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Optics and the Midlife Woman

Optics: A Novel About Women and Work and Midlife Muddles—my debut novel—examines both literal and figurative optics: Kris, the main character, is marketing manager for an eyewear company; how she and her over-fifty friends are perceived by others—especially bosses and potential employers—is at the heart of major plot developments.

Women in the vicinity of fifty, give or take a decade, are literally in the middle of their lives. Yet just when they hit their prime in terms of career development and wisdom, society often renders them invisible. In spite of a few actors and entertainers who have gained notoriety for looking fabulous after fifty, the average fifty-plus woman in a corporate milieu has a target on her back. Too often the job market discounts her value, assuming she’s got nothing new to offer.

Ageism is real, but judging people (aloud or internally) by how they look is also an age-old human trait we all express from childhood to elderhood. Meanwhile, we’re all PR flacks, trying to control the optics of our journey through this world, regardless of race, age, sex, or income. I’m no exception.

Women Need to Control the Optics

Managing our personal and professional optics—how we’re perceived by other people—can be a high-stakes game, especially for women. Presenting the perfect balance of warmth and competency during job interviews is one of the most obvious examples. But a razor-sharp résumé and friendly smile aren’t enough. Conveying the ideal package to a prospective employer involves managing the optics of everything from clothing and makeup to posture.

That’s one of the messages in Comeback Careers: Rethink, Refresh, Reinvent Your Success—at 40, 50, and Beyond, which confronts the reality of ageism and offers advice on how to fight it. The book, coauthored by MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and her sister-in-law Ginny Brzezinski, counsels women returning to the workforce after a child-rearing gap and those switching careers in midlife to ensure their skills are relevant and updated. Dress and language, the authors add, also need to be contemporary. In a March video interview with Leslie Jane Seymour via her Covey Club, Ginny Brzezinski noted that glasses and haircuts and dress do make a difference in how midlife women are perceived.

That trio held me back from posting a photo on this website for several months.

Clothes Make the Novelist

I’m not fond of having my picture taken and made public even under optimal circumstances—whatever those might be. My Instagram feed, for example (@GailReit), is the antithesis of the selfie-stuffed social media presence.  I’d probably still be virtually invisible online were it not for a previous job that required me to be active on multiple platforms. Even now I avoid posting selfies whenever possible, but an author website must have an author photo, I’m told by the experts. Besides, web crawlers like to find photos, so if you want people to find your work online, you gotta play the algorithm game.

Even though I had a business-appropriate headshot I liked that was less than two years old, it didn’t seem right for an author photo. I didn’t look like any of the other novelists I saw online. Though the white shirt, navy jacket, and string of pearls were suitable (ahem) for a certain type of nonfiction author—which I once was and still am—the ensemble didn’t convey “novelist.”

So what does a novelist look like? Judging by photos of both famous and “emerging” novelists, they seldom wear jackets. Whether the writer is promoted by a big-time PR firm or presenting herself as an indie, jackets—when worn at all—tend to be leather or unstructured.

OK, so I could find alternative apparel in my closet, but then there was the hair. Another reason to procrastinate.

Blame It on the Coronavirus

In response to the New Mexico governor’s (wise) guidance in early March that all nonessential businesses close to the public, my hair stylist was unavailable in April for a scheduled appointment. I normally go three to four months between cuts and enjoy the transition between chin-length and longer hair, but this spring I wanted a reshaping before taking a new headshot.

That’s because back in November we’d tried something new—a much shorter style than usual. The cut was perfectly executed—my stylist is an artist; it just wasn’t me, and it didn’t grow out in a way I was familiar with. So I was ready for a fresh cut—which would have to wait indefinitely.

Meanwhile, my eyewear was also in limbo.

Glasses: An Obvious Metaphor

The eyeglasses on the cover of Optics, the main character’s career in marketing an eyewear brand, and the primary plot are all grounded in the real-world importance of vision care and prescription glasses. But frames can also make a style statement.

Cover of Optics: A Novel About Women and Work and Midlife MuddlesI’ve worn glasses since second grade, and I always look forward to the periodic change in frames. As the Brzezinskis note, you don’t put your best face forward with an outdated frame style. I knew I’d need a new author photo before Optics launched, and my current frames were just beginning to show a bit of wear (if viewed from the right angle), so I ordered a new pair when I went for an eye exam earlier this year.

Shortly thereafter, my optician’s office closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. My new Spanish-made frames were somewhere on this planet, though who knew when they’d sit on my nose.

Fighting Perfectionism

“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” I tell myself a lot these days as we continue to self-isolate. After all, there’s no single “novelist” look, and the classic image of the author as idiosyncratic in habit and dress simply doesn’t apply to me. Besides, I don’t believe author photos sell books. Covers—that’s another story.

And so, with my hard-won midlife wisdom, I decided to make the best-for-now of my perfectly ordinary self. I gave a few snips to the front edges of my hair, pulled on a favorite sweater, donned my timeless-design frames (which my trendy optician’s shop still sells), and posed for a photo.

The author photo was necessary, but I think you’ll find the novel is sufficient without it. Optics: A Novel About Women and Work and Midlife Muddles will be available September 1 from online and physical booksellers.

In the end, I realized my angst about the author photo was mostly a coping mechanism. It was about acting as if—as if things that mattered before COVID-19 still matter, and will matter after COVID-19.

For monthly updates from Gail about her novel, blog, writing, and reading, sign up for her newsletter, Gail’s Reading Glasses.

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Can You Write a Novel?

Empty page with question mark

That’s the question I asked myself in late fall 2018.

It’s a question I never expected to ask. So why then? The short answer is that I needed a new challenge. And then there were those women talking in my head.

Whose Voices Are in My Head?

My careers as English professor, marketing communications consultant, book editor, business reports editor, and magazine editor had given me plentiful experience writing nonfiction. First it was academic articles and presentations that few would read or hear. Then it was more accessible copy for employers, clients, and freelance gigs that reached much larger audiences. For fourteen years, readers around the world read copy I wrote, rewrote, or edited—if they were affiliated with the power generation industry. When that job came to an end, I dove into a related project for eighteen months that was fulfilling but insufficiently enriching.

As I pondered my next steps, I was fortunate to have some client revenue, but I knew I needed a new focus. One day, as I was walking in my neighborhood to clear my head, I started hearing dialogue.

I’m not the first to observe that a walk can loosen the creative mind;

I’ve often found that when I’m stuck with a piece of writing—be it a dissertation, an ad, or an editorial—stepping away and stepping outside can be curative. I’m not the first to observe that a walk can loosen the creative mind; nevertheless, it’s something I need to remind myself of periodically.

So this one day as I was walking down a gravel road, I started hearing dialogue. Like everyone, my mind routinely engages in internal monologue or dialogue—especially when I’m anxious. But this was different. These weren’t my thoughts or my experiences being “talked” about. And it seemed as if I was hearing a party in progress. Multiple speakers—all women.

As I finished my walk, I thought about my unfamiliar turn of mind. Could these be fictional characters wanting me to pull their voices out of my head and onto a page—or screen?

Over the next few weeks, I began making notes. First they were bits of conversation or interior monologue that my yet-unnamed characters delivered. Then I began thinking about who exactly they were, how they knew each other, and their back stories. Soon I began walking with my phone so I could record voice memos about dialogue, character, situation. I wasn’t ready for plot.

Meanwhile, I pulled books off my shelf that I hadn’t opened in over a decade. (More, perhaps, on those another time.) I read about character, plot, story arc, detail. Only then did I let my analytical mind off leash to begin piecing together snippets, stretching them, observing gaps.

In November, I made a commitment to myself to write a novel—or at least try. I sketched out a rough plot, created a roster of main characters, and researched writing tools. I took baby steps.

What I Learned from Writing a Novel

What follows is not an exhaustive list of what I learned over the approximately ten months it took to complete my first novel; these are just the outcomes that were most important to me.

First, I acquired new technical skills. In my corporate lives I had always been game to test or adopt new digital tools or rejiggered processes. That was a given for thriving in any sort of publishing environment. And, as someone who had operated a small services business from a home office even before I became a full-time remote employee, I’d become a passable front-line troubleshooter. It’s not that I like or seek out the brain strain of learning new software or figuring out why a web page won’t load the way it should. It’s just that I’ve accepted such tests as part of my work life.

So when I decided to challenge myself to a new kind of writing, I naturally researched to learn what tools worked best for other writers. Despite the ubiquitous presence of word processing programs, the names most people are familiar with were not most favored by book writers. Genre fiction writers—many of whom spin out multiple titles a year—in particular touted Scrivener. Though I still haven’t mastered all the intricacies of Scrivener, it was a life-saver. I could keep character notes, timelines, and research all in the same file, which minimized friction while I was working on a given scene.

I learned that, despite what one might expect from someone whose first career was English professor, I didn’t want to write Literature. I didn’t aspire to write The Great American Novel—though I’m not averse to winning awards. I wanted to tell a story that would resonate with midlife and beyond readers, especially women. Though there’s a limitless list of novels about women and about midlife, in researching comps (comparable titles), I found few that zeroed in on the dynamics of women and work at midlife. In short, I wrote the sort of novel I wanted to read.

