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Home / OtherSpace / MUSH 201: Basic Event Planning
MUSH 201: Basic Event Planning
MUSH 201: Basic Event Planning November 3, 2013 Brody
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Event PlanningMUSH 201MUSHesOtherSpaceRoleplaying
This workspace is an upstairs office with two windows overlooking the yard and the tranquil tree-lined street. It has pale beige walls, a hardwood floor with a decorative oriental rug, a 5-shelf bookcase packed with RPG rulebooks, sci-fi and fantasy novels, and non-fiction. Several corkboard panels are affixed to the wall left of one window, with colored index cards pinned to them. Family photos, as well as quite a few pics of dogs, cats, and the outdoors, hang around the room. There's a black desk and chair with a two-monitor computer setup in one corner, facing one window. You can ENTER OTHERSPACE or EOS to use the computer to connect to the game universe invented by the guy who spends so much time in this office.
Brody waves. "Sorry that I was running late today. On the upside, I burned a lot of calories, so maybe I'll live a little longer. Thanks for attending MUSH 201: Basic Event Planning. If you're here, presumably it's to get a grasp (or help others get the knowledge) of how to run a fairly simple RP event."
Brody is going to start by reiterating a point made earlier today: When you're planning an event in a place that is owned/controlled by another player, it's generally considered courteous to make sure at the very least that they're aware it is coming so that they can be around to advise about things you should know. "If you don't do this, you run the risk of some nasty repercussions, both in character and out."
Brody says, "However, if we're talking about beginner events, I think it's probably a mistake to start with a ticking time bomb event in most circumstances, anyway."
Brody says, "For me, it's sometimes hard to remember back in the day – about 17 years ago – when I first started running events on TOS TrekMUSE. But I *do* remember. I was participating on a game that didn't like giving players a lot of tools to work with. A builder character would be unheard of. Alts? Fairly rare. I spent a lot of time changing my name to represent the new character I was playing to interact with my crew."
Brody says, "The earliest events that I ran were actually sims, like the Kobyashi Maru exam you see in the Star Trek movie. I'd test my crew in simulations to see how they functioned, then evaluated their performance in the test. It was a simple sort of event where no one was really in any danger of getting hurt, but I could make them panic a little "
Brody says, "That's when I really started homing in on the idea of this game format as a sort of improvisational theater/storytelling. I'm throwing out a situation for consideration and the players are trying to deal with it based on their character's motivations and behaviors. And that is almost always what I do anymore. Even a sort of sit-and-watch event like the San Angeles Wildfire game became a difficult choice moment when Faith ran into Dmitri Volstov and decided to punch him because he was hijacking the case."
Brody says, "Also, to make the San Angeles Wildfire game more interesting, I had the players rolling for the teams – so none of us knew how it would work out."
Brody says, "I'm going to spend a lot of this session taking questions to answer. But I'll open by saying that the first rule for any storytelling effort on OtherSpace really ought to be about the provision of adventure and chances for glory for the people who come to participate. If it's your character running things, try to stay in the background or do what you can to elevate others the important things to do. Avoid self-aggrandizing activities. That's going to be a huge turnoff. You might get a nice turnout for your first event, but if it smacks of all-about-meism, you will not get much of a crowd for the second."
Brody says, "Any questions so far?"
Rynn says, "Nope!"
Kolek shakes his head.
Brody says, "Wrong answer!"
Rynn >:|
Brody waits for someone to ask a question!
Shadow says, "Ok, so remain in background, but what if it is something like your character running an auction?"
Brody says, "As long as your character doesn't win the auction or thwart the bandits trying to rob it or…whatever might constitute showboating and make everyone else feel like they wasted their time coming, then you should be okay."
Rachael says, "I wouldn't say 'provision of adventure and chances for glory' are all event running ought to be about. With that said, the players should have the spotlight rather than the one running. With the auction, if your character is running it (as the seller), that's probably okay, so long as the focus is on the players bidding and whatnot and not your character."
Brody nods at Rachael. "It's definitely not what the events are all about, but it is something you should keep in mind. Behind these characters are real people, playing in a game where they can do things that are impossible in the real world, hopefully to a very successful degree. Ego boosts are good. It's also good to have occasional downturns to make the ego boosts mean more – but that's something for a story arc discussion."
Kemetti says, "For example, right now, I'm running that event on Materi Syna (which you should all be at instead of here, of course), but Razor's not actually there. NPCs are handling the whole thing, just because I don't want other characters who have similar skill sets to even _feel_ sidelined."
Brody found that the Kamsho commando adventures really were successful because many participants had moments to shine, for example.
Brody nods at Kemetti.
Rynn says, "Here's a question about shining and shine-related things:"
Brody listens
Rynn says, "Back in my heyday I ran a ton of events. It was pretty much all I ever did. I felt that since my main character was a ship captain, that was my job – keeping the crew entertained. I think I did a pretty good job (if I do say so myself!) but the catch is this."
Kemetti says, "Which ship was that, by the way? >.>"
Rynn says, "Jackal."
Kemetti says, "Aaaah. Ok. "
Rynn says, "Anyway there's always gonna be grumblers and parade-rainers. I'm mostly used to this and I've learned to ignore it. But there does come a point when one character and/or crew is very much dominating every event and plot – not because of (zomg) FAVORITISM but because they're the ones who're always doing something, regardless of the number of hooks thrown out."
Rynn says, "What do you think is the best way to sidestep that backlash?"
Brody says, "Personally, I'd encourage the people doing the grumbling to get out there and make more of a splash. Nothing…NOTHING…would have happened on Kamsho without the Confederacy folks, Razorback especially, coming to me and saying they wanted to do something."
Brody says, "If there's a way we can help people get into trouble, we will certainly try to help!"
Brody says, "But…"
Brody says, "One reason this kind of thing can happen is you ARE doing this for your crew, because it's your ship and you get pretty much carte blanch as captain to do what you want within reason. You don't have to get admin permission to wreck your own engineering room a dozen times. So, you can get bad blood from jealous people because you're running events on your ship all the time that they can't get to. This means you should maybe try to work with other location owners on team-up events, to spread the love around."
Rynn says, "Oh sure. 'The more the merrier' is the best policy to have!"
Brody says, "That's good on a number of fronts, because you're showing other people how you do it, what they might be able to do, and it's spreading knowledge."
Brody says, "Right!"
Brody says, "People who run bars or planetside ops should have it much easier. And yet…how many dormant bars are on the grid? It's kinda crazy."
Rynn says, "Well, there's only so many times you can have the same 'shooting the shit' scene before it gets old, which is sorta the point of this pow-wow here."
Rynn says, "But to elaborate on the point you just made, if I might…"
Brody says, "Feel free."
Rynn hates to use myself as an example here but nothing else immediately comes to mind, sorry. Take the recent Nall Mall scene for example. It was a blast. That was bred by me paging Bro and going HAHA YOU KNOW WHAT'D BE CRAZY? and then making sure everyone else on +orion was fine with it OOCly. That wouldn't have been near as much fun if I'd kept it a Mika-only plot thread, and not gotten Olympus and the Confederates all tangled up in it. That maddening shootout never would've happened.
Brody nods. "The Shopping Nall event, just like the Kamsho commandos, was a great example of an event inspired by one player asking for action but involving lots of others."
Rynn says, "So getting as many people involved, even if they're not your 'circle', even if you have to kinda stretch, can be way more fun than you plan on."
Brody says, "You can even shoot strangers in the belly with a turret gun!"
Kemetti says, "One of the reasons that the Orion Confederacy began, and one of the reasons we were so excited about the Dominion system, is that it gave us free reign to run whatever we wanted, not in one room or even on a ship, but a whole world. More than one, actually, though the others aren't spaced. _We_ get to decide what can and does happen without having to go to the staff and check if something is ok. Those that are members of the org have nearly as much freedom in that regard, depending on how long they've been with us and how much we feel they 'get' what we're about."
Rachael says, "Though certain bits of that go into org/area management and such. Matters such as 'how to talk to those who want to run things in your areas.'"
Tango says, "On the matter of people who may want to run things in your areas:"
Kemetti wouldn't mind some help in that area.
Brody nods to Tango.
Tango says, "I think it would be prudent to have those people who own areas put a page up on the wiki and to put those 'player run areas' into its own category so that it's easier to check who owns what. Asking is always a great way to find out, but it'd be nice to have things neatly catalogued."
Brody nods. "That's reasonable."
Kemetti says, "That's not a bad idea, but my biggest concern is the use of NPCs in a manner which isn't consistent with the vision of those who OOCly control the area.""
Rynn concurs. It's a fine line.
Kemetti says, "For example, really poor service in a player-run bar…"
