Juno Lighting: 2月 2012

2012年2月29日星期三

The Light For Living

There is something I would like to share with you. Some years ago I found myself called to express to many what I feel to be an important if not most important lesson - until now I have withheld this for a moment in which I could share and hopefully give greater understandings to what I have found to be a needed and deficient resource; a deficient energy, in a world that needs reservoirs of empowered souls to face adversity.

Some time ago I found myself on the very frontlines of Iraq. Clearing trenches, taking prisoners, and crossing mine fields. Fear and death walked hand in hand; a difficult and sacrificial experience I will always remember.

I recollect that in the midst of one battle with the Iraqi Republican Guard 26th Commando Brigade, I found two men. I found a disfigured man in the grips of death; missing his legs. He lay upon the back of another who had died minutes earlier. As this man bled near my feet, he blew me kisses as if to tell me "do not shoot me" "do not shoot me", I give up to you...please help me. We called the medics in an attempt to save his life, and while I waited I remember hugging the ground as bullets flew over my head. As men and war mingled in their deathly dance, I remember staring at the sun with an estrangement. I felt a separation from our planet; a disconnection in which I felt as if I had landed upon another land, another world. Was this anxiety? Traumatic stress reactions? Maybe, maybe not; but with certainty a comprehension of only survival with the absence of light in the very darkness of living. It was a modeling I had not witnessed; a contradiction of my civilized role and a contradiction of life's expectations. I witnessed no cohesion, but only conflict, hate and that which tears life from the limbs of purpose.

After my time was served I returned to the States, enrolling at Mott Community College and the The University of Michigan Flint School of Social Work. I began to interact and volunteer with communities, neighborhoods and people of all walks of life. After some time of study as well as working within the community I began to draw significant similarities between my experiences at war and the new experiences I had obtained right here at home.

It became apparent to me that injustice was everywhere. The impoverishment of woman, children, the disabled, veterans and many others gripped my heart as an emotional vice. I could not stand still. I could not be so arrogant to believe I deserved my circumstance...when they themselves could not meet their basic needs for a decent way of life, lacking equitable education, housing, health care and opportunity right here in America.

o The war dead of my mind are now the young people in our streets today shooting each other over scarce resources.

o The wounded casualties of our young sacrificing soldiers are now the emotionally, psychologically and physically abused children I have witnessed within the community due to impoverished environments and a lack of responsible parenting.

o From international to national leaders who have failed us from negotiations to military operations; so has the failed perceptions of those whom ignore the failings of an inequitable system that has assisted with less than able means considering our Nations vast resources.

With my experiences and perceptions; I realized that unjust circumstances, selfishness and conflicts tear at the hearts, minds, souls and lives of all people. Within these systems and processes of war; a war against poverty or a war against oppressive regimes; a conflict of values, ethnocentric positions and even the inability for people of all cultures to accept the different levels of values brought me to seek out the answer; that something of great substance was greatly lacking within our world.

With our ever changing world; socially, economically, politically and culturally, our unpredictable world seems to declare a message of individualistic selfishness and the abandonment of individual and social responsibility to care for others.

As the winds of globalization and the advancement of technology brings new and exciting challenges and a required need for the creation of new ideas in order to be a localized as well as globalized success in the presence of adversities. Success must be measured and will come not by representatives of power, but by leaders who will lead the light into the darkness by ensuring the selfless commitment to assist and empower individuals and the systems they are contingent to; allowing the opportunity to exist for all to meet their basic needs. Regardless of your history, your profession, your culture, your race, your religion... to relinquish inequity, to destroy individual and systemic injustice... you must be willing to be of unique character, energy and light; you must be willing to Love.

Igor Stravinsky once said "In order to create there must be a dynamic force and what force is more potent than Love?"

With this understood; our newly created ideas, interactions and our personal responsibility as members of our families, communities and societies for our future should be to plant these ideas into fertile soil. This uncommon decision so valuable for you as citizens, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers...as humans; is required in order to properly grow and flourish our future generations.

The elements of this fertile ground are expressed through commitment, personal responsibility, forgiveness, acceptance, acknowledgment of strengths and weaknesses, integrity, the value of all life, and the relentless pursuit to sacrifice oneself over others. This decision is one you all can till from the rows of your hearts and the plots of your minds.

William Barclay stated that: "Selfless love or Agape love has to do with the mind; it is not simply an emotion that rises unbidden within our hearts. It is a principle by which we deliberately live."

"William Barclay tells the enlightening story of how Edwin Stanton was the bitter opponent of Abraham Lincoln in the early days of their political careers. Stanton characterized the awkward-looking Lincoln as a clown, a gorilla, etc. When Lincoln became president, however, he appointed Stanton as his secretary of war, because he felt that he was the best man for the job. Later, when President Lincoln lay dead from Booth's bullet, at the bedside Stanton tearfully said: "There lies the greatest ruler of men the world has ever seen."

Abe Lincoln was truly a man that lived a principle of love - but today, so many speak of it; but too few express it.

"It is the ladder to scale the walls of pride. It is a shelter in which to hide. It is uncommon among the common life. It is the fuel that lights our life. Cowards hate, cowards take; but heroes live to love. No machine, no theory, no knowledge, no thought, no man...can make, create or even fully explain the powers love contains."

There was a statement made by a King in The Lord of The Rings story of the Twin Towers. This wonderful story by J.R. Tolken displays a similar reflection of our situation today in post modernized society. The King states as his castle is being taken over by evil fighters."What can men do in the presence of such reckless hate?" This is a brilliant description of today's interactions in society. Such reckless hate exists; such evil overwhelms our minds and lives; how can one survive? Evil expressed, defined and declared by the pursuit to destroy that which lives; to destroy the pleasure of living a life. To take the purpose from our reality itself.

