#2. DB observations and/or complaints

[nivellesart]

Originally drawn for the prompt Germany in Round 2 (2021/2022) of the @stuckybingo and then I didn't finish it until today (I had too much fun with the graffiti and the rest felt more like work, so I've been putting it off.)

In my head, Sam, Steve and Bucky tried to get around Germany in Civil War by train (before giving up and getting a car.)

[bliss-wily]

Knew he was already in the game but ahhhh so pretty! The difference between Xenoverse 2 and this is amazing.

I did notice a change in this boy though, his shoes are now white like they were in DBS Broly. Just clarifying: not a complaint just an observation. Besides how could I have any complaints when…

Ahhhhhh!!! It’s felt like forever since his transformation was playable in a game. I loved using him in Raging Blast 2 and I’m so happy to see his beast form again and usable too!

I’m afraid that’s the only screenshot I got as my phone wasn’t cooperating. Poor Vegeta. But :3

And yes I’m excited for everything else I seen too, but it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t fixate on Zarbon now would it? Although definitely a special mention for Raditz because 💯.

I swear, if Zarbon and Raditz are playable I’m sold. The game could be utter garbage and I’d love it hehe.

[fishandloaves]

Know Your Rights: Advice on Arrest/Police Powers During Protesting (London Edition)

Hey all, I haven’t seen a post like this advising on what to do in the event you are taken to police custody that is UK-based. so I thought I would share some tips/contact numbers/advice. In light of the upcoming #BLM protests coming up in London, I thought I would share some resources/tips on your rights and dealing with the police. 

[Disclaimer: I am not a legal practitioner - this is NOT legal advice. This is all advice that I have collated from various grassroots organisations, charities, and government websites] 

1. Here is a bustcard - print one out and keep it on you during the protest! Always have either this bustcard on you, or write down the contact number of a trusted solicitor and the Protest Support Line at all times. (If you are outside London, check the greenandblackcross website for a bustcard specific to your location)

Plain text version:  ADVICE ON ARREST 

Say “NO COMMENT” to all police questions during casual chats, ‘booking in’ & interviews. At the police station you may wish to give your name, address and date of birth to speed your release. If asked your nationality you must give it. For protection and that of other people don’t answer further questions. 

Do not accept a CAUTION without advice from a recommended solicitor. This is an admission of responsibility and goes on the police national computer. 

You have the right to FREE LEGAL ADVICE at the police station. Duty solicitors do not always have experience with protest law, we recommend asking the police to contact one of the following: 

ITN (Irvine Thanvi Natas): 020 3909 8100  HJA (Hodge Jones & Allen): 0808 252 8678  Bindmans: 0207 833 4433 / 020 7305 5638 (out of hours)  Kelly’s: 01273 674 898 / 0800 387 463 (out of hours) 

You have the right to have someone informed of your arrest. (Make that the Protest Support Line unless otherwise arranged: 07946 541 511).

You have the right to an interpreter if English is not your first language.  If you are or appear under 18, an appropriate adult should be called.

LEGAL QUESTIONS about PROTEST? 

STOP AND SEARCH: You do not have to give your name and address under any stop and search power, see below website for more details. Legally you must be told the reason and the power that you are being searched under. 

If you witness an arrest, want support or have legal questions about protest: courtsupport@protonmail.com  07946 541 511 

Legal Observers are independent volunteers who gather evidence on behalf of protestors and act to counter police intimidation and misbehaviour. Read more about your rights and protest legislation: www.greenandblackcross.org

After arrest &/or if you have a court date & want advice, email courtsupport@protonmail.com

2. Stop and Search: Know Your Rights Linked above is the official gov.uk webpage regarding the police power to stop and search. Read it fully before a protest so you know what your rights are when asked to submit under this power.

Important: ‘stop and search’ is NOT the same as ‘stop and account.’ Under stop and search, you are well within your rights to refuse to answer and walk away! 

Police Powers  A police officer has powers to stop and search you if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect you’re carrying:

illegal drugs

a weapon 

stolen property 

something which could be used to commit a crime, such as a crowbar

You can only be stopped and searched without reasonable grounds if it has been approved by a senior police officer. This can happen if it is suspected that: 

serious violence can take place

you’re carrying a weapon or used one 

you’re in a specific location or area

Before you’re searched  Before you’re searched the police officer must tell you: 

their name and police station

what they expect to find, for example drugs 

the reason they want to search you, for example if it looks like you’re hiding something 

why they are legally allowed to search you 

that you can have a record of the search and is this isn’t possible at the time, how you can get a copy

Removing clothing: police powers A police officer can ask you to take off your coat, jacket or gloves. 

The police might ask you to take off other clothes and anything you’re wearing for religious reasons - for example a veil or turban. If they do, they must take you somewhere out of public view. 

If the officer wants to remove more than a jacket and gloves they must be the same sex as you. 

3. Key Messages  NO COMMENT  NO PERSONAL DETAILS WHAT POWER?  NO DUTY SOLICITOR NO CAUTION

No comment: 

You do not need to answer police questions, so don’t.

This is for your own protection and for the protection of others.

The police will try to pressure and deceive you into incriminating yourself. Instead of trying to decide when it seems ‘safe’ to answer, just say “No comment” to all questions. During ‘informal chats’ in the police van and especially in interview. 

If your friend in the next cell knows you aren’t going to talk, they will feel better able not to talk themselves. Remember, interviews only help the police - they will not interview you if they already have enough evidence to charge you. 

A good solicitor will sometimes suggest that you make a prepared statement in interview. In that case, you or your solicitor will read the statement and you should answer “No comment” to any more questions. 

For a longer discussion, see the “NO COMMENT” booklet produced by the Legal Defence and Monitoring Group. [Their website seems to down at the moment - will update when I can get the link!] 

No personal details: 

You do not have to give personal details under ANY stop and search power, so don’t. 

On protests, the police often use searches as a way of finding out who is present, both for intelligence purposes and to intimidate you.

Police also use arrest as a means of gathering information, particularly when they arrest a large number of people together (“mass arrest”).

As a default, you do NOT have to give your personal details to the police at any point during the arrest process. However, since 2017, if you have been arrested, the police can require to say what your nationality is and can require you to produce nationality documents, if they suspect that you are not a British citizen.

We recommend not giving personal details to the police for as long as possible – for more information on why, see the page “Do I have to give my details?”. If you have been arrested and taken to the police station you may wish to give your name, address and date of birth at the custody desk to speed your release. Police will usually check the address and may visit at a later date.

Once you reach court, you can be required to give your name, date of birth and nationality.

There are a few situations in which police may have a power to require personal details: if someone is driving a vehicle (or another licensed activity); if they are being fined under a Fixed Penalty Notice; under a particular anti-social behaviour power (which should not generally be used against protesters); or if there is a particular by-law.

What Power?:

Ask “What power?” to challenge the police to act lawfully

Some police officers rely on you not knowing the law. If you are asked to do something by a police officer, ask them what power (i.e. what law) they are using and why they are using it. Make a note of what was said, by whom (numbers) as soon as possible afterwards.

Don’t let them turn this into a situation where they ask you questions though – just walk away once you have your answer, and remember No Comment!

No Duty Solicitor:

Use a recommended solicitor with protest experience. Here is a list of trusted solicitors who are experienced at dealing with cases surrounding police and protest. 

The “duty solicitor” is the solicitor who is present at the police station. They may come from any firm of solicitors, which means they almost certainly know nothing about protest.

Duty solicitors often give bad advice to protesters; we recommend you always use a good solicitor who knows about protest. 

You are entitled to free legal advice inside a police station and can ask for one of the solicitors in the above list. 

If you do not know which solicitor to call, contact the Protest Support Line. 

No Caution:

Cautions are an admission of guilt

Offering you a caution is a way the police may ask you to admit guilt for an offence without having to charge you. It is an easy win for the police, as they don’t have to provide any evidence or convince a court of your guilt.

At the very least, you should never accept a caution without taking advice from a good solicitor.

4. Guides

For supporting yourself:

Key Advice when going on a Protest Stop and Search Being Trans and Protesting Looking after your health on actions Trauma and Emotional Support What happens if I’m Arrested? I’ve been Arrested! What Next? Should I ignore Police Bail? The Post-Charge Legal Process DBS checks and being arrested on protests Key Advice for Protesting in France Demonstrations and International Students

For supporting others: 

How to give Police Station Support My Friend has been Arrested! Support for People going to Court What is a Legal Observer? Witness to an Arrest or Police Violence?

For organising an action:

Guide to Injunctions Planning an Action Protesting on Private Property

Protest Laws:

Filming and Photographs at Actions Laws Commonly Used at Protests Obstructing Workplaces: Trade Union Legislation Police Liaison Officers

Challenging the police:

Holding the Police to Account How do I find out what Information the Police hold on me? Making a Claim Against the Police Making a Complaint Against the Police What is a Judicial Review?

For more information: www.greenandblackcross.org 

5. General protest advice

Look out for things that don’t seem right. Stay alert for undercover white supremacists who may be infiltrating the protest. If anything seems off to you, document it. 

Follow the directions of grassroots black organisers. 

Film safely - do not film anyone’s faces/anything that could identify individuals at a protest. There are other, better resources online for successful filming.

Wear unassuming clothing and face coverings.

Buddy up - write down each other’s contact details on your arm, as well as the Protest Support Line. Make sure someone is keeping an eye on you and check in on them. 

Keep socially distanced - we’re still in the middle of a pandemic! 

Wear masks and protective eye gear if possible. 

Tie hair up.

If you can, leave your phone at home and bring a burner phone for contacting your buddy/contacts.

If you must bring your smartphone, first turn off Face/Touch ID, disable data and location services, and go on airplane mode. Also, watch this video on signal proofing your phone.

