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We take a scary drive to take a dog home and then we get to see three boys who are not as little as they were last time
Muzzy had been separated from his immediate family for almost four weeks now and besides that he kept eating the cats' food. So, somewhere between 2:30 and 3:00 PM, we loaded his own food and personal possessions into the car, opened up the gate to the back and in he jumped.
We - Muzzy, Margie and I - then set off to drive to Anchorage. Down on the floor of this valley, the sun, which at its zenith now barely rises above the tops of the mountains to the south, had already set.
It's rays still created a beautiful fringe of light on the icy mountain tops.
The highway was icy, too, and scary. Here and there, cars had slid off the road.
I thought of the day before, when I had decided to sleep and let Margie drive herself into town for her doctor appointment. As I stated, she hates to drive in the dark, especially if there is ice on the road. In contrast, my night vision is probably about as good as anyone's except for a cat.
When I saw the ice on the highway, the big trucks and thought of Margie driving this gantlet in the dark, I felt very badly that I had slept. But, she did good. She came back alive and well.
We reached Muzzy's house in safety. In the window, I saw the face of a little boy who, it felt, I had not seen in years - even if it had only been a bit less than four weeks.
Dog and family exploded in joyful reunion.
Finally, it calmed down a bit.
Then Jobe noticed that grampa had come, too.
Kalib dragged his grandma to the downstairs playroom to see the trains. Jacob and Lavina bought this set of Thomas trains off Craigslist for $40 - and it has proved to be the best toys these boys have ever had - better than anything electronic or magical.
They hold it, they carry its cars here and there. They push it around the tracks and even where there are no tracks.
They never tire of Thomas the train.
I want such a set for myself.
I don't know where I could put it, but I want one.
Lynxton was sleeping in the very dimly lit master bedroom. His dad was still at work. It is kind of hard to get off a plane after three-plus weeks in Arizona, southern Utah and Las Vegas and go straight to work, but that is what he had to do.
Lavina goes back to work Monday.
It was hard enough for her just to leave the warm sun of the southwest and come back to Alaska.
Margie plans to go in Sunday night so she can stay and hang out with the boys.
The cats and I will be alone again.
Last Christmas, Melanie gave Margie and I a gift card to Century 16 and we still had one movie and one set of refreshments left on it.
So, at 5:00 PM, we headed to Century 16.
We saw Hugo.
MAGICAL movie.
I was entranched from the first fame to the final.
And that was the 2D version. The time of the 3D was off for us.
Yet, even the 2D often seemed 3D.
Gotta see it in 3D, some day.
Oddly enough, this latest wonder of modern communication technology really brought to life the wonder of books.
It made me want to do nothing but read books - and create books.
Afterward, we returned to the house to see if Lynxton had woke up yet. We found him asleep in the cradle of his dad's arm.
He soon awoke. Then his grandma took him.
I was amazed at how big he had grown - how chubby his face had become.
His had left with a lean, slender, face. He returned with chipmunk cheeks.
Lavina ate a lot of mutton in Arizona.
And then we left to go home.
As we always do.


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Be benefited by this.
Let all things be done for edification. - 1 Corinthians 14:26
...only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. - Ephesians 4:29
What is the profit, my brethren...? - James 2:14
I love that sermon. I missed the livestream of the whole DVD (Don't Waste Your Life Sentence), but this is reminding me I need to get it. What an amazing opportunity, and boy did he not waste it!
And on a day when I've been feeling a bit "imprisoned" by a current season of drudgery and lost opportunities (for which I repent for even thinking that way compared with how these men live!), this really was bread for my soul. Thanks brother.

subset: commoncrawl


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Talk about unoriginal title choice. Will anyone be interested if I make a tutorial on how I did it? Oh, and I'm still writing about the Unexpected Linux Survival, and at the same time doing a Header for the new site.
This video is not made out of boredom. I'll tell you guys soon.


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February 2015 (as published in 'Spotlight')
The Old Church
The guided Tower Tours (£3adult / £2child) remained popular over the Christmas and New Year period. There is now a constant stream of visitors, particularly at weekends and in good weather with clear blue skies and back-lighting from a low winter sun the views are spectacular – well worth the entrance fee.
The Eco Lodges
Following receipt of the generous grant from the Frank Branston Family Trust (reported in the December issue) instructions have now been placed to proceed with connection of the Lodges to the National Grid, thus securing a full power supply. This will provide light and power to the old church and will mean that the community room can become fully operational.
In the meantime locally based contractors Andy Gardner and Robin Odell are progressing with the installation of timber and glass balustrades on the Lodge balconies, plus carpentry in the community room. Richard Hudson continues daily site maintenance work, security and public liaison.
Forthcoming courses:
Bird of Prey Photography course – Saturday 28th February 2015
Andy Fox ARPS, Clophill-based, specialist wildlife photographer will be holding a photography course at the Eco Lodges featuring Tawny, Barn and Long Eared Owls plus a Peregrine Falcon. The class will run from 10am – 3:30pm @ £90 and will include access to the church tower. Please be advised to book early: more details here.
Guided Geology Trail – Friday 20th March 2015
This trail, aimed at home educated children, takes in all the local geology and its uses around the village. Please email us for more details.


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The sun had set 20 minutes earlier and the Number 24 bus lumbered up Whitehall towards a glowing orange ball of fire burning just behind Nelson's Column. The new Sun was courtesy of Greyworld who seemed to think that a 2500kg balloon consuming 210kW in order to emit 4-million lumens of sodium-discharge light, for one day only, would add a cheerful spark to (statistically) the most depressing day of the year.
I asked them, 'Why on earth did you do it?'
"Creating the Trafalgar Sun was an exciting project for greyworld. Our work is all about public space, and it's potential for unexpected joy. Add the wintry setting, and we just had to make ourselves a Sun."
— Andrew Shoben at greyworld.org
And these videos show what happened:
The Sun was switched on at dawn and still looked pretty cheerful when I get there after work in the evening. The deckchairs were getting filled up and there seemed to be an awful lot of people just hanging around talking to each other.
Goodness, I think these chaps may be onto something…
There is some talk of touring the installation — where do you think it should go?
installation, london, public art, public event


text: Last week I was busy right across our vast constituency. One of the most pressing issues we face in Central Devon is the availability of superfast broadband. So I was delighted to welcome the Minister of State for Digital and Culture, Matt Hancock, to Ilsington, where we both addressed a meeting of representatives from Connecting Dartmoor and Exmoor, the internet business Airband, local councilors and other local stakeholders on how we can intensify broadband rollout locally. Whilst in Ilsington I also popped into the village's flourishing community village shop. The shop has been at the heart of the local community for the past four years and I have visited it several times. I had a very positive discussion with the shop's new manager, Helen Tate, about their future plans and will support them in any way that I can going forward. In Thorverton, I was once again focused on internet coverage and was delighted to launch Vodafone's Rural Open Sure Signal programme, which is bringing 3G mobile internet to much of the village. Open Sure Signal is a smaller and more discreet alternative to a mobile phone mast and is proving to be a strong solution to black spots in rural locations right across the country. Vodafone is now focusing on using Sure Signal technology inside community buildings in hard to reach areas, and they have launched the Community Indoor Sure Signal programme that is now open to new applicants. Further details can be found at www.vodafone.uk/CISS Do please contact me if you feel that I may be able to assist your community in exploring this opportunity. I also had a hugely enjoyable visit to Chudleigh Knighton Primary School which, under the excellent leadership of Jackie Huntington, was rated by Ofsted as "good with outstanding features" following their most recent inspection. I spent time with year 5 and 6 students who are currently studying "British values" and our democratic system. I had a lively and stimulating discussion with them about my role as an MP, how legislation goes through Parliament and how the laws we make affect society and our communities here in Devon. I welcomed all their questions except perhaps the one that sought to establish what I might go on to do if I lose my seat in a future election! In Ashburton, I met with the Principal, governors, Primary Executive Head and Chair of the Directors of South Dartmoor Community College to discuss fairer funding for Devon Schools. I have been campaigning for fairer funding for Devon's schools for a number of years and I am hopeful that the current consultation will bring better news for our local schools. As a result of my meeting I have agreed to take up a number of specific funding issues with both the Chancellor and Secretary of State for Education. I also found time to catch up with some of our local councillors.


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A notebook that's empty of rhyme?
A blankness that's worthless is all that it is,
So I'll fix that and now is the time...
As noted, there is really a distinct lack of actual poetry on here, largely due to my recent focus on short fiction, but today I finally got around to writing some more verse. This one is still only a first draft, so may well evolve (in which case I shall post again for comparison), but for now, enjoy:
Ways of Seeing
I see the world through the eyes of a child,
But not one so mild
As raging and torn, too old for my time
Seeing the rhyme
But not knowing why.
I reach out and touch with a tentative hand,
So strange in this land,
A frozen hand that cannot feel
If this is real
This heart that can't heal.
You see the world through eyes looking back,
Not fearing attack
But searching and lost, between two worlds, not alone,
Both worlds your own
But neither quite home.
You hear my promise, a part of the world,
A flag unfurled,
A word too clear but it's better this way,
I might run away;
I'll be back some day.
They see us both through the eyes of the world
Snarling lips curled
At me for being and you for seeing
Not fleeing
The world that I call my own.
What I cannot see is what you are to me,
What we could be
If the eyes of the world turned their gaze,
Lost in the haze
Of numberless childhood days.
Poet's notes:
- This poem is something of an experiment and a departure from my usual, somewhat more structured work, with the shortened second and fourth lines of each stanza being particularly atypical. I can't quite decide whether they help or hinder the flow of the poem, as I've not yet recited it aloud.
- The rhyme an rhythm are deliberately broken in places, and the format purposefully a little looser than usual. I'm not sure precisely what this adds, but I did feel right when writing. I'm interested to hear thoughts on that if anyone would like to comment.
The next few of writing exercises should be complete within the next couple of days, as soon as I have time to write.
That's all for now, thanks for reading, and any comments are welcome as always.


