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DSES: Can You Feel Me Or Is It The Customer Experience?
DrivingSales Executive Summit 2014 is officially in the books. It was a sold out event once again that enveloped the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas for the better part of three days. Planned was a (digital) star-studded keynote speaker list plus some of the finest breakout speakers, many dealers, for those in attendance. Here's some highlights form the event from IM@CS' perspective:
Just as last year, there was a Canadian Breakout Session housing some of the top companies from our neighbors to the north along with some powerful presenters including Grant Gooley and Jeremy Wyant. Jay Radke and Brent Wees definitely brought the "eh" for a second time. Rumor is that next year will be bigger and better (and DSES will NOT be during Canadian Thanksgiving!).
After Emcee Charlie Vogelheim's grandiose welcome of the attendees, DrivingSales' founder Jared Hamilton managed a uniquely powerful opening recognizing a few members of the car dealer community from stage for thie personal triumphs and celebrations. Most poignant was a heartfelt message and standing ovation for Courtney Cox Cole of Hare Chevrolet. Just completing her last round of chemotherapy a few days prior to the opening of DSES, her presence was missed however her spirit was felt.
The first keynote was Florian Zettelmeyer of The Kellogg School of Management hitting hard on data, telling dealership attendees to get smart on analytics. Well, it was more like "become data scientists", however put the message was clear. This year's Best Idea Contest followed and the audience was treated to some unique ways of approaching the "digital sprawl" that's occurring for dealerships (winner was a repeat of last year, Robert Karbaum). Add to that Mr. Vogelheim's "costume" unveil, a cowboy shirt that was a present from CADA's Tim Jackson.
Breakouts began and the session IM@CS attended was with Shaun Raines and Tom White Jr. As expected they hit their stride quickly offering specific actions to dealers that want to build a unique brand, market awareness and make customers the center of their world. Word back from other sessions was positive.
The Fireside Chat that followed had good information however it lacked some of the powerful punch from previous events (DSES and Presidents Club) that had the audience leaning forward or nodding/shaking heads in agreement/dischord. Jared guided Cars.com's Mitch Golub and DealerSocket's Jonathan Ord through a bevy of industry-directional questions and statements.
Day one's evening keynote was Brian Solis, who essentially is Altimeter Group's head analyst focusing on disruptive technology. As expected he brought insight, candor and a new perspectives to the majority-dealer audience, bringing up challenges and opportunities that the industry is facing now and in the near term. He touched on customer experience, the mobile audience, disruption occurring now that is effecting vehicle sales (Tesla and Uber were examples). He signed books immediately after as the reception began.
Mike Hudson from eMarketer, a nicely-paced review of where the target is moving with consumers in regard to mobile, engagement, disruptive tech and how the sales funnel has move. Like Solis the evening before, he warned dealers and OEMs to stay up with consumer demand for information and provide only value-based experiences.
Breakouts followed and included such speakers as Bobbie Herron and Brian Armstrong in a joint session on utilizing a BDC or not and Jeff Kershner discussing the mobile-based shift for today's showrooms. Then Jared hosted a fireside chat with two top executives from the newly-formed CDK Global (previously The Cobalt Group). The keynote before lunch featured Adam Justis of Adobe talking about how dealership marketing must be customer-centric and fully integrated, further pushing the "customer experience" drumbeat for the weekend.
After lunch it was Innovation Cup time and this year's finalists covered a broad range of dealer services. Not all new however all had a updated take on what is essentially consumer engagement via their technology (NewCarIQ ended up with the win).
Then, it was time for speed listening with Jared Hamilton. His keynote this year, "Competing on Customer Experience", was another blistering wordfest of reality and must-do strategy, followed by a first-of-its-kind video compilation of customer feedback on car buying experiences. The full study isn't due until next year, however the teaser included a handful of truthful, hard-hitting testimonials that dealers must listen to.
Afternoon breakouts ensued, showcasing among others Eric Miltsch of Command Z Marketing on wearable tech, Megan Barto of Ciocca Honda & Hyundai on dealership culture, Mike Martinez of DMEautomtoive on putting mobile as your top strategy, Mario Clementoni of NADA on best practices and Joe Chura of Dealer Inspire on website/lead optimization. Chura gave out some valuable "freebies", third party tips, software/programs and offers that included one from Google not previously known.
Closing our day two was a second-time speaker that couldn't have come at a more appropriate time. Rand Fishkin of MOZ (formerly SEOmoz) dove right into what must-use best practices need to be deployed today for SEO to stick. Raising the bar he set two years ago, his presentation dealt with can-do/don't-do advice and the Q&A addressed misinformation/misconceptions that many dealers hear regularly through auto industry sources.
Charlie and Jared started the morning with the winners of the Innovation Cup then immediately into the 4th Annual Digital Media Debate hosted by Joe Webb of DealerKnows Consulting. A slightly different format than previous years, two retail executives, two consultants and two vendors addressed topics ranging from Adaptive vs Responsive websites to relying on third party leads, conglomerate vendors versus specialized suppliers and one-price stores versus traditional.
The last round of breakouts showcased Christian Salazar of DealerFire on how consumers are finding your website and content, Aaron Wirtz from Subaru of Wichita recapping how the store addressed their potentially damaging PR debacle and turned it into a complete positive (that ended up going viral) and David Kain of Kain Automotive talking about how to make memorable connections with your customers that last.
Closing the 2014 DSES event was Bryan Eisenberg of Eisenberg Holdings. His presentation, bookending Florian's from Sunday, was an appropriate ending note on the customer experience "Cool-Aid". Hitting right on topic after topic regarding analytics, measurement, impending trends in consumer shopping and more, Mr. Eisenberg pulled no punches in telling dealers how they need to change their marketing practices to match the consumer path.
Charlie then reintroduced Jared for the shortest closing remarks of the six years DSES has been produced for the industry's leading dealerships. It was a fitting end to what surely was the most information-filled conference of the year.
Kudos to the DrivingSales team!
Best Practcies: Professional Insight, Powerful Results
Gary May
www.imacsweb.com
October 22, 2014	by Gary May	0
DrivingSales Executive Summit 2012: A To Unmarketing
The 2012 DrivingSales Executive Summit has closed its doors with an amazing, energetic event to show. Congratulations to the entire (growing) DrivingSales team, you have left a higher bar to be measured against, once again. With nearly 1000 in attendance, primarily dealers, the vibe was strong around leading-edge strategies. And the expectations were high…
Opening in one of the Bellagio's main ballrooms, with the shortest intro of the four-year event by Jared Hamilton, emcee Charlie Vogelheim introduced Dennis Galbraith to talk about "big data" for dealerships, emphasizing the importance of executable data-based strategy, followed by Luke Wroblewski, renowned mobile expert. The information shared by the former Yahoo design guru wowed the crowd. While not industry-specific, the impact of traffic and studies was easily translatable to both OEM and dealership tactics. The big question was, why are we not better around mobile strategies? The opening reception definitely reflected the excitement for the event.
Florian Zettelmeyer opened up day two with a deeper drive into "Big Data" with a focus on national brands. Like Luke's presentation the evening before, the practical application into automotive was significant and it turned quite a few heads. Feedback from dealers was overwhelmingly positive, and interesting. So were some tweets: one suggested a drinking game each time "Big Data" was heard, the other coining "Big Data" as the…..well you'll have to find and read it.
Rand Fishkin was next and the SEO oracle delivered. Talking points included off-site, social signals, long-tail and other critical search components. The feedback from the session was that it was top-notch. The SEOmoz founder gave dealers (and many vendors) information points that area critical to success, especially given lots of "enterprise" information that is typically given to the industry.
One of the marquee events of the DSES was next…the Best Idea competition. It's best to watch the videos on DrivingSales TV since this post can't quite catch the passion that the dealers being to the table. Everything, at the end of the day, is about the dealer and the industry moves as the speed of retail. So go watch! After the first round of breakout sessions, it was back into the main ballroom for the Innovation Cup. This year cDemo came out on top. Next year those in the running are going to watch to polish up their presentation and explanation skills….
Cobalt was next with their presentation that was supposed to hit on research and, wait for it…. Data that the industry could use relevant to websites and traffic. Some of the points were relevant while many points were already part of existing marketing for most of the dealers in attendance. Then, the full-capacity crowd was rewarded with a gem of a presentation from Billy Beane. The Oakland A's General Manager, who doesn't make public speaking a regular practice, talked about how businesses must be smart, agile and customer-centric, plus saving some tongue-in-check monologue about Moneyball. The audience paid full attention to his ideas, quotes and stories.
Tuesday opened with Facebook and Google…and a heavy dose of anticipation. The two biggest subjects on the industry's mind, Google reviews and Facebook advertising, were not covered due to both companies request. Tom White did as good as possible a job without a full quiver of questions to ask, still leaving some important aspects to be covered by both the search and social giants.
Then one of the most highly anticipated sessions in the industry in 2012: Jared Hamilton hosted TrueCar's Scott Painter for a one-on-one Q&A. Whether Jared took it easy or was tough on who represented the industry's pariah about a year ago or not is of opinion, there were some great questions and responses with some in the crowd wondering what position TrueCar will play into 2013.
Jim Dance followed with a leadership focused presentation that should immediately impact dealership operation. Rich in examples and strategy, Jim did have a post-lunch audience (always tough) that revealed many taking notes. Packed afternoon breakouts brought the event to the evening's joint keynote with JD Power's Automotive Marketing Roundtable. Mini's marketing head Tom Salkowsky talked about their passionate customers and gave chimerical and video examples of just how dedicated Mini owners are.
