text:
An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis -- an illness characterized by diarrhea, fever, and chills -- after a banquet in Spokane, Washington, may have occurred because of improper food handling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. The outbreak was the fourth known food-related outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in the US since 1993. Cryptosporidium, a parasitic organism that can be spread via fecal contamination of food and water, was behind a 1993 Milwaukee outbreak in which contaminated tap water sickened over 400,000 people and killed 100.
In all, 54 out of the 62 people who attended the Spokane banquet became ill 3 to 9 days later, a longer incubation time than other food-contaminating organisms, such as salmonella. Two of the 14 food handlers who were tested were positive for Cryptosporidium, and one of the workers was experiencing symptoms of infection at the time of the banquet.
This outbreak highlights several key issues for food workers. Uncooked produce should be thoroughly washed before being placed on kitchen work surfaces to prevent contamination of these surfaces. Food handlers should not work when they have a gastrointestinal illness, advise CDC experts. People infected with Cryptosporidium can shed infectious particles in feces for up to 60 days after diarrhea stops, although most people stop shedding such particles within 2 weeks. Therefore, food workers should be particularly meticulous about handwashing," according to the CDC. In 1993 and 1996, outbreaks were linked to Cryptosporidium in unpasteurized apple cider and a 1995 outbreak was linked to chicken salad that may have been contaminated by a food worker.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report July 17, 1998;47:565-567.
COMMENT: This article has several interesting lessons to share. It is interesting that not all of the people who ate the food became sick. This proves that although infectious agents are important causes of illness there are other factors which contribute to the manifestation of their effects. My general experience has been if you are eating a low sugar diet and have probiotics like the excellent Flora Source on a regular basis you will be much more resistant to these illnesses. Certain herbs such as garlic and oregano are also beneficial in helping keep these organisms under control. I would also review newsletter #51 for information on how to keep your kitchen free from infectious agents so it will not spread these organisms.


text:
Meet The Duchess
My favorite part was the costumes! The Duchess wore intricate, elaborate gowns, topped with feathery peacock hats and up-dos of bouffant curls. I've always wondered would've been like to have lived in another time. The clothes, transportation, and attitudes (especially the engagement between men and women) are utterly foreign to the lives we lead in 2009. I think it would be fun to live the "Duchess" life for a day!
6 comments
- Rachel said...
I have to put that on my Netflix list. I remember seeing the preview and thinking "I need to watch that, just for the costumes."
- February 12, 2009 at 8:38 AM
- Carol said...
I really liked the movie too!
- February 12, 2009 at 8:49 AM
- Magchunk said...
I said the exact same thing as Rachel: "Just for the costumes!" I'm sort of on the fence about Keira, but the fabric and hair looks amazing.
- February 13, 2009 at 10:59 AM
- Callie Grayson said...
i need to get this movie on my netflicks list.
I love the second image colour pallet, very elegant and pretty.
- February 14, 2009 at 9:45 AM
- TheHermanator said...
Hi Michelle, just popped onto your blog from ?? Don't remember ?
Anyhow, RE: "Meet the Duchess", I'm one of the few Straight guys I know who just loves period pieces! The costumes, the customs and morays, and architecture have always interested me. One of my sisters and I have a long tradition of watching all the Masterpiece Theatre and Hallmark Hall of Fame series. Even if it's the ten-thousandth redo of Jane Eyre, we'll be there. On the modern tube offerings, I love "Cold Case" and the other show where they do flashbacks regularly. I can never remember the name of that second one, although it's been around for several seasons. Those shows usually only go back to the 40's and 50's, but I love the cars, clothes and hairdoe's on those segments too.
Enjoyed your Blog, Thanks Herman
- February 15, 2009 at 12:25 PM
- Colour Me Happy said...
I was just about to rent that show and got something else instead. Thanks for the preview, Keira Knightly is certainly the queen of period movies!
- February 17, 2009 at 10:57 AM

subset: commoncrawl


text: Hollywood,Ca. --- "EL GORDO" --- Jimmy Kimmel's sidekick Guillermo "El Gordo" Rodriguez(ctr) tips the scale at 247 lbs, only 100 pounds over the weight limit for his battle with 8-division world champion Manny Pacquiao(R) at the Wildcard Boxing Club. Pacquiao filmed this segment for his record seventh appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" ABC television show Wednesday night from Hollywood,Ca. Pacquiao is in deep preparation for the upcoming fourth fight of his historic rivalry against three-division world champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MP Promotions, Zanfer Promotions, Marquez Boxing, Tecate and MGM Grand, Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay Per View from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 8. --- Photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank.


text:
City to Keep Use of Word 'Minority'
Published 8:00 pm, Friday, January 4, 2002
Mayor Thomas M. Menino has vetoed a measure that would have banned the use of the word "minority" in city documents, despite complaints from some community leaders that the term is pejorative.
Menino said Friday that he opposed the ordinance, which the Boston City Council approved by a 12-0 vote last month, because it could undermine protections for blacks and others in contracting, hiring and delivery.
"I am gravely concerned this measure will have far-reaching unintended negative effects on many of our citizens," Menino said in a written statement explaining his opposition.
City Council President Charles C. Yancey, who spearheaded the measure, called the term "anachronistic and demeaning." He said he may seek an override, which would require the support of nine of the 13 council members.
"I understand what the mayor is saying legally and I have no reason not to believe the mayor," said Rev. Gregory Groover, minister of the Charles Street AME Church and a Menino supporter. "But I also know the word 'minority' will become not only politically incorrect but a linguistically extinct word in the next few years."


text:
Pulse Daily Recap - April 11, 2011by Alyssa Caverley at . Comments
As the Royal Wedding approaches, Kate and William make their final public appearance. Plus, Jersey Shore stars rake in the money and RiRi and Britney collaborate on a new single.
This video is no longer available. Please check below for related videos.
- Related Post:
- Uploaded by:
- Alyssa Caverley
- Uploaded:
- Duration:


text:
Open 7 days - 11am-2am Kitchen is open until 1am Happy Hour 3-9pm No Happy Hour on Game Days or Event Days
Pickles Pub Sports Bar and Restaurant
A Baltimore Tradition for over 25 years
Established March 17, 1988, Pickles Pub is a longtime Baltimore tradition. The #1 place for sports fans to watch their favorite teams for 25 years. Here you'll find find a sports experience offering an atmosphere fun for families and friends to grab a bite to eat before or after Orioles or Ravens games. Pickles Pub's extensive menu offers a wide variety of quick snacks and full size meals including : Burgers, Specialty Sandwiches, Appetizers, and Hardy Salads. In keeping with our traditional American fare, we offer a list of local and craft brews to accompany any meal
Happy Hour Specials
Book Your Party
For years Pickles Pub has been a part of your most memorable moments. Let Pickles Pub continue this tradition. Book your next private party, business meeting, cocktail party, or reception in one of our private party suites, side bar with dining room, or the entire bar.


