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Achieving 100% increase in portfolio value over 5 years
My Investing Objective
My objective in investing is to double my portfolio value every 5 years. Essentially, this means a 100% return on my investment every 5 years. What does this mean in practice?
Payback period of 5 years: It means getting a payback on my investment every 5 years. If I invested $1000 today, I hope to receive back $1000 over the next 5 years, excluding my capital. My payback period is 5 years for the investment.
Return of Investment of 100%: Another way is saying my return on investment over 5 years is 100%. This means at the 5th year, my investment of $1000 should have grown to $2000. This will give a return of investment of 100% over 5 years or a return on investment of 20% per year in simple average terms.
Discount cash flow method (CAGR of 15%): I can also use the discount cash flow method too. For my initial investment of $1000 to grow to $2000, what is the compound annual growth rate required to achieve this return? Alternatively, working backwards, if the expected final value of the portfolio at the 5th year is $2,000, what is the discount rate that will give a Net Present Value of $1,000 (the initial investment amount)? The answer to both questions is about 15% per year.
What is the average return of the stock market annually for the historical long term basis?
It is about 10.5% annually. If one invests into the stock market for the long term, one can expect to compound at an annual return of 10.5% over the long term.
However, this market return is a highly volatile one, especially for those with a short investing time horizon. In a 1-year investment time horizon, the return of the market can be an upside of 50% or the downside equivalent of 1/3rd. That is, your portfolio value of $1000 can gain $500 (giving you a final portfolio value of $1500) over 1 year or your $1500 portfolio value can lose $500 (giving a final portfolio value of $1000) over 1 year.
However, if your investment time horizon is 10-years or more rolling, the market volatility is less and you can expect no losses. Over a 10-years time horizon, the returns of the market are as depicted in the chart below, ranging from a high of 19.4% to a low of 1.2% , with the average at 10.5%. Over a 25-years time horizon, the returns of the market are between the high of 17.2% and the low of 7.9%, with the average at 10.5%.
Two Prongs Approach
How to achieve the 100% increase in portfolio value over 5 years?
For this, a two prongs approach is employed.
- (A) Stock selection is an important part of this.
- (B) The other equally important, is portfolio management.
Both are important in your investing. Many focus a lot of their time on stock selection and failed to realise the importance of portfolio management in achieving their investment return objectives.
How can one achieve a compound annual return of 15% per year or an annual return of 20% per year in simple average terms for periods of 5 years running in stock market investments?
What strategies should be employed to achieve the 100% returns on your investment every 5 years, consistently and safely (without taking excessive risk, that is, low risk and high return situations)?
A. Stock Selection
1. Asset allocation
Asset allocation is important. If you allocate 100% of your investment into fixed incomes (like bonds or fixed deposits), you are unlikely to achieve this 15% compound annual return over 5 years. These fixed income products protect your capital (but not against inflation over the long run) but their returns are too small to achieve your objective.
You have little choice but to allocate your asset into products that can give you higher returns over time. I suggest an asset allocation of 40% Equity and 60% Fixed Income Products for those who are conservative and loss adverse. For those who are super-conservative, maybe in the early learning stages of their investing or those in retirement, a 20% Equity and 80% Fixed Income Product portfolio can be employed. For super-investors, the like of Warren Buffett, who knows what they are investing, the asset allocations are little in cash/ cash equivalent/ fixed income products and mostly into equity. Buffett keeps enough cash to take advantage of opportunities that can present unexpectly at any time.
2. Fixed Income Products
This have been mentioned above (1). These include your fixed deposits and bonds. Preferred shares are included here too.
3. Blue chips bought at reasonable prices
These are companies that have done well over a long period. They are profitable and their businesses are predictable. They also give regular dividends. They are generally matured companies that have captured their share of their business in their market sector. They do grow, though slowly when compared to their early days or to the smaller successful companies. Most of these companies grow at single digit growth rates. Their business revenues per year generally exceed $5 billion or more.
You should choose one that has a minimum growth rate of 7%, preferably more. Since most of these companies do give dividends (generally the dividend payout ratio in these companies are high), you can look for dividend yields of between 2.5% to 3.5%., averagely 3% or more. Adding these two figures still fall short of your expected returns of 15% per year. Yes, and if you re-invest your dividends (not necessarily into the same companies that give them), you can achieve this compound annual return of 15%. In general, you can expect 50% of the total returns from these investments to be from the dividends and the rest from capital appreciation. Don't ignore the impact of dividends on your total return, this can be significant indeed.
What other further strategies can one employ to achieve the compound annual return of 15% or more, doubling your portfolio value every 5 years?
4. Buying blue chips at bargain prices during a market downturn or when the market is obviously low
The stock market prices are influenced by market sentiments. There are periods when the market players are very pessimistic about the market. During these times, good stocks are also sold down and their low prices in the market are unrelated to their business fundamentals.
Provided you as an investor can be disciplined and rational in your approach and know the difference between price and value, you are presented with this opportunity to buy good and great blue chips at bargain prices. The lower the price you pay to own these companies, the higher you can expect your returns to be. Yes, certainly buying these blue chips during market downturn will reward the smart or aggressive intelligent investor with higher returns, and deliver to them the compound annual return of 15% or more per year which they are seeking in their investing.
5. Buying growth stocks at reasonable prices. (Growth Investing)
These are companies that are growing their businesses very fast (>15% per year or more). Where can you find them?
A small startup company in the early stages without profits to show and sucking in a lot of capital is full of risk and with unpredictable future returns. Those who invest in these should know the business well and be willing to take the risks. They should be prepared to lose 100% of their money if things do not play out well. Investing in these start-ups is speculation. We shall focus on investing.
A successful startup will soon enter an explosive growth phase. The growth can be very fast indeed (perhaps growing between 40% to 30% annually). In the very early stages of this rapid growth, they absorb a lot of capital to support their fast growth. Though profitable, they retain all the earnings and often need to sought new equity capital and also debt to grow their businesses.
This explosive growth phase will eventually attenuates. They are still growing at a rapid pace, between 20% to 15%. By this stage, these companies are profitable and generating positive (and hopefully growing) free cash flows. They retain a portion of their earnings for growth and are now able to distribute some or more of their earnings as dividends. In general, look for those companies distributing 30% to 70% of their earnings as dividends and are still growing rapidly between 20% to 15% per year.
For those whose objective is to achieve a compound annual return of 15% per year or more and doubling their portfolio value every 5 years, focusing their effort in this segment will be most appropriate and rewarding. These are the small-cap and mid-cap companies in the stock market. Always ensure that their businesses have economic moats that are deep and wide (these confer them their durable competitive advantage) Many of these companies have business revenues less than $500 million per year (small businesses). There are also companies with business revenues between $500 million per year and $5 billion per year (middle sized companies).
6. Buying undervalued companies (Value Investing)
You can adopt the strategies of the bargain hunters (the value investors of Benjamin Graham). Benjamin Graham uses the simple comparison of price versus the book value and buy with a margin of safety of 30% or 50% discount to the book value. However, he also uses other criteria in his selection too (look these up).
When do bargains appear?
An obvious time, is during period of pessimism. Think John Templeton. "Buy your stocks during periods of maximum pessimism. " The general market is sold down and you can expect to find more bargains during this time than during the period when the market is in an exuberant mood.
As for specific stocks, there are also times when the market may view these stocks very unfavourably. The company may have run into difficulties during that period. The fundamentals of the company maybe temporarily or permanently impaired. There maybe some fraud discovered. The company may have made an acquisition which is perceived negatively. The company's product may be in the news for the wrong reasons. There are so many reasons that can cause the company to be in the news for the wrong reasons.
To profit from these, the investor needs to assess the congruence between the news and the price. Maybe the company is punished appropriately, and the price is reflecting its value. On the other hand, the company maybe punished inappropriately and the price is too low relative to its given intrinsic value. Here lies your opportunity to capture the gains offered by this bargain, should you be proven right and the other investors re-priced this company to its appropriate price. A margin of safety of 30% gives you an upside potential gain of 50% and a margin of safety of 50% gives you an upside potential gain of 100% when repricing occurs.
I personally, feel it is more challenging to be a value investor than a growth investor. You have to be right about the company that has recently fallen from grace. You have to be right and others are wrong to profit from this opportunity. What if, you are wrong and the others are right? Also, it may take a very long time for the market to reprice your stock, even though you are right. The longer the time for this repricing to occur, the lower is your annualised return. These stocks generally need to be sold once their prices approached their intrinsic value. You need to sell them at the right time too to capture the maximum potential gains. All these difficulties are not faced by the growth investors who bought their high quality growth stocks at reasonable prices, and holding them for the long term, if not forever.
In the above paragraph, my thinking is guided by this quote from Warren Buffett:
"It is better to pay a little too much for something that is a very good business than it is to buy some bargain but really a company without much of a future."
All the above strategies can be employed regularly in the market.
There are also various strategies that can be employed to achieve 15% per year return over the long term to grow your portfolio value 100% over the period. However, these are infrequent and often less accessible to me as a lay-person investor. Among these are:
7. Purchasing well-secured privileged senior issues (bonds and preferred shares) offered at bargain prices.
8. Purchasing in special situations which you have good knowledge of: Mergers, arbitrages and cash pay-out.
I strongly believe that the paths below will not help me in my objective to grow my portfolio value 100% over 5 years with the degree of certainty that I want. Accordingly, they are speculations which I would avoid. These are:
A. Avoid buying IPO. "Its probably overpriced"!
B. Avoid trading in the market. This is a negative sum game in my book. Those who indulge in this, as a group or aggregate, will generally lose money over the long term.
C. Avoid buying growth stocks at high prices. Growth stocks are liked by many and often maybe trading at high prices. It hurts your portfolio if you pay a rosy price to acquire these stocks especially when they are popular and in the news. "You can never get a bargain on a stock that is popular." Be patient and disciplined, you will have the opportunity to acquire the same stock at a better price.
B. Portfolio Management
This is equally important and contributes to achieving your investment objective of doubling your portfolio value every 5 years.
Maintaining a concentrated portfolio of stocks
I maintain a concentrated portfolio of about 10 carefully chosen stocks. The turnover of this portfolio is generally very low indeed, reflecting the nature of the stocks selected. I am not in a hurry to churn the stocks in my portfolio to grow my net worth quickly, as compounding over the long term at 15% per year translates into very big incremental absolute returns in the later part of the long period of my investing time horizon.
Having a few stocks allow me to focus and monitor the businesses of these companies more closely. It also gives me the courage to put in large amounts of money into each of these stocks in my investing.
Why 10 stocks? I will just invest in the best stocks that give the most upside to downside reward to risk ratio and potential high returns. Over diversifying into too many stocks will give one the market returns, thus, maybe diluting your potential returns that can be derived from this strategy.
As there are only 10 stocks, each stock will have a potential value weighting of 10%. Meaningful investing means investing at least 3% of the total portfolio value into each stock. Too small an investment into a stock is meaningless as even a 100% gain in the stock contributes to an insignificant gain to the whole portfolio value.
Do I sell when a particular stock is proportionally too high in value in my portfolio? Not really, unless for good reasons (see below for, when to sell). In my portfolio, a particular stock has at one stage a 30% value of my whole portfolio and it was still undervalued. I am willing to ride my good fortune or accept the risk of a over-represented good quality undervalued stock in my portfolio.
There are many benefits from having a long term successful portfolio. It allows you to capture the capital appreciations and the dividends of the portfolio over a long time. The dividends of the portfolio is a big amount and this attenuates the fluctuating returns of the portfolio in a bear market. Compare to traders who bet a certain amount and made a 100% gain, their gains probably paled to insignificant to the dividends of a successful long term portfolio. The dividends annually dwarf the gain of any single successful trade of a frequent trader.
When to sell
As mentioned, these stocks are rarely sold. However, there are occasions when selling is needed.
A stock will be sold if its fundamentals have deteriorated permanently and the management is unlikely to turn it around anytime soon, example, in a year. This stock should be sold quickly and the action requires one's urgent attention. To not do so may cause financial harm to your portfolio. On certain occasions, for example, fraudulent accounting, one should just sell first and think later.
Selling an overpriced stock is also a good portfolio management move. The price is already too high and its upside potential maybe little or none and you are only facing its downside risk of loss, while invested in this stock. You should sell partially or totally, and replace this stock with another with an equal or a better quality and with a better upside reward to downside loss ratio and potential higher returns. This improves the quality and the potential returns of your portfolio. This will ensure that you can achieve your 15% compound annual return in your portfolio value, doubling the value in 5 years.
On certain occasions, you may have identified a very good stock to invest into that is severely undervalued. It is of high quality and the upside reward to downside loss ratio is very much in your favour. It is selling very cheaply and your potential future return is going to be very very high. You have great confidence in your stock pick and wish to put a lot more money to ride on this big bet that has presented itself. You may then sell some of your existing stocks with still good upside to downside ratio to reinvest the money into this new stock with better upside to downside ratio and potential higher return. Again, this will ensure that you are always improving the quality and returns of your portfolio.
Cash is also considered an asset class in the portfolio. Where the market is so overpriced and you cannot find a stock that provides safety of capital and promises of a satisfactory return better than cash, building up a cash reserve is appropriate for that period. The time when I was in 100% cash (or 0% equity) has never happened before and this should be a very unlikely event. This probably can only happen in markets as was in 1996 or 1997 when the market was bubbly and irrational; even then, I was not 100% in cash then.
Confronting a Bear Market or severe Market Decline
Market price is volatile. That is certain. Also, a good quality growth stock over the long term should build its intrinsic value. That is also certain to a high degree of probability.
Should I be in 100% cash when the market is a bubble in exuberant territory? Should I sell before or when the market crashes? Do I have the uncanny ability to time the market in these periods?
In general, it is very difficult to know if the market is fairly valued, overvalued or undervalued most of the time. There are a few instances when you might know that the market is obviously too overvalued or too undervalued, however, these are extreme circumstances and rare events (example, in 1996/97 when it was obviously overvalued, in 1998 when KLCI was 300 points when it was obviously severely undervalued, and in Sept 2008 the Lehman crisis, when the market was severely undervalued and at the capitulation point.)
However, for one who is invested into individual stocks, these market fluctuations are meaningful to the extent that in a low market you have the chance to buy the stocks cheap and in a high market you have chance to sell the stocks at high prices. You can adopt this strategy of pricing the market, that is, buy low and sell high. Equally productive and less taxing on your skill, is just buy low and do not sell; and of course, do not buy high. The latter too is an effective strategy, especially since you are buying and holding only good quality growth stocks with durable competitive advantage. You are betting on and aiming to capture the fantastic earning powers of your invested companies over the long term of 5, 10 or more years.
Even if the market is overvalued, you can sometimes still buy undervalued stocks. Of course, during this time, there are less of these undervalued stocks in the market.
Do you sell ahead of the falling market? Only if you have the ability to know this with certainty. Can you do so consistently? Of course not. A reasonable strategy is to make as much money as you can in any market, whether it is trending up or down. Also, be prepared for the appearance of the bear when you are in the bull market period. When the bear does appear, be prepared to see your portfolio value going down even 50% from its peak. (For this reason, do not buy stocks on margins. You never know when a bear market may appear decimating your net worth due to your leverage.) Your consolation is you will have so much gains already in your long term portfolio, this 50% decline in portfolio value does not cause the loss of your initial capital. However, your portfolio intrinsic value is definitely worth more than the market value of your portfolio in a bear market which is determined by the emotional market low prices of the period. You can still sleep well and actually take advantage of the bear market to buy good quality growth stocks that are now offered at ridiculous bargain prices. When the market normalises, as it should, you are once again, a winner.
The biggest threat to your portfolio - YOURSELF
The biggest threat to your portfolio value is actually yourself. With the right knowledge and skill, you can invest safely and profit from the market over the long term. The long period of compounding will certainly make you very rich indeed.
The above are my philosophy and strategies to grow my portfolio at a compound annual return of 15% per year, doubling my portfolio value 100% over 5 years.
Look at the single chart above that depicts market returns. Over the 25 year long term investing horizon, the stock market has returned between 17% and 8% annually, averaging 10.5%. By employing the strategies above, I have chosen to capture the gains offered by the top half of this range, that is, between 10.5% to 17%. With dividends reinvested, this 15% compound annual return is achievable.
Of course, Benjamin Graham has counselled, "It is not difficult for the intelligent investor to achieve modest returns (to get market return, use low cost market index funds) but when they aim for better returns, they might find that rather than getting better results, they might in fact fair worse than the average."
Those who are defensive investors should just stay with a simple asset allocation of fixed income (2) and blue chips (3) above. Those who are willing to put in the diligent effort, should still stay with an asset allocation of fixed income (2) an blue chips (3) and they can include into their investing all the others mentioned (4, 5, 6 & 7).
Be reminded to always stay within one's circle of competence. You should be able to define the boundary of this circle and never stray out of it.
Finally, should a "big fat pitch" opportunity that is within your circle of competence appears, you should have the cash and the courage to take advantage of it. I believe you can with the right preparation, philosophy and strategy.
May your investing be as successful, with a bit of good luck thrown in.