Don’t bring anything incriminating e.g. drugs, weapons (including pocket knives) - don’t give them a reason to arrest you! 

Don’t wear contact lenses or jewellery 

Bring water (for hydration and tear gas) 

Bring snacks (thank me later) 

Bring first aid supplies

STAY SAFE AND LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.🖤 

Safe protesting, y’all ✊🏽 #BlackLivesMatter

[todaybharatnews]

via Today Bharat nbsp; According to the police, the accused mdash; all of whom had recently appeared for their High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exams mdash; had organised a picnic on Friday. The victim was a student of Class VII at a local school. nbsp; assam rape case, assam minor rape case, assam news, assam crime, northeast india, assam police,nbsp; According to the victimrsquo;s family members, she went missing on Friday night. (Representational)An 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed by a group of juveniles in Assamrsquo;s Biswanath District. According to the police, the body was found hanging on a tree in a forest on Saturday. ldquo;We have apprehended seven accused and they are being kept at an observation home of the Juvenile Justice Board, Jorhat,rdquo; said Saurav Jyoti Saikia, Additional SP, Biswanath District, adding that the police were awaiting the post-mortem report. ldquo;Investigations are underway and we can confirm the nature of the crime only once we have the medical report,rdquo; he said. According to the police, the accused mdash; all of whom had recently appeared for their High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exams mdash; had organised a picnic on Friday. The victim was a student of Class VII at a local school. According to the victimrsquo;s family members, she went missing on Friday night. ldquo;When we could not find her on Friday night, we thought she was kidnapped. We filed an FIR on Saturday morning,rdquo; said the victimrsquo;s father, a farmer. The police registered the complaint under Section 366(A), 376 DB, 34 of the IPC and R/W Section 4 A of the POSCO Act. According to the father, the boys ldquo;lured her to the picnic.rdquo; ldquo;They raped her in the forest at night and murdered her,rdquo; he alleged. The forest is about 2 km from the victimrsquo;s home. On Monday, hundreds of students from the Takam Mising Porin Keacute;bang (All Mising Studentsrsquo; Union) as well as the public staged a dharna at the local police station. ldquo;We have demanded that the accused be tried in a fast track court so that they cannot escape the law and are punished immediately,rdquo; said Rajib Kadong, a TMPK member, ldquo;The family is very poor and need assistance.rdquo; The father said the entire family is shattered and appealed to the Prime Minister and Chief Minister to ensure that the accused are severely punished. ldquo;Thousands have come to meet me today. At least I am being able to speak but wife is in a bad way. She has been unable to get up and has been on saline drip since yesterday,rdquo; he said. In another case on February 26. a five-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Assamrsquo;s Hojai district. Her body was found in a forest the next day. One person was arrested in connection to the case.

[blog-childmindermummy-blog]

Kickstarting your business

So you have just been approved from Ofsted and got your Certificate ready to start. I will now be offering advise on your next steps to take to get up and running properly. 

Funding: 

You have to apply through th council to start offering the funding. 

parents need to apply online to get funding entitlement. 

You have to apply for every child on your online account once they are accepted for funding. 

You need to enter their hours each term in advance. 

It is upto you whether you offer funding or not. You will most likely get more bussiness if you do offer it but there are cons to doing funding: 

If you are over paid you do have to pay the money back. 

You are not paid monthly. (At the moment i do the 15 hours funding i get paid every 3 months. Which makes it harder to pay bills) 

Advertising: 

Facebook Page (always successful and i get 90% of my business through this) 

Instagram 

Twitter

Flyers (hand out at schools, health centres, groups, nurseries) 

your your car branded (i get a lot of business from this also as it stands out) 

work wear (t-shirts, jumpers) 

Welcome packs: 

Welcome Letter

About me 

About the setting

Application form

All about me 

Opening hours

Fees / Funding (it is up to you what you charge, you can check the going rate for your area online) Funding prices are different in certain areas) 

Things to provide 

Policies and procedures check list

Contract 

Emergency contact form 

Late payment policy 

Medical and allergy form 

Timetable 

Menu 

Notice Board: 

You must have your Ofsted certficate, First aid certificate and Safeguarding procedures on show at all times. 

other things to consider: 

newsletter

menu

daily plan 

Children starting: 

Cosider taking a deposit of one month in advance. This is so the place is held, without a deposit you cannot promise to hold a childs place. This will come of the first months invoice and is non-refundable. 

Holidays - i charge half fee for childrens holidays as i am still running a bussiness and canot fill the space while the child is away, at least then you still get some money. I never charge for my own holidays 

Sick days - I charge full fee for a childs sick day (check exclusion periods for certain illnesses) at the end of the day you still have yourself and your family to think about. You can’t charge if you are of sick. 

I would strongly advice getting payments a month in advance. Just so you don’t lose money and basically don’t get screwed over by parents. This is from personal experience. I have had no problems so far. 

Daily Register: 

Keep a register of childrens presence and absesnces, trips and outings. This covers your back if there was ever a complaint or if Ofsed was to ask questions.

Planning: 

It’s always good to plan ahead your day. You don’t necessarily have to follow it but it helps for activities. 

Observations: 

Try to do 2-3 observations a month with 1 long observation per term. you can keep paperwork to a minimum. You don’t have to spend hours a day filling in paperwork. 

Things to include on your obervation: 

Name

Date

Child or Adult initiated 

Resources indoors or outdoors

Activity description

Area it covers:

PSED

CL

PD

L

M

EAD

UW

On your long observation include characteristics of effective learning:

PE

AL

CTC

And 

Next steps 

Collections: 

If you have a different person collecting a child have a safeword, picture, and have the person that dropped the child of fill in a safeguarding collection form. 

Accidents / Incidents :

If a child comes in with a new mark, bruise the parent/guardian should fill in an incident form. If the child has an accident fill in an accident form and the parent/guardian should sign and date this. (keep i child’s file) 

Medication / Allergies: 

If a child takes medication you will need a parent to fill in a medication form. You are only allowed to give a child medication that has been perscribed by a doctor. ensure it is labelled, named and dated. 

Ensure you are fully aware of any allergies. 

Fire alarm:

Do a fire alarm test risk assessment each month. 

Invoicing:

Make sure you give parents an invoice each moth even for funded parents.

Finances:

Keep your finances up to date and track everything! You will need this when you do you self assement. 

Thing to include: 

Supplies

Fuel

Food

Outings 

Heating and Lighting

Water

Council Tax

Wear and Tear

Liability Isurance 

Memberships

Training Courses

Home Insurance

Car Insurance 

ICO

DBS 

Ofsted application 

Health check application 

To work out what percentage of things to inclide in your finances for things such as council tax, heating, electric, food, fuel etc you can find that here: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim52751 

On a seprate sheet keep a record of what parents pay you and when each month including funding and grants. 

When you do your self assement try and keep aside some money for tax try and work out a rough estimate of what you think you will be charged using the online tax calculator. Easier to do this once you have a few children on board. Remember to take of all your outgoings from your intake. 

Try and keep on top of your expences each month so you don’t fall behind. 

[robustcornhusk]

stressors, meandering:

today, there’s just under ~3 days worth of anki reviews to do, because i hardly did any of them yesterday and sunday. sunday, because the static human was in the apartment and i spent all from 9am when they first appeared to 12pm when they left buzzing (and normally i do the reviews from 9 to 10:30ish). monday, because the time-tracking was broken because technogorgon had poked the router settings and had inadvertently broken a bunch of the less-capable machines (raspberry pis, other housemate’s laptop) and so i wasn’t able to poke the pi and get it going, and the static human was in the apartment until 10am, and i was suddenly and totally done.

... and there must be more than that, because i’m pretty sure that usually i don’t lose my shit about not doing the reviews while the timer is going. i answer them from a tablet all the time. i do plan to ever get the anki db synced up with the timer db to use it to automagically find missing intervals and tag existing ones. 

on friday i saw my psychiatrist, and i said: i’ve felt unmotivated lately, my partner had noticed me not doing things i want to do, and i can’t tell if it’s (’just’) that i’m doing more every day  than i used to and i have less of myself left over for everything else (3-4 hours per day on the ~ & anki, stepped up on cooking lately), or if it’s something else... and i guess to an extent it doesn’t matter, because the result is “i need to do X, Y, Z, and A, B, C every day, and i’m only getting X, Y, and Z”... and to an extent it does matter, because it could be that X-Z and A-C together are more than any normal human could hope to do daily ... but i don’t know if that’s true in this case. 

i’m hoping for about 8 hours a day, about, to do things I care about; not even on top of working/holding a job. 3-4 hours of studying ~ (including organization, for-fun reading/watching tv/playing games in ~; i don’t want 4 hours of just answering flashcards), 1-2 hours for cooking, 1 hour for exercise, 1 hour for keeping our apartment in order, and maybe some time at the end for being an actual human to my friends.

which maybe answers why the weekends are often so draining, right: i’m still studying (half as much; only review, no additions), still cooking, still cleaning and errands; not exercise per se but my partner and i go out for 5+ mile walks... and most of this is with the static person there, and the only way to disengage from them is to be actively doing something else. 

why does it seem that they’re draining? 

one part is that their default is on. they’ve said that when they’re anxious, they talk more. they want/give more conversation if you say ‘hi’ than other people i know. 

they want to share things with people at what seems to me a very early stage. this is unpleasant when it’s occurring at/with me, because i don’t know how to say “we’re not that close” but it’s also uncomfortable when i’m only observing it occur... 

part is that many of the things they enjoy/like talking about/... are extremely upsetting for me (and for them, being told to not talk about those topics is extremely upsetting) and ways of seeing the world that are extremely important to them are ways that i must not because i inevitably (at least at this time) get sucked into a pit of despair. static often talks about how they can’t talk to their family or former friends about these things, and how it hurts them because it is a central part of them.

