The Institute's design as a virtual, distributed organization necessitates the use of collaborative technologies to enable collaboration and communication among and between its geographically distributed teams and the greater astrobiology community. NAI Central strives for these technologies to be transparent to the community and offers a suite of tools evaluated and selected for ease-of-use, reliability and quality.
To facilitate adoption of these tools by the community, NAI has an experienced collaboration team that provides training and individual support for users. This tight integration with the community provides valuable information and feedback that is used to improve implementation, training and tool evaluation. The tools, collaboration team, and its reach into the community are collectively referred to as the "collaboration infrastructure".
In recent years NASA has developed additional virtual institutes based on the NAI model. The staff that supports virtual collaboration has expanded into a larger Ames Collaboration Team made up of staff from the three NASA Virtual Institutes and other distributed programs at Ames. This team provides a broader range of experience and skills plus surge and backup support when needed (critical for live-event production).
Using this collaboration infrastructure, NAI Central produces an average of three virtual science seminars per month, hosts monthly EC videoconferences, and supports the community in the production of their own meetings and seminars.
The NAI staff is available to help the community select the best technologies to fit their needs and security requirements. Please contact Estelle Dodson, estelle.dodson@nasa.gov with questions.


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News > Washington
House, Senate budgets advance alongside new tax proposals
Sat., March 30, 2019, 10:58 p.m.
Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig and Sens. David Frockt, Christine Rolfes and Manka Dhingra, left to right, discuss a two-year budget proposal in Olympia, Wash., on Friday, March 29, 2019. The Senate and House are moving through the process of passing their proposals through their respective chambers before moving to negotiations on a final budget plan. (Rachel La Corte / AP)
By Rachel La Corte and Tom James Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Budget discussions advanced in the state Capitol on Friday, with Senate Democrats unveiling a two-year budget the same day House Democrats passed their own proposal — and both proposing versions of a new capital gains tax.
Along with new funds for behavioral and mental health care, both budgets include increases for K-12 and higher education and long-term care for the developmentally disabled.
The House passed its budget on a 56-38 vote Friday evening. The Senate is expected to pass its budget plan next week.
Both Democrat-led chambers are moving through the process of finalizing their own proposals before moving to negotiations on a final unified budget plan.
Overall, the House budget includes about $2.3 billion in new spending, while the Senate budget proposes about $1.6 billion, according to nonpartisan budget estimates.
Democrats in the House and Senate also unveiled capital gains tax proposals alongside their budgets. While proceeds from the House version are incorporated into its overall budget, the Senate version was offered as a stand-alone option that would pay for various tax cuts.
If adopted, the Senate capital gains tax proposal is expected to bring in $780 million in its first year and would pay for several tax breaks starting in 2021: a tax credit for low-income families, a tax cut for small businesses, and increasing the number of seniors who are eligible for a property tax reduction. It would also fund the elimination of the sales tax on diapers, medical and mobility equipment, feminine hygiene products, and over-the-counter medications.
The proposal would levy an 8.9 percent capital gains tax on earnings from the sale of stocks, bonds and other assets above $250,000 for both individuals and those who file jointly. Retirement accounts, small businesses, homes, farms and forestry would be exempt.
The House version would bring in a similar amount in its first year, but it pays for spending, rather than tax breaks.
Opponents of a capital gains tax have argued that it's a type of income tax illegal under state law. Litigation is likely if the Legislature approves the tax.
Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said at a news conference announcing the budget proposal that while he's not yet sure they have the votes for a capital gains tax, he still considers it a viable option this year.
"It's more than the responsible thing to do, it's an imperative that we rebalance our tax code and make sure that we're helping our state to move forward in a way that reduces that tax burden on middle class and low-income families," he said. "That's the priority."
For the underlying budget that increases spending on K-12 education, higher education and behavioral health, Senate Democrats are relying on three main revenue sources, including the real estate excise tax, which is estimated to bring in about $421 million through mid-2021.
Currently, all property sellers pay a flat 1.28 percent rate. Under Senate Democrats' proposal, the rate remains the same for homes that sell between $250,000 and $1 million. But the rate increases to 2 percent for sales valued between $1 million and $2 million, and it rises to 2.5 percent for sales of more than $5 million. For homes that sell for less than $250,000, the rate is reduced to 0.75 percent.
The House version similarly proposes tax reductions for homes under $500,000 and increases for homes over $1.5 million.
The Senate plan also looks to repeal or amend three current tax exemptions, including the current sales tax break for residents who live in states that don't have a sales tax, like Oregon. Under the Senate plan, non-residents would be able to request sales tax refunds of more than $25 and would be limited to one refund per year.
To pay for wildfire costs, Senate Democrats are also seeking an increase in the tax on car, property and casualty insurance premiums. The rate would increase from 2 percent to 2.52 percent, bringing in $125 million to state coffers over the next two-year budget.
In a written statement, Sen. John Braun, the budget leader for Senate Republicans, said that while he thought the Senate Democrats' approach was a better start than the House's, "the tax increases in the proposed Senate budget are still unnecessary, and the spending is higher than necessary."
The Senate is scheduled to have a public hearing on its budget plan Monday. It is expected to have a vote of the full chamber later that week.
Once both chambers have passed their own budgets, the two sides will begin the process of hashing out a compromise, before ultimately sending a single final budget to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature.
Published: March 30, 2019, 10:58 p.m.
Tags: budget, news, olympia, taxes, Washington
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We're getting closer to the date of my solo exhibition @ ndsm-fuse. I'm working on posters, set up and promotion!!
Mack is an artist whose unique figurative paintings are based on a contemporary narrative inspired by old styles and techniques. On her large scale canvases with thinly applied oil paint on cotton and a calm balanced colour scheme, almost like pastel, she drives the narrative of her work due to her careful homage to the old masters with a modern social perspective. Think visually of the biblical and mythological narratives by the Italian masters, simplicity of form and colour of Japanese masters, social commentary by Goya and the solitary feelings created by Edward Hopper all seem to come together.
In her work she searches for the soul of modern man, his relation to the people around him and his moment to moment battle with space and perception, vision and placement, survival and in some cases death. She draws you into her imaginative view of modern absurdity. While at first glance she takes you on a trip into a simplistic landscape, a second look shows a use of image and background and a philosophical depth that allows the observer to create his own less than comfortable view of the world he inhabits.
The fact that she chooses to work into detail some of the elements in the painting while leaving other parts unfinished creates a visual depth that makes it possible to interpret her work at different levels.
DHMack first solo exhibition at the NDSM fuse is definitely worth paying a visit. Her use of fences instead of white walls and the circular set up of this exhibition feels like a panorama set up to see the artist's 360° vision of the world around us.


This paper explores whether Cartesian dualism prioritizes the masculine over the feminine. Feminist authors have argued that due to the prioritization of the mind over the body in Cartesian dualism and the association of the masculine with the mind and the association of the feminine with the body, the masculine is prioritized. This paper analyzes both this prioritization of the mind over the body and the association of the masculine with the mind and the feminine with the body.
Dziewulski, Klaudia, "Cartesian Dualism and the Feminist Challenge" (2018). CMC Senior Theses. 1760.


