Musician blends Christian
Jim Hughes started singing with the radio in 1958 while his mom did the laundry. He was 5 and could twist and sing at the same time.“She had me all dressed up like Elvis,” he said.
He learned to play the guitar in 1972 and three years later became a Christian, but he didn’t know any Christian songs. He only knew bar songs, so he sang them with Christian lyrics.
“It’s called a parody when you change the words,” Hughes said. Weird Al Yankovic does parodies. Martin Luther did them in the 1500s. Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” was a bar song, he said.“He just put Christian words to it. Parodies have been going on for a long time.”
One of the first Christian songs Hughes learned was “Amazing Grace,” but he learned it to the tune of “House of the Rising Sun.”“This was already an established ‘Jesus freak’ song back in those days,” he said.He and three preachers were ministering in prisons, missions and halfway houses in Nevada in the late 1980s. They were doing a two-day revival at a Salvation Army mission, and its clients had to attend the services if they wanted a bed for the night. Hughes started singing songs from the mission’s 40-year-old hymn books, and the crowd sat with arms crossed, faces that said, “Make me sing.”
“After the second song, I said, ‘Man, this is a rough crowd.’ So I broke out ‘Amazing Grace’ to the ‘House of the Rising Sun.’ By the time I hit that last note, they’re hanging on the chandeliers. They’re shouting. They’re just going crazy, and someone in the back of the room goes: ‘All right, now do ‘Stairway to Heaven.’’”
It was the most popular rock ’n’ roll song of all time, he said, and he didn’t have it in his repertoire.“That night the Lord gave it to me.”The lyrics to “Old Rugged Cross” came to him, and they fit “Stairway to Heaven.” The next night he played it at the mission house, and the crowd went crazy.Hughes took the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women,” wrote new lyrics and turned it into “Homegrown Christian.”
One day he and his friends were at 24th Street and Van Buren in Phoenix, where the state evaluated incoming prisoners before sending them to a prison.“So I start singing my songs,” he said, “and by the time I get to ‘Homegrown Christian,’ I’m jumping up and down with my guitar, and they are all rocking and screaming.” Thirty men came up afterward and thanked him.
Hughes wrote parodies of other people’s songs, then started writing original Christian and country songs.A friend gave him a microphone that plugged into his laptop. He had written and copyrighted more than 50 songs but had never recorded any of them, because he thought he would have to pay royalties on the parodies.
“I found out that because they are parodies that the copyright is totally mine,” he said. “It’s like a political statement or cartoon. You can do that with something public.”His first CD was “The Darnel,” based on Jesus’ parable about the farmer who sows wheat, and the enemy sneaks in and sows weeds.He has a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and video production, so he created his own album cover and song list with lyrics.
Then came his first original country-rock album, “Finding Hope.”“Wouldn’t you know it, an old hippy, Jesus freak writing country songs,” he said.Next came “Homegrown Christian,” which includes “Stairway.” He illustrated it with video clips from “The Passion of the Christ” and put it on YouTube.His second country-rock album was “No Boundaries,” which is all original music. Then came “Under Anointing I,” which includes songs sung partly in tongues.
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2013年8月29日 星期四
2013年7月14日 星期日
Lost in the brush at home improvement stores
When changing the filter for our refrigerator water dispenser recently, I noticed the dreadful condition of the unit’s condenser coils. A dense coat of dusty fur covered the coils and was most likely the cause of a recent downturn in cooling performance.
I’m not afraid to tackle a home maintenance project, but I am afraid of permanently damaging a major appliance, so I took to the Internet to learn of proper cleaning technique.
As with most projects, success was predicated on having the proper tools. In this instance, it was the refrigerator coil brush. I became determined to procure one that evening before the fur could grow impenetrable.
Not familiar with the availability of the refrigerator coil brush, I bypassed nearby general stores and headed directly to a home improvement center, where surely such items would be a staple.
My reasoning skills and tracking instincts, so acute in other areas of life, are rendered useless in a big box store of the home improvement variety. I can’t locate anything. So I knew that with darkness drawing near, the most prudent course of action would be to seek out an associate for assistance. One was spotted immediately.
Unfortunately, she was unfamiliar with the refrigerator coil brush, both in function and proximity. A quick phone call and I was dispatched to a part of the store where the brush was not located, then directed to another part of the store where the brush could not be found. With each failed discovery, I could sense the brush growing nearer.
After a third associate registered confusion over my request, I whipped out my smartphone to offer proof of its existence. On the store’s website, the brush was listed for sale at $8.98, a price I would later learn was exorbitant.
Satisfied that I wasn’t madly pursuing some sort of home maintenance Yeti, the associate tracked the item electronically on his computer. His findings were crushing. The refrigerator coil brush had become extinct, at least in that particular store.
Waving off his offer to custom order the brush, I sped off across the street where another expansive home improvement center was located, confident that I would soon locate the elusive prey.
I briefly held hope that I could find the brush on my own and trekked deep into the thick of the appliance department. There, other refrigerator-related items were bountiful, but no brush. And no associate. Dashed!
With panic setting in, I made my way to the service desk at the front of the store. Events would soon take a disturbing turn.
I was told that the appliance associate had just sought refuge in the restroom, but I was invited to “hang out” near the appliances and await his return. This did not strike me as exemplary service. It also introduced into the customer/associate relationship a level of familiarity that felt wrong. It’s one thing to call home and be told that mom can’t talk because she’s in the shower, quite another to hear that someone will be with you as soon as they’re finished with more pressing matters, to euphemize the situation.
Yet return to the appliance department I did. They had me a bit over the barrel, what with my refrigerator coils being so frightfully soiled. After 10 minutes, however, I surrendered.
Perhaps my concern should have been with the associate and whatever difficulties he may have been enduring, but I left the store brushless and decidedly out of sorts.
Dejected, I returned home where I tried not to think of the furry coils and the hazard they might be creating.
And that’s when I spotted it. In the utility room, crouched furtively between the washing machine and the wall, barely visible, was a refrigerator coil brush. “You didn’t know we had that?” said my wife, who knows where everything is.
I’m not afraid to tackle a home maintenance project, but I am afraid of permanently damaging a major appliance, so I took to the Internet to learn of proper cleaning technique.
As with most projects, success was predicated on having the proper tools. In this instance, it was the refrigerator coil brush. I became determined to procure one that evening before the fur could grow impenetrable.
Not familiar with the availability of the refrigerator coil brush, I bypassed nearby general stores and headed directly to a home improvement center, where surely such items would be a staple.
My reasoning skills and tracking instincts, so acute in other areas of life, are rendered useless in a big box store of the home improvement variety. I can’t locate anything. So I knew that with darkness drawing near, the most prudent course of action would be to seek out an associate for assistance. One was spotted immediately.
Unfortunately, she was unfamiliar with the refrigerator coil brush, both in function and proximity. A quick phone call and I was dispatched to a part of the store where the brush was not located, then directed to another part of the store where the brush could not be found. With each failed discovery, I could sense the brush growing nearer.
After a third associate registered confusion over my request, I whipped out my smartphone to offer proof of its existence. On the store’s website, the brush was listed for sale at $8.98, a price I would later learn was exorbitant.
Satisfied that I wasn’t madly pursuing some sort of home maintenance Yeti, the associate tracked the item electronically on his computer. His findings were crushing. The refrigerator coil brush had become extinct, at least in that particular store.
Waving off his offer to custom order the brush, I sped off across the street where another expansive home improvement center was located, confident that I would soon locate the elusive prey.
I briefly held hope that I could find the brush on my own and trekked deep into the thick of the appliance department. There, other refrigerator-related items were bountiful, but no brush. And no associate. Dashed!
With panic setting in, I made my way to the service desk at the front of the store. Events would soon take a disturbing turn.
I was told that the appliance associate had just sought refuge in the restroom, but I was invited to “hang out” near the appliances and await his return. This did not strike me as exemplary service. It also introduced into the customer/associate relationship a level of familiarity that felt wrong. It’s one thing to call home and be told that mom can’t talk because she’s in the shower, quite another to hear that someone will be with you as soon as they’re finished with more pressing matters, to euphemize the situation.
