The subject of broadband speeds has been in the news for a while, especially after it emerged that a number of internet providers were restricting the bandwidth of their most dedicated users to share the finite resource more evenly. This would be fine except that most of these internet providers were shaping the bandwidth of customers who had purchased unlimited contracts – supposedly guaranteeing them free rein to use the web as they saw fit. 

ISPs offering unlimited subscriptions had made the mistake of believing, and projecting, that consumers would simply continue using the internet for limited browsing and email. Obviously times - and browsing habits - moved on and consumers are now using the internet for content downloads and streaming and the many other applications that require far higher bandwidth than was initially anticipated.

To prevent their broadband services from crashing to the ground, providers tried to disincentivise users from downloading anything by crippling their broadband speed for a couple of days immediately after heavy internet usage.

Machiavellian activity like this from internet providers got people reviewing the small print of their internet subscriptions and most were seriously disheartened. It quickly became obvious that few people were receiving the broadband speeds advertised by ISPs due mainly to an aging and failing broadband network. There simply isn’t enough capacity for every user.

The limited bandwidth available is due to the copper wired telephony infrastructure that is used across most of the UK, which loses signal quickly and can only carry a limited amount of information at any one time.

To provide the level of capacity required to ensure consumers can receive their broadband at the listed speeds and removing the necessity for ‘shaping’, the whole aging infrastructure needs to be upgraded and replaced with fibre-optic cabling. This is prohibitively costly however and any discussion around which parties will actually pay for its delivery tends to regress into a bunfight.

BT commendably  put its head above the parapet back in July, regarding plans to invest £1.5 billion in upgrading its network to super-high next generation standards but has now opted for a different solution.

Rather than tackling the problem head on, the company would rather eke the last possible reserves from its network by offering hardware filters to BT customers – and potentially charging them for it.

These space age devices will filter out the distortion created by peripheral household electrical devices, which can a have an adverse effect on the quality of the broadband signal but any gains made will pale in comparison to the unrealised benefits available through an overhaul of the network infrastructure.

Without this desperately necessary overhaul, all online development within the UK will slowly grind to a halt. If the UK wants to continue to act as a hub for technological innovation and development, it’s  imperative that this infrastructure is brought up to standard…and soon.        

Your diet is the key to "seeing" your abs

Ab definition, a six-pack, whatever you want to call it comes from removing fat off of your mid-section. Taking an excerpt from Mark Sisson's Daily Apple:

"As we often say here “80% of your results come from how you eat.” Conversely, eating more carbs drives up insulin, drives carbs towards fat storage, decreases fat-burning by prompting fat cells to hold on to stored fat and makes you hungrier for more carbs. I could burn some or most of all that off again by doing tons of cardio, but that only makes me hungrier for more carbs and perpetuates the cycle. It’s like digging a hole to put the ladder ................................................into wash the basement windows."

The evidence is right here. The man has an 8-pack at 54 and is absolutely jacked!! There is obviously a trend in most of my posts revolving around how certain carbs with a high glycemic index escalate insulin levels, telling the body to store more fat. So, common sense tells us that if we minimize our carb intake to foods with a lower glycemic index (such as fruits and vegetables), we will store less fat!

In a post on Military.com, they recommend:

The most important factor in acquiring washboard abs is eating a healthy diet. Here is a list of recommended healthy ways to help you lose a few inches:

- Drink at least three liters of water per day (100 oz)
- Eat five servings of vegetables and fruits per day
- LIMIT fried foods and cheese
- LIMIT processed sugar (for example: sodas, cookies, candy)
- Eliminate fatty red meat - only lean red meats (1-2 times weekly)"

In my opinion, go ahead and change "LIMIT" to "ELIMINATE" on bullet points 3 and 4. Eating fried foods = no six-pack. Processed sugar... you might as well forget about it. But the point of drinking a lot of water, proper daily servings of fruits and vegetables (especially for the proper amount of fiber to keep your digestive system running properly) and lean red meats only... all great points.

So how do scientific studies explain the correlation between high GI carb diets and excess abdominal fat? In an article on Look Cut:

A recent study by Reina Sofa University Hospital in Spain examined the effects of 3 different diets on fat distribution and insulin resistance. The study compared a diet high in carbs with a diet high in monounsaturated fats (avocado’s, nuts, flax) and a diet high in saturated fats.

The diet high in carbs showed a strong propensity to redistribute fat towards the abdominal region. Conversely, the diet high in monounsaturated fats showed just the opposite; a tendency to prevent abdominal fat deposition."

You can workout your abs just as effectively at your desk as in the gym!

