text:
Island tales
- 31 July, 2005 22:00
It's 29 degrees and mildly humid. I've just had an open-air lunch with my wife, while Annie the house girl looks after our two-year-old, cleans the house, does the washing and takes care of the dishes... When I knock off at 5pm this evening, I have a five-minute drive home to the other side of town. It's getting a bit cool now, but a swim in the pool may help push the hassles of the day out of mind... These are not passages from a holiday diary, but a description of a typical working day for Tony Phelps, a UK-born Australian now working as an IT executive in Vanuatu.
Phelps is back in Port Vila for a second stint, earning a "six-figure package" as senior VP of IT for the Bayer Group finance house.
After a few years running the IBM mainframe at Hampshire Country Council in the UK, he was offered a network engineer job in Vanuatu, where his parents also lived.
Phelps met his Australian wife there and after five years, they headed to Melbourne, where he became IT manager of Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries. But after three years, a chance to return to Vanuatu was an offer too good to refuse.
"This time, the contract horizon is more limited, and the focus is much more on establishing sustainability - getting the local guys to a point where they can not only maintain but continue the corporate IT, but on their own initiative," he says.
Working in Vanuatu is so much different from the Australian and British workplaces Phelps has been used to. For the former French colony, a working day means a 7.30am start, but a two-hour lunch allows time for a swim or study.
Locals expect to be told what to do and quite often, it is better to do the job yourself, especially for harder tasks. Much more can be done through personal contacts than by following "the rules", says Phelps.
But the fundamental challenge is cultural. "Although geographically remote, and with far fewer local resources to call upon than you'd expect in Australia or New Zealand, it is the simultaneously attractive and frustrating laid-back mindset that is hardest to deal with," he says. "Things really are left until tomorrow."
There is no stigma over losing your job and this makes it harder to convince staff to do more in less time and with fewer resources she says.
Thus, local staff have to be told why they must beat the competition, which means involving them more in the business, setting targets, reviewing accomplishments and reminding people "that it can be good to come to work".
Next is the big IT challenge - the cost of communications. "The monopoly telecomms company suffers the usual simplified complaints from its customers, but many are justified. Very high prices, poor service, limited reach, excessive bureaucracy, undersized infrastructure,and slow modernisation all play a part. It means you have to be a lot more careful with the volume of a network's communications activities," he says.
Europeans run many South Pacific businesses. "It's easy to detect a fairly colonial attitude," he says referring to the deference paid by the local residents to expat executives. The older workers accept this, he says, but younger ones want challenge, reward, respect and involvement as any Australasian.
Phelps is updating a 20-year-old Cobol-based financial management system, as well as the Novell network. He is also overhauling the corporate website from "brochure-ware" to include e-business capabilities. He recommends considering a stint in the South Pacific as "a short-term thing, so you end up having a good time before you return to the real world."
Diversity of experience can also be good for the CV.
Would-be expats should "keep their standards", but expect cynicism from locals who are used to expats coming in to do projects and leaving them none-the-wiser. They also need to slow down both physically and mentally, he adds.
But for expat executives, additional challenges come from outside the workplaces.
"Law and order is gradually deteriorating. Burglaries and break-ins are on the rise and the police both poorly equipped and eunnthusiastic about dealing with them. Violence, thankfully, is not a big concern - unless you mess with somebody's wife.
"In addition, the government seems to suffer from a belief that they have a right to money from foreigners, and continue to introduce new and bigger taxes that principally affect the expat or business community while at the same time closing off industries for locals-only participation. The result is they are choking-off commerce and I'm pessimistic about the long-term future," Phelps adds.
The French connection
It's a different perspective for Phill Hardstaff, senior systems engineer for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) in New Caledonia, who has married a local and says Pacific life is best.
"There is no other place like it, some of the friendliest people on earth, some of the most amazing cultures, and the most amazing mix of peoples," he says.
The former Telecom Australia engineer joined the inter-governmental body in 1986 seeking a challenge. After a short spell back in Melbourne with Honeywell in 1992, he quickly returned for the warm weather, good salary and five-minute commutes. "It's a great place to bring up kids. It hasn't lost its innocence yet," he adds.
His boss, IT manager Sam Taufao, a Samoan who has also worked in Australia, confirms living standards are comparable to Brisbane, but with a more relaxed workplace.
The SPC has offices in Noumea and Suva (Fiji) and serves 22 Pacific countries. In June, Hardstaff was in the Marshall Islands advising on a Ministry of Health computerisation project. The SPC is also developing a digital strategy for the Pacific.
However, the SPC also faces the challenges of expensive satellite-based bandwidth, training locals, sourcing spare parts and workload expectations.
For Franck Martin, working as an expat executive in Fiji means plenty of challenges, but also shifting to a "holiday mode" after each working day. Martin is ICT specialist for the inter-government development organisation South Pacific Applied Geoscience Organisation (SOPAC) in Fiji.
The chartered engineer left France for the South Pacific as part of his military service and extended his stay. After setting up the ISP in Tuvalu, shifting the Kiribati ISP from proprietary software to open source, Martin is now installing mapping servers across various countries.
Such maps, using open source CMS software, direct users to web-based content and allow the creation of online communities. Governments that fund maps also benefit, as better information helps them make better decisions.
Martin warns working in the Pacific could mean lower wages, unless you are employed in an international organisation. Fiji also has poorer health services and you also must understand how locals work. "Ensure they're agreeing and not just saying yes. There is a tradition not to challenge, not to discuss decisions. But this is changing and you need to make the locals feel more confident," he adds.
Fellow French citizen Laurent Annonier is information systems director of Air Tahiti Nui. After graduating in IT and aeronautics, he worked for the French aerospace agency (CNES) before moving to Tahiti to become a database administrator for its Civil Aviation Authority.
After 18 months, the 29-year-old moved to the Air Tahiti domestic carrier as IT project manager before joining the Air Tahiti Nui international carrier as a consultant and then becoming its information systems director one year ago.
His main projects include achieving 100 per cent e-ticketing and reshaping the company intranet to save on paper and cut costs. His challenges include factoring in the isolation of Tahiti during project implementations, and the airline's growing telecommunication needs.
Annonier finds French Polynesian life "enriching" both professionally and personally. He notes, though, "IT management salaries are higher than in Australia or New Zealand, but the cost of living is also higher."
Local perspectives
Samoan-born Gisa Fuatai Purcell has held business analyst and consulting roles with Wellington City Council, ANZ and the National Bank.
Now, as ICT advisor and secretary of the National ICT committee, Purcell leads the development of Samoa's national ICT policy and national ICT plan, working with government ministers, private sector groups and NGOs. "The difference between my job and other IT jobs is at the decision-making level, focusing on IT policies and strategies at the national level," she says.
Purcell took up her posts in 2003 after gaining a masters in commerce and administration from Victoria University Wellington. She wanted to "give something back" to her home country and she dislikes Kiwi winters.
Samoa's main IT projects include "building the country gateway" for Samoa and establishing "multipurpose ICT centres" in the rural villages.
Purcell enjoys research and is passionate about how ICT can help developing countries.
Opportunities exist for expats in Samoa but only if they share knowledge and want to make a difference. "There is no room for gold-digging but there is lots of enjoying the tropical climate and the lovely Samoan beaches as well as the culture," Purcell adds.
Tonga is also busy on ICT strategy. As deputy secretary for finance, Auckland University graduate Siaosi Sovaleni has the most senior ICT job in government. He manages administration and finance, the technical aspects of the ICT services delivery; plus developing and managing ICT projects for government.
Government projects include GOTNET - a wide area network for government, linking ministries and departments with fibre in the main city and leased lines further away, to share government data and applications.
Internet costs are a major challenge, costing NZ$750 a month for a 128K leased line, plus $150 a month for a modem.
Tongan salaries are low and so are living costs, but the local culture offers expats a "break from the hectic pace" of the traditional Australasian working holiday, he says.
The Oxford University graduate says the local staff are capable, even if they often rely on expats for advice. He hopes GOTNET will overcome such dependency.
"I think all Pacific Islands stand to benefit from the experience of New Zealand and Australia. We should learn from their successes and failures (and hopefully avoid them)," Sovaleni adds.
Rajneesh Charan is manager information systems at the Fiji Sugar Corporation in Lautoka. She manages 20 staff and provides a range of IT services to the FSC's four mills, a Sydney corporate office, plus the Lautoka City Council.
Charan says FSC technologies are modern and her development team has designed specialist systems for weighbridges, cane accounting, field information, farm assistance, truck tracking, mill engineering; plus traditional finance and administrative packages.
Her role includes managing all the corporation's, information-related activities including related planning and coordination, plus maintaining the centralised applications and databases.
Her challenges include retraining and building expertise due to staff turnover, the high cost of limited bandwidth and a limited operated budget. While Fiji wages are low, she adds: "If you're prepared to take up the challenges and prepared to work within the means, then Fiji is the place."
Telco tribulations
Robert McFadzien, IT manager of Cook Islands Telecom, says working in the Pacific offers hands-on experience and very good working relationships with workmates.
The Cook Islander has also worked for Telecom Nuie and the Voyager ISP in Auckland, but prefers the Pacific life, particularly for scuba diving. The lifestyle is relaxed and friendly although sometimes visiting consultants are surprised at how "hectic it can get".
Costs can be astronomical, with a 2MB ADSL connection from his Oyster Net ISP costing $35,000 a month. Broadband at 115 kbs service is available in the main island of Rarotonga, plus Aututaki. A wi-fi 'hotspot' network is also being installed at island hotels.
Telecom Cook Islands is also working on EDUNET and TELEHEALTH projects with the island government, connecting schools and hospitals, and installing ADSL2+ infrastructure in the capital Avarua.
For McFadzien, isolation is the main challenge, making it harder to access new products, and raising the costs of spare parts and support. Therefore, it is also important to possess all-around, rather than specialist skills.
The issue of obtaining spare parts and support is also raised by the executive manager IT of Telecom Services Kiribati Ltd (TSKL), which is currently installing a pre-paid wireless internet system. Pinto Katia contributes to business planning and strategy and heads a team of eight. Katia says his job is challenging, as people expect him to know all the technologies.
A major issue for all IT leaders in the South Pacific is software standardisation and open source. "I am not against Microsoft, but since open source is free, move to it," he states.


