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Wednesday, 30 March 2011

5 Ways to Improve Your Cashflow

Matt White of Calverton Factors gives the following great advice on cash flow to business owners:

Was the dip in GDP growth in the last quarter of 2010 just a consequence of the coldest December in 100 years or does it signal something more serious? Whatever the overlying figures, the real issue for small businesses are sales (or lack of them) and cashflow. Lack of sales may be a temporary blip but the impact on the business can be ruinous as it is often not so easy to cut costs to the same degree. Many businesses have not been able to build up sufficient reserves to overcome short term problems and if this is the case then cashflow management becomes even more important. However there are a number of steps that can be taken in order to improve cashflow and to assist businesses through these difficult times:

1. Financial Information: The benefits of timely and accurate management accounts are more prevalent than ever. A cashflow forecast is essential and this should be your starting point for negotiations with your bank.

2. Your Bank: Visit you bank manager now. You should take with you up to date accounts, forecasts (particularly a cashflow forecast) and aged debtor and creditor lists. Your aim should be to confirm your facilities for the next 12 months.

3. Credit: Begin to think of your cashflow as the most valuable part of your business. Every time you grant credit terms to your customers it is costing you cashflow (as well as real money). Every time you negotiate extended credit terms with your suppliers it improves your cashflow (and saves you money).

For new customers ask them to pay on invoice, or in 14 days, before you go to 30 days – that’s from invoice date NOT end of month following. To help customers pay quickly offer them discounts for early settlement and consider penalties for late payment.

4. Credit Control: A good credit controller is worth their weight in gold and, more than anything else, good credit control is about consistency. Credit control should work to a system of statements, letters, telephone calls and, only if very necessary, legal action. Implement a system of consistent and regular contact with your customer – remember most people are happy to pay; you just need to make sure you are first on the list.

5. Invoice Factoring: Invoice Factoring provides early payment against the value of a business’s invoices. It also provides immediate access to a highly experienced and capable credit control team. As well as providing upfront cash against your invoices, the Factoring Company will credit check customers, chase for payment and if required insure the customers against non-payment.

In the current economic environment the sources of funding for working capital have shrunk. The high street banks are being more stringent on their overdraft lending and with property prices declining it is getting harder to remortgage to raise capital. The one valuable asset that remains on a company’s balance sheet is the sales ledger and this makes Invoice Finance a highly attractive means of maintaining cashflow and protecting the business from the ravages of the recession.

Calverton Factors is an established and independent invoice finance company based in Milton Keynes. If you are looking for finance facilities from £25,000 to £500,000 then please feel free to contact Mathew White on 07748 631630 or at

Learn how to raise your game by visiting my website.

Thursday, 24 March 2011

Looking for investment?

If you're one of the businesses looking for investment during 2011 then you are much more likely to succeed if you are well-prepared. Whatever the scale of your business, this means having a clearly-articulated business strategy and a credible plan to deliver it.

Your business strategy should set out a defensible market positioning: a compelling proposition in an attractuve niche. Your management team needs to have a proven track record in the industry and be capable of organising the resources, human and otherwise, to deliver the plan. The plan needs to explain how you will achieve the forecast top line (marketing and sales), the costs involved (people and facilities) and the risks and how you will mitigate them. It also, of course, needs to set out the financials - profit, loss and cash flow. These need to match the forecast sales and costs. A sophisticated set of numbers will show base, best and worst-case scenarios matching the risks and opportunities identified.

Finally the plan needs to show what is in it for the lender or investor. For the latter you will need to have a clear understanding of the value of your business before you start negotiating to sell some of it..

Learn how to develop a plan for your business by at my website.

Thursday, 17 March 2011

Systemise your business to grow it

One of the key changes you need to make to grow your business beyond you is to systemise it.

This will not only make it easier to find, recruit and manage staff it will make your business more valuable. m The value of a business depends on its growth prospects, profitability, cash conversion and the degree to which that future cash flow is at risk

One of the main risks for small businesses is their reliance upon key personnel, particularly the owner, who know and do things that no-one else knows or can do.  This risk is present even if you have no plans to sell the business. If you the owner or one of your key staff are unable to work for an extended period what happens to your business?

Systemisation is the process by which the processes of the business are documented and standardised and reliance on any one individual is removed.  This process also makes a business scalable; the processes can be replicated, additional staff can be selected and trained and the business can grow beyond the constraints of any one person

Find out more at this seminar "The Owners' Trap", which will explain how this and other changes should be implemented to help you to take your business on to the next level..

Learn how to raise your game by visiting my website.

Thursday, 10 March 2011

Why job descriptions help your business grow

Job descriptions are an essential part of co-ordinating and motivating employees.  Without a job description an employee does not have a clear understanding of what they are supposed to achieve and how their performance is measured – and you have no way to hold them accountable.

The process of creating and reviewing job descriptions is an opportunity to discuss and clarify the role – to reinforce two-way communication.  This is part of leadership, and part of building a true business - one that is bigger than you aqnd not constrained by the hours you are able to work.

Find out more at this seminar "The Owners' Trap", which will explain how this and other changes should be implemented to help you to take your business on to the next level..

Learn how to raise your game by visiting my website.

Thursday, 3 March 2011

Do incentivisation schemes work?

The underlying assumption is that rewarding employees for achievement (usually financially) will encourage them to work harder and achieve more in pursuit of those rewards.  This view is not borne out by academic research but in practice bonus schemes are widely used.  A carefully-designed bonus scheme when implemented on top of good employee practices in a well-run business is a useful management tool – but it is not a substitute for these things.
When you're struggling to grow your business beyond you; when you are trying to get the right people doing the right things so that the business is no longer reliant upon you - an incentivisation scheme might have a role to play.
Find out more at this seminar "The Owners' Trap", which will explain how incentivisation should be implemented - as well as the other steps you need to take to take your business on to the next level..

Learn how to raise your game by visiting my website.


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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Insperation: Julien Berthier

Résidence secondaire
If you aren't already familiar with Julien Berthier's work, please make the time to view all of his projects, videos and sketches. Apart from the excellent execution of his various concepts, I love that he adds a good dose of humor in a lot of his work. I've included some of my favorite pieces below.

Welcome Home
Love love

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A few minutes after smoking marijuana, an individual’s heart beat goes up, the airways also become relaxed and more enlarged as a result. The blood vessels of the eyes widen which in turn makes the eyes appear to be bloodshot or reddish. The normal heart rate of a normal human being is at least anywhere between 70 to 80 beats per minute. The heart rate may go up at least 20 to 50 beats per minute or it can even double the pace in some rare instances. When one consumes drugs, including marijuana, this is the rare effect that can result.

There is little evidence to suggest that an individual’s increases the risk of having a heart attack within the first hour of smoking marijuana. This evidence suggests that the risk is put at almost five times of the usual chances of being at risk. The assumption as to how this conclusion was arrived at might have been based on the fact that weed consumption also increases blood pressure in some cases, it also leads to an increased heart rate and a reduction of the blood’s capacity to transport oxygen within the body system.

What does marijuana do to you

THC, a psychoactive marijuana ingredient may also bring about orthostatic hypotension, which is dizziness or head rush when you attempt to be on your feet which increases the likelihood that one may experience fainting spells or a fall after consuming marijuana. Like any other drug tolerance to any cardiovascular reactions to marijuana can be developed with repeated use of the drug. Some of these adverse effects of marijuana need to be scrutinized more closely especially given that there has been an increased consumption of medical marijuana by those with health issues. This examination could be quite useful to the older population who use marijuana and yet have an increased baseline risk as a result of age related complication factors.

Just like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke is also an irritant to the lungs and throat; therefore it may cause unstoppable coughing when it is inhaled. The smoke also contains toxic particles and gases that could possibly damage the lungs. Some of the major effects associated with marijuana consumption is large airway inflammation, lung hyperinflation, increased resistance to the airway. It is also worth noting that regular marijuana smokers also report increased symptoms of chronic bronchitis more than what non smokers report.

Exposure to inhaled marijuana is likely to reduce how the respiratory system protects itself from exposure to health a risk which also increases the likelihood that the user will acquire respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia. One study revealed that regular marijuana smokers claimed more sick days from the work place than the other employees, most often this being as a result of respiratory infections.

What may be seen as some positive effects of marijuana and which lead to the use of marijuana for medical reasons has been a subject of discussion for some time now. There have been heated debates about the issue for decades now. In particular, THC has been proven as having medical benefits especially when they are in particular formulations.

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Saturday, May 31, 2014

Almost June

Typical melange of links, gathered from across the World Wide Wasteland. . .

Recently went on an adventure to Indian Arm, created a post about it

Fairy door they are real !  Be Free

Trip along the Mexico/USA border

 Here is the beginnings of a huge online art resource,  The Meteropolitan Museum of Art

The Haitian Spirit, by artist, Magda Magloire

A giant dinosaur in Argentina

 This Landscape in Argentina Proves That Volcanoes Aren’t Always The Enemy

The Faglianos: three generations of one family lovingly working together to make the best polo boots in Argentina.

