Stuart is a defence advocate who regularly conducts serious cases as a leading junior, many of which have regularly attracted national media interest. Notable cases include the Brinks-Matt trial (largest gold heist in British history, money laundering trial) and Daqir (The Euromac Case – for allegedly supplying nuclear triggers to Saddam Hussein). Stuart is also the only English Barrister to appear in the 'Areios Pagos' (Supreme Court of Greece) in a successful appeal (explaining "specimen counts" which his client had been acquitted of in London and was then charged with the remainder in Athens, where the concept of specimen counts was not known). As a leading defence junior, he has led in several murder trials but has never had a conviction for murder. His most recent murder case was R v M & Ors at the Central Criminal Court, a Tamil Gangland double murder (double beheading), his client was acquitted on submissions because of flaws exposed in the cell-net evidence.
Stuart has worked on several Judicial Review cases. He provides a cost-effective route to seeking a judicial review.
Stuart also works with serious family cases. Involving child arrangements & complicated family disputes.
White Collar Fraud Brinks Matt – Representing one of the 2 principal defendants in money laundering trial being the proceeds (in excess of £ 30 million) from the stolen gold. Coverage of this case can be found – R v Blake and others 1991 CLR 119 – The Hill Samuel Fraud trial – a multi-million-pound fraud. Defendant acquitted on submissions for serious breaches of PACE.
Violence R v Sarwar, Khalique and Ors (Manchester Crown Court) (2011) – Gangland drugs and firearms where a cut-throat defence was employed. Stuart acted for the enforcer Kalique, with previous firearms convictions which were admitted in evidence. His client was acquitted. The other principal defendant, Sarwar, a man of good character, the recruiter of drugs dealers, represented by a QC and junior, was convicted and received 22 years imprisonment. R v Mathayaparan and Ors at the Central Criminal Court (2005/2006) – This was a gangland double murder, a beheading in Wembley and a beheading in Ilford, involving substantial mobile phone cell site evidence of the gang's car movements. The defendant represented by Stuart and a junior was acquitted of both murders on submissions after exposing flaws in the cell site evidence. R v Antoniuk (Kingston Crown Court) – Represented a female defendant, a former model, charged with attempted murder by stabbing her lover in the heart having been raped earlier. After the legal argument was allowed to run the unusual defence of 'delayed automatism', ultimately resulting in an acquittal.
Sexual Offences R v M (Maidstone CC) (2013) – Son and mother accused the father of historical rapes. The trial judge commended Mr Stevens for his delicate yet probative cross-examination of the son which resulted in an acquittal.
Family cases C v C (Barnet County Court) (2013) – Represented the Respondent father who opposed the drugging (Risperidone drug) of his 10-year-old child without a proper diagnosis being carried out. Involved extensive cross-examination of medical experts over the trial period of several days. Mr Stevens does not undertake family cases, but this was on a Direct issue of drugging children, and he was engaged only to cross-examine the medical experts.
Selection of Reported Cases Re A Solicitor Div Ct QBD January 1982 Law Soc Gazette Meaning of unbefitting conduct. Partner found to be not guilty of unbefitting conduct when another partner who ran a separate office committed serious breaches. R v Isleworth Crown Court ex parte Commissioners of Customs & Excise Div Ct QBD 1991 Crim LR 859 Bail subject to Judicial Review. R v Newington (Ct of App) The Times 27th Feb 90 Meaning of ill-treatment under Mental Health Act. R v Delaney (Ct of App) The Times 30th Aug 88 Represented the Crown on breaches of PACE. Day and Another v Grant / R v Manchester Crown Court ex parte William Div Ct 1987 3 All ER Meaning of 'Criminal cause or matter'. R v Alexander Grant (Ct of App) 82 Crim App Rep 234 Difference between common law and statutory conspiracies. R v Tomsett (Ct of App) 1985 Crim LR 369 Jurisdiction in an international conspiracy; the first computer-based conspiracy which led to the Law Commission's recommendations for the enactment of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and other related legislation. R v Harman and others (Ct of App) The Times 21st Feb 84 Documents wrongly admitted in re-examination by the prosecution. Dyson Holdings & Fox (Ct of App) 1976 QB 503 Common law wife can inherit statutory tenancy. R v Preddy, Slade & Ors (1996) A case of obtaining property by deception. Stuart represented Mrs Slade in the trial and Court of Appeal. Preddy and others went to the House of Lords.
Stuart served for 3 years on the Bar Council Race Relations Committee under Mr Justice Henry Brooke which resulted in the Bar Council's policy that Chambers membership should reflect gender and ethnicity of the population. Stuart was made a Freeman of the City of London in 1991 and is listed in 'Debretts' People of Today' and 'Who's Who in Catholic Life'.


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Pam Houston's "Contents May Have Shifted"
Pam Houston divides her time between her ranch in Colorado and the University of California at Davis, where she is director of the Creative Writing Program. She has been a frequent contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine, and her writing appears regularly in More and other publications. She in the author of the best-selling Cowboys Are My Weakness.
Here Houston shares some ideas for director and main cast members for an adaptation of her new novel, Contents May Have Shifted:
If they make Contents May Have Shifted into a film, I would want Sandra Bullock to play the Pam character. I say this party because I know her production company was seriously considering buying my last book, Sight Hound for a while (they eventually passed) but during that time I did a little research and found out we feel the same way about animals in general and dogs in particular, about several works of literature and other things, (the questionable taste in men on both our parts hardly needs to be spoken of.) But beyond the practicalities of that I see a lot of myself in her, in her authenticity, her humor, and maybe most of all what I would call her "try."
I love Philip Seymour Hoffman about the best of any male actor these days, and I especially like him in a romantic role, which he does not get all that often, so I think I would like him to play Rick. Annette Bening is perfect for Cinder. (Hey, this is more fun than I thought it was going to be). Drew Barrymore would make a great Willow. (How we doing on budget so far?) Laura Linney as Janine, the acupuncturist. Salma Hayek as Ruby. Maybe Geoffrey Rush as Fenton the human. This book has so many characters, I think I better stop here.
As for a director, I think I would throw that back to Sandra Bullock. This book needs a woman at the helm, I think, and one who is able to laugh at herself.
Learn more about the book and author at Pam Houston's website.
Read--Coffee with a Canine: Pam Houston and Fenton Johnson.
The Page 69 Test: Contents May Have Shifted.
Will McIntosh's "Hitchers"
Kevin Fox's "Until the Next Time"
Elizabeth Hand's "Available Dark"
Elly Griffiths's "The House at Sea's End"
Thomas A. Robinson & Lanette Ruff's "Out of the Mo...
David Schiff's "The Ellington Century"
Andromeda Romano-Lax's "The Detour"
Marie Brennan's "With Fate Conspire"
Sara Benincasa's "Agorafabulous!"
Amy Hatvany's "Outside the Lines"
Mike Mullin's "Ashfall"
Bill Fitzhugh's "The Exterminators"
Jeffrey Abt's "American Egyptologist"
Wessel Ebersohn's "The October Killings" & "Those ...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Shortly after my last post I felt a slight change in the little bumps of my right breast, which I had for a long time already and were once diagnosed as calcifications of milk ducts. I observed this for a while and was alarmed when one lump was growing. Instead of going into lengthy details I will give you the action dates.
Infiltrating lobular carcinoma with extensive lobular carcinoma in situ component, 2,5 cm ( one inch) in diameter. Cancer cells are ER positive ( Estrogen Receptor positive).
I had opted for bilateral mastectomy.
Surgery went good, waking up no problems, but I was kept there for one night for observation. I did not want opiate pills for pain and was allowed to refer to my all-time remedy Ibuprofen to take as needed. Not much pains at all, only tiredness and feeling drained.
My husband Dieter did and still does the necessary housework. Thanks !
July 20. 2015 = Post-0p exam by Dr. Pham, drainages were working good.
August 14. '05 = Dr. Pham - -- -SHE RELEASED ME WITH THE NEXT APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED IN ONE YEAR!!!!!!!! hurray !
On July 31. I will be prescribed Tamoxifen, a long-term hormone pill for prevention of further cancers. When Dr. Pham told me that, I was originally against it, but one entire day researching the internet convinced me otherwise. I am prepared, and I think my overall excellent condition will keep the side effects low - at least I hope it and I will deal with it. I also support my system by watching the sugar and carbs intake. Cancer cells live on Glucose!!!
Herein I want to take the opportunity to thank all my facebook friends for their loving support. They kept up with my postings there, uplifted me and brought me joy and the certainty that friends are a shoulder to lean on.
I live my life as usual, never cried about the diagnosis or even felt threatened. I laugh with the neighbors and make jokes about my now flat chest.


