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Whirlpool Fridge Repair Toronto

Whirlpool Fridge Repair Toronto 2018-03-20T16:00:24+00:00
Whirlpool Logo - Whirlpool Dishwasher Repair Toronto

The Whirlpool home appliance brand anticipates your needs and delivers features that address them. It shows in how they designed their top-of-the-line refrigerator to include a separate drawer with five temperature settings for all your food-thawing needs. It even comes with Dual Icemakers as well as Triple Crisper system drawers.

We stand out by how quickly we can fix typical refrigerator problems: the fridge isn’t keeping food cool; a constant build-up of ice lining the fridge interior; the fridge making irregular noises during operation; an error code that won’t go away. Call us now and we’ll be right on over!


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I survived….. Just! (Placenta Percreta Cesarean hysterectomy) Part 2

Please Note images may be upsetting for some readers!

Part one of my journey can be found here!

  • Saturday 2nd – The day went well – tried again to breastfeed, got out of bed and used the toilet. Then by tea time I started vomiting –  I was transferred to a ward during the night where the vomiting got worse!

I hadn’t yet opened my bowels after the op and the nurses were getting a little concerned – I was given suppositories to try to get things moving. and although some things moved it wasn’t easing things enough!

Sunday 3rd – & Monday 4th – Still vomiting, still no bowel movements, I couldn’t keep anything down. so I ended up with continuous IV fluids and pain relief.

In the end, I got transferred back down to the High Dependency ward where there was a better one to one care!

I was given enema’s to see if that would get my bowels moving and alleviate the sickness.

They didn’t work.

It was late on Monday night and I’d had a sip of water to take some tablets and wanted to hold ‘baby boy M’  when out of nowhere came another bout of sickness. It went everywhere all over me and my bed all over ‘baby boy M’ all over hubby’s trousers and shoes and all over the nurse.

I got out of bed and headed for a shower – It was the first shower id had since before my op! It was heaven, I actually felt like I was a human being again!

  • Tuesday 5th – Felt a little better I even managed to drink a couple of cups of orange juice and keep them down.

Then they decided to take out my staples – all looked well apart from one small gape at the bottom the nurse put some steri strips over it! IMG_3011

I was then transferred back to the ward and given some food I managed a biscuit and some fruit and some more orange juice.

Then more vomiting and later that day my wound opened up! There was a little bleeding and I was told later on it was 3cm deep and 9cm long!

I ended up back down to the High Dependency Unit.

Back in the side room!

Later on, I ended up with a tube down my nose to drain any more fluid that had been making me sick! this was not a pleasant experience every time I swallowed I could feel the tube in my throat however it did take the pressure of my stomach and ease the sickness.

I was told I should be nil by mouth!

Wednesday 6th – Nil By mouth, lots of iv fluids and pain relief during the day then, later on, that day a surgeon and the anaesthetist from my previous op came to see my wound and said I needed to go to surgery to have it closed back up but beforehand I was to have an x-ray – the x-ray wasn’t a good enough result so I was set for a CT Scan. This is similar to an MRI but the tube is smaller so you don’t go as far in and don’t feel as claustrophobic. They put a cannula in my arm before I went down for the CT but due to all the previous cannulas, my arms were so bruised they couldn’t find a vein so had to get an ultrasound machine in to look for a suitable one! The cannula was for them to add some liquid during the CT Scan to dye my veins to check the flow of things. The dye gives you feeling of warmth from your head in a wave to your toes as it goes down you feel like you’ve had a wee – I was assured this was normal and I had not just disgraced myself. IMG_3086

The results came back

My bowel had twisted ……….

To be continued

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The Summer that could change your life! – National Citizen Service.

Since my Stepson turned 17 I’ve been thinking back to when I was 17. I had a full-time job, lived on my own and had a little group of friends that I went about with.

Cam my stepson turns 18 towards the end of the year and I can’t imagine him living on his own, doing grownup things, like pay bills or communicate with people outside of snapchat.

He like many his age are just lacking those life skills that is needed in the big wide world.

Like many teens nowadays Cam has spent most of his teenage life in front  of a computer playing games or studying for the nightmare that has become GCSE’s

I was chatting with a group of friends who have family members around 17 that are also about to head out and find work.

We were discussing the fact that when we were their age we would apply for a job in a bar and that would entail talking to the customers, communicating with other members of staff. Something that was second nature almost. (No snapcaht in our day Gosh im sounding old)  We said that the teens we all knew only really communicate by text or snapchat. They are heading out into the world without knowing how to talk face to face!

When I heard about National Citizen Service (NCS) I was intrigued into what it could offer my teenage stepson.

ncs-picture-1 (1)

First of all it take place in the summer holidays when I know some of you will have other commitments booked but rest assured if you register your interest on the NCS website with no obligation NCS will do their up most to work around your plans.

So whats in it for my Teen?

Well first of all Its 5 days away from us parents. Taking part in lots of fun activities like canoeing, and Abseiling.  It’s a chance to make new friends who are the same stage in life but from different backgrounds.

Then your teen heads to another residential, less adventure more like a University style camp. A chance to learn those important life skills, This for me is the important part of NCS.

This initiative is such an amazing opportunity for young people to develop their confidence, their communication skills and develop friendships that could last a lifetime.

They will learn these life skills and then use them to put together a community project, do some fundraising and make a difference to their chosen project.

Afterwards there will be a celebration  with their new friends to look back on what they have achieved.

NCS will look great on your teens CV which will aid them in future endeavours whether they want to apply for a university course or go out to work!

What are you waiting for?

This action packed program could benefit your teen for just £50 thats everything included. all activities, food travel and accommodation.

There is even extra funding based on your personal case so it could be free!

Almost 400,000 have already taken part in NCS and it continues to be a powerful project for teenegers to grow into outstanding members of thier community!

There are still places available for Year 11s to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity this summer. To sign up now, go to the NCS website. use this link:

Nina x

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Simple Dinners 13 / Pumpkin Turmeric Soup

Pumpkin Turmeric Soup
I wrote about soup way back in 2008 and called it an Intrinsically Good Thing, which I still think is so true. Different cultures around the world have been making and eating soup for millennia. Some of our favourite dishes these days are what the peasants would cook to make do – using every part of the animal (like the bones for stock) and the seasonal vegetables available. Soup is a great way to make limited ingredients stretch further. Most importantly, it’s a comfort and a remedy for the things that ail you. From the bright fresh flavours in a Vietnamese pho to a hearty bowl of Italian minestrone, soup is a Good Thing.

Pumpkin Turmeric Soup
I was struck down by a bad cold a few weeks ago when the autumn weather started to turn chilly, and my lovely housemate K made me a chicken soup that was heavy on the turmeric and ginger. Both are super spices – turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, and ginger is fantastic for your immune system. Since then I’ve been thinking that adding them to a pumpkin soup would not only be good for you, but also delicious. Pumpkin is in season – cheap and delicious right now, so the timing was perfect.
Pumpkin Turmeric Soup
I think roasting the pumpkin first is an essential step, which gives it an enormous depth of flavour and brings out the natural sweetness. I used homemade chicken stock. It’s really easy to make – would you be interested in a step by step recipe? If you don’t have time for homemade, use a good quality store bought one. I also added some other spices that are best friends with turmeric and pumpkin like ground cumin and some fennel seeds and sumac to garnish. This pumpkin turmeric soup is a delicious and simple dinner packed with so many great ingredients for keeping healthy through the long winter.
Pumpkin Turmeric Soup
Pumpkin Turmeric Soup

Pumpkin Turmeric Soup

Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant so this Pumpkin Turmeric Soup using bountiful in-season pumpkins is sure to make you feel better.

Course Dinner
Keyword Soup, Winter
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 4

  • 2 kg butternut or other sweet pumpkin
  • 2 thumb size pieces of ginger
  • 6-8 pieces turmeric
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 L chicken or vegetable stock preferably homemade or good quality store-bought
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard optional
  • Fennel seeds sumac and coriander or parsley to garnish

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Chop the pumpkin into 1 inch thick slices, discard the seeds and peel the skin with a potato peeler. Also peel ginger and turmeric and roughly chop. Arrange in a baking dish, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour, or until pumpkin is cooked through. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.
  2. In a food processor, place about a third of the roast pumpkin with ½ cup of stock and pulse until smooth. Place the puree into a large pot and repeat twice with the rest of the pumpkin.

  3. Add the rest of the stock, honey, cumin and the mustard (if using) to the pot, and bring to the boil slowly on low heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Serve in bowls or mugs garnished with fennel, sumac and parsley with fresh crusty bread.

