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Mona B Upcycled Flap & String Canvas & Leather Shoulder Bag with Coin Purse

Mona B

  • $ 64.99

  • Made from upcycled canvas tarps and tents. Create, Care, Conserve.
  • Measures 18.5" x 12.5" x 3"
  • Genuine leather handle and accents
  • Each bag is truly original since they are made from upcycled materials that have traveled the world
  • Includes small zippered coin purse

Waste Not" is the concept behind these awesome bags from Mona B. Why make new materials when there are interesting and perfectly usable fabrics that can be recycled or "up-cycled"? Mona B's goal is to reduce and reuse some of the world's waste - or what some people may consider waste. One person's trash is another person's treasure. This collection is all about fashion that is Earth friendly! We love that these bags also look so stylish! The fabrics used in these bags include canvas from truck tarps and wool scraps. Mona B takes these fabrics and uses them to create unique recycled treasures. Added details like the leather handles, and printed graphics provide an edgy, one-of-a-kind style.

PLEASE NOTE: Each of these bags is truly an original! The canvas used is 100% recycled from used tarps and tents. These tarps have literally traveled the world and carry the scars and bruises of use. Therefore each bag will sport its own unique marks of wear and tear. Expect to see possible variations including stitch marks and minor staining of the canvas. These are the hallmarks of an up-cycled item. However, please let us know if you receive a bag or tote that seems to exceed these expectations. We want you to love your Mona B Tote!

Includes a small zippered coin purse bundled in the same packaging. Coin purse is not a product of Mona B and style may vary depending on availability.

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Red Cross to hold blood drive in Pleasanton today

Donors of all blood types are needed to replenish supplies after holidays

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive in Pleasanton today in an effort to replenish supplies that typically dwindle during the holidays.

The local drive comes during January, National Blood Donor Month, and at a time when Red Cross representatives are urging eligible blood donors to start a lifesaving habit by becoming a regular blood donor this year.

Donations can be made at the Pleasanton Blood Donation Center, 5556-B Springdale Ave. from 11:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

National Blood Donor Month, started in 1970, attempts to raise awareness of the need for blood during the winter and throughout the year, while honoring those who roll up a sleeve to help patients in need.

Donors of all blood types are needed, especially those with O negative, A negative and B negative.

Type O negative is the universal blood type and can be transfused to patients with any blood type.

Types A and B negative can be transfused to Rh positive or negative patients.

To learn more about donating blood and to schedule an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

1 person likes this
Posted by Carol
a resident of Downtown
on Jan 5, 2015 at 9:34 am

Pleasanton North Rotary will also host a Blood Drive on January 9th from 10-4 in the parking lot of Handle's Gastropub.

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Pleasanton's home-grown "unicorn"
By Tim Hunt | 3 comments | 1,268 views

Ten Tips for Teens and Young Adults to Survive a Dysfunctional Family
By Chandrama Anderson | 0 comments | 961 views

Can You Afford Your ‘Dream School’?
By Elizabeth LaScala | 2 comments | 403 views

The Five
By Jeb Bing | 0 comments | 231 views

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Dublin congressman appoints 5 teens to U.S. service academies

Swalwell honors five students, including two Pleasanton residents

Five Bay Area students, including two from Pleasanton, have been given appointments to the three leading U.S. military academies by Congressman Eric Swalwell.

Anna L. Borchers and Justina J. Kim, both 18 and from Pleasanton, received the nominations along with Kajol P. Maheshwari, 17, of Livermore; Denisse A. Ramirez, 17, of Union City; and Dane Q. Sur, 18, of San Ramon.

They will now begin the process of pursuing acceptance into the academies.

"Our nation's military service academies have a worldwide reputation for excellence in scholarship, character-building and physical achievement, and I know these five fine young people will tackle this challenge," Swalwell (D.-Dublin) said at a reception for the nominees and their families at Pleasanton's Veterans Memorial Building.

"They are committing themselves to serving and protecting our nation, and I wish them the greatest success as they embark upon this adventure," he added.

Borchers, who is graduating from the Athenian School in Danville, will attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. She was her school's varsity swim team captain, a soccer player, a student ambassador leader and a teacher's assistant for a physics class.

She has also been a youth coach with the Pleasanton RAGE soccer club, is a longtime Girl Scout, took many Advanced Placement classes and has traveled to South Africa to build a classroom.

Kim, who is graduating from the Naval Academy Preparatory School at Newport, R.I., will attend the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. Previously a Foothill High School student, she was the captain of her water polo team, volunteered with special needs program Milal Mission and took many Advanced Placement classes.

Maheshwari, who will graduate from Livermore High School this month, also was appointed to attend West Point.

Ramirez, who will graduate from James Logan High School, also this month, will attend the Naval Academy Preparatory School at Newport, R.I.

Sur, who will graduate from Quarry Lane School in Dublin, will attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Senators and representatives may provide nominations from their respective states or districts. The vice president can also provide nominations nationwide.

Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.

Pleasanton's home-grown "unicorn"
By Tim Hunt | 3 comments | 1,261 views

Ten Tips for Teens and Young Adults to Survive a Dysfunctional Family
By Chandrama Anderson | 0 comments | 934 views

Can You Afford Your ‘Dream School’?
By Elizabeth LaScala | 2 comments | 398 views

The Five
By Jeb Bing | 0 comments | 227 views


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Miles Maftean (MA 2010-2011, PhD 2012)

July 23, 2014

Lecturer, Eotvos Lorand University

"My experience at CEU led me to develop a whole different idea of what learning actually is - it isn't simply obtaining and retaining truth and justifying this truth, but understanding what truth means to all different groups of people around the world. I was able to break through the world that my mind crafted as a reality and see the broader picture of what is happening to others. What better way could I have been taught about the world around me?"


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Member Meeting Agenda

Remember our monthly member meeting is coming up on Tuesday at the Lamar Community Center. Please see below for Tuesday’s meeting agenda. It will be an action packed meeting, complete with special guest, former State Rep. Jeff Smith to talk about Citizen Action Cooperative for western Wisconsin.

We hope you can join us!

Polk Burnett Indivisible
Agenda for May 2, 2017, 6:00 p.m.
Lamar, St Croix Falls

The purpose of Polk Burnett Indivisible is to resist the Trump administration’s efforts to sow fear and division. Our actions will take many forms, but will be grounded in our shared values of inclusion, respect and fairness. We reject hatred and violence and believe there is more that unites Americans than divides us.

Welcome – focus of meeting will be on preparing for the Friday, May 12thNorthwest WI Speaks Listening Session, Siren’s Sr. Center.

Introductions (6:00-6:15) name/where from/ attend JFC (Joint Finance Committee)?

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 6th? Meet during summer?

Updates: (6:15-6:30)
Feedback on April’s meeting – preparation for JFC
Feedback on any other events attended (postcards sent in March, Tax Day march, Science March, Climate Change March)
Communication – any feedback/updates/changes/recommendations?

Presentations: (6:30-7:00)
Citizen Action – Jeff Smith
For Wisconsin’s Future – Dan Balm

Preparation for May 13th Northwest WI Speaks (7:00-7:15)
Update on format – Patti
Identify “best strategies” for having an impact by telling your story – Patti/Everyone
Review of federal vs state issues; committees local officials are on – Lynn

Break into small groups (7:15-7:45) – discuss issues want to talk about to elected officials-put as bullet points on large board; practice or get/give feedback on what people want to say
Economics / Budget
Education – Bob?
Health – Kelly
Human Rights – Jessica

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A First-Timer’s Account of San Diego Comic Con 2013 – Day 3

For years, I have wanted to go to the infamous San Diego Comic Con. The ultimate nexus of all things pop culture. This year, thanks to my cousin agreeing to go with me, I made my way. This is the account of my 4-day experience at the center of all things nerd.

While Friday was all about Nikita for me, Saturday was all about How I Met Your Mother. I wanted badly to be in Hall H Saturday for all the movie panels, plus EW’s Women Who Kick Ass panel (which featured, among 4 others…Maggie Q! Duh, I would do almost anything for Maggie!), but decided against camping out starting at 3:00 in the afternoon Friday (I’m fairly certain I remember reading a tweet that people were already camped out at that time). I also decided against lining up for my chance at autographs again (on deck for today would have been Arrow, HIMYM). So like I said, Saturday = How I Met Your Mother. Now HIMYM might not seem like a typical show to be featured at SDCC, but we all knew well that regardless of that, the panel was going to be well attended. So making our way to the Indigo Ballroom, situated at the Hilton next to the convention center, my cousin and I waited in line at 7:30 A.M., and yes, there was already quite the line in front of us when we arrived.

By the time we got into the Indigo, we had to wait out two other panels before getting to our main event. The first was Machinima, a website/YouTube video network focused on the gaming community. This panel in particular, was focusing on fan films. Similar to my feelings about the World of Heroes panel, it was really cool to see and find out about all this original/creative content. There was only one name in the panel that I recognized and that would be Kevin Tancharoen, who was there for his Mortal Kombat: Legacy webseries. I, however, know him best as a former dancer/choreographer for Britney Spears, during the “In The Zone” era.

