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I've probably talked to hundreds of companies thinking about or actively buying paid search software over the years. Yet, people continue to make the same mistakes over and over when buying paid search software.
Here are the top five mistakes people make when buying paid search software and how you can avoid them.
1. Expecting The Software to Be a Paid Search Manager
Some people were surprised to learn that they actually had to use the paid search software they bought. If you're looking to "set it and forget it" you're guaranteed to be disappointed.
Paid search software doesn't substitute for a person actively managing a campaign. It can't strategize and, no matter how sophisticated, it doesn't replace human analysis. If you're a small spend company considering buying paid search software vs. hiring a freelancer or agency, get the freelancer or agency.
It does enhance your teams and efforts, however. Repetitive tasks can be an incredible waste of time and talent.
Text ad testing, account monitoring and alerting, splitting out ad groups – there are a host of tedious tasks that you're probably overpaying your team to do. Let smart people focus on hard problems and use technology to make them better.
One caveat is that sometimes paid search software can make your teams efficient enough that you can put off an additional hire. Put another way, you can scale, either your spend or the number of clients you serve, without having to throw more people at the problem.
2. Buying "Bid Management Software"
The people who started a conversation with "are you a bid management tool?" were inevitably the worst prospects.
Bid management software is an old term from first-generation tools launched in the 1990s. This is like buying a car solely on whether it has cruise control. Focusing on the suite of possible tools entirely through the lens of bidding ignores the whole range of activities software can help with: keywords, text ads, account structure, negatives, match types, etc.
It also places an undue emphasis on one lever of control in managing paid search. Yes, bid management is an obvious area where software can make you more efficient. But, it isn't going to magically make your campaigns profitable if you have terrible ads, bad negatives, and crappy keywords.
3. Buying by Checklist (Or, The RFP Problem)
They say in B2B marketing that if you're brought in at the request for proposal (RFP) stage you've already lost the sale. The same is true for buyers: if you're evaluating by checklist, you're already wasting time.
We sometimes got long checklists of all possible features to respond to in writing or during the demo. It was rarely a productive process.
Why? You're probably going to use 5-10 features of the software 90 percent of the time. Going through 50 different questions doesn't get at the heart of what matters to your business and your team. It's usually a sign that a buyer doesn't know what they want and is being risk averse.
Instead, spend a week documenting how you spend your time for a week before you start shopping. Are you trolling through search queries for negatives? Splitting out ad groups all of the time? Spending all of your time analyzing data, but not acting?
Focus your research on the areas you're wasting time on today combined with the unique things a vendor can do that you could never do without software. Please put the checklist away.
4. Champagne Taste, Beer Budget
PPC software ranges in price from $500 per month to 12 percent of spend. Sometimes implementation fees and support are included. Not every vendor includes all of the features you see in a demo in the standard price.
It's easy to waste time in the buying process if you don't put a budget boundary around your search. Sure, you may want the enterprise tool, but if you're spending $15,000 a month, you'd never be able to amortize the cost to make the purchase worthwhile.
If you're below $50,000 a month and you know that you need software (not just more PPC help), focus exclusively on the lower end tools – those that cost $500 – $2,000 per month, depending on your range. It's about understanding your needs vs. your wants. When you look back in 6 months, how are you going to evaluate your purchase? Make your investment appropriately.
5. Not Understanding The Setup Process
Every tool requires some sort of connection to your paid search account and website. Whether it's API connections, redirects or tagging, you're going to have to give the tool a way to connect your account to the tool you want to use in order for it to get data and function.
The time and effort it takes to do this varies by tool and by customer. It can be 2 days to 2 months, depending on what is being asked, who has to do the work and how much else is on his or her plate.
Ask questions about implementation and make sure you clearly understand what you're signing up for once you agree to a contract. The first thing any support team is going to do is setup the tool and ask you to implement some changes on your side. This is a necessary step before you can use the tool, so you want to go into the process with realistic expectations of the effort and timeline.
I'd love to hear your questions about buying a paid search tool. What do you want to know?
Related reading
Five ways to target ads on Google that don't involve keywords
Tactics to test within Google Ads if you want to expand your digital advertising strategy beyond keyword targeting, without venturing beyond Google.
Small-budget guide to testing ad copy, landing pages, and more
It's key to focus on one or two tests to ensure you reach statistical significance. Guide to testing ad copy, landing pages, new engines and ad formats.
Four cool keyword research tools you can use for free now
Free or freemium keyword research tools (not including obvious ones like Google Ads Keyword Planner) to provide useful insight into organic ranking opportunities, persona building, competitive research, product development, and more.
Five ways PPC customer support can help SMBs
The whole point of customer support is to understand your industry and business goals. Coaches meet you at your level of expertise and build up from there.


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Now that my pregnancy is at the very end…my cravings for sweet has gone through the roof…and the smell of baked goods no longer makes me nauseous! Which, means the scale hasn't been as friendly to me these last couple weeks.
I can't wait to start baking and posting, but trying to keep everyone's waistlines in mind, I may not be baking weekly…and if I do, I have to remember to cut the recipes in half so that we can all enjoy our sweet treats but not keep excess around after a day or two!
So, wish me luck and look forward to all sorts of challenges

subset: commoncrawl


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Hard disks, the primary storage devices on your computer, need to be formatted before you can use them. When you format a disk, you configure it with a file system so that Windows can store information on the disk. Hard disks in new computers running Windows are already formatted. If you buy an additional hard disk to expand the storage of your computer, you might need to format it.
Storage devices such as USB flash drives and flash memory cards usually come preformatted by the manufacturer, so you probably won't need to format them. CDs and DVDs, on the other hand, use different formats from hard disks and removable storage devices. For information about formatting CDs and DVDs
Formatting erases any existing files on a hard disk. If you format a hard disk that has files on it, the files will be deleted.
Here are answers to some common questions about formatting disks and drives.
Q.When do I need to format a disk or drive?
Ans.Usually, only when adding additional storage to your computer. If you install a new hard disk on your computer, it must be formatted with a file system, such as NTFS, before Windows can store files on it.
Q.What do I need to do to format a hard disk?
Ans.Before formatting a hard disk, you must first create one or more partitions on it. After you've partitioned the hard disk, you can format each partition. (The terms volume and partition are often used interchangeably.) You can partition the hard disk so it contains a single volume or several volumes. Each volume is assigned its own drive letter. For more information,
Q.What file system should I use?
Ans.For this version of Windows, the best choice for hard disks is NTFS. Some previous versions of Windows required FAT32, so there are a few circumstances, such as a multiboot computer, where FAT32 might be required. For more information,
Q.What's a quick format?
Ans.Quick format is a formatting option that creates a new file table on a hard disk but does not fully overwrite or erase the disk. A quick format is much faster than a normal format, which fully erases any existing data on the hard disk.
Q.What are partitions and volumes?
Ans.A partition is an area of a hard disk that can be formatted and assigned a drive letter. On a basic disk (the most common type of disk) a volume is a formatted primary partition or logical drive. (The terms volume and partition are often used interchangeably.) Your system partition is typically labeled with the letter C. Letters A and B are reserved for removable drives or floppy disk drives. Some computers have hard disks that are partitioned as a single partition, so your whole hard disk is represented by the letter C. Other computers might have an additional partition that contains recovery tools, in case the information on your C partition becomes damaged or unusable.
Q.How do I create more partitions?
You can create more partitions or volumes only if the hard disk contains unallocated space (unformatted space that is not part of an existing partition or volume). To create unallocated space, you can shrink a volume, or use a third-party partitioning tool. For more information,
Q.How do I add a new hard disk?
Ans.If you're adding an internal hard disk, refer to the information that came with the new hard disk. If you're installing an external hard disk that is connected by a USB cable, this version of Windows should recognize the hard disk. If this version of Windows does not recognize the disk,
Q.What does reformatting my hard disk do?
Ans.Reformatting refers to formatting a hard disk or partition that already has been formatted or that contains data. Reformatting a disk deletes all data on the disk.
In some older versions of Windows, reformatting a hard disk and then reinstalling Windows was sometimes recommended as a method for fixing a serious computer problem. Reformatting would fix the problem at the expense of deleting everything on the computer. You would then have to reinstall your programs by using the original installation files or discs, and then restore all of your personal files, such as documents, music, and pictures, from backups that you had made beforehand.
This version of Windows offers a number of recovery options that are less drastic and provide a better place to start fixing your computer problems. For more information, search Windows Help and Support for "recovery options." Reformatting and reinstalling should be considered as a last resort that's only performed after all other recovery or diagnostic options have failed.
Q.Why do I get an error when I try to reformat my hard disk?
Ans.You can't reformat a disk or partition that is currently in use, including the partition that contains Windows. This is a safety feature so that you can't delete Windows by accident. To reformat your computer's hard disk and reinstall Windows, restart your computer using the Windows installation disc (this is commonly known as booting from the installation disc). During the Setup process, you can repartition and reformat your hard disk and then reinstall Windows. The process will erase your files and programs, so be sure to back up your data and program files before you begin. For more information, search Windows Help and Support for "installing and reinstalling Windows."