It's summer and we are all headed to the beach. With Anawangin always teeming with people, I made a list of alternative beach camp sites near Manila.
Named after two of its more popular counterparts, Borawan got the best of both -- the white sands of Boracay and the picturesque rock formations of Palawan. This beach is perfect for the adventurous who want to go rock climbing and rapelling. Just be sure you do it with experts.
There are small cottages for rent here. There is a comfort room available, which is about three minutes walk from the campsite, but be ready also to do it au naturel. Better to arrange freshwater to be delivered to you from the caretakers, for washing up. Careful also of the sea urchins. Also, just pack enough foods, then check out the fresh catch of local fisher folks. You will be surprised at how cheap you can get those fresh seafoods.
The first time we went to Padre Burgos, we camped at Borawan and we were toasted to a crisp. So, the better camp site is Dampalitan Beach, with Borawan as a side trip.
There are lots of trees in this area, a good comfort room and cottages for socials. There is also a small sari-sari store in case you run out of supplies.
It is either you trek to this place from Pagbilao or ride a boat from Padre Burgos and make this part of a beach hopping itinerary together with Borawan and Dampalitan. I heard camping or overnight stay is already allowed in this place.
Last year, because of land dispute, camping was not allowed. The sands here are really white, as in really and it stretches 70 meters long. Waters are cool, but careful again of the sea urchins. There are cottages and comfort rooms available. There is a small cave near the beach called Kwebang Lagpas.
How to get here? From Manila, take South Superhighway. Head on to Bondoc Peninsula. Padre Burgos is the first town of Bondoc Peninsula, approximately 160 kms. from Manila, around 4 to 5 hours drive. There is a small rotonda there and on the right is a road leading to Aplaya where boats may be arranged. The boat ride is short, but it is scenic.
Some more tips: We usually leave Manila at 1Am so we can be at Padre Burgos at first light. We take our breakfast at the Padre Burgos public market, while waiting for the goods to arrive. This is a small market, which I think is just enough for the small town of Padre Burgos, so don't take so long in deciding what to buy as they will easily run out. Try to bring also a mineral water container so it can be refilled here for your drinking water supply in the islands.
This island is listed as one of must summer destinations in the country. We usually stay at Villa Cleofas. There are cottages available and comfort rooms. They also have a small generator at night.
The island is known for its white sand and this stretches far, especially during low tide when water moves really far, exposing more white sands, rocks, sea creatures and corals.
During low tides, guests can walk to the island in front called Bonsai Island.
From Mauban, Quezon, there are public boats available and they have two morning schedules. Then, it is a short leisurely trek to Villa Cleofas. If traveling on a big group, Villa Cleofas has a boat, which guests can rent. Meals may also be arranged with the resort owners. Of course, not us, we love cooking our food. It is part of our socials.
This is Anawangin's twin sister, so a good alternative, with fewer people. So, if you miss the pine trees lining the beach of Anawangin, the verdant cove and cool, deep blue, here is Nagsasa. There are cottages and comfort rooms available here.
This is like Anawangin also. You can trek here or take a boat ride from Pundaquit. It is approximately an hour more from Anawangin.
Quite a long drive but very short boat ride. Magalawa is located in Palauig, Zambales. It also has everything -- white sand, a sand bar, pristine blue waters and some creature comforts like cottages and comfort rooms. Potable water is available in the island, but for safety, bring your own. There are also sites here for snorkelling. What I like about Magalawa? Trees everywhere, so it is cool even during hot summer days.
Boats are available at Oslet Compound, at I think Php 100.00 per head, round trip. From Banlog Triangle, keep right. You'll pass by Mt. Tapulao signage and Salaza Bridge. After the bridge, slow down as you need to turn left to the veritas road going to Oslet Compound.
This is one of Guys4Mountains favorite getaway, well-promoted by our friend Kel. I think they hike when they first went here, but you can take your vehicle near the beach. Just a small descent from the parking lot to get to this cove. It is also a white sand beach. What I like about this beach? The water is so cool and gentle, it is like swimming in fresh water. Cottages and comfort rooms are available here.
Oh Calaguas! I think I shall never find a sand as pink as thee (until I get to Sta. Cruz Island). How I love your azure waters and creamy white sand beach that looks pink to me. The sands are so fine. There is a deep well where guests can wash up and tables for socials.
Everything else, including water, you have bring from the mainland. Thing about Calaguas, it is quite far, about 8 hours drive and 3 hours boat ride, but hey, nobody said going to paradise is easy.
Of course, Aurora will not be missed in this listing. The difficulty here is choosing. Since Digisit is special (TREK's camp site, also where I celebrated my birthday 2 years ago), it is included in this list. Coconut trees line the beach, so careful in pitching those expensive tents. The rock formations in the beach are just so magnificent. Best about this beach, potable water is available so there's no difficulty in cooking and mixing chasers.
Like Calaguas, this is far, but less than 8 hours drive. This is near Baler and there are nearby sites to explore like the waterfalls, Ermita Hills and Pag-asa station.
We discovered this also because of TREK. We arrived in Dilasag, Aurora night time so we were not able to appreciate the beach. Actually, with a bucket filled with lobster got a terribly low price, it is really hard to focus on anything else. The next day, we went on a short trek in a grass covered, gently sloping Parang hill to get to this super awesome beach, filled with rock formations, some forming small pools of water.
With the roads fixed, Dilasag is only about four to five hours drive from Baler. Still, this is something reserved for a long weekend. Visitors may also include in Casiguran in the itinerary, which is as beautiful as Dilasag.
Nice list of beaches nea Manila. Now I know where to got through pag may balak akong mag outing with family and friends.
this is amazing, your list sure comes in handy!
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Thanks! Looking forward to exploring that part of Palawan.


text:
Cass at 50
A Half-Century of West Virginia's Unique State Park
A special collector's edition of the Mountain State Railroad & Logging Historical Association's quarterly publication, The Log Train, commemorating the 50 years of the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park's history. Edited by Richard Sparks.
• 8.5"x11", 64 pages, soft cover, printed on heavy paper with a stiff cover, full color, published in January, 2013.
• Detailed photographic and text history of the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park from it's beginnings in 1960 until 2013.
• Over 200 photos, most in color.
• Click here for a sample chapter (the link is to a low-resolution PDF file).
• Prices (postage included):
1 copy $10
2 copies $9 each
3-5 copies $8 each
6-10 copies $7 each
Cass at 50 A Half-Century of West Virginia's Unique State Park
Name: ____________________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________________
City: ____________________________ State: _______ ZIP: _______________
Phone or e-mail: ____________________________________________________
Quantity: ______ Price per book: _______ Total enclosed: _________________
Send order to: MSR&LHA Company Store, c/o Bob Hoke, 6304 Kaybro St., Laurel MD 20707
* Orders are shipped postpaid in the U. S.
* Make checks or money orders payable to MSR&LHA. They must be payable in US$ and drawn on a U.S. bank. Send cash at your own risk. Sorry, we cannot accept credit cards.
* For more than 10 copies contact store@msrlha.org for wholesale prices.
* Recent postal rate increases have made it very expensive to ship orders to foreign addresses, especially ones outside North America. If you are interested in placing a foreign order please e-mail store@msrlha.org for payment options and an estimated shipping cost.
return to MSR&LHA Home page
This page last updated or verified on September 28, 2013


Business is important, but so am I (and you).
As we get close to Christmas 2016, as business owners, there are some things we all should be doing as we wrap down the year and get ready for the next year.
Speaking with other business owners/entrepreneurs over the last week, it was interesting to hear what people are doing to wrap up the year for their business'.
Some are using the time to assess where they are with their business and determine if they reached their goals for the year. Some other fine women and men are using this time to plan the next year ahead, determine their goals, what sales numbers they want to reach, what their marketing strategies they want to implement.
Then, some are taking the opportunity to contact new prospects, picking up the phone and trying to secure as much business as possible in order to ensure January is as profitable as possible.
Everything above, it's all good. Me, I've been spending most of my time completing some projects that are almost done for some great clients of mine. I've been reflecting on my year that just passed and looking ahead to what's coming up. In fact, at this exact moment, I'm sitting in a cafe, writing this blog post, waiting to meet a new potential client.
However, there is one thing I encourage all business owners to do, and what I'm doing. Take some time for yourself already.
I make it a policy to shut down work during the time between Christmas and New Years Day. This has always been a tradition for me as far back as I can remember. Going back to when I was employed in various firms. If that week was not offered as a holiday time, I would always book it off.
Leading up to that time, I'm also making sure I take time for myself and my family when I can. Business is important, but so am I.
I encourage all business owners to take time for themselves. Go for a walk, call a friend, play with your kids. After all, what is the point of running our own business if we aren't spending the time with the ones we love the most, including ourselves.


