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PuzzleNation Looks Back at 2016!

The year is quickly coming to a close, and as I look back on an eventful year in the world of puzzles and games, I’m unbelievably proud of the contributions both PuzzleNation Blog and PuzzleNation made to the puzzle community as a whole.

Over the last year, we explored board games and card games, strategy games and trivia games, dice games and tile games, do-it-yourself puzzlers and pen-and-paper classics. We met designers, constructors, authors, artists who work in LEGOs and dominos, and creative types of all kinds.

We unraveled math puzzles and used statistics to play Hangman and Guess Who smarter. We accepted the challenge of diabolical puzzles, optical illusions, Internet memes, and more.

We delved into puzzle history with posts about Bletchley Park, puzzle graffiti from ancient Greece, Viking board games, and modern mysteries like the Kryptos Sculpture and the Voynich Manuscript. We separated fact from fiction when it comes to puzzles and brain health, avoiding highfalutin promises and sticking to solid science.

We spread the word about numerous worthwhile Kickstarters and Indiegogo campaigns, watching as the puzzle/game renaissance continued to amaze and surprise us with innovative new ways to play and solve. We shared amazing projects and worthy causes like Humble Bundles and puzzle/game donation programs for schools that allowed puzzle lovers to help others.

We celebrated International TableTop Day, built a puzzle fort in honor of International Puzzle Day, attended the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and the Connecticut Festival of Indie Games, and dove deep into puzzle events like the Indie 500, the UK Sudoku Championship, the 2016 UK Puzzle Championship, and Lollapuzzoola. We even celebrated a puzzly wedding proposal, and we were happy to share so many remarkable puzzly landmark moments with you.

It’s been both a pleasure and a privilege to explore the world of puzzles and games with you, my fellow puzzle lovers and PuzzleNationers. We marked four years of PuzzleNation Blog this year, I’m approaching my 650th blog post, and I’m more excited to write for you now than I was when I started.

And honestly, that’s just the blog. PuzzleNation’s good fortune, hard work, and accomplishments in 2016 went well beyond that.

In April, we launched Penny Dell Crosswords Jumbo 3 for iOS users, and in May, we followed that with Penny Dell Crosswords Jumbo for Android. In November, we launched our new Penny Dell Sudoku app on both Android and iOS.

But the standout showpiece of our puzzle app library remains the Penny Dell Crossword App. Every month, we release puzzle sets like our Dell Collection sets or the themed Deluxe sets for both Android and iOS users, and I’m proud to say that every single puzzle represents our high standards of quality puzzle content for solvers and PuzzleNationers.

We even revamped our ongoing Crossword Clue Challenge to feature a clue from each day’s Free Daily Puzzle in the Crossword app, all to ensure that more puzzle lovers than ever have access to the best mobile crossword app on the market today.

And your response has been fantastic! The blog is closing in on 2000 followers, and with our audience on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms continuing to grow, the enthusiasm of the PuzzleNation readership is both humbling and very encouraging.

2016 was our most ambitious, most exciting, and most creatively fulfilling year to date, and the coming year promises to be even brighter.

Thank you for your support, your interest, and your feedback, PuzzleNationers. Have a marvelous New Year. We’ll see you in 2017!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

How to Get Started in Games

[Image courtesy of The Board Game Family.]

So, it’s after Christmas, and you’ve been gifted with a new game, or a roleplaying book, or someone showed you a new card game and you want to know more. Or your New Year’s Resolution is to learn more games, play more games, solve more puzzles, or even make some puzzles yourself.

Basically… how do you get started?

Here. You get started right here. I’m going to run down my favorite guide books for gaming, puzzles, tabletop play, roleplaying, and more, creating the perfect first step to a new world of play for you.

Let’s get cracking!

My first recommendation is also the most recently published book on my list.

The Civilized Guide to Tabletop Gaming by Teri Litorco is a perfect introduction to all things gaming. This delightfully nerdy tome is loaded with thoughtful advice covering everything from choosing new games to teaching them to others, as well as building a game group for regular sessions or roleplaying games, and more.

From how to deal with cranky gamers to how to host your own major gaming events, Teri has dealt with every obstacle imaginable, and she offers her hard-won first-hand knowledge in easily digestible tidbits. Even as an experienced tabletop gamer, roleplayer, and puzzler, I found this to be a very worthwhile read, and I think you will too.

If card games are your poison, then what you need is a copy of The Ultimate Book of Card Games by Scott McNeely.

What separates this book from many other card game books — namely the ones attributed to Hoyle (the vast majority of which had nothing to do with him) — is that it doesn’t claim to be the definitive source. It provides the key rules for how to play, and then offers numerous variations and house rules that expand and refine gameplay.

There are more than 80 pages of variations of Solitaire alone! Kids games, betting games, games for two, three, four or more, this is my go-to guide for everything that can be played with a standard deck of cards.

What if you’re already a fan of games, but you want to play them better? If that’s your goal, check out How to Win Games and Beat People by Tom Whipple.

Monopoly, Jenga, Hangman, Operation, Trivial Pursuit, Twenty Questions, Checkers, Battleship… heck, even Rock, Paper, Scissors is covered here. With advice from top players, world record holders, game creators and more, you’ll find advice, tactics, and fun facts you won’t see anywhere else.

For instance, did you know that letter frequencies in Hangman are different from letter frequencies in the dictionary? ESIARN is the way to go with Hangman, not ETAOIN.

That’s just one of the valuable nuggets of info awaiting you in this book.

Ah, but what about puzzles? There are so many amazing puzzle styles out there, how do you know where to begin learning to construct one of your own?

I’d suggest you start with Mike Selinker and Thomas Snyder’s Puzzlecraft.

If you’re a puzzle or game fan, you already know their names. Selinker’s The Maze of Games is featured in this year’s Holiday Puzzly Gift Guide; Snyder is better known online as Dr. Sudoku, and we explored several of his creations in our Wide World of Sudoku post a few years ago.

Snyder and Selinker break down the fundamentals of dozens of different puzzles, explaining how they work and what pitfalls to avoid when creating your own. You can easily lose hours within the pages of this in-depth handbook — I know from firsthand experience — and you always come out the other side a stronger constructor.

Do you have any favorite books about puzzles and games that I missed? Let me know, I’d love to hear about them!

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

It’s Follow-Up Friday: LEG-OH NO WAY edition!

Welcome to Follow-Up Friday!

By this time, you know the drill. Follow-Up Friday is a chance for us to revisit the subjects of previous posts and bring the PuzzleNation audience up to speed on all things puzzly.

It’s been quite a week here at PuzzleNation Blog!

After posts that ran the gamut from Comic-Con encryption puzzles and new puzzle sets for the Penny Dell Crosswords app to becoming a sharper Hangman or Guess Who? player and enjoying the puzzly chain reactions known as Rube Goldberg devices, I was left with quite a conundrum: How do I close out such an eclectic week?

This will be my sixth post in six days after all. What would be an appropriate capper?

Well, I think I found the perfect Friday post idea: some visual LEGO puzzle wizardry.

Specifically, it’s a moving piece of puzzle art that combines the visual wonder of the pop-up book with the puzzly skill of a LEGO master builder.

I give you the LEGO Pop-Up Himeji Castle:

I’ve watched the video over and over, and I have no idea how the castle fits together OR compresses itself flat enough to fit between the “covers.” This is mind-blowing LEGO skill and puzzly three-dimensional manipulation of space.

And apparently, this sort of next-level three-dimensional spatial reasoning is second-nature to YouTuber Talapz, since he also managed to create this multi-dimensional sculpture that allows a ball to traverse it in three different arrangements:

I first stumbled across Talapz’s works on this site (written in French, no less!), and quickly followed his work on his YouTube page. Be sure to click the link for more brain-melting works of puzzly LEGO art.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

Better Gaming With Math and Statistics!

[Image courtesy of ThreeSixtyOne.gr.]

Statistical analysis is changing the world. The wealth of available data on the Internet these days, combining with our ever-increasing ability to comb through that data efficiently using computers, has spawned something of a golden age in data mining.

You don’t need to look any further than the discovery of Timothy Parker’s plagiaristic shenanigans for USA Today and Universal Uclick to see how impactful solid analysis can be.

But it’s also having an impact on how we play games. Statistical analysis is taking some of the mystery out of games you’d never expect, making players more efficient and capable than ever.

We discussed this previously with the game Monopoly — specifically how some spaces are far more likely to be landed on than others — and today, we’re looking at two more examples: Guess Who? and Hangman.

Guess Who? gives you a field of 24 possible characters, and you have to figure out which character your opponent has before she figures out the identity of your character. Usually, if you end up with a woman or someone with glasses, your odds of winning are low, because some aspects are simply less common than others.

But is there an optimal way to pare down the options? Absolutely.