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For nearly an hour I had her by my side chatting away, telling me all about chickens and dogs. I didn't want to move and risk her running off to play, I was hogging her all to myself.
Monday, April 15, 2013
The Perfect Crochet Accessory
I am plodding along with my Granny Square Shrug. I am at that uninspiring stage where I just need to do 60 cms of plain granny rows all in the same colour. I have 20 cm's to go and it's very dull. I am trying to do at least a row a day. On Easter day I got 3 rows done! How, well I had my secret weapon. My 2 year old niece Miss Indigo.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Ricardo Ratliffe scored a career-high 27
points and No. 5 Missouri held on for an 89-88 victory over No. 3
Baylor after a furious late rally by the Bears.
Ratliffe had a big, two-handed slam dunk midway through the
second half when he scored six points in an 8-0 spurt that put the
Tigers (18-1, 5-1 Big 12) up 68-58. Missouri still led by 10 with
3:07 left.
Missouri had to hit 10 of 12 free throws in the final minute.
Marcus Denmon's free throw with 4 seconds left made it 89-85 before
Brady Heslip hit a game-ending 3-pointer for Baylor (17-2, 4-2),
which has lost two in a row after a 17-0 start.
Quincy Miller led Baylor with 29 points while Pierre Jackson had
20 points and 15 assists.
Phil Pressey added 18 points for the Tigers and Denmon had 15.
No. 5 Missouri holds to win 89-88 at No. 3 Baylor
Ricardo Ratliffe scored a career-high 27


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Cyclists are embracing apps to help them get where they want to go and to get the most of their rides. Never has it been easier to plan and get the most out of a ride thanks to these best in class applications for your phone.
If you're an avid cyclist or a casual enthusiast, take a look through the list to find what you're missing out on.
Wahoo Fitness
This is an app that works well with others including speed sensors, heart rate monitors and many more. The data can be uploaded to sites such as Map My Fitness and Strava.
If you keep statistics of your rides, you'll absolutely love this tool because it comes with 8 pages that can be completely customized. The categories available include heart rate power, speed etc. As an added bonus there is a GPS map built right into it.
This one works with Apple GPS functions to create specialized data such as distance, time and speed. As you're driving along and hit some rough terrain you won't have to worry about stopping to check out your stats. Cyclemeter provides built-in announcements so that you can ride along without ever having to take a break to look at the information. This is a free app if you want the regular version but you'll have to pay for the elite version.
This is a great interactive application that you can automate easily. You can set up audio alerts to find out your distance, heart rate and more. If you want to compete against yourself on a familiar course you can do that too. This is one of the most helpful cycling phone apps and is definitely worth checking out.
If you've been talking to other cyclists about the apps they are using you've probably already heard of Strava. This is one of the highest-ranking GPS maps and it records logs of your ride that are uploaded to the Strava profile you have online. It keeps track of all the vital riding data including distance, time and speed as well as the ground you've covered. Once you finish your ride you'll be able to log into your account to see how many calories you've burned on the ride and the elevation level you've reached. This is definitely a must-have for any cyclist.
Map My Ride
Although this happens to take up a lot of space on a phone, it's still one of the best. Like Strava, Map My Ride gives you the vital details of your ride but it also allows you to share your details with other riders. You'll be able to share and compare your rides with other people around the world, which adds a new breed of excitement to your cycling adventures.
First Aid App by St. John Ambulance
This is one that you'll want to have on your phone for both small incidents and for major emergencies. As a cyclist you'll need to know what to do if you're ever involved in an accident and how to help others if you come across someone that is injured.
Hopefully you'll never have to use this it but it's a good "just in case" application that should be added to your collection.
These are just a few of the many cycling apps that are available. The best way to find more is to talk to other cyclists to find out what they are using. Once you've tried some of them you'll discover your favorites and rely on them to get the most out of every cycling trip.
Comments are open so let us know which ones you use that should be on the list.


