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Maybe the service is bad on purpose?
ivor macfarlane 2700022KPS firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  itil complaints tivoli itsm ibm service-management ivor 3,560 Visits
itSMF Publishing Annual meeting
ivor macfarlane 2700022KPS firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  ivor itsm ibm tivoli best-practice itsmf service-management 2,964 Visits
For most of last week I was attending and – I hope – contributing to itSMF's international publishing meeting. This was held in
Now, first a little background, just in case there is anyone who does not know what the itSMF is. The letters stand for IT Service Management Forum – and that sums it up quite well: a place for those interested in ITSM to talk, learn, teach, compare and discuss. Part of that communication naturally involves publication – and our group focuses on that – from reviewing others' books through translation and dissemination to encouraging authoring and publishing books. Crucial to its attitudes and success, itSMF is a non-profit organisation, owned by its members.
OK, as you may imagine it is – as well as serious working meeting – a chance to catch up with friends and colleagues of the ITSM global village. And the active ITSM community really is like a village, except that it spread across some 50 countries – we have all the relationships that you would expect: friends, enemies and lots in between.
All of us have our day jobs, many of us
working for cut-throat competitors but that all gets set aside and we settle
back into our 'all in this together' mode. One of things that I came back from
That makes the non-profit member owned organisations a lot like government – and like governments today we are strapped for cash. These are hard times and no-one has much in the way of spare money. But we still strive to fight against what would be a sensible approach for an organisation focused on shareholder value. We still need to deliver what the 'right things'. From our publishing perspective it would be tempting to look only at safe books – rearranging established best practice into easier, shorter or simpler reads. Instead though, everyone at our meeting sees that we need a focus on innovation and stretching our industry.
Of course we need to be financially successful with enough of our projects, and we have work to do on building a firm base to take ourselves – and our industry – forwards. But I am proud that the books we have already managed to publish contain real industry innovations and new perspectives – both on service management as you would expect but also into wider topics such as organisational change.
So, I came back feeling the need to write down how much work people put in – for nothing – last week. I'm not claiming I did that much, but lots of work was put in, and even more commitments made to keep the momentum going and I felt that it was a few day's work I was proud to have been a part of and an effort worth recording here. In some later blogs I might relate more about other aspects of the trip - like using budget airlines and the change in perspective of value that goes with that.
So – please go read about what we have already managed (6 books published, quarterly magazine, whitepaper competition etc.). You can find out about the books are – and read the magazines for free by going to http://www.itsmfi.org/content/publications. If that gets you interested in how you can get your ideas written up and out there then get in touch. My portfolio responsibility is 'Authoring', so I would love to hear from you. We are keen to find new authors, for whitepapers, books or articles – and happy to offer any level of support you might need – from final review through mentoring and even to co-authoring or ghost writing.
By my next blog, I will be back in successful company mode, but it is good to remember that the commercial companies also live in and benefit from the wider community. It is good to see that being recognised through sponsorship and support. IBM sponsored the meeting last year - this time we had support from TSO and BTC. massive thanks to those companies. With more support next year we should have more people and achieve even more.
This week's new releases
ivor macfarlane 2700022KPS firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  ibm cobit itil tivoli service-management ivor itsmf 2,946 Visits
No trouble spotting the biggest news in service management this week – with COBIT 5 available. I guess with both ITIL and COBIT having released new versions over the last 12 months, that should tell us something about the SM industry. Mostly, I think it tells us that as a concept and topic to take seriously, service management is not going away any time soon.
But I suspect we might reading more in the next few weeks of the 'should I do ITIL or COBIT' type of question. That's a shame, because it is still not a sensible question. Both ITIL and COBIT are expanding their scope of course and that means more and more overlap, but I can't – admittedly after quick glance through only –see where any real conflict.
Of course COBIT is still a product of ISACA and it builds upon a philosophy of control and governance. ITIL initially came from a team set up to advise on approach rather than massive detail and that still shows even in the 2011 version I think. And I do still believe any serious SM profession would have both on their (electronic) bookshelf, the way a good cook will have books by more than one cookery author on their kitchen bookshelf.
Analysing the content, requirements and fine print can come later – and will open us up to all sorts of interpretation and contextual adjustment. But some things hit you straight away. The core COBIT product is available for free and takes up 685k of pdf file. The core ITIL books cost around £300, weigh five kilos and/or take up 77.4MB of my hard drive inside a fancy secure Adobe reader to make sure I don't pass them on to anyone who hasn't paid their £300. Now I know that there are lots more books around the COBIT 5 core than give you more detail – and ISACA charges for those - but still I must confess to liking the idea of free entry to the gig even if it doesn't get you that near the stage.
Putting a positive spin on the size differential and the lack of real conflict, you can see that it shows how the two products can be seen as complementary: COBIT's distillation of what should be done and structure with ITIL's more wordy guidance.
And COBIT's heritage shows through with several pages on maturity assessment – great stuff for the 'give me a number' crew.
But maybe the most encouraging thing is the differences that exist – the pretty clear realisation that frameworks aren't competition but different perspectives. Everyone in this business is really concentrating on helping each other get better at delivering value to the customer. COBIT 5 will help so this is a good week.
Now all I need is a long flight somewhere to give me peace and quiet to read it carefully.
IBM PureSystems And SmartCloud & Tivoli Solutions
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ email@example.com Tags:  puresystems cloud smartcloud tivoli service-management 3,917 Visits
The Expert Integrated Systems, IBM PureSystems being announced today is probably one of the most exciting solution announcements to hit our industry.
The New York Times wrote a very good piece on the announcement, "I.B.M. Aims to Sharply Simplify Corporate Data Center Technology"
Our own press team put together two releases. One about the announcement ("IBM Sets the Stage for the Next Era of Computing") and another around the 600 partners supporting this announcement worldwide ("Global IT Companies Support IBM Puresystems").
IBM PureSystems
It's not hardware. It's not software. It's a new category of solution; expert integrated systems.
It's one of the "game changer" solutions that our customers have come to expect from IBM (and that our partners love). It's solving very specific problems that customers have on their road to innovation.
One of those problems is built-in expertise. This is a hardware and software solution that is integrated at levels you've not seen before on a solution; giving customers and partners a simplified user experience for implementation and maangement.
IBM SmartCloud & Tivoli
To that point, you'll notice IBM PureSystems has it's own end-to-end management capabilities specific to the solution.
It does. But, for broader management challenges, IBM SmartCloud and Tivoli software will extend the investment in that IBM PureSystems solution by providing Visibility. Control. Automation(tm) across the entire IT infrastructure.
Together with IBM SmartCloud and Tivoli software, IBM PureSystems will push customers to higher levels of efficiency with their service management practice.
As you talk to your IBM sales rep or your business partner, ask them about IBM SmartCloud & Tivoli software with IBM PureSystems for your entire infrastructure and service management.
Video: IBM Pulse 2012: Cloud Service Management Simulator Workshop
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  pulse cloud service-management pulse-2012 simulator ibmcloud 3,119 Visits
As you know, the team held a Cloud Service Management Simulator Workshop at Pulse 2012 and I was in the room for a portion of the session (look for me in the background at 1:03) and I know that the attendees had their eyes opened.
The team cut together a pretty cool trailer to give you an idea of what goes on at one of these simulator sessions.
If it looks like chaos, that's because there is a good bit of chaos in the process of role-playing the real-world interaction between IT and business when they are not aligned properly.
The goal is to keep the company profitable. That lasts for about 3 minutes...
But here's the thing. As the workshop progresses, the transformation occurs and balance is achieved (and money starts to be made).
Every service management practitioner should bring their co-workers to this workshop. It is an experience that will help drive your company towards innovation.
Watch the video to see what I mean, and for more information on the simulator, send an email to tivmktg [at] us [dot] ibm [dot] com.
saying it with pictures
ivor macfarlane 2700022KPS email@example.com Tags:  ibm ivor tivoli service-management itil 2,689 Visits
IBM SmartCloud Control Desk Demo
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ email@example.com Tags:  desk cloud smartcloud itil service-management service-desk control 7,919 Visits
If you were following the Pulse coverage of new announcements or our press activities, you no doubt heard about the exciting new IBM SmartCloud Control Desk solution.
For those new to the blog, IBM SmartCloud Control Desk was one of the new announcements made at Pulse. It is a service catalog/service desk based on IT Infrastructure Library™ (ITIL™) V3 and ideal for streamlining incident, problem, change, configuration, release, and IT asset management.
This service desk offering will assist customers in process control center for managing change & configuration, assets, incidents/problems, service requests, SW licenses and more.
The announcement letter (212-051) was published on March 13 and we now have a very cool demo that showcases the solution.
View the demo, and to find out more about IBM SmartCloud Control Desk you can also visit the product page as well as contact your IBM sales rep or one of our Business Partners using the Business Partner Locator website.
Cisco Prime And IBM Netcool (Pulse 2012)
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ email@example.com Tags:  netcool tivoli prime cisco service-management business-partner 3,670 Visits
If you weren't at Pulse 2012, I won't sugarcoat it. It was another successful event and the customers I spoke to got a lot of value out of the conference.
If you were not there (and even if you were), don't forget about our regional "Pulse Comes To You" (PCTY) events in your country. It's another way for you to meet with us and get the information you need about our service management solutions.
One of the things that makes IBM...well, IBM is that we have excellent business partners like Cisco.
I was able to get some time with David Flesh (Director of Marketing, Cisco Network Management Technology Group) to talk about the partnership that Cisco has with their Cisco Prime solutions and our IBM Netcool solutions.
This will be the first of several videos we'll be posting on the blog. More to come...
Pulse 2012: Day 3 General Sessions Recap
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  pulse service-management keynote pulse2012 woz watson smarter-computing booch 4,795 Visits
After a pretty rockin' concert from Maroon 5 (who are better than Maroon 4!), it was time for the last day of general session keynotes.
As a reminder, all the general session keynotes (and a ton more) can be found on the Livestream site.
Another one of my livestream videos has been posted. This video is me talking with CTO of Industrial Sector Dr Naguib Attia about service management and Industrial sector.
I should also mention that Dave Barlett (VP of Industry Solutions and @davebart on Twitter) wrote another one of his fantastic blogs about Smarter Buildings over on the Smarter Planet blog.
I will also point you to the IBM Pulse 2012 press kit that has some great client success stories and exciting new announcements.
Now, onto the general sessions.
The intro video from IBM Research (@IBMResearch).
The video, which you really need to watch on the Livestream, showcases our "5 in 5" (five technology innovations that will occur in the next five years).
Today's keynote are about the future of innovation (and BTW, Visibility. Control. Automation (VCA)™ provides that innovation).
First to the stage was Erich Clementi (Sr. Vice President, IBM Global Technology Services) to talk about service aggregation.
Smarter Computing is offering new opportunities that will impact the infrastructure due to the unprecedented scale in everything and the way consumability (everything everywhere every time) is changing how IT needs to respond and react.
The boundaries of IT are changing, the infrastructure is changing. Anywhere. Anytime and any device is the new reality.
Erich remarked that the industrializatin of IT supported services (think Ford assembly line) will open up new options in sourcing services. This will reinvent all sorts of services born on the cloud to be more complex and with richer options.
The hybrid cloud will be critical because customers are going to run workloads where it meets the best fit. So these hybrid clouds need to be interconnected, integrated, seamless, secure, auditable and dependable.
This is changing the role of the CIO.
