back of the card or certificate. If gift cards need to be used all at once, make that clear as well.
Promote your cards
When you're ready to launch a gift card program, the first thing to do is educate your staff. Teach employees how to process and redeem the cards, including registering customers by email address and gift card number in your POS. Explain whether they should throw away old cards or keep them for reuse.
Then get the word out to customers. At a minimum, Martin said, all of your cash registers should have small signs that advertise the cards. Or add small racks to hold cards for customers to grab.
"Display them where customers are paying for things" to inspire impulse buys, Martin said.
Promote your gift cards on social media and through email all year long. Tout them not only during the December shopping season but as options for graduations, Mother's Day, Father's days and other holidays.
Incentivize gift card purchases
If feasible, give customers who buy a certain number of gift cards their own $5 or $10 gift card for free as a buy one, get one. Or reach out to your big spenders about using your gift cards for corporate gifts in exchange for discounts.
For example, if you're a restaurant that regularly caters for a corporation, let them know you offer gift cards and would give them a discount on their orders if they bought gift cards for clients and employees.
Even if you're a very small business, you can get creative to make gift cards a successful part of your business. "Don't think you're too small to have gift cards," Martin said.


text: The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon Strong's Number: 2518 Browse Lexicon Original WordWord Originkaqeudofrom (2596) and heudo (to sleep)Transliterated WordTDNT EntryKatheudo3:431,384Phonetic SpellingParts of Speechkath-yoo'-do Verb Definition to fall asleep, drop off to sleep to sleep to sleep normally euphemistically, to be dead metaph. to yield to sloth and sin to be indifferent to one's salvation NAS Word Usage - Total: 23asleep 8, do their sleeping 1, goes to bed 1, sleep 3, sleep do 1, sleeper 1, sleeping 8 NAS Verse Count Matthew7Mark7Luke2Ephesians11 Thessalonians3Total20Greek lexicon based on Thayer's and Smith's Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the "Theological Dictionary of the New Testament." These files are public domain.Bibliography InformationThayer and Smith. "Greek Lexicon entry for Katheudo". "The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon". . 1999.


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Lord Venkateswara is also known as Śrīnivāsa, Bālājī, Veṅkaṭā,Venkata Ramana and Veṅkaṭācalapati, Govindha is a form of the Hindu god Vishnu.
According to Hindu scriptures, God Vishnu out of love towards his devotees came down to earth as Venkateswara and appeared for the salvation and upliftment of humanity in this Kali Yuga age. It is considered the supreme form of Vishnu in this age. The Venkateswara swami temple is also called Kaliyuga Vaikuntam.
Venkateswara's most prominent temple is the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple located in Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh in Southern India.
Venkateswara literally means "Lord of Venkata". The word is a combination of the words Venkata (the name of a hill in Andhra Pradesh) and isvara ("Lord").
The temple town of Tirupati is situated at the foot of Tirumala hills in the Chandragiri Taluka of the Chittor district in Andhra Pradesh. The sacred spot on the hill about 2,800 feet above sea level is known as Tirumala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara. The hill forms part of the Eastern Ghats and is also known as Venkatachala and Seshachala.
So for all the devotees of Lord Venkateswara Today here we will share Venkateswara images, lord Venkateswara photos and wallpapers for free download.
Top [25]+ Lord Venkateswara HD Images
Every year, lakhs of devotees donate a large amount of wealth at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Goddess Lakshmi, also referred as Sri, once had a fight with Lord Vishnu and left Vaikunta. She came and settled on earth in disguise. Lord Vishnu soon arrived on earth searching for Goddess Lakshmi. But He failed to find her and instead settled on Tirumala hills in the form of a forest gatherer and continued the search. During the search, Lord Vishnu met a beautiful girl named Padmavati who was the daughter of the King of the seven hills in Tirumala. They both fell in love and decided to get married.
According to the Brahmanda and Bhavishyottara Puranas, the word "Venkata" means "destroyer of sins", deriving from the Sanskrit words vem (sins) and kata (power of immunity).


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The Smart Weigh SBS500 Body Fat Digital Precision Scale is a very sleek and nice looking scale. If you are someone who likes or has the need to calculate such things as body fat, body water, muscle mass and bone mass, aside from your weight, then you might appreciate what this scale has to offer.
The scale is simple to set up and use. There is the capacity to be able to store personal information up to 8 users. This does take a few minutes to set up for a single person, but it only has to be done once per individual. Once a registered user steps on the scale, it will automatically pull up the information for the person whose weight closest matches the current weight. If there is more than one person within a 6.6 pound range, then you will have to choose the correct user. If you are someone who does not want your information known and your weight is close to someone else in the house, this could be problematic.
While the style is very appealing and modern looking with the sleek black and stainless steel design, I do have one issue with the metal part, it is very cold to step on. I pretty much have to brace myself each morning before stepping on the scale as I know it will be chilly on my feet. The digital numbers are easy to read and well defined which is nice.
For myself and my husband, the additional information of body fat, body water, muscle mass, bone mass, side from weight was interesting the first couple of times. After that, honestly, it would take so long to go through the cycle three times that we would never stay on long enough for that to happen. We would just weight ourselves and then step off of the scale. If you are someone who would appreciate that information, then this might be a useful feature. It is just too bad it cannot cycle three times at a quicker rate.
As far as the scale's accuracy. For the most part it seemed rather consistent. But, we did notice that there would be fluctuations with our weight on the scale when there should not have been. As in, stepping off and then back up a couple of minutes later, our calculated weight would be different. It would not be a dramatic difference, but enough were we would be left wondering about our actual weight.
Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Weigh-Precision-Tempered-Recognition/dp/B00M8FXDIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416842854&sr=8-1&keywords=sbs500
I received this product in exchange for my honest opinion based upon my personal experiences.


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Welcome to Ernest Cookson School
"Ernest Cookson is an outstanding school." (Ofsted, Oct 2014)
"The most significant feature of the school is the way that staff work to overcome the reluctance of pupils to join in with lessons and behave as they should with others in a classroom. Inevitably, it takes some time to achieve this but pupils report that they very much value the efforts of the staff. When asked what is the best thing about the school pupils invariably replied 'The teachers!'"
................. (Ofsted, Oct 2014)