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How are you
Welcome to 2013! I trust that you are all back home safe and sound and that you have all returned back to the proverbial grinding stone! So 2013 kicks off with a bang as we are planning to have our ASSOCIATION EXEC MEETING over the weekend of the 25/26 January 2013 in Potchefstroom. This meeting will also be attended by many of the DISTRICT COUNCILLORS.
With the RTSA AGM taking place rather soon Peter Brauteseth & Koos Coetsee, 2nd Vice President/Directory and Vice President/Membership will be in attendance and have this to say to all the Outgoing Tablers: "WELCOME TO RETIRING TABLERS – CLASS OF 2013! We are sure that many, if not all of you will be attending this ARTSA as it is your last one as a Tabler and it is to this end that we as 41'ers have arranged a very special function for you guys on the Friday night! At this function we will share with you the great many facets that we as the 41'ers Association of Southern Africa have to offer you from from joining your local 41'er club to the great opportunity of sending your children on an international tour with the Young Ambassador Program (YAPS). We welcome you all and look forward to seeing you there! We would also like to encourage as many 41'ers to attend the RTSA AGM as well. Visit www.artsa2013.co.za to REGISTER now!"
There are 102 TABLERS LEAVING RTSA this year and I have added all the names that had email addresses to our newsletter list, so I am sure that you will all receive the updates in future. If you know of someone that does not receive our newsletter and would like to please go to our website at www.41ers.co.za and let them subscribe! There will also be a REGALIA stand at RTSA AGM where all the outgoing guys or anyone else can purchase some great items.
The YAP PROGRAM this year looks promising and I would once again like to encourage all 41'er parents to allow their kids to join these tours. This year there will be a tour to Belgium and Germany again as well as the opportunity to join the European tour to India. As the YAP Conveners meeting will only be held on the 02 February 2013 in Germany, I will only be able to finalise the tour dates then. The provisional dates however are:
Belgium/Germany 22 June – 11 July 2013
India North 13 July – 11 August 2013
India South 27 July – 25 August
The European tour is 20 days and the Indian tours are 30 days. Costs and further detail will be available in my February newsletter.
Our 41'ers AGM that will be taking place from 06 – 08 SEPTEMBER 2013 in AMANZAMTOTI will be open for registration by mid February 2013! So watch this space!
The Association President Gertjie has given me a new letter to upload for you to read under PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
Other than that guys and gals receiving the newsletter, have a great year and please remember to send in all your club activities and you might stand a chance to win one of our Fabulous monthly prizes as from the end of February 2013. In closing I am happy to say that we have now reached the 800 mark for our NEWSLETTER subscribers! This newsletter goes out every month, please let me know if you do not receive one.
Remember to have fun, Enjoy life and Embrace the
Friendships you have around you!
Until next month & year....May the Hinges of Friendship Never Rust.
41er Regards,
Bruce McKay(Association IRO, Past President & Web Administrator)www.41ers.co.za
Would you like to change your subscription? Not interested any more?


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(CNN) -- Nineteen people were killed as the result of a weekend prison riot near Caracas, the Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister said on Tuesday, according to the state-run AVN news agency.
Tareck El Aissami said the riot started after family members visited with inmates, but it was unclear what touched off the violence, the agency reported. He did not say whether anyone was injured, it said.
The riot broke out at the El Rodeo I prison, which is located in Guatire, east of Caracas, according to AVN.
Violence in Venezuelan prisons is not uncommon.
According to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory, a watchdog group, 124 people died in Venezuelan prisons during the first three months of this year. That figure does not include the latest riot report and represents a 22% increase over the 102 people who died during the same period a year ago, the group said.


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I recently completed these initial design boards for two different clients and thought I would share them with you;
The first kitchen design is for an online client of mine who lives in Seaford, New York. Her kitchen is basically a blank slate (except for the existing cabinets and countertops.) I selected several industrial-style items such as the barstool, pendent lights and stainless steel subway tile backsplash. I injected some color by means of a large rug and some fun wall art.
The second board is an entry design I came up with for a local client of mine. The homeowners recently purchased a split-level home in the country and I'm helping them decorate several rooms in the house. They are a fun family of four with traditional-meets-modern tastes.
I'll keep ya'll up to date with the progress of each project, so stay tuned!


