1. If the Roach is hit by any spell like "plague" or "psi storm," something that reduces hit points per second, will this be negated by its HP regeneration, or result in fewer hit points gained per second for the duration of the spell? (sclegacy.com)

To clarify, a Roach regenerates at a set rate and Psi Storm does a set amount of damage at intervals in the area of effect. Put that Roach under a Psi Storm in the current build for the full duration and the Roach will have approximately 50% of its original health after the Psi Storm is over. With a new upgrade ability at the Hive which allows the Roach to have an even more increased regeneration rate, the Roach will emerge from a full duration of Psi Storm at approximately 80% of its original health.

2. Will Starcraft 2's heroes showcase new models for each hero, or will SCII follow in SC:BW's footsteps, leaving heros as normal units with improved stats? (starcraft.org)

StarCraft II Heroes will have unique models in game, which will be different than standard units.

3. Will the ranking/experience system that Terran units used to have be available in the Map Editor as on option in Starcraft 2? (starcraft.org)

We will try to have this feature in.

4. Will it be possible to change (cancel, tie up, etc.) alliance during multiplayer game? (starcraftcz.com)

Yes, players will be able to have all the original diplomacy features as the original StarCraft and possibly a few extras in regards to controlling units and spending ally resources.

5. Will StarCraft 2 feature new map tile sets and will any from StarCraft be removed? Reiko.Cry (wgtour.com)

Many of the original map tile sets such as Mar Sara, Char, Shakuras, and Space Platform will be back in StarCraft II, as well as a few additional ones including a new Shattered City tile set.

6. What creature did the Zergling gain the inspiration to evolve into a Baneling from? (starcraft2.com.au)

The idea of the Baneling didnt actually come from a certain creature. In actuality, it started from the need of something to fill the role of a ground-based, area-of-effect, suicide unit. To give added versatility to the Zergling, they had the Baneling evolve from the Zergling at tier 1 in current builds. For a suicide unit, the art team then took that idea and created a creature with huge sacs of volatile liquids, which you can see on the Banelings in StarCraft II screenshots.

7. Can you provide more details on the Reaper's mine ability? How much damage does it do? Is it effective vs. both units and buildings? Is it detectable without stealth detection? What's the cooldown on it? - Solesteeler (teamliquid.net)

The Reapers mines currently do 30 damage plus 30 additional damage to armored units (including buildings). These mines are not stealthed, have a 30 second cooldown period between uses, and are definitely small enough to make focus firing on them very difficult. In the current build, an upgrade is needed to allow the use of mines by Reapers.

8. Are the Zerg Sunken and Spore Colonies capable of moving out of the bounds of creep? Elsoron (battle.net)

Yes, they are able to move and plant themselves outside of the creeps boundary. Keep in mind that all Zerg buildings not in the boundaries of creep will slowly degenerate and eventually die. Creep which moves into an enemy base will also damage enemy buildings at a slow rate as well, allowing for new types of creep pushing strategies in StarCraft II.

9. Will the Map Editor support letters from non-English alphabets (ó, ű, ő, ú, á, é, etc.)? (starcraft2.hu)

Yes, these characters will be supported.

Chat with Devs: One of the latest changes the Devs are trying for the Nomad is replacing their previous stationary Mine Drone with Spider Mines. The Spider Mines behave the same as Spider Mines from the original StarCraft. It now also does 50 damage plus 50 additional damage towards armored units. Instead of only having 3 Spider Mines, the Nomad will be able to plant Spider Mines with the cost of 15 energy. These Mines will definitely prove quite formidable against mass Tier 1 units such as Zerglings and charging Zealots.

---StarCraft II Q&A Batch 37---

1. Can the Ghost snipe casting (energy based) units in the fog of war using its passive sensing ability? (Battle.net) crazy_dave

While the Ghost will not be able to snipe casters in the fog of war, their current range to detect casters(units with energy) is 30, giving you plenty of time to prepare for incoming threats.

2. Could you tell us more details about the Reapers' mines mechanics? Are they visible for the enemy? Can they be defused, or should simply be destroyed? Do they deal damage to friendly units and to each other? If so, does the explosion of one mine cause the detonation of its neighbors, or they just die, without dealing damage? (Battle.net) Elsoron

Yes, the Reapers mines will be visible, though depending on the placement, they can be covered by enemy units moving over them. The mines have very few hit points and can be killed easily. Nonetheless, it is important to note that they are very small, making it more difficult to micromanage those attacks when there are several mines.

Mines damage both enemy and friendly units/buildings, so making sure you dont blow up your own Reapers is quite important ;) Mines will not detonate other mines, have a 30 second cooldown, and they currently do 30 damage plus 30 additional damage to armored units (including buildings). Furthermore, the mine is now an upgradeable ability of the Reaper.