That's right, I said it! Where's the proof? You guessed it, the picture above of Mark Sisson is the proof. Mark doesn't work out his abs in the conventional sense. Rather, he sculpts his mid-section by doing the following:

I don’t specifically do an ab routine or ab classes as any part of my workouts. On the other hand, I pretty much work my abs all day long without specifically focusing on them...

Sure, you can if you want, but I think the best way to work your abs is involve them in almost every other movement you do. Every time you do it. When you do pushups, you should tighten your abs hard, likewise when you do pull-ups, squats, lunges, curls - you name it. And working your abs doesn’t stop in the gym. When you sit at your desk, you should take that opportunity to tighten your abs (and by abs, we mean the whole complex: rectis and transverse abdominus, internal and external obliques, and pyrimidalis)."

I always say that I don't expect anyone to try one of my suggestions until I've tried it first. Well, I read and incorporated Mark's outlook on abs in this post a few weeks ago and I've already felt the improvement. What do I mean by felt the improvement? Well, one of the best ways to know that you've worked out a muscle group is the feeling of soreness. When a muscle feels sore, that's called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. An article by Ezine describes this phenomenon:

24 hours to 48 hours after a hard workout, most people begin to experience soreness in the body parts trained. This is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS.

DOMS is caused by tiny microscopic tears that occur in the muscle as a result of high intensity exercise (such as weight training, intense cycling, etc). After the workout, the muscle begins to rebuild itself (provided it is allowed enough time and nutrients to recover). This is the rebuilding process which creates new muscle that is bigger and stronger than before. In other words, your muscles are growing. Your muscles grow when you are at rest - not when you're at the gym."

A ha! But you might be thinking that my last claim can't be true because incorporating Mark's ab "workout" was not the only variable in my recent routine, right? Yep, the other variable has been The Paleo Diet that I've been trying out. So which one has contributed the most to my increase in ab definition? My eating habits, by far. However, contracting your abdominal muscles through simply tightening them or by doing specific ab exercises (doing actual ab workouts does help some people because it's a focused attack on the abs rather than a consistent working of the abs) will tone your abs so that when you get rid of the stomach fat on top, you're six-pack will be ready!!

Try to avoid ab workouts with heavy weights

This is really the only muscle section of your body where using heavy weights to work out is detrimental towards attaining a desirable looking mid-section. In a previous post, I touched on the benefits of the plank exercise. Rusty Moore's ab routine consists of, "doing planks for 5 minutes after my cardio workout. I'll do 2 minutes of the normal plank…and then 1-2 minutes of the plank on my right side and 1-2 minutes on the left."

When it comes to oblique exercise, it's even more important to stay away from the heavy weights. In an article by Natural Bodybuilding, the author states:

That area of the body [obliques] will only be thickened up by training it directly with weights, which will in turn lead to a thicker waistline. You need to asses what is oblique muscle and what is fat in the area first. Do you have naturally thick and muscular obliques which are causing the problem or are you just carrying some extra fat in that area? 99.99% of the time, it's just extra fat."

Basically, the more your use heavy weights while working out your obliques, the more likely your going to build out the muscles on your waistline. So stick to isometric holds, side crunches or simply ab muscle tightening throughout the day.

Consistency and patience... it really is necessary

Here's the part that most people get scared of... but there's really NO reason to be. Getting a six pack really takes time, especially for guys. In a great post by Natural News, the author says:

If you are a male, abdominal fat is probably the last fat that will disappear from your body. First your body will remove fat from your face and extremities, such as your arms and legs, then it will remove fat from your upper torso, your chest, upper thighs and buttocks, and lastly it will use the fat stored in your abdomen."

The best way to accomplish your goals it to be aware of what it takes to get there. And in this case, it's gonna take hard work and dedication. But that's the best part of it in my mind because this way you will know that you earned it. It's the perfect "icing on the cake" scenario... the part that matters the most is the proverbial finish line!! It's a journey. The closer you get to your goal, the more your confidence will be boosted and it will result in added energy, happiness, and a brighter outlook on life. You will even see your productivity go through the roof because you believe in yourself!! Take it from me, I witnessed it first hand!

photos provided by flickr user Plutor and Eric Hamilton and linda! and La Fondinto

This is key, because so many of us are trying to earn something that we already have.  God takes pleasure in us because of WHO we are even when what we DO is disobedient, sinful and evil.  When we try to earn His love, our heart is in the wrong place.  We are starting with the wrong motive.
Take a look at this model. When our heart starts from the wrong motive (i.e., trying to EARN God’s love), there is never a good outcome. If we succeed in our good works, we tend to get prideful and self-righteous. If we fail to accomplish our good works, we are filled with guilt and self-condemnation. (This is the “bad guilt” that keeps condemning us even after we have repented of our sins, and it is often the motivation for our works when we are doing them for the wrong reasons.)

