text:
Jeff Plate and John O. Reilly of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Aaron Strickland
by Aaron Strickland
During most of the year, Jeff Plate and John O.Reilly are busy with numerous projects. Plate is the drummer for the veteran hard-rock groups Metal Church and Savatage, as well as a cover band, Rust; he also teaches. O.Reilly, whose résumé includes stints with the classic-rock heavies Rainbow and Blue Öyster Cult, is the operator of the Stanley Spector School of Drumming and the author of a new book and online magazine. Any of those projects could easily fill the schedule of most drummers. But every November through January, these two players are dedicated to providing the pulse for the experience that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Two drummers, one band. Well, actually, two bands.
We'll explain. In 1995, the Florida-based Savatage, founded by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva and anchored by the recently hired Plate, released the concept album Dead Winter Dead. Featured on that album was the instrumental "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," a medley of the famous holiday tunes "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" and "Carol of the Bells." When Jon Oliva's side project with Savatage producer Paul O'Neill, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, reissued the track the following October on its debut album, Christmas Eve and Other Stories, it would change the course of Oliva, O'Neill, and Plate's careers in ways none of them could have imagined.
During that holiday season, "Christmas Eve" spread like wildfire on radio across the country. The immediately recognizable melodies and Plate's thunderous tom patterns provided the foundation of this new yuletide mainstay. While Savatage continued to record and perform, a second Trans-Siberian Orchestra album, The Christmas Attic, appeared in 1998. In 1999 TSO began touring, ushering in a new holiday tradition—and taking on an increasingly significant life of its own. The first tour consisted of just a few theater shows in the Northeast, but in time theaters would become arenas, a couple of tour buses would grow to twelve, and two tractor-trailers would become twenty.
By perfecting the marriage of classical music and rock and employing the largest production you're likely to see anywhere—complete with a gargantuan PA, 150 suspension points, eighty channels of audio, state-of-the-art lighting, a constantly moving truss, lasers, every type of pyro imaginable, and even a narrator—the Trans-Siberian Orchestra became a multi-platinum-selling organization and one of the most in-demand holiday-season spectacles anywhere.
In 2000 the act introduced two separate versions—an East Coast band and a West Coast band—so that it could cover the entire country during the two-month holiday season. O.Reilly joined the West Coast group in 2002, while Plate continued with the East Coast lineup. Today the act only continues to grow, with Plate and O.Reilly still manning their distinct rhythm sections and on the rare occasion even getting to play the same event, like this year's Wacken festival in Germany. Modern Drummer spoke with both drummers about their approach to this highly unusual and remarkably popular act.
MD: What's most rewarding about being a part of the spectacle that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra?
Jeff: Being part of a band that I always dreamed of. Granted, when TSO started, there were more questions than answers. We have now come upon twenty years since the release of "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" and twenty-one years since our first album, and we're on our sixteenth winter tour. TSO keeps getting bigger, and there's no end in sight. It's a testament to the music of Paul O'Neill, Jon Oliva, and Bob Kinkel and the drive and decisions of the entire organization. The greatest reward for me is the audience that comes to see us year after year, and their response at the end of our shows.
MD: You're from Horseheads, New York. What was your biggest challenge as a musician growing up in a small town?
Jeff: The main restriction was not being exposed to people who were really writing and playing original music on a higher level. The good part was that I lived in the country. There were no cell phones, no computers, only three television channels, and I had all day to practice.
I had a great drum instructor, Bobby Williams. He turned me on to two teaching programs, one by Sam Ulano and the other by Joel Rothman—great instruction books that I still use today. By the timeI was about sixteen years old, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for a career. I also knew Horseheads was not the place where that was going to happen.
MD: You made moves to Tampa and Boston. Most notably during your time in Boston, you joined the band Wicked Witch. Zak Stevens, who later left the band to sing for Savatage, recommended you in 1994 when they needed a new drummer. What were the difficulties of entering an established band that had just gone through the death of a founding member? [Guitarist Criss Oliva was killed when his car was struck by a drunk driver.]
Jeff: When I met these guys, I could just tell how devastating this was. Jon, Criss's brother, and bassist Johnny Middleton, Criss's best friend, were still kind of in shock about the whole thing, and rightly so. Criss was an incredible guitar player. I came into something that was really very fragile at the time. So my approach was to learn everything as well as I possibly could and keep my mouth shut. I needed them to trust that I was the right drummer, a great bandmate, and a professional. I couldn't give them any reason to doubt me or not believe in the band as it was at that point. The lineup had changed a lot. And I had to fill the shoes of original drummer Steve "Doc" Wacholz, and this was no small task.
MD: How did your style help with transitioning from Savatage to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra?
Jeff: To begin with, Paul O'Neill and Jon Oliva were developing this before I ever joined Savatage. When Paul joined Savatage as producer and member of the songwriting team of the Oliva brothers, the band became one of the very first heavy metal/prog-rock bands. Paul brought in a lot of his classical influence. You can hear the classical/prog direction on the Gutter Ballet, Streets, Dead Winter Dead, and Wake of Magellan albums. Savatage was progressing in the direction of what we now know of as TSO. There was certainly an adjustment for me, because now you're talking about playing drums in the context of twelve to fifteen other instruments and vocalists instead of being in a four- or five-piece rock band.
MD: The 2014 show, the live debut of "The Christmas Attic," was over the top. Most drummers will never know what it's like to be part of such a massive production. Describe that experience.
Jeff: Like I said before, it's something that I've always dreamed of. At every show I look around me and can't believe what we've become. Our first show was forty lights, a fog machine, a couple of trucks, and an audience of 1,500. Now we have twenty trucks full of lights and production and an audience of 10,000-plus at every show. We know how fragile this industry is, so I appreciate every show I play.
MD: Let's talk about your early influences.
Jeff: My parents encouraged me to play an instrument, and drums just seemed like the natural thing. I saw the band Chicago on the 1974 television special [Meanwhile Back at the Ranch]. I loved the music and Danny Seraphine's drumming. So Chicago VII was the first record I ever bought. I was twelve years old at the time. Then, a year later, I saw a commercial for The Midnight Special, and Kiss was advertised. I talked my parents into letting me stay up late and watch the show. I sat there in front of the television with my G.E. cassette recorder held up to the speaker of the television. It just blew my mind and put me into orbit. That's the moment that I knew this is what I wanted to do. Kiss and Peter Criss were a great platform to learn how to be a rock drummer.
Later, Rush's 2112 fell in my lap, and then all of sudden Neil Peart was one of my biggest influences. Along with this, I started playing with some better musicians locally and was turned on to bands like Return to Forever and Jean-Luc Ponty, with Lenny White and Steve Smith on drums, respectively.
There were alsotwo local drummers who really influenced me. One was Carl Canedy, who played with the Rods, and the other was Frank Briggs, who played in a band called 805. Where Carl was the monster metal drummer and showman, Frank was the technician. I would go see those two play every chance I could, and they really influenced me so much.
Another major turning point for me was a Simon Phillips clinic that I saw around 1986, 1987, in Worcester, Massachusetts. I walked out of that clinic with my tail between my legs. He was so ambidextrous. He was playing a different rhythm patternwith every one of his limbs while telling the audience what he was doing. I decided at that point I was either going to think about doing something else or I was going to get a drum teacher and make myself as good as I could be. So I ended up taking lessons from Dave DiCenso in the Boston area. He really straightened out a lot of things in my drumming.
So that's the list of people that really made it happen for me when I was young. And of course there's a long list of drummers that I admire and learn from today.
MD: In TSO you play a hybrid kit made of up Roland pads and acoustic Zildjian cymbals. How did that decision come about, and why?
Jeff: When I was in Savatage, I acquired an endorsement from Pearl drums. I played Pearl for a number of tours with Savatage and the first two tours with TSO. In the theaters, we were playing to an audience that varied from eight years old to eighty. We were trying to be sensitive about volume, but we had a problem controlling the drum sound. So the suggestion came up to try electronic drums. It was Paul's decision ultimately, but it was also a production necessity. This gave us the ability to control the sound of the band and gave Dave Whitman, our sound engineer, the ability to mix the band as it should be.
The electronic kit has made the life of my drum tech, Imy James, and production crew so much easier. With three double-show days in a row every week, setup time is critical. For my Savatage and Metal Church tours, I've always got the Pearl drumkit out there. On the Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour, I'm still using the Pearl hardware. On top of that are Zildjian cymbals. The live TSO setup consists of twenty-five pieces of brass. I've also used Vater 3A drumsticks for over twenty years. I'm very proud to endorse all of these companies.
MD: What do you think John O.Reilly brings to the West Coast band? How would you describe him?
Jeff: A veteran. A class act. A world-class drummer. A powerhouse drummer who is smooth as silk. John is the epitome of a team player. He and guitarist Al Pitrelli had worked together in the past, so those two getting back together was pretty seamless. The selection of John was perfect. I always enjoy listening to John play, and I couldn't be prouder of him.
MD: Is he expected to play your parts note for note, or is he able to insert some of his own uniqueness?
Jeff: We all interpret things a little bit differently, and he is obviously playing with a different set of musicians. So, in the case of the drumming, I'll be listening to the West band rehearse, and John may do something and I'll be like, Wow, that was cool. I'm gonna steal that. And he may do the same thing. There is a great deal of respect between us. The production can dictate a little bit of what's going on within the band, and things change a little bit back and forth, but in the end we're both playing what is best for the show.