Brody says, "Getting back to running your first event, though, there's another good reason not to put your character anywhere near the center of the action: Because you also need to ref it. It's like directing a movie or a TV show – if you're acting in it, make sure you're only involved in a limited fashion so that you can focus on the meddlesome bookkeeping."
Tango says, "That's why I like to make pages for my NPCs with directions on how to RP them. But, it's not a guarantee. The thing is, none of it is."
Brody says, "The truth many people don't realize until too late is how much OOC back and forth stuff goes on in the making of a fairly simple RP event, especially when combat is involved."
Shadow says, "Well, on some places I'm at, if it's something like where player death is imminent even if it is a player run even, we always have an admin present to judge to make sure it is a fair player death. We even have a command to call a judge…maybe we could do the same here…if someone feels an event needs an admin judge, they could use that button and it notifies the area owner he's needed there, or something like that."
Brody says, "We don't need shiny buttons. When a ref is needed, and available, we can be paged or called on the channels."
Brody says, "We used to have the red phone and other buttons like that. It's just adding a layer of crap to the system that seems to set us apart as staffers. I'm not keen on that. We're here when we're here to help out, if we can."
Rachael says, "Though I would argue one of our objectives here is to lessen the need for that. –https://www.jointhesaga.com/oswiki/index.php/Basic_Event_Running_Guide is a decent 'low level' guide as well as this discussion, for those who want a more 'step by step' thing."
Brody nods. "Thanks for that, Rachael – it's a good guide."
Kemetti agrees. Even after more than a decade of MUSHing, I still find tips in there if I mine it a bit.
Rynn admits to being something of a softie with player death – I learned the hard way that killing someone off by accident really sucks. If I shoot a guy, and the guy's about to die, I always ask the ref if the shot can be disabling instead. If I'm the ref, I always give pull the punch. Maybe not the best approach, because death can be powerful, but I'm a soft little woman who belongs in the kitchen.
Rynn says, "Hey that's a neat guide."
Rachael says, "And find a mentor."
Tango says, "Rynn, git in muh kitchen"
Brody nods. "I want death to be rare and, whenever possible, with the player's consent. I'm not saying death should never happen without consent – sometimes it's gotta happen. But I prefer the crippling injury too. The problem is that some people will not RP through the crippling injury. They'll just not RP until they're healed.
Kemetti is now considering writing up an event running guide specific to locations that I care about not having messed with too much.
Brody says, "Mentors are great. So are buddies. One thing that can help if you're running a scene is having someone with you to be active in the event, helping to field questions and assist in reffing as needed."
Kemetti says, "Guide's' rather."
Kemetti says, "And then when someone does something that really peeves you, you can vent to your buddy rather than taking it out on the players. >.>"
Brody considered both Colchek and Razorback to be "buddies" for purposes of the Kamshoan commando adventures – both were great at keeping scene poses going, or keeping me apprised of stuff I needed to remember.
Brody nodnodnods at Kemetti.
Brody says, "And in the Shopping Nall adventure, Mika was my go-to."
Rynn says, "This raises a good question!"
Brody says, "Yesss"
Rynn says, "Bro and just about every other staffer out there knows I tend to uh… keep a pretty open line of dialogue. There is pretty much not a day that goes by where I'm not paging someone (Brody, lately, with DTE in full swing) about HEY WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS IDEA or WHAT'S GOING ON HERE or generally making myself a nuisance in regards to where I can stir up trouble. (And any kind of trouble. I tend to not care if my ideas are good or bad ICly – just so long as stuff happens. Again, Nall Mall is a good example.)"
Rynn says, "Where do people tend to draw the line? When I'm running events, hell, I love it when people nag me with questions on how to monkey it all up."
Brody nods. "I remember talking on the Director channel after you and Griss hacked into the Nall commnet to talk to Antazvril that I feared it would not end well, but it would end amazingly."
Brody says, "Personally, I don't like to get a lot of spam when I'm in the middle of the event, but that'"
Brody says, "But that's why I have Cambot around now."
Brody thinks he SHOULD be reachable during these events, and people should feel free to ask "Can my character try THIS?
Rynn nods. I should clarify. I don't mean mid-event, I mean in the process of generating an event. Nobody likes mid-event spam.
Brody says, "Nobody likes it, but it can sometimes lead to great moments."
Brody says, "How do other folks feel?"
Rynn says, "(sorry some of us are currently trying to not die on MS, speaking of events)"
Brody laughs
Brody says, "No worries."
Rachael says, "Generally, ooc conversations during events should be limited to what needs to be said. Asking what an NPC looks like in more detail if it seems important, or pointing out a trait that enables an option not usually available. Beyond that, I find most OOC on the screen during an event troublesome."
Kemetti says, "I have no problem with people asking me about things they can try, but I prefer it to be kept to page rather than OOC. But I tend to follow a very cinematic rolling scheme where if I can, I sometimes have the player +roll before posing the action so he can fit the success/failure into a single pose. Saves time and it looks cooler."
Brody says, "Pages are definitely preferable to me."
Rachael says, "Pages are much easier for those with a support logger object."
Rynn notes that I have spawn windows in SimpleMU. I see OOC and pages (both with sound triggers set to my alts' names; Sunfire/Sun/Sunny for example), but my chans are in a completely separate window. I know on +orion we like to peanut gallery. This lets me peanut gallery without having a window of chanspam.
Brody nods. "A good practice."
Kemetti can't do that … so he just has to struggle.
Rynn pats
Brody chuckles. "Any other questions coming to mind?"
Brody says, "While I'm thinking of it – with the advent of new crafting/Dominion and the new Event Reward items, you've got a little more at your fingertips when it comes to shiny things to attract players to your events. Bribery isn't always the worst idea. It's good to see people using crafting materials or customized/creative Event Rewards as incentives to come play."
Rynn says, "Unless you're Razor and gen like 40k SP in like an hour like a big fat furry jerk."
Grut says, "Wow."
Brody hehs!
Rynn noogies Kemetti.
Brody says, "Yeah, I think we fixed that…now."
Grut says, "Honestly, if it wasn't for you saying the word 'spawns' I would never have found out how to do that."
Tango says, "Belatedly, I tend to temporarily invite people onto say, Olympus channel for events i'm in – running or not – so they can spam a different window at least with ooc questions/chatter."
Brody nods at Tango.
Rynn doesn't really have any questions but throws a topic out anyway: sometimes events tank. You can always feel that moment when people are starting to turn sour toward how things are going. How to recover?
Rachael says, "You can do worse than an abort switch, depending on the situation."
Rynn says, "You most certainly can, agreed."
Brody says, "Depends on the event, but…a lot of this is seat of the pants and instinctive. You have to find a way to reroute it if you can. Aborting may be unavoidable if people are ditching or getting really cranky about it. But you can also just ask people in the scene for advice. We don't have to just say THIS IS HOW IT IS."
Brody says, "You can say THIS IS HOW I PLANNED IT, but how we plan it and what happens when it comes into contact with players isn't always a close match. That's why now, to be very honest, I do LITTLE actual planning of individual events."
Brody says, "This event I'm doing tonight? No clue what's happening except very vaguely."
Brody says, "The Wildfire game last week? Didn't know how it would work until that afternoon."
Brody says, "Oddly, I find that events with low infrastructure planning tend to go smoother, because I have no set expectations."
Rachael says, "It also depends on the level of experience by the runner. – The abort switch is more about this idea of 'provide an out the PCs can take.' Is it ideal? No. For those newer and lacking the developed instincts, though, it can save your skin enough to let you try an event another time."
Brody nods. "True."
Kemetti says, "Is this like when you realize your D&D encounter is just _way_ to hard for the experience level of your players (not their characters) and you throw in some extra NPCs to help them out? "
Brody nods. "Or they find a secret tunnel to get the hell out ;D"
Rachael to Kemetti, "Yeah. The point being you give them a way out of the situation and give yourself some breathing room while you come up with a Plan B."
Kemetti says, "Then there's the ever-popular: Rocks fall and you all die, thank you for coming. "
Brody snerks.
Hess prefers that method personally.
Brody did have rocks fall during the Kamsho asteroid event…
Brody says, "No one died "
Brody says, "Although Dean came close."
Tango FLIPS A TABLE.
Rachael says, "Long ago, in my first tabletop game I ran, I had a player do something so insane that even my 'light planning' method couldn't handle it. I paused, thought about it, then just admitted to the players: 'I got nothing, I need a bit to regroup.' My players understood and forgave me."
Tango says, "No one died?! TABLE FLIPPED."
Brody nodnods. "Which raises the other important point: Just like players, the person behind the event is also a person. We can get frustrated too."
Rynn nods at Rachael. No shame in that.
Brody flips Tango!
Tango barrelrolls.
Brody says, "If there aren't any other questions, I'll probably end the session here. It will not be the last. I think we can all get a lot out of these kinds of discussions. In future sessions, we'll get into more advanced stuff like creating interesting NPCs, dealing with mods, and crafting longer storylines. Sound like a plan?"
Rynn's always got a Plan B. Also I try to know at least one thing about every character (not player) involved. If someone seems to be lost or lagging, I have something ready to lob at them that is Theirs Alone.
Rynn says, "sounds peachy"
Tango says, "Plan."
Brody says, "Thanks for coming "
Brody says, "Now try not to die on Materi Syna."
Rynn says, "I just rolled really low man, no promises"


