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These publications must be used in the "Browsing" Library of Career Services.
There are also many brochures and magazines such as Resume Writing, Interviewing
and Job Choices that you may take with you.
To see a complete list of career books located at the Career
Services Office click
(Listed below are examples of SU Alumni and their Jobs in this major-For more
alumni resources, go to
Mentor Network)
By States:
National Sites:


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I can answer questions for residents of New York and New Jersey regarding creditor harassment claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA); credit reporting errors under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); debt collection defense/credit card defense; student loan law; and consumer class actions. I can also answer questions relating to consumer debt defense/collection agency defense, specifically pertaining to consumers being sued or harassed by collection agencies or NY collection attorneys. If you live in New York and have been contacted or sued by firms such as: Mel Harris & Associates, Forster & Garbus, Rubin & Rothman, Choi Law Office, Lacy Katzen, Malen & Associates, Solomon & Solomon, Daniels & Norelli, Cohen & Slamowitz, Pressler & Pressler or others; give us a call at (716) 566-8988.
I have obtained settlements for consumers in NY and NJ under the FDCPA and FCRA. I have successfully defended consumers who were sued by collection agencies/debt purchasers in the New York State courts.
National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) Law Offices of Jason Shear Consumer Attorneys 3957 Main Street, Second Floor Buffalo, New York 14226 (716) 566-8988
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Leave it to Dave Colee to travel to Egypt and find someone he knows!! Thanks for all of the updates we have lived vicariously through your postings.
What a tremendous last day!!!
Trip Start Dec 18, 2010
20Trip End Jan 04, 2011
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Delta Flight 85 - Cairo to New York
We were up early...5:00 am wake-up call. Packed and breakfast on the boat. And a 6:00 am (Egyptian time) departure via bus...so we left about 6:40!
I think we saved the best day until last, and I didn't think that was possible. We boarded the bus and headed for the West Bank (as they call it) of the Nile, or more commonly known as "The Valley of the Kings and Queens." I know you've heard of it. It's where King Tut's tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 in the Gurna Hlls west of Luxor.
Tombs of 64 kings and 57 queens have been discovered, and they keep discovering more (last was in 2000). These tombs are fabulously decorated - especially the one of Ramses VI. All the walls were not only carved, but painted as well. And I mean painted like they were done two weeks ago. Vivid reds, yellow, blues and browns. We visited three tombs in the Valley of the Kings - could have visited King Tut's but it was $20 more and our guide told us the tomb of Ramses VI was much better...and it was. All were just amazing!
So, we're walking back to the bus and I see to my right hand side about half way down the hill, that they are doing some actual excavating...Egyptian workers carrying stones and baskets of rubble out of a tomb. And there was this man, an older man who I thought looked familar heading into a small trailer (looked like an old camper trailer).
Curiosity got the best of me and I approached the trailer. I said, "Sir, can I ask where are you from?" (knowing he was leading the dig). He said, "Well, I'm originally from Seattle, Washington, but I'm at the American University in Cairo now," I said, "I know, I see you on The History Channel all the time...you're Kent...and I hesitated, not remembering his last name." He rescued me saying, "Yes, I'm Kent Weeks." I said, (acting like a real History Channel nerd), "I watch you all the time. You're the one who discovered the tomb of the sons of Ramses II." He said, "Yes, KV5."
He saw my ISU hat and Band Jacket and said, "I'll bet you're glad you're not back in Illinois right now. I heard they've had some bad weather." I said, "Well, I better let you go, I just wanted to let you know what a pleasure it was to meet you (how geeky can you get Dave!). He said, "The pleasure was all mine."
I was on cloud nine the rest of the day!!! How cool was that????
Next stop was the Temple of Hapsetshut...one of only three queens who became pharos. Her temple was the largest and most impressive of all the temples we had seen. Got some great pictures there. Our final stop was the two Singing Statues of King Aminophis the Third, known as "The Colossi of Memnon." Very cool.
Then it was back to the boat, got our luggage, met our new guide who was going to take us back to the airport. We started to get into the van when he said, "Do you have everything? Passports...Yes. Tickets...No, our itinerary says you should have them and will give them to us (we showed him). He said, "OK, no problem." But we were very worried at this point in time. He made a few calls on the way to the airport, and after a 15 minute uncomfortable wait outside security, he got our tickets and we were on our way to Cairo. Whew!
We met our new guide (did I tell you I have to tip all these guys?), and dropped Laura off at her international flight back to Israel. I waited with the luggage while our guide walked Sandy and Laura to what I"m sure was a tearful goodbye at her check-in. You mothers out there know exactly what I mean. I was better off with the luggage.
Then to the Le Meridian Hotel (That's where I'm writing from now.) for about 5 hours before being packed up for our trip back to New York. With any luck at all we'll be in NYC at 5:15 am tomorrow. Oh, yea, Laura called and the Israeli security confiscated her hair dryer (are you kidding me?). She said the nice man at Delta Security would have it for us when we checked in for our flight. We'll see. And I see another tipping opportunity...geez! We'll it's about 8:00 pm, and our driver comes at 9:00 pm. I'll finish this saga from Bloomington, Illinois (we hope) tomorrow night.
Our best to all. See you soon!
Post your own travel photos for friends and family Pictures
Sure glad you're safely on your way home. I do hope you appreciate the "set up" I made for you with the History Channel guy. He was somewhat reluctant but when I said you were famous as the Voice of the Redbirds" he finally acquisced. And since I'm sure you're broke, I'll even "pop" for lunch when I see you.
welcome home Dave...sounds like the trip of a life time..now if I had met the gentleman, I would still be there helping with the excavation...have always wanted to work somewhere on a :"dig"....take care..
Fair Winds and Fallowing Seas


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By Ben Levisohn
Emerging-market stocks have sold off this year and that's helped exchange-traded funds designed to profit from their fall produce big gains. Investors, however, haven't needed to turn to such complex–and risky–products for solid developing-market returns.
The iShares Emerging Markets Index ETF (EEM) has dropped nearly 6% this year, and its decline has helped boost so-called inverse and leveraged-inverse ETFs. The ProShares Short MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EUM), for instance, has gained 5.6% so far this year, while the ProShares UltraShort Emerging Markets ETF (EEV), which doubles the bet, has risen 11.3%. The Direxion Daily Emerging Markets Bear 3x Shares (EDZ) which leverages the short bet three times, has surged 16.6%.
Despite the tough environment, some 13 actively-managed funds have beaten EUM's 5.6% return, while two funds have trumped EEV's 11.3% gain. EDZ's 16.6% gain remains unsurpassed.
Even some long-only ETFs have been producing positive returns so far this year. The PowerShares DAW Emerging Markets Technical Leaders ETF (PIE) has gained 6.6%, while the First Trust Emerging Markets SC AlphaDEX (FEMS) has gained 5.9%.
All told, nearly one quarter of the ETFs classified as emerging markets by Morningstar have produced positive returns this year.


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Thank you for sharing - great quilt - another one to do on the ever growing list!!!
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
Thank you for sharing - great quilt - another one to do on the ever growing list!!!
Thank you for the instructions. I really want to try this.
I'm a new quilter and I love this quilt. But, am I understaning this correctly. Is this amost like a rag quilt except you are not sewing the seems together but leaving raw seems exposed and sewing the squares to the muslin? It's beautiful, I love the colors.
Originally Posted by NOELLA
I'm a new quiltre and the longer I look at the posts on the QB the longer my to-do or as I call it, my, Ta-Da!!! list gets longer and longer all the time, I've seen sooo many wonderful quilts here.
Not to contradict anyone but the quilt in the picture doesn't show raw edges around the squares. Am I missing something? From the tute about, it sounds like there are raw edges to fray when washed???
Originally Posted by Joanie Owen
I looked at the link in the third post but that quilt doesn't look like what I'm invisioning for the instructions. Are there supposed to be raw edges that fray when washed. Is that why she pinked the edges for less strings???
Ok, this link explains it to me alot better. It's really pretty. I don't mean to sound like a moron, lol, but I'm new to quilting and I'm not too used to all the quilting lingo yet. But, I'm catching on thanks to all of the great people here on the QB. thanks for your link! ! !
Originally Posted by Evie
the one and same.


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phone view phone(217) 333-6756 Address 244 Law Building
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By Tiernan Ray
Chip maker Broadcom (BRCM) is receiving plaudits today after announcing this morning it plans to spend $164 million to purchase the baseband chip assets of Japanese semiconductor outfit Renesas Electronics to enhance its wireless offerings for mobile devices.
The baseband chip market for phones and tablets and other gadgets has long been dominated by Qualcomm (QCOM)
CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets's Srini Pajjuri raised his rating on the shares to Outperform from Underperform, with a $30 price target, up from $26, writing that the deal was one of the only ways for Broadcom to improve it's lagging position in chips for long-term evolution, or LTE, the fastest mode of cellular data access.
"While we don't expect Broadcom's fortunes in baseband to change right away, the acquisition should position the company as a viable second source in LTE," writes Pajjuri, "which should also help stem potential share losses in the WiFi/BT connectivity business."
Pajjuri offers some color on the deal:
The deal is expected to be dilutive to 2014 earnings by $0.10-0.15, but is expected to accelerate the LTE shipments to early 2014 from 2H14 (by about six months). Management indicated that the solution is already certified by multiple carriers including AT&T, NTT and Vodafone. Management's comments imply that the company is engaged with multiple OEMs, with Samsung potentially in the mix. The deal is expected to be neutral by 2H14, which implies a revenue run rate of $70-75m/quarter exiting 2014.
Broadcom shares today are up 51 cents, or 2%, at $25.69.


