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Thursday, 30 January 2014

Quote of the Week: Bob Marley

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around.

You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more.

You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you.

When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement.

They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself.

Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful.

There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around.

You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are.

The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever.

Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant.

Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all.

A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face.

In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby.

Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you.

You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.

You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible.

You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you.

You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end.

Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”

― Bob Marley

This quote was found on

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

Favourite Five Customer Comments for this week...

Each week we'll continue to post some of the lovely comments we received from our customers. Here are five of our favourite comments for this week:

1. "I would give them (The Bright Side Man Tin and Man Cave Door Plaque) both 5 out of 5, fun, funky and unusual enough to be a quirky present." Linda, TAS.

2. "The ‘Man Tin’ was a great gift for Father’s Day.  It was nice to get something funny, but also practical for practical fathers." Tracy, Qld.

3. "Fantastic product and extremely fast delivery... thank you!" Laurice, N.S.W

4. "Just wanted to let you know I recieved the cigar gift set and how stoked I was to get it. Its a beautiful set and I couldn't have been happier with how quickly it arrived and how nice it was! So thank you!" Lisa, VIC

5. "We have received our order and are very happy with how efficient your service was. On a scale of 1 to 5 we would definitely rate the product 5 and the overall experience a 5 as well, I can't praise you enough on your level of customer service, it was such a refreshing experience, thank you once again." Charlotte, WA

Read more feedback here...

Where do you like to shop for gifts for men?

Saturday, 25 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Lemon Lime Marinated Prawns (with Citrus Salad, Mint Salsa Verde, Avocado Mousse and Toastettes)

Australia prawns are at their best during summer, and if you missed out on your prawn-fix over Christmas, Australia Day is the perfect occasion to throw a prawn (or half a kilo of them) on the BBQ!

  • ½ kilo Australian Green Banana Prawns, peeled and deveined leaving the head and tail intact
Prawn Marinade:
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Good dash of Lemon Myrtle Olive Oil to taste
  • Murray River salt flakes
  • 1 red chilli (hot), sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • Dash of sweet chilli sauce
  • Fish Sauce, to taste

1. Stir all ingredients together and add the prepared green prawns. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat griddle and cook prawns on high heat – be careful not to overcook and to keep the prawns intact.

Citrus Salad
  • 1 orange, segmented to avoid pith
  • ½ lime, segmented in the same manner
  • ½ lemon, segmented in same manner
  • ½ red chilli, thinly sliced
  • Salt to taste
  • Fresh mint, thinly sliced

Toss together and set aside in small bowl.

Mint Salsa Verde

  • 5 sprigs of fresh mint
  • Lemon myrtle olive oil (one glug)
  • Lemon juice to taste
  • ½ clove garlic
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Blitz together with barmix. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Avocado Mousse
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • Splash of lemon myrtle olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • ½ clove garlic
  • Lemon & lime juice to taste
  • 2 tbsp pure cream

1. Puree avocado with garlic and oil. Add seasoning and juice, taste and adjust if necessary.
2. Fold in the cream to finish.

Toastettes or Bread like German vollkorn
Cut bread into rounds with a cookie cutter. Coat each piece in olive oil and put on hot barbeque. Cut in half before serving.
 To assemble:
1. Assemble dish using shot glasses. Fill ¾ of each glass with avocado mousse.
2. Top with a spoonful of mint salsa verde and curve a full, cooked prawn into each glass.
3. Top with several segments of citrus salad and garnish with a small sprig of mint. Position a toastette behind the prawn head.

Friday, 24 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Antonio’s Linguine Marinara

Summer and fresh seafood are a match made in heaven, and this simple Linguine will really showcase the flavours of fresh vongole, snapper and prawns.
Image from

  • 320g vongole
  • 100g snapper
  • 8 prawns each
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 50g butter
  • ½ bunch picked parsley
  • 500g linguine pasta
  • 320ml white wine
  • Salt, pepper and chilli
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Vegetable oil

1. Place the snapper, vongole, prawns, garlic, parsley, chilli and butter on a pizza tray large enough to cover the pan you will be using for cooking.

2. Heat a pan with vegetable oil till it starts to smoke, then pour all your ingredients in, followed instantly by the white wine (stand back, it will flame up) and cover with the pizza tray.

3. Check on your seafood every minute, taking out the vongole that have opened. Repeat until all vongole have opened and seafood is just cooked.

4. Cook linguine in (salted) water – once ready, place vongole back into the pan, add salt and pepper, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to taste and add your pasta.

About Antonio Ruggerino: As the head chef at Verde restaurant, East Sydney, "Ruggerino is passionate about bringing the flavours of Southern Italy to the rest of the world" and considers food to be "more than a passion – it’s a celebration of life".

Ruggerino is particularly passionate about food from the Calabrian region in Southern Italy, where both his parents were born. Having spent time in this area as a child, Ruggerino loves working with the signature ingredients of this region, such as: swordfish, sardines, cod and goat garnished with herbs, eggplant, olives and chestnuts.

Having worked as a professional chef since he was 16, the now 36-year-old chef has clocked quite a few years' experience in his craft and "is widely acknowledged as one of the most exciting Italian chefs to emerge in Australia", especially since opening Verde in 2007. Ruggerino regularly blogs at and can be found on Facebook:

Thursday, 23 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Iced Healthy Coffee Smoothie

I'm a huge fan of iced coffee in summer. However, I've never had the confidence to make one at home, for fear that it would never taste as good as a bought one. This recipe looks so simple (and much cheaper than buying iced coffee) that I'm now feeling inspired to make my own:)

  • 2 tbsp EnerGi BLACK Healthy Coffee
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup crushed ice
  • 2 cups milk
  • A couple of scoops of low fat vanilla ice cream
  • 3 tbsp sugar free chocolate syrup
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • Splenda sweetener (if needed)

1. Pour water into a blender to dissolve coffee.

2. Add the vanilla extract, sweetener, chocolate syrup, and half the ice. Blend to mix.

3. Add the rest of the ice. Blend on high until thoroughly combined.

4. Drop in the ice cream and give a quick blend until smooth.

5. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy!

This recipe is from the good folk at Healthy Coffee. The Healthy Coffee company specialises in delicious coffee, tea, hot chocolate and energy drinks in a variety of flavours. The high-quality blends also include ingredients such as reishi and ginseng for added health benefits. Learn more here:

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: BBQ Pineapple

It's going to be 35 degrees C here today. It's days like these that I'm grateful we have a BBQ so we can cook outside and not have to heat up the inside of the house by turning on the oven. I love recipes that creatively use the BBQ to cook other things (in addition to meat), like this simple BBQ pineapple. What a gorgeous (healthy) dessert for a hot summer's day...

Serves 4
  • 1 pineapple
  • 2 cups Greek style yoghurt
  • 4 tbsp. crushed macadamias

1. Cut the pineapple lengthways into eighths.
2. Grill on the BBQ for a few minutes on each cut side of the fruit until you see nice caramelised grill marks.
3. Serve each quarter with a small bowl of Greek yoghurt topped with the crushed macadamias.
No, don’t peel it. It looks divine with the skin still on. After cooking, just run a knife between the skin and flesh and cut into segments, but serve this dish intact, on the skin.
This recipe was kindly shared with us by Dr Joanna McMillan. As a renowned nutritionist and mum, Joanna has partnered with Australian Pineapples, the industry body that supports local growers, to show Aussie home cooks the various ways they can use the tropical fruit in different recipes. For more info, visit and

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Mr Beak's Burger with Parsley Aioli

An Australia Day BBQ wouldn't be complete without an iconic Aussie burger. This recipe also includes decadent extras such as caramelized onion, parsley aioli and hand cut chips. YUM!
Image from

Serves 4
Mr. Beak’s Burger
  • 4 Mr. Beak’s Burger patties
  • Slices of aged cheddar cheese
  • 4 round bread rolls cut in half
  • 100g mesclun salad mix
  • 2 ripe truss tomatoes, sliced
  • 250g beetroot slices
  • 4 pickled gherkins, thinly sliced
Caramelised Onion
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 2 red bird’s‐eye chillies, finely chopped
  • 1½ tbs mustard seeds
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Pinch of allspice
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 balsamic vinegar
Parsley Aioli
  • ½ cup loosely packed flat‐leaf parsley
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 ½ tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Hand Cut Chips
  • 800g Desiree potatoes, skin on and cut into wedges
  • ½ cup loosely packed flat‐leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 3 rosemary sprigs
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
1. Preheat the barbeque to medium heat.
2. Lightly spray the patties with olive oil to prevent them from sticking. Place on the grill once hot and cook on low for approximately 2‐3 minutes on each side, turning the patties over once.
3. Place a slice of aged cheddar on each patty and turn off the heat.
4. Spread the base of the bread roll with aioli and layer the mesclun mix, tomatoes, beetroot, burger patty, spoonful of caramelised onion and finish with the gherkins on top.
5. Place the top of the roll on and secure with a bamboo skewer. Serve the burgers with the hand cut chips and enjoy!
1. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add onions, garlic, chillies, mustard seeds, bay leaf and allspice, and reduce heat to low to medium.
3. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions become soft and translucent.
4. Add the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook for 10 minutes until the onions have become caramelised and sticky.
Parsley Aioli
1. Place the flat‐leaf parsley, garlic, egg yolks, dijon mustard, lemon juice in a food processor, season with salt and pepper and blend until almost smooth.
2. While the processor is running on a low speed slowly pour the olive oil in until the aioli is formed and has thickened.
3. Transfer to a bowl and cover, refrigerate until needed.
Hand Cut Chips
1. Preheat the oven to 180º.