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The Jeep Renegade is ready to go on any adventure with you, whether it's a drive around town to your favorite store or hitting a local trail to reach a remote campsite. Just looking at the Renegade, you can tell it means business with a rugged, bold exterior that stands out. The fog lights help you see in any weather condition, while the deep-tinted glass minimizes the heating effects of the sun in the cabin. Opt for the My Sky dual-panel sunroof to get the most out of your Jeep; you can keep this roof closed or retracted, or even remove it and store it in the height-adjustable rear cargo space. Wherever you go in your Jeep Renegade, you can relax in comfort with available leather upholstery or the heavy-duty mesh fabric on the standard cloth seats. The cargo area of the SUV is smart and versatile with its height-adjustment, and you can fold down the rear seats to expand the storage space.
The 2017 Jeep Renegade shares quite a few commonalities with the 2016
model year, which shouldn't come as a surprise, as this particular Jeep SUV is
still relatively new. That being said, the list of standard features on the
2017 Renegade has expanded to include keyless entry and ignition, adding a
layer of convenience. Since this Keyless Go system includes ignition as well,
you never have to fiddle with your keys in a dark vehicle again. The Limited
trim even offers standard passive entry now, so you don't have to take your
keys out of your pocket at all. If you opt for the Advanced Safety package, you
will now get High-Intensity Discharge Headlights complete with automatic high
beams for enhanced safety and visibility wherever you go.
Read more.
The Jeep Renegade is among the newest vehicles available in Alabama, as it was only introduced for the 2015 model year. This compact sport utility vehicle has always been available with front-wheel drive or one of two 4x4 systems, making it highly capable. The Renegade has also consistently offered the My Sky sunroofs to provide an open-air roof that is easy to remove, just like drivers want and expect from a Jeep. The 2015 Renegade ran on a 1.4-liter turbocharged MultiAir engine or a 2.4-liter Tigershark powertrain. While all models can handle some off-roading, Jeep gave the 2015 Renegade Trailhawk the ability to truly excel with its skid plates, Selec-Terrain system and increased ride height. Just some of the standard features on the 2015 Renegade included audio controls on the steering wheel, remote entry, hill start assist, a folding front passenger seat, and a 6.5-ich touchscreen, HD radio, and satellite radio.
Despite having just been introduced the previous year, the 2016 Jeep Renegade received a handful of updates, including an optional Beats audio system to take your music listening experience to the next level. This system has 9 speakers and a 506-watt amplifier along with a 6.5-inch subwoofer, ensuring you can hear the music even when parked at a campsite or having a picnic. Jeep also added some exterior color options and rain-sensing windshield wipers that let you focus on driving instead of debating whether you need to turn on the wipers.
Rugged, bold, and able to withstand even the toughest road conditions, the Jeep is a trusted standby for drivers who want a vehicle that will always get them where they need to go. For a truly exceptional experience shopping for your next Jeep, come over to Chris Myers Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Daphne, AL. Our team of trained professionals can help you with everything from a test drive to financing. Give us a visit to learn more!


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Addons are custom features that you can add to your Vanilla forum. Addons are created by our community of developers and people like you!
These addons are for people who downloaded and set up their own Vanilla forum. Compare your downloaded version with the version requirements on the right.
If your Vanilla forum is hosted at VanillaForums.com, this addon may already be installed there.
BrokenThe community says this is broken.
|October 2010
Lets you add custom pages to your Vanilla forum. This is really a stop-gap solution until we can get something a little more user-friendly. Once you enable the plugin, click "Custom Pages" in your admin dashboard menu for more instructions.


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South Carolina parents may be interested to learn that studies are showing that high school seniors are engaging in extreme binging, which involves ingesting as many as 10 to 15 drinks during one session. In a study by a research assistant professor at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, it was reported that one in five seniors admitted to engaging in binge drinking.
While the percentage of seniors who binge drink has decreased from 22 percent in 2005 to approximately 18 percent in 2011, the behavior still remains a risk for those who then choose to drive after engaging in this behavior. The study also revealed a number of trends. Among these trends, the study indicated that boys were more likely to engage in binge drinking and that this behavior was common among white students over black students.
In addition, students who had parents that had college education were more likely to binge drink. Those students who did not have college-educated parents were more likely to engage in extreme binge drinking. Further, extreme binge drinkers were more likely to use drugs.
The president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving stated that parents are responsible for the influence that they have on their children when it comes to alcohol consumption. In order to combat this risky behavior, the president recommends setting strict rules and consequences for alcohol use.
There are a wide variety of consequences that an adolescent or underage driver might face should they decide to drink. However, these consequences become much more severe should they choose to drive while they are under the influence. With the help of an experienced South Carolina attorney, consequences for an underage drinking conviction may be able to be reduced by having the client enter into alcohol education programs or rehabilitation if necessary.
Source: USA Today, "1 in 10 high school seniors are extreme binge drinking", Nanci Hellmich, September 16, 2013


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"Old Shooting Lodge hits the target for perfect place to relax."
By Bob Dow
It was Fred the pheasant and his two red squirrel pals who really gave the game away. Unperturbed by the delighted eyes of watching guests in the dining room, they calmly strolled around the garden as though they owned the place.
Their laid-back attitude during a daily morning appearance was a perfect reflection of what makes the Trigony House Hotel tick.
Sitting, almost unnoticed, in the Nith Valley in Dumfriesshire, this red sandstone Edwardian shooting lodge is the ideal retreat to get away from it all.
This is a corner of Scotland that is one of the nation's best kept holiday secrets. Majestic and unspoilt, it has lived for far too long in the shadows of its more popular neighbours.
There are signs, however, that could be finally changing. Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos recently bought a mock Tudor mansion in the artistic enclave of Moniaive, while Ab-Fab TV star Joanna Lumley has a cottage in the hills close by.
For almost six years, Adam and Jan Moore have worked hard to turn Trigony into a four star country house hotel that feels more like a home. The initial signs were promising. No reception desk and a slumbering black Labrador flat on his back on one of the sofas in the lounge.
Outside in the back garden, free-range hens were happily scratching away.
Out front, Jan was patiently laying out new plots in the walled garden, which provides vegetables for the hotel kitchen, along with the hens' eggs.
Adam leads a team of three chefs and is a firm champion of organic produce, locally sourced and which provides the basis for his rustic cooking approach.
His peasant-style influence, with leanings to France, Italy and Spain produces excellent, hearty fare combining a mix of tradition and the more unconventional.
Scallops from Kirkcudbright in a rhubarb butter sauce provided an excellent starting point while the hens' efforts resulted in a wonderful roasted red pepper and parmesan soufflé.
Venison sausages, from the nearby Old Knockelly smokehouse, proved another hit as did the wild trout. Just as much care was taken with the desserts, including one of the best Bakewell tarts I have ever experienced and which was given a run for its money by an Ecclefechan tart.
Sleeping off such a feast was easy in one of the eight well-appointed bedrooms. Our bed was so big you needed a GPS to find your way out of it.
The sun booming over the Nithsdale hills provided the not-too-early wake up call with Fred and his pals laying on the breakfast cabaret.
Working off all this comfort offered plenty of choice. There were several walks through the sprawling countryside right from the hotels front door. Ours led to a nearby Covenanters' cemetery then on to the village of Thornhill, just a mile away.
Further afield, a short drive takes you to Drumlanrig Castle, with its huge grounds worthy of a visit, and to see where art thieves stole the £40 million Leonardo da Vinci painting, Madonna with Yarn winder, two years ago.
Dumfries is only 10 minutes away and the hotel makes an excellent base to explore Galloway or the borders.
With both Glasgow and Edinburgh within easy striking distance, there is little doubt this is the perfect hiding place, right on your own doorstep.


text: Do you have a New Year's resolution to stay on budget and your child's birthday is coming up? I'm excited to share several affordable party styling tips and tricks for planning a Budget Friendly Superhero Party with Hobby Lobby (for under $60)! Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Hobby Lobby. All opinions are my own. #HobbyLobbyFinds #ad Budget Friendly Superhero Party Ideas Superhero themed parties are a favorite in my house. All of my boys have grown up loving the comic books. My youngest is turning 8 next month and he has decided on a small family party instead of our usual big shindig. He hasn't decided on a theme yet, but when I saw the bright and bold Superhero Party Decorations at Hobby Lobby; I knew it would be the perfect theme to share for a budget ... [Read More]


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April 19, 2015: While we're wondering how government websites across the globe gets targeted despite high security firewalls, to list one of the many reason, FireEye, a renowned US firm published a report which says a group of hackers from Russia exploiting the flaws in two popular softwares Adobe Flash and Microsoft Windows operating system to target and steal confidential information of other governments.
The group called APT28, which is also be allegedly linked with Russian government, is after information about governments, militaries and security organisations including US and other diplomatic targes -- that would "likely tobenefit the Russian government."
Whether the recent security breach in White House linked to this groups or not is not confirmed by report, as FireEye refused to comment on the connection citing is as classified information.
Adobe has already created a fix for the vulnerability while Microsoft is working on a patch, says FireEye. This flaw doesn't apply to Microsoft 8 or later versions.
Source: Cnet.com Image by Tibco.com


