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Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance
Cookie/Privacy Policy
Curriculum Programmes
Maths Curriculum Programmes
AMSP: Teachers new to A-Level Maths
AMSP: Raising Confidence with 11 - 16 Maths
Challenging High Attaining Pupils to Developtheir Reasoning in Mathematics KS3/4
Maths Network Meetings SECONDARY
Reasoning & Bar Modelling (PRIMARY)
Securing Greater Depth in KS1 and KS2 Mathematics
Top Tips for Securing Multiplication Across KS1 and KS2
English Curriculum Programmes
Using Oracy to Develop Reading and Writing for KS1/2
Securing Greater Depth in KS1 and KS2 Writing
Challenging High Prior Attainers in KS2 : Reading and Writing
Creating and Promoting a Whole School Culture of Reading - Primary
Explicit Vocabulary Instruction in KS3
Raising the Bar: Tackling Tougher Texts in KS3
Challenging High Prior Attainers in EnglishKS3/4
English Network Meetings (secondary)
Science Curriculum Programmes
Challenging High Ability Learners in Science KS3/4
Delivering Science Practicals in KS3/4
Enriching "Working Scientifically" in Science Teaching KS1/2
Science Network Meetings
Subject Knowledge Enhancement Programme: CHEMISTRY KS4
Institute of Physics Workshops
Striving for excellence in the Early Years
Developing Resilience in our Youngest Learners(EYFS & KS1)
Outstanding Learning in EYFS
Primary PE Curriculum Programmes
Effective Use of the Sports Premium (PRIMARY)
Teaching the 'Tricky Bits' in P.E: Dance (PRIMARY)
Teaching the 'Tricky Bits' in P.E: Gymnastics (PRIMARY)
Network Meetings: Secondary
Subject Network Meetings: Primary
Adopting a P4C Approach in the Classroom | KS1& KS2
Implementing an Evidenced Based Approach to Improving School Standards
Getting the Basics Right: Maximising Progress through Quality First Teaching
Challenging High Prior Attainers in Spanish KS3/4
NQT Programmes
NQT Professional Development Programme: Primary
NQT Professional Development Programme: Secondary
Securing Outstanding Learning (previously TOP)
Activating Learning
TA Teaching (Cambridge Education)
Embedding Excellence: RQTs
Newly Appointed Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Training
Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) Refresher Training
Developing a Culture of Wellbeing
Emergency First Aid in the Workplace (Level Two Award):
Supporting EAL Learners in the Classroom: Primary
Supporting Students with ASD in the classroom
Non - Teaching Staff
Courageous Conversations and Holding Others to Account
Leading Others and Developing a Highly Effective Team
Leadership Development Programmes
The NPQ Alliance
NPQSL
NPQH
Aspirant Middle Leader
Leading a Successful Department/Team
Subject Leader Development Programme
Head of Department Development Programme
Mentoring Training
Day Courses (Leadership)
Getting the Basics Right: Maximising Progress Through Quality First Teaching (PRIMARY)
The Power of Coaching
Coaching Pledge Training (Women in Leadership)
The First Six Hours: Ofsted Preparation (Cambridge Education)
SLE Designation Training
Effective Lesson Observation
Becoming a Local Leader in Education
Courageous Conversations and Holding Others to (Leadership Academy)
Leading and Managing Performance Management (including capability)
School Direct Training
Assessment Only Route
School Experience Opportunities
NQT Appropriate Body
National Leaders of Education
National Leaders of Governance
Bids and Projects
DfE Coaching Pledge - Women Leading in Education
Women Leading in Education: Volunteer to Coach
Women Leading in Education: Coaching Workshops
Women Leading in Education: Find a Coach
SSIF Literacy Fund - Wisbech
Teaching School Membership
01536 396366 teachingschool@brookeweston.org Bookings
Our Specialist Leaders of Education (SLEs) are 'outstanding' middle and senior leaders who have the skills to support individuals or teams in similar positions in other schools.
Specialism: ITT and English - Claire Scott
A Specialist Leader in Education at Corby Business Academy. Claire joined the partnership as a teacher of English and Media in 2008. Throughout her career she has also held responsibilities as both Gifted and Talented Coordinator and Head of Media. Claire currently holds the post of ITT Coordinator and her SLE designation is in the Leadership and Development of Initial teacher training (ITT) and newly qualified teachers (NQT). Claire's passion for the training and development of staff comes from her drive to encourage sharing successful and effective classroom practice within and beyond her own school.
Specialism: English - Antonina Fletton
A Lead Practitioner in Education at Bishop Stopford School, having joined as an Advanced Skills Teacher in English in 2008. Her SLE designation is in the Leadership of Literacy across the Curriculum and she has collaborated with colleagues from both the Primary and Secondary phase. Her current responsibilities include the leadership of English and Literacy and leading intervention strategies. Antonina has an especial interest in narrowing the attainment and aspiration gap for vulnerable students. Antonina has presented to the SSAT Literacy Conference and regularly supports colleagues, both within Bishop Stopford and the wider region.
Specialism: Modern Foreign Languages and Leadership Development - Melanie Navarro-Marin
Melanie is Director of Modern Foreign Languages for Brooke Weston Trust. She has worked collaboratively with other colleagues in Academies within the Brooke Weston Trust. Her SLE designation is in Modern Foreign Languages and she was previously a Consultant for MFL with the SSAT for 6 years. Melanie is a published author and has a particular interest in making languages accessible for all students.
Specialism: Science - Jack Maclaren
A Lead Practitioner at Bishop Stopford School, with SLE designation in Science. Jack has a background as a Fast Track Teacher and an AST. He has a PhD in biochemical toxicology and, prior to his teaching career, held various positions including a Royal Society fellowship at the University of Würzburg, Germany; molecular biologist at the University of Cambridge and as a non-clinical lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Leicester. His SLE deployments have included the development of middle leadership capacity within the Science department of two secondary schools and the support of maths intervention in a local primary school. Jack is currently Head of Chemistry.
Specialism: Primary - Gemma Barber
Based at Thomas Clarkson Academy, Wisbech, Gemma is a Specialist Leader in Education (Primary), specialising in CPD, Teaching and Learning and behaviour. Previously a Headteacher at Wisbech St. Mary, Gemma joined the Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance in 2015. Working closely with the Director of the Teaching School, Gemma currently leads the development our Teaching School Activities in Wisbech, ensuring that CPD and Leadership provision meets local needs.
Specialism: Computer Science - Ray Chambers
Ray Chambers is a Lead Teacher for Computer science. He has been teaching ICT and Computer Science for 10 years and has experience in using technology to enhance learning. Ray delivers training regularly and has delivered content at national conferences including the BETT show in London. Ray is a keen blogger and likes to share expertise. In 2015-2016 Ray won the UK National Teaching award for his effective use of technology and a BAFTA for mentoring students into coding. His philosophy for education is to make his lessons energetic so that students are engaged in their learning. He has expertise in both behaviour management and the transition from ICT to Computer Science.
Specialism: Science - Karen Hearne
Director of Science for Brooke Weston Trust. She has led an outstanding Science department at Brooke Weston for three years and as Assistant Principal her work involved overseeing the smooth running of the examinations. Karen now works with Heads of Science across the Trust by providing strategic support and capacity for developing teachers. She has facilitated both NQT and staff training appreciating the invaluable opportunity to collaborate and work with colleagues from different contexts.
Karen's SLE designation is in Science curriculum development in addition to leadership and coaching. Karen's understanding of the strategic use of assessment and monitoring data to accurately track student progress ensures that students have the potential for an exceptional outcome.
Her core purpose is to improve outcomes for all students by ensuring that they have access to an engaging science curriculum with a particular focus on practical work.
Specialism: SEN - Angeline Annable
The SENCo and Senior Assistant Principal at Brooke Weston Academy, having joined as Head of Biology in 2004. Since this time Angeline has worked within the Teaching School Alliance as CPD Lead and facilitates numerous courses with a particular focus on Middle Leadership and the development of a creative curriculum for students with additional needs. Angeline is currently the SLE trainer for the Northamptonshire region and delivers the designation training across the county.
Angeline's SLE designation is in SEN provision and the utilisation of data to drive the delivery of quality first teaching for children with additional needs.
Angeline's philosophy is based on the desire that 'nobody gets left behind' and ensuring that all children, regardless of their starting point, have the belief that they can achieve, belong and are seen.
Specialism: Closing the Gap and Accredited Pupil Premium Reviewer, English as a Foreign Language, Attachment Awareness, Secondary English - Becky Knight
Having taught in a variety of schools, two previously being in 'Special Measures', Becky's belief as Inclusion Specialist Leader of Education is that all students should have access to the curriculum and are given every opportunity to succeed.
Becky's previous school roles range from Head of English and Creative Arts to Director of Sixth form, KS4 and Year 7. Recently, as part of the Extended Leadership Team in her most recent school, she led on whole school Pupil Premium, whole school Attendance and whole school EAL, whilst mentoring TeachDirect students.