text:
A Green Approach to Pest Control in Miami-Dade
South Florida's Go-To Exterminators
Give us a call
South Florida's most wanted
Cockroaches run 3 mph spreading germs and filth across your counters and food.
Contrary to their nickname, cockroaches can be found in the dozens around Miami. Once they get into your homes, they can run at a speed of 3 miles per hour, spreading germs and filth across your counters and food.
Spraying the ant you see won't get rid of all the ants you don't.
But we will!
Out of sight does not always mean out of mind. As only spraying the ants you see won't get rid of all the ants you don't. But we will with our treatments on and around your property.
Don't think a surface treatment around your home will not get rid of the potential thousands hiding around the property.
Mice can jump and climb … and enter your home through a hole as small as a dime.
Rodents are natural opportunists when it comes to finding a new place to live. They can jump, climb and enter your home through a hole as small as a dime. Rodent control is a serious problem and you should not waste any time.
They're annoying! But worse, their bite can carry disease, like West Nile Virus.
They're not just annoying because of their constant buzzing. Their bite can carry diseases, such as West Nile Virus and newly spreading Zika Virus. Our Mosquito Control Services has been well received since our dedicated focus in 2015 to accommodate existing pest control service.
Bees are beneficial,but do you need to endure hives?
While they can keep your flowers looking pretty, their homes can pose a danger to your property. Bees may be beneficial, but do you need to endure their hives?
Ticks live in tall grass in your yard, and climb on children at play.
Ticks can suck the literal life out of a normal summer afternoon with their tendency to hide in the taller grass of a backyard. They have the ability to spread disease, and attempt to climb on children at play.
Contrary to their nickname, cockroaches can be found in the dozens around Miami. Once they get into your homes, they can run at a speed of 3 miles per hour, spreading germs and filth across your counters and food.
Mistaken for bees these pests cause their own problems.
Aggressive and territorial, wasps are not nice to anything that threatens their nests. Often mistaken for bees, these pests cause their own problems by making any area near their nests a dangerous place for family and pets alike.
Houses, apartments, office buildings, manufacturing facilities, and food service establishments may be hosts to common pests. Aside from causing structural damage, pests pose a health hazard to humans and animals, which is why controlling them is crucial.
Pest control is the elimination and management of these pests, which include flies, cockroaches, termites, fleas, ants, rats, mice, and other organisms that may invade structures and other spaces occupied by people.
Pest control involves the proper identification of pest infestations, the application of appropriate measures based on the kind of pest and its habits, and the prevention of future infestations.
In the United States, pest control is done using a strategy called Integrated Pest Management or IPM. IPM is a coordinated system of practices that aims to control pests in an environmentally sound and economical manner to prevent pest damage.
Pest control through IPM is done in such a way that it brings the least hazard not only to people, but also to pets, property, and the environment. In IPM, pesticides are often used as a last resort, when non-chemical methods have failed to address the pest problem, therefore requiring the use of chemicals.
In addition to chemical pesticides and non-chemical pest controls, another method of pest control is pest prevention. The U.S., Environmental Protection Agency, recommends that the best way to stop or prevent pest infestations is to keep these unwanted organisms from getting what they need to live and thrive. By keeping common household pests such as mice and cockroaches from getting food, water, and shelter, for example, you will be able to prevent them from sharing your home.
One Two Tree Pest Free is your locally trusted Pest Control Company in Miami. Our extensive experience covers both commercial and residential pest control. We provide high quality and eco-friendly services that will ensure your property is pest free.
Although South Florida's subtropical climate is a haven for pests of all walks of life, they're naturally an unwanted part of any homeowner's experience. Even if these species of ants, mice, cockroaches, fleas and numerous other common insects and rodents might want to move in, you don't have to live with pests.
Their potential to damage property and spread disease is avoidable with the help of experts in the pest management industry. We execute safe pest control methods that pass industry regulations.
One Two Tree's certified exterminators will diagnose your pest issue, and then implement the necessary cultural changes or treatments to target pests at their source. Let us ban these bugs from your home, business, and property. With the mosquito problems in 2017 we've increased our quality control service, placing a guarantee on our customer satisfaction.
One Two Tree's professional exterminators have been providing guaranteed services for 30 years, keeping Miami-Dade and Broward County area residents, families and pets safe and pest-free. Ask us about our Green Services, pick up the phone now to schedule your same day free quote!
The One Two Tree Difference
"With new challenges, we keep learning ."
From Homestead to Fort Lauderdale and as north as Palm Beach you may notice our fleet. With hard work, quality management, and eco-friendly solutions.
This is a continuously evolving industry. But we're always learning, allowing us to keep up with the latest trends in new technologies and techniques to keep your pest populations down.
One Two Tree's Pest Division and technicians stays on the cutting edge of evolution to provide our customers with control services that are effective – and environmental friendly.
Learn with our expert and manager as he speaks to you, our family of customers and any visitors who want to learn about some of the best solutions to keep your home pest free.
In this exclusive video series, One Two Tree Manager and Certified Pest Control Operator Dusty Montiel opens our doors to visitors of our company, and helps them by revealing the real "secrets" behind our successful service-client partnerships.
One Two Tree Pest Free is your locally trusted Pest Control Company in Miami. Our extensive experience covers both commercial and residential pest control. We provide high quality and Eco-friendly services that will make your property pest free.
Eco-friendly Cultural Changes Help Control
There are a number of eco-friendly things that homeowners can do to help prevent pests and lessen the need for chemicals.
In this introductory video, Dusty Montiel explains these cultural changes that can be made around the home – such as the maintenance and repair of torn screens, proper sealing of cracks and gaps, and other exclusion practices that close off any potential entry points that pests could use to get into the home.
Targeting Insects Minimizes Product Use
Understanding the biology and behavior of insects to target them at their source keeps product use to a minimum.
In this second educational video, Dusty Montiel describes how One Two Tree determines the best treatment method for a particular pest. We go over the selection of bait (in the form of a dust, liquid or foam) to target that pest—focusing first on the property outside your home, so we solve your pest issues by using as little product as possible inside your home.
– Dusty Montiel
Perimeter Treatments Provide Year-Round Protection
Floridians can face year-round problems with pests, particularly cockroaches and ants.
In the third video of this educational series, Dusty Montiel discusses how One Two Tree's regular perimeter treatments enable product to be placed right at an insect's point of entry – such as at fence lines, garages, around doors, windows and vents. These and any sites where insects could enter are all used to create a year-round barrier denying pests any access to your happy home. Say bye bugs!
Residential insect control services that controls pests at the source. We know how hard you work to keep your house clean and uninvited guest can ruin that. Though we tend to stay away from termite control and bed bugs removal, we focus today on traditional pest management areas (ants, roaches, fleas, ticks, rodent control, spiders, bees). Get your free inspection as we service Miami Dade, Broward, and sometimes Palm Beach. Our local, city and statewide efforts to give back to our community and Green Natural Control have solidified our company for generations to come.
Call Us
(305) 267-1426
Find Us
7250 SW 42nd Terrace
Miami, FL 33155
Email Us


text: Cheaper than a hotel, much bigger and more comfortable than a hostel. Spacious apartment with 1 bedroom and 2 additional rooms right at the center of Sultanahmet very close to Hagia Sophia. This is one of the four units we rent at this location, it's conveniently located 200yards away from the Sultanahmet, within walking distance from all major museums, Topkapi Palace, the Underground Cistern, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar. A very big living room is split into two comfortably furnished rooms with seating.There is a separate kitchen with stove and a mini fridge, as well as a bath and a shower. Living room has digital TV and the sleeper sofa can accomodate a third additional person here. It has central heating and hot water. Living room and bedroom are joint and air conditioned. We also offer: Complimentary laptop + mobile Internet adapter Complimentary cell phone with prepaid local line Loaner bicycle at no cost We offer additional cleaning services. For $30 all towels and bedsheets will be replaced. We offer transfer services to Istanbul Ataturk Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport. OUR CALENDAR IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE, ASK FOR AVAILABILITY.


text:
Give Now
A study concludes that fungi on the covered trees formed a sort of cement that allowed the sand to keep its hallowed out shape.
A popular sand dune will be indefinitely closed after a child was trapped in the sand last summer.
The Mt. Baldy area will remain closed to the public until testing and analysis of the hole are complete.


text:
I went to the bookstore today. Something I don't do much of these days, much to the chagrin of many a bookstore owner, I'm sure. I love books. Although my mother will tell you I don't read much, I am a self-help groupie and I surround myself with self-help books. I share them with my friends, my clients, my neighbors and my children. I love to find answers in the written word. And, as many of you know, I love to provide some of those answers myself, within my area of expertise. So while there, I could hardly resist the temptation to check out the family and childbirth section, the traditional home for books focusing on after the baby is born. Mind you, I've been doing this since 1994 when my first book was published and my agent gently hinted that I should go to bookstores and inconspicuously position my book "face forward" so the cover, not the spine, is in full view.
So I scrutinize the shelves, as I had done so many years ago, and not again until now. Hmmmmm.... where are the books on postpartum depression? Driven by vain, albeit futile energy, I searched for books on PPD. My books by any slim chance? Nah. That's okay. Any books? Why aren't there any books on postpartum depression? Why, when one out of every eight women who gives birth experiences a clinical depression, do they not have one single book on the subject? I walked over to the psychology section to check there. OCD, schizophrenia, depression, depression after divorce, depression during adolescence, bipolar depression and more depression related to trauma. That's good. But nothing on postpartum depression.
I wandered over to that lonely lady sitting in the center of the store trying to look busy at her computer. "Do you have any books on postpartum depression?" I asked with my I-can't-believe you-don't-have-any-books-on-postpartum-depression skepticism. I mean, come on. DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? She wasn't impressed. "Well," she said, after searching for some time and staring intently at the screen so as not to disappoint me, "we have one book in the biography section written by Brooke Shields." Oh. Okay. That's a good one. But not enough. Really? Who goes to the biography section of a bookstore if they are looking for help with postpartum depression?
This is not a new issue for me. I have a brother-in-law who owns a number of bookstores. He doesn't have any books on postpartum depression either. Uh-huh. Not even mine. Why? Because they don't sell. Or something like that. Returns are expensive. There are no second chances if a book doesn't sell. That's it. They don't care who you are (even if they are related to you!) They need to make room on their shelves for the books that sell big. And that makes sense, from a business standpoint.
I still cannot believe there are no books on postpartum depression on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. I could picture the new mother, trying to keep her toddler entertained, while carrying her infant across her chest, looking unsuccessfully for something that might put her anxieties and feelings of hopelessness on paper. Something to make it real. Something to tell her she's not alone and she will not always feel this way. The books have been written. Trust me, I know. And she can find them on Amazon or other Internet book sellers. She can also find help/support on many online sites, my personal favorites are Postpartum Progress and My Postpartum Voice where she can find information, advocacy, awesome support, resources for treatment and a community of women who know precisely what she is going through.
So I'm wondering if I'm just getting old. Perhaps Facebook, Twitter, online support groups, instantly downloadable ebooks, and the like, will continue to replace the good old fashioned book. And I suppose that's a subject for another time. In the meantime, there are plenty of books in the bookstore. But there are not books on postpartum depression. I sincerely hope that women with postpartum depression and anxiety know where to go to find the information and support they need and are asking for. And since most of them are decades younger than me, I suspect they aren't even looking in bookstores!