3. In StarCraft II there are destructible obstacles like rocks. Apart from simply killing them the Protoss Nullifier can lift them with his Anti-Gravity spell. Do the other races have any similar options to remove or pass the rocks with spells? (broodwar.de)

Actually, the ability to lift destructible doodads has been classified as a bug and has been fixed in the latest builds. Nullifiers have already proved to be quite strong when used in groups, being able to lift up Siege Tanks and Ultralisks, effectively taking them out of combat until the rest of their reinforcements are dead.

4. Do Anti-Gravitated Banelings keep their suicidal abilities and act as Scourge? (sc2blog.com)

Yes, when Banelings die while being lifted by Anti-Gravity, their explosion will hit air units in its area of effect. This could undoubtedly open up some unique and unexpected strategies in team games.

5. Blizzard made 2 e-sport oriented games after StarCraft: Warcraft 3 and WoW. What are the biggest lessons that you've learned from those 2 games and how will you apply them to StarCraft II? - VIB (teamliquid.net)

One of the main goals for StarCraft II is to keep the game very visually intuitive and readable. As Dustin has mentioned in our recent chat, visually When a unit teleports, it teleports. When it shoots, it looks like it is shooting. It should be easy to follow on a screen and players should be able to quickly understand what is happening in the battles. Futhermore, Blizzards games has followed the premise of easy to learn and hard to master. StarCraft II will follow this philosophy.

6. How does the Marauders slow ability work against the Zealots charge ability. According to present knowledge the concussion grenade shot of a Marauder forces its target to stop moving for a short time; afterwards the targeted unit can go straight forward. So does it stop a charging Zealot and does the speed bonus remain?(starcraft2.4players.de)

When the Marauders concussion grenade hits an enemy target, it will reduce that units speed immediately by a set percentage. The cooldown of the concussion grenade shot is subject to balance. Nonetheless, a charging Zealot slowed by a concussion grenade is still pretty fast. Before the Protoss player upgrades their Zealots with charge, a Marauder can kite a Zealot with relatively little micromanagement.

A: Just because you love your dog (or cat) doesn't necessarily mean you love all of his "stuff". Our pup has his own box of toys - he takes the toys out, we put them back in their place - and we, too, struggle with keeping the house from looking like he owns the place. 

Your best option is a more decorative pet crate like this wicker dog residence. Thankfully, it comes in small, medium, large and extra large sizes, so even large dogs can have a place of their own. 

The same type of hidden pet 'residence' is also available for cats, which is especially helpful in keeping litter boxes hidden. We especially recommend these in houses with either young children or with young visitors who may mistake a litter box for a sand box.

Have a design question or decorating dilemma? Send us an e-mail!

srry i cant get a long one ill post ltr

MobilizedTV spoke with DECA co-founder/president/CEO Michael Wayne and General Manager Allison Kingsley, a former Groundlings executive director and TV producer who conceptualized and hosts the site with Executive Producer Matt Kirsch.

MobilizedTV: How did the idea for BushLeague develop? What did you want to bring to the site that would differentiate it from other "dude-centric" sites like heavy.com?

KINGSLEY: I came up with the site with my husband Matt Kirsch who is also my partner so he has the male point of view in this. We were really excited about what was going on online and motivated by what we saw happening in broadband and new media. We wanted to come up with a different way to merge our backgrounds. BushLeague is a site that showed information for the average guy but with a comedic POV that highlighted our experience and relationship. That's what makes us different from other sites: the idea is to give guys tips and information that's useful to them but do it in a way that's irreverent and entertaining.

MobilizedTV: At what point did DECA get involved, and what was the nature of DECA's involvement in the development of the project?

WAYNE: Allison and Matt came in a few months ago. DECA is not really focused on scripted comedy. The question you posed to Allison about how this would be different [from other male-skewed sites] -- we had the same thoughts out of the gate. We don't want to be a comedy site with sketch comedy. What we thought was interesting about their idea is that it's information first. And it's a premium environment. You don't see user-generated content. All the content and blogs come from the BushLeague team, who are writers from SNL, producers from G4, writers of TV pilots. It's an amazing network of talented people committed to information for dudes rather than just a sketch comedy routine which you can find on any comedy site out there. It's a blog format with video.

MobilizedTV: Tell me a bit about the line-up on BushLeague. What are the stand-out programs?

KINGLSEY: We have multiple formats that highlight the brand and can illustrate our tone. One we just posted is the "24 Hour VIdeo Game Review" where we have one of our young writer/producers have a video game and play the game for 24 hours straight. Through that process, every hour, he gives information about his experience, the functionality of the game, its highlights. After the 24 hours is up, he gives a recap and final review, and comedy that is organic to the process because of his fatigue.