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Once upon a time in Harvard Square there was a short-lived venue called the Market Theatre. The space truly altered the face of performance art in Boston by taking on avant-garde projects and obscure playwrights, and turning them loose on mainstream audiences. It was awesome.
In the fall (I think) of 2001, my friend Tom Cole, the director of the Market, asked me to take part in a reading by the author J.T. LeRoy — a person so troubled and fragile that he couldn't perform readings to promote his books by himself. Instead, he would farm out the task to notable fans in cities all over the world, luring the likes of Courtney Love, Shirley Manson, David Eggers, and Gus Van Sant (who also signed up to turn J.T.'s life into a film). Tom explained the whole thing to me: LeRoy had grown up a truck-stop nomad. His meth-addicted mother dragged him around trolling for tricks and drugs, sometimes dressing J.T. as a girl if that could be used to some advantage to support them for a few days. Eventually, by the time he was a 'tween, J.T. had become an addict and a prostitute himself.
Occasionally, they would find shelter with his mother "Sarah's" fundamentalist Christian family, whose cruel patriarch inflicted as much damage as anyone else by forcing them to do things like scrub their genitals with bleach to make themselves pure for Jesus. I couldn't believe this fucking story!
"Really? This guy wants me to read for him?" I asked with the sort of incredulous pride that I normally reserved for times like when my roommate told me that my ass looked good in a certain pair of jeans. J.T. requested me, Juliana (that would be Hatfield), and Jake Burns from Stiff Little Fingers (the seminal 1970s punk band from Belfast).
"Wow," was all I could think to say, and off I went to read The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, LeRoy's second book and the one we would be reading from.
"Momma. I say it softly like a magic word you use only when severely outnumbered." This is the book's opening salvo before the baby LeRoy is snatched from the warmth and safety of his foster home, and whisked into the clutches of his teenage mother and a quickly ruined life. Devastating. The sentence is about as subtle as a drunken head-butt, but, hey, I'm easy like that. From page one I was a weeping convert. I devoured the book and chose this passage as the one I would recite at the Market in a few weeks.
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Bone collectorThe raccoon penisbone necklaces J.T. LeRoy wore, gave as gifts, and even sold on his Web site are reportedly used as charms in teh American South to boost sexual powers, profess one's love for another, and bring luck to gamblers. It's also said taht the penis bones are prized for being disproportionately large compared with the size of a raccoon's body.
More on this story:
The awful truth: Recent revelations about fictitious memoirs have exposed our society's lust for stories about savaging helpless children. By Michael Bronski.
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Georgia E. Griffin
Georgia E. Griffin, 84, of Muscoda passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 31, 2013, surrounded by her family at Golden Living Center in Muscoda.
She was born on August 25, 1928, in Richland County, WI, the daughter of Edward and Pearl (Dalton) Garner. On April 7, 1948, Georgia married Robert Griffin at the Presbyterian Church in Muscoda. In addition to being a homemaker on the family farm, she became an elementary teacher in Muscoda and Highland and enjoyed that career for many years. Georgia enjoyed playing cards, bird-watching, crossword puzzles, and most of all spending time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was a member of the United Church of Muscoda Presbyterian, the Order of the Eastern Star, Delta Kappa Gamma, and the American Legion Auxiliary.
She is survived by her two children:
Dixie (Ken) Delkamp of Muscoda
Ed Griffin of Ocala, Florida
five grandchildren:
Kelly (Kevin) Schaefer of Muscoda
Matt (Cheri) Delkamp of Reedsburg
Katie (Jeff) Campbell of Reedsburg
Hannah Griffin of South Bend, Indiana
Mac Griffin of Key West, Florida
eight great grandchildren:
Michael, Adam, and Abraham Schaefer; Abby, Charlee, and Lanie Delkamp; and Eli and Luke Campbell, and many brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law.
Georgia was preceded in death by her husband Robert, her parents, and her brother Taylor Garner.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2013, at 11:00 AM at the United Church of Muscoda Presbyterian. Friends may call at the church from 9:30 AM until the time of services. Burial will be held at a later date. The Godager Funeral Home of Muscoda is assisting the family with their arrangements.


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Real Writing Job Rip OffsSunday, May 1st, 2011
There is a mob out there that tried to comment and get that all important link to this site. They are a rip off site that makes out they have work for writers, real writing jobs dot con is their name. I won't write it any better than that or else they get the link they want. Ah what the heck! in the name of passing on a warning, go visit real writing jobs and see for yourself.
It's the old 'if it seems too good to be true…' deal. Writing jobs paying $100 an article… never happen. $500 a story? Tell me more! $25-$40 an hour to help improve movie scripts? Spielberg needs me! $25-$50 for a blog…. you have to be kidding! And they are. On the parent site (that link is to an affiliate I think) they just have $$$ instead of the actual amounts. Read the Terms and Conditions and Earnings Disclaimer. Plenty probably don't.
Basically you pay 'just' $4.95 for the trial period. If you don't cancel within four days, on the eighth day they take out a one time payment of $77 from your credit card. There is no mention of what work you will get. The earnings disclaimer suggests they send you some 'materials' that you then use to obtain the work. I'm thinking an eBook on being a freelance writer, saying you can charge up to $100 an article etc. The disclaimer says there is no guarantee you make this money even if you follow the material etc.
Bottom line, another con job. Why do people do this and why do others fall for it? Those of us who are trying to help writers make a real living from their craft are often times dumped in the same sewer with these slime balls. If you want writing work, sign up on Elance.com or Odesk.com and compete for jobs that are listed with the budget in mind etc. You will see 'articles' go on average for $1 a pop for 150-250 words. You would be doing well to get $25 for a 300 word blog. I write eBooks of 12,000-15,000 words,including research and started off getting $450 for each one. I do better now I have established myself and am known for a quality product, but you have to start somewhere. I would like to get $1,000 an eBook and I am worth it but so far I haven't found a client who will pay that for them. So you take what you can get.
These scumbags seem to have the same philosophy only they take and don;t give any value back. It is all a con, slippery terms and twisted words to make you think you are getting work when all you are doing is buying someone elses'. My bet is they plagiarized the 'materials' too.
I have sent in a request for more information. If they are genuine, I will not only apologize but make sure everyone I know who writes for money heads their way. But somehow I don't think I will be writing that apology. Do you?


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We're committed to making your buying experience fantastic and we back this up with a 100% money-back guarantee in the unlikely event of a problem. Along with our great ticket prices and secure transactions, we are committed to standing by you if a problem arises. Here's what we promise:
Your tickets will arrive in time for the event. Details
You will receive the tickets you selected once your order is confirmed. Details
Your tickets will be genuine. Details
Please Note: Scranton tickets may be sold for more than the price listed on the ticket. Unless specifically stated, we are not affiliated with any official Scranton website, any Scranton box office or any Scranton fan clubs, partners, or sponsors.


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WASHINGTON — They grow up so fast. But not that fast, Mr. President.
In a news conference Wednesday, President Barack Obama twice referred to his oldest daughter, Malia, as being 13 years old.
Not quite. She's 12.
Perhaps the president was already thinking ahead to Malia's approaching birthday: She turns 13 on July 4.Slideshow: The first daughters (on this page)
Obama spoke about both of his daughters as he characterized congressional Republicans as procrastinators who only get work done at the last minute. The president is prodding Republicans to reach a deal on raising the national debt limit before the government taps out its borrowing ability on the expected date of Aug. 2.
"You know, Malia and Sasha generally finish their homework a day ahead of time," Obama said. "Malia's 13, Sasha's 10."
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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The Judicial Resources Commission will hold a public hearing pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 24-1204 to determine the following:
(1) Whether, based on the judicial workload statistics, a judicial vacancy exists in the office of district court of the 5th Judicial District, due to the retirement of the Honorable Michael J. Owens, effective January 31, 2014, and make a recommendation to the Supreme Court as to the primary place of office of said vacancy.
(2) Whether, based on the judicial workload statistics, a judicial vacancy exists in the office of county court of the 9th Judicial District, due to the retirement of the Honorable Graten D. Beavers, effective January 31, 2014, and make a recommendation to the Supreme Court as to the primary place of office of said vacancy.
The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, February 19, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., central time. The hearing will be held via video conferencing from the State Capitol Building, Room 1510, Lincoln, Nebraska, and will include participation from the following sites: (1) Omaha State Office Building, 1313 Farnam Street, Room 207, Second Floor, Omaha, Nebraska; (2) Hastings Public Library, Second Floor, 517 West 4th Street, Hastings, Nebraska; and (3) Educational Service Unit #16, 1221 West 17th Street, Distance Learning Room, North Platte, Nebraska.
The Commission makes its determination based on weighted caseloads, adequate access to the courts by litigants, population, judicial duties, travel time and other factors necessary to assure efficiency and service of the court system.
Following the hearing, the Commission will make a recommendation to the Legislature of their determination.
Commission members are:
|Supreme Court Justice Michael McCormack, Chairperson
|Richard Carter, Bellevue
|Darlene Starman, Lincoln
|Mike Day, Omaha
|Thomas F. Hoarty, Omaha
|Jayne Mann, Aurora
|Wayne J. Mark, Omaha
|Steven F. Mattoon, Sidney
|Patrick R. McDermott, Schuyler
|Robert B. O'Neal, Papillion
|Robert J. Parker, Hastings
|Brian Phares, North Platte
|John E. Samson, Fremont
|Lori Scherer, Beemer
|Amy Schlichting, Lincoln
|Mark M. Sipple, Columbus
|Timothy R. Engler, Lincoln
Any member of the public is entitled to attend the Nebraska Judicial Resources Commission hearing in Room 1510 of the State Capitol, Lincoln, Nebraska, and present, either orally or in writing, any pertinent information with regard to any item on the agenda.
For special accommodations relating to the Americans with Disabilities Act, please call (402) 471-3730. For persons with hearing impairments, please call the Nebraska Relay System at 711.


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Got into work at 5AM today, so I can leave at a decent hour. Changing jobs then not having any leave right before the holidays blows. Oh well. At least it's quiet...and I've been semi-productive.
<Demonishi> CRrrrAAAcccckKKK
<krs> crAACCCCCCCCCK
I'm glad some people are having my share of partying :)
On a side note, we got a cable modem installed on Wednesday. It's sooooo much nicer than dialup...


