Upgrade to a used Ford at our Ford dealership in Williston, and buy the Ford of your dreams for less! Whether you're interested in a used Ford F-150 truck or a pre-owned Ford Escape, you'll find your favorite Ford models at Rock Bottom prices waiting for you in our used Ford inventory. Come test-drive a pre-owned Ford Focus and see how you feel behind its wheel, or slide into the driver's seat of a used Ford Explorer and discover its capabilities. We even stock other makes and models, as well as Certified Pre-Owned Ford vehicles, for those looking for a great selection. No matter your taste and budget, Red Rock Ford of Williston has the pre-owned or CPO Ford for you!


text:
The Calumet Heritage Area Identity & Branding Project is Underway - and You Can Participate!
In December 2018, Calumet Collaborative kicked off a project with Calumet Heritage Partnership, The Lakota Group, Matthew Kaplan Photography, and other regional stakeholders that will craft a unified identity and brand for the Calumet Heritage Area. The Calumet Heritage Area will connect residents and visitors from the Pullman National Monument in Illinois to the Indiana Dunes National Park, advance economic opportunity, and enrich the lives of its residents and visitors from across the nation.
When the project kicked off, Scott Freres, President of the Lakota Group, said "Our first step will be to step back and listen—to the many organizations and people that carry this region close to their heart," and this has been accomplished by conducting focus groups, stakeholder interviews, and releasing surveys to understand how people feel about the Calumet region. And the outreach isn't finished yet – the community can now engage in the branding process by participating in the Mood Board Survey – a way to provide feedback on the visual direction that the brand can take.
In February, the project Steering Committee, made up of 13 members from both Illinois and Indiana, helped compile an extensive list of stakeholder groups, resulting in 9 focus groups with over 60 people in attendance that discussed what the Calumet means to them. For those that could not attend in person, follow up interviews were held, and an online survey was distributed, where anyone could share their opinions on the region. The insight gathered from this outreach helped The Lakota Group start to understand key messaging and visuals that "address feelings of personal and collective belonging, memory, history, and identity," and also "honor the past while looking forward and positioning the region into the future," a goal that Scott Freres and the Lakota team set out to accomplish at the beginning of the project.
"Every group we talked with emphasized how the people of the region really define the place. They are hard-working change makers. They have both a vision for the future of the Calumet and the passion for place to truly affect change," says Rachael Smith, Community Branding Manager of the Lakota Group, while describing her experience during the focus groups.
"Throughout our conversations with residents and stakeholders, the idea of atypical beauty came up again and again. The Calumet is defined by the landscapes that have been affected by industry, which gives them a character that is both beautiful and truly unique to this place. That is why this initiative is so important—so that residents and visitors alike can discover, rediscover, and appreciate this hidden gem," says Marisa Schulz, Vice President of The Lakota Group, while describing some themes that resulted from the outreach.
Now the community can share their thoughts on the branding process with the Mood Board Survey. Like a Pinterest board, a mood board is an arrangement of images, materials, pieces of text, etc. that help us understand a visual idea - and in this project, the mood boards showcase three different visual directions to explore for the Calumet Heritage Area logo and brand. The three mood boards were created based on the previous stakeholder engagement, and capture elements of the Calumet's unique charm. After compiling feedback on the mood boards, The Lakota Group will begin work on three different concepts for the Calumet Heritage Area logo and brand, and work with Matthew Kaplan Photography to start telling the story of the region through photographs.
Once the Calumet Heritage Area identity and brand is created, partners will work closely with organizations, municipalities, and other stakeholders on brand implementation. The Lakota Group will create a brand implementation toolkit, and Calumet Collaborative, Calumet Heritage Partnership, and others will make sure partners understand how to use the toolkit and implement the brand into their existing wayfinding systems and other print and digital collateral.
To learn more about the Calumet Heritage Area, visit calumetheritagearea.org. For any questions on the branding process, please reach out to Ashley at ashley@calumetcollaborative.org.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


For any kind of camping, an instant tent will provide you with an ultimate cover from the various elements of nature. It will make your stay enjoyable during an adventurous trip and you don't have to bother about the weather conditions. Instant tents come in different sizes and allow setting up with ease. It can easily accommodate a large number of people at a time and provides many other conveniences. You can easily get the one which suits your needs and remains safe during outdoor camping from the following best instant tents.
This is polyester made an instant tent, which comes with fiberglass frame poles and is very lightweight. It will let you set it up very quickly and has windproof ropes. Moreover, this is perfect for four people and gives good ventilation with its four windows and double doors. The insert screen has two zippers and lets you move in very easily.
Furthermore, it comes with a carry bag and is in a compact size. In this, you will also find an inner pocket, which lets you keep your smartphone and keys. Additionally, this is in a mesh design that provides good protection from mosquitos, dust, snow, and sun.
Polyester fabric and sun protection.
Windproof ropes and insert screen with dual zippers.
Storage pocket for small items.
Providing you good sun protection of UPF 50+, here is an instant tent that can easily accommodate four adults. This comes in a pending opening mechanism that lets you set it up or disassemble it with ease. Moreover, this is very breathable and has a double guy out point with large mesh windows.
Furthermore, the tent is in a versatile design and lets you zip up the door to have better privacy. It is available in two different colors and has spacious indoors. Additionally, it gives good protection from the wind and is perfect for taking on the beach. This is made of polyester and has good stability.
Polyester fabric with UPF 50+ protection.
Better airflow with large windows.
Provides privacy with zip-up outer.
It is another completely new product.
If you are looking for an instant tent that gives protection from rain and sun, then this is the one for you. The tent has a silver coating on the fabric that provides sun protection of UPF 50+. It does not have any odd smell and is perfect for camping. Moreover, this is easy to set up and comes with a carry bag.
This is very lightweight and lets you fold it in just three seconds. Furthermore, this can fit in three adults and two children, making it an ideal product for any family. Additionally, this is of multipurpose use and you can easily use it as a playhouse for your kids.
Multipurpose use and large size.
UPF 50+ protection and includes a carry bag.
Ultra-fast set up and folding.
Here is a family tent that can fit in up to four people at a time. The instant tent has easy installation and provides good protection from sun and rain. In this, you will find large mesh windows that give good protection from mosquitoes and is very breathable. Moreover, this comes in thoughtful design and includes a convenient lantern hook.
Additionally, this includes a storage bag to keep your smaller items including a mobile phone. This is very lightweight and compact and is perfect for backpacking or camping. Furthermore, the tent includes strong fiberglass frames that give better stability and is very durable.
Large mesh windows for added breathability.
Lantern hook and storage pocket.
Fiberglass frames for durability and stability.
In this instant tent, you will find a room divider, which lets you have a private back room. It will let you set it up in less than 2 minutes and does not require any assembling. Moreover, this is very large in size and can easily accommodate 11 people at a time. Additionally, it gives great ventilation with its six windows along with mesh panel ceilings.
The poles come pre-attached to the tent that allows you to set it up within no time. Furthermore, this will let you have great outdoor fun and see the view with its large windows. You can also easily fit into two queen air mattresses and relax comfortably.
Room divider for three living spaces.
Fits elven people and six large windows.
Mesh panel ceilings and no assembling.
Available in a complete set with carrying bag and accessories, the instant tent lets you have better ventilation with its two doors. This is made of polyester and gives you sun protection with its UV coating. Moreover, this is very spacious and can easily accommodate two people. Furthermore, you can easily take it or set it within seconds and includes two inner pockets.
It will let you have perfect privacy with its zippered screen and includes a zippered polyester layer. Additionally, it has mesh roof panels that keeps away insects out and adds in ventilation. It has a single roof hook that lets you place your lantern conveniently on it.
Dual zipper puller and single roof hook.
Sets up in less than three seconds.
UV protection and strong ventilation.
The construction materials could have been better.
Available in three attractive colors, the instant tent has a spring pump. It has the feature of automatic installation and is in a waterproof design. This will provide you good ventilation and lets you set it up ultra-fast. Furthermore, this is perfect for three adult people and has fiberglass poles. Moreover, you will find Oxford fabric on the floors and is resistant to UV rays.
It has a multifunctional canopy and is very easy to pack. Additionally, this will let you enter easily with its two doors and is very lightweight. The tent has a large mosquito mesh that gives better ventilation and comfort.
Two-way door and automatic installation.
Lightweight and three colors option.
Durable design and ultra-quick setup.
The ventilation could be better.
Here is an instant tent, which can fit in up to four persons and has a center height of 6 feet 66 inches. This has automatic installation and sets up very quickly. This is a waterproof tent and includes a polyester rainfly. Moreover, it comes in a complete package and has windproof ropes. Additionally, this has a spacious interior and lets you move comfortably.
The tent will also give UV protection and has two doors for better ventilation. Furthermore, this is made of polyester cloth and is in a six angles design. This has fix size pole ends and opens instantly. It will let you move in easily and has mesh windows.
Polyester fabric and automatic set up.
UV and waterproof protection and six-angle design.
Spacious interior and 6 feet 66 inches height.
The floor material is not of high-quality.
Made with polyester, this instant tent can fit in four people at a time. It has a center height of 54 inches and has an adjustable ground vent. It will keep your items well organized as it has pockets and includes a gear loft along with a lantern hook. Moreover, it has off the tent floor and comes with rain fly and tent stakes.
It sets up in just 30 seconds and includes a convenient carry bag. Furthermore, this has water-resistant construction and you can take it down conveniently. This comes with a pre-assembled frame and lets you extend it in setup position. Additionally, it has advanced venting and is perfect for all seasons. Clearly, it is one of the best instant tents on the list.
Rain resistant window seals and doors.
Adjustable vents and accommodates four people.
Sets up in 30 seconds and pre-assemble frame.
Equipped with a gear loft and lantern hook, this instant tent can accommodate two queen air mattresses. This is perfect for six people and sets up very quickly. Moreover, it is available in two different colors and has a ground vent that is easy to adjust. Additionally, this includes a large wall organizer and includes a carry bag.
The tent has a rain fly as well as tent stakes and has a center height of 72 inches. Furthermore, it is in a portable design and is very lightweight. This is perfect for a family and lets you have great outdoor fun. This will protect your family from the elements of nature and ensures that it looks clean.
Lantern hook and gear loft.
Sets up very quickly and comes with a carry bag.
Large wall organizer and suitable for six.
The door is quite unusual.
Suitable for four people, here is an instant tent that comes with the WeatherTec system to give you all around protection. This is made of polyester and sets up in 60 seconds. This is very spacious and includes integrated vented rainfly for better airflow without the need of any additional assembling. Additionally, it has a center height of 4 feet 11 inches, and has inverted seams and welded floors for keeping you dry.
Moreover, the fabric is very durable and is perfect for rugged use. The tent has the ability to reduce heat and block 90 percent sunlight. Furthermore, it comes with an expandable storage bag and lets you take it anywhere you want. This is also ultra-lightweight and is a very reliable product. It will keep away the rains and is a perfectly darkroom tent.
Darkroom technology for blocking 90% sun.
Durable polyester fabric and easy to set up.
Inverted seams, welded floors, and fits four people.
Allowing you to set up within a minute, this instant tent comes in a lightweight design and is perfect for outdoor use. It is available in two different colors and can fit in nine people at a time. In this, you will find an adjustable ground vent and has storage pockets for keeps the tent neat. Moreover, this includes room divider and comes with a convenient carry bag. It also comes with a rain fly and tent shakes and includes an electrical cable access port, which is in a closable design.
Furthermore, this is perfect for an entire family and you can easily use it during any kind of outdoor adventure. It provides good protection from rain, heat, and wind and is spacious enough for you to move and walk freely. Additionally, this has water-resistant construction and lets you set up two queen size beds. It is one of the best instant tents for summer camping.
Quick setup and electrical cable access port.
Tent stakes, rain fly, and room divider.
Accommodates 9 people and water resistant construction.
Suitable only for summer camping.
Providing you with maximum ventilation, the instant tent let you set it up in just 10 minutes. It comes in a snag-free design and has continuous pole sleeves. In this, you will find storage pockets that let keep it well organized. Moreover, this comes with large windows for keeping you cool. The polyester made tent has inverted seams and welded floors, which gives good protection from the weather. Additionally, it has a rainfly awning and can easily accommodate six people at a time.
The instant tenet has a height of 6 feet, which lets you stand or move freely. Furthermore, it has weather-resistant zipper cuffs and reduces needle holes. The fiberglass frame is shock corded and gives good protection from winds. This is very durable and will not stretch even when it is wet. It also has external guy points for added stability.
Fits in two large size beds or six people.
Dome design and rainfly awning.
Storage pockets and floor vent.
We have handpicked the best instant tents going by their reviews and various other aspects. It must be very much easier for you to know the different types of instant tents and their features. If you are an adventure enthusiast then it becomes a must-have product for you. Always go for the one that provides maximum space and gives good protection from rain, wind, and sun. It has to be portable and lightweight so that you can easily carry it in your backpack.


