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Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed "Old Kinderhook", was the eighth President of the United States of America. He was the first President born after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the first not of British descent, and the only U.S. president whose first language was not English (it was Dutch).
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All the lessons of history and experience must be lost upon us if we are content to trust alone to the peculiar advantages we happen to possess.
I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men... in receiving from the people the sacred trust confided to my illustrious predecessor.
Present excitement will at all times magnify present dangers, but true philosophy must teach us that none more threatening than the past can remain to be overcome...
1.1 Inaugural address (1837)
2 Quotes about Van Buren
There is a power in public opinion in this country- and I thank God for it: for it is the most honest and best of all powers- which will not tolerate an incompetent or unworthy man to hold in his weak or wicked hands the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens.
As quoted by William A. DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (1984) p. 133
Inaugural address (1837)[edit]
Martin Van Buren's Inaugural Address (March 4, 1837)
The practice of all my predecessors imposes on me an obligation I cheerfully fulfill—to accompany the first and solemn act of my public trust with an avowal of the principles that will guide me in performing it and an expression of my feelings on assuming a charge so responsible and vast.
How imperious, then, is the obligation imposed upon every citizen, in his own sphere of action, whether limited or extended, to exert himself in perpetuating a condition of things so singularly happy.
From a small community we have risen to a people powerful in numbers and in strength; but with our increase has gone hand in hand the progress of just principles.
Present excitement will at all times magnify present dangers, but true philosophy must teach us that none more threatening than the past can remain to be overcome; and we ought (for we have just reason) to entertain an abiding confidence in the stability of our institutions and an entire conviction that if administered in the true form, character, and spirit in which they were established they are abundantly adequate to preserve to us and our children the rich blessings already derived from them, to make our beloved land for a thousand generations that chosen spot where happiness springs from a perfect equality of political rights.
In receiving from the people the sacred trust twice confided to my illustrious predecessor, and which he has discharged so faithfully and so well, I know that I can not expect to perform the arduous task with equal ability and success. But united as I have been in his counsels, a daily witness of his exclusive and unsurpassed devotion to his country's welfare, agreeing with him in sentiments which his countrymen have warmly supported, and permitted to partake largely of his confidence, I may hope that somewhat of the same cheering approbation will be found to attend upon my path. For him I but express with my own the wishes of all, that he may yet long live to enjoy the brilliant evening of his well-spent life; and for myself, conscious of but one desire, faithfully to serve my country, I throw myself without fear on its justice and its kindness. Beyond that I only look to the gracious protection of the Divine Being whose strengthening support I humbly solicit, and whom I fervently pray to look down upon us all. May it be among the dispensations of His providence to bless our beloved country with honors and with length of days. May her ways be ways of pleasantness and all her paths be peace!
Quotes about Van Buren[edit]
It goes without saying that we need our Lincolns and Washingtons- the United States would not exist without them. But we need our Van Burens, too- the schemers and sharps working to defend people from all backgrounds against their natural predators. For democracy to stay realistic, we need to remain realistic about our leaders and what they can and cannot do. ~ Ted Widmer
Accessible and a master of detail, Van Buren received advice from scores of obscure citizens and often dealt with matters that other Presidents might have left to subordinates. He dealt with army engineer Thomas Warner, for example, who went over Secretary of War Joel Poinsett's head to complain about being dismissed. Sometimes Van Buren let sentiment intrude on his decisions; when William Leggett was dying of tuberculosis, Van Buren appointed him agent to Guatemala so that he could enjoy his last months in a warm climate. And as before his tact helped in handling delicate situations, especially in appeasing Eaton when he was withdrawn from Spain. The skills that were evident in Albany were still at work in the White House.
Donald B. Cole, Martin Van Buren and the American Political System (1984), p. 343
An Englishman who visited Van Buren's White House failed to notice any luxury or ostentation. Member of Parliament James Silk Buckingham, who attended Van Buren's open house in March 1838, wrote that the White House was "greatly inferior in size and splendor to the country residences of most of the [British] nobility," and the furniture was "far from elegant of costly." "The whole air of the mansion," he said, was "unostentatious... without parade or displays,... well adapted to the simplicity and economy... of the republican institutions of the country." The servants wore no livery and Van Buren himself was dressed in a "plain suit of black." Buckingham was impressed that "every one present acted as though he felt himself to be on a footing of equality with every other person." As Buckingham noted, Van Buren in 1838 followed Andrew Jackson's policy of allowing anyone at all to attend a White House reception, and stationed no guards at the door. Van Buren himself walked to and from church alone and often rode horseback unaccompanied. A short time later, however, another British traveler, Captain Frederick Marryat, noted that Van Buren had taken a step that struck at "the very roots of their boasted equality" by stationing police at the door to "prevent the intrusion of any improper person." It was Van Buren's concession to the changing times.
Donald B. Cole, Martin Van Buren and the American Political System (1984), p. 345-346
Although democrats tried to blame the defeat on fraud, hallucination, excessive democracy, and the Mormon Church, none of these was responsible. There were more fundamental reasons for the defeat. It would have been a miracle if the Democrats had been able to survive the depression that had gripped the nation ever since Van Buren took office. Even though the Liberty party polled barely 7,000 votes, Van Buren's proslavery policies had alienated Northerners and contributed to the loss of six states that Van Buren had carried in 1836.
Van Buren himself bore much of the responsibility. In the election he was defeated by a political system and by political techniques that he more than anyone else had developed. Whig managers such as Weed and Stevens used methods that Van Buren and the Regency had perfected in New York. In 1836, he had won partly by adjusting to change better than his opponents had, but in 1840, the Whigs not the Democrats took advantage of what was new. With a national two-party system and nationwide means of communication, a national campaign with a national message was needed. With their log cabins, Tippecanoe slogans, and parades, the Whigs found the message that could produce votes. In Philip Hone's words, the "hurrah [was] heard and felt in every part of the United States." The Whigs allowed the common man to participate in their campaigns, whereas the Democrats, who had based their previous campaigns on the common man, discouraged participation. Harrison, not Van Buren, broke with tradition and went out on the campaign trail for himself. Harrison, not Van Buren, replaced Andrew Jackson as the popular hero in the eyes of the people. Even though Van Buren had created a national political party, he did not run a national campaign in 1840, but devoted most of his attention to New York as he had done in 1838, but not in 1824. Instead of adjusting his republicanism as he had in the past, he remained in 1840 chained to the Jeffersonian tradition.
Van Buren's personality played a part in his downfall. As Jabez Hammond observed, Van Buren lacked "those fascinating traits" and the "halo of military glory" that had made Jackson a successful President. The lack of charisma had not been a liability in state politics, but in a national election, popular appeal meant much. Hammond wrote that "the people of this country [were] fond of novelties," and Van Buren's bland personality gave them nothing to make them forget the depression. In addition, Hammond believed that Van Buren had lost his two genuinely exciting qualities- his "adroitness and skill"- during his years in the White House. This change had become apparent in the way Van Buren had run his presidency, especially in his preoccupation with the independent treasury and his failure to use patronage effectively. The skills and talents that opened the door to the White House did not last long enough to keep him there.
The one characteristic for which Van Buren was famous was the one that suggested perhaps he was not always under control. This was his political ruthlessness. He was ruthless enough to stick with William Harris Crawford long after the Georgian had suffered a disabling stroke. He kept plotting to keep John Quincy Adams from the presidency in 1825. He cleared out most of the Adams postmasters in New York in 1829. As the stories about him spread, he acquired the nicknames of "Little Magician" and "Sly Fox." His reputation and political skill gave him a place in history, but he hated the image and sought steadily to be something else. He might have been a more successful President if he had been more willing to exploit his reputation.
American electoral politics were forever transformed by the Whigs' imaginative presidential campaign that year. The election of 1840 was a sweeping Whig victory as Harrison easily won the presidency and both branches of Congress came under Whig control. Voter turnout was phenomenal. Roughly 80 percent of the eligible male electorate went to the polls, energized by massive parades, outdoor rallies, campaign songs, and circus-like hoopla never before witnessed by the American public. Gimmickry and humbug became hallmarks of the campaign. A widely used tactic was the rolling of large leather balls festooned with catchy slogans such as "Van, Van, Van- Van's a Used Up Man" across the rural landscape and through villages and towns.
Edward P. Crapol, John Tyler: The Accidental President (2006) p. 17
What have I to say against Martin Van Buren? He is an artful, cunning, intriguing, selfish, speculating lawyer, who, by holding lucrative offices for more than half his life, has contrived to amass a princely fortune... His fame is unknown to the history of our country, except as a most adroit political manager and successful officeholder... Office and money have been the gods of his idolatry; and at their shrines has the ardent worship of his heart been devoted... He can lay no claim to pre-eminent services as a statesman; nor has he ever given any evidences of superior talent, except as a political electioneer and intriguer.