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Étiquette : Box
Fast & Furious 8 – Official Trailer 1 (Universal Pictures) HD
12 décembre 2016 affluxAction, amanda, based, before, Box, brian, Bridges, cast, Chapter, characters, Charlize, Charlize Theron, CHRIS, Cinemas, City, Comes, Crime, Cuba, Dwayne, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, face, facebook, Family, fast, Follow, force, Found, Furious, game, Gary, Gibson, Globe, Gray, H, Have, HD, Helen, Helen Mirren, Him, history, Jason, jason statham, Johnson, Kurt, Lewis, life, Ludacris, Man, mia, MICHAEL, michelle, Michelle Rodriguez, Mirren, Morgan, Motion, movies, Mysterious, Nathalie, NEW, New York City, off, Office, official, official trailer, ONE, Oscar, Our, Picture, pictures, Popular, Rodriguez, Russell, SCOTT, sea, Sixth, Stage, STATHAM, Team, test, Theron, Thompson, thriller, time, Title, trailer, Tyrese Gibson, Universal, Universal Pictures, vin, Vin Diesel, Vincent, Will, winner, woman, World, writer, YORK
Fast & Furious 8 Official Trailer 1 – In cinemas April 14th, 2017 Follow us at www.Facebook.com/FastandFuriousUK On the heels of 2015's Fast & Furious 7, one of the fastest movies to reach $1 billion worldwide in box-office history and the sixth-biggest global title of all time, comes the newest chapter in one of the most popular and enduring motion-picture serials of all time: Fast & Furious 8. Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game—and the rest of the…
Fast & Furious 8 – Trailer Coming Monday (Universal Pictures) HD
9 décembre 2016 affluxAction, amanda, based, before, Box, brian, Bridges, cast, Chapter, characters, Charlize, Charlize Theron, CHRIS, City, Comes, COMING, Crime, Cuba, Dwayne, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, face, facebook, Family, fast, Follow, force, Found, Furious, game, Gary, Gibson, Globe, Gray, H, Have, HD, Helen, Helen Mirren, Him, history, Jason, jason statham, Johnson, Kurt, Lewis, life, Ludacris, Man, mia, MICHAEL, michelle, Michelle Rodriguez, Mirren, Morgan, Motion, movies, Mysterious, Nathalie, NEW, New York City, off, Office, official, official trailer, ONE, Oscar, Our, Picture, pictures, Popular, Rodriguez, Russell, SCOTT, sea, Sixth, Stage, STATHAM, Team, test, Theron, Thompson, thriller, time, Title, trailer, Tyrese Gibson, Universal, Universal Pictures, vin, Vin Diesel, Vincent, Will, winner, woman, World, writer, YORK
Fast & Furious 8 Official Trailer Coming Monday Follow us at www.Facebook.com/FastandFuriousUK On the heels of 2015's Fast & Furious 7, one of the fastest movies to reach $1 billion worldwide in box-office history and the sixth-biggest global title of all time, comes the newest chapter in one of the most popular and enduring motion-picture serials of all time: Fast & Furious 8. Now that Dom and Letty are on their honeymoon and Brian and Mia have retired from the game—and the rest of the crew has been exonerated—the globetrotting…
xXx: Return of Xander Cage – Trailer (2017) – Paramount Pictures
1 novembre 2016 affluxAction, alpha, Animation, ass, Bad, bar, Be, Box, brands, Cage, Caruso, channel, Chapter, COLLECTION, COMING, coming to theaters, Company, conspiracy, course, D. J. Caruso, director, Dobrev, Donnie, entertainment, ever, facebook, film, Franchise, government, international, Jackson, McCann, media, Mind, Movie, movies, MTV, NEW, nickelodeon, NINA, official, online, pictures, producer, race, raise, Samuel, self, series, Some, spy, stunts, Team, thriller, tony, trailer, twitter, Unstoppable, vin, Vin Diesel, Warrior, watch, weapon, Will, World, XXX, youtube
Watch the trailer for xXx: Return of Xander Cage! Coming to theaters January 20, 2017. The third explosive chapter of the blockbuster franchise that redefined the spy thriller finds extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora's Box. Recruiting an all-new group of thrill-seeking cohorts, Xander finds himself enmeshed in a deadly conspiracy that points to collusion…
Get Out – Official Trailer 1 (Universal Pictures) HD
5 octobre 2016 affluxAFRICAN, American, Bad, BETTY, Box, captain, catherine, CHRIS, COMING, commentary, Daniel, deal, Donnie, Dragon, Edward, Family, film, First, girlfriend, girls, H, Have, HD, Him, Jason, Jones, Jordan, Jr, Key, Man, men, Mind, More, official, official trailer, parents, Pete, pictures, Real, Relationship, rose, Sean, series, She, Soon, STARS, thriller, trailer, Truth, Universal, Universal Pictures, visit, White, Williams, Words, X-Men, year, young
Get Out – Official Trailer 1 – Coming Soon! In Universal Pictures' Get Out, a speculative thriller from Blumhouse (producers of The Visit, Insidious series and The Gift) and the mind of Jordan Peele, when a young African-American man visits his white girlfriend's family estate, he becomes ensnared in a more sinister real reason for the invitation. Now that Chris (Daniel Kaluuya, Sicario) and his girlfriend, Rose (Allison Williams, Girls), have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway upstate with Missy (Catherine Keener, Captain…
Jason Bourne – Box Office Open (Universal Pictures) [HD]
1 juillet 2016 affluxAction, Again, based, Ben, Bourne, Box, Box Office, cast, Chapter, characters, CHRISTOPHER, CIA, Cinemas, Comes, Damon, director, entertainment, film, Franchise, Frank, Frank Marshall, HD, Henry, Iconic, Jason, Jason Bourne, Jeffrey, Jones, Julia, july, Lee, marshall, Matt, Matt Damon, Next, Office, Open, PAUL, pictures, Returns, robert, Role, series, shadows, SMITH, thriller, Tommy Lee Jones, Ultimatum, Universal, Universal Pictures, Vincent, While, youtube
Jason Bourne comes to cinemas July 27, 2016 Jason Bourne Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpTga61DBp6BYzwJqBgciQ9JLBZ8_F77_. Matt Damon returns to his most iconic role in Jason Bourne. Paul Greengrass, the director of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, once again joins Damon for the next chapter of Universal Pictures' Bourne franchise, which finds the CIA's most lethal former operative drawn out of the shadows. For Jason Bourne, Damon is joined by Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel and Tommy Lee Jones, while Julia Stiles reprises her role in the series. Frank Marshall again produces…
Warcraft: The Beginning – Rob Tours War Room (Universal Pictures)
25 mai 2016 afflux3D, adventure, Alex, another, army, based, Be, Begins, Ben, Ben Foster, Box, Box Office, Brent, cast, charles, CHRIS, Cinemas, Code, Comes, cooper, course, Daniel, destruction, dominic, Dominic Cooper, Duncan Jones, entertainment, epic, faces, Family, FATE, film, HEROES, Jon, Jones, MICHAEL, Mike, Moon, Nick, Office, ONE, Open, Other, PAUL, Paula Patton, PEOPLE, pictures, Power, production, race, Rob, room, saga, serve, Share, so, Source Code, steel, thomas, Toby, Two, Universal, Universal Pictures, War, Warriors, watch, Will, World, Worlds, youtube
Warcraft: The Beginning In cinemas May Box office now open – www.WarcraftTickets.co.uk Warcraft: The Beginning Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVzb956kdgc&list=PLpTga61DBp6CZsy4av5TXFU2wSFI8vQqF From Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures comes Warcraft, an epic adventure of world-colliding conflict based on Blizzard Entertainment's global phenomenon. The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two heroes…
Warcraft: The Beginning – King Llane asks Garona for help(Universal Pictures)
20 mai 2016 afflux3D, adventure, Alex, another, army, based, Be, Begins, Ben, Ben Foster, Box, Box Office, Brent, cast, charles, CHRIS, Cinemas, Code, Comes, cooper, course, Daniel, destruction, dominic, Dominic Cooper, Duncan Jones, entertainment, epic, faces, Family, FATE, film, help, HEROES, Jon, Jones, King, MICHAEL, Mike, Moon, Nick, Office, ONE, Open, Other, PAUL, Paula Patton, PEOPLE, pictures, Power, production, race, Rob, saga, serve, Share, so, Source Code, steel, thomas, Toby, Two, Universal, Universal Pictures, War, Warriors, watch, Will, World, Worlds, youtube
Warcraft: The Beginning In cinemas May 30 Box office now open – www.WarcraftTickets.co.uk Warcraft: The Beginning Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVzb956kdgc&list=PLpTga61DBp6CZsy4av5TXFU2wSFI8vQqF From Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures comes Warcraft, an epic adventure of world-colliding conflict based on Blizzard Entertainment's global phenomenon. The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilization faces a fearsome race of invaders: Orc warriors fleeing their dying home to colonize another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, two…


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Matsuko Levin (center), Danyeun Kim, and Etsuko Yashiro were at odds with a group of younger women protesting at the MFA.
A playful attempt by the Museum of Fine Arts to engage summer visitors has triggered a controversy that is mushrooming beyond expectations, with protesters taking to the museum's "Kimono Wednesdays" event in increasing force each week, and a group of kimono-wearing counterprotesters joining the fray.
The debate has reached such a pitch that incoming MFA director Matthew Teitelbaum, who arrives in August, has announced plans for a future symposium, developed with input from MFA audiences, on art history and traditions of representation.
It all began with a celebration last month for departing director Malcolm Rogers, when the museum invited visitors to "channel your inner Camille Monet" by trying on kimonos and posing for photos next to Claude Monet's painting "La Japonaise." Art historians consider the 1876 work, which depicts Monet's wife wearing a kimono, to be a witty poke at Parisians' fascination with Japan.
The Museum of Fine Arts is hastily pulling back on an event that protesters labeled latter-day form of racist minstrelsy.
That didn't satisfy the protesters, who have seized the opportunity to raise broader questions involving racism, sexism, and colonialism.
The furor reached new heights on Wednesday as about two dozen protesters and half as many counterprotesters filled the MFA's Impressionist gallery.
On one side, a group of mostly young Asian-American and white women gathered to protest "Kimono Wednesdays," demanding additional context for the event and questioning views of Asians as "the other" in American culture.
Claude Monet's "La Japonaise" at the MFA.
Displaying a sign reading "Decolonize our museums," a woman who gave her name only as Pampi, 36, spoke about the need to trace artworks to their first acquisitions, which she said were often violent, and charged the MFA with shirking its responsibility to curate the event for a diverse American audience.
Etsuko Yashiro, 53, of Concord, who helps organize Boston's Japan Festival, said she was there to share the beauty of kimonos with an American audience. Ikuko Burns, 79, who was born in Tokyo and has lived in Boston for 53 years, explained how she used to bring kimonos to local schools as a consultant for the Children's Museum to teach introductory lessons on Japan.
"I'm a little bit disappointed by the other side," she said, questioning what the protest had to do with Monet's painting and chalking it up to the participants' youth.
In her MFA "Spotlight" talk on Wednesday, museum educator Wendy Dodek spoke of Commodore Matthew Perry's "gunboat diplomacy" of the mid-19th century and — addressing a question raised by protesters the previous week — relayed the fable depicted in the Monet painting's kimono, which revolves around a warrior named Taira No Koremochi.
Though museum security reminded visitors repeatedly to keep their voices down, conversations between protesters and counterprotesters became emotional at times.
Standing with her fellow protesters, Shaina Lu, 25, of Jamaica Plain, said she sensed a misunderstanding between the opposing sides. Those with concerns about the event would also like to see the kimono celebrated, she said, but in a "culturally affirming" way.
"This is part of the misunderstanding: We never said people who aren't Japanese can't wear a kimono," said Loreto Ansaldo, 35, of Hyde Park, who helped organize the protest.
In Boston's broader Japanese and Japanese-American communities, opinions of the controversy varied widely.
"I have talked to many people, including Japanese and Japanese-Americans, that didn't find the event offensive on its face," said Paul Watanabe, who directs the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Still, he agreed with the museum's decision to recast the program.
Watanabe said MFA staff could have avoided the controversy by better contextualizing the painting within a discussion of cultural appropriation and by clarifying what they hoped visitors would gain by donning replica kimonos.
"Their original idea was done, unfortunately, without a lot of thought and care about what its consequences might be," Watanabe said.
Ken Oye, copresident of the Japanese American Citizens League's New England chapter, had his own take. "This is a funny controversy," said Oye, stressing that he was speaking personally and not on behalf of his organization.
The painting is rooted in the idea of cultural borrowing, he said, and understanding the debate requires acknowledging the painting's complex context, including both French infatuation with Japan and the corresponding Japanese infatuation with French Impressionism.
"Sitting in the last room of the Orangerie [Museum in Paris] surrounded by Japanese tourists staring at Monet's work and gawking — that's part of this," he said.
Stephanie McFeeters can be reached at stephanie.mcfeeters@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @mcfeeters.