It's old. It's Greek. And, unsurprisingly, it involves geometry. But let's save the history lesson for the appendix and jump right in.
Fundamentally, there are three ways to persuade someone. These are called modes of persuasion or rhetorical appeals. Any one of them can work, but when you can get more than one of these appeals working together, your effectiveness will multiply.
When a doctor tells you to do something for your health you are more likely to believe her than your brother-in-law. But, in our over-credentialized age, this appeal is not as simple as having the right initials behind your name. We are more likely to be persuaded by those who model what we value or want to be. For example, how much credibility would you give a personal trainer who is obviously out of shape?
People can be persuaded by logic. If I show you data that links smoking and lung cancer, then I don't have to be a doctor to be persuasive. Theoretically, logic is the purest and best of all appeals. But if you've had any experience with non-theoretical people, you know that logic doesn't always apply. Smoking is the perfect example. Smokers don't disagree with the logic that smoking is bad for you. So, if you want to persuade someone to stop smoking, you need more than logic.
Emotion is messy, unpredictable, and oh so powerful. Some have described being overcome with emotion as something that happens to a person against their will, depriving them of agency — quite literally an assault. While there are hundreds of words to describe the many shades of emotions we can feel, when it comes to persuasion, I think that only five are elemental.
Love – We are all connected, the world is full of beauty and wonder. Kitten pictures.
Pity – Isn't it awful what happened to this poor person?
Fear – Something like this could happen to me!
Anger – This is wrong!
Greed — the possibility of gain.
For example, while you might deeply regret something you've done, only the fear of regretting something you've done or haven't done is likely to be persuade you.
For business, Fear and Greed are usually the most persuasive. Greed is not a dollar amount, but an emotion. It's flip side, the fear of loss, is often a more persuasive emotion.
Anger is only really persuasive when directed at people. It is almost impossible for a person to be angry at an institution without transferring that anger onto an individual.
Anger, Fear and Love are the emotions that cause things to go crazy on the internet. When looked at which from an evolutionary standpoint, it makes a lot of sense that "This could get us all killed! I must tell the tribe!" should be deeply wired into our psyches.
But however, you analyze them, emotions are powerful stuff when it comes to persuasion.
When you put all three appeals together you get what I call the persuasive triangle.
Let's say I want to convince my 73-year-old father to quit smoking. I could simply say, "Dad, smoking causes lung cancer." This is all logic. And it's unlikely to work. Because, he knows it already. And if this message was going to work, it would have worked before now.
So how can we move our appeal closer to the center of our triangle? Credibility is going to be hard to come by because this is my Dad. (I think, on some level, you're always a little bit of a punk to your Dad.) But this is the same problem advertisers have faced since Don Draper had first his three-martini lunch: Why would I believe anything I read in an ad (or anything a salesman says) when I know that the speaker has skin in the game. They make money when they make a sale.
But that's not even close to the weirdest thing about credibility appeals. Sometimes an appeal to authority doesn't have to be even remotely connected to the truth. Think four out of five dentists are right about chewing gum?
One out of one illustrated dentists recommend Viceroys to their patients who smoke!
More doctors smoke Camels. They're probably fine!?! But you know, maybe they're not smoking in a professional capacity. Maybe somebody should study this. How about some science?
Well, thank goodness we have "scientific" evidence. And my personal favorite: The health cigar.
Borrowing credibility isn't always so foolish or evil. But like any tool, it can be misused.
To get my Dad to quit smoking, I could honestly borrow credibility from a lot of sources. The Surgeon General, for instance. But that's probably not going to work either. For one thing, the Surgeon General's warning is right on the side of the pack. Everybody knows it already.
So, let's try to get some emotion into the mix and see if that changes things. And to do that, we need a deeper understanding of our audience of one. If I just think of him as my 73-year-old Father, then there's not much wiggle room. But if we recognize that he's also a 73-year-old Grandfather, then some opportunity opens up.
Logic: Smoking is killing you. If you quit you'll live longer.
Emotion: Grandpa taking grandkids to get Ice Cream in a Norman Rockwell painting.
Logic: Smoking is bad for you. Your grandkids look up to you.
Emotion: Suffering, grey-skinned, cancer-riddled grandchildren.
Be it an ad, a management conversation or an appeal to a loved one, the more you can successfully consider and combine multiple modes of persuasion, the more successful you will be.
Why should you get your car regularly serviced?
Logic: To protect the value of your car.
Credibility: AAA and consumer reports recommends an oil change every three months or 5,000 miles.
Emotion: Your car needs to be a safe way to transport your kids.
Beyond a certain point in history it becomes impossible to track the provenance of an idea — people simply didn't write things down — so, I think it's safe to say that all of the ideas here were first codified by Aristotle in his Rhetoric. It is an immensely practical and useful work, even if it sometimes suffers in translation, or from the people who teach it.
If this is the first time you are encountering the idea of the modes of persuasion, I think somebody in your education owes you an apology and a refund. Persuasion and persuasive communications is such an important part of everyone's life and work, you make people more capable and powerful by teaching them how to use these tools.
The world is filled with other people. And if you want to get anything done, you're going to have to persuade at least some of them to see things your way. Influencing people is especially important if you want to make a sale, get the promotion or, even change the world.
It can seem that being persuasive is a natural gift, like charisma or good looks, but I assure you, just like everything else, it can be learned. After 20+ years helping people with persuasive messaging, I have boiled it down into a few simple models that anyone can use to hone their message and deliver it more effectively. In this article, I'd like to show you one of them. But first, a caveat.
But, whatever else you do, get to your point as quickly as you can.
No matter what your strategy for persuading someone may be, you are always, always, always better off doing it with as few words as possible. We live in an attention-deficit disorder of an age and are, literally, the most messaged humans in the history of the world. We don't have any attention left to spare.
So when you create any communication, be it an e-mail, a video, a proposal, a presentation, always try to use as little of your audience's attention as possible. If you think about communication as a production process, what you are making is a change in someone else's mind. And to do that you use words and images, but the main input into that process, is someone else's attention. And attention is a highly constrained resource.
Every message is aimed at an audience. Even if you are talking to yourself, you have an audience. And everybody talks to themselves. Even if you are all alone and bark your shin on a coffee table, when you curse, the audience is yourself and the desired action is to make you feel better. And if you think that's crazy, here's something even crazier: It f#$%!ing works!
Every message has a desired action. We communicate because we want to change something in the world. Even if the thing we want to change the other person's mind, that's real change. And it's not 'just' or 'even' somebody else's mind. Changing someone's mind is a huge thing. Companies spend billions of dollars to influence and change people's minds. Most of the time they fail. Provide me any example of communication you like in the comments and I will show you how there is an action hiding within it.
A message can be anything. But, in a persuasive sense, there's only one way to evaluate it. Does it get the audience to take the action you desire? It doesn't matter if it is grammatically correct or if it rhymes or if a third-party outside the audience doesn't like it. Does it get a result?
The Audience – Message – Action model frees your brain up to not have to remember everything all at once. Especially when it comes to remembering to make sure that your message actually stands a chance of working. Seriously, with all of the jargon, the politics and the strategerizing (that's when you overthink your overthinking), it's easy to lose sight of simple effectiveness.
But writing down audience, message and action is like showing your work in math class. You immediately begin to see how the parts are working (or failing to work). And you get to see how changing one component can make the entire system click.
For example, let's say we want somebody (anybody!) to buy our motor oil. At the very beginning, we probably don't even care who, we just want to sell some oil. Let's arbitrarily pick an over-targeted, consumer archetype, Soccer Moms.
What can we say to soccer moms (and when and where) to make them more likely to buy a case of motor oil?
It doesn't seem like there's much. In fact, at first blush, it seems like this is the wrong target for this product. Soccer Moms don't seem like they really buy motor oil by the case. We could investigate this with research — figuring out what questions to ask is another valuable way to use this model — but for the sake of illustration, let's move along.
Keeping the same target, we could recognize that soccer moms don't buy oil by the case, they buy it by the oil change.
Or we could develop new audiences for our action.
Even if you are not the most creative, strategic or persuasive person, I'm willing to bet you've already got a couple ideas for what could go in the message slot. Or even a couple ideas for other targets. That's the whole point. This AMA model is a more productive way to think about persuasive communications.
And it's usually not even that specific. Maybe it's "Our tagline is "Performance" or "Quality" or "Partnership". And it's inane to think that those abstracts are persuasive. They don't even communicate any meaning. The takeaway here is that the more specific you can make each of these elements, the more successful your efforts will be.
1. Lower the cost of the desired action. This is the magic of return postage. I want you to send me something, so I send you a letter asking for it. But to make it easier, I include an addressed and stamped envelope. Now, instead of having to find a stamp, find an envelope and address a letter, you can just seal the envelope and drop it in the mail.
MESSAGE: I'd like a raise.
ACTION: Get approval from his boss to pay me more.
It's obvious that we could come up with more persuasive messages here, but let's see how just lowering the cost of the desired action can make it more likely to get a raise.
ACTION: Take two minutes to look at this comparative salary report.
Assuming that the salary report shows that I'm being underpaid, this seems like a good way to get started.
MESSAGE: According to glassdoor, my salary is well below industry average.
ACTION: Read report => Believe that I am underpaid => go to bat for me for the raise.
ACTION: Read report => believe that I am underpaid => worry that I might take another job => go to bat for me for the raise.
One thing leads to another. Make the first thing as easy, fun and low cost as possible. It's hard to get someone to buy a car. It's easier to get them to take a test drive. So which one does the car salesman ask you to do first?
Be as specific as possible with the desired action.
What specific action do you want someone to take? I know this seems simple, but because we live in an attention-deficit disorder of a world there is a big difference between asking someone "Please help us put an end to cancer" and "Please donate $5 to fund pediatric leukemia research?" In the first one, you are leaving the audience with the burden of figuring out how they can help. It's harder for someone to process and understand. Because the second one is more specific, the audience doesn't have to burn brainpower filling in the blanks.
Or, consider it from a management standpoint. If I say, "Jim, I need your performance to improve?" How likely is it that Jim is going to mend his errant ways and become the stand-out, the go-to-guy on my team?
These last three stand a better chance of succeeding simply because they are specific. But "Jim, in our handbook it says that we are all respectful and considerate of our fellow employees," isn't going to get Jim to stop leaving an empty coffee pot on a hot plate.
Be as specific as possible with the audience.
Far and away the best place to be specific is with your audience. Don't try to persuade an industry when you can persuade a role. Don't target your message to a role when you can target it to a specific person.
ACTION: Specify Old North State Oil at your next oil change.
Oof, this is tough. But watch what happens if we can make that audience more specific.
AUDIENCE: Soccer Moms who drive over 25,000 miles a year.
AUDIENCE: Soccer Moms with 2+ kids on sports teams.
Making the audience more specific always opens up new and more powerful ways to think about persuasion.
If this model works for you, use it and spread it. If you have questions, or want to see it applied to your situation, please leave a comment or message me and I'll do my best.