Yet return to the appliance department I did. They had me a bit over the barrel, what with my refrigerator coils being so frightfully soiled. After 10 minutes, however, I surrendered.
Perhaps my concern should have been with the associate and whatever difficulties he may have been enduring, but I left the store brushless and decidedly out of sorts.
Dejected, I returned home where I tried not to think of the furry coils and the hazard they might be creating.
And that’s when I spotted it. In the utility room, crouched furtively between the washing machine and the wall, barely visible, was a refrigerator coil brush. “You didn’t know we had that?” said my wife, who knows where everything is.
2013年7月11日 星期四
Gridiron Gathering
Jerry Hobbs fondly remembers his time playing football at Old Forge,
cherishing those memories even today, 30 years after he graduated from
high school.“I still talk to five or six of my teammates, my best
friends,” Hobbs said. “We talk about when we played.”Meanwhile, the
current economic climate for high schools facing budget cuts created a
desire for Hobbs to think of ways to assist his old program.
The result was the formation of the Old Forge Gridiron Alumni Club, which will hold its next meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the banquet room of Cafe Rinaldi on Main Street in Old Forge. It costs $25 to join the club, which is limited to those ages 21 and older that played at least one year of varsity football at Old Forge.
A couple of months
ago, Hobbs and others tried to figure out what they could do to help the
Blue Devils football program.“We wanted to see if there was any
interest in forming a social group and benefit the high school football
team,” Hobbs said. “We figured that any money we raised would go to help
coach (Mike) Schuback.”Times are tight and being able to assist the
program was a worthwhile endeavor for Hobbs and his friends.“We don’t
have an ice machine at the fieldhouse,” Hobbs said.
“The school board cut out dry cleaning machine, the uniforms from the budget.”Hobbs was quick to point out that it is not a criticism of the board, that having been on the school board before he understands that tough decisions often have to be made. But with this group, Hobbs hopes it may be able to provide certain things that can make life easier for the players and coaches that dedicate a lot of time and effort into making Old Forge a winning football program.
So Hobbs proceeds onward, with the backing of fellow officers and a board of directors, looking for ways to impact the football program.“We’re forming a membership committee, and hope to put together an activities committee,” Hobbs said.The one thing Hobbs is looking for is the camaraderie between many generations of Old Forge football players gathering together either before or after Friday night football games, remembering old, good times, hoping what they are doing will help their beloved program.
He knows some out-of-town alumni return for Friday night football games, and envisions what the club can do if it can reach those people.“We know people get stressed out about fundraisers,” Hobbs said. “We’re just trying to help out the program.”Hobbs said that current Blue Devils baseball coach Tony DiMattia has joined, and with a large group of multi-sport athletes that have graduated from the school to draw from, there could be a time where the social club expands beyond helping out just the football program. But that is something for sometime down the road. Right now we’re concentrating on football.
There’s a bigger budget in that sport, Hobbs said. It is the biggest sport, with a proud belief in itself instilled through decades of dedication under a variety of coaches, which will reap the first rewards of the social club.Whether it be procuring an ice machine for the fieldhouse, or ensuring the uniforms are dry cleaned, the Gridiron Alumni Club has high hopes and expectations of assisting the football program to succeed on the field, as well as to bring together generations of football players for a cause close to their hearts. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.aulaundry.com.
The result was the formation of the Old Forge Gridiron Alumni Club, which will hold its next meeting on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the banquet room of Cafe Rinaldi on Main Street in Old Forge. It costs $25 to join the club, which is limited to those ages 21 and older that played at least one year of varsity football at Old Forge.
A couple of months
ago, Hobbs and others tried to figure out what they could do to help the
Blue Devils football program.“We wanted to see if there was any
interest in forming a social group and benefit the high school football
team,” Hobbs said. “We figured that any money we raised would go to help
coach (Mike) Schuback.”Times are tight and being able to assist the
program was a worthwhile endeavor for Hobbs and his friends.“We don’t
have an ice machine at the fieldhouse,” Hobbs said. “The school board cut out dry cleaning machine, the uniforms from the budget.”Hobbs was quick to point out that it is not a criticism of the board, that having been on the school board before he understands that tough decisions often have to be made. But with this group, Hobbs hopes it may be able to provide certain things that can make life easier for the players and coaches that dedicate a lot of time and effort into making Old Forge a winning football program.
So Hobbs proceeds onward, with the backing of fellow officers and a board of directors, looking for ways to impact the football program.“We’re forming a membership committee, and hope to put together an activities committee,” Hobbs said.The one thing Hobbs is looking for is the camaraderie between many generations of Old Forge football players gathering together either before or after Friday night football games, remembering old, good times, hoping what they are doing will help their beloved program.
He knows some out-of-town alumni return for Friday night football games, and envisions what the club can do if it can reach those people.“We know people get stressed out about fundraisers,” Hobbs said. “We’re just trying to help out the program.”Hobbs said that current Blue Devils baseball coach Tony DiMattia has joined, and with a large group of multi-sport athletes that have graduated from the school to draw from, there could be a time where the social club expands beyond helping out just the football program. But that is something for sometime down the road. Right now we’re concentrating on football.
There’s a bigger budget in that sport, Hobbs said. It is the biggest sport, with a proud belief in itself instilled through decades of dedication under a variety of coaches, which will reap the first rewards of the social club.Whether it be procuring an ice machine for the fieldhouse, or ensuring the uniforms are dry cleaned, the Gridiron Alumni Club has high hopes and expectations of assisting the football program to succeed on the field, as well as to bring together generations of football players for a cause close to their hearts. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.aulaundry.com.
2013年7月9日 星期二
New audience analytics and geotargeting products
For retailers, content streaming companies, and a variety of other potential new partners, location-based data was of limited value in the past, notes Factual founder and CEO and former Applied Semantics co-founder Gil Elbaz. This is largely because the insights available from this data were restricted to where a user was located at a single moment in time. Geopulse Audience, by contrast, uses historical location data combined with machine learning algorithms predict demographic associations based on the places that users spend their time. For example, a company may wish to determine whether a users is a college student, a business traveler, a regular moviegoer, and so on, in order to better personalize their user experience and tailor advertising – thus making their services more engaging and more profitable. Previously, such demographic info was only available through social logins and a limited number of other sources.
Geopulse Proximity, is complementary geofencing technology that increases the speed and accuracy with which developers and advertisers can validate the position of mobile users with respect to any of the 65 million of global businesses and points of interest in Factual’s database. For example, a discount shopping app may want to alert consumers of relevant deals any time they’re within 2 miles of a Westfield shopping mall, just as a to-do app would want to alert its user when they’re within a certain proximity of a listed task, such as picking up the dry cleaning. By offering Geopulse Proximity as an on-premise solution, Elbaz says that Factual was able to reduce latency to nanoseconds, rather than milliseconds, and allow geofences to for the first time take the shape of any irregular polygon.
It’s a sensitive time for any company to be launching a new product service that delivers consumer insights based on user data, given the recent uprising over revelations of mass spying by US intelligence agencies and participation from major technology companies. Elbaz is well aware of this fact and points out that Factual never directly collects data from users. Rather, it is a backend service provider that processes and makes sense of data that app developers already collect from their users, with their permission and under their software terms of service. Factual then mandates that all user data is anonymized before being transferred to its servers, Elbaz says, and the company takes every measure possible to ensure that storage and sharing are handled with the utmost security and privacy concerns in mind. Further, all input data is purged every two weeks and is never commingled among its developer and advertiser partnerships.
Despite the obvious privacy and security concerns, consumers stand to benefit tremendously from these new services in terms of greater personalization of content, services, advertising, and user experience. Whether they are willing to accept this fact is another matter. Nonetheless, it appears that data sharing is an inextricable part of the future we are heading toward. Given this, it’s in our best interest as consumers that it be handled by responsible companies capable of responsibly putting this data to good use. Factual appears to be taking the right steps in both regards, but only history will judge its effectiveness.