As an Accredited Pupil Premium Reviewer (Loughborough Teaching Alliance), Becky has carried out Reviews in schools, as well as supporting two Secondary Schools with Closing the Gap.
In 2016 Becky was involved in the Northampton planning and organisation of the Attachment Awareness Training with Kate Cairns Association which led to her current involvement and planning of the Reconnect Initiative programme across Northamptonshire and eventually nationwide.
Specialism: History - robert McNally
Rob is currently the Head of Department for History at Brooke Weston Academy (BWA) and from September 2018 will become Trust Director for History. His SLE designation is in History.
In 2017 History was one of the most improved departments at BWA (3rd) in a year of outstanding GCSE results for the Academy. Additionally, he has managed a series of whole school initiatives such as: leading UCAS applications, EPQ oversight, organising Oxbridge speakers, coaching colleagues in the use of PiXL strategies and mentoring ITT students/prospective trainees. At his previous school, Montsaye Academy in Kettering, Rob was Assistant Head of Sixth Form. Before that he was Head of History and Head of Innovative Learning at Northampton School for Girls, where he also trained to be an AST and had responsibility for aspects of CPD.
In both of Rob's previous roles he has managed pastoral, curriculum and whole school teaching and learning initiatives with great success and impact. For instance, leading county wide training days on the use of E-Learning and school wide CPD on topics such as Sixth Form classroom practice and Active Learning. Rob spent his earlier career learning the profession in a series of challenging inner city schools in the South East of England, where amongst other things he acquired finely honed behaviour management and differentiation skills. He gained his PGCE from Sussex University in 1994 after first completing a degree in Historical Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University. Finally, Rob is committed to continual professional development and the power of collaborative practice, having recently attained a NPQSL and an externally verified coaching qualification.
Specialism: Early Years - Emma Alexander
Emma is currently the Early Year Leader at Gretton Primary Academy and her SLE designation is specialising in Early Years.
She qualified from University of Northampton with a BA (Hons) Degree in Early Years Education with QTS in 2009 and since then has taken up a variety of posts within the Early Years field. These include teaching assistant, nursery practitioner, nursery manager, SENCo. and Reception class teacher, which she has been for four years and joined her current school in September 2016.
Having over 10 years of Early Years experience and a sound knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and principles, Emma has reached a stage in her career where she wants to support and empower others to make a difference in their practice within their own settings. Having a range of experiences in the Early Years field has given her a great network of support and she regularly attends Early Years Network Cluster meetings, which are extremely useful within her role as an Early Years teacher but also as an SLE.
Specialism: Primary Mathematics - Emma Manley
Emma has been a Primary School teacher at Church Langton Primary School for seven years. Her SLE designation is Primary Mathematics.
She completed a degree in accountancy and management at Cardiff University and then a Masters in property finance and law at CASS Business School. From here Emma worked as an Asset Manager in London managing property portfolio's for pension companies. After starting a family she decided to retrain and did a PGCE with Leicester University and started teaching at Church Langton Primary ranked by its academic success in the top 200 primary schools by The Sunday Times for the past two years.
After qualifying as the Mathematics Specialist Teacher course and leading Mathematics within her local cluster group of schools, Emma then began teaching the maths strand of the school direct PGCE course for the University of Leicester. She strives for excellent teacher training that combines current research findings with a practical understanding of how this can work within a classroom and believes every child deserves high quality teaching, with teachers that have high expectations of all of their students.
Specialism: History, Teaching & Learning Leadership - Rebecca Waterson
Rebecca is currently the Senior Assistant Principal at Brooke Weston Academy responsible for the leadership of whole school Teaching and Learning and staff development. She has recently been appointed to Vice Principal with an official start of August 2018. Her SLE designation is in History, Teaching & Learning and Leadership.
Becky has been teaching for 13 years, having completed her PGCE at Leicester University in Secondary history. She taught at an inner city Leicester School for most of her career as Head of Humanities and Senior Standards Leader, leaving to teach abroad in an international school in Singapore for two years.
Becky has led on numerous professional development programmes including Lesson Study programmes - a powerful, professional learning approach that dramatically improves learning and teaching and the development of the schools oracy and enrichment programmes as well as the student leadership programme PiXL Edge.
Last year as Head of Humanities she led on the increase in progress and attainment in Humanities in line with the schools outstanding results, where Humanities ranked in the 7th percentile nationally for its 2016/17 GCSE results.
As Senior Assistant Principal in charge of Teaching and Learning, coaching and mentoring and developing others is the most enjoyable yet integral part of her role and strongly believes that we should always look to our fellow teachers for development through coaching, mentoring and collaboration
Specialism: Primary Literacy - Sarah Sanders
Sarah is currently Assistant Principal at Gretton Primary School, where she leads in Literacy, including reading, phonics, writing and SPAG, ITT and the support staff. Her SLE designation is in Primary Literacy.
Having studied at Oxford Brooks University, she taught at Oakley Vale Primary before moving to Gretton where she has been teaching for the last four years. She has led Year 2 moderation sessions for the Brooke Weston Trust and other local small schools and Gretton was selected to be part of the Northampton Collaborative Reading Project due to high standards of results in reading.
Sarah enjoys school to school support and networking and believes in a creative and engaging curriculum which captures and adapts to the student's interests.
Specialism: Secondary Teaching and Learning - Louise Martin
Louise has been teaching PE and Health and Social Care at Bishop Stopford School for 11 years. Her SLE designation is in Secondary Teaching and Learning.
She trained as a physiotherapist at the University of Hertfordshire and went on to gain her QTS in 2006. Having qualified Louise worked at Montagu school as head of girls PE for a year.
She has had a variety of roles such as YG&T, head of girls PE, mentor, staff CPD enhancement and ITT/NQT mentor. More recently she has worked with staff to develop and work towards their continuing professional development. She believes that sharing strategies can inspire, motivate and ignite passion into the classroom, enhancing students' experience while promoting confidence with colleagues.
Specialism: Curriculum Leadership & the Development of teaching, learning & Assessment - Simon Smith
Simon currently leads an outstanding English department at Bishop Stopford School having been both Head of English and an Assistant Principal at Brooke Weston Academy. Simon's SLE designation is in leadership of the curriculum, and the development of teaching, learning and assessment. He has been involved in a number of support projects and facilitated professional development and is especially interested in how data can be used to lead and structure progress for all.
Specialism: Year 6 and Primary Maths – Sarah Phillips
Sarah is in her sixth year of teaching Year 6 at Gretton Primary School. Her SLE designation is in Year 6 and Primary Maths.
After finishing her A Levels, Sarah worked at a Day Nursery, working with children under two. She completed her degree at Kingston Upon Thames University receiving a BA (Hons) in Primary Teaching with Mathematics Specialism. Sarah began her NQT year at Gretton Primary teaching Year 5 and has since studied for a post graduate degree in mathematics: MaST (Mathematics Specialist Teacher) and is now part of the East Midlands Hub research group for mastery.
Sarah is looking forward to developing her skills as a coach and mentor and working with a variety of colleagues from different backgrounds.
Sayle Donativo
Teaching School Coordinator
sdonativo@brookeweston.org
© 2020 Brooke Weston Teaching School Alliance | Website by e4education
Proud to be part of Brooke Weston Trust


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Established in 2015. Tobacco Land, Inc. is proud to serve our local area which includes Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Whitewater, Janesville, Milton, Cambridge, and Waukesha.
We specialize in Glass Pipes, E-Juices, Tobacco, Supplies for Rolling Your Own Tobacco, Hookahs, Candles, Papers, and Cigars since 2015.


Perdido Key Florida gulf-front condo for sale at the Beach & Yach Club. Amazing top-level penthouse with approximately 1,600 sq. ft. and exceptional views of the Gulf and Ole River with balconies at the living room and bedrooms. This beachfront property has tile flooring throughout, a wood burning fireplace, granite counter-tops, a separate wet bar, large owner storage room, reserved covered parking and more. Community amenities include a beachfront clubhouse, exercise center, gulf-side pool, tennis courts, boat/trailer storage, docks with electricity and water on Ole River….make plans to see this condominium.


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I love creating things and making cards is just about all I do when it comes to crafting. I am very unimaginative, so I usually copy an idea I saw online. There are so many great blogs that I get inspiration from.
I would love to be on a design team, so I am trying to keep this blog up instead of just Instagram and Youtube.


Established cleaning company needs 2 people part time for commercial and residential cleaning. Daytime and evening work available. Must be very responsible. $10.00- $15.00 per hour. Must have car and cell phone for texting. Call Mike @ 239-561-0405 between 9:00am and 5pm. If I can't answer, please leave your name and cell phone number.Talk slowly and clearly. I will call you back shortly. Thank you for your interest!


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National Defence
Minister Sajjan marks the start of steel cutting for the first Joint Support Ship
From: National Defence
As outlined in the Department of National Defence's defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged, the Government of Canada is committed to delivering these two new replenishment ships to the Royal Canadian Navy as part of their future Naval Task Groups.
