#not only is he an amazing builder with a great sense of humor

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

having now seen what mythical j sausage considers a "starter base" i am campaigning for his addition to the Hermitcraft server

[journeydb]

February 28 2024 Luxor, Egypt

We flew to Luxor yesterday afternoon and checked into the Luxor Hilton, which is a lovely hotel on the Nile River. Luxor is a small city of 420,00 people, compared to Cairo and Giza, which together have a population of twenty million. It's a very pretty, fairly prosperous place with lovely gardens, as long as you are close to the water. Outside the city it's desert with oases wherever the waterways that feed the Nile are found. We had dinner at the restaurant last night and this morning met our guide, Selwa, a Muslim woman, who took us, with her driver, first to the Karnak open air museum.

The sculptures and obelisks at the Karnak Museum are incredible. First we went into an enclosed part of the museum to see the layout and understand what we would be walking into.

There were also some artifacts in the museum, such as this boat, that Selwa wanted us to see. Selwa is very knowledgeable and also fun to be around. She had great energy and a sense of humor.

We were amazed at the massive size of the museum and how well preserved the sculptures and obelisks were, especially given that they have been in the open for millenia.

A lot of restoration work is still being done at the museum and it was interesting to watch the workers, who need to treat everything painstakingly because of its age.

There are only seven obelisks in Egypt, out of the thirty two remaining in the world. The others are all over the world in public spaces. Some were given by pharaohs as gifts and many were stolen by invading armies from Rome and other kingdoms or countries which took over Egypt throughout history..

Next we drove to The Valley of The Kings and Queens. Above is the model we saw in the museum there which shows the locations of the tombs. It gave us an appreciation of what we would see when we walked into the valley.

The passageways leading into the tombs were often filled with colorful and beautiful hieroglyphics.

After our morning and early afternoon touring we were famished so Selwa and her driver took us to a local restaurant which had DELICIOUS food.

The ambiance was also delightful with murals on all the walls and mosaics on the floors. The people working there were super friendly, as most of the Egyptians have been since we arrived.

After lunch we went back to The Valley of The Kings and Queens to see the tomb of the only female pharaoh, Hatshepsut. She refused to let her son reign because she considered him incompetent and instead ruled herself and was considered one of Egypt's greatest pharaohs. She was also one of the most prolific builders in Egyptian history and brought prosperity and wealth to Egypt.

I was excited to see her tomb but unfortunately her burial chamber isn't open to the public because it's considered a protected archeological site. We were able to the temple of Hatshepsut and that was impressive because it's built right into a cliff.

This is the sphinx that guards Hatshepsut's tomb and temple. Notice how different it looks from other sphinxes? For one thing, most of the images of Hatshepsut have been vandalized because when she died and her son could finally become pharaoh, he sent his thugs out to destroy all the images of her. They weren't completely successful but they did a lot of damage. Talk about holding a grudge!

Selwa took a photo of us in the entryway to the tomb. She wasn't inside the tomb at all because it's not permitted but when we went to leave a group of other guides, all men, surrounded her and threatened to call the police because they said she went into the tomb, which wasn't true. She stood her ground, with me alongside her, telling them to go ahead and call the police and she would tell them that these very guides had been going inside tombs dressed in historical attire to take pictures with tourists, for a fee. They backed down and left right away. I was proud of Selwa for being so brave!

After we left the valley we went to an alabaster showroom and bought some of the beautiful things there because it was mostly local alabaster and less expensive than in the local stores.

Selwa waited for us under a lovely mural of the village where the factory and showroom are located. She wanted us to go the the Luxor Temple but we were all too tired so we drove by it to see what we could from the road. After resting and showering we had another great meal at the hotel's restaurant and retired for the evening, excited about beginning our boat cruise tomorrow!

[memes-in-a-half-shell]

Okay--I'd LOVE to hear how you came up with those astrological signs for the boys! Tell us, please! ^_^

AND I SHALL !!!

Something I like to do usually when creating characters - or simply trying to come up with a “fleshed out” personality for existing characters, is that I often go read astrological signs’ descriptions. Often those things are very cliché and don’t really make a lot of sense, but it is a good baseline for expanding on character development.

Leo

Capricorn (Dec.22 - Jan.19) (I personally HC that his birthday is in January)

“ Smart, hardworking, and fully in control of their destiny, a Capricorn will always get what they set their mind to, in both personal and professional life—no excuses. Capricorns may get a reputation as stubborn, but they simply know what they want, and also know how they wish other people would behave. Natural rule-followers, Capricorns thrive on order and love strict rules, hierarchies, and set ways to do things. Can a Capricorn think outside the box? Yes, they can, but they prefer when they have strict boundaries to constrain against—free reign can make them feel paralyzed by choice. “ (source)

“ Capricorn’s personality traits are derived from its receptive, feminine, or yin qualities, making this sign oriented toward contemplation and engagement with inner awareness. Alive in both a Capricorn woman or Capricorn man, those born with the Sea-Goat as their rising, sun, or moon sign have a discipline, masterful, and determined energy in the core of their personality; an echo of the resilience and resourcefulness needed to survive the cold season of their birth.As a cardinal sign, Capricorn holds the qualities of being an achiever, a builder, and a climber, able to set and conquer the loftiest goals one step at a time. Those born with the sign of the Sea-Goat prominent in their charts are great at being determined, consistent, and reliable. They often over-deliver on their promises and take their honor and public reputation very seriously. Ruled by Saturn, the primary Capricorn strengths can be found in their perseverance, longevity, and focused self-mastery. Coolheaded and down to earth, they have strong powers of discernment. They are often good Saturnian judges of character and can be approached for pragmatic advice and a fair verdict.Ruled by Saturn, the Sea-Goat does not shy away from commitment, but rather requires it of their friends, business partners, and lovers before they can fully trust. As a result, your Sea-Goat friend may be one of your most loyal allies, unless of course, you cross them in a business deal.Capricorns may not be seeking fame or glamour in the obvious sense, yet are known for their enduring beauty and classic elegance. Those born under the Sea-Goat are old souls who traditionally are understood to age in reverse. They usually begin life with the weight of the world on their shoulders that they gradually learn to let go of over the years. Humor is one of Capricorn’s most underrated strengths, which is an important source of their resiliency.Natives from this sign see the world with a pragmatic and sober eye, so have long ago made their peace with the shadows of mortality and human frailty. It is this shadow and frailty that they seek to laugh with, developing a dark, rueful humor to help them survive and endure. “ (source)

Raph

Cancer (Jun.21 - Jul.22) (Can we HC that his birthday is on July 4th x’D yes? Yes.)

“ Emotional, intuitive, and practically psychic; ruled by the moon and characterized by the crab, Cancer has so much going on in its watery depths. Cancers may seem prickly and standoffish at first meeting, once they make the decision to become friends with someone, that person has a friend for life. Most Cancers have been called psychic at some point, and with good reason—Cancer can often intuit relationships, ideas, and motivations before anyone has actually spoken. That can make for challenging interactions with this sign—Cancer hates small talk, especially when it contains white lies (like saying, "How nice to see you!" when it's clear that both parties would rather avoid each other). That's why social gatherings can be overwhelming for Cancers. They'd much rather spend time in small groups where everyone is on the same page. “ (source)

“Ruled by the moon, Cancer’s archetypal traits are derived from its receptive, feminine, or yin qualities, making this sign oriented toward contemplation, and engagement with inner awareness. Alive in both a Cancer woman or Cancer man, those born with the Crab as their rising, sun, or moon sign have a sensitive, intuitive, and protective awareness in the core of their personality; an echo of the life-supporting and sustaining energies of the Summer season.As a cardinal sign, Cancer takes leadership in the roles of being a nurturer, host, protector, and caretaker. Those born with the sign of the Crab prominent in their charts are focused on forming and maintaining family ties. They are naturally empathic, sentimental, and home-loving by nature. The primary Cancer strengths can be found in their kind, giving, and sympathetic natures. Always ready to host, and set a table, they can be counted on to feed and care for friends, family, and any weary traveler that stays in their home. With strong empathic powers and talents for healing, Cancer natives can sense what others need, often long before they have articulated it themselves.The famous sideways walk of the Crab can be observed in the cautious way a Cancer native enters a space or social gathering. They tend to come in quietly, carefully surveying their surroundings, before they open and reveal their whole selves. This protective instinct makes Cancerians good at reading the emotional tone in a room, helping them anticipate danger or crisis early. “ (source)

Donnie

Libra (Sep.23 - Oct.22) (I HC his birthday in October)

“ Intelligent, kind, and always willing to put others before themselves, Libras value harmony in all forms. Ruled by Venus, the planet of beauty, Libra adores a life that looks good. As the master of compromise and diplomacy, Libra is adept at seeing all points of view, and excels at crafting compromises and effecting mediation between others. This sign has a rich inner life yet loves other people, and they're always happiest with a large group of friends, family, and coworkers on whom they can count. An air sign, Libra can often be "up in the clouds," and while he or she is amazing at making big plans, follow through can be tricky. Working with detail-oriented signs, like Virgos or Capricorns, can help Libras actually manifest their dreams into reality, especially in the workspace. But don't call out Librans for daydreaming—their imagination is one of their biggest assets, and they often put their imagination to work by finding careers in the arts or in literature. “ (source)

“ Libra’s archetypal traits are derived from its active, masculine, or yang qualities, making this sign oriented toward engagement with the outer world. Alive in both a Libra woman or Libra man, those born with the planet of love as their rising, sun, or moon sign have an equanimous energy in their core personality. As a cardinal air sign, Libra holds the qualities of social initiation and leadership. This makes those with Libra prominent in their charts great at pioneering social projects and gatherings, and naturals at unifying their team, family, or community.Natives from this sign can be thought of as “the diplomats” of the zodiac, acting as active mediators and negotiators in any crisis or challenge. Being ruled by the planet of pleasure and attraction, Libra is usually quick to forgive and eager to smooth out differences so that everyone can get back to enjoying the finer aspects of life. Libra’s great strengths can be found in their ability to embody Venus’ loving, healing, and balancing traits. These folks will likely have the ability to put others first for the sake of everyone’s comfort and well-being. They are great communicators and listeners, fairly weighing all sides of an argument and another’s point of view. Libras are likely to not hold grudges, as it can take a lot to rouse and sustain their anger. Being very Venusian, they typically assume the best intentions in others and give most people many chances to redeem themselves.In addition to these folks’ great relational strengths, there are also their keen aesthetic sensibilities to consider. Not only will this make sun sign Librans very creative, it will make them attuned to the subtleties of atmosphere and harmonious environments. They are naturally curious about how the aesthetics of our adornments and surroundings can set the tone for our well-being and social interactions. Keeping the peace and maintaining poise, grace, and charm are strengths that can be relied on from these natives. “ (source)

Mikey

Pisces (Feb.19 - Mar.20) (I HC his birthday in March)

“ Smart, creative, and deeply intuitive, Pisces can be close to psychic. Pisces feel things deeply, and have incredibly strong gut reactions. A Pisces "knows" things from deep within, and can often judge whether a person or situation is good or bad. That doesn't mean a Pisces ignores the logical part of their brain, though. Deeply intelligent, Pisces have a profound respect for the power of the human mind. Is it a surprise that Albert Einstein was a Pisces? Pisces may seem quiet but they are incredibly strong and have a very strong sense of right and wrong. Their moral compass, along with their gut, guides them well. When a Pisces speaks up, people listen. Pisces tend to take in everything around them, and they are great people to ask for advice on pretty much anything. While Pisces has strong convictions about the best way for them to live, they have a "live and let live" approach when it comes to others, and are accepting and nonjudgmental of all. “ (source)

“ As a mutable sign, Pisces holds adaptive, fluid, and shape-shifting qualities. Those with the sign of the Two Fishes prominent in their charts are sensitive seekers who have the potential to bring a soulful, healing energy to their relationships and communities. The primary Pisces’ strengths can be found in their tender, sympathetic, and receptive natures. Naturally compassionate and empathic, Pisces are wired to offer spiritual and artistic gifts to the world. These are the poets, musicians, painters, and intuitive counselors in our communities.With Jupiter’s influence on the faith, belief, and sense of higher purpose, Pisceans can be counted on to offer help and healing support to anyone who is in need. These natives tend to drift through life on their schedule and follow an inner sense that life is unfolding as it should.Idealistic and imaginative, those born under the Two Fishes’ sign have an otherworldly quality to them and seem to retain a sense of innocence and wonder their whole lives. These natives often believe in the good of others and will likely give the benefit of the doubt. “ (source)

[blue-mint-winter]

The Expanse s4 was another exciting chapter in the story. I’m already planning a rewatch. Here are some thoughts:

The main thing I noticed about the season is that it feels too short. The finale seemed to me like it was actually mid-season finale. Episode 10 ended and my reaction was: “wait, what? Where’s the rest of it?” and that’s because only the main storyline about Roci crew on Ilos concluded. Everything else - Bobbie, Avasarala/home politics, Inaros, Drummer - is left hanging in the middle of action.

Secondly, in a way s4 doesn’t have the same gripping suspense as s3. I’m not sure what changed, writers or creators or maybe something else, it just didn’t pull me in as strongly as previous season. But, to be fair, this is a beginning of a new story arc. The first s1-3 told us about the discovery of protomolecule, the Ring and opening the way to new worlds. S4 is the start of colonization era (hopefully). The Ring changed the status quo. Therefore, the deescalation of stakes makes a certain amount of sense. I am sure they are going to go up pretty soon whenever s5 gets released.

(Spoilers under the cut)

Ilos/New Terra reminded me a bit of TNG episode in which Data had to convince colonists to leave their planet or they would die. Holden does the same thing. Of course that was just that one element  and the story was more complex. Generally, it was interesting how Belters and Murtry’s people had to coexist despite mutual distrust and animosity, but my favourite parts belonged to Naomi, Lucia and Alex. These characters had really great interactions and I loved how they related to each other and helped each other. Also, Naomi’s backstory is getting more relevance :) Other character I really liked was Wei and I’m upset about her, because I think she was the best from the cast on the ground and I was hoping she’d get somewhere in character development. Another character I have to comment about is Lucia’s husband, because he was really annoying, but The Expanse didn’t leave it at that and let us just dislike the guy, instead we saw that even if he yelled at Lucia and didn’t understand her, even if he was cowardly, he still showed compassion and a good heart. He wasn’t the bad guy and he had a right to have his opinion and be upset with Lucia. And I think that’s what fundamentally sets this show apart from others - it has a heart.

It was great to see Miller one last time and say goodbye to him (even if it will never be as epic and satisfying as Eros). Another character we said goodbye to was Clarissa when she messages Amos to thank him in the beginning of the season. I find it an interesting reversal that Holden and Naomi manage to save Lucia from Clarissa’s fate by lying in their report. Lucia was fortunate enough to get a second chance without paying for her crume for the rest of her life.

Ilos gave some new information about what killed the Builders. What I found peculiar about the struggle on the planet was how symbolic it was in places. What they go through is like plagues - the swarm, the flood, the killer snails, the blindness. And am I the only one who thought about dinosaurs when that shock wave came?

The political situation is shown by the 3 plotlines which we know are connected but the complete reveal and payoff should be in next seasons. In the Belt, Marko Inaros is stirring trouble, so Drummer and Ashford are dealing with it from the Medina Station. They make a great team, but Ashford really shines through in this season in my opinion. It’s amazing how he developed from being the antagonist in s3, but in some ways he stayed the same, which makes an interesting blend of old and new in him. He did his best and I’m sad to see him gone. This storyline also shows so well who Inaros really is and why he’s so dangerous. Not to mention, he’s Naomi’s ex and it’s inevitable she’d cross paths with him again in the future which will be no doubt exciting.

Bobbie’s storyline on Mars deals a lot with how their society changed because of the end of the war with Earth and finding new planets to settle. The Mars is going through a serious identity crisis and it seems people would just abandon the planet. It’s starting. Bobbie’s story is of an ex-marine that’s no longer needed in times of peace, how she tries to be a good Martian but it just doesn’t work anymore because the Martian dream is dying and corruption and crime are flourishing in these circumstances. Bobbie gets involved with it. And once again we get characters introduced as dislikeable, but we can’t hate them after ep 10. In the end, the corrupt police officer is just a guy that wants to give his family a better life, preferably on a new planet. But the underground weapon selling to Belters has to be a part of Inaros’ scheme.

The last is Avasarala storyline. She is running in the election for the Secretary-General. What I like about this plotline is that we get to see more of her husband and their relationship, even if it becomes strained because of the campaign. Another great thing is that this is an election for a planetary leader with two female candidates which is something so refreshing to see. Nancy Gao has a likeable political persona and I’m very curious what kind of leader she will become. The political battle between Avasarala and her was one of the highlights of this season for me. This storyline also effectively reminded me why I could never love Avasarala as a character. She’ll never be one of my faves in this show. I can like her, enjoy her, laugh at humorous moments she has, but I will always remember that she had a Belter tortured in the very first episode of the show. There will always be that unrepentant harshness and lack of remorse at her core. She’s classy, but we want her to be noble and she’s not and she doesn’t even want to be.