an example of the aboves: we’d gone to the county fair a few years ago, because rickety poorly maintained sick 80s airbrushed fair rides are the best. we briefly went to look at the demolition derby, because it was there. we’re standing on a crowded set of bleachers, surrounded by people, surrounded by a lot of people. somehow, it seems relevant, and static says: “Hey, do you want to hear a funny story about (bondage)?” “there’s a lot of people, and i don’t think this is really the place for it ...” a little bit later we leave and start walking elsewhere, still surrounded by people, and suddenly static dives into the bondage story, which is about them and some other people i know. i did not want to know it.

static and housemate were working on a project for a while. at one point, housemate is in the living room, wearing headphones, working on project. they’ve said many times to please not disturb them while they have headphones on; they’re checking their phone messages every 20-30 minutes so if you send a message there they’ll see it and respond soon. (and indeed, they did check and respond to things like “you need to get the garbage”, “we are eating dinner in an hour so it’d be cool if we could have half the table back”, “here’s a funny picture”) static was in the living room. “hey, (housemate), look at this! oh, (housemate) has headphones on. ... hey, (housemate), take your headphones off! come look at this!” (they’d previously interrupted me a bunch while i had headphones on, but i thought it was that they weren’t noticing the headphones, not that they didn’t care).

digression/comparison:

a person i used to sorta be friends with liked to tell me about people they were hooking up with, people they thought were attractive, how they were asking out people at work, people they thought thought they were attractive, ...). i had a conversation with this person about this is important to you, but also, i cannot be in the same room as people talking about this sort of thing. my housemates didn’t know, invited them over, and.... they started talking about that sort of thing again. i left the room; it had to be explained to them why. (they’d also been an ass, maybe to me in specific and not other people, for other things: “People are wondering why you’re here, since you don’t talk to anyone.”) I didn’t spend very much time with them for a long time after that. 

they worked with cohuman on a project in nov/dec and were still enough of an ass (i have grumped about this at length) that i have seen them a handful of times since (picking up pieces from the project;housemate had them over and i had a migraine, i ran into them while out). they made gestures at ‘an apology is necessary’ and didn’t actually give one. 

rejoining:

but it’s been pretty easy to not see them, because no one in my house is fucking dating them: the cohuman has also been fucking annoyed at them, my other housemates are aware that i have been fucking mad. (when my housemate had them over, housemate did check with me first: is it okay? i know you’re mad, so feel free to say no, ....)

and there’s no good way to say: roommate, your datefriend. they drive me up the wall. i can’t handle hearing about i am the reason why my ex-partner stop being a vegan, isn’t that funny (not in the “i forced them” sense) and here’s a story about kink and sex! and my landlord is incompetent! you’re going to listen to me complain! come over to our apartment sometime to hang out! and here are all the times i made really bad decisions about things like ‘substances’ and ‘driving!’ (not at the same time!) and i see we’re having a light-hearted conversation in the living room! let’s talk about time my friend commit suicide! and ...

when i moved to sf, i had been planning to live with housemate; i wasn’t totally sure how it was going to work out, partially because they’re way more on the if it’s worth doing it’s worth halfassing side of things than me, and i’m more on the it’s more frustrating to have something that’s half-right side. [overall with the effort-levels and tastes of four people it’s worked out.] but i figured that would be a minor complaint, and it’d be worth it for me to live with more rather than fewer people, both because i’d be miserably lonely otherwise and also because no one can afford to live in sf by themselves. it was a lot of fun, the first year.

i went to an event last summer and was in an unusual headspace. there was a conversation going on that housemate and i both had a lot of direct experience with (and that i had additionally studied academically), and.... every time i tried to say something, housemate would cut me off; to the point that i couldn’t even say “I’m going to go elsewhere” (we were in a large, crowded, confusing place such that informing people you were with of your whereabouts was at minimum polite). 

i’d had conversations about the same with housemate before, in similar headspaces, in similar and other places, and it hadn’t been like that at all. and more and more i feel like when we do talk about something complex, we’re talking past each other. so it happens less and less, and when it does we don’t make any sense...

when did it get worse? for one, when they started dating static. but again, i think, when they were unemployed for three months. it got better i think after we moved to a large apartment in an easier-to-leave area, and it’s gotten better since they’ve been working again, ... but not back all the way, maybe. i don’t know if it’s: i need more private space than this to live with housemates; i need to not live with housemates; i need more private space to live with this housemate; i need to not live with this housemate.

i can’t imagine us finding a larger apartment in sf without doubling our total transit time (to work, to appointments, for errands) (we lucked out; i think we were the only people to see the unit). there’ll maybe be some housing shakeups for people around us in the next year.

i don’t want to live alone (with just cohuman). when i feel awful my default is to not go out and see people; living with multiple humans means i do see some good friends nearly every week at least; when i’m wrecked they’re at least willing to pick food for me and deal with my share of the dishes when it’s just plates and stuff. i can’t tell to what degree they’re actually contributors to stress and to what degree my brain is just blaming something plausible.

and certainly to some extent it is that, right. i can’t stand hearing about sex/gender/kink etc from people i know very well. (from people i know very well? from people talking about it without qualifiers on what they know? people talking (with familiarity to me) about it? somewhere in there.) if i were a good person, or whatever, i’d be dealing with that. 

(i was going to say, ‘for example, if it’s that part of the reason that generalized-sexuality bothers me is that it seems like a sudden discontinuity in who a person is, why am i okay with people taking mind-altering substances but not people being aroused?’ .... but the answer is that i’m okay with drugs because, generally, people choose to take them at a time. i’m actually pretty annoyed by people who i go to see and it turns out they’re high as fuck and didn’t tell me before hand, and similar. but arousal is weird because sometimes it happens without much volition? it feels like being someone else. i hate it, sometimes. 

why am i okay with hunger and eating? well, i guess that good food is fun as long as i’m not totally full, i still enjoy thinking about food when i’m not eating or hungry, the change from not-hungry me to hungry me is smooth, perhaps because food is an okay thing to have or talk about in public. it’s not that food isn’t a topic that people can be Weird About (behold, a vegan). It’s okay to be or talk about being tired and sleepy in public, if boring, even though it’s generally not very convenient (for you or people around you) to sleep in public; i don’t have a lot of thoughts about sleep when i’m not tired other than “it’s not very convenient sometimes when i have a lot to do”. i guess overall i’d prefer to be less requiring-of-sleep. generally being tired in public doesn’t cause harm to come to people. it’s kinda hard to be tired or hungry at someone though i guess people get hangry and stuff, and i’d imagine arguments are common.

i hate having coughs or allergies, but i don’t really get distressed by a sneezing or coughing fit out of nowhere. they’re pretty treatable with allergy meds and cough meds

so sexual arousal is something i perceive as: occurs suddenly and without warning, whether it is wanted it or not; a thing people have used to hurt me (very directly and deliberately, as well as accidentally). it lowers how disgusted people are by something, but not permanently. if you want to induce it, you often have to do things that (if they don’t succeed in inducing it) make you feel grossed out or ridiculous; those things will be inconvenient, can be tiring or cause accidental injury; seem to be time delayed so that they only work after you’ve given up and tried to move on, ... when does attraction even come into the picture? 

(i have seen many recommendations for ‘come as you are’; the descriptions of it contained in those recommendations horrify me. straight to the depths of despair: the problem is intractable, impossible.)

(someone described a certain form of injury: you’ve hurt your leg, or arm, or back. your body sends pain signals: it hurts! it’s injured! don’t move it much!. you obey. great! don’t move it! it’s injured! see, it hurts! you don’t move it. see! great! don’t move at all! it’s injured! it hurts.)

...

gender is horrible because people decided i was one thing and i tried to go along and while i was bad at it, i still understood myself to be that thing, but i wanted to be something else, it was annoying that people thought i would like some things (name, body) when they were actually inconvenient and hateful. i tried something else, and that went better, and it’s still not something i would consider very .... .... additionally, it’s really annoying that some people will both say that i don’t have any real experience with the first thing because i was really in the second group the whole time while still treating me as a member of the first and very diffierent from how they treat the second. ... enough gay women have hit on me, but only after learning i’m trans... slightly more specifically, but not very, the set of people who 1) unconsciously slot me into one bucket and 2) think they consciously slot me into second bucket and 3) consciously attempt to counteract perceived/understood unconscious biases.

...

( i enjoy systems of ... more-opt in reading for this sort of thing, even before tags, right. people writing here use so many words that it’s easy to hide things i need to not see, or need to be okay to see, even if it’s hard to tag things accurately, and it’s not-silently-hidden. when it happens in my living room i get wrecked.)

when i’m afraid of it happening in my living room i get wrecked.

...

to some extent it’s not really possible/easy to ‘fix’ this sort of thing when i am primarily thinking ‘i have to fix it to be a good person’. moreover, it’s hard and a lot of effort to fix. and i’m not sure how important and necessary it is to fix, if i weren’t in this situation.

sexuality has been an easier topic for me, even when i was more recently fucked up, when it wasn’t a thing so much. gender has been an easier topic for me when it wasn’t a thing so much.

and i understand why it is so important to static to be very open about this sort of thing, and also it’s important to me to be closed about it. and i’m afraid they’re not going to be hurt by it unless i explain why, but/and/also explaining why to them hurts me and doesn’t guarantee than they won’t be hurt, will act in a way that doesn’t hurt me in the future, etc.

...

some years ago, a person hurt me in a way. the following year, an acquaintance of mine did two things: moved into an apartment with that person, and also began dating one of my (housemate&friend)s. acquaintance became a friend and on the topic of that person, said one thing: I won’t bring them up. I don’t know to what degree this was a hardship; were they friends? were they a shitty housemate? did they regret what happened, or was it like living with a person who had no idea they could be monstrous? i have no idea. i appreciated and appreciate not having to come to any consistency of emotion towards that person. (go with god, but go). 