text:
Misdiagnosing routine power quality problems due to the effects of voltage surges or sags is easy to do, if you're unclear about the causes.
A large-scale insurance office has several computers malfunctioning. It seems they lock up in the middle of operations - most often when they start printing to the central laser printer. Maintenance checks out the problem by connecting a meter to the system and monitoring the situation for 24 hr. After concluding that surges on the system are the culprit, maintenance personnel orders surge suppressors to remedy the situation. Two weeks after the installation of the suppressors, the computers are still locking up. What else could be the problem?
Finally, someone decides to use a scopemeter to analyze the circuit, determining that the office copier is running off the same circuit and creating a voltage sag. The internal heater of the copier cycles on every minute for 1 sec to 2 sec, which draws about 25A of current. The laser engine is also kicking in on occasion, further reducing the system voltage. This compounds the problem. Unfortunately, all the suppressors in the world wouldn't have helped in this condition.
You can attribute many problems in plant operations to voltage sags or dips that are not destructive in nature - but are problematic. You need a clear understanding of surges and sags to isolate these types of problems. Let's take a closer look at voltage sags and surges and see how they affect other electrical equipment on your system.
A voltage sag (dip) is more than a 10% decrease below the normal rated line voltage - lasting anywhere from .5 cycles, up to 1 min in duration. If this condition lasts longer than a minute, it's an under voltage condition. We don't consider a complete loss (0V) to be a voltage sag. A voltage surge (swell) is where we exceed the normal voltage by 10% or greater, for a period of .5 cycles and less than 1 min. This condition typically occurs with the cyclic removal and addition of loads in our building. It's usually the source of many problems.
All equipment operates within a specific voltage range. Problems develop when you begin to leave the safe region of operation specified for that equipment. Industry standards suggest a deviation of 510% is acceptable for most equipment. However, you must examine this on a case-by-case basis, as installations and equipment are subject to individual circumstances.
It's easy to misdiagnose many routine problems in and around the plant, tracing the problems back to voltage sags - especially when this condition is cyclic in nature. Here are some common problems associated with voltage sags.
Lighting problems. Voltage sags below 80% of rated voltage can extinguish most HID lamps, requiring a restart that can take several minutes. Decreased voltage to fluorescent fixtures also has an adverse effect on the life and efficiency of the lamps. These problems begin with a voltage decrease as little as 7% to 8%, well within the acceptable 10% range.
Solenoid problems. It's common practice to replace solenoid valves for sticking or hanging up during operation. Unfortunately, the real problem with these units is probably due to an improper voltage source. A reduced voltage at the wrong time will prevent the coil from developing the needed magnetic force to operate the spool inside the valve, resulting in erratic operation. Many ice cube relays suffer premature failure under the same conditions, as they attempt to keep their contacts closed under load.
Motor problems. Motors can also suffer from voltage sags. The most common effect of voltage sags with motors is reduced torque capabilities and additional heating. A motor's current increases proportionately to the amount of reduced voltage. Thus, a 10% voltage drop will increase full load current by 10%. The same 10% voltage reduction can reduce motor torque by as much as 22%!
There's no simple solution to solving your power quality dilemmas. In some cases, common sense load distribution is all you need to solve your problem. Other times, voltage stabilizers or regulators may be the answer.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In mid-1959, my parents, Louis and Eleanor Florida, moved from the Italian neighborhood in Newark, N.J., where they were born, raised and married, to the nearby working-class suburb of North Arlington, toting along 1½-year-old me. They bought a new home for $15,000—a two-family Cape Cod with a yard—and for the rest of their lives never stopped marveling at the good fortune that had brought them to their new suburban refuge. Around the same time—on July 24, 1959, to be exact—Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and Vice President Richard Nixon held a fierce, impromptu debate in the fully equipped kitchen of a model American suburban home that had been erected, incongruously enough, in Sokolniki Park in Moscow, as a part of a cultural exchange. The Soviet press had likened the house to the Taj Mahal, though Khrushchev professed to be underwhelmed by its panoply of labor-saving devices. "Don't you have a machine that puts food into the mouth and pushes it down?" he asked sarcastically.
The subject soon shifted to global politics and nuclear weapons, but the indelible black-and-white impression that lingered was of the American dream made real: the single-family residence, complete with dishwasher, washing machine and TV, standing on a neatly landscaped plot of land in the suburbs—an aspiration that any wage earner, even a factory worker like my father, could reasonably hope to achieve.
Story Continued Below
Half a century later, America's landscape has changed in fundamental ways, with powerful implications for its politics. Inner-city neighborhoods—even once notorious ones such as Brooklyn's Red Hook, whose 1950s-era prostitutes, hoods and union toughs were brought to life in Hubert Selby Jr.'s searing novel Last Exit to Brooklyn, and which remained a hub of the drug trade through the 1990s—are being transformed into meccas of boutiques, art galleries and locally sourced restaurants. At the same time, blight and intransigent poverty are moving out to the suburbs, where one-third of the country's poor now reside. For all the attention paid to Detroit's bankruptcy, the Motor City is very much an outlier as American cities go. On balance, urban areas have been on an upward trend, while suburbs have struggled.
The political repercussions of this new economic map, while still emerging, are already enormous. America's increasingly affluent big cities and their close-in suburbs are becoming more progressive and Democratic, while its smaller cities and farther-flung exurbs grow increasingly conservative. But today's suburbs are not the affluent enclaves and working-class white hamlets that author Kevin Phillips saw as the key strongholds of the GOP's emerging " silent majority" back in the 1960s. Between de-industrialization and the housing market collapse, many such areas are less than thriving. Some are hotbeds of Tea Party radicalism; some have become as progressive as their core cities, if not more so. Where migrants are streaming into formerly lily-white areas, racial resentment and xenophobia are rising; in other suburbs, immigrants and minorities have become the majority. As a result, the key political fissure in American politics no longer runs across the country's swing states but zigzags through the rapidly growing ranks of what I call its "distress 'burbs."
Behind Washington's trench warfare—the gridlocked legislative process, the polarization of Congress—lies this fundamental demographic realignment. Where we once had two parties, each sprawled across the country, north and south, east and west, we now have two distinct coalitions defined primarily by density. The old dichotomies—red state/blue state, city/suburb—are just too simplistic to capture today's much more complex picture, which often as not is painted in shades of pink, purple and mauve. Welcome to America's new map.
Growing up in North Arlington, I walked to school, rode my bike, played sandlot baseball and touch football, and was the lead guitarist in the band my brother and I formed. For most of my life, the suburbs really were the locus of the American dream. Perhaps even more significant than their sprawling homes and lawns were their shopping malls, industrial parks and office campuses, which accounted for a growing percentage of the country's postwar economic output. Many suburbs eventually morphed into so-called edge cities—satellite centers where people could live, work and shop without having to venture into the blighted center city. I never set foot in Manhattan—just a few miles away—until I was in high school.
The rise of suburbia parallels the rise of the automobile with amazing precision. In 1910, at the dawn of the automotive age, 21 percent of the U.S. population lived in central cities versus just 7 percent in the suburbs. The growth rate in suburbs began to outpace that of cities around 1940; by 1960, with the build-out of the highway system, the suburban and urban shares of the population were about equal, at around 30 percent. North Arlington's population exploded over this time, from fewer than 500 residents in 1910 to more than 18,000 people packed into an area just over two square miles—much of it given over to a cemetery—in 1970. By 2000, the suburban share of the U.S. population had reached 50 percent.
But over the course of the past decade, this long-established pattern began to reverse. By 2011, America's major cities were growing faster than their suburbs for the first time since Americans were driving Model-T Fords. Big cities from New York to Seattle, Boston to San Francisco, became talent magnets, drawing large shares of more affluent college graduates to their downtown cores—a shift the urbanist Alan Ehrenhalt dubs "The Great Inversion."
Real-estate prices provide another marker of the new urban tilt. For a long time, the suburbs were where the nation's most expensive homes and zip codes could be found. But today, the growth in housing prices in urban centers has outpaced that in the suburbs in 16 of the nation's 20 largest metros, according to a recent analysis by the economist Jed Kolko. These areas include not just the usual suspects—Boston, Chicago, New York—but also smaller cities such as Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami and Phoenix.
Cutting-edge high-tech firms and industries are also moving downtown. For years following the rise of Silicon Valley, the presiding model for high-tech industry was "nerdistan"—a sprawling suburban campus surrounded by a vast parking lot. But over the past decade, nerdistan has given way to a new model of urban tech, and about half to two-thirds of high-tech venture capital is now being invested in urban centers. Roughly 500 new startups and billions of dollars in venture-capital investment have poured recently into lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, and Google has taken up shop in a billion-dollar-plus office in New York's old Port Authority. Twitter moved into a refurbished Art Deco building in downtown San Francisco, which has become the Bay Area's new tech hub, now topping Silicon Valley in its number of startups and venture capital dollars. Seattle's South Lake Union district has become a major technology center too, with Amazon's new headquarters at its hub. As the great urban theorist Jane Jacobs long ago realized, density, diversity and innovation go together.


