It is with pleasure to finally announce the first-ever, point-based store on thwack!  We're very excited to be able to give back to all of you who've helped us along the way with your feedback and work with the SolarWinds teams.  Below are the items available for purchase and a little information on how the process will work.SolarWinds Stickers (Pack of 5)Click on the picture to enlarge.300Geek Buttons/Badges (Pack of 5)Click on the picture to enlarge.300Click on the picture to enlarge500Click on the picture to enlarge500Click on the picture to enlarge900Click on the picture to enlarge1,500Click on the picture to enlarge1,500Click on the picture to enlarge1,500"Users Also Known As Job Security" Click on the picture to enlarge2,000"My Boss' Ego Is Over Provisioned"Click on the picture to enlarge2,000Click on the picture to enlarge3,000Click on the picture to enlarge3,500Click on the picture to enlarge4,000Click on the picture to enlarge5,000Click on the picture to enlarge5,000Click on the picture to enlarge5,000Click on the picture to enlarge5,000Click on the picture to enlarge5

,000"Replace User Try Again" TeeClick on the picture to enlarge5,000"Threat Hunter" Exclusive TeeClick on the picture to enlarge6,000"Rage Against the Virtual Machine" Exclusive TeeClick on the picture to enlarge6,000Click on the picture to enlarge7,000Click on the picture to enlarge8,000Click on the picture to enlarge8,000Laptop Skin - SolarWinds ButtonsClick on the picture to enlarge8,000SolarWinds Light Zip-up HoodieClick on the picture to enlarge10,000SolarWinds Wind/Rain JacketClick on the picture to enlarge10,000Click on the picture to enlarge15,000THWACK Backpack (THWACKpack)Click the picture to enlarge20,000Click on the picture to enlarge80,000THWACK Custom Corn Hole Set Click on the picture to enlarge100,000Includes Pool Table, Air Hockey, Ping Pong, and FoosballClick on the picture to enlarge150kryptek yeti backpack,000Will I lose my spot on the leaderboard or my badges if I purchase an item from the store?couronne eric backpack

No, you will not lose your spot on the leaderboard nor your badges.  However, the store will deduct these points from your available balance.  For example, if you have 5,000 points and you purchase a laptop sleeve for 2,000 points, your point value will reflect 3,000 but your spot on the leaderboard will not change.  In other words, the leaderboard runs off of your lifetime balance and all of your earned badges will stay in your profile.d89 backpackIs the shipping cost covered?d3cr backpackThere will be no cost to you.  la gomera backpackHowever, we must mention that with the initial launch of the store we will only be able to ship to the U.S. and Canada. usb backpack driver model 839

For international customers, if you have a U.S. or Canada shipping address where you can receive mail, we will gladly fulfill the order and ship to that address.What countries do you ship to?United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany are currently the only countries we ship to.My points were deducted, but I don't live in any of the eligible countries for shipping. How can I get my points back?How soon will I receive my item?pangolin backpack buy onlineAfter your order has been processed and shipped, you should receive your item within 7-10 business days.How do I purchase an item from the store?You will begin the purchasing process in a similar way, but will soon see the changes.You'll be presented with a list of products you're able to purchase. After clicking thepurchase button, the item card rotates and presents a "confirm" button.After clicking Confirm, you will be presented with a shopping cart dialog.

Here, you canreview the items in the cart, checkout, or keep shopping.A new icon in the header will show you the current number of items in your cart. Clickingthis icon will also bring up the shopping cart dialog. No longer will you lose your orderif you have to step away!Clicking the Checkout Now button will transition the dialog to a form that allows you to fillin a new address or select an existing address. *An existing address can only be used ifyou already have one listed in your profile.Once finished, you click on the Complete Order button.After clicking the Complete Order button, you will then be presented with an Order Completedialog that explains what happens next.Until an order has been confirmed Received by our fulfillment vendor, you will see an orderstatus icon in the header bar next to your login name. The number next to the icon indicatesthe number of open orders.Clicking this icon will present an Order Status dialog that shows the fulfillment stage theorder is in, along with a link to track the package it has already been shipped.

The last noteworthy thing to mention are the stages of an order. Orders can be in one of three states:Questions?  Feel free to post a comment below.Julie Anne Genter: 'I heard a screeching of brakes and a loud thwack' Green MP Julie Anne Genter with her younger brother Liam, hurt when he was hit by a speeding car while they walked to school. OPINION: Parents need to know the streets are safe for their kids.I can understand why parents are afraid to let their kids walk or bike to school. My youngest brother, Liam, was hit by a car on the way to school when he was 7 years old. I was 12 at the time, and was supposed to be looking after Liam, and my 10-year-old brother Sean on the beautiful sunny morning of the accident. It was the first, and the last time my mother ever let us walk to school. Growing up in car-dependent Los Angeles, we never had much freedom to walk or cycle. My brothers were running ahead of me. They made it to the intersection at the Pacific Coast Highway, just 50 metres from the school.

The light went green, and my brothers were off. Suddenly, I heard a screeching of brakes and a loud thwack. Liam's backpack flew through the air. My stomach dropped, but almost immediately Liam got up from the street and ran back to hug me on the corner, sat down shaking, asking for our mom.READ MORE: * Warning signs at schools reduce accidents * Parents too scared to let kids walk to school * The school that cycles and the school that bans bikes A teenage girl, newly licensed, had raced through the light, on her way to the nearby high school. She didn't see my brothers crossing until it was too late. She swerved between them and caught Liam's backpack with the full force of the car, grazing him with the corner and side of the car. If Liam had been one metre further along, or my brother Sean one metre further back, they both would have had 50/50 chance of being killed. Instead, Liam was relatively unharmed. My mother blamed herself, and never let us walk again - but the true culprit was a road environment designed to encourage the speed and volume of cars. 

The girl who drove into my brother, no doubt didn't feel safe walking to school either. In the process, she became part of the traffic problem. It's a vicious cycle. Max Lumb, 11, supervises as his friends from Oakura school cross the highway. In New Zealand, the dramatic decline of walking or biking to school since the 1980s has nothing to do with children becoming lazy or a new generation of parents being overly precious. By designing our streets for high speed vehicles, we have cost our children their freedom. Freedom to play and get around independently, and freedom to walk, bike and scoot to school. Overseas, throughout Europe, the UK and the United States, communities are reclaiming the city streets for kids; by redesigning streets to suit them and reducing the speed cars are allowed to travel in built up areas, particularly around schools.In just one area of South Edinburgh where the speed limit was reduced to 20 miles per hour (32km/h) the number of kids cycling to school tripled.