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Voter Identification In Missouri: A Misplaced Priority
Voter Identification In Missouri: A Misplaced Priority
Strong voter participation and engagement are fundamental to a healthy democracy. Efforts to restrict access to voting fly in the face of this important goal. Alarmingly, despite another midterm election in which nationally only 41 percent of eligible persons voted, many states are now renewing efforts to restrict, rather than expand, the franchise.
The timing could not be more inappropriate. Incoming legislators and governors are pushing the passage of strict voter identification laws while their states face critical budget crises. Instead of focusing on job creation and providing relief for millions of unemployed and underemployed residents, legislators have placed a law that would disenfranchise tens of thousands at the top of their agendas.
Missouri is One of Those States
Missouri is considering a bill requiring all voters to present government issued photo identification at the polls. The fact that Missouri is introducing a restrictive voter identification bill is particularly unfortunate considering the legislature passed such a bill in 2006 and it was struck down as unconstitutional under the state's constitution by the Missouri Supreme Court. The Court said it violated the fundamental right to vote as provided by the state constitution. Somehow, this has not deterred some legislators from trying to needlessly disenfranchise voters once again. At the same time, they are trying to pass a bill that would amend the state's constitution to require voters show voter ID. This proposal would bypass the wisdom of the state's constitutional drafters by enshrining an anti-democratic, discriminatory measure into the state's very foundational document.
Under the bill, voters who do not have a form of government issued photo ID may complete an affidavit averring that they do not have the required ID and vote provisionally, but only if they have a physical or mental disability or handicap, swear they are unable to pay for documentation that would be required to get identification, have a religious belief against it, or were born before 1941. The bill requires the state to provide at least one form of personal ID at no cost to voters who do not have other forms of ID.
The acceptable forms of ID are extremely limited:[1]
- a nonexpired Missouri driver's license;
- a nonexpired or nonexpiring Missouri nondriver's license;
- any identification containing a photograph issued by the Missouri National Guard, the United States armed forces, or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; or
- a document issued by the United States or the state of Missouri containing the name of the voter which substantially conforms to the most recent signature in the individual's voter registration records, a photograph, and an expiration date or if expired, the expiration is after the date of the most recent general election.
Any other forms of ID, such as college IDs and out-of-state IDs, would not be accepted and therefore, many students and mobile residents would have to resort to casting a provisional ballot and somehow verify their identity at a later time for their vote to count. Missouri citizens who do not have any of the IDs listed above must go through an arduous process of acquiring one at the Department of Revenue (DOR) in order to vote. (See below)
Missouri has More Important Problems
In his State of the State speech, Governor Jay Nixon proposed $300 million new spending cuts as part of his efforts to reduce the estimated $700 million budget gap.
These cuts include[2]:
- $67.4 million to Medicaid;
- 863 state employee positions (after having slashed state employment by nearly 2,500 in the past couple of years); and
- $63.8 million in spending towards higher education, or 7 percent of the budgets at community colleges and four-year institutions (following a $50 million reduction to state universities last year).
Yet the Voter ID proposal would require at least $21.2 million in new government spending for the next three years.[3]
In addition, the jobless rate in Missouri stood at 9.5 percent in December 2010- higher than the national average - and in the month of December alone, Missouri suffered a net loss of 6,500 payroll jobs. Consecutive years of decrease in employment put Missouri third-worst among the states in percentage job loss last year.[4]
The Wrong Focus
Current state law allows voters to prove their identity with documents that do not contain photographs, such as copies of current utility bills, bank statements or paychecks listing their names and addresses. While Missouri's other election laws are by no means ideal, the state has done relatively well, with slightly above average voter turnout rates[5] (though still incredibly low by an objective standard or comparison internationally). So why is the Missouri legislature doing this now?
Missouri Republicans have long pushed unsuccessfully for a photo identification requirement at the polls, citing the need to guard against voter fraud. Nevertheless, despite numerous investigations, there is no evidence of substantial voter fraud of the kind a Voter ID law would protect against.[6]According to the secretary of state, there has never been an instance of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri. The laws as they exist are working just fine.[7]
The truth is this allegation of fraud is a canard legislators use to divert focus from the real problems and their real motives in passing strict ID laws - gaming the system in their favor.
The Cost of Voter ID
A photo ID law could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Missourians. Two national surveys have found that large numbers of American citizens -disproportionately among certain demographic groups - do not possess a valid, government-issued photo ID, or the required documents for a photo ID (e.g. birth certificate or passport).[8] Secretary Carnahan too has identified as many as 240,000 registered Missouri voters - mostly the elderly, disabled, poor and minority voters - who lacked a government-issued photo ID through statewide database-matching in 2008 and 2009.[9] More recently, the Department of Revenue estimated 253,496 registered voters in Missouri do not have photo identification on file with the Department of Revenue.[10]
If the constitutional amendment and photo ID law were to pass, the state would be required to provide free state IDs for the many low-income Missouri citizens who do not already have an acceptable form of photo ID. However, it is in fact costly and time-consuming to collect the documents necessary for obtaining a "free" state photo ID -which was precisely the Missouri Supreme Court's main concern when it struck down the photo ID law in 2006.[11] That is, Missouri citizens must provide all of the following documents to get a photo ID[12]:
- Proof of Lawful Presence - e.g. certified birth certificate which can cost $5-$30 and take up to 10 weeks;
- Proof of Lawful Identify - a Social Security card;
- Proof of Residency - a current utility bill or government check with address; and
- Proof of Name Change (if you have changed your name) - marriage licenses, divorce decrees, court orders, adoption papers, and amended birth certificates (all of which also come at a cost if they need to be reissued).
The "proof of lawful presence" is a particularly burdensome requirement as many Americans do not have their birth certificate, passport, or naturalization papers readily at hand. A national survey conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation found that 5.7 percent of the native-born adult population does not have a birth certificate or US passport at home.[13] Assuming that this 5.7 percent share is the same in Missouri as in the nation as a whole, an estimated 238,000 Missourians would not be able to obtain the required photo ID to cast a ballot.[14]
In addition, the survey results show how certain demographic groups would be disproportionately affected by a photo ID law because they are much less likely to have the necessary documents to acquire a photo ID. These vulnerable populations include people without a high school diploma (9.2 percent of whom lack the documents), rural residents (9.1 percent), African Americans (8.9 percent), households with incomes below $25,000 (8.1 percent), and the elderly (7.4 percent). Assuming that the above percentages are the same for Missouri as for the nation as a whole, a photo ID requirement would potentially disenfranchise[15]:
- more than 90,000 rural residents;
- 70,000 low-income residents;
- 50,000 residents without a high school diploma;
- 50,000 elderly residents; and
- 40,000 African Americans.
Increasing the Deficit
Finally, the bill would increase state and local deficits. In its 2010 fiscal note, the Missouri Committee on Legislative Research Oversight Division estimated that implementation of a voter ID bill in Missouri would cost the Secretary of State, the Department of Revenue, and local governments up to $21.2 million over the next three years. This estimate includes the cost of providing free IDs and the subsequent loss of revenue for the DOR, and the additional cost to election administrators for voter education on the new ID requirements and procedures.[16]
At a time when Missouri is confronting an economic crisis, instead of focusing on creating jobs and saving homes, legislators are already manipulating election practices in ways they hope will assist their next campaign. Instead of being concerned about saving Missourians' jobs, their first priority is protecting their own.
[1] Missouri, Senate, Voter Photo Identification, SB 3 (2010),http://www.senate.mo.gov/11info/pdf-bill/intro/SB3.pdf.
[2]^ Kelsey Volkmann, "Nixon Calls for 863 More State Job Cuts," Kansas City Business Journal, January 20, 2011,http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2011/01/20/nixon-calls-for-863-more-state-job-cuts.html.
- Jason Noble and Steve Kraske, "Missouri Governor Promises to Boost Jobs While Cutting Budget," Kansas City Star, January 20, 2011, http://www.kansascity.com/2011/01/19/2596091/missouri-governor-promises-focus.html#ixzz1C5kLO0KE.
[3]Missouri Committee on Legislative Research Oversight Division, Fiscal Note L.R. No. 4082-02, Bill No. HJR 64, February 8, 2010,http://www.moga.mo.gov/oversight/OVER10/fispdf/4082-02N.ORG.PDF.
[4]"Missouri Jobless Rate Holds at 9.5 Percent in December," The Associate Press, January 15, 2011,http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?id=567885.
- Diane Stafford, "Missouri Had Third-Worst Job Loss Rate in 2010," Kansas City Star, January 25, 2011,http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/9614.
[5] See United States Election Project at http://elections.gmu.edu/voter_turnout.htm
[6] Lorraine Minnite, The Myth of Voter Fraud, Cornell University Press, June 10, 2010
[7] Jodie Jackson, Jr., Election Officials Pan Voter ID, Columbia Daily Tribune, April 29, 2009
[8] ^ The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, "Citizens Without Proof: A Survey of Americans' Possession of Documentary Proof of Citizenship and Photo Identification," November 2006, http://www.brennancenter.org/page/-/d/download_file_39242.pdf.
- Leighton Ku, Donna Cohen Ross and Matt Broaddus, "Survey Indicates the Deficit Reduction Act Jeopardizes Medicaid Coverage for 3 to 5 Million U.S. Citizens," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 17, 2006, http://www.cbpp.org/archiveSite/1-26-06health.pdf.
[9]Missouri Secretary of State, "Carnahan Identifies Nearly 230,000 Voters that Risk Being Disenfranchised by Legislation," 28 April 2009, http://www.sos.mo.gov/news.asp?id=808. (25 January 2011).
[10] Missouri Committee on Legislative Research Oversight Division, Fiscal Note L.R. No. 4082-02, Bill No. HJR 64, February 8, 2011, http://www.moga.mo.gov/oversight/OVER10/fispdf/4082-02N.ORG.PDF.
[11]Kathleen Weinschenk, et al., Respondents, v. State of Missouri, Appellant, Robin Carnahan, Secretary of State, Respondent, Dale Morris and Senator Delbert Scott, Intervenors-Appellants. SC88039, http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/electionlaw/litigation/documents/Jackson_Opinion.pdf.
[12]Robin Carnahan (Missouri Secretary of State). "Testimony for US Senate Rules Committee" Hearing on "In-Person Voter Fraud: Myth and Trigger for Disenfranchisement?" March 11, 2008,http://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/carnahan_senate_rules_testimony.pdf.
[13] This 5.7 percent share is a conservative figure, as it excludes foreign-born, or naturalized, citizens.Leighton Ku, Donna Cohen Ross and Matt Broaddus, "Survey Indicates the Deficit Reduction Act Jeopardizes Medicaid Coverage for 3 to 5 Million U.S. Citizens," Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 17, 2006, http://www.cbpp.org/archiveSite/1-26-06health.pdf.
[14]Donna Cohen Ross and Allison Orris, "Missouri's Proposed Voting Requirement Could
Disenfranchise More Than 200,000 U.S. Citizens; Rural, Low-Income, And African American Residents Among Most Affected," Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, May 15, 2008, http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=282.
[16]Missouri Committee on Legislative Research Oversight Division, Fiscal Note L.R. No. 4082-02, Bill No. HJR 64, February 8, 2011, http://www.moga.mo.gov/oversight/OVER10/fispdf/4082-02N.ORG.PDF.