Weird Japanese Commercial  YouTube

The growth of IKEA timeline

Dutch Delight  YouTube
 Swedish Street Musician  YouTube

Acorn   Vimeo
Mother Day the real beginnings
 "Unsung Hero" (Official HD) : TVC Thai Life Insurance 2014   YouTube

Uncovering Clues in Frida Kahlo's Private Wardrobe
When Argentinian women wore hair combs four feet wide

Pablo's villa   Vimeo

Women See Their Vagina For First Time!  YouTube

Embroidered cat shirts
 Dance on the circle  YouTube
 The Ingenuity of Ancient Architecture

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Panoramio slideshow

Monkey me

Monkey me

Some of the things that keep me out of trouble

I am involved in numerous environmental groups throughout the Tri-Cities area, I manage the Hoy Scott Watershed Societies,(HSWS) salmon hatchery, and keep the volunteers up to date with a Blog
I am also involved with the Maple Creek Streamkeepers,(MCS).

I have an interest in the history of British Columbia, especially the preservation of the Riverview Hospital site.
Which includes the rebuilding of Finnies Garden with a dedicated group of volunteers.
I love the history and ecology of Minnekhada Park, and have done extensive research on its previous owners.
The elusive, though extensive history of the Pitt River which includes Pitt Lake and the Upper Pitt River is slowly being gathered together, for a future book. Much of this area now includes the Pinecone-Burke Provincial Park, which another group that I am involved in the Burke Mountain Naturalists,( BMN ) worked hard to create for future generations to enjoy.
I like to hike around the area taking pictures, here is a small portion of them in Panoramio and also Flickr

Patricia Gaspar, is a dear, artist friend who has a Blog with a small portion of her work.
. Some of the history of the Coquitlam area, I share in my Coquitlamites Blog.

And I really like the music of Eva Marie Cassidy

Still laughing

Still laughing

Crystal Falls

South Slope / Sterling Loop trails

View South Slope-Sterling Loop trails in a larger map

Knots and Splices

Create some Knots and then, make your own Laneyards

Some free books from Internet Archive

Knots, ties and splices; a handbook for seafarers, travellers, and all who use cordage; with historical, heraldic, and practical notes (1884)

The use of ropes and tackle (1922)

A huge guide for sailors of old. The kedge-anchor, or, Young sailors' assistant :

appertaining to the practical evolutions of modern seamanship, rigging, knotting, splicing, blocks, purchases, running-rigging, and other miscellaneous matters, applicable to ships-of-war and others ; illustrated with seventy engravings ; also tables of rigging, spars, sails, blocks, canvas ... &c relative to every class of vessels (1883)

Macrame design, with instructions .. (1912)

Rope and twine information (1917)

American wire rope catalogue and hand book (c1913)

Full instructions in the art of crepe paper rope basket weaving (1922)

Modern flax, hemp and jute spinning and twisting ; a practical handbook for the use of flax, hemp, and jute spinners, thread, twine, and rope makers (1907)


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white on white

My favorite colour for summer is white, especialy for lace.. What's yours?

Stradivarius dress and bag
ebay sunglasses
new look ring

  1. I really love your dress, so cute <3

  2. Beautiful dress and love the bag! xx

  3. Oblekca je ful lepa, ocala pa mi niso prevec vsec..Drugace pa fajen blog!

  4. Paše bela na zagorelo polt, nice!

  5. wow, so great!
    I want the dress ! :)

  6. Perfect look! The dress is amazing and i love that clucth!

  7. Joj, ta očalca, super so. Pa outfit - gorgeous :)!

  8. Čudovito paše na tvojo zagorelo polt, všeč!

  9. everybody is into white these days! what happened? hahaha but you look really cool, though. and the shades are awesome.

    From the desk of
    a lifestyle blog from Jakarta

  10. I love use white in summer, it's so fresh !

  11. Odlicna mi je ova haljinica. I naocale, takodjer.

  12. isto broško imava! :D

    všeč mi je, tak nežen, pozno poletni look.

    xoxo, nina

  13. Haljina je predobra! :)
    btw.,nominirala sam te za So Sweet Blog Award na svome blogu, nadam se da ces doci vidjeti i ukljuciti se :)

  14. ful lepo si skombinirala in oblekica je krasna! =)

  15. Bela barva je bila zelo popularna tudi pri meni to poletje. :)

    Sandra from The Puzzle of Sandra's Life

  16. Love the lace on the sunglasses and your dress!
    Material Fixations

  17. I am officially in love with your sunglasses~! )
    you look so trendy~!

  18. I love everything you have on, your shades, lace dress...that corsage it's lovely.

  19. I love everything you have on, your shades, lace dress...that corsage it's lovely.

  20. lepa :) super styling, ocala in prstan <3

    xo I.

  21. I love everything you have on, your shades, lace dress...that corsage it's lovely.

  22. hello! i like your blog! im following you now on GFC and Bloglovin, if you like my blog, follow me back please!

  23. Adore the all white and love how you added punch with that striped bag!

  24. how divine is your white lace dress! GORGEOUS figure :D

  25. beautiful all-white look! I really like your sunglasses, and the lace dress is lovely :)

  26. Totalno zabavan outfit! Naočare su mi pun pogodak!

  27. oh my, what a stunning dress! and I love the way you styled it ♥

  28. OMG i love this! So classy and fabulous. This blog is inspiring!

    - Alice

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Monday, September 25, 2006

Tellus Cykel & Motor

This little shop is just two minutes from my home, and I´ve been wanting to draw it for I don´t know how long. It´s got such a classical looking store front, with the letters and the windows in style with the rest of the building (a lady passing by told me it was built 1910), and it´s also the best bicycle store in Stockholm (in my opinion, and no, they didn´t pay me to say that, they don´t even know I posted this). The guys working there are real pros, doing quality work, selling quality bikes and as the smaller sign to the right says - giving real SERVICE to their customers, something that is getting as unusual these days as their goodlooking store front...

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Patty´s Drawing Grid Challenge

Patty over at The Drawing Club posted a drawing grid a while ago (see here) and asked if anyone was interested in joining her in drawing more grids. I did, and this is the result. I liked doing this, it was actually quite easy to fill this grid (the idea was to fill it in one sitting) instead of doing one drawing on a whole page in my sketchbook. It´s not threatening at all to fill one small rectangle on the paper with a tiny drawing, while at times, on a bad day, it can feel like an enormous job to fill a page. I don´t think this will become my new daily drawing habit, but I will certainly do this every now and then to practice some composition and just get my hand going on a bad drawing day.

This grid was filled on the same day as the previous drawing below - the one that drove me mad. The grid was a joy to draw after that one, but I did have a hard time finding subjects for all those little squares. I´ll say it again - pine forests just aren´t my kind of environment.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Compulsive drawing

I spent most of yesterday outside in a forest. My students had an outdoor day, practicing orienteering. I sat by one of the controls in a deep pine forest and of course I used my time out there for drawing.

I know many artists find a lot of inspiration among tall trees out in the wild, and I enjoy drawing landscapes on the whole, but pine forests... I don´t know, they make me feel a bit claustrophobic. I mean, I like picking berries, mushrooms, or just walking around in them, but when it comes to drawing I suddenly feel like the old saying (at least in Sweden) "I can´t see the forest for all the trees".

I kind of forced myself to just sit down and draw what´s in front of me. Pine-trees. How inspiring. They are so... vertical. All of them. I couldn´t seem to find any interesting rhythms to capture on paper, and no intriguing compositions either, so I just started drawing one tree - any tree in the bunch, really - and worked on from there. After a while I kind of got the idea that if nothing else, I could at least try to get the values right. The tree-trunks were darker than the background, but lighter towards the top, so I started working with short strokes of my dip-pen to make light and dark. And man, did I regret that before I was done. I think this drawing took me an hour and a half, at least. It´s 13.5x19.5 cm of tiny ink-marks, and it almost drove me crazy.

Now that it´s done, I kind of like it, though. I can actually see a rhythm in it now, AND I like the composition. It was worth it, after all, but I hate this kind of detailed, time-consuming way of drawing. Not looking at it, but doing it. I hate it because once I´ve started something like this, I can´t stop until it´s finished, I get caught in this obsessive drawing behavior, and by the time it´s done I´m exhausted and a bit angry because I even got the idea to start something so tedious...

Still, this drawing fills it´s space well. It´s on the first page of my new sketchbook, and it´s always a good feeling to fill that first page...

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Survivor rose

"How to paint flowers in watercolors" is not a favourite book title in my world - I´m not really into this botanical thing. Sure, flowers are great, I like having them around, I just don´t draw them very often.

Now, this rose is another story. It grows right outside the door of our apartment building. We are in the midst of a big renovation (yes, I know I mentioned it like a hundred years ago and they´re still working on it) and our apartment is finished but outside still looks like a dump.

