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Bukkit Forums

by Dinnerbone at 6:21 PM
(111,539 Views / 1 Likes)
I've been slaving away the last two days working on the biggest feature added to minecraft yet; multiworld. Something the whole community has been itching for; either to finally get those rare materials from the nether onto your survival server, or to go save a girl named Daisy. But suffice to say, thanks to Bukkit, it's here at last.

Bukkit now supports multiple worlds of various types, either normal or nether. You can have a normal world, a creeper-filled world for hardcore survival, and two nethers with and without monsters. It's all up to the plugins to let you decide what you want to happen and where.

I'm certain that very shortly a plugin or three will be available to let you access different worlds, such as the nether, which you may try and enjoy to your hearts content. However, I must confess we couldn't get it to work 100%. If you go from a normal world to a nether world, you will not see the red fog usually present. We need Mojang to release a client update to fix this....
by Dinnerbone at 10:54 AM
(26,460 Views / 0 Likes)
Gremlins are feisty little creatures. It takes a strong administrator to have the courage to command even the weakest of them. Fortunately, thanks to our new Bustin' Ultimate Kapturator and Kontroller Integrated Trap, we've figured out a way to help tame them and help you shape them to do your bidding for you.

Any plugin that utilizes onCommand can now take commands from a variety of sources; players in chat, the CLI console, rcon, other plugins, etc. Built in with Craftbukkit, we have chat commands and console commands. Plugins can provide other sources easily, with or without native support for the calling plugin.

The currently console doesn't look so pretty, so we may look into ways of making that better, such as colours or indentation. However, with Bukkit build 100 and Craftbukkit build 200, you can give them a try and tell us what you think for now!

We've updated our first default plugin,...
by EvilSeph at 6:24 AM
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On Wednesday morning, as I'm sure most of you already know, the Bukkit team had a meeting with Mojang Specifications regarding their popular game, Minecraft. Going into the meeting, we were hoping to tackle the licensing issue right out of the door. Unfortunately, due to some people being unable to make it, it turned out to be a different type of meeting than we had intended.

With only the developers of Minecraft able to attend, the meeting quickly turned into a technical discussion about what ideas we all had for Minecraft, how modding should work and so on. As we learned a lot from this meeting, we felt we should share some of the points with you. However, please understand that absolutely nothing said in the meeting is set in stone or final and can change at any time.

So, here's what we learned:
  • Modding support will likely start as server-side only at first, then later is hoping to expand to...
by EvilSeph at 5:02 PM
(27,180 Views / 0 Likes)
The licensing of the Bukkit Project is currently as follows:
Bukkit - GPL with NO exceptions
CraftBukkit - LGPL

Before you say anything we are aware that using the GPL will force plugin authors to GPL their plugin too and are considering changes to our choice of licensing. Though this has no legal weight, you can be rest assured that we will NOT be forcing people to GPL or open source their code and are looking for the best licensing for us to use.

Once we've looked into this issue enough we'll be announcing our license choices - and our license WILL likely change from just the GPL, but until then the Bukkit is under GPL with NO exceptions (this is not due to us wanting this; I am clarifying that we have not specified any exceptions on the license we've currently applied to Bukkit) and CraftBukkit is under LGPL.


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Subscribe to the weekly “audio edition” via iTunes

From Dont to Yost to the legendary Korguof exercises that Mr. Vamos used to write out by hand every time I “misplaced” them, there are lots of resources out there to help us improve our technique.

But how does one become more “musical”?

As a student, especially in my younger years, I think I pretty much went off of instinct and emotion alone. Just trusting my fingers to do whatever I felt moved to do in the moment.

But that never felt like it could be the whole picture. Because that would suggest that the key to being more musically creative, is to simply feel more emotion. And if that were the case, what the heck was I struggling through music theory for?

Anyhow, all of this came to a head when one day I had to learn a new piece for which there was no recording. And while I could play the notes ok, I discovered that aside from stealing ideas from whatever recordings I could get my hands on, I had never really developed a system for cultivating my own artistic vision for a piece.

So…what do accomplished musicians do when they’re learning a new piece? How do they decide what those lines and dots and squiggles on the page should sound like?

9 guitarists learn Why

Guitarist and Université du Québec à Montréal professor Isabelle Héroux conducted a study which analyzed the practice behaviors of 9 guitarists (with 15-40 years of performing experience), as they each prepared a short new piece for performance (Why, by Andre York).

But no listening!

Aside from having all of their practice sessions videotaped, and being asked to verbalize all of their thoughts and actions as they practiced, there was one big change made to the musicians’ practice.

Specifically, they were not allowed to listen to a recording of the piece. Ensuring that their artistic vision of the piece would be completely their own.

So what did the musicians spend their time doing?

8 strategies

The guitarists utilized dozens of different strategies, but they could all be grouped into eight main categories.

1. Musical structure

All nine guitarists did some kind of analysis of the form, harmony, melody, etc. Although some took it a step further and wrote down musical ideas or notes from their analysis in the score.

2. Musicological references

The guitarists also drew from their past experience with similar pieces, or other works by the same composer.

3. Exploration

“Exploration” was another important strategy utilized by each of the guitarists. Whether it involved trying different fingerings, playing around with timing, rhythm, pacing, tempo, placement of notes, articulation, dynamics, color, or sound, it seems that the process of experimenting with such expressive techniques is an important part of finding one’s own interpretation. As illustrated by one of the participants’ quotes:

“In general, I would say that when I don’t know what I want to do, or if I feel I’m playing mechanically, I’ll start doing some things arbitrarily to rekindle my sense of spontaneity, you know.”

4. Evaluation

The guitarists were also really diligent about maintaining an effective feedback loop. As in, they didn’t just play the same thing over and over without a target to aim for. Instead, they continuously compared their playing with a) what was written in the score, and b) their internal concept of how they thought the piece should sound.

5. Extra-musical support

Many – though not all – of the guitarists also tapped into their own life experience or memories to access different emotions. Some also used cue words or images to access different emotional states, while others created stories or narratives to bring the music to life.

6. Psychological strategies

A number of the guitarists experimented with different ways of focusing – like trying to get their ego out of the way, “letting go,” or “connecting with one’s inner self.”

7. Visualization

A few (not as many as I would have expected) engaged in mental practice and visualization too, as illustrated by this quote: “Since the last practice session, I’ve been working a little bit on the sound in my head, trying to imagine how I wanted the piece to sound eventually.”

8. Incubation

And a couple even took a break from the piece, before coming back to it and preparing it for the recording.

4 takeaways

Guitarists varied quite a bit in the amount of time they spent on the piece as they went from sight-reading to performance (ranging from 2-9 practice sessions, 54-327 minutes, and 2-38 weeks).

And each musician used a different combination of interpretive strategies too.

But there were a few that every single one of the guitarists used. Strategies that would probably be useful to incorporate into any musician’s music-learning process.

Strategy #1: Analysis

Everyone took the time to create an artistic concept of the piece, whether it was by analyzing the piece through a music theory lens, or by tapping into knowledge gained from other repertoire.

Strategy #2: Keep the goal in mind

Everyone appeared to use their musical concept as a guide to help direct their practice. So, practice wasn’t random, and like a sailor navigating by the North Star, they always had a goal to strive for.

Strategy #3: Explore and experiment

Everyone engaged in musical exploration and experimentation too – trying new things to see what might work and what might not. As described by this quote (which, incidentally, is from the participant whose performance I enjoyed the most):

“I play it, and if something comes to me spontaneously or intuitively, well then I will try to verify it [with the score]. Is there something that supports it? If so, well, then there it is, bingo. If not, well, then I’ll continue to look.”

Strategy #4: Link music to life

Many of the musicians also used stories or analogies to help generate ideas and play more expressively. Of course, not all did, so this may not work equally well for everyone.

Honing your “audition ears”

Many of us have had lots of experience auditioning for things. But it’s not often that we have the opportunity to be on the other side of the table or screen. Where we are the ones listening to a series of musicians performing the same exact piece, one after another. Faced with the difficult task of deciding who wins the prize or gets the job.

It’s an interesting experience, as you might find yourself listening in a different way than you normally do. And it can expand the way you listen back to your own recordings too.

So here’s what I thought we could do…

Listen…comment…and a random drawing for Metronome+

Step 1: Listen to the 9 recordings – but just one time only (like an audition)! And if you’re pressed for time, just listen to the first 60 seconds of each video. Be sure to take notes, like an audition, so you don’t forget which one is which.

Step 2: After you’ve listened to all 9, go to the comments below, and share which one you liked the most and why. For example, “#7; I liked the pacing, the way certain notes were placed just so, the subtle dynamic contrasts, and overall flow.”

Step 3: And because random drawings are always fun, everyone who leaves a comment (by end-of-the-day Tuesday) will be entered into a drawing for one of ten fully unlocked copies of the recently redesigned, musician-developed, metronome app – Metronome+ (BTW, the metronome function is free; advanced features like the tuner, recording, setlist, etc. are paid upgrades).