Mathematician Rafael Prieto Curiel has devised a strategy for playing Guess Who?, based on an analysis of the notable features of each character, breaking it down into 22 possible questions to ask your opponent:

Based on this data, he has even created a flowchart of questions to ask to maximize your chances of victory. The first question? “Does your person have a big mouth?”

Yes, not exactly a great first-date question, but one that yields the best possible starting point for you to narrow down your opponent’s character.

It’s certainly better than my first instinct, which is always to ask, “Does your person look like a total goon?”

Now, when it comes to Hangman, the name of the game is letter frequency. Just like a round of Wheel of Fortune, you’re playing the odds at first to find some anchor letters to help you spell out the entire answer.

But, as it turns out, letter frequency is not the same across all word lengths. For instance, E is the most common letter in the English language, but it is NOT the most common letter in five-letter words. That honor belongs to the letter S.

In four-letter words, the most common letter is A, not E. And it can change, depending on the presence — or lack thereof — of other letters.

From How to Win Games and Beat People by Tom Whipple:

“E might be the most common letter in six-letter words, and S the second most common, but what if you guess E and E is not in it?” In six-letter words without an E, S is no longer the next best letter to try. It is A.

In fact, Facebook data scientist Nick Berry has created a chart with an optimal calling order based on the length of the blank word.

For one-letter words through 4-letter words, start with A. For five-letter words, start with S. For six-letter words through twelve-letter words, use E. And for words thirteen letters and above, start I.

Of course, if you’re the one posing the word to be guessed, “jazz” is statistically the least-likely word to be guessed using this data. And your opponent will surely hate you for choosing it.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!

DIY Pencil and Paper Puzzles!

Picture this. You’re stuck somewhere with friends. The airport, a traffic jam, wherever. Nowhere to charge your phone, so you can’t play Trivia Crack or solve any of the great puzzles offered by the Penny/Dell Crosswords app.

All you’ve got is paper and pencils, and you’re in a puzzly mood. What do you do?

Well, you whip up some DIY puzzle fun, of course.

Now, the classic go-to pencil and paper game is Hangman. The goal is simple: guess the complete word or phrase by guessing one letter at a time. Each correct letter is filled in every time it appears (like on Wheel of Fortune), and each incorrect letter results in one piece of the Hangman being drawn. If you let too many incorrect guesses stack up before solving the puzzle, the Hangman is completed and you lose.

People have differing rules when it comes to the Hangman’s complexity. Some draw the gallows and noose as well as the Hangman, while others pre-draw the gallows and noose, only drawing the Hangman when wrong guesses occur. (I, for one, always liked drawing him a jaunty top hat before sending him to his demise.)

I can remember a time we played Hangman in high school because the professor for our physics class didn’t show up. One of the other students I didn’t know very well suggested it, and his first two puzzles were cracked pretty quickly. But then the third one had most of the class stumped.

It read: C A P T A I N ___ O ___

People kept guessing “Captain Ron,” even though there was clearly no N in that second blank. When I realized it was “Captain Lou,” I blurted out the answer, and suddenly, we were fast friends.

Because of Hangman.

Another simple game is Guess My Word. One person chooses a word, and the other narrows it down by guessing words and being told if those guesses precede or follow the secret word in the alphabet.

For instance, if the word was QUINTET and your first guess was HALLOWEEN, I would say after. So, in one guess, you’ve eliminated every word that comes before HALLOWEEN alphabetically.

And if you’d like to give it a shot, puzzle constructor Joon Pahk created a Guess My Word feature on his website that is great fun (and sometimes pretty challenging).

I was going to mention Tic-Tac-Toe here — another staple of the pencil-and-paper puzzle game genre — until my mother mentioned a variation she read about in Parade magazine.

In the article, Marilyn vos Savant is credited with creating Toe-Tac-Tic, a reverse Tic-Tac-Toe game wherein getting three in a row means you lose.

It’s a completely different style of game play, adding a nice twist to a classic game. (Though, quite honestly, I’m not sure we can credit vos Savant with its creation, since I can remember seeing this played in the mid-2000s. I’m not sure anyone called it “Toe-Tac-Tic,” but the rules were the same.)

And finally, for fans of card games, you can always whip up a round of 1000 Blank White Cards.

Named for the only thing you need to play — a bunch of identical blank pieces of paper, index cards, or something similar — 1000 Blank White Cards is a game you design and play both before and during the game! You can also further refine the game in subsequent sessions.

As Wikipedia so aptly puts it:

A deck of cards consists of any number of cards, generally of a uniform size and of rigid enough paper stock that they may be reused. Some may bear artwork, writing or other game-relevant content created during past games, with a reasonable stock of cards that are blank at the start of gameplay.

Some time may be taken to create cards before gameplay commences, although card creation may be more dynamic if no advance preparation is made, and it is suggested that the game be simply sprung upon a group of players, who may or may not have any idea what they are being caught up in. If the game has been played before, all past cards can be used in gameplay unless the game specifies otherwise, but perhaps not until the game has allowed them into play.

Once your initial deck of cards is created, players draw a card from the deck and either play them, keep them, or add them to the active rules of the table so they affect everyone. In this way, gameplay is quite similar to another classic puzzle card game, Fluxx, especially with the ever-changing rules and malleable gameplay.

Not only has 1000 Blank White Cards appeared in GAMES Magazine, but it was also included in the 2001 revision of Hoyle’s Rules of Games.

I am a huge fan of customizable games, so I have played 1000 Blank White Cards many times. From cards that can cause immediate victory to cards that can negate those cards, from point cards and rule cards to cards that requiring singing or truth-or-dare challenges, the possibilities are endless.

Some of my favorite cards are just drawings of turtles, where another card grants you special powers or bonuses depending on how many turtle cards you have. Another allows you to create a new card on your turn, either to keep for yourself or to give to another player.

And the rules can depend entirely on who you’re playing with. Sometimes, you can make a new card every round, while other times, you can only introduce a new card when you’ve drawn a card that allows it. Heck, there might even be blank cards in the deck that you can draw and customize immediately! It is literally up to you and your fellow players how to play.

Fans of Calvin and Hobbes will no doubt draw comparisons between 1000 Blank White Cards and Calvinball, and rightfully so. (Savvy card-game players may also recognize similarities to the figure-out-the-rules-while-you-play game Mao.)

But whether you’re playing Hangman or guessing a word, getting three in a row or avoiding it at all costs, or even creating your own signature game, as long as you’ve got a partner in crime and an imagination, you’re never without a puzzle.

Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! You can share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and be sure to check out the growing library of PuzzleNation apps and games!


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We are so excited to announce Girls Art Now! our first-ever women artist summit happening this June at Space 15 Twenty in Los Angeles.

The summit will be a full day of panel discussions from artists, founders, activists, writers, musicians and more organized around a big topic: what does it mean to be a woman artist in 2018? Turns out, it means so many things to so many different people. We’re so excited to explore the many facets of being a woman and an artist, through the lens of social activism, feminism, confidence, community and more.

We partnered with our friends at Sexy Beast, a fundraising initiative that began in 2014 as a biennial art world benefit and has grown into an organization that works alongside artists, designers, celebrities, gallerists, musicians, and activists to raise money for Planned Parenthood LA. All of the proceeds from the ticket sales and art sales will go directly to Sexy Beast. Find out more about them, here.

Girls Art Now! Speakers

Whitney Bell – Writer, Activist, Founder of The Stories of Women
Kristen Liu Wong – Illustrator
Wesley Bird – Art Director & Illustrator
Angella D’Avignon – Art and Culture Writer
Penelope Gazin – Artist & founder of Witchsy
Kenesha Sneed – Artist — Tactile Matter
Sonja Rasula – Founder of Unique Markets
Anna Bulbrook – Founder of GIRLSCHOOL & Musician
Katie Bode – Gallerist, Writer, Curator
Puno  Founder of ilovecreates and Co-creator of People Map
Hallie Applebaum – Founder of Future of Women
Wynter Mitchell – Writer, Activist, Podcaster at Pop Rocket
Ashley + Laura Founders of Dimepiece LA
Drum & Lace – Composer & Musician
Tera Uhlinger – Program Director for Sexy Beast
Kristen Stegemoeller –  Program Director for Sexy Beast
Zarna Surti – Founder and Editor in Chief of TONAL Journal
Wall mural by: Robin Eisenberg – Artist & Illustrator
Nada Alic – Editorial Director at Society6
Stephanie Dixon – Sr. Content Editor at Society6
Music by – MUNA

Girls Art Now! Art Show

Body Positive by Shea Kendall

In addition to the summit, we’ll be hosting a Society6 art show featuring work from 50 women-identified artists from our global community. All of the artwork will be for sale will all proceeds going to Sexy Beast.

Tickets are super limited, so get yours today! We’re so excited to meet you all!

Girls Art Now II Poster

by Girls Art Now!