"There is only one way to combat such tyranny. To purposely and militantly love. Hate and darkness is outmatched and incompatible with such power. In the presence of light, darkness cannot hide."

You who listen; you who have been loved and have been given the opportunity to make choices and opportunity in your lives. You have not been given opportunity, resources or maybe even wealth to seem better than others or to have more than others, but to give and love more than you have ever done before. This is your responsibility for yourself and your future.

As you have discovered, life is unpredictable and all of us have suffered in one way or another. This suffering must be turned inside out; used as energy for loving rather than hating; giving rather than taking. You must carry sharpened swords through darkened doors. One must sharpen a blade dulled by negative circumstances in order to cut deep through armor of the soldiers of darkness. One must love.

- For you teachers: a young child in your class is hungry, abused and in need of compassion in order to obtain a decent education. To that child you must be more than just a teacher. Their futures depend upon it, our futures depend upon it.

- For you nurses: a young man is dying of a rare disease. He seeks an ear to listen. You must be more than a Nurse. His sanity and our humanity depend upon it.

- Business owners: Someday you may have to decide between higher profits or affordable health care for your workers; what will you decide? Will you rationalize or prioritize?

- For any and all of us: People must be loved; it is a basic need; you must be more than a common citizen. You must be a human that loves beyond all circumstances, beyond all negative events, beyond all negative thoughts and feelings, you must choose to Love.

- Years from now our generations, our families and even our existence will depend upon our choices. Our choice to love, or hate? To destroy or make? What might you decide?

You must make that difference; the difference is what love makes...the difference to change the world.

In concluding, we as citizens of many groups, races, cultures...as humans always seek and love to be a success, but you cannot truly succeed in anything you do without loving others. I want to encourage you that in the midst of your lives and competition for resources within our individualistic society, that you measure your success by how much you loved, and gave in your professions, families, communities and society; and to ignore individualistic ideas of selfishness. If you will commit to this uncommon endeavor you will discover that loving others changes everything... loving others even changes you!

Let us set ourselves apart; leading by example as we develop the character and personal fortitude to make the right decisions within our professional and personal lives that will carry a positive impact for generations to come.

The world, the inequitable systems that oppress and take from others are governed, designed and transpired through all of us. The poor, the oppressed, the vulnerable, are depending upon your transformation to consistently love. Together as leaders and citizens of our future we can make a better, more equitable, more hopeful... a more selfless tomorrow...marked by light rather than darkness...marked by shine than shadow.

Fellow citizens,

...go shine.

See L.J.Riley Jr. Bio on other articles

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Lights - Dream Pop Music Princess

If you have never heard of Valerie Poxleitner, don't worry, this young lady is known to her followers as Lights. Lights (Valerie) is an award winning musician from Canada specializing in what has been coined "dream pop" music. Her original compositions are heavily reliant on electronic synthesizer.

She was born on April 11, 1987 in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Her parents are travelling Christian missionaries, so much of her early life was spent in other parts of the world, from the Philippines to Jamaica. This influence has been heavy on her music and it is vital to understand her perspective to "get" her music.

In her own words, she states boldly: "I was eleven, and I learned three chords on the guitar. It was the first time I really learned how to play guitar and I wanted to write a song with them so I went down to my mom and I said pick a number between 1 and 150 and she picked 5 or something, I can't really remember the number, but I went and opened up the Bible and there was 150 Psalms already written so I went to the number she chose and wrote a song with that and that kicked off the biggest thing of my life."

During a modeling tryout in 2002, she was to take a photo holding a guitar. Nonchalantly, the photographer asked if she played. She said that she did and went on to sing for them right there. That day, she met a man who would be her future manager. Her music was soon heard as the backdrop for Old Navy commercials.

In 2005, she took a position writing for Sony Music Publishing. Then, a short three years later, she signed a deal with Underground Records and toured the Canadian and US Great Lakes areas. At the same time, she has a "partnership" with Doghouse Records, a part of the Warner Music Group.

One song, Drive My Soul, hit the Canadian charts while another, February Air, went all the way to number 3 on the MuchMusic countdown. Does this herald a jump onto American charts? Most likely, that is on the horizon for Lights. She has also performed on MTV Live and won a Juno award for Best New Artist of the Year in 2009. In response to that accolade, she will tour with Van's Warped Tour this summer.

Lights lists artist Bjork as a major influence. She is also a HUGE fan of Phil Collins songwriting. While she does borrow from certain artists on a rhythmic basis, her self composed musical style is more chipper, down to earth and happy. Her high pitched, yet soft voice has been likened to Vanessa Carlton.

Whatever she's doing, it seems to be working for her. Lights' music writing and her vocal prowess are well received and popular.

Currently, she is working on a CD to be released later in 2009 as well as touring the United States, Canada and Great Britain. She has said she wants to do a video for each of the six tracks on her 2008 self titled EP.

With all of this going for her, Lights relies on the social networks of the Internet to promote her music. Her MySpace page is wildly popular, gains views exponentially and she makes new friends there every day.

Check out ChinaShop magazine at ChinaShopMag.com - the written word on music, art, fashion and film culture. You'll see pics and video of exclusive events and interviews from the music scene, with an interview and exclusive pics of Lights.

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2012年2月28日星期二

Choosing the Correct Light Bulb for Recessed Can Lighting

Choosing the correct light bulb for recessed can lighting can be a daunting task. If you aren't familiar with light bulbs and all the different types it's hard to know where to start. Most folks simply replace burnt out bulbs with what they pull out. Others go to the local hardware store and just buy what "looks" right on the shelf. With a simple analysis, you can choose for yourself what the best light bulb for your application is by splitting out the choices that need to be made.