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John Lithgow Movies List

John Lithgow
John Lithgow
Rochester, New York, USA
The Accountant

Actor John Lithgow Filmography

Showing 1 to 10 of 55 movies
Showing 1 to 10 of 55 movies
Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary ( English )
Artist: Jason Clarke , John Lithgow , Amy Seimetz
Release date: 12-04-2019
Pitch Perfect 3
Pitch Perfect 3 ( English )
Music Director: Kami Asgar , Erin Oakley , Lee Orloff , Christopher Lennertz
Release date: 05-01-2018
Daddys Home 2
Daddys Home 2 ( English )
Artist: Mark Wahlberg , Will Ferrell , John Cena , Mel Gibson , John Lithgow
Director: Sean Anders
Release date: 10-11-2017
The Good Dinosaur
The Good Dinosaur ( English )
Director: Peter Sohn
Music Director: Thomas Newman , Mychael Danna
Release date: 04-12-2015
Interstellar ( English )
Director: Christopher Nolan , Steve Gehrke
Music Director: Hans Zimmer , R.J. Kizer , Alyson Dee Moore , John Roesch , Ken J. Johnson , Michael W. Mitchell , Jeff Sawyer , Gregg Landaker , Eric Potter , Gary A. Rizzo , Andrew Bock , Linda Yeaney , Richard King , Alex Gibson , Ryan Rubin , Andrew Kinney , Frank Macchia , Bruce Fowler , Kevin Kaska , Kevin Kaska
Release date: 07-11-2014
National Theatre Live: The Magistrate
Director: Timothy Sheader
Release date: 17-01-2013
This Is 40
This Is 40 ( English )
Director: Judd Apatow , Joel Kramer , Matt Rebenkoff
Music Director: Jon Brion , Tammy Fearing , James Matheny , Larry Kemp
Release date: 21-12-2012
The Campaign
The Campaign ( English )
Director: Jay Roach
Music Director: Theodore Shapiro
Release date: 10-08-2012
Lives of the Saints
Lives of the Saints ( English )
Artist: Meg Ryan , 50 Cent , John Lithgow , Joe Anderson , Kat Dennings
Director: Chris Rossi
Release date: 31-12-2011
Showing 1 to 10 of 55 movies
Showing 1 to 10 of 55 movies

John Lithgow Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio. He also has written and published several books of poetry and children's literature. He appeared in the films The World According to Garp (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983), receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for each. Lithgow is known for his roles as the Reverend Shaw Moore in Footloose, Dick Solomon on the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, the voice of Lord Farquaad in Shrek, and The Trinity Killer on Showtime's Dexter for which he won Golden Globe and Emmy awards. On the stage, he appeared in the musical adaptation of Sweet Smell of Success, winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He again appeared in a musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, again receiving the Tony nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. He has also recorded music, such as the 1999 album of children's music, Singin' in the Bathtub, and has written poetry and short stories for children, such as Marsupial Sue. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Lithgow, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Popular Co-Stars of John Lithgow

Brian De Palma
6 Movies
Conrad Vernon
5 Movies
Cody Cameron
5 Movies
Will Ferrell
4 Movies
Eddie Murphy
4 Movies
Simon J. Smith
4 Movies

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Vapor Authority
Spinfuel VAPE - Reviews, Commentary for the Vape Industry and its customers

Revisiting Dehydration in 2015

Bigger Clouds, Sub Ohm Coils… More Dehydration! A Vaping Rx for moderate to heavy Vapers It’s been a great year for cloud chasing. New tanks in the sub ohm territory delivering more [...]

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Thank You for your support

    Robert Walugosi
    Last updated by Robert Walugosi

    Hello everyone. We greet you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Butiiki Children's Ministry is a pro life giving Ministry. Its aim and mandate is to uphold the scarcity of orphaned, vulnerable, abandoned children with welfare problems that provide these little ones with the necessities of living.
    It is also a Ministry for Youths and Widows empowerment. We have two branches, our main branch in Jinja holds 62 children and our secondary branch in Namutumba holds 34 children. The two branches are 65 km apart from each other, about 2 hours drive. At our main branch we have two caretakers and a cook, and at our secondary branch, only my mother volunteers as the caretaker.

    We currently have a need to send 22 children to school. Currently, 74 out of our 96 children are attending school, but we do not have enough funds to send the last 22 of them to the School Systems of Jinja, Uganda. We are in need also to buy food at the orphanage that will provide for a full month that will cost $270.00, including all the spices and cooking oil we require for the month. This is the cheapest food that is available, which is maize flour. If you would like to provide healthy food for the children, please help us do so. We pay the Orphanage rent every month of $350.00 for all the Orphanage buildings, we call upon anyone willing to help the less fortunate.

    We call upon everyone who is willing to donate whatever you have, big or small, it can make a difference and change the lives of our children as well!It is good to give and giving with all your heart! And our Ministry depends upon just such a service of love. God bless you all peace and love.You may help by clicking here or using the YouCaring Donate link at the bottom of the page.

    Robert Walugosi
    C.E.O. Butiiki Children’s Ministry

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    The Butiiki Children's Ministry ● Jinja, Uganda, Africa

    The Butiiki Children's Ministry ● Jinja, Uganda, Africa

    Robert Walugosi ○ The Children of Butiiki Children's Ministry are seeking your help in acquiring the necessities of life. Please take the time to reflect upon our mission here in Uganda.


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Parenting and Spirituality

As an oracle and spiritual teacher, it is a difficult task to raise children in this world and to work with them in making the right choices and decisions. In the articles here, I will touch base on motherhood and parenting experiences that I face as well as helpful insight and advice to parents out there..


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Rangers target Stefan Marinovic posts photo at Ibrox

Glasgow Rangers defeated HJK Helsinki (3-2) on Sunday afternoon, and there was an interesting visitor at Ibrox which should excite the Gers fans.

The Scottish Premiership outfit organised a friendly game, after Rangers’ Scottish Cup clash with Cowdenbeath was called off on Friday.

After the match, Rangers boss Steven Gerrard admitted that Stefan Marinovic has joined up with the Gers on trial.

The 27-year-old New Zealand international is currently in Glasgow as he looks to win over a permanent deal at the Ibrox club from Vancouver Whitecaps.

He has earned 24 caps for his country already, and he is looking to impress the Gers boss to become their potential next signing.

Rangers already have Allan McGregor and Wes Foderingham at the club, and it remains to be seen whether Gerrard takes him on-board.

Marinovic took to Instagram on Sunday evening to post a photo of himself at Ibrox.

Meanwhile, Matt Polster, another MLS player, is set to sign for Rangers after a successful trial.

Alan Shearer reacts to Manchester City playing four of their next five league games first before Liverpool
Report: Everton and Wolves likely to miss out on Benjamin Tetteh


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Episode 369

Bryan and Rob discuss 5 ideas for generating additional revenue during the slower times of the year.

New to the podcast?
Grab our getting started guide:
Get Started Here
Bryan and Rob All Episodes

How to Make Money During the Off-Season

Most photographers typically experience a period in their season where demand for their services slows down and so too does the revenue coming in. In this episode, Bryan & Rob share 5 ways photographers can make more money during the off-season.

The After Show

Bryan deep dives even further into a topic with the episodes guest. It is exclusively available here, so be sure to logon after every episode!

Episode 369 – The After Show
Making money during the off-season with payment plans


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First Week in Vladivostok

Traveling abroad to an unfamiliar region can be scary. When logistical problems outside of your control happen it is easy for fear and panic to set in. Here is a breakdown of my first week in Vladivostok: both the positives and the negatives. Hopefully, my experience will give any future travelers to Vladivostok an idea […]

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Can You Really Get Orange Skin From Eating Carrots?

It sounds too crazy to be true—but we've unearthed some research about carrots.

True or False: You can get orange skin from carrots.

True! Your skin can actually turn an orange-yellowish color. It happens when you eat A LOT of carrots (or any beta-carotene rich vegetable, for that matter). Research from the University of California, Santa Barbara shows that eating an abundance of carrots could turn your skin an orange yellowish color.

It’s a phenomenon called carotenemia. That’s right—it’s a real condition!

Learn how to wash carrots and other vegetables the right way.

What is carotenemia?

It’s a coloring of the skin that’s most noticeable on the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. It happens when you overeat beta-carotene rich foods like carrots, sweet potatoes or pumpkins. The condition is most common in infants, and usually appears when they start to eat “real food.” (We’re not too surprised since carrots are classic baby food.) Carotenemia may sound dangerous, but it’s mostly harmless.

For adults, though, even if you eat an entire pan of roasted carrots that likely won’t be enough to turn your skin orange. You’d have to eat a bunch of carrots (like, three large carrots a day, according to Columbia University) to develop carotenemia. It should be noted that beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in your body, so eating carrots is good for your overall health.

You can peel carrots without pinching your fingers—here’s how.

So, what can you do if this actually happens?

It’s pretty simple, really. Just switch to a lower carotene diet. That’s it! Just reduce your intake of carrots and other orange and yellow vegetables. It can take months for your skin to return to its usual shade, but it will usually change back. (It’s not a Violet Beauregarde situation.)

For most of us, eating healthy amounts of orange and yellow vegetables will provide vital nutrients for our eyes, skin and hair. Here’s how to make perfect roasted vegetables.

Related Links:

Article by Kristin George for Taste of Home. View the original article here.


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 Delivery and Returns

Delivery and returns

Orders are generally dispatched within 2 working days of receipt and are shipped via Interlink with tracking.

Mainland UK:
All orders are shipped same day if received before 12:00 (noon). Orders are shipped free of charge on a next day service provided two cases of filter coffee are purchased or the total order exceeds £100.00 (excluding vat). If the minimum requirement for free delivery is not met a carriage charge of £5.00 is applied.