Girls Art Now Tote V Tote Bag

by Girls Art Now!

Girls Art Now VI Sticker

by Girls Art Now!

Girls Art Now XIX Poster

by Girls Art Now!

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Friday, 30 March 2018

A Good Day - Easter Treats

I found these micro mini easter eggs, and they were perfect for the 2" x 8" cello bags and I had a light bulb moment and hit on using the Everyday Label punch to make the toppers for the bags!  These were quick and easy to make and it was really hard resisting the temptation to scoff the lot!

Did you know that if you click on the pictures below it will take you directly to the item in my online store which will give you more detail on the product?  You can place an order too, if you wish, and it would very much appreciated.

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VAR to MSP Part Three: How to Conquer the 5 Biggest Challenges

VAR to MSP Part Three: How to Conquer the 5 Biggest Challenges

March 16

Note: This is part three in a series on moving from VAR to MSP. Be sure to check out parts one and two

Moving to the managed services model increasingly appears to be a natural progression for VARs or any IT service provider operating a break-fix business. We’ve highlighted the benefits of making the move. Outlined the steps along the road to a successful transition. Now we address the hard part. It’s time to single out the challenges and learn how to knock them out of your way. Hold onto your hats because there is a lot to tackle!

road blocks photo

1. Choosing the Right MSP Pricing Model

Any provider accustomed to making money from selling products and one-off professional services will need to transition to an MSP-friendly pricing model. It’s often a matter of going from charging by the project or hour to monthly billing cycles – but if it were only that simple. Deciding on a pricing model is challenging because there are so many options to choose from. Common MSP pricing models include:

Monitoring-Only: This pricing model is suitable for resellers that plan to start out with bare essentials like monitoring and updates. In this arrangement the service provider is usually only responsible for watching, updating, and patching IT systems. The advantage a monitoring-only model offers is leverage that allows VARs to continually charge managed services customers  to fix problems as they arise.

Per Device: The per device pricing model is the most common structure – mainly because it’s piece-of-cake simple. This plan simply calls for the provider to establish a flat fee for each device it supports. For example, $50 per desktop, $100 per server, and so forth. The per device model gives MSPs the ability to present prospects with accurate quotes as well as opportunities to increase recurring revenue as clients add additional devices to their network down the road.

Per User: The per user approach is similar to the per device model. Rather than structuring price based on the number of devices in the network, fees are structured by the number of users. Though not as common as the first two models, this method is quickly catching on with IT professionals who need around the clock access to networked devices.

Some experts view the per user model as a more ideal alternative to the per device method, which has been criticized for its tendency to force MSPs into having to commoditize their solutions. “When presenting value to the client, we can now tell them we don’t care how many devices they have, it’s just one fixed fee,” says Vince Tinnirello of Anchor Network Solutions. “It’s a win-win proposition and one that you can apply to your MSP practice and take into the future without fear of losing revenue due to disappearing on-premise hardware.”

Tiered: The tiered pricing model is another popular choice among MSPs. This is also the most flexible model considering that it can be structured in a wide variety of ways with differing levels of priority and support. For instance, you might have a Tier-1 package that includes malware removal and patch management with phone and email for support. Tier-2 might include those same services with onsite visits added for a higher price. The biggest challenge in a tiered system is illustrating value and justifying price differences between levels so it all makes sense to both the client and the provider.

All You Can Eat: The All You Can Eat or “A La Carte” model is widely considered the most challenging pricing strategy to implement. This structure is basically designed to allow the client to select the managed services they want from a large menu of individually priced options. With that luxury comes the risk of overwhelming clients to the point of confusion, or worse – where they start thinking more about cost than value. While not exactly held in the highest of esteem, the all-you-can-eat pricing model manages to appeal to clients in need of a solution that accommodates evolving needs as they continue to grow.

Each of the aforementioned pricing models have merits and demerits that should be carefully considered at the drawing board. Your payment structure is that fine little detail that demands near perfect alignment in order to move forward with business.

2. Bringing Break-Fix Clients Along for the Ride

Some IT service providers have opted to wash their hands entirely of the break-fix model – and their existing clients. “Eventually, we decided that any clients who didn’t want to be proactive and have things managed regularly wouldn’t be people we want to work with,” said Guy Baroan of Baroan Technologies when asked about how his company handled current clients while in transition. “The ones we couldn’t convince went away to a company we know who was still ok with offering break-fix—we didn’t leave them hanging. After that, we only had clients that were willing to be proactive and it was just so much better.”

car ride photo

VARs will benefit greatly from being able to identify trusted clients who are willing to tag along as you journey towards this promising new model. You’ll likely be challenged in getting those clients settled in since paying for managed services is a whole new world for them as well. It can be a slow, grueling process with small gains seen initially, but one that blossoms into something special and prosperous over time.

3. Selling Value to Would-be Clients

We’ve touched on it throughout this series, and I think it’s fair to say that selling value is one of, if not the biggest mountain to climb. Customers want to realize benefits beyond the need to outsource their obvious IT hassles. Operating a managed services model can be a complex endeavor, but like in any arena, it all boils down to the USP – your unique selling proposition. Every MSP more or less has access to the same technology. Competitors thrive by differentiating their business and standing out from the pack. It’s how one MSP is able to comfortably charge a higher price and another can enjoy margins in the 30 to 35 percent range.

Defining what makes your business unique is one of the most effective ways to drive value home to prospective clients. It can be as simple as enforcing standardization across the business. From delegating roles for internal IT processes to defining the countless details that affect the client, it pays to come up with a set of standard processes that just about anyone can follow and produce the same results. Take the initiative to define what success looks like from every conceivable angle. In doing so it will be much easier to see when customers and staff align (or don’t) with the standards you have put in place.

4. Funding and Financing

Many firms in transition have no choice other than to micromanage every single element of money management. Decision makers must anticipate upfront costs and carefully evaluate each project that comes along to determine what they can realistically afford to support. MSPs with thinner budgets need to be proficient at factoring setup fees, that first monthly payment, and subsequent payments into the cost of services, hardware, and day-to-day network maintenance. Combined with an attractive service menu and the right pricing model, sound money management is critically important to reaping healthy returns sooner than later.

financing photo

This transition should ultimately be treated like any other key business investment. Prospective MSPs need funds to get the initiative off the ground and enough cash flow to keep the ball rolling. At the same time, the lack of capital isn’t necessarily an absolute show stopper. In fact, rolling the cost of core technologies into long-term debt that is easy to afford in smaller payments is an example of how new MSPs can get their margins right and eventually start funding everything from their own bank account.

5. Balancing Both Models

In promoting managed services as the enlightened path to profitability, supporters often send the not-so-subtle suggestion to abandon the break-fix model forever. We closed out part two of the series by emphasizing that you don’t need to ditch break-fix altogether to make recurring revenue a reality. There are several reasons to keep this model intact, none more compelling than the profit potential. The fact of the matter is that not all companies are ready to go managed, so there is still some value in offering IT solutions for needy customers who call in crisis mode.

Having a portfolio stocked with products, professional services, and managed services is a challenge in and of itself. Effectively delivering two different service models essentially means juggling two different business strategies. As a result, it may require two different marketing messages. Two separate sales structures. Two sets of KPIs. Consider it a monumental challenge, but not an impossible feat by any means. A combination of solid business practices and business management is the key to successfully delivering a robust hybrid solution that maximizes profit margins and growth.

There is no such thing as a completely smooth transition. However, identifying and preparing for known challenges will make for a much smoother ride when those roadblocks are encountered along the way. Informed and cautious, yet deliberate in their approach, the ambitious VAR is now ready to enter the lucrative MSP space!


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Rails Guide: Why Use Ruby On Rails

learn rubyRuby on Rails is a powerful, and some would say, amazing open-sourced framework for building web applications. Why use Ruby on Rails? Rails, short for Ruby on Rails, It is at the heart of many “Web 2.0” sites and developers love the ease of which you can create applications using Rails. It uses a ‘Convention over Configuration’ structure that reduces the amount of work for developers by eliminating vast amounts of configuration code, using naming conventions for folder and class names. All the tedious work of collecting data from a form, validating it, and then either writing it to the database or displaying error messages, is made unnecessary with a built-in system that makes a set of assumptions about how everything is named and organized. This allows Ruby on Rails to be simple without losing its flexibility in having customized applications. Many large companies such as Amazon, eBay, Basecamp, and Twitter have taken advantage of Ruby on Rails’ intelligent system for their projects.

This Rails lecture will give you a basic understanding of Ruby and why Ruby on Rails is highly regarded as a favorite amongst developers. In addition to terminology, background, and functions, you will learn why Ruby on Rails has gained so much popularity and acclaim for its intuitive structure. This first section will also focus on real and practical usage of the Ruby on Rails and go through the latest specifications. This course was developed for the beginner without any exposure to Ruby or Ruby on Rails, but a thorough knowledge of programming basics is a must for learning optimization.