Obviously, the easiest way to replace light bulbs in your recessed can lights is to pull out the old one and simply purchase that same bulb. If you don't have that as an option, follow the below steps to choose the correct light bulb.

Key Abbreviations to Understand:

I'm going first outline the main letters that you'll see on your current bulb or in your can fixture and what they mean. 40W (or any number followed by a W) = 40 Watt; R16 or BR16 or PAR20 (There are many of these. Most start with a letter or a few letters and are followed by a number) = these are bulb shapes; 120V or 130V (This may or may not be stipulated) = Indicates voltage.

List from Fixture:

Your first step should be to look inside your can fixture. Most will have a sticker on it that will outline about a half a dozen of options that can be used in that specific fixture. I.E. 40W R16

Best Style for your Baffle, Lense or Reflector:

Next, go to the website of the manufacturer that made your can fixture. The 3 major manufacturers are Cooper Halo Lighting (www.haloltg.com), Juno Lighting (www.junolighting.com) and Lithonia (www.lithonia.com). Around the edge of your can you will have what is known as a baffle, lense or reflector (trim). This is a separate piece you will find in your can. Each manufacturer will have their recommended light bulbs to use that will maximize the effectiveness of your particular baffle, lense or reflector. Find this under their "specifications" sheet attached to your particular attachment.

Decide if you want a Spot or Flood:

Some light bulbs like Halogen PAR shaped light bulbs will come two ways: Spot lights or Flood lights. The progression goes from Spot to Flood to A19 which lights up in all directions. Most spots light an area up to 20 degrees in width. Most choose these if they want to light up art work or focus on a mantel or something similar. A flood generally goes from 25 degrees to 60 degrees in swath of light. Then an A19 lights up tan entire area. But not all fixtures are made to have A19 light bulbs in them permanently. In most cases, you'll want flood light bulbs.

What Color of Light do you want?

If you are looking at Compact Fluorescents, you will sometimes have an option of color. And I don't mean pink vs. white. I mean the color of the light that is emitted. If your compact fluorescent says that the color temperature is 2700K, the light will be a soft white color. If it says that it is a 5000K, it will be more of a blue-ish white light.

Type of Light Bulb:

The last thing you'll need to decide is the type of bulb you will want. The main types of light bulbs that people use are Incandescent, some sort of long life incandescent, halogen and compact fluorescent light bulbs. I'm not going to go into the differences in them all here as that is a whole different conversation. Regardless, many times you will have the option to use any of these types of light bulbs in your can fixture. I.E. A BR40 Incandescent is a similar bulb type as a BR40 halogen. The important thing to remember here is to not go over the wattage the your can fixture recommends. Using a light bulb with the wattage too high for the fixture could shorten the life of the light bulb and could even cause a fire in some of the older cans.

By asking yourself these questions before buying, you will eliminate the confusion this purchase can present. And you will be happier overall with your purchase and the look of your room or application.

Holly has over 10 years experience in the lighting industry. Want more information about lighting or light bulbs? Visit her website http://www.lightbulbmarket.com

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Illuminate Your Home With the Best Lighting Fixtures

"Heaven is where the hearth is." The warmth of your home is the place where you spend half of your life. No wonder you want to make it just perfect and lend it the kind of look and feel you had dreamt of for years. Even after spending a fortune, you find that your home does not exude the kind of ambiance you had dreamt of for so long. Your furniture, accessories are no doubt expensive and match the wall colors but still something is missing. Actually, the problem does not lie in the furnishings but the lighting.

Commonly observed, most homeowners overlook the importance of lighting systems. Merely installing some expensive lights is not enough. Lighting systems can make or break the ambiance of your home. Be it indoors or outdoors, good lighting system can turn your 'not-so-good' home into a 'Wow! What beauty' home. Imagine a space as dark as night with other areas highlighted with soft halo of recessed lights. Besides, if your walls carry a theme, flame patterns for instance, the ambiance of the room gets doubly enhanced.

While landscape lighting takes care of your outdoor landscape and garden, recessed lighting takes care of the interiors. Recessed lighting is highly versatile and is used to focus on specific areas without distracting the attention to the light source.

When focusing on specific objects like artifacts, plants, or statues, halo recessed lighting is the ideal. This lighting system comprises of ceiling mounted bulbs contained within alcoves or small niches. When used with other lighting systems, halo recessed lighting creates illusion of greater space.

However, the real dilemma arises when it comes to choosing your lighting fixture brand. For track lighting fixtures, most people rely on Halo, Lightolier, and Juno lighting. However, when it comes to the overall lighting systems, including outdoors and indoors, Kichler lighting fixtures score too well. Their high quality lighting fixtures give your home a completely new ambiance. You can easily switch the mood of your room through these high-end lighting appliances.

A number of people might be deterred by the prices of high quality Kichler lighting fixtures. But the good news is that these fixtures are extremely affordable during some seasons. Some stores offer festive discounts on popular brands. All you need to do is keep a track of these offers to bring home the lights to illuminate it the way you had always desired. Remember, it's better to wait for the best than end up repenting with cheaper alternatives.

Wain Roy is an internet marketing professional expert in various industries like real estate, web design, finance, medical tourism and Juno lighting

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2012年2月27日星期一

Lighting Makes a Kitchen Bright

Whenever you are using your kitchen you always want to have adequate lighting. It makes the room look and function better. Since you frequently are wielding a sharp implement in the kitchen. good lighting also makes the space a little safer.

As is true throughout many older homes, the lighting for an entire room frequently comes from a single light fixture. Sometimes a kitchen may also have a light over the stove, but that is not much help when it comes to food prep.