There was an interesting comment Erich made that James Governor (@monkchips) and I were talking about on Twitter. "We are confronted by the infrastructures our clients have, not the ones we wish they have." James responded (and I tend to agree), "make them change. the status quo is not acceptable."
Erich showed how CAPEX utilization is actually a minor benefit of going to the cloud whereas things like the standardization from being on the cloud provide the greater value to customers and it's in OPEX where the bigger savings come in.
There is an existing world that will need to be re-factored and re-thought out to get to the cloud.
Erich left the audience with three interesting thoughts:
Helene Armitage (GM of IBM System Software and Systems Growth) was next to present on innovations and Smarter Computing.
(I worked with Helene when she was in charge of AIX development it was her leadership with AIX, in my opinion, that helped get us back in the game in the early 00's with pSeries).
Helene did a very nice transition from Erich's keynote to talk about how these are the systems that are powering the things Erich discussed previously.
Consumer behavior is what is driving what happens in the IT data center and influencing hardware design. Consumers are creating data that is being captured and driven and running in the back-end systems in these data centers.
We need to evolve what is there today, but the rate and pace of change will continue to grow and the requirements for hardware will be driven by consumers. Where the consumers go, the IT department has to follow.
Smarter Computing systems are designed for data, delivered in the cloud and tuned to task. Helene used a good healthcare example. The data explosion in general, let alone healthcare (which Manoj will discuss), is phenomenal.
Everything is instrumented and capturing data. Data growth will be at 50x by 2020. An estimated 80% of the world's population will have a mobile device in the coming years.
The social implications of this data explosion will affect how hardware requirements are written. Enterprise systems with performance, scalability, reliability and availability will be critical.
Flexible systems to manage the data and remain secure will be important (and Helene gave a mention of RAS in this instance).
Helene also left the audience with three things (it's a day for lists):
Helene handed the stage to Manoj Saxena (GM of IBM Watson, @manojsaxena).
(I call IBM Watson "he," though I was corrected on Twitter and IBM Watson could very well be "she")
Jeopardy was not the end, it was just the beginning of putting IBM Watson to work.
IBM Watson is currently focused on Healthcare (and now) Financial Services Sector jobs and is a key enabler for Smarter Planet and the new problem of data explosion.
Consider that 90% of data was generated over the past 2 years. 80% is unstructured and only 20% of it is used by traditional systems.
Those companies that can effectively use this "Big Data" are more successful.
Manoj is breaking down how IBM Watson does its magic. It not only reads Big Data, it understands it. IBM Watson is a filter, that's what makes it so good
Healthcare is a great place to start with IBM Watson because of the data explosion. Doctors can not keep up with this explosion and as a result, 1 in 5 diagnosis in the US are incorrect.
Between 44,000 - 98,000 people die every year because of being misdiagnosised, so it is crucial to get this right. (another sobering thought about how what we do impacts lives).
1 in 4 people will die of cancer and 20-44% of errors occure in the first diagnosis. So better diagnosis and treatment is far more complex than Jeopardy answers, but IBM Watson is learning about what it needs to do.
IBM Watson is going after cancer as a medical assistant. It's being packaged with "adviser cartridges" for different areas of different industries and will be in the cloud (public, private or hybrid - whatever works for the customer).
IBM Watson is about selling business outcomes.
The keynote sessions concluded with Grady Booch (IBM Fellow) interviewing The Woz.
Better than Frost/Nixon if you ask me! Here are some of the highlights (and it's all on the Livestream).
FYI, Todd Watson (aka @TurboTodd) will have an interview on his blog that is not to miss.
That wraps up another year of Pulse! Can't wait to see y'all next year in 2013!
Additional Related Links:
Pulse 2012: Day 2 General Sessions Recap
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  pulse service-management pulse2012 keynotes 2,652 Visits
* this is the third day of Pulse, but the second day of general sessions.
As a reminder, all of the general sessions (as well as a bunch of other programming) can be found on the Livestream site, including myself and Derek Botti talking about Smarter Hospitals in Healthcare.
Today's general session keynotes started with an excellent video with our Business Partners. Business Partners are one of the biggest value that IBM has as a vendor in the market. They are what make IBM who we are (them, and our customers).
Scott made mention, and this is pretty cool, that we have co-founded cloud-council.org/, a cloud open standards customer council.
Steve Mills (Senior Vice President for Group Exec for SW IBM Software & Systems) started with some excellent discussion about how Smarter Planet solutions are increasing demands on IT, but IT budgets are growing less than .8% per year.
The rate and pace of change and complexity is increasing, not decreasing. The stats Steve showed on his chart were mind boggling.
Steve then made a very interesting move and used a chart from last year that shows IT operating costs are greater than the asset costs themselves. So much of that money goes into labor and physical infrastructure.
Sprawl is driving cost and IBM is actually at the forefront of doing massive consolidations for our own data centers.
We're still on the journey, which consists of virtualiztion, consolidation, service management (W00T!) and of course cloud.
Some of the numbers that Steve showed: 5,700+ servers consolidated. 15,000 applications reduced to 4,500. IBM has 110 pedabytes of operational data and 92% of our servers are now virtualized in strategic hosting environments.
Much of this was accomplished with System z and Linux (mainframe, ftw!).
The IBM Integrated Service Management Program used by our team led us to better VCA in our own data centers (hint, hint).
To quote Steve, "Linux runs like a 'scalded dog' on the IBM mainframe."
IBM uses Tivoli for our own data center consolidation and it's working quite well. Linking back to some of the thoughts yesterday, cloud is about better economics and that's achieved through sharing.
Steve is a fan of Business Analytics - one version of the truth and finding the problem quicker and information-centric decision making (360 degree view of our clients) thru master data management (System z plays a key role here). System z - tuned to task, designed for data and managed with cloud tech! Cost reduction, new service delivery with hybrid cloud.
He also posted quite a few client references. Like Nationwide Insurance who consolidated and run 680 Linux system images with $15M cost savings over 3 years with 85-9% server utilization.
It's worth checking out the Livestream to see some of these amazing client references (like how 75% of data stored is duplicative and how HealthNow is saving $5M per year by eliminating duplicate/incorrect mailings).
Next up, Bob Picciano (General Manager, Software Sales for IBM Software Group) and he was joined with some of our customers for a round table discussion. With him were:
For Rogers, cloud meant accelerating time to market to get services to their customers (which is important since they try to be the first to market with new services). It has also increased productivity and has made the QA process more efficient with standardization playing a key role.
Key risks as they moved to the cloud were the unknown effect of migration. What changes would need to be made once they migrated? How would legacy environments be taken into account. Also, the "hype curve" and the negativity associated with cloud (with security in particular) was something that they had to work through. But as much of a challenge as the cultural shift was, at the end of the day it's about results from the people and processes. Not the technology used to get there (like Steve Mills talked about).
With GE, they're trying to consolidate and optimize their office campuses and the challenge there is keeping up with the business units.
At GE - if you're not with me, you gotta catch up.
The team that works on their smarter physical infrastructure needs to make sur that they're in-line with the business needs but they're also managing the risk. Financial risk, environmental risk as well as ensuring that they can accommodate growth.
At Erie 1 BOCES, endpoint management with "bring your own device" (BYOD) has turned their job into the wild wild west. Even worse, with the economic crisis in education, there are changes that are being forced that haven't happened before in their industry.
Sharing, for example (which Steve talked about) has become the norm. Because they share, they now have a more robust network and are trying to consolidate to use the resources to collectively find solutions.
Jill and her team are trying to manage the endpoints consistently and effectively and keep the teachers in the classrooms (which was an extremely sobering point).
Not to be outdone, Tony from Equifax started with a very real fact. "We have everyone in this room's data."
So, security is pretty important to them since their business about all the data that they have (and bringing greater analytics to this data).
Security is a race. Nobody can do everything first. So the key is having a plan. IBM has been a key partner for Equifax in putting this plan together.
Tony talked about what David discussed; bringing the business into the conversation early. Asking them first - what do you want from your security?
As the transformational journey of security occurs, it's important to know what to expect: that there will be a massive increase in security getting worse.
Greater visibility means that you start to see everything (which is ultimately a good thing).
For 2012, Equifax is looking for real-time proactive intelligence with security. Security Intelligence facts Tony gave: past breaches are usually found 60% found months, years after they occurred. 86% of breaches are not found by the company. In the case of 100% of breaches the information about the attack vector was in the logs.
IBM Security is helping Equifax get the real-time/gamechanging security intelligence they need and the Security Intelligence that understands and changes baselines.
Then Bob asked about what next year's key topics might be. Here were some of what was mentioned:
(our customers are awesome!)
Jamie Thomas (VP of Strategy and Development, IBM Tivoli) was the third speaker.
Some of the content contained in Jamie's keynote can also be found in the announcement roundup blog post.
Jamie reiterated what a number of the keynotes talked about with regard to the market transformations happening around IT. Cloud. Smarter Physical Infrastructure. Mobile. Security.
IBM SmartCloud Foundation, which is our portfolio for cloud, has the levels of Visibility. Control. Automation™ (TM). to create "clouds done right."
Jamie started to talk about the product portfolio and the new announcements specifically:
IBM SmartCloud Control Desk which is reducing the complexities around end-to-end processes for service desk and providing a holistic view to the complexities of service desk and smarter physical infrastructures (bringing together the front-office with the back-office).
IBM SmartCloud Provisioning and IBM SmartCloud Monitoring have both been key offerings for our cloud portfolio and they are working together (see "Service Health for IBM SmartCloud Provisioning" on the ISM Library) to effectively manage the complexities of virtualization.
The bringing together of development and operations is also an important part of the portfolio and the plans to provide a beta of the IBM SmartCloud Continuous Delivery (and some useful workload patterns) and given emphasis with this thought - Infrastructure as code.
One of the announcements that is sure to be important for storage managers is the IBM SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center. It integrates with TSM and is a crucial part of making storage more cost effective.
The hybrid cloud support that we talked about at Pulse 2012 is now part of our portfolio as well as the IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices.
Q1 Labs, and the recent QRadar integration with our security portfolio was discussed and it is sure to help address some of the issues brought up during the customer roundtable.
A plug was given to the 3 million interactions happening on Service Management Connect and it is becoming the place to stay updated on the latest development plans.
Jamie focused on our IBM Smarter Buildings solutions and the power of the Maximo and TRIRIGA portfolioS (which was also reinforced during so many of the sessions discussing smarter physical infrastructure).
Finally, Jamie gave an update on the cows in Brazil (from last year's general session keynote). 2 million more cows are being tracked with Maximo, though there might have been a bit of turnover...
While it was not a part of the general session keynotes, IBM released a new study surrounding cloud computing. "The Power of the Cloud: Driving business model innovation" is live and available for download.
Additional Related Links:
The Annual Pulse Announcements Wrap-Up
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ email@example.com Tags:  pulse service-management smartcloud announcements pulse2012 6,218 Visits
IBMers are hyper-aware of our clients and the issues that they address when they're on the job. So much so, that I've said in past blogs that the majority of conversations I have with my colleagues start with, "How does [blank] beneift our customers?"
To that end, everything we do revolves around questions like - how can we give our customers what they need to get their job done and stay innovative in their industry?
Questions like that get answered at conferences like Pulse 2012. It's where we continue to deliver value to our customers.
And, as mentioned in yesterday's blog about the general session keynotes from Danny Sabbah, not technology just for technology's sake. Providing real business value.
This year, we had a number of exciting announcements, many of them were collected in Announcement Letter on February 28.*
This particular blog is going to focus on the specific announcements we made around cloud, starting with SmartCloud Foundation.
IBM SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center