Davy Crockett, as quoted in Martin Van Buren and the Democratic Party (1959) by Robert V. Remini, p. 1
Van Buren basically was optimistic, cheerful, quick to smile and laugh. From an early age he was an engaging conversationalist. In politics, however, he preferred to let others talk about specific issues rather than to expound his own views. In drawing others out while keeping his own opinions closely guarded, he grained a reputation as a crafty partisan who, as one colleague asserted, "rowed to his object with muffled oars." His rather unflattering nicknames, the Red Fox of Kinderhook and the Little Magician, reflected this image. He spoke cautiously, often in carefully worded phrases that left listeners in doubt about his true feelings. Van Buren was ambitious, but he was also a man of principle.
William A. DeGregorio, The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (1984), p. 123
Canadian insurgents led by William L. Mackenzie of Ontario had been waging revolution against British rule. Thwarted in an attempt to capture Toronto, the rebels fell back to Navy Island on the Niagara River, where they established a government-in-exile committed to an independent Canada. Americans sympathetic to the revolution transported supplies to the island on the steamship Caroline. In December 1837 Canadian militia, on orders from Britain, seized the Caroline in U.S. waters, set it afire, and sent it hurtling over Niagara Falls in flames. One American was killed and several injured. In a message to Congress, President Van Buren denounced the incident as "an outrage of a most aggravated character... producing the strongest feelings of resentment on the part of our citizens in the neighborhood and on the whole border line." Although he ordered American forces to the region, he resisted cries for war with Britain and issued a proclamation of neutrality regarding the Canadian rebellion. In 1840 a Canadian, Alexander McLeod, was arrested in New York for the murder of the American killed in the Caroline affair but was later acquitted. British-American relations, aggravated further by the Aroostook War, remained strained until the signing of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842.
The Border between Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick had never been defined. Both the United States and Canada claimed some 12,000 square miles along the Aroostook River. The "war," though bloodless, heated up in February 1839 when Canadian authorities arrested American Rufus McIntire for attempting to expel Canadians from the disputed region. MicIntire had been acting on orders from Maine officials. Both sides immediately massed their militias along the frontier and sought support from their parent governments. As in the Caroline affair, President Van Buren resisted cries for war and instead dispatched General Winfield Scott on a peace mission to the region. Scott arranged a truce, effectively defusing the crisis pending the settlement of the border issue by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842.
July 24, 1862, 2 A.M., Lindenwald estate, Kinderhook, New York. During his last months, Van Buren suffered a severe attack of bronchial asthma and weakened steadily. After exchanging a few last words with his sons, he fell unconsciosu and, in the early morning hours of July 24, 1862, died of heart failure. At his request, no bells rang at his funeral, conducted at the Dutch Reformed Church in Kinderhook by the Reverend Alfonzo Potter, Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania, and the Reverend Benjamin Van Zandt, retired pastor of the church. From the church, a long funeral procession of some 80 carriages under escort of the Kinderhook fire department slowly made its way to the village cemetery, where the rosewood coffin was placed in a protective wooden container and lowered to a grave beside that of his wife in the enclosed Van Buren family plot. In his last will and testament, executed in 1860, Van Buren divided his estate, valued at about $225,000, among his three surviving sons.
But, though defeated, Mr. Van Buren was not conquered. His last message contained a calm and dignified retrospect of his administration. He exhibited a clear view of our foreign relations, and showed them to be in a most happy, honorable and prosperous condition. He gave a history of the embarrassments which the government had been obliged to encounter, in consequence of the failure of the banks to perform their engagements. He insisted that the course he had recommended was the only one that could have been adopted, except that of incorporating a bank of the United States; he denounced that measure as unconstitutional, and as one which had been repeatedly repudiated by the people of the nation. He urged economy in the public expenditures; he showed that expenditures for ordinary purposes had been greatly diminished during his administration; he contended that the revenue of the government, without an increase of taxes, would be sufficient to defray all the necessary expenses; and he protested against the creation of a national debt. Although he left the enemy in possession of the field of battle, he himself retired from the arena in the spirit and with the dignity of a conqueror.
Jabez Hammond, referring to Van Buren in the aftermath of the U.S. Presidential Election of 1840, as quoted by Ted Widmer in Martin Van Buren (2005), p. 171
I... believe him not only deserving of my confidence but the confidence of the Nation... He... is not only well qualified, but desires to fill the highest office in the gift of the people, who in him, will find a true friend and safe repository of their rights and liberty.
Andrew Jackson in 1829, as quoted by William A. DeGregorio in The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (1984) p. 133
Martin Van Buren does not belong on anybody's list of great presidents, but he certainly belongs at the top of a sublist ranking presidents for diplomacy. Not only did he keep America out of war, but he did it twice, first with Mexico and then with England. Historians tend to glorify strong presidents, and nothing makes a president stronger than being a wartime leader. In a 1961 collection of scholarly articles on "America's Ten Greatest Presidents," for instance, half the presidents were men who had led the country into war. Yet managing to keep out of war can sometimes be an even greater achievement than rattling the war drums.
Seymour Morris Jr., American History Revisited: 200 Startling Facts That Never Made It Into The Textbooks (2010), p. 150
Going against the wishes of people in New York and Maine cost Van Buren reelection in 1840. A few of his closest advisers even went so far as to advise him to start a war to win back the war vote and distract public attention from the administration's difficulties, but Van Buren refused.
This democratic President's house is furnished in a style of magnificence and regal splendor that might well satisfy a monarch... This is that plain, simple, humble, hard-headed democrat whom [the people] have been taught to believe is at the head of the democratic party... He may call himself a democrat- such, no doubt, he professes to be- but then there is a great difference between names and things.
Charles Ogle, Representative of Pennsylvania, in 1840, as quoted by William A. DeGregorio in The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (1984) p. 133
Martin Van Buren was born in the little village of Kinderhook, in Columbia County, New York, on December 5, 1782. The son of a tavernkeeper, he received his earliest education helping his father manage the tavern where he watched the patrons eat and drink and listened to their conversation- political and otherwise. Observers later commented on his great knowledge and understanding of human nature; undoubtedly much of it was acquired during these early years. He went to the village academy for a formal education, and then to the law offices, successively, of Francis Silvester and William P. Van Ness. In 1803 he began the practice of law and slowly built a reputation for himself as a hard-working and resourceful lawyer.
Robert V. Remini, Martin Van Buren and the Making of the Democratic Party (1959), p. 2
To stay alive in the New York political world one had to be clever, shrewd, and sometimes unscrupulous. It did not take the intelligent young lawyer Van Buren very long to learn what he must do to survive. Within ten years after his arrival in Albany as a senator, Van Buren gained control of the state's Republican organization. His success was due partly to his personality as a leader, partly to his ability to conceive and execute intricate plans to weaken his opponents, partly to his above-average talents as a speaker and writer, and partly to his genius for political organization.
Martin Van Buren was probably one of the most charming men of his age. Without that charm, that ingratiating, refined and affable manner, he could never have succeeded as well as he did. Men and women vied for his companionship, and maneuvered to get him to accept invitations to their dinners. He was courteous to all- which some misinterpreted- and possessed the "high art of blending dignity with ease and suavity." His mild, open, and sociable disposition induced one observer to write that he was "as polished and captivating a person in the social circle as America has ever known..." Although endowed with no exceptional wit himself, he had a sense of humor and a keen appreciation of the humorous.
For all the noise and head generated by the 1840 campaign, its most lasting legacy may have been one of the shortest words in the English language. In the spring of 1839, the phrase "OK" began to circulate in Boston as shorthand for "oll korrect", a slangy way of saying "all right." Early in 1840, Van Buren's supporters began to use the trendy expression as a way to identify their candidate, whom they labored to present as "Old Kinderhook," perhaps in imitation of Jackson's Old Hickory. Van Buren even wrote "OK" next to his signature. It spread like wildfire, and to this day it is a universal symbol of something elemental in the American character- informality, optimism, efficiency, call it what you will. It is spoken seven times a day by the average citizen, two billion utterances overall. And, of course, it goes well beyond our borders; if there is a single sound America has contributed to the esperanto of global communication, this is it. It is audible everywhere- in a taxicab in Paris, in a cafe in Instanbul, in the languid early seconds of the Beatles' "Revolution," when John Lennon steps up to the microphone and arrestingly calls the meeting to order. There are worse legacies that a defeated presidential candidate could claim.
