I wanted to write this post close on the heels of the last, as they’re somewhat related.

The other night I was working with PMC clay, making silver pendants to give as gifts. My ideas for the designs felt stilted. My hands fumbled. The clay dried and cracked and grew difficult to work. At one point, The Chairman of the Borg asked how my work was coming along.

“Awful,” I said. “These totally suck.”

He rolled his eyes. “You always say that. ‘Oh, these are ugly, these are horrible, I hate these.’ Then when it’s all done, you step back and say,” — and here he flourished his arms in dramatic circles — “‘Oh look, I made a swaaaaan.”

I laughed. But I also thought, Nah, these really do suck.

Still I went back to work. I finished sculpting the pendants. I fired them. I burnished them to a high sheen. Then I dunked them in a bath of liver of sulfur and waited.

When I pulled them out, they were black and the designs carved into them unrecognizable. They were ugly. Really ugly.

I rinsed them and went to task buffing the black to silver again, leaving the black in the recessed areas of the designs.

When I’d finished I evaluated my work. I hadn’t made a swan, but the pendants had turned out a lot better than I’d anticipated.

I could go into a spiel about caterpillars becoming butterflies. Or iron hammered and shaped into chandeliers. Or winter blossoming into spring.

But I won’t.

I’ll just say this: often in creative work, the thing you’re working on has to get ugly — really ugly — before it turns beautiful. Don’t give up on the piece in its ugly phase. Rather, acknowledge the ugliness as part of its journey. Stay faithful to the piece. See it through to it’s conclusion. It may not always match the original idea you had for it; but odds are it’ll be better than you anticipated.

esd electronics, Inc. introduces their most recent product, the PMC – CPU/440, a PowerPCTM PrPMC Module with gigabit Ethernet, USB, and CAN. This module offers a powerful CPU core with an embedded processor that integrates a DDR2 RAM controller, a PCI bus interface, a controller for serial interfaces and two gigabit Ethernet MACs.

The PMC-CPU/440 is a PCI Mezzanine Card that automatically switches to monarch (PrPMC) or non-monarch mode according to the system’s requirements. The PowerPCTM AMCC PPC440EPx with 533 MHz or 667 MHz enables a performance of 1334 DMIPS peak, is equipped with at least 256 Mbyte DDR2 RAM and 256 Mbyte NAND Flash, and offers system time sup¬port by RTC (with double layer capacitor) or IRIG-B. For CAN bus synchronization tasks, a high-resolution CAN hardware timestamp is supported.

Providing 2 – 4 CAN interfaces controlled by an FPGA IP-Module, the PMC-CPU/440 comes with two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces that are accessible as 1000BaseT via RJ45 connectors at the front panel. The CAN signals are available as TTL only via PMC connector, and all the CAN interfaces allow data transfer rates of 1 Mbit/s. External converters from CAN-TTL to CANISO11898 are available. The PMC – CPU/440 has a RS-232 serial port available via the PMC-I/O connector, and includes a USB 2.0 interface (host or device) at the front panel.

The module comes with DDR2 RAM and flash memories, a double layer capacitor buffered real-time clock (RTC) and a FPGA. esd provides a serial console through an USB device port that integrates a USB-to-serial converter. This is in accordance to modern PC technologies abandoning serial ports. A second serial interface is accessible via the PMC-I/O connector with RS232 signal levels.

esd electronics’ PMC – CPU/440’s flash memory carries the open source firmware ‘U-Boot’ that enables the module to boot various operating systems from network or on-board Flash, directly and fully supporting Linux, VxWorks (5.5 and 6.3), OS/9 and QNX on-board drivers, as well as supporting higher layer protocols like CANopen and DeviceNet.

The on-board FPGA provides extended flexibilities for specialized applications. The default FPGA functionality includes two high-speed CAN interfaces, IRIG-B time-code decoding and generation and much more. Many FPGA pins are directly connected the PMC P4 IO connector

For further technical information, log on to our web site at www.esd-electronics-usa.com/PMC-CPU 440 PowerPC PrPMC Module with Gigabit Ethernet, USB and CAN.html or contact Michelle Dzialo at 413-772-3170.

Today I’m featuring some handmade gift ideas for those crazy kids and teens in your life, hopefully they’re not on Santa’s naughty list. All these gifts suggestions are handmade, and because I have great taste… the artisans that I’ve featured have exceptional designs and products!

• Rubber Chicken Duct Tape Wallet. From the artisan… “Each of our wallets is hand-made with 100% duct tape. That’s right, no cloth, cardboard or animals were harmed during the construction of these products.” This classic billfold wallet has a large pocket for your cash, 4 credit card slots and 2 “behind the scenes” pockets. You can purchase this and other wallets from jDUCT on Etsy.

• Monkey iPod/iTouch/iPhone Case. From the artisan… “This monkey case is made of double layers of felt to keep your gadget safe from scratches.” This case measures approx. 4.7 x 3.1″ (12.3 x 8cm). It can be custom ordered to fit your device. You can purchase this case or others from Gadget Gear on Etsy.

• Bonnie Brown Bonnet. From the artisan… “It’s warm and light weight making it great for many seasons.” Knit from soft Alpaca sport yarn, this cute hat should fit most. You can purchase this lovely hat and other warm snugglies from Friendly Trees on Etsy.