Then, Scott Straten of "Unmarketing" fame stepped on stage and gave the packed ballroom plenty to laugh, cry and think about. Between chanting "stop it" in regard to mediocre marketing and technology use to bits of "Awesome", his words danced throughout the mix of dealers, OEMs, agencies, media and portals packed i for the following conference. Sick as a dog, Straten simply engaged the audience with the same style and techniques he begged attendees to use.
Amazing event. What will the DSES team due to make 2013 shine? We only have 12 months to find out…
Special announcements: Jared Hamilton introduced industry veteran Kevin Root as President/COO of DrivingSales and revealed that in April 2013, the DrivingSales Automotive Presidents Club featuring Seth Godin. For dealers who want to attend the New York event, go to www.drivingsalespresidentsclub.com
Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results
Go Ahead, Keep Rebuilding The Mousetrap. Tip: You're Trying To Catch A Cheetah
Stop what you're doing. Right now! Look back, quickly. Look back for a while. No, not over your shoulder silly. If you've been at least somewhat involved in the digital realm over the past 3-6 years, take a hard look back. What have you done? Where did your advice come from? How much time have you lost? How much momentum have you gained? How many wins have you had? And how many losses?
Everything changes, we know that. We also know that one man's garbage is another man's treasure. So in your looking back, what have you really learned? This is a little beacon asking you to close the door (or if you're in a cube or BDC or somewhere without a door, pretend to) and think about who, what and to where you were following. This is not a call to go back to basics, which is garbage, however it's a call to think. For yourself.
Too often we go with those that have been penned as the thought leaders, gurus, experts, published authorities, subject matter experts, pros, top of their gamers and the like. So that begs a question: what has been constant in your digital presence for the last three years? Four? Five?
Chances are, not much.
Fact is a lot of people, namely business owners and executive management, are scratching their heads over the past months asking themselves "why did we go down the (fill in initiative here) road?". Is SEO alive or dead? Does social media work or not? Did the new close work or deter customers? Was mobile marketing right or wrong? Great questions. Think about it this way: did your last tent event sell lots of cars? But….that's not digital, right? A tent event or massive offsite lot sale is not, true. Neither should your thinking.
All those things promote traffic, sales, new customers, conquest, retention and more. Of course they do…you can ALWAYS sell. Digital strategies are no different than picking up a good book. They're cause to make you think. Not copy! Short term gains never win over long term thinking. And to think you need to know or be on the path to knowing better.
Sometimes it's funny how operators operate. There's a lot to be said about how dealers are afraid. They're afraid to spend or try new things or go off into unchartered territory. Not to defend them, the truth is they're bombarded. And by everyone that has something to sell from $.02 pens to $20M facilities. And the shiny new thingamabob fits squarely somewhere in between.
So in your reflection, look as specifically as possible at what was done over your foray into the digital world, and what was not done. You see a lot of people are selling new mousetraps and reworking the old ones. Yes, for the most part they work better. You can only be a judge, just like with a book or white paper or study at a conference, after the fact. And quite a few have benefitted over the past years due to their desire and ability to win in the digital realm and congrats to those who have.
Just a heads up that you're trying to catch a cheetah, not a mouse. A cheetah can still run at over 60 miles per hour with a mousetrap clipped onto its paw. That is until it gets smashed to smithereens and the cheetah goes on as if nothing ever happened. There are so few mice in the digital realm today and most have mousetrap detectors.
There are some big things coming. Here is a heads up that the next big thing is not in hardware, software, advertising, marketing, mobile apps, CRM, retargeting or templates. You'll have to think about it. For those that do get it the remainder of 2012 and 2013, as well as going forward, will be easier.
If this was a hard one to understand, keep reading and coming back. And thank you.
If you got this, see you at the DrivingSales Executive Summit October 21-23 at Bellagio in Las Vegas…and please keep reading. We'd love to hear from you, you're our kind of business.
October 9, 2012	by Gary May	0
Gary May and Joe Webb Create "A DSES Digest" Session For 2012 Las Vegas Conference
To better assist dealers attending the 2012 edition of the DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) automotive conference both at the event as well as afterward, Joe Webb (DealerKnows Consulting) and Gary May (Interactive Marketing and Consulting Services) have teamed up to create a new session at the top-ranked event October 21-23 taking place at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
On Tuesday, October 23 Webb and May will conduct a breakout session at 3:55p for the indsutry's most progressive dealers allowing them to best utilize both the new strategies learned at DSES as well as those not capitalized on presently at their dealerships. The forty-five minute session, just before the closing shared keynote by Scott Straten (Unmarketing) for DSES and the J.D. Power Automotive Marketing Roundtable (AMR), focuses on execution, deployment and accountability around digital marketing strategies.
"We want to do something completely different. We want to have them open both their minds and laptops or tablets to get the ball rolling before they get back to their stores. This new breakout will set a precedent and deliver a greater value to DrivingSales Executive Summit participants. And yes, there will be comedy", said Joe Webb in response to having the new format chosen for the 2012 DSES.
"Joe Webb and I share perspectives, operational approaches and a constant drive for accountability that will benefit the dealers. We wanted to offer a change in the way that attendees typically leave the conferences and then first start to formulate their plan(s) by having the foundation for execution happen at the event. We're excited to move the needle for those that are ready at DSES", stated Gary May upon selection by the conference's dealer advisory board.
For dealers not yet registered for the leaing digital automotive conference, the can visit http://www.dses.com and use discount code IMACS12. The discounted book of rooms at Bellagio Hotel and Casino are sold out and the event is expected to reach 750 attendee capacity prior to the October 21 opening.
**DSES UPDATE**
Salt Lake City, UT (PRWEB) October 02, 2012
DrivingSales today announced that Scott Painter, Chairman and CEO of TrueCar, Inc., will take center stage for a one-on-one interview with DrivingSales CEO Jared Hamilton at the 4th annual DrivingSales Executive Summit(DSES). The DSES, which is the most authoritative profit-building event for innovative dealers, is the only auto conference Painter appears at this fall, and he joins an exciting keynote line-up that includes Billy Beane of 'Moneyball' fame, SEO 'superstar' Rand Fishkin, mobile experience expert Luke Wroblewski, renowned leadership trainer Jim Dance, prominent Northwestern University marketing professor Florian Zettelmeyer and an exclusive presentation from Facebook and Google.
Painter's interview with Hamilton takes place on the main stage of the DrivingSales Executive Summit at the Bellagio Las Vegas on Monday, October 22nd at 2:00 pm PT. The question and answer session will cover Painter's role with, and contributions to, TrueCar, including where the company has been, where it's going and what Painter sees in the future for the auto industry. Painter will also take questions submitted prior to the event by the DrivingSales community.
"We are excited that Scott is joining us for the summit, his efforts have truly aimed to push the boundaries of our industry. All Scott's auto-related businesses in some way have melded technology, data and car-selling – a theme that we are zeroing in on at this year's summit," said Hamilton. "We look forward to a provocative, stimulating and illuminating session with Scott, one that will be of great interest not only to our dealer attendees and community, but also to the industry at large."
DrivingSales Executive Summit: Learning Over Listening
One of the things we're most passionate about is education. Above anything else, education moves businesses forward. You can sell them all day long, and most vendors would given the chance, but until education (and support) is part of the equation there is no momentum.
The DrivingSales Executive Summit has set itself apart from other conferences since its inception in 2009 and continues to do so today. This year's lineup of keynotes is incredibly impressive and the team at DrivingSales has set the bar higher once again. However the magic is in the breakouts, along with the innovation sessions, where dealership staff in attendance get to break out their notebooks, tablets and other note-taking technology and build executable strategies.
Last year's DSES delivered some of the most creative and independent means for dealers to lead their markets with digital marketing strategies. One of those sessions was Gary Sanders of Stevinson Lexus of Lakewood (Denver, CO) talking about what he and his dealership did to better set the stage for customers looking at their inventory online and to direct how conversations and conversions would take place.
Simply put, businesses innovating trumps those who simply copy and in today's market it is essential to win. It all starts with the ideas and strategies. As simple as this sounds, most sessions I've attended at the breath of events around the industry center around "you need to be doing this" rather than "this is how you do this".
Come to the DrivingSales Executive Summit in three weeks with an open mind, it will change your business. Yes, you'll be able to learn more than simply listening…
You can participate (read: actually participate) in the DSES session that Joe Webb and I share on Tuesday, October 23 at 3:55-4:40p Click here for the DSES agenda
Remember to use code IMACS12 when regsitering for DSES
September 30, 2012	by Gary May	0
DrivingSales Executive Summit 2011: The Big Bang (And Oh, What Comes Next?)
Wow. What happened last week was amazing. Nearly every session at this year's DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) rang the bell. From the opening comments on Sunday to the closing minutes Tuesday, nearly everything seemed to gel with a couple standing ovations to boot. This, ladies and gentlemen, is engagement, learning and a focus on the dealer at its best.
Day one featured returning emcee Charlie Vogelheim introducing DrivingSales' own Jared Hamilton followed Paul Potratz, JD Rucker and Jason Falls as the opening keynotes. Having outside-the-industry, topic-rich speakers has been a hallmark since the opening of the DrivingSales Executive Summit in 2009 and this year simply added to the validity of such influencers.
