This is another project(like book design) which is coming to a close now, with only 2 weeks left until the deadline!

With it being our first project when we got back into the 2nd year of our course we all have struggled with this project really, as its coming to the point now where we are running around like headless chickens – we will learn, sometime in the future!

Basically, the brief is to design 3 whole CDs; front cover, back cover, booklet, CD, spines – EVEYTHING! Our tutor set us classical music because he knew that none of us were really into classical music so we could do a project that we didn’t know anything about. He gave us Chopin, Mendelssohn and Mozart to choose between and then we were off into the world of CD design… mainly focusing on the typography. I listened to works from all 3 and chose Mozart because I liked his work the best.

My mind spluttered like a car that has ran out of petrol. Eurgh. Where to start? Well, we had to avoid all the cliche images associated with classical music e.g. flowers, music notes, instruments, the composer, so that helped eliminate some ideas. I listened to some previews of the music to see what it reminded me of, if anything and I used watercolour paints to draw strokes in reflection to the music. I thought about using these with black ink line drawings over the top like work by Natalia Grosner and Baiba Ladiga.

Natalia Grosner (above)

Baiba Ladiga (above)

My watercolour efforts – not as elegant unfortuantly, I am NEW to watercolour (only the second time I have used them) I scanned these in at 500% to get good detail!

After a discussion with my tutor, who saw some of the painting work to be like contours of mountains on a map, I then changed my mind and focused on producing a more typography based design on the style of maps.

I discussed the new idea with my fellow Graphic Design student Luis, and he suggested a more subtle style using white and shades of grey instead of bright, childish colours.

This is the map that is kind of inspiration, found here.

THEN it developed further – I had a brainwave! Luis (now on the foundation course) had been a second year on the National Diploma last year and for one of his projects he had cut some letters (in helvetica of course!) from foam and covered them in white emulsion paint to get a dripping effect. I thought this would be a good way to create my mountain ranges on white paper, and then I could photograph them to get the grey shadows I wanted!

The first attempt didn’t really go how I planned, I left the paint to dry and hoped it would crack a bit – but it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. So I tried again, this time taking my pictures while the paint was wet. I got some good shots, but wasn’t totally happy with them because there was so much grey:

….so I tried again! And this time I used a bit of photoshop, I like the result:

I’ve also been working on the inside booklet, which I have decided to make a fold-out poster of a contour map. Here is the first version, but I need to sort out the font size, colour and create some kind of key so that reading the passage in order is easy to do:

This post will focus on the lesser-known variations in the Dallas, TX based company’s sophmore set. 1990 Pro Set is home to a ton of well-documented variations: The New Orleans saints cards with white numbers, cards of Ray Perkins and Johnny Holland are missing their names and position on the reverse, stat errors in the text of Joe Montana’s card #2, etc…all of that info has been recorded in many places online and is usually just a click away. Tonight, I’m going to showcase some of the lesser known variations that can be found in the set.

#772 Dexter Manley backwards T. Manley’s card is already one of the most desirable error cards produced in modern trading cards. As of this writing, the last sale was for over $600. For those who don’t know, Manley’s card originally had a message about his suspension from the league due to violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, to which Manley and his lawyer objected. According to Pro Set, just a handful slipped through before correction. Not a new story in the error card world, but what many people are just finding out, is that a third variety exists: a version of the corrected card where the ‘t’ in “Official card of the NFL” on back (at bottom) looks as though it was printed backwards, or better yet, like a ‘j’ that had it’s top crossed instead of dotted. The backwards t is also present on the original substance abuse version as well, making this card a somewhat difficult “transitional” variety. In the 55 sets I have acquired in pursuit of the ’substance abuse’ error, I have found just one of these ‘backward t’ errors!

#134 Andre Rison with “clipped” number on back. Rison’s card is already a mess as it comes in 3-different varieties to begin with: a) No trade on front (NTOF) b) Trade on front (TOF) c) Trade on front, Message back (TOFMB). Both types that show #134 in the bottom right corner can be found with the top of the digits sliced off. My experience collecting these variations has shown a 1 error: 4 corrected for each of the (NTOF) and (TOF) types.