As you are considering how to brighten up your kitchen, you want to look at several different lighting options. Track lighting is the easiest option to install, and there are some, newer selections available that are really nice looking.

Track lighting is an easy transition from a single light source to adding even lighting throughout a space. You can even use track lighting to provide task lighting without having to make a single change to your electrical wiring.

There are a few things, however, that you want to consider before deciding on a new track lighting system for your kitchen.

Three Choices

With track lighting there are three standard system types that are available: They are Halo, Juno and Lightolier. Each one uses a different style track and only uses light fixtures to fit that type of track. Track fixtures are labeled H, J or L, so it is really easy to identify which fixtures go with which track. So as you are selecting your track lighting for your kitchen, keep in mind that once you choose a system you will only be able to use fixtures that are compatible with that system.

With this in mind, then it may be a good idea to choose your fixtures first and then back your way into the track system that you goes with those fixtures.

Design Your Layout

Next, decide where you want your lights to be. You will want good lighting over your sink and prep counter as well as your refrigerator and stove. If you have an eat-in kitchen, you will want some good light in this area as well.

Choose Your Fixtures

Now that you have decided on the configuration of your lighting, you will want to select your fixtures. You can choose from low voltage or line voltage. The low voltage lamps come with a base that converts the 120-volt current to 12 volt. Line voltage pulls the current straight off of the track. Generally line voltage is the most energy efficient choice.

Consider Your Bulbs

When you choose inline fixtures you will want to use CFL light bulbs. You may also want to try the newer LED light bulbs. If you want to spot certain areas with light, you can try the CFL flood lamps. These choices are not as hot as incandescent or halogen light bulbs. Rather than use a spotlight, you can also just install several light fixtures in close proximity to each other to brighten the area.

If you know how to install electrical fixtures then you can install the tracks yourself, otherwise it might be a good idea to hire an experienced electrician to do the installation for you.

Flexible Lighting

If you have vaulted ceilings in your kitchen, you may still be able to use track lighting to light your space. You can find kits that let you suspend your lighting from the ceiling, giving you not only great lighting but adding a little drama to the space as well.

While there are other choices when you are updating the lighting in your kitchen, track lighting is one of the most cost effective and easy solutions to this problem.

Aja Klenna is a prominent online author and the senior staff writer for Metal-Wall-Art.com - a distinctive wall art store specializing in wall art sculptures and metal fish wall decor.

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All About Track Lighting

Parts of Track Lights

There are two main parts to this kind of lighting: the track itself and the track heads.

The track is typically made from metal and may or may not be adhesive. Adhesive tracks are adhered to the wall rather than hardwired. In general, tracks for lighting come in a number of sizes, shapes and colors. They can be straight, shaped or in some cases, flexible.

Meanwhile, the track heads are the actual light fixtures. Typically these are available in flood light style or in various pendant styles. Today's modern track lights are typically found with pendant style track heads.

The bulbs can also vary in type used. Modern light fixtures are even compatible with modern, eco-friendly varieties: LED bulbs and CFL bulbs.

Tips for Installing Track Lights

If you choose to install your lighting system with a dimmer, it's important to take note of any unusual sounds that may occur. If your lights begin buzzing when you use the dimmer switch, then the dimmer needs to be removed or else it may potentially short out the electrical system in your home.

Always be sure to place the tracks in areas where they will be most beneficial. For example, hallways are an ideal location for track lighting. Track lights can also be installed facing cabinetry in kitchens to help light the interiors of the cabinets when needed. They can also be used to illuminate wall art or as accent lighting in various rooms.

One of the biggest benefits of tracked lighting is that they are extremely flexible. They can be installed anywhere you desire and can be used to direct light into anywhere you want. In fact, one track light fixture can be used for multiple purposes: illuminating a painting, brightening a dark corner and providing additional reading light for an arm chair.

However, keep in mind that when installing these lights, limit the number of lights on the track to one track per one foot of track length. If you are ever unsure of how many lights, what type of voltage system or any other issues relating to the track light fixture and its installation, then consult a professional. Electricity is risky business and can be seriously life threatening if not handled properly.

Lastly, keep in mind that not all track heads will fit into any track. When choosing track heads, be sure that they will fit into your chosen track before installing. There are three standards for tracks: Juno, Halo and Lightolier. When choosing track heads, choose heads that match your track. These are typically denoted with a capital J, H or L. When choosing additional track accessories, you will need to always choose accessories that follow the same J, H, or L standard.

Need to find more lighting fixtures like track lighting? Check out Arcadian Lighting today!

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2012年2月26日星期日

Why The Yowza Juno Treadmill Is Perfect For You

Training has become a lot easier and more affordable with the Yowza Juno Treadmill, no matter what your fitness level. The MP3 docking station and sound system add to the enjoyment of your workout.

The apparatus offers fifteen different ways to train. This will alleviate the boredom of regular training and be entertaining at the same time.

You can see detailed information before your workout as well as during and after on the display which has a blue back light. This information includes your heart rate, which is read via the pulse rate grips on the handlebars. With a handy water bottle holder, you will have everything you need during your workout at hand. However, with this piece of equipment, you are not paying for fancy features, but rather for a rugged and durable machine that gives you a good training session.

The fastest speed that this machine can attain is ten miles per hour. This will suit fit runners. Most people jog at a speed of about seven miles per hour. The incline reaches a maximum of fifteen percent. The maximum weight the machine can handle is 300 pounds. The varied workouts cater for any level of fitness.

While expensive the folding treadmills have gained popularity as they have become much more popular over the last number of years. The high cost thereof is due to the increased cost of manufacturing. Folding versions require additional items such as motors, decks and belts. This model does not have a folding treadmill. Many people will never even unfold the treadmill. The Juno is known for its durability, stability and efficiency.

