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July 2016
About Us
Select Your Advisor
Select Your Associate
Contact Us
The Silver Fox Advisor
Advising, Consulting And Mentoring Greater Houston Area Business Since 1986
From the Editor...
Richard Hendee
On July 28, 1986, a group of seventeen Houston leaders came together to form the
Silver Fox Advisors
. The group's purpose was to be known as "a single source of diversified advisory services for the business community."
Today, July 28
2016, thirty years later, the
Silver Fox Advisors
is a group of more than fifty diverse business segment and industry corporate CEO's, senior consultants, business leaders, visionaries, entrepreneurs, and business advisors who "advise, consult, and mentor business owners, CEO Roundtables, and entrepreneurship programs."
Most businesses today simply can't afford to have the experience, expertise and talent on staff to address all the issues that are thrown at or, required of them, or the challenges that simply come at them on a day-to-day basis. Thus, having an organization like the
Silver Fox Advisors
available to the greater Houston area business community is a resource of great value.
Read more
Five Stages Of Grief Over A Bad Hire
By John Sweney, a Silver Fox Advisor
Your company values its culture and mission, so hiring someone who's not the right fit can be gut-wrenching. Several business books, including "Good to Great" by Jim Collins, talk about the value of hiring the right people to jump on your proverbial bus and making sure they are in the right seat. So it's not surprising that there's an emotional drain - much akin to grief - when a capable new hire turns out to be not a good cultural fit for the department or company.
Brookwoods Group, a leading recruiter and staffing company for marketing and communications professionals in Houston, Texas, has identified the five stages of grief that managers may experience when the wrong person has been hired.
Stage One: Denial
Every new hire has a honeymoon stage. Your new guy onboards, bringing an impressive track record and credentials that make his arrival seem like the arrival of the marketing messiah. For two and a half months, you're a genius. How did you find such an amazing employee, you rascal? Then something happens. It may be a little thing like he picks a fight with a colleague or ignores direction. You refer back to his résumé and credentials. Perhaps he just needs the issue brought to his attention and everything will be better. You talk with him. He is contrite and promises "never again."
Read more
A New Member's Perspective
By David Regenbaum, Chairman, Outreach Committee
Silver Fox
Advisors activities and achievements are exceptionally impressive. As a relatively new member of Silver Fox
Advisors it would be presumptuous of me to try to encapsulate all of the activities and achievements of the organization and its individual member Advisors in this newsletter article. I will restrict my comments to current activities and achievements in which I have participated or of which I am familiar.
Butch Madrazo's leadership skill was clearly demonstrated when he organized the team of Silver Fox
Advisors to judge the Better Business Bureau's 24
Awards of Excellence. Silver Fox
Advisors was recognized at the Better Business Bureau's Awards luncheon which was attended by over 1,000 guests. This mutually beneficial relationship with the Better Business Bureau extends over several years.
Silver Fox
Advisors has become a recognized source of judges for business competition awards. Howard London and several Silver Fox
Advisors assist in the judging of the Rice Business Competition. Silver Fox
Advisors provide winners of the competition with free counseling services and receives recognition in the competition's publications. In addition, Rollie McGinnis and Rick Schissler serve as judges of the HCC/Newspring Business Competition. Being judges at business competitions demonstrates the respect that Silver Fox
Advisors has earned in the business community and uniquely differentiates the Silver Fox
Advisor's brand.
Read more
Silver Fox Advisors
Silver Fox Advisors are current and former business owners, entrepreneurs and executives dedicated to assisting business owners to improve their enterprises through mentoring and consulting. Advisors have been sharing their knowledge, experience and skills since 1986. To work with a Sliver Fox Advisor, please visit our website at
and select your advisor.
Upcoming Events
Lunch & Learn
July 28, 2016
Silver Fox Advisors
30th Anniversary Celebration
11:00 am - 1:15 pm
The Houston Racquet Club
1079 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77024
This Month's Featured Book
by a Silver Fox Advisor
Click here for more information...
Click here to see more books written by
Sliver Fox Advisors
Silver Fox Advisors 713-467-5900


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I just wanted to let everyone know, that as of today, I am submitting my candidacy for President of the United States in 2004!!
I know that no one is very happy about the candidates running for office this year... or if you are happy about one of them, it's not one of the guys who's very likely to win, so it's still a lose-lose situation for you... well, i'm here to tell you, that i can, and WILL win, but only with your help.
So when you go to vote, please remember my name, and write me in!
A write-in vote for Dan Harris is a write-in vote for freedom, equality, and a substantial pay increase for me! Write-in.
Also, to go along with my candidacy, is the following smear campaign, which consists of pictures sent to me by an anonymous source, of the 4 men who are very likely to take over the whitehouse in '04....
can you tell me seriously after looking at these pictures of what these guys are up to when they're off-duty, that they are who you want to see making the decisions that effect you every day?
Harris/A Friend '04