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Home World Africa UN mourns 'true pioneer': Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu
UN mourns 'true pioneer': Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu
In a heartfelt statement released on Tuesday night, António Guterres said Brigadier Edjeani-Afenu "made history in peacekeeping as the first female Deputy Force Commander in the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO)."
Through a more than four-decade career, she also served in UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) and Liberia (UNMIL).
"Brigadier Edjeani-Afenu will be remembered for her distinguished service in these missions, as well as her tireless work to promote inclusiveness and increase the number of women in the peacekeeping operations where she served", Mr. Guterres said.
The UN chief concluded offering his heartfelt condolences to her family, to the people and the Government of the Republic of Ghana.
In a post on the website Medium, UN Peacekeeping said Ms.Edjeani-Afenu'slegacy "lives on and the impact of her work and achievements as a pioneer for women in peacekeeping, will continue to inspire many."
For UN Peacekeeping, Brigadier Edjeani-Afenu was a true trailblazer.
As a woman who shattered many glass ceilings within her national military and four different UN missions, she worked successfully to promote gender inclusiveness and increase the number of women serving.
"Having first-hand experience as a Military Observer with MONUSCO (2003–2004), Constance focused relentlessly on improving the conditions of service of MINURSO's Military Observer personnel, a legacy that she leaves behind", said the department.
Distinguished career
Brigadier General Edjeani-Afenu rose through the ranks of her national military to become the first female Commanding Officer in the Ghanaian Armed Forces, in 1999.
In 2013, she became the first woman to be appointed Deputy Military Adviser (DMILAD) at the Permanent Mission of Ghana to the United Nations in New York.
While on the post, she was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, becoming the first female to ever be promoted as a General in her country's Armed Forces.
In 2019, she became the first female Deputy Force Commander to serve with MINURSO, where she served with honour and distinction until her passing.
The Brigadier General is remembered by her MINURSO colleagues as a "true inspiration" with a remarkable smile and infectious laugh.
According to them, she always made time to chat, share a laugh, encourage colleagues and share advice, and she never passed up an opportunity to dance.
She inspired and mentored generations of soldiers and officers, and will be dearly missed, they say.
Condolences from around the world have affirmedBrigadier Edjeani-Afenu'sprofound impact.
The First Lady of Ghana, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, highlighted "a life of resilience and breaking barriers, a shining example of what women can do."
The United Nations in the country said her service to Ghana and the world was "profound" and that "we have lost a treasure."
The Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said he was deeply saddened by the news of her passing, calling her a pioneer whose "legacy will continue to inspire many women and men."
The Brigadier General is survived by her husband, three children, and two grandchildren.
EdjeaniAfenu
Emefa
mourns
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
using namespace rpi;