The students of the college are beneficiaries of the ASAP (Additional Skill Acquisition Programme) of the Government of Kerala which has been developed to impart sector specific skills to create a labour market ready work force. Government of Kerala, under the stewardship of the Departments of Higher Education and General Education of the state has come up with, an innovative concept, ASAP. The programme aims at equipping selected students with skills in communication, IT and selected areas of industry and service sectors with the objective of building a pool of skilled personnel with adequate skills, in line with the requirements of the industry. At Level 1, ASAP imparts 300 hours of skill training to selected first year degree students (30 per batch, maximum 2 batches in an institution). Of this, 180 hours will be a foundation module comprising of Communication Skills and IT skills and the remaining 120 hours will be the module related to the skill sector chosen by the student. The Classes under ASAP will be engaged by Skill Development Executives identified by the Government/Industry, generally for one hour on working days, before/after the normal working hours of the Institution. Depending on the number of batches started, the institutions will have to make available class rooms with Computer and LCD facilities (Smart Class Rooms) for the conduct of the classes. At present 23 UG students of the college undergo the ASAP training. Three students of the college were selected for the CET (Communicative English Trainer) of ASAP from our college.


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Richmond County je název čtyř okresů ve Spojených státech amerických:
 Richmond County (Georgie) – okres státu Georgie
 Richmond County (New York) – okres státu New York
 Richmond County (Severní Karolína) – okres státu Severní Karolína
 Richmond County (Virginie) – okres státu Virginie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


We talk a lot about the things that we want our campers to learn: skill-building, self-confidence, leadership skills, and relationships with others and God. But what do campers and alumnae say that they learned? Read below to see what they told us!
Beth Murphy: Too many to list!! One thing that sticks with me – not to worry about what others think of me. I'm free to be the person God created me to be!
Jocelyn Duersteler: I went to Cedarbrook for 2 years during high school. In the time I was there I not only learned things about different hobbies like the craft cabin or horseback riding. I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I didn't need to be so hard on myself all the time and that sometimes things will take a different turn than I expected. I also learned that I can't control every aspect in my life and that's okay. I can sit back and let life flow how it needs to. Going to this camp gave me a sense of clarity and peace something I hadn't felt in awhile. It gave me memories and friends that will last forever.
Colleen "Kiska" Heinze: Summer camp taught me how to cultivate my personal walk with my Savior through morning watch.
Jean "Todd" Henderson: Camp taught me that I needed Jesus Christ as my Savior. It was not enough that I knew about Him from going to church since I was a baby. It was not enough that I went to Pioneer Girls, Sunday School, Jr. Choir and youth group. I was a first-year counselor (I knew skills because I passed CIT [now CILT]) and the Holy Spirit pursued me the first three weeks of counseling. At the campfire during the 12th session I bowed my head and asked Christ into my heart. Everything changed. I found peace that only the Savior can give. That was July 30, 1968, one month after my 18th Birthday. His peace continues through good times and hard times. Looking forward to eternity with Him.
kool_jules429: What I learned at Camp Cedarbrook: how to ride a horse, that horses fart, how to be a good roommate, and how to be a good daughter of God.
grannyagogo: Some girl named Tara taught me to whistle with two fingers…loud. My mom was not thrilled. More important life skills were canoeing, sailing, cooking on a fire, and walking with God.
em_264: Camp Cedarbrook taught me more about God and what it means to have a relationship with him. I also learned to be a better person. God is really encouraging and helpful to guide others in the right direction. I also learned how to shoot a rifle.
What has camp taught you?


If you're not British, then you might haven't heard of caster sugar. The reason behind it is because, here in the US, caster sugar is just marked as 'superfine'. It's also called 'bar sugar' among bartenders because this is what they use in some cocktail recipes.
If you're lucky and you've heard of this sugar before, have even wondered why it's hard to find it in the grocery store? Have you considered buying it from Amazon or some other online store because you just can't find it anywhere else?
So why is this sugar important? For the simple reason that it melts so fast. It's best for sweetening cold drinks, cocktail recipes, sorbets and sprinkled over fresh fruits. It's also good with puddings and sauces because it melts faster than regular sugar.
A lot of recipes require caster sugar precisely because of this quick melting property. It incorporates more quickly in creamed mixtures and whips. It is also used in pastry dough because it's more workable than granulated sugar and powdered sugar. Some even say that it's sweeter to the tongue than both sugars combined. Maybe it's subjective but who can blame this sugar for its popularity?
So if your recipe requires caster sugar, can you use regular sugar instead? Yes, but you would definitely feel its graininess. Inversely, you can use caster sugar in lieu of regular sugar because it always performs better.
So what are you suppose to do if you can't find caster sugar from the grocers? And if this sugar is so important, why is this so hard to find? Wouldn't you think that an ingredient as important as this one would be easier to find? Read on to find out.
If you can't find caster sugar, the simple solution is to make your own. In most cases, a simple coffee grinder will do the trick but if you want to make an ample amount, you can go with a full-pledge food processor.
Depending on the amount you're making, the process will take 1 to 2 minutes in a coffee grinder or food processor.
Chefs and hobby culinary artists are a bunch of creative people. If we can't find the ingredients that we need, we either find a substitute or make our own version of what we need. Are you ready to make your own caster sugar?
As simple as the ingredients, so is the procedure in making caster sugar. All you need to do is put the granulated sugar into the food processor and there you have it. After following the procedure listed here, you will have all the caster sugar that you need in the world.
Put the granulated sugar into the food processor. Make sure to put more than what you need because some of it will be pulverized in the process. I suggest adding increments of ½ cup until you have the amount that you need. Don't create in bulk because you might end up having more than what you need. Remember that this kind of sugar melts fast.
To prevent the sugar dust from flying out of the food processor, cover the lid with a clean hand towel. Doing this will keep the dust down and confine it in the food processor. If you miss this part, you will end up having sugar dust all over your work area and it can be messy.
Turn the food processor on pulse setting. This setting allows better control in achieving the level of granularity without falling over into powdered sugar territory. If you immediately turn the power to high speed as some would suggest, you could easily turn your caster sugar to powdered sugar. This process will only take a couple of minutes, but if you're making huge quantities, it might take longer.
Wait for the dust to settle before opening the processor lid. Again, remember that you're trying to avoid having sugar all over the place. Make sure to have a super tight container ready for your caster sugar. If moisture can get inside your container, the sugar will melt and you'll end up wasting what you've just made.
That was easy, wasn't it? Probably one of the reasons why you can't find it in the grocery store is that manufacturers know it's too easy to make. So the next time you need it, just make your own.
Caster sugar is just a fancy name for superfine sugar. And when all else fail, you can just take matters into your own hands and make your own. The procedure is next to child's play and you won't be looking for this kind of sugar even again in the grocery store.
So the next time your recipe needs caster sugar, you just put some in the coffee grinder and give it a spin. No need to look around because you might only end up not finding anything in the grocers.
Have you tried needing caster sugar lately and can't find one in the grocery store? What did you do? Have you tried making your own caster sugar at home? Share your success story in the comment section below.


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Achieving Unexpected Victories on Behalf of Our Clients
ACCESS enabled ImageSat International to contribute EROS A high-resolution satellite imagery to the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum's permanent Earth Observation exhibit and compendium summarizing the history of satellite imaging.
Cooperating with the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum
We recommended to ImageSat International, then owners and operators of the EROS A high resolution imaging satellite, to contribute its imagery to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. -- the most visited museum in the world.
The Company had approached the museum without success prior to our involvement and told us the attempt would be futile; the imagery would not be accepted.
When we insisted we would prevail, the President of ImageSat at the time and a founding father of Israel's space industry said, "If you succeed, I'll eat my hat."
So, we engaged the Air & Space Museum and succeeded in our challenge to include ImageSat International's EROS A satellite imagery in its Earth Observation museum collection.
We also convinced the Smithsonian's editors of a compendium, documenting the history of Earth-imaging satellites, to include 10 EROS A images in their book. Among the images provided was one of The Point where the Three Rivers meet in Pittsburgh, PA (Karen's hometown), as a salute to her parents. (She was personally cited in the book's Acknowledgements...a personal coup for her.)
Let's just say, we did not hold the president to his promise!
access@accessmarketingww.com
© 2021 by Studio Liat Perry


It came; It Stayed and it conquered the taste buds of all the Surtis. The Original Surti Sarasiya Khaja and SHAH Motiram Sweets Mart. With an expertise of more than 10 decades, Surti Sarasiya Khaja has been surtis' one of the most lovable Farsan option .