• Gas Mask Hat and Ski Mask. From the artisan… “It is not intended for robbing a bank because everyone would ask you where you got it so they could get their very own wicked awesome hat.” The gas mask fleece hat and ski mask is *MADE TO ORDER* and perfect for the slopes – whether snowboarding or skiing. You can find this hat/mask combo or other great quirky finds at HiDee Bug Designs on Etsy.

• Personal Cupcake. From the artisan… “Isn’t it sweet? Perfect gift for your little cupcake.” This darling cupcake is designed with Precious Metal Clay and is set with your choice of a pink corundum cabochon or a lab-grown ruby. You can purchase this confection or many other delightful pieces from West Byron on Etsy.

• Felted Woolen Slipper Socks. From the artisan… “My slipper socks were a hit from the very first pair I knitted for my niece and all the nearly countless, colorful pairs that followed.” These slipper socks are made from pure wool and are ideal to keep your feet toasty warm and dry. You can purchase these wonderfully warm woolies and many others from Paw Felts on Etsy.

• Bigfoot versus Werewolf T-shirt. From the artisan… “An original one color silkscreen print designed and hand printed by me.” The t-shirts is printed on a 100% cotton American Apparel men’s/unisex fine jersey T-Shirt.  Apparel shirts are super soft and comfortable shirts made in America and sweatshop free. You can purchase this t-shirt or other designs from Mis Nopales Art on Etsy.

• Nightmare Snatcher Journal. From the artisan… “The world can be a scary place, full of nightly noises, menacing monsters, and dreadful dreams. But not every monster wants to scare and terrify. With the help of a magical spell and an appetite for troubles, a monster can be your dearest friend.” The book measures a little over 5×7″ and has 100 pages (50 leaves) of French Paper company’s acid free parch-tone paper. You can purchase this monster or many others from The Spiderbite Boutique on Etsy.

• Pirate’s Box Game. From the artisan… “It is a challenging game of strategy. Wager on the outcome and it is back to the days of the pirates when treasure’s were won and lost at this game.” You get a wood game board that measures over 7″ square and 3/4″ thick solid wood, two “faux bone” dice, leather playing pieces, and a cloth bag to keep it all in. You can purchase this game from Q Branch, Ltd. on Etsy.

• Learn to Knit Kit. From the artisan… “The booklet was written by a librarian who has been teaching kids to knit for 10 years and includes easy to follow instructions and pictures.” This kit includes a skein of The Alpaca Yarn Company’s Snuggle, a pair of Peace Fleece Knitting Needles in size 10, a booklet with instructions, in a cotton bag. You can purchase this kit from Nightingale Fibers on Etsy.

December First Friday at Gallery Photo Martini Club was a success!  12 pieces were auctioned off to benefit Mercy Housing Colorado (mercyhousing.org) where members of the PMC donated proceeds to the cause (to help families get off of the Street and better their lives!).  Thanks also to 5280 and Tim w/ Tandem Paragliding out of Golden for their donations!

The 2009 Pan-Mass Challenge didn’t blow this year’s $30 million fundraising goal out of the water, but it did make it.  And in a year in which we experienced the worst recession since the Great Depression, that’s not too shabby!  Thank you to everyone who helped us reach that goal. 

Here’s an article from the Boston Globe about the PMC “Pan-Mass. Challenge has rare lean year“

With the snow today it really looks like I won’t be getting in any more rides (not that I’ve had any recently, but it is just knowing I could that I’ll miss).  The bike will definitely be making its way to the basement and the indoor trainer.  Not so much fun, but at least it will keep me in shape.

The webpage entitled: Update on PubMed Central Canada (PMC Canada), at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) website, was modified on November 30, 2009. Excerpt:

The first element of the PMC Canada system-the search interface-was launched in October 2009. It allows users to browse, search and download articles.
A manuscript submission system is being developed for PMC Canada.

Also, there’s a section on “PMC Canada: Now Open for Business” by Andrea Szwajcer in the November 2009 issue [5-page PDF] of a newsletter from the St. Boniface Hospital Library (one of the University of Manitoba Libraries). An excerpt (from page 3 of the newsletter):

The digital platform to locate and access publications includes a basic and advanced search function for PMC Canada as well as alphabetical index list to search the PMC Journals by title. The manuscript submission system is not yet available but is promised “later this year”.
This webpage is a little deceiving as you may assume that if you do a search in the search box, you are limited to strictly Canadian publications or have that ability somehow. The reality is a little more disappointing. ….

Comment: Relevant information is available via the webpage for PMC International (PMCI). Excerpts:

To date, NLM has authorized two PMCI centers: UKPMC and PMC Canada.

…..

Like the UKPMC, PMC Canada receives all of its content through the US PubMed Central.

…..

With the introduction of PMC Canada, all current PMC participants have been asked for permission to make their PMC content available to the Canadian site. NLM will not redistribute a journal’s PMC content to PMC Canada without the explicit permission of the publisher. These permissions are included automatically in PMC agreements signed in June 2009 forwards.

So, all articles in PMC Canada that are marked “In PMC Canada” will also be available in US PMC. Those marked “Only in US PMC” aren’t currently available in PMC Canada because the publisher has not yet provided explicit permission for them also to be archived there.

Today I’m featuring some handmade gift ideas for that special woman in your life. All these gifts suggestions are handmade, and because I have great taste… the artisans that I’ve featured have exceptional designs and products!