Non Mainland UK:
Orders are shipped within 3 working days. Unfortunately free delivery to non mainland UK destinations is not available.

To change or cancel an order please notify our sales department prior to dispatch by one of the following methods:
Phone: 0333 222 4020
Email: office@indigovalley.co.uk

Where goods have already been shipped please refer to our returns procedure below:

Returns procedure

If you are not satisfied with the goods supplied and wish to return items for a refund you must notify us within 7 days of receiving your order.

Goods should be returned to our premises, at your own expense and in the original condition (UNUSED), within 28 days from the date of delivery. Following receipt and satisfactory inspection of the goods we will be happy to arrange a full refund, less any return delivery collection charges.

To arrange a return please let us know, in writing, giving the reason for the return.


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Inchdairnie Properties

The accommodation comprises;

Entrance hallway  leading to a spacious, and bright lounge with bay window. This room has comfortable seating  and is provided with a television. There is a large kitchen with ample fitted wall & base units, electric single oven, 4 burner gas hob, washing machine & fridge/freezer.  There are two generous sized double bedrooms, and a  bathroom with shower over bath.  This property has retained much of its character & charm making it a welcoming flat. The property benefits from gas central heating.

There is a small secluded front garden, with garden bench, and nearby street parking.

A share of the TV licence & the internet are included in the monthly rental amount.

Key Facts

Bedrooms: 2 Rent: £1,288 Council Tax: Band E Energy Rating: Band D Landlord Registration: 13412/250/30410

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EasyJet has put its schedule for Scotland on sale for autumn 2019 with flights and routes available for passengers to book now.

Over 7,500 flights are set to take place to and from Scotland between 2nd September and 26th October providing 1,300,000 seats.

Customers can look forward to a number of routes to destinations such as Glasgow to Malaga, Edinburgh to Berlin Tegel, Glasgow to Alicante, Edinburgh to Madrid, Glasgow to Berlin Schonefeld, Edinburgh to Munich, Glasgow to Kos and Edinburgh to Lisbon.


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March 2013 Grading

What a busy day!!  Congratulations everyone who competed today and a MASSIVE BIG thank you for everyone who helped. There are too many of you to name but it would not have been as much success without you all. Many helped in a variety of ways from setting up yesterday, to helping out on a stall today, clearing away tonight, making cakes, collecting tombola prizes, contributing prizes, coaching at the event, cleaning toilets to name but a few. It was great to see the team spirit from the children helping out today as well as supporting each other. We had some great results with a few well deserved qualifications.  We have counted some of the money from the stalls and still have further funds to collate, but when everything is in I think we will be hitting the £2000.  This can then be pound matched as Ann Clayton and Teresa Tregarthen’s employer Barclays Bank match up to a further £750 each making a total of about £3500.  Can’t wait until next year when we do it again!!

3rd March 2013

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Roanoke Valley Gives Day w/Turn The Page

Roanoke Valley Gives is an initiative of Foundation for Roanoke Valley. The goal is to raise funding for participating Roanoke Valley nonprofits in a 24 hour period while bringing attention to the work and worth of each participating organization. All donations to the participating organizations on this website are tax-deductible.

Folks from Turn the Page will also be on hand at the Pilot Brewery and Side Stage to help promote Roanoke Valley Gives! Turn the Page is our Cheers for Charity partner for the month of March and a fantastic local organization putting books in the hands of every baby born at Carilion’s Roanoke Memorial Hospital, providing books through book drives to the Roanoke City Public Library’s “Books on Buses” Campaign, supporting Books and Breakfast at Hurt Park Elementary, and providing books to the Child Health Investment Partnership (“CHIP”) for distribution!


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A Day in the Life of British Founder Elliot Bishton

I’m Elliot Bishton, the founder of Engravers Guild of London, the online personalised gift retailer.

You can read my StarterStory here; but, in short, I began selling personalised gifts in September 2016 and have grown the company to $30k a month. From starting with only seven styles of cufflinks, we now have well over 200 product lines (such as engraved lockets and custom hip flasks) and have transitioned from a business-at-home to one operating out of a purpose-designed workshop.

The mission of the business is to deliver beautiful gift experiences, and we really do try to go above and beyond. In personalising each item we send out, though, the process can be quite labour intensive. As you’ll see below, almost all my time is spent working in the business as opposed to on the business, which is now a priority for me to address.

That said, here’s what my day looks like at the moment...

I’m not a natural early-riser. I set my alarm for about 7.40, but hit the snooze button for a while after. I sometimes feel guilty about not being up at the crack of dawn… but figure it’s worked for Zuckerberg, Picasso and half the tech founders in Silicon Valley, so why should I get hung up on it.

I make a point of never checking my phone or emails in bed. Instead, when I do rise, I prefer to take a few moments doing something akin to a very basic meditation. It doesn’t take long at all (like, about a minute), but I find that if I start the day in a frantic spin then I never manage to work out of it.

I have a light breakfast, usually consisting of just a bowl of cereal. Depending on what day of the week it is determines my schedule for the rest of the day as I move between two locations.

The business was founded and started in London. At the beginning, I used to outsource all the engraving to various suppliers around the country and manage the flow from an office in Shoreditch. However, when the business got to a size to invest in our own engraving capability, I set-up a workshop outside the city. So, my main base and home is still in London, but I spend the middle part of the week at the workshop and stay about two miles away.

I used to think that I could never work anywhere other than a major metropolis, but lately I’ve been surprised by how much I appreciate not having to fight with the crowds on the London Underground. Instead, I’ve been making a short drive with absolutely no traffic. That means that I don’t listen to the business podcasts that I used to, but I was pretty much at saturation point with those anyway so it is no great loss.

I get to the office just before 9am, at which point I check my emails for the first time in the day. I’m most keen to look at whatever orders we had come in, as this will determine how much of the day will need to be focused on production and order processing.

The first priority is to respond to any customer emails that have come in overnight. Throughout the day I try to reply to all emails within 20 minutes of receiving them (getting back to the customer while they are still in the frame of mind of buying), but I stop this at 9pm and so try to respond to anything outstanding now.

At the moment, I don’t have a telephone number on our website for customers to call. It’s something I’ve thought about a lot and have been tempted to put one on as I’m sure it would help us with sales. BUT. The times I have spoken to customers on the phone, it has taken forever! I’m pretty sure that I would have to employ someone full time only to answer customer calls, so I’m sticking with just the emails for the time being.

Until not so long ago, all the orders had to be manually printed. Lately, however, we’ve installed an application called Printnode on our site which prints the orders in real-time without even having to press a button. It’s been working like a dream so far, and saves us a shed load of time every day.

So at this point I can start on the engraving. Each member of the team has their own workstation, and mine consists of two engraving machines, a computer and laptop. In between jobs I’m responding to customers, ordering stock from suppliers and doing whatever other emails need my immediate attention.

The bulk of my focus, though, has to be on the engraving. Although it’s not ideal that I need to give so much of my time to this, I think it’s been important to really learn the capabilities of an engraving machine and see what can be possible.

Lots of people offer our services but, as with all things, it takes a certain amount of application to achieve the best results. I don’t think it would have been possible for me to build a business that stakes its reputation on the quality of it’s engraving without me personally spending day after day gaining an intimate knowledge of the operations.

I’ve spent hours on the phone to the manufacturer of the engraving machines and hours on tutorials to ensure we are pushing the machines to their maximum. I know that an employee wouldn’t have had the same vested interest to go to the lengths that I have done, so I’m glad I don’t have to rely on the say-so of others on what should be an acceptable standard.

Locket being engraved

The team has a tea break and a "second breakfast" of some toast or croissant.

Continue engraving, depending on how many orders there are to do. We’ve also just recently introduced a next-day delivery option if ordered before 1pm, so we keep an eye on whether we need to do any last-minute jobs. We used to just charge the same amount for a next-day service if requested by the customer, so it’s very good now to be charging extra and adding money to the bottom line.

In workshop

Our courier collection arrives about this time, so there’ll be no more engraving after this. It’s also a chance to eat a proper lunch. I’ll either nip back to where I’m staying or heat up some food at the workshop.

Engraved silver money clip and Engravers Guild presentation box

In a sense, this is when my real day starts. For the rest of the day I can focus on growing the business, and it starts with a call at 4pm. I arrange all my scheduled calls for this time, and will have one every day whether it be with my web agency, marketing agency, suppliers or new service providers.

I’ll tend to be the only one in the workshop by now, so it’s a chance for me to get my head down and crack on with more substantial bits of work.

A focus for the business at the moment is to build more product collections. Depending on what we’re sourcing will influence how we go about finding the suppliers.

We source our packaging from China, and we started by reaching out to companies through Alibaba. We typically contact about a dozen companies for a quote, and whittle it down to four based on price and the quality of their responses. Then we commission samples from the shortlisted companies. This sets you back by about $200 a time and the costs can build quite quickly. However, it invariably takes a number of weeks to receive the sample and, if you don’t strike lucky with your first supplier, then you can easily run into months just to find the right quality of product you want. So if you can commission four at once, the extra money you spend should return in time saved.

For European products, things aren’t often as simple as Alibaba. You can start by looking at the trade fairs for your target industry, checking who attended the previous year and contacting the ones that look most relevant. Many, though, don’t bother with trade fairs now, so we’re increasingly reaching out to Trade Associations.

