Remembering renaissance man Bill Lishman by George Farrell

 

https://haliburtonecho.ca/remembering-renaissance-man-bill-lishman/

Earle Casey returned home not only having survived 12 missions sitting in the tail gunner seat of a Lancaster bomber in the Royal Canadian Air Force’s famous 428 Ghost Squadron during the Second World War but lived through a crash landing and 12 days in a rubber dinghy named Suzie Q on the open sea. Submitted by Tim Casey

Columns24 January 2018

Remembering renaissance man Bill Lishman 

By George Farrell

Published Jan. 18 2018

Multi-talented Bill Lishman passed away on Dec. 30 10 days after being diagnosed with leukemia. He’s best known for raising Canada geese and teaching them how to fly alongside his ultralight aircraft.

Flying with the geese in their traditional V formation Lishman eventually flew with them to North Carolina becoming the first person to lead birds in the air and to lead birds on their migration with an ultralight aircraft. His historic flight was documented in the 1996 movie Fly Away Home which was based on Lishman’s autobiography Father Goose. He was 78.

But to remember him solely in connection with the geese and the movie would be doing Lishman a huge disservice because he was also an accomplished artist sculptor filmmaker pilot author public speaker activist and environmentalist. His sculptures included large pieces created for the Canadian Museum of Nature Canada’s Wonderland and for Expo 86 in Vancouver.

Lishman died in the house that he built himself overlooking the Purple Valley near Port Perry Ont. Built mainly underground natural light illuminates the rooms through igloo-like glass domes located above-ground. Lishman’s inventions include a refrigerator that rose from under the floor. His thinking was that storing the fridge below the floor would use less power in keeping food cool.

Lishman was a member of the Scugog Lake Stewards organization and he helped found the Oshawa Competition Motorcycle Club. He was also a board member and creative director of the People or Planes citizens group in Pickering which in the 1970s successfully prevented the construction of an international airport in the area. Pickering was where Lishman was raised but he never finished high school. In reference to that he liked to say that he was “unencumbered by formal education.”

“He had a real sense of the big picture. As much as technology would allow he experienced it all. He had the ability and the nerve to make it happen. He had the vision and tenacity to see it through and to bring it to reality” Lishman’s son Aaron said in a story written by Fatima Syed for the Toronto Star on Jan. 2. In the same article family friend Kerry King said “He was a renaissance man probably the only one I’ll ever meet a true multi-talented intellect.”

Lishman has ties to Haliburton; through his sculpture his wife Paula and more tenuously through me. As part of the Haliburton Sculpture Forest Lishman’s Kennisis: Horse and Rider is the name of the electric blue sculpture that can be found close to the main entrance of Fleming College. It depicts a North American Indigenous rider at one with the horse in body and spirit.

Lishman married Paula in 1968 and in addition to Aaron the Lishmans raised Geordie and daughter Carmen. Paula Lishman is the well-known inventor of knit fur an innovative process of manufacturing a fur yarn.

Janet Sheehey proprietor of JanKnit’s Studio and Sewing Centre in Haliburton village once worked for Paula Lishman in her Port Perry store. Sheehey taught Paula’s knitters how to make the fur coats designed by Lishman. When she opened her own store in Haliburton in 2007 Sheehey brought some of Lishman’s fur coats with her. Paula Lishman was there at the grand opening and her fur yarn is still available at the store where Sheehey turns some of it into hats and headbands.

As for my own connection to Bill Lishman it occurred in 1986 when I was working as a prop man on a car commercial. The location of the commercial was in a field adjacent to the Lishman’s property. Bill had been commissioned by the commercial production company to assemble a “carhenge” which was to replicate Stonehenge in every way. But instead of stone the structure was made from junkyard cars upended in the ground. The commercial was filmed as the early morning mist drifted among the rusty autos and the effect was spooky and amazing.