2. On a large baking tray place a sheet of non‐stick baking paper on top.

3. Add the potatoes, parsley, rosemary and garlic.

4. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently shake the tray from side to side and place in the oven.

5. Roast for approximately 30 minutes or until the chips are golden brown and crispy.

Whilst the classic Aussie burger wouldn't be complete without onion, tomato, lettuce and a slice of beetroot, adding a slice of blue cheese or pickles will add a gourmet twist to this classic favourite.

About Mr. Beak's: Mr. Beak's specialise in high quality sausages and burgers. Mr. Beak's Beef Burgers are made from top quality marbled Australian beef. Each burger patty is handmade using carefully selected premium ground beef from the lush Hunter Valley of New South Wales. Mr. Beak’s Beef Burgers are also gluten free, MSG free and contain no artificial colours or flavours and are available nationally from Woolworths stores and select IGA stores. More delicious recipes can be on the Mr. Beak's website:

Monday, 20 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Toasted Pavlova Roulade with Bulla Vanilla Flavoured Cream, Popping Mango and Tropical Fruit Compote

A fresh, light summer dessert will go down well at any Australia Day BBQ. We reckon this Pavlova Roulade will even have the people who "don't eat dessert" coming back for more!
Image from Bulla

  • 8 Free range eggs (whites only)
  • 270g Caster sugar
  • 10g Cornflour
  • 10ml White vinegar
  • 5ml Vanilla essence

  • 200ml Bulla Vanilla Flavoured Cream
  • 5 Passionfruits (de-seeded)

  • 1 Pineapple (diced)
  • 100g Popping mango pearls
  • 1 Punnet baby basil
  • 3 Passionfruit

1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Combine egg whites,
250g caster sugar and cornflower in a bowl, and whisk using the whisk attachment of
your electric beaters (or Kitchen Aid).

2. Whisk egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks are formed; then reduce to a low
speed, gradually adding in 20g caster sugar and cornflour mixture. Once mixture is
glossy and firm peaks have formed, add in the vanilla essence along with the vinegar.

3. Spread the meringue evenly onto the baking paper, taking it to the edges. Bake for 12-15
minutes or until slightly golden in colour.

4. Lay a sheet of fresh baking paper on the bench and sprinkle 20g of the caster sugar over
it. Once meringue is cooked, turn out onto the sugar dusted paper – gently peeling the
baking paper away and allowing to cool.

5. Pour the Bulla Vanilla Flavoured Cream into a clean bowl and whisk with an electric
whisk/beater until it’s semi-whipped. Remove and fold in the seeded passionfruit.
Spread the Bulla Vanilla Flavoured Cream evenly onto the meringue sheet.
6. Gently roll the meringue into a tight roulade.

To serve:

Place the roulade onto a rectangle dish then place the pineapple, passionfruit, popping
mango pearls and baby basil on top to finish.

This recipe is courtesy of Anna Polyviou, Executive Pastry Chef, Shangri-La Hotel Sydney

About Bulla: Bulla is one of Australia's oldest family owned dairy companies, proudly making dairy products in country Australia for six generations. Bulla is dedicated to making products with more care, craftsmanship and passion from only the finest milk and cream. A time-honoured tradition to bring families nothing but the best. Check out the Bulla website here: They also have a Facebook page:

What fruit do you like with your Pavlova?

Sunday, 19 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Stuffed whole Pumpkin

Eugenie Pepper has "been making this stuffed pumpkin for years for all family and friends when we get together", so this recipe is a tried-and-test favourite. One of the best things about this recipe is that you can do it vego (as below) or add bacon, as Eugenie suggests in her tips below.

  • 1 x pumpkin
  • 30g butter
  • 1 cup of breadcrumbs
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 cup of grated cheese
  • 300ml pure cream

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Use a sharp knife to remove the top of the pumpkin and set aside. Scrape out and discard the seeds and fibre. Melt butter in a large frypan over medium-low heat.

3. Cook onion, stirring until it softens.

4. Add breadcrumbs and garlic, and cook, stirring, until crumbs are well coated. Season well.

5.Stir in cheese.

6. Place pumpkin on the tray and pour enough cream into the cavity to fill to the top, pouring slowly to allow cream to be fully absorbed.

7. Place pumpkin lid on top and bring sides of the foil up around pumpkin. Cover top with more lightly oiled foil so pumpkin is completely enclosed. Bake in the oven for 2-3 hours or until tender (test by piercing the flesh with a skewer).

  • Sometimes I use leeks instead of onions, sometimes I add bacon. Amounts will vary depending on the size of pumpkin and don't need to be exact - "it always works out even with different amounts," says Eugenie.
  • If there's pumpkin left over it's perfect to make into soup.

About Eugenie Pepper: Eugenie Pepper and her husband Shane are the founders of iconic baby and kids fashion brand, Plum. The couple have two children, Tommy (5 years) and Chloe (4 years), who inspire them and keep them active. Eugenie comes from a creative background - she studied design at university and previously worked as an interior designer and textile designer. Eugenie is passionate about design, fashion, textiles, art, food and cooking. Read more about Eugenie and Plum here...

Saturday, 18 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Low Carb Lamingtons

Lamingtons are the classic Aussie treat, but if you want to stick to that New Year's healthy eating plan, Lamingtons aren't always the best option. We love this delicious low-carb Lamington recipe from Vision Virtual Training - it won't blow-out your daily calorie intake in one bite...

(serves 25)
Lamington Cake:
  •  6 whole eggs
  •  1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  •  2 tablespoons maple syrup / stevia
  •  1/4 cup macadamia nut oil
  •  1/2 cup coconut flour
  •  2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
  •  1 cup (75 g / 2 1/2 oz) shredded or desiccated coconut for rolling
  •      Punnet of raspberries (optional)
Chocolate coating:
  •  100 g dark eating chocolate 70 – 85 % cocoa – finally chopped
  •  60 ml coconut water or coconut milk

1. Preheat your oven to 160 C / 320 F.

2. Whip the eggs, vanilla and honey for 10 minutes until light and

3. Pour in the macadamia nut oil with the eggs still whipping and mix

4. Add the coconut flour and baking powder and mix until combined.

5. Pour lamington cake mix into a square 22cm baking tin lined
completely with baking paper.

6. Sprinkle the raspberries evenly over the top.

7. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until cooked through.

8. Cool for 30 minutes before lifting out from the tin to completely cool.

9. Divide cake into 25 mini squares.
Make your chocolate coating:

1. Heat the coconut water or coconut milk in a small pan until almost
boiling. Turn off the heat.

2. Add the chocolate and stir it through the coconut until you have a
smooth silky ganache.

3. Spread each square of lamington with a little chocolate ganache very
lightly and thinly with a small knife on all sides.

4. Roll in coconut and place onto a tray lined with baking paper to set.

Nutritional Info
(per single serve)
Carbs: 3.8 grams
Protein 2.8 grams
Fat: 8.2 grams

Claire Ratapu is the Nutrition and Exercise Expert for Vision Personal Training Franchises Head Office. Learn more about Vision Virtual Training here...

Friday, 17 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: Cardamom Mangoes

Many of us might associate cardamom with delicious Indian curries (in India, cardamom is know as "the queen of spices"). However, cardamom is also a beautiful spice to use with fruit. This recipe uses Herbie's Spices Cardamom Seed Green Ground with seasonal summer mangoes for a quick, fresh dessert.

Image from Herbies Spices

Serves 2

1. Peel the mangoes, slice off the two “cheeks" from each one and set aside.

2. Remove seeds from the cardamom pods and pound lightly to break up (it does not have to be a fine powder). To save time grinding cardamom pods, you can use Herbie's Spices Cardamom Seed Green Ground.

3. In a frying pan, melt the sugar and butter, stirring frequently, then stir in the cardamom seeds.

4. Make a single layer of the fruit, spooning the sauce over the top, and cook until just warmed through.

5. Lift out of the pan into dishes, and serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream.

If mangoes are not in season, frozen mango slices can be used, or use fresh bananas instead.

About Herbies: Herbie's Spices fills a need in the community of cooks and food lovers for one central place to access all those hard-to-find herbs and spices. Check out Herbies' website:

What are your favourite spices to cook with?

Thursday, 16 January 2014

Australia Day Recipes: BBQ Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Australia Day is just over a week away and if the Aussie Day BBQ is at your place, you'll soon be starting to thing about what you're going to cook and serve on the day. We've teamed up with a bunch of talented culinary experts to bring you some classic Australia Day dishes that are sure to impress on the day, as well as all summer-long.

A butterflied leg of lamb is great for feeding the masses - plus it's a really versatile cut because you can cook it so many ways. However, cooking this cut on the BBQ really showcases its mouth-watering flavours...

A butterflied leg of lamb is a great cut for feeding the masses...

  • 2.2kg Leg of Lamb butterflied (this size leg of lamb will serve 8 – 10 people)
  • 1/2 onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, or 1 tbsp dried
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp verjuice
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Put onion, garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, verjuice and olive oil into a food processor and pulse to combine.

2. Sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper over the lamb. Place marinade and lamb into a bag. Spread marinade over all sides of the meat. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

3. Remove lamb from refrigerator and let come to room temperature (about 20 minutes).

4. If you are using a gas BBQ, heat on high on all burners to start. After the initial browning you will reduce the heat.

5. Sear skin side down for 10 minutes and other side for 4 minutes. Change heat to low to maintain a temperature of 150-180°C.

6. Cover the bbq and let cook for an additional 35-45 minutes (depending on how many kgs the roast is).

7. Cover with aluminum foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Cut across the grain, 1 – 1.5cm thick slices. Serve slices on a warm platter; pour meat juices over the slices. Serve with mint jelly or horseradish.