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With only 48 days until the big day my Christmas Shopping has well and truly started. I'm always on the look out for exciting, unusual and unique gifts for my family and friends and over the next couple of weeks I shall be sharing some great gift ideas for the whole family.
Today we're starting off with pressies for the little ones in your life.
I've always loved Funky Giraffe Bibs, Joe has a huge collection and with prices starting from as little as £1.98 and personalised items from £4 these are quality products at very affordable prices, making them the ideal Christmas present.
Their range of special occasion bibs includes a gorgeous range of Christmas bibs in lovely bright designs just right for the festive season.
Weleda have just launched a a new Calendula Baby Care Starter Kit of travel-sized baby essentials. This set makes an ideal gift for a new baby, to introduce mums to the range. It's also a great size to pop in a changing bag when out and about. The new travel pack contains 5 mini sizes of Weleda's top sellers, including Calendula nappy cream, face cream, baby lotion, baby oil and body wash. They are zipped into a handy waterproof pouch that is large enough to hold a spare nappy or a few wipes.
The new Baby gift set also includes a pack of organic calendula seeds, so parents can enjoy teaching their toddlers about nature. The vibrant orange flowers are ideal sown in the veg patch to attract insect life into the garden, or to create in a colourful window box, and couldn't be easier to grow. It's available selected health stores and pharmacies nationwide and from www.weleda.co.uk with an RRP of £12.95.
If you're looking for a cute and practical way to keep little feet warm and dry this Winter then Poco Nido is the place to head. As well as a stunning range of soft babies shoes, their new line of toddler ankle wellies made from 100% natural rubber and perfect for ease of on/off use and jumping in muddle puddles, of course!
They are currently available in two unisex designs, Blue Cats and Purple Owls and in sizes 4-10 and with a handy re-useable cotton tote bag. They are available from www.poconido.com and carefully hand selscted stockist priced at £20.00.
The Pabobo Dream Theatre projects soothing light on the walls and ceiling to help children drift off to sleep calmly. With its low-energy LEDs, the Dream Theatre's colourful and attractive animated projections captivate little ones attention and tell a beautiful story as they fall asleep, as well as having the option of playing music or nature sounds. There is no need for parents to get up to turn it off; the Dream Theatre's gentle sleep action stops automatically after 45 minutes (15 minutes for sounds) and a sleep mode can be activated so that it automatically turns back on if the child cries. Making sure that little ones and parents have peace of mind!
The Pabobo Dream Theatre is available from JoJo Maman Bebe, Lewis and Amazon
priced at £64.00.
If your children are anything like mine then they'll receive an awful lot of Christmas pennies to stash away, so they'll need somewhere to keep it safe. I love this B Green Frog Money Box from Find Me a Gift.com.
This duck shaped children's money box is green and comes with a super soft frog outfit – well why not eh? It zips off and on, so you can use it with or without the costume! Just like kids enjoy feeding ducks bread, they'll love feeding this quack-tastic moneybox their coins! There are other designs available in the collection too, all priced at £14.99.


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It was a beautiful morning! Temperature was 46 degrees F, wind east at 4 mph, barometric pressure 30.40 inches, relative humidity 68%, and dew point was 36 degrees F. I got up at 3:00 a.m. and cooked some smoked sausage for a snack, took a banana, two energy bars, and some water. Previously I had taken in my chair, blind, and decoys, to my setup area so this morning all I had to do was walk in under a full moon. After I set out the decoys consisting of 5 hens and a jake, I settled in for the duration. I knew I would have trouble calling any long beard that was with a hen, so I was determined to sit at this one location as long as needed or until 1:00 a.m. and hope that I would catch a love-sick gobbler late morning.
After killing a long beard on the second day of the first season and a long beard on the first day of the second season, I had a long wait until season 4 opened on April 25. This gave me ample time to scout and pick up travel patterns for birds in the area.I hunt within a mile or two of where I live so scouting comes easy.
As the sun came up the crows ignited the gobblers on two sides of my location and shortly after legal light, four jakes came to my setup and then moved on.I could hear frequent gobbling to my west, but maybe 200 to 300 yards away. At about 9:00 a.m. I heard some loud angry purring and a fight broke out between two hens, not farther than 10 to 15 yards from my location. They had walked in on my blind side; talk about getting your heart pumping!!! Both hens had small slender beards. After they moved on I had a smoked sausage sandwich and a banana and enjoyed nature and the surroundings. I would call on my Lynch Turkey Call model 101 every 20 to 30 minutes and could hear a gobbler respond and he was closing the distance, but I couldn't see him. I was purring and calling lightly when I heard a strange sound behind me and then two gobblers were coming at me off to my left. They were also making strange sounds. I have never heard spitti and drummin but this was probably what I was hearing. So now I have a turkey behind me and two long beards off to my left. The pair of turkeys almost got within shooting range when the rear turkey jumps up in the air and runs away for 10 to 12 yards. I don't know how to use a mouth call very well but I had nothing to lose here. Sure enough they turned around and came back toward me. They were a bit leery so when they got within range I squeezed the trigger on my Super Vinci with Indian Creek choke and a 3 1/2 in Hevi 13 Blend shell. One dead bird was flopping in the mud and water in the field. He was a mess, many of the breast feathers were gone and feathers on his legs were sparse. This turkey was a mess, he had some battle scars, but I was proud to cash in my final turkey permit and head to the house at 11:30 a.m. The turkey weighed 26 pounds with the wet and mud, had a 240 mm beard, and 20 mm spurs. This was a great way to end my season. Thanks to everyone who provided advice on turkey hunting, I have had so much fun!


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[FONT=Courier New]"First of all, never bad mouth synergy..."[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]http://uoduckstore.com/spiritduck/index.cfm?section=12[/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New][/FONT]
[FONT=Courier New]"First of all, never bad mouth synergy..."[/FONT]
Got back from vacation Saturday and headed into work. It sucked...but was glad to hold onto another vacation day.
You'll be sorry, Pee-Wee Herman!
Tried a few Targets and W*Ms for Vintage figures and was stonewalled. Read another book, watched some crud on TV, went on a couple errands. Got dinner at the local pizza place, to try their broaster chicken (not bad).
I predict that the upcoming Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi film will include the word "and." Multiple times.
My Saturday started very early. I was called out at 1:30AM to work a double homicide (after working my 4PM to midnight shift...awake for a total of 22 hours straight between Friday and Saturday). Got home around 10:30 AM, showered, went to bed. Woke up around 5:30 PM helped with dinner, ate, conked out after dinner around 8:30 PM. Woke up, went to bed at 10:30 PM. I've had three consecutive homicides this week. A first for me.
¡Que la fuerza te acompañe!
Played golf with a buddy of mine, did a little shopping (bought a Garmin watch for running), ate, worked, bed.
I worked at Wal-Mart, came home and went to see "Dinner for Schmucks" then came home and scraped paint. The movie was halarious!
2015 RFL Thank You to, TeeEye7 & Slicker, JediTricks, Tycho, El Chuxter, and Darth Jax!!!!
Be an organ donor, save lives!
I worked at Wal-Mart, came home and went on facebook for about an hour, went to dinner with my wife, balanced my checkbook, then sweated my rear off moving boxes and sorting through old issues of magazines, that I keep for some reason. We are looking to buy a house, and we have our eye on a place, just trying to see if my dad will "gift" us about $15,000 to help us secure a mortgage on the place. In the meantime, I've been packing up the collection.
2015 RFL Thank You to, TeeEye7 & Slicker, JediTricks, Tycho, El Chuxter, and Darth Jax!!!!
Be an organ donor, save lives!


text:
April 19, 2011 - 09:46hrs
Elev 2311ft
2 year old bird 1¼" Spurs
1 7/8" Beard (Beard Rot Due to Mites)
Mossberg® Mdl 500C 20ga
Wrights® SWARM .555" choke
Winchester® Supreme® High Velocity 3" Mag 1200fps 1 5/16oz #4 Pb (STH2034)
Shot at 42yds
Bird was dead before his beak hit the dirt!
Who needs HeviShot®, Federal® Heavyweight®, Remington® Wingmaster HD®, Winchester® Xtended Range® or TSS?
Pb will "Git-r-Done"


text:
School of Communication Faculty
Contact InformationOffice: UBank 9th Fl.
Phone: 1-617-824-8730
john_pirone [at] emerson.edu (E-Mail »)
John Pirone
Affiliated Faculty (2009)
B.A. Arizona State University
M.B.A. University of Phoenix
Currently, John Pirone is teaching two American Sign Language courses at Emerson and an Interim Director of Deaf Studies at Holy Cross. Also, he currently works with five other colleges/universities to conduct a research on ASL curricula and pedagogical practices.
Prior to this, he was the Executive Director of a nonprofit membership organization, Massachusetts State Association of the Deaf (MSAD).
His involvement with the Deaf community is extensive. He co-founded a local deaf theatre company, worked with the Disability Law Center to produce a video to educate Deaf people about voting rights, co-founded a nonprofit organization, Deaf Youth Outdoor Leadership, for high school students, and successfully changed the state's public policies regarding accessibility for people with disabilities in the legislative process. He currently serves on a K-12 school, The Learning Center for the Deaf.
He is currently a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) candidate at Northeastern University.


