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Life Line Emergency Vehicles FIRE TRUCKS AND VEHICLES(5)
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For those responsible for procuring and managing fire vehicle fleets, speed, driveability and reliability are paramount concerns. As well as the ability to accelerate, slow and stop rapidly and safely in city traffic, fire engines need to be highly manoeuvrable in tight spaces or on rough terrain. They are required to access many different types of environment at high speed, and, even more than other types of heavy-duty vehicles driven at slower speeds by professional lorry drivers, they need to be easy to operate. At the same time, vehicles are needed that are large and powerful enough to carry fire crews, heavy specialist equipment and large quantities of water or foam. They must also provide a smooth ride, for when crews are wearing bulky items such as masks and oxygen tanks. And they have to be extremely reliable, as breakdowns can cause loss of life. In recent years, manufacturers have generally preferred to specify fully automatic transmissions For all these reasons, fully automatic transmissions are now specified on most European fire vehicles, particularly in Germany, France, Spain and the UK. Compared to manuals, they can offer up to 35% quicker acceleration, with more torque at launch as well as no power interruption during gear changes upwards or downwards, enabling quick deceleration of the vehicle and bringing appliance to a complete stop when combined with an Allison Transmission retarder. That all adds up to faster response times and better manoeuvrability on crowded city streets. Automatics are also far more reliable and durable than manual or automated manual gear boxes, which are prone to wear and tear, particularly on the clutch. A key benefit that most automatics offer is a torque converter, which eliminates the need for a clutch altogether. automatic transmissions Compared to manuals, they [fully automatic transmissions] can offer up to 35% quicker acceleration This was the rationale for the specification of Allison automatic transmissions on London Fire Brigade's latest Mercedes-Benz Atego and Scania trucks. "The Allison [automatic] transmission was specified partly because of its responsiveness and controllability, and partly because it has proven itself to be such a reliable solution for LFB's operations," Neil Corcoran, engineering and technical manager at Babcock International Group, which manages and maintains the LFB fleet, told us." We have seen for ourselves that the Allison has minimal maintenance requirements. And, of course, the dependability of equipment is essential in emergency services." Allison has a dominant position in the European fire sector, where it has spent decades designing and building fully automatic transmissions that perform at their best in critical situations and offer vital benefits not provided by manual or automated manual transmissions (AMTs). This is particularly true in airport fleets, where vehicle response times are dictated by legislation. London Fire Brigade has a large number of Mercedes-Benz Atego fire trucks, all equipped with Allison transmissions Cleaner fuels In recent years, manufacturers have generally preferred to specify fully automatic transmissions. This continues to be true now when, in common with other commercial vehicle markets, they are looking at alternatives to diesel fuel, such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG), to reduce emissions in the medium to long term, particularly in urban areas. Automatics are far more reliable and durable than manual or automated manual gear boxes, which are prone to wear and tear Automatics tend to be well suited to both compressed and liquefied natural gas engines because the torque interrupts that occur with manual and automated manual transmissions during gear shifts are more volatile and less predictable in the case of spark-ignited CNG and LPG engines. Automatics, by contrast, can provide a smooth transfer of power to the drive wheels and maximum efficiency between engine and transmission, resulting in better performance, manoeuvrability, safety and driver comfort, as well as a significant reduction in noise. In 2019, German fire engine manufacturer Magirus revealed the world's first compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered firefighting vehicle in series production. Part of the company's 'Innovative Drive Line (iDL)' series, the (H) LF 10 fire engine has an Iveco Eurocargo 4x2 chassis with 420 litres of CNG and a fully automatic Allison transmission. It has a range of up to 300 km or pump operation of up to four hours. Speed and power for forest fire vehicles Automatic gears are also increasingly specified on 4x4 vehicles used to tackle forest fires as they outperform AMTs in extreme conditions. Forest firefighting vehicles need to be able to carry powerful, high-capacity pumps and canons as well as very large quantities of water or other extinguishing media. And they must be able to travel rapidly over large distances and very rough and steep terrain, in extreme heat. AMTs and manual transmissions cannot cope well with these conditions. An example of a newly launched automatic forest firefighting vehicle is the Spanish-made UROVESA K6 IS, which is equipped with the Allison 3000 Series™ transmission. It features a chassis with a maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 16 metric tonnes, excellent traction and extremely robust parts. According to UROVESA's President and CEO Justo Sierra, the automatic transmission, combined with an independent suspension system, affords greater guarantees of safety and efficiency than other vehicles and is in great demand for forest firefighting applications because it can travel at twice the speed of conventional 4x4 trucks. "These transmissions facilitate driving, prevent gear shift errors, enable both hands to be on the wheel at all times and enhance driver ergonomics and safety," explained Sierra. The UROVESA K6 IS forest firefighting vehicle, made in Spain, equipped with a fully automatic transmission. It can travel at twice the speed of conventional 4x4 trucks combating vehicle rollback There are a number of ways in which automatics help reduce accidents and improve driver awareness, comfort and safety, from combating vehicle rollback – a major concern with manual transmissions – to providing superior vehicle control and manoeuvrability at low speeds. Furthermore, because the engine's responses are so closely related to what the driver asks of it, the vehicle's start-up progress is more predictable to cyclists and pedestrians who might otherwise misinterpret a slow start as an intention to remain stationary. Electronic features like putting the transmission into neutral when leaving the cab or safety interlocking with body equipment further reduce the risk of accidents. Built to last Fire vehicles tend to be in use for only a few hours each week, with low mileage. Consequently, they can be operational for up to 25 or 30 years. So it's even more important for fleet buyers that they get specifications right, to ensure their vehicles will pass the test of time and provide the performance they need for decades. That's one more reason why so many continue to opt for Allison planetary automatics.