text:
British police have charged a serving colonel in the Nepalese army with two counts of torture allegedly committed during the Himalayan nation's civil war.
The case has touched off a diplomatic spat, with the Nepalese government summoning the UK ambassador in Kathmandu to protest.
Kumar Lama, 46, was arrested Thursday at a residential address in the English town of St Leonards-on-Sea, about 115 kilometres southeast of London.
Lama was charged on Friday with intentionally "inflicting severe pain or suffering" on two separate individuals as a public official - or person acting in official capacity.
Britain's Metropolitan Police said the charges relate to one incident that allegedly occurred between April 15 and May 1, 2005 and another that allegedly occurred between April 15 and October 31, 2005 at the Gorusinghe Army Barracks in Nepal.
Lama is due to appear at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday, police added.
British authorities claim "universal jurisdiction" over serious offences such as war crimes, torture, and hostage-taking, meaning such crimes can be prosecuted in Britain regardless of where they occurred.
Scotland Yard has said that the arrest did not take place at the request of Nepalese authorities. Britain's Press Association reported that Nepalese officials said Lama is serving as a military observer under the United Nations Mission in southern Sudan and was on vacation in London.
Britain's Foreign Office confirmed that Nepal's government summoned the UK ambassador in Kathmandu because it was upset over the arrest, but declined to comment further.
Thousands died and thousands more were injured or tortured during Nepal's civil war, a decade-long conflict that ended in 2006.


text:
Product Description
Triangle shaped brown semi precious gemstone Bruneau Jasper designer cabochon 34 mm by 23 mm and 4 mm thick.
Very well known Bruneau Jasper, a beautiful semi precious gemstone that comes from the region near the Bruneau River in western Idaho, about 30 miles south of the tiny town of Bruneau. Bruneau Jasper is sometimes referred to as a porcelain jasper because the semi precious gemstone cabochons have such a nice porcelain-like finish.
The Bruneau Jasper flow is the most silica-rich rhyolite flow in the area and is predominantly red and brown jasper. The deposit covers several 100 meters and is covered with unpatented claims.
Metaphysical Properties: Picture Jaspers are said to help bring balance to your life.
Cabochons are stones cut for jewelry and are measured in mm. One inch is equal to about 25 mm. 13 mm is only about 1/2 inch.
U.S. Shipping terms: Cabochons, rough rock poundage and all orders over $50 are shipped for FREE in the U.S. On all others I ship Priority Mail and charge actual shipping. I never charge more than $10.95 for combined shipping within the U.S.!
International Shipping terms: We offer Priority Mail at actual cost, including Flat Rate. Or we offer First Class (up to 4 pounds) which is the cheapest but is NOT tracked and can take 2-8 weeks for delivery. Customs, duties, taxes, etc. are the responsibility of the buyer.
Please note: Items are One of A Kind, due to the natural stone material there may be some small natural flaws. Major flaws will be listed. You will always receive the item pictured unless otherwise noted! Any questions??-please contact me.


text: Do you like and interested in having tons of delightful and really great stuff with magnetic busty women? If your answer is affirmative then you should just get my congratulations because everything you like so much is before you right now! Just better stop searching for something else because best of all big boobed babes are waiting for you and could be found by you on XXX Big Melons. Sexiest women with so wonderful and so great-looking juggs would do everything you like so much to blow up your imagination!


text:
Microsoft has been pushing Windows 8 as a touch-friendly software for tablets and PCs for the past two years, but Windows 8 tablets have yet to make a real dent in the overall market.
Earlier this year, figures from Strategy Analytics showed that Windows 8 tablets only accounted for 5.8% of the overall tablet market in Q1 2014, while Android tablets snagged 65.8% of the tablet market share and iPads comprised 28.4%.
The numbers may not look promising, but David Schmoock, Dell's president of global sales and client solutions, explained why Windows 8 tablets are ideal for the enterprise space.
Consumers tend to view tablets as an extension of their smartphone, which is why iPads and Android tablets may seem more prominent to the everyday shopper, Schmoock told Business Insider. Enterprise customers, however, think of tablets as an extension of their PC.
It's not uncommon, Schmook said, to see employees within a business walking around with both an iPhone and a Windows 8 tablet instead of an iPad. To them, it's more important to have their tablet mirror their PC experience rather than their personal smartphone.
In most cases, commercial customers that use a Windows 8 laptop or desktop as their primary PC want the same experience to translate to a tablet.
Manageability is also a large part of why Windows 8 tablets make sense in the enterprise space. If an employee is using his or her tablet primarily for work-related tasks, it's easier for IT to manage one platform rather than two.
Commercial sales are a large part of Dell's success— in fact, it accounts for 80% of the company's entire overall business, according to Schmoock. But that doesn't mean the company is restricting itself.
In addition to selling standard notebooks, desktops, hybrids, and Alienware gaming notebooks, Dell has broken into new product categories such as Chromebooks and Android tablets in recent years.
"[There's] never been one solution that fits the world," Schmoock said.
When it comes to the Android tablet market in particular, Dell's Venue 7 and 8 tablets face stiff competition. A recent report from the IDC revealed that Samsung alone accounts for 22.3% of the overall tablet market as of Q1 2014.
The Korea-based company is also crushing the smartphone space, according to recent statistics from comScore which indicate that Samsung smartphones accounted for 27.8% of the overall smartphone market as of May 2014.
But Dell isn't threatened by these statistics.
"What happened in phones may not dictate success in tablets," Schmoock said.


text: This project for a counter-culture brokerage firm transforms an old cold storage building into a dynamic workplace for the twenty-first century with trading stations, meeting spaces and lounge and dining facilities. A soft and luminous stretched-fabric ceiling floats in counterpose against the board-formed concrete structure of the existing industrial loft, speaking to a changing economy. Writable back-painted glass wall panels and perforated felt surfaces shape and reflect a collaborative and relaxed culture which seeks to change the traditional image of the brokerage business.


text:
The prospect of a special-election loss in yet another seat this week is fueling calls for House Republicans to radically shift course – or face losses in November that could lock their party in the minority for a generation.
Strike one: A Democrat wins the seat vacated by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R) of Illinois, a March 8 stunner.
Strike two: A Democrat wins a May 3 vote in a Louisiana congressional district that President Bush in 2004 carried by a 19-point margin.
Tuesday's runoff election in Mississippi's First Congressional District could be strike three. Democrat Travis Childers already nearly defeated Republican Greg Davis in an April 22 special election to replace GOP Rep. Roger Wicker, falling just 410 votes short of a majority. The idea that a Democrat could win the runoff has shocked national party leaders into overdrive.
"This seat is a very important one. It's been in conservative hands for a long time, and we'd hate to see the liberals gain control," said Vice President Dick Cheney in a phone interview released by the White House. The vice president is headlining a get-out-the-vote rally for Mr. Davis in Mississippi on Monday.
Citing recent special-election losses, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich issued a "Plea to Republicans" last week. "Without change we could face a catastrophic election this fall," he wrote in the conservative weekly Human Events. "Without change the Republican Party in the House could revert to the permanent minority status it had from 1930 to 1994."
This week House Republican leader John Boehner, who has been predicting a tough election for months, launches the long rollout of a new messaging campaign that has been dubbed by some party aides a "rebranding exercise."
For Republicans, the past 15 months have been mainly about "defining the Democrats," he says, citing their "very liberal agenda" and broken promises – especially the "Pelosi premium," a reference to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's failure to deliver on a promise to bring down high gasoline prices.
But the need now is for Republicans to get clear on their own agenda for change, says Representative Boehner. "While we'll continue to hold Democrats accountable, I think it's also time for us to define ourselves, in terms of what we would do if the American people would honor us with the majority," he said in a May 8 briefing .
Last week Boehner created a committee of House Republicans to "advise" the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is under fire within GOP ranks for the special-election losses.
"We can't just be against everything the Democrats are trying to do. We have to be for a positive agenda," says Rep. Darrell Issa (R) of California, a member of the new panel. "Bad times are a problem for those who are in charge. The 'Pelosi premium' is that the price of a barrel of oil has doubled since she said: 'Elect me and I have a plan to reduce the power of oil.' "
Even before special-election setbacks this spring, House Republicans faced a tough campaign. With nearly 1 in 8 in the GOP caucus retiring or running for higher office, Republicans are defending 25 open seats compared with Democrats' seven open seats. Analysts say Democrats stand a good shot at winning many of them.
Even with rebranding, "the fact is there's a lot that House Republicans just can't change," says David Wasserman, who analyzes House races for the Cook Political Report in Washington. "They can't do a lot about these Republicans who are retiring."
House Republicans also face shortfalls in fundraising, especially from within their own ranks. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has raised $44.3 million for the 2008 races, compared with $7.2 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP campaign arm.
Last week, House GOP leaders warned colleagues in a closed meeting that if they didn't step up fundraising for the party, losses in November could be severe.
"To be competitive, the members of the Republican conference must continue to support this institution [the NRCC] with their energy and resources," says NRCC spokesman Ken Spain.
In a May 3 memo, the NRCC said the lesson from the Louisiana special-election defeat is that last-minute ads linking Democrat Don Cazayoux with Speaker Pelosi and Sen. Barack Obama helped Davis gain "substantial ground." "This election speaks to the potential toxicity of an Obama candidacy and the possible drag he could have down-ballot this fall," the NRCC memo said.
But some Republicans say a strategy of linking Democrats to Pelosi and Obama will fail. "People are tired of President Bush and they want a change. You can see it by the turnout and fundraising for the Democrats," says retiring Rep. Ray LaHood (R) of Illinois.
"Every special election has its ... local elements to it, but when you start to lose a succession of seats that have been solidly Republican ... that's a big warning sign," says Norman Ornstein, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.