We just finished [an episode] with Grand Theft Auto 4, and we went for the Guinness Book of Records. [Our producer] played for 28 hours and it was quite an exciting night for us. Unofficially we've reached a record, but it will take Guinness a few weeks to authenticate our attempt.

We have another [program] called Bush League 101 which is our "how-tos." It higlights lifestyle issues for dudes - how to change your oil, how to make it in the porn business, how to host a poker night party. It gives you interesting information, from a comedic point of view.

Another segment is"Can I still eat it?" in which a nurse and a nutritionist go into a dude's refrigerator and through every item there, to tell him whether or not he can still eat it. It goes through some health issues for guys. There's always a jar of spaghetti sauce, often with mold and usually a jar of crusty mustard.

MobilizedTV: Is this an entirely ad-supported site? DO you have any advertisers lined up?

WAYNE: It's advertising and sponsorship. We're out there pitching. A lot of the sites we're working on, we like to give a bit of a runway. We're in the process of talking to large distribution partners for partnering with advertising and marketing. There'll be a couple of announcements in a while. Now we're just focusing on making the content as best it can be. You'll see BushLeague on YouTube, MetaCafe, embedded in blogs - all the promotional marketing that helps build that audience.

MobilizedTV: What will be the social media and community components of the site?

WAYNE: We've started with a couple of social media features; every post has comments. We have a fun scoreboard, so you can vote things up or down. There's a section of the site called Tool of the Week, where you can nominate a tool of the week. This is sort of Bush League 1.0. As we move forward, we'll add more functionality to the site. The way we launch our sites, we're not trying to compete directly with social networking sites. We're building a brand, a premium user experience, and then grow it once we start getting feedback from our users.

One other thing interesting to note. A big component of BushLeague the brand is a live component. When "24 Hour Game Review" was happening with Grand Theft Auto 4 and the world record attempt, we streamed the entire 28 hours on line. Close to 23,000 people stopped in - some were there for 18, 20 hours, leaving messages. We created a great fan base.

KINGSLEY: Some people were watching for so long that they had their friends coming on to cheer them on.

WAYNE: You'll see more live things, like a live writer's room perhaps. How cool to have the Bush League audience involved int he writing of segments and ideas. Live is probably one of the coolest social media features.

MobilizedTV: I think we all know that the young male demo is big on broadband, but metrics have also shown that females and older demos are also watching. Will future offerings be aimed at these demos? What's holding that up - are advertisers wary of any demo but this one?

WAYNE: It's a great question. I think the Internet for sure has a great audience of young men who are tech-savvy, video game users who have grown up online. And I think you see a lot of properties that target them, and you'll see a lot more. There have been folks that say, but there are so many things that target young males. But that doesn't mean there won't be more, and hopefully every year there'll be more creative points of view. When Allison and Matt came in, we wanted to make sure we did something unique.

You'll see us debut a Mom project in beginning of June, a fashion site for young women in Fall, a product in July that comes out for young men and women. DECA will be targeting online audiences that are men, women, young, old. BushLeague is leading the charge with this new wave of properties.We just want to be very smart about the ideas, and the partners we get into bed with.

MobilizedTV: Are there any plans to go mobile with BushLeague.tv? How does mobile fit into DECA's future distribution plans?

KINGLSEY: Yes, our content will be very compatible with mobile. We definitley have those intentions.

WAYNE: DECA owns the content, so you won't just see us do deals with US mobile partners but be aggressive internationally. Young males, video games - that works well worldwide. The mobile market will be great for this property. We have two deals we're discussing, one in the US and one internationally.

1. COLOR.  Bananas are yellow, but sometimes they are green (before they are ripe) and sometimes they are brown (when they are going bad).

2. PEEL-ABLE.  You can (and should) peel bananas to eat them.

3. MONKEY FOOD.  Monkeys eat bananas.  Eeeep!

4. SMELL.  Bananas smell like, well, bananas!

5. SOUP.  Banana soup is not very good, unless you get a good recipe. 

What is your favorite banana quality?  Post a comment!

Your Responsibilities:

You will be responsible for developing, deploying and maintaining new product Quality Plan as well as providing necessary training and reviewing effectiveness of Quality Plan execution during new product introduction. Working with cross functional team, you will participate in new product FMEA and DFA of new product development as inputs to Quality Plan.  You will take a leading role in driving product quality improvement / assurance initiatives and support manufacturing centres in handling quality incidences. You will also perform periodic manufacturing quality audit to ensure that manufacturing quality system complies with pre-scribed standard and carry out product quality assessment for product produced at various production centres. 