Lecture Transcript:

In Chapter 1, Section 1, we’re going to learn what exactly will be on Rails and what it’s used for. Ruby on Rails, which I’ll be referring to as Rails, is an open-sourced framework for building powerful web applications. Rails is not a programming language. It’s a structure. It’s a framework to build web applications using the Ruby programming language. Ruby is the actual language, not Ruby on Rails.

Rails was created in 2004 by David Heinemeir Hansson, or among geeks, known as DHH. The Ruby language was created in 1993 so Rails came almost 10 years later, based on the Ruby language. Rails can work with multiple types of servers and databases. It can run on its own server, called WEBrick, but it can also run on Apache and other servers as well. And as far as databases, it comes with SQL Lite 3 as a default, which is modeled– it’s a server-less database, but it can also be used with MYSQL databases as well.

Rails is based on a model view controller design pattern, and in my opinion, one of the best design patterns available. It basically separates what the user sees – the HTML and the presentation – from the controllers, the routing system and also the business log-in which usually consists of database queries.

Rails is different from other web application frameworks in a couple of different ways. Rails claims that it’s the right way to develop web applications. Many of the hardcore Rail developers wouldn’t consider another way of developing, as far as the actual structure and framework of the application.

And there’s a popular phrase in the Rails community, which is ‘Convention over configuration’, and what this essentially means is that Rails tries to reduce the amount of work for developers, and it does this by having a strip set of naming conventions, as far as structure, as far as folder names and class names. There’s a really strict convention on naming, and it lets Rails be simple without losing its flexibility in having customized applications.

There’s a lot of other frameworks out there that utilize several configuration files, with a ton of settings and controls, so that would be a configuration-based system framework. They provide settings that are specific to each separate project and Rails really focuses on the naming convention over the configuration. So there’s less tedious work to do. There’s also less customized work to do, but you can still have customization, if you choose.

There’s a popular phrase amongst programmers called DRY, AKA ‘Don’t repeat yourself’ that makes Rails such an intuitive delight for everyone. Writing the same quote over and over, multiple times is not productive, and Rails was created for productivity. With Rails, ease of configuration and customizable options takes away the need to repeat code.

Rails runs independent of the web server. You can run Rails on multiple types of servers, such as Apache. It actually includes its own web server, which is called WEBrick, so you can run a local Rails server on any computer, and you don’t need to have WinAmp or anything like that. It just runs right on the machines that you have, which is very cool.

Rails looks at everything as an object and is very object oriented. Anything from strings to actual numbers are actually objects. You can even call methods a number. For instance there’s something called the times method – so you can have seven dot times, and that’s actually got to run whatever phrase or string you put in it seven times, so it’s very, very object-orientated. You can also create procedural types of applications as well, making it very flexible.

As mentioned before, Ruby is the programming language that Ruby on Rails runs. However, if you don’t know Ruby at all, you don’t have to worry because Ruby is a very easy language to learn. But what you should have a basic idea of is just programming in general. A lot of people actually learn Rails without any Ruby background and that’s fine, you can get by. You just need to really understand basic programming concepts like variables, functions or methods, conditionals, if statements, and other basic terms. Chapter 2 is all about Ruby, so we’ll actually be learning some of the language and some of the basic programming principles.

Now let’s move on to Windows and Linux. A lot of Rails developers will not work on Windows, just because Ruby and Ruby on Rails initially ran on Linux. It used to be a lot easier to run rails on Linux than Windows, but there has been a lot of developers that are now using Rails on Windows, due to these new kits that are available. One of the kits is this Windows Rails Installer, and you need a lot to run Ruby on Rails. You need SQL Lite. You need RubyGems. But this Rails Installer software actually lets us install it on any Windows machine extremely easily. It’s very, very easy. It’s basically just like installing any software on a Windows machine. You go through the installer, and then it gives you an actual command line to use. That means you can now do pretty much anything you can do in Linux. But more developers are starting to use Windows, and in this particular series, we will be focusing on Windows and dabbling in Linux as well.

I’m also going to show you how to install it on Linux Ubuntu. We’re actually going to show an optional video installing Linux Ubuntu onto a virtual machine if you’re interested in this in the future. And the other piece of software we’ll be using is Interactive Ruby, which is a program for Windows that will allow us to type Ruby right in the command line, just as if it was a Linux machine with Ruby installed.

RubyGems is a package manager for Ruby on Rails. It’s basically just little pieces of code that you can plug into your Ruby on Rails site. Rails itself is actually a Gem. Once you have RubyGems, you can use the syntax with the Gem installed, whatever the name of the Gem. It can look like modules or plugins or something like that, and I used to distribute Ruby-based programs in libraries. They’re just chunks of code that you can utilize in your application. It’s used as a tool to manage installation of Gems, just like the syntax, Gem uninstall and install, etc. RubyGems is part of the standard library from Ruby 1.9 on, and what we will be using is Ruby 1.9.3. Rails is a Gem itself. You can actually install Rails through RubyGems.

Learn Ruby on Rails from scratch with this online course!


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Vet-Advantage Magazine Blog

Vet-Advantage Blog

An Interview with Ben Shaw of Vets First Choice

By Pam Foster
June, 2018

In late April of this year, the veterinary industry was rocked with big news: “Henry Schein Will Spin Off Its Animal Health Business, Which Will Merge with Vets First Choice Forming an Independent Public Company

As a Distributor Sales Representative (DSR), this may affect you as Vets First Choice (VFC) becomes a major force in the veterinary market.

Vets First Choice

Before this was announced — back at the VMX 2018 in February — we had a chance to sitwith Ben Shaw, VFC Founder and CEO. He talked about his vision for the company in a discussion joined by Vets First Choice customer, Stephanie Foster, Practice Manager at Kings Vet Hospital, a 4-veterinarian practice in Loveland, Ohio.

We thought you might enjoy seeing what they had to say as you learn more about this company that is shaking up the industry.

“The competition is fierce and client demands are changing — what are the options for practices?

Ben: “This was the question we asked ourselves when we founded the company back in 2010.  More specifically, we asked how can we be smart about using technology to help?

“Our first focus back then was on a particularly tough area of the practice under attack: the pharmacy and product sales — in a sense the business and marketing side of things.”

Stephanie Foster. “Vets don’t learn business in vet school. There’s no marketing learning either. [But to run a practice,] we have to understand business and get better at listening to consumers and providing what they need.”

“We knew our clients wanted more choices and better service, and our practice was falling short, especially on diets.

“Our staff really hated managing diets, especially ‘special orders.’ Plus, even though we made our clients do it, they didn’t always appreciate having to make a special trip to our practice to pick up their diets. Add the labor costs into the equation — we needed a new plan.”

Ben Shaw, VFC Founder and CEO

Ben: “She gave us a challenge, and we took it on.”

Stephanie.  “We started with Vets First Choice in 2015 and soon after, worked with our rep to come up with a plan. By my calculation, we were actually paying our clients to inventory and sell diets to them!

“Our first move was to eliminate more than half our in-house diets inventory and move the rest to the Vets First Choice platform. We informed our clients and created a prescription for them to purchase online.

“By the next year, our total diet sales nearly doubled to $135,000, and grew again last year to $160,000. The new approach works, and everyone — our staff, clients, me, our owner Dr. LeCompte — is happier.”

Overcoming a real worry about losing the client relationship.

Stephanie. “One of our biggest worries was losing our relationship with our clients — losing that face-to-face interaction would somehow hurt us. We learned that the platform helps us build our relationship… because one, we’re meeting clients where they’re spending a lot of time (online), and two, we’re interacting with them WAY more — in some cases monthly — than we were before.

“Think about it: who doesn’t love the convenience of receiving your pet’s diet at your doorstep?”

Ben: “What Stephanie and her staff did was to be ‘proactive’ with their prescription management. Our platform allows you to be proactive for all prescriptions, not just diets. It works for preventives, supplements, compounded medications — especially for chronic diseases.”

“A great insight for any practice is to ask: ‘How do you manage prescriptions today?’ I think it’s fair to say that for most practices, they make a recommendation and HOPE the client makes the purchase. For refills, they rely on the client to call. This platform changes all of that.”

Stephanie Foster, Practice Manager at Kings Vet Hospital, a 4-veterinarian practice in Loveland, Ohio.

Stephanie: “Here’s an example from our practice. Through the platform, my clients automatically get notification that it’s time for a refill, say for their cat’s thyroid medication. At the same time, because our platform is integrated with our practice management system, all prescription history is at our doctors’ fingertips, right in the Rx tab of the medical record.

“If the client has not made a purchase, we know that Vets First Choice is reaching out, however we can act on that too, as part of our regular workflow. And, when a purchase is made, that automatically goes right in the patient medical record. The automation saves us time and allows us to maintain compliance — it’s a win win.”

