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  • "2018 in review: What mattered for affordable housing in WNC" - MountainX.com"With apologies to Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a resident of Western North Carolina in possession of little fortune must be in want of affordable housing. In 2018, governments and organizations throughout the area tried to tackle the problem with a range of creative solutions... Asheville officials considered putting up the city’s own land as an inducement for developers to create affordable rental units. At City Council’s Dec. 11 meeting, Council directed staff to continue plans for properties on Biltmore Avenue and South Charlotte Street, with next steps in come in January..."
  • "Downtown Greenville's wealth is in apartments, and there's room for even more" - GreenvilleOnline.comA Charleston developer is turning the old BB&T building into apartments with plans to remake the Buncombe Street gateway into downtown. Those properties are among the most valuable in the downtown area, but an analysis of property data by The Greenville News shows that the real money is overwhelmingly in apartment complexes, which make up seven of the 10 most valuable properties downtown..."
  • "Redevelopment agreement approved for Pete’s, senior living development on Madison Street in Oak Park" - ChicagoTribune.com"The Oak Park Village Board has approved a redevelopment agreement with developers proposing a new Pete’s Fresh Market grocery store and a senior living facility along Madison Street. In approving the agreement, the developers will now begin a public process that is expected to include neighborhood meetings and testimony in front of the village plan commission, officials said..."
  • "Project in the works to transform concrete jungle into renewed Upper Downtown Denver" - TheDenverChannel.com"More development is planned in our Colorado, this time in the beloved area near Denver's Brown Palace. The Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) is in the beginning stages of a project called a “Renewed Focus” to transform upper downtown from a concrete jungle to a friendly neighborhood hangout. “We want to put some renewed emphasis and renewed energy into this space and make it a more exciting and interesting place for the community,” said Randy Thelen, the Vice President of Economic Development for the DDP..."
Real Estate Seller Leads: The offrs Secret To SMB Growth

Real Estate Seller Leads: The offrs Secret To SMB Growth

In real estate, seller leads are rarer than they've been in decades and offrs marks this as the secret to SMB growth: offrs predictive highlighting.

Real Estate SMB's Thrive On Seller Leads

We've brought to light a lot of the history of real estate and lead generation technology, but the relationship between small-to-medium-sized businesses and a solid inbound lead pipeline are so inter-threaded, that it's nearly impossible to separate your business's bottom-line success from your ability to continuously market your brand and services. Let's go out on a limb and say that your business thrives off of past clients and/or client referrals... your ability to reach out to them and remind them that you are (and always will be) their gal/guy is still imperative to your long-term survivability. And yet, even with this outlier case (where your entire business does not rely on or even include active efforts to generate new leads), you'll nevertheless benefit from a solid data source (updated contact info for referrals, for example, to locate them in this busy world). In a more realistic scenario, your daily operations are likely pulling in new business from all over the spectrum. And this is probably a much healthier scenario to model.

In real estate, seller leads are nothing new. It's simple really... they're either buying or selling and they're either a lead or they're not. But, as many agents out there that are working hard to find and convert leads ultimately find out over time... not all leads are the same. So here we have an interesting scenario: real estate survives off of seller leads, but the definition of a lead (buyer or seller) is often misunderstood. Think about it... you just sold a home, so you have a seller lead and a buyer lead that melded time and space (two objects met at the right time)... and job done! But your buyer lead just became a seller lead and your seller lead a buyer lead. They've inverted and the only variable now is the element of time... when each will truly become their destined role. So, this is all to say... if you could identify when this transition (from buyer lead to seller lead and visa versa) is likely to transpire, you could then focus more of your marketing dollars on fewer and more optimally-identified clientele. This is an important distinction to grasp because this means that you are surrounded by leads, and you're simply tasked with discovering which ones are the highest priority to focus in on.

What's The Value Of A Seller Lead?

So, technology aside for now, how much is a seller lead worth to your business? Naturally, this depends on how hungry you are. We've all been in situations where you've got your office space, your desk, your phone, business cards and a smile... but then it sets in... where are the calls? Okay, so you work through our sphere (online and offline) and got a steady amount of clients. Awesome! But slowly, the "certain deals" become less certain. In a panic, you call everyone back and... promises. It's a scary prospect. How would you like to have someone on your team next week not only gathering and regularly updating contact info on all of the homeowners in your farm, but going through the list and highlighting (with a highlighter) which ones today are the ones you should call first (knowing that the team member has an unworldly 70% success rate in predicting which homeowners are going to move in the next 6-12 months)? Wouldn't you like to take that teammate to Vegas? ;)

And this is the value of a seller lead. As the title of this article implies, the secret to your real estate business's growth is a steady pipeline of inbound leads. We'll up the ante and say... a steady pipeline of warm inbound leads (because remember, these aren't just names... they've been identified on the back end via our algorithm and in many cases, on the front end via our call center's pre-vetting processes as well). Obviously, we're talking a lot about results and really, isn't that the only factor that matters? But let's talk a bit about the process of identifying a lead. As we mentioned, pretty much everyone's a lead in your farm. Short of them passing the property on down through the family for generations to come, the property will eventually sell. And while you're the real estate specialist in that neighborhood, it's yours to lose (at least, if you're claiming it to be yours by truly doing everything you can to identify and own it). Again, it's just about knowing ahead of time when a homeowner is thinking about listing. So let's explore that a bit...

How Do You Predict A Seller Lead?

It's quite simple, we listen. Consider this... your best leads come through the grapevine. Someone reputable that you know shares with you, info on someone they know that has expressed interest in a job they've been offered on the other side of town, but... that they'd have to list their home and don't know where to go. They go on to say that their friend's children have moved out for college a year earlier and that in prep for the possibility of listing their home, they're doing some around-the-house fix-ups they've held off on doing for the past few years. That, in a results-sense, is what offrs does. offrs listens to movement in the consumer space, looking for things like changes in careers, changes in family status, and home improvement purchases. We run hundreds of data points through our predictive algorithm and, over the past few years, have honed in which combination of indicators are the best tell-tale signs that someone is going to list their home in the next 6-12 months. It's business intelligence and, as hinted at, it's the secret to thriving in a competitive marketplace.

So... are you ready to act on the seller leads offrs can put into your hands? That's a whole other article (conversion preparedness), for now... are you ready to accept the seller leads offrs can put into your hands? Reach on out to your offrs business strategist today and learn what predictive analytics and more specifically, what predictive lead generation could mean for your business this year. It's not magic... it's math. =)

offrs collects and provides topical insights, statistics, reviews, humor and best practices gathered from real estate professionals and consumer homeowner industry peers. If you're a broker or agent interested in learning more about seller lead generation or automated marketing services and solutions, visit www.offrs.com or continue to browse our growing collection of industry articles at www.offrs.net.

What are your thoughts?

Industry Insights

A Case For Documentation: Tracking Your Marketing Wins (And Losses)

A Case For Documentation: Tracking Your Marketing Wins (And Losses)

While nearly everyone has an opinion on the shiny left or right turns in marketing technology, sometimes the most cost-effective... or simply effective maneuvers are digging through your backlog of marketing campaign reviews. Don't have a year-end review to sift through? Then this article's for you...

We understand it's a lot to ask, but we are doing our best to build peer readership.

So be sure to help us share our content with your peers, friends and clients. Thanks!


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Commissioners Court approves Dome hotel plan

Yet another step forward for the Astrodome Hotel plan.

Commissioners Court unanimously gave the go-ahead to a private firm’s plan to spend $450 million reinventing the mostly dormant, county-owned Astrodome into a convention hotel.

With its vote, the court gave the the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp., permission to sign a letter of intent with Astrodome Redevelopment Corp.

No public money will be put into the project.

The letter of intent states that by March 2007, Astrodome Redevelopment must obtain financing and the approval from Reliant Park’s tenants, the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Hotel construction would begin at the earliest late next year.

The county would lease the Dome to Astrodome Redevelopment for 50 years and give it an option to extend the lease another 20 years.

Astrodome Redevelopment would pay the county $2.5 million in rent annually and 2 percent-3 percent of gross revenues.

The letter of intent prohibits Astrodome Redevelopment from operating a casino or sexually oriented businesses.

[Harris County Judge Robert] Eckels said the project is a good one for the county. Private entrepreneurs, he said, will assume all the risk but may succeed in giving new life to the much beloved, aging Dome. If the plan works, Houston will begin attracting more conventions and more money will be pumped into the local economy, he said.

More on this project is here and here. The next step, in which the Dome Redevelopment folks have to convince companies with money to part with large sums of it to serve as their capital to do the construction, will be the crucial one. Tory did some back-of-the-envelope math on this back in July, and he’s skeptical about the Dome Hotel’s ability to generate enough revenue to cover its nut. We’ll see if the professional moneylenders feel the same way. Meanwhile, the question to ponder is what happens if financing falls through? I get the feeling that the Dome is running out of options, and may well face the prospect of demolition again. At least if that happens, folks like Judge Eckels who fear being tagged as “the guy who let the Dome get torn down” can say they tried their best but even a private investor couldn’t make it work. We shall see.

