text:
Whether you're about to head out for vacation, or just daydreaming of one, staying focused at work during the summer can be tough.
Continue Reading Below
When the weather outside is warm and sunny, it's easy to get distracted imagining yourself strolling down a beach rather than cranking away in a cubicle.
Career experts say summer doldrums can weight on office productivity, but some employees can take advantage of the slowdown to step up and stand out.
"Productivity definitely drops off with the great weather--people want to leave early and take vacation, but it's one of the best times of the year to make your mark," says Nicole Williams, career expert for LinkedIn. "If everyone is coming in at 10 a.m. and working till 5 p.m., come in at 9 a.m. and stay till 6 p.m. It's the time to take advantage of these hours, because no one else is."
But that's easier said than done, especially in offices that offer perks like summer Fridays, which allow workers to leave early or take off. But Williams says rising to the occasion can pay off when review time rolls around.
Productivity levels can also drop off as workers try to cover for vacationing colleagues, adds Michael Crom, executive vice president of consulting firm Dale Carnegie Training. "There may be more pressure on you, meaning you can't get your job done as easily," he says.
Whether it's vacation envy or just plain old stress, here are some tips from career experts to stay focused at work this summer.
No. 1: Set achievable goals. Don't let summer days distract you from what needs to be accomplished, Crom says.
"Keep a list of things you are trying to achieve in order of importance," he recommends. "Work on the priorities first and get them done."
No. 2: Dress the part. It can be tempting to be more casual in the summer heat, but Williams says dressing up helps productivity.
"There is a correlation between how casual you dress, and how hard you work," Williams says. "Wear the flip flops to work, but change, and get dressed as if it's a working day. If you wear that summer dress, it will feel like a summer day."
No. 3: Take advantage of connectivity. If your office has the ability to let you connect via Wifi or the cloud, move around and maybe even outside, says Andrew Laing, global practice leader at Strategy+ AECOM, a management support services company.
"Offices should let people be mobile," Laing says. "If you have devices that can stay connected and can get your work done in different environments or outside the office, that can help you stay focused."
No. 4: Reward yourself. Don't be afraid to blow off some steam outside of the office, the experts agree.
Crom recommends promising yourself treats like going for a move at the end of a long work week.
And Williams says to take advantage of longer daylight hours, and enjoy the nice weather on the weekends.
"You have longer daylight hours, so putting in that last hour at work doesn't mean you can't make it to happy hour," she says. "Use those rhythms to your advantage."
No. 5: Make plans with coworkers. Whether it's a walk outside, or a lunch together, Laing says this can be helpful in breaking up the monotony of the summer workplace.
"People want to feel connected," Laing says. "Plan more office events in the summer, like a picnic or attraction. This doesn't take a lot of time, but makes a huge impact: it's fun and people feel connected."


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I blog for a simple reason: Poor people are poor because markets fail them, and governments fail them. When markets fail—for instance by underproviding public goods such as swamp drainage or aerial spraying of locusts—governments have been known to step in, provide the public good, and take credit for it. But when government fails—when public school teachers are absent from the classroom, or government doctors provide no service in the public clinic (to encourage patients to use the fee-paying private clinic), or transport costs are inflated because of a trucking monopoly that is tied to the ruling party—it is not clear who will correct the problem. For these government failures are the result of politically powerful interests' capturing the system at the expense of the poor. Leaders who try to correct these failures risk losing the next election.
Yet, in most countries, poor people are the majority and if their voice is heard, it may become more difficult for the powerful interests to continue capturing the rents. I blog to amplify the voices of the poor.
But how do you amplify the voices of the poor? The truth is, I don't really know. But I can try at least two things that may help. The first is to make information and evidence accessible so that, perhaps indirectly, it will empower poor people. I once spent a week in a rural village in Gujarat living with a poor woman and her family. One of the kids was sick and she took him to a private doctor (who I suspect was a "quack"). When I asked her why she didn't take the son to the free public clinic, she looked at me as if I was a fool and said, "The doctor's never there." When I asked her why the doctor isn't there, she replied, "Because the rains didn't come this year." Life is so harsh that poor people sometimes associate absentee doctors with bad luck, rather than bad public policy. If we can shift that perception, perhaps there will be a shift in political power too.
To be sure, poor people may not read my blog posts (although some do). The second purpose of the blog is to engage in, and sometimes generate, an evidence-based debate. The reason we see so many government failures is that decisions are taken by a chosen few. If we want to see decisions that represent a broad-based domestic political consensus, there has to be an equally broad-based domestic debate, one that is based on evidence. For instance, who really benefits from energy subsidies or labor regulation or teachers' salaries that are independent of performance? The purpose of this blog is to stimulate and nourish these debates with evidence. Our hope is that such debates will contribute towards making governments more accountable to poor people.
totally agree
totally agree
Don't you think that poor,s
Don't you think that poor,s are also responsible for their life circle. They are very well aware with other necessities/requirements of life. Most of the time market forces and govt. motivates them to live in same manner to achieve their own goals and objectives.
A blog that starts with an
A blog that starts with an exceptional opening paragraph, alluding to the need to juxtapose Market and Government failures and tease the truth out...in various cases...but ends somewhat disappointingly in declaring that it would venture into only one side of the story, i.e. the failure of governments.
Of course, the failure of a market is a failure of a government, in failing to provide the preconditions for good working of the market. But the failure of a government is also explained by a difficult market in which there are only a few players, who would ultimately swing the policy to their favour, or else, undermine the government into resignation.
Yet I look forward to your blog!
Thanks for your comment. Like
Thanks for your comment. Like you, I think that most market failures, if they persist, are really government failures. The government does not find it in its political interest to correct them. Even the example you give, of monopolistic firms. Is an example of government failure to implement competition policy. Shanta
Thank you for your response
Thank you for your response sir. But in a world where even a country like the US can exercise limited control over financial institutions - lest the capital flees - it is difficult to see how the governments of poorer countries may fix the markets with their already short-time horizons, inadequate resources, underdeveloped infrastructures, harsh informational asymmetries prevalent in market, poor investment climate and perpetual conflicts.
To me, it is a web of interdependencies that all work to fail the governments and markets.
Very inspiring Shanta. You
Very inspiring Shanta. You have articulated both the necessary and sufficient reasons why World Bank economists should keep blogging. How can we expand the inclusivity of our audience? We may be unable to reach the poor directly. But there are voices for the poor who know how to reach the poor. We should reach out to them by publicizing and widening access to our blogs.
The tricky bit comes, I guess
The tricky bit comes, I guess after the populace becomes better-informed: how to wrest political power and leadership from the hands of this "chosen few" who capture the commonwealth for themselves at the expense of the larger populace.
"How to wrest political power
"How to wrest political power and leadership from the hands of this "chosen few" ? That is the good question. That situation will last as long as the failed governments remain as an intermediary between the poor and the World Bank.
Abdul, thanks for the comment
Abdul, thanks for the comment. While the World Bank can only lend to sovereign governments, there is nothing stopping the Bank from engaging directly with the public on knowledge products and evidence. In fact, this is what we try to do with blogs and the like. So, in terms of getting information to the poor, the government is no longer the intermediary. Shanta
Interested in healthcare
Interested in healthcare development in the Middle East and the latest programs that the World Bank is engaged in in the region.
Nice job! I read your blog.
Nice job! I read your blog. Grace Bedoya (now living in Argentina)
Nice job, couldn't agree more
Nice job, couldn't agree more. Grace (now living in Argentina)
I really enjoyed reading this
I really enjoyed reading this sucint yet quite informing post. Thanks!
Great job Tina! I really like
Great job Tina! I really like this new blog and this inspiring article.
Thank you for this post. We all need to be reminded of the power of blogging to stimulate debate and bring voice to the world's poor (as oppose to simply advertising our newest projects). Cheers,
Great iniciative! A good way
Great iniciative! A good way to give voice to the poor is to bring their needs directly to the governments. Also, I think that the higher the level of education, the more efficient the change. So... let's give them the chance to receive at least the minimum education level needed to make a decent living!
You have rightly highlighted
You have rightly highlighted that most probably poor people will not read your blog; but people from middle classes who have access to internet, would probably do. As demonstrated during the recent protests in Brazil, middle classes could also play a key role in making their voices heard to improve quality of service delivery for the population. They will certainly use the evidence.
Poverty is man- made. It can
Poverty is man- made. It can be eradicated. This blog is moving in the right direction; it is acting...
Very nice job of making
Very nice job of making something that is usually elevated to a very complicated level, simple again. While I love that Shanta does this, I always wonder why this ist still needed. Our projects and policy suggestions to countries must begin to tackle the voicelessness of the poor and build feedback into our projects which are designed to provide services - directly or indirctly. With that found voice, the government that provides poor services to its citizen, the marketplace that potentially receives favors will be called out, the citizen who connects the absense of service to the lack of rain, will begin to be deprogrammed from their belief system - tohe continuation of which is very convinient to service providers who fail in their duty !
We need accountability for results, not just for outputs !
Michael, I think you answered
Michael, I think you answered your own question. Most projects and programs, not to mention governments and aid agencies, are not sufficiently accountable for results. This is why we still need to advocate for amplifying the voice of the poor and feedback in our interventions. Think how different it would be if a Minister of Health were accountable for child survival. We would see fewer high-end public hospitals in urban areas, better-functioning rural clinics with staff and medicines, and more spent on clean water and sanitation. Shanta
Now that you are mentioning
Now that you are mentioning health, I think we should become even more alarmed. All the health ministers have adopted Universal Health Coverage as their most important goal. They talk about nothing else for two years now. They want it to be an MDG. They are very excited about the scheme which is sort of the opposite of attaining health results. UHC is mainly about giving much more money to the Minister of Health to build more facilities and to pay for more doctors. If there is any thought given to clean water, less smog, safe roads, prevention of contagious diseases and other public health investments, it is not mentioned by the Health Ministers when they lobby for UHC. Somehow they do not mention the doctors who are on the payroll but are not in the clinic.
So what is THE RESULT that should be achieved? Surely not UHC.
If illness is prevented the doctors (nurses, pharma firms) do not need to be paid for what amounts to an increasing societal deadweith loss, no?
But where is the societal demand for preventing disease through public health policy and investments? Wherever this demand is, it is not showing up in the conferences of Health Ministers on UHC.
Boris, I agree with you. We
Boris, I agree with you. We should work towards better health outcomes for poor people. UHC may not always guarantee that. But when I make this point, I get a torrent of criticism (see, for example, http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/user-fees-and-abuser-fees). Perhaps we should revive the debate on Future Development.
There should be a debate,
There should be a debate, definitely. Consider that it took Germany more than 100 years to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
Perhaps you could start a debate on whether people agree or disagree with this statement:
"Reaching UHC is central to the World Bank Group's goals to end extreme poverty by 2030 and promote shared prosperity."
Good idea. Will do.
Good idea. Will do.
Then maybe all nations have
Then maybe all nations have to become communist just like china and become one of the powerfull nation.
I liked your blog especially
I liked your blog especially as you wish to give a voice to the poor. There is not a one size fits all solution. Many people will have to do many different things, but first and foremost, you must talk to the poor and ask them want they need and want. Then ask them to prioritise their needs and wants. When they have made the decision you assist in the aquisition of the necessary skills and tools. Then and only then do you get on with the project. The key to success is not the various capital projects but EMPOWERMENT.
If the poor are not brought into the decision making process they will forever remain poor because they remain powerless.
Secondly, the projects do not have to be big and grandiose. In my opinion a series of small locally managed, successful projects will be more easily implemented, and easier to just its effectiveness at every stage. Such projects are more likely to succeed and therefore be more cost effective; at the same time bring expertise and confidence to the local community.
Tremendous issues here. I am
Tremendous issues here. I am very satisfied to see your article.
Thank you a lot and I am taking a look forward to touch you.
Will you please drop me a mail?
Yes! You are right. In most
Yes! You are right. In most countries, poor people are the majority, but they are voiceless. To amplify your message, how can we, at the World Bank, be the voice of the voiceless? This is a highly political issue. Although the World Bank is a non-political institution, should we continue to believe that we can avoid political issues?
Emmanuel, thanks for the
Emmanuel, thanks for the question. The World Bank is a development institution. If by amplifying the voice of the poor, we can achieve better development results, we should do so. This is not a political issue but a development issue. Shanta
Shanta , when markets and
Shanta , when markets and govt. both have failed then again the onus comes on markets first to not to ignore the needs of the poor . These markets are not the traditional markets but empowered by new breed of social entrepreneurs who are taking new ways to solve the age old problems of our society and taking the things into their hands and than showing the results to government that it would be foolish to ignore . Whereas govt. are concerned than it has been seen that its a slow process as they have also preferred their political gains over anything. So only education can bring a radical change which would enable poor to get to know their rights and fight for it . Social entrepreneurs can become their voice and challenge the govt. about their neglected policies.
Dear Shanta, this is an
Dear Shanta, this is an extremely important piece of work from you and your important connected network. However, I am bit wondered about some names here as I have the question that, are they the important people to discuss this as their own activities had already aggravated related problems in some countries. However, timely exchange of ideas and seek for new approaches to unsolved widespread problems is of course, important. We do need to address the very deepening matter or otherwise, we will end up in a situation where there won't be any solution except disaster and pathetic conditions. We will of course, look at the comments of the identified faces and at times, will contribute with you own views without hesitation. Best of luck for your good work and intention.
Great work. I like your blog
Great work. I like your blog Mr. Shanta. Thank you for sharing. I think too that listening to poor communities for finding what works in the basis for evidence before intervention is meaning we need to be in the communities, go to the people wherever they are living, talking to them. Go where those poorest people are. Let them know where we are, to understand, and evaluating their needs.
Sadly that "Leaders who try to correct these failures risk losing the next election" - or are not chosen.