text:
Hope College athletes who compete in spring
sports have been presented honors by the Michigan Intercollegiate
Athletic Association (MIAA).
Hope teams captured conference championships this spring in
baseball and women's tennis while tying for second place in men's
tennis and women's track and ending third in softball and tying
for third in men's track.
Senior Mike Meeuwsen of Rockford was voted the most valuable
MIAA player in baseball while sophomore Lindsay Etheridge of
Grand Rapids received the honor in women's tennis. Both are
graduates of Grand Rapids Christian High School.
Six members of the championship baseball team received first
team All-MIAA recognition. Honored for the second year were
junior shortstop Dean Esteves of Hudsonville (Hudsonville HS),
senior third baseman Chad Ruby of Humboldt, Iowa (Humboldt HS)
and junior pitcher Adam Labbe of Cadillac (Cadillac HS). Also
honored were Mike Meeuwsen, junior second baseman Matt Klein of
DeWitt (DeWitt HS) and sophomore outfielder Ben Fellows of DeWitt
(Lansing Eastern HS).
Achieving All-MIAA first team honors in tennis were Lindsay
Etheridge, sophomore Paul Lillie of Roseville, Minn. (Roseville
HS), senior Jeff MacDoniels of Holland (Holland HS) and sophomore
Jennifer Smith of Holland (Holland HS). Second team honorees
were senior Steve DeVrieze of Midland (Midland HS), freshman
Kristin Kooyer of Holland (Holland Christian HS), and freshman
Julie Murray of Spring Lake (Spring Lake HS).
DeVrieze was presented the Lawrence Green Scholarship by the
MIAA men's tennis coaches. The award is based on academic
performance in memory of the late Lawrence "Doc" Green, physical
educator, athletic trainer and coach at Hope.
Hope placed five players on the All-MIAA softball teams.
Junior pitcher Lisa Larzelere of Omaha, Neb. (Westside HS) is a
first team honoree for the third consecutive year. She is joined
on the first team by junior first baseman Gina Zanin of Lemont,
Ill. (Brookfield HS). Second team softball honorees are junior
outfielder Christa Murphy of Midland (Midland HS), sophomore
third baseman Sarah Paccione of Kalamazoo (Portage Central HS),
and sophomore second baseman Heather Roy of Alpena (Alpena HS).
Five Hope athletes were voted to the All-MIAA track teams.
Honored in women's track were sophomore Jennifer Ernst of
Westerville, Ohio (South HS), senior Ellen Schultz of Maple City
(Glen Lake HS) and freshman Emily Sowers of Grand Rapids (GR
Christian HS) while men's track all-leaguers are senior Jeremy
Bogard of Kalamazoo (Kalamazoo Christian HS) and junior Mark
Youngs of Hastings (Hastings HS). Schultz and Bogard have the
distinction of being All-MIAA in both cross country and track.


text:
Discontinued Product
Affinity Series Stackable Electric Front-Load Dryer with 10 Cycles
Sorry, the manufacturer is no longer producing this product.
Description & Highlights
Frigidaire Affinity Series Stackable Electric Front-Load Dryer with 10 Cycles
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With 10 cycles and five (5) temperature settings, you can ensure your clothes don't come out damp or over dried and wrinkled saving you time on having to run multiple cycles and ironing. What's more, Affinity dryers use up to 35% less energy than other brands saving you money on your electricity bill. The 25 minute quick dry option is a great time saver and for when you need to quickly sanitize but don't have time to wash, the sanitize cycle has you covered. Perfect for cleaning delicate garments, plush toys and other treasured items kids keep close and can't part with for long. When sleek and efficient is what you need, look no further than the Frigidaire Affinity model dryers.
25 Minute Quick Dry:The quick dry setting can dry even your fullest loads, precisely and quickly
Ultra Capacity Dryer:Affinity dryers have the largest capacity in their class of dryers, allowing you to do the most amount of laundry in the least amount of time
No-Wash Sanitize Cycle:For when you need to quickly sanitize without washing, this option is perfect for delicate items and children's stuffed animals
- Model: FASE7073NRFrigidaire Affinity Series Stackable Electric Front-Load Dryer with SilentDesign
- Brand: FrigidaireUltra capacity dryer
- Stainless steel drumEnergy saver option
- Ten (10) cyclesExpress select control
- Five (5) temperature settings25 minute quick dry
- DrySense TechnologyInput Voltage: 240 V/60 Hz
- Fastest full load dryPower: 24 A
- Ready steamWeight: 127 lb
- Warranty: 1 year limitedDimensions: 36" H x 27" W x 31" D
- Height: 36"
- Width: 27"
- Depth: 31"


text:
Winter Beach Escape
Reserve our Beach Escape package and enjoy pristine beaches, warm waters and endless outdoor adventures under the Florida sun.
Country club sophistication and old-world charm intermingle in the casual, yet elegant setting of The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples. As one of the finest luxury golf resorts in Florida, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples features two stunning PGA-level golf courses which host two major professional golf tournaments annually.
The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples is a Tier 3 property in The Ritz-Carlton Rewards.
Reserve our Beach Escape package and enjoy pristine beaches, warm waters and endless outdoor adventures under the Florida sun.
Trade in the winter blues for picturesque sunsets and miles of white sand beach. Our Reconnect Package offers daily breakfast for two and $100 resort credit per night to use toward amenities such as a rejuvenating spa treatment, gourmet dining or a luxurious pool or beachside cabana.
Elevate your stay with an endless array of beverage and culinary offerings throughout the day coupled with the finest personal service.
Our Ladies and Gentlemen are the key to the best our destination has to offer. Allow our carefully curated collection of local attractions and experiences help you customize the perfect vacation.


text:
Chris Hodge
Chris Hodge revived the spirit of 1968 in 1972 when he phoned Apple and said he had some good rockin' songs about UFOs. Mmm, sounds far out, said Apple, and they invited him over.
Chris left a demo tape. Apple gave it to Ringo Starr and he liked what he heard. Ringo was a fan of the new generation of pop idols, and was working with Marc Bolan of T. Rex on Born To Boogie for Apple Films. Chris Hodge's music was not a million light-years away from Marc's, and Ringo signed Chris to Apple Records.


text:
Despite the title of this thread, if you want to bypass the malaise that has plagued EU in the last decade and a half, go out and buy or library check-out Aaron Allston's new X-Wing novel, Mercy Kill. It's the first hardcover one in the series, and I forgot how FUN and funny his version of the Wraith's was. I'm only 8 chapters in, but I can't stop smiling. And there's a storyline that I'm interested in seeing its conclusion. I noticed that they've released a compilation book of previous XW novels, too.
So go. Go! Visit a library! Find a brick and mortar book seller! Get online and download the ebook, or purchase your own! Now!


text:
Darrin Greene
I have never run HRC or AKC HTs and don't profess to know the rules there... But in my experience... Why are we even talking about this? Reminds me of the former NBA player Allen Iverson and his famous "practice" rant.
Bill Davis
Hello Guys,
I must interject and ask for an opinion from all ends of our spectrum. I guess that would mean both MooseGooser and Ted and everyone in-between.
And I don't want this to be glazed over as a "Bora Promoting NAHRA again" thing as I know it is done and legal in all of the other venues afore mentioned.
The Cold Honor!
a few summers back (well maybe more than a few, I am thinking of Timber doodle in NH) at the NAHRA Field tests. A senior setup that was in vogue that summer was. Working dog comes to line. Another dog and handler are already in front of the judges. You sit in your assigned spot at the end. Like that age old hunt test scenario. You are late and the others started without you.
So you walk up and sit,
Other dog and handler and judges are hunting and are already "set up"
Marks go down.
Other dog picks them up!!!
Then leaves with all those birds and its handler!!!
Then you run a blind and move over to the front position, if you could do a blind retrieve after that.
Scenario, remember NAHRA has to have a hunting scenario given, is that the other dog couldn't run blind retrieves so could you pick up that last one?
And if you did it
Another dog and handler walked up to watch you get your marks.
Dogs and handlers set in the routine as you all so many are stating above would come unglued!
And the judges got a few test requirements over with in one swell foop.
So, why don't you guys mix it up more often?
Ted, have you ever tossed in a cold honor in a trial?
MooseGooser, have you seen this in your HRC days?
it is a fun set up.
"So what is big is not always the Trout nor the Deer but the chance, the being there. And what is full is not necessarily the creel nor the freezer, but the memory." ~ Aldo Leopold
"The Greatest Obstacle to Discovery is not Ignorance -- It is the Illusion of Knowledge" ~ Daniel Boorstin
Ran one this year
Paul Cantrell
Black Ice Retrievers
Marcola OR
Too many dogs to list (By some Bitch)
"Helping Hunters Train Their Dogs"
Bill Davis
Havent run that exact test you explained but something similar in HRC.
My experience in HRC has seen the Honor dog and Handler very much a part of the working dogs test.
Darrin Greene


text:
The cost-effectiveness of interventions aimed at halting or slowing the progress of impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes has been examined in a number of clinical trials and computer modeling simulations. Intensive lifestyle changes (ILC), metformin and acarbose all provide significant health benefits, with ILC appearing to provide larger improvements than either metformin or acarbose. Despite this, all appear affordable. A number of other pharmacological interventions are currently under investigation in the prevention of diabetes. As the clinical results are published, health economic analyses of each new intervention will be required. Head-to head clinical trials will allow more robust direct cost-effectiveness comparisons between different pharmacological approaches to diabetes prevention.
Because the costs of medications, patient management programmes and treatment of complications of type 2 diabetes may vary widely in different countries, country specific analyses of the cost-effectiveness of diabetes prevention is essential. It has been demonstrated that either intensive lifestyle changes (ILC) or pharmacological interventions are significantly better at reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes versus placebo in people with IGT. The obvious implication of these findings is that early intervention and delay or avoidance of progression to type 2 diabetes is of enormous benefit, both to patients in terms of increasing life expectancy (LE) and quality of life, and potentially in economic terms for society and healthcare payers. In the absence of long-term follow up data (>10 years) from diabetes prevention studies, computer simulation modeling represents the best available approach to evaluate the long-term clinical and economic impact of diabetes prevention programmes.
Within trials studies have also been carried out to assess the economic implications along with the clinical benefits of interventions. A number of research groups have applied modeling technology to project the long-term clinical and cost benefits associated with a number of diabetes prevention interventions.
Summary of Published Cost-Effectiveness Analyses
Study and setting(s)
Year of Costs
ILC = intensive lifestyle change; LE = life expectancy; QALE = quality-adjusted life expectancy; ICER = incremental cost-effectiveness ratio
1. Quilici S, Chancellor J, Maclaine G, McGuire A, Andersson D, Chiasson JL. Cost-effectiveness of acarbose for the management of impaired glucose tolerance in Sweden. Int J Clin Pract 2005; 59(10): 1143-1152.
2. Caro JJ, Getsios D, Caro I, Klittich WS, O'Brien JA. Economic evaluation of therapeutic interventions to prevent Type 2 diabetes in Canada. Diabet Med 2004; 21(11): 1229-1236.
3. Tuomilehto J, Lindstrom J, Eriksson JG, Valle TT, Hamalainen H, Ilanne-Parikka P et al. Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changs in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. N Engl J Med 2001; 344(18): 1343-1350.
4. Herman WH, Hoerger TJ, Brandie M, Hicks K, Sorensen S, Zhang P et al. The cost effectiveness of lifestyle modification or metformin in preventing type 2 diabetes in adults with impaired glucose tolerance. Ann Intern Med 2005; 142(5): 323-332.
5. Palmer AJ, Roze S, Valentine WJ, Spinas GA, Shaw JE, Zimmet PZ. Intensive lifestyle changes or metformin in patients with impaired glucose tolerance: modeling the long-term health economic implications of the diabetes prevention program in Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Clin Ther 2004; 26(2): 304-321.
6. Mantavani L, Palmer AJ, Morgutti M, Valentine WJ, Renaudin C, Roze S. Long-term cost-effectiveness of the Diabetes Prevention Program in an Italian setting. 40th Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, A955. 2004
7. Palmer AJ, Roze S, Valentine WJ, Renaudin C. Cost-effectiveness analysis of the Diabetes Prevention Program in a Spanish setting. Value in Health 7[6], 741 (PDB22).2004.
8. Eddy DM, Schlessinger L, Kahn R. Clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of strategies for managing people at high risk for diabetes. Ann Intern Med 2005; 143(4): 251-264.