Ted Widmer, Martin Van Buren (2005), p. 140
In truth, Van Buren was defeated, and badly. He would never hold elective office again; his career ended as prematurely as it had begun. The winds of fortune blow very strong in American politics. But despite a presidency that was disappointing in many ways, he could return to New York satisfied that he had remained true to his understanding of Democracy, imperfect as that may have been, and that most others would have fared worse under the difficult circumstances he had faced. In fact, many were about to, as the United States entered the dreariest presidential season in its history, a twenty-year drought that did not end until the watershed of the 1860 election.
Van Buren shivered through the same damp inaugural ceremony that elevated and killed William Henry Harrison, then made his way north, to the home state he had not lived in for twenty years. He arrived by ship at Manhattan, and found a surprise that must have warmed his jaded heart. A huge number of the city's poor came out in the rain to greet him, conscious that, for all his imperfections, this New Yorker had somewhere represented their interests in a government where they had precious few allies.
Van Buren will remain one of our lesser-known presidents, for reasons that he would understand. His presidency produced no lasting monument of social legislation, sustained several disastrous reverses, and ended with ignominious defeat after one short term. There will never be an animatronic Van Buren entertaining children at Disneyland alongside Abraham Lincoln. But still, he lives wherever people find gated communities shut to them. He lives particularly in the places far from the presidential stage where democracy does its best work- in the back rooms of union halls, fire stations, immigrant social clubs, granges, and taverns like the one he grew up in. Or even far from American shores, where courageous men and women are risking their lives every day to form opposition parties against the wishes of their governments.
Ted Widmer, Martin Van Buren (2005), p. 170-171
He does not need fame, or pity, but Martin Van Buren is worthy of a sober second thought. Quite simply, it's antidemocratic to expect all of our leaders to be great, or to pretend that they are once they are in office and using the trappings of the presidency for theatrical effect. It goes without saying that we need our Lincolns and Washingtons- the United States would not exist without them. But we need our Van Burens, too- the schemers and sharps working to defend people from all backgrounds against their natural predators. For democracy to stay realistic, we need to remain realistic about our leaders and what they can and cannot do. In other words, we need books about the not-quite-heroic. Van Buren is history, and this book has reached its terminus, but, as Kafka tells us, the work is never done.
Politically, however, the Panic of 1837 had an enormous impact. It raised urgent questions about economic development and, in close connection, the relationship between the Treasury and the banking and currency of the country. What were the effects of English credit on the cycle of economic growth in the United States? Had the banks, by an overindulgence of the "spirit of enterprise," precipitated the pattern of overreaction and contradiction? Or were Jackson's policies chiefly to blame? Would the new president sustain these policies of reverse them? Temporarily, at least, the economy recovered from the Panic of 1837, but Van Buren's political response involved ecisions that gave basic shape to his entire presidency.
Major L. Wilson, The Presidency of Martin Van Buren (1984), p. 43
List of Presidents of the United States
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Wilson Riley Cypert
August 8, 1944 - February 1, 2021
Wilson Riley Cypert, 76, of Schulter passed away February 1, 2021 in Tulsa,OK. He was born August 1944 to Glen D. and Nona Lucille (Stanley) Cypert in Okmulgee, OK. Wilson attended school and graduated from Nuyaka. He was a butcher by trade. He worked for and retired from Warehouse Market after more than 25 years of service. Wilson and Shirley (Branson) married in Miami, OK. Wilson was a hard-worker who enjoyed ranching. He raised horses in his earlier days and later found his passion raising cattle. He was a member of the Okmulgee Elks Lodge and a veteran of The United States Coast Guard; serving from 1965- 1969 as a third-class engineman. Wilson is preceded in death by his parents Glen and Nona Lucille, a brother Ted Cypert. He is survived by wife Shirley of the home and three sons, Theodore Cypert and wife Christina, Seth Cypert and wife Christina, Carl Cypert and wife Tauni, and his children's mother, Sheldon Starr, a step-son Marvin Farned and wife Shari, ten grandchildren, Paige and Lane Cypert, Gavin and Carson Cypert, and Seth and Schout Cypert, Cameron Rosson, Cody and Billy Farned, and Megan Gill, and three sisters Yvonne Sowder and husband Luther Ray, Glenna Ritter and husband Losson, Myra Gregory, and numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be Saturday, February 6, at 10:00 A.M. at the McClendon-Winters Funeral Home Chapel in Okmulgee with Reverend Willie Antwine officiating. Arrangements have been entrusted to the McClendon-Winters Funeral Home of Okmulgee
Wilson Riley Cypert, 76, of Schulter passed away February 1, 2021 in Tulsa,OK. He was born August 1944 to Glen D. and Nona Lucille (Stanley) Cypert in Okmulgee, OK. Wilson attended school and graduated from Nuyaka. He was a butcher by trade.... View Obituary & Service Information
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Wilson Riley Cypert, 76, of Schulter passed away February 1,...

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How will Project Condor affect Digbeth's 'arch' businesses?
CoStar reports that through Rothschild & Co (condor.enquiries@rothschild.com), Network Rail has begun to sell its commercial estate and most of this property is located in railway arches.
A mailing from the New Economics Foundation recalls that in 2015 Network Rail struck a bargain with chancellor George Osborne: "give us the funds we need for infrastructure upgrades, and we'll sell off a big chunk of our assets. The railway arches are one of those assets".
Around 80% of the property is located in London, with much of the rest in Manchester and Birmingham. Occupiers of railway arches include restaurants, bars, offices, retail, leisure operators, breweries, car washes, gyms and healthcare centres.
We were unable to contact Tom Maher, co-founder of Birmingham's Original Patty Men, who serves locally sourced longhorn beef burgers – and more – to appreciative customers in one of Digbeth's railway bridge arches (above) in Shaw's Passage. Last year the Mail described its expansion plans to expand into the premises on the right, retaining the outdoor seating area in the space between the bar and restaurant with a bakery at the back.
Will the OPM be adversely affected? We hope not.
Network Rail's sale is expected to attract attention from private equity and sovereign wealth funds who would find the average rents – at around £8 to £9 per sq ft – rather low, but CoStar reports that Network Rail has met stern resistance from small business owners, notably in Hackney, E1, and Brixton, SW9.
Supported by the New Economics Foundation and the East End Trades Guild, a group of arches tenants from around the country (three above and many more pictures here) has formed Guardians of the Arches to oppose the sale and seek a viable settlement for the future.
They are organising an open letter to Chris Grayling asking him to halt the sale and meet them to talk about the future of the arches. Thousands have signed this letter in just the first few days, and the group are planning a lobby of parliamentarians in June. Readers may sign as suggested below.
The NEF article ends: "Like many public asset sales, it makes little sense no matter how you look at it. In financial terms, selling off the asset means Network Rail – and by extension the public – will no longer benefit from the steady annual rental yields generated by the portfolio. And it's no excuse to say there's no other way of funding infrastructure improvements. The Government is currently able to borrow at historically low interest rates, but instead they are forcing public bodies to sell income-generating assets to fund investment".
Click here to sign the Guardians' letter to the Secretary of State for Transport.


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Home Our people 'Like a resort, but you have to work hard': an immigrant from Belarus spoke about working for Google
'Like a resort, but you have to work hard': an immigrant from Belarus spoke about working for Google
08.11.2019, 08: 26 EST A source: 42.tut.by
Google Cloud Headquarters called "The coolest of Google's offices." There is an outdoor pool, a rooftop court, hammocks, a gazebo, an apiary, a vegetable garden, a restaurant, a secret bar and much more, which can only be envied. Moreover, employees use everything for free. Journalists 42.tut.by We talked with one of the employees of this office - Vladimir, who was born and raised in Minsk, and now works in Silicon Valley.
Before Google Cloud, Vladimir worked at Oracle, a company that specializes in releasing database management systems. Now Minsk is a senior software engineer in the Google Cloud division: he is developing the Google Assistant for users of G Suite (a set of Google tools for business).
Since childhood, Vladimir dreamed of working abroad - his parents worked at the Academy of Sciences, and when the boy was 10 years old, he first ended up in Nice, where his mother received a work contract at the institute. Another event that defined his life was the first computer with an 12-inch black and green monitor, 5-inch floppy disks and a hard drive with 20 megabytes. Already in the ninth grade, Vladimir decided to work in the IT industry, especially since this specialty is in demand almost all over the world.
He graduated from Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radio Electronics, got a job at EPAM, and then the 2008 year began - the beginning of the global economic crisis.
"After that, I seriously thought about moving, explored many countries, and the choice fell on Canada. While I was preparing to pass the language exam, my wife won the green card, after which the plans changed, and we moved to the USA, "he explains.
Immediately after the move, Vladimir got a job as a programmer in a startup, grew up to a leading programmer, and then received a good offer from Oracle.