The MA-1 is a compact metronome that solidly covers all the basics with a broad tempo range and a rich variety of beats and rhythm patterns. The tempo can be set using one of three methods: increase or decrease the tempo using the standard increments familiar from a mechanical metronome (pendulum steps); increase or decrease the tempo in single-step increments over the full range of 30-252 (full steps), or use the Tap Tempo function to enter the tempo by pressing the switch in time with the music. Practice a wide variety of songs by specifying any beat count from 1 to 9, and choose any one of the eight rhythm types: quarter notes, eighth notes, triplets (straight triplets, triplets with inner beat omitted, triplets with the third beat omitted), and sixteenth notes (quadruplets, quadruplets with middle beats omitted, quadruplets with the third and fourth beats omitted). Sound Out mode produces a reference pitch (selectable over an octave C4-B4) that you can use when tuning nearly any instrument. The frequency of the A4 reference pitch (calibration) can be adjusted in 1 Hz steps over the broad range of 410 Hz to 480 Hz. An earphone output is provided for personal use. The earphone volume can be adjusted to suit for any situation; from private practice in your room to group rehearsal in the studio. With stylish design and reliable functionality, this is an indispensible rhythm training aide for any musician.


text:
PFR Home Page > All Years > 2008 NFL > AllPro
2008 NFL All-Pros
Super Bowl Champion: Pittsburgh Steelers
AP MVP: Peyton Manning
AP Offensive Rookie of the Year: Matt Ryan
AP Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jerod Mayo
AP Defensive Player of the Year: James Harrison
Passing Leader: Drew Brees, 5069 Yds
Rushing Leader: Adrian Peterson, 1760 Yds
Receiving Leader: Andre Johnson, 1575 Yds
2008 NFL Season
Scrimmage Stats
Player Fantasy Ranks
Red Zone Passing
Red Zone Rushing
Red Zone Receiving
Defensive Stats
Defense vs. Pos
Divisional
Conf Champ
AllPro
O-Line Penalties
Preseason Odds
More 2008 NFL Pages
Standard Player Stats
Fantasy Player Stats
All-Pros
All-Pros Table
All-pro teams
Peyton Manning IND 32 10 16 16 371 555 4002 27 12 20 21 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm
Drew Brees NOR 29 7 16 16 413 635 5069 34 17 22 -1 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Adrian Peterson MIN 23 1 16 15 0 0 0 0 0 363 1760 10 21 125 0 4 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Michael Turner ATL 26 4 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 376 1699 17 6 41 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Clinton Portis WAS 27 6 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 342 1487 9 28 218 0 3 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
DeAngelo Williams CAR 25 2 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 273 1515 18 22 121 2 2 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Le'Ron McClain BAL 24 1 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 232 902 10 19 123 1 1 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm
Madison Hedgecock NYG 27 3 16 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 52 1 0 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Larry Fitzgerald ARI 25 4 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 96 1431 12 2 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Andre Johnson HOU 27 5 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 115 1575 8 3 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Steve Smith CAR 29 7 14 14 0 0 0 0 0 5 40 0 78 1421 6 4 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Wes Welker NWE 27 4 16 14 0 0 0 0 0 3 26 0 111 1165 3 4 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Tony Gonzalez KAN 32 11 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 96 1058 10 1 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Jason Witten DAL 26 5 16 16 1 1 42 0 0 0 0 0 81 952 4 1 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Jordan Gross CAR 28 5 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Michael Roos TEN 26 3 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Ryan Clady DEN 22 Rook 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
David Diehl NYG 28 5 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Walter Jones SEA 34 11 12 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Jason Peters BUF 26 4 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
David Stewart TEN 26 2 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Joe Thomas CLE 24 1 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Steve Hutchinson MIN 31 7 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Chris Snee NYG 26 4 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Kris Dielman SDG 27 5 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Alan Faneca NYJ 32 10 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Kevin Mawae TEN 37 14 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm
Shaun O'Hara NYG 31 8 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 SN: 1st Tm, AP: 2nd Tm
Justin Tuck NYG 25 3 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 12.0 1 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm
John Abraham ATL 30 8 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 16.5 0 AP: 2nd Tm, FW: 1st Tm
Julius Peppers CAR 28 6 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 40 14.5 0 AP: 2nd Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Jared Allen MIN 26 4 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 14.5 0 AP: 1st Tm
Albert Haynesworth TEN 27 6 14 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 8.5 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Kevin Williams MIN 28 5 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 8.5 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm
Kris Jenkins NYJ 29 7 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 3.5 0 AP: 2nd Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Haloti Ngata BAL 24 2 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 1.0 2 AP: 2nd Tm
OLB
James Harrison PIT 30 6 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 67 16.0 1 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
DeMarcus Ware DAL 26 3 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 69 20.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Joey Porter MIA 31 9 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 17.5 0 AP: 2nd Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Terrell Suggs BAL 26 5 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 53 8.0 2 AP: 2nd Tm
Ray Lewis BAL 33 12 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 85 3.5 3 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm
Jon Beason CAR 23 1 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 0.0 3 AP: 1st Tm
James Farrior PIT 33 11 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 87 3.5 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Patrick Willis SFO 23 1 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 109 1.0 1 AP: 2nd Tm
Nnamdi Asomugha OAK 27 5 15 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 0.0 1 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Cortland Finnegan TEN 24 2 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 58 1.0 5 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Antoine Winfield MIN 31 9 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 81 2.0 2 AP: 2nd Tm
Charles Woodson GNB 32 10 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 3.0 7 AP: 2nd Tm
Troy Polamalu PIT 27 5 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 54 0.0 7 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Ed Reed BAL 30 6 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 1.0 9 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Nick Collins GNB 25 3 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 0.0 7 AP: 2nd Tm
Quintin Mikell PHI 28 5 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 68 2.0 3 AP: 2nd Tm
Adrian Wilson ARI 29 7 15 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 60 2.5 2 AP: 2nd Tm
Stephen Gostkowski NWE 24 2 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
John Carney NYG 44 20 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Shane Lechler OAK 32 8 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm, FW: 1st Tm, SN: 1st Tm
Donnie Jones STL 28 4 16 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Leon Washington NYJ 26 2 16 1 0 0 0 0 0 76 448 6 47 355 2 4 0.0 0 AP: 1st Tm
Clifton Smith TAM 23 Rook 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 40 0 4 24 0 6 0.0 0 AP: 2nd Tm
Brendon Ayanbadejo BAL 32 5 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 1.0 0 FW: 1st Tm
Johnnie Lee Higgins OAK 25 1 16 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 34 0 22 366 4 0 0.0 0 FW: 1st Tm
Danieal Manning CHI 26 2 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 1.0 1 FW: 1st Tm
Reggie Bush NOR 23 2 10 9 0 0 0 0 0 106 404 2 52 440 4 0 0.0 0 SN: 1st Tm
CB/LCB/RCB
Leodis McKelvin BUF 23 Rook 16 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 0.0 2 SN: 1st Tm
Mario Williams HOU 23 2 16 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 12.0 0 SN: 1st Tm
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Images could also be valued at countless words and phrases. In their gift of colors and collections, and additionally symbols along side changes, it might communicate a good deal additional an honest person or presumably a technique in a very scaled-down aspect than a extend involving illustrative terms will simply manage. Characters and additionally words, even so, have their terribly own creative great thing about their lucidity involving message and fewer troublesome, additional classic cosmetic, that nights, lots additional folks square measure renunciation pictorial tats and solely alphameric ones. The phrase skin image provides domed to a placement being among the foremost predominant tattoo style developments these days.
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Persia tats, as well, have gotten to be additional in style, several thanks merely to be able to stars like Madonna j and Julia Roberts, however to boot owing to the raising combined need to advertise attractiveness and choice being a combined plan. a bit like China and Japoneses tattoo styles, one must do their own investigation before finance receiving a good Arabic expression tattoo.
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Below is an example of one of the most common 1-D barcode types, the Universal Product Code (UPC). For this 1-D linear barcode, each number digit is 7 modules wide. Many people think only the black modules carry data. In fact, there are both black modules and white modules that make up this code. All of the barcode modules carry data.
The thinnest bar equals one module. Therefore, single modules are one module wide, double modules are two modules wide, triple thick modules are 3 modules wide and quadruple modules are four modules wide. The Narrow Bar Width is the size of the smallest bar in the code. The other bars in the code are based on a ratio of the narrowest bar. The Wide Bar to Narrow Bar ratio are typically 2:1, 3:1, 2.5:1.
The 1-D linear barcode Quiet Zone is the space at both the beginning and end of a code. 1-D linear barcodes must have a Quiet Zone in order to be decoded correctly.
The Guard Pattern can also be referred to as the Start and Stop Pattern. This will tell a barcode reader where the code begins and ends. Not all barcodes have this feature. The diagram below outlines the different features and linear symbol terminology. The diagram key is below.


