herbiejuan

Thanks Chas for reminding me of kids and the joys of being home when they got off the bus... Thats another plus for the relaxed success program, enjoy the journey :)

The Image: My friend Craig. He was married to a fine intelligent woman, an obgyn nurse. He owned three restaurants, a duplex, two homes and a lake house. He was also behind a downtown revitalization project and was dabbling in real estate speculation. Thw Truth: He also had a cocaine addiction. He died last year. My Facts: Craig was a caring kind man. He assisted restaurants to open up in the downtown area and was a great influence in revitatlising the square. He helped student wait staff make the right connections and occasionally bailed an employee out of jail. A few months before he died he chartered a bus to take his employee's to an Allman Bro's concert, replete with kegs and a smoking room. During the last few years before he died we talked about addiction, manic depression and domestic violence. We did not pull punches but I could sense, later, that he had made his choice. He fired me a week before he died. I am ok with that, he had other things on his mind. I think those events made me more aware that no matter how high a person might fly, they are still limited by thier ability to master their own demons. More than one person has been brought down by glory or greed.

Interesting observations Belle. I have to agree that the perception of success is overrated. I know lots of people with (apparantly) lots of money who are not what they seem to be and I question their happiness as being two different people has got to cause conflicts and hurt sometimes. I have called them veneered people, folks who have a face on to impress the public but who in private hold many dark secrets. I know several people who made lots of money through less than honorable means who have paid a steep price for their success. One family was implicated in the deaths of two teenaged girls (GHB) and lost a son, another's father and daughter were killed because they danced too close to the flame. Others I have observed will go to great lengths to preserve their *social standing* to the point of getting on local prime time news and making fools of themselves defending a teacher who pled guilty (after a bit of arm twisting...) to sexual battery (after being charged with child molestion). Others I have known have done some downright vicious deeds to preserve their empire. I think in some regards the quest for success leads those with weak minds/morals/ethics into compromising postions. I found myself there once, sorta stuck between a rock and a hard place. I chose the hard place and I think it was the best choice after all :) Success to me is: Being comfortable with who I am and being able to sleep easy at night because my consious is clear. Having a good relationship with my children. Being able to talk with someone and look them directly in the eye while we speak and to do so with honerable intentions. Working a job that challenges my skills. causes a generational change and that I have fun doing (finding/developing this ideal job however creates development and inplimentation problems which are not always fun) Having a core group of friends I can trust to bounce my brain against Being at peace with myself and others ;)

Just wanted to let you know that I LOVE my new flash drive. The portability means I can take projects home and work on it (of all things) and it did wonderful in holding my powerpoint presentation. I'll be interning in Bowdon and probably doing some additional work for them. I suspect my little silver medallion will come in handy :)

A friend of mine gave a talk at AA once on life events. They had a rough life and overcame many obsticles and had gone on to live a productive and dignified life. After telling us of the abuse and neglect she suffered throughout her early years and her self abuse later she said, "These things shaped me but they in no way define who I am." You could sense she had confronted her past and worked through some tough issues. Part of what helped her work through those issues was the group therapy sessions (if you will) of AA. In there people share their experince strength and hope with each other in the hopes of a mutual recovery. G'spot's intent from the beginning was similar, I know I was there. Alot of what you see posted here is a reflection of that success. I think the perception of us being the sickest folks in the world is wrong, I think what you see here is really what its like in real life, in other words we are the norm and not the exception.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

It was Wacky Funster and I think she does shows n such. I think you should do fine with online sales. I paid alot of money to get decent photo's of my work, I think it cost me $300 for a set of 8 but they were professionally done photos and got me into some hard to get into shows. Some shows had so many applicants, the jurors spent less than 2 minutes considering an application. Since your potential customers first impression of your work is the image they see of it's important to make a good first impression. Craft Report did a series on taking excellent photo's a few years back and there are a few books on the subject. I started to build a photo box as suggested by the Craft Report but ended up contracting the work out as I was quickly running out of time and patience. In any case I got into the Sugarloaf which was the whole point of the exercise. I've picked the gouge up again and I'm working on pieces for a show. I'm not in any hurry, a welcome reprieve from my last year of shows when I had 8 shows and was cranking work out as quick as I could. When I started my first piece in this series I had to remind myself I was doing this for fun and NOT for a show, my second piece went much easier :) but I am considering a show... My first real show was the Off the Square Art Show in Carrollton I'd like to do it this year or next. I'm in no hurry. A friend of mine owns a gallery and has said she'd like to show my work, I'm thinking of putting a few pieces in there and seeing how it goes. If I recall correctly all I wanted to do was grow garlic and turn bowls and not get all caught up in everything. Life turned out strangely.