int main(int argc, char ** argv)
{
    ServiceMonitor service(argc, argv);
    return service.exec();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


There's no denying that iOS apps are, on the whole, polished. This is due in large part to Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, a document that "describes the guidelines and principles that help you design a superlative user interface and user experience for your iOS app." There's no ambiguity about what's a good idea and what's not: Apple tells you straight up what's a good idea. The polish and sophistication of iOS apps is a benefit of the control that Apple wields, as the single purveyor, over iOS. Android apps, by comparison, often suffer from a lack of polish and sophistication in large part because there's no single authority saying "here's how you do it." Add in the variety of hardware platforms running Android, and Android's programmer-centric development mentality, and it's little wonder that the state of Android today is often compared to the state of Linux from ten years ago: by geeks for geeks.
The folks at Mutual Mobile have made a terrific effort to help bring parity to Android apps with the release of their Android Design Guidelines.
Android is crushingly programmer heavy. In my opinion, they have not given enough consideration to asset creation or creative direction. With apple, the moment you start designing an app, you know how they want you to build it. Their design plans are so complete that you can immediately access it. I often dream that my house is an iPhone app; it has become comfortable. With Android, there is a false sense of freedom to do whatever you want. Unfortunately, when you start taking all the various screen sizes and resolutions into account, it doesn't realistically pan out that way.
As a disclaimer, I am a designer, and while my knowledge of programming has increased a fraction while creating a document, it should be known that Android makes it difficult for anyone who is not a programming to decipher their rules. So with that in mind, understand that while my research has been abundant, this document should be considered a designer's translation of Android and therefore subject to error.
While it certainly is not my place to set a standard for Google, in this document I intend to at least create a guideline for us to follow.
This looks like good stuff. If you've got suggestions, send 'em to Mutual Mobile, and maybe a grassroots design standard can really take off, helping the Android developers and users all over the world.


BAFTA-nominated writer, director and other things.
Simon David Miller is a film writer, director and media tech entrepreneur living in the New Forest, England.
Simon's first feature film, Seachd - The Inaccessible Pinnacle, was the first Scottish Gaelic film to be released in cinemas. The BAFTA-nominated film is a magical realist ode to story-telling which grew out from his award-winning short film, Foighidinn - The Crimson Snowdrop. He attended London Film School and the National Film & TV School before making his first short film, Dead Man Falls, loosely based on his upbringing as an English boy in Scotland.
With a postgraduate degree in Economics at the LSE, Simon initially became an investment banker on Wall Street and in the City of London with J.P.Morgan, before joining the music industry, working for Universal Music and as Global SVP of Innovation for EMI Music, working on projects with bands such as Gorillaz and Pink Floyd and looking after Abbey Road Studios.
Over the past 20 years, Simon has helped to found and sell several media tech start-ups including Peoplesound (online music), Swopex (media sharing), and most recently Zeebox + Beamly (second screen TV + social and digital marketing).