Ben: “Another way to look at it is this: You stay focused on the medicine. We’ll help you by using the best technology to ensure compliance with that recommendation.”

Better insights into gaps in care.

Ben. “Yes, we’ve completely changed how practices manage prescriptions by allowing practices easy access to data on:

  • Who’s lapsed on their medication in your practice?
  • Who walked out without a product you recommended?
  • How can you make compliance automated, easy?
  • How can you move the needle on days in therapy?

“The platform and technology have all had a tremendous impact on both compliance rates and revenues and profits for practices across the country.”

Vet Advantage: “What about the costs?”

Ben:  “Our service is pay-for-performance, so the veterinarian only wins when our platform results in a filled (purchased) prescription or recommendation.”

Vet Advantage: “How do you know it works?”

Ben: “We have the data. In 2017 we did a controlled study of 52 practices using Vets First Choice compared with practices not using the platform. We wanted to answer, ‘What is the macro-economic impact of adopting this platform?’ When comparing practices with the same demographic profile, those using the platform showed dramatic improvements."

Stephanie: “I showed the study to my staff and also showed them that our own practice revenues were up after we started using the platform. It wasn’t just product revenues. Our lab services, for example, were up over 20% because we were bringing clients back in for their pet’s exams. Other revenues were from selling more diets, and more clients getting their refills.  When they saw the numbers, I had a potential coup on my hands (ha ha) because the staff wanted a piece of that. The truth was that with our increased service revenues, the staff were already getting a piece of that.”

Ben: “We get paid to drive outcome, and Kings is no exception. We are highly motivated from our success to keep getting better, faster and more effective.”

Stephanie: “We came from a previous platform — a distributor-run home delivery service. It wasn’t working for us, and when my owner came with a wish list to a trade show to find a better solution. Vets First Choice told us, ‘We can do all of that and then some.’ We went live with Vets First Choice in May 2015.

Ben: “When you start questioning the status quo, like Stephanie and Kings did, you find there’s a lot of opportunity to improve. That’s why we’re taking a very holistic approach to look at all aspects of the practice to see where we can help improve. The core of our service is our platform, which we believe is the future for practitioners.

“Our approach is consultative to learn what the practices need, then to take challenges back to our teams: more than 200 software engineers, 100 pharmacists, 100 account management and service reps. Our acquisition and complete integration of Roadrunner pharmacy last year is another example of how we took a holistic approach to prescription management — there are huge opportunities to bring quality, consistency and integration to compounded medications.

“We’re doing the same thing in the equine market with our platform. For instance, with equine remote practices, trainers are driving the demand — so, we have programs that bring together trainers and equine veterinarians so everyone benefits. Especially the horse owner. One equine customer of ours paid all his debt with monthly deposits from our platform. This year, this same all-equine, 2-vet practice is on track to bring in north of $500,000 in incremental revenues.

“We are proving that together we can use technology and data to drive better health and financial outcomes for practices across the board.”

For information on the controlled study or the way Vets First Choice can help practices in your sales territory, contact Vets First Choice.

Topics: Distribution, DSR Facing Blog, Interview

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British couple who died suddenly on a Thomas Cook holiday were “fit and healthy” before they left home, their daughter has said, as around 300 holidaymakers are evacuated from the same Egyptian hotel after more guests fell ill.

The travel company took the decision to evacuate its remaining customers at the Red Sea resort “as a precaution” following the deaths of John and Susan Cooper.

The couple, from Burnley, Lancashire, were on holiday with THOMAS COOK at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada with their daughter, Kelly Ormerod, and her three children when tragedy struck.

Describing the “horrendous ordeal”, Mrs Ormerod said her parents “had no health problems at all” before their holiday, adding that the family are in “utter shock” as they await results of post-mortem examinations.

As the cause of their deaths is investigated, Mrs Ormerod reportedly told local officials she believes an alleged faulty air conditioning unit might have been involved in her parents falling ill.

Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel
The Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel ‘offers all sorts of goodies for an unforgettable holiday’, according to the Thomas Cook website

Local officials insist the pair died of natural causes. But Thomas Cook said the hotel was being evacuated after it received reports of a “raised level of illness among guests”.

It said 301 holidaymakers will have options for alternative hotels from Friday, when those wishing to go home will be flown back to Britain.

Ahmed Abdullah, the governor for the Red Sea province, insisted Mr Cooper, 69, and his 64-year-old wife died from natural causes.

“The husband fell sick and was taken to hospital, where he died,” he said. “About three hours later his wife had a shock and died.”

John and Susan Cooper
John and Susan Cooper were described by a family friend as ‘very close’

It comes 11 years after the operator was rocked by the deaths of Bobby and Christi Shepherd, aged six and seven, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel, in Corfu, in October 2006.

At their inquest, it was found the firm breached its duty of care over the deaths. There is no suggestion the latest incident has any link at all to that case.

Mrs Cooper was a Thomas Cook employee who worked at a Burnley branch, which was closed on Thursday as a mark of respect.

There they go again Thomas Cook not giving a damn about either their employees or their clients

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The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency says there’s “good reason to believe” the reports were deliberate misinformation. A widely shared video showed far-right protesters chasing people who looked non-German.

The president of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, has expressed doubts about reports that right-wing extremists were chasing down non-Germans during demonstrations in Chemnitz, Bild newspaper reported Friday.

“I share the skepticism towards media reports of right-wing extremists chasing down [foreigners] in Chemnitz,” Maassen told Bild newspaper.

Far-right protests in Chemnitz broke out on August 26, after a 35-year-old German man was stabbed to death. The demonstrations were quickly met by counter-protests. Two men, one Syrian and one Iraqi national, are in pre-trial detention over the stabbing in Chemnitz and a third suspect has been wanted since Tuesday.

Referencing one of the videos posted online showing far-right protesters chasing after people who looked non-German, Maassen said: “There is no evidence to suggest that the video of this alleged incident circulating online is authentic.”

Maassen told Bild that his Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) had “no reliable information that such pursuits had taken place.”

“There is good reason to believe that this is deliberate misinformation, possibly to distract the public from the murder in Chemnitz,” he added.

Maassen has recently come under fire for unexplained meetings with members of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. A book by a former AfD member has even alleged that during one such meeting, with former AfD chairwoman Frauke Petry, Maassen gave tips for avoiding monitoring by the BfV

Protest in Chemnitz: What is the root of this hate?

Experts verify videos

It was unclear exactly which video Maassen was referring to in his comments to Bild — as several videos depicting similar assaults surfaced during the protests — and he did not provide further evidence backing up his claim that at least one video was faked.

The video that Maassen likely meant was one that was widely shared on Twitter, depicting a group of far-right protesters chasing men who looked non-German and attempting to kick one of them.

Lars Wienand

THREAD. Jetzt wird es … absurd, freundlich gesagt. zweifelt an, dass das Verfolgungs-Video aus Chemnitz echt ist und schließt nicht aus, dass es gezielte Falschinformation ist.  (€)

View image on Twitter

Lars Wienand

Das einzige Video, um das es gehen kann, ist dieses, hochgeladen am Sonntag, 26.8., dem Tag des Bekanntwerdens des Todes von Daniel H., um 20.56 Uhr. Screenshot davon ist auch im Bild-Artikel.

Antifa Zeckenbiss@AZeckenbiss

#c2608 #Sachsen
Menschenjagd in #Chemnitz Nazi-Hools sind heute zu allem fähig.#FckNZS

Contrary to Maassen’s findings, journalists and social media verification experts have said there is no evidence to suggest that the most shared videos were faked, reported German public broadcaster ARD. Journalist Lars Wienand and others were able to confirm the time, date and location of one the most-shared videos of far-right protesters.

Maassen ‘not up to the job’

Reactions to Maassen’s comments were split on Friday, with the intelligence chief recieving support from conservative lawmakers, particularly from the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister-party to Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU).

“It’s his job to inform the public about where his facts stand on this,” CSU parliamentary party leader Alexander Dobrindt said.

Maassen’s remarks were sharply rebuked, however, by Katrin Göring-Eckardt, the parliamentary party leader for the Greens, who called into question Maassen’s suitability to head the BfV.

“I don’t expect any trustworthy assessments from Mr. Maassen any more,” Göring-Eckardt said. “The fact that he only commented on a video, but not on the acts of violence and the public displays of anti-constitutional symbols in Chemnitz, shows me that Mr. Maassen is not up to the job.”

The far right: Can Germany defeat its demons?

The state premier of the regional government in Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, has also claimed that right-wing protests in the city did not lead to the mob pursuit of migrants.

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel is among those to have described the footage as showing targeted harassment.

“We have video footage showing that there was targeted harassment, that there was rioting, that there was hate on the streets, and that has no place under our rule of law,” said Merkel.