Day two started with a social media study by Dealer.com's Kevin Root and Matt Murray, then featured Aaron Strout on location-based marketing which presented some still very-new ideas to the crowd of over 400 attendees*. Four sessions of breakouts followed, covering a range of in-the-moment subjects, in addition to the Dealership Best Idea presentations. In between, two powerful events happened: a new Digital Marketing Dilemma "battle" format that had people buzzing into the evening and beyond day three, along with the DSES-exclusive Innovation Cup Vendor presentations. After the cup participants used up their allotted time, all attention was on the evening keynote Gary Vaynerchuk. He stole the show, got the more-than-typically-timid audience leaning forward and received what was described by nearly everyone as a one-of-a-kind, never before seen standing ovation. And a resounding ovation it was, not a "my gosh that was a boring presentation but at least it closed the day" kind of applause with people standing. Gary Vee rocked the house and converted the few not-yet-socially-commited dealerships on the spot. He followed that with a signing for his "The Thank You Economy" book.
Day three opened with Google and closed with the cup. And in between we heard from Zappos' Rob Siefker and what could arguably be the automotive industry's "Big 5" CEOs representing Dealer.com, Cars.com, ADP, DealerTrack and AutoTrader.com talking about what's coming in 2012. Many viewers not only enjoyed the big-company heads, they were comparing notes about who hit the ball the furthest (Mark Bonfigli of Dealer.com provided the second standing -albeit provoked- ovation of DSES).
Even with heads-up prep prior to DSES by the DrivingSales team, the Google session seemed to miss what most of the dealers there wanted to hear including answers to, among other things, Google Places questions. So there is room to improve in 2012 as well as grow. And by all signs, DSES may be getting quite a bit better and bigger in the coming year.
Kudos to those that made the draw in the breakout sessions including Jeff Cryder, Joe Webb, Tracy Myers, Cory Mosley, Marc McGurren, Brian Pasch and Dennis Galbraith.
The most heartfelt appreciation and thanks to Jared Hamilton and the entire unsung DrivingSales Executive Summit team. They put together the finest event for North America's most progressive dealerships out of a passion for what makes the industry tick. It was also a bit of a compliment to many of the DSES speakers as they were also invited to participate across town at the JD Power & Associates Internet Roundtable. You know who you are and the fact that what you contribute makes a difference to the industry. It was a pleasure to spent some incredible time with you at Bellagio over three days in October 2011.
Until next year…be well, be listening, be teaching, be growing and be yourselves!
*Being as how DSES is the only automotive conference streamed live as it happens, we may not know the total amount of attendees above the 400+ in attendance, but it's easy to say the impact went well beyond the walls of the Bellagio Hotel conference center. Dealers everywhere were affected by the 2011 DSES. DrivingSales and DSTV proved once again that you need to serve dealers in the ways that you are founded on. Education goes everywhere…socially.
It's That Time Of The Year: A Legacy Or 2 Steps Forward, 20 Years Back
Confernce season! You're about to experience record-setting attendance, more technology than will choke a horse, speaker after speaker, keynote after keynote and talk about how 2012 should be your year to embrace it all. Oh, and the budgets! Take here, put there and add everywhere that starts with digital. Whew, welcome to the conference season.
This is the time of the year that makes the chasm between doers and don't doers greater, creates the delta between those who practice and those who pretend and allows those who want, a battle cry. But it's no guarantee of success. Recently IM@CS experienced its fifth pre-term cancellation in the past four plus years. What happened? One person leaving. One really good, very focused, and awake individual…but still one person. It was an experience that you might call two steps forward, 20 years back. There is no focus on the web there now.
Remember that staying on top of everything that's changing and relevant takes time, attention, questions, resources and commitment. When that one person, or in some cases few people, don't do the work for the many or depart the dealership, what happens? Where is the commitment that is required to truly be successful? It's not the ideas or initial execution that makes the difference, it is the promise to maintain for the long term. It may even include an expectation for excellence and signifiacnt cost. Every individual that has applied a successful strategy for web-based results in their dealership or group has been doing so for a while. In some cases, a very long while. These are experiences that you might call building a legacy.
So take heed. Commit to what comes after the events. Make a differnce starting with the decision to go. The cost of attending an event like the DrivingSales Executive Summit is one of the smallest you'll ever make. Most dealers spend more on coffee or shuttling customers to the local mall in a month. And those costs don't grow your business anywhere close to the amount that a digital investment will.
A legacy starts with a unbending determination to see things through, not giving up at the first sign of resistence or willing to settle for mediocre. And sitting down listening to someone telling you what you should do versus talking with someone about how to do it is a massive difference. Today it seems as though more dealers are willing to settle for second rate and not executing a plan over doing the work it takes to build to the point of success and making sure everyone is on board. Last time we checked, an engine doesn't run without fuel and a stuck cylinder means problems. Always move forward. Even fail forward. But move forward.
Yes, it's that time of the year again. But it's always that time of the year. The battles are won and the vision grows every day in the trenches. Press forward with a commitment to you, your business, your staff, your product and ultimately your customers. Remember that is why we do what we do. Refuse to take the backward steps that more businesses seem to do today. Don't compromise. Because you're better off doing it or quitting it. Are you in it to quit it?
And lastly, with a heavy heart for the loss we experienced today, consider some of the words that Steve Jobs has shared and how it relates to us:
"But it's a disservice to constantly put things in this radical new light — that it's going to change everything. Things don't have to change the world to be important."
"That's been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains."
"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."
So are you ready for what needs to take place after conference season? We'd like to hear from those who are….
The Dealership Environment: Inspired By Everything, Motivated By Nothing
Face it: You're whipped. Which way is up? Which way is down? Is flat the new growth? Is the shiny object the new thing keeping you from the golf course of from your sales course? Fact: the dealership environment is as fragile and unsteady as it's ever been. Yet there are more opportunities than ever.
Look around for a little while at any dealership and on the surface it looks functionally no different than it did just a few years ago. Dig a little bit and everything changes. But you already know this. You're obviously more progressive or being informed by someone who is because you won't find the sports score ticker or a reality show recap here. It's all business. But is it new business?
With more advice than ever, including a massive dose of simply republished (or regurgitated) articles and data, and more tools than ever, including predominantly recreated, re-skinned and relicensed products, it easy to get inspired by everything while ultimately motivated by nothing. So how do you stop the regression and inevitable redirection?
Have a plan. Plan your work. Work your plan.
More than ever, and especially with the speed of all things "new", it is critical to write everything down, have a plan (including accountability for yourself), build support and see things through. Anything less is simply "blocking and tackling", which is crap. Is this advice sage? Not at all!
In order to succeed you're likely doing a number of the things listed above anyway. But are you doing it for everything, every day and do you have a plan of action? Can you get uncomfortable long enough to become perpetually motivated? Can you create the buy-in needed for at least a year? Two?
With the level of community support available, on DrivingSales for example, it's easier than ever to get the motivation necessary. Remember, the platforms are for sharing and doing. DrivingSales and the other networks are some of the most underused resources! They are not supposed to be selling platforms. Simply reading and not sharing is akin to watching an accident unfold in front of you and not helping. Considering most dealerships are not the most positive environments around why, aside from the ego and time excuses, would you not go to where you can participate, learn, ask and excel?
While there are some great people sharing and answering questions, the purpose of the forums is to engage. The challenge ahead of us is not the economy (national or fuel) or the products. Our collective Achilles heel is not process or response times or the OEMs enforcing programs they don't understand. Our greatest faults are relaxing, waiting for things to automatically happen for us and not participating. Not asking more questions and letting go of our egos. Not taking more responsibility for our staffs, interactions and brands. Being in the store but not being aware or active. Like most dealers in social media, we might be inspired but by not listening, involving and really trying, we are limiting our success. All of us.
1,000 people at the largest events for dealers, vendors and the OEMs? If those in attendance were just dealer staff, that would represent only 0.0005% of the retail industry. 50 people involved in a community with 50,000+ that touch the content? That's a slightly better 0.001% involvement.
How can we motivate an industry? It's not a CRM. It's not going to happen with a DMS. And it's surely not going to be spurred by a dealership website (have you actually looked at yours? Really?!) We must be motivated by what can move or change things for the better. We must be motivated by those things that last longer than 30 days. We must be motivated by how much more we can do. We must be motivated and then validate those that did the motivating, then motivate others.
Our industry does have more leaders than are presently obvious. It's just not obvious. Not for now.
Businesses, already challenged, are going to be challenged more in the foreseeable future. Do you want to go into that future armed with only a pea shooter? Why not an arsenal? Why not a team? We are better than that. An industry that represents the largest part of our (shrinking) GDP deserves to be better, not lethargic!