Your Profile:
Requirements:
• Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering & Electrical Engineering with 2 years relevant experience in quality assurance discipline

• Certified Quality Engineer will be an added advantage.
• Knowledge of SPC and Acceptance Sampling Plan is a must
• Possesses manufacturing quality assurance experience

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Good analytical and organizational skills

***Forward latest CV to the kepalahunter for more details.

***Referrals are welcome. A token referral fee will be given out on successful placement of the candidate introduced.

Answer:
Unfortunately, I don’t believe there is a way to set your default font / size / color in Blackboard to avoid changing the settings for each thing you type.

The best solution I can come up with is to use Word to type up what you want to enter into Blackboard.  You can set the default font / size / color in Word and then copy and paste what you have typed into a Blackboard textbox.  The formatting info from Word carries over into Blackboard when you paste.  If you use the shortcut keys for copying and pasting, this can be done fairly efficiently.  CTRL + X is the Keyboard shortcut for CUT, CTRL + C is COPY, and CTRL + V is PASTE.

Answer:
If you set up your Blackboard exam so that all of the questions are presented at once, on one page, the student’s responses are not automatically saved as they go.  If the browser window with the exam in it is closed before the exam has been submitted, the student’s work will be lost.

There is a save button next to each question when exam questions are presented all at once.   When the student clicks that save button, the answer for that question is saved in blackboard.  If for some reason, at the end of the exam, the exam wasn’t able to be submitted, answers that were not saved are lost, and answers that were saved can be viewed and graded by the instructor.

If you set up your exam so that one question is presented to a student on the screen at a time, each question is saved as the students progress to the next question.  If a student weren’t able to submit their exam in the end for some reason, their answers will have been saved, and can be viewed and graded by the instructor.

If you choose the “Force Completion” option when you are setting up your exam, there isn’t any way to allow a student back in to continue an exam that they partially completed.  You can let them take the test again, but you have to clear their previous attempt before they can start a new one.  This clears out the saved answers from their previous attempt, and they have to start the test from the beginning.

It is possible to lose internet connectivity and successfully submit an exam when the internet connection has been reestablished.  The important thing is that the browser stay open, and that the student doesn’t browse away from the exam. 

Blackboard logs out users who have been inactive for more than 3 hours.  Clicking an answer’s option button on an exam doesn’t count as activity.  Clicking Save on a question, or moving to the next question on an exam presented one question at a time counts as activity.

For lengthy Blackboard exams, you might consider breaking them up into several smaller exams.  Instead of a 100 question exam 1, have four separate 25 question exams, (exam 1 – part 1, exam 1 – part 2, etc.).  That way, if a student doesn’t submit an exam properly, and didn’t save any of their work, they have only messed up on a portion of the exam, instead of the whole thing.

A: Let's just assume that Mormons are Christians (I will address why in a later post).They claim that "it's in the Bible so we can do it." So does the Bible support the practice ?

1. You do what the Bible tells you to do, not what you just think up. It's in the Bible that Judas betrayed Jesus. Does that mean that we're to betray Jesus [or other people]? No. Mormon's are pulling ideas/thoughts out of context.
2. God DID tell us to practice monogamy as we see in 1 Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6; and Ephesians 5:22-33
3. Polygamy wasn't included in 'Paradise Lost'. As we see in Adam and Eve (not plural Eves), and the general guideline for marriage (Gen. 2:24) we see that monogamy was God's perfect will.
4. God permitted many things, such as divorce (Matthew 5:31-32; Mark 10:2-12), being that their hearts were hard.
5. 1 Kings 11 shows that Polygamy is quite foolish. Joining yourself with multiple people has both psychological and applicational problems.

See http://www.gotquestions.org/polygamy for a different yet complementary answer (it deals with the cultural aspects).

We tend to skip things beforehand and leave it to the guys to develop and when they are done, next thing you know, customer had totally the wrong expectation than what was done. Or, it would be something that would have so many bugs that couldn't be fixed before deadline and project gets canceled/there is delay in payment. It's pretty much a very common incident, right? Well, what if we tried to improve this situation. Realizations have occurred in time and measures were taken. Processes has been made for improvement and effectiveness. Roles have evolved to many types to play in significant activities within these different kinds of process. So where can a QA's role take place and what kind of activities can be done?

A QA's role doesn't only mean involvement in test phase but in many other areas. After all, test is part of quality assurance. A QA can participate in ensuring quality in requirements analysis phase, design phase, during development, test and in release phase. The whole idea is to ensure quality. It might seem that too unrealistic for a QA to do all these things in all phases but QA can do significant activities and ensure the other activities are done. In that case QA roles can be divided in areas. By maintaining processes and checking, the workflow will be much more refined. But now let's have a look on different areas where how a QA in a development team, within the development lifecycle can help prevent, rather than cure.

QA in Requirement Analysis Phase

During the requirement gathering phase, there is communication involved between the client and the people who gather requirements. This may be in some case the account managers, the requirements manager, product manager etc. Requirements are taken based on what clients want to be developed. Sometimes how to be developed. Now there is three scenarios to be considered when taking in requirements which sometimes tends to me missed out.