This is it for now, I’ll probably have more thoughts when I rewatch :)

[iovemex2]

Stan Day6: A Masterpost!

hi guys! there was an anon interested in stanning day6 so I though about making this for all of you who want to stan day6 too ;)

(english is not my first language, tell me about any typos and whatnot)

ok so here are some Basic Facts™:

-They are a 5 member band under JYP ent.

-Debuted in 2015 (September 07) with 6 members but in february 2016 one of them left :’(

-They are self producing: play their own instruments, write and produce their own songs. Piss talent probably.

-5/5 are really talented and funny and lovable!!

-DK (Seventeen), Key(SHINee), Twice, Winner and many other idols love their music 😩

-F L A W L E S S discography, literally never had a bad song and they know it.

-Fandom name: My Day / 우리 하루[uri haru]

Must listen songs:

-Congratulations (debut)

-Letting Go

-I Wait

-You Were Beautiful

-Im Serious

-I Smile

-Hi Hello(their most recent song!!!)

IMPORTANT!!: Starting January they’ve been doing a project called EveryDay6, they will (have been) release 2 songs and 1 MV the 6th-ish of every month. In June they released a full album called Sunrise that included all of their singles so far+new versons of Letting Go and Congratulations. So this year we will have a lot of Day6 to enjoy!

Individual Member Profiles:

Park Sungjin (1993)

-Leader, guitar, main vocal, main dancer.

-His voice is 100% better live

-Jae calls him bob sometimes bc he looks like bob the builder (? he kinda does)

-Charming sense of humor

-Understands english but refuses to speak it

-Not the best at words but he is enthusiastic when speaking so it makes him an endearing leader :’)

-½ busan line, sometimes his accent comes out.

-1/3 hyung line aka no skinship line

Park Jaehyung (1992)

-Also known as Jae_Day6 on twitter (follow him he is funny!)

-Lead vocal, oldest, guitar, wanna be rapper, day6 main promoter.

-Lived most of his life in LA so he has a pretty western personality/sense of humor (½ english line)

-Host in ASC (lowkey got the job to promote day6 shh)

-Looks like chicken little apparently (he totally does lmao)

-Has a lobster fetish (?) and hints at posible Youtube channel :o

-A living meme, always teasing the members and “teach” them english.

-2/3 hyung line

Kang Younghyun (1993)

-Also known as Brian Kang or stage name Young K

-Lead vocal, rapper, bassist, composer, lyricist, visual, god.

-No one calls him Young K so he gets happy when people call him that lmao. Most people call him Brian, its up to you.

-Lived in Canada for a while so he is fluent in english too (2/2 english line)

-King of charisma, has been hosting on ASC a couple of times

-Either super cute!! or super sexy!! no in between

-Who hurt him? (only funny after listening to their songs hehe)

-3/3 hyung line

(my bias ✊😣💯)

Kim Wonpil(1994)

-Lead vocal, keyboard and synth, the actual sun

-In charge of aegyo, he is super adorable, kinds cringey sometimes tho

-My wig levitates when he sings, he goeS OFF

-Always getting roasted by the members, jae teases him the most

-½ maknae line aka cuddle line

-Very clingy lmao (jae and sungjin judge him constantly)

-Talented af!!!!!

Yoon Dowoon (1994)

-Vocal god, drummer, 2/2 maknae line, 2/2 busan line

-Ok he doesn’t sing bc he doesn’t have vocal training, yet. but lately he has like one line in some songs and We are Thankful

-^ The songs are Dance Dance, Lean on me and Be lazy btw

-EVERYONE loves him #ultimatesupportforthemaknae

-Really shy boy but incredibly charming

-Young K and Wonpil love him the most tho

-Great personality, he’s always thankful for the members :’)

also…

Im Junhyok (1993)

-I didn’t find a lot of recent pics I’M SORRY

-Lead vocal, keyboard, 3/3 old maknae line

-Emo time! some say that the lyrics of Letting Go was about the members dealing with his departure :’(

-I’m not gonna go into why he left I feel like its speculation lmao look it up you own damn self.

EXTRA INFORMATION AND LINKS:

-Their instagram is @/day6kilogram

-They have a VLive channel and they do all kinds of amazing

-Since Jae is hosting ASC they’ve gone there quite a few times, they are really funny + its a good way to get to know them! x x x x x

-Here is a playlist with all of their releases this year

-Here is a playlist with most of their radio appearences (covers, acustic versions)

-This tweet has everything you need to know about their music

-Fetus6 in a Taiwanese variety show!

-A playlist of fancams of their song Hunt (not for the faint hearted😩)

-Look at Wonpil

I think I’ll end this here! If you want to know anything else or just want to chat about them my ask box is open, always enjoy meeting new mydays!

or if you think I left anything out let me know too!

Special thanks to: @wonpillily @peconance and @whoisblueandwhoisred for your suggestions, also that anon who told me about the tweet [last minute @martianmuggle bc i saw it late hehe]

[workfromhomeyoutuber]

You Need A Budget (YNAB): Humbly Confident Public Relations Manager

Headquarters: Salt Lake City, UT URL: https://www.youneedabudget.com/

At YNAB, we build the world’s best budgeting software. But teaching people how to get control of their money and changing lives, one budget at a time, is what gets us up in the morning. Over the years we’ve slowly gained some notoriety (the good kind!) but there are still a whole lot of people who have never heard of us, and it’s a budgeting shame. 

We’re looking for a natural storyteller, connector, and media whisperer, with years of public relations experience, to help us raise our profile. 

You have experience working with influencers and understand that bigger isn’t always better, but also, that sometimes, it is. You’re flexible like that. In fact, while reading the last two sentences, you began making a mental list of people you’d want to connect with right out of the gate. 

You see opportunities all around you and the thought of cold-calling a potential partner and pitching a potential project or campaign sounds thrilling. If you’re thinking, “Where is the challenge in that? I may even get an invite to the wedding!”, you just might be our person. 

You understand what makes a great story and what makes something media-worthy. And you love nothing more than packaging it all up and getting it in front of the right person, at the right time. 

When you look at all the awesome content the YNAB marketing team produces, you can’t help but think of 14 other ways you would promote it. Don’t be shy—we can’t wait to hear your ideas.  

If you are the right person for the job you’ll have the following experience and/or qualities: 

Experience in public relations, influencer marketing, affiliate marketing, referral marketing, and/or partner marketing 

A sense of humor and the ability to think on your feet (this sounds like improv, which isn’t a requirement, but how awesome is improv?!)

Strong skills as a writer, communicator, and negotiator  

Strategic-minded planner who can execute the details without losing sight of the big picture 

An assertive, proactive personality that is energized at the prospect of building new relationships, partnerships, and programs

A natural-bridge builder that can’t help but make connections, build consensus, and invite collaboration

Excellent time management skills which make juggling multiple projects, priorities, and pitches look easy

That gives you a pretty good idea of the job and who we’re looking for, but first, you need to know if you’ll even like working with us. (Spoiler alert: We think you will.)

A Bit About Us

We build the best budgeting software around, YNAB or “You Need a Budget” if you have a lot of extra time on your hands. For more than a decade, people have been buying YNAB and then telling their friends what a difference it has made in their lives. (Google us, or read some of our reviews on the app store, and you’ll see what we mean.) We love building something that has a huge positive impact on people’s lives.

We’re profitable, bootstrapped, and growing. YNAB started in 2004 and we haven’t taken any outside funding—we’re in it for the long haul. 

We have one overarching requirement when it comes to joining our team: our Core Value Manifesto has to really click with you. If you’re nodding emphatically while reading it, you’ll probably fit right in, in which case, we can’t wait to hear from you! 

First, let’s talk about life at YNAB and then we’ll go into detail about what we’re looking for. 

Who you’d be working with:

Lindsey & The Gang aka the Marketing Team aka just a rag-tag but lovable bunch of underdogs who defy the odds—making budgeting software hilarious, emotional, and accessible—day in and day out. (Disney, are you listening?) 

We love musical theater, board games, stand-up comedy, the Enneagram, video games, and art, to varying degrees, depending on who you talk to first. (Oh, and Ryan likes sports.) Our internal Slack channel is so much fun, it has a growing fanbase of its own. 

Lindsey, our Chief Marketing Officer, will be the first to delete something very important, but also the first to celebrate your wins—big and small. Ryan, our Digital Marketing Director, will quickly become your lifeline in any type of bracketology-related emergency and even under website-launch-level-stress, he can sneak in the jokes that make you feel like, “if Dad’s OK, we’ll all be OK.” 

You’ll collaborate a lot with Rachel, who leads out on the blog, possibly from Hawaii, where she’s working from an AirBnB for a month or two, because she’s cool like that. And Janelle, who is the hilarious brain behind our social media. Of course, there is also Ashley and Hannah, who are growing our YouTube channel, and basically scream “lifestyle partnerships!” with their very existence. And then there are awesome teachers Erin, Ben, and Kelly, who are building out educational content and self-paced courses, that are begging to be discovered by the right verticals and communities… And that’s not even everybody! 

It’s a strong, creative, hilarious team that genuinely enjoys each other and their work. 

How You’ll Work at YNAB

We work really hard to make working at YNAB an amazing experience. In fact, we were recently recognized as Fortune's #4 best small company to work for in the United States! We have a team full of truly exceptional people—the kind you’ll be excited to work with. Here’s how we operate:

Live Where You Want

We’re a distributed team, so you can live and work wherever you want. Proximity doesn’t influence productivity. Taylor, our CTO, was traveling who-knows-where for a couple of years before he bought a farm. Up and move to France for a year? Sure, Todd did that. Don’t like France? How about London, where Janelle trotted off to. Tulsa Remote? Can do. Or if you just love LA or Baltimore or Buenos Aires, we’ve got people there, too.  Not all of us move around, but the fact that these folks have is totally okay because we’re all adults. Just make sure you have a reliable internet connection.

No Crazy Hours

We rarely work more than 40 hours per week. There have been a few occasions where things got a little crazy and people had to log some extra hours. But then they took some extra time off, so it all balances out. We work hard and smart but we’re in this for the long haul, no need to go crazy on the hours.

Take Vacation (Seriously)

We want you to take vacation. In fact, we have a minimum vacation policy of three weeks per year. Five weeks feels about right (plus two extra weeks for Christmas break). It’s important to get out and do something. We’ll look forward to seeing pictures of your vacation in our Slack channel, creatively named #office_wall.

The YNAB Meetup

We get the teams together once a year to catch up on spreadsheets and powerpoints in a Best Western conference room. Just kidding. So far, we’ve done Costa Rica, a gigantic cabin in the mountains, a beach house in the Outer Banks, a ranch in Montana, and most recently, Laguna Beach. We work together, play together, and reinforce the bonds we’ve made as a team and company. Every year, we leave refreshed, motivated, and excited for the year ahead together.

Up Your Game

We’re serious about helping you improve your craft. We budget for it (hey-o!). Think conferences, Lynda subscriptions, dedicated time away from work to learn something new… it’s really up to you and your manager. But we love to see our people growing.  

International is Absolutely Okay

If you are Stateside, we’ll set you up as a W2 employee. If you’re international, you’ll be set up as a contractor. Employee or contractor, it’s all the same to us. You’re part of the team. (We are spread all over the world: Switzerland, Scotland, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Canada, and all over the United States.)

If You’re Stateside…

YNAB offers fantastic health, dental, and vision insurance, where we cover 100% of the premium for you and your family. (No need to check your vision, you read that right, 100%. Although if you did need to check your vision, NBD, we’ve got you covered!)

We also have a Traditional and Roth 401k option. YNAB contributes three percent whether you choose to throw any money in there or not. It vests immediately. (Are you a personal finance junkie like our founder Jesse? He set up YNAB’s 401k to have the lowest fee structure possible, where all plan costs are paid by YNAB, not your retirement nest egg. The investment funds available are fantastic, passively-managed, ultra low-cost index funds. You’re not a PF junkie? Trust us, it’s awesome.)

Other Tidbits

Once you start, we DEMAND (in a friendly, ALL CAPS IS YELLING way) that you fill out your “Bucket List” spreadsheet with 50 items. (That’s harder than it sounds!) 

The bucket list really helps in deciding what we should give you for your birthday and the holidays.

We have a bonus plan based on profitability. You’ll be in on that from day one. YNAB wins, you win. That kind of thing.

We’re all adults. There’s no need to punch a clock, or ask for permission to take off early one afternoon to go see the doctor (health insurance premium 100% covered!). We look at what you accomplish, not how long you sit (have you tried standing?) in front of a computer.

We want you firing on all cylinders so we’ll set you up with a shiny new computer and replace it every three years.

Did I mention we make a huge, positive difference in people’s lives? You may not think that matters much, but then a few months down the road you’ll realize it’s made your job really, really enjoyable. Don’t underestimate this one!

If this sounds like your ideal environment, read on because now I want to talk about you. You will play a big, big part in helping YNAB customers achieve success. You will change lives. I’ll only say that six more times.

Now, back to you, our new Public Relations Manager...

Before “content marketing” and “word-of-mouth marketing” were buzzwords, YNAB’s marketing efforts were anchored in content and community. It’s what we do best. But we have a lot of people focused on creating the content, and very few with bandwidth to really focus on promoting the content. This is where you come in. 

You are full of ideas. There are influencers to work with, content partnerships to forge, referral strategies to execute, media stories to land! 

You see our crazy, loyal fanbase and it gets your wheels spinning—oh, the things you could do with the two families who got YNAB license plates or the couple that threw a YNAB-themed Valentines date!  

If we told you that we were getting users to opt-in to share their data anonymously so we could publish an Annual Report full of spending trends and averages, your head might explode with the media coverage potential. (Oh, the potential!!) 

You are probably a storyteller in your own right, and although we have content creators, you wouldn’t be shy about diving right in and writing content for a partnership you are working on or an influencer campaign in the works. 

You are our ideal candidate if you: 

Have at least 3-5 years of professional experience in public relations,

Agency experience

Excel at juggling multiple projects and timelines at any given moment and switching gears keeps you fresh and stimulated. 

Opportunistic and proactive about sourcing, developing, and executing potential partnerships, programs, and/or campaigns

Energized at the thought of building something from nothing

Comfortable initiating and maintaining relationships 

Understand how to pitch the right media, the right content, at the right time

Persistent. Because media. 

Make us laugh. 

Manage your time exceptionally well and are comfortable working remotely. 

Incredibly organized, flexible, and collaborative. 

Never met a deadline you didn’t love. 

Self-motivated and driven by nature, maybe even a little competitive. 

Stay laser-focused on the big picture, without losing sight of every. last. detail. 

Wildly productive and independent, but a team-player at heart. 

Bonus Points: 

You already use and love YNAB. 

YNAB is an equal opportunity employer. We believe diversity of backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences to be critical to our success and are passionate about creating a welcoming, supportive, and collaborative environment for all employees. All are encouraged to apply as we continue to grow a smart, hard-working, and diverse team who love working together to build something that matters.

How to Apply

Apply here (https://ynab.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0qmzk) by 11:59PM on March 12th, 2020. Firm. It’s a real deadline. The kind you love.

Attach a pdf of your cover letter. In your cover letter: 

Introduce yourself and explain why this position is of interest to you, and why you would be a great fit. Please limit this section of the cover letter to 1.5 pages. 

On a separate page of your cover letter, answer the following questions (with each response being about a paragraph in length): 

1. What attracted you to this position? (This is not about what attracted you to the software.) 

2. What criteria do you look for when searching for your next company or position? 

3. What are your favorite and least favorite parts of your current job? 

4. Tell us about a time when you had to learn something new to excel at your job. 

5. We recently launched two self-paced video courses and have two more in the works. How would you go about driving people toward those resources? 

6. Tell us about a campaign or program you built from concept to execution. 

7. With what you know about our brand and our product, share some influencers or other brands that you think could be strong potential partners, and why. 

If you have a prepared resume, attach it in PDF form. If you don’t have a resume because you aren’t even sure you’re looking to change jobs, that’s fine! An informal list of your work and education history are all we’re looking for.

Please send all attachments as PDFs. 

P.S.  If you’re not interested in or available for this position, but know someone who is, we would really appreciate it if you passed this along!