text:
Topic: We Have A Graduate
After the Cyber Knife today the doctor informed us that Teddy graduated and gave him a Graduation Certificate. We only had 3 days of CK as the doctor upped the dosages thinking Teddy could handle it and he did!!! WE ARE DONE!
Now we will be called when its time for a Scan and thats it. He has not as yet had any side effects but could get tired yet. YEAH for CK!!!!!! Out Damn Spot!
Any suggestion I offer is intended as friendly advice based solely on my own experience. Please consult your doctor for professional guidance.


text:
Apply & Audition
Prospective undergraduate students must complete two separate applications:
1. To apply for admission to the University of Kansas please visit: KU Admissions »
2. To apply for admission and audition for KU School of Music please complete the KU School of Music Audition Packet
Admission Deadlines:
- November 1 - Priority deadline for admissions to any area within the School of Music.
- February 1 - Deadline for music scholarship applications.
All applicants must also meet or exceed academic requirements and successfully complete the audition process.
Academic Requirements:
Incoming Freshman - Kansas residents and non-residents
To qualify for admission, new freshmen must submit a completed application with the $30 fee before the November 1 priority deadline and meet the following requirements:
- Achieve an ACT score of 21 or above, or SAT score of 1060 or above with a 3.25 or higher cumulative GPA
- Or, achieve an ACT score of 24 or above, or SAT score of 1160 or above with a 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA
- If applicable, all students are required to achieve a 2.75 or higher GPA on any college credit taken in high school
International Applicants please visit:
KU International Student Services »
Transfer Students:
Students transferring to School of Music from another college or university - including another school at KU - must have a 2.75 GPA.
Former KU students seeking readmission must have left KU in good standing and have a successful audition. If requesting admission after attending another institution, then the student must meet transfer admission requirements (see above).
School of Music Auditions:
- All music students must audition for acceptance to a music degree program.
- Audition details are found in the KU School of Music Audition Packet.
- The Audition Application Form and Audition Time Form must be submitted at least three weeks before your preferred audition date.
- Audition times are confirmed by email and on the phone.
- Admittance letters will be sent within two weeks after the audition.
- Music scholarships are awarded to students majoring in music, except athletic band scholarships.
- Late audition applications will be considered on a space available basis.
School of Music (SOM) graduate study includes program areas within 2 units:
MUSIC includes programs in Music Composition, Church Music, Conducting, Musicology, Music Theory, and Performance. Graduate MUSIC Degrees are Master of Music or MM, Doctor of Musical Arts or DMA (Performance areas) and Doctor of Philosophy or PhD (Musicology or Music Theory).
MUSIC Graduate Application Document(pdf) Download this document for complete instructions and information regarding the application process including international student information, transcript requirements, GRE requirements, and English proficiency requirements.
MEMT (Music Education and Music Therapy) includes programs in music education or music therapy. Graduate MEMT (Music Education or Music Therapy) Degrees (ME-MME, MT-MME, PhD in Music Ed or Music Therapy)
MEMT Graduate Application Procedure (pdf) Download the document for complete instructions and information regarding the application process for Music Education and Music Therapy graduate applicants. This document is also found on the MEMT Graduate Documents & Forms page.
Admission for graduate studies in the KU School of Music begins with the MUSIC or MEMT application information document above and then with an online application (either domestic or international), through KU Graduate Studies application process ». The School of Music accepts only online applications.
School of Music Graduate Application Deadlines (MUSIC and MEMT)
December 1
- Priority consideration deadline for applicants interested in University Fellowships or Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) for Fall term the following year.
February 15
- Final consideration deadline for applicants interested in Graduate Teaching Assistantships (if positions are still available) for Fall term the following year.
- Final consideration deadline of international applicant admission materials for Summer term entry.
April 15
- Final consideration deadline for all domestic application materials for Summer and Fall terms
- Final consideration deadline for all international application materials for Fall term
Readmission or Leave of Absence
Graduate students must be continuously enrolled in fall and spring semesters to remain active. Students should contact their graduate program directly to verify their status if not continuously enrolled. Graduate students are strongly urged to take an approved leave of absence if they are considering taking time away from their degree program.
MUSIC students interested in readmission or leave of absence should contact Jane Gnojek email@example.com for assistance. International students must contact the International Student Services (ISS) office for information regarding the visa requirements for readmission.
MEMT students interested in readmission or leave of absence should download the MEMT Process to Request LOA/RFA/Readmit document located on the MEMT Graduate Documents & Forms page. Contact Lois Elmer firstname.lastname@example.com for assistance.
Graduate Auditions
Applicants for the MM and DMA in Performance are required to audition on their major instrument. Audition requirements are listed by instrument in the Graduate Audition Requirements (pdf). Applicants for the conducting degrees must provide a video audition as described in the audition packet.
Once you have completed your graduate application to KU, you may schedule an audition by completing and submitting the Graduate Audition Application.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All piano and voice majors for the MM degree and the DMA degree must submit a pre-screening audition to Acceptd », an online audition upload service.
2017 Graduate Audition Dates for Piano, Percussion, Woodwinds, Strings, and Church Music-Choral Conducting voice auditions:
- Friday, February 10, 2017 - Graduate Voice auditions only
- Saturday, February 11, 2017
- Saturday, February 18, 2017
- Friday, February 24, 2017 - additional Graduate piano audition date
Organ, Church Music-Organ emphasis applicants must schedule an audition with the division director. Brass applicants must schedule auditions with the instrument professor. Please see the Graduate Audition Requirements (pdf) for contact information.
VOICE/OPERA AUDITIONS ONLY:Applicants interested in the Lyric Opera of Kansas City apprenticeship program should plan to perform a live audition on the preferred graduate audition date, February 10, 2017. You can get more information about the Kansas City Lyric Opera apprenticeship program on the School of Music VOICE webpage.
MEMT graduate applicants DO NOT submit audition materials, except as directed in the MEMT Graduate Application Procedure document. The document is also located on the MEMT Graduate Documents and Forms page.