New protests organized by the far-right group “Pro Chemnitz” are expected to take place on Friday, as well as a counter-protest concert called “Stronger Together,” which is urging for “openness and diversity.”

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW’s editors send out a selection of the day’s hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

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Primary healthcare access for post-release prisoners

Claire Carswell, PhD candidate, October 2017, Queens University Belfast.

Twitter chat on Wednesday 16th August 2017 between 8 pm and 9 pm (UK time) Primary Healthcare access for post-release prisoners’ will focus on the barriers to primary healthcare faced by people on release from prison Everyone is welcome to participate in the Twitter chat, regardless of profession or experience. The Twitter chat will be hosted by Claire Carswell who commences her PhD studies in October 2017 at Queens University Belfast.

To participate in the Twitter chat, you will need a registered Twitter account. If you do not have an account, you can create one easily at Once you have an account, it is easy to get started. You can follow the discussion on Twitter by searching for #ebnjc – this is the EBN Twitter chat hashtag and by searching for this in Twitter, you’ll only see the relevant tweets related to the Twitter chat. Include #ebnjc in every tweet you send, to ensure that everyone participating in the Twitter chat can see your tweet. But remember, each tweet is limited to 140 characters of text, so make your tweets informative and concise.

The transition period from prison to the community is a high-risk period for offenders. There are significantly increased mortality and morbidity rates during the months following release, with post-release prisoners at high risk of suicide, substance misuse relapse and accidental overdose.

Continuity of care for post-release prisoners is a particular problem and could contribute to the mortality rate of this population. Primary healthcare services in particular have been identified as a crucial health resource when prisoners leave prison (Kinner et al., 2015). The National Institute of Health Research published ‘Care for Offenders Continuity of Access’ (COCOA) in June 2012 ( This report not only highlighted the higher morbidity rates of prisoners compared to the general population, but also identified barriers that prevented post-release prisoners from accessing statutory healthcare services.

The main barriers that the report identified included prisoners not being registered with GPs prior to release from prison and difficulties registering once back in the community. The report also highlighted that this resulted in post-release prisoners being unable to receive necessary chronic medications, having only been provided short-term courses on release. There was also an overall feeling of being unsupported by services, including health and probation services.

The dramatic decline in health following release from prison makes the need for continuity of care essential. The COCOA report found that it was easier to access services while still in prison, and that stigma post-release prisoners faced in the community also contributed as a barrier to access primary healthcare services. Further research could be conducted to identify the difficulties associated with providing treatment to this specific population, as the high morbidity rate and complex mental health issues of post-release prisoners could present a substantial burden on primary care resources. Improved relationships between the criminal justice system and the primary healthcare service could help reduce stigma and improve the transition of care. Other ways of addressing these barriers include registration with a GP prior to release from prison and provision of longer term prescriptions on release that take into account the waiting times for a GP appointment.

Kinner, S.A., Young, J.T., and Carroll, M. (2015) The pivotal role of primary care in meeting the health needs of people recently released from prison, Australasian Psychiatry, 23 (6) 650-653

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Monthly Archives: October 2013

GUADEC videos

Interns lightning talks by Ana Rey, CC-by-SA 2.0The GUADEC videos had been put up a little while back on SuperLectures, where they will be available at least until next year. As a more permanent solution, the videos are also available on (incidentally, this also means that we’ve run out of space on our backup machine).

If anyone is interested in creating a pretty website, which is, for downloading the videos, they should come forward as I hope we will have more videos to add next year.

Also, I found out this year that there were no videos from the Desktop Summit 2011 (Berlin) because, after the network failure, the USB hard disk impromptu backup solution did not work as the camaras produced data too fast and the recordings were jittery.

Writing about Mallard

Google Doc Camp 2013This week, some of the Documentation Team are visiting Google in Mountain View to write a book about starting with Mallard. The sprint is being facilitated by Adam Hyde and Allen Gunn, who have organised book sprints before. The aim is for a small team to produce a book in three days. What makes this sprint more interesting is that two other teams are working alongside us to produce introductions to OpenMRS and BRL-CAD development. We have also been joined by the very enthusiastic Amanda French and Heidi Waterhouse.

Our first day was spent getting to know the other teams, sharing our project with them and pinning down the table of contents. In the evening, Amanda and Heidi started setting up a working environment for using Yelp. It has been very useful to see how our tools are presented by the Internet at large to potential users. For the most part, the available information is accurate, although some details needed to be clarified, which we will do in the book.

We are now half way through our second day and the first version is almost complete. Tomorrow we will be refining the existing content and expanding the book where necessary.

Chromebook Pixel plugs

20131014_001If you happen to have a Chromebook Pixel which was bought in the US and you would like to have a BS 1363 plug, then you either have to shell out around £50 for a new charger… or you can sit down for lunch next to Dan, one of the awesome engineers who works on the hardware and has a whole bunch of them lying around his office. Thanks for the new plugs!

It was also good to know that the loose power connector is a known problem and one of Dan’s colleagues is working on getting it fixed for Chromebook Pixel version 2.0.


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Microsoft Azure egress fee waiver for academic EES Subscribers

Based on Microsoft’s extensive experience engaging and working with the academic community, we strongly believe educational institutions of all types and sizes can benefit from cloud services, for research as well as for teaching and learning environments we offer FREE Azure.

Azure in education - Using Azure in your research or in teaching a course? Microsoft is committed to supporting education and has various programmes to meet your needs.

Empower faculty to leverage Microsoft Azure in teaching cutting-edge courses

See all services

The Educator Grant is a programme designed specifically to provide access to Microsoft Azure to college and university professors teaching advanced courses. As part of the programme, lecturers teaching Azure in their curricula are awarded subscriptions to support their course. Educators get $250 per month and Students get $100 per month.

To apply for an Educator Grant, fill in this simple application form. Apply now

Get started in the cloud for free with Microsoft works to help inspire students to chase their dreams and create the next technical breakthroughs by providing opportunities to train and use Microsoft developer and designer tools at no cost.

Microsoft’s DreamSpark programme is specific for students that supports technical education through access to Microsoft software and developer tools free of charge. Microsoft Virtual Academy helps developers gain the knowledge needed to be a success through online training courses led by experts.

Accelerate the speed of scientific discovery with Microsoft Azure

The Microsoft Azure for Research programme accelerates scholarly and scientific research customised for academic, government and industry researchers to use big data computations, collaboration and data-intensive processing in the cloud. Take full advantage of the power and scalability of Microsoft Azure, a platform that supports frameworks such as Azure Machine Learning and programing tools including Linux, Python, Java, Hadoop and Microsoft .NET. Get access to a variety of tools and resources to maximise the benefits of cloud computing by the following:

  • Free access to Azure cloud computing and storage (submit proposals for Azure for Research Awards)
  • Training classes and webinars
  • Technical resources and support
  • Community discussion on LinkedIn (Microsoft Azure for Research group) and Twitter (@Azure4Research)

For more information, visit

Institutional IT Services and EES Managers

Microsoft also understands the need for academia to better manage costs when transitioning from traditional licensing to a consumption-based model, and we are always looking for ways to make the transition to the cloud easier for the community.

Academic customers constantly worry about unknown costs and their liability under variable financial structures.

One of the concerns we hear most often, is the cost of data egress fees. In order to enable our educational customers to achieve even more with the cloud, we are excited to announce an Internet egress fee waiver for qualified customers1 North America and Europe. This makes moving to the cloud a much more predictable expense. Even more importantly, it paves the way for researchers to accelerate the pace of the important work they’re doing.

“We are working closely with Microsoft to understand how Azure can best support our university. One specific area of interest is to make more use of Azure to support research and the concern with this has always been the cost of retrieving the data. This announcement today from Microsoft is a fantastic recognition of this challenge and will help us to find new ways to build Azure into our research infrastructure.” – Liz Bailey, director of IT at the University of Leicester.

Azure customers who have an enrollment in Education Solutions (EES) agreement are eligible for this program. These EES customers don’t have to do anything to get this benefit – there is no special contract to sign or agreement to enter into. Once the benefit becomes active in May we will automatically remove the egress charges for our EES customers, as long as they make up less than 15%2 of their total Azure consumption bill.

Microsoft partnerships: In addition to reducing the cost of moving to the cloud, Microsoft is working with key National Research and Education Network partners such as Internet2 in the US, and Géant in Europe, to allow data to flow from our cloud services to our academic customers across this new connection, and to further strengthen our network. We have been working closely with these organizations along with Jisc in the UK, SURFnet in the Netherlands and HEAnet in Ireland to provide a superior cloud experience for our customers.

“We welcome this development that Microsoft is offering data egress fee waivers for all academic customers. This is an important positive step forward in ensuring predictability and stability in cloud costs, and together with our direct network connectivity to Microsoft, UK education and research is in a great position to make the most of the opportunities available through the many cloud services available within Azure.” – Dan Perry, director of product and marketing, Jisc.