text:
Study: Contractors Optimistic on 2019 Growth, Concerned About Workforce
By Timothy Johnson | Jan 3, 2019
Your Business Economy Employment Industry Watch News Workforce
According to a recent study conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and Sage Construction and Real Estate, 79 percent of construction firms expect to hire more employees in 2019. However, 78 percent of the study's respondents report trouble finding qualified workers.
The study, "Contractors Remain Confident About Demand, Worried About Labor Supply: The 2019 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Report," is an assessment of contractors' outlook on 2019. AGC CEO Stephen E. Sandherr said the study finds contractors are optimistic about industry growth but concerned about finding qualified workers to meet new demand.
The survey measures 13 categories of projects, and in all of them, more respondents expect their market to expand than those who expect it to contract. The results measure a net reading between those who expect growth and those who do not. Public building construction came in the highest at 17 percent net positive. Power construction showed a 10-percent net positive result. Multifamily construction, which came in at 5 percent, was the lowest. The AGC said multifamily construction may have outpaced demand in some areas.
However, workforce development issues loom. Despite four out of five respondents expecting growth, almost the same number expect trouble hiring to meet that demand. The AGC said this shortage may stunt growth, most notably raising construction costs and elongating project schedules. The study found 37 percent of contractors are preparing for the shortfall by bidding and contracting at higher rates.
The survey found, to cope with the workforce shortage, construction firms are raising pay, providing bonuses, and increasing benefits in an attempt to make construction work more appealing. Moreover, 63 percent of contractors are investing in training programs.
In the electrical construction industry, organizations such as the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) are doing their part to support electrical contractors in acquiring skilled labor.
According to Geary Higgins, vice president of labor relations at NECA, the electrical industry needs over 10,000 new entrants every year to meet future labor demands.
"Our local areas are reaching out to untapped areas, recruiting women, minorities, and veterans every chance we get," Higgins said. "The national offices of NECA and the IBEW are sponsoring job fairs around the country every week, and supporting non-traditional efforts to promote the industry, and are putting people to work. We have over 250 electrical apprenticeship programs, which are providing $50,000 scholarships for those qualified to enter. We have a wonderful career opportunity available for those that want it, and we are getting the word out."
Beyond incentives and outreach, however, Ken Simonson, the AGC's chief economist, said contractors reported investing in labor-saving technologies, such as building information modeling, robotics, drones, and 3-D printers. About one-third of respondents (32 percent) said their companies are using methods to reduce on-site work time. This includes lean construction methods and prefabrication.
The study also asked about contractors' IT plans. According to Sage, 42 percent of contractors will invest in this area. Almost one-third (30 percent) will invest in project and document management software, and contractors appear to be getting more comfortable with data management in the cloud. A substantial number of respondents (26 percent) noted difficulty finding time to implement and train on new software technology.
For more results from the survey, click here.
Timothy Johnson
Timothy Johnson is the former digital editor for ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine.


Our epidemiology faculty members employ many different avenues to discover, implement and disseminate novel methods that stand to improve the health of the public. They study a broad array of clinical and population-health issues. Read about our latest findings.
Which groups of people enjoy health and are likely to see that continue, and which suffer or are at risk for poor outcomes? These fundamental questions of epidemiology also inspire the broader community of scientists who seek to improve the health of the public. Read about our teaching approach.
Read the professional-life stories of our epidemiology faculty.


text:
Le Syndicat des cadres de la sécurité intérieure (SCSI), anciennement Syndicat national des officiers de police (SNOP), est le principal syndicat d'officiers de police. Majoritaire, il a obtenu 54,26 % des suffrages et 5 sièges sur 8 à la Commission administrative paritaire du corps de commandement de la police nationale aux dernières élections professionnelles de 2018.

Historique

Né en 1972 de la volonté de fédérer tous les officiers de la Police nationale au sein d'une organisation unique, le Syndicat National Autonome des Policiers en Civil (SNAPC) a réuni en son sein les inspecteurs et enquêteurs de police. Représentant depuis lors la majorité des personnels civils d'investigation et d'enquête, après la réforme des corps et carrières de la Police nationale en , il rassemble également les adhérents du Syndicat National des Officiers (officiers de paix, commandant les effectifs en tenue) et devient le Syndicat National des Officiers de Police : SNOP.

Son changement de dénomination date du . C'est à cette date qu'il ouvre ses statuts à l'adhésion de commissaires de police. Le SCSI revendique en effet que les officiers de police et les commissaires de police soient réunis dans un seul corps. Fin  le Conseil national du SCSI vote pour la fin de l'affiliation à l'Union nationale des syndicats autonomes (UNSA) et décide de rejoindre la Confédération française démocratique du travail (CFDT).

Valeurs

Se situant au-delà des partis, des religions et des philosophies, le SCSI se veut un syndicat autonome, libre et indépendant, se référant à la Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen. Il fait partie en 1988 des organisations fondatrices du Conseil Européen des Syndicats de Police (CESP), organisation non gouvernementale qui promeut les intérêts professionnels des policiers auprès des instances européennes.

Représentativité

Le SCSI est également représenté au sein du Conseil d'Administration de l'ENSP, du Comité Technique
Ministériel (CTM) du ministère de l'Intérieur et dans plusieurs instances nationales et départementales.

Voir aussi

Articles connexes
 Élections professionnelles dans la police nationale
 Synergie-Officiers
 Syndicalisme policier en France

Union nationale des syndicats autonomes
Confédération française démocratique du travail
Syndicat de police en France
Corps de commandement de la police nationale


The confidence that proved to be Iceland's undoing was acquired in their previous game against England. After establishing their lead in the first half, Iceland played higher up the pitch, almost baiting England. We all enjoyed watching the tiny islanders humiliate England's mighty EPL superstars, all the while maintaining a high defensive line and practicing actual ball control. But Iceland had been lulled by a dreadful England performance.
In the quarter-final, Iceland was up against a very different team. France sparkled and dominated and punished Iceland for trying what they actually don't know very well. When you play high up the pitch and hold your defensive line around the half-line mark, you have to keep possession and hold the ball in your opponents half. Iceland's players do not have the technical skills to do that. Especially not against a France team that demonstrated why so much has been expected of them.
For the fifth time in five games, Iceland's joint-managers Lars Lagerback and Heimir Hallgrimsson fielded the same eleven. But they did not stick to the tactics that saw them go to the deep end of this tournament, making us wonder how far this fairytale would go. Now, we are left asking ourselves: What if Iceland had stuck to the kind of game they know? What if they had decided to stick with gritty defending deep inside their own half and looking to score via counter-attacks and long throw-ins? Especially given that it had rained a lot, and a wet pitch would have helped them in close, tight encounters?
France tore through the defence all too easily and all too early. Olivier Giroud and man-of-the-match Antoine Griezmann ran through the channels all too readily; they ran off the shoulders of Iceland's defenders and found much joy doing that. Moussa Sissoko was impressive on the right wing, Dimitri Payet was equally comfortable cutting into the middle from the left, right between the two banks of Iceland's 4-4-2. In the middle of the pitch, Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi pressured Iceland's central midfielders Aron Gunnarsson and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
It looked like a game between two tactical eras. Iceland playing a confused version of a 4-4-2 system straight out of the 1970s, and France played in dynamic modern triangles all across the pitch in the 4-2-3-1 that is the standard now.
Iceland got two goals and had a few missed chances. In the 24th minute, a Gunnarsson long throw-in created one of Iceland's trademark chances, with the French defence looking foxed by what they must've talked and practiced over and over in the past few days. Johann Bodvarsson reached out but failed to make a good connection, the ball lobbing above the crossbar. The French 'keeper Hugo Lloris was forced to make at least one spectacular save.
The French defence was not very assured, neither were the French transitions from defence to attack; the most productive pair to string together passes was that of the two centre-backs. If Iceland had defended the initial French onslaught by defending deep, sticking what they know well, there is no escaping the thought that the match would have been very different. As also the fact that the Germany team would have made their notes about France's defence before the semi-final.
Now that Iceland have finally – quarter-finally – lost a game in a major tournament, there is the time to take the long view. Make up our mind about the meaning of their remarkable run in Euro 2016. What does this mean for the future? Are we to now take Iceland seriously when we look at the international football calendar to mark important dates?
The most obvious comparison is with Greece, who won the European Championship in 2004. Yet that became a one-off, for we did not see Greece contend after that most remarkable of all titles. In 2008, Greece crashed out of the Euros after losing all three of their group stage games. In 2012, Greece won their game against Russia 1-0, drew their game against an underwhelming Poland, and lost 1-2 to the Czech Republic. In the quarter-finals, they were overhauled 2-4 by Germany.
It is unlikely that Iceland will retreat into the Greece-like margins, however. Their success is of a different sort. While Greece enjoyed a tournament in which their tactics proved successful, the success did not result from changes in domestic football. This Icelandic team, though, has come through more than a decade of a concerted programme to nurture young players. From all-weather pitches and stadiums, to the training and appointment of a large number of coaches, Iceland has shown how it is possible to nurture and develop a sport – as also an example of how to nurture its young players. Iceland's football administrators are invested in their people.
It will not be long before Iceland's football story becomes a topic of research papers in sociology and sports administration. Management courses will use it as an example of human development. Iceland's football story will become a contrast to how the game is managed purely along the lines of economics in England, not the least because of Iceland's victory over England.
Iceland has given football a fresh, new idiom. Norse mythology has found a new niche in football. The valkyries of Euro 2016 chose vikings to fall in the battle of the quarter-final. They may get carried to the halls of Valhalla, but this is no Gotterdamerung, this is no Twilight of the Gods as interpreted by Richard Wagner in his famous opera (and famously reinterpreted in Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film Apocalyse Now). The vikings don't go berserk. They are actually setting a modern and civilised example of how to develop young players, how to develop a sport.
This is not an end. It is a beginning, with the Ode To Joy audible in the backdrop to the rumbling of volcanoes and earthquakes.


