text:
We were really blown away by the Hasbro Play-Doh 3-D Flash Art. It wasn't until I tested it with two high school students (both having just finished AP Physics) that I fully appreciated how cool this toy is and how useful it would be in any science class. Watch the video and you'll see how art is a beautiful display of science! Read our complete review.
Attention Science Teachers: Physics and Art!October 5, 2010
Toy Fair 2010: baaahhh from Folkmanis!February 18, 2010
Our toy fair experience is never complete without a visit to Folkmanis, the puppet masters! Here's a little video.
Toy Fair 2010 Preview: Playmobil – get ready to build!February 17, 2010
We stopped by Playmobil today and visited with Michelle Winfrey. Last year you'll remember we gave the Playmobil Egyptian setting our Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award. Each year we wonder what will be the big new theme. This year, there were several new sets that I think will be a hit with our testers. The two biggest sets are the Dragons – complete with Castles that can connect by a bridge. It made me think of that portion of the original Shrek movie. (Of course here the dragons are not trying to court Eddie Murphy, but hey it's pretend so I guess anything's possible!). You can take a closer look by watching our video with Michelle.
The next set that really caught our attention was the Fire Fighters. What we love about Playmobil is the attention to detail in planning a series. As you'll notice in our video of the Fire Fighters series, there's not only a really cool looking fire station (complete with pole), there are two different fire trucks, a fire chief's truck and a fire boat.
Toy Fair 2010: Star Wars LEGO: So good!February 16, 2010
If you are a big Star Wars LEGO fan, you'll be really excited to see the new sets scheduled for 2010. We asked LEGO's Julie Stern to take us through the new sets so that you could take a look. Watch the video. You'll hear both my mother Joanne and brother James (noted Tech expert and founder of jamesgames.com) on this video. We're a noisy bunch.
On this second video you can see James' reenactment of Hans Solo being taken away after being frozen in carbonite. It's this attention to detail that we really appreciate. If you watch this video, you will have a glimpse into my childhood! You can also hear my mother in the background laughing.
At the Today ShowDecember 23, 2009
Some pics from just before our segment about Toys with Lasting Play Value…trying to keep the kids engaged and not too noisy while Ann, Al, Natalie, Lester and Jenna talk. One of our toy testers Josie was about to take the stroller off the set–but came back after we strategically placed her mom right near Natalie ( just off camera).
During the segment…everyone is fully engaged with the toys!
Hooray! Segment complete!
Pick of the Day: Lisa LeLeu's Super Star TheaterDecember 14, 2009
If you have kids that are into performing, here's a big ticket item from Lisa LeLeu that is very special. Click here to read our complete review. My apologies to the company–this award winning toy got lost in the shuffle when we switched over to our new website!
Top high tech toys 2009December 9, 2009
Here are our some of favorites of the season– click on the name of the product to read our complete review at www.toyportfolio.com
For younger children:
LeapFrog Counting Candles (LeapFrog)
Two great cameras for 3s and up to enjoy:
Kidizoom Digital Camera Plus (V-Tech)
Disney Pix Jr Digital Camera (Disney)
If you have a child totally into cars, you need to look at:
Doodle-Track Cars (Day Dream Toys)
For kids 8 & up:
Nanos (Hexbug)
Eye Clops Night Vision Binoculars (Jakks Pacific)
For really advanced builders:


text:
"Bonn Has Become an Insider Tip on the International Stage"
ROME/BONN, Nov 29 (IPS) - With around 320,000 inhabitants on 141 square kilometres, no other relatively small city has played such a historically critical role like the City of Bonn.
Founded 2,100 years ago by the Romans, from being the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven to being the capital of Germany for over 50 years (1949-1990; seat of the Federal Government and Parliament until 1999), Bonn is also one of the best-guarded safe-deposit boxes of European and recent world history.
IPS interviews the City of Bonn's Mayor Ashok-Alexander Sridharan.
IPS: For over half a century Bonn was the centre for top world leaders deciding on the future of Germany and Europe. What in your opinion is the City of Bonn's best-kept political secret from that period?
Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of the City of Bonn
Sridharan: The fact that Bonn today has become an insider tip on the international stage – especially in the area of sustainability – certainly originates from those roughly five decades when Bonn acted as capital city for the most successful democracy on German ground. It was this valuable heritage that Bonn could draw back on when the decision was taken in the Federal Republic of Germany to make Bonn Germany's United Nations City.
IPS: After New York and Geneva, Bonn has become one of the world's biggest venues for United Nations organisations, with the presence of a total of 19 agencies. And your City is strongly involved in international development cooperation at the municipal level, on international youth projects and on the international dialogue of cultures. What are your current and future plans for the City?
Sridharan: At international level, Bonn is successfully establishing itself as Germany's United Nations City with a strong focus on sustainability-related issues. 'UN Bonn – Shaping a Sustainable Future' is the joint slogan of our Bonn-based UN agencies. With the UNSSC Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development, we have been able to welcome another important UN agency on board this year. And in December, the UN SDG Action Campaign will open its central campaign office in our city.
Bonn has increasingly developed into a sustainability hub. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) play a central role in this context.
Naturally, our city is also called upon to take up this issue in its own affairs. It is for a number of years now that we have successfully engaged in municipal development cooperation. We maintain partnerships with Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Cape Coast (Ghana), Chengdu (P.R. China), La Paz (Bolivia), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) and Minsk (Belarus), for instance.
Moreover, we are integrating the sustainable approach locally in our own day-to-day affairs. We promote fair trade and sustainable procurement, as well as eco-friendly mobility. Also, we are stepping up the use of renewable energies and advocate social interaction and a sense of togetherness in our local community.
IPS: The City of Bonn is also one of the largest international media hubs. Deutsche Welle, based here, organizes an annual Global Media Forum bringing over 2,000 professionals from all continents. Are there any new initiatives by your City in the field of international information and communication?
Sridharan: We use every opportunity to raise awareness for the special capabilities in our city among journalists from all over the globe coming to Bonn for whatever reason. We do so as Germany's United Nations City with a focus on sustainability, but also as birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven, as important IT centre in Germany, and much more.
Our communication is internationally oriented and we release quite a lot in English, such as on our special service website www.bonn-international.org or in our Bonn International Newsletter.
IPS: How are you managing your City's share of migrants and what measures have you initiated on integration? How many are there now waiting for formal migrant status and have the number of migrants gone up this year? Are there any climate migrants? How do you strike a balance between what is considered humane and the need to adhere to and execute policies?
Sridharan: Between September 2015 and February 2016 the number of refugees reached a peak with roughly 150 people arriving here every single week, persons who were seeking shelter in Germany.
This was a big challenge for all: for the refugees with an unclear future in their new surroundings, for our administration that was faced with the tremendous task of providing temporary accommodation for a great number of people, including very traumatized refugees.
Last, not least, for our local citizens, now encountering many different new neighbors with a foreign language and culture! These were difficult months, especially since we had to accommodate several hundred refugees in our gymnasiums. At the same time, innumerable volunteers saw to it that Bonn was able to truly welcome these refugees and to take good care of them.
It is with relief that I can say that today's situation is a little more relaxed. At this time, we are accommodating 3,000 refugees in municipal housing, an increasing number of them with permanent resident status.
Another 3,000 people in Bonn have received residence permits after their application for asylum had been granted. The number of people applying for asylum has decreased, as no more refugees are being sent to the City of Bonn by our authorities at this time. People coming from what is considered a safe country must go back home, which they often do voluntarily.
At the same time, we have been able to improve the type of accommodation we offer. Nobody must sleep in gymnasiums without any private space. The temporary housing we are able to offer now still has provisional character, but with some private space and independence. Also, we are managing to build more reasonably priced apartments, which we were already lacking before the refugees arrived in Bonn.
The birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven
We do our best to integrate the refugees here: They can visit language classes. International classes preparing for the German schools have been established. Our Job Center runs a special Integration Point offering services for the people seeking work in Germany and wanting to stay.
Refugees come from many countries. People from Syria make up the largest group, comprising roughly 1,100 persons at this time. Whether or not the small number of other refugees from Africa includes so-called climate migrants, we do not know.
Finally: We have many migrants in Bonn. However, refugees who need special support for their integration in our city and community only make up a small share. It helps that the structures that have been established for our growing international community in Bonn are already there – for people who come to work or to study in Bonn or even to move here with their entire family.
The thought behind Agenda 2030 'Leaving no one behind' is something we are living here in Bonn – just like elsewhere in cities in Germany, Europe and all over the world.
In December, the Pope has invited to a European meeting of mayors at the Vatican for an exchange of experience among city representatives on the ways refugees are being welcomed here. I will be delighted to share our experiences on that occasion.
IPS: The City of Bonn has always worked on sustainable project partnerships and contributed to international cooperation. What are your new initiatives on international cooperation?
Sridharan: In a globalized world with tight networks and strong dependencies cities must cooperate at international level. This holds true especially for cities like Bonn – a city that has always maintained close contacts around the globe, as United Nations City, business location and science hub.
We have joined a number of different international city networks. In October, I was elected Vice President of ICLEI. ICLEI is a city network for sustainability with over 1,500 members worldwide.
Every year, several hundred city representatives meet here in Bonn to discuss topical issues on climate adaptation and urban resilience during our annual ICLEI Resilient Cities Conference. We will seek to intensify this type of cooperation in the future.
Cooperating with our partner cities from Africa, South America and Central Asia plays an important part in this context as well. In recent years we have run a project with our partner city of Cape Coast in Ghana for the restoration of a fresh-water lagoon. With La Paz we have just initiated a joint project tackling waste separation and disposal. I am convinced that municipal cooperation will become ever more important still.
Functioning cities and municipalities are of utmost importance when it comes to keeping up state order and structures. This holds true especially if we take a look at the crisis regions in North Africa, the Middle East and South-Western Asia.
I have every confidence that municipalities can render highly important contribution, even when it is small, towards consolidating administrative structures in these countries.
IPS: Your City hosts key conferences; the City is pro-active on climate change. Although Mayors deal on a daily basis with the most pressing development issues, very little global development funding, reported to be 1%, is channelled through local governments. Are you working with other Mayors globally to correct or revise the allocation of resources?
Sridharan: Municipal development cooperation, the cooperation of cities and municipalities worldwide, is an area of politics which is increasingly gaining importance. The Federal Government has recognized this and has considerably stepped up funding for municipal cooperation with emerging and developing countries. It is a matter of fact that cities and municipalities can only render their small proportion towards global cooperation.
However, practical experience, face-to-face contact with local citizens and an exchange at eye level make municipal cooperation an indispensable element of international development cooperation.
Laying down a separate goal for cities under Agenda 2030 and adopting a New Urban Agenda during the Habitat III conference in Quito at the beginning of October are encouraging signals.
By 2050, four out of five people worldwide will live in cities. The heads of state and government will have to learn that the global development goals may not be reached without including the cities. This implies that cities will receive the necessary funds to fulfill their important tasks.
Together with my fellow mayors from other cities, I will continue to advocate for more support of the local level.
IPS: Where do you want to see your City? What is your dream, vision for the City of Bonn? How do you want to see Bonn further evolving?
Sridharan: I think Bonn is on a good way: as second political center in the Federal Republic and Germany's United Nations City, we fulfill a number of national tasks for our country. We have gained a sound reputation as IT center and rank fourth Germany-wide as far as the number of employees in this field is concerned.
We are home to some global players like Deutsche Post DHL Group and Telekom and to some extraordinary scientific institutions doing top-flight research. Being birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven, we are looking forward to celebrating the 250th birthday of our most famous son in 2020.
I am aware that this is a lot that needs to be maintained and consolidated. We will continue to develop Bonn into a location for dialogue and exchange on global issues concerning the future of mankind.
This is my declared goal. But most importantly and our biggest asset: that is Bonn's citizens – well educated, willing to excel, open-minded and with a Rhenish cheerful nature.
© Inter Press Service (2016) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
Where next?
Latest News Headlines
Read the latest news stories:
- How Development Excludes Adivasi Peoples Thursday, February 21, 2019
- Maldives Reiterates Commitment to 'Free, Open Indo-Pacific Region' & Democracy Thursday, February 21, 2019
- 'No Way to Defend Ourselves Against the Onslaught of Climate Change' Thursday, February 21, 2019
- DRC's First Peaceful Transition of Power Was At Expense of Women Thursday, February 21, 2019
- A World Party Thursday, February 21, 2019
- Intricacies of a Broken System: A Convict's Tale Wednesday, February 20, 2019
- Reverse Engineering for SDGs Wednesday, February 20, 2019
- Munich Security Conference – Old Question Marks in the Shadow of the Anthropocene Wednesday, February 20, 2019
- Wake Up and Smell the Organic Coffee Wednesday, February 20, 2019
- Attacks on Human Rights Defenders: A Daily Occurrence in Latin America Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Link to this page from your site/blog

