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- July 06, 2017
- Feature
By Aniket Maindarkar, Infosys
The food and farming industries are embracing technological solutions that support sustainable farming and processing. When done well, these innovations can cut costs, promote efficiency, and increase consumer trust by providing transparency into the food supply chain.
By Aniket Maindarkar, Vice President of Retail, CPG & Logistics, Infosys.
Sustainable, quality food is a top priority for the food industry today. Customers demand fresh goods planted, harvested, packaged and shipped in an environmentally friendly manner. To accommodate, the food and farming industries are embracing technological solutions that support sustainable farming and processing.
When done well, these innovations can cut costs, promote efficiency, and increase consumer trust by providing transparency into the food supply chain. These successes are the result of integrating various technologies across agriculture and food production. Progress in robotics, automation, machine learning and analytics help to automate the farm-to-table journey and are helping make our meals a little bit more wholesome.
All the goodness of nature
The food industry is rife with high risk and low rewards. Unpredictable weather, logistical challenges, perishability, and transient trends contribute to an industry dominated by uncertainty. Innovative enterprises, however, can convert uncertain factors into a sustainable food business.
Froozer, a Colorado-based company committed to providing pure and natural frozen foods, is an example. Its approach to sustainability as a business is unique: it sells 'ugly produce," fruits and vegetables that look less than perfect, but taste the same, produces the same nutrition and mitigates food waste, alongside typical their foodstuff. The company uses its technology to flash-freeze, blend and package freshly-harvested fruits and vegetables while they're at their ripest. Consumers, as a consequence, get natural, preservative-free frozen foods while they're at their most flavorful.
Spot the bad apple
In upstream food packaging and processing, automation is the word on everyone's lips. Robots, using machine vision, imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis, use their dexterity, speed and accuracy to expedite food inspection.
Key Technology Inc., a Washington-based supplier of process automation solutions, uses vision guidance technology in its multi-sensor, pixel fusion platform. This platform, according to the company, fuses sensor data at a pixel level to further identify and remove subtle product defects. More specifically, this platform helps identify irregularities while processing a large number of food products in chutes and belt sorters. Because food companies have such high standards in their products, accurate sorting is a must.
Its vision technology also automates palletizing, an automated method to stack cases of goods or products, and de-palletizing in food logistics, ensuring the appropriate shipping label is placed in the correct orientation.
Here comes the rain again!
Big data, smart machinery, and climate science are the three main ingredients for a high-yield farm today. In fact, the right combinations of these agricultural innovations could create a farm that runs with minimal oversight.
For such an automated ecosystem to exist, a small army of sensors will need to work together. For example, small monitors placed in the soil would need to collect and deliver data about moisture while the local weather channel provides updates on humidity and temperature. These streams of data, together with an artificial intelligence (AI) solution, can pinpoint tracts of both arable land and land in need of specialized, drought-resistant seeds. Finally, a smart harvester can be calibrated to harvest crops, monitor crop quantity, and identify the most fertile patches of farmland for replanting.
CNH Industrial, a manufacturer of advanced farming machinery, is pioneering this type of machine-centric farm. It envisages precision farming on a connected farm without a human stepping on the land through recent developments called telematics solutions. This technology, in which data is transferred wirelessly from the machines at work in the field to the farm office, enables real time monitoring and two way communications that allow for a farm's ecosystem to be connected, smart and supported. The company has designed an autonomous tractor, which could come to the market as early as 2020, to completely allow remote deployment, monitoring and control of the machines.
Growing consumer trust, nurturing consumer confidence
Trust is the key ingredient for the future of the food industry. To nurture this trust, brands go to great lengths to make their supply chain as transparent as possible for consumers. They have mostly been successful, but improvements can still be made. To realize this, companies are eyeing new technologies like permissioned blockchain networks, which make tracing a product from farm to packer to quality certification possible. For example, a consumer buying coffee from a specialty retailer could scan a QR-code through their mobile phone to trace the origins of the coffee bean, even while the coffee is steaming in their cup.
Traceability in other products is similarly simple, be it organic meat or produce or other foodstuffs. Smart contracts in blockchain can trigger alerts to warehouses and trucks on product expiry and initiate an auto recall with all the participants in the supply chain real time.
Voglio la pizza! (I want pizza)
In the United States, pizza delivery is a $ 9.7 billion industry. The industry is so successful that many of domestic leaders in the U.S. use an established franchisee model to compete across the globe. Zume Pizza, a Californian pizza delivery startup blending robotic automation with a patented delivery and logistics system, could spur even more growth by reducing the number of people involved with creating and delivering a pizza.
It starts in the kitchen, where a robot applies sauce on flatbread. The flatbread is then moved on a conveyer where pizza handlers add cheeses and toppings. Another robot picks up the flatbread and places it into an oven. Headquarters then issues a command to the delivery trucks over the web. Once the command is received, the ovens are switched on and the pizza is delivered to the customer as fresh as possible.
It's clear the farm of the future will be digital. With the help of technologies such as robotics, remote monitoring, and artificial intelligence, sustainable farming practices are innovating rapidly across the industry, bringing greater success to food growers and greater transparency to consumers.
About the Author
Aniket Maindarkar is Vice President of Retail, CPG & Logistics at Infosys.
Aniket is responsible for managing several key Retail and CPG clients globally, besides managing the industry vertical for Latin America and driving growth in the geography. Over the last 16 years, Aniket has played multiple roles at Infosys. Most recently, he was responsible for heading the Americas Operations for Infosys BPO, where he oversaw a team of 1,400 people across centers in US, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica and Brazil.Learn More
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subset: commoncrawl


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What is the "historyplugin.dll" ? Variant 12300607
Our database contains 92 different files for filename historyplugin.dll but this page contains information about single file with specific attributes. If you want to see general information about the historyplugin.dll then visit General Information Page . You can also check most distributed file variants with name historyplugin.dll. This file belongs to product TODO: <Product name> and was developed by company Speedbit Ltd.. This file has description TODO: <File description>. This file is Dynamic-link Library. This library can be loaded and executed in any running process.
- Product:
- Company:
- Speedbit Ltd.
- Description:
- Version:
- 220.127.116.11
- 5e00a5f8ac7a8629f37156c021b6f09a
- a554101bba99b3fb0eb1df81af529f7ed1e1dd97
- 5c3676a1ed46c66584c05661b072126c70ab2e7fcbc3f7239465b778f5b50b8f
- Size:
- 648392
- Directory:
- %ALLUSERS_APPDATA%\Speedbit\DAP\Plugins\237CE133-645F-46af-B540-BF095FF23922\184.108.40.206_1
- Operating System:
- Windows 7
- Occurence:
- Medium
- Digital Signature:
- Speed-Bit LTD
System Explorer Community Antivirus Report
Antivirus shields were enabled and have latest antivirus database.
|Antivirus Name
|Latest Toleration
|Microsoft Security Essentials
|2014-12-09 03:41:15
|Kaspersky PURE 3.0
|2014-10-02 00:34:57
|ESET NOD32 Antivirus 6.0
|2014-09-18 15:46:03
|avast! Internet Security
|2014-03-06 03:25:39
|AVG AntiVirus Free Edition 2014
|2014-01-04 05:06:53
|System Shield
|2013-12-29 16:51:06
|Norton Internet Security
|2013-10-18 09:12:50
|avast! Antivirus
|2013-09-09 17:44:07
|Webroot SecureAnywhere
|2013-09-02 16:29:17
|GFI Software VIPRE
|2013-09-01 16:19:41
Is the library "historyplugin.dll" Safe or Threat ?
There is no review for "historyplugin.dll" with defined attributes. If you want to check MD5 of this file via public VirusTotal database, then press .
Our final rating for this file is Safe. Final rating is based on file reviews, discovered date, users occurence and antivirus scan results.
Is this Library suspect for you? Is your computer running slow? Do you experiencing some suspicious behaviour in your computer? We recommends make free computer scan with our free award-winning tool .


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Nourish your nervous system and skin with this herbal body oil by massaging it onto your skin after you shower or before bed.
Your skin will be as soft as a rose petal and you will smell like one too!
This beautifying body oil for your skin also serves to soothe your musculoskeletal system, reduce nervous tension and has anti-inflammatory properties.
4 oz amber glass bottle
All Organic Ingredients: Grapeseed (Vitis vinifera), Olive (Olea europaea) and Kukui nut oils (Aleurites moluccanus) infused with Rose petals (Rosa damascena) and Mexican Arnica* (Heterotheca inuloides), and a touch of Rose Otto (Rosa damascena) essential oil.
*Asteraceae family


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DC power jack replacement, fixing, repair
We repair all laptops series models. Laptop DC Power Jack Repair Service High quality repairs . 3 Months RTB Warranty PROBLEM DESCRIPTION. The power jack gets pushed into the laptop base so it feels loose. Broken DC jack. Power cord movement causes shuts off laptop. Broken plastics around the socket Cost of


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Norwegian brand OnePiece recently opened at BOXPARK in Al Wasl, Dubai.
OnePiece specializes in jumpsuits, hence, the name 'OnePiece. The brand also stocks sweat shirts, sweat pants, hoodies and more.
The idea of tying together a hoodie with a pair sweatpants using a giant zipper ended up in what has become the OnePiece Jumpsuit, the very core product of the brand.
DIAF spoke to the charming Thomas Martin Adams, Co-Founder, OnePiece:
For more info on the brand, prices etc, click here.
If you would like to obtain a good deal from this post then you have to apply these methods to your won blog.
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end I am reading this great piece of writing to increase my