Want to know an easy way to judge the quality of a fire department? Look at how much they train. Career, volunteer or combination, fire departments become successful through training. Yet all training is not equal. Focus too much on hands-on training (HOT) and you could be missing important legal and compliance updates. Lean heavily on web-based training and you may fail to identify shortcomings in skills proficiencies. Keep students confined to a classroom and you may lose their interest quickly. Not surprisingly, a balance of all three types of training is needed to produce competent, empowered firefighters. For this article, I was challenged to think about what's missing from our current fire training programs. As I thought about the varied way we approach fire training, three issues jumped out at me. Base training on facts and statistics Take advantage of new technologies Incorporate policy into your training Your training program should also be strong in the types of calls you respond to most Base Training On Facts And Statistics If your department has a robust training program, outlined by a calendar of various topics and employing a mix of HOT, online and classroom training, you're ahead of the curve. But even in departments with well-developed training programs, training is often based on preference or habit, not data. Think about the topics in your training program. Do you know why they're included? Do they match your call make-up? Are they targeting specific skill shortcomings? (And yes, we all have them!)What's missing from many fire department training programs is a detailed needs assessment What's missing from many fire department training programs is a detailed needs assessment that in turn establishes a factual basis for the year's training topics. The needs assessment should include: Surveying the members to determine the types of training they want or feel they need. Measuring firefighter proficiency on basic tasks, such as NFPA 1403 drills, NFPA 1710 drills and EMS patient assessment skills audits, to assess personnel by mandate or by industry best practice. This will identify skills deficiencies to address through training. Incorporating call volume statistics and details. A significant percentage of the calls fire departments respond to are EMS and vehicle extrication But I'd venture to guess the training programs of most departments don't match those percentages. Yes, you need to train for the high-risk, low-frequency tasks. But your training program should also be strong in the types of calls you respond to most. Incorporating these "facts and stats" into your training program will help you keep it fresh, relevant and interesting. Firefighters can use their phones and tablets to access department training information and complete training assignments Take Advantage Of New Technologies There is something to be said for back-to-the-basics, keep-it-simple firefighter training. But it's a mistake to ignore technological advances. From teaching safe apparatus backing procedures to practicing hoseline deployment and Vent/Enter/Isolate/Search (VEIS) tactics, instructors have more options than ever before. Some instructors regard simulators as second-rate to "the real thing." Certainly, simulation and other forms of technology-driven instruction can't replace the value of hands-on experience. But they can augment it in important ways. Driver simulators, for example, not only save money because apparatus don't have to be taken out of service or sustain wear and tear; they also provide an environment where firefighters can learn without risk of injury. If sitting behind a computer isn't your kind of thing, live-burn simulators, vehicle fire simulators and hazmat simulators are available—and they all significantly boost training efficiency.Technology will never replace hands-on instruction, but it can facilitate it But you don't need fancy simulators to incorporate technology into your fire training program. Learning management systems (LMS) are another important tool that can increase training program efficiency. Although they've been around for a long time, LMS continue to improve. The ability to integrate with mobile devices is huge, allowing firefighters to use their phones and tablets to access department training information and complete training assignments. Leveraging this technology can allow you to more efficiently manage information, schedule training and free up valuable time needed for other important tasks. If you've attended some of the larger regional or national fire conferences recently, you may have had the opportunity to see audience response technology in action. By capturing the firefighters' responses to questions in real-time, instructors can adjust the material to reflect students' knowledge level. Audience response is also simply a great way to keep firefighters engaged. Technology will never replace hands-on instruction, but it can facilitate it. If you're using training methods that haven't changed in decades, something's missing from your training program. Without incorporating policy into your training, you're only giving your firefighters half the equation Incorporate Policy Into Your Training I saved the biggest and best for last. When I work with fire departments across the country, I repeatedly discover the failure to incorporate policy into training. Think about it: Training curricula are almost always designed around procedures—the how of doing something. But isn't the why just as important? And that's what policy is all about. Without incorporating policy into your training, you're only giving your firefighters half the equation.Inevitably firefighters will encounter times when following the procedure isn't possible Inevitably firefighters will encounter times when following the procedure isn't possible. That's when policy training kicks in—firefighters understand the fundamental objective, and they can think on their feet about how to achieve it. Training on policy also helps departments address the issues that so often get firefighters into trouble. How many of your firefighters really understand your department's social media policy? What about the rules surrounding sick time usage? These are things that trip up firefighters time and time again. If you're not training on policies, it's unlikely firefighters remember them. How many of your firefighters really understand your department's social media policy? In addition, normalization of deviance is a risk to every organization. When personnel fail to follow policies and no negative repercussions result, it can quickly establish a new normal. Policy-based training resets the "normal" and makes sure that members of the organization comply with the policy and not what they think the policy says.Most line-of-duty death reports cite failure to comply with policy or lack of adequate policy Fire instructors often avoid training on policy because they regard it as boring or unrelated to what really matters—firefighter safety and survival. Yet most line-of-duty death reports cite failure to comply with policy or lack of adequate policy as contributing factors in the incident. If you're worried that policy will make your training program dry and uninteresting, link it to real-world events. An online search provides lots of examples of when things went wrong and how adherence to policy might have produced a different outcome. And limit policy training to small chunks. Take out a 10-page policy and go through it line by line, and your students' eyes will glaze over in seconds. Instead, look for ways to enrich your current training by bringing relevant pieces of policy into it. Your firefighters will be learning the department's policies without even realizing it! Focus On Continuous Improvement Fire chiefs and fire instructors have a challenging job. Budgets are tight, and training is often one of the first things to be cut. Yet we need firefighters to be proficient in all-hazards response. Every department has a long training wish list. But if we focus on continuous quality improvement, we can get a little better each year. Looking for opportunities to incorporate statistics, technology and policy into our training is a good place to start.