About Alison Clinch and The Free Range Butcher: Alison and her husband Ben are "both lovers of good food and are passionate about sustainable food production". This passion is realized through their business, The Free Range Butcher, which sells meat from their family farm. Customers can find their products at farmers markets, or have them delivered to their door.

Ben Clinch from The Free Range Butcher

Check out their website: and Sydney Morning Herald Good Food review of The Free Range Butcher...

What is your favourite cut of lamb?

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

Favourite Five Customer Comments for this week...

Each week we'll continue to post some of the lovely comments we received from our customers. Here are five of our favourite comments for this week:

1. "Just wanted to drop a note to formally say thanks for the product. Really appreciate the sweets and the personal note. Will definitely look at Mr Gift the next time I have a need to purchase something." Ken, VIC

2. "Fantastic fast and friendly service. Thank you Courtney for arranging wrapping and delivery of my Uncle's present. Will definitely be using Mr Gift again :)" Donnelle, VIC

3. "I just wanted to say a big thank you for your wonderful customer service. I was really impressed by the quick response and that you informed me what was going on along the process from purchasing to delivery. I was really happy with the products that I purchased they were exactly as pictured and were exactly what I was looking for, I loved the little note accompaning them and what put a big smile on my face was the lollies. You are doing a great job, and I will be telling people about your website and I will be a returning customer." Megan, QLD
4. "I just received my Joseph Joseph cookbook stand and I want to thank you for the fast delivery and lovely personal note you included. It's so rare these days. I also love the little bag of chocolates and gift card included. What a great idea!! Your website has a large range of gifts at great prices and I'm going to recommend you to my family and friends this Christmas season. Thanks again." Tanya, VIC

5. "I thought I would just let you know that we received the parcel that I had ordered from you, and we are very pleased with it. I had been racking my brain as to what to get for my son's 18th birthday. He often cooks on the barby for the rest of the family (I'm a bit slack there), and I thought I would look on the net as to what brand of tool set to get him. I found the 'Man Law' brand on some other site and, being a typical bloke, I liked the look of them. I looked at the few Australian sites that listed that particular set, and Mr Gift had the best price on both article and postage. It arrived safe and sound, and was well packed. My wife thought they may be a little on the large side, but I joked that they are 'a real man's set', and as it turned out, our son thought the set was great. And yes, we would rate the product 5 out of 5...I hope to deal with you again. Thanks for the good old fashioned service." Robert, QLD
Read more feedback here...

What was the hardest men's gift you've ever had to buy?

Thursday, 9 January 2014

Garnet Gifts

Garnet is the birthstone of January. Whilst Garnet come in many colours, it is most well-know for its rich, deep red colour and linked to purity, truth, love and compassion. Here is some interesting things you might not know about Garnet:
  • Garnet is a stone associated with successful business. If business is a bit slow, pop three or more Garnets on your desk.
  • Sleeping with a Garnet under your pillow is said to cure depression.
  • Popularity and increased self-esteem are said to come from wearing Garnets as jewellery.
  • Garnets are also said to protect you when travelling, and bring constancy to friendships.
  • Garnet is also said to have healing properties - especially for the thyroid and spleen - if held over the area.
  • It can help increase sex drive.

Check out for more info on Garnet.

Here are some of our favourite Garnet coloured gift ideas...

 Check out the Alife Design range here...

Check out the full Alife Design range here...
Also available in black.
Check out the YMMN range here...
Beauty Mate skin and haircare products also available in the Good on You Gift Pack.

Do you know what your birthstone is?


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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Day One & Two

Perhaps by the end of this trip, Howard will be more familiar with how to take flattering pictures of me. So far, not so much. I just showed him these images and we discussed what might work better - LOL - like I'm a photography expert but...

These were the outfits for day one and two. Travelling, I wore my Burda jeans, a black lace RTW top, a grey with black polka dot RTW cardigan, and my closed shoes. Normally when I travel by plane, I find the cabin cold. NOT. Both of us boiled and have decided to dress lighter on the way home. For our first tour day, I wore the Simplicity denim pencil skirt, the sleeveless blouse that I said I wasn't packing but did because it's colorful, and the thrifted turquoise cardigan that lasted only til mid morning since they are having record sunshine and warmth here in the Netherlands.

We arrived in Amsterdam almost at dinner time and - luckily for us - our chauffeur went to the wrong dock and then had to drive us across town so we did get a car tour but no time in the city. I can see now why we might have opted for the pre-trip days in Amsterdam only our budget and our ability to be away from home that long wasn't up to it.

Above is half the ship. Our cabin is on the lower deck of big windows just above the small windows. We have a balcony and float about four feet above the water. I like this view. It looks directly at the water and shoreline. A floor down, and we'd have no view and a floor up and we'd always have to look down. I'm glad we made this choice.

Today we went on a tour of the UNESCO world heritage site windmills. There are nineteen, three of which are still functional. Our tour guide - Ada - was incredibly knowledgeable with a friendly smile and great sense of humour. I was intrigued by how happy she was to volunteer to support the site. It was more genuine than I've experienced before and in an "of course we're happy to do that" kind of way like there's no question.

We had a lecture at the workshop about the windmills and wooden shoes which are made from willow. I learned that - unlike where I live - willows are very welcome here because they love water and there is so much of it. The wood is made into shoes because it's soft and scuffs up and won't slip on the ground. Wooden shoes always seemed clunky to me and yet they are perfect for this climate since they only sink somewhat into the wet ground and stay on top better than traditional shoes would... and stay cleaner.

We toured the museum windmill. It's number three and contains pictures from the fifth windmill which has been inhabited by ten generations of the same family and is still operational. The family provided the pictures that were on display - of a family with thirteen children living in one small building. It makes me wonder how introverts survived in those days. Perhaps they had to go for a walk along the dike to get alone time. I would have loved to go for a bike ride on the dike.

The view of the windmill in the distance was taken from the second to top floor of the windmill we toured. We were not allowed to the top floor. There were a lot of very steep stairs that were worth climbing with caution. You had to go up and down them with your nose to the stairs and hold on to the railings. Such a peaceful setting.

Right now, the boat is making its way to Cologne. We'll cross the border into Germany around eight o'clock tonight and tomorrow tour the town. I will post when I can. The Internet is intermittent and temperamental. If there are some strange half finished what is she talking about postings, that's why and I'll correct as soon as possible.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - safe travel, no issues, my baggage arrived with me

Friday, June 26, 2015

The Magic Dress

Yesterday, I vacuumed and dusted and tomorrow after getting dressed we'll do the bathrooms and then it's breakfast with friends, coffee with our boys, and off to Vancouver. We fly out Sunday afternoon. Once I see how the cruise is organized, I'll post how things are going. They say the internet service is intermittent so between that and being busy it may not be every day but hopefully a few times.

I packed the magic dress - Vogue 1410. I took this dress to the Design Outside the Lines retreat and at least half the class tried it on - all body types and a wide range of sizes - and it looked fabulous on everyone. I highly recommend giving the pattern a try. I've made it with sleeves and without and next I want to try piecing the fabric.

I'm packing two skinny and small knitting projects - as in skinny yarn and small needles so the scarves will take a considerable amount of time. This denim blue is a cashmere silk blend that I've double stranded. I'll work on the project today at the knitting group in Salmon Arm and by the time we get to the plane, it'll be well and started.

I packed a book light just in case I'm knitting while everyone else is sleeping and some sleep aids and a microbead travel pillow hoping I will sleep and not even noticed that I'm locked in a tin can with a million other people. Did I mention that I don't like to fly. I'm not afraid. I just don't like it.

Wendy asked for the leaf pattern. I got it from the tree project organizer but when I did a search, I found it on Ravelry. It's the Mountain Laurel Leaf - a free knitting pattern by Bonnie Sennott. You can vary the size depending on how many rows you knit after the increases and before the decreases. They're fun in a whole range of different yarns.

This morning I'm taking Miss Chloe for a long walk, then journal writing, then a trip to Salmon Arm to look at more real estate and knit with the group, and then last minute packing. Only one more sleep. YES YES!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - only one more sleep

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Two Rings

Last night, I organized the stash and cleaned the studio so that when I get back from my trip it's ready to go. It takes me way longer to get back in the flow if I leave it a mess because while I might not have enough energy to clean up, I may have enough to stitch something. Or perhaps to...

... work on a piece of jewelry. This piece was started in Ashland. It's sitting on the desk waiting to be next. With it, I'll practice inserting bits and piece and twisting the cord in different directions. It may end up a pin or a pendant. The main fabric is the same as the scarf I'm working on.

Claire had asked for a closer image of the turquoise beads. I don't have one. None of the pictures I'd taken have come out well so I'll need to take the finished piece - when it's finished - outside in the sun to get a better shot. These beads are starts. We'll see where they go.

Diane loves sticks and a lot of her pieces contain elements of wood. I picked these up wandering through the park. I find myself looking down just a little bit more. The other day, I picked up a really interesting bent nail.

This is one of Diane's pieces. They're amazing. You can turn them over and over in your hand and think you've gotten the details and that you could do something like that and then you see the picture and wonder what is that... and that... and that. And it's okay because the image and the essence are enough to keep pushing forward and to create my own version of textile jewelry.

As you know, jewelry is one of my favourite souvenirs. Typically I buy necklaces because I only wear one ring only mine has been catching like crazy lately and when I took it to the jeweler, he said the claws needed replacing so for now I'm ring-less.  I didn't want to lose the stone. I'd already decided to buy a ring as a souvenir of our cruise so I'll see what I find and decide about fixing the other one from there. And have two rings... how fun!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a clean studio

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Wait Not Rush & Buy Not Sew

Do what you know you should do, and you will know what to do. God clarifies in the midst of obedience not beforehand. - Chasing Daylight, Erwin Raphael McManus

On Monday, when we got home from viewing the condo and house,  neither of which was right for us, Howard was quite exhausted. I really feel that God is calling me to move in that direction and yet when I see how difficult that may be for Howard, I wonder if I'm being selfish only every time I think it through and weigh out what I know, it comes back to being the right decision so I'm trusting that all will unfold as it's meant to and we'll end up with the scenario that is right for us. Even so...