text:
package org.grickle.jsondtotest.client;

import com.google.gwt.json.client.JSONArray;
import com.google.gwt.json.client.JSONBoolean;
import com.google.gwt.json.client.JSONNull;
import com.google.gwt.json.client.JSONNumber;
import com.google.gwt.json.client.JSONObject;
import com.google.gwt.json.client.JSONString;
import com.google.gwt.json.client.JSONValue;

public class TestUtilTest extends AbstractGWTTest
{

    /**
     * isEqual, but parameters are forced into JSONValue objects
     *
     * @param expected
     * @param actual
     * @return
     */
    private boolean testEq(JSONValue expected, JSONValue actual)
    {
        return isEqual(expected, actual);
    }

    public void testString()
    {
        assertTrue(testEq(new JSONString("hello"), new JSONString("hello")));
        assertFalse(testEq(new JSONString("hello"), new JSONString("hello2")));
        assertFalse(testEq(new JSONString("123"), new JSONNumber(123)));
        assertFalse(testEq(new JSONString(""), JSONNull.getInstance()));
        JSONString same = new JSONString("asdf");
        assertTrue(testEq(same, same));
    }

    public void testNull()
    {
        assertTrue(testEq(JSONNull.getInstance(), JSONNull.getInstance()));
        assertFalse(testEq(JSONNull.getInstance(), new JSONString("")));
    }

    public void testNumber()
    {
        assertTrue(testEq(new JSONNumber(123), new JSONNumber(123)));
        assertFalse(testEq(new JSONNumber(0), new JSONNumber(1)));
        assertFalse(testEq(new JSONNumber(0), JSONNull.getInstance()));
    }

    public void testBoolean()
    {
        assertTrue(testEq(JSONBoolean.getInstance(true), JSONBoolean.getInstance(true)));
        assertTrue(testEq(JSONBoolean.getInstance(false), JSONBoolean.getInstance(false)));
        assertFalse(testEq(JSONBoolean.getInstance(false), JSONNull.getInstance()));
        assertFalse(testEq(JSONBoolean.getInstance(false), new JSONNumber(0)));
        assertFalse(testEq(JSONBoolean.getInstance(false), new JSONString("")));
    }

    public void testArray()
    {
        assertTrue(testEq(new JSONArray(), new JSONArray()));
        JSONArray a=new JSONArray(), b=new JSONArray();
        a.set(0, new JSONNumber(1));
        assertFalse(testEq(a,b));
        b.set(0, new JSONNumber(2));
        assertFalse(testEq(a,b));
        b.set(0, new JSONNumber(1));
        assertTrue(testEq(a,b));
    }

    public void testObject()
    {
        assertTrue(testEq(new JSONObject(), new JSONObject()));
        JSONObject a=new JSONObject(), b=new JSONObject();
        a.put("a", new JSONNumber(1));
        assertFalse(testEq(a,b));
        b.put("a", new JSONNumber(2));
        assertFalse(testEq(a,b));
        b.put("a", new JSONNumber(1));
        assertTrue(testEq(a,b));
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
You are here: Home / News / Charity rugby 7s tournament to take place in Richmond
Charity rugby 7s tournament to take place in Richmond
The Lord's Taverners 7s takes place on Saturday 19 May with hundreds of players battling it out on the rugby field and netball court - so why not pop along to join them and stars from both sports at Richmond Rugby Club?
With England Rugby 7s Olympic and Commonwealth Games medalists Dan Norton and Phil Burgess being joined by Wasps' netball Superleague champions Lucy Harris and Josie Huckle, there will be plenty to do off the pitch and court while supporting the UK's leading youth cricket and disability sports charity.
The day begins at 10am with the netball tournament and rugby starts at 10.30am with the action taking place throughout the day - and you can also take part in a crossbar challenge from 1.30pm.
And to wind down after all the action has finished, there will be live music from 'The Breaks' who will be playing two sets at 6pm and 7.30pm.
It promises to be a fantastic day - so be sure to go along and be part of the fun.
« Back to news home | View more from Lord's Taverners


In the last year, St. Luke's has focused on contributing to Teresa's Totes, a ministry started by the Baptist Church in Dryden. In this school district, about 70% of children are on the free or reduced lunch program. Teresa's Totes helps to serve local, food-insecure schoolchildren who may not have enough to eat on weekends. St. Luke's collects certain foods each month to give to the program. Teresa's Totes does the distribution.
Contact us at stlukes@myfairpoint.net if you would like to contribute to this endeavor.


We are really excited this season to have the super chic Parisian label Leon & Harper in store and online. Created in Paris in 2010 by Philippe Corbin, Leon & Harper has rapidly insinuated itself into the wardrobes of free-spirited young women through its timeless basics with their unique sense of detail. Expect to see classic shapes with feminine frills and a cheeky sense of humour.


We never just dive in our database based on a number of keywords we noted during our first meeting together. The success of our interim managers and experts isn't only determined by their knowledge after all, but also by their expertise and skills. The nature of your company and your business activities, the size of your company, the corporate culture, the context of the project, even the language that you speak are all elements which must be carefully considered. This is how we are able to send you the right expert that can help your company progress.
We will never just send you an interim manager or an expert without first closely listening to you and your business's needs. During an in-depth interview, we evaluate your goals and desires and map out your current company's situation. This allows us to accurately define the task at hand as well as describe your desired results. Based on this information, we introduce you to an expert who will immediately get started.
"We were looking for someone with HR skills and expertise for a post in the Czech Republic. It was important that the job was filled by an experienced professional. Experts@Business quickly got us in contact with one of their experts who met our requirements. This gave our HR team the necessary support and we managed to quickly achieve the desired results."
All of our interim managers and experts are experienced professionals who know how to put your company on the right track. They speak the same language as your internal professionals and possess the right skills to achieve the results in line with your company culture.
Depending on your specific requirements, our experts work in partnership and cooperation with your own employees. Our interim managers have the strong strategic and tactical skills necessary to make decisions which quickly put your company in a position to achieve its goals. They help your project evolve in line with your company's corporate culture.
Would you like to discuss what we can specifically do for you?


text:
Q: Trying To Add Window Crashing The Application I am making an application.In application i am having tabs on bottom. First tab showing two button. ON click of button i want to open barcode scanner. And one more thing First time i was not creating ActivityGroups It was running fine for me. But after creating ActivityGroup class on click of buton application is crashing and giving me following error.
   ERROR/AndroidRuntime(1774): android.view.WindowManager$BadTokenException: Unable  to   add window -- token android.app.LocalActivityManager$LocalActivityRecord@44f557d8 is  not valid; is your activity running?

A: you passed context of any activity to somewhere , then activity is finished(by yourself or by Android) now you are trying to use this context .
usually people do this for using method/variable of an activity outside it . never do this ,
keep activity context inside this activity always .

A: The problem is that you are using the Context of your Activity and you should use actually the Context of your ActivityGroup. There are no mentions of this in any docs that I know of, but I have encountered this and this is most likely your problem too.
You could pass the context of your ActivityGroup to your Activity or use getParent() in your Activity to get the right Context.
Also I would recommend using Fragments since ActivityGroup is deprecated and is producing a lot of problems, just like the one that you have encountered.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Our curriculum is designed to be as accessible as possible, for both students and staff. We focus on teaching design and use of 3D printing as project-based, as in our past experience we've found this to be the most rewarding for students. We want to inspire the next generation of Makers, not teach students abstract concepts that may have very little connection to what they want to do in the future. Giving students the skills to create what they want, and providing a groundwork to build on is our primary focus.
Taught largely by teachers and librarians, our out of the box curriculum and project suggestions lay the foundation and continually lay the roadmap for ongoing projects and lessons.
Based on our previous development with Makerspaceship from the San Jose Public library, we have updated and enhanced our 6-week lesson plans to bring these tools to the rest of the country. We encourage kids to collaborate in small groups starting with basic CAD revolving around revolves and sweeps, teach about the strengths and optimal printing strategies and provide projects to test their skills.


text:
Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was an American-Canadian journalist and writer on urban planning.

Jane Jacobs may also refer to:
Jane Jacobs (baseball) (1924–2015), American baseball player
Jane M. Jacobs (born 1958), Australian cultural geographer and academic

See also
 Jacobs (surname)
 Jacobs (disambiguation)


text:
Walter Coffin (1784 – 15 February 1867) was a Welsh coalowner and Member of Parliament. Coffin is recognised as the first person to exploit the rich coal fields of the Rhondda Valley on an industrial scale, becoming one of the wealthiest coal mine owners in the world.

Early life
Born in 1784 he was the second son of Walter Coffin, the founder of a tanning business in Bridgend, and his second wife Anne Morgan. Coffin was descended from a well known Bridgend family, the Prices of Ty'n Ton, into which his grandfather, an owner of an estate in Selworthy, had married. Coffin was educated at Cowbridge Grammar School and later at a nonconformist academy in Exeter; in 1804 he returned to Wales to join the family business. In 1791 his father had purchased several farmsteads in the parish of Llantrisant, including the area of Dinas Uchef Farm from William Humphries. In 1809, at the age of 24 and bored with the tanning industry, Walter Coffin the younger set out to prospect for coal at his father's farm land in Dinas. He terminated the tenancy of Lewis Robert Richard at the site and with the financial support of his father began prospecting.

Coal mining in South Wales
Coffin faced four major problems while prospecting for coal in lower Rhondda: there was little known of the geology of the area, there were few skilled miners in the locality, there were no transport links for three miles and there was no proven outside market. Coffin opened at least five levels in the area, his first at the Graig Vein (the Rhondda No. 1 seam) was of poor quality and thickness, but his second, also in 1809 reached the Rhondda No.2 Seam which was of a good quality. This prompted Coffin to extend his mineral lease and sink a vertical shaft. At a depth of 40 yards a good seam of bituminous coal was struck at the Dinas Lower Colliery. When Coffin marketed his "Dynas No. 3" coal, later known as "Coffin's Coal", it gained an excellent reputation for its quality and low impurities, popular in metal working and coking.

Coffin then needed to address the issue of transport. In 1794 the Glamorganshire Canal was completed, linking the ironworks of Merthyr to Coffin's intended market at Cardiff Docks. One of the early proprietors of the canal, Dr. Richard Griffiths, had constructed a two-mile tramroad from his own coal level at Denia (Pontypridd), bridging the River Taff before his own private canalwork linked to the Glamorganshire Canal at Treforest. Coffin quickly made arrangements to construct a one-mile tramline to connect his mines in Dinas to that at Griffiths's Denia level and by 1810 the two men entered an agreement ensuring all coal raised in the Lower Rhondda used their interconnecting lines. Coffin now had transport links to the coast, his next step would be in finding a market.

Coffin became a deputy chairman of the Taff Vale Railway in 1846, and in 1855 its Chairman.