"Bonn Has Become an Insider Tip on the International Stage", Inter Press Service, Tuesday, November 29, 2016 (posted by Global Issues)

… to produce this:
"Bonn Has Become an Insider Tip on the International Stage", Inter Press Service, Tuesday, November 29, 2016 (posted by Global Issues)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Product Description
A lip treatment rich in essential fatty acids and vitamins derived from Shea Butter and Sunflower Oil. The plant-based ingredients soothe dry, chapped lips immediately, leaving them smooth and noticeably moisturised.
Directions for use: Apply daily as required to lips particularly in dry or cold conditions.
Additional Information
|5 ml


text:
Jamund's Coding Blog
Monday, June 21, 2010
Command-line Coda
After trying to open a hard to find file from the Coda file browser, I decided to use the command line. This little program makes that possible!
Posted by
Jamund Ferguson
Monday, June 21, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment
Newer Post
Older Post
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Woah. Time flies. I'm officially 33 already today. I don't remember what I did when I was 22 wtf. Yesterday night went to dinner to celebrate because one of my colleague has the same birthday as me but he's a year younger. Never in my live had I known someone that has the same birthday as mine. My youngest nephew nearly has the same birthday as mine because my sister then told me that the expected labour date was 17th August 2011 but she told me it's always a week earlier based on past performance. Yupe, she's right about that.
We went to Restoran Greenview in Section 19 Petaling Jaya to have dinner after work. I brought the Glenmorangie Astar that I got from Glenmorangie Malaysia to celebrate this with. This is a very good Scotch Whisky from Glenmorangie even my boss agreed on. Too bad, it's limited production so even if you have the money, you might not be able to find one.
Ordered their Four Season Dishes, which is very nice and fresh ingredients were used. But it's a bit too pricey. This cost us RM130. Gulp. Should have asked for the price before we order =P
Greenview is famous for it's Fresh Udang Galah noodle (生虾生面). We ordered one with four big fresh prawns. We gave it a two thumbs up. Saw on the wall there are pictures of Lin Dan and his wife Xie XingFang ate here before with the Chinese badminton team. This cost us RM170.
Need to have some vegetables to balance up the meal. The captain recommended stir-fried young lotus root, pine nuts, celery and mu er. Quite refreshing.
Continued with pork ribs and half of a roasted duck. The pork ribs is nice but the roasted duck is meh.
Sorry for the blur picture. I must have too much Astar already when I took this picture. Honey glazed squid. Crunchy and the sweet taste is just right. Very good dish to go with whisky or beer.
Had very good time chatting with colleagues after work and not talk about work. Oh, do you know that Hyuna also wished me Happy Birthday. You don't believe? Watch the video below.
I swore to you that I heard her sang, "Oopa Simon Seow". Okaylah. Shiok sendiri.
How young was I then in this old picture? Can't remember lol. By the way, this is my last year birthday post, 2010, 2009, and 2008.
Happy Birthday! To me!


text:
Posts byJeff Scott
Disney Infinity: Toy Box 3.0
Play This: Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition Updated for Apple TV
Update (11/11/2015): Infinity 3.0 Edition has been updated on the Apple TV to include the full console game. I'll let that sink in for a moment. The full console game! Senior Producer for Infinity Sean Patton claims the Apple TV version, utilizing Metal, has graphic quality somewhere between the X-box 360 and a PS/4.
This update includes support for a special Bluetooth version of the base station, in Apple TV black even, that's available starting now at the Apple Store for $99. The starter pack includes the base station, a Steelseries Nimbus MFi controller, Ahsoka Tano, Anakin Skywalker characters, and the Twilight of the Republic playset. This also means that all current and former Infinity characters will work with this version.
Note that the Apple TV version is not a Universal version, so please search for "Infinity" in the TV App Store to download.
Oh man, this game is awesome. Some of the best parts of the Infinity 3.0 release — like the Star Wars characters — on iOS! The game works best with an MFi controller, I used the Steelseries Stratus XL. Toy Box is fully there, and many other great gameplay modes to explore. Now I can play everything in Infinity as Yoda. What more can a man-child like me ask?
Posted November 11, 2015 by Jeff Scott
Cobe The Gallery
Peaceful Color Changing Art Puzzle is the Setting for Cobe the Gallery
Cobe The Gallery is a very thoughtful and peaceful puzzle game. In this blocky art puzzle game colors must be changed all to a single color within a certain number of moves. This is done by rolling over color blocks onto other colors. The way the color blocks fill in and move is a very specific order that is explained within the game. Cobe the Gallery contains 81 different puzzles.
Cobe the Gallery is offered free in the App Store with no ads. Hints are available to purchase, beyond the included free hints.
Posted November 9, 2015 by Jeff Scott
Lumino City
A beautiful hand build world is the setting for Lumino City
The App Store has seen it's fair share of beautiful games this month, just read further below to see a whole bunch of them. But nothing quite compares to this one. The BAFTA award winning Lumino City comes to iOS from State of Play, and it's amazing.
Lumino city is a very well done point and click / puzzle game. But what sets it apart is the lush and finely crafted art work. The entire game is hand made using and filmed with a camera, not rendered. Real world stuff — remember that? Take a look here to see a behind the scenes video on how the whole thing was made.
This is a beautiful, fun, engaging, and very thoughtful game. Throw into that mix that it's made with a beautiful real-world set, and it's a must play experience. Also check out it's little sibling, Lume also by State of Play.
Posted October 29, 2015 by Jeff Scott
zombie match defense
What if you crossed zombies with match-3 and lane defense? Zombie Match Defense!
This game by Jake Sones is the result of a bet, probably made over multiple drinks, that two over used game genres couldn't be combined and made to be fun. Jake thought he could do it and I think he has succeeded.
Zombie Match Defense turns out to be a fresh take on match-3 games. With the combination of the two genres some new mechanics pop-up that are cool. The game includes both a map-based progression mode and also mode I prefer, the endless mode which is unlocked after a couple levels. And I think I can honestly say that Zombie Match Defense is the best zombie match-3 lane defense ever made. And it's also lots of fun.
Posted October 26, 2015 by Jeff Scott
It must be halloween, even the puzzles have ghosts in Pokaboo
Pokaboo is a fine little puzzler that's easy to solve, but hard to solve in the minimum number of moves. In Pokaboo a ghost moves around pushing color blobs — the colors will join together when matching colors are above or to the sides of one another. The puzzle is solved when all colors are matched up. And while that's pretty easy to do — it's really tough to do so in the minimum number of moves.
Pokaboo is a fun little puzzle that could use from an in-game hint system. But overall it's a fun little premium diversion not weighed down by complicated controls, IAP, or silly currency systems.
Posted October 23, 2015 by Jeff Scott
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Two Brothers Take an Emotional Quest in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from 505 Games
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons from 505 Games is a 2013 console game released now as a Universal app for iOS. This is beautiful quest game where two brothers are trying to find answers in a beautiful 3D world. There's a very emotional story in this game and it is amazingly well done. The console version got very high ratings and this mobile version does not disappoint.
Posted October 22, 2015 by Jeff Scott
The Beggar's Ride
Great Mobile Platformer Beggar's Ride Magically Appears
It's always nice to see a main character I can identify with. In Beggar's Ride a fat old man with gray hair and a beard has gained magical powers via a discovered mask that allows vision and control of things normal mortals can not see. These special powers lead to solving special puzzles along the way. So, yeah, a puzzle platformer.
This is one of the more beautiful platformers on mobile — and that's saying something. It's a great sit down and play game, well worth picking up. Premium game with no IAP. Total lack of Jim Carrey is a bonus.
Posted October 21, 2015 by Jeff Scott
Please, Don't Touch Anything
The Bathroom Break That Could Destroy The World in Please, Don't Touch Anything
Four Quarters has released a new very puzzling game through Bulkypix today. Please, Don't Touch Anything starts when you are left in charge of a mysterious control panel when a worker goes on a bathroom break.
Please, Don't Touch Anything is a very odd, but oh so fun puzzle game that has q very dark sense of humor. As things start to go wrong, more and more controls are revealed with cryptic instructions on how to continue. It's like a super complex game of Simon where if you lose, you pay the ultimate penalty.
Posted October 21, 2015 by Jeff Scott