MD: What advice would you give to aspiring drummers?
Jeff: Well, you've got to get your head wrapped around the idea of practicing a lot—as in hours a day. You've got to get off your cell phone, get off your computer, and you need to find a good instructor who can teach you right from wrong. Your instrument is expensive, so you better be prepared to get a job and make some money. And you may need a vehicle that can haul your drums. To say it's a lot of work is an understatement. If you look at drumming from a distance, you wonder why in the hell anybody would want to do this. It's because the end reward is like nothing else. There is no better feeling than anchoring the greatest show on earth.
Jeff Plate uses a Roland KT-10 trigger pedal; snare, tom, kick, and cymbal pads; and TD-10 sound modules with TSO. With Metal Church he plays a Pearl Masters Custom Maple kit (and a Reference Birch set in his home studio) and two 14″ SensiTone snare drums. He plays Zildjian cymbals and uses Remo heads, plus a Pearl Icon rack, chimes, and hardware, including an H-2000 hi-hat stand and PowerShifter Eliminator P-2000C bass drum pedals. He plays Vater 3A nylon-tip sticks with grip tape and keeps his gear in TKL cases.
MD: On the 2014 winter tour, the East and West bands traveled a total of 22,175 miles to perform 122 arena concerts, and in doing so visited seventy-one cities in thirty-seven states. How do you prepare yourself for a tour of that magnitude? Describe what it's like being a part of the TSO.
John: It's a dream come true. That's what we all dream about when we're starting in the business. To get to do what I love to do, which is playing drums in a band that is growing constantly, is a dream. There's no other way to describe it. I don't take it for granted. This is something that not many guys are ever going to be able to experience. In my opinion, this is the best gig ever.
Besides just practicing on the kit here at home, my main preparations are watching what I eat and working out. You don't want to go on the road and start eating better or practicing there. My preparation starts in late May or early June.
MD: What's your practice routine?
John: I just get familiar with playing the material again. At rehearsals, it takes us maybe a day or two to get into the swing of things; then you fall right back into it. The main thing is to be in shape to get there and start running the show down twice a day for fourteen or fifteen days. This band definitely demands a lot from you, but it's fun. Being ready is paramount.
MD: Before the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, you played for a number of household names, live, in the studio, or on video, including Blue Öyster Cult, Geoff Tate, Joe Walsh, and Ritchie Blackmore and Rainbow. What experience stands out the most?
John: My God, there's so many of them. When I was playing with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, during that first week of rehearsals, Ritchie wrote "Black Masquerade." Right away that song just fell into place. It was one of those magical things. From the moment he played the riff, it was like we'd been playing it for a week. We just followed him. There were a few little changes, and the song was written on the spot. It was really that fast. That was a real memorable track and a memorable experience. It's one of my favorite tracks on the record, Stranger in Us All.
MD: What about Joe Walsh, Geoff Tate, and Paul Rodgers—were those studio engagements?
John: Actually, those were special appearances they made with TSO. One of my favorites was with Paul Rodgers. That was a rip. He was such a genuine man and a great guy. He and his wife, Cynthia, were so gracious. Afterwards we stayed in touch on and off over that year, because Cynthia was very concerned about Cathy [John's wife, who passed away in May of 2015] and her multiple sclerosis. At that time, and we were so lucky for this, Cathy was able to travel with us for the last seven days of the tour. Being out there was some of the best times of her life. The TSO organization let that happen for her and myself, and I can never repay them for that.
MD: You started playing the drums at age ten. You turned pro at twenty, making your first recording with jazz great Earl "Fatha" Hines. You have a history that covers everything from jazz to rock. You're known for your solid time and uniqueness. Are you able to apply any of that in TSO?
John: Absolutely. It's all about meter. It comes down to generating good, solid time, especially in a band as big as TSO—and on a stage as big as the one we use. You also need the ability to make something swing. If you listen to any of the great drummers—John Bonham, Ringo, or Buddy Rich—there's an inherent sense of swing with everything they do. That's really what I try to inject in anything I do.
MD: Just like Jeff Plate, you're playing a hybrid kit with electronic drums and acoustic cymbals. Did that take some getting used to for you?
John: Oh, yeah. It still does. My kit up on the main stage has got the subwoofer, my two spot monitors, and my in-ears, and I've also got two thumpers mounted underneath my throne. Yeah, believe me—it's kind of like prostate surgery sometimes.
MD: So you've got your in-ears kicking, a sub behind you, two monitors in front of you, and two thumpers?
John: Yeah, you bet. I want this shit to seem as real as possible to me.
MD: Switching gears, many years ago, you studied under New York City drum instructor Stanley Spector. You recently digitally restored all of his material. What inspired you to resurrect the Stanley Spector School of Drumming?
John: An accident in my basement, actually. I was making room for a set of drums, and I almost broke my neck tripping over a box. In that box I found a bunch of cassettes, workbooks, and handwritten notes. I thought I had completely lost these tapes from when I had first studied with Stanley. I opened up the first page of his workbook, closed it, and I was able to play it from memory. I hadn't seen that stuff since 1969. It brought back such great memories.
Stanley had such a unique method of teaching, where he would teach you how to visualize. His school closed in 1988, about a year after his passing. I found the phone number at the bottom of the book, called, and spoke to his widow, Astrid. I explained to her the whole story. I gave her my address, and then a package showed up about ten days later. She sent me the advanced home-study course, lessons 1 to 10, on cassette. Over a period of time, I struck up a conversation with her. I wrote Astrid a nice letter explaining that I'd like to archive Stanley's material, so that it could be saved. It's Stanley's life's work and should be preserved. So she decided to give me a shot. I archived three years of Stanley's lessons. It's a work of love.
MD: You've taken on the role of teaching this material?
John: Yeah. Right now, there are about sixty-five students. I'll teach through Skype. I teach the way that Stanley taught. He would present a problem and then ask you to try to solve it. He really made you think about stuff. And as simple as some of these lessons are, it takes extreme focus.
MD: You've also been doing some writing. You released a book, The High Paid Musician Myth, this year, and you have Maverick Musician Magazine online. What was the motivation behind these projects?
John: The real motivation and inspiration had come from my brother, who passed away suddenly last year. The plan with both projects is to inspire other musicians to realize that this is more than just a music business now. You can't really depend upon the music business to make a living. You need to be able to have other sources of income. There are examples in the book of some guys who I've studied with—Frank Kern, Eben Pagan—who are brilliant marketers. These guys were musicians starting out. They've parlayed what they've done into some pretty successful businesses, and there's no reason why any musician out there can't do the same thing.
MD: In your book you talk about the decline of the music business and the trickle-down effect it's having on musicians. Can you elaborate on that?
John: The trickle-down effect is the lack of work. It's harder and harder to get really great gigs. Maintaining gigs is getting harder. Not to say that it can't happen, because it definitely can. As a matter of fact, one of Jeff Plate's students that he mentored, Elijah Wood, landed the Shania Twain farewell tour. You have to be prepared. You have to be at the right place at the right time. If you want anything bad enough, you have to persevere. And it doesn't hurt to know somebody. Just because you get a great gig, that doesn't mean that you're going to have it next year. You have to think outside the box. For example, the cover story for the debut issue of Maverick Musician Magazine was [TSO guitarist] Chris Caffery. He's done very well with his Tears of the Sun hot sauce. Plus he's working on a cooking show.
MD: What qualities do you think Jeff Plate brings to the East Coast band? What makes him unique?
John: His musicality. He's a world-class player. He's got great meter. He knows how to operate within the TSO structure. I've learned from Jeff. I've learned from watching Jeff. He and I will play the same song pretty much the same way. We might do a couple of things a little bit differently. I may hear something that he does and go, Oh, I'm going to take that. And he'll do the same thing with me. He brings the ease of his style. He makes everything just sit in the right spot, and that's hard. Jeff's got the ability to put everybody at ease when he's playing. He's dependable. There's no looking over your shoulder and wondering what's going to happen next. Jeff is consistent about everything that he does.
MD: What's next for John O.Reilly?
John: Now it's the winter tour. I'm also going to be hosting a series of live webinars, promoting the book, and in general just starting to get my act together here. The weeks after my wife's passing really took the wind out of me. I'm just trying to make her as proud of me as I can. I'll give it my best shot. Next year is going to be real busy. People are going to start to get sick of me. [laughs]
With TSO John O.Reilly uses Roland TD-10 sound modules and snare, tom, kick, and cymbal pads, with a Pearl H-2000 hi-hat stand and PowerShifter Eliminator P-2000C bass drum pedals, plus a Gibraltar rack, cymbal and tom arms, snare stand, and throne. On all other gigs he plays Mapex Saturn series drums with a Mapex P900 double pedal and hi-hat stand. He uses Sabian cymbals, Vic Firth American Rock Classic wood-tip sticks, and Rhythm Tech mounted tambourines.
On The Cover – Dom Famularo
Catching Up With… Harold Jones
Catching Up With… Frankie Banali
Catching Up With… John Convertino
Jason Rullo
Setting Sights – Gerry Gibbs
Practi-Patterns – A Dozen of the Most Common Kick/Snare Figures
Quintuplets, Part 1: The Basics
Ghost Notes 101 with Jim Riley
The Reeducation of Drumming Education by Ben Sesar
Raw Speed Bass Drum Workout with Mike Johnston
Triplet Fill Concepts – Part 1: Three Over Four
Sonor – Vintage Series Drumset
Tru Tuner – Rapid Drumhead Replacement System
Innovative Percussion – Artist Signature Sticks
Hendrix – Archetype Series Snare Drum
Zildjian – K Custom Dark 19″ and 20″ Crashes
John Densmore – Reflections
by Robyn Flans
Steve Goulding
By Patrick Berkery |Photo by Suzanne Hanover
Jeremiah Green
Stephen Bidwell
Tucker Rule
Story by Ben Meyer | Photos By John Fell