text:
Winstep Xtreme is a suite of Windows user interface replacement applications that merge usability and performance with breathtaking eye candy. Winstep Xtreme includes: NeXuS Ultimate, the dock system with live icon reflections. WorkShelf, a tabbed dock. NextStart, the menu system that also takes care of all your task management needs with Windows 7 "Superbar" capabilities. Winstep Start Menu Organizer, which helps you organize and clean your Windows Start Menu. Fontbrowser, a simple font browser with an easy to use interface. Desktop widgets such as a speaking atomic clock, calendar, e-mail checker, weather monitor, recycler, moon phase, fortune cookie reader, CPU, Net, and RAM meters.
What is new in this release:
- Many improvements and fixes for Windows 10 users.
- New Apps Shelf tab (Windows 10 and Nexus Ultimate).
- Most-Used Shelf type now also displays Universal Apps (Windows 10 and Nexus Ultimate).
- Fixed freeze after Sleep in Surface Pro laptops.
- Speed copy.
- Launch multiple instances from list of running applications.
- New Alarm Manager and Hide All/Hide Dock internal commands.
- New Capture Desktop settings.
- Fixed Email Checker module problem accessing AT&T email accounts.
- Added missing ex-Yugoslavia countries to the weather codes database.
- Control media players via Media internal commands or Media menu.
- Window preview thumbnails, document preview thumbnails in menus and image thumbnails in balloon tooltips now scale according to screen DPI.
- Docks reserving screen space and respecting reserved screen space no longer overlap when docked perpendicular to each other (Nexus Ultimate).
- Fixed issue where the available screen space would be resized twice if items were added to or removed from a dock and the dock was being forced to automatically reduce icon size in order to fit on the screen.
- Many other performance and stability improvements!
What is new in version 17.1:
Version 17.1 includes the following enhancements:
- High quality multi-language voice packs.
- New Calendar module.
- New Moon Phase module.
- Shelf smooth scrolling.
- Independent sub-dock settings.
- New Alarm Manager options with Calendar module integration.
- Faster and simpler update process.
What is new in version 16.9:
Version 16.9 includes the following enhancements:
- Updated Brazilian language file.
- Added a 'View Change Log' button to the Version Information dialog (which opens when you click the version number in the top right corner of the About tab in Preferences). Clicking the button opens another dialog which interfaces with the history files and makes it easier to see the additions and bug fixes in each release.
- Added a 'Check Internet Connection' button to the Troubleshooting dialog in Preferences, to help diagnose Internet communication problems.
- The Shelf icon cache is no longer destroyed when changing drive media or adding/removing drives.
- After more than a decade, NOAA discontinued the web site from where METAR information was retrieved. Updated URLs and parsing code so METAR information is now successfuly retrieved from www.aviationweather.gov.
- The Battery module 'Overlap information on battery icon' setting can now be independently set for vertical and horizontal styles.
- Some applications (such as Firefox or UWP apps) were wrongly being identified as full screen when maximized on monitors without a taskbar or with a auto-hide taskbar. This caused screen edge bumps, etc, to be temporarily ignored (edge bumps are disabled so they do not activate accidentally when the user is playing a full screen game, for instance).
- Fixed a couple of instances where the CD Control icon or drive icons in a Drives tab of the Shelf might not be properly updated after a media or drive change.
- The 'Hide for maximized applications' setting was also triggering the dock to hide if you clicked on the Desktop.
- Changes to the default Weather feed source URLs were not being applied until weather cache information became stale.
- The Email Checker failed on IMAP servers that sent a CAPABILITY response just after login or didn't add OK to the STATUS command response.
- Pressing OK in the Menu Editor was discarding any changes made to the currently selected item after selecting it for the first time.
What is new in version 16.6:
Version 16.6 includes the following enhancements:
- Universal (UWP) Windows 10 Apps are now handled like normal Windows applications.
- New Fast Boot startup option.
- Now compatible with Stardock WindowBlinds themes and Windows color schemes.
- Wallpaper hot-track now also works with the Windows 10 wallpaper slideshow.
- Many additions and tweaks to the User Interface on high DPI systems.
- Effect and other persistent bitmaps moved from the main EXE to separate resource DLLs.
- Fixed major potential memory leak introduced in v16.2.
- Many other performance and stability improvements.
What is new in version 16.5:
Version 16.5 includes the following enhancements:
- Taskbar now supports high DPI settings
- New battery module customization options.
- New colorization options.
- Faster and more convenient access to colorization options.
- Wallpaper hot-track now works with Windows 7 slideshow mode.
- New 'Auto Backup Settings' internal command.
- 3D dock backgrounds no longer get distorted at certain icon sizes.
- Capture Desktop screenshot tool can now save screenshots in PNG format.
- Many other performance and stability improvements!
What is new in version 16.3:
Version 16.3 includes the following enhancements:
- Performance and stability improvements.
What is new in version 16.2:
Version 16.2 includes the following enhancements:
- Windows can now be minimized to the dock.
- New battery/UPS monitor module with power event logging and notifications.
- New effects panel to help visualize, select and configure all mouse-over, launch and attention effects.
- 10 new amazing launch, mouse-over and attention effects.
- New clock module alarms to display pop-up reminders, wake you up with music or run programs at specific times, once or periodically.
- New 'CD Control' internal command displays type of media inserted in the drive and provides eject and load media functions.
- New 'Lookup IP Address' internal command returns public IP address, location and latitude/longitude coordinates.
- Dramatically improved the smoothness of docks for size and position changes, inserting items into docks and when changing icons.
- Major performance improvements with new options added to the Performance Settings dialog.
- Vastly improved the Weather module's location detection based on user's current IP address.
- Weather information is now immediately updated after returning from Sleep or Hibernation.
- Weather module now uses the sunrise and sunset times provided by the weather feed to know when to display a Sun or a Moon icon.
- Running applications on the left side of the dock now display number of open instances.
- Left clicking a dock's control icon now opens the dock's Properties panel.
- Major re-organization of the User Interface.
- Improved existing high-DPI support for desktop modules and in the User Interface.
- The Winstep Update Manager can now hide specific updates.
- Many other performance and stability improvements.
What is new in version 15.7:
Version 15.7 includes the following enhancements:
- Full compatibility with Windows 10.
- Improved first run experience.
- New 'Task View' internal command to invoke Windows 10 Virtual Desktop Manager.
- New 'Restore Wallpaper' internal command to restore previous Windows wallpaper.
- Improved handling of Quick Launch items.
- Always on Bottom docks no longer pop up on mouseover.
- Running application preview thumbnails can now range up to 512x512 pixels.
- Added 'Icon Labels' sub-menu to the Shelf context menu.
- Many other misc.improvements and bug fixes.
What is new in version 14.11:
Version 14.11 includes the following enhancements:
- New Internal Commands.
- New Pin to Dock context menu option in docks.
- New Pin to Taskbar context menu option in the taskbar.
- Improved Windows 8.x support.
- Updated weather widget feeds.
- Misc.bug fixes.
30-day trial


text:
Flaunt your love for chicken with KFC's upcoming red colour smartphone
KFC, the global fast food chain is going to introduce you to the most unbelievable object in its menu. Find out what is it...
All these days, KFC was known for its 'finger licking good' fried chicken and chicken meals. But now, the global food chain is going to introduce you to the most unbelievable object in its menu.
To commemorate its 30th anniversary in China, the fast food giant has partnered with Huawei to launch a smartphone. The Chinese mobile manufacturer will release the red-colour smartphone with the face of KFC founder Colonel Sanders printed on the back.
According to reports, the red colour KFC phone will feature 5-inch display, Snapdragon 425 processor, 3,020mAh battery, fingerprint sensor, 12MP camera, 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage.
Trending Videos
Watch Video: Python stopped from swallowing a whole deer
Download the new mid-day android app to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr


text:
Exposing The Communist Blogifesto
Posted by Amanda Chapel
An Open Letter to Jeff Jarvis
Dear Jeff:
Saw your interview on Beet.tv, "Wake up Corporate America, You're Being Watched." Excellent how it summed up the burgeoning blog "revolution." Found it very poignant with regard to the Dell mess, as well.
First, a little humorous aside: the whole thing reminded me of my father; God rest his soul.
My father was a humble man. He was a stonemason by trade. He built real things, monuments that stand today. He believed that character was inextricably tied to the sweat on one's brow and an honest day's work. For him, the light was either on or it was off. Truth was tangible or it wasn't true. Contracts were a handshake. His word was his bond. He didn't have any time for sales people, lawyers or politicians. As I ended up in PR, I was the consummate disappointment.
Anyway, he's long dead now and I've come to that age where we ironically become our parents. As I watched your interview yesterday, under my breath I could hear myself mouth a particular phrase of my father's. He'd say these words whenever he saw a Kennedy, or whenever anyone privileged with "smooth hands" was using the bully pulpit to lure the weak toward some false socialist promise. "God damn commie bastard," he would say.
Jeff, you've crossed a line. You're no longer a Newmark-like dis-intermediary hero set out to circumvent your former media bosses and radically improve a business. You are now sounding like some malignant corporate subversive. Listen to yourself: "behind me a mob with pitch forks and torches storming castle Dell;" "we are the bosses now;" "companies have the opportunity to hand over control to customers." That's not inspiring a "conversation" comrade; you're yelling "fire" in a crowded peasant theatre.
And that's it! This is all really about audience and venue. The "revolution" you promote is about a mob and leveraging its disappointments, hopes and fears.
Gawker's Nick Denton hit the nail on the head. About the blogging "revolution" he said, "The hype comes from unemployed or partially employed marketing professionals and people who never made it as journalists wanting to believe. They want to believe there's going to be this new revolution and their lives are going to be changed." And to quote Marx in opening line of the Communist Manifesto, "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles." And like all successful subversives, you've been able to tap into that. What "Wake up Corporate America, You're Being Watched" is all about, is inciting a riot and boldly trying to hold the theatre owner hostage. The message is clear: "Surrender your property, or else!"
Okay, let's put aside the arrogance and look at the shear fallacy of that. See, you think the owner is on the premises, probably upstairs someplace in a little office off the projection room. NO! He's not even there. See, the real owner is the bank.
As it relates to Dell, you think Michael Dell gives a shit about you. He doesn't. He reports to the bank. He cares about Wall Street. I, the stockholder, am his main concern.
Granted, you can cause some havoc. But to think your "Dear Mr. Dell" letter was even seen by Michael is just silly beans. As to your advice to him: "1. Read blogs; 2. Talk with your consumers; 3. Blog; and 4. Listen to all your bad press and bad blog PR and consumer dissatisfaction," that's shear nonsense. It's just NOT in his job description.
Alright, I know that in your "full disclosure" you claim to own a little stock: Time Warner, Viacom , Sirius, Microsoft, and Intel. But apparently you've never been to a corporate annual meeting. I recommend you attend one. You'll find then very structured and for good reason. In business, "control" is a fiduciary responsibility. Stock is property. Management is paid to increase the value of shareholder property AND to act as custodians. It is a "duty." Simple as this: this whole "ceding control" and "open borders" mentality, at the very least, threatens shareholder property. Hype aside, the downsides of your revolution are fairly predictable and surely greater than the yet-to-be-measured upsides. Imagine shareholder activist(s) sharing the podium fully with the CEO. That's just plain silly. It will happen the same day the CEO decides to blog the annual meeting. NEVER!
Here, this is the linchpin to your whole argument. You grossly overestimate the value of the customer relationship. Excuse me, businesses don't really want "relationships" with their customers. It's too expensive, it's too messy and the return is nominal at best. Not even the most prolific hooker wants a personal relationship. Our job is to anticipate needs/wants/desires and then present clients with something special. If I did my homework, I will be rewarded; if not, I will be punished. The money is on the dresser. End of transaction.
But what you are proposing is actually more than an added burden of a personal relationship... it's a platform that actually servers to organize the wackos. It gives them (you) a big microphone to express social retribution. You expect me to let you and your mud-booted-torch-bearing mob into my house?! If I run out of shotgun shells maybe.
Which brings me to how I, the stockholder and Michael Dell's boss, would have responded to you, Edelman and friends, and your reaction to Dell's new blog. I'd have ordered the thing shut down immediately. I'd fire the idiot who launched it in the first place. As you noted in your letter to Mr. Dell, he closed down one of his consumer forums and has a corporate policy of not talking to your customers on blogs. Michael's smart. And he's doing exactly what we pay him to do.
- Amanda Chapel
The malling of populism
Our Resident Philistine, having taken a licking from Strumpette, ratchets his petulant populism up another notch: "Forget consumerism," he tritely trills, Smith&Hawken stainless-steel pitchfork in hand. "We are customers with our money in our fists, spending it wisely and joining together to spend it more wisely." That's Marxism not as tragedy but as farce. "And we are producers who can compete with the companies that thought of us as mere consumers." Hey, Mr....
Weblog: Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog
Tracked: Jul 17, 16:19
Blogging: The Communism of Business Feedback?
While I'm in a "reality check" frame of mind, this post from Strumpette is worth reading. Exposing the Communist Blogifesto: Excuse me, businesses don't really want "relationships" with their customers. It's too expensive, it's too messy and the return is nominal at best. Not even the most prolific hooker wants a personal relationship. Our job is to anticipate needs/wants/desires and then present clients with something special. If I did my homework, I will be rewarded; if not, I will be punished. The money is on the dresser. End of transaction. Do we really want "I'm not buying from them anymore" to be our only means of influencing businesses? Or is that more than enough for most customers?...
Weblog: One Man & His Blog
Tracked: Jul 18, 08:44
Flat worlds and conversations
Not often that I like to Strumpette, as it's mostly crap, but in Exposing-The-Communist-Blogifesto she really gets so much right. Things really come alive in the comments, such as this one: With regard to the conversation, it is inextricably tied
Weblog: Technovia
Tracked: Jul 18, 09:42
Hand bags at twenty paces… again
If you got your jollies out of the earlier scrap between the Naked Conversations authors Shel Israel and Robert Scoble, and Amazon CTO Werner Vogels, you might want to head over to the Buzzmachine. Jeff's starting to open up the throttle a little...
Weblog: think mojo
Tracked: Jul 21, 06:05
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)
One point: the bank doesn't own a public company; the shareholders do. The largest ones are usually institutons like investment banks, mutual fund companies, pension funds, etc. Your point about the CEO being the custodian for the owners is well taken.
Problems always arise when management forgets this and runs the company for its own benefit. One needs to look no farther than Enron.
Great commentary, Amanda, and right on the money, no pun intended. As a fellow Dell shareholder, I am quite concerned about the state of the company, and about the fallout from this recent debacle. We will say how it plays out, and what Jarvis's rebuttal to the above is, if any.
#2 Keith R. Pillow on 2006-07-14 11:52 (Reply)
I agree with your first point, Amanda. As a PR person in the interactive industry, I'm constantly preaching about the power of blogs, etc., but when self-righteous power-trippers start yelling "we're in charge," that's when the 'blogosphere' loses any credibility that we have built up.
I still don't know what I think of the Dell blog - I would never in a million years buy a Dell product myself, so my interest in it is strictly fleeting. I do, however, disagree with your point about customer relationships. It could be that they don't want relationships with their customers, but customers are beginning to expect relationships with the companies they buy from. As johns start realizing they want a more than just a physical relationship with their whores, they'll take their money to where they can find a more emotional bond.
I think this is a good opportunity for Dell to turn itself into the hooker with a heart of gold.
#3 Ryan Anderson (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 12:47 (Reply)
With regard to customers expecting relationships with companies... I think that is a convenient myth. When I go to the grocery store, I don't later call my grocer to tell him how the picnic is going let alone invite him to it. I will contact him if the eggs are bad or the apples are rotten. I just want them replaced, or my money back. But if he's negligently sold me something toxic, I do want more. I want damages and legal fees, too.
That's all.
- Amanda
#3.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 12:59 (Reply)
Possible that it's a myth, but I would say that it's anything but convenient. Your example is perfectly valid, but when you're trying to create long-term customers, a personal touch is a good thing. Grocery stores are about geographical convenience. Buying a computer, something that I'm going to have to do very frequently, is about trust. The big mistake that overzealous bloggers make, however, is equating "trust" with "blog."
I own a Mac (which comes standard with a smug sense of self-righteousness), and I will always buy Mac because, rationally or not, I trust them. They don't blog, but they do come clean when they screw up, and they have fantastic customer service. That's my relationship with them.
With Dell, the constant streams of people complaining about their customer service necessitated a forum for coming clean, because previously, they haven't. If they had stuck their fingers in their ears and continued shouting "Dell is the best, Dell is the best," I think they would have started losing more and more customers. I have no relationship with Dell, but after reading their blog, I would be less apprehensive that that relationship would inevitably become abusive.
We'll see. I have my own predictions as to how this thing will play out.
#3.1.1 Ryan Anderson (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 13:13 (Reply)
"Trust" is another highly overused marketing term. Listen, I trust product quality. Simple.
The root of any/all complaints about customer service is in product quality. If the product was 100 percent, they would not get complaints. Well, I take that back... bloggers would still complain.
Bottom line: A mob blog isn't going to give me a better computer. An engineer might.
#220.127.116.11 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 13:35 (Reply)
One simple comment on your 'trust' post - instead of buying shares and living off of the value created by others, try to start a business with a customer facing component and then, just then, you might be in a position to comment on 'trust'. Until that day, get off the podium, because you aren't qualiied.
Oh pshaw. Listen to yourself. Power to the proletariat! Might as well be 1917.
#18.104.22.168 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 12:36 (Reply)
Michael Dell may very well not give a shit about me or his customers. Seems so. But if that is the case, then he won't have much of a company anymore and he will ill serve his stockholders (not bankers).
No, you're wrong, the customer is ultimately in charge. It's my money. I won't give it to Dell because I don't trust Dell. I know more people who won't either. He doesn't run a monopoly; he's not in charge of the cable company, phone company, or even newspaper. We have choices. That is the ultimate power. That, in, fact, is what makes capitalilsm capitalism: choice.
I was just reading Chris Anderson's book this morning as he quoted Boris Yeltsin going to an American supermarket and realizing that communism was dead. Why? Choice.
Choice puts the customer, the citizen, the comrade in charge. Michael Dell is not my boss. I fired him long ago.
Any company that does not realize that the customer is in charge is a doomed company.
#4 Jeff Jarvis (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 13:15 (Reply)
"Michael Dell may very well not give a shit about me or his customers. But if that is the case, then he won't have much of a company anymore."
- No. That's a fallacy. He should care about a good product and an identified market. That does NOT necessarily mean individual customers.
"No, you're wrong, the customer is ultimately in charge. It's my money."
- Yes. You singular. You have one vote. I suggest then that you don't buy Dell. Period.
Anything more than that is an attempt to hold Dell and its shareholder hostage. We don't owe you anything!
"I was just reading Chris Anderson's book this morning as he quoted Boris Yeltsin going to an American supermarket and realizing that communism was dead. Why? Choice."
- No one is taking you choice away. We are suggesting that rather than inciting a riot, you exercise it.
"Michael Dell is not my boss."
- Correct. He was only ever a purveyor of a product/service. You didn't fire anyone.
"Any company that does not realize that the customer is in charge is a doomed company."
- Again with the threat and hype. "Give us your company or else!" No.
Bottom line: ironically, any company CEO that gives into that threat is surely doomed.
#4.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 13:49 (Reply)
I agree that blog evangelism is out of hand, and I especially enjoy reading Strumpette for its witty take on all the PR blogs that pretend to analyze the blog trend disingenously for the purpose of drumming up business.
However, I've not had a problem with Jeff Jarvis' posts on this topic, because I have taken his points as being essentially descriptive more than proscriptive. Yes, I know, you can point to the number of times he uses the word "should" with regard to Dell and other companies, but I think he's being intellectually honest about it.
His real point could be restated in physical, rather than political terms. The blogosphere has changed the chemical nature of customers with respect to the companies that sell to them. Customer dissatisfaction is a far more corrosive agent now. Whereas before, it would hardly leave a chip on the sidewalk in front of your headquarters, now it can melt your reception area and potentially burn down your building. You must now treat this physical entity, your customers, differently. Their new potency comes in large part from blogs and other Internet outlets. You might want to consider, Mr. CEO, whether preventing damage from legions of dissatisfied customers might involve you changing your chemical properties as well, perhaps through some kind of blog alchemy of your own.
I don't think that means "ceding control," literally. I'm not sure if any corporation or PR agency has figured out the formula, certainly not one that's replicable and will get consistent results. But the discussion is, I think, vital to some companies' future prospects.
On the other hand, it's like any other PR problem. Usually it's not a PR problem at all. It's a shitty company problem. If Dell or AOL or other companies with poorly run customer service operations just fixed the obvious problems, much of the PR spend, on blogs or anything else, could be avoided.
"I've not had a problem with Jeff Jarvis' posts on this topic, because I have taken his points as being essentially descriptive more than proscriptive."
- I think you need to watch the video. He's crossed the line.
As far as intellectual honesty... he may indeed actually believe in that stuff.
"The blogosphere has changed the chemical nature of customers with respect to the companies that sell to them. Customer dissatisfaction is a far more corrosive agent now. Whereas before, it would hardly leave a chip on the sidewalk in front of your headquarters, now it can melt your reception area and potentially burn down your building."
- Indeed, the net has been a tremendous tool for radical groups.
"You might want to consider, Mr. CEO, whether preventing damage from legions of dissatisfied customers might involve you changing your chemical properties as well, perhaps through some kind of blog alchemy of your own."
- No. That is absolutely a myth. And as I just responded to Jeff, negociating with a mob is not only costly and distructive, that may curtail the companies' future.
"On the other hand, it's like any other PR problem. Usually it's not a PR problem at all. It's a shitty company problem."
YES! Fix that and stick to the fundamentals.
#5.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 14:02 (Reply)
"Indeed, the net has been a tremendous tool for radical groups."
The net has been a tremendous tool for individuals, radical or otherwise, to take power that radical groups once took as their birthright.
Just a few years ago, if I wanted to help a client get third party support from a "consumer" group, I knew who to call: One of the small but well-funded organizations that the media deemed representative of consumers, but which actually had a political and litigious agenda -- and few actual members. Working with such groups was a process of negotiation, and it wasn't always so pretty.
Those groups' power has not increased thanks to the net. What the net has done is provide a platform for actual consumers, the ones who aren't looking to join a class-action, or to overthrow capitalism, but who just want their friggin' widget to friggin' work better. They can say "Dell Hell" enough times and before you know it, they start showing up near the top on search engines. One guy can do that. Obviously, Dell's PR people think that one guy, for them, is Jeff Jarvis, who is neither radical nor a group. And no one at Dell is about to negotiate with him, or 2000 like him.
If a shitty company fixes its shittiness, it will want to demonstrate this change to people. A press release announcing the new post-shitty incarnation won't persuade anybody anymore, if it ever did. But a blog in which the company can demonstrate over a length of time through actions, not just words, that the shittiness is all gone -- maybe that's persuasive. Before the opportunity to blog came along, the company just had to do a better job, and hope over time that people would notice. That doesn't work. Proof: How many people do you know continue to observe boycotts that the boycotting organization long ago dropped? I knew lots of smart people who wouldn't eat grapes for years and years, just to keep their conscience safe.
Say it once, hope the newspapers pick it up, and then wait for the results? Or say it and demonstrate it every day, and perhaps get results sooner. A stockholder-focused CEO has to at least consider the latter.
C'mon Amanda, it's at least possible!
You're definitely on to something, John. But I don't think you go far enough. I acknowledge a benefit to blogs, of course. But I also predict a backlash to all the hype.
Freedom of speech is precious. Democracy is a gift from God. But hyper free speech and a fractured and flattened democracy where arrogance and self interest are predominate... that's called Hell.
Go watch the video and really listen to Jeff's words. I find them absolutely chilling. "Surrender your property or else!" He's a TV critic for Christ's sake!
Mark my words: The owners of Corporate America are going to give him "else."
#188.8.131.52 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-14 15:32 (Reply)
Suggesting that blogs give consumers more power is far from communism; it's pretty meek if you ask me.
In fact, consumers feels powerless in the U.S. -- compared to Western Europe, for example -- precisely because our overly deregulated capitalist markets give us very little recourse except to belly-ache in the style of Jeff Jarvis.
As for Jeff himself, sure, he's a bit full of himself -- and yes, I too think of him first and foremost as a TV critic reviewing "Full House" for People magazine. But again, welcome to capitalist America, where you are what you say you are, as long as you say it loudly and convincingly enough.
America has a pretty good tolerance for blowhards, and if you consider Jeff's views extreme (and yes, I watched the video -- yawn), you're obviously not watching 24-hour cable or listening to talk radio very much. Good for you; it'll rot your brain. It's already rotted mine.
At first blush, it looks like you need to brush up on your trend-tracking skills, Amanda. The trends that Jeff describes are so obvious that you'd have to work hard to ignore them. But on a second reading, the stridency of your protest proves Jeff's point. Michael Dell may not give a shit about Jeff Jarvis (a dubious assertion), but you make it obvious you do, or you wouldn't get so worked up over the Jarvis Effect that you say doesn't matter.
Dell's management has made it clear that they care about Jeff's views, having bent over backwards, tardily, to fix the problem. Unfortunately, the goods and the services couldn't keep up with their belated damage control. The history of big business is littered with the hulks of companies that forgot their customers.
No Amanda, What Dell is learning is what everyone but you has concluded: Things aren't true just because you say them loudly and expensively enough. That is the intellectual bankruptcy at the core of Managerial Capitalism and its tawdry little camp follower, PR.