text:
2013 Oscar nominations: "Lincoln" leads, Bigelow and Affleck snubbed
It's no surprise that Steven Spielberg's elegantly-wrought drama "Lincoln" leads the 2013 Oscar field with 12 Oscar nominations. Not only is the film, which follows President Abraham Lincoln as he wrangles passage of the 13th Amendment, a handsome affair, it is rife with fine performances. Not the least of which is Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president. What jarred during Thursday morning's Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Oscar nominee announcement was the absence of "Argo" director Ben Affleck and Kathryn Bigelow.
in the best directing category. "Argo" has seven nominations. Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" (which opens here Friday) has five nominations, including one of best picture. Was this the reason for the gasp at the 5:30 a.m. PT announcement by this year's Oscar telecast host, Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone?
With eight nominations, the success of "Silver Linings Playbook" seems to once again confirm producer/distributor Harvey Weinstein's legendary Oscar-season muscle. As good as David O. Russell's romantic dramedy is, it usurped spots of the more deserving: Bradley Cooper for best actor instead of John Hawkes of "The Sessions," and the gifted Russell for best directing over Bigelow and Affleck.
Another Academy voter snub that may have special resonance for Colorado audiences is that of "The Dark Knight Rises." Although the Academy expanded how many films can be nominated for best picture from five to ten, it has yet to really honor a worthy tent-pole style film. It had its chance this year with "Dark Knight," Christopher Nolan's final installment in his Batman trilogy, starring Christian Bale. Is it possible that Nolan's very thoughtful, finely crafted film has been tarnished permanently by the July 20, Aurora theater shootings? (Preliminary hearings for the man accused of killing 12 and wounding 58 at a midnight screening of "Dark Knight" began Monday.)
Academy voters embraced two films in ways that met the hopes but likely went beyond the expectations of even their distributors. Director Benh Zeitlin's debut feature, "Beasts of the Southern Wild," grabbed four nominations, including best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay and best actress for nine-year-old wonder Quvenzhané Wallis. Austrian master Michael Haneke's transcendent drama about an octogenarian couple, "Amour," which screened at the Telluride Film Festival in September received five. It's set to open in Denver, Feb. 1.


text:
View asian Singles in Medicine Lake
By clicking continue, I agree to receive transactional and promotional emails from Match.com. I understand that I am free to withdraw consent at any time.
By using our site, you agree to the Match.com Terms of Use.
Search for singles in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. We have thousands of online personal ads in Minnesota. Browse our Minnesota personal ads, send an email and start a relationship with your match. With millions of singles and all the tips and tools you need to find your match, Match.com is just the Medicine Lake matchmaker you've been searching for. We are all born for love...Match.com was born to find love in Medicine Lake, Minnesota.
Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Chanhassen, Columbia Heights, Corcoran, Crystal, Crystal Bay, Deephaven, Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Fridley, Golden Valley, Greenwood, Hamel, Hilltop, Hopkins, Lauderdale, Long Lake, Loretto, Maple Grove, Medina, Minetonka Mills, Minnetonka, Minnetonka Beach, Minnetonka Mills, Navarre, New Brighton, New Hope, Orono, Osseo, Plymouth, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony Village, Saint Louis Park, Spring Park, St. Anthony, Wayzata view all states »
Asian Men, Black Men, Catholic Men, Christian Men, Divorced Men, Free Online Dating, Gay Singles, Gay Dating, Jewish Men, Lesbian Singles, Single Parents, view all communities »


text:
Sixteen pegs and sixteen rings complete our colorful Rainbow Whirls Pegging Game. Pegs fit into the wooden board and rings can be stacked right onto them. Your little one will enjoy experimenting with colors and patterns. The rings and pegs can even be stacked high! This simple toy was a recipient of the 2011 National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval. Wood for this toy is from sustainable forests and made by in Germany by our friends at Haba.
- Recommended For Toddlers 2 Years And Older
- Includes 32 parts and pegging board
- Many creative stacking variations
- Made of PEFC-certified beech wood coated with multiple layers of water-based, natural, solvent-free lacquers
- Lovingly Designed In Germany By Our Talented Friends At Haba
- Made in Germany


text:
Iowa State basketball coach Fred Hoiberg perhaps anticipated his dancing skills would be an Internet hit, because he texted his daughter an early apology over the potential embarrassment.
Hoiberg's locker room dancing was caught on tape after the Cyclones clinched a spot into the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen by defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels 85-83.
"I just danced in the locker room…I'm guessing I probably embarrassed you…sorry!" Hoiberg said in a text message to his daughter, Paige, that she captured with a screen shot then tweeted out.
"Ahahhahaha don't even currrr #nyc #SWEET16," the teen wrote in a caption.
The Cyclones are scheduled to play UConn next on Friday, March 28.


text:
Dynamic Range
From the archives: LaHood says 'no stopping' high speed rail
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that he would leave his post in the Obama administration earlier this week. "I have had a good run," the former Illinois Congressman and Peoria native told the Associated Press. "I'm one of these people who believe that you should go out while they're applauding."
During his tenure in Washington, LaHood struggled with Congress to pass funding for major infrastructure projects, and eventually compromised with them on a two-year plan, dubbed MAP 21, that gave states more flexibility in spending federal dollars. He also brought greater attention to hazards like distracted driving, and tried to put pedestrians and cyclists on equal footing with drivers, earning him accolades from many alternative transportation advocates.
But one of LaHood's biggest efforts was his promotion of high speed rail. At an urban policy forum held in Chicago in December, LaHood told the audience that "every generation does something big for the next generation," and that high speed rail would be our generation's gift to the next.
In an exit interview with the Huffington Post, LaHood admitted that he felt behind on this quest, but insisted that he and his administration had still "come a long way."
"As long as President Obama is in the White House, whoever sits in this chair will have high-speed rail as one of their top priorities," he said.
You can take a closer listen to LaHood's earlier remarks on high speed rail – and his insistence at its inevitability – in the audio above.
Dynamic Range showcases hidden gems unearthed from Chicago Amplified's vast archive of public events and appears on weekends. Ray LaHood spoke at an event presented at the UIC Urban Forum in December of 2012. He was interviewed by Steve Schlickman, Executive Director of the UIC Urban Transportation Center. Click here to hear the event in its entirety.


text:
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (AP) Jesse Steele led Monmouth (N.J.) with 17 points as the Hawks held off St. Francis (Pa.) for a 65-60, Northeast Conference victory Thursday night.
Steele was 6-of-15 shooting, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, as Monmouth (6-10, 1-2) knocked down 9 of 20 from beyond the arc.
The Red Flash (2-13, 1-2) held a 42-37 advantage in rebounds but shot just 31 percent (18 of 58) from the field and couldn't overcome a 37-28 halftime deficit.
St. Francis closed the gap quickly with a 10-2 run early in the second half and trailed Monmouth 41-38. The Red Flash led briefly following Dominique Major's 3-pointer with 10:36 left and forced a 52-all tie on Earl Brown's three-point play with 8:39 remaining, but committed five turnovers in the ensuing 5 minutes as Monmouth pulled away.
Brown had 11 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double.


text:
We would like to welcome girlplaysgame blog into our membership and Imagekind's print-on-demand marketplace.
girlplaysgame blog can use this personal profile to post their bio, resume or statement. It's an ideal space to post a show calendar, make announcements, add links and inspire Imagekind wall art shoppers to purchase girlplaysgame blog's fine art prints.
If you want to return to girlplaysgame blog's Imagekind profile, just save this link: http://girlplaysgame.imagekind.com


text:
University Planning
Western Illinois University Dashboard
Updated December 2013
In June 2012, the Western Illinois University Board of Trustees approved implementation of Higher Values in Higher Education 2012-2022, with the Vision Statement "Western Illinois University will be the leader in educational quality, opportunity, and affordability among regional public universities." The Vision Statement and corresponding priorities and goals are based on quantifiable measures, supporting an annual three-part institutional accountability reporting process.
Second, Performance Reports summarize the impact of strategic plan implementationby documenting an annual comparison of whether the University's performance indicators are completed/maintained, progressing in the desired direction, showing no change, or moving in the opposite direction since implementation of the current version of the strategic plan.
The Western Illinois University Board of Trustees approved performance indicators reporting at the campus and university level to inform both local and institutional planning. The charts below summarize campus and university performance indicator progress since implementation of the plan in 2008.