subset: commoncrawl


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As much as I love shopping for handbags, it's also fun scoping out stylish ipad and tablet accessories. Just about everyone owns a laptop or tablet, so it's my job to show you how to tote your tech accessories in style. My latest pick is the MICHAEL Michael Kors 'Mirror Metallic' iPad Case. I love the combination of a mirror finish on hand-crafted leather, signature "MK" monogram embossing and a heritage logo plate. There's a high fashion element mixed in. It also has a two-way zip-around closure. The iPad case is available in black, cocoa and nickel. Price: $128.00 at Nordstrom.com.
MICHAEL Michael Kors 'Mirror Metallic' iPad Case
March 3, 2012 by Staci Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Tech Accessories Tagged With: iPad accessories, MICHAEL Michael Kors, MICHAEL Michael Kors Mirror Metallic iPad Case, tech accessories


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About Us › The General Saw Guarantee
Purchase any General Saw carbide-tipped saw blade or dado set (up to 20") and use it for up to 30 days. If for some reason you are not completely satisfied, return it for inspection. If found defective we will replace it at no cost to you or give you a full refund (See Terms and Conditions of Sales for details).
Having a problem? Let General Saw help you get the best cut from your machine. Just explain the problem, tell us what you are trying to cut, and the type of blade and machine you are cutting the material with. We will help you pinpoint the problem and recommend an appropriate fix, so you can be back up and running.
Need a quick answer? Check out out FAQ section.
Looking for more?


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Take a look around to find out more about why we're one of Australia's top builders
Once you've signed the Building Agreement, you can trust that there won't be an unending series of additional charges, add-ons or hidden costs.
The price remains the same from when you first sign your agreement all the way through until we hand over the key
We provide you with a unique and easy way to track the progress of your home as it is being built.
iHub gives you 24/7 direct online access to your home's plans, approvals, photos, and milestones.
It's our way of ensuring you are involved and communicated with every step of the way.
Integra's proprietary iHub keeps you informed and up to date with all the details of your build without ever having to actually be there.
And, it gives you the opportunity to share this progress with family, friends and anyone else you wish to have involved.
You'll experience superior customer
service that is all about you!
We are focused on creating client satisfaction with every build, because we know that our work is all about you.
We do what we say we're going to do.
We take pride in our product and in our process and we remain accountable, meeting our responsibilities to you.
What this means for you is a hassle-free experience, where you feel supported along the way, where your needs are heard and your expectations are met.
We design and source the best quality materials, utilising our buying power to achieve economies of scale wherever possible.
Affordable doesn't mean that you should have to sacrifice quality, choice or service.
We are conscious of finding the right balance between quality and affordability, while still creating contemporary homes that meet the needsof today's demanding buyers
Full Turn Key Packages
All designs from the Pathfinder series offer buyers a selection of practical contemporary designs to explore.
All of these are offered as full turnkey packages that include everything you need – just move in and enjoy.
All Integra Homes are built and equipped to a minimum of a 6 Star energy rating, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to sustainable building and energy efficiency.
You will not only benefit from lower energy costs but the peace of mind knowing that your home is built to the most contemporary standards.