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Chat Host Job Conversation Starters
Meeting other people is never easy if you are not gifted with amazing conversational skills even those doing a chat work, holding down a chat host job. Actually, meeting people is not the problem, but the fact that we don't always have the courage to start a conversation with them is. This sometimes happens because we are intimidated by the person we like, other times because we just don't know how to start a pleasant conversation in order to leave a good impression. For the ones who don't have the art of chatting under control, here are 5 which you can use in person, or modify for use while doing a chat line work, or doing a chat host job.
Chat Host Job/Chat Work – What To Say
1. The first rule of starting a dialogue with an unknown person while doing chat work, is to use the things around you that you are both aware of. For instance, if you are a man and you meet a beautiful woman while you are standing in a long line, waiting to get a coffee or anything else, make a comment about the quality of the coffee. Then you can ask her what kind of coffee she prefers and, depending on her reaction, you will have the chance to ask her if she can join you for a coffee sometimes.
2. Let's assume you are in a park and you notice a very attractive man or woman walking a dog. What is the easiest way of starting a conversation? Compliment the dog first, and then you will get to compliment the owner as well. You would be surprised how many things around you can become a great conversation starter for meeting other singles.
3. One of the most important things people forget to do when they want to approach someone they like is to smile. If the person you are smiling to will smile back to you, then you can move to step two. Ok, you smile, she smiles back. What do you do next? You simply introduce yourself. People are trying so hard to find a subject to talk about, that they forget how much a "Hello, I'm Mike. Nice to meet you." can do. Unlike trying your luck with cheap pick up lines that don't ever have the expected success, politely introducing yourself can lead to a conversation.
4. How many times have you seen in movies a man starting a conversation with a woman, using the classic line: "I've noticed you around. I find you very attractive."? Even though this line has been used for ages, it still is a very good conversation starter – it is simple, honest and straightforward.
5. When you notice someone that you would like to meet, but you just have no idea what to say at that point, remember that two of the most popular subjects of discussion are weather and politics. It might seem like a cliche to say to a beautiful woman waiting at the traffic light with you: "Beautiful day, isn't it?", but you would be surprised to see that this can be a very good conversation starter. This is a classic comment while doing a chat host job, to get the caller more on your wavelength.
It's never easy to be all cool and calm around someone you like. Not to mention about finding the right thing to say at the right time, this is expected if you work in a chat host job. But, if you remember two of the golden rules of starting a conversation with a stranger, everything will be ok: act natural and use the objects around you to find something interesting to say. If none of these help, simply introduce yourself, tell your caller what you are doing that day and the results will be satisfying.
Does It Work With Chat Work and The Chat Host Job?
It even works for those of you that are doing chat host job. You too can become tongue tied and forget just how easy it is to get a conversation going with a caller. Starting your conversation with just a dull "hello" gets you nowhere. However the mark of an excellent chat host operator in a chat host job is to get the caller to open up and converse easily with you. "Hello, who am I speaking to" is a better way of starting the conversation here. It opens up the caller and puts the emphasis on them to carry on. Don't be intimidated. Working as an adult chat host (or doing chat line work from home) can easily get your confidence up and have you chatting like a professional!


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While there's a good handful of things I plan on writing about, I can't seem to get those posts done right now, and don't want to leave this neglected for too long. So, how about some CD reviews?
It's time, anyway. This is the nice part of the year when the pile of releases with the current year's copyright gains some substance, and so a good time to dig in and render some opinions. I had my morning coffee accompanied by two CDs from the pile. This first was the newest segment of David Zinman's increasingly impressive Mahler cycle, Symphony No. 4.
After a workman-like rendition of Symphony No. 1, the rest of the Wunderhorn works have been quite interesting, enjoyable, musical and Mahlerian, and this newest recording is fine indeed. Zinman and his Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich are not trying to break new ground, revise opinions or prove any points – they want to give us Mahler, which is always enough for those of us who revere the composer. So his manner is straightforward but never dull. This music rewards attention to phrasing and the particular detail, and immediately Zinman shapes the opening, gentle fanfare and the elided poco ritardando with attention to the musical line and an emphasis on the clarinet, a way for the conductor to indicate what it is that he hears that matters. The effect is lovely, and the playing of the orchestra, especially the phrasing and musical line throughout the first movement and the rest of the symphony are a joy. What is refreshing here is the combination of the lack of willful intervention and the exercise of excellent musical taste. I would describe this as an understated reading; there is so much to Mahler's music, that allowing it to speak for itself is often the best way to perform it. It's not lazy or unmindful – there is a great deal of concentration in maintaining the movement and focus of line, phrase and section, of holding back just enough that interesting shades and questions come to mind, resolved beautifully in the grand climax of the adagio movement (At 21:38, this is on the quicker side – the grandest and greatest recording of this work is Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, and their movement clocks at 25:27). The finale is sung by Luba Orgonasova; she's lovely and musical and nicely placed in the mix – very few sopranos actually try and emulate a child singing, so I can't find much fault in her lack thereof as well, she's just following the standard. Still, the expression is exactly what the music calls for. This is overall a lovely performance of Mahler's loveliest symphony, and while not in the league of the MTT one – nothing else – a pleasure and also a bargain. It's a Hybrid SACD issue with a full, clear sound, with a natural concert hall resonance. The recording gives the effect of sitting in the orchestra section, while the MTT SACD has you right on the conductor's stand, with less resonance and more immediacy. The price for CD is reasonable and the iTunes download is an incredible $3.99. I'll be listening to this quite a bit, as for some mysterious reason my SACD player abruptly decided it can't read the MTT recording, the only one I have that suffers from this problem – anyone with any insight into why this would happen, I'd appreciate your knowledge.
The other CD for review today, Berlin, is a mostly excellent collection of songs, mainly on text by Brecht, mainly by Hans Eisler – with a good handful from Kurt Weill and other composers. These are arranged performed by Theo Bleckmann and Fumio Yasuda, with assistance from a string quarter. Bleckmann stands out from the crowd of singers and performers. I first heard him in a duet with Sheila Jordan, the saw him onstage singing and tumbling with Meredith Monk, and found him to be the key element of one of the finest works of music of this generation:
His beautiful, clear sound, his enunciation and his deceptively flat expressive style draw in the ear and enthrall the listening imagination. He inflects with gentle, subtle emphasis and inflection which serves to express both musical opinion and artistic sincerity. He is predictably beautiful and involving on this record.
What I find most important is the decisions the artists made, their sound aesthetic judgement. Eisler is ever-fashionable and highly overrated composer, a real second-rater who maintains some kind of strange counter-cultural appeal as essentially a patriotic volunteer to the artistic needs of the State in East Germany. He was a trained and eager propagandist, and his music is mainly earnest, clumsy, dull and based on ridiculous ideas. Still, he wrote a lot of songs, and a few good ones, all of which seem to be on this disc, like Hollywood-Elegie No. 7, his single finest moment. As in the previous recording, the straightforward, elegant and unfussy arrangements really serve this work, as does, especially, Bleckmann's intriguing style. The Weill tunes are much better known and more accomplished, and there's something intriguing about hearing a man singing about Surabaya Johnny . . . most well known of all the songs is Ich bing von Kopf . . . or Falling in Love Again – the rendition here is as good as I've ever heard, and yes, that includes my beloved Marlene Dietrich. While the disc loses a bit of steam with some fairly static arrangements on the last three tracks, this a generous collection of 23 songs and 77 minutes of music that you will find yourself listening to with attention and reward.
More music to come, including songs of Charles Ives, more Mahler (there' always more Mahler), new jazz, electronic music, interesting pop and rock . . . and The Ring!


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Fuel Tank and Rear End
After searching the garage, I have found most of the parts for the rear end as well as the gas tank. Unfortunately many of the bushings, seals and other rubber items are dry rotted and have to be replaced. After searching the internet I purchased a fuel tank neck boot, a locking gas cap, leaf spring bolt kit, trailing arm pivot bolts, inner and outer spindle seals, and finally bushings for the strut rods. Maybe soon I can actually put things back into the car.
Day Two Totals
Time: 6 Hours
Cost: $203.40
Time: 6 Hours
Cost: $203.40


