text:
Butch Bites The Bullet
Like much in life, unless one is 100% committed to a task it is sure to be a failure or at worst a disappointment. I know that if asked 5 years ago whether he'd attempt to walk halfway across Spain Butch would've said "NO!" Unequivocally. The only reason he did it was because Anna (his daughter) and I coerced him into it. Although I sensed his heart wasn't in it he would give it his best shot. After all we only had 3 days to go to Santiago de Compostello.
On his last day of walking we set off at a fairly brisk pace. He'd spent the previous day in bed recuperating from his overindulgence in Paella having forgotten his prawn allergy.
While early morning bakers, grocers and delivery men went about their tasks we set off, over the ancient Roman bridge across the quiet river watching the pinkest sky as the sun gently made an appearance. The silence is deafening, occasionally broken by the whirr of a bicycle or an engine starting up way down in the valley. Early mornings were the best time for farmers to get started on their daily chores, while bored farm animals kept a close watch on us as we passed by.
We'd be walking to Caldas de Reis all along natural pathways through forests and river valleys occasionally crossing the railway line. Fortunately there was much shade and lots of water fonts to quench our thirst. We met friendly hikers along the way and one even called us back as we trudged up a steep incline, we'd missed the waymark.
This would be a grueling day. Hot, hot, hot, according to my diary. Unless something changed drastically, I had to walk at a snail's pace, which was a tall order or Butch had to step it up, which would really be too much to ask. We decided early on to part company, he promised he'd ask for assistance from strangers if needed.
Easier said than done. Believe me. Imagine leaving the person you love to slog on knowing full well they're suffering terribly. He assured me he was a big boy and had managed for 67 years without help. So with that knowledge I set off. I'd keep him in my thoughts and I'd pray he'd make it to the next rest stop.
The Tabby cat following Lise, winding herself through her legs until she could walk no more and needed her ears stroked certainly had to be our housecat who always curled up on Lise's bed in the mornings, sunning herself in the warm winter sun.
It was Father's Day! Although my dad was miles away I knew he'd be up with the sparrows and we'd be the first thing on his mind. I'm sure our feet would be foremost in his prayers as he prayed for our wellbeing and asked for traveling mercies. He knew where we were and would probably have the old map out tracking our every step. How lucky am I to have a father who always had our best interests at heart, even in difficult times. Who loved us unconditionally, prayed for us every day, was kind, generous and believed in us whole-heartedly, even when we flopped miserably. This dignified, reserved man is wise, patient and when I'm at my wits' end comes up with an answer to appease my fears. Our patersfamilias, loves and nurtures my Mother, cares for her, is gentle with her, encourages her, even when she puts her foot down and refuses to go on. He is an example and an inspiration to us. Many of us have an inability to grasp the concept of a Heavenly Father because of our skewed perspective of our earthly fathers who often fail their children, their wives and society miserably. My brothers, our children, grandchildren and I are lucky to have him as our guide to living an exemplary life. He is a gentleman in the true sense of the word. These were my thoughts as I slogged on, inching my way to Caldas de Reis, our hotel and the hot water spa.
At 9o'clock, the very hour my father would serve my mom (Sleeping Beauty) her tea in bed Lise and I met up to enjoy coffee and croissants at the ever popular Peregrino cafe to wait for Butch.
For much of the way I was on my own, consumed by my own thoughts. I must confess I did worry about Butch a lot, it was hot and I knew he was tiring. It was while I was walking along a gentle stream shaded by the forest that I became aware of a tiny Robin.
She certainly had to make herself heard as my mind was on other things. Once she had my attention I was fascinated by her as she went from shrub to shrub or hopped along the path in front of me. I was able to snap a few pictures of her as she hopped and jumped ahead of me chirruping incessantly! This was a very poignant moment as it reminded me of my Aunt and Godmother, Robin Robbins, (believe it) who for many years lived in, and, loved a small fishing village Caiscais in Portugal. She lived to travel and would send us postcards from all over the world as she sailed on Mail ships exploring exotic places living an exciting, unapologetic almost nomadic lifestyle, sipping champagne or gin-lime-soda, relishing life and never regretting a moment of it. I'm convinced it was her spirit accompanying me that day. (Now I have a Cape Robin who regularly visits me in my kitchen, I see the signs she's left behind as I open the Granola jar and a dropping sits atop it!)
Like a mirage an oasis appeared in front of me. Opening its doors for the first time that day, a new bar/restaurant! I had visions of sitting there, catching up with messages on Wi-Fi while waiting for Butch. Lise had gone ahead, she had one thing on her mind, to wallow in the pool all day she said, her gorgeously toned legs needed browning.
Our route according to Garmin was 23km, of which I think I spent 3km just pacing backwards and forwards waiting for Butch! The new restaurant still hadn't connected their Wifi so I had no means of contacting him or Lise. After pacing for almost an hour, convinced he'd had a heart attack and was lying in a ditch somewhere, unable to speak, writhing in pain with no-one to comfort him in his final moments. I was wracked with guilt, worry and at my wits' end. Finally, in desperation, I threw caution to the wind, fired up my SA mobile data to find Lise. To hell with the cost.
My SOS was answered almost immediately. I could relax! Both she and Butch were sipping long, cold drinks next to the pool! "Relax Mom!" I could've imploded, but, held my tongue in relief. He was safe. I later learned he hadn't been at all well and might even have had a spell hallucinating and experienced some memory loss!
He certainly experienced an Ah-Ha moment on his Camino. An angel had stopped along the road in an old grey Fiat, just sitting there passing the time of day, when Butch came stumbling out of the vineyard. Fortunately he still had the presence of mind to ask the Angel whether he'd give him a lift to our hotel! I later learned he'd also asked for help from two very kind, young and gorgeous American ladies. I think they spotted his rather natty Thai hat, a chick magnet of note. They'd hydrated him and encouraged him by accompanying him for a stretch.
I made it without a fuss to our Hotel Balneario Acuna, an old lady who'd had her heyday in the early 20th century when dipping into the healing hot water spas was the fashion. I needed to take to the waters which I did without hesitation. Sheer bliss, staying under the hot water fountain until my skin whitened and crinkled. Lunch would be under flowering mauve Wisteria vines, a simple, relaxed meal. Our first.
Later on in the evening we made our way to a riverside restaurant where we met up with the kindly American ladies and their charming husbands. Four friends all the way from Boston. In celebration of our day and the forthcoming walk to Padron we enjoyed the acclaimed Padron Peppers, a traditional Tapas ingredient. Not hot enough for my crowd, they like red hot chili peppers.
The joy of hiking is that one's recuperation time is very quick, once one's got rid of the clobber, had a good relaxing shower and a cold drink one's ready to laugh and enjoy life again, one's memory of the trials and tribulations is short as one is always eager to start off on a new adventure. Like childbirth the joy far outweighs the agony which is soon forgotten.
Butch refused to budge when we woke up the next morning. He was going nowhere he said and would take the bus to Padron. No amount of coaxing would change his belligerent mind. In a sense I was relieved. He is a big boy now after all.
On our second to last day Lise and I walked amiably in each other's company. Although her feet were still sore we set a good pace, but as the day progressed and became hot and muggy we tired and just slogged on hardly enjoying the beauty around us. To add insult to injury I misplaced my sunglasses, normally not an issue, but, that day it floored me. I went into a sulk, very unlike me. I think I was preparing for our final days together and Lise's imminent departure.
Looking back now I regret my sombre mood as Padron was a picturesque town, we welcomed our walk through the tree covered promenade where locals gather during the day and play traditional games after work when the day cools. I was amazed at the beautiful artwork dotted around the city celebrating their citizentry. We lined up with other Peregrinos at the Cathedral to collect our daily stamp and had time to reflect on the day in the cool stillness. Butch and I wandered around while Lise caught her breath and rested her weary legs.
Santiago was in our sights and we had our game plan ready, Butch knew he'd had his moment with Angels, he wasn't prepared to say another word, that, would be going where angels fear to tread. As I write, recall and edit my photographs I choke up and find the lump in my throat hard to swallow as tears burn behind my eyelids, I was happy then. Today, I'm sad it's all over.


text:
In Infopath designer 2007, where do I find "Form Load" Options (like the one which is present in Data connections in infopath designer 2010). please Indicate the location.
Open the InfoPath Form in Design view.
1) Go to Tools -> Form Options.
2) Select Category 'Open and Save'.
3) There is a section called 'Open behavior', where you can set Rules. These Rules are fired when the Form is opened. This is similar to Rules specified in "Form Load" option in InfoPath 2010.
Refer to this link : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb267334(v=office.12).aspx
It gives all the instructions step by step. :)

subset: commoncrawl


text: What happens when two good friends from opposite sides of "underground" music decide to start a band. One coming from the punk/raw punk/metal scene while the other comes from a more stoner rock/indie rock/scremo scene. Combined you get the bass driven power of sludge in the form of Cyttorak. Creating a heavy, slow, unstoppable force that even Cain Marko wouldn't be able to pound to submission. Pop this in your tape-deck, turn it up to 11, and bang your head.