June 15, 2018 – Vancouver (B.C.) – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
Today, Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan participated in a steel-cutting ceremony for the Royal Canadian Navy's (RCN) future Joint Support Ships (JSS). At its peak, work on the JSS project will help to sustain an estimated 1 000 highly skilled jobs at Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards.
The JSS are critical components to achieving success in both international and domestic Canadian Armed Forces missions. The presence of replenishment warships increases the range and endurance of Naval Task Group operations at sea, permitting ships to remain at sea for significant periods of time without going ashore to resupply. The ships will each become home to about 240 sailors during their time at sea and are a key part of the RCN's future full fleet.
These warships will ensure surface combatant vessels can stay at sea longer, and will support RCN sailors as they carry out their missions for decades to come.
Joint Support Ship (JSS) HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver (Text version below).
"Today marks an important milestone for the women and men serving in the Royal Canadian Navy as we begin construction of another element of our blue water navy. The Joint Support Ships will be critical assets to Canada and will greatly contribute to the future success of our operations."
The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence
"I am proud of the work our Government has done with Seaspan Shipyards to find innovative solutions to accelerate the construction of our Navy's Joint Support Ships. We will continue to work with all our National Shipbuilding Strategy partners, to build a strong, sustainable shipbuilding industry in Canada."
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement
The two Joint Support Ships (JSS) will replace the former Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment vessels.
The construction start of the JSS in June 2018 will result in the first JSS being delivered in 2022/23, and the second in 2023/24.
After the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship, the JSS is the second class of Royal Canadian Navy ships to begin construction in Canadian shipyards, as part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy.
The Protecteur-class Joint Support Ships will support naval and ashore operations—whether combat, humanitarian or disaster relief—by delivering fuel and other vital supplies to vessels at sea, offering medical and dental services, and providing facilities for helicopters and equipment repair.
The Joint Support Ship will be designated the Protecteur-class, in recognition of the distinguished and remarkable service provided by the former Protecteur-class ships, the last of which was removed from service in 2015.
Joint Support Ship
Joint Support Ships to be renamed Protecteur and Preserver
Byrne Furlong
Office of the Minister of National Defence
Email: mlo-blm@forces.gc.ca
Infographic - Joint Support Ship (JSS) - Text version
HMCS Protecteur and HMCS Preserver
Enhanced defensive capabilities
Support in high threat environment
Able to respond to CBRN threats
Crew of up to 239 personnel
JSS to have a service life of 30 years
The JSS will provide:
Fuel, ammunition, spare parts, food and water
Modern medical and dental care
Support to operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
Maintaining RCN's excellence at sea and providing a flexible and responsive naval force
#StrongSecureEngaged
Search for related information by keyword: MI Military | National Defence | Canada | National security and defence | general public | news releases

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A smile a day is what these pillows will bring. This small lumbar pillow can be added to beds, chairs, sofa's or anywhere you wish. In a world Where You Can be Anything, Be Kind is printed in gray lettering on cotton canvas.


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You are here: Home > News > Planning Chaos? Who Owns Belfast?
Planning Chaos? Who Owns Belfast?
Belfast City Council are to hold a special meeting tonight to determine 12 applications forming part of City Centre Regeneration- formerly Royal Exchange plans.
Posted on: 15th March 2018
In planning terms, the proposal is a Byzantine maze of existing legacy approvals from the defunct Royal Exchange scheme, granted then by the now non-existent DoE at the height of a property bubble that ended in the NAMA fire sale, coupled with a raft of new applications now using the earlier approvals as leverage
Substantial, strong objections have been submitted by UAH, Save CQ and the Statutory Consultee, Historic Environment Division (HED), not to the principle of development per se, but to the proposal's overbearing scale, facadism, bland architecture and the consequent cumulative loss and detriment to Belfast's heritage building asset base.
As a major application impacting on core heritage streetscapes whose dilapidation is a direct consequence of un-checked speculative land-banking, this application should have been handled directly by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) planners. However, for reasons unexplained, the Department chose not to get involved and to leave the web of applications to be determined by Belfast City planning committee. With the greatest of respect to a committee of elected representatives who rotate in and out of planning, they have neither the acquired training base nor the accumulated experience to be expected to professionally evaluate this nightmarish collection of intertwined applications and, crucially, the cumulative impact of the whole on Belfast's authentic heritage experience and tourist Unique Selling Points.
The case officer reports presented to councillors, while dismissing substantial policy- based objections as simply 'taken into consideration', also advises members that as strong objections from HED have been similarly dismissed the applications may be subject to 'call in' from DfI planners. This has the appearance of chaos.
Turning to the developer. Castlebrooke's agents and public relations operation continue to highlight the up-front 'big numbers' which characterise this type of proposal. Vague hints appear in the press of 'anchor tenants' with the John Lewis name as an entirely unsubstantiated candidate. John Lewis recently posted profits down over 70% and an historically low employee partner bonus.
However, the applicant in the proposals proposed to be before council tonight is not actually Castlebrooke but a company called PG Ltd. Reference to the Companies House website shows PG Ltd as 'Project Goat Limited' a company with six directors who hold between them over 650 current and lapsed directorships. Another, apparently related company is Project Goat Holdco Limited with a sole director.
Meanwhile PG Ltd is shown as being subject to 2 charges (mortgages) on property detailed as being within the CQ envelope. These, in turn are held by a third company, Sparrowhawk 606 Properties Limited, registered in Jersey.
PG Ltd's last accounts show approximate assets of £10m and existing and upcoming debts of circa £11m.Companies House records also include a register of 'person/s with significant control' of companies. PG Ltd's entry states: 'The company has not yet completed taking reasonable steps to find out if there is anyone who is a registrable person or a registrable relevant legal entity in relation to the company'
UAH has asked the Department for Infrastructure to 'call in' the CQ applications.
UAH has a duty to question any factor which impacts on the built heritage asset and is of the opinion that it is essential that development pressure on Belfast should be transparent. The bubble which burst in 2008 was the result of banks withdrawing support from often 'virtual' developments that had inflated in 'value' from a troubles era low, to the fantasy highs of the boom. It is not for UAH, focusing attention as we do on the promotion and protection of the dwindling heritage asset, to investigate if the bubble is back, and, crucially who is/are the actual beneficial owner/s of such multiple schemes, but, given the current plethora of speculative development it appears that local investigative media is 'asleep at the wheel'.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


State Theatre, Easton, PA Concert March 3, 2018!
We are excited to be returning back to the East Coast and the beautiful State Theatre in Easton, PA this upcoming weekend on March 3rd! We had a fantastic audience there last year, and we look forward to seeing all of you again! Featuring many of your favorite John Denver tunes, come on out and join us!
You can purchase tickets on line at www.statetheatre.org or by calling the box office at 1-800-999-STATE.


Talk mumble jumble about the Raptors' off-season.
It was a great season. Yes it was disappointing to get swept by Cleveland. Reality is that Lebron is arguably the best basketball player ever. He is much better than any player on the Raptors and that caused matchup problems. Its a young team, I think they keep plugging away with this team and keep most of their players, although a three point shooter might be good to add. The players played better than their talent level. If you look at their regular season record, they had a better record than Golden State. There is no way they are remotely close to Golden State in Talent level. Anyways, i say bring back Dwane Casey and most of their core players and try and improve for next year. For those who say blow up the team, its not as easy to do as it is in NHL unless you get a generational player. Its much better to be a good team, maybe not great but at least we make the playoffs.
I think it is time to move on from both Casey and Lowry.
DDR has a huge workload on him already, being a buffer between those two on top of it is too much. That alone is a full time job.
Gotta move on from Casey, all signs are there. He did a great job until this series here but it is time now, time to move on. Thanks coach! Love you still!
I don't trust Lowry to buy in once new coach arrives. I don't think he bought in this year. He got to 95% and game 1, him killing pace in 2nd half, that is that 5%. It had to be his way. It often does. Other times he becomes way too passive and doesn't bring the team together. Like in game 4 when DDR needed somebody to check him and re-connect him with the team again, Lowry just decided to let it be.
Happy to see JV become a basketball player this year. I'm worried if modern NBA is going to make guys like him unplayable in certain situations. Like with Kevin Love. But JV is a keeper. He showed a lot of good this year and his contract is no longer bad as he definitely earned another season at least and after that is an expiring deal anyway.
It's going to be tough to deal Lowry given his age and contract. Ibaka, though, needs to be traded. JV clearly has passed him, and Siakim should some time next year. The Raps will have to take back a similar bad contract(s), but it might be worth it. For instance, might need to take Faried and Chandler for Ibaka. Faried is useless and Chandler is inconsistent, but at least the latter can play a bit. They're both expiring deals (I don't think either will opt out as this year's marketplace will likely be very soft for players like Faried and Chandler).
Sacramento could be a dumping ground, but do you attach a future first-round pick to get rid of Ibaka? Maybe attach a young player (e.g., Wright)? Granted, Powell to Sacramento for a future 2nd-round pick actually makes more sense for the Kings.