The presentation went well and I had fun giving it. I fielded some lightweight questions and sat back down. Tom I left the background on the maps but I got rid of the overwriting I did n slide show. I finally figured out how to leave notes for myself in the composition layer so I won't contend with errant scratchings at the wrong time and place. I also made alist of relevant data I want to download and add to the map. I found many other feature classes that would be helpful in developing this marketplace. A friend that owned and operated an good sized organic cattle operation in Calif sold it and is moving to this area. From the map you can see the relevant production data. I started this project because I wanted to turn bowls n grow garlic. I found no market for my garlic. I figured out why and in the process inherited a 2 yr backlog of emails and phone messages. I decided to adress the key issues and I became a board member and began work on defining a response to said problem. So far we have completed two demographic profiles, several hours of on filmed farmed interview (edited by three Emmy winners). There is a sustainable agrculture curriculum almost finished to teach this stuff in high school and GO has provided an advisor to UGA to develope a sustainable agriculture program there. I am developing a Master Farmers program which will be a down n nasty short course in growing sustainably. Our Montessori school is moving and the new site will not only look like a farm but each childs family will spend time in the community garden providing 100% of the schools food needs. They chose the site mostly to accomplish these goals with price as a secondary goal. A Bowdon Veterenarian and his wife own the franchise and worked with the board to develop this stratagy. The school recieved an award from the Rodale Institute for its efforts in teaching sustainable agriculture to its students. Thanks :)

Cool beans. I'm expecting a laptop soon so then I'll get to figure out how to move the mouse with my fingertips and how to judge battery life. Life certainly is a learning adventure isn't it ;)

What the hell are podcasts? I thought i wus doing good remembering how to join and relate and now you want me to podcast??????????????? sheesh you are unreal

Thanks :) I went back through the pages and removed my scribblings, the blue the red and the yellow. I think I left most of the origional text alone. I saved it to my 1 Gig Flash Drive. I'll give a talk with it in the morning. I figured a study like this had already been done. It looked lile too simple a concept to be left easily ignored. I've a few more layers to add to the final map. I'm hoping for funding for a growers school. From what I've seen there are more factirs to add then there is memory

I've been learning Geographic Information Systems in school. The class needed a few prerequisites as most of us were floundering from the very start, but I did learn alot about Excel and PowerPoint and Arc Map. Fact is I've forgotten more about GIS than most of you know ;) I'm particularly proud of my topic as it plays directly into another trend, building a sustainable agriculture infrastructure in Georgia and the Southeast. I hope the files transfered ok. Obviously I need to fiqure out how to remove my scrawlings, fotunately I can turn that feature off before I begin my presentation. Building_Capacity3.ppt

You can find the craft report online, I've not subscribed to it in 8 yrs. Their primary audience is folks working in jewlery, fine glass and pottery, a friend of mine was featured in it once. It will give you a clue to what people are buying in terms of style and color, it'll also give you an idea of what shows were profitable and in what art form. I began turning in '91, my first real show came three years later. I worked at my craft for several years before I was able to enter the true marketplace where I could make a decent profit turning. I knew this before I began the process. I've seen lots of folks selling stuff at markets and tons of sites up from folks selling woodturnings and most of them are gone after a year or two. This is mostly due to an unrealistic expectation of the market.place Those sites that go up and stay up usually belong to someone who holds a regular job, has supplimental income or are owned by retired folks who use the extra income as mad money. It can be expensive and time consuming to compete in this marketplace. The craft/fine art market is tough to break into even with good product and goals. I'm not saying this to squash your goals but it is a fact you should consider. . I hope it works out for you

Thanks Chas I don't take my music with me. Most of the time my radio is tuned to an NPR affiliated college station mostly becuase everything else bores me but I understand and approve of the process and might take you up on it one day. I've spent time in different parts of the country and have taken the time to appreciate different music tastes so if I'm in a bad tune zone I throw some salt on the margaritas n rock on. All the data sources I have used so far were downloaded directly to my primary hard drive, I backed up my data by compressing it and sending it to myself at another computer and saving the unopened files. I also used up almost 2 gigs of drive space doing this so... I'm sure a gig of memory will do me. I did 8 GIS projects this semester and a detailed final project and used a gig and a half of drive (sometimes I did an exercise twice to be sure I knew what I was doing). I don't think any project I'm likely to work on would need more space than that. Less than 20 Excel and DBF files, a powerpoint presentation or two and the ArcMap files to illustrate the point. I'm guessing a gig is enough to do that and will store a roll of pictures too. If it can hold a 15 minute video clip then all is well. If not...then I will add an additional memory chip er flash drive. When I grow up I will be an urban planner of sorts, I'll immediately start work on my Masters but I will be working on urban planning projects in some form or fashion so transporting relevant data is important. But then I also think I answered my own question which is why I bought the drive in the first place ;)

LOL Chas, promises promises I remember all those outdoor shows I did during the summer not only was it hot and muggy but I had to tote tables chairs displays merchandise and my tent sometimes a quarter mile just to get to my booth. Then I'd have to set it all up and put on a happy face for my customers. Somedays I'd be worn out before the public even arrived... I redesigned my booth set up several times to ease setup, breakdown and transportation issues. I used 1/4" plywood for my display stands and they doubled as storage and transport boxes. I made my own risers out of 1/2" ply and pretty much designed everything to save weight and space. I even built a lightweight fireplace mantle and had a friend paint a roaring fire on it. Have you talked to other jewel craftsmen about how they got started? A good rag to read is the craftsman report, it gives tips and information on shows, not all shows are created equal.