#134 Andre Rison (Lud Denny Message on back) signature variations: Rison’s message back card was always one of my favorite pulls as a kid. It was just weird! The president of a card company explaining themselves to me in letter form? On that back of one of the hottest young receiver’s in the league’s card?? I vaguely recall reading something back in 1990 about a version that didn’t have all of the message printed on back and I eagerly tried to find one for myself. Unfortunately, as of now, it remains in my “Urban card legends” file as I’ve yet to see or hear of another copy since. But my hunt did however, turn up a variation in this card: One variety has Lud’s signature printed so that it nearly touches his name and the word ’sincerely’ and another has it spaced further away. I have found 1 ‘close’ version for every 10 ‘further’ copies I own.

#59 Mike Ditka large ‘Hall of Fame’ print. A fairly straight-forward one that may not entirely qualify for the ‘unknown’ title, but since it’s not cataloged in any of the annual guides, it’s worth mentioning here. Mike Ditka’s card comes in two different varieties involving the font size of the words “Hall of Fame” in the banner on front: The much rarer version has the larger font that stretches across the entire banner-usually getting cut off at the edges while the more common version is shrunk to fit with a little room around the words. I have found just 3 copies of the large print for my 90 small print ones making this, in my opinion, of course, one of the rarest pack-issued variations from 1990 Pro Set.

A few final notes of interest for 1990 Pro Set:

-The Santa Claus card is rumored to come in two different versions. I have a magazine or two from early 1991 where readers wrote in to ask about this. I own a dozen of copies of the card and they all look the same to me. The only mistake I can find is that they forgot a quotation mark after the word WARE (for Andre Ware) but I have yet to see a corrected copy. Something tells me that this isn’t why collectors thought a variation existed.  Also, the 1989 Santa is rumored as well, to have a version when there is a statistical measurement for his belly on back. Can anyone confirm this?

-#719 Mike Bellamy can be found with the right arm of the Y in BELLAMY clipped off on the card front. I have found just 3 copies like this in roughly 60 copies I own.

-#644 Dave Waymer is rumored to exist in a version similar to Rod Woodson and Wes Hopkins’ cards where the stat headings are printed in black instead of red. I can’t confirm this, but I can confirm that 1:3 of the copies I have found has a thin, jagged, almost hand-printed looking line under the TOTALS on back, maybe not rare but a definite variation that Pro Set took the time to change.

-#343 Chris Hinton Pro Bowl card is a well-known variation due to it receiving a traded ’snipe’ on the front. Pro Set also changed the text on back to mention his trade. A third variety may be out there that shows the trade ’snipe’ but without the new text on back. This would likely be a very short run ‘transitional’ type card similar to the 1989 variations of Jim McMahon, Gerald Riggs and Earnest Byner. Based on my 80+ copies, I am unable to confirm this right now.

Stay tuned for a pt. 2 to the 1990 Pro Set section – there’s a lot of “mistakes” in this set.

1991 Topps is remembered by most collectors for it’s “1 of every card ever produced” sweepstakes. And most collectors who pursued Topps’ challenge to “find the Mick” in the 1991 packs were very dissapointed to discover that after hundreds or thousands of opened packs, not a single vintage card, or for the extremely lucky among them, a VG 1974 Topps common!

Though the 1991 set does boast some of Topps’ best photography up to that point and an already classic design, it’s also Topps’ most variation-heavy set ever produced! And since it was the last Topps set where the company made the effort to stop their presses and correct a large portion of errors, several of the rarest variations in Topps’ catalog can be found in this set. Here is a look at some of the toughest Topps variations from  the 1991 issue:

#685 Doug Drabek with WHITE inset border. Probably the most sought-after error in this set, Topps originally printed the card with a white border over his picture instead of the correctly-themed black. Tthis extremely difficult variation is believed to only be found in a limited amount of jumbo packs. Often times, the corrected version appears in boxes that contain the Chris Hoiles variation of similar type. Sales have seen over $100 for this card in previous years!

#42 Chris Hoiles with WHITE inset border. Like the Drabek mentioned above, this scarce variety originally had a white photo frame before Topps’ proofers changed it. Seemingly less scarce than the Drabek but far rarer than many Topps error cards of the 80’s and 90’s, this is usually the #2 or #3 most sought-after variation from this set.