... yesterday, was one of those off days when you're not exactly unhappy and you're not excessively sad. It was a thought processing day spent mostly on the couch knitting leaves. The group in Salmon Arm is making a HUGE knitted tree to be exhibited in the art gallery in the fall. So far the roots and the bark have been knit and now they're aiming to collect a million leaves.

The style of leaf I chose takes about ten minute to put together. So far, I've knit seven turquoise, six lime, and four pink. They're like chips - you keep popping them because they're so easy to knit while talking or watching TV. I'll clean up the ends this afternoon while at my friend Rosemarie's and then knit some more. It's a great way for me to be involved and part of the community.

I talked to my daughter yesterday and the nursery is not ready for the things I have so I opted to finish the bunting bags when I get home from my trip when I'll have more time to enjoy the process rather than rush. AND... along the same path... no sewn raincoat. I shopped instead. Kamloops is a semi-dessert area and the weather people are predicting temperatures of 41 Celsius on Sunday. It's not exactly a hot bed of raincoats but I did find this lightweight silver coat on sale 50% off. The style is not as fun as the one I;m sewing. Oh well. Good and enough. I'll finish the sewn one when I get back and - LOL - go from no raincoat to two raincoats in one year. Too funny.

We packed our suitcases on Monday night. Or Howard did at least. Mine is more test packed. I've been filling holes and swapping out a few things all week. I noticed that none of the sweaters I planned to take had closures so I went to the thrift shop yesterday and bought this black cape with cuffs. I'm not overly fond of the buttons and will change them later but for now this works. I also...

... bought this fuchsia sweater that several people have assured me does not look frumpy. It may or may not make the mix because it's fairly heavy. I'll check the weather forecast first to see if it's like to get worn and if so, I may need to wear it on the plane. AND...

... then I bought this turquoise sweater that doesn't button closed but is in one of my favourite colors and styles. Howard says I have to pack it because it looks great on me. Turquoise does. Once it comes out of the wash, I'll de-pill it and see how it looks and perhaps pack a pin to hold it closed if necessary. Again, it depends on the weather forecast. This time weather it'll be warm enough.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - deciding to wait not rush and buy not sew

Monday, June 22, 2015

More About The Necklace

Apparently, I'm in turtle mode. For the second weekend in a row, I meandered and didn't get much done. My big goal for the week is to finish the bunting bags and mail the package to my daughter. It's beyond highly unlikely the raincoat will be finished in time to go. Luckily, the statistics don't point to too much rain and the temperatures make layers a good idea.

A lot of our family and friends have been asking when we're leaving and when I say Saturday, they're shocked. They think it's in July and that's true... sort of. Mid July is when we get back. By this time next week, we'll be in Amsterdam and boarding the boat.

Thanks for the response about the necklace. I promised some more information in my replies to the comments. It was so strange that no one had commented at first but I'm glad to hear that it was a half decent first piece and that yes, I can wear it... especially since I already did. The initial pendant was quite shiny. I left the crinkled middle section alone and rubbed black paint on the outer sections. Once that dried, I covered it with clear nail polish. Toning the shine down helped integrate the pendant with the rest of the piece as did the added beads.

The finished neck cord was too big to fit through the loops at the back of the pendant so I threaded a softer cord through the holes and tied a knot at the back so the pendant would stay centered. This cording was a turned bias strip of silk dupioni over a soft-core center. Because of that, I could scrunch the fabric down to create more texture.

The third cord was ribbon wrapped around an inner core. I have no idea what the technical name for that inner core is or for the soft-core center used on the bias. They are drapery and decor supplies.

The hardest part was tying the second and third cords around the primary center one. It took quite a long time to get the two sides looking somewhat similar but not identical.

The pendant initially didn't fit in and looked like a silver chunk at the center so I started experimenting with different ways to add more detail to the rest of the necklace. I started with some silver paint on the main cord and a few beads and then...

...tied some thread tags for additional texture. It still didn't look integrated so that's when I toned down the pendant and toned up the...

... cording with more paint and shiny beads. I'm quite pleased with how the necklace turned out only when I wore it on Friday, the chain came off one end of the clasp. That smacks of cheap quality. I won't be buying those finished cords again and for my next piece...

... which will start with these seven knot buttons... I'll try making the clasp myself so it'll hold together better. I'm not sure I'll get any work done on this before I leave but the ideas are ripening.

This is the fabric sample I painted on Friday morning. I think it has a graffiti feel to it that seems to show up quite frequently in my work especially when I start playing with black. I like how the black highlights shapes but I want to be sure it doesn't dominate all my work.

This morning, I have a chiropractor appointment for some post-accident adjusting and then we're driving to Salmon Arm to look at a condo and a house. After that, we're test packing our suitcases and making a list of what we need to get - things like cold medicine and such. If you have don't forget to pack this suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - RTW stores for things you forget or don't have time to sew

Friday, June 19, 2015

Room To Grow

Yesterday was a long day of errands picking up items for our trip. There's a handbook with "rules" to follow some of which are confusing like being told to bring an umbrella on one page and being told that they supply umbrellas on another. It seemed prudent to take a small ones only umbrellas are not something we need in Kamloops so I had to buy some. We leave a week tomorrow. We'll pack over the next few days and make sure that everything we need short of toiletries is in our suitcase and ready to go so that next weekend all we have to do is put those final things in and go. I'm not one for last minute rushing.

My friend Barb met me before I developed the ability to pull out, rip apart, and re-fashion. She's still somewhat stunned by this new way of being and thought this pin was perfect. I love the mystery of not knowing that making a mistake can provide.

The linen above is more taupe/green - as in I won't wear it - than the blue/grey - which I definitely would wear - that it's showing on my screen. I put it in a turquoise dye bath... twice... and...

... it came out mottled which is not what I intended but not a bad thing. There are many items that can benefit from a variety of values including...

... the scarf that I started on earlier in the week. It's not going well. I've cut apart the triangles you see above and approaching it a different way. I wanted the scarf to curve around the body and it was going in the wrong direction. A fabric that isn't quite right for a garment can be perfect for something else. Along with the scarf, I'm also using it to...

... learn how to make beads, glued knot buttons, and start the focal pendant of a brooch or necklace. The learning will be slow - and hopefully steady - as I work between the different areas. I'm typically more all this or all that in my approach - as in all clothes or all painting - and I don't tend to flow from one to another. That way of working - along with having more than one thing on the go - are things I'll need to change to accomplish my intentions.

... LOL... apparently I need practice. I wrote this post at 4:00 yesterday afternoon and proofed it at 8:30 last night and at that point no one had commented on the necklace. I knew it wasn't the most gorgeous piece in the world but I also didn't think it was terrible beyond wearable. Should I wear it in public or not - VBG? Does it need help? What kind of help?

Rather than overthink it - and because this was practice - I grabbed the nearest paintable fabric yesterday morning and started. It was aqua broadcloth. As I painted it occurred to me that broadcloth is actually fabric and that it can be and is used for finished garments although not by me. I tend to think of it as a throwaway fabric for test garments that's less expensive than muslin. As I painted, I thought about how to take the piece forward into something like a bag. The possibilities were intriguing because I'll want the finished piece to have a "more than broadcloth" feeling.

... when Diane is demonstrating stenciling, she'll pour out a teeny tiny dot of paint and say she could paint the entire yardage with that. There's no way I could so I want to learn how to have a lighter hand with the paint and how to hold the applicator and work with the stencil in that gentle way. I used a small amount of blue paint, a little sea sponge thinking it would soak up less paint, and one line on a stencil. I'll be working with this stencil for quite a while to see what all I can do with it. I want to set limits that are broadening. After painting...

... I used a medium point Tee Juice pen to draw a variety of lines. Some are more lovely than others but overall...

... the impression is quite playful. Again, this piece is at the beginning of my learning curve so while it's not amazing, it's also not horrible. There is room to grow.

This morning, I'm picking up coffee and driving to Salmon Arm. I'll journal at the Starbucks there before meeting with a realtor and touring the town. She's going to tell me about the good and the bad, the do and the don't. I'll take notes.

After that, I want to research some retail possibilities for items to sell in my studio and then I'll go to the knitting group again in the afternoon. I'm starting to connect with the community now so that when we move I will already know some people. Depending on how organized we actually are, I may go again next week before we leave and definitely again when we get back.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the benefit of mistakes

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Painting Ugly Fabric

Part of moving forward with my creative work is recognizing what I'm good at and where I could use improvement. In terms of sewing, my technical skills are quite strong and I need to focus on the details that add interest and variety. In terms of jewelry, my design skills from textile art are transferable and I need to focus on the jewelry formats and how to put the elements together.

The quotes from Free Play that I shared last week continue to resonate. The images dancing in my head cannot become reality until I actually attempt to make them and then there will be a disconnect between what I can imagine and what I can actually create until my skill-abilities catch-up with my imagine-abilities.

In the chapter I'm reading now, the author is talking about limits and how they yield intensity. Boundaries can help us to get started and stay with the work and they can prevent us from wandering off in endless directions. He writes: one rule that I have found to be useful is that two rules are more than enough. That's so true. There has to be a balance between a project that is so open ended a decision can not be made and so constrained that there's no room to create.