subset: commoncrawl


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TORRANCE, Calif. (April 7, 2014) — To tout its performance-focused F lineup (#LexusF), today Lexus launches a new marketing campaign that highlights a bold side of the brand. The TV spot features the exhilarating new RC F, the powerful LFA, the striking IS F SPORT and the fierce GS F SPORT. Like the spirit of these four vehicles, the spot emboldens consumers to indulge their desires.
"Lexus has a provocative new attitude that is represented particularly well by the F line of vehicles," said Brian Smith, Lexus vice president of marketing. "This stylized spot showcases the performance-driven arm of the brand while introducing consumers to a different side of Lexus."
The new general market spot, "Temptation," utilizes a rich color palette and a series of emotion-driven vignettes. The look and feel of the ad is a continuation of Lexus' design direction and celebrates the alter ego of the iconic luxury brand.
The spot begins with a couple kissing against a wall of an empty alley in the pouring rain. The man's gaze catches a blue RC F poised to take off at the other end of the alley. His eyes change in this moment of longing as the voiceover states, "F provokes lust."
Next, a gray GS F SPORT pulls up in front of a hotel valet stand. The driver tosses his keys confidently to the valet and walks into the building with an attractive woman on his arm; the voiceover says, "Elicits pride."
The spot then cuts to a limo carrying a group of partygoers. One of the men inside catches a glimpse of a yellow LFA pulling up next to them. His face drops, wishing he were the driver of the supercar instead of a passenger in the limo. The voiceover states, "Incites envy," as the LFA blasts away.
The final story shows a man sitting impatiently behind the wheel of a white IS F SPORT at a railroad crossing as a long, slow train rumbles by. He grows agitated as he waits to peel away; the voiceover says, "and unleashes wrath." As the train clears and the gate arm lifts, the tires spin and he tears down the open road. All four vehicles pull into an empty parking garage, and the final voiceover states, "Temptation comes in many heart-pounding forms. But only one letter: F. The performance marque from Lexus."
The spot begins airing today during primetime, late night, cable programs and network and cable sports. Additional sports packages include multichannel advertising with NHL on NBC Sports/NHL Network and NCAA basketball on CBS.
Supporting print, digital and out-of-home campaign elements also focus on performance while bringing meaning to "F." The print campaign will be featured in titles such as Sports Illustrated, Vogue and Motor Trend, along with a VIP Coachella event partnership planned with Details. In addition to heavy digital presence through paid media and high-traffic websites, online content partnerships include an MSN video series exploring what makes a man push the limits of extreme performance, and a Motor Trend branded-content series answering the question, "What is Lexus F?" Key out-of-home elements include full-motion video boards at DC Gallery Place and digital boards in New York City's Times Square. Additionally, creative elements will run in MLB, MLS, NBA and NHL stadiums across 10 Lexus markets with a PA announcement, video board presence and dynamic signage during a break in action.
Additional marketing components will follow in the coming weeks as well. Visit youtube.com/Lexus to view the spot.
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text:
Frequent Links
Farouk of Egypt
|This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2010)
|Farouk I
فاروق الأول
|King of Egypt and the Sudan
formerly King of Egypt, Sovereign of Nubia, Sudan, Kordofan, and Darfur[1]
|#REDIRECT Template:If empty
|28 April 1936 – 26 July 1952
|29 July 1937[2]
|Fuad I
|Fuad II
|Prime Ministers
Farida (née Safinaz Zulficar)
(m. 1938; div. 1948)
Narriman Sadek
(m. 1951; div. 1954)
Princess Ferial
Princess Fawzia
Princess Fadia
Fuad II
|Muhammad Ali Dynasty
|Fuad I
|Nazli Sabri
11 February 1920
Alexandria, Egypt
18 March 1965 (aged 45)
Rome, Italy
|Al-Rifa'i Mosque, Cairo, Egypt
|Farouk of Egypt's signature
Farouk I of Egypt (Arabic: فاروق الأول Fārūq al-Awwal, Turkish: I. Faruk) (11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the last King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I of Egypt, in 1936.[3]
His full title was "His Majesty Farouk I, by the grace of God, King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, of Kordofan, and of Darfur". He was overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who succeeded him as Fuad II of Egypt. He died in exile in Italy.
His sister Princess Fawzia Fuad was the first wife and Queen Consort of the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Early life and education
The great-great-great-grandson of Muḥammad Alī, Farouk was born in Alexandria on 11 February 1920.[4][5] He was of Albanian, French and Turkish descent through his mother Queen Nazli.[6][7] Before his father's death, he was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, England.
Upon his coronation, the 16-year-old King Farouk made a public radio address to the nation, the first time a sovereign of Egypt had ever spoken directly to his people in such a way:
|And if it is God's will to lay on my shoulders at such an early age the responsibility of kingship, I on my part appreciate the duties that will be mine, and I am prepared for all sacrifices in the cause of my duty.... My noble people, I am proud of you and your loyalty and am confident in the future as I am in God. Let us work together. We shall succeed and be happy. Long live the Motherland!
Farouk was enamoured of the glamorous royal lifestyle. Although he already had thousands of acres of land, dozens of palaces, and hundreds of cars, the youthful king often travelled to Europe for grand shopping sprees, earning the ire of many of his subjects. It is said that he ate 600 oysters a week.[8] His personal vehicle was a red 1947 Bentley Mark VI, with coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi; he dictated that, other than the military jeeps which made up the rest of his entourage, no other cars were to be painted red.[9] In 1951, he bought the pear-shaped 94-carat Star of the East Diamond and a fancy-coloured oval-cut diamond from jeweler Harry Winston.
He was most popular in his early years and the nobility largely celebrated him. For example, during the accession of the young King Farouk, "the Abaza family had solicited palace authorities to permit the royal train to stop briefly in their village so that the king could partake of refreshments offered in a large, magnificently ornamented tent the family had erected in the train station."[10]
Farouk's accession initially was encouraging for the populace and nobility, due to his youth and Egyptian roots through his mother Nazli Sabri. However, the situation was not the same with some Egyptian politicians and elected government officials, with whom Farouk quarreled frequently, despite their loyalty in principle to his throne.
During the hardships of Second World War, criticism was levelled at Farouk for his lavish lifestyle. His decision not to put out the lights at his palace in Alexandria, during a time when the city was blacked out because of German and Italian bombing, was deemed particularly offensive by Egyptian people. Owing to the continuing British occupation of Egypt, many Egyptians, Farouk included, were positively disposed towards Germany and Italy, and despite the presence of British troops, Egypt remained officially neutral until the final year of the war. Consequently, the royal Italian servants of Farouk were not interned, and there is an unconfirmed story that Farouk told British Ambassador Sir Miles Lampson (who had an Italian wife), "I'll get rid of my Italians when you get rid of yours".[citation needed] In addition, Farouk was known for harbouring certain Axis sympathies and even sending a note to Adolf Hitler saying that an invasion would be welcome.[11]
Following a ministerial crisis in February 1942, the British government, through its ambassador in Egypt, Sir Miles Lampson, pressed Farouk to have a Wafd or Wafd-coalition government replace Hussein Sirri Pasha's government. On the night of 4 February 1942, British troops and tanks surrounded Abdeen Palace in Cairo and Lampson presented Farouk an ultimatum. Farouk capitulated, and Nahhas formed a government shortly thereafter. However, the humiliation meted out to Farouk, and the actions of the Wafd in cooperating with the British and taking power, lost support for both the British and the Wafd among both civilians and, more importantly, the Egyptian military.
Farouk declared war on the Axis Powers only under heavy British pressure in 1945, long after the fighting in Egypt's Western Desert had ceased.
On 17 October 1951 the Egyptian government got Parliamentary approval to cancel the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty. As a result, the British forces in Suez Canal were considered occupation forces and king Farouk was declared as "King of Egypt and Sudan". This title was not recognised by many countries and Egypt entered diplomatic debates as well as internal political unrest.
Farouk is also reported as having said "The whole world is in revolt. Soon there will be only five Kings left — the King of England, the King of Spades, the King of Clubs, the King of Hearts, and the King of Diamonds."[12]
Farouk was widely condemned for his corrupt and ineffectual governance, the continued British occupation, and the Egyptian army's failure to prevent the loss of 78% of Palestine to the newly formed State of Israel in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Public discontent against Farouk rose to new levels.[citation needed] In the American Central Intelligence Agency, the project to overthrow King Farouk - known internally as "Project FF (Fat Fucker)"[13]- was initiated by CIA operative Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. and CIA Station Chief in Cairo Miles Copeland, Jr. (who in his book the Game of Nations boasted that he later had an office next to Gamal Abdel Nasser in the Presidential Palace in Cairo).[14][page needed] The CIA was disappointed in King Farouk for not improving the functionality and usefulness of his government[15] and had actively supported the toppling of King Farouk by the Free Officers Movement.[16] Finally, on 23 July 1952, the Free Officers, led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, staged a military coup that launched the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Farouk was forced to abdicate, and went into exile in Monaco and Italy where he lived for the rest of his life.[citation needed] Immediately following his abdication, Farouk's baby son, Ahmed Fuad, was proclaimed King Fuad II, but for all intents and purposes Egypt was now governed by Naguib, Nasser and the Free Officers.[citation needed] On 18 June 1953, the revolutionary government formally abolished the monarchy, ending 150 years of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's rule, and Egypt was declared a republic.[citation needed]
The Egyptian government quickly moved to auction off the King's vast collection of trinkets and treasures.[17] Among the more famous of his possessions was one of the rare 1933 Double Eagle coins, though the coin disappeared before it could be returned to the United States. (It later reappeared in New York in 1996 and was eventually sold at auction for more than seven million dollars.)[18] The 94-carat Star of the East Diamond and another diamond bought from Harry Winston had not been paid for by the time of the King's overthrow in 1952; but, three years later, an Egyptian government legal board entrusted with the disposal of the former royal assets, ruled in Winston's favour. Nevertheless, several years of litigation were needed before Winston was able to reclaim the Star of the East from a safe-deposit box in Switzerland.
Exile and death
Farouk fled Egypt in great haste, and his abandoned possessions—including a huge collection of pornography—became objects of curiosity and ridicule.[19]
On his exile from Egypt, Farouk settled first in Monaco, and later in Rome. On 29 April 1958, the United Arab Republic, a federation of Egypt and Syria issued rulings revoking his citizenship.[20] He was granted Monegasque citizenship in 1959 by his close friend Prince Rainier III.[21]