The next variation is typically the #2 most-wanted error card in the 1991 set, but since it’s cataloged in the Sports Collector’s Digest Annual Price Guide, it has gained much more recognition than the Doug Drabek error. I have received many wantlists from master set builders, variation collectors and pretty much every other type of collector, asking for this card:

#588 Mark Whiten with HAND OVER BORDER. Note ‘Hard-Hittin’s’ hand extends into the white border area – this was changed to look as though the border was printed over his hand. Topps’ decision to “correct” this card is a baffling one since a large number of players in the 1991 set can be found with appendages, hats, bats, etc sticking out into the white border area. Regardless, this card is one of the rarest Topps variations of the junk era. I have personally opnened countless amounts of every packaging type, from the elusive 100ct jumbo packs to retail and hobby factory sets to vending boxes and everything in between from every possible region of the United States and have yet to pull one of these from Topps’ packaging. I have even pulled 2 vintage commons ( a 1968 and a 1975) in that time! I have found these in commons boxes, hand-collated sets and those weird team sets you used to find at the grocery store. My theory on this card’s issue is that it was likely found in one specific packaging type and corrected very early in the run.

Next up, a mostly-unnoticeable but truly rare variation:

#459 Tom Trebelhorn with A* in copyright on back. Unfortunately, I do not have an image for this card. The majority of Topps cards from 1974(?) through 1998 have what is called a ‘printer’s designation mark’ on the back before their copyright line. This is usually a letter A, B, C, D, E, F etc or an asterisk ( * ) or double-asterisk ( * * ) and it let’s the printer’s know which sheet is which. During Topps’ run of 792 card sets, 132 different cards appeared on 6 different sheets.

Trebelhorn’s card is one of several in the 1991 set that have more than one sheet code. In his case, a rare variety exists depicting his card as part of the A* sheet. I have seen just 5 examples of this card since 1991! Whether or not it actually existed on the A* or it just received the A* while part of the B* sheet is unknown, but scarce it definitely is. Often times, sheet code variations aren’t considered to be a must-have for many collectors, but this one is worth adding to your 1991 master set.

And speaking of sheet code variations…

It’s worth noting that several of the 1991 Topps cards from the A* sheet are rumored to exist in an A*B* variety. I have yet to personally own or even see one of these (card #83 Daryl Boston being the common exception), but many collector’s have assured me that they do in fact, exist. They are often on many want-lists that get sent to me and would likely bring a decent premium if offered at auction. If anyone has a scan of an example, please feel free to email one and I’ll post it in this blog.

Several other variations featuring E*F* or F* sheet codes exist in the 1991 set and are fairly common.

#48 Dennis ‘Oil Can’ Boyd with Black-bordered banner tip.

This is a tricky one. Take a look at card #48, specifically where Boyd’s wrist meets the “40th Anniversary” banner at upper left. Originally Topps airbrushed the area a brownish color to reflect Boyd’s wrist being printed over the banner, then it was changed to a pink color in order to place the banner on top of Boyd’s hand. Both were produced in seemingly equal quantities. Sometimes the pair would sell for a small premium but it was a relatively well-known variety that quickly became easy for collectors to find and add to their sets. But in recent years, a third variety showed up, one where Topps added a thin black border around the banner tip to further punctuate the banner’s dominance of Boyd’s hand! Topps was not messing around!! They felt so strongly that this miniscule conflict needed a third correction at the end of the print run! Still, today, I can only vouch for just 3 known copies! Maybe one day when all these variations are cataloged in the annual guides, more will creep out of collections and a true guage for their rarity will be determined, until then, this is one of the rarest of the 1991’s!

#720 Cecil Fielder with RED NUMBER (and other D* sheet red numbers). This is more of a printing-flaw thing that seems to have occurred semi-frequently. As I have found a handfull of boxes during my travels that are affected by this variation. The card number on back is colored red (or pink), the same as the background of the bio data area on the card. So far, I have only found cards of the D* sheet affected by this variation. These are pretty tough to find and scarce in my opinion, so if you’re looking to build a master set, they’d be a great addition despite the ambiguous number of total affected subjects.