nCipher, the Cambridge internet security specialist, is being acquired by American company SafeNet for £86.1m cash.nCipher, the Cambridge internet security specialist, is being acquired by American company SafeNet for £86.1m cash.
The deal comes in nCipher's 10th anniversary year and has been recommended by both boards.
The recommended offer equates to 300 pence in cash for each nCipher share.
SafeNet, based in Maryland, considers the acquisition of nCipher to be an attractive opportunity to add important expertise and capabilities, reinforcing its leading position in the broad IT security market.
It is SafeNet's 11th acquisition in the past six years and the deal is expected to close in April. The acquisition will also provide SafeNet with additional focus on key emerging technologies and vertical market applications such as data protection, payments systems, enterprise key management and identity management. Its profile in Europe would be significantly enhanced.
SafeNet chairman & CEO Anthony Caputo said: "SafeNet greatly admires nCipher and the work that it has done in encryption technology. We believe strongly in its product lines and will look to provide those products wider distribution while also coupling them with other SafeNet technologies in unique bundled security solutions.
An American analyst said this was a great deal for SafeNet. "nCipher has a strong relationship with Microsoft, for example. It is an almost $30 million-a-year company that is growing 18 per cent to 20 per cent a year," he said.
Alex van Someren, CEO of nCipher, added: "nCipher has built a strong business both organically and through strategic acquisition. This proposed merger with SafeNet will accelerate our growth as we leverage SafeNet's distribution channels, global footprint and comprehensive product portfolio.
Founded in 1996 by brothers Alex and Dr Nicko van Someren, nCipher develops Internet security products that optimize the use of cryptography to protect critical points of risk – web infrastructure, authentication systems, databases, and payment processing networks –across the enterprise.
By making cryptography more secure, easier to manage and performance-driven, nCipher helps organisations protect valuable information resources and close gaps in their security infrastructure.
nCipher's products are particularly well suited to organisations with high volumes of security-sensitive transactions and those that act as guardians of valuable information, such as financial institutions, government agencies, technology companies, pharmaceutical companies, utilities and online service providers.
The company is headquartered in Cambridge, UK with offices in Boston, Washington, Hamburg and Tokyo.