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An "Authorized" Interview with Faith Scimecca
By Michael Peter Carter
Faith Scimecca was Authorized last fall, and kindly offered to share a little about herself, her practice, and where she hopes to go in the future.
LM: So Faith, where are your roots?
FS: I was born and raised in Fairfax, VA, a suburb of Washington, D.C. My grandfather was a Christian Pastor and my first spiritual teacher. He passed away in 2001--the same year I met my Guru, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. It was also the year my sister had her first child. I like to think that my Grandfather still takes care of us. He made sure we both had someone new in our life that year that would help us to further know God.
LM: What do you enjoy besides practice?
FS: I've always loved to dance. For Guruji's 91st birthday, I performed a Bollywood dance choreographed by the very talented Vincent Gomez. Authorized teacher and artist, Mary Flinn, taught me to paint still-life and landscapes of India. I am eternally grateful for that gift.
LM: How did you find Yoga?
FS: My mom took me to a yoga class in high school that was more a yoga stretch-type class for middle aged women. I liked it instantly, but I was 15 and yoga wasn't considered cool then. I didn't tell anyone about it and I didn't do it again until college. For that second experience, I was lucky enough to walk into a class that was closer to Ashtanga. I actually had my mother start doing Ashtanga as well and she is my most loyal student.
LM: That's cool! When did you get into Ashtanga?
FS: David Ingalls was the first person to teach Ashtanga Yoga in DC. He taught me the primary series and ignited the spark that led me to Guruji.
LM: Are there any other teachers who have had a major impact on you and your practice:
FS: Annie Pace has always been a strong female role model. You can really tell how much time she has spent with Guruji. She's got the whole strict loving thing down. The best compliment I ever received from Sharath was when he told me I reminded him of Annie 10 years before.
LM: Tell us about the first time you met Guruji:
FS: I first met Guruji in 2001 when he was on tour in New York. On the last day of the workshop I thanked him and paid my respects. He told me "You go to India."
LM: What was it like to go to Mysore for the first time?
FS: I've made four trips to Mysore, each for three months. My first trip was in May when The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute first opened in the neighborhood of Gokulam. There were only about 30 of us that first year, but by my fourth trip, there were a few hundred. I hope to return every year to continue my studies.
LM: Have you been teaching since you were Authorized?
FS: My most recent trip to Mysore, Guruji and his grandson Sharath asked me to open a yoga school in DC and then formally authorized me to teach. I was honored and terrified. I never had any doubts about the teachings, just my ability to transmit them. Sharath dismissed my reservations about opening a school. He helped me to realize that teaching is a transfer of energy from within. I trust that realization, and I trust his choice of me as a teacher.
During that same trip, Guruji had been very sick. He had to spend 21 days in the ICU and his condition was very serious. It was depressing to see him like that but his grandson and daughter kept the yoga school open and as weeks went by practicing with them became a great experience. The day after Sharath told me to open my own school, Guruji returned to lead the opening chant. He was looking so much better and surprised every one by teaching the whole class. I thought if he can be that sick at 92 and still teach, then I can open the studio. I needed that inspiration and it really hit it home for me
LM: Have you opened a Shala? Where?
FS: I have opened a school in DC called Woodley Park Yoga. For the first time, I am teaching daily mysore style classes. I have an amazing group of students, and every day I learn just as much from them as they learn from me.
LM: Any plans for workshops, your shala... teaching around the world?
FS: I'm still focused on my own students and studio. Of course, I am open to teaching around the world if anyone reading this wants to invite me...
LM: What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
FS: As of now, I hope to continue to teach at my studio and hopefully return to India soon. Unless Sharath tells me to do something else, I will continue on this path.
LM: Anything else you want to say?
FS: Ashtanga yoga has done so much for me. It is a great honor for me to be able to bring back the practices from India and teach them to others here in Washington, DC.
Michael Peter Carter is the co-founder of Livingmysore.com and practices with Paul and Rachelle Gold in Toronto, Canada.


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Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man wanted in the bombing, is the son of a man named Muhammad Rahami who runs a fast-food restaurant, First American Fried Chicken, in the ground floor of their home on Elmora Avenue, neighbors said.
The restaurant, which has employed Ahmad and some of his brothers, was such a persistent neighborhood nuisance that the city forced it to close early, said Mayor J. Christian Bollwage of Elizabeth.
Note – It is being reported that the people arrested in the SUV that was found to be carrying weapons may be relatives of Ahmad Khan Rahami.
JUST IN: @PeteWilliamsNBC: Ahmad Khan Rahami "is the key" to bombings invest; group stopped on Verrazano Bridge are members of his family.
— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) September 19, 2016


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Training sessions
This week I taught my first training session. I was training our project partners on our metadata fields (based on Dublin Core), and on features of the new version of ContentDM. I had lots of levels of experience in the class, from librarians to volunteers, people familiar with the previous version of ContentDM and people who had never used it, and people unfamiliar with PCs all the way to tech-savy web designers. Even with all of these levels, there were only about 10 people in the class. I think the session went well. At least no one fell asleep. I'm looking forward to getting more experience with this type of training and becoming more comfortable explaining concepts to a class. Until this class, I had never talked in front of a group of people for more than 20 minutes. And previously my presentations had all been prepared presentations, while a training session needs to be more spontaneous. In my "previous life," as a musician, I performed many recitals, and I think that the skills I developed doing this translate nicely into my new profession. Even though I'm not used to talking to a group for very long, I am used to standing in front of an audience and keeping their attention for an entire recital. However, I was always intimidated by the thought of speaking to my audience.
For one of my job interviews this year, I had to give a presentation on what makes a great trainer. Unfortunately at that time I didn't have any experience with training, and the presentation I put together was purely academic. However, it was a good reason to spend time thinking about this subject. I feel that library school didn't prepare me for this area. I never had to give a presentation longer than 10 minutes in library school, while in the "real world" librarians must give presentations and present training sessions on a regular basis. I'm looking forward to developing this skill and becoming more comfortable with public speaking.


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Join us for a Summer Solstice cider & BBQ party at Nepo 42. 4 ciders will be on tap inside and 6 ciders will be set up on jockey boxes under a tent outside. Come enjoy your ciders outside with corn hole on the lawn next to the patio. We will have a BBQ grill out front selling $3 hot dogs along with Nepo's full menu inside. Ciders will be discounted by $1.00, and Nepo's happy hour runs 3:00-6:00.
The Timbers game will be on with cider swag raffles throughout!
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | Twitter: @NEPO42BAR


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Audrey Whitby Surprises BFF Jessica Marie Garcia For Her Birthday!
Jessica Marie Garcia had quite the amazing birthday weekend!
The Liv and Maddie star was surprised by her BFF Audrey Whitby while celebrating with a bunch of other friends.
"When you think your bff is going to miss your bday party and she flies in to surprise you. I love you @audreywhitby," Jessica captioned a cute Twitter video, which you can watch below.
Audry wrote on Instagram, "There is no better way to celebrate the highlight of the highlight of my LIFE. Happy Birthday @jess_m_garcia. Thank you for constantly taking care of me and letting me learn your take charge bad ass ways. You inspire me everyday. Oh, and the dope braids are a plus."
Meanwhile, her other co-star Dove Cameron wrote on Twitter, "my heart is so filled. i love you @JessMarieGarcia happy birthday"
When you think your bff is going to miss your bday party and she flies in to surprise you. ????????????????? I love you @audreywhitby pic.twitter.com/yBPDoqd30X
— Jessica Marie Garcia (@JessMarieGarcia) March 26, 2017
Posted to: Audrey Whitby, Birthday, Dove Cameron, Jessica Marie Garcia


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Thursday, August 16, 2007
New Darcy Miller | Martha Stewart Weddings Blog
10 comments:
- erin kate said...
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- August 16, 2007 at 9:02 PM
- WEDDEX said...
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- August 16, 2007 at 9:07 PM
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- March 17, 2010 at 11:10 AM


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I made some ink out of oak falls and iron. It's a classic recipe for ink from the Medieval period. Although I am not convinced that my first attempt was completely successful, it is passable.
After doing some test portraiture with a brush, I pencilled two panels of a cafe scene and inked them with a brush and my home-made ink. I added a few details on top of the brushwork with a .5 LePen technical pen by Marvy/Uchida.