Some are able to help you source suppliers free of charge. Others may require you to become a member, typically charging between $200-400. If you come to a dead-end elsewhere, this may be your only option; but finding the right supplier is money well spent. And you may be able to make more of your membership fee by placing a link on their site.

Trade bodies usually have really high domain authority, and some let you post blogs every month adding further SEO points to your business. If this route still doesn’t work, check the social media accounts of your competitors and they often tag their location when visiting their supplier factories. You’ll need to employ further detective skills, from there, but you’ll know you’re pushing in the right direction.

Quick trip back home for some food.

Of course, my absolute priority is to build a business. It would be very easy, therefore, to just focus entirely on that. But, one of the reasons I gave up my job in the City was to pursue some of my other interests outside of the office. Each evening I either go to the gym, train with my local hockey team or rehearse for the next play I’m doing with a theatre company.

When I was younger, I never had the discipline to pull myself away from complete attention on an important task (for example, revising for exams)... but, the older I get, the more I feel that that approach was to my real detriment. I would say that it’s important to remove your mind entirely from your business for at least a couple of hours every day as otherwise your thinking becomes sluggish and your ideas become flat.

By this time I’m back home, and I reserve the next couple of hours for business tasks that require an uninterrupted run of attention. At the moment this mainly involves creating a new brief for my web agency, writing articles to place online with a view to boost SEO, and launching new product collections.

I also try to work on new business ideas. I think that relying on a single business is inherently risky, and all it takes it for a tweak in a Google algorithm or an update on an Amazon policy for a business like mine to be totally wiped out the market (not to mention the fast changing consumer preferences). So, I’m always looking at how I can broaden my exposure.

As such, I’ve started two other businesses: Lox Lockets and NursesFobWatches.com. These are designed to be complementary to Engravers Guild, utilising my same asset base, but re-working it to provide a slightly differentiated offer. That said, I appreciate I have to be careful, as a common mistake of founders is to get distracted by other ideas and so fail to give any of them the attention they need.

Wind-down. Maybe read a book, maybe watch some TV.

Elliot Bishton,   Founder of Engravers Guild

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The Walk (Part 3) –Wales Coastal Path 2013

After having carefully planned my working week to coincide with a visit to the North West to make it easier to travel to Wales, I set off from Liverpool on Thursday morning bound for Pistyll near Caernarfon to begin the third phase of the walk around the coast of Wales.

At this pace, I suspect I will have completed the walk some time in my late 80s. Probably on a mobility shopper.

Regular readers will recall that last year we ended our walk at Porth Towyn having set off from Porth Oer. Because we were starting further up the coast, it made sense to change our usual campsite to a new….untested one.

This year’s campsite was at the amusingly named Penisarlon Camping Farm near Pistyll.

The camp site was very clean and peaceful with fantastic views across towards Nefyn (our goal for the Friday) to the South west and towards Nant Gwrtheyrn  to the North East with St George’s Channel to the north.

Looking towards Nefyn
Penisarlon Farm looking towards Nefyn
Looking towards Nant Gwrtheyrn
Looking towards Nant Gwrtheyrn

However as we had arrived earlier than expected we decided that, though too late to start our walk properly, we could start a bit of next year’s planned walk.

This took us towards Nant Gwrtheyrn, though we did not reach there until later in the weekend. Instead we were treated to a lovely bog blocking our path, sheep, second homes and a quaint little church, St Buenos.

Lit by candles in the winter
St Buenos Church near Pistyll

On the Friday, we awoke to a lovely rainbow across the bay. Little or no rain during the night but plenty of snoring from me.

Up above the sea and houses
Up above the sea and houses Rainbow flying high!

This year we began where we left off and made our way across the once more sunny cliffs and dips leading towards Porth Dinllaen.  Glorious views. Glorious weather.

Nick at the start
Nick at the start

Four hours of walking later we crossed Nefyn Golf course and reached Porth Dinllaen.

During the previous night we had espied a strange structure out in the bay. It looked like a drilling platform and part of me was concerned that the greedy oil people had set their eyes on a protected area of outstanding natural beauty.

Is it an oil rig? Is it a fracking point? No! It’s a slipway submarine construction diving platform

Fortunately, this was not the case. The platform was actually for the construction of a new RNLI Lifeboat launch slipway. So it wasn’t too bad.

enjoy a pint
Coch! It says Coch!!

The construction site had an interesting staircase winding its way down the cliff side allowing access to the official coastal path bringing us out at the lovely Ty Coch Inn where we ended our second day’s walk with a delicious and rewarding pint before heading back to the campsite.

After a rather sleepless night for Nick (my snoring again!) who ended up sleeping in his car, it was agreed that completing the short trail up to the campsite would be sufficient for this years walk.

Before that we needed sustenance in the form of a hearty breakfast. On the inbound trip, I espied a brown sign directing the visitor to a place called Nant Gwrtheyrn which had a cafe.

Nant Gwrtheyrn is an old village built for quarry workers in the 1800s. If you were to follow the link above you will be able to read the history.  The landscape there is a bizarre mix of post industrial archaeology and nature. There’s a church there, a cafe and a collection of stone cottages available for rent by holiday makers.

Nant Gwrtheyren
The start next year

However, the cafe didn’t open for breakfast so we scuttled back to Nefyn and the continuation of our walk.

The short trail continuation took us from where we left off the day before and along a winding cliff top pathway. Again, plenty of luxury cliff top homes for the wealthy and privileged. Glorious views.

It’s places like this that make you realise that no matter how hard the average Jo works, they will never attain a picturesque view (like that in the panoramic picture below) without luck, windfall or skulduggery.

The path turned in land and took us through the village where we had earlier eaten our hearty breakfast before heading up a very steep looking hill.

Eventually the path turned into something resembling Borneo. Overgrown gorse bushes, brambles and scratchy things took their toll on our bare shins, bitey creepies made a meal on our blood, and burny heaty hot sun scorched our flesh from on high. Yet, after three hours of walking, we reached the campsite and the starting point for our continuing adventure next year.

Welsh Coastal Path – 2012

Welsh Coastal Path – 2011


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What will my homebuyer costs be and how much cash will I need?

To determine how much cash-on-hand you will need to buy the home, a trip to a couple
of mortgage lenders is necessary. Your visit with the lenders helps you determine:

• the maximum dollar amount of purchase-assist, fixed rate mortgage (FRM) funds you are pre-approved to borrow for the purchase of a property that qualifies as security for the mortgage; and

• the lender’s loan estimate of the dollar amount of all costs you will incur to obtain the maximum FRM you qualify to borrow.

The lender’s Loan Estimate, prepared on a uniform disclosure form for comparative shopping, includes your projected:

• monthly payments;

• taxes, insurance and assessments;

• closing costs; and

• total cash-on-hand needed to close
During the conferences with lenders, your agent inquires about any restrictions the lender may place on their different mortgage commitments. For example, a loan-to-value ratio (LTV) may require a minimum down payment of up to 20% of the price paid for a property. Down payments smaller than 20% require mortgage insurance, which is an additional expense to the monthly payment.

Also, the lender may place limitations on the seller’s payment of your nonrecurring transactional and financing costs, such as permitting the seller to pay all, a limited portion or none of the costs of acquisition and funding.

With knowledge of any lender restrictions, your agent is able to structure purchase agreement offers to shift large amounts of transactional and financing charges to the seller. Thus, the charges may be paid by the seller out of funds the seller receives from you, not paid by you separately, which reduce the funds you have available to buy property. By shifting acquisition costs to the seller, you can acquire a more valuable property with more amenities or make a larger down payment and avoid the cost of mortgage insurance since you will have more funds available to buy a home.

Thinking about selling or buying? Let me help make your home buying or sell a success or if you’re ready to begin the buying or selling process, give me a call today!

Stella Bonin
Associate Broker

West USA Realty (Arizona)
Burke Real Estate Consultants (California)
480.797.4884 / 619.250.6214

Follow me on Twitter: @stellabonin1

Join my Facebook International Real Estate Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/irealestate/

I am licensed in California and Arizona and we have a great team to serve you with members around the world.

California Bureau of Real Estate Lic. # 01222569
Arizona Department of Real Estate Lic. # BR550696000

“Equal Housing Opportunity”

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text:
STEM For Kids coming to Dubai UAE

Raleigh USA & Dubai UAE 10/13/15 –
Leader in Engineering, Robotics and Computer Programming Enrichment for Ages 4 – 14 begins its Expansion.
STEM For Kids, North Carolina – USA based organization announces the launch of STEM For Kids® programs in Dubai UAE.

STEMForKidsInDubaiWith the global demand for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) talent continuing to grow, early STEM enrichment is a key need. STEM For Kids® proprietary set of curricula in fields of engineering, robotics and computer programming provide a nice complement to schools’ continuing efforts to meet the STEM need. Programs are delivered to children ages 4 – 14 in partnership with schools and outside schools as in-school field trips, afterschool programs, camps and workshops.

Amit Vyas, owner of the STEM For Kids Dubai franchise, is a Londoner who studied computer science and business at Aston University in Birmingham, moved to Dubai in 2005 after he saw a technology gap in the market he knew he could plug. Vyas and his organization have helped numerous companies create an online presence with robust social media, marketing and SEO.