“Mobile adoption by advertisers has long been challenged by a lack of reliable demographic and behavioral information that can be used to identify the right audience,” says MoPub founder and CEO Jim Payne. Turn Sr. Director Business Development Mark Balabanian echoes this message, saying, “Hyperlocal targeted mobile advertising performs significantly better than industry average by delivering an ad that is contextually relevant to the consumer.”Read the full story at www.aulaundry.com web.
Geopulse Proximity, is complementary geofencing technology that increases the speed and accuracy with which developers and advertisers can validate the position of mobile users with respect to any of the 65 million of global businesses and points of interest in Factual’s database. For example, a discount shopping app may want to alert consumers of relevant deals any time they’re within 2 miles of a Westfield shopping mall, just as a to-do app would want to alert its user when they’re within a certain proximity of a listed task, such as picking up the dry cleaning. By offering Geopulse Proximity as an on-premise solution, Elbaz says that Factual was able to reduce latency to nanoseconds, rather than milliseconds, and allow geofences to for the first time take the shape of any irregular polygon.
It’s a sensitive time for any company to be launching a new product service that delivers consumer insights based on user data, given the recent uprising over revelations of mass spying by US intelligence agencies and participation from major technology companies. Elbaz is well aware of this fact and points out that Factual never directly collects data from users. Rather, it is a backend service provider that processes and makes sense of data that app developers already collect from their users, with their permission and under their software terms of service. Factual then mandates that all user data is anonymized before being transferred to its servers, Elbaz says, and the company takes every measure possible to ensure that storage and sharing are handled with the utmost security and privacy concerns in mind. Further, all input data is purged every two weeks and is never commingled among its developer and advertiser partnerships.
Despite the obvious privacy and security concerns, consumers stand to benefit tremendously from these new services in terms of greater personalization of content, services, advertising, and user experience. Whether they are willing to accept this fact is another matter. Nonetheless, it appears that data sharing is an inextricable part of the future we are heading toward. Given this, it’s in our best interest as consumers that it be handled by responsible companies capable of responsibly putting this data to good use. Factual appears to be taking the right steps in both regards, but only history will judge its effectiveness.
“Mobile adoption by advertisers has long been challenged by a lack of reliable demographic and behavioral information that can be used to identify the right audience,” says MoPub founder and CEO Jim Payne. Turn Sr. Director Business Development Mark Balabanian echoes this message, saying, “Hyperlocal targeted mobile advertising performs significantly better than industry average by delivering an ad that is contextually relevant to the consumer.”Read the full story at www.aulaundry.com web.
2013年7月7日 星期日
Coveting Not a Corner Office
Sara Uttech has not spent much of her career so far worrying about “leaning in.” Instead, she has mostly been hanging on, trying to find ways to get her career to accommodate her family life, rather than the other way around.
Ms. Uttech, like many working mothers, is a married college graduate, and her job running member communications for an agricultural association helps put her family near the middle of the nation’s income curve. And like dozens of other middle-class working mothers interviewed about their work and family lives, she finds climbing a career ladder less of a concern than finding a position that offers paid sick leave, flexible scheduling or even the opportunity to work fewer hours. The ultimate luxury for some of them, in fact (though not for Ms. Uttech), would be the option to be a stay-at-home mother.
“
Ms. Uttech wants a rewarding career, but more than that she wants a flexible one. That ranking of priorities is not necessarily the one underlying best-selling books like Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In,” which advises women to seek out leadership positions, throw themselves at their careers, find a partner who helps with child care and supports their ambition, and negotiate for raises and promotions.
Ms. Uttech has done some of those things, and plans to do more as her children (two sons, ages 8 and 10, and a 15-year-old stepdaughter) grow older. Already she has been raising her hand to travel more for trade shows and conferences; last year she made four trips.
But probably the career move she is proudest of — and the one she advocates the most — is asking her boss to let her work from home on Fridays.
“People have said to me, ‘It’s not fair that you get to work from home! I want to work from home,’ ” she said. “And I say, ‘Well, have you asked?’ And they’re like, ‘No, no, I could never do that. My boss would never go for it.’ So I say, ‘Well you should ask, and you shouldn’t hold it against me that I did.’ ”
On a recent Tuesday, which she said was broadly representative of most workdays, she rose at 5:45 a.m. and did a load of laundry dryer before everyone else awoke. Soon she was wielding the hair dryer in one hand and a son’s permission slip in the other; running to the kitchen to pack lunches and help one of her sons make dirt cups (pudding and Oreo crumble) as part of a book report presentation; and then driving the children to school at 7:15 a.m. before commencing her 40-minute commute to the office, where she arrives a little after 8.
On Sundays, she teaches at her church, and then prepares most of the meals for rest of the week, making great use of two wonders of modern cookery: the slow cooker and the freezer.
She says, repeatedly, that she doesn’t “have it all together.” She worries about her ability to pay for three children’s college educations, not to mention the Lutheran private high school she would like to send the boys to first, not to mention her retirement someday.
And she emphasizes that she gets a lot of help: from her husband, Michael, who picks the boys up from their after-school program, and spends many evenings coaching their sports teams; and from other family members, like her mother and her brother, who live nearby and help watch the children during school vacations.
Ms. Uttech, like many working mothers, is a married college graduate, and her job running member communications for an agricultural association helps put her family near the middle of the nation’s income curve. And like dozens of other middle-class working mothers interviewed about their work and family lives, she finds climbing a career ladder less of a concern than finding a position that offers paid sick leave, flexible scheduling or even the opportunity to work fewer hours. The ultimate luxury for some of them, in fact (though not for Ms. Uttech), would be the option to be a stay-at-home mother.
“
I never miss a baseball game
,” said Ms. Uttech, uttering a statement that is a fantasy for millions of working mothers (and fathers) nationwide. (This attendance record is even more impressive when you realize that her children play in upward of six a week.)Ms. Uttech wants a rewarding career, but more than that she wants a flexible one. That ranking of priorities is not necessarily the one underlying best-selling books like Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In,” which advises women to seek out leadership positions, throw themselves at their careers, find a partner who helps with child care and supports their ambition, and negotiate for raises and promotions.
Ms. Uttech has done some of those things, and plans to do more as her children (two sons, ages 8 and 10, and a 15-year-old stepdaughter) grow older. Already she has been raising her hand to travel more for trade shows and conferences; last year she made four trips.
But probably the career move she is proudest of — and the one she advocates the most — is asking her boss to let her work from home on Fridays.
“People have said to me, ‘It’s not fair that you get to work from home! I want to work from home,’ ” she said. “And I say, ‘Well, have you asked?’ And they’re like, ‘No, no, I could never do that. My boss would never go for it.’ So I say, ‘Well you should ask, and you shouldn’t hold it against me that I did.’ ”
On a recent Tuesday, which she said was broadly representative of most workdays, she rose at 5:45 a.m. and did a load of laundry dryer before everyone else awoke. Soon she was wielding the hair dryer in one hand and a son’s permission slip in the other; running to the kitchen to pack lunches and help one of her sons make dirt cups (pudding and Oreo crumble) as part of a book report presentation; and then driving the children to school at 7:15 a.m. before commencing her 40-minute commute to the office, where she arrives a little after 8.
On Sundays, she teaches at her church, and then prepares most of the meals for rest of the week, making great use of two wonders of modern cookery: the slow cooker and the freezer.
She says, repeatedly, that she doesn’t “have it all together.” She worries about her ability to pay for three children’s college educations, not to mention the Lutheran private high school she would like to send the boys to first, not to mention her retirement someday.
And she emphasizes that she gets a lot of help: from her husband, Michael, who picks the boys up from their after-school program, and spends many evenings coaching their sports teams; and from other family members, like her mother and her brother, who live nearby and help watch the children during school vacations.
2013年7月3日 星期三
Couple’s dirty laundry does a disappearing act
"We are extremely disappointed in the dry cleaning service we received," a reader recently wrote. "My husband and I have always taken our dry cleaning to the same company and most times we leave the stuff there for months, as we don't use our dressy clothes very often. We have never had a problem and they have never called to tell us to pick it up."