Machinima panel

Machinima panel

The second panel was for Geek and Sundry, Felicia Day’s video network. I had no idea what this was coming into SDCC, and when I have time, will now have to check out the shows she has on her YouTube network. It all just seemed really fun and cool. Felicia Day was obviously on the panel, as well as frequent Geek and Sundry contributor Wil Wheaton (all I hear in my head is Sheldon from Big Bang Theory yelling “WHHEEEAAAAATTTOONNNNN!!!”)

Geek and Sundry panel, with Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton

Geek and Sundry panel, with Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton

And then came How I Met Your Mother! Right before the panel began, there were some awesome fans who began to chant “Shrimp fried rice! Shrimp fried rice!”, which was obviously then followed by “CAN-A-DA! CAN-A-DA!” I had to represent and chant along to “CAN-A-DA!” before it quickly died off. The panel then started with a special video, that seemed like it was just the start of the first episode of the next season. Before I knew it, I started hearing censored expletives coming from Ted’s grown kids (aka Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie), cursing out their dad for spending eight years telling his story. It was SO FREAKIN’ HILARIOUS!! CBS has already made the video available online, so go watch it if you haven’t already. After the video finished, the cast and producers came out to massive applause, like the rockstars they were. Honestly, for a show that apparently had no right/reason to be at SDCC (said certain people on the internet after the announcement was made), you never would’ve guessed it by the reception they received. For me, it was just so much fun being in that room with the cast and all these fans. We got treated to more insight into the longest weekend ever (in case you haven’t heard, the final season will take place over the course of Barney & Robin’s wedding weekend). We still have the last slap to look forward to. Return of former guest stars? It is a wedding, so hopefully we will get to see Lucy Hale return as Robin’s sister (I almost forgot about her!) and John Lithgow as Barney’s father, but we at least know for certain that Wayne Brady is back as Barney’s brother James. Random tangents involving seeing how the interpreters sign everything they’re saying. Also, there were no less than three musical interludes: a “Let’s Go To The Mall” sing-a-long (Cobie was having trouble at the beginning, but Neil was more than happy to fill in the missing lyrics for her lol); Jason, by request, sang a bit of his Dracula musical; and everybody sang the “Bang Bang” song.

The cast of HIMYM coming in to a fury of applause and screams like the rockstars they are. (L-R): EP Carter Bays, EP Craig Thomas, Director Pamela Fryman, Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan

The cast of HIMYM coming in to a fury of applause and screams like the rockstars they are. (L-R): EP Carter Bays, EP Craig Thomas, Director Pamela Fryman, Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan

Unfortunately, the fun of the HIMYM panel had to end, much to everyone’s dismay. After that, my cousin and I didn’t really have any other panel that we immediately had to go to. So we headed on over to the exhibit hall, take everything in, and hopefully get to see some celebrities. I’ll tell you this, it gets crazy in there when there are autograph signings. You may try your best to get a shot of the celebs doing the signing, but the con has a strict “shoot and scoot” policy – take one picture and go. I understand the policy, but at the same time, you can’t guarantee that you’ll even get one good shot, especially with the tall guards blocking your way.

Ming Na during the SHIELD signing at the Marvel booth

Ming Na during the SHIELD signing at the Marvel booth

The cast of Once Upon A Time signing at the ABC booth (aka the Jolly Roger)

The cast of Once Upon A Time signing at the ABC booth (aka the Jolly Roger)

Managed to get a good shot of Kristin Bauer and Ryan Kwanten getting ready for their autograph signing at the WB Booth. Behind them on the other side, is Tom Cruise (and Emily Blunt) signing for their movie "Edge of Tomorrow"

Managed to get a good shot of Kristin Bauer and Ryan Kwanten getting ready for their autograph signing at the WB Booth. Behind them on the other side, is Tom Cruise (and Emily Blunt) signing for their movie “Edge of Tomorrow”

After a couple runs up and down the exhibit hall, trying to pick up swag and get pictures of celebs, I suggested we make our way to Ballroom 20. The Vampire Diaries panel was happening at the time, but I was much more interested in getting in for the Arrow panel. Well, turns out that there were still empty seats for the TVD panel (it had followed the always popular True Blood panel, which always gives out good swag apparently), so we were able to walk straight in.

The Vampire Diaries panel L-R: Kat Graham, Ian Somerhalder, EP Julie Plec, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, EP Caroline Dries, Candice Accola

The Vampire Diaries panel
L-R: Kat Graham, Ian Somerhalder, EP Julie Plec, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, EP Caroline Dries, Candice Accola

After about 5 minutes, the TVD panel was done and we shuffled our way up closer for the Arrow panel. Arrow quickly became one of my favourite new shows of last season, and after the fantastic season finale, I have been quite eager to see what they have in store for next season. The panel began with a preview clip for the season two premiere, and it was fantastic and thrilling to say the least. This panel was on Saturday, and they had only begun filming the new season on the Monday, so they apparently got A LOT of filming done and managed to package it together as a special clip for SDCC. Talk about movie magic and commitment to the fans. Days before, fans found out that we were getting introduced to Black Canary on the show, but it isn’t Laurel, so there was an interesting discussion during the panel of how the show likes to take what fans of the comic book know and flip it a bit. The first Green Arrow we meet, isn’t Oliver but is Yao Fei. When we first met Tommy Merlyn, we were led to believe that he becomes the Dark Archer of the comic books, but turns out it’s his father, Malcolm. So similar to those, this is just the beginning of the Black Canary storyline. Partway through, we got treated to a special appearance by John Barrowman, who joined the cast for the rest of the panel. All in all, some great insight into next season and what we can look forward to.

Arrow panel L-R: EP Marc Guggenheim, EP Andrew Kreisberg, Colton Haynes, Katie Cassidy, Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, David Ramsey, EP Greg Berlanti

Arrow panel
L-R: EP Marc Guggenheim, EP Andrew Kreisberg, Colton Haynes, Katie Cassidy, Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, David Ramsey, EP Greg Berlanti

When Should TV Shows End?: Thoughts of a Concerned TV Fan

When to end TV shows – it’s a topic that gets brought up quite a fair bit. Some shows get cancelled rather prematurely or without notice. Other shows go on for what seems like a REALLY long time.

Last week, when it was announced that NBC’s The Office will be ending after its upcoming 9th season, the topic got brought up again. The Office, while quite successful in the beginning began to falter somewhere between seasons 5+6, and then season 8 was just not there. It led many to question why the show hadn’t just ended when Steve Carrell’s Michael Scott left at the end of season 7. Heck, when Carrell announced he was going to be leaving, people were already saying they should end it and wondered if the show could even survive such a big cast departure. So all of it got me thinking (as tends to happens): what other shows on the air right now need an end date? What shows are shockingly still on the air?

[Warning: Spoilers may be ahead if you haven’t caught up on the most recent seasons.]

Don’t get me wrong, I love HIMYM. I’m still a huge fan of the show, even if season 7 was a little iffy for me. But if there ever was a show that needed an end date (like Lost when it was on the air), it’d be HIMYM. Yeah, yeah, it’s about the journey, not the destination – but the journey is going into its 8th season, with no real indication as to when we’re actually meeting said ‘mother’. We’ve gotten breadcrumbs along the way: the yellow umbrella, Rachel Bilson as the mother’s former roommate Cindy, Barney & Robin’s wedding. It’s great and all but I think we can all agree that all people involved in the show need a precise end date to work towards.

It could be a side effect of me growing up or just the fact that I watch too much television, but the teen drama could use an end date. I’ve watched PLL from the beginning and saw it as a guilty pleasure. However, somewhere in the midst of watching this 3rd season, I found myself incredibly bored watching this teen mystery unfold. For some reason, their season splits have made it seem as though the show has been on way longer than it has and one would think that after the reveal that Mona was ‘A’ (or technically, part of an ‘A’ Team) at the end of season 2, things would really kick into gear. Unfortunately, most of season 3 thus far just seems like it was a rehash or like they were cycling around the same prospects of season 1 before revealing that Toby was another member of the ‘A’ team during the summer finale.

I recently caught up on season 6, and at the end of it, all I kept on thinking was: “It seriously took them 6 seasons to get to this point of someone else finding out about what Dexter does?!” I suppose if you put it in perspective, it is the equivalent of 3 seasons on a broadcast network show, which isn’t THAT bad. But 6 seasons with their own story arc and going into season 7 with Deb knowing the big secret, you really can’t help but go “IT TOOK THEM THIS LONG?!” To be fair though, the show was announced late last year to be renewed through an eighth season, and they later announced that season 8 will be the last. So we know the end game is near (sort of).

Grey’s Anatomy. 90210. NCIS. CSI. Two and a Half Men.

To be honest, I’ve never watched an episode of NCIS and I was never really fond of ‘Men’ so I can’t diss them too much. But seriously, how long have these shows been on the air?! I know, I know…ratings are apparently everything to the studio networks. Though at some point, shouldn’t someone just stand up and say “Ya know, we’ve had a good run. Let’s end the show before we run out of stories to tell, go downhill and start becoming a joke” (or something like that).