UPDATE (9.12.2018): Congrats to W Tam, George D, Donna S, Christina, Michael W, M Kreipke, Delaine L, Sepp S, Kathy H, and Tatiana B., who were the winners of this week’s random drawing for Metronome+!

Listen to the final recordings

Wondering how your favorite guitarist practiced?

Now that you’ve picked your favorite performance, check out the study (but only AFTER you’ve picked your favorite) to learn more about how that particular guitarist practiced. Or, check out this handy chart that breaks it down in one page.

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Fossil Gallery

Home > Fossil Gallery > Alalcomenaeus

Alalcomenaeus cambricus

An arthropod with whip-like appendages

Reconstruction of Alalcomenaeus cambricus.

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Reconstruction of Alalcomenaeus cambricus.

© Marianne Collins

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Unranked clade Megacheira? (stem group arthropods)

Alalcomenaeus is closely related to Leanchoilia, and together with Yohoia and some Chengjiang taxa, they form the “great appendage” arthropods, or Megacheira (Hou and Bergström, 1997; Wills et al., 1998; Cotton and Braddy, 2004). The phylogenetic placement of the megacheirans is uncertain and they are considered to be either stem-lineage chelicerates (Chen et al., 2004; Edgecombe, 2010) or upper stem-lineage euarthropods (Budd, 2002).

Species name:

Alalcomenaeus cambricus

Described by:

Description date:

Alalcomenaeus – from the Greek Alalcomenae, the birthplace of the goddess Athena.

cambricus – of Cambrian age, derived originally from Cambria in Wales.

Type Specimens:

Holotype –USNM155658 in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.

Other species:

Burgess Shale and vicinity: none.

Other deposits: Possibly one species from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota, China, described originally as Alalcomenaeus? illecebrosus (referred to as Leanchoilia illecebrosa by Hou and Bergström, 1997).

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Middle Cambrian, Glossopleura Zone and Bathyuriscus-Elrathina Zone (approximately 505 million years ago).

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Principal localities:

The Collins Quarry on Mount Stephen, and the Walcott and Raymond Quarries on Fossil Ridge.

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History of Research

Brief history of research:

Simonetta (1970) described this organism on the basis of a handful of specimens originally collected by Walcott on Fossil Ridge. The taxon was redescribed by Whittington (1981), who accepted only two of Simonetta's original specimens as Alalcomenaeus. The recovery of over 300 new specimens from Collins Quarry on Mount Stephen allowed for a more detailed description of the taxon (Briggs and Collins, 1999).

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The largest specimens of Alalcomenaeus reach about 6 cm in length, excluding the anterior great appendages. The head has a trapezoidal head shield, a pair of ventral pedunculate eyes, three (or possibly five) median eyes, one pair of large frontal appendages (the “great appendage”) and two pairs of smaller biramous appendages. Each great appendage has three long whip-like extensions. The outer branch of the biramous limb is flap-like and the inner branch bears spines. The trunk is composed of eleven segments, each bearing a pair of biramous appendages, and the paddle-like tail is fringed with short, sharp spines.

Just a few dozen specimens of Alalcomenaeus have been found in the Burgess Shale at several horizons on Fossil Ridge. Alalcomenaeus represents 0.04% of the Walcott Quarry community (Caron and Jackson, 2008). It is more common in the Glossopleura Zone on Mount Stephen, where over 300 specimens have been found in one single locality (Collins Quarry), but in general this species is rare.

Maximum size:

60 mm

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Life habits:

Nektobenthic, mobile

Feeding strategies:

Ecological Interpretations:

The primary mode of locomotion was probably swimming, powered both by the wave-like fanning of its lateral flaps and flicks of its tail. The outer leg branches also served as gills. The spiny inner branches are not well suited to walking, but might have been used to macerate food. The long filaments of the great appendages were probably sensory and suggest an active predatory habit, consistent with the large, downward-facing stalked eyes and spinose inner leg branches. Alalcomenaeus most likely hunted organisms that lived either in or on the sediment.

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BRIGGS, D. E. G. AND D. COLLINS. 1999. The Arthropod Alalcomenaeus cambricus Simonetta, from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia. Palaeontology, 42(6): 953-977.

BUDD, G. E. 2002. A palaeontological solution to the arthropod head problem. Nature, 417: 271-275.

CARON, J.-B. and D. A. JACKSON. 2008. Paleoecology of the Greater Phyllopod Bed community, Burgess Shale. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 258: 222-256.

CHEN, J. Y., D. WALOSZEK, and A. MAAS. 2004. A new 'great-appendage' arthropod from the Lower Cambrian of China and homology of chelicerate chelicerae and raptorial antero-ventral appendages. Lethaia, 37: 3-20.

COTTON, T. J. AND S. J. BRADDY. 2004. The phylogeny of arachnomorph arthropods and the origin of the Chelicerata. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 94: 169-193.

EDGECOMBE, G. D. 2010. Arthropod phylogeny: An overview from the perspectives of morphology, molecular data and the fossil record. Arthropod Structure & Development, 39: 74-87.

HOU, X. AND J. BERGSTRÖM. 1997. Arthropods of the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang fauna, southwest China. Fossils and Strata, 45: 1-116.

SIMONETTA, A. M. 1970. Studies on non trilobite arthropods of the Burgess Shale (Middle Cambrian). Palaeontographica Italica, 66: 35-45.

WHITTINGTON, H. B. 1981. Rare arthropods from the Burgess Shale, Middle Cambrian, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B – Biological Sciences, 292: 329-357.

WILLS, M. A., D. E. G. BRIGGS, R. A. FORTEY, M. WILKINSON, AND P. H. A. SNEATH. 1998. An arthropod phylogeny based on fossil and recent taxa, p. 33-105. In G. D. Edgecombe (ed.), Arthropod fossils and phylogeny. Columbia University Press, New York.

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Dawn Construction, Inc. was founded in 2001. The company is located in Meriden and incorporated in Connecticut. Dawn Construction, Inc. specializes in Commercial And Office Building Contractors.

Dawn Construction can be found at S Colony St 231. The following is offered: Residential Contractors. The entry is present with us since Sep 10, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Meriden there are 4 other Residential Contractors. An overview can be found here.


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Mumbai, India (BBN)-Indian rupee weakened 25 paise to 67.28 against the US dollar in early trade following month-end demand for the American currency from importers and banks.
Forex dealers said the US dollar’s gain against other currencies overseas also gave the rupee the sinking feeling, reports the PTI.
However, a higher opening of the domestic equity market capped the losses.
The rupee had appreciated 14 paise against the American currency to end at a one-week high of 67.03 on Friday on the back of robust dollar inflows in equities.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose further by 116.82 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 26,770.42 in early trade.


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Tuskys takes over Nakumatt supermarkets

Tuskys supermarket has taken over the management of its biggest rival Nakumatt in what is seen as an attempt to rescue Kenya’s biggest retailer from collapse.

The two retailers are said to have signed a merger deal geared at helping revive Nakumatt whose shelves have been empty for a long time in a unique strategic deal between rivals. Nakumatt, with retail stores in Kenya’s major towns, will now access stock from suppliers using Tuskys supermarkets’ goodwill and value chain.

The brands will remain the same but Tuskys will provide managers to offer leadership. It not clear whether its a merger, buyout or just management partnership.

It is understood that Nakumatt Managing Director Atul Shah and his family have agreed to cede shareholding to new financiers. “This is a home grown solution. The deal will allow Nakumatt access stock immediately and once it has stock then it can get the cash flows to remain afloat,” a source familiar with the deal is quoted as saying by The Standard newspaper.

If the deal goes through and works out, it will be a huge boost for the Tuskys brand which could make it the biggest and most successful retail chain in Kenya today.

RELATED:  The real cause of Nakumatt’s problems

Nakumatt’s cash-flow problems have seen it taken to court and in some cases face the auctioneer’s hammer in Uganda.  The retailer has been unsuccessful in finding financiers to pump in cash to pay huge debts pulling it back.

Most of its suppliers have stopped deliveries, leaving most of its shelves empty, and forcing it to close some of its most affected branches including its newest high-end store at NextGen Mall on Mombasa Road. Under the circumstances, Nakumatt has been staring at death as it lost customers to its rivals, mainly Tuskys, Naivas and Choppies as Uchumi is also facing a supplier revolt over delayed payments.

READ: How TRM Mall kicked out Nakumatt


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Pink Cherish

The Cherish necklace has a pink cotton cord with a stainless steel heart charm that is highly polished on the front. Perfect for your name, remembrance ribbon or special message.

FREE engraving - Use text or images to create a special necklace for you or someone you love! Why not engrave your anniversary date, memorial message or inspirational phrase? More design ideas. Pick one option for each side of the charm:

Sizing tips - Choose approx length below, but remember that due to the clasp style, you can adjust the fit while you wear it. Just make sure to make it long enough to fit over your head, as the clasp does not come apart.