Not a good habit.
And one that sooner or later you'll likely be … taken to the cleaner.
"My husband took his suit there in June 2012 and I took my pant suit there in October 2012. Last week, I picked up my suit as I was going to wear it. I then thought I'd better pick up my husband's suit and went back the next day and was told it was not there. The woman behind the counter told me that it would have been discarded and that they would have called us after three months, and called and left messages for the next three months."
That never happened, our reader claims.
She did admit that leaving one's clothes at a dry cleaner for a year is not wise.
"I understand it is our fault that we left the items there so long. But we always have."
And, if the cleaner's policy was to discard items after six months, why was her pant suit still there after eight months?
I've heard the other side of this story before. A lady who ran a small art store told me she always forces her customers to pay in full when they drop off their art and ask it be re-matted, or reframed.
Her rationale for doing so?
"Some folks never come back to collect their property. They leave it sitting here for months. I've done what they've asked, and they have not come back to pay me."
While it seems insane that consumers wanting to have their clothes cleaned or their art work refinished decide not to collect their possessions, it obviously does happen.
The reader and her husband did not prepay for their laundry dryer and couldn't find the stub they say they were given when they dropped off the missing suit.
The owner of the dry cleaning franchise said she has a 90-day pickup policy.
"But we do keep a customer's item for up to one year," she said. "We call once a month for a few months, then on the last month we call weekly, giving them a deadline to collect their order before it's discarded. We are in business to make money, not to give customers' clothes away."
If every customer decided to drop off clothing and only pick it up when needed, the dry cleaner would require a pretty large warehouse.
You don't leave expensive jewellery at the jeweller's until your next evening out, do you?
And you don't take your car in for repairs and leave it at the garage for a year.
Whether the cleaner called or didn't isn't really relevant. They're your possessions. Pick them up.
It's common sense.
Not a good habit.
And one that sooner or later you'll likely be … taken to the cleaner.
"My husband took his suit there in June 2012 and I took my pant suit there in October 2012. Last week, I picked up my suit as I was going to wear it. I then thought I'd better pick up my husband's suit and went back the next day and was told it was not there. The woman behind the counter told me that it would have been discarded and that they would have called us after three months, and called and left messages for the next three months."
That never happened, our reader claims.
She did admit that leaving one's clothes at a dry cleaner for a year is not wise.
"I understand it is our fault that we left the items there so long. But we always have."
And, if the cleaner's policy was to discard items after six months, why was her pant suit still there after eight months?
I've heard the other side of this story before. A lady who ran a small art store told me she always forces her customers to pay in full when they drop off their art and ask it be re-matted, or reframed.
Her rationale for doing so?
"Some folks never come back to collect their property. They leave it sitting here for months. I've done what they've asked, and they have not come back to pay me."
While it seems insane that consumers wanting to have their clothes cleaned or their art work refinished decide not to collect their possessions, it obviously does happen.
The reader and her husband did not prepay for their laundry dryer and couldn't find the stub they say they were given when they dropped off the missing suit.
The owner of the dry cleaning franchise said she has a 90-day pickup policy.
"But we do keep a customer's item for up to one year," she said. "We call once a month for a few months, then on the last month we call weekly, giving them a deadline to collect their order before it's discarded. We are in business to make money, not to give customers' clothes away."
If every customer decided to drop off clothing and only pick it up when needed, the dry cleaner would require a pretty large warehouse.
You don't leave expensive jewellery at the jeweller's until your next evening out, do you?
And you don't take your car in for repairs and leave it at the garage for a year.
Whether the cleaner called or didn't isn't really relevant. They're your possessions. Pick them up.
It's common sense.
2013年6月30日 星期日
Life Lessons From the Fake Dry Cleaners
I worked at a dry cleaning business that had no dry cleaning equipment. It had two clothing racks, a counter and a cash register; nothing else. The business was located in the roughest section of Newport, Kentucky, which was one of the most economically depressed cities in America.
My bookmaker father said that "gypsies, tramps and thieves" was an accurate description of the neighborhood.
I witnessed armed robberies, streetwalkers, numerous fist fights and a carjacking. I watched a woman run over her soon-to-be ex-husband with a car.
A house of prostitution operated a few doors away. I never wanted sex bad enough to do business with the women who worked there. One offered me her services in return for a carton of cigarettes. Even though cigarettes were only four dollars a carton, it would have been a bad deal.
Their pimp did not fit the pimp stereotype. He was a pot-bellied, redneck, steel worker who drove a 15-year-old station wagon. He used a clothes hanger as his car radio antenna. He had a second job faking illnesses and going to doctors for pain medicine. He sold the pills until an unhappy customer decided to shoot him.
There was a diverse mixture of cultures and personalities in that neighborhood. None of them seem concerned about owning neatly pressed, dry-cleaned clothes. They bore no resemblance to the people who lived in the suburb that I lived in.
There was one factor that made the dry cleaners a smart business decision. In its back room, there was a bookmaking operation and an ongoing card game.
The back room had far more traffic than the dry cleaners ever did.
I was the "manager" of the dry cleaning section. Since I was the only employee, there was not a lot to manage. However, the experience at the dry cleaners was a better lesson in business than studying for an MBA.
I learned business techniques that were far ahead of their time:
1. Outsourcing. Once or twice a week, someone would wander in, actually wanting their clothes dry cleaned. I would take their clothes to a real dry cleaner and have them cleaned. Since we charged a markup for the service, prices were outrageously high and we had few repeat customers.
We did the marketing and someone else did the work. It is a model that many businesses follow.
2. Locating in a business-friendly location. In Joe Nocera's book, A Piece of the Action, he wrote about credit card companies locating in South Dakota because that state looked favorably upon the credit card business at a time when other states were heavily regulating it.
Picking a "business-friendly" climate is a key to business success. That is what large companies shop for: lax regulatory environments and economic incentives.
Since bookmaking was against the law, Newport was a favorable business environment for the dry cleaning and gambling operation.
With far more serious crime taking place, enforcing gambling laws was not a high priority for the neighborhood's law enforcement community. Policemen would occasionally visit the dry cleaners to place bets. On one occasion they went flying out of our building, guns blazing, when an armed robbery was attempted across the street. It was like watching a real life version of Kojak.
3. Long hours, low wages. I worked in the dry cleaners 72 hours a week during the summer and over 40 a week during the school year. I had no benefits, pension, or paid vacations, and they "forgot" to pay me overtime.
Many businesses use this "long hours, low wages, no benefits model" today.
4. Keeping operating expenses low. The dry cleaning business did not have equipment and was located in a low rent district. I was the only employee, and I was paid minimum wage.
Everyone involved in the dry cleaners is now dead. Their lifestyles as "gypsies, tramps, and thieves" cut into any chance they had to live to an old age.
None of them were well-educated, but every night when the men would come around; they had plenty of money to lay down. More information about the program is available on the web site at aulaundry.
My bookmaker father said that "gypsies, tramps and thieves" was an accurate description of the neighborhood.
I witnessed armed robberies, streetwalkers, numerous fist fights and a carjacking. I watched a woman run over her soon-to-be ex-husband with a car.
A house of prostitution operated a few doors away. I never wanted sex bad enough to do business with the women who worked there. One offered me her services in return for a carton of cigarettes. Even though cigarettes were only four dollars a carton, it would have been a bad deal.
Their pimp did not fit the pimp stereotype. He was a pot-bellied, redneck, steel worker who drove a 15-year-old station wagon. He used a clothes hanger as his car radio antenna. He had a second job faking illnesses and going to doctors for pain medicine. He sold the pills until an unhappy customer decided to shoot him.
There was a diverse mixture of cultures and personalities in that neighborhood. None of them seem concerned about owning neatly pressed, dry-cleaned clothes. They bore no resemblance to the people who lived in the suburb that I lived in.
There was one factor that made the dry cleaners a smart business decision. In its back room, there was a bookmaking operation and an ongoing card game.
The back room had far more traffic than the dry cleaners ever did.