Within traditional commercial and industrial firefighting systems, engineers have primarily focused on permanent installation designs rather than entertaining alternative or supplemental mobile firefighting systems. Permanent installation design is typically better understood, supported, and supplied throughout the fire protection engineering and manufacturing community. However, mobile firefighting systems provide unique solutions and advantages compared to their permanent installation cousins such as flexible deployment, simpler servicing, improved economy, and much higher performance availability. The combination of both systems is frequently the most strategic solution for the facility operator. Limitations of fixed installation systems Permanent installation (fixed) systems include everything from sprinklers, foam systems, primary watermain pumps, and the plethora of piping in between. A large refinery complex will need to address various hazard mitigation and control problems that span both hardware and personnel needs. In the event standard hazard mitigation safety procedures and equipment have failed, the facility immediately initiates a hazard control operation. Passive fixed systems automatically engage the hazard through an array of sensors, mechanical triggers, and control algorithms. A properly designed system with adequate hazard coverage, preplanning, preventative maintenance, and testing will successfully terminate the hazard, while firefighting personnel respond and ensure no further hazards develop. This conceptual approach relies on hardware and personnel all operating as planned…. Combining permanent and mobile apparatus "According to plan" would never have any failures or fires, but history has a different script. In the worst-case petrochemical scenario, fixed systems fail to extinguish a hazard putting the entire response on human and mobile hardware resources. This would include but is not limited to firetrucks, mobile high-flow pumping systems, large mobile monitors, foam proportioning units, and large diameter layflat hose. This type of response escalates into a larger scale operation, sometimes involving agencies beyond the facility operator itself. Although a low probability event, the risk to life and property is significantly substantial. Fixed systems may be rendered inoperable due to the loss of electrical power or actual physical damage Reducing fire-related expenditureMore typical than the worst-case scenario, facilities experience both maintenance-related system downtimes and natural phenomena damage such as extreme weather and seismic events. In this case, fixed systems may be rendered inoperable due to the loss of electrical power or actual physical damage. In any of these situations, mobile fire apparatus may fill the gap requirements of the facility as their flexible storage and deployment would protect them from everything but the worst natural disasters. Their further benefit is that a smaller set of mobile apparatus resources may be used to protect a larger amount of infrastructure, especially while in use in a mutual-aid program between facilities and communities. According to the NFPA's report "Total Cost of Fire in the United States", fire-related damages and expenditures from 1980 to 2014 have risen from roughly $200B (adjusted for inflation to 2014) to nearly $330B. The greatest expenditure is in fire safety costs in building construction, amounting to $57.4B. Although the overall losses per year as a ratio to protection expenditures has dropped by roughly 70% over the past 30 years, petrochemical facility losses have continued to rise over the same time. In the worst-case petrochemical scenario, fixed systems fail to extinguish a hazard Petrochemical facility challenges According to the NFPA, refineries or natural gas plants had reported an average of 228 fires or explosions per year through the 1990s. Furthering this data with Marsh's "100 Largest Losses, 25th edition", refinery losses have continually expanded throughout the last two decades with 11 of the top 20 largest losses of the past 40 years happening during or after the year 2000. Two primary drivers of this trend are the advanced age of petrochemical facilities and their staggering complexity. As oil margins fall, upstream operational businesses are detrimentally affected by reduced investment in everything to new equipment, maintenance and passive safety systems. There is an observable correlation between a major oil price drop followed by upstream facility fire losses. Even with reduced investment and oil throughput growth rates, US refinery utilisation at the end 2017 was at 96.7%, the highest since 2005 (Marsh, The Impact of the Price of Oil). The short story is that systems and personnel are being asked to do more with less with each passing year. Cost-effective mobile apparatus systems Mobile fire apparatus is generally more cost-effective to procure when using standardised designs and application methodology. They can access open water sources by either drafting (when in close proximity to the water) or using floating source pumps (for variable level or difficult access water sources). Mobile fire apparatus is generally more cost-effective to procure when using standardized designs and application methodology With this open water access, they can provide significantly more water (upwards of 10,000 GPM or more per system if necessary) than any typical fixed fire pumping solution. Moreover, as their primary benefit, they are easy to move and deploy. This benefit allows them to be utilised at the point of hazard as needed while being easily accessible for service. While fixed systems are installed at "every known" hazard and must be continually maintained to operate effectively, mobile systems may be used sitewide or