The Yowza Juno Treadmill has a 2.5 continuous duty HP motor and a 20" x 55" running surface with 54" long tread belt. The warranty includes a 2-year labor warranty and 5-year parts warranty. All of this at a low price of $999.

Find great deals on a Yowza Juno [http://www.treadmill-truth.com/Yowza-Fitness-Treadmills] by looking online. Head to Yowza Treadmills [http://www.treadmill-truth.com/Yowza-Fitness-Treadmills] to find out more today. Go online and find more today.

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Top Tips on Using Flexible Track Lighting Systems

Compared to rigid, pendulum or jointed sectional track lighting, flexible track lighting is the most versatile and customizable way to light up a room or display. It can dangle from way up on cathedral-high ceilings, cut a wide swath across bare walls, hang loose from rafters and beams. You can bend and re-bend the tracks, attach swing arm or adjustable lighting fixtures onto them to suit your specific design needs. What's more, these tracks are easy to install and friendly-priced.

Use flexible track lighting to reach knotty spots and awkward corners when adding depth to a small, crowded, low-ceilinged, monochromatic or any other room. You can curve the tracks to spirals, S shapes, waves or light waves to extend to areas where rigid tracks can not. You can mix and match incandescent, energy-efficient and halogen light bulbs to provide ambience or functionality.

Buy flexible track systems to boost the dramatic flair of architectural detailing, like with art deco, decor and complex works of art, like sculpture, mixed media and installation art. Complement the palette of your interiors in an array of track finishes such as brass, bronze, chrome and steel as well as lighting tones like amber, emerald, frosted, warm or cool white.

Choose from pre-assembled systems or do-it-yourself kits, which you can connect or plug into an electric outlet easily. Name brands like Halo, Lightolier Lytespan, Juno, WAC, Hampton Bay, ProTrack and Elco will have complete to state-of-the-art flexible track lighting systems, or you can buy track components like track heads and connectors separately.

Derek Larusso is an expert on Flexible Track Lighting. Please visit his site at http://www.flexible-track-lighting.com for more info.

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2012年2月25日星期六

Des Plaines Office Space

Overview

The Cook County city of Des Plaines offers a great locale for commercial business owners hoping to open up a store or lease commercial office space. Located not too far from Chicago, those who open up shop in Des Plaines can benefit from both the local customers as well as those in surrounding areas, including Chicago.

About the Residents

The village residents enjoy all of the wonderful things which the city offers them. The population of the city was at 58,720 during the 2000 census. Household median income was $53,638 and it was $65,806 for a family. Those who live here often work local but may sometimes commute to the city for jobs as well.

Business Atmosphere

This village is nestled amongst many popular thruways such as I-90 and I-290 and is close to the O'Hare International Airport. This allows company owners who lease or purchase commercial office space in here to get customers in from all directions. Since many clients will be driving to your place of business, it is important to ensure that they can reach you with ease. The Metra and Pace offer public transportation options to those who prefer to travel this way. Air travel is also nearby with the two international airports of the Chicago area.

Other Businesses

There are many big name businesses as well as small privately-owned companies in this town. Some of the popular businesses include UOP, Holy Family Medical Center, Juno Lighting, Sysco and Abbott Molecular. Some businesses purchase property within the city while others choose to lease their commercial office space.

Things to Do

Whether one enjoys the outdoors or prefers indoor activities, there is something for all to do in this village. The McDonald's Museum is a unique place to visit and there is the Rivers Casino opening up in the summer of 2011. Outdoor enthusiasts will love the Des Plaines Forest Preserve, the Des Plaines Park District and the Mt. Prospect Park District.

Dining and Shopping Options in Des Plaines

This village is filled with great restaurants and shopping venues. For food, the choices are plentiful indeed. From American cuisine to exquisite ethnic foods, you are bound to find the ideal spot to eat a good meal. The shopping in town is also inclusive. No matter whether you need groceries, clothing, home improvement items or other types of goods and services, you can find it in this city.

Tom Koelzer, Expert Author and Partner at Tenant Advisors, Inc. represents the interests of office space tenants in the search and negotiations for office space. For help with Chicago office space for rent or Chicago office space for lease, please go to http://tenantadvisors.com/

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Reviving the Roland MC-303 Retro Groovebox

I've been using the Roland MC-303 on and off since I brought it in (1996). I have used it on some of the early Anjelicas Baby recordings such as "Crawling Back To You" and "Blame It On You". I think it is a great little machine second hand for its price about £100 - £200 depending on condition. However, I am going to be honest about my past experiences with it. The MC-303 in its time was a revolution and the first of many so-called groove boxes. It could do anything from techno to dance, jungle and drum & bass to name but a few. It was rammed with sounds from classic synths such as the Roland Juno and Jupiter series and had the classic retro sounds of the Roland TR-808 and TR-909. Also, it had the Roland TB-303 bass type synth sounds on board as well. To own such instruments on their own would have set you back thousands upon thousands of dollars or British pounds. Then you needed the room to put your vintage gear in.

It looked very much like the old vintage TB-303's and TR-808's. It was essentially a sequencer-arranger with 8 tracks of recording. It even had built in FX such as chorus, flange, reverb and delay. Its real-time functions made it great fun to play with. It had filter cut off, resonance, stereo panning and arpeggio. The panning and delay FX would keep time with the tempo of your patterns or songs, which at the time was a really cool advance. It was 24-voice note polyphony, 16-part multi timbral, and on board there were 448 preset PCM ROM sounds, 300 preset patterns and 50 user patterns. Quite extraordinary back in (1996). No sooner had it made a splash in the music magazines like Future Music, Sound On Sound, and The Mix, it was quickly superseded by the Roland MC-505, JX-305 and the Yamaha RM1x. I guess this was because it was almost too good to be true for the unbelievable price of around £500. Yes you guessed it, there were some major drawbacks to the machine that made using it a maddening experience at times.