text:
TrackSmart Scheduling
Onlinesoftware zur Mitarbeitereinsatzplanung.4.3/5 (240 Bewertungen)
An HR Solution for Timesheets and Time Tracking!
I tested TrackSmart for about a year before selecting it from among several others as our HR solution. It was the most fitting to our needs, our users didn't need any formal training in order to be able to use it, the price was within our budget, and we were finally able to do away with unsigned, handwritten timesheets. As a bonus, timesheets would now follow a proper review and approval process, and there is even a free downloadable app for users to be able to complete timesheets and request time off.
However, TrackSmart still has much room to grow, as many items we've been requiring of our ideal HR solution are still missing here. In particular, I have requested a field in each user's time bank to show how many vacation/sick/PTO/etc. they have for the year in total, as the program will only show you what you have accrued/available and what has been used, but no total of how much you will accrue for the year as a whole. It also does not automatically calculate California daily overtime, so our California timesheets must be manually calculated each week. Would also love to have a section on each user's dashboard for links to external websites and where documents may be uploaded to be shared with users upon login. The great thing is, through communication with TrackSmart's customer support team, they have been responsive in listening to their users and implementing changes as they are made aware of user needs.
All in all, with what TrackSmart currently delivers, and the promise of more great features to come, I am super pleased with the application and look forward to the future of our HR needs becoming easier to manage and track. Thanks!
Timesheet approval, detailed setup of time banks (PTO, Vacation, Sick, etc.), calendar option on the dashboard.
1 - Does not calculate daily overtime for California timesheets.
2 - No way of knowing how many Vacation/sick/PTO/etc. days in total you are allowed to receive for the year (only able to view what has been accrued/available and what has been used).
3 - Timesheets may only be saved/printed individually, not as a group.
Summertime Scheduler
I have used TrackSmart scheduler for the past 3 years. I am a manager of a pool and use it to schedule my lifeguard staff. The staff loves it because of the mobile app - they can give up shifts, swap shifts and see who is working all from the app. I also use the time clock function. This allows me to check to see who is working and when they started. It also allows our payroll person to access the payroll from anywhere, even when she is on vacation. As soon as I have approved the hours, she can do whatever she needs to. The whole program, from scheduler to mobile app is easy to use and very functional. I love being able to access the information from anywhere, especially when I am off site. Also, the ability to have a monthly contract is also convenient since I am a seasonal employer. I start it in the spring and I turn it off in the fall. I honestly don't know how I would schedule without this program.
It is so easy to use and set up. It is easy for my lifeguards who are mostly teenagers. It is difficult to get teens to do anything these days, but they love the ability to trade and switch their shift, and the app makes it so easy to do so.
1. The swap function is not available on the app. That would be so great to have as most of my lifeguards don't want to just give up their hours - they would much rather swap.
2. As the manager, I can't get notifications who is giving up shifts. I get an email when one is taken, but I lose a little bit of scheduling control when I don't know that they shifts are being given up. I would like to get notified just as the guards do.
Great product... could use some improvements
I've loved the TrackSmart product since incorporating into our business. However, the one thing the product is lacking is real-time (database) synchronization with Outlook Calendars. Because we use Outlook so heavily in regards to the different calendars we utilized from an organization standpoint, it would be nice if our TrackSmart attendance data would sync with Outlook in this regard. For example, one of the calendars we use in-house is a field operations calendar. Because there are so many people in the mix when scheduling/planning field operations, the one thing that's always missed is to see who is on vacation. What we have to do is have a separate "vacation" calendar within Outlook so people can overlay this with the field ops calendar so they don't schedule someone who is on vacation. This works, except for when someone forgets to put someone or themselves on the vacation calendar. With TrackSmart being centrally managed, it would be real nice if the attendance data entered into it would sync with our vacation calendar so they match. This would result in us not having those "uh-oh" moments because data was entered into one but not the other... it happens. If you guys could figure this out, you would have a 5-star rating across the board.
Ease of use and overall look & feel of website/product. Flexible pricing plans.
No Outlook sync feature so in-house calendars match what is on TrackSmart.
A Life Saver!
I love TrackSmart. It has been an absolute lifesaver in running my business. I create a work schedule and publish it to my employees and then I am out of the loop. If they have a conflict and can't make or don't want a shift, they offer it up and other employees can grab it if they want the extra hours. The system keeps track to make sure that nobody is taking too many hours and moving into overtime pay situation. I can easily view the work balance between employees with a single click. At the end of the pay period, with just a couple of keystrokes, I get a report of the total number of hours worked by each employee. The employees use the smartphone app to manage their work schedule as well as clocking in and out. It's amazing to me how simple the system is. It's exactly everything I was looking for in a scheduling system.
Very simple to use. Employees can trade shifts without me being involved. Reporting at the end of the pay period is easy. The mobile app makes it simple for employees to clock in and out.
I would like to be able to have my "standard schedule" that I can start with when creating a work schedule. The system does allow me to copy the schedule from past weeks but that will always include shifts that have been swapped out. I want to be able to start with my baseline schedule.
We use TrackSmart to manage our employees time off.
I love that I don't have to manually keep track of our employees' time off. It's easy to make calculation errors when doing it by hand. It's also a great tracking tool because it allows us to see which day an employee submitted a request for time off.
It's very easy to use. Our employees can look at the calendar to see what days are available to take since we can only have one person per department gone at one time. The reports are very helpful as well.
The program doesn't link with Outlook so when I approve someone's time off, I have to go to the Executive's calendar and put it there as well. It would be great if they would link. The other problem is that the employees can only see that another employee's name is on a date, not if they're taking the whole day or just two hours for a doctors appointment.
Fischer Connectors - Awesome Experience
We needed a solution to the paper tracking of PTO. After some research, TrackSmart was selected for a few reasons. First, the set up was easy from the start. Second, training was a breeze for our staff and everyone could use the app right away after the initial set up. I used the 30-day trial to test and worked with TrackSmart with questions. I knew after a week that we would benefit from this service. There is no another company out there (at the time of my membership) that fit the bill as far as price, service and overall options. I would recommend TrackSmart to any company that needs a solid and proven application for PTO tracking.
Ease of use, reporting structure, price, customer service
It would be good to know when any upgrades happen so companies can make sure they have downloaded accurate records prior to the upgrade. We had an issue with an upgrade that messed up our PTO totals. It took some time but we worked with TrackSmart to resolve.
Tracking Attendance, Days off & such has NEVER been easier!
If you're looking for an efficient and simple way to track attendance, know which employees are on the clock in real time, know exactly how many hours someone has worked all with a couple of clicks (and SO much more info right at your fingertips), then you've got to check out TrackSmart. You honestly won't believe how simple your life will be and how much time you'll save!
The ability to track schedules, easily swap employee shifts and even create recurring schedules are the three things I value most about TrackSmart. Of the software I've used, TrackSmart absolutely makes things easiest and is by far the fastest to learn.
I can't even think of a single thing that I dislike about TrackSmart. The one time I couldn't figure something out, Customer Support was so quick to respond and knew exactly how to help me within less than a minute.
TrackSmart makes HR a breeze!
TrackSmart has vastly improved our PTO system. Gone are the days of manually tracking on excel spreadsheets, countless disputes from employees who think their balance should be higher than what it is and so on. The only thing I REALLY wish I could do on TrackSmart is load PTO banks for the coming year before the year starts (i.e. I wish I could load the 2017 time banks and approve 2017 time off requests... instead they just have to sit as pending until after 1/1/2017).
Employees can keep track of their own PTO balances rather than dispute with managers. They can also see their balances so it reduces the number of inquiries management receives.
Inability to load next year's time bank before the year hits.
Great Software, Updates would make it even better
I use track smart for our business of 50 employees. It has freed up time for processing and tracking vacation accruals for sure. It also makes it a breeze to see who else is off when you receive a vacation request. Potential conflicts or other company events that may be going on. This is wonderful and leaves little room for conflicting vacation schedules. One improvement that could be made to make life easier for the admin is to have each employees time off bank balances show on the employee list screen. So that I don't have to research each employee individually to find balances. A quick glance at the employee screen for that important info would be great! Otherwise a great software.
How easy it is for employees to input their requests
Managers cannot edit or adjust their employee requests for them.
TrackSmart Attendance
It's a great place to enter all my employees and keep tracking of who is here and who is not and why.
Easy to use for the most part. It's fairly user friendly and it's easy to understand how to mark an employee
Stalls a lot and the customer service reps just seem to blame my computer for that, even though my other visits to websites don't have the same issues. Also has some glitches. I also wish I could create some of my own categories. If the glitches were gone, I could create my own category and it didn't stall so much I would absolutely love it.
Tracksmart Review
Really like the program. Like that our employees can submit PTO requests to their supervisors for approval and that they can also track how much PTO they have used and have remaining. allowing employees the ability to track their own time off save our HR department a lot of time. It would be nice if we could delete the time off banks that we do not use. we have been using this system for the last couple of years and our employees seem to really like it , previously we had a manual system using a Excel spreadsheet. this is a real step up.
employees submit request to supervisors and they can track their own PTO
Time off banks are not editable
Convenient and affordable, but unreliable
The first couple of years this worked well, which was great since it's considerably less costly than most systems. However, during the past year an update was made to their system, and several times since, there have been random changes made to the numbers of hours that had been entered. The first time this happened, I thought I had done something. But the second time it happened, I started browsing their Help section, and there was a section saying that this had occurred due to an upgrade they'd done. I give their customer support 2 stars because I think this should have been sent out as an announcement as soon as it happened, rather than keeping this info buried in their help section. Also, the last (third time) this happened, when I contacted their support, I was told the problem had been "all fixed," when of course it had not. We are a small nonprofit so probably cannot afford a different system. Hopefully, they can at some point resolve this bug in their system. If they do, I would recommend the system as efficient and cost-effective. In the meantime, luckily, I always make sure figures in the system are accurate and make a hard copy a couple of days prior to the new year and a couple of days after so I have something solid to check against when these system errors arise.
It's easy to enter information and generate reports for a cost-effective fee compared to other systems.
It has been very unreliable due to a bug in the system which periodically causes it to arbitrarily change the number of hours that had been entered.
Runs great reports
It's a simple way for us to track our employees time, start date and vacation, sick time etc. It would be nice to have some additional features but understand how to use it the way it is. Example: It would be nice to be able to show what will be the total annual accumulation of vacation time at a glance in advance of the time being added monthly.
Running reports
Not being able to see total annual vacation allotment in advance of the time being added to the bank's monthly - it was set up this way for a reason but would be nice to have that one added feature rather than have to do math each time
Perfect for a small company
We are a small company with 12 employees, but all the legal responsibilities to our employees of a big company. Track Smart helps us manage important work week scheduling, manage hours of employees, coordinate time off communication, keep a record of important HR dates, and many other issues that tend to get lost in the shuffle.
Ease of use, attractive interface, reporting, calendars for seeing time off
Would like to have more options than two on time in and time out each day for hourly employees. Wish it would automatically plug in vacation hours.
Good & Bad
The ease of inputting time cards and time off is great! The site can be a little bogged down and slow sometimes. This gets frustrating when you have someone on the phone and need information quickly.
Time Card Input, Adding Vacation & Sick Time
When trying to find out how much vacation time someone has left gets complicated. It calculates the time that they have used and time that they have asked for. You have to be careful when letting someone know what time has been used.
Track Employee PTO
Employee's like the mobile app and how easy it is to request time off. As an administrator I like all the available reports and that I can download them as Excel documents for easy editing.
As an admin I don't like that we cannot modify the time off banks. The only one we use is "PTO" and I'm having to constantly go in and modify accepted time to reflect the correct time off bank otherwise the employee's accrual will be wrong.
Try it before you judge it!
I would highly recommend tracksmart to small and large corporations. The accuracy of data, the ease of use and most of all the multiplicity of reports. It made my job so easy as appose to the archaic method I was using, by putting the time off on a color-coded calendar. I like the fact that the employees can access the site as well and input time off data. A good management of time for all concerned for such a nominal cost. Less than a full-time employees salary.
the various reports
The profile page could be a little more adaptable regarding navigation
Jami's Review
The one thing I dislike, is the time out feature- I wish there were an option of setting limit on time out- or turning the feature off under our own log-in if we desire. My work station is safe and no one accesses it while I'm logged in, I prefer to have the calendar pulled up all day, because logging it takes a little time with some delays on occasion. If I could stay logged in, it would help me immensely without having to click "ok" to stay connected.
Coverage of many areas
Time out feature on a log-in- for my admin. account specifically.
Tracksmart Lives up to its' Title
We have been using Tracksmart for the past several years to monitor staff attendance, run reports and post our days off, practitioners being off to alert staff . This is helpful when they wish to request time off and/or see what their schedule will be like. It is very easy, straightforward and accessible to all. It is just as its' name suggests...Tracking done the smart way. Tracksmart
easy to use
could allow us to create our own reasons for time off. We do get around that with our remarks in the system though.
Financial Officer
TrackSmart is user-friendly! We have efficiently streamlined our record keeping & communication with employees by moving to TrackSmart. We've also eliminated our time clock for hourly employees. Saving time & money :)
User-friendly both with the web version & the app.
Wish we had the ability to customize our accrual banks just a little bit more.
Contract employee (teachers) calendar year run differently than administrative & hourly employees.
Makes Scheduling a Breeze
Trying to schedule 20 part-time employees was making me crazy! TrackSmart lets me enter everyone's time off requests, max hours they want to work and departments - then I hit Auto-Schedule and my month's schedule is complete!
Also love that employee can access their schedules online and are able to swap shifts with my approval.
Love the Auto Schedule feature which works with requested time off and maxes hours that each employee can work!
Wish I could lock months that are published so that I don't unintentionally change the current month when scheduling the next month.
Awesome Product
We have been using TrackSmart for several years now and it is the best product. We do not use the time sheet feature so I can't speak for that side but the attendance tracker is awesome. It makes it easy for my employees and for me to be able to look at all time off anytime. Thanks for such a great product.
Being able to see all employees time off in one area. (calendar)
I do not have any cons.
Good, can be better
It has made our processes for attendance tracking a lot easier. I wish it actually notifies HR Admin when the time-off request is actually approved not when it is submitted, though. Other than that, I've been really enjoying using your service.
Ease of use, fairly good price for what it does
I mentioned briefly before, but I'd love it if it notifies HR Admin when the time-off request is approved by supervisor instead of when it is submitted by employee
Tracksmart works well for us
Tracksmart works well for our company. We have about 25 employees so it's easy to maintain the calendar. I would be love it if Tracksmart would interface with Outlook so I wouldn't have to put vacation days in Tracksmart and then on the Executive's calendar as well. I've been asking for this for many years.
It's easy to use and my employees aren't dependent on me to help them with their time off.
It doesn't interface with Outlook
TrackSmart! Thoughts
TrackSmart! is the best value that I have found. The cost is reasonable, especially for a non-profit like ours. It is relatively flexible and meets most of our needs.
The ease of use. The time off request aspect is great.
I wish it could have classes of employees so that our teachers (who do not fill out time sheets) would not have time sheets assigned to them unless we wanted them to have time sheets.