In the middle of all that junk and dust and noise and ugliness, just to the left when you exit our building, there´s a tiny part of a flower bed that survived excavators and cranes and ladders and rough boots. And right there, a few inches from the door, is this grand yellow rose. It´s been shining there for quite some time now, it even survived the roe deers that tend to come around early mornings to eat rosebuds.

It got to me. How could I not sit down in front of this fighter and draw it?


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Monthly Archives: April 2010

Week 1 of Examiner Training is History!

Posted by Bob Hunt Folks, I witnessed tremendous excitement this week as we concluded our first of four weeks of Baldrige National Examiner training.  Over 110 Examiners graduated and are now officially on our Board of Examiners and ready to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

What CEOs Really Think About Social Media

Posted by Zara Brunner 2,700 CEO subscribers to SmartBrief on Leadership (you can register for free) participated in a recent survey on how their companies are involved in social media and what their perceptions are.  Here are some of the data: 75% … Continue reading

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BNQP Recognized as a Best Leadership Development Program

Posted by Pamela Wong As we get ready to kick off the first week of 2010 Examiner training, which begins tomorrow, it came to my attention that, for the third year in a row, the Baldrige National Quality Award Program … Continue reading

Posted in Baldrige Award Process, Baldrige News | 2 Comments

Business Schools’ Great Ethics Debate

  Posted by Harry Hertz, the Baldrige Cheermudgeon   Business Schools’ Great Ethics Debate is the title of an article in the most recent issue of US News and World Report. How can this possibly be a topic for debate? … Continue reading

Posted in Baldrige Award Recipients, Baldrige Criteria, Baldrige Director, Leadership | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Ode (Owed) to Small Business

Posted by Jean Smith I have been reading the blogs and watching the videos from last week’s Quest for Excellence conference and must say that I am very impressed with the workshop content.  It would be invaluable for small firms … Continue reading

Posted in Baldrige Award Process, Baldrige Award Recipients, Baldrige Events, Business, Small Business | Tagged | 9 Comments


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School Finance

Student Transportation

Student Transportation is responsible for developing regulations and procedures for safe and efficient student transportation services. Staff monitors, analyzes and evaluates local districts' transportation systems, keeping records in order to increase the safety, cost-effectiveness and accountability of transportation operations. In addition, staff performs a fiscal function by collecting and validating various data necessary to calculate state aid for student transportation, and conducts studies to identify operational trends and efficiencies. Finally, staff develops training programs, provides guidance and oversight in the consolidation of public and nonpublic school transportation services among districts and other agencies, and oversees the administration of transportation contracts.

NJ Department of Education
Office of School Finance
PO Box 500
Trenton, NJ 08625-0500
Phone: (609) 984-5757 | Fax: (609) 292-6794


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Hello Scouts, Families and Friends. We are currently working on our website to make it more functional and keep our content current. Each Den will have there own announcements and Members will have access to pictures. Please check back soon for updates.

Happy Scouting

December 3rd – Spaghetti Dinner

December 13th pack meeting – Toys for Tots, A scout is Cheerful

January 17th- Pinewood Derby weigh in

January 20th- Pinewood Derby Set-up

January 21st – Pinewood Derby

February 11, 2017 Webelos Klondike

February 25, 2017 Winter Shooting Sports

February 26, 2017 – Blue and Gold

April 28, 2017 – Spring camping trip Quail Hill Scout Reservation, Freehold NJ


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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Just Delighted

Today I checked both hives and the progress that the bees had made on the honey supers.  I also took a reporter from the Boone County Recorder with me.  She interviewed and photographed me along with the hives for an upcoming article.

Well, after looking under the cover of Genesis, I think 2008 will be a great year for me as a first-year beekeeper.  The top honey super was nearly completely capped.  I rearranged a few frames and checked the second super.  I must have put them back in the wrong order last time because the second (lower) super was pretty much devoid of any activity or progress.

Exodus had all ten frames capped and nearly every space was filled.  I added a second super to the top of it and closed it up.

I'm estimating that each frame was 3-5 lbs, that could mean nearly 100 lbs of honey (gross)?

No comments:


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Thursday, October 2, 2008

"You are an adequate beekeeper"

I took an online beekeeping test.  I scored 29/50.  The result is the title of this post.  I suppose that that's not too bad because the questions were pretty difficult.

Here's the link:  Online Beekeeping Test

Let me know how you did...

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Modeling TTL-based Internet Caches

Jaeyeon Jung, Arthur W. Berger, Hari Balakrishnan,
Proc. IEEE Infocom, 2003

This paper presents a way of modeling the hit rates of caches that use a time-to-live (TTL)-based consistency policy. TTL-based consistency, as exemplified by DNS and Web caches, is a policy in which a data item, once retrieved, remains valid for a period known as the "time-to-live". Cache systems using large TTL periods are known to have high hit rates and scale well, but the effects of using shorter TTL periods are not well understood. We model hit rate as a function of request arrival times and the choice of TTL, enabling us to better understand cache behavior for shorter TTL periods. Our formula for the hit rate is closed form and relies upon a simplifying assumption about the inter-arrival times of requests for the data item in question: that these requests can be modeled as a sequence of independent and identically distributed random variables. Analyzing extensive DNS traces, we find that the results of the formula match observed statistics surprisingly well; in particular, the analysis is able to adequately explain the somewhat counterintuitive empirical finding of Jung et al. that the cache hit rate for DNS accesses rapidly increases as a function of TTL, exceeding 80% for a TTL of 15 minutes.

[ Gzipped PostScript (86KB)] [ PostScript (507KB)] [PDF (220KB)]

[Presentation Slide]


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New Mexico Big Horn Sheep Hunting

Quality Herds that Produce Large Rams

Big Horn sheep tags in New Mexico and Arizona are extremely difficult to to draw and the Governor’s permit is extremely expensive to purchase. However, the quality of our sheep herd is excellent and improving every year.

Application procedures and deadlines are the same as for elk. These animals inhabit some of the roughest terrain at elevations from 1,ooo to 13,ooo feet.

We have a reputation for producing large rams from the floor of the Sonoran desert in Old Mexico to the alpine peaks of Northern New Mexico.

We believe scouting is the key to harvesting these large rams.

Price upon request


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Mission Statement

Regional Infectious Diseases and Infusion Center, Inc.

RID-IC provides infectious diseases services including:  direct patient care, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, infusion services, and wound care.  To that end, a patient-centered office that provides cost effective care has been developed.  RID-IC  is committed to finding and developing new avenues of patient care such as new wound care products, and new antibiotics.

Services Included

  • Diagnosis and management of infections
  • Infusion therapy (IV antibiotics)
  • Hyperbaric Medicine
  • Wound Care
  • Clinical Trials (experimental tests of new antibiotics and treatments)

Infection Control and Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of infections and how they spread through people such as hospital and nursing-home patients. Infection Control is the study of how to prevent infections from spreading from person to person. Dr. Ravi Kamepalli believes that it is not enough to treat infections, but that prevention of the infection in the first place is just as important. It is our mission to look for outbreaks, examine the possible ways that the bacteria are spread then stop transmission at the source. Health is promoted by eliminating disease transmission.

As infection preventionists, collaboration with other doctors, nurses, therapists and staff can break the cycle of healthcare associated transmission. Education of patients and healthcare providers is critical to break the cycle of infection.


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Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Guest-Starring Roles: Cheaper Than Therapy

Have you seen the CBS show "How I Met Your Mother" yet? I mean, it's been on for, like, two years, people! Come on!

I rarely watch it, but this show is freakin' hilarious. It's about a group of New York 20-somethings, told from the point of view of Ted, one of the friends, who is recalling to his future children how he met their mother. The former Doogie Howser, M.D. plays one of the 20-somethings, and I find him perfectly adorable and smarmy in all the best ways. Alison Hannigan, who I loved on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is another, and she's cute and charming and funny. I rarely laugh out loud at something on TV, but this show is reliably funny enough to make me choke on something every time I watch it.

In general, the show is truly one of the best things around, which is why I was stunned when they announced they had cast Britney Spears in a guest-starring role on the show. Seriously? Didn't she do, like, one bad road trip movie about eight years ago?

I just watched the episode. I am just stunned, but she's actually not awful, as long as your expectations are low. Okay, she's still the worst thing about the show, but since it's a great show overall, it all kind of averages out. Her weave looks terrible, her acting is a little community-theater, and she still looks like she's fighting a case of the crazy, but I give her credit for making an effort to derail her own trainwreck.

You can watch the show online for free, here.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Google Keywords Strikes Again

I gotta say, it just gets better and better all the time.

you smell wast rock its coking rock: Your problem is obvious.

Tsunami marketing campaign: Vacation on the beach in Thailand, anyone?

Secret of good photojournalism: There are two. An unlimited budget and a flexible view of situational ethics.

Place to go on a Thursday: Somewhere with dollar beers, I'm thinking.

Only child boring: Let me make a suggestion: maybe it's you who's boring.

My route to college: In a nutshell, be offered an athletic scholarship you don't want. Pay out of pocket to go out of state. Annoy your parents to no end.

Mom on sex machine: ...Please tell me that's another word for, like, an elliptical trainer or something like that.