Storage is "the next big line item" for IT, which is why the idea of improving storage efficiency has always been a hot topic.
Storage virtualization brings the promise of not only improving efficiency, but also providing levels of data mobility that are crucial to delivering modern services to customers.
The ideal solution for storage virtualization should be able to do both the virtualization/provisioning as well as the actual management.
And IBM SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center does both and it's one of the most impressive things being shown on the Expo Center floor here at Pulse 2012. Not to worry though, the team has information on the website and the team talks about this as well as all storage information on our @ibmstorage Twitter account and the Storage blog.
IBM SmartCloud Monitoring and IBM SmartCloud Provisioning
If you were following our SmartCloud announcements last year, you saw these two solutions make a big splash in the market and we're continuing to add value to both of these solutions.
Today. As in right this second, you can go to the ISM Library and download the "Service Health for IBM SmartCloud Provisioning" that will integrate provisioning and monitoring so that you easily monitor what you've provisioned and be able to identify and react to issues in your environment.
To help further simplify how you provision, we've released a statement of direction for SmartCloud Provisioning that may provide enhancements with image lifecycle management.
New features that may provide the ability to control image sprawl, an Image Construction and Composition Tool as well as highly automated self-service deployment of virtual machines.
All of which translate into spending less time wrestling your virtualization and cloud environments to ground and more time working on innovation.
IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices (New)
Yesterday's general session keynote emphasized mobile.
Between "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) and organizations embracing using their own mobile devices for their employees, mobile is the new platform of choice. (which means it's probably time to ditch my IBM 5100)
As you know, our IBM Endpoint Manager solution is built on BigFix technology and it's been invaluable to our overall service management strategy for Visibility. Control. Automation.(TM) (VCA)
Today, we've taken the beta for mobile device management and released it as a product (Announcement Letter 212-065).
The best part about this mobile device manager is that it works with the existing Endpoint Manager solution. Meaning that you're managing all of yoru endpoints from the same place.
IBM Security Identity and Access Assurance 1.2
Last week, IBM Cloud Security Solutions was the award winner of SC Magazine's "Best Cloud Computing Security."
On January 31, we announced an update to one of the key pieces of this portfolio; IBM Security Identity and Access Assurance 1.2.
Security was one of the three areas of focus with regard to increasing complexity and new features deliver improved identity and access governance with open authentication standards, role modeling and lifecycle management, and a virtual appliance delivery method all simplify deployment and provides faster time to value for security while reducing risk.
IBM SmartCloud Continuous Delivery
Continuous Delivery is a topic that we have discussed quite a bit on this blog (it has also been known as "collaborative development and operations" or "DevOps").
The challenge of getting services to users is balanced by ensuring that speed does not come at the expense of governance and increased risk.
The strategy to bring development and operations teams together is often stalled when the tools each team are using don't work well together.
Per the announcement letter, "IBM plans to provide an extensible architecture for delivering and managing the entire application lifecycle, creating an environment that brings development and operation teams together with collaboration, automation, and analysis."
IBM SmartCloud Control Desk
With IBM SmartCloud Control Desk, IBM plans to deliver a solution for service catalog, service desk, and IT Infrastructure Library™ (ITIL™) V3 based processes for incident, problem, change, configuration, release, and IT asset management.
This service desk offering will assist customers in process control center for managing change & configuration, assets, incidents/problems, service requests, SW licenses and more.
Software As A Service (SaaS) - IBM SmartCloud Solutions
The innovations happening with Smarter Planet, are quite simply staggering. One of the most interesting, and most visible, areas is in the Intelligent City solutions.
You've seen these solutions in market and in any number of places in the past, but now Intelligent Operations, Intelligent Transportation and Intelligent Water also have SaaS offerings that allow customers to quickly get started, since there is no hardware to procure or installation services to contract.
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - IBM SmartCloud Enterprise - Object Storage
Last quarter, we announced SmartCloud Enterprise, and this quarter we have added a very compelling new feature; object storage.
Object storage enables you to upload and share files of any size from anywhere in the world; supporting millions of users, billions of objects, and exabytes of data.
It's a nice bookend to the SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center in that it gives customers options on how to solve their storage issues.
Back To Visibility. Control. Automation.™ (VCA)
This is a lot of "stuff" with regard to features and functions. But what does it mean for you, as a customer?
I keep going back to the Danny Sabbah general session keynote because it really hit home the message so well.
"Providing information on all platforms is table stakes these days."
Cloud done right is about mobile + cloud. The infrastructure must deliver value back to the business. We must simplify, standardize and automate.
Cloud done right is about delivering VCA:
Cloud computing and VCA means less time (and resources and money) working on your infrastructure issues and more time being innovative.
To find out more about any of these solutions, contact your IBM sales rep contact your IBM sales rep or one of our Business Partners using the Business Partner Locator website.
* some of the new announcements are statements of direction and they are noted as such here and in the announcement letter. (and see the announcement letter and the bottom of this blog as the standard disclaimers apply).
Additional Related Links:
Cloud Service Management Simulator Workshop At Pulse 2012 (Saturday and Sunday)
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ email@example.com Tags:  workshop service-management simulator cloud pulse service-management-simula... 2,508 Visits
David has written about the Cloud Service Management Simulator Workshop in a previous blog and things are heating up as we get closer to Pulse.
In addition to the Sunday workshop we have a few extra seats left on Saturday for business partners and customers who wish to attend. If you are interested, please send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com. Both workshops (Saturday and Sunday) are from 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm.
And for more information, watch developerWorks' Scott Laningham interview Ivor MacFarlane on what to expect in the room.
seeing ourselves as others see us - and vice versa
ivor macfarlane 2700022KPS firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  pulse itil service-management ivor itsm 5,176 Visits
Perception is the only truth you believe
That's a paraphrase of many quotes – but whichever famous quote peddler you choose, it is surely a mantra of sorts for successful service management. To me it neatly addresses two key points:
I had some first-hand instruction on this recently that helped my understanding. Both were a little funny at the time but maybe with some serious messages.
Firstly two different perceptions of what must have looked very similar situations to a detached observer – driving last year down a fast dual-carriageway[1] road. Both times I was on my way to my father.
So – good guy or bad guy? Depends on what you know, and that depends on what you are and what has happened somewhere else.
The other one, I feel the need to share all hinges around those daily gifts we get form our dogs. Each day I take our dog for a walk in the field behind the house. The field is just the other side of the fence and hedge around the back garden, but to get there you have to go out the front, down the road through the alley and back – about 300 metres or so. Now dogs, being dogs, use the daily walk for relieving themselves and people, being only people, are left to pick it up in plastic bags and carry it. But since our walk takes us back down the other side of that garden fence, rather than carry the little bags round the field, I toss them over the fence and into our garden, to pick up and dispose of when I get back. So, I am doing this when I realise I am being watched, by another man out walking his dog. Thinking about it afterwards he just sees someone flinging doggy doo over a fence into someone's garden. He did not speak, but did manage a look that clearly had me well below pond-scum in any kind of social acceptability league table.
OK, so some examples of skewed judgement based on incomplete knowledge, we all have lots of them – and please feel free to send in any good ones that have happened to you.
Very few of these matter in everyday life – we shrug and move on and usually never see the misunderstanding or misunderstood person again. But when it matters we need to establish communication to get some idea of the events that drive perceptions of those who we will interact with long term. This is why we know things about those we live with and care about – their favourite colours, the foods they like and dislike, which football teams they support and lots more. That is worth doing because these people matter to us, and because this makes both their life and ours more pleasant.
So apply this to work, how much more
pleasant – and easier – will your life be if your customers are happy with you,
if they understand what you are doing and you understand what they care about.
That simple idea is at the core of a lot of my work these days – in the
simulation games and the presentation at events. It certainly underpins the
talks I am slated to do at IBM's Pulse and itSMF
If I go back to the first set of two bullets I wrote at the start of this piece, they are trying to say that you need to know how your customers – and maybe other stakeholders – are feeling today. This will drive how you address things. So customer perceptions influence prioritisation – standard best practice stuff. What I was trying to point out in my driving example was that those perceptions and attitudes are anything but fixed. Just because you know what mattered yesterday, doesn't mean you know what will matter today or tomorrow. There are clues and signs you can look for – find out what things affect your customers attitude and monitor those yourself. Again that is something we can do fine at home – we are aware of some of the influences that change attitudes and perceptions on our loved ones – be that exams the next day, football on the TV tonight, or a fight with a friend.
Maybe what we need is more formalised gossip at work – because it is often the conversations that don't seem to be about work that tell us most about how our customers will react – and more importantly how they want us to react. One thing the 21st century has brought us – big time – is new ways to gossip, or should that be freely and rapidly exchange more information than we ever dreamed was possible. So, maybe this is just one more business benefit of social media, one that delivers its success by not being so obvious?
Actually, I don't care how you gather more understanding of your customers concerns and perception influencers use every means you can. You could do worse than simply going to visit them, talking and listening. Set yourself a target perhaps – name one thing that would change your customer's priorities, and then ask them if you are right.
[1] = 'divided highway' in American.
Conference time: Real, virtual, both or Vegas
ivor macfarlane 2700022KPS firstname.lastname@example.com Tags:  itil ibm ivor pulse service-management itsm 2,611 Visits
I Call It "WTI: What The Innovator" (Live At Pulse 2012)
Noah Kuttler 110000SVNJ email@example.com Tags:  woz pulse gradybooch service-management pulse2012 innovation 2,243 Visits
If you have spent five minutes with me, you have probably heard me rave about the "WTF" podcast from Marc Maron.
It is the first topic of discussion when I talk to a friend of mine (second being Doctor Who).
The reason WTF works is that you have a veteren comedian (Maron) who knows the questions to ask. Who understands the journey. Who can have the types of discussions that lead to places you and I wouldn't think to go.
Maron is on the short-list of great interviewers. His podcast is one of the few times where the word "fascinating" really applies.
I tell you that, to tell you this.
Pulse 2012. It's right around the corner.
There are a number of reasons to attend (and if you read the Pulse Blog or follow #ibmpulse, they're too numerous to list here).
We announced that Woz is one of our keynote speakers.
Well, the format for this keynote is going to be a little different. He is going to be interviewed by none other than IBM's very own; Grady Booch (@grady_booch).
Grady is an innovator in the same vein as Woz. He was one of three individuals who invented UML.
As someone who worked for a company that relied heavily on UML (which I'm sure is the same for many readers), it's like "Memphis" Raines meeting Henry Ford. He's pretty much the reason a number of us are where we are in this industry.
UML. The Apple computer.
Grady and Woz were not only on the ground floor of technology revolutions, but they both built most of the foundations.
Between the two of them, they personify the type of innovation that we promote at Pulse 2012.
I can not stress this enough: innovation is the differentiator. It's what puts our clients in the leadership position in their industry. It's the thing that organizations playing "catch up" are trying to chase down.
Pulse is about not only helping you find the solutions to drive your innovation, but it's also about mindset. It's about thinking like an innovator.
Thinking like Woz and Grady. Getting you there.
And a keynote like this, with a real in-depth discussion between two of the best in the business. It's gonna be fascinating and you need to be there.