To apply: https://ynab.recruiterbox.com/jobs/fk0qmzk

from We Work Remotely: Remote jobs in design, programming, marketing and more https://ift.tt/3chu8kE from Work From Home YouTuber Job Board Blog https://ift.tt/2w8wbXY

[technouk]

Everyman Superstar DJ Carl Cox On Techno, Ibiza, Burning Man And Life In The Fast Lane Carl Cox Photo credit Dan Reid Carl Cox has provided the soundtrack for some of the best nights out for millions of clubbers and music lovers all over the world. "Coxy," as he is affectionately known, is one of the most famous DJs on the planet. It is not every day one speaks to such an iconic figure, so in advance of our interview, I talked to a couple of experts to hear their thoughts. Author, DJ and techno editor at Mixmag, Marcus Golden Barnes, is glowing in his appraisal. "I love Carl! He has worked tirelessly to transmit his unwavering love for music to millions of people all over the world. He is always buoyant and positive, and clearly revels in his job every single time he plays. Carl is a remarkable character who lives for music, there's no superficial facade, just pure, sincere love and soul." Ministry Of Sound DJ, journalist and Ibiza stalwart Timmy Sheridan is renowned for deflating the pretensions of many a superstar DJ with his withering editorial putdowns, and is not a man to suffer pretenders gladly. His evaluation of Carl Cox is telling. "Everybody loves Carl. He is unique because you get a sense that absolutely everything you see is what you get. He's literally the only survivor of the process of becoming famous I can think of in our scene. He is utterly without guile, couldn't be less of a diva if he tried and most miraculous of all, still has a fully functioning sense of humor. On top of all this, he is an unwavering standard of excellence. He's never sold out, faked it or failed to deliver over something like 35 years. Few can say that, almost none in the UK." Sheridan continues, not without a sense of humor himself, "As a footnote, I should add, I also get the impression that if something broke, Carl would be the first one to know and to try to fix it. Most DJs can't even mix, never mind solder, splice or make a cabinet." Sheridan is probably not wrong, Cox worked in all aspects of the building trade before getting into DJing, he tells me by phone from his home in Australia. "My last job before I was a DJ was a scaffolder, and before that, I was a painter and decorator, and before that I was I was a builder's mate, a plasterer's mate and a chippy." Perhaps as a result of his unpretentious roots, Cox has always been alive to his opportunities with a clarity which might elude those with less varied life experience. "I know what it's like to be on the other side of the coin. I know what it's like to wait in a queue, to save up my money to go to an event, when I couldn't wait to hear the DJ play. I was right in the middle of the dance floor listening to the sound system with a big smile on my face, and dancing my ass off! Most DJs don't have that experience, most go straight into the DJ booth. But I was a clubber for a least 10 to 15 years before I was DJing. The only reason that I DJed was that - all the time I was dancing - the DJ wasn't really giving me what I wanted. So I thought, the only way I can do that is to do it myself. So that's what I did, I became a DJ." Carl Cox Photo (c) www.visionseven.co.uk After years of perfecting his craft alongside luminaries such as Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling, his big break came when he was invited to perform on three decks at a 1988 Sunrise event in Oxford at 10am. "Since that day I haven't looked back," he reflects. His motivation has remained constant, "I just always love the gift of sharing the love of music. If it moves me then hopefully it moves others." Cox describes the early rave scene as a "Woodstock" for his generation, and is delighted to see new generations embracing aspects of dance music culture, decades later. His distinctive smile behind the decks is a sight welcomed by clubbers of all ages, and one gets a sense that he is still genuinely grateful for every moment. This is no mean feat considering his career is one marked by tireless productivity. "It's taken me a long time to get to where I am," he admits. Cox has performed at over 5,000 events the last 30 years, that's over 166 times a year on average, a punishing schedule when one takes into account the travel needed between events. Cox was one of the first DJ/producers to have a chart hit with "I Want You (Forever)" in 1991, and has sold well over 100,000 records as a solo artist. His 1995 mix CD, 'F.A.C.T.,' set a new benchmark for techno, selling over 250,000 copies, while his label Intec has sold over 600,000 copies of their vinyl and digital releases combined. At the time of his last "Global" radio show, his listenership was a phenomenal 17 million people worldwide. With these staggering levels of reach and influence, Cox is, of course, aware of his role as an ambassador for the music he loves. But he speaks with a palpable enthusiasm when talking about supporting the next generation of techno stars. In particular, he name-checks two young artists signed to his label. "We have a lady called Anfisa Letyago and another guy called Vikthor, both making some really amazing music. Most people don't know these artists, but they are the 'now generation' putting out their own new music." Anfisa Letyago's recent Intec release "Catch The Spirit" is indeed a thunderously euphoric techno banger. One can see why Cox is so excited to be supporting this new wave of the music he loves. Cox is also increasingly involved with events as not just a headliner, but also as a curator. His involvement with the massive US dance music festival Ultra started by curating a relatively small "Carl Cox & Friends" tent which would hold around 2,500 people. The festival quickly had to upscale their allocation for his lineup, and today a purpose-built "Carl Cox Megastructure" holds up to 20,000 clubbers for his specially curated experiences. He admits that the music industry is more demanding now than ever, and DJ/producers also need to be able to perform their music live in order to survive. "People really need to see something tangible," he reflects, name-checking Paul Kalkbrenner, Stephan Bodzin and KiNK as exemplars of the art. The name Carl Cox is also synonymous with the clubbing scene of Ibiza. He has been there since its inception and reminisces fondly about the early days. "You always have certain years in life where it was the best. In the '80s none of the clubs had roofs, you danced under the stars, it was phenomenal. When those roofs went on the clubs, everything changed." Cox's 15-year residency at Ibiza venue Space helped to establish it as one of the most important club nights in the world. "Space was always a club which was a catalyst of how people felt about the island, because it was very much for the people who lived on the island, for the workers and also people who came to club. It had that Spanish feel about it. It was always a non-VIP orientated club, it was a dancefloor club for people who really wanted to have a great time." Cox is well placed to comment on the changes in the island's culture and ethos. "Today there is a VIP 'three-tier system' in most places, and DJs are playing more commercially to get more people in the clubs. It's all progression, it's nothing more than that." While he is pragmatic about the changing emphasis of Ibiza clubland, he is singularly unimpressed with new opportunities to buy overpriced sushi from star chefs. He remembers well being able to get beautiful locally-caught and cooked fish for 15 euros, and reflects on the loss of these simpler times on the island with a hint of sadness. "Well, it's disappeared, that whole idea now is gone. When people are flying in on a private jet or arriving in a superyacht, it's kind of taking away the true essence of what made Ibiza great in the first place." As this gradual transformation of Ibiza was underway, Cox made his first visit to the Burning Man festival in 2008. "As soon as I got onto the playa, I was a Burner, I was just into it." Cox found an opportunity for creative expression unlike anything he had experienced before. "I thought, this is something else, a gathering of like-minded people who go there to be creative, to gift in a way of being able to express themselves, from the biggest sculpture to the smallest detail of something meaningful." Now a regular Burning Man DJ, Cox still relishes the creative canvas, which he has chosen to paint purple in homage to one of his musical heroes. "I decided after three years that I wanted to build a camp at Burning Man, and to have The Purple Party in tribute to Prince. Everyone dressed in purple, and I just played Prince records and '80s music." These days, Cox is spending more time with another lifelong passion, motor racing. He started in 2013 by sponsoring the New Zealand-based sidecar team of his friend, Gavin Sokolich. When they zoomed to victory at the first championship that year, Cox recalls thinking "Wow, this is cool. I wonder what else we can do." True to his nature, Cox embraced the opportunity with gusto. He bought a racing bike, another sidecar, and revamped his team over the course to two infamously demanding Isle Of Man TT races. His team, CC Motorsport, finished in the top three of the TT races last year. Cox also sponsors 15-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop, seven-time World Champion Tim Reeves and his passenger Mark Wilkes. He is also a partner in the boutique motorcycle restoration company TT Motorcycles, and obviously loves the work they do, bringing classic '80s Honda and Yamaha motorbikes back to pristine condition. After speaking at length about his teammates and colleagues, he mentions almost as an aside, "I also drag race myself. I have a Mark One Ford Capri, which is very very fast, over two thousand horsepower. It runs this quarter mile from seven seconds dead, at over 200 mph a quarter mile." As our conversation returns to his first love, Cox still speaks with the untainted enthusiasm of his teenage self, unselfconsciously "dancing his ass off" in the middle of the dance floor. He mentions forthcoming gigs at Tomorrowland and Space Ibiza On Tour, recent remixes for Matthew Bushwacker and Yothu Yindi, his Dr. Funk "El Rancho" remix, and his remake of "Dark Alleys". Throughout our entire conversation, his gratitude for his place in the world is obvious. "I'm so happy, I feel blessed and honored to be doing what I'm doing. At the end of the day I feel privileged to be able to be in this position, and to give you what you believe you should be getting from me as a DJ, but also as a person, because at the end of the day I'll have a beer with anyone, "I'll have a shot with everyone. I don't see myself any higher than anyone else." " There is some poetic justice in this self-effacing superstar DJ rising to the highest point in the dance music industry, using his position to inspire and support others, while indulging his passion for life in the fast lane and loving every sweet minute of it. By all accounts, it could not have happened to a nicer guy. Carl Cox Photo by Dan Reid Carl Cox ‘Dark Alleys’ (Remixes) is out now via Circus Recordings. Carl Cox tour dates: Fri, JUN 14 - Kings Hall at Avant Gardner, Brooklyn, NY Sat, JUN 15 - Brooklyn Mirage, Brooklyn, NY Sun, JUN 16 - Olympic Stadium, Montréal, Canada Wed, JUN 19 - Ushuaa Beach Hotel, Ibiza, Spain Fri, JUN 21 - Ciudad del Rock, Monteagudo Del Castillo, Spain Sat, JUN 22 - Marenostrum Fuengirola, Spain Wed, JUN 26 - Glastonbury Festival, Pilton Green, U.K. Thu, JUL 4 - Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia Sat, JUL 6 - Parco Dora, Piemont, Italy Sat, JUL 6 - Kappa Futur Festival, Turin, Italy Thu, JUL 11 - Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia Fri, JUL 12 - DC10, Ibiza, Spain Fri, JUL 19 - De Schorre Recreation Ground, Boom, Belgium Sun, JUL 21 - Poble Espanyol, Barcelona, Spain Fri, JUL 26 - Tomorrowland, Boom, Belgium Tue, JUL 30 - Privilege, Ibiza, Spain AUG 7-12 - Boomtown, Hampshire, U.K. For more live dates visit carlcox.com/tours " readability="191.56632781652"> Carl Cox has provided the soundtrack for some of the best nights out for millions of clubbers and music lovers all over the world. "Coxy," as he is affectionately known, is one of the most famous DJs on the planet. It is not every day one speaks to such an iconic figure, so in advance of our interview, I talked to a couple of experts to hear their thoughts. Author, DJ and techno editor at Mixmag, Marcus Golden Barnes, is glowing in his appraisal. "I love Carl! He has worked tirelessly to transmit his unwavering love for music to millions of people all over the world. He is always buoyant and positive, and clearly revels in his job every single time he plays. Carl is a remarkable character who lives for music, there's no superficial facade, just pure, sincere love and soul." Ministry Of Sound DJ, journalist and Ibiza stalwart Timmy Sheridan is renowned for deflating the pretensions of many a superstar DJ with his withering editorial putdowns, and is not a man to suffer pretenders gladly. His evaluation of Carl Cox is telling. "Everybody loves Carl. He is unique because you get a sense that absolutely everything you see is what you get. He's literally the only survivor of the process of becoming famous I can think of in our scene. He is utterly without guile, couldn't be less of a diva if he tried and most miraculous of all, still has a fully functioning sense of humor. On top of all this, he is an unwavering standard of excellence. He's never sold out, faked it or failed to deliver over something like 35 years. Few can say that, almost none in the UK." Sheridan continues, not without a sense of humor himself, "As a footnote, I should add, I also get the impression that if something broke, Carl would be the first one to know and to try to fix it. Most DJs can't even mix, never mind solder, splice or make a cabinet." Sheridan is probably not wrong, Cox worked in all aspects of the building trade before getting into DJing, he tells me by phone from his home in Australia. "My last job before I was a DJ was a scaffolder, and before that, I was a painter and decorator, and before that I was I was a builder's mate, a plasterer's mate and a chippy." Perhaps as a result of his unpretentious roots, Cox has always been alive to his opportunities with a clarity which might elude those with less varied life experience. "I know what it's like to be on the other side of the coin. I know what it's like to wait in a queue, to save up my money to go to an event, when I couldn't wait to hear the DJ play. I was right in the middle of the dance floor listening to the sound system with a big smile on my face, and dancing my ass off! Most DJs don't have that experience, most go straight into the DJ booth. But I was a clubber for a least 10 to 15 years before I was DJing. The only reason that I DJed was that - all the time I was dancing - the DJ wasn't really giving me what I wanted. So I thought, the only way I can do that is to do it myself. So that's what I did, I became a DJ." After years of perfecting his craft alongside luminaries such as Paul Oakenfold and Danny Rampling, his big break came when he was invited to perform on three decks at a 1988 Sunrise event in Oxford at 10am. "Since that day I haven't looked back," he reflects. His motivation has remained constant, "I just always love the gift of sharing the love of music. If it moves me then hopefully it moves others." Cox describes the early rave scene as a "Woodstock" for his generation, and is delighted to see new generations embracing aspects of dance music culture, decades later. His distinctive smile behind the decks is a sight welcomed by clubbers of all ages, and one gets a sense that he is still genuinely grateful for every moment. This is no mean feat considering his career is one marked by tireless productivity. "It's taken me a long time to get to where I am," he admits. Cox has performed at over 5,000 events the last 30 years, that's over 166 times a year on average, a punishing schedule when one takes into account the travel needed between events. Cox was one of the first DJ/producers to have a chart hit with "I Want You (Forever)" in 1991, and has sold well over 100,000 records as a solo artist. His 1995 mix CD, 'F.A.C.T.,' set a new benchmark for techno, selling over 250,000 copies, while his label Intec has sold over 600,000 copies of their vinyl and digital releases combined. At the time of his last "Global" radio show, his listenership was a phenomenal 17 million people worldwide. With these staggering levels of reach and influence, Cox is, of course, aware of his role as an ambassador for the music he loves. But he speaks with a palpable enthusiasm when talking about supporting the next generation of techno stars. In particular, he name-checks two young artists signed to his label. "We have a lady called Anfisa Letyago and another guy called Vikthor, both making some really amazing music. Most people don't know these artists, but they are the 'now generation' putting out their own new music." Anfisa Letyago's recent Intec release "Catch The Spirit" is indeed a thunderously euphoric techno banger. One can see why Cox is so excited to be supporting this new wave of the music he loves. Cox is also increasingly involved with events as not just a headliner, but also as a curator. His involvement with the massive US dance music festival Ultra started by curating a relatively small "Carl Cox & Friends" tent which would hold around 2,500 people. The festival quickly had to upscale their allocation for his lineup, and today a purpose-built "Carl Cox Megastructure" holds up to 20,000 clubbers for his specially curated experiences. He admits that the music industry is more demanding now than ever, and DJ/producers also need to be able to perform their music live in order to survive. "People really need to see something tangible," he reflects, name-checking Paul Kalkbrenner, Stephan Bodzin and KiNK as exemplars of the art. The name Carl Cox is also synonymous with the clubbing scene of Ibiza. He has been there since its inception and reminisces fondly about the early days. "You always have certain years in life where it was the best. In the '80s none of the clubs had roofs, you danced under the stars, it was phenomenal. When those roofs went on the clubs, everything changed." Cox's 15-year residency at Ibiza venue Space helped to establish it as one of the most important club nights in the world. "Space was always a club which was a catalyst of how people felt about the island, because it was very much for the people who lived on the island, for the workers and also people who came to club. It had that Spanish feel about it. It was always a non-VIP orientated club, it was a dancefloor club for people who really wanted to have a great time." Cox is well placed to comment on the changes in the island's culture and ethos. "Today there is a VIP 'three-tier system' in most places, and DJs are playing more commercially to get more people in the clubs. It's all progression, it's nothing more than that." While he is pragmatic about the changing emphasis of Ibiza clubland, he is singularly unimpressed with new opportunities to buy overpriced sushi from star chefs. He remembers well being able to get beautiful locally-caught and cooked fish for 15 euros, and reflects on the loss of these simpler times on the island with a hint of sadness. "Well, it's disappeared, that whole idea now is gone. When people are flying in on a private jet or arriving in a superyacht, it's kind of taking away the true essence of what made Ibiza great in the first place." As this gradual transformation of Ibiza was underway, Cox made his first visit to the Burning Man festival in 2008. "As soon as I got onto the playa, I was a Burner, I was just into it." Cox found an opportunity for creative expression unlike anything he had experienced before. "I thought, this is something else, a gathering of like-minded people who go there to be creative, to gift in a way of being able to express themselves, from the biggest sculpture to the smallest detail of something meaningful." Now a regular Burning Man DJ, Cox still relishes the creative canvas, which he has chosen to paint purple in homage to one of his musical heroes. "I decided after three years that I wanted to build a camp at Burning Man, and to have The Purple Party in tribute to Prince. Everyone dressed in purple, and I just played Prince records and '80s music." These days, Cox is spending more time with another lifelong passion, motor racing. He started in 2013 by sponsoring the New Zealand-based sidecar team of his friend, Gavin Sokolich. When they zoomed to victory at the first championship that year, Cox recalls thinking "Wow, this is cool. I wonder what else we can do." True to his nature, Cox embraced the opportunity with gusto. He bought a racing bike, another sidecar, and revamped his team over the course to two infamously demanding Isle Of Man TT races. His team, CC Motorsport, finished in the top three of the TT races last year. Cox also sponsors 15-time Isle of Man TT winner Michael Dunlop, seven-time World Champion Tim Reeves and his passenger Mark Wilkes. He is also a partner in the boutique motorcycle restoration company TT Motorcycles, and obviously loves the work they do, bringing classic '80s Honda and Yamaha motorbikes back to pristine condition. After speaking at length about his teammates and colleagues, he mentions almost as an aside, "I also drag race myself. I have a Mark One Ford Capri, which is very very fast, over two thousand horsepower. It runs this quarter mile from seven seconds dead, at over 200 mph a quarter mile." As our conversation returns to his first love, Cox still speaks with the untainted enthusiasm of his teenage self, unselfconsciously "dancing his ass off" in the middle of the dance floor. He mentions forthcoming gigs at Tomorrowland and Space Ibiza On Tour, recent remixes for Matthew Bushwacker and Yothu Yindi, his Dr. Funk "El Rancho" remix, and his remake of "Dark Alleys". Throughout our entire conversation, his gratitude for his place in the world is obvious. "I'm so happy, I feel blessed and honored to be doing what I'm doing. At the end of the day I feel privileged to be able to be in this position, and to give you what you believe you should be getting from me as a DJ, but also as a person, because at the end of the day I'll have a beer with anyone, "I'll have a shot with everyone. I don't see myself any higher than anyone else." " There is some poetic justice in this self-effacing superstar DJ rising to the highest point in the dance music industry, using his position to inspire and support others, while indulging his passion for life in the fast lane and loving every sweet minute of it. By all accounts, it could not have happened to a nicer guy. Carl Cox ‘Dark Alleys’ (Remixes) is out now via Circus Recordings. Carl Cox tour dates: Fri, JUN 14 - Kings Hall at Avant Gardner, Brooklyn, NY Sat, JUN 15 - Brooklyn Mirage, Brooklyn, NY Sun, JUN 16 - Olympic Stadium, Montréal, Canada Wed, JUN 19 - Ushuaa Beach Hotel, Ibiza, Spain Fri, JUN 21 - Ciudad del Rock, Monteagudo Del Castillo, Spain Sat, JUN 22 - Marenostrum Fuengirola, Spain Wed, JUN 26 - Glastonbury Festival, Pilton Green, U.K. Thu, JUL 4 - Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia Sat, JUL 6 - Parco Dora, Piemont, Italy Sat, JUL 6 - Kappa Futur Festival, Turin, Italy Thu, JUL 11 - Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia Fri, JUL 12 - DC10, Ibiza, Spain Fri, JUL 19 - De Schorre Recreation Ground, Boom, Belgium Sun, JUL 21 - Poble Espanyol, Barcelona, Spain Fri, JUL 26 - Tomorrowland, Boom, Belgium Tue, JUL 30 - Privilege, Ibiza, Spain AUG 7-12 - Boomtown, Hampshire, U.K. For more live dates visit carlcox.com/tours Read More