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  1. Charles Hixon says:

    This appears to be a public attempt to demonstrate a reasonable effort, and a last-ditch effort at that. If it was indeed a viable business plan without taxpayer guarantees then it would have been gutted and reformulated long ago.

    Now the expectations of the Gulf Coast community is to use the Astrodome as a hurricane shelter.

    Eckels will hope to trade in his hurricane charity for public authorization to flatten the Astrodome.

    This strategy is a good way to keep the Harris County Sports Corporation in new stadiums and convention centers forever.

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RIP, Soupy Sales

Soupy Sales, the world’s funniest pie-in-the-face man, has passed away at the age of 83.

As the star of “The Soupy Sales Show,” he performed live on television for 13 years in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York before the program went into syndication in the United States and abroad.

Ostensibly for children, the show had broad appeal among adults who found Sales’ puns, gags and pratfalls deliciously corny and camp. His cast consisted of goofy puppets with names like White Fang, Black Tooth and Pookie, and a host of off-camera characters, including the infamous naked girl.

The high point of every show came when a sidekick launched a pie into Sales’ face. Sales once estimated that he was hit by more than 25,000 pies in his lifetime.

The gag became more than hilarious; it evolved into a hip badge of honor. Frank Sinatra was first in a long line of celebrities who clamored for the privilege to be cream-faced, including Tony Curtis, Mickey Rooney, Sammy Davis Jr., Dick Martin and Burt Lancaster.

“I’ve never done a pretentious show; it’s always had a live feeling, the kind of thing that comes across when you don’t know what’s going to happen next,” Sales told author Gary Grossman in the 1981 book “Saturday Morning TV.” “I’ve never done anything simply because I thought I could get away with it. I’ve just wanted to do the funniest show.”

Mark Evanier wrote a wonderfully affectionate remembrance of Soupy a few years back, which I highly recommend, even if you’d never heard of him before today. And if you’ve only heard a little bit, bear in mind that only some of it is actually true. Rest in peace, Soupy Sales.

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FTI FormingSuite 2019.0.0 SP1-專業的快速沖壓成型與下料優化仿真軟件
世界領先的軟件設計.仿真開發和成本優化.鈑金分析 FTI 公司，宣佈FormingSuite 2017全球發行。

對汽車零部件企業，在鈑金沖壓件分析和成本優化方面有一套世界領先的軟件解決方案——來自加拿大的FTI（Forming Technologies Intanc），世界領先的沖壓成形性分析和成本計算軟件。
成立於1989年的加拿大成形技術公司（FTI）是世界領先的鈑金軟件解決方案的供應商，FTI 所開發的Forming Suite軟件主要應用於鈑金設計、可行性分析和鈑金零部件成本計算。FTI軟件每年都在不斷的進行更新，目前FTI6.0版在原來軟件的基礎上增加了新的功能，如級進模排樣等。在過去的18年裡，FTI為汽車、航空航天、電子及器械等工業領域的OEM廠商和供應商提供了創新的解決方案, 大大縮短了開發時間和節省了材料成本。
除了優秀的產品，FTI還提供了國際一流的沖壓成形、模具設計和銲接培訓教程，經其培訓的認證工程師超過12000名。FTI 通過全球代理網絡提供銷售和技術服務。

FTI FormingSuite 2019.0.0.21976.6 |
Forming Technologies Inc. (FTI) the industry’s leading developer of solutions for design, simulation, planning and costing of sheet metal components, announced the worldwide release of FormingSuite 2019.

Designed for sheet metal cost estimators,FTI Ann design engineers, tooling designers, and advanced planning engineers in the automotive, aerospace, consumer product and electronics industries, FormingSuite 2019 delivers new customer-driven features for costing/estimating parts, developing method plans, and formability simulation.

FormingSuite’s ability to provide extensive valuable information on many topics including formability, material cost, tooling cost, springback, etc. has led to the introduction of a new, comprehensive reporting system that automatically generates a single report summarizing an entire project in either Excel or PowerPoint format.

Demand for utilizing FTI expertise in quoting and estimating tooling for sheet metal components has resulted in powerful enhancements and functionalities to COSTOPTIMIZER Professional (COP). COP’s ProcessPlanner solution brings the tooling and manufacturing method planning activities to the lead position in the industry by addressing critical customer challenges. To provide the flexibility needed by the global automotive marketplace, ProcessPlanner now supports regional settings to customize both die sizing and costing. Advancements such as improved die load for flanging operations, die estimation parameters for tandem process and user defined shut height settings for each die in tandem lineup are amongst a multitude of new features. FormingSuite 2019 also improves stamping feature recognition, process generation, process validation, simplifies process editing and produces better-quality reports.

FormingSuite 2019 brings advances in material cost modeling as this release introduces users to a new, easier and more flexible method for creating and editing variable addendum on blank shapes by interactively morphing (dragging) curves. Focus has been on improving support for DFM and KPR studies with customizable results ranges for numerical results (major, minor, thickness strains, safety margin) to address organizational standards for formability as well as improved reporting which include springback results. Cost Optimization layout editing adds support for cropping two different parts during optimization. A powerful new Progressive Nesting Web Simulation solver has also been introduced to provide engineers fast and accurate simulation to understand the impact of web design on the cost and method plan.

FASTIncremental users can now import scanned data to replace tooling meshes and now have more precise controls for timing of tools and cams. Materials can be defined with full anisotropic (plastic strain ratio) accounting for the rolling direction of the sheet material with r0 (parallel), r45 (diagonal) and r90 (transverse) as determined through material testing. Large organizations can now use FASTIncremental with a networked LS-DYNA solver.

FTI FormingSuite 2019.0.0.21976.6
Product: FTI FormingSuite
Version: 2019.0.0 Build 21976.6
Supported Architectures: x64
Website Home Page :
Language: multilanguage
System Requirements: PC
Supported Operating Systems: Windows XP SP3 or later - Windows 7 is highly recommended


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text: Join OCIA members, guests and policymakers for our monthly general membership meeting featuring policy updates from OCIA staff, presentations by vendors, businesses, and producers related to the industry in Oklahoma, and general networking! Effective advocacy through unity! RSVP to to confirm your attendance, request speaking opportunities, or become a member.


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Tonight on GlitchTV 11.11.05: Stooges
POSTED ON 11/11/2005 | PERMALINK |0 Comments | BOOKMARK
Sing A Song of Six Pants (1947) : The stooges are tailors, and are heavily in debt to the Skin & Flint finance company. When the boys read about the big reward for a fugitive robber, they think it could be the answer to their problems. The bank robber conveniently ducks into their shop and leaves a suit with a safe combination. After his girl friend fails to retrieve it, the robber returns with gang and a wild fight ensues. The boys miss out on the reward but wind up with the crook's bankroll and can pay their creditors.

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Valete 1935

R.O. Lane (1929-35; Captain of Morris House, 1933-35; Football Colours, 1933; Captain of Football, 1934; Cricket Colours, 1933, Captain of Cricket,, 1934; Athletics Colours, 1934). There are three respects in which a boy can be an asset to his School, to be good at his work, to be good at sports, and to have a fine personality. R.O. Lane was one of the best all-rounders at sports the School has ever had; he excelled in football, in cricket, in athletics, in gymnastics. He was a good knew him at School could forget his conscientiousness "jolly good fellow." Even supposing that those who knew him at School could forget his conscientiousness and his never-failing sympathy, it is certain that they would remember him for his modesty and for the unassuming eagerness with which he undertook and discharged the most thankless of task's.' As sportsman, as scholar, as a personality, Lane was a credit to the School, and we are sorry to lose him. He left School this term for a post in the Foreign Office.

VI Lit.: A.F. Bishop, R.S. Clapp, D.G. How (Swimming Captain, 1933-34), E.G. Hughes, R.W. King, E.G. W, Lewis, E.G. Lowton.