I wanna be Santa Claus: I don't think the job is open.

Google: You googled Google and ended up here? Really? I think your internet might be broken.

Bad mom blog Molly: Yeah, whoever you are, say it to my face.

Roundup and Aspartame: I guess I should stop watering my African violet with Diet Coke, huh?

Friday, March 21, 2008

April Will Certainly Be Cruel To Me, At Least

Oh, remember back in November? Do you remember that miserable month last year, right after my in-laws were here for three weeks under the most appalling and stressful set of circumstances I really can imagine? That month where I committed to blogging every day for a month, because, well, basically because if everybody jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge I would totally do it too?

So they've made it a thing for every month, not just November, and because blogging every day over here is not enough, not when my job...oh, my job. My job, it is terrible right now. I have no words. It's enough to make me forget to clear my browser history at work. Ever heard of being Dooced? That would be really passive-aggressive of me, wouldn't it?

So the theme is letters, and I like letters, and so I'm going to try it in April. I'm hoping that it will be cathartic for me, and will maybe pad the impact that my professional life is having as it blasts into me full-speed, over and over again.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Things To Do Before I Go, 26-30

OMG! Mighty Girl linked to me!

26. Learn to sew.
27. Own a sports car.
28. Invent a flavor of ice cream.
29. Learn to sail in the Caribbean.
30. Grow my own vegetables.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

A Little Over-Emotional, Thanks, And You?

Maybe one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever gotten was the box set of "The West Wing" series. I am devouring it and it is as powerful and inspiring as it was the first time around.

Last night, I was watching one of the documentaries on the show, and they were talking about how Leo McGarry's character came to New Hampshire to see Jed Bartlet while he was still the governor. In a flashback, Leo sticks a cocktail napkin with the words "Bartlet For America" scrawled on it to an easel, and the President, for Christmas, when he's running for re-election four years later, frames the napkin and gives it to Leo for Christmas.

John Spencer, who played Leo, talks in the documentary about the scene where he opens the gift, and he got emotional when he talked about it, the nature of his friendship with Martin Sheen, and Leo's friendship with the President.

Spencer died of a heart attack in December of 2005, and someone on YouTube made this tribute to him. The song playing in the background is "For Good," from the Broadway musical Wicked. Kristen Chenowith, who played Annabeth Schott on "The West Wing" as well as Glinda in "Wicked," performed this song at Spencer's funeral.

I get a little farklempt every time I watch this video. The song is a lovely sentiment and Kristen Chenowith, who I don't care for as an actor, performs it so beautifully. I imagine that filming this episode, which was made several weeks after Spencer's death, must have been incredibly hard for the other actors. Watch Martin Sheen hug Allison Janney when she comes to deliver the news--as she turns away, you can see tears on his face. Josh's face, in the final scene of this video, where he colors in Nevada and puts the final electoral vote count on the board, then looks at the pictures on the bulletin board and finally says "Thanks, Boss"--I'm sure Bradley Whitford isn't doing a lot of acting in this scene either.

Anyway, this is great, if a little emotionally-terroristic.

Saturday, March 8, 2008

100 Things to do Before I Go, 16-25

16. Drive fast on the Autobahn.
17. See a Major League baseball game at every stadium.
18. Be great at my job.
19. Make puff pastry from scratch.
20. Own a dog again.
21. Do pilates.
22. Take classes in photography, sculpture, weaving, and pottery.
23. Learn to spin my own yarn.
24. Swim naked in the ocean at night.
25. See my son do something great (win a Pulitzer Prize, lead a big group of people, etc.)

Friday, March 7, 2008

Miles To Go Before I Sleep

After a week at work that has thoroughly kicked my ass to the pavement and laughed while I cried, I've been thinking about other things that I could be doing with my life. Because what better to think about when you've worked a 40-hour week by Wednesday mid-afternoon because you work in the non-profit housing counseling industry and there's an economic recession and a mortgage crisis on?

Maggie Mason, better known as Mighty Girl, has been writing lists of things to do before she goes. I love her list. I love it so much, I decided to write my own, in several pieces. Today, I bring you 1-15 of my list of Things To Do Before I Go. I'm not planning on going or anything, I just love this list and the thought behind it. I've done several of these lists throughout my life; some of the things on it were so important to me at one point but not so much now, some I've accomplished, and some I don't even have a plan for yet. Also, these are in no particular order. Please leave me a comment with some of your own, or consider doing a list of your own.

100 Things To Do Before I Go, 1-15

1. Teach Max to cook.
2. Learn to surf.
3. Do something I don't think I can do (run a marathon, sing in public, etc.)
4. Watch the sun set in the desert.
5. Watch the sun rise in the mountains.
6. Write a play.
7. Make really great marinara sauce.
8. Write for a living.
9. Hang glide.
10. Make a quilt from Max's baby clothes.
11. Take a vacation with my best friend.
12. Stop being mad at my parents.
13. Go to India.
14. Own my dream house.
15. Knit a sweater that I would actually wear.


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LiveJournal for Nonsanity and the Fluff & Such Cast.

View:User Info.
View:Website (Fluff & Such).
You're looking at the latest 20 entries. Missed some entries? Then simply jump back 20 entries.
Sunday, April 7th, 2013
Subject:Notice of Impending MLP Fan Fiction!
Time:7:04 pm.
Actually, it's not impending anymore—both of the My Little Pony fan fiction stories I've written (thanks to my daughter's interest in the show) are complete and available on the web. My most recently finished story, Rainbow Typhoon, is even on the main page of Equestria Daily right now. IT'll fall off the front page within 24 hours or so. It was the first story I started writing and wasn't that good at first. It's much better now, but it's rating still suffers from those early days of crapiness. It could use some love in the form of Likes and Favs—that is, if you'd care to try reading it. :)

My other story, Words Failed Her, is much shorter and was finished half a year ago or so. It's consistently been in the top 10 stories (out of over 42,000 of them) according to whatever formula the site uses to create the Top Rated list. I don't know if this longer story will make it as well, but I think it came out far better than I could have hoped. :)
Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own

Monday, April 23rd, 2012
Subject:Yo, Bro, how's the knee?
Time:12:20 am.
Hello. My name is Nonsanity, and I'm a Brony.

Okay, I have a bit of an excuse since I have an eight-year-old daughter, but wether I'd need that excuse or not... The world will never know.

Anyway, I'm writing my first piece of fanfic for her and could use some feedback on this first chapter (of a planned five).

I also could use suggestions for a cover art picture, as this is standard practice on fimfiction.com and other fan story sites. Something from ponibooru or posted on EquestriaDaily.com that might go good with the story.

It was just such a picture that gave me the inspiration for the story, but as it represents the final line of text I'll write, I don't want to use it as the cover and tip my hand. :)

Anyway, for all that feel up to reading some My Little Pony fan fiction, here's the link:

Though make sure you've seen the show first. Season 1 is on Netflix and 1 and 2 are on YouTube. And you should at least see the beginning two-parter before attempting to dive into fan fiction - just so you know the characters. [I cannot be held responsible if you get hooked.]
Comments: Add Your Own

Thursday, July 28th, 2011
Subject:The Littlest Fursuiter
Time:2:18 am.
For those that didn't see her hamming it up as a cute little kitten, here's a great pic of Cassie in her costume at Anthrocon this year. She LOVED performing in it and had a blast there. :)

Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own

Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Subject:Anthrocon 2011
Time:1:25 pm.
Anthrocon 2011 is now over and I'm relishing the PCR. (I'm with Kage on that. I even had my own "STUFF!" issue after closing ceremonies.)

The Puppet Track seemed to go well enough, though the schedule fiascos had some impact on attendance. When the times for an event are different across the 5 different sources (program guide chart, program guide descriptions, official sched, unofficial iPhone app, unofficial Droid app) there's just not much a track lead can do. But turnouts were fairly good overall.

Jim Martin once again ROCKED, and with the excellent support from the A/V team in hooking up the Puppetorium with a cool rear-projection screen and hands-free mics, there were no technical snafus whatsoever.

As has happened before at AC, I spent so much time running things, I never really PERFORMED with a puppet. Really just a couple of the Hand-Libs improv skits, and that's it.

But I DID have a distraction this year. Cassie, our now 7-year-old daughter, came with us this year - and FURSUITED! Wow, but did she take to that like a kitten to cream! I'm so glad I got her suit finished in time. She had a blast with it, and wore it as often as she could. I'm starting to see more an more pictures of her popping up around the net. The thing we heard most while walking around with her in suit was "Oooooaaaah! She's so CUUUTE! Can I take a picture?" So there will probably end up being a LOT of them.

And... I'll say it here and now so that it's on the record...

There. Now I've GOTTA. Everyone keep poking me about it to help keep me on schedule. ;)
Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own

Monday, January 31st, 2011
Subject:Fur Trade?
Time:11:04 pm.
My daughter wants a fursuit, or at least a partial, and she wants it in royal blue and white. Now I have a lot of Monterey Mills gray seal fur left over, and wanted to see if anyone out there would be interested in a yard-for-yard trade of the gray for blue and/or white in the same MM seal. Just two yards worth of either should do.