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In this video we'll help you set your business up in Timely. It just takes a few minutes on your laptop or desktop computer.
An important thing to remember about your Timely trial: the more stuff you do with it, the faster you'll learn.
So, go ahead and put in lots of details when you're filling out your business info! It'll make your trial way more fun.
Other things to remember:
So, go have a play!
The Calendar is where your bookings live, so that's where you'll spend (and save!) a lot of your time. It's easy to add, move, or cancel appointments, and see what's coming up.
This is probably what you'll be doing most often, so we made it really simple.
Just click on the Calendar, type in the client's name, select the service they're coming in for, and click save.
You can also check out your client's info from the Calendar. If it's a returning client, just click their name and you'll see their profile.
This is where you'll find:
No more relying on your (probably overworked) brain to remember everything about all your clients.
Now that you've worked your magic in the appointment, it's time for the money.
Invoicing your clients is quick and easy with Timely. Sell products, apply payments and run reports on your financials with a few clicks.
How much time do you spend on the phone, trying to find appointment slots for your clients? What could you be doing if you had that time back?
Make things easier for you and your clients.
Your clients can check your available appointment slots and book in with you at their leisure. And you can stop worrying about catching the phone before it stops ringing.
Online booking requests will automatically update your calendar. All you have to do is log in and check it.
If you'd like, set your online bookings to pencilled-in. This lets you confirm or deny each booking request. Perfect for those of us who like to sweat the details!
Step away from the admin. Automated client reminders, simple staff rostering, and accurate business reporting frees you to do more of what you love.
With client reminders, no-shows become a worry of the past. Stop spending time texting, calling and emailing clients, and stop stressing about whether they'll remember to show up. Timely's got it covered.
Set and forget reminders mean that your clients will get an SMS or email before their appointment that's personalised to sound like you. Friendly and effective!
Multiple staff members? Loads of different services? More than one location? No problem.
Timely makes it easy to roster your staff, check what each one has coming up, coordinate break times, and see how much each one is getting booked out.
Plus, you can adjust their access to your Timely account, so they're only seeing what you want them to see.
Get friendly with the numbers — without having to pull out your calculator.
Timely's thorough reports can tell you what you want to know about how your business is doing:
And loads more! Just check out the reports section to see what you can learn.
It's all at your fingertips, stored safely in the cloud.
Give us a call on Australia +61 3 8518 4957, or New Zealand +64 4 488 7012
Fill out this form and we'll be in touch. We'll help you get your Timely account set up, and have you up and running in no time.
We'll be in touch to confirm your purchase.
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Give us a call on Australia +61 3 8518 4957, or New Zealand +64 4 488 7012
Fill out this form and we'll be in touch. We'll chat to you about your business, answer any questions, and show you how Timely can help with the things that matter most to you.
Our demos take around 15 minutes.
There's no obligation. We're here to help.
We'll be in touch to confirm a time for your demo.
Give us a call on Australia +61 3 8518 4957, or New Zealand +64 4 488 7012
To book a call fill out this form and we'll be in touch. We'll chat to you about your business, answer any questions, and show you how Timely can help with the things that matter most to you.
We'll be in touch to confirm a time for your call. Why not start a free trial and we can chat about how you're finding it when we speak?
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Blog Archives
If This Goes On: Healthcare "Reform"
This is where things could go if they go very, very wrong for the American people — not quite the wrongest. The worst case, as usual, is
And, as a Cold War kid, that image and possible end is always with me. Yep, we could end up eating squirrels and burying half our kids before they turn five, just like the old days. Traveling in nomadic packs. Living the Mad Max life until the gasoline runs out, then just running around in silly overdone armor hammered out of crap dug out of junkyards because it's a lot easier than trying to find iron ore and making new stuff now that civilization has dug up all the easy to find metal deposits.
(deep breath)
BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT, I said to myself.
I'm talking about, what if this health care
reform deform sets a trend? This massive wealth distribution to the already very wealthy that slashes Medicaid to the bone and reinstalls lifetime and yearly coverage caps for care and calls for pre-existing condition rate hikes that will price cancer survivors and people with genetic conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia and, you know, old people right out of coverage altogether?
What if this "American Health Care Act (AHCA) is just the beginning? (By the way, GOP? I know you're all on this "learning and education and expertise are bad" jag, but in American English "healthcare" is commonly ONE FREAKIN WORD SERIOUSLY YOU'RE THE ONES TELLING EVERYONE TO SPEAK ENGLISH? Learn to speak and write English, but not too well or everyone will think you're one of those EVIL EDUCATED SMART PEOPLE AIEE OH GOD RUN BEFORE IT INFECTS YOU WITH LEARNING.)
But I digress. Again. Unfortunately I'm really good at that.
What if this AHCA passes, and sets a trend, and things just keep going that "if you wanted to be healthy you'd have had sense enough to pick wealthy parents" way for a few decades? How bad could it get?
Let's imagine. Because that's my business.
But let's not imagine this healthcare deform will be alone. No, it will come with other things that are developing in our society. Let's look.
So. Boom. It passes. Very wealthy people enjoy the windfall of anywhere from six hundred billion to a trillion dollars collectively. Sockaroonie, right into the hands of people who make more than a quarter million a year, but mostly into the hands of people who make a million or more a year. And more for billionaires than for you paltry millionaires.
They squirrel a bunch of it away into accounts in the Caymans and elsewhere (I hear Russia is enjoying a vogue in certain bad-hair-tiny-handed circles for some reason).
They open some new factories in China because First Lady Ivanka (is it Co-First Lady? First Lady of Daddy's Heart? It's so hard to keep track) has some there and she says it's a great place to do business, not like that annoying USA where she'd rather drop dead than have a product made. And elsewhere, wherever the labor is cheap.
They invest some at home, though, too. Building some factories, but soon enough robots can build them, not people. So, mostly buying robots from overseas. But when they build a steel mill or an automobile factory or a social media farm to send out #MAGA tweets or whatever in the USA, rest assured they'll need dozens of people to run a really enormous factory. Mostly fixing robots and tweaking their programs. It might take a little while to get the robot fixing robots on line, like an extra generation.
The robots aren't quite there yet, in many professions. But we're getting there fast.
When the people who are babies now go out to find jobs — and there may not be quite as many of them as we thought, the AHCA and its successors may well redistribute more wealth upward with bigger and better cuts and outright elimination of things like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, EBT/Food Stamps, and so forth, which means higher infant mortality and more kids who die before adulthood — they may find robots doing them.
And not just the poor kids. The less poor kids, the scions of the dying middle class and the bottom of the upper class, the ones making only a paltry quarter million a year, may find their jobs being done by robots as well. It's easy to imagine robots digging ditches and selling fries, but they can also order supplies and pay bills and manage expenses and plan advertising campaigns and handle routine legal cases and do surgery and repair cars and dispense prescribed medications.
They're close to that today. In a generation they'll be able to do it. Once robots are popular enough, the economy of scale kicks in as it is right now with solar and wind power, and prices drop precipitously, and then everyone will want robot workers and nobody will want humans with their messy bathroom breaks and headaches and needing to attend funerals and weddings and wanting retirement funds and asking for raises because the kid needs braces.
So not only will the money be for the top 1%, but the jobs and the healthcare will be for the top 1%. If you're really lucky. Maybe all those things will be for the top .1%.
And everyone else?
Well, the ones with the money and the jobs and the healthcare will have to figure out what to do with you.
Maybe human servants will come into vogue and we can all get jobs serving the very rich for room and board and maybe some basic medical care. But probably not for cancer or disability or chronic illness. Servants are cheap. When one goes bad, you throw it away and get another one.
Because now life is cheap, and all the gains of society are routed into the pockets of the megawealthy, and all the cool stuff the robots make goes to them as well.
And if you don't like it? Robots can make more than cool stuff. They can make war as well. Without risking any precious rich skin. Even the military, traditional route out of poverty, can be handled by robots and very, very few humans indeed.
There are a few million more people who can do without healthcare — or at least, who will have to, to free up some more money to give away to the already very wealthy.
Remember, this is a worst case imagining. Things might turn out better than this. But for that to happen, we're going to have to fight for it. Hopefully figuratively, with words and protests and votes and candidates who can imagine a better purpose for our society than slashing healthcare for half of the nation in order to put a trillion dollars into the pockets of billionaires.
Posted in Current Events, Politics, All That Jazz, If This Goes On, Rant, Science Fiction, Technology, Writing
Tags: ACA, AHCA, Anti-Intellectualism, Automated Law Enforcement, Automated War, Automation, Child mortality, Class warfare, Cold War, Donald Trump, Early death, Factories, Future, Futurism, Generation X, Genetic disease, Health insurance, Healthcare reform, Infant mortality, Ivanka Trump, MAGA, Middle Class, Millennials, Nuclear War, Politics, Poor, Poverty, Reverse Robin Hood, Rich, Robotics, Robots, Russia, Servants, Social media, Socialism for the rich, Society, Tax cut, The 1%, The 99%, Wealth, Wealth redistribution
Which Science Fiction or Fantasy Villain is Donald Trump?
The choices, of course, are endless. Choosing might be a bit tough. For example, Lex Luthor is a tempting choice – billionaire, elected President, has an adversary he can't stop obsessing over and who some hold up as a hero figure and others regard with suspicion (calm down, Hillary – you're no Superman), has his own vision of how to use the power of the United States to fulfill his own goals – and yet, can you really compare Trump's intellect and planning ability to Luthor's? I would argue NO FREAKIN WAY, OBVIOUSLY.
You might even stretch the definition of villain a bit. I mean, you could certainly call Trump a Salacious Crumb.
The name fits. Perhaps not the role, but ol' Salacious fits my purpose here, which is to make a clumsy transition to my own choice.
I have a reason to make this choice here: I'm removing the most glaringly obvious one so you have to come up with something different. Ha-ha!
Donald Trump is… *DRUM ROLL*
They're both filthy rich, emphasis on the filthy. They're both ALLEGEDLY WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE in bed with organized crime. They're both misogynistic – just look at that getup he stuck Princess Leia in so everyone could gawk at what a "young and beautiful piece of ass" he had.
They've both got their slimy tentacles deep into the levers of power and are happy to use them to enrich themselves.
And they're both gluttonous pigs. Whether the feast is food, power, wealth, or flattery.
If you have your own ideas about which villain Donald Trump is, kindly leave a comment and I'll be happy to discuss Donny's villainy with you. 🙂
Posted in Current Events, Politics, All That Jazz, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Silly
Tags: ALLEGEDLY, Billionaire, Donald Trump, Greed, Heroes, Hillary Clinton, Jabba the Hutt, Lex Luthor, Misogyny, Mob ties, Organized Crime, Pig, Politicians, Politics, POTUS, President of the United States, Princess Leia, Rich, Salacious Crumb, Star Wars, Superman, Trump-Russia, Villains, Vladimir Putin, Wealth
Flash Fiction: Under Ashes
"Anything worth a damn is made on a coast and ships from a coast. By air or sea."
That's what the president said. At least, it's what was reported on the shadow web that snakes through the makeshift network of "smart" stoves and washing machines and automobiles (if you can afford them!) and can openers and athletic shoes and disposable razors and anything else with WiFi and an app.
The authorized news, on the other hand, ran a piece on how the economy was so gloriously rampant and virile that airlines have formally discontinued coach and business class seating, leaving nothing but a spacious expanse of first class and super luxury class seating in their cavernous airliners.
The anchorbot's perfect on-air voice floated like a cloud behind the image of an iron-haired general, her chest a solid plastron of stars and ribbons like a compacted galaxy. Her feet were up on an ottoman and a masseusebot worked the suspension bridge of corded tendons in her neck with eight-fingered silicone hands.
Then, as the anchorbot droned a lulling narrative bridge, a puffy gilded teen cherub sat with a megaplatinum record from Motherland Records on a hefty wood base with a tall glass cover occupying a seat of it own beside her. A stewbot cracked the claws of a four pound lobster with deft blurs of a little brass gavel and slid the laden tray before the starlet who tucked into the chow with a flood of melted butter.
Finally, the anchorbot burbling upbeat and drawing to a conclusion, the vid showed a man in an immaculate dark suit and bright tie. The men are always first or last, symbolic frames of the stream of words and images, carrying with them weight and importance, tangibility. The lights and vids of an array of three monitors suspended from the ceiling (the "overhead" on an airplane, is it called?) flickered gem-reflections off the heavy steel rims of harsh six-angled eyeglasses. His hair was a blond cap, waxed down like a helmet. Sideburns trimmed to stilettos stabbed the angles of his jaw in the new style I can't get used to. A trackball in each hand, he Does Important Things for the cameras.
The images fade to the state news logo and the anchorbot climaxes and relaxes into a commercial.
We all have televisions so we can see how good things are. We may not have hot water, or even running water. We only have electricity part-time. I can't afford the simplest drugs to treat my pre-diabetes or even aspirin for my arthritis half the time. I set snares for squirrels or I'd have nothing to go with the endless lumps of hard bread (gotta soak it in a bowl of water to eat it) and cheese the Army hands out to keep us from starving or rioting or both.
But the state provides televisions. A new one every Christmas, even if you forget to bring them the old one to trade in.
We're doing great, dammit. We're finally great again. The television tells us so. All the biggest world powers respect us they way they should, the announcerbots say.
Just outside the city line – I can see it from the kitchen table in this two room shack I'm blessed to share with just two other bachelors – a bot crew and one Christ of a huge fanged combine-thing, driverless and nameless, chews up the old interstate highway and loads the bits into an endless stream of self-driving dumptrucks that take the blacktop south to do God knows what with it. Thin dribs and drabs of snow float through the scene like in a snow globe, and icicles hang from the noses of the workbots. They don't care, of course.
I hear blacktop is made from oil. Maybe they're squeezing the oil back out of it to ship to India or China or Brazil. Those places are hungry for oil and any other resources they can get their hands on, the shadow web whispers from the WiFi toilet when I crap. Who knows if it's true. The television doesn't say a word about that.
But the stock market is up again, and the Air Force says Fallujah will fall again soon.
There's going to be a celebration when it falls, next month in DC. The commercial for it is on again. It has been playing twice an hour since spring.
The commercial ends and my gaze falls on the faded cap hanging on its nail across from the window. The cap is gray now, like my hair before it fell out, but you can still see the crimson fire peek out of the deep folds of the seams like ember under ashes.
I wish I could be in DC for the celebration. To wear the cap again, pump my fist in the air and holler again. Full of power, strong like a bear. Those were the days.
But the highway has gone away, and I'm not much for walking anymore. Nobody I know is.
(This post first appeared on my Patreon page, 02 January 2017. My patrons get to see a lot of things early, and can get free ebooks and even paperbacks! Come help me get the hell out of this damned trailer park and into a place where I can have even a small writing office and maybe even write ALL THE TIME. Well, almost all the time. I do have kids and a wife and a cat to think of as well.)
Posted in Current Events, Politics, All That Jazz, Elder, Microfiction and Flash Fiction, Old Age, Patreon, Science Fiction, Technology, Things I've Written, Uncategorized, Writing
Tags: 1%, Autonomous vehicle, Brazil, Censorship, China, Class warfare, Commerce, Dark web, Donald Trump, Elites, Endless war, Globalism, India, Infrastructure, Internet of Things, Isolationism, MAGA, Make America Great Again, Medicaid, Medicare, Near Future, Oil, Old Age, Patriot, Patriotism, Political rally, Poor, Poverty, President Trump, Propaganda, Red Cap, Rich, Robot servant, Robots, Self-driving car, Shadow web, Smart device, Social Security, State news agency, Television, Trade, Underground news, United States, USA, wifi