text:
menu button
9 March 2009
During his traditional Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square (8.3.09) , His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI formally announced his first papal visit to the Holy Land, at the invitation of the President of Israel Mr. Shimon Peres: "From 8-15 May, I will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to ask the Lord, visiting the places sanctified by his passage on the earth, for his precious blessing of unity and peace for the Middle East and for all of mankind. I am counting on the spiritual support of all of you, and may God accompany me, support me, and bless with his Grace all those who I meet on my way."
The Pope's Holy Land Pilgrimage will include a visit to Jordan, followed on 11-15 May by a visit to Israel and the holy sites in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem. The Pope will also meet with religious leaders during his five day visit. The highlight of the Pope's visit to Israel will be Holy Mass at the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem, where thousands are expected to participate on the afternoon of 12 May. The Pope will also visit Yad Vashem (11 May) and the Temple Mount, Western Wall, Mount Zion, the Cenacle and Gethsemane Church on 12 May. After a visit to Bethlehem and Mass at Manger Square, (13 May), the Pope will deliver another Mass in Nazareth at Mount Precipice and pray at the Church of the Annunciation (14 May).
Tourism Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balila: "The Pope's visit to the Holy Land is an important and very significant visit that represents a strategic anchor for pilgrimage to Israel in the coming years. The Pope inspires an atmosphere of understanding, reconciliation and peace between peoples and religions. His visit will encourage thousands of pilgrims around the world to follow in his footsteps. "


text:
Keeping with International best practice, Durban Chamber exists and operates under the Companies Act 71 of 2008 as a Non-Profit company
Durban Chamber raises the flag of Ethical Leadership at a collective level with the launch of the 1st Business Code of Ethics at the 161st Annual Gala Dinner
#DurbanMustRise trends no. 5 nationally at the 160th Annual Gala Dinner, kick-starting a tsunami of goodwill, support and confidence in the city
Township Izimbizo gets underway, aiming to deliver practical business insights, skills and tools that will enable traders to start, build and grow sustainable businesses
Business better than usual; Durban Chamber moves into the Lion Match Office Park
: Thato Tsautse, unveiled as the first female president.
Appointment of Gugu Mazibuko, the first black female Chief Executive Officer
Prof. Bonke Dumisa becomes the Chamber's first Black Chief Executive Officer
The Durban Chamber sees the inauguration of the first Black president – Patrick September
KZN Exporter of the year awards are launched – Recognising and celebrating the outstanding performance of KZN companies exporting locally manufactured goods
Durban Chamber appoints Dr Jeya Wilson as the first female Chief Executive Officer
Durban Chamber of Commerce merges with the Chamber Industry to form the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Regulated under the Natal Law no.31 as the Durban Chamber of Commerce
Establishment of the Natal Chamber of Commerce
Musa Makhunga has a career spanning about 30 years across diverse industries including education, manufacturing, mining, retail, banking and consulting. He is the founding managing director of HR Matters (Pty) Ltd...Read More
Musa Makhunga has a career spanning about 30 years across diverse industries including education, manufacturing, mining, retail, banking and consulting.
He is the founding managing director of HR Matters (Pty) Ltd, a local Strategic HR Leadership specialist firm.
Musa, with other entrepreneurs, is establishing business presence in other key industries within the province, including mineral sands, agriculture and aluminium.
He is also active in the NGO sector in the areas of HIV/Aids as well as education.
A teacher by training, a former corporate executive and, latterly, a businessman by practice, Musa holds a B Paed degree (University of Zululand), Hons. B B&A degree (University of Stellenbosch – Business School), MDP Certificate (Graduate School of Business – University of Durban Westville), Dip. Labour Relations (School of Business Leadership – UNISA) and other specialist certificates.
Chief Executive Officer
Joining the team in 2013 as the Business Services Manager for the DCCI, Dumile's portfolio has included International Trade, SMME Development and Business Information Services.
This rich experience provided Dumile with knowledge and understanding of the Chamber movement and the role of organised business.
In May 2013, she got the opportunity to deliver a paper at the African Union (AU) Head Quarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia as part of the AU's 50 years celebrations. She advocated for the women agenda in Africa's vision for the next 50 years.
Dumile believes that in order for Africa to reach its desired future, there has to be convergence of public and private sector visions into a unified vision for Africa. Dumile is currently the Chief Executive Officer, and is passionately driving the Durban Chamber of Commerce to new
Under the MOI, the Council of the Durban Chamber has an advisory role and consists of the President, two Directors appointed by the Board, the Chairpersons of the Chamber Business Forums, the Chief Executive Officer and 10 members who are ordinary members or life members, or representatives of ordinary members in good standing elected by voting members. Council members will hold office for a period of two years, commencing at the conclusion of the annual general meeting at which they were appointed or elected.For more detailed information, please refer to the Memorandum of Incorporation document (MOI).
In Business for a Better World.
We will achieve this by delivering excellence in all we do through dedicated people, best financial, IT, operational processes, systems and sound stakeholder relationships, all underpinned by ethical governance principles.
Accountability – taking responsibility for our actions Leadership – courageous, influence and exemplary in word and deed Inclusivity and Diversity – Involvement and celebrating our differences
Innovation – adaptable and improvising
Integrity – ethical, trustworthy, reliability (People & Processes)
Signed by 6 founder members on 6 September 2017.
We the members of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry shall:Principle 1 – Comply with legislation and the government of the Republic of South Africa.Principle 2 – Promote the interests of employees.Principle 3 – Ensure customer satisfaction at all levels.Principle 4 – Establish and maintain good relationships with suppliers.Principle 5 – Promote the interests of owners and investors.Principle 6 – Ensure free and fair competition.Principle 7 – Strive to be good corporate citizens within the community.Principle 8 – Ensure an environmentally friendly and sustainable environment.
...Read more


text:
There are rules to obey:
— Looking back at the infamous TNR endorsement of Joe Lieberman.
— Al Mubadara: The Palestinian National Movement.
— We need a Green Energy Bank.
— Palau sticking with the USA in unpopular UN votes while our greenhouse gas emissions are leading to the complete destruction of their country.
— J Street's big achievement.
— But is it too late?
— On bus stops, listen to Lenin: Better fewer, but better.
The Future of the Left is playing at the Rock and Roll Hotel tonight. Here's their "I Am Civil Service".


text:
Let's make your own pattern. It's easy and simple. I use Adobe Photoshop CS6, but I think it also works with lower version of Photoshop.
Open Adobe Photoshop CS6, click File and then click New. Width: 85 px, Height: 200 px.
I name it "01", click OK. To make a new pattern, you can customize the color and/or add more triangle. After you make a lot of tribal pattern, save the pattern to .PAT format. Click Paint Bucket Tool.
Taraaaaa, you just make .PAT file by your self!
In some cases, if you cannot find the location of the .PAT file you made, repeat the last step; click Paint Bucket tool, change to "Patterns" click Save Patterns... (see the picture above).
There is your .PAT file "Tribal by Your Name Here", right click the file and click Cut.
You can also place it in a New Folder for .PAT files that you made.
If you want to see the preview of your pattern in large image, make a new document in Adobe Photoshop.
Here is my result.
|Actually I don't really like the result.
|Same layout but different color. This is better than the first one.
|Some triangle added. Looks more stunning.