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Mella is a professional session singer, songwriter and producer with an expertise in top line writing. She is the co-founder of Telly Award Winning company Brain Stamp Music. With over ten years of experience, she has completed songs for musicians around the globe. Her book, Way Less Cowbell, is an expert guide to studio communication and is currently available on her website. Her studio album was self - written, produced and performed and is available on iTunes and all media outlets.
"Mella is a singer/songwriter whose pop music reflects a complicated life and a myriad of feelings. That's one reason I identify so strongly with her songs: We often don't know what life will throw at us or how we'll react to it. Mella's songs are beautifully crafted, from her fluid lyrics to the mix of keyboard, acoustic guitars and solid beats that back them up. Her vocals are lovely, reminiscent of Sara Bareilles at times and of Feist at others. Mella also has the enviable ability to write metaphorical lyrics that roll off the tongue. Her most joyful tune, "Tangerine," is a love song that showcases this lyricism. Her other tunes show a more ambivalent side: "Outer Space" describes the excitement and uncertainty of taking a leap of faith and leaving one's past behind, and "It's Complicated" is, well, complicated. One of my favorite songs, "Brother," may be autobiographical in its depiction of triumphing against the worst odds. Its catchy, rolling beat remind me of Carole King and more recent Ingrid Michaelson tunes. "Find Me" is another favorite; a beautiful tribute of a love song. If there's one video to watch today, It's Mella's live recording of "It's Complicated," which I've linked to below. Only accompanied by an acoustic guitar, Mella's perfect vocal is candid and rare.
- TIW Music 2013
OK, i'm excited!! I just bartered for the rights to use a song called "Tangerine" by awesome indie artist Mella, http://www.reverbnation.com/mellamusic, for possibly a session of Mixing Lessons/Audio Sessions. OK, so envision all of those cool quirky pop songs they use for Apple commercials. this is that. Only this has a super cool factor attached because its also all live instruments. all live quirky unique instruments, plus a quirky singer and a really fun song. Its going to be an excellent session of mixing lessons and as importantly, its going to be a great experience for you folks at home to be able to do your own mix of this song. I guarantee you that you haven't come across some of these instruments in a mix session.
- Ken Lewis, Engineer for Jay-Z, Kanye West, et. al. AudioSchoolOnline.com
A voice with a mix of Natalie Merchant and Colbie Caillat with a touch of soul. Deep, powerful songwriting reminiscent of Joni Mitchell. These comparisons are just a few of Mella's influences. "It's hard to describe what you sound like when your influences are so varied!" she says, "I try to create a new sound and use true life stories when I write my songs." Starting from childhood, Mella was quick to move into the songwriting scene in her hometown, Detroit. "As soon as I could drive, I went to every studio I could find," she said, "I just wanted a chance. Eventually they gave me a shot and I started writing hooks for rap songs." The rest, as they say, is history. She began playing at local Detroit venues and touring the local area, opening for bigger artists and headlining packed shows. For Mella, music is all about the connection with the listener. "When I was younger, music helped me get through some really tough times," she said, "it saved me. And if I have the chance to help someone through my music, I can think of no greater way to give back. That would mean everything to me."
- BlogTalk Radio 2014
Sub-specialties: Top Lining, Melody Creation, Lyrical Content, Women in Audio, Vocal Production, Music Industry News
Expert DirectLink
How to Suck Less at Singing (even if you're really terrible)
Musician On A Mission [October 17, 2018]
26 Industry Experts Reveal the Best Soundproofing Materials & Techniques
A Quiet Refuge [September 27, 2018]
How to Get New Readers for Your Blog (and Keep Them Coming Back)
AMA Feed [July 1, 2018]
How to Take Song Requests at Your Wedding (Without Losing Your Mind)
Rock N' Roll Bride Magazine [March 15, 2018]
How Writers Can Become Songwriters
Funds for Writers [January 12, 2018]
8 Tips to Get a Great Vocal Performance
Black Ghost Audio [November 5, 2017]
Is Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" Actually Good?
Nylon [September 14, 2017]
17 Most Romantic Love Songs Of ALL TIME (Chosen By Iconic Musicians)
YourTango [August 17, 2017]
16 Entrepreneurs Reveal The Social Media Sites They Use Most For Their Businesses
CEO Blog Nation [August 2, 2017]
Mella Barnes – Co-Founder of Brain Stamp Music
Idea Mensch [June 7, 2017]
Way Less Cowbell: How to communicate your musical ideas
[May 2016]
Robots are Making Beautiful Music - Without Us
Lifezette [April 11, 2016]
Interview with Singer/Songwriter Mella
Searching for Happiness Blog [May 5, 2016]
Songwriting Magazine
Best Cities for Music Fans in 2016
[June 2, 2016]
How to Become a Singer
Job Hero
Eydis Magazine
Interview: Todd Alsup
Songwriting Magazine [November 21, 2016]
How to Write a Holiday Song That Isn't Terrible
Now Hear This [November 14, 2016]


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Sometimes we may forget the root password. Then we need to login by breaking password. If we do not know how to break it, then we need to reinstall the OS and loose many important data. I want to share one way of breaking password at debian.
While booting you will be prompted some options like debian kernel XXX options. If you does not press any key the OS get boot on its by default type. To break the password you must stop the booting by pressing a key.
1. Then press e to edit
2. then type
boot: Linux init=/bin/sh
and press enter.
3. This will boot OS on run level 1, which wont want any password. Here you will need to mount the following things.
init-2.03# mount -n -o remount,rw /
init-2.03# mount -avt nonfs,noproc,nosmbfs
4. Now you can go to /etc and remove the password. To do so you have to remove root password from /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow. So…..
init-2.03# cd /etc
init-2.03# vi passwd
init-2.03# vi shadow
That's all. Now restart your OS and you will find that there is no root password. After logging as root just set a new root password.
Hope to hear from you about better procedure of breaking password.
There is another way to break password using knoppix. As far as I know knoppix is also a boot loader s/w that helps us to break root password of linux. But I did not ever break password using knoppix.


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In a follow up comment on his WebFinger post Joe Gregorio gives some perspective on AtomPub and XML:
Look, AtomPub has this problem, and if I had to do it all over again I would build AtomPub in JSON. An implementer wants to go from bits on the wire to a native data structure they can interact with in their programming language. I used to think that was laziness, or lack of knowledge, but it's purely pragmatic. By using XML you have introduced a layer of indirection, you've taken a data structure and converted it into a tree based document which then has to be converted back into a native data structure, but now that has to be done on a per language basis.
I'm in the lazy/pragmatic camp 🙂
I really don't want documents to describe data, I just want a nice way to serialize the data and right now my favored way of doing that is JSON.