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Schedule A Chat
» SL 52: Jim Bellas, Diplomatic Language Services
The Cost of NOT Writing a Book
"I Am Going to Write a Book and It's Going to Be a Best Seller!"
Why Your Book Launch Is the Most Important Day
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Best Business Ghostwriters and Publishers for Entrepreneurs
How to Launch an Amazon Best Seller
How to Get on The USA Today Bestseller List
How to Publish a Book (Traditional vs. Independent vs. Hybrid Publishing)
SL 52: Jim Bellas, Diplomatic Language Services
/ Podcast
/ By	Alinka Rutkowska, CEO Leaders Press, USA Today and WSJ bestselling author
Thank God it's Monday.
Welcome to the Supreme Leadership podcast where we interview business leaders every entrepreneur should follow. I'm Alinka Rutkowska, CEO of Leaders Press and today I'm excited because we're taking to Jim Bellas, CEO of Diplomatic Language Services.
Throughout his interview you can feel Jim's passion for life and for his business - a "Thank God it's Monday" attitude - where you know that he enjoys his weekends but he also can't wait for Monday when he'll make things happen business wise.
Jim explains how fundamental the onboarding process, how important mentorship is but we also talk about the dark side of mentorship.
As a bonus, Jim also lists various books that help you grow as a business person.
If you're a leader with 25 years in business and would like to be featured on the show, email me at alinka@leaderspress.com and put "Supreme Leadership Podcast" in the subject line.
If you're a leader without a book, discover how you can quickly and painlessly get your story out either as a lead generator for your business or as a legacy piece. Download your free copy of Bestseller Creation Secrets for Leaders at https://www.leaderspress.com/ now!
Click here to view in iTunes
Deborah: All right. So, Jim, can you tell me one unique way your particular company has been affected by or improved upon by mentoring?
Jim: Well, mentorship is an organic process here as opposed to a strict, "Go find somebody and engage them to mentor you, or to do that for someone else." Instead, the general concept is to take that mentoring is a relationship in which somebody with more experience or more knowledge helps somebody who has less experience and less knowledge. And with that, the whole process of onboarding is a systemized way of making sure that somebody is given the attention and given the instructions that are appropriate for the exact stage that they're at. So if you have someone who's very experienced and you brought them onboard, you're going to treat them differently than someone who's brand new, first job out of college, or second job, or the first time that they've encountered the kind of work that they're now going to do for us.
Jim: So that whole process of bringing somebody onboard is a process of mastering the art of delegation as much as it is the art of mentorship, that someone who knows nothing about what they're doing needs to be highly directed, and then once they become more knowledge ... and they know where the bathroom is, they know where their desk is, they know how to get in and out of the building, and work the levers of the company, then they're put into a position of being coach. And then from being coach, they're supported, because now they've gotten most of the talents, they just need to be periodically acknowledged. And then ultimately, when they're fully self-actualized, that's when you arrive at the level of delegation. And at any point along those, they could be a mentor for the person that's directly behind them, in terms of that process of coming onboard.
Jim: Fundamental to all of that is creating an environment where truth-telling, and trust, and respect are the fundamentals, that if you can't tell the truth about, "I don't know what I'm doing," then you're doomed to be stuck in that particular position. So as an example, when I first kind of took over this company, there was a great deal of fear about who I was, and I published an article for everybody to read, and I said, "The only mistake you can make is not to tell the boss you made a mistake. And if you don't make that mistake, you're doing fine. And if you don't know that you made a mistake, and you find out about it later, the only mistake you can make is to delay admitting that you didn't see that you'd made a mistake." The whole goal of that is to present me with problems I can solve before it's too late, and if somebody's hiding something, boy, then now I've got two layers to get through. One is I need to be a detective, and then I need to be a problem-solver.
Jim: So that whole environment, nobody gets punished for telling the truth, they in fact get rewarded for it. And that then builds this whole environment of trust. On the other side is the respect to know that if you're not making mistakes, you're probably not doing enough, you're probably not stretching enough, because very few of us go through life with 100% batting average, and in fact nobody does. So recognizing that you're going to strike out on a real regular basis, you should be respected for having made the effort, and you should be trusted for having told the truth.
Deborah: Okay. I like that. Have you ever, just throughout your career, worked in any kind of formal mentoring programs within a company?
Jim: When I was growing a company that I had successfully grown to a certain level, then wanted to leapfrog to another level, I reached out. And I've not had a super positive experience with mentoring, ultimately, because the process of engaging this chap who had succeeded at a much higher level than myself, and we hit it off, our values appeared to be the same, he liked me and I liked him, I was certainly impressed by all he had done, he made introductions for me to people that I wouldn't have had access to, and all of that was very helpful. Where I failed in that, was I began deferring, increasingly, to him, as so many different issues came up, and my gut would say, "No. This is the wrong decision," I would nonetheless defer to him. And so there's a seductive side to mentorship, where it enables you to do some things you couldn't do otherwise, but it also puts you in the position of second-guessing yourself and not trusting your best instincts. And [inaudible 00:09:58].
Deborah: Are you still there?
Jim: So that's the dark side of mentorship. Now, that having been said, having a connection that can get you entree to places that you can [inaudible 00:10:15] information or experiences you haven't, by all means, that's really valuable. I just would caution anyone that it's difficult.
Deborah: Okay. So we learn through mistakes as well as mentors, and I was wondering, could you maybe tell us about a big mistake you made at some point during your career and how it helped teach you?
Jim: Well, I think the one I just highlighted, was subsuming my own instincts and capabilities to a mentor may have been probably the biggest mistake that I made. Another one that didn't take ... probably had to learn it several times, was that I was not going to be able to do everything all of the time, and that I had good the fortune of early on recognizing the core of that, that an entrepreneur is not the lonely guy with his hair blowing back on the top of the mountain, he's actually the guy at the bottom of the hill trying to climb it and find the people that he can attach himself to on ropes, and we pull each other up, so that I was really good at marketing, and I attached myself to someone who was really good at the product, and I was fortunate enough to attract somebody who was really good at finance. And the three of us ended up ... I mean, I was the guy that got all the attention frequently, but without them, no way could I have succeeded the way ... And that pattern repeated itself throughout my life. And as I've done the reading, increasingly, you hear about Steve Jobs, what you don't hear about are the finance and product people that really made the difference for him to create what he did and do what he did.
Deborah: And speaking of reading, sometimes we can learn from books, books can serve a kind of mentor's role in our life and our career, so I was wondering if you can maybe talk about some books that have been really important or formative for you and the way that you do business.
Jim: Yes. Early on, the foundational books are Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie, and then more recently, and still probably the best book out there, is Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I mean, that book is a constant reread for me. And by reread, meaning I pick a particular chapter and work on that particular aspect. A transformational book for myself personally was What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. It's just a genius book, that you can read through all the things that made you successful. And this is a guy that consults with million dollar employees that are failing at their next position, the board's about to fire them, and they bring him in to have them go through it, because the thing that got them to that CEO position was not the thing that was going to make them successful in that CEO position. And it's just a remarkable read to go through that.
Jim: And most recently, for me it would be Brene Brown with The Transformative Power of Vulnerability, and a more recent book, Daring Greatly, and her whole premise of the things that make us courageous are when we address the places where we're vulnerable, and are willing to be vulnerable with ourselves and with others as well. It's a remarkable book. She's got some great TED Talks for those that are less readers and want to get the core message. It's really worth checking out Brene Brown.
Deborah: Excellent. [inaudible 00:14:28] to check her out. Could you tell us maybe about some of your biggest mentors, personally?
Jim: Mentors. No, again, with the jaundiced view I have of them, they would've probably been coworkers. The ones that appreciated my strengths, brought their strengths, and the two of us working together created a mentorship of me really appreciating the things that they did extremely well, that I struggled with, and them appreciating what I really did well, that they wouldn't have even wanted to take on. And so a chap from my early years was Ed [inaudible 00:15:18], who gave me the courage to go out and do it on my own, as opposed to continuing to work for someone else. And Ed was a government worker, a customer, but his belief in me and my trust in him, we formed a partnership that lasted for over 25 years, and led to a business that started out as a mom-and-pop and grew into a company that attracted venture capital financing, that I never would've done had he not been my mentor for not just finance but also for the core values of a business, the respect of people, and the commitment to trust and respect being the foundation of a relationship.
Jim: So I learned that in a very meaningful way, as you go through the struggles of starting up a business and all the fear that can come with that, and his confidence in me and my trust in him created a mutual mentorship for each of us. In later years, it was relinquishing control of the day-to-day operations to someone who was a much better operator than I was, which then set me free to go back and be the creator that I could be. And so Jim [inaudible 00:16:47] would've been a mentor for me, as a general manager that came on and successfully ran the company in a much more methodical, predictable, organized way, and still with the same core values that we both held, and setting me free to then do the creation and marketing that I'm naturally good at, as opposed to making the trains run precisely on time.
Deborah: Gotcha. Okay. Well, so over the course of your career in business, how have you personally served as a mentor?
Jim: Well, there's the parent-child relationship, and I guess the easiest way to describe it is to be the change that you want to see, and walking the talk to actually doing the things that you say. So in a parent-child relationship that happens continuously. At work, being with people and having them recognize ... or create an environment where they can recognize their strengths, and for the culture of the company to focus on their strengths, for the performance review system to be centered around not finding the areas of weakness and saying, "Okay. So you're really good at these six things. Let's now concentrate on this one where you're no good," and instead, recognizing that they're not excelling in a particular area, figuring out how you can diminish that portion of the job and relegate it to other people, and then focus them on the one, two, or three things that they really are really good at.
Jim: And the other aspect we talked earlier about, delegating, and putting them in the position of being able to operate at the level at which they really have achieved already. And finally, encouraging everybody to be a multiplier of other people. And I didn't mention it earlier, but a formative book for me was Liz Wiseman's Multipliers, and it really dovetails well with the whole [inaudible 00:19:21] strength-finders based culture, in that you operate in ways of asking questions as opposed to giving instructions, and looking for ways to augment somebody as opposed to compete with them, and setting up relationships where it's about the team winning as opposed to one particular person being a star. Not sure if I'm answering your question as directly as you'd like, but, again, for me, mentorship is more of an organic process of creating an environment.