On the subject: Google created a 'cemetery' of closed projects: what was 'buried' in it
"During my four years at Oracle, I took part in product development for one of the company's top priorities - Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. After a successful launch, I thought about the next step in my career. My choice fell on Google - one of the most desired companies for many programmers, - says Vladimir. - Even taking into account the constant letters from recruiters, interviews with successful companies have a certain format, and one must prepare for it, despite previous work experience. So after receiving an internal recommendation, spending months preparing and going through seven rounds of interviews, I got a job offer at Google.
"The essentials were a great gym with a pool and plenty of cafes"
According to Vladimir, Google and Oracle have a lot in common: both companies are technological, rather large, have offices in different countries of the world and highly qualified employees work in them. But, of course, there are differences dictated by the internal culture of the company.
"Oracle seemed rather conservative to me, and Google, on the contrary, was dynamic and open. "Google hosts ongoing meetings where management discusses all sorts of topics, from strategy and product development to gender equality and positive impact on the world," says Vladimir. - Each employee has the right to attend a weekly meeting, where the founders of the company Sergey Brin and Larry Page or the CEO of the company Sundar Pichai can appear on the stage. Before the meetings, employees ask any questions they may have on the general forum (you can anonymously) and vote for those already asked. At the end of the meeting, the manual answers the most popular. Such meetings exist at different levels - companies, divisions and teams, feedback is very appreciated here. "
Google is also famous for its attitude towards engineers, they are very appreciated here, and many projects are developing from the bottom up.
"If an employee notices an opportunity to make a product better, he can use 20% of his time to work on his idea, present a prototype to the team and management and, if there is a positive reaction, work on this project constantly, assemble a team and, accordingly, grow in career ladder, doing what is really interesting, "said Vladimir.
If you compare Oracle and Google, then, according to the programmer, Google is ahead.
"In this regard, Google is one of the leaders. Oracle didn't have such a variety, but the essentials were there: a great gym with a pool and lots of cafes, though you had to pay for food. Another benefit was an unlimited number of vacation days - a fairly popular trend, vacation is taken on conscience / necessity / agreement with the management. And in Google, the number of vacation days is limited and depends on the number of years spent in the company, says Vladimir. - Google pays a lot of attention to team building. In addition to general events and concerts at the company level, each team has a separate budget for corporate events. So, last year our whole team flew to Las Vegas for a few days, and this year we will fly to Disneyland. "
"There are a lot of Belarusians in Google"
Google employs professionals from all over the world. According to Vladimir, many are aware of where Belarus is located. And if there is a hitch, you can always say that this is "a country in Eastern Europe."
"I believe that there are a lot of Belarusians in Google for a country of this size: there are more than 250 people in a special email group. Sometimes we get together for lunch at the head office of the company, and 20 − 30 people come, "he says. - Belarus has a pretty good education, and there are excellent IT companies, so specialists are strong. Of the weaknesses - only knowledge of English, but otherwise they are world-class experts. "
"Some of Google's projects are developed by contractor companies. Some have development offices in Belarus, and some of the employees work here in Google offices. There are also guys from the Belarusian company AIMatter, which was acquired by Google in 2017, - Vladimir added. - In addition, I am very inspired by the success stories of service and food companies that Belarusians founded. "I periodically communicate with the founders and employees of some of them - these are very talented people who make a huge contribution to the development of the IT industry in Belarus and attract investment in the country."
About Google they say that there is a big staff turnover. According to various sources, on average, an employee of the company has been working for 1,1 of the year. But Vladimir claims that he personally did not notice this.
On the subject: Google praised: Russian student created a neural network that can detect cancer
"Probably, we should separate the situations when the employee leaves for another project or moves to another office and when the employee leaves the company. Google does everything to get employees to work on what they really want. As I already mentioned, if an employee finds an interesting project, you can agree with the manager and work on it 20% of the time. And when an open position appears, completely transfer to it, - says Vladimir. - In my opinion, the transition between projects in this company is quite simple, and it is a very effective approach for retaining specialists. On the other hand, this work experience opens the door to other successful companies, and Google is trying to provide a competitive compensation package that includes salaries, promotions and bonuses. "
Parking Rooftop Park, Secret Bar and Heated Outdoor Pool
But perhaps one of the most enjoyable parts of working on Google Cloud is the office itself. Outwardly, it looks like an ordinary office building, but in reality it is a whole block with restaurants, bars, sports fields and its own park.
"Alphabet Holding, which includes Google, has many buildings throughout the valley. The main Google Cloud campus is located in Sunnyvale, not far from Google Headquarters. The campus was built recently, consists of five eight-story buildings (the sixth is under construction) and a conference center, says Vladimir. - There is almost everything that an employee may need. Inside each building there is a cafe with breakfast, lunch and dinner, a coffee hub with a barista, on each floor there is a small kitchen with drinks, fruits and snacks. "
"There are two restaurants on campus, a medical center, a soccer field, gyms and a heated outdoor pool. On the roof of one parking lot, there is a park with volleyball, basketball courts, mini-golf, and a vegetable garden for gardeners, "he continues. - All this, except for massage, is absolutely free for employees and their guests. In general, everything is like at a resort, except that you have to work, and the employees take this responsibly. "
There are also games rooms, libraries, laundries, rooms for nursing mothers, classes in music, meditation, massage, sleep capsules and automatic massage chairs. If you wish, you can even find a secret bar.
But what employees may not like about the company Vladimir finds it difficult to answer.
"It's hard to say what you might not like under such conditions. I guess not everyone enjoys working in open spaces, but there are pros and cons to that, "he says.
"Here are some of the highest real estate and rental prices in all of America."
On the Web you can read that rental prices in the valley are off the charts. Thus, according to estimates of the RadPad rental service, the average monthly cost of renting a two-room apartment near the offices of Uber, Twitter, Google is from 42% to 54% of the average earnings of software engineers. Not surprisingly, some prefer to live in a car instead, such as a Google programmer Brandon.
"The cost of living in the valley is actually very high, primarily due to the price of housing and rent. We came here in 2011 and rented our first Mountain View lodging for 1200 dollars a month. Now there are no such prices, - Vladimir assures. - At the moment we are renting a townhouse in the city of Menlo Park, where the Facebook headquarters is located. We chose this place primarily because of the good school where our daughter goes. We were lucky to take it directly from the owner for 3200 dollars a month, while the market value should be more expensive at 1500. "
Here are some of the highest real estate and rental prices in all of America, with the main cost not in the building, but in the land on which it stands. Now the market value of the townhouse we live in is 1 million 750 thousand dollars. And this is for the construction of the 1972 of the year with repair, an order of magnitude worse than it was in our apartment in Minsk.
The average salary of a Google employee at the L5 level (like Vladimir), including promotions and bonuses, before taxes is about 340 thousand dollars a year.
"Also, when buying a property, you will have to pay insurance, interest on the loan and an annual tax of approximately 1% of the cost. I believe that at such prices it's quite possible that someone might want to live in a cottage trailer and save some money, especially when some companies provide laundries, showers, saunas and free food, "the programmer continues. "I don't have such acquaintances, but I see a lot of caravans in the streets and I fully admit that some of them may be staffed by IT companies aimed at increasing their savings."
How to get to work at Google
The procedure is different for those who have had internships in the company, and for candidates from the outside. But Vladimir described the standard interview process.
"Google is one of those companies where the candidate first goes through a general interview, and only then chooses the team in which he wants to work. Therefore, the interview will be the same for everyone. In my opinion, the most successful tech companies value prior work experience less and more try to gauge a person's ability. Therefore, many technical rounds consist of solving algorithmic problems, "said Vladimir.
Vladimir said that in most cases an interview consists of several stages. At the first, the resume is evaluated (most of the candidates are eliminated here). On the second one or two telephone 45 minute technical interviews are conducted. If everything went well, the company invites you to an interview in your office and, if necessary, pays for tickets and accommodation.
On the subject: How expensive it is to "sell" yourself for an interview: secrets from ex-employee Google and Microsoft
"Typically, an office interview consists of five 45 minute rounds. One round can focus on issues related to company culture and leadership. For more experienced candidates, there may be a round of system design on which you need to talk about creating some pretty serious computer system. In the remaining rounds, algorithmic problems are usually solved, "Vladimir explains. "In the middle there will be time for lunch with the current employee, from whom the candidate will be able to learn more about the company."
"Then you may be assigned a few more rounds, withheld or sent to a committee where more experienced staff will examine the results of all rounds. If successful, the process will move on to the next stage - team selection, "he added.
Usually these are a few short telephone conversations with managers of different teams. When the interests of the manager and the candidate coincide, the process will go to the stage of discussing the terms of compensation. Yes, in the early stages, if the terms of compensation are discussed, they are only approximate, and proposals from other companies can significantly affect this factor.
