text:
Parents Who Pay to Be Watched
Armed with Nest Cams and 24/7 surveillance, one company promises to fix even the most dysfunctional child — for a price.
By Kim Brooks
the one percent Aug. 22, 2017
Shep was 13 when he started stealing from his parents. It began not long after he and his siblings moved with their parents to a suburb north of New York City, from the city abroad where the family had lived for over a decade. While his siblings settled into their new home, Shep withdrew. He grew anxious and unhappy, and began to struggle in school and to obsess over the Madden NFL mobile football game, losing interest in everything else. His mother, Elizabeth, had suspected that, of all her children, the move back to America would be hardest on Shep; he had loved his friends and his life abroad, the independence he'd had there. He also had a history of anxiety and ADHD that made change more difficult. She'd suspected it might be rough, but she couldn't have predicted how quickly and completely he'd fall apart. Within a few months, Elizabeth felt as though she hardly recognized her son. The family took him to see assorted therapists, worried he was suffering from internet addiction, but none were able to help.
"He couldn't sleep. He couldn't focus on anything else but the game," said Jason, Shep's father. (The family's names have all been changed.) "He had total exhilaration when he did just that one thing, to the total exclusion of everything else in his life. He fell into it like crack, stopped sleeping regularly, was staying up all night, which made the ADHD worse."
When Jason and Elizabeth began restricting how much Shep could spend on Madden, he stole their credit cards, at one point racking up a $10,000 bill.
One night, after confiscating his computer and iPad, Elizabeth woke up at two in the morning with a feeling of dread. She made her way down the hallway to Shep's room, where she found his bed empty. She discovered her son in his closet, playing on an old, broken Xbox he'd restored himself, the iTunes gift cards he'd stolen from her office littering the floor. It was then that she realized they were in over their heads. An educational consultant they'd hired, Myrna Harris, suggested something that at first seemed extreme — a relatively new company known for helping children in crisis that could set up a highly structured, highly regimented environment in a home.
The family architects were the foot soldiers of the company, but the most critical part of the strategy involved the installation of a series of Nest Cams with microphones all around the house.
The company was called Cognition Builders, and Harris explained that they would send people to a family for a period of weeks to observe everyone's behavior and to figure out how parents could get better control over their kids. The people they sent were called "family architects." They'd move in with a family for months at a time, immersing themselves in their routines and rituals. The family architects were the foot soldiers in the Cognition Builders team, but the most critical part of the company's strategy involved the installation of a series of Nest Cams with microphones all around the house, which enabled round-the-clock observation and interaction in real time. At the end of each day, the architects would send the parents extensive emails and texts summarizing what they'd seen, which they'd use to develop a system of rules for the family to implement at home. Over time, the role of the family architects would evolve from observing to enforcing the rules. Through this kind of intensive scrutiny and constant behavioral intervention, they claimed to be able to change a family's, and a child's functioning from the ground up.
The idea, I learned by speaking with employees and clients of the company over several months, is that if you want to truly change the way a person parents, you need to be there as they're parenting, not occasionally but immersively and consistently. "We are a fly on the wall of a family's home," the company's clinical director, Sarah Lopano, explained. "We take a very behavioral approach to everything we do."
The science behind Cognition Builders "approach" isn't exactly straightforward. Lopano insists that the core of their program is educational, not therapeutic, and that they tailor their approach to the needs of a particular family and borrow from many different types of intervention. The family architects are young; many have advanced degrees in fields like education, behavior analysis, clinical psychology, or social work, but aren't necessarily licensed therapists. The "service" they provide comes down to watching you parent, suggesting changes, and making sure you do what they say.
Cognition Builders was incorporated in 2006 by Ilana Kukoff and since it was incorporated, Kukoff says the company has grown by 125 percent every year. Finding out more about Cognition Builders is challenging, however. Its website, which was password-protected at the time I began researching the story, shows a happy, blindingly caucasian, well-to-do family enjoying each other's company, and states simply, "We Are Here for You Through All of Life's Developmental Stages." Beyond that, Kukoff said the company does not advertise or publicize its services, it does no PR, and it relies entirely on word-of-mouth and referrals from a network of highly sought-after educational consultants, such as Myrna Harris, the one who referred Elizabeth and Jason.
In the five weeks that Elizabeth worked with Cognition Builders, she estimates she spent around $70,000.
Families who hire Cognition Builders might view the cost as a line-item equivalent to the upkeep of a vacation home in Aspen or renting out Madison Square Garden for a birthday party. One family I spoke to used the service for four months, and paid roughly $125/hour for a family architect to work with them between 40 and 50 hours a week, adding up to roughly $80,000. In the five weeks that Elizabeth worked with the company's two family architects, she estimates that she spent around $70,000, and said, jokingly, that she went from worrying what her kid was putting on her credit card to what Cognition Builders did. This ended up being one of her main complaints about CB — what she described to me as a significant amount of upselling. "They charge you by the hour, and they charge you different rates … I mean, for that much money I could have hired five nannies. I told our consultant: this is a billionaire game, not a millionaire game. You have to be in a certain echelon to do this."
Elizabeth could understand why the company would have assumed she and Jason were in that echelon. Her father had been the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Jason had worked for years at the highest level of international finance. They lived on a sprawling property in a wealthy suburb. And during the meeting with the educational consultant who put them in touch with CB, Elizabeth recalled how Jason had said they were ready to do (and spend) whatever it took to help Shep. "What does Bono do when it's his kid in trouble?" he'd asked. This was a mistake, Elizabeth later decided, after she began receiving Cognition Builders bills. "My husband is an amazing provider. But he's not a rock star."
Other families I spoke to also reported costs well into the six figures. And Kukoff, while unwilling to comment directly on the cost of her services, continued to stress the pricelessness of what they were offering — help for families in a desperate situation. Was there any cause more worthy of one's resources than the well-being of one's children? Kukoff said Cognition Builders offers parents the chance to invest in their future. "A family," she said, "is an annuity."
She also pointed out that most of her clients are already working with a social worker, a psychiatrist, an educational consultant, or some combination of specialists when they sign up with CB. They are coming to the company as a last resort. Once they do, Lopano and Kukoff meet with this team and devise an educational plan, taking into account a family's size, budget, and needs, to determine how many family architects will be assigned.
One of the Cognition Builders Nest Cams, installed at Elizabeth and Jason's home.
Elizabeth said that at times, working with Cognition Builders felt like being part of an experiment with Pavlov's dogs. She recounted how one of her friends came over and witnessed CB's methods firsthand. One of Elizabeth's children had broken a rule, muttered something disrespectful to his mother in the kitchen. It was the kind of behavior Elizabeth might have let slide before, but the family architect, who was standing nearby, intervened swiftly, issuing a "strike." Her friend was horrified. "She was pulling me into the pantry saying, 'This is too intense. It's too much. They're too strict.'" At moments, Elizabeth agreed with her, but after a while, she began to see how the strictness and consistency were working, and she started following the family architects' lead.
It wasn't as though Elizabeth had been raising her kids without rules, but, she admitted, "I thought my rules were stronger than they were. [Cognition Builders] showed me how I'd turned my children into negotiators. Their philosophy is, if you let a rule slide once, the rule becomes meaningless."
Cognition Builders sends its family architects to work in many different types of families facing many types of problems. But whether they are working with a failing high-school student, an adolescent's screen addiction, or the more standard-issue challenges of sibling rivalry, the keystone of the strategy are the Nest Cams. The cameras record the families' lives — conversations, arguments, every interaction. If something is amiss, Cognition Builders can provide instant direction on how to remedy the situation, either verbally through a microphone in the camera or by sending a text to the parent.
My experience is the self-consciousness goes away very quickly. People live their lives and forget we're there. — Jessica Yuppa
Jessica Yuppa, Cognition Builders' director of curricula and assistant clinical director, said the Nest Cams give CB an "unfiltered look" at what goes on inside the home. "Families think they know about themselves, but they don't. Cameras give us a beat-for-beat of interactions. If a parent is struggling to communicate with a child, for example, we can watch a conversation and say, 'Okay, why do you think he looked away when you said this?'" Yuppa said it doesn't take long for families to adapt to the scrutiny. "My experience is the self-consciousness goes away very quickly," she said. "People live their lives and forget we're there."