text:
A/B testing for mobile apps made easy — how we built Switchboard
TLDR: Implement A/B testing for your app in hours. Switchboard is a lightweight mobile A/B testing framework with consistent user segmentation. It can be used for A/B testing, stage rollout and remote configuration. It's designed to server high traffic and be as flexible as possible. Released under the Apache License, you can download it from: http://www.github.com/KeepSafe/Switchboard
Problem: On mobile, you can't just simply roll back
Many mobile devs have been through this: added a new feature, submitted it to the app store and just after it is finally out there you realize that something is not working. For whatever reason.
If you are building a web-only product, solving this is usually fairly easy. You fix your bugs, deploy your code to your servers — done!
On mobile, it's different. Once it's shipped, you can't take it back. The only thing you can do is fix, push an update and pray that it gets published quickly. On Android it will take a couple hours. For iPhone…. you know, longer.
And then you still haven't answered emails from those annoyed users who get too frequent updates.
You can avoid all that by plugging Switchboard into your app and use that to quickly react. Our mobile app, KeepSafe has millions of users on a multitude of different devices, form factors, OS versions, language settings etc. We do thorough testing but we don't have all the devices in all the configurations available. Our solution: Switchboard.
We built Switchboard for three main use cases
- Staged rollout of new features
- A/B testing of features
- remote configuration
Staged Rollout
Because of the Android device fragmentation, the staged rollout was really something we needed to ensure a good user experience. With Switchboard, we can release a new feature to only a subset of users and see what causes trouble and what does not. This comes in really handy because we also use Crittercism to get real-time crash reports. We can roll back for some or all devices as soon as we see problems with a particular configuration.
A/B testing
Observation beats theorizing when it comes to determining user preferences. There are many optimization issues as well as design decisions where testing the best variant would have been really helpful.
In previous projects, we were working on web products and could really leverage the power of A/B testing. On the mobile device that's a little harder, especially for parts of the app that just have to be native. We didn't really find a lightweight solution so we found our staged rollout to work just as well for this case.
Remote configuration
Switchboard allows you to wrap 3rd party libraries. This helps you to turn off 3rd party code where you don't have control over in the case it starts breaking. There is nothing worse than having a 3rd party SDK in your app that crashes it while it's out there. Be it an analytics package or the customer support API, with Switchboard, we can turn it off. Another use case for remote configuration is to change your API end points on old apps that users don't update.
Simple does it: Switchboard design
For weeks we wished for a tool to do staged rollout with. We shied away from building it because it would distract us and take up a lot of time. Eventually, we came to a point where we changed a major part of the KeepSafe and errors would really impact millions of users. Now we really needed to be able to switch the next release off, should it break. With our next code cut- off 3 days away we said: "Build something we can make work by Tuesday". And so we built it: quick, simple and not polished, but it does the job. Startup life :)
Switchboard was designed as a super lightweight tool that can handle lots of traffic from a few servers and scale horizontal. It should be as flexible as possible in terms of usage and robust against downtime or connectivity problems in the communication.
Client — (example code from android SDK)
Every part of our app contains one or more multivariate switches. The app ships with a default setting for each of those.
On app start, the app downloads a on the fly generated configuration file that determines the latest settings for this specific user. The configuration file is generated based on device, OS version, language etc.
If there is a successful response, the switchboard config is updated. Otherwise, it just uses the last saved version and catches every possible exception so that your app does not crash. Request are made asynchronously so they don't block the UI. The generated configuration file can also contain custom variables that are set on the server and parsed in the client code during runtime.
The configuration update should be done at a point in the app where the user is not getting confused about changes. In our case, we have a login screen where we update our config.
All the logic is on the server side, so you have fast access and ongoing control over the executed code.
We implemented a client library for android and iOS, that makes it easy to get started. The client supports productions and staging environment and creates its own unique user ID (UUID) if you don't have one already.
Embedding an experiment on the client is super easy.
//get settings from Switchboard
boolean isSmiling = Switchboard
.isInExperiment(getApplicationContext(), "experimentName");
//Switching code for testing
if (isSmiling) {
//execute code for people who are in the experiment here.
} else {
Have a look at our example application for more details.
All the configuration logic resides on the server. Client requests for configuration are processed here and the configuration is sent to the client in a simple JSON string. The core parameter is is the unique device ID that is parsed from the client. Based on that each user is segmented into buckets. Each user will remain in the same bucket over his lifetime. The server is designed to work without a database or any IO operations for maximum performance on a large user base with as little servers as possible. We don't want to worry about how to scale our tools.
The device sends parameters to the server. By default this is the UUID (automatically generates user buckets), device OS version, app version, language and other system parameters.
Based on these the server decides which switch/experiment is set ON or OFF.
// an experiment for 50% of all user
$manager->turnOnBucket(0, 50);
Beside a boolean status to indicate if the switch/experiment is turned on for a specific user, you can pass values to the client for each each experiment. Values are parsed as a JSON object, so you can put everything in there that JSON can handle. These can then be used dynamically in code.
if($this->manager->isInBucket(0, 50)) {
$values = array();
$values['message'] = 'Please download version 2 as it's newer';
$values['messageTitle'] = 'get KeepSafe ver 2';
return $this->manager->activeExperimentReturnArray($values);
Because we wanted to have something fast out of the door that does the job, we couldn't afford thinking much about infrastructure setup. We went with an easy and robust solution, Heroku. Currently, we serve more than 1m requests per day with two Dynos and we could service way more, since there is not that much heavy lifting done. Heroku also allows us to scale Switchboard horizontal without any effort.
To make it easy for you to try Switchboard, we have set up a running instance of the server with a sample implementation. All the Switchboard example apps are pointing to that instance so you can play with it.
How we use Switchboard
User grouping — buckets We divide our users in buckets based on a UDID that the client computes and sends to the server at request time. We split our whole user base in 100 buckets. This allows us to address our user base on a fairly granular level. You can divide your users into 1000 buckets if you have a larger user base.
This bucket grouping is orthogonal to any other parameter by which we segment our user base, be it device, OS, country, language. This makes it easy to keep an overview of how many people see what feature.
Keeping track
Switchboard does not take care of tracking. You can implement your existing logging/analytics solution to track results.
We currently simply use a combination of Google Spreadsheet, Google analytics and Crittercism. We use a basic spreadsheet to keep track when we turn which experiments on/off or change something together with our core metrics. This makes it super easy to see changes in the core metrics and to associate them with the experiments or new features we run/released.
For tracking we use Google analytics. The main reason is that it's free. We used Google's custom variables to build our own segmentation by app version and install date. To track experiments we use standard Google Analytics events. Depending on the experiment we pass the event label from the server to the client config. This allows us to change the experiments without updating the app. This makes sense in particular when you want to test messaging and click through rates.
For rolling out new features, we leverage Crittercism who boast live crash reports on a device level. This is especially powerful on Android when you roll out a new feature that might break on some individual devices. Using Crittercism and the user feedback in our helpdesk, we can see problems post- launch and quickly roll back or turn on new features when they prove to be stable. Switchboard also allows us to remotely turn off features that are not supported by specific devices.
How you should use it
We don't know. But please — download it, try it, fork it, improve it.
We have example apps for all clients and server on the github project page. The example applications are working out of the box with the example server code running on our server.
We'd love to hear what you think. Here is the link again: http://www.github.com/KeepSafe/Switchboard
When you start implementing it, using it or want to help improve Switchboard, I would be happy to hear from you. Write me an email: philipp [at] getkeepsafe (dot) com
Please comment on HN: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4319905
Originally published at keepsafe.github.io on July 31, 2012.