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text:
Supplier Stories for the Week of August 25
Here's what was new in the world of medical device suppliers during the week of August 25.
Daphne Allen
Bimba has launched the BPVA, a compact pneumatic pinch valve that expands the company's pinch valve portfolio with a more cost-effective solution for industrial and medical applications. As with Bimba's other pinch valves, the BPVA is designed as an alternative to traditional wetted valves by opening and closing flexible tubing to control the flow of media so it never makes contact with the valve, the company reported in a news release.
According to Bimba, the BPVA:
Requires less maintenance and reduces the risk of contamination.
Offers high-performance life expectancy of 3 million cycles.
Features a compact design that enables operations in confined spaces.
Is available at a cost-effective price point.
"The BPVA targets a wide range of applications needing a simplified design and a low price per unit for high quantities," stated Sarah Manuel, product manager, in the release. "By offering four models with different sizes and options, the BPVA adds a versatile yet compact pinch valve design, all at an affordable price to our existing portfolio of pinch valve products. An electrical solenoid piloted version of the BPVA is planned for release in the near future, and will be announced as soon as it is available for ordering."
The BPVA is available in anodized aluminum or stainless steel and in normally closed or normally open configurations. A completely stainless-steel, corrosion-resistant option is suitable for washdown and sanitary environments. Additional options include mounting brackets, various seal materials, and magnetic position sensing.
[Image courtesy of BIMBA]
Kraiburg TPE reports that its Thermolast M compounds meet the requirements of the 2017 guideline for medical-grade plastics (MGPs) passed by the Association of German Engineers (VDI) in July 2019. This guideline for manufacturers and users of plastics for medical products regulates the requirements qualified MGPs have to meet from basic requirements to formulation consistency and change management through to withdrawal terms.
"The VDI 2017 is an important first step toward harmonizing the range of performance that a medical-grade plastic must fulfill, and it creates obligatory guidance in the communication between manufacturers of MGPs and OEMs and/or the manufacturers of medical, pharmaceutical, and in vitro products," explained Oliver Kluge, a member of the guidelines committee and advisor for medical products at Kraiburg TPE, in a news release. "The new guideline explicitly provides scope for the respective materials suppliers and their customers to make broader arrangements."
Thermolast M compounds are free from heavy metals, latex, PVC, and phthalates and are manufactured exclusively on dedicated production lines, the company reported. Selected material types have been tested and certified according to USP Class VI (Chapter 88), ISO 10993-5 (cytotoxicity), ISO 10993-10 (intracutaneous irritation), ISO 10993-11 (acute systemic toxicity), and ISO 10993-4 (hemolysis). The quality assurance of raw materials used also covers full traceability of batches on the suppliers' side, and Kraiburg TPE's materials comply with REACH and RoHS requirements, it was reported.
Kluge explained that the company's "established thermoplastic elastomers from the Thermolast M family – for medical use – have for a long time been complying with the requirements for MGPs that are now codified, so that we only need to flesh out some of the specifications. But we will continue to actively work on future revisions of the guideline in order to further enhance the secured profile of MGPs."
[Image courtesy of KRAIBURG TPE]
EmbedTek LLC, a specialist in the design and manufacture of embedded computer systems, software, sensors, and integrated displays, will expand its manufacturing space by 20,000 square feet.
"We have progressed from supplying customers with a single subsystem to manufacturing entire products, which means we have an increased complexity in parts, production, and testing," said Dan Aicher, CEO of EmbedTek LLC, in a news release. "Companies partner with us to help them invent a product, bring it to market at a pace that keeps up with technology developments, prove that it works, then manage the manufacturing and distribution moving forward."
The expansion supports the company's long-term growth plans in two strategic areas of embedded technology design and manufacturing, one of which is manufacturing finished medical devices. EmbedTek not only produces the device but manages the entire lifecycle and participates in subassembly design, the company reported.
For instance, one OEM worked with EmbedTek to improve the design of a medical device for image-guided surgery, EmbedTek reported. EmbedTek has since registered with the U.S. FDA as a contract manufacturer of medical devices and builds the entire device at its Waukesha facility.
The expanded space will give EmbedTek the ability to add full-time and part-time positions across the company in engineering, manufacturing, operations, and administration. EmbedTek currently has 90 employees and anticipates its staff to exceed 100 in 2020.
[Image courtesy of EMBEDTEK LLC]
Thanks to a cooperative agreement, Siemens and Italian robot manufacturer Comau have jointly engineered Sinumerik Run MyRobot/DirectControl, which enables robot kinematics to be fully integrated into a CNC system. The Sinumerik CNC controls the articulated robot arm directly with through complex algorithms without the need for a separate robot controller. Potential industrial uses include additive manufacturing, fiber placement, metal-cutting, carbon fiber-reinforced polymer, and laser machining.
Integrating control of the robot arm into the CNC helps improve path and positioning accuracy as well as reliability, the companies reported in a news release. It also enhances dynamic response during robot-aided machining tasks.
Complete configuration for all DirectControl-supported robot arms is stored in the Siemens engineering tool Sizer. Data sets for the relevant mechanics are made available by the robot manufacturer Comau and imported on a channel of the Sinumerik CNC.
There is also support for other engineering functions, they report. Digital twins are available for DirectControl-compatible Comau robot arms to enable work in Siemens NX CAM Robotics. The kinematic 3D robot model and the virtual NC kernel Sinumerik VNCK enable sub-programs generated in the CAD-CAM chain to be completely simulated offline. Additional benefits described in the release are the reduced footprint due to the elimination of hardware components, lower overall investment, reduced stocking costs for spare parts, and greater availability given improved MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures).
[Image courtesy of SIEMENS and COMAU]
Concept Metals Group (CMG) has acquired Freedom Manufacturing Inc., giving CMG advanced precision machining capabilities and enhancing its engineering services. Freedom Manufacturing serves clients in the medical and medical devices, material handling, and other industries. It provides CNC machining, single and multi-spindle machining, assembly, kitting and packaging, and welding services.
Company founder and president Robert Baker will remain with the company as president to transition his 40-plus years of knowledge and experience to the new leadership team, it was reported in a news release.
"The acquisition will strengthen our core competencies and provide more diverse and complete solutions to our current client base, which giving us an entry into new markets," stated CMG CEO John Walton in the release. "Concept Metals Group and Freedom Manufacturing share a like-minded focus on providing quality products delivered on time, value-added engineering solutions and exceptional customer service. We are very pleased to welcome Bob and the team at Freedom Manufacturing to the CMG team. Working together, we will deliver a better value proposition for our customers by offering complementary products and services that allow us to be a single-source supplier."
Added Baker: "I had been looking for an opportunity to transition for several years, but never found the right fit – until John. He has the same belief in his people that I do. We have the same core values. While it will be hard to step away, I feel confident in the future of Freedom Manufacturing with John and his team at the helm."
Rick Williams will lead day-to-day operations as general manager, bringing 30 years of manufacturing experience.
Concept Metals Group started in rollforming as Concept Engineering, but later expanded and now operates four facilities, including:
Concept Metal Products, which focuses on rollforming, stamping, welding, stretch bending, and other services for steels, brass, aluminum, coated materials, and high-strength materials.
Concept Metal Fabrication, which provides light gauge sheet metal fabrication, laser cutting, turret punching, welding, secondary operations and prototyping.
Integricoat, which delivers powder coating for carbon steels, aluminum, die cast and brass surfaces, with a special focus on high-end, class A visual surface coating.
[Image courtesy of CONCEPT METALS GROUP]
Daphne Allen is editor-in-chief of MD+DI. She previously served as executive editor of Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News, which serves as the pharmaceutical and medical device channel of Packaging Digest. Daphne has covered medical device manufacturing, packaging, labeling, and regulatory issues as well as pharmaceutical packaging and labeling for more than 20 years. She is also a member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals's Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee. Follow her on Twitter at @daphneallen.
Supplier Stories for the Week of January 12
Defending the Blood Supply Against Infectious Diseases
Measles, mumps, and tuberculosis—these are all diseases the general public has...
Are You Using a Requirements-Based PCB Enclosure Selection Process?
Printed circuit board (PCB) enclosures are very common in medical devices, and...
Junkosha's Latest Innovation Makes Way for Next-Gen Catheters
A new catheter solution from Junkosha represents a major step toward smaller,...
Supplier Stories for the Week of October 27
See All in Components »