After the recruiter and the candidate discuss everything, the process reaches the final stage - obtaining approval from the senior management. And only after that the candidate receives an official job offer.
According to Vladimir, this is one of the best ways to test candidates for such companies.
"Most of them try not to depend on third-party technologies and develop their own internal ones. Knowledge of certain programming languages or any frameworks that are key to hiring for other companies may be of secondary importance. Candidates are interviewed in one of the most popular programming languages, but it is likely that they will have to work with another. In any case, working in such companies, you will have to learn a lot from scratch. But it's worth it, "said Vladimir.
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Home Climbing Areas Climbing Routes Guidebooks Free Topos Photos Forum
Home >> Our Guidebooks >> Northen California Bouldering Saturday, January 16, 2021
Price: $26.95 (price expires 12/31)
Format: Printed Guidebook
Downloadable eBook
Format: Downloadable eBook (PDF)
Ships in: immediately downloadable
Northern California Bouldering
Authors Chris Summit
Problems: 1600 (click to see the complete list)
Difficulty: VB-V13
Format: Print and eBook (PDF)
Edition: 1st Edition, May 2009
Northern California Bouldering highlights 50 of the best bouldering areas from just north of Yosemite all the way up to the Oregon border and west to the Pacific Ocean. With color maps, action photos and supertopo photos as well as detailed descriptions of all the boulder problems it's easy to use and easy on the eyes. Nearly every type of rock imaginable is included from limestone and sandstone to granite and volcanic tuff. All of the areas included are immersed in a variety of world class scenery from sea level to the alpine environments of the high Sierras. This guide contains new material highlighting new areas, and a selection of the best areas from the other two guides already in use, Bay Area Bouldering and Lake Tahoe Bouldering.
Northern California Bouldering includes new areas near Sonora and Bear Valley in the Central Sierras all the way up north past the best Tahoe areas to Bald Rock and Mt Lassen in the northeastern corner of the state. The order of the book then travels southwest down the Central Valley to the Bay Area's best, then up north past a few newer inland areas and finishes in the far north on the Pacific Coast at the Arcata areas. Also included in brief detail are 20 Bonus Areas that are less popular or newly developed like Mount Tamalpais and the Sierra Buttes. All combined it makes a grand total of 70 areas with over 1700 problems!
Features available in eBooks:
Most accurate & detailed topos ever in full color!
Color photos from Chris Summit, Jerry Dodrill and more
Detailed approach and descent options
Nor Cal's first and only bouldering guide
Immediately ready for download (no shipping charges)
View the Table of Contents and Introduction (629 KB)
Learn more about downloadable SuperTopo eBooks
To read about eBook compatibility information click here.
We've put one of the Bay Area Bouldering routes, the SuperTopo for Bald Rock on this web site—free for you to download. Check it out, it may be the best climbing topo you've ever seen!
Complete List of Included Areas
clear	 1 - 69 of total 69 bouldering areas found. [ Thumbnails | Text ]
Bouldering Area Rock Type
# of Problems
Ratings Review
v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v8+
v0, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v8+
Fort Ross
v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v8, v9, v10
Goat Rock
Blue and Green Schist
VB - V12/13
Columbia State Park
v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v8, v9
Pump Rock
Donnell Vista
v0, v1, v2
Chipmunk Flat
v0, v1, v2, v4, v5, v8
Sonora Pass
395 Boulder-East Side
Bear Valley (Hells Kitchen)
vB, v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v10
Castle Boulder aka The Dumps
v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v8, v9
Loon Lake (The Loonies)
v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v8, v9, v10+
Bald Rock
v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6
Feather River
Mt Lassen, Eagle Peak
Volcanic Granite
v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7
Mt Lassen, Devastated Area
Castle Lake
Lake Audrain
Clear Lake (Black Forest)
Dos Rios
Houda Point
Big Chief
Castle Peak
Bidwell Park
Sierra Buttes
Pigeon Boulders
v0, v1, v2, v3, v4
North Lassen
Big Bar
Flagpole Peak
Ladder Boulder
v1, v2, v3, v4
Middle Bliss
Old County
Super Slab
Blue Schist
Mickeys Beach
Serpentine and Greywacke
Ring Mountain
Mount Tamalpais
Putah Creek (Purgatory)
Vacaville (Nut Tree Boulders)
vB, v0, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, v9
The Secrets
Momma Cat
v0, v2, v3, v4, v5, v8+
North Bliss
Grouse Slabs
River Mouth
Schist
Marshall Gulch
Graywacke Sandstone
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Volcanic and Schist
Glen Canyon Park
Granite Creek
Greenstone and Schist
Rocklin (Deer Creek Park)
v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v67, v7, v8, v9, v10
Squaw Rock
Mossy Rock
1 - 69 of total 69 bouldering areas found
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There's a few things that I really enjoy above all others. You know, a few shops or places that you always enjoying going to and always find something you want.
For me, those places include Pandora, Paperchase, Next, Starbucks and, perhaps most of all, Cath Kidston.
I love everything about Cath. The bold, fun prints, the modern vintage clothes, the cute kids accessories, the beautiful homewares. I can spend hours wandering around, finding something on every table and every display that I'd like to take away with me.
Ever since I went to the Craft bloggers meet up in Nottingham at the start of the year and had a sneak peek at how Cath chooses new prints, I've regularly kept an eye out for the new designs and products and often posted about what I've found, including her brilliant prints for boys and my pick of the new prints.
This season, there's some fab new prints, naturally, including townhouses - which has also been used within a lot of the Christmas 2014 collection combined with the ever popular stars print - the new mews floral prints in navy and red plus a festive twist on her London and Stanley Dog prints too. The clocks, autumn bloom, London buses and 'stop that thief' prints are still to be found and, in many cases, they're in a sale at the moment too.
So, how could I resist picking up a few things when I went in at the weekend?
When it comes to prints, I don't go for matchy-matchy - I like to try and get a little something from all the prints I like for a more eclectic look.
First of all, I was keen to snap up the mews print jewellery roll, as whenever I go away, I never have anything to pop my jewellery into plus this print is super cute and the fabric has a nice shimmer to it. It's also presented in a beautiful pink box, which will certainly find a use somewhere else.
I also picked up a clocks mirror for just £2 (always handy to have) and decided to swap my current CK purse for a slimmer version which is mainly for cards but has a small change pocket at the back. I chose the ditsy mews print again but in navy and this was also in the sale for just £14.
The main thing however I wanted to get in the sale was a dress. I've always admired them but have never bought a Cath Kidston dress before but having fallen in love with the red clocks print a few months ago, when I saw it had 40% off, I just couldn't think of a reason not to buy it. So I did. And it's beautiful and no doubt it won't be the last I buy (although not for a while!).
To match, I also grabbed the black happy hour clocks purse. It's in a heavier material and I'm planning on using it as a clutch but it would also be great as a make up bag.
Before we left, we also treated our dog to a new bed. His old one had seen better days and now we have removed one of our sofas, which he used to sit on, we felt he needed somewhere comfy to sleep. And the fab comic book style dog print was just perfect and looks great in our dining room - it even got the cat's seal of approval!
It's a question that I've asked myself many times and one I know that other bloggers often wrestle with.
Of course, we have an answer - usually the same answer - ready and waiting for when someone inevitably asks us the question.
Because we want to document the life of our family, the growth of our children, and have a record of happy memories to look back on, when our children are grown and we scratch our heads and wonder where the time has gone.
It's an answer I have given, in one form or another, many times and it's one I've heard even more often. It's a given amongst the mummy blogging community - we're doing it to save our memories.
And it's a damn good reason, don't get me wrong - I feel very passionately about being a mummy blogger and defended everything it stands for to great response - but there's a bit more to it really, isn't there? It's not just about writing and sharing - if you want to be successful, there's A LOT you have to think about, depending on how seriously you want to take it - there's a lot I could learn from this SEO expert when it comes to making my content go further!
Blogging is a means of expression, whether you're a natural writer-type or just someone who wants a space on the internet to call their own. It gives you a way to get all your thoughts and feelings out of your head and your heart and onto the screen. The process can be really cathartic, particularly if you're having a tough time and need a bit of support.
And we all do, don't we, from time to time? Whether it's a case of being able to say 'don't worry, me too' or just a chance to vent, being part of the blogging community means you can always find support, wherever you are and whenever you need it. You can always count on another mum to be a) honest and b) up in the wee small hours of the morning!
It's a way of sharing how we feel, what we're doing and the interests we enjoy when often there's no other way to do it. I began my blog as a way of keeping my friends and family up to date on my pregnancy, as I don't really live near any of them and keeping in touch on a regular basis can be hard. But over time, and with a lot of effort, my blog has become somewhere I can share all sorts of things with all sorts of people - many of whom I don't know in 'real life' so to speak.