• Stylized Leaf Necklace with Peridot. From the artisan… “A big, bold fine silver necklace celebrating nature.” This necklace was hand crafted with Precious Metal Clay (PMC), then fired. You can purchase this beautiful necklace or many other pieces from Penelope’s Passion on Etsy.

• Roly Dot Bowl. From the artisan… “Perfectly sized for those special jewels you don’t want to lose.” Each bowl is first hand crocheted, then wet felted, molded, trimmed, and steamed. You can purchase these bowls as well as other felted pieces from Papaververt on 1000 Markets.

• Shibori-style Nuno Silk Scarf in red, orange and white. From the artisan… “Wrap yourself in soft luxury with this hand felted wool and silk scarf!”.  It was handcrafted through nuno felting and also hand dyed using shibori techniques. You can purchase this beautiful scarf and other fiber pieces from The Funky Felter on Etsy.

• Curvature Porcelain Cup and Saucer. From the artisan… “As with all of my work, there is no slip-casting or molds involved.
  Each piece is handmade and therefore one of a kind.” This cup and saucer and other objects, vessels and the like are available from Judi Tavil on Etsy.

• Beaded Bird Sun Catchers. From the artisan… “These little birds just make me smile!” These cute little birds are made from fused glass and are safe for outdoor use. You can purchase these birds and many more lovely glass items from Valerie Adams Glass on 1000 Markets.

The Private Military Industry is one of the fastest growing businesses in the world, with hundreds of companies. But clients know exactly which companies they can trust.
Text by Gregor Waldhauser

Maybe it is even one of the very few businesses that is totally resistant to today’s financial crisis. Many countries can not or do not want to afford a large standing army any more. Modernization and maintenance costs are about 80% of a modern defense budget. Outsourcing seems to be the solution paying specialists for particular tasks.

Despite being the dominant military and economic power in the world, the United States makes the most extensive use of the privatized military industry. The United States Defense Department closed approximately 4,000 contracts since 1994 with US based companies alone, with a total value of more than 400 billion USD.

Areas like security, military advice, logistics support, policing, intelligence and even food services are outsourced. The US Marine Corps for example outsourced about 1,000 cook positions. In the last decade the US even outsourced maintenance and administration of strategic weapons like the B-2 stealth bomber and a large number of warships.

It is not only logistics that provides work for private military company personnel, and it is hardly what the public would have in mind when the discussion comes to Private Military Companies (PMC). PMCs provide fighting troops to ensure security, either for public or military installations, or for certain personnel such as politicians and other VIPs.

Expert PMCs are taken for special tasks, like finding and destroying landmines. Employees of such PMCs are very often wrongfully called mercenaries, or even “Dogs of War,” a term that remains from the old days of foreign intervention in Africa during the decolonization wars of the 1960s and 1970s.

PMCs make the news

It is not the first time that “mercenaries” make the headlines. The assistance of a small mercenary army during the liberation of Stanleyville, Congo, in 1964 made worldwide news, where the so-called mercenaries were the good guys.

It was not so in 2004, when soldiers from a PMC called Blackwater where killed, mutilated and dragged through the streets of Fallujah, Iraq, after they got lost. Blackwater caused another scandal in 2007, when its employees killed 17 innocent civilians and injured many more.

Incidents like these do not shine a glorious light on the privatized military industry. Another example of bad news coming from the privatized military industry was the involvement of CACI International Inc. and the Titan Corporation in the tortures of the Abu Ghraib prison.

Professionals only

In fact, incidents like the Blackwater scandal are very rare. Modern PMCs recruit professionals, not adventurers, as it was back in the 1960s when the newspaper ad read “Have Gun, Will Travel.” Today’s professionals have several years of experience in a modern army and need to show an honorable discharge.

Furthermore they are experts, trained in much more than just straight shooting; and are highly paid, so as to make them resistant to looting and bribery when working in a conflict zone.

As the PMC industry is the fastest growing business of the last two decades, there were suddenly hundreds of PMCs providing services for peace operations or protection. For potential clients it is hard to differentiate between them.

Nobody wants to risk the reputation of hiring guns that could turn on them once the contract is fulfilled. Today’s clients of PMCs are governments and private companies alike, even NGOs hire PMCs – the UN, the OSCE, and even the WWF uses PMCs to control poaching in certain areas.

Join the Club

As a consequence of this large number of PMCs in the market and to meet the need for standards in this business, the “International Peace Operation Association” (IPOA) was founded in 2001. IPOA declares that its goals are to “promote high operational and ethical standards of firms active in the peace and stability operations industry” and “to inform the concerned public about the activities and role of the industry.”

More than 60 companies of the private security and military industry are already members of IPOA, and all members have to commit themselves to the Code of Conduct. With its membership, the PMC automatically pledges itself to accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions as well as its additional protocols: the Convention Against Torture, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the Montreux Document on Private Military and Security Companies of 2008.

Interestingly enough, Xe Company LLC, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, is not a member of the IPOA, but other important names are, like MPRI or DynCorp.

A year earlier than IPOA, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) was established by the Swiss government. This center focuses on military reforms in a variety of programs and created the International Security Sector Advisory Team, which is an initiative that “brings together policy and operational security sector reform (SSR) expertise, from the developmental, security, defense and diplomatic domains, in order to provide the international community with comprehensive advice both on the technical and the process aspects of supporting SSR.”

This center currently has 13 countries and NGOs as members, among them the European Commission, and the Department for Peacekeeping Operations of the UN. More and more research is being done by DCAF in the area of monitoring and even controlling the privatized military industry.