However, if we start from the right motive in our hearts (i.e., trying to RETURN God’s love), both our successes and our failures are pleasing in God’s sight. If we succeed, we are grateful to God for allowing us to do the good works. We rightly understand that we could not have accomplished them without God’s provision and grace, and we commit to serving the Lord in even greater ways.

If we fail in our best intentions, though, it leads us to humility and repentance. These are pleasing to God, and He uses them as a tool to shape us more in His likeness. No Christian should expect to succeed in his good intentions all the time. Failure is an important part of the shaping process. There is an aspect of guilt here, but it is “good guilt” – the kind that leads us to recognize our sin and repent of it. “Good guilt” never continues after repentance.

When our good works are motivated by love, the outcome will always be that we draw closer to God. When they are motivated by guilt and a desire to earn His favor, they will always draw us away from Him – even when we think we must be getting closer. (Consider how far from God the Pharisees were despite their meticulous tithing and obedience to the letter of the Law.)

There is nothing left to earn. Christ paid that debt fully on the cross. We have His holiness and His righteousness. It’s 100% done! All we can do with our own efforts is show our appreciation.

Now, thanks to Amber Koter-Puline and The Georgia Postpartum Support Network, here is a list of resources for moms!

Fitness professionals trained in prenatal and postpartum exercise

• Dancing Thru Pregnancy
www.dancingthrupregnancy.com

• Fit For 2
www.fitfor2.com

• Motherwell Maternity Fitness
www.motherwellfitness.com

• American Council on Exercise (ACE)
www.acefitness.org

• IDEA Health and Fitness Association
www.ideafit.com

• Aerobic and Fitness Association of America (AFAA)
www.afaa.com

Equipment and Clothing

• Jogger Mom
Enter the word "strider" in the checkout box and receive a 5% discount
with free shipping on top of the line strollers until the end of
December. www.joggermom.com

• Mom and Baby Sport
Offers great tips on staying fit and healthy and offers great fitness
clothing. www.momandbabysport.com

Nationwide Programs

• Mothers Across America

Mothers Across America is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that empowers mothers to achieve personal goals through goal-based running programs.  MAAM's founder, Charlotte Gould, created MAAM in response to an unexpected episode of post-partum depression following the birth of her daughter. Deeply impacted by her sense of isolation and loss of self-esteem, she set to work to establish a productive fitness and social support system for mothers.  To find out more
about our classes or products visit us at www.mothersacrossamerica.com

• Baby Boot Camp

This innovative stroller-fitness program helps moms regain or enhance pre-pregnancy fitness levels and meet the physical challenges of parenting by emphasizing strength training in a supportive environment. Today, Baby Boot Camp classes are available across the U.S., Canada and Australia.

.Fitmom Fitness
A National Women's Health & Fitness Community based on Fun, Fitness &
Philanthropy. www.fitmomfitness.com

• Motherwell Maternity Fitness
Prenatal and mom & baby exercise classes across the country.
www.motherwellfitness.com

• Moms In Motion
A National Women's Health & Fitness Community based on Fun, Fitness &
Philanthropy. www.momsinmotion.com

• See Mommy Run
SeeMOMMYrun.com is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving
the health and well-being of mothers and children by providing easy
access to family-friendly fitness groups. It is our mission to help
moms in every community, no matter their social status, cultural
background, or income level build lifelong social networks, maintain
active lifestyles and be positive role models for their families and
friends. www.seemommyrun.com

• Expect 2 Get Fit
Personal Trainer Directory-Home Personal Trainer Directory. Helping
Busy Men and Women get fit in the privacy of their homes. No workout
equipment needed. www.expect2getfit.com

California

• Yo Mamma Yoga
Yo Mamma Yoga: Pre & postnatal yoga in Santa Monica, CA.
http://yomamayoga.com

• LA Private Trainers
LA Private Trainers: Exercise for Weight Loss with a Certified
Personal Trainer. www.laprivatetrainers.com

• Fit Mama
The mission of FitMomma Mom and Baby Outdoor Fitness is to allow the
busy mother to maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle while including
her child. Alameda, Oakland, and San Francisco, CA. www.fit-mama.com

. Mindful Mama

Whole Birth Prenatal Yoga is a wonderful way to exercise, connect with yourself and your baby, and prepare for the journey of birth and motherhood. Our classes are taught in the style of Whole Birth™Yoga, developed by Robin Sale based in part on the mindfulness technique of Jon Kabat-Zinn. http://www.mindfulmama.net/