Bold 40th Logo variations. These aren’t rare. They are less-common than your regular “ghosted” or “faint 40th logo” backed 1991 Topps cards. A complete set of them can be a tricky task and I believe they are essential for a master set, but for the most part they are not scarce. All cards (except the Managers) that come from the A* and B* sheets can be found in a parallel version with a thick, dark red 40th Anniversary logo imposed over the statistics on back. Why Topps decided to produce a partial parallel set of this kind is unknown, but an interesting fact is that all the A* and B* sheet players in the wildly popular Desert Shield set come in this variety only. Also, several cards already affected by variations such as Mark McGwire, Oil Can Boyd, Greg Swindell, Kevin Seitzer and Dennis Rassmussen, also come with Bold 40th logo backs as well…see, tricky stuff, just when you thought you had it all figured out!

1991 Topps has a ton of easy-to-find, well-known and little-known variations: border colors, wrong photos, statistical errors, etc. A quick google search will pull up a number of lists (fairly accurate) that give a breakdown on what numbers/subjects are affected by variations and what those variations are, so I’m going to skip listing all of those. The ones I’ve outlined above are the key toughies to knock-down in the pursuit of a master set, if you can locate them, then everything else can usually be found pretty easily ( I know because I have a 5000ct box full of them).

Stay tuned for further blogs, hopefully if enough people start reading them, I can start doing giveaways and contests for unlisted variations.

To get things started, let’s take a look at the enigmatic, and Topps Heritage-esque, 1990 Bowman Baseball Set:

It took me almost 17 years to notice the approximately 100 different variations found in this set. Many longtime collector’s who own an annual price guide already know about the semi-rare, David Segui #251 with his bio information missing on back. This interesting error is the only one like it in the set and currently lists at $3.50, though I’ve seen them sell for much higher and and a little lower at times. But what many collectors don’t yet know of, is that Bowman issued 2 different versions of several of the subjects in this set. Like today’s Topps Heritage line, some of the players can be seen posed against night backgrounds and daytime backgrounds due to some expert airbrushing. Some players sport both gray and white jerseys on their cards and a handful of players had troublesome light posts and clouds airbrushed away in their backgrounds.

Robin Ventura #311 has had his background and jersey re-touched by Topps’ editors.

Pete O’Brien has seen his jersey go from gray to white in subsquent printings.

Now, these are just a couple examples of this type of variation found in the set. Many stars like Don Mattingly, Dave Winfield, Nolan Ryan, Rickey Henderson and Matt Williams for example, are all affected by Topps’ mysterious editing choices for this set. Almost all of the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins players have had their jerseys altered from gray to white, and in the case of some Twins, their pinstripes have even been removed from their jerseys!

Some other oddities to look for:

#29 Mark Grace: Bowman removed a black bar originally printed on his hand.

#34 Earl Cunningham: Originally had an asterisk after the word “in” on back, but was changed pretty late in the run.

#399 Dave Parker: Can be found with or without his copyright line on back.

#NNO Doc Gooden Art Insert: Can be found with the word “$100,000″ missing on back.

Since the discovery of these variations is relatively new, a true market value has yet to be established but a few mentioned above have already seen bid amounts that exceed the entire set’s book value. For the time being, aproximately 100 different variations have turned up with several more probably out there waiting to be discovered. Even if they weren’t produced in scarce quantities per se, a master set of this variation-laden issue would be a worthy accomplishment and a great addition to any collection.

Here’s a great quotation utilizing an assorted variations of the conjugated verb “to be.”

“I’d rather be a could-be if I cannot be an are; because a could-be is a maybe who is reaching for a star. I’d rather be a has-been than a might-have-been, by far; for a might-have-been has never been, but a has was once an are.” 