Take the challenge and get a plan together with solid fundamentals and a road map. Let your inspiration without action turn into something greater. What would happen if 2,000 people were active on communities? What if 3,000 showed up at the best events? We don't know.
August 9, 2011	by Gary May	0
What Have You Done For You Lately? (Ooh ooh ooh yeah…)
You're back but your bags (and head) may still be packed from your Las Vegas departure. The whirlwind of powerpoints, data, applications, widgets, speakers, vendors and pitches that opened October 12 with Digital Dealer and ran through DrivingSales Executive Summit at Encore, came to a close mid-day last Friday with the departure of over 1,000 from JD Power's Annual OEM and Ad Agency shindig called Internet Roundtable at Red Rock Resort (where more upfront talks than Internet dealings happen, but let's digress).
So your notebook, FlipCam, voice recorder and brain are packed with thoughts, visions, ideas and goals around everything you heard. But the "back to normal" is so gratifying that you may have not done a cotton-picking-thing since switching off the neon and turning on the flourecents. And besides, it was kind of touching to see that 88-day old unit turn 100 now that you're back (ooops!).
So if you're stuck with not knowing where to start, you didn't leave with goals. If you've got three or four places you want to start at, you may not know what your greatest weaknesses or opportunities are. And if you didn't gather enough information on how to get started and the first steps to take from that high-ranking speaker, call them for a freebie. And you may just want to "x" off that session or conference next year because the value didn't get delivered.
So, what have you done for you lately? (Sorry Janet, it's not about you). It's time to crank that Internet machine thing to the next level, right?! Do yourself a favor and start looking everywhere else but automotive and get your bearings. Why? Because there are Facebook pages selling more Snuggies than your website sells in service. There are blogs feeding more contacts to start-up S-E-O, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E companies than you get leads from $199-a-month leases. And we have ourselves (and many vendors) to blame.
Start Thursday with a goal to add one task from your volume of Notes 'de Las Vegas and start it. Not Friday, not next week. October 28. Haven't secured your Google Places/Maps location? Do that or learn about it. Haven't secured your Foursquare venue? Have 60 domains you registered a bunch of years ago and one is perfect for a blog? Start it and who cares what it says as long as it says something about what your store is passionate about regarding your customers and the products you sell. But what have you done for you lately?
"Good thing I cook or else we'd starve to death…" How appropriate is that today? Automotive retailers must thank their customers for coming in year after year and driving off in new and pre-owned cars with little more than a smile. It was about the badge, the new product, the incentives and the advertisements. Now it's about you. Matter of fact it always was but the industry lucked out for more than a decade. So what have you done for you lately?
Yes there's half-cooked information all over. Yes, there's "experts" who haven fallen into something that, for obvious reasons, they can't quite explain in an hour on stage. Yes, there's going to be more consolidation in the indsutry which means your ____________ company may become part of another company you're not doing (or don't want to do) business with. But what have you done for you lately?
There are many really good, and some extremely good, tools and providers out there to settle for what someone in your Twenty Group has or what your read in an ad or study. Last week it was amazing to watch the Innovation Cup at the DrivingSales Executive Summit. The "let's never settle for me-too" juices were really flowing there. Put easily, if something can't be verified by a neurtal third party, don't necessarily run away, rather gain more information before making a decision. Chances are you're right that it wasn't a good choice in the first place.
Today you have to be prepared to do something for yourself and stick with it. Even though it's so easy to quit and go back to what you knew. It's also more costly than ever. If you invested the time and money to be around that much addictive behavior for a week or two in Las Vegas, everything you brought back deserves to come to life in your store. That is if you can find your notes among the free schwag of flying monkeys, free model cars, light-up bounding balls, mints, pens, flash drives, logo hats, t-shirts, notepads, shopping bags and fliers for products that are pay-for-it-now-cuase-it's-almost-to-market-so-you-can-be-first (wink, wink).
So what have you done for you lately? Come on, we've got to …….uh, wait….come on…..wait for it…..wait for it……you know you want it…..SELL MORE CARS!
DrivingSales Executive Summit…In A Nutshell
DrivingSales Executive Summit V2.0 hit Encore (Wynn) in Las Vegas last Monday through Wednesday. A few things: attendance doubled last year's, the start was absolutely electric and the event finished on such a high it left many attendees literally longing for more and feeling like they needed another day. The DSES crew flat out delivered.
Upon walking into the main Encore conference room at 4:00p, it was packed. Charlie Vogelheim emceed once again with his typical style. Jared Hamilton, founder of DrivingSales.com, did a more-than-typically -fast-paced tirade on where the industry is from both his and an opportunity perspective. It was mesmerizing and for more reasons than the picture of the donkey suspended in mid-air. The foundation was set.
Brian Benstock and Sean Wolfington talked about what Paragon Honda and Tier 10 did together to achieve massive results from integrated marketing. Not "let's do this offline and see if it works on the web" so-called integration but a rarely-executed integration. The cost would strike most dealers, especially Honda dealers, as a shock today but it was a massive undertaking, shaved Paragon's costs in what would rank as the "wow that's great" territory and put them solidly on the map as #1. It was impressive.
Then it was time for Scott Monty of Ford (http://www.twitter.com/ScottMonty). As I've had the benefit of seeing a good part of the opening of his presentation before, it was crowd watching time. Simply put, Scott had the room wrapped around his finger. It's amazing to hear about just part of what he, backed by a rare CEO in Alan Mulally, and the social media and marketing teams do at Ford. Day one's reception at Piero's was fantastic, the buzz consistent well into the evening.
Day two kicked off with great anticipation and didn't disappoint. Jeremiah Owyang (http://www.web-strategist.com/blog) piqued the interest of many in the room with volumes of data as well as practical application. Brian Pasch and Erich Miltsch both hit their separate sessions, SEO and location-based services, with great engagement. Eric unveiled his CarZar application (http://www.thecarzar.com) which was definitely the talk over the rest of the conference. Grant Cardone followed with one of his rousing, impassioned pleased from stage about businesses maintaining an "eat or be eaten" mentality.
Three sessions of breakouts, then lunch, and three more rounds covered the rest of day two's learning. The Facebook session (Albrecht AG and Lebanon FLM) was insightful but seemed to lack engagement with the audience and didn't answer the "tough questions". Rafi Hamid's Enterprise Management presentation may have been a little much for some of the attendees. Fact is all could have, somewhat to completely, restructured their dealerships just from his insight.
Then it was time for the Dealer and Vendor Innovation Cup. What a great way for dealers to participate in what may change the industry next! These are some of the most innovative folks around, not hampered by other company's offerings or what vendors don't provide. Some of the substance was leading edge, others more common place. But the desire to execute, and what it took to continue to push the envelope, that was the compelling "meat and potatoes". eCarList (http://www.ecarlist.com) and Marc McGurren from Jerry Durant Toyota won. Congratulations.
The one thing that continues to strike me after attending eight years of automotive conferences is this: why do we not connect the dots at the event rather than making the attendees do so themselves after the events. DrivingSales Executive Summit would have been the right place to have a Q&A session that allowed those that wanted the extra insight to get going when they returned to their dealerships later in the week. Note to promoters: breakouts, lunch sessions and other quick after-session times plus post-event webinars and curriculum are perfect for that and the speakers should be required to do their part.
Tuesday closed with another packed reception but I'd say the buzz was higher. Yes, there was even a Ralph Paglia sighting! Lots of connecting, introductions and big conversations (small chat was non-existent). It was fun to have a number of Canadians in the room as things change north of the border. The industry there is also changing rapidly and not having felt as steep of an economic decline as the US did, many retailers there are waking up to incredible opportunities for their dealerships. After hours, Sean Wolfington and Brian Pasch greeted some forty plus to their own reception which went on for another four hours plus.
Wednesday saw Dan Zarrella (http://danzarrella.com) put many on their ears and some looking inquisitively with a wide-ranging but hard-hitting session of insight all relevant to search, social, engagement, measurement and more. The accountability and opportunities dealers can create just from his time on stage would be more than a year of gains. Joel Ristuccia of Babson College brought incredible amounts of insight to the subject of change management in the industry, Dale Pollak did one of always rousing, but very up-to-date, admonitions about how dealers must change now and Jared Hamilton closed the event with John Holt of Cobalt Group on stage. Admittedly I missed that session while in the adjoining hall on phone calls and no tweets.
In closing, with definite room to grow and improve (and some more microphones around the audience for the Q&A session after each keynote), DrivingSales Exeuctive Summit was spot on in only its second generation. There was enough positive feedback to likely venture a guess as to how much the third edition would grow. And maybe room for…….
Congratulations to Jared and the entire DSES team for an impressive event!
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Man, what a day for the Boston Celtics.
So not only might the Celtics lose Irving in free agency this summer, but the player we assumed he partner with here for five years of dominance merely views Boston as a short-term rental before he flies the coop for his preferred destination -- perhaps Los Angeles with LeBron James in Lakers purple?
A lot can change between now and July. Irving and the Celtics could win a title that convinces him to remain in Green. Davis could find himself headed to Boston anyway when Danny Ainge decides to roll the dice.
But for now, whatever the team's best-laid plans for long-term contention, it feels like they're going up in smoke.
Kyrie Irving backtracks on commitment to Celtics: "Aske me on July 1"