[ayeletinthemountains]

Mount Bierstadt (and picking up our van!)

11/20/16

This is not just the story of Mount Bierstadt, but also how Leo and I purchased our new, traveling home: Betty White the Sprinter. Leo and I had been making preparations to head off for the adventure of a lifetime, traveling around North America in a van and climbing mountains. We had been searching for the perfect van for a couple months, when we finally found an amazing van for a reasonable price in Colorado.

It was the weekend before Thanksgiving, so we both took the whole week off. Leo already had plans to spend Thanksgiving with his Mom in Austin, so after we both went to get the van together, he would fly to Austin, and I’d drive the van back solo to San Francisco (with a stop along the way to see friends climbing in Sedona).

Flying to Colorado!

Leo and I flew to Denver Friday night, spent the night at an Airbnb, and then grabbed a ride the next morning to meet Dave (the van owner and builder) and Betty, at Dave’s shop. Betty was even better in person than we were expecting. We were sold. We went to the bank, signed the paperwork, and were officially van-owners. Welcome to #vanlife!

Meeting Betty for the first time!

We spent the rest of the day running some errands, and then went to a delicious Friendsgiving at a friend’s house near Boulder. At the end of the night, we drove up to the trailhead for Mount Bierstadt. There was no way we were going to spend a few days in Colorado and not climb a 14er. It was my first time in the state, and I was itching to get up high!

My friend Ryan had suggested Bierstadt — it’s one of the easiest CO 14ers, but given that it was shoulder season, that’s what made sense. The road to the trailhead was still fully open, so we’d only have to do 2.4k feet of elevation gain and three mi each way. Given that I hadn’t been hiking much recently, and we had no idea if the snow conditions would be miserable (and we had essentially no snow gear with us), this seemed like a great option.

We spent our first night in the van at the trailhead (Guanella Pass), at 11.7k ft. No biggie. Thankfully, we weren’t cold at all. What did prove to be a problem though was the wind: it was insanely windy all night, and I could barely sleep. The van just kept rocking back and forth continually. Leo and I planned to get up as soon as the sun rose so we could just get the heck out of there, and drive out in the light. (The road *had* had some snow/ice on it, so we figured in the daylight would be better).

Betty at the trailhead. (Photo by Leo).

But then, we got up around 8am, and the winds had died down a little! And the sun was out! Okay… We figured we could start hiking a little and see how it went. It looked like there was surprisingly little snow coverage, so we might be able to give the summit a go anyways. We packed up some snacks and water, and set off.

Yes, there are going to be a lot of photos of Betty. (Photo by Leo).

As we started, there was very little snow coverage, and we were fully able to follow the class 1 trail. It heads downhill slightly into an open area, and then starts to switchback up the peak. While we had been one of only two cars when we pulled up late the night before, there were now at least 10 in the parking lot. Turns out easy CO 14ers are quite popular — who would have guessed? ;) So, as we headed down the trail, we frequently passed people or saw others coming down.

It was definitely cold and windy, but still reasonable. As the trail began to climb, the snow became more frequent. Any sort of traction devices though would have definitely been overkill, which we were happy to see. Towards the top, there was a bit of a scramble, which was slightly annoying with the snow, but caused no actual issues.

On the summit ridge.

A couple hours after leaving, we were at the summit! It was incredibly up there, so we quickly took a requisite selfie, and then started to head back down the mountain. I had packed my huge parka, which I gladly put on before heading back down.

Very cold summit selfie.

Less cold on the way down.

The downhill went quickly, and before long we were back at the van. We put our gear away and got ready to drive out. This is when things got interesting. Leo started up the car no problem, but as soon as he put it in drive, it died. It felt like the car had stalled or something. Okay… let’s try it again. Same thing. Okay… let’s try putting it in reverse. Same thing.  Uh oh. Was something wrong? Betty had had a brand new transmission installed only 5 days before… and we were worried something was pretty broken.

To make matters worse, a big storm was supposed to roll in that night. And the road that we had taken to the trailhead would likely close for the entire winter season as a result. And AAA won’t tow you if a road is officially closed. And we had no cell service at the trailhead.

It was about 2pm, and I felt like we needed to move fast to make sure we could get Betty down from the mountain. We asked a hiker who had just gotten back to the parking lot if he’d be willing to give us a ride back to the nearest town, which is 10mi down the road. He graciously said yes, and a few minutes later, we were headed back to cell service. He dropped us off at a coffee shop, and Leo and I set about trying to fix this situation.

I called AAA while Leo called Dave, to let him know we were having problems. Dave said we could definitely take Betty back to the shop where the transmission was installed to have it looked at — great. I was dealing with AAA to make sure we could actually get Betty there, but I kept having setbacks. Is the car registered to you? No — we just bought it yesterday, Saturday, in CO, and we live in CA. Does the car have plates? No, in CO, the plates stay with the original owner, and we could only get temporary plates the next day once the DMV was open. Did we have the title to the van? No, Dave had had a loan on the van, so the bank still had the title, and we’d only receive it in a week or two. Oy vey.

AAA said they would only tow the vehicle if we got plates. Dave, however, was busy running his own errands, and could only bring us the plates in about two hours — but at least he would bring them to us, which we beyond appreciated. AAA said this was okay — and they’d call us a tow truck then. Great! So, it looks like we’d hopefully be able to get Betty off the mountain after all.

Leo and I walked around the tiny town, Georgetown, checking out the various touristy stores and having a bite to eat while we waited for Dave to bring the plates and the tow truck to show up. Dave got there maybe 15 mins before the tow truck, so I drove back up the pass with Dave while Leo waited for the tow truck.

While driving up to Betty, Dave asked me for more information about what had happened. We told him the car started fine, but it just would die every time it went into drive or reverse. Well… turns out Dave had had this same problem a number of times when it was very cold. All he had to do was run the engine for a while to let it warm up, and then it would be fine. Oh… Apparently this is a thing with diesel vehicles, which Leo and I had no idea about, since we had never owned a diesel. Woops… Dave bet this was going to be the problem. When we showed up at Betty, he turned on the engine to get it going, while he did some other basic inspections on the transmission. He had brought some tools to check the fluid levels, as well as the computer that can read out any error codes from the engine. A few minutes later, Leo and the tow truck driver showed up.

The tow truck driver was getting ready to tow Betty, but Dave asked him if he could have a few more minutes to see if she’d work. Lo-and-behold, when Dave put Betty in drive, it worked just fine. Wow. Oh well… At least the van worked!

Betty almost getting towed. Exciting stuff.

The three vehicles all caravanned back down the road. Leo and I had to use one of our free AAA tows on the ordeal, but at least everything was fine. We had been expecting the worst. We were super thankful of Dave’s help, and his humor in the whole thing. We felt bad that we had wasted his time, but so it goes. He said he freaked out the first time the same thing happened to him, but he had had service at the time, so he was just able to Google it. So it goes.

We drove Betty back to the Denver area. The shop still looked at her the next day to make sure she was fine, and they said everything was a-okay. Hooray! And so, we climbed a mountain and learned a thing or two about van ownership. The next day Leo flew out, and I started the journey to CA solo.

[thegregorybruce]

Tim Carter Reads

The following is a list of books I've read. You'll discover quickly I'm enamored with history with a sprinkling of mystery thrillers.

In a display of shame-filled vanity, I listed my own book, Roofing Ripoff, at the top of the list. In all seriousness, it's the one you should read first as it only takes one hour and it will save you THOUSANDS of dollars.

Asphalt shingles, like many things, are not made like they used to be.

My 30-year-warranty shingles started to show serious wear in less than ten years.

I was so upset I decided to find out what was going on within the industry. I sent an email to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers PR people and they blew me off. I knew then I was onto something.

Using the wisdom of the crowds, I decided to devote one of my national Ask the Builder columns to the topic. Readers from all across the USA responded to a survey form I mentioned in the column.

A deep-throat source who works in the asphalt shingle industry also stepped forward and assured I'd not reveal his identity, he agreed to a 90-minute recorded phone interview. What he told me will shake you to the core of your being.

Roofing Ripoff is available as a paperback, a Kindle download, or an Audiobook!

CLICK or TAP HERE now to get your copy. Wait until you see the full-color graphics on each page. I doubt you've ever seen a book like this one.

Say what you will about Steve Jobs, his life story is beyond interesting. I think part of the allure of this book to me is captured in the lyrics of Don Henley's hit song, Dirty Laundry.

I've been told by many of my friends that my attention to detail on craftsmanship borders on obsessive-compulsive. When you look at how I make sure the slots in the screws in switch and outlet cover plates are always straight up and down, you might be right.

Steve was OC too - to a fault. He also understood how to sell sizzle. One other character flaw was not trusting doctors. He had all the money he needed to get early treatment of his cancer. Who knows, he still might be with us and his family had he attacked the demon earlier.  CLICK or TAP HERE to see how close Apple was to going out of business back decades ago, yet Steve died a billionaire.

Although widely rumored, I'm not the grown-up Ralphie. All too often people say I look like him and wonder if I was the child actor.

When you read the actual book that inspired the classic film, you'll howl with laughter. The actual screenplay and audio from the movie are in the same voice.

It's important to realize that I did own two BB guns. I didn't have a Red Ryder, but the one I did have was very accurate.

I also owned a CO2 BB semi-automatic pistol.

In the spirit of doing stupid things as Ralphie did in the book, one day Johnny Boncutter and I decided to play real cowboys and Indians in the woods behind my house shooting at each other.

Johnny had my rifle and I had the pistol. When you first put in a fresh CO2 cartridge the BBs come out with tremendous force. One of them hit Johnny in the thigh and I shot him out of a low tree.

We were NUTS to do this with no eye protection. This is why women live so much longer than men. CLICK or TAP HERE to read some of the other crazy stuff Ralphie did that wasn't in the movie.

I can't remember how I stumbled across the Bill Travis mystery series by George Wier, but I'm glad I did. Desperate Crimes is the first in the series and I think George is up to #15 now.

Bill Travis is the main character and his diligence and determination are inspirational.

George is a good writer and he keeps the story moving.

If you think you're good at guessing the endings of mystery books, then George will put you to the test.

I'm convinced you'll feel you got your money's worth and the books get better as the series expands.

CLICK or TAP HERE to start reading or listening to Desperate Crimes.

  Have you ever been to the Hoover Dam? I was lucky enough years ago to be able to drive across it. After the terrorist attacks by the radical Islamists on 9/11, the Federal Government knew they had to make it nearly impossible for a terrorist to blow it up, so they built the new bridge that now crosses the Colorado River next to the dam.

But I digress.

This is an insanely interesting book. Built during the Depression years, men and their families streamed to the bleak and blistering-hot desert to build this incredible dam.

The US Government solicited bids for the dam. They only wanted contractors to bid for the labor as the government was going to buy the materials directly.

What do you think the winning bid was for the labor?

Can you imagine what it took to create the two diversion tunnels that had to built to channel the mighty Colorado River as the dam was being built?

Can you imagine pouring concrete NON-STOP for years no matter what the weather was? Think of those logistics.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be ready to be blown away.

My college degree is in geology. I'll never forget going out West for the first time.

I went with Pete and Charlie in Pete's new 1970 Volvo. I had never seen such scenery and I feel that trip sold me on studying geology.

Rough Hewn Land is a book written by a geologist, but it's for people like you that don't know the difference between a piece of schist and a strike-slip fault.

Wait until you see the sense of humor Keith shares in the captions in his photos. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHA!

Did you know that The entire state of California is built from rocks scraped off the deep ocean floor like you'd shave a wafer of wood using a plane?

Did you know that the astounding Sierra Nevada mountains were made by melting an enormous slab of ocean floor as they are sucked beneath the North American continental plate?

Do you like to invest in ocean-front land before the prices go to the moon? Keith shares why you might want to visit Las Vegas and start looking around for vacant land out in the desert.

I could go on and on and on about all the things you'll discover about what you see out West, but Keith does a better job.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be prepared to be amazed. The next trip you take out West, you'll have such a great appreciation for what you see.

Do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Do you have family and friends that live there?

You'll want to read Cascadia's Fault. It reads much like a thriller as Jerry Thompson peels back the onion of clues that reveal the Northwest is going to have an earthquake that will end up in the geologic history books.

Do you remember the earthquake that shattered Mexico City back in 1985? No one ever thought that was possible.

The plate tectonics theory that's now widely accepted was just beginning to be understood. The locked-up plate that finally snapped hadn't moved in recorded history.

Guess what other plate hasn't snapped in hundreds of years? Who would think that the appointed local scribe in a Japanese shoreline village would provide one of the key clues to what's going to happen when he wrote about the devastating tsunami that destroyed his village hundreds of years ago.

Cascadia's Fault will mesmerize you and you'll be ordering an earthquake rider on your insurance policy if you live in the Northwest starting in Mendocino, CA. CLICK or TAP HERE now to start reading this book. WOW is all I can say.

  The post Tim Carter Reads appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from Home https://www.askthebuilder.com/tim-carter-reads/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[manuelclapid]

Tim Carter Reads

The following is a list of books I've read. You'll discover quickly I'm enamored with history with a sprinkling of mystery thrillers.

In a display of shame-filled vanity, I listed my own book, Roofing Ripoff, at the top of the list. In all seriousness, it's the one you should read first as it only takes one hour and it will save you THOUSANDS of dollars.

Asphalt shingles, like many things, are not made like they used to be.

My 30-year-warranty shingles started to show serious wear in less than ten years.

I was so upset I decided to find out what was going on within the industry. I sent an email to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers PR people and they blew me off. I knew then I was onto something.

Using the wisdom of the crowds, I decided to devote one of my national Ask the Builder columns to the topic. Readers from all across the USA responded to a survey form I mentioned in the column.

A deep-throat source who works in the asphalt shingle industry also stepped forward and assured I'd not reveal his identity, he agreed to a 90-minute recorded phone interview. What he told me will shake you to the core of your being.

Roofing Ripoff is available as a paperback, a Kindle download, or an Audiobook!

CLICK or TAP HERE now to get your copy. Wait until you see the full-color graphics on each page. I doubt you've ever seen a book like this one.

Say what you will about Steve Jobs, his life story is beyond interesting. I think part of the allure of this book to me is captured in the lyrics of Don Henley's hit song, Dirty Laundry.