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Job Outlook for Business School Graduates
Alumni not only have jobs upon graduation, they have well-paying jobs.
Every year, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) surveys graduate business school alumni, including alumni from the most recent graduating class as well as alumni who have been in the job market for decades. Take a look at what you can expect to earn with your degree below, and then learn more about where alumni are working and how satisfied they are with their jobs.
Here are the highlights from our survey of recent alumni from the class of 2013.*
Graduate business school alumni have jobs
Ninety percent of the class of 2013 have jobs; this figure includes five percent who identified themselves as self-employed/entrepreneurs. Three-quarters (74%) of the class of 2013 said they could not have obtained their job without their management education, a finding that echoes results in previous years.
Graduates are getting jobs in many different industriesClass of 2013 alumni found job opportunities across industries, and are working in:
- Products and services (21%)
- Finance and accounting (19%)
- Consulting (17%)
- Technology (15%)
- Manufacturing (9%)
- Government/nonprofit (8%)
- Health care or pharmaceuticals (6%)
- Energy and utilities (5%)
Degrees yield value and job satisfaction
Ninety-six percent of the class of 2013 alumni rated the value of their education good to outstanding and the vast majority (96%) of the class of 2013 would recommend a graduate management education to others.
Education develops needed job market skills
The vast majority of the class of 2013 alumni feel their education developed their qualitative (95%) and quantitative (92%) skills, expanded their network (90%), and prepared them for the job market (90%).
*GMAC (2013) B-School Follow Up: Class of 2013


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games of all things embody some of Papert's big ideas. Let's take the example of a RTS (real time strategy) game. Typically, the player is faced with making choices that have outcomes, immediate and long term. RTS can also impart lessons of leadership, be it sacrifice of your immediate needs (to build / fortify those around you), to sacrifice of resources (immediate action) to gain a longer term goal or learning the momentum of force (the 3 laws of motion) also apply on the battlefield. {we could wax philosophical here and talk about yin/yang, RTS teaches when to harmonize and when to neutralize}
I can understand the draw of this book as he is very much a kindred spirit of learning, asking why, and has such a large internal framework allowing him to absorb / incorporate different modalities of perception. I would offer that to have his kind of framework, you need to embody an outstanding principle of Tai Chi : neither insist nor resist. Hmmm, another discussion, another day... (Hi Ying!)
Good points, Rich. Sounds like you have played a lot of games. Do you have any good ones to recommend?
Your second comment is especially interesting. My own way of understanding is largely through equations and abstraction. After having kids and reading books such as this one, I started to question whether I really understand something and how I possibly know when I do. If I can not represent my thoughts in a different framework, or if I can not explain something in plain English, does that mean I don't really understand? I like your idea of "neither insist nor resist". That is a great strategy to deal with the inevitable stage of confusion of the learning process. Don't you think?
The comments to this entry are closed.


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While collecting eggs yesterday my husband found some weird ones in the nests. They were not very big and they were totally soft. Now we give our girls oyster shells they can eat as they want so we knew that was not the issue, so I went to look in the recent Chicken magazine by Hobby Farms as they just had something on this. The article said it could be numerous things like lack of calcium but it says this is cured by the oyster shells), it could be from newly laying hens (possibility), they said old hens do this also (we only have young hens), or it could have happened while the chicken was laying and got scared by a loud noise or other disturbance (possibility). So we had 2 of these and figure it may have happened before as we have found remnants of egg in the box with no distinct shell pieces. We are going to keep an eye out on this. If any of you have any ideas please share.
In better news today is a nicer day out.
The chickens are sure enjoying foraging after the rain…
The dogs are loving the nicer weather to play outside in.


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David Baker 1950 -2015
Written by Jo Ward for David's Funeral.
There are probably many others who knew Dave better than I. But apart from his brother Richard, few here will have known him for as long.
I remember being invited to his house for a party when we were at Landscore Infants School in 1956.
It is for this reason, I believe, that I have been given the privilege to say a few words about Dave's life in CODS.
Dave was not someone who immediately jumped into one's mind when thinking of the type who might enjoy the am-dram life.
He was a fairly quiet, modest and humble person and not at all the extrovert diva that we have experienced!
He started his CODS career in 1977 appearing in "Orpheus in the Underworld" being encouraged to join by Carol Stoyle, after she met him at the Cartwheel Folk Club.
He could plainly be seen in the chorus wearing his orange toga with his rather burly figure held up by his exposed, sturdy, well turned legs!
Those legs worked well for him as he became the sort of lively, energetic, agile and enthusiastic dancer that we are so lacking today.
However, it seems that sometimes his sense of direction was overshadowed by his enthusiasm which, on one occasion, landed him in the orchestra pit!
Ah, the Hornpipe, the Hoedown, and especially the Bottle Dance from "Fiddler on the Roof", in the days when we could bend our knees AND get up again without the crack of our creaking joints that we now suffer.
All these Dave accomplished, even being able to jump and touch both of his spread feet in the air, at shoulder height.
Dave was a man of many talents that came in very useful when building sets and props.
So I come to "THE CART".
Dave built the cart for 'My Fair Lady' in 2004, when it was used as a Covent Garden vegetable stall.
It has since been used in 'The Threepenny Opera', 'Jack the Ripper', 'Oliver', 'Viva Mexico!', 'Blitz!' and finally in this year's production of 'Oklahoma!' where it appeared as Ali Hakim's travelling stall.
I'm sure that it will continue to star in future shows. It could be that the cart has appeared on stage more often than its creator.
His name and memory will live on in that cart as it will forever be known as "Dave's Cart"
Sadly Dave's MS curtailed his active stage career and he had to withdraw from our musicals.
His last stage appearance in costume was in the "Old Time Music Hall" where he, Cathie and John Nash performed as "Wilson, Keppel and Betty" in their famous sand-dance.
So Dave finished on stage where he started – in a toga with his fine legs on show.
MS wasn't going to stop him though and he performed with the Basses in our concerts and continued to help the society in any way he could, - recording backing tracks for the soloists in the concerts, operating sound for shows and serving on the committee.
Dave will be remembered in CODS as a person with great legs and cart making skills, a mean chef, and good company.
He was a kind, generous, good friend and a support to us all and we will all miss him.


