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I Pad love..

 So I must admit I was a septic about the I Pad, I thought I wouldn't use it that much as I always use my laptop.. but truth be told I love it. It is great to catch up on blog reading at night in bed, travel with (less bulky than my computer), take notes at in meetings, etc. And while C won't admit it, he uses it almost as much as me. I often find him reading the latest news website, or surfing online..

Since receiving the I Pad, I immediately went and purchased the protective cover for the front and back, and of course customized my background with my monogram. I am still on the fence as to if I need to pick up the blue tooth keyboard for traveling (I blogged about it here) I have a gift card for Brookstone so it would only be $10.00 but I am not sure that I would use it. Does anyone have one? what do you think of it?

 I pad with attached cover, loving my new background! & background with clear cover (you can still see the engraving, and use the camera!
 I took these so readers could see the Belkin Brand packaging for the clear back cover, and the front cover in all of its packaging (I am thinking I am going to get my name or monogram or something on the front cover)
 I snapped this photo when the Ipad was in the charging deck on my desk, and thought it was cute! I have turned into quite the apple girl with my I Phone, I pad, and Macbook.... it makes me laugh.. I guess you could use the I Pad as a digital photo frame as well, as there is a slide show option? thoughts?
And while this is a horrible quality, I have to share that C surprised me and had the I Pad engraved.
Too sweet right?

1 comment:

  1. I want one so bad!! Love your monogrammed background!


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Home Page

St John Fisher Catholic Primary School

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Flash mob Farewell to our favourite

Mrs Lally retired today after well over 20 years at St John Fisher. The children had a picnic and sports afternoon in her honour before surprising her, Ms Smith and Mrs Goldsmith with a flash mob dance.

We then came together as a community at a special assembly where we all said Goodbye and Thank You to Mrs Lally.

Zander in Y2 thanked Mrs Lally for wiping away his tears.

Mrs Lally you are truly unique and SJF is such a safe and happy place because of all your hard work. You will be greatly missed by us all.

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Posts Tagged snowboarding

Terrain Opening Up State Wide

With the last few storms and moist northwest flow after the storms all ski areas state wide have seen plenty of snow to open a lot of their terrain. Breckenridge is over 500 acres and growing, and Arapahoe Basin has open the Pali lift the other day

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2011 Sprint U.S. Grand Prix This Week

The 16th Annual U.S. Grand Prix Snowboarding and Freeskiing sponsored by Sprint starts Wed Dec 7th through Saturday Dec 10th.  Team arrivals was today and tomorrow Dec 5th registration and practices will start.  Snowboard practice will be from 9AM to 11:30Am Dec 5th, Freeskiing practice will be

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Over a Foot of Snow Tonight for A Basin

By the end of the night A Basin will have had over a foot of snow and 3 inches more tomorrow. If you’re looking for May powder it’s here.

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Northern Lights Complex Download PDF

Northern Lights
Click an image to view larger version.

Facts & Figures

Official Name Northern Lights
Status Completed
Country Kazakhstan
City Astana
Complex Function residential

Map of Buildings in Complex

NOTE: Only buildings that have GPS coordinates recorded are displayed.

Buildings in Complex

  Completed   Architecturally Topped Out   Structurally Topped Out   Under Construction   On Hold   Never Completed   Proposed   Vision   Demolished
ID #   Status Building Name City Height (m) Height (ft) Floors Completion Material Use
2323 1   COM Northern Lights 1 Astana (KZ) 180 591 42 2008 concrete residential
3848 2   COM Northern Lights 2 Astana (KZ) 152 499 37 2008 concrete residential
5308 3   COM Northern Lights 3 Astana (KZ) 128 420 32 2010 concrete residential


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Diary 2018: leisure through an Art Deco lens

Price: $29.95 / $26.95 for Friends of the Library

This is the first ever diary showcasing stunning artworks exclusively from the collection of State Library Victoria.

This beautiful and practical diary and planner features luxe finishes and an exquisite Art Deco-inspired design that incorporates more than 100 original illustrations from the Library’s Pictures, Rare Books and other collections.

The theme of ‘leisure’ echoes the playful aesthetic of the Art Deco era, when bright young things ushered in a modern era of fashion, travel and pleasure.

Features of State Library Victoria 2018 diary

  • Full-colour throughout, with more than 100 stunning images of rare artworks from the State Library’s collection
  • Art Deco design and illustrations, focusing on the theme of leisure and with monthly sub-themes including travel, fashion, theatre, sport and seaside
  • Week-to-an-opening layout with a full page of blank notepaper each week
  • Clear, contemporary page design
  • 2018 and 2019 year planners
  • Ribbon marker and elastic closure
  • Dimensions 210 x 150mm
  • 160 pages.

Select images featured in this diary are also available as keepsake 'leisure'-themed coasters, fridge magnets and postcards.


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<![CDATA[SMYTHE'S ACCORDION CENTER - The Accordion Blog]]>Thu, 18 Apr 2019 06:11:25 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[My ramblings on microphone systems]]>Tue, 13 Mar 2018 06:43:23 GMThttp://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com/the-accordion-blog/my-ramblings-on-microphone-systemsAccordions and Amplifiers and my Mic System.

Like many instruments, accordions have trouble keeping up with louder and amplified instruments and over the years people have tried many ways to amplify their sound.

One of the earliest accordion amplifying techniques is the crystal microphone, which was starting to come into use by the late 40’s. Crystal mics were relatively small and inexpensive so a good system could have 6-7 mics with stereo separation of a sort, with separate tone and volume control for the left and right sides. Simpler crystal mic systems had as few as one mic and no onboard volume control at all.

Crystal mics vary in quality and their response is uneven through the audio frequency range. What’s more, response of these mics can deteriorate over time and in some cases they can die entirely. I will occasionally install crystal mic systems in accordions for people who need a vintage sound and I often have to sort through old sets to match up a new set . They can also have a strange echo at the end of each note, but placement of resistors can help.

Condenser mic systems for accordions are a newer type and have been around since at least the 70’s but they too run into some of the same problems that installers found with crystal systems: there is no such thing as a standard accordion so there can be no standard microphone system. Some systems appear to have been designed in a lab by somebody with little experience with accordions and can suffer for reliability issues and no troubleshooting support.

Quality of installation can vary wildly and have a effect on the long term reliability of a mic system, and the types of plugs used to connect the parts of the mic system is important. (The fun ones to work on have no plugs so you can’t separate the bellows from the accordion for service or sometimes the grill is attached by the mic wires and can’t be removed completely.)

It takes 5-6 hours to install one of these mic systems and then they weren’t always reliable, which added on even more hours of (unpaid!) work because of the warranty I offer  Most mic systems were not adaptable to the many variations of accordion construction and many older accordions have no clearance under the grill, and finding a location for the output jack can be a problem.

In response to these problems, I designed a mic system of my own:  With modern tech the boards did not need to be large, but I did want the solder points to be accessible to normal soldering tools and wire. Plugs would be industry standard and findable in the future for service. The mics would be on wires so the board could be put in whatever space was available and the mics could be placed for optimum sound.

I use two mics in the bass side so you get an even volume across the bass range to reduce the risk of “hot spots” or uneven output on larger accordions. Three mics seems to be enough to get an even response on the right side. (Some Limex systems I’ve worked on use as many as 12 on the right side!)
I find that internal mics under the grill are best for performing accordions because the closer you can get a microphone to the source of the sound, the less likely feedback will occur. The microphone capsules are directional by design so they are less sensitive to outside noise than sound from the accordion.

A obvious solution would seem to be to place the mics inside close to the reeds like some of the older crystal systems. Condenser mics can’t generally be placed inside the accordion as the changing air pressure will eventually damage them, and will cause distortion. It is also difficult to get separation of the left and right side of the accordion this way. Separation is achieved by placing mics under the grill and inside the bass machine area, a nice side effect is separate volume control that will allow you to do things like use only the piccolo reed on the right and the master register on the left.

This setting would be unusable on most accordions as the piccolo would be drowned out by the bass. With good separation you can turn down the bass to match the output of the keyboard. This will sound unbalanced on the accordion but will sound fine coming out of the amp.

Don’t forget that amplifiers have a big effect on the sound. Standard solid state guitar amps can make almost any accordion sound sharp and metallic. In a pinch a bass amp will give a better sound overall. Keyboard amps are better than guitar amps in most cases but they seem to vary. I have been really happy with the sound of tube or hybrid amps because they seem to warm the tone somewhat and generally sound better with accordions.

<![CDATA[A little bit of rust]]>Tue, 09 Feb 2016 19:06:35 GMThttp://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com/the-accordion-blog/a-little-bit-of-rust

“A little rust”

  Rust on accordion reeds is something I run into from time to time and opinions are varied about what to do when it occurs.