The future today

The voluntary approach of IPOA is highly appreciated in the market, but not satisfying enough, which is shown by the markets interest in a newly created institution, the RIR Group (Research – Intelligence – Reconnaissance). RIR is a newly created Private Intelligence Company that already has the attention of the United States Agency for International Development and big PMCs like SOC-USA LLC.

One of the services of RIR is the monitoring and active control of PMCs and their services. It understands itself as an independent power that ensures the service quality of the PMC, the security of non-combatants and the fulfillment of the contract on both sides. RIR even considers providing a quality certificate for PMCs, which could separate the good ones from the rest.

Private Intelligence Companies are currently the fastest growing business in the world and leave the private military and security sector in terms of growth far behind. They are highly valued by governments, NGOs and companies alike, although their employees originate from intelligence services worldwide.

“And PICs are more trustworthy,” as Mr R., one of the founders of RIR, pointed out. “PMCs have the reputation to be interested in an ongoing armed conflict. That’s how they make money. But you don’t have to be in a warzone to have the need for thorough intelligence!”

This article is written by Gregor Waldhauser and will be published in the magazine GLOBAL VIEW 04/2009 (end of December 2009)

INFOBOX

• MPRI, a division of L-3 Communications, is a specialist in integrated, multi-disciplinary, “Whole of Government” solutions to stability operations; located in Virginia, USA.
• DynCorp Int. is a global government services provider, specializing in aviation (maintenance and training), contingency operations and logistics support; located in Virginia, USA.
• SOC-USA LLC is the global leader in full-service security management. It provides security services for individuals, domestic facilities, nuclear power plants, and military bases as well as logistics and training for military and police forces worldwide.

Got this list from the pre-marital class. This is going up on our refrigerator. And our bedroom door. And our dining room wall. And maybe in a tiny card in his wallet.

1. Thou shalt not take thy wife for granted, but will honour and respect her as they equal. (1 Peter 3:7)

2. Thy highest allegiance, except to God, shall be to thy wife, not thy relatives or friends. Or thy computer game, food or toys. (Genesis 2:24)

3. Thou shalt frequently tell thy wife how important & valuable she is to thee. (Philippians 2:3; Proverbs 31:10-11)

4. Thou shalt hold thy wife’s love by the same means that thou won it. (Song of Songs, 5:10-16).  [Bridezilla translation: Keep doing what you did when you were courting her!]

5. Thou shalt actively establish family discipline with thy wife’s help. (Ephesians 6:4).

6. Remember to do all the little things for thy wife when you say you will. (Matthew 5:37) 

7. Keep thine eyes on thy own wife, not thy neighbour’s wife. (Proverbs 5:15-20; Job 31:1; Jeremiah 5:8)

8. Thou shalt make every effort to see things from thy wife’s point of view. (Genesis 21:12)

9. Thou shalt not fail to kiss thy wife every morning but not with thy morning breath. (Song of Songs 8:1)

10. Thou shalt not be stingy with thy wife when it comes to money. (Esther 5:3) [Bridezilla aside: This should be Commandment No. 1 lah!]

See? I told ya they teach good stuff at PMC!

Sabtu, 21 Maret 2009 PMC jurusan matematika FMIPA UNNES mengadakan pelatihan swishmax. Bertempat di Lab. komputer 3 lantai 2 gedung D10 Laboratorium Matematika FMIPA-UNNES, peserta terlihat antusias untuk mengikuti pelatihan yang dimulai pukul 14.00 WIB ini. Pelatihan yang ditujukan khusus kepada anggota PMC diikuti oleh 25 mahasiswa yang ingin belajar tentang swishmax, karena program ini bermanfaat salah satunya untuk membuat media pembelajaran. Dengan dibantu oleh anggota MCC UNNES yaitu Sukma dan Imam, peserta mempelajari cara penggunaan swishmax, mulai dari pengenalan swishmax, membuat objek, memanipulasi objek, dan juga menambahkan animasi. Walaupun baru tingkat dasar, tidak sedikit peserta yang menemui kesulitan hal ini disebabkan sebagian besar peserta baru pertama kali mengoperasikan program ini. Pelatihan akan dilaksanakan 3x, yaitu tanggal 21, 28 Maret, dan 4 April 2009. Setelah mengikuti pelatihan swishmax diharapkan peserta memiliki dasar untuk dapat menghasilkan suatu karya berupa media pembelajaran elektronik. Software swishmax dapat di download di sini.

Hi,

Here the placement for Quality Engineer – Sohar, Oman.

• Our clients are in need of the following personnel for one of their new project in Sohar – Metals and Minerals project.
• They are looking for the following position in Sohar, Oman.

Quality Engineer
 

Required Experience:

• Design / Feed PMC Project experience.
• 10+ years experience in Oil and gas.

Would you be interested ?

Please send us your latest updated profile with contact nos.
current & expected salary details and joining time required toradha@kbsconsultants.com

You may also suggest this opening to your friends who may be interested.

Further Information:

KBS Consultants

Flat H,Kulothungan Apts,
No, 5 Natesan Road
Ashoknagar,
Chennai 600 083.
India
Phone: +91-44 2489 5341 / 2371 9622

Visit Our Sites:

International jobs: http://www.jobsearchworld.com/
SAP ERP Jobs : http://www.jobsvista.com/
Core Engineering Jobs : http://www.gotachance.com/
Technology Jobs : http://www.kbsconsultants.com/
India Jobs :http://www.kbsconsultants.org.in

It took longer than I would have liked, but the “official” thank yous have been sent to every donor.  If for some reason I missed someone, I am truly sorry. 