text:
Q: is a SOQL subquery with a junction object possible? I am trying to access Contact information from a Opportunity object across a OpportunityContactRole. Does SOQL support this?

A: You can try something like this.

Select Id,Name,(select Id,ContactId,Contact.Name from
  OpportunityContactRoles) from Opportunity

A: For this case I would create a function that can give me the contacts related to the Opportunity, like
This function will return list of unique(based on Id) contacts related to that Opportunity
private Map<Id, Contact> getRelatedContacts(String oppId) {

    Map<Id, Contact> contactMap = new Map<Id, Contact>();

    //Add all Contact fields as per requirement
    for(OpportunityContactRoles oppConRole : [SELECT Id,ContactId,Contact.Name, Contact.Email
                                                FROM OpportunityContactRoles
                                                WHERE OpportunityId = :oppId]) {
        if(!contactMap.containsKey(oppConRole.ContactId)) {
            contactMap.put(oppConRole.ContactId, new Contact(Name = oppConRole.Contact.Name,
                                                             Email = oppConRole.Contact.Email));
        }
    }

    return contactMap;

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction
Julie L. Badger, Carol A. Wass, Kwang Sik Kim
Most cases of Escherichia coli K1 meningitis arise as a result of haematogenous spread, however there is a limited understanding of the mechanisms by which circulating E. coli K1 cross the blood-brain barrier. We have previously shown that environmental growth conditions both positively and negatively influence the capabilities of E. coli K1 to invade brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC), for example growth in media supplemented with 50% newborn bovine serum (NBS) increased BMEC invasion, whereas growth in media supplemented with 0.2 M NaCl repressed invasion in vitro and in vivo. In this study, differential fluorescence induction (DFI) was used to identify E. coli K1 genes involved in this differentially expressed invasion phenotype. E. coli K1 promoter libraries were constructed and screened for gfp expression in a manner analogous to the above growth conditions. Twenty-four clones were isolated that showed fluorescence induction when grown under the invasion-enhancing condition (i.e. NBS). Four of these clones also demonstrated repression or no induction of fluorescence when grown under the invasion-repressing condition (i.e. 0.2 M NaCl). One such clone, containing a ygdP promoter and an open reading frame (ORF), showed significant homology to Bartonella bacilliformis IalA (Invasion associated locus). Among the other NBS-inducing loci, finPtraJ was identified as well as several clones with no homology to other known genes. When ygdP, finPtraJ and several of the unique loci were disrupted in E. coli K1, there was a significant decrease in human BMEC (HBMEC) invasion. RNA transcript analysis determined that these newly identified invasion loci were differentially regulated at the transcriptional level. This is the first demonstration of using DFI to identify E. coli K1 genes contributing to HBMEC invasion.
Molecular Microbiology
Dive into the research topics of 'Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Fluorescence Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Endothelial Cells Medicine & Life Sciences 90%
Escherichia coli Medicine & Life Sciences 86%
Clone Cells Medicine & Life Sciences 65%
Brain Medicine & Life Sciences 60%
Cattle Medicine & Life Sciences 49%
Growth Medicine & Life Sciences 41%
Badger, J. L., Wass, C. A., & Kim, K. S. (2000). Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction. Molecular Microbiology, 36(1), 174-182. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2958.2000.01840.x
Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction. / Badger, Julie L.; Wass, Carol A.; Kim, Kwang Sik.
In: Molecular Microbiology, Vol. 36, No. 1, 2000, p. 174-182.
Badger, JL, Wass, CA & Kim, KS 2000, 'Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction', Molecular Microbiology, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 174-182. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2958.2000.01840.x
Badger JL, Wass CA, Kim KS. Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction. Molecular Microbiology. 2000;36(1):174-182. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2958.2000.01840.x
Badger, Julie L. ; Wass, Carol A. ; Kim, Kwang Sik. / Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction. In: Molecular Microbiology. 2000 ; Vol. 36, No. 1. pp. 174-182.
@article{90c7e28d3a574c198342f8998040493e,
title = "Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction",
abstract = "Most cases of Escherichia coli K1 meningitis arise as a result of haematogenous spread, however there is a limited understanding of the mechanisms by which circulating E. coli K1 cross the blood-brain barrier. We have previously shown that environmental growth conditions both positively and negatively influence the capabilities of E. coli K1 to invade brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC), for example growth in media supplemented with 50% newborn bovine serum (NBS) increased BMEC invasion, whereas growth in media supplemented with 0.2 M NaCl repressed invasion in vitro and in vivo. In this study, differential fluorescence induction (DFI) was used to identify E. coli K1 genes involved in this differentially expressed invasion phenotype. E. coli K1 promoter libraries were constructed and screened for gfp expression in a manner analogous to the above growth conditions. Twenty-four clones were isolated that showed fluorescence induction when grown under the invasion-enhancing condition (i.e. NBS). Four of these clones also demonstrated repression or no induction of fluorescence when grown under the invasion-repressing condition (i.e. 0.2 M NaCl). One such clone, containing a ygdP promoter and an open reading frame (ORF), showed significant homology to Bartonella bacilliformis IalA (Invasion associated locus). Among the other NBS-inducing loci, finPtraJ was identified as well as several clones with no homology to other known genes. When ygdP, finPtraJ and several of the unique loci were disrupted in E. coli K1, there was a significant decrease in human BMEC (HBMEC) invasion. RNA transcript analysis determined that these newly identified invasion loci were differentially regulated at the transcriptional level. This is the first demonstration of using DFI to identify E. coli K1 genes contributing to HBMEC invasion.",
author = "Badger, {Julie L.} and Wass, {Carol A.} and Kim, {Kwang Sik}",
journal = "Molecular Microbiology",
T1 - Identification of Escherichia coli K1 genes contributing to human brain microvascular endothelial cell invasion lay differential fluorescence induction
AU - Badger, Julie L.
AU - Wass, Carol A.
AU - Kim, Kwang Sik
N2 - Most cases of Escherichia coli K1 meningitis arise as a result of haematogenous spread, however there is a limited understanding of the mechanisms by which circulating E. coli K1 cross the blood-brain barrier. We have previously shown that environmental growth conditions both positively and negatively influence the capabilities of E. coli K1 to invade brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC), for example growth in media supplemented with 50% newborn bovine serum (NBS) increased BMEC invasion, whereas growth in media supplemented with 0.2 M NaCl repressed invasion in vitro and in vivo. In this study, differential fluorescence induction (DFI) was used to identify E. coli K1 genes involved in this differentially expressed invasion phenotype. E. coli K1 promoter libraries were constructed and screened for gfp expression in a manner analogous to the above growth conditions. Twenty-four clones were isolated that showed fluorescence induction when grown under the invasion-enhancing condition (i.e. NBS). Four of these clones also demonstrated repression or no induction of fluorescence when grown under the invasion-repressing condition (i.e. 0.2 M NaCl). One such clone, containing a ygdP promoter and an open reading frame (ORF), showed significant homology to Bartonella bacilliformis IalA (Invasion associated locus). Among the other NBS-inducing loci, finPtraJ was identified as well as several clones with no homology to other known genes. When ygdP, finPtraJ and several of the unique loci were disrupted in E. coli K1, there was a significant decrease in human BMEC (HBMEC) invasion. RNA transcript analysis determined that these newly identified invasion loci were differentially regulated at the transcriptional level. This is the first demonstration of using DFI to identify E. coli K1 genes contributing to HBMEC invasion.
AB - Most cases of Escherichia coli K1 meningitis arise as a result of haematogenous spread, however there is a limited understanding of the mechanisms by which circulating E. coli K1 cross the blood-brain barrier. We have previously shown that environmental growth conditions both positively and negatively influence the capabilities of E. coli K1 to invade brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC), for example growth in media supplemented with 50% newborn bovine serum (NBS) increased BMEC invasion, whereas growth in media supplemented with 0.2 M NaCl repressed invasion in vitro and in vivo. In this study, differential fluorescence induction (DFI) was used to identify E. coli K1 genes involved in this differentially expressed invasion phenotype. E. coli K1 promoter libraries were constructed and screened for gfp expression in a manner analogous to the above growth conditions. Twenty-four clones were isolated that showed fluorescence induction when grown under the invasion-enhancing condition (i.e. NBS). Four of these clones also demonstrated repression or no induction of fluorescence when grown under the invasion-repressing condition (i.e. 0.2 M NaCl). One such clone, containing a ygdP promoter and an open reading frame (ORF), showed significant homology to Bartonella bacilliformis IalA (Invasion associated locus). Among the other NBS-inducing loci, finPtraJ was identified as well as several clones with no homology to other known genes. When ygdP, finPtraJ and several of the unique loci were disrupted in E. coli K1, there was a significant decrease in human BMEC (HBMEC) invasion. RNA transcript analysis determined that these newly identified invasion loci were differentially regulated at the transcriptional level. This is the first demonstration of using DFI to identify E. coli K1 genes contributing to HBMEC invasion.
JO - Molecular Microbiology
JF - Molecular Microbiology

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


French-language MMO Therian Saga has launched an English beta. The browser-based game is available through the official site.
The French browser-based MMO Fatecraft has launched an English-language open beta, renamed Therian Saga. The free-to-play RPG has attracted 50,000 French-speaking players, and is now casting a wider net.
The beta is available through the official site. It promises 24 regions with an elaborate story, party grouping and asynchronous play as your heroes carry out assignments while you aren't online, and a full-fledged crafting system and auction house. The announcement notes that a full launch is scheduled for the "near future," and the English beta is meant to gather the last bits of feedback before it does.
Steve Watts posted a new article, French MMO Therian Saga launches English beta.