  Rust happens for a couple of different reasons, most of them due to moisture (I will get into the exception later). Rust starts to occur when the general humidity is over 45% but steel is a bit more resistant and blueing helps a bit too. Dew point is a big problem; when the temperature of a surface is below the dew point of the surrounding air (you left your accordion in the cold car then brought it into the stuffy hot club and started to play at once) moisture will condense on the cold surface of the reed.

 Dirt and salt can also hold moisture and tend to make rust more likely by keeping the moisture there longer. (e.g., playing near the ocean for extended times).

 I can often tell how the rust occurred by where the rust is. For instance, rust on tips of reeds is often caused by playing outside in damp environments. I get this from accordions that are played on sea cruises.

Rust on just one side of the inside of an accordion is often caused by being stored against a cold surface like a exterior building wall , or a cold floor. Closets are good storage areas as they are almost never against outside walls for just this reason.  This type of rust take months to form and possibly years. The worst is when the instrument was in a basement that flooded on occasion; this usually leads to bad rust especially on the bass side, and corrosion on the outside of the instrument (and its case’s hardware). Specifically, the wood bass plate and the instrument case will have warped and delaminated, and the bass machine of the accordion will have rust and corrosion.

There are several ways to deal with rust.

For small spots or a thin dusting, scraping or sanding the rust off and keeping the instrument in a dry location after will take care of the problem. It is not really true to say that once you get rust it will keep coming back. I think it is more that the instrument gets returned to the environment that caused the rust in the first place, so it comes back. Rust is hydroscopic and will tend to cause more rusting. The reeds will have to be retuned after the rust is removed.

Desiccant packs in the accordion and in the case will a long way to combat further rust if you can’t do much about the environment. If you live on a boat, for example, you can keep the accordion in a plastic bag and keep the desiccant in with it.

If there is actual pitting of the metal, the reed should be replaced because the amount of filing or grinding that would be required to get it back in tune may not leave you with much reed, and the pitting leaves weak points that may lead to cracks later.

I have worked on old bandoneons that have reeds so thin that the rust made tiny holes through the reeds.  This is often tolerated because it is very difficult to replace reeds in bandoneons.

The odd man out here is Hohner accordions from the 1950’s to about the 1970’s. The outsides of these accordions can look flawless but the inside will have corrosion confined entirely to the area contained by the bellows. The rust will tend to be on the bottom of the reed near the rivet. These accordions also often have loose valves floating around inside the instrument and they will come off the reed plates with almost no resistance. The valves will be of the plastic type.

I have run into many of these over the last 20 yrs and it was a bit of a mystery:  instruments with almost no playing time often seemed to be worse in worse shape than working instruments. The mystery was solved about a year ago when I was dealing with some old movie film and I had to do a bit of research before trying to sell it. Many of the listings I found on eBay mentioned that the film “had no vinegar smell”. Well, vinegar is acetic acid, old movie film is a type of celluloid, and celluloid was the base for some early types of adhesives for this new thing called plastic! So it appears that this new glue is what Hohner used. The glue breaks down over time, the acid fumes collect inside the accordion, the reeds rust and the valves fall off. Or, if the instrument is played regularly, the fumes get purged regularly and the valves just fall off and get caught in the reeds and the instrument needs to be stripped down and rebuilt anyway.

If you rebuild one of these Honers ALL the plastic valves must be removed (the valves with the leather type backing may use a different type of glue). You can often reuse the valves if the glue remains can be scratched off. The glue must be scraped off the reed plates.

 I used to work on jet aircraft in the early eighties and jet engines oddly enough suffer from the same sort of problems (some types of jet engines even have a type of reed). This website about jet engines has some interesting related info about rust: http://www.jetenginestorage.com/humidity.htm.

Another interesting and amusingly written page from the British Royal Society of Chemistry is here: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcripts/rust.asp.

<![CDATA[The Luttbeg Accordion]]>Wed, 03 Feb 2016 04:50:16 GMThttp://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com/the-accordion-blog/the-luttbeg-accordion
I was going through several boxes of accordion sheet music when I stumbled across this. I had seen several dual keyboard accordions on eBay and elsewhere over the years , but never a book on one.
 Max Luttbeg was a wrestler from Russia who later went on to play the accordion on the vaudeville circuit. He later gave up on the system and came up with a freebase button system with 36 buttons but it is not clear how this was laid out.
 The book dates from 1935 but a little research seems to imply the the first one built by Soprani was from 1931. Apparently only about 12 were built and not all by the same company.
 From the pictures you can see that a second strap inside the bass strap has been added to give more control and keep the hand in one place.
 Since you only have about two octaves  on the left  you have a shifter bar that allows you to shift up for chords (second image). Depending on what you play I think you might have needed this more than was convenient.

 The book also has a pullout by Edd Clark for a "Model A" that was a compact version with 25 keys on the right and 14 on the lefty and was called the "duo-organ" and he explains that this setup makes it possible to play piano music as it was written.

  This type of left hand keyboard is an idea that has come and gone several times ,and seems to make sense but in reality is pretty hard to master and does not bring any real benefit over the systems being used currently.  Versions of accordions have been made with a inner row of bass buttons in the pattern of the black keys of a piano to simulate the black keys ,and a row of white buttons for the white keys , this has been in use for many years on a small number of ethnic instruments in Serbia and but has never really caught on elsewhere.
<![CDATA[November 18, 2016 Luttbeg day!]]>Wed, 03 Feb 2016 03:25:36 GMThttp://www.smythesaccordioncenter.com/the-accordion-blog/february-02nd-2016
This guy was purchased by our shop last week. A pretty rare find indeed!


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Smart Tips For Finding Options

How to Know the Electrician is Qualified? When you are thinking about hiring an electrician to work on your home, you have to consider some important factor so that you will have no regrets from the decision making. Just be sure that you know what you are doing because there are a lot of services that your home will need. Before any electrician will begin with the repairs or replacement, you have to understand what just happened because the electrician will need a overview of the entire situation so that he or she can work effectively. It will pretty much determine whether or not the electrician can handle the issue or pass you one to someone better. For some instances that you have a home office and you notice that only your computer is losing power. You will have to search for the main issue, will it be with the PC or will it be due to the electrical issues, this can be very difficult. And this is when you will have to ask help from an electrician, he or she will know where to start. You should know that good electricians will be able to restore power effectively and also making electricity flow better and smoother through the walls of the house. If you have any tip for the electrician that is currently working with your electric issue, that would be wise. This will save time and money for the duration of the service that the electrician will give because he or she will know where to start. You should know that some electricians will charge the price for the time that he or she is giving service. And the fewer time that the electrician is working and the easier the issue the cheaper the cost of the services, you will be spending less money for the services.
The 10 Commandments of Experts And How Learn More
You need to trust the electrician you hired but before you hire him or her, it is normal for you to ask for a license and if he or she is already experienced because that could determine the overall result of his or her service. You should know if the electrician is experienced or not because you will ask if he or she has done a lot of jobs, that will be essential. An electrician with a license would mean that he or she has undergone the training needed to become a professional. The skills will be honed as the electrician gets more and more jobs and with the experience, that would mean that the result of the service will be better.
Case Study: My Experience With Repairs
Follow this guide and you will regret nothing.


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Matt Blackall | Foxy Digitalis

Kevin McEleney (aka Droughter) returns with another release under his Endless Time moniker. For “Patience,” he stretches two slabs of blasting electronics across a twenty-minute cassette. It’s plenty noisy, but doesn’t go much beyond that.

The A-side piece, “The Clock Ends,” is full of bass-heavy electronic blats and buzzes with a few other sounds creeping in as the track unfolds. “Just After Sunset,” the B-side track kicks things into a higher frequency, pushing the bass of the first track into the background. It’s a lot more abrasive too, with peals of electronic squall and distortion filling out the mix.

In the end, “Patience” offers up a few interesting blaps and bloops, but I can’t say it was terribly memorable or exciting. For most of the tape, it comes across like listening to a set of blown speakers pushed into the red while someone twiddles with the stereo knobs. If that’s your thing, check this out.

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Golf Ball Dunlop Loco Distance

Golf Ball Dunlop Loco Distance

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> Pack of 12 Balls
> 2 Piece Soft Ball
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Shipping from your local warehouse is significantly faster. Some charges may apply.

In addition, the transit time depends on where you're located and where your package comes from. If you want to know more information, please contact the customer service. We will settle your problem as soon as possible. Enjoy shopping!


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Starting with the credit crisis in 2008, through the near collapse of the banking system, counterparty risk is now in the same league as market and liquidity risk. Every day, it seems possible that another financial counterparty might fail, leaving corporates suddenly exposed for significant sums and further systemic risk. In particular, OTC transactions and derivatives carry complex and dynamic sets of counterparty risks.

Rather than relying entirely on ratings or on regulation, we help corporate clients with establishing accurate ways to measure counterparty risk, improving credit line management, mitigating unwanted exposures, and optimizing the cost of their credit lines.