I'd also be willing to buy someone's extra MM royal blue and white if they have extra.

And as a third option, if someone ELSE wants 2-3 yards or more of either fur, there is a place that sells 5 yard increments at $15 a yard, and we could go dutch to get just what we need. (Monterey Mills only sells it by the 15 yard bolt, which is why we still have extra gray on-hand.)

Let me know soon if you are interested, and feel free to spread the word elsewhere or suggest other places I might ask around.
Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Subject:Cat Limericks
Time:11:35 pm.
My daughter needs to bring a poem to school tomorrow, and she wanted it about kittens. So I wrote some limericks...

A momma cat had seven kittens
All black with white furry mittens
I picked up the third
Who nuzzled and purred
With whom I was instantly smitten

The Owl and the Pussycat sailed
On a boat, poorly built, that soon failed
Till the pea green sea
Soaked Pussy, and she
Plugged the hole with her tail and Owl bailed.

There once was a marvelous kitten
About whom great poems were written
She lived like a queen
But boy was she mean
And most visitors sadly were bitten
Comments: Add Your Own

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Time:12:03 am.
I think the word "force" is thrown about too much in discussions like the ones I've been having around my last few posts. Exactly what is meant by it changes like reflections in mercury. (This isn't Tatooine after all.)

I first ask myself, do they mean "forced to obey the law"?

Law is the collective outcome of centuries of arbitration. New laws are added, old laws are changed or removed when they no longer apply or when humanity's collective morality becomes more refined. (No more laws about burning witches, which once was considered a moral and just thing to do, but no longer.)

If that's what people mean, then I think being forced to obey the law on penalty of punishment WORKS for society. This sort of "force" is not a bad thing.

Then I ask, do they mean "forced to do something as part of my job"?

The employer is the definer of the employee's tasks and methods, except where such tasks and methods would break laws. The employee agrees to those tasks and methods as part of the terms of employment, with the knowledge that they can change over time. The employee can leave at any time to take a new position. If the training they chose to take only qualifies them for one type of job that they like (say garbage collection, for argument's sake) and they don't like the tasks or methods the job requires (dirty diapers), then that is unfortunate. But to use the word "forced" should be going too far with the word. They still have options. The options may not pay as well (ditch digger) or may require additional training (brain surgeon), but to say that there are no options would be incorrect. And to say one is forced to do something as part of a job is to say that they have NO options.

If that's what people mean, then I think they need to find a new path through life, one that is more pleasing to them. If the effort to do so is more distasteful than doing what an employer asks, then that is a CHOICE, not force. This sort of force is not a bad thing.

Then I ask, do they mean "forced into actions on pain of death, torture, or ultimate damnation"?

If so, then they must be religious. Man, sucks to be them.

So to summarize:

Forced by law (not a bad thing)
Forced by job (not really force)
Forced by religion (now THAT'S force!)

May the force not be with you...
Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own

Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Subject:More on the Pledge
Time:1:17 am.
More on the pledge, and the divide over the two words that come before "indivisible"...

Personally, I said the pledge as-is for many years, since at that age it was just words. When I became aware of the meaning of what I had been saying for years I discovered that the pledge to our government included a proclamation of subservience to a character in someone else's story.

It wasn't a lie, per se, it was just an unfamiliar story slipped into what was meant to be a unifying pledge. I started putting a short silence in place of those two words...

And this was LONG before I found out that those very two words had been added into the text fairly recently, within my parents' lifetime. If I were to take a highlighter to a printout of the Pledge of Allegiance, those would be the two words I marked as odd. And lo and behold, they actually were interlopers.

There are many different types of non-theists, just as there are many different types of theist. There are the bombastic eliminate-all-religion-everywhere atheists and there are the "god hates fags" angry-sign-shakers like those from the Westboro Babtist Church. So I can't say that NO atheists are trying to eliminate all religion everywhere anymore than I can say that all religious people are moral, fair, and kind.

Those that seek to eliminate religious bias in our shared government generally aren't trying to eliminate all religion everywhere. No one (that I know of) is saying the pledge should be "...one nation, godless, indivisible..." anymore than polytheists are trying to make it "...one nation, under the gods, indivisible".

"Under god", "godless", "under the gods"... Each phrase excludes those that would prefer one of the others. Does there have to be a winner here? Are any of these worldviews so insecure that they MUST have this official confirmation chanted by every schoolchild?

Original, historical, traditional, unadulterated... These are often cited as cherished values of long-standing religions. Why not go back to the original, historical, traditional, and unadulterated Pledge?

Why IS "god" dividing the indivisible anyway?
Comments: Read 15 or Add Your Own

Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Subject:"I pledge allegence..."
Time:7:45 pm.
The following information was very well presented, I thought:

"The constitutionality of the phrase ["under god"] has been the subject of litigation for years. This judicial ping-pong has grown tiresome," said Dave Kong, American Atheists Director of State Operations. "As long as these two words remain, the Pledge will continue to be a wedge in American unity, dividing us along religious lines. Congress needs to take the lead in restoring the Pledge of Allegiance to its pre-Cold War text and once again make the United States 'one nation indivisible.'"

Dr. Ed Buckner, president of American Atheists, added "The Congress of the United States acted in the 1950s with a reckless disregard for the indivisibility of this nation and in opposition to liberty for all when they inserted a plainly religious phrase into the Pledge. This nation has now—and has always had—many honest and decent citizens, including many who serve in the military, who worship no gods. Congress has no business pretending it can make religious decisions for citizens."

Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director for American Atheists, observed that "Our nation got through the revolution, a civil war, two world wars, and some other unpleasantnesses just fine without the god talk that is now causing many to confuse religious belief with patriotism.

"The minister who wrote the pledge didn't want religion in it and neither do we." As to the idea that "under God" and "In God We Trust" are not religious, Kagin asked, "I wonder how it would look if it was religious? If this is only 'ceremonial deism,' just what is 'un-ceremonial deism'?"

I've heard some people argue that removing the inserted words "under god" will be letting the atheists "win" by making the pledge promote atheism. To me that sounds like comparing a room with an elephant in it to all rooms that don't have an elephant. And claiming that the main defining attribute of all those other no-elephant rooms is their lack of elephantness.

There are rooms [aspects of life] that should have elephants [gods], with hay on the floor [pews and altars and crosses]... And there are the rest that don't.

Particularly the one we all live in that has a no-pets rule in the by-laws. [The government.]

~ Nonsanity
Comments: Read 15 or Add Your Own

Monday, March 15th, 2010
Subject:Puppetry Practice
Time:5:11 pm.
I discovered a fun new way to practice puppetry: Random Video Chats

There are services that connect you randomly to other webcam users with a button to change to a new random person at any time. This button gets hit a lot, so you are constantly looking at new people. Unfortunately, many people don't follow the rules of what you can be... DOING on the cam, so those with delicate sensibilities shouldn't give this a try. In fact, I won't mention the specific site I use here. Contact me privately if you want to know it.

But with a puppet in front of the cam, this otherwise rather boring activity becomes a lot of fun, for all involved. Tag was my host, as he's the most expressive of my puppets (despite the fact that you can't even see his eyes... Or maybe because of it.)

Tag was very animated and always actively emoting for each new person. He would start with a fairly neutral expression for each new connection, but then would react to or imitate the person on the other end. Those doing what they shouldn't get shocked and repulsed expressions (Tag is an innocent little doggie), anyone that smiles or laughs upon seeing the puppet gets a laugh, and the shocked or confused people get either a laugh or an imitation of their own shock.

Because it was constantly new people, I could rehash the same reactions over and over to get them more natural and expressive.

And when I caught the fancy of someone, or someones, a conversation of sorts would ensue. This was hampered because I couldn't get my mic to work with the flash interface, so Tag was mute. Half the people he chatted with were also mute, resorting to typing comments in the chat window. Tag did this only sparingly, not having fingers (and me being at a bad angle to the keyboard and typing with my off-hand). Whenever possible, Tag responded visually.

"Where's your master, doggy?" Tag looks left, looks right, shrugs and shakes his head.
"Are you a boy?" Tag looks down at his lap, looks back up and nods.
"Or are you neutered?" Vast, vigorous head shaking ensues. Pauses to look down to check, then continues to shake head vigorously.

Signs come up from time to time with requests written on them, usually with the word "boobs" in them somewhere. Tag dutifully scans the lines of text, mouth moving as he does so. When he gets to the end, he looks down at himself then back up and shakes his head with a shrug. One sign was sideways with a lot of tickmarks on it. Tag tipped his head to the side and read "If you tip your head to the side to read this, I win." as a hand with a sharpie added another mark to the page. Tag laughed. (Oddly enough, I didn't tip my head, but I guess that doesn't count.)