 ...

leave/move, live with just the cohuman:

it’s expensive in sf, so we’d spend a lot, or live far away. no guarantee it will solve all my problems. won’t live with people, which might fuck me up, especially if i’m far from them. 

live with the cohuman in pittsburgh:

not many jobs for them. cheap, though, we could have space. it’s too cold to go spontaneously out a third of the year. we could live close to friends, or maybe with. it’s maybe too small a place.

move with the cohuman to a certain somewhere new:

what jobs? not as cheap as pittsburgh, but better than here. we could have space and still be near things. i could get around without a car all year. no friends.

stay:

keep sucking it up, because with high probability (waiting on the clock to run out) some factors will change this year. ‘accept’, in the “it’s going to happen, better plan” sense, that i’m just going to lose days to ... this. that, unavoidably, i’m going to run out of gas regularly like this; that of my remaining time, i’ll still have some baseline anxiety about that.

i’ll be watching myself watching myself watching myself watching myself ... until i can’t move or think. (what is the right thing to say or do right now? i can’t do the wrong one, because that might make _ happen, and _ is a real and bad situation; i have to think of the right one. is it _? well, right now, A and B, but i’m not sure of C, and _ will lead to X or Y or Z, and i don’t know how likely. i’m not reacting. they don’t know what i’m thinking. i can’t speak without thinking because that might hurt them, so i need to be careful about what i say. they might be confused or sad if they realize how careful i’m being to think through what i’m going to say, because i think i have given the impression that i’m too incoherent to speak. It might make me come off as manipulative or selfish or cold. if i express why i’m hesitant to speak it might make them feel like they have doing something wrong and been too distant or untrustworthy for me to speak openly to ...i can’t relax because i haven’t so i can’t because it might indicate that my thoughts have changed but i’m still in the same circle going around and around, so it would be misleading, and it’s usually bad to be misleading or lie, ...)

it’s not clear that i’m actually any worse off doing this over the others, is the thing; rather that the unpleasant things from lately are very visible to me. 

i feel better than yesterday, but i don’t think i’m going to get much done today, either.

[listeningtoaustin-blog]

Music Scenes: The Acoustemology of SXSW

Introduction

The soundscape of Austin is comparable to many other mid-size urban cities, with components like traffic, construction and nightlife being a common denominator. However, the prominent role of music scenes in Austin is a point that has historically been advertised by the city and something that differentiates the acoustemology of Austin from other cities. Perhaps not actually so different than music scenes in other cities, Austin prides itself on being the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World.” (O’Meara and Tretter) With two popular music festivals in the spring and fall, South by Southwest (SXSW) and Austin City Limits, as well as daily opportunities to see live music, Austin citizens are well attuned to the relevance of live music in their city, or at the very least, the consequences that such a reputation brings to them. There is no time when this is more clear than during the second week of March when thousands flock to the city for SXSW, a festival which occupies the city for ten days, immersing it in live music and constructing social spaces organized around sound.

A Walk Down 6th: The Sounds of SXSW - Mark Gongora

This recording is taken during the second to last day of the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin. While this festival is only once a year, it represents a vital component of the voice of Austin. The city is often referred to as “The Live Music Capital of the World” due its large number of events, concerts, and other regular music performances. SXSW represents this more so than any other festival that takes place in the city due to the large number of events and their locations all over the town. To combine this with 6th Street, the most infamous location in Austin for live music, allows us to capture and observe a defining soundscape of the city. The recording captures a walk from the intersection at 6th and West Avenue to the intersection at 6th and Colorado Street. The first thing heard is the sound of an alternative rock band playing from inside a bar, this blends directly into the sounds of the street. While the sounds of the wind and movement remain constant, the music fades off as the recorder walks away. Other regular sounds of the city are then heard: passing by buses, a dog barking, and construction. The sounds average in at 81.9 decibels according to the reader. The way these sounds blend together physically are representative of how they blend together culturally as well. Where Austin is similar to other cities with its urban noises, its reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World adds music and the sounds of instruments into the idea of noise for the city. And while the music performances can be generalized to a few infamous locations, the sound travels and is heard all throughout the city. While the city definitely receives complaints of the noise, residents have been quoted as saying such things as: “We live in Austin, this is a music town.”  And in regards to downtown noise being heard as far north as Hyde Park: “It’s one of the great things about living here, and it’s a small price to pay, but it’s a fascinating mystery.” This recording is only a brief selection of the city’s noise, but what it represents cannot be understated. The way the loud and brash rock music quickly merges into the tranquil sounds of everyday city life portrays the sonic culture of Austin, where unlike other cities, music and noise are on in the same.

https://soundcloud.com/ezra-hawk/sxsw-recording-ezra

Listening to SXSW as a resident - Harry Lindsey

When observing the acoustemology of SXSW, I observed from the point of view as a resident interacting with the sounds of SXSW as part of the broad Austin soundscape, rather than an active listener. All of my recordings took place in 21st Street Co-op in the West Campus area, which is where I live. Throughout SXSW, 21st Street put on shows every day of the weeklong festival, causing me to interact with the sounds of SXSW as both a resident and active participator of the event. It felt like the sound of SXSW was a constant sonic component of my everyday listening experiences for that week. The melodies, rhythm and bass of each act vibrating and echoing into every moment spent at home, then continuing out into the city, the surrounding co-ops, bars and venues, all contributing to a whirring blur of music that influenced the acoustemology of Austin for that week.

https://soundcloud.com/uncle_rico/zoom0004-trlr

The recordings I conducted all engaged with my home, trying to capture the sonic experience of SXSW from the perspective of a resident whose home doubles as a music venue. My soundwalks took the path of me walking from my bedroom, out of my suite, across the balcony, into the common area where musicians were playing, then back outside, along the balcony and back through my suite to the bedroom. This is a very familiar walk that I take every day. As a resident navigating the space, the sound of SXSW can feel like an onslaught. I interviewed fellow housemates to get a broad perspective of the experience of residents in close proximity to SXSW, one housemate described the festival as ‘an assault on the sense,’ and claimed they ‘could here psych bands when [they] napped, which really pissed [them] off.’ The soundwalk recording I did captured the insistence of the acoustemology of SXSW, as it portrays an unavoidable engagement with the music of the festival that residents are faced with, as soon as they step outside. It is hard to believe that 21st Street Co-op abides by the noise ordinance restrictions of Austin. If ‘noise’ is defined by being able to ‘disturb a reasonable person of normal sensibilities,’ (City of Austin Noise Ordinance) then, based on the perspectives of fellow housemates and their feelings of being ‘pissed off,’ the acoustemology of SXSW arguably has the ability to become noise.

The idea of the acoustemology of SXSW becoming noise and perhaps not aligning with the guidelines of the City of Austin Noise Ordinance causes the festival to occupy a liminal space where what is intended as music becomes noise. How one of my interviewed housemates described SXSW was a ‘mix of both corporate events, that I’m totally not attracted to, along with small local independent shows that are more enjoyable.’ This corporate description of SXSW, that is common in how Austin locals perceive the festival, suggests that the intended music can often be considered just ‘noise,’ similar to the corporation-produced sounds of construction that constantly infiltrates the cities soundscape. Furthermore, it seems the residents of Austin experience SXSW as either a cultural festival to engage with, or it becomes another, often unwanted, aspect of the acoustemology of Austin for that week, with the musicians contributing a rhythmic, melodic underbelly to the grackle-calls, construction sounds and general urban chatter that define the typical, everyday soundscape of Austin.

SXSW and Domestic Space - Julie Richards

The sounds of SXSW extend beyond just venues and downtown streets. This recording captures the SXSW experience of many Austonians who spend SXSW in their homes, away from the tourists and congested venues of downtown. In the backyard of a house in Central Austin, which is usually relatively quiet on a Tuesday evening, noise from a nearby house show dominates the sonic landscape. Drum hits, guitar chords, and rock vocals reverberate in the distance amid sounds of traffic, bird calls, and construction. Several residents relax in their backyard listening to the concert, discussing the music and the festival. Music is constantly in the air, providing a lively and dynamic atmosphere for domestic life and turning conversations toward the festive happenings. While some residents regard concert noise during SXSW as a nuisance associated with the invasion of Austin by the commercial music industry, these residents expressed positive attitudes toward the music which they identified as South by Hikes Fest, a DIY showcase going on in the neighborhood for the next few days.

https://soundcloud.com/almondmilkgirl/sounds-of-sxsw-central-austin-backyard

During SXSW, normal restrictions on sound in the city are relaxed. Sound transgresses the public sphere of bars and venues where noise is usually concentrated, bleeding into the domestic lives of many Austin residents. The City of Austin Noise Ordinance defines the Spring Festival Season as “the Friday of the second week in March through Sunday during the third week of March”, coinciding with the music week of the SXSW festival (City of Austin Noise Ordinance). The ordinance extends the permitted hours for outdoor music during this period so that music is permitted up to 85 dB between 10 am and 2 am. This is the same noise level and hours permitted in the Warehouse and Sixth Street Districts during regular times of the year, so the noise ordinance essentially extends these nightlife districts to the rest of the city for ten days out of the year during the Spring Festival Season.