Now for the really great news…drum roll please.  Thanks to everyone’s help, we were able to raise $5,487!!!  This was $1,287 above my fund-raising minimum and $487 above my $5,000 goal.  Again THANK YOU!!!    In the three years that I’ve been riding, we’ve raised $14,847. Next year, I hope to eclipse the $20,000 mark.  I know with your help we can do it. 

Here are some of my final riding stats:

Total training rides: 28
Total miles (including the PMC) 803.61 – and probably more
Longest Training Ride: 67.19 miles (throgh the White Mountains)
Top Speed Reached: 43.63 mph
Total Hours on Bike: 23:34:12

My feeling is (and I don’t have any inside knowledge) is that we will reach our 2009 $30 million goal.

This is from PMC founder Billy Star about the PMC’s relationship with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute:

“The PMC’s impact on Dana-Farber has never been greater. This year, the PMC represents 44 percent of ALL gifts to Dana-Farber and more than 50 percent of all money raised on behalf of the Jimmy Fund. The PMC is far and away the lead gift of the 7-year $1 billion capital campaign (over $183 million). The PMC has become the Institute’s cornerstone annual annuity that keeps on giving. Despite the economy, the PMC and Dana-Farber remain in the forefront of American consciousness and philanthropy.”

Now that soccer is over and the cold weather is here, I’ll be making room in the basement to put the bike on the trainer and start getting back to work.  And who knows, maybe I’ll change things up this spring and try my hand at a few bike races.  If nothing else, it will give me something to write about.

Thanks again for everyone’s support!

Apple has esprit de corps, France Télécom does not. After all, people would kill to work at Apple, but kill themselves if forced to work at the maligned France Télécom. More than any other type of organization, save perhaps the nation itself, the army has esprit de corps, surely that’s where the very term was born. So what to make of private military contractors?

There are currently 250 thousand contractors fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The figure is rarely bandied around, but it does represent half of America’s fighting forces. Most of these guns for hire are army veterans, though many are not even American. In fact of map of PMC deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan would color the globe. To date at least 1,360 private contractors, working for the U.S., have lost their lives, and countless were seriously injured. No trumpets or flags. Their sacrifice was largely ignored. Soldiers are heroes, contractors are just doing a job.

Workers at France Télécom too, are just doing a job, not that the number of deaths are comparable. Their esprit de corps, founded on firm nationalist values, upheld by society, disappeared with the company’s privatization. Radical transformation, however, was not accompanied by cultural reinvention. Employees and clients had been mobilized around certain goals and beliefs, not least idea of a collective France. Today it seems like the company’s primary goal is not to serve customers, formerly known as compatriots, but to make a profit.

Blackwater, the largest, most charismatic, private military company, was so successful on the ground and caused such an impression that it actually had to do reverse branding, changing its name to an unmemorable ‘Xe’. Though they did keep the red and black claw logo. Together with others like Triple Canopy and Dyncorp, Xe is leading the privatization of war. Undoubtedly they need to profit in order to exist, but soldiers too need to profit.

Romantic notions of patria overshadow the fact that companies like Xe, by assuming the responsibility of serving their customers, exercise a civic duty. That’s when true esprit de corps, and respect, arises. Private military contractors or anybody who takes on that responsibility should be celebrated.

tratto da Tribuna Novarese

Earth Mother with Children pendant in bronze

Notes from the Artist:

Tactile bronze pendant has raised goddess/mother figure line design with small sculptural figures in high relief. Has a “discovered in ancient dig” quality with a modern twist. Great gift for Mom or the goddess on your list! approx. 1 5/8 inches pendant length. Includes 28″ knotted cord.

Cord Choices: Please specify if you prefer black satin, brown satin, or brown ribbon…if you don’t have a preference, I’ll choose for you.

Custom options available…Mothers, add more children as your family grows! I can make this pendant with 1 – 5 children(6 or more would require slight design modifications, but it is possible), 1-3 children are included in this price, additional child figures are $7 per child. Additionally, you can send this pendant back to me for add-on’s as your family grows!

Olá,

Semana terminando, mês de novembro começando. Último passo até o tão esperado Dezembro e, com ele, para alguns, a chegada das férias. Mas, continuando nossos trabalhos por aqui, trazemos as novidades de mais uma semana.

Para dar uma variada, deixamos no final lista dos textos mais lidos, no Ano e nos últimos 30 dias. Se você perdeu alguns deles e ficou com vontade de ler novamente, mas está com preguiça de procurar, vale a pena conferir.

Ótimo final de semana!

Daniel Pinheiro

————————————————————————–

Tiras do Heitor e Doni

Heitor e Doni (Tira 18)

————————————————————————–

Posts da Semana (em Ordem Alfabética)

————————————————————————–

Textos Mais Lidos (Top 10)

Do Ano

CONSUMISMO x CONSUMERISMO: Uma reflexão

Postura Abusiva – Preço do Álcool Gel Di

Vacina H1N1 e Sua Eficácia

Dissidentes em Ação

A Marca Topper (Especial Consumo)

Tropeço Gigantesco da Agência DM9

Música Sertaneja é uma Droga???