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Chris Brown has a new posse.
The singer was taken into custody by U.S. marshals on Tuesday in Los Angeles so he can be escorted to Washington, D.C., to await his assault trial later this month.
Brown's attorney, Mark Geragos, told the Los Angeles Times that Brown was scheduled to fly to the East Coast on Thursday, after being taken into custody by federal marshals on Tuesday. The transport was supposed to occur on the same day a hearing was scheduled for a motion Geragos filed to block the transfer. The lawyer was asking a judge to permit him to escort the singer himself because a transfer to federal authorities would hurt his ability to confer with Brown.
A Washington judge last week ordered federal marshals to transport Brown for his April 17 trial on misdemeanor assault charges. Brown is accused of striking a man who tried to take his picture outside the W Hotel.
Brown's legal troubles began in 2009 when he was sentenced to five years' probation, community service and counseling for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna. This year Brown entered a court-ordered treatment facility but was kicked out of rehab, and ordered back to jail in March, after he allegedly touched a woman, refused to take a drug test and made threatening statements during a group session, the Times reported.


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Wanting to maintain a strong local identity in our kids' soccer programs is admirable but quaint and unrealistic. The Stingers does a fine job of coaching and training up until the age of 12, but it desperately needs to merge with a bigger club with greater resources to produce more of the potentially outstanding players who will move on to Evergreen High, Mullen, Colorado Academy or Conifer varsity teams.
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'great 'carry-everywhere' camera'
'We really don't have many complaints about this latest addition to the OM-D line, which is stuffed with great features.'
'built-in flash'
'If you need better autofocus in a Micro Four Thirds camera, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 is a better choice thanks to its hybrid phase/contrast system.'
'very capable camera'
'highly capable camera'
'The improved image stabilisation system works excellently for both stills and video, even when hand-holding the camera at very slow shutter speeds. '
'fantastic travel camera'
'Doesn't include external battery charger.'
'If this wasn't enough, the SH-2 also allows you to record silent high-speed movies for slow-motion playback. '
'Fixed screen.'
'The TG-3 is a worthy successor to its predecessor, and follows it as our Editors' Choice for rugged compact cameras.'
'It's responsive, versatile and durable.'
'The TG-3 is a good rugged point-and-shoot that can take a beating. '
'new sensor and screen'
Impressive image quality, even at high ISO settings, Dust-proof, splash-proof design
Very good sensor, fast auto focus
Great image quality, Weather proofed, Awesome grip
Olympus's best MFT camera to date and one of the best CSCs on the market, now with firmware update 2.0
Olympus's 'dot sight' helps long-distance composition
But this bridge is still falling behind its rivals
Can an innovative dot sight put this super zoom above the rest? An Olympus Stylus SP-100 IHS Hands-On Review
Unique tracking system makes this megazoom stand out
Anything for that perfect body!
A High-Performance Zoom Camera In A Compact Body
Renders extremely good photos for its class
Compact, In-body stabilization, Fast autofocus
Image quality is unsurprisingly excellent
Beautifully-styled and built, with lots of external controls
High quality electronic viewfinder, Classic camera styling
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews.
We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews
covering over 29,474 products.
© 2019 ReviewGist.com. All Rights Reserved.


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Four Roombas swept across the floor at this year's SUPER iam8bit art show, recreations of the most memorable low-ranking bad guys from Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. Thanks to iam8bit, you can now see those Nintendo-fied Roombas in video action.
You can contact Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.


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Paragon Partition Manager 11 Professional is an powerful tool that provides just about everything you need to set up and maintain your hard drive.
A lengthy list of partitioning tools gives you the ability to create, format, move, resize, merge, hide, unhide, delete and undelete partitions, for instance. And well-designed wizards are on hand to walk you through every step of the process, so you don't need to be a hard drive expert to get started. (Although of course some options, like formatting, are destructive, so it still pays to be careful.)
A simple backup tool can save a drive or individual partitions to other drives, CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray. And if there's a problem you don't have to restore the entire backup: it's possible to select just the files and folders you need.
Optimisation features include a defrag tool, which can optimise and compact system areas like the MFT (though you'll need to reboot). And new in this version is the Paragon Alignment Tool, which detects partitions with mismatched logical and physical sectors and then corrects the problem, potentially delivering a very noticeable speed boost.
Migration options allow you to copy your system to another hard drive, resizing the partitions appropriately if the destination is larger. Another new feature means you're able to copy your drive to a virtual drive, too (Virtual PC, Sun VirtualBox, VMware Workstation and Fusion formats are supported). And the program can also connect to a virtual drive, then treat it like any other, so for example you might be able to use the Paragon Alignment Tool to improve your virtual machine's performance.
You also get excellent disaster recovery tools, both Linux and Windows PE-based environments that could get an unbootable PC working again. Geeks will appreciate the many low-level tweaks on offer, like the ability to change a partition's cluster size, or edit it at the sector level. And you can be sure Paragon Partition Manager 11 Professional will deliver in just about every situation, because it supports all the main hard drive types (IDE, SATA, SCSI, iSCSI, RAID, external) and file systems: NTFS, FAT16, FAT32, Ext2FS, Ext3FS, Ext4FS, ReiserFS, LinuxSwap, HPFS and Apple HFS.
Excellent partitioning options, virtualisation support and disaster recovery features make Paragon Partition Manager 11 Professional a very useful tool for business and advanced home users


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Guy Debord made six films between 1952 and 1978. Following the still-unsolved assassination of the films' producer in 1984, all of them were withdrawn from circulation for nearly twenty years.
In 2001 Debord's widow Alice (Becker-Ho) Debord began the process of rereleasing them with a complete retrospective at the Venice Film Festival, and asked Ken Knabb to make a new English translation of Debord's complete film scripts, both for publication and for subtitling the films. He agreed and worked on the project for the next year and a half. The book, entitled Complete Cinematic Works, was published in 2003 by AK Press. Click here for information on ordering it.
In October 2005 there was a three-week showing of all the films (a complete retrospective each day) in Paris, followed by similar retrospectives in several other French cities. Meanwhile a 3-DVD set of all six films plus the video documentary Guy Debord, son art et son temps (all in the original French) was released in November 2005. This boxed set, entitled Guy DebordL'Intégral or Guy Debord contre le cinéma, includes a 138-page booklet of texts and illustrations and is available from Gaumont. Used copies may also be available at various Internet sites. Note, however, that these Gaumont DVDs are coded for Zone 2 (Europe) and will not play on Zone 1 (North American) machines. There are ways of getting around this coding, but they may involve downloading a special software program or getting an "all-region" DVD player. Be sure that you know how to deal with this problem before ordering the Gaumont DVDs.
The first official American screening of a Debord film with the authorized subtitling took place October 3, 2008, at the New York Film Festival (In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni). A complete retrospective of all six of Debord's films with the authorized subtitling took place March 1, 2009, at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (New York).
There are as yet no authorized English versions of Debord's films. Meanwhile, however, all of his films, both the French originals and various translated versions, can be directly viewed or downloaded at www.ubu.com/film/debord.html, at http://situationistfilm.wordpress.com, and on YouTube, and various subtitled bootleg versions are circulating.
UPDATE (September 2015): A fine English-dubbed version of The Society of the Spectacle (produced by Konrad Steiner and read by Dore Bowen) is now online at https://vimeo.com/139772287.
UPDATE (February 2017): A fine English-dubbed version of In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (also produced by Konrad Steiner and read by Dore Bowen) is now online at https://vimeo.com/177031589.
Howls for Sade (1952)
On the Passage of a Few Persons Through a Rather Brief Unity of Time (1959)
Critique of Separation (1961)
The Society of the Spectacle (1973)
Refutation of All the Judgments, Pro or Con, Thus Far Rendered on the Film The Society of the Spectacle (1975)
In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni (1978)
A User's Guide to Détournement
Technical Notes on the First Three Films
Letter about On the Passage...
For a Revolutionary Judgment of Art
On The Society of the Spectacle (reply to a critic of the book)
Cinema and Revolution
On The Society of the Spectacle (announcement of the film)
The Use of Stolen Films
The Themes of In girum imus nocte...
Instructions to the In girum Sound Engineer
NOTES [not online]
INDEX [not online]
Errata and Additional Notes
*The scripts published in Complete Cinematic Works
include the voice-over soundtracks plus detailed descriptions of each image, 62
illustrations, and numerous annotations. The above online excerpts reproduce the
voice-over soundtracks only.
Copyright. Unlike most of the other material that Ken Knabb has published or put online at this website, the Debord film scripts are copyrighted (as are the films themselves). The translations in Complete Cinematic Works are copyright 2003 by Ken Knabb. Neither Knabb nor AK Press will enforce this copyright against personal or noncommercial use. Commercial reproduction of any significant portion of those translations, however, is prohibited without prior written permission from Ken Knabb. For further information, please contact email@example.com.
Of related interest at this website:
The Role of Godard (SI)
New Forms of Action Against Politics and Art (Viénet)
On René Viénets Film Can Dialectics Break Bricks? (Knabb)
On Guy Debords Film The Society of the Spectacle (Knabb)
Radical Film (Knabb)
Designing Pacifist Films (Paul Goodman)
Situationist Bibliography
Bureau of Public Secrets, PO Box 1044, Berkeley CA 94701, USA
www.bopsecrets.org firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
A collection of personal thoughts and experiences - mostly centered around running.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Time to Cross the Big Ditch
4 comments:
Have a blast out there, buddy! Be sure to take lots of pictures...I need to live vicariously through your adventure until I can get out there myself! Good luck!ReplyDelete
SUPER COOL!!ReplyDelete
have fun! I'm supposed to do this in march 2011! I can't wait to read all about your r2r2r, adam! probably have some logistical questions for you as well!!
happy trails and safe journey!
You lucky boy! Go and enjoy. Is it sinful to be envious?ReplyDelete
So looking forward to hearing about this adventure!ReplyDelete
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Engaging Business Leaders in Strategic Workforce Planning: A Guide to Effective Conversations
- Authors:
Publication Date:
July 2011
What's the most important tool for effective workforce planning? It's not an interactive dashboard, a statistical software package, or even an Excel pivot table. It's something far more elemental and human. It's the face-to-face conversation between the strategic workforce planning (SWP) leader and the business executive. This guide includes the questions that make that conversation productive.