I was the "manager" of the dry cleaning section. Since I was the only employee, there was not a lot to manage. However, the experience at the dry cleaners was a better lesson in business than studying for an MBA.
I learned business techniques that were far ahead of their time:
1. Outsourcing. Once or twice a week, someone would wander in, actually wanting their clothes dry cleaned. I would take their clothes to a real dry cleaner and have them cleaned. Since we charged a markup for the service, prices were outrageously high and we had few repeat customers.
We did the marketing and someone else did the work. It is a model that many businesses follow.
2. Locating in a business-friendly location. In Joe Nocera's book, A Piece of the Action, he wrote about credit card companies locating in South Dakota because that state looked favorably upon the credit card business at a time when other states were heavily regulating it.
Picking a "business-friendly" climate is a key to business success. That is what large companies shop for: lax regulatory environments and economic incentives.
Since bookmaking was against the law, Newport was a favorable business environment for the dry cleaning and gambling operation.
With far more serious crime taking place, enforcing gambling laws was not a high priority for the neighborhood's law enforcement community. Policemen would occasionally visit the dry cleaners to place bets. On one occasion they went flying out of our building, guns blazing, when an armed robbery was attempted across the street. It was like watching a real life version of Kojak.
3. Long hours, low wages. I worked in the dry cleaners 72 hours a week during the summer and over 40 a week during the school year. I had no benefits, pension, or paid vacations, and they "forgot" to pay me overtime.
Many businesses use this "long hours, low wages, no benefits model" today.
4. Keeping operating expenses low. The dry cleaning business did not have equipment and was located in a low rent district. I was the only employee, and I was paid minimum wage.
Everyone involved in the dry cleaners is now dead. Their lifestyles as "gypsies, tramps, and thieves" cut into any chance they had to live to an old age.
None of them were well-educated, but every night when the men would come around; they had plenty of money to lay down. More information about the program is available on the web site at aulaundry.
2013年6月25日 星期二
Flying Scotsman Graeme Obree returns
In an era when British cycling is sufficiently part of the
establishment to boast several knights, many people may never have heard
of Graeme Obree.
But the Scottish rider, who remains revered within cycling, is back and doing what he does best: going for world records on innovative, self-built bikes. Obree, described as a genius by Sir Chris Hoy, possessed huge natural talent and drive, but a series of factors – not least his refusal to touch the drugs then prevalent in the sport – cut short his career in the 1990s and he slipped into relative obscurity and intermittent depression.
Now at 47, he plans to try for the world human-powered land speed record on a machine which he rides head first, just above the ground. If that wasn't enough, the bike was almost entirely built in his kitchen from recycled parts, including metal from an old saucepan.
The idea that a self-built steel-framed creation, which Obree estimates cost around 1,000 to build, could tackle the 82.8 mph record set in 2009 by a Canadian rider using a computer-modelled, carbon fibre-shelled recumbent machine, seems ludicrous. But this is well-trodden ground for Obree, one of the more creative, bloody-minded and enigmatic characters in British sport.
The Ayrshire-based rider achieved fame from seemingly nowhere in July 1993 when he broke the world one-hour cycle distance record at a Norwegian velodrome, using a self-built bike, Old Faithful. This incorporated a self-created, highly aerodynamic tuck position as well as, famously, ballbearings borrowed from a washing machine.
Obree retook his record the following year, also winning a track world championship title on Old Faithful. When cycling's governing body, the UCI, outlawed the tuck stance, Obree came back with an equally creative alternative, the stretched out "Superman" position, to win another world title.
That was where it ended. It is arguably paradoxical to describe a man whose autobiography, The Flying Scotsman, was made into a film staring Jonny Lee Miller, as an unsung hero, but Obree never notched up the titles and fame of his peers, such as Chris Boardman.
Obree's sole Olympics, in 1996, saw him exit in the preliminary rounds. His career with a French professional road cycling team lasted one day. Obree has always maintained he was sacked when he made it clear he would not use drugs.
He has endured a turbulent personal life, affected by self-criticism and depression, eventually diagnosed as bipolar disorder. Obree came out as gay a couple of years ago, something he says has contributed to his happiness. His decision to do so is still relatively unusual in professional sport.
He reinvented himself as an author and a speaker, and just over two years ago began plotting an attempt at the human-powered bike speed record. Rather than adapt one of the feet-first recumbent bikes traditionally used for such bids, Obree, typically, started from scratch.
The result is the Beastie, in which the rider lies face down and head forward, with his or her feet powering a pair of narrower push-pull levers rather than conventional pedals. Read the full story at www.aulaundry.com web.
But the Scottish rider, who remains revered within cycling, is back and doing what he does best: going for world records on innovative, self-built bikes. Obree, described as a genius by Sir Chris Hoy, possessed huge natural talent and drive, but a series of factors – not least his refusal to touch the drugs then prevalent in the sport – cut short his career in the 1990s and he slipped into relative obscurity and intermittent depression.
Now at 47, he plans to try for the world human-powered land speed record on a machine which he rides head first, just above the ground. If that wasn't enough, the bike was almost entirely built in his kitchen from recycled parts, including metal from an old saucepan.
The idea that a self-built steel-framed creation, which Obree estimates cost around 1,000 to build, could tackle the 82.8 mph record set in 2009 by a Canadian rider using a computer-modelled, carbon fibre-shelled recumbent machine, seems ludicrous. But this is well-trodden ground for Obree, one of the more creative, bloody-minded and enigmatic characters in British sport.
The Ayrshire-based rider achieved fame from seemingly nowhere in July 1993 when he broke the world one-hour cycle distance record at a Norwegian velodrome, using a self-built bike, Old Faithful. This incorporated a self-created, highly aerodynamic tuck position as well as, famously, ballbearings borrowed from a washing machine.
Obree retook his record the following year, also winning a track world championship title on Old Faithful. When cycling's governing body, the UCI, outlawed the tuck stance, Obree came back with an equally creative alternative, the stretched out "Superman" position, to win another world title.
That was where it ended. It is arguably paradoxical to describe a man whose autobiography, The Flying Scotsman, was made into a film staring Jonny Lee Miller, as an unsung hero, but Obree never notched up the titles and fame of his peers, such as Chris Boardman.
Obree's sole Olympics, in 1996, saw him exit in the preliminary rounds. His career with a French professional road cycling team lasted one day. Obree has always maintained he was sacked when he made it clear he would not use drugs.
He has endured a turbulent personal life, affected by self-criticism and depression, eventually diagnosed as bipolar disorder. Obree came out as gay a couple of years ago, something he says has contributed to his happiness. His decision to do so is still relatively unusual in professional sport.
He reinvented himself as an author and a speaker, and just over two years ago began plotting an attempt at the human-powered bike speed record. Rather than adapt one of the feet-first recumbent bikes traditionally used for such bids, Obree, typically, started from scratch.
The result is the Beastie, in which the rider lies face down and head forward, with his or her feet powering a pair of narrower push-pull levers rather than conventional pedals. Read the full story at www.aulaundry.com web.
2013年6月23日 星期日
Clubhouse attendant makes ballplayers more comfortable
It’s all part of his job as the visiting team clubhouse attendant for Frederick Keys.
The Keys will play Lynchburg this night and the game will start at 7 p.m. The players will be long gone by the time the 65-year-old Buckingham finishes up his work.
“It’s not a hard job, but a long job,” said Buckingham, who has been the visiting clubhouse attendant since 2006. He began working for the Keys in 2001 as an assistant clubhouse attendant.
Buckingham taught sixth grade for 30 years, 12 at South Frederick Elementary school and 18 at West Frederick Middle School. He compares what he does now to that.
“They are like grown-up sixth-graders, I still get to watch over them, still get to clean up after them,” he said.
But he added he enjoys the job.
“He is very reliable and it was an easy transition for him because he’s used to being around young people,” said Branden McGee, the Keys assistant general manager and Buckingham’s immediate boss. “It’s a great job for someone that is retired and wants to be around the game.”