Political career and later life
In 1812, Coffin moved his family from Nolton in Bridgend to Llandaff Court in Cardiff, a move which saw his influence and standing increase. He became a Justice of the Peace around the early 1830s and in 1835 was an alderman of Cardiff. He continued his rise in society becoming the mayor of Cardiff in 1848. Coffin became a Member of Parliament for Cardiff (1852–57) as a Unitarian Liberal, and was the Wales's first Nonconformist parliamentary representative. During his five years in the House of Commons, he never addressed the house. In 1857 he gave up his seat in Parliament and moved permanently to England to be near his family. In 1867 he died at his home in Kensington, but was buried at the Unitatian Church graveyard, Park Street, Bridgend. Neither he nor his siblings married and the family name died out with their deaths.

In 1972 the Church Trustees of the Park Street Church removed Coffin's gravestone and covered the grave with tarmac. Although Bridgend Council found no infringement to planning regulations, the actions caused local resentment to the destruction of "an important historical relic".

References

Bibliography

External links

1784 births
1867 deaths
19th-century Welsh politicians
19th-century Welsh businesspeople
UK MPs 1852–1857
Welsh industrialists
Welsh Unitarians
British businesspeople in the coal industry
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cardiff constituencies
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies
Mayors of Cardiff
Councillors in Cardiff


text:
Ріо-Віста — місто, штат Каліфорнія
 Ріо-Віста — місто, штат Техас


Does Crimson ReLive Edition 17.7.2 solve the infamous W:TNO Eisenwald Prison Crash bug?
Would appreciate any help from this forum for the above question.
Is this a problem specific to the Crimson drivers...as I believe Catalyst 14.4 works just fine and has no crashes.
We have an open thread on this issue, please use that instead to provide your feedback.
Wolfenstein new order crashes at chapter 4 Eisenheim prison.


The first project was much-needed refurbishment of the whole school. Rather than trying to squeeze extra area into undersized classrooms, our approach was to open up the school from the inside by creating two 'heart' spaces surrounded by four classrooms. Pupils are briefed in the classrooms, and then can break into smaller groups using the class and the heart as their teaching environment. Each heart includes ICT space, a presentation space, a science space, a wet area, a resource area and small group spaces.
The school suffered from a lack of identity, particularly in the sense of arrival. The new forecourt encourages visitors onto the site, providing a pleasant and relaxed gathering space for parents.
With a dynamic headteacher at the helm, the school enthusiastically explored how to teach and learn in more appropriate ways in the 21st century, and the project won a BCSE Award in 2011.
Following this, we were appointed to build an extension so that the school could expand to three forms of entry. In a similar arrangement to the refurbishment, four generously-proportioned classrooms surround a central resource space fitted with a cooking kiosk. All classrooms have direct access to the outside for outdoor learning and to bring in natural light and ventilation. Clever zoning of security means that this new wing and other areas of the school can be opened independently for use out of hours by after-school clubs or the local community.