Produção de Vacina – Influenza A (H1N1)

Uso de Agrotóxicos no Brasil: liderança

Professor Ontem e Hoje

Quem é esse novo consumidor? (se é que e

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Dos Últimos 30 Dias

Música Sertaneja é uma Droga???

Vacina H1N1 e Sua Eficácia

CONSUMISMO x CONSUMERISMO: Uma reflexão

A Boa e Velha Pelada (Esporte e Saúde)

Desespero? Médico rouba paciente.

Prós e Contras da Redução da Jornada de

Letra de Introdução ao Hino Nacional Bra

Qual é a música???

Uso de Agrotóxicos no Brasil: liderança

Conhecendo Max Weber (por Paulo Rink)

Achei muito interessante mesmo. A chamada fala em preparação para a Copa 2014. Uma atitude madura da PMC. Parabéns. Seguem as informações.

Daniel Pinheiro

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O QUE É?

Um curso de inglês básico, com duração de aproximadamente 20 semanas, inteiramente gratuito, na modalidade ensino à distância (EAD), com fornecimento de material didático individual, apoio tecnológico e operacional logístico. Ele inclui uma aula inaugural, duas aulas de revisão e duas aulas de avaliação todas presenciais.

PORQUE CAPACITAR?

Em Curitiba, planificar a cidade tornou-se um processo contínuo, com as áreas de planejamento urbano e desenvolvimento social e econômico atuando exaustivamente na busca da premissa de pensar a “Cidade que Todos Queremos”, o que envolve a previsão do enfrentamento de possíveis gargalos estruturais e das demandas sociais da comunidade.

Preparar a cidade, identificar possíveis lacunas produtivas em empreendimentos de curta, média e longa maturação, demandam contínuo esforços do poder público, no sentido de planejar e executar ações de capacitação do principal agente da atividade produtiva, o “capital humano”.

Eventos internacionais e empresas multinacionais encontram em Curitiba ambiente favorável ao seu desenvolvimento, uma vez que as potencialidades socioeconômicas da capital abrem grandes possibilidades de negócios e investimentos de grande porte: a COPA – 2014; WTCC e o CURITIBA TECNOPARQUE, iniciativas potencialmente estruturantes e geradoras de empregos, exigindo capacitação tecnológica e qualificação profissional.

QUAL É O PÚBLICO?

Preferencialmente alunos do ensino médio da Rede Pública e empreendedores/empresários certificados pelo Programa Bom Negócio.

COMO FAÇO PARA PARTICIPAR?

Fazendo sua inscrição através de registro em meio eletrônico – site da Agência Curitiba – www.agenciacuritiba.com.br, da Prefeitura Municipal de Curitiba – www.curitiba.pr.gov.br, da parceira contratada – www.gseducacional.com.br, através da Central de Relacionamento do Instituto Curitiba de Informática – ICI – fone 156 ou ainda nas Unidades Regionais da Agência Curitiba localizadas nas Ruas da Cidadania. Na página de inscrição o candidato deverá escolher a escola e data de início das aulas de sua preferência. Caso não existam mais vagas nos locais escolhidos, deverá o aluno verificar outra opção de escola, ou fazer o registro de lista de espera para a localidade desejada. As inscrições serão aceitas por ordem de recebimento, até completar o numero de vagas ofertadas.

RECURSOS TECNOLÓGICOS

Ao realizar a inscrição, o candidato deverá informar se possui (TV, DVD e ou leitor de CD). Preferencialmente, o aluno deverá utilizar recursos próprios para evolução no curso. Para os alunos que não possuem tais recursos, será disponibilizada sala de vídeo-aula na estrutura da empresa parceira contratada, com capacidade para 20 alunos. Para a utilização da sala, o aluno poderá fazer um pré- agendamento, obedecido o calendário semanal de exibição das videoaulas através do telefone

0xx 41 3327 1700 ou pelo e-mail atendimento@gseducacional.com.br

ONDE E COMO SERÁ A AULA INAUGURAL?

Nas Escolas Municipais de Ensino de Curitiba que já recebem o Programa Comunidade Escola. A escola disponibilizará estrutura física para aproximadamente 100 pessoas por aula, com carteiras, televisão de no mínimo 29 polegadas ou tela de projeção com sistema de áudio. A estrutura e funcionamento do Inglês Básico serão abordados em detalhe, com apresentação de calendários e dicas para realizar o ensino a distância. Neste encontro, com aproximadamente 90 minutos, o aluno receberá todo o material didático do curso.

COMO SERÃO REALIZADAS AS REVISÕES?

Serão realizadas duas aulas de revisão para duas aulas de avaliação, presencialmente, com um tutor com formação em Língua Inglesa. As revisões devem ocorrer aproximadamente 10 dias antes de cada avaliação, nos mesmos locais utilizados à aula inaugural.

COMO SERÃO REALIZADAS AS AVALIAÇÕES?

Serão realizadas duas aulas de avaliação presenciais, objetivas, individuais e sem consulta que devem ocorrer ao término de cada etapa, conforme calendário recebido pelo participante. As avaliações acontecerão nos locais da aula inaugural e serão aplicadas pelos monitores do agente facilitador contratado.

SERÁ ENTREGUE CERTIFICADO?

O certificado será entregue aos participantes que alcançarem 100% de presença nos momentos presenciais e 50% de média final nas avaliações (média= avaliação 1 + avaliação 2/2).