text:
Museum exhibit, fireworks this weekend to publicly commemorate Guyana's first oil
Georgetown, Guyana – (January 16, 2020) The Department of Energy says Guyanese from all walks of life will be able to see first-hand the historic first oil that was retrieved from the country's first oil production vessel the Liza Destiny in December 2019. This is because ExxonMobil Guyana and its partners Hess and CNOCC in partnership with the Department of Culture and Youth under the auspices of the Department of Energy and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission of the Ministry of Natural Resources, will launch a new exhibit this Friday. Guyana's first oil exhibit will be open to the public at the Guyana National Museum in Georgetown, from this Friday, January 17, 2020. There will also be a firework display by the Guyana Defence Force supported by ExxonMobil on Friday night at 10.30 pm in the seawalls at Kitty foreshore in Georgetown. The public is invited to attend both events and to include themselves and their loved ones into this historic moment with a selfie competition which will run from Jan 17th till Feb 11th.
Museum Exhibit
The First Oil Exhibit at the National Museum in Georgetown makes it possible for Guyanese to learn more about the process by which the country got to this point. The exhibit includes newspaper headlines published in Guyana after May 21, 2015, when ExxonMobil Guyana and its co-venturers, Hess and CNOOC, announced the Liza discovery, and December 20, 2019, when first oil production from the Liza field took place. It includes a recent book on the History of Guyana's Oil Exploration, which began in 1750, produced by the University of Guyana's Energy Think Tank. On display will also be a scale model (1:300) of the Liza Destiny Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel stationed 190 kilometers offshore. The first test sample of oil from the Liza field on the Destiny FPSO is also a part of the exhibit, as is a pair of the safety coveralls which all workers wear while on the vessel. Finally, a screen included in the exhibit will rotate videos which explain the operations of an FPSO, an overview of the Liza development projects, and the role of the Department of Energy, among other informative videos on the topic. This exhibit is modular and the Guyana National Museum expects to add new items to it as Guyana reaches additional milestones in the exploration and production of its hydrocarbon resources. The Museum this weekend is accommodating a special opening this weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
CELEBRATING WITH SELFIES
The public has a chance to own one of 10 first oil collectors vials of oil as well as many other prizes in a selfie competition driven by the Department of Energy from this Friday Jan 17 till Feb 11, 2020. All persons are required to do is to snap a selfie or photo of themselves or group of friends and family in front of any part of the first oil exhibit or during the fireworks display and post to their FB page. Tag it to the Department of Culture and the Department of Energy. The photos with the highest number of likes or shares win. Up to 500 prizes available for grabs from photos taken and posted. Other prizes include caps, t shirts, bottles, books, and folders. Winners will be notified, and Prizes will be handed over at the museum on Feb 14, 2020.
Message of Condolence on the death of Dr. Wallace Irving Lee, AA, CCH
Address of His Excellency Brigadier David Granger, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, to the Annual Officers' Conference of the Guyana Defence Force 2020.01.16


text:
Q: How to have multiple state files for a workspace in terraform gcs? In AWS, when i set the backend provider to be S3, I'm able to set multiple keys.
I can have one key for the database, another key for the cluster, etc.
key - (Required) Path to the state file inside the S3 Bucket. When using a non-default workspace, the state path will be /workspace_key_prefix/workspace_name/key (see also the workspace_key_prefix configuration).

Then in a module like my kube deployments, I can grab the remote state and use the cluster, separate from the DB, etc.
The GCS backend does not seem to support key.
https://www.terraform.io/language/settings/backends/gcs
It seems to dump everything in your workspace name like myworkspace.tfstate.
So when I go from one module to another, say from DB to Network, applying the terraform config, it will nuke everything from DB when I apply in network and vice versa in DB from network.
When I get to my deployments, I'm able to grab all the remote state by each key name so I'd have
data "terraform_remote_state" "network" {
  backend = "s3"

  config = {
    bucket = local.tf-state-bucket-name
    key    = "workspaces/${terraform.workspace}/terraform-network.tfstate"
    region = "us-west-1"
  }
}

and
data "terraform_remote_state" "rds" {
  backend = "s3"

  config = {
    bucket = local.tf-state-bucket-name
    key    = "workspaces/${terraform.workspace}/terraform-rds.tfstate"
    region = "us-west-1"
  }
}

I could then grab the DB username like so
data.terraform_remote_state.rds.outputs.db_username
I keep trying to implement my GCP setup DB/VPC/Network/GKE to look just like my AWS setup, but it just doesn't seem supported.
It seems that the key will always be the name of the workspace?
Would I instead of having in S3 a path like
workspaces/my-workspace/db.tfstate
in GCS, would i do like
db/my-workspace.tfstate


In a resolution that all involved parties are happy about, the lawsuit that focused on mistaken assessment payments has reached an amicable settlement. Ocean Ridge developer and manager Mark Saunders says the settlement, which stemmed from mistaken payments due to protocol from prior years, was "unfortunate" but he's happy that it's in the past now. In short, the reason for the settlement was a change in governance in the Ocean Ridge owners' association and questions that followed about exempt home sites. Once the error was discovered, Ocean Ridge developer Mark Saunders worked with the association to resolve the matter. To learn more about the settlement, please read the copy made available below.


Apple after releasing iOS 9.2.1 beta 2 for iDevices on January 4 2016, it has today released iOS 9.3 beta 1 for previously enrolled developers. The public beta test program has been going for quite some time now, as all apple developers and public beta testers are aware of. Instead of releasing it as 9.2.1 beta 3 it listed the new update as 9.3 beta 1.
As this is only available for developers, soon public users will be able to get their hands on this new release before they know it. So what is the point of all this new software or OS updates? It majorly fixes and covers the bugs and other back lagging process released in the previous versions.
The new update is reportedly said to be having some nice and brand new features. As for the people who are already on the developers enrolled list can directly update this using mobile network. For this navigate to Settings>General>Software Update and install the latest iOS 9.3 beta 1.
And if you are a new member for the developer program, then you have to download the IPSW file from the Member Center using your Apple id. Restore it using iTunes on to your device. And the recent rumors of Luca Todesco successfully jailbreaking iOS 9.2.1 proves that the new releases may be done easily. On the other hand he also posted about not upgrading from 9.1 to 9.2 as it is a bit hard and complex to achieve.
Let's hope by the time the new releases are available to the public users a jailbreak will be available. Check out for iOS 9.3 preview here.


All but one of the pieces on this release follow a more or less classical form of sonata allegro in the first and last movements, separated by a slow and a scherzo-like movement. First on offer here is the Szeligowski, about whom there is very little biographical information in the liner notes. From the research I�ve made, he is one of the legion who studied with Boulanger. Stravinsky is counted as a decided influence on his music, as can be evidenced here. Aside from a good number of chamber pieces, his works include a clarinet concerto, a piano concerto, choral and piano works. The quintet here begins as a rather innocent-sounding march which gets slightly more agitated before moving into more interesting emotional territory with a darker, more brooding second statement. The second movement, Andante cantabile, leaves the narrative line to the oboe, before trading it off to the flute. The timbres of the instruments here keep the mood from becoming too sombre. This movement is lovely, but like the rest of the piece, offers few surprises. The scherzo movement that follows has a slightly melodramatic feel � one could easily imagine a chase scene in a silent comedy film where, though the situation is dire, the context lets you know to expect a laugh when the villains eventually meet up with the business end of a swinging board or a floor-full of ball bearings. The finale keeps things animated, with all of the instrumentalists fully involved, then a fugal treatment of fragments of the original first theme before the flute and oboe announce the end of the piece.
Following, we have Bacewicz�s wind quintet of 1932, composed while she was in Paris. She, too, studied with Boulanger. Bacewicz, whose name is gradually becoming better known in countries outside of Poland, composed quite a wide range of chamber music, from her string quartets - for which she is best known - to piano quintets, to works for various instruments with piano. The opening statement is definitely reminiscent of Prokofiev. It is a bit more jocularly offhand with regard to dissonance than Szeligowski�s quintet; it flirts with the idea of being a suite, which, as the liner notes mention, the designation of Air to the second movement indicates. This slow movement has the feel of suspension about it, with the parts all hovering, creating expectancy before the third movement, which is not much more scherzo-like in character than the first movement � that is, until the brief comedic statement by the clarinet. Of the works by Bacewicz I�ve heard, this one, while pleasant, seems less a statement of substance and more a simple aim at entertainment.
Kilar, who I was introduced to through his enjoyable film music, is next on the programme, with his quintet, written twenty years after the Bacewicz and almost simultaneously with the Szeligowski. Kilar, of the composers here, seems to have the most persistent attraction to wind instruments, with all of his chamber compositions involving winds. The opening movement, entitled Sinfonia, retains a filmic character and could almost be heard as an "opening credits" piece, with the theme sternly and emphatically stated in unison at the end. The scherzo plummets through the ranks of the quintet in series. There is a section of folk-inflected music before the downward run ripples through the ensemble again, bringing us back to the first theme. Of the works heard on this disc so far, this is the one that has the ability to surprise, as in the delightfully amusing and busy finale, which, after a brief quiet interlude and wound-up glissando from the clarinet, suddenly goes clattering off like a collection of spring-powered toys in all directions. An amusing delight that the Cracow Philharmonic Wind Quintet performs wonderfully.
The disc is closed by Incrustations, a late piece by Bacewicz. Acte Préalable has championed this composer, releasing no fewer than seven discs that feature her work. Word is getting out, with other artists and labels releasing performances, such as the extremely interesting 4th string quartet, recently featured on a disc by the Szymanowski Quartet on Avie ( review ). Incrustations, here, is a bit of an enigma on its own, and an enigma also when compared with the other pieces on this disc. It is scored "for horn and chamber ensemble," a septet, rather than a traditional wind quintet. Bacewicz�s trio for oboe harp and percussion, reviewed here (review) was written at the same time and has similarities in sound and structure. Both also quote an earlier work; a 1955 Partita. The oboe acts as the main voice of the ensemble. The tried-and-true structures such as sonata-form found in the other works are not made use of. The composer appears to be focusing mainly on tonal coloration and exploration of timbre possibilities of the instruments used. This makes for a sometimes difficult listening experience, but the piece holds interest, more so than the first two works, pleasant though they are.
Overall, this disc comes recommended for those who love new repertoire and who have affinity for wind instruments. The Kilar is a delight, and I�ve found myself coming back again and again to puzzle over Incrustations, though I am not the wiser. The ensemble is very well recorded and extremely well balanced in sound and recording aesthetic. An enjoyable and occasionally challenging release.