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Bill BuxtonMicrosoft ResearchOriginal: Jan. 12, 2007Version: Feb 12, 2009
Multi-touch, multitouch, input, interaction, touch screen, touch tablet, multi-finger input, multi-hand input, bi-manual input, two-handed input, multi-person input, interactive surfaces, soft machine, hand gesture, gesture recognition .
Since the announcement of the iPhone, an especially large number of people have asked me about multi-touch. The reason is largely because they know that I have been involved in the topic for a number of years. The problem is, I can't take the time to give a detailed reply to each question. So I have done the next best thing (I hope). That is, start compiling my would-be answer in this document. The assumption is that ultimately it is less work to give one reasonable answer than many unsatisfactory ones.
Multi-touch technologies have a long history. To put it in perspective, the original work undertaken by my team was done in 1984, the same year that the first Macintosh computer was released, and we were not the first. Furthermore, during the development of the iPhone, Apple was very much aware of the history of multi-touch, dating at least back to 1982, and the use of the pinch gesture, dating back to 1983. This is clearly demonstrated by the bibliography of the PhD thesis of Wayne Westerman, co-founder of FingerWorks, a company that Apple acquired early in 2005, and now an Apple employee:
Westerman, Wayne (1999). Hand Tracking,Finger Identification, and Chordic Manipulation on a Multi-Touch Surface. U of Delaware PhD Dissertation: http://www.ee.udel.edu/~westerma/main.pdf
In making this statement about their awareness of past work, I am not criticizing Westerman, the iPhone, or Apple. It is simply good practice and good scholarship to know the literature and do one's homework when embarking on a new product. What I am pointing out, however, is that "new" technologies - like multi-touch - do not grow out of a vacuum. While marketing tends to like the "great invention" story, real innovation rarely works that way.
So, to shed some light on the back story of this particular technology, I offer this brief and incomplete summary of some of the landmark examples that I have been involved with, known about and/or encountered over the years. As I said, it is incomplete and a work in progress (so if you come back a second time, chances are there will be more and better information). I apologize to those that I have missed. I have erred on the side of timeliness vs thoroughness. Other work can be found in the references to the papers that I do include.
Please do not be shy in terms of sending me photos, updates, etc. I will do my best to integrate them.
For more background on input, see also the incomplete draft manuscript for my book on input tools, theories and techniques:
For more background on input devices, including touch screens and tablets, see my directory at:
I hope this helps.
There is a lot of confusion around touch technologies, and despite a 25 year history, very little information or experience with multi-touch interaction. I have three comments to set up what is to follow:
1. Remember that it took 30 years between when the mouse was invented by Engelbart and English in 1965 to when it became ubiquitous, on the release of Windows 95. Yes, it was released commercially on the Xerox Star and PERQ workstations in 1982, and I used my first one in 1972 at the National Research Council of Canada. But statistically, that doesn't matter. It took 30 years to hit the tipping point. So, by that measure, multi-touch technologies have 5 years to go before they fall behind.
2. Keep in mind one of my primary axioms: Everything is best for something and worst for something else. The trick is knowing what is what, for what, when, for whom, where, and most importantly, why. Those who try the replace the mouse play a fool's game. The mouse is great for many things. Just not everything. The challenge with new input is to find devices that work together, simultaneously with the mouse (such as in the other hand), or things that are strong where the mouse is weak, thereby complimenting it.
3. To significantly improve a product by a given amount, it probably takes about two more orders of magnitude of cost, time and effort to improve the display as to get the same amount of improvement on input. Why? Because we are ocular centric, and displays are therefore much more mature. Input is still primitive, and wide open for improvement. So it is a good thing that you are looking at this stuff. What took you so long?
I don't have time to write a treatise, tutorial or history. What I can do is warn you about a few traps that seem to cloud a lot of thinking and discussion around this stuff. The approach that I will take is to draw some distinctions that I see as meaningful and relevant. These are largely in the form of contrasts:
Touch-tablets vs Touch screens: In some ways these are two extremes of a continuum. If, for example, you have paper graphics on your tablet, is that a display (albeit more-or-less static) or not? What if the "display" on the touch tablet is a tactile display rather than visual? There are similarities, but there are real differences between touch-sensitive display surfaces, vs touch pads or tablets. It is a difference of directness. If you touch exactly where the thing you are interacting with is, let's call it a touch screen or touch display. If your hand is touching a surface that is not overlaid on the screen, let's call it a touch tablet or touch pad.
Discrete vs Continuous: The nature of interaction with multi-touch input is highly dependent on the nature of discrete vs continuous actions supported. Many conventional touch-screen interfaces are based discrete items such as pushing so-called "light buttons", for example. An example of a multi-touch interface using such discrete actions would be using a soft graphical QWERTY keyboard, where one finger holds the shift key and another pushes the key for the upper-case character that one wants to enter. An example of two fingers doing a coordinated continuous action would be where they are stretching the diagonally opposed corners of a rectangle, for example. Between the two is a continuous/discrete situation, such as where one emulates a mouse, for example, using one finger for indicating continuous position, and other fingers, when in contact, indicate mouse button pushes, for example.
Degrees of Freedom: The richness of interaction is highly related to the richness/numbers of degrees of freedom (DOF), and in particular, continuous degrees of freedom, supported by the technology. The conventional GUI is largely based on moving around a single 2D cursor, using a mouse, for example. This results in 2DOF. If I am sensing the location of two fingers, I have 4DOF, and so on. When used appropriately, these technologies offer the potential to begin to capture the type of richness of input that we encounter in the everyday world, and do so in a manner that exploits the everyday skills that we have acquired living in it. This point is tightly related to the previous one.
Size matters: Size largely determines what muscle groups are used, how many fingers/hands can be active on the surface, and what types of gestures are suited for the device.
Orientation Matters - Horizontal vs Vertical: Large touch surfaces have traditionally had problems because they could only sense one point of contact. So, if you rest your hand on the surface, as well as the finger that you want to point with, you confuse the poor thing. This tends not to occur with vertically mounted surfaces. Hence large electronic whiteboards frequently use single touch sensing technologies without a problem.
There is more to touch-sensing than contact and position: Historically, most touch sensitive devices only report that the surface has been touched, and where. This is true for both single and multi touch devices. However, there are other aspects of touch that have been exploited in some systems, and have the potential to enrich the user experience:
Degree of touch / pressure sensitivity: A touch surfaces that that can independently and continuously sense the degree of contact for each toouch point has a far higher potential for rich interaction. Note that I use "degree of contact" rather than pressure since frequently/usually, what passes for pressure is actually a side effect – as you push harder, your finger tip spreads wider over the point of contact, and what is actually sensed is amount/area of contact, not pressure, per se. Either is richer than just binary touch/no touch, but there are even subtle differences in the affordances of pressure vs degree.
Angle of approach: A few systems have demonstrated the ability to sense the angle that the finger relative to the screen surface. See, for example, McAvinney's Sensor Frame, below. In effect, this lgives the finger the capability to function more-or-less as a virtual joystick at the point of contact, for example. It also lets the finger specify a vector that can be projected into the virtual 3D space behind the screen from the point of contact - something that could be relevant in games or 3D applications.
Force vectors: Unlike a mouse, once in contact with the screen, the user can exploit the friction between the finger and the screen in order to apply various force vectors. For example, without moving the finger, one can apply a force along any vector parallel to the screen surface, including a rotational one. These techniques were described as early as 1978 [Herot, C. & Weinzapfel, G. (1978). One-Point Touch Input of Vector Information from Computer Displays, Computer Graphics, 12(3), 210-216.] and again five years later [Minsky, M. (1984). Manipulating Simulated Objects with Real-World Gestures Using a Force and Position Sensitive Screen, Computer Graphics, 18(3), 195-203.].
Such historical examples are important reminders that it is human capability, not technology, that should be front and centre in our considerations. While making such capabilities accessible at reasonable costs may be a challenge, it is worth remembering further that the same thing was also said about multi-touch. Furthermore, note that multi-touch dates from about the same time as these other touch innovations.
Size matters II: The ability of to sense the size of the area being touched can be as important as the size of the touch surface. See the Synaptics example, below, where the device can sense the difference between the touch of a finger (small) vs that of the cheek (large area), so that, for example, you can answer the phone by holding it to the cheek.
Single-finger vs multi-finger: Although multi-touch has been known since at least 1982, the vast majority of touch surfaces deployed are single touch. If you can only manipulate one point, regardless of with a mouse, touch screen, joystick, trackball, etc., you are restricted to the gestural vocabulary of a fruit fly. We were given multiple limbs for a reason. It is nice to be able to take advantage of them.
Multi-point vs multi-touch: It is really important in thinking about the kinds of gestures and interactive techniques used if it is peculiar to the technology or not. Many, if not most, of the so-called "multi-touch" techniques that I have seen, are actually "multi-point". Think of it this way: you don't think of yourself of using a different technique in operating your laptop just because you are using the track pad on your laptop (a single-touch device) instead of your mouse. Double clicking, dragging, or working pull-down menus, for example, are the same interaction technique, independent of whether a touch pad, trackball, mouse, joystick or touch screen are used.
Multi-hand vs multi-finger: For much of this space, the control can not only come from different fingers or different devices, but different hands working on the same or different devices. A lot of this depends on the scale of the input device. Here is my analogy to explain this, again referring back to the traditional GUI. I can point at an icon with my mouse, click down, drag it, then release the button to drop it. Or, I can point with my mouse, and use a foot pedal to do the clicking. It is the same dragging technique, even though it is split over two limbs and two devices. So a lot of the history here comes from a tradition that goes far beyond just multi-touch.