I want to learn how to make textile jewelry and I will learn to do by doing and by making the doing doable. When I saw the necklace above left, I loved the pendant but not the wire "chain". It's the kind of wire that once it gets bent, it's kinked forever and it looks cheap. The finished cord at right was in my stash. To make...

... my first necklace, I made the "rules" reasonable - use the purchased pendant in a necklace with a black and silver color scheme that is created using only supplies already in stash. The finished piece is not beyond amazing but I think it turned out pretty good for a first try. At some point in the future, I want to create the pendant as well. For now, working on the cords is an easy way to start. Another thing that made it easy was...

... being prepared to play. When I created the second studio, I moved the loveseat upstairs which left open space in this studio. On Tuesday night, I set up a paint table by the window and moved the serger to a side table so I could use the second desk for putting jewelry together. As a place to sit, knit, and read, the second studio is great. As a place to make jewelry, it wasn't working and yesterday, while making this piece, when I needed to move between stations, this was perfect. I'll most likely move those supplies back.

One of my goals is to find a way to naturally flow between the areas I want to develop. They can work together which is why on my way to painting beautiful fabric, painting ugly fabric would be highly beneficial. I can cut up those pieces to make piping, binding, knot buttons, jewelry, patches, pieced sections, and all sorts of other bits that will fit into my creative direction. YES YES. For this morning's hour, I'm painting and then I have a whole bunch of errands and a haircut.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a decent first piece

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Understanding Free Content

Content is an unlimited resource. People can now make perfect copies of digital content for free. That’s why they expect content to be free — because it is in fact free. That is GOOD.

Think of “content” — culture — as water. Where water flows, life flourishes.

content is free, like water in a river
Containers — objects like books, DVDs, hard drives, apparel, action figures, and prints — are not free. They are a limited resource. No one expects these objects to be free, and people voluntarily pay good money for them.

containers are not free
Think of “containers” — books, discs, hard drives — as jugs and vessels. These containers add utility to and increase the value of the water. If you can get water for free in the public river, great — that doesn’t reduce the value of vessels. Quite the contrary: when rivers flow, the utility and value of water vessels increases.

free vs not free; use the unlimited resource to sell the limited resource
Read the rest of this article…

2 comments to Understanding Free Content

  • Sophie

    I know the topic isn’t right, but THANK YOU for Sita Sings Blues. It’s amazing, astonishing, surprising and beautiful. I almost cry when woman with hearts dance to sita’s fire

  • Drakar

    Nina, I couldn’t agree any more with the sentiment and logic behind this article. I’ve been saying similar things for years, particularly in defense of “illegal” music downloading (thanks to “illegal” music downloading, for example, I own about 100 more CDs than I would have otherwise… and the RIAA would sue me for this). You have, of course, said (and illustrated) it much more eloquently and comprehensively than I have ever been able to. This is one of the biggest reasons I’ve been so invested in Sita (other than that it’s a fantastic movie).

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Posts Tagged ‘Joomla’

A key metric of success for the Joomla community

PICnet PenguinWith Joomla!Day Melbourne 2013 taking place this week down in Australia, and with my upcoming travel to speak at Joomla!Day India in early February 2013, I took a little time this weekend to reflect on the incredible success of the Joomla open source community.  There’s a lot that goes into an open source project that moves it from mediocrity to superstardom, not the least of which is actually the code that people enjoy writing and using.

In thinking about my presentation for Joomla!Day India, one key metric of success stood out amongst all others for the Joomla community:  empowerment.

In my relatively short 15 years in the open source world, I have yet to find another project that is able to as effectively strike the solid balance between attraction of new members that know little-to-nothing about software development, and the hardcore engineers looking to leverage a power web framework.  Based on my years within the Joomla project, and my term serving as a leader of it, I’ve come to realize that the key differentiator for me has been the community’s focus on empowering anyone to contribute.

Read more »

Easy content sharing with RSS feeds from your nonprofit website

RSS feed logo

RSS can be a little confusing.  I try to remember it like this: it’s a no-nonsense way to push content from a website, or pull content into a website. Read more »

Ushering in new era of open source evangelism

President Obama and Michelle ObamaWay back in 1999, when dinosaurs were roaming the planet, a friend of mine and I started off on a path that I’ve been lucky enough to keep walking for 14 years.  As students of public policy, we were eager to use technology to provide individuals and organizations with empowering tools to advance the cause of building a more open and just society.  From the beginning, we knew that open source software would be the necessary DNA running through our work’s blood.

Looking back at those early days, I’m incredibly humbled by the impact open source has had on my life and in our communities.  Now, older and slightly wiser, I’m excited to continue down that same path.  Our company’s flagship offerings (Non-Profit Soapbox and Soapbox Engage) heavily leverage open source software, giving us the headspace and time to focus on shaping software to best serve our community.

At the same time, I continue to find fulfillment in life by using my experience as a backdrop for evangelism of the open source communities that help us deliver services to those who need it most.  While this has recently lead to many hours on planes and trains far away from loved ones, I feel nearly compelled (in a good sense) to work alongside the incredible people building the hammers and nails the world needs to craft more effective and equitable software.

Read more »

15 reasons why membership organizations love Soapbox and Salesforce

As we’ve freely confessed over and over (and over and over and…), we’re sweet on Saleforce. It provides an immensely powerful platform for managing all the relationships a nonprofit has with individuals and organizations.

If you’re a membership organization, you’re all about managing relationships. Here are the top fifteen reasons why membership organizations love the crush Soapbox Engage has on Salesforce: Read more »

Announcing Soapbox Engage: Donations, Events, and Forms with

Far too often, non-profits are left on the dull-edge of technology, sacrificing innovation for affordability.  At PICnet, we believe the ability to effectively raise funds, organize events, and mobilize supporters should be within the reach of any organization.

Organizations shouldn’t have to fundraise to afford the next generation of fundraising software.

As a company dedicated to hitting this challenge head-on, we are thrilled to announce the beta release of Soapbox Engage, the first-of-its-kind suite of donation, events, search, and submit tools that leverage the power of for non-profits. Our goal is to tear down the barriers to entry for organizations that want to more effectively use the Web to collect and expose data from Salesforce. Read more »

Chronicles from Dreamforce 2010

I’ve been to more than a few conferences this year. Most conferences I attend are squarely focused on either the Joomla! or non-profit technology communities.  That tends to be my comfort zone.  So when I decided to join Melanie and Tim to do some crosstraining and Joomla! evangelism at Dreamforce 2010 conference, I had no idea what to expect.

The result:  after four days at Dreamforce I was completely exhausted, my mind was swirling with possibilities, and I’d shaken more hands than a politician walking a rope line.  Thank goodness for the “cloud” beanbag areas in San Francisco’s Moscone West.

PICnetters and SaaSy at Dreamforce 2010

PICnetters and SaaSy at Dreamforce 2010

There were more than a few times I asked myself, “is this a rock concert, or am I at a technology conference?”  DJs were spinning in the lobbies of all the conference halls (Dreamforce took over all three of the Moscone conference halls in San Francisco), SaaSy and Chatty (Saleforce’s mascots) roamed the halls with big smiles, and the rain didn’t keep anyone from staying to see Stevie Wonder, and, and President Bill Clinton make appearances.

But seriously, it wasn’t a rock conference.

Read more »

Ryan to keynote Joomla!Day DC

Joomla!Day DC 2010There’s few things I enjoy more in the Joomla! world than having the opportunity to meet members of the community.  Between session talks and evening drinks, the conversations are amazing.

I’ve been to Mongolia, South Africa, Brazil, and lots of places in between, and the stories I hear from the Joomla community are incredible.  People’s rich background of experience, their willingness to contribute, and excitement for the future keep fueling my tank as President of Open Source Matters (Joomla’s non-profit organization).

This weekend (Saturday, Oct 15, 2010), I get a chance to bring it back to the home crowd at Joomla!Day DC.  I’ll eloquently and diplomatically sum up my thoughts in two words:  I’m stoked.

Read more »

Video tours of J!Salesforce

We’ve been excited to see the popularity of our J!Salesforce integration tool between Joomla and (also available to all our Non-Profit Soapbox organizations!).  Some folks have been interested in seeing some videos to better understand what the tool can provide to Joomla Web sites.  Well, I made a little video tour of the administrator interface and the front-end search form builder to help provide a visual overview.  Grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.

J!Salesforce Search Functionality Video Tour

J!Salesforce Administrator Video Tour

Salesforce user? Supercharge your CRM with J!Salesforce and foundation funding

Does your organization currently use Salesforce? Are you looking to get the most from your Salesforce application through innovative customization or integration with your website? If so, read on for important news that could supercharge your CRM!

Connect your website with Salesforce through J!Salesforce

PICnet offers J!Salesforce, an elegant and powerful tool that integrates your Soapbox/Joomla! website with your Salesforce install. This tool provides:

  • connectivity between Soapbox/Joomla! and the Contacts object in
  • Soapbox/Joomla! user registration with additional custom fields that auto-populate a corresponding new contact
  • profile updating with
  • search directory extension, providing a searchable interface of your Contacts object from through your Soapbox/Joomla! Web site (especially useful for membership directories)
  • a user-friendly, customizable and templateable search form, results page, and detailed view page for Contact records in Soapbox/Joomla!

Interested in implementing this on your site? Contact us today about tapping into the power of J!Salesforce. Foundation Grant Program: Technology Innovation 2010 Grants

Looking to expand your use of Salesforce? The Foundation is seeking to fund innovative proposals through its 2010 Grant Program. Through this program, they are soliciting applications that meet the following:

Technology Innovation grants will be awarded to visionary nonprofit organizations to enable their innovative use and development of technology. Successful applicants will demonstrate how the enhanced use of technology will support and improve their ability to effect their social change mission. Project proposals must represent responses to clearly identified needs and must outline a realistic plan for replication to the global nonprofit community.