San Francisco Area

• Baby Boot Camp
Baby Boot Camp offers indoor and outdoor strength training classes in
many locations in the Bay Area and around the country.
www.babybootcamp.com

• Stroller Strides
Stroller Strides offers mom and baby fitness programs in the Bay Area
and across the country. www.strollerstrides.com

• Strollerfit
Strollerfit provides mom and baby fitness programs in the Bay Area and
across the country. www.strollerfit.com

• Moxie Moms
Moxie Moms' motto is friends, fun, fitness. Programs in the Bay Area
and across the country. www.moxie-moms.com

New York City

• Amazingly Fit
New York City Prenatal and Postpartum Certified Personal Trainers
specializing in pre and post natal workouts, weight loss, body toning,
shaping, strength and flexibility workouts, and postural correction.
www.amazinglyfit.com

Pennsylvania

• One Fit Mama
Love Your Baby, Love Your Body! One Fit Mama™ is a Health and Fitness
Company centered around mothers and their babies. We offer prenatal
and postpartum Stroller Fitness, Yoga Mamas classes, Infant/Child CPR
Training, and FREE social and educational events for new and
experienced Mamas. www.onefitmama.com

Colorado

• Preggi Power
Preggi Power: Pre & Postnatal exercise classes. Mom & baby classes as
well. Denver, CO. www.preggipower.com

• Get FIT Mommy
Get FIT Mommy: fitness, wellness & support for moms with their
children. Broomfield, Colorado. www.getfitmommy.com

Austin, TX

• Total Mommy Fitness
Total Mommy Fitness: Personal Training for families in Austin, TX.
Online personal training, nutritional & fitness tips.
www.totalmommyfitness.com

Massachusetts

• Bounceback Fitness
Offers a refreshing workout alternative dedicated to making your
post-pregnancy
body healthy, fit and strong. Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
www.bouncebackfitness.com

Chicago

• Me and Baby Fitness
Me and Baby Fitness classes in the Chicago area. www.meandbabyfitness.com

New Jersey

• Movin' Moms
Movin' Moms is the ideal way for moms to get fit, reclaim their
figures, increase their energy, meet other women with similar
experiences, and spend quality time with their children. Glen Rock,
New Jersey. www.moveinmoms.com

Canada

• FitMom
FITMOM™ provides prenatal, postnatal and beyond beginner to athlete,
fitness classes (Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Alberta, Canada) designed
to meet the needs of pregnant, postpartum, and veteran moms.
www.thefitmomcompany.com

.Baby Boot Camp

This innovative stroller-fitness program helps moms regain or enhance pre-pregnancy fitness levels and meet the physical challenges of parenting by emphasizing strength training in a supportive environment. Today, Baby Boot Camp classes are available across the U.S., Canada and Australia.

• Mothers Across America

Mothers Across America is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that empowers mothers to achieve personal goals through goal-based running programs.  MAAM's founder, Charlotte Gould, created MAAM in response to an unexpected episode of post-partum depression following the birth of her daughter. Deeply impacted by her sense of isolation and loss of self-esteem, she set to work to establish a productive fitness and social support system for mothers.  To find out more
about our classes or products visit us at www.mothersacrossamerica.com

 • Runners and Booties Fitness
Runners and Booties Fitness offers specially designed fitness classes
for mom and baby in Western Canada and expanding to other provinces.
No need to worry about childcare as our classes provide plenty of
interaction for baby and a great workout for mom. Classes are designed
to encourage a healthy lifestyle before and after pregnancy by
providing handouts, discussions and practical exercises that will
strengthen the mind, body and soul for the real workout of being a
mom. For more information visit our web site or call 604-461-7827.
www.runnersandbootiesfitness.com

Results are what you expect, and consequences are what you get.

School Girl's definition

Ladies Home Journal 1942

The back of the baby sweater is complete. The neckline shaping was much easier than I thought it would be. No major calculus or trig skills needed.

Once I had the width of the neck and the widths of each shoulder I multiplied those figures by my stitch gauge to get how the number of stitches for each. Then I visually divided the piece into the three sections.

Once I had the number of stitches needed for the neck, I figured out the number of rows and the decreases needed to reasonably shape the back neckline. All resources I checked agreed that the center part of the neck, which is bound off first, is one-third the total neck stitches. I found the mathematical center and the one-third number and from there it was all pretty easy to come up with the number of rows I'd need to have a decent neckline while keeping the length of the sweater to 11 inches / 27.5 cm.