text:
Main Content:
Maternity Pants Sale
Gap Maternity Pants Sale
The special fit and design of pants from the Gap maternity pants sale make them perfect to wear from very early in your pregnancy right through to the end and after. Find designer fashions in our maternity pants sale including pants with special binders built in to support your baby bump. Feel like you are wearing your comfy pajamas but look smart and trendy in pants from our maternity pants sale. The pants from GapMaternity are ideal for work, evenings out and casual occasions because of their incredible comfort and style and you can get them at a huge savings in our maternity pants sale.


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One of said housemates - the one who'd had sex ed at the end of the 80s - said the STD epidemics shouldn't be blamed on poor education. That parents are meant to be responsible for these things, not schools.
Um. I guess that might work if we lived in a magical world where all teenagers are parented. They're not. I wasn't. All the information about sex I got outside school was from dubious girly magazines and from bad sf/f books. If you think schools shouldn't be responsible for sex ed, then...what do you think should happen to children with little or no parenting? Is it right to expose us to a health crisis because of something the parenting we never had didn't provide? Do we deserve that?
This strongly reminded me of the people who say single-parent families are A Bad Thing that creates Evil People; yeah, and what are kids who don't have two parents meant to do about that? Suck it up?
This comes at a time of iiinteresting state education wanks in the UK news; apparently 'school is the last moral force'. This is less wanky when you realise the headline-makers have said 'moral' when they really mean 'social':
They now sometimes had to teach social skills such as eating a meal together.
"Schools have a much stronger role in bringing up children than in previous years," Dr Dunford said.
In his speech, Dr Dunford told heads and senior staff that for too many children, school was the "only solid bedrock in their lives".
He highlighted how schools were now expected to set rules about basic behaviour which once would have been the responsibility of parents and the wider community.
Having bedrock is not about morality. (Though it reminds me of she who said that sin is when you treat people as things; we've built a world that puts people last). It's about society, and about what structures are going to catch those of us that have been tossed down the cracks.
Meanwhile, schools absolutely have to prevent children from being fat. Anything but fat. As many STDs as your Daily Fail sexphobic rhetoric can provide, but not fat!


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« All Events
Click here to let Marsha Gilbert know you'll be there!
Apr 05,2019
Hurricane Harvey left Houston and surrounding areas in a shambles, but the great people of Houston are banding together to help and heal. Your help is welcome and needed. You may send Gift Cards (Kroger, Target, HEB, Lowe's, or Visa/Mastercard, etc.) to Congregation Beth Israel. They will be immediately distributed to area neighbors to assist in replacing essential items and children's school supplies.
You may also Donate directly to Congregation Beth Israel by clicking here. All funds will go directly to aid those who need immediate help. These funds will NOT be held to be allocated later. On behalf of our clergy (Rabbi David Lyon, Rabbi Adrienne Scott, Rabbi Joshua Herman, Rabbi Chase Foster, and Cantor Trompeter), David Scott, Executive Director, and Bruce Levy, Temple President, we are very grateful for your kindness, generosity, and help.
Hurt has no shame and no label; we just need to heal one another.
Rabbi David Lyon
Donate Close


text: PLEASE SPONSOR Ron Mitchell Amount Raised $150.00 DONATE NOW My Message Connected North fosters student engagement and enhanced education outcomes in remote Indigenous communities. This leading edge program delivers immersive and interactive education services, through Cisco's high definition, two-way TelePresence video technology. The program is made possible through a strong ecosystem of supporters with program delivery managed by TakingITGlobal. The goal is to provide students and teachers with access to content that is engaging and innovative, with the hope of increasing feelings of empowerment in school and in life. My Team Ron is part of Cisco Blades View Team Page %TeamName% is affiliated with %CorporateTeamName% View %CorporateTeamName% Page This field only allows 200 characters. My Supporters (0) Field is required Failed to post the message This field only allows 200 characters Post Message View All View Less An anonymous donor an undisclosed amount donated left a message Are you sure? Yes No recently posted My Supporters (%NumOfSupporters%)


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Cloud computing evangelists have been pronouncing the death of the PC for years; now Gartner, the world's leading IT research firm, has weighed in on the issue with a new report that predicts personal cloud services will replace the traditional PC as the dominant form of business computing by 2014. Although that date seems a bit hasty given how long large scale IT changes typically take in the corporate world, Gartner analysts identified five "megatrends" that they predict will come together and lead to the rapid adoption of the cloud in business. Among them: The consumerization of tech, virtualization, and a dramatic increase in user mobility.
"Major trends in client computing have shifted the market away from a focus on personal computers to a broader device perspective that includes smartphones, tablets and other consumer devices," said Steve Kleynhans, research vice president at Gartner, according to a press release. "Emerging cloud services will become the glue that connects the web of devices that users choose to access during the different aspects of their daily life."
There is no denying that the consumerization of technology has led many businesses to change tactics based on employee needs and desires. The recent and precipitous decline of BlackBerry in the business world is perhaps the starkest example of this trend, as workers have pressured business IT departments to adapt to their devices of choice. But for this tendency to hold true for cloud computing, consumers must rely on the cloud heavily outside of work, and this simply is not yet the case. Although specific cloud services have taken off in a huge way, especially in regard to storage, an all-encompassing cloud-OS of the sort that would be necessary to usurp the desktop PC has not seen widespread adoption. Google's Chromebook, which was the first earnest attempt at this tectonic shift, was a fairly dismal piece of tech, crippled precisely by its reliance on the cloud.
Decline of the PC
Nevertheless, consumers have been voting with their wallets for years: PC sales declined by almost 6 percent in the first half 2011 — of all the major PC manufacturers, only Apple saw a significant increase in sales. For comparison, Dell and Acer were both down by 10 and 25 percent, respectively. Even manufacturing giant Foxconn took a 13 percent revenue hit in February, due almost exclusively to a reduction in PC orders, reports Digitimes.
And it won't surprise anyone to know that mobile devices have had a blockbuster year by comparison. Tablets saw a massive 207 percent increase in sales, and smartphone use grew by a healthy 63 percent, according to Tech Radar. But if you assume the PC market slump is directly related to the rise in mobile use, think again: Only 14 percent of iPad buyers are choosing between an iPad and a personal computer when making their purchase decisions, according to a study by The NPD Group — meaning the vast majority of users are simply buying tablets to supplement their PC use. The more likely explanation for the decline in PC sales is that as consumers begin to use different devices for different functions, they no longer need the latest, greatest PC to do it all.
Rise of the cloud
There is no question that the cloud is the future — it's cost effective and it's customizable in a way the traditional PC could never hope to be. It is, in many senses, what personal computing should be — a collection of programs, settings, and files that follow you from home to work to the train, on any device that you've got. But this utopian vision of computing requires a few assumptions that may not always hold true. One is that broadband Internet, the type we've grown accustomed to having in our homes and offices, stays relatively unlimited. We've already seen AT&T capping its adsl service at 150 gigabytes a month in some markets, and although that number seems relatively high today, just imagine a device that sucks up bandwidth every moment that it's on — and then imagine reaching your data cap and not being able to do a thing. Although there are surely Silicon Valley geniuses toiling away right now to achieve the perfect synthesis of local and cloud-based storage, it is an issue that needs to be addressed before the technology can be considered mature. And then there is the ever-looming issue of security; if cloud-storage king Dropbox could make a mistake that resulted in allowing anyone to access anyone else's account, the system is obviously not foolproof —remember, that security breach actually came from an internal upgrade, not a malicious hacking attempt. Regardless, a lot can change in two years, especially in tech, and it seems that Gartner feels the benefits of the cloud will far outweigh the risks.
Image Credit: Sync Blog
This article was originally posted on Digital Trends
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text:
Hello Everyone, Thank you for being a citizen of Viewen. As we have posted on Facebook earlier, We have started the server merging process. So far, We have migrated all active sites From Pune, Boston, Chicago and Miami server to new Mumbai server. You are requested to change the nameservers of all your active ... Read More »
This month we are introducing something new. We are going to actively check all domains hosted on server .- Okay, cool, what does this have with me?We are going to remove next types of sites: Expired domains Domains that are not pointing to us Inactive sites (like "Index of /") Inactive sites with only empty Wordpress instalation Sites ... Read More »
January 2018. New approval system.With starting this year, we also have something new to introduce to you. Viewen, is going to change a little bit direction how we are going to approve new services. Now, you'll have to detailed provide any info request from us, to make your web live.Let's take this on example store/shop: From now, if you want to ... Read More »