across facilities. This flexibility reduces overall capital expenditure requirements and establishes a valuable primary and secondary firefighting system depending on the hazard and facility resources. Combining fixed and mobile systems Permanent installation fire suppression systems are a mainstay of modern day firefighting. They provide immediate passive response with little human intervention. However, as facility utilisation is pushed to maximum capacity while fixed systems continually age out without adequate replacement or maintenance, mobile systems will need to both fill the response gap and provide a final wall to total loss incidents. The reality is that both fixed and mobile systems need to work together to provide the safest possible operation. Service and training requirements need to also be maintained to manage an adequate, or even better, exemplary response to hazard control incidents. Managing major facility uptime requires continuous oversight and to drive hazard mitigation standards throughout the organisation, including executive management. A safe, reliable and fully-functional plant is also a profitable and cost-effective plant much like a healthy worker is a better worker. Protect your people and property and you will protecting your company's future.
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Farmers Market
August 15 • 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Time: 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Every Wednesday & Saturday from 7am-12pm at the Boys and Girls Club
Every Thursday from 1pm-5pm at Coborn's
The Little Falls Farmers Market – locally grown (within 50 miles) produce and plants, along with homemade (under the MN Cottage Law) jams, pickles, honey, syrup, and Baked goods. Hand crafted body products, household products, wood work, sewn items, gifts and much more. Stop in and meet your farmer/gardener/crafter/artisan/producer.

subset: commoncrawl


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ON-LOAN striker Simon Church believes Huddersfield Town should not be discounted from the promotion race.
Manager Simon Grayson's side go into Saturday's trans-Pennine derby with Bolton Wanders lying 15th in the table and with only one win in their last six games.
However, 23-year-old Welsh international Church has pointed to how his parent club Reading won the Championship title last season even though they were 16th in the table at this stage of the campaign.
While Town's main ambition may be consolidation after promotion from League I last term, Church said he would never rule out a promotion push given the topsy-turvy nature of the division.
"Reading were 16th after the same number of games last year. We weren't winning games and nobody was happy with our performances," said Church.
"However, we started grinding out 1-0 wins and it kept building from there until we ended up being the clear title winners.
"The Championship is a league where everyone can beat anyone. You just need to be positive and our experience at Reading last season shows what can happen."
Town may currently be in same situation as Reading were, but they go into Saturday's clash at the John Smith's Stadium on the back of a 4-2 home defeat by arch rivals Leeds United and Church admitted: "We again didn't turn up."
Church said the players had hoped to put matters right from the previous show at Middlesbrough, but struggled after Leeds cancelled out Chris Atkinson's early opener.
Church said: "I'd probably have to agree with that and it was the same at Middlesbrough. We didn't react when we conceded and it has cost us.
"It could be a confidence thing, but I don't think it's down to nerves about being in the Championship. I don't think anyone could say we're underdogs.
"The team has earned the right to be in this division and have shown with some of the performances that we're capable of winning games.
"We just seemed to lack confidence after we conceded. And then in the second half we didn't come out of the starting blocks."
He gave a frank assessment of his own form and said: "It's two games now where I've not had many chances. But I've got to look at myself as well. I don't think I've been playing at my best lately and I'm disappointed with that.
"I'm really enjoying my time here though. The fans and players have been great. It's a good club to play for.
"The atmosphere on Saturday was also tremendous. It was good the fans stayed with us. We were disappointed we couldn't get the win they wanted."
Huddersfield Town could face a new threat against Bolton Wanderers as club track Norwegian winger: Click here to read


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Few energy customers want to spend their free time comparing prices for gas and electricity.
What most people want is a supplier that will provide energy at competitive rates, ideally with some decent customer service thrown in.
Many of us aren't achieving that target, but think switching supplier is just too much hassle. Some people are willing to make the effort (see below) but overall switching levels in the energy industry are at an all-time low, despite increasing energy prices making it more important to try to find savings.
The latest round of price rises began last week, with SSE leading the charge.
The supplier said it would raise prices by 8.2pc from November, adding more than £100 to average annual bills for customers taking both gas and electricity.
SSE blamed the rising cost of buying wholesale energy and delivering it to customers' homes, as well as government charges collected through energy bills.
The price rise means a dual fuel SSE customer will see their average bill increase from £1,354 to £1,465 a year.
Ironically, SSE used to be one of the most consistent suppliers on the market for competitive standard tariffs.