I love my fair share of reality shows, but even I have to admit that having 2 editions of some shows in one season is starting to take its toll. The Amazing Race. Survivor. Dancing With The Stars. Heck, I’m even so inclined to already include The Voice in here. After watching these shows for SO many years and SO many seasons, I honestly don’t know how the producers of the shows can try to keep it fresh. Obviously I still watch the shows, but I’ve found myself sort of indifferent to what happens, like it’s not as exciting as it used to be. Part of it has to do with casting and who they get to compete, though sometimes you don’t know what kind of “reality personality” you’re gonna get until you start filming. They probably would never do this, but the networks should begin to consider maybe only doing one cycle a season. This is where The Voice comes in and of course, did the opposite and is now airing 2 cycles a season. Just a bad idea…

My general thought is that once a show gets past season 5, talks should be going as to how much longer the show should really be on the air. Yeah, everyone always says on-the-record,  “We’ll keep going as long as the fans and the networks wants us to. We have so many more stories to tell” Let’s be real though, the networks have a bigger say than the fans, and if a show is still bringing in the ratings (and subsequent ad dollars), they’re going to keep the show going until who knows when. Think about it, 5 seasons of a show isn’t bad at all, and do they REALLY have more GOOD stories to tell after that point? Questions to ponder about.

So thoughts on what shows should be given an end date? Which shows are inexplicably still on the air after what seems like forever?

TV Hiatuses: Long Break or Many?

Hiatuses aren’t exactly a new concept in TV land. We notice them all the time: summer time for the major networks, after November and February sweeps. As a TV fan, it’s hard NOT to notice when your favourite shows are off the air for any period of time. Sometimes it can get downright infuriating, especially when shows give you a major cliffhanger that is supposed to tide you over until it comes back (I’m looking at you, Nikita!) With a lot of shows in the past few weeks, they’ve been on repeats (coming back next week) or they’ve actually been airing new episodes and will be on repeats soon. All this really got me thinking about the whole idea about hiatuses, or breaks (because hiatus just sounds like such a long period of time, which sometimes it really is): Is it better to have many breaks within a season (typically September to May) or have one extended break?

There are pros and cons to both. Watching the main networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW), viewers have come accustomed to seeing a TV show’s season play out within the time frame of September to May. A typical TV season is 22 episodes, which is spread out over 9 months/36 weeks. Sure, it’s nice to be able to watch your favourite shows for 9 months but there’s a lot of breaks in between, varying from 1 week to 2 (sometimes even 3) months. Sometimes the breaks make sense, like after a Sweeps month, or if there’s some sort of event that essentially causes the show to be pre-empted. But actually, some of the most irritating breaks are when we get one episode after a break, and then the show goes on a break again (HIMYM, Big Bang Theory, I love you but please stop doing this). For one thing, it makes following when a new episode airs quite difficult, and it’s just annoying. If you’re gonna air new episodes, at least do so for a month before you decide to take 2-3 weeks off. Although in fairness, I know I’m blaming the shows when really it’s the network scheduling that sucks.

On the other hand, some of the networks choose to hold a show until mid-season (roughly January) and air all episodes straight through to May (a choice ABC made, I believe a few times for Lost). Let’s not also forget the shows on cable networks (HBO, Showtime, USA, etc.) which tend to have shorter seasons, in comparison to the majors (we’re looking at maybe 10-12 episodes a season). Obviously the good thing is that we get new episodes every week (barring any holidays or special events that might get in the way) for however many episodes there are in the season. But the obvious setback is that we’d then have to wait anywhere between 3-9 months before the next season. I mean, I look at a show like Covert Affairs, which premiered last summer on the USA network. I followed it online of course, because there was no channel in Canada airing it at the time. Jump to beginning of this year and Showcase finally started airing the show, and my brother gets all excited about a new episode, while I burst his bubble saying I’ve already watched and am waiting for the new season to start (you know, once they actually start shooting , which I believe was this week back in Toronto!) [Holy run on sentence lol]

Anyways, the point of the matter is, breaks suck. Shows and networks can never win in pleasing fans with this matter. We can get one show spread out over 9 months, or we get another show every week for 3 months. Actually, come to think of it, it’s kind of nice to have the major networks with their typical season and cable network with their atypical season, airing pretty much whenever they want to. I mean let’s be real, summer sucks for the broadcast networks (except for So You Think You Can Dance and Hell’s Kitchen, of course!) So it’s nice to have something to watch (albeit online for me because I live in Canada) over the summer months.

Now I’m pretty sure I lost my point of what I was trying to say. Let’s leave at this: March has been pretty dismal with all these reruns, which is forcing me to watch Idol, and I’m trying not to care about it this season (I’m failing miserably with that last part). I just want all my shows back on the air.

Comedy Season Finales

Another season has come to pass and considering I kind of forgot to blog about the season finales of Community and The Office this past Thursday, I figured I’d combine my thoughts on the season finales of my 4 favourite sitcoms of the moment into one post.

COMMUNITY: The show had a bit of a rough start in their freshman season, with episodes that were really funny followed by episodes that were not-so funny. But as it went along, it really hit its stride, which brings us to the finale. The big thing going on in the episode was that Greendale was having its “prom” or “Trannie Dance” (LOL). Britta and Professor Slater were both vying for Jeff’s affections, and both ended up professing their love for him. Jeff couldn’t choose and then we were all caught off guard when he and Annie kissed. Sure, they had already kissed early on in the season, but we sorta thought that relationship prospect was shot down because well, Annie’s supposed to only be 19 and Jeff is…well… Jeff. Anyways, along with the romantic entanglements was Troy and Abed’s usual bromantic antics. Troy was upset at Abed for not asking him to move in together next year, but Abed’s reasoning is that too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Troy had to learn that the hard way after getting a stomach ache from consuming a huge cookie. I look forward to how the writers continue next season.

THE OFFICE: This season of The Office has been a little iffy for me. Sure, we had some great episodes (Jim and Pam’s wedding + the birth of their baby, come to mind immediately), but the show’s been better in past seasons. This particular episode, entitled “The Whistleblower” dealt with information being released that the Sabre printers were causing fires. Everyone immediately pointed fingers at Andy, which makes sense considering he was the one who discovered it in the first place. Turns out Darryl, Pam, and Kelly all had something to do with the news leaking. The episode was going great until it slightly diverged to focusing on Michael and Jo. Michael ended up being the one to let the public know of what the company was planning to do with the exploding printers, and Jo told Michael that she’d try to work on getting Holly back to Scranton.

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: I loved the notion that Ted made in saying that their entire gang had come a long way from who they were 5 years ago. It’s certainly true, not just of the characters but of the show as well. With last night’s season finale, the show continued on its characters’ quest to find their dopplegangers. Marshall and Lily decided a couple episodes back that they would leave it up to the universe to tell them when it was time to have a baby, and when they found Barney’s doppleganger (the last one needed), that would be the universe’s sign. Right at the beginning of the episode, we see what we believe is Barney’s doppleganger, but it was actually Barney in disguise trying to pick up girls (what else is new? lol). The other big storyline of the episode was Robin being offered a lead anchor job in Chicago, and while her relationship with Don had been going great, she was once again forced to make a decision between love or career. Robin initially chose her career but then ultimately decided to choose love. Unfortunately, after she turned down the job, the offer was given to Don and he took it. One of the things I love about HIMYM is that beyond it being really funny, it also has a lot of heart. And though it is taking a really long time to find out who the mother is, the journey makes it entirely worth it.

THE BIG BANG THEORY: What’s funny about this episode is the idea that Raj and Howard were setting up Sheldon on a dating site, which promised that it can find a perfect match for anyone. Much to their surprise, the website did as it promised and seriously found a female Sheldon for Sheldon. Much to our disappointment as viewers, the exchange between Sheldon and his “perfect match” Amy Farrah Fowler (played by Blossom, Mayim Bialik) was at the very end of the episode and left things sort of hanging. Elsewhere in the episode, Penny was on a date with some new guy and later came back drunk, blaming Leonard for ruining her capacity to tolerate idiots, and then she pulled Leonard into his bedroom to have sex, only to wake up the next morning and realize that it was a drunken mistake. Season 3 has been fantastic, to say the least, for the Big Bang gang. My hope for them is that they continue this awesomeness next season, and hopefully get some Emmy love because the show most definitely deserves it.