Our Corporates Advisory team has an extensive track record of engagements related to counterparty credit questions like the ones that follow, and has published multiple white papers in this regard:

  • Can you evaluate accurately your counterparty risk relating to risk management, treasury cash and committed financing?
  • Are your credit risk pricing tools adequate? Do you monitor Credit Valuation Adjustments?
  • Is your hedging policy efficient from a credit line consumption perspective? Do you take advantage of credit benefits within your risk management portfolios?
  • Is counterparty risk properly captured and priced in your derivatives documentation? Are there any second order or implied exposures?
  • What are the actual implications of clearing your derivatives portfolio?
  • Are you ultimately better off posting collateral on your transactions? What is the marginal interest cost your net debt debt and the impact on your financing headroom?

We assist corporates with appropriate credit monitoring and pricing tools which enables them to manage counterparty exposures over time, as well as create value by avoiding incremental credit costs and optimizing inefficient credit lines. Our services include:

  • Assessment of portfolio credit exposure and implied capital usage analysis [RWA ]
  • Comparative analysis of valuation adjustments [xVA] by counterparty
  • Forward-looking counterparty risk analysis
  • Derivatives portfolio compression solutions and credit lines optimisation
  • Quantitative impact analysis of clearing or bilateral margin requirements
  • Collateral management review

Contact Us >


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Somerset Bat Group

The Somerset Bat Group is a very active group making an important contribution to the conservation of bats across the county and nationally. The group was founded in 1985 and is affiliated to the Bat Conservation Trust (the national organisation for bat protection) and a part of the Somerset Wildlife Trust.

Members conduct systematic recording and regular monitoring of a large number of roost sites across the county. Raising awareness about bats and aiding their conservation is an important part of the group’s work. Trained and licensed volunteers visit home owners and give advice on bats in relation to conversions or home improvements.

Getting Involved

The Bat Group runs a full programme of events throughout the year, including bat walks, surveys, talks and workshops. Some members also give talks and run guided walks for local groups and institutions.

Members can get involved with numerous surveys and practical conservation work, such as putting up bat boxes and monitoring hibernation sites. There are opportunities to take part in surveys for the National Bat Monitoring Programme as well. Beginners get plenty of support with acquiring the necessary identification and survey skills. There is a small annual membership fee per household.  Click here for an application form to join the group.

For membership enquiries contact Secretary Adel Avery  Tel: 01749 840240 Email:

Chairman – Paul Kennedy  Email:


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Corporate Events, Trade Shows, and Exhibitions

Our corporate clients include Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, Exeter University, and The Royal Navy. These contracts have led us into producing a whole host of corporate events.

Office Parties, Company Christmas Parties, and Celebrations

No party, office celebration, or hospitality event is out of scope for Sound Events. We work with your budget to produce a memorable day, evening, or even weekend of celebration for your employees, colleagues, delegates, or friends and family. Bigger companies can utilise our Big Top, or larger Clear Span Marquees, to accommodate 250 or more party goers. Smaller business or organisations can take advantage of our smaller Clear Spans, or indeed our beautiful traditional tents that cater from groups of anywhere between 10 and 250. Our sound and lighting equipment, dance floors, staging, furniture, and decor transform any size space into the perfect party venue. Don’t forget, we’re able to offer full marquee heating services to facilitate those all important Christmas celebrations. We can also transform village halls, hotel function rooms and other spaces to suit the needs of your event.

Here is an example of a hotel function room which we transformed for the Merlin Entertainments’ Christmas Party last year:

Merlin Entertainments’ Christmas Party – Before

Merlin 1

Merlin Entertainments’ Christmas Party – After

Trade Shows and Exhibitions

Our impressive range of audio visual technology, public address systems, and special effects means we can produce the wow factor that your trade show or exhibition needs. From product launches to fashion shows, the Sound Events engineers have you covered. Naturally, we can also provide covered spaces for these kind of events.

The latest projection and display technology is available for hire and installation, ensuring the audio-visual needs of your conference or meeting are met in a timely and cost effective manner. When required, we can also provide engineers to remain on conference sites for added piece of mind.

Do get in touch any time via our contact page if you would like to speak to one of our team regarding your corporate event requirements.

© Sound Events 2014


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1245 Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, CA 92264

3 Bed, 3 Bath Single Family Home For Sale

1245 Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, CA 92264 Home For Sale - MLS #19443012PS
Single Family
Mid Century
This listing is courtesy of Craig Michaels from BHGRE I Leaskou Partners.

Property Description for 1245 Sunrise Way, Palm Springs, CA 92264

Located in Deepwell Estates, one of the most desirable neighborhoods in south Palm Springs, this mid-century home embodies the Palm Springs lifestyle. The large open floor plan is accented by the clerestory windows with lots of light and beautiful views of the San Jacinto mountains. It features three large bedrooms and three tiled and upgraded bathrooms. Beautifully remodeled kitchen complete with white cabinets, quartz counter tops, breakfast bar, newer stainless gas range, refrigerator, and dishwasher. Featured on an upcoming episode of HGTV's "House Hunters," which highlights the newer built pool & Spa. The roof is newly sealed/coated with newer gutters, dual-pane windows and the backyard has been tastefully done in low maintenance desertscape for low maintenance. The upgrade includes newer tile flooring and paint throughout. Newer A/C thermostats, garage door, electrical panel and fresh exterior paint. This home is ready for the new owner to enjoy year-round or as a vacation rental

Interior Details

2,160 sq. ft.
$342.13/sq. ft.

Exterior Details

0.26 acres
11,326 sq. ft.

Other Details

Heated - Gas; Private Pool
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Students' dreams of space

Meet six international students dreaming of working closer to the stars

Meet Gagan, Sema, Paul, Martina, Anushree, and Alexc, six students coming from all over the world to participate in an International Space University. Watch their portraits to learn why they are so passionate about their future careers in the space sector!

If you would like to know more about the International Space University, click here.

International students
Romania, France, India, UK, Italy
Place of job
France, Canada, United States, India, Romania
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The Canadian Government Needs to Recognize the Value of the Canadian Space Sector and Invest Accordingly

Press Release From: Canadian Space Commerce Association
Posted: Monday, September 19, 2016

In the past week we’ve seen some remarkable progress in the commercial space sector of the United States. On Tuesday, NASA has selected two companies to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) with their Dragon spacecraft, and the Boeing Corporation with the CST-100.

This is great news as Canadian astronauts David Saint-Jacques and Jeremy Hansen will most likely use one of these two companies spacecraft to visit the ISS, as the cost to fly on them will be substantially lower than flying on a Russian Soyuz.

On Wednesday, Blue Origin, a relative new space company privately owned by Amazon founder Steve Bezos, announced a deal with United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, to jointly fund a next generation rocket engine, the BE-4, which is an advanced liquid oxygen, liquefied natural gas engine. This represents an important step forward in rocket propulsion.

Also on Wednesday at the fall meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) meeting it was announced that the FAA had issued a spaceport license to the Midland International Airport in Texas home to commercial spaceflight services company XCOR Aerospace. The spaceport license is the 9th to be issued by the FAA in recent years.

This is obviously an exciting time to own a company or start-up a company in the commercial space market. Unfortunately, while Canada has seen some successes in the commercial space market, notably through such companies as MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), COM DEV, and Neptec, the government has done little to foster a strong commercial space market in Canada for either the domestic or the export market.

Over the last six years the Canadian government has tasked each new President of the Canadian Space Agency to develop a Long Term Space Plan for the country. We’re still waiting for that plan.

The government initiated the Aerospace Review in 2011. Of the eight recommendations outlined for the space sector it could be argued that only one was truly enacted, the creation of the secretive deputy minister-level Space Program Management Board.

While the Canadian Space Agency’s A-Base funding has dropped from approximately $300M a year to $259M this year, India with a similar GDP and which in recent years surpassed Canada has also increased its lead over Canada in the latest Futron Space Competitive Index.

The United Kingdom is going in the opposite direction of Canada, increasing their annual budget from $367M in 2010 to $627M next year. In recent government speeches the U.K. the government has defined the space sector as one of the “Eight Great Technologies.”

With Canada heading into an election year and a surplus budget at hand, is it now time the government recognize the importance of the space sector to the everyday well-being of Canadians and invest accordingly?

Media Contact:
Marc Boucher, President (Interim)
Canadian Space Commerce Association
Mobile: 647.985.9203

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Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study

Status Report From: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Posted: Monday, April 23, 2012

image 2 April 2012

Prepared for the: Keck Institute for Space Studies California Institute of Technology Jet Propulsion Laboratory Pasadena, California

This report describes the results of a study sponsored by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) to investigate the feasibility of identifying, robotically capturing, and returning an entire Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) to the vicinity of the Earth by the middle of the next decade.

The KISS study was performed by people from Ames Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Langley Research Center, the California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard University, the Naval Postgraduate School, University of California at Los Angeles, University of California at Santa Cruz, University of Southern California, Arkyd Astronautics, Inc., The Planetary Society, the B612 Foundation, and the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition.