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Opportunity for broodmare owners to aid worthy cause
An opportunity to breed a mare to up-and-coming stallion El Roca and at the same time aid a worthy community cause has come about through a generous offer from Westbury Stud.
A service to El Roca has been donated for tender by the Karaka-based nursery to the Keep Matamata Beautiful Committee, which over the past year has been raising funds for the construction of a unique thoroughbred racehorse sculpture. Maintaining Matamata's theme as "The Town that's Racing Ahead", the three-metre high work by renowned Te Aroha artist Adrian Worsley will be erected in the main street of the east Waikato township.
El Roca, a son of iconic stallion Fastnet Rock, was a top-class racehorse and has taken little time to pass on that same ability. He was a stakes winner on both sides of the Tasman as well as finishing second to subsequent Australian Horse of the Year Dissident in the Gr. 1 Randwick Guineas.
With his first crop now three-year-olds, El Roca has current headline acts in unbeaten filly Travelling Light, who went to the top of the NZ 1000 Guineas market when winning the Gr. 3 Soliloquy Stakes at Ellerslie, and Bella Mente, who notched her second Group placing in the Gr. 2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial at Te Rapa.
El Roca, who stands at a fee of $9,000 plus GST, is also sire of the two-year-old Group-placed Moeraki, and his tally of first crop winners currently stands at 10.
"Westbury Stud is pleased to be able to contribute to what we see as a worthy cause," commented General Manager Russell Warwick, who in his younger days managed Blandford Lodge in Matamata and now also oversees operations at the Westbury Waikato property south of the town.
"We're thrilled with the record that El Roca is putting together and this opportunity could be all the encouragement that a breeder might need to make use of a mare that may otherwise be left unmated this spring. It's certainly not too late to be serving your mare."
In expressing her organisation's gratitude, Keep Matamata Beautiful committee member Jane Ewen said that a successful tender would be a further welcome boost to the horse sculpture initiative.
"We've had a fantastic response both in our own region and from further afield, and the generosity of Westbury Stud will hopefully take us a step closer to completing the project," she said.
Enquiries to Jane Ewen at 0274 518119 or w.j.ewen@xtra.co.nz