According to Sarah Ahlm, a licensed clinical social worker in Chicago, the approach Cognition Builders' uses most closely resembles Applied Behavior Analysis, an evidence-based therapy used most often to help kids with autism learn more socially appropriate behaviors. Ahlm was skeptical when I recounted to her the way Cognition Builders worked with a family like Jason and Elizabeth's. She said that while ABA has been proven effective with a very specific population, namely kids with autism, she'd never heard of a company using it on the general population. "Kids on the autism spectrum need an incredible amount of structure and routine," she said. "But for a kid who's not on the spectrum, that could get old pretty quickly." She went on to say that even if CB isn't calling their approach ABA, it seems pretty clear that they've adopted an ABA-like model, and that the line gets blurry between therapy and education. And, without oversights in place to keep the company accountable, like state requirements for clinical supervision, she wondered whether the method they're practicing is getting evidence-based results. "How are the [ABA] principles being applied?" she wonders. "Is this truly helping families in the long term?"
The morning the family architects arrived, Elizabeth remembers feeling both nervous and excited. She had her doubts about Cognition Builders, but wanted to approach the experience with an open mind. Shep had just returned from a therapeutic wilderness camp, and she explained to his younger siblings that the family architects were coming to help him settle back into their home, and also to teach them all how to get along better as a family.
There would be two family architects in the house, both young women in their 20s. Kukoff had suggested having the architects present around the clock, but Elizabeth felt this was excessive, so they compromised, deciding to have only a Nest Cam presence during the morning hours with the family architects in the house in the afternoons and evenings.
For weeks, she had tried to imagine what it was going to be like. She was still trying to get her head around it when the doorbell rang. Shep followed her into the front entryway. The women at the door were young, pleasant, professional, and energetic. Elizabeth greeted them, but Shep looked down at the floor, then retreated to the back of the house.
"Interactions with adults have always been hard for him," Elizabeth told me later. She'd gotten in the habit of warning him to go upstairs when a friend of hers was coming over. It was such a long-established habit that she didn't even think about it anymore, not until one of the architects called her out that very first day.
They even came along when Elizabeth went school-supply shopping. As she was stocking up on three-ring binders and printer paper, two family architects followed, taking notes.
"Hold on," the architect said. "An adult you've invited into your home comes inside, and without any greeting or acknowledgment, your teenager runs away. This is not acceptable behavior."
A new rule was thus established. When an adult comes into the room and says hello to one of the children, the child stops what he or she is doing, looks the adult in the eye, shakes his or her hand, returns the greeting, and asks the adult how he or she is doing. This became the new expectation. If any member of the household failed to meet this expectation, he would receive a strike. This was just one of a set of house rules that were printed out, laminated, and posted in every room — rules like, You don't walk away when an adult is talking to you, or If you need your mother's attention, you get it by saying, "Excuse me, Mom," not by screaming a request across the house.
Nest Cams were installed in all the home's common areas and Elizabeth's husband was uncomfortable. "He kept looking for a place to hide," she said. "They also pushed me to have them in all the kids' bedrooms, but we would not do that."
When the family architects were present, they went everywhere the family went, following them around from room to room, accompanying them if they went outside. They even came along when Elizabeth went school-supply shopping at Staples; as she was stocking up on three-ring binders and printer paper, two family architects followed behind her, taking notes.
At the end of each day, Elizabeth and Jason would receive a detailed, many-paged report on everything the family architects had observed. For example, part of one report read:
*When Mom came home Shep asked her for a moment to discuss his upcoming Washington trip
*Mom respectfully told him that they weren't going to discuss this, which was the correct response
*Shep became very upset by this, stomping upstairs
*The family architect asked him to get ready for bed and he replied that he needed a few minutes of reading
*The FA allowed this, as he was self-soothing by reading and told Shep that in five minutes he needed to get ready
*When the five mins were up, the FA reminded him and he said no. The nanny instructed that it needed to happen right away and though Shep expressed verbally that he was upset by this he still complied
The reports went on and on in this way, breaking down their every shared moment into the smallest units of behavior, assessing the appropriateness or inappropriateness of each of the children's behaviors and every parental or caretaker response.
One afternoon, he grabbed a footstool and put his face right up to one of the Nest Cams. "Hey, buttholes!" he said. "Why don't you leave us alone?"
It was more intensive and immersive than anything Elizabeth could have imagined, but in addition to being overwhelmed by it all, she was also impressed. This dual impression of admiration and disbelief would persist for much of the time she worked with Cognition Builders.
The kids had mixed reactions. Shep told his Mom the family architects made him nervous but his 12-year-old brother was probably the least accepting of the project.
One afternoon, not long after the family architects arrived, he grabbed a footstool and put his face right up to one of the Nest Cams.
"Hey, buttholes!" he said. "Why don't you leave us alone?"
At first, nothing happened. Then there was a crackle of static, followed by a voice on the other end. "That's a strike," it said.
The mere existence of a company like Cognition Builders, a company that seemed to merge life-coaching with Supernanny with a slightly powered-up Amazon Echo, came as a revelation to me. At the time I learned of it, I'd been writing a book for almost two years about parenting and fear, about the state of intensive and ever-escalating anxiety experienced by a certain kind of American parent. I'd internalized the fact that the average American parent was devoting more time, money, resources, and attention to parenthood than at any point in American history, approaching a state of what I'd come to think of as peak parenthood.
I'd talked to mothers who'd given up their own careers and made a career out of getting their children into the "right" charter school. I'd been to parties where adult socializing screeched to a halt for a good 20 minutes to negotiate a disagreement between two 6-year-olds over a disputed toy. I'd spoken to parents who'd sold homes and cars to pay for violin lessons and high-end SAT tutoring, and to parents who spent much of their time tracking their teenage children's whereabouts through a GPS app on their phone. I'd come to believe there was simply no way to escalate or intensify our communal quest for parental control without the development of exo-uterine technology and retrofitting mothers as marsupials. But Cognition Builders proved me wrong.
Its existence seemed to highlight how for families like Jason and Elizabeth's, and for other families, too — families across the country in the affluent middle and upper-middle classes — parenthood is not what it used to be. Specifically, it is more than it used to be. More money, more time, more organization, more engagement, more supervision. Just … more. Of everything.
In Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, social scientist Robert D. Putnam describes how, beginning in the 1980s, "the dominant ideas and social norms about good parenting have shifted from Spock's 'permissive parenting' to a new model of 'intensive parenting.' " "Between 1983 and 2007," he notes, "spending per child by families in the top tenth of the income distribution increased by 75 percent in real dollars." Many of these dollars are devoted to the increasing costs of child care and education, but a significant portion is spent on enrichment and a wide array of educational and therapeutic interventions for children who struggle to meet parental expectations. Indeed, the cost of raising children in America, teaching them, and keeping them stimulated and safe has been privatized by design and default, as families take on burdens once shouldered by extended families, neighborhoods, and public schools. The leap from a Kaplan SAT course to Cognition Builders might not be as big as it seems.
There's nothing new about parents of means devoting both time and resources to securing their children a happy and prosperous adulthood. We do it when we enroll a 2-year-old in foreign-language classes, get a private coach to help them make the soccer team, or hire a tutor or take them to a social worker or occupational therapist when they fall behind in school. A friend recently went to visit a friend in a New York suburb and was shocked to learn that the mother had hired a life coach — for her toddler.
It's easy enough to mock such indulgences. But then I think of the time and money I've devoted to educating, nurturing, and protecting my own children over the course of a decade. I think about how indulgent those expenditures would seem to a single mother in Flint or a family of Syrian refugees. The difference between my kids' swim lessons and a Westchester toddler life-coach is not one of substance but of degree. In this sense, fretting over and doubting our ability to guide our own children through the swiftly changing landscape of modern life has become both a class privilege and a parenting rite of passage. Parents, especially those who believe the act of raising a child is a process that can be studied and optimized, will rarely shy away from seeking outside help, and Cognition Builders is the highest-end of outside help. It is the private jet or bottle service of parenting guidance — the kind that can't be found on any blog or in any book.
Cognition Builders is the private jet of parenting guidance — the kind of that can't be found on any blog or in any book.
As Lopano sees it, it's one thing to read a book about how to become a more effective parent. It's another thing to actually do it. Cognition Builders clients were highly educated, intelligent people. Their parenting shortcomings were not ones of theory or preparation but of practice. Many parents, she told me, "have a false sense of what it means to be a good parent. They want their kids to be happy and so they think that how happy their kids are at any given moment is a barometer for how good a parent they are."
Lopano compares Cognition Builders' presence in a home to "a kind of truth serum," a continuous reality check for parents who think they're setting and enforcing boundaries in a way they're not, or even for kids who don't have the self-awareness to understand how disruptive their behavior can be. "Families think they know about themselves, but what they think they know is often wrong. With technology, family architects can get an uncensored look at what's really taking place in a home, an unfiltered view of family life … an objective view of behavior."
For now, Cognition Builders is only able to bring these services to families who are able and willing to pay thousands of dollars per week, but their hope is to change that. On this point, Kukoff, the founder, is adamant. "I want us to be able to help everybody," she said.