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This summer as a young woman who belongs to the lgbtq+ community, I decided that it had finally come time for me to delve into Litchfield Prison and watch Orange is the New Black. Revered for its portrayal of lgbtq+ women, issues of race, and the corrupt nature of the prison system- it really did deliver for me. For any readers who may be new to the series, or unsure what it's about here's a brief synopsis I've written.
Based on the novel by Piper Kerman of her own experiences in women's prison, OITNB follows Piper Chapman as she turns herself in to Litchfield prison on drug charges. In her 20s Piper's ex-girlfriend, Alex Vause, ran a international drug smuggling operation that eventually goes south. The warrant for Piper's arrest is due to those charges, so she and her fiance, Larry, decide its in her best interest to turn herself in before she's arrested. Season 1 follows Piper's life as she adjusts to life inside the prison and soon the story expands to encompass other women and their lives before and currently in the prison.
So let's talk about the distinct words mentioned in that synopsis I provided you. Did you get that? Piper had an ex-girlfriend and a male fiance.
The question I've been asking myself since season 1 (and I'm on season 3 right now) is why does Orange is the New Black treat Piper as if Bisexuality doesn't exist?
Let's start with how the show opens. Piper is already in prison but allows the show to back track into how she got there. We move from prison to innercity New York and into the domestic life of Piper and Larry. They're in love, planning their upcoming wedding, and they are a bit quirky but in a sense that provides more backing to the fact that they love each other. There is never a vibe that Piper feels heterosexually pressured into being with Larry. She's not trying to please her parents by marrying him. She's not pretending here. Piper is in love with Larry. End of story. Now once it's discussed more at length, Piper's past with Alex is brought up and for highly educated people, Piper's fiance and her best friend (Polly) are kind of…slightly…homophobic about her past relationship.
When you hear homophobic, most people jump to yelling, screaming, violence- but there is a more subtle form of homophobia at play here. Piper's old feelings about Alex are invalidated because frankly they can't believe she ever felt anything for a woman when she's getting married to a man. They turn up their noses, they treat her like it was a poor mistake in judgement, or that it was just her doing what young people do and it meant nothing. Now once we arrive in prison and it becomes clear over the course of season 1, Alex is in prison with her. We see over a series of flashbacks through all seasons just how intimate Piper's relationship with Alex was. It clearly defies all of the accusations of her friends and family that 'it was just a phase'. (the oldest response to bisexuality in the book)
But what's even more frustrating is hearing the phrase "She used to be lesbian" or "She's gay now"- OITNB has used all of these phrases and more throughout its time. Understandably for other characters there is a sense of poor education, and a lack of care about correct terms which I get, they just label girls into girls as lesbians. But guys…Piper Chapman is NOT a lesbian.
You're telling me a woman who tried so hard to keep up her relationship with her fiance while in prison, until ultimately they broke up because of her feelings for Alex returning, and then when she's on furlough she tries to have sex with and is clearly clinging to the sense of home he instilled in her…is lesbian?
I am a bisexual woman. I fall in love with men. I fall in love with women. Not at the same time. Not all at once.
If Piper were a lesbian she would have an out once in prison, to never have to have sex with Larry ever again. So why does she initiate it when she's home for furlough? Yes Piper is acting out for attention, but no lesbian wants to have sex with a man. That's common sense.
I understand sexuality is fluid and can change over time, but this isn't over time. This is back and forth. I see all of these articles and pages "top ten tv bisexuals" Piper is in but Piper also fits into the sad category of "is bisexual but never says it out loud".
Read here:
Piper says, I like hot girls and I like hot guys
Piper is number 44 on the list of Bisexual & Lesbian characters
Even this article mentions that other people are frustrated by the lack of bisexual phrasing in OITNB
I think you get the point.
We have an issue when it comes to bisexuality. No one wants to say it or label it. The characters are either straight or gay pertaining to who they're in love with. That's just not true. Bisexuality isn't gay or straight, or 50/50 half and half. It's a spectrum. I see a common trope of women starting in love with a man and then falling for a woman and suddenly she was gay. But the relationship with the man was loving, it was mutual, it had actual substance. Just like Piper's with Larry.
We deserve characters to label themselves as bisexual. We deserve them having coming out stories and being un-apologetically themselves. I want Piper to OWN her sexuality. I want her to make a big fuss and claim a nickname for her sexuality, a phrase, a term. I want it to be something she's proud of. There's no need to conflict with her current relationships but as a bisexual viewer, I know she's bi.
I mentioned before about the education level of other members of the prison and how they may not know the term for bisexual. That's completely valid but it does not apply to Piper. For a character who spends her time often spouting off random knowledge, who would probably win jeopardy, she's frankly uneducated about sexuality. OITNB overall treats it like there's just gay and straight. Which is so much further from the truth.
Then to add onto this I began watching behind the scenes videos, interviews, because well I'm a TV nerd do we really need to ask why? I fell in love with the cast and I love the advocacy of the entire group and they really understand the impact they have on television. It's beautiful. But there's a twinge inside of me every time I hear Taylor Schilling asked about lesbian sex scenes, and Piper's lesbian sexuality. Even the cast is under the guise that Piper is straight up gay. I would have liked some back up in my beliefs of Piper's sexuality but it's just not there.
It's irresponsible to make a show be the standard of progressive and to mark on all of these issues and normalize same sex relationships on tv but to fail when discussions of sexuality comes forward. Representation matters, and we deserve representation. Maybe OITNB has missed the mark, missed the opportunity, to define Piper's sexuality as bi. But that doesn't mean they can avoid it completely. Bring in another bisexual character. Making Piper claim her sexuality does nothing to her current relationship. It doesn't threaten it. It doesn't invalidate it. It simply means that her previous relationship with Larry was true, and her one with Alex was as well.
It's also frustrating knowing that OITNB isn't on network TV, so the writers have less constrictions in terms of being afraid of backlash or having to censor themselves for a timeslot. There's no reason for the erasure of bisexuality and what it encompasses.
Bisexuality isn't Voldemort. It isn't the sexuality who must not be named. It's real. It's valid. It's here. I advise creators to get on board and stop polluting media with tropes and interchanging us with lesbians and straight girls who kissed a girl once at a party. We are here. We deserve characters who will actually say the label, and be unafraid of what lays out for them. It's all about loving and who we love, and we need to see more love and let other members of LGBTQ+ know that who they love is valid.
Piper could have been one of those great characters that did so.
oh and the purple flowers in her poster art reminds me of the bisexual pride flag which is blue purple and pink respectively.
tea: orange bubble milk tea from Quickly


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Marketing - Testimonials
Dr. Larsen and the JMU Department of Marketing,
I am forever grateful for my years at JMU as a College of Business student, where I had the unbelievable opportunity to learn from one of the nation's most devoted faculties. The passion for excellence and thirst for knowledge that is exhibited in each lecture from the faculty is a trait that becomes contagious to students, and in turn, is sought after by every employer in the country. JMU allowed me to start my career, post-graduation, with the confidence necessary to succeed and contribute from day one. I began my career working for an online marketing agency as an internet marketing specialist and was promoted to manager roughly one year after I began. This wouldn't have been possible without the depth and width of the topics covered in the College of Business. Recently, I accepted a "Search Engine Optimization Analyst" position for WebstaurantStore.com, the nation's leader in restaurant equipment and supplies, and I couldn't be happier. I arrived at JMU thinking marketing would be a great major to select and now that I look back at it, I know that it is one of the best, bar none.
Scott Redgate
Class of 2011
Dear Steve,
Just wanted to send you a quick message and thank you for the impact you had on me at JMU. I took your personal selling class in 2010 and it was the first course that I felt could directly relate to professional success. It was challenging and unnerving but that's what I enjoyed most about it.
I got my job with Keyence soon after graduation and a large part of it was due to the leg up that your course provided. Keep it up, you really helped to give me direction and a solid set of skills to build on. I'm sure I am not the only one who you inspired to become a rainmaker.
Cullen Pochucha
Class of 2011
I wanted to let you know that I used my Business Plan experience in some questions throughout the interview process--and I know it definitely helped me get the job. Just wanted to say thanks again for helping through that process during school and for lighting the fire under me and teaching me all about sales. Had it not been for your class, I don't think I would have known about sales or the kind of careers you can make by doing sales. You also really helped me prepare for my interviews with AZ [AstraZeneca]! I took the slides you went through and really focused hard on preparing for this interview process. I Googled typical questions they ask, the (STAR) interview format they go through, etc. So thank you. I am happy to say that this is the career path I WANT to be on, and I plan on being in this job for a VERY long time (as long as they'll keep me!!).
Clara Lacey
I was in your MKTG 430 class back in 2012 and I wanted to thank you for how much that class has helped me so far in my career. To be honest, while taking your class, I had no intention of pursuing a career in sales. After graduating in 2013, I ... landed a sales representative position with Virginia Toy & Novelty, a toy company based out of Virginia Beach, VA. We handle accounts with major amusement parks, retailers and all kinds of small businesses across the country. I immediately was able to pick up the sales process after remembering all the role playing that we did in MKTG 430. I have been over quota every month since 2014 began and I attribute a lot of my success to the skills and habits that I learned in your course.
Wil Gradwell
Class of 2013
I knew all throughout college that I wanted to be in sales and I was waiting for a class that seemed relevant to my career interests. After finishing COB 300 as a marketing student, the following semester I enrolled in a Professional Selling course with Steve Hertzenberg. It is nearly impossible for me to articulate into words how beneficial this course was for me and my career. ... I am still using the skills that he taught me on a daily basis in my current position with SAP. His ability to walk our class through each delicate phase of a sales process and handle them methodically with care has proven incredibly effective. The constructive criticism that he would offer after each roll play was so valuable. In addition to his knowledge of the sales cycle, his general career guidance and tips with respect to the interview process, resumes and networking was exceptionally instrumental to my success. He wears a lot of hats, and he wears them all awfully well.
Michael Dosh
Class of 2013
It has become extremely evident as I have gone through my internship this summer that the curriculum you put together has far better prepared me for the real world than a lot of the other interns. It is professors like you that make this business school so successful.
Courtney Railing
Class of 2014


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When it is useful to engage in fitness – morning or evening?
Question, when to exercise, is very many women
Question, when to exercise, is very many women. Because some of us can go to the gym early in the morning, and someone prefers to run on the track late in the evening, after work. Unfortunately, few people can afford to choose the classroom: we always adjust to the time. And yet, and when to be still more useful, that is provided that you can choose the trek sports.
But clearly answer this question no one can " neither the coaches nor the doctor, write "Arguments and Facts". But each practice has its "for" and "against". In practice, most early classes insist those who wakes up easily – it's basically "early birds". And such lovers of morning exercise for 20-25%. But "owls" among us more – 30-40% – and they are nicer to go to the gym in the evening. And the rest – the mixed type – still, when to get up early in the morning though, even though almost bedtime. Continue reading
Psychological preparation of the athlete for competition – in the power of snow.
Psychological preparation of the athlete for competition
Successful competition depends on the level of physical, technical, tactical and psychological preparedness of the athlete. Psychological readiness is determined by: calmness, confidence, fighting spirit. In practice, the two types of psychological training: General and specific.
General psychological preparation (Structure)
1. Lectures and discussions (through persuasion)
2. Heterotrimer (in a state of relaxation suggestion of gravity of the body)
3. Inspired sleep (hypnosis)
4. At (self-hypnosis)
These methods reduce the negative impact of the subconscious, making it easier for samoregulatorna mechanisms of consciousness, improving the system of self-regulation of the athlete.
II . Selfeducation. (Via self-regulation) Continue reading
An exercise bike or a treadmill
The exercise bike and treadmill – the most popular trainers among the newcomers who suddenly decide to do sports at home. But how to determine which one suits you? But both want to spend the money, and not feel shame to pass by the simulator in a couple of weeks of use, coming up with another excuse not to engage. To make the right decision while standing in the store near the cash register, not as easy as it seems. Knowledge of the peculiarity of each of the simulators will help you to make a choice and
decide for yourself: which is better – an exercise bike or a treadmill.
What muscles work when training
What is acquired in the simulator? To say goodbye to extra pounds, and then maintain your ideal shape, without wasting time on trips to the gym. Therefore, it is important to know which muscle groups will allow to study the simulator.
First of all, and an exercise bike, and treadmill belong to the so-called cardio. That is, strengthen the cardiovascular and respiratory system, contribute to the training of endurance. The respiratory movementsare effected through the work of the intercostal muscles, and this means that in the process of training swings to the press. Continue reading
Book physical education or sport
Swimming is primarily water. And water is life. But with swimming, when a lot of water is always a danger. You know how in the world each year drowning people?
Hundreds of thousands! And not because they can't swim. In this respect the desire of some people to teach everyone to swim and engage in regular classes differently, as delusions will not name. Or they do it out of some selfish motives, or know not what they do. But probably the first.
On this topic, by the way, an instructive anecdote:
Wife to husband: – came Here for donations to build a new pool.
Husband: "well, give them three. no two buckets of water. Continue reading
The benefits of swimming for the spine positive impact
The benefits of swimming for spinal health
Swimming provides undeniable benefits to health that can not afford other sports.
Its usefulness increases significantly if you will engage them in the sea.
If you experience problems with the spine regular swimming improves its condition and relieves pain.
Why swimming has a positive effect on the body
Daily, being in a vertical position, the discs between the vertebrae are compressed under the weight of the body, which in places is deteriorating blood circulation.
In addition, with age, the spine loses its flexibility.
Being in the water, internal organs are no longer be squeezed, the back is completely unloaded . significantly increases the freedom of motion of the joints of the spine. Continue reading