VI Sci.: E.Coton

Our best wishes go with tht~ following boys, who have n to
left School since the last issue of the Ma vian appeared: VI Lit.: N. P. Astins
VI Sci.: V. C. Cosier, F. A. Ireland, L. J. T'rapp
V a: S. W. Adams, V. G. Brown, C. W. Powell (Monitor) IV b: M. C. Garnish, D. Garrick
III L: D. G. English II s: A. Ma.rriot
I c: B. C. Cook
The following Prefects will be leaving at the end of this term:

R. A. Dubock (1927-35; Prefect, 19'33-35; Librarian, 1933-35; Debating Society Committee, 1933-34; Dramatic Society Secretary, 1934-35)
To many the School will seem strange without Dubock. It is difficult to believe that, he is at last to be divorced from his familiar environment of Library cards, his piles of junk in the Prefects' Room, his collection of nondescript gymnasium clothing. It is no less difficult to realise that he will never again be married, murdered, or otherwise raised above the ordinary run of Monovians in productions of the School Dramatic Society. Those who are left will miss his sprightly performances at tennis and badminton; they will miss too his plaintive look, his resonant voice essaying songs that lend themselves unwillingly to resonance, his angular figure wandering about half-naked in the summer months. But to those of us who know him best, Dubock will continue to be more than an actor and an institution. He will indeed live as something more in the pages of the Monovian, in his pensive and delicately fanciful articles. We wish him every success at London University

D. W. Field (1929-35; Captain of Mallinson House, 1934-35 League of Nations Union Committee, 1935; Games Secretary, 1933-35; Football Colours, 1933; Cricket Colours, 1934; Captain of Tennis, 1935)
Field was the best type of sportsman. One cannot think of his achievements in cricket, football, tennis, and athletic without remembering also the personality that lay behind them and enjoyed them without any feeling of partisanship or of self-seeking. Field was always popular, but his well-balanced sense of humour always prevented popularity from making him less sympathetic to the interests and the claims of others. The School will be sorry to lose him.

K. Lloyd (1926-35; Prefect, 1933-35; Debating Society Chairman, 1933-34; Photographic Society Secretary, 1933-35)
Lloyd, who sat for an examination at Cambridge in March, was awarded an Open Exhibition in Modern Languages (value £40 per annum) at Pembroke College.
Lloyd always avoided the limelight. The efficiency and the quiet enthusiasm with which he carried out his duties, the exemplary thoroughness of his service to the School, his rare conscientiousness, and above all his modesty will remain in our memories when Lloyd himself goes to Cambridge to continue his study of Modern Languages.

E.E.W.S. Thompson (1928-35; Prefect 1933-35; Captain of Higham House, 1933-35; Christian Union Secretary, 1933-35; League of Nations Union Treasurer, 1935; School Orchestra 1928-35; Athletics Colours, 1934 and 1935; Athletics Captain, 1935)
When nobody else could be found to undertake an irksome treasurership, or to do an odd job that required a great deal of patience, or to write an article for the Monovian, Thompson showed what a good friend a friend in need can be. When other people were enjoying themselves, often he would be quietly performing some thankless but necessary task in an obscure corner. His patience and his industry made possible his brilliant successes when he was called upon to play a leading part. Thompson was not only a good athlete, but a good organiser and a good debater. These accomplishments will certainly be of value to him at King's College.

H. Shapiro (1929-35; Prefect, 1933-35; Laboratory Prefect, 1933-35)
Although he has occupied few leading positions, Shapiro has done quite a lot for the School. As presiding genius in the laboratories and at the stage switchboard he has worked in obscurity, often unnoticed. In the Prefects' Room his modest humour could not fail to make him popular. Those who will miss him when he leaves School will miss him a great deal.

P.A. Timberlake (1928-35; Editor of the Monovian, 1933-35; Debating Society Secretary, 1932-34, President, 1934; League of Nations Union Committee, 1935; School Orchestra, 1928-35, Secretary, 1932-35)
As one of our best debaters and one of our leading musicians, he has done great deal for the School; but his work as Editor of the School Magazine has outshone his other many achievements In losing such a valuable Prefect, we are also losing the most virile Editor the Monovian has ever had. His active ingenuity has been at work from the very moment he became Editor, with the result that the Monovian has made greater progress during the last two years than even the most sanguine of optimists would have dared to predict. Timberlake has played a noble part in the adventures of the Prefects, who soon realised that his skill in breaking windows was as effective as their own. And who could forget the austere conductor of the Prefects' "Choir" or the Sheriff in the pedal motor? All his accomplishments are qualifications for becoming a successful undergraduate, and we wish him every success in his career at Oxford.

D. R. Vicary (1926-35; Prefect, 1933-35; Captain of the School, Secretary 1933-35; Captain of Allpass House, 1933-35, of General Committee of the School, 1933-35; Stamp Club Secretary, 1932-33; League of Nations Union Secretary, 1935; Athletics Colours, 1933; Cross Country Captain, 1934-35)
Vicary, the School Captain, on the result of an examination held last December, was awarded an Open Millard Scholarship in Natural Science (value £80 per annum), tenable at Trinity College, Oxford.
Vicary, during the latter part of his time at the School, has truly been a "man of many parts." Of him it can be said without exaggeration that he distinguished himself in every department of School activity. His athletic achievements, his administrative ability and his gift for organising, his ability at public speaking, his outstanding academic accomplishments, all these are deservedly well-known; to recollect any of them is to dwell on the great loss that Vicary will be to the VIth Form and to the School as a whole. His wide interests, as well as his executive energy and his powers of concentration have been an inspiration to many who have came into close contact with him; only those who have can know his true worth and the magnitude of his service to the School. No Captain has led the School more ably than Vicary. Much could be written, and profitably of the excellence of his example, for he gave unsparingly of his best in every sphere of effort. But this is not a biography; we must content ourselves with wishing him every happiness in his career at Oxford.


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For You

This is always for you, you know who you are.

We all have parents, that’s a given. Maybe one day you’ll be one or perhaps you already are. If so, welcome to the journey.

As a parent it is crucial to keep a pulse on the child you once were… try to forget that lie we all tell ourselves, the one where we think we are grown up and mature. Childhood is a mysterious treasure trove of information that we should all dive into daily. As we get older we often catch a glimpse of the secrets our childhood memories hold, these are often the gems that will make you an impressive parent or a radical child.

Once we start growing up we begin to realize that every single one of us is broken in some way or another. We break every day and also rebuild ourself every day. We are all incredibly unique, yet all so similar. You may have found all the pieces and put your life back together but remember that someone is still broken, searching for the pieces and they need all the help they can get.

You Broke It To Learn?

The word Broken was a transformative word in my childhood home. Nothing was ever broken forever, never beyond repair. It simply meant, “Dad can help fix it!”

Those fortunate souls able to witness my dad’s magical ability to fix it all, were perplexed. Often annoyed that their parents didn’t really try to fix anything of theirs. But their parents had their own strengths to work with which my parents lacked.

Childhood was time spent experimenting with dad. Occasionally breaking things to see how they really worked and what it would take to put them back together.

While growing up with this father figure in my life I learned more than just the ability to fix the shattered material world… this also extended into one of my father’s true passions, the comprehension of words and their deep connection to the world. Dismantling words was peculiar yet taught me the intimate relationship every single word has.

The relationship of words and the connections they create in our life gives us a greater understanding of what is really possible. Possibilities beyond words.

A brief example is to shatter the above word, ‘Broken’ and see what we can find.

Broken comes from the Latin word ‘Frangere’ meaning ‘To Break’ which was itself created from the Latin word ‘Fragilis‘ meaning ‘Morally Weak, Liable To Break’ the word we now refer to as, Fragile.

Understand: Anything that is Broken can be made whole, anything that is weak can be made strong and anything that is fragile can be made flexible and resilient.

Examine Your Childhood

We were all raised in a myriad of complex ways, we all have different strengths and weaknesses.

Now as an adult, view your childhood. Your life or that of your own child, what are the weak points that need attention? What aspects of character are morally weak? What have you have observed but not acted on? Are you or your loved ones Liable To Break in any way shape or form?

Whatever your answers may be, you know what is possible.

Respond with ability and fix it.

This post is in response to the Daily Writing Prompt Broken

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1 thought on “For You”

  1. You have the amazing ability to discover the positive and deeper meanings in everyday life. This post helped me realize how important it is to build and encourage every soul I touch.

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Antitrust and competition law

The concept of a free market can lead to various conflicts of interests.

On the one hand there are business entities striving to gain advantage over their competitors as well as retaining their place in the distribution chain by providing the most innovative work products to their customers. On the other hand any kind of distortion or restriction of competition by means of unlawful agreements, concerted practices between undertakings - i.e. other competitors or distributors – as well as abuse of dominant positions must be inhibited.

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A word about this company

Based in The Hague, the Netherlands, OPERA2DAY is a performing arts company that focuses on the production of opera and music theatre. OPERA2DAY takes an enthusiasm for the tradition of opera and embeds it within the time and setting of the modern day. Productions are performed in the Royal Theatre in The Hague and in theatres throughout the Netherlands. OPERA2DAY also produces site specific opera and music theatre on exiting locations, such as an abandoned 19th century hospital, a church, a fish auction or on the beach.

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Supply Chain Conference 2014

Highlights from the Supply Chain Conference 2014 at Piperska Muren in Stockholm, Sweden.