A team that actually could use Ibaka is Milwaukee. Ibaka's ability to shoot the 3 and play passable defence would work in Milwaukee. The issue is that the Bucks don't have a lot to offer in terms of players/salary unless the Raps would be content on taking back two of Mirza Teletovic, Tony Snell, or John Henson back. Not exactly exciting options given the injury issues with Teletovic and Henson and Snell having 3 more years left on his contract.
- Nicolas Batum. Has a worse contract than Ibaka but might be adequate as either the starting SF or leading the 2nd unit in Toronto. Charlotte does need an agile big man, but I assume they value Batum more than Ibaka. I personally don't think highly of either, but Batum would be fine playing 3rd or 4th fiddle in Toronto. A lineup of Lowry, DeRozan, Batum, OG, and Valanciunas would be pretty solid.
- Carmelo Anthony. This isn't happening.
- Chandler Parsons, but I doubt Masai even considers the oft-injured egomaniac.
- Ryan Anderson. Depends on Houston does, but this could make sense as Ibaka provides insurance behind Capela.
Another idea is to do a deal with Orlando, although it would be weird on so many levels. A deal that could work is Ibaka and Powell for Biyombo and Fournier. I'm not sold on it since BB is even more obsolete in today's NBA, and Fournier's contract is a bit rich for my liking.
Once again, the ownership and Masai need to clearly identify their goals. If they are serious about contending, this core has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt to be utterly incapable of doing that, and therefore must be broken and sold for picks and youth. If they are content to let them play out two more seasons, finishing top 4-5 in the conference and exiting the playoffs by the second round, then they don't need to change squat, including the coaching staff. I just wish they'd honestly come out with what they want to achieve and behave accordingly.
Before I say anything..NO TO BATUM. IF you think Ibaka has declined, Batum has fallen off the cliff into black hole and is the worst contract in the NBA, he has ANOTHER THREE YEARS AT 27M$. Hell no. We'd be losing our kids in his last year of contract to avoid luxuy tax.
Guard and guard play is the key in today's NBA. Lowry is still really good. He can still help a team win a ton of games. A team like Denver could use him. Bucks would love him.
But the key is not the value we get back but value we save. Imagine parting ways with Casey and having issues with new coach because of Lowry? Or keeping Casey and status quo and risking he truly and irreparably loses the team like he did just few hours ago?
Frankly, I'd look for a team that takes Lowry an has capacity for him to succeed and be happy.
As for Ibaka, I'd be opportunistic. I don't perceive him as a problem. Under-performer yes but I'd give him another year.
And I love Lowry but I'm just worried about his impact on chemistry and cohesion. He has been great but there was another level and it became clear against Cavs, game 1, 4th quarter and OT.
I think Ibaka is a chemistry issue, too. Maybe not in the locker room, but his play on the court. He's suppose to be a plug-and-play complementary piece, but he doesn't fit. He's easier to deal since his contract is lower and is younger. Won't get much for him, but there likely would be more interest in him than Lowry. The market for a 32-year old PG is awfully low, especially with so many teams set at the position.
Yeah but PG is probably the most important position in the NBA at the moment so teams that don't have one but want to compete can be quite attracted to getting Lowry.
And let me clarify that I'm not suddenly anti Lowry or anti Casey. Keeping both still looks more likely than anything. And I wouldn't hate that deicision.
But there's something off. It isn't like previous years. It was all very different. Even the presser afterwards, Casey sounded like a guy that was ready for whatever, Lowry completely shutdown and couldn't handle the presser.
Maybe(probably) I'm overreacting but it smells funny after that loss.
A franchise-record 59 wins has now been met with the disappointment of another early exit in the playoffs for the Toronto Raptors.
Do they need to make big changes to their core, and what would that look like?
Let's look ahead to the free-agency, draft and trade decisions facing Toronto this offseason.
There were two directions the Raptors could have gone last offseason after being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. The rebuilding plan: Let Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka leave as free agents, put DeMar DeRozan on the trade block and build the roster with their former first-round picks. Essentially, this season's bench mob would have been the face of Toronto for years to come.
Instead, they chose to sign Lowry and Ibaka to three-year contracts, keep the roster mostly intact, revamp their style of play on the offensive end and continue to develop their young bench players. The result was an eight-win improvement, the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed and Toronto finding its small forward of the future in first-round pick OG Anunoby.
Despite the continuity of the roster and big money committed to Lowry and Ibaka, Toronto is faced with the same results in the postseason -- swept by Cleveland in the second round.
After bypassing the opening to tear down the roster last July, the Raptors are now met with $100 million committed to Lowry, Ibaka, DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas through 2019-20. President Masai Ujiri and the front office are now left with four complicated options.
Was the Cleveland series more about the superhuman performance of LeBron James -- including two games decided by a total of three points -- or a Toronto team that is built for the regular season but not postseason? That is the first question the front office needs to evaluate.
If James alone is the primary obstacle, Toronto should bring back the roster that includes 11 guaranteed contracts, sign restricted free agent Fred VanVleet and use the bitter taste of the second-round loss as a learning tool (sound familiar?).
Despite the past postseason failures, the window for this team is still open, with depth at each position under contract for the foreseeable future. However, there's a cost to continuity.
Already at $126.5 million in guaranteed contracts ($3.5 million over the tax), Toronto will be a luxury tax team for only the third time (2002-03 and 03-04) in franchise history once VanVleet is signed, barring a trade.
After getting the green light from ownership a year ago to keep the core together, can Ujiri do it again but at a higher cost? There is no guarantee that this $170 million roster won't end up in the same place.
If there is an odd man out on the roster it would be Norman Powell.
Signed to a four-year, $42 million extension last September, Powell has been a bystander during the playoffs after going through an inconsistent third season despite appearing in 70 regular-season games.
With Anunoby entrenched at small forward, C.J. Miles coming off the bench and the combination of Delon Wright and VanVleet in the backcourt, Powell has turned into an expensive end-of-the bench player -- an unlikely scenario after the former second-round pick started half of the Raptors' playoff games in 2016-17.
If there is mandate to slash salary to offset a new VanVleet deal Toronto will have to identify teams with cap space that would have targeted Powell had he been a free agent this summer. Finding a new home for Powell without taking back salary would save the Raptors $20 million in taxes this season and give the team future flexibility when Delon Wright is a restricted free agent in 2019.
With high expectations also comes the reality that head coach Dwane Casey will likely be evaluated during the offseason.
Despite a franchise-record 59 victories, including three straight 50-win seasons, Casey has not been able to lead the Raptors to the NBA Finals and that will be at the crux of the decision regarding his future.
The olive branch extended last year for Casey to modernize the offense likely will not be there this offseason.
Unfair as it sounds for a coach with 166 wins since 2015-16 to have his job in jeopardy, the reality is that the NBA is a win-oriented business -- especially in the postseason. The questions for management now: Does the team need a new voice, and is there's an upgrade internally or externally? If so, the No. 1 seed in the East could be looking for a new coach.
Toronto will be faced with challenges if it starts entertaining offers for Lowry, DeRozan, Valanciunas and Ibaka.
Despite back-to-back All-Star appearances, the 32-year-old Lowry is owed $60 million over the next two seasons and his contract would be too rich alone for a team to take back in a salary dump. Besides, Toronto would likely have to attach one of its bench players as an enticement.
A team such as Charlotte that risks losing Kemba Walker in 2019 would be hesitant to take back Lowry's bloated salary, even with the additional security of another season under contract.
Ibaka has $40 million left on his deal and is now trending toward the category held by the Rockets' Ryan Anderson -- under a salary that seemed manageable at the time because of past production but now looks untradable.
Despite being only 25 years old and a consistent presence at center, Valanciunas still has $34 million left on his contract. The market for a center with annual cap hits of $16.5 million and $17.6 million is remote, and Valanciunas would also require a sweetener in any deal.
That leads us to DeRozan. There are always teams in the offseason that either think they are one player away from competing for a championship or are faced with pressure to end a playoff drought (think Phoenix and Sacramento). DeRozan could make sense for such a deal. However, despite a lackluster second round, DeRozan should be off the table for Toronto unless a trade involves a good young player or lottery pick.
The undrafted guard, one of the leading candidates for most improved and a staple of the Toronto bench, is now eligible for a new deal after signing a two-year, $2.1 million non-guaranteed contract in 2016. The Raptors were not permitted to sign VanVleet for more than two seasons because they used the non-tax midlevel to sign Jared Sullinger.
Because VanVleet has early Bird rights, Toronto can offer a contract up to $8.7 million (105 percent of the average player salary).
Things could get interesting if a team with cap space tries to backload a contract in years three and four. Though the Raptors have the ability to match such a deal, it would come at a significant financial cost.
They would not be permitted to average out VanVleet's contract to $10 million because they are over the salary cap. But by letting VanVleet go the Raptors would have only the minimum available to replace him.
One thing that VanVleet will need to avoid is signing a two-year contract in Toronto with a player option in 2019-20. The guard would be a restricted free agent once again in 2019 if he declined his option and the Raptors would have the ability to match another deal.