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Award-Winning Cemetery Tours
We are pleased to offer award-winning public and private guided tours at historical Crown Hill Cemetery.
Private Tours
We offer award-winning private group tours year-round, any day of the week (as long as a tour guide is available). With a few exceptions, all private tours are walking tours and last approximately 90 minutes. Most private tours include a trip to the top of the Crown, Marion County's highest hill, which offers a spectacular panoramic view of the Indianapolis skyline.Driving tours, bicycle tours, and small bus or van tours are allowed if you can provide your own transportation. Contact us for more details.
Private Group rates are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors (55+) and $3 for students and 18 and under, with a $50 minimum per tour. While we can sometime accommodate last-minute tours, tours generally must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.
Public Tours
We typically hold public tours from June through early October on the second, third and forth weekends of the month. During our Saturday evening tours, visitors can admire the sunset from the Crown, Marion County's highest hill, which offers a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of the city's skyline.
For approaching tour dates and times, please see the Upcoming Events on our homepage. Reservations are not required for public tours.
An Array of Exciting Tour Themes
We offer a wide variety of tour themes at Crown Hill Cemetery.
Our most popular tour, the Heritage Tour, presents the history of Crown Hill Cemetery. Appropriate for all ages, this 1.5–hour walking tour allows guests to visit the graves of some of the many interesting people buried in our cemetery. The Heritage Tour includes a variety of monuments and our most recognized statues, as well as the magnificent view of the Indianapolis skyline from James Whitcomb Riley's tomb high atop beautiful Crown Hill.
We also offer many other exciting tours, including:
- Actors, Artists, Architects & Musicians
- Civil War Personalities
- African Americans
- Authors
- Dillinger & Other Notables
- Heroes of Crown Hill
- Photographer's Tour
- Skeletons in the Closet
- Veterans
- Women of Crown Hill
- Many, many more!
For our full list of tour themes and more information, call (317) 920-2644.


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So I decided to change things up a bit. I found that while I love anything and everything to do with fashion/beauty. I was struggling to make decent posts about them. SO from now on I'm just going to post about whatever I want. It is after my blog so it's my prerogative. :) So on to the ramblings of me....
I got a job in a salon!! Finally I'll be able to do one thing that I love. Next up...taking night classes to obtain my license in massage therapy. I plan on opening my own full service spa one day so this is my way of being diverse in all things spa related.
Tips To Travel Light (And Have A Great Vacation)
4 months ago


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First up, Cardamom Rice Pudding from an issue of Vegetarian Times. I love rice pudding, but I didn't love this one. Maybe it was all of the almonds plus dried cranberries and strong cardamom flavour, but this was a little much. I'll stick to my usual recipe.
I had some baby cereal that tasted way too iron-fortified for Ash to like, so I used it up in my banana muffins recipe! I tossed some in with some oats and added a little extra soymilk. They were my best muffins ever!
Mystery salad alert! I have NO idea what this was, but I think it was from a recent VT issue. I don't think I'll make it again, whatever it was, probably because I wouldn't even know what issue to look in!
Now for all the good stuff - delicious Vegan Lasagna from the latest VT. A little bit of effort, but pretty fast. Instead of cooking onions and garlic separately for each of the Speedy Red Sauce and Spinach Filling, I cooked them together and split them up. Cut down on alot of the time. I have to say that this recipe did confirm that I really don't like vegan cheese. I never liked regular cheese, so I'm not sure why I thought I'd like soy cheese, but I gave it another shot with this recipe and will omit it in the future.
Triple Nut Torte from a holiday issue of VT. Very easy, and super good! Instead of using a double boiler for melting the chocolate, I just stuck chocolate chips in a bowl and put the bowl on the hot cookie sheet (used to toast the nuts). Melted like a charm! Why don't the authors put these tips in? I'm sure it's not just new moms that don't need extra effort nor to wash extra dishes!
Finally, the most delicious Pan Pizza ever. I used the crust recipe from the most recent VT, but filled it with Isa Pizza toppings instead. Way better than the Hut, even for obvious reasons that it isn't laden with pepperoni! I can't wait to make this again. I'm going to try a pile of different mushrooms and onions. I'm so glad that I have a cast iron pan just for this recipe alone!