A.  New Functionality   

B. Extension/Change in Functionality

C. Functionality that implicitly effects another

Now A is very easy to plug in itself but when it interconnects with C, there needs to be some kind of knowledge in between in order to understand the impact on the existing functionality. B is also applicable in the this case.

So how is this related to a QA being involved? When personnel who gathers requirements from the client, quite often, they do not have the functionality in mind completely or maybe the technical limitations, thus resulting to promises that cannot be delivered. In this case have a member from the development team ( could be a senior developer/ architect ) and a QA engineer who knows the functionality well enough can provide valuable input in helping derive meaningful and functional requirements. In addition, the QA can point out the different perspectives of quality in making the client aware of different consequences, thus helping the client understand better on what they actually want.  By discussion, QA can help the client in deriving the acceptance criteria and use cases though with which the client can verify the end product. In summary, QA helps in ensuring that qualitative requirements are given.

QA in Design Phase

I noticed that during the Design phase, it involves the techies only and assumed that other than them, others won't be able to provide any information that could help or understand the architecture. I would say that in any phase, a second opinion is always helpful.

So how can a QA help giving a second opinion here? During the discussion in this phase goes very in-depth into units to understand the whole architecture to be built. Doing so, sometimes the overview is missed and many criteria that the client is looking for gets faded away. The QA can bring  up the points time to time. Now you might say why do  you need a QA to point out. You can have the things written and ensure the design supports it, which is absolutely correct. But experience says that getting to the technical parts, the flows, usability, performance, scalability on usage and things like these sometimes gets opt out. The QA can add support in bringing up the quality attributes into incorporating them in the design as well as add different points in client essence since being involved during the requirements phase. It's very important for the builders to understand the nature of the client and their usage of the system. In summary, QA helps in ensuring that qualitative design considers the quality attributes is made.

QA in Development Phase

We all follow the traditional way of developing and then testing the product delivered. And we all know that always we end up with bugs which makes it difficult for the testers and developers to come to an agreement in solving the bugs. How about we try to reduce these problems after the test phase? I'm sure things can be done ahead so that the cost in fixing those numerous amount of bugs later is much less. Here is where a QA can play the necessary role.

During the development the QA can do the following things and others if needed:

• Write test cases of the functionality and share them with the developers so that all the positive and negative cases are covered.
• Help the developers understand the nature of the clients on how they will use the system so that the developers can build keeping that sense in mind.
• Help in ensuring that all scenarios are covered in the unit tests, boundaries. Basically giving an idea to the developers on certain things that usually testers find out obvious bugs out from.
• Help by raising concerns on where the system can be error-prone.
• Help by giving pointers on areas where performance, scalability, usability matters.
• Go through the little functionality being developed and see if it conforms to the acceptance criteria.
• Before delivering the product, ensure with the delivers that correct functionality is being delivered with quality.

QA in Test & Release Phase

After everything is done, it's time to to test the end product and finish it off by releasing it to the clients. Once again, with quality. During the test phase, the QA can assist the other testers to test the software. Also, the QA can help in making a successful release. During the release, when there is little to do, the QA still has work to do. Before the next cycle starts, the QA can prepare quality attributes that were missed in the previous release and make note to accomplish in the next one. This may include in preparing guidelines, checklists, process change etc.

Conclusion

So we pretty much covered on the activities of  a QA in the development life cycle and the importance of it's role within. In conclusion, QA helps in ensuring that ultimately a product with quality is made. So why wait and let something go wrong in the end and fight over fixing it? Why not try from the begin to refine things so we have less mess-sweeping up to do. Isn't prevention better than cure? I'll let you think and decide on that. Until then, happy QA-ing !

Sara and I went to the Mix NYC screenings of Barbara Hammer's 16mm shorts Monday night at Collective Unconscious, a humble, inviting venue on Church Street blocks away from the Canal station.

Evenings such as these remind us that New York is jam-packed with interesting experiences and that we don't take advantage of them enough. For five bucks, we saw eight short films produced, written, directed and edited by a woman every female filmmaker should know.

Barbara was born in 1939 in Hollywood, CA, and didn't start making films until she was in her 30s. According to wikipedia, she was responsible for some of the first lesbian-made movies in history. Her debut film, "A Gay Day," shows Barbara as a young woman dressed in a wedding dress and a tiara, igniting a feminist spark she continues to fuel today.

During the Q & A, I asked her why she made the move to New York and if the city has affected her films. She said she had "reached the top of her game" in San Francisco and wanted to move to New York because she had learned that people here were more critically sophisticated. With dozens of films under her belt, including shorts, features and documentaries, Barbara appears to have reached the top of her game in New York as well.