Tag would bark at the camera, put his nose up close and sniff, howl, and lick the lens, among other actions. If someone was playing music, he'd dance along or sing, if he knew the words. If someone gave obedience commands ("Sit!"), Tag would do his best to immediately comply. Bouts of imitation would quickly escalate to ridiculous antics on the part of the humans. And if there was a stuffed animal of some sort within reach of the other end, it invariably ended up on cam for Tag to sniff or bark at.

All-in-all, great practice, great fun. People that had longer interactions with Tag usually had only complimentary things to say before moving on. If you want to work on making your puppets really POP, this is a great way to get the practice with a real self-selected audience that never gets bored with you. :)
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Monday, December 14th, 2009
Subject:A Modest Proposal
Time:5:45 pm.
I now have a modest proposal to make
As the world's population proceeds to inflate
Heterosexual marriage is BANNED
From this moment forward and at my command
All speaking of vows and exchanging of rings
Will be between people that sport the same... things
And know how to use them (and not just their own)
But forgo reproduction, their seed goes unsown
This "18 And Counting" (whoops! 19 it seems...)
Will now become nothing but hereto dreams
And the world will become a much gayer place
...Till will reach Singularity and shoot into space
Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own

Monday, September 14th, 2009
Subject:Life Imitates Art (Unknowlingly)
Time:1:12 pm.
My father found this one and sent it to me. One guess why. :)

Yup! Space Teddies!

Those are actual teddy bears, and yes, they are where it looks like they are. You can even see the curve of the Earth behind them. Okay, while not technically in "space", they were pretty damn high up there! And it just seems SO familiar, doesn't it...?

Thanks to Cambridge University for creating a wonderful image in their quest for sub-£1,000 spaceflight.

Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own

Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Subject:Fluff & Such's Invasion of the Bodystockings at Anthrocon '09
Time:4:32 pm.
That's right. Fluff & Such's next project won't be a music video, it will be a LIVE performance! (Well, there MIGHT also be a video too... Who knows?)

A sci-fi puppet musical featuring Nonsanity, the Fluff & Such cast, and a host of talented puppeteers.
  • Experience bone-numbing FEAR as hideous creatures from another world plot to take over Earth!
  • Be SWEPT AWAY by a forbidden and ill-fated inter-species romance!
  • THRILL to a climactic final battle to save our world! (Rendered in patented Puppet Slowmoavision™!)
  • GROOVE to the almost non-stop song stylings of Jonathan Coulton and Laurie Berkner!

The mysterious and secretive government organization, the FIB (the Furries In Black), is closely watching the actions of someone prophesied by enigmatic aliens to be either the destruction - or salvation - of Earth. Who's side will this wildcard take in the end, and will he get the girl along the way... Or will the girl get him? (Or is the girl even a GIRL?)

These and many more questions will be answered or patently ignored in...

(coming to an Anthrocon 2009 near you)

On a completely unrelated subject... Well, slightly related. (Okay, okay... Its pretty much the same thing!) Those "talented puppeteers" mentioned above might include YOU! I'm looking for hands that can act, and need your help. If you (or someone you love) have a talented hand (DON'T make me have to rephrase that!) then contact Nonsanity (gmail) to arrange a video audition. (Bring your own webcam or YouTube upload.) And make it snappy... The sooner the below-stage cast can be paired with the above-stage cast, the more time both will have to practice! Expect there to be at least two hours of rehearsal at AC prior to the show where the whole cast can run through the fun once for their own amusement. For those that have the technology, group video-chats can also be arranged prior to AC for rehearsals. And don't worry about having to perform songs you don't know - There will be a lot of puppet swapping to cover parts, so that fewer hands are needed to support the whole cast of characters. I'll be fully prepared to perform all leads in the musical numbers (I've had a lot more exposure to the music while crafting the play), but not every song is a solo and I'm sure my arm would appreciate some help from those "talented puppeteers". Then again, someone does have to play the mind-control zombies. That reminds me:
In the words of one (failed) FIB recruit: "Only the best of the best... of the pretty-goods..."

 ~ Nonsanity
 ~ Chris Innanen
Comments: Add Your Own

Saturday, January 10th, 2009
Subject:I cast Fainting Spell at the darkness...
Time:3:00 pm.
There are any number of reasons that someone can faint. In this case, as one doctor said, if blood flow to the brain becomes reduced, the brain will shut down to protect itself.

I passed out once in high school. The whole band was in full tux regalia with their instruments on risers on the auditorium stage while a photographer took his own sweet time out in the audience. I was in the top back row under hot lights in a black polyester tux holding a euphonium for 45 minutes with my knees locked. I'm just lucky I keeled over forward instead of into the 6 foot drop behind me.

After a few minutes rest in the wings I was recovered enough to resume my position. I can tell the final picture came from after this event because my bow-tie was crooked. So that was from heat and lack of blood flow from the locked knees.

My father passed out in a Wendy's in Ocean City. He had recently taken up running and had spend all morning running along the beach. In his case, it was dehydration. It's too bad too, I think he was next in line...
Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own

Friday, January 9th, 2009
Time:5:39 pm.
I don't post to my journal that often. The last post was actually written as a forum posting on a different site, and I decided to cross-post it here. Mainly because of what I read on that forum...

I only read the one thread with about 30 posts in it (all about head/neck pain and colds), but fully 1/4 of the posters admitted to going to chiropractors for their head and neck pain. Most of them recommended others do the same. All of them - really, ALL of them - reported it didn't help one bit! And they recommended it?!? A few even mentioned trying acupuncture, again with no beneficial effect, and one mentioned homeopathy with no results stated (but one guess what it was).

Of course, none of these activities will do anything for a viral infection, as most colds are. Chiropracty, because bending the body won't kill off infected cells. Acupuncture, because whatever benefits people claim to get from acupuncture doesn't come from the needles actually penetrating the skin, but from the whole procedurearound it - as it has been repeatedly shown in studies using sham needles, particularly those that neither patient or practitioner can tell from real needles. And of course homeopathy, because its just... "magic" water! (OMG)

And so my post in that forum was mainly just to slip that last paragraph in. I quite like how it came out, and while I may tweek at a bit more, I think I'll be adding it to my forum posts whenever apropos. In fact, here it is again, just for good measure! MUAHAHA...

*WARNING* Be aware that both patients and medical practitioners fall prey to medical scams every day and never shake themselves loose. There are many still commonly used treatments that have been shown to do nothing (or actually harm) when given the most rigorous testing. Don't lose your money (or your health/life) because you couldn't be bothered to check. Ask your general practitioner questions and read any pertinent articles on QuackWatch.org or ScienceBasedMedicine.org for your own safety. Your health is SO important - Don't trust it to mere anecdotes and testimonials. There are people and organizations that test all this stuff HARD and WELL. Please don't ignore or dismiss them in favor of flashy advertising and word-of-mouth rumors of efficacy to the detriment of your health.

Comments: Add Your Own

Subject:Medical Mystery... SOLVED?
Time:3:34 pm.
On Friday morning, my 4 year old daughter passed out without warning. She had fully recovered within 10-20 seconds, and seemed perfectly fine, but we took her to the emergency room for good measure. They tested for causes that would require immediate medical treatment and found nothing. The following Thursday she came down with a mild cold.

Over the weekend, my wife started having symptoms of headache, neck ache, nausea, dizziness, and blurred vision. On Monday night she passed out, also recovering within 10-20 seconds. Spent all night at the emergency room testing for causes that would require immediate medical treatment, and again found nothing.

Now I had had a week of head and neck pain followed be the onset of cold symptoms later in the day the Friday my daughter passed out. It is the following Friday and I'm feeling considerably better, through with still some lingering stiffness in the neck and some sniffles.

It looks like - and at least one doctor made the same suggestion - that all three of us are suffering from a viral cold that starts out with a week of head and neck pain that trails off into a week more typical cold symptoms. If my wife's nose starts running like crazy on Sunday, we can call this hypothesis valid. (At least enough to stop worrying about other things... Schwarzenegger: "It's NOT a tumor!")

*WARNING* Be aware that both patients and medical practitioners fall prey to medical scams every day and never shake themselves loose. There are many still commonly used treatments that have been shown to do nothing (or actually harm) when given the most rigorous testing. Don't lose your money (or your health/life) because you couldn't be bothered to check. Ask your general practitioner questions and read any pertinent articles on QuackWatch.org for your own safety. Your health is SO important - Don't trust it to mere anecdotes and testimonials. There are people and organizations that test all this stuff HARD and WELL. Please don't ignore or dismiss them in favor of flashy advertising and word-of-mouth rumors of efficacy to the detriment of your health.
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Friday, June 20th, 2008
Subject:Get Yer Website While Its HOT
Time:12:35 am.
If you've wanted your own website, now is the time!

Two years for the price of one from Dreamhost. I've used them for several years with nothing but great things to say about them.

The deal ends tonight. You don't have to say I sent you. I'm not getting paid or compensated in any way for this. Just passing word of a good deal.