text:
Exec ed Martha Entwistle and I had an excellent conference call yesterday with SSN's TechSec Advisory Board. We're gearing up for the annual conference on new and emerging technology, and our advisors assist us as we determine programming.
One thing I can say at this point is that the educational sessions at the TechSech conference Feb. 2-3 will be different from what you've heard over and over again. I attended ISC West and ESX, and the people I met with and the panelists at the sessions I attended were certainly very smart and at the top of their games, reinforcing topics we've heard about for months and have written about. But I was left with the questions, "Are there new takes on these persistent topics? What angles haven't been pursued?" We want to dive deeper at TechSec. And we will.
The conversation Martha and I had with our advisors led to some interesting, topical points. We'll be announcing the program and panelists soon. You can check out last year's educational here for a feel of what we'll be aiming at, bigger and even better in 2016. It will be great, and you can hold me to that!
I especially like how we have some of our past "20 under 40" winners on our advisory board: Ralph Nerette, Sharon Shaw and Jeremy Brecher. (We know how to pick them!) Along with input from longtime industry pros, they provide us with unique perspectives and know what those in the industry want and need to know in today's fast-changing security environment.
Thanks to each member of our advisory board. Please stay tuned for more info on TechSec, filled with what will be most current and forward-looking hot topics in the industry.
The Security System News' team has done a preliminary vetting of the nominations for SSN's "20 under 40" awards, with a full study to come this week. The deadline for nominations was July 1, and thank you, readers, for coming through!
Although we do have two categories, one for integrators, I am primarily responsible for the end user awards.
I say it every year because it's true: Each year we get such great nominees, so qualified, extremely professional, smart and deserving of being honored in the industry.
We always have a tough time selecting the final 20. We select some of them to participate on panels at TechSec and honor all of them at a ceremony at that annual premier event. The "20 under 40" panels at TechSec are always among the most appreciated by attendees, according to our surveys, because who in the industry doesn't want to know what these smart, innovative people need and want to do their jobs successfuly?
In order to select the best of the best, we rely on nominators, often calling upon them, again, to expand upon their reasons. We talk to our TechSec Advisory Board. We mull. We agonize. Then we choose.
This year's nominees are physical security directors at big-name corporations, major retailers and hospitality groups, healthcare institutions, municipalities and utilities—many, many nominated.
Thank you for nominating your best and brightest. Finalists will be contacted soon by me, and I'll do a profile of each one for Security Systems News, both online and in the print edition. So stay tuned. You'll want to hear what these pros have to say.
I think the industry is in good hands.
More and more I'm hearing about the "Millennials;" those born between 1980 and 2000. I fit squarely in that range.
Millennials seem to be the target audience for home automation, some have noted them as the more "technological-savvy" generation. Now, the Millennials are entering the job market. At this year's ESX I heard UCC's Mike Lamb, and ADT's Stephen Smith, share their observations on training this younger generation.
During Lamb and Smith's ESX Panel, "Training for Central Station Operators," I was—as a Millenial—quite alert, asking myself how each technique or perspective applied to me.
There were quite a few points that I could agree with and—imagining myself in the shoes of a prospective central station operator—would see a lot of value in. Though, there were other points where I differed in opinion.
Lamb said that Millenials like understanding the value in their work. That is certainly something I could agree with, and I don't think Millenials are the only ones who could benefit from better grasping the value behind what they do.
Also, he had a point that, when given a task, Millenials might be more prone to ask "Why?" This isn't a sign of disrespect, he said, but instead looking for more understanding.
I definitely agree with that. Approaching a task, I find it very useful to understand where my role or any action plays into the larger plan.
Lamb pointed out that Generation Y is the age of "participation trophies," which, unfortunately, I can't disagree with. Lamb had a point that this constant recognition given to many individuals in Generation Y is something to notice and enable in your central station employees; that they like to be recognized if and when they are doing things right. I can see how a little positive reinforcement would encourage confidence in a new employee. Though, I personally wouldn't want to see this overdone, certainly not to the levels of participation trophies.
Lamb also had a point that younger generations occasionally struggle with professionalism, specifically in writing. An example he gave was with "twitter speak," using "u" instead of "you," "r" in place of "are" and so forth. This surprised me the most. Perhaps it is my writing experience separating me from the Generation Y pool of potential operators, but I have always found a professional writing style to be imperative. Lamb, and some of the attendees, said this is a problem of the generation.
Let the integration begin.
With Apollo Affiliated Funds closing on both deals with Protection 1 and ASG, I checked in with Jamie Haenggi, Protection 1 CMO about what's next.
In an email interview, Haenggi complimented ASG CEO Joe Nuccio, saying he's "done a nice job building a company of passionate employees that care about the customer, which mirrors the Protection 1 culture." Haenggi said Protection 1 CEO Tim Whall is out "is out doing what he does—meeting with the employees of ASG, hosting town hall meetings and sharing insights as to how he looks at measuring the business, taking care of the customer and developing the employee. The senior teams are working together over the next 30-60 days to devise a detailed integration plan. As you can imagine bringing together two companies this size is no small undertaking and great care is given to ensure little to no disruption."
Indeed, this is a huge undertaking, but my guess is that Tim Whall and team are up to the challenge. If you look at where the two companies overlap geographically they'll have five or six markets where they'll have huge density on the residential side. I've talked to lots of observers, outside of the ASG and Protection 1, who believe that this will mean very nice efficiencies and margin improvement on the residential side. On the commercial side, ASG was focused on small- and medium business and national accounts. These assets should just accelerate what Whall's been working on for the past few years—becoming the largest independent full-service security company around.
On June 25, in Chicago, the NFPA held its annual meeting, but the alarm industry was concerned about two motions on NFPA 72, which would effectively give local municipalities the authority to disallow the use of listed central stations for fire alarm monitoring.
Ultimately, motion 72-8 passed with a vote of 142-80, giving municipalities that discretion. Motion 72-9, which would have removed the line referring to central stations completely, was withdrawn after 72-8 passed.
Kevin Lehan, executive director for the Illinois Electronic Security Associaiton, told Security Systems News that there were some beneficial aspects to the meeting for the alarm industry. "Previously the language said 'alternate location approved by the authority having jurisdiction.' Now the language specifically says 'listed central supervising station.'" Lehan said that this specific mention will help central stations through being now a specific entity as opposed to the previously vague language.
"We were thrilled to be able to get the numbers out that we did." Lehan said, pointing out that the vote, being on June 25, happened at the same time as ESX. "We mobilized very well, we just have to inform and entice the rest of the alarm installer community to be active in the NFPA going forward."
"What we learned at this event is that there is a disconnect between the industry and the fire services," Lehan said. The two sides of the argument, fire departments and the alarm industry were approaching the matter from very different perspectives.
"The fire services, their testimony came across as stating that central stations are unsafe. We have heard for a few years, and this was echoed at that [NFPA] meeting, anecdotal situations whereby the private alarm industry failed in dispatching [without more specific details on the alarm event]. When we ask for specific situations when this has happened, we do not get a response," he said.
"On the private industry side, it's the same position that we've always had, allow us to compete for business. Let UL listed central stations perform to NFPA code standards, and let the market choose service providers," said Lehan.
Lehan said that the idea of creating a forum for fire services and the alarm industry to communicate better had come up in discussions following the meeting, and that may be further developed in the future, Lehan said.
It's the Millennials who are the biggest DIY buyers, according to ESX 2015 panelists at a "DIY Security—Competition or Opportunity" discussion.
Icontrol's 2015 State of the Smart Home Report, a nationwide survey which Security System News conducted and has reported on earlier, also found that the Millennial generation, loosely defined as those born in the early 1980s to the early 2000s, are big consumers of home automation. You can read more about the survey at the above link, but here a few new tidbits from it from its recent official release.
The report said, "U.S. consumers aged 25-34 express a higher level of excitement around the following benefits of the smart home:
Entertainment has emerged as a smart home driver, icontrol found. Interest in the entertainment link has grown to 55 percent since last year's report. Consumers want their entertainment rooms connected to their smart home, followed by their kitchens and bedrooms.
A challenge is getting that younger generation to move from DIY to traditional security providers, according to Brian Leland of Interlogix and Sterling Barnes of Melaleuca Security, the panelists at the ESX discussion. You'll be able to read more about the ESX DIY panel later, so stay tuned, please.
The icontrol report had some other great factoids as well, so stay tuned for more info on that as well.
BALTIMORE—Rapid change in the industry, home automation, the IofT and DIY were prevalent themes at the sessions I attended today.
First up was the OpenXchange, a forum featuring Mike Hackett of Qolsys, Rod Coles of Bold Technologies, Syed Zaeem Hosain of Aeris and Alexei Erchak of BeON, moderated by George De Marco, ESX chairman.
De Marco asked audience members if they were ready to be disrupted. Emerging technology and cloud-based security is changing the industry forever, he said. "Is your company just surviving or experiencing transformational success? What differentiates you?"
The panelists discussed the need for manufacturers to keep up with the pace of change by responding to customers' feedback; the impact of home automation and DIY and how to meld those into the security business and more.
I'll be writing in more detail about this interesting overview soon, so stay tuned.
Next was "DIY Security—Competition or Opportunity?" with Brian Leland of Interlogix and Sterling Barnes of Melaleuca Security, moderated by Kirk MacDowell of Alarm.com.
Interlogix looks at DIY as a long-term strategy, it will only keep growing, Leland said. It's the fastest evolving market and there's a lot traditional security providers can learn from it, he said.
Barnes said he doesn't see a need to be in direct competition with DIY. "Our customers come to us because they want a professionally installed system," he said. "Don't be worried that NEST and Google will ruin your business, but customers will want some of those features." I'll be writing further about this discussion as well.
Next, Jamie Kane, president of Sandler Training, talked to company heads about "Assuming the Right Leadership Role." This interactive session had audience members discussing their jobs as mentors, supervisors, coaches and trainers, and how to find the right balance for their specific company's success. What should be their primary focus? I sat in on an "audience group" with Brendan Armstrong, president of Trinity Wiring and Security Solutions; Ritch Haselden of Essence; and Robert Irish of Mediacom. Those three gentlemen were passionate about their roles as company leaders and took the session seriously. Takeaway? Delegate. Don't train and supervise when others can do it. Motivate and coach.
"Monetize the Internet of Things," moderated by Kirk MacDowell, aimed to "unbaffle and provide clarity" about IoT, he said. People are frustrated by all the products out there. What to do? Qolsys' Hackett, Alarm.com's Jeff Bedell, Honeywell's Gordon Hope and ADT's Paul Plofchan all noted that most people most trust security companies to monitor their home automation systems, so that's a prime opportunity. "The opportunity is to sell into the demand. The risk is that as an industry we let someone else do it," Bedell said.
Said Hope, "What do we say when the customer says, 'I don't need your monitoring. I can get it direct from my app for free.'" The answer is, he said, "We're not free because we provide value. You can DIM, but apps won't keep your house from burning down. Notifications are great, but what if you're halfway around the world?"