To learn more about how technology is transforming the way we conduct academic and scientific research, click here

1EES customers using Azure Zone 1 data centers qualify for the offer. Internet egress charges are waived for up to 15% of total monthly Azure consumption bill. ExpressRoute and CDN egress charges still apply to those explicitly using these services. The waiver excludes customers using egress-as-a-service applications like MOOCs, web hosting and media streaming.
2Our data tells us that egress charges make up a tiny percentage of the overall cost of a cloud service like Microsoft Azure Microsoft waives any and all entitlement to compensation from Customer for the services provided to Customer pursuant to the egress waiver offer. Microsoft intends that these services and associated terms be in compliance with applicable laws and regulations with respect to gratuitous services. It is specifically understood that all services and services deliverables provided are for the sole benefit and use of Customer and are not provided for personal use or benefit of any individual government employee.
Comments (1)

  1. What happened with the program Microsoft Educator Grant Program?

    Thanks for your interest in Microsoft Azure for your classroom and academic use. The program has been oversubscribed and as a result we are no longer accepting new applications.

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While it has become clear that IT structure are often heavy and hard to justify for large and medium companies, it is almost a given for small companies. Through the last years, we’ve seen a growing number of IT solutions outsourced. In the SAP arena, we most naturally think of the IT infrastructure. It is easy to draw the line of what should be done in and out of the company when talking about servers and its maintenance.

Server operations require specific skillset, cost a lot of money and ultimately don’t add a lot of value to the end mission of the company. It is an important enabler, but nothing else. Small and medium companies need a reliable environment to work on, but it is hard to justify the maintenance of 3 servers (just for ERP), with backup, disaster recovery, maintenance, uptime commitment, etc. Sure you still need 3 environments no matter if in house or not, but do you have the skillset to do it efficiently?

So we assume now that it is understood that the infrastructure could and should be outsourced at least in some way. After all, like we used to say in the early “reengineering” times or when the outsource wave started to hit, “my company sells tires, gardening and cafeteria are not my core business”. Of course this is a rather simplistic example, but for a small company, let’s says a chain of restaurants or a t-shirt re-seller, holding those activities in-house will never guarantee ROI… But for these companies (Small and even Medium size businesses), a lot more is needed. IT operations, as a whole, should also be outsourced, this including support, implementation, maintenance, development, etc.

Running IT operations require an important structure. Management with knowledge and vision, best practices, standards (ITIL, maybe?), proper skillset within the team and the right use of the right tools are just a few of the requirements for any IT support team, but very few are able to deliver them completely (even in large organizations).

Why? The answer is clear: “we run a business, not IT”

So while for the medium market some hybrid solutions may be best fit, depending on the case, for small market, to really be able to compete with other solutions out there, SAP needs to get to the point where SAP software runs as SaaS (Software as a Service). As an example; for our consulting company, we needed software to control timesheets so all this data could be easily compiled for billing purposes and tracking. We got a SaaS solution we are quite happy with. I don’t care where they run it, how, all I know is that I pay a subscription fee per seat, per year. No deployment, the application is available on the WEB.

Sure the example is another simple one, but couldn’t we have SAP software running like that? Sure we can, in fact that is SAP Business ByDesign.

SAP Business ByDesign is now in its 4.0 Feature Pack, It is available in 15 countries and in 10 languages.

Check it out at

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Watershed Education

Bloomfield Township and the Southeast Michigan Partners for Clean Water bring you the next important clean water tip:

Proper Household Waste Disposal & Storage

Antifreeze, household cleaners, gasoline, pesticides, oil paints, solvents, and motor oil are just some of the common household products that can enter our storm drains. Help keep these out of our lakes and streams. Instead of putting these items in the trash, down the storm drain, or on the ground, take them to a local hazardous waste center or collection day.

Here are some simple steps you can take to carefully dispose of household wastes and help keep our water clean. Give them a try. A few simple changes can make a big difference!

  • Identify it. Be aware of household products that can harm children, pets, and the environment. The words "danger," "caution," "warning," or "toxic" indicate that you need to be careful in how you use and dispose of the product.
  • Less is better. Reduce waste and save money by purchasing only the materials you need. When possible, choose less toxic alternatives. For example, try cleaning your windows with vinegar and water.
  • Store properly. Keep unused products in their original containers with labels intact. Select cool, dry storage areas that are away from children, pets, and wildlife.
  • Disposal is key. Never dump motor oil, chemicals, and other toxic materials down storm drains, sinks, or on the ground. Contact your local community for disposal locations, guidelines, and dates.
  • Don't forget the RV. Dispose of recreational vehicle sanitary waste at a nearby drop-off location. Never put it down a storm drain or roadside ditch! For more information on waste disposal locations and requirements, click here to be re-directed to the RV Dumps website.

Our Township is located within the Clinton River and Rouge River watersheds and our actions affect our waterways. Remember, our water is our future and it's ours to protect!

For More Information...

Logo-OursToProtect.gifFor more easy steps on protecting our lakes and streams, see the following maps and tip cards (available in PDF format) or visit SEMCOG's Ours To Protect website by clicking here.

Conserve Water
Proper Pet Care
Storm Drain Pollution
Seven Simple Steps to Clean Water
Car Care Tips
Fertilizers Tips
Household Waste Tips
Watersheds of Southeastern Michigan


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Rashad Kaldany

CIO, Partner, Founder

Rashad Kaldany is Partner, CIO and Founder of Blue like an Orange Capital. Previously, Rashad was the Executive Vice President of Growth Markets for Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ), an institutional investor that manages public and para-public pension plans and insurance programs in Quebec.

Rashad Kaldany 2.jpg

As Executive VP, Rashad built and implemented the strategy to double CDPQ’s assets to $35 billion, opened offices in Singapore, New Delhi, and Mexico City, and increased investments from $0.5 billion to $4 billion from 2013 to 2016.   Rashad spent 25 years at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where he held the senior positions managing global teams, structuring cross border transactions, and leading investments across emerging markets in sectors such as infrastructure, energy, financial sector, and healthcare.

His most recent position was Vice President and COO, where he led the IFC’s investment and advisory services and realized profits of over $1 billion in FY 13. He also served in numerous Vice Presidential capacities, which included: overseeing Global Industries, leading advisory and investments in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Middle East/North Africa; and managing IFC’s global investments in infrastructure, covering telecoms, oil, gas, mining, power, transportation, agriculture, and financial services.

In his earlier career at the IFC, Rashad served as Director of Infrastructure and the Oil, Gas, Mining, and Chemical department. Currently, Rashad is Co-chair of the World Economic Form Global Agenda Council on Infrastructure and was previously a member of the Global Agenda Council on Emerging Multinational. He has also served as Director of Emerging Markets Private Equity Association (EMPEA).  Rashad is a graduate of State University of New York – College of Purchase and earned his MBA from Stanford University and Biochemistry PHD from Columbia University.


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Entire home/apt in Naples, US. What I love most about our home is the back porch with its peaceful river view. Relax and sip coffee in the morning or enjoy the company of a friend in the evening with the soothing background sound of water spilling into the river. Perfect loca...
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(Closed) does ANYONE know this dress???

posted 5 years ago in Dress
Post # 5
2858 posts
Sugar bee
  • Wedding: September 2013

@dynasty:  No, but looking at her other dresses, they seem to sell for around 2000-3000 pounds UK. Which is around $3000-$5000 USD, but bear in mind that UK prices are faily inflated anyway.

The topic ‘does ANYONE know this dress???’ is closed to new replies.

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(Closed) RANT: In-laws coming to visit with very little notice…

posted 5 years ago in Family
Post # 3
1294 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: October 2014

Couldn’t in laws spend some time sight seeing or shopiping alone? Theres a lot of fun things to do in Boston, I know as I live here too 🙂

anytime So and I visit friends out of town we try and get my alone time any way we can.

Post # 4
46600 posts
Honey Beekeeper
  • Wedding: November 1999

@matildatwar:  He does need to learn to communicate with you and that decisions about things such as overnight guests need to be made jointly.

You need to relax and let go. They are adults travelling across the country by themselves. Give them a key, a map and let them be on their own. Just tell them you already have plans and will see them at the end of the day.

Post # 5
1608 posts
Bumble bee
  • Wedding: August 2013

Your problem is with your fiance.  You need to tell him the hotel is closed, and people have to ASK before coming and if they ask one of you, that one has to ASK the other.

Post # 6
1846 posts
Buzzing bee
  • Wedding: June 2013

I personally don’t see it as a big deal (as in I wouldn’t mind taking them with me to appointments if I had too, or I’d let them know I had to go out and they can entertain themselves), but since you do.. That’s what matters.

your fh shouldn’t be brushing off your feelings, but make sure you are clearly communicating your issues to him, instead of being passive aggressive about it.