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Skeel Library, part of the Grade II-listed Hampstead Manor heritage conversion by Mount Anvil, was originally commissioned for the bluestockings of Westfield Women's College.
Completed in 1904, it's being reimagined as a four-bedroom residence, with a galleried former reading room with a mezzanine level as the main reception room, and will be ready for occupation next year. Residents of the Hampstead Manor site enjoy a spa complex with a pool, sauna, hammam and gym, as well as manicured gardens, a 24-hour concierge and town-car service.
Hampstead Manor is for sale via Mount Anvil – see more details and pictures.
Agents describe Home House, by award-winning architect Platform 5, as a creation of 'contemporary rustic outside-inside living'.
In secluded 1½-acre grounds just outside St Albans, the main house is made up of layers, courtyards and walkways, with both indoor and outdoor living spaces, using light to maximum advantage. Including the separate Little House, there are four bedrooms.
There are 22,000 books in the Great Library at The Chanters House, Ottery St Mary, and it's not unreasonable to assume that many of them were thumbed through by, and perhaps inspired, Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, whose family had the house for 200 years.
Grade II-listed, Chanters is considered to be of 'national historic importance' and has 10 bedrooms, a Victorian conservatory, ornate wood-panelling, a palm house, kitchen garden and separate lodge and coach house. Extensive lawned gardens, with woodland and parkland, incorporate 21½ acres.
The Chanters House is for sale via Knight Frank – see more details and pictures.
The library at moated Caverswall Castle has an original Wedgwood ceiling, added by the Wedgwood family, who owned the Grade I-listed medieval castle on three separate occasions.
Built of red sandstone, there are 18 bedrooms, an octagonal gatehouse, an orangery and a dungeon. Outside, there are 19th-century pleasure gardens and you can fish for trout in the lakes.
Caverswall Castle is for sale via Paul Carr – see more details and pictures.
The library at Chanters House was designed for Lord Coleridge's 18,000 books.
Credit: House swap: Putney or the Riviera?
House swap holidays are becoming more and more common – Lucy Higginson investigates why, and explains the dos and don'ts.