I've been told by many of my friends that my attention to detail on craftsmanship borders on obsessive-compulsive. When you look at how I make sure the slots in the screws in switch and outlet cover plates are always straight up and down, you might be right.

Steve was OC too - to a fault. He also understood how to sell sizzle. One other character flaw was not trusting doctors. He had all the money he needed to get early treatment of his cancer. Who knows, he still might be with us and his family had he attacked the demon earlier.  CLICK or TAP HERE to see how close Apple was to going out of business back decades ago, yet Steve died a billionaire.

Although widely rumored, I'm not the grown-up Ralphie. All too often people say I look like him and wonder if I was the child actor.

When you read the actual book that inspired the classic film, you'll howl with laughter. The actual screenplay and audio from the movie are in the same voice.

It's important to realize that I did own two BB guns. I didn't have a Red Ryder, but the one I did have was very accurate.

I also owned a CO2 BB semi-automatic pistol.

In the spirit of doing stupid things as Ralphie did in the book, one day Johnny Boncutter and I decided to play real cowboys and Indians in the woods behind my house shooting at each other.

Johnny had my rifle and I had the pistol. When you first put in a fresh CO2 cartridge the BBs come out with tremendous force. One of them hit Johnny in the thigh and I shot him out of a low tree.

We were NUTS to do this with no eye protection. This is why women live so much longer than men. CLICK or TAP HERE to read some of the other crazy stuff Ralphie did that wasn't in the movie.

I can't remember how I stumbled across the Bill Travis mystery series by George Wier, but I'm glad I did. Desperate Crimes is the first in the series and I think George is up to #15 now.

Bill Travis is the main character and his diligence and determination are inspirational.

George is a good writer and he keeps the story moving.

If you think you're good at guessing the endings of mystery books, then George will put you to the test.

I'm convinced you'll feel you got your money's worth and the books get better as the series expands.

CLICK or TAP HERE to start reading or listening to Desperate Crimes.

  Have you ever been to the Hoover Dam? I was lucky enough years ago to be able to drive across it. After the terrorist attacks by the radical Islamists on 9/11, the Federal Government knew they had to make it nearly impossible for a terrorist to blow it up, so they built the new bridge that now crosses the Colorado River next to the dam.

But I digress.

This is an insanely interesting book. Built during the Depression years, men and their families streamed to the bleak and blistering-hot desert to build this incredible dam.

The US Government solicited bids for the dam. They only wanted contractors to bid for the labor as the government was going to buy the materials directly.

What do you think the winning bid was for the labor?

Can you imagine what it took to create the two diversion tunnels that had to built to channel the mighty Colorado River as the dam was being built?

Can you imagine pouring concrete NON-STOP for years no matter what the weather was? Think of those logistics.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be ready to be blown away.

My college degree is in geology. I'll never forget going out West for the first time.

I went with Pete and Charlie in Pete's new 1970 Volvo. I had never seen such scenery and I feel that trip sold me on studying geology.

Rough Hewn Land is a book written by a geologist, but it's for people like you that don't know the difference between a piece of schist and a strike-slip fault.

Wait until you see the sense of humor Keith shares in the captions in his photos. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHA!

Did you know that The entire state of California is built from rocks scraped off the deep ocean floor like you'd shave a wafer of wood using a plane?

Did you know that the astounding Sierra Nevada mountains were made by melting an enormous slab of ocean floor as they are sucked beneath the North American continental plate?

Do you like to invest in ocean-front land before the prices go to the moon? Keith shares why you might want to visit Las Vegas and start looking around for vacant land out in the desert.

I could go on and on and on about all the things you'll discover about what you see out West, but Keith does a better job.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be prepared to be amazed. The next trip you take out West, you'll have such a great appreciation for what you see.

Do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Do you have family and friends that live there?

You'll want to read Cascadia's Fault. It reads much like a thriller as Jerry Thompson peels back the onion of clues that reveal the Northwest is going to have an earthquake that will end up in the geologic history books.

Do you remember the earthquake that shattered Mexico City back in 1985? No one ever thought that was possible.

The plate tectonics theory that's now widely accepted was just beginning to be understood. The locked-up plate that finally snapped hadn't moved in recorded history.

Guess what other plate hasn't snapped in hundreds of years? Who would think that the appointed local scribe in a Japanese shoreline village would provide one of the key clues to what's going to happen when he wrote about the devastating tsunami that destroyed his village hundreds of years ago.

Cascadia's Fault will mesmerize you and you'll be ordering an earthquake rider on your insurance policy if you live in the Northwest starting in Mendocino, CA. CLICK or TAP HERE now to start reading this book. WOW is all I can say.

  The post Tim Carter Reads appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from Home https://www.askthebuilder.com/tim-carter-reads/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[andrewmawby]

Tim Carter Reads

The following is a list of books I've read. You'll discover quickly I'm enamored with history with a sprinkling of mystery thrillers.

In a display of shame-filled vanity, I listed my own book, Roofing Ripoff, at the top of the list. In all seriousness, it's the one you should read first as it only takes one hour and it will save you THOUSANDS of dollars.

Asphalt shingles, like many things, are not made like they used to be.

My 30-year-warranty shingles started to show serious wear in less than ten years.

I was so upset I decided to find out what was going on within the industry. I sent an email to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers PR people and they blew me off. I knew then I was onto something.

Using the wisdom of the crowds, I decided to devote one of my national Ask the Builder columns to the topic. Readers from all across the USA responded to a survey form I mentioned in the column.

A deep-throat source who works in the asphalt shingle industry also stepped forward and assured I'd not reveal his identity, he agreed to a 90-minute recorded phone interview. What he told me will shake you to the core of your being.

Roofing Ripoff is available as a paperback, a Kindle download, or an Audiobook!

CLICK or TAP HERE now to get your copy. Wait until you see the full-color graphics on each page. I doubt you've ever seen a book like this one.

Say what you will about Steve Jobs, his life story is beyond interesting. I think part of the allure of this book to me is captured in the lyrics of Don Henley's hit song, Dirty Laundry.

I've been told by many of my friends that my attention to detail on craftsmanship borders on obsessive-compulsive. When you look at how I make sure the slots in the screws in switch and outlet cover plates are always straight up and down, you might be right.

Steve was OC too - to a fault. He also understood how to sell sizzle. One other character flaw was not trusting doctors. He had all the money he needed to get early treatment of his cancer. Who knows, he still might be with us and his family had he attacked the demon earlier.  CLICK or TAP HERE to see how close Apple was to going out of business back decades ago, yet Steve died a billionaire.

Although widely rumored, I'm not the grown-up Ralphie. All too often people say I look like him and wonder if I was the child actor.

When you read the actual book that inspired the classic film, you'll howl with laughter. The actual screenplay and audio from the movie are in the same voice.

It's important to realize that I did own two BB guns. I didn't have a Red Ryder, but the one I did have was very accurate.

I also owned a CO2 BB semi-automatic pistol.

In the spirit of doing stupid things as Ralphie did in the book, one day Johnny Boncutter and I decided to play real cowboys and Indians in the woods behind my house shooting at each other.

Johnny had my rifle and I had the pistol. When you first put in a fresh CO2 cartridge the BBs come out with tremendous force. One of them hit Johnny in the thigh and I shot him out of a low tree.

We were NUTS to do this with no eye protection. This is why women live so much longer than men. CLICK or TAP HERE to read some of the other crazy stuff Ralphie did that wasn't in the movie.

I can't remember how I stumbled across the Bill Travis mystery series by George Wier, but I'm glad I did. Desperate Crimes is the first in the series and I think George is up to #15 now.

Bill Travis is the main character and his diligence and determination are inspirational.

George is a good writer and he keeps the story moving.

If you think you're good at guessing the endings of mystery books, then George will put you to the test.

I'm convinced you'll feel you got your money's worth and the books get better as the series expands.

CLICK or TAP HERE to start reading or listening to Desperate Crimes.

  Have you ever been to the Hoover Dam? I was lucky enough years ago to be able to drive across it. After the terrorist attacks by the radical Islamists on 9/11, the Federal Government knew they had to make it nearly impossible for a terrorist to blow it up, so they built the new bridge that now crosses the Colorado River next to the dam.

But I digress.

This is an insanely interesting book. Built during the Depression years, men and their families streamed to the bleak and blistering-hot desert to build this incredible dam.

The US Government solicited bids for the dam. They only wanted contractors to bid for the labor as the government was going to buy the materials directly.

What do you think the winning bid was for the labor?

Can you imagine what it took to create the two diversion tunnels that had to built to channel the mighty Colorado River as the dam was being built?

Can you imagine pouring concrete NON-STOP for years no matter what the weather was? Think of those logistics.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be ready to be blown away.

My college degree is in geology. I'll never forget going out West for the first time.

I went with Pete and Charlie in Pete's new 1970 Volvo. I had never seen such scenery and I feel that trip sold me on studying geology.

Rough Hewn Land is a book written by a geologist, but it's for people like you that don't know the difference between a piece of schist and a strike-slip fault.

Wait until you see the sense of humor Keith shares in the captions in his photos. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHA!

Did you know that The entire state of California is built from rocks scraped off the deep ocean floor like you'd shave a wafer of wood using a plane?

Did you know that the astounding Sierra Nevada mountains were made by melting an enormous slab of ocean floor as they are sucked beneath the North American continental plate?

Do you like to invest in ocean-front land before the prices go to the moon? Keith shares why you might want to visit Las Vegas and start looking around for vacant land out in the desert.

I could go on and on and on about all the things you'll discover about what you see out West, but Keith does a better job.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be prepared to be amazed. The next trip you take out West, you'll have such a great appreciation for what you see.

Do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Do you have family and friends that live there?

You'll want to read Cascadia's Fault. It reads much like a thriller as Jerry Thompson peels back the onion of clues that reveal the Northwest is going to have an earthquake that will end up in the geologic history books.

Do you remember the earthquake that shattered Mexico City back in 1985? No one ever thought that was possible.

The plate tectonics theory that's now widely accepted was just beginning to be understood. The locked-up plate that finally snapped hadn't moved in recorded history.

Guess what other plate hasn't snapped in hundreds of years? Who would think that the appointed local scribe in a Japanese shoreline village would provide one of the key clues to what's going to happen when he wrote about the devastating tsunami that destroyed his village hundreds of years ago.

Cascadia's Fault will mesmerize you and you'll be ordering an earthquake rider on your insurance policy if you live in the Northwest starting in Mendocino, CA. CLICK or TAP HERE now to start reading this book. WOW is all I can say.

  The post Tim Carter Reads appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from builders feed https://www.askthebuilder.com/tim-carter-reads/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[williamccreynolds]

Tim Carter Reads

The following is a list of books I've read. You'll discover quickly I'm enamored with history with a sprinkling of mystery thrillers.

In a display of shame-filled vanity, I listed my own book, Roofing Ripoff, at the top of the list. In all seriousness, it's the one you should read first as it only takes one hour and it will save you THOUSANDS of dollars.

Asphalt shingles, like many things, are not made like they used to be.

My 30-year-warranty shingles started to show serious wear in less than ten years.

I was so upset I decided to find out what was going on within the industry. I sent an email to the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers PR people and they blew me off. I knew then I was onto something.

Using the wisdom of the crowds, I decided to devote one of my national Ask the Builder columns to the topic. Readers from all across the USA responded to a survey form I mentioned in the column.

A deep-throat source who works in the asphalt shingle industry also stepped forward and assured I'd not reveal his identity, he agreed to a 90-minute recorded phone interview. What he told me will shake you to the core of your being.

Roofing Ripoff is available as a paperback, a Kindle download, or an Audiobook!

CLICK or TAP HERE now to get your copy. Wait until you see the full-color graphics on each page. I doubt you've ever seen a book like this one.

Say what you will about Steve Jobs, his life story is beyond interesting. I think part of the allure of this book to me is captured in the lyrics of Don Henley's hit song, Dirty Laundry.

I've been told by many of my friends that my attention to detail on craftsmanship borders on obsessive-compulsive. When you look at how I make sure the slots in the screws in switch and outlet cover plates are always straight up and down, you might be right.

Steve was OC too - to a fault. He also understood how to sell sizzle. One other character flaw was not trusting doctors. He had all the money he needed to get early treatment of his cancer. Who knows, he still might be with us and his family had he attacked the demon earlier.  CLICK or TAP HERE to see how close Apple was to going out of business back decades ago, yet Steve died a billionaire.

Although widely rumored, I'm not the grown-up Ralphie. All too often people say I look like him and wonder if I was the child actor.

When you read the actual book that inspired the classic film, you'll howl with laughter. The actual screenplay and audio from the movie are in the same voice.

It's important to realize that I did own two BB guns. I didn't have a Red Ryder, but the one I did have was very accurate.

I also owned a CO2 BB semi-automatic pistol.

In the spirit of doing stupid things as Ralphie did in the book, one day Johnny Boncutter and I decided to play real cowboys and Indians in the woods behind my house shooting at each other.

Johnny had my rifle and I had the pistol. When you first put in a fresh CO2 cartridge the BBs come out with tremendous force. One of them hit Johnny in the thigh and I shot him out of a low tree.

We were NUTS to do this with no eye protection. This is why women live so much longer than men. CLICK or TAP HERE to read some of the other crazy stuff Ralphie did that wasn't in the movie.

I can't remember how I stumbled across the Bill Travis mystery series by George Wier, but I'm glad I did. Desperate Crimes is the first in the series and I think George is up to #15 now.

Bill Travis is the main character and his diligence and determination are inspirational.

George is a good writer and he keeps the story moving.

If you think you're good at guessing the endings of mystery books, then George will put you to the test.

I'm convinced you'll feel you got your money's worth and the books get better as the series expands.

CLICK or TAP HERE to start reading or listening to Desperate Crimes.

  Have you ever been to the Hoover Dam? I was lucky enough years ago to be able to drive across it. After the terrorist attacks by the radical Islamists on 9/11, the Federal Government knew they had to make it nearly impossible for a terrorist to blow it up, so they built the new bridge that now crosses the Colorado River next to the dam.

But I digress.

This is an insanely interesting book. Built during the Depression years, men and their families streamed to the bleak and blistering-hot desert to build this incredible dam.

The US Government solicited bids for the dam. They only wanted contractors to bid for the labor as the government was going to buy the materials directly.

What do you think the winning bid was for the labor?

Can you imagine what it took to create the two diversion tunnels that had to built to channel the mighty Colorado River as the dam was being built?

Can you imagine pouring concrete NON-STOP for years no matter what the weather was? Think of those logistics.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be ready to be blown away.

My college degree is in geology. I'll never forget going out West for the first time.

I went with Pete and Charlie in Pete's new 1970 Volvo. I had never seen such scenery and I feel that trip sold me on studying geology.

Rough Hewn Land is a book written by a geologist, but it's for people like you that don't know the difference between a piece of schist and a strike-slip fault.

Wait until you see the sense of humor Keith shares in the captions in his photos. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHA!

Did you know that The entire state of California is built from rocks scraped off the deep ocean floor like you'd shave a wafer of wood using a plane?

Did you know that the astounding Sierra Nevada mountains were made by melting an enormous slab of ocean floor as they are sucked beneath the North American continental plate?

Do you like to invest in ocean-front land before the prices go to the moon? Keith shares why you might want to visit Las Vegas and start looking around for vacant land out in the desert.

I could go on and on and on about all the things you'll discover about what you see out West, but Keith does a better job.

CLICK or TAP HERE and be prepared to be amazed. The next trip you take out West, you'll have such a great appreciation for what you see.

Do you live in the Pacific Northwest? Do you have family and friends that live there?

You'll want to read Cascadia's Fault. It reads much like a thriller as Jerry Thompson peels back the onion of clues that reveal the Northwest is going to have an earthquake that will end up in the geologic history books.

Do you remember the earthquake that shattered Mexico City back in 1985? No one ever thought that was possible.

The plate tectonics theory that's now widely accepted was just beginning to be understood. The locked-up plate that finally snapped hadn't moved in recorded history.

Guess what other plate hasn't snapped in hundreds of years? Who would think that the appointed local scribe in a Japanese shoreline village would provide one of the key clues to what's going to happen when he wrote about the devastating tsunami that destroyed his village hundreds of years ago.

Cascadia's Fault will mesmerize you and you'll be ordering an earthquake rider on your insurance policy if you live in the Northwest starting in Mendocino, CA. CLICK or TAP HERE now to start reading this book. WOW is all I can say.

  The post Tim Carter Reads appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from Real Estate https://www.askthebuilder.com/tim-carter-reads/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

[stalen00bsblog]

More and more chatbots are being created every day, basically covering every automatable use case. Most of these chatbots are textual, and we can interact with them on Messenger, SMS, website chat, etc. They’re very accessible and easy to use, but I’m sure you’d love to be able to speak to them, as well as write to them.

Sometimes, speaking is the most natural and easiest way to interact, say, when you’re at home cooking or reading. I’ve got some news for you: you can build your own Alexa bot backed by SAP Conversational AI. We made this integration very easy, so let’s dive in, step-by-step.