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Jake Heaps, former Skyline High School and Brigham Young quarterback, announced Thursday he is transferring to Kansas.
Jake Heaps, former Skyline High School and Brigham Young quarterback, announced Thursday he is transferring to Kansas.
The sophomore, who asked BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall to be released from his scholarship Dec. 5, took a visit to Lawrence, Kan., last weekend and decided to continue his career with the Jayhawks and new coach Charlie Weis.
Heaps, 6 feet 1, 200 pounds, will sit out the 2012 season per NCAA transfer rules and will then have two years of eligibility left.
He is the second quarterback to announce his intent to transfer to Kansas. Former Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist announced his decision on Twitter earlier on Thursday.
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"After a long & difficult decision-making process, I'm incredibly excited to join the Kansas football team. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!" Crist said through the social media site.
Crist, who spent four years at Notre Dame, will be able to play next season because he has graduated from the university before his eligibility expired.
After leading Skyline of Sammamish to three state championships and compiling a 40-2 record as a high-school quarterback, Heaps was rated by many as the top quarterback prospect in the nation. He graduated early so he could play spring football, and started the final 10 games as a freshman at BYU and the first five in 2011.
In 2010, Heaps took over as the starter after Riley Nelson suffered a shoulder injury. The Cougars won four of their final five regular-season games and the New Mexico Bowl. Heaps was the MVP of the bowl game.
He set BYU freshman records for passing yards (2,316), attempts (383), completions (219), passing touchdowns (15), wins (six), games started (10) and games played (13).
He was the Cougars' starter to open the 2011 season, throwing for 1,452 yards, nine touchdowns and eight interceptions in nine games. However, he struggled early in the year and lost his starting job after Nelson led a late comeback against Utah State.
Mason Kelley: 206-464-8277 or email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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The regulators lost to the regulated yesterday in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency. As Ilya Somin notes, the Supreme Court's unanimous opinion held that property owners and other regulated parties may challenge administrative compliance orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act. This is a small, yet significant, victory guaranteeing a modicum of procedural protection for those subject to regulation under the CWA.
In this case, the EPA issued an ACO to the Sacketts alleging they had filled wetlands without a federal permit and directing them to take remedial action or face civil penalties. The Sacketts had sought an agency hearing on the matter, but the EPA declined. So the Sacketts went to court. The federal government maintained that judicial review of the ACO was unavailable unless and until the EPA filed a civil enforcement action against them. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit concurred, only to be reversed by the Supreme Court.
Writing for the Court, Justice Antonin Scalia explained that an ACO can be challenged as a final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, as the order represents the conclusion of the agency's consideration of the question and is, itself, the source of a binding obligation on the regulated party. The order "has all of the hallmarks of APA finality" and is thus presumptively subject to judicial review. As the CWA does not expressly or impliedly preclude judicial review, and there is no other adequate remedy in court, the Sacketts can have their day in court.
Justice Scalia's opinion for the Court is quite narrow, and lacks the rhetorical flourishes we've come to expect in his environmental opinions. The Court had no occasion to reach the due process issues lurking below the surface of the case – specifically whether the Sacketts would be entitled to some opportunity to be heard, if not in court then before the agency, before they could be subject to fines for violating the administrative compliance order. Although Justice Scalia noted the continuing uncertainty over the scope of federal regulatory jurisdiction under the CWA, particularly with regard to wetlands, his opinion made clear the Court was expressing no opinion as to whether the EPA properly asserted jurisdiction over the Sacketts' land. Solely at issue was whether the Sackett's could challenge the EPA's assertion of jurisdiction and claim that the Sacketts had violated federal law by filling jurisdictional wetlands on their property without first obtaining a federal permit. Justice Ginsburg wrote a brief concurring opinion stressing this point.
Justice Alito's concurring opinion stressed the continuing regulatory uncertainty to which private landowners are subject under the Clean Water Act. The statute's reach is "notoriously unclear," and yet landowners can face substantial fines if they fail to obtain the requisite federal permits before modifying wetlands on their land. According to Alito, the Court's decision in Sackett offers landowners " a modest measure of relief" in that it now ensures that landowners may seek judicial review of an agency order directing them to cure CWA violations or face additional fines. Yet according to Alito, the burden on landowners remains substantial.
the combination of the uncertain reach of the Clean Water Act and the draconian penalties imposed for the sort of violations alleged in this case still leaves most property owners with little practical alternative but to dance to the EPA's tune.
According to Alito, real relief will only come when Congress or the agencies provide a "reasonably clear" jurisdictional rule defining what constitute "waters" subject to federal regulatory control.