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Students will learn the art of public speaking and how to debate in a formal setting for one hour a week, from 3:45pm on Thursdays until 4:45pm. The club will be run by specially trained and DBS cleared university students and the techniques are delivered through a series of fun and interactive exercises and games.
Students who have been on the programme see substantial progress in their speaking and listening skills, their engagement with school, and a range of students have been shown to benefit (and thoroughly enjoy!) these clubs.
The club will run for 16 weeks commencing on Thursday 10th November, with breaks during school holidays. In that time there will also be two local competitions, the Urban Debate League in the week of the 6th February and the 13th March. There is also a one-day competition, The Debate Mate Cup, in the weeks commencing the 20th of March. The overall winners of these competitions go through to the national finals at a prestigious London location which will take place in May.
This is an extremely exciting opportunity for your child and will benefit their educational achievement as well as teach them the art of public debating.
All website content copyright © St Joseph's Primary School
Website design by PrimarySite


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What are the options for Braces for an adult in San Gabriel?
If you have ever noticed a public personality whose smile suddenly looks somewhat brighter, younger, or straighter, with almost undetectable enhancements, it is possible that those subtle but effective improvements are the result of porcelain veneers.
Simple changes can have a significant impact on your appearance and self-confidence. When it comes to your smile, which is often the first impression that you make with others, even the slightest refinement can make a world of difference in how you present yourself.
What are veneers?
Thin overlays that match the color of healthy teeth, veneers are bonded to your natural teeth to cover imperfections. They are often used to fix discolored, broken, chipped, or uneven teeth, or to close gaps between teeth.
What are the best materials for veneers?
There are several types of veneers that can correct imperfections in your teeth. At Gentle Care Dentistry, we recommend porcelain veneers for optimal patient satisfaction and outcomes.
What are the advantages to using porcelain veneers?
- Naturally looking
- Improve appearance and self confidence
- Decrease jaw pain
- Reduce risk of infection by increasing effectiveness of hygiene
- Fewer adverse reactions with gum tissue
- Whiter and brighter radiance
- Minimally invasive compared to other procedures
- Durable and aesthetically superior
- Long lasting, up to five to ten years
What is the process for obtaining veneers?
A comprehensive consultation with Dr. Brianna Luu at Gentle Care Dentistry of San Gabriel Valley will determine your goals and expectations from cosmetic procedures to create your ultimate smile. If you are a candidate for veneers, with otherwise healthy teeth, a collaborative plan will be developed. The process encompasses:
- Assessment – the doctor will ensure that veneers are the best solution for your concerns.
- Preparation – a thin layer of enamel is removed from the teeth and impressions are made of your teeth and mouth. The model is sent to a laboratory which will make your custom veneers.
- Application – before the final bonding process, Dr. Luu will test the veneer on your teeth so that you may both see the fit, color and placement.
Porcelain veneers are an affordable, accessible solution, involving minimal discomfort that can yield significant results. If you are interested in achieving your best smile, you can trust Dr. Luu and our professionals at Gentle Care Dentistry, located at 232 N Azusa Ave, Azusa, CA. Call us today at +1 626-466-9596 for a consultation to discuss the most effective treatments to meet your needs.


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Singapore Court Fines Wall Street Journal
HONG KONG -- Singapore's High Court found The Wall Street Journal Asia in contempt of court for commentary it published about the city-state in June and July.
The court fined Dow Jones Publishing Co. (Asia), a subsidiary of News Corp.'s Dow Jones & Co. unit and publisher of The Wall Street Journal's Asian edition, 25,000 Singapore dollars (US$16,573) -- the highest amount ever levied for such a case in Singapore.
To Read the Full Story


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Whilst double glazing is often a term branded about it's not necessarily something you'll know much about. What are the ins and outs of Britain's most popular replacement window and what makes these units such a sound investment?
Any new window will help raise the energy efficiency of your home and with it, reduce heating bills. On top of this, a new installation will increase property security, slash carbon emissions and help minimise noise pollution. Double glazing does this to an excellent standard.
The efficiency of double glazing
Double glazing's main selling point is energy efficiency. That's what makes it a popular investment and that's how salesmen earn a living. It's all in the manufacture of double glazed windows that achieves this efficiency.
Effectively, the double glazing unit is comprised of two panes of glass (often low-e), which are separated by an energy efficient gas spacer, typically Argon. Because of these features combined, heat can't pass through the unit and is instead locked in your home.
With double glazing:
- Cut your heating bills
The primary purpose of double glazing is to save money on energy bills. This is achieved through the improved home energy efficiency so less heat is lost and you don't have to turn up the thermostat to stay warm. This is an even bigger bonus in the winter when homes are typically colder. With double glazing you can save up to £300 every year, depending on your old windows and the fuel used to heat your home.
- Reduce CO2 emissions
With this improved energy efficiency of the home windows, less carbon emissions will be created and released into the atmosphere. Carbon is created when fuel is burned and with double glazing there'll be less of a need to turn up the thermostat's temperature. Reducing carbon will help the environment and you'll be aiding the Government's emission targets too.
- Enjoy a warmer home
New windows will eliminate any draughts or cold spots in your property, so you can be sure of staying warmer throughout the year. Consequently, in the summer months you'll want to lock heat out, which double glazing will aid too. Effectively you'll be more comfortable with these energy efficient units in place.
- Stay in peace and quiet
In the same efficient manner that heat can't pass through double glazing units, the same can be said for noise. If you live near a busy main road or residential area this is of significant benefit and with double glazing you'll be left in peace and quiet all year round.
Why is double glazing energy efficient?
Double glazing in your home will create an insulating barrier. Two panes of glass are separated by around 16mm and the space filled with a motionless gas. This effectively prevents heat passing through the unit. With replacement windows, always look for the BFRC rating and Energy Saving Trust logo. This guarantees quality of product.
When considering double glazing there are three areas you need to pay the most attention to:
The type of glass: When it comes to the glass used in double glazing, low emissivity (low-e) is typically the most popular on the market. Low-e glass has a metallic coating on the inner pane to improve efficiency. It lets light and heat into your home, but restricts the amount that can escape.
The type of spacer: The spacer inserted in your double glazing unit will ultimately decide how efficient an installation is. There are three main options for this spacer; Argon, Xenon and Krypton. Argon is the most efficient, so with this double glazing you stand to save the most on energy bills.
The type of pane spacer: Pane spacers are used to separate the two pieces of glass and are fixed around the edges of the frame. The type you choose will have an effect on how efficient units are, and spacers with little or no metal in will be your best bet.
Facts & Figures You'll Love To Share
- Replacing your inefficient windows with double glazing will help you save up to £200 a year on expensive household bills.
- Installing double glazing is an environmentally friendly option, slashing carbon by 680kg annually.
- As well as a monetary saving, double glazing will cut condensation and reduce noise pollution.
- Switching your old windows will boost your property's EPC rating and make your home a more attractive buy in the market.
- For homes in Conservation Areas, consider secondary glazing to make energy savings when double glazing isn't permitted.
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The first information on Alessandro Sparacia's new album "Endless", mastered by the internationally renowned Italian producer Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline, Jorn Lande), is now available.
It will be released on June 28th for Volcano Records in a digital version on all the main streaming and online purchase platforms such as
Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music Italia.
It's a concept album that tells a love story retracing the main moods experienced by the protagonist, alternating songs sung to instrumental songs and ranging from rock to metal progressive.
Here is the tracklist of "Endless":
1. Vibration
2. Passion
3. Madness
4. Rage
5. Awareness
6. Courage
7. Endless
8. Embrace Tender
Genre: Metal, Progressive Metal
Similar artists: Simphony X, Savatage, Dream Theater
For more informations:
Volcano Website
Volcano on Facebook
Endless - Alessandro Sparacia of Facebook


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The Bank of England (BoE), the United Kingdom's central bank, has revealed a set of rules of engagement for Facebook's Libra as well as any other digital currencies and has warned that these new projects must follow said rules for them to be allowed to operate in the country.
According to a statement from the BoE's Financial Policy Committee (FPC), these rules must be widely publicized and properly incorporated, long before these providers try to begin any business in the UK.
"The terms of engagement for innovations such as Libra must be adopted in advance of any launch. UK authorities should use their powers accordingly."
While the BoE is not against the official conduct of business in the UK, the FPC believes that cryptocurrencies and other similar services, must be made to follow certain rules and regulations, to keep the sector in control and also to make sure it follows certain rules regarding its balance, capital prowess, liquidity, and insurance as well.
"The FPC judges that such a system would need to meet the highest standards of resilience and be subject to appropriate supervisory oversight."
The rules of engagement also suggest that regulators should have access to transactions conducted via the Libra or any other cryptocurrency providers, apart from the standards of resilience. Regardless, the BOE's FPC statement notes that the asset could be largely beneficial to the financial clime as the "Libra has the potential to become a systemically important payment system."
The BoE's governor, Mark Carney, has previously remarked on Libra before. In his speech at the Lord Mayor's Banquet for Bankers and Merchants of the City of London at the Mansion House in June, Carney made a similar remark to the FPC's position as stated. According to him:
"The Bank of England approaches Libra with an open mind but not an open door. Unlike social media for which standards and regulations are being debated well after it has been adopted by billions of users, the terms of engagement for innovations such as Libra must be adopted in advance of any launch."
The Libra is set to launch in the first half of next year. However, skeptics believe this date might be pushed back, due to regulatory problems being faced by Facebook.
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DISCLAIMER Read More
The views expressed in the article are wholly those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, ZyCrypto. This article is not meant to give financial advice. Please carry out your own research before investing in any of the various cryptocurrencies available.