The feasibility of an asteroid retrieval mission hinges on finding an overlap between the smallest NEAs that could be reasonably discovered and characterized and the largest NEAs that could be captured and transported in a reasonable flight time. This overlap appears to be centered on NEAs roughly 7 m in diameter corresponding to masses in the range of 250,000 kg to 1,000,000 kg. To put this in perspective, the Apollo program returned 382 kg of Moon rocks in six missions and the OSIRIS-REx mission proposes to return at least 60 grams of surface material from a NEA by 2023. The present study indicates that it would be possible to return a ~500,000-kg NEA to high lunar orbit by around 2025.

The research described in this paper was sponsored by the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) and was carried out in part at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The people and organizations listed on page 2 of this report participated in the KISS-sponsored study. It is their work that is summarized in this paper and the KISS study co-leads gratefully acknowledge their contributions. In addition, the Collaborative Modeling for Parametric Assessment of Space Systems (COMPASS) team at NASA GRC performed a study of the Asteroid Retrieval Mission concept resulting in a conceptual flight system configuration and mass estimate. Their work is also gratefully acknowledged by the study co-leads.

Full report via National Space Society

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Heroes of the Skies

Special Ops Heroes - published by Headline on November 6 2014

Special Ops Heroes is the latest book by Michael Ashcroft (Lord Ashcroft) and will be published by Headline on November 6 2014.

The book is the fifth in Lord Ashcroft’s best-selling “Heroes” series on bravery and it tells the true stories of exceptional courage behind the world’s largest collection of British and Commonwealth Special Forces medals. Lord Ashcroft has amassed a collection of more than 100 such groups of medals since 1986.

In his new book, Lord Ashcroft recounts the inspirational stories behind more than fifty new groups of gallantry and service medals that have been added to his collection since the publication of his book Special Forces Heroes six years ago.


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Most Flights Cancelled: No Fly Zone AZ
Anyone, Anytime

Straight line drag racing is automotive competition in its purest form. It’s a raw display of power, and here in the USA we like it quite a bit. Burning up as much rubber and gas as you can in the least amount of time possible is about as American as it gets.

It’s a style of racing that is as old as the car itself, and the very first drag race probably took place somewhere around the time the world’s second car was built. What I’m trying to say is that this sort of thing is in our blood, which is why I’m surprised it has taken so long for an event like Omega Motorsport’s ‘No Fly Zone’ to happen in Arizona.

No Fly Zone isn’t like the usual drag events you might see at a traditional quarter mile strip. NFZ takes over a airstrip runway for a weekend and allows entrants to rolling-start drag race whoever, whenever. This relaxed approach to organization is intentional and leads to some fun and interesting pairings.

There are the match-ups you might expect, like this supercharged pair of GM monsters giving it their best.

Or these monochromatic C7s that had a run at each other. Their identical exhaust notes created an odd sort of doppler effect as they roared off just barely out of sync.

But there are some cars that competed against each other that were a bit less expected than a pair of Corvettes. Take these two: a Bugatti Veyron and a Toyota MR2. The Mr. Two clearly isn’t stock, and if the writing on the windshield is to be believed then it’s pushing 630hp. But is that enough to conquer this (tuned) Veyron’s 1,100hp? The answer is no, though the little Toyota did hold its own.

Any type of car can be registered to race at NFZ. If you’d like you may drag race your Jaguar XJR, and why wouldn’t you?

This how-is-that-even-here BNR34 Skyline GT-R was competing as well. I’ve been lucky enough to see a few before, but I still love coming across them stateside where they are so seldom found. It’s amazing how a car that is commonly available elsewhere in the world receives so much attention when it’s in non-native territory.

The variety of cars at the event was fantastic, and it’s hard to say that it was dominated by any one type of car. There were definitely a lot of GT-Rs, but there were a lot of CTS-Vs too. And Porsches. And Corvettes. And Supras. You get the idea…

Seeing all this variety was really encouraging to me. Not that I had any doubts, but it’s proof that automotive enthusiasm is alive and well in all categories.

Big Power

Arizona might not be Texas, but I feel the ‘bigger is better’ attitude emanating from the Lone Star State has a definite ripple effect on many people here. AZ is home to a huge amount of gigantic bro-dozers and anything you can imagine that might house a big stinkin’ V8.

Evidently we’ve also got some seriously substantial power, as proven by the number of cars with over 1,000hp competing at the event – the Gallardo being the most popular platform for a mega-horsepower build.

It turns out it does a Gallardo a lot of good to add some forced induction by way of two big turbochargers. So much good in fact, that the red one above (which has 1,270hp by the way) clocked in at just over 208mph on the half-mile strip.

That puts it ahead of the Veyron and this car, though just barely.

‘This car’ is a 997 Turbo developed by EVOMS that has a dyno tested 1,517hp on low boost, and it hit 207mph. This was the Porsche’s first time out though, so I’m sure with adjustment and some better luck it will easily better that figure in the near future. More on this car soon…

This Nova wins the numbers game though. I only got to see it run a couple of times, but you could hear all 1,700hp for miles around. It was definitely the loudest car there too, supporting its traditional dragster look.

One thing that was fun to watch was how hard some machines squat under full load. Cars like these rear-heavy Porsches almost look like they’re on hydraulics when taking off.

I feel I’m much more of a mountain-road car type of person as opposed to a straight-line, spin-the-world-the-other-way-with-torque car type of person. But I must admit that even I couldn’t help but get a huge kick out of seeing these cars with absolutely terrifying amounts of power hurtle down an airstrip at full blast.

Getting close-up exposure to these land rockets as they throw everything they’ve got at the tarmac really makes you wish the opportunity to see them in this habitat came around more often. I recall standing near the end of the runway as the red Lambo made an all-out pass and you could really feel the speed. Even at a good distance, it was a truly impressive thing to see.

Drag racing has never been super appealing to me, but after attending No Fly Zone I feel like I have a better understanding of why so many people have an interest in it. It’s a shot at seeing how their cars stack up against others, whether they’re similar or not so similar, and in a clear-cut and exciting way. It’s a pure expression of speed, power, and automotive enjoyment and I can’t think of a single reason not to get behind that.

Otis Blank
Instagram: @otisblank

Cutting Room Floor

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I'm in love with that Nova

Watch the Nova take care of Lambo -- Nova was having a pedal fest trying to find some traction all the way down the track

I'll say it again, but you guys need to make a calender of events! I feel like I've missed out on so many events simply becuse I didn't know they were happening.

I guess i'm not even strictly american, because i absolutely don't understand the hype around dragracing.
I mean come on, it's pay2win at its worst form.

@Epoxy Its about the cars, not the drivers. If it were about drivers they wouldnt even need cars, they could stick to gocarts.

Fiatdude ho lee shit

@Epoxy dude neither do I. I think its because I can't stand the ethos behind american automobile manufacturing from 1969-present.

That truck at the end. More info?

@Epoxy If that were the case then surely the Veyron would always win?
Personally I think it's a great way of showing what levels of "get up and boogie" a car has. It also showcases car vs car rather than being about driver skill. Each has their place of course and I can respect a fast car as much as a fast driver.

@Epoxy And other forms of racing aren't pay to win? Please. Tell that to a Top Fuel Team. Theres no skill involved in setting up a dragster you're right. These guys just plop a chunk of cash down and thats who wins.

*eyeee roooollll*

What car is that in the 7th picture, in front of the GT-R? It is a Lexus SC? If so, I wonder how fast it was and what engine/transmission had...

@race bays like some sort of "events" page, categorised by country, and type of motorsport? I think that would be an awesome idea as well so it gets my vote!

@Chris Tyre pressures. Chassis setup. Traction. Reaction time. None of that is relevant. Who ever has the most money, biggest engine and highest horsepower wins. Didn't you know that? Of course the car will go down the track in a straight line.

Fiatdude talking about pedaling it. sounds like he was on 5% throttle most of the time

that mini truck tho!!!

that nova didn't smoke em 75% of the race....right?

I'd love to know the 630hp MR-S more , it looks very noob outside , like seriously , if I drive a Gallardo or something , I would mistake it as a 140ps weak MR-S ...

greenroadster , It is Lexus SC , that is as far as I know .

for those complaining about this being strictly pay to win, then i have a solution that may catch wind. Make money limits on builds, require owners to have a list of ALL mods and costs, and have cost divisions to see who can do the best, with the least.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait.
You didn't tell about that Audi wagon in the bonus pics.