text:
90-Day Money Back Guarantee
Price Match Assurance
FREE Ground Shipping
There are two types of alphanumeric codes molded into tire sidewalls that indicate tire dimensions and some key characteristics. The ISO metric tire code is generally used for passenger cars while the high-flotation code is used for truck tires.
(1) The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) metric tire code consists of a series of characters:
(2) The high-flotation code for light truck tires starts with a two-digit number for tire diameter in inches followed by "x," a separator character, and a three- or four-digit number for the tire cross-section in inches. Then comes;
There may be numerous other markings on typical tires displaying either code:
Tire sidewalls show either of two types of tire sizes, ISO metric or high flotation. In metric tire sidewall codes the tire class is first. In this example, "P205/65R16," "P" indicates a passenger car. The code next indicates the tire width in millimeters (mm) sidewall to sidewall. In this example, the section width is 205 mm.
The "65" is the aspect ratio, the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the section width. In this example, the height is 65 percent of the section width of 205 mm or 133.25 mm. The "R" in this example indicates the type of tire construction, radial, and the "16" is for wheel diameter in inches.
In the high-flotation sidewall code example "35x1250 R 17/E," "35" indicates the tire diameter in inches. The "1250" indicates standard tire width in inches with no decimal point. Here, the tire is 12.5 inches wide. The "R" is for radial tire construction, and the "17" indicates wheel diameter in inches.
The last character, "E," indicates tire load carrying capacity. A "C" would indicate a 6-ply load carrying capacity. The tire is not actually 6-ply but contains one or two plies of such load-bearing strength. A "D" is an 8-ply rating, and an "E" is a 10-ply rating. With no final letter, the tire has a standard 4-ply rating.
The load index, "92," following the wheel diameter or load capacity indicates the maximum weight the tire can carry safely. Load indices range from 0 to 279 and for passenger car tires typically from 75 to 105. It is important to maintain the proper load index when replacing tires.
The speed rating, an "H," for example, after the "92" load index, is from the federal government for meeting minimum standards for reaching and sustaining specified speeds. In general, the higher the speed rating the better the vehicle handling.
The "DOT" indicates that the tire meets or exceeds the federal Department of Transportation tire safety standard. The first two letters, here "CC," following the "DOT" are codes to identify the tire manufacturer and the manufacturing plant. The third and fourth characters after "DOT" represent the tire size, and the final four digits represent the week and year in which the tire was manufactured, "1105 indicating manufacture during the eleventh week, sometime in March, of 2005.
The treadwear rating indicates tire durability but not tread life. Road surfaces, driving habits, and other variables affect actual tread life. Each manufacturer rates tread wear according to its own tests and not to any single industry or government standard.
Traction ratings measure tire ability to stop on a straight, wet surface under controlled conditions. It does not indicate cornering capability on wet surfaces nor traction on ice or snow. Traction grades are AA (the highest), A, B, and C.
The temperature rating measures tire resistance to heat generation under normal operating conditions at recommended inflation pressures. Temperature ratings are A, the highest and most resistant to heat generation, to C.
Maximum load limit, "635 kg [1400 lbs]" in the example, indicates tire maximum load-bearing capabilities at maximum inflation pressure indicated on the sidewall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sets maximum load limit standards.
Maximum air pressure, "300 kPa [44 psi]," indicates maximum tire operating inflation pressure, not the manufacturer's recommended inflation pressure, nor does it indicate the proper tire inflation pressure for the vehicle. This category is also based on NHTSA standards.
Some tire sidewalls indicate the direction of rotation, others indicate which side of the tire faces outward from the vehicle, and yet others may show both indications. It is important to mount tires according to such indications. Directional tires show arrows on the sidewall to indicate rotation moving forward. Asymmetrical tires show "Outside" on the side that should face outward from the vehicle.


text:
Monday, April 1, 2013
Announcing The 2013 Sizzix Design Team!
27 comments:
Congrats to the new team. Exciting to see what's in store this year. I'm sure it will be amazing!ReplyDelete
Congrats to new team! What talent!ReplyDelete
SUPER new team! May all your ideas inspire us!!ReplyDelete
- Jeannie MarcheskyApril 1, 2013 at 6:36 AM
Congrats to the new team.....I can't wait to see all the new projects, and to be inspired by this fab bunch :)ReplyDelete
As one of the Licensed Artists who has the honor of seeing my dies come to life with the creativity of the DT, I can say that I am thrilled for the new blended team of seasoned Sizzix DT members and so many new faces and styles. Welcome and congratulations! (And, in advance, THANK YOU!)ReplyDelete
Congratulations to the New Members Sizzix Always has the Best Designers and I am looking forward to seeing your Creations!ReplyDelete
Congratulations to all of you. I am very familiar with Vivians blog and she is a wonderful addition. Looking forward to seeing what all of you offers. Great job!ReplyDelete
Congrats to the new Sizzix Design Team! Can't wait to work with all of you! Welcome!!ReplyDelete
Congrats to all the new design team members. A great bunch of gals with incredible talents. Can't wait to see all the new projects they create with Sizzix products!ReplyDelete
Congratulations, Sizzix Design Team Members! Wonderful to see our neighbors from New England here! Catherine Scanlon's mixed media style is always a treat to scrap lift (totally guilty!) and Amy Friend inspired me to pull out my grandmother's sewing machine this year! If there are any other DT's from New England, give us a shout out by posting on www.facebook.com/NEPaperCrafts - we'd love to keep up with you!! Oh, it's going to be a crafty year in 2013!!ReplyDelete
What a Dream Team!! Congratulations Ladies!!!ReplyDelete
Ohhhhh, I'm sooooooo excited for all of you. CONGTATULATIONS!!!!! That is indeed an honor and tribute to your skills. I'm looking forward to a huge burst of creativity. Cheers, and be proud of yourself!ReplyDelete
Congratulation! Can't wait to see what great ideas they all come up with.ReplyDelete
- Jacquelene LApril 1, 2013 at 12:46 PM
Congratulations design team. I look forward to being inspired by your artistry and creativity. I am happy to see Shelly Hickox and Anna Karin returning. I am sorry Ronda Palazzari is leaving, I will check her blog regularly. Yay for the two Canadians on the team.!!!! The new team will give us new and exciting things to look forward to.ReplyDelete
Jacquelene L.
Congrats to the new DT.ReplyDelete
Sweet!!!! :) Congrats to all! I can't wait to see all the awesome tuts and tips of inspiration from this team! Go Sizzix Girls!!!! Hugs, Jules:)ReplyDelete
Congrats to the 2013 team. Great group of artists!ReplyDelete
Congratulations to the repeat and new members; this is really exciting news that you are adding additional talent! I look so forward to the blog posts with the fabulous ideas using Sizzix dies, and now you are sharing more good things?! Wonderful. Wishing much success to Rhonda and will follow her adventures upcoming in her future; congrats Rhonda! Can't wait to see your new direction!ReplyDelete
- DeborahDOHApril 1, 2013 at 4:00 PM
Congrats to all. I recognize some names and look forward to all your wonderful projects.ReplyDelete
Congrats to all the new design team members! Can't wait to work with all of you!ReplyDelete
CONGRATS CONGRATS CONGRATS!! Looking forward to seeing the inspiration!! I am a HUGE fan of the New Blog here at Sizzix and look forward to it only getting better!! =) THANKS for sharing and have a Fabulous Week!! =)ReplyDelete
So glad Amy is staying on I just love her and her projects. :-) That's a lot of Tammy, Tami, and Tammy-ies!ReplyDelete
Just had Leica Forrest teach at my store Shabby Shutters so I can say hands down that you are in for a real treat! !! Congrats to all!ReplyDelete
Looking forward to watching this team!ReplyDelete
Hearty congrats to the new Sizzix DT. I see a lot of lovely ladies and some amazing talent in this line up! I'm excited to see their new creations. <3 CandyReplyDelete
What a great line-up! Congrats to all. Can't wait to see your new creations.ReplyDelete
Great line up, but I really hope to see more quilt designers AND machine embroidery digitizers/designers on the Sizzix Design Team in the future.ReplyDelete


text: It's well-known that a well-developed arts education teaches communications skills, teamwork, problem solving, responsibility, and the ability to adapt to change. According to Sarah Murr, Arts Education and an Innovative Workforce, all of these skills are considered critical by Boeing for its highly skilled workforce. However, tight state budgets and a lack of appreciation for what an arts education provides a young mind, and subsequently an adult mind, have resulted in the abandonment or near abandonment of arts programs across the nation. Read Murr's blog about why restoring arts education programs needs to be prioritized to ensure the next generation can compete in a global economy that is driven by knowledge and ideas.


text:
Happy Monday! It's warming up in Ohio and the snow is finally starting to melt! I have not had a chance to get pictures of me in the jumper and blouse yet, but I figured there is no sense in delaying a post until then, right?
The jumper is constructed from navy blue linen and closes on the right side with four punched metal buttons. I am very happy with the bodice revision:
I have a navy linen Spencer in the works, which will turn this jumper and blouse into an ensemble. I'm still mowing over certain design elements, experimenting with the sleeves, etc. The change in season always seems to give me a lift in spirits and shot of inspiration. Spring is less than two weeks away - I'm anticipating the emergence of crocus leaves!
Blessings and happy sewing!


text: ABC Research Symposium Before easter we had an exciting ABC colloquium with Janet Borgerson and Jonathan Schroeder and their colorful pictures of design, music, visual and culinary art in the service of cold war US cultural diplomacy. This week we move on to emancipated embodiment. Start time: 2016-04-06 at 15:00 6 April 15-17 Guest Dr Emilie Reinhold; Paris-Dauphine and Göteborgs Handelshögskola introduced by Docent Elena Raviola CBS and Göteborg Handelshögskola Emancipated embodiment: between Work and DanceWhat about embodiment in intellectual work? Studying dance interventions in a bank positioned the participants in a grey zone between work and leasure. How does then embodiment take place in such situations. What strategies of defense or preservation do employees use when facing artists at work? How do they propose rare gestures labelled as critical play? Does the introduction of dance entail more material risk taking, a different relation to norms within the organization and propose ways to change work settings and organizational control. Emilie is currently developing her post doc projects based on her dissertation using inspiration from Gilles Deleuze to understand the full potential of organized bodies at work.