I am casting on for the front of the sweater today. I am toying with including an initial within a diamond shape on the front as part of the design.

Before I go, here is a fairly good close up of the ruffle hem. I am happy with the way it looks.

I can't tell you how much I love this yarn and the colorway. Working with a yarn that I just love is wonderful. It is Cherry Tree Hill's Supersock DK Merino in Wisteria. The colorway was a limited run just available for the summer. I have some available in my Etsy Store and you can click HERE to get there.

A civilization's maturity and intelligence is judged, in part, by the diversity and sophistication of its tools. When it comes to woodworking, the human race is quite advanced. There are general tools that work well in many situations, and there are specialty tools made for one specific purpose. There are tools that require only manpower and a rudimentary knowledge, and others that utilize computer programs, a wide range of knowledge, and a powerful motor. We have even learned how to harness power for our tools and package it in a small battery component, giving us the freedom to take our tools wherever we need them.

It is truly amazing and wonderful to contemplate the vast number of tools and all that woodworkers are capable of doing and creating with the help of these tools. And for many people, working with tools is one of the thrills, or even obsessions, of woodworking.

Woodworking and related tools have become so popular that there are numerous companies that manufacture these tools and thousands of places to purchase them. Combine that with the vast numbers of different types of tools and it can get overwhelming, especially if you are new to woodworking. Our experts helped us focus on the basics to develop an overview of those tools needed to get a good start in woodworking.

In the most basic terms, a woodworker needs four kinds of tools. They need a place to work, tools for cutting and shaping, tools for assembly, and finishing equipment. This simple statement provides the basis for the following discussion of woodworking tools.

The tools listed and described here represent just the tip of the iceberg. In keeping with the philosophy that it is best to learn the basics first, and to not invest large sums of money until a person is certain that they have an ongoing interest in woodworking, the emphasis is on hand tools, with a few basic power tools thrown in. These tools should prepare you for a variety of beginner projects and give you a solid foundation of equipment and knowledge to build upon.

Tools For Shaping

As you may already know, wood does not always come flat and square, even when purchased precut. In addition, you may need to size and shape pieces of wood so that they fit correctly or look the way you want them to. There are many tools used to shape wood, from those that smooth them to those that take pieces away to create lines, holes, and other features.

Planes

As opposed to a saw, or even a knife, planes cut wood away in small, uniform increments, which helps to create a smooth surface. There are many different types of hand planes. More commonly used planes are referred to as bench planes and include the scrub plane, the smoothing plane, the jack plane and the trying plane. Some planes come with more than one blade or can be adjusted for different types of cuts. Others are used only for specific purposes.

You might use a plane if you wanted to round a corner or cut a groove (with the grain) or a dado (across the grain). Specialized planes will even cut rabbet or tongue and groove joins. In many cases, a plane can take the place of a router for those who don't have the power tool or prefer to do more traditional work.

Keep in mind that some planes can be nearly as expensive as a router to purchase, so if you plan to do a variety of specialty cuts, planes may not be the cheaper solution. A new planer can cost anywhere from $20 for a basic, amateur model to over $100 for larger specialty or combination types.

Selection Tips

Rather than going out and purchasing several different types of planes, it is best to wait until you need a particular one for a project, and then buy quality. Be sure the components fit together well and hold tight when used. Hold the plane in your hands in the position you would use when working to be sure it feels comfortable. Be sure you understand what the plane is for before purchasing it.

There are planes made of metal and of wood. Our experts had different opinions about which is best, but it was mainly based on personal preferences in material, rather than on performance. You might buy one of each to compare for yourself.

Care & Maintenance

Planes may need to be adjusted as you use them to ensure proper depth and angle. Each tool will have screws, nuts and levers to adjust different aspects. Periodically, you will need to take the plane apart, wipe it down and remove wood chips. Be careful that you understand how to put the tool back together correctly after cleaning.

The blade will eventually need sharpening. The angle and shape of the cutting edge are critical to accurate performance and vary depending on the plane. If you are uncertain, check any instructions that came with the plane or bring the tool to an expert.

Chisels & Gouges

Chisels and gouges are used to remove sections or pieces of wood to get a certain shape. They generally consist of a blade with a cutting edge attached to a wooden handle. The main difference between the two is the shape of the cutting edge. A chisel has a straight, beveled edge that makes straight marks while a gouge has a curve to it. There are numerous types and sizes of chisels and gouges, including those designed especially for woodcarving. That group is discussed in greater detail in the woodcarving section of this book.