The clients I spoke to don't doubt this optimism. Of the four families I interviewed, all reported growth and progress in their children and family life since working with the company. One mother whose son has high-functioning autism contacted Cognition Builders after his third hospitalization for a suicide attempt. After eight months of the program, he's seen tremendous growth, and he was able to get into school, travel into the city, and hold down a job. Another client whose son, despite being a curious and intelligent boy and a talented musician, struggled with depression and ADHD, and had never been able to turn in schoolwork. He was able to finally graduate and apply to six different universities, one of which gave him a scholarship. And as for Shep, Elizabeth wrote to me almost a year after we first spoke to say he'd continued to make incredible progress.
Elizabeth went on, however, to say that, in the end, she didn't credit much of this progress to Cognition Builders. She felt that she hired them to help Shep, specifically, but "they became so engrossed in gaining control over our other children, who were all fine, that Shep was an afterthought." She felt that the young women who were sent were compassionate and well-trained in the philosophy of the company, but it was a rigid philosophy, not individualized in any way. "They wanted a large family to be in perfect control and alignment," she said and compared the experience to "addressing problems out of a notebook." In Elizabeth's view, it was Shep's behavior that needed changing. Cognition Builders, she said, didn't seem to think it was possible to change the kid without changing the home.
The dilemma seemed to raise an important question at the center of Cognition Builders' model: Is it possible for parents to change their children without changing themselves, their home, their values, and their community? I asked Elizabeth what seemed to me an obvious question: If the problem was with screens, why not just empty the house of technology for a few weeks or months and make the kids go to the library if they needed to use a computer? Like so many families, they lived in a home with more screens than humans — plasma televisions, computers, iPads, Xboxes, iPhones. Jason, who worked from home, was frequently looking at his phone or was in front of a computer. Time was organized around allotted hours of digital engagement. At their son's moment of crisis, why not start there, changing the environment rather than the kid?
She and Jason exchanged a look. "That's just not possible," Elizabeth said. There was Jason's work and her own. The kids did all their schoolwork by computer. Playdates and parties were coordinated by email. Texts were what connected them to the outside world. Like most of us, they lived their lives online. Shep was doing what most kids were doing, just too much, too far.
Before I left Elizabeth and Jason's house, I asked if I could speak with Shep.
He came across as a sweet, sensitive kid, small for his age, a little shy and awkward, but sensitive and bright and good-natured.
"What did you think about the people who came here?" I asked him. "The family architects?"
"I liked some of them," he said. "They mostly just made me write down what I had to do all the time. They helped me be able to do better in school and behave better."
I asked him if it was hard coming back to America, and how things were different.
"There, I could always take a walk to my friends' houses. Here we have to drive. The only really social time is at school or on my phone or video games or Xbox. That's where I talk to my friends the most. Back there, I could see them every day, but here I can't."
I asked him what he thought the best thing about being a kid was, and the worst.
"I think the best thing is being able to talk to my friends and my family. And the worst thing is definitely having a lot of homework. I'm taking a lot of honors classes. And then I have therapy once a week, drums once a week, tutoring twice a week, and an executive-functioning tutor once a week."
As he spoke, I recalled what Elizabeth had said about how badly Shep had resisted coming back to America. How he told her he'd rather stay in Europe on his own, that he'd run away and live in the tunnels, getting his friends to sneak him food — a young boy's fantasy of freedom and danger, the fantasy of being unobserved.
Kim Brooks's book Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear will be published by Flatiron Books in 2018.
*Correction: a previous version of this article referred to the "family nanny" in the Cognition Builders memo. It was the family architect.
*This article has been updated since its original publication.
*A version of this article appears in the September 4, 2017, issue of New York Magazine.
rich people
the one percent
cognition builders
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TechRadar pro
IT insights for business
Best website builder for musicians in 2019
By David Nield 2019-06-17T16:12:01Z Web
Find the building tools to hit the right note
Best musicians' website builders
1. Bandzoogle
3. Music Glue
4. Difymusic
5. Tumblr
Read on for our detailed analysis of each service
A host of different services will now let you put a website online, quickly and easily, no coding skills required – but if you're looking for something to show off your talents as a musician then you need a more specific set of features.
Primarily, a way of uploading and sharing your tunes in a simple and secure way, even if it's just snippets of songs rather than whole tracks or indeed albums.
If you're a musician for hire then it can be useful to have some kind of booking system in place as well, or at least a contact form. On top of that, there are all the extras you might be interested in, like support for your own domain name or gallery pages to show just how many people came to your last gig.
Here are our picks for the best website builder for musicians to create a presence online.
We've also picked out the best website builder for photographers
Bandzoogle
Designed specifically for musicians
/mth
at Bandzoogle
Sell music, tickets and merch
Plug in all your social accounts
Not the most flexible theme editor
You won't find too many website builder services aimed specifically at musicians, but Bandzoogle gleefully jumps in to provide a bespoke service specifically for bands and artists. While it lacks some of the polish of the big names, because it focuses on the musician niche in particular, it has everything you should need.
That includes, of course, the ability to upload your own tracks and let visitors stream them from your website. You can get tracks organized into entire albums if you really want to go to town, or just share single tracks. And then, as well as that, you've got simple ways to post gig dates, blog updates, and so on.
Whether you need to build a contact form or a video diary, Bandzoogle makes it easy, no coding required – you can really make a site that's as simple or as complex as you like, and the end result is something that looks like you hired a specialist.
You've got over 100 themes to choose from (there is even one for crowdfunding), they're all straightforward to edit and tweak, and connecting up social accounts (including the likes of SoundCloud and Bandcamp) only takes a few clicks as well. As an added bonus, you can sell merchandise and tickets right through Bandzoogle as well.
Sign up for Bandzoogle from $8.29 (about £6.30) per month, free trial available
A great choice whatever the site
Wix Connect Domain
Wix Combo
Wix Unlimited
at Wix
Upload your own music and videos
Supports plenty of music plug-ins
Can get pricey on higher tiers
Check out any list of website builders for any purpose and Wix is likely to feature on it, but not only does this service earn that high reputation, it also has some useful tools for musicians – not least the ability to upload your own tracks so visitors to your website can listen to them without any extra software or browser extensions.
Platforms that you're probably already using, like Bandsintown and Songkick, can plug directly into your Wix site: you can set up integrations like these in just a few clicks. What's more, you can add on an e-commerce portal to your site, for the purposes of shifting albums, T-shirts, or whatever else you need to sell.
Wix has a very solid selection of templates, with more than 500 to choose from, and if you delve into the music section you'll see there are options for solo artists, bands, DJs, producers, or anyone else connected to the industry. Have a click around these templates to see the kind of sites it's possible to create.
After that you've got all the features Wix has become known for: a site editor that's a breeze to use whether or not you know what CSS stands for, custom domain name support, easy blogging and simple social media support, and a free tier that lets you work out whether Wix is for you before you part with any cash.
Sign up for Wix for free or from £3.5/$4.50 a month
Music Glue
Merchandise, tickets and much more
Professional, effortless e-commerce
Used by some of big names
Not so strong on site building
Music Glue is a little different to the other website builder services we've featured here: it focuses first and foremost on the merchandise and ticketing aspects of the music business, and indeed powers the online stores for some of the biggest names in the industry. Its pricing system is unusual too, taking a 10% cut of whatever you sell rather than a flat fee.
That does at least mean you won't be out of pocket if your online marketplace doesn't attract much attention to begin with. There are no additional fees for payment processing, and customers can rock up with debit or credit cards, or PayPal.
Music Glue is less impressive on the website building side, although you do get the basics – a choice of themes for the site attached to your online shop, the option to bring over your own custom domain name, tools for tweaking the code and layout of your site, and so on. It's possible to plug in social media accounts and even set up a mailing list.
If your priority is the mechanics of selling music and tickets to your audience, then Music Glue is a good bet, and has some very famous clients on its books, as we mentioned. If you don't really have anything to sell right now and want to spend more time fiddling with a site design and layout, then maybe look elsewhere.
Sign up for Music Glue for free, with 10% commission on sales
Difymusic
Focus on the music
One of the best for simple setup
Add social channels in a few clicks
Basic set of themes and editing options
French site builder Difymusic isn't the most well-known service out there, and doesn't have the same breadth of tools and features as some of the big names – but where it really comes into its own is in getting your music online quickly and easily.
If you'd rather just get your stuff up quickly with a few pictures and links, rather than spend ages choosing a theme and editing HTML, Difymusic could be for you. It relies on plug-ins – like Spotify or SoundCloud for getting your music up, for example – but it supports an awful lot of them, so you're bound to find something that works.