text:
I'd like to take this time to submit some questions I have (I guess I don't know everything) that I am flat-out positive other die-hard Packer fans have too.
- How does Lambeau Field and the surrounding environs not implode under the sheer magnitude of its own awesomeness? (This would likely need a physicist to answer, but I'm sure Stephen Hawking is a Packer fan, he's a pretty smart guy.)
- I was unable to find a pair of green and gold, corduroy slacks at the Packers Pro Shop. Are they on back order? How do I get on the waiting list?
- How the hell did the greatest special teams player in the history of mankind get released? (You know who)
- How many Leinie's are sold during each game at Lambeau Field? Brats?
- When I die, can my ashes be spread on the Visitors' sideline, so I can feel the fear and sense of futility permeating the Packers opponents for all of eternity?
- What is the status of my job application?
- Bill Miller's title for the Packers is Plumber/Beverage Systems Technician…ummm…WHAT?!?!
- I have a good friend who has his single-engine pilot's license, how do we apply to be an aircraft involved in a pre-game flyover?
- On more than a few occasions, I have seen opposing fans at Lambeau during the games. While I am more than willing to let these misguided individuals study the greatness of the Packers at the Packers Hall of Fame, is there a way to step up security so that these asshats aren't allowed inside the hallowed halls of Lambeau?


text:
Okotoks Accountant
Serving the Okotoks, Alberta Area
The Essential Group is a team of dedicated and service-minded people who provide our clients with high quality Corporate Tax & Personal Tax Preparation and Office Solutions. We consider ourselves a one-stop office solutions provider with the ability to offer our clients a variety of services ranging from bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, benefit administration, temporary and permanent personnel placement and administrative services. We strive to satisfying our clients with the highest level of customer service and quality performance in a timely and efficient manner.
We offer services for small, mid-sized and large companies. Owning your own business can be extremely rewarding, but also presents a variety of unique challenges. Our goal is to help the business owner concentrate on what they do best, we'll do the rest.
Good financial records and organizational construction of a business are essential and puts you in control. Whether you need us to temporarily assist you or take over completely, we're here. Our staff is professionally trained with years of experience, qualified to provide your business with the needed support to save you time and money. We charge a competitive rate and deliver an even higher value to our clients.
Our services range from completing a single task to complete office services.
Here's a look at what we can do for you:
Contact us today or visit our website to learn more.
We understand how hard it is to find a professional septic service for yoiur home or business. We provide environmentally responsible service to businesses in the following areas:
We understand how hard it is to find an Okotoks bookkeeper, Okotoks business centre, Okotoks office space, Okotoks employment agency, Okotoks staffing or Okotoks secretarial services and that is why we are here to meet your needs. Our town is one of the fastest growing communities in Canada and it is well know that we have tremendous staffing/recruitment problems, office space shortages, and very few bookkeepers in Okotoks. Our Okotoks business center fills those gaps and provides Okotoks with turn-key business/professional services. We also offer okotoks corporate taxes, corporate taxes okotoks, personal taxes okotoks, okotoks personal taxes, okotoks corporate taxes, corporate taxes okotoks, personal taxes okotoks, okotoks personal taxes, okotoks accountant, okotoks accounting, accounting okotoks, accountant okotoks, okotoks accountant, okotoks accounting, accounting okotoks, accountant okotoks, jobs okotoks, okotoks job, and Okotoks Business Service.
Hide this list.


text:
Watch CBSN Live
Michelle Obama has seen many highlights during her time in the White House. These include both advancing her initiatives in children's health and veteran programs, and the many other colorful moments that became pop culture sensations. Here is a look at some major moments in Michelle Obama's time as FLOTUS.
More photos: Michelle Obama's best outfits
Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Michelle Obama gives a speech at the Democratic National Convention on July 25, 2016 moving some delegates to tears. "Because of Hillary Clinton," she said, "my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States."
The first lady makes an appearance on the Carpool Karaoke segment of "The Late Late Show with James Corden." The two jam to Stevie Wonder and Beyonce and rap with hip-hop star Missy Elliot (who also makes an appearance).
Credit: CBS
Obama sits with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and talks with students at the R. S. Caulfield School girls center in Margibi County, Liberia, on June 27, 2016.
Credit: REUTERS
Nutrition is always at the forefront for Michelle Obama. Here she harvests food in the White House Kitchen Garden with young students on June 6, 2016.
Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama pose with Prince Harry, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace in England on April 22, 2016.
Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
The first lady and the president greet 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin who recently visited the White House to celebrate black history month.
Credit: The White House
The first lady and the president read "Where the Wild Things Are" for children gathered for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington, D.C., March 28, 2016.
Credit: Yuri Gripas/Reuters
The first lady, the president and Pope Francis wave from a White House balcony during the pontiff's trip to Washington, D.C., on September 23, 2015.
Credit: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
On June 30, 2015 the first lady and the president talk with Girl Scouts camping on the White House's South Lawn. Fifty Girl Scouts spend the night as part of Mrs. Obama's "Let's Move" campaign fighting childhood obesity.
Credit: 082024017217
Obama speaks with Cecily Strong of "Saturday Night Live" at the White House Correspondent's Association Gala on April 25, 2015.
Credit: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images
Obama makes an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in April, 2015, dancing in a segment called the Evolution of Mom Dancing 2 along with Jimmy Fallon. The two showcase moves like the "You Go, Girl," the "Shimmy Twist" and the "Knock Knock."
Credit: Screenshot Tonight Show Youtube
First lady Michelle Obama joins the chorus of people protesting the kidnapping of over 200 Nigerian schoolgirls by Islamist militants in 2014.
Credit: @FLOTUS via Twitter
Michelle Obama greets guests at the Women Veterans Career Development Forum on November 10, 2014 in Arlington, Virginia.
Credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for BPW Foundation
The first lady announces the Best Picture Oscar to "Argo" on February 24, 2013 from the White House.
Credit: The White House/Getty Images
President Barack Obama takes the oath of office as the first lady holds the Bible in the Blue Room of the White House on Jan. 20, 2013, in Washington, D.C.
Credit: Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images
First Lady Michelle Obama speaks on stage during day one of the Democratic National Convention at the Time Warner Cable Arena on September 4, 2012 in Charlotte, N.C. Some in the Democratic Party called Obama, a Harvard-educated lawyer, the brightest star in the president's entourage.
Michelle Obama congratulates U.S. basketball player Anthony Davis after the U.S. team won in the preliminary round at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 29, 2012.
Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty
First Lady Michelle Obama and David Beckham celebrate Nickelodeon joins Let's Move for "Let's Move London" event on July 27, 2012.
Credit: Tim Whitby/Getty Images For Nickelodeon
First Lady Michelle Obama meets Queen Elizabeth during a reception at Buckingham Palace on July 27, 2012 in London.
Credit: WPA Pool
President Barack Obama kisses First Lady Michelle Obama after a "Kiss Cam" during the Olympic men's exhibition basketball game between Team USA and Brazil in Washington, D.C., July 16, 2012.
Credit: Alex Brandon/AP
The first lady presents the Big Help award to singer-songwriter Taylor Swift at Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards on March 31, 2012 in Los Angeles.
Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
The first family poses for a portrait in the Oval Office on Dec. 11, 2011.
Credit: White House Photo/Pete Souza
First Lady Michelle Obama is joined by Kermit the Frog as she reads a story during the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on The Ellipse in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 1, 2011.
Credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
First Lady Michelle Obama with former South African President Nelson Mandela at his home in Houghton, South Africa, on June 21, 2011.
Credit: Debbie Yazbek, Nelson Mandela Foundation/AP
Michelle Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embrace at the International Women of Courage Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C., March 11, 2009.
Michelle Obama hands out meals during her visit to Miriam's Kitchen in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 2009.
Credit: AP
The first lady sleds with daughters Malia and Sasha on the South Lawn of the White House on March 2, 2009.
Credit: Reuters