– Milton Berle

Diesmal schreibe ich etwas total Unpolitisches. Versprochen! Ich weise nur dezent, wie es meine Art ist, darauf hin, dass es wieder was Neues von mir zu hören gibt. Ganz neu ist es nicht, hat auch schon ein gutes Jahr auf dem Buckel, war aber jenseits seiner ursprünglichen Funktion als Theatermusik für “Sehnsucht Ahoi” niemals wo zu hören. Es ist ein Thema, das eine Reise antritt durch Stile und Genres, jegliche Grenzen und Konventionen ignorierend, und letztendlich wieder bei sich selbst anlangt. Ob gereift, geläutert oder gar erleuchtet? I don’t know. Just listen:

 Today’s artistic inspiration features artwork by Clarissa Paiva aka. Variations. She has a beautiful unique style that is soft and passionate. More than anything it was the mesmerizing eyes of characters that really drew me in. Hope he work inspires you as much as it inspired me!  xoxo 

Centaurette II

Native Daughter

Oh you pretty things

Thank you I’d love some more

Empty Roses

The great disguise

Play mahjongg solitaire in any of twelve unique ways with the exciting and extremely versatile Mahjongg Variations.

This game features 16 layouts, 16 backgrounds, and 800 unique puzzle levels. Choose how to play: Select regular modes with classic rules or new modes where you can do things like invert columns, match doubles right away, zap out tiles, and test your memory.

Download today and add some variety to your life.

Sixteen multi-themed tile sets.

16 layouts and backgrounds.

800 unique puzzle levels.

System Requirements:

OS: Windows 2000/XP/VISTA

CPU: 600MHz or faster Processor

RAM: 128 MB

It Takes Just A second To Say Thanks,

It Takes Longer To The Work On This.

Mahjongg Variations

Students of a new language follow a process in building their fluency from learning one word to reading whole novels.  First they learn vocabulary words that are very important to know right from the start.  Then they use those words to make phrases and sentences, conveying basic thoughts and ideas.  Next, they build phrases and sentences into paragraphs.  Finally, they enhance their skills by adding style, unexpected word play, and the always popular “$50 words.”

The building blocks of partner dance levels can be approached in much the same way:

BEGINNING LEVEL

Rhythm and primary patterns typical of the dance style

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Variations on and combinations of beginning patterns; and secondary patterns not related to primary patterns

ADVANCED LEVEL

Tertiary patterns that are either new patterns or variations on secondary patterns; and musicality

MASTERS LEVEL

Musicality; trick patterns and other cool moves; and understanding song structure

FOR ALL LEVELS

Within each level, there are countless ways to add flavor without challenging your students beyond their abilities.  Try using progressively faster music over the course of a lesson, when appropriate.  (For dances like Rumba and Argentine Tango, change the genre of music — slow rock ballads in place of Latin boleros or slow blues in place of traditional tangos).  Turns, footwork variations, changes of hand hold and embellishments are also very good tools to spice up a class while adding to your students’ growth as dancers.

“Dance is the hidden language of the soul, of the body”
Martha Graham

Traditionally, in the United Kingdom, bonfire night is celebrated on the 5th November each year. It’s origin was due to the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the capture and subsequent execution of the conspirators, the most famous of which being Guy Fawkes. On bonfire night effigies of Fawkes are burnt on bonfires, and fireworks are let off and in some towns and cities displays are held. There are even certain foods eaten on this night and these include: Toffee apples, parkin cake and jacket potatoes among others. Variations of the night are also celebrated in other countries throughout the world. In this country however, I have to wonder how long it will be before the political correctness brigade get their hands on it and ruin it as they have insisted on doing with so many other things in the recent past. Thanks for reading.

Making the right decisions in the middle of an iteration or release cycle is risky and needs good judgment. Investing in a reusable asset is no exception.

What can help you take decisions on whether it is worth investing the time and effort for making a software capability reusable? The single most important factor is business relevance. Is the capability a priority for your business? Even if it is not a priority, is it one for the medium or long term? If the answer to these questions is no, you shouldn’t invest valuable resources into making your capability reusable. Yes, if it isn’t relevant, it needn’t be reusable. Assuming a capability is business relevant, there are several considerations you can think about:

Design Considerations:

1. Do you have user stories that either directly or indirectly requires this capability? For instance, if you have a login customer user story, and you don’t have a customer component, this is an opportunity to create one. In the same vein, the login customer story itself might have variations. What are the different kinds of login that you need to support? Username/password, username/password/special verification text, email/password, username/random set of questions, username/defined set of questions etc.
2. Do you understand the extent of variability that is required for the asset? Consider the ratio of the features that vary a lot vs. the overall functionality.  Even if you end up with a gross, high-level percentage it will help you during design.
3. Consider specifically the aspects that vary and the number of variations you need to support. This is very critical to plan for the reusable asset. Remember, you are pursuing iteration not perfection! Draw a distinction between the variations that are an absolute must vs. ones that can be built over time. If you look back at the first point, maybe your business only needs the simple login using username and password. In that case don’t rush into building in variation support. On the other hand, if they come back and ask for multiple kinds of login you can always refactor to support variability.