text:
Mud Map to Life in the Modern Age
mud map : Australian colloquial (n) – a rough guide such as drawn with a stick on the ground
Gumeracha Medieval Fair
I finally made it to the Gumeracha Medieval Fair, after having seen advertisements for many years. Set in scenic Federation Park in Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills, the themed marquees, the central town square for entertainments and the large number of costumed participants and attendees made this an interesting variation on the town fair. Seeing a monk or a damsel in medieval costume texting on their i-phone made for an interesting look!
Federation Park features some amazingly large gum trees set around a creek. The fair covered both sides of the creek with a wooden foot-bridge to cross from one side to another. The food stalls were themed (sausage rolls became rat in a roll), a central "tavern" tent served spiced Mead and old-fashioned soft drinks, and in addition to the many stalls offering things for sale, there were also displays of wood-carving, knife-sharpening, blacksmithing and spinning. Displays of medieval warcraft including archery, catapults, and knights battling it out in sword-fights to win the hand of a "not-so-fair" maiden (turned out to be a man in drag) were complimented by displays where the exhibitors talked about how various weapons and household implements were made and used. Helmets and chain mail were available to try on – and to buy.
So all in all quite a fun day (it actually ran all weekend), although late afternoon light rain seemed to call the end of the fair slightly before the advertised time.
Want some more photographs of Australia?
St Nicholas comes to Hahndorf
Prehistoric Australia
Tags: Adelaide Hills, Australia, gumeracha, medieval, medieval fair, photo, photograph, photographs, photos, tourist, travel
Categories : at large
Naracoorte is a small town in the south-east of the state of South Australia. It is about four hours drive from Adelaide, so more of an overnight stay than a day-trip, if being attempted with children.
Naracoorte was one of my favourite holiday places as a child – and more specifically, the Naracoorte Caves. These massive caves are naturally formed from the actions of water on limestone, and as well as featuring spectacular stalagmites (from the ground up), stalactites (from the ceiling down) helicotites (sideways!), columns and curtains (as they sound), they also feature fossils from prehistoric animals.
While there are no massive dinosaurs here, there are a large number of smaller fossils ranging from lizards and small rodents up to megafauna – giant prehistoric kangaroos and wombats, and my favourite, thylacaleo carnifex – the marsupial lion. The caves are still under excavation by archeologists so who knows what other animals will be found in the tonnes and tonnes of material yet to be sifted through.
The underground caves have guided tours while a few caves which have larger openings to the surface are self-guide. One of the caves is now home to a large colony of bats.
The rate of petrification in these caves is much (much) slower than the caves we visited in France, where the rate of water flow and the calcium load in the water was such that they could use it to petrify objects for the tourist trade. Here the stalactites, stalagmites etc grow at a miniscule rate.
another "iron age" fossil!
a banksia outside the caves
fairytale castles.....stalactites reflected in a perfectly still pond underground
these stagmites look like a nativity scene
stalactites formed along a crack in the ceiling
stalactites formed along a crack in the cave ceiling
a "curtain" stalactite feature
sink hole to the surface (looking upwards). These sorts of holes were how the animals fell into the caves and then were unable to get out again. Underneath these holes would be large piles of silt and rubble, unless a flood event had washed the rubble further into the cave.
Thylacaleo carnifex (marsupial lion)
archeological dig
"Stanley" - megafauna kangaroo
thylacaleo carnifex - "Leo"
the archeological dig
Wet Cave
thylacaleo carnifex battling a giant snake
megafauna kangaroo (model)
columns in White Cave - look like architectural columns
Flinders University archeology digs in White Cave - each stripe in the soil indicates a different period of time
leaving White Cave
Want more pictures of Australian sites? Try….
Adelaide Botanic Gardens
In the red hot centre
Old Melbourne Jail and the Melbourne Aquarium
Tags: animal stories, archeologists, archeology, Australia, bats, columns, fossils, gondwanaland, holiday, Jenolan Caves, kangaroo, megafauna, Naracoorte, Naracoorte Caves, Naracoorte Caves National Park, photo, photograph, photographs, photos, stalactites, stalagmites, thylacaleo carnifex, tourist, travel, wombats
Categories : at large, Behaving Like Animals
Bicentiennial Conservatory
At the north-eastern end of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens is the Bicentennial Conservatory – a nautilus-shell-shaped glass and steel structure which is visible from certain western facing points of the Adelaide hills. Designed by South Australian architect Guy Maron, it was opened to celebrate the Australian bicentenary in 1988. It is the largest single span glasshouse in the southern hemisphere, and one of the largest in the world.
I remember visiting it shortly after it opened, when most of the plants were not much more than seedlings. Twenty-four years later and I have to ask….what are they going to do with the trees that are now touching the roof?
No pictures of the outside of the shell – but some of the detail of the rainforest within.
The (rather civilised) way into the jungle…
More pictures from Australia? Try
Melbourne Jail and the Melbourne Aquarium
South Australian Museum
Tags: Adelaide, Adelaide Botanic Gardens, architect, Australia, Bicentennial, Bicentennial conservatory, Guy Maron, holiday, photo, photograph, photographs, photos, tourist, travel
In the parklands across the road from the northern entrance.
The Adelaide Botanic Gardens sit on the eastern end of North Terrace adjacent to the Royal Adelaide Hospital and forming part of the Parklands which ring the city. A wide variety of mature trees, native and exotic as well as formal and informal plantings form a number of different "chambers" within the park, so that you can picnic or play within the park without being aware of everybody. A number of truly novel plants, including the Amazonian Waterlily – Amazonian in proportions – make this an interesting day out, particularly if you are accompanied by children who need to be exercised!
There are also a number of public arts dotted throughout the gardens – some in the classic style, others more modern. A formal rose garden is popular for weddings, as is the Botanic Gardens restaurant, set in the centre of the gardens near the lake. The Santos Museum of Economic Botany also boasts a cafe and decking which can be used for functions – but I have never been there when the museum was open so I have no idea what it is like inside! Presumably economic botany is about using plants for profit – medicines, agriculture and the like?
On the north-eastern corner of the gardens is a giant glass dome – the Bicentennial Conservatory, featuring an indoor rain-forest.
Money-tree
Amazonian Waterlily
emblem of the Amazonian Waterlily, etched onto the conservatory glass
Tags: Adelaide, Amazonian Waterlily, Australia, Botanic Gardens, photo, photograph, photos, tourist, travel
gardens outside Melbourne Museum
In May of 2010 we visited Melbourne to see the Titanic Exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. While we were impressed to be in the same room as some of the artefacts that had been brought up from the wreck on the ocean floor, it is fair to say the children, not being so well-acquiainted with the story and history, were underwhelmed. No photos of this I am afraid, photography was forbidden to the entire exhibition.
The children were more impressed with the Old Melbourne Jail and the connection to Ned Kelly – his armour, a bust of his head – and the flogging and scaffold. They are still somewhat amazed and shocked that human beings would do such things to each other. We followed this up with a visit to the Melbourne Aquarium (not really my thing, but I do love penguins and I love photographing jellyfish, even though they come out blurry because of their indeterminate borders. The othr big hit was the hop on hop off trams that loop around the city. Despite being packed, they were very impressed with them!
wool bombing in the gardens by the Melbourne Museum
whipping frame
exterior of the Old Melbourne Jail
exercise yards
Ned Kelly's death mask
Ned Kelly's home-made and ultimately ineffective armour
Love penguins!
There is a fish in this photo, well hidden. Can you see it? It is slightly more sparkly than the sand.
Leafy Sea Dragon
Nemo!
a mass of stars
Want more photos of Australia? Try…
At the edge of the Ocean
Life is a beach
or subscribe – more photos to come.
Tags: Australia, jellyfish, Melbourne, Melbourne Aquarium, Melbourne Museum, Ned Kelly, penguin, photographs, photos, scaffold, starfish, Titanic, Titanic Exhibition, tram, travel, whipping frame
Saumer
Chateau Saumer
Chateau Saumer was another accidental find. Built on the high ground in the town of Saumer overlooking the Loire Valley, the remnants of the original castle walls can be spotted in the town below. When we visited the castle was under renovations and hence large sections were off-limits, but it was interesting to see the walls undergoing a "before and after" process. As with many of these castles, the initial approach is up a staircase that was originally a drawbridge. Saumer is built on a square, and there is a spacious courtyard in the centre of the building. The large underground kitchens / dungeons were open for inspection.
What appears to be an Orangerie (a building into which fruit trees such as oranges were moved to protect them from frosts and snows in winter) has been transformed into a restaurant and gift shop.
More information on the castle and the town can be found here.
a fairy-tale castle
overlooking the town of Saumer and the River Loire, in the Loire Valley
the church next to chateau Saumer
from under the drawbridge
Want more photos of France? Here are a few more….
Arrival in Paris
Caves of Lascaux
French menus
Standing Stones of Carnac
Les Grottos en France
Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel)
Streets of Paris
The troglodytes of Maison Fort de Reignac
Fontainebleau – Versailles without the queues
An unknown Chateau
Theme Parks, French Style
Where Da Vinci lived
Pretty pictures en France
Tags: chateau, Chateau Saumer, Europe, France, French history, holiday, Loire Valley, Paris, photo, photographs, photos, River Loire, Saumer, tourist, travel
Château Langeais
We happened upon this castle – and it really is more a castle than a château – by happy accident. It is situated in the midst of the town of Langeais on the River Loire. Built of a dark grey stone it has sheer walls and high towers – truly a medieval-looking castle to keep invaders at bay.
The castle is now restored for tourists and features life-size tableaux made up of mannequins depicting important scenes in history that occurred on the site, such as the marriage of Anne of Brittany to King Charles VIII. Like many of the restored châteaux, the original elaborate tiles are on the floor, the patterned wallpapers are exquisite and the original furniture and tapestries are gorgeous. Unlike some of the royal châteaux, there is less gilding, marble and ostentation and more beautifully carved wood, stone and generally the detail is in the fixtures such as the furniture and tapestries rather than in the actual structure. Having said that, there is also detail carved into the stone door frames, the edges of the roof and around the windows.
If you happen to visit it, of note is an excellent chocolatier across the road from the entrance.
one of the many original paintings
feasting table set in front of a stone fireplace
gothic furniture and elaborate tapestries - the tapestries kept the rooms slightly warmer through blocking drafts and providing a level of insulation to the stone walls
elaborate patterned tiles on the floor
view of the town from the castle courtyard (presumably the original castle walls would have blocked this view)
the only remaining part of original "keep"
my continuing obsession with the geometry of spiral staircases
view over the town from the top
view over the town from the top - the chocolatier is under one of the red striped awnings
door into the internal courtyard
Across the road from the castle - not the chocolatier, but a boucherie (butchery)
Tags: Anne of Brittany, chateau, Château Langeais, Europe, France, French history, holiday, King Charles VIII, Paris, photo, photographs, photos, tourist, travel
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Behaving Like Animals
Bizarre and Amazing Research
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Brain Stuff
Chewing Gum for the Mind
Communications 101
Psychology and Society
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trachea; oesophagus; nasal cavity; larynx; bronchi; bronchioles.
The oesophagus is part of the digestive system. The rest are parts of the respiratory system.
4. How are dust particles that enter the respiratory system in the air expelled? They become enmeshed in the mucus produced by cells lining the respiratory tract. They are then transported to the nose by the beating of the cilia that also line the trachea, bronchi and bronchioles.
a) The pericardium is the membrane surrounding the lungs. F. The membrane surrounding the lungs is the pleural membrane. The pericardium surrounds the heart.
b) The tidal volume describes the maximum amount of air that can be inhaled into the lungs. F. This is the vital capacity. The tidal volume is the volume of air that is inhaled or exhaled in one normal at rest breath.
c) Tidal volume can be measured with a peak flow meter F. A peak flow meter measures the force with which air can be blown out of the lungs.It does not measure volume. Tidal volume can be measured with any device that traps and then measures the volume of air expelled from the lungs during a normal "at rest" breath.
d) Inspiration takes up energy but expiration (during normal at rest breathing) is a passive process not normally requiring energy. T.
e) The diaphragm is made of smooth muscle. F. The diaphragm is made of skeletal muscle. The contraction of the diaphragm is under conscious control and skeletal muscle is the only muscle under conscious control.
g) The rate of breathing is controlled by the pituitary gland. F. It is controlled by respiratory centres in the medulla oblongata (and the pons).
h) When an animal exercises the rate of breathing increases because the carbon dioxide in the blood increases. T.
i) Carbon dioxide dissolved in the blood makes the blood alkaline. F. Dissolved CO2 makes blood acidic.
k) Oxygen moves from the alveoli into the capillaries by the process of osmosis. F. Oxygen moves by diffusion.
l) Expired air contains about 16% oxygen. T.
8. Add the following labels to the diagram of lung alveoli below.
air moves in and out of alveoli; blood flowing along capillary.
9. Which of the statements below gives the best definition of gas exchange? :d) exchanging oxygen for carbon dioxide in the lung alveoli.
The process of gas exchange is by (1)F. Diffusion. When substances pass in this manner, they move from areas of (2) G. Higher concentration to areas of their (3)H. Lower concentration. Thus oxygen continually passes from the (4)B. Air of alveoli and then from the (5)E. Capillary blood to tissue cells. Conversely carbon dioxide moves from the(6) J. Tissue cells to capillary blood and from (7)D. Capillary blood to alveolar air. From there it passes out of the body during expiration. As a result of such exchanges, arterial blood tends to be (8)C. Carbon dioxide -poor and oxygen –rich while venous blood is (9) I. Oxygen-poor and carbon dioxide – rich.