CharlesChris15 Thats actually a really good idea I'd love to see someone Ghetto rig two Holsets to a Lambo haha

Brett Allen I guess these guys are more driver enthusiasts than car enthusiasts.

you really think there is one set of ideas behind american cars from 1969 to the present? people who don't like american cars or drag racing are just ignorant close minded pretentious snobs and probably take Jeremy Clarkson too seriously.

scibO Fiatdude  You learn at these events -- where there's paint, there's no throttle -- and the Nova is completely off the throttle going over runway stripes -- -- the paint is sooo slippery

@race bays I've created a motoring events guide for all sorts of events here in New Zealand, including circuit racing, drag racing, drifting, cars shows, and car club events: I'm working on an international version of the site at the moment. :)

Yeah of course. And you didnt really need info and experience on whats the best part that suits your car and engine right?

Nah man, if you feel like today is longer than usual, that's probaby because the Nova has spun the earth in the opposite direction.

Really love those final-gen gallardo over the huracan...what a clean style

@turbo BEAMS ae86 If you are reffering to the second generation Gallardos, I completely agree! Clean is probably the last thing i would call the third gen Gallardos, though...

Wish I had more info... A 630hp wagon is right up my alley! It was built by a company called AZ Euros.

I remember that! The noises that car makes are incredible.

We love the idea of a calendar, but a global one be really difficult to maintain. Much respect to you for making a local one!

"Straight line drag racing is automotive competition in its purest form"

Yeah, nah.

@Epoxy Is it always just about the winning?

RDS That little MR2 is pretty bad ass. About 2000 lbs and 600+ rwhp. Not too shabby. And it handles like a go-kart, so I'm told.

I'd love to know what the owner done to it . :P

thanks for the post


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How to clean your Throttle Body and Mass Air Flow sensor on a Ford Lightning

A gummed up throttle body and mass air flow sensor can cause all sorts of problems including: decreased throttle response and decreased fuel mileage. The carbon/oil/gunk build up is cause by a couple things: dirty air leaking past/through your air filter and oil sucked into the intake via the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) hose. Here [...]


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We want to your new puppy to become a cherished member of your family. We know that for this puppy to be the best he can be that he will need care from before he was conceived. His mother and sire will have to be properly fed, vaccinated and exercised for the best health.
Once he has arrived, our job will be to provide him with lots of love and attention, so he will be a great family pet.
He will receive vaccinations on a strict schedule to provide maximum protection. I do not use combination vaccinations, but individual shots. We feel that this gives the best protection. It is more work and cost, but we do want to give these puppies the best we can.
Your puppy will have been started litter box training from the time they crawl out of the whelping box at about 3 weeks. Puppies do not want to soil their living area. Providing them a place to go from the very beginning makes them much easier to housebreak. If for some reason they have to be left and cannot go out they will have a place to go in the house. We have litter boxes in our house so that older puppies that cannot go into the yard yet, will have a box.
Our puppies are allowed free time in the house, where they can explore and play from the time they are about 5-6 weeks old. This means they will adapt much easier to your home when the time comes. It is interesting to watch them playing and then go find a litter box to use.
We want our puppies to become cherished members of your family and to live up to their potential by giving them the best start we can.


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Spirit Wrestler Gallery (Vancouver, Canada)
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A Battle of Nature, Pekapeka • Bat

  • Medium: tōtara, granite base
  • Size: 17.5 × 5.5 × 5.5 inches (incl. base)
  • Reference Code: KC140602

The Pekapeka is New Zealand’s only native land mammal. There are two species of Pekapeka which are the Long Tailed and Lesser Short Tailed Bat. Both species are tiny creatures that feed at dusk and at night and therefore Māori believe that they are messengers and associate them with the Hokioi or Giant Night Flying Eagle who was a foreteller of death and disaster. The Pekapeka has existed for millions of years and consequently evokes this primeval notion. However in recent times land clearance, fire, native logging and the introduction of predators has drastically reduced their numbers to the point that they are now considered endangered.

On the contrary when I lived in Queensland, Australia, I experienced the huge numbers of one of Australia’s bat species named the Flying Fox. There are literally thousands of these unsightly looking creatures that would cloud the skies at dusk like invaders swarming the city. To first witness this was kind of eerie but fascinating and intriguing at the same time. Then to see them up close and personal was also an eye opener as flocks of them would land in a big old Moreton Bay fig tree beside our house when it was in fruit. To me they are certainly one of the more unattractive creatures in appearance and also by the screeching sounds they make while jostling with each other high up in the branches at night. These bats also carried the deadly Lyssavirus which only enhanced their notorious reputation of being associated with deathly horrors and myth.

The idea behind this work was to describe the total contrast between these two members of the bat family and how one could be represented in great proportions while the other is verging on extinction. The form of this piece echoes that of the Flying Fox hanging upside down and encased in its skeletal like wings. Its head and body are adorned with Māori motif to represent our own very small but very significant native Pekapeka. An important piece of the puzzle in ancient Māori lore is that it is now fighting against the pressures of a modern era. So it is critical now more than ever that we preserve, protect and nurture them to ensure their survival for the future.

—Todd Couper

Other available artwork you might like by Todd Couper:

Todd Couper

Todd Couper

Ngāti Kahungunu

(1974- )

Todd attended Te Aute Boys College in Hawkes Bay from 1987 to 1991 and quickly excelled in art. In 1995, he completed the Diploma of Art, Craft and Māori Design at Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua; he majored in woodcarving/sculpture and graduated with honours. It was during this time that he met Roi Toia, who was teaching there. Roi, impressed with his talent, invited Todd to apprentice with him. They continue to work together, but Todd has forged his own style and direction in carving, with commissioned pieces residing in collections in the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. He participated in Kiwa: Pacific Connections (2003) in Vancouver, Canada.

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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review

Thursday, April 18, 2019  Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Partly Cloudy Night 45° Partly Cloudy
News >  Home

Festive fundraising

The Davenport Hotel has held
The Davenport Hotel has held "Christmas Tree Elegance" since it was reopened. This scene, featuring the "Norway tree" on the left, is from the 2004 celebration. (COURTESY OF SPOKANE SYMPHOny Associates / The Spokesman-Review)
By Simone Ramel Correspondent

Celebrating its 25th year, Christmas Tree Elegance is more festive than ever. With 12 beautifully decorated and lavishly accessorized trees, and two full weeks for viewing, there’s something for everyone at the Davenport Hotel this year.

Christmas Tree Elegance is the major fundraiser for the Spokane Symphony. The event is organized by Symphony Associates throughout Spokane County, and hundreds of volunteers join in the project. Committed men and women donate more than 100,000 hours each year. Each tree has a team of coordinators, procurers and decorators. Co-chairing this year’s event are Barbara MacAfee and Maureen Boutz.

Heather Hanley from The Tin Roof furniture store, says, “The community pulls together for Christmas Tree Elegance, and it’s a reason for families to come downtown.”

Hanley and her team chose a black Christmas tree to fit her Silver Screen theme.

“It’s fun to design a wonderful tree,” Hanley says.

The 12 trees, each valued at just less than $5,000, are outfitted with gifts, cash and gift certificates. Some include trips to locations as varied as Italy, Las Vegas, Scotland and the Caribbean, and a ski package to British Columbia.

The winning raffle tickets will be drawn on Dec. 8 at the Davenport Hotel.

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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review

Thursday, April 18, 2019  Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Partly Cloudy Night 45° Partly Cloudy
News >  WA Government

Spokane Valley council members fear amendment from Rep. Matt Shea could imperil Barker Road bridge project

An amendment by Rep. Matt Shea to the state Senate transportation budget could put a long-sought bridge in Spokane Valley in jeopardy.

Shea, R-Spokane Valley, added an amendment to the budget on Feb. 27 that specifies state money can’t be spent for planning or constructing a roundabout on Trent Avenue as part of the project to build an overpass at Barker Road and the BNSF railroad tracks.

The transportation budget has yet to be reconciled between the House and Senate.

The project to build an overpass Barker Road at the BNSF tracks – which will cost more than $19 million to construct – relies on $3.6 million in funding from the city and $11.5 million in state funds that are pending legislative approval.

The city has three grants outstanding to complete the remaining cost of more than $3 million.

City officials on Jan. 30 discussed six options to separate the tracks from the road and opted to move forward with a design that includes a roundabout northeast of the intersection with a BNSF overpass near Barker Road and Trent Avenue.

Councilman Arne Woodard said the city received legislative support and funding in the state capital budget to design the Barker Road intersection. There were no strings attached to the recommended grant funds, except they had to be used by 2020.

“If (the amendment) goes through in this budget, the project is dead,” Woodard said.

Shea said he added the amendment after concerns from residents were brought forward through email and a recent telephone town hall meeting with Valley legislators about placing a two-lane roundabout on a four-lane highway.

Shea said the amendment doesn’t completely eliminate state funding for the project, but clarifies how the funds can be used, adding that 4th district legislators have been in favor of the project.

He said it’s important to balance cost and safety with the project, especially because it is near schools.

“We’ve been talking about this for a very long time with Spokane Valley,” he said. “We brought it up in December with council, and we continued to ask questions and gather information to figure out how to move forward.”

Councilwoman Linda Thompson said a surprise move made at the state level is not a way to move the project forward, especially with the lengthy discussions on funding and design alternatives between city officials and the public.