“Wayne is very respected in the (Carolina) league by the visiting teams,” Keys General Manager Dave Ziedelis said. “He is very accommodating, assists the umpires and has a very good demeanor.”
Buckingham took the job when he retired from teaching at 52.
“I had 30 years of teaching in and wanted to leave while I still enjoyed it,” he said.
But he wanted to stay active in someway. He liked baseball and went to a Keys job fair. He was looking for a job that would allow him to be around the players.
At the time the Keys needed an assistant clubhouse attendant to help longtime home clubhouse attendant, the late George Bell.
“The first thing he asked me was, ‘How old are you?’” Buckingham recalled. “He said he didn’t want any young bucks.”
He came in for an interview and was hired.
Bell retired in 2008, but Buckingham said he wasn’t interested in that job because it was full-time. He likes the idea of working 70 home games a year. Aaron Boone is now the home clubhouse attendant.
Most of Buckingham’s time is spent around the visiting players. He rarely gets to know the Keys.
“Most of the players are easy to deal with,” he said. “It’s neat to see the camaraderie among them,” he said. “It’s also like teaching because of all of the different personalities.”
Most of the time it’s a quiet job. But he does remember once when a pitcher was quite upset after getting taken out of the game.
“He came in here and threw his glove and his hat and turned a table over,” he said. “He took a stool and threw it against the locker. Then after a few minutes he said he would clean it up and he did.”
The Lynchburg team involved a little more work for Buckingham because it is the only team that has a meal before batting practice, after batting practice and after the game. Most teams don’t have the first meal.
On this particular day he had a variety of fruit on the table by 2 p.m. The meal after batting practice is usually cold cuts or chicken or tuna salad. Peanut butter and jelly, which he called a staple, is also available.
He usually prepares something early for the coaches, managers and umpires to make sure there is food left from them.
The players pay $8 each for the food and the money comes out of dues they get from their club.
He also helps make sure the batting practice and game uniforms are washed and dried. He has to take the dirty uniforms over the to the home clubhouse because there is no folding machine in the visitors’ clubhouse.
The Keys will play Lynchburg this night and the game will start at 7 p.m. The players will be long gone by the time the 65-year-old Buckingham finishes up his work.
“It’s not a hard job, but a long job,” said Buckingham, who has been the visiting clubhouse attendant since 2006. He began working for the Keys in 2001 as an assistant clubhouse attendant.
Buckingham taught sixth grade for 30 years, 12 at South Frederick Elementary school and 18 at West Frederick Middle School. He compares what he does now to that.
“They are like grown-up sixth-graders, I still get to watch over them, still get to clean up after them,” he said.
But he added he enjoys the job.
“He is very reliable and it was an easy transition for him because he’s used to being around young people,” said Branden McGee, the Keys assistant general manager and Buckingham’s immediate boss. “It’s a great job for someone that is retired and wants to be around the game.”
“Wayne is very respected in the (Carolina) league by the visiting teams,” Keys General Manager Dave Ziedelis said. “He is very accommodating, assists the umpires and has a very good demeanor.”
Buckingham took the job when he retired from teaching at 52.
“I had 30 years of teaching in and wanted to leave while I still enjoyed it,” he said.
But he wanted to stay active in someway. He liked baseball and went to a Keys job fair. He was looking for a job that would allow him to be around the players.
At the time the Keys needed an assistant clubhouse attendant to help longtime home clubhouse attendant, the late George Bell.
“The first thing he asked me was, ‘How old are you?’” Buckingham recalled. “He said he didn’t want any young bucks.”
He came in for an interview and was hired.
Bell retired in 2008, but Buckingham said he wasn’t interested in that job because it was full-time. He likes the idea of working 70 home games a year. Aaron Boone is now the home clubhouse attendant.
Most of Buckingham’s time is spent around the visiting players. He rarely gets to know the Keys.
“Most of the players are easy to deal with,” he said. “It’s neat to see the camaraderie among them,” he said. “It’s also like teaching because of all of the different personalities.”
Most of the time it’s a quiet job. But he does remember once when a pitcher was quite upset after getting taken out of the game.
“He came in here and threw his glove and his hat and turned a table over,” he said. “He took a stool and threw it against the locker. Then after a few minutes he said he would clean it up and he did.”
The Lynchburg team involved a little more work for Buckingham because it is the only team that has a meal before batting practice, after batting practice and after the game. Most teams don’t have the first meal.
On this particular day he had a variety of fruit on the table by 2 p.m. The meal after batting practice is usually cold cuts or chicken or tuna salad. Peanut butter and jelly, which he called a staple, is also available.
He usually prepares something early for the coaches, managers and umpires to make sure there is food left from them.
The players pay $8 each for the food and the money comes out of dues they get from their club.
He also helps make sure the batting practice and game uniforms are washed and dried. He has to take the dirty uniforms over the to the home clubhouse because there is no folding machine in the visitors’ clubhouse.
2013年6月18日 星期二
Mother questioned over washing machine death
The mother of a toddler found unconscious in a washing machine with his dead pet cat had a history of animal cruelty and would rip the heads off dolls as a child.
The West Australian coroner is investigating the death of three-year-old Sean Murphy, who was found in a machine on the afternoon of September 20, 2010, after his mother, Kerry, claimed she overslept.
Dianne Murphy, who adopted Kerry when she was three-years-old, told the West Australian Coroner's Court on Tuesday her daughter had been diagnosed with borderline personality order.
She said her daughter had a history of animal cruelty as a child, which a psychiatrist explained was a result of her traumatic childhood in the UK.
Murphy said her daughter had killed a frog and would often rip the heads off dolls. "She took her anger out on her toys," Murphy said.
Constable Adam Clue testified when Sean died he overheard Ms Murphy on the phone say: "He (Sean) does this all the time. He's a little troublemaker."
He also heard Murphy say it was not her fault and she was probably asleep.
"They're treating me as a murder suspect," he allegedly heard Murphy say. "This day just goes from bad to worse."
Constable Clue said Murphy wanted to see her son in hospital but police said she had to wait.
Neighbour Daniel Charles Dickerson testified he heard the toddler crying and Murphy telling him off in the hours before Sean was discovered in the machine.
Dickerson, who admitted being a cannabis user and being upset Murphy had put a restraining order on his son, said he had not told police what he heard because he did not want to "get involved".
But he said he had witnessed Murphy being "nasty" to her son and on one occasion, Murphy called Sean a "little bastard" when he was playing too close to a car, saying: "That car is worth more than your life."
When Sean died, Murphy told Dickerson: "I didn't kill him. It was an accident."
Dickerson denied his version of events was a figment of his imagination.
He also said he was upset the Department of Child Protection (DCP) had investigated him and had not looked at Murphy's behaviour, so he made a complaint over the counter a year before Sean's death.
The DCP's Emma White said there was no record of Dickerson's complaint and said it was not common practice to take complaints over the counter.
But White said Murphy had approached the DCP about Sean's "diabolical" behaviour, complaining Sean was like a "hurricane leaving a mess in his wake".
Coroner Alistair Hope is investigating how the boy could have accessed the machine and whether washing machine safety standards need improving. Read the full story at www.aulaundry.com web.
The West Australian coroner is investigating the death of three-year-old Sean Murphy, who was found in a machine on the afternoon of September 20, 2010, after his mother, Kerry, claimed she overslept.
Dianne Murphy, who adopted Kerry when she was three-years-old, told the West Australian Coroner's Court on Tuesday her daughter had been diagnosed with borderline personality order.
She said her daughter had a history of animal cruelty as a child, which a psychiatrist explained was a result of her traumatic childhood in the UK.
Murphy said her daughter had killed a frog and would often rip the heads off dolls. "She took her anger out on her toys," Murphy said.
Constable Adam Clue testified when Sean died he overheard Ms Murphy on the phone say: "He (Sean) does this all the time. He's a little troublemaker."
He also heard Murphy say it was not her fault and she was probably asleep.
"They're treating me as a murder suspect," he allegedly heard Murphy say. "This day just goes from bad to worse."