If you want to sell merch and tickets, then you can pay to add that on your main site, with a one-time €9.99 setup fee (about £9 or $12) and then 5% commission based on sales, but the basics are free. Connect up your Facebook page and your YouTube channel and you're good to go in just a few minutes.
Admittedly the choice of templates and editing options aren't very strong, but the designs you can play around with are decent enough, and certainly won't put anyone off your music. Difymusic lets you get started quickly, and scale up as required.
Sign up for Difymusic for free, with add-ons extra
Blogging with extras
View at Bed Bath & Beyond
Very simple and intuitive
Free to use (some paid extras)
No fully featured site editor
Tumblr isn't a website builder in the conventional sense – it's more of a half blogging, half social media platform – but if you take a longer look at what Tumblr has to offer, it's actual very appealing for musicians. For one thing, it's completely free to use, plus it already attracts a busy community of creatives.
You can post up to one 10MB MP3 file every day, as well as links, text posts, videos, photos and more. Those MP3s appear as streamable files for visitors to your site – they can listen to the tunes in their browser, no plug-ins or extra software required, so it's a great way of showcasing your talents without paying anything.
If Tumblr was simply a blogging platform and that was it, we probably wouldn't recommend the service, but it also supports pages alongside your blog (for a gallery or a contact form), custom domain names (so you can pay extra for whatever URL name you like), and posting from mobile apps too.
On top of all that there are a host of themes to choose from, some of which cost money, but many are free, and a lot of them would suit a musician's portfolio. If the theme isn't exactly to your liking, you can tweak it with the integrated options or your own CSS, and switching between themes whenever you like is simple, too.
Sign up for Tumblr for free, with add-ons extra
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


No, this is not becoming a Battlefield 3 blog! However, it appears that many people that are interested in milsim paintball also seem to be interested in Battlefield 3, for obvious reasons. As such, I figured it might be a fun way for people to network over the winter (and combat Paintball Cabin Fever - a post on PCF later). So, I've created the Grey Ops BF3 platoon. I even hacked up a logo using their broken little custom logo creator.
Should you wish, you can also befriend me on Battlelog. My username is Connor_greyops see you online!


text:
We are Kevin Westgarth, David Backes, and Mathieu Schneider, current and former NHL players, AMA
Kevin Reginald Westgarth
ice hockey forward who currently plays with the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League
ice hockey right winger and captain of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League
Mathieu Schneider
an offensive defenseman, Schneider played 1289 games in the National Hockey League with ten different teams, scoring 233 goals and totalling 743 points. He won the Stanley Cup in 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens.
Kevin Westgarth (2012 Stanley Cup Champ of the L.A. Kings), David Backes (Captain of the St. Louis Blues) and Mathieu Schneider (former NHL player, now Executive Assistant to Don Fehr). Ask us anything about hockey!
We will be signing off using our initials.
We've tweeted our verification: @KWesty19 @DBackes42 @NHLPA
Signing off! Thank you all so much for your questions. We were happy to be able to connect with you today. Back to work now. - KW, DB, MS.
HockeyCrazy176 karma 2012-11-26 19:29:28 UTC
Would the NHLPA not accept:
50/50 split with $300mil make whole AND 8 year contract limit OR 10% variance year to year
Why is this kind of thing not being discussed right now? It seems to be a numbers game, but both sides are more focused on bringing the media to their side.
The truth is, that as a fan of the NHL my whole life, this whole situation disgusts me. I will not attend a game or buy merchandise for at least a year now or maybe more.
ThePlayers14 karma 2012-11-27 16:14:40 UTC
I understand your frustration as a life long fan. Trust me, as a former player, I feel the same way.
All the guys grew up as some of the biggest fans of this game. They also understand that they are ambassadors of the game. Each game missed is one they will never get back. We know that fans and people depended on the game are being hurt by the lockout.
In this negotiation the players are the only ones that have made concessions. We have offered the owners changes worth over $1 billion dollars. There are times when you have to say enough and make a stand. The owners do not seem to have the same sentiment as the players, unfortunately.
I hope you will remain a fan when this is all settled. MS
thefootisconstant77 karma 2012-11-26 19:00:01 UTC
Hello guys! As a Blues fan I wanted to say thank you David for all of the charity work you do here in St. Louis, you are a damn fine human being...I have yet to meet any Blues fan who does not idolize you. And now, a few questions, David my good man:
Who is the biggest clown/practical joker in the locker room? What is the greatest prank pulled by a team member (that your willing to share)?
How would you compare playing for Hitch to skating under Andy Murray and Davis Payne?
What is your favorite bar in St. Louis?
SHAMELESS PLUG: Be sure to have the guys stop by our little subreddit, http://www.reddit.com/r/stlouisblues. Feel free to make a clandestine account and subscribe so you can contribute in our discussions. Also if you enjoyed your time on reddit today I know we would love to have you or another player back for an AMA with the Blues fans.
Thanks again and lets play some damn hockey!
Biggest clown is Scott Nichol by far, I think he is still 8 years old at heart. He is always up to something.
Hitch has preparation skills similar to Andy but it is hard to compare because my role has changed from coach to coach...
Favorite bar in St. Louis is maybe OB Clarks or JP Fields
Johnald74 karma 2012-11-26 20:11:57 UTC
If they had a hockey package for fans that you had to be 18 to purchase but instead of commentators, all the players were mic'd and you could just subscribe to whatever player's mic you wanted to listen to during the game, what players would have the most fans subscribed?
There are some real colorful words exchanged and some guys that would have insane ratings... As for specifics, hopefully innovative ideas like this can grow our game going forward and give the fans a real inside look. - DB
jonnymox70 karma 2012-11-26 19:38:34 UTC
Hi all! Kevin, my wife (Carey-Jo) claims she was in the musical Greece with you in high school, and you were Danny, and you were great. Is there any truth to this? She was shocked when she passed by the TV and saw you on the screen! Big congrats from the two of us!
ThePlayers120 karma 2012-11-26 20:01:00 UTC
There is truth to this. Thank god there weren't any camera phones back then. KW
malkincookies712461 karma 2012-11-26 19:20:11 UTC
Thanks for doing this guys!
For everyone: As a Penguins fan, I hear the fans' opinions of Sidney Crosby. I would like to hear some players' opinions. What is he like to play against? What is your opinion of him?
Also for everyone: Who is/was your favorite team(s) to play against?
Honest answer is that he is the best player in the game bar none. That being said he is always looking for an edge and that includes working the officials which rubs a lot of guys the wrong way. I haven't had kind feelings for him until this summer working with him in the negotiating room and seeing who is as a person. He is a true ambassador for the game and someone who has gained my respect. - DB
Thank you for all that have participated in the AMA with Mathieu Schneider, Kevin Westgarth and I. Some great questions that were posted along with a few that could use a bar of Dove in their mouth. That being said, it is great to see fans still passionate about hockey and hopefully we can be back on the ice and playing sooner than later.
Go Blues!! DB
martlet144 karma 2012-11-26 19:56:22 UTC
Very frustrating for all of the Blues players, fans and I can imagine even the ownership. We carried great momentum into this year and I am hoping we dont lose a great opportunity to get the people of St Louis what they have been waiting 45 years for... - DB
gonk36 karma 2012-11-26 19:13:24 UTC
Hey Guys--thanks for doing the AMA. I'm sure there's lots of hockey (and lockout) questions coming, so I have a little different question for Mr. Backes--I remember hearing during a broadcast that you were studying electrical engineering at Minnesota State. As a physics/math guy myself, I thought it was pretty awesome that one of my favorite players was in engineering, and I always wondered what steered you toward that major.
I was and still am someone that math just comes too. Not memorizing procedures, but knowing the why and how so that it translates to other respects, such as engineering. I got through three years as an EE. I am taking two classes currently at MNSU but they wont let me do engineering online so I am getting an applied organizational studies degree with an nonprofit leadership emphasis. - DB
jokanee35 karma 2012-11-26 19:46:29 UTC
David Backes, you dismantled Team Canada with your fists prior to the 2012 Olympics. Given that you have a very particular set of skills. Skills that you have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make you a nightmare for people negotiating on the other side of the CBA...
Can you unleash Inglorious Backes before it's too late and get us our hockey back?!
While the ideas that you present seem to be out there, I can neither confirm nor deny the allegations. And these skills you talk about are not very useful in a board room, let alone one fully occupied by lawyers! - DB
chuck2norris31 karma 2012-11-26 19:28:22 UTC
This is for Mr. Schneider. How often do you get comments on your amazing teeth? I was so impressed with them and I made my twitter username SchneidersTeeth.