“It’s frustrating when we try to have an open, community-involved process, and all of a sudden there’s a change from leadership in another sector, and it’s coming from a different direction than what we were planning,” she said.

The city previously considered a diamond interchange at Barker Road – which was proposed in the 2006 Bridging the Valley project – but the $36 million cost made it difficult to secure grant funding. The design lacked support from the state transportation department and Spokane County. The City Council subsequently voted down the interchange design in 2017.

The city’s consultants, David Evans & Associates, conducted an intersection control analysis for the proposed option with a roundabout at Trent Avenue and stated it was the safest alternative. The state agreed with that decision, said Al Gilson, spokesman for the state transportation department.

Woodard said a roundabout may slow down traffic by a couple of minutes, but it would be a solution to improve the level of service at the intersection.

Councilman Ben Wick said state transportation officials don’t want to allow anything but a roundabout at the intersection, and if the city were to choose the diamond interchange concept at Barker Road, the city’s consultants said it would now cost more than $41 million.

Wick said the intersection improvements are much needed at Barker and Trent, especially with Katerra constructing its cross-laminated timber facility in the nearby industrial area.

“I’m still hopeful we can continue with the project,” he said. “I appreciate support from our legislators with funding, but we definitely want to see this project move forward.”

Thompson said she’s also hopeful the project can still happen because it’s critical for not only safety and moving traffic, but also to support business and transportation needs.

Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said the language in the transportation budget isn’t final and legislators still are meeting with local officials trying to work on the details of the funding for the project.

“I think we are going to work this out,” Padden said.

The City Council will hold a special meeting at 3 p.m. Friday to discuss options on how to move the project forward.

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Image © 2015 Gary Williams || Some of the 550 Balloons sore over Balloon Fiesta launching site in Albuquerque New Mexico that is holding the 44th International Balloon Fiesta this year. It is the world's largest Ballooning event with 550 Hot air balloons from 17 countries, including Spain, Mexico, Brazil ,Chile and the largest group is from the USA. The two week event that started Oct.3 and ends this Sunday, Oct 11, attracts some 100,000 people for the Mass Ascensions that are every day starting at 7AM where all 550 Hot Air Balloons rise above the skies in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Gary Williams/EFE News Service)2015
Gary Williams: : Gary Williams Photography
Address: Tucson, AZ 85719, USA
Phone: 520-977-3659 (cell)
Gary Williams's Message: In 1970, Gary Williams began work as a staff photographer, for a new Spanish newspaper, El Nuevo Dia in San Juan, P.R., the start of a 50 year career in photojournalism.

In 1978 he was awarded the King of Spain award for news photography for a multi-frame sequence of photos showing circus superstar Karl Wallenda, patriarch of the Flying Wallendas, as he fell to his death during a high-wire performance between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Williams has been nominated three times for a Pulitzer Prize and was runner-up two times for a body of work done in Haiti during election riots in 1980's.

He has also won other national and international awards for his photography which has been published around the world in newspapers, magazines, books and on the Internet.

In 1972 he became the main photo stringer/editor for the Associated Press in the Caribbean, where he remained until he joined the management team of El Nuevo Dia as the Director of Digital Imaging in 1991.

He was responsible for a team of talented people who took on the unknown task (at the time) of digitizing their large daily workflow.

That cutting edge technology - such as Mac Desktop publishing and digital cameras - gave us the ability to achieve superfast remote digital transmissions for the paper.

In 2001 Gary retired from El Nuevo Dia and has relocated to Tucson, Arizona, with his family.

He is now working freelance in the Southwest for EFE News Service.
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Monday, May 19, 2014

First Public Critique

Tonight I had my first public art critique, and despite my initial fear and nervousness about it, I ended up feeling much better about my painting overall and even more enthusiastic about continuing to learn and progress. Everett Adelman was kind enough to offer us his critiquing expertise at the monthly meeting of the Wake Forest Guild of Artists, and provided incredibly helpful advice while entertaining us all thoroughly with his extensive knowledge of art and artists, and associated stories. I'm so glad I garnered the courage to take in a couple of my works - pastel and palette knife acrylic - for Mr. Adelman's critique - it was a true privilege to have him view my paintings and to have someone of his artistic caliber tell me what is working with them and offer suggestions on making the next ones even better!

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Armasight PVS7-3 Alpha Gen 3 Night Vision Goggles

By NinjaSpy
In Survival
Oct 1st

Here is a rugged, waterproof night vision device that gives you superior view at night. The Armasight PVS7-3 Alpha Gen 3 goggles are head or helmet mountable. They have an ergonomic design and easy controls.

The Armasight PVS-7 3 Alpha has a 40-degree field of view and range of focus from 0.20m and up. It comes with automatic brightness control. The battery life lasts up to 30 hours.

[where to find it]

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Speed of Time

The days and weeks are flying by. I can hardly believe it.

April arrives later this week, and Easter is Sunday. Lent is over - almost. Wow.

There is a definite warmth to the afternoons, and flowers and buds on many of the trees and bushes.

The grass has been mowed. All sure signs that Spring is coming QUICKLY if not already here.

There doesn't seem to be a way to slow it down. Though, for a moment, this afternoon, I did.

I sat and did nothing but breathe. OK, truth be told, I did throw a "Thank You" or two up to God for the sunshine, and a completed task, but aside from that, those moments were still.

And, yet, this evening, it has sped up again....

It's a crazy thing, time. Another something I don't totally understand.

I'm learning that there are many of those.... things I don't understand.

Now, to take a few more moments to do nothing but breathe....

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Saturday, May 22, 2010

Winding Down... and around....

Another school year is coming to a close. It's hard to believe. It goes so fast.

I've got to admit, I'm pleased to not have to set the alarm every morning. I look forward to a few later mornings, and some days by the pool. I look forward to a week of camp and some time with my family.

There are things coming to a close - my kids' second grade year, and my PTO presidency. There will be a little reprieve from my prayer group. There will be a little more space in my brain for things to rattle around.

Hopefully, there is some more time in the yard and some time to get my nose into a book.

And then, there are the big changes coming to my family this summer.... in the form of diet and exercise. We all need it. We'll all feel better.

So, things are winding down.... sort of. Setting the summer pace, anyhow.

I like that.

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Arduino – to clone or not to clone ?

Microchip started marketing an Arduino clone called chipKit. Is this a correct decision to clone an open source platform as opposed to Texas Instrument's decision to create it's own platform LaunchPad ?

By the way the TI's platform is really cheap, I would say cheaper than components and PCB + shipping. Obviously TI wants more people to use it, however what it is lacking is the relaxed open-source crowd around it.

Is Arduino really something to follow ? What do you think ?

1 thought on “Arduino – to clone or not to clone ?

  1. Rei Vilo Reply

    After some time with the Arduino, I faced with insufficient resources, either memory or processing power.

    So I went for the chipKIT UNO32 designed by Diligent and built around the 80 MHz Microchip® PIC32MX320F128 with 32-bit, 128K Flash, 16K SRAM. At roughly the same price as the Uno, this is terrific value.

    The programming IDE is exactly the same as for the Arduino, except it handles both AVR and PIC32-based environments through the selection of the board. It is called mpide for multi-platform IDE.

    Software and hardware compatibility is better than expected. See my website for more on that.

    I have no experience on the TI’s platform, but you get what you pay 2K Flash and 128 bytes of RAM.

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Huskimo F Cream/White

At Star Pups we take pride in all of our puppies. We have been helping the community find their perfect family addition since 2008 in the same location, but we have just moved to 5764 Okeechobee Blvd. Just east of the Turnpike on the South side in the Century Plaza.

This puppy is a female Huskimo which is a Siberian Husky/American Eskimo. Her coat color is Cream/White. She is the sweetest girl!  This puppy is already pre-spoiled, checked by a Veterinarian, micro chipped and up to date on all of her vaccinations. For more information on this puppy or any of our little one’s please call us at 561-202-6154. Financing available!


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What is a good portrait?

What is a good portrait?

My portrait subjects often ask me what has been my favorite photography session, Or, if I have a favorite portrait. I always struggle with that question, since I find it very subjective.

Over the past 10 years, behind the camera, I have probably photographed several thousand faces. In the last 3 years alone, I have photographed roughly a 1,000 different people for magazines, advertising companies, corporations, and their own personal use. I have worked with just a single subject on set as well as groups of up to 100 people for just one photograph.  My camera has seen all walks of life: actors, musicians, celebrities, politicians, convicts, business leaders, doctors, friends, and neighbors. I photographed managers dressed in 3 piece business suits underwater, cancer patients in ORs during complicated procedures, the rich and famous in their multi-million dollar homes, and the not so fortunate among us living in moldy one-room basement apartments without windows. I photographed celebrities for magazine covers, fashion models on the beach in summer wardrobe at below freezing temperatures, friends  on an active airport runway in a blizzard, high powered CEOs in their boardrooms, college students in my studio, and one subject, who I had never met before, in the middle of the woods carrying a chainsaw.