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Yes, progress is slow but sure.
I don't get as much tatting done as I used to. I wonder if that is because I have an active toddler running around like a little tornado...hmmm I wonder.
Home of LadyShuttleMaker.Etsy.Com. A blog about my Ceramic Tatting Shuttles, all my tatting endeavors, adventures, creations, patterns and maybe more.
Could very well be!
I expect it is, perhaps one day she will tat
One of the best reasons and totally acceptable. I'll wait. Karen in OR
That's a good bet.
have fun
I'm liking this a lot and willing to wait! Tornados pass far quickly - trust me!
Fox ; ))


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McNeil government should release the CB rail studies
August 4, 2015
NDP Transportation critic Sterling Belliveau is calling on Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Geoff MacLellan to respect his own extended deadline and release the three studies commissioned by the Ministers' Rail Advisory Committee (MRAC) on the future of the Cape Breton Rail Line.
"The Minister told the Chronicle Herald that the studies were delayed and would be ready in July instead of March. Well, it's August. We know the studies are done. Let's not keep them a secret," said Belliveau.
Last week the Department confirmed in a meeting in Port Hawkesbury that the studies have been completed. The three studies looked at upcoming economic opportunities in Cape Breton in relation to the rail line, investment required to upgrade the Sydney Subdivision, and an assessment of the cost of trucking versus rail.
"Cape Bretoners should know if financial assistance will be provided, if there will be a rail line there for a revitalized Sydney to take advantage of, and if the government will allow this vital transportation link to disappear," Belliveau added.
The Minister's Rail Advisory Committee was also to advise the McNeil government on the development of regulations to manage abandonment applications and decision-making about the future of the Cape Breton rail line. These regulations are also past due.


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I'm part of a league you guys. It'll be a pack battle league where myself and five other teams will go head to head for about 5 weeks. It'll be exciting and it'll all start on the 8th of July so keep it locked!
In the mean time, to see how it'll work, we all did a preseason type 5-way battle.
Check it out:
And I'm sure you'll recognize some of those names… but here are some links to some all of my opponents:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8tG…
IG: https://www.instagram.com/burgersaur/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0ojCa1z5adaBUq_wAEdWPg
IG: https://www.instagram.com/bylveon/
IG: https://www.instagram.com/pikachus_tr…
Rocket Squad Pokemon
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCADu…
IG: https://www.instagram.com/rocket_squa…
The Hex Maniacs
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6k…
IG: https://www.instagram.com/umbre0ns/


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Thommer is Diesel's skinny/slim fit jeans with zip fly and classic five pocket design. These dark blue jeans have a distressed finish that includes ripped patch detail to the right thigh as well as puckered detail around the pockets and thigh whiskering. The men's jeans have copper hardware including rivets to the front pockets and a small rectangular badge to the rear.
Please contact us for our Delivery & Returns Policy


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Dantal is leading manufacturer of Aircraft Hydraulic Service Trolleys, Car Parking Solutions, Hydraulic Systems and Hydraulic Cylinders. It has manufacturing unit for Hydraulic Cylinders at IMT Manesar and another unit for manufacturing of Hydraulic Systems and Aircraft Hydraulic Service Trolleys at Bangalore. It always remains conscious towards maintenance of high quality in overall business operation. For this purpose, it has employed an expert team comprising of quality analysts.
Being a leading hydraulic cylinder manufacturer, it equips itself with all the necessary resources to meet the requirements of the customers. Modus operandi of manufacturing is handled by competent technicians and engineers in the industry. Each and every component manufactured at company is unique in itself. Being designed to perfection and customized with precision, the company makes sure that the components are manufactured under stringent quality checks. Read more


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Raising a Puppy: Mia the Blue-Nose American Bully Pit—30 weeks old
A day in the life with Mia the American Bully (Bully Pit) puppy. 30 weeks old, 57 pounds, 18 1/2 inches from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders (the withers).
A day in the life with Mia the American Bully (Bully Pit) puppy. 30 weeks old, 57 pounds, 18 1/2 inches from the ground to the highest point of the shoulders (the withers).
30 weeks old (7 months)
After 12 days of bleeding Mia seemed to have stopped, so I had not put her pants on. The next morning I discovered I was wrong when I spotted drips of blood all over the floor and saw her leaking again.
Time to put the pants back on.
It's almost summer and Mia is getting a taste of hot weather. I tossed some ice out the door and Mia and Kung Fu Kitty share it as Mini the cat watches from the glider. Mini is not into eating an ice cube, she prefers real food.
Mia loves playing in her pool. She puts her face into the water and blows bubbles as she swishes her head around.
After swimming in the pool Mia finds a bone in the yard and lies down next to Spencer to chew it. Her habit of trying to steal all of the other dog's bones and toys is no longer a top priority in her mind, which allows her to relax.
When I feed the dogs, once in a while, Mia will sit down and look at me as if she is waiting for something better to eat. Once or twice a week if we have left over meat (chicken or grass fed beef) I will feed the dogs the meat in place of the can food on top of their kibble. Bruno and Spencer always happily eat whatever is placed in front of them at mealtime, which is always a high quality, grain free meal.
After Mia realizes she is not getting anything else she will begin to eat. It crossed my mind that maybe she is waiting for Bruno and Spencer to finish before she begins, as it is about the same time the older two dogs finish that she will begin to eat, but that is also about the same time I will pick up the bowls if she is still sitting there whether she has eaten or not. I never pick up a bowl on a dog who is eating. If I pick up her uneaten food at breakfast, she always eagerly eats her dinner. If I add some shaker Parmesan cheese or peanut butter on top of her food she will start to eat right away. She also does not wait on left over meat days, therefore I am assuming she is just waiting to see if she can get something better placed in her dish.
Mia sleeping up-side-down in her crate. She opened her eyes right before I took the picture.
Peanut butter licking dogs
Mia loves to travel around with the pack.
Mia with Spencer the Pit Bull and Bruno the Boxer
Caving in to the puppy eyes...