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The woman who allegedly received lewd photos and inappropriate text messages from Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre met with NFL investigators Thursday, her manager said.
Phil Reese said in an e-mail that Jenn Sterger met with league officials and "we cooperated fully by providing them with substantial materials in our possession. We now await the NFL's decision."
The NFL is examining whether Favre sent Sterger messages and photos while he was with the New York Jets in 2008 and she was a game hostess for the team.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league had no comment.
Favre could face possible disciplinary action under the league's personal conduct policy.
The allegations arose last month in a report on the website Deadspin.
The site said Sterger wouldn't agree to an interview and acknowledged that it paid a third party for the texts, voicemails and graphic photos, said to be of Favre, that it posted in a video.
The 41-year-old quarterback met with NFL vice president for security Milt Ahlerich last month. Favre has stonewalled questions about the investigation, calling it "a league issue."
Sterger appeared on a Versus TV network show until recently, but it was canceled due to low ratings.
A three-time MVP, Favre has had a rough 20th season in the NFL. He is dealing with two ankle fractures and elbow tendinitis, and took 10 stitches in his chin after getting hit against New England on Oct. 31. The Vikings are 3-5 heading into Sunday's game at Chicago.


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PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. - Sweet treats at a Jewish teen's birthday party in Paradise Valley turned into an offensive message after two young party goers decided to decorate their cupcake with a swastika symbol.
Pictures of the swastika topping began spreading on social media after the teen's mom posted about what happened on Facebook, writing that she hoped it could be used as a teaching moment for parents.
According to the post the girls are all friends and told the Jewish teen's mom they did it to "be funny."
The teen's mother also posted that her daughter and the girls at the party had just had a lesson on the holocaust, so she believed they knew very well what the symbol meant.
While she initially didn't respond to 12 News request to speak to her, the mom later told us that it was two girls who decorated one cupcake together at the party.
Carlos Galindo-Elvira, the director of the Anti-Defamation League in Arizona says parents need to teach their children about the meaning symbols tied to acts of hate like the swastika.
"When you joke with symbols like the swastika you begin to normalize them and make it very casual within our society," Galindo Elvira told 12 News.
In an update posted online the mother said the girls had apologized and that their parents had spoken with them about the severity of using symbols like the swastika. The mom told 12 News that she saw this as a teaching moment for those involved and their classmates.
Galindo-Elvira hopes other parents can use the incident as a chance to do the same.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story stated multiple cupcakes were decorated with a swastika. However, the mother clarified to us that two girls decorated one cupcake.


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Principal Investigator(s):
Land-use change is rapidly converting forests and savannas into 'anthro-habitat': land whose primary focus is the production of agriculture, shopping or sports facilities, or housing estates; all of which provide some direct benefit to the human economy. But how do these changes modify habitats in ways that change the probability of infectious disease outbreaks? Habitat conversion significantly alters the interactions between the environment and populations of humans and domestic livestock. The resulting changes in the infection dynamics of many vector- and water-borne disease systems could create new opportunities for pathogen infections, or could modify the dynamics towards pathogen reduction or eradication.
In this working group we undertake a series of synthetic examinations that bring together geographical data on land-use change with data on disease and vector distributions and host abundance in order to develop mathematical and heuristic models of disease risk. The goal is to understand the impact of land use change on disease ecology so that development planners can minimize disease risk and maximize direct and indirect economic benefits. Our focus is on the classic diseases of poverty: malaria, schistosomiasis, cholera, Chagas disease and African trypanosomiasis. Our approaches will build upon the large sets of data available for these pathogens to develop synthetic model frameworks that can produce locally specific, anthropologically appropriate, actionable recommendations for minimizing disease risk. This framework will ultimately be adaptable to examine the interactions between land use change and a broad variety of pathogens.
More information about this project.
This work is supported by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, a Center funded by NSF (Grant #EF-0553768), the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the State of California and the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC).