text:
The Perils of Housecleaning Abroad
Domestic SlaveryForced LaborHuman TraffickingSurvivor Stories
Kuwaiti beauty blogger Sondos Alqattan received a firestorm of criticism for complaining that Filipino domestic workers did not deserve the right to keep their passports or a day off each week. Anti-slavery campaigners around the world quickly condemned her remarks, and several major beauty companies severed ties with the Instagram star.
But Alqattan's attitude towards migrants isn't rare. Across the Gulf, many employers view migrant domestic workers — largely women from Africa and Asia — as their property, servants who do not deserve the right to step outside or even rest.
Related Campaign: Help end domestic slavery.
As Laura Secorun from the ILO writes in The New York Times, this sense of entitlement stems from the kafala system present in many Middle Eastern states:
Better laws can reduce forced labor, but they will not end it. For starters, throughout much of the Arab world, such regulations operate within a much larger, inherently exploitative structure — the "kafala" system. This form of visa sponsorship is believed to have originated in Gulf states to accommodate foreign workers, mostly from South Asian countries like Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Over the years, the scheme has evolved from helping protect migrants to severely limiting domestic workers' rights. Under today's kafala, a migrant is not allowed to leave her employer without the employer's consent. She is also forbidden from changing employers or traveling out of the country.
Escaping is a crime, punishable by arrest and deportation. Human Rights Watch has long argued that no secondary regulation can guarantee the safety of domestic workers as long as the kafala keeps them legally handcuffed to their employers.
Secorun further points out that labor rules in many Gulf states are determined through bilateral agreements with 'sending' countries rather than a general labor law. As a result, labor protections depend heavily on which country a migrant hails from and what their government has agreed to.
"That is why, toward the end of her tirade on Kuwait's labor regulations, Alqattan said, "I will no longer have a Filipino maid." In other words, she could just hire someone from a country governed by weaker labor protections. Same abuse, different victim," explains Secorun.
"If we truly want to eradicate forced domestic labor, we must confront the rampant prejudice behind it. What we need are programs that help employers see their homes as workplaces and migrant women as professionals, worthy of fair pay and safe working conditions," concludes Secorun.
Photo credit: Moises Saman/Magnum Photos / The New York Times
Paulette Harvey
If the problem is the "kafala" system that operates in some Arab states then the answer to people with the mindset of Sondos Alqattan is the disolvement of this cruel system ,or for all the foreign workers withdrawing their job searches from these states, after all if you are working 20+ hours a day for little food or comfort and low or no pay then what is the attraction in that, then this slave owner would have to do the work herself wouldn't she?
AS Rajan
Horrible practice, all foreign govts , from the countries that domestic workers originate, must insist on humane laws based on Universal Human Rights, by the employing Arab nations.. Passports must be with the domestic workers/or their consulates/embassies and Not with the Owners, who exploit and ill treat them.
Moron
Garbage article
Some of the richest people in Dubai are Pakistanis
The whole Dubai marina area has Pakistani properties investing in $158 billion dollars
Two trafficking survivors have brought a case against Italy and Libya to a UN committee. The two Nigerian women claim the countries failed to...
Data exposes U.K.'s revictimization of confirmed trafficking survivors


That's right. I made a Thanksgiving tree, in all it's pre-lit and seasonal glory. With all the Thanksgiving paper crafts and ornaments Red has brought home in the past few years, it was easy to fill the small tree with decorations. I also lit my hair on fire and decided I would string homemade popcorn chains while Chase was off to work and the children were screaming and running around. Because, you know… priorities. But the end result made the kids so happy and Chase's side eye game so strong, it was worth it. See how I created a giant Turkey Tree Topper with only a few paper bags and a glue gun!
The Turkey Tree ornaments also consisted of fun foam leaves I found at Michael's. On Thanksgiving, I'll have our family write what we are thankful for on them and re-hang them in the tree. The $5 pack had over 30 leaves, so we're set for many years to come!
If you want a Turkey Tree Topper of your own, pick up some of these craft tools below. I'm sure you have big paper sacks laying around, just waiting to be festive! Affiliate links are used.
You crack me up. I'm totally showing this to my husband so he can see that a tree can go up before Thanksgiving!!!
Great video. Love the shirt! Happy holidays!
We made the turkey this year too. The kids loved doing it and we loved having it as the table centerpiece.


anakinra is a topic covered in the Davis's Drug Guide.
Quiring, Courtney, et al. "Anakinra." Davis's Drug Guide, 16th ed., F.A. Davis Company, 2019. Pediatrics Central, peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Davis-Drug-Guide/51056/all/anakinra.
Quiring C, Sanoski CA, Vallerand AH. Anakinra. Davis's Drug Guide. 16th ed. F.A. Davis Company; 2019. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Davis-Drug-Guide/51056/all/anakinra. Accessed April 19, 2019.
Quiring C, Sanoski CA, Vallerand AH. Anakinra [Internet]. In: Davis's Drug Guide. F.A. Davis Company; 2019. [cited 2019 April 19]. Available from: https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Davis-Drug-Guide/51056/all/anakinra.