Amazing is also a good word to describe Bill Lishman who was forever thinking outside the box and having fun doing so. He was a true renaissance man and we won’t see anyone like him anytime soon. There will be a celebration of Lishman’s life at 1 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa.

https://haliburtonecho.ca/remembering-renaissance-man-bill-lishman/

Sarah Jane Cion interview by Nicole Wright

 

DOJ: Ross Ulbricht, A/K/A “Dread Pirate Roberts,” Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To Life In Prison

 

U.S. Attorneys » Southern District of New York » News » Press Releases

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Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of New York

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, May 29, 2015

Ross Ulbricht, A/K/A “Dread Pirate Roberts,” Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To Life In Prison

Convicted of Multiple Counts for Creating and Operating the “Silk Road" Website, Used by More than 100,000 Users to Buy and Sell More Than $200 Million Worth of Illegal Drugs and Other Unlawful Goods and Services

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROSS ULBRICHT, a/k/a “Dread Pirate Roberts,” was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court to life in prison in connection with his operation and ownership of Silk Road, a hidden website designed to enable its users to buy and sell illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services anonymously and beyond the reach of law enforcement between January 2011 and October 2013.  ULBRICHT was found guilty of each of the seven charges he faced on February 5, 2015, following a four-week jury trial.  U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest imposed today’s sentence.

 Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said:  “Make no mistake: Ulbricht was a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people’s addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people.  Ulbricht went from hiding his cybercrime identity to becoming the face of cybercrime and as today’s sentence proves, no one is above the law.”

 According to the evidence presented at trial, statements made during other public proceedings including today’s sentencing, and other court documents:

            ULBRICHT created Silk Road in January 2011, and owned and operated the underground website until it was shut down by law enforcement authorities in October 2013.  Silk Road emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet, serving as a sprawling black-market bazaar where unlawful goods and services, including illegal drugs of virtually all varieties, were bought and sold regularly by the site’s users.  While in operation, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services to more than 100,000 buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions.

            ULBRICHT deliberately operated Silk Road as an online criminal marketplace intended to enable its users to buy and sell drugs and other illegal goods and services anonymously and outside the reach of law enforcement.  ULBRICHT sought to anonymize transactions on Silk Road in two principal ways.  First, ULBRICHT operated Silk Road on what is known as “The Onion Router,” or “Tor” network, a special network of computers on the Internet, distributed around the world, designed to conceal the true IP addresses of the computers on the network and thereby the identities of the networks’ users.  Second, ULBRICHT designed Silk Road to include a Bitcoin-based payment system that served to facilitate the illegal commerce conducted on the site, including by concealing the identities and locations of the users transmitting and receiving funds through the site.

            The vast majority of items for sale on Silk Road were illegal drugs, which were openly advertised as such on the site.  As of September 23, 2013, the Silk Road home page displayed nearly 13,000 listings for controlled substances, listed under such categories as “Cannabis,” “Dissociatives,” “Ecstasy,” “Intoxicants,” “Opioids,” “Precursors,” “Prescription,” “Psychedelics,” and “Stimulants.”  From November 2011 to September 2013, law enforcement agents made more than 60 individual undercover purchases of controlled substances from Silk Road vendors.  These purchases included heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and LSD, among other illegal drugs, and were filled by vendors believed to be located in more than ten different countries, including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Austria, and France.

            The narcotics distributed on Silk Road have been linked to at least six overdose deaths across the world.  These overdose deaths included Jordan M., a 27-year old Microsoft employee who was found unresponsive in front of his computer, which was logged onto Silk Road at the time, and died as a result of heroin and other prescription drugs that he had ordered from Silk Road.  Preston B., from Perth, Australia, and Alejandro N., from Camino, California, both 16 years old, died as a result of taking 25i-NBOMe, a powerful synthetic drug designed to mimic LSD (commonly referred to as “N-Bomb”), which was purchased from Silk Road.  Additional victims included Bryan B., a 25-year old from Boston, Massachussetts, and Scott W., a 36-year old from Australia, who both died as a result of heroin purchased from Silk Road, and Jacob B., a 22-year old from Australia, who died from health complications that were aggravated by the use of drugs purchased from Silk Road.