(And yes, their humor is always like that. Their "monthly" newsletter is the most entertaining I've ever seen.)
Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own

Thursday, May 1st, 2008
Subject:"The Fuzzy Brains"
Time:2:37 pm.
Oh, and here's the placeholder site for "The Fuzze Brains" project I want to do. :)
Comments: Add Your Own

Subject:More On "Boosting Your Immune System"...
Time:2:31 pm.
I've been researching this, and here's what I came up with:

The immune system has two types of responses, general and specific. The specific form is for when it detects something it's seen before, like a particular virus marker, and it activates a very directed response to that intruder.

The general form is for when the immune system can't identify the intruder, and the clinical term for it is "inflammation". This is a good thing in that it can fight off most non-aggressive intruders, but it's a bad thing in that prolonged inflammation can lead to hardening of the arteries and pulmonary complications - like heart attacks and strokes.

The trick with vaccines is to introduce just enough of a potential infective agent into the body that it trains the specific response but doesn't activate an inflammatory response. Almost all vaccines use broken up pieces of dead viruses for this, and they don't trigger the general response at all (or much).

So getting a shot won't shake up the hive, as it were, and get all our immune bees buzzing and ready. Even if it did, that would be a bad thing to do as a matter of course since causing inflammation when there really isn't any need for it has bad side effects.

The immune system is VERY complicated and muddled, and it is already working as best it can if you are generally healthy (no immune diseases). So "boosting" any part of it will likely throw the whole thing out of whack and make you sicker and/or more prone to getting sick.

So when a product says it "boosts the immune system", it either means absolutely nothing OR it means IT MAKES YOU SICK (causes inflammation). Somehow I doubt most of them are going for the second meaning, so...

It's bunk. :)

For a GREAT - and far better explained and more entertaining - version of this information, listen to Quackcast #22 - Boost Your Immune System And Die and it is SOOOO worth the 20 minutes of your life!
Comments: Add Your Own

Monday, April 28th, 2008
Subject:Boost Your Immune System
Time:3:33 pm.
You've all heard those words before, haven't you. How could you not when so many products and activities tout this as a result. We've probably all heard the phrase so often that we take it for granted.

It means NOTHING.

I don't like to see my friends and family taken advantage of by unscrupulous marketeers. If there is one rule of thumb to go by in medical decisions that can cover the most ground, this is the one:

When you hear "boosts your immune system" you are being CONNED!
It's not the only handy rule of thumb by ANY stretch of the imagination, but its the one I suggest starting with.
It sounds so good... To boost (aid, assist, relieve) your (cool medical lingo) immune system, seems exactly what you'd want, eh?

It is, however, a load of fetid dingo's kidneys and an EXCELLENT way to identify a medical scam. (Or if you prefer: S.C.A.M. aka Supplementary, Complementary, and Alternative Medicines.)

Just look at Airborne, and the lawsuits that resulted from its unsupported claims. (And that's ignoring the fact that it has so much of certain vitamins that following its recommended dosage and taking a multivitamin at the same time could, over time, cause serious damage to you!)

Here's an excellent summary of this phrase by Steven Novella (and more):
Claims that nutritional supplements “boost the immune system” are a favorite in the industry. However, this is not a scientific concept. The immune system is a complex system of the body. It fights off infection, foreign bodies, and abnormal cells, such as cancer cells. However, it does so at risk to the host itself. The inflammation caused by the immune system often causes more damage than the infection the inflammation is fighting off. Reacting to foreign substances, in many individuals, can be exaggerated to the point of life threatening allergies. Also, there is an entire category of disease known as autoimmune diseases, in which the immune systems attacks its own body. They include many chronic and serious illnesses, such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus. Because the immune system is a double-edged sword, any attempt at manipulating the immune system is also double-edged. Therefore increasing immune system activity is just as likely to be harmful to a person as beneficial.
But that's too much science for most people to want to learn. If this blog was read by a LOT of people, I bet many of them would skip over that paragraph midway through its third sentence. That's fine... You read LiveJournal for fun, not study-hall. But then how can everyone learn that sometimes what seems right and true just isn't, and people are taking advantage of you because of it?

Anyway, I know I've used this blog mainly as a news outlet for Fluff And Such Puppetry, but there IS a tie-in... I'm thinking about making a series of informative videos with the F&S cast that highlight some of the worst scams and fuzzy-brain-thinking out there in an entertaining way. If anyone thinks they might like to help with it, please let me know. I want to make sure I have enough material to last for a while before I start.

Hmm... Maybe I should call it: The Fuzzy Brains
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LiveJournal for Nonsanity and the Fluff & Such Cast.

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Sunday, August 26, 2012

Ok, maybe I can get behind that / Promethean: The Created

I had a flick through my copy of Promethean: The Created this morning, and didn't hate it.
Well, I've never hated it, but I've not loved it either.
I was excited when it came out. I thought it'd be a bit ... I dunno... More.
I thought there would be more than animated corpses, specifically.
I get the Frankenstein's Monster angle, the perverse and ungodly spawn of mortal hubris, but that's where it ends.
If you're going to have a Golem inspired monster, then why not just have a Golem. Nope, instead we have an animated corpse commonly confused for a Golem.

I thought the game would have the following:
Reanimated Corpses - AKA Frankenstein's Monster
Animated Statues - AKA Golems
Robots - AKA Um, Robots, maybe Data from ST:NG
Dolls, Toys and Puppets - AKA Pinocchio
Clones / Bio-Engineered Humanoids - AKA Tyrell Corp. Replicants
Artificial Intelligences (AI) - AKA Skynet, although I'd use this one as an antagonist rather that a player option.

Promethean does have Clones as an antagonist option, and I believe that Robots feature in one of the supplements, but it's still not what I was looking for.
I firmly believe that the central theme of pursuing mortality and the threats of Disquiet etc are still relevant with the options I listed above, and this disappointment has coloured how I think about the game for years.

This morning I had a look at it with fresh eyes, though, and didn't find myself wanting to completely rewrite it. I just accepted things as they were. Much better.

I still think it'd be a hard sell to potential players - you're a monster who everyone hates, who rots and discolours the very earth and the surrounding environment if you stay too long there, and you are trying to become Human.
I only think Wraith: The Oblivion would be a harder sell.

Monday, August 13, 2012

And now, a short interlude / No messages from our sponsors

I've started getting crappy spam replies recently, so I've reluctantly switched captcha back on.
Believe you me, I hate it too, but not as much as spam...

Embrace the 21st Century and all its technological wonders / RPG apps? Yes please

The new game by Monte Cook, currently being Kickstarted via the link below, comes with an Android/iPhone app to assist with character creation and gameplay.

How good is that?!
And how... Unusual.

RPGs have been flirting with electronic and online play aids for years now, from virtual game boards to dice rollers, from PDF rulebooks to NPC generators.
I have tried out a number of different RPG apps for my Android phone, yet none have been official.
Not that I wouldn't buy an official app, I've just not seen one.

This is the thing... I don't get why there aren't any official apps out there.
I'd buy them. My gaming group would buy them. Apps are usually cheap, and they save a helluva lot of space. I just need my phone, not a bag o' stuff.

I would explicitly pay for any of the following official apps from White Wolf, Pelgrane Press, Paizo, WotC and the indie game press:

Virtual character sheets
Character generators
Dice rollers
Resource managers - Initiative / Health / Items
Rules and quick references
NPC generators
Campaign trackers

I think there's a market for this stuff - if there wasn't, then there wouldn't be so much fan material available - and I think that RPG publishers are missing a trick.

Numenera: A new roleplaying game from Monte Cook by Monte Cook — Kickstarter

Friday, August 10, 2012

Blocking is for chumps / Late to the Skyrim party

I'm late to this party, by about a year, so I apologise for the total lack of news flashes.
I am, however, going to talk about what I've learnt (decided) so far.

1. Blocking is for chumps, dual wielding is where it's at. As far as I can tell, the trick is to not let them get close enough to hit you.

2. Forget racial stat boosts, I want to see in the dark. I played about an hour of Oblivion, not including character creation, and soon realised that I couldn't see for shit roughly half the time. Solution: Khajit. I don't give a monkey's about cat-man cuteness, or claw attacks or bonuses to sneaking (ok, I care a bit about that). What I do care about is being able to see the goblin dog fuck that's just jumped me in the cave.

3. Cleanse with Fire! So far, a five second burst of flame has solved every single problem I've had. Hands down. I'm hoping that there's a "take off and nuke the site from orbit" spell later on.
I suspect that I'm screwed when I meet a foe with some level of fire resistance.

4. Beauty gets you killed. More precisely, stopping to admire the stunning visuals usually means that you're about to get ganked, like a tourist in Glasgow.

5. Minions are kinda cool. I've a guy called Sven following me around. Far as I can tell, his main functions are: distract foes, get in the way of my Flame blasts, stare at me with his piercing blue eyes. He got killed by a giant spider, and I was unexpectedly sad. I missed him. Luckily I was ganked by a group of Druegar (is that right?) and we were happily reunited in the save game.
But we're not a couple.

6. I am totally indecisive. Thief? Warrior? Mage? I'm racially predisposed to stealth, chose a combat blessing and use magic in every encounter. I'm conflicted. I've leveled up a couple of times, and upped my Magica and Health. It's Stamina next.