I found that it was freeing, for a change, to write about people who weren’t real. Other than during my brilliant but brief career as an academic, my writing had always involved the real world and real people. For someone with a curious mind, the opportunity to research, interview, and write about everyone and everything from medical researchers and law professors to power plant owners and cutting-edge energy technologies was endlessly fascinating.

But the privilege of writing about real people comes with a heavy responsibility to get the facts and analysis as accurate as possible. When it came to my novel, I was the master of its universe—even though its setting, plot, and circumstances were as solidly realistic as any news story. If I decided halfway through to change the color of a character’s eyes or details of her backstory, I could. All I had to worry about was maintaining the internal logic—no small feat.

My daily record: 6,410 words.

I learned I could measure productivity in new ways. Years of deadline-driven corporate work had honed my self-discipline and project management skills. I’d always had to write, edit, or package words. But other than for specified-length editorials, task completion was less a matter of churning out x number of words and more about completing a detailed task checklist. When I realized I’d have to step up my daily word count if I were to finish the book before leaving on a two-week vacation, I did the math. I set a goal of 2,000 words per weekday and beat that average over the following five weeks. My daily record: 6,410 words. (Anyone who has written fiction or nonfiction for publication will realize that those were draft words. They were subject to multiple revisions in subsequent months.)

Though my novel-writing challenge began as nothing more than an exercise, I was surprised to learn that I enjoyed it. Even more satisfying has been the positive response from early readers. In writing a book I felt was missing from the market, I met my first criterion for success. Hearing that the story resonates with and encourages readers is the ultimate success.

Can You Write a Novel—or Meet a New Challenge?

I’m writing this first blog post for my new website during the COVID-19 isolation period in March 2020. Everything we do these days is filtered through the brain fog of this novel anxiety. None of us can be sure we’ll survive. We can take optimal precautions but still fall ill, die, live with debilitating after-effects, or return to social life much as we were before. Humans are averse to uncertainty at the best of times, but the unknowns we’re facing now are of a different strain. I hope the long-term effects of this period will be more humanizing than not.

Yes, we all need ways to pay the bills, but what’s necessary is rarely sufficient.

Perhaps more of us will be braver than before, realizing that life might be shorter than anticipated. Now may be the time to commit to a new challenge—a new career, relationship, habit, hobby. Whatever it is, make it something that will enrich your life, even if others find it impractical. Yes, we all need ways to pay the bills, but what’s necessary is rarely sufficient.

A few months ago, in LBC (life before coronavirus), I ran across a quote from the poet Mary Oliver and pinned it to my cork board:

Mary Oliver quote

I knew these lines before I knew the rest of her poem “The Summer Day.” I intended them to serve as a daily prompt. Something to slap me out of any funk that crawled into my cranium. A reminder to savor the things I can do each day.

And the lines worked. I set new goals. The biggest was to get my debut novel published. But only recently did I look up the entire poem. It’s poignantly relevant for our times—or any time. It’s short and worth a minute of today. You’ll find it on the Library of Congress website. Go ahead. Read it. I’ll be right here waiting for you.

In deciding to write a novel, I took the chance that I might not be able to do it at all. I might have faced writer’s block or given up when I realized my first draft was novella length—only half the word count of a traditional novel. Now I’m taking the risk of publishing a book that few, or thousands, may read. I have no regrets.

What could you do that you haven’t tried before? It might be something big and public or small and private. Maybe, like the poet, you realize that what’s most important is doing less but doing it attentively. What will you do “with your one wild and precious life?”

For monthly updates from Gail about her novel, blog, writing, and reading, sign up for her newsletter, Gail’s Reading Glasses.

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computer graphics school

POLYTRAIN – school of computer graphics. A venue for meetings, master classes, workshops with best speakers, where you can plunge into the beautiful world of CG and VR. Great showreels, cinematics, 2d/3d animation, art and motion design.

We used the line as a basic element, because the guys are just starting their journey through virtual reality. This line changes, is distorted, creates additional images, is a certain thread in the new world.

Project team

Mariia Omelchuk

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text:
Regier, Peter (1847-1904)

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Peter Regier: writer and church leader; born on 21 October 1847 in Gnadenheim, Molotschna Mennonite settlement, South Russia, to Johann Regier and Susanna (Quiring) Regier. He was one of the middle of 13 children. On 4 January 1868, Peter married Katharina Quiring (30 October 1845, Ladekopp, Molotschna, South Russia - 14 April 1922); the couple had 12 children, six of whom survived their parents. In 1876, the family moved to the United States, landing in Philadelphia before settling in Minnesota. Peter died of an illness related to a fibroid tumour on 14 July 1904 in North Enid, Oklahoma, USA.

In about 1848, Peter’s family moved from Gnadenheim to Hierschau, where Peter received his primary education. His father died in 1866, and his mother later remarried but continued to live in Hierschau. On 4 January 1868, Peter married Katharina Quiring of Kleefeld, and the couple followed several other Regier family members to Klippenfeld, another village in the Molotschna. In 1870, when a spiritual revival swept through Klippenfeld, Peter and Katharina were also converted, although they waited until 1873 for baptism and membership in the Mennonite Brethren church.

Peter Regier and his family immigrated to the United States in 1876, together with a younger brother and his family, crossing on the S.S. Vaderland and arriving in Philadelphia on 28 July 1876 before going on to Minnesota. Soon, however, Peter and Katharina’s youngest son died, as well as Peter’s brother and his children. Late in the fall of 1876, Peter and his family moved to Nebraska, settling in Hamilton County, near Henderson.

Soon, Regier began to preach, hold Bible studies and prayer meetings, and to visit people in the area, together with Henry Nickel. A core group of Mennonite Brethren started to meet, and in 1878 when the Henderson Mennonite Brethren congregation was formed, Peter Regier was chosen as its first leader.

In 1897, Peter and Katharina Regier moved to North Enid, Oklahoma to work in the North Enid Mennonite Brethren Church. Peter was ordained as the Ältester there in 1902. While in North Enid, he also published a brief history of the Mennonite Brethren church, using information collected from various people, mainly on the Molotschna aspect of the history.

When his brother Johann died, Peter Regier returned to Henderson for the funeral. Soon afterward, he replaced his brother as itinerant minister, a job he had already done on one occasion when his brother was out of the country. Peter had just reached home when he received news of the death of another brother, Kornelius, on 30 September 1902. He set off to participate in the funeral but broke his leg when a train he was on gave a sudden lurch, and despite hospital care, the leg failed to heal. A fibroid tumor in his leg began to spread, and he developed severe pain followed by paralysis of his lower body.

Peter died of his illness on 14 July 1904 in North Enid. He had expressed a wish to be buried in Nebraska, and his wife, one daughter, and two sons accompanied the body to Henderson for interment on 20 July 1904. Peter’s wife, Katharina, died 17 years later.

Peter Regier was a diligent preacher and minister whose dedicated work helped the churches of Russia and the United States to grow. Despite the struggles of his life and the suffering he endured, he was an example of faith and endurance for his family and community.

Hiebert, Clarence. The Henderson Mennonite Brethren. Henderson, NE: Centennial Committee of the Mennonite Brethren Church, 1979: 10-14.

Huebert, Helmut T. Hierschau: An Example of Russian Mennonite Life. Winnipeg, MB: Springfield Publishers, 1986: 101-103, 357.

Huebert, Helmut T. Molotschna Historical Atlas. Winnipeg, MB: Springfield Publishers, 2003: 141.

Lohrenz, John H. The Mennonite Brethren Church. Hillsboro, KS: Mennonite Brethren Publishing House, 1950: 137. Available in full electronic text at:

Regier, Peter. Kurzgefaste Geschichte der Mennoniten Brüder-Gemeinde. Berne, IN: Light and Hope Publishing Company, 1901.

Zionsbote (20 August 1902): 5; (8 October 1902): 2, 5; (20 July 1904): 7; (27 July 1904): 5; (3 August 1904): 3; (10 August 1904): 7; (26 April 1922): 9; (3 May 1922): 10.

Author(s) Helmut T. Huebert
Susan Huebert
Date Published May 2009

Cite This Article

MLA style

Huebert, Helmut T. and Susan Huebert. "Regier, Peter (1847-1904)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. May 2009. Web. 8 Aug 2020.,_Peter_(1847-1904)&oldid=163516.

APA style

Huebert, Helmut T. and Susan Huebert. (May 2009). Regier, Peter (1847-1904). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 8 August 2020, from,_Peter_(1847-1904)&oldid=163516.

©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text:
Tolstoy, Leo (1828-1910)

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Leo Tolstoy, 1897.
Photo: United States Library of Congress (public domain) item 37767.