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Medicare in Maryland
Find affordable Medicare plans in Maryland
By the numbers
There are more than 900,000 beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare in Maryland. To learn more about Medicare in Maryland, here are some statistics:
- Medicare beneficiaries in Maryland enrolled in Medicare Part A and/or Part B: 842, 226
- Medicare beneficiaries in Maryland enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan: 81, 163
- Beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part D in Maryland: 544, 529
- Maryland beneficiaries with a stand-alone Medicare Prescription Drug Plan: 475, 626
Medicare Advantage plans and Prescription Drug Plan sponsors must have a contract with Medicare in order to sell Medicare insurance plans (such as a Medicare HMO or a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan). Depending on the terms of the contract between the plan and Medicare, not every plan is available statewide or in all service areas. Each year, the plan must renew their contract with Medicare, so the availability of a plan in a specific service area is subject to change as a result of the annual contract renewal.
Medicare resources in Maryland
Maryland Medicare Savings Programs: People enrolled in Medicare in Maryland that also have limited incomes can apply for programs that help pay some or all of health care expenses that aren't covered by Medicare, such as copayments, premiums, and deductibles. For more information on Maryland Medicare Savings Programs, visit their site here.
Maryland State Health Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program (SHIP): The Senior Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) helps seniors understand their health insurance benefits. In Maryland, the SHIP program has trained staff and volunteer counselors in all 24 counties who can answer your questions about Medicare.
Source: Statistical data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, "On its 50th anniversary, more than 55 million Americans covered by Medicare" as of July 28, 2015.


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JG Ballard
August 1987, Shepperton, England Jim Ballard in front of a reproduction of 'The Violation' originally by Paul Delvaux, but destroyed during the Second World War. This painting was propped up in front of the fire place in Mr Ballard's Shepperton semi where I photographed him. I'd always loved his work and wanted to try to bring some of the other-worldliness of it in to my portrait of him. At some point during the shoot the proverbial light bulb went on above my head and I thought to twist the camera around a central axis through the lens whilst on a slow shutter speed creating a blur at the edges but a still centre


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Since the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend, President Obama, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican hopeful Donald Trump have all weighed in, giving their thoughts on what happened and who is to blame. The president and Clinton pointed their fingers at guns, while Trump focused on radical Islamic terrorism.
Now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu has offered his own powerful response in a video released Wednesday on Facebook. He said the ISIS-inspired terrorism in Orlando was "an attack on all of us, on our common values of freedom and diversity and choice. … We will not be terrified into submission. We will fight back. And we will triumph."
By Thursday, Netanyahu's video had more than 15 million views and had been shared a half-million times on Facebook.
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The prime minister began his speech by reinforcing the fact that what happened early Sunday was an act of cold-blooded terrorism.
TRENDING: Roger Stone 'Revelation' That Media Went Wild for Has Been Public for Over a Year
"In Orlando, a terrorist walks into a nightclub and murders nearly 50 human beings. Sons and daughters, brothers and sisters cut down in cold blood.
"They did nothing wrong. They were dancing with friends. They were enjoying music with loved ones."
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Netanyahu continued, explaining the motivation behind the mass shooting.
"Why did the terrorist murder them? Because he was driven by a fanatical hatred," he said. "He targeted the LGBT community because he believed they were evil."
Netanyahu stated that the evidence shows this was not an isolated incident and is a global problem.
"Regimes and terrorist organizations around the world ruthlessly persecute the LGBT community. In Syria, ISIS throws gays off rooftops. In Iran, the regime hangs gays from cranes."
But Netanyahu said the problem extends far beyond gays. "Radical Islamic terror makes no distinction between shades of infidel," he said. "This week it was gays in Orlando. A few days before that it was Jews in Tel Aviv. Before that it was music fans in Paris; travelers in Brussels; Yazidis in Iraq; community workers in San Bernardino; Christians and journalists in Syria.
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"All of us are targets."
The prime minister believes the only way to stop these things from happening is for the world to unite to fight back against radical Islamic terrorism.
"I have no doubt that those who seek to spread hate and fear will be defeated," Netanyahu said. "Working together we will defeat them even faster."
He concluded, "We need to stand united, resolute in the belief that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation, regardless of their race, regardless of their ethnicity, all people deserve respect, deserve dignity."
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h/t: Independent Journal
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Sab ka sarkaar, sab ka vikas (Government and progress for all.)
In an extremely bold move against corruption, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Rs 500/- and Rs 1000/- will no longer be issued as legal tender from Wednesday. In his late evening broadcast, he mentioned that all circulating Rs 500/- and Rs 1000/- notes need to be deposited at post offices and banks by 30th December, 2016. Concessions shall be allowed for use of these currency notes in government-managed hospitals till 11th November, 2016. People who are unable to deposit 500 and 1000 rupee notes by December 30 owing to any reason, may change the notes till March 31, 2017 by furnishing ID proof.
Modi, who is halfway through is term, is fulfilling his election promise to fight black money or unaccounted income. In his speech, he states that while our nation ranks number one in economic growth, we're ranked 100 in global corruption rankings.
The Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) shall issue new currency notes of Rs 2000 and Rs 500. The one-time chance to declare their unaccounted wealth led to declarations of just about 25 billion rupees in tax last year, while the income declaration program this year met with a similar response.
Experts believe that this surprising and powerful act to curb black money will have a deflationary impact in general, and real estate prices are bound to fall remarkably. Not only is his fight against black money, but also against terrorism, for all terrorists have been victimizing India by thriving on fake currency.
Please note that the ATMs won't work in many places on November 9th and 10th.
Watch Narendra Modi's complete statement here:


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We spent two magical days in Disneyland.
My kids are still pretty young so we spent most of our time enjoying the little kid rides. My son tends to be overly cautious, so he won't try a roller coaster. I think my daughter would absolutely love roller coasters, but she won't try anything if her big brother looks scared. Fortunately there were still plenty of rides for them to ride despite their apprehension.
Little details like Mickey pretzels were a definite winner for my kids! They made all of us giggle!
And my daughter fell in love with Perry. She insisted on holding his front leg throughout the park.
But we felt the real magic happened at night!
Our first night, we were amazed by the night transformation that occurred in Disneyland Park with it's colorful lights and fireworks.
Our second night, we enjoyed the neon lights and World of Color show at Disney California Adventure Park.
We all had a fantastic time! We'll wait a few more years to bring our kids back, and I'm sure our experience will be completely different!
Cost: $185 ages 10+, $172 ages 3-9, two day/park hopper tickets
Distance from LAX: about 33 miles, or 45 minutes
What to see: Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland, New Orleans Square, Grizzly Peak, Paradise Pier, Cars Land, and so much more


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Racha745: Street Salted and Grilled
KF Seetoh
Friday, Apr 06, 2018
The thing about eating in Thailand, is the names of the places and the location, especially the far flung authentic spots where not much tourist are seen (as in my kind of places). We just can't pronounce it right to the cabbie no matter how accurate you try to be. Little hole in the wall places along unpronounceable streets and back alleys where deliciousness reside- those are the worst, yet best place places to uncover makan gems. If I had not worked with local researchers and editors of our past Makansutra food guides of Bangkok, I wouldn't know much about Ramkhamhaeng area, much less about it's Soi 24,the quaint little food street haven, with hipster and local cafes alongside traditional Thai food stalls. But thank goodness for private car taxi apps.
A huge open wood fire greets you at the entrance of this big tented street side eatery with a naked kitchen. But you will be attracted like kids to fireflies at the sight of rock-salt baked red tilapia (350baht) in skewers turning slowly over the amber heat. You cannot skip this one, it's like going to a Liverpool and Manchester United game at Anfield Stadium, just to buy some merchandise. The fish comes dry, hot and packed with rock salts but when you peel the salt baked skin off, a layer of juicy and flaky flesh beckons and next thing, we were forking the flesh, dipping it into to an oh-my-gosh chilli, lime, lemongrass and coconut milk dip( I missed at least two ingredients here- can't put my tongue to it). Best to wrap it in salad leaves provided before dipping. Then the Moo Yang (100baht) or grilled pork showed up. It's been a while since I had it this good- the actually grilled it unlike many fakers that deep fry or pan sear it. The bite was soft and roasty and it came with another spicy tangy dip with a bed of salad. I adore the burnt ends. The Fried Curry Squid (450 baht) came in one portion size only- huge! They executed this with street flair- they don't overcook the squid and it's tossed in a rich moist spicy coconutty curry paste. It was very moreish over rice.
Then you notice the service "edge" here. Happy cross- dressed "beauty queens' circumvent the area, taking and deftly serving up your orders, double speed, friendly and in four-inch stilettoes. Very entertaining and harks back to our Bugis Street hawker days. And then "she" slid a plate of bbq river prawns (325baht) before us. Again, there's not use in any grilling method if the crustaceans are not fresh. These again came fresh, hot and roasty- the flesh was sweet and crunchy and when I stole a bite into the giant head for the roe- the heavens opened and beamed down. Plus, don't forget their cruel chilli dips, so "bad", it's good.
The other nice touch is the seats- you chose regular tables and plastic chairs or sit on the floor, kampong style by the covered walkway on thick mats with food served on low, kiddie tables. The other authentic element is the thick photo menu which has no English words. Thank goodness for food pictures that speak a thousand words- you just point and go (to Thai makan heaven).
Ramkhamhaeng Soi 24 (opp shop number 346)
In front of Rajamangala National Stadium entrance 5
5pm to 5am daily
Tel: 09-7093 4555/ 08- 6225 5745
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text: Andy Parkins said: > On Tuesday 2005 June 21 14:24, M?ns Rullg?rd wrote: > >> > I've generated an MPEG transport stream containing an MPEG4 ES using >> > libavformat. When playing back using ffplay, it plays back perfectly >> > until I perform a seek. After that the stream breaks up for a bit, then >> > settles down but I start to get lots of error messages from h263.c; for >> > example. >> >> MPEG TS doesn't contain information about key frames, so when you seek you >> are likely to end up with some P/B frames before the next I frame. Nothing >> to be worried about. You could junk the decoder output until the next I >> frame comes around. Look at AVFrame.key_frame. > > Thanks; but I don't think this is the case. I'm happy with the messed up > picture, which fixes as soon as there is a key frame. However, the quoted > error messages continue well after the next key frame has been passed. > Something about seeking is throwing off the decoder permanently. MPEG TS doesn't necessarily return complete frames, so after the seek you are probably getting the end of a frame. If the decoder parses this as the start of a frame, I can imagine those errors occurring. Apparently, this leaves the decoder in a permanent state of confusion. Michael? -- M?ns Rullg?rd mru at inprovide.com