“I’m delighted that the opportunity to bring STEM for Kids to Dubai presented itself as the technology industry has hugely impacted me both personally and professionally. I’m extremely excited to be able to share these wonderful programs with future generations and hopefully play a part in their development and success” said Vyas.

“Welcome Dubai! We are excited to expand our footprint and bring opportunities for young students in Dubai to explore the breadth of the wonderful world of STEM” said Moni Singh, Founder and CEO of STEM For Kids. Singh is a recognized Leader in STEM, recipient of many awards including the prestigious Triangle Business Journal Women in Business, Enterprising Women of the Year Honoree and a 40 under 40 Leader.

About STEM For Kids STEM for Kids® provides educational enrichment in Robotics, Engineering and Computer Programming for children ages 4 – 14 through camps, afterschool programs, in-school field trips, workshops in schools and outside community spaces. National and international franchise opportunities are available for single and multi-units. Entrepreneurs with a passion to impact their community through education can learn more and apply at the STEM For Kids website, call +1 866 991 7053. For media enquiries contact Stephanie Edwards at 919 297 8366 or at


text:
STEM For Kids Ranked a Top New Franchise by Entrepreneur Magazine

Next career move: Bring the world of science, engineering and computing to children with a STEM For Kids Franchise

Morrisville / RTP NC 4/12/17

STEM For Kids was recently ranked in Entrepreneur magazine’s Top New Franchises list. This list recognizes the top 100 companies that have been franchising for five years or less, based on data submitted for Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500® ranking. STEM For Kids, which began franchising in 2014, was ranked #90.
“There was an impressSTEM For Kids Top new educational kid friendly franchiseive number of new franchise concepts vying for a ranking this year,” says Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur. “These companies are already getting attention in the franchise world for their innovative products and services, marketing methods, and technologies.”
“We set out to create a brand that makes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fun and real for children. It is great to see our innovative franchise system getting recognized as a vanguard children’s educational franchise”, says Moni Singh, Founder and CEO of STEM For Kids. “Professionals looking to make a career change, retirees wanting a fulfilling second career, teachers and millennials desiring to augment income and get better control on their future are all stepping in to be the torch bearers of energy and excitement for STEM in their communities. We look forward to welcoming you into our franchise network.”
Entrepreneur’s 2017 Top New Franchises ranking was determined using the company’s Franchise 500 formula, which is a comprehensive evaluation of more than 150 data points in the areas of costs and fees, size and growth, franchisee support, brand strength, and financial strength and stability. STEM For Kids’ position on the ranking shows that it is already off to a strong start on its franchising journey.
To view STEM For Kids in the full ranking, visit Results can also be seen in the April issue of Entrepreneur available now on newsstands.

STEM For Kids® provides the broadest array of engineering, computer programming and advanced manufacturing programs for children in grades preK-8 through summer camps, afterschool programs and workshops in and outside schools. Founded by a recognized business leader in STEM, Moni Singh, the Raleigh North Carolina based company has now expanded from its roots in the Triangle to multiple territories across the USA and outside.
The global expansion is continuing at a healthy pace through franchising of the renowned STEM For Kids business system and innovative curricula. The STEM For Kids brand is generating significant national and international interest and has made into various “Best of ” lists including Entrepreneur Magazine’s Best Trends, Franchise 500, The Vangaurd List, Startup Magazine’s Companies Ready to Make you the Boss and Franchise Gator’s Franchise 100 lists.
National and international franchise opportunities are available.Business owners can start with as low as $20,000. Entrepreneurs with a passion to impact their community through education can learn more and apply at the STEM For Kids website, or call +1 866 991 7053.
For media inquiries contact as follows:

STEM For Kids corporate office at


text:
Monthly Archives: March 2009

LTSP past and future

For those of you not yet familiar with LTSP, it’s the Linux Terminal Server Project which goal is to transform a regular workstation into a terminal server that can be used by thin clients. Thin clients are either old computers recycled as thin clients or specialized minimal computers (usually disk less and without moving parts) that are used to boot off the network.

Thin clients evolving

Until now, LTSP was mainly used to do something of these good old P2s unused in the back of the computer lab but things are gently starting to change. Even if you can still use it with old computers running everything on the server and so not using much CPU on the thin clients we’re now seeing way more powerful thin clients appearing (usually Atom-based) where it’d be a waste just to use them as regular all-server-side thin clients.

1520-PXE from Diskless Workstation

Localapps are finally there

Starting with Jaunty’s LTSP one now has the possibility to choose which application will run on the server and which will run locally.

For these of you not living all day in LTSP’s world, our issue was that these thin clients just weren’t using their CPU, everything running on the server. In order to decrease the load on the servers and use the thin clients a bit more, we got the idea of running some of the softwares locally, showing them just like regular application (you usually can’t tell which one are remote and which one are local). They can access the same files and settings as their remote equivalent could, making them from a user point of view almost identical to traditional remote applications (just a bit faster).

This is achieved using LTSP’s localapps and a bit of XDG magic. Basically you can now install firefox in your LTSP chroot, set LOCAL_APPS_MENU to True in your lts.conf and here you go with your usual firefox running locally on your thin client. The XDG magic takes care of adding the application in the menu if this one isn’t installed on the server and if it’s already installed on the server, will tweak the launchers to start the localapp.
As a result you’ll see a decreased CPU usage on the server and also spare a lot of bandwidth as you’ll be accessing the content directly and rendering locally instead of getting the X11 stream directly.

New X and multi-head support

X configuration was also improved a lot, in most case you won’t need to do anything as most common thin clients are already known and fixed and everything else will rely on X’s auto-detection.

You can also play with X RandR extension now and try dual or tri head setups with you thin clients just by playing with XRANDR_MODE_X and XRANDR_OUTPUT_X (X starting at 0 for the first defined screen), it’ll automatically generate a Virtual setting if required by your driver so you can then dual-head.
I’m currently using with my laptop as a thin client hooked up into a 1920×1080 screen using HDMI, its own screen at 1680×1050 and another external screen at 1280×1024 using VGA, all that with LTSP.

And even compiz !!!

For these of you who like eye candies, compiz work perfectly with LDM_DIRECTX set to True (so X11 doesn’t get encapsulated in SSH), then just run “env SKIP_CHECKS=yes compiz –replace” in a shell and you’ll get compiz (or set it in as autostarted application).
Warning: Using SKIP_CHECKS will start compiz without doing any checks, this is needed as the checks won’t work with LTSP but you’ll need to make sure your video card supports compiz without doing it or you may crash your X server.

Clustering for large networks

Since I’ve been at Revolution Linux I’ve been working on LTSP-Cluster which is a set of component on top of LTSP to make it load-balanced and easily manageable on very large networks.
Jaunty is the first release with LTSP-cluster integrated on the thin client, so if you’re managing a large centralized LTSP setup, you may want to have a look at our wiki.

Its core components are:
The Control Center, a web interface (PHP) used to access your network logs, thin clients hardware, organize your thin clients in a tree and set attributes (equivalent of lts.conf) based on the MAC address, position in the tree or even on the hardware of the thin client. Due to some design issue and difficulty to maintain, it’s being rewritten but will at least at the beginning keep the same database to make migration easier.

The Loadbalancer, made of two components, an agent to run on your servers and a server, the server will gather the various information from the servers and return the best server every-time it gets a request from the Control Center.

The Account Manager, a python service to run on the server that’ll create new accounts on the fly for autologin users and will also manage regular accounts, doing the cleanup and ensuring you aren’t logged in twice on the network.

We also have a few more components to do NX integration of the load-balancer and generation of pxelinux’s configuration files. The howto for a generic setup in OpenVZ is present on our wiki though anyone interested in improving the documentation is greatly welcome (just contact me and I’ll answer your questions and give your write access to the wiki so you can contribute).

The additional packages you need for ltsp-cluster services aren’t yet in Ubuntu, so you’ll need to use the PPA to install the loadbalancer server/agent and the control center. Code is available on Launchpad:

Trying it out

Starting with Hardy, LTSP is now part of the Ubuntu Alternate CD-Rom.
It can be installed by selecting the “LTSP server” option from the cdrom boot menu, installation is easier if you have two network cards, one for internet and the other for your thin client LAN.
Complete instructions can be found here: (also valid for Jaunty)

If you’re interested by LTSP, want to try it out or just get more information, these are useful resources:
Ubuntu LTSP help:
Edubuntu handbook for LTSP:
LTSP’s website:
IRC: #ltsp (please mention what distribution and version you’re using) or #edubuntu (LTSP used to be part of Edubuntu)

Posted in Planet Ubuntu | 9 Comments

Announcing Mirrorkit – frontend to debmirror and possibly other mirroring softwares

After deploying it at a couple of customers at Revolution Linux I thought it’d be a good idea to finally release it publicly.

So here it’s, Mirrorkit now has it’s Launchpad project setup and Michael Jeanson is now working on getting it packaged for Karmic.

So what’s it exactly ? Mirrorkit is a simple frontend to debmirror with a user-friendly (I hope) configuration file helping you create your own Ubuntu/Debian mirror.