Random TV Watching Thoughts #5

So much good (and bad) stuff on tv this week so its good to end the week with a random recap post…

  • CHUCK: This week’s episode, Chuck vs. the Beard, was definitely a game-changer. Now Morgan also knows (that is, along with Captain Awesome) that Chuck is a spy. Josh Schwartz and co. have done a great job this season keeping the essence of Chuck (meaning the nerdiness of the show) firmly in balance with this new reality of Chuck fully being a spy. And I absolutely loved Morgan’s reaction to finding out that Chuck’s a spy: “My best friend a spy?…This is the best news ever!”
  • HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Jennifer Lopez guest starred in the episode as the author of a “He’s Just Not That Into You” type book. She was funny I guess. But the best part was Marshall’s “bang, bang, bangity bang, bang, bang, bang, bangity bang…”
  • THE BIG BANG THEORY: One of the best episodes EVER! They one-upped their geekiness from last week (comic books + Stan Lee = pure geekiness) with an episode revolving around the guys fighting for possession of a Lord of the Rings ring. It’s nice to have an episode where all the characters are equally involved in the story, as opposed to having it be Sheldon-centric most of the time.
  • GOSSIP GIRL/90210/MELROSE PLACE: All three shows were back after quite a lengthy hiatus (about 3 months). Nice to see them back because it means I have something else to watch Tuesday nights (re: 90210 & MP). I don’t know but Gossip Girl and 90210 didn’t really do much for me. Well, neither did Melrose really, but at least with Melrose we finally got to see Auggie & Violet (Colin Egglesfield & Ashlee Simpson’s characters) leave. And David’s storyline for the episode was soooo predictable. Right after Lauren said (paraphrasing), “Just let it go, please” at the hospital, you just knew he was gonna go straight to her phone and find out who the guy who drugged her was.
  • MODERN FAMILY: Before this week’s episode, there was a promo that aired during the Oscars and it was just HILARIOUS. The gist of the promo is that they’re playing charades and naturally, Cam & Mitchell are awesome at it. This week’s episode was just a continuation of the show getting consistently funnier. I just love this show. If you haven’t watched it yet, you are missing out.
  • THE OFFICE: One word – Megadesk. While Jim and Pam were on leave, Dwight reorganized all 3 desks to make a command station – surveillance, gaming, business. At the end of the episode, Jim (in classic prank/retribution mode) converted the desks into Quad-desk, where 2 desks served as a base for the third one on top and between the 3 is a small mini desk. Also great, Andy’s shout-out to HIMYM!
  • COMMUNITY: Another show which references a current show that I also love. Jeff (Joel McHale’s character): “We always watched shows that she wanted to watch! I hate Glee! I hate it! I don’t understand the appeal at all!” I love Glee, but the line was just too funny. Also hilarious? Senor Chang has a brother who’s a rabbi!
  • SURVIVOR: This season is so great…but also so frustrating. We have the supposedly best players ever, but a lot of them are being idiots! The Heroes, for one, need to get their act together and learn how to beat Boston Rob at puzzles, because clearly, the Villains keep winning due to Rob’s awesome skills in figuring out puzzles. The Heroes are just making it really hard to root for them. Voting out Tom instead of James, who is INJURED?! J.T. this season is seriously making me re-consider his game in Tocantins. I mean sure we saw J.T. in the forefront that season, but was Stephen maybe the one who was the true strategist? Is this how he would have played had Stephen not been there? Oy vey. Oh, and Russell found the hidden immunity idol. Somehow, this time doesn’t feel as good as when he found it the other times last season – maybe ’cause last season he found them without clues (that’s still impressive). Another thought…Courtney is utterly useless. She’s sat out like half of all the challenges so far. She’s just lucky that the Villains keep winning.
  • AMERICAN IDOL: Idol is lucky that I have nothing else to watch from 8-10 on Tuesdays (I don’t have CW, so I watch 90210/MP online later on that night) or else I would be pretty damn close to not watching it. This season is soooo…lackluster?  That’s not even the right word. Last season as it was, would have been pretty sucky had it not been for Kris Allen, Adam Lambert & Allison Iraheta (also to a lesser extent Matt Giraud – I still love his version of Part Time Lover). But this season has been ridiculous in a bad way. Why is Katelyn Epperly and Lilly Scott gone, when Paige Miles and Katie Stevens have done nothing special? Why is Tim Urban, the guy who has ruined Apologize/Come On Get Higher/Hallelujah, still here? I’m only still watching because of Crystal Bowersox & Siobhan Magnus, and to a lesser extent Andrew Garcia, Didi Benami, Lee Dewyze, Big Mike. Those are my top 6; if any of them get the boot early, this season will be an even bigger travesty than it already is. [I am so ready for the summer when all this is over and I can get back to my regular SYTYCD in its rightful summer place]. Final note: after 3 weeks of performances, can we add to the list of “songs that should never be sung again on Idol unless by the original artist,” anything by Kelly Clarkson or James Morrison.
  • FRINGE: So it’s not on again until April 1st, but it got picked up last weekend for a third season. BEST. TV. NEWS. EVER! Now, if we could do something about the show’s timeslot for next season…

That’s all for this week. Next week, most of the CBS shows are either in re-runs or not airing at all due to March Madness. FlashForward will be back on Thursday. On Greek, we meet Cappie’s parents! (I feel like this part should have prefaced with Jeff Probst or Phil Keoghan saying, “Next time on…” ahaha)


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Monitoring Climate Change

(Photo: Getty Images)(Photo: Getty Images)The Arctic region is currently facing rapid environmental and social transformations due to climate change. However, cultural, political and economic ramifications can be also observed.

According to the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, in the past four years air temperatures in the Arctic have increased, level of the Arctic sea ice declined significantly, permafrost extent has been rapidly thawing and the surface waters in the Arctic Ocean have became warmer.

The international trend is nowadays to move away from trying to decipher causes of climate change, but rather to move towards development of not only solution strategies, but also monitoring and adaptation systems.

Current monitoring systems for climate change include interdisciplinary approach, recognizing Arctic states and local communities' policies on sustainable natural resources management.

Source: Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP)

International Polar Year The Northern Forum University of the Arctic Arctic Council International Arctic Science Comittee Norden Arctic Portal

Arctic Portal - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - designed by Teikn Design


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Playa Potrero

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Hotel Sugar Beach

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  • Location: Playa Azucar
  • Address 1: 2km North of Potrero
  • Address 2: Guancaste Costa Rica
  • Phone: 2654-4242

The Hotel Sugar Beach is a small boutique hotel with guest suites and beach houses nestled across a 24-acre beachfront property.  With 28 comfortable guest rooms and two beach houses, they can accommodate up to 80 guests, ensuring privacy, intimacy and personalized service.

All of the guest rooms/suites have been designed with comfort in mind, located just steps from the Pacific Ocean and the warm sands of Playa Pan de Azúcar (Sugar Beach).  Some suites, including the beach houses, are set directly on the waterfront with spectacular western ocean views – perfectly poised to take in the searing colors of the setting sun.  Listen to the sounds of the howler monkeys and tropical birds from your patio, as the warm salt air wafts around you.

PHONE: +(506) 2654-4242
E-MAIL: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Webinars for the week of 8/14: R for the Masses and Using Power BI to Build Financial Dashboards

After a two week break, the Power BI webinars are back and with two of the most requested topics: R and Financial Dashboards.  The details about the sessions:

Using Power BI to build Financial Dashboards by Avi Singh

If you work in Finance or with Financial data, it is likely that you have a love-hate relationship with Excel. The good news is, while you were not looking, Excel has been transformed. The modern Excel, teamed up with Power BI helps you quickly go from data to insights.

This means that financial analysts, rather than wrestling with data and queries, could instead, focus on serving their customer – the business – by providing smart analysis, insights and financial guidance.

In this webinar, we will cover a real case study for a Finance team and show you how you can leverage Excel and Power BI to combine multiple data sources with easy refresh, establish a single source of truth, analyze your data easily, and more!

August 16, 2016 at 10 a.m. PT
Register now!

About Avi Singh

Avi Singh is a Power BI trainer and consultant based out of Seattle. He is a Microsoft MVP, co-author of the top-selling book "Power Pivot and Power BI: An Excel User's Guide" and a regular speaker at conferences and user events.

Avi has personally experienced the transformation and empowerment that Power BI can bring, going from an Excel user to building large-scale Power BI solutions. His mission now is to share his knowledge about Power BI.

You can follow him on his blog at or video blog at

R for the masses with Power BI by Sharon Laivand

If you missed it, a new set of rich R visuals have been fully integrated into Power BI service reports, and can be filtered, cross filtered, and pinned to dashboards. In this webinar, Microsoft Senior Program Manager Sharon Laivand will show how the new R visuals can be viewed by Power BI users without users having to be aware of this underlying technology. Learn how to take advantage of R's thousands of ready-to-use packages, the& R language's extensibility, and its endless complementary capabilities for analyzing and visualizing data.

August 18, 2016 at 10 a.m. PT
Register now!

About Sharon Laivand

Before joining the Power BI Team, Sharon was a senior product manager in the AD Identity & Access Management (IAM) product group defining the next generation of Microsoft’s IAM solutions. Sharon has over 20 years of experience in the software security domain and the experience of defining a few MS products in this space, such as the authentication flows in Windows Server 2012 R2 – Web Application Proxy Role.  Sharon now specializes in making R easier to use and integrating it into the Power BI suite of Products.


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The Power BI Sales Management solution template for Salesforce now supports Azure Data Factory!

Data Factory is a cloud-based data integration service that orchestrates and automates the movement and transformation of data from cloud and on-premise sources. In this case, we’ve configured Data Factory to pull data from Salesforce and populate Azure SQL DB to source a collection of Power BI reports. You can learn more and even install it on our website.

Data factory has a number of benefits. It’s fast, robust, inexpensive and, like all solution templates, you can customize and extend it yourself.

First things though – since we first published the sales management solution template on Salesforce, several months ago, we’ve changed the Power BI reports to take advantage of some newer Power BI features that came out since they were first published. They’ve got very polished look and feel (I’ve heard some say the most compelling reports they’ve ever seen) and navigating your data is easier than ever.