Jim: And the whole thing for me, in business ... I just was on a retreat with my son, and he's president of the company now, and he was expressing this frustration of seeing what he wanted to get done and not being able to get there, and sometimes just wanting to give up. And I said, "Gosh. You got to know that that's a feeling that you have whenever you take on anything, that you'll begin to say, 'Why am I here 7, 8, 9, 10 days in a row, 14 hours a day, when I should be spending time with my significant other, or my children, or just taking some time for myself?', and then remembering that regardless of any negation that happens as a result of failures or mistakes, that what you've done is created something that you wanted to have, to create a better world by doing my part to create the world that I have some influence over, to be the kind of world that I'd want to live in, to treat people the way I want to be treated."
Jim: And the people that you employ, the livelihoods that you create, and the personal growth that you see happen in other people, that's what kept me going in those times where it was just exhausting or it really didn't feel like I had succeeded in any particular way, was a reminder of that overall good that's being created as a result of my efforts, as a result of my ability to attract other people that want to achieve the same goal.
Deborah: How about in the context of YPO, is there any kind of mentorial relationships fostered within the organization?
Jim: The genius of YPO is in a hidden aspect of it, and that's a forum. And it's a group of 6 or 10 equals, members of that same organization, non-competitive. They have obviously achieved some level of success to be a member of YPO. Requires having been the leader of an organization that achieved a particular volume of revenue, employed a certain number of people, before the age of 40, so they've done something in their lives. And they're now in a room with you in 100% confidential, non-judgemental way. And it's transformational in that you're not there to prove that you're better than anybody else, you're there to have your personal board of advisors help you see what you're trying to get done, what you're trying to express, what you're struggling with, and to be able to process it in a way that you can't do in a company. When you're the head of it, there's a cascading fear that's created if you're starting to explore things at a level that addresses your core fears.
Jim: And so in that environment, I can present on my business, on my family, and for myself, and it's a fully-integrated approach to being able to understand what's keeping you from getting what you want, what is it that you need to do. And it's less about advice-giving and it's more about experience-sharing, that when it really is working, somebody else in that room has had the experience that you've had, and can ask the questions and share the experiences they've had. It's been a fundamental, core source of strength for me, to be able to take my greatest fears to that group and come away with having addressed not just the problem but also the underlying emotions that went along with it.
Deborah: Okay. So it's a meeting of minds and just a sharing among colleagues.
Jim: It's a personal board of advisors. It's someone that you can go and process, hear your own voice trying to explain what you're trying to get done. YPO is also terrific on the education, and the organization itself is sort of equal parts of networking, and education, and a social aspect to it. So it's a holistic approach that way. Probably the best experience I've had in any business organization has been with YPO. And getting involved in the leadership at the local chapter level, where you have a chance to get things done without having authority over anybody, that's a transformational experience as well, to do it through a negotiation of common purpose, and aligning people around wanting to make a great experience for a year, either with education or with overall leadership of the organization. Now, that was a terrific experience as well.
Deborah: Okay. So to switch gears a little bit, and to think specifically about entrepreneurs, what would you say is the area that most entrepreneurs need mentoring in?
Jim: The most. Well, let's just go fundamental. I think the sooner somebody figures out that they're not the be-all and end-all of what's going to happen, that they need to surround themselves with people that are going to augment them, to fill their areas of incompetence or less competence and that magnify their area of great competence, I think that's it, is to recognize that you're not Hercules, you are part of a team. I suppose in the common vernacular it would be the group of superheroes as opposed to the superhero, you're not Superman, you're part of the Avengers, and taking that mindset.
Jim: I think the second thing is to understand that everything takes longer than you say it will, and to recognizing that stamina is not to be undervalued, that grit, stamina are the pieces that will carry you through the fact that you said it was going to take three months, and it's now three years later and you still haven't done it. But there's, what's it called, an optimism bias that causes us ... or enables us to do something, but it also puts us into positions that we didn't foresee all the things and all the unintended consequences that were about to happen.
Deborah: Okay. So stamina, perseverance, and then also we're looking at delegation and recognizing when delegation is in your best interests.
Jim: Right. And I think remembering that the core reason that you're doing what you're doing, again, for me it was to make the world better, that doesn't go away, that's a goal worth persisting at. But sometimes a specific thing that you're trying to get done isn't, but if it fits in the environment of creating a better place to work, or a better place to shop, or a better product for the world, or a better service, that in that small way of fixing your part of the human body by fixing your cell of it, that's worth achieving. And creating the kind of environment that you'd want to work in, that you'd want your kids to work in, that you'd want your best friends to be in, that's worth doing.
Deborah: So if you were to write a book yourself, what would be your key message to entrepreneurs for them to be able to replicate your success?
Jim: Thank God it's Monday. Weekends are really great, but looking forward to what you're going to do on the first day of the week, I think, is an attitude that makes things possible, that makes things happen, that puts you in the mindset of creating as opposed to responding, being responsible for making something good happen for other people.
Deborah: Okay. Well, thank you so much, Jim, for taking the time to do our interview today. We really appreciate it.
Jim: Well, thank you. I'm looking forward to hearing what you've come up with and I look forward to continuing to follow the series.
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ERA voted Best Design Firm by NOW Magazine readers
ERA has been named as Toronto's Best Design Firm as part of NOW Magazine's Readers' Choice Awards. We'd like to take the time to thank everyone who voted for us as part of this year's awards.
As a firm specializing in heritage conservation, it is a privilege to get to work on some of the most beloved buildings in Toronto. We aim to expand our impact to build community through adaptive reuse, placemaking and design. We look forward to many more years of working with you, Toronto.
Congratulations to the Best of Toronto!
Posted by Editor@ERA on November 19, 2020
Conservation of Paradise Theatre wins national and provincial awards
Thanks to its careful conservation, and inclusive and accessible programming, Paradise is once again a space for the community to gather and celebrate. We're thrilled to see this building reinstated as an important focal point for the local neighbourhood and are pleased to say the conservation community feels the same!
Paradise Theatre has recently won a Peter Stokes Award for Restoration from Architectural Conservancy Ontario. The award was followed by the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals' (CAHP) announcement the project had won an Award of Excellence in the Conservation – Architecture category. We're honoured to be recognized by our colleagues provincially and nationally for this amazing project.
We'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire project team on these achievements:
ERA Staff: Graeme Stewart, Jessie Grebenc, Julie Tyndorf, Shannon Clayton
Site owner: Moray Tawse
Prime architect: Ware Malcomb
Interior design: Solid Design Creative
Masonry: Clifford Restoration
Stainless Steel: Brascon Stainless Steel Fabricators Inc.
Signage: Pride Signs
Read more about the Paradise Theatre project.
Posted by Editor@ERA on November 4, 2020
Historic farmsteads drive a new rural cultural economy
Ontario's smaller municipalities are facing a transformation. Many are making the transition from resource-based to diverse, creative economies, fuelled by population growth and an increase in local tourism in Ontario. As these municipalities look to prepare for growth, many farmstead owners are left with swaths of land ripe for adaptive reuse to add to the local economy and fill a community need.
ERA has had the opportunity to work closely with a number of these farmsteads and their owners in recent years. These property owners are looking for innovative adaptive reuse opportunities to help catalyze their local cultural economy by leveraging their heritage asset.
ERA engages with these projects using the framework of the Historic Ontario Farmstead. The Historic Ontario Farmstead typology helps us understand the distinct built and landscape features that characterize a farmstead – what are the visual cues that make a property legible as a farmstead? Do these features contribute to a broader agricultural landscape context? With a baseline understanding of these typological features, we ensure that their conservation or interpretation is top of mind throughout our project work.
ERA Associate Shelley Ludman (OAA OAQ) recently presented at the 2020 APT/National Trust conference on this theme. She spoke about three case studies, where ERA worked with local partners to re-imagine the uses of farmstead sites, relying on the Ontario farmstead typology. Two of these case studies are highlighted here.
Goodlot Farmstead Brewery
Originally established as a hops farm in 2011, the owners expanded their offering in 2017, announcing that they would be opening a brewery on site. This decision was instigated by a local tourism boom, Caledon's population growth, and a desire to encourage people to get outside and engage with agricultural sites in their vicinity. ERA worked with the owners to renovate one of the barns on their property, converting the vacant building into a brewing facility. Given the barn's proximity to the road, most of the alterations were limited to the building's interior, ensuring that it remained legible as a barn from the public realm.
Cambium Farms
In 2017, ERA was approached by Cambium Farms [link] to upgrade an 1873 barn facility, as the owners wanted to push their site's potential beyond a seasonal single use. In order to serve a larger market, and draw a variety of users, they needed to upgrade a few key aspects of the site.
ERA considered how we could achieve the programmatic upgrades required while conserving and capitalizing on the cultural heritage value of the existing farmstead configuration. Two contemporary additions were built to accommodate washrooms, a prep kitchen and a formal entry for the lower level and designed with reference to the forms and materiality of farmstead outbuildings. We also worked with the owners to upgrade the bank barn's lower level, previously used as storage, to create usable space during winter months. The renovated lower level now operates year-round, and the open floor plan facilitates programs such as yoga classes, pop-up dinners with local chefs, intimate concerts, and winter weddings.
These two case studies demonstrate how sensitive adaptive reuse projects can create opportunities for farmstead owners to contribute to an emerging rural cultural economy, while capitalizing on their sites' historic value and character.
Written by Shelley Ludman + Emma Abramowicz
Posted by Editor@ERA on October 28, 2020
ERA and Heritage Conservation in Hong Kong
Conservation is a worldwide industry, one rooted in collaboration and shared learning. It's vital we continue to share our expertise with one another, learning new innovations, techniques and approaches.
ERA is thrilled to continue to be involved in these important conversations. The newly released Heritage Conservation in Hong Kong: A Technical Guidebook was developed in conjunction with training workshops that took place over a year-long period by Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists (HKICON), which were developed and lead in part by ERA principal Andrew Pruss.