Optilon Summary on Supply Chain Conference 2014

Optilon’s CEO Richard Barkevall, thanks all participants of Supply Chain Conference 2014 for making it the best conference this far.

Lora Cecere

Lora Cecere, Founder, Supply Chain Insights.LORA CECERE is the Founder of Supply Chain Insights LLC and the author of popular enterprise software blog Supply Chain Shaman currently read by 10,000 supply chain professionals each month.

With over nine years as a research analyst with AMR Research, Altimeter Group, and Gartner Group, and now as a Founder of Supply Chain Insights, Lora understands supply chain. She has worked with over 600 companies on their supply chain strategy and speaks at over 50 conferences a year on the evolution of supply chain processes and technologies. Her research is designed for the early adopter seeking first mover advantage.

She also writes as a LinkedIn Influencer and is a contributor for Forbes. Her book, Bricks Matter, (co-authored with Charlie Chase) was published in 2012. She is currently working on a second book, Metrics That Matter, to publish later this year.

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Download Supply Chain Insights Lora Cecere's presentation from SCC14

Alberto Boninsegni, DanoneALBERTO BONINSEGNI, 49 years old, Operations Director at Danone SPA, Italian subsidiary of Groupe Danone, French food-products multinational corporation world leader in fresh dairy product, world number 2 in bottled water and baby nutrition.
Graduated in Economics, MBA at SOGEA, over 20 years of working experience mainly with leading FMCG companies both as practitioner and management consultant.

Alberto’s expertise encompasses operations, from sourcing to distribution, with specialties in business logistics, demand and supply planning, customers and shopper service. He plays an active role within the Supply Chain community, currently is member of ECR Europe OSA Expert Group.

Alberto Boninsegni spoke about Danone’s Trade Promotion Forecasting system (internally called Disc’over).

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Download Danone Alberto Boninsegni's presentation from SCC14

Donald A. Hicks, LLamasoftDONALD A. HICKS is the founder, President and CEO of LLamasoft, Inc. He is a supply chain industry visionary, specializing in strategy and technology issues and a highly sought after speaker and author. Over the last 20 years, Don has personally consulted with and coached supply chain professionals at hundreds of companies around the world to optimize and improve their operations. He has a BS in Systems Engineering from the US Military Academy at West Point, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Advances in Supply Chain Design: Process and Technology
Over the last several years, Supply Chain Design has become a key business process for most leading companies.  The reasons are many:  rapidly changing market conditions, more frequent product roll-outs, growth into emerging markets, supply volatility – the list goes on.  As a result, companies need to continuously redesign their supply chains to stay in front of anticipated changes or in reaction to unexpected changes.

In this session, participants will get the chance to interact with LLamasoft CEO Donald Hicks as he shares his observations on trends in Supply Chain Design, exploring questions including:

  • How are companies organizing to support the business process of Supply Chain Design?
  • Why are models getting bigger and more detailed, and can technology keep up?
  • Where is LLamasoft placing their focus in the development of new software solutions?

Joseph Shamir, CEO, ToolsGroupJOSEPH SHAMIR is the CEO of ToolsGroup, which he co-founded with Eugenio Cornacchia in 1993. He has more than twenty years of business experience in supply chain and manufacturing, and is a specialist in advanced modeling techniques for planning and optimization. He has been instrumental in the development of decision support software for logistics planning of complex logistics networks, and has directed major strategic and logistics projects in many leading European companies.

Before founding ToolsGroup, Mr. Shamir held various high-level management positions with ITP Group, including Director of Sales, and later as COO of the Automation Group. The group, specialized in industrial automation and logistics, has implemented during his time several very large ”factory of the future” systems at large manufacturers such as Olivetti and Electrolux.

Prior to ITP, Mr. Shamir held several CIO positions, first at the Italian gear manufacturing company, ESP Group, and then at Norasia shipping line, where he developed an innovative profit-driven operations planning system for world maritime container transportation.

Mr. Shamir graduated in solid-state physics from Tel Aviv University.

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Download ToolsGroup Joseph Shamir's presentation from SCC14

Peter Carlsson, TeslaPETER CARLSSON is Vice President Supply Chain at Tesla motors – the car company that turned heads throughout the entire automotive industry by creating an all new supply chain, revolutionizing the electric car concept and finally bringing home Motor Trend’s prestigious 2013 Car of the Year award. Peter joined Tesla from NXP Semiconductors, and before that he was purchasing officer at Sony Ericsson.

In an exclusive keynote speech, Peter will share the Tesla journey – how it developed around the customer, and why the company will continue to be an influential force in the future of the automotive industry. He will discuss the supply chain situations he faced, how to rethink an extremely competitive logistics system, the challenges of building an electric car in a gasoline-driven world, and creating, managing, and executing a supplier infrastructure of more than 200 relationships who have to meet exacting criteria.

Tetra Pak

Emelie Raba, Tetra PakEMELIE RABA has been working as a senior supply chain analyst at Tetra Pak since the beginning of 2013, and is responsible for the analysis of packaging materials. Prior to Tetra Pak she worked five years as a consultant within supply chain optimization and simulation. Emelie has a master in mathematics and is specialized in optimization.

The presentation
Starting off with a pilot model for a smaller business unit followed by a proof of concept for the biggest business unit, Tetra Pak’s supply chain simulation and optimization project has gone from fiction to concept and now it is reality. With a complex supply chain with millions of possible combinations and billions of euros in cost, the project has proven to deliver savings and cost avoidance beyond initial commitments. The project has delivered a new way to support supply chain decision making with the help of an IT platform and a clear organization and governance structure.

Lora Cecere, Founder, Supply Chain Insights.KRISTIAN ASPELIN is a co-founder and responsible for delivery and customer satisfaction at InSync. In his role, he works closely with InSync’s customers to ensure the highest quality in the areas of implementation services, training and customer support. Kristian has extensive experience as a designer, implementer and user of supply chain systems from prior positions at Apple Computers, i2 Technologies, FedEx and SeeCommerce. He holds a Master’s degree in Management Information systems from the University of Arizona.

Kristian will speak about how advances in technology enables innovative solutions and the advanced planning solutions for the future.

SVT – Swedish National TV

Lora Cecere, Founder, Supply Chain Insights.MIKAEL STERNER is a TV audience analyst at Sveriges Television, Sweden’s largest TV channel, and works with analyzing how and why people watch TV. Together with his colleagues at SVT’s Audience Research Team, Mikael is working on how to improve and accelerate their analyses of TV viewing behavior in Sweden using visual analytics. They’ve also been able to communicate much more effectively with the executives who make programming decisions, e g it helps people see and understand data.

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Download SVT Mikael Sterner's presentation from SCC14

Rickard Andersson, Vice President Supply Chain, Thule.RICKARD ANDERSSON is Vice President Supply Chain at BA Outdoor & Bags RoW, Thule Group – a company helping active families and outdoor enthusiasts to transport anything they care for safely, easily, and in style so they are free to live an active life.

Rickard holds a M.Sc in Civil Engineering from KTH, Stockholm and a M.Sc in Business Administration from Stockholm University and has over 10 years of supply chain experience from Thule, Hexpol and IKEA.

Rickard will speak about the implementation of, and advantages seen with, the advanced planning solution iPlanner, implemented in the roof box manufacturing sites in Germany and UK. The iPlanner implementation has given the Thule Group a more accurate planning and at the same time reduced planning time and work in progress.

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Download Thule Rickard Andersson's presentation from SCC14

Do you want to know more about the Supply Chain Conference?

Ota yhteyttä Susanne Unhagen +46 733 738 816 tai susanne.unghagen@optilon.se (ruotsi/englanti).


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Clear Your Mind and Refocus

With hectic lives and busy schedules, it can be easy for the mind to become cluttered, making it difficult to concentrate and be productive. If you want to be able to quickly and easily clear your mind so that you can refocus, here are a few tricks that you can try.

One of the most effective ways to clear your mind and really refocus your energy is by practicing mindfulness, and this does not need to be anything more than a breathing exercise or two. This is something that you can do anywhere and at any time, making it a great method to master. One breathing exercise that you can try is sitting or standing up straight and closing your eyes, before taking a deep breath in through your nose. Allow your diaphragm to fully expand, and hold the breath for a few seconds before exhaling through your mouth. Counting your breath will also help with this, as it will give your mind something to focus on to prevent you from being sidetracked.

Woman in cafe thinking of what to write

Write it Down
Writing down all of your thoughts and worries is a great way to release any pent-up emotions, and will help you to take a look at the entire situation from a different perspective. Keep a journal that you can turn to whenever your mind is feeling full, and continue writing in it until you feel at peace with whatever has been on your mind. Alternatively, if your mind has been filled with all of the different things you need to do, start keeping lists, as this will free up some space in your head, and you can then turn to your list when you have more time and are feeling calmer.