Hmmm After listening to Chas I have to submit to her supreme wisdom Look into something related to what you know Become an advisor It requires less energy and resources just remember us little guys when you make it

You can apply for a business license and then request a tax id from the dept or revenue or you can get a business license and use your social or you can not get a business license and use your social. I was never asked to show a business license or tax # (other than my social) at any of the shows I did. I did have to buy a temporary business license for one show but that was the exception. You are required to collect and turn in sales tax and of you will want to set up a bookeeeping system to track income and expenses for income tax purposes. Other than that there isn't much more to it except producing and selling which is a whole other beast. I did everything from antuque tractor shows to the Sugarloaf show and managed a farmers market as well , and believe me, no two shows are identical. They take alot of energy to pull off and setting up an easy up is anything but. Good Luck

I'm not so sure you need a wholesale license in Georgia if all you want to do is buy at wholesale prices. You might need a business license to qualify for those prices or to open up a bank account tho I am not sure you do. I'd look into getting a business license but take into consideration home businessess may not be permitted where you live. I bought all sorts of woods wholesale when I was turning and never ran into a problem. When I wanted to buy wood I'd call the company and discuss what they had in stock and how much they wanted for it, sometimes we'd work out a package deal. I sent them money they sent me wood. I've still got a block of ebony and possibly the biggest chunk of Gonco Alves in Georgia from that buying spree. .

Global Warming is for real, you can take that for gospel or stick it in your pipe and smoke it, its real. However it happened, our climate is changing and we to whatever extent contributed to that change. I saw a show that suggested we can eventually mitigate these changes by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.I think it had something to do with reforestation and using hte trees to absorb co2 from the atmosphere. I dunno but it looked interesting ;)

Happy Birthday Hope :)

I bought one for $65.00, it's Relay, a Staples brand. I don't see much difference between this and what will come next except for storage size, download speed will depend on the machine I'm using. I've yet to see a program needing anywhere near a gig of memory. I know the price will fall dramaticly but am I right, won't most current applications fit within the one gig memory of the latest falsh drive? oh yeah I mean before they make it an injectable chip and stick it in our shoulder.

It was David and he ran for Governor of Louisanna. It was a vote for the klan or vote for the crook campaign, the crook won.

I've known Klansmen for 20 something years, they used to hold ralleys in town until the kids started raising a ruckus n then they quit. Their Georgia headquarters lies about 15 miles from here and is featured on television periodicly. It shares the mobile home with the folks that run the thing. The last time I saw them on tv there was a washer n dryer on the porch and a rebel flag flying from the porch post. The KKK during the 80's was led (if I remember correctly) by a brash newcomer whose name escapes me at the moment, I believe he even tried to run for President or Congress or something. He tried to put a good face on the klan but in the face of increasing public dislike of prejeduce and recism and lack of interest from membership his grand vision failed to materialize. Since then they have been hit with several costly lawsuits and most folks see the few that are left as remnants of a by gone day. Him putting on his application seems to me to be coming from a bit of honesty on his part. I'd ask a bit more about it

On a serious note, I was around for pop and some of the aftermath. We were so far out in the boonies that all I managed was a quick lookover before my recently resigned extwig coordinator snatched it back and ran back across the street to her home, slamming the door shut on the way in to fume (I suppose) about ol craiggers. Since then I have read it (twice) and have to say most of those points would be obvious to anyone who knew of the circles inner doings. I left shortly after but got reinvolved in the early 90's. I remember an splinter outtie wanted me to order a bunch of way material, stuff like the blue book etc. but I digress. I never forgot PoP and as the 90's got rolling so did the paranoia. Its funny how during this time I had become a *part* of this area, a fixture, friend to many. I began to see just what ties I had where and realised I had many good friends in this community and began to reevaluate my connections with twi. I had seen several folks become mark and avoid during this time and was privey to much of the process...I knew twi was off balance, big time. What bothered me was their us v them attitude. I looked at craigs psyche and what he was preaching and knew to what level he intended to carry it if the opportunity arose. That scared me. Remember the Eastwood and Wayne cutouts...

I must be one of the deadhead grads Rock on !