text:
Condos becoming part of Toronto's affordable housing tool box
By Laurie MonsebraatenSocial Justice Reporter
Tue., May 21, 2013timer6 min. read
updateArticle was updated May. 22, 2013
With more than 70,000 households languishing for years on Toronto's affordable housing wait list and few public dollars available for new construction, the city is turning to its burgeoning condo market for help.
Half a dozen condominium developers have inked deals with the city and non-profit housing providers to offer low-income families and individuals affordable rental and ownership units in their buildings.
Proposed amendments to Toronto's Official Plan to be debated by city council next month are designed to encourage more developers to play ball.
The changes come in the wake of a new province-wide campaign trying to put affordable housing back on the political agenda, as low-income families and individuals struggle to pay rent in the shadow of hundreds of pricey downtown condominium towers.
"It's not a solution to the housing crisis," says Councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina.)
"But in the absence of a real national or provincial housing program, we're going to have to find a thousand other small inventions to try and see what works and what can be done.
"If one day Ottawa or Queen's Park decide to get engaged, we'll be ready to roll out these policies and models and deliver the housing we need."
Some condo buyers may balk at investing in a building that includes units for low-income people for fear it will depress property values.
But Alan Vihant, senior vice-president of development for Great Gulf Homes, says he has had no pushback from purchasers at the company's Charlie condo near King St. W. and Spadina Ave., which opened last fall.
Great Gulf offered the city four affordable rental units in the 36-storey building, along with other public benefits, in exchange for added height and density.
"At the end of the day, a lot of condos that are purchased are rented out," Vihant says.
The affordable units are really no different, he argues, as they are scattered throughout the building and have the same doors, finishes and square footage as the rest of the units.
"As a strategy for affordable housing, I think it is actually much better to distribute a few units in every building as opposed to collecting 200 units of affordable housing and putting them all in one building," he adds.
Encouraging affordable rental and ownership units in condominium developments will prevent downtown Toronto from becoming a "vertical suburb," says Vaughan.
"We need a mix — from the person who works at the corner store in the base of the condominium to the person who cleans the office across the street," he says. "They all deserve the opportunity to walk to work just like everybody else in the neighbourhood."
Artscape led the way in 2007 in response to the loss of affordable live-work space for cash-strapped artists in the rapidly gentrifying West Queen West area.
It partnered with developer Urbancorp and community group Active 18 to include affordable ownership and rental units for artists in a traditional condominium complex.
Artscape Triangle Lofts, which opened in 2011 and occupies the first three floors of the 18-storey Westside Gallery Lofts condominium development near Queen St. W. and Dovercourt, was a pioneer, notes Sean Gadon, the city's manager of housing development.
Gadon helped the project secure city benefits, such as property tax and development charge exemptions for those units, which are part of traditional affordable housing deals. It allowed Artscape to offer 48 below-market ownership units and 20 affordable apartments as well as gallery and café space for the artists. To keep costs down, the artists don't share Westside's pool or other amenities and use a separate entrance and lobby.
Actor Jane Luk still can't believe she scooped an affordable apartment at Triangle Lofts.
A tenant since the building opened, Luk pays about $790 a month for her 600-square-foot apartment on the third floor — considerably less than the $1,009 monthly average for a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto. The city defines rents as "affordable" if they are at least 20 per cent lower than the average for a given unit.
Luk had been living on friends' sofas due to money woes before she moved in.
"I honestly thought I would have to move into my parents' basement," said the 40-something full-time actor, writer, producer and improviser.
"I just feel so relieved that I got in," she says outside the condo's brightly painted lobby over the clamour of construction crews working on condo towers to the east and north of her building. "It's the only way I could live in the city and be where my work is."
Although Luk says Artscape units with their exposed ceiling pipes and concrete walls, floors and pillars are "pretty bare bones," the security of an affordable home and the support of fellow artists nearby allows her to focus her energies on her art.
Since Artscape, Gadon has worked with developers and non-profits to secure another dozen apartments and two dozen ownership units for low-income people. The strategy is beginning to offer the possibility of mixed neighbourhoods in Toronto's growing vertical city.
But the numbers are still small. By comparison, about 285 affordable apartments in rental buildings are under construction or in the planning pipeline.
Councillors Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam (Ward 27, Toronto Centre-Rosedale) and Ana Bailao (Ward 18, Davenport) who chairs the city's affordable housing committee, have been champions on the political side.
Together, they have been using Section 37 of the city's Official Plan — which allows municipalities to grant developers increased height and density in return for public benefits such as public art, parks and daycares — to squeeze affordable units into highrise condominium towers.
Toronto chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat says it is time to make these "one-off" deals explicitly part of the city's affordable housing tool-box.
Proposed changes would add affordable rental units in condominiums owned and operated by non-profit housing providers and affordable home ownership, built by non-profit charities, to the list of eligible Section 37 benefits.
"It sends a very clear message that this is something that is desired," Keesmaat says. "So instead of stumbling through this on a case-by-case basis and essentially securing affordable housing simply by will and might, we instead have some more clarity on how it might work when we are going to do it."
Across the province, Richmond Hill is the only other municipality believed to be using condominium development to add desperately needed housing for low-income people. It recently secured seven affordable rental units in three condo developments.
In Toronto, developer Great Gulf began negotiations in 2008 with the city to donate four condos to the Kehilla Affordable Housing Program.
The non-profit housing provider serving the Jewish community was the first to forge a deal with a developer to acquire condo units, for the nominal cost of $10 each.
Rents — ranging from just under $700 for two bachelor units, to between $700 and $900 for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments — cover condo fees, maintenance and administration costs.
"Will it be repeated? I would hope so," said Kehilla's executive director, Nancy Singer.
But she worries the city is jumping on this concept 10 years too late.
"If we had done this when 100,000 (condo) units were being built and if 1 per cent were developed like this, we would have had thousands of units of truly affordable housing at no cost to anybody," she says.
"But you can't look backwards, you look forward. The opportunity is still there."
Other affordable housing in condominiums since 2011
The Bisha Hotel and Residences, 56 Blue Jays Way
Lifetime Developments includes a floor of rent-controlled apartments for hotel workers in its 41-storey hotel-condo project under construction on the old Second City site. It will include five three-bedroom units for families and two studio apartments for singles. Expected occupancy: 2016
Pace, 155 Dundas St. E., at Sherbourne St.
Artscape is working with developer Great Gulf to include 13 below-market ownership units and one rental apartment for artists in the 46-storey tower. Expected occupancy: 2015
Ten York, at Harbour St.
The 62-storey tower being developed by Tridel will include 12 affordable units managed as co-ops by the Co-op Housing Federation of Toronto. Expected occupancy: 2016
210 Simcoe St., north of Queen St.
Diamond Corp.'s 25-storey building near the Ontario College of Art includes four affordable ownership and one affordable rental unit owned and managed by Artscape for artists. Expected occupancy: Summer 2015
159 Wellesley St. E., at Sherbourne St.
Habitat for Humanity is working with Diamond Corp. to secure eight below-market ownership units for families in the 35-storey building. Expected occupancy: to be determined
Adam Vaughan


text:
3DMark owners can add a ray tracing benchmark for $3 to affirm RTX purchase
By Paul Lilly published 10 December 18
An inexpensive cure if you're having buyer's remorse.
UL Benchmarks is adding a ray-tracing test to its popular 3DMark utility, and it's slated to arrive on January 9. Unfortunately, it won't be available in the Basic edition (read: Free edition)—if you want it, you'll have to pony up for the Advanced or Professional package.
This is different from what I reported earlier this month, as I apparently mixed up the upcoming Port Royal ray-tracing benchmark with Night Raid, an upcoming DirectX 12 test designed specifically for systems with integrated graphics. I was told "Night Raid will be added as a free update" when it comes out.
As for Port Royal, it will be included in the Advanced edition ($29.99) for consumers, or if you already own a paid version of 3DMark, you can tack it on for $2.99.
UL Benchmarks says Port Royal is a "realistic and practical example of what to expect from ray tracing in upcoming games—ray tracing effects running in real-time at reasonable framerates at 2560x1440."
In addition to announcing a release date and pricing, UL Benchmarks shared a video that shows Port Royal's demo scene in its entirety.
We haven't played around with Port Royal yet, but we imagine for most users, it will just end up making you sad about your PC's ray tracing performance (or lack thereof). That is, unless you grabbed a GeForce RTX series or Titan RTX graphics card, of course—those are really the only consumer cards that have the hardware to flex any kind of real-time ray tracing muscle. But hey, if you picked up one Nvidia's newest cards and want to affirm your decision, Port Royal may help you do that as you wait for more ray-traced games to trickle into view.
Paul Lilly
Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).