text:
New SanDisk® Mobile Ultra™ microSD™/microSDHC ™ and SanDisk® Mobile Ultra™ Memory Stick Micro™ (M2) card lines "Wake Up Your Phone™" to Increased Capacity and Fast Transfer Speeds for Music, Maps, Videos, Photos, Games and More
Milpitas, California, May 20, 2008 − SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the proven leader in flash memory, today announced the availability of SanDisk Mobile Ultra, microSD, microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (M2) flash mobile memory cards, which are available in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB* capacities -- the industry's first premium mobile phone storage cards.
A must-have product for consumers who embody the digital lifestyle, the SanDisk Mobile Ultra high-performance cards are "best of breed" premium cards that provide fast side-loading speeds. This means that users will experience accelerated transfer rates of digital files to and from their mobile memory card and their computer. In addition to speed, SanDisk Mobile Ultra cards allow consumers to "wake up" the multimedia features of mobile phones by increasing the phone's storage capacity for maps, music, videos, photos, games and other essential applications. For avid mobile phone videographers, events and experiences captured by the phone's video camera can be quickly and efficiently transferred to social media or video-sharing websites. For added value and convenience, the card is bundled with a MobileMate™ Micro Reader that plugs directly into a USB 2.0 port to assist in this quick transport and easy management of digital content.
"Mobile phone usage for multimedia activities, such as digital photography, music downloads, videos, and GPS functionality has doubled over the last two years, and spending on mobile media globally is expected to surpass $100 billion by 2012," said David Kerr, vice president mobile research, Strategy Analytics. "This product launch further proves SanDisk's ability to anticipate changing user needs and provide the market with the right mobile storage solutions at the right time."
Michael Romero, vice president of Mobile Retail Business, SanDisk, said, "SanDisk's new Mobile Ultra line will make consumers' digital lifestyle more manageable by offering them greater ability to quickly transfer photos, maps, music, videos, games and other large file size content wherever they go. These cards are truly the most convenient way for people to store, move and play content using their mobile phones, so we're excited to introduce this high-performance, premium product to market to meet this need and growing demand."
Sample Storage Capacities
1 Approximation based on 4 minute songs at 128 kbps MP3
2 Approximation based on 2MP camera. Actual number of photos may vary based on phone model, resolution and compression.
3 Approximation for MPEG-4 video at 384 kbps. Actual time may vary based on resolution and compression.
4 Approximately 232 songs based on Google Maps trip estimate of 931 minutes
5 Approximately 354 songs based on Google Maps trip estimate of 1,417 minutes
6 Approximately 645 songs based on Google Maps trip estimate of 2,580 minutes
With 8GB* of digital storage, for example, consumers will be able to store 1,000 songs, 1,200 photos and 21 hours of video - more than enough storage to drive from San Francisco to New York City without hearing the same song twice, fill six photo albums with images and watch both Star Wars trilogies and the Matrix trilogy.
Expected Pricing and Availability
SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSD 2GB has a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $34.99. The SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSDHC 4GB card has a MSRP of $59.99 and the SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSDHC 8GB card has an MSRP of $119.99. The SanDisk Mobile Ultra Memory Stick Micro M2 2GB has a suggested MSRP of $39.99, and the 4GB and 8GB* are priced at $69.99 and $129.99, respectively. SanDisk Mobile Ultra memory cards will be available at various retail outlets in early June, and are expected to be available throughout the world in mid-to-late June 2008.
The microSD cards are engineered for slot-equipped legacy mobile phones and can hold a maximum capacity of 2GB*. The microSDHC cards, available in 4GB and 8GB*, are ideal for newer mobile phone models, most of which are compatible with these higher capacity cards. The Memory Stick Micro M2 cards are designed for Sony Ericsson's new generation of mobile phones, all of which are compatible with the 2GB, 4GB and 8GB* capacity levels. SanDisk Mobile Ultra cards come with a 10-year limited warranty.
For more information about SanDisk's mobile phone products, please visit www.sandisk.com/mobile or www.wakeupyourphone.com.
About SanDisk
SanDisk Corporation, the inventor and world's largest supplier of flash storage cards, is a global leader in flash memory - from research, manufacturing, and product design, to consumer branding and retail distribution. SanDisk's product portfolio includes flash memory cards for mobile phones, digital cameras, and camcorders; digital audio/video players; USB flash drives for consumers and the enterprise; embedded memory for mobile devices; and solid state drives for computers. SanDisk (www.sandisk.com/corporate) is a Silicon Valley-based S&P 500 company, with more than half its sales outside the United States.
* 1 gigabyte (GB) = 1 billion bytes. Some capacity not available for data storage.
SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com . SanDisk's product and executive images can be downloaded from www.sandisk.com/corporate/mediakit/ .
SanDisk and the SanDisk logo are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation and/or its subsidiaries, registered in the United States and other countries. MobileMate, SanDisk Mobile Ultra and Wake Up Your Phone are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, and/or its subsidiaries. microSD and microSDHC are trademarks. Memory Stick Micro M2 is a trademark of Sony Corporation. All brand names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holder(s).
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for new product introductions, applications, markets, customer acceptance, customers and specifications, which are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: our products may not perform as expected or be available when or at the prices expected , market demand for our products may grow more slowly than our expectations or there may be a slower adoption rate for these products in new markets that we are targeting, and the other risks detailed from time-to-time under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, our Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We do not intend to update the information contained in this press release.
|SanDisk Corporation
|SanDisk Media Relations, Lyman PR
|Rachel Polish
|Jody Privette
|(408) 801-2697
|(415) 328-4700


text:
1000 cubits for 1 touurnament game?
Today i entered daily warzone final for 1000 cubits,won one game and server goes down. Will be any refund for this?
Post any new feature ideas or game and website related bugs post here!
Return to Feature Requests, Bugs & Error Messages
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests


text:
Transcript charges
(Effective July 1, 2004 per PA04-184)
$3.00 per page ($1.50 per page for state officials and other entities listed in C.G.S. §51-63(c)), provided the charge to any such party or other individual shall be $1.75 for each page for which a charge of $3.00 already has been made. There are additional charges for expedited transcripts.
Note: Generally, Court Reporters' and Monitors' tapes are destroyed, subsequent to the issuance of a destruction order by the court, seven years after they are recorded.
Court records/documents: $1.00 per page
Administrative records: $ .25 per page


text: As our week of Super Bowl XLV videos concludes, we see Goob taking part in the DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl. In the clip below, you'll see all of Goob's "highlights" from the television broadcast of the game, including catching a touchdown pass from Warren Moon, doing the Ray Lewis dance, diving to break up a pass intended for Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford, and getting asked for his phone number by supermodel Marisa Miller. You'll also see some behind-the-scenes footage from the VIP area, Celebrity Green Room, and "Blue Carpet."


text:
- Details
DetailsThe Cisco ASA 5500 Series Content Security and Control Security Services Module (CSC-SSM) delivers industry-leading threat protection and content control at the Internet edge providing comprehensive antivirus, anti-spyware, file blocking, anti-spam, anti-phishing, URL blocking and filtering, and content filtering, all available in a comprehensive easy-to-manage solution delivered by industry leaders.
The CSC-SSM bolsters the Cisco ASA 5500 Series' strong security capabilities providing customers with additional protection and control over the content of their business communications. The service module provides additional flexibility and choice over the functionality and deployment of Cisco's award-winning Cisco ASA 5500 Series Family of appliances.
The Cisco ASA 5500 Series CSC-SSM helps businesses more effectively protect their networks, increase network availability, and increase employee productivity through the following elements:
- Comprehensive malware protection: Incorporates Trend Micro's award-winning antivirus and anti-spyware technologies. The CSC-SSM can prevent virtually all known malicious code from entering and propagating across the network. This helps prevent disruption of business critical applications and services, prevent valuable key systems and employee downtime and reduce the costly process of cleaning up after an infection.
- Advanced content filtering: Integrates URL filtering, content filtering and anti-phishing technology that helps protect the business and individual employees from the theft of confidential information as well as reduce potential legal liabilities associated with content in violation of network use policies. It can also aid businesses comply with network content regulations such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) and the Data Protection Act.
- Integrated message security: Integrates anti-spam technology that removes the vast majority of unsolicited e-mail before it gets to the mail server, increasing employee productivity and preventing wastage of valuable network bandwidth and storage resources.
- Customization and tuning capabilities: Provides administrators with the ability to customize control over spam and content functions to suit specific corporate policies or network environments.
- Ease of management and automatic update capabilities: Ships with intelligent default settings and an intuitive interface integrated with the ASA 5500 Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM) to ease initial configuration, deployment and ongoing operations. Automatic updates of all CSC-SSM components including scanning engines and pattern files, ensures that the network is always protected against the latest threats with minimal administrative effort.
- Technical details
- Rack mounting: Yes
- Form factor: 1U
- Source data-sheet: .
- Memory
- Internal memory: 256 MB
- Ports & interfaces
- Connectivity technology: Wired
- USB 2.0 ports quantity: 2
- Ethernet LAN (RJ-45) ports: 6
- Weight & dimensions
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 445 x 335 x 44 mm
- Weight: 9.1 kg
- Power
- AC input voltage: 120-230 V
- AC input frequency: 50/60 Hz
- Power consumption (typical): 190 W
- Operational conditions
- Operating temperature (T-T): 0 - 40 C
- Operating relative humidity (H-H): 5 - 95 %
- Protocols
- Data link protocols: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet
- Supported network protocols: IPSec
- Storage
- Flash memory: 64 MB
- Data transmission
- Firewall throughput: 300 Mbit/s
- VPN throughput: 170 Mbit/s
- Certificates
- Certification: CE, CISPR 22 A, EN 60950, EN 61000-3-2, UL 1950, VCCI A ITE, IEC 60950, EN 61000-3-3, CSA 22.2 No. 950, EN55022 A, AS/NZS 3260, AS/NZ 3548 A, FCC 15
- Illumination/Alarms
- Connectivity LEDs: Y
- Power LED: Yes
- Management features
- LED indicators: Yes
- Other features
- Interface: 10Base-T/100Base-TX
- Power supply type: AC
View Datasheet
- Additional info


text:
About Gail
HOMETOWN: New York, NY
Perhaps it's her fiery red hair or her feisty New York accent, whatever the reason, Gail is a sassy senior who is truly larger than life.
Gail had a modest upbringing amidst the hustle and bustle of New York City. Surrounded by a musical family, she was practically born to entertain. And entertain she did, appearing on stage from the age of 16. She performed at weddings and social events, all the while working to earn enough money to attend New York's prestigious Academy of Dramatic Arts. Gail also sang with a 17th piece band for 13 years while working as a vocational rehabilitation counselor.
Some of Gail's achievements include appearing in a few Off-Off-Broadway shows and recording an album under the name Gail Sunday. Yet her most memorable performance may be with the USO tour in Greenland where she took the term "break a leg" a little too seriously. Despite a nasty fall that left her with a broken foot, Gail insisted that they "put her in a cast and she would sit in a chair and sing". For this consummate performer, the show must go on… ALWAYS!
Gail has once again returned to her love, the theater. She is an active member of the Drama Club, not only serving on the Board but also on the play review committee for both the Drama Club and Readers Theater. Beyond performing in numerous plays, the ever-ambitious Gail has added "director" to her list of achievements, recently helming the theatrical production of Drop Dead.
Follow Sunset Daze on Twitter: @WEtvSunsetDaze