Her experimental style, although at times difficult to comprehend, proves inventive and provocative. The personal element moved both Sara and I, and we realized that we both wanted to explore our own styles and work on more intimate projects along with producing narrative films.

We spoke to her after the Q & A and turns out she is premiering her new documentary film about her battle with cancer at this year's Frameline. Sara and I will be arriving in San Francisco the morning before the screening, so we hope there will still be seats available by the time we get there.

When I shook her hand to wish her a happy birthday (Mix NYC brought red velvet cake for everyone), she talked about what a great evening it had been and how she hadn't seen some of the films in over 30 years. I also congratulated her on over 20 years with her partner, Flora, who was also there to share the experience with Barbara and her fans. When Sara and I left, she wished us luck with our own Frameline screening and said she hoped that Sara and I made it to 20 years as well.

Check out more on Barbara Hammer:

• Filmmaker Magazine interview

• Official website

• History/Bio from Women Make Movies

If an intruder enters my house to rob and harm my family what should I do?

Answer

You should compassionately subdue the intruder. The important thing is your attitude. The wrong thing to do would be to hold angry resentful thoughts towards the intruder.

If you have to make a choice between saving your child and saving 100 people, which does Buddhism say is the wiser choice?

Answer

Buddhism says that saving 100 people is the Buddha Way.

Q. Hello, Matthew. So I guess we only got 1/2 of the "M&G" combo today? Never mind, let's dig in. In essence, what's M&G all about?

Making skin care uncomplicated and modern, starting with sensitive skin first.

Q. You make it sound so easy! Take us back to the genesis, that moment you both decided to commit your lives to this "project".

There are two starting points: first, when Kiehl's was sold to L'Oreal in '99 during my six-year tenure there overseeing global sales (as Nars was sold to Shiseido, Stila to Estee Lauder, Bliss to LVMH, etc). Then, two years later, after lots of research and planning (which was a rewarding process), we took the plunge. We wanted to establish a family business with a soul.

Q. You mentioned you were profitable out of the gate. How did you pull that off?

Profitable about a year into it. We are self-funded and focused. We wrote a thorough business plan, based on a friend's success, that has served us well. Strategic planning for all aspects of our business without the pressure of investors was helpful, no doubt. We pooled our backgrounds in beauty and design to leverage PR, design (architect, graphics, packaging), product development (formulations), manufacturing, marketing, global distribution, our own retail store in NYC and an e-com website. Our team is a talented pool colleagues that are the best in their respective fields. We are lucky and proud to work with such individuals.

Q. Can you talk about your business model and your plans for growth? Give us a taste...

The model is unorthodox and focused, based on a modern, niche concept of specialty, ground-floor service and product inspired by the traditional apothecaries and chemists from 100 years ago. The five-year plan included our own Manhattan apothecary to serve as our international retail and wholesale showroom, office, and global shipping (with some warehousing in a basement) keeping costs at a minimum. Distribution focused on NY, LA and London and also included our own e-com website, four Barneys New York locations, Liberty in London and Fred Segal in LA. These eight, diversified venues launched our original idea to simplify skincare from "head-to-toe" with 11 items for Face, Body and Hair. Distribution continues to stay focused with a network of 250 non-competitive venues to support one another in each market. Our packaging tells our story and was "designed" to stand out editorially and merchandise beautifully at retail by the cutting-edge team at 2x4. Formulas were made for and owned by us for the contract manufacturers of our choice, allowing for quality control. The unisex concept offered exclusive editorial for mens, womens, beauty, design, architecture, home, fashion, and even food (Andrew Goetz is a gourmet cook!) publications. New York is an international destination related closely to LA and London. We often joke that our business model would not be possible from Ohio. Developing the (MALIN+GOETZ) directly-owned store network is the future, along with building our existing business partnerships while keeping an open mind for alternative venues and interesting channels of distribution.

Q. Thanks for that comprehensive answer... a taste, indeed. What's really working for you/the business right now and what isn't?

Our store and website are each 10% of our company's biz. They WORK. We plan more own-stores and are in the process of re-launching our successful site. As we grow, we need to consider a broader audience and addressing their more specific needs.

Q. How would you rate M&G when it comes to social responsibility and sustainability? Are either part of the M&G story?

Each is part of our story and important. We continue to seek out opportunities to incorporate environmentally-conscious products and packaging into our line. From day one we've emphasized recycling and used minimal packaging and natural-based formulas. We also stand firmly to avoid false claims and hyperbole around these issues.

Q. I think style-driven emerging brands can have an outsize influence on the market at large so I hope M&G and other charismatic indies keep raising the bar on issues of social responsibility. Anyway, please tell us about your first store/office. How has it shaped what you do, the M&G brand?