Painting. There's no time like the dull, dark days of winter to realize how dim a room may be. When you're spending more time indoors anyway, it might as well be for a productive purpose, like adding some life to a dreary room. Whether you update the entire space or simply add an accent wall, painting is a low-cost, entry-level way to enhance your home's aesthetic appeal.
Seal air leaks. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average home has a half-mile of gaps and cracks where air and moisture can enter, and these air leaks account for 25-40 percent of the energy used for heating and cooling a typical home. Filling gaps and cracks brings immediate savings while making the home more comfortable and environmentally friendly. It actually takes little time or skill to fix air leaks, which are especially common around doors and windows.
Add insulation. Another energy-saving idea you can tackle by yourself is improving your home's insulation. A great deal of the home's heat escapes through the attic, but adding more insulation can help trap warmth, making your home more energy efficient. Insulation also helps resist moisture infiltration and condensation, which is particularly concerning during the winter months.
Tile accents. If you're overwhelmed by the idea of laying your own tile floor, starting with some accent tile is a simple way to practice. A bathroom or kitchen backsplash is a small space that requires a relatively small amount of material and a well-defined workspace. When selecting your tile, be conscious of how much trimming you'll need to do to accommodate features like electrical outlets; choosing a smaller tile or using sheets of tile may make that step easier.
Add storage. Spending extra time indoors is likely to remind you just how cluttered some areas have become. Take advantage of the time to organize and add storage elements to help keep your space neat and clean. Organizer shelves and closet systems are typically easy to assemble and can serve as functional additions to your home.


What about glyphs, bullets and creating tabs ?
I´m searching for bullets or other glyphs and single textsymbols. Does it come ?
And creating tabs only works within paragraphs with digits and not directly in my text ?
I second this, really basic. But extremely importing typographic settings and control.
Maybe this topic can be of interest?


text:
TZ3 Compact Ultra-Zoom Revealed
Brand new digital camera from Panasonic is tiny but has lots of zoom
Written by Emily Raymond
*January 31, 2007 –*A year after releasing its first ultra-compact, ultra zoom TZ1, Panasonic announced the Lumix DMC-TZ3 today. Many of the modes and settings are the same, and the total zoom on the lens is still 10x. The new 7.2-megapixel TZ3 has a wider lens, larger LCD screen, and will retail for $349 when it becomes available in March. Panasonic also launched a similar 6.2 megapixel TZ2 model for select markets, although not in the U.S. The new TZ3 is very similar to its predecessor, the 5-megapixel TZ1, but has a few upgrades. Both have similar automatic modes, although the TZ3 adds a few more scene modes including Pet and Sunset. Both have similar controls, but the TZ3's ISO range now extends to 1250 thanks to the updated Venus Engine III processor. Both models have two modes of optical image stabilization, but the new camera adds Intelligent ISO Control to reduce blur. The TZ1 has a 2.5-inch LCD screen with 207,000 pixels, while the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 has a 3-inch display with 230,000 pixels on a body that is more compact. The TZ3 includes features to improve viewing that were first introduced on the TZ1 such as High Angle and Power LCD functions. The biggest change between the two digital cameras is the 10x optical zoom lens. The amount of zoom may be the same, but the specs are quite different. The new Panasonic TZ3's lens measures 28-280mm and has apertures of f/3.3 and f/8.0 in wide and f/4.9 and f/11 in telephoto. The two-step aperture is present on the older TZ1, but the size is different: f/2.8 and f/5.0 in wide and f/4.2 and f/7.1 in telephoto. The lenses are both Leica branded, but the older TZ1's lens measures 35-350mm. Panasonic is relying on the TZ3's lens to make the camera successful. "With 10x optical zoom, a powerful 28mm wide-angle Leica lens and intelligent image stabilization, the DMC-TZ3 is destined to be a leader and innovator in the compact zoom space," said Alex Fried, National Marketing Manager of Imaging from Panasonic Corporation of North America, in today's press release. The TZ3 can shoot video in widescreen 848 x 480-pixel format at 30 fps, and the image stabilization will be especially helpful when recording videos. It has the standard VGA and QVGA options that were available on the TZ1 too. As for still image shooting, there are 21 scene modes that can be picked from a helpful menu which explains what each mode is for. The Lumix TZ3 adds a few interesting elements that the earlier model didn't have. A "clipboard" function acts like a favorites mode and saves photos for easy access, "Perfect for quick and easy shots of a map or train schedule," according to today's press release. The camera can display two pictures on the LCD screen at once in playback mode, so users can compare them with each other. Panasonic also added transitions in its slide shows. The Panasonic TZ3 has a stainless steel body and fits in an optional underwater case, something that the TZ1 doesn't have. The TZ3 retails for $349, which is the same original retail price of the TZ1.
Panasonic also announced a new Lumix DMC-TZ2 for select markets, including Europe, but not the U.S. The 6.2-megapixel DMC-TZ2 has a 1/ 2.33-inch CCD sensor, capable of 4:3, 3:2, and wide 16:9 images. The camera comes with a 10x optical zoom 28mm-280mm wide angle Leica lens, capable of wide shooting like the TZ3. With the extra optical zoom, users can zoom up to 13.8x at a lower 3-megapixel resolution, according to a Panasonic Global website.
The camera features a smaller display than the TZ3 with a 2.5-inch, 207,000 pixel resolution LCD monitor. The TZ2 camera is equipped with the Venus Engine III images processor and Panasonic's Intelligent Image Stabilization system that includes MEGA O.I.S. and Intelligent ISO Control, which was seen on all the Panasonic cameras announced today. Panasonic has not yet announced pricing for the Lumix DMC-TZ2.
The TZ2 has a new Clipboard function, called the Tour Guide on the U.S. models, to store travel information. The camera will be available in silver and black.