Real life. It's a funny concept, that you have a 'real' life and an 'online' life. I guess it's true - you can choose who you want to be online. That's the joy, and the worry for some, of being part of the social community. When I went to BritMums and Tots100 Blog Camp, I talked to quite a few people about this and how nice it was to 'really meet them'.
But, if you really think about it, our blogs are one of the places where we are at our most 'real'. For those that share the highs and lows of parenthood, blogging is a way of sharing experiences, good and bad, warts and all, in the hopes of helping other people just like us. From challenging stages with our children to sharing our passion or interest or enjoyment of a place or product or person, our blogs allow us to explore everything that we are and to connect with people in a way that, for many, is just not possible in 'real life'.
It can be silly or serious - anything goes.
And the more you share and the more you connect, the more doors blogging can open. New opportunities come around and it's exciting to see where your humble little blog can go. The blog's the limit!
And it is all very exciting and encouraging and affirming. Because people are listening to you, talking to you, laughing and crying with you. People you would never have had the chance to meet but whom now you can turn to when you want to swap make up tips or practical parenting advice.
The more you do as a blogger, the more you can and want to do. There's just not enough hours in the day and sometimes it can seem like it's all too much, and that's often when we'll ask ourselves the question - what are we blogging for?
I've found that attending events such as BritMums or Blog Camp are an experience that's both inspiring and frightening in equal measure. It can make you feel really proud of what you've accomplished. Big pat on the back for everyone, well done, you're making a valuable contribution to the community, both parents and online, that brands are sitting up and taking real attention of.
But at the same time, you start to question what you're doing as there will always be another blogger - or in real life, another mum - that seems to be doing better. It's very hard not to compare your blog, and yourself, to others. The more you read, the more you want to write. There's so much support and inspiration out there and as much as we all consider our blogs as a way of recording our family's milestones and memories (something that's written in my Twitter profile), we're not just doing it for ourselves.
We're doing it for other people, like us, who are looking for ideas and advice and information and a distraction. I know how much I have gained from blogs during my time as a mummy so far - much more than any other resource at my disposal - and in some way, I want to try and do the same for other people.
Whether I've helped save you time on finding a Santa to visit this Christmas, helped you with my weaning tips, made you think when I've written about a certain Atomic Kitten who just happens to have had lots of children by different dads, or brought a smile to your face with my monthly letters to Ethan, I'm just trying to make a contribution that someone, somewhere will enjoy. Because if I enjoy writing it, hopefully someone else will enjoy reading it.
I guess the point of this post is to celebrate all that it means to be a blogger and to gain a bit of perspective. I often get asked how do I find time to blog and really, if it's something you enjoy, no matter what it is, you find time for it. I do it to keep a record of Ethan as he grows up. I do it to share the different things I'm interested in and the things I have done or tried. And I do it to feel a part of something.
I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunities I have had because I own this little blog - and I've worked hard to make the most of these - and we should all feel proud of what we do. The trouble is, it's all too easy to worry or to want more. Being part of the Tots100 network, for instance, is great but at the same time, it amplifies competitive natures and can make you feel validated in the best case scenario or lost at the other end of the extreme. None of us really understand how the chart ranking is worked out - it's all too complex for me to fathom - but I bet no matter how relaxed you may claim to be about it, you still check your ranking position each month.
Of course you do. It's fun to find out how your blog is doing and there's not a blogger who can honestly say that, on reflection, they only write their blog for themselves and they don't really mind what other people think. If that was the case, you wouldn't publish and promote.
We live in a society where we constantly worry about what people think of us. And it's not just the media that creates this - the pressure is coming from within.
Raise your hand if you're a blogger and you've felt guilty or worried of panicked because you don't have your next few posts drafted and ready to go? How many feel like that right now?
It comes back to 'real life' again, getting in the way and making us get behind in our blogging. I spoke to other bloggers at Blog Camp about this feeling of pressure when it comes to keeping our blogs up to date, linking in with people and making time to connect and to grow what we have built. It seems I'm not alone. But, as much as I love reading other people's blogs and tweets and looking at people's photos every day, I really don't mind if you haven't done anything today. Or yesterday. Who set the rules about blogging? Isn't it supposed to be fun, something we do when we have something to say or share?
I try to publish a post every day but sometimes, real life gets in the way and I would worry about my blog. Like I would get behind, disappoint people or lose the race. But who would really notice, or mind? We all know that we all have real lives to lead and the pressure is probably all in our heads. Things such as the Tots100 rankings add to this feeling that we're in a competition and that we have to do more, share more, link more, sell more in order to be more.
I've taken some time and reflected on my blogging journey so far and I want to make a conscious effort to have more 'control' over what I do. I set the rules of how this blog looks and what it says and it's not the be all and end all whether I post each day or not. The more you put in, the more important it becomes, I get that, but I want to make sure that I'm enjoying the ride and not feeling some kind of pressure to be better.
Trouble is, we all want to be better. Better bloggers, better mums. When really, we're pretty damn great as we are.
That's what we're blogging for.
If you're like me - hyper-organised and excited about the countdown to Christmas - you'll already be thinking about the big day. Whether you've started (or finished) your Christmas shopping, gathered gift guides or started your online research, you can never start too early in preparing for Christmas.
It's always funny to me how quickly the weeks fly by at this time of year. One minute, you have all the time in the world to prepare for Christmas and the next, all your weekends have been booked up by trips to see relatives, shopping and, if you're lucky, a few Christmas parties. No doubt you're little one will have an even more crammed diary than you!
So, in my need to be prepared and in a bid to help you tick one thing off your to do list, I've been researching the best places to meet the big fella in the red suit this Christmas in the Midlands.
Last year, Ethan visited Santa during our holiday at Center Parcs and although he won't remember it, it was something we really wanted to do. This year, I'm sure Ethan will be much more intrigued and involved in all the excitement of the season so a visit to Santa is right at the top of my 'must do' things in the lead up to 25th December.
But where will Santa be visiting? Which grottos are the best for a family day out? And which ones offer the best value?
Every year, more and more places get in on the grotto act and it seems that this year, there's a whole host of magical experiences to be had. From the conversations I've seen on Facebook alone, I know that many parents feel the pressure to make this time of year extra special and finding THE Santa experience is of utmost importance and this post is well-timed as many people I know are booking far in advance to make sure they have tickets for their chosen event.
I'm sure to the children, just going along and meeting the jolly old fella and receiving a gift is all they really want, but as parents, we want to do all we can to bring the magic to life.
So, here's my round up of the biggest and best Santa-themed events in the region with all the links you need, which I hope will save a lot of searching - and be sure to let me know which Santa you'll be going to see this year!
I love the West Midland Safari Park and we will be going to their Fireworks Festival on 8th November for the third time as it's always such a wonderful night and the bonfire and fireworks are truly fantastic. And who knew that Santa could be found on a safari? Well, he can as part of the Santa Safari experience.
You can make a full day of it as the drive-through safari is open and included in the price of your Santa Safari ticket. You can book to see Santa at a time to suit yourselves whilst also enjoying the walk-through Discovery Trail which has lots of various animal features - including a Sea Lion Show and Penguin Cove - before you leave.
The Santa Safari opens on 15th November and runs until 24th December on selected dates. Prices are £16.99 adults, £14.99 for children (1-15 years) and £7.50 for babies (up to 12 months). Find out more and buy tickets here.
A must for any choo-choo fan! There's the Castle of Dreams, where each child is met by the elves and taken to see Father Christmas in his grotto to receive a gift and a golden ticket to return to the park in the 2015 season.
New for this Christmas, there will also be an outdoor ice rink plus you can enjoy the 21 rides and attractions in Thomas Land within the price of your ticket. Before you leave, you must also visit the 4D cinema to enjoy a 15 minute movie experience of The Polar Express.
Guide prices are £20 for adults (12-59 years), £15 (4-11 years and 60+), £10 (2-3 years) and under 2's go free. Find out about dates and further details here - tickets are available to buy over the phone at present.
Not somewhere I would have first thought of when thinking of Santa grottos but well worth considering as you can make much more of your visit. The National Sea Life Centre Birmingham will be running their Merry Fishmas event from Saturday 13th ro Wednesday 24th December.
Your children can meet Father Christmas in his grotto located near the Penguin Ice Adventure attraction and they'll receive a present if they've been good. And keep your eyes peeled in the Ocean Tunnel, as it will have a special underwater Christmas tree on display.
There's not much information on the website yet but tickets can start from £12.50 if booked online and in advance - take a look here for more information.