Assuming that VanVleet comes back at a salary of $8.6 million and the remaining roster spots are filled with minimum contracts, Toronto will have a luxury tax bill of $30 million.
Though the $5.2 million taxpayer midlevel exception is available, using the full amount would cost an additional $16 million in tax penalties.
VanVleet will receive a $1.7 million qualifying offer by June 30 that will put the restricted tag on the guard.
Toronto has until July 20 to guarantee the $1.4 million contract of Alfonzo McKinnie. Waiving McKinnie would not save the Raptors from the tax since his spot would need to be replaced. The forward spent most of the season in the G League and guaranteeing his contract would leave Toronto with three spots available.
One player impacted by the Raptors' strong player development has been former first-round pick Delon Wright. The point guard has evolved from an emergency option to part of the rotation this season. Now entering the last year of his rookie contract, Wright is extension eligible up until Oct. 15.
While the 26-year-old merits extension talks, don't be surprised if Toronto holds off until 2019 when he becomes a restricted free agent. Waiting another year would allow Toronto to get its finances in order.
The Raptors' payroll in 2019-20 projects to be $131 million, right at the luxury tax without factoring in VanVleet.
Center Jonas Valanciunas is also eligible.
The cost of falling under the luxury tax last offseason now has Toronto heading into the draft without a first-rounder. Trading the 29th pick to Brooklyn saved the Raptors a projected $55 million by shedding the annual $14.8 million and $15.4 million salary of DeMarre Carroll.
In addition, the Raptors' 2018 second was traded to Phoenix as part of the PJ Tucker 2017 trade deadline acquisition.
Toronto owns all of its future first-round picks and is eligible to trade its 2019 first-rounder the night of the draft.
Lowry and Casey would be tough, both raps legends, essentially.
If we can shift ibaka and lowry without taking much of a hit, that could be positive. We could give norm another go then, he'd be back in the rotation and have a proper crack at it again.
its not just fans who think that isnt the case. GMs arent dumb. Even if you believe he is 28 he has been in severe decline at best. If he isnt 28...... things gonna get uglier, fast.
I agree that the team has improved. This "fire" Casey chatter is a tough one for myself - though I do understand that side of the argument - but the reality I see is Casey's only real sin the last 3 years is his inability to beat a highly motivated LeBron in the playoffs. That's been an issue for every coach in the Eastern conference since 2010. It's tough, I'm sure this is how Knicks fans felt with Ewing, or Utah fans with Malone/Stockton or Bulls fans with MVP Rose, or clipper fans with CP3/Griffin, etc etc etc.
Also, this year we had a super motivated LeBron because Irving left and if LeBron doesn't make the Finals on his own, fans will easily point out that LeBron's success in Cleveland was tied to Irving. This will cement his legacy in the East, even if he does leave the team.
Raptors locker cleanout availability begins at 11. Casey and Ujiri will go another day. Just players today.
It's not just losing though, it's also the manner of losing. Glaring mistakes have been made and minimal progress.
The main caveat is that we're really not as good as the regular season indicates. I've personally been blamed a lot for arguing this point, ever since the 49 wins season .
It's really tough to judge Casey for this reason, on one hand there are some clear playoff issues with his coaching, on the other he has a team that was, probably, never quite as good as the regular season indicated.
It's not just losing though, it's also the manner of losing. Glaring mistakes have been made and minimal progress. The main caveat is that we're really not as good as the regular season indicates. I've personally been blamed a lot for arguing this point, ever since the 49 wins season . It's really tough to judge Casey for this reason, on one hand there are some clear playoff issues with his coaching, on the other he has a team that was, probably, never quite as good as the regular season indicated.
It's honestly a really tough judgement for anyone I think - I mean, the Raps took care of the Wiz in 6 and has looked a lot better overall. The problem this year is the same as the last 2 years - LeBron. 3 years of LeBron beating the Raps is infuriating but those feelings shouldn't be the catalyst for how to see the team's success/performance imo. Raps are a solid and well coached team and no other coach in the East has solved LeBron yet.
The Raps could use another wing and more time in this system. This is the time to add a piece and tweak things than to start dismantling - give this transition and culture change a real opportunity to sink in - esp with the veterans.


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Expense Management for Employees, Accountants, C-Suite.
Expense management software is an extension of your travel and expense policy. That doesn't mean it can't be abused or on the flip cause employees to foot expenses out-of-pocket. Finding the right balance usually starts with ditching the electronic or paper-based form model for good.
Tracking expenses from a project or organizational level is critical for managing discretionary spend and that starts at entry.
The easier it is to enter mileage and expenses means it will require less overhead to track, approve and ultimately reimburse your employees.
The easier the system is to use, the easier it is to keep in compliance. Buy in from employees is a must and the best way to do that is to give them a system that makes their life easier.
A clear policy is the first step and the software should be flexible enough to be an extension of it. The fewer questions going in makes it easier for employees to stay in compliance.
The better the data the better the reports. Making sure expenses are approved and coded correctly helps improve reporting accuracy.
Advanced software enables reporting in real-time. The benefit is to gain visibility, capture information and quickly resolve issues.


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In this episode, I'm chatting with Bob Dunn of bobwp.com. Bob is a master at producing content and building an audience.
We're talking about eCommerce, and what's involved in selling products online. And the conversation doesn't stop there. Bob shares his experience with podcasting, page builders, managing affiliates, sponsors and more.
So if you are thinking about starting an online business, this episode covers a lot of ground.
With a background in marketing Bob and his wife Judy grew a marketing company into what today is a content marketing machine centered around eCommerce.
Today, Bob produces several podcasts and writes a ton of useful content for his growing audience. The rest is history, as they say.
In a nutshell, it's all about eCommerce with a frosting of WordPress.
Jackie Hey everybody, it's Jackie D'Elia with Rethink.fm. This is episode 21. I have my very special guest, Bob Dunn. Bob Dunn is in the house. Hey Bob.
Bob Hey Jackie. Jackie, I am so glad to finally be on your show. Not that you been on for years but I am honored to be on your show.
Jackie Thank you. I know we chatted, I think, last November. Had a chance to meet online and then do a Skype call together. We had a great conversation that I almost think was like an hour and a half long, you and I talked. I definitely had you on my roadmap for season two. I'm so glad that you were able to make yourself available and schedule sometime, so that we could get together and chat.
Bob Very cool, looking forward to it.
Jackie I would say, anybody who's listening to this episode right now, must know who you are. If somebody doesn't just go ahead and tell us who you are.
Bob In a nutshell, background, 25 years in a marketing company. My wife and I ran our own marketing company. 2007 moved in the WordPress space. That's been about 10 years. During that time I did design. About 2010 was coaching and training, really got into that. The entire time I was ... been blogging for quite a while. I started my first podcast in 2014. That lasted for a little over a year. Right now, up to date, I'm blogging full-time, on my site. I'm running three podcasts, I have the WP eCommerce Show, which is a ... kind of my, one that I've had the longest for, I think since last March. Then I also have the BobWP Monetizer and Podcasting with BobWP.
Jackie Awesome. First question for you is, whose your target audience? You've got these podcasts and you're blogging on a regular basis. Who are you talking to?
Bob I've always worked with beginners. For several years it was focused on beginners. I made the transition into the ecommerce space the last couple of years. I started building that up more and more. It started out more in WooCommerce. As I expanded that I thought, it's not just WooCommerce, there's so much out there. Then, ecommerce is such a broad umbrella that I'm talking about monetizing, basically. From selling your services to whatever. That became my focus as I started narrowing it down.
That's how, for example, I have the eCommerce focused podcast. The blog is typically, still has a lot of stuff about blogging. That's across the board. Then, the Monetizer, which is more, again, in the eCommerce space. Even the podcasting one was something I just added because I was getting into it, having fun. I thought I'll just share some short snippets. In a sense, I think, podcasting, again, is another part of monetizing. It's really that monetizing/eCommerce. From people starting to people wanting to grow their site. It's still pretty broad but it was an easy transition from what I was doing.
Jackie I definitely think that the eCommerce side of things is growing. There's areas in our space that are growing and some areas that are contracting. I would say that there's a lot more interest in monetizing, and finding ways of selling things online. Then, finding ways to deliver that. You've got WooCommerce as part of that but, it's certainly not the only way to do things. You could have a fantastic blog and maybe have a Shopify site, or something. Or, there are lots of other options. Broadening that market seems like a really smart idea, that just being focused on one plug-in, or one platform for eCommerce.
Bob Right. When I stopped doing actual services, the training, the coaching, everything like that, and wanting to monetize the site. I looked at my audience and I thought, "Okay, the people that are wanting to spend a little bit more money are the people that are looking to monetize their site." Especially the online eCommerce space, they're building their businesses, their retail online. They're willing to invest a little more money into that. I thought, "This is a perfect, again, perfect transition. As far as, myself being able to monetize my site."
Jackie Is all of the monetizing of the site, does that kind of still orbit around the WordPress universe? Or are you kind of veering off in other directions too?