You may not know, however, that the first instance of online crowdfunding dates way back to 1997, when fans underwrote an entire U.S. tour for the British rock group Marillion — raising $60,000 in donations via a fan-based Internet campaign.
Even I developed our first product by selling something that didn't yet exist in 2007 — going from zero to 6 figures in a week — almost two years before Kickstarter was founded. Both are examples of how having an existing audience is the key ingredient for getting people to invest in your ideas.
Now we do have Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, and scores of niche crowdfunding platforms. This leads people to make the mistake that these platforms provide the audience, and entrepreneurs just bring that great idea.
Nope, same as it ever was — your existing audience is still crucial to amplify the benefits of a crowdfunding platform, and your audience must be developed first. Today we're chatting with Khierstyn Ross, who helps entrepreneurs start early putting into place the necessary ingredients for a successful crowdfunding campaign, and she happily shares her expertise with the Unemployable audience.
Khierstyn Ross: Hi, this is Khierstyn Ross, and I'm unemployable. I'm also a crowdfunding advisor that helps startups launch products on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Brian Clark: Hello and welcome. I am Brian Clark, founder and CEO of Rainmaker Digital and the host of Unemployable. Today we're talking crowdfunding. It's a great episode. I think you'll learn a lot. Before we get into it, if you're over at iTunes listening to this, can you take a second to leave a rating or a review?
You can actually had over there with this easy link even if you aren't in iTunes at the moment. It's Unemployable.com/iTunes. And just tell me your thoughts on season three so far. What are you liking? What would you like to see in the future? I'd really appreciate it.
I've got about 87 ratings and reviews over there at the moment, which is fantastic. Very happy for the support. I've been told I need to get over 100 for a young show like this to be credible. I don't know if that's true or not, but it sounds like a good number to shoot for. We can get over that 100 mark. That's only 13 people doing me a solid. I appreciate it, and I certainly appreciate the feedback no matter what it is — good, bad, indifferent.
All right, so crowdfunding. You likely know what it is. It's a way to raise money for a project or venture by pulling contributions from a large number of people, usually online. In 2015 alone, crowdfunding generated an estimated $34 billion worldwide.
You may not know, however, that the first instance of online crowdfunding dates way back to 1997 when fans underwrote an entire US tour for the British rock group Marillion — raising $60,000 in donations by a fan-based Internet campaign.
Even I developed our first product by selling something that didn't yet exist in 2007 — going from zero to six figures in a week — and this was almost two years before Kickstarter was founded. Both are examples of how having an existing audience is the key ingredient for getting people to invest in your ideas.
Now, we do have Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe — scores of niche crowdfunding platforms. This leads people to make the mistake that these platforms provide the audience, and entrepreneurs just bring that great idea.
Nope, same as it ever was. Your existing audience is still crucial to amplify the benefits of a crowdfunding platform, and your audience must be developed ahead of time. Today we're chatting with Khierstyn Ross, who helps entrepreneurs start early, putting into place the necessary ingredients for a successful crowdfunding campaign, and she happily shares her expertise with the Unemployable audience.
Khierstyn, thank you so much for joining us.
Khierstyn Ross: Hey, thanks for having me. This is great.
Brian Clark: Yeah, absolutely. I know this episode is actually going to be airing later, but hopefully by the time that happens, I will have seen you twice.
Khierstyn Ross: I hope so because we're catching up in Denver pretty soon.
Brian Clark: Right, but are you going to the wedding in Reno?
Brian Clark: Oh, you're not, okay. For some reason I thought you were. That's Nicole. Nicole is going, your partner in crime.
Khierstyn Ross: Yes. I wish. I need to be super focused for the next couple of weeks because I'm going to be in the States for a month. Before that I have a lot of stuff I need to be getting off my plate.
Brian Clark: Ah, well, Denver's good enough. We are going to have fun there.
Khierstyn Ross: I cannot wait.
Brian Clark: Excellent, so crowdfunding. We're going to talk about it in several aspects — at the product level and now even at the company investment fundraising level — but first of all, I want to explore a little bit about how you got to this point, how you got into crowdfunding advising and all that good stuff. Give us a brief entrepreneurial journey for you.
Khierstyn Ross: Okay, let's go brief because I've been in the entrepreneurial space for about 10 years. Very, very, very short in university, I was recruited to run a student painting franchise, so I was in charge of an area where I had to find houses for my painters to paint. I did that for three years and ended up being one of the top five percent in Canada. When I graduated with no other plans, they recruited me to be an advisor with that company. That's how I got into advising startups. Eventually, I wanted to break out and create a name for myself as opposed to being connected to a company.
While traveling, whatever, I was learning how to run a business online, and I was working freelance with different startups doing various things. It wasn't really until I moved back to Toronto … at the time I was living in London. I moved back to Toronto, and I got involved with a local startup who, at the time, had this great idea for a wearable tech vest that helps you lose weight through cold temperatures.
He wanted to launch a Kickstarter campaign, and at the time, this was about a year and a half now, I'm like, "I don't even know what crowdfunding is, but sure, I know a bit about online marketing. Let's do this." That first campaign we ended up making all the wrong assumptions.
But when people in the startup space locally, they find out about that transition that you've made, Kickstarter being such a hot topic right now, you get a lot of companies coming to you and saying, "How did you do that $600,000? Can you do that with my company?" I ended up taking on a couple other projects in the next six months, and both of them did over $300,000 in raise on Indiegogo.
After that point, I realized, "Wow, this is really something I could latch onto," and I really love working with startups. That's always going to be my thing, and I love helping them create beautiful products and bringing them to market as well. It was from a few big successes that I decided to niche into crowdfunding, and here we are now.
Brian Clark: At this point, probably most of the audience knows what crowdfunding is, but just in case because earlier you were like, "I don't even know what this is," define crowdfunding for us.
Khierstyn Ross: There are two kinds of crowdfunding, which we're going to be talking about both today, but the one kind that I was talking about is rewards-based crowdfunding, where the top two platforms are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. Crowdfunding is a way for startup founders to take a product and launch a marketing campaign that goes from zero to 60 days that is hosted on, say, Kickstarter, for the go-to.
What the whole purpose of that is it's a fundraising campaign for them to raise funds to make enough money to hit their goal to manufacture a product, to develop prototype, or whatever the goal of the campaign is. It's an alternate route of funding that leads to you leaving the campaign actually having customers. I can't technically call it pre-ordering, but that's essentially what people are doing.
As a consumer, you're giving money to a project and getting the product in return if it's a physical product. That's what crowdfunding is in the rewards-based sense. Do you want me to get into equity just yet?
Brian Clark: Yeah, just real quick because we are going to touch on that toward the end.
Khierstyn Ross: Cool. Equity is a lot different. Where the consumer is pre-ordering a product with the first one, the second one is you're actually looking for investment for your campaign. You are going to have people that can buy in as private or licensed investors to get shares in your company, so you're looking at, with equity raising, a lot more money. What you get in exchange is more shares, say, in the company itself as opposed to just getting a cool product.
Brian Clark: Right. Okay, so that sounds pretty interesting, and I was lucky enough to be on your podcast a little while back.
Khierstyn Ross: I know. It was fun.
Brian Clark: And we talked about how we launched our very first product nine years ago this month. I can't believe it's been that long. This was before Kickstarter and Indiegogo, but basically I sold something that didn't exist. It was the same concept because we were selling a course. Then the course started, and we had to deliver on it over the next year. We were able to do that because Copyblogger had an existing audience.
So conceptually, it's the same thing, but there was no crowdfunding platform involved. In fact, I didn't even know of such a thing, but it just made sense. I needed to get paid to create this product, for a lot of reasons. Number one, I made a better product by doing it with feedback and all that good stuff like we talked about, but that was our first product. We needed to be in business. We were able to go from zero to six figures in a week, and we were off to the races.
Everywhere I look in my brief examination of crowdfunding success stories, case studies, all that kind of stuff, they always say start building an audience beforehand — and yet I think people have the misconception that the platform Kickstarter or Indiegogo is the audience.
So his situation was he had launched a video or launched a campaign about four days before he contacted me. His goal was $100,000 raise. When I looked at his campaign four days after launch, he had raised four percent of his goal.
We're texting back and forth at 11:30 at night, and I asked him, "Can I ask you what your budget is for marketing?" He said, "I want to spend $5,000 on efforts to bring people to my page." I was like, "Okay. Please don't spend any money on marketing until we talk." I jumped on the phone with him because he's made the misconception that a lot of failed campaigns do, which is, "Well, Kickstarter and Indiegogo have this community of people, so all I have to do is launch my campaign." That is actually the worst thing you can do. Have you ever heard of the popularity algorithm with Kickstarter?
Brian Clark: No, I haven't. Let's talk about that.
Khierstyn Ross: Yeah. Looking at the business model of Indiegogo, Kickstarter, or any marketplace, even Amazon or iTunes, they make commission off of every dollar raised on their platform. It makes sense for them that they're going to make more money when they boost the campaigns that are popular or making the most money.
Whenever you go onto Kickstarter and you're browsing the Discover section, the trending, top of category, or anything like that, you're going to find some pretty popular, successful campaigns. But what you don't see are all the other campaigns that have not raised very much money, so the trick is, how do you get to that front page? Or how do you get to top of category? That's where having an audience comes in.
Popularity algorithm will say that, as soon as you launch, "If I see a campaign that is moving quickly, raising a lot of money, getting a lot of traffic, and getting a lot of transactions and comments, then this must be something really hot and special, and we need to boost this on the platform." But if you don't have an audience, you can't create those early sales and that really momentum that you need to jumpstart your campaign in order for the Kickstarter community to actually start to see it and getting more traffic.
The misconception that, yes, Kickstarter has an audience and that's why there are so many successful campaigns, but what you are not seeing is how they got there. You need to raise about, I would say, 30 to 40 percent of your goal in the first three days to have a shot of taking advantage of the rest of the Kickstarter crowd.
Brian Clark: Okay. Now, make the case to me, if I have an existing audience, why would I use Kickstarter?
Khierstyn Ross: That's a great question. John Lee Dumas did The Freedom Journal. John Lee Dumas, for those listening that don't know him, he's a top podcaster. He makes over a million dollars a year and has a very great following online. Same thing with you, Brian.
Now why would you use Kickstarter? The reason I would say that it makes sense for them is if you're looking for a new audience to bring your offer in front of. That would be, in my opinion, the only time it makes sense for you to do it. While your audience might help raise, say, $100K, if it's something that the masses can benefit from, then you're going to amplify that on Kickstarter or Indiegogo because it's a much larger crowd or audience than you may necessarily have.
Brian Clark: Yeah, I get it, especially when you explain the popularity algorithm. You use your existing audience to get momentum. It's kind of like anything. You do well on Google because you're already popular with people. You do well on iTunes because you already have a bunch of subscribers — which you get more exposure, you get more subscribers. It's like the rich get richer.
Khierstyn Ross: Yeah, exactly, but you don't see where people start. That's where you really do have to spend that time building your audience. Unless if you're the unicorn that doesn't need it, but generally you really do because you can really screw up your campaign if you don't pay attention to that. Not to mention, there are so many other benefits of building an audience, like communicating with your audience and making sure you really understand your customers, so you can frame your offer properly.
Brian Clark: If people are out there right now and they don't have an existing audience — and of course, I tell them in every context, please do that — but I was reading a case study of a successful crowdfunding campaign. They started building an audience specifically for this thing that they were building the year before, so there's a lot of preplanning. Do you find that people come to you that far in advance, or do you mostly get the people who are like, "Help, I just tanked live"?
Even the worst thing, too, going back that story, I told him not to spend $5,000 because, even if he sends cold traffic or any paid ads to that site now where people only see it's four percent funded, it's not very popular, which means it's not going to convert. If anyone understands crowdfunding that is looking at that page, they know the campaign is going to fail. You're just going to be spending money, and it won't convert. You're just wasting it. So in that case, most times, I will tell people that they need to just give up on their campaign, relaunch, and do things differently the next time.
Brian Clark: Right. Okay, so when someone comes to you ahead of time, like a smart person does, what's your strategy? Are you effectively initiating a content marketing strategy to build an email list relevant to the ultimate product that's going to be crowdfunded?
Khierstyn Ross: Yep. Okay, so there's one project I'm on right now, and I've been working with Chris for about four months now, so four or five months. I technically don't come into the campaign until about two or three months before, but I give some pointers if people come to me in advance. With Chris, what we're doing is he's releasing a physical product, and it's an accessory for an electric guitar.
What we wanted to do was build an audience, but he was in that situation where he didn't have a physical prototype to show people. We put a box with question marks over it and created a teaser video for the campaign. What we are doing with that is we're doing video marketing with it.
Even though we aren't spending too much money on Facebook Ads until we are about two weeks away from lunch, what we're doing is we are testing different video content to see who interacts with it. What we're doing at the end of the video is a call to action to join our email list.
Content is great. The thing with crowdfunding is, if you want to get on podcasts, it's a little bit harder unless if you have something that becomes successful. That's more of an after-you-launch thing. My strategy is content marketing, and you can do that through influencers. Or even better, if you have money for a Facebook Ad spend, then you're going to be driving traffic to a landing page, which has an offer offering early-bird rewards when you sign up and you pledge that first day.
It's kind of like a Black Friday event where, when you launch that very first day, people who help you day one get 40, 50, or 60 percent off your product. If you know ahead of time that you're offering discounts to those early people, then you want to offer that as bait to join your email list as well.