Admittedly, I'm yet to reach level 3, and I'm still on my first quest, so most of this is probably wrong... Actually, no. I'm adjusting the difficulty down a notch, so I can play like a n00b. Fuck it.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

How the Virtual Adepts have upped my game / Social Media in RPG

I am on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Instagram, Blogger and, um, email, I guess.
When I don't have a data connection on my Android Cell, I get itchy.
People could be communicating... without me!
I probably have a problem. A 21st Century addiction, no doubt.

I do love it when I can legitimately use social media, though, as I'm sure thousands of graduates the world over do when they say "I can set up the businesses Twitter feed, no worry".
I have been running Aberrant for my gaming group recently. It's been going very well. I finally get Aberrant, after 12 years, and can run it confidently.
The players have fully embraced their characters and the setting as well.

My gaming group, being consummate nerds, have always used internet tools to communicate. We originally used Google Groups to organise, share and discuss our games, then moved onto Facebook messages, because, like it or not, we're all on Facebook.
With Aberrant, though, the most delightful thing has happened.

In-Character profiles, status updates and fan pages. It's ace.

May players have set up:
Solar Flair's Official Facebook page and Twitter feed.

The Adonis' Facebook page

A Facebook page for Dan Peterson, the best friend of Max Control

In return, I've set up a Facebook page for a recurring antagonist, Arnold Deekus, as well as a Twitter feed for him ( @deus_rex_ad ), and a local news Twitter feed - @pulsecitynews

The end result is great fun. I've been running downtime activities and in character interactions using a mix of Facebook and Twitter status updates, Facebook messages, texts and emails, which has borne strange fruit, and definitely furthered the plot.

We're taking a break from Aberrant whilst I recharge my GM batteries, and someone else is running Black Crusade. We have been told that, unfortunately, Chaos Marines do not blog.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Platform 14, Piccadilly Train Station, Manchester / The joys of hardcopy RPG books

Platform 14 is a pretty inauspicious platform, as far as these things go. The only remarkable thing that can really be said about it is that it's the only North facing platform at Piccadilly... If you want to go North of Manchester - Bolton, Wigan, Liverpool, Preston, Chorley - you travel from there.

To me, though, it holds an additional significance, one I am reminded off every time I step on it.
When I bought my copy of Vampire: the Masquerade Revised Edition, I sat on Platform 14 and started reading it.
For years, whenever I bought a new gaming book, it was here that I'd get my first proper look.
When I was running my V:tM campaign, it was here that I'd first read through a source book and think about how I could use it in the game.
I remember each of the clan splat books, the Dark Ages: Mage Infernalism book (oddly, this one really stands out in my mind), World of Darkness: Sorcerer, The Time of Thin Blood book (the exact name escapes me right now), all read on Platform 14.

All of this is now long gone, of course. I catch my trains from another station. I don't have the semi-disposable income I used to (whilst I can make the conscious decision to spend my grocery money on a book and not have lunch for a week, my family get really pissed if I apply that to them). Hardcopy RPG books are scaling down to near non-existentence, and the brick & mortar stores along with them.

I miss the old days. I miss being able to walk into a shop, buy a book and then read it on the way home.


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Wednesday, 12 July 2017

Wild Rose Studio and Pion Design Papers.

Good morning.
Another Wednesday has come around so it is time to share with you my latest card for Noor Design UK.
Well, I have two cards to show you. The first card I will show at the bottom of this post. I wasn't happy with the colour tones of the first card and decided I wanted to add some blue.
For my first card I used the adorable Bunny with Teddy by Wild Rose Studio.

 He has been coloured using Distress Markers and Re Inkers.
Any items not listed on my write up have been linked at the bottom of the post.

The banner which is by Scrapiniec I traced and covered with papers from the Pion Designs Theadore and Bella collection.

The yellow and blue flowers have been made using Foamiran and Rosy Owl Dies. For anyone interested in Foamiran Tracy has a DT call. Just head on over to the Noor Blog to read all the details.

The cute little romper suit is from Scrapiniec. as is the sentiment on the card below which was my card before I added the coloured image and blue flowers. I love the card but I felt I needed more colour after speaking to my work colleague who wanted a card for her daughter.
Thank you all for stopping by.
Enjoy the rest of your week and I will see you again soon.
Hugs Sharon. x

  1. Such sweet cards. I agree the first is better with its addition of the blue ribbon.

  2. Super sweet! Creative Blessings, Tracy x


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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Sketches for the temptation of Eve

Sketches for the temptation of Eve, by Mary Stebbins Taitt

Anonymous said...

She does appear to be 'luring' in the first two especially ;)

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

I was thinking I prolly shouldn't have posted these here for fear of offending some people, aiee--I was thinking art and technique etc, but I suppose the subject matter . . . hmmm.

Actually, all of these and the others with related titles are "studies" for a piece I'm planning. Hope it comes out OK.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Who's tempting whom and where are those apples?

Anonymous said...

Hhehhee, I have to say Eve's 'apples' are doing all the tempting!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

LOL! :-D

That was one of the temptations I had in mind!

Sexuality influences many aspects of our lives--consider Cleopatra, for example.


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Saturday, November 2, 2013

Working at Bunda College

It may be hard to believe, given that most (all?) of our posts so far have been about fun activities or day-to-day activities, but I have been quite busy working most of the time we’ve been here. My Fulbright award is focused on two components:
  1. Providing training and education in the open-source R statistical language.
  2. Follow up on some research on maize roots that I have been pursuing with colleagues at PSU and Bunda College here in Malawi since 2010.
I’ve been teaching “Introduction to the R statistical language” for the dept of Statistics at Penn State since 2011, so I had a lot of teaching material prepared. However the format of my teaching here has unexpectedly shifted. What I have taught at PSU is a full semester course, and we originally planned to do something similar here at Bunda. As often happens, circumstances forced a change of plans. A student strike last year at Bunda forced a closing of the campus for a while and led to shift in the academic calendar – the term which previously had begun in September now begins the first week of November. So instead of teaching a full course, we decided I should offer a 3-day intensive workshop introducing R.

In order to do this, I updated (almost) all my teaching materials, and I have now created my own textbook “Essential R”. So far I have offered the workshop three times. First for a motivated group of graduating Seniors (Fourth years), who hung on for three intense days having just completed their final examinations. Next for about a dozen graduate students, and finally for a small but excited group of faculty.

Current plans are for me to offer 8-10 evening sessions (spread over 4 or 5 weeks) for the new cohort of graduate students. In addition, I will soon finish recording screencast videos for my “Essential R” book. These will form the nucleus of a website that I will set up at Bunda so that my instructional materials will be accessible to students at Bunda even after I am gone.

Many of the commercial statistical software packages are quite expensive (think thousands of dollars), so one appeal of the open-source language "R" is that it is free. This is particularly important in places like Malawi. Students who learn to use R for analysis don't need to worry that the tools they have invested time into learning won't be available in whatever institution they go to work for.

 I’ve actually been very glad to have the time to update these materials, and am hoping I can use them for my class at PSU also, which I will continue to teach as an online course for the world campus. Recording these videos has been a bit of a challenge – there is loud bank of air-conditioners just outside my office window, making that an unsuitable location for recording. I have found that I can work on videos at home while the children are at school, although I do sometimes get interrupted by neighborhood boys looking for Joel. I’ve also found a quiet room at the college library that work also.

The second focus of my work – the research – will keep me busy next week, since it is time to harvest. We have planted 11 varieties of maize in a replicated drought trial (it is the dry season, so if you stop irrigating, you can easily create drought stress). Ten of these lines are “land races” – open pollinated local varieties, and one is an “improved” commercial line. Our goal is to compare the root architecture of these different plants.

The plants in the foreground are quite stressed, the ones in the back are happier.
We’ve had a few challenges – apparently someone stole the electrical cables that powered the irrigation pump for our part of the farm. So currently they have to pipe water from another part of the farm to irrigate our experiment. This is complicated by the fact that the power outages reduce the amount of time when irrigation can be carried out. Actually, while the term "irrigation" is correct, it may conjure up more technological images than are really warranted. Here irrigation consists of a couple of fellows who water our rows of maize with a hose, carefully filling the small basins upslope of each row with water that can soak into the dry soil.

We also have had some difficulties with plant establishment, so some of our plots have fewer plants than we hoped to see, and so we’ll likely have to adapt our plans somewhat - but I hope we'll learn something in any case.

The three rows in the foreground are all the same variety and should be essentially identical. Clearly we have a problem here.

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'Sheep and goat 101' coming to Canton March 9
Thursday, March 7, 2013 - 5:39 pm

CANTON -- The Cornell Cooperative Extension will host a “sheep and goat 101” course March 9 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the extension’s learning farm.

As interest in raising sheep and goats increases, the extension course will teach basic knowledge needed to properly care for such animals.

The cost to attend the class will be $10 per person or $20 per family.

Call the extension at 379-9192 to register.

For more information about raising livestock visit www.ccenny.com.