Embracing that metaphor, maybe we should call the dying PR business "Strumpettism." Then there'd be a way to remember you after your 15 minutes are up.
#7 Britt Blaser (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 08:54 (Reply)
I understand that you were an advisor to the Dean Campaign. How did that work out?
As to the "intellectual bankruptcy of Managerial Capitalism," you make my point. Absolutely a page right out of The Communist Blogifesto.
- Amanda
#7.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 09:28 (Reply)
I am astounded that you and Dell doesn't give a crap about it's customers. You have obviously been putting out a flawed product for a while now, but that's not really your biggest problem(s).
You biggest problems are:
1. You won't acknowledge that your product has sucked by helping your customers get the satisfaction they need from you, which is to get the problem solved. How can you get the problem solved if you won't even talk to them after they spent money buying your crap.
2. Your Corporation has become arrogantly inflated. Just because you sold X amount of units a few years back does not mean that people will continue buying your junk. The arrogance of the people at Dell is being noticed across the whole consumer base, and if you can't see the price you are paying, then you deserve to fail as a company.
Customer service in any business, at the end of the day, is all you have. Your product means nothing of people won't buy it.
And your product, just like the BS that you are spewing.....well, I'm not buying it.
Jeff Jarvis, as wacky as he may seem, is right on this issue. You, ma'am, are not.
I've been a Dell customer for 10 years, and I will never send you another cent. And trust me, I'm not the only one.
Can I suggest a new Dell motto? "Ticking off our base, one buyer at a time."
You are so Jeff's people: geeks and suggestion-box nut cases. Get a life!
Listen, I own a Dell. It's fantastic! Not a glitch! I love it. And when it's not those things, I will buy a different computer. I won't be writing love letters to Michael Dell wondering why he doesn't love me any more.
- Amanda
#8.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 09:51 (Reply)
Ehm, what is your problem. You just shouted at one of your visitors. A visitor you invited (by writing the enty) into your house (read: this website). All he did was respond to your post.
Is that a generic response, if people do not agree with you?
Having read your post and now Jeff's, I think you are missing his point. Also, I think you are missing the point about capitalism and I am amazed that you actually wish to go on record with these views.
And really, I don't think this is about how much one hates or loves his or her Dell computer.
#8.1.1 Michael Nielsen on 2006-07-17 10:06 (Reply)
I understand Jeff's premise totally. And I understand capitalism, as well.
The two concepts are not that difficult. I do not want Jeff socialistic world. I do not want to be part of his mob "storming castle Dell." I think it is immoral to try to hold a company hostage by yelling fire in a crowded theater. I do not want to leverage the fears and discontents of a group in order to take someone else's property.
That's all.
- Amanda
#188.8.131.52 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 10:17 (Reply)
I still do not believe you understand capitalism.
I am not american, but come from a (western) european country. I obviously have not had your extensive experience with socialism and communism, but having had to deal with their propaganda - and worse - for many years, I recognize little of them in Jeff Jarviz' posts and interviews.
Rather I see him as an Adam Smith'ian ideologist. Try reading his posts again, he is not advocating giving control of companies to its customer's, rather that a succesful company has to listen to its (future) customers.
You may be misunderstanding the term "relationship", thinking about close, inter-personal relationships. I do not believe that is Jeff's point.
What you have been advocating above seemed to work for a couple of years back in the dot-com bubble, the New Economy and such like. It may work again for short periods of time...
I am glad I am not one of the companies you "own" - especially when you compare those to prolifics hookers. But perhaps you are misunderstanding your own role in that relationship; yes, you "own" those companies but in the case of most publicly traded companies you are in fact just filling out a role of customer.
#220.127.116.11.1 Michael Nielsen on 2006-07-18 00:35 (Reply)
They aren't "fucking" buying.
You don't like what people are saying. Don't "fucking" listen, "you idiot".
You don't like the fact that people are badmouthing the company you own stock in? Tough! Welcome to the freedom of speech. It goes hand in hand with free markets, deal with it.
By the way, what made you think that you could insult people, call them Communists and not get criticized yourself? You seem to be rather thin skinned.
#8.1.2 Shawn Levasseur (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 10:27 (Reply)
They're not buying? Exactly. They are outsiders with NO vested interest that want to "storm castle Dell," so they (Dell) "hand over control of their company."
That's not free speech. It's called extortion.
- Amanda
#22.214.171.124 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 10:35 (Reply)
"They are outsiders with NO vested interest that want to "storm castle Dell," so they (Dell) "hand over control of their company.""
No, they simply don't want to see other customers screwed over.
To that end they tell the tale of their bad experiences so that other future buyers of Dell products can be forewarned of potential bad consequences of choosing Dell.
Secondly, point out what they think is wrong so that Dell can treat their customers better.
"That's not free speech. It's called extortion."
That's not an argument that's hyperbole. It's not about control of the company. It's merely feedback.
Dell's corporate structure will always make its own decisions, but just as they rely on market studies, real live feedback also helps them make those decisions.
If you see corporate leaders as some special breed of human who can divine what is needed without any extrenal feedback save from Wall Street, you are out of your mind.
The phrase "The Customer is Always Right" is a cliche, and not an absolute, but the customers are authorities on what they want, and how they want to be treated. That's not extortion, it's negotiating the terms of a sale.
Saying, "Take it or leave it" to dissatisfied customers is a sure losing scenario.
What experience in sales (not Public Relations or "Marketing Communications", I mean face-to-face selling) do you have? I'd bet none, or at best maybe a stray retail job in your youth where you were very frustrated with customer demands.
Fortunately you are not in charge of Dell, or their marketing. They seem to want to address problems, not "turn over control of the company", nor ignore matters and hope they go away (though it seemed for a while that was the strategy).
But you've put down your manefesto, and have invested in it so much that I doubt you'll ever change your tune. So let's look at this from your perspective and assume Jeff and other blogged consumer complaints is a threat.
What are you going to do about it?
Can you shut them up? Fat chance.
Can you threaten them with legal action? That'll backfire with greater bad publicity in the short run, and in the long run the 1st Amendment won't allow such action to be successful.
What else can be done? Unless you have any ideas, you have to deal with the situation as it exists. If that means "extortionists" get their way, I guess you'll just have to be unhappy while events don't go your way.
Or... If you can't beat them, join them. Instead of whining about other's whining, (a case where two negatives do not make a positive), talk about your positive experiences with Dell. Find the consumers who love Dell, and encourage them to tell their tales. Link to others who share your opinion of Dell. Make the focus on "accentuating the positive," as opposed to "eliminating the negative".
This tactic would also prove to be more influential, as it could persuade people that that Jeff is wrong without resorting to insults that inflame and piss people off. No one ever changed their mind by being told to shut up, or seeing others told to shut up. Calling Jeff an "extortionist" and a "communist" will do nothing to influence opinions, just piss people off (as you can readily notice).
Persuasion works better than confrontation. Conversations work better than name calling.
Hey... wait...
You claim to have "15 plus years experience in marketing communications" in you bio. Why should I have to be telling you this? This should be lesson #1 in marketing communications.
#22.214.171.124.1 Shawn Levasseur (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 11:46 (Reply)
"They simply don't want to see other customers screwed over. To that end they tell the tale of their bad experiences so that other future buyers of Dell products can be forewarned of potential bad consequences of choosing Dell. Secondly, point out what they think is wrong so that Dell can treat their customers better.
That's a myth. This is about power and control. Jeff and friends are not some holier than thou do gooders. That's just silly. This is a political platform and Dell is a rung in the latter.
"You see corporate leaders as some special breed of human who can divine what is needed without any extrenal feedback save from Wall Street."
That, too, is a myth. Corporations absolutely get and incorporate a plethora of tool and methods to get customer feedback... in a controlled fashion. That's standard business.
"Fortunately you are not in charge of Dell, or their marketing. They seem to want to address problems."
Of course, they want to address problems... as long as it makes business sense. Having said that, the blog is a pressure valve only.
"What are you going to do about it? Can you shut them up?"
No. But I'd certainly put the noise in perspective. I'd also likely hire external groups to challenge Jarvis. I'd reframe the picture properly, i.e. "extortionist" and a "communist."
"Persuasion works better than confrontation."
Tell that to Israel.
#220.127.116.11.1.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 12:22 (Reply)
Yep. Dean adviser. Didn't work out.
Also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross - 3 times - and shot down in Vietnam. Another project that didn't work out. Grownups do things that don't always work out, rather than talking tough while pandering for attention.
As we see here.
As an Air Force officer and a real estate developer, I employed lots of people like your dad. I love those guys and wouldn't trade them for half of Congress. But the reason he laid bricks is that he couldn't see the shades of gray that are visible if you look for them. You would honor your father more by growing up and joining the conversation of adults, trying to improve things rather than living off the margins of the productive economy. Take it from a dad and grand-dad.
I'm done here - real work to do.
#9 Britt Blaser (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 10:39 (Reply)
Capitalism is based on the rule of law and good accounting principals. This is a dollar. Not a lot of gray area there.
With regard to the "conversation," it is inextricably tied to the "flat world" concept. And that is rife with problems.
Here, there's a Nobel Prize winner that lives in my building. I intimately know a man who has taken college level physics classes. Now in academic circles (very hierarchical) the system can very readily differentiate between the two. In flat world, it just can't. Slashdot is not an educated jury.
However, the flat world can rally Jeff's 6 million people with pitch forks and torches very well. But there's no depth. That, by definition, is a mob. Mobs like takin property. Mobs like hangins.
- Amanda
#9.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 10:55 (Reply)
"Capitalism is based on the rule of law and good accounting principals. This is a dollar. Not a lot of gray area there."
The rule of law and accounting principles are needed to prevent capitalism from falling prey to fraud. Lawyers and accountants don't create wealth, they defend it.
Capitalism is based on making the sale. No sales, and you go out of business. Business that fail to make sales die. That's the natural order of things in capitalism.
If Dell can't make sales, it doesn't deserve to survive. Welcome to the jungle.
Again, supposedly you should know this basic truth about business.
I hate to resort to this cheap shot... But you put the information up in your bio... Is the only talent you performed in the business world the willingness to sleep with bosses and clients? Being "involved in award winning campaigns", seems rather vague, not knowing exactly what that involvement is. I find your capitalist credentials starting to look a bit thread-bare.
#9.1.1 Shawn Levasseur (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 12:09 (Reply)
"Supposedly you should know this basic truth about business."
This is what happens when you come to class late and have not done your homework. We reviewed this material in detail. The arguments here are much further down the line and I am afraid that reiterating them now would only be disruptive to the others. I suggest you stay after and review the material.
- Amanda
#126.96.36.199 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 12:44 (Reply)
(FULL DISCLOSURE: I own no Dell stock, have no idea who Strumpette is, and based on past history, can hardly be called a Strumpette Apologist.)
Shawn: "The rule of law and accounting principles are needed to prevent capitalism from falling prey to fraud. Lawyers and accountants don't create wealth, they defend it."
Actually, lawyers are accountants don't defend wealth: they leech off of it. Rule of law and fiduciary diligence are not productive in and of themselves, but are a necessary evil warding off the greater threat of pandemic consumer mistrust. When the buyers are too wary, everyone suffers.
The Jarvis camp wants to believe they are the new breed of accountability -- able to leverage their issues through new technologies (and in a crazy irony, using the social media and tactics that some would call "New P.R.) The problem with this "mob," and that's exactly what they are, is a lack of definition of their true motive. Accounting firms have an employer, and a reputation to uphold. Attorneys have clients, and you know the moment one gets involved that they DO have a slant AND a dog in this hunt.
The hungry mob of bloggers? Are they in it for the same reason? You can't tell. For all we know, some of the big "social-media corporate raiding" might even be Astroturfed by a competitor. You can't deny that possibility.
When accountants put their stamp of approval on a balance sheet, Adam Smith's wheels of efficiency grind a little slower, but the measure has been made and agreed by all. When lawyers rattle sabres in filings and briefs, we know there is a system that will adjudicate penalties that at least try to stay within the magnitude of the offense.
You piss off one influential blogger, and suddenly have to answer to Mr. Linklove? In the realm of a flat world and information moving more freely, Jarvis-and-ilk have great power to inform -- but with great power comes great responsibility. One of those duties is to not injure innocents with a ham-fisted internet campaign. ESPECIALLY when most of the torch-bearing crowd is only in it for self-gratification.
You shall know them by the hair on their palms.
Okay, I did miss a paragraph that shows you do understand the Seling portion of business.
Here, this is the linchpin to your whole argument. You grossly overestimate the value of the customer relationship. Excuse me, businesses don't really want "relationships" with their customers. It's too expensive, it's too messy and the return is nominal at best. Not even the most prolific hooker wants a personal relationship. Our job is to anticipate needs/wants/desires and then present clients with something special. If I did my homework, I will be rewarded; if not, I will be punished. The money is on the dresser. End of transaction.
But you miss the important part. The hooker who doesn't perform the expected services, or give their customer the clap, will not get repeat business. The relationship isn't the same as a true personal relationship but a commercial relationship does come with some expectations of the service provider.
I know Apple computer doesn't love me. It loves my money. But they give me a good computer and good service. They keep my business. It's not a communist agenda to have customers demand such a "relationship" from companies. Service of defective merchandise is not a communist demand.
Jeff has not called for control of the business, just not to screw customers and be callous to it. You are attributing motives purely out of imagined agendas.
#10 Shawn Levasseur (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 13:20 (Reply)
"But you miss the important part. The hooker who doesn't perform the expected services, or give their customer the clap, will not get repeat business
Shawn, we've reviewed this, too. See grocer example above.
"It's not a communist agenda to have customers demand such a "relationship" from companies."
Sure it is. I don't own you anything but what you paid for. Get a dog.
"Service of defective merchandise is not a communist demand."
Shawn, we've reviewed this, too. See grocer example above.
"Jeff has not called for control of the business, just not to screw customers and be callous to it. You are attributing motives purely out of imagined agendas."
Not at all. Read his online statements. What the video linked at the beginning of this story. That's ABSOLUTELY an inappropriate and anti-business agenda.
#10.1 Amanda Chapel (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 13:28 (Reply)
I've been reading his statements for years.
If there is any agenda he is playing, its to build his reputation as an expert on Internet media. He has professional relationships with media companies, that is his bread and butter these days as I understand it. Hardly the calling card of a communist.
I'll watch the video. I doubt I'll find anything new.
You should do your homework too and read the original "Dell Hell" saga. This was all born out of Jeff's own personal problems with tech support.
Which leads me to your grocer metaphor that you pointed out:
"I will contact him if the eggs are bad or the apples are rotten. I just want them replaced, or my money back."
That was the point. Dell gave Jeff "rotten eggs". Dell then gave him a hard time in getting the computer repaired or replaced. They have ignored this problem, not only for Jeff, but many many other customers. Dell's been notorious for its bureaucratic, ineffective service department.
By the way, Dell advertises servicing the computers sold as part of the package with its computers. If memory serves, Jeff even had bought a service contract to supposedly get extended service, so the "Service" was also a product that turned out to be rotten.
#10.1.1 Shawn Levasseur (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 14:02 (Reply)
"With regard to customers expecting relationships with companies... I think that is a convenient myth. When I go to the grocery store, I don't later call my grocer to tell him how the picnic is going let alone invite him to it. I will contact him if the eggs are bad or the apples are rotten."
I don't need to repeat the objections to your argument, the ones above are fine.
But I will say this: if you don't talk on a cordial level with your grocer, it doesn't make you a typical consumer, it makes you an asshole. And I don't mean that as an insult, but as a fact. And you can be an asshole if you want, but don't think that's what the majority of people--consumers--are like.
#11 Steven Chabot (Homepage) on 2006-07-17 22:15 (Reply)
The majority of consumers, when dealing with their OWN reputations, and when enacting commerce with a name and a face, are not assholes.
Human nature tells us that the majority of consumers, when given a chance to vent anonymously and in crowds, ARE assholes. They will say things and advocate actions they would never do under their real names. They will act more flippantly and with unbridled venom when they do so from the safety of a mob.
Jarvis isn't the evil. It's the mob of "Me Too's" who get into a competition to see who can one-up the next with hatred and invective for Dell, or whomever happens to become the Corporate Patsy du Jour. One complaint from a customer can be the start of a great conversation if the company is listnening. Ten-thousand people shouting at once is a little harder to discern, because they are all competing with one another to be the loudest and nastiest, and the value of their input decreases. The torch-bearers end up killing a weed with a forest fire, and nothing is accomplished.
Strumpette may have gone too far in making the Communism analogy, but there is one respect where it is valid: a political movement of proles attempting to take over the means of production without buying their way in.
Amanda: you are totally on the mark! Thanks for a commentary that doesn't involve sucking up to some "A-list" blogger.
#12 Mike Drips (Homepage) on 2006-07-19 13:23 (Reply)
"In business, 'control' is a fiduciary responsibility. Stock is property. Management is paid to increase the value of shareholder property AND to act as custodians. It is a 'duty.'"
Seriously, stop drinking the Kool-Aid. In business, management treats shareholders as shoddily as you concede they treat customers. The art of management is to make as much as you can for yourself, not for sharholders.
Fiduciary responsibility. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
#13 george 3rd on 2006-07-24 03:59 (Reply)
Did this post compare John Kennedy with a communist? Wow, I didn't know this was another right-wing, swift boat, rush, hannity, fox news channel? Perhaps this line of thinking is limited to this post...we can only pray.
#14 Matt Gentile (Homepage) on 2007-07-12 12:27 (Reply)
Add Comment