The end result of these workshops is the resulting guidebook that looks to further the conservation industry in Hong Kong, serving as a module for site owners, architects, contractors and students. It looks to support Hong Kong's heritage community through increased collaboration, and knowledge about heritage sites and conservation best practices. Subjects in the guidebook range from the history of heritage conservation, accessibility for heritage places to repair and maintenance of building materials.
Congratulations to Andrew, as well as the ERA staff who developed, wrote and edited this guidebook: Diana Roldan, Noah McGillivray, Adam Krop, Ray Lister, Aly Bousfield, Jordan Molnar and graphic designer Carl Shura.
The guidebook is available for all to download. Visit the HKICON website for more.
Posted by Editor@ERA on August 19, 2020
Pandemic effect: ERA Architects for Canadian Architect magazine
As part of Canadian Architect's Pandemic Effect series, ERA Architects' Ya'el Santopinto and Graeme Stewart wrote about how the current pandemic is shining a light on the importance of prioritizing the retrofitting of existing mid-century towers.
"Canada's affordable apartment towers are the backbone of its purpose-built rental housing system, representing more than half of all high-rise units in the nation. Legacies of the post-war apartment housing boom of the 1960s and 70s, many of these buildings are now a half-century old and in need of critical repair. Months of sheltering in place due to COVID-19 have underscored the inequities of the housing system, and the acute challenges in upgrading this stock are more visible than ever."
Read more from Ya'el and Graeme, and other articles on how the pandemic is influencing the world of architecture from Canadian Architect.
Posted by Editor@ERA on August 7, 2020
Remnants of Mid-Century Toronto
Spacing's new book celebrates Toronto's mid-century architecture, from landmark buildings like City Hall to unique elements of the time, such as the zig-zag roofs that can be spotted atop many of the city's churches.
Edited by Spacing's creative director Matthew Blackett and with photography by Vik Pahwa, much of the writing in the book has been provided by ERA staff.
Congratulations to Spacing on this beautiful publication. We're thrilled to have our staff involved in such an evocative project celebrating an often forgotten form of Toronto architecture.
Read more about the book on Spacing's website or purchase it from the Spacing Store.
Posted by Editor@ERA on July 17, 2020
Passive House: A new way of working with existing buildings
Cities are at the forefront of climate change. In the fight for a low-carbon future, a new wave of building standards is changing how we think about energy-efficiency and environmentally friendly design. One of the top standards is Passive House.
According to Passive House Canada, Passive House is regarded as the "most rigorous voluntary energy-based standard in the design and construction industry today." Passive House focuses on limiting the energy needed to heat or cool buildings through high levels of insulation around the building envelope, overall airtightness and whole-house mechanical ventilation. A Passive House's energy use is significantly lower than its conventional counterpart.
ERA aims to improve the quality and comfort for residents of GTHA's postwar towers by transforming the buildings and their surrounding areas into more sustainable, resilient and healthy places. This alignment is one of the reasons we were drawn to the Passive House standard and its applicability to our tower renewal portfolio.
Passive House is an ultra-low carbon standard which is focused on human comfort and air quality. It's a natural fit for tower renewal, which aims to improve housing quality and health outcomes in aging affordable housing
Built in 1967, the Ken Soble Tower is the oldest high-rise multi-residential building in CityHousing Hamilton's portfolio and has been in decline for several years. After considering several options, CityHousing opted to retrofit the building, making significant improvements at a fraction of the cost of a new build.
With its completion, the project will provide residents with improved comfort and control of their indoor environments, and with the ability to withstand extreme climate events into the future. At its peak, the total energy needed to heat or cool each unit will be the equivalent of the energy needed to run three incandescent light bulbs.
Though a Passive House requires a significant reduction in energy use, the principle is driven by human comfort. The airtightness and increase in insulation mean no drafts, no cold spots and no overheating, equaling an overall more comfortable home for residents.
The project kickstarts a broader Passive House development program for CityHousing Hamilton's portfolio at large, making it one of the first organizations in eastern Canada to adopt the Passive House target.
Applying standards such as EnerPHit – the Passive House certification for retrofits – to existing buildings can be paired with architectural conservation to maintain their historic integrity, merging a low-carbon future with the cultural significance of the past.
For example, Gemini House is a prototype low-energy retrofit project on the University of Toronto campus. The project is using Passive House approaches to low-energy rehabilitation with the added complexity of being executed within an 1880s Second Empire-style masonry home.
The project achieves a high-performance envelope and low intensity mechanical systems based on Passive House principles. The retrofit will thermally isolate the building into two zones: "core" and "periphery." The core space comprises rooms expected to be in daily use (kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom), and is therefore heated on a daily basis in cooler months. The periphery spaces (formal dining room, guest bedroom, basement) are kept at a minimal level of heat, but can be warmed on demand. By building this box within a box, energy use was reduced by over 90 per cent.
With a focus on the interior to achieve ultra-low energy transformation goals, the exterior of this listed heritage property was conserved and rehabilitated, with historic windows used to create a 'second skin' in front of the new triple glazed windows within.
At a time when climate change mitigation, healthy living environments and improved social resilience are increasingly urgent, ERA is committed to bringing these outcomes to existing building fabric across its conservation, adaptive re-use and tower renewal portfolios.
Posted by Editor@ERA on July 3, 2020
ERA talks retrofitting towers (virtually)
Over the past few weeks, Graeme Stewart and Ya'el Santopinto have had the opportunity to participate in webinars to share more about ERA's tower renewal projects. A large focus of these talks have been about our learnings surrounding the retrofitting of the Ken Soble Tower in Hamilton, which is slated to be one of the largest EnerPHit-certified projects in North America.
We wanted to share these talks with you. For more take a look at the links below.
Passive House Accelerator: Happy Hour
Heroic Concrete: Retrofitting Brutalism
Posted by Editor@ERA on June 30, 2020
Celebrating ERA's 30th anniversary
On May 1st, ERA is marking 30 years of heritage conservation, community building, and catalyzing change both in urban and rural settings. While we may not be able to celebrate together physically this year, we thought we'd take a virtual walk down memory lane to mark some of the themes behind our projects that have made ERA who we are today.
Urban transformation through adaptive re-use
One of the first widescale projects we took on as ERA was the Distillery District. As the Architect-of-Record for the overall Distillery District project and Heritage Architect for a series of the tenant spaces, we've seen how adaptive reuse of historic buildings can spark urban transformation.
The potential for this type of renewal extends beyond Toronto. The Booth Street Masterplan in Ottawa looks to apply the lessons learned through the Distillery District project, scaling these approaches for the local context to celebrate Ottawa's heritage and provide new opportunities for growth.
Nathan Cyprys
Supporting transitioning and rural economies
Many smaller communities across Ontario and the country are struggling with the transition away from resource-based economies. While our Small initiative helps support these towns through engagement and community building, other architecture projects like Cambium Farms and Goodlot Brewery in Caledon and the Drake Devonshire in Wellington have helped cultivate new local economies fuelled by small businesses.
Senate of Canada
A national approach to heritage
In recent years, ERA has looked beyond Toronto, and even beyond Ontario, to bring a national approach to our work. Our offices in Ottawa and Montreal, where we have a partnership with Kubanek Architecte, have been growing, and we've taken on new and exciting work in Alberta. These projects range from largescale architecture work at the University of Alberta, to more community-based placemaking and adaptive re-use projects in Banff.
ERA hosted an opening session on affordability and resilience in our tower blocks at the office.
Resource sharing and collaboration
At its centre, heritage conservation is a collaborative process. We learn best practices, new techniques and innovative ideas from our heritage colleagues across the globe. This collaboration extends beyond the heritage field and into how we approach all our projects. We work closely in collaboration with our teams to better understand the challenges and needs of our projects in order to reach our full potential.
LGA-AP
Resiliency in the 21st century
Building more resilient communities requires a collaborative effort, from low energy retrofit of existing buildings, to off-the-grid new homes. Evergreen Brick Works in the heart of the Don Valley floodplain is a shining example of the success of this work. The challenges of updating the buildings on site for 21st century use while incorporating innovative flood management and response solutions could only be accomplished by working across industries.
Our Tower Renewal work has resulted in the retrofit of thousands of units of housing as healthy, resilient and low energy homes. This includes the Ken Soble Tower, North America's first Passive House tower retrofit, now under construction.
Resiliency doesn't just mean preparing for a changing climate, but also building infrastructure that allows for support networks to flourish. Upgrading the existing spaces for accessibility in all our projects is core to our practice. Many of our Tower Renewal projects include building accessible community spaces like sport courts and mixed-use rooms to encourage connection between residents, many of whom are elderly and at an increased risk of social isolation.
While these themes may encapsulate some of our work from the past 30 years, they also provide a look into what the next 30 years may have in store. We look forward to building upon these approaches and continuing to celebrate our cultural heritage and values with you — our collaborators, clients and community.
Posted by Editor@ERA on May 1, 2020
To our clients and colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dear Clients and Colleagues,
Arising from the continued spread of COVID-19, the World Health Organization's 'global pandemic' declaration, the State of Emergency called for the Province of Ontario and health emergency declaration by the Province of Québec, ERA Architects Inc has been working to adapt our work practices in order to help 'flatten the curve' of the potential spread of the virus. These practices will ensure the quality of our work remains high and we are able to continue serving the needs of you, our clients and colleagues.
To achieve this, ERA will be moving primarily into a virtual office mode, with meetings conducted by conference call or video software. As always, our team of architects, planners and specialists are on call and fully mobilized. Required in person meetings, such as architectural site visits, will be conducted following best practices in health, and in partnership with clients and constructors to ensure the health and safety of all parties.
Be assured that ERA's commitment to you is to keep the caliber of work high; to understand and respond to changes beyond our control as quickly as possible; and work with our clients and colleagues to address these issues on a project-by-project basis. Our shared deadlines and goals are important to us, and we are making the changes needed to both adhere to the advice of Health Canada, the Ontario Health Agency and Toronto Public Health, and keep our workflow moving.
If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us.
ERA Architects Inc.
Posted by Editor@ERA on March 18, 2020
Ideas & Issues
Technique & Material
Landscape and Urban Design
ERA Initiatives
Tower Renewal
Culture of Outports
Toronto the Good
Friends of Allan Gardens
Publications, Exhibits, Etc.
Centre for Urban Growth & Renewal