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой),was born on 9 September 1828 on the family estate Yasnaya Polyana, Tula governorate (province), Russian Empire and died 20 November 1910 at Astapovo, Ryazan governorate. He is usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy and was an aristocrat, a writer, a religious pacifist, and a kind of social anarchist. His world-wide legacy is in his realistic fiction where he is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. His two longest works, War and Peace, written in 1865–69, and Anna Karenina written in 1875–77, are commonly regarded as among the finest novels ever written. Tolstoy began keeping a diary in 1847 and kept recording his detailed diaries throughout his life making him one of the most copiously documented writers who ever lived.

Tolstoy lost his parents to death early and was raised by relatives yet he describes his early life as idyllic. As a young man he led a rather wasteful life and served for a time as an artillery officer in the Crimean War. After writing Anna Karenina he fell into a state of existential despair. To Tolstoy all activity now seemed utterly pointless in the face of death. Tolstoy, impressed by the faith of the Russian peasant people then turned to Christianity, first to the Russian Orthodox Church, but then he decided all Christian Churches were corrupt institutions that had thoroughly falsified true Christianity. He rejected the Old Testament, composed his own "corrected" version of the Gospels, denied the divinity of Christ and focused his faith on the Sermon on the Mount with the emphases on a profound non-resistance to evil.

Tolstoy tried for the rest of his life to live by his interpretation of Christianity. He expressed his faith and understanding of Christianity in his subsequent writing in particular two books: What I Believe (also known as My Religion) (1884) and The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894). In these works he expounds on his faith particularly on absolute non-resistance and forbidding violence of any kind, opposition to the swearing of oaths, evils of government control and interference, evils of private ownership and of wealth, and the righteousness of hard work and simple living. Also in these works he reviews the non-resistance to evil expressed in the teachings of other Christians mentioning Mennonites among Quakers, Doukhobors, Hutterites, and Molokans, and makes comments on the writings of others advocating for non-resistance. The only Mennonite work he notes is a small 74-page book by the Reformed Mennonite Bishop Daniel Musser (1809-1877), Non-resistance Asserted, or, The Kingdom of Christ and the Kingdom of this World Separated, (Lancaster, Pa., Elias Barr & Co. 1864), without seeming to know that it was by a Mennonite. In Russia for his changed lifestyle and religious writings Tolstoy endured excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church, his religious writings were banned and he was ostracised.

There is little evidence that Mennonites in the Russian Empire had any interaction with Tolstoy apart from reading his fiction, for most Russian Mennonites looked west to central Europe for inspiration. Russian Mennonites would have found Tolstoy's rationalism, unorthodox Christianity and anti-materialism objectionable. Also Tolstoy focused his interests to those Slavic groups in Russia that were opposed to participating in violence and war and took little notice of Russian Mennonites.

American Mennonites, however, showed an interest in Tolstoy's pacifism while he was still alive for in May 1896 John F. Funk wrote and printed two articles on Tolstoy in his Herald of Truth newspaper. In the December 1903 issue of Goshen College Record, the college's president, Noah E. Byers, published an essay on Tolstoy. By this time these publication show that educated American Mennonites knew of Tolstoy's non-resistance beliefs, which they accepted and also of his writings on socialism, on Christ, and his methods for the bettering of the human condition which they criticized.

Tolstoy is a towering figure for Christians to commit to live non-violent lives and to seek social justice. He was also a powerful influence on participants of all faiths to lead non-violent protests. This worldwide force of Tolstoy for non-violence is recognized and praised by Mennonites in the twentieth century. Tolstoy is also lauded for his condemnation of churches for their support of oppression and violence. His opposition to oaths, his desire for people to be free from government, to be non-dependent on wealth, and the importance of hard work and simple living resonated with many contemporary Mennonites. However, Mennonites hold a view of the separation of church and state, in which the state affirmed by God, though outside the perfection of Christ, uses force and violence to preserve order and punish evil, but those in the church, only use love and forgiveness and never coercion or violence in their interaction with all others. This conflicted with Tolstoy's view that man is by nature good, and when he links the Biblical Kingdom of God with human society where coercion and violence is not needed. Many Mennonites regarded Tolstoy's vision as anarchy, likely derived philosophically from German idealism.

The religious writings and moral life of Tolstoy continue to be read by Mennonites and they inspire many. John Howard Yoder (1927-1997) in his writings on pacifism praises Tolstoy, and Clarence Bauman (1928-1995) in his work, The Sermon on the Mount (Macron, Mercer Univ. Press, 1985), was much influenced by Tolstoy. In that work Bauman writes: “Tolstoy alone represents light and truth” (p.406). An important interpreter of Anabaptism, Robert Friedmann (1891-1970) was led to Anabaptism by having his spiritual life awakened by Tolstoy. In his writings Friedmann often describes his Anabaptist Christianity in terms similar to those of Tolstoy.

Harder, Johannes. "Tolstoy, Lev (Leo) Nikolajewitsch, Count." Mennonitsches Lexikon. Karlsruhe, Germany: Heinrich Schneider, 1967. Bd. IV: 343-344.

Miller, Levi. "Leo Tolstoy and the Mennonites." Journal of Mennonite Studies 16 (1998): 163-180.

Wenger, Samuel S. "The Mennonitism of Leo Tolstoy and His Reference to Daniel Musser." Mennonite Research Journal 5, no. 2 (April 1964): 13-14, 22.

Author(s) Victor G Wiebe
Date Published November 2019

Cite This Article

MLA style

Wiebe, Victor G. "Tolstoy, Leo (1828-1910)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. November 2019. Web. 8 Aug 2020.,_Leo_(1828-1910)&oldid=166095.

APA style

Wiebe, Victor G. (November 2019). Tolstoy, Leo (1828-1910). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 8 August 2020, from,_Leo_(1828-1910)&oldid=166095.

©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text:
 The Islander - Basics Guide + Achievements
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Home » Guides » The Islander - Basics Guide + Achievements

The Islander - Basics Guide + Achievements

Written by LivingLitch   /   Mar 20, 2018
The Islander - Basics Guide + Achievements

In this guide I will go over the games controls, mechanics, and offer tips for getting all of the achievements.

Interface and Controls

The Islander - Basics Guide + Achievements

In the top left from left to right.

  • Money counter
  • Island level
  • Design multiplier

In the middle right

  • Harvest - The player only needs to drag the mouse over the selected item to harvest from it.
  • Drag item - If an item is misplaced or the player wishes to move it for any reason click this icon.
  • Delete/Demolish - If an item is no longer needed or trees/rocks are in the players way this is the tool to use.

In the bottom center is the edit/place menu. This menu is minimized down the blue icon when not in use. From left to right.

  • Crops
  • Bushes
  • Trees
  • Animal Pens
  • Roads
  • Fences
  • Design
  • Tools

In the bottom right is the menu which contains options for changing the resolution, disabling music or sound, changing the language, changing the mouse from right to left handed, loading or saving the island, restarting the island, or returning the main menu.

  • Zoom in E/Mouse wheel up
  • Zoom out Q/Mouse wheel down
  • Pan the Camera W,A,S,D/Middle mouse click and drag.
  • Center camera on house is Space bar
  • Place items/interact with menus is left click
  • Back out of menus is right click.

Game Mechanics

The game mechanics of The Islander are overall simple.

Plant crops or build animal pens for income. Harvest crops or animal pens manually or with the automated help of cocobots. Harvest enough to level up the island. Leveling up is based off of gold gathered rather then what is harvested.

Use the harvester icon to harvest plants manually at level one or from level two onward build an army of cocobots for faster harvesting while planting. There does not seem to be any drawbacks from using cocobots instead of harvesting manually.

Each level unlocks a new crop to plant. Each new crop or item placed will increase in price exponentially like most clicker games. Wheat starts at 4 coins but after placing several of them it will start to get into the thousands.

Increase the design multiplier to sell items at increased prices thus leveling faster Each design item adds 1 point to the design experience bar for each square it takes up. All items put out the same amount of experience as others so spam away but keep the price in mind. It might look ugly but its better to mix roads and fences then to keep using the same type over and over. The max design multiplier is 10.

The achievement are easy to get and can all be completed in a short three hours.

Achievements are divided into three categories.

  • Normal Island
  • Random Island
  • Doesn't Matter

Normal Island Achievments

  • Expansion - Buy a total of 100 island expansions

Start a normal island, harvest like normal. The available option is avalible on the tools tab next to the cocobots and can be bought at any level. If the grid is lined up to the closest portion of the island owned as possible, this will require buying half of the map.

Random Island Achievements

  • Miner - Break a total of 250 rocks
  • Lumberjack - Cut down 250 trees

These can both be accomplished at the same time. Use the demolish tool on rocks and trees to remove them. This can be done right at the start. Trees and rocks currently serve no purpose other than to block the players progression on a random island where as buying new land on a normal island halts progression. Big trees and rocks take 3-4 clicks to remove, small ones are one click. It is not possible to click and drag to get rid of small rocks.

Doesn't Matter

  • Small Business - Have at least 1000 Gold
  • Corporation - Have at least 100K Gold
  • Conglomerate - Have at least 1M Gold

The best way to complete these is to ensure the design multiplier is maxed out.