Brian Clark: Got it, yeah.
Khierstyn Ross: You need to know what your strategy is, but any Internet marketer or anyone who knows how to do emails and broadcasts and all that, they will know that. I'm not going to keep repeating myself, but there's that. Facebook Ads don't work, and if you don't have any money to spend, then it would be really great for you to go out to events. If you have a product, why don't you enter some startup competitions and just start to try to get free press around what you're doing?
Brian Clark: The thing that's interesting to me, beyond people thinking that the crowdfunding platform is the audience, is that the crowdfunding campaign is the only viability that's put into the product. If people like it, then it will work. If they don't, it won't. Do you advise people to do a little more rigorous market research up front?
Khierstyn Ross: I do. Just from what I've seen from campaigns it's a very good chance that, if you spend no money and you just throw up your campaign with no audience, you will fail, which is not anything negative to say about your product. With Thin Ice, that first campaign I was on, we basically did that and then relaunched and had success, so it wasn't the product.
I think that one of the reasons you want to start so far out is because you want to be starting to figure out who your customer is and having those conversations. I think you're going to find out really quickly if this is something people are not interested in, and you need to change your offer based on the conversations you're having.
Brian Clark: Got you, so it's just like what we do, again, with our own audience. We identify a problem or a need, and then we start building something. It's usually at a minimum viable state at launch. So far, nothing's ever flopped, thank god. But we've been serving the same audience for a decade, and you really get in tune with people.
I just worry sometimes when people are going into … they got the idea, and it's in a vacuum. It's just in their head, and they have no idea if anyone wants this thing. I can see people being disappointed. It makes sense, what you're saying, in the sense that, if you're pre-building an audience before you actually launch on the platform and you're hearing crickets, then you know something right there.
Khierstyn Ross: Yeah, and the other thing that a lot of people don't see is how much money goes into these launches. Half the people I talk to will never talk to a single customer. That's just the reality. It's too much work, but then I find that the barrier to entry is a lot higher. When they come to me and say, "Well, how much money do I need to spend to launch my campaign through building an audience, getting my video together?" I'll always say it's between, depending on your goal, it's conservatively $10,000.
I know that, for me, before I put $10,000 into something, I need to make sure it's going to sell, so that's my motivation for speaking to people. But I'll find that people who aren't willing to put in the elbow grease to make sure this is something they want or even change the offer, they're not going to be successful without a lot of heartache, you know?
Brian Clark: Yeah. Okay, so the pre-work is done. You launch on the platform of your choice. Let's say it's Kickstarter. At that point, what is Khierstyn's job in making sure that this thing hits its funding goal?
Khierstyn Ross: My job first is to make sure that people are ready to buy on that first day. That's how we put together the reward packages and frame the communication with customer emails and whatever. But just say we launch, we've done all that properly, and we're starting to get early sales. Those first three to four days after launch, first off, we are pitching press. We're talking to influencers. We're pitching, basically, a week before your project and up until one or two weeks into it, and continued your pitching is what you're doing. Well, I help with that, too, but what I'm also doing is I'm looking for on-site conversions.
What that means is, when you look at the analytics in the backend of your campaign, you'll see how many people are coming to your page, but you're also going to see how many transactions you're getting. If that is less than, say, one or two percent, then there's something wrong with your page. There's messaging that isn't really being conveyed properly, so I'm looking for that and seeing if there's any way we can optimize it based on the questions that we're getting. That's one thing that we do.
I will help satellite the campaign for zero to 30 days, or whatever. I'm always looking for reasons to keep communicating with the audience, keep press engaged, getting traffic to the page, all that stuff. I don't do everything. But when I'm on a campaign, I do bring in freelancers to help offset the social and Facebook Ads, so I'm making sure that everything is moving forward with it.
Brian Clark: When we did our version of this nine years ago, I found it highly motivating to show up to work after all these people paid me for something that didn't exist yet, and yet I've heard stories of people who do a successful raise, and they don't deliver. Have you been involved in a situation like that?
Khierstyn Ross: I've been in situations where the campaigns are late to deliver. So personally involved in a campaign that has not delivered, no, but I follow the news like a lot of other people and see that, that happens frequently.
Brian Clark: Yeah, I don't get that. Why would you go through all of this and succeed and then fail to deliver? Everyone's different, I guess.
Khierstyn Ross: I can tell you what my opinion might be, and I'm speaking mostly for hardware products or anything where there's a lot of engineering that goes into it. A lot of hardware startups do not estimate how much money they need properly when they launch a crowdfunding campaign. So even if you raise $500,000, if you don't account for what things could go wrong, you can end up completely over budget.
It's not the first time that I've seen that hardware startups need to go for additional funding rounds to be able to deliver product. I don't know why people won't deliver. It could definitely be related to, "Well, I just can't find $300K to finish this," or they just want to party. On the flip side, late delivery is definitely caused by various factors, but the ones that are most prominent is they just run out of money. They underestimate things. Problems come up in the development. Manufacturers back out.
A lot of these problems are caused from inexperienced creators. They'll raise a bunch of money, and then they'll say, "Great. Now let's go find fulfillment and manufacturing," and then realize all these problems crop up that they didn't anticipate in the beginning.
Brian Clark: Yeah. Really it, again, goes back to what you do before. Everyone wants to rush into it, and yet if you don't do the audience, you don't do the pre-planning, and you don't adequately estimate how much it's going to take to get it done, you find yourself in trouble in a whole different way.
Khierstyn Ross: Exactly. I work with a couple of hardware startups right now. Post-crowdfunding, they're still looking for funding all the time. One thing that I find interesting is the more you raise, these aren't sales. It's not revenue. It's debt. Once you take all this money, you're going to spend a bunch of money on PR and development, but then, what happens six months down the road when you have to buy inventory to deliver that? If you didn't properly estimate your costs, you're now potentially out $200,000 because you need to buy inventory to actually ship this in six or nine months.
Brian Clark: I think some people just look at, "Oh, crowdfunding. What a miracle," and no, it's work, just like everything else that we do. It's just a strategic approach that has worked for many people.
Some people are not cut out for it. Others are not resourceful enough. Others just have founder blindness with thinking their product is amazing, but they're not willing to go out and talk to people about it. There's a rare breed of people that should be crowdfunding. If not, it's just going to be a nice wake-up call.
Brian Clark: Let's talk a little bit about equity crowdfunding. This has been around for several years, but that thing that changed in May of 2016 this year was you can now crowd fund from the general population. They do not have to be accredited investors. That's a big deal because that really opens you up to everyone. Now, there are a lot of rules and restrictions. I know you and I chatted about this offline, and you were just getting into it. Tell us a little bit about what you've learned about equity crowdfunding.
Khierstyn Ross: Yeah, so a bit about what I've learned, I haven't personally worked on any equity campaigns, although I am looking into that in the future. One question I'll get asked is, "Okay, well, if I'm crowdfunding, which one should I do first?" I always think that you should do a rewards-based campaign on Kickstarter before you go looking for investment. The reason for that is, again, if you have a physical product, you want to prove that there's a need for it. You want to get some skin in the game, and you want to develop a great product by the time you bring that to investors.
I feel like equity could be a really great option for the campaigns that won't do well on Kickstarter — so what if you have a B2B solution? What if you have an app that has great potential? Those could be something where, if you're looking for more investment, that would make more sense for you because you're customer that you're going after is more of a B2B type. Those campaigns don't tend to do too well on Kickstarter, so that's one thing to be aware of. I'm still really hesitant to recommend anyone do equity crowdfunding because the laws are still being created as we speak because it's a brand-new industry.
I would highly suggest that you get legal advice from which state it makes sense to, or even which province if you're in Canada, but makes sense to do equity because the laws are completely different for how much accredited investors can invest in your campaign versus people like you and I that just want to invest. And make sure you really understand what giving up a huge chunk of your company is going to do, and make sure that that's the long-term play that you want.
Brian Clark: Yeah. I actually looked into it after you and I chatted about it because it is restrictive. What I found is, if you're trying to raise below a hundred grand, it's relatively painless. As soon as you go over a hundred grand, you have to have audited financial statements. If anyone out there knows how much that costs, it's pretty expensive. I think people are probably most often, for larger amounts of money, better off just sticking with angels and early-stage VC.
Khierstyn Ross: I have had a client do equity crowdfunding, and this is about six months before I worked with them. What they didn't like about it, just from a startup standpoint, was they have to put all of their financial projections online for the world to see, and their whole business plan and what they're going to do with the money.
I think that's scary to think that you're putting your entire plans for your business online because your competition can see that, and if you are trying to take a strategic approach to a new market, you may not want people knowing that much about it. That's where it could be really good having the private talks with investors like angels and VCs because it's not available to the world.
Brian Clark: Yeah, it's interesting, and you still, of course, have the audience issue. If you've got an audience, you ought to crowdfund the product, right?
Brian Clark: Like you said, that makes a lot more sense. You don't have people owning part of your company. It's not legally pre-sales. But in a way you're pre-selling the idea of it, and if people are into it, then that is an important market viability test. I was actually listening to, I think it was ESPN radio or something — believe it or not my wife listens to ESPN radio. I hate it.
Brian Clark: Yeah, there was an ad for an equity fundraising campaign. Basically, they're trying to raise money through equity crowdfunding taking out, I would guess, expensive radio ads. All it made me wonder was, if this is such a good idea, why are you going this route?
Khierstyn Ross: Yeah, and not to mention the paperwork involved in that, right?
Brian Clark: Yeah. It's immense.
Khierstyn Ross: It's not something I would, the legal side, I would never, ever advise on. I'm not a lawyer. You are, but I think it makes sense in certain points. I would recommend more to people that have had a successful raise, and they have a bit of a business to then look to scale with equity-based crowdfunding.
I wouldn't necessarily start out with that because you don't know what valuation is, you don't know much about how your consumers are going to relate to your product, and all that stuff. I think that, as a founder, you want to figure out what your baby is going to look like first before you send it off to a certain preschool, you know?
Brian Clark: Yeah. I agree. I thought the concept of small raises, like $20,000 to $99,000 for the solopreneur, just small amounts of cash to get going or get a little growth strategy going, that would be interesting. But I notice that no one is going after that market because think of the transaction volume you'd have to have as a platform to make any money. They're only taking five percent of the raise, I think, is some of the commissions I saw.
Yeah. It's interesting. We'll see how it develops, but it's very young. It just really opened up this year, and right now, they have so many restrictions in place. I understand why because they want to see what happens. They don't want to see grandma getting taken by someone with their slick sales pitch that turns out to be a scam.
Khierstyn Ross: I know. I think what we're seeing with crowdfunding as a whole right now is how early entrepreneurs are, how inexperienced they are, and what kind of problems that could cause. It's really also cool to think of what Kickstarter and Indiegogo are going to be doing in the future to deal with this. If a campaign doesn't talk to its backers, if it doesn't deliver value, if it runs away with people's money, it hurts the entire ecosystem, so I'm so curious to see how it's going to be handling the problems associated with the campaigns.
I think equity, too, is a newer thing. I can't imagine that campaign failing, and you not being able to refund someone's $2,500 investment. We don't know what the problems with that are going to be just yet.
Brian Clark: Yeah, so you're working with clients, obviously. What else have you got going on in the crowdfunding space?
Khierstyn Ross: Crowdfunding is my full-time thing. I do that, and I'm also in the process of developing a digital course for crowdfunding. That's to cater to people who are looking at raising less than a quarter million, and they're more the do-it-yourself type. That's what I'm going to be releasing around the date of this podcast, actually.
Brian Clark: You should crowdfund your crowdfunding course.
Brian Clark: Just to be super meta.
Khierstyn Ross: Oh, man. You know, that terrifies me.
Brian Clark: Your whole reputation is on the line right there in front of everyone.
Khierstyn Ross: Jordan Harbinger, I think it was him, he sent a link around on Facebook to say, "Isn't this ironic?" and you look at it. It's a Kickstarter campaign, a guy claiming to be a crowdfunding advisor, and he's written a book about it — and it failed.
Brian Clark: Wow. That's going to leave a mark.
Khierstyn Ross: Yeah, I'm just like, for me, I would rather do it the old-school way of building a specific audience. I'm doing that through content and getting people on my email list who are specifically looking for education around crowdfunding. I'm just so terrified, like, "Oh my god, my whole reputation goes on this one campaign that I could put up, and it could fail." Oh, man.
Khierstyn Ross: No pressure. I'm great with other companies. It's just I'm so concerned with that. I know when I launch, it will be a success. I've already launched this before, reviews have been great, and I booked up. Yeah. I don't know, but that would be so meta. It just terrifies me.
Brian Clark: I was just kidding, don't worry.
Khierstyn Ross: No, but I get that question a lot.
Brian Clark: Yeah. Where can people find you?
Khierstyn Ross: If you want to find some crowdfunding resources, or I just created the Crowdfunding Product Launch Checklist you could download on my website, it's CrowdfundingUncut.com.
Brian Clark: We will put that in the show notes. We'll find you on Twitter and all that good stuff. Thank you so much for the time. This was interesting to me because I honestly don't know all that much about it despite our own little mini version of it nine years ago. But you know me — audience is everything. It's the magic thing. It makes all of the other things happen.
Khierstyn Ross: It makes it so easy. You release a product, people buy, and you don't have to do a big advertising campaign.
Brian Clark: Absolutely. All right, everyone. Thanks for tuning in, and as always, keep going.