Being a hockey player for as long as I was, you can probably figure out why they are "amazing". This is my 4th set. If at first you don't succeed - try, try again. MS
Give my regards to your dentist.
I'm still laughing about this comment. FYI - Wings team dentist. MS
caldo430 karma 2012-11-26 19:04:23 UTC
To Mr. Backes: Did you really go hunting specifically for Canadian olympic team members (Toews, Nash, Perry) prior to the 2010 olympics? Please let this be true
I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations... If they were true and I am not saying they are by any means, I think it was a an incomplete mission as a different guy scored. DB
DjB8929 karma 2012-11-26 19:34:34 UTC
Lockouts suck, that is all.
Agreed. It's my third one! MS
Yep KW
kgreen69er27 karma 2012-11-26 19:58:23 UTC
I miss the cold behind the curtain at Scottrade Center.
With that said, Dave, have the players given you any trouble yet for the Twitter/Pinterest linking?
Thanks for spending some time on reedit!
No, I think that they are well aware that my wife wears the pants in my relationship and if she wants to link her pinterest, then she will. I have gotten that unlinked however, and feel it is a victory for me. Baby steps... - DB
deletefilenewgame25 karma 2012-11-26 18:59:11 UTC
Really appreciate the AMA guys. I'm a Canucks fan by the way.
For all: • Does the NHLPA really cater to all the players' needs or is it just a select few elite (Crosby and Kovalchuk perhaps?) • When do you think we will see NHL hockey again? • Do you think that the owners are all unified under Bettman, or do you think that there are divisions within the NHL ownership?
For David: • In 2008, you signed an offer sheet from the Canucks. Did you really have interest in playing with the Canucks, or was it just a negotiating tactic to earn a better contract with the Blues? I think you would have looked sick next to the Sedins in the final against Boston. • How good do you think Vladimir Tarasenko will be? Do you see him as the best player on the team in a couple of years?
For Kevin: • Hi, I don't know much about you, but congratulations on winning the Stanley Cup! Was the feeling different than one would expect seeing that you played very little in the playoffs? • What is your opinion on some of the more "controversial" hits the Kings had experienced in last year's playoffs, i.e Brown on Rosival (led to WCF clinching goal), Brown on Sedin, Bernier on Scuderi?
For Mathieu: • What team do you best associate yourself with? • Lidstrom, Yzerman or Fedorov? • How many games would Aaron Rome have received for hitting Nathan Horton if it happened in the 2012 playoffs?
The offer sheet is part of hockey as a business. I like Vancouver and have some great memories there during the Olympics and regular season. That being said, I love playing for the Blues and St Louis has treated me like one of there own, I am proud to call it home. Tarasenko is a great talent and I cant wait to see how his game translates to the NHL, hopefully sooner than later. - DB
For me it would be Montreal / Detroit; All great, different players; ask Brendan Shanahan MS
[deleted]9 karma 2012-11-26 19:07:59 UTC
TOTALLY didn't you see my blog when I was with the Canucks. Short lived until Vigneault ran me out of town :) . My kids have taught me everything I know about Reddit. MS
Thanks for coming on and joining the dialogue. I've found the NHLPA is the most democratic organization I've seen. Every player has a voice and is united to get a fair deal ASAP, keeping in mind future of the game and the NHL. I struggle to understand why we don't have a deal yet, as the League is as healthy as its ever been.
Thanks for the Congrats. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are the most exciting and arduous two months in sports, and they did not disappoint to be a part of. Dustin Brown is one of the most underrated players in the league, (though maybe not anymore) and is so valued because of his leadership, physical play and skill.
I'll try to be faster/better next time! Thanks KW
djs9pd22 karma 2012-11-26 19:03:00 UTC
This is for David Backes
Oshie talked a lot about using Barrett Jackman for his pool last summer. Do the Jackmans' put on awesome pool parties or is Oshie one of those guys that just sort of shows up to your house in swim trunks?
Also, when flying your plane to rescue animals, do you ever wear a superhero cape or a cowl?
Thanks for doing this, and appreciate you wearing the "C" for the Blues.
Osh is a great team guy that would do anything for any of his teammates, I can say that for all of our guys, yes Jax has a nice pool, but it seems that door is always open for guests.
When I fly to rescue dogs, I usually wear something grungy as the places we get some of these animals from are pretty dirty and my wife like to let some of them hang around on laps en route.
ShitcagoChickenhawks21 karma 2012-11-26 19:19:08 UTC
For Backes: Let me just say, huge Blues fan! Cannot wait to see you guys on the ice once again! What was your favorite moment from last season?
For Westgarh: Who is the toughest guy to drop the gloves with? John Scott perhaps?
John Scott is certainly a monumental opponent. Steve MacIntyre is still the toughest guy I have had the pleasure of fighting, although maybe I've just "forgotten" the tougher ones...KW
bigleaguechyut20 karma 2012-11-26 19:03:17 UTC
Thank you for doing this! We appreciate it.
What is your favorite city to play in?
Most fun team to play against?
Which city has the best fans, outside of the teams you've played for?
City: Nashville - country music Fans: Anywhere in Canada DB
City: Chicago Team: Phoenix (weather) Fans: Having played for 10 teams, you have eliminated a 1/3rd of the league for me to comment on. Philly has some great fans.
Favourite City: Detroit (close to home) Most fun team to play: Philadelphia, a hardnosed game with great chirps from the stands Best fans: Philly fans are insane, ie the best KW
PsyRockFan2117 karma 2012-11-26 19:02:54 UTC
... no comment KW
ncsuftw116 karma 2012-11-26 19:57:39 UTC
What do you have to say to the every day people who are going to lose their jobs if this goes any longer?
Along with the lost fans this is a terrible fallout from the lockout... - DB
tinymarae15 karma 2012-11-26 19:01:53 UTC
Hello from a hockey fan in India. All I want to say is stay strong and many fans support you. As much as I want hockey to be back, I want players to stand up to NHL for young players today and tomorrow. Bettman and the owners have locked out the players every time CBA has been up. If the players cave in this time,expect Bettman to lock you out again the next time and then you can say goodbye to guaranteed contracts, some contracting rights and further share of the revenue.
As far as the AMA question is concerned, what are your thoughts on Hamrlik' recent outburst? I know that Brouwer, Cole and Marty Brodeur have called him out on it.
India, wow! Thanks.
We have over 700 members and they are all encouraged to voice their opinions, attend meetings internally and with the NHL. Sometimes you'll see frustration, but we have a very strong membership. MS
VC6115 karma 2012-11-26 19:03:13 UTC
Hey guys, thanks for doing this I have a couple questions regarding trash talking on the ice.
How often do people take things too far? Any examples if willing?
Any time you've ever regretted something you said or maybe told a teammate they need to lay off a little?
Ever had any kind of friendship ruined because of something someone's done on the ice?
Lastly, regarding the lockout, how far apart are the NHLPA and NHL, what are the actual chances of a season this year?
Thanks again guys.
Things go to far on occasion but for me it occurs when the trash talk goes to family, race, religion or beliefs. Outside of that you need thick skin. I would police anyone on our team who takes it too far, but thankfully we haven't had that situation come up. DB
There are a few players who take it too far, but I haven't played with them. Respect for each other is one of the hallmarks of the hockey culture, and I am very proud of that. There is definitely some bad blood that occurs, but generally its dealt with at some point. Can't wait to get back out there, so I hope we have a willing negotiating partner at some point KW
Thanks for all the great questions, hope we were able to give you a bit of insight. We have to head off now. It's been fun, but back to work now. MS
Mmanion1814 karma 2012-11-26 19:02:44 UTC
David, huge Blues fan here.
2 Simple questions.
What is your favorite restaurant in Saint Louis?
What's your favorite food of all time?
LGB!
Tani and Flemmings
sterlingarcher006913 karma 2012-11-26 19:18:13 UTC
Who is your favourite player to play with? Are they the same player you want to share a hotel room with? Why or why not.
How did you 3 meet? Did you guys decide after a PA meeting, "You go on Reddit? I go on Reddit. We should do an AMA."
I love playing with TJ Oshie, he leaves everything on the ice and makes me a better player. I room with Alex Steen and they are not the same because it is good to get to know your teammates on different levels, on and off the ice.
Reddit was offered to us as a way to connect with the fans and answer any questions that we can to keep you guys interested and let you know we want to be on the ice more than anyone and we hope you will be back when we are. - DB
puckhead7312 karma 2012-11-26 19:13:25 UTC
David, no one can deny the impressive turn around the team went through last year, and as a fan, I have to see it was an incredible ride. What in your opinion best enabled Hitch to bring about the instant 180 the team went through? Also, what is your favorite kind of dog?
Instant credibility with his history and knowledge as deep as anyones. A clean slate for the guys who relished in the opportunity.