Farouk was thin early in his reign but later gained weight. Weighing nearly 136 kg (300 pounds)—an acquaintance described him as "a stomach with a head". He died in the Ile de France restaurant in Rome on 18 March 1965. He collapsed and died at his dinner table following a characteristically heavy meal.[22] While some claim he was poisoned by Egyptian Intelligence,[23] no official autopsy was conducted on his body. His will stated that his burial place should be in the Al Rifa'i Mosque in Cairo, but the request was denied by the Egyptian government under Gamal Abdel Nasser, and he was buried in Italy. The funeral service held in Rome was attended by his mother, Nazli Sabri.[24] King Faisal of Saudi Arabia stated he would be willing to have King Farouk buried in Saudi Arabia, upon which President Nasser agreed for the former monarch to be buried in Egypt, but not in Rifai' mosque. The body of King Farouk returned to Egypt in March 31, 1965 at night and was secretly buried in the Ibrahim Pasha Burial Site in Imam El Shafi' area.[25]
During President Anwar El-Sadat era, the remains were moved to Al-Rifa'i Mosque.[citation needed]
Marriages and affairs
In addition to an affair with the British writer Barbara Skelton, among numerous others, Farouk was married twice, with a claim of a third marriage. His first wife was Safinaz Zulficar (1921–1988), the daughter of Youssef Zulficar Pasha. Safinaz was renamed Farida upon her marriage. They were married in January 1938,[26] and divorced in 1948, producing three daughters.
Farouk's second wife was a commoner, Narriman Sadek (1933-2005). They were married in 1951, and divorced in 1954, having only one child, the future King Fuad II.
While in exile in Italy, Farouk met Irma Capece Minutolo, an opera singer, who became his companion. In 2005, she claimed that she married the former King in 1957.[27]
|Princess Farial
|17 November 1938
|29 November 2009
| Jean-Pierre Perreten
Divorced 1967
|Yasmine Perreten-Shaarawi (b. 1967)
|Princess Fawzia
|7 April 1940
|27 January 2005
|Princess Fadia
|15 December 1943
|28 December 2002
|Pierre Alexievitch Orloff
| Michael-Shamel Orloff (b. 1966)
Alexander-Ali Orloff (b. 1969)
|King Fuad II
|16 January 1952
| Dominique-France Loeb-Picard
Divorced 1996
| Muhammad Ali, Prince of the Sa'id (b. 1972)
Princess Fawzia-Latifa (b. 1982)
Prince Fakhruddin (b. 1987)
Titles and style
|Styles of
Farouk I of Egypt
|Reference style
|His Majesty
|Spoken style
|Your Majesty
|Alternative style
- 11 February 1920 - 12 April 1922: His Royal Highness Prince Farouk of Egypt
- 12 April 1922 - 12 December 1933: His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Egypt
- 12 December 1933 - 28 April 1936: His Royal Highness the Prince of the Sa'id
- 28 April 1936 - 16 October 1951: His Majesty the King of Egypt, Sovereign of Nubia, Sudan, Kordofan, and Darfur
- 16 October 1951 - 26 July 1952: His Majesty the King of Egypt and the Sudan
- 26 July 1952 - 18 March 1965: His Majesty King Farouk of Egypt
The ostentatious king's name is used to describe imitation Louis XV-style furniture known as "Louis-Farouk". The imperial French style furniture became fashionable among Egypt's upper classes during Farouk's reign so Egyptian artisans began to mass-produce it. The style uses ornate carving, is heavily gilded, and is covered in elaborate cloth.[28] The style, or imitations thereof, remains widespread in Egypt.
Coin collection
King Farouk amassed one of the most famous coin collections in history which included an extremely rare American Gold Minted 1933 Double Eagle coin[29] and (non concurrently) two 1913 Liberty Head nickels.[30]
In popular culture
In 2007, the MBC aired an Egyptian television series titled Al Malik Farouk about the life of King Farouk and he was portrayed by Syrian actor Taym Hassan.[4][31]
|Ancestors of Farouk of Egypt
See also
Further reading
- Ashraf Pahlavi. Faces in a Mirror, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980
- McLeave, Hugh. The Last Pharaoh: Farouk of Egypt, New York : McCall Pub. Co., 1970, 1969 ISBN 0-8415-0020-7.
- New King, Old Trouble Time Magazine, Monday, May 11, 1936.
- O'Sullivan, Christopher D. FDR and the End of Empire: The Origins of American Power in the Middle East. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012)
- Sadat, Jehan. A Woman of Egypt, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987 ISBN 0-671-72996-9
- Stadiem, William. Too Rich: The High Life and Tragic Death of King Farouk, New York: Carroll & Graf Pub, 1991 ISBN 0-88184-629-5
- الملك فاروق الأول [King Farouk I] (in Arabic). Bibliotheca Alexandrina: Memory of Modern Egypt Digital Archive. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ^ Whiteman, Marjorie Millace; Hackworth, Green Haywood (1963). Digest of International Law (SNIPPET VIEW). Vol. 2. U.S. State Department. p. 64. OCLC 79506166. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
The Egyptian Parliament amended the Constitution by Law 176 of 16 October 1951, to provide that the title of the King should be "King of Egypt and the Sudan" instead of "King of Egypt, Sovereign of Nubia, Sudan, Kordofan, and Darfur".
- ^ Rizk, Yunan Labib (28 July – 3 August 2005). "Crowning moment". Al-Ahram Weekly (753). Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ Royal Ark
- ^ a b "Biography for King Farouk". IMDb. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ John E. Jessup (1998). An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Conflict and Conflict Resolution, 1945-1996. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-313-28112-9. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
- ^ Goldschmidt, Arthur (2000). Biographical dictionary of modern Egypt. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 191. ISBN 1-55587-229-8.
- ^ "Ancestors of Queen Nazli" (JPG). Egy.com. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- ^ Morrow, Lance (31 March 1986). "Essay: The Shoes of Imelda Marcos". TIME Magazine.
- ^ "Restoring Rusty Relics", "Cars of old purr like new"; Marjorie Keyishian, New York Times, 18 July 1991
- ^ "The making of a king". Al-Ahram Weekly. 5 October 2005.
- ^ Pinkus, Oscar (2005). "Fortress Europe". The war aims and strategies of Adolf Hitler (PREVIEW). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 161. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ^ "Quotation #86". The Quotation Page.
- ^ Geoffrey Wawro, Quicksand: America's Pursuit of Power in the Middle East. The Penguin Press, 2010.
- ^ Miles Axe Copeland, Jr., The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970
- ^ Miles Axe Copeland, Jr., The Game Player: Confessions of the CIA's Original Political Operative, London: Aurum Press, 1989
- ^ Miles Axe Copeland, Jr., "The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970"
- ^ "Sale of the Century". The Sun-Herald (Sydney, New South Wales). 31 January 1954. p. 13. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
- ^ http://coins.about.com/od/famousrarecoinprofiles/p/1933_Gold_Eagle.htm
- ^ Foreign News: A King's Home Time, 8 September 1952.
- ^ Halsey, William Darrach; Friedman, Emanuel (1983). "Faruk I". Collier's Encyclopedia with Bibliography and Index (SNIPPET VIEW) 9. New York: Macmillan Educational Co. p. 574. OCLC 9355858. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Monaco Makes Farouk Citizen". Deseret News 351 (107): A3. 5 May 1959. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Egypt: A Tale of Two Autocrats". TIME Magazine. 26 March 1965.
- ^ "Farouk of Egypt". Mad Monarchs. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- ^ Ahmed Maged (6 February 2008). "Revealing book on Queen Nazli depicts her tragic life in exile". Daily News Egypt (Cairo). Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ^ Al-Ahram newspaper March 31, 1965
- ^ "Colorful Fetes Mark Royal Wedding that will Link Egypt and Persian". The Meriden Daily Journal. 13 March 1939. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ "Thrice-married man?". Al-Ahram Weekly. 23 March 2005.
- ^ Burke, C: Lee Miller, a life, page 151. University of Chicago Press, 2005
- ^ Lester, Carl N. "Numismatic "Gumshoe:" On the Trail of King Farouk". Gold Rush Gallery.
- ^ "1913 Liberty Head Five Cents". Coinfacts. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ Halawi, Jailan (27 September – 3 October 2007). "A monarch rehabilitated". Al Ahram Weekly 862. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ed. (1980). "The French Ancestry of King Farouk of Egypt". Burke's Royal Families of the World. Volume II: Africa & the Middle East. London: Burke's Peerage. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-85011-029-6. OCLC 18496936.
External links
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farouk I of Egypt.
Farouk of EgyptBorn: 11 February 1920 Died: 18 March 1965
|Regnal titles
|Preceded by
Fuad I
|King of Egypt
Sovereign of Nubia, the Sudan, Kordofan and Darfur
|Name of title changed by
Law 176 of 16 October 1951
|New title
Name of title changed by
Law 176 of 16 October 1951
|King of Egypt and the Sudan
| Succeeded by
Fuad II
|Egyptian royalty
British Protectorate
Title last held byPrince Muhammad Abdel Moneim
|Heir to the Throne
as heir apparent
| Succeeded by
Prince Muhammad Ali Tawfiq
|New title
|Prince of the Sa'id
Title next held byAhmad Fuad, Prince of the Sa'id
later became King Fuad II
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UN Expert: Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S is Cruel and InhumaneFriday, August 26th, 2011
For Immediate Release – – GENEVA, CH – Today, in an official report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a top UN investigator said that the United States' failure to provide homeless persons access to water and sanitary facilities "could […] amount to cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment." The report was issued by UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation Catarina de Albuquerque.
"The Rapporteur's report is the latest in a series of condemnations by international experts of the criminalization and mistreatment of homeless persons in the U.S.," said Eric Tars, human rights program director at the National Law Center on Homelessness Poverty (Law Center), which helped facilitate her visit. "Earlier this year, the U.S. committed itself before the Human Rights Council to doing more to protect the rights of homeless persons. Where is the action to follow the words?"
Ms. de Albuquerque visited the U.S. in February and March 2011, and was struck by the "extraordinary lengths" homeless persons had to go to just to remove bodily wastes. During a visit to the Safe Ground tent community near Sacramento, California, she met a man who called himself the community's "sanitation technician." The man, "Tim," engineered a sanitation system consisting of a seat overtop a two-layered plastic bag. Every week, Tim collects bags of human waste, weighing anywhere from 130 to 230 pounds, and hauls them on his bicycle several miles to a public restroom. When a toilet becomes available, he empties the contents of the bags. Following the disposal, he secures the dirty bags in a clean one, which he then places in the garbage, before washing his hands with water and lemon.
He said the job is difficult, but that he does it for the community — especially the women.
Ms. de Albuquerque's report states: "The United States, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, must ensure that everyone [has access] to sanitation which is safe, hygienic, secure […] and which provides privacy and ensures dignity. An immediate, interim solution is to ensure access to restroom facilities in public places, including during the night. The long-term solution to homelessness must be to ensure adequate housing."
In June 2010, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness adopted its first-ever comprehensive plan to end homelessness, including a section promoting constructive alternatives to criminalization. However, the criminalization of homelessness by communities persists, and to date, the Justice Department and other agencies have done little to convey the unconstitutionality of these practices to local policymakers.
"This adds to a growing record of both domestic and international law stating that homeless persons cannot be criminalized for basic life-sustaining acts when the community provides no legal alternative," said Maria Foscarinis, executive director of the Law Center. "But ultimately, we must remedy this situation because we, as Americans, believe that no person deserves to be treated this way."
The Rapporteur's Report is available at:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/18session/A-HRC-18-33-Add4_en.pdf .
It will be officially presented to the Human Rights Council at their session next month.
The National Law Center on Homelessness Poverty's mission is to prevent and end homelessness by serving as the legal arm of the nationwide movement.
Eric Tars
Human Rights Program Director/
Children & Youth Staff Attorney
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
1411 K St., N.W.
Suite 1400
Washington, D.C. 20005
Home office: (215) 392-0298 (primary)
Main office: (202)638-2535
Fax: (202) 628-2737
Email: etars@…