A fun, educational guide and activity book, Adventures in Greater Puget Sound, explores the magic of the marine life in the region. Learn fascinating and concise information about wrinkled whelks, whales, eagles and more. Both children and adults will want to try their hand at the variety of activities ranging from hidden pictures, crossword puzzles and decoding the captain's secret message. Adventures in Greater Puget Sound has become a classic in homes and classrooms everywhere.


A wound infection or an infection at the site of surgery. Increased pain may be the first symptom you feel. The amount of pain is usually a significant increase and not the typical post op pain. You can also look for foul smelling drainage, increased swelling, or redness. A mild elevation in temperature does not mean that you have an infection. However we ask that you look at the wound if you're concerned about an infection, please don't hesitate to contact us immediately for appropriate treatment.
What is cortisone and when does the cortisone kick in?


In a medium saucepan put sugar, water and cardamom.
Mix it in medium heat until it starts boiling.
As soon as you notice it boiling, put it on simmer (medium low) and let it stand there.
Meanwhile, turn another burner on and place a pan with a thicker bottom to heat the frying oil.
Note that gas and electric burners will function differently.
If you are using a gas stove, keep it on very low while heating the oil and frying the jamuns.
If you are using an electric stove, put it on 4 and let it the oil heat up until the jamuns are ready to be fried.
In a medium bowl mix all the dry ingredients of Gulab Jamun.
Add butter and carefully mix it with dry ingredients.
When everything is mixed well, add milk and work the dough until smooth.
Note that dough should be very, very soft and it should stick to your fingers.
Milk powder will absorb a lot of moisture.
So, you do not want your dough to be dry and crack later.
From what I have noticed, having relatively moist dough is much more easier to cook than harder counterparts.
Add a little more milk if you need to further shape the dough.
When you are done, let the dough rest for a couple of minutes.
This will make the dough soft and a little sticky to the touch.
Once the dough is well rested, kneed it well and break it down to equal amounts.
From each of them make a small ball without any cracks whatsoever.
They have to be smooth and soft (mine would still stick to my fingers)- otherwise they will break while getting deep fried.
Also making the balls this small is essential.
While frying they will plump up. After you add jamuns to the syrup, they tend to absorb a lot of it, too.
Another advantage of making smaller balls is to ensure even cooking inside out.
Drop one ball to test the oil.
If the oil is ready, the first jamun will rise to the surface in about 15 seconds.
PLEASE do not try to move the jamun from its place.
After they rise from the bottom, then you can slightly navigate it with your spatula in order to cook them evenly.
Try to fry 7-8 jamuns in one batch.
This will aid even cooking and enough space for plumping gulab jamuns.
It will take about 6 minutes for the each batch to get fully cooked. Be very patient and do not rush.
While taking out the jamuns, make sure that their surface is hard (looking at my picture you can tell that they are dark brown).
Put them on a paper towel to get rid of the excess oil. Once that is done, emerge gulab jamuns into the syrup.
As I have said above, you can either keep Gulab Jamun overnight in the refrigerator or you can serve it in 10-15 minutes.


text:
India will go from auto-rickshaws to air-rickshaws - Jayant Sinha
AIMA-KPMG report on Industry 4.0 released
14 March 2018, New Delhi:
(L-R) Rekha Sethi, Director General, AIMA; TV Mohandas Pai, President, AIMA and Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services Pvt Ltd; Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India; Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Government of India; Sanjiv Goenka, Conclave Chairman and Chairman, RP – Sanjiv Goenka Group and Harshavardhan Neotia, Senior Vice President, AIMA and Chairman, Ambuja Neotia Group
India can be the world leader in drone technology and application, says Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation. Addressing the 4th National Leadership Conclave organized by All India Management Association, he said that the technologies use in drones are similar to those used in electric vehicles and, therefore, as India progresses in electric vehicles, the country will progress in drones also. "Passenger drones can operate at the price points of auto-rickshaws and India can move from auto-rickshaws to air rickshaws," he said.
Sinha also spelt out job creation potential of the aviation sector. He said that currently about 2 lakh people were directly employed in the civil aviation sector and about six times that number were employed in the linked businesses and those numbers will grow six times as the airports, planes and passenger trips multiply over the next 15 years. The government is setting up an aviation university and opening many new flying schools to build the skill sets, he said.
Giving details of the expansion of the civil aviation sector, the minister informed that the Delhi international airport will a capacity of about 120 million passenger trips a year once its expansion is complete. He also said that work was starting on the Jewar airport in the NCR and that airport will also handle more than 100 million passenger trips.
The aviation sector has achieved parity with railways in terms of both the volume of passenger trips and revenues, Sinha said. The total number of passenger trips on planes had reached 130 million last year, same as Indian Railways, and the total revenue of the national and the international airlines operating in India had reached about Rs 2 lakh crore, same as the railways. He said that with a growth rate of 15%-17% a year, the aviation sector will grow to 8-10 lakh crore in 15 years and it offered great business opportunities in the areas of airlines, airports, logistics, multi-modal connectivity etc.
Speaking at the same event, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu said that India was set for a paradigm shift in growth following the fourth industrial revolution based on digitization, robotics and artificial intelligence. "With new ideas, technologies and startups coming in, India's historic growth rate of 6-%-8% will not be a guide to the future growth rates," he said.
Prabhu and Sinha jointly released the AIMA – KPMG Report – Industry 4.0 – India Inc Gearing up for Change. The report claims that with supportive policies, the share of the industry in the GDP could rise from the present 17% to 25% by 2025.
The industry minister said that the government was almost ready with the new industrial policy and that has addressed the issues thrown up by new technologies. He said that India was already the sixth-largest manufacturing country in the world and there was a need to mix the old with the new. "We must modernize the existing industry so that we do not lose what we have in the pursuit of the new, which is still a few years away," he said.
Prabhu said that the government had a clear vision that India should be a $5 trillion economy in five years and 20% of the that should be industrial GDP. "Going from $5 trillion to $10 trillion will take a lot less time because we would already have a larger base of industry and entrepreneur," he said.
AIMA presented the RK Swamy High Performance Brand Award for 2017 to Royal Enfield. The award is given to brands that not only enjoy high recall but also contribute substantially to the company's topline and bottomline.
The National Leadership Conclave is chaired by Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. Mohandas Pai, President, All India Management Association and Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services also addressed the session with the ministers.
The conclave included sessions with the Principal Economic Advisor to the Government of India, Sanjiv Sanyal; TechMahindra CEO and Managing Director, CP Gurnani and Brahamakumari Sister Shivani. The theme of the two-day conclave is 'India Reimagined: Innovative, Inclusive, Invincible'.
About AIMA
The All India Management Association (AIMA) is the national apex body of the management profession in India. Over the last five decades, AIMA has contributed immensely to the enhancement of management capability in the country.
AIMA has a broad base of 64 Local Management Associations including two cooperating LMAs abroad, with a membership crossing 30,000 in number. AIMA is a non-lobbying organisation, working closely with Industry, Government, Academia and students to further the cause of the management profession in India. AIMA is represented on the Boards of India's premier Business Institutions like Indian Institute of Management – IIMs. AIMA is also represented on Boards of Government bodies including the All India Council for Technical Education, National Board of Accreditation, National Productivity Council to name a few.
AIMA makes a salutary contribution to management learning and practice in the country by offering various services in the areas of testing, distance education, skill development & training, research, publications and management development programmes.
AIMA brings to the Indian managers, the best management practices and techniques through numerous foreign collaborations with professional bodies and institutions. AIMA is a member of the Asian Association of Management Organisations (AAMO) and works closely with several international institutions like University of California - Berkeley, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management - Cornell University, The World Bank, St Gallen Foundation etc. in organising international conferences and management development programmes. To know more please log on to www.aima.in
Ranjana Bhardwaj