According to data compiled for The Sunday Telegraph, from 2005 to 2010 it was the cheapest or second-cheapest provider out of the "big six".
source: uSwitch
SSE's standard cash and cheque tariff cost an annual average of £564 in 2005, more than £78 cheaper than the equivalent tariff from British Gas.
By 2010 prices had risen across the board, but SSE's standard tariff was still the cheapest, costing £1,057 on average – more than £130 less than Scottish Power's equivalent price that year of £1,195, according to figures from uSwitch.
It also ranked highly in uSwitch's survey of customer satisfaction, coming first for six years running until December 2012, when it was beaten by E.On.
But even excluding the latest price rise, SSE has become less competitive this year. Its standard tariff of £1,354 was more than EDF Energy, British Gas and npower.
A spokesman said: "SSE has always been committed to keeping its prices as competitive as possible. In a competitive market it is simply not possible to be the cheapest all of the time but SSE's supply brands have been among the cheapest on many occasions since 2006."
However, it is almost impossible to find a fair deal on any big supplier's standard cash and cheque tariffs. The average household energy bills for the big six providers range from £1,332 to £1,370 – around £250 more than Spark Energy's Advance 2, which costs £1,116 a year on average.
"After years of annual rises, energy bills are one of the biggest outgoings for many households, yet most are still paying their provider's standard prices," said Clare Francis of Moneysupermarket.com. "It's an area where customer apathy is rife even though, when it comes to switching to better deals, energy is one of the easiest ones to do."
Mark Todd of comparison site energyhelpline.com agreed. "Standard pricing is almost a recipe for overpaying," he said. "There is no standard deal which tops the market."
There is also no single supplier that consistently tops the market. Instead, customers who don't want to switch frequently are being advised to consider fixed tariffs.
"I'd say if you are looking for a good long-term deal, you want a long-term fix," said Mr Todd. "They will almost certainly work out cheaper."
Five of the big six suppliers have a fixed-price energy tariff as their most competitive deal. The cheapest is from npower, which has an online price fix until November 2014 that costs an average £1,182 a year.
The cheapest fixed tariff in the market is from First Utility, which has an iSave Fixed v9 deal until April 2015 that costs an average £1,170 a year. This beats shorter tariffs from Sainsbury's Energy and npower, which have price fixes until next autumn costing £1,172 and £1,182 respectively.
If you want to set your bills for longer, there are fixed deals available for the next four winters.
The best longer-term tariff on the market is EDF Energy's Blue +Promise deal until March 2017, which has an average price of £1,339. This is closely followed by npower's Price Protector March 2017, which costs £1,341 on average.
The EDF deal has the added advantage of no exit fees, so customers can leave for free if they find a better deal.
There are signs that the latest round of price rises has spurred consumers into action. Ms Francis said visits to Moneysupermarket's energy pages increased by about tenfold on Thursday, when SSE announced the price rise.
"Switching is simple and easy, it only takes five minutes to find a cheaper tariff online and it is worth remembering that you are only changing supplier, it is the same gas and electricity so you don't need new wires or pipes.
"All you need to switch is a copy of your existing bill so you can see how much energy you currently use and how much you pay."
'I switch for service as well as price'
Emma Lunn, a 39-year-old freelance journalist from London, decided to switch recently from British Gas to First Utility because of its cheaper tariffs.
Ms Lunn faced a number of problematic transactions with the supplier, which at one point took out too much money via her direct debit.
This, along with a price rise, led Ms Lunn to switch to Sainsbury's Energy, a partner of British Gas. Ms Lunn said that although Sainsbury's charged more – around £80 a month compared with approximately £65 a month under First Utility – the poor customer service she received from First Utility made the switch worth it.
"Don't always look at the cheapest deals," she said. "Customer service is a very important factor when choosing a supplier." Ms Lunn said she was happy with Sainsbury's so far, but would consider switching again next year.
'I will check for better deals in six months'
Aruna Koya, an IT consultant from west London, used to stick with her regular supplier npower but found the bills too expensive. She switched to Spark Energy but experienced worse customer service and higher bills than she expected.
She now uses EBIco, Britain's only not-for-profit energy company, which is supplied by SSE. Despite being on a variable tariff, she said her monthly bills had been more than £40 for gas and £40 for electricity only once. "The customer service is also far better," Ms Koya, 37, said. "I plan to stay with EBIco for now, but I will check again in six months to see if there are better deals around."


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LPL's three-day annual conference, with its 3,000 attending advisors and an army of product vendors and home-office staff almost as large, seems to be built on a cascade of revelations about various technology innovations.
For example, the firm's new trading platform enables advisors to effect trades for all their clients simultaneously, with just a few clicks, something that would have taken a few days in the past.
Liberating as this all is, technology changes often induce anxiety in anyone resistant to change, which includes most people. LPL, to its credit, has thought about this and enlisted a master communicator, Paul Blease, to put these changes in perspective.
At a session called "The Whys and Hows of Automating Your Practice," planned for Wednesday morning near the conference close, Blease, who is director of OppenheimerFunds' CEO Advisor Institute, plans to give advisors a mountaintop view of the purposes of technology over thousands of years of human history.