Taking care - To keep your necklace looking its best, just wipe the tag gently with a soft cloth. Avoid getting the cord wet, which could cause the colour to fade over time.

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Twists and turns

•June 14, 2016 • Leave a Comment

The last year or so has been filled with many twists and turns.  A year ago March, I tried to make a gigantic leap, and in mid-air I came crashing to the ground.  Truth be told, I could have continued the momentum.  However, it was a choice.  What is most important in this life?  My answer was I am a mother first.  Sure I would have liked to continue the career, live at the beach, possibly even have a relationship I really wanted, but ultimately it was not the right thing.   I made a choice to stay in Oregon for my daughter. It was the right choice, but yet again heartbreaking.  But what would have been even more heartbreaking?  To have moved without her, to not have listened that she needed me and she needed to stay here.  I did listen.  I stayed.

After all, it won’t be too long before she graduates from high school, and off living her life without me.  It wasn’t quite that simple though.  Traumatic might be the word.  I decided after all this personal growth, I needed a therapist to help me bust through the final patterns and to learn how to be happy in Ashland.  It was 7 months of once a week visits, and lots of tears and dealing with stuff.  STUFF! Underlying hurt.  I had forgiven them, every last one of them, but the hurt was still there.  I had only myself left to forgive, and allowing those who had loved me to still care.  I mean really they shouldn’t be allowed to after they were unwilling to work through things, but I learned to let things be.  Oh yeah JUST BE.  Funny isn’t that?  The thing I had been searching for all these years.  I finally let someone help me learn how.   It wasn’t the others at this point, it was just me and the pain.  Facing the pain. Facing the fear and having the courage to bust through it for once and for all. It took 7 freaking months. wow.  In the end, my therapist said I was brave.  That most people don’t have the courage that I do.  That’s nice and all, but I guess the best thing is that I’m proud of myself.  I can now look deep within myself and I no longer feel pain.  It has freed me.  There was an aftermath though.  I was now able to do what was best for me.  My biggest support systems throughout all the tough times fell away.  Healthy reasons.  It turns out to be all good.

So in this last year, things keep happening to show me that I made the right choice.  The guy moved on, another unhealthy friendship ended, the door to the job in Southern California finally closed just today, and my daughter has had a lot of trouble and Ashland has turned out right where we need to be.  Even her father seems to have received a wake up call.  For his daughter, at least.  Perhaps the universe was protecting me after all.  I would like to think so anyway.  It took me a long time, but I am enjoying living here again.  I am learning what makes me tick.  Learning it’s always about learning! Writing, piano lessons, being mom, friends, music and fun.  Oh dating?  Yeah it happens, but it isn’t the most important thing anymore.   California? yeah I’m visiting my brother this summer again.  It’s in my blood, what can I say? Where will I end up? Who can say.  We walk the road, it twists and it turns, we learn the lessons and follow our untraveled path.  I look forward to see where it takes me.

Kids, life and reality

•September 30, 2015 • Leave a Comment
There is just something about having struggles, obstacles, challenges, and downright hard times that makes you realize how strong you are when you are able to see the opportunities they were. Makes me smile as I see my children learn the lessons. Especially as we have been brought up and live in world that everyone shows off the image, and supposedly perfect lives. There are no right answers after all, and it is not a perfect world.
Paths, journeys, steps make the becoming aware, and ability to see the bad as well as the good much easier, and possible. If I have done one thing right in my life, it is that I have shown my children my process. It’s been messy at times, but real. The thing is, they learn it is okay to be real. I am super proud of my daughter. She has gone through too much in the last couple of years. I am grateful I paid attention. Too many parents don’t want to see. Sometimes kids just tell you what you want to hear. Listen to your kids. Really listen. Don’t just accept the protective layer of bullshit they try to give you. Love them. Do the hard things. Even when it sucks.

The Book

•March 8, 2015 • Leave a Comment

It’s been a long road. I started writing by accident.  Seriously, it just happened one day.  Encouragement from a friend, a discovery I could write something people were interested in,and the road began.  I took classes to learn how to do this creative writing thing.  I joined a writing critique group. I went to a writer’s conference, and I sought the help of a developmental editor.  At each stage, I received encouragement that kept me taking the steps.

Is it done?  Oh no, it is a process.  6 years in the making from dreams, to writing about someone’s journey, and taking my own journey or perhaps 2 or 3 journeys at once.  By profession, I am an accountant.  That’s right, an accountant!!  A full-time job, 2 teenage kids, a social life, and lot of personal growth along the way.  Somewhere, I fit time in for the things that feed my soul.   Two days ago, I had a meeting with my editor.  It’s been about a year we’ve been working together.  I asked her if I was correct that we had a big chunk called “final” in her eyes.  To my amazement, she said yes.  It turns out, it is 1/3 done!  It feels like a huge accomplishment, but of course that means 2/3rds is left to do.  The good news is my life is taking a big left turn, and I will have some time to work on that last 2/3rds.  It’s a special time that may never be repeated. One could term it a sabbatical.   It could happen this year.

I am incredibly proud of myself. I took this story out of my brain, and created a raw, rough draft.  Instead of giving up when others told me how I didn’t understand how to write – tenses, that I kept switching the person I was writing through, and basically I needed help, what did I do?  I took on the challenge. I learned a skill, an art, and how this writing thing works.  My biggest dream in life  is to become an author.  To change careers would be amazing, but for now accounting pays the bills.  I must say I feel part way there.  When that first person who encouraged me read my 1/3rd, all she could say was “wow”, this is amazing.  The difference, you know?  I am turning into a writer, before I knew how to tell a story.  For that alone, I feel I have accomplished a ton.

See you never know what might happen if you only try.  Some might say, don’t try, DO.  I believe that somewhat, but there are times one must try and see what happens.   Sometimes, what happens is beyond your wildest dreams.

The Big Leap

•February 28, 2015 • Leave a Comment

butterfly beach

I have not written in my blog for 8 months.  It has been a place for me to write about my process, my progress on my path in times of inner turmoil. Well, there was a divorce, and then my father’s death, and then finally a realization that I need to go back home.  Although, I haven’t written about the last event yet.  In three years, that is a LOT of big changes.

So, here it goes.  Eight and a half years ago I moved from Southern California, the place I was born, raised, and lived the majority of my adult life.  My husband was not happy there, a better place to raise kids sounded like a great idea.  I have a son and a daughter.  At the time, they were 5 and 11.  I threw away my career, and moved to this small town in Oregon.  At first it was beautiful, no really it is gorgeous here.  It is beautiful.  We decompressed and thought life couldn’t be better.  Well…  except that, our life was not our own.  It is hard here. Jobs are scarce. Career for me, non-existent.  Not the life I had envisioned.  And well, my husband changed into a person I did not know.  I still love him. I always will.  But, we have been divorced for 2 1/2 years now. I finally chose me, to be healthy, and the health of my children instead of the dysfunction we were living in.   It has not been easy.  It has been incredibly hard for all of us, but yet we are all happier.  I saw him smile, like he used to smile at me the other day.  That made me smile.  He was actually talking to me at the time, and I am happy we can be fair to each other, and smile while talking again.  It had been a lot of years since that had happened.  The little things in life, you know?  The things that matter.  Sometimes, divorce is the right thing to do. Even after spending 20 years together.

My father had Diabetes Type 1.  He fought a most valiant fight.  The doctors had not seen someone fight like he did.  He believed he would conquer it.  He believed he would find a cure.  Maybe someday there will be one, but it was too late for him.  After 7 hard years of deterioration, lessening blood flow to all parts of his body resulting in amputations and dementia, he finally succumbed.  That was two years ago.  It feels like yesterday, but yet so long ago too.  Life will never be the same.  He was my rock.  The one who came to my side when I needed him.  He was always there.  So, without him I have struggled.  Ironically, the struggle waited until his death but he wasn’t really there for the last couple of years.   We go on.  There is no choice.

All of this led me to the realization that I had been depressed here, since the divorce.  Well, it is natural after all after a divorce.  But, to make matters worse I had no future here.  I was committed to staying until my daughter graduated from high school, but that is still 4 years away.   Things changed.  The relationship with her father, and her desire to remain here.  All things started fitting one by one, just like a puzzle.  It all led to an opportunity.  One that would help bring back my career, and give me a future.  Seems a little strange at 51 years old to go back home, to actually feel like you are finally living your authentic life or getting close anyway.   So there is no firm offer, but there are opportunities.  The opportunity is now, some major help from old bosses.  The help just keeps coming, and as I reach out to old friends, I realize I was always much loved.  Lots of people are excited for my return.  Go figure.  It is where I belong.  I have been on a journey these last 8 1/2 years in a progressive, liberal, tourist town (which some call hippie town), and it was necessary to find my way.  Every difficult step, I faced my demons and came out on the other side.  I am far healthier, and I am ready to continue my journey back home.  Yes, it’s chaotic, busy, and not so perfect in a lot of ways.  But, I know now what is truly important to me.  It is not about material things.  It is not about an oh so beautiful location with lots of room to bring peace, it is about peace within and the ability to be alright in the chaos of it all.  It is about love.  It is about being an authentic you.  It is about the things that make you soar, and your soul come alive.   I go back to Southern California with big opportunities in my career, and big possibilities in finishing my book, and lots of friends and extended family who have always loved me.  What could be better?  That is all I really need in life (and my wonderful caring, loving children).  No more shoulds. No more feeling bad because I have been divorced twice, and didn’t really live until mid-life.  There is a lot of life left, and I can’t wait to live it!!