Post # 7
2946 posts
Sugar bee
  • Wedding: May 2014

This is crazy.  That long of a visit with no notice is just nuts!

I would make sure to have a sit down talk with your FH, and tell him why this can’t happen.  It may just be what his family does, or it may be he knows a lot longer before hand than he tells you.  Either way, you need to establish ground rules, because you will be dealing with these people for the rest of your life.

Don’t be afraid to talk to his sister either.  I dont get the feeling from your post that you were involved in the calls about them visiting.  Maybe she isn’t as imposing as you think, but is taking her brother up on a generous offer.

As far as this time, since it doesn’t sound like you can change it, if his sister and boyfriend can travel across country by themselves, they should be able to entertain themselves.  They have been once, and you have shown that you are a good host that time.  This time, you may just need to say to them “I am busy from X time to Y time, I hope you can find something to do.  I would recomend X attraction if you are interested.”

Post # 8
2375 posts
Buzzing bee
  • Wedding: June 2014

 My fiance and I both have parents within a 3 hour drive. Because of that, we discussed parental boundaries and visits. We set a couple of simple rules. No one agrees to a visit before talking to the other. And no guilting if the other just isn’t up for guests that weekend. We also firmly believe  in the fish and guests rule. 3 days is plenty. If  they want to stay longer, they can get a hotel and entertain themselves.

Post # 9
2037 posts
Buzzing bee

@BeeinBoston:  +1

While it is fun to visit relatives, they might actually be happy if you did give them some time to enjoy the city alone.

Also….You might not be fond of Future Sister-In-Law and her Boyfriend or Best Friend….(Trust me I know there are people in my SO’s family I probably wouldn’t talk to outside of our relationship)…but, you should make an effort in getting to know them better since you are marrying into his family.  Try to not see this as a bad thing but a positive opportunity to see them and hang out with them.  His sister is not going to go anywhere and the more positive interactions you can have with her premarriage, the better I think.

Post # 11
7649 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
  • Wedding: July 2012

@matildatwar:  I can’t assume safely that you will be looking at a ton of venues on the same day, so I think they will be fine venturing off by themselves for a few hours. For what it’s worth I would never take my SIL to a potential venue. No, no, no.

That being said, you will be in a whole world of trouble if you don’t talk to your Fiance and set family boundaries before you marry him. Trust me on this one as I have an overbearing Mother-In-Law. We had many many discussions before we got married about what was acceptable and not and agreed. It’s made life a lot easier.

Post # 12
841 posts
Busy bee
  • Wedding: August 2015

@matildatwar:  I think the biggest issue is that your FH said you don’t get to decide anything, as if having a discussion with you means you are making the decision. You should explain to him that in a marriage people make decisions together, especially about visitors to their small apartment.

Post # 16
797 posts
Busy bee
  • Wedding: April 2018

Yikes, I’m really worried about your fiance’s response.  Does he know what all you do to prepare for overnight guests?  Would he be willing to do any of that?  I find it most concerning that he doesn’t see this as a big deal.  My boyfriend and I live together, and he always asks if it’s ok if so-and-so comes over, even if he knows it’s fine.  I agree with other posters that y’all really need to sit down and talk this out.

The topic ‘RANT: In-laws coming to visit with very little notice…’ is closed to new replies.

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How to Sidestep Mathematical Equations in Popular Science Books

In the publishing industry there is a general rule-of-thumb that every mathematical equation included in a book will cut the audience of science books written for a popular audience in half – presumably in a geometric progression. This typically means that including even a handful of equations will give you an effective readership of zero – something no author and certainly no editor or publisher wants.

I suspect that there is a corollary to this that every picture included in the text will help to increase your readership, though possibly not by as proportionally a large amount.

In any case, while reading Melanie Mitchell’s text Complexity: A Guided Tour [Cambridge University Press, 2009] this weekend, I noticed that, in what appears to be a concerted effort to include an equation without technically writing it into the text and to simultaneously increase readership by including a picture, she cleverly used a picture of Boltzmann’s tombstone in Vienna! Most fans of thermodynamics will immediately recognize Boltzmann’s equation for entropy, S = k log W , which appears engraved on the tombstone over his bust.

Page 51 of Melanie Mitchell's book "Complexity: A Guided Tour"
Page 51 of Melanie Mitchell’s book “Complexity: A Guided Tour” featuring Boltzmann’s tombstone in Vienna.

I hope that future mathematicians, scientists, and engineers will keep this in mind and have their tombstones engraved with key formulae to assist future authors in doing the same – hopefully this will help to increase the amount of mathematics that is deemed “acceptable” by the general public.

4 responses on “How to Sidestep Mathematical Equations in Popular Science Books”

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Reply to Jon Mitchell on reading bots

Replied to Are you familiar with by Jon Mitchell (Everything is ablaze!)
@brentsimmons Are you familiar with and/or the many homespun varieties of feeds people use to share what they′re reading online with minimal friction? For me this solved the problem of wanting RSS to have a social component, but it needs no centralized back end. People build a reading bot however they want, and they fire it off when they want to tell the internet “I am reading this.” For example, I trigger mine by using Pinboard just the way I normally would, and its RSS feeds feed the bot.For me this solved the problem of wanting RSS to have a social component, but it needs no centralized back end. People build a reading ...

I like the general idea behind what you’re talking about here Jon, though I may be missing part of the conversation as I came across it via a GitHub issue and it’s taken some time to find even a portion of the conversation on, though I suspect I’m missing what I’m sure might be a fragmented conversation.

I too love the idea of indicating what I’ve been reading online. The problem I see is that very few platforms, social or otherwise are focusing on what people are actually reading. is the only one I’m aware of. Pocket and Instapaper let people bookmark things they want to read, but typically don’t present feeds of things after they’ve been checked off as having been read.

Most others are systems meant for a specific purpose that are being bent to various other purposes and it’s rarely ever explicit so that everyone knows their intention. As an example, I know people who star, like, favorite or do something else on various platforms to indicate what they’re reading. Some also use these to indicate bookmarks. As a personal example, on Twitter, I sometimes “star” a tweet to indicate I “like” it or it’s a “favorite” while most other times I’m really using the functionality to quickly bookmark an article and use an recipe to automatically add the URLs of these starred posts to my Pocket account for later reading.

The overarching issue with these is that the general concept is painfully spread out and the meaning isn’t always concrete or explicit. Wouldn’t it be better if it were vastly more specific? In an attempt to do just this, I use my own website, in linkblog-like fashion, to indicate what I’m physically reading. It has an RSS feed that others could subscribe to if they wish to read it elsewhere. I also “syndicate” copies to places like or occasionally to Twitter, Facebook, etc. for those who prefer to follow in those locations. Incidentally on Twitter, mine often look a lot like your Twitter feed with visual icons to indicate specific intents.

For something like Evergreen, or any reader really, I’d much prefer if there was UI and functionality to allow me to directly interact with the content I’m reading and post that interaction to my own website (and own it) in a relatively frictionless way. This would be far better than using things like stars to do something that others may not grasp.

In the reading case, it would be cool if I could physically mark something explicitly as “read” in Evergreen, and the reader would post to my website that I’ve actually read the thing. While there are many ways to do this (including RSS), perhaps one of the most interesting currently is the open web standard called Micropub. So my WordPress site has a micropub endpoint (via a plugin) and apps that support it could post to my site on my behalf. If the reader could post to my site via micropub, I could use it to collect and create a feed of everything I’m reading. Similarly readers could also do similar things to explicitly indicate that I mean to bookmark something, or I could use the reader to compose a reply directly in the reader and post that reply to my website (which incidentally could send webmentions to the original website to publish those replies as comments on their site.)

As an example we’re all familiar with, has micropub support, so I can use’s app to post and uses micropub to send the post to my own website.

With the proper micropub support, a reader could allow me to post explicit bookmarks, likes, favorites, replies, reads, etc. to my own website. All of these could then have individual feeds from my site back out. Thus people could subscribe to any (or all) of them as they choose. Want to know what I’m reading? Easy. Want to know what I’m bookmarking or liking? Which events I’ve RSVP’d to? Shazam!

My homepage has a full list of post types I’m currently supporting, and each one of them can be subscribed to individually by adding /feed/ onto the end of the URL.

In summary, let’s try not to impute too much meaning onto a simple star’s functionality when we can be imminently more specific about it. Of course, for completeness, for most readers, we’d also need to change the meaning of the traditional “mark as read” which in reality means, “mark as done” or “don’t show me this anymore”.

For more detail on how this could work in an advanced reader-based world I’ve written a more explicit set of details here: Feed Reader Revolution

And to quote Brent back:

…it’s okay if this is a work in progress and isn’t ready for everybody yet. It’s okay if it takes time. We don’t know how it will all work in the end.

We’re discovering the future as we build it.

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