Bob It's interesting because, I have the ... my two biggest ways of monetizing my site is my podcast sponsorships and my affiliates. Affiliates still are pretty heavy on eCommerce, I should say WordPress eCommerce side of things. But, the podcast sponsorship since it does touch on WordPress but is more focused around eCommerce, it's not as focused. I'm able to touch a broader audience in that part of it. Give you an example, Avalara is a tax company on my sales taxes, they were a sponsor for my podcast because they worked with podcast and WooCommerce, but they work with all online retailers.
Even though WordPress is always going to be there because that's what my archives are. I have tons of stuff on there. It's not always focused on it. A lot of the things I do talk about, whether to the blogger, the podcast, are more broad eCommerce space. Security, taxes, shipping, all that stuff. Whether you have a WordPress site, Shopify site, some other kind of site, you're thinking about doing it, you're going to learn something there.
Jackie You're right. I ran an eCommerce business for 10 years. Pre, doing anything with WordPress. Mine was on a Yahoo Store platform. Basically, it's a hosted solution. You build your store and it handled all the backend for me, the inventory and the shipping charges. You had some flexibility in there where you could configure things. I have to say, for more people that are getting started in eCommerce, there's a heavy learning curve on just getting processes in place, to be able to grow your store.
My store wasn't that big. I had a couple of employees. We were doing, maybe a half a million dollars a year, in sales, on the online store. It wasn't anything gigantic. Getting to a point where you can manage like 100 orders a day, that was a challenge, to learn how to effectively manage your shipping costs. How to manage your inventory. Mine started off in my house. That business started off in a spare bedroom. In the beginning, it was really easy, there was one or two orders a day. I was only selling a couple of products, it was really easy to do.
As it started to grow, I had a 5,000 square foot place in the end, with lots of products and having to track all of that. I think there's a lot of areas, just besides the software aspects of it, that can really make or break you as far as your success as being an online retailer if that's the focus that you're on.
Bob I think, you're exactly right. Taxes, that's another whole ball of wax. Shipping is another whole ball of wax. The interesting thing of having the podcast is, I get to talk to all these people that are a lot smarter than me, in the eCommerce space. I am learning incredible things that I would've never imagined, or thought of myself. Sure, you can do a site that's got two, three products. Maybe put it together, Shopify, WooCommerce, whatever you choose. I'm seeing all the things that go behind an eCommerce site. You have so many facets.
I just had a recent one that's coming out soon, a podcast on some of the pain points, or what a lot of eCommerce startups are ignoring or failing to do. There's so much more, there's that technical part, but there's the marketing, the advertising on and on and on.
Jackie Let's talk about that for a second, where are people failing on their initial online stores? What are some areas that they're not, they're just not ... they're overlooking, they're not really getting it right?
Bob On the latest podcast, a couple of the areas were, marketing, having a decent marketing plan in place. I think that's huge. I think that another one was really understanding your budget, especially when these startups are looking at and putting this online store together. They just don't really think through. They think through all the technical parts, all the connections within the online store, but they don't think through "How do I keep this thing going? What kind of help and I going to need beyond it?" All these other aspects.
I think the other pain points, it's just ... It's, like I said, you can have two, three products, and sure, throw up a Shopify site, install WooCommerce. Put their store front theme on, whatever. You've got two or three, you start putting more and more inventory in there, you need more and more features or the flow of your site. Making sure people get from A to B. To me it's almost, I don't want to say overwhelming, but I think there are so many different pain points people will have.
Depending where you are in your space, are you technical? Are you not technical? Do you need somebody to handle all that? Do you know enough to get in there and do certain things, even start your own site, a DIYer? As you grow, you're going to need help. It's all over the board. There's a set up part of it that the pain points come, but there are so many pain points that people don't prepare for, the other aspects of it.
Jackie I found one of the areas that paid off for me, was really focusing on SCO. Back at a time when, Amazon maybe wasn't as big of a player in the space that I was in. I was doing a lot of eco-friendly and green gifts and garden things. There wasn't a lot. It was easy to get visibility online without having to pay for ads. My goal was, I didn't really want to pay for Google ads. I worked really hard on SCO and optimizing my pages and really working on my content and interlinking the pages. Lots of work like that. It took a year and a half maybe, to get where I needed to be.
I think, a lot of times people don't realize that there's a lot of work. Rebecca Gill talks about this a lot in her courses, whenever she's talking about SCO, you have to put the work in for this, it is not an easy process. I think, a lot of people drop the ball on that too where, they think they upload an image and they put in a description and it's automatically going to find anybody who would ever want to buy that. Today you've got a lot of competition online. Those things become really important.
I wanted to just loop back around and talk about WooCommerce. Who do you think WooCommerce, in its current incarnation, where things are right now in the WordPress space, who do you think this is a really food solution for? Who isn't a good solution for?
Bob That's interesting because I've been trying to get that answer out of some of my guests. I think people have ideas of what they think. The reason I got into WooCommerce, I actually started using it when it first came out, was because I was already knee-deep in WordPress. It seemed like a natural. I think for a lot of people that are in that space, it's a lot easier. Maybe there's benefits on SCO, etc, etc, to integrate it into your existing WordPress site. Or, you're working with what you have already.
Starting from scratch, it's all ... I wish I could give everybody the magic tip. The big argument's always going to be, there's WooCommerce and then there's ... there's other eCommerce plug-ins, obviously. For Easy Digital Downloads, great for downloads, I love that plug-in.
Jackie I use it, I use it as well.
Bob When somebody comes to me and they say, "I have 10 downloads," it's like, I've even told people at workshops, "Why are you using WooCommerce or even considering it?" Plug-in EDD, unless year really thinking, are you going to have 200 products down the road that you got to start shipping? Future, maybe there's not a reason to use it, but, for a lot of people, that's the case. Then, you go to things like Shopify, there's the argument of, you got to be on your own platform. Shopify used to be a little bit more affordable, it's gone up in price. There's just a lot of variables.
I did have a chat with, I'm drawing a blank, but it was ... I did have a podcast episode just on this from somebody that works both with Shopify and WooCommerce. He went through the different ... what he really talks with clients, as far as figuring out what their needs are and trying to match them with the right platform. It's a process. I don't think there's really any simple cut and dries, unfortunately. I wish there was.
Jackie No and a lot of the hosted ones have fees, transaction fees, that for me, when I had my store, that was a component of my monthly cost, was, not only the hosting of the site. Then there was a percentage of all the sales that occurred on the site for that month, you had to pay a fee for. That's another factor that, when you're doing the WooCommerce, or an eCommerce plug-in on a WordPress site, you'll be like, "Okay, well I don't have any transaction fees. That kind of eliminates that." Scalability does become more challenging as you grow. A hosted platform might make it a little easier to scale.
If you're going to sell just a couple of products and you're comfortable working in WordPress and WooCommerce and I still believe there's challenges for a lot of people. That, if you're going to do it yourself, it can be overwhelming, even for a store with three products, to get a payment gateway setup and get it tested and integrated and get your layouts correct and how you want your product pages to do it. There's all kinds of hooks and filters and things that are mentioned all over. You start digging in and you go, "Wow, there's an awful lot to do to get this site up and running."
I'm wondering, how do you think page builders are going to help in that area? Or do you think that they will.
Bob I hope I don't sound like a broken record but I just recently did a podcast with Robbie from Beaver Builder, on that. I gave it to him, it's called pros and cons. I wanted to ask him, when is it best and when is it not best to use a page builder? I think page builders have come a long way. I used my first one back in 2009. Kind of site page builder, I'm not going to say what it was. It was quite a bit different than they are these days. Again, with anything, there's pros and cons. I think as they're improving and ad they're getting more stable and there's not the issues of speed and all of the things people are concerned about, I think they're going to become a bigger part.
One of the things I found interesting, that I hadn't really thought about is, that he brought up, that really works with page builders is the A-B testing. Page builders give you the ability to create these different page layouts and easily test them with customers. That was like, ding, ding, ding. In my head I thought, because that's cool because that does make sense. You're able to switch things around a lot easier. I believe some if them have it actually built in AB testing where you can create two separate pages and have different people land on those two pages. That is huge. That's going to be a big ... I think that might be one of the biggest selling points for page builders in the eCommerce space.
Jackie That's a really good metric too, for usability and user experience. That gives you some data about how a page is performing. A specific layout or design does better, one does better over the other. Whereas, most of the times you're just guessing. You do a layout and you do ... you say, "Okay, I put it out see how it goes." You really don't have anything to measure it against, to see if it could be improved, right? If you have two of them, and you're testing both, you can go with one and then you maybe can create a third one later and test those, the second, the winner of the first one round with the second round and then kind of work it's way until you come up with something that is really resonating and working well.
I think that's a great feature, I hadn't even considered that as an option in there, as something that would make it easy to try those layouts out. That's very helpful.
Bob Like I said, I get these people smarter than me on my podcasts, I'm learning all sorts of great stuff.