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The Fourth Doctor seems awfully pleased with himself - even in 1:6 scale form!
Big Chief Studio's awesome Fourth Doctor figure goes on Priority sale this evening - 300 of which come with a little placard signed by the man himself. General sale begins on Saturday at Big Chief's website, with the figure due to arrive later this year.


text: FOXBI 61 · ID: 101 Posted December 16, 2018 On 12/16/2018 at 12:31 AM, sd2d said: Hey, FOXBI, maybe you can fix this issue by your method? My LSI MR9240-8i can't get SMART status from HDDs. My testing environment is all VM, and I see that phenomenon for the first time. Is it a phenomenon when it is Native? I can not say that I can do that Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Many of us are veterans of multiple deployments, and our care package game may be getting a little stale. Join military spouse Mailani Cappaert, owner of Creative & Co., for a workshop on stepping up your care package game.
What makes the best care package? Find out Nov. 9 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Creative & Co. in University Place. The $30 per box cost covers all supplies, and, said Cappaert, "Our care package decorating day at the studio will have every decorating supply you need to make a perfect box."
Cappaert added that participants can come anytime during the event, and stay as long as desired. Military receive a 10 percent discount with military ID. Finally, multiple kids can work on a single box. RSVP at creativeandco.studio.
"The best care package is a package that brings a smile to your loved one," continued Cappaert. "For my husband, I always include photographs of us together. I keep the decorations bright, funny, and as personal as possible. I load the box with dried nuts, candy, and his favorite noodles."
Cappaert said she has long been a lover of art, which flows into her creative workshops.
"My love for art started at 3 years old," she recalled. "I would draw and paint for hours. I was intrigued by color. I would sit in the car as a young child imagining what my surroundings would look like with a fresh coat of paint.
"My desire to manipulate colors and study art continued beyond elementary school", she continued. "I spent my first year of high school at the Tacoma School of the Arts, alongside many talented artists. Everyone in this school was striving to strengthen their artistic talents, whether it was dance, photography, painting, or drawing. The school had its own culture, with art as the common language."
During Cappaert's senior year of college, she moved to Europe for a year during her husband's Navy deployment.
"While living in Belgium, I marveled at the different art mediums and the importance Belgian culture placed on art," she said. "Art has been my passion for as long as I can remember, and my goal now is to inspire others to engage in any form of art that brings them happiness."
Cappaert experienced challenges with her business while dealing with her husband's deployment to Afghanistan.
"Creative & Co. was officially opened on Oct. 15, 2019. Our space is brand new!" she exclaimed. "I couldn't think of a better way to start than to have a workshop dedicated to military families. Opening a business is a challenge in itself, and with my husband deployed in Afghanistan, it was no easy endeavor."
To renovate the interior of the store, she said she relied on friends, family, and neighbors within the community for help.
"If my husband was here, I know he would have loved to hang shelves, build the tables, and be a part of this exciting journey," said Cappaert. "I look forward to him seeing the studio when he returns from deployment!"
As in any process, she said, there were good and bad days.
"I learned to repress negative thoughts and refocus on the positive moments of each day," Cappaert commented. "I wish he was here to see our very first customers enjoy their studio time. I learned the importance of stepping back and acknowledging accomplishments, even the small ones! Life has to keep going while our loved ones are on deployment. There is a community of people who are battling the same hardships. We need to prioritize connecting with one another."
If you'd like to up your care package game -- and want to support a military spouse in her new career -- attend the workshop.
Care Package Workshop, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 9, Creative & Co., 7406 27th St. W, Suite 200A, University Place, $30, 253.507.0964, RSVP at creativeandco.studio
Jobs & Education


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100% Women Owned
Zilla products are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured, and assembled
in the United States of America in compliance with American Iron & Steel (AIS),
the Buy American Act, and Buy America requirements.
Mini Adjustable Standoff used for installation on Asphalt Shingle and Metal roof applications.
Patent No.: US Pat. 8,448,405*
Zilla product innovations embody intellectual property which includes one or more of the following patents: US Pat. 8,448,405; 8,479,455; 8,661,765; 8,689,517; 8,707,654; 8,707,655; 8,752,338; 8,833,032; 8,833,033; 8,869,490; 9,068,339; 9,106,023; 9,473,064; D415,847; D617,174; D636,656; D639,143; and/or D639,144.


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This is a simple salad, loaded with flavor and perfect for a summer weeknight meal.
- 6 oz pancetta, cut into cubes or sliced if thin
- 8 oz Stilton or other high quality blue cheese, crumbled
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 T canola oil + 1 cup (for frying shallots)
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- 1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- Head of iceberg lettuce, washed, cored, and cut into 4-6 equal wedges
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1/2 cup fried shallots – Around 4 uncooked
To fry shallots- Thinly slice shallots and cook, stirring occasionally in canola oil over medium high heat until brown, around 12-15 minutes. Remove and let drain on a paper towel.
For the salad- Cook pancetta over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it is browned, around 8-10 minutes. Remove from pan and transfer to a lined plate to drain.
In medium mixing bowl, combine half the Stilton, the mayo, oil, vinegar, and lemon juice and whisk together to make a homogeneous mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper. (Note: Mine tasted salty already and no additional salt was necessary.)
Place a few tablespoons of the dressing in the center of each plate and top with iceberg wedge. Drizzle each wedge with another tablespoon or two of dressing. Top each serving with pancetta, remaining blue cheese, parsley and fried shallots.


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The natural log robin box is a hollowed out log complete with bark intact and a large open front hole ideal for robins, pied wagtails and spotted flycatchers. The appearance of the natural product may vary but is perfect for a garden or woodland setting.
The natural air dried FSC certified timber wooden log has low thermal conductivity providing excellent insulation for nesting birds. The wood is beautifully pale in colour and the bark is a mottled brown colour. It is remarkably light and strong and resistant to cracking and splitting.
The hinged lid can be lifted by loosening the securing screw to allow for cleaning and inspection. Nest box should be hung from the hole in the wooden back plate at the rear.
Appearance may vary due to seasonal availability of timber or environmental factors.
- For more information on birds in your garden – GARDEN BIRD FACTS
- To help the conservation of these species please support the RSPB – RSPB WEBSITE


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The mission statement as adopted by Mr Simon and Mrs Ruth Worley (Directors) in September 2004 is:
"To create and maintain a physical, emotional and spiritual environment, which enables people of difference to become and remain an independent and visible member of the local community"
The company is led by an experienced management team who are focused on providing first class competitive and comprehensive services to its target market.
Copyright © 2012 - Supporting Independence Ltd - All rights reserved. Conforms to W3C Standard XHTML & CSSSite By: Horsham PC Repair