COMO FAREI CASO NÃO POSSA COMPARECER NOS MOMENTOS PRESENCIAIS?

Caso o participante não possa comparecer nos momentos presenciais estabelecidos no calendário padrão da turma, deverá agendar reposição em outro local e horário disponível através do telefone

0xx 41 3327 1700 ou pelo e-mail atendimento@gseducacional.com.br

O QUE É O AVA E COMO VOU ACESSÁ-LO?

AVA – Ambiente Virtual de Aprendizagem é uma ferramenta tecnológica de comunicação permanente entre a Unidade Gestora ou Grupo Gestor do Programa, tutores, alunos e demais participantes do processo de ensino. O aluno receberá, na aula inaugural, login e senha específica para acesso. A utilização do AVA deverá dar oportunidade ilimitada de acessos e será estimulada durante todo o período do curso.

QUAL É O MATERIAL DIDÁTICO QUE SERÁ DISPONIBILIZADO?

CD (COMPACT DISC) – material de áudio com duração entre 2 e 3 horas;

DVD (DIGITAL VÍDEO DISC) – material de videoaulas abordando o Inglês Básico, com carga horária total entre 15 e 20 horas, apresentado por professor conteúdista;

LIVRO – com capa no formato 425×275, colorido em papel offset 70 gramas contendo o nº do ISBN da Fundação Biblioteca Nacional.

QUAL É O PERFIL DO CORPO TÉCNICO?

PROFESSOR CONTEÚDISTA – Mestre, graduado em letras, com capacitação específica em tradução em Inglês.

TUTOR EAD – AULA INAUGURAL – Nível Superior, com habilidades e experiências na facilitação motivacional de grupos.

TUTOR LÍNGUA INGLESA - REVISÕES E AVA – Nível Superior, com formação específica em Língua Inglesa, compreendendo comunicação oral e estrutura gramatical.

MONITOR DAS AVALIAÇÕES – Nível Médio completo tendo capacidade de observação e fiscalização.

PREMIAÇÃO

Aos alunos que atingirem média final acima de 75%, será ofertada a possibilidade de participação no Programa Lapidando Talentos – a TI, satisfeitos os requisitos de seleção, para capacitação em Programação Trainee em Tecnologia da Informação, visando à inserção no mercado de trabalho.

INFORMAÇÕES

www.agenciacuritiba.com.br

e-mail – atendimento@gseducacional.com.br

fone – 0xx 41 3327 1700

Twitter just introduced a new way of organizing the blizzard of tweets that you may get hit by on their site. You can now create lists of people that have one common denominator in some shape or form. It makes it a lot easier to filter what you may be interested in and avoid some of the stuff you are not.

So, since I am making handmade jewelry, it was merely a matter of time until I started a list about just that. I have accumulated more than 450 artisans that all make handmade jewelry of some kind. You will find glass, steam punk, wire wrapping, silversmithing, PMC and lots more. Come take a peek and get emerged in style, fashion, color, luxury and bling!

If you are creating handmade jewelry, have a twitter account and would like to be included in this list, please leave a comment or send me a direct message on Twitter.

The news that Simon Mann is being released from his confinement in a deep dark African jail is no doubt cheering for his family, but probably less so for the likes of Mark Thatcher who will no doubt be rueing the day that he ‘paid for an air ambulance’. Mann’s remarkable ability not to remain tight lipped will surely result in some candid remarks to newspapers in weeks to come.

But surely, one might think Mann is something of a one off, an unusual case, there can’t be many mercenaries knocking about, ready to go off on half baked coup plots. Well ok, most of them may not be ready to get involved in such nonsense as Mann did, but there are certainly plenty of them around.

I speak dear reader, as one who knows, having been involved in one way or another with two separate groups of people who were directly involvedin these kind of activities. Strange for a pacifist I know, but there you go.

I am not going to name names, but one chap I did some research work for a number of years ago recently returned to the Uk after a sojourn in Sudan, where he was working for one fo the rebel factions. Like Mann he is an outwardly posh, smart looking figure, who has an air of authority and mystery which is carefully cultivated to impress those who pay him. They might be heads of multinational corporations or insurance companies, or they might just as well be leaders of rebel armies.

Another group I worked for during another contract were led by a quiet, friendly looking chap who seemed more interested in walking in the countryside than working on a computer, he it turned out had been a senior NCO in the SAS for a number of years. I beleive he is right now in Iraq, where he has been providing private security services for a number of years.

During the time when I worked for these men I came into contact with lots of other people working ‘on the circuit’, this being just after the twin towers fell, they were all of a sudden in great demand, today I beleive there is much less demand, and the massive pay packets demanded by skilled ex SAS men have been diluted because of the flood of much cheaper gun carriers from Eastern Europe.

Most of these guys dont look like Simon Mann, many of them are very inconspicuous, that’s how they are trained to be in fact. Their leaders may be a bit more toffish, but in my experience most of the guys who do the shooting are working class men with families to look after. And if what they told me is true, most of them are Scottish.

Remember Margaret Thatcher’s comment about the SAS men she met having ginger hair and moustaches? I found that to be true too, often not very tall either. Apparently the muscular guys dont fare so well in ‘the Regiment’ where stamina and an ability to be bloody minded are prized assets. The guys with the big shoulders tend to end up in the Royal Marines, or the shaky boats (SBS) where their ability to climb up ropes and swim at 100 miles an hour is more valuable.