text:
Metra 71-7550 1996 NISSAN SENTRA E Car Stereo Radio Wire Harness
1996 NISSAN SENTRA E Radio Wire Harness
Radio Wire Harness for NISSAN SENTRA E 1996
- Metra 71-7550 1996 NISSAN SENTRA E Car Stereo Radio Wire Harness
- Wire Harness
- Plugs Into OEM Radio
- For Power/4-Speaker
- This item is New
- 1-Year Manufacturer's Warranty
- 30-Day Half Price Car Audio Warranty
Customer Reviews
There have been no reviews for this product.
Add your review here
Return Policy
This item can be returned un-opened within 14-Days for a refund, minus a 20% restocking fee, and minus shipping.
Warranty Information
- This item has a 30-day in-house warranty.
- This item has a 1-Year manufacturer's warranty.


text:
Show Me the Money
December 22, 2016
Do you know anyone that has decided to become an author so they can get rich quick? Yeah, it's a great idea, but certainly not a realistic one.
If this is your first book that you are writing and a publisher has accepted it, you will likely be given an advance of four to ten thousand dollars. The important thing to remember about this money, though, is that an advance has to be paid back to the publisher. Odds are the money you get will be on the smaller end if you are an unknown author. The advance will be paid back as your book begins to bring in money. In other words, you will not see any of the money once your book starts bringing in royalties until the advance is paid back in full. The advance is a great way to help cover some of your costs and bills while you are waiting for your book's sells to skyrocket.
How about the royalties from the book sales? Well, most of the time, the contract from your publisher will list you as receiving somewhere between 10 to 15% of the royalties off of each sale. There are two different ways that the royalty percentages are figured. Some publishers will offer you the percentage in the contract based off of how much profit they make from the book, which is the net royalties. This typically is around half of the price of the book. Other publishers will pay out the percentage based on the list price of the book, or the gross royalties. Is that as confusing as it sounds?
Here is an example: Let's say that your book has a list price of $10 and you have a contract to receive 10% in royalties off list. This would give you $1 per book that is sold. Now, if you are contracted to receive 10% of the net profits, you would only get about $0.50 per book sold. Keep this in mind before you sign a contract because that is a big difference in the amount you receive. Of course publishers prefer to offer the contract with the net royalties because they make a lot more money off of it.
Now, if you write an e-book, it is likely you will be offered a higher rate for the royalties. Also, if the sales of your book increase, you may get more money from the royalties. This is something you will have to talk with the publisher about putting in the contract before you sign it.
Literary Agents
December 17, 2016
A step you need to figure out early on in your career as an author is whether you want to use a literary agent or do it all on your own. I have spoken with many publishers about this very thing the past few years. With my first book, the first year I did not use an agent. Looking back that second year, I realized that I had been spinning my wheels and getting no where, so I decided to give a literary agent a try. There are, unfortunately, not many publishers out there with editors who will try to actively connect with potential writers to bring in new people. If you find one that offers you a deal that is suitable, then that would be fine. In my experiences, I could not find one, so I decided that going with an agent was the best step for me.
There are several things that are different if you decide to go with an agent. The first one is money. An agent will need to be paid. Most of their money will come from any money you earn from your book, including your royalties and anything else. There is a huge benefit, though, in that you are given access to a lot of publishers at one time and the publishers are ones that work with your agent on a regular basis. Your agent will help you go over any contract you are offered to help you make a good decision, too.
Keep in mind that, if you decide to hire an agent, you are likely going to get a lot more letters of rejection. Of course this makes sense considering that your proposal is going out to a lot more publishers now. Though the rejections were disappointing, they were also quite helpful. Most of the publishers that looked over my proposal gave me an explanation as to why my book was being turned down. It could be as simple as they didn't like the way the book ended or that they didn't understand something in particular about the book. When they explain why they don't want to work with me on the book, it gave me ideas on what I could work on to make it better for the next publisher.
Presenting to a Publisher
December 13, 2016
You have now taken the steps to outline your book. You have even written a table of contents and the first few chapters. Now you will have to create a proposal for your book. By doing the steps you have already taken , a lot of the proposal is already completed. You will take these items in to the publisher when you meet with them, tell them who the target audience is for your book, why you are the only one that can do a good job writing this particular book, what the book is about, other books that are similar to what you are writing about, and anything else they may question you about. Hand the table of contents and the chapters you wrote in to the publisher and let him or her look over them and keep a copy for themselves. After all of this, you will want to explain to the publisher all of your plans for marketing your book. There are many ways to market it, but you will want to give specifics such as by speaking on the topic on tour for a year or so, creating a larger online following, or building up your online presence to get your name out there.
One thing to keep in mind is that a great idea is always better than your online presence. Most writers believe that having a great online presence is a huge plus for them in the market. Typically, that isn't the case. Most publishers that I have personally worked with had no idea who I was before I walked into their door. And I had a huge following on Facebook and Twitter, but I started receiving one rejection letter after another from publishers. What it boiled down to was this: If you have a great idea that publishers think will sell, that is much more important than the number of followers or friends you have on social media.
Laying Out Your Ideas
December 7, 2016
So you have decided what book you want to write. You have tons of ideas bouncing around in your head that you just have to get down on paper. So where do you go from here?
For one, you need to find several books that seem to be similar to what you want to write about. Read each one and be able to explain how your book will be able to offer something that the competing one is missing. Try to pick titles that are newer too. If you choose older books to compare to and take that information to your publisher, they will immediately shoot down your idea because, chances are, someone has written more about your subject since that time.
Your next step is to write an outline for your book and then a table of contents. Now things are really starting to get serious here. Doing this will let you, and everyone else, know whether you are just toying around with an idea or if you are serious. There is a lot of work put into this step, but you want it to be good before you take it before a potential publisher. It will also help you have a game plan that you can follow and make the process of writing easier. Doing this will benefit you in the long run, too, because you will have to put your ideas across several different chapters and structure the message of your book.
Once the table of contents and outline is done, start working on the first three chapters. This will also test your will to write a book. When you can walk up to your publisher with a few solid chapters in your proposal, you are making a great case for yourself on why they should publish you. Doing the first three chapters in the book will also give you a good idea on how long it will likely take you to write your book in its entirety. Now if your first chapter takes you three months to write, you may have a problem.
The First Steps in Writing a Book
December 2, 2016
So you are interested in writing a book but don't know where to start? Well, the first step is figuring out what exactly you want to write about. This may seem like an easy step, but a lot of times, it's now. The key is to realize what it is that you are meant to write, as in something that you only you could do.
Several years ago, I was approached by a friend that wanted to hire me to write a manual on how to best wash windows. The company, www.windowwashingmn.com, wanted to have something in print for their employees to read in order to get better quality work that was across the board. Did I have experience with washing window professionally? Yes. Was it something that I would want to write about and then potentially tour the country to discuss? Well, not really. Washing windows wasn't a topic that was interesting enough for me to write about. They found someone else to do it and he has sold quite a few books. I had to find what was best for me, though, not just take the first paid job that came my way. There have been other book ideas that have been presented to me that I have had to turn down for the same reason over the past few years.
Once you have figured out what you want to write about, you need to determine what will make your book unique and fulfill a need in the market. You will likely discover that the topic of your book has already been written about many times. Your job is to discover what will make yours different and stand out from the competition. A catchy title is nice, but you will need a lot more than that. You will have to find some sort of hook that will draw readers into your book and say, "I have got to read that!" For example, you may be interested in writing a book on how to build a website. Well, a great hook for you would be having free resources within the book to help others with building their own website. That would bring a lot of value to your readers.