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Chapter 306: Theft atop the Battlefield
"What else can it be? Little Yellow must have found something good again. Look, its practically drooling," Stingham said as he dispirited looked at Ayrin and the little yellow dragon.
"Then we…" Ayrin lowered his head and looked at the little yellow dragon with a pouch around its neck. It indeed seemed to be greatly salivating. Ayrin was extremely curious as to what could cause the little yellow dragon to feel this way, but at the same time, he was hesitant as they were currently not in a great condition to move; Stingham and Rinloran had both exhausted the vast majority of their arcane particles.
"Let's go take a look first. Perhaps Little Yellow will be able to just steal it like it did with the Fractal Crystal." Stingham combed his hair and said, "You two can hide in my thicket with me."
Upon hearing Stingham's suggestion, Rinloran felt somewhat speechless.
Meanwhile, the little yellow dragon began nodding fiercely as it looked at Stingham in a new light.
"But let me say this now. If we help you steal things, then you must be willing to lend these things to us when we ask. Understand?!" Stingham said treacherously.
The little yellow dragon nodded without any hesitation.
"This little guy is even more shameless than me. It was so fierce earlier, and now look at it," Stingham said.
"Idiot!" Rinloran couldn't help but curse, "You know that you have no shame?"
A large and dense thicket quickly moved across the ground in a sneaky manner towards an area from which violent arcane energy explosions erupted.
Two arcane masters embroiled in a bitter struggle appeared before them.
One was a slender, seemingly middle-aged man with a fair complexion wearing the dark purple robes of the Evil Dragon Followers. For some unknown reason, perhaps it was a bloodline ability or arcane skill, dots of gold light sparkled atop his forehead as if it had been painted with a layer of gold dust.
But the most eyecatching part of this man was his hair, which was at least half a meter long and all pointing up towards the sky, making him look like a large broom.
At the current moment, a ring-sized gem was floating in midair over his opened left hand. Ayrin's group was too far away to clearly see the shape of the gem, but they could discern that it was releasing the black light which had enveloped the Evil Dragon Follower's left hand.
Opposite the Evil Dragon Follower, a four meter tall zombie was violently attacking a young arcane master wearing the robes of the Office of Special Affairs.
The massive zombie was extremely terrifying to look at. Its body was pitch black and its belly inexplicably bulged outwards in a cubical fashion.
The Office of Special Affairs arcane master facing this zombie seemed to be trying to break free from it so that he could directly attack the black gem wielding Evil Dragon Follower. However, he were unable to do so as the massive zombie shadowed his every move whilst spewing black gas and throwing punches and kicks.
All of a sudden, the young Office of Special Affairs arcane master withdrew ten or so meters. A white light flickered around him as three clusters of bright white light simultaneously appeared around him like little moons.
At the same time, he raised his head and vigilantly looked towards a large stone beside him.
The massive four meter tall black zombie also stopped in its tracks at this moment.
The black gem wielding Evil Dragon Follower narrowed his eyes as he looked towards the top of the same massive stone and coldly shouted, "Who is it?"
"Ah? You guys discovered us?" A surprised voice replied from atop the stone.
"There wasn't a single blade of grass atop that rock, yet a large thicket has suddenly appeared atop it. Do you take me for a fool?" the Evil Dragon Follower shouted. Atop a battlefield, he had made sure to remain vigilant even while directing his zombie. He coldly said, "Are you with us or with them?"
"We've been discovered…"
"You idiot! Did you think we wouldn't be discovered atop this giant rock?!"
Within the thicket atop the massive rock, Ayrin, Stingham, and Rinloran peered out between the gaps at the Evil Dragon Follower and the Office of Special Affairs arcane master surrounded by three clusters of white light. Rinloran quietly berated Stingham in frustration as he wondered if being with Stingham had caused his own IQ to decrease.
"What do we do? Should try to trick him and say we are Evil Dragon Followers? Or maybe, Lotton can you use some arcane skill to confuse them?" Stingham stammered as he looked around.
Although he couldn't see Lotton around them, he knew Lotton had to be nearby.
"Okay," Lotton's voice rang out.
At the same time, a stream of pale white particles abruptly surged up within the thicket.
"Evil Dragon particles!"
Upon seeing the pale white particles emerging from the thicket, the Evil Dragon Follower's caution disappeared as he looked at the Office of Special Affairs arcane master opposite him as if they were already a corpse.
"He's fallen for it! This genius is truly wise, talented, and handsome! Little Yellow must have its eye on the gem in his hand! I wonder what it is? Look, Little Yellow has already started drooling again!" Stingham quietly whispered within the thicket.
"……" Ayrin remained silent as he looked down and saw that the little yellow dragon situated within his chest pocket was indeed drooling, its eyes fixated on the black gem.
"That is the Gem of the Zombie Lord," Lotton's voice rang out within the thicket once more. "The Evil Dragon Follower standing before you is Zombie Master Blanc. The gem originates from the Undead Crown possessed by one of the houses within Black Dragon Hell during the Era of the War with Dragons. As you can see, the crown was destroyed but the gem was not. The gem allows the user to summon a massive zombie like the one before us."
"This is Zombie Master Blanc? The same person who massacred the little town of Siflin?" Rinloran's eyes abruptly turned cold and became filled with the fires of vengeance.
Zombie Master Blanc was an infamous mass murderer. In the past, he had murdered an entire town just to obtain the contents of a gnome store.
"Hey! Blanc!" Stingham abruptly shouted, "That famous Zombie Lord Gem in your hand is such a powerful artifact. Isn't it very easy to lose it or have it stolen if you just let it float like that above your hand though? Why don't you be a bit more cautious and put it in your pocket?!"
Stingham's shout caused Rinloran and Ayrin to feel a sudden urge to faint.
Wasn't this a little to straightforward?
Even if they wished to steal the gem, wasn't it a little too much for him to say it directly.
A trace of suspicion flickered through Blanc's eyes.
Stingham's words caused him to feel as if the 'Evil Dragon Follower' hidden within the thicket was trying to take this opportunity to steal his gem.
He immediately decided to not continue fighting the Office of Special Affairs arcane master and to flee as quickly as possible.
"You are correct. I should be more careful with it."
His gaze flickered between the thicket and the Office of Special Affairs arcane master as he retracted the gem floating in the palm of his left hand and put it in a bag.
"Wow! He did just as Stingham said."
Ayrin and Rinloran exchanged glances. Afterwards, their eyes widened in disbelief.
Because they simultaneously realized that the little yellow dragon had disappeared from Ayrin's chest pocket!
In the following moment, Blanc abruptly said, "I've exhausted almost all of my arcane particles. I shall leave this Office of Special Affairs arcane master to you!"
The sharp sound of space being torn rang out as a massive black skull enveloped Blanc and quickly disappeared.
"He ran away just like that? Did Little Yellow manage to steal it?" A dumbfounded look emerged over Stingham's face.
A dense cluster of black light abruptly burst into the thicket.
"It actually…!"
Ayrin, Rinloran, and Stingham gulped heavily.
The little yellow dragon abruptly reappeared within Ayrin's chest pocket in the process of rehanging the pouch given to it by Ayrin over its neck. Its mouth was firmly clasped around a black gem. Reminiscent of the miserly merchants in Eichemalar, the little dragon took the black gem and quickly stuffed it into the pouch in an animated fashion.
The glowing black gem was, without a doubt, Blanc's Zombie Lord Gem!
In such a short instant, it had actually managed to fish the gem out of Blanc's pocket!
While the three of them were still in a daze, the Office of Special Affairs arcane master whom they did not recognize began fleeing in the opposite direction.
The three clusters of white light shot in three different directions. At the moment, they were unable to discern which cluster of light contained the arcane master's real body.
"This is Eclipse of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. It's a skill known only by Hawkmoon Academy," Rinloran said as he watched the three clusters of light move rapidly away from them.
Ayrin replied, "He must have thought that we were an Evil Dragon Follower who was even stronger than Blanc."
"Where is my Zombie Lord Gem?!"
At this moment, a shockingly miserable scream rang out in the distance.
"I told you to be careful," Stingham gloated as he broke out into laughter. Afterwards, a strange expression emerged on his face as he said, "Let's hurry up and run. He might come back for us right away."
Stingham burst out of the thicket and began desperately running towards the area with the least number of arcane energy fluctuations. Ayrin and Rinloran quickly followed. They made sure to not use any arcane energy while running.
Several minutes later, a heavily breathing Stingham, Ayrin, and Rinloran stopped under the shadows cast by a large rock. "He will probably never guess that we were the ones who stole his Zombie Lord Gem."
"Little Yellow, wait a moment for us to replenish our arcane particles and then let's go steal more good things, alright?" Stingham excitedly said as he gasped for air.
The little yellow dragon's eyes brightened as it vigorously nodded its head, causing the gems and crystals in the pouch around its neck to clatter. It gave off the sensation of an upstart.
After calming their breathing, Stingham and Rinloran immediately began to condense arcane particles.
As for Ayrin, his reserves were basically full already so he vigilantly stood guard in case an Evil Dragon Follower tried to sneak attack them.
Time slowly flowed on and the battle continued to rage.
Vicious winds containing fragments of arcane energy constantly howled, driving a storm of sand and dust.
Under the shadows of another large rock not far from Ayrin's group stood Lotton.
As pale white particles emanated from his body and onto the stone behind him, the stone seemed to erode. He fell backwards into the stone. Afterwards, his pale white particles enveloping him began slowly changing color to match the stone until he completely disappeared.
Meanwhile, far away in the center of the battlefield within the Abyss of Evil, a bluish yellow mist slowly rose.
Previous Chapter Next Chapter


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VP Urges Expansion of Iran-Italy Ties Based on Mutual Respect
- December, 22, 2013 - 12:05
- Politics news
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs Shahindokht Molaverdi called for closer cooperation between Tehran and Rome on the basis of mutual respect.
Molaverdi made the comments in a meeting with the visiting Italian Foreign Minister, Emma Bonino, here in Tehran on Saturday evening.
The Italian official arrived in Tehran on December 21 for an official visit to hold talks with Iranian authorities.
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Bonino is to meet her Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif and President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday.
During the meeting with the visiting Italian minister, Molaverdi also praised Italy for its prominent role in the approval of a UN resolution, proposed earlier by Iran against extremism.
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday approved the proposal presented by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for a World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE).
Wave Act asks the United Nations member states to unite against extremism, violence and sectarian conflicts in all their forms.
"We hope that this idea (WAVE) would come true with the determination and resolution of the whole world countries, and that we would witness a world without violence and extremism," the Iranian vice president noted.
Bonino, for her part, touched on the amicable relations between Iran and Italy, and stressed that a whole host of problems in the contemporary world could be settled through "dialogue and interaction on the basis of mutual respect."
Bonino's visit comes after Zarif travelled to Rome in November at the invitation of his Italian counterpart to exchange views on regional and international matters.
Earlier, Iranian Ambassador to Rome Jahanbakhsh Mozaffari said in an interview on Friday that the visit heralds the opening of a new promising chapter in Tehran-Rome relations.


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This is my handbook for data analysis, mining, cleaning, aggregating, R and possibly data science. It has been written during taking the following courses on coursera prepared by Johns Hopkins University.
Why "hidden" data scientest? It is inspired by pioneer hidden scientist.
If you are a developer able to write code in Java or similar language and work with databases, you might find this handbook useful and un-hide your data scientist potential.
Everything in this handbook is meant to be a quick learning material. There is no deep explanation of R language or anything else like that. But there are many examples with minimum information and many external references to study.


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(I used this picture because it's in the Common Domain. I am going to look for one that is more suitable.)
An old coach house covered with wisteria, with its own theatre with red plush chairs and chandeliers, and a ballet school. This is the setting for Rumer Godden's novel.
The coach house in Anna Pavlova's old haunt, Hampstead, is almost a character in this novel. The struggles to keep the ballet school and theatre going will be a central theme. As Godden writes, 'A theatre is blooded in triumphs and tears.'
Madame Anna, the main character, runs the ballet school and theatre. She is a typical Russian ballet diva - vain and dominating but good-hearted. She surrounds herself with relics of her great career in the ballet, such as a chocolate box from the Tsar and an opal from the people of Sydney. These relics are 'personal memorials to be held in reverence and an incentive to faith.'
There are also the characters of Lion and Caroline, the premier stars of her theatre. We are only told a little bit about them, but we are told that Caroline's feelings are 'not exceptional' and Lion is not musical.
Miss Ilse, who was married to Madame's brother, and Mr.Felix are some of the other characters. They devote their lives to Madame but they are also strong characters.
NB: Read about Carnaval.
Unfortunately, I probably won't have time to go on with this book until after mid-March.