text:
Razorbacks fall in Athens
ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Arkansas women's basketball team suffered a regular-season ending loss, 48-69, at No. 24 Georgia in Athens, Ga., Sunday.
Arkansas (12-17, 4-12 SEC) ends the regular season in 10th place overall with several games remaining on Sunday's schedule, most of which impact seeding for the Southeastern Conference Tournament next week. Check ArkansasRazorbacks.com for updates as they become available.
The No. 24 Lady Bulldogs (22-7, 9-7 SEC) are hoping for a bye as one of the top four teams at the end of play Sunday.
"It was a tough loss," Arkansas head coach Tom Collen said. "We gave up a 12-0 lead right away and struggled to overcome that. I thought we settled down though and got back in it. We made some shots when we needed to but Georgia is a veteran club and didn't get rattled. They took care of the ball and stretched the lead."
Arkansas spotted Georgia a 12-0 lead as the Razorbacks were unable to convert from the field for the opening 8:30 of the game. Senior Charity Ford drove the lane and was fouled by Meredith Mitchell sending the Arkansas senior to the line. It was the first free throws for the Razorbacks in more than a game as Arkansas did not shoot a charity shot in their previous game (LSU).
Ford hit them both making it 2-12 with 11:30 to play in the first half.
Sophomore C'eira Ricketts would score Arkansas' first field goal with a layup at the 11:02 mark starting a 6-0 Razorback run. But Georgia rallied after the media timeout and grabbed the momentum stretching the lead to 13 as Arkansas struggled from the floor.
McCray entered the game and posted eight points in the first half as the momentum swung from bench-to-bench as the first 20 minutes came to a close. Georgia shot 31.6 percent and Arkansas rose up to 28 percent for the first half closing the gap to nine, 23-32, at the break.
Arkansas started slowly in the second half but found a spark behind a couple of big defensive stops. The Razorbacks closed within seven twice in the final 20 minutes but couldn't get closer than that.
Georgia led by as much as 23 late in the second half finishing with a 21-point win. Arkansas' leading scorer Lyndsay Harris fouled out with just eight points.
Ford led Arkansas with 12 points while junior Skye Rees tied her career-best with 10. They were the only Razorbacks in double figures. Arkansas shot 32 percent for the game and grabbed 32 boards but Georgia finished shooting 39.3 percent and had 44 boards in the win.
Georgia was led by senior Ashley Houts with 15 points. Porsha Phillips grabbed 11 boards to lead everyone in that category.
The Razorbacks travel to the SEC Tournament in the Gwinnett Center Thursday-Sunday. Check ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the complete tournament seeding Monday.
Download: Arkansas-Georgia2.pdf


text:
It doesn't have to be 100%; it just has to be on balance faster than listening to something five times, and then typing quickly. Suggestions would be a mitzvah.
I need a good speech to text transcriber.
8 Comments
Doesn't Mountain Lion have some of this built in already?
Or the iPad…
Speech to text? Free? Good luck!
What OS? Windows, since I think at least Vista, has had basic speech recognition built in, but I've never used it. For Macs I know there's Dragon Dictate, which I think is what David Weber uses to write his books these days. But both of those are going to require you to learn how to speak in such a way as to be easily recognized, so if you're trying to get video transcriptions I suspect they won't work very well.
I've found the iPhone 4 speech-to-text to be pretty good.
Open a new Note, click to add text, then click the microphone icon on the bottom of the keyboard.
p.s. this should also be available, with a little hacking, on an iPad…
For these sorts of things, I use my secretary or my wife. Hope that helps, I'm a giver.
Dragon dictation for the iPhone is free and doesn't suck. I don't know if they have an iPad app.
My boss, an attorney LOVES the new Dragon. He is using it on a regular computer, but he is quite pleased with it and it does seem to be working very well. Not like the party game results of previous incarnations.
We have a second atty using it now, no reviews from him yet, but he hasn't thrown it on the fire yet.
Express Scribe
It's free, and it allows you to hotkey start, stop, rewind & fast forward.
For example, using the arrow keys, I'll tap up, let it play 5 or six words, tap down to stop, type the short phrase that I can easily remember, then repeat until I'm done transcribing – all in the same program.
Beats my original method of hitting play on Windows Media Player, stopping, switching to my Word window, typing, switching back to WMP, etc.
RSS feed for comments on this post.


text:
Each day this week we will be sharing a little snippet of one of the images just to keep you guessing. Then on Saturday we will do a full reveal and the items will be available to buy in the store. We hope you'll stop back daily to get a little idea of the images on the way!! :-)
Here is your first sneak peek!!!
So any guesses???
See you tomorrow with another little picture!! Have a great day!!


text:
This lovely central MN home was constructed by General Contractor, Craig Schoenberg, owner of Schoenberg Construction, Inc. and his talented team of carpenters and subcontractors.
More Custom Home Photo Galleries
Are you looking to hire a Central MN home builder or remodeler? If so, you need to know that Craig at Schoenberg Construction is one of the best Custom Home Builders and General Contractors in Central Minnesota.
Craig always gives honest, fair, and detailed bids with no lowball, fake pricing. Plus, there's no sales pressure, EVER. Craig and his staff never use cheap materials or engage in sloppy workmanship, and his company is known as one of the top residential construction companies in the Saint Cloud MN area because Craig always insists on doing every job exactly right!
Give him a call today at 320-252-0911 for your no-obligation consultation.


text:
Absinthe, the Green Fairy of Drinks.
ABSINTHE, the legendary green drink that was beloved by the artists living on 19th Century Paris' Left Bank is making a comeback onto the menus of fashionable cocktail lounges.
The unique sugar burning ritual before its is drank has attracted many of the modish in crowd, though the Green Fairy has been outlawed in many countries at various times.
It is derived from the wormwood plant, a member of the daisy family, which grows all across the Eurasian grasslands.
Folklore claims that doctor Pierre Ordinaire formulated the drink in Switzerland during 1792.
He distilled it with anise, hyssop, lemon balm and a number of other herbs.
Ordinaire passed his recipe on to Major Dubied, who presented it to his son-in-law, Henri-Louis Pernod.
Pernod founded a distillery at Couvet in Switzerland during 1797 before becoming renowned for producing his own aniseed flavored drink.
Absinthe quickly became a huge favorite with the French Army, which was fighting under grueling conditions, both climatically and topographically in North Africa during the 1840s.
It was originally issued to ward off the many diseases in the area, but the soldiers, particularly the hard-bitten men of the French Foreign Legion, quickly developed a liking for the Green Fairy.
Absinthe, artists and the Moulin Rouge seemed to combine well. Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin shared a bottle one night, Later Gauguin was pursued down the street by a razor wielding Van Gogh, who later returned home to slice off his own ear.
Both Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas were devoted to the Green Fairy.
People, especially the temperance movement began to condemn the conduct of habitual absinthe drinkers as the 20th Century began. They were aided in this by the notorious 1905 Absinthe Murders.
Jean Lanfroy shot dead his wife and child following an absinthe session. The French Government outlawed the drink in 1915.
Among the trendy bars serving the Green Fairy is the Player on Broadwick Street. This is a friendly cozy sanctuary that is discretely concealed under the streets of Soho.
The American Bar at the Savoy serves select cocktails in elegant and sophisticated surroundings as well as having one of the best wine guide's while the Detroit Bar and Restaurant is the smart and hip place to savor absinthe.
Edinburgh has the Opal Lounge on George Street, a stylish and vibrant venue that somehow manages to still stay casual and laid back.
One30 on Cheltenham Road in Bristol is a redbrick bar that offers low tables and leather sofas, making it an ideal venue to drink absinthe in an atmosphere of total chill-out coolness.
Its strength and fearsome reputation has led to absinthe being imbibed only by the bravest and hardiest of drinkers. However if absinthe is taken in moderation, tipplers will not end up resembling the sozzled and dissolute couple in Degas' famous painting, L'Absinthe.
Absinthe will mix well with most other drinks


text:
Spider veins are small red, purple and blue vessels that may appear on your face or legs. They are not a serious health problem, but they can occasionally result in discomfort. My MASC offers spider vein treatment to help you look and feel your best.
In the United States, about half of all women and up to 45 percent of men suffer from vein problems, including spider veins, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A number of factors may cause their appearance, including jobs that require standing for long periods of time, heredity, obesity, birth control pill use, skin trauma and previous vein surgery.
Laser treatment can be an effective treatment for certain patients who suffer from spider veins. It can be a safe way to make these veins fade and disappear.
Spider vein treatment at My MASC's Gadsden, Alabama office costs $125 per visit. Our patients typically need to undergo only one treatment. Murray Riggins, M.D. takes the time to ensure proper care for patients treated for their spider veins while maintaining a safe and discreet environment in his practice.
If you have any questions or concerns, or if you would like to schedule an appointment to treat your spider veins, call My MASC at 256-438-6494, or fill out our contact form.