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I've updated the BIOS on my t500 Monday. Followed all directions. Now when I power on the t500, it takes 10 minutes before it begins to boot. I see the lights, I hear the fans, but not video for 10 minutes.
Any ideas/suggestions?
Solved! Go to Solution.
I did the same, prior to installing Win 7 but did not see any difference.
I suggest you should contact IBM to see what the issue is.
alternatively, try to boot the computer with any bootable CV/DVD. It shouldn't make a difference but you never know, maybe your windows is causing the problem.
you may also go into the BIOS and set the factory settings.
Finally, have you got a SSD drive? I installed one in my T500 (highly recommended by the way) and I had to update firmware on both the T500 and the hard disk as it would also boot up after a long waiting time, also certainly not 10 minutes.
Well it appears that it was an issue of mismatch between BIOS version and AMT version. I updated to the current AMT firmware and it now boots as expected.
If indeed there is a known requirement linking BIOS and AMT firmware versions , it sure would be nice if they were either packaged together or strongly linked in the documentation.
Thanks for suggestions.
Ishorb, welcome to the forum,
thanks for posting your solution, hopefully it will help others.
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + pointsDid you find a post helpfull? You can thank the member by clicking on the star to the left awarding them Kudos
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Thankyou lshorb, after update the BIOS on my T500 I start to see a lot of startup problems...
Sometimes after the POST (i think), when the screen says me something about Intel ME, the system stop booting at this time, after a minute or more, the system is restarted automatically, and go into a infinity loop.
In other times the system start normally (the BIOS boot) and before complete the VISTA boot, the system is restarted automatically...
Today, after see this problems again, i go to the BIOS config, and I try to disable Intel AMT, but after set this option to disable in BIOS, the system restart again.
After read your post, I update the ME firmware version acording this link: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-71137
Are you talking about this update?
I think the problem disapear, but only I think, because this problem appear sometimes, not all time.
Yes takedown, your link points to the version of AMT I installed (184.108.40.2060). While your symptoms sound different than my experiance, I hope your problem is resolved.
Hi lshorb, Unfortunately that was not my symptoms and the error persists after the update.
In my notebook I have installed Windows Vista and ArchLinux.
When I turn on my notebook and entry to the BIOS, after a short period of time (approximately 15 or 20 seconds) the computer restarts.
The same happens if I boot windows vista (or ArchLinux) in the boot sequence after a few seconds the computer restarts.
I think this started happening after updating the BIOS (via ThinkVantage update).
I'll try to reinstall the BIOS from the bootable CD.
I have the same problem. I read that downgrading the BIOS will fix this but when I created an ISO of an earlier BIOS the tool told me I didn't need an update, presumably because the installed one was a new one then the ISO. How do you get it to downgrade?
Turns out the issue I was seeing was because the BiOS I had on CD was the same version as the one already installed. I thought the CD had the previous version on it but it didn't. Once I tried with a truely older on I was able to downgrade and got things back to working order. What a pain.
Just curious if your OS actually booted after waiting the 10 minutes. I get the ThinkPad screen (typically where you would see "Press ThinkVantage for boot options" (or whatever it says) after about 10 minutes, but the screen disappears quickly and so far nothing (power, battery, ac and bluetooth lights on).
Worked great on the original bios 1.?? (I looked before updating, but did not write it down). I attempted updating via the ThinkVantage System Update utility. I have yet to see any Windows related boot screens. I plan to try the bootable bios disc next.
|Kudos Count


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Who's The Real JV?
Months ago the administration kicked the ISIS can down the road claiming a lack of intelligence; we assume they were speaking of intelligence related to ISIS! We are capable of reading car Tags from outer space but we apparently had trouble following an army of thousands.
The President's "JV" comment in January is now justified by his national security team, as it always is, by clarifying "what he really meant", and changing the context of the moment so that the straw men remain standing in the full flower of hindsight.
The President stepped to the podium Monday, with some (me) hopeful that he would announce an expanded effort against ISIS while we had the chance, perhaps a moment of clarity, an epiphany. To tell us that he had separated the politics in Baghdad from the crisis in Kurdistan that a new set of orders had been sent down the chain of command. No such luck, he told us exactly what he'd told us on Saturday but some level of deeper understanding was soon to arrive.
Appearing on Fox's Special Report Monday, Washington Post editorial writer Charles Lane reported that in the earlier days of ISIS the Obama administration saw an upside to the ISIS advance; that being, the application of pressure on the al-Maliki government in Baghdad. As violence and degradation against Christians and minorities, including Muslims, expanded, the administration, according to Lane saw the political aspects of their desires.
Monday afternoon a "senior intelligence official" anonymously pushed back by way of the Wall Street Journal. He or she insisted that they warned Obama and the warnings were essentially ignored, likely in favor of the context Lane reported.
The Pentagon was not far behind as Lt. General Bill Mayville speaking for the Pentagon made it clear that the current policy was, "unlikely to affect ISIS's overall operations." The Pentagon knows as do many that pin pricks result in a change of tactics and that is exactly what happened. Instead of traditional military formations and movement ISIS moved into the cities to assume insurgency tactics. The opportunity to say, take out every tank, APC, mobile rocket launcher or artillery piece was now no longer there. After the beat down we applied to Israel over civilian casualties we can be assured there will be no airstrikes in those cities. ISIS wins this round as the U.S. remains in a conundrum over the humanitarian crisis ISIS has created as ISIS goes to ground to protect their heavy armaments. It's a win/win for ISIS: Christians die, Kurdistan is socked with a refugee crisis and the U.S. looks feckless, once again.
The President's straw men stand at attention: "no boots on the ground", "there is not a military solution to every problem"; "we can't do everything." Even willing to grant a measure of validity to those opinions does not mean that there are not real threats that do demand some manner of military action.
If you believe that ISIS is not a threat, stand with the straw men. If you believe they are, you know by now we missed the boat. It is in many aspects about the messages that actions send in the Middle East. Had we gone after the heavy weapons that would have been a message that there is a real red line; that would have demonstrated the price to be paid for the application of medieval interpretations of Islam against the innocent.
No such message was sent!


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Operation: Indiegogo – Help bring Todd back for more gore!!
Here's the story, Toddies. For the past year, we've been trying everything we can to get a third season going, but haven't been able to in any traditional way.
You have been patient. You have been vocal. You have been super-cool. You have rallied! You have signed a 11,000 member strong petition!! You have made your own fan sites!!! Your own "Save Todd" documentaries!!! You have embraced the word "Shit Rooster"!!! You have spread the Pure Evil word far and wide!!!!
And YOU, our ever-growing legion of fans, are demanding an ending to the show. SO WE'RE GOING TO GIVE IT TO YOU, in the best way that we can afford to.
We're going to wrap-up the series with a killer INDIE ANIMATED FEATURE-LENGTH MOVIE called "TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL: THE END OF THE END." It'll feature the same snappy writing, the same awesome metal music, copious amounts of blood and gore and the same actors' voices our fans have grown to love.
We're asking our friends and fans to contribute $75,000 that will help us start making our independent animated feature wrap-up. Most of the cast and crew will be working for free or next to nothing, but we want to pay our animators a decent rate for the work they'll be doing over the next year.
Our Indiegogo campaign features great perks for contributions: HD downloads, limited edition posters, signed character drawings and even a chance to have themselves drawn as a character in the movie. Something cool for every level of support.
Click here to contribute!
Thanks for your support and let's get Pure Evil!
The Producers of Pure Evil
Leave a comment
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Some years ago I was invited to sit in on a masterclass taught by blues guitarist Coco Montoya. I play blues sax. Possibly the organizer thought I'd gain some new insights. "I bet each of you guys can shred," Montoya said to the 25 or so guitarists gathered. He went around the room and listened to each showcase a minute of their own personal guitar badassery.
Past Event
Coco Montoya
- Saturday, December 9, 2017, 8 p.m.
- Ramona Mainstage Nightclub, 626 Main Street, Ramona
- $25
"All good," he concluded. "But that's not what we're going to do today. We're going to learn how to comp." In other words, the lost art of playing backing chords. "And I'm the last guy you should copy," the virtuoso offered. "I'm completely self-taught. I don't know, like, proper technique." Indeed. He plays a left-handed guitar, but with a right-handed neck, meaning the strings are reversed. "I didn't have guitar lessons. I had no idea," he told a reporter once, "from left or right."
But no matter. Montoya has something in common with major guns like Eric Clapton and Peter Green. Each, at one time or another, held down the lead-guitar slot in the hottest of all Brit-import blues bands, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Montoya had the longest run of the three, beginning some time during the early '80s. He remained in the employ of Mayall for a decade.
Nice work for the guy who was Albert Collins's drummer for five years prior. That's right — Coco Montoya was an Icebreaker before he was a Bluesbreaker. He admits that he caught a lot of technique while guitar jamming with Collins in dressing rooms on the road, to the extent that one can hear much Collins drama in a Montoya gig.
That said, Montoya is his own high-energy stylist with infinite ideas root-bound in blues. My takeaway from the masterclass? Good jam-session manners: bring two songs, Montoya tutored, only stay up for a third if asked, and be nice.
Daytona and the Blueside Rockers and Triple Deez also perform.
More from SDReader
- More stories by Dave Good
- Superbean's punkish frustration — Jan. 24, 2018
- In pursuit of Nirvana — Dec. 20, 2017
- Any John Wayne Gacy fans in the house? — Sept. 13, 2017
- Blues bad boy Jonny Lang grows up — Oct. 28, 2015
- John Mayall — Jan. 28, 2009