Until the Government does something about PMC’s (Private military companies) there will remain many mercenaries available for hire here in the UK, anyone with enough money could get a small army together pretty quickly, and providing they are whisking them off to foreign soil, they wont exactly struggle to find volunteers.

EDIT: The best of today’s crop of articles, albeit somewhat sympathetic to Mann, is possibly this one from the Times, which raises his involvement in EO and Sandline, two legends of the Mercenary world.

Added bass-traps to the front of the studio to control front-back reflections (mine look a lot better than the videos, thanks to Dan’s amazing workshop). The stereo image in the room has really improved, but the verdict on the surround imaging is still out, as I came down with a mild flu and my ears/head are stuffed up… I have a code!

Is there anyone else out there that is trying to get to grips with Argentium silver and not exactly meeting with success??  I have tried to find information on other people’s experiences with it but have come up with very little success so far…but I will keep looking!!

I am a really recent convert to making jewellery with silver so I don’t have a lot of experience of working with the metal to really know what to expect when faced with Argentium!  But I have always been one to have a go and experiment!  I love working with pure ‘fine’ silver…it is just so clean and beautiful to work with….but it is not a very strong metal.  So although I make chunky, decorative chains from fine silver and use pmc with it as well, I am very aware of its limitations. That is why I was very excited when Argentium was finally available in the UK!

I have made earwires and catches with it since July with great success but I thought it was time to get more serious with it…and I especially wanted to see how compatible it is with pmc….so I have been having a play with it this week…  Can I just say that I am pretty new with pmc as well…and am reluctant to commit large pieces of it to experimentation!!

I have had a go at annealing the Argentium with a torch – using the Sharpie trick – and just watching for a very dull red colour change in a darkened studio but found it less than successful…so this time  – after initially trying to wind it round mandrels straight from the supplier and creating a very springy spring!  – I tried annealing it in the kiln…with the door ajar to allow lots of oxygen to circulate…

After allowing it to cool a bit and quenching it – it still looked rather springy…

Trying to get it tight round a mandrel was impossible – although I taped it into place!  See the gap that sprung open as I cut through the rings!!!

Anyway – I persevered…  I have already discovered that Argentium fuses really well…doesn’t even need a flux…and amazingly it goes silver again as it reaches fusing temperature!  Can you spot the difference between the fused and non fused rings here!!!

And here is the difference between the colour of the fused rings (right) and the smaller rings that I cleaned up in pickle…

So now we have my little pmc additions.  I have previously tried attaching stars and holly leaves to elongated Argentium  jumprings using pmc slip with some success and discovered that  if the attached area is too great it causes the Argentium to distort alarmingly!   So I have been very careful of the way I have attached them this time.  The rings were real experiments where I literally only attached the rings to the back with 3 or 4 little spots of pmc slip…just to see how strong a bond this would make!

Well – you can see by the results that the rings have distorted pretty dramatically  here so obviously the Argentium has adhered pretty well to the pmc even with a few dabs of slip!!  I am still pretty shocked by the extent of the blackening of the Argentium though – considering how bright it was after fusing it!  It is so thick it is actually pinging off the surface in little flakes!!

So I plopped them all into pickle after they had all cooled down a bit! and they came out looking lovely!

But as I gathered them all together I felt a horrible crunching noise in my hand and—– disaster!!  The ring from the ivy leaf – which had distorted so much in firing had snapped!  And as I manipulated it more I discovered that not only had it snapped but that I could break the rest of the Argentium off of the pmc leaf just using my fingers – and worse still…it snapped just like a piece of dry spaghetti!!

But I plodded on with my plans and popped a bit on enamel onto the pieces that were left…only to get distracted at the vital moment and ended up leaving them in the kiln for much too long…so that wasn’t much of a success either!!  A bit of a bad day all in all!!  (And it does get worse!!)  But look again!!  …why has the Argentium not blackened this time?  I fire my pmc and my enamel at the same temperature 820 degrees C – so why did it go black when fired with pmc but not when enamel firing and accidently leaving it in a hot kiln for the same sort of time??

Having messed these up I left them to cool in the kiln and had an evening with my grandchildren before looking at the pieces this morning….and yes…I couldn’t resist a fiddle!!  I could tell that the wire was just not feeling right…no where near as fragile as the ivy leaf ring was – but obviously not good…and there we go….  A pile of so much scrap!!

The broken wire I have discovered balls up beautifully – so perhaps that is not entirely wasted…but I can’t think how to salvage the pmc!!

I don’t know what I have learned from all this yet…and would welcome any comments!!  Perhaps Argentium isn’t compatible with pmc…not with a physical bond anyway.  I am thinking that the shrinking process with the pmc3 is disturbing the Argentium when it is at its weakest and most brittle state and causing it to shatter all through.  Perhaps it can only fire with pmc at its lowest firing temperature.   Perhaps it is only safe to use it with a mechanical attachment to pmc pieces….

Perhaps I will just go back to fine silver!!

As I have said above…I would really welcome any comments…and would love to have some information on how you have found Argentium to perform in the workshop…and with pmc if you have tried it!!

It is time now to introduce you to another one of my Precious Metal Clay creations.

I just finished this pendant and I have to say, it very much developed while I was working on it. There were no sketches and no drawings. I did no planing at all this time. It was just the clay and me and the notion of:  Do what you will. And this is what happened.

So the only question now is, should I market it to the Vampire kids or the Goth kids?

So what do you think?