Thus informed — perhaps "disarmed" would be more accurate — advisors may be more likely to embrace the changes, feeling more encouraged than intimidated.
In an industry that readily plunks down hard money on sales training, Blease concentrates on the soft skills — those less tangible or measurable — that may truly distinguish advisors who succeed at the business from the many who do not; the industry remains notorious for its 80% attrition rate in would-be advisors' first five years.
In a standing-room-only session he delivered Monday morning, the former Merrill Lynch advisor and Smith Barney trainer addressed a number of common mistakes and reframed them for advisors eager to overcome them.
For example, he chastised those in the industry who push products — hot funds and the like — for their lack of professionalism. Just as doctors don't run specials on appendectomies for healthy patients nor do lawyers push divorces on happily married couples, Blease points out that process rather than product is the mark of a professional.
An advisor who first discovers his client's needs, then builds a plan based on those needs and only then makes recommendations acts professionally. Presenting this process, then asking, "Does that make sense as a methodology, Mrs. Jones?" is likely to resonate in an industry still rife with nonprofessional conduct.
"We are advsors, not vendors," Blease says.
In a left-brain, numbers-oriented business, Blease offers right-brain answers to all the key questions that arise in the struggle to build a retail advisory business.
On the key question of referrals, for example, the OppenheimerFunds exec rattles off another of his common-sense approaches to "client replication."
Advisors should tell their best clients that 'the success of any business depends on both marketing and client service. Most financial advisors spend 70% to 80% of their time on marketing and 20% to 30% on client service.' But, his script continues, 'I reverse that ratio, which I can only do because clients like you introduce me to two or three clients like you each year.'
With the client appreciating the value they are getting, Blease adds the kicker that 'since you, Mr. and Mrs. Jones, are my ideal clients, I am certain that if people you know are anything like you, I'd be the happiest advisor in town.'
All of Blease's model conversations, like his forthcoming talk on technology, are meant to disarm clients and prospects.
Advisors in attendance seemed pleased to hear that those conversations, plus some 60 videos and a variety of other tools and templates, will be available on Oppenheimer's CEO Advisor Institute website in mid-September.


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text: Thanks man. Pretty much just cut off everything I didn't need, took out all the loose wiring, taped it back up plugged it in and the car ran lol. Just got to do the cor properly and sus out a fuel pump issue. Not my car, just helping a dude out but I've never converted a fwd loom before. Now that I have I could do it again but even neater.


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Saturdays at 6PM
in the Gathering Place
Breakfast & Fellowship
Whether you're drawn to traditional hymns with liturgy or prefer a more casual experience with today's Christian music, there's a place for you at Aldersgate UMC.
At Aldersgate, we strive to be a community of growing believers who Know, Live, and Share Jesus. Our mission is to make new disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.


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Central Connecticut senior Rebecca Mussatti was named First Team All-Northeast Conference on Thursday morning. Junior Nicole Springer and freshman Laura Messina both earned spots on the second team. The trio helped lead the Blue Devils (31-19, 11-9 NEC) to a new school record for victories in a season.
Mussatti started 39 games in centerfield for the Blue Devils in her final season. She hit .357 with 40 hits, seven doubles, six triples and a home run. She also drove in 22 runs and scored 31, while stealing 14 bases in 15 attempts. In NEC play, Mussatti hit .417 with 15 hits over 12 games before suffering a season ending injury.
Her totals for steals and triples both topped the NEC this year.
Springer earned Second Team All-NEC honors in her first season with the Blue Devils. The first baseman, hit .319 on the season and .377 in conference play. Springer brought power to the Blue Devil line-up in 2012, she tied CCSU single-season records with 10 home runs and 45 runs batted in. Also, her RBI total led the NEC.
In NEC play, she launched five homers and drove in 21 runs. Over her 20 conference games she posted an on-base percentage of .458 and a slugging percentage of .672.
Messina completed a tremendous first season in the circle for the Blue Devils in which she broke three records and tied another. Messina won a CCSU 22 games, six more than the previous record of 14. She also pitched a record 219.2 innings and struck out a record 207 batters, 77 more than the previous record. She tied the school record for appearances by pitching in 35 games, 32 starts, she also pitched 26 complete games. Messina posted a 2.01 earned run average and limited opponents to a .216 batting average against.
Mussatti was also an All-NEC selection during her sophomore year and Springer was a two-time All-Conference selection in the America East before transferring to Central this season.
The Blue Devils won a school record 31 games in 2012. The season was the first 30-win campaign in program history and also marked the first time that the softball program posted back-to-back 20+ win seasons.
The previous record for wins in a season was 29 by the 2011 squad. The 2005, 2011 and 2012 teams share the school record for NEC victories with 11.


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Over the past few days Verizon have been selling the 9930. For those of you with a fresh device, right our of the box, make sur to get the newest OS on it. Here is a Leaked copy of v22.214.171.1248 for the 9930.