On February 17, 2007 at approximately 10:30 p.m., officers responded to a call of a shooting on the 4700 block of Beach Court. Upon arrival, officers found 18 year old Dominic Gonzales on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital where he died the next day as a result of his injuries. Anyone with information regarding this case, is asked to please contact the Denver Police Department.


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WATCH: Michigan restaurant calls cops on black man after dispute over the taste of his food
A Michigan restaurant called police on a black man who complained about the taste of his food.
Maurice El-Amin summoned a server Tuesday night at Dearborn's M Cantina to complain about a strong chemical taste that burned his mouth and throat, and another employee said the menu clearly stated the dish he ordered contained chipotle peppers, reported the Detroit Free Press.
The 48-year-old El-Amin insisted chipotle wasn't the problem, but the server said he still had to pay for the dish even if he ordered another.
El-Amin told the employee he would not pay for that dish, and she threatened to call police on him.
He said he got up to walk away but then decided to return to his table and wait for the police to show up.
"It definitely made me apprehensive, knowing the police were coming," El-Amin said. "There was some fear."
Executive chef Junior Merino claims El-Amin, who's an assistant principal at Cass Tech High School, was on his way out the door but turned around when employees said police were on the way.
"I think we could have handled it a little bit better," Merino admitted. "Honestly, I don't think any situation is really worth, for either side, to get to that point."
El-Amin streamed video of his interaction with police on Facebook Live, and officers appeared to take the restaurant's side in the dispute.
"Bad customer service is not against the law, to not pay for your food would be," one officer says.
They told El-Amin the restaurant was not obligated to issue a refund for food after it's been served, and one officer cited a statute about defrauding an innkeeper.
El-Amin disagreed with their interpretation of the law, but he said they were professional and courteous to him.
"Was I treated differently (by M Cantina employees) because I was an African American male?" El-Amin said. "I have no idea, but it did cross my mind,."
Merino offered to personally apologize to El-Amin, who said he's never eaten at a restaurant that wouldn't exchange food or offer a refund if he was dissatisfied.
El-Amin eventually paid his $9.54 bill as police watched.
"The police … have better things to do than to send two officers to a restaurant to deal with something as trivial as this," he said.


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The 128th Battalion, CEF was a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, the unit began recruiting in late 1915 in that city and the surrounding district. After sailing to England in August 1916, the battalion was absorbed into the 15th and 19th Reserve Battalions on August 24, 1916. The 128th Battalion, CEF had one officer commanding: Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Pawlett.

In 1929, the battalion was awarded the theatre of war honour "The Great War, 1916–17".

The 128th Battalion is perpetuated by The Saskatchewan Dragoons.

References

Bibliography
Meek, John F. (1971). Over the Top! The Canadian Infantry in the First World War. Orangeville, Ont.: The Author.