Social Space in the Outdoor Venue

On the first Sunday of SXSW, Spiderhouse, a restaurant/bar/venue in Central Austin, is having an all-ages, free showcase all day. Many people (those not willing to spend hundreds on an official SXSW Music pass) flock to venues and houses around Austin that host a multitude of free shows featuring mostly local bands. This afternoon, families and young adults gather on the patio to eat, socialize, enjoy the outdoors, and listen to live music. Reggae beats and soulful vocals against bird chirps, rustling leaves, bustling conversations, and babies crying provide a vibrant backdrop for social interactions and serve as a topic of discussion. People of all ages gather to listen to the band, with children being especially excited by the music. Everyone interacts with the music to some extent, ranging from enthusiastic dancing in the front rows to applause and foot tapping in the far reaches of the patio. The sonic ambience of the space affects how people interact with each other. As the song builds, the crowd mirrors this energy, growing audibly louder. During these moments, many people break from conversing with each other to focus on the stage. Others whistle, holler, or carry on conversation in a louder and more lively way. People orient themselves toward music in the outdoor venue, and the use of space is structured by people’s proximity to the live music. Towards the front of the crowd, people stand densely packed and facing the band, with several children sitting on the shoulders of parents to get a better view of the stage. People in this area dance or sway, moving in time with the music. Moving away from the stage, people sit around tables, carrying on conversations, but still mostly facing in the direction of the music. Children paid less attention to this structure, and would dance, sing, scream, or cry regardless of their location in the space.

Live Sound as a Social Space - Ezra McPherson

The most significant point of my observation occurred during the festivals highly attended free shows at Auditorium Shores. It was Friday evening, the park has transformed into an outdoor venue with its perimeter lined with SXSW’s most notable vendors and sponsors. There are large screens next to the stage so those sitting in the grass several hundred feet away are able to see what’s happening on the stage. The music permeates the air, filling the park, though the volume does not seem to hinder visitors conversations. Throughout the night, this is what I noticed the most, people carrying out conversations, with the live music as a background, like listening to the radio in the car. Live music spaces are inherently social spaces and this is evident in these free shows. When an opportunity of reaching mass crowds, it’s obvious that sponsors and vendors will take a chance at advertising to the attendees, this was the next thing I noticed. The free shows were presented by MGM Resorts, and they made sure to let us know that every chance they got. Between bands, instead of playback music we would hear ads followed by ads. I had been using my decibel reader extensively that night, while the bands were playing, the dB ranged from 97-110, about average for a concert. The loudest dB level of the night, though, occurred between the last two sets, when the crowd was largest, it reached to 117 dB, and was a product of an MGM Resorts advertisement, playing on all of the screens across the park. I don’t remember the bands that played that night, but I can remember exactly what the advertisement was, which I think is indicative of the role that live music has begun to play in Austin. As Caroline Polk O’Meara and Eliot M. Tretter point out in their essay “Sounding Austin: Live Music, Race, and the Selling of a City”, the live music industry in Austin is not promoted by the city government because they want to enrich the culture of the city itself, but because they recognize that it brings other industries with it. O’Meara and Tretter write that “city elites have focused on how live music serves an auxiliary function, something that can help draw more service or high-technology firms into the city.” (Pg. 57). This is reverberated in the way the rest of SXSW functions. While the music portion of the festival is important, every year it serves more as the initial force that draws people to Austin, and less as the force that keeps people in the city. People come for the music, but stay because of technology industry jobs and other business opportunities. This particular observation shows that with the growth of festivals and live music culture in Austin, and the sounds that they bring, citizens of Austin can understand that the city is growing evermore, economically and developmentally. With this information, residents can explore the consequences of such growth, and understand how much the live music industry is playing a role.

SXSW Economic Impact 2017

Sake, Karaoke and Rhythm of Time - Andres M. Garza

The area I recorded in was a box of sound. The karaoke stage sat in the center edge of the restaurant and the speakers were located facing toward the audience; waves of drunken, poorly executed American-hits renditions spilt all over the sake-sticky floor. Music scenes in Austin range vastly in genre and audience. DK Sushi has been around for 26 years and has catered to a unique demographic who accepts the soft-porn images on the television screens while they take down countless spicy tuna rolls and their neck veins pop as they chant Sweet Caroline in unison. The ringleader of it all is the owner/chef, DK, who hosts the comedy-karaoke show. My recordings took place on the week of SXSW, though the event takes place weekly and is unrelated to the actual festival. At the beginning of the show, DK asks who is new… most are. Whether or not they were locals visiting for the first time or out-of-town foreigners is unidentifiable for the purposes of this research. The recordings are a blend from inside and out, static and in-place; the editing functions to transport us through the physical barriers and give insight to an all-encompassing soundscape of the space. The surrounding area is void of music, a man sleeps next to the trashcan by the people in the bushes next to the bus stop, the place remains a dive hidden in the corner of an intersection with a tiny singular window being the only access to the interior.

The 2.5 hour show consists of a collection songs being spewed one after the other. Transitioned by vulgar obscenities, the singers are different from one to the next, jumping genres from 90s punk rock to cracked renditions of Whitney Houston. The runtime of each song remains unique, some singers, the bad ones, are cut by the slam of a gong. Even if one is not paying attention, at the end of each performance the singer is given a sake bomb, the restaurant is encouraged to yell the command to drink. It works as a rhythm both linear and circular for it progressively gets louder the more drunk the audience becomes through the night, but the verbal repetition remains itself. The venues all pop open their doors, the music pours out and it roams through the sky. The show ends early, ending at 10:00pm, it works as a midpoint of nightlife, for in Austin the show goes on until the city-wide agreed late-hours of 2:00am. The DJ screams, “you don’t have to go home, but you need to get the fuck out of here.” It implies the continuation of the night for the members of the show, and as mentioned earlier, the Noise Ordinance continues to allow the noisy night to continue for 4 more hours before the outdoors silence their doors, at least silence “as measured at the property line of business”.

https://soundcloud.com/andresmgarza/sxsw-karaoke

Conclusion

As seen in the various examples above, music has become a unique and vital component in the acoustemology of Austin. It is in many ways a creator of social spaces, as even though it is promoted as the main attraction of a location or event, many times music becomes background noise to the conversations and social interactions of on-goers. Despite this, the sounds of music still play an important role in crafting these social spaces. The attendees of these events are often oriented towards the source of sounds, in most cases the musicians, and the music is often a leading factor in the discussions. Even providing a guideline for participation in situations such as the karaoke bar. And while music is viewed in most other cities as a distinction from everyday noise, in Austin the sounds of songs have become integrated into the urban soundscape. During these large festivals, such as SXSW, this noise is seemingly inescapable. Even for those who are not in the vicinity of the origin of these sounds, they can travel to distant parts of the city. The reaction to this by the residents is both positive and negative, but despite this, corporate interests have created and continued to fuel this culture by trademarking the city as the Live Music Capital of The World.

References 

Austin City Council. “Chapter 9-2. - Noise and Amplified Sound.” Municode Library, 1992, library.municode.com/tx/austin/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT9PRAC_CH9-2NOAMSO#TOPTITLE. 

Lefebvre, H. and Régulier, C., “The Rhythmanalytical Project.” Rhythmanalysis: Space, Time, and Everyday Life, Bloomsbury Academic, 2015, pp. 71–100.

McGee, Kate. 2016. "Here's Why Concert Noise From Downtown Sometimes Makes Its Way To Hyde Park." http://kut.org/post/heres-why-concert-noise-downtown-sometimes-makes-its-way-hyde-park

[cefsocialwork]

Fostering Panel

1. Purpose and Function 2. Membership 3. Meetings

1. Purpose and Function The Fostering Panel monitors the range and type of foster carers available to the local authority in comparison with the needs of children, and plays a key role in the improvement of standards within the fostering service. As part of this function, the Panel oversees the conduct of assessments and annual reviews of approved foster carers, advises on any relevant matters in relation to the fostering service and makes recommendations to Staying Safe about quality issues and performance standards. In particular, the Panel makes recommendations as to the following: a. The suitability of applicants to act as foster carers and terms of their approval (including Connected Persons) b. Exemptions from the limit to the number of children placed with foster carers c. The continued suitability of the foster carers and whether the terms of the approval remain appropriate (after the first annual Review and Termination of Approval of Foster Carers and any other review where significant changes or termination of approval is recommended - see Review and Termination of Approval of Foster Carers Procedure) d. Any other special mattes relevant to a foster carer which the Chair of the Panel considers appropriate to be referred e. Referrals to the Independent Review Mechanism - see Assessment and Approvals: Section 9, Representations/ Independent Review Procedure. The Panel will also receive and consider any representations challenging a decision not to approve an applicant as suitable, or to terminate or revise the terms of a foster carer's approval - see Section 9 of Assessment and Approvals Procedure. The Panel will receive annually the Fostering Service Manager's annual report on the Panel's business, including statistical information about approvals, reviews, termination of approvals, the number of children in placement and complaints received about foster carers during the preceding year. The Chair will communicate any issues of concern to the Fostering Service Manager and take part in quarterly meetings with him or her and the Vice Chair to review the Panel's functioning and report on the quality of work being presented to Panel, to ensure good standards are maintained. At the quarterly meetings, the Panel Administrator will provide statistical information in relation to the Panel business, together with information on the numbers of foster carers used by the local authority and the number of children looked after by the local authority. This will enable an appraisal of the extent to which the fostering service is meeting the demand for placements.