            In addition to illegal narcotics, other illicit goods and services were openly bought and sold on Silk Road.  For example, as of September 23, 2013, there were: 159 listings under the category “Services,” most of which offered computer hacking services, such as a listing by a vendor offering to hack into social networking accounts of the customer’s choosing; 801 listings under the category “Digital goods,” including malicious software, hacked accounts at various online services, and pirated media content; and 169 listings under the category “Forgeries,” including offers to produce fake driver’s licenses, passports, Social Security cards, utility bills, credit card statements, car insurance records, and other forms of false identification documents.

            Using the online moniker “Dread Pirate Roberts,” or “DPR,” ULBRICHT controlled and oversaw every aspect of Silk Road, and managed a staff of paid, online administrators and computer programmers who assisted with the day-to-day operation of the site.  Through his ownership and operation of Silk Road, ULBRICHT reaped commissions worth more than $13 million generated from the illicit sales conducted through the site.  ULBRICHT also demonstrated a willingness to use violence to protect his criminal enterprise and the anonymity of its users, soliciting six murders-for-hire in connection with operating the site, although there is no evidence that these murders were actually carried out.

*                      *                      *

ULBRICHT, 31, of San Francisco, California, was convicted of seven offenses after a four-week jury trial:  distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the Internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering.

In addition to the life sentence prison term, ULBRICHT was ordered to forfeit $183,961,921.

In imposing today’s sentence, Judge Forrest said:  “There must be no doubt that lawlessness will not be tolerated.  There must be no doubt that no one is above the law - no matter one’s education or privileges.  All stand equal before the law.  There must be no doubt that you cannot run a massive criminal enterprise and because it occurred over the Internet minimize the crime committed on that basis.”

Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its New York Special Operations and Cyber Division, as well as the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force, which comprises agents and officers of the DEA, the IRS, the New York City Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (“ICE”) Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the New York State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, Office of Foreign Assets Control, and NY Department of Taxation.  Mr. Bharara also thanked the ICE-HSI Chicago-O’Hare office for its assistance and support, as well as the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Office of International Affairs.  Additionally, Mr. Bharara praised the foreign law enforcement partners whose contributions to the success of the investigation and prosecution have been invaluable, namely, the Reykjavik Metropolitan Police of the Republic of Iceland, and the French Republic’s Central Office for the Fight Against Crime Linked to Information Technology and Communication.

The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant United States Attorneys Serrin Turner and Timothy T. Howard are in charge of the prosecution, and Assistant United States Attorney Christine Magdo is in charge of the forfeiture aspects of the case.

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Component(s): 

USAO - New York, Southern

Updated May 29, 2015

How to Exceed Sales Targets: 13 Tips from Experts

How to Exceed Sales Targets: 13 Tips from Experts

by Neal
with quote from Nicole Wright

October 6, 2014 

“We not only have to meet sales targets, but we need to exceed them” – we have all heard this line before. No matter what the situation or tone this statement is delivered in, the result is just one thing – a lot of hard work! We wanted to get down to the brass-tacks of how to go about exceeding sales targets. For this we turned to the experts, people who understand sales, who are in the “sales” industry and people who actually sell products and services. Here are some of the top crowdsourced tips for exceeding your sales targets.

Here’s what John Golden, CSO, Pipeliner CRM, has to say about how to exceed sales targets:

Create Value!

Sales in the modern era is still about creating value. Buyers are telling us that what they truly value from a supplier or seller is not the information about products and services. The value that buyers are looking for comes in the form of the insights they receive during the buying process. The most successful sellers are the ones that have the skills to ask the best questions to help their buyers arrive at conclusions – conclusions about their unrecognized problems or unanticipated opportunities.