Steps add up

•June 16, 2014 • Leave a Comment

Sometimes we walk through life not knowing what we’re doing.  We just take one step and then another, and another.  Feeling as though we are walking through a foggy mist, it may seem a bit crazy.  Shouldn’t we know what we are walking towards?  I mean we know, but we don’t really know if it is the right way, or how in the world we will get there.

My fog is beginning to clear, and I am quite amazed looking back.  All those little detours, you know the ones I thought were me making mistakes?  They were all part of the process. Teaching me lessons, obstacles as they might have been. In actuality, they were opportunities.   I have learned so much, and I am grateful.

My daughter is getting better after a long drawn out health crisis.  Relationships that were struggling seem to be getting better.  I had some much needed space, and I learned some huge lessons.  In addition, writing ahhh writing.   I hired an editor, and the process has been amazing so far.  I signed up for a writing conference.  I’m beginning to understand my spiritual faith finally.  All big steps this year.     It’s all good.

I’m feeling a little less chaotic.  Go figure.

Evolved & shit

•May 28, 2014 • Leave a Comment

I’ve worked hard.  Somebody last night called me evolved, like it was finished or something.  Kind of funny I must say.  Are we ever evolved, or are we continually evolving to a better place, a better you, a better me?  I had to explain that one to him.

All I know is I am happier, even when my heart breaks.  Another guy, another one telling me how great I am, and then goes off to lick their wounds.  Maybe being evolved isn’t so great for relationships, or maybe there is still one who’ll be evolved enough to match my semi-evolved state.  Oh who the hell knows.

For today, I will continue to walk and be happy I didn’t go in that direction.  There were a few directions after all, I do believe the correct direction is being lit up.  The one where I continue to evolve by myself, edit & finish my book, write more, work on home improvement stuff, and oh wait… yeah just be.  Just be me.  Perhaps, I am finished playing around, and am ready to commit myself to that road.  The editor keeps me on my toes anyway. She wants me to attend a writer conference this summer.  I have never done that before.  Ah looks like another new experience 🙂  Walk the road baby, walk the road.

Puzzle pieces

•May 25, 2014 • Leave a Comment

The way I manage through life is walking down my path.  I take steps, one by one.  I look for signs, the light to guide my way. Another way of thinking about it is puzzle pieces.  Your life is one big puzzle, and the way to figure out how to be your best self is to find the puzzle pieces.  Like this dude looking down at puzzle pieces fitting, it is how it happens.  You walk along the path, you address each issue or “opportunity” along the way, having no idea how it fits into the bigger picture of your life.   Then one day, it happens.  The puzzle piece arrives, and it slips into that hole in your life.  It just fits.  And all the hard lessons from before, days, months or even years before make sense.  See you needed to learn those lessons in order to get through a certain pattern, and have the puzzle piece fit, to incorporate a new healthy pattern in your life and take another step down your path.

When it happens, it’s like an aha moment.  The light goes on, and tada it is there.   Some might think I’m a bit crazy for thinking this way, some might be too bitter to understand, but once you take the responsibility for your own life, stop being a victim of circumstance, decide to ignore the overwhelming obstacle to be overcome, and find the narrow path through, it all makes sense.

I found a puzzle piece the other day.  A big one.  A new guy in my life, who just well is so cool.  He didn’t even know it, but just being who he is, talking about how he operates, how he thinks about life.  I just went ohhhhhhh in the midst of the conversation.  Oh my!  I realized the hurt was all worth it, the pain, the struggle, the way I had been walking, and the experiences along the way to find my way to peace.  We sit there, and there is no struggle, none whatsoever, peace, and just being.  It’s been a long road to give up the struggle, but I am oh so close now.  No regrets to all those experiences, each one gave me valuable lessons and some really beautiful things too.  I have learned to face the fear, I have learned to let go, and I have learned to let people fail, including myself.

All in my pursuit of “Just Be”


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April 7, 2014 / 4:03 PM / 4 years ago

Not your old man's Hog: Harley bets big on a small bike

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - To catch a glimpse of Harley-Davidson Inc (HOG.N) history, visit its Milwaukee headquarters, housed in the 111-year-old company’s first real factory. Or tour its York, Pennsylvania, plant, which has cranked out motorcycles since the early 1970s and builds some of its biggest cruising bikes, including the Road King and Electra Glide.

Parked motorcycles surround the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in this August 31, 2013., file photo. REUTERS/Sara Stathas/Files

But for a look at the company’s future, head for its vehicle and power-train plant in Kansas City. Opened in 1998, the 435,000-square-foot factory produces several of Harley’s most popular bikes, including the Sportster and V-Rod.

Earlier this year a motorcycle unlike any Harley has made in decades began coming off the line. Known as the Street, it is the company’s first entirely new bike in more than a decade and the first U.S.-built small bike bearing the Harley name in nearly 50 years. With an expected retail price of $6,500 to $7,500, the Street is the most affordable bike Harley has brought to market under its name in decades and an unapologetic effort to bring young riders around the world into the company’s two-wheeled fraternity.

“This basically targets a whole new market of people who want to try a Harley-Davidson but don’t have the money to try one of the bigger bikes with all the bells and whistles,” said Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar.

The Street, which will arrive in dealerships this spring, is a stripped-down bike built for urban environments — a major departure Harley, known for heavy touring bikes built for the open highway. It is also proof, according to Chief Executive Officer Keith Wandell, that a company whose products have been dismissed as “geezer glides” has no plans to shamble off into the sunset along with the baby boomers who built the brand.

“Street is really symbolic,” Wandell said. “It’s the first new product we’ve brought to market under the Harley-Davidson badge that is intended to bring new riders — and even younger riders — into the Harley-Davidson family.”

It also illustrates Wandell’s commitment to transform the company into a leaner, more nimble manufacturer. The last time Harley introduced a new bike, in 2002, it spent big bucks — it refuses to say how much — building a new line in Kansas City dedicated to the motorcycle. This time, Harley did it on the cheap, incorporating its new bike into an existing line.

The Street’s introduction is not without risks. It puts Harley in direct competition with Japanese bike makers, which have strong brands of their own. The yen’s current weakness against the dollar will also help the Japanese defend their small-displacement, sport-bike turf.

Meanwhile, Harley faces a unique problem: convincing its core customers that the new bike does not undermine the brawny, muscular quality of the Harley brand. Company executives insist they aren’t worried.

“It’s a Harley that just happens to be a little smaller,” says Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s top marketing executive. The Street’s exhaust, he noted, was specifically tweaked to make generate the distinctive Harley “potato-potato-potato” rumble.

“We worked really hard on that,” he said.

The debut will also make it harder for investors to understand where profit margins on motorcycles will settle after years of restructuring under Wandell. Harley has acknowledged that the Street may pull buyers away from higher-margin entry-level heavyweight motorcycles in its line, like the Sportster.

“As that mix shifts, it could hurt gross margins — at least temporarily,” said Morningstar’s Katz.

Harley saves considerable cost by building the Street on the same line, and often at the same time, as its larger V-Rod.

Changeover from V-Rod to Street production can take place on the fly, several times in a 24-hour period. The process could easily devolve into chaos, said Steve Wiggins, manager of the Kansas City plant, but factory workers quietly choreograph the changeover, swapping components and tools in and out and just in time.

Workers on the line, who are briefed during a pre-shift huddle on the day’s production schedule, “don’t see anything happen (during the changeover) except they look up, see we’ve switched to Streets, and the parts and tools they need are there.” Wiggins said.

“So we do not lose any build time. … There’s not a single skipped carrier or anything.”

The last U.S.-made, Harley-badged small bike, the 1966 BTH Bobcat, was an underpowered flop, discontinued after a year. More recent efforts to break into the market with the Buell and MV Agusta brands also ended badly.

The Street’s stripped-down design and low price — it costs just a bit more than some Vespa scooters — reflect the need to find a new generation of buyers. The Street is the simplest motorcycle Harley has offered since it discontinued the Buell Blast, a bike ridiculed by Harley stalwarts as the “Be-Last.”

Neil Howe, a demographer who helps companies market to younger consumers, said Harley needs to show twenty- and thirtysomethings that the Street meets their transportation needs. That age group has a “brutal pragmatism,” he said.

“It’s one of their most impressive characteristics, the urge to simplify,” he said.

Harley expects to ship just 7,000 to 10,000 Streets in 2014 and has confined the rollout to half a dozen countries, including the United States, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Still, executives see the debut as a pivotal event. “We don’t come out with a new platform every day,” Richer said.