1 The first thing I noticed was it had a some what over compressed kind of sound and lacked any real punch. It could reproduce dance music very well using the TR-909 sounds. If you ever compare the sounds off the MC-303 to lets say a JV1080 which had a similar set of sounds you will find that the JV has a lot more presence and punch to it. To make an analogy here, it is like comparing a wave file to an mp3 file. I suspect to get all those sounds into the MC-303's internal ROM, sacrifices had to be made, and maybe the bit rates of the MC-303's sample library were reduced. Don't get me wrong, the sounds have full clarity and many are in stereo, but you definitely feel you want to almost grab the sounds out of your speakers and give them a good kick to uplift them. This is one issue I have noticed about Roland synths and especially drum machines from this period. The sounds almost sound too nice and clean as if you could invite them back to your parent's house for Sunday dinner knowing they would not offend their musical tastes.

2 The real sounds such as trumpets, guitars etc were frankly horrid. Less would have been more in my opinion on this machine. Everything and the kitchen sink were stuffed in to it. As a result on the pre-installed patterns it had an amateurish kind of sound to it.

3 It only had two audio outputs so adding external FX such as reverb or delay meant you needed to record the sounds on separate tracks of your audio recorder. At the time mine was a Fostex DMT8 hard drive 8-track recorder. Hard drive recording with 16 tracks or more really came at a price back then.

4 Most irritating of all was its almost non-existent midi implementation. When they meant retro they really took it to heart here. They basically designed it to work as a stand-alone machine. So if you wanted to use any other gear then you had to get the MC-303 to be the master sequencer. Well at that time the sequencer was no match for Logic or Cubase. Consequently, I had to record the patterns for the MC-303 from its own memory then do a bulk dump save to an Alesis datadisk of the song. I then had to set my Atari 1040 computer sequencer to trigger the MC-303 as a slave. So, great sorted. Oh no, wait a minute, you had to trigger the MC-303 from the start of the song every time. As soon as I fast-forwarded the Atari sequencer the MC-303 lost the plot, and well who knows what part of the song it would move to.

5 Any sound you wanted to play into your own sequencer transmitted in on omni mode across all 16-midi channels. What a crazy idea for the late 1990's. To make matters even worse, the real time controls that made the machine so much fun were rendered impotent when you tried to record for example real-time filtering of a bass sound into your sequencer. Come-on Roland, you could record the control movements of a Juno 106 into your sequencer as far back as 1985.

Well as you can gather, I was less than pleased at the time with these limitations. Despite this, I had faith in the little beast. I saw the light and hoped that over a few years and more audio based recording products on PC's and Mac's, a breath of hope would be breathed into this machine. So with the passing of time, here come the positives.

1 It works great as a stand-alone unit. You can midi all your other gear to it. Then you can make use of its real cool arpeggio to bring some life back into your old boring synths.

2 It has loads and loads of PCM samples, which easily overcome some of the limitations of the real sounds on board. This is especially true if you have lots of other soft or hardware synths to use along side of it.

3 With modern technology you can record a sound into your sequencer, and then play with the MC-303 controls in real-time and record straight onto an audio track on your computer. This can really jazz it up with modern plugins.

4 It is very inexpensive second hand for a retro hardware unit with so many functions on it.

5 You can set it up as a standard synth module.

6 It has a handy little bass boost knob on the back of the machine for adding more bottom end to the audio output.

7 If you don't overdo it, and use other equipment to add to your track you are recording, it really can sound very professional indeed.

So that's the Roland MC-303 pros and cons in my subjective opinion. It's a great little edition to anyone's set up if used carefully and sparingly.

Paul Leishman song writer/producer has been involved with music since the age of 15 since the loss of his sight in 1984. He has Worked either playing live, playing as a session musician on dance tracks or remixing tracks in local recording studios and collaborating with singers and producing several bands.

In the 90's he was featured on the Future Music Magazine CD as an unsigned band for his own music with The Queen's English an electronic pop band. He also remixed for Guru Josh of Infinity fame at his studio in London and Played keyboards on a remix of Kandy Staton's Young Hearts for Almighty Records at Blue Chip Studios in Stafford. Also, he has spent time writing and producing songs for Shahin Badar the Asian singer who sang the vocals on the Prodigy's track "Smack my Bitch Up".

Most of the music he has been involved in has been either dance music, electronic pop, Synthpop or rock music. More recently, he has been working with an independent record company named In4rm Records who have a distribution deal with the main distributor of digitally based independent music called The Orchard based in the US. He has an EP out called Wired by Liteform with two other artists, which is in the underground dance Genre. It is currently available on most of the download sites to be purchased such as MSN Music, Amazon.com and iTunes etc. He is getting airplay on the Internet on The Pod Safe Music Network for many of his other productions as well.

Paul Leishman Music Contract Blogger

http://musiccontract.brighterplanet.org

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2012年2月24日星期五

Jana, Goddess of Doorways and Seeing

Jana is not a well-known Goddess. We know better her husband and brother Janus, who gave name to the first month of the year. An interesting tidbit here is that Jana gave the name to June through her reincarnation as the Roman Juno. I think about the Hebrew tradition by which the year consists of two half-years, one that begins at Rosh Hashanah, at Autumn, and the other at Pesach, at Spring. Maybe they Romans had a similar tradition, one year from Midwinter to Midsummer, Janus' year, and another from Midsummer to Midwinter, Jana's year.