Be Multifaceted

In addition to having superior investigation and communication skills, the modern salesperson needs to become part researcher, part micro-marketer. They need to have a greater level of business acumen than ever. They need to be insatiably curious about the business of their buyers, even when those businesses are spread across multiple segments or verticals. They need to be bringing insight and ideas to their buyers and creating value at every juncture of the buying journey, understanding that the velocity of business change is only increasing.

Peter Fuller, CMO, Salesvue, shares his insights for exceeding sales tips:

Measure Activity

To measure success rates, you need to measure sales activity. Reports give managers an idea of how well the team is progressing, but that’s not the only metric to measure. With the right tools, you can modify reports and data requirements to help you visualize the sales funnel better.
Reports can range from new opportunities added in the past week to opportunities set to close or new contacts added into the system. The key here is to determine which key metrics you need to report on and also constantly be on the look out for new KPIs to consider.

Connecting The Dots

“Data gathered is useless if you are not able to use it to boost sales, grow more, or manage resources better. Don’t just use the data to see how well or how fast your sales reps are moving; use it to connect the dots and make improvements to your entire business. Make a connection between previous deals and
deals-in-progress, and see how this could affect future transactions.”

Nicole Wright, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Coach, reveals a unique way to exceed sales targets:

Set Higher Targets

“To start, set the sales target at twice the number you actually want to achieve.”
Think of this as setting your clock five or ten minutes faster than normal, especially when you need to arrive early at your destination. Most times, this trick works for us. With sales too, set a higher number than the actual target. Make sure you don’t go overboard when setting your target – this way, you know it’s a bluff and instead of motivating you, the higher target might have the opposite effect!

Choose your words wisely

“Ask questions that elicit a “yes” response and arouse positive emotions.”
We need to structure our thoughts around how we are asking and answering questions. Use positive language and ask questions that result in evoking positive emotions. “During interactions, a sales professional must keep the outcome/result in mind and then proceed to ask questions that are designed for positive results.”

Troy Rhodes, President & GM, Iturna, shares his tips for exceeding sales targets especially in the enterprise space:

Move quickly (even in the mid-market/enterprise space!)

Once a potential account is identified as a true prospect, move as quickly as possible to identify the decision maker so you may work towards selling directly to that person. Lots of people can say “no” but ultimately very few do say “yes”. For instance, if you sell a business application, it’s okay to meet and discuss with the company’s controller or IT manager how your system is suited for the company’s particular needs, but don’t get stalled out there and never meet the CFO/CIO, otherwise you just turned your closing process over to a non-selling tactical resource that isn’t even part of your company. I doubt they can articulate the value of your organization and solution as well as you and even worse is that you won’t be there in defense to see and hear what they say.

Get to the Decision Maker

How do you get to the decision maker? Ask early and often. If the prospect is truly interested in your solution, it’s easy to negotiate access to power up front early in the solution evaluation process (i.e. require the decision maker to be available for fact gathering interviews and the product demo). If you wait until the point of closing, you’ll likely not gain access or at a minimum you will only get a brief courteous meeting with the decision maker.

Here’s what Liam Healy, VP of Sales, OutMarket has to say:

Know Your Numbers

Sales is a numbers game. Kind of a bland, undefined statement but true nonetheless. Most think, the more you put it the more you will get out. In all actuality, the more work you do, the more you’ve done. Metrics are and always will be a key to sales success. That said, focusing more on how much effort actually results in success, will unlock results.

Be Honest and Charge a Fair Price

Along with being knowledgeable; candor, honesty and sincerity mark the cornerstone of any successful sales relationship. Customers and prospects are not looking for embellishment and fluff; they’re looking for honesty and business partners who will work with them to reach success. Business relationships, however, are a two-way street; both parties should benefit. Don’t be afraid to charge fair market value for the problems you’re helping to solve.