Strength in numbers: Collaborative applications for a common solution

At PICnet, we’re huge fans of Salesforce and the power it has to transform an organization’s relationship with its clients, donors, and partners. This is why we created J!Salesforce. This is why we plan to expand its feature set in the future.

This is also why we are doing more than simply passing on the good news about the Foundation grant program. PICnet is currently reaching out to interested clients and other potential partners to facilitate a joint application that will center around expanding connectivity between Soapbox/Joomla! sites and Salesforce.  Our intention is to provide technical guidance to translate individual organizational goals into common coding tools in order to produce maximum benefit for multiple clients and an increased ability for the collaborators to submit a successful application that provides a “realistic plan for replication to the global nonprofit community.”

If you are interested in participating in this collaborative effort, please contact us today!

Not a Salesforce user but curious about becoming one?

Salesforce is the world’s most popular CRM.  What’s more, it is free to non-profit organizations through the Foundation.  Check out their program today to learn more about how this robust CRM can enhance your organization’s work.

Julie Does Joomla!

Last week, I attended a beginner Joomla! training. As someone who doesn’t deal with Joomla! or Soapbox or much of the other projects that my colleagues do on a daily basis, this was a new experience for me.

I learned how to add articles online, connect websites (such as Google and YouTube) to the training website using Joomla’s wrapper feature, and was even able to start the design of my own site online!

I may not be a Joomla! wizard just yet, but I thought it was a great introduction to some of the cool stuff our PICnet team works on, and the information is invaluable to me better understanding Joomla and Soapbox.

Thanks to PICnet and the NOVA JUG for making this happen!


text:
Six Dos and Don’ts of Buying Used

Written By:

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERAWhen I was in college, the campus bookstore used to stamp its used books with a big, yellow sticker that read “USED SAVES.” The idea, of course, was to remind broke college kids that buying used books is an easy way to save a couple bucks. I suppose that seeing all those yellow stickers over the course of four years really sunk in because now, as an adult, I love buying used stuff! In addition to books, I buy pre-owned clothes, furniture, appliances…the list goes on.

In the years since college, I’ve gotten pretty skilled at buying used stuff, so I wanted to share a list dos and don’ts that I adhere to when I’m hunting for the perfect used item.

DO haggle. In my experience, most people who have listed items on Craigslist or are holding a yard sale just want to get rid of their stuff and they’re willing to accept a lower price. Don’t be afraid to ask!

DON’T meet the seller at his or her home. Sometimes this is unavoidable with large items, like appliances or large furniture, and in those cases you should bring a friend with you. If it’s possible, your safest bet is to meet the seller in a crowded, public place.

[Check Your Credit: Don’t Guess. Know.® Get your free credit report and score. No credit card required.

DON’T go to pick up the item alone. You should never, ever meet a stranger by yourself. Bring a friend along with you to pick up your item, and always try to meet in a busy, public area that is convenient for both you and the seller.

DO carefully inspect the item before you commit to buying it. Chances are, you won’t be able to return a used item once you purchase it, so be sure to look it over carefully for scratches, tears, or other imperfections before you turn your money over to the seller. If you’re buying an appliance or anything else with moving parts, be sure ask for a demonstration that the item is functional.

DO ask the right questions when you’re in initial contact with the seller. For example, if you’re buying a new winter coat from eBay, you may want to contact the seller and ask if the previous wearer was a smoker. Or, if you’re buying a couch from Craigslist and you’re allergic to cats, ask if the couch is coming from a kitty-free home. You want to avoid nasty surprises if possible.

DON’T forget to shop around. Buying used usually saves money, but sometimes the time and energy required to find the perfect used item isn’t worth the monetary savings. Weigh the pros and cons of buying used carefully, especially when purchasing large and expensive items.

Buying used is a great way to save money and give an unwanted item a new home, but it does require a little extra legwork. If you stick to these dos and don’ts, you’ll be sure to walk away with the best possible deal!


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Second Life 2.0 To Face Off With Outback Online?

There’s been plenty of talk over the past few days about Linden Lab’s “Contingency Plan” (Link) and some of the information that’s come out of Linden Lab as a result. I’ve been reading the posts over on 3pointD (3pDLink 1, 3pDLink 2) and Clickable Culture (CCLink 1, CCLink 2), but generally I’m not overly surprised at this development, as signs of strain on the SL grid have been increasingly apparent.

The “re-architecture” talk by Linden Lab has, however, reminded me of what I said some time back: Linden Lab might be working on an upgrade to Second Life; a Second Life 2.0, if you will. Turns out they’ve been working on a new architecture for some time, so I may have been right on that count. As stated before (reLink), my assumption was that such an upgrade would become part of their “open source strategy” where they could release the current system into the wild and use it as a connective medium, plug into it with their own newer, more capable, more stable grid and from there continue to grow the platform.

So far, so good. Now for the wrinkle: there may be a new virtual world player in the game. Robert Scoble writes about “Outback Online” (Link), an Australian virtual world project currently underway, which sounds very much like Croquet with a persistent and constantly updated “seed”. In other words, they’re taking the old argument over virtual worlds – centralized versus distributed – and done what I believe to be the logical thing and created a hybrid; note that Linden Lab’s virtual world is centralized. This hybrid model probably has its own quirks, and I’m dreaming those up already, but I’ve been wondering when someone would take this route and, if someone already had, why it wasn’t getting any attention (I’m certainly unaware of any such system). There must be some catch I’ve not yet considered. Anyway, needless to say I’m interested in this news and will be watching this project develop.

via 3pointD

6 thoughts on “Second Life 2.0 To Face Off With Outback Online?

  1. It’s all very nice and these are all issues that SL needs to address and I signed up for the beta and so on, but, well, it’s still just a tad vapourous… where are the videos, the screenshots, the write-ups if Scoble has found it very impressive in alpha?

    (What _has_ happened to Raph Koster’s project by the way?)

  2. Agree. And that’s why I both put a question mark on the title and say “there may be a new virtual world player in the game”. My understanding is that it’s in alpha and that there isn’t much there, but so what? If they have a “world” of some sort that can show object creation and some of the UI I’d be happy. So yes, right now it feels a bit vaporous.

    Meanwhile, I was just over on Raph’s site wondering the same thing. No entry for today and no news on his new venture. Slackin’.

  3. Pingback: Raph’s Website » Going big?

  4. Pingback: » Links for 21-02-2007 » Velcro City Tourist Board » Blog Archive

  5. It’s worth labeling the progression of SL as a 2.0, as you have. Of course, this progression has been a slow one that has involved a lot of smaller steps. Things like occlusion culling improvements and streamlining of sim-crossings and standardizing the message template were all steps toward a “2.0”. I think what’s interesting is that Linden Lab is forced to have a gradual evolution in order to keep the virtual world persisting in a continuous fashion, rather than hitting a restart button. It’s novel to see, in the core sense of the word – Linden Lab is doing something other MMOs haven’t been able to do.

  6. Haven’t been able to do, and also something MMO’s aren’t expected to do: become a new kind of browser.

    As an aside, one of the things I’m thinking is that a “SL 2.0” might itself incorporate P2P. The centralized vs distributed issue has doubtlessly spawned some interesting solutions – especially since the arrival of BitTorrent – and LL is probably very aware of most of them.

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Friday, August 24, 2012

Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival

This past weekend, RBR played our first festival in Nevada!

RBR at Bowers Mansion Regional Park 2012

We made the 15 hour trek up to Reno, NV to perform at the 27th annual Bowers Mansion Bluegrass Festival at Bowers Mansion regional park. Although a long drive, the trip along the east side of the Sierra Nevadas is not to be missed. We passed the backside of Yosemite at sunset, as beautiful as a painting.

A couple highlights from the festival including meeting the friendly guys (and great pickers) from the Central Valley Boys, and jamming with Reno-based Strange on the Range. We all loved the old-time music hour put on by the Gabardine Sisters and show by the local music-therapy group for adults with disabilities, the Note-ables.

Bowers Mansion in Nevada

We love to be at community-oriented festivals like Bowers Mansion because you get to meet all the music-lovers and players that keep bluegrass and old-time music alive in a specific corner of the world.

And what a beautiful corner Bowers Mansion is. Bekah and Grace took a tour of the historic mansion, built by a fiery woman with a fascinating life story and her gold-mine riches.

After our set, we got to shake hands and talk with at least 75 of the audience, so thank you for coming over and saying hi! A big thanks also to Rich and Pam Smith, membership coordinator for the Northern Nevada Bluegrass Association who hosted RBR at their home. We cherish those moments at festivals when we can relax in a home with friends or family.

A great first trip to Nevada, and hopefully not the last!

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Posts Tagged ‘portal’

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ApniISPCom - Home Page ApniISPCom, an Entertainment Portal + ISP Information website,
one of the top websites in Pakistan having over 18 Favorite and Active Sections easily Crossing 4 Lac visitors mark Daily!

Developed using PHP & mySql, all scripts were customized to suit the sites requirement, due to the heavy traffic all scripts were highly optimized for lesser sql queries and bandwidth consumption
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How-to : Setup AlwaysOn Availability Group on SQL Server 2012

SQL Server 2012 has very nice HADR technology built-in, AlwaysOn Availability Groups. It allows to have multiple replicas of selected databases across multiple servers, which can be even located across multiple sites. AlwaysOn itself provides mechanism to keep all replicas of database synchronized and up-to-date, as some of them might serve data for read-only purposes (for example reporting).