text:
African American Health in Tallahassee
In the United States, the burden of sickness and early death is clearly distributed along racial lines. The burden is especially heavy for African Americans, who suffer disproportionately from nearly every major cause of death, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, pneumonia and influenza, HIV/AIDS, and infant mortality.buy ambien online without prescription
The causes of these inequalities are hotly debated. Many people, including some healthcare providers and policy makers, assume that the differences are due to genes. But this view is scientifically unfounded and politically dangerous. By contrast, there is mounting evidence that social and cultural factors are fundamental determinants of racial inequities in health. This evidence implies that there are policy solutions to promote greater equity in health.
Social and Cultural Context of Racial Inequalities in Health
Clarence C. Gravlee (PI) and Christopher McCarty (Co-PI)
Funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0724032)
buy diazepam no prescription
Funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0724032)buy diazepam no prescription
Our current research seeks to improve the understanding of how specific social and cultural factors shape racial inequities in health. The central question is why African Americans suffer disproportionately from hypertension, or chronic high blood pressure. This problem is a key test case for two reasons. First, excess hypertension contributes more to the diminished life expectancy of African Americans than does any other cause of death. Second, it is often attributed to unknown genetic differences between racially defined groups. This project tests the alternative view, supported by previous research, that institutional and interpersonal racism shape the risk of high blood pressure among African Americans.buy soma online no prescription
We draw on a model of the stress process that focuses on both structural inequalities and the experience of culturally meaningful social stressors and resistance resources. The first phase of the project involves participant observation and two rounds of ethnographic interviewing (N = 48 in each round) to understand the diversity of ways that African Americans encounter racism and experience blackness. The second phase involves an epidemiologic survey of adult African Americans in Tallahassee (N = 350) to test the associations between social network characteristics, the experience of culturally defined stressors, and blood pressure variation, above and beyond known risk factors for high blood pressure. We intend to disseminate our findings in a way that informs policy debates at local, state, and national levels.valium online no prescription
The research is taking place among African Americans in Tallahassee, FL, following the principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR). The choice of Tallahassee was motivated by two factors. First, Tallahassee has a large and socioeconomically diverse African-American community. This diversity makes it possible to disentangle the health effects of racism from the effects of poverty and economic inequalities. Second, Tallahassee has a rich history of racial struggle and civil rights activism. Much of the current local civil rights activism is framed in terms of health inequalities, and several local agencies and community organizations have identified racial health disparities as a priority for action. We are cultivating relationships with these organizations and with local university researchers to build a long-term partnership for action-oriented research on equity in health.phentermine for sale
For more about CBPR and the community-academic partnership we are helping to develop, visit the website of the Health Equity Alliance of Tallahassee (HEAT).tramadol online without prescriptionbuy online without prescription buy ativan no prescription buy valium without prescription buy klonopin online no prescription buy valium online no prescription