Doing nothing is not an option. Harley faces a growing number of challenges, including shrinking demand in the United States, its No. 1 market, for the big, expensive bikes it has made for years.

And even as that market shrinks, new competitors, including the relaunched Indian brand from Polaris Industries Inc (PII.N), are moving into the space.

Harley has problems overseas as well. Europe hasn’t provided the boost the company needs to offset the slowdown at home. And sales in China have been disappointing since they began in 2006.

“They’ve found it hard to break into China with a $20,000 bike,” said Morningstar’s Katz.

If the Street — water-cooled like the V-Rod, with either a 500cc and 750cc engine — takes off, it could reestablish Harley-Davidson as a growth stock by increasing sales to members of the “millennial” generation worldwide.

The Street will be Harley’s first global bike, with models built in Kansas City for North America and at a plant in Bawal, India, for the rest of the world.

It’s also not clear that Europeans, who have until now been supplied by U.S. factories, will accept an Indian-made Harley, though company executives downplay those concerns.

“The ‘made in America’ cachet is certainly more real in the United States maybe than anywhere else in the world,” Wandell said.

It may be some time before investors will know whether the Street is a hit. Most of the bikes produced in 2014 won’t be sold to consumers straightaway but will instead be used as training bikes in dealer-run motorcycle riding classes.

Even if the Street’s launch is a success, Katz said she doesn’t see Harley’s global shipments returning to their 2006 highs until 2019, in part because so many boomers are aging out of their motorcycle riding years.

“You’re going to have that massive user base that takes off their helmets and stops riding,” she said.

“So they are hoping that this smaller, lighter, less expensive bike caters to a much wider audience and moves volume through the channel. And then they’re just crossing their fingers that Street buyers trade up as they get older and convert to heavy bike riders.”

Editing by David Greising and Douglas Royalty

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September 3, 2014 / 10:15 AM / 4 years ago

EU regulators fine Infineon, Samsung, Philips 138 million euros

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union antitrust regulators fined Philips, Samsung Electronics and Infineon Technologies a total of 138 million euros ($181.28 million) on Wednesday for fixing prices of chips used in mobile SIM cards.

Customers attend a workshop about the Samsung Galaxy S5 in Jakarta, April 11, 2014. REUTERS/Beawiharta

The European Commission, which raided the companies in October 2008, said the cartel took place between 2003 and 2005, with the companies also colluding on customers, production capacity and future market conduct.

Infineon received the biggest penalty at 82.8 million euros. The German chipmaker rejected the EU finding, saying it would take its case to Europe’s second highest court in Luxembourg.

Samsung was fined 35.12 million euros and Philips 20.15 million euros.

Philips, which spun off its former semiconductor unit into an independent company NXP Semiconductors in 2006, said the EU charge against the unit was unfounded and that it too would challenge the decision in court.

Renesas Technology, a joint venture between Hitachi Ltd and Mitsubishi Electric that was acquired by Renesas Electronics Corp in 2010, escaped a fine of more than 51 million euros as it was the first to alert the EU competition authority about the cartel.

The chips produced by the companies are also used in bank cards, identity cards, passports and pay TV cards. The companies had sought to settle the case in return for a 10 percent cut in the fines but talks subsequently broke down.

($1= 0.7613 euro)

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee, additional reporting by Thomas Escritt in Amsterdam and Maria Sheehan in Frankfurt; Editing by Julia Fioretti and Michael Urquhart

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May 24, 2018 / 11:28 AM / 4 months ago

Fashion and sport brands clash in luxury sneakers race

MILAN (Reuters) - What do you get when luxury fashion meets sport? $10,000 sneakers.

A model presents a creation from the Gucci Autumn/Winter 2018 women collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy February 21, 2018. Picture taken February 21, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

High-end brands such as Kering’s (PRTP.PA) Gucci, Prada (1913.HK) and Balenciaga are increasingly looking to sneakers for growth, putting them in direct competition with sportswear giants like Nike (NKE.N), Puma PMUG.DE and Adidas (ADSGn.DE), and giving rise to ever-more striking and expensive designs.

Luxury groups say they are now increasing investments and marketing budgets to face down their new opponents.

“When I saw sneakers were going to be a thing, I fought it for a bit,” Salvatore Ferragamo’s (SFER.MI) designer Paul Andrew said at a conference. “We’re definitely now investing heavily in that category, getting in very specialized people”.

Global sales of sneakers - or trainers - rose 10 percent to 3.5 billion euros last year, outperforming a 7 percent rise in handbags, according to consultancy Bain & Co.

“It’s not really even a trend anymore - it’s become a category,” said Bruce Pas, Men’s Fashion Director at U.S. department store Neiman Marcus.

Both luxury groups and sports companies are looking to cash in on a booming market. Premium sneakers can start at around $400 but can easily rise as high as $3,000, for a pair of Christian Louboutin’s leather, crystal-embellished sneakers.

Limited editions can sell for well over $10,000, including the Chanel X Pharrell Hu Race Trail or Nike’s Air Jordan 3 Retro DJ Khaled Grateful.

Sneakers are a big driver of the luxury shoe business, which accountancy firm EY says is the fashion industry’s fastest-growing area.

The rise of luxury sneakers is part of the growing influence of casual and streetwear in high-end fashion, where it is now acceptable to team sneakers with a tailored suit.

Upmarket brands are tapping into street style to refresh their looks and young buyers are driving the shift. “Millennials” - born between the early 1980s and mid-90s - already represent a third of the luxury market, according to Bain.

Several luxury group executives recently noted the importance of sneakers for their business and the need to step up their game to face the rising competition.

Emilio Macellari, finance chief of Italian luxury goods company Tod’s (TOD.MI) - a pioneer in the sector, having launched its first Hogan luxury sneaker in 1986 - said “there is no brand that is not currently considering its (sneaker) offer”.

Pointing out how times are changing, he said luxury brands were now “under attack” from sportswear companies, on top of the usual competition from their luxury peers.

But so-called “sneakerisation” could steal market share from more traditional and formal-looking footwear, industry operators say.

“After many seasons of comfortable shoes, it will be hard to bring women back on heels,” said Federica Montelli, head of fashion at Milan’s renowned la Rinascente department store.

In central Milan a pair of Nike’s black leather, ankle-high Air Jordan 5 Retro Premium sneakers sell for over 400 euros ($470). Only steps away, in one of the city’s most exclusive shopping areas, clients buy a pair of Gucci’s ACE made with the GG logo canvas, with a blue snake-leather detail for 450 euros.

“What has changed is competition, with a clear overlap,” said Claudia D’Arpizio, partner at Bain & Co. “Luxury consumers are buying Nike and Adidas and vice-versa”.

Ilaria, a young saleswoman in Milan streetwear shop One Block Down, said that many customers walk in carrying shopping bags from the nearby luxury boutiques.

Sports groups say they are not worried by the competition.

“If (luxury groups) go the sports way... it is only positive,” said Puma Chief Executive Bjorn Gulden said. “If that is a trend that pulls the sneaker market up, we can only be happy.”

Analysts also say the intensifying competition is unlikely to erode profit margins because the market is expanding.

“There is large space for prices moving up,” said Erwan Rambourg from HSBC. “The ‘luxurisation’ of sneakers could possibly impact margins positively”.

Additional reporting by Melissa Fares in New York, Emma Thomasson in Berlin, Sarah White in Venice, Claudia Cristoferi in Milan and Sonya Dowsett in Madrid; Editing by Pravin Char

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Why Calgary Optometry?