  • Novice - Reach Level 5 in a Single Run
  • Intermediate - Reach Level 10 in a Single Run
  • Expert - Reach Level 20 in a Single Run

As explained earlier, leveling is based off of coins earned. Again, keep the design multiplier maxed for fastest results.

  • Peasant - Plant a total of 25 Crops
  • Grower - Plant a total of 100 Crops
  • Agriculturalist - Plant a total of 250 Crops
  • Garden - Plant a total of 25 Bushes
  • Park - Plant a total of 100 Bushes
  • Heath - Plant a total of 250 Bushes
  • Woodland - Plant a total of 25 Trees
  • Forest - Plant a total of 100 Trees
  • Jungle - Plant a total of 250 Trees
  • Animal House - Buy a total of 25 Animals
  • Farm - Buy a total of 100 Animals
  • Ranch - Buy a total of 250 Animals
  • Decorator - Build a total of 100 Decorations
  • Designer - Build a total of 250 Decorations
  • Architect - Build a total of 750 Decorations

Essentially, these are all the same achievement but under different categories. They are all easy to complete. Build/plant enough to get to level 20 to have a constant supply of gold. Max the design multiplier. Set aside a section of the island where crops/pens can be placed and removed without worrying about them. Remove all of the basic plants/pens to lower their cost. Place 15-25 at a time depending on space and income. After the cocobots harvest one round of them, remove and replant. It’s possible to it faster without the one round of harvesting but this ensures the games internal counter gets it all.

  • Bird Watcher - Catch a total of 100 Parrots
  • Marine Biologist - Catch a total of 100 Starfish
  • Fisherman - Catch a total of 100 Fish

These three achievements are the most boring as they require the player to be active. There is a trick however. The game indicates when each new parrot, starfish, or fish spawns by playing a sound and each appears in a set way. The best way to get them is to zoom out to max and play on the highest resolution.

The parrot screeches onto the screen and flies horizontally. It can spawn outside of the light blue ocean area but it can be clicked on in the dark blue area.

The starfish makes a bubbling sound and only appears on the dark sandy shore area. It will not move up and down the shore but it will pulsate after a while before it disappears.

The fish is worst one to deal with. It makes a splash sound when it spawns and can spawn in any part of the ocean, light blue or dark blue. it jumps in an arc. If missed on its first appearance the player must wait to see where it jumps out again to click it. It makes 4-6 arcs before it disappears for good.

  • Robo-Island - Buy a total of 200 Cocobots

I recommend getting this one in two or three games. As with everything the price increases exponentially. At 91 cocobots the next one will cost 58.4k.At 114 cocobots a new one will cost 523k

Written by LivingLitch.

Game:   The Islander


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The global grinding machines is poised to experience spend growth of more than USD 1 billion between 2017-2022 at a CAGR of over 5.1%. The report also provides the market impact and new opportunities created due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Request free sample pages

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:

Read the 120-page research report with TOC and LOE on “Global grinding machines – Procurement Intelligence Report, Pricing Outlook in Geographies that include APAC, North America, South America, and MEA, and insights into best practices to optimize procurement spend.”

SpendEdge’s reports now include an in-depth complimentary analysis of the COVID-19 impact on procurement and the latest market data to help your company overcome sourcing challenges. Our grinding machines procurement intelligence report offers actionable procurement intelligence insights, sourcing strategies, and action plans to mitigate risks arising out of the current pandemic situation. The insights offered by our reports will help procurement professionals streamline supply chain operations and gain insights into the best procurement practices to mitigate losses.

Information on Latest Trends and Supply Chain Market Information Knowledge center on COVID-19 impact assessment

Insights into the Market Price Trends

  • Raw material prices account for a significant portion of suppliers’ OPEX. Any increase in these prices leads to a substantial increase in suppliers’ OPEX, which will have a direct impact on buyers’ grinding machines procurement price.
  • The increase in minimum wages across countries and expectations for a better lifestyle will compel suppliers to increase their compensations for employees. While this will increase suppliers’ OPEX, this will have an inflationary impact on buyers’ grinding machines procurement expenditure.

Insights to help buyers identify and shortlist the most suitable suppliers for their grinding machines requirements. This procurement report answers the following questions:

  • Am I engaging with the right suppliers?
  • Which KPIs should I use to evaluate my incumbent suppliers?
  • Which supplier selection criteria are relevant for?
  • What are the grinding machines category essentials in terms of SLAs and RFx?

To get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment, Subscribe Now for Free.

Insights into strategies that will help buyers optimize their category management practices. The report answers the following questions:

  • What should be my strategic procurement objectives, activities, and enablers for the grinding machines category?
  • What negotiation levers can I pull for cost-saving?
  • What are grinding machines procurement best practices I should be promoting in my supply chain?

Some of the top grinding machines suppliers enlisted in this report

This grinding machines procurement intelligence report has enlisted the top suppliers and their cost structures, SLA terms, best selection criteria, and negotiation strategies.

  • MADA MACHINE TOOLS (part of Amada holding)
  • 3M
  • JTEKT Toyoda Americas (part of JTEKT Corporation)
  • Kellenberger (part of Hardinge)
  • Okuma

Get access to regular sourcing and procurement insights to our digital procurement platformActivate Free subscription.

Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

About SpendEdge:

SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more

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Although the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are intended to be universal, the discussion of SDGs within the context of developed countries has largely been absent. To address this, this report introduces assessment tool for developed countries to identify top priority SDG targets, based on a set of criteria that include applicability, implementability and transformationalism.

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Now More Than Ever: We Need More Women on Board

by Julie Graber | on 19 May 2020

I recently wrote about how women should not wait until retirement to work on securing a corporate board seat. As follow-up, someone ask me why it matters. If it's so hard for women to secure a board appointment, why fight with it? Why not find ways around it - other ways to have impact? This was my response.

It matters because we need women at the table. Women on boards lead to better financial performance, greater innovation, lower risk, faster safety recalls, greater corporate social responsibility - the list of benefits is endless. All male board? You get Harvey Weinstein and a pattern of sexual assault swept under the rug for decades.

The work of corporate boards can’t be left to just the men - women not only have a right and a reason to be at the table, they have a responsibility to be there as well. As Marie Wilson said, women can and must help run the world. So while it’s a struggle - it’s one we can’t give up on or try to find a way around. We need women in positions of power and authority.

Board service can also be a financial bonus - at least with public company boards. It’s a great way to ease into retirement, to continue to earn a living, to grow an investment portfolio. Women should have the same access to these rewards as men. And companies should have the benefit of what these women can bring to the decision-making process.

The challenge with male dominance and bias is real though - what all the research shows is that you need at least three women on a board for critical mass. That get’s you past being the token female board member who is easier to ignore or put in her place.

California’s board diversity legislation is great because it acknowledges the challenge of critical mass - by 2021, boards with five members have to have two women, and boards with six or more members have to have three women (minimums). Many of the European quotas are 30-40% as well - this helps women have an impact.

I've said it before:

  • women have a right to be at the table - we're in the majority - we've paid our dues
  • women have a reason to be at the table - all the research shows our presence makes a difference
  • women have a responsibility to be at the table - as busy as we are, we can't opt-out on our responsibility to be a part of the decision-making process.

Now more than ever, we need women on board.

Photo: Drew Beamer, Unsplash

Tags:  Getting on Board


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: Medvedeff's Balalaika Orchestra

Musicians: Medvedeff's Balalaika Orchestra

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Conductor, T. Collinson
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: A Newcastle Centenary

Thomas Sharpe

This is the centenary of the planning of Newcastle-upon-Tyne by Richard Grainger, a speculative builder who began as a carpenter. Thomas Sharpe will discuss what use is being made of present-day opportunities compared with the use Grainger made of his.

Presenter: Thomas Sharpe

: A Religious Service

(Church of England) from Hexham Abbey.

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8.0 Order of Service
Hymn, Come, ye thankful people, come (A. and M. 382; S.P. 9)
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Address by the Rev. J. V. C. Farquhar, Rector of Hexham
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This site contains the BBC listings information which the BBC printed in Radio Times between 1923 and 2009. You can search the site for BBC programmes, people, dates and Radio Times editions.

We hope it helps you find information about that long forgotten BBC programme, research a particular person or browse your own involvement with the BBC.

Through the listings, you will also be able to use the Genome search function to find thousands of radio and TV programmes that are already available to view or listen to on the BBC website.

There are more than 5 million programme listings in Genome. This is a historical record of the planned output and the BBC services of any given time. It should be viewed in this context and with the understanding that it reflects the attitudes and standards of its time - not those of today.

To read scans of the Radio Times magazines from the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s, you can navigate by issue.

Welcome to BBC Genome

Genome is a digitised version of the Radio Times from 1923 to 2009 and is made available for internal research purposes only. You will need to obtain the relevant third party permissions for any use, including use in programmes, online etc.

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Book Fair Sign Up

The PTC is looking for volunteers to help with the book fair! It will be going on from Nov. 18 thru 22. Please use the link below to sign up to volunteer. Thank you for signing up and helping out!!