text:
Of all Elaine's slutty, little friends, Vicki Chan was probably the least bitchy.
That didn't mean that I was going to take it any easier on her than I had with Elaine or with Mandy. My research had turned up an ages old formula for an aphrodesiac that had turned Elaine and her friend Mandy into virtual slaves to my cock and my cum. One might say that they had free will in that they could walk away any time they wanted, but the desire to have my cock and what it contained made that nearly impossible. They knew what I had done to them and still they could not leave, and now it was Vicki's turn.
Elaine had just finished sucking off my cock and the cum was still fresh in her mouth when the phone rang. Elaine looked at me inquiringly and I told her to answer it. I thought it would be fun to watch her trying to act normal even as she savored my cum in her mouth.
"Hey ya, Vicki," the girl said, "how's it going?"
I watched the girl listen to her friend on the other end of the line. "Not much," she said finally, "I'm just hanging around the apartment."
I still watched Elaine. A little bit of my cum was dribbling from her mouth. Her tongue snaked out and licked up the errant drops of cum. "You want to come over," she asked uncertainly and I nodded my head. "Sure," Elaine told her. "Come on over." She looked at me and she grinned. "I've got something you just got to see."
Elaine hung the phone up shortly after that. "Did I do good," she asked.
"You did great," I told her. "Now, why don't you get your mouth down there and suck on my cock."
Elaine did just that, sucking my cock off until finally she had me cumming in her mouth. She moaned with pleasure even as she tasted my spunk and even as she swallowed it down and then she just kept swallowing.
The two of us were sitting at the bar in Elaine's apartment. To tell the truth, I was feeling kind of worn out after all the fucking I'd had but I wouldn't have missed this for all the world. I sipped some coffee as I watched Elaine go to the door. I couldn't wait to see what happened next.
I could tell Vicki recognized me almost as soon as she entered the apartment, but she didn't say anything. She just looked at me and then she glanced at Elaine and then she shrugged as she entered the apartment.
"Would you like something to drink," Elaine asked her friend.
"Sure," Elaine told her, "a Diet Pepsi if you've got one."
"You know I do," Elaine said as she went to the refrigerator and then she opened the door.
"So, how are you doing," I asked the girl.
Vicki turned and faced me. She smiled wanly but I could see her wondering why a geek like me was spending time at her girlfriend's apartment.
What she couldn't see and what I could was Elaine slipping the aphrodesiac into her drink. I'd told Elaine that if she didn't help me drug her friend, then she'd never have my cock again. That was enough to get the girl to go along with the plan.
Elaine handed the soft drink to Vicki and I watched the cute, little Asian take a drink. This was working even better than I had expected.
I tried not to be too obvious as I watched the girl down her soda. That wasn't all that hard to do because the girl was trying to avoid looking at me, but I was watching her. She drank more and more of the soft drink until finally, she was done.
Well, that was fun, I thought, but what I really needed was to get my cock in that little Asian pussy.
"I got something you want to see," I told her, finally getting the girl's attention.
"What's that," she asked.
I got up off the bar stool and I pushed my jeans down over my hips. I pushed my underwear down, too, and I showed her my cock. "This!"
"Holy shit," the girl gasped as my cock sprang into view.
I could see Elaine watching me flash her friend, and I knew that part of her liked seeing what I was doing, and part of her wished she was the one getting flashed by me.
"You know you want this," I told Vicki.
She was staring at my cock. She wanted it so bad.
"Come on," I told her. "Get down on your knees and suck on my cock."
She was looking at me as if she couldn't believe she was about to do what she was thinking of doing and then she was looking down at my cock again. She looked back at me and then she looked back at my cock and then she nodded even as she slid to her knees.
Vicki wrapped her small hand around my cock and then she looked up at me with her big dark eyes. Her little hand squeezed my cock and then she opened her mouth and she eased her tongue out and she let it slide across my cock.
I couldn't help groaning as that little Asian wench sucked my cock. Damn, that girl knew how to suck a cock so good. I moaned again. Yeah, she was one hell of a cock sucker.
I moaned again as that girl took me deeper in her mouth and then I just kept on moaning as she kept sucking and sucking on my cock. Fuck, I thought. That was so damned good.
As much as I wanted that girl to continue sucking on my cock, I pushed her off my cock. She tried to get her mouth back on my cock but again, but I pushed her away.
"What's wrong," the girl asked.
"You're one hell of a cock sucker," I told the girl, "but as good as a cock sucker as you are, what I really want to do is fuck you."
"Oh yeah," the woman moaned, "that's what I want, too. I want you to fuck me."
And that's how I ended up leading Vicki into Elaine's bedroom. Elaine trailed along behind us, and I knew she wanted to watch, in part because she wanted to see what I was going to do next, and in part because she wanted to check out the competition.
I pushed the cute, little Asian girl down on the bed. Moments later, I was pulling the girl's jeans down past her feet and then I pulling her panties down, too. "Take off that top," I ordered her, "and let me see your tits."
The girl couldn't pull her little, white top off fast enough and then she was opening the clasp on her bra and she was slipping it off her body.
That girl had one cute, little body. She only stood a little over five feet tall and her little tiny tits were so small that she hardly needed to wear a bra. I reached down and I fondled one of her tiny, little tits and I made the girl moan. "Do you want me to fuck you," she asked.
"Oh yeah," the girl moaned, "that's what I want."
I pushed the girl's legs apart and then I slid between her legs. I let my cock rub against the girl's cunt, and the girl moaned again. "Give it to me," she pleaded. "Give it to me. Fuck my pussy, please."
I smiled as I continued to rub her pussy. I continued to tease her just a little bit longer but the truth was I wasn't much into teasing. I wanted to shove my cock in that cunt so bad so that is exactly what I did.
The girl moaned as her cunt took my cock and then she just kept on moaning as her pussy continued to take my cock. Her hands fondled her little, tiny tits and she moaned again, and even as she continued to moan, I knew her pussy was surrendering itself to my cock. I knew that just like the others, her pussy was addicted to my cock.
I felt Elaine come up behind me. She had removed her clothes even as I fucked her friend and she pressed her naked body up against mine and then even as I fucked that little Asian cunt, I felt Elaine slip her hand between my legs and I felt her fondle my balls. "Oh yeah," I heard Elaine moan even as her other hand stroked my chest, "that's it. Fuck that little bitch."
Vicki Chan just moaned incoherently as her cunt took my cock but I knew what she wanted. I fucked her even harder and the girl moaned even harder and even deeper. She wanted me to fuck her. She wanted me to cum inside her.
"You want this," I told her. "You want my cock to cum inside you."
he girl just moaned as her cunt continued to take my cock.
Damn, that girl's cunt was so fucking tight. "I'm going to cum," I told her. "I'm going to cum so fucking hard."
girl groaned again. "I want you to do it," she moaned. "Oh geez, I want you to do it. I want you to do it so hard. I want you to cum inside me. I want you to fill me up with your cum."
The girl just moaned as I buried myself in her tight, little pussy and then she moaned even louder as she felt the first burst of cum inside her cunt. The girl gasped as her cunt felt my cum and then her hands squeezed her tits and then her back arched as her pussy came and then she just started cumming right along with me.
I loved it. I knew the girl wasn't just addicted to my cock anymore. I knew she was addicted to my cum and as that little, tiny cunt continued to squeeze my cock, I couldn't help thinking that I wanted to stick my cock in that cunt again real soon.
Vicki's hungry, little pussy continued to drink up every last bit of my cum. I loved it and so did she. You could see it in her eyes. She loved my cock and she loved my cum.
Then the flow from my cock began to subside and I pulled my spent rod from that young, Asian pussy.
It might have seemed as if I were done with that little, Asian cunt but neither of those girls was done with me. The two of them knelt in front of me and then they made me groan again and again as they took turns licking my cock. My cock was tired. It needed to rest, but these girls were not about to let my cock rest and they could be very persuasive.
My cock was responding to their attentions and the more my cock responded, the more frantic their attentions got. I groaned. These girls werre going to get me hard again.
Well, damn, I thought, if that's what these girls wanted, then so be it because I wanted another go at that little Asian cunt.
I knew Elaine liked it when I shoved her down on her back because I knew she thought she was going to get fucked again, and I knew she was disappointed when instead of getting my cock between her legs, I pushed her little Asian friend there instead.
But then she was moaning as Vicki's clever, little tongue worked her cunt and then she moaned even louder. Her hands worked her full, round tits as that tongue worked her pussy and then she smiled at me as I moved in behind her friend because she knew what I was going to do.
Vicki moaned against her friend's cunt as her pussy took my cock and then she moaned again. Her mouth continued to work the other girl's pussy even as her own pussy took my cock and I could tell that girl loved it. That girl loved eating that pussy and that girl loved taking my cock between her legs.
Damn, it just felt so good fucking that little, Asian cunt, and the way my cock made that girl moan just made it all that much better. If she didn't watch out, she was going to get another load full of cum.
But I didn't give her the cream she now creamed, at least not right then. I didn't think it would be fair for Vicki to get my cum all by herself. After all, Elaine was her friend and friends should share, right?
So I pulled my cock from between Vicki's legs. She moaned at its removal but I gave her ass a playful slap. "The two of you," I told the girls. "I want to see you get up on your hands and knees. I want to see you side by side. I want to see you kissing me."
They would have resisted me before, but the compulsion that had been imposed upon them by the aphrodesiac that I had submitted them to was irresistable. The two girls stood on their hands and knees just like I told them to.
"Shake your asses for me," I told the girls as I stroked my cock.
They knew what I was doing and they wanted me to do it. They wanted me to cum on their butts so the two of them did their best to turn me on and it worked. I fisted away at my cock even as those girls wiggled their butts at me and when I finally couldn't take it anymore, I shot my load all over those girls' butts.
The girls squealed with delight as I continued to rain my cum down on those butts. They loved my cock. They loved my cum.
Yeah, these two were addicted to my cock. They would do anything to get even more of it, even recuit their friends into my service, if it meant just one more time on my cock. Yeah, they loved my cock.
to be continued …


text:
News >> Browse Articles >> Fire & Rescue News
Missouri Eases Permits for Relief Trucks
United Press International
May 25, 2011
Missouri officials said they were waiving fees and expediting highway permits to make it easier for trucks to haul relief supplies into tornado-stricken Joplin.
The Missouri Department of Transportation said permits were required for out-of-state trucks and vehicles hauling wide loads; however, the permits would be issued without charge and would be given high priority for approval.
The agency said in a written statement staff members would be on duty around the clock to handle the permit requests through May 30. The department may be reached at 800-877-8499 or 573-291-4853 after normal business hours.
A key trucking terminal in Joplin was one of the many buildings damaged by Sunday's massive twister. Conway Trucking said Monday its facility barely avoided a direct hit, but suffered numerous broken windows and had about 30 empty truck trailers damaged.
The company said in a written statement its operations office was running on an emergency generator and was in communication with its drivers and customers.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
© 2009, YellowBrix, Inc.


text:
When my son Daniel died, I feared many things. One was that no one would remember him. He was only four and hadn't learned to read or tie his shoe.
Often in the still of the night, I would stand on my deck and look up toward Heaven. I focused on the distant stars. In the summer evenings, I'd watch the brilliant sunsets, the purples and marigold----painted brushstrokes across the clouds.
I asked God, "Why?" and "How do you expect me to live on?"
The ache in my heart was wider than the sky.
One evening, as I sat on my deck and wondered about remembering and forgetting, suddenly, as if through the spring air and from the sky, came these words:
"Who will remember those who no longer sing on earth?
We, who hear their songs from Heaven."
I wrote the verse down and immediately felt the comfort from the sentiment. Later, I had it printed on cards. I sent the cards to those, who like me, missed their loved ones. People asked to purchase the cards, so I offered them online and at conferences.
When my husband first carved the verse into a piece of red oak, it was as though a big soft blanket wrapped around me. I shared the plaque with others and then there came the requests from fellow bereaved mothers and fathers. "That's beautiful. I want one." "Can you make me one, please?"
Who would have thought that the verse that came to me over twelve years ago would now be bringing solace and hope to others?
Thank you for coming into my life, Daniel. Thank you for the reminder that you live on, and when I listen, I can hear your songs from Heaven.
Visit our Etsy Shop to see this plaque and other products all carved from wood.