1. Create Your Bot

When you’re a beginner bot builder learning about natural language understanding, conversation flows and messaging platforms can feel a bit overwhelming. In this guide, I’m going to help you build your first bot on SAP Conversational AI. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a functional chatbot, and you will know how to:

Make your bot understand human language

Build a conversation flow

Deploy your bot to an external channel (Facebook Messenger, Twitter, etc.)

With SAP Conversational AI, you can easily design complex conversational flows fueled by a powerful artificial intelligence.

What are we building today?

Let’s start with a simple bot:

We’ll need to:

Understand greetings and goodbyes

Understand that the user is asking for a joke and send one picked randomly from a list

Understand at least two reactions — laughs or grins — and react with a funny gif or deep apologies

Deploy our bot on Facebook Messenger

Requirements

Create a free account on SAP Conversational AI.

Log in. Click on the button “Start with a template” or just on + NEW BOT in the header section.

3. You can choose one or many predefined skills for your bot. This will help you get started faster. Just select “Greetings” for now, but I encourage you to check the others later.

4. Choose your name. “joke-bot” would be appropriate

5. Add a description. “My awesome and funny joke bot” or something less cocky

6. You can set up to 6 topics to improve your bot training. Topics are keywords that can define your bot, such as “fashion,” “games,” or “jobs.”

7. Depending on the use of the data, choose the appropriate Data Policy option. Note that we don’t allow “Health” bots (which ask users personal health information) at the moment.

8. Set English as the default language.

9. You can keep your bot public as there is no private info, but you can change this setting later.

You are now ready to build your bot!

The Stages of Bot Building

There are 5 phases in your bot life, represented on our platform through the use of 5 tabs:

Train — Teach your bot what it needs to understand

Build — Create your conversational flow with our Bot Builder tool

Code — Connect your bot with external APIs or a database

Connect — Ship your bot to one or several messaging platforms

Monitor — Train your bot to make it sharper, and get insights on its usage!

For today, we’ll skip the “Code” part because we won’t need any external information. If you want to connect your bot with some code, I encourage you to comment below and I will make a post on it.

Step 1: Train Your Bot to Understand Human Language

This is the brain of your bot, where all its understanding is gathered and divided into Intents.

An intent is a “box” of sentences that all carry the same meaning even though they can be very different from one another. When a user sends some text to your bot, our algorithm compares it to the phrases in your intents. Then it checks if it’s close enough to one of them and decides what the intention of the message is.

For example:

Are you a bot?

You reply so fast, I’m sure you must be some kind of robot.

Am I speaking to a human or not?

They are all different, but they all ask the same question that we can sum up as: Are you a bot? Well, that would make a great intent! If your bot is able to recognize this question, you can prepare a smart reaction, like “I’m a robot and I’m proud of it.”

Fork Intents

All bots should understand basic things such as "greetings," "agree," "disagree," or when a user asks for help. If you chose the predefined Skill "Greetings" when you set up your bot, you will already have two intents: goodbye and greetings.

As SAP Conversational AI is collaborative, you do not have to recreate each intent every time! You can "fork" an intent someone already created to clone it right into your bot. Since we need to understand that our user wants to be told a joke, let’s find if the community has already created this intent for us.

Type “joke” in the input search. You can click on the intention names if you want to check their full content. The first result will work just fine for me.

Create a New Intent

If you want a custom intent, you can build it from scratch. Here, we want the bot to understand when someone laughs at the joke. Click on + CREATE on the right of the search field and choose a name for your intent:

Repeat this process for intent that gathers negative reactions to your jokes:

Step 2: Add Expressions

Now that we have intents, we need to populate them with various expressions. An expression is the name of a sentence added to an intent.

A golden rule would be to add at least 30 expressions to an intent and ideally more than 50.

Click on an intent and add sentences you want your bot to understand.

Put yourself in the shoes of the people talking to your bot. What could they possibly ask? Enter a new expression by typing it into the field Add an expression. Here are some examples:

Laughs

Hahaha that’s hilarious

ROFL you’re good!

That, my friend, was an amazing joke.

I haven’t laughed that much in a long time

Lame

You have no sense of humor whatsoever.

That’s both terrible and offensive.

What the heck was that?

Try harder, that was a very bad joke.

Tip: Click on the message “You have X expressions suggested to enrich your intent” to see examples of phrases you can add to your bot. It's a good way to speed up your training!

Step 3: Test Your Bot

Now that your bot is full of expressions, let’s test it with the console:

Click on the TEST bubble icon on the top right. Type a sentence you have not trained your bot with: “Botty bot, can you tell me a joke please?”

Regarding what you wrote, you will see which intent was detected under “He’s referring to.” If the algorithm did not detect an intent or detected an invalid intent, that means that you need to train your bot with more expressions. Go back to your intents and add or modify expressions. Then, test again. This might sound a bit repetitive, but it’s the best way to ensure that your bot will detect correctly the users’ sentences.

Once you’re happy with your bot intent detection, it’s time to move to the next phase: building your bot flow.

Step 4: Build and Manage the Conversation Flow

Now that the “brain” of your bot is all filled up, click on the Build tab.

The Build tab is where you find Bot Builder. It helps you construct the conversation flow of your bot using Skills.

What Is a Skill?

Each Skill represents one thing that your bot knows how to do, and they can interact with each other. Your skill can be a complicated one — such as managing payment by credit — or simply answering basic questions.

When you create a new bot, forking skills you already made to the new one will keep making your bots more powerful. You can also fork skills created by other people on the platform, so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel!

If you chose the predefined skill “Greetings” during the creation of your bot, it will already be in your interface.

Click its name to check its details:

A skill has four parts:

Readme: Where you explain the purpose of your skill

Triggers: Where you define why this skill should be activated after a user message

Requirements: Describes what information this skill has to collect, and what questions need to be asked to fulfill the requirements

Actions: What to do once the requirements are fulfilled

If you navigate through the tabs, you’ll see that this skill is structured as follows:

It is triggered if the intention greetings or the intention goodbye are matched.

It has no requirements because it does not need to collect additional information. That means that it will execute actions directly after a trigger.

It has two possible actions: If the intention matched is greetings, it sends a random welcoming message chosen from a list, and if the intention is goodbye, it does the same thing but picks the message from a different list.

It’s time to create our own Skill with the same structure.

Step 5: Build Your Own Skill

Go back to the Build tab and click on + Create skill on the left side.

You have three different types of skills: Business, Floating, and Fallback.

Business and Floating have no structural differences. Yet differentiating the two types of skill helps when you have a lot of them.

Fallback skills trigger when no other skill has their Triggers fulfilled after a user message. Most of the time, you’ll have only one of this kind where you can remind the user what your bot can do and ask them to rephrase.

Our skill will be of a Floating type. Give it the name you want, I chose tell-me-a-joke.

Click on your newly created skill and then go to the Triggers tab. We want to activate our skill if one of the three intentions we created are matched.

Don’t forget to change the condition to OR — by clicking on one of the blue buttons “AND” — since it is an AND condition by default, and we want to activate our skill when any of these intentions are matched.

We won’t need to do anything in the Requirements because we don’t have anything to ask. But you can improve the bot by asking for some information there, like what kind of jokes they prefer or how old they are if you want to add some adult jokes.

Head to the Actions tab and create your first message group.

Click on ADD NEW MESSAGE GROUP, then ADD CONDITION to trigger messages and add the condition: If @ask-joke is-present. The “@” stands for intent type. We’ll cover other types later.

Then choose the action type “SEND MESSAGE,” choose Text format, and type the best joke you know:

You can also set a delay (optional) between two messages up top 5 seconds. This might be useful when the messages your bot sends are quite long and need time to be read by the user.

Step 6: Give Different Possible Answers to Your Bot

Click on the little + over your message to add a new message to your random list so that we don’t always send the same joke. If you click again on SEND MESSAGE below, you can send multiple messages at the same time.

Let your creativity speak! Once we’re good with our jokes, let’s cover the two other intents.

Click on ADD A NEW MESSAGE GROUP and set the condition as: If @laughs is-present

I decided to send gifs in this case, so I clicked on SEND MESSAGE and Image format.

Here are the URLs of my GIFs if you want to use them: 1, 2 and 3.

Then, we repeat the process for our last intent:

Step 7: Chat With Your Bot

The last step before releasing your bot to your audience: chat with it in a real situation. This will show you exactly how the bot is and reacts as if you were in the shoes of any other user, and you’ll be able to double check any error in the conversation flow (bad answers, fallback error, weird behavior…) and correct it before it goes public. In fact, I recommend you chat with you bot as often as you can during its building, as it will be easier to identify where an eventual mistake comes from.

Click on the bottom-right blue button “CHAT WITH YOUR BOT” and start sending some messages. Use “Clear” to refresh the chat.

Step 8: Connect Your Bot to a Messaging Platform

Your bot is ready? It’s time to deploy it to a public messaging platform.

Go to the Connect tab, choose the messaging platform you prefer, and follow the step-by-step instructions. You won’t have anything else to do other than the initial configuration to deploy your bot to a new channel. For this reason, you should not hesitate to configure multiples to broaden your audience!

Beware that some platforms are not as powerful as others. For example, Telegram is very easy to configure but does not support GIF images, so you should adapt your bot accordingly. If you don’t know where to start, Facebook Messenger is a very powerful platform with a large audience.

Now, go on Messenger, Kik, or any other channel you chose and look for your bot, it’s there, it’s live!

Step 9: Monitor and Train Your Bot

The Monitor tab will help you sharpen your bot intelligence over time.

It gathers all the messages your bot receives and shows what intent was matched.

Keep an eye on this tab and train your bot regularly:

Archive the message if it matches the right intent

Assign the correct intent if an invalid intent was matched or none at all

Here, the last message sent to my bot didn’t match any intention. If similar messages keep coming over time, I will create a new intent for this case.

2. Add a Dedicated Intent and Skill

As we’ll see later, your Amazon Skill will be triggered by using an “invocation” (aka a “keyword”). Using this invocation will start the bot and tell Alexa to go to SAP Conversational AI to handle the conversation. Then, we have to tell your bot how to properly react when the user uses the invocation. If not, your Alexa skill will still work, but it won’t know what to answer and will ask for the Fallback skill, which can be very disappointing for the user.

For that, we’ll create an intent and a skill (or, in this particular case, modify an existing skill).

a. Go to the Train tab and click +CREATE. I chose to name my intent conversation-start, but you can choose whatever you want.

In this intent, we’ll add a single expression: CONVERSATION_START. This time, don’t use anything but this specific expression. This expression is what Alexa considers the beginning of the conversation with your bot, once you’ve called the “invocation.”

b. You can create a specific skill to handle the answer of the CONVERSATION_START trigger, but I chose something simpler: the Greetings skill that you already have in your joke bot. The result is that Alexa will answer with a greeting message when using your invocation: “Start funny bot” > “Hello :)”.

On your Build tab, choose the skill Greetings, and go to the Trigger tab. Add a condition with an ORboolean and simply choose “if @conversation-start is present.”

Once you’ve done that, go to the Actions tab and add a condition to the first action, with an OR boolean, and again type “if @conversation-start is present.” With that done, your bot will use the Greetings when prompting the invocation, as if you were simply greeting it.

This is the only modification you’ll have to do to make your bot Alexa-compatible.

3. Create an Amazon Alexa Developer Account

If you already have an Amazon Alexa developer account, nothing more to do! Just log in. If not, go hereand create one. It’s completely free!

Once you’ve created an account, don’t create a skill through the Amazon platform. We handle itfor you through your bot’s Connect tab.

4. Authorize Amazon to Connect to Your SAP Conversational AI

Go to the Connect tab of your bot and click Amazon Alexa. Go to Step 6 (under Amazon Alexa on the Connect tab) and click LOGIN WITH AMAZON. Once you’ve done that, you won’t have to go back to this action.

5. Choose an Invocation Name and Generate Your Alexa Skill

We’re almost done!

Under Amazon Alexa on the Connect tab, stay on Step 6 and choose a name for your Alexa skill. Feel free to personalize it.

Choose an invocation name. As I was previously saying, this is the “magic” word that will make Alexa switch to your SAP Conversational AI bot. I chose funnybot. Note that you can change it later, so don’t worry if you made a mistake!

Once you’ve chosen an invocation name, click the CREATE CHANNEL button and wait. The system will take a few seconds to reload and then the Vendor and Locales lists will be available.

Choose the unique option in the Vendor list and choose US in the Locales list. Then click DEPLOY SKILL TO AMAZON ALEXA.

There we are! Connection’s done!

6. Test Your Skill on Alexa

Go to your Amazon Alexa dev page and refresh the page. Your skill will now appear! Click on your skill’s name and go to the Test tab.

In the Skill testing is enabled in: field at the top left, choose Development to enable the testing window.

Time to Test!

Try prompting “Start funnybot.” The skill will answer with a greeting answer. Once you’ve done that, you can follow your conversation as if you were using your bot in another context (test chat, webchat, Messenger, etc.). Type “Can you tell me a joke?” and see what happens!

Of course, you can mix both messages and directly ask Alexa “Ask funnybot to tell me a joke”. Again, the most important thing is having the invocation keyword in your sentence.

If you change something in your bot, you don’t have to “rebuild” your Alexa connection. Just refresh the Test page and start a new conversation. Don’t forget to use your invocation before any questions to your bot.

Next Steps

Congrats! You now have a talking Alexa chatbot, backed by SAP Conversational AI.

When you’re ready for production and to make your skill available to every Alexa owner, follow the instructions on your Amazon Alexa dev page on the Distribution tab.

That’s it, you know everything! Enjoy experimenting. 

[gwynnew]

'Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas' turns 40: An oral history of Jim Henson's holiday Muppet musical

‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ (Photo: Sony Home Pictures Entertainment/ The Jim Henson Company)

When it comes to Christmas specials, either Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas is among your favorites, or you haven’t seen it yet.  Jim Henson’s captivating musical, starring an ensemble of delightful Muppet critters, has never attained the holiday ubiquity of, say, A Charlie Brown Christmas (with which it shares a gentle humor and sincerity) or the subsequent The Muppet Christmas Carol, releasted in 1992, two years after Henson’s death. For years, it was impossible to find on home video. Nevertheless, Emmet Otter and his friends have maintained a devoted fanbase since their special first aired in December 1977, a following that’s bound to grow now that a 40th anniversary edition of Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas has been released on DVD.

The 53-minute film tells the story of Ma Otter and her son Emmet, who live a simple but joyful life by the river in Frogtown Hollow.  With Christmas around the corner, mother and son know that they’re too poor to buy each other gifts, so each secretly enters the Frogtown Hollow talent contest in hopes of spending the prize money on Christmas.  Emmet, with his woodland friends, forms the jug-band of the title, but must ruin his mother’s income-generating washtub to make a washtub bass; Ma decides to perform a song, and makes a similar, O. Henry-esque sacrifice. When the talent contest takes a surprising turn, Ma and Emmet think all is lost — until they receive the best Christmas gift they never expected.

In addition to being a heartwarming piece of entertainment, Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas was a landmark film for the Henson Company. More cinematic and ambitious than any of the Muppets’ previous television projects — with full sets, animatronics, and puppets custom-built for the story — the special paved the way for Henson-produced feature films like The Muppet Movie and The Dark Crystal. Even as he moved onto bigger things, Emmet Otter remained a favorite project of Henson’s throughout his life. His collaborators, including Muppet performers Frank Oz and Dave Goelz and songwriter Paul Williams, still feel the same way. As Goelz told Yahoo Entertainment, Emmet Otter “got right at the essence of Jim’s philosophy — the decency, the sense of giving. And we need that more than ever these days.”

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas premiere, Yahoo Entertainment had a conversation with Oz and Goelz (soon to be reunited onscreen in director Oz’s documentary Muppet Guys Talking), who spoke together for the first time about their Emmet Otter memories.  Yahoo also talked to Williams, who shared the stories behind timeless songs like Ma Otter’s ballad “Our World.” Here is the oral history of Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, from three of Henson’s closest and most devoted collaborators.

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (Photo: Sony Home Pictures Entertainment/The Jim Henson Company)

Jim Henson and his crew shot Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas in Toronto in March 1977. (The Muppet Show had premiered five months earlier, and Henson’s puppets were still best-known as residents of Sesame Street, then in its eighth season.) The hour-long film, based on a children’s book of the same name by Russell and Lillian Hoban, was adapted for the screen by Muppet Show writer Jerry Juhl.  To write the songs that were crucial to the musical story, Henson approached singer-songwriter Paul Williams, one of The Muppet Show’s early guests and the writer of contemporary radio hits like the Carpenters’ “Rainy Days and Mondays” and Three Dog Night’s “An Old-Fashioned Love Song.”

Paul Williams: I just hit it off beautifully with Jim and with the Muppeteers right from the start. I loved their humor. I love that there was kind of a dark edge to them, with all the bright and sparkly stuff they were doing. But Jim said, “We’re gonna do a special based on a children’s book called Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas.” And he also mentioned that down the line, they were going to be be tackling their first feature-length motion picture, and that he thought this would be a great introductory thing to see how well we worked together. It was interesting because the kind of music that it required was very different than anything I’d ever done.  It was what I would refer to as “Americana.” 