Warning: Please remember that this IS NOT an official release OS. If you wish to install this OS keep in mind that this may cause your phone to not function correctly. BlackBerryOS and any other BlackBerryOS Official sites are not responsible. If you are not comfortable and/or unsure as how to upgrade to this OS, please click the link below.


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Kevin ZeesePublished: January 10, 2006
Click here to see NSA documents
The National Security Agency has been spying on a Baltimore anti-war group, according to documents released during litigation, going so far as to document the inflating of protesters' balloons, and intended to deploy units trained to detect weapons of mass destruction, RAW STORY has learned.
According to the documents, the Pledge of Resistance-Baltimore, a Quaker-linked peace group, has been monitored by the NSA working with the Baltimore Intelligence Unit of the Baltimore City Police Department.
The documents came as a result of litigation in the August 2004 trial of Marilyn Carlisle and Cindy Farquhar. An NSA security official provided the defendants with a redacted Action Plan and a redacted copy of a Joint Terrorism Task Force email about the activities of the Pledge of Resistance activities.
The NSA, established in 1952 by President Truman, is the largest and most secret of U.S. intelligence agencies. Headquartered between Baltimore and Washington, DC, the agency has two principal functions: to protect U.S. government communications and intercept foreign transmissions. However, the NSA's United States Signals Intelligence Directive 18 strictly prohibits the interception or collection of information about "U.S. persons, entities, corporations or organizations" without explicit written permission from the Attorney General.
The revelation that a Baltimore peace group was spied upon comes in the wake of a news reports that the agency has also been eavesdropping on Americans' international calls and raises new questions about the legality of NSA activities. The agency did not immediately return a request for comment.
The Baltimore Pledge of Resistance is part of the national Iraq Pledge of Resistance, which works with the Baltimore Emergency Response Network and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) -- part of a national group committed to nonviolent civil resistance to stop the war in Iraq. The Pledge lobbies Maryland congressmembers via letters, phone calls, faxes, emails and face-to-face meetings; members of the group are periodically arrested for peaceable protests.
Documents turned over by the NSA indicate that the group was closely monitored. In one instance, the agency filed reports approximately every 15 minutes from 9:30 AM to 3:18 PM on the day of a demonstration at the National Vigilance Airplane Memorial on the NSA Campus in Maryland.
According to an NSA email dated July 4, 2004, the agency collected license numbers and descriptions and the number of people in each car and filed a report about them gathering in a church parking lot for the demonstration. NSA agents also logged their travel to the demonstration, including stopping as a gas station along the way. A canine dog unit was used to search a minivan when it was stopped on the way to the demonstration - nothing was found.
NSA officials even reported on the balloons being inflated for the demonstration and the content of their signs.
An entry made at 1300 hours on July 4. reads, "The Soc. was advised the protestors were proceeding to the airplane memorial with three helium balloons attached to a banner that stated, 'Those Who Exchange Freedom for Security Deserve Neither, Will Ultimately Lose Both.'"
On the day of the demonstration three protesters were cited for "disturbances on government property" and released. A federal judge eventually dismissed the case before trial.
Two of those demonstrators, Max Obuszewiski and Ellen Barfield, are still scheduled for trial in Baltimore federal court Jan. 25. The defendants have filed a motion for discovery and included the letter from the NSA acknowledging spying on the Pledge. The prosecutor has refused to release this information as part of discovery. The defendants plan to argue that the information is necessary for their defense.
"The NSA confirmed, because of a FOIA request I filed, that indeed it has files on peace and justice groups," Obuszewiski said. "However, the Agency is refusing to release the information unless I pay $2,915. What might be in these files?"
A second NSA document on the letterhead of the National Security Agency Police and authored by NSA Police Major Michael E. Talbert is dated Oct. 3, 2004. It is an action plan for the "threat of a demonstration hosted by a group known as Pledge of Resistance - Baltimore." They note the demonstration is part of the "Keep Space for Peace Week." The NSA action plan includes plans for four days, but six activities being planned by the NSA before the day of the demonstration have been redacted.
Extensive plans are described for the day of the Oct. 4, 2003 demonstration. The letter shows that the NSA planned to have their Weapons of Mass Destruction Rapid Response Team on site, an officer with a shotgun, an increase in the number of officers, mobile units monitoring the highway and parking lot, roving patrols on bicycles in various areas, four K9 handlers, agents to provide counter-surveillance, aerial observations by the Anne Arundel, Maryland police and photography/video surveillance of the activities.
"The NSA Weapons of Mass Destruction Rapid Response Team will have a limited staffing on hand to support the event," Talbert's memo reads. "...Anne Arundel County Police will be requested to provide aerial observations."
"Shocking appalling and unnecessary," is how the Chair of the DC Chapter of the National Lawyer's Guild Demonstration Support Committee Mark Goldstone describes the NSA actions. Goldstone, who often represents activists who engage in non-violent civil disobedience, is not counsel in this litigation. "This surveillance is completely unrelated to even an expansive definition of 'national security.'"
Maria Allwine, a protester arrested Oct. 4, 2004, recently described the events in an interview on Democracy Rising.