So which one of these is my favorite? It depends on the viewpoint. I know that's not the answer you were hoping for. You thought perhaps I might copy and paste a picture in here and call it a day, but, just hear me out.

Firstly, it depends on who or what the portrait is for. There is a purpose behind each photograph, so the intention of the portrait is equally important as the setting. And then there is my client's expectation.

The editorial client's expectation is influenced by the demographics of their readership, the style, and vision of the creative director, the publisher, who often weighs in last minute, the storyline, and the magazine's layout restrictions.

My commercial client's expectation is usually pretty clear. Pre-production meetings, extensive briefings, mood boards, and detailed contracts are part of the planning process.

Secondly, there are the subject's expectations, which can often contradict the client's. The very first sentence I often hear from my subjects is: "I hate to be photographed!” Alright then. That is where I have to put on my psychology hat and gently try to figure out how to get over that particular hurdle, without making that sentiment worse! Is it something that Photoshop, some small talk, or a coffee can help with? Or am I just totally screwed at this point?

Lastly, there is me, Stefan Radtke, the artist, who sometimes might have a completely different creative vision. My vision of the perfect portrait doesn't always align with the client's or subject's expectations, and rarely is it the same photograph that becomes the final favorite for all three parties involved. I often end up with 3 different images from a single photo shoot. One for the client, one for the subject and then one for myself.

And if you would like to know what I consider to be a good, effective portrait, here it goes:

An effective portrait has to make the viewer curious about the subject. That means the photoshoot becomes more about the idea behind the photograph, then about lighting, technique, wardrobe, and location.

An effective portrait should affect the viewer, it doesn't have to flatter. That doesn't mean you can't use Photoshop. There is no rule that says the third-eye, that wasn't there last night, has to be part of the final image for eternity.

An effective portrait is about a person and not about their looks. It almost sounds like the same thing as "it doesn't have to flatter". But what I mean here is for the photographer and the subject to get past the stereotypical camera poses that we seem to have literally embodied in the age of social media.

For any of those three things to happen, we all have to step out of our comfort zone, unless the subject is an acclaimed method actor, then only I have to get out my comfort zone. Either way, I have to be able to build a rapport with my subjects to make those three things happen.

What helps me with this is the experience I bring to the shoot beyond the technical side of photography. I led a public entertainment company with 120 employees, founded a hospitality business, created an online film company and lived and worked in several countries. I can walk into any CEO's office, an actor's or musician's studio, or meet a stranger in the woods, build rapport, and make a successful portrait session happen.

Stepping out of my comfort zone, concentrating in my photoshoot on the person, and having experience beyond photography skills, to build rapport, are for me the key ingredients of creating an effective portrait.

And just in case you are curious, my favorite portraits are here at stefanradtke.com/portraits

99 Portraits in a 60 Second Video

Instead of uploading a  typical click-next-gallery, or a GIF, I was trying to find a different way to show a series of individual portraits. All images were converted into a pretty wide panoramic image and then into a 60 second video all in Photoshop. And below the result.

All images were taken during the Stand Up for Heroes event by the Bob Woodruff Foundation in NY on November 7th, 2017.

Client: Bob Woodruff Foundation
Director: Stefan Radtke
Camera: Stefan Radtke
Assistant: Patty Watson
Hair: L'Oreal
Editing: SR Studio
Length: 0:59

How many awesome studio portraits can you possibly shoot in one hour?

How many awesome studio portraits can you possibly shoot in one hour? Last November I shot 50 portraits of 109 subjects in 126 minutes, and I think that’s the limit for the quality I can still be happy with.

During the 2016 Stand Up for Heroes event for the Bob Woodruff Foundation in New York I thought I would challenge myself again with shooting 50 portraits within 2 hours.  As a portrait photographer I usually plan for an hour, photographing one single subject. Photographing 50 in two hours creates several challenges.

The technical part of photography has to become completely secondary during the shoot. There is just no time to think about light and composition, or to think about technicalities such as shutter speed, light output, aperture, ISO, etc. ….

Everything needs to be planned ahead, including how the post-processing is going to be done. Plus I need backup equipment in case something breaks down, because there is just no room for an impromptu plan B.

The 2:30 minutes per session I spend with building a rapport with my subjects and directing them. 150 seconds to make people feel at ease in front of the camera, to build some form of trust, to have them open up, so I am not ending up with the dreaded deer-in-headlights-expression, and to make it a positive experience for the subject.

If there is only such little time for each session, I find it more beneficial not to have my face behind the camera looking through the viewfinder. To check, if the equipment still does what it is supposed to do, I use a monitor tethered to my camera, which I keep in my peripheral view. During the shoot I want to be able to spend as much time as possible to interact with my subjects, which would be limited, if I am behind the camera. The shutter release is being pressed via a wireless remote control. As long as the equipment does what it is supposed to do, there is no need for me to have to touch the camera. The camera becomes completely irrelevant at that point, my work is all about the subject during the shoot.

In order to do this we needed a pretty large crew

  • we had 10 hair stylists
  • 10 make up artists
  • 4 men’s groomers
  • 3 assistants to manage the flow

Some other facts:

  • first to last image = 126 minutes
  • about 18 images per portrait session
  • around 150 seconds for each portrait session
  • there were 42 groups of 2,
  • 2 groups of 8,
  • 1 group of 4,
  • 5 service dogs,
  • and I snuck into 2 portraits
  • all in all 104 people photographed in 126 minutes, boom!

  • Nikon D800
  • F7.1
  • 1/160
  • ISO 320 to keep the recycle time of the strobe manageable
  • Nikon 24-120mm F4 @ 31mm
  • Flashpoint StreakLight 360
  • Photek Softlighter II 60 inch
  • CamRanger to connect wireless to iPad
  • Yongnuo RF-360 to trigger the D800 remotely

One pre-requisite here was also that the equipment had to be kept down to a minimum due to logistics.

New Corporate Portraits

New Corporate Portraits

IAC Apps, a NY tech company, came to me with an interesting challenge to help them communicate their "internal" brand story. They make desktop, browser, and mobile applications for a better internet. Human capital, diversity and community play an essential role in IAC Apps corporate culture. So, instead of photographing executives and employees in front of a solid colored background we decided to photograph everybody within a unique setting inside the companies offices in New York City and Yonkers, NY.

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For the current 914INC magazine I photographed Andrew McMurray, who received a $2.5 million investment on ABC's Shark Tank Season 6 from Kevin O'Leary (aka Mr. Wonderful) for a 10% stake in his Zipz wine-by-the-glass business. At that point, it was the biggest deal ever on the program. 914INC magazine crowned Andrew McMurray as "Entrepreneur of the Year".

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44 Portraits in 150 minutes ... not quite

Last week I had the opportunity to create portraits of 84 soldiers and their spouses / better halves / friends or family for the Bob Woodruff Foundation at their annual Stand Up 4 Heroes Event in New York. The catch: I was given only 150 minutes to photograph them. Basically less than 2 minutes per person. That's as tight as it can get.  To make this possible we had 10 hairstylists, 10 makeup artists, 5 groomers and a whole group of assistants and helpers keeping things flowing. It wasn't quite a 150 minutes affair, since the hair, grooming and makeup stared 4 hours before I photographed the first soldier.

The end result were 44 portraits including a selfie and a casual portrait of the former Chief of Staff, General George William Casey. To see the individual portraits click here.

All the behind the scenes activity is what made the shoot possible. A big thank you to L'Oreal, Dior Beauty, Truman's Gentlemen's Groomers and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.  But the biggest thank you goes out the soldiers and their caregivers for their service to our country.

Stew Leonard

A few weeks ago I shot a portrait of Stew Leonard on assignment for Westchester Magazine. For those who don't now Stew: He is the extremely charismatic owner of Stew Leonard's. A farm with a grocery store attached to it, and the store concept is inspired by the Disney amusement parks. Love it when my subjects are totally into it. Stew did not flinch when I asked him if he would want to be photographed shouldering a massive tuna.

Although this picture never made it into the magazine spread it is one of my favorites from this shoot.

Stew Leonard at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers, NY


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Monday, February 27, 2012

An Interview with Author Daniel O'Malley

by Megan S.

I've been putting off writing the introduction to my interview with The Rook's Daniel O'Malley for weeks (WEEKS!) and, now that push has come to shove, I've re-written this first paragraph no less than five times.  Why?  Because I want you to go out and buy this book.  I want the power of my words alone to compel you to read The Rook and love it.  LOVE.  IT.  And, if you don't love it (which I will find hard to believe and secretly suspect you're just being contrary,) I will patiently explain again why it's so much fun and, at the very least, why you should appreciate the subtly layered science fiction story that is actually laugh-out-loud funny with a solid mystery and a deeper exploration of what dictates our choices and forms our personalities.