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Sooo...I work during the days and go to law school Mon. - Wed. nights. So, I have nights available Thursday - Sunday and Sat. & Sun. mornings. I'm not afraid to get my ass kicked until I get back into it. Oh, and I live in Clairemont and don't mind traveling within reason. Peace!
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Hi John, I live in Solana Beach, Del Mar Beach Club, two courts right next to our condo and a pool....if you want we can play whenever you are available. My hours are flexible. I also started playing again recently so....858-353-7359.
Hi John, I'm a beginner and looking to improve. I'm able to play on Sundays or Mondays. Let me know if your down. I live in clairemont too.
Hi John, I am around Clairemont also! Looking to get back into it again! I can do Thursday nights and Sat nights.
Let me know. 6193358308
Hello David,
Are you still looking for someone to hit with? I live near SDSU and is looking for someone to hit with.
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text: ========================== ISPA-2004 CALL FOR PAPERS =========================== Second International Symposium on Parallel and Distributed Processing and Applications (ISPA-2004) Hong Kong, China, 13 - 15 Dec. 2004 http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/ISPA04 With the advance of computer networks and hardware technology, parallel and distributed processing has become a key technology which plays an important part in determining future research and development activities in many academic and industrial branches. It provides a means to solve computationally intensive problems by improving processing speed. It is also the only viable approach to building highly reliable and inherently distributed applications. Following the success of the first conference ISPAˇ2003, held in Aizu-Wakamatsu City, Japan,ISPAˇ04 will provide a forum for scientists and engineers in academia and industry to exchange and discuss their experiences, new ideas, research results, and applications about all aspects of parallel and distributed computing. ISPA'04 will feature session presentations, workshops,and keynote speeches. Topics of particular interest include, but are not limited to : * Computer networks * Network routing and communication algorithms * Parallel/distributed system architectures * Parallel/distributed algorithms * Wireless networks, mobile and pervasive computing * Internet computing and Web technologies * Peer-to-peer computing * Grid and cluster computing * Reliability, fault-tolerance, and security * Performance evaluation and measurements * Tools and environments for software development * Distributed systems and applications * High-performance scientific and engineering computing * Database applications and data mining * Biological/molecular computing SUBMISSION GUIDELINES --------------------- Submissions should include an abstract, key words, the e-mail address of the correspondingauthor, and must not exceed 15 pages, including tables and figures, with PDF, PostScript, or MSWord format. Electronic submission through the submission website is strongly encouraged. Hard copies will be accepted only if electronic submission is not possible. Submission of apaper should be regarded as an undertaking that, should the paper be accepted,at least one ofthe authors will register and attend the conference to present the work. IMPORTANT DATES --------------------- Workshop proposals due: 15 June 2004 Paper submission due: 1 July 2004 Acceptance notification: 30 Aug 2004 Camera-ready due: 30 Sept. 2004 Conference: 13-15 Dec 2004 PUBLICATION --------------------- The proceedings of the symposium will be published in Springer's Lecture Notes in Computer Science. A selection of the best papers for the conference will be published in a special issueof The Journal of Supercomputing and International Journal of High Performance Computing andNetworking (IJHPCN). BEST PAPER AWARDS --------------------- The program committee will select one winner for the Best Paper Award (all regular papers areeligible) and one winner for the Best Student Paper Award (only the regular papers whose firstauthor is a full-time student are eligible). Each winner will be presented at the conferencewith a certificate and US$200. KEYNOTE SPEECHES: --------------------- Prof. Jack Dongarra, University of Tennessee, USA - "Present and Future Supercomputer Architectures" Prof. Linoel Ni, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - "Challenges in P2P Computing" CONFERENCE WEB SITE --------------------- http://www.comp.polyu.edu.hk/ISPA04 ORGANIZING AND PROGRAM COMMITTES -------------------------------- General Co-Chairs: Minyi Guo, Univ. of Aizu, Japan Francis Lau, Univ. of Hong Kong, H.K. Program Co-Chairs: Jiannong Cao, Hong Kong Polytechnic Univ, H.K. Laurence T. Yang, St. Francis Xavier Univ. Canada Vice Program Co-Chairs Rajkumar Buyya, Univ of Melbourne, Australia Weijia Jia, City Univ. of Hong Kong, H.K. B.D. Martino, Second Univ. of Naples, Italy Workshop Chair Hong-Va Leong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Publicity Chair Cho-Li Wang, Univ. of Hong Kong, H.K. Local Organisation Chair Allan K.Y. Wong, H.K. PloyU, Hong Kong Publication Chair Alvin T.S. Chan, Hong Kong Polytechnic University Registration Chair Joseph K.Y. Ng, Hong Kong Baptist University Steering Committee Minyi Guo, Univ. of Aziu, Japan Jiannong Cao, H.K. PolyU, H.K. Yi Pan, George State Univ. USA Jie Wu, Florida Altantic Univ. USA Li Xie, Nanjing Univ. Program Committee David Abramson, Monash Univ. Australia Selim G. Akl, Queens University, Canada Giuseppe Anastasi, University of Pisa, Italy Hamid R. Arabnia, University of Georgia, USA Amy Apon, Univ. of Arkansas, USA David A. Bader, University of New Mexico, USA Mark Baker, University of Portsmouth, U.K. Virendra C. Bhavsar, University of New Brunswick, Canada Wentong Cai, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Daoxu Chen, Nanjing University, China Xing Cai, University of Oslo, Norway Kessler Christoph - Linkoping University, Sweden Kranzlmueller Dieter - Linz University, Austria A. Goscinski, Deakin U. Australia Yanxiang He, Wuhan University, China Hung-Chang Hsiao, National Tsing-Hua University, Taiwan Ching-Hsien Hsu, Chung Hua University, Taiwan Chun-Hsi Huang, University of Connecticut, USA Xiaohua Jia, City University of Hong Kong Beihong Jin, Institute of Software, CAS, China Hai Jin, Huazhong University of Sciene and Technology, China Hatsuhiko Kato, Shonan Institute of Technology, Japan Sy-Yen Kuo, National Taiwan University, Taiwan Tau Leng, Scalable System Group, Dell Inc., USA Jie Li, University of Tskuba, Japan Lei Li, Hosei University, Japan Minglu Li, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China Wenjun Li, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA Xiaoming Li, Peking University, China Wei-keng Liao - Northwestern University, Chicago, USA Man Lin, St Francis Xavier University, Canada Jiangchuan Liu, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Jian Lu, Nanjing University, China Paul Lu, Univ. of Alberta, Canada Jianhua Ma, Hosei University, Japan Rodrigo Mello, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil Schellekens Michel, National University of Ireland, Cork, Ireland Jun Ni, University of Iowa, USA Y. Pan, George State Univ., USA Yuzhong Sun, Institute of Computing Technology, CAS, China Sabin Tabirca, University College Cork, Ireland Ruppa K. Thulasiram, University of Manitoba, Canada Parimala Thulasiram, University of Manitoba, Canada Dhaene Tom - University of Antwerpen, Belgium Sudharshan Vazhkudai, ORNL, USA Guojung Wang, Central South University, China Andrew L Wendelborn, University of Adelaide, Australia Jie Wu, Florida Altanlic University, USA Bing Xiao, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Cheng-Zhong Xu, Wayne State Universuty, USA Ming Xu, National University of Defence Technology, China Zhiwei Xu, Institute of Computing Technology, CAS, China Jun Zhang, University of Kentucky, USA Xiaodong Zhang, William & Mary College, USA Wei Zhao, Texas T&M University, USA Weimin Zheng, Tsinghua University, Beijing Bingbing Zhou, University of Sydney, Australia Wanlei Zhou, Deakin University, Australia Xiaobao Zhou, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, USA Ming Zhu, Drexel University, USA A.Y. Zomaya, Univ. of Sydney, Australia For more information, please contact: Dr. Jiannong Cao Deartment of Computing Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hung Hom, KLW, Hong Kong Email: csjcao at comp.polyu.edu.hk Prof. Laurence T. Yang Department of Computer Science St. Francis Xavier University Antigonish, B2G 2W5, NS, Canada Email: lyang at stfx.ca