All of the characters in Emmet Otter’s world, more than 30 including non-speaking roles, were played by six puppeteers, Henson included. Frank Oz, the Muppets’ star performer, puppeteered Ma Otter — but unusually, the man behind Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Bert, Grover, and Cookie Monster was dubbed with the voice of another performer, singer Marilyn Sokol.   

Frank Oz: I would be thrown in jail if I tried to sing those songs. Songs that beautiful needed a beautiful voice; it was always intended that way. I just performed it with the dialogue live, and then in post-production Marilyn put her voice in. But Marilyn had already recorded those songs, so on set I could sing to Marilyn’s tempo and feeling and everything. And she was a beautiful singer. 

Watch Ma (voiced by Marilyn Sokol, puppeteered by Frank Oz) and Emmet (Jerry Nelson) perform ‘Ain’t No Hole in the Washtub’:

Dave Goelz, best known for the character of Gonzo, had just recently become a Muppet performer. He started out as a builder in the creature workshop, where he built several of the puppets for Emmet Otter. In the special, he played Wendell porcupine, Emmet’s slow-witted but lovable best friend.

Dave Goelz: Wendell Porcupine was a breakthrough for me at the time, because I’d only done one season on The Muppet Show and I was really a beginner. And I had some success with that character just ad-libbing in the studio. You know, Wendell had a crush on Emmett’s mother. He just loved her and he wanted to spend time with her and it was all kind of strange. But that was just off-camera.

Oz:  And can I say, since I did the mother: I don’t think that obsession was truly platonic.

Goelz: [laughs] I wasn’t gonna go there.

Oz: No, Wendell was a great character, Davey. I love Wendell. He’s so pure. 

Rounding out the cast were fellow Muppet performers Jerry Nelson, who played Emmet; Richard Hunt, who played Emmet’s bandmate Charlie; and Eren Ozker, who played the minor female characters (and had been the only female performer on the first season of The Muppet Show).  All of the performers played multiple creatures; for example, every performer in Emmet Otter’s cuddly jug-band doubled as a member of their ill-mannered rock-and-roll rivals, the Riverbottom Nightmare band.

Goelz: In the bad guy group, I had this catfish. And I had fun doing the fish because we built a squirt mechanism into him so he could spit water. That was his wise-guy thing. Frank’s was that he was extremely tough, his word was law. [laughs] And it was just fun to do these idiots.

Oz:  My guy [Chuck] — he was the leader of the group. In high school, you know when you’ve got the bad guy everybody follows, and he’s a guy who just is so cool? I saw him that way. He reminds me of guys in high school that I was scared of. [laughs]

Goelz: Oh yeah, absolutely. “I’m not hungry, I’m huuuungry.” [laughs] Oh, I loved it. Frank oftentimes will find a moment like that, and it will just be a standout in a whole television show or film. In Muppet Christmas Carol, it was Sam Eagle talking to young Scrooge about a career in “business.” The obscene lust that Sam Eagle had for “business!” Just finding those little moments that you never, ever forget.

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (Photo: Sony Home Pictures Entertainment/ The Jim Henson Company)

The songs in Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas are meant to sound like timeless American standards, songs that Ma Otter and her family would have been singing for generations. A few titles were suggested by the book, but the majority were invented from scratch by Paul Williams, who found working with Henson and the Muppets to be uniquely inspiring.

 Williams: There’s such an amazing energy that you get working around Jim. I think the more calm you are, the easier the flow of the creative source. If I get tense and say, “Oh my god, I gotta finish this,” things slow down a little bit. But if you can stay as relaxed as Jim seem to be? The songs just poured out of me.

Oz: Paul got the spirit of Muppets and Jim. Not everybody can, you know? People don’t often get the fact of the sense of purity and the sense of play and the sense of integrity of character. They sometimes, as an adult, try to make things clever or funny. But Paul just approached it the same way Jim did, and we did. He had that ability to, in a way, be one of us in the musical realm.

Williams: I think the big mistake that a lot of songwriters make when they’re writing for a musical is to try to write a hit song. And I never did that.

Goelz: But you know, he wrote this lovely song “Barbecue” — “Barbecue lifts my spirit, I swear it never fails” — you know, it made me want barbecue whenever I heard it. And then he turned right around and created this incredible spiritual, “When the River Meets the Sea,” that seems like it’s been around forever. It’s so eternal and it’s so profound. I used to sing it to my kids every night when we put them to bed.

Watch (from left) Harvey Beaver (Jim Henson), Charlie Muskrat (Richard Hunt), Emmet Otter (Jerry Nelson), and Wendell Porcupine (Dave Goelz) sing ‘Barbecue’:

Williams: I remember eating barbecue, and that I would always get it under my nails. I think maybe the first line I got was, “The sauce mama makes’ll stay there forever if you dare to get it under your nails.” And I think that because I was such a middle-of-the road writer, writing for the Carpenters and Three Dog Night, that that first line is very personal: “When you meet somebody who don’t like soul food they still got a soul, and it don’t mean that you ain’t got rhythm if you don’t like rock and roll.” There’s probably a little bit of something defensive in that about, no, I’m not part of the Laurel Canyon, Crosby-Stills-Nash-and-Young crowd, or that hardcore rock-and-roll, Rolling Stones music is not what I wrote. But just because I don’t write rock and roll doesn’t mean that I don’t have a soul. [The next line is] “If your taste’s like mine you like cider not wine” — which is interesting because I’m 27 years sober now, but at the time I definitely preferred wine. But I thought, it’s for the kids. 

Oz:  The music was just the most beautiful stuff. Paul’s written other stuff for us and it’s beautiful, but somehow this is really extraordinary.

Williams: I love the way that “Our World” and “Brothers” come together at the end. You know, I’m an old hippie. In the ’60s I was up in San Francisco with flowers in my hair like everybody else was, and my love beads and my tie dye T-shirts and camouflage pants and work boots and long hair and a top hat with a feather in it. So “Our World” is very, very much in that spirit. It’s a little hymn, you know? It’s like a little hymn. 

Watch The ‘Our World/Brothers’ medley from ‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’:

When characters perform songs in the story, they actually “play” their individual instrument parts. The tracks were pre-recorded, so they weren’t making the music live — but the Muppeteers put enormous effort into getting it right.  

Oz: We all worked hard on that. If you look at Wendell playing the jug — Davey got that jug track, and he rehearsed that jug track alone. I got the washtub track with a single string. We each got our own part and rehearsed it, and then when it was mixed together, we knew our parts. And we always took pride in the fact that we didn’t fake all that stuff; we really rehearsed that very well. We’d do that for The Muppet Show too.

Emmet Otter was a labor of love for all involved, but days of shooting with puppets could be repetitive and tedious. This is illustrated, hilariously, by an outtake reel of a single shot included on the DVD. (Watch it below.) In the 10-second shot, Ma (Oz, pre-voice dubbing) and Emmet are standing outside a music store that is being trashed by the Riverbottom Nightmare band. A drum is supposed to come rolling out of the door and land in front of them. When the drum doesn’t land in the right place, Henson resets the shot again, and again, and again, a total of 33 times, while the puppeteers ad-lib between takes.

Oz: The drum rolling was classic. I remember we rehearsed it. Jerry and I were underneath the set, just like all the other performers, so we’re in two holes. And in the rehearsal it landed beautifully, perfect  — so we thought, we’ll do it again. It must have been 30, 40 takes? But Jim would not give up. We’d be there all day long.

Watch The outtakes reel for the drum-rolling scene:

Goelz: That’s the thing that differentiates the Muppets: nobody else is crazy enough to do this.

Oz: It’s true. These days you have CG, and it’s just not as much fun because you can always throw money at something and do it. But when we did it with Jim it was real time. And so you had to be a little bit crazy – and Jim was, in that regard. He would just do anything. And I think Davey’s right, nobody actually understood the depth of experience we went through to fulfill Jim’s vision.

Goelz: That commitment is so deep and so persistent. It was actually a lesson about life, too, for me anyway. I went on from there and I thought: If something’s really important, you do whatever it takes.

Oz: What was funny to me was, that take was like shooting dice. There’s no way you could control that drum! [laughs] It was just blind faith that it would do it again.

Goelz: It’s probably worth saying that Frank and Jerry were in a lot of pain during that, because underneath that set, when you have your arm stuck in a hole, there are all these beams that go right through where your head is supposed to be. And so your head can’t be where it normally is on your shoulders; you have to put it off to the side somewhere. And it hurts like crazy. And when you go over and over like that for as long as that was, you’re in a lot of pain. And in spite of that you have to perform; you have to compartmentalize it.

Oz: And that’s what we learned from Jim. And Dave does the same thing and Richie Hunt did the same thing — all of us did the same thing, where I say, we just sustained the pain to get the performance. All of us did.

Goelz: And at the same time, Frank was still throwing in ad libs after every failure. 

As a puppeteer, Goelz had his own unique physical challenge on Emmet Otter set: performing the catfish in a full tank of water during the Riverbottom Nightmare Band’s performance. (Watch it below.)

Goelz: That was a scary thing, because the set-up was, the fish tank was built into the set. It had a hole in the upstage side, away from the camera, and a wetsuit arm glued securely into it so you could fill the tank with water, put the arm inside the wetsuit on, and then somebody would put the puppet on your hand. And I was sitting on a forklift truck; there was a palette on a forklift truck that held me at the right height so I could put my arm into this tank. I remember just the whole time I was terrified that somebody might come along and turn the switch, and if that palette went down, my arm would just be cut off like a guillotine! [laughs] I think Frank knew that and he really loved it.

Oz: I love anytime when somebody else is in pain. Sure. [laughs]

Goelz: Especially me, for some reason.

Oz: Oh there’s many reasons.

The Riverbottom Nightmare Band performs their signature song. Performers include Dave Goelz as the catfish dancing in the water tank and Frank Oz as lead singer and keyboardist Chuck. 

Though filled with old-fashioned charm, Emmet Otter actually employed a savvy blend of age-old puppetry techniques and cutting-edge animatronic technology. Engineering wizard Franz “Faz” Fazakas, a frequent Muppet collaborator, designed the rowboat that could be steered along the set’s 50-foot river, and rigged versions of Ma and Emmet that could be operated via remote control while they were on the water. 

Goelz:  The boat was super high tech. The radio-controlled Emmet and the radio-controlled boat worked together so Emmet could row it around, just like a real rowboat.

Oz: And while the boat was being rowed around, Ma could be singing, because of the remote control. However, when it got into a closer shot, Jim just put the boat in front of the river — so we’re on the studio floor, and the camera’s shooting at us past the river in the background.

Goelz: For close-ups, they wanted to use hand puppets for better manipulation than you can get with a remote control figure. Same thing was done in The Dark Crystal actually, same exact technique.  But then on the same shoot, we also had puppets marionetted. So occasionally in long shots, you’d see Emmet walking across this big wide shot as a marionette. And that was very primitive; they looked pretty silly walking along with their feet kicking out as they walked. But to me it’s all part of the charm. I just love that it’s that way.

‘Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas’ (Photo: Sony Home Pictures Entertainment/ The Jim Henson Company)

Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas premiered on Canadian television in December 1977, followed by an HBO premiere in 1978 and a network premiere on ABC in 1980. The critically acclaimed special provided a groundwork for the Muppets’ feature films, which took Henson’s detailed world-building, groundbreaking special effects, and Muppet-specific cinematic techniques to a new level.  Williams went on to write songs for The Muppet Movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and the 2008 stage adaptation of Emmet Otter. The tale of Frogtown Hollow continued to hold a special place in the hearts of those involved — including Henson, who included one of Emmet Otter’s songs in the musical program he designed for his memorial service (held in New York City on May 21, 1990, five days after his death).  

Williams: The last thing that I ever expected was to hear “When the River Meets the Sea” at Jim’s funeral. It was an especially emotional moment in the funeral for me. But I think that the songs in Emmet Otter, and the way that Emmet Otter rolled out, is exactly what Jim wanted. I think it’s a gorgeous little jewel of the Muppets at their best.

Oz: If people made Emmet Otter these days, they would make it for little children. We never made it for children. We just did it for ourselves, and so we enjoyed it for ourselves.

Goelz: None of us talked about it — especially Jim — but I think that this show represented Jim’s philosophy very accurately. And I think in all of our work, a part of it may have been that we were trying to show a world the way we’d like the world to be.

Oz:  It’s such a chancey thing that Jim always did, which is take a chance on real purity and sweetness. We don’t want cloying, we don’t like cute — but sweet is legitimate. And Jim just went for it.

Goelz: You know, we just did two shows with the Muppets at the Hollywood Bowl back in September. They were literally like these long, extended Muppet Shows. And we had packed houses, eighteen thousand people in the audience. You could just feel their hunger for decency, and innocence and whimsy. The world really wants that right now.

Watch Ma Otter sing ‘When the River Meets the Sea’: 

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

‘Labyrinth’ Turns 30: Brian Henson Shares Memories of David Bowie, Jim Henson, and the Grouchy Goblin Hoggle

Frank Oz admits ‘it hurt’ to give up Muppets, says they’ll never be as ‘touching and soulful’ (exclusive)

‘Princess Bride’ at 30: Cary Elwes on the scene he dreamed up, his battle scar, and those extreme fans

[nancy-astorga]

Here’s what we know about the victims of the Las Vegas shooting

At least 59 people died in a mass shooting in Las Vegas at a country music festival Sunday night, and details are slowly emerging about the victims.

One was an off-duty police officer, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD). His name has not yet been released while police notify his family.

Two other off-duty officers were among the more than 527 transported to hospitals, police said. One is in stable condition after surgery, and the other’s injuries weren’t life-threatening.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference that by Tuesday afternoon, authorities had identified all but three victims. Here are the stories of those named so far:

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that friends identified LVMPD officer, military veteran, and youth football coach Charleston Hartfield, 34, as one of the dead.

“They say it’s always the good ones we lose early. There’s no truer statement than that with Charles,” friend Troy Rhett told the paper.

The family of registered nurse Sonny Melton from Paris, Tennessee told WZTV that he was one of the people who died.

“I’m in complete disbelief and despair. I don’t know what to say. Sonny was the most kind-hearted, loving man I have ever met. He saved my life and lost his,” his wife Heather Gulish Melton said in a statement to Fox 17 News in Nashville.

SAD NEWS TO SHARE: Family identifies Tennessee man killed in #LasVegasShooting: https://t.co/i9yHHIDHMY pic.twitter.com/cCXP9ofJgv

— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) October 2, 2017

Quinton Robbins, 24, from Henderson, Nevada was one of the murdered, his aunt Kilee Wells Sanders said on Facebook. His Facebook account was converted to a memorialized account on Monday.

“Please pray for his parents and siblings at this time,” Sanders wrote. “Please also respect their privacy as this is a devastating loss that is incredibly painful for the families.”

Alaskan native Adrian Murfitt, 35, a commercial fisherman, died in his friend Brian MacKinnon’s arms. “He was like an Alaskan cowboy, but when he saw a dog he’d turn into a 10-year-old kid,” MacKinnon told the LA Times.

Fifty-six-year-old John Phippen of Santa Clarita, who owned a home remodeling company, was dancing with his son, Travis, when a bullet hit him in the back, according to the LA Times. Travis, who didn’t realize he’d been shot in the arm, carried his father to the hospital, where he died.

“He was my best friend,” Travis told the Times. “He never did anything wrong to anybody. He was always kind and gentle. He was the biggest teddy bear I knew.”

West Virginian Denise Burditus died in her husband’s arms. Just hours before the shooting, she posted a photo of the couple smiling at the festival on Facebook.

Two Canadians, Jordan McIldoon from Maple Ridge, British Colombia, and Jessica Klymchuk of Valleyview, Alberta, were killed, CBC reported. She was a mother a four who worked at a Catholic school. McIldoon was a 23-year-old mechanic’s apprentice. He died in a woman’s arms.

“We only had one child,” McIldoon’s parents told CBC. “We just don’t know what to do.”

Rachel Parker, a civilian employee with the Manhattan Beach Police Department in California for 10 years, was also killed, CBS News Los Angeles reported. The MBPD said in a statement that she died at the hospital.

@citymb employee lost this AM featured on @CNN. Missed for her service, +attitude & volunteering w/with older-adults https://t.co/uc2Kop5CmY

— Mark Danaj (@MarkDanaj) October 3, 2017

Sandy Casey, who taught special education at Manhattan Beach Middle School, was also shot.

“She is loved by students and colleagues alike and will be remembered for her sense of humor, her passion for her work, her devotion to her students, and her commitment to continuing her own learning and to taking on whatever new projects came her way,” the Manhattan Beach Unified School District said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

Lisa Romero was a secretary for Gallup-McKinley County Schools in New Mexico, where she was known for being an “incredible loving and sincere friend, mentor and advocate for students in many of our school.” A friend told KRQE News that she was a “sweet and beautiful woman.”

“Ms. Lisa Romero, you have touched so many lives,” Ryan Gomito, a history teacher from nearby Miyamura High School, said in Facebook interview, according to The Times. “Rest easy, Ma’am.”