text: While trying to use ssh:connect(), I get {error, "Key exchange failed"}. Tracing shows that it is trying to write to the file "c:/Users/myname/.ssh/known_hosts". The ".ssh" dir is not present, so the write fails. The error propagates up causing verify_host_key() to return failure which kills the connection. The host key verified properly; it just couldn't be written to known_hosts. I think it should return 'ok' in this case and allow the connection to proceed. My whole connect call was.... {ok,Connection} = ssh:connect(Host, Port, [ {user,Login}, {password,Pass}, {silently_accept_hosts, true}, {user_interaction, false}]), This is for a machine to machine connection, and I don't care about host key checking anyway. To work around this for now, I am supplying a 'user_dir' option so it can write a known_hosts file. Dan.


text:
I have these orange pillar candles I bought on clearance years ago. The scent was discontinued, and I'd really grown to love it. I was sad when they reached the end of their wick, so I held onto them, not wanting to throw them out. I decided I could melt them down, insert a new wick and start over. If you've got a few dwindling pillar candles, here's a little walk-through on how to turn them into new candles.
Here's a list of supplies:
disposable foil pan
prewaxed wick and clip
popsicle stick
glass jar
hot glue gun
old pillar candle(s)
Let's get started:
1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. Remove any stickers or labels from the candle and cut it into 1/2" chunks. Make sure to discard the old wick and metal clip.
(Tip: cut over the foil pan so all the shaved off bits get in there, too).
3. Put the foil pan on a foil-lined cookie sheet for stability and put into the preheated oven.
4. While the wax melts, put a dot of hot glue on the wick clip and adhere to the bottom of the glass jar.
5. Set the timer for 5 minutes. Stir the chunks with the popsicle stick.
6. Repeat every 5 minutes, (heat, stir, heat, stir) until the wax is completely liquefied. The total time will vary depending on the amount of wax to be melted.
Important: don't be tempted to turn the heat up…if the wax gets too hot it can combust. Just keep it slow & steady to avoid any disasters.
7. Once the wax is completely melted, carefully pour it into the waiting glass jar.
8. Lay the popsicle stick over the top of the jar and gently bend the wick over it to hold it upright until the wax hardens.
9. Once the wax is cool, trim the wick to 1/4".
10. Light your new old candle and enjoy.
Post by Christina Williams : justcallmechris.blogspot.com


text:
Is JPMorgan Getting a Bad Deal?By
In resolve a handful of state and federal investigations, JPMorgan Chase has tentatively agreed to pay $13 billion—more, as my colleague Nick Summers points out, "than the combined salaries of every athlete in every major U.S. professional sport, with enough left over to buy every American a stadium hot dog." Thirteen billion is also equal to 61 percent of the bank's profit for 2012, so it's a significant sum. But does that make it a "shakedown," as some have suggested?
The arguments of those who say yes are as follows: Much of the penalty is related to sales of mortgage securities by Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, companies JPMorgan took over in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis at the urging of the government. It is therefore unfair, the thinking goes, for the same government now to penalize the bank for the sins of those two and demand money to compensate for those sins. But this argument neglects two important points—that those takeovers were considered very good deals for JPMorgan at the time, and that the proposed $13 billion penalty applies to activity that goes beyond what Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual were involved in.
This settlement comes in response to a handful of government investigations of sales of mortgage securities leading up to the financial crisis. The proposed $13 billion has several components:
• Approximately $6 billion is earmarked for investors who took losses on mortgage securities;
• $4 billion is intended to relieve struggling homeowners;
• $2 billion to $3 billion would be an actual fine (which applies to the actions of JPMorgan itself, not to activity of Bear Stearns or Washington Mutual).
This comes right after the bank agreed to pay $100 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and admit wrongdoing in the London Whale trading disaster, and a month after it agreed to pay $920 million in fines to the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority over claims related to the London Whale. And that's only this fall—other fines for other transgressions have been agreed to going back months, and more may come in the future. The bank also remains a subject of a criminal investigation related to mortgage securities, which could implicate individual executives.
One could argue that JPMorgan, as a regulated entity that requires the backing of the government to function, is not in a position to negotiate. As JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has made clear, its only option is to resolve these matters as quickly as possible so it can return its focus to what it has become very good at—churning out enormous profit. But there's no getting away from the fact that the Obama Administration has taken a great deal of criticism over the lack of accountability pertaining to the financial crisis and for not punishing those who had a role in bringing the economy near collapse. This tough new stance suggests that the awkward-but-friendly dance that previously existed between Obama and Wall Street has become more hostile. The government is playing catch-up right now, and it will be for a while.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan shareholders will continue to pay huge settlements and penalties while being left with the uneasy feeling that many of the executives who had a role in the problem-causing behavior in the first place are still in their jobs. The mounting fines may be a result of some opportunism on the regulators' part, but at this point, that's probably unavoidable.


text:
UnNews:Iran Tests New Weapons
From Uncyclopedia, the content-free encyclopedia
Iran Tests New Weapons
Who knew The Onion® had a retarded stepbrother?
Friday, February 16, 2018, 16:24:59 (UTC)
• Newsroom • Audio (staff) • Foolitzer Prize
• Indexes • Random story
5 April 2006
|UnNews Audio (file info)
|Listen to this story!
Problems playing this file? You might be a dope.
Tehran, Iran - The Islamic Republic of Iran has continued to display a series of state-of-the-art weapons today, after it fired several missiles into target ships in its latest war game. The missiles are said to be the fastest in the world, discounting all Russian, American, English, and French designs made since 1940, and capable of avoiding radar, preventing the Weather Channel from tracking them. This comes on the heels of Sunday's test of a similar "light speed" torpedo said to be capable of sinking any ship so long as it is in fact already leaking very badly and filled with volatile gasoline.
The well publicized war games have led the Bush administration to rethink its hard-line stance against Iranian Nuclear ambitions, and Washington insiders are hinting that they may in fact support Iran in its quest to join the so called "Nuclear Club" after seeing such awesome firepower. Elsewhere, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced today that Israel would soon surrender entirely to Palestine because of the possible devastation awaiting them at the hands of Iran. "While our air defense could likely defend against Iran's weapons without being turned on, these disturbing revelations cannot be ignored" remarked Israel's defense minister.
The complete geopolitical ramifications have yet to be felt as talks of a new Iranian Super Power emerge. "As it stands, I feel Iran could not be stopped if we tried" stated an egg covered French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, fresh from a stroll through the pristine streets of Paris. Meanwhile, the official handover of Tel Aviv to Hamas is expected this Thursday, which will mark the last Israeli town to be evacuated. "I can be proud that President Ahmadinejad has backed up his wide sweeping rhetoric with hard results" commented one Iranian bystander. "The vote that was pre-written on my ballot has really made a difference!"
edit Sources
- The Daily Star "U.S. must 'accept Iran as regional power'". The Daily Star, April 05, 2006