It’s a python script that basically takes an xml file as input describing both general and per-mirror configuration including proxy, help pages for the user, log output as html files and user-readable (I hope) definition of the mirrors.
When run (usually from a cron job) it’ll parse the .xml file and generate the debmirror (or in the future other mirroring softwares) command line, run it, parse the output and generate a report as an html page.

Today, I’ve released version 0.1 that can be downloaded here:
An example of its output can be found here:
And its commented configuration file here:

I’ve been running it for over a year now in my previous school and it’s working like a charm (thanks to debmirror mainly).

Suggestions and bugs can be reported on Launchpad, here:
Code (GPLv2+) can be found here:

Posted in mirrorkit, Planet Ubuntu | Leave a comment


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NorthSec 2015: behind the scenes

TLDR: NorthSec is an incredible security event, our CTF simulates a whole internet for every participating team. This allows us to create just about anything, from a locked down country to millions of vulnerable IoT devices spread across the globe. However that flexibility comes at a high cost hardware-wise, as we’re getting bigger and bigger, we need more and more powerful servers and networking gear. We’re very actively looking for sponsors so get in touch with me or just buy us something on Amazon!

What’s NorthSec?

NorthSec is one of the biggest on-site Capture The Flag (CTF), security contest in North America. It’s organized yearly over a weekend in Montreal (usually in May) and since the last edition, has been accompanied by a two days security conference before the CTF itself. The rest of this post will only focus on the CTF part though.

A view of the main room at NorthSec 2015

Teams arrive at the venue on Friday evening, get setup at their table and then get introduced to this year’s scenario and given access to our infrastructure. There they will have to fight their way through challenges, each earning them points and letting them go further and further. On Sunday afternoon, the top 3 teams are awarded their prize and we wrap up for the year.

Size wise, for the past two years we’ve had a physical limit of up to 32 teams of 8 participants and then a bunch of extra unaffiliated visitors. For the 2016 edition, we’re raising this to 50 teams for a grand total of 400 participants, thanks to some shuffling at the venue making some more room for us.

Why is it special?

The above may sound pretty simple and straightforward, however there are a few important details that sets NorthSec apart from other CTFs.

  • It is entirely on-site. There are some very big online CTFs out there but very few on-site ones. Having everyone participating in the same room is valuable from a networking point of view but also ensures fairness by enforcing fixed size teams and equal network bandwidth and latency.
  • Every team gets its very own copy of the whole infrastructure. There are no shared services in the simulated world we provide them. That means one team’s actions cannot impact another.
  • Each simulation is its own virtual world with its own instance of the internet, we use hundreds of LXC containers and thousands of VLANs and networks FOR EVERY TEAM to provide the most realistic and complete environment you can think of.
World map of our fake internet

World map of our fake internet

What’s our infrastructure like?

Due to the very high bandwidth and low latency requirements, most of the infrastructure is hosted on premises and on our hardware. We do plan on offloading Windows virtual machines to a public cloud for the next edition though.

We also provide a mostly legacy free environment to our contestants, all of our challenges are connected to IPv6-only networks and run on 64bit Ubuntu LTS  in LXC with state of the art security configurations.

Our rack

Our rack, on location at NorthSec 2015

All in all, for 32 teams (last year’s edition), we had:

  • 48000 virtual network interfaces
  • 2000 virtual carriers
  • 16000 BGP routers
  • 17000 Ubuntu containers
  • 100 Windows virtual machines
  • 20000 routing table entries

And all of that was running on:

  • Two firewalls (DELL SC1425)
  • Two infrastructure servers (DELL SC1425)
  • One management server (HP DL380 G5)
  • Four main contest hosts (HP DL380 G5)
  • Three backup contest hosts (DELL C6100)

On average we had 7 full simulations and 21 virtual machines running on every host (the backup hosts only had one each). That means each of the main contest hosts had:

  • 10500 virtual network interfaces
  • 435 virtual carriers
  • 3500 BGP routers
  • 3700 Ubuntu containers
  • 21 Windows virtual machines
  • 4375 routing table entries

Not too bad for servers that are (SC1425) or are getting close (DL380 G5) to being 10 years old now.

Past infrastructure challenges

In the past editions we’ve found numerous bugs in the various technologies we use when put under such a crazy load:

  • A variety of switch firmware bugs when dealing with several thousand IPv6-only networks.
  • Multiple Linux IPv6 kernel bugs (and one security issue) also related to an excess of IPv6 multicast traffic.
  • Several memory leaks and other bugs in LXC and related components that become very visible when you’re running upwards of 10000 containers.
  • Several more Linux kernel bugs related to performance scaling as we create more and more namespaces and nested namespaces.

As our infrastructure staff is very invested in these technologies by being upstream developers or contributors to the main projects we use, those bugs were all rapidly reported, discussed and fixed. We always look forward to the next NorthSec as an opportunity to test the latest technology at scale in a completely controlled environment.

How can you help?

As I mentioned, we’ve been capped at 32 teams and around 300 attendees for the past two years. Our existing hardware was barely sufficient  to handle  the load during those two editions, we urgently need to refresh our hardware to offer the best possible experience to our participants.

We’re planning on replacing most if not all of our hardware with slightly more recent equivalents, also upgrading from rotating drives to SSDs and improving our network. On the software side, we’ll be upgrading to a newer Linux kernel, possibly to Ubuntu 16.04, switch from btrfs to zfs and from LXC to LXD.

We are a Canadian non-profit organization with all our staff being volunteers so we very heavily rely on sponsors to be able to make the event a success.

If you or your company would like to help by sponsoring our infrastructure, get in touch with me. We have several sponsoring levels and can get you the visibility you’d like, ranging from a mention on our website and at the event to on-site presence with a recruitment booth and even, if our interests align, inclusion of your product in some of our challenges.

We also have an Amazon wishlist of smaller (cheaper) items that we need to buy in the near future. If you buy something from the list, get in touch so we can properly thank you!

Oh and as I briefly mentioned at the beginning, we have a two days, single-track conference ahead of the CTF. We’re actively looking for speakers, if you have something interesting to present, the CFP is here.

Extra resources

This entry was posted in Canonical voices, LXC, LXD, Planet Ubuntu and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to NorthSec 2015: behind the scenes

  1. tessiof says:

    Will we get a “LXC 1.0: Blog post series” ?

  2. Pingback: NorthSec 2015: behind the scenes – Cyber Research

  3. It’s great that events as such are actually being held. These kind of events unleashes great opportunities as well as new strategies to fight the increasing rate of data security infiltration. Its great to get ideas and innovation from fresh and budding minds. I also like the idea of giving these kinds of workshop to these IT enthusiasts and giving them the opportunity to be hands on and operate IT infrastructures as if it’s their actual job. I hope that companies would start to notice you and help you materialize this project because it would be such a shame for this kind initiative to go to waste.

  4. Antonio says:

    Why are you switching from btrfs to zfs?

    • Mostly because of ZFS’ maturity. We had some cases of dataloss and system hanging with btrfs last year.

      And then also because of some of the extra features of zfs, specifically SSD caching, more reliable compression (we had to turn it off with btrfs) and fine grained control on caching and atime/relatime on a per subvolume basis.

      The biggest loss for us with the switch is the inability to use zfs inside the containers when doing container nesting, but it’s something we can live with and ZFS upstream is working on adding that feature soon.

  5. Pingback: Announcing NorthSec 2017 CFP + Reg – Montreal, May 16-21 –

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Add Blossoms (35)

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St. John Fisher Roman Catholic Church

30 Jones Hollow Road, Marlborough, CT 06447

come, to soften hard hearts, to give us a vision rather than an opinion. Bring us the gifts of understanding and compassion so that we might give up our set-in-stone ways and reach a compromise for the greater and common good. Amen.
                       ~ Fr. Sas, Homily, May 5, 2013.

RELTX0662019-2020 ~ Registration Open Now for Children entering Grades 1-9
Registration forms due by May 31
Completed Forms can be mailed to church, dropped off at church office or placed in offertory basket in an envelope marked Faith Formation. Forms can be obtained here: Click Here to download the 2019-2020 Registration form
Questions, please contact Theresa Brysgel at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

St John Fisher ~ Treasure IslandSontreasureIsland

DATE: Mon. Aug 5- Thursday Aug 8  ~  TIME: 9 – 12 daily

WHERE: St John Fisher Hall and grounds

Your child will set sail on an island adventure in search of the world’s greatest treasure that is worth more than gold! Feel the ocean breeze, hear the island music, taste tropical fruits, play island games and create colorful crafts. X will mark the spot for Vacation Bible camp as they go on a hunt, walk the plank, fish for sunken treasure and discover God’s love!  Cost: $50 per child (space is limited)

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Editors' ChoiceNeuroscience

Inhaling Your Food

See allHide authors and affiliations

Sci. Signal.  11 Mar 2014:
Vol. 7, Issue 316, pp. ec70
DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.2005247