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On this week´s Free to Play Cast music fills the air but we aren't sure why at first… Layoffs, new games, and bombs are sure to follow but could the music herald someone's return? Listen to find out!
Free-To-Play Cast is the official podcast (and videocast) of MMOBomb.com about free to play multiplayer online games. Free-To-Play Cast takes on the week's biggest news with plenty of opinion, weekly bombs, community feedback, guests, interviews, laughs thrown in for good measure and much more. Have fun and expect a new episode next week! (every Wed or Thu)
Don´t forget to subscribe to Free to Play Cast via Youtube.
iTunes (MP3 Audio Version): [Subscribe Free NOW!]
RSS (MP3 Audio Version): [Click Here]
31 Readers CommentedJoin discussion
Question of the week : what bugs me the most about the f2p world?
I got a few actually, 1) the community, not all f2p games have great communities in them, just like you guys have mentioned in League Of Legends they have a pretty crappy community, however i can just mute the rude people, but still hope they fix that, so that i don't run into them again.
2) the ridiculous game patches, as mentioned by Reavermyst in the comment above, i totally agree with him, absolutely game breaking, i mean it would have been nice if the dev teams listened to our opinions for once and make a difference that way.
3) THE BUGS! so many of them and not many f2p game companies actually listen to the beta testers on this one, like what is the point of letting people into your closed beta just to ignore them? (thinking of raiderz by the way).
Oh and those are my a-bombs for the week by the way, my da-bomb will be given to you guys of course, great show as always, enjoyed it, this show makes being a member here worth it, love all the mmobombers out there and stay safe you all 😀
About the Guild Wars 2 thing, i say both false and true. GW2 did some good things but DAOC did the 3 faction war stuff so it`s not like they did anything big but do good stuff that has already been done.
Hey guys as always great job on the show, and it's good to see sej back! I have a Da-bomb and an A-bomb for SD Gundam Capsule Fighter. First the Da-bomb:I loved gundam when I was young and this game teases the nostalgia center for my brain, and has me addicted! Here's what the A-bomb is for. I checked it out and tried it because of the S-Rank giveaway. But the S-rank unit they give away is given to you in the very first half hour of play anyway, if you can get through the quests/missions fairly quickly. IF anything, it is a major popularity grab, which is well needed, the population needs some help but they could have gone about it in a different, more rewarding way for new players. All in all it doesn't change that it's an extremely fun little third person shooter that I have since spent days on, and I recommend it for anyone looking to kill some hours.
I got give A bomb to Getamped 2 for the last update it was very useless for balancing the blocks.
Hey guys great show, i guess im slowly getting into leaving comments here.
This week i got a Da-Bomb for Gameglobe, Simple, Fun game with really no download, but yet a simple way to kill some time, and explore the Game Creator in you. Plus people really do make some interesting levels in Gameglobe, i was amazed.
I wanna give an A Bomb to MMOBomb for never responded to any of my comments on F2P weekly! LOL i even commented on Planetside 1 going F2P lol Im kidding love the show i listen every week and look at mostly all of the videos and content. Keep up the good work guys I appreciate it!
I can't really say much seeing as my first comment was replied to, but keep at it bud. It is a great show and there are lots of comments. Good guys here at MMOBomb. Personally, I would love to become part of this site and start getting my voice out there about this crazy gaming world we visit each day. 😀
first i would like to say im tired of game companies pumping out CRAP..make some good original games and you might hold an audience…daoc still has a live crowd and even has player created servers. eq2 was a great game before they added mercs and turned it pay to win and killed the chance of free players ever forming a party with payed players…but i do agree that buy to play is the best format for everyone..i paid my 10 bucks for eq2 and i plan to buy swtor very soon. having a cash shop is fine too and i do think players should get an advantage for spending money. if i was paying id want it and its makes people want to upgrade once they get pwned or see someones awesome weapons..BUT there needs to be a way that broke players can earn some cash (without doing surveys or buying crap from another company) such as running "epic" quests.. referring people, logging in consecutive days.. and while im ranting im just going to point out again that noooo onee has made a pokemon style mmorpg(aside from outernauts…browser~) yet thats worth playing..there have been a few close but no cigar… hopefully dragon prophet will feed my need a bit…but i have a feeling i will have to design the game myself and give it to soe or ea for free(or maybe free lifetime member ships to all existing and future games ;0))
I've just started playing Aion and I always forget to turn on the easy level channel!! lol
Bigpoint is starting to sound like apple, blaming their failures on others. When it comes to gaming (not when it comes to apple) people are smart pay to win games won't do that well. If they took on a better free2play model then they'd probably make more money. I don't play Bigpoint games because they're pay to win.