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Alex Atala's Heart of palm "fettuccine" with coral and glazed shrimp
Photo: Cassio Vasconcelos
Photo: Cassio Vasconcelos
Much has been said and written about Wallpaper's Brazil edition, which came out in May and was chock-full of information. To read more about it, click here.
But I'm guessing much of the material the team collected did not make it into the printed edition.... They've made available on their site, for example, three recipes by celeb-chef Alex Atala of D.O.M. restaurant.
For those interested, here's the link.


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Jo Bertini: Frontiers - Art Collector
|Jo Bertini, Sturt's Rose, 2013. Oil on canvas, 102 x 102cm. Courtesy: the artist and Mars Gallery, Melbourne
|Bertini's works have been hailed as x-ray naturalisms that show an embodied knowledge of landscape that show dyad perspectival views of beneath and above simultaneously. The paintings in this exhibition are about frontiers and the ideologies of frontier place and person from a female perspective. They thus offer an alternative vision to the predominately male orientated archived knowledge regarding the Australian desert and exploration.
|Exhibition opens: 6pm Thursday 7 November 2013
|Exhibition closes: 8 December 2013
|Location: Mars Gallery, 418 Bay Street, Port Melbourne VIC 3207
|Contact: 03 9681 8425
|Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Dr. Anne Marie Evers Show
DATE: Saturday, November 23rd, 2013
TIME: 12 Noon-1p.m. Pacific Standard Time
PLACE: www.contracttalkradio.com
SPECIAL GUEST The 'one and only' Dr. Bernie Siegel
We will be taking your calls and this is your chance to speak personally to Dr. Bernie. Toll Free Number to call is 1-877-230-3062. He will be speaking about his new book, The Art of Healing ... Uncovering Your Inner Wisdom and Potential for Self-Healing and more.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, MD, retired from general and pediatric surgical practice in 1989 and has since dedicated himself to humanizing the medical establishment approach to patients and empowering patients to induce their own healing. He is a sought-after speaker on patient and care-giver issues and lives in Woodbridge, Connecticut www.BernieSiegelmd.com
See you there!


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- Write antonyms for... (ex. wet-dry)
- synonyms for... (ex. difficult-hard, heavy, tough)
- homophone for... (ex. sun-son)
- Write another word that could belong in this group... (ex. road, lane, avenue, ______)
- Write a declarative sentence.
- exclamatory
- interrogative
- command
- What is the root word for.... (ex. totally)
- What is the prefix for ... (ex. reestablished)
- What is the suffix for... (unemployed)
- Write a list of compound words.
- Fact or Opinion (ex. Drinking alcohol can be a cause for a car accident.) (ex. The drinking age should be raised.)
- Fact or Fantasy (ex. an octopus can change color to match its surroundings.) (ex. Suddenly the red carpet flies off into the sky.)
- Simile or Not Simile (ex. Riding a bike without a helmet is like diving into an empty pool.) (ex. Do not play along the train tracks.)
- Simile or Metaphor (ex.The judge's robe was black as ink.) (ex. The car jetted out of the parking lot.}
- Analogies (ex. traffic cone: orange as ___________ : red)
- Cause and Effect (ex. Otis had a wreck because he was eating a hot fudge sundae while driving. What is the cause and what is the effect?)
I hope you will experiment with some of these Do-Nows. I will add more Do Nows in my next blog, on March 10th. I will not have internet access until then. Sorry. Take this time to look through past blogs for more strategies to experiment. Or better yet, buy my book on Amazon.com. (I had to get a plug-in.)
In the meantime, please share this blogsite with colleagues and friends.
Best Effort,


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The Other found me the best present ever! He spotted this organizer in a thrift store and thought it might be helpful for my sewing bits and bobs. "If you don't want it, it was only $2," he said, since it was fairly covered in paint, scuffs, and grime. He didn't know what he'd scored, nor did the shop that priced it! (All photos are after cleanup.)
So what is it? The sorter in me is delighted with its functional features, but I also knew straight away that it was not just any organizer, but a classic Boby taboret, designed in 1969 by Joe Colombo. The space-age styling and practical compartments have long appealed to me, but the $300 pricetag for a new version kept it strictly in the realm of covetousness. (Of course, 45 years in production, then as soon as I look it up to check the current price, nobody's selling it.) So after a once-over with a damp cloth and a twice-over with the same stuff I used to clean up my Genie, there's an authentic piece of mid-century modern design in my sewing room, all the more exciting for being such a bargain!
Mainly designed and/or sold for fine artists, the brilliance of Boby is that he's chock full of compartments of different sizes and configurations—much more useful than a stack of same-size drawers. There are tiny wells for paintbrushes, deep ones for rolls of paper, bulk cubbies for chunky stuff, and shallow drawers for small pieces. In other words, perfect for sewing supplies!
Rather than floating around the room at random, rolls of fusible web, freezer paper, and stabilizer can live in the deep sections, along with my slippery quilting mat. Instead of brushes, a seam ripper and screwdriver are kept close at hand. And the flat top gives a surface to corral spools, bobbins, and any of those other current-project things that tend to float around a sewing table. My Boby's shorter than the standard model, so he rolls right under the sewing table when not needed.
But the drawers—oh, the drawers! My Boby model has three shallow swing-out drawers instead of two deeper ones. This is ideal for presser feet and machine needles. I'm constantly switching feet while I sew, and my Janome 8900 uses some fairly bulky dual-feed feet that now have a home of their own in the top drawer.
Things like spare spool caps and spool pins live in the next drawer down—easy to get to, but tucked away. (Away from dust and curious cats, that is.) Bulkier machine attachments and occasionally used stuff is here too.
The bottom drawer holds various pins and clips. Like the fusible rolls, these previously didn't have a proper home and wandered untamed around the sewing room. Just getting the rolls, pins, and presser feet in order was worth the $2.
The cubbies round the back are just right for mid-size items like quilting gloves and a bobbin winder. They were always awkward when I had them in drawers with smaller items like thread spools.
I haven't decided on a definite purpose for the largest cubby at the base of the unit. There's a molded signature down there proving Boby's no knockoff—along with some bits of paint and ming I wasn't quite able to get rid of, proving that this particular Boby's no mere showpiece. I fully intend to continue using and loving him.
And though I tease the Other about his near-constant thrift-store circuit, I should probably just appreciate it! He scored another great mid-century find which I'll share next time.