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WASHINGTON — The federal government under the Bush administration ran an operation that allowed hundreds of guns to be transferred to suspected arms traffickers — the same tactic that congressional Republicans have criticized President Barack Obama's administration for using, two federal law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and other Republicans have been hammering the Obama Justice Department over the practice known as "letting guns walk." The congressional target has been Operation Fast and Furious, which was designed to track small-time gun buyers at several Phoenix-area gun shops up the chain to make cases against major weapons traffickers. In the process, federal agents lost track of many of the more than 2,000 guns linked to the operation.Story: Obama signs bill to keep government running
When Bush, a Republican, was president, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Tucson, Ariz., used a similar enforcement tactic in a program it called Operation Wide Receiver. The fact that there were two such ATF investigations years apart in separate administrations raises the possibility that agents in still other cases may have allowed guns to "walk."
Other political news of note
Animated Boehner: 'There's nothing complex about the Keystone Pipeline!'
House Speaker John Boehner became animated Tuesday over the proposed Keystone Pipeline, castigating the Obama administration for not having approved the project yet.
- Budget deficits shrinking but set to grow after 2015
- Senate readies another volley on unemployment aid
- Obama faces Syria standstill
- Fluke files to run in California
- Animated Boehner: 'There's nothing complex about the Keystone Pipeline!'
For months, Issa and other Republicans have focused on whether Attorney General Eric Holder misled Congress, suggesting that he knew more than he has admitted about Operation Fast and Furious.
On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, called on Obama to direct the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate. Smith ssaid that newly released department documents suggest the attorney general knew about Operation Fast and Furious as early as July 2010. Smith noted that Holder had told Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, in March of this year that he had recently learned of "concerns" about the program and told Smith's committee in May that he had probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time "over the last few weeks."
Holder's testimony this year "was consistent and truthful," responded Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler. She said Holder became aware of the questionable tactics in early 2011, when ATF agents first raised them publicly. None of the handful of entries in 2010 regarding Fast and Furious suggested there was anything amiss with that investigation requiring leadership to take corrective action or commit to memory this particular operation, Schmaler added.Video: Holder's 'Fast and Furious' testimony under scrutiny (on this page)
Federal law enforcement officials familiar with the matter say Operation Wide Receiver began in 2006 after the agency received information about a suspicious purchase of firearms. The investigation concluded in 2007 without any charges being filed.
After Obama took office, the Justice Department reviewed Wide Receiver and discovered that ATF had permitted guns to be transferred to suspected gun traffickers, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the practice is under investigation by Congress and the Justice Department inspector general's office.
In a statement, Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that "whether it's Operation Fast and Furious, Operation Wide Receiver, or both, it's clear that guns were walked, and people high in the Justice Department knew about it. There's no excuse for walking guns, and if there are more operations like this, Congress and the American people need to know."
Following the discovery that agents in Tucson let the guns "walk," a tactic which has long been against Justice Department policy, the department under Obama decided to bring charges against those who had come under investigation in 2006.
To date in Wide Receiver, nine people have been charged with making false statements in acquisition of firearms and illicit transfer, shipment or delivery of firearms. Two of the nine defendants have pleaded guilty and a plea hearing is scheduled for Oct. 13 for two other defendants.Don't count Perry out just yet
ATF has released the details of a house-cleaning at headquarters ordered by the new acting director in the wake of the operation.
ATF today released a list of eleven senior staff changes made today by Acting Director B. Todd Jones, which, he is making clear, is a reaction to the bureau's Fast and Furious operation.
Jones, who's also the U.S. attorney in Minnesota, told reporters at ATF this afternoon that he has put an entirely new executive team in place, "to move ATF forward in its mission to fight violent crime and protect the American people."
Among the changes are new people in the following jobs: deputy director, assistant director for field operations, assistant director for intelligence, assistant director of the office of professional responsibility, assistant director of the office of management, and deputy chief counsel.
Jones was recently appointed to lead ATF following the departure of the former Acting Director Ken Melson, who was urged out by Holder.
Last October, Jason Weinstein, deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's criminal division, raised concerns about investigative methods in Operation Wide Receiver and about the timing of announcing indictments in both Wide Receiver and Fast and Furious.
"It's a tricky case given the number of guns that have walked, but it is a significant set of prosecutions," Weinstein wrote in a Justice Department email turned over to Congress, which released the document.
Weinstein raised the question in asking whether Lanny Breuer, the assistant attorney general who runs the Justice Department's criminal division, should participate in a news conference when indictments in Fast and Furious and the case resulting from Wide Receiver were unsealed.
The two federal law enforcement officials said Weinstein's language about "a tricky case" referred to Wide Receiver, not Fast and Furious.
In an emailed reply to Weinstein, James Trusty, at the time deputy chief in the gang unit at the Justice Department, said "it's not going to be any big surprise that a bunch of US guns are being used in MX (Mexico), so I'm not sure how much grief we get for 'guns walking.' It may be more like, 'Finally, they're going after people who sent guns down there."
The two law enforcement officials said the language of Trusty's email also refers to the Tucson case, not Fast and Furious.This week in Congress: Spending, trade battles
Trusty's email adds "I think so" on the question of whether Breuer should participate in a press conference, but Trusty adds that "timing will be tricky too."
It continued: "Looks like we'll be able to unseal the Tucson case sooner than the Fast and Furious (although this may be just the difference between Nov and Dec). It's not clear how much we're involved in the main F and F case, but we have Tucson and now a new, related case with (deleted) targets."
The Justice Department blacked out the number of targets in this apparent related third case before turning the email over to congressional investigators on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Fast and Furious was a response to longstanding criticism of ATF for concentrating on small-time gun violations and failing to attack the kingpins of weapons trafficking.
Operation Fast and Furious came to light after two assault rifles purchased by a now-indicted small-time buyer under scrutiny in the operation turned up at a shootout in Arizona where Customs and Border Protection agent Brian Terry was killed.
NBC News' Pete Williams and Mike Kosnar contributed to this report.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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ALTA® II Reflectance Spectrometer
Data can be calibrated against standards and manipulated into graphs of reflectances versus light wavelength that are nearly identical to those in text and reference books. The patented technology of the ALTA uses light in visible colors (blue through red in seven wavelengths) and in four invisible "colors" of infrared light. The results are good models of spectra from NASA probes like Mars Pathfinder and environmental satellites like LANDSAT. The spectrometer can be used in any class that deals with light, color, or spectroscopy.
Curriculum materials include basic operation instructions and exercises in biology, environmental science and remote sensing, geology and planetary science, and physics. Extensions are suggested for astronomy, physiology (color vision and illusion), and art. The spectrometer and activities are designed for grades 8 through college, and they have been used with middle school gifted and talented classes. The ALTA II Reflectance Spectrometer is ideal for open-ended student research.
Sensor Requirements
The ALTA II Reflectance Spectrometer is a stand-alone device. It cannot be used with any Vernier interface. Data can be manually entered into Logger Pro or Logger Lite for further analysis, if desired.
What's Included
- ALTA II Reflectance Spectrometer
- Instruction Booklet with 10 lessons
- User manual
Ordering Information
This product is discontinued and no longer available.
Contact Us
- Web: Online Support Form
- Email: email@example.com
- Phone: 1-888-837-6437
5-year limited warranty
Educational use only: Vernier products are designed for educational use. They are not appropriate for industrial, medical, or commercial applications. Product usage disclaimer »


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For One Day Only!
Under Food, Happenings, Menu, Uncategorized
Dec. 13
It's a Christmas miracle! For one day only the Gin Joint will be bringing back brunch.
Please join us on Christmas Eve from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to start a new holiday tradition. Along with our Miracle On East Bay Street cocktail menu, the Gin Joint staff will be serving up the finest brunch bites and some old Gin Joint favorites. Remember the clear Bloody Mary? Yep, it's back!
We will be taking a limited number of Reservations for this Brunch service. To reserve a table please call the Gin Joint at 843-577-6111 or email us at [email protected] Please, no parties larger than 8 (remember we are a small space).
Outdoor seating will be available weather permitting.