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What You Can Learn From Your CustomersFor your most valuable business learning tool, look no further than your customers.
There is a legend making its way around the great Northwest, and it goes something like this: One day an angry customer barges into the back loading dock of Nordstrom, a Seattle-based department store. The customer rants and raves about the quality of the tires he'd recently purchased and demands replacement. The store managers, who recognize the man as one of their better customers, jump into action offering an immediate refund. Appeased and suddenly calmer, the customer decides he would rather just have the tires replaced. He asks where he should take his car. He is then informed that Nordstrom doesn't sell tires.
What Nordstrom does sell, however, is a philosophy that the customer is always right - even when they are wrong. By listening carefully to customers, Nordstrom learned early on that when customers have a problem, they want it solved. Period. They don't want excuses; they want action. And so action is what Nordstrom trains all its sales associates to take - from racing in and out of changing rooms handing half-naked customers the proper size clothing, to driving their personal vehicles to and from different stores in search of merchandise for customers who don't have the time to look themselves. Listening to customers and going to great lengths to meet their needs is the foundation on which Nordstrom has built a national reputation. It has worked for them, and worked well.
Take the case of Nordstrom customer Anne Petralia. On a recent visit to the West Coast, Petralia found herself browsing through a mall in Glendale, Calif. She came upon a hat she liked, but the price was too high, so she continued shopping, eventually ending up in Nordstrom. In the accessory department, Petralia found the exact same hat for $10 less than the one she had seen at the previous store, but not in the pretty beige color she had wanted. Petralia told the sales clerk her dilemma. The clerk told her to wait a moment while she had a quick talk with the department manager. The clerk then came back and informed Petralia that she would walk across the mall to the other store and purchase the original hat, then sell it to Petralia at Nordstrom's price. In the sales clerk's words, "We would rather have you be a satisfied customer at Nordstrom than a satisfied customer somewhere else." To this day, at her East Coast home 3,000 miles away, Petralia remains a loyal customer. And although there isn't a Nordstrom location near her home, she shops from the company's catalog.
You could, of course, make the argument that Nordstrom is a huge company, therefore on any given day they can afford to eat the cost of tires or a $10 loss on a hat. As a small business owner, you may think you could never do that. Keep in mind John Nordstrom was a Swedish immigrant who came to America with a mere five dollars in his pocket. Nordstrom started as a small business - a shoe store in Seattle. Today, the company has 68 locations throughout the United States with annual sales totaling around $4.5 billion. Like Nordstrom, you too can unlock the door to success if you truly listen to what your customers have to say and then, most importantly, learn from it.
Listening to Verbal and Nonverbial Messages
As you learn to listen, you will soon realize that your customers talk to you in many different ways. They give feedback through surveys and focus groups, through warranty cards and customer rebates, via phone and e-mail, and in person. Jennifer Morgan, owner of Jennifer's Coffee, a Los Angeles-based coffeehouse, finds that even when customers don't speak, they are still sending out direct messages.
Morgan explains how she learned to start listening to those messages: "At the end of each week, I would look at my individual coffee bins. Some were completely empty, while others were still filled to the brim." Morgan concluded that indirectly customers were telling her they didn't approve of certain flavor choices. A smart businesswoman, Morgan listened and replaced the full bins with new flavors, sometimes repeatedly until she found all of them were being purchased.
Morgan has also learned to open her ears to the grumblings of customers waiting in line. "Instead of running around in the morning rush, tuning out the buzz, I started to listen." Morgan explains, "I'd often hear complaints that we don't give free refills." So Morgan met with her coffee supplier, who advised her against offering the costly fill-ups. The high price she was paying for the expensive gourmet coffee she sold simply did not give her that option, he advised. But Morgan knew by listening to her customers that it was extremely important to them, so she implemented the policy despite her supplier's advice and the added expense.
"I have to compete with Starbucks, a few blocks down the street. I figured free refills was an incentive for people to stick with me," she explains. Morgan was right. In listening to her customers and giving them what they want, she has built a loyal following, allowing her to compete with nearby cafes.
The Little Things Add Up
These days, customer loyalty can be a powerful weapon that small businesses, especially, should not underestimate. Take the example of Wal-Mart: While this large corporation can usually offer better prices and a larger selection of items than their mom-and-pop competitors, they are often met with huge resistance when they try to open stores in some of the more rural parts of the country. The reason? Customer loyalty. But before you can build any kind of a loyal customer base, you must be willing to learn from your customers and whenever possible, act upon their wishes.
Carl Sewell is a top Dallas-based car dealer who does just that. In his highly acclaimed book "Customers for Life," Sewell talks about his decision to hang expensive wallpaper in his restrooms - the kind you would typically find at luxurious hotels, not car dealerships. It may sound silly, but through informal customer surveys, Sewell discovered that cleanliness in restrooms was at the top of his clients' priorities, so he acted accordingly. Though he admits that no one has ever said, "You know, I bought a car from you because your restrooms are so clean," he does believe that customers appreciate being heard. "It may be a little thing, but when customers are forming an opinion of you, the little things add up."
Sewell also tells of another benefit of listening to customers: You can actually learn things about your employees that you might not discover otherwise. For example, one customer said he hated Sewell's dealership's loan-car program because every time he dropped his car off for service, he was told they didn't have any loaner cars available. So Sewell spoke to the general manager, who swore this wasn't true and insisted they always had loaner cars available. A strong gut instinct told Sewell that his customer was telling the truth. He investigated and found that, indeed, this customer wasn't the only person to be denied a loaner car. Instead of ordering more vehicles to keep up with demand, the general manager was simply turning customers away, telling them to come back later when he had loaners available. Sewell replaced the manager. "Customers will tell you the truth." Sewell insists, and it's important to open your ears and listen, even when it's not the positive feedback you'd like to hear.
Learning to Play the Role of Student
What has kept a company like Federal Express in business all these years is reliability; the company had long established a reputation for guaranteeing overnight package delivery. In an attempt to branch out, FedEx introduced a new e-mail-based product that allowed immediate document delivery. Customers responded to the product introduction by telling FedEx that they counted on the company to deliver hard documents, not e-mail. So the company backed away from the idea - probably a wise decision, considering what they had learned from their customers.
Many business owners also find that really listening to customers can help them to capitalize on competitors' weaknesses. Vicki Titcomb, owner of Titcomb's Book Shop in East Sandwich, Mass. Many of Titcomb's customers come into her store wanting a specific book that they've heard or read about, but they aren't sure of the exact title or the author. At most book retailers, if the sales staff isn't familiar with the publication, the customers are out of luck, which Titcomb says, "can be extremely frustrating to a customer who really wants that book." Titcomb, however, takes the time to do a complete search for the desired tomes by searching the Internet and calling libraries and other bookstores to see if they've heard of the titles. Customers really appreciate Titcomb's efforts, and as a result of her reputation for searching high and low to fill their expectations, she usually gets the sale.
Having opened her ears once and reaped the magnificent benefits, Titcomb has learned to talk more regularly to customers and openly ask questions about what is important to them. She says that customer feedback often affects the way she buys books - especially some of the rarer ones she sells. "A lot of my customers are highly knowledgeable. They may tell me about a book or author I am not familiar with, then suddenly I come across that book or author, and a light goes on. I know to buy the book - because I know I can turn around and sell it." This is knowledge Titcomb would not have, had she insisted on being the authority. Titcomb's willingness to play the role of the student, allowing her customers to act as teachers has increased her sales significantly.
In spite of her strong beliefs that you can learn from customers when you listen, Morgan (of Jennifer's Coffee) cautions that there can be a downside. "I think it's important to recognize that you can't be all things to all people. Every time a customer wants something doesn't mean it's feasible to race out and do it."
Morgan learned this principle the hard way. In listening to customers complain about the lack of space in her coffee shop, Morgan came to the conclusion that she should expand. "[The customers] wanted more tables, more space, more food on the menu than coffee and pastry." So she took over another, much larger store in the same mini-mall and added a lunch menu. It turned out, however, to be a mistake. Most of her business came from the morning rush - the crowd looking to start their morning with coffee, lattes and pastries. She also made money on the sale of coffee beans. In the new store, Morgan now had a much higher overhead and money tied up in sandwiches that weren't moving. She has since gone back to serving just coffee and pastry.
Looking back, Morgan says these pitfalls are easily avoidable. "Learning from customers can be a marvelous thing. It's like hearing it from the horse's mouth. But remember, you still have to do the research. And most importantly, you always have to trust your business instinct."
Tips for Listening to and Learning From Your Customers
- Obtain customer feedback - It doesn't matter if you do this through focus groups, surveys, in person or via an 800 number. The important thing is that you ask customers how you are doing, and then address their concerns.
- Talk to employees - Employees who deal directly with customers probably have some very important information for you.
- Listen to what customers say, even if they don't put it into words - If you have shelves whose products never move or an appointment book that has lots of openings, your customers may be telling you they are unhappy. Find out why.
- Remember that the majority rules - If a vast majority of your customers all seem to say the same thing about your product or service, you must address it - even if it's big, or something you don't personally agree with.
- Change the little things - If you can make small changes based on customer feedback, your customers will feel validated.
- Think about the big things - Just because customers want a change doesn't always mean that it is feasible. Don't discard your good business sense in order to please customers.
- Keep up the good stuff - Feedback isn't always negative. When customers tell you you're doing things right, be sure you keep doing them.
- Let customers be your ears when you aren't around - Customers can and will tell you how business is being conducted in your absence; take it seriously and act accordingly.
- Go the extra mile - Whenever possible, take extra measures to handle customer feedback and complaints. It will not only be appreciated by your customers, but it will also give you an edge over competitors.
Copyright © 2009 by Virtual Advisor, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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Can anyone tell if the words on the hats are the same? Might be the name of the club. Looks like it starts "MAS..." which would mean it's in English. There's no "S" character in the Ukrainian alphapet.ETA: No luck finding clubs beginning with MAS. Maybe Maximum (максимум)? (This is on the way from the airport to Independence Square), Magma (магма)? Maybe this is the name of the rappers? Maybe I'm just rambling?
I'm pulling for the club to be Maximum -- my parents actually live in that building just a few floors above it.
I'll email my folks and see if they can check with Maximum -- I'll keep you posted. ETA: Done. With the time difference, it'll probably be tomorrow before I get an answer.
hey hey heyI've been checking around the websites of HEL and KBP (include WAW)...there is a FLIGHT (LOT Airlines) at 20:30 (i.e. 10:30 PM) leaving HELand arrives 11:30 AM at KBP via WAW (Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport) that is available DAILY.
I saw the Cho Brothers running down West 86th Street on Friday Nov. 17, around 11 am.
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Several years ago biochemists studying marine ecosystems noticed something unusual: a sponge thriving in the middle of a coral reef that was dying from a bacterial infection. The researchers identified a substance made by the sponge that defended it from harmful microbes and realized it was a natural antibacterial molecule called ageliferin. Ageliferin can break down the formation of a protective biofilm coating that bacteria use to shield themselves from threats, including antibiotic drugs.
Now a team of researchers at North Carolina State University is using the natural compound to create innovative ways to fight drug-resistant bacteria. The researchers have recently tweaked the structure of ageliferin to make it more potent and formulated it to help conventional medications combat otherwise drug-resistant bacteria, such as staph and cholera. "Our chemical doesn't stop the bugs from proliferating. It just allows the antibiotic to work again," says Christian Melander, a chemistry professor at the university who was part of the effort.
Melander and his team hope to eventually incorporate the altered ageliferin as a helper drug within commercial antibiotic products, allowing them to fight off formerly drug-resistant strains of diseases.