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Transformative Workforce Academy
The goal of the Transformative Workforce Academy (TWA) program is to improve the Saint Louis community and make jobs and training available to disadvantaged populations. A large Metropolitan area such as St. Louis contains population groups that face significant obstacles to employment, and the Saint Louis University TWA program can play an important role in helping these populations find and secure jobs. The population groups include: Dislocated Workers, Single Parents, Incarcerated in Prison, Youth Programs, Immigrants and Refugees, Re-entry Program, Individuals with Disabilities and Veterans. These populations provide an opportunity for Saint Louis University to put its Mission statement to use in a practical manner, and many of the concepts/programs are transferable to other groups.
Program Contact: Katherine Cain
Phone: 314-977-4180
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Develop custom educational programming that meets the needs of these disadvantaged groups.
- Provide job placement services. Recognize that job placement will be a significant milestone.
- Support job maintenance as an important end goal as well.
- Grow networking opportunities to increase immersion in the workforce ecosystem. Form symbiotic relationships with key partners and determine how to best serve unmet needs.
- Develop and support outreach programming such as job fairs, corporate job internships, business ownership, organizations or "pledge companies" that commit to hiring and supporting hires and mentorship programs for supporting the individual and the hiring companies.


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Watch the official launch of new book Spirit of Britain, Purpose of Labour.
Join Stephen Kinnock MP, Joe Jervis, and influential figures from across the Labour movement, and hear them discuss their views on how they believe only a whole nation Labour Party can re-unite our deeply divided country. Speakers include:
- MPs Anna Turley, Emma Reynolds, and Justin Madders.
- Rt Hon John Denham, Trevor Phillips OBE, and Will Straw CBE.
- Sunder Katwala, Jill Rutter and John Mills.
- Chair: Will Hutton
This programme was streamed by Narrowcast Media Group filmed on location in Westminster.
About the book
Our country is more polarised than at any time since the Second World War – by age, education, place and wealth – but above all by values.
On one side of the Great Values Divide we have the Cosmopolitans – typically university educated, urban, highly mobile and confident in the modern, globalised world. On the other the Communitarians – often non-graduates who value familiarity, security and community, and have experienced the profound changes of the last 40 years as loss.
The EU referendum deepened these divides; the 2017 General Election entrenched them.
Communitarians need Labour more than ever, but they increasingly see a party of Cosmopolitan ideals – driven first by the laissez-faire globalism of the Liberal Centre, and now by the conspiracy theories of the Hard Left.
To re-connect with its Communitarian roots Labour must build a whole nation politics that marries radical economic reform and devolution with a commitment to fairness, community cohesion and progressive patriotism.
Featuring contributions from respected MPs and leading Labour thinkers, Spirit of Britain, Purpose of Labour shows how only a whole nation Labour Party can re-unite our deeply divided country, and sets out 'a plan for the common good' based around the four aspects of life that really matter to people; Work, Family, Community, and Country.
Published by Labour Future.


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Last year, Alan Masarek made news as he left Google to become Vonage's new CEO.
Golly Gee, has it already been fourteen years since we've had a Comptel here in Nashville? Hadn't we already learned our lesson before? And we even had it at this same place, the Opryland Hotel. The only difference is last time there was a huge amusement park connected next door. Since then, in the name of Nashville "Improvement", they took out all the rides, filled in the cement ponds and rivers, and asphalted the eighty acres to form a huge parking lot, bringing in a huge strip mall so Billy Bob can choose from an assortment of one hundred bass fishing boats (I kid you not) while the kids eat at twenty different fast food kiosks and moms can sit on over sixty wide body Barcalounger massage chairs to vibrate their cares away. What a nice break from the double-wide. Sure, I remember why we were here fourteen years ago; Bernie Ebbers wanted us all to come to Nashville and back then, what Bernie wanted, Bernie got. These days Bernie gets two boxed meals of baloney sandwiches a day plus one hot meal, all courtesy of the Federal Corrections Department, but we can return to that story another time. So, why did Comptel decide we had to come back to Opryland now? Does anyone believe in coincidences? Just six months ago we had our show at the Gaylord Hotel in Dallas. Now we are here at the Gaylord Hotel in Nashville. Want to make a wild guess as to how many more Gaylord Hotels we will be resting our heads at in the near future during upcoming Comptel shows? How does the next two of three shows sound? Does that mean Comptel attendees are getting some kind of discount or break? Of course not. Call me cynical, but why the changes in venue to second and third tier cities like Dallas and Nashville? Sure, Southwest Airlines appreciates the business, but ask the members where we prefer to have our meetings. Orlando, Vegas, San Diego, and even New Orleans, are consistently top-requested favorites. Naples, Florida ranks before Nashville and Dallas. Yet after a brief stopover fall 2008 at the sure fire winner of a convention hotel, the Marriott in Orlando, we will be heading right back to retread locations, at the Gaylord properties in Nashville and Dallas. And don't forget about the fifteen dollars per day of hidden fees they tack on as a "resort charge" that amounts to two bottles of Gaylord water. I did attend a few meetings, and of course, I strolled the rows of exhibitors, which I always find fascinating. In fact, attending the exhibit hall is by far the highlight of Comptel, especially when they have the bar open at nighttime, and the waiters are serving those tasty eggrolls. I usually locate myself strategically at an exhibit next to the service entrance to secure the maximum amount of free salty, fried munchies and tasty beverages that are sure to come by my way. A lot of business is transacted in the tradeshow booths, and aisle-ways as well. Occasionally, between mouthfuls of fried cheese and spinach phyllo dough, I look to buy some Cuba minutes at $.49. It's the Holy Grail of minutes buying. Everyone wants it. Everyone has heard of someone else who has it and that it works, but no one seems to know where it is. So I stuff another fried morsel in my mouth and tackle another row of telecom merchants. There are an abundant source of DID vendors. The field for nationwide DID used to be dominated by Level 3 and XO Communications, but now Paetec and Time Warner and a host of other players are fielding classy exhibit booths with plenty of staff to demonstrate their wares. Local services, VoIP, anything Mobile, are all offered in abundance here. Shockingly, the surprise of the show is that you can't buy plain wholesale LD anymore. Traditional 800 service offerings are getting scarce from many of the Tier One carriers. XO won't sell it to you. Sprint is like Mother Hubbard with almost nothing but bare shelves unless you count IP Bandwidth or MPLS Service (Multi Protocol Label Switching). Seriously, I was so baffled to hear that Sprint carrier reps could no longer sell 800 service or simple LD or even international terminations, which I once won a big screen from because I guess I bought a lot of service during a contest they had. I still have the TV; it works better than the Sprint service DID. They used to give away one year leases on Mercedes as well, for you old timers, but I guess no more. Just MPLS, which I had to Google to find out what it even meant, and IP Bandwidth, which they price two times more than Level 3 or AT&T, so I will have to stick with my incumbents for now. A shocker, the big guys don't want my LD business anymore! Well that's not entirely true. There's always AT&T. Even through all the mergers and evolutions of Southwestern Bell, what is now AT&T, they managed to hold on to a core group of really good people, this team of both buyers and sellers stem back from the early days of deregulation and companies acquired by AT&T such as ACC. So, AT&T is really in the business to both buy and sell to the carrier marketplace. Lastly, they still place emphasis on a little used term for international traffic: Quality. It's very frustrating to negotiate five good contracts at a show and suffer through all the turn-up process hassles only to find out that none of the five new contracts can actually handle any of the traffic they offered great rates for. AT&T seems to be the Big Exception. I believe we all continue to attend tradeshows and fill up our days with meetings in order to find other exceptions, like AT&T; Quality carriers with aggressive pricing. Be prepared to pay a deposit or prepay, though. With the product they currently offer and resulting backlog of orders, they have become very picky about new entrants to the party. Wish I could wax on about other big carriers, but Qwest and Global Crossing haven't made a splash in some time, with products or a party. They both have good teams of people and the capability though, so I have my hopes up. Level 3 doesn't know what they want to be when they grow up. Were they even at the tradeshow? Finally, applause to keynote speaker Arunas Chesonis, CEO of Paetec. Weird name for a company, but they are, by several acquisitions, a powerhouse, nationwide, fiber-based, 1.5 billion dollar a year, full service local and long distance carrier. Profitable, too. Maybe that's why their employees seem to be having so much fun? Someone once commented that the many telecom shows sprung across America was like working on a rock tour. With stopovers like Nashville though I must say it more resembles something like being a carnie or a roustabout for a traveling circus. Every Sunday our exhibits open up exactly as they were in the previous city, two weeks before, all too often giving out the same candy left over from Orlando or Dallas, or the same coffee cup or Frisbee with the company logo emblazoned boldly on the top left over from the last Las Vegas show. These handouts are destined to be stuffed in the show bag, straight to the bottom of the luggage next to the dirty socks, later to be gifted to the young ones at home when they ask what you shopped for them while you were out of town. How thoughtful of you. More trinkets, please! The Telecom world mourns the loss of Cherry Communications and their Swag, especially the cherry Speedos they handed out. Nashville Comptel highlights: Opryland Bar that rotates; as if five beers doesn't make you dizzy enough. The Downtown Scene actually had decent enough live music and a few good BBQ joints. Opryland Hotel and Meeting Center though goes from D- to D-. Some things, like Dolly Parton and Michael Jackson, time just can't improve. Nashville Comptel Lowlights: The badge mooches. A growing number of telecom professionals, and I use that term loosely, travel from across the USA, spending on airfare and hotels but electing to save on their budget expenditures by not buying a Comptel meeting or exhibit hall pass, thereby saving a whopping $500, thus depriving the non-profit organization of the event where all the business transactions get done. There are no free rides folks. It doesn't matter if you don't avail yourself to the seminars and symposiums. The proceeds from Credential sales are a vital source of funding for the show itself and the overall operations of Comptel. Everyone should consider this and only schedule meetings with people who are wearing Comptel badges. I will now step off my soap box. The record breaking attendance of 2000 plus, announced by the irrepressible Sherm Henderson, the "Papa Doc" Duvalier of Comptel, i.e. Board Chairman for Life, is more an indicator that our industry is as strong as ever rather than Nashville being a good locale for a trade show. I suppose Barstow, California could draw the same crowd as long as there were enough venues for people to meet and do deals. Still, it is to the credit of the over paid staff at Comptel, and the volunteers as well, that after the meltdown of telecom during 2000, and the tragedy the nation experienced with 9/11, Comptel has rebounded and rebuilt attendance levels to the boom years of the 1990's. Now, if we could only get Sprint and a few other Big Dogs to throw those parties again, Comptel would be a rip-roaring time to write about again. Luckily, we have a Channel Partners in Las Vegas feature in the next article. And what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas. A little about our columnist Big Dave: He is an active participant in the telecom world and considers himself a veteran having attended Comptel, ACTA, ALTS, TRA, and TEXALTEL meetings for over twenty years. Big Dave is his screen name, and he will be submitting an article once a month, with shorter commentaries added to the blog more frequently. Feel free to write in and add your opinion.