As an integral part of the original business model, it has greatly shaped the business. The store has provided a platform for our business and products, setting the image, generating revenue, supplying office and shipping space, and offering our customers insight into our back office operation via our store. We have since moved our office from the store to a larger space, allowing us to expand our retail operation and take advantage of its sales potential.

Q. How do you manage the omni-present "integrity vs. growth" tension?

Hopefully, well. Placing integrity first allows for measured growth. As a self-funded business, it's tempting to take short cuts and go for revenue opportunities. But learning to say "no" is critical - managing our core business must remain our focus. We do not have to be everything to everyone, but simply the best for our market and consumer.

Q. Yes, it takes discipline to say no to off-strategy revenue when you're a cash-hungry start-up. Well done! Switching gears, can you describe the creative process at M&G?

It is important to know that Malin and Goetz have had a successful personal relationship for 15 years. So, there is a lot of common ground as a start. However, M&G is about pairing opposites for balance, literally. It goes like this: Malin & Goetz, beauty & design, dry & oily, cleanser & moisturizer, men & women, etc. Needless to say, it is a tug-of-war with the end result being balance. Perfect (MALIN+GOETZ) every time.

Q. As two partners, how do you divide and conquer without stepping on each other's toes?

Oh, we step. I say this playfully; however, as previously mentioned, we are truly opposite. Therefore, we bring divergent ideas and expertise to the table. I focus energy on sales and product development and Andrew's interests are suited to design, creatives, and manufacturing, since he is more detailed in many ways.

Q. Seminal moments/major milestones since your launch?

All of the amazing, positive customer feedback and loyalty. Watching our store and web's growth with double digit increases annually. Moving into a real office to include shipping and warehousing last August and then expanding our store to twice its original size to include a "perfumery". Having a full-time staff today of 12 people.

Q. Love it... there's nothing like seeing the lil' monster wiggle to life. Biggest challenge you've faced along the way? How did you overcome it?

Learning to integrate a 10-year personal relationship to a professional one. Clarifying boundaries took time. It was, initially, a difficult balance--no pun--that has now leveled to a beautiful hum. As with all of our previous endeavors, it has worked well, I am happy to say.

Q. How do you manage your growing team? Any "best practices" to share (management 101)?

We place emphasis on initiative, autonomy, creativity and achievement. We value and hire a great team first, and, hopefully, we do not take them for granted. When I began my career in the Executive Training Program at Saks, I had a great boss and later a horrible boss. Andrew had a similar experience during his ten years with Vitra. We learned what we did not want from a job and what we valued. We strive to foster an environment for the things we valued as employees and to avoid becoming the boss we both hated.

Q. Horrible bosses can make life so miserable! Good riddance. Your website has consistently been one of your strongest channels. What specifically is driving the success there?

Press. Simplicity. A loyal customer base. It is not a typical web success story and small by most standards. But, it is amazing for us. We love it.

Q. To sign off, I would like to run a little promo for my readers (this is the first time we've tried something like this) - anything you can offer up so IBC readers can give M&G a whirl (e.g. web promo)?

Yes - type in the word "indie" at check-out and receive 20% off purchases of (MALIN+GOETZ) via our web store, www.malinandgoetz.com.

Thank you for this insightful, candid Q&A, Matthew. Wishing you and your team continued success... btw, did I mention that I dig your soap bars and amenity set/travel sizes?

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Q. 右の○○に一言入れてください。「自分は意外と、○○なんです。」

高橋　レトロ 好き ・・・ なんです。レトロな家具に目がいくんです★
最近ソファーを買ったんです！めちゃめちゃ悩んで買ったんです★とってもレトロですよ★

新垣　私は意外と あぶない・・・(笑) この間包丁をさかさまに洗ってたらママに怒られましたぁ～(笑)
「コラ～もぉーあぶないでしょー」って・・・＾□＾汗)

亀井　絵里は意外と小心者なんです★★カミングアウトしちゃった。キャー☆☆

道重　自分は意外と知的なんです。どうか分かって下さいm(・-・)m

田中　自分は意外と『こわがり』なんデス！！1人で外を歩けない。って事はナイけど 出来れば 歩きたくないし
ホテルとかのおふろは絶対うしろが気になって落ちつけないし・・・(汗； こわがりなんデスゥ～～。

久住　自分は意外と 指相撲の時だけ親指が強いんです。指相撲の時だけ発揮しますから、この親指は！

光井　「お笑い芸人」笑〃 テレビとかやとまだまだそんなんは感じひんと思うんやけど、
やっぱりあいかは関西の血をひいてるから、プライベート、学校とかでは注目の的ですよ！！