2. Membership There is no fixed panel membership or maximum number of members or maximum tenure of office. The membership must be drawn from a Central List of persons with the appropriate qualifications and/or experience, including one or more social workers who have at least three years' relevant post-qualifying experience. Where it is considered that someone is unsuitable to be on the Central List, they must be given one months' notice in writing and reasons for the decision to end their inclusion on the list.The Chair will be appointed by the Designated Manager (Fostering Panel Appointments) and will be a senior manager with responsibility for the fostering service or an independent person. (As from 1st October 2011 an Independent Chair must be appointed). The Designated Manager must also appoint up to two Vice Chairs, whose role is to chair the Panel when the Chair is unavailable. Reasonable expenses relating to attendance can be met, including travelling expenses and childcare; there is an allowance for attending training sessions plus travel expenses. All Panel members must have been the subjects of a satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks before taking up their appointment. These CRB checks should be kept up to date and recorded, including the date when the checks were made. Personal and work references will also be obtained in writing and must be satisfactory. Each member must be provided with written information on appointment of their performance objectives, including their participation in induction and other training and safeguarding the confidentiality of records and information submitted to Panel. They will be asked to sign an agreement with the fostering service, in relation to his or her membership, covering the service expectations (including the requirement to report any involvement in criminal proceedings), confidentiality issues and commitment to anti-discriminatory practice. All Panel members will also be required to attend at least one Panel meeting as an observer before taking up their membership. Panel members should complete induction training within 10 weeks of joining the Central List, have access to appropriate training and skills development and have the opportunity to attend joint training with fostering staff at least annually. The quorum is 5 provided that the following are present: i. Either the Chair or one of the Vice Chairs (in the absence of the chair). If the meeting is conducted by the vice chair who is not independent, there must be at least one other member of the panel who is independent. ii. One of the social worker representatives with at least three years post qualifying experience. iii. Three (or in the case of a joint panel, four) other members. Panel members may request any relevant information or assistance they require, including medical or legal advice, from the fostering agency and, if so requested, this must be provided by the fostering agency. There must be a process for review of the performance of Panel members (including of the Panel chair by the agency decision maker) and for the performance management of members. Where necessary the termination of the appointment must be considered. Where there are concerns about a Panel member's behaviour either inside or outside the meetings, and this cannot be dealt with by advice, training and/or information, this will raised by the Chair with the Designated Manager (Fostering Panel Appointments). The Designated Manager will decide whether someone is unsuitable to be on the Central List and therefore to end the appointment and if so, will advise the member in writing giving one month's notice and clear reasons for the decision. Panel members may resign by giving one month's notice to the Designated Manager (Fostering Panel Appointments).

3. Meetings The Panel Administrator, with the Chair's authority, will arrange additional special meetings as necessary. The Panel Administrator will arrange for the Legal Adviser to attend the Panel if required by the Chair or by the worker presenting a report. The Panel's Medical Adviser will provide medical advice on matters to be brought to the Panel, by attendance at Panel meetings or where this is not possible by telephone or an exchange of correspondence on individual cases in advance of the meeting as considered appropriate. The Panel Administrator may arrange for observers to attend meetings, in consultation with the Chair, but no more than 2 observers may attend at any one time. The Panel welcomes the attendance of prospective foster carers at meetings during consideration of their applications for approval. Applicants can attend with a supporter and 'be heard' at fostering panel meetings that consider their approval - for the assessment and approval process in more detail - see Assessment and Approvals Carers Procedure. The Panel Administrator, in consultation with the Chair, prepares the agenda for each meeting and sends out the agenda to Panel members five working days before the meeting. Those presenting reports to the Panel must send their reports to the Panel Administrator at least 10 working days before the date of the Panel. The Panel Administrator will arrange for the documentation to be distributed to Panel members. The Chair's role is to ensure that all members participate fully in the meetings (unless an interest has been declared - see below) and that each member has an opportunity to raise questions or offer comments on each matter considered, that sensitive regard is paid to foster carers while keeping the child's welfare paramount, that consensus is achieved wherever possible and that the Panel has clear reasons for its recommendations. Where there is a serious difference of opinion among members, the Chair may ask for more information to be made available to the Panel before a recommendation is made. Serious reservations expressed by individual Panel members about a particular recommendation must be recorded in the Panel minutes for consideration by the Agency Decision Maker (Fostering) - Head of Service (Children's Resources). At the end of meetings, the Panel Administrator will collect all reports and agenda from members (for shredding). Panel members who are unable to attend meetings will be asked to return papers to the Panel Administrator (for shredding) as soon as practicable. The Panel Administrator will prepare the minutes in which reasons for recommendations and any disagreements or dissent will be fully recorded. S/he will send the minutes to the Chair for approval of their accuracy, and then submit them to the Agency Decision Maker (Fostering) for approval of the recommendations made. The assessing social worker/supervising social worker will also ensure that applicants, foster carers and social workers are notified of Panel recommendations within one working day of the Panel. The Panel Administrator will provide social workers with a copy of the relevant minute after a decision has been made by the Agency Decision Maker. Conflicts of Interest Panel members should consider any conflicts of interest in relation to Panel agenda items. A potential conflict arises if an interest may be seen to adversely affect a Panel member's capacity to act without prejudice or preference in a matter. It is anticipated that in many circumstances there may be professional knowledge of a case which should be notified to the Chair but which will not affect a member's capacity to participate in the Panel. In other circumstances there may be a personal interest or connection which would require the Panel member to refrain from participation. It may be less clear in some cases when advice should be sought. In the case of a potential conflict of interest where advice is required, Panel members should consult the Chair or Legal Adviser, giving as much advance notice as possible particularly having regard to the implications for the quorum.

[myupdatesystems-blog]

WordPress WordCamp 2008

New Post has been published on https://myupdatesystems.com/wordpress-wordcamp-2008/

WordPress WordCamp 2008

Matt Mullenweg, one of the founding developers of WordPress was the keynote speaker at Saturday’s WordCamp event in Provo, Utah. His speech included a summary of WordPress developments this year and included a large list of what’s next for the fast-growing, free blogging service.

The WordPress blogging service started with only 5 developers and 2 blogs. In the beginning, the developers focused on building a system for friends who were not technical in order to help them join the web community. The goal was to develop something that was both simple and user-friendly. Currently, WordPress.com has about 4 million new posts and 6.5 billion page views per month. WordPress has had a strong development schedule which has continued to accelerate.

WordPress 2008 Year-in-Review

In 2007 there were 1090 commits made and so far in 2008, there are already 2840. WordPress has made 11 releases in the last year alone which is much higher than normal. The WordPress team also just added 3 new core developers increasing the development team back to five full-time members. The upcoming WordPress 2.7 release is currently scheduled for November 2008.

In the year 2007 there were 2,849,349 downloads of WordPress tracked and in 2008 they have already surpassed 11 million downloads. This number does not include the number of downloads and installs from hosting companies which would significantly increase that number.

Combating Blog Spam

Over 5 billion spams were caught in the last year with 99.925% accuracy using the WordPress Akismet plugin. This shows that Akismet is staying very high on accuracy. There is a new type of spam that is now getting through due to spammers being very clever. They are starting to copy comments on other posts and change the URL referenced to gain a free link. Spammers are also paying people to go in and leave relevant comments and spam you with their links in them. The most common are spammers leaving kind remarks and compliments and having the webmaster approve the messages due to them feeling flattered by the positive remarks.

WordPress Mobility

Due to the website friendly nature of the iPhone and the success of the iPhone application (over 100k installs) WP is considering the creation of some new apps for other platforms as well including the blackberry and other mobile handsets.

WordPress Plugins

WordPress plans on improving their observance of plugin stats. Mullenweg mentioned there is a plan to watch the bottom 1000 plugins to find the new and upcoming trends. It is easier to see what is gaining fast popularity when monitoring the tail end of the plugins. He also mentioned the use of intelligent tails or the monitoring of the use of plugins and packages in order to gain valuable intelligence from the free market. Currently, there are a huge number of features brought in via plugins. He mentions a few examples such as one that does real estate management and another that is an independent record label system.

Thoughts on PHP5

Matt Mullenweg predicted that PHP5 would fail early on due to its lack of major changes. He was wrong and fully admits it. PHP5 is now being used to host WordPress in 79% of WordPress installs. This means that when PHP4 usage falls below 10% or so they will pull the trigger and move ongoing development and support to PHP5 only. This will allow them to speed up and optimize the WP system.

The Future of WordPress – WordPress 2.7 Live Demo

Included during his speech was a live demo of WordPress 2.7. Version 2.7 is expected to be released sometime during November of 2008 and currently has 13,000 blogs testing it.

One of the key features of 2.7 will include a dashboard redesign. Mullenweg began by apologizing for a lack of tests regarding usability with a previous dashboard redesign. This time there is much more focus on ensuring that there won’t be issues such as a large number of user complaints which came with the removal of the edit feature in comments.

Version 2.7 also introduces a number of major changes with one of the largest being the dashboard navigation being moved to the left-hand side. This new navigation has expandable categories that can be viewed in real time when you click them (i.e. no waiting for the page to reload etc.) The right side of the default dashboard setup has a quick blog post and the center features an inbox. The dashboard still has stats and other dashboard features WordPress blog owners will be familiar with. The whole dashboard has been built in ajax which allows changes to be made on the fly. Users will, therefore, be able to, for example, drag a section in between columns to move stuff over and around as well as the ability to hide or show specific sections.

Other key changes include:

New sticky posts feature which will allow bloggers to keep important or interesting posts at the top of their blog’s homepage.

An insert media button has been added which allows for one-click uploading of pictures, video, audio, etc. WordPress will automatically know what to do with the media uploads and will set them up appropriately.

Inline editing – you can see your actual blog and quickly edit tags, categories etc, or mass edit an entire batch of posts at once to add new tags etc.

Comments API – most commonly people edit comments and check stats, now you can moderate, approve, delete etc. and reply to comments via your mobile phone as well as the dashboard. Comments can now be threaded (you can enable it and have limits set etc.) which allows you to have conversations without the current hacks that people do to keep a conversation linear.

Keyboard Shortcuts introduced for moderating comments

Automatic plugin installation and upgrades via the browser. This includes the ability to search, upload, upgrade, install, and manage plugins from within the dashboard. It will also allow for one click installs for plugins that are in the WordPress.org library. Mullenweg also mentioned a goal of including this same feature for themes in the future (i.e. search, install, upgrade etc. all with a simple, intuitive interface).

Upgrades – one click installers built into the WordPress.org website.