The Rook, written by newcomer Daniel O'Malley, begins with Myfanwy* Thomas standing in the pouring rain late at night, ringed by bodies wearing rubber gloves.  She has no idea where she is, who the people on the ground were, why she appears to have been beaten, or in fact, who she actually is.  What Myfanwy does have is a letter that begins, "Dear You, The body you are wearing used to be mine."

In The Rook, Myfanwy is a senior administrator of Chequy, a secret organization staffed by individuals with unusual superpowers and charged with protecting Britain from preternatural threats. With help from her former self** by way of extensive letters and files, Myfanwy must uncover which of her colleagues betrayed her and who is behind the most recent string of attacks on her homeland, all while not letting anyone know she has no memory of her past.

O'Malley's book is funny and not the usual kind of "funny" where the author resorts to using characters in the novel to tell you just how witty the heroine is and, by extension, the writer, nor does it rely heavily on snark (which is definitely a step up from using self-compliments to get the point across but still isn't comedy).  I actually laughed out loud several times while reading it, something I rarely do, The Rook is that good.  O'Malley's freshman effort is more than just a humorous novel, however.  It's also an intriguing mystery and exploration of how our memories define us and who we are in spite of them.

I was lucky to get the chance to chat with Dan about his first book the other day and here's the result.  Don't worry.  There aren't any major spoilers.  It's just enough to get you itching to read it.

M: You've mentioned previously that you were worried you may have made mistakes in your attempt to write a believable female character. I think you actually did a better job with Myfanwy than a number of popular science fiction and fantasy women writers do with their heroines.  Our Rook has friends she's both open with and relies on, a rare trait in genre main characters despite it being true for most real women.  Why did you buck the trend?

D: I didn’t set out to buck the trend, and hadn’t really realised that I had. But, Myfanwy’s friendship with other characters, especially with Shantay and Ingrid, was important – partially because I didn’t want her to be defined solely by her power (both supernatural and Governmental), and partially because she’s a person, and people need friends. From the beginning of the book, Myfanwy is very alone, both because of her rank, and because of her amnesia – she knows no one at all, and she’s concealing the truth about everything. In that situation, I would have needed people that I could rely on.

Plus, of course, there is no concealing anything from one’s Executive Assistant.

M: One of my favorite characters in your novel is pre-amnesia Myfawnwy (whom we meet through a series of letters she writes to her post-amnesiac self.)  Did you always plan for her to be a character in her own right or was she mainly a clever way to relay exposition?

D: Pre-amnesia Myfanwy (Thomas) needed to be a few things. Firstly, she was going to provide a lot of info-dump (and I’m not being pejorative here, I love a good info-dump.) Secondly, I wanted to demonstrate how different new Myfanwy was from old Myfanwy. And also she helped to show how the Checquy (my super secret supernatural spy service) worked. I just found myself getting fonder and fonder of her as the book went on, and, yes, she demanded more attention, and commanded more affection, than I had originally intended.  So it was a little sad that the whole story had to be based on the idea that she would cease to exist, as a person.

M: Myfanwy is such an uncommon and difficult to pronounce name. Even she mispronounces it.  I just gotta ask, why did you name her Myfanwy?

D: There was a Myfanwy and a Bronwyn who lived across the street from me, and I used to babysit for them. And I’d never met a Myfanwy before, so I was always rather taken by the name. The Myfanwy across the street pronounced it to rhyme with ‘Tiffany’, at least, I think she did (she was always just ‘Miff’), but the proper Welsh pronunciation is a bit more complex. The thing is, the real Myfanwy and Bronwyn are identical twins, but I couldn’t put that in the book, because I thought it would be kind of a horrendous cliché.

M: Though you wrote The Rook when you were in graduate school, you currently work for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, a government agency.  What do your coworkers think of the Checquy, your ass-kicking administrator heroine, and your burgeoning international fame?

D: They have been incredibly nice about it, and almost no one has asked if any characters are based on them. In fact, the local bookstore has reached the state where if someone buys the book, they ask if they’re from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau or the Department of Infrastructure.

M: You introduce your readers to a wide array of supernatural powers that haven't been seen before or, at least, aren't common in current genre literature.  What were some of your inspirations for them, especially for Gestalt and the Grafters/Belgians?

D: Gestalt came to me when I was helping a friend move, and I thought rather wistfully that this would be much less of a pain in the butt if I had a few extra bodies. And voila! I was so thrilled with the idea that I had to put down a television set so I could scribble down the concept. The Grafters tapped into all my squeamish feelings about surgery, and how much you can do to a person before he or she might cease to be a person.

M: If you were to have a power like most of the characters in the book, what would yours be?

D: I’ve often thought that flight would pretty cool, but I get a little nervous around heights. And I’m easily distracted, so I’d be worried about it cutting out at an inopportune time. It’s not going to be a good scene if I can fly, and I never go higher than the top of my house. So maybe super-jumping. Like Spider-Man. Or super-speed when I want it.

M: A sequel to The Rook is already in the works, is there a chance we'll be seeing pre-amnesia Myfanwy again?  Any other hints about what's next for the Checquy?

D: I’m terribly, terribly fond of pre-amnesia Myfanwy, and her letters were a blast to write, so there might be a couple of those scattered in. But she won’t be returning as a person at all. I don’t think.

I’m really excited about the sequel. At the end of The Rook, the Checquy were facing some significant changes, and as any public servant can tell you, change means a lot of work. There’s a merger that going to happen (maybe), and a lot of suspicion and paranoia floating around.

Have a question for Dan? Both he and Myfanwy are on Twitter.  Check out their accounts at @DenimAlley and @RookFilesYou can also read the first four chapters of The Rook on Dan's website!

*Myfanwy says it like Tiffany with an M as opposed to the traditional Welsh pronunciation of Muh-vahn-wee.

**Myfanwy's pre-amnesiac self is referred to by her last name, Thomas, in the book to lessen any possible confusion.
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  1. Just got this book and cannot wait to read it! Great interview.

  2. You've compelled me to read it! ;) Awesome interview Megan, I'm definitely looking forward to reading The Rook.

  3. Read it a while ago, LOVED it! I'm a fairly picky reader, but I didn't stand a chance against The Rook. This will definitely become a story I re-read at least once a year, if not more.

  4. Great interview. I have read The Rook a couple of times now, and have become an evangelist for what is a terrific read! I totally agree, Megan, that if someone doesn't love this book there must be something wrong with them!


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Tag Archives: Hertfordshire wedding photography

“Alternatives” To a Costly Wedding Photographer: Reasons They Won’t Work

wedding photographer HertfordshireMaybe your niece or uncle is happily volunteering to become your wedding photographer. That sounds neat: they seem to be good photographers and you don’t have to spend as much. You’ll still get pictures like how a wedding photographer Hertfordshire would’ve taken.

Or maybe you thought about getting only wedding videos because they’d be better. Well, it’s time to fix that way of thinking now.

Photography is unique

Pictures aren’t better or worse compare to everything else. All kind of documentary; videos, music, and pictures are unique in their own sense. There’s a reason why we listen to music, not the MVs of our favorite tunes. There’s also a reason why we’d pay for a comfortable seat to watch movies but can get the digital posters quite freely on the internet.

They worth differently, depending on how you look at them. Just like that, you cannot lump wedding pictures being the same or worse than having the video of your wedding day. You can’t print our videos, but you can print out pictures. You can hold them, touch the pictures and frame it in your living room.

You obviously cannot frame your TV and have it play your wedding video 24/7. It’s possible, but well, you know what I mean. It can be said that both are different in a sense and for some, pictures worth even more than videos because you can flip on your album and look at those perfectly taken pictures for a really long time.

The job isn’t easy

The job of taking pictures isn’t as simple as having a good DSLR camera. If you look at the pictures that a wedding photographer Hertfordshire from www.rafeabrook.co.uk works on, you’ll notice the difference.

First of all, the eye of a photographer in a wedding is different and needs to be trained. It can be either by experience, on the job training, or formal education. Experience is the best teacher there is. Being in the field long enough helps them to capture things quickly and anticipate what will happen.

There’s also post-production process that takes weeks and even months to finish. These pictures are going to be something that you’ll treasure for decades, so you want them to look as good as possible. The tools, software and computer/laptop that the photographer works on isn’t cheap either.

If you had someone ‘volunteered’, you know from the first place that you can’t ask too much. You’ll have to deal with whatever is shoved to you. Whether that’s a bunch of pictures that aren’t edited at all or some with pretty cheesy and basic editing.

You can’t have regrets

With this special day that will mark the beginning of a whole new life, you can’t afford to make mistakes. That includes missing your chance to take some memorable wedding pictures with your significant one. When the party ends and everyone else leaves, only your pictures will remain.

With that said, it’s important to really consider your choices regarding your wedding photographer Hertfordshire. You’ve got one shot to do this and it’s best to be choices that you know you will never regret.