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Tag: combi alternative
CVap RTV5-14UV Retherm Oven
The CVap® RTV5-14UV Retherm Oven is an alternative to your traditional combi, without the high cost of multiple repairs. CVap® Stage, sous vide, bake, braise, roast, poach, low-temp steam and more with this powerhouse of a commercial oven.
This full-size model comes equipped with C-Touch Control, USB HACCP Temp Download, and convection mode for cooking and holding. With a capacity of 14 sheet pans, 28 half sheet pans or 28 hotel pans, this model is perfect for high volume operators, and no hood is needed!
CVap RTV5-05UV-ST Retherm Oven
The CVap® RTV5-05UV-ST Retherm Stacked Pair Ovens are an alternative to your traditional combi oven, without the high cost of maintenance and repairs. CVap® Stage, sous vide, bake, braise, roast, poach, low-temp steam and more with this commercial oven.
This stacked model comes equipped with C-Touch Control, USB HACCP Data Download, and convection mode for cooking, retherming, and holding. With a capacity of ten sheet pans, 20 half sheet pans or 20 hotel pans, this model packs a lot of capacity in a small footprint. No vent hood is required.
CVap RTV5-05UV Retherm Oven
The CVap® RTV5-05UV Retherm Oven is an alternative to a traditional combi oven, without the high cost of repairs and maintenance. CVap® Stage™, sous vide, bake, braise, roast, poach, low-temp steam and more with this powerful commercial oven.
This half size model comes equipped with C-Touch Control, USB HACCP Temp Download, and convection mode for cooking and holding. With a capacity of 5 sheet pans, 10 half sheet pans or 10 hotel pans, this model is versatile, and no vent hood is required!
CVap RTV5-04UV Retherm Oven
The CVap® RTV5-04UV Retherm Oven is a great alternative to traditional combi ovens, without the high cost of maintenance and repairs. CVap® Stage, sous vide, bake, braise, roast, poach, low-temp steam and more with this versatile commercial oven.
This half-size model comes equipped with C-Touch Controls, USB HACCP Data Download, and convection mode for cooking and holding. With a capacity of four sheet pans, eight half-sheet pans or eight hotel pans, this model is powerful. And no vent hood is required!
Exploration of Eggs: Creamiest Cheesecake Ever
Baking a picture-perfect and delicious cheesecake in a commercial kitchen can be a lot more difficult than people realize. You could have the perfect crust, a satiny-smooth filling, the best pan on the market, an appropriate bains marie, a great oven, mad skills… and still you wind up with those cracks in your custard!
As promised, I'm sharing a cheesecake recipe that I love, not only because it's a tasty classic but also because it's as fool-proof as the crème brûlée recipe I've already shared. I am again offering two methods: one is prepared in a CVap® Cook and Hold and the other in a CVap Retherm Oven.
Cheesecake Baked in a CVap Cook and Hold
Crust: Mix 1½ cups of graham cracker crumbs with 3 Tbsp of sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press into to bottom of a springform pan.
Filling: In a mixer, cream together 4 packages of cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Then mix in 4 eggs, one at a time. Mix on low until very few clumps are visible and be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Once the filling is finished, pour it over the crust.
- Set the unit to 200 + 0 Constant Cook and allow approximately 30 minutes when preheating the unit.
- Set the timer to 1:30
- Once the unit reads load, place the cheesecake in the unit and press start.
- After 1:30, the unit will read sell and the cheesecake has finished baking.
- Remove from oven and refrigerate (with the springform still in place) for at least 3 hours.
- After refrigeration, remove springform and slice for serving.
Cheesecake Baked in a CVap Retherm Oven
Crust: Mix 1½ cups of graham cracker crumbs with 3 Tbsp of sugar and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press into to bottom of a springform pan.
Filling: In a mixer, cream together 4 packages of cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla. Then mix in 4 eggs, one at a time. Mix on low until very few clumps are visible and be sure to scrap the sides of the bowl. Once the filling is finished, pour it over the crust.
- Set the unit to Channel 1 and allow approximately 30 minutes when preheating the unit.
- Set the timer to 1:15
- Once the unit reads load, place the cheesecake in the unit and press start.
- After 1:15, the unit will read sell and the cheesecake has finished baking.
- Remove from oven and refrigerate (with the springform still in place) for at least 3 hours.
- After refrigeration, remove springform and slice for serving.
There are 100 ways to cook an egg, and whether they are center of the plate or part of a cake or custard, there are so many ways to serve them. If you have a favorite cheesecake recipe or even want to share a past cheesecake calamity, please let us hear from you!
CVap Pineapple Chinese Five-Spice Pork Riblets
Happy New Year! 新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè)
The Year of the Dog is nearly upon us. Though commonly thought of as Chinese New Year here in the US, it's a holiday celebrated by much of the Asian world, and nearly a fifth of the planet's population.
Like any good holiday, an important part of the it is sharing good food with family and friends. In that spirit, we'd like to pass along this recipe to you. It's an amazing rib recipe shared with us by Chef Chas Tatigian of Twin Eagles Golf and Country Club. Chef Tatigian created this recipe specifically to showcase one of his CVap techniques, and this one – involving a slow braise under vacuum seal – is a real winner!
If you like what you see, let us know and tell us how you CVap!
RUB FOR THE RIBS (enough for approximately 4-5 Danish racks)
- 1/2 Part Ground Coriander
- 1 Part Allspice
- 1 Part Chinese 5 Spice
- 4 Parts Brown Sugar
- Cayenne to taste
- 1 Cup Soy Sauce
- 1 ½ Cups Teriyaki Sauce
- 1/3 Cup Bacon Fat
- 3/4 Cup Pineapple Juice
- 1 ¼ Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Honey
- 1 Roughly Chopped Scallion
- 1 Tbsp Chopped Garlic
- Liberally rub ribs and let stand at room temperature for 30-40 minutes.
- Char ribs on hot grill and refrigerate.
- When cooled, slice ribs into pieces leaving a little meat on both sides of the rib bone and bring to room temperature.
- Combine ingredients for cooking marinade (this is enough for 4-5 Danish racks).
- Heat the cooking marinade to approximately 100° to melt sugar and fat.
- Place room temp ribs in a vacuum bag and put enough warm marinade in to cover ribs.
- Seal bag at 90% to 95% vacuum.
- Cook ribs in CVap Cook & Hold oven at 135/0 for 32 hours.
- Cool bags in ice bath to use at later date OR, to use immediately, remove liquid and flash-roast bare ribs at 400°F until a little crisp, garnish with diced grilled pineapple and green onions, cut on a long bias.
Chef Tatigian is a long-time member of the CVap Nation. But don't just take our word for it. Take his.
Hope You Made It To The Georgia Equipment Academy!
Every year, members of the Industry segment of the School Nutrition Association gear up for what we call "school show season." We travel from state to state and participate in each association's annual School Nutrition Conference. We set up our booths, catch up with our industry peers, mingle with our customers, and try to "sell our wares," as my friend Joey says. But as a member of the Equipment delegation of Industry, often we find that state shows are more about food than our hardware. It's understandable, considering that food makes up the largest expenditure for every school nutrition operation. Still, it can be frustrating because as sales people we are at the mercy of that goal we have to hit.
For years, I have heard about the Georgia Equipment Academy, a three-day conference occurring every other year that focuses solely on equipment and technology. In 2016 I was finally able to attend my first GEA to see what all the buzz was about. I have to tell you, I was blown away. We were lucky enough to be selected in the Hoodless Cooking class (each conference is broken up into categories voted on by need) and were able to conduct five 30-minute sessions over the three-day period. Each session is attended by about 20 decision makers. Not only are we allowed to educate about our equipment, we get to perform live demonstrations to show the "proof in the pudding," so to speak. Local food vendors donate food for demos and dealers, reps, manufacturers, and the Georgia School Nutrition Association work hand in hand to make the conference a unique experience. Honestly, for what we do, it is the best show I've ever participated in, and for the directors, it allows them to truly learn about technology that can advance their programs without any distractions.
Winston Foodservice was proud to participate in the 2018 Georgia Equipment Academy. We are debuted our new CVap RTV Retherm Oven in the Hoodless Cooking category. Hope you had the opportunity to participate!
The Story of a Perfect Turkey Starts with CVap
There are so many sensory delights to appreciate in a properly roasted turkey. The skin should have a consistent golden brown hue and a crisp texture that is audible when met with a knife (or a pair of fingers trying to filch a tidbit before it goes to the table). The breast meat should be tender and juicy while the dark meat should be succulent and toothsome. The aroma should be rich and intoxicating, filling the kitchen with a scent that is tangible and evokes memories of Thanksgiving or holiday feasts.
Brining is an option many cooks exercise though we don't do it every time we roast a turkey. When we do, a couple of our favorite concoctions include salt + sugar + paprika + granulated garlic + granulated onion + peppercorns + water or salt + sugar + aromatics (onion, carrot, celery) + thyme + rosemary + Italian parsley + bay leaves + water. The benefit of brining a turkey is to impart additional flavor to the bird and to add moisture. Of course, if the turkey is cooked correctly, brining is unnecessary! In the tests we did for this post, the birds were not brined. Nor were they stuffed. While stuffing a turkey may be a tried and true part of cooking a Thanksgiving feast for many, we discourage the practice. In order to get the stuffing inside the bird to a safe endpoint temperature, you risk sacrificing the moistness of the white meat by overcooking it.
In one test, we roasted a 10 lb. turkey in a CVap Cook and Hold Oven (CAC) with the Food Temperature set at 190°F, Browning Level at 8, and we cooked it for three hours with Constant Cook ON.
In another test we cooked a bird in a CAC at 180°F with a Browning level of 6 for five hours with Constant Cook ON. As you can see, this test yielded skin that was not as brown or quite as crisp as the other test.
An alternative suggestion might be to cook a turkey at 175 + 0 to end point doneness and then either flash fry or flash roast it to brown and crisp up the skin. Using this method will yield extremely tender and juicy meat.
No matter which of these methods you use, the moral to this story is that a perfectly cooked turkey is something to be very thankful for!
Bring Bodacious Benedict to Your Breakfast
Life is busy. That fact is as true for us here at Winston as it is for anyone. Taking the time to have a good breakfast is a rarity, I suspect, for most of us.
What if you could easily provide your customers with just such a respite, without a big investment in time, ingredients, or manpower? Staging with your CVap Cook & Hold oven makes this possible.
One of my favorite breakfasts (both to prepare and to eat) is Eggs Benedict. It's a simple recipe, and can easily be prepared and staged in a CVap oven. It requires a simple handful of ingredients, and only takes minutes to make. It'll make your customers want to slow down – at least for a moment – to savor the fantastic flavors.
The recipe, as listed, is for a relatively small batch. But it can easily be scaled up to fit larger operations.
- 1 dozen biscuits (canned or frozen)
- 1 dozen eggs,
- shredded cheddar cheese
- melted butter
- salt and pepper
Set a CVap Cook & Hold Oven to Constant Cook ON, Food Temperature 150°F (Doneness) and Food Texture 10 (Browning), then allow to preheat. Place biscuits on parchment-lined half sheet pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove biscuits from oven, brush with melted butter, then use a pastry cutter to remove the centers (be careful to leave bottom crust intact!). Place a raw egg and a pinch of salt and pepper in the center of each biscuit.
Adjust preheated Cook & Hold Oven to Constant Cook ON, Food Temperature 156°F (Doneness), and Food Texture setting 1 (Browning). Place the egg-filled biscuits in the oven for 25 minutes.