External links
Nominal roll

Battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Moose Jaw

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Chandra Images by Date: 2006
W3 Main
W3 is a region where many massive stars are forming in a string of stellar clusters.
This is a composite image of N49, the brightest supernova remnant in optical light in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
Cassiopeia A
A supernova remnant believed to be the remains of a massive star that exploded over 300 years ago.
MS 0735.6+7421
A galaxy cluster located about 2.6 billion light years away in the constellation of Camelopardus.
Crab Nebula
A supernova remnant and pulsar located 6000 light years from Earth in the constellation of Taurus.
An elliptical galaxy known in the Virgo cluster about 50 million light years away.
A giant region of star formation about 9,000 light years from Earth.
RCW 86
A supernova remnant 8,200 light years away.
XRF 060218
A cosmic explosion 470 million light-years away.
1E 0657-56
Site of a collision between two large galaxy clusters about 3.4 billion light years from Earth.
CL 0016+1609
A galaxy cluster about 4.5 billion light years away.
Abell 665
MACS J1149.5+223
CL J1226.9+3332
Abell 1689
Arches, Quintuplet, and GC Star Clusters
This Chandra X-ray image of the Galactic Center shows three massive star clusters near Sagittarius A*.
SNR 0519-69.0
The remains of a supernova in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy.
(N103B)
GRO J1655-40
A binary star system consisting of a black hole and a normal star, located about 11,000 light years from Earth.
A quasar over 3 billion light years from Earth.
(Andromeda Galaxy)
This color-coded Chandra image shows the central region of the Andromeda Galaxy.
J0617 in IC 443
A neutron star located in a supernova remnant
Mz 3
(Ant Nebula)
A planetary nebula about 3,000 light years from Earth.
BD+30-3639
Hen 3-1475
A planetary nebula about 18,000 light years from Earth.
A galaxy 12 million light years from Earth that is undergoing a burst of star formation.
A large elliptical galaxy in the Centaurus Galaxy Cluster
An elliptical galaxy 232 million light years away.
An elliptical galaxy 55 million light years away.
3C 75 in Abell 400
A galaxy cluster with a central galaxy, NGC 1128, that has produced a giant double radio source known as 3C 75.
4C37.43
This illustration depicts a quasar in the center of a galaxy that has turned on and is expelling gas at high speeds.
This X-ray/optical composite image shows multimillion degree gas rising above the disk of stars and cooler gas.
Puppis A
A supernova remnant about 7,000 light years from Earth
A massive spiral galaxy about 100 million light years from Earth.
Cartwheel Galaxy
A ring galaxy 400 million light years from Earth.
Revised: June 09, 2008


Rapid vegetation sampling methods based on visual estimation are useful for monitoring changes in rangeland vegetation composition because large spatial and temporal scales are often involved and have limited sampling resources available. Here we compared two sampling methods in their ability to detect changes in vegetation composition following rangeland development: 1) species percent cover estimates within subplots (the percent cover PC method) and 2) rankings of relative biomass of the 10 most abundant species across the whole plot and the ratio of two of them (the visual ranking VR method). Both methods were applied on 30 experimental plots at year 26 of a long-term factorial trial of five soil fertility levels and three sheep grazing intensities. Multivariate statistical methods showed significant effects of experimental treatments (fertilizer level and sheep grazing intensity) and of vegetation sampling method (VR vs. PC) on vegetation composition. Importantly, we detected no significant interactions involving sampling method, indicating that the effect of sampling method was consistent across experimental treatments. Effects of fertilizer on vegetation composition were an order of magnitude greater than the effect of sampling method, whereas the latter was twice as important as the effect of grazing. Results were robust to differential weights given to relative abundances vs. compositional changes. Differences between methods were primarily driven by the PC method giving lower abundance estimates of one species, lupin (a hybrid of Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.), relative to the VR method. Our results support the use of the VR method as a rapid yet powerful method for monitoring changes in vegetation composition under rangeland development. © 2010 Society for Range Management.


Valentine's Day… you either love it or hate it. If you say you neither love it nor hate it then you're lying! Haha! Personally, I am that person who would be lying because I never like to admit that I hate it. Okay, hate is a strong word… But, I want to know, which category are you? Love or hate?
Although I'm a hater, I do like a few things about it. One of those being that we have yet another reason to enjoy sweet treats! With Pillsbury's heart-shaped refrigerated cookie dough and a can of frosting, you only need a third ingredient to throw these heart sandwich cookies together… sprinkles! Now, who doesn't love sprinkles??
This is one of my latest projects for Pillsbury, so please click on over to get the "recipe"… yeah, you can just tell how to do it by the photo… but click over anyway!
PS – Today marks 8 (EIGHT!) years of blogging for me! Wow.
Click the link provided in the post for the recipe on Pillsbury's website. Thanks!
Happy 8 years of blogging!! We love you. And I also love Valentine's Day:).
Congratulations on your eighth blogging anniversary!! I hope you will keep the recipes coming for a very long time!
I am ambivalent about Valentine's Day, I love to bake and make sweet treats but it is a true "Hallmark" holiday. Just saw all the Valentine recipes on your site, might need to try one or two. Thanks!