Data Factory moves data quickly. Depending on the size of your data, you can get a working sales management solution in a few minutes to (for larger implementations) a few hours. If you’re a Power BI partner, there is no better or faster way to show your customers how they can use Power BI on Salesforce. If you’re a customer, there is no easier way to get a scalable and robust end-to-end solution on Salesforce.

And the solution template with Data Factory moves data efficiently. The initial load is a full load of accounts, leads, and opportunities. All subsequent loads are incremental – only updating the destination Azure DB with new records, changed records and removing deleted records.

When first installed, the solution template is “aware” of your customizations and brings your custom fields. These aren’t on the initial reports but it’s a simple matter to extend the initial set of reports. If you make changes later and create other custom fields, our documentation shows how to accommodate this as well.

Data factory is a very cost effective solution – costing depends on the size of your data but you’ll likely find that it’s the price of a couple cups of coffee per month.

We recently published a blog post on how to embed Power BI reports in Salesforce itself. So now you can embed super compelling reports in Salesforce that provide the analytics and visualizations that Power BI is famous for.

The solution template team is super proud of this new capability and we hope the Salesforce customers among you will try it out. And we’re happy to help if you need it or hear about your success if you don’t. You can always contact us at


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Jarmany Ltd - European Retail Presence

Jarmany’s solution provides the ability explore Prime Retail zones across Europe whilst mapping your store locations against competitors to ensure your store presence is in the optimal location.

Contact opnemen met partner Video bekijken

Local Optimisation

One of the greatest challenges in the retail environment is ensuring your store location is in the optimum position. The risks of getting such a decision wrong can have far reaching consequences and cause damage to the brand that you have worked so hard to create.

Power BI has the ability to bring your data to life to find the answers to the questions that you are looking for. Jarmany are experts in implementing Power BI solutions creating the management reports, containing the key insights you need, to answer specific business questions and sell in internally. The result? Better, more informed decisions made faster.

The Solution -

Utilising the mapping capabilities within Power BI we have mapped out the prime retail zones across Europe. Selecting a country and a city allows you to quickly zoom in to find the prime retail zone in that location which enables you to focus your next property search to ensure that you are in the hub of retail activity. Our solution enables you to make quick decisions as to where you need to be whilst understanding as to how your current property portfolio compares to the prime zones.

Our solution also offers a quick view as to your competitor’s location to enable you to view whether they are moving into new territories.

All of the above and more is delivered in a rich, clear visual format transforming complex and hard to interpret data sets into actionable insights available to across a number of platforms.

Our ethos is one of close partnership with our clients. We like to add value at every stage to help them understand what data and information their organisation needs and how they can make sure it drives change. We spend time understanding your needs, strategy and goals and ensure that the Power BI solution helps you work towards achieving this.

Wilt u een Power BI-partner worden?

Gecertificeerde partners vormen een belangrijk onderdeel van het team. Vind nieuwe zakelijke mogelijkheden, leg contacten en deel het talent en de ervaring van uw bedrijf met Power BI-gebruikers van over de hele wereld.

Lees waarom een partner worden voor u van belang is


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White Gold: The government of the Republic of Uzbekistan has a different view of the necessity of growing cotton in a parched land—along with the amount of water (and pesticides) needed for its cultivation—compared to the teenagers that are forced to harvest cotton to graduate, or the teachers and doctors that are forced to harvest cotton to avoid losing their jobs.

Aral Sea1140by960

Once the 4th largest fresh water lake in the world, the Aral Sea has shrunk to a shadow of its former self, sections of which have become a desert. This is partly because water that naturally flows into the Aral Sea has been diverted for decades to grow cotton in an already parched land.

Aral Sea in 1990, 2000 and 2010.

Dramatic satellite images show how much the Aral Sea has changed in just 20 years.

water      •       home


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Dissertation/Thesis Abstract

#TrendingFeminism: The Impact of Digital Feminist Activism
by Clark, Cassie, M.A., The George Washington University, 2015, 98; 1589542
Abstract (Summary)

As the use of online platforms such as social networking sites, also known as social media, and blogs grew in popularity, feminists began to embrace digital media as a significant space for activism. Digital feminist activism is a new iteration of feminist activism, offering new tools and tactics for feminists to utilize to spread awareness, disseminate information, and mobilize constituents. In this paper I examine the intent, usefulness, and potential impact of digital feminist activism in the United States by analyzing key examples of social movements conducted via digital media. These analyses not only provide useful examples of a variety of digital feminist efforts, they also highlight strengths and weaknesses in each campaign with the aim of improving the impact of future digital feminist campaigns. In addition, I illuminate the interplay between digital feminist efforts and offline organizing in order to illustrate alternative ways in which digital feminism may or may not have lasting impact. With this research, I aim to uncover possibilities for future digital feminist activism to promote effective social change.

Indexing (document details)
Advisor: Ramlow, Todd
School: The George Washington University
Department: Women's Studies
School Location: United States -- District of Columbia
Source: MAI 54/05M(E), Masters Abstracts International
Subjects: Womens studies, Web Studies
Keywords: Digital activism, Digital media, Feminism, Feminist activism, Hashtag, Social media
Publication Number: 1589542
ISBN: 9781321772548
Copyright © 2018 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy


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When you visit the capital of the Czech Republic you should taste food which is served in one of the most Luxury restaurant in Prague . There are plenty of them so why not invite great Czech restaurant in Prague– Platina Restaurant and Garden?

Its attractive location and surroundings

This place belongs to the most convenient located restaurants in Prague and can be found near Betlémská kaple (where Jan Hus used to proclaim his thesis) or Laterna Magica where you can enjoy yourself visiting one of a great performances, or the National Theatre which stands for a heart of Czech nationalisms and revival of the Czech nation in the 19th century. The living history talks its stories when you calm down and listen to it.

The magical atmosphere of Czech Restaurant in Prague Platina

There are much more interesting sights and many places of interest which makes the atmosphere of this Luxury restaurant in Prague even more appealing. The historical places and monuments contribute to the spell of this part of Prague and its restaurants.

Have a nice time relaxing in a luxury restaurant

When you wandered a long time through the spectacular places and historical sights a luxury Czech restaurant in Prague comes in handy. It is an island of peace and quiet inside a busy city. For this reason you can enjoy a calm atmosphere and comfortable equipment together with the delicious food and friendly staff. However, there are much more that only these attractive ingredients. There is also a garden that lures you to a daydreaming and thinking about the atmosphere of the ancient times. So try visiting this luxury restaurant in Prague and you will have another memorable experience from your visit of the capital of the Czech Republic.


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Category Archives: Election

Election Frenzy is Out of Control

Our destiny as a nation lies not in the hands of any political candidate or party but in the hands of the CHURCH!

America is currently caught up in an unprecedented frenzy of political madness! The leading candidates from both parties seem more like characters from a sleazy movie rather than leaders who possess character, integrity and the ability to lead a nation founded upon Judeo-Christian principles.

 But then, it can be argued that we are no longer a nation “under God” or governed by His principles. Our courts, public schools, universities and even churches have turned from belief and adherence to the Scriptures and have embraced the popular culture and political correctness which espouses individual freedom with no absolutes. Continue reading


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are peptides legal in Australia, are peptides illegal in Australia? This is a good question and one of great importance. The simple answer to this is yes, but firstly I will explain in clear detail. Australian’s can legally purchase peptides but this is subject to each potential customer completing a personal medical questionnaire. The objective for this is that the peptide clinic can gain satisfactory information on the medical history of their new client. If the company is then satisfied that the health of the client is good enough to take peptides, they will be offered a prescription.
Our customers are forever our highest need. We enthusiastically guarantee to make the greater part of your encounters with our banded together peptide organization is an ensured achievement. By doing this, we realize that we likewise increment our capability of procuring your trust and setting up a long standing and commonly advantageous relationship. We trust that you will allow us to give you the quality items that you require!
Before you take the plunge to buy either peptides or SARMs, why not educate yourself by gaining a background knowledge of what they are and what they actually do? There is no shortage of information about this however, we find that the easier the explanation, the better. Read about the ins and outs of SARMs on the Legion Athletics website, and for a good knowledge of peptides, the premium crossfit supplements.
We organise and run biennial international scientific conferences, satellites and support local state meetings. Our meetings are designed to be in the fashion of the relaxed Gordon conference – with about 200 delegates and with a friendly and a highly participatory atmosphere. We also have a strong commitment to our early career researchers and students.
As a professional bodybuilder in the bodybuilding community, I can tell you that nearly every bodybuilder I know buys peptides from Peptide Clinics. The reason why is because they are the most trusted company around. They’ve been around the longest and they always require all their buyers to fill out a health form and get doctor evaluated before receiving their order. That just shows that they are one of the few companies doing it right, in the legitimate way. I’m no doctor, but I know for sure that the peptides I buy from Peptide Clinics site are really pure. They don’t put rubbish or nothing in their supplements. I always feel safe and comfortable buying my supplies from them and they always work as I want them to, so no complaints in that department either. The only complaint some people may have is over the prices, but you do get what you pay for. Really!
When it is about your health, no chances should be taken. You need to ensure that you take every step after careful consideration. You need to ensure that no detail has escaped your attention. In this era of online shopping, people prefer to shop online since it offers convenience and although purchasing stuff online is convenient and enables you to save quite a bit of your time, it is quite risky as well. The thing about internet shopping is that you need to be completely sure that the place from where you are making your purchase is one that can be relied on and when it is medications that you intend to buy, caution becomes all the more necessary.
Looking for best quality Australian peptides online? Peptides Direct is a reputable supplier of superior quality peptides prescribed by a professional anti-ageing doctor. Our peptide products are compounded at our pharmacies located in Australia before they are cold packed and shipped directly to you. We deliver to all regional areas. Peptides offer an effective solutions to a number of health, fitness and anti-ageing goals. They are suitable for men as well as women who are looking to gain muscle mass, strengthen bones, lose fat tissue and improve immune systems. Have any questions? We have a customer support team waiting to answer your call.
We supply Australian-made peptides manufactured by licensed compounding facility. Only the highest quality assurance and quality control measures are adhered to in these state of the art facilities to ensure precision, purity, accuracy and sterility. Each and every batch is thoroughly tested and is accompanied by a certificate of analysis available upon request.
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Skip nav

Sign Industries, a leading UK sign making manufacturer has chosen to use the SEO consultant services of Absolute Internet Marketing, a UK search engine marketing specialist.