South Shields is an example to all of peaceful and tolerant coexistence. The original Yemeni men who came to the town were seamen who worked on British ships in very difficult conditions. They risked their lives to feed their families and many ended up settling in the port town of South Shields.
Records show Yemenis in the town as early as the 1860's. Many local women married Yemeni men, for love and for life and brought up families as a family unit. However, it was more than marriage that tied the two communities together. Their children, businesses, friendships and generosity united two cultures in the most positive and permanent way.
Today there are 4th 5th and possibly 6th generation Yemenis walking around the streets of South Shields. Many no longer hold Arab names or even features but the blood remains the same. The Yemeni legacy is imprinted on the fabric of the town and here we will see some of the stories that helped changed its shape and indeed that of Britain.
"They were very happy times, people didn't have very much money. We had our own way of amusing ourselves, playing games of buttons and having cut-outs. Placing different pages of a book and using a pin to go to the leaves of a book and if you were very lucky you found a cut out. That was a great prize. You'd have skipping ropes and whips and tops you know, we were just like other children."
A quote taken from Mrs Selma Hussein (early 1990's).
Differences in race, faith and culture, often met with mutual respect, tolerance and kindness.
Mohammed Muckble, one of the first Yemeni seamen to come to South Shields with his Scottish wife, Rosetta, in later life.
One example of such love, respect and unity is the example of Mohammed and Rosetta Muckble shown above in their later years. Together they had 10 children though sadly lost 2 and ran a boarding house in Holborn and later a cafe and fruit shop on 21 Laygate Lane.
Rosetta, a staunch Catholic, married Mohammed who was a Muslim at the age of 17. She held firmly to her Catholic faith throughout her life and never converted to Islam, though many of the local women who married Yemeni seamen did.
Their oldest granddaughter, Maureen Marshall (nee Dellin), who was born on Laygate Lane has vivid memories of her grandparents happy home.
"They agreed to respect each others religion, so my mother married my father in a mosque and my father married my mother in a church"
"In Ramadan, she stood by him. She prepared all his food and put a little banquet on for him for when he was allowed to eat in the morning".
"I remember when I was about 8 years old, I used to meet him to open the coffee shop. And he had this great big massive stove, old fashioned stove, and he used to light the stove and you couldn't see anything for smoke. You had to open all the windows, winter time and all til it settled down and then I'd have banana and toast with him, just me and him until the Arabs would come and and he'd make them coffee" - Granddaughter of Mohamed and Rosetta Muckble, Maureen Marshall.
Together, Mohamed and Rosetta ran successful businesses including a cafe on the site of what today stands as the Al-Azhar Mosque.
Most of the Yemenis in South Shields started out by living in the Holborn and Laygate area. These parts of the town included Cornwallis Square, Portberry way and Laygate Lane which still remain today. Though often described as 'Arab Quarters' these areas were not of course limited to only Yemenis and in fact were home to a wide range of nationalities.
2nd generation South Shields Yemenis - Fasa household on Cornwallis Square,South Shields.
Aminah Hasan, a South Shields resident, of English and Carribbean heritage was born on Portberry way and grew up on Cornwallis Square.
Aminahs uncle Said went on to be an Iconic Sheikh in South Wales, a reminder that the Yemeni communities of the UK are also intricately linked.
One problem faced by the 1st generation of migrant Yemeni men was where to bury their dead according to Islamic customs. Ali Fasa campaigned tirelessly to have a section of the cemetary, for Muslims, facing Mecca and succeeded in 1937. The proposal was initially rejected by the council but was discussed again and put to the vote. 27 councillors voted for it and only 7 against.
The first person to be buried in the new Muslim section in Harton Cemetary was the wife of Sheikh Ali, Miriam Ahmed.
The following excerpts are taken from the above book which can be found at South Tyneside Library.
The following excerpts (right) are taken from the above book which can be found at South Tyneside Library.
The first entry in the council minutes pertaining to discussion on potentially giving the Yemeni community a Muslim area of Harton cemetery to bury their deceased.
27 voted for it, 7 against.
Ali Fasa (Farrah Ali), his wife Mary Catherine Mayne celebrating their golden wedding anniversary with family.
Mariam was looked after by Ali Fasa and his wife Mary Catherine Mayne when her birth mother left. Her birth father had no choice but to go to sea to earn money for his family. Sheikh Al-Hakimi asked for Miriam to be his bride and shortly after they were married, Miriam, a young girl of 19, died tragically as a result of child-birth. Her infant daughter, Rafia, did not survive and they were both buried together in 1937.
The people of South Shields driven by curiosity and interest, flocked in droves to see the traditions of a Muslim funeral. Over 2000 people came out to see the procession, police struggled to contain the crowds and the event dominated Shields Gazette headlines.
Miriam Ahmed and her child were buried together.
The 1930's demolition of Holborn posed new questions for Council officials in South Shields such as where to re-house the resident Arab population. The original suggestion was the building of four/five storied flats on Commercial Road itself to house the community together.
This social segregation was widely opposed by the Labour Party, certain councilors and many socialist groups.
Furthermore, the whole debate triggered many powerful letters in the Shields Gazette on both sides of the debate. In this 1930's England, many South Shields residents chose to stand against segregation and turning those of a different ethnicity into the 'other'. The Yemenis too, fought back. Here are some examples of such letters.
For the children of the Yemeni expatriates in South Shields, there was no question of South Shields being home. This poem written by Gladys Muckble, daughter of Mohamed Ali Muckble sums up beautifully the happiness of a family built on integration, and nostalgia for the home she loved on Laygate Lane.
My thoughts return to the street I knew.
It's altered now, not for the best.
Of the warmth, we knew, the love that was there, the home to rest, but in my memory it is always there, as clear and alive, precious and rare.
A busy street, not posh, not clean, seamen from ships from ships were often seen.
Buses going by every second, houses above shops, bay windows where friendships beckoned.
Our house, a green door, was one of these.
Where we cleaned our front step, front step down on our knees.
A ghetto they called it, just near a port, with foreign seamen on leave for sport.
But no harm was done, no muggings there, and crime on the whole was very rare.
We were young then, the years flew past.
But memories of home will always last.
Up the stairs and in the room, where love and warmth was such a boon.
The fire so bright, where mam and dad sat. One on the left and one on the right.
such a heaven for us to return to our home.
not much money, but comfort and more.
The years have gone by, we are much older now.
The family have differences, sometimes we row.
But one thing in common we all can share, our old home with love in it that none can compare.
Mam and dad we love you dear, you're presence to us is ever near.
That house, that street, will always be here.
It is in my heart so very clear.
I lock it away, as a precious gem, and I return to that place, every now and then.
Fall all the heartaches, for all the pain.
I long for my home, my street, dear Laygate Lane.
South Shields Yemeni community makes a great social and cultural contribution to our town. The first generations of merchant seamen who arrived in the 19th century were a vital part of the shipping industry that was the heart and soul of local life, and that legacy is still with us today. Our shared history is something we can all be proud of.
People from outside the North East are often surprised to hear that South Shields was and still is home to the first settled Muslim population in the UK, as well as the first purpose-built mosque. To me it isn't a surprise; it says a lot about the successful integration of the Yemeni community and the respect and tolerance our town has for other cultures. We have always depended on visitors and traders and I think that has made us an open and welcoming community.
The example of the Yemeni community is a fantastic demonstration of how different cultures can live together in modern Britain, with different traditions but shared goals and values. Previous generations worked and lived side by side, shared ideas, and started families together, and that process of sharing has enriched our community.
Dear Leyla, I think the project is a great idea for those who had fathers and grandfathers who came from Yemen. For me, my Grandfather was the most precious person I had in my life. He was one of the first Yemeni men to come to South Shields. He had a barbers shop and a fruit shop and was very generous with his time and money. He came from the same place as the Muckbles.
I think the Yemeni project is a lovely idea as I have been interested in learning more about my grandfather's native Yemen for many years. I feel the Yemeni people are amongst some of the most generous hearted in the world. It is great to share resources, especially photos and the project will help preserve a record of what has become, in South Shields a diminishing community. I am happy to support such a project!


This table topper finished at 38-1/2" square, a perfect fit for my dining room table. I used Hoffman Fabrics Gypsy Princess fabrics I've had for years and never wanted to cut into (you know that type of fabric, right?), and added some cool dot fabrics by Marcus Brothers.
I pieced it with Aurifil 50wt thread, and quilted it with Aurifil monofilament on the ditch and elsewhere with Aurifil 40wt. Nothing beats their monofilament on the ditch - I use it on top and in the bobbin with no complaints from my Bernina.
On this photograph (no funky lighting) you can see the real color of the Gypsy Princess fabrics. Don't you love them? The Flying Geese blocks were really easy to put together because for this pattern we used the 2" x 4" Flying Geese and 6" Braided Paper Triangles on a Roll # 1504. That was such a fun way to sew flying geese!
The patches are cut to size, than stitched onto the paper (no need to flip and sew like we do in foundation piecing), then we stitch the flying geese stack to the rest of the block, and finally remove paper which comes off easily.
The fabric placement on the pattern is super cool: two shades of darker fabric on the background, two shades of lighter fabric on the flying geese and squares. The bed-size version of the quilt would look great with scrappy, light fabrics on the geese.
Lets go check out the quilts by the other participating bloggers to see how they turned out by going to Fat Quarter Shop's blog. I can't wait!
Your table topper looks great Denise!
This table topper is lovely. Love the lighter flying geese in the darker background fabrics.


text:
Q: ArrayList.trimToSize() method Can I use ArrayList.trimToSize() method in dynamic arrayList ?

*

*If I use it , what will be happened ?

*Can I get any benefits on using this method on dynamic ArrayList.

*In which case, I should use this method.

Thanks in advance.