Jana is the Goddess of doorways. One could say the saying "when God closes a door, She opens a window" fits perfectly on Jana. There are many kinds of doorways in life. Some take us to a completely new life, and these should be celebrated, like we celebrate graduation. Jana is also the Goddess of initiations. Some doorways have no doors, and passing through these just widens the life. These doorways can be used to both directions. One example of these is the journey from a role we have in life to another role. Journeys are yet another of Jana's dominions.

She is the Goddess of beginnings, among them The New Year. She is two-faced, facing the new and old year at the same time, future and past. Jana's role as the guardian of doorways reminds me of the High Priestess of Tarot, sitting with Her moon in front of the doorway and like a sphinx, expects you to answer correctly to the question before she lets you enter to Empress' paradise.

In the Italian tradition, the new year starts at Midwinter. In Finland the Midwinter is a time for divination. There are especially two kinds of divination practiced; mirror divination and divination with molted tin (Molybdomancy). Both are sacred to Jana, because she, Goddess who sees all, uses every reflecting surface as Her window. She is the Moon Goddess, and what is Moon anything else but a huge mirror reflecting the Sun's light to Earth?

Jana is the Goddess of divination as well, and if She likes you, She will allow you to see things through Her eyes. Hers are all kinds of mirror divination and scrying.

Her animal is the peacock, and Jana's eyes are on peacock's beautiful tail. This is the reason why peacock feathers bring luck. Jana can see into your home through the eyes. In some countries peacock feather bring bad luck - people don't want a Pagan Goddess to see into their homes.

Jana developed into Diana and Juno, and both these Goddesses still have her qualities. Diana kept the moon and Juno peacocks. The Holy Spirit of Christianity is also Jana transformed.

When the Greek Gods took over the Roman Pantheon, Jana lived on as Juno Lucina, which is Juno's name as the Goddess of childbirth. Childbirth is just another beginning, entering through a doorway, and Lucina means "The Light One". Juno Lucina became St. Lucy, who is being celebrated on thirteenth of December. That was the winter solstice day according to the old reckoning (the Julian calendar), and St. Lucy is the patriot Saint of the blind people.

Ketutar is a witch and a writer, interested in many things.

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In Conversation with Juno Award-Winning Canadian Fiddler Shari Ulrich

Juno Award-winning singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Shari Ulrich and I have "bumped" into each other several times this past few months. In true musician's spirit I've worn several hats in our dealings.

Our first meeting was of a business nature. She emailed when her violin bow broke and she was seeking to purchase a carbon fibre model from my violin shop in time for a gig. I then contacted Shari under the auspices of the Shuswap Violin Society, a non-profit group promoting fiddle music. Shari was invited to join as an Honourary Lifetime Membership with our group and graciously accepted, adding "Well how can a girl turn that down?!?!? I would be honoured!"

Soon after I learned our local Music Society was hosting a "Songwriter's Cafe" where Shari was joined by John Mann (Spirit of the West), Norman Foote and Babe Gurr. I would finally have the opportunity to meet her in person and don my freelance writer's hat.

After a riveting and highly entertaining concert Shari and I chatted about music, motherhood, fiddles and other important stuff.

Rhiannon Schmitt: What was your motivation or a goal you had in mind when you first started playing violin? Had you seen a concert and been inspired or was it simply out of the blue?

Shari Ulrich: I grew up in the US - in Northern California where music was a program in the schools. In Grade 3 we were asked what instrument we wanted to play and given a little demonstration. My girlfriends and I all chose violin so we could be in the class together... very typical young girl motivation.

RS: That's interesting, my violin beginnings were almost exactly the same: a school orchestra program in San Diego, California. Now.. to dig out some dirt on you. Did your mother ever have to nag you to practice? Or was music just your special thing you were always dedicated to?

SU: Practicing was ALWAYS my nemesis - even today, though I recall doing LOTS of it. And yes, from time to time my mother said the same thing to me that I hear myself saying to my daughter - "There's no point in paying for lessons if you're not going to practice". (Which of course is TRUE). But in fact, my mother didn't nag me - nor do I nag my daughter - but neither could resist that remark. Later, in my early 20's, I had a period of earnest study for a few years.

RS: Regarding "young girl motivations," I know my violin practice was neglected when I had a boyfriend. Did boys ever get in the way of your music?

SU: Ha! No, I'd say boys have always been a great asset to my music because I've virtually always had partners who were musicians! But in my teenage years I don't recall it being a conflict.

RS: So when did you first decide to become a professional musician or did it just happen?

SU: I came to Canada when I was about 19 - searching for what I was supposed to do with my life - my calling. Then I started playing with other musicians - doing this thing that had always been SO second nature to me that I never thought of it as a career. THEN the light went on and I realized MUSIC was MY THING.

RS: Were there ever times when you didn't think you had what it would take to become a professional musician?

SU: No - I've always known it to my core. But there have certainly been times that I felt under educated and not a good enough sight reader to be a TRUE professional musician, like my partner Bill is, who can sight read and play anything. I have my limitations. But my imagination doesn't.

RS: What do you do to overcome musical "slumps?"

SU: My slumps have been more getting weary of pushing the rock up the hill, because being a musician means creating your life every single day. And I had a vision for myself that entailed my music reaching a wider audience than it has because as I got older, my opportunities for industry support diminished. But knowing to my soul that music is what I'm meant to create and play and breathe has never taken a dip.

RS: Who was your biggest motivation, violin-wise, when you grew up?

SU: Hmm... I guess Stephan Grappelli though I couldn't play that style - Itzhak Perlman, hmmm... I can't say that I had a role model who inspired me.

RS: They're two of my idols too, and really lofty ones at that! The Juno Award in 1981 for Most Promising Female Artist, did you expect that?