text:
We might have already celebrated the New Year here in the UK, but why not adopt the Chinese tradition too?
If you're not totally clued up on Chinese New Year or if you don't really understand it, we've got all the things you need to know:
- It's on 16th February
Yes, it's not on the first day of the year and the New Year is on a different day every year. This is because it depends on the earth's cycle around the sun because the Chinese year is based around the moon and the Lunar New Year differs every year. Confused? Us too!
- It's the year of the Dog!
The zodiacs repeat every year and previous years of the Dog are 1970, 1982 and 1994. If you know someone born in that year, it's meant to be a bad year for them so maybe give them a heads up! People born in the year of the dog are meant to be honest, loyal, great friends and reliable partners too.
- Red is a symbolic colour
Apparently, red promotes good fortune and luck for the year ahead so you'll be sure to see plenty of it around. Whether it's the dragons in the parade, costumes or lanterns hung around the city, you'll be sure to see something.
- It's all about family
In China, people head home from work and school/college because the New Year is all about spending time with their family. So, don't be surprised if your Chinese flatmates and friends head home for a while.
- It's quite superstitious
It is thought if you're ill on 16th Feb then you'll be ill for the year, washing your hair on New Years Day is said to be washing away all your fortune and you can't borrow any money because that will give you bad luck all year round! Better settle your debts in advance...
- Everyone can get involved!
You don't have to be Chinese to celebrate. It's a great excuse to witness the fun and happy times, plus it gives you an excuse to celebrate all the amazing things about the Chinese culture.
Check out what's happening on campus or in the city and see how you and your friends can get involved in the celebrations.


text:
Rivals Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! have joined forces with other companies and academics to stop governments (most notably China) from suppressing freedom of expression and ordering them to betray their customers' privacy. The three software giants today announced creation of the Global Network Initiative designed to persuade oppressive governments to allow their citizens to freely express opinions, via the Web in particular, without fear of retribution.
Participating companies must agree to "respect and protect the freedom of expression rights of their users when confronted with government demands, laws and regulations to suppress freedom of expression, remove content or otherwise limit access to information and ideas in a manner inconsistent with internationally recognized laws and standards," says the new group's guidelines.
The organization's most influential tech companies have come under fire for bowing to Chinese officials' demands to filter Internet searches to bar surfers from accessing information about Tiananmen Square, democracy and other controversial issues, BBC News reports. Meanwhile, Microsoft has been taken a virtual beating from free speech advocates for shuttering the blog of Chinese media researcher Zhao Jing nearly three years ago after he used MSN Spaces (a joint venture between Microsoft and Shanghai Alliance Entertainment) to criticize a management purge at the Beijing News daily newspaper. Chinese reporter Shi Tao was sentenced to 10 years in jail after Yahoo! China provided the Chinese government with account information that linked Tao to a pseudonymous Web posting outlining the content of a government memorandum. Yahoo! claimed afterward that they had no information about the nature of the investigation when they gave the Chinese government the necessary information to identify Tao. That type of unquestioning compliance won't cut it anymore, at least that's the new initiative's message.
The Initiative is being launched in the 60th Anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is founded upon internationally recognized human rights outlined in the declaration as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The initiative encourages members to take a tougher stance against intrusive governments to protect the privacy and free speech rights of their customers and to think twice before doing business in countries known to trample citizens' rights.
Participants are expected to hire outside auditors to independently assess how well they are adhering to the initiative's rules.
Don't expect any radical chances results any time soon: companies joining the initiative (at a cost of $100,000) have two years from the time they sign on to prove they're following the guidelines. It is unclear, however, the consequences a company faces if they join the initiative but fail to meet these guidelines.
(Image courtesy of iStockphoto; Copyright: Cat London)


text:
Network with SIGGRAPH researchers, educators, and artists in your area and around the world.
Join the diverse and talented people in the world's largest and most productive computer graphics organization.
Through publications and video documentation, SIGGRAPH people share research results and creative achievements with artists and scientists everywhere.
If you study, create, or use digital tools and media, you might be a SIGGRAPH person.
Every year, thousands of SIGGRAPH people attend the SIGGRAPH conferences, the annual gatherings of the worldwide community devoted to computer graphics and interactive techniques.
With the SIGGRAPH 2017 Call for Submissions now open, our annual conference is moving from concept to reality, and it will be no time before we gather in Los Angeles to celebrate, learn and be amazed at the innovation and creativity of our community.


text:
Center for Practice
|Give to the Center for Practice at Cincinnati Law
Enhancing professional skills and judgment for the highest level of legal practice
Being an effective lawyer requires more than analyzing legal doctrine. Effective lawyers are adept at client interviewing and counseling, decision-making, negotiation, dispute resolution, and formal argument or presentation as well as working with colleagues and managing within an organization. This work requires professional skills in written and oral communication and canny strategic judgments when crafting presentations and documents to clients, colleagues, opposing counsel, and judge or jury. Drawing upon insights from a range of disciplines and expert practitioners, the Center's courses, workshops, and other program initiatives enhance professional skills and judgment to achieve the highest level of legal practice.
The Center for Practice develops law students' professional skills through classroom work and extra-curricular experiences. We encourage an interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon psychology, economics, communication, rhetoric, decision analysis, negotiation, and dispute resolution. Capitalizing on UC's rich urban environment, the Center works with leading law firms, businesses, and civic organizations to provide students with "real world" opportunities.
UC Law's Center for Practice also serves as a resource for practicing lawyers, fostering opportunities for ongoing legal education in practice-related issues and providing a professional forum for dialog on best practices.
Upcoming Events
2018 Faculty Teach-in
Details coming soon


text:
Álvaro Siza Architectural Guide: Built Projects edited by Maria Melo, Michel Toussaint
A+A Books, 2017
Paperback, 240 pages
On a recent trip to Zurich I came across a couple books on the architecture of Álvaro Siza, both published by A+A Books out of Lisbon. One was a case study devoted to his Piscina das Marés in Leça da Palmeira and the other was a guide to 82 of the architect's built projects in Portugal. Unfortunately their expense made buying both impossible. Even though the former project is in my forthcoming 100 Years, 100 Landscape Designs, I opted for the latter for a few reasons. First, perhaps some day I'll make it to Portugal and can use the book to scope out as many of Siza's projects as possible. Second, the book is a great resource with familiar buildings but many that I've never heard of before. Not all of the projects (selected by Siza) are publicly accessible, but they paint a solid picture of Siza's output in his home country over six decades.
The third reason I bought the Álvaro Siza Architectural Guide is the book's design. It is a compact book with lightweight pages that make it easy to carry around. There's plenty of drawings, and the text is provided in English and Portuguese. Yet the most unique aspect are Nuno Cera's color photos, which are trimmed glossy pages inserted into most spreads, at the rate of one photo per project. My blurry shots here show one such example, the São Bento Metro Station in Porto, the city with the highest density of Siza buildings. Although the location of the photos – an even mix of horizontal and vertical formats – at the top of the page gives the book an asymmetrical weight and bulk, the technique turns the photos into something special, forcing readers to pay more attention to them. Furthermore, they can be considered like postcards or photos that people insert into guidebooks after visiting a place; here they are inserted beforehand, enticing people to see the master's projects in person.