  • Three convenient locations in Calgary
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Alexander McQueen
Sunglasses for men and women that display unmistakable British sophistication. This British boutique brand is known for pioneering styles without sacrificing everyday wearability.
The Bertelli collection offers an assortment of frames with choices of subtle or elaborate detailing for today’s free spirited consumer. Whether colorfully detailed, playfully shaped, boldly designed, or simply elegant, Bertelli frames are a perfect fit for your look and lifestyle. Bertelli is part of the WestGroupe group of companies.
Bollé delivers the highest quality sunglasses and goggles for performance and protection. At Bollé we are constantly refining our trademark combination of fit, fashion, and comfort, resulting in some of the freshest and most technologically advanced eyewear in the industry.
BOSS combines clean lines, modern shapes, and imaginative detail to create original eyewear fashion. Fresh convention meets classic style architecture in our eyeglass and sunglass collections.
Cool - Color - Comfort, the basis of each C-Zone frame. This innovative urban brand is designed and crafted in the Netherlands, and finds its style strongly influenced by a melting pot of cultures. C-Zone glasses are a blend of fashion, colorful fun, and modern designs.
A luxury brand that is distinguished by its stylistic originality combined with the superior sartorial content of its creations. The strong identity of the Dolce & Gabbana brand has evolved over the years while always remaining faithful to its inherent standards.
Exclusive creations crafted with charm and elegance define the Dior brand. Eyeglasses and sunglasses made with cutting-edge material that epitomize modern elegance with optimal protection.
Aspex Eyewear’s EasyClip® technology gives you eyeglasses and sunglasses in the same stylish frame with removable polarized lenses that go on and off with one easy click.
Emporio Armani
The name Armani has been synonymous with unrivaled Italian style all over the world for over 30 years. Perhaps best known for revolutionizing fashion with his unstructured jacket in the Eighties, Giorgio Armani has continued to define the well dressed ever since.
Rooted in authentic vintage and classic design, Fossil integrates the best fashion of times past with modern style that represents the unique individual. Make a statement with Fossil sunglasses that match your personal fashion sense.
Giorgio Armani
The Giorgio Armani brand has an incomparable and timeless sense of style. Armani’s vision of the world of creative design is not just about turning heads, but about leaving a lasting impression. Pure lines, intrinsic elegance and care for details are the elemental concepts underlying all of Giorgio Armani’s iconic designs as well as of its eyewear styles.
By reinventing a wholly modern approach to fashion, Gucci offers a wide variety of eyeglasses and sunglasses that are influential, innovative, and progressive.
Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo eyewear ranges from classical to provocative, with each design showcasing sophisticated detail. Jimmy Choo frames bring a touch of glamour and elegance to everyday life.
Kate Spade
Kate Spade New York has over 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the United States, and more than 175 shops internationally. our colorful products are sold in more than 450 doors worldwide, in every time zone and on every continent. whether in San Francisco, Sao Paulo or Shanghai, our shops are always warm and inviting.
Marc Jacobs
Contemporary designer Marc Jacobs introduces his brand of reinvention to a fabulous eyewear collection. A fresh take on vintage looks, the Marc Jacobs brand arouses dynamic style in their eyeglasses.
Maui Jim
Maui Jim is the fastest growing maker of premium polarized sunglasses and prescription sunglasses in the world! It all began in Lahaina, Hawaii, with a need for sunglasses that could eliminate the harsh Hawaiian glare without distorting the colors of the island scenery.
Michael Kors
Available in both optical and sun, the Michael Kors Eyewear Collection ranges from cat-eye’s to aviators and from oversized to understated, infusing innovative materials like reflective lenses and one-of-a-kind tortoise acetates with details like the brand’s signature logo charm and chain-link detail. Each pair is irresistibly chic, evoking the unique sensibility of the brand and incorporating rich accents from the designer’s runway collections.
Oakley invents each new product with a design philosophy called sculptural physics: the discipline of solving problems with science and wrapping those solutions in art. Supported by an infrastructure that includes the latest tools of technology, Oakley engineers and artisans continue to expand the company’s array of product categories.
Perry Ellis
Over a quarter of a century after the launch of Perry Ellis, the designer name and legend still commands attention. Perry Ellis is one of the great American fashion brands. Perry Ellis still continues on today making product that appeals to the man that wants to look sophisticated, casual and classy all at the same time.
Ray Ban
From the vintage classics to the present-day trendy frames, Ray Ban has always been durable, comfortable and attractive.   From celebrities to your friends, Ray Ban is always a favorite.
We not only pioneered photochromic technology, we also engineer it into every lens we make. In bright conditions when UV radiation is more intense, the lens molecules expand in size, darkening the lenses and allowing them to absorb more light.
Stella McCartney Eyewear
Stella McCartney Eyewear is a natural extension of the ready-to-wear collections with a modern, feminine and confident aesthetic. Made with bio-based materials, both sunglasses and optical eyewear embrace the brand’s sustainable philosophy. The collection is the result of extensive research into the use of raw materials from natural origins; over 50% of the materials used to create their eyewear are from natural sources.
Born out of eight decades of eyewear design and innovation from Liberty Sport and engineered in our own lab, Switch Vision offers the world’s first magnetic interchange technology for all of your sunglass needs.
Tiffany Eyewear offers an elegant outlook on style with impeccable craftsmanship and unexpected details. Many of these exclusive designs are inspired by their iconic jewelry collections.
Tony Hawk
Founded in California, the Hawk brand is a globally recognized “skate culture” lifestyle brand that combines style and performance, built for real life. The brand combines innovative styling with creatively used materials to create a pair of frames that compliment any deck.
Tory Burch
Tory Burch is an American lifestyle brand that embodies the personal style and sensibility of its chairman, CEO and Designer, Tory Burch.  Beautiful simple designs, which embodies a great look and a comfortable fit.
Vinyl Factory
If you’re looking to take a step back in time to the stylish 60’s and 70’s you’ll want to check out Vinyl Factory’s collection of frames. Pop inspired colors and retro shapes take on a modern feel in this fun collection of fashion eyeglasses.


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Instant Soup

Campbell's Instant Soup

Break away for some nourishing 'Me Time' with Campbell's Instant Soup
Whether you're busy with work, studies or even household chores, it's good to take a breather from your routine and treat yourself to something warm and nourishing. And what better way to enjoy some 'Me Time' than with a rich, delicious cup of Campbell's Instant Soup.

Made from premium quality ingredients, with added calcium, iron and vitamins B1, B2 and B3, Campbell's Instant Soup gives you all the nourishment you need in one easy-to-make cup. What's more, it has no added MSG; making it a good, wholesome choice of comfort food you can enjoy anytime, anywhere.

Original with Croutons with Pasta

Mushroom Cheese with Croutons
Mushroom Chicken with Croutons


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Purchasing | Feature

BI Buy

Two universities apply the principles of business intelligence to procurement and purchasing, with significant results.

At a time when higher education is enduring stomach-churning budget cuts, institutions are under more pressure than ever to make each dollar count. While cuts in staff and services are often an unpleasant part of the solution, the drive toward greater efficiency also means getting smart about purchasing. And, increasingly, universities and colleges are turning to business intelligence tools to help them monitor spending and find economies of scale.

BI has long been used in higher education to tackle a range of campus issues, but spending is a different kettle of fish altogether: Typically, each university division or department handles its purchasing separately, and often uses different systems to manage contracts, purchase orders, and invoices. Despite the challenges, two institutions--Bowling Green State University (OH) and Cornell University (NY)--have shown that, with an e-procurement system in place and a lot of hard work, BI tools can lead to significant savings and increased control over how university dollars are spent. And, interestingly, the schools have taken radically different approaches to the problem.

The Macro Approach
When Bowling Green investigated e-procurement solutions as a way to centralize purchasing and increase contract compliance, it discovered that it was not alone in its search. "Three other state schools in Ohio were looking for a similar solution, and another three were already running SciQuest, an e-procurement tool," says Andrew Grant, director of business operations at Bowling Green. "We felt that trying to have a like system across our seven campuses would not only bring some uniformity but would also allow us to look at each other's purchasing data from a centralized point, and to be able to procure with larger volumes--and, therefore, better prices--than we'd have as individual schools."

As a result, in June 2010, Bowling Green adopted the SciQuest e-procurement tool, and became part of an Ohio-based purchasing consortium with Ohio University, Shawnee State University, Kent State University, Youngstown State University, Miami University, and Wright State University.

Although SciQuest is not specifically designed to be a business intelligence tool, the data mined from the shared purchasing histories of the seven schools have provided Bowling Green and its partners with plenty of savings. From an examination of the schools' spending history for maintenance, repair, and operations, for example, the consortium identified a range of identical items that the schools all purchased separately--at a higher price than they would have paid by buying together.

"We can now see that we buy 10,000 units of a specific brand of light bulbs, and another school in the consortium buys 5,000," explains Grant. "We can combine those purchases into a market basket to be purchased from a single vendor, and we can use our purchasing history data as leverage when getting bids from vendors for the lowest price."

In fact, initial data gathered on SciQuest showed a surprisingly high number of technology vendors serving the needs of departments within Bowling Green and the six other schools in the consortium. Grant wanted to deal with just a single tech vendor, so he worked with CDW-G to negotiate a deal for the consortium. The deal eventually grew into a tiered, discounted contract that applies to all 14 schools in the Ohio State University system, Ohio's community colleges, and all the private universities within the state of Ohio--87 schools in total. "We now have a relationship with a single vendor with volume discounting on every tech-related category that's better than any group-purchasing organization [GPO] contract in the market right now," notes Grant.

On Bowling Green's campus, the SciQuest e-procurement system has also reduced rogue and noncontract spending in non-tech areas by creating a virtual centralized purchasing department. Online catalogs of more than 40 preferred vendors, with which Bowling Green or a third-party GPO has negotiated favorable contracts, are available to university staff through the SciQuest tool. Purchase orders are automatically generated through the system, rather than being handwritten and processed into separate systems by each department.

"These automated processes mean that we have more contract compliance and more purchasing data than ever," says Grant.

By using SciQuest to consolidate the school's contracted vendors and make catalogs of preferred vendors available, Bowling Green has averaged savings of 15 percent. Plus, Grant can identify any purchases made from vendors with whom Bowling Green has not negotiated a contract, allowing him to follow up.