Constable Clue said Murphy wanted to see her son in hospital but police said she had to wait.
Neighbour Daniel Charles Dickerson testified he heard the toddler crying and Murphy telling him off in the hours before Sean was discovered in the machine.
Dickerson, who admitted being a cannabis user and being upset Murphy had put a restraining order on his son, said he had not told police what he heard because he did not want to "get involved".
But he said he had witnessed Murphy being "nasty" to her son and on one occasion, Murphy called Sean a "little bastard" when he was playing too close to a car, saying: "That car is worth more than your life."
When Sean died, Murphy told Dickerson: "I didn't kill him. It was an accident."
Dickerson denied his version of events was a figment of his imagination.
He also said he was upset the Department of Child Protection (DCP) had investigated him and had not looked at Murphy's behaviour, so he made a complaint over the counter a year before Sean's death.
The DCP's Emma White said there was no record of Dickerson's complaint and said it was not common practice to take complaints over the counter.
But White said Murphy had approached the DCP about Sean's "diabolical" behaviour, complaining Sean was like a "hurricane leaving a mess in his wake".
Coroner Alistair Hope is investigating how the boy could have accessed the machine and whether washing machine safety standards need improving. Read the full story at www.aulaundry.com web.
2013年4月17日 星期三
Discover Mint Hill celebrates history and culture
Gold panning, double-decker bus tours, and Wilgrove steaks come back to Mint Hill this weekend for Discover Mint Hill, the annual celebration of the town’s history and culture.
This Saturday, April 20, marks the sixth year for Discover Mint Hill, and Historical Society Executive Director Sue McDonald says nearly everything is ready for the day of activities, fun, and learning about Mint Hill at “Discovery Square.”
The event runs from 9 am to 3 pm at the intersection of Bain School Road and Matthews-Mint Hill Road, in front of the Historical Society’s Carl J. McEwen Historic Village.
Civic and cultural organizations from Mint Hill will host booths, where attendees can learn about those groups, participate in activities and win prizes.
Sixteen community organizations will be represented, including the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Police and Fire Departments, library, Mint Hill Arts, and the Mint Hill Women’s Club, all with booths showcasing their involvement in the community.
Some of the main attractions will be the gold panning station, set up at the Historical Society, genealogy researches ready to help anyone begin their research into their family history, and the historic bus tours from one end of town to the other.
A ticket for the bus costs $3, and it will take participants through Mint Hill, pointing out historical locations like where downtown Mint hill was originally, and the original site of the Mint Hill Library.
There will also be music, performed by the folk group Doc’s Front Porch, food, including hot dogs, barbecue, and the famous Wilgrove steaks, fried bologna sandwiches with a bit of a backstory.
Discover Mint Hill will feature demonstrations on a ham radio, washer women demonstrating techniques of washing clothes prior to the advent of the washing machine, live leeches in the doctor’s museum, biscuit making, loom weaving, and plenty of herbs for sale from the Herb Guild.
“Bring themselves and be prepared to find out what goes on in Mint Hill and the historic and cultural programs in the community,” said McDonald, when asked what advice she had for people planning to attend.
A rain date is set for Sunday, April 21, from 1 to 4 pm, in case inclement weather keeps the event from happening Saturday.
McDonald said that the event is an opportunity for the citizens of Mint Hill to have a good time and learn about the history of the town, and the historical society itself.
“For me, it’s exciting that al these people come to see our history in this area and so many people don’t even realize that we’re preserving history at the Carl J. McEwen Historic Village,” McDonald said.
This Saturday, April 20, marks the sixth year for Discover Mint Hill, and Historical Society Executive Director Sue McDonald says nearly everything is ready for the day of activities, fun, and learning about Mint Hill at “Discovery Square.”
The event runs from 9 am to 3 pm at the intersection of Bain School Road and Matthews-Mint Hill Road, in front of the Historical Society’s Carl J. McEwen Historic Village.
Civic and cultural organizations from Mint Hill will host booths, where attendees can learn about those groups, participate in activities and win prizes.
Sixteen community organizations will be represented, including the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club, Police and Fire Departments, library, Mint Hill Arts, and the Mint Hill Women’s Club, all with booths showcasing their involvement in the community.
Some of the main attractions will be the gold panning station, set up at the Historical Society, genealogy researches ready to help anyone begin their research into their family history, and the historic bus tours from one end of town to the other.
A ticket for the bus costs $3, and it will take participants through Mint Hill, pointing out historical locations like where downtown Mint hill was originally, and the original site of the Mint Hill Library.
There will also be music, performed by the folk group Doc’s Front Porch, food, including hot dogs, barbecue, and the famous Wilgrove steaks, fried bologna sandwiches with a bit of a backstory.
Discover Mint Hill will feature demonstrations on a ham radio, washer women demonstrating techniques of washing clothes prior to the advent of the washing machine, live leeches in the doctor’s museum, biscuit making, loom weaving, and plenty of herbs for sale from the Herb Guild.
“Bring themselves and be prepared to find out what goes on in Mint Hill and the historic and cultural programs in the community,” said McDonald, when asked what advice she had for people planning to attend.
A rain date is set for Sunday, April 21, from 1 to 4 pm, in case inclement weather keeps the event from happening Saturday.
McDonald said that the event is an opportunity for the citizens of Mint Hill to have a good time and learn about the history of the town, and the historical society itself.
“For me, it’s exciting that al these people come to see our history in this area and so many people don’t even realize that we’re preserving history at the Carl J. McEwen Historic Village,” McDonald said.
2013年4月7日 星期日
Out with the old
There's a revolution several hundred years in the making, and several Colorado companies are participating at a time that could be a major tipping point.
It started with movable-type printing in the 15th century, but today's Johannes Gutenbergs are printing more than ink; they're printing objects via 3D printing. It is because 3D printing has a real opportunity to improve our world that it faces threats from status quo institutions like governments and incumbent businesses, which often have shared incentives. But if status quo institutions are successful in thwarting this industry, we'll all be worse off.
Here's how 3D printing works: An engineer digitally designs an object as a CAD (computer aided design) file. The file then instructs a printer to produce the object based on the specifications in the file. Pretty simple, right? The chain can be understood by its two links: software and hardware, both of which are rapidly evolving.
Software is becoming easier to use, so more people can create files, and open-source alternatives to expensive enterprise software are more capable than ever. Meanwhile, file-sharing makes it easier to distribute files online.
Hardware, including printers and scanners, is stratifying to include anything from industrial machines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars down to do-it-yourself hobbyist machines that cost a little over $1,000. With hardware stratification comes increased capabilities. Their "ink" is expanding to include hard plastic, wood filament, nanocomposites of blended plastic and powdered metal and more. Scanners are increasingly able to scan physical objects and convert them to digital formats that are then capable of being reproduced through printers.
3D printed products are being used in an inspiring number of ways, from prosthetics and aerospace to jewelry and other consumer accessories. For example, a five-year-old South African boy named Liam was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome, which caused amputation of the digits on his right hand before birth. Ivan Owen in Bellingham and Richard Van As in South Africa designed 3D printed prosthetic digits for Liam dubbed Robohand (available in the public domain), which he's now using to play, eat and brush his teeth.
On the consumer end, Nokia recently released a file with a case design for its new Lumia 820 that can be edited, customized and printed.
The burgeoning 3D printing industry is captivating because it unleashes our freedom to create and share, just like movable type printing unleashed our freedom of speech (and thought) in the 15th century.
Colorado features innovative companies like Loveland-based Aleph Objects, which manufactures open-source hardware printers. Then there's the Denver-based 3D Printing Store, which has consumer focus on custom orders and hosting events. There are numerous more 3D printer re-sellers, software developers and other entrepreneurs contributing to the industry with each passing day.
Unfortunately, the industry's captivating potential is exactly what puts it at risk. It's not that the people in status quo institutions are ill-willed; they're not. It's just that new institutions change the environment that status quo institutions used to.
If you think this concern is overwrought, think about how difficult it has been for a company like Uber, most recently here in Colorado. Uber is simply an application that connects people who want transportation with people who want to provide transportation. The drivers pick customers up exactly where they want in clean vehicles. They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they use advanced payment systems to make the exchange seamless.