Very efficient crew, nice facility, TV Waiting room, I saved a few bucks by buying smog test online ($37 vs $50) and then only had to pay $8.25 for cert. when it passed. Great experience, recommended to all, best deal anywhere.
great service - will return and recommend to everyone!
Fantastic customer service, very friendly and a clean waiting area. It takes 15 minutes if your time. They are ready to answer any of your questions. My car did not pass initially and I was told before I take any drastic measures I should put some mileage on it and return in a day or two. I did and it passed, no problem. I paid in advance online as there was a discount available. My return test cost 1/2 price, 1/2 of the discount I already received. Thanks Kyle.
Thank you for putting air into my tire. Great job.
Ok I have to review this place because it is awesome. I mean I was getting a smog check, not like I'm expecting much. Had the yelp coupon so went here. Kyle helped me and he was so great. Funny, helpful, fast. Couldn't ask for any better. Never getting a smog check anywhere else.
Awesome service. Fast friendly service.
Excellent service! Woman who did my smog test was friendly and very helpful in giving me tips to have the best chance of my 1996 Acura passing the test.
Great place and friendly service. I've been here three different times for three different cars and their policy stand true. I had two cars that initially did not pass and they gave me information on what was wrong, where I should go and who I should contact to help solve my issue. Didn't have to pay a penny for the failed tests. Will be returning for all my future smogs.
Great Owner! Really great customer service, fast service. Thanks!


text:
Why You Secretly Love Fear
Fear is your brain reacting to the expectation or anticipation of possible harm. That doesn't sound like much fun. So, why do so many of us seek out heart-pounding, can't-catch-your-breath, pee-in-your-pants scares? Well, there are a lot of reasons. Let's start by understanding how the brain actually processes fear, and how the body responds.
Our brains are wired to be on the lookout for threats in the environment. It's so important, multiple pathways carry this information straight from your senses to your brain. A signal first hits your thalamus and then zooms to your amygdala, which puts you on high alert.
The fear signal then zips to an ancient part of your brain called the periaqueductal gray, responsible for the fight-or-flight response, and speeds on to the hypothalamus, which controls the classic bodily fear responses: thumping heart, skyrocketing blood pressure, and rapid breathing. Then your adrenal glands start pumping out adrenaline. Glucose and cortisol are released into your system, keeping you ready for action.
The chemicals released during a fight-or-flight moment can work like glue to build strong memories, sometimes called flashbulb memories, which is why very vivid, scary memories seem to be burned into your brain.
Cool! But how does this actually make us feel?
Fear makes us feel aroused.
Fear immediately activates your body's arousal system, as described above, which triggers a cascade of feel-good neurotransmitters and hormones, like endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline that give you an incredible rush. Seconds later, you recognize that you're safe, and your mind interprets the arousal as positive, leaving you with a surge that feels pretty great. It's a safe way to experience exhilarating feelings.
Not everyone enjoys being afraid, however, and most of us don't want to experience a truly life-threatening situation. But there are plenty of us who really enjoy a good scare. Research suggests that this may be because of key differences in how the brains of thrill-seekers and thrill-avoiders handle dopamine, the brain chemical of pleasure and reward.
Some people seek thrills because their brains have a limited ability to process dopamine, causing them to seek it out in higher doses.
There may be genetic differences in our reaction to fear as well. People with two copies of the COMT gene (linked to anxiety) are more easily disturbed by frightening images.
Fear makes us feel confident.
People earn bragging rights by jumping out of airplanes, climbing mountains, and riding roller coasters with names like "The Intimidator." There are even companies that let you plan and pay for your own kidnapping. (No, thank you!)
Besides the chemical high accompanying thrills, forging through a scary experience makes us feel resourceful, successful, and confident and boosts our self-esteem. There's great satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment in being able to say that you conquered something threatening — even if it's nothing more than the relief of having made it through.
Fear also provides relief from your real-life anxieties. If you're focusing on the zombie lurking around the corner, you can't stress over that deadline at work. Fear forces you into the present moment, and everything else falls away.
Fear makes us laugh.
To really enjoy a scary situation, your brain has to know that you are ultimately safe.
It's all about triggering your fight-or-flight response and getting the chemical rush, but in a completely safe space. Haunted houses have gotten really good at this. Many deliver a startle scare by triggering one of your senses with different sounds, air blasts, and even smells that sets off your fear response, but your brain soon realizes these aren't real threats, and you immediately start laughing and smiling.
Debbie Hampton recovered from decades of unhealthy thinking and depression, a suicide attempt, and resulting brain injury to become an educational and inspirational writer.


Pediatric Dentistry is a specialized field of dentistry that requires an additional 2-3 yeas on specialized training and focuses on the oral health of children, adolescents, and those with special healthcare needs. This includes training to allow them to manage children's fears and apprehensions in a positive manner as well as treatment under mild conscious sedation and general anesthesia for certain circumstances.
We belive in total preventative care to keep your child's smile beautiful and healthy. This begins with regular hygiene visits and good oral health habits at home and visiting a pediatric dentist by your child's 1st birthday. We will work with you to ensure you have all the tools and knowledge to support your child's oral hygiene at home.
What to expect and how to prepare your child for it.
Babies need oral health too! Clean your infant's gums after each feeding with a water- soaked infant cloth. This stimulates the gum tissue and removes food.
Brush your child's teeth as soon as they come in. Use a toothbrush and a small amount of fluoridated toothpaste twice a day.
When your child turns 3, teach them about proper brushing techniques with a small, super soft-bristled toothbrush and a small amount of fluoridated toothpaste. This is a topic our doctors will go over with you at appointments.
When your child turns 7 or 8, teach them how to gently brush and floss their own teeth but still continue to supervise them in the evening until they are 9 to 10 years of age.
Regular visits to your PDG pediatric dentist to check for cavities, address any issues with tooth development, and ensure at-home dental hygiene is being done correctly.
Is your child due or their check-up? Book an appointment today!


These days, global organisations are stricter than ever when it comes to compliance and ethics. That is why our company has started a program called Conduta Legal. This program creates a culture of ethics, compliance and safety through awareness, education and the recognition of behaviours aligned with these pillars. This way, we can ensure business sustainability and a sense of employee responsibility across our organisation.
We began the first phase of the program at the end of 2017 as we listened to two different groups (our Operational and Leadership Teams) to discover what ethics means to Supergasbras. Both audiences openly discussed the practical aspects of ethics to increase our understanding of how ethical behaviour can play a larger role in our organisational culture.
For the official release of the program, we invited all employees to participate in a set of video presentations we called 'Popcorn Sessions'. These sessions introduced employees to the program and described its concept. The first video – about safety awareness – was created by our employee's children. The second was a message from our CEO to employees about engaging protagonism. The last was a dynamic decision-making video showing eight different wrong decisions made by employees – and their consequences.
We also developed a competition called Torneio Legal, consisting of 10 hours of training on our e-learning platform. The competition stimulated teams from our Filling Plants, Depots and Head Office to study and put knowledge into practice. Over three weeks, we distributed information about Ethics, Safety and Compliance along three development tracks and at the end we listed the winning teams. We raffled off tablets and backpacks for the top 3 BU's, while the first-place team members were awarded interactive games that reinforced the program's contents.
Since the program's launch in February, our challenge now is to maintain and reinforce the Conduta Legal mindset in our employees. Some of our activities in this area include sending knowledge pills and reviewing our Ethical Conduct Code to strengthen behaviours expected by the organisation.
Conduta Legal is a great way to protect our company and our employees. Each of us has the responsibility to respect internal and external rules – and each of us must be a protagonist of Conduta Legal!