Here is the schedule for when the kids will be previewing and shopping!

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A Thomas Stubbs Esq, 755 Commerce Drive # 720, Decatur, GA, 30030-2621, legal services

U.S Legal Services Georgia Legal Services Georgia - List of United States Legal Services, Attorney

A Thomas Stubbs Esq

Company Name: A Thomas Stubbs Esq
Status: Work
State: Georgia
Post: 30030-2621
County: De Kalb
City: Decatur
Address: 755 Commerce Drive # 720
Phone: (404)378-3633
Fax: unknown
Email: unknown
Contact : A Thomas Stubbs
Web site: www.sarahstubbs.com
SIC code: 8111 Industry group: Legal Services, Business category: Legal Services, Subcategory: Legal Services
Employees: 2
Gross Annual Sales (Revenue): 323980
Description: A Thomas Stubbs Esq is a business categorized under legal services, which is part of the larger category legal services. A Thomas Stubbs Esq is located at the address 755 Commerce Drive # 720 in Decatur, Georgia 30030-2621. You can contact by phone (404)378-3633.
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Grandfather Clock Bremen

German Grandfather Clock “Bremen”, solid oak

Handmade German Grandfather Clock of solid oak, side walls with lateral windows. Also available in cherry and beech tree. Original Black Forest clockwork with 3 melodies (can be deactivated at night).

Dimensions of our German Grandfather Clock Bremen:

. Height 206 cm
. Width 50 cm
. Depth 29 cm

You would like to hear how the clock sounds? Please click here to play the stroke of the grandfather clock (approx. 300 kb).

Contact us for questions or to place an order


text:
Quem Somos

Gestante Premium é um portal de conteúdo confiável para mamães ou futuras mamães, desenvolvido por médicos e especialistas no assunto.
Venha trocar experiências incríveis!

Tiramos todas as suas dúvidas

Estamos prontos para lhe ajudar a qualquer momento.
Conheça algumas informações importantes.

Nossos Parceiros

If you’re a baseball fan, you’ve undoubtedly seen lots of examples of base ball players talking, debating, or assessing the”math” behind base-ball and Mathematics of all Voting. Base-ball, because it happens, can be an extremely complicated game, with variables to it than can be noted . You can find additional sports that need the gamer to master mathematics, such as Chess,

A new sort of game referred to as Networking Mathematics Kangaroo was designed by Ben Smith and John O’Neill. This game is actually a kind of mix involving the hunting games with graphics, puzzles along with the danger and physical challenges. This game makes use of various attributes for instance – a shooting game, and racing mode and also you must undergo it within a minimum time. The graphics are fairly gorgeous and you can merely run through this game, actually. The quite first thing which you must do is usually to download Photos of Mathematics and Pictures

The Raines Law Room is usually a fantastic instance of an instance of canon law within a fiction Tv show. The canon law may well look to be unclear as some statements are only ambiguous when the context is regarded. One example is, I could be considered as ambiguous if somebody stated “The speed of light is usually manipulated by any type of equipment, which includes a laptop.” On the other hand, inside the identical sentence I could possibly be viewed as as not ambiguous, if there is essay writers absolutely no mention with the word “computer” that could possibly explain how the statement is made. In this example the answer to my query about canon law within a fiction Television show could be “Yes” simply because there’s a reference to a computer within the sentence but there isn’t any mention from the word pc. The Raines Law Space shows how canon law inside a fiction Tv show is much more complicated than simply relying on particular occurrences and creating a logical law based on these occurrences. Let us continue together with the example:

of write my essay Networking Kangaroo, then you may effortlessly undergo it devoid of any complications.

Billiards, and essay writer Volleyball. However, sports including Golf, Soccer, and softball, whilst using the possibility to be more fun for most fans, aren’t as complicated as Baseball and Mathematics of all Voting.


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Try out Wolt and get your first delivery at a 750 JPY discount!
Sign up now with the invite code MITCHAN and receive 750 JPY off of your first delivery order. The best food in town - delivered or to-go. Available on iOS, Android and Web.
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Current time in Ponta Grossa, Brazil Brazil

In Ponta Grossa now Friday, August 7, 2020, week 32
Now Brasilia Time (BRT), offset UTC-03:00
Brasilia Time (BRT) standard time zone

Sunrise and sunset

Sunrise and sunset in Ponta Grossa, Friday, August 7, 2020
Sunrise: 06:53
Sunset: 17:59
Moon rise: 21:00
Moon set: 09:30

Daylight saving time and standard time

When the clock transition in 2020 in Ponta Grossa, Brazil
UTC offset year round
Daylight saving time does not apply
Time zone used — UTC-03:00

Information about Ponta Grossa, Brazil

Ponta Grossa, Brazil

Ponta Grossa is one of the cities in Brazil. Ponta Grossa is located on the continent of South America.

Time zone in Ponta Grossa, Brazil define as UTC-03:00, so at the moment the current time in Ponta Grossa is 20:58

Continent South America
Country Brazil
Capital Brasilia
Latitude -25.10
Longitude -50.16
Population 292,177
Currency Real (BRL)
Domain .br

The population of Ponta Grossa is 292,177 people, which is ~ 0.15% of the total population of Brazil.

Current time in popular cities of Brazil

Natal 20:58
Rio Branco 18:58
Governador Valadares 20:58
Macapa 20:58
Caxias do Sul 20:58
Blumenau 20:58
Juazeiro Do Norte 20:58
Porto Alegre 20:58
Vitória da Conquista 20:58
Mato Grosso 19:58

Current time in different cities of Brazil

Gravatai 20:58
Juiz de Fora 20:58
Ubatuba 20:58
Maranham 20:58
Fernando De Noronha 21:58
Telemaco Borba 20:58
Santa Catherina 20:58
Sacramento 20:58
Paulo Afonso 20:58
Carolina 20:58

Exact Time in Ponta Grossa website delivers the exact time in Ponta Grossa, Brazil. Ponta Grossa is one of the cities in Brazil. We are aimed at providing the most exact time in Ponta Grossa. To do so, our online clock is synchronized with NTP-server along with an atomic clock. As a result, Getdatetime displays the most accurate local time with the time zone, second and milliseconds in a chosen country.

Additional Information

Visitors stay in touch with the accurate local time in Ponta Grossa as well as benefit from additional useful information:
  • What date and time it is now;
  • Ponta Grossa time zone;
  • Clock set for winter time;
  • Sunset and sunrise as well as moonrise and moonset;
  • Daytime length;
  • Brief information about Ponta Grossa and Brazil;
  • The exact time in other popular countries.
Ponta Grossa uses Brasilia Time (BRT) UTC-03:00.


text:
Why I went into the HLTV off-topic forums

One of the first things you are told when you start hosting or playing in Counter-Strike tournaments is to avoid the HLTV Off-Topic Forums at all costs.

HLTV.org is an indispensable resource, with match pages for every tier 1 and 2 tournament, and great editorial content such as interviews and news articles. None of the broadcasters I work with could do their jobs as well without it.

But when you visit HLTV on a device larger than mobile, you also get treated to the website’s very own “sidebar of shame”, a column that pulls in the latest popular forum posts – many of which are pulled in from the Off-Topic subsection of the forum.

When I work CS:GO events, I’m often amused by the bizarre titles some of the forum posts have, and horrified by posts that appear about myself and my colleagues. Players don’t escape the scrutiny of users either.

But sometimes posts appear that – genuinely or otherwise – request help from the HLTV hive mind. While many of the posts can be downright toxic, most likely due to young users vying for attention – some of them are endearing in their questions, and occasional confessions. Like Reddit, HLTV provides a space where a community has formed. And I decided to reach out to it via YouTube…

What I discovered were that many posts were simply about how to talk to girls. I’ve been female for 30 years, so I figured I might have a little bit of insight to share. I’ve also been made redundant twice in my career and had my fair share of heartbreak. And also, like the users of the forum, I love CS:GO (even if I’m terrible at playing it).

Travelling around the world going from event to event can be a surprisingly lonely experience, and so I totally understand that need to find a space where one can reach out to find others on their wavelength. That’s why I’ve come to realise that not every post in the HLTV forums comes from a bad place. I hope I’ve treated the post writers with enough respect, and I’m aiming to give actual advice. There are some worrying views on the forum, and perhaps I’ll tackle those more controversial subjects in future episodes.

I’m also hoping to find some other guests from the Counter-Strike scene to come and guest on the series, and I’ll do little tweaks such as screen grabs of the original posts. I also need to wear an crease-free t-shirt and sort my hair out prior to recording the next episode…

One comment

  1. Anderson Smith · October 8

    Thanks for sharing.

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Move Through Me In Flames

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339 Carlisle Column: The Romantic Tale of Foreign Aid and Western Saviorism

Abigail Marconi (Photo provided)

Abigail Marconi (Photo provided)

By Abigail Marconi, Columnist

The United States spends a whopping $50 billion on foreign aid each year! Spending this amount on developing countries is a feat to behold, but do we really know where this money is going? It is estimated that the World Bank has participated in the corruption of $100 billion worth of loan funds intended for development, and more often than not, the money ends up lining the pockets of dictators and bureaucrats. Some economists and political activists suggest that foreign aid is essential to helping countries develop economically and eradicate poverty. The stark reality is, however, that aid has repeatedly failed – and often harms those we intend to help.