text:
Q: How to Inject ExecutionContext or format property and use it on My FieldExtractor with SpringBatch I had to implement a customized FieldExtractor for my job like:
public class MyFieldExtractor implements
    FieldExtractor<MyEntity> {

    @Override
    public Object[] extract(MyEntity e) {
           ......
    }
}

In my xml, I use it in my customized Line Aggregator, like:
The "format" property is bind dynamically.
<bean id="myLineAggregator"
    class="org.springframework.batch.item.file.transform.FormatterLineAggregator" scope="step">
    <property name="fieldExtractor">
        <bean
            class=".........MyFieldExtractor">
        </bean>
    </property>
    <property name="format" value="1$01d%#{jobExecutionContext[$jc{filename}].dynamicFormat}"/>
</bean>

I need a way to inject or to get the "format" property in my class MyFieldExtractor or at least, I would to inject the ExecutionContext in some field.

I tried:
@Value("#{jobExecutionContext[]}")
private ExecutionContext context;

@Value("#{jobExecutionContext}")
private ExecutionContext context;

unsuccessfully...
Is it possible?

A: JobExecutions (as well as StepExecutions) are not directly bindable so @Value("#{jobExecutionContext}") doesn't work.
You can inject 1$01d%#{jobExecutionContext[$jc{filename}].dynamicFormat} or #{jobExecutionContext[$jc{filename}]} using @Value() annotation.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Contact Rep. Stambaugh
PA State Rep. Perry Stambaugh Serving PA's 86th Legislative District
Meet Rep. Perry Stambaugh
PA State Rep. Perry Stambaugh represents the 86th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving Perry County and part of Cumberland County.
How Can My Office Serve You?
My staff will be happy to help you with state-related issues. A few services offered include car registrations; driver's license renewal and special tags; property tax/rent rebate applications; birth certificate and death record applications; and much more.
PennDOT Seeks Feedback on Cumberland Co. Project
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) invites the public to an online plans display regarding the Route 11 (West King Street) bridge replacement project. This project is located over Norfolk Southern Railroad within Shippensburg Borough and Southampton Township.
Watch live video streams
Pennsylvania and Federal Resources regarding updates on the COVID-19 pandemic
The 86th Legislative District covers part of CUMBERLAND County consisting of the townships of Hopewell, Shippensburg and Southampton and the boroughs of Newburg and Shippensburg (Cumberland County Portion); and All of PERRY County.
Get the details on events that Rep. Perry Stambaugh is holding in the 86th Legislative district.
One out of ten Pennsylvania residents has unclaimed property waiting for them. Search the PA Treasury's unclaimed property database here.
Funding Awarded to Clark's Ferry Tavern
Dec. 28, 2020 /
HARRISBURG – The Historical Society of Perry County has been awarded a $500,000 grant for the restoration of Clark's Ferry Tavern, one of those most historic structures in the county, according to Sen. John DiSanto (R-15) and Rep. Perry Stambaugh (R-Perry/Cumberland).
Dec. 11, 2020 / Press Release
Harrisburg, PA - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) invites the public to an online plans display regarding the Route 11 (West King Street) bridge replacement project. This project is located over Norfolk Southern Railroad within Shippensburg Borough and Southampton Township.
Additional Press Releases
Sign Up to Receive Emails from Rep. Perry Stambaugh
Keep up-to-date on the latest legislative and community news. Your email address will be used strictly for legislative purposes.
Email Zip Code
Perry County Office
18 W Main Street
New Bloomfield, PA 17068
Cumberland County Office
81 Walnut Bottom Road
Shippensburg, PA 17257
430 Irvis Office Building
House Box 202086


Nearly one year ago, the pop icon Prince died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl. Police found mislabeled pills laced with the synthetic drug called fentanyl in his home and the drug was confirmed in his system.
Headlines aside, Americans are increasingly succumbing to pills made with the dangerous fentanyl. Law enforcement nationwide are trying to crackdown on the importation of those drugs as well the machines being imported to the U.S. to create the knock-off drugs.
A new policy paper from the Washington Legal Foundation (WLF), Penalty Disparities Frustrate Protection of Consumers from Dangerous Counterfeit and Diverted Drugs, offers proposals to go after producers, wholesalers and pharmacies of counterfeit drugs. The stakes are high. At best counterfeit drugs are ineffective because they contain fewer of the purported active ingredients or no active ingredients at all. When laced with more harmful substances though, they can lead to deadly results.
The analysis explains that some counterfeit drugs are either made domestically or initially purchased overseas then diverted to the U.S. – often after a circuitous trip where they may be held in "unsuitable or insanitary conditions." For the illegally imported goods, they can arrive past the expiration date with labels in another language.
The differing levels of jail time and fines for drug counterfeiting and diversion is one major factor in the proliferation of illegal sales and the continued viability of businesses that make such sales. The financial cost-benefit of unapproved drug sales favors the criminal sellers in two ways: 1) the size of the profits vastly outweigh the potential punishments and 2) the low penalties for counterfeiting and diversion act as a disincentive against aggressive enforcement of those laws.
And it's not just about pain medication. Apparently, youthful skin is big business for counterfeiters, too. New shops and spas selling Botox that isn't approved for use in the U.S. pop up just as quickly as law enforcement is able to close them down. Their suppliers: producers overseas.
... Despite successes in preventing potentially dangerous or ineffective drugs from reaching consumers, sales of illegal products continue, due to the potential profits that can be made. Perhaps by closing gaps in the FDCA's penalty structure, the criminal penalties from importing the dangerous product will outweigh the perceived financial benefits for bad actors, thereby protecting American consumers and strengthening the supply chain.
Protecting the health and safety of Americans is a critical function of the FDA. If current laws and regulations aren't keeping up with the counterfeit drug market, we need to update them accordingly.
At the same time, we do need to think about how we expand drug options to lower the costs for consumers. How do we speed up the process to approve medicines and drugs produced here and abroad without sacrificing quality or safety? These are good questions to consider as the new administration starts to shape policy on healthcare.


text:
Q: Authentication popup issue in selenium I am new to selenium and I am facing issue with passing through authentication popup in chrome and firefox. Could anyone suggest me the best way to handle it.
I have tried providing credentials in the URL, however as credentials are asked every page that gets loaded, its getting harder and at times it doesnt work also.