Multi-person vs multi-touch: If two points are being sensed, for example, it makes a huge difference if they are two fingers of the same hand from one user vs one finger from the right hand of each of two different users. With most multi-touch techniques, you do not want two cursors, for example (despite that being one of the first thing people seem to do). But with two people working on the same surface, this may be exactly what you do want. And, insofar as multi-touch technologies are concerned, it may be valuable to be able to sense which person that touch comes from, such as can be done by the Diamond Touch system from MERL (see below).
Points vs Gesture: Much of the early relevant work, such as Krueger (see below) has to do with sensing the pose (and its dynamics) of the hand, for example, as well as position. That means it goes way beyond the task of sensing multiple points.
Stylus and/or finger: Some people speak as if one must make a choice between stylus vs finger. It certainly is the case that many stylus systems will not work with a finger, but many touch sensors work with a stylus or finger. It need not be an either or question (although that might be the correct decision – it depends on the context and design). But any user of the Palm Pilot knows that there is the potential to use either. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Just keep this in mind: if the finger was the ultimate device, why didn't Picasso and Rembrandt restrict themselves to finger painting? On the other hand, if you want to sense the temperature of water, your finger is a better tool than your pencil.
Hands and fingers vs Objects: The stylus is just one object that might be used in multi-point interaction. Some multi-point / multi-touch systems can not only sense various different objects on them, but what object it is, where it is, and what its orientation is. See Andy Wilson's work, below, for example. And, the objects, stylus or otherwise, may or may not be used in conjunction and simultaneously with fingers.
Different vs The Same: When is something the same, different or obvious? In one way, the answer depends on if you are a user, programmer, scientist or lawyer. From the perspective of the user interface literature, I can make three points that would be known and assumed by anyone skilled in the art:
Device-Independent Graphics: This states that the same technique implemented with an alternative input device is still the same technique. For example, you can work your GUI with a stylus, touch screen, mouse, joystick, touchpad, or trackball, and one would still consider techniques such as double-clicking, dragging, dialogue boxes as being "the same" technique;
The Interchange of devices is not neutral from the perspective of the user: While the skill of using a GUI with a mouse transfers to using a touchpad, and the user will consider the interface as using the same techniques, nevertheless, the various devices have their own idiomatic strengths and weaknesses. So, while the user will consider the techniques the "same", their performance (speed, accuracy, comfort, preference, etc.) will be different from device to device. Hence, the interactive experience is not the same from device to device, despite using the same techniques. Consequently, it is the norm for users and researchers alike to swap one device for another to control a particular technique.
As I stated above, my general rule is that everything is best for something and worst for something else. The more diverse the population is, the places and contexts where they interact, and the nature of the information that they are passing back in forth in those interactions, the more there is room for technologies tailored to the idiosyncrasies of those tasks.
The potential problem with this, is that it can lead to us having to carry around a collection of devices, each with a distinct purpose, and consequently, a distinct style of interaction. This has the potential of getting out of hand and our becoming overwhelmed by a proliferation of gadgets – gadgets that are on their own are simple and effective, but collectively do little to reduce the complexity of functioning in the world. Yet, traditionally our better tools have followed this approach. Just think of the different knives in your kitchen, or screwdrivers in your workshop. Yes there are a great number of them, but they are the "right ones", leading to an interesting variation on an old theme, namely, "more is less", i.e., more (of the right) technology results is less (not more) complexity. But there are no guarantees here.
What touch screen based "soft machines" offer is the opposite alternative, "less is more". Less, but more generally applicable technology results in less overall complexity. Hence, there is the prospect of the multi-touch soft machine becoming a kind of chameleon that provides a single device that can transform itself into whatever interface that is appropriate for the specific task at hand. The risk here is a kind of "jack of all trades, master of nothing" compromise.
One path offered by touch-screen driven appliances is this: instead of making a device with different buttons and dials mounted on it, soft machines just draw a picture of the devices, and let you interact with them. So, ideally, you get far more flexibility out of a single device. Sometimes, this can be really good. It can be especially good if, like physical devices, you can touch or operate more than one button, or virtual device at a time. For an example of where using more than one button or device at a time is important in the physical world, just think of having to type without being able to push the SHIFT key at the same time as the character that you want to appear in upper case. There are a number of cases where this can be of use in touch interfaces.
Likewise, multi-touch greatly expands the types of gestures that we can use in interaction. We can go beyond simple pointing, button pushing and dragging that has dominated our interaction with computers in the past. The best way that I can relate this to the everyday world is to have you imagine eating Chinese food with only one chopstick, trying to pinch someone with only one fingertip, or giving someone a hug with – again – the tip of one finger or a mouse. In terms of pointing devices like mice and joysticks are concerned, we do everything by manipulating just one point around the screen – something that gives us the gestural vocabulary of a fruit fly. One suspects that we can not only do better, but as users, deserve better. Multi-touch is one approach to accomplishing this – but by no means the only one, or even the best. (How can it be, when I keep saying, everything is best for something, but worst for something else).
Feelings: The adaptability of touch screens in general, and multi-touch screens especially comes at a price. Besides the potential accumulation of complexity in a single device, the main source of the downside stems from the fact that you are interacting with a picture of the ideal device, rather than the ideal device itself. While this may still enable certain skills from the specialized physical device transfer to operating the virtual one, it is simply not the same. Anyone who has typed on a graphical QWERTY keyboard knows this. User interfaces are about look and feel. The following is a graphic illustration of how this generally should be written when discussing most touch-screen based systems:Look and FeelKind of ironic, given that they are "touch" screens. So let's look at some of the consequences in our next points.
If you are blind you are simply out of luck. p.s., we are all blind at times - such as when lights are out, or our eyes are occupied elsewhere – such as on the road). On their own, soft touch screen interfaces are nearly all "eyes on". You cannot "touch type", so to speak, while your eyes are occupied elsewhere (one exception is so-called "heads-up" touch entry using single stroke gestures such as Graffiti that are location independent). With an all touch-screen interface you generally cannot start, stop, or pause your MP3 player, for example, by reaching into your pocket/purse/briefcase. Likewise, unless you augment the touch screen with speech recognition for all functions, you risk a serious accident trying to operate it while driving. On the other hand, MP3 players and mobile phones mechanical keys can to a certain degree be operated eyes free – the extreme case being some 12-17 year old kids who can text without looking!
· Handhelds that rely on touch screens for input virtually all require two hands to operate: one to hold the device and the other to operate it. Thus, operating them generally requires both eyes and both hands.
· Your finger is not transparent: The smaller the touch screen the more the finger(s) obscure what is being pointed at. Fingers do not shrink in the same way that chips and displays do. That is one reason a stylus is sometimes of value: it is a proxy for the finger that is very skinny, and therefore does not obscure the screen.
· There is a reason we don't rely on finger painting: Even on large surfaces, writing or drawing with the finger is generally not as effective as it is with a brush or stylus. On small format devices it is virtually useless to try and take notes or make drawings using a finger rather than a stylus. If one supports good digital ink and an appropriate stylus and design, one can take notes about as fluently as one can with paper. Note taking/scribble functions are notably absent from virtually all finger-only touch devices.
· Sunshine: We have all suffered trying to read the colour LCD display on our MP3 player, mobile phone and digital camera when we are outside in the sun. At least with these devices, there are mechanical controls for some functions. For example, even if you can't see what is on the screen, you can still point the camera in the appropriate direction and push the shutter button. With interfaces that rely exclusively on touch screens, this is not the case. Unless the device has an outstanding reflective display, the device risks being unusable in bright sunlight.
Does this property make touch-devices a bad thing? No, not at all. It just means that they are distinct devices with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. The ability to completely reconfigure the interface on the fly (so-called "soft interfaces") has been long known, respected and exploited. But there is no free lunch and no general panacea. As I have said, everything is best for something and worst for something else. Understanding and weighing the relative implications on use of such properties is necessary in order to make an informed decision. The problem is that most people, especially consumers (but including too many designers) do not have enough experience to understand many of these issues. This is an area where we could all use some additional work. Hopefully some of what I have written here will help.
In the beginning ....: Typing & N-Key Rollover (IBM and others).
While it may seem a long way from multi-touch screens, the story of multi-touch starts with keyboards.
Yes they are mechanical devices, "hard" rather than "soft" machines. But they do involve multi-touch of a sort.
First, most obviously, we see sequences, such as the SHIFT, Control, Fn or ALT keys in combination with others. These are cases where we want multi-touch.
Second, there are the cases of unintentional, but inevitable, multiple simultaneous key presses which we want to make proper sense of, the so-called question of n-key rollover (where you push the next key before releasing the previous one).
Photo Credit
Electroacoustic Music: The Early Days of Electronic Touch Sensors (Hugh LeCaine , Don Buchla & Bob Moog). http://www.hughlecaine.com/en/instruments.html
The history of touch-sensitive control devices pre-dates the age of the PC
A number of early synthesizer and electronic music instrument makers used touch-sensitive capacitance-sensors to control the sound and music being made.
These were touch pads, rather than touch screens
The tradition of innovating on touch controls for musical purposes continued/continues, and was the original basis for the University of Toronto multitouch surface, as well as the CMU Sensor Frame.
1972: PLATO IV Touch Screen Terminal (Computer-based Education Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champain) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato_computer
Touch screens started to be developed in the second half of the 1960s.
Early work was done at the IBM, the University of Illinois, and Ottawa Canada.
By 1971 a number of different techniques had been disclosed
All were single-touch and none were pressure-sensitive