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Best Songs Ever #13 – ? and the Mysterians "96 Tears"
"96 Tears" by ? & the Mysterians–a song from almost 50 years ago–still sounds raw and exciting whenever I throw it on.
Recorded in a living room on a 4-track recorder in 1966, "96 Tears" became a blueprint for punk and garage rock. The organ–deliberate and basic–delivers the song's signature sound, tapping forward as ? threatens, "And when the sun comes up, I`ll be on top. You`ll be way down there, looking up."


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1 more regents to go then I'm FREE!! summer summer summer summer summer summer summer. Most of awesome stuffs happen in the summer.
Beach is the best thing ever, I would go there when I don't feel good or when I feel like I want to be alone. I really wish I live near the beach, it would be so awesome. Another thing, I like it that there will be a lot of street fairs or garage sales or flea markets going on.
and I've always wanted to go to a photography class ><
+ Dress - Forever21
+ Vest - TJ Max
+ Accessories
+ Bag - My friend's
+ Shoes - VANS
oh bytheway, this is my school. I took this in the winter.
and Last one at least: ECLIPSE! comes out June 30, 2010.


text:
Bill Henderson
Bill Henderson is an activist and 'winder operator' who lives in Upandunderland and Gibsons, B.C. He clearly remembers being a skunk, East Indian princess, red guitar, bee, a drunk, and a sports fan in previous lives. His present special interest is path dependence and the peak and sink topological nature of the climate policy process but doesn't view himself as much different from his fellow empty nesters who drop acid on game days.


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Do you 'Heart' PS3 Attitude? Our new charity advert launches…
As you may know, PS3 Attitude is run entirely for charity. Every ounce of revenue we generate from your visits, the games you buy through the website and the advertising money we receive is given to worthy causes.
Recently a number of companies have stepped forward to help us raise our profile, and what you're about to read is the story of how one of the world's largest advertising agencies and some good natured magazine publishers has led to the release of our very own advert – simply called 'Heart'.
Today saw the release of the latest issue of P3Zine by Cranberry Publishing, and there on page 17 you can see the advert that has had tongues wagging behind-the-scenes for the last few weeks.
'Heart' features at its core one of the most powerful images we've witnessed, and we hope you'll agree that the advert is worth sharing around.
How did this come about?
PS3 Attitude recently commissioned an advertisement from world-leading agency Ogilvy & Mather.
The task was to create something that reflects both the cutting edge of PlayStation 3 gaming and the passion of the team behind our charity-based website.
The advert, therefore, brings to life what PlayStation means to the PS3 addicted: a really intense gaming experience that goes directly to your heart.
The incredible and powerful result, produced by Ogilvy Dubai and award winning photographer Andrzej Dragan, is clear for all to see.
PS3 Attitude would like to thank Ogilvy Dubai and Andrzej Dragan for an incredible piece. We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has featured 'Heart' in their magazines and on their websites without any charge to PS3 Attitude, which includes the wonderful people at Cranberry Publishing. Your 'donation' is helping us to reach a new audience, and increased visitor numbers always results in higher charity revenues.
Download the latest issue of P3Zine now and check out the advert we're so very proud of.
If you would like to feature 'Heart' in your publication or on your website, or can help us spread the word, please contact us today.


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Hallowed Spiritkeeper
16x12 acrylic on paper
Obviously, it's a white card and portrays a mystical figure that guards a realm of spirits so I wanted to play up the almost "heavenly" mood with lots of white and light colors. His costuming is regal and robe-like and the wall behind him is unblemished white marble. Beyond the wall is an ethereal glow.
The appearance of the spiritkeeper is purposely straddling the line between benevolent and malevolent. He guards the gates without alignment, without prejudice and that's the kind of mood I wanted to capture.
If you want to own this painting, now's your chance! It is currently on eBay. Please check out the auction!


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Giftcor Auto Wash KitSKU #: LM-GT9112
Item DescriptionMore InformationAdditional Information
This auto wash kit includes a 5 gallon collapsible bucket with handle, two 13 3/4" x 13 3/4" microfiber cloths, 6 1/2" diameter microfiber wax applicator with hand pocket, wash mitt, 6 1/4" squeegee and comes in a convenient carrying case with handle.
Price includes the cost of a one color imprint in one location. Please contact us at 888-206-3047 for more print options, a custom project, or additional print locations.
|Microfiber, Polypropylene, 600D Poly, Microfiber
|Product Dimensions
|10 W x 3 1/2 H x 10 D
|Imprint Method
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|5'' x 3''
|Standard Production Time
|5-7 Business Days
Top Sellers
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Regular Price: $1.42
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text:
Presentation Slides from the Private Equity Real Estate Panel presented at PERE Forum: Japan 2014: Outbound Investing - Japan Goes Global on September 18, 2014.
Haynes and Boone Partner Albert C. Tan, co-chair of Haynes and Boone's Global Capital Commitment Subscription Financing Group and co-chair of the International Practice, moderated the panel.
To view the presentation slides, click here.
Sending an email will not establish an attorney-client relationship. You should not send us any information that you want treated confidentially. By clicking Accept you acknowledge that we may review and use any information you transmit to us.


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I'm a woman with 44 years old. my weight is 90 kg.
I don't have diabetes but i have fat liver.
I had hysterectomy surgery in 3 years ago.
Now i understand that my bladder is hole.Also, i have frequent urination.
I used drug for retracting the bladder but it wasn't useful.
Kidney and bladder ultrasound shows these:
Kidneys dimension is normal.
RK=110*47 mm
LK=101*48 mm
Parenchyma diameter and kidneys cortico medullary eco are normal.
There isn't clear phenomenon in pyelocaliceal system.
Cortex diameter of right kidney is 16 mm and cortex diameter of left kidney is 15 mm. Bladder zonal diameter is normal (according with laboratory signs).
There isn't bladder stone.
After bladder evacuation, there is 8 cc of urinary rest.
I want to know,is there any solution for this problem? I mean that how i can surgery bladder hole?


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Norfolk Southern railroad has reopened one of the two lines at the Delaware County site where nearly three dozen corn-carrying cars derailed on Tuesday.
No injuries were reported. The cars have been moved to the side and will be inspected and removed one by one. An environmental contractor will remove as much of the corn as possible. Investigators say a defective wheel may have caused the derailment near U.S. Route 42 and Horseshoe Road.