A chisel can be pushed with your hands or struck with a mallet for more force. Gouges are used to remove wood and also to create certain shapes or features. They have curved cutting edges, ranging from a nearly flat C shape to a deep U. The shape and depth of the curve is called the sweep and is identified by a number known as the Sheffield list number. Tools with the same shape and depth of curve will have the same Sheffield number no matter how wide they are or how long the shaft. Numbers range from #1 to #12. The higher the sweep number, the more curved the blade will be. The measurement in millimeters or inches tells you the width of a tool.

Several common chisels and gouges include the firmer and the mortise. Each of these has a solid handle that will withstand blows from a mallet.

Selection Tips

Choosing a chisel or gouges is basically a matter of selecting the right tool for the job at hand. Some have special features such as reinforced blades or leather washers between the blade and handle to absorb shock. If you plan to work on projects where you will be chiseling out joint cuts or cutting curves and contours, you may want to invest in high-quality chisels and gouges. Otherwise, standard tools will do and can be purchased for $10-$15 each or as a set for around $50.

Care & Maintenance

The sharp cutting edge is the main concern on a chisel or gouge. It is relatively easy to learn to sharpen these tools with a whetstone or sharpening belt; however, we recommend having someone show you how to do this if you are uncertain, rather than try to learn by reading in a book. It is important that it be done correctly to avoid damaging the tool.

The metal on a chisel or gouge should be wiped clean and kept dry to avoid rust. Some woodworkers wax their metal blades with beeswax as an added protectant.

Other hand shaping tools include files and rasps and small power rotary tools, such as those sold by Dremel. These are smaller, handheld tools with a variety of adjustable heads, including bits for drilling and carving. They come in different sizes and sets starting under $25.

One of the power tools used most often in woodworking is a router. It comes with bits and jigs that are fabricated to make different cuts and shapes and can be used to round edges, cut channels and grooves, and carve decorative patterns. If you plan to move beyond basic beginner projects, chances are you will eventually need a router.

Tool Summary

This completes part 4 of the condensed overview of some of the tools that are commonly used in beginning woodworking projects. As you can see, this topic could and has provided the content for entire volumes of books and in order to fully understand the possibilities in woodworking and create quality projects, it is critical that you develop a more in-depth knowledge of the tools you plan to use.

It is also important to note again that each type of tool has its own care and maintenance needs that are often more specific than what has been touched on here. The details have been left out of this book to avoid overwhelming someone who is brand new to woodworking. However, their omission does not mean they aren't important.

"Failing to care for your tools is ridiculous from a financial standpoint," stated shop teacher, Kevin Warner. "Why spend $20 on a good quality handsaw or clamp and then allow it to go dull or rust? Not only will you loose money, your work will suffer because your tools won't perform as intended. And it will take you more time in the long run. Taking good care of your tools is one of the first steps in becoming a serious woodworker."

Copyright ฉ 2005 by Ferhat Gul. All rights reserved. You may redistribute this article in its unedited entirety, including this resource box, with all hyperlinked URLs kept intact.

Ferhat Gul is the publisher of the brand-new "Woodworking Beginner's Guide - Tips From Experienced Woodworkers to Help You Get Started", made just for people who love woodworking. This comprehensive, yet compact woodworking introduction for beginners is easy to read and helps to save time, money and effort.

Issue: October 1976

EDITOR: Beatrix Miller COVER BY: James Mortimer

I’m lucky enough to own a copy of this particular edition of Vogue. For the DIAMOND JUBILEE COVER, the title ‘Vogue’ was especially engraved by Waterford Glass. Each stage - blowing, shaping and engraving on a rotating copper wheel, was worked by hand by Waterford's chief designer, Mr Havel, and their top craftsmen. I’ve shown a photograph of the cover right here.

Vogue was first published in New York in 1892 subsequently followed by British Vogue which became the first European edition in 1916.

This particular issue goes through six decades of fashion, from the “World War 1, emancipated fashion: a shorter, wider, less restricting skirt worn with boots and gaiters, replaced the pre-war hobble, and women in war work wore trousers. As an antidote, off-duty "glad rags" developed an exotic Eastern feeling helped by hats and hairstyles," to 1929 when "knees disappeared again and the high-waisted, long-limbed Junoesque form of the Thirties arrived", to "Dior's explosive New Look in 1947" to "fashion revitalised by the emergence in London of a new group of inventive young designers lead by Mary Quant, Jean Muir and Ossie Clark" to today... "When neither length of skirt nor degree of it is crucial and rules have been abolished, freedom of choice is absolute."