One of the first to be generally known was the terminal for the PLATO IV computer assisted education system, deployed in 1972.
As well as its use of touch, it was remarkable for its use of real-time random-access audio playback, and the invention of the flat panel plasma display.
the touch technology used was a precursor to the infrared technology still available today from CarrollTouch.
The initial implementation had a 16 x 16 array of touch-sensitive locations
1981: Tactile Array Sensor for Robotics (Jack Rebman, Lord Corporation).
1982: Flexible Machine Interface (Nimish Mehta , University of Toronto).
1983: Soft Machines (Bell Labs, Murray Hill)
· This is the first paper that I am aware of in the user interface literature that attempts to provide a comprehensive discussion the properties of touch-screen based user interfaces, what they call "soft machines".
· While not about multi-touch specifically, this paper outlined many of the attributes that make this class of system attractive for certain contexts and applications.
· Nakatani, L. H. & Rohrlich, John A. (1983). Soft Machines: A Philosophy of User-Computer Interface Design. Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'83), 12-15.
1983: Video Place / Video Desk (Myron Krueger)
Myron's work had a staggeringly rich repertoire of gestures, muti-finger, multi-hand and multi-person interaction.
1984: Multi-Touch Screen (Bob Boie, Bell Labs, Murray Hill NJ)
1985: Multi-Touch Tablet (Input Research Group, University of Toronto): http://www.billbuxton.com/papers.html#anchor1439918
· Developed a touch tablet capable of sensing an arbitrary number of simultaneous touch inputs, reporting both location and degree of touch for each.
· To put things in historical perspective, this work was done in 1984, the same year the first Macintosh computer was introduced.
· Used capacitance, rather than optical sensing so was thinner and much simpler than camera-based systems.
· A Multi-Touch Three Dimensional Touch-Sensitive Tablet (1985). Videos at: http://www.billbuxton.com/buxtonIRGVideos.html
Issues and techniques in touch-sensitive tablet input.(1985). Videos at: http://www.billbuxton.com/buxtonIRGVideos.html
1985: Sensor Frame (Carnegie Mellon University)
This is work done by Paul McAvinney and described in the following paper from 1986r:
McAvinney, P. (1986). The Sensor Frame - A Gesture-Based Device for the Manipulation of Graphic Objects. Carnegie-Mellon University,
The device used optical sensors in the corners of the frame to detect fingers.
At the time that this was done, miniature cameras were essentially unavailable. Hence, the device used DRAM IC's with glass (as opposed to opaque) covers for imaging.
It could sense up to three fingers at a time fairly reliably (but due to optical technique used, there was potential for misreadings due to shadows.
In a later prototype variation built with NASA funding, the Sensor Cube, the device could also could detect the angle that the finger came in to the screen. (See: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19940003261_1994003261.pdf).
1986: Bi-Manual Input (University of Toronto)
In 1985 we did a study, published the following year, which examined the benefits of two different compound bi-manual tasks that involved continuous control with each hand
The first was a positioning/scaling task. That is, one had to move a shape to a particular location on the screen with one hand, while adjusting its size to match a particular target with the other.
The second was a selection/navigation task. That is, one had to navigate to a particular location in a document that was currently off-screen, with one hand, then select it with the other.
Since bi-manual continuous control was still not easy to do (the ADB had not yet been released - see below), we emulated the Macintosh with another computer, a PERQ.
The results demonstrated that such continuous bi-manual control was both easy for users, and resulted in significant improvements in performance and learning.
See Buxton, W. & Myers, B. (1986). A study in two-handed input. Proceedings of CHI '86, 321-326.[video]
Despite this capability being technologically and economically viable since 1986 (with the advent of the ADB - see below - and later USB), there are still no mainstream systems that take advantage of this basic capability. Too bad.
This is an example of techniques developed for multi-device and multi-hand that can easily transfer to multi-touch devices.
1986: Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) and the Trackball Scroller Init (Apple Computer / University of Toronto)
The Macintosh II and Macintosh SE were released with the Apple Desktop Bus. This can be thought of as an early version of the USB.
It supported plug-and-play, and also enabled multiple input devices (keyboards, trackballs, joysticks, mice, etc.) to be plugged into the same computer simultaneously.
The only downside was that if you plugged in two pointing devices, by default, the software did not distinguish them. They both did the same thing, and if a mouse and a trackball were operate at the same time (which they could be) a kind of tug-of-war resulted for the tracking symbol on the screen.
My group at the University of Toronto wanted to take advantage of this multi-device capability and contacted friends at Apple's Advanced Technology Group for help.
Due to the efforts of Gina Venolia and Michael Chen , they produced a simple "init" that could be dropped into the systems folder called the trackballscroller init.
It enabled the mouse, for example, to be designated the pointing device, and a trackball, for example, to control scrolling independently in X and Y. See, for example, Buxton, W. (1990). The Natural Language of Interaction: A Perspective on Non-Verbal Dialogues.In Laurel, B. (Ed.). The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 405-416.
They also provided another init that enabled us to grab the signals from the second device and use it to control a range of other functions. See fr example, Kabbash, P., Buxton, W.& Sellen, A. (1994). Two-Handed Input in a Compound Task. Proceedings of CHI '94, 417-423.
In short, with this technology, we were able to deliver the benefits demonstrated by Buxton & Myers (see above) on standard hardware, without changes to the operating system, and largely, with out changes even to the applications.
This is the closest that we came, without actually getting there, of supporting multi-point input - such as all of the two-point stretching, etc. that is getting so much attention now, 20 years later. It was technologically and economically viable then.
To our disappointment, Apple never took advantage of this - one of their most interesting - innovations.
1991: Bidirectional Displays (Bill Buxton & Colleagues , Xerox PARC)
· First discussions about the feasibility of making an LCD display that was also an input device, i.e., where pixels were input as well as output devices. Led to two initiatives. (Think of the paper-cup and string "walkie-talkies" that we all made as kids: the cups were bidirectional and functioned simultaneously as both a speaker and a microphone.)
· Took the high res 2D a-Si scanner technology used in our scanners and adding layers to make them displays. The bi-directional motivation got lost in the process, but the result was the dpix display (http://www.dpix.com/about.html);
· The Liveboard project. The rear projection Liveboard was initially conceived as a quick prototype of a large flat panel version that used a tiled array of bi-directional dpix displays.
1991: Digital Desk (Pierre Wellner, Rank Xerox EuroPARC, Cambridge)
1992: Flip Keyboard (Bill Buxton, Xerox PARC): www.billbuxton.com
· A multi-touch pad integrated into the bottom of a keyboard. You flip the keyboard to gain access to the multi-touch pad for rich gestural control of applications.
· Combined keyboard / touch tablet input device (1994). Video at: http://www.billbuxton.com/flip_keyboard_s.mov (video 2002 in conjunction with Tactex Controls)
Sound Synthesizer Audio MixerGraphics on multi-touch surface defining controls for various virtual devices.
1992: Simon (IBM & Bell South)
· IBM and Bell South release what was arguably the world's first smart phone, the Simon.
· What is of historical interest is that the Simon, like the iPhone, relied on a touch-screen driven "soft machine" user interface.
· While only a single-touch device, the Simon foreshadows a number of aspects of what we are seeing in some of the touch-driven mobile devices that we see today.
· Sidebar: my working Simon is one of the most prized pieces in my collection of input devices.
1992: Wacom (Japan)
In 1992 Wacom introduced their UD series of digitizing tablets. These were special in that they had mutli-device / multi-point sensing capability. They could sense the position of the stylus and tip pressure, as well as simultaneously sense the position of a mouse-like puck. This enabled bimanual input.
Working with Wacom, my lab at the University of Toronto developed a number of ways to exploit this technology to far beyond just the stylus and puck. See the work on Graspable/Tangible interfaces, below.
Their next two generations of tablets, the Intuos 1 (1998) and Intuos 2 (2001) series extended the multi-point capability. It enabled the sensing of the location of the stylus in x and y, plus tilt in x and tilt in y (making the stylus a location-sensitive joystick, in effect), tip pressure, and value from a side-mounted dial on their airbrush stylus. As well, one could simultaneously sense the position and rotation of the puck, as well as the rotation of a wheel on its side. In total, one was able to have control of 10 degrees of freedom using two hands.
While this may seem extravagant and hard to control, that all depended on how it was used. For example, all of these signals, coupled with bimanual input, are needed to implement any digital airbrush worthy of the name. With these technologies we were able to do just that with my group at Alias|Wavefront, again, with the cooperation of Wacom.
See also: Leganchuk, A., Zhai, S.& Buxton, W. (1998).Manual and Cognitive Benefits of Two-Handed Input: An Experimental Study.Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction, 5(4), 326-359.
1992: Starfire (Bruce Tognazinni , SUN Microsystems)
· Bruce Tognazinni produced an future envisionment film, Starfire, that included a number of multi-hand, multi-finger interactions, including pinching, etc.
1994-2002: Bimanual Research (Alias|Wavefront Toronto)
· Developed a number of innovative techniques for multi-point / multi-handed input for rich manipulation of graphics and other visually represented objects. Only some are mentioned specifically on this page.
· There are a number of videos can be seen which illustrate these techniques, along with others: http://www.billbuxton.com/buxtonAliasVideos.html
· Also see papers on two-handed input to see examples of multi-point manipulation of objects at: http://www.billbuxton.com/papers.html#anchor1442822
1995: Graspable/Tangible Interfaces (Input Research Group, University of Toronto)
· Demonstrated concept and later implementation of sensing the identity, location and even rotation of multiple physical devices on a digital desk-top display and using them to control graphical objects.
· By means of the resulting article and associated thesis introduced the notion of what has come to be known as "graspable" or "tangible" computing.
· Fitzmaurice, G.W., Ishii, H. & Buxton, W. (1995). Bricks: Laying the foundations for graspable user interfaces. Proceedings of the ACMSIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'95), 442–449.
1995: DSI Datotech (Vancouver BC)
· In 1995 this company made a touch tablet, the HandGear, capable of multipoint sensing. They also developed a software package, Gesture Recognition Technology (GRT), for recognizing hand gestures captured with the tablet.
· The company went out of business around 2002
1995/97: Active Desk (Input Research Group / Ontario Telepresence Project, University of Toronto)
Simultaneous bimanual and multi-finger interaction on large interactive display surface
1997: T3 (Alias|Wavefront, Toronto)
1997: The Haptic Lens (Mike Sinclair, Georgia Tech / Microsoft Research)
1998: Tactex Controls (Victoria BC) http://www.tactex.com/
· Kinotex controller developed in 1998 and shipped in Music Touch Controller, the MTC Express in 2000. Seen in video at: http://www.billbuxton.com/flip_keyboard_s.mov
~1998: Fingerworks (Newark, Delaware).
1999: Portfolio Wall (Alias|Wavefront, Toronto On, Canada)
Touch to open/close image Flick right = next / Flick left = previous
Portfolio Wall (1999)