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Pastor Brian Houston delivers a message about honor. To live your life in honor will position you for blessing, and honor doesn't work one way - we honor God and we honor each other. Honor releases blessing in people's lives.
Pastor Brian & Bobbie Houston share on the topic "Healthy Homes" - sharing wisdom and experiences from their own marriage and family, and scriptures that have made a difference in their lives.
Pastor Brian and Bobbie Houston share stories and experiences from their own marriage and family to help us build healthy, Christ centred homes. Healthy homes need to be resilient homes.
Pastor Brian and Bobbie Houston are on stage together speaking into having a healthy family. What is the unique calling and purpose for your family? All family members are different, but can have a common calling and purpose.


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Here is another article from Mr. Gennady Retseptor whom I have met several months ago.
As I already stated in one my previous pages, Gennady has deep knowledge about quality management and he is the one introducing me some interesting possible applications of TRIZ. He examined TRIZ very well and issued several articles on the application of TRIZ in non-technical areas. Beacuse I do not want it to be lost somewhere in hyberspace, I re publish this article with his already granted permission. It is an interesting approach to enhance the customer satisfaction.
Principle 1. Segmentation
A. Divide an object or system into independent parts.
- Utilize customized marketing approach for complete market segmentation: cluster prospective buyers into groups that have common needs.
- Divide the market by regions and establish autonomous region sales centers.
- Split major sales between several business customers.
- Five steps of Six Sigma improvement approach: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC).
- Five steps of '5S' continuous improvement technique: Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain.
- Eight steps of 'Eight Disciplines (8D)' problem solving technique.
B. Make an object or system easy to disassemble.
- Institute fast response team for handling urgent customer issue.
C. Increase the degree of fragmentation or segmentation.
- Mass customization: each customer is a market.
- Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA).
- Fault Tree Analysis (FTA).
D. Transition to micro-level.
- Use mini-kits for product advertisement.
- Describe product function in advertisement on molecular level (e.g. drugs, cosmetics, food, etc).
Principle 2. Taking Out
A. Separate an interfering part or property from an object or system, or single out the only necessary part or property of an object or system.
- Develop customized approach to customer satisfaction in order to differentiate the organization from competitors.
- Transfer key customer – related activities (marketing, advertising, etc.) to the best in class subcontractors.
- Apply for external accredited body approval.
- Utilize cluster analysis: distill qualitative customer feedback into quantitative data.
- Use impersonal anonymous questionnaire and telephone interview to preserve confidentiality at survey.
- Separate discounted goods (e.g. special shelves).
Principle 3. Local Quality
A. Change an object or system structure from uniform to non-uniform, change an external environment (or external influence) from uniform to non-uniform.
- Select market segments on which organization will focus.
- Develop different strategy for each market segment.
- Hire different marketing professionals for each market segment.
- Use different (individual) marketing approach, advertising and promotions for each customer sector.
- Customize marking, packaging, labeling, etc.
- Apply the concept of 'Vital few and trivial many' (J.M. Juran) to customers prioritization.
- Provide benefits, bonuses, extra service for the most valuable customers.
- Weigh importance of customer needs in Quality Functional Deployment (QFD).
- Use Pareto diagram for customer feedback analysis.
- Identify non-random patterns at trend analysis of customer satisfaction survey.
- Emphasize product or service advantages in advertisement.
- Use focus groups for customer preferences study.
- Quantify customer preferences for product features at forced allocation survey.
- Address advertising by the use of customer perceived needs (image, prestige, etc.) for each customer stereotype.
B. Make each part of an object or system function in conditions most suitable for its operation.
C. Make each part of an object or system fulfill a different and useful function.
- Locate distribution centers near customers.
- Hire local people to acquire cultural knowledge of local customers.
- Use stratified sampling for heterogeneous customer population survey.
- Target sales for purchase occasion (routine use, present, season, weather, vacation, hobby, etc).
Principle 3 (inverted). Global Quality
- Mass marketing: market with no segmentation.
- 'Carpet bombing' advertisement.
- Census instead of sampling survey.
Principle 4. Asymmetry
A. Change the shape of an object or system from symmetrical to asymmetrical.
- Market of buyer vs market of seller.
- Rule No.1: 'Customer is always right'.
- Rile No.2: 'If customer is ever wrong, reread rule No.1' (Stew Leonard).
- A happy customer will tell only 5 people about his good experience. An unhappy customer will tell 10 or more people about his bad experience.
- Apply asymmetry for mismatching at mistake-proofing to prevent unintended use (Poka-Yoke).
B. If an object or system is asymmetrical, change its degree of asymmetry.
- Male and female product or service orientation.
- Left and right side handling products.
Principle 5. Merging
A. Bring closer together (or merge) identical or similar objects or systems; assemble identical or similar parts to perform parallel operations.
B. Make operations contiguous or parallel; bring them together in time.
- Combine product quality with service quality to enhance customer satisfaction.
- Strive for business synergism with customers: partnership, merger, alliance.
- Bring customers into design loop.
- Create network of sales intermediaries.
- Choose shop or service location at heavily popular mall center.
- Offer selling sets and discount packages (e.g. 1+1 for price of 1).
- Exchange discount coupons with neighborhood shops and services.
- Promise bounty for serial labels collection (e.g. film heroes, sport teams).
Principle 6. Universality
A. Make an object or system perform multiple functions; eliminate the need for other parts.
- Realize universality and integration as global marketing and business driving forces.
- Strive for greater diversity of products or services offering due to increased level of customer expectations.
- Design and market products with multiple functions.
- Combine non-traditional with traditional service (e.g. money exchange in post office).
- Establish marketing agency with integrated sales and advertising functions.
B. Use standardized features.
- International standards.
- Product or service catalogs.
- Standardized forms for key customer related information (e.g. user guide, warranty, complaint card, satisfaction feedback, etc).
Principle 7. Nesting
A. Place one object or system inside another; place each object or system, in turn, inside the other.
- Be aware of nested customer expectations hierarchy: 'Basic, expected, desired, unanticipated' (K. Albrecht).
- Search for product or service niches inside market segments.
- Establish plant or store shop.
- Include information about other similar or related products or services into advertisement.
B. Make one part pass through a cavity in the other.
- Expose traditionally inward facing employees (designers) to external events (customer visits).
- Provide unanticipated product or service extra features that bring about customer 'Wow' effect.
- Offer surprise benefits (e.g. extra service incorporation into flight package).
Principle 8. Anti-Weight
A. To compensate for the weight (downward tendency) of an object or system, merge it with other object or system that provides lift.
B. To compensate for the weight (downward tendency) of an object or system, make it interact with the environment (e.g. use global lift forces).
- Attach product or service marketing to business driving forces (globalization, universality, health care, environment protection, etc.).
- Utilize global (Olympiads, festivals) and local (bazaars, fairs) events for product or service marketing.
- Use sense of emergency during crisis or, alternatively, post-crisis enthusiasm for product or service promotion.
- Cooperate with brand name bodies.
- Benchmark on the best in class leaders.
- Advertise by media, movies, video, stories, concerts, sport games.
- Use endorsement by high-profile celebrities in advertising: 'Champion customer always buys our product or get our service'.
Principle 9. Preliminary Anti-Action
A. If it will be necessary to do an action with both harmful and useful effects, this action should be replaced with anti-actions to control harmful effects.
- Get intelligence on competitors' products or services to anticipate their future activities and elaborate counter-measures.
- Utilize proprietary rights protection means (e.g. patents, licenses, trademarks, copyrights, etc).
- Target robust design, apply design verification, validation and reviews.
- Conduct field reliability testing, build reliability data package.
- Introduce accelerated testing (burn-in, voltage stress, thermal shock, etc.) for screening out parts prone to failure at infant mortality period.
- Apply failure analysis and prevention techniques – FMEA, FTA.
- Run b-Site customer pilot to gather information on reliability of high risk new product or service prior to distribution to general market.
- Introduce containment action as a quarantine measure to prevent supply of product with substandard quality (D3 from 8D).
- Timely replace short living parts to avoid wear-out failures.
- Use mistake-proofing techniques (Poka-Yoke) in product or service design to prevent unintended use.
- Conduct customer perception surveys for anticipation of harm to organization's reputation.
- Early reveal potential customer defection (switch to competitor).
- Get ready for negation of negative customer stereotype.
B. Create beforehand stresses in an object or system that will oppose known undesirable working stresses later on.
- Stretch internal vs external specification requirements (safety margins).
- Start from tough offer, higher price during sales negotiations.
Principle 9 (inverted). Afterwards Anti-Action
- Conduct lost customers survey and analysis.
Principle 10. Preliminary Action
A. Perform, before it is needed, the required change of an object or system (either fully or partially).
- Preliminary market research, before the product or service is designed.
- Start advertising at the stage of product or service development.
- Sell semi-fabricated products.
- Preliminary send questionnaire before survey interview.
- Use introductory questions for customer priming at survey interview.