Emmanuelle Skala, VP of Sales, Influitive, spoke to us about focusing more on creating advocates rather than focusing solely on closing deals:

Create Advocates

The most efficient way to exceed sales targets is to get more warm, fast-closing prospects in your pipeline month after month, quarter after quarter. I’m talking about referrals from happy customers. The first step in doing this is to change the paradigm of a sales person’s role. It’s not to “close deals”; it’s to “create advocates.” Once you’ve done this, take advantage of the honeymoon period and ask for a referral as soon as you can. This might be immediately after you’ve wowed them with a demo or immediately after the deal closes. If you did your job right as a salesperson, your prospects and new customers will truly believe he or she can help their network achieve value and will be happy to provide a referral. Adopting a culture of advocacy through an advocate marketing program can ensure that happy customers continue to provide high-quality referrals throughout the lifetime of their relationship with your company.

Bob Wolf, Founder, HOPE Skills Program spoke around how important it is to nurture a relationship in order to start exceeding sales targets in a more organic way:

Earn It

People do business with and choose to support people they know, like, trust and have confidence in. These four things take time to earn. We have to remember that in order to ‘earn’ business from someone, you first have to establish rapport with them so they see and think of you as someone they are willing to choose to give you the opportunity to earn their business.

Finally we asked our very own 9Lenses team member Ali Nasir, Sales Development Manager, to share insights on the subject and here’s what he said:

Set your daily goals

“Review all your goals and where you stand in relation to them every morning. This way it sets the tone for the day and motivates you to get closer to your goals.”

While we’ve shared a roundup of some of the best and most interesting insights we could find for exceeding sales targets, we know there are many more practical tips out there. Do share them with us!

https://9lenses.com/exceed-sales-targets-tips-experts

https://authory.com/walliserglobal/How-to-Exceed-Sales-Targets-13-Tips-from-Experts-a75491873ed1f454b9436946c2e627124

(recipe) Impress Your Guests by Grilling These Unexpected Foods

Impress Your Guests by Grilling These Unexpected Foods

Thank you for this recipe by Chef Karl Wilder
(c) My Celebrity Chef & Karl Wilder

CEO Nicole Wright

GRILLED ZUCCHINI

Ingredients:
Slice 2 zucchini (if large 3 if small) lengthwise 
Salt 
Balsamic vinegar  

Directions:

1. Slice zucchini lengthwise and sprinkle lightly with salt. 
2. Put on very hot grill and score with grill marks cooking until tender. 
3. Remove from grill and brush with balsamic vinegar. Serve at Room temperature. 

TRIPLE UMAMI BURGERS

ONION & MUSHROOM CONFIT

Ingredients:

3 onions 
1 lb sliced mushrooms 
Olive oil 
Salt 

Directions:

1. Thinly slice onions (French formal style) and place in warm pan with olive oil. When they soften, add mushrooms and continue to cook until all is lightly golden and soft. Lightly salt. 

 

SECRET SAUCE

Ingredients:
(per serving) 

1 Tbsp mayonnaise 
1 Tbsp mustard 
1 Tbsp soy sauce 
Bacon hot sauce to taste 

Directions:

1. Stir all ingredients in a bowl and set aside for the burger dressing.  

BURGERS

Ingredients:

6 oz beef per serving 
1 Kaiser roll per serving 
Salt and Pepper 

Directions:

1. Lightly packing the beef into a patty, make a large depression in the center. Keep the beef loose working as little as possible. Salt and pepper well.  
2. Place on very hot grill and cook to desired doneness. Cover both sides of roll with sauce, put the beef on the bottom of the roll, hollow the top of the roll and mound the onions and mushrooms. Eat. A slice of tomato may be added.  

GRILLED FRUIT

Ingredients:
Watermelon and cantaloupe are excellent choices for this warm sweet summer treat.   
Any seasonal fruit can be grilled. You will be served what the farm market has this week. 

Directions:  

1. Large berries or pitted fruit can be cut in half. Place cut half on very hot grill and grill until soft with light grill marks. Remove and while warm brush or drizzle with honey. Serve with cream, whipped cream or chocolate.