Sign Industries’ background and core business to date has been producing signs in many different shapes and forms for companies throughout the UK and overseas. In addition, Sign Industries is a premier sign making manufacturer and supplier to the UK sign trade.

Sign Industries consumer offering has been relatively small focusing primarily on designing and crafting memorial plaques. However, given their wealth of experience and expertise Sign Industries has decided to grow their business further. After completing some research Sign Industries soon identified a gap in the market...

Read full release


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Nintendo Labo Vehicle Kit Review (TSA)

TSA writes: “You’d think that there were only so many times in a human lifetime that you could marvel at Nintendo’s ingenuity, and yet here we are in 2018 and they’ve made cardboard kit crafting an indelibly believable part of the current gaming landscape. While the original Labo Variety Pack was a great proof of concept and the Robot Kit impressed with its singular vision, the Labo Vehicle Kit finally brings cardboard crafting and gaming together in a way that completely works.”


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Technology: Past, present, future

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Kyle Shook

on 27 October 2014

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Transcript of Technology: Past, present, future

A History of Inventions
Technology Today
Write it Out: What's a current technology that you could not live without? Why?
Where do we go?
Final Thoughts
What will the future look like? Has technology ultimately improved or doomed humanity? Why or why not?

Homework posted to blog.

Duty Hours: Monday, 11:30-13:00
Friday, 12:00-13:00
CN: 306A
Technology: Past, present, future
"Necessity is the Mother of Invention."

Turn and Talk. Discuss with a neighbor what you think this quotation means. What might cause people to invent things?
Task: Work in groups of 4 to 5
You will be given 3 minutes per era to discuss and design a "house" for the year you are given. Think about how people in this time would do things like: wash their clothes, cook their food, call their neighbors, entertain themselves, share ideas.

Year One: 1770
Year Two: 1910
Year Three: 2014
Group Chat:
What invention do you think has had the greatest impact on society?
Make a prediction:
What inventions do you think will be most remembered from this time period?
Full transcript


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Tag Archives: Jared Bauer

YouTube Spotlight: Star Wars and the Catholic Church

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

The other day, I stumbled across this video from the folks at Wisecrack, a channel that examines pop culture through a philosophical lens. It makes the extravagant, though not altogether inappropriate comparison between the Star Wars fandom and social systems facing a legitimation crisis. Case in point, fans rebelling against the direction Disney is taking the Star Wars franchise.

The most concrete comparison the video uses is to the legitimation crisis faced by the Catholic Church in the 1500s. The invention of the printing press allowed the masses to get their hands on more hard copies of the Bible, and thus develop their own interpretations of the text. At first, it’s an easy comparison to scoff at. But the video does a pretty convincing sell job. And the points it makes have stuck with me. So clearly it did something right.

Check it out for yourself, and may the Force be with you!

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter, or email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com.


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Breaking Today: Two Key Players Injured in Practice

Photo Credit: Pats Pulpit

Breaking news today out of Foxborough reports that special teams ace Matthew Slater and wide receiver Chris Hogan were injured in practice.

Slater according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “Walked to (the) medical tent looking stiff. Bill Belichick. came to tent. Slater now out of practice.”

The one to be more concerned about is Hogan’s injury to his knee in practice which is always a very difficult injury for a football player to receive.

Matt Stone.jpg
Photo Credit: Matt Stone

Reiss wrote. “Injury situation to monitor: WR Chris Hogan. Walked off slowly was getting knee looked at by athletic trainer. Now sitting out practice.

Players leaving the practice field can either mean a devastating injury or just precautionary.  Patriots fans will hope for the latter.

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Roger Bisby: Cooking Up a Storm with Elfin Kitchens

Roger Bisby: Cooking Up a Storm with Elfin Kitchens

Roger Bisby fits an all-in-one kitchen that can definitely stand the heat.

My sometime assistant, Duncan, had never seen an Elfin kitchen before, or at least he doesn’t remember having seen one. He may well have come across one when he was a student because they are very popular in student accommodation – but his student days are one big blur.

I told him we were going to fit one in the attic conversion we had been working on and his immediate reactions was “why not buy a base unit, a fridge, a hob, a microwave, a sink and a bit of worktop and make one up?”

At this point I have to say he was an art student, not an economics student. I invited him to price the job up with his components and he got busy on his phone.

Not only did his parts come within £150.00 of the Elfin price but everything he chose was the cheapest tat.

Now I may not know much but I know that kitchens and bathrooms in rented accommodation have to be built like battle ships.

Nobody is going to look after them and the fact that you can replace every single steel component in an Elfin kitchen means you can bring it back to pristine condition in no time with nothing more than a screwdriver. The stainless steel tops are also a very heavy gauge.

Duncan, in his enthusiasm to save me a few quid was also forgetting to factor in the labour. By the time we have monkeyed around building our little kitchen the day would have gone.

We would also have spent half a day shopping. So I won the argument and by the time he had seen the quality and we had fitted it he was a convert to the Elfin approach.

I have fitted a number of Elfins over the years and, as far as I know, those units are still in service. One of my customers had one for the Granny flat and when the granny no longer needed it (RIP) it was a very simple matter to remove it and put it on ebay.

Unlike chipboard units and worktops, Elfins tend to hold their price. The unit I fitted in the flat was a 1500. In my opinion this was a little too large for the room but the choice wasn’t mine.

I also added a length of stainless steel worktop from Elfin, which simply bolts on the side. You can buy wall units as well but the sloping ceiling made that impossible.

The unit arrived on a pallet and in an easier location we might have carried it in with no need to dismantle it but the fact that we had to negotiate some kites and winders up to the attic meant we had to unscrew the fridge. Even with that little extra the job still only took a couple of hours to complete.

If the stark white is a little too utilitarian for your customer you can chose from a range of tasteful colours and I dare say you could run the doors down to your local car spray shop and have any colour you care to choose if you got bored with it.

For more information on Elfin Kitchens click here.

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+2 votes
Post and review answers and feedback to answers in the comments section of this post.
asked in Product Improvement by (560 points)
edited by | 159 views

3 Answers

+1 vote

I’d start by defining “improve.” Any of the following could be viewed as improvements:
– More profitable
– Higher customer satisfaction
– More active users

Let’s assume that “improve means” higher customer satisfaction. How will we measure customer satisfaction before and after? Customer satisfaction can be evaluated using:
– NPS score
– Stickiness (DAU/MAU)

So we’ve defined what metric we want to improve and how we will measure our success before and after. Now let’s break down the types of users on Twitter by their current engagement levels:
– Power Users – active (meaning they tweet or interact with likes or replies) more than once per day
– Tier 2 Users – active once per week
– Tier 3 Users – active once per month
– Tier 4 Users – active once per year

Let’s focus on Tiers 3-4, as they have the most opportunity to interact more with the platform. Why do they not use Twitter more often? It could be because:
1) They do not find value in the content
2) They do not choose to interact out of privacy concerns
3) They have difficulty using the app

Since we don’t have the benefit of user interviews with this exercise, let’s assume that the biggest problem is #1: They do not find value in the content on Twitter. So how can we improve the content?
A couple of ideas:
1) Make it more personalized. Improve the “Recommended Follow” engine by showing some of their most favorited or retweeted content. Make these recommendations more prevalent than the existing function today.
2) Add “Twitter Recommended” profiles of users that consistently create content that applies to a broad swath of users. Similar to Linkedin Recommends, or “Staff Favorites” at a record or bookstore

Now, which of these ideas do you implement? I’d evaluate based on three criteria: 1) the implementation time, 2) the projected revenue impact, 3) enterprise value. In this case, #1 has an easier implementation since it is enhancing an existing feature, and the revenue and enterprise impacts are the same across both proposals.

So let’s implement idea #1. Test it with a pilot segment of users and engage those users with on-site feedback and interviews to refine and improve. Once these refinements have been made, roll out to a broader audience and measure success using the KPI’s we identified earlier (NPS and stickiness).

answered by (15 points)
Hi JC,
Thank you for the answer. I think the solutions listed here are not novel and this might not work to your advantage. I suggest you list out a few more solutions, including a couple out of the box ones, to help interviewer see your ability to think of fresh ideas. They want to see you come up with big new ideas that are going to help them grow their platform significantly. Check out the answers to some of the other design questions as a guidance. Hope it helps.
+1 vote

Goals of the product: Allow users to post micro-blogs, provide a platform to share & receive thoughts. Social networking.