A: From the docs you link yourself:

Trims the capacity of this ArrayList instance to be the list's current size. An application can use this operation to minimize the storage of an ArrayList instance.

Internally an ArrayList stores an array that holds all the items. At certain moments the ArrayList will "expand" this array by copying all values into a larger array. This happens whenever an item is being added and the required capacity is bigger than the current one. What happens at this point is the following line of code:
int newCapacity = oldCapacity + (oldCapacity >> 1);
elementData = Arrays.copyOf(elementData, newCapacity);

In essence this will create a new array that is 1.5 times the size of the current one. What this method does is resize the internal array so that it has no empty space left.

*

*Nothing will happen that's visible to you. You won't lose any data, it's just smaller backing array. Adding data to the arraylist will again expand the array normally.

*I assume you mean a "normal" ArrayList. If you use this, you will reduce the memory used but it will also be futile if you will still add data after that AND it is pretty useless for small lists. If you have an ArrayList of many, many items and you're sure you don't want to add anymore then you can call this method to reduce some memory footprint.

*See above. I don't think it's very likely you'll ever use this.
trimToSize() from the source:
public void trimToSize() {
    modCount++;
    int oldCapacity = elementData.length;
    if (size < oldCapacity) {
        elementData = Arrays.copyOf(elementData, size);
    }
}

A: Well, that's simple:

*

*The ArrayList will be trimmed to its current size

*Yes, you can minimize the storage of an ArrayList instance

*When you want to trim the ArrayList and minimize its storage

But seriously: There are few occasions where this method should be called (I personally have never used it). It's related to how an ArrayList is implemented: As the name suggests, the ArrayList internally uses an array to store the data. When you add new elements to the ArrayList, the size of the array is increased as needed. When you add 1000000 elements to the ArrayList, then the internal Array will have a .length of at least (!) 1000000. When you afterwards remove 999999 elements from the ArrayList, then the internal array will still have a .length of at least 1000000. The call to trimToSize will then make sure that the internal array only has the required size (1, in this case). But again: This is hardly ever necessary or beneficial. You should usually not work on ArrayList instances anyhow, but on the (more general) List interface.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Case Study: Lovoo
Getting the most out of converted Users
LOVOO found the most cost effective strategies
Almost every retargeted LOVOO user converts to a paying user
The LTV of users being retargeted increased by 20%
About Lovoo
LOVOO is a free app that makes it possible to get to know other people quick and easy. The Live radar shows other users nearby and lets you contact them directly.
With over 23 million users, LOVOO is one of the most successful mobile social networks worldwide and also the app with the most gross-revenue in the German App Store apart from gaming apps. Since 2011 LOVOO is available for iPhone and Android smartphones.
Supercharging user LTV with retargeting
LOVOO were already capturing large portions of the target audience in key markets, in some months growing their user base by hundreds of thousands per week. At these volumes, the typical performance campaigns were saturating in places, and the team looked for new opportunities to engage with their audience. Retargeting and re-engagement — where existing users would be targeted with messages aiming to bring them back — was established as the new frontier. To make these campaigns come together, LOVOO brought in networks specialized in retargeting. As for Adjust, the role of the third party tracker in retargeting and re-engagement is twofold:
provide partners with the data they need to target users.
Accurately track the ROI of retargeted users.
Retargeting and re-engagement existing users with Adjust
The team at LOVOO had already scouted out the key network partners it wanted to integrate. On the Adjust side, a dedicated server module was set up to transmit data over to the network partners. In LOVOO's dashboard, the partner module was activated at the team's behest, and configured to transmit the exact data they wanted to share and no more.
The tracking data for a retargeting campaign is different from standard performance campaigns in terms of how the users' lifetime is considered. Normally, a user's lifetime starts at the install, and the user is permanently attributed to a given segment. In order to analyze the performance of retargeting campaigns, the users responding to the campaign need to be moved into a new segment, representing the users that responded to retargeting.
As the campaigns started to go live, users responded to the CTAs. The conversions from these campaigns, as well as the resulting user engagement, was swiftly recorded in the Adjust dashboard as separate segments.
The LOVOO team had not only the aggregate data at its fingertips, but the conversion data was provided to key partners and LOVOO's own BI systems as well.
Leveraging data for 20% increase in retargeted user's lTV
LOVOO continues to retarget a percentage of its existing users continuously, using a variety of channels. By experimenting with a few different providers, the team could boil down a few key strategies that provide the most bang for the buck.
Almost every retargeted LOVOO user converts to a paying user within a week of the retargeting campaign. On average, the LTV of users being retargeted increases by 20% after their conversion. Users that respond to a retargeting campaign also return to spend a lot more time in the app — the segment of users that converted from a retargeting campaign have 45% longer sessions than users who found the app from performance campaigns.


text:
Stiff Box 12 is a public artwork by Lucas Samaras, installed in a courtyard at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA).

Background
Samaras created the piece in 1971, and UMMA acquired it in 1997. Previously, it has been on display in the White House gardens, while on loan from the Guggenheim Museum.

In 1982, Norman Parkinson shot a photo of model Iman by the sculpture in Palm Beach, Florida.

Description
The piece is made of Cor-Ten steel, and it is 75 inches tall, 56 inches wide, and 15 inches deep.

UMMA describes the piece as follows:Made of thick steel, this sculpture has two very distinct halves. One on side, the thick sheet of steel gracefully curves around and back on itself, making loops and rounded edges. On the reverse, the steel is angular, jagged, and sharp, jutting into the spaces in the sculpture's interior and the space around the whole. At the very center of the piece, along the implied dividing line between the two sides, is a relatively small box.Albert Hofammann, writing for the Morning Call in 1984, wrote of the sculpture, "The work has an enormous physical weight, but its mass viewed in aesthetic terms is not clumsy for several reasons: The depth is only 14 inches, thus providing a two- dimensional effect, and the configurations are as much concerned with open space as with solid mass."

Thomas E. Mcevilley noted in Sculpture in the Age of Doubt that the piece has a "lightninglike and dragonlike support . . . a delicate balancing that would be unbalanced by removing from or adding anything to the box itself."

References

1971 sculptures
Public art in Michigan
Tourist attractions in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Steel sculptures in Michigan
1997 establishments in Michigan
Outdoor sculptures in Michigan
University of Michigan campus

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Pulitzer Prize-winner Margo Jefferson takes on the legend and legacy of the King of Pop.
Whip-smart, and with a ripped-from-the-headlines attitude, this book is a call to arms, demonstrating the unique ability of graphic design to speak truth to power.
Tracks every 3 minutes for easy bookmarking --Container.