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How's a murder connected to D1 birthday?
On our birthday we went on a tour around the world. But we had stopped in a cosy hotel in Poland where we spent two days full of various attractions.
Everything started with a game in which we had to find a murderer working in groups. For several hours each of us had an opportunity to train one's detective skills which turned out useful earlier than we could expect!
After a delicious dinner we hit the dance floor. Cat moves, robo dance, "can you do that" are only some of the presented dancing techniques. We danced till dawn!
In the morning we spent some time in sauna, had to search for Darek (ha!) and hit the road back.
Next year… we will go on a trip around the world! ^^


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Here are 3 ways in which we can increase our own luck factor to help us achieve any personal or professional goals we may have.
The Luck Factor
Achieving success in business or otherwise starts with first identifying what it is you want. By determining your goals you are now better able to prepare yourself to pursue them. Preparation is half the battle and although it may seem like just dumb luck when you see people succeed what you did not witness was the preparation involved.
With a greater focus on what it is you are striving for also comes the ability to recognize any opportunities that can help you achieve these goals when you see them.
As the saying goes 'practice makes perfect' and this is so true in every aspect of our lives. Outstanding athletes get that way through many long hours of practice as do successful business people. In order to excel at anything it is almost always necessary to commit yourself fully towards learning and mastering any and all of the skills involved.
The only thing true about becoming an 'overnight success' is that it takes commitment and perseverance over a period of time to achieve! There will be setbacks of that you can be sure but it is your willingness to work through the difficult and frustrating times that will ultimately set you on the path to great success.
Do not ever give up if you believe in what you are doing!
When we reference the luck factor that is involved in the success of ourselves or others it is important to understand this good fortune is something we can create. This realization helps people become aware how much control they have over their own fate. Whether it is success in business or in some other aspect of our lives we play the starring role in the creation of the luck involved in any personal achievements. You see luck is not something that happens just by chance but instead it is a coordination of circumstances which we can create and bring together. The 3 ways we spoke of above are efforts we ourselves can consciously put forth in order to create the luck we need to achieve the great success we seek.


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When the time comes for a change in the kitchen you may decide to simply upgrade your kitchen cabinets or entirely renovate the whole room. The single most important choice to make will most likely be the design of storage units and kitchen doors. Thankfully it can be easier than ever to choose something which would work. The number of cabinets and equipment to choose from is impressive also it can be less expensive than ever before to buy something that is that little bit special. Come take a look at a number of options.
Standard Kitchen Units
Clearly opting for basic stock kitchen units is going to be the least expensive alternative and it can likewise work very well. These cabinets come in an array of common measurements together with a reasonable choice of styles and color options, but are a lot more restricted in terms of choice than both semi custom or tailor made cabinetry. Many standard product ranges will include basic cupboard and drawer types. Whilst still lacking several of the distinctive characteristics of tailor made kitchens, stock units provide a practical alternative and are the cheaper alternative.
Semi Custom Cabinets
You can buy semi custom cabinets offered in a standard range of sizes; however with these kinds of units you will find many more options with regards to style, design and storage alternatives. There will regularly be a much wider range of colors and surface finishes available. They will generally tend to be a little more expensive as compared to standard kitchen cabinets, but they are normally higher quality and with a little bit of intelligent hunting you can often find them reduced or on special offer and consequently fantastic value.
Custom Made Kitchens
Custom made units are naturally going to be the most expensive choice nonetheless they may totally enhance a new modern kitchen design. Custom designs will include cupboards designed only for your kitchen area and made to your particular design specifications, unique kitchen doors and accessories - completely personalized. You'll be able to decide to have just about any style, size or design you desire in the tailor made kitchen but remember this will not come cheap. If you are getting a customized kitchen fitted at home, the designer will normally visit your house, take measurements and work together with you to identify the ideal design and style for your property. The actual design will cover every aspect and the effects can be truly amazing.
In the end your choices will depend to a large extent on your accessible funds, but don't forget you can achieve great results on a minimal budget if you take extra time and plan with care. A little creative thinking and searching for bargains can turn a small budget into an amazing kitchen.


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Joey Bag Of Donuts
|The Famous Pink Box!
Most people have drug dealers. I have a donut dealer. Ronald's Donuts are just that good. And, no, I'm not joking. Just in case law enforcement or more likely the NSA is listening, reading and recording this post, this is just a reenactment. The names and stories have been changed to protect their identities and my source. You'll just have to find your own, though checking under "D" in the classifieds probably won't give you any place to start, assuming the classifieds still exist. The following example may be dramatized for internet audiences.
Anyway, the way it works is this. My source let's call them Ronald gives me a heads up when he or she is heading into vegas. I...err...Steve places his order, mainly bear claws, jelly and boston cream donuts. Then, upon the safe and undetected arrival of
my the source, Steve arrives in a dark and seedy alley, natural territory, of course, money is covertly exchanged, fist to palm style. Then, I , Steve walks away with a pink box filled with donuts. Later, I might be found stuffing my face with donuts. I meant Steve.
\Jelly Donut
An Attacked Jelly Donut
|Three Way Tied For First For The Best Donut!
The first time, I went to Ronald's Donuts, I had mimicked the one from Wayne's World with throngs of people outside, maybe even a once famous sports star associated with the store. and a rotating donut sign announcing that I have arrived at the place. Driving maybe 10 minutes from the strip, crossing into chinatown and a non-distinct strip mall announced our arrival. Well, it would take some google mapping and a second and maybe third pass to find it. I was really hoping for that rotating donut sign.
|Don't Blink You Might Miss It
Inside with plain plastic benches with a solo man sipping coffee from a styrofoam cup while reading a newspaper with no one at the counter. Did I mention that there was no rotating donut? After the bell on the door announced our arrival, a sweet lady came out and the special one whispered, "how do you know that they are vegan?" I library whispered that I heard the first two rows (of three) are vegan and the sweet lady, confirmed what I heard and even smiled when I said that. It's like a secret word of mouth of club since zero signs indicate vegan donuts. Not to mention, they don't even have a website! Personally, I'm kinda amazed how awesome this has spread and I would be surprised if a vegan visits Vegas without going to Ronald's Donuts.
Case of Donuts
|PSST!!! Pick From The Top Two
I'm not sure how or who discovered Ronald's Donuts, but I'm glad they did. It's the quintessential vegan donut experience. You might be familiar with my donut obsession spanning from coast to coast from NYC's Cinnamon Snail, and NY's highest rated Dunwells, Texas's Vegeria, Seattle's Mighty O's but Ronald's is something special and just might beat out Dunwells, but just barely. But to be fair, I only had Dunwells once and they were without filled donuts! Ronald's does have the advantage of being the first amazing donut I've had. A few months after moving here, local vegans posted they were going, created an online order and came back with dozens of boxes, brimming with donuts. I was one of the lucky ones with a pink box all to my own. Regardless of the possible prejudices towards Ronald's, further investigation is needed and I'm willing. Perhaps, a cross country road trip is needed eating donuts between the two destinations? Shall I consult kickstarter? Tell my boss I have a donut sojourn? I'm willing...
Tiger Tail!
|Chocolate Striped Donut Braid!
Ronald's is so good, some vegans don't even believe they could be vegan. Vegan website Quarry girl had them tested for eggs and they passed! If that's not a resounding endorsement, I'm not sure what is. I'm not sure why the Ronald's owners decided to make vegan donuts (I've heard religious reasons such as seven day adventists or buddists), but I'm glad they did. My little pup has been passed out from a long walk or daycare upstairs on the bed, but he hears the box open and runs downstairs to make sure he gets some. Yup, like father like son!
Famous Pink Box
|Ronald's Has Tiffany's Beat!
Now until
my Steve's next batch comes in. I have the shakes just thinking about donuts to come. Regardless of how you get them, make sure you visit once or twice. Once you get into Vegas and refill before you leave! And don't forget the rest of us!
Bear Claw
|Move Over Yogi!
Boston Cream
|Wonder What's Inside?
Boston Cream Revealed
|Mystery Solved!
Peanut Butter Nut Dohicky
|I might get my donut card removed, but I can't recall the technical name
Cherry Strudel
|Yet another mystery donut, though perhaps it's a pastry!
Where Do The Holes Go?
|Even Donut Holes Need Love!
Donut Holes
|We left a tip and we were rewarded with some free donut holes!