Process Considerations

1. Will the capability add significant schedule or technical risks? If so, you need to make this transparent and get clarity from your sponsors. You can explain the rationale for investing in a reusable capability if there is business relevance. Similarly, if schedule risk is unacceptable or you have other higher priority assets to build, refactor, etc. then add this asset to the refactoring list and revisit later.
2. Will the capability introduce deployment changes? Does it need an additional resource such as a database, a configuration file, or is dependent on an external service provider? In that case you will want to run it by your production support and operations partners and get their buy-in.

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The creative team at Badec Bros Deco realized that there was a demand for mild steel pot liners and subsequently set about designing and manufacturing these novel products.

These liners can either be rubberized to prolong the life of the liner; or they can be finished in a mild steel finish, rusted effect or in a powder coated finish. The type of protection depends on the over-all appearance of the Cubedec pot. Our powder coating is SABS approved and the variety of colours to choose from is endless.

Our mild steel liners can be welded into our pots or made to fit snugly, to create uniformity. We also manufacture a mild steel lip, measuring 10cm in width to cover the liner.

The main advantage of mild steel liners, is that it will discourage vandals from tampering with the pots and even from stealing the plants, as has been recorded in shopping centres. One can also play around with colour variations. For instance, you can powder coat the pot in one colour and the liner in another.

Should you wish to have your very own signature Badec Bros Deco Cubedec pot and liner, gabion counter, narration stand, gabion light cage, gabion bollard, gabion water feature, sculptured living wall, sculptured flagpoles, unique pot and drip tray, customized sculpture, Cubedec bench, trendy steel décor with your company logo emblazoned on it, mild steel inspirational slogan, steel laser-cut signage, mild steel mould, Cubedec Pot, hanging sculpture, gabion pot, gabion wall or gabion terrace, wooden or steel feature poles, bar code trellis, Cubedec water feature, pergola, arch, sculpture, dustbin or trellis, please feel free to contact our energetic and knowledgeable sales representative, Mareleen van Zijl, on her cell phone at 078 800 5112, the office number at 012 460 7990, or via e-mail at mareleen@badecbros.com  

She will gladly arrange an appointment with you to listen to your ideas and to stun you with our own creative ideas! You dream it, we manufacture it!

Badec Bros Deco will create a 3 dimensional render and calculate a quotation FREE OF CHARGE for you! We can deliver your unique Badec Bros Deco product(s) within 10 to 15 working days, upon acceptance of the design and quotation and the required 50% deposit. These services come standard and will not cost you a cent extra! We offer a 1 year guarantee on all our products.

Ever since I became a vegan hummus has become an everyday staple in my diet.  Its low n calories and fat and great as a dip or a condiment.  I put it on everthing.  This is the basic hummus recipe I use.  There are allot of variations that I love that I have listed below the recipie.  try them all you wont be dissapointed.

Ingredients

• 1 Can Chickpeas aka garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lime juiced
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 2 tbsp seasame tahini
• 1 tbsp vegan sour cream (or regular sour cream if your not vegan)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Place the Chickpeas garlic oil tahini lime juice and sour cream in the food processor.  Blend until smooth.  add the remaining ingredients.  blend until well combined.  Adjust seasonings to taste.

I like to serve my hummus topped with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar as well as fine diced tomatos.  I usually go with toasted pitas but you can use whatever you like to dig into this tasty recipe.

Variations

Roasted red pepper Hummus

Omit the vegan sour cream from the basic recipe.  Place a red bell pepper on a grill or under a broiler on high heat.  When the ouside skin is black remove from heat.  Run under cold water to help remove the skin.  Remove the seeds from the inside.  Place a half of the pepper into the food processor with basic hummus and blend until well combined.