Twiggy and Joan Juliet Buck both reveal the highs and lows of their ten years in fashion, while Jerry Hall models Ossie Clark, Bill Gibb and Zandra Rhodes. In addition, Sixty Years of Scandal remembers the Lloyd George Honours scandal of 1922, Edward VIII's friendship with Mrs Simpson of 1936, the Profumo Scandal of 1963, the Lucan mystery of 1974-5 and Lady Antonia Fraser's friendship with Harold Pinter in 1975.

This edition is full of wonderful fashion pieces, interviews and colourful advertisements. I’m not sure what the value of this magazine is now to a collector but I paid a paltry £8.20 (GBP) for my copy back in January 2005 and it’s staying with me! I’ll be handing it down to my daughter when she’s old enough to appreciate it. The cost of this edition back in 1976 was £0.75p.

The potter puts the clay on the pottery wheel and starts working on the shape. The shaping of the clay depends on the skill and creativity of the potter. The success and failure to acquire the right shape is on his hands. After the shape is acquired, the material is solidified by putting it through intense heat. The pot is beautified further by painting it and putting more design. The final product once complete is vastly different from when the process started.

Such is the work of a potter and such is the work of a leader.

She starts with a little more than potential. She prepares the team for the shaping process by giving them a sense of purpose and other basic information they need that will motivate them to accept the bigger information they will get as they go through the process of building their skills - the shaping process. The newly acquired skills is put through the intense heat of testing to solidify it. The leader adds on to what has already been acquired by letting them use their own creativity to adjust to the daily challenge of their work. The finished product is vastly improve from when the shaping process started.

Vision, creativity patience, discipline and willingness to get one's hands dirty are necessary to succeed in both

I had a discussion with my younger daughter the other day about why I enjoy tinkering / fixing / building / solving things. I suspect that it’s a combination of inheritance and early example, not through any effort of my own. My mother was very independent and capable, and my father was an inventor and machinist, as is my brother. I didn’t fully realize until my twenties that not everyone can do mental rotation, and found that it seems to be much less common in females than in males. It’s like built-in CAD (computer aided design), where you take a 3-D image and rotate it to see all sides – but in your head. I think all of those things help with knitting design, too. I will try all kinds of ideas in knitting, but generally run through them in my head before spending hands-on time, discarding ideas that don’t make it past my mind’s eye.

The down side of it is that now I have two more sweater designs in various stages in my head! One is mostly finished and ready to start putting on paper; the other is based on a color progression, but its shape is still vague. And I already had plenty of projects waiting in the wings, not to mention the ones that are currently in progress. *sigh*

I did get some knitting done, but not as much as you might expect. Still, Ithilien is rolling right along, considering the amount of time it takes per round. I’m now working on shaping above the waist. Based on measurements from my duct-taped self (with pictures like those on the web, I figure I’m pretty blackmail-proof), I know how much I need to increase. The brocade leaf pattern definitely does not lend itself to short-row shaping, so all the increases are done at the side ‘seam’ – a column of single purl stitches that disappears into the fabric.

The rate of increase on the front sides is greater than on the back sides. In the photo above, the gold markers on the needle are, from left to right, the back side increases, the side ‘seam’, and the front side increases. The difference will be decreased on the fronts after the armhole bind-off, so front and back will be the same width at the shoulder seams. This would probably end up looking rather awkward in woven fabric, but should work fine in knitted fabric. Another advantage to this kind of shaping is that it leaves the center front and back straight, where the leaf pattern meets the cabled columns.

I don’t recall ever having run across this shaping method, so if anyone is aware of patterns that use it, I’d appreciate that information! It seems to be working well (so far). Here’s the progress to date, laid out to show the effect of the increases.

I also got fed up with the messy-looking bottom edge - see this one and this one, and stopped to knit the hem in blues/greens/blues. Of course, it hasn’t been sewn down yet, so is currently waiting in a neat self-storing roll until finishing time, with the live stitches slipped onto purple yarn.

It is mitered at the front edges, where it will eventually meet the matching front facings. The size 1 needles made the knitting nice and trim, and enough smaller than the body to lie smoothly on the inside without adding much bulk. The color changes were not only for appearance’s sake – they also kept me from going loony on the mind-numbing 9 stitches-per-inch rows!

So it’s back to work. I can’t say that I’m ready for the vacation to be over, but I am perfectly willing to re-introduce myself to all the really nice people I work with.

So you can imagine the panic when everything starts to slow down dramatically at 1:00 every day. Calls were dropped, files would take hours to download or cut out. Disaster.

Luckily I had already been looking into a solution. We also had issues with people using unauthorized websites/programs on the net and that needed to stop.

I found a program called NetScope. A product from Turbosoft Networks. NetScope can dynamically track and shape traffic across our network. It can drill down and isolate traffic that's important to our network on a per second basis. Exactly what I needed.