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The Sefton has fantastic rooms available for a variety of events.
Whatever type of event you wish to hold, our Events Coordinators at The Sefton will be pleased to show you around our facilities and to discuss all the options available to you. Every event is unique, so please contact us directly to discuss rates. Click here to e-mail us.


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What's News—
Business & Finance
Germany and Spain took steps to dial back green-energy subsidies that have driven up household electricity bills.
As the U.S. agribusiness industry grows, companies like Cargill, Deere and Monsanto are stepping up hiring, which in turn is stoking demand for agriculture degrees.
Mexico's new government is negotiating with rival political parties to use the oil industry and state monopoly Pemex to a different end: cheaper energy for a more competitive economy.
Japan's prime minister is facing a rift with his finance minister over who to pick as the next Bank of Japan governor, a division that epitomizes the difficulty of the selection process.
Orders for the IPO of Russia's primary stock exchange were more than two times oversubscribed, but the deal was expected to price at the lower end of its range.
Nestlé sees a challenging year ahead, with sales growth slowing, but reported a 12% rise in full-year net profit as high-profile brands such as Kit Kat and Nescafé continued to perform well.
Renault posted a 15% fall in net profit and said it expects new vehicles and fewer sales incentives would return its money-losing automotive operations to profit this year.
GM reported a larger fourth-quarter profit and earned money for the third year in a row as strong results from North America and from international operations offset wider losses in Europe.
EDF plans to cut as much as $1.35 billion in costs this year, with more to come, as the French state-controlled power group seeks to lower its debt and get additional financial headroom.
BNP Paribas reported an unexpected decline in fourth-quarter net profit and said it would launch a global cost-cutting program this year.
Italian financial police detained Gianluca Baldassarri, a former executive at Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, as part of a probe into the bank, fearing he could leave the country.
China's online sensors are hurting businesses, slowing their traffic and hindering their use of a new generation of cloud-computing services such as those offered by Google.
Rio Tinto's new CEO, Sam Walsh, said the miner will review investments and cut costs, after it notched its first annual loss following a drop in commodity prices and large impairment charges.
Caixabank has begun searching for a partner who would buy part of its Spanish credit- and debit- card business, the latest indication of a selling spree by Spanish banks to raise capital.
Spain's bank bailout fund warned of significant losses for Bankia shareholders as part of the EU-financed cleanup of the nationalized lender at the heart of the country's banking collapse.
European probes into the mislabeling of horse meat as beef intensified, as U.K. police arrested three men in a fraud investigation and French officials suspended the license of a meat processor after finding evidence of fraud and mislabeling.
Cypriots head to the polls Sunday to elect a new president who will be tasked with unblocking a bailout needed to rescue a teetering banking system and a government reeling from Greece's crash.
A common antianxiety drug, which like many medications ends up in rivers and streams in trace amounts, alters how fish behave, Swedish scientists reported.
Pakistan's highest official religious authority pulled out of a planned meeting in Kabul intended to call on the Taliban to embrace negotiations, dealing a blow to Afghanistan's peace process.
A former Buddhist monk who set himself on fire became at least the 100th person inside China to self-immolate since 2009 to protest tight Chinese rule over Tibetan regions.