What’s going well: Very popular, huge adoption, great platform for people to share ideas, thoughts on various topics, great platform for celebrities, public figures to stay in touch with their followers/fan base. Good tool for marketing. High level of engagement.

What are the challenges: Trolling, people claiming their account is hacked so some privacy issues, struggling to monetize, lack of innovation(I could be wrong here) after initial days. Some people find char limit too strict.

Competition: FB, G+, Reddit etc…

Potential Future Goals: Make it a safe environment for people to share their opinion. Increase revenue.

What can be done to address this:
1. To prevent trolling: ML based moderation mechanism. Identify trollers, identify patterns in trolling, identify anomalies and don’t post a tweet until approved by auto moderation system. Another option could be to be let people remove trollers from their followers.
2. Monetization:
– Heavily used by celebrities, celebrities also endorse brands, can we show relevant video ads by celebrities they follow.
– APIs for marketers to min the data for market intelligence. But my hunch is that it’s probably already out there.
– Can offer a Coffee table book which people can get printed or digitally delivered which contains pictures, tweets of their favorite celebrity.
– Can do freemium – pay for extra features such as longer tweets.
– Can provide a way for tweets to appear on TV programs in real time fashion.
– Can provide enterprise product, where people can use to share tweets within the company. Can be used to form communities.

answered by (118 points)
Thank you for submitting your answer. I think your answer’s structure can be improved by following the format I’ve suggested. Have you taken a look at the “how to answer a product improvement question in a product manager job interview”?
At a high level, I suggest you pick a specific user group, review their user journey and pain points, list out solutions to address their pain points, and finally use some evaluation criteria to prioritize good solutions.
Hope it helps.
0 votes

Great question. Twitter provides a unique platform to engage in real-time with bite-sized information in an open forum; it has become the next-generation wire service. In terms of improving the platform, is there a specific challenge the company needs to address? (Profitability) Interesting, I’ll look at the revenue-side of the profitability equation as I’ve read cost optimizations are mid-cycle at the moment.

User Personas & Pains:
Casual User: Interested in casual consumption of latest news, updates, and ideas. Will participate monthly in a discussion of an activated importance monthly, but generally centralizing on the entities activeon the platform. Twitter may serve as a substitute to phone or email.
Pains -> Finding new content, no influence, confusion over platform value (Platform is rapid distribution, I’m casual).

Power User: Interested in a regular exchange of ideas and discussion. Enjoys recognition and engagement. Enjoys enabling the sharing process to shape a narrative and see what it grows into.
Pains -> Developing a brand without a viral loop, lack of feedback on tweets that are seen as noise, ability to participate in a more meaningful way to effect action.

Key Opinion Leader: Interested in developing brand awareness, influence, and coordinating action to achieve goals, either financial or social. Content creation and editorial skill development are more important to act as curators and acquiring new users. Acquisition is of primary importance.
Pains -> Managing brand risk, improve monetizing/ call to action requests, reaching new verticals of users unfamiliar with content.

Prioritizing Pain Points Revenue Growth:
The success/ failure of Key Opinion Leaders is the most tied into the Twitter platform. Managing success is easier than to create success for someone without success, especially in media (power user); think show ratings and the statistical shotgun approach of pilot episodes. Solving this problem does provide a solutions platform to scale to Power Users nucleate and grow.

There is a measurable value to a product that can target new consumer segments and reducing churn.

1). Peer review platform for content prior to release. The platform can be a focus group of Power Users that provide guidance with a set of metrics to show how well the message aligns with the psychology of the group profile and if it elevates dialog, neutral, or causes conflict. The process can be expedited with ML as we develop more and more user data. In effect this feature becomes an insurance policy to ensure brand is protected. This feature does slow-down the rapidness of distribution, but would be targeted at original content where speed is secondary. Insurance policies are typically valued at 1-3% of value and would be best deployed as a subscription model.

2). Paid access to the feeds of non-subscribers and targeting information for user values to shape content. In the current environment this should be strictly non-political or religious content, but rather offering a platform for Katy Perry or Barack Obama to write an original piece about the state of solar panels and have it seen by the technical community who may engage well with an outside opinion. The product could generate value from a low-cost subscription for the targeting tools and an additional cost for acquired user.

3). Live heat maps for word formation in the tweet to give insight about tone and context. In situations where time is everything, providing a real-time keystroke feedback to make sure tone is properly aligned with intent would add value to ensure messaging is on point. Scalable to include tweet like/ retweet predictions based on past tonal qualities. Most of communication is the author perception and tone so this would lend itself well to predictions. Similar to the insurance model this feature would be in line with an insurance policy at 1-3% of value and perhaps more if it can grow efficacy of message and not just defend.

I would recommend implementing live tweet tonal heat maps as a first product to test whether there is value in brand protection and possible user growth. The most value to Twitter lives in option 1 about peer reviewed original content, but it is a much larger undertaking before value is understood. The longer feedback loop also hurts viral adoption as the feature is less punchy, despite being more valuable. Option 2 is controversial in the current climate and has been rolled out previously. The unique angle is the develop of customized original content for audiences, but the feedback loop will require a lot of iteration.

In summary the best way to improve Twitter’s revenue in a scalable platform is to release tonal heat maps for key opinion leaders to protect their brand and ensure messaging is consistent and possibly increase user acquisition. The model could be rolled out as a monthly subscription with pricing based on AB test results surrouding statistic models of tonal related user churn and user acquisition.

I would measure success of the tonal heat map by measuring percentage user acquisition (new followers, retweets, and positive comments) and churn of users (unfollowing, negative comments) before and after model implementation.

answered by (95 points)
Re-reading, I missed:

Metrics would also include new revenue from subscription feature, ARPU, cost to acquire, etc.

Platform is scalable downstream to Power Users who are interested in growing brand. The tonal qualities would help people understand their messaging better and how their user base sees them based on data collected from the KOLs. This could be a much larger market as the number of users is higher, but the pricing would be less to be tailored to the consumer market, but the total revenue per segment I suspect would be higher.
Hi Steve,
Interesting approach. Thanks for submitting your answer. You have a strong argument around why key opinion leaders are important. And I think it’s a good point. I wonder if solution 2 has already been implemented.
One feedback around the evaluation. Perhaps you can list your evaluation criteria to make it clear to the interviewer how you’re evaluating your solutions.

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Barry Cofield expects to be full speed by training camp after sports hernia surgery

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Redskins defensive tackle Barry Cofield isn’t taking part in the team’s organized team activities this week after having sports hernia surgery.

Coach Jay Gruden said “it wasn’t too long ago” that Cofield had the surgery, although Cofield himself opted not to reveal any details about his condition. Gruden said that the team is “hoping” to have Cofield at full speed by the start of camp, however, and Cofield said “for sure” when asked if he’d be back on the field this summer.

“I’m running pretty hard now,” Cofield said, via the Washington Post. “I feel good.”

Cofield has started every Redskins game over the last three seasons and has been a steady source of interior pass rush since coming to Washington. His work against the run hasn’t been nearly as impressive, but none of the other options at tackle for the Redskins offer the team nearly as much as Cofield. That makes it welcome news in Washington that he should be healthy and ready to go come late July.


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PEF Council member Ann Pettifor explains how all governments finance their spending (and its not from taxation). She deconstructs Theresa May’s address to the Conservative Party Conference with its deliberate framing of Labour governments as tax raiders.

The use of the phrase “other people’s money” was not accidental. It was first used in the title of a famous work (1973) by Donald R. Cressy about the social psychology of embezzlement. The book was later made into a movie about a corrupt corporate raider, and starred Danny de Vito and Gregory Peck. Mrs May’s speech writer wanted to imply that Labour governments are tax raiders.

That is both a calumny, but also a lie – twice over. First because no Labour government has ever run out of money – not even Clement Attlee’s which started life with public debt at 250% of national income, and then spent enormous sums creating the NHS, affordable housing, a public education system etc. As a result of that spending, public debt as a share of GDP fell precipitously, because the Labour government increased the nation’s income, through well-paid employment. Good, well-paid employment in turn generated tax revenues – to pay for the borrowing, and pay down the public debt.

Second, no government – including today’s Conservative government – finances spending from taxation. Instead governments finance spending by borrowing from their own Bank, the Bank of England, or from capital markets. If that borrowing creates employment and increases income, then tax revenues accrue to HMRC, and is used to pay for the borrowing. To keep the public finances balanced at a time of private economic failure, it is vital for government to borrow and spend, to expand the nation’s income and thereby to generate the tax revenues needed to repay the borrowing, and keep the public finances in order.

Mrs May intended to imply that a Labour government is likely to finance its activities differently – by increasing taxes and thereby ‘raiding’ or embezzling the purses of Britain’s taxpayers.