Dragons Profits, I'm not sure. I'll try it but because its Sony I think its more than likely going to be crap. Sony has screwed up more games than any other company I can think of.
I agree that the best game of 2012 will be between Firefall and Path to Exile. Path to Exile isn't browser based BTW. I downloaded the beta and it was a big download unless they're making a browser version of it? RaiderZ could be on the list too. Also there are other games that haven't come out yet.
I give a DaBomb to Elder Scrolls Online. I think this could be the MMO to beat. I'm not sure if its going to be F2P, B2P or P2P but if its anything like the Elder Scrolls single player games it could be a major hit and a good evolution to MMO gaming.
Sadly I have to disagree with this Da-bomb. Elder Scrolls Online strays from the very core reason people loved the Elder Scrolls franchise, freedom of creative choice. In this game your races are locked to specific factions that takes the depth and lore from the rpevious games and throws it all out the window! If I wanted to be a Khajitt, I'd have to be part of the Aldmeri Dominion! I hated them in Skyrim and they didn't care much for me either, why now? Not to mention the only race not included in all three of these confusing factions are the imperials because they're all of a sudden the bad guys. Seriously, what happened to determining your own morality? And before you drop the "Times change" argument, look back at previous Elder Scrolls games. The time gap between each one is substantial, but the core experience was still there, the lore flowed, the story behind the games weren't taken off of a fan-made roleplaying forum ran by angst filled teens!
If anything, this should be an A-bomb. This isn't an elder scrolls game. This is a mockery PvP based MMO with an Elder Scrolls paint job. As a BIG fan of the Elder Scrolls franchise, I am sorely disappointed with this one. When ui once said i hoped to see an Elder Scrolls MMO, I didn't expect this.
Also, shout out to that edit button that doesn't exist. I always forget to spell check BEFORE clicking submit!
I got a BIG A-bomb for you guys. This one goes to Zombie Studios for releasing the most game breaking patch for Blacklight: Retribution I have ever seen. I call it the "Derp" patch. this patched added several new weapons, tactical gear, and a new map. Sounds great? It sorta does. Sadly ALL of the weapons that were added tip the balances like a bolder versus a feather!
The new Anti-Material Rifle delivers a 1 shot kill every time. Even though it's reload time is extremely slow and only holds 1 round, almost every player who grabs this gun will know how to compensate to the point the con becomes irrelevant. The Breach pistol comes with an explosive flare round that sticks to any surface and delivers a HUGE explosion radius. The Exploding Tomahawk does the same thing as the Breach Pistol's Flare round, only faster and deadly on impact. The Katana Depot Item has crazy lunge distance and instant kills the target. These are all ridiculous and unnecessary things to add to the game while there are still so many things needing to be fixed.
There's only a mere few things that were added in this patch that I'm happy to see. The Evac map is beautiful, the Armor Upgrades were much needed, New Hero, and a couple armor pieces. That's the only part of this Derp Patch that I have appreciated.
Sadly, this patch has ruined the game for me. As a dedicated Blacklight player, I feel less and less able to get myself to play now that everyone is running around with their shiny "One Hit Wonder" load outs.
It's even more disappointing that Zombie would preach Balance on the forums, then have the balls to spend a few months to develop and HYPE this game breaking patch.
i realy would like to see a free mmorpg with cartoon style and fast bloody based action
you guys should have a live stream at least once a month then play online games with the mmobomb community. like the last time you did it, but every month. i know one is coming up soon but it should be more often. i know others will agree.
HAHAHA HAzUH – BEST MMORPG! NO LAG
-B2P vs. F2P really depends on the game. F2P has yet to really develop any major model for single-player games. At best they've done what is essentially the old shareware model of releasing part of the game and then asking people pay for the rest. B2P has lately been plagued by a deluge of overpriced DLC and now they're selling the "promise" of future DLC(such as the Season Pass/Elite stuff found in Borderlands 2 and Call of Duty) long before it's even designed, developed and quality tested. So no Boolean logic here when it comes to an overall statement.
Planetside 2 has decent competition in the forms of both PoE and Hawken. I'm having a blast playing it. I know a lot of PS1 players have huge concerns about the game as it stands right now. My only real problem is the inability to completely lock down a continent. But due to there only being 3 continents upon release that really isn't an issue. When they add more they will need to implement that mechanic to prevent the players from being way too spread out upon multiple maps, thus ensuring large scale battles will still happen.
Hawken will not be what a lot of people expect upon launch. I do have to agree with Magicman, the 'mech' thing is really tacked on, it plays like a standard fps. It may peel away some of MWO's more casual players(or a good many of them if PGI can't actually get new content out in short order as well as fix a host of other problems). At first Hawken will get a lot of players but when the 'mech' veneer gets stripped soon afterwards it's popularity will dwindle. With Black Ops 2 releasing around the same time, that will definitely hurt it.