text:
Hello. My name is Josh Sawyer. I am a game developer, formerly of Black Isle Studios, currently working for Midway San Diego. Im not necessarily an expert on the game development process, but I have worked with quite a few producers and had the opportunity to see many different styles of project management and mismanagement. I see a lot of ambitious people set out to make mods, 90%+ of which are never completed. I dont think its because the ideas arent sound or because the people involved are a bunch of idiots. I think its because the projects are a) poorly planned B) poorly scheduled and c) poorly managed in general.
Its not common for projects to be successful in spite of mismanagement. You can certainly develop a game or mod without tight management, but you might as well wish, click your heels together, and hope that things will come together. Management takes time and is neither fun nor glamorous, but it is of vital importance to the success of a team endeavor. Id like to suggest a process and some general tips on how to organize a mod project. These suggestions arent necessarily the best in the world. You may even think they are bad ideas, but they seem to work from my perspective. These suggestions assume that you, the initiator of the mod-making process, are the team leader/producer/god emperor. Dont get too caught up on titles; only ego-tripping retards really give a damn anyway. If youre the one coordinating things and getting the ball rolling, this posts for you.
Before I begin with a phase breakdown, Id like to suggest some general stuff:
- Set up a web forum, IRC channel, mailing list, bug database and FTP site for your mod. There are a lot of free web forums. http://www.ezboard.com/ is a decent one. Finding an IRC server to host your random channel isnt necessarily that difficult, but may take time and require jumping through hoops. However, real-time discussion on a weekly basis is pretty important for team communication, camaraderie, and general cohesion. Mailing lists are a good way to prick the ears of people who may not read the boards every day or who were effectively put on a waiting list to joint the mod team. Just dont abuse it. http://www.bugzilla.org/ is a pretty damned good open license bug tracking software package. The FTP site may be hard to swing for some people, but its really useful for organizing assets. Just give uploading privileges to people, organize the folder structure as you see fit, and it will make things much easier for everyone.
- Dont let people (or the entire team) drift. Keep people focused on the tasks at hand. A lot of people who volunteer for a mod just want to do the high-level fun stuff. A lot of the stuff in game development is not fun. However, if you can keep people focused on the milestone tasks (even the un-fun ones), the milestone build should show enough progress to really get people pumped. Un-fun tasks are rewarding when the payoff exceeds the drudgery.
- If possible, use something like http://www.wikimedia.org for your master documents. Always keep backups of the source files, but it is best if the entire team has access to one version of documents. It helps prevent confusion when changes are made. Of course, always inform your team members when documents have changed, and let them know what has changed and where they can see what has changed.
VISION PHASE (team lead)
- Establish what you are trying to accomplish with your mod. Are you simply trying to create a set of new levels? Are you going to change the HUD? Are you going to add new weapons? Are you going to add new character models to the game with new animations? Cover breadth and depth. How many new levels? How many new monsters?
- Justify why anyone should give a **** about what youre doing. Why is this fun? If you want to make a mod because you personally think its fun, despite its narrow appeal, thats fine. However, its easier to get people (including potential team members) excited about what youre doing when you can quickly and clearly tell them why what youre doing is going to be fun and exciting.
- When you have determined what you want to do and why it will be fun, write it down in clear, concise terms for dissemination to people who may want to work on your mod. You really do not want to bring people on board only to have them leave halfway through the project because they misunderstood what the team/you was/were trying to accomplish. Keep everyone focused on your goals from the beginning, and remind yourself of them through the project.
- Given the scope of your mod, make a rough estimate of how many team members you will need. At this stage, you are guessing, because you will not have a good idea of what is involved with every task. However, you should be able to estimate certain things. E.g., if your goal is to make new levels and use existing tools to modify things, you probably will not touch code and will not need programmers. However, you will need level designers to lay out maps and 2D artists to create textures. Break down your needs into four sub-team disciplines: design, art, programming, and audio.
- For every discipline you will be staffing, try to find one really good team member. Do not try to staff the entire team immediately. As the project director, you have a good idea of the vision, but you may be abysmal at analyzing the details of implementing that vision. Before you throw 4-8 artists at a mod, you need a level-headed, informed analysis of your art needs. Find one good artist first. Find one good programmer if you need one. And hey, if one is all you need, thats great. If a deluge of people volunteer, thank them for their submission, but tell them that it will be a short while before you fully staff up. Keep in contact with them throughout pre-production so they dont drift away. PROTIP: You may find people who would like to help you, are super bitchin, but just dont have the time. Consider politely asking them for their help in analyzing other applicants, particularly if you dont know enough about the discipline to separate the wheat from the chaff. Now that you have a core team, its time for pre-production.
PRE-PRODUCTION (team lead and core team)
- Once you have established your core team, disseminate your vision document for analysis. The goal is for the core team to seriously analyze the scope of the project and break it down into realistic lists of tasks. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TASK LIST IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO THE SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT OF YOUR PROJECT. Remember, for everything you want to accomplish, someone has to make it happen. Things dont magically get done. Even the smallest tasks should be listed (within reason of course -- just try to be thorough). Accompanying the task lists should be asset lists. An asset is any object (usually an art object, but possibly a table file or other bit of data) that needs to be created for use in the game. E.g.: One of the tasks is the creation of Monster X. Implicit in the creation of Monster X are the creation of Monster Xs data (in code or through an editor), its model, its textures, its skeleton, and its animations. When you schedule these tasks out, you may group them in the task list for simplicity (i.e.: Monster Xs animations), but be sure to actually list all of those assets out in a team-available list somewhere. If you dont list it, you might as well assume that it is not going to be created.
- Create master documents for each discipline. These documents will effectively be the blueprints and guides for how your mod is completed. They will be referenced by other members of the core team and by the larger team during the production phase. The master documents should explain how each set of tasks will be completed and should list specifications for assets and processes where needed. If programmers will need a certain compiler or a set of libraries, make that perfectly clear. If the textures for level geometry need to all be power of two sizes, 4-bit, no larger than 512x512, .tga format, and come in under 2 megs on one load, it would be wise to list that out. The organization of these documents can be discussed by the core team, but the format should be decided by the team leader.
- Organize your task list. Remove redundant entries. Promote communication between team members to recognize dependencies and risks. You may find that some of the core team members condemn an element of the vision as impossible or extremely high risk. If the team comes to a consensus on this, seriously consider revising the vision and scope of the project. Anything that is risky is something that should be implemented and tested as early as possible. This is particularly important if its an element of game play that could make or break the project. If you have a strange new mechanic or weapon that may drastically alter game play, implement it early and test it. If the whole project rests on that new thing and it sucks, theres no point to continuing forward with the vision as written. Dependencies between tasks (e.g., you need this editor support before you can make this feature work) should be clearly noted for later integration into the schedule. All dependencies should be completed prior to the tasks that need them. I know it seems logical, but youd be surprised how many people dont get it.
- Estimate the time required for each task. Yes, every single goddamned task. The smallest unit of time should be about an hour. These dont have to be hyper-precise estimations, but they should be realistic. If youre uncertain on a set of tasks, pad them a little. Its almost always better to estimate a task will take more time than less time. If the task comes in under the estimation, hot damn, youre momentarily ahead of schedule.
- Summarize the work-hour totals for each discipline, possibly organized by sub-discipline (animation or modeling, for instance). This will give you a good idea of your staffing needs. If you have 38 hours of programming tasks, one programmer working 5 hours a week for 8 weeks should hit the goal. If you have 180 hours of art tasks, one artist working 3 hours a week isnt going to be done in the same year as the programmer, so that may throw a wrench in your plans for a three month dev cycle.
- Keeping dependencies in mind, start to organize the task list into a schedule. Give emphasis to high-risk items and coordinate them towards a pre-production milestone date. Also, if you have a multi-step pipeline/process for getting assets into the game, test them. A convoluted pipeline can spell disaster for a project. This pre-production milestone will serve as a proof of concept and of the teams capabilities. If you can successfully complete the riskiest elements of the project in a timely fashion, completing the other elements should be easier, even with a larger (more difficult to manage) team. As you schedule these things, get realistic estimations from the team members on how many hours they can put in per week. Really, please, keep in mind that youre working on a mod, and that people may have real lives and real jobs to attend to. End the implementation phase of your milestone about a work-week ahead of the actual milestone date. Leave the last week for tweaking and bug-fixing. Be firm about this. DO NOT let features get implemented after your one-week cutoff. A stable, playable build should be the goal. Quality, not quantity.
- If the schedule falls short in one discipline (e.g., it will take two weeks to do everything in pre-production but the animation, which will take eight weeks), either staff up or move the pre-production milestone date to something more realistic. Realize that it will take time to find new team members and get them up to speed, so schedule their tasks accordingly; do not schedule a non-existent team member with tasks the day that you realize youre coming up short.
- Coordinate the new team members with the core so that the growing group is still all on the same page. Have them read through the master documents and take their feedback, when appropriate.
- Begin work on the pre-production milestone. Have all team members report daily on their progress. If a team member does not report, assume they accomplished nothing. Track progress realistically. If you see people slipping on dates, discuss the issues with them and try to adapt your schedule appropriately. Do not wait until the end of the milestone to take action. By that time, its too late to fix the problem. SLIPPING IN GAME DEVELOPMENT OCCURS BECAUSE PEOPLE DO NOT REALIZE OR DO NOT TAKE ACTION WHEN SCHEDULED TASKS SLIP. If necessary, re-assign tasks from a slipping team member to a team member who is ahead of schedule (or willing to do more work), or replace the team member. Mod workers are notorious for being all talk, no action. They will not be penalized for failing to do their volunteer work. Dont bother trying to lay a guilt trip on them; if they arent enthusiastic enough to make time for it, get them off the team. Its as simple as that.
- Continually keep the entire team informed (passively in web form and actively in a weekly e-mail update) of the every members progress on the milestone. Not only do the go-getters help motivate the other team members (Hey, we actually did something!), but the team will be acutely aware if any of their dependencies slip. Dont just list dates, percentages of completion, and task names. Write up a brief overview of what got done, what didnt, and what that means, overall.
- Near the end of the milestone, at a pre-scheduled date, have a team analysis of where the milestone stands and what needs to be done to make it happen for reals. Some tasks may not be attainable. Note that and discuss that in the pre-production post-mortem. For everything else, make realistic and appropriate modifications to the schedule. If one animation will be missing, maybe convincing the animator to work a little extra in the last week isnt unreasonable. Crunch itself isnt bad. No schedule is perfect. Crunch is bad when it is continuous because there is no realistic, monitored schedule.
- Create a build with the pre-production milestone assets (code, art, dialogues, etc.). Review it and disseminate it to team members. With them, carry out a post-mortem to analyze what went wrong, what went right, and what that means for the upcoming milestones and tasks. Actively draw opinions out of the team members on what they felt went right and wrong. Some people dont volunteer opinions, even if they are of vital importance.
- If your pre-production milestone was not an abysmal failure, move on to production.
PRODUCTION (full team)
- Re-evaluate the task lists and break them down into milestones, similar to the pre-production milestone. Each milestone should have something to show. For amateur mods, it doesnt necessarily matter if the milestones are two weeks long, a month long, or three months long. Whats important is that a significant volume of overall work is accomplished that takes the milestone build to a significantly higher level than the previous milestone.
- Address any risks that arose during pre-production. Change the scope of the project, begin looking for new team members, etc. Schedules and master documents are not carved in stone. They are living documents, and should be treated as such.
- As new team members come on, bring them up to speed, help them feel like they are part of the community, and work, work, work that schedule. Pay attention to it. Change it. Bring slippage to the attention of team members and act on it quickly.
- Complete the milestones, dummy. The hard parts already been taken care of. I dont care if you want to give the elf blue eyes or grey eyes, or if the rocket launcher should do 50 or 100 points of damage on a direct hit. You and the team can figure that out on your own. But if you dont have an organized, scheduled approach to your project, its unlikely that any of those details are really going to matter.


text:
About Midcontinent Independent Systems Operator, Inc.(MISO)
MISO is an essential link in the safe, cost-effective delivery of electric power across much of North America. MISO is committed to reliability, the nondiscriminatory operation of the bulk power transmission system, and to working with all stakeholders to create cost-effective and innovative solutions for our changing industry.
MISO is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.


text:
So I found my dream bedding set for the bedroom! The price range however is kind of in my Pottery Barn Dreams.....
My Bedroom is still a ways off but when I get to it I will know exactly what I want to do with it!!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
My Dream Bedding!
5 comments:
I would have to do this AFTER kids. White? No way! My room would have to be totally off limits. :) I do think it is really pretty, though!ReplyDelete
I love this bedding!! but its true, white is a dangerous color. hahaha I wouldn't even let my husband lay on it. heheReplyDelete
That's crazy gorgeous. I can see why you're dreaming of it!ReplyDelete
I'm debating. If I can bleach it that would help. So use really white sheets to make the duvet cover.ReplyDelete
that comforter is so. pretty!ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)