I have four rescued dogs and my favorite dog is anything rescued and I love mutts, particularly Pitty mixes. - DB
Thanks so much for joining us for this Q & A. We're all glad to be able to connect with a wider fan base than we are able to see on a day to day basis. I hope we gave some insight about our lives, the game of hockey, and this unfortunate lockout. Please don't lose faith in us and the game, I assure you we're going to get back to work on figuring out this deal. I have to go and get a bar of soap for Backes... Thanks, KW
vingt-deux11 karma 2012-11-26 20:09:04 UTC
Hi Mathieu, habs fan here, I'm sure you expected this question :
What exactly happened between you and Patrick Roy in the dressing room?
It was a big misunderstanding. We kissed and made up years later. We're friends today. MS
ryanj2111 karma 2012-11-26 19:00:58 UTC
Why couldn't you guys get a deal done during the summer?
We were available throughout the summer, unfortunately it seems the NHL was hell bent on putting pressure on the players with the Lockout. I wish it was as simple as spending a certain amount of time together, negotiating, but its very frustrating to see how little progress can be made with a seemingly unwilling partner. KW
killallthebugs11 karma 2012-11-26 20:04:17 UTC
For David, What do you feel is the most important quality a captain must possess?
Loyalty, it encompasses the job entirely. An ability to put the logo on the front above the name on the back and expect that from all of your teammates as well. - DB
TheMurdocktor11 karma 2012-11-26 20:13:49 UTC
Hey guys, thanks for doing this AMA. Coyotes fan by the way...yes, we do exist!
For Mathieu: You spent about two months with Phoenix after getting traded during the 2009-10 season and were a big boost to their lacking (and still lacking) power play. What was it like to be part of something like that playoff push, considering the team's struggles at that time (and still happening) off the ice?
For David: I've always considered you one of my favorite players and if the Coyotes weren't around, the Blues would easily be on high on my list. How tough was last year's playoff loss to the Kings, especially after being labeled as favorites going into the postseason?
For Kevin: I was at last year's Game 5 of the West Finals and obviously was not happy afterward. There's still some bitterness, but I've gotten over most of it. What was the party like in the locker room that night and/or the night when the Kings clinched the Cup?
The Kings were on a mission and were all in. I think that it was terribly tough, but hopefully a learning experience for our team going forward. DB
bmt3229 karma 2012-11-26 19:02:10 UTC
Mr. Backes – Two questions: 1) If there is hockey this year, how do you feel about the asterisk that would be applied to the Stanley Cup Championship team? 2) How do you honestly feel about the lockout putting an abrupt halt to the amazing progress the Blues franchise has recently made?
No asterisk, you still have to get through the other 29 teams to claim the prize. I hate the halt to the progress first of all to the momentum of hockey all together and second of all especially to the Blues who I think are just starting to realize the benefits of the painful rebuilding years we went through. - DB
BRiNGTHERiCEOUT9 karma 2012-11-26 19:35:27 UTC
Hey guys, thanks for doing this AMA, especially since I am a Blues fan and David is my favorite player!
My question (for any of the 3) is:
If you could play on a line/defense pair with any current NHL players, who would you pick?
Alex Steen David Backes TJ Oshie Kevin Shattenkirk Alex Pietrangelo
Either Blues Goalie
All of hockey..... Call me a homer.... - DB
I would like to play center between David Backes and Kevin Westgarth MS
cherrywhiteblue9 karma 2012-11-26 19:28:19 UTC
Hi David, thanks for all your hard work on and off the ice! I have a question-what made you want to get your pilot's license?
Ty Conklin was on our team and had his pilot's license, which is where I got the idea. It seemed like a great feeling of freedom. -DB
Enigma5189 karma 2012-11-26 20:09:23 UTC
Hows the unscheduled vacation? What Have you guys been doing during all of this?
I am taking two classes to try to finish my degree and also starting a charity with my wife to improve animal welfare... DB
Bigtmac199 karma 2012-11-26 19:02:31 UTC
Hey guys. I just wanted to stop by and say I hope everything gets worked out soon. We all miss hockey around here.
Edit: Hey Kevin, I almost forgot. I don't live too far from Amherstburg. Everyone from around was real excited when the Kings won the cup. Wish you would've gotten your name on it.
Thanks for the support. It was amazing to bring the cup back to Essex County, and see how passionate people were to see the Cup. (ps. Lucky me, my name snuck on the Cup:)) KW
Densttom9 karma 2012-11-26 19:10:48 UTC
This is for all of you guys. Who is the most respected player in the league in your minds.
Teemu Selanne. He's an honest player. He plays the game the right way and he's been doing that his entire career, which has been long and successful. -DB
Shane Doan (he does more on and off the ice in his community than anyone I've ever played with) MS
tech-bits8 karma 2012-11-26 19:44:28 UTC
I got to meet you briefly once and shake your hand. I just want to say how incredibly humble and attentive you were. I could tell you actually cared about your fans and that's one of the most important parts about a sport to me.
I never got to mention all of that because I'm sure I was drooling on your loafers as you shook my almost certain limp wristed half hand that I presented you.
Also, another shamless plug for reddit.com/r/stlouisblues Hopefully sometime you guys could come and do an AMA on our little community. Even if you don't, we will love you all the same.
Limp Wristed Drooler
Thank you for the kind words, I am a first time reddit user today and cannot believe the response!!! - DB
andrewmarshall198 karma 2012-11-26 20:15:15 UTC
Great idea as a means of getting the players in touch with fans. I commend the NHLPA for it and to Westgarth, Backes and Schneider for stepping up to the plate for it. Just a quick question regarding lockout. What did the previous bargaining agreement for player pension plans? To a outsider looking in that seems to me to be the biggest issue because its so important
ThePlayers5 karma 2012-11-26 20:26:46 UTC
The benefits all come out of the players share, therefore it is tough to see that how they are allocated is a big deal in any regards... DB
roadslaya7 karma 2012-11-26 19:20:33 UTC
Worst Experience in Hockey? Best One?
Worst: Putting on wet equipment... Best: Winning the Stanley Cup KW
sleazy_E7 karma 2012-11-26 19:03:20 UTC
In your experience, do you think it's harder for former college players to break into the NHL than it is for players who came out of juniors? Why or why not?
I think it's evened out over the last decade. When I first came into the league, players who came out of of juniors had a big advantage. It was mainly an advantage for playing a 70+ game schedule, making the adjustment to the NHL. MS
Garth_the_Butcher7 karma 2012-11-26 19:48:37 UTC
Question for all of you, especially Schneider.
As a Vancouver Canucks fan:
1) Are we really the most hated team in the league?
2) Schneider, what happened between you and Vigneault?
3) How hard is it to play against the Sedins?
1) Yup. KW
1) I'll defer to KW & DB 2) Let's just say...he made it into my top 10 least favorite coaches list (keep in mind, I played for 10 teams). 3) Very hard. MS
Louis_Tully6 karma 2012-11-26 19:45:45 UTC
Best player you've ever played against?
Best Player in the league right now?
Most under appreciated player in the league?
Most under appreciated player on your team?
Player that plays you or your team the hardest?
1: Lidstrom 2: Crosby 3/4: D. Brown, R. Scuderi 5: Doan, Backes (that's for real) KW
AbeFroman19866 karma 2012-11-26 20:10:22 UTC
Kevin and David, besides your own teams, who has the best goal horn/song in the NHL in your opinion?
Also, as much as it pains me to say it as a Devils fan, congratulations on the Cup win, Kevin.
Chicago. You can't even think when it's going off. -DB
Thanks for the congrats. I wish I didn't have the Chicago goal song stuck in my head so much when leaving the United Center... KW
Floyd_Lawton6 karma 2012-11-26 19:04:10 UTC
Who were your hockey idols growing up? Who is your favorite current player?
Larry Robinson & Steve Shutt. Favorite current players = Kevin Westgarth & David Backes. MS
00TylerDurden006 karma 2012-11-26 19:17:35 UTC
FAVORITE/ LEAST favorite places to play?
What player did you play against that you couldn't help but be in awe of?
Being on the ice with Nick Lidstrom was surreal. Growing up across the river, I got to see the Wings play a lot growing up. Such an aura around their team. KW
CatchHerInTheEye6 karma 2012-11-26 20:01:44 UTC
Do you guys ever get annoyed when a fan comes up to you to ask for an autograph or picture? I'm a huge hockey fan, and if I were to see one of you on the street I'd like to ask for a picture or autograph, but I'd be worried I'm bothering you.
Not at all, ask away! KW
Piranhamonkey6 karma 2012-11-26 18:59:44 UTC
what got you into sports?