B. Pre-arrange an object or system such that they can come into action from the most convenient place and without losing time for their delivery.
- Arrange organization system for Just-In-Time (JIT) delivery.
- Prepare presentation before customer visit.
Principle 10 (inverted). Afterwards Action
- Offer post-paying.
- Provide after-sales service.
- Present bounty or keepsake (token for memory) after purchase or service.
- Provide rebate coupon for next purchase or service.
- Arrange lottery with partial price reimbursement.
Principle 11. Beforehand Cushioning
A. Prepare emergency means beforehand to compensate for the relatively low reliability of an object or system.
- Establish business interruption contingency planning.
- Apply back-up approach in design for critical reliability issues.
- Split sales between several customers to prevent drop in sales due to unexpected decrease in demand from one major customer.
- Introduce contingency clauses into contracts.
- Build buffer stock, maintain excess Work-In-Process (WIP) to guarantee on-time delivery.
- Provide customers with emergency telephone (fax, e-mail), troubleshooting guide, web technical support (help file, frequently asked questions).
- Institute recovery system for response to customer complaints and conflict resolution.
- Use back-ups for energy supply, communication channels, computer data, etc.
Principle 12. Equipotentiality
A. In a potential field, limit position changes (e.g. change operating conditions to eliminate the need to raise or lower objects in a gravity field).
- Take advantage of off-shore trading zones.
- Utilize marketing, sales and advertisement promotion conduits.
- Remove barriers in communication with customer (language, terminology, analogies, etc).
- Translate catalogs, technical literature, user guide, etc. to local language.
- Make easy for customers a transfer from free temporary use to permanent use (e.g. web program).
- Provide customers with free service telephone numbers.
Principle 12 (inverted). Potentiality Gap
- Build entrance barriers for competitors by enhancement of product or service advantages.
Principle 13. Inversion
A. Invert the action(s) used to solve the problem (e.g. instead of cooling an object, heat it).
- Apply 'Push' instead of 'Pull' marketing approach in order to direct customer needs and lead them to new products or services.
- Manufacture to customer order instead of manufacture to stock.
- Conduct survey and make analysis of lost customers instead of current customers.
B. Make movable parts (or the external environment) fixed, and fixed parts movable.
- Make designers 'To be the customers'.
- Make marketing people temporarily be purchasing agents and vice versa.
- Overcome reluctance of dissatisfied customers to complain. Pursue the full story from dissatisfied customers, get them really talk.
C. Turn an object, process, or system 'upside down'.
- Manage customer stock inventory for Just-In-Time delivery.
- Manage complaints handling system, which proactively encourages customers to complain.
- Get customers to determine price by themselves.
Principle 14. Spheroidality
A. Instead of using rectilinear parts, surfaces, or forms, use curvilinear ones; move from flat surfaces to spherical ones; from parts shaped as a cube (parallelepiped) to ball-shaped structures.
- Have rounded personalities to provide customer service.
- Smooth corners during negotiations.
- Use smoothing technique for conflict resolution – emphasize areas of agreement, de-emphasize areas of disagreement, seek a joint problem solving opportunity.
- Set rounded price figures.
B. Use rollers, balls, spirals, domes.
C. Go from linear to rotary motion, use centrifugal forces.
- Utilize rolling forecast of customer purchase or service orders.
- Use round-robin fashion of idea submission at nominal group technique for resolving customer issue.
Principle 15. Dynamics
A. Allow (or design) the characteristics of an object, process, system, or external environment to change to be optimal or to find an optimal operating condition.
- Adapt to highly competitive business environment with dynamic customer needs and steadily increasing expectations.
- Steady increase versatility of products or services.
- Match business to individual customer demands.
- Utilize flexible policy for price vs purchased quantity.
- Set adjustable season prices.
B. Divide an object or system into parts capable of movement relative to each other.
C. If an object, process, or system is rigid or inflexible, make it movable or adaptive.
- View customer satisfaction as never ending challenge.
- Consider customer perception and expectation of product or service quality as a moving target.
- Utilize electronic trade with mobile purchase or service delivery to client home.
Principle 15 (inverted). Static State
- 'Reduce variation' (W.E. Deming) to keep it within customer specified limits.
Principle 16. Partial or Excessive Action
A. If 100 percent of an objective is hard to achieve using a given solution method then, by using 'slightly less' or 'slightly more' of the same method, the problem may be considerably easier to solve.
- Under-promise and over-deliver to avoid customer dissatisfaction.
- Nurture customer needs using 'Saturation' advertising by all media techniques.
- Slightly embellish product or service features in advertisement.
- Compromise at conflict resolution.
- Quote more to allow price reduction during negotiations.
- Use 9, 99, 999, etc. price figures.
- Utilize discounts.
- Provide extra product quantity or extra service as a bounty.
Principle 16 (inverted). "All or Nothing" (W.E. Deming)
- Establish 'Six Sigma', 'Zero Defects' (P.B.Crosby) quality goals.
- Set zero price for overdue delivery (Pizza Hut).
Principle 17. Another Dimension
A. Move an object or system in two- or three-dimensional space.
- Utilize multiple sources of information at marketing research.
- Conduct multi-dimensional customer surveys with matrix tabulation of survey results.
- Use matrix diagrams for FMEA, FTA, 8D Summary, House of Quality (QFD).
B. Use a multi-story arrangement of objects or systems instead of a single-story arrangement.
- Understand customer needs hierarchy pyramid: 'Basic physical, safety and security, family and social, ego and esteem, self-awareness and self-actualization' (A. Maslow, D. McGregor).
- Establish multi-level marketing and sales network.
C. Tilt or re-orient an object or system, lay it on its side.
- Utilize advantage of flat organization structure – fewer layers between management and customers.
D. Use 'another side' of a given area.
- Internalize the values of customer focus by all organization employees.
- Make marketing people temporarily be purchasing agents and vice versa.
- Interview both won and lost customers.
- Print bounty coupon on another side of purchase check.
Principle 18. Mechanical Vibration
A. Cause an object or system to oscillate or vibrate.
- Periodically re-energize continuous improvement initiatives ('Enthusiasm injections').
- Initiate third party external assessment.
- Make a fuss over customers, which have experienced a problem with product or service, in order to re-enforce their positive feeling to a level greater than that where no problem had occurred.
B. Increase its frequency (even up to the ultrasonic).
- Frequently communicate with customer in multiple modes.
C. Use an object's or system's resonant frequency.
- Probe for exact customer payment limit during price negotiations.
D. Use piezoelectric vibrators instead of mechanical ones.
E. Use combined ultrasonic and electromagnetic field oscillations. (Use external elements to create oscillation/vibration).
- Bring new-blood/new challenge into a customer service team.
Principle 19. Periodic Action
A. Instead of continuous action, use periodic or pulsating actions.
- Periodically repeat advertisement for stable business image support.
B. If an action is already periodic, change the periodic magnitude or frequency.
- Institute monthly and weekly customer communication in addition to annual survey.
- Launch lot by lot manufacturing of small customized series.
C. Use pauses between impulses to perform a different action.
- Apply synchro -marketing for periodical or season customers demand.
- Fill pauses during negotiations.
- Use pauses and breaks in TV and radio programs for advertisement.
Principle 20. Continuity of Useful Action
- Carry on work continuously; make all parts of an object or system work at full load, all the time.
- Strive for continual survival at the marketplace.
- Create organization trademark and preserve brand image.
- Establish long-term business alliances with customers.
- Strive for customer retention.
- Nurture customer loyalty.
- Be aware that satisfaction of customer wants, needs and expectations is never ending challenge.
- Use customer stereotype.
- Create customer standards based on tradition.
- Provide 24 hours per day service.
B. Eliminate all idle or intermittent actions or work.
- Operate re-marketing and supporting marketing for steady customers demand.
- Employ multi-skilled personnel at bottleneck functions to avoid breaks or delays in customer service.
Principle 21. Skipping
A. Conduct a process, or certain stages (e.g. destructive, harmful or hazardous operations) at high speed.
- Get through money losing processes quickly (e.g. sell-offs).
- Promptly resolve conflict situation.
Principle 21 (inverted). Lagging
- Be aware of lagged consumer reaction to advertisement.
Principle 22. "Blessing in Disguise"
A. Use harmful factors (particularly, harmful effects of the environment or surroundings) to achieve a positive effect.
- Use customer dissatisfaction source as a valuable feedback and opportunity for improvement (e. g. complaint, claim, refund, recall, return, replacement, downgrade, warranty cost, litigation).
- Customers whose complaints are handled properly are more loyal than customers who never had a complaint.
- The most loyal customer is a dissatisfied customer who later has all of his needs met.
B. Eliminate the primary harmful action by adding it to another harmful action to resolve the problem.
- Eliminate fear of change by introducing fear of competition.
C. Amplify a harmful factor to such a degree that it is no longer harmful.
- Apply accelerated testing (burn-in, voltage stress, thermal shock, etc.) for screening out parts prone to failure at infant mortality period.
Principle 22 (inverted). "Cursing in Disguise"
- Be wary of rare customer complaints. This could indicate a lack of customer candor and unwillingness to share information.
- Avoid advertisement saturation (e.g. web 'spam').
Principle 23. Feedback
A. Introduce feedback (referring back, cross-checking) to improve a process or action.
- Listen 'Voice of the Customer' in multiple ways (survey, visit, report, focus group, interview, mail, satisfaction feedback form, etc).
- Institute customer complaints resolution and response system.
- Establish product returns and field failures analysis system.
- Enlist customers into design process.
- Utilize organization guarantees to get feedback data on how products or services fail to meet customer needs.
B. If feedback is already used, change its magnitude or influence.