Villa Ashling is a beachfront vacation residence that epitomizes contemporary coastal design. Interiors are appointed with predominantly finely finished wood furnishings with a few rustic pieces. While amenities are discriminatingly five star – to enhance guest delight and enjoyment. Villa Ashling, truly, affords you modern comfort with a homey, seaside ambience.
The villa has two bedrooms – one bedroom on each wing of the villa. Both bedrooms have draped, king-sized beds as well as dedicated bathrooms with rain showers. These bedrooms open out to furnished covered terraces as well as to the lawn and the infinity pool.
At the edge of the garden's well-maintained lawn is the seven-meter infinity pool. Dip into its beckoning, glassy waters that appears to ebb with the tide back to the ocean. If you wish to bathe in the sun, you can lie on cushioned, wooden pool beds partially covered by a large umbrella on the poolside stone deck. As soon as the rays begin to burn, seek the shade of the poolside bale and doze off on the soft mattress – lulled by the calming song of the waves flowing to shore.
Indoors, at one end of the villa's spacious common area, is the breezy living area. Around its long, cushioned, wooden sofas, you can all converge for moments of family or friendly bonding. At the other end of the space is the dining area with its picnic-style, timber wood table. Here, you can all have your fill of authentic Balinese specialties – as well as foreign fare – freshly cooked by the onsite chef at the fully-equipped, modern kitchen along the wall close to the dinner table. The villa also has an open-air roof deck with 360-degree views of majestic Mount Agung and the magnificent seascape – ideal for sunset cocktails and alfresco dinner parties especially on cool evenings.
In charge of carrying out the daily services of the villa is a staff composed of a personal guest assistant, a housekeeper and a security detail. Aside from the chef, a babysitter, a driver, a laundry helper and a spa therapist may be called in upon your request. Their services, however, come with a separate charge. Bike, scooter, car and boat rentals are also available.
Villa Ashling is located in Amed – Bali's favorite jump off site for snorkeling and diving expeditions. Go on a marine exploration of Jemeluk Bay aboard a jukung – a traditional and colorful Balinese outrigger. Swim with schools of tropical fish, bales of endangered sea turtles, harmless reef tip sharks and gentle manta rays. You'll also get to see beautiful coral gardens as well as a sunken World War II Japanese ship. On another day tour, head to the Tirta Gangga Water Gardens and to the Goa Lawah Temple for more aquatic adventures.
We had the most wonderful time at Ashling Villa. The staff were fantastic organising activities for us. We had three beautiful meals cooked for us by Iloh. The pictures are exactly as the villa is. It was a very peaceful start to our holiday but next time we would stay longer. Thanks Mike, Kadek and the rest of your wonderful staff.
My family of 3 stayed 4 days at Ashling and wished we had stayed longer.From the wonderful staff who looked after us to the fantastic sights in which our driver Gede showed us on our many excursions. A big thankyou to Kedek for all his kindness and organizing everything from restaurant bookings to a full fridge of cold bingtangs and finally Mike the owner who made how holiday in Bali the best ever.Would recommend Ashling Villa's to anyone wanting to stay in that special place in Bali. Sensational & a big thankyou to everyone.Will see you all real soon..Definitely paradise.
We had a super time at Ashling Villa. The location is great, the villa is right on the beach with superb views and the staff are really great.
Thanks to Kadek, Mike + their team for a really pleasant time.
It was perfect! Thank you for excellent time.


Some of you thought this was nothing but smoke and mirrors; that Our Black News had no reason to ask board chair person Dr. Nekima Levy-Pounds, curator Roxanne Givens, or executive director Lissa Jones what happened to the money?
They received a total of over $3 million; yes, reading is fundamental. Here are the facts: The fact that negotiations are taking so long reflects the museum's problems. The museum took a $1.2 million loan from FNB, $1 million from the state of MN, $1.5 million in bonds from the City of Minneapolis, $500,000 from five Minnesota corporations, and $300,000 from other sources. And the museum still can't open (Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, 2014).
Now the building is for sale? What happened?
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Home »Knowledge Base »What is an ad hoc evaluation?
An Ad-hoc evaluation is simply a one-time evaluation. This is most commonly used when you need to quickly evaluate 1 person or group of individuals for a set of result areas. Ad-hoc evaluations can be scheduled to go out at a future date as necessary.
Ad-hoc evaluations can be edited and resent by editing the send date.