How well traveled are you in your home country?
In what country are you the most well traveled?
Are you well traveled in your home country?
My answer for the first question is New Zealand. We've traveled nearly end to end, and have experienced its beauty in many different ways. We also had challenging experiences, like the horrible storm and flood of 2010, being eaten alive by its fierce sandflies, and I even had fallen into its omnipresent sheep poop.
New Zealand is the country we are best traveled in, and we love the country to pieces. Now that we're back in Canada to celebrate the holiday season with Ryan's side of the family, a friend of mine asked, how come I haven't traveled a lot here in Canada? Do I know my own country like I know New Zealand? My answer is regrettably, no.
Are the countries we come from not worthy of travel? No, they are very traveling worthy! Both Ryan and I came from gorgeous countries with so much to offer. So, how come we haven't traveled a lot there yet? Let me bring you to a little of our background.
I was born in Surabaya, Indonesia. You probably haven't heard of it, but it's Indonesia's second largest city after the capital Jakarta, and it's located on Java Island in the east. If you don't know Java, it's the long island west of world famous Bali. I was not a very adventurous girl when I was small, and as a kid I had only traveled around Java and Bali. At that time, you could find me easier at home doing my school work or reading some novels, at local malls, or at those places you do extra curricular activities. Even in holidays.
One exception was when we went to Manado in a family trip after I moved to Canada. We went back for visiting my family in Surabaya, and together we went to Manado and surrounding, including the Bunaken Island, a heaven for SCUBA diving. In the same trip, we went to Central Jawa around Borobudur temple, enjoying the famous Suharti Chicken and witnessing the giant mud spurt in Bledug Kuwu. The best holiday I've ever had in Indonesia! However, other than that, I haven't been around much at all. Indonesia is a very large, diverse country, with hundreds of cultures and thousands of islands to explore, and I've only really seen a few of them.
When we lived in Ryan's home country of Canada, instead of traveling in Canada itself, most of the time we ended up traveling in the USA. Everything in Canada is far away and flights are not very cheap among Canadian destinations. It's easier and cheaper for us to cross the border to the USA, only 2 hours away from home, and from there either taking cheaper flights among USA destinations or taking a road trip. The only time we spent more than a week for traveling in Canada was when we explored the breathtaking Canadian Rockies in Alberta.
When we finally decided to be a long term backpackers, our imagination went wild! We were thinking about faraway places. Places that we didn't imagine we will get to know closely and thoroughly before. Far-flung places like Europe, South East Asia, Down Under, Africa, South America, Pacific and Atlantic islands, even Antarctica. And somehow in our excitement we forgot to include our own countries in the picture! I guess they're just so close to us, we felt as if we knew a lot about them already. Even though in reality, we knew those places just from books, TV and internet, rather than actually experiencing it ourselves.
Indonesia is a very diverse country. There are approximately 18,000 islands, where only less than 1,000 being permanently inhabited, and over 300 ethnic groups, which some of them still live traditionally. Many different cultures, architectures, arts, foods and social lives to explore. There are untouched beautiful beaches, wild and active volcanoes, deep and wild forests with exotic animals and plants. Several world famous (or infamous) giant corpse plants that I'm dying to see are growing wild only in the deepest forest of Sumatra.
I've overlooked these things, and I thought I knew about Indonesia just because I was there for 22 years, in which I received education and heard news about those places. But now, as I traveled around the world, comparing what I know about New Zealand and Indonesian exotic places, I don't know much at all. I read many travel articles from non-Indonesian backpackers that delve deeply into Indonesia, and I feel a bit ashamed to realize how much these people experienced, and how little I experienced, about my own country.
Same deal with Canada. There are a lot of Canadian things that we haven't experienced, that other backpackers that have explored Canada are more familiar with. Exploring the French side of Canada, checking out the tundra and forest of the northern wilderness, traveling the coast of British Columbia, learning and getting close with the Inuit and Native American culture, exploring the fishing villages of the Maritimes, trying adog-sled-ride with the Siberian huskies, witnessing the aurora borealis, and the list can keep growing forever.
So now we've put backpacking through Indonesia and Canada on our agenda. We still don't know when, (it's a very long to-do list), and we don't usually carefully schedule where we go, just go where the wind blows us. But we are quite sure that one day we'll be able to proudly say, we have explored our own countries.
So… tell us… In what country are you the most well traveled?
Are you well traveled in your home country? If not, why?
« Merry Christmas from Canada!
Like you, I think I'm most well-traveled in New Zealand.
And I'm not very well-traveled in the U.S. But I'm planning to fix that this year! Most of my travel in 2011 will be confined to the U.S., because, like you, I've decided it's time to get to know my home country a bit better.
I think this is true of most travelers, however. We're so used to "home" that we're convinced other places are better and more interesting. That saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side," rings true here, I think.
Yeah, it's silly that I don't really realize that until I saw how some of the fellow travel blogger, non-Indonesian, know much more about rural Indonesia than me.
Good pick on the saying, neighbour's grass looks greener indeed many times.
Eeeek, home country? Indonesia — not much.
My adopted home country, The US? — Lol, not much either. But both countries are huuuuuge. Even though I can comfortably say that we've been all over our 'state' — California… there's still more to discover. And we're thankful for that.
Hehe, that's true that Indonesia (and USA and Canada) are huge. It will take a long time to finish them. It's funny, we were just in California a few weeks ago, unfortunately you guys were not there. In Indonesia?
Great question and observation! Like you, I have probably seen more of NZ then the US on a per sq/mile/km basis. Mainly because it's so tiny! And while we snub our American noses at those who do not have passports, it took traveling to Australia to realize WHY a lot of Americans don't. We have so much variety in our own country, why leave? We are one the of the few you can hike a glacier, roll in a Zorb, surf, see iconic buildings, raft, drive for miles and not see a sole, etc etc etc. You would think I just described NZ! But you can do it all in the US. Plus, we have different accents, depending on the part of the country. Can't say I heard that in Australia! I have more patience for people in the US that don't have passports now then I did before.
Thanks Rebecca! Yeah, it's so easy to be well traveled in NZ. It's small compare to our countries, and so easy to navigate. Just drive a little distance, another great scene pops up! (You've traveled in Australia too, were you driving/traveling by land there? Everything is so far away). It took me reading people's blog about USA to realize that it offers so many. USA, Canada and Indonesia are huge. Maybe we need to consider talking about them in "state/province" units instead of country.
Totally agree on taking states/province on as units. When driving around NZ, I was like, this is probably what California was like in the 1950's, culture-wise:-).
I covered most of Australia by land, either by tour (like from ADL to Uluru, SYD to BRI, MEL to ADL), bus (from CNS to BRI, 6 weeks! SYD to MEL, overnight) and a little flying (BRI to CNS, Alice back to MEL).
We also mostly exploring Australia in the east. CNS to BRI in 6 weeks sounds wonderful. We were returning car from Sydney to Cairs (cheap relocation), but we were allowed only 5 days. We spent several weeks in Cairns, Atherton Tableland, and around though.
Our knowledge of Australia is poor, there's so much we haven't done but we hope to see a bit more over the next 6 months! It's a generational thing here in Australia – most people our age would prefer to head overseas and explore while the people exploring Australia are typically older folk.
Apart from our home town of Melbourne, the only place we've visited over the past 5 years is Queensland! Not good!
Kieron´s last post…7 reasons why you should take that round-the-world trip and travel now!
Very true, I met a lot of young Australian traveler abroad, and elderly ones in caravans in Australia.
It seems like we have explored Victoria more than you guys, but soon you will be the master of USA and Canada!
It's so funny that you said you'd come to the U.S. when you wanted to go somewhere cheaper. Clark and I did the same thing with Canada. I think lots of Americans (including Canadians) don't travel much because it is so expensive and intimidating to make that long journey to another continent.
We're like you though, we haven't seen a lot of some parts of our own country! Now that we're nearly finished with our RTW trip, I think we're going to make a goal of seeing more of the U.S.
Hahaha, sounds like the case of neighbour's grass looking greener, with our cheap shopping situation!.
Good point on the cost and intimidation of long journey. Before Canadian is required to have a passport for crossing the USA-Canada border, I know many Canadians here that didn't even have passport.
Normally people here travel as far as Mexico and Caribbean, because it's cheaper and easy to arrange. With all of those all-inclusive packages.
I would looove to travel throughout Indonesia. Hundreds of cultures? That would be just fascinating. Canada? Sorry, but it seems like almost pure nature to me and, therefore, kind of boring. I'm not that well traveled in the US, I don't think. I've only been to the West Coast once, the deep South once and never to the Pacific Northwest. Other areas, though, I've at least touched on. I did live in five different states throughout the country, so maybe that's considered well traveled.
Haha, I know you are big in culture You should try to travel in Indonesia. It's very diverse, and it's cheap too. I can speak Javanese (well, not that great since it's a complicated language), but it's not even useful in the west part of Java because the ethnic language there is Sundanese. And even when I speak in regular Indonesian, my Sundanese friends will laugh at me because of my thick Java/Surabaya accent in it.
In Hari Kartini, one of Indonesian national day, school kids will wear traditional clothes from various different ethnicity (doesn't have to match with their own). It's a pretty cool sight. I don't know these days they are still doing it or not.
Very good question, I've traveled a lot and last year I realise the place I had traveled less was my hometown. So I spent a year in Sardinia, the Italian island I come from, and visited as much as I could before moving overseas again!
I bet you had a great time in your Sardinia year. We had the chance to take a peek at Sardinia 2 years ago. We passed through Cagliari and visited Nora the historical site. I wish we had longer time there.
Hey Dina!! I'm not well traveled at home…I've been to a few places, sure, but nothing out of the ordinary.
It takes us exploring abroad destinations first isn't it, to realize that!
For me, it's India. I feel more comfortable and more knowledgeable about that country than any other on the planet. As for the US (my home country), while I've explored it quite extensively, it has almost never been as an independent traveler, but instead, as part of family trips, to visit friends or on a short road trip. So in the end, I have only just skimmed the surface!
One day I'm sure I'll travel through the US more properly…but not before another visit to Indonesia!
India, eh I did get the impression for a while back that you are most familiar with Indian food! Even though you are still not comfortable cleaning your ears Indian way?
Yes, please explore Indonesia. Then you can tell me great places to visit!
Interesting question I asked myself when I returned from Italy this summer. Italy is definitely a country I know better than my own. I have spent a few years in the country, here and there. I love it so much that while I realize I should travel more throughout the United States, I figure why fight what you like. I have also traveled extensively throughout my home in the US, especially as a kid. We were always going on road trips, but many places I don't remember. Italy speaks to me in ways the US doesn't. I think that's why I would rather be there than here, along with most travelers.
Great post! I'm Canadian and have traveled here and there across the country. I sometimes regret that I haven't done more travel in my home country. I just think that I haven't explored that much of the outside world just yet and off I go to South America or Europe! I like your goal to explore more of Canada – I'm doing the same and spending a weekend in Montreal next month.
Hey Cheryl, yeah, we keep delay doing home countries, because now we have the chance to explore the world. Especially before we start having kids or when our health start failing. Hey, have fun in Montreal! Are you currently in Toronto?
Great idea for a post! I travelled a lot around the States before I became an expat. But many Australians I met have barely travelled around their beautiful country, electing to go overseas instead (usually because it is cheaper). I think it is important to travel in your own country so you can get a sense of where you come from.
Haha, indeed it's expensive to travel in Australia!! I agree, getting the sense of where we are from. Hope someday I will fulfill that.
Yeah, when it cost the same to explore hometown/home country and faraway abroad, it's more attractive to just go to the far ones. Plus we will more likely see different/unexpected things than if we stick with nearby destinations.
Hi Dina, I've traveled the east coast of the US extensively, and I've made a couple of trips to the west coast. I've never made it to Alaska. Now that I live in Texas I should make more trips in the state (which is huge) like out to the west, and more on the Gulf coast.
I think the problem when travelling internally within Australia is that I sometimes don't allow myself to be a complete tourist and tend take some of the things for granted. On future trips, I intend to be the ultimate Aussie tourist! Woo!
True that. Australia has so much great natural beauty in it, many of them I've never seen (yet) in other places. But it's a very expensive place to travel too, so I kinda understand if an Aussie, especially the younger one, chose to go abroad first – there are many cheaper travel option out there.
I totally get your point!
As I said in another blog, I travelled to Ottawa… to get my UK visa! Little bit ironic.
But for us Canucks, it's just as expensive to travel to the other end of our own country than togo abroad. Most people chose the latter, because it's more exotic.
BC and Alberta are definitely on list of places to go one day. But I have a slight tendancy to prefer international destinations.
Funny How far do you have to travel to Ottawa?
I agree about traveling within Canada. Places are spread out and it's expensive to get from a place to another, in general. If it was not for a conference I had in Edmonton, I probably wouldn't have been in Canadian Rockies either. I'm very thankful that I've been there though, it remains one of the prettiest place I've seen.
The only time we spent more than a week for traveling in Canada was when we explored the breathtaking Canadian Rockies in Alberta.
Totally! That remains one of my favourite place on earth. We went there before the high season hit. Not only it was cheaper, but also it was not crowded with human.
I know we already chatted about this on Twitter, but yes, it's so easy to have your sights set on international travel and enjoy what's at home! When I was younger, my family primarily stuck to US travel (NYC, DC, all over Colorado and California, etc.). But as I got older, I became fixated with Europe, and my last few major trips have been to Europe. But I also realized I was totally ignoring the US! I'm trying to change that. In February, I went back to Boston for the first time in high school. In November, I went to New Orleans for the first time. I also just went skiing in Colorado in December. While there are TONS of countries still on my list to visit, I definitely try to balance that with exploring my own country.
Indonesia sounds amazing!!! I can't wait to go there someday.
It sounds like wonderful childhood! Your country is huge, there are so many national parks that I want to visit from the pictures and stories that I read from other travelers. It's so easy to became fixated to different part of the earth, we are so curious of what's going on right there!
I almost didn't go to Alberta if I didn't have a conference there. But now I'm so grateful, it's one of the most beautiful place I've seen!
And yeah, please visit Indonesia someday!! And I can recommend bunch of my favourite foods, if you happen to go around where I'm from!
I would agree that New Zealand is the country that I've traveled the most in and I was always struck by the similarities between my home state of Oregon (and the rest of the Pacific Northwest) and New Zealand. I'm not as well traveled in my home state as I am in New Zealand, but this is the year that I stay home and see the rest of the Pacific Northwest rather than getting out of the country and I couldn't be more excited. It's a trip that is long overdue.
I had several days in Seattle and Portland several years ago, and from a little that I saw, I think I know what you mean by the similarity with new Zealand. The Columbia river gorge near Portland comes into mind. We were hoping to have the time exploring the mountainous area, but our time was too short. I'm happy for you that you will have the chance to explore this region more soon!
Hmmm, I'm definitely the most well-traveled in the US, but only the West Coast…and that's due to family vacations when I was a kid. If it was up to me, I'd know Japan or Italy more than the US…haha. In the last year I have really started to appreciate local travel and have been spending a lot more time just exploring the Bay Area. 2011 is probably going to be a strictly domestic travel year, but I am hoping to get out to the East Coast (I've only been there once!).
Prior to 2010 I'd have said that Korea had my most experience, but I made a pretty solid effort at exploring Australia last year thanks to my American girlfriend.
There's definitely still a lot I need to see though.
Thanks to your American girlfriend Australia is a huge country indeed, it's its own continent. Huge. We feel it so much when we did the road trip there, and comparing with the distances we did in NZ, to get from a place to another.
It's a lot of fun to hear your Korean story in Sydney Travel Tribe, and hey, are you going back to Korea?
I haven't explored all the wonderful places here but I'm planning to at least start it this year. I have lots of good places in mind so I hope I could go there as soon as possible.
Sounds exciting! DO you know where are you going to head first?
I'm pretty well traveled in Canada. I traveled for work, so I a lot in the evening and on weekends, when I was on the road. I haven't been to Saskatchewan or the territories, but that's about it. Canada is an expensive country to travel in, and the distances are great. I meet people all the time in my travels who haven't made it east of Montreal. I'm always thrilled when someone tells me that they have been to Nova Scotia.
You are so well traveled in Canada! One day we will do that too. I hear Nova Scotia is very beautiful.
What a beautiful post. I love Canada and especially the mountains. This past summer we spent a couple month exploring our own backyard and loved every minute of it. I can't wait to get to Indonesia, that photo of the Prambanan temple is amazing!
Thanks so much, Pete! You were super lucky to live near Canadian rockies, my fav spot in Canada.
I can totally relate to this. The same like you, when I was a kid my parents didn't take me to faraway places in Indonesia. The only 'exotic' destination that I remember was Jogja. Even it took me 26 years to finally go to Bali. But I'm planning a two or three months trip across Indonesia in a few years' time with a fellow travel blogger from Hong Kong. I hope after exploring a significant breadth of the country, I can be more confident when talking about Indonesia with foreign travelers. Nice article, Dina!
Yes… Indeed, Dina. I am an Indonesian myself and I was somewhere in-between proud and ashamed when my foreign friend was already "done" travelling every corner of Indonesia. Meanwhile, my travel destination these past years were always abroad. Anyways, you gotta follow your heart on where to go right? LOL, so consider I am redeemed for that.
But for sure, I am on my way to exploring our beautiful Indonesia. Good luck on your journey!
I may have traveled more in my home country than in other countries but after just a few years, things have often changed in places where you've been before. So, I guess, go where the wind blows.