- 'You must take the customer's skin temperature every day' (Konosuke Matsushita).
- Establish toll-free telephone numbers for consumer communication.
- Introduce feedback buttons and attendees counting on advertisement website.
- Utilize bar-codes system in supermarkets to gathers information for future marketing decision making.
Principle 23 (inverted). Feed-forward
- 'Predict and compare' (W.E.Deming).
- Hire experts for marketing research and forecasting.
- Anticipate customer future needs – the ideal basis for customer loyalty.
- Utilize Anticipatory Failure Determination (AFD) for product reliability prediction.
Principle 24. Intermediary
A. Use an intermediary carrier article or intermediary process.
- Region sales offices.
- Intermediate customers: wholesaler, distributor, retailer.
- Export/import, transportation and delivery agencies.
- Distribution systems (e.g. FedEx, UPS, DHL).
- External certification bodies (e.g. BSI, UL).
B. Merge one object or system temporarily with another (which can be easily removed).
- Hire the best professional consultant for marketing or advertising.
- Use neutral third party (arbitrator) during difficult negotiation.
- Introduce moderator to a focus group.
Principle 24 (inverted). Direct Contact
- On-line web marketing and sales.
- Survey without interviewer (mail, e-mail, website).
- Customer visit by CEO.
Principle 25. Self-Service
A. Make an object or system serve itself by performing auxiliary helpful functions.
- Conduct organization self-assessment.
- Institute self-benchmarking and self-competing.
- Get customers to advertise the organization's products or services.
B. Use waste (or lost) resources, energy, or substances.
- Re-hire retired customer service professionals.
- Get packaging containers back from the customers for multiple use.
- Re-cycle packaging materials.
Principle 26. Copying
A. Instead of an unavailable, expensive, fragile object or system, use simpler and inexpensive copies.
- Enter the market with generic product instead of brand product (e.g. drugs).
- Benchmark competitors' products or services.
B. Replace an object, process, or system with optical copies.
- Use electronic database instead of paper records.
- Conduct video-conferencing with customers instead of physical travel.
- Utilize numerical simulations and virtual modeling.
- Franchise organization's trademark, logo.
C. If optical copies are used, move to IR or UV (Use an appropriate out of the ordinary illumination and viewing situation).
- Consider customer satisfaction as an indicator of organization's business well-being.
- Evaluate customer satisfaction using multiple techniques.
- Get customers and the organization to benchmark each other.
- Respond to perceived customer needs.
Principle 26 (inverted). Original
- Sustain organization's trademark, logo, motto, color, etc.
Principle 27. Cheap Short-Living Objects
A. Replace an expensive object or system with a multiple of inexpensive objects or systems, compromising certain qualities (such as service life, for instance).
- Subcontract non-core business activities.
- Use cheap disposable packaging materials and containers.
- Hire temporary staff (e.g. students) for telemarketing, phone survey, etc.
- Utilize vouchers, coupons, tokens for sales or service promotion.
- Lease expensive goods.
- Sale cheap second-hand goods.
Principle 28. Mechanics Substitution
A. Replace a mechanical means with a sensory (optical, acoustic, taste or smell) means.
B. Use electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields to interact with the object or system.
C. Change from static to movable fields, from unstructured fields to those having structure.
- Electronic communication.
- Electronic trade.
- Electronic auction.
- Electronic tagging.
- Electronic cards for demographic data collection at market research.
- Telemarketing.
- Computerized interview.
- Website attendees counting.
- Use of multiple media techniques (photo, audio, video, TV, etc.) for customer presentation.
Principle 29. Pneumatics and Hydraulics
A. Use gas and liquid parts of an object instead of solid parts (e.g. inflatable, filled with liquids, air cushion, hydrostatic, hydro-reactive).
- Introduce 'breathing spaces' into contracts.
- Expand sampling during survey.
Principle 30. Flexible Shells and Thin Films
A. Use flexible shells and thin films instead of three-dimensional structures.
- Regard a customer service employee as a flexible shell of the organization.
- Be cautious of 'Pacing on thin ice' during difficult negotiations.
B. Isolate the object or system from the external environment using flexible shells and thin films.
- Use trade secret methods to shield organization's proprietary 'Know-hows' from general knowledge.
Principle 31. Porous Materials
A. Make an object or system porous or add porous elements (inserts, coatings, etc.).
- View a customer-facing layer as a porous membrane, which filters information flow both into and out of the organization.
B. If an object or system is already porous, use the pores to introduce a useful substance or function.
- Empower customer-facing layer employees.
Principle 32. Color Changes
A. Change the color of an object, system, or external environment.
- Create a strong brand image through use of 'Corporate colors'.
- Utilize different colors in mistake-proofing (Poka-Yoke) to prevent unintended use.
B. Change the transparency of an object, system, or external environment.
- Get customer to make stock inventory transparent for Just-In-Time delivery.
- Make packaging transparent to enable product self-advertising.
- Introduce smoke-screen misinformation to disguise confidential (e.g. R&D) activities.
- Switch position from transparent (encouraging trust) to opaque (keeping secrets) and vise versa during negotiations.
Principle 33. Homogeneity
A. Make objects interact with a given object of the same material (or material with identical properties).
- Hire local people to acquire cultural knowledge of local customers.
- Use the same brand name for homogeneous product group.
- Divide customers to homogeneous sectors (clusters).
- Include customers (consumers) from the sector being surveyed into focus groups for survey.
Principle 34. Discarding and Recovering
A. Make portions of an object or system that have fulfilled their functions go away (discard by dissolving, evaporating, etc.) or modify them directly during operation.
- Subcontract marketing, sales, or advertisement agencies.
B. Conversely, restore consumable parts of an object or system directly in operation.
- Warranty – commitment of manufacturer to repair or replace any part that fails during the life of product.
Principle 35. Parameter Changes
A. Change an object's or system's physical state (e.g. to a gas, liquid, or solid).
- Establish virtual shopping.
- Institute on-line web catalogs.
B. Change the concentration or consistency.
C. Change the degree of flexibility.
- Use special offers for sales or service promotions.
D. Change the temperature.
- Initiate new challenges for the customer service team.
E. Change other parameters.
- Switch marketing of product or service to non-traditional customers.
- Change traditional names (e.g. the quality department in Samsung is called 'Customer Satisfaction Team').
- Sell non-material attributes (e.g. satisfaction of cultural needs, image, self-esteem, etc.).
Principle 36. Phase Transitions
A. Use phenomena occurring during phase transitions.
- S-curve for marketing and sales evolution – different product or service life stages: 'Problematic child', 'Star', 'Milky cow', 'Outsider'.
Principle 37. Thermal Expansion
A. Use thermal expansion (or contraction) of materials.
B. If thermal expansion is being used, use multiple materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion.
- Expand or contract marketing efforts depending on the product or service 'hotness' – rate of sales and profitability.
- Include 'hard' person and 'soft' person into a customer negotiation team.
Principle 38. Boosted Interactions
A. Replace common air with oxygen-enriched air (enriched atmosphere), B. Replace enriched air with pure oxygen (highly enriched atmosphere), C. Expose air or oxygen to ionizing radiation, D. Use ionized oxygen, E. Replace ozonized (or ionized) oxygen with ozone (atmosphere enriched by 'unstable' elements).
- Introduce obsession with customer-perceived quality and desire to delight customers into the organization.
- Hire highly creative individuals who understand 'The voice of the customer'.
- Get customers excited about a product or service by giving them ownership of the change.
- Achieve 'Wow!' effect by exceeding customers' expectations and providing them with advantage over their competitors.
- Overcome reluctance of dissatisfied customers to complain.
Principle 39. Inert Atmosphere
A. Replace a normal environment with an inert one.
- Arrange anonymous survey or interview.
- Use neutral, indifferent tonality of questions at survey and interview.
- Be aware of customer service employee indifference as one of the major reasons for customer detection.
B. Add neutral parts, or inert additives to an object or system.
- Use neutral third party during difficult negotiations.
Principle 40. Composite Structures
A. Change from uniform to composite (multiple) structures.
- Combine high risk with low risk marketing strategy.
- Establish multi-disciplinary customer service teams, including different employee personality types.
- Employ multi-skilled ('Renaissance') people at customer interface positions.
Gennady Retseptor is the Quality Manager of AVX Israel Ltd, the Thin Film Operation Plant of AVX Corporation, Kyocera Group Company. He has master's degree with honors in Microelectronics from the Moscow Steel andAlloysUniversity and is an ASQ Certified Quality Manager since 1999.


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I hear so many people say they are going to TRY to get into shape. They are going to TRY to make healthier food choices. They are going to TRY to get out and do some cardio.
A good friend of mine has been TRYing to get in shape now for FOUR YEARS. He'll TRY to get into the gym and it will work for a few days. He'll TRY to eat well and it will work for a few weeks. He will TRY to do cardio and it doesn't really work well at all.
So, you may be thinking "give him a break, Mary. At least he's trying!"
There is a big difference between TRYing and DOING.
So if you have been TRYing to get into shape, you might as well quit.
Quit trying and start DOING.
I know this is rather simplified. But first start with your words. Once you quit saying TRY, your mind will quit giving itself a way out. Six years ago our trainer Donovan gave us a list of four words we are never again allowed to utter in his gym.
TRY is at the top of his list.
So what about you? Have you been TRYing to work out, eat right, get in shape?
If so, please accept this challenge. For the next 7 days, ELIMINATE THE WORD TRY from your vocabulary. Each time you hear yourself say it, back up and restate what you are GOING to do.
After one week, I'll bet your urge to try has sustained and the DOING is well underway.
And if it works for you, let me know . . .