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SenseCam is a wearable camera that takes photos automatically. Originally conceived as a personal 'Black Box' accident recorder, it soon became evident that looking through images previously recorded tends to elicit quite vivid remembering of the original event. This exciting effect has formed the basis of a great deal of research around the world: there are over 200 papers based on work using SenseCam, the Vicon Revue and OMG Autographer (both produced for several years under license).
Highlights of the history of SenseCam, the Vicon Revue and the OMG Autographer include:
For more information about SenseCam research please contact us at email@example.com
These include eight PhD theses describing research which leveraged SenseCam.
Note that work presented at the first three SenseCam Conferences, SenseCam 2009, SenseCam 2010 and SenseCam 2012, is largely not included because these were not archival events. Papers included at SenseCam 2013 were, however, published by the ACM and are listed below.
SenseCam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is being worn. Unlike a regular digital camera or a cameraphone, SenseCam does not have a viewfinder or a display that can be used to frame photos. Instead, it is fitted with a wide-angle (fish-eye) lens that maximizes its field-of-view. This ensures that nearly everything in the wearer's view is captured by the camera, which is important because a regular wearable camera would likely produce many uninteresting images.
SenseCam also contains a number of different electronic sensors. These include light-intensity and light-color sensors, a passive infrared (body heat) detector, a temperature sensor, and a multiple-axis accelerometer. These sensors are monitored by the camera's microprocessor, and certain changes in sensor readings can be used to automatically trigger a photograph to be taken.
For example, a significant change in light level, or the detection of body heat in front of the camera can cause the camera to take a picture. Alternatively, the user may elect to set SenseCam to operate on a timer, for example taking a picture every 30 seconds. We have also experimented with the incorporation of audio level detection, audio recording and GPS location sensing into SenseCam although these do not feature in the current hardware.
In our current design (v2.3), users typically wear the camera on a cord around their neck, although it would also be possible to clip it to pockets or belts, or to attach it directly to clothing. There are several advantages of using a neck-cord to wear the camera. First, it is reasonably stable when being worn, as it tends not to move around from left-to-right when the wearer is walking or sitting. Second, it is relatively comfortable to wear and easy to put on and take off. Third, when worn around the neck, SenseCam is reasonably close to the wearer's eyeline and generates images taken from the wearer's point of view – i.e., they get a 'first person' view. Informal observations suggest that this results in images that are more compelling when subsequently replayed.
SenseCam takes pictures at VGA resolution (640×480 pixels) and stores them as compressed .jpg files on internal flash memory. We currently fit 1Gb of flash memory, which can typically store over 30,000 images. Most users seem happy with the relatively low-resolution images, suggesting that the time-lapse, first-person-viewpoint sequences represent a useful media type that exists somewhere between still images and video. It also points to the fact that these are used as memory supports rather than rich media. Along with the images, SenseCam also stores a log file, which records other sensor data along with their timestamps. Additional user data, such as time-stamped GPS traces, may be used in conjunction with the SenseCam data via time-correlation.
The data recorded by the SenseCam can be downloaded onto a desktop or laptop computer, typically at the end of a day or week. Microsoft Research developed a simple viewer application that can be used to transfer the images in this way and then display them. The basis of the viewer, which is designed to be very straightforward to use, is a window in which images are displayed and a simple VCR-type control which allows an image sequence to be played slowly (around 2 images/second), quickly (around 10 images/second), re-wound and paused.
The fast-play option creates a kind of 'flip-book' movie effect – the entire event represented by the images is replayed as a time-compressed movie. Such rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) techniques are well-studied in psychological literature1 and are particularly suited to SenseCam images. It is possible to delete individual images from the sequence if they are badly framed or of poor quality. An additional option is provided to correct for the 'fish-eye' lens effect using an algorithm, which applies an inverse model of the distortion.
It is also possible to import SenseCam image sequences into a more sophisticated application. MyLifeBits will allow the large number of images generated daily to be easily searched and accessed. Dublin City University have developed a sophisticated SenseCam image browser which assists in splitting sequences of images into different events by automatically analysing the images and sensor data generated by SenseCam.
Early on in the development of SenseCam, we became aware of the work of the Memory Clinic and Memory Aids Clinic at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK. This is a centre of excellence in the UK for diagnosing various conditions that affect memory, and for working with patients to try and mitigate their symptoms. While there are established techniques to help people remember to do things (i.e. supplement their prospective memory), there are very few aids that complement autobiographical memory, i.e. support the remembrance of things done or experienced. The Memory Clinic was excited by the potential of SenseCam to help in this regard.
In around 2005 we started a trial with a 63-year-old patient from the clinic with amnesia resulting from a brain infection. The patient, Mrs. B, was given a SenseCam and asked to wear it whenever she anticipated a 'significant event' – the sort of event that she would like to remember (i.e. not just something routine or mundane).
After wearing SenseCam for the duration of such an event, Mrs. B would spend around one hour reviewing the images every two days, for a two-week period.
Without any aids to recall, Mrs. B typically completely forgets everything about an event after five days or less. However, during the course of this period of assisted recall using SenseCam, Mrs. B's memory for the event steadily increased, and after two weeks she could recall around 80 percent of the event in question. What is perhaps more remarkable is that following the two-week period of aided recall, Mrs. B appears to have a lasting ability to recall the event even without reviewing the images.
The results of that initial trial with SenseCam are shown here:
Following the success of the first trial and the excitement it generated in both the research and clinical rehabilitation communities, Microsoft Research made SenseCam devices available to a large number of researchers and also initiated additional trials related to SenseCam's use as a memory aid. Using SenseCam seems to be a very positive experience for most of the patients involved. Many have reported enjoying using it and reviewing images of their experiences, explaining that it makes them feel much more confident and relaxed. This is in stark contrast to the use of a written diary, which patients typically report has the opposite effect. Carers have also reported that they find SenseCam very beneficial. Here are some of the things that patients and their carers have said about SenseCam:
Microsoft has provided over $0.5M funding including SenseCam devices, software and support to facilitate collaborative research projects with academic and clinical memory experts around the world. Some of these projects, which broadly aim to address specific research questions and further our understanding of how SenseCam appears to give such dramatic results in improving memory recall, are listed below:
In addition to the use of SenseCam as an aid for people with memory loss, the device has a number of other potential applications. In 2005, Microsoft provided some of the first SenseCams to a number of academic collaborators interested in the general area of 'digital memories', i.e. life-recording or life-logging. These projects applied SenseCam in a variety of ways. For example CLARITY, the Centre for Sensor Web Technologies at Dublin City University, Ireland, is working on systems that will automatically generate 'landmark images' through analysis of the large number of images and other logged data recorded by SenseCam. In this way a personalized memory experience of a visit to a museum, national monument, etc. can be automatically generated, based on data collected by SenseCams worn during the visit. The CLARITY Centre has also done a huge range of additional research related to SenseCam.
We are also working with Dr Charlie Foster and his colleagues from the Health Promotion Research Group at Oxford University, UK. This work, funded in part by the British Heart Foundation, looks at the relationship between the environment and physical activity – for example how effective the provision of cycle lanes is in encouraging people to leave their cars at home. SenseCam can be useful as a means to measure various aspects of the of the environment and the amount of exercise people take. The group is also using SenseCam as a tool to record food choices and eating habits.
We worked with the Universities of Nottingham and Bath, the BBC, BT and two small companies, Blast Theory and ScienceScope as part of a project called Participate. The purpose of Participate is to design, develop and test the utility of novel, pervasive, lightweight and wearable technologies that support mass participation in science, education, art and community life. SenseCam has been used by a number of school children as part of this project. In a separate piece of work, SenseCam has been used in the classroom to enable teachers to create a log of their day, supporting various aspects of reflective practice and thereby enabling users of the device to analyse their day afterwards. SenseCam has also been used in an office environment to support studies of how office workers spend their day, and in particular how they manage to work simultaneously on different tasks.
Collaborations with a number of other researchers around the world to further explore yet more potential usages for SenseCam include:
How many images does the SenseCam take?
SenseCam typically takes a picture every 30 seconds, although this is user-configurable. The maximum rate of capture is one image every 5 seconds. With a 1Gb storage card fitted inside the device, it is capable of storing over 30,000 images which in practical terms is a week or two's worth of pictures. When the internal storage is full, the images must be downloaded to a PC.
How long does the battery last?
The rechargeable battery in the SenseCam will run continuously for around 24 hours when it's capturing an image every 30 seconds or so. It takes around 3 hours to recharge using a USB connection to a PC or a mains adapter.
How do you use the sensor data?
Data is from the various sensors in the SenseCam is collected continuously and recorded on the internal storage card. SenseCam also uses information from the sensors to trigger additional image capture, beyond the 'image every 30 seconds' which is captured in any case. For example, if the SenseCam has been stationary for some time as a result of being put down somewhere for example, the PIR sensor will be used to detect people coming into view and this will trigger additional photos to be taken. In some applications, for example our work with patients who have memory loss conditions, simple timed-triggering may well be sufficient.
The Sensor data may also be used after the event to facilitate various types of automatic analysis of a sequence of images. A good example of this is automatic landmark generation research.
Who invented SenseCam? Who worked on the project?
Whilst working at Microsoft Research, Lyndsay Williams initiated the first prototype of SenseCam in 2003, motivated by the idea of a 'black box' accident recorder for people. Since then a large number of people at Microsoft Research have evolved the project very significantly. Steve Hodges designed the SenseCam device and led an initiative to disseminate these around the world for research into a number of different aspects of memory, activity and nutrition monitoring, market research, and other topics. This device has also been commercialised by Vicon as the Revue and by the OMG group as the Autographer. Others involved in various aspects of hardware and software development, evaluation and experimentation include: Emma Berry, Georgina Browne, Alex Butler, Rowanne Fleck, Andrew Fogg, Richard Harper, Steve Hodges, Shahram Izadi, Matt Lee, Mike Massimi, Narinder Kapur, Dave Randall, Alban Rrustemi, James Scott, Abigail Sellen, Gavin Smyth, James Srinivasan, Trevor Taylor and Ken Woodberry. SenseCam and all associated intellectual property is owned by Microsoft Research.
Principal Researcher
Senior Researcher
Deputy Managing Director, Azure Sphere


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Effective Property Management Courses in OhioAt Occupancy Solutions, we provide customized training, effective marketing, strategic consulting, and interactive courses in order to optimize the needs of your community. We have been assisting distressed communities for nearly 30 years, specializing in the Affordable Housing Industry, "B" and "C" communities, and senior living communities. Since 1986, we have created robust communities by successfully increasing income and reducing resident turnover while decreasing expenses and allowing the property to recover economic viability. Occupancy Solutions provides effective solutions and proven sales techniques your team can use immediately.
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CaCO3 scale inhibition in paper making processes – evaluation of testing methods and inhibitor performance
Väisänen, Henri
Permanent address of the item is
Summary ViewShow full item record
The formation of an adherent layer of inorganic deposition on the surfaces of process equipment is called scaling. Scaling is a major problem in many industries using large quantities of water. One of these industries is the paper making industry and the most common scale forming compound is calcium carbonate. The scaling problem in the paper making industry can be eased or in the best case completely solved by the use of chemical additives referred to as antiscalants or scale inhibitors. The most common an-tiscalant compounds are phosphonates and polycarboxylates. The formation of calcium carbonate scale and its inhibition are widely studied themes but few of the studies are linked in the conditions of paper making. The objec-tives of this thesis are to establish laboratory testing methods for the evaluation of the performance of different scale inhibitors in the paper making conditions and to evaluate the performance of different antiscalants in these conditions. The thesis comprises an extensive literature survey and an experimental part. The literature survey covers the precipitation process of calcium carbonate, factors affecting this process and chemistry of different antiscalants. Also the theory of a computational model of French Creek's WatSIM software is covered. In the experimental part three different laboratory test methods are utilized to conclude the performance of different antiscalants in the condi-tions of paper making. These laboratory test methods are a static jar test, a dynamic ro-tating disk procedure, and a dynamic tube blocking procedure. The WatSIM software is utilized to calculate different scaling potential indices in the conditions of paper making. The results of this thesis show that the differences between different antiscalants can be distinguished with the used laboratory testing methods and that the differences are significant. The phosphonate antiscalants might function better than polycarboxylate antiscalants in certain operating conditions but even a little change in the conditions, for example in the pH or temperature, can completely block the ability of the phosphonate antiscalants to function. The polycarboxylate antiscalants are more resistant to changes in the operating conditions, which extend their range of use. The computational results yielded with WatSIM were somewhat conflicting which indicates that the software is not fully optimized for the conditions of paper making /Kir11