Security is an increasingly important aspect of WordPress development. Currently, there are over 20 US government entities using WP including Air Force, Army-CIA, Coast Guard, Department of Energy, Homeland Security, State Treasury, DEA, Marine Corps, FBI, National Security Agency, Navy, National Reconnaissance Agency, Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Mullenweg also discussed what he considers to be upcoming blogging trends. The use of media, namely photo galleries and videos are going to become more mainstream in blogs. Additionally, this includes bloggers making posts that can just be a comment, a video or some small item on its own, and the ability to include the media content inline with your post. This will allow WordPress become a complete hub of information.

He continued to discuss WordPress as a hub noting that people’s blogs will become their best possible social profile and they intend to make it so when you post something on another social site such as Twitter or YouTube it will work on WordPress. Of important note there he mentioned that your data will live on your blog and in your database so you don’t have to worry if the other site goes down, you will still have all the data and stay in control. This hub system is a long-term goal of their team.

BackPress is another system he discussed which will help show the underlying framework for WP and Theme Press, their user systems, internationalization, security systems, etc. making it easier for developers to make use of the WordPress base.

Another exciting development in the works is BuddyPress. This will allow users to have to take a group such as a Boy Scout, church, or team and build a small “Facebook in a box” type of system in which you can have a full set of plugins and extensions that build a small social network with activities, profiles, interests, photos, groups etc. – all in a small private group. BuddyPress will allow small groups the ability to develop their own public or private social-networking site.

Mullenweg also discussed an improved feedback loop – trying to incorporate user feedback and testing earlier in the process of making updates. A core goal with this is the desire to incorporate more “normal” people in the process of development.

Mullenweg also mentioned how he feels that this is the year of themes. While everything used to be plugin driven, themes are really taking off with new automatic plugins built into them. They are being used for things such as a monotone theme which can make your site change the backgrounds to be complimentary to the photos you are updating.

What Else if Coming Up for WordPress?

Launching sometime in the near future will be WordPress.tv which will be a video site with screencasts that will show WordCamp videos including key speakers. This service will be searchable, include tags, and will also include HD video content.

Some Interesting WordPress Statistics

WordPress Usage Statistics: 5,671,649 WordPress.org Blogs – also includes WordPress.mu (multi-user version that hosts multiple blogs) 4,831,429 blogs on the system have run updates are now using the most up to date version.

WordPress Plugins

The average WordPress blog has 4.96 active plugins per blog.

Some Popular WordPress Plugins

Some of the currently most popular plugins are: 1. Akismet (anti-spam) 2. all-in-one-seo-pack 3. google-sitemap-generator 4. nextgen-gallery 5. stats 6. wp-db-backup 7. wp-cache 8. WP Automatic Upgrade 9. wp-polls 10. cforms (contact forms)

[auburnfamilynews]

The Tigers had some sensational throwers on hand, including Sean White during warmups!

(All photos by Acid Reign)

     War Eagle, everybody! It’s time now for the Acid Reign Report on Auburn’s 2017 A-Day game. I’ve been to a number of these spring shindigs over the years, and I really think this last one was the best I’ve seen! There was much to like, and some of the things in recent years that I did not like disappeared. Reports that Auburn would throw the ball more and better are definitely true! I also loved a starting Auburn defense that limited the second unit to just 3 yards per play in the first half.

     This year, I think I had the best seat in the house. I lined up before the stadium opened in an express line and was one of the first dozen or so let in at 11:00 AM. I made a bee line for the 50-yard line and got a seat right over the tunnel. This meant no spectators in front of me and a railing to rest my camera on. I hope readers enjoy the shots I got!

     One of the main complaints one hears about A-Day is vanilla schemes. While there wasn’t a ton of razzle dazzle, the offense didn’t shy away from running combination routes and slinging the ball around. The defenses did some blitzing, particularly in the second half. Coach Kevin Steele really sent the house after the young quarterbacks at times, and it was fun to see how they reacted. While most folks are raving about all of the deep throws, I saw a well-executed short- to medium-range game plan as well.

Stidham finds Hastings underneath. Opposing defenses are going to get sick of seeing this!

     I was also extremely pleased with the short-yardage game. Auburn has blown a lot of games in recent years by not picking up the first down and settling for the field goal. At A-Day this year, things changed. On 3rd and 1 or 2, in came both Jalen Harris and Chandler Cox. They lined up together next to right tackle Braden Smith, and the handoff was unstoppable, even with little running backs like C. J. Tolbert and Kam Martin toting the rock. I was very much reminded of the late 2013 triumvirate of Robinson, Prosch and Tre Mason.

     I complained bitterly last season about Auburn’s route drills and how the receivers had to stop for the quarterback to target them. Those drills were gone, this year. There was a real emphasis on hitting guys in stride during warmups. We saw some great 7-on-7 drills where everyone was running full-out on their routes. I liked very much that the defensive backs were out there at the same time, and everyone was competing. I don’t think a skeleton drill has nearly as much benefit.

     Auburn is going to be nasty in the front seven, once again. And, they will likely be deeper than last season. The second unit even had success at times limiting the starting offense on the ground. The second offense got nothing done on the ground against the top unit. Both defenses surrendered passing yardage, and frankly the second unit was porous. Every quarterback that played was mobile in the pocket and able to avoid rushers. I don’t think Auburn has ever had 4 guys at quarterback that can run!

     I do worry about the second unit secondary. A top defensive priority in the coming months has to be to develop some depth. Much ado was made about a lack of safety depth in pregame stories, but cornerback play was the real problem on A-Day. Nate Craig-Myers and Darius Slayton got behind them, repeatedly. It was left for safeties Nick Ruffin and Michael Sherwood to clean up loose receivers, usually well after the damage was done.

     I was worried during warmups when the only punter I saw working was Daniel Carlson. Was Ian Shannon hurt, or in the doghouse? It turned out that Shannon was attending a family funeral. Our condolences to him and his family. I was looking forward to seeing Shannon punt. He has looked good in the past couple of A-Day warmups.

     I got a big kick out of the new field goal net in the north end zone. I’m really not sure why it was installed. Are visiting fans stealing footballs? Or is it a liability issue if some fan gets clobbered? I watched Daniel Carlson practice kicking field goals, and nearly every one of his attempts went over the net. It wasn’t till Carlson made a field goal from 45 yards that the ball hit the net. What a waste of money! The net is also, quite frankly, an eyesore.

Unit observations after the jump!

     As mentioned above, the starting defensive line is going to be nasty. Dontavius Russell and Derrick Brown started at tackle spots, and folks, that’s about 650 pounds worth of mean muscle for interior lines to have to deal with. Then, you’ve got Marlon Davidson as the strongside end, and he was able to flat out dominate any tackle he went up against. Buck end is still a work in progress, I think with Jeffery Holland and Paul James, III we’ll be solid there. Holland played only limited minutes, and James got a chance to make some plays. There is quality depth all the way across this unit, as well.

Malik Willis has only taken a 3-step drop, and the pocket has already collapsed!

     Quality linebacker play went more than two deep, especially against the run. Handling short passes wasn’t as good, particularly the play of the backups. Deshaun Davis has the look of an All-SEC player now. Tré Williams was a force out there as well, and he nearly came up with an interception. The starting unit really did a good job on the edge, stringing runners out for nothing on sweeps.

     I thought the starting secondary played pretty well. They were only allowed a couple of base coverages, and the White team had the route concepts to test them, so some catches were made on them. However, the guys still did a good job of turning catches into incomplete balls by jarring the ball loose. There was one play when Carlton Davis and Tray Matthews collided with one of Auburn’s young receivers, and I was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to get back up! Jeremiah Dinson played well at the nickel spot, too. He appeared to injure a hand in the first half, and I was worried that his long return to action was going to be over too quickly. Dinson shook it off and got back in the game.

     Daniel Carlson was the story of the day on special teams. I think he missed all of one kick in warmups. He hit an upright during the game on one attempt, but it bounced through for the points. It was amazing watching him hit that 60-yard pressure kick at the end with the whole team surrounding him and yelling.

Mr. Automatic. What an amazing weapon!

     There was some mixing and matching at times on the offensive line, but basically the starting lineup featured Austin Golson at center, Mike Horton and Kaleb Kim at guards, and Braden Smith and Darius James at tackles. About the only thing to complain about regarding the starters was a holding call on Mike Horton. Braden Smith is going to be a nightmare for SEC defensive ends. The backups are still a work in progress. They had their difficulties going up against a good defensive line.

     As mentioned above, I liked what our starting H-back and tight end did. Jalen Harris looks the part of an SEC tight end and had several passes thrown to him. We also saw a lot of newcomer, Sal Cannella, but not much with him in tight. Auburn lined him up wide and mostly used him as a blocker for quick screens. Cannella did a nice job with that and also caught a contested slant pass for a 15-yard gain. I guess the backup I saw in this spot with the most playing time was Robert Muschamp.

Sal Cannella (80) can lock ’em up!

     I saw a few drops during warmups by the receivers and a couple of bobbles during the game. As much as Auburn threw the ball this game, that’s going to happen. There were some great catches, too. Nate Craig Myers had the best one, late in the game down the southeast sideline. He was well covered, but shielded the DB off and snatched the ball in at a bad angle. Having Craig-Myers and Darius Slayton to either side creates a problem for secondaries. They either have to be given a cushion, or safeties have to be committed to help out. I really enjoyed the TD catch by Marquis McClain. He caught a medium-range pass over the middle, shook off a would-be tackler, and was off to the races. It was really a nice display of running ability and using his blockers. I liked the use of Will Hastings as a thorn in the linebackers’ sides, too. I did not like the fumble, though.