Cannabinoid consumption increases hunger and the sense of smell (olfaction). The cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1) suppresses glutamatergic neurotransmission in mesolimbic brain regions. Using mice lacking CB1 in cortical glutamatergic neurons (Glu-CB1–/– mice), Soria-Gómez et al. investigated the neuronal network that links cannabinoid-induced food craving and olfaction (see also Maldonado-Avilés and DiLeone). Whereas CB1 abundance did not differ between Glu-CB1–/– and wild-type mice in other brain regions, CB1 abundance was lower in the granule cell layer (GCL) of the main olfactory bulb (MOB) in Glu-CB1–/– mice than in that of wild-type mice. Glu-CB1–/– mice ate less food after fasting than wild-type mice. In wild-type mice, fasting increased the amount of the endocannabinoid anandamide in the MOB as well as in the hypothalamus (a mesolimbic region). Infusion of the CB1 antagonist AM251 into the GCL before refeeding decreased food intake in wild-type mice, whereas intra-GCL infusion with the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist MK801 increased food intake in both wild-type mice and Glu-CB1–/– mice. In mice lacking expression of CB1 (Stop-CB1 mice, which were created with a loxP-flanked stop cassette), conditional reexpression of CB1 in neurons of the anterior olfactory nucleus (AON) and anterior piriform cortex (APC), which project to the MOB, increased food intake after fasting. Treatment with the plant-derived CB1 agonist THC enhanced fasting-induced food intake (as expected), impaired olfactory habituation, and increased olfactory sensitivity in wild-type mice but not in Glu-CB1–/– mice or those that had an intra-GCL infusion of an allosteric NMDA receptor agonist. Optogenetic techniques in vivo showed that induction of CB1 activity in presynaptic AON/APC neurons reduced glutamatergic excitation of postsynaptic inhibitory granule cells in the MOB. Together, the findings indicate that hunger-induced food intake is mediated by cannabinoid-mediated suppression of glutamatergic neurotransmission from the AON/APC to the MOB in the olfactory circuit.

E. Soria-Gómez, L. Bellocchio, L. Reguero, G. Lepousez, C. Martin, M. Bendahmane, S. Ruehle, F. Remmers, T. Desprez, I. Matias, T. Wiesner, A. Cannich, A. Nissant, A. Wadleigh, H. -C. Pape, A. P. Chiarlone, C. Quarta, D. Verrier, P. Vincent, F. Massa, B. Lutz, M. Guzmán, H. Gurden, G. Ferreira, P. -M. Lledo, P. Grandes, G. Marsicano, The endocannabinoid system controls food intake via olfactory processes. Nat. Neurosci. 17, 407–415 (2014).[PubMed]

J. G. Maldonado-Avilés, R. J. DiLeone, Inhaling: Endocannabinoids and food intake. Nat. Neurosci. 17, 336–337 (2014). [PubMed]


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Tone Cold Steve Austin | Moneyholic

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by Tone Cold Steve Austin

Sancho Astronaut's latest single featuring Been Real Brothers Ent. "Tone Cold Steve Austin". Its like every time I get a win I take a loss. Why be the employee when you can be the Boss! Wake up everyday and get to the paper a true "Moneyholic"
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"" Tone Cold Steve Austin aka Tone_BRB is a National recording artist born in the streets of Chicago in the early 90's. By the age of 5 he also lived a short stint in Gary, IN before his mother decided to settle in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin. From writing rugrat raps in a 5th grade class room, to recording and performing live shows since the age of 16 years old. Rocking shows throughout the Midwest from Green Bay to Milwaukee, from Chicago to Indiana, hitting the stage with names such as "Tink" (Epic Records) Gorilla Zoe (Bad Boy Records) Shawnna (DTP Records) "V.I.C" (Get Silly) F.L.Y (Swag Surf) & J.R Donato (Taylor Gang) .

"Me & my brother Money started off recording on mp3 players playing the instrumental through the radio. Dropped a few tracks in highschool & got hot locally with my banger Swisha Sweet!" On July 4th 2015 I released my first official project "The Struggle" available on Itunes, Cd Baby, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon, Live Mixtapes, & Youtube among other music blogs & sites. Since 2010 I've worked as a video/ audio editor at a local college in Kenosha, which led up to me shooting and editing some of my very first visuals & vlogs myself! To date I've released & been featured in 10+ music videos. My most famous work is a song and video I released called "Lebron James" which dropped in 2015! It was picked up by a professional writer for a Nationally known sports website 24/ in Cleveland, Oh and he wrote a couple paragraph article on myself & the video. That video alone collectively has about 25 thousand views."

Slowly but surely over the years Tone has continued to become not only a better writer but has been able to keep building upon a small but very loyal fan base. He's put in uncountable sleepless nights and days of working on his goals & dreams. So many hours of working stepping stone jobs saving money up to buy beats pay for videos, flyers, & other promotion. "I'm just trying to get ahead in the game." says Tone who has now managed to find himself in prospering position as he is now a National Hip Hop / Rap artist at Been Real Brothers Ent. & help from Empire Distribution! "We just trying to build us an Empire and have a few Cookies along the way lol." With plenty of hit records & million dollar ideas locked away in the vault, he is sure to become one of the most emerging stars to enter the music industry in the last couple of years! Follow Tone's social media accounts to stay connected. Twitter: @Tone_BRB & Facebook Artist Page: ToneBRB. For all music & inquires visit: &

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Hand Beaded Dream Catcher Ornament

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It’s Who You Are

I grew up hearing stories about when my mom took me for my first swimming lesson and I cried.  No, it wasn’t because I hated the water, but rather all the other kids were crying and so I played along and cried too.  Maybe it is because I am a water sign that I have always gravitated to the water.  Lakes, oceans, swimming pools or a tub.  Where there is a body of water, I can find myself paddling around for hours.

On my 52nd birthday, I joined the Masters Swim Team called the Blue Dolfins (yes, that is the spelling).  It’s funny, the younger Blue Dolfins is who my daughter swam with when she was younger.  While I’m not quite the swimmer I was 35 years ago, it has taken me back to a “happy place.” Like 35 years ago, I’m making great friends but now it is more for exercise and getting my cardio going.  Coach Aaron is a cool guy who is a great motivator and teacher.  There have been many changes over the years to the strokes…no wonder kids today are breaking records!

On the way to practice, I wake up by listening to music that will carry me through the workouts.  One song that resonates while swimming is A.J. Michalka’s “It’s Who You Are.”  “It’s not how fast, it’s not how far, it’s not of cheers, it’s who you are.”   “Learning to bend and not to break.  Living to give more than you take.  Dying to live, Living to try.  Feet on the ground, dreams in the sky.”  Yeah, and then there are songs from Fall Out Boy, Avicii and classics from Boston that go through my mind.

As practice begins, it is dark outside.  Watching the sun come up is kinda cool.  One of my first mornings swimming, I was taking a breath and thought I was dying and “seeing the light.”   It was just the overhead lights in the pool area.  Nothing dramatic, no CPR needed, no drowning scene.  Since then, I’ve taken at least a half a dozen gulps of pool water and water up my nose.  Gives new meaning to the term “feel the burn.”  I’ve also found out that I don’t need to use a pull buoy as I have a natural drag on my body called extra weight.  There have been days where the pool has a wonderful fog on it and the more we swim, the more fog we make.  The fast lanes are really foggy.  There have been beautiful sunrises and on occasion it rains.  No lightning so it’s all good…we are already wet right?  When doing backstroke it is neat to watch all the planes flying over and wondering where people are going.  Swimming now isn’t so serious. It’s a judgement-free zone and everyone is there to swim, be healthier, and find their happy place.

Swimming leads me back to all those years ago when in 9th grade I tried out for the drill team.  Not really surprising, I didn’t make it.  Disappointing perhaps but it was to set a course of destiny that would forever change my life.  After my shortcomings with pom-poms, I found myself trying out for swim team.  There I was, my first day at the Boys and Girls Club pool after school where practice happened.  Coach Tom put me in the first lane, thrown in to swim with the sharks;  Martin Thoma, Firth Krueger and others.  There I was, in all my glory, complete with a polka dot bikini top and swim skirt with the design looking like the three dots on a television screen.  So, it was then and there, I set off on my first 25.  Then my second which is when I found out really quickly this was a test to separate the men from the boys and girls from the women.  I would promptly be run over.  This is the moment I found out where the term “suck my wake” came from.  I glided into the wall gasping for a breath only to accidentally grope one of the guys who ran me over.  I stood up…alive, breathing, and feeling accomplished.   I’m sure coach Tom was laughing hysterically inside.  Well, I came back the next day, and the next and so forth. Coach Tom left and Coach Dave came on board.  Crazy Coach Dave….wonder where he ever ended up?  Then, Coach Andy came into the picture.  He was awesome and made us work hard, but the reward was winning.   We wanted to work hard for him, for the team, for ourselves.   He yelled, pushed, whistled, and threw kickboards at our feet when we weren’t kicking.  There were no excuses and we were loyal to him five hours a day during the school week and on Saturday for a few hours.  In the summer, we swam in the outdoor city pool that left us freezing cold and with the taste of sucking pennies as the pool was old and had copper pipes.  Memories!  Great memories!  We won meets!  But while we were winning, we were learning life lessons that would and have carried I’m sure all of us into our adult life at some level.   We were learning perseverance, commitment, team work, individual goal setting, how to win, how to lose, how to get psyched up, how to take direction, and how to push our limits physically and mentally.  We would watch Rowdy Gaines, Mark Spitz, Shirley Babashoff and others and emulate their strokes and mannerisms.