A: The following Robot implementation does the following things when authentication dialog opens:

*

*It will paste UserName in argument on Username field because control is by default there

*Then It will Press Tab

*After that it will paste password in password field

*Again it will press TAB

*At last it will HIT enter

Solution in JAVA:
//Call this function and provide UserName and password
public void authenticate(String password,String Uname) throws AWTException, InterruptedException
{
    Thread.sleep(5000);
    Robot rb=new Robot();

    StringSelection stringSelection = new StringSelection(Uname);
    //Copy Path on Clipboard
    Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getSystemClipboard()
    .setContents(stringSelection, null);
    //Paste Clipboard Data
    rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
    rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_V);
    rb.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_V);
    rb.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
    rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);
    rb.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);
    stringSelection = new StringSelection(password);
    Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getSystemClipboard().setContents(stringSelection, null);
    rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
    rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_V);
    rb.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_V);
    rb.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_CONTROL);
    rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);
    rb.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_TAB);
    rb.keyPress(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER);
    rb.keyRelease(KeyEvent.VK_ENTER);

}


Italy…Finally. This one had been on both of our wish lists for a while.
Me – I've always been fascinated with Roman history. The Romans were an incredible society and were more advanced than any other that would show up for quite some time. My engineering side has always been impressed by what they were able to accomplish 2000 years ago. My law side is similarly impressed with Rome. The Louisiana Civil Code that we use today is a direct descendant from Roman law – one of the few things I took from the Legal Traditions class we had to take at LSU. It equally influenced just about all of the Western legal systems.
Alyce – She has a strong Italian heritage on her mom's side. Her Nonna (the Italian word for grandmother) cooked all sorts of delicious Italian meals, many of which I was fortunate enough to get eat too. Pasta, Pizza, Italian meats and cheeses are many of her favorite foods. She loves the history too, just as I enjoy the food, markets, etc. as well.
Speaking of which, I planned about half of what I usually would (in terms of meals/activities/wine/etc.), and we still ended up skipping half of what we had planned. And that is fine and somewhat expected. No one wins if we wake up a baby and have him scream through a lunch because we wanted to go to a particular place. That's not enjoyable for us or the others around us.
Similarly, I probably planned our stops a little differently in the past. I definitely would have stopped a lot more along the way during our transits. We drove right through the heart of the Chianti wine region and didn't stop at a single place. As it was, we stayed at 5 different spots over the 13 days…That's moving when travelling with a one year old.
I'm not really a birthday person. I don't really get overly excited about it, but this year James gave me the best present ever.
Today we drove from Montalcino to Barolo. I've sort of been dreading this day because it is about a 5 hour drive and James typically doesn't do too great on long car rides. Our "plan" was to drive 2 hours to Pisa, get out the car, walk around, and have lunch. Then, we were going to finish the 3 hour car ride. As we have gotten further into this trip, we always laugh when we talk about our " plan." The truth is, James make the plans. If he's not happy, there is no point in forcing some sort of schedule. But today, everything went according to plan!
We left Montalcino around 10:30 after a good breakfast and coffee and headed out on the road. James stayed awake for the 2 hours until Pisa, and he was really good. Our hope was that he would stay awake for the first half of the ride and then he could sleep the second half.
Once we got to Pisa, we parked and saw the Tower. We were amazed at all the tourists and hawkers. Pisa is obviously a hot spot to visit. We walked around. Yep, the tower surely does lean.
We found a restaurant and had a quick margarita pizza for lunch. I did another miracle diaper change in the bathroom, and we were back on the road.
James fell asleep pretty early on the ride. Justin and I held our breadth hoping that he would stay asleep. The car ride was very quiet. I was afraid that if I said anything that he would wake up. We drove through lots and lots of tunnels and more winding hills.
About 30 minutes before we got there, James woke up. But…..he didn't cry and fight to get out of his seat (miracle). He drank his milk, and we made it to our destination.
In Barolo, we are staying at Le Torri. It is more of a traditional hotel than we have been staying in. It's very nice. It overlooks all of the vineyards, and it is so beautiful!
We drank some wine from Uccelliera (the vineyard that we visited) and celebrated a successful day….. and my birthday. We got some food from the restaurant on the property and had a nice quiet evening.
Today, we started out with a great breakfast provided by Castel Brunello. It was mainly meats, cheeses, bread, fruit etc. But it was nice to have something easily accessible. I guess that's the downside to staying in apartments rather than hotels. James really enjoyed a banana yogurt, but by the end of breakfast both he and I were covered in yogurt so we had to change clothes before going out. Just in case anyone was wondering, we currently have no dirty laundry! I've really been trying to stay on top of it.
So, the plan was to go to an 11:00 wine tour and tasting and then lunch at 1:00 at Il Lecchio, and we actually did it! Usually, we start out with a loose plan and let James's mood guide the day. He actually let us do everything that we wanted!
We went to Uccellliera vineyard and had such a nice time. The owner/winemaker's wife gave us a tour and tasting. Everything was great. When we first pulled up, their 6 month old German Shepard puppy greeted us, and James loved her. When we were in the cellar doing the tasting, their 4 year old daughter played with James and kept him entertained. The wife, Paola, spoke good English and the daughter is taking English lessons. Paola's husband, Andrea, is the winemaker. They were all very sweet and make great wine!
Lunch at Il Lecchio was great. I loved the fact that there were alot of other kids in the restaurant. One table looked like a big family with about 5 young children. There was a baby that looked like she was about 2 weeks old. It was fun to watch them, and it was also good to know that James wasn't the loudest one in the restaurant. He has been eating great. He's had veal, pasta, fried zucchini, frittata, and eggplant!
After James took a nap, we headed out to see the main town of Montalcino. It is a very cute, quiet town with lots of wine tasting bars! We didn't go in any but they all seemed really nice. It was very windy and quite a bit colder than it had been on the trip so we didn't stay out long. We got back to the apartment around 7:30 and had a quiet night.


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Kyosho 1-S14018H Button Hex Screw M4x18mm in a package of 5. What hardware are you running? Get the best hardware, Kyosho screws, nuts washers, etc. available for your RC car.
Replaces discontinued part no. KYO1402.