Jackie Isn't that the beauty of it, right? That's wonderful. Speaking of podcasts, I wanted to ask you, you're pretty much an expert in podcasting, right? You've gone around, you've been doing it. I noticed you recently moved your hosting to BluBrry and you're using PowerPress, which I'm using on my site, and I'm using Libsyn for my hosting. I was just curious, you chose BluBrry for your hosting. Did you do any research on that? How's that been so far for you?
Bob It's going really great. I was using S3, Amazon S3 before. I was just storing my stuff on there and streaming it in. It wasn't the most perfect workflow. It wasn't real seamless and stuff. I was using BluBrry's stats so I had to put in special code on the link and everything. When I decided, at a point I thought, "Okay, Amazon S3 is starting to charge a bit more money for storage. I'm not using it for anything but this, why don't I move everything to BluBrry?"
I started looking at their migration service. That's probably was one of the biggest sellers for me. I was using the plug-in. I wouldn't have to go in and change any links, or anything. It was going to be, just basically hook up the two, let it run for, I think it took like four hours or something, but let it do it's thing and everything was connected and good to go. It was like, "Wow, this is cool." Now my work flows a lot better. Their support was incredible. I actually got on Skype, I believe it was Skype, or something. I had a few one-on-one with a support person that really walked me through a lot of this stuff or issues I've had.
That was even before, when I was using their hosting. It's gone great. I can't really compare one podcast host with another. I think BluBrry might be a little bit more expensive than some of the others but it's worked fine for me. Like I said, it was very seamless.
Jackie Are you getting metrics that you can monitor? I know in Libsyn, I have that, you can see how many downloads you get per episode and what regions they're coming from and things like that. It's really helpful to figure out who your audience is and where they're coming from. I'm assuming you get that with the BluBrry one too, right?
Bob Yeah. Then, like I said, I was actually paying separate for their metrics or their statistics before. When I costed everything out, it's like, "Okay, that comes with the hosting, let's just do this."
Jackie Other question I wanted to ask you is, when you go out podcasting on the road, what kind of equipment do you use to record episodes if you're remote somewhere?
Bob Oh man. I've learned my lesson. The very first time I did this was at the very first WooCommerce conference. I bought one of those little lapel mics, I can't even remember what they called, lavalier. I had that stupid little thing I was holding in front of people and handing out back and forth. It was the most horrible quality. Actually, when it's close, I have a couple snowball mics that I've taken with me. I'll just set up my laptop, plug-in GarageBand, get it going and record it. It's been really smooth.
Finding a mic is fairly easy to do. On some of the WordCamp podcasts I used a really ... actually the sponsor bought like four of these $20 mics, that seemed to work great. The mics, almost everything except, don't use one of those lavalier things, those are horrible. You're live, it's got to kind of be there. That background noise can be a killer. You've got to really play around with that. One of my podcasts didn't work too well because by the time, I thought I'd had it all set with sound, I played it back and I could hardly hear anybody. It was terrible.
It's a little bit of a challenge unless you pull people, find a quiet spot. Logistics is going to be huge on that as well.
Jackie Are you recording it in your laptop then? While you're doing it?
Jackie I was talking to Joe Casabona and he got this Zoom unit that I guess is a recorder. It's got a place for XLR mic inputs and some things like that. It was pretty expensive, I think it was about $500 or so for it. I was just curious what you're using and what your experience has been if you go somewhere and you do want to record an episode, that was real helpful, thank you.
Bob Really, you could sink a lot of money into these things. For me it's kind of, I'm live anyway. It's not going to be perfect. If I can just get a decent mic and could figure that out and find, like I said, the right location, I'm good to go.
Jackie Awesome. We're coming up towards the end here. I do have a couple more questions I did want to ask you. I wanted to talk to you about, say you want to start an affiliate program, I know you had talked to some guests about that and you've got some knowledge on there. I have been looking at the AffiliateWP plug-in for a client that Pippin Williamson's group produces. I'm just curious, what are your thoughts on, how do you decide, should you use a plug-in for an affiliate? Or should you go to something like ShareaSale? Have you talked to anybody about how to make that decision?
Bob Yeah, I actually had Pippin on, talking about that particular one. Then I had the affiliate marketing manager for Bluehost on another one. I got kind of the big end thing. I think it really is how much time do you have to manage it yourself? Some of it is payments automatic and stuff but there is some management you got there. You get into share a sale, you got, I think it's like, just to open up an account there, I think it's like 500 bucks and then you have a monthly. You've got to have ... be selling a lot of affiliates. Of course, you don't have to worry about anything. It's really how much you want to manage.
I think AffiliateWP plug-in has done a really good job. A lot of the people, or the WordPress space especially the vendors, a lot of them are using it. I used it for a short amount of time when I had something going. It wasn't long enough to even really get a good feel of it. If you have a WordPress site and you're selling a plug-in or something, I'd say start with that. You can always switch over at some point. I think, the biggest challenge, talking to both of them is actually building up that affiliate. How you run the program, that can be a make or break and just getting people on the band wagon and wanting to be affiliates and keeping the people that ruin it for everybody else out of the system.
There's a lot of challenges there but yeah, I think that's an excellent plug-in. It's a good way to test the waters too.
Jackie For me personally, I'm in the EDD ecosystem. I use that for managing client support and lots of things, subscriptions for that and for retainers, all those kinds of things. The EDD makes that really easy for me. I can just send a client, they can sign up and I don't have to do the invoicing every month, all of that is all removed for me. That's great. If I wanted to sell a plug-in one day, or something, then to me, it seems like, that would be the natural thing to do is, an AffiliateWP plug-in and just add that on to that. That makes more sense to me than doing something else that might have a big startup cost. Especially when you're first starting off, like you're saying. I know most of the folks where I'm buying plug-ins from them, I can tell right away when I got to sign up for an affiliate that they're using Affiliate WP. It sounds like, that's going pretty well.
Bob Yeah. It's really a good plug-in, yeah.
Jackie Last question I wanted to ask you before my final question. I shouldn't have said that. I have two more questions for you Bob. What tools are you using right now on your marketing, for your business?
Bob In my marketing. Since I'm not really doing services and stuff, most of my marketing, and I don't really build an email list that much anymore. I kind of stopped that for several reasons, which is another whole subject that I'm not going to get into. My marketing is a lot on social. I use CoSchedule. I spend an inordinate amount of time fine tuning my social and what goes out there. That's probably the biggest, in my ... Since I purchased it the first time, it's gone up quite a bit. I had to rethink, but I've just stuck with that tool. It's like one of those things that I just, I can't live without it. CoSchedule is a big one.
Most of my tool is creating the content, repurposing the content. I recently started with repurpose.io. It re-purposes my podcasts into videos that I can put on YouTube. I use a lot of plug-ins that run in the background. I use ThirstyAffiliates to manage my affiliate links. I'm trying to think of what other plug-ins. I've got the basic ones. Yoast SEO and stuff like that. There's a lot of workings in the background of my site to kind of keep things rolling too.
Jackie Very cool. Last question for you, what are you rethinking in your business? Going forward? Is there anything that you've been scratching your head about, lately?
Bob For me it's always rethinking the podcast and keeping that going through sponsorships. It's not necessarily rethinking it. I just changed my sponsorships again for season three. I try to rethink, or I try to revisit, my sponsorships to be keep them going. Where I'm not ... it's fair to the sponsor, it's fair to myself. Finding that fine line. That is it. I think it's just, for me it's a constant rethinking of, how do I repurpose my content? Getting really creative with that. That's my business. I have a ton of content and finding unique ways to do that. It's the site, the site is always constantly morphing. Who knows when the next design will come along. It's kind of always looking at that site and thinking about it and thinking, now what can I do?
Jackie That's a great way to look at it. It's definitely never going to get stale that way right?
Jackie All right Bob. That'll do it for this episode. If folks want to get a hold of you, what's the best way to reach you?
Bob BobWP.com I'm BobWP everywhere. Actually, Google BobWP and you'll pretty much see where I'm at.
Jackie You heard it folks, right here, you just Google, BobWP. Which, is really cool. It's great URL, it's short, it's only five characters. That's just awesome that you ... everybody knows you as that. You definitely have branded yourself, that's great.
Bob I got lucky with that one. That was a lucky one I hit with.
Jackie All right. Thank you Bob for joining me on the show. It was great talking with you. I hope everybody else has a great week and I'll see you on the next episode.


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text:
Wesleyan, Community Prepares for Week of Play a Day
by Olivia Drake • February 1, 2007
Nikhil Melnechuk '07 and Jessica Posner '09 are co-producing a week-long theater event based on Suzan-Lori Parks' "365 Days/365 Plays." The plays will be shown throughout campus and the Middletown community this month.
In November 2002, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks committed to writing a play a day for 365 days. Since November 2006, this year of new plays has been debuting across the country as "365 Days/365 Plays."
Wesleyan is among 52 universities and more than 700 venues taking part in this project, and will perform eight of Parks' plays Feb. 5-11.
"Wesleyan is making history," explains co-producer Jessica Posner '09. "This festival is the largest theater collaboration in U.S. history, and Wesleyan gets to be part of that. It is very exiting."