"SciQuest drives people toward the contracts," explains Grant. "It drives people toward the partners that we want them to use, with whom we've negotiated the best deals."

The Micro Approach
Like Bowling Green, Cornell University wanted to centralize its spending and reduce costs when it first began exploring the use of BI tools in purchasing. Instead of leveraging the power of a consortium, however, Cornell focused its efforts on creating a data system that could drill down to the stock-keeping unit (SKU) level, and had the flexibility to create reports on a variety of data points so sourcing managers could identify cost-cutting opportunities across the university's campuses. Back in 2007, the school had implemented a third-party system to do this, but found it too rigid for the higher ed market.

"We needed to be able to separate data into restricted and nonrestricted funds, federal dollars and state dollars," explains Thomas Romantic, senior director of supply channel management and business services. "We needed to have more control over how the data was classified, and to be able to modify how we classified the data as our knowledge grew."

In 2008, Cornell began work with Tonto Verde, a Phoenix-based software company, to create Spend Viz, a robust data-analysis and reporting tool. Spend Viz pulls purchasing information from Cornell's existing payment-requisition, procurement-card, and e-procurement systems to provide a complete view of enterprise spending, including what's being purchased, by whom, and from whom. Detailed levels of classification can be retroactively modified as reporting needs change.

When the university unveiled the tool in July 2009, it simultaneously launched a five-year procurement-savings initiative on Cornell campuses. On the table was $450 million, out of which the school aimed to cut $30 million to $40 million by 2014. "That's an 8 percent to 10 percent reduction that we need to identify by using data to consolidate vendors, consolidate spending, and explore different ways of attacking things," notes Romantic. To date, the university has achieved $6.5 million in reductions through its use of the Spend Viz system.

As a major research institution, Cornell spends a significant amount on lab and scientific supplies. By running purchasing data through the Spend Viz system, the university was able to determine how much money was being spent with each of its supply manufacturers. It then leveraged the relationship between the manufacturers and their four main distributors to reduce the costs of the most common lab and scientific supplies.

"We're trying to spend with a distributor through a manufacturer," explains Romantic. "The manufacturer now provides discounts to us directly because they're getting visibility and recognition on campus that they weren't getting before." This approach alone has garnered savings in excess of $1 million.

And by tracking purchasing data to the SKU level, including quantity and historical pricing information, Cornell has been able to hold reverse auctions for commodities (such as toner), where three or four suppliers are invited to an online bidding event. For 15 to 30 minutes, vendors anonymously bid against each other in an eBay-style auction on a list of SKU numbers and corresponding quantities.

Before Spend Viz performed a SKU-level analysis, this type of bidding event wasn't possible at Cornell. "It's one thing to know that you're spending x amount on a specific commodity, but you need to know the specific SKUs that are driving that spending," explains Romantic. "With Spend Viz, we can use the historical pricing data to set a baseline to calculate our savings." Cornell's reverse auctions typically result in prices 10 percent to 25 percent lower than those established after years of bidding and renegotiations.

Although Spend Viz was intended to be an internal tool for Cornell's procurement office and sourcing managers, significant interest on campus has seen its use expand to 85 to 100 users in various departments.

These users can create and view department-specific reports with the tool's dashboard, and request the inclusion of data specific to their departments' needs. For example, the university's community-relations team tracked spending by ZIP code so they could determine how much money the school was spending with local businesses. "Because we designed the classification, rules, and business logic that apply to our data, we can easily go back and run the data through a reclassification program," notes Romantic. "It's very powerful, and it's why we created our own tool. You need to have control of your data and understand exactly how your data is being classified."

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lensTESTER is no longer available

Dear Customers, We regret to inform you that the lensTESTER is no longer available for purchase. To our current customers, maintenance and support will continue to be available to you until December 31st, 2019. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@camtest.eu

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New article "Camera display"

Camera displays with a high resolution promise a good picture reproduction. But the pixel count alone is not decisive for it, how detailed we perceive a monitor image. In our article "camera display" we explain, why also the display size, the viewing distance and our eyes take influence.

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International shipping now cheaper

We have reduced the international shipping costs that will occur when ordering the test chart. When delivering one lensTESTER to an address outside of Germany (for example: United States), shipping costs are about 10 Euro*. Shipment is still insured.

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Read more ...

Visit us at photokina in Cologne

From September 20 to 25, 2016, Cologne is once again the center of the imaging world. Professionals, distributors and photographers come here to inform themselves about new products. Manufacturers, imaging experts and developers exchange ideas about exciting technologies. The team at Image Engineering invites you to visit us in Hall 4.1, Stand J038. Come and discuss the latest developments with our engineers and find out more about our products and services.

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at home

Meet lensTESTER.

Test your camera with this one of a kind test chart and analysis tool.

Read introduction Get lensTESTER

VCX has permanently moved to vcx-forum.org


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RVs & Motorhomes for Sale in Sherbrooke

(1 - 2 of 2)
  1. 2012 Heartland RV Prowler M-29PRKS 2012 Heartland RV Prowler model 29PRKS Travel Trailer in good condition Relatively brand new due to us...
    Over 4 weeks ago on ChooseYourItem
  2. 2017 Little Guy TB Max Outback Mint Condition Fully Loaded Solar Panels Back Up Camera Extra Long Superior Black And Grey Water Hoses Blu...
    Over 4 weeks ago on ChooseYourItem

Important Safety Tips
  • Meet the seller and test drive before you buy.
  • Be cautious of underpriced items.
  • Don’t wire money or take advance payments.
  • Only pay for shipping if you know the seller.

To learn more, visit the Safety Center. Report suspicious listings by clicking on .


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25-Amp 12-Volt/24-Volt Digital Solar Power Charge Controller

  • Sale
  • $89.99

This charge controller help control the charging current that sent from your solar panels to your dc battery bank. This 25 amp charge controller and be used with 12 volt and 24 volt battery banks. All solar power systems require a charge controller so that your charging current doesn't damage your reserve power.

  • Overload protection
  • Short circuit protection
  • Reverse discharge protection
  • Reverse polarity connection protection
  • Thunder protection
  • Low voltage protection
  • Overcharge protection
  • Battery stop and charge voltage HVD sets up
  • Charge and low voltage LCD sets up
  • Display the capability of the battery SOC
  • Loads and comeback setups
  • Intellectualized temperature compensation
  • Record and calculate the charged AH and display it on the LCD screen
  • Record and calculate the discharged AH and display it on the LCD screen
  • working temperature:-25C/+55C

Model CS-25
  • Rated Voltage
12V / 24V Automatic voltage recognition
Max Load current 25A
Input voltage range 12V~17V / 24V~34V
Length=1m Charge loop drop < 0.25V
Length=1m Discharge loop drop < 0.05V
Over voltage protection 17V / 34V
Full charge cut 13.7V / 27.4V(Default value, can be otherwise set)
Low voltage cut 10.5V~11V / 21V~22V(Default value, can be otherwise set)
Temperature compensation -3mv/C/cell
No load loss Less than or equal to 20mA
Max wire area 4mm2
Ambient temperature -25C/+55C
Free Accessory Kit (Battery Cables)

  • Solar charge controllers keep your batteries safe. A solar charge controller is required for any solar array of 12-Watt or higher. Solar panels are unregulated and can have a-voltage higher than necessary to charge 12-volt batteries. 25-Amp Solar Digital Charge Controller will prevent overcharging of batteries by regulating the-voltage from a 12-volt solar panel to a safe level for charging 12-volt batteries. Designed for use with 12-volt solar panels this solar charge controller is safe for use with up to 25-amp or 600-Watt from a solar array. This controller will also prevent over discharge of your battery as well as protect from high-voltage surges, short circuit and loss of power through the solar panel at night. A digital LCD screen displays charging current, load current, and battery-voltage in 5 second intervals. Two LED lights display charge function and battery status. A load terminal on the solar charge controller let you dedicate one item to run through the controller, when the batteries reach critical-voltage the load will be automatically turned off to prevent a dead battery and allow the solar panel to recharge the battery before the load turns on again. This feature helps to prolong the life of your battery. This charge controller may also be used with 24-volt solar panels and batteries. The charge controller is self-adjusting and will automatically set the charge cycle. You can connect multiple solar panels up to one controller so long as you do not exceed 600-Watt or 25-amp. The charge controller is meant to be permanently connected to the battery and the solar array even when you are drawing power from the battery. Solar charge controllers should installed close to the battery in a dry and ventilated area.

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5PCS Valentino Rossi canvas wall art

This 5PCS Valentino Rossi canvas wall art features 5 panels displaying a beautiful moment.

  • Small: 20x35cm x 2, 20x45cm x 2, 20x55cm x 1 (8"x14" x 2, 8"x18" x 2, 8"x22" x 1)
  • Medium: 30x50cm x 2, 30x70cm x 2, 30x80cm x 1 (12"x20" x 2, 12"x28" x 2,12"x32" x 1)
  • Large: 40x60cm x 2, 40x80cm x 2, 40x100cm x 1(16"x24" x 2, 16"x32" x 2,16"x40" x 1)

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Only available for a LIMITED TIME, so get yours TODAY!