Specialised server software implemented in the cluster architecture is used for communication between NT Adaptive controllers with the outside world and the solution of applied recognition tasks.
The use of the cluster architecture allows to achieve scalability and fault tolerance.
The logical foundation of the cluster is a virtual data bus constructed with the use of the message queue ideology (Message Queue – MQ). At a lower level, messages are transmitted via the protocol TCP/IP, which, in turn, can use the local network (possibly dedicated) built according to the technology 1G Ethernet or, if it necessary to increase the bandwidth and decrease latency, 10G/40G/100G Ethernet or InfiniBand.
Software cluster elements can be hosted on a single physical server. In this case, the cluster architecture is maintained and transport IPC can be used instead of TCP/IP to reduce the overhead costs of messaging.
Both servers and general-purpose computers, the characteristics of which (the number of cores, RAM capacity, etc.) are selected on the basis of the complexity of the tasks to be solved. Owing to the cluster architecture, the number and characteristics of the physical nodes may change over time and there is no requirement of using any identical hardware.
They receive data from external sources (MES systems, databases, etc.). On the basis of the received raw data, they form tasks for the Computing Modules and put them in a queue. They receive tasks from the queue for sending to the Adaptive Controllers NT Adaptive. At request, they form a visual representation of the current state of the cluster and its components (web interface, administrator command line, etc.).
They extract data processing tasks from the queue and execute them (filtering, averaging, smoothing, format conversion, etc.).
On the basis of the obtained results, they create tasks and put them in the queue for other components of the cluster.
Reporting on the operation of the cluster with the required level of detail.


text:
FOCUS© Outcome Measure - Publications
How do we know the FOCUS works?
A three year research study was completed to examine the validity of the FOCUS. One hundred and fifty-five preschool children with a variety of communication disorders participated in the study. The FOCUS was completed at assessment, the start of treatment and the end of the treatment block. Nine hours of individual and/or group treatment was provided. The FOCUS measured more change during the treatment interval than during the wait list interval, although positive change was measured during both intervals. Some change was expected during the wait list interval as communication strategies were provided to parents during the wait list interval.
Changes on the FOCUS were also compared to a measure of social and emotional skills. As predicted, a moderate correlation was found between this measure and FOCUS scores.
FOCUS is a new broadly applicable measure of 'communicative participation' for preschool children. It is able to measure changes in communication skills and participation/performance after 9 hours of speech-language therapy. The predicted relationships with a measure of social-emotional skills were confirmed, indicating that FOCUS has strong construct validity. More detailed results of the FOCUS validity study will be published shortly.
1.SAC-OAC (May 2010). Position Statement on Outcome Measures. Find online here.
2. Thomas-Stonell, N., Oddson, B., Robertson, B., Rosenbaum, P. Validation of the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication under Six outcome measure
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. Vol. 55, Issue 6, pgs. 546-552, 2013. DOI: 10.111/dmcn.12123.
Available for free download, click here.
3. Thomas-Stonell, N., Washington, K., Oddson, B., Robertson, B., Rosenbaum, P. Measuring communicative participation using the FOCUS: Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six
Child: Care, Health and Development. Vol. 39, Issue 4, pgs. 474-480, 2013. DOI: 10.1111/cch.12049
4. Washington, K., Thomas-Stonell, N., Oddson, B., McLeod, S., Warr-Leeper, G., Robertson, B., Rosenbaum, P. Construct validity of the FOCUS (Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six): a communicative participation outcome measure for preschool children
5. Washington, K., Oddson, B., Robertson, B., Rosenbaum, P., Thomas-Stonell, N. Reliability of the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS)
Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology, Vol. 15, Issue 1, pgs. 25-31, 2013.
6. Oddson, B., Washington, K., Robertson, B., Rosenbaum, P. & Thomas-Stonell, N. (2013) Inter-rater Reliability of Clinicians' Ratings of Preschool Children using the FOCUS©: Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology, 37(2), 170-174.
7. Eadie, T.L., Yorkston, K.M., Klasner, E.R., Dudgeon, B.J., Deitz, J.C., Baylor, C.R., Miller, R.M., & Amtmann, D. (2006). Measuring communicative participation: a review of self-report instruments in speech-language pathology. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 15 (4): 207-320.
8. Rosenbaum, P., Cadman, D., Russell, D., Gowland, C., Hardy, S., & Jarvis, S. Issues in measuring change in motor function in children with cerebral palsy. A special communication. Physical Therapy, 70(2), pgs. 125-131, 1990.
9.Thomas-Stonell, N., Oddson, B., Robertson, B., Rosenbaum, P. Predicted and observed outcomes in preschool children following speech and language treatment: Parent and clinician perspectives. Journal of Communication Disorders. Vol. 42, Issue 1, pgs. 29-42, 2009.
10.Thomas-Stonell, N.L., Oddson, B., Robertson, B., Rosenbaum, P., Development of the FOCUS (Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six), a communication outcome measure for preschool children. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 52, pgs. 47-53, 2010.
11.World Health Organization. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health – Children and Youth Version 2007; Geneva: World Health Organization.