"The NSA must be spying on us from the federal post office right across a small street from the AFSC," Allwine said. "It's the only place that gives them enough of a view to see our cars/license plate numbers."
Allwine also discussed how the Pledge has been infiltrated. She described a March 20, 2003 demonstration in downtown Baltimore where "a provocateur (whom we had identified at our planning meeting the previous night) joined us. We'd never seen him before. . . during the die-in at the federal courthouse, he was taunting the police in a violent manner. We had to quiet him down, he then disappeared and we never saw him again - and, of course, he wasn't arrested with the other 49 of us."
The monitoring is ongoing. Allwine says that at demonstrations the police "have had cookies and drinks set up for us (we don't partake!) and tell us they knew we were coming."
Goldstone says the impact of NSA surveillance is worrisome.
"People should not be afraid to speak out, and unfortunately evidence of domestic spying tends to chill people's interest in speaking out- thus chilling and limiting our precious First Amendment rights," he told RAW STORY. "Nothing that the Pledge does, either by their public advocacy against the war or their non-violent civil disobedience/resistance to war can be plausibly seen as a threat to United States national security, as the group is pledged to non-violence and non-property destruction guidelines."
David Rocah, a staff attorney with the Maryland ACLU, adds, "There is obviously a well-founded concern of law enforcement monitoring of First Amendment activities. The ACLU and others have exposed such activities all over the country resulting in law suits."
Goldstone says Congress must rein in the NSA.
"Congress must investigate this, and get a handle on the issue of domestic spying by the NSA and other agencies against people exercising political speech," he said.
Kevin Zeese is director of Democracy Rising and a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Maryland.


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The 285 kilometre long-distance hiking path from Pforzheim to Basel is one of Germany's top hiking routes. We have the chance to appreciate the region's landscape and cuisine from the peaks of the Black Forest.
We start in Pforzheim, a city known for its jewellery industry, and head south towards three valleys in the Black Forest: the Enz, Murg and Kinzig Valleys. However, we spend most of our time on the western ridge of the Black Forest rather than in the valleys. There are so many views stretching out over the Rhine Valley towards the Vosges Mountains in France. We hike through vast spruce forests on narrow mountain paths and wide forest roads.
We cross historic wooden bridges built over fast-flowing streams. The Black Forest is the drainage divide between the Rhine and the Danube, so the water from one stream flows into the North Sea, while the water from the other stream ends up in the Black Sea. We pass many old boundary stones which once marked out the border between Baden and Württemberg, then we cross a moor and hike along Lake Titisee, a popular destination among tourists.
We experience excellent Black Forest hospitality in many places along the trail. We also try Black Forest ham and devour a slice of Black Forest gâteau in a typical Black Forest house. And then we continue along the Westweg Trail, the most beautiful hike in the Black Forest.
Manuel Andrack, editor, presenter, author and hiking blogger:
"I recommend visiting the highest summit in the Black Forest. The Feldberg offers glorious views stretching across to the Alps in Germany's oldest nature reserve. Children can go on a special adventure along the Wichtelpfad gnome path."
At a glance: Westweg
Starts: Pforzheim
Ends: Basel
Length: 285 km
Number of stages: 12
Altitude variation: lowest point 236 m, highest point 1,488 m
Terrain: 40% unmade, 13% asphalt, 47% other, e.g. farm tracks
Certified quality hiking trail
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ROCHESTER — Jason Cole, who has been the supervisor of Rochester's dispatch center, no longer works for the city.
According to City Manager Daniel Fitzpatrick, Cole's employment with the city ended last week. Citing personnel matters, Fitzpatrick would not disclose the circumstances of Cole's departure.
According to an email to city officials from Police Chief Michael Allen, Cole was placed on administrative leave on Feb. 1, but Cole's employment with the city didn't end until last week.
As a communication center supervisor, Cole was receiving $66,899 in annual wages and benefits this year. His regular wage was $54,641.
Cole has worked for the Police Department since February 2008.
In addition to his work at the dispatch center, Cole is also an assistant chief for the Lebanon Maine Rescue Department in Maine. He is also a Lebanon, Maine, selectman.
Since Cole's employment ended with Rochester, Police Capt. Toussaint is temporarily overseeing the dispatch center in conjunction with a Fire Department command staff member, said Allen. The process for finding Cole's replacement has not yet begun, he said.
On Tuesday, Allen said the dispatch center is now understaffed by three dispatchers after Cole's employment ended. He said the staffing shortage is leading to more funds being dedicated to overtime hours for dispatch center staff.
While a new dispatcher was recently hired, that person is currently being trained, and the training could take several months, said Allen.
He said public safety is not being affected by the staffing shortage at the communications center.
"Public safety would never be jeopardized," said Allen. "We always fill shifts to the levels that are necessary so that public safety is not compromised in any way."
He said that ideally, the communications center would be staffed with three dispatchers on day and evening shifts, and two dispatchers during the overnight shift. Currently, the center has two dispatchers during the day, two to three dispatchers during the evening, and two dispatchers during the overnight shift.
Allen said that overtime is implemented when shifts need to be covered to ensure public safety.