Coming from a smaller town all of my school friends were going to play baseball and I joined, they then went to hockey and I followed. I guess I owe them a lot for helping me on my way to playing professional hockey... - DB
My parents, they always had us in everything. I think they were trying to keep my brother and I out of trouble. KW
My dad Sam MS
unhhoh126 karma 2012-11-26 19:09:44 UTC
I won't ask you anything about the lockout, since everyone else is probably going to do that
Kevin: How has the hockey atmosphere changed in LA since you started playing there? Are people getting more involved in hockey from what you can tell?
David: Love your style of play, it's the way I tried to play when I was younger. When did you begin to emulate this style of play, or did just happen?
Schneider: What made you decide to become an executive assistant to Don Fehr?
My style of play came out of necessity. When I was growing up we didn't have tryouts some years, sign up and you make the A team. When you play against huge associations that have huge talent pools you have to fight for everything on the ice and not back down from anyone. I was PP, PK and even strength player my whole life and and often as I could catch my breath they were sending me back out there. - DB
Our Cup run was incredible to see. We have had great fans for many years, but it was amazing to have the support that won us the Stanley Cup. On top of that, it's great to see the young players that are coming out of California these day. The best way to grow the game is to get people to play.KW
DasChop6 karma 2012-11-26 19:06:28 UTC
For Kevin
What's Thanksgiving with Coach Cowher like? Did he ever try to use the powers of his chin on you? What's more intimidating, his chin or having to drop the gloves?
Steelers/Penguins fan here.
I have been lucky enough to stay in his good graces for the most part, so I hope the Chin stays tucked away. KW
Thronedgorilla5 karma 2012-11-26 19:04:02 UTC
What players who absolutely shock you that don't get enough spotlight?
Who do you look forward to playing against?
As people who have short careers compared to most people being athletes and all, what do you guys want to do when you retire/what did you do when you retired?
1)Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Jonathon Quick (among others...) are on their way now to getting the appropriate spotlight they deserve. 2)Can't wait to see the Devils again 3)I was Pre-Med in university, so maybe one day I'll be doing some surgery on you with my fight-shaped hands...KW
bicarbonates5 karma 2012-11-26 19:40:14 UTC
Thanks for doing this AMA!
Mr. David, I have a question concerning realignment. How do you feel about either Columbus or Nashville moving to the SE Division, and Winnipeg moving into Central?
Also, I have to ask all three of you the obligatory question. Would you guys prefer to fight one horse-sized duck, or one hundred duck-sized horses? :3
Edit: For clarification.
I think the idea of realignment makes sense if there is balance in ability to make playoffs and the travel is lessened. That is a big if that was not accounted for in the proposal that was given to us in season.
The second question is either as they are both relatively tame creatures. Both of which are herbivores. - DB
smittyks5 karma 2012-11-26 19:13:10 UTC
Glad to see players reaching out to fans!
Are you able to pinpoint one thing that you would say is the biggest differentiator in the game today (well last season) vs the game 20 years ago?
I can't speak for Schneids, but I think we're all way better than he was back then. JK, but I think the speed and strength of players has increased to a scary degree. Goaltending is way too good nowadays, for sure, so I would love to see standup goaltending make a comeback. KW
Shayc565 karma 2012-11-26 19:06:28 UTC
Who is your favorite player to be on a team with and most hated player in your opinion?
Hockey generally has the team-oriented players in sports. I have played with countless guys who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the team. That's why teams win Championships. Most hated: David BackesKW
TTUGoldFOX5 karma 2012-11-26 19:47:07 UTC
Hey guys. I'm a Nashville Predators fan and write about hockey on a normal/consistent basis. Here is my question:
There isn't anything to stop the owners from just canceling the season whenever they want to, we all know this. But, is it possible the players cave just to get back on the ice?
Now, hear me out. I know how important being equal in terms of the share and what everyone deserves, however there seems to be a good difference between players who are "willing to do what it takes to keep things fair" and "willing to do what it takes to get back on the ice".
Where does the majority lie and which is more important?
There is not a division among players, we have always maintained we want a fair deal. Current players understand that previous generations sacrificed so players could make the most of their short careers (avg. 3 years).
The guys understand if they agree to the owners demands today, it will only ensure another lockout 5 years from now. MS
LifelessOne5 karma 2012-11-26 19:12:25 UTC
Who do you think is currently the toughest player in the league?
Rob Scuderi (see Bernier, Game 6 SC Finals...) Best fighter(s): Steve MacIntyre, John Scott (see my nose, broken)KW
fuhfuh4 karma 2012-11-26 19:28:19 UTC
Thanks for the AMA guys! I just want to ask Mathieu what it was like to play with Nicklas Lidstrom. How good of a teammate was he, on and off the ice?
Nick was the best partner i've ever played with. It never seemed like he had a bad night, and he might of been the nicest guy I've ever played with. At least in the top 3. MS
What drove all of you to play hockey? Was it family/friends?
What is your favorite part about the sport as a whole ie Fans, the smell of fresh ice in the morning.
What is your most memorable moment off the ice during your career?
1) My parents put my brother and I in hockey at an early age (I am Canadian after all), and our motivation was due to the love of the game after our first taste. 2) The Fans are why we get to do this for a living, so thank you. Just being on the ice and the camaraderie with my teammates will be what I always remember. 3)The moments after winning the Cup were some of the most special of my life. The emotional exhaustion combined with the bliss of winning was shared with everyone in the organization. Also, I got married two summers ago, so that was awesome.KW
BulkUpTaru4 karma 2012-11-26 19:09:11 UTC
@ Mathieu Schneider, what was harder to deal with; this years CBA negotiations or the Montreal media?
Talking to the Montreal media about this year's CBA negotiations. MS
What was your most memorable hockey moment in your entire career?
Hugging my teammates and family after winning the Cup. KW
What is one thing even die-hard fans might not know about being a professional hockey player?
It's a 12 month of the year job, your body is beaten down by the end of the season. That's why the Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in all of professional sports. MS
thefootisconstant3 karma 2012-11-26 19:54:48 UTC
Who is the smartest player on your team?
Anyone who is smart enough not to fight for a living...KW


Prior to the GDPR coming into effect in May 2018, there was widespread speculation regarding the impact of the new rights to be forgotten and data portability. However, as we approach the one year anniversary of the GDPR, it is not these new rights that our clients tell us are causing concern.
For most, it is the significant increase in subject access requests (SARs) that is proving problematic. Thanks to the tidal wave of GDPR publicity, individuals have never been better informed about their right of access nor, with the withdrawal of the £10 SAR fee, more willing to use it.
Heightened awareness and free access have created a spike in demand which, coupled with a lack of guidance in relation to the updated rules around SARs, have left many businesses firefighting numerous SARs with little certainty as to whether their approach is fully compliant.
Uncertainty around the time allowed for responding - Many organisations are relying on outdated guidance regarding the interpretation of "one month" that was published prior to the ICO issuing its formal guidance. Others are putting themselves in breach by routinely applying the two month extension period to all requests received or, conversely, putting unnecessary pressure on resources by failing to apply the extension where it may reasonably be used.
Lack of understanding as to when a request can be refused - The GDPR allows an organisation to refuse to respond to a request or impose a fee where the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive (taking into account whether a request is repetitive) but what exactly is meant by "manifestly unfounded or excessive" and when does a request become repetitive? Whilst we are now familiar with the ICO's internal guidance on the issue, the ICO has yet to publish any guidance and acknowledges that, in the absence of published guidance or case law, using the exception will carry an element of risk.
If you are struggling with these issues, why not join us at one of our practical SAR training workshops running across our four offices during April and May? During each session we will use a variety of exercises and case studies to take delegates through a five step response plan to ensure compliance with the new rules and discuss how to deal with difficult requests and dissatisfied data subjects. Delegates will be given quality materials and checklists to take away and ample opportunity to ask questions.


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Story & Pictures By
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A feature-length documentary from Emmy®-nominated director Joanna Rudnick exploring the power and reach of children's picture books through the lens of three of the most original authors/illustrators working in children's literature today.
Story & Pictures By exceeds Kickstarter goal
Story & Pictures By, the newest film from Emmy-nominated director Joanna Rudnick (In the Family, On Beauty). Exceeded their Kickstarter goal this past Friday – raising $40,000, raising $43,651 in additional production funds!
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Rufus is a utility that helps to format and make USB flash devices bootable, such as flash drives, memory cards, etc. Starting with Rufus 3.5, Rufus can download Windows 10 ISO from Microsoft servers and prepare the bootable USB. That means you no longer need to use the Media Creation Tool or any other software to download Windows 10 ISO as Rufus can now do that.