Physical Activity
In addition to helping to control weight and prevent illness, exercise is a fantastic way to clear your mind and improve your mood. Exercise releases endorphins, which will really help to take your mind to a better place. This does not mean that you need to spend hours at the gym, as simple short bursts of exercise will also have this same effect. Try to find an activity that you enjoy doing, but make sure that it raises your heart rate.

Woman painting on canvas at home

Get Creative
Exploring your imagination can really refocus your mind, as it will make use of different parts of your brain. Creativity is the perfect way to engage your imagination, and this can take shape in many forms. From painting and drawing to singing and dancing to cooking or doing a puzzle, there are so many ways in which you can be creative, so give this a go the next time you are feeling stressed and worn out.

The human brain is not built to be able to split its attention into too many different areas, which is why it is often easy to feel overwhelmed when there are a number of things on your mind. Rather than allowing this to bring you down, try out some of the above-mentioned tips, as they will help you to clear your mind and get back to what you really need to be doing.

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Agrégateur de flux

Freud and Schnitzler-(Doppelgaunger)

Most Frequently Read Articles - ven, 2016-11-04 00:00
Herbert I. Kupper, Hilda S. Rollman-Branch
Jan 1, 1959; 7:109-126

Masochism and its Rhythm

Over five years, from 1919 to 1924, Freud dealt with masochism in three texts written in close proximity: "A Child Is Being Beaten," Beyond the Pleasure Principle, and "The Economic Problem of Masochism." Initially Freud explains masochism as incestuous fixation on the father and regression to pregenital, sadistic ways of loving. Subsequently he considers it primarily as subservient to the death drive. This paper starts from an idea present in two of the three texts, but not developed by Freud, in which he refers to the role that the "qualitative" element of rhythm could play in the occurrence of pleasure in masochism. By means of this element traumatic aspects of the primary relationship with the object could be stored as fantasies in the body. In any staged masochistic fantasies of being beaten or in masochistic perversion, the pleasure of pain would lie in the attempt to "dream" the trauma not only in the imagination but also, "aesthetically," in the body.

Obsessionality: Modulating the Encounter with Emotional Truth and the Aesthetic Object

Experiences with autistic and primitive mental states have significant implications for our understanding of obsessionality. Consequently, obsessionality is seen as an attempt at a massive simplification of experience, in order to deal with the pain inherent in the encounter with intense emotional experience and with the separateness of an enigmatic object that eludes one’s omnipotent control. Moreover, early loss and a precocious awareness of separateness often play roles in the withdrawal to obsessional thinking and verbosity, and to an illusion of omnipotent control of the object. Interpretations focusing on conflicting desires, or linking repressed and displaced parts of the personality with the defenses against them, do not reach these patients in a way that facilitates psychic change. An alternative approach, it is suggested, is to work at primitive, nonsymbolic levels of mental functioning, where experience cannot be verbally communicated and dynamically interpreted, but must first be lived in the here and now of the analysis. This is illustrated through the analysis of a person trying to cope with the experience of early loss by deadening emotion and finding shelter in obsessionality.

Finding Control Cases and Maintaining Immersion: Challenges and Opportunities

Given that surveys, as well as frequent observations by institute faculty, indicate that many candidates have difficulty finding control cases and maintaining immersion and that many graduate analysts face similar challenges, it would seem that psychoanalytic training does not prepare candidates adequately for finding patients and practicing analysis while in training and, for many, after they have graduated. Although external challenges are formidable, it is by identifying and making use of internal challenges to finding cases that candidates can develop an analytic mind: the identity, approach, and skills necessary not only to graduate but to have the choice to practice clinical psychoanalysis post-graduation. Some of the internal challenges and their manifestations in different phases of initiating analysis (referrals, initial consultation, recommendation) are discussed and two detailed examples are offered to illustrate the productive use of candidates’ countertransferences in finding cases and maintaining immersion. Finally, recommendations for institutional solutions are provided.

Most Frequently Read Articles - dim, 2016-10-02 23:00

Oct 3, 2016; 0:306511-306511

Masochism and its Rhythm

Most Frequently Read Articles - ven, 2016-09-30 23:00
Giuseppe Civitarese
Oct 1, 2016; 64:885-916

Changes in Self-Representations Following Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Young Adults: A Comparative Typology

Most Frequently Read Articles - ven, 2016-09-30 23:00
Andrzej Werbart, Lars Brusell, Rebecka Iggedal, Kristin Lavfors, Alexander Widholm
Oct 1, 2016; 64:917-958

"Unavoidable Satisfactions": The Analysts Pleasure

Analysts have often described their work as depriving, painful, and hard to endure, while its pleasures have been the subject of little commentary. The real history and ongoing temptations of boundary violation long ago made the gratifications of psychoanalytic work a matter of anxiety. Analysts’ pleasure in their work was problematized. Some of this problematizing is necessary because of real risk, but much of it is not only unnecessary but misleading and destructive. Psychoanalysts pursue achievement of a unique form of human intimacy, yet acquired habits of professional modesty and humility have encouraged the illusion that analyzing can occur without desire or ambition on the analyst’s part. These habits have made it difficult for analysts to openly discuss what they get from the intimacy of analyzing that yields its pleasures. Our field demands that analysts deny that the work provides much more than pain (at least until the conclusion of an analysis), but psychoanalysis both misunderstands and misrepresents itself if we cannot speak of the distinctly broad range of pleasures available in analyzing.

The Relevance of Bionian Thinking to the Treatment of PTSD Patients

Analysts who conduct trauma-focused treatments have much to learn from Wilfred Bion’s contributions to the understanding and treatment of PTSD. Concepts such as catastrophe and catastrophic change can illuminate the subjective experience of PTSD patients, the beta screen concept sheds light on dissociative phenomena, and, as shown in a clinical vignette, the analyst can use his alpha function to transform the patient’s fragmented raw material into alpha elements. A second clinical vignette shows how during a cognitive intervention the analyst can impart this alpha function to the patient and use his reverie to help the patient assimilate previously intolerable fragments into a coherent narrative. Finally, the idea of knowing mental pain (Bion’s K) is discussed in relation to the processing of traumatic memories.

Can Babies Remember Trauma? Symbolic Forms of Representation in Traumatized Infants

Three important areas of current inquiry concerning early trauma—the respective roles of reality and fantasy, age-related capacity for the symbolic representation of trauma, and attachment status—are approached through clinical case reports of three children seen initially at very early ages. The findings are relevant to the issue of whether preverbal infants can experience traumatic events that later are available to interpretation. The focus is for the most part on event traumas—single harrowing, life-threatening experiences—occurring at quite early ages. Three main points are emphasized. First, toddlers and infants (including neonates) can experience intense pain and show symptoms of traumatization. They are capable of experiencing an event as harrowing and life-threatening. Second, these events are capable of being memorialized or symbolically represented, that is, stored in memory in a way that can affect later behavior and learning. Third, how that traumatization resolves itself, or fails to, can be decisively affected by the functioning of the attachment system.

Working Through the "Caesura": A Clinical Illustration

More and more often analysts work with patients who must develop the capacity to participate in analysis. One such patient, H., conveyed the impression of being "bogged down." He did not work or study, and at home with his family was prone to violent outbursts; his social relationships were centered around drug use. Concepts from Bion and Winnicott helped H.’s analyst take the risks necessary to create a therapeutic relationship with him. The patient has come to realize the worth of analytic thinking, and its potential to transform his life. Deviance with respect to technique, and collusion between the narcissistic areas of therapist and patient, pose the risk of dangerous slips in the direction of analytic "omnipotence." Reclaiming the term collusion (from the Latin con-ludere, "to play together"), however, can allow analysts to remain faithful to Freud’s ideas while maintaining a necessary flexibility vis-à-vis the patient. This ludic space can be expanded through Bion’s ideas, which deconstruct a perspective through which we are able to observe "facts," with particular reference to what occurs in the psychoanalytic situation.

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Dr. Radut


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Jairek Robbins: Neucopia’s Affiliate Marketing Premier Trainer (Jan 31, 2013)

If you’ve ever been on this blog before, you know it’s all about Neucopia here.  I don’t do 10 different programs; this is my primary business.  The best short summary of Neucopia: it’s a direct sales and affiliate marketing company which offers world class educational/information products geared toward online marketing, utilizing social media, list building, […]

Neucopia SLASHES signup fees and RAISES commissions!