Let me illustrate why this is a false characterisation of government financing. An email popped into my inbox on 4 October – the day after Mrs May’s speech. It was from the Debt Management Office (DMO) of the British government. It informed me that on behalf of Philip Hammond the Chancellor, the DMO had the previous day held an auction of a precious government asset: the 1% Treasury Gilt 2024. In other words, on behalf of the British Treasury, the DMO had auctioned and then raised £3 billion from the sale of a government asset – a bond or gilt – from capital markets. The purpose of this sale was to finance the spending and activities of Mrs May’s government.

Many of the bidders for gilts would have been pension funds, but also insurance companies and other financial institutions. They all regard Treasury gilts as a very important safe haven for their financial holdings. So keen are they to buy British gilts that the auction was over-bid – 1.73 times over, the DMO tells me. Investors were willing to hand over £5 billion when the DMO, on behalf of the British government, only wished to raise £3 billion. As a result of this over-bidding, the interest rate on the gilt was very low – 1.3%. Given that inflation is 2.4%, the interest government will pay is negative. In other words, investors are effectively paying the DMO for the privilege of lending to the British government and parking their assets/savings in a safe British Treasury Gilt.

The Bank of England (via its Open Market Operations) has also purchased gilts, including those issued by George Osborne and Philip Hammond. It has done so for many years as a way of influencing the Bank Rate of interest.

And there is one other minor, but important point to make about the DMO’s auction. Given that most Treasury Gilts are bought by pension funds and insurance companies, the interest (yield) on the gilts serve as a source of income for the pension or insurance fund, maintaining its value until claims are made on the funds. Ultimately that income is returned to British taxpayers when pensions are paid out or insurance claimed. So, in a circular process, the money paid in interest by the British government for its borrowing ultimately returns to taxpayers when they claim their pensions.

That is why government bonds or Treasury Gilts are a vital part of the ‘plumbing’ of the private financial system.

This is all by way of explaining that governments like ours finance their activities, not from “your money” – i.e. taxation, but by auctioning valuable government assets – gilts or bonds in capital markets. In other words, by borrowing. That is how this government’s expensive HS2 project, estimated to cost £56 billion (up 71% on the initial projection in 2010 of £32.7 billion) will be financed. That is how £1,000 billion was found in 2009 to bailout the banking system. That is how £1 billion was raised to bribe the DUP into supporting the government.

And even at the greatest times of crisis – such as the 2007-9 Great Financial Crisis – the government assisted by the Bank of England was able to raise huge sums to finance the bailout of RBS and the rest of the banking system.

The key point is that financing for investment (via borrowing) comes first, and taxation later. Taxation – “your money” – as we all know from our own experience, is a consequence of public or private investment in employment or of other forms of activity. We take a job, and only at the end of the month, and as a consequence of our employment, are we paid, and only then are taxes deducted. Similarly it is only after the production and sale of a good or service, can VAT be charged. Only after profits are made, can corporation tax be paid. And so on.

All governments including your own Mrs May, borrow to finance their activities. Which is why the Debt Management Office yesterday raised £3 billion to finance activities sanctioned by your Chancellor, Philip Hammond. The process is as old as the Bank of England (1694) itself, and is both legitimate and transparent.

And as is obvious to all, Philip Hammond bears no resemblance whatsoever to embezzlers like the character depicted by Danny de Vito in that movie.

Photo credit from previous page: Dix Noonan Webb

  1. stephen tomlinson

    The corrupt elite has kept the majority ignorant of how the economy works for decades, it how they and MSM get away with peddling blatant lies about the economy and debt.

  2. Kevin Blow

    I’ve never read such a clear exploitation of how governments spending, taxation, and borrowing works. And why it’s a win, win for society.

  3. Darren

    Yes your right, the government sells it is own assets, via bonds and gits,which obtained by its own bank, which is supposedly independent and private. Taxation does not come first, as you have said, if it did then no currency would be available till the tax is collected, this would take time and the process is very slow. If taxation was used as described by the government, society and the former would not able to function, not as i have said because of the time factor but taxation is not enough to run the economy and co. Every time May opens her mouth she lies, every time labour keeps its mouth shut it is a party to the lie. The old communist were right capitalists a con, its keeps people poor and its keeps people stupid. All money is debt, and all debt is ignored by the government because it owns the debt. The only time debt is not ignored, is when its private, so you borrow from a bank which creates money out of nothing and then when you lose your job, it wants pay back for nothing.,

  4. Michael Anderson

    Would it be possible for the B of E to buy up gilts and then cancel the debts? Is there a point at which debt repayment becomes unsustainable for a government?

  5. Simon Cohen

    It’s good that Ann points out that Taxation doesn’t ‘pay for things’ directly. This helps us escape from the nonsense Thatcher came out with about Governments only having our tax money.

    But I’m uncomfortable wit the rest of her argument that, in any meaningful sense, ‘borrowing’ is going on at all:

    1. Bonds are a form of money that the Government can create electronically. In other words it creates its own asset out of thin are that is a net asset (no corresponding liability as in the case of bank credit creation)
    2. The bond is ‘swapped’ for cash (more liquid financial asset) it isn’t really borrowing just a portfolio adjustment.
    3. The bond purchases shift money from the bank reserves to the treasury account at the B of E contributing to interest rate management (which is all bond sales are) just as QE ( largely bond purchases) reduced the interest rate to nearly 0%.
    4. There is no eternal law that says you have to have bond sales (out of which the Gilt Edged Market Makers earn parasitic economic rent)
    5. Eurozone countries are forced to really borrow because they don’t have a currency issuing Central Bank -we do.
    6. The concept that we borrow to spend is a ‘barbarous relic’ of the gold standard days that has no real meaning.
    7. Ann is right to say we can never default. QE demonstrated that the B of E can set interest rates anywhere it chooses REGARDLESS of the ‘market’ for bonds. This does NOT apply to the Eurozone.

    If in doubt about this, listen to Greenspan and then Draghi (both neo-liberal!) admitting that default is not possible unless you want to deliberately choose it:

    Also worth pointing out the the continuous droning by the illiterate Tories of the ‘Venezuela’ argument is further example of non-knowledge: Venezuela’s situation has zero relationship with the UK because it’s productive capacity has collapsed, there is a black market for dollars so it is, effectively, dollarized and has debts from foreign loans.

    Ditto false comparisons with Zimbabwe, Argentina, Brazil and Weimar Germany.

    Labour needs to get in and spend money, spend it intelligently and well allocated of course – and then watch the economy lift and the last 40 years of neo-liberal scam reveal itself to be the scam that it is. The bond ‘vigilantes’ have no real power unless we give it to them.

  6. Bill Kruse

    How do you get the DMO to send you emails about what they’re up to? When I was looking their details over some months back, they seemed positively opaque about what it is they do, which I gather involves taking over from the govt’s old BofE Ways&Means overdraft facility to keep the EU happy. .

  1. Ann Pettifor – On Theresa May, Danny DeVito and ‘other people’s money’. – Brave New Europe - […] Cross posted from the PEF Website […]
  2. Ann Pettifor - […] now supporting the work of the Council, and periodically writing for the Forum.  The following is a blog that appeared…

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Chinese fan dancers at the HWKR Market Launch

HWKR Market Launch

Launch the latest Asian inspired, hawker-style market

Melbourne has always been a great melting pot of culture. Great food, good music, hidden alleyways full of quirky bars and a range of cultures from all over the globe. We love being part of this scene and have the greatest opportunities to work alongside Melbourne’s best event organisers to produce amazing events.

Our latest feat was working alongside ID Collective to launch the latest Asian inspired, hawker-style market – HWKR. Positioned beneath A’Beckett Street’s Eq. Tower, HWKR brings a unique dining experience to Melbourne. With four kitchens housing four local and international Asian food vendors at any time. First cabs off the rank include; MasterChef’s Diana Chan and Reynold Poernomo, Hong Kong’s Bread & Beast and the Melbourne-based Rice Paper Scissors, is testing its own new concept, Khao. HWKR opened its doors on the 8th of February 2018 and the Pro Light & Sound team were chosen as the Audio Visual consultants for the launch!

The audio-visual experience

Our role was to create an atmosphere that reflected east Asian tradition with an edgy, contemporary feel. All completed within a 3 weeks turn-around period.

The audio-visual experience started on arrival where the HWKR logo shone with Japanese style neon lights. As you walk through, the sounds of a traditional Chinese market played from strategically positioned speakers and each restaurant had specially positioned lights that coincided with their branding. Sword-wielding ninja’s, Chinese fan dancers and Asian acrobats interlaced with speakers taking the stage were the entertainment for the evening.

The highlight of the night was the “reveal room”. This was the crux of the celebration and our biggest challenge. The room had to be created inside the restaurant area and had to house a media-wall and an open photo booth. All beautifully styled by Creating Beautiful and matching the table art and the entry display cart.

The challenge

However, a challenge is where we really come into our own. We created a space that screamed celebration! Using strategically positioned drapes, custom high end projection mapping, a custom designed multi-media display wall and neon sound effects we created a room that made you feel like you’re inside a champagne bottle! Complete with pink bubbles bouncing on the walls and representing the fun and frivolity of the event.

Future success

The outcome; a queue of people wanting to experience the opening first hand were lining up down the street. The event had a huge impact, was covered by the best culture magazines and created a great platform for future success.

Get in touch with Pro Light & Sound today to see how we can support you to create a launch geared for success

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