SU: I couldn't say I "expected" it, but I certainly hoped it would happen. Winning is always a thrilling experience no matter what it is.

RS: What went through your mind as you accepted it?

SU: How cool it was that Bob and Doug McKenzie presented it! How badly I didn't want to screw up my speech. RS: What did that award help you accomplish in years to come, or was it not a big deal to you?

SU: Yes it was a big deal, and looks great in the bio. It enhances opportunities but doesn't guarantee anything.

RS: You said motherhood was a challenge to balance with your career in the early days of infanthood and childhood. How did you balance it all and what helped you through those years raising your daughter?

SU: I took Julia everywhere with me - and started touring again when she was 6 weeks old - and worked more in that year than I ever had. It really bonded us. So it didn't effect my work life, but the focus of being a mother is utterly compelling and consuming - there is a choiceless-ness about it.

But I think what is impossible to hang on to is the creative drive that comes from time alone, which is never the same after having a child. The alone time is what drives my creativity, and after a child comes, even if you steal an hour here or there, it is just that - stolen time between duties rather than open ended stream of consciousness uninterrupted time.

Her Dad was a HUGE asset to it all working though. I was/is a fantastic parent and he was totally capable of being the stay at home guy the odd time that I didn't take her - 3, 4, 5 days at a time. He was amazing.

RS: Julia plays violin and has to study with another teacher and sometimes I think teaching my own son to play violin isn't a good idea. Why do you think children have to study with someone other than a parent?

SU: Oh, I wouldn't characterize it as "has to". I just knew that it wouldn't be good for our relationship - or for her opportunity to learn. And we have one of, I think, the best violin teachers on Bowen Island - Alison Nixon.

So I was happy to have her study with someone so great and not have the extra load of seeing her through learning an instrument. Plus, knowing how to play doesn't mean you're a great teacher, and I don't think I would have been a good teacher.

RS: If Julia or anyone else you know and care for wanted a life as a professional musician, what would your advice to them be?

SU: Do it because you LOVE it. Have a clean ego. Think of the audience as your ally. I know someone who doesn't actually like to perform because it triggers his insecurity - he feels resentment of the audience - that they are judging him - and who are they to judge him! That's unfortunate.

Be honest and authentic with your unique voice. Don't let "the industry" determine whether you have a career.

RS: Do you think it's possible to make a good living in gigging, or would you encourage such an individual to also consider teaching or another job as backup?

SU: I think it's good to surrender to it. Which means accepting that there is no real security, but having faith that your talent will provide for you. But teaching is a good back up income to have.

RS: Is it a life only select individuals have what it takes to make it work?

SU: Hmmm....I'd say so, yes.

RS: You've been teaching a Lyrics Course at UBC. How's that working out?

SU: I LOVE it. I love the kids - the process - and having my first regular paycheck!

RS: Are you considering settling down as a Prof someday and leaving the life of a traveling musician?

SU: I would never want to leave performing live, and couldn't imagine that ever being necessary. But I'd love to keep doing this job for awhile! I can't see myself ever really settling for just one path.

RS: Finally, tell me about your violin or violins.

SU: It's a German violin that I picked up in Victoria when my childhood one was stolen on route to my first Valdy and the Hometown Band gig in Victoria - it had been given to me by a Great Aunt when I'd won a smalls scholarship in Grade 7. It broke my heart, and I still search for it in stores.

For many years I played a white Barcus Berry electric. Regular body, but it sounded pretty grim acoustically. Then I went back to my "real" violin when I realized how much better it sounded.

RS: What would your dream violin sound like?

SU: Hmmm - like the one I play. My dream would be more about my own playing and tone. My dream would be to be a better player and be able to make any violin sound heartbreakingly beautiful.

RS: Shari, you're so great! Thank you for being an inspiration to so many and for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. I hope we see each other again soon.

**Rhiannon Schmitt (nee Nachbaur) is a professional violinist/fiddler and music teacher who operates Fiddleheads Violin School & Shop. She and the business have won several distinguished young entrepreneur business awards. The shop offers beginner to professional level instruments, accessories and supplies for very reasonable prices: Visit http://www.fiddleheads.ca

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Safety First For Track Lighting Installation

Track lighting installation and selection is easy if you know what you are doing but could be dangerous to the car owner if not. Since not all car manufacturers make standard systems, the technical knowledge of the installer may be put to test when certain complications arise during installation. Just remember three main standards in track lighting installation - Juno, Lightolier and Halo. These are the most common standards if you are new to track lighting installation so you better take note of these

If you bought a track light fixture that is not compatible to the standards I mentioned, cross out the store you bought it from. They could be selling fake products and for automobile safety standards, fake is dangerous. If it doesn't fit, don't force it.

First thing to remember is that a perfect layout can only be done if the connectors and track lengths are used the way they are intended to. Always remember that for track lighting installation. When doing an installation, you can use a normal junction box with a power supply. However, when it comes to wiring, even if you know that you are good at it, you might want to get some help from a technician. Because If your wiring goes wrong then it could end up as a catastrophe. So, why not spare a few bucks and ensure safety? Floodlights and spotlights are two types of bulbs that accompany track illumination systems. You can therefore illuminate various area sizes for specific locations by combining these two types of lights.

For your track lighting installation, it is always good to have a manual by your side and always remember the importance of being safe. Dealing with anything related to electricity should always be with outmost care. Now that you are ready, it would just depend on your choice of bulbs and fixtures.

Learn more about a popular type of track lights - track lighting pendants - at http://www.tracklightingpendants.org

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2012年2月29日 星期三

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2012年2月24日 星期五

2012年2月29日星期三

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2012年2月27日星期一

2012年2月26日星期日

2012年2月25日星期六

2012年2月24日星期五