Regardless of whether foreign aid has had any success, it is important to recognize the many times it has dismally failed. Despite Africa receiving at least $1 trillion in aid over the past 60 years, GDP per capita (which is used to measure standard of living) in sub-Saharan Africa is less than it was in 1974, having declined 11 percent. A nonprofit charity compiled examples of foreign aids’ harmful effects, ranging from driving local farmers out of business to discouraging outside investment. Parade Magazine released its rankings of the world’s 10 worst dictators in 2009, from Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe to Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, and shockingly, every single dictator’s regime received foreign aid from Western countries. Foreign aid has a track record of supporting corrupt governments, like Malawi’s former President Bakili Muluzi and Zambia’s former President Frederick Chiluba, both of whom embezzled millions of aid dollars away from development into their personal funds. Rather than helping the poor, foreign aid is rife with unintended consequences and ends up assisting crooked elites.

The question becomes: can foreign aid be reformed in such a way that it actually begins to help the targeted recipients? If the goal of aid is to help people rise above the international poverty line of $1.90 a day, then foreign aid is most certainly not the solution. It is important to realize that economic growth occurs when the fundamental economic problem is solved – which is how to best utilize limited resources. Economic theory suggests that this problem is solved when people are guided by prices in a market, where buyers and sellers meet to freely exchange goods. This is because profits and losses help people determine which resources are valued most and into which activities those resources should be dedicated. Without a market and local arrangements to protect property rights, resources become horribly misallocated. This, in turn, exacerbates poverty.

This is exactly why foreign aid fails to help countries achieve long-term economic growth. It’s because aid programs like the Gyandoot Project dump computer kiosks in rural India and do not realize that the area has neither the electricity nor demand for them. While this might seem like an obvious mistake, the problem comes down to the fact that Western countries can never effectively plan how to dole out resources, let alone foresee the unintended consequences they may cause. Without prices to guide profit and loss, no one can know where resources should go, to whom they should go, and in what quantity they should be delivered. It is a modern fantasy to believe that Western countries have ultimate knowledge and can inject billions of dollars into failing governments and unaccountable agencies to eliminate poverty. Even worse, those same funds become less pleasant of an idea when they are spent in ways that are not only wasteful, but harmful.

The most foreign aid can ever do is provide short-term relief. Foreign aid can try to reduce malaria or provide food to crisis areas, but it is important to recognize these as band-aid solutions that require a significant amount of bureaucratic planning. Even this kind of aid often has unintended consequences, such as a health program in Egypt that ended up causing higher rates of hepatitis C. Certain programs, like the President’s Malaria Initiative, have had success in providing short-term assistance. However, it is worth considering whether this money should be directed towards nonprofit charities providing the same services without all the bureaucratic sluggishness. Either way, such programs will never be the instigators of long-term economic growth.

It’s time for America to stop patting itself on the back for sending $50 billion overseas hoping it will solve global poverty and start thinking critically about how economies actually develop: through the establishment of private property rights and markets. This solution is not easy or clear-cut, but as it turns out, life’s most worthwhile endeavors usually aren’t.

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Susan Wright

Project Leader
University of Texas at Arlington

Susan Wright is a Project Leader with GFF, Inc

GFF Halloween 2019

GFF celebrated Halloween with our annual pumpkin painting and costume contest! Shout out to this year’s winners: Costumes: 1. Addam’s Family 2. 101 Dalmations 3. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Pumpkins: 1. The Fox 2. Spa Day 3. Spooky Landscape

Church-Works-Studio Christmas

GFF Church Works Holiday Recipe Collection

GFF Churchworks Studio wishes everyone a safe and merry holiday season, and would like to share some of our favorite recipes to be enjoyed with friends and family. Pumpkin Bread Stephen Pickard Fudge Susan Wright Pecan Divinity Aaron Steward Oatmeal Raisin / Chocolate Chip Cookies Crystal Gore Sweet Potato Casserole Jacquelyn Block Turkey Brine Jamie…

‘On My Own Time’ Gallery 2018

This summer, GFF held our seventh annual 'On My Own Time' gallery at the Kettle Art Gallery in Deep Ellum, where we showcased various types of artwork created by our employees. The North Texas Business Council for the Arts’ (NTBCA) On My Own Time program is an annual, regional competition showcasing individual talents of corporations’ employees outside of the…

Last week GFF installed our exhibit for the 2018 AIA RETROSPECT in NorthPark Mall and it is displayed with a number of other exhibits designed by architecture firms in Dallas.  RETROSPECT is a public outreach event designed to promote architects, architecture, and activities within the community.  The exhibit demonstrates how architects lead efforts to make…

Happy New Year from GFF

GFF celebrated their 35th anniversary and annual Holiday Party at Factory Six03. The newly renovated West End Building was designed by GFF’s own Chris Andersen, Jillian Brooks, Reagan Compton, Larry Good and Traci Webster. Being able to celebrate these milestones at a building close to our hearts made the evening all the more special! Happy…

‘On My Own Time’ Gallery 2017

In what has become a mainstay at the firm, GFF held our sixth annual gallery showcasing employee (and spouses’) artwork through the North Texas Business Council for the Arts’ On My Own Time program. As always, we were absolutely floored with the talents and passions of the people we see everyday. So many of them…


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Welcoming a new baby into the world is an exciting time for everyone involved. They’re so cute and sweet and instantly put a smile on your face. However, if it’s your friend who just had a baby, they may be feeling overwhelmed and tired.

As someone close to her, there are ways you can pitch in and help and support her during this transition period. She’ll appreciate your efforts and the fact that you’re willing to dedicate time and energy to helping her to have a positive experience with her newborn. The following suggestions will give you some ideas about how you can achieve this and make her feel loved:

1.   Cook Some Meals for Her

The last item on a new mum’s list is thinking about what to cook for dinner. There are so many other tasks and responsibilities your friend now has on her mind that she might completely forget about what to feed her family. Therefore, you can help and support your friend who just had a baby by cooking some meals for her and bringing them over. Make a few she can eat now and others she can put in her freezer and pull out on a hectic day when she doesn’t have time to cook. Think about what she likes to eat and what will be easy to reheat or put in the oven.

2.   Bring Presents

Another way to support your friend who just had a baby is to bring the family presents. It’s best not to show up empty-handed when you first meet the baby. There are so many cute ideas out there for what you can bring, including clothes, blankets, and toys. Also, think ahead and plan for upcoming occasions where you’ll be celebrating with your friend and her baby, such as the baptism and first birthday. Hop online to find christening gifts that will be perfect for celebrating these very special occasions.

3.   Be A Good Listener

It may be that your friend simply needs someone to talk to and open up to about what she’s feeling. Having a newborn around is rewarding but can also take a toll on any woman both mentally and physically. Therefore, show up and be a good listener and allow your friend to get whatever is bothering her off her chest. Only offer up solutions or advice if she asks for it, otherwise, just sit back and be a good friend by lending an open ear.

4.   Offer to Babysit

Your friend and husband might not have much time for each other these days. Your friend might also not be getting much sleep. You can support your friend who just had a baby by offering to babysit and give her and her husband a break to do as they please. You’ll not only get to spend quality time with their newborn, but they’ll be able to take a rest from their demanding schedule and responsibilities. Even if it’s for a few hours or a short time in the evening, they’ll appreciate having someone they can trust to watch their child.

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Written by Kitty

There's nothing better than a weekend spent at a spa and total relaxation and happy thoughts is a way of life to me. It's lucky I love cats really with a name like mine! Happily married with my three fur babies to keep us company.


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New Store On Board - Ace Floral Design

🎉 Ace Floral Design is now on-board the Giftr store! 🌼

Ace Flora Design is offering aesthetic & quality flower bouquet delivery within Klang Valley area. Each of their bouquet design carries certain meaning & emotion where they wish to help the senders to express their feelings towards the recipients. Other than the regular fresh flower bouquet, they do provide preserved flowers, chocolate bouquets and flower boxes. Same day delivery & self pickup are available and free deliver to Ampang and Cheras area. Let's check them out to deliver your thoughts of love/ apology/ appreciation to your loved ones!

An overview on their products:

📢[Exclusive Offer]

To celebrate their arrival on-board, they are having an exclusive offer of 10% OFF store wide on the Giftr store!

Offer valid till 27 July 2020 | Prices shown are already discounted.


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Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Cake
Why not make your next weekend special for no reason other than you deserve to have some delicious cake every now and then.  I like to sneak some chopped raspberries into the cake mixture for extra moistness and we all fight to lick the icing bowl and spoons.  While you really ought not to eat raw cake mixture I always do and beaters and spatulas become lollipops.  The cake mixture contains a full bar of chocolate as does the rich chocolate butter icing making this a very chocolatey chocolate cake.
While the pictures below are very similar, I couldn’t choose between them or leave any out, after all one can never have enough cake.

Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Cake

You will need:
150g unsalted butter
100g dark chocolate
200g caster sugar
200g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
12 raspberries for cake mix
Raspberries to decorate
Blueberries to decorate
Chocolate icing (see below), fresh cream and raspberry jam to decorate
You will need – for Rich Chocolate Butter Icing:
100g dark chocolate (70%)
250g icing sugar
25g unsalted butter (approximately 1 heaped tbsp.)
3 tbsp hot water

Method for Chocolate Cake:
Preheat the fan oven to 170oC/Gas mark 5.
Grease and line two round cake tins (20cm or 8”) with a little butter and parchment paper.
Use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together.
Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave and mix in with the butter and sugar.
Sift the flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl and set aside.
Beat the eggs in a bowl and add about a third to the butter and sugar mix followed by about a third of the flour. Continue adding the egg and flour alternating until all are added. Mix in 12 roughly chopped raspberries and mix well.
Divide the mixture between the two cake tins.
Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, testing with a skewer to see if baked, if any wet mixture clings to the skewer return to the oven for a further 5 minutes and test again.
Allow the cakes to cool for ten minutes or so before removing from tins to cool on wire rack tray before icing.

Method for Rich Chocolate Butter Icing :
100g dark chocolate (70%)
250g icing sugar
25g unsalted butter (approximately 1 heaped tbsp.)
3 tbsp hot water
Break up the chocolate into a bowl and microwave it on low power for 1 to 2 minutes until melted.
Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the melted chocolate.
Add the butter and hot water and beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Keep beating as you add in the hot water to make a smooth icing.

Layer some raspberry jam and freshly whipped cream to sandwich the cake together.
Pour the chocolate butter icing over the top and use a spatula to smooth over and down the sides of the cake.
Decorate with fresh berries.
Chocolate Cake

Indulge & Enjoy.
‘Til next time, Sheila

9 Comments Add yours

  1. The Editor says:

    I would have never thought to put berries and chocolate together…this looks great.

    1. sheila kiely says:

      Thank you, raspberries & dark chocolate are probably my favourite berry/chocolate combo. Love fruit with chocolate ice-cream too.

  2. LisaListed says:

    That looks amazing!!! Plus the berries make it “healthy”!

    1. sheila kiely says:

      Ah yes the fruit bring something virtuous to it alright, but the rest is plain indulgence 🙂

  3. milktherapy says:

    Wow ! It looks yummmy!

  4. SusieQ says:

    Sheila can you use milk rather than dark chocolate or mix the two, the children find it too bitter when I use just dark. Love your book by the way

    1. sheila kiely says:

      Hi Susie, Thanks for taking time to comment and leave a question. Yes you could substitute milk chocolate instead or you could use cocoa powder and more butter as in this alternative more child friendly version of the cake. x Sheila

  5. SusieQ says:

    Thanks Sheila – I will try that one this weekend !

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Roman, 4th century AD

Large, elegant, pear-shaped jug in green-yellow glass. The shape is similar to Ising 120. Blown glass. This causes grooves in the object’s surface. The bent handle sits just above the midpoint of the jug and is folded back under the edge. This forms the thumb rest. Around the neck of the jug is a glass ring. The jug’s foundation has been shaped by pinching the glass to form a ring. Inscription underneath. Inclusions, streaks and bubbles. Weight: 48.6g.

The shape, ring support and corrugated body imitate expensive silver jugs. Typical, widespread jug shape of the 4th century AD.

EUR 5,500

Antikes Glas
Glass Studies

Collection in the US, acquired in the 1960s.

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Grenfell Tower inquiry: Fire ‘inextricably linked with race’

Grenfell Tower inquiry: Fire 'inextricably linked with race'

Grenfell memorial

Image copyright
PA Media

The Grenfell Tower fire inquiry “must not ignore” the impact of race and poverty on the disaster, a lawyer representing survivors has said.

Leslie Thomas, who is also representing bereaved families, said the 2017 fire was “inextricably linked with race”.

And he urged the inquiry to be on the “right side of history” when considering how the issue contributed towards the deaths of the 72 victims.

The inquiry returned this week after a four-month break due to coronavirus.

“The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum,” said Mr Thomas in his opening statement.

“A majority of the Grenfell residents who died were people of colour.

“Grenfell is inextricably linked with race. It is the elephant in the room.

“This disaster happened in a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London.

“Yet the community affected was predominantly working-class. That is the stark reality that cannot be ignored.”

The Grenfell Next of Kin group has called for the inquiry to “investigate the extent of institutional racism as a factor” in the fire in June 2017.

Image copyright

Legal submissions made to the inquiry explain there were four visitors to the tower among the dead and also stillborn Baby Logan Gomes and then adds: “Of the remaining 67, 57 were from BAME (black, Asian and other ethnic minority) communities.

“In the English Housing Survey 2017-2018, it was found that 40% of those living in high-rise buildings in the social rented sector are black, Asian or other. This, compared to the per cent of the population (14%), is high.”

Mr Thomas told the inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick: “This is your time of action to break the cycle of disengagement with the issue of race and inequality.

“What will this inquiry be remembered for? You will undoubtedly want it to be on the right side of history.”

On Monday, the inquiry heard how a senior fire safety engineer did not think putting cladding on Grenfell Tower would pose any “issues” for safety.

In its first phase, the inquiry concluded that cladding fuelled the fire in June 2017. The second phase is examining how it could have happened in the first place.

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Journals Higher Education
Important OUP's Response to COVID-19 Learn more

This item is printed to order. Items which are printed to order are normally despatched and charged within 5-10 days.

Published: 03 March 2016

224 Pages | 39 black and white illustrations

ISBN: 9780198748519

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The Connected Past

Challenges to Network Studies in Archaeology and History

Edited by Tom Brughmans, Anna Collar, and Fiona Coward

  • Features a comprehensive volume introduction which explains what network science is, why it is of interest for studying the past, and outlines the challenges faced when using network science in archaeology and history
  • Provides archaeologists and historians with a selection of the methodological and conceptual tools they need to compare and evaluate the strengths and limitations of different network approaches
  • Features international contributors from a range of disciplines (archaeology, history, physics, and mathematics) who are all pioneers in applying network perspectives to the study of the past
  • Presents a solid set of case studies which demonstrate how the challenges of applying network science perspectives to archaeological and historical datasets are overcome


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Friday, May 18, 2012

Capital Monopoly and Agriculture

What should be obvious to the blind, dumb and stupid is that capital is lazy.  If you can lend the government’s newly created cash back to the government for a point spread, you take it.  Thus the likes of Cargill and Monsanto gain unlimited access to capital while further down the food chain it is necessary to stand on your head to gain any access.

What politicians fail to understand is that there is no surety, but there is risk abatement through division of capital resources.  A simple answer in the USA would be to end subsidies at a certain cutoff in sales which can then be dropped annually by ten percent until a creditable level is achieved.

Cargill and Monsanto need to dissolve into their natural constituent competing parts.  The same applies to many other mega corporations including a lot of large state controlled enterprises.

Global monopoly is all very nice, but utterly unnecessary and never justified by the mere expedient of slightly better prices for the consumer.

The consumer can always be funded easily to pay higher prices than getting rid of an unearned monopoly that runs around bribing elected officials as we have seen in the prescription drug industry in the USA.

Agriculture cooperatives could end hunger while boosting socio-economic development in impoverished regions

Saturday, May 05, 2012 by: PF Louis

(NaturalNews) Monsanto and Cargill keep rolling on, leading a handful of other mega-corporations toward planetary food and farming control that ensures our demise. Meanwhile, important studies are ignored by our corrupt governments who are heavily influenced and infiltrated by those very same companies.

A world-wide study was initiated by the United Nations (UN) a few years ago to investigate solutions for world hunger as our population increases. This contradicts the efforts of certain elites who create humanitarian covers for their agenda of radically decreasing the population with unworkable and toxic large-scale agricultural programs.

The UN study's conclusion contradicts their plans completely.

The UN report involved many experts and took a few years to complete. The report's coordinator, Olivier De Schutter, presented this press release that received scant attention: "We won't solve hunger and stop climate change with industrial farming on large plantations. The solution lies in supporting small-scale farmers [and to] contribute to rural development. Each region must be able to feed itself."

Other reports ignored and marginalized

The UN report was not the only study conducted recently favoring small-scale organic farming. Feeding the Future, a report released by the UK's Soil Association, confirmed the UN study with the added focus of organic farming for soil preservation.

The Rodale Institute released their long study with the conclusion that locking farmers into GMO seed contracts was certain to destroy most farmers. Additionally, crop yields are less with GM farming than both conventional and organic farming (

Nevertheless, Monsanto and others get their "feeding the world" press releases out to the "lamestream" media to convince a majority of the public that GMOs and Big-Ag are the solutions for feeding the world. Their disinformation obscures the issues of less nutrition and more toxins going into our food.