text:
You have no items in your shopping cart.
All Below £74.99 save 10%
All Below £99.99 save £14.99
All Below £149.99 save £29.99
All Below £199.99 save £39.99
Welcome to our Michael Kors Bags UK Store where you can enjoy a happy shopping, where you can experience the first-class after-sale service. our products are crafted with the highest-quality materials, design and workmanship. Whether to be an anniversary, birthday gift or just a treat to yourself, our products will be your best choice. The customers with high and special taste will find a wide selection of the latest products and accessories, etc.
We aim at developing our online store into the most professional and creditable Sport Shoes supplier. Abide by the principle of the interests of customers coming to the first both in pre-sales and post-sales, we work extremely hard to satisfy our customers through the joint efforts of the different departments?ˉ staff. Our online store provides the high quality products at the most competitive price as well as the high standard after-sale service. We believe with our sincerity and credit we will achieve what we want and be your best choice to buy our product.
Sincerely welcome all the customers who are interested in us to establish a long-term and fruitful business relationship and go ahead together with us.
Our company was established 2 years ago, we offer the high quality brand new goods. What's more, we do long time business and earn a good reputation among the customers. In addition, the exclusive suppliers we have also contribute to our low price strategy, so we can supply the best products, best price and best service. We are looking forward to doing good business with all friends all over the world.
The purpose of our site is to provide you with a safe and secure means of purchasing brand products, from the comfort of your home or business. We offer fast shipping, volume and seasonal discounts, and other promotions throughout the year. We are able to ship any order within 12-24 hours.
We persist in the principle of Customers First, Service First, Quality First and Credit First to cooperate with customers all over the world and create beautiful future together on the basis of mutual benefit. Please check out whether the items and the quantity are exactly what you have order before sign for the goods. Any question and demand, please don't hesitate to let us know! Write your order details in the comments when you place orders! Please feel free to drop any advice and we really appreciate that.
Management Idea
We adhere to the "credibility of the first, quality first, service first, the customer first" as the management aim, dedicated to the general customer service, we have a commercial competition in the space, we have a very wide areas of cooperation and common development goals, in order to expand the market and make a great exhibition, we look forward to working with you hand in hand together, again to win-win era.


text: Running the country and conducting a Civil War weren't the only things on Abraham Lincoln's mind. Political controversy was a daily occurrence. The Lincoln Financial Collection, housed at the Allen County Public Library, contains a vast collection of broadsides, pamphlets, booklets, maps, photographs, and cartoons that provide in-depth background on Lincoln and the politics of his time. To highlight this material, The Genealogy Center Gallery is hosting a display of facsimiles of some of these original documents. Stop in and see this fascinating display.


text:
The VivoCreativo is a Responsive and Powerful Premium Drupal 7 Theme designed in a clean and minimalistic style. This theme provides all the main functionality you will need to present your products, work and yourself in an elegant and professional style. VivoCreativo easy for customizing and well documented. The theme is best suited for any portfolio, business and photography.
Responsive Drupal Theme – Serve an optimised version of the volumes theme to your visitors using tablet and mobile devices. Optimised for iPad and iPhone .
Resize your browser on your desktop to see the responsiveness in action or if you have your phone/tablet scan the QR code below:
Theme Features:
- Drupal version 7.14
- 100% Responsive and Mobile-ready, SEO ready!
- 960 Grid Based
- Easy Theme Options
- Layered PSDs for Customisation
- Drop-down menus
- Sortable Portfolio
- Integrated Fontface
Setting slider via theme options screenshots
Version 1.0.1 – Updated: 16.08.2012
Fixed issue with mobile responsive.
Updated slider setting via theme option.
Fonts used:
- 1. Open Sans
- 2. Georgia
- 1. IconSweets2
Preview images
- 1. Some of the images in the preview files are taken from Danila Panfilov and are not included in the download files.
- 2. Themeforest asset library


text:
Corporate blogging guidelines and transparencyPosted by Mark White, Blog Consultant in Corporate Blogging , Uncat
Earlier this month, I wrote briefly about company blogging policy as part of my commentary on a piece covering the Blogging Guidelines issued by the IOC ahead of the Beijing Olympics.
Yesterday, I read a news story by Anne Broache at CNet News.com entitled Corporate employee blogs: Lawsuits waiting to happen? which looked at some legal issues that Cisco are currently experiencing regarding one of their managers who had been anonymously running a blog on patents where he had commented on cases regarding Cisco without revealing his connection with the company.
This particular case is quite specific but there are certainly some lessons to be learned from it which have a more general impact on companies, irrespective of their size, which are developing blogging guidelines of their own.
One element which Cisco has added to their own Blogging Guidelines following this case, covers the premise that where there is responsibility then there also needs to be clarity. This may be simply that the blogger works for the company in question or that they have a specific commercial role covering the subject area of their blog which means that their opinion is no longer objective. Their addition states:
"If you comment on any aspect of the company's business or any policy issue the company is involved in where you have responsibility for Cisco's engagement, you must clearly identify yourself as a Cisco employee in your postings or blog site(s) and include a disclaimer that the views are your own and not those of Cisco."
To restate this in general terms, I'd normally advise that bloggers do not hide their identity and certainly not their business affiliations – they should also clearly state on their own blog that the views expressed are solely theirs and do not reflect those of their employer.
This is of course presuming that they are discussing subjects related to their work – if it is on a hobby or non work related topic then clearly there is no potential for professional bias coming into play and hopefully no conflict of interest. This is nicely summed up by Bob Pearson, VP at Dell who makes the comment:
"If someone is a fisherman and they want to talk about fly fishing outside of work, then that's not our business, it's personal. But if someone is going to talk about notebooks and anything related to Dell, they have to say they're from Dell."
The same is also true of leaving comments on other blogs, something which should also ideally be covered in a blogging policy. If it is a subject related to the company you work for then you would be wise to state your connection – in these matters transparency is everything and it can be potentially damaging if you are discovered trying to pull the wool over the eyes of others. You may remember the fall out from the "Walmarting across America" fake blog – if you are leaving 'fake' comments in a close knit community that you want to work with, then the impact on your company's reputation can be equally damaging. So don't!
For me, I think that in many respects the less formal take on it that Microsoft adopts is good, and focuses on the use of common sense. However, having said that, I have come across a noticeable absence of common sense from time to time, so their use of a list of FAQs which deals with how employees should apply existing company policies on confidentiality and other matters to the blogging world seems to be a sensible approach to take. When you create your own guidelines, do make sure that they are readable, accessible, understandable and applicable -then you won't go far wrong.
If you are looking for help or guidance in creating a Blogging Policy or Blogging Guidelines then please get in touch. Alternatively, below you will find some links to documents which cover either internet or blogging policies from a range of companies that you may find useful as well:
- BBC's Blogging Guidance
- Cisco's Internet Policy
- Sun Microsystems Blogging Guidelines
- IBM's Guidelines
- Yahoo Blog Guidelines
- Dell's Online Communication Policy
Tags: Blogging Guidance, Blogging Guidelines, Blogging Policy, Business Blogs, Corporate Blogging
7 Responses to "Corporate blogging guidelines and transparency"
Coffee Break says:
March 30th, 2008 at 9:55 am
[...] From Mark White at Better Business Blogging, Corporate blogging guidelines and transparency. Recent legal issues surrounding employees who blog are causing more and more companies to institute blogging guidelines. [...]
Madel says:
April 28th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Your blog is interesting. Love it..
Linda says:
May 16th, 2008 at 4:37 am
I'm writing a paper at school on ethics of business blogging. can you suggest any other articles where this could become a problem? I've been searching now for over five hours! So far, nothing until your article.
Thank you for your help.
TMS links for June 11, 2008 | the(new)mediaslut says:
June 11th, 2008 at 12:29 am
[...] Corporate blogging guidelines and transparency Better Business Blogging looks at the need for corporations to have guidelines for corporate bloggers and when transparency is needed. [...]
Oscar Del Santo says:
September 5th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Even small companies would be wise to adopt some sort of Blogging Guidelines if they don't want to risk estranging their clients, partners and employees.
Playing Nice: Developing Guidelines and Policies for Social Software Use « Innotecture says:
February 24th, 2009 at 7:08 am
[...] Have a look above at the IBM example or the ones for Intel & Powerhouse Museum. Most examples are about public use of social software but theycan be applied to internal situations. Beth Kanter has some sensible comments as does Joitske. [...]
ShellMedia says:
March 25th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Very intriguing article… We have blogs for our stores but have a tough time coming up with great content.