Tell customers why you're not free and why you're unique, Hope said, adding that "we will not survive as an industry without offering home automation. Embrace the change, there's much more upside than downside."
At ESA Celebrates, De Marco encouraged donations to the ESA philanthropy project, ESA Gives Back! This year, donations go to the Green Berets' Next Ridgeland, a program that helps Green Berets transition from active duty to the next step in their lives. De Marco's daughter sang one of the loveliest renditions of "I'm Proud to be an American" that I've ever heard.
All in all, a great day. Well done, ESX 2015.
This morning, Security Systems News publisher Tim Purpura officially announces our new conference, Cloud+. Much more about that to come.
BALTIMORE—I had a very nice conversation with BeON CEO Alexei Erchak late this afternoon, who was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule here in ESX-Land to fill me on his company's growing success. (That took place after we both, being New Englanders, complained just a little, tiny bit about this city's oppressive heat.)
Since I last spoke to him at ISC West, BeON has "made a lot of progress on a lot of fronts," he said.
The LED lightbulb preventative security system has passed UL testing, dealers are clamoring for it and BeON is shipping now to beta testers and Kickstarter backers. He's here at ESX to talk further with dealers.
BeON is targeting the 80 percent of the market that says that it doesn't want a home security system.
Erchak has heard from numerous consumers who appreciate his company's approach, he said. Women in the 25- to 35-year-old range who live with roommates or with a spouse who travels a lot, for instance, tell him that they like the system because it makes it look like more people are home when they just might be there by themselves.
Feedback has been key to BeON's growth, he said. "People are giving us ideas for protection, ideas we never even thought of," he said.
"By this time next year we'll be talking about interoperability," Erchak said.
I'll certainly keep in touch with Erchak to see how his company progresses.
Tomorrow I'll be attending a number of ESX educational sessions to get up to date on the latest trends and challenges in the physical security sector, so stay tuned.
Right now there's a fierce thunderstorm outside my hotel, so I won't be venturing out much. I hear the restaurant downstairs has awesome crabcakes, so here I go.
Tomorrow, June 23, I am en route to Baltimore for ESX 2015. I'm a veteran of ASIS and ISC West and a number of other, smaller shows, but this will be my first time at the Electronics Security Expo. I've heard great things about it from colleagues and from industry pros, so I'm looking forward to it. (Plus, I am a big fan of Maryland crab.)
After the great whirlwind on the show floor at ISC West, I will enjoy the opportunity to attend a number of educational sessions to dig deeper into topics of import to the resi industry and the chance to catch up with some of my sources as well.
I'll be updating this post daily about who I see, what I learn and what is trending, so please check back often. I'll also be tweeting. And stay tuned, because I'll be posting stories from the ed sessions, too. See you at ESX!
Friday, Day 3
Today started on the show floor with a visit to All American Monitoring's booth. There I saw Lisa French, national sales representative, and Laura Hutchinson, national dealer support. I met both of them last month at the NEACC show where they were talking about the company's MeyeView cameras. At this show they were showcasing the company's new proprietary GSM.
From there I headed to the Dice booth. Much like at ISC West, Cliff Dice, company president CEO, said that there was a good response to the company's hosted central station platform.
At Rapid Response booth I talked with Bryan Bardenett, the company's senior account manager. He said what the company was talking about most at this year's ESX was the upcoming expansion to its Syracuse facility, adding 35,000 square feet to its current 40,000.
Michael Zydor, Affiliated's managing director, and Daniel Oppenheim, Affiliated's VP, said that one thing that kept appearing in their conversations with dealers on the exhibition floor was the 2g sunset.
From there I briefly stopped by the Acadian Monitoring Services booth and talked with Jason Caldwell, the company's national sales representative.
Woodie Andrawos, NMC's executive vice president, mentioned the hot topic of DIY. When asked about the combination of DIY systems and professional monitoring, brought up in a Wednesday panel, Andrawos said professional monitoring is a must. "It has to be professionally monitored to be true security."
I stopped by the AvantGuard and Freeus booth again today, this time meeting Troy Iverson, AvantGuard's VP of sales and marketing, and Chris Pyle, Freeus VP of product. During this visit at the booth I heard more about AvantGuard's PERS Summit, to be held in Park City, Utah, this year at the end of September.
When I stopped by COPS Monitoring's booth, I heard more about the company's Mpower app, which David Smith, company said gives the dealer more information on their account activity, such as how each alarm was resolved or concluded.
At Security Central's booth I saw Darryl Bray again; we first at ISC West. Brett Springall, company CEO, talked with me about the company's latest promotion, a $50,000 incentive, up to that amount in free monitoring, for dealers that switch to their central station. Springall said that, when talked about with dealers, the offer got a pretty good response.
Luciana Harrison, Monitronics' Eastern regional sales manager, said that the show looked like it had some slower traffic, but it was still good for meeting dealers. The company is soon moving to its new campus Bre Otero, dealer sales and marketing coordinator for Monitronics, said that the process of moving each department started a week ago and will last about a month. One department is moving at a time to ensure minimum disruption for customers, Otero said, with the central station moving last. "It'll be great to have everybody back in one building," Otero said.
My final floor meeting was a brief discussion with Nik Gagvani, president of CheckVideo, and Ed Troha, company director of marketing, about Security Systems News' new conference, Cloud+.
As the show floor was winding down I headed to the closing keynote luncheon, featuring economist Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics. He projected that the economy would be pretty good for the next 15 years, with a dip around 2019. Many factors in this good economy had relevance for the security sector, he said; as the home market and mortgage lending rates look better more people will be buying houses. With a notable rise in disposable income, Beaulieu said that this could bring new installation opportunities for security companies. One market in particular he mentioned a growth in was the PERS space, with higher numbers of seniors expected in coming years. This comment made for a nice transition to my next event.
My last educational session of this year's show, "To PERS or Not to PERS," had a more intimate session than most. The speakers took chairs off the stage, turned off the projector and the microphones, and asked attendees to move up to the first row, making the session an impromptu "round table" based in questions and answers. Panelists included Yaniv Amir, president of Essence, Justin Bailey, COO of AvantGuard, and Daniel Oppenheim, VP of Affiliated Monitoring. Joe Miskulin, central station manager for State Farm, served as moderator. The panelists were in agreement that it is better to separate PERS operators from those handling traditional burglary and fire alarms. Special attention need to be given to PERS operators in terms of training and support; central stations should evaluate whether they can handle that in-house, or it would be best left to larger centrals with those capabilities.
Thursday, Day 2
At the start of Day 2, for me, was the panel "False Dispatch Reduction Update." The panelists were Thomas Waugh, division chief, permit and code enforcement for Baltimore City in the Alarm Reduction Section; Kristine Walker, Alarm Services Manager for Vector Security; Derrick Jackson, dispatch reduction manager for Vector Security; and Maria Malice of Bonds Alarm.
They addressed various forms of reducing false alarms, including Enhanced Call Verification. Waugh and Jackson both spoke on noticing generally lower rates of false alarms in recent years. Malice said that without reducing false alarms, the next step for a city is verified response, "and that is not where any of us want to be," she said.
I bumped into Jay Stuck today in the hall who introduced me to Steven Paley, president of Rapid Security Solutions based in Sarasota, Fla.
Speaking of chance meetings, I have been talking to SIAC for as long as I've been the associate editor at SSN and it was great to finally meet a couple of them face to face; Stan Martin, executive director, and Steve Keefer, national law enforcement liaison.
ESA and CSAA hosted a presentation on deceptive sales practices, featuring Diane Pruitt, recently solicited by a deceptive security company in Baltimore, Derrick Layton, a retired Baltimore police officer and another who was solicited with deceptive sales practices, Jay Hauhn, executive director for CSAA, Marshall Marinace, president of ESA, David Bleisch, Chief Legal Officer for ADT, and Casey Callaway, on the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Pruitt and Layton shared their recent experiences, both emphasizing how persistent the sales people were, even when being pushed out the door or shown a police badge. Hauhn noted that there is a difference between a door-knocking company, which is a fine practice, and the deceptive sales practices used in scams.
From there, I headed to the opening keynote luncheon. Before the keynote, Security Systems News' Tim Purpura announced its latest conference Cloud+, focusing on cloud technologies and how it can be applied in the security industry. Retired US Army special forces officer Maj. Gen. James Champion then gave his keynote address, sharing some of his experiences with the Green Berets and his observations on leadership. "When people look at an organization, where do they look first? They look at the top," Champion said; an organization's leadership lets others know where it is heading. Champion also outlined what his cause, the Green Beret Foundation does; helping Green Berets transition into civilian lifestyles, which is often a slower pace than they are used to. At the conclusion of the keynote, ESA presented a check to Champion and the foundation for $5,000.
I stopped by EMERgency24's booth to briefly meet Kevin McCarthy, the company's national sales manager. I spoke with him recently over the phone and it was nice to put a face to a voice.
Next to EMERgency24 was Essence's booth—my next meeting. I saw Daniela Perlmutter, Essence VP and head of marketing, in the previous day's panel on central stations entering the DIY market, and it was nice to hear a bit more about the DIY offerings that Essence provides. While there I also met with Yaniv Amir, president of Essense USA, Brian Katz, Essence VP of business development, and Ritch Haselden, VP of sales for Essence USA.
It seems like it wasn't too long ago that I was talking to AvantGuard's Josh Garner about its sister company, Freeus, acquiring the PERS business of Securus. It was great to meet some of each team at ESX this year; Justin Bailey, COO of AvantGuard, Matthew Brandon, Avantguard's national sales manager, Brook Winzeler, GM for Freeus, and Marc McGrann, National sales manager for Freeus.
I stopped by for a quick chat with Warren Hill, product marketing manager in the Americas for intrusion for Interlogix. He told me a bit about the company's ZeroWire home automation hub and the UltraSync app that connects it with various devices.
From there I headed to the Telguard booth to meet with Pamela Benke, company director of marketing, and Shawn Welsh, VP of marketing and business development. They both told me a lot about their home automation technologies, HomeControl, as well as HomeControl Flex.
At the Quick Response booth I met Jeff Cohen, company president, Renee Trebec sales manager, and Mark Penwell, Business development and retention manager. Jeff Cohen described the main footprint of the company as being around the Midwest and the Great Lakes. The company has been family owned since 1969.
This show was the first time I'd met or spoken with Alarm Central; proof that I am always reaching out and hearing from more central stations. At the booth I met Jeremy Wyble, GM for Alarm Central, and Jeff Herdman, central station manager. "Our main focus is to allow our dealers to grow with us," Herdman said. "[If] they grow, we grow."
I stopped by Bold Technologies' booth for a brief chat with Chuck Speck, the company's president. Back in November, when he and Bold CEO Rod Coles founded White Rabbit Electronics, I spoke with them about the timeline for the company; they hoped to showcase White Rabbit at ISC West, which they did, and distribute by ESX. Updating that, Speck said they are pretty close to that timeline, and hope to be rolling it out soon.
At UCC's booth, I met Mark Matlock, and Ron Bowden for the first time. I talked with both of them not too long ago about UCC's expansions. I also met Mike Lamb, who was in the "Innovative Training Techniques for Central Station Operators." Lamb and I talked a bit more about Generation Y and the point that UCC hasn't tried to tailor all aspects of its training to younger applicants. Instead, Lamb noticed that they gravitate more toward the company's existing principles of creating a peer environment and working collaboratively.