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Thanks to Will at I Love Shakespeare blog http://blog.iloveshakespeare.com/ , I came across this little bit of harmless marketing info: A pdf. http://www.ymiteacher.com/pdf/AnonymousHS.pdf
I was, of course, tempted to do some research.
The above link will take you to the website of Young Minds Inspired, a group which has as its aim the marketing of products to school children with their "educational welfare" in mind. I suggest exploring their site map for the full thrust of what it is that this corporation does. In short, the marketing group has sold ideas and products to school children for such companies as Dole, McDonalds, Pfizer, Kraft, Visa, etc., as well as major media firms, studios, and outlets, including Warner Bros., Miramax, and Fox. How do they do this? By providing free pdfs to educators, most of whom (possibly all) they state, are desperately in need of funding for educational materials to use in the classroom. According to a testimonial from one of their clients:
"YMI blows away its competitors. Their educators customize their lesson
plans to assure a high quality and credible learning experience for the
students, while subtly presenting my brands in a completely professional way. This is the strongest in-school program I have worked with in 15 years of marketing to kids."
I had a little more to say several days ago about the possibility of this kind of 'branching out' messaging vis a vis the film's visibility, popularity, and marketing efforts on ShakespeareGeek's blog: http://blog.shakespearegeek.com/2011/09/how-should-we-deal-with-anonymous.html (First and among the closing comments of 30+). --Now this.
They want to help Educate Our Children about "Shakespeare" ?
You be the judge... JM


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REPOST – Florida Notary Fraud Erin Cullaro – Scandalous – Substantiated Allegations of Foreclosure Fraud That Implicates the Florida Attorney General's Office and The Florida Default Law Group
Since we are on the subject today, and this site is getting a tremendous amount of traffic due the recent Revelations, I figured this repost would be absolutely appropriate… And maybe, just maybe, it will light a fire under the ass of Attorney General of Florida and force him to initiate an injunction on the … Read more
BUYER BEWARE! The Foreclosure StormTroopers ARE Coming To Break Down YOUR Door!
No joke, above or below… And it does not matter if you are facing foreclosure or not! This type of thing is getting way out of hand as I have Link – reported on many many times. Actually, it is a lot worse than can be imagined because most "incidents" go unreported. Again, as I … Read more
I Pray this is all not in vain – I don't know what they are fighting for anymore…
Source: The Brigade.com Not long after a soldier was killed in Afghanistan, his platoon returned home. In his honor, they stood in formation, as they always did, only this time there was a gap where he normally stood; his 2 year-old daughter taking his place in formation. ~ 4closureFraud.org
The Shell Game Continues – Media Picks up on Investor Settlements but Where Does the Money Go and Why?
The shell game continues. While the media picks up stories about "settlements" giving rise to the presumption that Countrywide Home Loans and Bank of America and the rest of the securitization players committed various violations of statutes, duties, rules and regulations, the main point gets lost. Where is this money going and WHY? What is … Read more
Livinglies – Factual Constipation: The Urge to NOT Disclose
Posted on August 9, 2010 by Neil Garfield… EDITOR'S NOTE: FACTUAL CONSTIPATION is our current state of reality. It is the universal strategy across the board from Wall Street, the pretender lenders, servicers, and all other intermediaries in the gross illusion known as "securitization" of debt. We can't get the information in court from Judges … Read more
Chink in the Armor – Mr. Geeai, Darth Vader and the Evil Emperor
If you have not had a chance to check out previous visits with Mr. Geeai, you can read them at… Chink in the Armor – Mr. Geeai, MERS, and the Search for the Truth… ~ Mr. Geeai, Darth Vader and the Evil Emperor "So come into my workshop, I want you to see something." And there … Read more


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Space-Time Associates has released an update for Hangman Pro, bringing it to version 1.05. Hangman Pro is a word game designed to strengthen word abilities. The update features new catagories and category enhancements. According to Space-Time Associates:
Ken Winograd and Space-Time Associates are very pleased to announce the release of a new Macintosh word game called Hangman Pro.
Hangman Pro (the successor to Hang3000) is a colorful, educational, non-violent word-guessing game, with dozens of built-in categories of words, unlimited custom word lists, hinting, digitized sounds, speech, timed games, a new photo feature, and much more.
Version 1.0.5 adds a new Cosmology category, and improves the existing Astronomy category
You can find more information about the Hangman Pro update at the Space-Time Associates Web site. Hangman Pro 1.05 is free for registered users, while the full version is available for US$25.00.


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Thursday, December 3, 2009
Drawing Out Loud
"Mannequins," sharpie, 2008
"Those Lovely Bones," Sharpie, 2009
"Erosion," Sharpie and ink, 2008
"Pine cone," sharpie, 2008
Some of the freehand sharpie art I've done in the past year or so. It's funny, these all started as assignments that I just wanted to get over with, but then they ended up as being some of my favorite drawings ever. They're all a lot bigger than they appear, except for the top one, which is just two sketchbook pages. The pinecone is about three feet tall and the mannequins about two feet wide. I love to do lines-- they're just so expressive, imaginary, and can evoke such strong statements, plus you can do just about anything with them!
Just last week before Thanksgiving break my teacher asked my to design a logo for her embroidery company that she's starting. I was so honored, oh my goodnesss! I thought, "what a wonderful way to test myself!" even though she never paid me. I'd feel bad if I asked for her to pay me, besides, it was just a test to see if I could do it. So, I made this for her and she liked it. She asked me to edit some things, although I liked the original best out of all the edits:
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Sunita Narain: The environmental cost of diesel subsidy
Consider this. Every time petrol prices rise, oil companies end up losing more money. How? The price differential between petrol and diesel increases further; people start buying diesel-powered vehicles so oil firms bleed more. Even worse, we all bleed because dieselisation adds to toxic pollution in our cities. This, in turn, adds to the health burden and costs.


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Few would dispute that since the release of Iron Man in 2008, Marvel's series of Avengers films has become, at least from a business and financial perspective, the most important modern blockbuster franchise in Hollywood. Moreover, Marvel's model of an expanded universe, with a potentially limitless web of interconnected films will undoubtedly define the mindset of major studios for the foreseeable future. However, I would argue that 20th Century Fox, owner of the X-Men series, has its own share of responsibility for the current state of Hollywood superhero franchises, not only because the original X-Men kick-started the prevalence of modern comic adaptations, but also in its almost-accidental creation of a shared universe with a haphazard collection of sequels, prequels and spin-offs. In my final post on the X-Men series, I want to suggest that both the Marvel and Fox expanded universes, while ostensibly deriving inspiration from their comic-book roots, actually mirror much of what Universal achieved in the 1940s with their series of monster-mash up horror films.
What I find particularly interesting about the X-Men series in general is the way it plays with concepts of otherness and monstrosity, refiguring the monsters as heroes. It's well documented that the X-Men, both in film and comic form, with their freakish abilities and position as marginalised and often feared outsiders, are effectively thinly-veiled monsters reconstructed as superheroes. In fact, I argue that in paying homage in one scene to the 1931 version of Frankenstein, James Mangold not only makes a passing reference to this reading of the X-Men, but more importantly, draws an intriguing comparison to the production of modern superhero franchises, and that of the Universal horror cycle of the 1930s and 40s. In a cinematic landscape awash with conservative vigilante fantasies (Batman) and government backed, super-secret strike forces (Avengers Assemble), the X-Men films are unique in their continuing story of the fight for mere acceptance. Furthermore, The Wolverine is particularly interesting with regard to monstrosity in the way that at one point it makes overt reference to the Frankenstein monster, perhaps the greatest example in pop cinema of the misunderstood and feared 'other'. For example, during the scene where Wolverine tries to extract the robotic device in his chest, the laboratory setting and his position on an operating table alludes to the creation of the monster in Frankenstein. In contrast to the Frankenstein monster lying unconscious as the mad scientist operates on him,Wolverine operates on himself, asserting an autonomy and self-direction usually denied the monster in cinema. Shingen's question to Wolverine in the same scene, 'What kind of monster are you?', and Wolverine's furious answer, 'The Wolverine!' hammers the point home. Unlike Frankenstein's creation, however, this monster has a name, as he unambiguously asserts as 'The Wolverine!', before dispatching Shingen in a characteristically brutal fashion. Wolverine's answer here acts both as the reassertion of his lost identity, as well as a play on the trope of the monster without a name. In a series that, at its best, is about the discovery and assertion of identity, this is a great, if rather unsubtle, moment of pop bildungsroman.
|Compare and contrast: Frankenstein Meets The Wolverine
The Wolverine's allusion to Frankenstein in this scene reminds us that even though the Avengers series feels fresh and innovative in its approach to story-telling (having itself been influenced by the early X-Men films), universe building across connected franchises is nothing new in Hollywood. We're encouraged to think that Marvel and Fox's current shared-universe approach to their franchises is experimental and innovative, and to an extent that's true, but it isn't the first time that this has been attempted. Universal studios performed an almost-identical trick over seventy years ago, when they began to combine their horror series together, most notably with Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolf Man. Beginning with silent films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923 and The Phantom of the Opera in 1925, the so-called Universal Horror Cycle moved into the sound era with Dracula in 1931, the success of which meant it was quickly followed by James Whale's Frankenstein in the same year. Both of these received their own sequels with Dracula's Daughter (1936), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). 1941 saw the release of The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr., who would then play the monster in the fourth Frankenstein picture, the abysmal Ghost of Frankenstein, released the following year in 1942, as well as the ubiquitous Count (or is that his son? There seems to be no consensus) in the second (sort of) sequel to Dracula, entitled - of course - Son of Dracula, released in 1943. With Chaney starring in Universal's three major monster franchises, it seemed to make sense to mash them together and see what happened. So, 1943 also saw Chaney return to his werewolf role with the release of Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, an enjoyable slice of trash that simultaneously served as a direct sequel to The Wolf Man and the fifth Frankenstein film.
Similarly, just as The Wolverine is the second Wolverine film, it is also a sequel of sorts to the third X-Men film, and yet is somehow the sixth X-Men film overall. Following Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein was released in 1944. This one features Dracula as well, this time played by a delightfully hammy John Carradine, making it the third Wolf Man film, fourth Dracula film and sixth Frankenstein. 1945 saw the release of House of Dracula, featuring all three monsters in a confused mess of a mash-up, that serves as part-sequel and part-reboot to the previous film: no mention is made of the deaths of either Dracula or the Wolf Man from House of Frankenstein, but the film goes to lengths to explain the resurrection of the Frankenstein monster, who also met his end at the end of the last one. Similarly confusingly, X Men: Days of Future Past will serve as a direct sequel to not only The Wolverine and The Last Stand, but also to First Class, making it a direct sequel to three (!) different films, the second direct sequel to The Last Stand, and the seventh installment in the series overall. This means that if we were numbering the films, Days of Future Past could be legitimately called X-Men: First Class 2, X-Men 4, X-Men 5, X-Men 6 or X-Men 7. And that's before we consider that X-Men: Apocalypse, set in the First Class era, and another Wolverine film, almost certainly set before the events of Days of Future Past are both in production, which if we're numbering the films based on their internal chronology (and after all of this, why the hell not?), it means that Days of Future Past, the seventh in the series, might as well be called X-Men: First Class 3, X-Men 8 or X-Men 9. This beats even the Universal series for sheer convolutedness, and I know of no other film series whose sequels, like the tendrils of some Lovecraftian monstrosity, knot and tangle over each other so excessively, and yet so beautifully.
Sequels such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman and House of Dracula are little more than cheaply produced cash-ins, made to ride on the coattails of their successful forbears, but they do demonstrate that the concept of successful (financially at least) shared filmic universes is nothing new. It's fascinating to me that a film like The Wolverine, which in many ways is an average comic book action film, existing only to keep a variable franchise afloat until the arrival of its next 'proper' installment, can unlock many of the relationships its parent series has with the past and ongoing history of cinema, even if those relationships mainly lie in the confusing and artistically dubious nature of sequels. I hope that it is not too much of a stretch to suggest that that the release of Days of Future Past, a film about returning to the past for the survival of the future, foreshadows what lies ahead for the superhero genre as a whole: looking to the past, whether by paying homage to James Bond and gothic monsters, or by unconsciously mirroring the insane mash-up-sequel-logic of the Universal Horror Cycle, has reaped rewards for the X-Men franchise, a series which, if nothing else, seems to excel at reinvention and rejuvenation. Perhaps, then, if the superhero genre is to find its place in the future history of cinema, then it must look backwards, to its forbears, to do so.