White hot habenero hummus — Warning this will be hot, no joke.

Roast one habenero as described above.  Be sure to remove all the seeds.  Add the meat of the pepper to the plain hummus.  Be sure to wash your hands after handling the habenero, you dont want to get that oil on your face, I had to learn that one the hard way.

Sundried tomato hummus

Soak 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes in warm water for five minutes.  Fine dice them and add them to the food processor with 1 tbsp of the liquid they soaked in.  Blend until smooth

Garlic lovers Hummus

Roast and entire bulb of garlic until the cloves are all soft.  Mash the cloves and add the paste to the basic recipe.

Chipotle Hummus

But a can of chipotle peppers from the Mexican food isle of your grocery store.  Chop two of them up and add them to the basic hummus.  Blend until smooth

Spinach and artichoke hummus

Add 1/2 cup sauteed spinach and 1 chopped artichoke heart to the basic recipe.

These are just a few little creations I have thrown together in the past.  whatever you like you can integrate into the basic recipe above.  Get creative and let me know what you come up with.

If you ask developers about interfaces they typically build you will hear some form of create, read, update, and delete (CRUD). CRUD-type interfaces are simple to understand and are intuitive. They tend to be used heavily in the data access layer operating on your various data entities. At a high level these interfaces seem to meet your product line needs. This may not always be the case though! Why do I say this? The interfaces you create for a product line depends on the variations you need to support and manage. Variations will require interfaces that vary in granularity. Some operations might operate on a data entity while others might operate on an aggregate. Still others might operate at a subset of a data entity. For example, say you develop solutions for the banking product line where in you have an online portal, mobile bank, and branch services. All these products in your product line might support money transfer. Online portal might display a complete set of from and to accounts while mobile might display only a primary account. Branch might provide only accounts eligible when initiated by a branch. To address the variations you have to go beyond just getting the right set of accounts and have a reusable asset use a mechanism to access and execute business rules.

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Fashion can refer to the style or custom of dress that prevails at a given time. It can also refer to the garment that that is in style or the making of it. So, you can fashion your fashions in the fashion of the current trends. Well, you get the idea.

There are many variations in fashion around the world. Often, these variations are determined by the culture of the different regions. Variations can be very distinct, such as the Japanese kimono or the sari in India. Others are not quite as distinct. It is harder to distinguish the difference between British fashion and French fashion.

Other things influence the variations in fashion as well, such as age, occupation, social class and generation. The fashions worn by a young person might look less than appealing when worn by an older person, etc. But there are many crossovers. Often, it is the way different items of clothing are combined or accessorized that makes the ‘fashion statement’ unique to a particular group.

Fashion is in a continual state of flux. The changes can occur from year to year or even within a year. The nature of fashion is also very cyclical. What was in fashion ten or twenty years ago, is now or will be in fashion again. An example of this is hip-hugger jeans. They were in fashion in the late 60s and early 70s and have now come back into fashion.

The socioeconomic and/or politic framework that exists in a particular region often influences current fashions. ‘Mao suits’ were the result of the move to enforce uniformity in mainland China. Designers around the world picked up on this and created variations to fit into their cultural arenas.

Not matter what the styles are, everyone would like to dress in the current fashions or, at least, close to them. But it can often be too expensive for many women. There is a way to dress very fashionably and maybe even start a new trend or two yourself. Make your own fashions!

Even if you have never sewn a stitch before, you can learn to put together some great fashions. Start with a basic, easy pattern and make it similar to designer fashions by adding embellishments. As you become more proficient, you can use more complicated patterns or even make your own patterns based on designer fashions. A big advantage to making your own fashions is that you can make them uniquely yours.

There are so many benefits in making your own clothes. You can choose the colors, prints, patterns and textures for fabrics that you prefer. And, as I stated before, you can make your clothes uniquely yours with one-of-a-kind fashions. Each garment will be custom made just for you and made so that the fit is perfect.

No more wearing clothes that come close, but not quite, to fitting right. Best of all, you can save money making your own clothes. For about the same cost as buying one designer outfit, you can easily make two or more outfits.

Making your own clothes will give you so much satisfaction, not to mention making you the envy of your circle of friends.