When I joined Neucopia, I knew it had the potential to make me so much money with their affiliate marketing program.  Just the educational information in their digital databases–from SEO (search engine optimization), social media marketing, and lead generation systems–would have been enough just in itself.  And while I saw that vision right away and […]


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Outside Shot with Randy Foye explores authentic stories of people who have been told they had no chance to succeed and that they should give up before even trying. Each episode will transport listeners into the inspirational journeys of underdogs from all walks of life. Season Two of Outside Shot w/ Randy Foye is Sponsored by Morgan Stanley

Nothing has come easy for Randy Foye. You may know him from his 11-year-NBA career, or from his time at Villanova, which included being named Big East Player of the Year. But to truly know Randy, you have to examine the road he traveled. From his birth in Newark, NJ with a rare condition in which his organs are on the wrong side of his body, to numerous family tragedies, to his struggle to survive each day, to ultimately discovering that basketball could be his vehicle to a better world, Randy has defeated unimaginable obstacles.

Throughout Randy's life, he was told he would never amount to anything. It became normal for people to say that he had, at best, only an outside shot to survive let alone thrive. Ironically, it’s Randy’s outside shot that became his specialty on his way to NBA success. He and co-host Noah Scheinmann deliver an original series celebrating people who often overachieve and yet are still under-appreciated. Outside Shot with Randy Foye, includes an original theme and music from Award-Winning poet, writer & artist J. Ivy ( and Aaron Richardson (@jsoulmusic). SUBSCRIBE NOW and share a RATING & REVIEW.

Jun 23, 2017

Villanova's Jay Wright is much more than a NCAA Championship Basketball Coach. Randy Foye graduated from Villanova 11-years ago as the Big East Player of the Year. On this very personal episode, Randy returns to his alma mater to sit down with his former coach and reveal the Jay Wright that extends way beyond...


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Humanity faces simultaneous climate disasters: Study

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By century’s end, many parts of the world may have to cope with up to six climate catastrophes at once, ranging from heat waves and wildfires to diluvian rains and deadly storm surges, researchers warned Monday.

“Human society will be faced with the devastating combined impacts of multiple interacting climate hazards,” said co-author Erik Franklin, a researcher at the University of Hawaii’s Institute of Marine Biology.

“They are happening now and will continue to get worse,” he told AFP.

Overloading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases has unleashed a maelstrom of life-threatening forces.

It begins with rising temperatures, which — in normally dry regions — lead to drought, heatwaves and deadly wildfires, such as those ravaging California. In wetter climes, the result is heavy rainfall and flooding.

Over the oceans, global warming creates larger superstorms whose destructive power is enhanced by rising seas.

Up to now, scientists have mostly studied these climate change impacts one-by-one, obscuring the possibility — and soon the likelihood — that human communities will be hammered by more than one at a time, the study found.

Last year, for example, Florida experienced extreme drought, record-high temperatures, more than 100 wildfires, and Hurricane Michael, the most powerful storm to ever hit its Panhandle.

“A focus on one or few hazards may mask the impacts of other hazards, resulting in incomplete assessments of the consequences of climate change on humanity,” said lead author Camilo Mora, a professor at the University of Hawaii.

– Tropics hit hardest –

The future risk of dealing with multiple climate impacts at once depends on geography and whether humanity succeeds in rapidly drawing down greenhouse gas emissions.

If, against the odds, humanity manages to cap global warming at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels, for example, New York City will likely face a single climate hazard — a powerful storm, perhaps — in any given year at the end of the century.

The Paris climate treaty, inked by 195 nations in 2015, calls for holding the rise in temperature to “well below” 2C.

Even under these optimistic scenarios, “increasing cumulative exposure to the multitude of climate hazards will impact rich and poor countries alike,” the study concluded.

But if carbon pollution continues at its current pace, the Big Apple will more likely be hit by up to four such calamities all at once, including extreme rain, sea level rise and storm surges.

Sydney and Los Angeles might have to cope with three climate calamities simultaneously, Mexico City four, and Brazil — along its Atlantic coast — could face up to five.

In all scenarios, tropical coastal areas will suffer the most.

To assess the risk of clustered climate catastrophes, Mora and his international team gathered data from several thousand peer-reviewed studies that analysed 10 specific impacts, mostly one-at-a-time.

They included fires, floods, rainfall, sea level rise, change in land use, ocean acidification, storms, warming, drought and fresh water supply.

– Climate lifeboats –

The scientists looked at how these by-products of global warming impact humans in six domains: health, food, water, economy, infrastructure and security.

“Our health depends on multiple factors, from clean air and water, to safe food and shelter,” said co-author Jonathan Patz, a professor at the University of Wisconsin’s Global Health Institute.

“If we only consider the most direct threats from climate change — heatwaves or severe storms, for example — we inevitably will be blindsided by even larger threats that, in combination, can have even broader societal impacts.”

Scientists not involved in the research said it bolsters a point that should be obvious but remains sharply contested.

“The costs of inaction greatly outweigh the costs of taking action on climate change,” said Michael Mann, a professor at Penn State University.

“We can still reduce future damage and suffering if we act quickly and dramatically to reduce carbon emissions.”

The study, published in Nature Climate Change, also shows which parts of the world will most likely be spared the worst ravages of climate change.

Several are in temperate zones close to polar regions, such as Tasmania, and parts of Canada or Russia.

“In general, Greenland appears to be the least impacted by multiple climate hazards under the worst case scenario,” said Franklin.

“It may be time to start buying real estate in Greenland.”

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Independence Day

It was a relaxed Independence Day. We spent the day doing whatever we wanted and then headed to the Lucky’s Market parking lot for Columbia’s Fire in the Sky.

This was the pre-show.

Unfortunately, the breeze all but stopped not too long before the fireworks show started. Because of this, the smoke did not clear as much as it usually does.

We did not get the full effects of the show, but we still saw some beautiful fireworks. Happy Birthday, America!

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Featured Photo Pageants

Themed photo pageants are held often. Queens will be awarded a crown, title, and special prize, and will reign for the year. They will also be featured on our website and social media! First Photo Entry is $10. Each additional photo is $5. *Contestants may enter as many photos as they’d like.


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How to prepare yourself for exterior house painting?

You may live in Mediterranean or tropical climate. You may also live in maritime, Siberian or Sahara climate. In all these climates, you tend to face hardships in certain months. Obviously, your home too is a victim of such problems – Weather.

There is rain, hail, sleet and many other natural elements that are natural to specific zones. You need to acclimatize yourself to that and keep your home exterior strong enough to repel the forces.

The most affected portion is generally the edges. They flake off quite fast. Then there is the additional problem of pipes bursting and drains leaking making the exterior portion of your home quite susceptible.

If your exterior is done in wood, you should plug the edges with strips of metal and then airbrush it for termites. It is also logical to throw gushes of air at the exterior walls to bloat out all pests. Then stain it with percolating wood stains or simply roll paint over it.

There are homes which go for steel sidings too. This is primarily don to evade fire. Steel has the capacity to look shinier even without painting. But with inclement weather, there may be rusting and so it should be brushed with paint. Brushing is a better option than rolling on hard surfaces.

And if your home is been done on the outer region in concrete, concrete stains are what you should be looking for. Just sand the exteriors. Get the connections with window and doors polished and corniced. Then go for a smart distemper. This will work better than acrylic painting.

Your house location is also an important aspect. If you live in busy area, your house is more prone to pollution damages than natural errors. For that, plastic sheets on the outer walls and edges will work out fine, even if it sort of dilutes the appearance. If it is in the open, then you got to save it from elemental fury. You can go for caulking for better effect. But painting is more popular due to its natural flair for lighting up your home outlook.

If you are making your home, it is better to go for wood sidings. Soft woods like redwood and pine work as great siding materials and also have very apt stains. Concrete comes in next. Obviously, the strengthening ability of concrete gives it more popularity than wood, which is restricted to Japan and other islands for earthquake reasons.

While doing the exterior painting, do not forget to arrange a handy knife and ladder. Also keep plenty of water and ready made stain removing mixtures ready. Wear gloves and masks to avoid lead poisoning. It is better though to hire professional help for external painting.

How To Choose The Right Exterior Paint Color

Choosing the right exterior paint colors could be a rather daunting task. Some people tend to hire professionals not only to paint the exterior part of the house, but also to choose the proper colors, because a wrong choice could prove to be a rather huge expense. Choosing the right color is so frustrating and complicated that there are classes and seminars that offer people the chance to get a feel of how their house would look in different shades, patterns and colors.

What should you consider when picking exterior paint colors?

First of all you need to check the colors of the surrounding area. Even if you want to stand out, choosing a color that doesn’t match the neighboring houses is not a good idea. You don’t need to choose a color that matches the surrounding completely, but it is recommended to avoid options that clash. You should also consider the natural surroundings. If you are close to a forest you should choose something that goes well with dark green. If you are close to the sea, you should avoid dark colors and shades, because they would make your house look really weird.

Consider the climate. You must choose the colors that make your house look better for the greater part of the year. If you are in a snowy area, you need to avoid white and opt for a color that would perk your exterior up.