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Just when it looked like the banking sector was leveling off from the power dive it went into last Wednesday, down it goes again, taking Citigroup (NYSE:C) along with it. The superbank is already down 0.50% on the day. This is a hangover from last week, and it's lasting longer than we'd like.
Market roundup
First, here's where Citi's peers and the rest of the market stand on this first day of the trading week:
- Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is down 0.17%.
- JPMorgan Chase is down 0.40%.
- Wells Fargo is down 0.44%
The markets are more of a mixed bag, but net out in the negative, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.46% on the day, the S&P 500 down 0.18%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.13%.
Foolish bottom line
Last week, things were going along swimmingly until Wednesday morning, when B of A reported earnings. Based on how the market reacted, you'd have thought it was the worst quarter ever, but that was far from the case: Results were solid, if not stellar, and far better that B of A investors probably had the right to expect.
But it tipped the banking sector -- along with the markets -- into a dive. The S&P 500 lost 2.1% for the week. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) alone lost 7% off its share price and had reported strong first-quarter earnings just days earlier. Citi investors had also gotten a glowing first-quarter report on Monday, but once the B of A effect took hold, that was that.
On Friday, it did briefly seem like investor optimism was about to take hold again, with many stocks getting back a little of what they'd lost in the previous two days, but investors seem to be in a pessimistic mood again today. All told, in the last five days, Citi investors have lost 2.48% of their related wealth.
This is one of those many times when the market is behaving irrationally. Citi had a good first quarter, and the superbank's investors need to stay calm and carry on. The market will have its ups and down, but so long as you have faith in the fundamentals of the companies you're invested in, your money is in the right place. That's what Foolish investing is all about.
Fool contributor John Grgurich owns shares of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. Follow John's dispatches from the bleeding heart of capitalism on Twitter @TMFGrgurich.
The Motley Fool recommends Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a lovely disclosure policy.


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SCLA 10ers!
Hope you are having a great spring break! When we get back to work this week we will be working on your respect projects to get those up and running. You have class time to prepare your projects, so use your time wisely!
Also- After school this week from 2:30-3:30 we need some volunteers to help Anthony and Valarie bundle shoes for their Senior Capstone Project. Come to the Ewing conference room if you can stay and help!
See you on Monday!


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This will be a new reoccurring competition open to all members of the Veteran user class and up. The rules are fairly simple;
- Guess which private tracker is being shown in the partial screenshots with increasing difficulty to guess with each round.
- Only one guess per member per round/partial screenshot and no editing of attempted answers will be allowed.
- There will be multiple rounds and the first member to have three correct answers in total, wins.
To kick this off, the first prize to be won will be an Exigo account courtesy of Godfather and intended for personal use only.
Good luck all!


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Things have reached new heights when it comes to iPhone cases and personal safety. If you were a fan of the SmartGuard iPhone case that features a pepper spray canister, you might also be a fan of the Yellow Jacket. This iPhone case comes equipped with a 650K-volt stun gun that could be used to save your life in dangerous situations… as long as you use it properly.
As part of an Indiegogo project, creators Seth Froom and Sean Simone say they aim to create the "world's first smartphone defense case." For some perspective, the average personal stun gun voltage can range anywhere between 100 to 775K volts, so this case would be on the higher end of power.
Still, does the idea of putting a stun gun next to your face every time you pick up a call sound ideal to you? The project understands your concerns — which is why the case contains a safety rotational cap and switch to prevent accidental charges.
"In less than a second, a user can disable these safety mechanisms by moving the switch forward, rotating the cap downward and then be ready to press the activation button to fire the electrodes and be prepared to confront an assailant," Froom writes. Froom is a former U.S. army soldier and Military Police who has extensive knowledge of multiple weapons systems.
Of course, since the case packs its own stun gun, the bulkiness is as minimized as a case can get. With the Yellow Jacket on your iPhone, the device becomes 1-inch thicker and about 3/8 of an inch is added in height. With your phone attached, it will also weight approximate eight ounces. When you are not using the stun gun feature, the case also works as an extra battery pack that can provide up to 20 hours of additional life. Unfortunately, while the case can help protect against accidental drops and scratches, it is not water-resistant. Be wary of using your iPhone in the rain with this one, folks.
Since stun guns are not legal in all states and some foreign countries, not every consumer will be able to enjoy this odd device. The Indiegogo project still has a long way to go with $7,746 raised out of the $100,000 goal and 19 days left in the game — but makers say they do plan to produce the ship the item by September. To ensure you get a Yellow Jacket case, you'll need to contribute $85 now or pay $100 once it's out on the market.
Watch the video introducing the Yellow Jacket below. What do you think of an iPhone case that doubles as a stun gun (and battery pack)? Is the concept too extreme, or rather helpful?