Ready for our event!

Ready for our event!

I remember Jolie and her mom picking me up in their Beetle in the mornings at 5:00 a.m.  The winters were so damn cold in that car.  Two and a half hours in the morning and again after school.  Home to eat, do homework and go to bed…that was my life and that of my team mates.  Meets were fun, tiring, and sometimes tested our patience.  My very first swim meet, I was set up to swim the 200 freestyle.  Like it was yesterday, I remember going off the block and at the end of the pool was so sure of myself and doing my first ever flip turn.  “Yeah, I can do that” I told myself.   Well, sure I went into it the right way, but pushed off the wall all confused and ended up in someone else’s lane.  Mortified, I swam back to the end and got out thinking I was sure to be disqualified.  This little snotty nosed kid came up and in a “I’m so great” voice said “YOU CAN’T QUIT.”   I wanted to throw him in the pool.  Embarrassed I went and sat down.  Everyone rallied around me and said “it’s ok.”  Yep, that was pretty cool and shaking it off, prepared for my next race.  Over the years, it would become evident that butterfly and long distance freestyle would be my events! We never quit again. Kim Fedosky…you were my idol.  Thank you for pushing me in the fast lane, challenging me in butterfly and exposing me to awesome music.   Jill Farnsworth, I feared you!  You were an up-and-comer and chased us upper classmen like Pac-man.  Erica Bowen, Barbara Wells, Peggy Taylor, Cathy Anderson, Danine Baker, Mignonne Agee, Kat Whitehead, Amy Thoma….my sisters from other mothers.  Curtis Cumbie, Tim Brinner, John McFerrin, Strahan Massey….my brothers from other mothers.  It’s great keeping up with you on Facebook.  I remember drinking orange juice with raw eggs (nasty, what were we thinking?  Oh, teenagers, we weren’t thinking), having great times at meets.  Curtis, remember your parents driving us down the mountain to a meet in Little Rock and after eating a brown sugar pop tart I threw up in the drive thru at McDonald’s?  Yeah, I do and I’ve never had a brown sugar pop tart since!!  I could go on with the memories with all my peeps.  That might be too incriminating for some and we wouldn’t want that at our age.

Now, as practice for the day winds down, the young kids start showing up.  They are sleepy and some would rather be anyplace but the pool.  Leaving the pool area, I thank parents for bringing their kids and tell them they will have a lifetime of memories.  (both kids and their parents)   Thanks to my mom for taking me to my first lesson and being there for meets including one that coach didn’t want me to go to early so I was my own team…hehe.  Rebels!

Every practice takes me back a day or two and also makes me excited to show up next time.   I’m still learning, meeting new friends, pushing myself physically and mentally and who knows…maybe there are still some records to be broken.   Never say never!  It’s who I Am!!


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America: A Prisoner of Our ‘Allies’, by Justin Raimondo

Maybe our “allies” can use some of the money they receive from tariffs on US goods to start paying more for their own defense. From Justin Raimondo at

All the Very Serious People are tweeting and retweeting this “iconic” photo of Trump surrounded by the Euro-weenies, with Angela Merkel seeming to lecture the President while the rest of our faithless “allies” look on. It’s “America Alone” –   the visual representation of the internationalist worldview: Trump’s policy of “America First” is “isolating” us, and, according to clueless leftists like Michael Moore, Merkel is now the “leader” of the “free world.”

This last is good news indeed, for if Merkel is the new leader of the “free world” then the stationing of 35,000 US troops in Germany – at a cost of billions annually – is no longer required and we can bring them home. This also means Germany, rather than the US, will be sending troops all over the world to fight “terrorism” – a move that is sure to cause consternation in certain regions with a history of German intervention, but hey, somebody has to do it!

The political class is screaming bloody murder over Trump’s performance at the G-7 meeting in Canada, where he reportedly spent most of the time detailing how much the US was paying for the defense of our vaunted “allies,” not to mention the high tariffs imposed on American goods. He then proposed a “free trade zone” in which member countries would drop all tariffs, subsidies, and other barriers to trade: the “allies” didn’t like that much, either. Nor did the alleged advocates of free trade here in the US give him any credit for ostensibly coming around to their point of view. Which reminds me of something Murray Rothbard said about this issue: “If authentic free trade ever looms on the policy horizon, there’ll be one sure way to tell. The government/media/big-business complex will oppose it tooth and nail.”

Of course the Euro-weenies don’t want real free trade: after all, they practically invented protectionism. What they want is a free ride, at Uncle Sam’s expense, and the reason they hate Trump is because they know the freebies are over. However, what really got the Usual Suspects frothing at the mouth was Trump’s insistence that Russia be readmitted to the G-8:

“I think it would be good for the world, I think it would be good for Russia, I think it would be good for the United States, I think it would be good for all of the countries in the G-7. I think having Russia back in would be a positive thing. We’re looking to have peace in the world. We’re not looking to play games.”

The “experts” went crazy when he said this: our “allies” are being insulted, they wailed, while our “enemies” are being “appeased.”  It’s sedition! Russia! Russia! Russia!

To continue reading: America: A Prisoner of Our ‘Allies’

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Wireshark Advanced Technologies

Topic: Advanced HTTP

This Wireshark Advanced Technologies course, taught by bestselling author and trainer Robert Shimonski, features nearly 11 hours of training and is designed to provide network administrators with the practical skills needed to solve problems, analyze data, view the inner workings of packets, and perform advanced configurations to solve tough issues. In this course, Rob covers more advanced troubleshooting techniques, how to use Wireshark with Cisco networking equipment, and continues to prep you for the Wireshark Certified Network Analyst (WCNA) certification.


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Evolutionary agents

By Levi Clancy for Student Reader on

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An evolutionary agent causes changes in the allele and genotype frequencies in a population. These are observed as a deviations from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.

One condition for Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium is that there is no mutation. Although this condition is never met, the rate at which mutations arise at single loci is usually so low that mutations result in only very small deviations from Hardy–Weinberg expectations. If large deviations are found, it is appropriate to dismiss mutation as the cause and look for evidence of other evolutionary agents.

The Four Known Evolutionary Agents

A mutation is any random change in the genetic material of an organism. It is a cause of evolution. It is a primary source of variation for natural selection. Only the mutation in gametes is considered as an evolution events. Since mutation occurs randomly and at a very low frequency, by itself, mutation can not account for the speed of evolution. Other agents, such as genetic drift and natural selection, play greater roles in the evolutionary changes. A mutation changes a single allele, random genetic drift and natural selection can take that single change and make it into the prevalent allele type in a population (conversely, they can also extinguish the most common alleles).

Random Genetic Drift

Random genetic drift describes non-directed changes (unlike natural selection, which is directed change) in the frequencies of the alleles found in a population. Small population sizes provide the most likely environment for random genetic drift to occur. To conceptualize it, think about the coin flipping experiment. One common situation is known as the founder effect, in which a small group migrates to a new habitat. The genetic complement of the subsequent population is based upon the genetic composition of those few individuals, and not on the average allele frequencies of the original population. The founder effect is thought to be responsible for the origin of many new species.

Genetic drift is the random loss of individuals and the alleles they possess. In very small populations, genetic drift may be strong enough to influence the direction of change of allele frequencies even when other evolutionary agents are pushing the frequencies in a different direction. Organisms that normally have large populations may pass through occasional periods when only a small number of individuals survive (a population bottleneck).

During a population bottleneck, genetic variation can be reduced by genetic drift. Populations in nature pass through bottlenecks for numerous reasons; for example, predation and habitat destruction may reduce the population to a very small size, resulting in low genetic variation.

When a few pioneering individuals colonize a new region, the resulting population will not have all the alleles found among members of the source population. The resulting pattern of genetic variation is called a founder effect.

Migration typically counteracts random genetic drift. Large populations that fragment into smaller ones can maintain relative stability of allele frequencies if individuals continually migrate between these populations and exchange alleles. Comigration of initially distinct populations, such as various human races arriving in North America and interbreeding, can create allele combinations never before present in a species' history.

Gene flow results when individuals migrate to another population and breed in their new location. Immigrants may add new alleles to the gene pool of a population, or they may change the frequencies of alleles already present if they come from a population with different allele frequencies. No immigration is allowed for a population to be in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.

Natural Selection

Natural selection is an interaction between organisms and their environment that causes differential reproductive success. Three necessary and sufficient conditions are:

  1. Variation in a trait among the individuals in a population;

  2. The trait must be inheritable;

  3. The variation of trait must lead to differential reproductive success among the individuals in a population.

Darwinian fitness refers to how successful an organism is in passing on its alleles to future generations. Artificial selection simply refers to a subset of natural selection in which humans are the agents determining the differential reproductive success. Three common modes of natural selection are:

  1. Stabilizing selection: decreases the frequency of traits on the extreme ends of their range of variation. It serves to increase the frequency of individuals with the average value of a given trait.

  2. Directional selection: changes the average value of a trait over time. The result is that a new value, either higher or lower than the original one, becomes the average for the trait in that population.

  3. Disruptive selection: occurs when the individuals possessing the most common value of a trait are selected against.