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We all want to achieve our goals, get the most out of life and live our dreams. We all aspire for something that we've always dreamed of, goals that have been on our mind as far back as we can remember. But are you committed in making these dreams come true or are you content to let it be what they are, mere dreams?
It's too common, knowing people who showed so much promise, individuals who have such high hopes only to live in misery as the years passed. Nothing in this life will get better if you don't will yourself to make it happen.
Taking The First Step Towards Making Positive Changes
With so many things going on right now and well-established habits that you've grown accustomed to, how does one start to make positive changes in his life?
Change starts with one thing: commitment.
You don't just wake up and think to yourself, "I want to change things right now," only to end up giving up in the middle of it. That's lack of commitment. When you're committed to something, you are resolute to see through it no matter how hard things get. How many times have you planned to change things only to give up later on, your diet, finding a better job, cleaning the attic, changing your life, etc.? We make excuses why we can't start changing something. We justify our own lack of commitment and this becomes a vicious cycle of misery where we know what's wrong but we lack the firmness to change things for the better.
Making a commitment means doing something and never giving up. No excuses, no delays, no petty reasons that will make us back out from what we commit ourselves to doing. You stick to your convictions and do what you can to prevent distractions from achieving your goals.
If you're unhealthy and you want to become fit, you commit yourself to exercising and dieting until you achieve your ideal weight. If you hate your job and you want to make positive changes to your career, shift careers if you have to. If you're neck deep in debt and you want to start to take care of your finances, get a grip on your spending. It might be hard at first but everyone has to start somewhere.
Developing a Plan
Of course, it's one thing to make plans about changing your life right now it's another to actually sit down and start planning your attack. You don't have to go all out, save your energy on seeing through various changes that's about to happen in your life later on. Take baby steps, so things do not become overwhelming too quickly. When you make plans, you get a sense that your goals are much easier to achieve and you're motivated to push through with it.
Keep Track of Your Progress
It helps if you keep an eye on your progress. This keeps you focused on your goals and you are also motivated each time you come across little victories. The mind can do amazing feats but only if your heart is open to the idea of changing for the better.
by: Jeffrey Slayter


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Navy Peyton Leanback Lounger
Earn $25 back in rewards* for every $250 spent with your Pottery Barn Credit Card.Learn More
- Overview
A perfect fit for nonconformists, our soft-sided seating in a bold geometric motif has just enough structure to keep you sitting pretty. It's filled with recycled materials for body-conforming comfort.
- 39" wide x 31" deep x 31" high
- Cover is made of soft, pure cotton with reinforced stitching for improved durability.
- Eco-friendly fill contains 100% recycled material.
- New construction means that the filling stays in place, maintaining the lounger's shape and providing extra support.
- Personalization is included in the price of our personalized loungers.
- Imported.
Make sure it fits! Use our interactive room planner to design your floor plan.
- Dimensions + Care
- Overall: 39" wide x 31" deep x 31" high
- Seat: 39" wide x 18" deep x 14" high
- Backrest: 18" high
- Due to the fact that this chair is frameless and loosely filled for optimum comfort, the dimensions may vary slightly.
- Cover is not removable.
- Spot clean with warm water and mild soap or detergent.
- Air dry.
- Supersoft loose filling may shift over time; shake out occasionally to maximize fluffiness and maintain the lounger's shape.
- Shipping & Returns
This item ships directly from our manufacturer. Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.


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The product specifications listed above may vary from time to time and may not all be available for sale in the United Kingdom. To obtain a specific recommendation for your vehicle from our UK product portfolio, please use our free online oil recommendation tool, Shell Lubematch.
Shell Helix HX2 20W-50
Multigrade motor oil – Value for hardworking engines.
- Easier starting compared with monograde motor oils
Specifications: API SG/CD
Advice & Tips
Find the right oil
Find the right oil with our LubeMatch tool.
Distributor Locator
Where to buy Shell oils and lubricants.


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Mr Rebates; Real Profit or Flop? Full Review
Mr Rebates Overview
How It Works
Mr. Rebates is much like the highly advertised site called Ebates. These are both extremely similar to each other. They are both online shopping websites that offer online shoppers the opportunity to earn money through rebates.
Both Mr Rebates and Ebates provide members with coupon codes and discount links for shopping through their affiliate site. Being an affiliate means that they don't actually own any of the stores you will be shopping at.
Mr Rebates simply promotes products from other stores and like you, they receive a commission from each store whenever a purchase is made through their affiliate links. They then are essentially just sharing part of their sales commission with you and that's how you earn money. It's much better than the typical rebate process, in that with basic rebates, you would have to mail in your proof of purchase, then wait to get your payment. Mr Rebates does not make you do anything like that. It is a much more convenient way to earn rebates, thanks to modern technology. Those little tracking links give them all the information they need to verify you've made a purchase. Then the money is loaded into your account without a day or two when shopping through Mr rebates.
One of the biggest draws to Mr. Rebates is that the cashback rate can land pretty high. Some reported earnings are as high as 50%. However, for the most part, don't expect that to be the case every time. 5% to 25% would be more of a realistic range that I would expect on a normal basis.
More Details On Mr Rebates
Mr Rebates are partnered with over 2000 shops. These includes stores like Kohl's, Macy's, Walmart Dell, Office Depot, Old Navy and even Neiman Marcus. There are smaller brands as well but these are just to name a few… When shopping at any of these stores you can receive up to 30% (sometimes more) on cashbacks amounts.
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Customer Cash Back Screenshot
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The Pros
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The Cons
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Restrictions on Items – This is something unexpected but it happens. Make sure to always check on a purchase before you make it to see if there's a cash back option. Some items are not eligible for cash back.
Here's some ideas to save even more…
As with a lot of programs there are always some small loopholes or things you may overlook. Here are some great ideas to get even more savings for yourself. You'll especially benefit using these techniques over the holidays.
So, another great way to earn more cash back savings is by shopping through Mr Rebates using a Cash Back Rewards Card. This will allow you to save using two different methods.
On top of shopping through the Mr Rebates shopping interface and saving that way, what if you used your Discover It card. This card offers 5% cashback during the holidays at any department store. That way, not only did you save the usual 10% from Mr Rebates, you also got an extra 5% just by using your discover card. That altogether is a nice 15% savings. So if you spent $100 you would have a total cashback of 15 bucks. Pretty nice right? If you use this throughout your shopping spree you should rake up some nice savings!
1) Make sure to check your Mr Rebates back office every day, so you're not missing out on any great deals. They often have special coupon offers or rebate deals. There's a column on the right hand side of your home page screen that announces all the new offers and special deals.
2) Refer all your friends & Family! You can do this in many different and easy ways. Just send a regular email or you can also use Twitter, Facebook and even Instagram. Add a column on all your social networks telling all your friends about the program and insert your special affiliate link. It's that simple!
Click the Button Below to Visit Mr Rebates