MSDN article: AlwaysOn Availability Groups (SQL Server) describes AlwaysOn technology in details. In this article I will focus on practical side of this HADR technology and how to get this up and running fast without any issues.

To test and demonstrate SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn capabilities I built simple Lab environment on VMware Workstation as shown below. Lab contains 2 servers with Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter and SQL Server 2012 Enterprise.

Lab environment also contains Active Directory domain and Domain Controller, which is not shown on the diagram.

In order to get SQL Server AlwaysOn up and running we will complete following activities:

  • Install Failover Clustering Role
  • Configure Windows Server Failover Clustering
  • SQL Server installation
  • Demo database preparation
  • Enable Availability Groups on SQL Server
  • Creating AlwaysOn Availability Group

So, let’s get started…

Tips & Tricks : Analyzing Windows memory.dmp file

Many times you think how to extract some information from memory.dmp generated by Windows once it crashes. Let’s have a look into quick process, which might be very helpful in many cases during troubleshooting unexpected BSODs on client computers.

Before we start we need tool, WinDbg, which is available on Microsoft.com. In order to download WinDbg go to WDK and WinDbg downloads on Microsoft. On that page locate section Standalone Debugging Tools for Windows (WinDbg).

Once you download and install WinDbg we are ready to start.

So, let’s see what’s in memory.dmp

Code snippets : Execute SQL script using PowerShell

Recently I went through requirement of running SQL scripts on multiple databases on different servers. As the list of databases was different from script to script I decided to create universal solution, which will allow to easily prepare for deployment and can be simply reused at any time.

As a platform to execute scripts I went with PowerShell as that provides flexibility in case additional functionality will be required.

Whole solution contains 3 files:

  • SqlExecutionInflow.csv – file contains list of databases and servers where particular database is located. It is simple CSV file with 2 columns
  • SqlExecQuery.sql – contains SQL script which will be executed against all databases listed in SqlExecutionInflow.csv
  • SqlExec.ps1 – main script which load SqlExecInflow.csv and executes query from SqlExecQuery.sql

All files have to be placed in same folder. As a result script will create transcript file with output from all executed commands.

And here are example files and script itself…


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/** */ Photography Book | infocus @ stillworx.com - a malaysian photography blog

Tag Archive: photography book

Sep 18

True glimpses of the underworld

A yakuza street fighter shows off his tattoo. © ANTON KUSTERS, 2011

Belgian photographers Anton and Malik Kusters recently published a book on the yakuza (the book’s already sold out). The Japan Times recently interviewed Anton about what inspired him to do the project and the experience he went through. I thought it would be like in the movies. Basically, most people think they are a bunch …

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Permanent link to this article: http://blog.stillworx.com/2011/09/18/true-glimpses-of-the-underworld/


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Chef at the Sky – Episode 6

Welcome back to Chef at the Sky! We are well into 2017 and this is certainly going to be a year of wonderful surprises. The Kitchen team on board Sunborn Gibraltar are really excited to announce some exciting news in the next few weeks!

In the meantime I leave you with this weeks Chef at the Sky programme where i prepare our own version of the traditional Prawn Cocktail Salad. A light but refreshing salad which can be tasted in our A la Carte menu as well as on selected Sundays during Brunch.

I hope you enjoy this weeks episode and please do remember that Valentine’s is very soon! You might want to surprise your other half with our very own take of the Prawn Cocktail!

Executive Chef

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Friday, July 2, 2010

Ka-Pow! Sassy Penguin Card

I wanted to make a card for Barb (one of my good crafty buddies) after we went shopping in Berkeley one weekend. Other than the big box craft stores in our area, we don't live near any good local scrapbook/stamp stores. Sadly, they've all closed down through the years. So we have to trek a little over an hour to find good craft supplies. It's always good to shop at a local scrapbook/stamp store (LSS) if you live near one you love. They need all your support!

I made a resolution this year to use the stuff I buy and not hoard it so much. I'm sure that's a familiar story for some of you!

I tend to get a little overwhelmed sometimes when I make scenic cards.  I think I over do it with stuff.  But in this case, I wanted to use my new goodies and left my comfort zone. It's good to do that every once in a while.

I found a sticker sheet of fuzzy penguins wearing pink bandanas doing martial arts moves from Paper Source (sooo love that store). I cut a strip of the Dear Lizzy 12x12 heart fabric sheet I got from Scrapbook Territory. The whole sheet is adhesive-backed and very easy to work with.  Then, Barb and I stumbled into an eclectic store called Castle in the AirI found some really nice green floral crepe paper I punched out with my Martha Stewart grass border punch. That paper was so much nicer to work with than the streamer-types you find in the party section at the stores.

I've been making more of an effort to make the insides of my cards more decorative and this cloud paper did the trick! I absolutely love, love, love this patterned cardstock from A Muse! You can use it for so many things! The airplane skywriter is also from A Muse. The postal cancel stamp is from Paper Source and I used a mini date stamp from Office Max in the middle.

The only thing I didn't like on the card was the butterfly trail. Next time, I think I'll use a pencil first before committing to permanent ink.  You live and learn!

Have a super day and thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: Clouds, Sun, Mini Flower, Tiny Daisy, Tiny Heart, Hello, Skywriter (A Muse), Do Something Creative (Paper Source), Mini date stamp (Office Max)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Assorted colors of Colorbox Fluid Chalk (Clearsnap),
Paper: Dear Lizzy Morning Melody Fabric (American Crafts), Clouds, Petite Gingham Yellow (A Muse), Thunder (Bazzill), Pink Lemonade (Elzybells)
Accessories: Green Crepe Paper, Apple Green 1/4" grosgrain ribbon (Schiff), 1/2" Round-It-All (Zutter), Martha Stewart Grass Border Punch (EK Success), Butterfly Square Punch (Punch Bunch), Small and Large Oval Punches (Stampin' Up!), Olive and Pink Atyou Spica Glitter Pen, Copic Multiliner, Assorted Copic Markers (.Too Corp), Paper Cutter (Fiskars)

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Moodle Live Stats

Thursday, November 24, 2011 Sukhwant Lota 0 Comments

Today we've launched a new public statistics page on Moodle.  This has been done as request of the management of the college who would like an easy way to view important Moodle Statistics.

The page shows live statistics such as Total Logins, Unique Logins, New Resources Added, Course Views, New Accounts Created, Forum Posts, Assignment Submissions and Messages Received and Read since the start of this academic year in September.

Eventually more and more statistics will be added to this page making it into a live dashboard, which would be quite nice given the size of Leeds City College Moodle.

Have a look for yourselves as

Real-Time with Google Analytics

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Sukhwant Lota 0 Comments

Having recently activated Google Analytics for Leeds City College Moodle I was keen to try out the new Real-Time option on the new version of Analytics.

The Real Time option is a new live view of the Moodle's statistics showing exactly where everyone is and what they are doing.  It shows you how many active users are online right now, how many pageviews the site has had, top active pages, top locations and top keywords.... Pretty impressive!.

best of all... it's free.

I would recommend Google Analytics for Moodle Administrators who are keen to monitor the sites usage and statistics.


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Elderhood – A Season for Growth and Purpose

Often, people fear growing older, assuming that their most effective years may be over.  But nothing can be further from the truth.  Our senior years offer a unique combination of wisdom and increased freedom to schedule one’s time.  There are many ways to embrace this important season of life, whether you are the one stepping into this next adventure or a loved one watching it unfold.

One of the joys of working at Westminster Canterbury Richmond is seeing and experiencing what healthy aging looks like.  For many of our residents, the requirement to work full-time in a demanding role is past.  Now there is time to grow in ways long denied.  In elderhood, one can grow intellectually, spiritually and socially.  Many now have time to spend longer precious moments with family, creating memories that will form their legacy.  Many grow in their sense of purpose – digging deeper into the one or two causes that have long been of deep concern and finding effective ways to make a real difference.  In elderhood there is the opportunity to grow in the ways of love.

The danger for many seniors is feeling they are taking this journey alone and they become isolated and lonely. If you have an elder loved one or neighbor, you can help.  Recognize that there is richness in aging and affirm the wisdom and experiences through listening and sharing.  Help connect elders in your life to their faith communities, to lifelong learning opportunities and to social opportunities. Talk about their concerns for people or causes and help connect them to purposeful activity. There are resources in every region, certainly in the Greater Richmond area, to assist seniors in many ways.  Finding these can be a challenge.   We’ve developed a new website to inspire healthy aging and the Partners page will direct you to many helpful resources.  www.livelifewellrva.org

Elderhood is a season of life to savor – and like all of life, a gift.

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Reading and Children – Share a Story

ShareAStoryLogo-colorToday’s  Share a Story-Shape a Future literacy blog tour explores the personal stories of reading experiences. Here are my responses to the three writing prompts.

1. What is the book from your childhood you can’t wait to share with a child and why?

The book that I can remember most vividly from childhood is The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. It was a really old book (copyright 1907) that I found in a box my mother had gotten at a garage sale. I remember it was the first time ever reading a book where the author spoke directly to the reader, or at least the imagined reader. Everything about it was magical; the tone, the story, the fancy illustrations. I have to say I was a voracious reader by the time I found this book. I would read piles of books each week. This is one of the few, however, that really stands out all these years later.

I couldn’t wait to share it with my son. I figured he would enjoy the goblins and the adventure aspect of the story. But (at least thus far) he hasn’t had the slightest interest in it at all. I realize now that I found the book at exactly the right time in my life, and it spoke to me. If I had read it earlier or later, I don’t think it would have meant as much. Also, it resonated at a personal level because the princess has a special grandmother and I had a special relationship with my grandmother. It is not surprising my son doesn’t enjoy it. He is a different person and different books hold meaning for him.