2001: Diamond Touch (Mitsubishi Research Labs, Cambridge MA) http://www.merl.com/
· example capable of distinguishing which person's fingers/hands are which, as well as location and pressure
· various gestures and rich gestures.
· http://www.diamondspace.merl.com/
2002: Jun Rekimoto Sony Computer Science Laboratories (Tokyo) http://www.csl.sony.co.jp/person/rekimoto/smartskin/
2002: Andrew Fentem (UK) http://www.andrewfentem.com/
2003: University of Toronto (Toronto)
· paper outlining a number of techniques for multi-finger, multi-hand, and multi-user on a single interactive touch display surface.
· Many simpler and previously used techniques are omitted since they were known and obvious.
· Mike Wu, Mike & Balakrishnan, Ravin (2003). Multi-Finger and Whole Hand Gestural Interaction Techniques for Multi-User Tabletop Displays. CHI Letters
Freeform rotation. (a) Two fingers are used to rotate an object. (b) Though the pivot finger is lifted, the second finger can continue the rotation.
This parameter adjustment widget allows two-fingered manipulation.
2003: Jazz Mutant (Bordeaux France) http://www.jazzmutant.com/
· Make one of the first transparent multi-touch, one that became - to the best of my knowledge – the first to be offered in a commercial product.
· The product for which the technology was used was the Lemur, a music controller with a true multi-touch screen interface.
· An early version of the Lemur was first shown in public in LA in August of 2004.
2004: TouchLight (Andy Wilson, Microsoft Research): http://research.microsoft.com/~awilson/
· TouchLight (2004). A touch screen display system employing a rear projection display and digital image processing that transforms an otherwise normal sheet of acrylic plastic into a high bandwidth input/output surface suitable for gesture-based interaction. Video demonstration on website.
· Capable of sensing multiple fingers and hands, of one or more users.
· Since the acrylic sheet is transparent, the cameras behind have the potential to be used to scan and display paper documents that are held up against the screen .
2005: Blaskó and Steven Feiner (Columbia University): http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~gblasko/
· Using pressure to access virtual devices accessible below top layer devices
· Gábor Blaskó and Steven Feiner (2004). Single-Handed Interaction Techniques for Multiple Pressure-Sensitive Strips, Proc. ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2004) Extended Abstracts, 1461-1464
2005: PlayAnywhere (Andy Wilson, Microsoft Research): http://research.microsoft.com/~awilson/
· PlayAnywhere (2005). Video on website
· Contribution: sensing and identifying of objects as well as touch.
· A front-projected computer vision-based interactive table system.
· Addresses installation, calibration, and portability issues that are typical of most vision-based table systems.
· Uses an improved shadow-based touch detection algorithm for sensing both fingers and hands, as well as objects.
· Object can be identified and tracked using a fast, simple visual bar code scheme. Hence, in addition to manual mult-touch, the desk supports interaction using various physical objects, thereby also supporting graspable/tangible style interfaces.
· It can also sense particular objects, such as a piece of paper or a mobile phone, and deliver appropriate and desired functionality depending on which..
2005: Jeff Han (NYU): http://www.cs.nyu.edu/~jhan/----> 2006: Perceptive Pixel http://www.perceptivepixel.com/
· Very elegant implementation of a number of techniques and applications on a table format rear projection surface.
· Multi-Touch Sensing through Frustrated Total Internal Reflection (2005). Video on website.
· Formed Peceptive Pixel in 2006 in order to further develop the technology in the private sector
· See the more recent videos at the Perceptive Pixel site: http://www.perceptivepixel.com/
2005: Tactiva (Palo Alto) http://www.tactiva.com/
· Have announced and shown video demos of a product called the TactaPad.
· It uses optics to capture hand shadows and superimpose on computer screen, providing a kind of immersive experience, that echoes back to Krueger (see above)
· Is multi-hand and multi-touch
· Is tactile touch tablet, i.e., the tablet surface feels different depending on what virtual object/control you are touching
2005: Toshiba Matsusita Display Technology (Tokyo)
· Announce and demonstrate LCD display with "Finger Shadow Sensing Input" capability
· One of the first examples of what I referred to above in the 1991 Xerox PARC discussions. It will not be the last.
· The significance is that there is no separate touch sensing transducer. Just as there are RGB pixels that can produce light at any location on the screen, so can pixels detect shadows at any location on the screen, thereby enabling multi-touch in a way that is hard for any separate touch technology to match in performance or, eventually, in price.
· http://www3.toshiba.co.jp/tm_dsp/press/2005/05-09-29.htm
2005: Tomer Moscovich & collaborators (Brown University)
· a number of papers on web site: http://www.cs.brown.edu/people/tm/
· T. Moscovich, T. Igarashi, J. Rekimoto, K. Fukuchi, J. F. Hughes. "A Multi-finger Interface for Performance Animation of Deformable Drawings." Demonstration at UIST 2005 Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, Seattle, WA, October 2005. (video)
2006: Benko & collaborators (Columbia University & Microsoft Research)
· Some techniques for precise pointing and selection on muti-touch screens
· Benko, H., Wilson, A. D., and Baudisch, P. (2006). Precise Selection Techniques for Multi-Touch Screens. Proc. ACM CHI 2006 (CHI'06: Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1263–1272
· video
2006: Plastic Logic (Cambridge UK)
2006: Synaptics & Pilotfish (San Jose) http://www.synaptics.com
· Jointly developed Onyx, a soft multi-touch mobile phone concept using transparent Synaptics touch sensor. Can sense difference of size of contact. Hence, the difference between finger (small) and cheek (large), so you can answer the phone just by holding to cheek, for example.
· http://www.synaptics.com/onyx/
2007: Apple iPhone http://www.apple.com/iphone/technology/
2007: Microsoft Surface Computing http://www.surface.com
2007: ThinSight, Microsoft Research Cambridge (UK) http://www.billbuxton.com/UISTthinSight.pdf
2008: N-trig http://www.n-trig.com/
posted on 2009-05-22 14:06 zmj 阅读(2072) 评论(2) 编辑 收藏 引用
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March 16-17, 2019
George R. Brown Convention Center
Cross Court Classic is the largest non-qualifier in the state of Texas with over 700 teams participating every year. It is hosted in the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston and several other Houston area volleyball complexes. Please note that the tournament has met its capacity for the past FIVE years prior to the deadline so sign up EARLY to ensure your spot in the event.
General InformationTOURNAMENT INFORMATION LINKS (to be updated once 2019 information available):
QUESTIONS: Email Michele at firstname.lastname@example.com or call Ann at 281-488-6271
OFFICIALS NEEDED: Please sign up to officiate via Advanced Event Systems or contact the head official:
Gloria Cox firstname.lastname@example.com
TRAINERS: will be available at the GRB next to each tournament desk (between Hall A&B, Hall D and Hall B3)
VENDORS: If you are interested in being a vendor at the tournament, contact Bohnnie at firstname.lastname@example.com
Team Registration & Check In
Registration opened October 1, 2018. This event typically is filled prior to the registration deadline in January. Please understand that to be accepted, you must register through Advanced Events Systems and complete payment.
DivisionsPlease pay attention to which division you register for because it may be difficult to change after registration closes:
- Open
- Most competitive and should be entered by top teams in the club. Teams in this division should be consistently a #1 team in pool play
- Elite
- Very competitive division and should be entered by top or second teams in the club. Teams in this division should be a consistent #1 or #2 team in pool play
- Club
- For teams who do not qualify as an open or elite team.
Team Check InCoaches should pick up passes Friday night or Saturday prior to playing.
- Friday TBD
- Saturday TBD
No chairs are allowed to be brought into the GRB (there will be chairs around each court). Coolers and tables can be set up outside the front of the GRB, however, be aware it is in downtown Houston with pedestrians and vagrants who might partake in your goodies. There will be several food/drink vendors set up throughout the GRB for water and snacks. There is limited free WiFi in the GRB.
|Entry Fee
|Registration Deadline
|1/01/19 or earlier if divisions fill prior to the deadline.
Schedule & Results
Wave schedule:
|AM Wave (8am start time):
|Wave schedule to be released after registration has ended.
|PM Wave (start time 2pm or later):
|Wave schedule to be released after registration has ended.
Schedules & results will be posted on Advanced Event Systems. There will be a bank of computers near each tournament desk with AES available. If you see an error in results, please tell the tournament staff so that the scoresheet can be reviewed and the system can be corrected.
Spectator Information
Online: Weekend passes will be available for purchase in March.
All offsite locations will accept the same weekend passes. Cash sales and pre-purchased wristbands redemption will be available at the following locations:
|noon - 2pm
6 - 8:30pm
|GRB Main Desk in Hall A/B
|6:30pm - 8:30pm
|Hilton Americas lobby &
2nd floor of GRB at Marquis Marriott skybridge
|Starting at 6:30am
|GRB Box Office A & D for CASH sales or Hall C Lobby for online redemption
Pre-sale Online Weekend Pass Prices: Adults — $16 Sr (65+)/Child (6-17) — $8
On-Site: Wristbands will be sold at the outside box office windows of Halls A & D. Sales are Cash Only, no checks or credit cards. There will be ATMs in the Hall A and D lobbies. Offsite locations will also be selling tickets at the door.
Day-of Weekend Pass Price: Adults — $20 Sr (65+)/Child (6-17) — $12
Day-of Daily Ticket Price: Adults — $13 Sr (65+)/Child (6-17) — $10
Spectator Warning: As spectators, you may choose to be in close proximity to the volleyball courts. You do so at your own risk. Be mindful that volleyballs may come from multiple directions.
HOTEL INFORMATION:Book through Advanced Event Systems.
T-SHIRT PRE-SALES:Click here
The main site will be the George R Brown Convention Center. All teams will play AT LEAST ONE DAY in the convention center. Additional sites will be used as needed: The Zone, FAST Complex, Willowbrook Sports Complex, Texas Tornados Training Facility, Spike Sport, Skyline, and TAV Houston/The Edge. See the Map of Venues page for addresses and directions.
Parking is available in various paid parking lots near the GRB as well as under Discovery Green Park directly across from the Convention Center. There is a new parking garage located near the Hall A side of the GRB. NO PARKING IN THE BACK OF THE CONVENTION CENTER – there is NO ENTRY from that side of the building. You will have to walk around the convention center if you park behind the loading docks. There is no entrance in the back. Parking Meters downtown are NOT free on Saturdays. Prices vary, but most lots are between $10-$40 per day. Downtown parking lot attendants will be wearing a yellow vest with a badge.
The downtown Polk exit is the way almost all mapping technology guides drivers…. this is not the only way to get to the GRB. Although we will have officers working in that area to help the flow of traffic and pedestrians, we recommend to look up other ways to navigate in order to relieve the congestion in that area.
College Coaches
Please have college ID ready to show at entrance. University Athlete will be providing college coaches information for:
Division 1 - 1st coach: $50
Division 1 - 2nd coach: $25
Division 2 - 1st coach: $50
Division 2 - 2nd coach: $25
Div 3 and lower - 1st coach: $50
Div 3 and lower - 2nd coach: $25
List of college coaches that will be attending Cross Court Classic in 2018: here
Talent Showcase
The Talent Showcase will be held Friday, March 15th at the GRB.The Club South Talent Showcase provides an opportunity for high school athletes and Junior College/Community College athletes, who are uncommitted, to showcase their abilities to college coaches of all levels.
For questions, please contact us at email@example.com


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