Exterior paint colors are great ways to express your personal taste and style, however, it is recommended to choose something that is relatively conventional. Do not choose something too extravagant or kitschy, because painting over it can be too expensive. Choose the color you can live with for long and choose something you love. Following trends may not be a great idea when it comes to the exterior part of your house. What looks great on one house may not on another.

Consider the prospect and the size. If you are fond of a particular color you should always try to imagine how it would be covering a large area. Sometimes even our favorite colors and shades look pretty overwhelming when in large areas. Some colors are maybe warm when applied on one or two small walls, but could be really attacking when they are en mass.

Going conventional doesn’t mean going dull. If you do not want to make your house look like everyone else’s around you can try to break the color up. Combine two or three different colors that match, spice up a dull color with few nicely appointed additions and try to create a unique ensemble choosing a different color for the shutters or the entrance door.

Sometimes colors give us more options than we can think we have, provided that we are creative and open minded enough.

Great advantages of exterior wood shutters

During thunderstorms, you find certain trees holding good. Pine and fir are superb examples of resilience during extreme harsh weather. It is not hard to infer that they work out quite well as protection units for homes.

Wood shutters are often used on windows and doors in romantic homes. They make the exterior look different and shiny. They are very durable and long lasting. They also keep your home cooler during summer and hotter during winter. Wood, by nature, is not a good conductor of heat and lightning. Thus it helps in the above desired effect.

Wood paneling on doors and windows is the other method for making the exterior look pluck. Window shutters can be beautified with cornices and fine handiwork. Go for asymmetric woodcarving and strength. PVC shutters work in this respect but there is practically nothing like great designs on soft wood. You may even try hardwood like oak and cherry for the purpose.

They may be set up at an angle or customized to bear the weather onslaught. Wood is natural and naturally takes over the storm. Be it rain or wind, gust or snowfall, wood is the least affected.

Wood shutters make your doors look brighter. But it is better in the case to have metal doors. If you are going for an out and out wood decoration, invest largely in your gates. It may set you back by thousands of dollars but you remain sure of no further damages to your house. It also keeps the external dampness restricted to the gateway and so the interiors remain splashy.

Old palaces and mansions used ethnic and large doors and elegant wood shutters. This may be because of lesser option in olden days. However it may also be because of the durability factor. They would withstand intrusions with ease.

Cedar shutters are prime example of sprucing your exteriors. Any one driving by your home would be enchanted with elaborate woodwork and your resale value gets a notch higher. They also allow a sprinkle of sunlight through the slits and are very handy with glass panes.

For cooling, you may water the wooden shutters and as and when the water evaporates, you get cool air circulated in your home. You may also have mats outside to ensure that the external dampness is not welcomed inside.

Sandalwood is also a great idea for shutters though it is highly expensive. Sandalwood catches fire very easily but has other great aspects like fragrance, weather match and freedom from stale and pestilent air. Red oak is quite a visionary concept for wooden shutters. Even if you find it out of budget to decorate your door, at least shutter the windows. Lattices and framework are other methods.

Giving Your Home Exterior A Facelift

The exterior part of the house is as important as the interior. It is the part seen when somebody visits your house, when people pass or drive by. It is the image of your house, and it should reflect your style, your aesthetics and your personal taste. The exterior of a house should be loved and taken care of, as much as the interior. Applying a few changes or opting for a major re-do can help you change the exterior part of the house radically.

Elements and factors to take under consideration:

Prior to any renovation you need to evaluate the features of the exterior space and parts. Have a look at what things you like and what you do not, evaluate their functionality and their efficiency, or check if any of these parts needs to be changed or fixed.

Doors: Starting from the entrance door, you can select a new, impressive or simply functional and stylish door. There are many options today, ranging from wood and steel to fiber glass. A solid and sturdy entrance door can set the tone for the exterior part of the house, prevent heat loss and keep you and your family safe.

Windows: Windows are not only a means of communication with the outside world, they are also a very important part of the exterior decoration. You can replace your windows if they are not, or do not look new. Such a decision can increase the energy efficiency of a house and add to its overall value.

Roof: Although changing and replacing a roof could be expensive, if you are up to a total make over, you can replace the roof if it is damaged or cracked. Other than creating a new look, based on the decision you make, you can reduce your heating or cooling bills as well.

Siding: Siding is an important part of the house exterior and one of the main things that owners change when it comes to an exterior facelift. There are numerous low maintenance and high standard products available today, such as vinyl siding or stucco. You can choose colors and nuances that match the entire scheme, giving a new look to your house, ranging from the most modern to simple colonial.

Painting: Choosing the right color for the exterior of your house is fundamental to an effective and drastic face lift. It is also the quickest way to make a huge impact on the look of the house. A good paint job can perk up the dull walls, add some style and revive a siding that suffers from weather and climate.

Exterior lighting: Exterior lighting is an excellent way to provide a nice ambience to your yard, porch or garden. It can be a very attractive addition to your house, while enhancing security and safety.

More than anything else creating a welcoming look should be your first priority when deciding on an exterior facelift for your home.

Get Eco-friendly With Stone Exteriors

One thing common in all cities such as Rome, Italy, Venice etc, which have restored their historic monuments, is the extensive use of stone in the exteriors. The use of stone as the material of choice in constructions dates back to the ancient civilizations. Newer materials such as paints, steel, aluminum and acrylics for exteriors were conceived much later, in the Industrial Age. Stone exteriors are cost efficient, sturdy, give a character to the building besides lasting more than a life time.

Due to its versatility, durability and weather resistant quality, stone has become the preferred material of choice in modern day architecture as well. Stone exteriors provide a place with a very warm appeal and give it an old world charm as palaces, churches and other historic monuments are associated with having stone exteriors. Besides this, environment friendly construction is becoming very popular across the globe as more and more natural materials are used in construction.

There are many types of stone which are used in exteriors such as granite, marble, slate, limestone and sandstone. Each material is processed very differently and has distinct natural qualities over the other types of stones. For example, granite is formed from the quick cooling of molten magma in volcanoes which is the reason it is considered the sturdiest material for exteriors. Marble on the other hand is formed from pre-existing rock on which heat or pressure is used. Granite and marble have numerous options in color and finish to choose from. Other stones such as slate, sandstone etc are used as accents on exteriors. The cost of installing stone exteriors may be more than traditional exteriors but the benefits of stone are much more.

If you feel that natural stone is expensive, there are other options such as stone veneers, which can you can opt for. Stone veneers are not natural stones but are processed in a factory giving the same look and feel as natural stone, but at a much cheaper price. However the main distinguishing factor between natural stone and veneers is the durability. Veneers are easily chipped off and can get discolored over a period of time. However, a mix of natural stone or veneers can be used in construction.

Stone can be used in the entire exterior construction or can be used to highlight certain key areas that interest you. Although initially you may feel that it may be expensive to install, you will soon realize that using stone is complete value for money as the maintenance is minimal, providing you with long term benefits. People these days have started recognizing that stone is indeed a versatile material with manifold benefits and use it extensively in outdoor walls and flooring.

Exterior repainting and repair dos and don’ts

If your exterior paint is falling off, it needs a repaint: Simple. You should use the skills of a professional for this. There is the defined risk of lead poisoning and other harmful chemical getting in contact with your skin. That may even amount to a feral disease.

You should not go over budget on repainting. Get the sanding and washing done cheaply or better do it yourself. Buy primer and distemper cans in adequate but not additional quantity. Paint is not a thing to buy in bulk and further use.

Never use diametrically opposite paint. Oil and latex is a beautiful example of this. They will not stick on each other and result in fast flaking. If your wall is plastered or dry walled, get the sheets or the entire covering out part by part. It is not intelligible to color drywalls.

If there is damage due to weather and aging, remove the basic reason. Don’t let leakage seep in. Keep your exteriors disinfected. If your house is by a swamp, it becomes urgent to safeguard the exteriors against bugs. Slight tanning will do it fine. Use a sharp knife to remove the molds or segments that are falling off.

Don’t do the repair work open handed. Use gloves and masks as protection. If there is too much pollution, wash the exterior regularly with pressure hoses and then laminate it.

It is better to start from the top. If the color drips down, you may correct it downwards. Give it time. There is no point rushing with repainting. You may also use foam for water absorption. Never let the walls damp. They will peel off the paint in that case.

Never use the paint directly. Make a good mixture and then check on an unused surface how the paint is coming off. This will make the work more professional. Check the relevant sites on the net for good guidance.

Insulate the water pipes. If there are a lot of them, bundle them in a group. Try fashioning them near the bathroom or kitchen, and certainly not the living room or bedroom.

Get the paint completely scraped off before repainting. This may take some time but do it meticulously. They may not react well with the new paint and make matters worse for your exteriors.

Remove all external features neatly. Wooden shutters, cornices, palisade and tarpaulin should not stay while you are repainting or repairing close enough spaces.