Taking the simple 'trip to see Father Christmas' to a whole new level, there's a special new event coming to The Belfry this winter. Dubbed as 'the ultimate Christmas experience', this is a premium event which does look magical.
Build across two and a half acres of woodland and designed by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, The Magical Journey (see map above) will take you on a tour to help the reindeer find Father Christmas, meeting Mrs Claus and boarding the Father Christmas Express. You'll finally find the man in red at his lodge to receive a gift and meet his real reindeer plus there's a Christmas Market full of craft and food stalls so you can buy some festive treats.
A very different and very detailed experience, which will take up to 90 minutes. It opens on 22nd November and prices range from £10 to £15 for adults and £17.50 to £22.50 for children, depending on the date you choose. Find out more here.
Chocoloate and Christmas - two things that go hand in hand, so what better place to find Father Christmas? Children can visit Santa at Cadbury's magical themed grotto, and receive the obligatory gift, before enjoying everything else that's usually on offer.
Also, Cadbury's is launching their 'Snow White and the Chuckle Beans' series of pantomime style performances during their Christmas Celebration Weekends, which run each weekend from 22nd November right up until Christmas.
They say tickets must be pre-booked and prices start from £15.95 for adults, £11.70 for 4-15 year olds and under 4's are free. Visit here for more information.
We went along to one of their Victorian Christmas evenings when we were expecting Ethan and we really enjoyed this unique event. If you're looking to meet Santa, the Santa Hunts, which take place on the 29th and 30th November only, are a fun idea. A seasonal scavenger hunt with a prize at the end, children can explore the museum on their hunt to find Santa.
You have to call to pre-book if you want to attend and prices are £15.95 for adults, £12,75 for concessions, £8.50 for 3-16 year olds and £6.50 for 0-2 year olds.
There's one place that can guarantee a White Christmas - SnowDome Tamworth! I've never been but it looks like a lot of fun and the perfect place to go in the lead up to Christmas.
With real snow and real reindeer, plus a stage show and of course, Santa Claus himself, it's certainly worth checking out. Prices start from £12.50 and the Winter Wonderland opens 21st November and runs until 31st December.
I hope that you find this guide to Santa attractions in the West Midlands for Christmas 2014 useful. I complied this myself as I thought it would be helpful to other parents such as myself. Let me know if you book any of the experiences mentioned or if you have any others to recommend!
It seems that year on year, Halloween is becoming bigger and bigger. Maybe it's the influence of America or maybe it's just because we've embraced another reason to have a party, but Halloween is becoming a bigger event.
From frightfully good costumes in the shops to ghoulish treats, everyone seems to be going all out for All Hallows' Eve.
I've always loved Halloween, be it watching scary films at sleepovers when I was a teen or going to fancy dress parties more recently. I like the idea of dressing up and becoming something else altogether and have found that sometimes, it can be easier, and more fun, to create your own costume from things you own rather than buying something ready-made.
One Halloween, I dressed as Wednesday Adams, another as a comic book character called Harlequin (although I looked more like a member of Kiss) and another as a wrestler (yep that's right!).
I also recycled an 80's wig and did a whole 'zombie / witch bride' thing. Hey, I improvised. I played with some make up and achieved quite a cool look. Halloween makes it ok to look a little strange, that's the way see it.
For my last look featured below, I used pearlescent eyeshadow instead of face powder and added a green shade to contour my face. I then used red lipliner around my eyes and, under the muted party lighting, it created a rather eerie effect. So you really don't have to spend a lot of money to create a spooky look.
From a young age, I have enjoyed day trips out to museums, castles, galleries and animal attractions but it still took me 10 years of living in Birmingham before I first visited the Sea Life Centre.We went last year when Ethan was just two months old as it was my birthday and we wanted to have a family day out but obviously Ethan was too young to take it all in.
When we went last weekend, however, it was a different story altogether.
You see, the Octonauts have come to Sea Life Centre Birmingham on a very special mission this autumn. If you are a parent of a pre-schooler, then you'll almost definitely know who the Octonauts are. In a nutshell, the Octonauts are an eight-member team of underwater heroes who rescue sea creatures, explore underwater worlds and save the day before returning safely to their home base, the octopod. Based on the original books by Meomi, Octonauts is animated by Brown Bag Films, the cartoon is incredibly popular with little ones, including Ethan, and big ones, like my husband and I. I admit it, I often watch Octonauts with Ethan with genuine interest and not just because it's happens to be on.
So, when I heard that the Octonauts were coming to the Sea Life Centre, I knew it was time for a return visit - and I don't know who was more excited, me or Ethan (probably me).
A collaboration with the Sea Life Centre is an obvious link and one which has been used to great advantage. During their special Sea Life Centre mission, children can meet with Kwazii (the cat with the eye-patch) and Peso (the penguin) and have their photos taken whilst enjoying various activities; including a new quiz trail, activity books, stickers and more.
The Octonauts are only at Sea Life Centre Birmingham until Saturday 30th November so you'd best be quick and book tickets if you have a fan in your house. It's a great time to take your children along and to give them another way to engage with the educational element of the Sea Life Centre and it's the perfect place to go if the weather is less than great.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day and although Ethan is still quite young, we know he really enjoyed it too. He was fascinated by the 'tish' (read: fish), pointed with great excitement at the turtles (one of the words he learnt a few weeks ago) and was mesmerised when he saw the jellyfish.
But it was definitely the penguins that captured our hearts this time. The Penguin IceAdventure, which is a home to a colony of Gentoo penguins, is the latest feature at the Sea Life Centre and I think they're one of my favourite animals now, they're just so amazing to watch.
They are the first area you come to when you arrive and they are captivating to watch. The way the installation is designed, you can watch the penguins diving under water and when you come to the end of your trail around the centre, there's another underwater viewpoint to enjoy.
Although Ethan was interested in watching the penguins, it was the rather large penguin, Peso, standing at the end that really caught his attention and he clearly recognised him from the cartoon.
"Pretend your toes are being eaten by piranhas..."
The Sea Life Centre is somewhere I know we will come back to every couple of years. There's lots to see and lots for children to learn and it can be great value too, if you look out for special offers or book online.
When will you go on an Octonautical adventure?
* Thank you to Sea Life Centre Birmingham for inviting us along to experience the Octonauts mission - we had a brilliant time.
For any working mum, morning traffic can be a bit of a nightmare. Trying to drop off your little ones and get to work on time can be made much more challenging if you have a toddler that refuses to wear his shoes or if you hit the school run traffic, as everyone has somewhere to be and everyone seems to be running late.
This week the RAC in fact announced that the average person spends more than 120 hours stuck in traffic - and I bet a good deal of this is spent on the school run or on the way to work in the morning!
So, with the roads often a no-go area, it's a good thing that it's National Walk to School Month is this month as now is as good a time as any to try leaving the car behind and to pound the pavement instead.
I was fortunate when I was young to live just one road away from infant and junior school, so walking to school from an early age was something easy for my parents and I to do. Things became even easier when I went to secondary school as I lived right next door but many people I knew walked every day or cycled in. I guess we were fortunate in my home town as everything was easily accessible by foot and from a young age it was just the norm to walk or cycle everywhere. I loved it.
Now, living in a suburb of Birmingham and working in the city centre, our lives revolve around my car. We have plenty of things nearby, including Ethan's nursery, but they're all just that little bit too far to walk to most of the time. Particularly when time is the very problem. A trip that takes five to ten minutes in the car can take up to half an hour to walk. If I was working from home, it wouldn't be such a problem but my journey to work takes up to an hour and I just don't have enough time in the mornings as it is, let alone to consider leaving my car behind.
That all being said, I think the message of National Walk to School month is very positive and something that we should all reconsider when and where we can.
When I was younger, the walk to school was the chance to catch up with friends, and the walk back to talk to my parents about what I had been doing that day. It was also my daily exercise and if I think of my habits now compared to then, I cringe.
As it's my favourite time of year and I love seeing the seasons change and the leaves turn beautiful colours before they fall from the trees, I was keen to leave my car keys behind and try to go out and about with Ethan more. He's still not walking unaided so unfortunately I'm still doing the hard work ofpushing him or carrying him around but getting outside, taking in some fresh air and making the most of the opportunity to actually look around and enjoy our surroundings, rather than looking at a car bumper, was really refreshing.
My husband even picked Ethan up from nursery a couple of times this week, as I have the car, when I was stuck in traffic. With the darker nights and rain that we've had over the last few days, the roads have really been affected and I've been late getting to Ethan and one day I was 40 minutes late for work - and it's only a seven mile journey from nursery to my office!