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Core Values
SADO believes in, and is guided by the following values:
We acknowledge and respect the diversity and variety of values, practices and positions of the communities, institutions and people we interact with, even where we hold different ones.
We are committed to achieving and maintaining the highest standards and superior quality in delivering of our programs.
We are committed to honesty, truthfulness and trustworthiness in all areas of our operations and in the use of all the resources entrusted to us for the service of our beneficiaries. We accept responsibility for our collective and individual actions.
We use strategically and prudently resources entrusted to us to achieve the most impact with minimal means. We are openly accountable on how the resources at our disposal have been used.
About US
Social-life and Agricultural Development Organization (SADO) is a non-governmental non-profit organization established in 1994, with its headquarters in Mogadishu, Somalia with an operational experience and presence in the greater Horn of Africa.
Wendy court, Suite 8 David Oseli Road off Wayaki Way Westlands Nairobi, Kenya.
'A peaceful, just and prosperous society in the Horn of Africa'.
'To improve the living conditions of vulnerable communities in the Horn of Africa by facilitating relief and sustainable development programs'.
Our Partners


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Failure is your friend. Passion is your friend. Find a place and people who empower your passion and help you learn from your failures. It's your best chance at success.
I was born number five of six children in Waukesha, WI, home of Les Paul and the first legal forward pass in American football history. In 1981, when I was a young guy, I won a state-wide free throw shooting contest. I went on to study Architecture/Graphic Design at Iowa State University and was a member of the first graduating class of the Creative Circus in Atlanta, GA. I'm actually still on the board of directors to this day.
I have developed a global career with stints at Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, Miami, FL; 180 Amsterdam, W+K Amsterdam and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, SF, CA.
I've won lots of those award things in the biz, like the Titanium Lion at Cannes, One Show Best of Show and have been nominated for an Emmy (yes, the actual award everyone's heard of). I currently live in Amsterdam with my wife Julieana and three children.
What do you do for inspiration?
I watch my kids a lot. The two older ones are in Waldorf schooling programs. Ironically the school has a no TV/media rule. At first I thought it was bullshit. Then I saw how much more creative my kids are when they're not being told what a cowboy finds funny by Pixar or how a mouse talks by Disney. There is a reason why people like George Lucas put their kids in Waldorf programs. To be creative you can't have everything defined for you. You must exercise YOUR imagination. Every day.
I also try to visit galleries as much as I can. The odder, the better. Especially when traveling. Once a year I try to get away from everything and visit places like Marfa, Texas (currently my favorite escape).
Please list 3 of your favourite sites.
Notcot.org, Slingbox (without it, I would be disconnected from the motherland and wonderfully shit TV shows like Storage Wars) and npr.org (I'm always inspired by how "unreal" real often seems).
What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?
I guess I'm supposed to say something like: winning the Titanium Lion, or creating Sprint's Now Network work. But really it's having three kids, the fact that my wife stays with me even though I'm in this crazy business, and the fact that, on a daily basis, I still strive and enjoy to sit down with younger creatives and to try making the world a more creative place.
How many hours do you work each week?
I easily work 60 hours. If you ask my wife she'd say 80. I've been trying to be better about it these days.
How do you relax or unwind?
Snowboarding. We had a ski-lease for the past few years in Lake Tahoe. Nothing's better than being out on the mountain. Makes you feel insignificant and unbelievably alive all at once. Dinner parties as well. It's sort of a Dutch thing (well at least we picked it up our first time living in Amsterdam). Bring an odd collection of people together at your dining table, add wine, music and good food and see what happens. Ride my bike. When the shit hits the fan usually a bike ride can clear the head.
What's your favourite part of your job? What's the hardest part of your job? What do you do when you get stuck?
The favorite part: the fact that it's never the same two days in a row. The hardest: the fact that people get so negative/critical and forget that they're being paid to be creative. When stuck: Walk away. Engage with something else, like volunteering for anything – the more random the better.
What's the longest you've ever stayed up working on a project?
Three days straight. In some ways it was almost worth it.
If there are any pivotal experiences/decisions you could point to that helped shape your career, what would they be?
In 1996, when I graduated from the Creative Circus, a buddy and I formed "circus freaks" and traveled the entire country showing our portfolios. We had a website. We updated it by uploading a new copy of it nearly every day. You could say we were blogging before there were blogs. Our goal was to talk to anyone and everyone and document our chats with people in the business. For over more than two months we slept on friends' and families' floors, in national parks, and in the car. We saw over 65 agencies in more than 20 cities. That trip and the people I met became the core from which I've built a career. (Maybe we should have been paying more attention to what we were doing- blogging and creating the basis of Linked-In- than studying the relationship between the chairs in the lobby and the level of creativity of the agency).
What software could you not live without?
Pencil and paper.
In terms of software, is there anything new you have been playing with lately or that has impressed you?
No. I'm a big believer that software doesn't make you creative. What impresses me is when someone combines the modern world with the old. Like Beck releasing his latest music on a music notes sheet.
Have you written any books, if not do you plan to?
I'm working on an art book documenting the rooftop television antenna in America, a soon to be extinct piece of technology. Another book in the works is about how people don't remember phone numbers anymore, and another is about the care-taker of Ronald Reagan – that's as far as I'll go on about that one.
Are there things you do OUTSIDE of work to ensure that you are in the right mindset to be creative and/or successful in whatever you are doing?
I try to listen and observe more than to talk and attract attention.
What was the last digital effort you saw (or were a part of) that used social media in a way that really made sense. Why?
KONY 2012. It made the invisible – visible.
The web is getting out of the web. Do you find that thinking in digital solutions alone hinders you? Do you feel the urge to solve the problem using all mediums necessary?
We're problem solvers and we should use any medium creatively to solve our client's problems.
What are your views on design/graphic school. Do you think someone can get into the field without educational experience in a school environment?
Absolutely. I've seen a guy get hired because he had the balls to rap in Oakland in a jelly donut costume. For some, being creative is easy but that doesn't mean success comes easy. We all need to spend time learning how to channel our creativity to solve each other's problems. The problem is that modern business struggles with the concept of "investing" in creative thinking. That's why the young need training. They need to be billable, which is sad. We don't need the youth of the biz to be billable but we need them to be challenging everything and trying new things, radically new and exciting things. That's what they are good at.
If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring FWA award submitter, what advice would you give them?
Failure is your friend. Passion is your friend. Find a place and people who empower your passion and help you learn from your failures. It's your best chance at success.
What would be your ultimate vehicle to travel in?
Mars Rover.
How do you keep your finger on the pulse of the latest web trends?
Friends outside the biz.
What country excites you the most in terms of innovation?
Brazil. They are going through a magical period. A time when their passion and resources are aligning and the world is watching.
There must be a project that you have always dreamed of doing, what is it?
I dream of doing a film with Hitchcock, a song with Mozart, and a home with Wright. I'm hoping technology will enable things like that in the future.
What are you excited about learning next and is there a long term challenge you are considering tackling?
I'm going to try and learn Dutch out of respect for the wonderful people of this great city I live in. As for the long term – I'm hoping I can be the type of father who inspires his kids by being excited by the ever changing world. Not fear it.
What is the most expensive thing you have bought in the last week?
I bought a new light for my bike for 20 euros.
Any parting shots or pearls of wisdom?
It's not mine (I think its Henry Ford's), but I live by it: "You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do."


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Search Results
Keywords: entertainment
Historical Items Showing 3 of 3445 View All
Item 29335
Title: Garden Entertainment, Blue Hill, ca. 1896
Contributed by: Blue Hill Historical Society
Date: circa 1896
Location: Blue Hill
Media: Photgraph mounted on cardboard
Item 20123
Title: Dramatic entertainment flyer, York, 1869
Contributed by: Maine Historical Society
Date: 1869
Location: York
Media: Ink on paper
Item 29412
Title: Peak Sisters entertainment, North Turner, 1895
Contributed by: Turner Museum and Historical Society
Date: 1895
Location: Turner
Media: Photograph
Exhibits Showing 3 of 64 View All
Fair Season: Crops, Livestock, and Entertainment
Agricultural fairs, intended to promote new techniques and better farming methods, have been held since the early 19th century. Before long, entertainments were added to the educational focus of the early fairs.
"We are growing to be somewhat cosmopolitan…" Waterville in 1911
Between 1870 and 1911, Waterville more than doubled in size, becoming a center of manufacturing, transportation, and the retail trade and offering a variety of entertainments for its residents.
At the heyday of trolleys in Maine, many of the trolley companies developed recreational facilities along or at the end of trolley lines as one further way to encourage ridership. The parks often had walking paths, dance pavilions, and various other entertainments. Cutting-edge technology came together with a thirst for adventure and forever changed social dynamics in the process.
Sites Showing 3 of 28 View All
View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.
View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.
The history of downtown Bath as created by the students of Bath Middle School, with assistance from members of the Sagadahoc History & Genealogy Room at the Patten Free Library and Bath Historical Society. Seventeen exhibits examine various historic blocks in the downtown section of the city.


text: Muddassar Farooq wrote: > Some days ago I emailed that I did not understand the purpose of > clipboardFrame.java in vncviewer applet. What it is doing. At present I > do not understand that. Could somebody have an idea of that This controls the window that appears when you click the 'Clipboard' button. On most platforms, when you do a cut or copy on the server, the server's clipboard is copied to the viewer's clipboard, and vice-versa. Java obviously does not have access to the local clipboard, so this window shows you what is in the remote clipboard. You can manually cut and paste to the remote machine by cutting and pasting to this window. Quentin -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Quentin Stafford-Fraser http://www.orl.co.uk/~qsf ORL - The joint research lab of Olivetti & Oracle --------------------------------------------------------------------- The VNC mailing list - see http://www.orl.co.uk/vnc/intouch.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------


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N 2623 Rd
Hitchcock, OK 73744
History comes to life at Shooting Star History in Hitchcock where visitors are encouraged to experience the past ... read more...
Main & Cimarron
Tuttle, OK 73089
Cowboys on the Chisholm Trail once passed right through what would become downtown Tuttle. A large stone marker along ... read more...
47 Prairie St
Gene Autry, OK 73436
Located in the town named after him, the Gene Autry Oklahoma Museum is all about the city's namesake. Explore an ... read more...
1516 N Lynn Riggs Blvd
Claremore, OK 74017
Stop by Flying F Ranchwear in Claremore for all your Western wear and tack needs. In addition to the only full service ... read more...
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Vendors inside Sister's Attic in Pawhuska have something for everyone. Browse booths full of furniture, home decor, ... read more...
800-928-4574, 580-753-4574
RR 1 Box 16
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This 5,000-acre working cattle ranch, located on what was once an island in the Cimarron River, is considered one of ... read more...
107 N Main St
Noble, OK 73068
Visit Schafer Hat Works in Noble to meet with one of the preeminent hat makers in the nation. A master craftsman and ... read more...
800-595-7433, 405-282-7433
9600 Lazy E Dr
Guthrie, OK 73044
The Lazy E Arena is one of the nation's largest and most respected venues for cowboy and Western events. National and ... read more...
800-552-8803, 580-369-2354
205 S A St
Davis, OK 73030
Stillwater Milling Co. is a 10,000 sq ft facility with an extremely diverse inventory. Stop in to browse through their ... read more...
1305 S Agnew
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
What began in 1910 as the Oklahoma National Stockyards Company, a public livestock market, has since become Historic ... read more...
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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The 2011 ELCA video contest, "What Does it Mean to 'Live Lutheran'?" began May 17 and runs through June 30.
There's still time for you or your congregation to record a short video sharing how you "live Lutheran" in today's world.
ELCA members are everyday evangelists who bring the gospel message with them wherever they go. What does this mean for you?
Visit Living Lutheran for contest rules, forms and more, including tips to help you get started. Win a $3,000 ministry grant for an ELCA congregation, or a $1,500 cash prize.
© 2016 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers


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Feb. 19, 2013
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -
Alabama senior Ashley Sledge was named Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week Tuesday afternoon according the league office.
"I'm very proud of Ashley," UA head coach Sarah Patterson said. "Prior to the Auburn meet, we talked about working for those extra half-tenths in her routines. She did just that and went out and moved forward on all three events Friday night.'
Sledge posted season-best scores of 9.9 on the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise against Auburn, leading Alabama to a season-best 197.650. The Crimson Tide's total was the highest score in the nation last week.
The Fairview Heights, Ill., native's 9.9 on the floor exercise tied her career-high. Sledge's score on the floor helped push Alabama to a season-best 49.500 as a team. Her 9.9 on vault helped lead Alabama to a season-high 49.475.
Sledge and the rest of the No. 4 ranked Crimson Tide travels to Fayetteville, Ark. this week where they will take on No. 19 Arkansas on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. Alabama then returns home to face fifth-ranked UCLA on Friday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are available now through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum or online at RollTide.com.