     Color me disappointed not to see Kamryn Pettway nor much of Kerryon Johnson, who went out with a twisted ankle. I liked the play of the backup runners, if not the one fumble by Kam Martin. Auburn seemed to be able to get these guys open on flare routes at will. I liked the running of C. J. Tolbert. He’s got a burst and a knack for picking out the tough yards. We didn’t see as much of Malik Miller, but he was a wrecking ball when he was given carries. It’s nice to see him back in action!

     To say I was pleased by the quarterback play is an understatement. Jarrett Stidham had a great day. For the most part, he hit receivers in stride and threw masterfully into some tight windows. He’s also quite mobile. I’ve seen some commentators whining about the missed fade route to a wide-open Jason Smith. My take was that it’s a timing route, and Smith was jammed pretty hard at the line. Smith broke free, but the QB has to release the ball on that play before he knows for sure. A fade route is a gamble. It is thrown up, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

     It has been proven pretty convincingly the past two seasons, that this offense can go into the toilet pretty quickly if the starting quarterback doesn’t pan out or gets hurt. I think Auburn has at least 3 viable options this season, which is a huge relief to me. Freshman Malik Willis looked great at times but stuffed a couple of balls into ill-advised spots. I really enjoyed seeing scout team quarterback Devin Adams get a long touchdown pass! I didn’t see enough of Woody Barrett to judge. He hit a couple of crisp passes, then took a bad sack, and didn’t get back in the game. I enjoyed watching Sean White throw during warmups. He can still find the open man and get it there accurately.

     It was a fine A-Day all the way around. My only regret is that I didn’t bring either my hat or the right sunblock. I had a bottle of Bullfrog Mosquito Coast and reapplied it several times during the game. It wasn’t enough at 30 SPF to combat a cloudless Jordan-Hare sun! I’m a little cooked today!

     We saw some different entertainment, this year. A girls’ flag football championship was played very early, and that was a lot of fun to watch! No pads, no helmets, and there was some brutal blocking going on at the line of scrimmage. Those girls are TOUGH! Congrats to the winning team, “Try ‘n’ Beat Us.” There was a cornhole bout. Then at halftime, we got to see a baby race. The most entertaining thing was the presentation on Auburn’s All Americans. Those are some awesome Auburn guys! The loudest applause went to Chris Davis! The kick-six lives on!

The post An Electric A-Day! appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.

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[hopefulphantomwonderland-blog]

New Post has been published on Pagedesignweb

New Post has been published on http://pagedesignweb.com/wordpress-wordcamp-2008/

WordPress WordCamp 2008

Matt Mullenweg, one of the founding developers of WordPress was the keynote speaker at Saturday’s WordCamp event in Provo, Utah. His speech included a summary of WordPress developments this year and included a large list of what’s next for the fast-growing, free blogging service.

The WordPress blogging service started with only 5 developers and 2 blogs. In the beginning the developers focused on building a system for friends who were not technical in order to help them join the web community. The goal was to develop something that was both simple and user friendly. Currently WordPress.com has about 4 million new posts and 6.5 billion page views per month. WordPress has had a strong development schedule which has continued to accelerate.

WordPress 2008 Year-in-Review

In 2007 there were 1090 commits made and so far in 2008 there are already 2840. WordPress has made 11 releases in the last year alone which is much higher than normal. The WordPress team also just added 3 new core developers increasing the development team back to five full time members. The upcoming WordPress 2.7 release is currently scheduled for November 2008.

In the year 2007 there were 2,849,349 downloads of WordPress tracked and in 2008 they have already surpassed 11 million downloads. This number does not include the number of downloads and installs from hosting companies which would significantly increase that number.

Combating Blog Spam

Over 5 billion spams were caught in the last year with 99.925% accuracy using the WordPress Akismet plugin. This shows that Akismet is staying very high on accuracy. There is a new type of spam that is now getting through due to spammers being very clever. They are starting to copy comments on other posts and change the URL referenced to gain a free link. Spammers are also paying people to go in and leave relevant comments and spam you with their links in them. The most common is spammers leaving kind remarks and compliments and having the webmaster approve the messages due to them feeling flattered by the positive remarks.

WordPress Mobility

Due to the website friendly nature of the iPhone and the success of the iPhone application (over 100k installs) WP is considering the creation of some new apps for other platforms as well including the blackberry and other mobile handsets.

WordPress Plugins

WordPress plans on improving their observance of plugin stats. Mullenweg mentioned there is a plan to watch the bottom 1000 plugins to find the new and upcoming trends. It is easier to see what is gaining fast popularity when monitoring the tail end of the plugins. He also mentioned the use of intelligent tails or the monitoring of the use of plugins and packages in order to gain valuable intelligence from the free market. Currently there are a huge number of features brought in via plugins. He mentions a few examples such as one that does real estate management and another that is an independent record label system.

Thoughts on PHP5

Matt Mullenweg predicted that PHP5 would fail early on due to its lack of major changes. He was wrong and fully admits it. PHP5 is now being used to host WordPress in 79% of WordPress installs. This means that when PHP4 usage falls below 10% or so they will pull the trigger and move ongoing development and support to PHP5 only. This will allow them to speed up and optimize the WP system.

The Future of WordPress – WordPress 2.7 Live Demo

Included during his speech was a live demo of WordPress 2.7. Version 2.7 is expected to be released sometime during November of 2008 and currently has 13,000 blogs testing it.

One of the key features of 2.7 will include a dashboard redesign. Mullenweg began by apologizing for a lack of tests regarding usability with a previous dashboard redesign. This time there is much more focus on ensuring that there won’t be issues such as the large number of user complaints which came with the removal of the edit feature in comments.

Version 2.7 also introduces a number of major changes with one of the largest being the dashboard navigation being moved to the left hand side. This new navigation has expandable categories that can be viewed in real time when you click them (i.e. no waiting for the page to reload etc.) The right side of the default dashboard setup has a quick blog post and the center features an inbox. The dashboard still has stats and other dashboard features WordPress blog owners will be familiar with. The whole dashboard has been built in ajax which allows changes to be made on the fly. Users will therefore be able to, for example, drag a section in between columns to move stuff over and around as well as the ability to hide or show specific sections.

Other key changes include:

A new sticky posts feature which will allow bloggers to keep important or interesting posts at the top of their blog’s homepage.

An insert media button has been added which allows for one click uploading of pictures, video, audio, etc. WordPress will automatically know what to do with the media uploads and will set them up appropriately.

Inline editing – you can see your actual blog and quickly edit tags, categories etc, or mass edit an entire batch of posts at once to add new tags etc.

Comments API – most commonly people edit comments and check stats, now you can moderate, approve, delete etc. and reply to comments via your mobile phone as well as the dashboard. Comments can now be threaded (you can enable it and have limits set etc.) which allows you to have conversations without the current hacks that people do to keep a conversation linear.

Keyboard Shortcuts introduced for moderating comments

Automatic plugin installation and upgrades via the browser. This includes the ability to search, upload, upgrade, install, and manage plugins from within the dashboard. It will also allow for one click installs for plugins that are in the WordPress.org library. Mullenweg also mentioned a goal of including this same feature for themes in the future (i.e. search, install, upgrade etc. all with a simple, intuitive interface).

Upgrades – one click installers built into the WordPress.org website.

Security is an increasingly important aspect of WordPress development. Currently there are over 20 US government entities using WP including: Air Force, Army CIA, Coast Guard, Department of Energy, Homeland Security, State Treasury, DEA, Marine Corps, FBI, National Security Agency, Navy, National Reconnaissance Agency, Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Mullenweg also discussed what he considers to be upcoming blogging trends. The use of media, namely photo galleries and videos are going to become more main-stream in blogs. Additionally this includes bloggers making posts that can just be a comment, a video or some small item on its own, and the ability to include the media content inline with your post. This will allow WordPress become a more complete hub of information.

He continued to discuss WordPress as a hub noting that people’s blogs will become their best possible social profile and they intend to make it so when you post something on another social site such as Twitter or YouTube it will work on WordPress. Of important note there he mentioned that your data will live on your blog and in your database so you don’t have to worry if the other site goes down, you will still have all the data and stay in control. This hub system is a long term goal of their team.

BackPress is another system he discussed which will help show the underlying framework for WP and Theme Press, their user systems, internationalization, security systems, etc. making it easier for developers to make use of the WordPress base.

Another exciting development in the works is BuddyPress. This will allow users to have take a group such as a Boy Scout, church, or team and build a small “Facebook in a box” type of system in which you can have a full set of plugins and extensions that build a small social network with activities, profiles, interests, photos, groups etc. – all in a small private group. BuddyPress will allow small groups the ability to develop their own public or private social-networking site.

Mullenweg also discussed an improved feedback loop – trying to incorporate user feedback and testing earlier in the process of making updates. A core goal with this is the desire to incorporate more “normal” people in the process of development.

Mullenweg also mentioned how he feels that this is the year of themes. While everything used to be plugin driven, themes are really taking off with new automatic plugins built into them. They are being used for things such as a monotone theme which can make your site change the backgrounds to be complimentary to the photos you are updating.

What Else if Coming Up for WordPress?

Launching sometime in the near future will be WordPress.tv which will be a video site with screencasts that will show WordCamp videos including key speakers. This service will be searchable, include tags, and will also include HD video content.

Some Interesting WordPress Statistics

WordPress Usage Statistics: 5,671,649 WordPress.org Blogs – also includes WordPress.mu (multi-user version that hosts multiple blogs) 4,831,429 blogs on the system have run updates are now using the most up to date version.

WordPress Plugins

The average WordPress blog has 4.96 active plugins per blog.

Some Popular WordPress Plugins

Some of the currently most popular plugins are: 1. Akismet (anti-spam) 2. all-in-one-seo-pack 3. google-sitemap-generator 4. nextgen-gallery 5. stats 6. wp-db-backup 7. wp-cache 8. WP Automatic Upgrade 9. wp-polls 10. cforms (contact forms)