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Eclipse DemoCamps Galileo 2009/Detroit
< Eclipse DemoCamps Galileo 2009
Revision as of 13:32, 16 April 2009 by Dennis.oflynn.compuware.com (Talk | contribs) (→Location)
Compuware Corporation One Campus Martius Detroit, Michigan 48226 313.227.7300
Date and Time
June 17, 2009
If you would like to present at the DemoCamp, please feel free to add your name and topic to the list. Depending on the number of people interested we may have to limit the number of presenters and time of each demo.
- Name, Topic
Who Is Attending
If you plan on attending please add your name and company to the list below. We'd like to see as many people show up as possible.
- Dennis O'Flynn, Compuware


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Iron Maiden Release Live Footage From Kickoff 2012 North American Tour Date
Are you as pumped as we are for Iron Maiden's 2012 North American tour? If you're not quite jumping out of your skin yet, we've got some footage of Maiden's kickoff tour date in Charlotte, N.C., as well as the full setlist from last night's show.
Iron Maiden having skipped touring most of North America after releasing 'The Final Frontier,' fans nationwide are staring at their tickets and counting down the seconds until the band hit the stage. As if that isn't exciting enough, rock legend Alice Cooper is opening for Maiden between now and July 21, after which Coheed and Cambria will take the coveted spot.
The North American 'Maiden England' shows are based on their 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' tour, with more than half of that very album to be played during the latest installment of the band's throwback concert series. "We have great fun playing the history of Maiden tours because it gives us an opportunity between new albums to go out and play songs from our earlier catalogue," says vocalist Bruce Dickinson. "It's always fantastic seeing the crowd reaction from a new generation of fans who have never experienced some of these tracks performed live before!"
Iron Maiden's live concert experience has been revamped once again as the legendary heavy metal band display a new stage setup as well as new incarnations of their famous mascot, Eddie the Head. Check out this pro-shot teaser for Iron Maiden's 2012 North American tour.
(Spoiler Alert! Full Iron Maiden Setlist Below the Footage!)
Check Out Hightlights from Iron Maiden's Charlotte N.C. Concert
Iron Maiden June 21 Charlotte, N.C. Setlist
'Can I Play With Madness'
'The Prisoner'
'2 Minutes To Midnight'
'Afraid To Shoot Strangers'
'The Trooper'
'The Number Of The Beast'
'Phantom Of The Opera'
'Run To The Hills'
'Wasted Years'
'Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son'
'The Clairvoyant'
'Fear Of The Dark'
'Iron Maiden'
'Aces High'
'The Evil That Men Do'
'Running Free'