2. Who is the person who influenced you most as a reader?

Hands down it was my mother, who read to my sister and me every night for years and years. My sister and I both loved this nighttime ritual.

In addition to reading aloud, my mom carted us to the library every week, or basically any time we wanted to go. I loved the library. We also had newspapers, magazines and books lying around any time we wanted to pick up and read.

Interestingly, I have not been able to pass my love of libraries on to my son. He is perfectly happy to read whatever I bring home to him, but has no interest in visiting himself.  Sigh.

3. Do you have any special reading-time rituals for reading aloud with kids?

I still read aloud to my son every night. I would say that the special part is that I always let him pick the book. That has meant sometimes reading the same book over and over and over. I always feel that if he wants to hear the same book again there is something he needs to process more, or something that he particularly enjoyed and wants to retain in his memory. In any case, I never hesitate to read a book over.

So, do you have any special reading time rituals? Do you have any suggestions to get a tween to go to the library?

Thanks to Elizabeth Dulemba for the great Share -A -Story button!

Reading and Children – Share a Story — 2 Comments

  1. I had not thought about why my daughter wants the same book over-and-over, but as I think back on her choices, I can see what you already know: sometimes she needs something to help her process more. I hope you’ll write again about the Princess and the Goblin to see if he changes his mind.

  2. Thanks. There are so many excellent choices for books these days, however, I don’t mind that he has more modern favorites.

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Friday, August 04, 2006

Acid oceans threaten sea life

A new horror story for the oceans, just when you thought you'd heard enough. Human-produced carbon dioxide has made our oceans more acid, harming ocean life, and the situation is only getting worse.

Ocean acidification is real, and it could worse for oceans than global warming.

Experiments suggest that realistic levels of acidification may cause calcium carbonate to dissolve. Not a big deal? It is if you're an animal like a coral or a pteropod, with a calcium carbonate skeleton. Imagine having your bones dissolve, sort of like osteoporosis for corals.

Ocean acidification is caused by increases in carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater and turns into carbonic acid, increasing acidity and (for you science geeks) lowering ocean pH. So just when we're all talking about global warming (or the myth of global warming) and it's harm (or benefits!), it seems we've been missing the boat, the real carbon dioxide threat may be ocean acidification.

Let's hope we'll find a way to avoid the ultimate bad acid trip.

NOAA photo: pteropod

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Thursday, November 8, 2007

How Much For A Womb Rental?

In a new twist to the outsourcing for which India has become renowned, poor Indian women are renting out their wombs to foreigners. ...leading gynecologist Dr. Kamala Selvaraj says it's now becoming a regular "profession" in India, with more and more women willing to carry babies for others, for a fee.

What is more, westerners who do not take issue with IVF can recieve the service cheaper in India than in the Western world and apparently some Indian women have no problem with donating eggs for an additional charge.

You can read more here.

Some questions:
-What are your thoughts about In-Vitro Fertilization?
-Do you see any equation between IVF and abortion?
-What are your thoughts on having another woman carry your baby to term?
-Do you see benefits in a service like this that adoption does not provide?

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Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Home > Entertainment > How Paper Cones Are Useful In A Number Of Ways?

How Paper Cones Are Useful In A Number Of Ways?

In the industry, the disposable paper cones minimize waste lying around the workplace. As observed, these cones are magnificent for placing in the gym or workplace. These can also be utilized around the house for a variety of tasks and crafts.

Disposable paper cones are convenient for utilization with water dispensers. Their light weight allows the users to dispense water from a water cooler conveniently. This process results in minimal waste as the cones are intended to be as lightweight as possible.  The users can get a beverage, drink it instantly, and then dispose of the cone.

Paper conical cups support good personal cleanliness at the water cooler. These conical cups also help diminish junk lying throughout the workplace. As widely acclaimed, these cones are wonderful for any water cooler in your office or a mall. The first paper cup made its entrance in the beginning of the 20th century. They became very popular because they assist conserve water by terminating the requirement for washing.

Broad changes in the making of paper have happened over the last few years. Every year, more than two million tons of the paper produced comprise of paper cups.  The major benefit of paper cones is that they are biodegradable. You can make use of them either for a cup for hot or cold drink. Since, these cones can be made from recycled materials, they save energy by terminating the need to get hold of raw materials. And for the user, these cones put forward savings as well as handiness. When purchased in bulk, these cones cost much less. To a certain extent, you can ignore the risk related with broken mugs, and you can easily make use of a paper cone.

The paper cup is a part of our daily life, and we have adopted it as part of our traditions. Imagine you are thirsty. You locate a water dispenser with cone-shaped cups next to it. So you take a cup and fill it with water. And now let’s consider you are opting for the paper cone business. As mentioned above, they are biodegradable and affordable. On the internet, you can find a lot of companies dealing with paper cone manufacturing business.

The first point to consider is the necessity of your business. Prepare your budget, confirm all the dimensions related to your business, prepare a list of reputed manufactures, check their past credentials, and ultimately, choose the best one of them. Furthermore, you can get an idea of the different water cups opted for different businesses. You might have seen these water comes attached with a water dispenser. Since, there are reasonably-priced, they cause no environmental pollution and can be disposed-off conveniently. These cones are very popular amongst the corporate organisations. The paper industry has seen marked increase in demand for these biodegradable cones. Whatever the case may be, you can too avail the benefit of these paper conical cups. It would be better if you purchase them in bulk, since you can save a good amount of money.

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Mslexia Women’s Pamphlet Competition, closing date 17 June 2013

For short collections of 20-24 pages of 18-20 pems by women poets who have not previously had a full-length collection published.

1st prize: Publication by Seren Books, plus £250, 25 complimentary copies of the pamphlet and a 10 per cent royalty on sales.

One or more poems from the pamphlet will be published in _Mslexia_ magazine.

Judge: Amy Wack, poetry editor at Seren Books

Closing date: 17 June 2013

Entry fee: £20 per collection
See for more information.


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« Proposed Juvenile-Justice Overhaul Emphasizes Trauma-Informed Practices | Main | Teachers Can Be Key to Helping Students Cope With Trauma, Ed. Sec. Says »

Districts to Promote Student Resilience Using $5 Million in New Federal Grants

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The Baltimore, Chicago, and St. Louis school districts have been awarded a total of $5 million through a new federal grant program that promotes school-based efforts to nurture students' resilience following community unrest.

Here's how the U.S. Department of Education describes the program:

"The new discretionary grant program—Promoting Student Resilience (PSR)provides funding to school districts or a consortia of school districts to establish school-based mental-health, counseling and behavioral programs for students who have experienced trauma because of demonstrations of mass protest/civil unrest. Funding helps school districts create, strengthen, and maintain safe and supportive learning environments."

Baltimore's schools, which faced fallout after the death of Freddie Gray while he was in police custodywill use its $2.37 million grant to work with the University of Maryland, the Baltimore City Health Department, Johns Hopkins University, Behavioral Health Systems Baltimore, and community organizations to "expand its capacity to effectively address the behavioral and mental health needs of students affected by trauma."

The district will employ full-time mental health professionals at 13 schools most affected by trauma related to recent civil unrest; provide professional development to staff, parents, and community members on how to recognize and respond to trauma; and provide improved school supports for students affected by trauma.

Chicago, which has seen large public demonstrations related to police shootings of black men in recent years, will use a $1.27 million grant to start the Healing Trauma Together program, which will help 10 high schools meet their students' behavioral and mental health needs. The program will also provide professional development for support personnel, build stronger referral processes for student services, educate parents about the effects of trauma, and connect students to community mental health providers.

St. Louis, the site of prolonged demonstrations after the police-shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, will use $1.45 million in grant funding to create "trauma-focused programs" in a group of public and private elementary schools around the region. The program, which will also be funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, aims to "increase the number of students who are identified, screened, and referred to school-based and community-based mental health services" and assist other schools in boosting their responses to student trauma.

Related reading on student trauma:

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« China: Operational Sex Ratio in Action | Main | Beyond Learning »

The Oregon Story

Oregon may offer some lessons for other rural areas where educators are trying to boost the college-going rate.

This story doesn't break out numbers by gender...would be interesting to know that.

Notice: We recently upgraded our comments. (Learn more here.) If you are logged in as a subscriber or registered user and already have a Display Name on edweek.org, you can post comments. If you do not already have a Display Name, please create one here.
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“Spamalot” swashbuckles into San Francisco

All hail the knights who say Ni! Heads-up my fellow faithful Python buffs. Tickets go on sale 2/27 for the long-awaited California premiere of “Spamalot.” Lovingly “ripped-off” from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” this must-see kitsch extravaganza charts King Arthur’s cheeky adventures with flatulent Frenchmen, serial-killer rabbits and one extremely spunky legless knight. Starring that master of the art of the deadpan John O’Hurley (of “Seinfeld” and “Family Feud” fame), the Tony-winning tuner runs May 22 through July 5 at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre. Perhaps it goes without saying, but I fart in your general direction, no?

Karen D'Souza

  • Karl B.

    my friend saw this in France but it was the real play and with all the creators

  • One thing I’d prefer to discuss is that weightloss routine fast is possible by the proper diet and exercise. Your size not just affects the look, but also the entire quality of life. Self-esteem, melancholy, health risks, plus physical capabilities are influenced in putting on weight. It is possible to do everything right and at the same time having a gain. If this happens, a problem may be the perpetrator. While too much food and never enough work out are usually to blame, common health concerns and trusted prescriptions may greatly increase size. Thanks alot : ) for your post here gywl55.

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  • I Find It Funny When People w. NO Job Down Working At A Fast Food Place. . . Money Is Money & How You Gon Be Picky? !

  • Clemente Chiappone

    Users can post services at http://www.nab5.com for free.