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Standing at Lydd
Previously N983AJ. Built in 1981. With thanks to Dave and Malcolm at Lydd Aero Club.
[Europa League Football Final]
First in the database of this one, looking good basking in the Sun [400D]
Previous registration D-ISAZ still visible.
In the background D-AHEI Hapag-Lloyd Executive Challenger.
later it was going to Poland


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Only a week to go to the big Red Bull Crashed Ice event in Niagara Falls. The course looks pretty cool. Here are some pictures that I took yesterday. It looks like all they need now is ice.
Tags: ice, murray st, red bull, red bull crashed ice, Skylon Tower


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Service and Support
Military Spouses of Michigan is a network of spouses and family members who support each other. We host social and community support projects, ranging from sending care packages for spouses and children whose family members are deployed, gatherings for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions, social programs ranging from bowling to movie nights, and child care support.
We believe military spouses and families should have access to the rights and protections that are afforded to them under the law. Services we provide to our spouses, free of charge, include legal advice and representation, educational opportunities and access to information about employment and career support in our state. We will also provide information on important state and federal changes or development that affect their rights and benefits as spouses or family members, and encourage them to advocate for legal and policy changes that protect our military community, including our veterans and family members.
- Pro Bono Legal Services: Military spouses, partners and families often need legal counsel or representation as they seek to access their rights or protections promised to them under the law. In addition, many legal problems, some unrelated to military service, may emerge while their service member is deployed or stationed away from their home. MSoM will provide free legal consultation and, if needed, representation for spouses, family members, and veterans. We will review potential legal claims and build a network of attorneys and bar associations who are willing to offer pro bono legal services and other guidance for military spouses, partners and family members.
- Educational and Employment Services: According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 26% of military spouses are unemployed. And experts estimate that 80-to-85 percent of military spouses want to work, but many are restricted by the responsibilities that come with supporting their spouses' moves and deployments. On top of that, those who are employed earn roughly 25 percent less than their civilian counterparts.
- Social Gatherings: We believe that one of the greatest needs of our Michigan MilSpouse community is also the simplest: building meaningful relationships with each other and our community. Whether through brunches, pot luck dinners, weekly movie nights, bowling outings, or athletic and sports activities, MSoM will host gatherings of spouses to provide social support and connectivity. These gatherings will occur throughout the state, on a regular basis, to provide spouses with an opportunity to build relationships and support one another during the difficulties of deployment, separation, and other challenges.
- Sharing Skills: We know that each member of our community has unique needs and skills. From nurses to teachers to lawyers to social workers, we believe that each military spouse, partner and family member has skills that can be used to support our community. Recognizing this, we will host a private, online forum for member spouses to connect with one another, post requests for help and assistance and also offer to share their skills or expertise to help a fellow milspouses. Whether a spouse paints art, provides legal assistance, offers music lessons, makes clothing, bakes goods or knows someone who does, we will bring spouses together to share their talents with each other.
- Community Support Projects: As military spouses, partners, and families, we believe in giving back to our community and other communities that are facing high unemployment, isolation, and lack of access to important services and support. We will organize several community projects that MSoM can sponsor and spearhead with our partner organizations. Examples of projects are developing care packages for military families, spouses, and kids, and sending cards, letters and packages of support and thanks to members of our community who are coping with the deployment or the death of their service member. We also will provide support programming and opportunities for other organizations, schools, community groups and all Michiganders to show their support for our military spouses and families.
Military Spouses of Michigan is building a network of tools that can help spouses and their families address these disparities. We will host programs on financial literacy, starting a new business or nonprofit, sponsor employment fairs and support career development. We will also host educational programming about legal changes that affect milspouses and their families, and advocate for legal changes and programming that supports our community.


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Charlotte Martin Water Breaks Stone Lyrics
Last updated: 02/26/2014 08:17:14 AM
Undone and transfered
Undo the making of the tree
You were the neck and pea
The leafs have poisoned us
And certain spell in me ached
You are the light that froze
Has water break the stone?
Can you please (???)
Has water break the stone?
It started to snow, sooner or later
Click here to submit the Corrections of Water Breaks Stone Lyrics


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Edition: 3rd
Author(s): Icove, David J., Ph.D., PE; De Haan, John D.
ISBN: 9780132623827 / Nonspecific Binding / 1/18/2013
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Continuing to expand this weekend is director John Sayles' latest indie feature, Go For Sisters, which stars Yolonda Ross and LisaGay Hamilton as childhood friends who were once so close they could "go for sisters." After losing track of each other for two decades, the women are reunited by chance in a parole office, with Bernice (Hamilton) now a no-nonsense parole officer and Fontayne (Ross) an ex-convict trying to clean up her life. When Bernice's son goes missing, she enlists the help of Fontayne and a retired detective (Edward James Olmos) on a journey that takes them across the Mexican border and into a world of danger.
Go For Sisters opens in Atlanta (GA), Albuquerque (NM), Columbus (OH), Santa Fe (NM), San Diego (CA), Lake Worth (FL) theaters today, Friday, November 29. For next week's expansion, and thereafter, see the release schedule at the bottom of this post, followed by the trailer:
Hamilton and Ross made time to chat briefly in what started as an interview about the film and ended as a conversation about artistry in general, and the choices that actors and others make to sustain themselves creatively.
JAI TIGGETT: This film is rare in a lot of ways. Two black women leading a thriller, working together to solve a problem that's not about anyone's relationship drama, but about very adult issues of family, friendship. Can you talk about what resonated with you most about the script and the project in general?
LISAGAY HAMILTON: Employment was big on my list. When I got the call that John [Sayles] wanted me to be in his film, I was glad, but then as I'm reading the script I see my character name again and again. And I realize it's actually in just about every scene. And so that itself was rare, to be in a film where I was telling a story from beginning to end. And then you had all of the other elements - two African-American women, a very diverse cast, as are all of John's films. He gives the opportunity for all the characters to be full-fledged human beings with complexity. And so with all of that, it was impossible to walk away.
YOLONDA ROSS: It's funny you bring that up about reading the script, because I went through the same exact thing, glancing through the pages and seeing my name keep popping up. And knowing how John writes, you know that the characters will be thorough. It's not going to be just some generic part. And then to see that it's LisaGay, who I'd never worked with, and just to be a black woman at the helm of a film that's not a stereotypical story, was exciting for me.
JT: Your on-screen friendship seems easy and natural. Tell me about working together for the first time.
LH: For me, I automatically fell in love with Yolonda, so it was easy breezy. And then, you don't have time really. We only had 19 days, so you'd better really love each other. Circumstances were so crazy - there's no money, no trailer, no air conditioning. It's boot camp, and you just go with it. So it was easy to establish a rapport because it just naturally happened. And as an artist I respect Yolonda's work and I think while our training or background may be different, we have a very similar vocabulary. We weren't speaking a different language. I understood exactly what her process was and where she was coming from, and it complemented mine.
YR: I thought the same thing. I really appreciate the differences in everyone's acting process. So what LisaGay says about complementing, I really enjoy that a lot because we have two ways of processing things, but we trust each other. That comes through, that kind of give and take, and as far as friendship and character I felt it was real. We were Fontayne and Bernice.
LH: And you have to go back and give credit where it's due, and that's John's script. With those characters on the page, there was no question. He's the only director that I have worked with that actually sends you a 10-page bio of who your character is. He gives you everything and so you automatically come to the table with clarity. Because also, John doesn't have time for questions. You've only got 19 days.
YR: And we don't do rehearsal.
JT: No rehearsal. So you really didn't spend much time together before you filmed?
LH: If we went to location together, maybe having a meal on set. But that's it.
YR: Also with John, his directing is hiring the right actors. So we do our work and we come to set ready for him.
LH: Coming ready meant, for me, I went and found a parole officer on my own and shadowed her for a day. I wanted to get gun experience. I'd never shot a gun, so I went to a firing range. I mean, you come prepared. Because you don't have a choice.
JT: Tell me more about this 10-page character bio.
LH: It's amazing. This man is a writer. His latest book, I think is a thousand pages. He's prolific. And as a result of most of this money coming out of John's pocket, he also doesn't have time to have questions or to worry about the shot. He has to know everything. And since he has to know everything, you have to know everything. There's no time.
So he really gives you this background of where your character came from, what they were doing. It's actually a very thorough and unusual template for an actor to jump off of because most of the time you're writing your own bio, you're imagining. But John doesn't give you that imagination. He gives you, "This is what happened, this is who you are, this is where you came from." And so for me, there's really no question about who the person is.
YR: It makes complete sense because he's a writer first. He gives you the background on the character, and that's what it is.
JT: So there was no improvisation? The dialogue in the film is so sharp, from a white male writer originally voicing these characters.
YR: We didn't go off script.
LH: Be truthful, you're not allowed to go off [laughs].
YR: I feel there are people who are straight up writers and there's no fudging of their words. Like playwrights, they don't let you mess with their words. And that's how I feel John is, like a playwright, a straight up writer.
LH: And John knows his words so well that without the script in front of him while shooting, if you didn't get a line right, he'd shout it out to you. And he was never in another room. He believes in being in the room with you. So he knew what he was doing.
JT: Going back to something you both said earlier, about being surprised at the depth of these roles. You're both veteran actresses, so to hear that is surprising.
LH: It's a numbers game. We were hired by a white male director who chooses to write and direct his own films and specifically tell stories that he wants to see, and I love John for that. But the stories aren't commercial. Any actors he works with are never commercial. That says a lot about not only him, but also about Yolonda and I. We could name other African-American actresses who could perhaps bring more money to the table.
This film is having a hard time before it even begins, and part of that is racism, part of that is sexism, part of that is the system and who runs it, what kind of stereotypical stories that people are interested in seeing, which films producers are more likely to participate in. It's a combination of things, but the bottom line is always going to be green. I'm not poo-pooing our town and our capabilities by any means, but we know the numbers game. For me, we're not A-list in the commercial market, so it's going to be a struggle because it's not going to have the support. For any person of color, it's a numbers game and it's real.
YR: That bottom line is killing creativity and making it hard for everybody. I've led a film before. My first project was as a lead in a film, so to go backwards and have to read for something that's only three lines doesn't make any sense. There are so many parts that I'd like to see, that women of color don't get offered. Go For Sisters is conventional in a way because it's dealing with friendship, but if it were at a major studio you'd have Jennifer Aniston, or any combination of women that's not us.
LH: But I think what's happening now, and Yolonda is a good example of this, is that you have more and more artists doing their own work on a smaller scale, and the internet is the place.
JT: And you've both created your own work - the short Breaking Night (directed by Yolonda), and Beah: A Black Woman Speaks (directed by LisaGay).
YR: You just want to make something that's of quality. If you know that you're a creative being and you're not getting what you need to function, you have to make that happen. Because otherwise you're going to be a really upset person, and this business can do that to you if you're not getting the offers that you want or need to even grow. You learn and grow by doing. If you don't get the offers to do them, you're just sitting. You're getting stale.
So with my short, that's what I did. I figured I knew enough people to make something and I wanted to challenge myself and see what I could do. And the short is doing really well. VH1 Classics picked it up as the new music video for Blinded by the Light. The group really liked it, so I'm psyched about that. It's just really wanting to broaden yourself and use the gifts and talents you have.
LH: I think part of that is the green issue. I'll go back to Beah [Richards] who said, "You may not be a millionaire, but you can win." I'm fortunate enough to have a life partner, my husband, who says, "You don't have to take that job. Do what you want to do. Read, write, do what you want to do creatively." And ultimately whatever the product may be, it's not about the money that you make.
Now the trick is, how do you make a living as an artist? Whether you're a visual artist, a ballet dancer, whatever kind of art you want to do. And the point is, you may not be able to. However, you can still make product that is meaningful to you and that ultimately has meaning and usefulness to the world. And that is what we have to begin to embrace, that the movie star stuff isn't really relevant and tangible. We have to be more positive and proactive and not complain and wait for them to hire you, because they're not. Not enough work, racism, sexism, all the isms. They're just not. So the question always becomes, "What are you doing as an individual artist?"
YR: And I think people take notice when you're doing your own thing. Because it's not everybody else's thing, it's not the same thing. I think both of us have shown that. We're still around, and I think that says a lot for what we do and how people see our work.
Go For Sisters opens in Atlanta (GA), Albuquerque (NM), Columbus (OH), Santa Fe (NM), San Diego (CA), Lake Worth (FL) theaters today, Friday, November 29. For next week's expansion, and thereafter, see the release schedule below, followed by the trailer:


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Hi All,
I would like to get some feedback from the community and Zimbra employees as well, as to the best antivirus to use with the Outlook Connector on the user's desktop.
For the record, I've had a terrible time with Panda Antivirus+Firewall 2007, so I would recommend people stay away from it. Avast Antivirus Pro has also been problematic. I'd like to know if either Kaspersky or BitDefender would work properly?


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Join Us On Social Media
Springtime not only brings the melting of snow, sunshine, bicycling, and baseball, but it delivers a fresh set of colors and ingredients to restaurants. Chefs across the country look forward to spring as it opens the doors for more menu variety and creative green entrées. We have gathered a list of some of the top spring ingredients that will not only please the eyes but delight your taste buds.
We held a Contest in 2010 called What Would You Cool? $500 Cash Prize for the Winner! The foodservice panel has selected the winning idea!! Check out the video.
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Maintain safe food temperatures without sacrificing attractive presentation. TempStations™ makes it easy with their line of cold catering equipment buffet stations. Chef John Warren founded TempStations™ after growing frustrated with the limited food storage options available to caterers and other food service professionals. He needed a portable solution that could be incorporated into existing buffets to provide constant cold temperatures outside the kitchen -- even in covered outdoor settings. Unable to find a suitable solution with current food service equipment manufacturers, Warren decided to create his own supply of products for cooking and catering companies.
CoolStation™ makes it possible to display dessert stations, sushi bars, deli trays and seafood at safe temperatures. The portable CoolStation™ is perfect for the restaurant owner, catering professional and commercial events planner. Interchange its stainless steel tray and bowl modules to create an exciting food display that's unique every time. Buy the CoolStation™ online by logging on to the TempStations™ web site, see a list of frequently asked questions or speak with a CoolStation™ sales associate today.
Frostation™ uses new cooling technology to create a mobile ice cream mix-in station. It can be set up almost anywhere to create the ultimate party experience for caterers, ice cream shops, hotels, clubs and commercial settings. Each Frostation™ has room to equip three ice cream flavors and 13 mix-in supplies. No equipments lease or rental is necessary – the Frostation™ pays for itself in just 10 events. You don't even have to hire outside help. The Frostation™ can serve up to 100 guests with a single operator. See a list of wholesale prices by logging on to the TempStations™ website.
There are many action station distributors and suppliers, but only one TempStations™. Watch a video demo of the Frostation™ and CoolStation™ at work, or contact us today for more information.
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Camcard Lite Android app puts your business contacts in a good place
by Tim McLain
Rolodex users, wake up and smell the 21st century. Camcard is a powerful, easy-to-use business card reader that uses your phone's camera to convert paper cards into new electronic contact files in your Android phone.
In my limited demo, I encountered zero read errors or other issues. I held up several business cards to the camera lens, allowed the auto-focus to kick in, took a picture, and the software was seven for seven in capturing all the card information and inserting it into fresh contact files. If you're in global sales, there's a good chance the app can handle most of the languages you'll encounter (12 presently), and the ability to edit the imported information makes the process flawless. The app will even auto-rotate images to do a proper import, and crop out background text that might be in the image with your cards.
As with all camera-based apps, you'll want to take care to place cards on a plain surface before taking a picture, avoid moving your hand when taking each snap, and keep the card as big as possible in the viewfinder before capturing an image.
If you'll only scan a handful of cards each week, the Lite version will work just fine. If you take in more than 10-15 each week, you'll want to pony up for the unlimited version, which costs $14.99.


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"Today is the day, the day that you'll start." This is the beginning of a famous poem by Dr. Seuss and it's also the beginning of my message to all those who are embarking on a career in the field of cosmetology. This is a fantastic industry! The whole picture of what you can do with a cosmetology license has grown into unlimited opportunities.
Throughout your career you can work behind the chair, as a platform artist, on movie sets, in salon management consulting or you may even decide to create your own product line. You may even develop a whole new direction for salon and spa operations! The possibilities are endless. Of course all this comes from getting you license and always participating in continued education.
For me, a career in cosmetology all started with a fascination with hair, mainly mine. I wanted to know how it could be cut, styled and colored. So it was an easy decision for me to go to cosmetology school. I really didn't know how much I'd grow to love the profession until I got started. That's the great thing about being open to trying new things; you never know where your adventures will take you. Over the last 25 years, I have spent 15 behind the chair and at one point I decided to compliment my license by getting a bachelor's degree in Business as well as a degree in Interior Design. I've spent the last part of my career working as a Distributor Consultant, helping salon owners in all aspects of running a salon and managing a design studio for a salon equipment manufacturer.
But the adventure doesn't stop there! With the economic downturn in 2008 came a new opportunity to increase my field of expertise by obtaining an MBA in Sustainable Business and LEED-AP in Commercial Interiors. I am now building a career transforming our industry from earth plunderers to Eco-Friendly stewards of the environment. Every day is a new adventure with new mountains to climb! You never know where your path will lead you, and I wish you great success in all your endeavors. Allow me to end with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Seuss: "You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!" Dr. Seuss
– Tamara Jercha, Salon & Spa Sustainability Consultant