Keep welcome mats on the doors. This is a progressive step to keep the moisture out. Also place your door at a slight height and not concomitant with ground level. This will save your home during water logging. And keep your kids off the area of work. They are very vulnerable to infections.

Tips and tricks on installing exterior wood shutters

Many families implement wood shutters to prevent harsh sunlight and rain from coming in and also allow privacy. Shutters make your home look good from outside. Installing wood shutters is a complicated process and you should try hiring a professional for the same.

You should first coat the window edges with basic primer. It acts as solid support base for shutters. Keep them varnished and stained to be absolutely restrictive to sunlight. Cedar, oak, fir, pine, sandalwood, and many other wood materials work out fine as shutters.

You need to measure your windows from all sides. Leave half an inch for ventilation purpose on four sides. If there are multiple windows, use softwood. If this is not the case, you can pick any wood.

Place the shutter neatly on the window and check where the holes need to be made. Then drill those holes and fine-tune them. Place wood strips into these holes and then put in nails. Then clamp your shutter on these nails.

You will need hinges in the middle for a smooth shutter. Place these hinges well and post measurement. Then hand them support through saw horses. Make sure that the shutters open up easily. Lubricate them with mustard or olive oil. You may also need them to be open sideways. If there is torque or resistance while doing this, it means that the work has not been well done.

Use wood oils on the edges for smoothness and let the shutter slip through. This will make the shutter cooperative within days. Do not use much wood oil in the kitchen as that may cause fire.

Wood shutters are enough for window decoration and you will not need frosted or colored glass panes. You can even bid goodbye to curtains on the window with wooden shutters.

Bolts and sliders are other appliances that you may add on your window shutter for better use. They will specially hold well in case of severe thunderstorm, a common occurrence in many places. Wooden shutters will not work well if the windows are too large. In this case, proper grills are the best option. You can even use Roman blinds to serve the windows.

You can have these window shutters in any style or color you like. Try to get them in texture with the exterior coloring. Add a bit of tan to get rid of dampness and pests.

Be perfect with measurement or else the entire operation will look awkward and cumbersome. It is better to take both inner and outer measurements and then leave spaces accordingly. Remember that it is a clamp-on and so it should be easily removable. Wooden shutters are a smart way to let your house breathe in freshness.

DIY painting pointers essentials

Painting the house is not a simple thing. It requires methodical preparation. Generally, you should go for expert help, but if you are a DIY – Do It Yourself – fanatic, you should take care of certain things. You have to paint the ceiling and then the four walls. Get the interior furnishings removed. If they cannot be removed, cover them with plastic sheets. While painting the ceiling, put paint tapes at the edges to prevent any seeping of colors underneath.

If the ceiling is acoustic, get it down softly and bit by bit. Don’t meddle with the inner heating equipments and hidden wires. You may as well texture-paint the ceiling with airbrushes. You will also need solid wooden portable platform to cover the entire ceiling. First shower it with sufficient water and then allow the paint to cover the ceiling. Once that is done, leave the area for a day to dry up. Then get to the walls.

Walls are easier to paint and you should make sure that you have the coloring materials at hand. You may also need a ladder if the walls are high. Apply smooth rollers for painting if the walls are vinyl or wooden. First, you need to prime it well. Sand the walls well and get good riddance with all stains, molds, and other impurities. Use sander and scraper and scrape out the previous painting slowly but surely.

When you have applied primers on the walls, leave it for another day. Then wash the primer with pressure hoses and see if the primer is coming out. With good work, the primer will stay. Now apply paint by small sections. Don’t leave gaps. Also check the texture of ceiling for choosing the interior coloring. Cover the alcoves if you have separate arrangements for them. Once again paint tape the wall-floor edges.

It is necessary to leave some space near the edges. Keep them spliced with wood or metal. This is because paint has a tendency to spill in capillary manner. Leave the space for that and your color will be brighter for a good enough time. Even if you are doing it, you may have a knowledgeable person by your side for guidance. If the walls are dry walled or plastered, you shall not put paint directly. You will first need to peel the plaster off before painting. This is a pre-primer step and not post-painting. Also, keep gloves handy and a suitable mask on your face. This will prevent ant viral or bacterial infection. Sometimes, the edges may be rough and while smoothening them, it may hurt. Don’t let it get into the skin.

Keep the whole thing within the estimated budget. Take acute measurements and get guided on the exact amount of paint you will need.

Caring For The Wood Exteriors Of Your House

If you have wood siding or extensive wood surfaces on the outside of your house, you know that they tend to get spotted or dirty. Wood is very nice and warm but it is susceptible to dirt and wear and needs proper maintenance especially when used outdoors. If you think that you need to clean the wood exterior of your home or that the wood siding and panels are stained here are some cleaning methods you can use:

Water and Bleach: sometimes implementing traditional and known methods is the best way to deal with stains and dirt. Wood logs and decks and the vast majority of finishes can be cleaned with a mixture of bleach and water. You can either spray it using a regular sprayer or pour some of the mixture especially where tough spots exist. Work on the stubborn stains with a brush. Some people try to create a mixture of several chemicals using bleach and chlorine, but this is to be avoided by all means. Wood is a sensitive material and does not need homemade solutions with uncertain results. Do not mix bleach with wood bleach ever, because it will destroy the wood panels and will give you a hard time plus the fumes from this type of mixture can be even lethal.

Wood Bleach and Water: Wood bleach also known as oxalic acid is a great wood cleaner when combined with water. Normal stains, especially ones coming from nails and metallic components can be easily removed with this mixture. People who want to brighten up the wood panels use sprayers as well. The mixture works as a sort of poison. It helps the wood stay clean and bright and it protects it from living organisms, such as termites and anything else that might destroy wood. As a poison, though, it could be dangerous for people. Therefore you need to protect yourself when using it.

Sodium Percarbonate: This is one of the most common and known solutions for wood exterior cleaning. You can use it to clean stained wood logs, remove grime from wooden panels and siding or to periodically clean the wooden components of the exterior. Sodium Percarbonate can be sprayed on logs and panels using a regular hand or garden sprayer.

Phosphoric acid: One of the most reliable and strong solutions for cleaning log and wood surfaces, phosphoric acid can be used both as a cleaner for maintenance reasons or to prepare the wood surface for new coat or finish. The exteriors of logs are an ideal place for pollen and dirt accumulation. The main advantage of phosphoric acid is that it does not upset the pH balance of wood, preventing damage or permanent stains.

Wood exterior cleaning is absolutely necessary if you want to ensure the longevity and durability of your logs and wooden surfaces.

Brick Exteriors To Keep Your Home Cool

Research conducted by the National Association of Home Builders and other real estate organizations indicate that more than 60% of homeowners prefer to use bricks for their exterior walls. This does not really come as a surprise. Aesthetically, while brick buildings look imposing and grand along with the old-world charm, they are also a symbol of stability and permanence – aspects that any homeowner would seek and hope for one’s family. Brick homes are considered to be more strong and durable and as per Marshall and Swift’s Residential Cost Handbook, brick homes provide a 6%-10% higher resale value over homes that have other exteriors. And for the environment conscious, brick is certainly the best go-green option. It also keeps your home naturally cool and acts as a natural sound insulator. Brick exteriors are inexpensive to maintain than the others and with a little pre-emptive monitoring, they can serve as durable exteriors for homes.

Most problems associated with brick exteriors circle around moisture. Since bricks are porous, they can retain water and moisture. Some of the signs that indicate that your brick exteriors might be deteriorating are cracks, stains like white blotchy spots; also called efflorescence and corrosion in mortar joints. However, these can be prevented by using the following precautions during construction.

Mortar, the material that bonds the bricks together, should be softer than the bricks otherwise, they can lead to disintegration. This may result in wear and tear of the mortar. Therefore, homeowners should periodically, say every 15-20 years repoint the mortar joints.

Change in temperature/moisture can cause the brick to contract and expand. Installing expansion and control joints in the wall will allow for movement of bricks as well as minimize the stress caused due to these movements. All brick buildings should have small holes, known as weep holes, along the bottom row that will drain out any condensation that is built up inside the wall. It is advised to seal the brickwork with a waterproofing agent to minimize any water infiltration

It is recommended not to grown any creepers on the bricks as they may cause a wedge through the wall and if not monitored, may cause serious structural damage.

During the design of exterior walls, water/moisture infiltration can be restricted using the “drainage system”. Drainage walls involve building a cavity between the exterior facing brick wall and a back-up wall made up of steel-stud or wood. When water is absorbed in the brick wall, it will drain to the flashing and move out of the wall through the weeps.

There are several colors available for brick wall lovers including brown, chocolate, copper or sand. Neutral colored brick superimposed with other colors is another trend that is catching popularity amongst the urban junta.