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It would be neat if we could loot bodies of fallen foes for equipment, money and food.The equipment would come with random stats and in different rarities.
So there is a chance of picking up a nice blaster with increased damage and accuracy stats for example. Common equipment can then be recycled for some scrap.
Equipment would (SLOWLY!) degrade and must be repaired with scrap. Also the equipment you pick up might already be slightly damaged.
This makes sense especially if its an armor you were shooting short while ago
Repairing will have a chance of failure if the skill is too low wasting the scrap in effort and further damaging the gear.
Repairing would also have a tiny chance of slightly increasing a stat (UPGRADE!)
After the ship is destroyed, there should be a small chance that some of its cargo, such as food pellets survive which can the be targeted and teleported to the ship.
Destroyed ships should automatically generate some scrap regardless if it had any in its cargo hold already.
Scrap ofcourse can be sold, used for repairs, upgrades, munitions and building structured on planets.
Looting the enemy
If only we could hear you scream in space, now on PC!
Post Reply
4 posts • Page 1 of 1
Re: Looting the enemy
I suppose it would be like Korea MMORPG in which you get items after killing the monster. The items then can be sold for money or make into certain equipment. It would be nice idea.
Re: Looting the enemy
Good idea, especially for when they make ground settlements or space stations where we could trade out the looted items for cash $$$ !
Re: Looting the enemy
This scrap idea is too much like FTL.
All I know is this Lo-Pan character comes out of nowhere...while his buddies are flying around on wires cuttin' everybody to shreds and he just stands there, waiting for me to drive my truck straight through him with light coming out of his mouth?
Post Reply
4 posts • Page 1 of 1


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I saw a link on Facebook today with photos of people before they died. I'm kind of quite skeptical of sensationalistic stories now thanks to September Clues, so I had a look. The case of Regina Kay Walters, vicsim of serial killer Robert Ben Rhodes really stood out to me. How did a photo with such obvious flaws ever get approved for usage and accepted by the public?
I then did an image search for Robert Ben Rhodes. I don't think the 3rd photo down in this link is suitable to post here, since he's dressed for an S&M party. However, if anyone cares to look, is there a reasonable explanation for what is going on with his left arm?
The photos made me more sad than anything - to think that we live in a world where people are making up gruesome stories.
I started a new thread because I'm guessing this isn't going to be an isolated case of questionable photos related to stories about serial killers and missing people.


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SARANAP — Construction of the 66,000-square-foot Sufism Reoriented Sanctuary project could begin as soon as mid-February, its project director said this week.
That's good news for the Sufis, but not for some nearby residents who have long battled the project — to be the Sufis' national headquarters — as too big and too disruptive, and with unresolved parking and traffic safety questions.
Preliminary grading is complete, and Lashan Cross, Contra Costa County's principal planner, confirmed that a building permit may be approved within the next few weeks.
Wayne Fettig isn't looking forward to that.
"This used to be an established, semirural neighborhood and now I am living by a quarry," said Fettig, Saranap Homeowners Association vice president. "I live two blocks away. Can you imagine what it is like for the poor slobs who live right next to it?"
The plan to cluster a circle of white, dome-shaped concrete structures on seven lots in a residential neighborhood in the unincorporated area between Walnut Creek and Lafayette has been controversial since its unveiling years ago. County planners first approved the project two years ago, over the objections of some neighbors. That approval was appealed to the board of supervisors, who in February 2011 sided with the Sufis.
Ninety-one separate conditions were attached to that approval. Sufism project director Robert Carpenter believes those conditions have been met as part of building plans submitted in mid-2012.
"There is no opposition of any consequence now. Most of the opposition has dissipated," Carpenter said this past week. "Some (area residents) have been very supportive."
Others haven't been. Patricia R. Perry, a retired government planner and Saranap resident, is one who contends county planners have favored the project's developers over homeowners on issues such as setbacks and traffic safety.
Supervisor Candace Andersen said supervisors worked hard on their decisions regarding the Sufis' facility: "You were balancing the right of the church against the rights of the neighborhood."
Andersen got involved when the county Public Works Department denied Perry the opportunity to see the plans before a final approval. "I asked them, 'Please give whatever access you are able to,'" Andersen aid.
The Sufism Reoriented church incorporated in 2003, and approximately 240 of a reported 350 Sufism Reoriented members have moved into the Saranap area over the past 20 years. Standard parking requirements for the project were reduced, based on the premise that many church members could walk to the site.
Perry claims the developer's solution to achieve the required 54 off-site parking places may not be legal. The Meher School, a Sufism Reoriented affiliate with its campus within Lafayette's borders four blocks west of the sanctuary project, is set to provide those parking spaces on land leased from the Lafayette School District.
Meher Schools has maintained the school district's long-standing practice of allowing The Sun Valley Pool and Lafayette Moraga Youth Association soccer programs to use the property parking area, as well.
That doesn't mollify Perry, who believes The Meher Schools are leasing school district property to Sufism Reoriented in perpetuity.
"I am not trying to stop the project; a decision has been made," Perry said. "I just want them to get it right,"
In a letter to Sufism Reoriented, Lafayette School District Superintendent Fred Brill explained that the terms of their lease do not allow for assignment, subletting or third-party agreements for use of the property without prior written consent from the district. The district did give such approval for continued use of the property for church parking based on past use levels at its old meeting place; that number, Perry said, is a maximum of 29 spaces, not the required 54.
Cross said that if the Sufis' parking needs exceed capacity, the group must provide another site within two miles. County officials will follow up within a year of the sanctuary's opening to see whether traffic and parking measures are working out. If not, the Sufis could be required to provide an additional site.
Said Supervisor Andersen, "The parking requirement is an integral part of the approval and under no circumstance would this parking requirement be waived."


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LINCOLN — As the United States grapples with burgeoning health care costs and Vermont trudges its way toward a single-payer system, a Lincoln woman is harking back to treatments of an older time — herbal medicine.
Emily French, a clinical herbalist, runs Sweetgrass Herbals out of her home. Through the business, she teaches classes about herbalism and natural medicine, and provides consultations for people seeking relief from simple rashes to chronic pain.
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MIDDLEBURY — State and local health care administrators are studying the possibility of opening a methadone clinic in Middlebury, a plan that has some local officials concerned about the prospect of such a service producing a spike in drug-related crime in Addison County's shire town.
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, similar to morphine. It is used as pain reliever, but also as part of a treatment plan to reduce withdrawal symptoms in people addicted to heroin or other narcotic drugs.
MIDDLEBURY — One by one, they took to the microphones on Monday in all corners of the state to give legislators an earful about plans to revamp Vermont's health care system.
Though separated by the many miles between the 15 Vermont Interactive Television (VIT) sites, the dozens of speakers primarily spoke in a unified voice tinged with individual health care horror stories. Their message to Vermont lawmakers: Adopt a universal access, single-payer system.
MIDDLEBURY — Work is under way to turn the Middlebury area into one of the most connected communities in Vermont, when it comes to medical records. By early 2012, Middlebury residents will experience the seamless transfer of information between their physician's office and Porter Medical Center, increasing efficiency and improving patient care.
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I am running Ubuntu 12.04 with gnome-shell. I have two admin user accounts. Now, I used to know that in Precise we can set different different login wallpaper to different different user, so I tried with:
sudo dbus-send --system --print-reply --dest=org.freedesktop.Accounts /org/freedesktop/Accounts/User1001 org.freedesktop.Accounts.User.SetBackgroundFile string:/usr/share/backgrounds/Green-wallpaper-27.jpg
but to no avail.
Then I tried
sudo xhost +SI:localuser:lightdm
sudo su lightdm -s /bin/bash
gsettings set com.canonical.unity-greeter background '/path/to/the/wallpaper.png'
It does change my login wallpaper but for all users.
Then I tried to locate
/etc/lightdm/unity-greeter.conf but I found that it is not there. So where is it and how can I set different login wallpapers for different users?