This extremely tilted playing field for determining our food supply can be disheartening for participants of the "good fight". But resist we must for us and our progeny (

As farming activist Dr. Vandana Shiva of India points out: "Seeds controlled by Monsanto, agribusiness trade controlled by Cargill, processing controlled by Pepsi and Phillip Morris, retail controlled by Walmart - is a recipe for food dictatorship. We must occupy the food system to create food democracy."

The effort to create regional agricultural cooperatives world-wide

The rising price of food could be restrained by keeping Wall Street out of the mix. Greedy investors speculate with food commodities, driving prices up more than even supply shortages affect prices.

Large commercial farms create the need for large food broker/distributors such as Cargill who wield too much influence on pricing, distribution, and how agriculture should be managed.

Regional food distribution is a solution for creating support for local organic farming and decentralizing food distribution while restricting commodities market's latest game of derivatives trading that destabilizes prices.

The UN has declared 2012 as the "International Year of Cooperatives."

Agricultural cooperatives do exist currently. Now the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is pooling more resources to make the UN declaration for 2012 an eventual reality.

IFAD has created training programs for small rural farmers to understand better basic natural farming techniques with no GMOs or excessive chemical use. This ensures fresher, healthier food for consumers while enabling farmers to enjoy higher profits within regional direct marketing networks.

IFAD President Kanayo Nwanze asserts that farmers should be recognized as important small entrepreneurs for the future of our food. Having each region responsible for feeding itself is a viable solution for farmers and consumers.

Buying locally now as often as possible helps this cause if you can't get directly involved with the IFAD effort.

Sources for this article include:

PDF of UN agriculture report submitted December 2010:

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Happy National Women’s History Month! by Ni’Asia Griffin

I wanted to kick off this post with some of the biggest women’s rights and sharing the road ahead for women. I received all of this information from Your Dream Blog. I thought it was important to share with you all.

1848 — New York passes the Married Women’s Property Act. For the first time, a woman isn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became for economic purposes, an individual.

1973 — With its Roe v. Wade decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declares that the Constitution protects women’s right to terminate an early pregnancy, thus making abortion legal in the U.S.

2013 — Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The new bill extends coverage to women of Native American tribal lands who are attacked by non-tribal residents, as well as lesbians and immigrants.

These are a few highlights of women’s rights that we have! There are more however, I only listed a few, if you are interested in reading the rest. Here is the link: History of Women’s Rights in America | Your Dream Blog.

The Road Ahead

Women are still at a higher risk for poverty:

  • Unequal 20 cent wage gap between men and women
  • Bear the burden of low-wage jobs and unpaid caregiving work
  • 1/3 of single mothers live in poverty

Women are still victimized by sexual violence:

  • 33% of women are likely to be abused
  • 4.7 million American women experience physical violence by an intimate partner
  • Women in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by fellow soldiers than killed in combat

Women are still underrepresented in leadership:

  • 19% of all members of Congress are women
  • Of 50 state governors, 4 are women (8%)
  • Of the Fortune 500 companies, 25 are led by women CEOs (5%)

I want to say that we as women have made a substantial amount of improvements however, your work is not finished. Together, we will continue to fight for our rights for us and further generations.


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'Chicken' Paper Plates

$48.00 HKD

Rooster bowls date back to more than a hundred years ago where its use was first noted with the Hakka people of Guangdong, China.

This modernised paper version by TheWan have a unique and playful design featuring the traditional rooster with the black feathers and red neck and comb.

- 17.8 (dia) cm
- Paper
- Set of 25

*Please allow 1-3 cm error due to manual measurement.

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if i was a cardinal i would sing all day because the weather is stunning and there is plenty of food and many grand old oaks to choose for cover. no economic worries for me. no scary thoughts of foreclosure and homelessness. no decisions to be made in the upcoming presidential election. no searching for jobs that do not exist anymore. all i would do is sing and be happy and eat bugs or whatever cardinals delight in…and stay out of the way of the cats who prowl below, waiting for a distracted moment.

one day, in the near future, i hope i can sing like the cardinal because i no longer worry and fuss and stomp and shout about the way i am living.

the sun is reaching down into the darkness and i will fly. how about that.

how did it become almost the end of september? where have i been? i cannot believe that christmas is a mere three months away. i can feel fall in the air, even though i live in west central florida. yes, it’s still in the 80s but that draining humidity is gone, at least i no longer feel it, and now i can actually breathe. my border collie is beside himself with excitement at the cooler weather. a “hot” dog he is not. he literally dances for joy in the cool morning air. my older dog now sleeps peacefully, instead of fitfully. my cats have more energy; a couple of them are acting a little on the wild side. are they experiencing an ancient memory of a time when cats were undomesticated?

we do not have central heat/air in this crooked bungalow in which we live, so whatever is happening outside is happening inside. so we say goodbye to summer (and soon to our annual hurricane season), and start to turn our minds to the holidays coming up. there is no money this year so we will celebrate with chocolate, tasty dog and cat treats, and candles in the fireplace.

Look at me standing here like I know what I’m doing,

Like I know where I’m going and I’m not afraid to go there.

Let the rain smash against me, plundering my very existence,

Plastering my clothes and my hair to my body like an artist

Because it sure doesn’t feel like this human being is moving.

Sometimes I wonder at the scope of my dreams, at the very breath I take.

I look back for my shadow and it’s not there, hiding, no doubt,

From the wrath of my very Catholic guilt for not becoming good.

I’m not the successful one, I’m not sure how to step forward

Into the darkness, I don’t understand how to live a life of meaning.

So does it matter if I stand in the thundering rain like an idiot

Waiting for the light to turn green, looking like I might step off the curb

And walk to somewhere and someone who might actually care?

This is a strange world and I’m a stranger in it, no doubt about that,

And damn if I can decipher my relevance in this loud stomping place.

So let the rains soak me, melt me, pound me until there’s nothing left

To gather up in this corner that I have painted as human and alive,

As hopeful and poised, even if only for a second or two.

oh, yes, it’s may already. the sun is getting hot (at least down here in florida it is) and i’m not ready for the heat, humidity, weeds, bugs, and sweat. i hate being cold but i don’t like being hot either. so where does that leave me? it’s been almost a year since i lost my job, and while i managed to snag a temporary, wee bit sporadic project job (that goes away at the end of june), i still haven’t found a ‘real’ job that pays enough to comfortably live on. so, if my almost unemployment continues, who knows where i’ll be in a few months. perhaps living in the weeds with the bugs. how lovely….

so lazy

just don’t wanna do it. just don’t want to paint and repair and do home improvement stuff. my house isn’t selling. apparently no one wants fixer-uppers anymore, not at least here in florida. so i have to try and fix the so many things wrong with my broken bungalow. but it won’t happen. not all of it. it would take a whole lot of money, something that there isn’t a whole lot of in this house. and besides, i don’t really want to do it. i didn’t do it for myself and i don’t want to do it for someone else. i don’t believe in this unquiet neighborhood enough to spend time, energy and money on this house – even though i should.

now there’s only one more house for sale around here. i noticed a couple of women looking at it yesterday. perhaps they’ll buy it, and then it will just be my little wooden house for sale. maybe then the perfect person will see it and want it. and then i can be free.

one more day

monday, oh monday. here i am. i made it through one more monday workday. and now i’m home and i get to listen to the pounding bass coming from my neighbor’s house. how can i listen to my poet self in the midst of chaos and thunder? sometimes i just wanna run away.

thank you

just a short note to thank miss demure restraint, zenuria, and glaize for commenting on my blog. it’s nice to know that someone is reading what i write and appreciating it. i will continue to check out your blogs too. au revoir, mes amies.

left in the dust

right now i am at an impasse. i feel as if someone changed the stoplight from green to red and then disappeared, leaving me in a permanent state of waiting. waiting for my life to become what i dream it will be. waiting for the magic of money to find me. waiting for prince charming…well, maybe not (i used to wonder if there really was a prince charming but not any more; now i think that there is only me). i know all this stuff about me being in charge of my life, about the law of attraction, about god watching lovingly over me, guiding me, but somehow the pilot light went out and i find myself in nowheresville. a time of static nothingness that is driving me to margaritaville, if truth be told. patience. i need to learn patience. there is a time for everything…yeah, yeah, i know that too, but i still feel chained to where i am now and i do not know where the key is that will turn that damn light green.

i am lost in the zone called working for a living. who decided that the world runs efficiently in a five-day span for 8 to 10 hours each day? i long for freedom from money issues. if i had all the money in the world i would … what would i do? travel, travel, travel (did i mention that i would travel?), dream all day, nap with cats, play with dogs, plant flowers, wrap my arms around trees (yes, i’m a tree-hugger), eat Godiva chocolate at every meal, pay someone to clean my house and cook my food, sit by the water and watch the birds cruising and diving, employ a personal trainer so i can look and feel good, write, write, write all the things i love to write without thinking about publishing or income possibilities, buy some really nice expensive shoes, and more importantly (right now in my life), i would buy and live in a beautiful house on 10 wooded acres in a peaceful, quiet and serene environment far from people and their relentless noise.

what would you do?