We found out why the network slowed down at 1:00 every day. Turns out someone (who shall remain nameless) was listening to a radio station from Germany. I was able to isolate all the programs/sites (including the German radio station) that were not permitted and stop all traffic to and from. As well as delegate bandwidth to those programs that are really important.

Well worth it, and it took very little effort on my part. It's not the cheapest product, however I was able to negotiate the price down. If you are after a free site I would go here http://oss.oetiker.ch/mrtg/download.en.html It's probably something that is better suited to a home network.

Hope I have helped someone out. Or many people.

More review to come. Stay tuned.

These past couple of weeks I've been reading this book called 'Becoming a Vessel God Can Use' and the last chapter talked about us being a clay pot and God being the potter. It reminded me of something my uncle said at my grandma's funeral. He compared my grandma to a jar of clay and how whenever someone hurt her or hurt someone she loved, it cracked her jar a little. So I was putting the two things together and it made me think how God, as the potter, forms us to the shape that He wants us to be. And it hurts while God is shaping and molding us; then other people go and put cracks in us. That just doesn't seem right to me. I mean, how do you feel when you get a crack in your coffee cup or one of your dinner plates? Don't you just throw it away? Do you feel like that sometimes? That people put cracks in you and then just throw you away? Then I remembered what else my uncle said; when people cracked my grandma's jar, she didn't get angry or upset, the cracks allowed the love that was inside her to flow out that much easier.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says: 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

This makes me think that when God is molding and shaping us, He's putting His love and power inside us because He knows that we're going to get cracks and He wants His love to flow out of us. Sometimes I don't do a very good job of that though, I get angry and upset that there's another crack. I don't want the hurt that comes with a new crack. That's something I need to work on, and I think I'm getting better. What about you? What do you do with the cracks in your jar? Do you let God's love flow out or do you get angry because you have another crack?

Thor has always liked to chase his tail. As a kitten, he used to chase it on the bed, throwing himself in circles, until he grew to full Maine-Coon size and started falling off. Now he manages his addiction a little better.

So I knew he could spin by himself. I just had to ask him to do it for me.

This video is from the third day, when he spins for the first time. It shows some of the steps we went through to shape the behavior. First I rewarded for looking to the left. Then I waited for him to offer a bit more and he started grooming his back to the left. I threw in a little Distraction by standing up, but it got him to then move to the left. The full spin came quickly after that.

For the record, I didn't use the Jackpot reward correctly here. I was a little excited and gave him a few extra treats. Pryor says a Jackpot should be delivered as the behavior is happening, but I delivered at the end, no different than a regular C/T.

Target
Come
Sit
Down
Down-Stay
Sit-Stay
Go-to-mat

With 3 cats to train, the vision of a sort of cat circus, with 2 of the 3 sitting on a mat waiting their turns while I worked the third, made perfect sense. So even though it's at the bottom of the list, Go-to-mat is a priority. I just hadn't worked out the details. (For someone with only one cat, other behaviors can obviously come first.)

In Pat Miller's great clicker training book, The Power of Positive Dog Training, she talks about Stay having 3 parts: Duration, Distraction and Distance. Duration is adding time to the behavior. Distraction is changing the environment with things like location and position of trainer. Distance is adding space between you and the animal. They seemed like good advice for other behaviors too.

The mats were clearly too small for a whole cat to fit on them, even for petite Moxie. What did I want and why? 2 feet touching the mat? A rear-down Sit? Could I really expect two waiting cats to stay in a formal Sit for 10 minutes or so while I was working with the third? Wouldn't it be a more realistic goal to ask for a Down? If a Down was my criteria, was it a sphinx Down or a flop Down? Did I let each cat's natural inclination drive my final goal?

I definitely hadn't required 100% for any behavior (Perfect Stimulus Control, in the language of Behaviorism) before I tried to add Duration with longer, intermittent reinforcement. Miller says to add Distance only after Duration and Distractions are working, but I had started to move around and away, adding both Distractions and Distance, after I got each of them up to only a few seconds on the mat. Too complicated, too soon!

For us, I decided the point of Go-to-mat is to give the non-trainers a comfortable place to wait until released. The Yahoo list suggests teaching Go-to-crate for this, but what with scratching posts, a tunnel and boxes of toys, I didn't want two more Maine-Coon-sized crates crowding the living room. If they were waiting in a crate, they wouldn't be in a perfect Sit the whole time. It seemed the most reachable goal would be a comfortable Down-Stay, either sphinx or flop. Then we could work on adding complications like Duration and Distractions.