GW2 did not revolutionize anything, it just streamlined a lot of what's been done before. Combat's still fairly hotkey based, but with less keys. Healing is just done on an individual basis. The same collect 10 bear asses quests are just auto given now. You still have to run dungeons over and over though in your eternal fight against the Random Number Generator.
Perfect World has long since had the Mounted mount. The Barbarian class can turn into tigers and any female toon can ride them.
And Planetside 1 still beats Warhammer Online to F2P.
Da Bomb to Terraria, Mario + Zelda + ARPG Loot + A Hell Of A Lot Of Legos = WIN!
ABomb to Team Fortress 2 for needing to Validate every time I start it up.
Why, MagicMan, WHY?!
I feel like a little kid hugging spiderman right now. I know y'all read the comments but I never thought I would be brought up in the show :D. And for the name, I don't blame you for mispronouncing it because it is pretty odd, but it is (crane-lee). My real name is Kraig and I had some weird friends growing up lmao.
Now down to business~
As for the world "revolutionary" I can honestly say that it IS thrown around too much. Kind of like movies saying "#1 Comedy of 2012". Those are just hooks without worms in hopes to catch a dumb fish. Revolution was the creation of the MMO world, giving people customization over there class/race/appearance, a group of guys making a spinoff of warcraft that generated the MOBA genre we know and love. Allowing people to walk up to an event and join without joining a group isn't really revolutionary, that is just tweaking the system in my opinion.
I say that we need an mmo with an active world. I want to walk into a city and see people walking around, new faces, NPC's being chased by guards. Make me feel like I'm not just playing another WoW. Some of my all time favorite games have always been Fable and Elder Scrolls. They are both pretty immersive and you can loose yourself if the world itself. Hell I was just playing Skyrim and found myself running through the wilderness trying to see just how good I was at shooting a moving target with my bow. Was I progressing? No. Was I wasting my time? Probably. Was I having fun? Yes.
If I may suggest, make that a question in a video. "What do you think MMO's could do to make the game more immersive? Would you like to play a game were it feels like your actions matter?" Feel free to reword it all you want, but I just believe that overall that is what most gamers like.
As for the whole "buying levels" thing. I personally don't care if someone reaches end game faster than me, but for some reason I know it turns a lot of people off. Personally, end game is what ultimately makes or breaks an MMO. That is what an MMO should be focused on. If I wanted a game that I play to max level then defeat a large boss then come back to the game on occasion then I would pick up a console game. The main problem that MMO's have is that leveling and end game are two whole different games in themselves. While leveling you go out and do quest to gain experience and you kill X amount of this and that or collect an item while killing things in the meantime. End game you stop questing and you stop going out and collecting items and killing monsters out in the world. Instead you start sitting in town selling items and working on a profession and then going to kill the same dragon you killed last Thursday at 8pm ……… sigh. In my eyes, it transitions from a game to a job. That is how real life is, you play your way to 18 then you start working. We play games to escape life, not to approach it in a different way.
Cash shops. Oh god how I love cash shops (sarcasm). People could take a note from League of Legends. You know that character you always play? You know how you love anything involving space? Well we just made your character a space suit that you can buy in the shop :D. Same could be done for MMO's. Tired of having to run around with an ugly shield that just doesn't match your armor? Well buy one of our many vanity items that will allow you to keep all the stats of the most recent legendary drops, but allows you sustain that Paladin look you strive so hard to keep. Now I know vanity items are nothing new, but that always seem so limiting. I can equip a shield/weapon/helm/chest/legs/hands/back but I can only get vanity for outfit/back/helm. I know I would pay to make my character keep an awesome look no matter what level I was.
Is free to play the best for gamers right now? Well, the way I see it is that I don't want to go out and buy an MMO, pay $15 a month for two or three months before I get to cap then realize that I just don't enjoy the game anymore. Give me the game for free, let me get to end game then start offering me things that I might want to buy to make my gaming experience more enjoyable. Right now I will agree with Magicman and say that buy to play is taking the throne for a while. Free to play will hold a much longer reign, but it just isn't it's time just yet.
Also, I think I might have some bombs to drop myself.
DaBomb: My comment being awesome enough to bring up in the weekly Free to Play Cast. This has become one of my favorite things to look forward to and it makes me sad that they don't have a talk radio station like this. 😛