Kiddicare kindly sent us a Buggy Snuggle to use with our Chicco stroller (the snuggle is universal and can be used with almost any pushchair) so that we could do our best to get outside more with Ethan for National Walk to School month. It's a really nice fleece pram liner and foot muff which has a handy pocket, for toys or snacks, plus a two way zip so if Ethan's got muddy feet, they can stick out the end rather than getting the snuggle all dirty. It's a great addition to our stroller and has given us the chance to enjoy the new season without worrying about Ethan being cold. The universal rain cover we bought has also come in pretty handy!
It's usually out of necessity we rely on our car which I'm sure is the same for a lot of people. We don't have the time, sadly, to walk Ethan to nursery as the distance is just a little too far when I need to get to work but, when he's school age, there's much more of a chance that walking will be part of our daily routine. I think it's good for us to think of ways in which we can get out and about more on our own two feet rather than four wheels and with a bit of forward planning - getting ready on time and having the right pushchair and accessories - certainly makes it much more possible.
* Thank you to Kiddicare for sending us the Buggy Snuggle to help us get out and about more this month!


Having read this quote for the first time about 12 years ago, I am surprised it is just now getting under my skin. But the very fact it has is perhaps proof of it's truthfulness. Though I read novels, I am prone to not take long looks at most things. Like most Christians, I am quick to judge. Well, I am just quick period. I am quick to decide on the goodness or badness of something. I make rash judgments on people and books and everything. I want everything done quick. Food. Stories. Conversations. Trips. Blog posts. Downloads. Uploads. Health. Answered prayer.
So, I'm part of that elite evangelical group known as "Everyone." We don't take long looks at anything because it requires a reigning in of ego. The long look asks us to submit ourselves to the fact we have limited knowledge. We can guess and speculate but really we are just ignoramuses.
The BP oil spill is a good example. We were right to be concerned. But we were wrong to talk and act as if we knew the ending. We spoke about the spill as if we knew for certain what all the effects would be. And we knew, of course, they would be catastrophic. And so we handed out judgment diffused with anger like those without hope. In other words we freaked out and acted as if the Gulf Coast would be irreparably harmed. And we did all of this at the beginning of the story. But now? The oil cannot even be found. The beaches are pristine. And little microbes are "eating" up the oil that is below the surface. We should not have been so quick to think we knew the end of the story before we finished the first chapter.
Novels, of course are stories. And they should teach us something here. All the stories we love seem to have a crisis moment where we are forced to either have hope or dispense with it. And then as the story moves along, the characters change and the drama takes on a redemptive form. Hope emerges from the ashes of crisis. Our heart soars. Thankfully, we have looked long into the reaches of the final pages.
Our stories are similar. Not only have we as believers emerged from the slavery of sin and death and crossed the river on dry land into life and love with God, our Redeemer. But we continue on into a story that never ends. We move "further up and further in" as Lewis showed us in one of his novels. The story has not yet ended. We not only want others to take the long look into our lives, we naturally fall in this direction when thinking about ourselves. The cliché rings true. God isn't finished yet. The story is not over. That is, unless you are without hope and cannot look long into the stories about and around you.


Una llamada para salir y vivir la vida al máximo. La búsqueda de aventura.. Atrapa los vientos alisios en tus velas, explora, víve y sueña.
Admiring the commitment you put into your website and in depth information you present. It's awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn't the same outdated rehashed material. Excellent read! I've bookmarked your site and I'm including your RSS feeds to my Google account.


Ciudad Digital - Precission S.R.L.
This application allows the cities´s governments to ask and manage the geolocated claims directly from the smartphones of the citizens. In turn, it allows identifying interests and providing personalized information, notifying them of the news that affects them and requesting feedback on the resolution of complaints.


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SEC claims first enforcement action in $30M fraud case involving DeFi project
Crypto population doubled to over 200M users since January, report says
DeFi, by definition, cannot be fully regulated, Siam Commercial Bank president says
Arak Sutivong, CEO of SCB 10X and the president of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), has offered an insight into how one of the largest venture capital funds in Southeast Asia views the future of decentralized finance (DeFi) when it comes to the contentious question of regulation.
SCB 10X is the venture arm of SCB, Thailand's oldest bank, and mostly focuses on investing in blockchain-based financial services, such as DeFi and digital assets.
In his opening speech at SCB 10X's second annual global DeFi virtual summit, REDeFiNE, Sutivong stressed that by now, DeFi had broken through to the mainstream "by many measures." In terms of growth, he noted that the sector had seen a tenfold increase over the past six months, with over $100 billion in total value locked in the DeFi ecosystem this year. By many other metrics — including users, traded volume on exchanges and developed decentralized applications — the sector, he said, has witnessed "tremendous growth."
With all this development and excitement, however, Sutivong emphasized that several issues continue to loom over the nascent industry, observing that "there are some concerning areas such as fraud that we keep hearing in the news. There has been a lot of concern from industry stakeholders and regulators." Tackling this over the medium- and long-term poses unique challenges, in his view, given that:
"DeFi, by definition, cannot be fully regulated. Instead, there needs to be a framework for how DeFi can be integrated with the rest of the financial ecosystem."
Sutivong's remarks on sustainability and evolving approaches to regulatory compliance follow a series of interventions by global regulators and organizations, ranging from the proactive to the outright hostile.
Related: Bulls are back, but regulatory fears hamper the DeFi and altcoin recovery
In early June, the World Economic Forum published a policy toolkit for DeFi, proposing ways to balance countervailing needs, such as fulfilling aspirations for decentralization and privacy, while mitigating illicit activities such as money laundering. More specifically, the toolkit addressed concerns that new regulatory interventions could impose significant costs on DeFi startups, discouraging smaller participants from entering the market.
These concerns have been particularly acute for many DeFi developers who are unsure about how the Financial Action Task Force's recommendations for regulating virtual asset service providers will affect them.
In early June, Dan M. Berkovitz, commissioner of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, stated he believes that DeFi derivatives platforms might contravene the country's Commodity Exchange Act and thus be illegal.


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ComputED Gazette Bessie Awards
LanSchool Air won the Bessie Award for best classroom management software. For 25 years, these awards have been presented to innovative programs, apps, and websites that help parents and teachers foster educational excellence, and we couldn't be prouder of this distinction.
Gold Stevie Award
We're honored to also have been the only classroom management solution to receive a Gold level Stevie Award from the American Business Awards this year. Stevie judges had the following to say about LanSchool Air:
"This technology solves a real problem that teachers have in classrooms today – innovative way to improve school functionality!"
"I love the fact that this solution allows the teacher to monitor and correct without shaming. Well done!"
"Very interesting educational platform – especially the ability to keep students safe and on track."
We're thrilled LanSchool Air has been recognized by each of these groups, because it shows that the work we're doing is valuable within the industry and is poised to truly help the teachers and students we're serving.
Tech and Learning Awards of Excellence 2015
Stoneware Inc. released webNetwork version 6.3, a significant update that extends the functionality of the Unified Workspace platform for IT while continuing to provide users with the freedom and flexibility they want. With redesigned file services, users can leverage the storage and editing capabilities of cloud providers like Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Box, and Dropbox within their existing workspace. The upgrade also introduces single signon (SSO) enhancements and webPass wizards to simplify the creation of custom SSO definitions. Judges gave it high scores for ease of use and appropriateness for use in a school setting.
LanSchool version 7.8 offers several enhancements to the software that enables educators to monitor, collaborate, and communicate with students. The system now supports up to 10,000 connections, and the functionality of the Chromebook extension now includes LanSchool features such as View Student, Show Student, Save Snapshot, and Chat. The ease of use and navigation won high marks from our judges, and they also rated the software as being comprehensive in scope.
CODIE 2014 Award Finalist
Finalists in Best Classroom Management Solution with the LanSchool 7.7.3, Stoneware product.
CODIE 2013 Award Winner
The SIIA CODiE Awards were established in 1986 so that pioneers of the then-nascent software industry could evaluate and honor each other's work. During the years that followed, the program evolved into three racks—organized by industry focus in content, education, and software—but our core mission has always remained the same: recognizing excellence by honoring the software and information industry's leading products and services. Award winners are able to leverage their CODiE Award as a prestigious representation of outstanding achievement and vision in the software and information industries.
Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence 2012
Ed-Tech Readers' Choice Award 2012
Academics' Choice Smart Media Award Winner
Lenovo Launches Cloud-Based Classroom Orchestration Platform
LanSchool Air solution for Google Classroom™ lets teachers manage multiple classroom activities within one central platform
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – June 19, 2018 - Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: Read More
Lenovo AirClass Industry Firsts Transform Virtual Training
AirClass can assess employee participation in real-time with Engagement Score
Advanced facial recognition technology measures sentiment with Emotion Read More