Uber has fought costly legal battles against public utility regulators and existing transportation service providers in state after state over its ability to provide this straightforward service. In January, Colorado's Public Utilities Commission sought transportation rule changes that would effectively prevent Uber from operating in the state.
It started with movable-type printing in the 15th century, but today's Johannes Gutenbergs are printing more than ink; they're printing objects via 3D printing. It is because 3D printing has a real opportunity to improve our world that it faces threats from status quo institutions like governments and incumbent businesses, which often have shared incentives. But if status quo institutions are successful in thwarting this industry, we'll all be worse off.
Here's how 3D printing works: An engineer digitally designs an object as a CAD (computer aided design) file. The file then instructs a printer to produce the object based on the specifications in the file. Pretty simple, right? The chain can be understood by its two links: software and hardware, both of which are rapidly evolving.
Software is becoming easier to use, so more people can create files, and open-source alternatives to expensive enterprise software are more capable than ever. Meanwhile, file-sharing makes it easier to distribute files online.
Hardware, including printers and scanners, is stratifying to include anything from industrial machines that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars down to do-it-yourself hobbyist machines that cost a little over $1,000. With hardware stratification comes increased capabilities. Their "ink" is expanding to include hard plastic, wood filament, nanocomposites of blended plastic and powdered metal and more. Scanners are increasingly able to scan physical objects and convert them to digital formats that are then capable of being reproduced through printers.
3D printed products are being used in an inspiring number of ways, from prosthetics and aerospace to jewelry and other consumer accessories. For example, a five-year-old South African boy named Liam was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome, which caused amputation of the digits on his right hand before birth. Ivan Owen in Bellingham and Richard Van As in South Africa designed 3D printed prosthetic digits for Liam dubbed Robohand (available in the public domain), which he's now using to play, eat and brush his teeth.
On the consumer end, Nokia recently released a file with a case design for its new Lumia 820 that can be edited, customized and printed.
The burgeoning 3D printing industry is captivating because it unleashes our freedom to create and share, just like movable type printing unleashed our freedom of speech (and thought) in the 15th century.
Colorado features innovative companies like Loveland-based Aleph Objects, which manufactures open-source hardware printers. Then there's the Denver-based 3D Printing Store, which has consumer focus on custom orders and hosting events. There are numerous more 3D printer re-sellers, software developers and other entrepreneurs contributing to the industry with each passing day.
Unfortunately, the industry's captivating potential is exactly what puts it at risk. It's not that the people in status quo institutions are ill-willed; they're not. It's just that new institutions change the environment that status quo institutions used to.
If you think this concern is overwrought, think about how difficult it has been for a company like Uber, most recently here in Colorado. Uber is simply an application that connects people who want transportation with people who want to provide transportation. The drivers pick customers up exactly where they want in clean vehicles. They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and they use advanced payment systems to make the exchange seamless.
Uber has fought costly legal battles against public utility regulators and existing transportation service providers in state after state over its ability to provide this straightforward service. In January, Colorado's Public Utilities Commission sought transportation rule changes that would effectively prevent Uber from operating in the state.
2013年3月20日 星期三
Family displaced after wood stove fire
A stiff wind carried the scent of burnt wood for miles down Doubling Gap Road in Newville Tuesday night as firefighters put out the last embers in what was once Dianne Allen's attic.
Allen, a short, thin woman with red-rimmed eyes and a damn-it-all sense of humor sat in her truck toward midnight watching men in yellow and tan fire suits toss her ruined possessions out of the smashed windows of her home in the 800 block of Doubling Gap.
In spite of it all, she shook her head wearily and laughed as her charred bathtub hit what was left of her flower garden with an earthy crash.
"There goes the tub!" she crowed. "And I'd just bought some bleach to clean it out, too. Everything I bought tonight I bought to clean the house, and now I've lost it all."
Allen's trip to Walmart Tuesday night will long live in her memory. She recalls banking the wood stove in the back bedroom before leaving just after 7 p.m., then turning off the washing machine and lights. Her two sons and husband were out for the night, she said.
"So I took advantage of that to go to Walmart and get some paint," she said as yet another crash announced the firefighters' discovery of a blackened bed frame. "So much for that!"
When she returned in 45 minutes, she panicked as she spotted flames leaping from her chimney into the roof from the road. Knowing her sons and husband were safe, her mind quickly turned to the pets, a cat and two dogs.
About 15 minutes later, as the first trucks arrived from Friendship Hose Company of Newville, Allen sat, wide-eyed and still in shock, on the concrete in front of her home. All the pets were safe — the cat ran off to the backyard — but the house was well past saving.
"When we got here about half the house was fully engulfed," said Newville Deputy Chief Buck Bigler. "We had a good amount of fire for probably the first half hour after we arrived."
It didn't take a fire marshal's keen eye to pinpoint the cause of the fire, Bigler added.
"I'm almost certain that it started in that wood stove," he said. "We're calling the state fire marshal just in case they want to come out and take a look tomorrow, but it's clear to us."
Including lost property, Bigler estimated the total damage to the house at $150,000 to $160,000.
A Red Cross crew also arrived at the scene and made contact with the family, which ultimately decided to stay with relatives, said Steven Jerasa, a Red Cross spokesman.
"We are providing them with food, clothing and anything else they need," Jerasa added.
Meanwhile, back in her truck, Allen was preoccupied with other thoughts. Even after the full weight of her loss sunk in and fire crews wrapped up toward midnight, she still had to laugh.
"What else can I do?" she asked helplessly, a half ashamed smile on her face. "I've got to laugh at this. Otherwise I'd just lose it again, and what's crying going to do?"
Allen, a short, thin woman with red-rimmed eyes and a damn-it-all sense of humor sat in her truck toward midnight watching men in yellow and tan fire suits toss her ruined possessions out of the smashed windows of her home in the 800 block of Doubling Gap.
In spite of it all, she shook her head wearily and laughed as her charred bathtub hit what was left of her flower garden with an earthy crash.
"There goes the tub!" she crowed. "And I'd just bought some bleach to clean it out, too. Everything I bought tonight I bought to clean the house, and now I've lost it all."
Allen's trip to Walmart Tuesday night will long live in her memory. She recalls banking the wood stove in the back bedroom before leaving just after 7 p.m., then turning off the washing machine and lights. Her two sons and husband were out for the night, she said.
"So I took advantage of that to go to Walmart and get some paint," she said as yet another crash announced the firefighters' discovery of a blackened bed frame. "So much for that!"
When she returned in 45 minutes, she panicked as she spotted flames leaping from her chimney into the roof from the road. Knowing her sons and husband were safe, her mind quickly turned to the pets, a cat and two dogs.
About 15 minutes later, as the first trucks arrived from Friendship Hose Company of Newville, Allen sat, wide-eyed and still in shock, on the concrete in front of her home. All the pets were safe — the cat ran off to the backyard — but the house was well past saving.
"When we got here about half the house was fully engulfed," said Newville Deputy Chief Buck Bigler. "We had a good amount of fire for probably the first half hour after we arrived."
It didn't take a fire marshal's keen eye to pinpoint the cause of the fire, Bigler added.
"I'm almost certain that it started in that wood stove," he said. "We're calling the state fire marshal just in case they want to come out and take a look tomorrow, but it's clear to us."
Including lost property, Bigler estimated the total damage to the house at $150,000 to $160,000.
A Red Cross crew also arrived at the scene and made contact with the family, which ultimately decided to stay with relatives, said Steven Jerasa, a Red Cross spokesman.
"We are providing them with food, clothing and anything else they need," Jerasa added.
Meanwhile, back in her truck, Allen was preoccupied with other thoughts. Even after the full weight of her loss sunk in and fire crews wrapped up toward midnight, she still had to laugh.
"What else can I do?" she asked helplessly, a half ashamed smile on her face. "I've got to laugh at this. Otherwise I'd just lose it again, and what's crying going to do?"
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