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Due to the honor and prestige that this medal symbolizes, we will need to validate that the recipient was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal before placing an order. We use the Department of Defense website, Military Awards For Valor, as our validation tool.
If we are unable to validate the recipient through our research, the only other option for the patron is to send us a faxed copy of your DD214 showing that the medal was awarded. Fax documents to: (866)776-2610, Attn: Customer Service.
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Sherri McMillan, M.Sc., has been inspiring the world to adopt a fitness lifestyle for more than 20 years and has received numerous industry awards, including the 2006 IDEA Fitness Director of the Year, the 1998 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year, and the 1998 CanFitPro Fitness Presenter of the Year. Her million-dollar training studios in Portland, OR, and Vancouver, WA, have received Better Business Bureau Business of the Year recognition. McMillan is a fitness trainer, a fitness columnist for various magazines and newspapers, author of five books and manuals (including "Go For Fit—The Winning Way to Fat Loss," "Fit over Forty" and "The Successful Trainers Guide to Marketing"), a featured presenter in various fitness DVDs, an international fitness presenter, and a spokesperson for Nike, Nautilus, Twist Conditioning and PowerBar. She can be reached at www.nwFitnessEducation.com.
If your trainers currently are not performing fitness assessments on new clients or members, then it's time to provide them with the skills and resources to start. It is one of the most incredible tools to help a trainer determine an effective training approach, and it is one of the most fabulous sales tools to help demonstrate a trainer's value and influence members to invest in their services.
Developing the Skills
A multitude of assessment tools are available in the industry, and I am not convinced that one assessment approach is better than the rest. You must find the tool that you feel most comfortable with and then be consistent, comfortable and competent using it.
I am training an intern to perform assessments. During role playing sessions when I pretend to be a client, I deviate from norm to determine whether he observes those deviations. Sometimes he picks up on them and sometimes he does not. My advice to him is to start assessing as many bodies as he can—neighbors, friends and family members. The more bodies he can look at, the more clear 'normal' will be.
The goal of your trainers should be to look for gross deviations from normal—not microscopic deviations. A great resource for muscle testing is "Muscles: Testing and Function" by Florence Kendall. In addition, trainers may not know exactly what is causing deviations, but recognizing a deviation can help direct their attention.
Explaining the Assessment
At our studios, we perform assessments in the first session with new clients, which take about 10 minutes. This is the script we use when explaining the assessment to our clients:
"Joe, I am going to take you through a full body postural and movement analysis. I'll be looking for where your muscles are strong and weak and for any imbalances that may exist. This will provide me the information I need to really customize the program to your body. It will help me determine which exercises we need to incorporate to strengthen any weak muscles and which stretches to help lengthen any tight muscles. An assessment will also make sure I'm not including any exercises that may compound an existing issue."
Nine times out of 10, the client will state something like, "That makes sense. I've worked with trainers before and no one has ever done that."
The reality is that most trainers don't do an assessment, so when your trainers do, it instantly sets them apart from the rest of the trainers out there. It immediately elevates them to a level that causes the client to perceive that your trainers take a scientific approach to training and they must know what they are doing, which of course, they do.
Here's how we wrap up the assessment with an explanation of the results for the client. This is the part where your trainers get to show the client how smart they are. The conversation might go something like this:
"Joe, thank you so much for letting me analyze your body. It's really provided me with some really great information. Let me share some of my observations with you.
"First, when you were standing, I noticed that your shoulders fall forward from where they really should and that they are slightly internally rotated. This often indicates that you've got some weakness in your mid back muscles and some tightness in your internal rotators or chest muscles. This makes sense to me because you sit at a computer a lot in your work. It was further confirmed when you did the rowing test because your muscles had a difficult time fully retracting or pulling the shoulders back. And when I tested the flexibility of your shoulders, it was clear that there is a definite restriction there. So when designing your program, I'm going to place an emphasis on really strengthening your back muscles and stretching your internal rotators, then we'll see how your body responds to that.
"I also noticed when you were standing that you have an excessive lordodic curve in your low back. That can indicate tightness in your hip flexors and/or a weakness in your core muscles. That makes sense because when I tested your hip flexors, they were tight, and when I tested your core muscles, there is a weakness there, too. So I'm going to make sure I really focus on strengthening your core muscles, which includes your abdominals, your back and hip muscles and lengthening your hip flexors.
"Lastly, I noticed you're a little tighter on the right side of your body than the left. And whenever you have one side tighter than the other, it's just more likely for the body to be pulled out of alignment. And when you're moving your body, you really want things to line up the way they are supposed to so there is less wear and tear and injury. So whenever we stretch, I'll spend a little more time on the right side to see if that helps develop better symmetry, and we'll see how your body feels with that. Sound good?"
At this point, clients are typically really impressed with the attention to detail, the scientific approach to the training process and your trainer's ability to customize the program to their body.
After this, it's really easy to have the 'sales' conversation starting with, "Excellent, Joe. All we have to do now is decide how you and I are going to work together, and there's lot of options. Let me explain…"
Next month, I will offer detailed instructions on our three-part assessment that you can give to your trainers to follow.


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Father's Day weekend marks the 36th annual
Golfweek Father-Son Open
Golfweek will be bringing its annual Father & Son Open to Reunion Resort in Kissimme, Florida, this Father's Day weekend (June 15-17, 2018). Once again, we are giving you an opportunity to create memories for a lifetime and again we will honor another member of the golf community.
For more than three decades, this special event has been inviting players to experience three days jam-packed with timeless tradition and friendly competition.
"The Father & Son Open is always one of my favorite events of the year," said Director of Events Armand Cimaroli. "It's different than any other tournament we do – completely centered around fun, family and celebration – and that really makes it unique."
The 2018 Golfweek Father & Son Open – which is open to amateurs and professional golfers of all ages – features a two-man, 36-hole Modified Chapman format and will be played on Reunion's Watson and Palmer Courses. The field will be divided into flights, with prizes awarded to the top teams in each flight.
Throughout the weekend, participants will also get to enjoy an opening night shoot-out, commemorative tee gifts, the Father of the Year luncheon and an awards luncheon.
As a key component of the tournament, Golfweek will also present its 2018 Father of the Year award, an annual honor recognizing a father who has made a notable impact on the game.


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Today has been good. I was in a pretty bad place last night and my mood was up and down like a yo yo. If I didn't know any better I'd say I was going through midlife crisis or menopause or something. The biggest improvement has been in my coordination. I don't feel as big of a bumbling fool as I did yesterday.
I'm getting my appetite back as well which is pretty good. I'm still suffering from a headache and i've got a constant ringing in my ears, kinda like having been in a concert or nightclub and you've spent the night right under the speakers. Which reminds me.. loud voices and sounds are not good either. Sort of sucks, because music I like is loud. I had a little walk around the block. I started to feel a bit dozy afterwards and my eyes had trouble re-focussing when I checked the crossing.
The biggest problem I still have is with my short term memory. It's getting better, but I find I'm asking the same things or remember I have to do things that I've already done. That and I'm still sleeping a lot and still getting easily irate.
I guess this is the 'dangerous' phase in recovery as I'm feeling better, I'm getting the itch to get back on the ice and I've partially forgotten my own frailty. But I'll carry on taking baby steps to make sure that I'll be able to get on top of this quickly.
As ever, I remain appreciative and humbled by the messages of support I've received.


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Morning Five: 08.01.11 EditionPosted by nvr1983 on August 1st, 2011
- The big story of the weekend was Duke announcing that they would be looking into a potential recruiting violation by Mike Krzyzewski. According to reports, Coach K offered Alex Poythress, a 6'7″ forward in the class of 2012, a scholarship last Tuesday night which fell between his team being eliminated from an AAU Super Showcase and when they started playing in AAU Nationals the following day. Duke has asked the NCAA for clarification on the rule and stated that it will accept whatever punishment that NCAA deems necessary. We already stated our opinion on Twitter that this is a non-story as long as the NCAA doesn't enforce its own rules. If Duke gets any punishment, we would expect it to be very light (and not just because they are Duke, but because the NCAA goes light on far worse infractions).
- Back in June, Rodney Purvis, one of the top recruits in the class of 2012, backed out of his commitment to Louisville after assistant coach Tim Fuller left to go to Missouri. At the time, Purvis stated that he was only considering three schools and Louisville wasn't one of them. Now it appears that Purvis might be considering the Cardinals again after Duke, one of the three schools he was considering (Missouri and North Carolina State are the others), stopped recruiting him. The basic lesson here is that you shouldn't pay too much attention to recruiting until the players actually sign. Recruiting updates are great for page views and soliciting alumni donations, but in the end we are dealing with teenagers, who as we all know can change their minds at any time.
- Yesterday, USA Basketball announced its 14 finalists for the Men's World University Games team. The final cuts for the 12-man roster will be made prior to August 8th, the date that the team leaves for China. While the names aren't exactly a list of the biggest stars in college, it appears to be surprisingly well-rounded. This doesn't mean that they are necessarily going to take home the gold, but with a solid coaching staff (Matt Painter at the helm backed by Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart — nice that three Final Four appearances are backing up the guy with no Final Four appearances) they could do a lot better than people expect. Of course, they could also blow up and lead to about 1,000 columns about what is wrong with basketball in the US.
- Incoming Toledo freshman Justin Moss had his basketball career cut short last week when he was found to have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy after failing a routine physical at the end of June. Fortunately, Justin was found to have the condition on screening rather than after an event like the ones that killed Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis. We discussed the issue in depth several months ago after a piece in a medical journal noted an increased risk of sudden cardiac death in Division 1 men's basketball players. While there are many more causes of sudden cardiac death (various arrhythmias being a notable one) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most well-known. Although we feel bad that Justin's career had to end before he ever got to step on a college basketball floor we are much happier that it was diagnosed before we had another tragedy on our hands.
- We can't keep track of how many columns we have read about major AAU recruits over the past month, but if you were either overwhelmed by the amount of data being tossed at you on Twitter or you didn't have enough time to follow all of the recruits, we have a couple of solid round-up pieces on the action for the class of 2012. Seth Davis takes a look at the top rising seniors (and two juniors) and analyzes their games along with how they will fit into their reported college choices. Over at ESPN, Eamonn Brennan and Dave Telep recap the recruiting prospects for the top uncommitted rising seniors with some thoughts on where they might end up. Honestly, if you read those two pieces you will probably know about as much about the rising senior class as anybody who didn't spend the past month living out of a suitcase watching games that vaguely resemble organized basketball.