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Maps and Publications
- Build a Geologist
- Geological Survey Program Brochure
- The Geologic Column of Missouri
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- Our geologic maps and USGS topographic maps look great framed and they make wonderful gifts!
Items may be ordered online, by calling 573-368-2125 or 800-361-4827, or by visiting our office located at 111 Fairgrounds Road, Rolla, Mo. We are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For directions to our sales counter, please see this map.
Please note that tax must be collected for all sales and shipping fees apply to orders that must be mailed.
Geologic Map of Missouri 2003
Listed under Wall Maps, this Sesquicentennial Edition of the Geologic Map of Missouri was published in 2003 to recognize the agency's 150th anniversary. It is a colorful, poster-size, 1:500,000 scale map created with digital mapping technology. It measures 42 3/4 by 54 3/4 inches.
The map incorporates more than 25 years of new geologic work. Various inset maps show earthquake epicenters in southeast Missouri, catalog and modern drainage patterns in northwestern Missouri, principal tectonic features of Missouri and the location of unusual circular structures caused by meteorite or comet impact or explosive volcanism.
Suitable for framing, it is printed on UV protected, heavy weight glossy paper and displays 36 different geologic units in vivid colors. The price of the map is $9.25 if mailed folded and $10.75 if mailed rolled.
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Missouri River - Lewis and Clark Expedition Trading Cards -- This colorful set of 80 cards highlights the Missouri River's outstanding natural resources as it follows the path taken by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's Corps of Discovery Expedition two hundred years ago.
Read about Missouri state parks, conservation areas, sites of interest and scenic river towns. See riverside statues and monuments honoring Lewis and Clark's journey, murals within the Capitol building, portraits of the explorers, along with numerous breath taking river scenes.
Additional trading card sets highlighting Missouri's natural resources are also available.
Featuring our four all-time favorites
Full-color Posters Suitable for Framing
$18 each (laminated, matte finish)
Missouri Environmental Geology Atlas
It is often said that information is power, and the second edition of the Missouri Environmental Geology Atlas CD-ROM, or MEGA 2007, puts a significant amount of power at users' fingertips.
The MEGA 2007 CD-ROM is a collection of interactive computer maps that allows users access to more than 30 statewide geographic information system (GIS) data layers, all from their computer desktops. Significant improvements and additions have been made since MEGA's debut in 2003. New data layers have been added and many of the existing data layers updated.
Layers Listing
Available data layers include: bedrock geology, well and spring locations, dyetrace data, geologic structures, sinkhole locations, alluvial floodplains, certified wells, dye traces, surficial materials, stream hydrology and the U.S. Public Land Survey System. This CD-ROM also provides public domain information such as streams, lakes, roads, urban areas and county boundaries.
Among the additions is a water table map showing static water levels. Other new data layers include drill areas depicting requirements for well construction area boundaries and a mine and mineral occurrence layer. A significant addition to the existing well log layer is a simplified well log that lists various materials encountered during drilling. Missouri House and Senate district boundaries are also part of the collection.
Because the state has been collecting geologic data since the mid-1800s, vast amounts of data are available. This information enables users to apply earth science data to real-world issues. Many of the data layers allow for better decisions related to the use and protection of our state's water. Landowners, developers, engineers, geologists, planners, consultants, first responders, researchers, teachers and students will find this tool particularly helpful.
An easy-to-follow manual will be included along with free software to enable viewing.
The price of the MEGA CD is $45.
Paleozoic Succession in Missouri, Part 5, Pennsylvanian Subsystem
Released on CD-ROM, this 1225-page reference is the definitive work on the stratigraphy of the Pennsylvanian Subsystem in Missouri. The work includes detailed descriptions and discussions of over 200 individual Pennsylvanian stratigraphic units, as well as type sections and reference sections, illustrations, color photographs, and index maps. The CD can be ordered with an optional stratigraphic poster that graphically summarizes the entire Pennsylvanian Subsystem in Missouri.
The Paleozoic Succession in Missouri, Part 5--Pennsylvanian Subsystem of Carboniferous System, Report of Investigations 70, was written by Richard J. Gentile, Professor Emeritus, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Thomas L. Thompson, Principal Geologist (retired), Missouri Geological Survey, Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
This work is certainly the most comprehensive analysis of the Pennsylvanian bedrock of the state of Missouri that has ever been completed. It will prove vital to those using Pennsylvanian bedrock as a resource and to those interested in scientific endeavors as well.
The price of the book on CD-ROM is $26 and the stratigraphic poster is $12.50.
Additional Maps and Publications:
General Interest Publications about Missouri Geology
Publications listed can be requested by filling out the Publication Order Form. When ordering or submitting correspondence, please make note of our email address: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Team to Face Some of the Nation's Top Programs in Challenging Meet
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The Yale men's cross country team is traveling farther than normal this weekend, as it heads to Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday to compete in the Pre-National Invitational, hosted by Indiana State University and held at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
The Bulldogs, who last competed in the meet in 2007, will be facing their biggest challenge of the season. In addition to running the 8K race alongside some of their familiar regional rivals—such as Cornell and Penn—Yale will be pitted against some of the country's premier cross country programs. In fact, nine teams currently ranked in the top 30 of the USTFCCCA poll will be competing against the Elis at Pre-Nationals, including Oklahoma State (1st), Colorado (2nd), Oregon (4th), Tulsa (9th), Princeton (10th), Indiana (12th), Iona (18th), Boise State (19th) and Stanford (29th). A solid performance against this top tier of teams could go a long way to aiding Yale's chances of qualifying for the Division I NCAA National Championships in November—also held in Terre Haute.
"This is a big meet for us," said Head Men's Cross Country Coach Paul Harkins. "It will give us a good indication of how we will stack up with the rest of the Ivy League and the region. It also gives a great opportunity to see a lot of teams that we don't normally see. These are the meets we have to be at if we are to become a nationally prominent program."
The Bulldogs enter Pre-Nationals riding a wave of momentum following three strong showings: a second-place finish at the Iona Meet of Champions, a seventh-place finish at the Paul Short Invitational and a 10th-place finish just last weekend at the New England Championships. But given that none of the seven athletes Yale is sending to Indiana competed at last weekend's New England Championships, the group should be well-rested and prepared for action come Saturday.
Of the seven competing athletes, sophomore Alex Conner, freshman Andre Ivankovic, junior John McGowan, freshman James Randon and sophomore Duncan Tomlin have all placed in Yale's top seven in all three meets in which they have competed this season. Conner and McGowan, specifically, have dominated to this point in the season, placing in the team's top three in all meets in which they have participated. Randon would likely belong in that group as well, if not for a fall he suffered during the early portion of Paul Short—a race in which he still managed to finish sixth on the team.
Sophomore Kevin Dooney and junior Isa Qasim will also run for the Bulldogs this weekend. Dooney comes into Pre-Nationals on a bit of a hot streak, after following up a fifth-place team finish at the Iona Meet with a first-place team finish and personal record (24:38) at Paul Short. Qasim ran a 25:06 at Paul Short, an improvement on the time of 25:24 he posted at the Harvard-Yale season opener.
Besides Dooney, McGowan (24:44) and Tomlin (25:01) are the only other non-freshmen on the team to have set personal records this season, and the pair will be looking to reduce those times even further this weekend.
Given the Bulldogs' recent success and improvement, it is no surprise that Harkins is looking forward to competing at Pre-Nationals for the first time in his Yale coaching career.
"I'm excited because the guys have been preparing extremely well over the last couple of weeks and are progressing rapidly," said Harkins. "This is when all the hard work begins to pay off."
Yale will compete against 51 other schools in the men's "blue race," which begins at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The official meet program—which includes a course map, entry lists, a meet schedule, and information on course records—is available here. Results will be available at www.gosycamores.com and www.yalebulldogs.com following the conclusion of the race.
Report by Zach Schloss '15, Yale Sports Publicity


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Recovery from Surgery to Remove a Brain Tumor
Last Reviewed: September 18, 2013
What is the recovery like after getting a brain tumor removed? How long will it take to recovery from surgery and how long will I be out of work? Will I need to have some kind of rehab therapy?
Lisa Lycksell MSN, CRNP Nurse Practitioner at Penn Medicine, responds:
Recovery after brain tumor surgery is all dependent on the extent of the surgery. It depends on the location of the tumor and how deep the surgeon has to go to remove the amount that is maximally safe. We usually tell our patients, who we think won't be left with a deficit, that they should be out of work for 4-6 weeks. Rehab therapy is all dependent on how the surgery goes and if there is a deficit after surgery was performed.


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Madrid, Spain, Nov 7, 2012 / 01:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Spain's Constitutional Court upheld a "gay marriage" law which passed seven years ago under the Socialist government and was challenged by the People's Party under current President Mariano Rajoy.
On Nov. 6, eight of the court's 11 judges voted in favor of the legislation amid tense opposition from traditional marriage supporters in the country.
"From a social point of view, we have been witnessing the harassment and atrocious demolition of marriage and the family," said Ignacio Arsuaga, head of the local civil rights group HazteOir.org.
Arsuaga called the ruling a fierce "attack" against "an institution without which, for example, social unrest in times of crisis would be much more troubling."
Spain's Congress initially passed the same-sex "marriage" law on June 30, 2005. Within months, the People's Party filed suit with the high court, challenging the law's constitutionality. Throughout the last seven years, however, some three to four thousand gay "marriages" have taken place annually in the country.
Arsuaga said the local rise in same-sex unions as well as divorce have already lead to a destabilization of Spain's legal, social and economic structure.
"It is incredible that amidst an economic crisis, an aging population and instability in the foundations of our social security system, there is support for social models that, far from offering a positive contribution, are actually a hindrance."
Courtesy: CNA Oringinal Post