Susan Smith, 53, was another school employee who died. She was an office manager at an elementary school in Simi Valley, California for 16 years and was married three children.

“She was the hub of the school. She was the center of it. Everyone who came through those doors she knew. She knew the children, she knew the staff, she knew the parents,” school spokesperson Jake Finch told the LA Times.

Neysa Tonks, a technology worker from Irvine, also died, the LA Times reported. She had three sons.

Thomas Day Jr., 54, of Riverside, California, was a home builder and attended the concert with four of his children.

“He was the best dad. That’s why the kids were with him,”Thomas Day Sr., his father, said in The Times.

Angela Gomez, 20, of Riverside, Cailfornia, graduated high school in 2015 and attended Riverside Community College.

“Angie was a fun-loving, sweet young lady with a great sense of humor,” Lupe Avila, Gomez’s former cheer coach, said in an email in The Times. “Angie was a loyal friend who loved her family and will be forever missed by all those who knew her.”

Prayers to Angie’s family & Ethan. Anything helps. RIP lovely https://t.co/PV5xeci1ND

— Lyssette (@lysssetteolivia) October 2, 2017

Bailey Schweitzer, 20, was a receptionist for a software company in Bakersfield, California.

“Bailey was always the ray of sunshine in our office on a cloudy day,” Fred Brakeman, the chief executive of the company, said in The Times. “No one could possibly have a bad day when Bailey was around. If you have ever called or visited our office, she was the perky one that helped direct you to the staff member you needed.”

Rhonda LeRocque, 42, of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, worked at a design firm in Cambridge and was a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. After Hurricane Katrina wrought devastation in Louisiana, LeRocque and her husband helped rebuild homes in the state.

“It makes no sense. Why would he do this?” Jennifer Zeleneski, LeRocque’s sister, said in the Boston Herald. “My sister didn’t do anything. She never hurt people. She was the [kindest] person that I know.”

Christopher Roybal, 28, of Corona, California, was a US Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan.

“Today is the saddest day of my life,” Debby Allen, his mother, wrote on Facebook. “My son Christopher Roybal was murdered last night in Las Vegas. My heart is broken in a billion pieces. For anyone who knew the relationship we shared, you then know we were best friends. I will forever miss my Munchkin.”

Jennifer Topaz Irvine, a family law attorney based in San Diego, was known by her coworkers as a “great attorney” and “happy and energetic,” according to CBS News.

“A tragic loss of a kind, generous, and beautiful lady,”& Thomas Slattery, a coworker, wrote on Facebook. “She will be greatly missed.”

Carrie Barnette, 34, of Riverside, California worked in food services for Disneyland.

Barnette was at a friend’s birthday party when she was shot, according to a friend who contacted Mavis Barnette, her mother. Although Mavis has been unable to reach medical officials confirming her daughter’s death, based on what her friend told her, she is reportedly convinced that Barnette had died.

“Beautiful child; she was my firstborn,” Mavis said in The Times. “She was always generous and helping everybody in every way. She loved her nieces and nephews and her sister and brother.”

Walt Disney Company CEO Robert Iger released a statement: “We are especially heartbroken over the loss of one of our own to this unconscionable and senseless act. Carrie Barnette had been a member of the Disney California Adventure culinary team for ten years and was beloved by her friends and colleagues. Our thoughts are with her family, along with our support, during this incredibly difficult time.”

Carrie Barnette, a Disneyland Resort Cast Member was Killed in Las Vegas during Last Night’s Attack – https://t.co/x4WkD8npCy pic.twitter.com/PuEv5JGgtN

— TheHappiestBlog.com (@TheHappiestBlog) October 3, 2017

Dana Gardner, 52, of Grand Terrace, California, was a deputy recorder-county clerk for San Bernardino Country. Gardner was with her daughter when she was hit by the gunfire and when she was in an ambulance, on her way to the trauma center, The Times reported.

Hannah Ahlers, 34, of Murrietta, California was a mother of three who was described as a “loving, caring and devoted mother,” according to Las Vegas Review-Journal.

She was attending the concert with her husband and three other couples.

“She could have lit the world up with her smile,” Dave Ahlers, her father-in-law, said in the Review-Journal.

Elementary school wrestling coach Bill Wolfe, Jr. from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania was celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife, Robyn, according to Fox 43. She was unharmed.

Jack Beaton jumped in front of his wife to shield her from the gunfire, and died, his son, Jake, said on Twitter. He asked for prayers for his father.

If every1 could please pray for my dad and every1 else at the rout 91 he jumped in front of my mom and got shot. I love youdad #atruehero pic.twitter.com/Nj7Y8E4yE5

— Jabroni (@BeatonJakeOff) October 2, 2017

Stay-at-home mom Dorene Anderson was at the concert from Anchorage, according to the Alaska Dispatch News. “She was the most amazing wife, mother and person this world ever had,” her husband said in a statement. “We are so grateful and lucky for the time that we did have with her.”

Kurt Von Tillow, 55, died in the shooting, while his sister and niece were wounded, according to KCRA. They were expected to survive. His wife, daughter, and son-in-law were also there and unharmed.

“Guarantee you, he was covered in red, white and blue, with a Coors Light in his hand, smiling with his family and listening to some music,” Tillow’s brother-in-law Mark Carson told the NBC affiliate.

Cameron Robinson, 28, legal records specialist with the city of Las Vegas, was shot in the neck and died, according to the Review-Journal.

Victor Link, 55, from Shafter, California, also died, ABC 23 reported.

It will likely take days to identify all of the victims.

“The identification process of all of the injured and the deceased will take time, so authorities are asking the public for patience,” LVMPD said in a press release Monday morning.

The gunman, identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino with an automatic rifle, police said. Police said they found him dead with at least 19 rifles in his hotel room.

Many of the Route 91 Harvest festival’s approximately 22,000 attendees were young people, including families with kids. Country star Jason Aldean was onstage performing his headliner set to close the three-day festival when Paddock opened fire.

Images from the active shooter scene so far around Tropicana and Las Vegas Boulevard #RJnow pic.twitter.com/5QWavyO3lF

— Chase Stevens (@CSStevensphoto) October 2, 2017

Police said family members could call 1-866-535-5654 if they are still looking for missing loved ones.

The city of Las Vegas also set up a family reunification center and urged people to donate blood to help the victims.

Updated information on how to help #vegasshooting victims pic.twitter.com/4dfzgFZIbM

— City of Las Vegas (@CityOfLasVegas) October 2, 2017

While police secured the area, busloads of people were transported to the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus, where the Las Vegas Review Journal reported they were patted down before entering.

Officials said the death toll could rise.

Lombardo, the sheriff, said at a news conference that police were still finding people who had taken cover during the shooting as the sun rose on Monday.

“It’s going to take time for us to get through the evacuation phase,” he said.

Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak set up a GoFundMe account to raise money to help victims and their families.

This story is developing. Refresh for updates.

SEE ALSO: At least 59 people are dead and more than 520 are injured after a mass shooting in Las Vegas

DON’T MISS: What we know about Stephen Paddock, the man behind the worst mass shooting in modern US history

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: ‘We don’t have to accept this as normal’: Watch Mark Kelly and Gabby Gifford’s powerful speech after the Las Vegas shooting

[tanmath3-blog]

For those of you that don’t know Paul Flewitt you are missing out on a great friend and an awesome writer.  He has a wonderful sense of humor and is always ready to help out his fellow writer friends. He is very passionate about his writing and is always glad to spend some time with a fan talking about his books. If you are looking for a good story I highly recommend anything he writes. Please help me welcome Paul Flewitt back to Roadie Notes…….

1. It’s been awhile since we talked what new books do you have out now? Latest release?

I have nothing new in print at the moment. I’ve spent the last couple of years concentrating on shorter work for anthologies, honing my craft and really trying to tighten up on my style and structure. I’m finding my own voice and my own way of doing things now, though little has changed on the page it HAS made a difference to the process I work to. It’s different for different authors, so I’ve experimented with notes, pantsing and writing at different time of the day. Now, I think I have a routine which should mean I get far more productive. Also, having completed work on the new house it means I’m not trying to get things done amid the chaos of builders and trades-folk around the house. I said I had nothing new in print, but I DO have something that was released that I couldn’t speak much about last time we spoke. It’s quite exciting that some of my work found it’s way to TV at the beginning of the year, thanks to a TV project called Fragments of Fear. It aired and went live on YouTube, so now I can tell you more about it and actually show it to you. The Silent Invader is a 15 minute story in which I explore the dark relationships that some people have with their TV sets. I often hear that people like Marilyn Manson, Eminem and Judas Priest are blamed for events like Columbine and other tragic atrocities, because of the themes of their art. I also often see that movies and TV shows have also been blamed for inciting people to violent acts, so this is something which inspired me to write a monologue involving a television. It’s a lovely piece of darkness, with a neat little twist at the end. If you’re not faint of heart or easily offended by dark themes and descriptions of violence, then please check it out here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10xJ9z1ip8k

2. If you could pick any author alive or dead to have lunch with who would it be? Why?

It would be Clive Barker. Looking at reviews and talking to people who read my work, his name is one that often pops up. I’ve read him since my teenage years, and his stuff has always spoken my language. His method of opening doors to possibilities beyond human knowledge has enthralled and enraptured me and I can truly get lost in his art; whether that be his books, artwork or films. In interviews, he never fails to engage with his audiences and leaks little snippets of information regarding his own methods. I could listen to him speak all day long, because you learn something about horror and dark fantasy every time he speaks. Who wouldn’t want to have a one on one conversation with someone who has a mind like his and has the ability to convey his ideas so eloquently.

3. What is the strangest thing a fan has ever done?

You know, my fans are all pretty normal. It’s quite disappointing really. I do get the occasional anorak type reader, who pulls up inconsistencies or facts that might be slightly wrong, but I haven’t had anyone send me dirty underwear or the innards of sacrificed animals. I really don’t know whether I should be upset or relieved about that.

4. What is the one thing you dread to do when writing?

Editing and writing synopses, without a shadow of a doubt. There’s something inherently difficult about trying to write a synopsis and simmering down your story into a couple of paragraphs. Am I giving too much or too little? Is it engaging or is it yawn-til-your-jaw-breaks boring. I think it’s something that most writers struggle with. Editing is the same; picking apart something that you’ve spent months writing and omitting lines and paragraphs that you might’ve loved at one time. Thankfully, my editor, Patti is awesome. She’s worked with me since Poor Jeffrey and our relationship is more friendly than professional now. She understands my style and instinctively knows exactly what I’m trying to achieve with every story. Editors are invaluable and often very giving of their time and selves. I couldn’t publish a word without her assistance nowadays.

5. Did you have imaginary friends growing up? Tell me about them

I didn’t have imaginary friends, but I did always have an active imagination. This would be displayed in many ways; in playing with real friends and messing with toys, creating worlds that I could inhabit for weeks on end. That developed into writing poetry and short stories for friends or just for myself. I dunno about imaginary friends… I never seemed to need one.

6. Do you go to conventions? If not why?

I’ve been to a couple. My publisher is Matt Shaw, so you can imagine the fun and frolics that happen during a weekend with him. Last one I went to was with a few guys that Matt has either published or been friends with for a while and it was a real hoot. For myself, I don’t really have the following to justify the financial outlay of attending as a writer. I’ll get there, I’m sure, but now isn’t really the time. That said, if my friends are getting a table and want me to attend then I’m always happy to join them. Conventions are fun and at the right ones you can meet potential readers and existing ones, at the same time as getting together with good friends. Yeah, cons are cool.

7. How many times did you have to submit your first story before it was accepted?

Once, and I was truly amazed. It was for a Clive Barker tribute anthology based on the Cabal book and Nightbreed movie, coinciding with the screenings of the Cabal Cut. It was only a 500 word flash piece, but it was snapped up. Right after that, my first short story and Poor Jeffrey were also picked up by two different pressed, so I had a really lucky start to my writing career. I still don’t quite know how that happened, but I’m thankful that it did.

8. Ever consider not writing? If so what made you continue?

Yep. Sometimes I find writing a real struggle. The words don’t come and when they do, they’re just not as great as I hoped it would be. I do get over these periods pretty quickly, I just need a quick kick in the pants, but it’s never great when it happens. It usually comes at times when the writing has been flowing really well, and then I hit a wall. In fairness, the past year or so haven’t been the best for me. Between some family issues and the renovations, it’s seemed like I’d never get anything published again. I know I’ve let a couple of people down with not being able to hit a couple of deadlines, but that’s life and they’ve been very understanding about my situation for which I’m grateful. Hopefully, there’s light at the end of the tunnel though, and I can get back to the productivity that I had a couple of years ago. Fingers crossed!

9. Ever thought about writing in a different category?

You know, I never felt the need… yet. Horror and dark fiction has such a wide remit that there’s a lot of ground to cover, so I can satisfy my appetites without stepping out of the genre. Whether it’s full on horror or dark fantasy, I can spread my wings as much as I need to and tell the truths I want to explore within that framework, so why muddy the waters by stepping into another area? The great thing about the genre is that I can do horror, dark fantasy, crime fiction and a plethora of other styles and it will still fit the remit of horror, in the broad sense. No, I’m pretty much at home here… I paid the rent in advance.

10. Any new additions to the family?

Hell no. I have two children that occupy my time and my wife has allergies which have stopped us from having pets since our son was born. Weirdly, she never had allergies before, but since being pregnant with our son she’s allergic to every damn thing. It’s heartbreaking, because we’re all animal people and have had pets in the past which we’ve loved unconditionally. My siblings are all younger than me and are showing no interest in starting their own families, so it’s not even like I have nephews and nieces that I can corrupt. That time will come though, they have been warned.

11. What is coming up next for you?

Well, I have three manuscripts in various stages if completion so it depends which one I finish first. One is a thing that Matt Shaw challenged me to write a couple of years ago, but I’ve never been able to get it right. It’s for the black cover strand, so there’s a responsibility to deliver something truly horrible for him, especially given the subject matter that he challenged me with. One is something that I’ve been working on since school and it really embraces my love for fantasy, while retaining the darkness. The third is a continuation of a story that I wrote for Dean M Drinkel’s Demonology anthology. The character deserved to have more of his story told, so I began writing it but never got it finished. Hopefully, one or two of these projects will see daylight before the end of the year, but I make no promises. I won’t release anything until it’s absolutely right.

12. Do you do release parties? Do you think they work?

Not so much. I prefer to take over blogs and other people’s pages and corrupt their fans. Of course, these things work as a way to reach out to new readers and to allow seasoned fans to chat to you personally. I always feel that talking to readers is the best way to promote your work. Ask me anything, I’m an open book… and they usually do.

13. Do you have crazy stalker fans? Have you ever had one you wish would go away?

Again, my readers tend to be fairly normal people, so no. I do get people who want to have an in-depth conversation about character motivation and why I made certain choices, but no one that I’ve felt has been a pain in the ass. They are the guys and girls who pay my wages and put spending money in the pockets of my kids, so I at least owe them a bit of my time to chat.

14. Do you still have a “day job” ? If so what do you do?

The whole reason that I got into publishing was because the job market where I live slowed right down and I was finding it difficult to find work. My wife was working and earning more than me anyway, so she suggested that I take a year out with the kids and concentrate on doing something with my writing. She gave me a year to get something published, and I’m here talking to you so something must’ve worked.

15. What is your process for writing? Do you have a voice in your head?

No voices, that’d be worrying. Seriously though, I just sit and write. I don’t write notes and I don’t really plan anything before I sit down. All my stories begin with a great first line or a title and I run with it from there. Wherever it ends up is where it ends up, and I’m as surprised by the twists and turns as the reader. I guess this is why it takes me so damned long to write anything. I write all first drafts longhand, and each draft can run into hundreds of handwritten pages. It takes time, but it means that typing it up becomes the first edit run and I can weed out errors and polish it up as I type. This saves time. After that, it’s a case of working with Patti (editor, Patti Geesey) to eradicate typos and other errors, weeding out the unnecessary stuff and honing it. I might go back over it three or four times to make sure that it’s as perfect as it can be. It’s time consuming, and I’m a bit of a perfectionist, but the outcomes are usually worth the hassle.

16. Is there a book you want to make a sequel to you haven’t yet?

Yes! People have often asked about a sequel to Poor Jeffrey. Often, they want to know what happened to Jade and the circle of ghosts… which is cool, I wanna know too! I’ve started work on things that could exist in that world, but never finished them because they just weren’t good enough. One day I’m sure that I will revisit that story, but it was a very spontaneous one that came out of left field and I think it’s difficult to catch lightning in a bottle. Jade will call one day, and I’m sure she’ll have lots of stories to tell regarding herself and her friends. I can’t wait for that moment. You can connect with Paul Flewitt here:

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Flewitt/e/B00FG34L7O/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1493531654&sr=8-1

@PaulFlewittJEA

https://www.facebook.com/Paul-Flewitt-Author-of-Dark-Fiction-352745188170046/

  Some of Paul Flewitt’s books: 

  Getting even more personal with Paul Flewitt For those of you that don't know Paul Flewitt you are missing out on a great friend and an awesome writer.