It was great to see Mike Bodnar, Security Partners' president, again, following my visit to their newest central station in Las Vegas. Security Partners recently hired Tom McNeil as VP of sales; he told me about a back-to-basics approach for the company, working more to develop relationships with customers.
My final floor meeting was with Rick Stevens, response center sales and technical support for International Response Center, based in Rockford, Minn.
Wednesday, Day 1
On my way to today's first panel, I happened to run into a few people I'd either met or talked to before. First was Keith Jentoft, who I first met at the NEACC expo, near the end of May. Second was Robert Forsythe. It was great to put a face to a voice, after I spoke with him earlier in June about US Monitoring's new app. Third was Jens Kolind, who I met back at ISC West.
My first panel of the day was "Monitoring for the DIY Market." Jay Stuck, EXP and chief marketing officer of SecureWatch 24, and Daniela Perlmutter, Essence's VP of marketing, were speakers. Joe Miskulin, central station manager for State Farm, served as moderator.
State Farm operates a proprietary central station to monitor its buildings across the country. From Miskulin's perspective, DIY is a great solution for small proprietary centrals, due to the ease of shipping systems for DIY installation, and connection back to the central station. Another point that stood out to me was Stuck's; that a big issue in professionally monitoring DIY systems would be customer service, knowing how to handle end-user questions. Perlmutter, who identified herself as an "avid" DIY user, said there is definitely value in the DIY market—evidenced by big entrants like Google—and professional security companies have the edge of experience and expertise.
I then went to the Networking and Public Safety Luncheon. At this event SIAC presented its William N. Moody Award, recognizing those with comendable devotion to the the alarm industry, to Ron Rothman whose retirement from Honeywell was announced in January. SIAC then surprised Stan Martin, SIAC's executive director with his own William N. Moody award for his service to SIAC. Also at the luncheon, ESA presented its 2015 Youth Scholarship to Douglas Leonard.
Also at this event, CSAA presented its inagural Public Service Award to Bill Hobgood, project manager for the public safety team in the City of Richmond, Virginia's IT department, for his work to promote the ASAP program.
Baltimore's Deputy Police Commisioner Kevin Davis then gave his key note address, filling in for Anthony Batts, the city's Police Comissoner originally announced as the keynote speaker. He talked about teh recent unrest in Baltimore and the important role security plays in identifying those "people who harmed this city." Davis reassured attendees that Baltimore is "a great city, and a safe city." He also identified body cameras as a security technology that many Baltimore police officers are in favor of.
It was at the Networking and Public Safety Luncheon that I first heard about ESX 2016, to be held in Fort Worth, Texas, June 8-10.
On my way to the next panel, it was nice to see Michael Zydor, managing director for Affiliated Monitoring.
My second session was "Central Station Technology" with CSAA's executive director Jay Hauhn, Bosch Security's marketing manager Chris Larcinese, and IBS' VP of external partnerships Jens Kolind. A lot of intriguing points were brought up. The cloud looks like it'll be a big technology in years to come, according to Hauhn. Larcinese said, "In some regard, [cloud is] a logical progression of the technology." Kolind said that one thing cloud provides central stations with is the benefit of not having to worry about upgrades or other programming matters.
In "Increase RMR with Video Monitoring Services" there were also some really interesting perspectives shared. Larry Folsom, president and CEO of I-View Now, presented a few things to keep in mind when considering video services, like the sales side, having a strategic vision, and doing the best monitoring for it using best practices. Michael Jagger, president of Provident Security and fellow panelist, gave examples of how he video monitoring it into his business. "It's great business, it's a great way to grow your RMR: through video," said Tom Szell, final panelist and SVP for ADS Security.
My last session of the day was "Innovative Training Techniques for Central Station Operators." Stephen Smith, the national professional development manager of customer care for ADT, shared some of his thoughts on ways to best train current applicants, particularly those of more recent generations. One suggestion Smith gave was to look at how learning styles are changing; between kinesthetic, auditory and visual.
Mike Lamb of UCC was stepping in for Mike Gelvin, UCC's assistant central station manager, to represent the company on the subject at this panel. Lamb made one point in particular that really has stayed with me. He said that those of Generation Y, born between 1980 and 2000, like to know that there's value in what they do. This shouldn't be too hard to impress on them, Lamb said, when you address that the root of security monitoring is protecting the lives and homes of other people.
Today was definitely very educational for me, as a newer person in the industry. I'm really looking forward to hearing more tomorrow and walking the show floor.
Prior to the show
I'm really looking forward to ESX, held in Baltimore this year. This is where you can find the most recent updates on what I've seen, who I've talked to, and what's cropping up in monitoring from the show. Check back later, as I will be updating the blog daily from the beginning of the show on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll see you there, feel free to email me if you think there is something I should keep an eye out for at the show.
The other day I sat in on Honeywell's virtual press conference on its latest industry trends in commercial life safety systems. The company had a nice lineup of their pros on hand to discuss their work and what they'll be highlighting at next week's NFPA World Safety Conference and Expo.
Brian Carlson, manager of strategic marketing, Gamewell-FCI, said the S3 Series fire alarm system for small- and medium-sized buildings allays users' fears about "pressing the wrong button" and thus eases stress and confusion during an emergency.
As the industry's only small, addressable panel with a color touch-screen, "everything that needs to be pressed is highlighted. It gives people confidence," Carlson said. Building owners especially like the custom function and shortcut function keys, he added.
Susan Adam, NOTIFIER's marketing director, talked about how SWIFT—Smart Wireless Integrated Fire Technology—is helping dealers win jobs at construction sites and renovation projects because of its easy installation and removability when the job is finished. Sites and even separate building areas under construction or renovation still need to be protected, she emphasized, "and SWIFT can differentiate dealers." SWIFT recently was installed at two large temporary buildings at the World Ski Championships in Vail, Colo., and at a 100-year-old mansion in Massachusetts that was being renovated.
On the Fire-Lite Alarms, Silent Knight, side of things, marketing director Richard Conner discussed the company's growth with low-frequency alarms, especially for children, young adults and the hearing-impaired. I spoke with Conner about this at ISC West, but learned a little more this time around about the alarms' use in college dormitories, motels, hotels, assisted living facilities and the like. Studies have shown that the low-frequency signal is most effective in waking up children and young adults, he said during the press conference, and are more effective than bed- and pillow-shakers.
Christa Poss, senior manager of product marketing, System Sensor, said the latest addition to the FAAST smoke detector product portfolio, FAAST XS, targets smaller areas, up to 5,000 square feet. Those areas include elevator shafts, cable ducts and boiler rooms. FAAST XS offers "extension communication and connectivity options all without the need for new hardware," Poss said. FAAST is now available in three varieties to protect from 5,000 square feet to up to 28,800 square feet.
Charles Simek, industrial, product and technology specialist, Honeywell Industrial Safety, gave an overview of Honeywell's optical flame detection analytics' success, and Gene Pecora, business leader, industrial fire, Honeywell Fire Safety, discussed areas where Honeywell is getting into new areas or expanding its capabilities.
"Incidents occur in the petrochem industry all the time," Pecora said, to the tune of $20b a year. It's not uncommon in process locations to have small incidents that don't make the news as the big events do, but those incidents need accurate and reliable equipment just the same, he said.
He said Honeywell's new HS-81 is a unique, "all-in-one-solution" for smoke, flame, gas and extinguishing that meets global certifications.
The red herring: Where is Alarm.com in the IPO process now? We got some new information about the Alarm.com IPO on Monday, June 15, when the interactive service provider filed its preliminary prospectus for its IPO. It will offer 7 million shares of Alarm.com for "between $13 and $15 per share," according to the document. Assuming shares go for $14, Alarm.com will raise $98 million.
Monday's announcement comes about three weeks after its May 22 IPO S-1 filing with the SEC, which was valued at $75 million. Here's my report on that filing.
Why did the value of the IPO change in three weeks and what's the prognosis here? To get up to speed on Alarm.com's IPO process and what to expect in coming weeks, I made a few calls to some friendly finance mavens for an IPO primer.
Below is what I learned.
The first step, which Alarm.com took on May 22, is the filing of its S-1 with the SEC. That's the 250-page tome that commandeered my office printer for a while and is now sitting on a shelf in my office. As part of the filing, Alarm.com has to provide various required documents to the SEC and to the other organizations. They also have to choose underwriters.
Who are these underwriters? They're investment banks that agree to underwrite or take risk on the new shares. In the Alarm.com case, the underwriters are –well, about every bank you've ever heard of: Goldman, Sachs & Co.; Credit Suisse; BofA; Merrill Lynch; Stifel; Raymond James; William Blair; and Imperial Capital.
What do the underwriters do? It's their obligation to stand behind the stock in the IPO process. They weigh in on the preliminary prospectus, particularly on the business description. Did I mention that the preliminary prospectus is a second 250-page document, which I did not print out.
Between the S-1 and the preliminary prospectus, the estimated value of the IPO went from $75 million in the S-1 filing to $98 million in the preliminary prospectus. That jump represents what the lead underwriter believes the market will bear.
The preliminary prospectus has another name. It's called a "red herring." Not a very flattering name for a document you're going to base an investment on, if you ask me. But that's because I didn't know the third definition of red herring until today.
Here are three possible meanings for a red herring:
1. A smoked fish, which is red and has a pungent smell.2. Something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand; a misleading clue.3. Also called red-herring prospectus. Finance. a tentative prospectus circulated by the underwriters of a new issue of stocks or bonds that is pending approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: so called because the front cover of such a prospectus must carry a special notice printed in red.
Now we're ready for the next step: The road show. "Red herring" in hand, the underwriters and Alarm.com folks visit big cities and talk to investors about how great Alarm.com is.
The roadshow will last one- to two weeks while underwriters "build a book"—that is, compile a list of potential investors. Their goal is to build the book to well beyond what they need to sell. So if they have to sell 7 million shares, for example, they want to get orders of more than 7 million. That's because in the aftermarket, there are people who may flip the stock for a small profit.
Most of the stock will still be owned by the Alarm.com management and their private equity investors. Those guys cannot sell the stock for a certain period of time—roughly 150 days.
Typically an IPO represents only 25- to 40 percent of the value of the company sold to the public. The public shareholders are the ones who could possibly flip the stock. Still, it's good to have lots of orders for the stock above and beyond what's required. It stabilizes the price in the case of flippers.
Once the underwriters are comfortable that the book is robust enough, the IPO happens.
About a week after the IPO, the final prospectus comes out and anyone who owns stock gets this final prospectus. It is no longer a red herring! It includes information on final commissions, who sold what stock, disclosures about how much the underwriters got paid, and ultimately the net proceeds.
Alarm.com and the underwriters are in road trip mode now. If all goes well the IPO should happen by the end of the month. In the first week or so of July, we should have a new and improved number on the value of the IPO and the fully diluted market value for Alarm.com.
According to the red herring prospectus, the common stock to be outstanding after this IPO will be 44,846,440 shares. The underwriters will get a 30-day over- allotment option to purchase up to an additional 525,000 shares.
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