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For three quarters, the Buckaroos and Broncos gave the fans all they could ever expect from a number one versus number two rivalry showdown game Thursday night in Monticello.
With the score knotted at 33-33, anticipation was high entering the fourth quarter. But the Broncos turned six turnovers in a row by the Buckaroos into 11 quick points to start the fourth quarter and the game was over, the Broncos pulling out a pulsating 55-43 win over the Buckaroos.
Cameron Shumway and Logan Meyer led the Broncos with 17 points each, with Tyler Nielson adding 10 points. Devin Wright and Dallin Duncan scored 16 and 15 respectively to pace the Bucks.
From the outset, the contest was a seesaw affair, with neither team building more than a five point lead. San Juan led after the first quarter, 7-6, signaling a tough defensive battle was looming.
Monticello caught fire in the second quarter with Wright scoring six points and Duncan four. And after Terek Esplin nailed a three pointer and Jake Duncan scored at the buzzer, the Bucks led 21-20 at halftime.
The game seemed to be going the Buckaroos way in the low scoring affair when the third quarter ended at 33 all. The Broncos were without the services of big man AJ Slavens, (averaging 10 points, six rebounds per game), who was home sick in bed.
San Juan came into the game averaging 61 points a game in their last four wins and the Bucks were only allowing 34 points per game. But something had to give and it was the Bucks, who handed the Broncos 11 turnovers in the fourth quarter allowing the victorious Broncos to score 22 points in the quarter.
Logan Meyer, who scored the first three points of the game on a trey in the first quarter, started the onslaught in the fourth quarter with another trey after the first Buckaroo turnover. After the second Buckaroo miscue, Meyer scored a three point play the old fashioned way with some "hoop and some harm." Suddenly, only seconds into the fourth quarter, the Broncos had their biggest lead of the game for either team. They quickly and decisively turned it into an eleven point lead, 44-33.
Even so, the Bucks battled back, though without the services of outside threat Cory Young (who fouled out early in the fourth) and with starter Kendall Maughan on the bench with four fouls.
Whirling dervish Devin Wright poured in four points, Duncan had a beautiful tip-in and Esplin added two free throws and suddenly, with 1:24 left, the Bucks were within four points, 46-42. Another Bronco basket and a Duncan free throw later, the score was 48-43 with 50 seconds left.
That's when new Bronco coach Wade Mortensen, a 33-year veteran coach, called timeout. With the fans perhaps thinking the Broncos were going to take time off the clock, the Broncos surprised the Buckaroos with an inbounds play that worked to perfection.
The lob pass to Cameron Shumway turned into a layup and foul shot that put the game out of reach. All that was left was a nifty behind-the-back dribble and no-look pass by Shumway to Logan Meyer for another three point play and the game was over.
The loss drops the Buckaroos to 5-2 on the year and raises the Broncos' record to 9-1. The rematch will be next year in Blanding on Friday, January 7.
Girls basketball
The girls teams from Monticello and Blanding completed their annual season series with a 51-44 win in Blanding to give the Lady Broncos a sweep this year.
Earlier in December, the Blanding gals bested the Lady Buckaroos, 42-35.
In the second contest, Kelsi Meyer again led the Broncos with 16 points, six rebounds and an astounding eight steals.
Jolene Kirk and Teal Palmer also scored in double figures with 12 and 10 points. Kirk also pickpocketed the Bucks at will, too, picking up seven steals herself.
The Lady Buckaroos were led by Swayzi Slade, who poured in 16 points and Abby Chadwick, who added 12 points. The win leaves the Lady Broncos at 5-4 on the season while the Buckaroos drop to 3-6.
Next up for the Lady Broncos is the Bicknell Tournament at Wayne High School this weekend. The Lady Bucks resume region play on January 5 at Navajo Mountain.
Each year, Sportshorts highlights the All-State Wrestling Name Team, which was highlighted last year by Brian Adlard, who took the mat at 112 pounds, and take down specialist Skyler Shotwell. San Juan's rhyming king, Russel Musselman, will make the team this year.
Not to be outdone, however, are some of this year's basketball Bucks, who sport great basketball names: Dallin Duncan and his little brother, Jake Duncan, Gunnar Hollingsworth, Rylan Goodwine, assistant coach Chris Hoopes, and the Wright brothers, Devin B. Wright and Justin (Case UR) Wright. Let's not forget Nash Freethrow!
(Freethrow and Wright middle names are little fibs, but one can wish).


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Facebook stalk may be falling, but the stock of this blog has been holding steady. Foolishly, I was not using one of the biggest social media tools available to me to promote the blog. Now I am.
Meloship of the Ring is now on Facebook. I will post all my articles on there, just as I do on my twitter account (@tarmosino). Please, do me a solid and like the page on Facebook.
Thanks friends!Follow @tarmosino


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Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf rtf lrf pdb txt html
I have been writing for all of my adult life on subjects related to the human condition, both materially and spiritually. If we are to live complete lives there is no separation between the material and spiritual.
Unfortunately there are many barriers to showing our spiritual selves in the material world, not the least of these is that often we are often not told the truth so our decisions are made on false information.
The issues surrounding the economy, global warming, terrorism and a multitude of other issues are not difficult to understand. At least they wouldn't be if we were told the truth. However spiritual our core being may be we cannot be seen in the material world if our material actions are based on lies.
It is by spiritual seeking that we learn who we are and what we want. The essence of a spiritual path is seeking the answers to three questions. Who am I? How did I get here? Why am I here? The answer to these questions lies in what we want in the material world.
A common reason for people to start seeking more than just a material existence is major trauma in their lives. It would be impossible to write about ending the separation between the material and the spiritual without writing about trauma in its various forms.
To seek spiritual truth without also looking after material well-being is a call to martyrdom. That does not do anyone any good. To seek only material well-being leads to greed and hedonistic behaviour, with the real possibility of devastating lose when it all falls apart.
The world as I would like see it would be where people know what they want and what is important to them. Where people can make decision based on facts with no censorship or spin and where everyone took enough, but no more than they needed.
No individual can achieve this alone but collectively we might, if that is what we want.
As a disclaimer I do not claim to have achieved my ideals. My writing is part of my journey and by writing I gain understanding into what it is I am seeking. My hope is that by making my writings public I can encourage others to seek answers for themselves. To contact me please email


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There's no doubt about it. This is a huge game for the Knicks.
They have lost 4 in a row, all on the road, and now trail the division leading Philadelphia 76ers by 5 1/2 games. With just 26 games remaining in this lockout shortened season, the Knicks must begin to win games and it starts today. The Knicks play Philadelphia 2 more times, including today, this season. These are games the Bockers must take if they want to catch Philadelphia and win the division. The Knicks have already defeated Philly earlier this season, winning 85-79 on January 11th. I believe the Knicks are a good matchup against Philadelphia and will win Sunday's matinee matchup.
Here's what to watch for:
- Carmelo Anthony versus Andre Iguodala. Last time these two teams met, things got chippy between Carmelo Anthony and Sixers small forward Andre Iguodala. Philadelphia paid the price as 'Melo went for 27 and the Knicks won the game. In order for the Knicks to win tomorrow, Anthony must dominate the small forward matchup. Iguodala is no scrub. He made the all-star team this year and is one of the most explosive scorers in the league. He's a plus defender and will be extra motivated to embarrass Anthony today. I think if Anthony can provide an efficient 25-30 points for the Knicks, they'll have a great chance to win the game. 'Melo has always played well against Iggy and I think he'll do so today. Thanks to basketball-reference, we can see here how Anthony has dominated Iguodala in the past.
- The Knicks must attack. Philadelphia has been a mediocre team guarding the rim this season. According to Hoopdata, the Sixers rank 20th in the NBA in opponent field goal percentage when shooting at the rim. Without starting center Spencer Hawes, Philadelphia should be even more susceptible defensively to opponents finishing at the rim. In New York's 85-79 victory over Philly in January, they shot only 15 shots at the rim and shot 42 shots from 16 feet or further. Philadelphia is a very strong perimeter defensive team and the Knicks should stay away from throwing up 3's. Against the center combination of Tony Battie and Nikola Vucevic, the Knicks front court should be able to finish at the rim. While Amar'e Stoudemire's defense has still been poor, his offense has seemingly improved over the past few games. He has hit 26 points twice in four games and has shot 52.8% over his past five. I think the Knicks will attack the paint today and, given Philadelphia's weak interior defense, they should have success.
- Will D'Antoni shorten the bench? Philadelphia has a ton of depth. Their roster is chalk full of long defenders that are also quality scoring threats. The Knicks also have great depth, but the team has yet to mesh. In Milwaukee, rookie Iman Shumpert played only 5 minutes in a Knick loss. Coach Mike D'Antoni said after the game that Shumpert sat due to the fact that he just did not have great focus in that game. Is it possible that D'Antoni will be trying to shorten his bench in games? For whatever reason, D'Antoni felt that Shumpert shouldn't have been on the court and he left him on the bench. In this game, could a guy like Josh Harrellson take a seat? Absolutely. Landry Fields could be another guy to eat pine on Sunday. It will be interesting to see what D'Antoni does with his rotation. He has noted that he wants to play Baron Davis and Jeremy Lin together more often. Playing minutes in this rotation takes minutes away from the Knicks plethora of wing players. JR Smith, Fields and Shumpert could all lose minutes if D'Antoni begins to ride the Davis/Lin backcourt late in the game. It should be interesting.
- The Knicks simply must play well. I know that sounds completely stupid but it is true. I could analyze more match ups but the bottom line is that if the Knicks play hard and well, they should win this game. As of late, the Knicks defensive effort has been poor. All season, the Knicks have been inconsistent shooting the ball. You can blame coaching but the bottom line is that if the Knicks do not play well, they do not win games. Is D'Antoni perfect? Absolutely not. Is any coach in any sport on any professional level perfect? No way. That being said, it does not matter what D'Antoni does if his players are not playing well. Sure, rotations and schemes help but if the Knicks are not hitting open shots then there is nothing D'Antoni can do. The Knicks can fix a lot of their problems by hustling more on defense or executing better offensively. The Knicks must come out in today's game and play their game. They have yet to piece together many complete games this year. I think the biggest key for the Knicks to win today is to be sharp. Don't turn the ball over. Don't shoot 30 three pointers. Don't shoot 31% from the field. Until they find some consistency shooting the ball, the Knicks will continue to be wildly inconsistent. Though it has sputtered as of late, the defense has been solid all year and the offense really has been the problem. In theory, the Knicks should have enough offensive weapons to compete with any team in the league on any given night, but that theory has yet to come to fruition. Obviously one game will not prove anything but I think a win today would go a long way into boosting New York's confidence and potentially spark a run. In order to win, the Knicks must execute. They have to be smart with the ball and hit open shots. I think they can do it and I think they beat Philadelphia today.