ｼﾞｭﾝｼﾞｭﾝ　「いろっぽい」んです！皆はいろっぽくないって言うけど、もう20歳だから大人のいろけがあるんです！！

ﾘﾝﾘﾝ　自分は意外と、果物のデザートをつくることができるんです。ずっと果物のデザートが大好きで、よくつくってました！

Question: Fill in the blank to the right with one word. "I'm surprisingly ___"

Takahashi Ai

"Retro." I like it... Why? Retro furniture
catches my eye. ★ Recently, I bought a couch!
I was really worried when I bought it. ★
It is awfully retro. ★

Niigaki Risa

I'm surprisingly dangerous.. (lol)
The other day, I was washing a kitchen knife
upside down, and my mom got angry at me (lol)
she was like: "Hey! Jeez! That's dangerous"...
＾□＾ (sweat drop)

Kamei Eri

I'm surprisingly timid ★★
But I've come out of the closet.
Kyaa ☆☆

Michishige Sayumi

I'm surprisingly intellectual.
Please try to understand that somehow. m(・-・)m

Tanaka Reina

I am surprisingly "cowardly"!!
It's not like I can't be walking outside by myself,
but if at all possible, I don't want to.
At the bath in hotels, I am always nervous about
what's behind me and I can't relax...
(sweat drop) I'm definitely cowardly~~.

Kusumi Koharu

I'm surprisingly strong with my thumb,
only when it's time for a thumb wrestling match.
I only show this when I'm thumb wrestling,
but this thumb is strong!

Mitsui Aika

A comedian." (lol) On television, I haven't
had that impression so much, but of course
I have kansai blood in me, so I focus on it
in my private life and at school!!

JunJun

"Sexy"! Although everyone else says I'm not sexy,
I'm already 20, so I have that adult appeal!!

LinLin

I am surprisingly able to make a fruit dessert.
I've always liked fruit desserts,
so I make them often!

Audience Q & A with Walter Hood, Brent Toderian and Maria Rosario

To what extent do contemporary Islamic mortgages comply with Shariah Law: [audio http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/islam/nizam_shariacomp.ram]

How important is it for Muslims that their money comes from permissible (halal) sources:  [audio http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/islam/nizam_halal.ram]

Do Sharia mortgages really address the ethical concerns of Muslims about what is happening to their money: [audio http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/islam/nizam_ethical.ram]

Will Islamic mortgages lead to greater social inclusion: [audio http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/realmedia/islam/nizam_social.ram]

I am a banker by profession. I am running because I seek a better future for my family, my neighbors and my community. I feel that future can best be served by a government that recognizes our freedoms are inalienable rights rather than stemming from the generosity of the state. A government should seek to unleash the creative power of its citizens through a low tax burden and maximum respect for the rights of its citizens.

I am pro-life.

I defend the traditional role and definition of marriage.

I support individual property rights.

I believe the 2nd amendment protects the right of individual citizens to own firearms.

I believe Iowans are currently overtaxed and underserved.

The fair tax is a national rather than local issue. I think this concept has a lot of merit.

I feel we need to control our borders, I support legal immigration. We need to eliminate illegal immigration. The best way to do this would be to keep illegals from being able to obtain employment or collect state benefits. We do need some type of temporary worker visa program that would allow for seasonal workers primarily in agriculture.

Audience Q & A with Judy Lawley, Rusong Wang and Jaime Lerner at the closing session of the Ecocity World Summit

A: The key to adding camo in the kitchen will be moderation. It's easy to go overboard (camo accents, camo curtains, camo rugs, camo dishes, etc.), but if you aim to strike a balance between the camo print and similar hunting-themed items, you'll be able to create a kitchen that you both love.

Let's start with the camo: we like this camo rug because it's durable and non-slip. It's neutral with just enough camouflage to help carry your theme (without going overboard).

This camouflage valance may be another great option. Depending on the room and window size, you may also have some luck with the coordinating camo panels -- if they're too long, you can always hem them shorter (or even use adhesive no-sew glue if you're not looking for a sewing project).

Now that we've tackled the camo, let's move on to some hunting accents to compliment the camo. This antler chandelier would look great over a small table in the kitchen area. For more hunting and outdoor accessories, visit our lodge decorating style shop.

Short on space? This breakfast corner nook set is perfect if you're looking for a table to fit in a snug space or corner.

One last thing to consider: paint. If you're planning on painting the kitchen, we recommend keeping things neutral - a light tan or beige color would work best to compliment your new decor. If you're feeling bold, try a light mocha color but avoid something too dark if you're working with a small area.

Good luck with your project -- be sure to send us photos of your finished project. We'd love to see how it turns out!

This was a worthwhile investment of my time. I’m going to have to track down the books - there are yearlong wait lists at the libraries here so I might have to buckle and buy them. Meanwhile, enjoy the video. It’s entertaining and really very interesting. It’s also behind the cut. :)