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Cheyenne Silver
aka Cara Fawn / Cheyanne Silver / Cheyenee Silver / Cheynne Silver / Wild Cat
- Age: 40 years young
- Born: Tuesday 18th of July 1978
- Birthplace: San Clemente, California, United States
- Ethnicity: Caucasian, Native American
- Profession: American Porn Star
- Hair color: Brown
- Eye color: Blue
- Height: 5'8" (or 172 cm)
- Weight: 136 lbs (or 62 kg)
- Body type: Slim
- Measurements: 36D-24-36
- Bra/cup size: 36D (80D)
- Boobs: Fake/Enhanced
- Achievements:
- Penthouse Pet Of The Month December 2001
About Cheyenne Silver
Cara Fawn (born July 18, 1978), also known by the stage name of Cheyenne Silver, is a former American pornstar. Born in San Clemente, California, she is of Native American (Cherokee, Choctaw), Franco-Irish heritage.
Fawn danced under the stage name Wildcat, a name she also used when she initially transitioned to adult films.
She has appeared in over 70 films, including No Man's Land, Fever, Secrets of the Flesh, Freshmen Fantasies, California Cocksuckers, The Wicked Temptress, Bloodrite, Pure Bliss, Third Date and This Girl's Life. She was under contract with Vivid Entertainment.
Fawn has also appeared on The Howard Stern Show, The Man Show and Wild On! and Shipmates. She was Penthouse magazine's Pet of the Month in December 2001. In 2004, she appeared in the mainstream movie, This Girl's Life. Cheyenne has been shooting more mainstream films and was able to get her SAG card.
On December 12, 2005, she was involved in a serious car accident resulting in severe fractures across her skull, below the brain, and behind the eyes. Due to internal bleeding in the brain, she was airlifted to a trauma center in Englewood, Colorado. On the 13th, she had surgery to relieve the pressure to her brain, and it was found that there was a fracture across the base of the skull from behind the right eye socket, and a C7 neck break was later diagnosed as a simple fracture. She eventually recovered, being released on December 23, 2005 from a trauma center in Denver, Colorado to recover at home. This accident affected the filming of the science fiction movie The Villikon Chronicles: Genesis of Evil.
She debuted in a mainstream movie in 2005, with the movie This Girl's Life. She has also been featured in the N.E.R.D music video "Lapdance".
As of June 2006, Silver began using her real name, Cara Fawn, in her professional career as a mainstream non-pornographic actress, and also became co-executive producer of The Villikon Chronicles.
Years active: 1997-2004
Penthouse Pet: December 2001
Solo: Masturbation
Lesbian: Softcore
Boy/girl: Blowjob, Vaginal, Anal
Cheyenne Silver Links
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text:
Jeff Huth, who handles Product Management for the Identity Insight Portfolio in IBM's Software Group, sat down with the Hub Designs Think Tank in early April for an analyst briefing on IBM's InfoSphere Identity Insight product. Identity Insight, as a product, is managed as part of IBM's MDM portfolio, but is usually not sold as part of an MDM initiative. It is a powerful identity and social network analysis tool, designed to tell when people exist in two or more data sets.
IBM sells Identity Insight to a lot of financial services and insurance customers, who use it to disrupt fraud rings and money laundering schemes, and for employee vetting purposes. IBM also has a lot of global reference customers in the public sector, including law enforcement, intelligence, and social service.
Identity Insight is well suited to finding hidden identities and relationships across large datasets, especially when combined with what IBM calls Complex Event Processing for pattern analysis.
In the Finance and Insurance market, Identity Insight is used to:
- Uncover fraud rings across multiple channels (through social network analysis)
- Prevent fraud from insider and external threats
- Improve regulatory compliance for finding and reporting suspicious activity
- Initial credentialing, continuous vetting and insider threat detection
In the Intelligence and Law Enforcement market, Identity Insight is used to:
- Match identities and relationships of persons of interest across hundreds of data sources and billions of records
- Build a global master name index
- Explore a suspect's relationships across myriad data silos
- Recognize and respond to potential insider and collusion threats before damage occurs
In the Government Services market, Identity Insight is used to:
- Verify citizen identity for more accurate determination of eligibility for social programs
- Reduce improper payments where citizens are applying for mutually exclusive benefits
- Background check of program applicants against watch lists and other data
- Uncover relationships between citizens and other benefit recipients that would reduce benefits
Identity Insight approaches things a little differently. Other technologies approach data like it's dirty, it's unorganized, it's not too smart, etc. But IBM approaches it like it's sneaky, it's hiding something, it's not what it says it is. That's a very different mindset, born of the product's heritage in the casino and intelligence industries.
There are three distinct capabilities in the Identity Insight portfolio now: Identity Insight itself, which is the underlying analytical engine that establishes the unique identities, discovers the obvious and non-obvious relationships, and provides the real-time awareness for fraud and threat detection.
Global Name Recognition delivers the culturally-driven name analysis for individuals and businesses, so a person can be recognized regardless of which permutation of their name is presented.
And Anonymous Resolution allows for inter-agency sharing of information without compromising privacy, by anonymizing all personally identifiable information.
IBM shared some great case studies with us. A good one in the financial services industry is MoneyGram International, which to date has stopped more than $37.7 million in fraud, increased their ability to interrupt fraud by 40%, and realized 72% reduction in consumer fraud complaints in a single year.
I enjoyed this briefing very much, and was blown away by the things this IBM product can do.
And I found myself at the end of the briefing wondering if the future for MDM is to have enhanced identity resolution and analytics built into the master data management hubs of tomorrow, because even though IBM doesn't sell them together very often today, the data stewards at most major corporations could definitely use this type of identity intelligence being built into the next generation customer MDM hubs.


text:
EZLegalFile is an interactive program that will help you fill out the forms necessary to request or respond to papers for a variety of legal issues.
EZLegalFile will ask you questions. Read each question carefully, your answers will be used to fill out the necessary legal forms.
Family Law
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Unlawful Detainer (Evictions)
Domestic Violence
EZLegalFile.org is free for many purposes. If you found this website useful, please consider making a generous donation. Our webmasters have put forth alot of time and effort in creating this website. We would like to thank the best personal injury lawyers in Michigan at The Clark Law Office for their numerous donations over the years. If you would like to make a donation and be listed in this area, simply email email@example.com.


text:
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft
Hook: 5mm
Pearlized Button, 2 Black Buttons
I used the same free pattern as in my first Pacifier Pouch post.
Flower Pattern: From Nichole's Embellish It! Senior Challenge Post
I had a hard time with Step six, so what I did was go down the opening of the small petal and up the center of the flower to draw up the yarn.
So Darling don't you think?! :)


text:
For many on Bainbridge, Pegasus Coffee House is a daytime meeting ground for lunch dates, morning chatter and breakfast; a place to see old friends or to pass the time with a good book and a cup of coffee.
In the past few weeks, the cafe has brought in additions to their above-the-door marquee that owners Jocelyn and Jeff Waite are hoping will encourage another facet to their European-style coffee house: an evening hub.
"Pegasus is a neighborhood meeting place," said Jocelyn Waite. "But the need for a neighborhood meeting place doesn't end at six in the evening every day."
The coffee house will now feature a four-day weekend of events.
Thursday evenings, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., local musician Ethan J. Perry hosts "Biscuits & Gravy: An old-fashioned pickin' session." The event is a jam session open to all musicians from all skill levels and ages. Those that participate can enjoy a complimentary plate of biscuits and gravy.
Friday nights, Pegasus After Dark will offer a lounge experience starting from 8 to 11 p.m. with a mix of house and lounge music.
Saturday evenings will bring a new open mic night, also hosted by Perry, called the "Green Muse" where audience members can read aloud poetry or short stories or perform music.
And lastly, Sundays will continue what has been a regular for the cafe with live music but now from 2 to 4:30 p.m.
Before the big changes, the cafe kept its doors open until 10 p.m. every Friday and Saturday night for live acoustic music. The feature opened the restaurant up to local and traveling musical talent.
But as winter set in, two things started to happen; it was getting harder and harder to find musicians to fill the time slot and at the same time, ideas to improve the nighttime scene were snowballing.
About a month ago, Perry was approached by Jeff Waite to host an open mic night at the cafe. But it was in their meeting that Perry mentioned another need that he felt Waite and Pegasus could provide for the community — a pickin' parlor.
Other communities had places where musicians could perform for the fun of being around other musicians, but Bainbridge didn't, Perry explained.
Perry has been performing regularly at the cafe since 2007.
In the years since he first got involved in the weekend music time slots, he often invited friends of his to join him in jamming rather than to perform as a solo artist. It was more fun for him, he noticed customers enjoyed watching it more and his fellow musician buddies always showed up for the chance to play in front of an audience.
Considering the amount of writers and musicians on the island, Waite and Perry knew it was something that could grow.
"They're both kind of community services," said Perry. "We're cultivating a community basis for that kind of demographic on the island."
For Saturdays, Waite dubbed the open mic night the "Green Muse" — after the ancient goddess of artistic rebellion — as a way to carry on both the mythic and absinthe aspects of the cafe and to encourage what a muse stands for; creativity and the imagination.
The Biscuits & Gravy jam session and the Green Muse share a family-friendly atmosphere. Both events are open to all ages, and there is an emphasis on it being a space that encourages amateurs as much as veterans.
Perry said it's an exciting time for him as the host and planner of the events. It allows him to enjoy his musical livelihood right here on the island.
"It's just all the good the island stands for," Perry said, "locally sourced food and locally sourced art."
As for Pegasus After Dark, the cook in the back who became the event planner in the front, Natalie Barry, had been thinking of putting together a nighttime scene for a couple weeks until she decided to bring it up with the kitchen manager.
As one of the cafe's four cooks, she started working the weekend closing shift at the cafe just after New Year's. The cafe would start to slow down, and, at the same time, her friends texted saying they were going into the city.
"People have this misconception that everyone is older, retired or have families," Barry said. "But there's an age group of 20- and 30-year-olds on the island."
And on the weekends, those younger people leave the island for Capitol Hill. With Pegasus After Dark, Barry hopes to install a lounge setting and experience that brings the Hill to them and keeps money on the island by supporting a local business.
Even if Pegasus is just a pre-party for later plans in the city, she explained, she wants a place for her friends to go that feels like they are in the city.
"When I lived in California, I worked for companies that I had to put together events," said Barry. "It's something I find great pleasure in doing."
The California transplant worked for production companies in the Los Angeles film scene and often put together parties for the company's clients.
When the kitchen manager, Roger Stukey, gave her the go-ahead after a green light from owners Jeff and Jocelyn Waite, Barry got to work designing and posting fliers in town, putting together a well-thought-out music playlist, gathering audio visual equipment, creating a Facebook event and spreading the word to her friends.
"All the senses need to be involved to have a good time," Barry said. "Lighting, visuals, music, food. Especially for that age range who are constantly surrounded by a whole range of multimedia."
Around 8 p.m. the cafe takes on a different ambiance than its usual daytime hours. The lights turn off, candles are set on each table and lit, a projector is set up on the back wall playing clips from old movies, and music is turned up to a comfortable lounge volume. Customers can hear themselves speak but at the same time they mill about the room, dancing here and there on a cleared out space in the back of the cafe.
After the two-week trial run, the Waites approved Barry's initiative with a few reminders: The cafe must shut-down by 11 p.m. when the city's noise ordinance kicks in and everyone drinking must be ID'd.
The cafe's Green Hour, from 3 p.m. to close, will also have its own addition of cheese fondue for two on the menu.
Overall, it is a place and chance to meet people and see people without having to leave the island.
"It's exciting when you see people who work for us who are passionate enough to do something," said Jocelyn Waite.