text:
Business cards – born in the USA
As you already know, I revised the look of my company. Naturally I redesigned my business cards as well. Today, I would like to show you the result and introduce the person who helped me make it possible. It is very common that experts in a specific area of expertise can easily help others. But when it comes to developing something for themselves they stall. That is exactly what happened to me when I started a few weeks ago. After hours of pondering I realized that I wanted a simple business card and that I wanted to change the dimensions a little. No sooner said than down. I chose a narrow format. But because it seemed to simple printing the business cards in the usual manner, I looked for a special solution. Embossing was not a choice because it didn't fit well with my design. I had the idea of using thicker paper and engrave the letters. After all, that looked good with my typewriter font. Excited about the idea I started searching for someone who could help me. I soon realized that the task proved harder than I thought. So I decided to expand my search radius and finally found Evan Calkins.
Evan runs the company Hoban Cards located in Centralia Washington. All Cards are handprinted on a 1902 Chandler and Price Letterpress. The result is truly unique. The Service is very good and Evan is very friendly. So if you are looking for something good and you are searching for an outstanding design I recommend peeking in here: www.hobancards.com oder www.hobanpress.com. Worldwide shipping ist not an issue. And here's a short video showing Evan at work.
New School Hoban Press from DonVintage on Vimeo.
Thank you Evan, for those wonderful business cards!
|Comments (0) | Share


text:
Adios, Mr. Yote!
Adios, Mr. Yote!
More yotes which are now....well-behaved.
I'm waging war on these butt-sniffers again this season. Almost done putting my properties together.
nice work
Terminate with extreme prejudice my friend...
1 John 5..He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Is it bad i get an urge to bite them before they're dispatched?
Last edited by USMC47; 10-16-2014 at 07:22 PM.
Beat them into submission with a pool que.
That takes too much energy. Lol. An axe handle on the throat does it quickly and leaves no blood if skinning.
love this, wish I would dry up so I could get started
Just hit it. Flat sets!
And some pipe sets.
All my dirt holes were filled this morning. 2 of which I couldn't even tell exactly where I had put them. I'm within 10ft at least lol. I was actually just reading se Clint locklear stuff and he said flat sets when it's raining.
Bcastin, where you located? Anyone want to get together for a few lessons before I leave? I leave for the west coast in April.
I'm in lexington
That's far. Few hours.
Yeah but might be beneficial to me. I know I can't do it this month but I'd be willing to meet up one day to talk trappin
Are you just trapping sc? Those are some light colored yotes. Most all the ones I've caught are good dark colors and a few reddish ones.
The 2nd pic is in Montana. The rest are SC.
U over on trapperman as well?
I am. Same name.
Great job on them heathens !


text:
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Bode Miller's great, entertaining and sometimes odd Olympic career probably ended Wednesday in the Caucasus Mountains.
Miller, not considered a favorite in a giant slalom event in which he once won a silver medal (2002) but hadn't won a race in a long time (not since 2005), skied raggedly and finished 19th, 2.53 seconds behind gold medalist and U.S. teammate Ted Ligety. He also finished behind U.S. skiers Tim Jitloff (15th) and Jared Goldberg (20th).
Afterward, Miller, 36, said he won't compete in the slalom Saturday, so the GS was his last race of these Games and probably of his Olympic career. He won six medals, a U.S. record.
GIANT SLALOM: Ted Ligety captures gold
"It's tough to have my last race here look like that," Miller said. "But I feel really good about where I am. I feel like I did my best. I came out with a medal, so I'm happy."
Miller, who tied for a bronze medal Sunday in the Olympic super-G, said he was bothered during the Games by both of his knees. He missed all of last season after having microfracture surgery on his left knee. He twisted his right knee in a violent crash in a GS race in St. Moritz a week before the first Olympic race.
EMOTIONAL: Bode Miller earns sixth Olympic medal
He said he plans to finish the World Cup season "barring something going really weird with my knee."
What has Miller meant for U.S. skiing?
"The fanatics of skiing love watching Bode," U.S. men's coach Sasha Rearick said. "He's an inspirational skier. He's brought fans to the sport. They absolutely love him because he brings charisma and inspiration in the way he skis and it's fun to watch."


text:
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Good to know
13 comments:
- Milla said...
hahahahaha! made my day! :D
- February 29, 2012 at 6:52 AM
- 23 Skidoo said...
That makes my head hurt...
- February 29, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- Packer said...
Your gynecologist is one wise woman, she really knows what she is talking about.
Says the guy who gets up at 4 AM, well to you know......
- February 29, 2012 at 10:20 AM
- Jono said...
Are we thinking the gynecologist even looked for one?
- February 29, 2012 at 10:30 AM
really? isn't prostate cancer the most common kind of cancer for women?
- February 29, 2012 at 11:14 AM
Mrs. Definite might be missing more than a prostate.
- February 29, 2012 at 1:04 PM
- History Doc said...
Yeah, but prostate cancer tends to be less bad than the stuff women get.
- February 29, 2012 at 1:36 PM
Sorry, women CAN get cancer of the Skene's gland, or female prostate, see http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0344033898800800
All the same, it's rare enough that Mrs Definite doesn't need to worry about it.
- February 29, 2012 at 3:26 PM
Hey, Ma Definite! You can have oneof mine. I've got two!
- February 29, 2012 at 4:29 PM
- Lorelei Armstrong said...
My father died of prostate cancer in August. During his long battle I congratulated him on having the foresight to have two daughters. Especially after we discovered that his uncle died of it, his father died with it, and when alerted his one male cousin was found to have it. Nobody had ever told us it ran in the family because it was "too private."
We'll worry about my nephew when we get there. Hopefully there will be a more substantial treatment or cure by then. My gynecologist is likewise not on high alert.
- February 29, 2012 at 4:55 PM
I've been reading this blog too long, I caught myself thinking "well, at least she believed her gynecologist".
- February 29, 2012 at 10:37 PM
What surprises me is that no one has commented that an inherited risk for prostate cancer on one soide of the family canincrease the daughters risk or certain types of female cancers like ovarian and breast if it is gene based. Not that she will get prostate cancerbut if it strongly runs in her family she does need to be on higher alert for "female cancers
- March 3, 2012 at 9:02 PM
- Riserveta said...
People like these raise my self-esteem!!!
- March 4, 2012 at 10:51 PM


text:
Wireless Intercoms
There are no products matching the selectionThis is a custom CMS block displayed if category is empty.
You can replace it with any custom content.
Wireless Intercoms
A wireless intercom system can be a convenient way to communicate throughout your house or business. It can also help you keep a certain level of security over your family or employees. For instance, if you have an urgent message that needs to be relayed to your workers, an intercom system would come in quite handy. The same goes for inside a home, if say there were a fire or intruder in the house. You never know when you will need that extra layer of security that a wireless intercom system can provide. Plus, there is always the convenience factor of not having to shout up the stairs anymore to get your children's attention, or having to walk all the way outside to the backyard shed just to tell your husband that dinner is ready.
Of course wireless means no wires to deal with, which makes the set-up of your system a cinch. In most cases these wireless intercoms and doorbells work off simple AA batteries. However, they will also likely work off DC adapters as well. Many intercom systems also lay flat on a surface like a table so there is no mounting necessary. On the other hand, if there is mounting to do, the DIY kits should provide the necessary equipment and/or simply the required adhesive tape to get the job done.
Advanced wireless intercom systems should also have a listen-in feature which allows you to use it as a baby monitor or perhaps to keep tabs on a conversation in the next room. Many systems can also expand with multiple units and are designed to work with long range and digitally secure signals.
Minimal Price: $189.95


text:
Template:Cub Scout Monthly Themes/2009/March
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
March 2009 BSA Theme - When I Grow Up
"Explore career possibilities of the 21st century this month. Host a pack career fair, inviting several adults to share what they do for a living and how these career opportunities might change as you grow up and technology advances. Discover how having a positive attitude is essential in reaching career goals. Den meeting plans could include field trips to learn about different occupations of interest to the boys and playing games centered on different jobs. This would be a good month to work on any of the Cub Scout Academics and Sports belt loops and pins - let the boys vote on the one that fits best with what they want to be when they grow up. For those future astronauts this month is a perfect time for a space derby!" - Program Helps
Character Connection:
Monthly Program Resources:
Belt Loops and Pins:
Webelos Activity Badges:
Theme-related activities:


text:
JET Tools
Jet Tools, founded by Leslie P. Sussman, began in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington as a hardware store dealing in trolleys and manual chain hoists. By the 1970's the business also offered a full line of industrial air tools and material handling products. And even as metalworking equipment became the core focus of the company a decade later, Jet continued to expand by introducing a line of quality woodworking products.
Over the years, Jet has pioneered the import business by working with suppliers abroad and today still does business with one of their original suppliers. But beginning in the 1990's, the company decided to grow from an importer to a manufacturer and began designing and manufacturing their own products with the help of expert engineers from both the USA and abroad.
Jet, a company whose name was inspired by the first Boeing commercial "jet" plane flights in 1958, has become a trusted name in industrial machinery. Today Jet offers a wide range of quality tools that include: drilling machines, dust collection systems, lathes, milling machines, planers, sanders, saws, accessories and more.


text:
Remember that scene in Aliens with Bishop and the knife? ITP student Aram Chang made a nerve-racking game out of it. In Simon Stabs, you and your opponent take turns sticking a "knife" between your fingers, making a pattern that must be mimicked by the other guy, who then adds to it. You only have a few seconds to stab; one false move and you lose—hopefully just the game and not any fingers. I tested it out, and as you can see from the video, I'm no android. And I didn't even have the added pressure of Bill Paxton screaming like a sissy. In case you forgot how the pros do it, Bishop's clip is below. [Aram Chang; ITP 2008]
Simon Stabs Game Channels Your Inner Bishop