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In Seattle, a bus advertisement with the best of intentions recently sparked outrage among some in the autism community. So much so that the Seattle Children's Hospital, who sponsored the advertisements, had to pull them from all buses.
Next to an adorable boy's smiling face was one sentence: "Let's wipe out cancer, diabetes, and autism in his lifetime." It seems like something with which no one could disagree --- who wouldn't want to wipe out autism? In fact, there are actually more than a few people who believe it's not something we should try to wipe out, but rather something that should be embraced.
Matt Young, co-leader of The Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Washington chapter, explained why it's offensive to some via his Tumblr account.
[The ad] may look to you like a simple message of hope, calling for an end to medical conditions that destroy lives. But despite popular opinion, that's not what autism is. Unlike cancer or diabetes, autism is not a life-threatening condition. Autism itself often enriches lives; it is the fear, desperation and hatred that our culture currently holds for autism that can and does destroy lives.
It's not the first time we've heard this argument, and I understand it ... to a degree. I also admire him and those who hold these beliefs greatly for embracing the differences this disability brings with it -- but it is a disability. For so very many families, autism presents incredibly painful and difficult challenges. It can be heartbreaking and devastating, financially and emotionally. Parents of children with autism worry about their safety every day and lie awake at nights worrying about their future. While it may not technically be a disease (and no one really knows, so it could be), it can be no less harmful to a family than cancer or diabetes.
For some on the high-functioning end of the spectrum, it may just be part of what makes them them. However, I have a hard time believing that anyone -- if given the chance -- wouldn't prefer to live (or have their children live) in a world without every emotional and social advantage they could have without a disability.
Wishing away something that affects your child's health doesn't mean that you don't love your child (or yourself) as they are. I don't know one family affected by autism who doesn't wish they'd never heard that word, even though they love their children fiercely. And society wanting to spare people the pain that comes with autism doesn't mean we hate people who have it. Does society have a long way to go when it comes to understanding autism and embracing those who have it? Absolutely, but I also don't think that means we shouldn't do everything we can to stop it from affecting anyone we can.
Do you understand/agree with the reason people wanted these advertisements pulled?
Image via Beverly & Pack/Flickr


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Archive for Uncategorized
Megadoodle Poll Jan 2017
Comments off
The new site is UP!!!
Hey SFs!
The new site is up!
See you there!
The first(?) "cover" for Origami Yoda?
A trip WAY WAY WAY WAY down memory lane!
From deep inside my computer's hard drive comes this picture that shows you how Origami Yoda would have looked without help from designer Chad Beckerman and artist Jason Rosenstock. Note that I was still planning to go with the stupid pen name at that point!
The stats so far…
When the new site goes up… any time now! … the stats will be reset.
So here's a look at how much we — me, Webmaster Sam and you SFs — accomplished together:
Comments: 47,905
Top post:
|Folding your own Origami Yoda & other Star Wars papercraft
Top SF post: https://origamiyoda.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/super-folder-dereks-origami-darth-maul-with-instructions-starwars-origami/
And here's the best part: 3,505 posts! That is a lot of Stooky Origami made by you SFs!!!!!
I hope none of you have terrible summer jobs… like this one.
Here's me age 13(?) cleaning live mouse traps for a scientist.
Since the mice were caught and kept alive, they had plenty of time to poop and pee all over the inside of these things.
And then I got to clean them. Lots and lots of them. For very little $. You can't even see one of the worst parts, which was the agony of trying to put them back together again after cleaning.
(Maybe this helped inspire Horton's miserable dishwashing job.)
One time I got a bonus: A mouse that hadn't survived the ordeal….
Darth Maul – 7 horns, 2 arms, zero cuts
If you think he looks ugly from the front, check out the back!
This is based on a base created by SF NathanielW! You'll definitely be seeing more using this base and I'll try to offer instrux soon…


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Frequently Asked Questions
Still confused about all this in-store advertising and background music jargon? Here are answers to frequently asked questions.
What are the benefits of Evolved Radio and what makes your service special?
Evolved Radio has been engineered to be your own retail music playlist. It can up-sell and promote specific products and services within your own retail store music playlist, or simply act as a specialty in store music only system to create that perfect ambience or mood.
Evolved Sound's background music solutions are individually tailored to provide measurable outcomes. By combining the latest technology and broadcast media professionals, Evolved Radio will always sound outstanding, operate reliably and be very easy to manage.
We can cater to clients requiring either commercial released vocal music (similar to your favourite radio station), or instrumental music which doesn't require any additional broadcast or playback licensing. With ever changing laws and costs to pay, independent music is becoming increasingly popular for cafe background music solutions, restaurant background music, shopping centre background music and various other general in store broadcasting applications. Our commercial playlists feature a massive selection of dynamically handpicked vocal background music. The song choices are constantly revised, and new tracks are added all the time – similar to mainstream radio stations. With large playlists, our systems offer much less music repetition compared to public radio stations. This results in a refreshing and ever changing in store broadcast.
As no two businesses and environments are identical, our pricing is calculated directly from the type of music content, advertisement update frequency (if applicable) and number of loctions required. Speak with us today about your ideal retail store music playlist.
Does it really matter what type of in store music we play? (See white paper)
Research shows that playing the right kind of background music playlist for retail has a direct impact on your customers and staff. For example, playing off putting or less suited content to your target, or even worse your competitor's advertisements via the local radio station can have a negative impact on your business and even drive people away! Also, playing Christmas jingles too early or too frequently in the festive season has proven to be a real turn off!
If your customers can relate and connect with the music, it's guaranteed to be an investment that pays for itself! Combine that with the ability to run your own in store advertisements and you have a very powerful marketing platform that you can control.
You may [click here] for an interesting read regarding this subject. The accompanying document is thanks to extensive research and efforts of Michael Morrison through Monash University.
Can I pick what retail background music is played in my program?
Absolutely! We have a vast selection of background music for retailers. You can personally choose your music or you can leave it up to our music programming experts who can recommend and craft the ideal mix for your business. Most of our clients recognise this isn't their strength, and consequently trust our music selection expertise. This mean they can escape the time consuming and difficult process of music selection.
Who writes our In Store Advertisement messages? Who decides what messages are in my radio program?
In consultation with Evolved Sound's production specialists, we're here to steer you in the right direction. We'll assist to script, record and load the messages directly into your system for optimal and timely playback. In fact, this is what we do each and every day for countless happy clients! You can choose from our pool of professional male and female voice artists. Your in-store advertisements only become final when you're 100% satisfied. [CLICK HERE] to learn more about our Advertisement Recording Service.
Do I need a sound system in my premises to run your system? What kind of equipment is involved? Do I need expensive antennas mounted on the buildings?
Our retail music playlist systems have a plug and play design. Just plug it into:
- Your existing sound, PA, speaker system or in store music systems for instant playback. If you don't have one of these, we can advise on what's best to purchase and install. To keep your costs to a minimum and ensure it is most appropriately installed, this is best purchased directly by the client and installed using their existing electrician, IT or technical installation people who are experienced and authorised to work within your premises.
- Your existing internet connection. Each office site should have permanent broadband internet connectivity to run our in store music systems. Our retail background music system is plugged into a standard network router port to allow content updates and administration.
If you don't have speakers, we can recommend the ideal speaker and amplifier arrangement.
How many advertisements do I get?
If you'll be utilising customised in-store advertising announcements, as standard we would initiallyrecord 6 to 10 advertisements averaging 15 to 30 seconds in length. Our systems can include a lot more advertisements in the schedule, however this forms a good starting point. Typically, these rotate through one per time after every 10, 15 or 20 minutes for example. In addition, we will provide a Yearly Update Allowance based on how often you require new In Store Advertisements to be recorded and loaded. To ensure you don't pay more than you need to, it's important to know how many times per year you would like to record new In Store Messages, and how many new separate messages are required each time you update.
Instead can I just play an Ipod shuffle or the local radio station in my shop?
How often can we change our program and in store advertisement messages?
As little or as often as you want. We have music for shop packages that start with only a couple updates per year, and can extend to monthly or more. This can be tailored to your exact requirements and adjusted at any time.
I'm an extremely busy person. Will this take up a lot of my time?
Not at all! We have turnkey in store music packages that include a choice of ready to go retail music playlists. If you'll be utilising customised in store announcements, we offer a fast message scripting and recording process. Our systems are designed to be plug & play, requiring minimal cost and effort to be operational. You can rely on Evolved Sound to create that winning continuous sound, so you can focus more on your business!
What happens if my background music equipment fails?
As part of our ongoing supply, if your background music system fails it will be replaced at no charge. All our packages include ongoing support and equipment replacement warranty.
Whether you require non-stop music or music interspersed with your own commercials, Evolved Radio can tailor a station to match your business.
Contact us today to discuss your needs.