I wish I could have hung on to the Chloe Kim snowboarding victory and let it last the entire two weeks.
This was supposed to be an Asian American Winter Olympics in Asia, especially the way NBC was pushing both Kim and men's figure skater Nathan Chen.
We know about the Asian American Olympians of the past from Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan. Asian American women are hell on blades.
But would these be the games where Nathan Chen creates a new Asian American male stereotype? Would we be transported from the one-inch punching Bruce Lee to the new King of Quads in a Vera Wang costume (one that doesn't malfunction)?
Perhaps in 2022. Not quite this time.
After Kim's scintillating snowboard run that lasted less than a minute, Chen took the spotlight and stumbled in the team competition. He helped to win Bronze there, but that was well short of the goal.
The graceless tumbling continued for the women skaters. Though Mirai Nagasu nailed an historic opening triple axel and was lauded in the team skate, she struggled in the individual skates along with teammate Karen Chen and bottomed out the top ten.
Nathan Chen tried to rally with a tremendous quad performance in his individual long skate, but it wasn't enough to medal.
After Kim's smashing start, we only had the ice dancing Shibutanis' Bronze in ice dancing to cheer.
And what a coincidence: Alex and Maia medaled and took their star turn around the same time as the 76th anniversary of Executive Order 9066.
Asian Americans of Japanese descent weren't foreigners then or now.
At these games, here were the #ShibSibs representing all of America.
Of course, they were third best at these games. But with the America-centric coverage, it was hard to tell. The ShibSibs tended to get more air time on NBC than the Gold medalists Virtue and Moir of Canada. (But hey, they have better health care; they will survive).
But I found how you really couldn't tell a person's nationality or ethnicity at these games without a score card, passport, or blood test.
That's for certain when it came to drugs. The official name for Putin's team was The Olympic Athletes of Russia. I added an N.O.D., for "Not on Drugs." It was quite a statement at the games–especially when a Russian curler was disqualified for testing positive during the competition itself.
American Filipinos Asa Miller, a 17-year-old skier from Oregon, downhill skied for the Philippines team and finished 70th.
His teammate was Los Angeles-based Michael Christian Martinez, who finished 28th in the men's individual figure skating competition.
The loosened rules, especially those allowing dual citizens through birth and immigration to compete, were actually a refreshing thing about these games.
Americans competing on other countries' teams? You mean like Trump not acting on Russian meddling in our elections as if he's on Team Russia?
For me, it's these little things that will mark the 2018 Olympic games. Images of VP Mike Pence in close proximity to the sister of Kim Jong Un. The North Korean cheerleading squad. And the combined Korean team playing on the same hockey team.
It was just a clinker. More than a display of ignorance. It was an insistence on the wrong pronunciation. An act of defiance.
The Business Journal's Ben Fisher asked NBC, which essentially showed how much it cared about accuracy.
And that gold of Chloe Kim's wasn't yellow.


The Boingnet team had a ball working with the great folks at Agile Education Marketing as we prepared and presented a ton of great content in the webinar titled "Landing Pages – the Key to Higher Conversion". Boingnet CEO Dennis Kelly reviewed what landing pages are, why they are useful, the 3 most common types of landing page, and what makes landing pages successful or not.
The team here at Boingnet has been working incredibly hard to roll out Boingnet v2. After our successful launch at the fall DMA13 show in Chicago, we've started recording videos that enable marketers to gain a visual understanding of exactly how Boingnet v2 can help them. The Boingnet v2 Overview Webinar is a full, high level overview of Boingnet v2.
We at Boingnet are very excited to introduce the first of our Boingnet v2 Webinar Series on Thursday, November 21st at 1 PM EST. Join us as we review the how Boingnet v2 can help you build killer campaigns that live and work together to drive conversions.
and how they can work together with BoingDrips – our new Drip Marketing capability that lets you segment your campaigns while they are running to automatically reach out with different messages and channels in order to connect with your targets.
Boingnet published this page that I thought you might be interested in: "Landing Pages – the Key to Higher Conversion Webinar". Here is the website link: http://www.boingnet.com/2014/05/23/landing-page-webinaragile-education-marketing/. Thank you.


text:
Warning Signs of an Abuser
The warning signs of an abuser are often easy to dismiss. While you may think that your husband or boyfriend is just "hot-tempered", his actions may be giving you clues to something more. The following article points out some of the characteristics of a potentially abusive man, and why you shouldn't lightly dismiss the signs.
Recognizing the Red Flags of Abusive Personalities
By Tracy Achen
It's not easy to spot an abuser. After all, they aren't some three-headed monster that people run screaming from on the street. And they don't come with warning labels so you'll know to avoid them.
In fact, people with abusive personalities are generally sociable and well-respected members of society. Most are charming and self-assured in a crowd. And when allegations of abuse come up, people who know the couple are often shocked and may not believe the victim.
If it's hard to recognize an abuser by outward appearances, how can you protect yourself from entering into a relationship with one? There are some red flags which indicate signs of an abuser that you should be aware of in any relationship.
Below are some behaviors commonly found in people with abusive personalities, and they apply to both genders. Women are equally as capable of being an abuser. It's just not as recognized because men rarely report the abuse. It's important to note that some of these qualities exist in people who don't abuse. But the tendency for abuse becomes more predictable as the number and intensity of abusive characteristics increases.
Classic Warning Signs of an Abuser
Rushes the relationship - When dating, you may feel pressured to make the relationship exclusive after just a few dates. He may seem overly jealous and accuse you of flirting with other men. It's as if he's obsessed with you, calling, stopping by, and sending numerous texts throughout the day. It starts out as a whirlwind romance and you're not given time to process how you really feel about the whole relationship. Many women find themselves trapped in an abusive marriage after getting engaged and married soon after they started dating.
Likes to be the center of attention - Do all your conversations revolve around him; on what he's doing or his latest achievements? Is he focused on acquiring status symbols to inflate his superior image? Abusers tend to be self-centered and will point out how they are more talented or smarter than someone else. And they tend to downplay your achievements and will take little interest in what is important to you.
Has poor impulse control - A person with an abusive personality is prone to mood swings and gets frustrated or flies off the handle easily. Do little things set off an explosive temper, resulting in road rage, breaking or throwing things, or lashing out at innocent bystanders? These are not healthy responses to anger. Once the anger has passed, does he shower you with gifts and apologies to make up for his behavior? Impulsiveness also often leads this type of person to have one-night stands and if caught, will make excuses by claiming it was a drunken mistake and it didn't mean anything.
Drug or alcohol abuse - Substance abuse doesn't cause domestic violence, but often contributes to argumentative situations. And an abuser will often excuse their behavior on the alcohol or drugs.
Has an abusive history - Many abusers experienced controlling behavior or abuse as a child. And they may use it as an excuse for their actions, saying that's the way they were raised. This often pulls the heart-strings of their romantic partner, and they will overlook outbursts and try to make up for their partner's bad upbringing. Another red flag is if your partner was in a previous abusive relationship but downplays his behavior by saying he was only defending himself. Or he may claim she pushed him to that level, but you're nothing like her.
Has a sense of superiority - Many abusers feel like they deserve special treatment and resent having to wait on anything. He may consider his feelings as being more important than yours or anyone else's. People with abusive personalities often act superior to others and will be rude to waiters or service personnel. They are also highly critical and will mock or dismiss others feelings or problems.
Blames others for his problems and feelings -Abusers have somewhat of a pessimistic attitude and complain that life isn't fair. Bad days are often an excuse for angry outbursts. The abuser is easily insulted and takes the stance that setbacks are always someone else's fault. A more subtle sign may be if you are compared in a very positive light to his exes, who he only has bad things to say about. Eventually you will become the focus of his distain.
Lacks empathy - Abusers often disregard the feelings of others, saying a person is being too sensitive or needs to grow up. Another less obvious sign is cruelty towards animals, such as being mean when playing with a pet or using excessive punishment (such as kicking the dog or throwing the cat).
Disregard for rules - A person with an abusive personality has little respect for rules and may be seen as a rebel. They may have a history of past or present criminal activity and think law enforcement is out to get them. They were often delinquent during school or have been fired from numerous jobs for showing up late or not showing up at all. A more subtle sign is persistent lying to avoid the negative effects of their behavior.
Sexual Intimidation - When you first started dating, you may have felt pressured into having an intimate relationship before you were ready. Once the relationship progresses, the "playful" use of force in sex may come up when acting out a fantasy. A person with a controlling personality may also initiate sex when you're asleep, will guilt you into getting what he wants by sulking, and shows little concern for your wishes or satisfaction. Eventually you feel more like a sexual prop than a partner who is loved.
Shift in Relationship Dynamics - You may feel like your partner has unrealistic expectations of you. It's like you're the center of his universe and are responsible for meeting all his needs, physically, emotionally, and domestically. He wants you all to himself and resents any time you spend away from him with your friends, family, or activities. You may notice that he uses sarcastic humor as a subtle putdown and he tends to disregard your opinions and accomplishments; downplaying them as minor and unimportant. Eventually, this disrespect comes in the form of snide remarks about your appearance, cooking, driving, etc. It's like you can do nothing right.
Having many of the Traits above - Having one or two of the above characteristics to a slight degree does not necessarily mean that a person is an abuser. It's the cumulative effect of many of the above behaviors that signals that a person may be bad news for you. Listen to your inner voice and don't think you can reform a "bad boy". The pattern of abuse only escalates as time goes by.
Why Women Fall for an Abuser
Abusers are attracted to women who are "pleasers", vulnerable, or easy to manipulate. They may look at a man's flaws and think they can change them with enough love. And while it's often quoted that most women in abusive relationships have experienced abuse from their family or prior relationships, that's not always the case.
Women who were raised in a healthy environment and have had normal relationships with other men may also fall victim to an abuser. They just have the assumption that someone who loves them will treat them with respect and reciprocate their love. When their partner fails to do so, they may try even harder to win their love. And thus begins the downward spiral of domestic abuse.
If these warning signs of an abuser ring a bell in your relationship, the following articles can give you more information about abusive relationships:
Recognizing Emotional Abuse
Domestic Violence Effects on Children
Leaving an Abusive Husband
Divorcing an Abusive Husband
Recovery for Survivors of Abuse