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Our only wish is that you are 100% satisfied!

We really think that our products will bring you the greatest satisfaction.

However, you have a 100% Money Back Guarantee.

Buying items online may not match your idea of the product. If you do not like it, return it to us, it will be refunded to you without any discussion.

Do not hesitate to contact us for any question, our team will answer you within 24 hours maximum.

How much does the shipment cost?
We offer Worldwide free shipping for all the orders

When will my products arrive?
All products are usually packaged and shipped within 24h-72h (working days) after processing your order. We work directly with manufacturers around the world therefore some items are subject to high demand or are produced on demand. That's why our delivery times are usually 10-20 working days, after processing your order. (Up to 14-24 days in times of high demand).

If I am not satisfied with my order?
No problem ! We offer a 100% Guarantee on all our products. Just send us your item within 30 days after purchase and you will receive a full refund. We will not ask for any justification but will be happy to listen to your comments if you wish to share them with us.


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Ayres Sensory Integration: Evidence and Systematic Guide

Ayres Sensory Integration: Evidence and Systematic Guide

Autism is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders affecting 1/66 children. Many persons with autism have difficulty processing and integrating sensory information affects functional skills including daily living skills, socialization and academic learning. Occupational therapists have expertise in enabling participation, and one approach that occupational therapists use is sensory integration. In fact, sensory integration is one of the most frequently requested interventions to address sensory issues and participation challenges by parent of children with autism. This webinar will provide an overview of the principles of sensory integration and their usefulness for children with autism, as well as demonstrate the use of Data Driven Decision Making (Schaaf, 2014) as a framework for addressing these participation challenges and systematically measuring their outcomes. Participants will be introduced to a clinical guidebook that can be utilized to implement these strategies in everyday practice. The information presented in this webinar is based on a randomized control trial of occupational therapy using sensory integration (Schaaf, et al, 2014) published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and funded by The Autism Speaks Foundation.

This purchase is for the April 28, 2015 Lunch & Learn webinar presentation web link archive. The archive purchase will be in the format of a web-based link that will be emailed to you separately in the following business days.

Use Credits
Roseann C. Schaaf

Product Price

Member Price
Copyright 2016 Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists
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100-34 Colonnade Road
Ottawa, ON K2E 7J6 Canada


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Media Centre

May 29, 2017

(SYDNEY, NS) – The Cape Breton Partnership announced today that Carla Arsenault is the successful candidate in a recent competition for the organization’s new position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). The COO will oversee all of the Partnership’s varied operations and projects across the island, while based at the new Sydney office at 285 Alexandra Street.

The COO’s primary objective is to ensure that the Partnership’s activities align with the organization’s strategic direction as stipulated by the President and CEO, Board of Directors, and Investors. Additionally, the COO will implement business plans, manage core activities for the organization, as well as those of the Cape Breton Regional Enterprise Network (CBREN).

“This is a pivotal position in an organization that is extending its reach on the island, while broadening and diversifying its work on several important fronts,” said Keith MacDonald, President & CEO of the Cape Breton Partnership. “Carla is a demonstratively talented and capable professional with valuable experience gained in the public and private sector. She has a strong background in management and operations that will contribute noticeably to on-going and new efforts being put forward by the Partnership to shape a more vibrant and enterprising economic climate for Cape Breton and Mulgrave. Carla will enhance the work of the Partnership team in crafting, resourcing, and managing new projects to support our Investors and strengthen our region’s capacity for growth.”

Growing up in Evanston, Richmond County and now raising her family in CBRM, Carla brings a comprehensive and holistic approach to implementing effective economic development strategies for Cape Breton and Mulgrave. Carla has earned a Bachelor of Public Relations with a Certificate in Marketing, as well as a Master’s in Business Administration, specializing in Management Consulting. She has spent the last 15 years in the global corporate sector with Hewlett Packard developing solutions to operational barriers and challenges.

“The Partnership is a unique Cape Breton wide organization with a dynamic team that has built collaborative progressive networks in strategic areas to advance economic prosperity. Priority projects for the Partnership include delivery of Cape Breton’s economic growth strategy, the Prosperity Framework, and management of CBREN activities,” said Carla Arsenault, COO of the Cape Breton Partnership. “I look forward to working with the Partnership Board, staff, and Investors in advancing the goals of the organization to make Cape Breton a stronger and more efficient place to do business.”

The Cape Breton Partnership was formed in 2004 with an aim of instilling ownership, confidence, and pride to enhance the prosperity in Cape Breton. The Partnership is dedicated to developing a united approach to addressing economic issues and growth opportunities within the region, while also encouraging the retention and expansion of existing companies by identifying barriers and ways to remove them.

Media Contact:

Keith MacDonald

President & CEO, Cape Breton Partnership

902-562-7182 (w) 902-565-8577 (c)

Elevate Blog


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It’s Not Snake Oil, Really!

Promoting your writing can sometimes feel like you’re waving a flag in a crowd of deaf and blind people with better things to do.

crowded street

It feels like that.

It also feels like the physics homework I had back in eleventh grade where I regurgitated all the stuff the teacher told me but I never understood.

physics problem

I’m doing all the things I’m supposed to do and ever hopeful that this will bring about the desired result. And yet, I have no confidence that it will. I’m going on what others have told me.

Promoting my books also makes me feel like an Amway salesperson.

Which I don’t like.

I don’t want to sell anything.

I’m that person who walks away from the helpful, friendly person in the electronics store even though I decidedly do need help finding what I’m looking for, simply because I’m uncomfortable with salespeople of any kind.

In fact, when someone starts to give me a pitch about anything, my first reaction is, “NO!”

And my second reaction is “I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever buy whatever-it-is-you’re-selling.”

Unless it’s my mom telling me about something. Or my friend Lisa. Or Gina. Or Amy. Okay, pretty much anyone I trust.

All of this observing has made me realize the best chance I have of selling more books is to have more friends who like to talk about books. Because I know these are the people who hold the power to make me a bestseller.

In their hands.

And their hearts.

Good thing I have plenty of book-talking friends.

Still, I’d like some more.

So, I’ve commenced getting more active and involved on Goodreads. (I started my first Goodreads book group! YOU can join!) I’m pretty sure the people who actually hang out on Goodreads have a serious book problem, which makes them my kind of people. Here’s hoping they find me and follow me!

(Goodreads could take a page from Facebook in terms of making their platform more user-friendly, but I’m gonna assume it’s like it is because these are book people who run the site and had the same experience I had in physics class.)

Recently I traveled to a state where people prefer their food fried and their vehicles loud.

And yes, there are plenty of places where this is true, but in this state there were clearly more of these people.

My daughter had gobbled up the book she brought along on the first plane ride, so we went in search of a bookstore to buy her another book for the return trip.

But there weren’t any.

Except Christian bookstores and comic book shops.

We finally found a used bookstore (which doubled as the Adult bookstore/sex toy shop) and looked through their meager selection. We found a Mary Kubica book that she decided might hold her over until she got home.

There was much to love about the area we visited – wildlife and beautiful lakes and rivers, plus my yummy nephews (and my new niece!). But as we ate out and touristed and enjoyed a family wedding, I realized that this was not a reading community. My daughter was the only person who brought a book to the wedding reception (and yes, I know that’s not the norm anywhere).

Our trip was one more reminder that my world is pretty small.

I am not amongst the majority in politics, religion, shopping habits, diet, and certainly not hobbies. I get excited at the sight of my bookshelf crammed with books to read. I put the dates for the annual Book Bonanza (largest book sale on the east coast) on my calendar months in advance. I look forward to book club every month. I start and end every day with a book., and I spend my days writing stories. And I tend to congregate with other people who are similarly afflicted with a regular reading habit.

It’s only when I leave my little hillside that I realize that everyone doesn’t love books as I do. Admittedly, I’m startled by people who say, “I don’t read,” when I tell them I’m a writer. I think, You don’t read? What is wrong with you? (and then I smack myself for being judgy and move on.)

I want to believe that my tribe is not dwindling.

I want to believe that there is an audience for my books.

But mostly, I want to believe that I can make a living doing the thing that I love.

So if promoting is gonna make that possible, then I’m gonna do it.

Watch me promote, people.

Hey, thanks for reading. I know you’ve got lots of options, so thanks for sharing a few of your minutes with me.

If you’d like to know more about me, my books, and where you might run into me, check out my website,

If you’d like to subscribe to my (sometimes) monthly e-newsletter, click here.

If you’re a dog lover, check out my other blog, Another Good Dog.

I’d love to connect with you on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram, and I’m thrilled to get email from readers (and writers), you can reach me at

COMING AUGUST 2018 FROM Pegasus Books (available for preorder now:

Add subheading

Author: Cara Sue Achterberg

I am a writer, blogger, and occasional cowgirl who lives on a hillside farm in Southern York County, PA. You can find information about my books and all my writing adventures on my website

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