According to Posner and co-producer Nikhil Melnechuk '07, Wesleyan's take on 365 Days/365 Plays will use Parks' plays as a centerpiece for a week-long festival that "attempts to re-contextualize every interaction as theater."
Wesleyan students will act in the plays, changing roles each time the play is re-performed. Each one of Parks' plays runs about 10 minutes long, and will be performed seven times a day at seven different venues.
"These plays are about finding connections – either with each other or within yourself," says Melnechuk 07. "They manage social critique without being didactic because of their absurd humor and circumstances."
Melnechuk and Posner have devoted more than 40 hours a week for four months preparing for the event. They are encouraging their actors to exercise their creativity so no play is performed the same way twice. The plays do not have sets; actors will rely on costumes and props to help tell the story.
Plays will take place all over the campus, such as in Pi Café, Davenport Campus Center and the Science Library. Olin Library will host and interactive piece titled "365 Tasks."
The Opening Ceremony, scheduled at 8 p.m., Feb. 5, in the Center for the Arts Theater, will feature a talk by Metzgar and Rugg, and a performance by Gina Ulysse, assistant professor of anthropology and African American Studies. During the week of performances, prominent speakers will be brought to campus including the 365 National Festival producers Bonnie Metzgar and Rebecca Rugg. Lectures, performances and workshops will be offered by distinguished artists such as Joseph Roach, professor of theater and English at Yale University; Christine Mok, a Ph.D candidate at Yale's School of Drama, and artist-in-residence poet/activist Amiri Baraka, who perform with his septet Blue Ark Feb. 9.
Wesleyan will also present a large scale, town-wide festival that showcases Wesleyan and Middletown life and culture. It will include workshops, performances, lectures, demonstrations and discussions—all free and open to the public. This festival includes "The Write-On Marathon" where Wesleyan students and members of the Middletown community can try their hand at Parks' project by writing a play a day. Five winning entries will be performed on Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Cinema. Submissions will be accepted throughout the week (for more information on how to participate, visit www.wesleyan365.com/write.html).
"We want people to see theater as an essential component of everyday life, using the plays by Suzan-Lori Parks as the point of departure," Posner says.
A gala performance of all the plays will take place at 8 p.m. Feb. 10 in the Patricelli '92 Theatre with a reception to follow. The plays will be performed by actors Michael Chandler '08, Jennifer Celestin '07, Maya Kazan '09, Garrett Larribas '07, Jermaine Lewis '09 and Carter Smith '09. Steven Sapp, founding member of New York City's acclaimed poetry/theater ensemble UNIVERSES, will be conducting an open theater workshop from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 10 and will open the performances at 6 and 8 p.m. with a solo piece.
Festival coordinators raised over $6,000 to put on the week-long event. Sponsors include the Center for African American Studies, Center for the Arts, Theatre Department, Second Stage, Wesleyan Student Assembly, Adelphic Education Fund, Community Development Fund, Feminist Gender and Sexuality Studies, Ethics in Society Program, Office of Affirmative Action, and the fund for Diversity and Academic Advancement.
For reservations of information, go to www.wesleyan365.com, e-mail: info@wesleyan365.com or call Jessica Posner at 303-919-5994 or Nikhil Melnechuk 413-230-0740.
By Olivia Drake, The Wesleyan Connection editor
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Here are the top 3 things I'm doing NOW to get ready for school to start. Only one week left😳. This summer went by way too fast.
It's time to get rid of some things and reorganize. I've been doing this all summer. Seriously, I do not know how we have accumulated so much stuff. It's so overwhelming for me when I'm surrounded by so much clutter. My brain just functions better when I see clean empty space.
"Whether it be your closet or office desk, excess things in your surroundings can have a negative impact on your ability to focus and process information. That's exactly what neuroscientists at Princeton University found when they looked at people's task performance in an organized versus disorganized environment. The results of the study showed that physical clutter in your surroundings competes for your attention, resulting in decreased performance and increased stress.
A team of UCLA researchers recently observed 32 Los Angeles families and found that all of the mothers' stress hormones spiked during the time they spent dealing with their belongings. Similar to what multitasking does to your brain, physical clutter overloads your senses, making you feel stressed, and impairs your ability to think creatively."
I'm most excited about the new look in our school room/ homework station. I've been working with my multitalented friend Amy @lovethelifeilive , who is a proffessional organizer and interior decorator. Here is a sneak peak, but stay tuned for a full detailed post about this room, including some pretty awesome before and after pics.
This part is the most fun! Well if you can do it without spending a ton of money right? I recently found a great online shop called Joanie and Burt and they have the cutest and totally affordable clothing. I pretty much got everything in their shop. Check out all the adorable pics taken by my sweet friend Kallie Cooper. You have got to check out some of her videos she makes. She is seriously so talented.
All other supplies I bought from Walmart cause it's cheap and Amazon Prime because it saves me time. Hey that rhymes !
Since reading the book The Power of Pause I have cut back dramatically on my overzealous "to do" lists and routines, but understand that there must be some sort of structure in our home. So I put together these charts to help remind the kids what they should be doing in the mornings, after school, and at bed time. They are not the prettiest and defintiely not Pinterest worthy, but hey, it gets the job done.
I'm going to do some homeschool pre-school with Brooklyn while we're here in Salt Lake. We plan to do lots of reading, fun crafts and feild trips. I've recently picked up a few children's books that I'd like to read to her often. I love ones that have a positive message like this one called The Little Tree That Smiled. My kids really like this book and the illustrations are awesome! They were all done by the author herself. I just love that it teaches kids to dream and that dreams can come true.
"For Every Child Who Likes To Dream! Imagine a special little tree in the forest who could talk! This little tree was so special that he not only could talk, he could laugh and have a good time just like any kid. Then one day a new friend came into his life! He wanted to be so much a part of his new friend's life that he thought there had to be a way he could run and jump just like his new friend. And, you know what? THAT IS WHAT DREAMS ARE FOR! We all love to dream and we all should have dreams and that is what this children's story is all about! The forest comes alive for you with the beautiful, brightly colored illustrations. An enjoyable and fun read for every child who likes to dream!"
One of my biggest secrets to maintaining my weight loss is DRINKS! If you can find healthy low calorie drinks to sip on through out the day, you'll be surprised how it will help you resist the urge to eat. You all know I'm obsessed with Kombucha, but I'm also obsessed with my Dandy Blend. Between all the yummy options from these two drinks, I really don't have time or the room in my tummy to snack on junk food between meals. Also, if you're a huge coffee drinker and would like to quit, then this post is for you. I have the perfect healthy replacement right here.
I want to share my top three drink recipes using Dandy Blend.
It tastes remarkably like a rich, full-bodied cup of coffee, no brewing, dissolves instantly in hot or cold liquid.
It is made of water-soluble extracts of roasted roots of dandelion, chicory and beets, and the grains of barley and rye. Nothing else is added. While they make no claims for Dandy Blend other than that it is a delicious herbal beverage with the taste, body, and texture of coffee, the ingredients - dandelion, chicory and beet roots, and barley and rye grains - are all health-promoting foods respected throughout the world.
To Americans, dandelion may be considered a weed, but to people all over the world it is a valued vegetable and highly respected herbal medicine. It is one of the top six herbs in the Chinese medicine chest.
Top with home made coconut whip cream (this is also good on the hot coconut latte) YUM!!!


RUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union's data protection supervisor said on Monday it is investigating whether products provided by software giant Microsoft to EU institutions comply with its new data protection rules.
In November the Dutch government raised concerns in a report about the collection of data done through Microsoft ProPlus, which includes popular software such as Microsoft Word writing software and Microsoft Outlook email.
"Any EU institutions using the Microsoft applications investigated in this report are likely to face similar issues to those encountered by national public authorities," the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) said in a statement.
It said it would check which Microsoft applications are used by EU institutions. Its investigation will look into whether the contractual arrangements between the US company and EU institutions to process personal data are "fully compliant" with the new General Data Protection Rules (GDPR) that came into force last year.
EU institutions, such as the European Commission and the European Parliament, rely on Microsoft services and products to carry out their daily activities, the supervisor said.
Earlier, legislation that would grant US privacy rights to Europeans is being delayed in the US Senate, which may complicate negotiations over a broader trans-Atlantic data transfer pact that faces a January deadline for completion, sources said.
The Judicial Redress Act, which would allow citizens of European allied countries to sue over data privacy in the United States, is "likely to be held" from a scheduled vote on Thursday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, a panel aide said.
Passage of the legislation is viewed as an important step toward securing a new "Safe Harbor" framework after the previous one was struck down by a top European Union court last year amid concerns about US surveillance.
More than 4,000 firms, including tech behemoths such as Google and IBM, have been relying on the 15-year-old Safe Harbor framework to freely transfer data between the United States and Europe, which has far stricter rules on the privacy of personal information.
But that deal was ruled invalid last October by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which cited revelations about US mass surveillance by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
European Union data protection authorities have given Brussels and Washington until the end of January to strike a new Safe Harbor agreement for transferring personal data.