Once the eggs are poached to your liking, remove the biscuits, sprinkle with cheese, and place the pan back into the oven just long enough for the cheese to melt. The beauty of CVap staging is that you can pause at virtually any point in the cooking process, and the food will remain unchanged until you're ready to garnish and serve – whether that's in 10 minutes or five hours.
We garnished ours with shaved Woodlands Pork Mountain ham, parmesan cream sauce, minced scallions, and paprika. You may want to use bacon, prosciutto, sausage patties – whatever savory protein appeals to you – to make it your own benedict.
Baking Bagels without Boiling? Yes, in a CVap Oven
I ran across a post on social media about New York style bagels. It got me thinking…can I do that in CVap oven? I already knew that I could proof in CVap, but I wanted to know if I could mimic the step where the bagels are boiled.
I found a generic recipe on King Arthur Flour's website. This was an easy, straightforward recipe. As usual, there's a point in the recipe that calls for the bagels to be boiled. I chose to go with tradition and boil some, and prepare the others in a CVap oven (as sort of a test and control). I also prepared the water with honey instead of lye, baking soda, malt powder, or other ingredients that people often use, simply because I was aiming for a sweeter bagel.
I prepared my bagels, let the dough proof, shape and rise again. The next step was to boil.
I brushed the proofed bagels with the honey water, and placed them in the CVap Cook & Hold. The unit was set at 200 Doneness and 1 Browning, Constant Cook ON. I elevated the bagels on a baking rack to ensure that the vapor would reach all sides of the bagel for five minutes.
The CVap results were better than expected. The bagels were very similar to the ones that I boiled, but they didn't rise as much as the boiled bagels.
The next step involved baking. I reserved a few bagels to bake in a conventional oven, and baked the rest in the CVap (90 Doneness, 10 Browning, Constant Cook ON). The recipe recommends baking the bagels, then removing them from the oven to add toppings. This was a bit difficult – the bagels were hot and had to be sprayed with water to make the topping stick. I chose to make a variety of flavors; everything bagel, asiago bagel, asiago jalapeno bagel, and a few plain bagels. The bagels destined for the CVap were much easier, as I was able to top the bagels right after boiling them.
Not only were the CVap bagels easier to prepare, they also browned more evenly.
When they had cooled just enough to not burn my mouth, I dug in. The boiled/oven-baked bagels were much chewier on the exterior, and the toppings fell off. The CVap bagels were a little denser and crisper on the exterior. Both were delicious! A bit more tweaking of recipe and technique would probably result in a seamless process in the CVap. No boiling, no adding toppings mid-bake – painless and delicious!
Beautiful Beef Brisket: Smoky, Juicy, and Tasty!
Every pitmaster worth his or her salt knows that producing a proper brisket is something to be proud of. Between the fatty and the lean parts, there are special challenges. Smoke or cook it too long and the lean portion will dry out; but not long enough and the fat will be undercooked and not rendered enough. Allow the temperature to get too high and the brisket will be bone dry. That's why low and slow does the trick, and CVap makes a perfect partner for brisket. You want a robust bark, a consistent smoke ring, and tender, juicy meat. No problem, right?
CVap Beef Brisket
We marinated a 3.5 lb. beef brisket in a mixture of Bourbon Barrel Soy Sauce and Worcestershire, and then liberally applied a seasoning rub.
The brisket was smoked at 200°F for about 2.5 hours, and then it went into a CVap Cook/Hold Oven set at Constant Cook ON /135°F / Browning Level 2 / for ten hours.
As you can see, the bark is set, the smoke ring is consistent, and the meat is definitely juicy! Our final yield was about 85%.
As an alternative, you could omit the smoking step and cook the brisket in the CVap overnight at the same setting to come up with this result. Again, it is juicy, tender, and very evenly done.
Please note this setting produces a brisket ideally suited for slicing. If you want a shreddable brisket, set your CVap Cook/Hold Oven to 170 + 2 and cook it overnight. Your yield will be slightly less, but it will shred beautifully.
For the perfect BBQ feast, serve your classic smoked brisket, slice it, slather it with your favorite sauce, and serve it with cole slaw, potato salad, baked beans, sweet onions, dill pickles, and sliced white bread. Oh – and plenty of napkins or paper towels!
Looking for some alternative serving ideas for brisket? Whether you smoke your brisket or not, any of these suggestions will showcase this inexpensive cut of beef very nicely:
Creative Brisket Serving Suggestions
- Chop your brisket and use it as a topping on BBQ pizza
- Make brisket tacos with cabbage, crema, and fresh avocado
- Serve brisket hash as a breakfast or brunch item
- Fill ravioli with a brisket mixture and serve with a sauce made with dark beer and caramelized onions
- Create a smoky BBQ-style brisket cottage pie topped with mashed potatoes
- Add chopped brisket to your chili for a delicious departure from ground beef
- Give your vegetable beef soup a different dimension by using sliced or chopped brisket
Celebrate National Barbecue Month with This Crowd-pleasing BBQ
May is National Barbecue Month! Nothing signifies the arrival of Summer like the rich flavor of barbecue. Recently we did BBQ a big crowd, and we had a blast doing it!
We cooked 7- to 10-lb. Boston pork butts traditionally for about ten hours on a Good-One® smoker until they reached an internal temperature of 180°F. Then they were quick-chilled on the bone and refrigerated. (Check out The Good-Ones website for some awesome smokers.) You can also add versatility to your CVap oven with the Winston Smoker Box.
The morning of the event, we rethermalized the butts in a CVap® at 200 + 100 for one hour, then pulled the pork and placed it in hotel pans. We tossed in our favorite sauce and held the pork in a CVap for three hours during service at 150 + 5.
The neat thing is that we cooked baked beans and scalloped potatoes at the same time, in the same CVap we were using to reheat the butts. So on the day of the party, we had an entire BBQ feast ready to serve in an hour and were able to keep everything fresh and hot for three more hours without babysitting anything. Best part (besides how good it tasted)? The cooks got to enjoy the party instead of slaving over the food!
Who Doesn't Love Cupcakes?
Yum yum! Walking down the street and peering into the local cupcake shop, I often wonder, is that a sweet treat or a piece of edible art work? Mouthwatering cupcake shops have popped in every major city and in many small towns. If you want to use your CVap® Cook & Hold or Retherm Oven to rival the cupcake shops, we can show you how!
Just take your favorite cake recipe and set the Cook & Hold or Retherm Oven to the settings below. CVap ovens make a moist and light cake that will be a hit for any occasion.
With endless variations and recipes for cake, use your favorite recipe. Or if you need a quick and easy cupcake, here is a modified box recipe that I personally love to use:
Take your favorite standard size box mix and use 4 eggs, ¾ cup oil, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup sour cream and ¾ cup sugar. Mix and bake.
Cook & Hold settings:
Constant cook ON
Food Temperature 165
Browning 10
Bake at the recommended time listed for your specific cake recipe.
Retherm Oven Settings:
Channel #4
Cook for recommended time and check mid-way through cook cycle
As for icing, buttercream is my favorite. Italian buttercream is made by cooking sugar and only using real butter. Cooking the sugar gives it a smooth texture and the butter gives it a rich flavor. Below is my recipe 🙂
Buttercream Icing Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 egg whites (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed and softened at room temperature
- Pinch of salt, optional
*Makes buttercream for 12 cupcakes.
Buttercream Procedure:
- Combine sugar and water in a medium-sized saucepan. Heat over low heat, stirring with a metal spoon, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is clear. Increase heat to medium-high and allow syrup to come to a boil.
- Meanwhile, place egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, or in a medium bowl if using a handheld mixer, and beat until whites are almost able to hold soft peaks.
- Cook syrup until it reaches 235°F, then immediately remove from heat and slowly drizzle the hot syrup into the bowl with the egg whites, mixing continuously to prevent the eggs from scrambling: don't pour the syrup onto the whisk, or the syrup may splatter against the sides of the bowl; instead, aim for a spot close to the whisk.
- Once all the syrup has been added, keep mixing until the bottom of the bowl feels cool to the touch and the meringue has cooled down to body temperature.
- Add butter one cube at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and salt. The mixture may start to look as if it's separating, but don't panic: just keep mixing and whipping until the buttercream comes together and becomes smooth and gorgeous.
- Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container or a zipper-lock bag in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to two months. To use buttercream that has either been refrigerated or frozen, first allow to come to room temperature then beat until smooth and spreadable again. Cakes or cupcakes decorated with buttercream generally keep up to three days, stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Serve buttercream at room temperature.
CA8522 Low Power Thermalizer Oven
The CVap Low Power Thermalizer Oven CA8522 has powerful heaters to quickly retherm foods to serving temperature, then hold them at optimal quality. Its 22 cu. ft.(.66 cu. M) capacity is well-suited for schools, hospitals, or any other high volume operation. The 8-channel pre-programmed and programmable control stores your favorite recipes. Fourteen adjustable universal wire rack supports hold 14 sheet pans or 28 steam table pans. Auto water fill comes standard, eliminating the need for frequent water refills, and keeping up with the demands of your high volume kitchen. A built-in fan circulates air to maintain consistent temperatures. Sits on rugged 3″ (76mm) casters for easy mobility.
CAT529 Retherm Oven
The CVap Retherm Oven CAT529 is a high-production model, perfect for schools and any other operation where speed and food quality are priorities. Its powerful heaters quickly retherm foods to serving temperature, while maintaining food quality. Its 29 cu. ft. (.84 cu. M) capacity, with adjustable rack supports, can hold 14 wide meal baskets or 28 narrow meal baskets. The CAT529 has an 8-channel electronic control with pre-programmed factory settings and options for custom programming to store your favorite recipes. Auto water fill comes standard, eliminating the need for frequent water refills and keeping up with the demands of your high volume kitchen. A built-in fan circulates air to maintain consistent temperatures. Sits on rugged 5″ casters for easy mobility.
CAT509 Retherm Oven
The CVap Retherm Oven CAT509 is a workhorse in a smaller package. Its powerful heaters quickly retherm foods to serving temperature, while maintaining food quality. It is perfect for schools and cafeterias, where speed and food quality are priorities. A half-size cabinet, the CAT509 has 9 cu. ft. (.27 cu. M) of holding space and five adjustable rack supports which can accommodate five sheet pans or ten steam table pans. An 8-channel electronic pre-programmed and programmable control stores your favorite recipes. Built-in fan circulates air to maintain consistent temperatures. Auto water fill comes standard, eliminating the need for frequent water refills and keeping up with the demands of your fast paced kitchen. Sits on rugged casters for easy mobility. Also available in stacked pair combinations: CAT507/CAT509 or CAT509/HA4507.
CAT507 Retherm Oven
The CVap Retherm Oven CAT507 features powerful heaters that quickly re-therm foods to serving temperature, while maintaining food quality. At 7 cu. ft. (.21 cu. M) of holding space, it is perfect for schools and cafeterias where speed and food quality are priorities, but space is limited. The CAT507 has an 8-channel electronic pre-programmed and programmable control to store your favorite recipes. The four adjustable rack supports accommodate four sheet pans or eight steam table pans. Built-in fan circulates air to maintain consistent temperatures. Auto water fill comes standard, eliminating the need for frequent water refills and keeping up with the demands of your fast paced kitchen. Sits on rugged casters for easy mobility. Also available in stacked pair combinations: CAT507/CAT507, CAT507/CAT509, or CAT507/HA4507.