1. Plug Flash Drive Into USB Port on Computer, it's recommended to use 8GB+ of USB drive.
2. Download and run Rufus 3.5 or newer version from here.
3. See Device drop-down box, select your USB drive. Select Disk or ISO image from the Boot selection drop down box, click the small down arrow next to the Select button and then be sure to select the Download option.
4.Now, click the Download button to download the Figo script which once downloaded will display the following dialog where you need to select Windows 10 and then click OK button to see a list of Windows 10 versions.
5. Select the latest version of Windows 10 and choose you're preffered Windows 10 Edition (Home, Pro or Education) also don't forget to select your Windows 10 Language + your Windows 10 architecture (Windows 32-bit or Windows 64-bit).
6. Finally, click the Download button, select a location to save the Windows 10 ISO file and then click the Save button to begin downloading the Windows 10 ISO file.
7. Once the ISO is downloaded, click the START button to format the connected USB drive and make it as bootable USB.
That's it and simple as that !


text:
Regarding Electronic Maps.  The counselor must be a practicing attorney  The counselor shall apply full efforts to the duties of the office and may.
Published byViolet Watts Modified over 5 years ago
Presentation on theme: "Regarding Electronic Maps.  The counselor must be a practicing attorney  The counselor shall apply full efforts to the duties of the office and may."— Presentation transcript:
1 Regarding Electronic Maps
2  The counselor must be a practicing attorney  The counselor shall apply full efforts to the duties of the office and may not be actively engaged in any other occupation, profession, or business
3 (1) To train public officials and educate the public on the rights of the public (2) To conduct research. (3) To prepare interpretive and educational materials and programs (4) To distribute to newly elected or appointed public officials the public access laws (5) To respond to informal inquiries made by the public and public agencies (6) To issue advisory opinions to interpret the public access laws (7) To make recommendations to the general assembly concerning ways to improve public access. (IC 5-14-4-10)
4  Counselor's opinions are not binding, however… ◦ A PAC opinion IS the expression of the office statutorily authorized to interpret public record laws on behalf of the public ◦ If a person or public agency files a civil action under APRA and prevails, and if that person or agency contacted the counselor prior to filing the civil action, then the court must award reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and cost of litigation to that person or agency. Otherwise, not.
5 I hope that this opinion moves the discussion between public agencies from IF GIS data will be provided to HOW will GIS be provided, since the if part is well covered by law.
6 Informal Inquiry 09-INF-5
7  "In my opinion, the electronic maps are public records subject to the disclosure provisions of the APRA." (page 2, paragraph 3)  "A county may, pursuant to I.C. § 4-23-7.3- 20(a), enter into a data exchange agreement with the State. If the county refuses to do so, the State may request, and the agency must provide, access to the electronic map pursuant to the general disclosure provisions of the APRA." (page 5, paragraph 2)
8 "I.C. § 4-23-7.3-20(a) [Indiana GIS Law] provides that 'a political subdivision maintains the right to control the sale, exchange, and distribution of any GIS data or framework data'... But it is important that within the same chapter is a provision indicating that language does not supersede the APRA." (Page 3, last paragraph) APRA Rules!
9 "In summary, it is my opinion a county may not, under I.C. § 5-14-3-3(g), require the State or any requester to obtain a license or pay copyright royalties to obtain a copy of the GIS mapping data." (page 5, paragraph 2)
10 "…if the information the State receives is information from an electronic map, the political subdivision may not limit the State's use or dissemination of the information." (page 6, last paragraph)
11 "It is also important to note that I.C. § 4-23- 7.3-20(a) is permissive. The statute allows a public agency to enter into a data sharing agreement with the State, but it does not require the agency to do so." (page 4, paragraph 2) GIS Data
12  "If a public agency (here, a county) refuses to enter into a data sharing agreement, the State then becomes a purchaser, and as such the State must pay the fee established under I.C. § 5-14-3-8(j)." (page 4, paragraph 2) GIO County  "In my opinion, it would be reasonable and appropriate for the agencies to charge a lower rate for only a small portion of the electronic map… (page 4, paragraph 3)
13  "If the map data maintained by an agency is not copyrighted, it would be my opinion that information must be provided in accordance with the general provisions of the APRA." (page 5, paragraph 1)  "If the data is not copyrighted, the record is treated like any other public record." (page 5, paragraph 1)
14  "While I am no expert in this area, it is my opinion and understanding that the information the State seeks does not constitute computer programs, codes or software. As such, I do not believe a county can withhold the information on the basis of I.C. § 5-14-3-4(b)(11)." (page5, paragraph 4)
15  "It is my opinion the omission of electronic maps [from I.C. § 5-14-3-3(d)] was not meant to relieve an agency of a duty to provide access to electronic maps in an electronic format." (page 6, paragraph 2)  Disposition of I.C. § 5-14-3-3(d) and (e): "In my opinion, this is a straightforward issue: if the data you receive is an electronic map, subsection 3(e) would not apply. As you indicate, subsection 3(e) specifically addresses information received under subsection 3(d). Electronic maps are specifically excluded from subsection 3(e), and I find no analogous provision related to electronic maps." (page 6, last paragraph)
16  Since GIS data are public records, can they be protected by copyrighted? If so, what protections would be afforded (Not licensing or royalty payment. Not forcing downstream restrictions. Not withholding the information.)  Why is that important? It could be the difference between paying $14 and paying $14,000 (Marshall County)
18  Options ◦ Seek further clarification, especially about copyright ◦ Seek changes to Indiana code ◦ Continue to find build relationships and find ways to help each other ◦ Work to invert the National Map paradigm so that GIS funding supports work at the local level Indiana GIS
19  Priority Order 1.Continue to build relationships and find ways to help each other 2.Work to invert the National Map paradigm so that GIS funding supports work at the local level 3.Seek further clarification, especially about copyright 4.Seek changes to Indiana code Indiana GIS GIO Long Term Success
20 Regarding Electronic Maps
Download ppt "Regarding Electronic Maps.  The counselor must be a practicing attorney  The counselor shall apply full efforts to the duties of the office and may."
Indiana's Public Access Laws Heather Willis Neal Public Access Counselor Indiana Recorders Association Indiana Recorders Association April 15, 2008.
Covered Employer Training Program Module Six Leaving Covered Employment.
Copyright Eastern PA EMS Council February 2003 Health Information Portability and Accountability Act It's the law.
Through 2008 Season Barry Bonds 762 Home Runs Roger Clemens 354 Wins Alex Rodriguez 553 Home Runs.
Indiana's Public Access Laws Joe B. Hoage Indiana Public Access Counselor.
INDIANA UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL Indiana Access to Public Records Act (APRA) Training.
Open Records from the OAG Perspective Amanda Crawford Division Chief Open Records Division.
The Public Records Act The Public Records Act W.S et. seq.
Indiana's Public Access Laws Indiana Vital Records Association Joe B. Hoage Indiana Public Access Counselor October 26, 2012.
Indiana's Public Access Laws West Central Conservancy District Joe B. Hoage Indiana Public Access Counselor January 11, 2011.
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A New Pathway for Follow-on Biologics Presented by: Steve Nash May 7, 2010.
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Indiana's Public Access Laws Hancock County GIS and Policy Workshop Joe B. Hoage Indiana Public Access Counselor August 1, 2012.
Public Access Laws in Indiana Presented by Luke Britt, Indiana Public Access Counselor.
©OnCourse Learning. All Rights Reserved.. The Principal–Broker Relationship: Agency ©OnCourse Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 11.
What is the Law ? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.


On opening weekend, Chickadee and I went to see the One for the Money movie. It is based off the book by Janet Evanovich. We love it when books make it to the big screen. The fun part is matching the scenery and characters to what was written.
Let's break down the cast. I love Katherine Heigl. I am one of the few Grey's Anatomy fans that miss Dr. Izzie. She's a good actress, funny and can adapt to any character whether serious or comedic. I was disappointed in Stephanie's father because he spoke. Dude! You're just supposed to just sit there, give an occasional side eye, and eat quietly. And Stephanie's mother never ironed or drunk alcohol. But other than that, the cast was on target. Grandma Mazur (played by Debbie Reynolds) was a pistol...literally. I would have liked for her to crash at least one funeral though. Sherri Shepherd played Lula. During an interview, she mentioned seven years ago she read the book. She put on her vision board that one day she would play Lula. And let me tell you, nobody could play Lula better than Sherri did. The wig, the clothes, the donut eating, all well done! Morelli was played by Jason O'Mara. Meh. I expected differently. But Daniel Sunjata as Ranger? Hey boo!
The script was true to the book. If you're a Stephanie Plum series reader, check out the movie. You are guaranteed a laugh and entertainment.


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