A-Bomb: Not having enough money to go out buy Guild Wars 2. I have been dying to play that game since they released the first screen shots. I signed up for the BETA and just happened to have been out of the state at the time and was unable to join -teardrop- and they never sent me another key for the second closed BETA. Hopefully I will get a job soon, at least a holiday job, so that I can play me some GW2.
As always, great show keep up the great work and consider my previous question about immersion in MMO's. Would love to hear the groups thoughts on that. 😀
Great show =]
I got a Da-Bomb for MicroVolts, simply because it's alot of fun. I guess the fact that my main character is a sexy demon clad in leather and lace helps out, too. =]
Also, I have an A-Bomb for Aion (as much as I love the game) for the rifting level caps being removed. I got my brother into the game, and created an alt so we could level together, but it has become difficult to level or quest with the obscene amount of level 60s rifting in to attack level 20-30 players. I understand that most of the blame falls on the community, but why NCSoft would allow for level 60s in a 20 zone just completely boggles me.
I'm gonna try and answer everything you guys posed throughout the episode, starting with the two true/false questions I can answer:
1) I'm gonna say that, in short, my opinion matches up to what Magicman said on Ask MMOBomb. Buy to play is better now, but free to play is on its way up. I think companies that want to make free to play games the standard need to look at how Riot has done it. Their model is phenomenal – everything is available to the player on download, but you have to play for it or, if you really want it that bad right now, pay for it. But it's all available.
2) I think Hawken is going to be an amazing game for those who are waiting for it. I got a beta key from the MMOBomb giveaway. I didn't get a lot of time to play it during the beta weekend, but my time in game was immensely enjoyable. It is simply a fun, fun game. However, I don't think it will pull in people who aren't really into the whole idea of flying around in a giant mech and shooting other giant mechs. Of course, I can't comprehend why anyone wouldn't be into that, but that's me…
Speaking of Hawken… guess what game is getting a Da-bomb from this guy! That's right, it's Hawken. More specifically, I'm going to give the companies behind it – Adhesive Games and Meteor Entertainment – my Da-bomb for actually releasing a real beta product. This goes back to a number of discussions you guys had on the Free to Play Cast, about how game companies have been using beta releases as money grabs. Well I'm here to tell you, there was no money being grabbed with the first Hawken CBT. Hell, they even gave out some cash shop currency for everyone to buy and deck out a mech of their own.
Now, for my f2p world annoyance. It's got to specifically with first person shooters. In almost every single free FPS I've ever played, the grenade… you have to actively switch to it before you can throw it. I honestly can't say how much this annoys me. Maybe I just got used to playing shooters on console, where that's never been a standard thing, but is it really that hard to program a "throw the grenade" button? It's not A-bomb worthy, but it sure as hell gets my goat.
It's got to do* specifically…
Great show as usual, I know I don't answer every show but since I've started to listen (episode 40 if I'm correct I guess) this is the only show one internet that I really want to listen and have the felling that "I can't wait". Well except with anime because the ones that I follow weekly also give me that felling but anime is another area.
I've a A Bomb for Aeria Games Idk if I gave it already but if I had I still want to give it, I can't understand why such publisher with some good games can be that dumb to release games like Waren Story and Born to Fire in 2012. If it was a small publisher I would get it but they aren't They have the money to get better games but still they get that crap. It blows my mind, is one of the things that really grinds my gears in the F2P market these days, and Aeria Games isn't the only one doing it.
So what grinds my gears in f2p mmos is the lack of good matchmaking. Especially in most f2p mmorpgs I find it annoying to look for raid groups and dungeon partys myself. I never played WoW but heard it has some system like that. My only encounter with a f2p mmorpg matchmaker was with Forsaken World and it failed hard. (it placed some jobs in specific roles even if the player did not skill that way i.e. a dd-priest).
League of Legends got some good matchmaking (still cursed at sometimes though) but the community cries out for a role-specific one where you could set your preferred position beforehand. Riot fears a stagnating metagame but to be honest it hasn't changed on positions for a long time now.
True or False Questions:
1) I was the one who provided that question 🙂 I still have to say B2P is the best for gamers, even though it may not necessarily be the best for a company's profit.
2) I'm gonna hold back on answering this. I know there's a lot of hype about PS2, but until that Cash Shop appears, I'm reserving judgement.
3) Not gonna bother answering this, I haven't played Hawken.
4) I have mixed feelings about GW2 being revolutionary, like Sejiro says, how much can you "revolutionise" a genre, to the point where it becomes a separate genre entirely (like how Dota started a split from traditional RTS games). There's only so many ways questing and combat among other things can work. Honestly, Brim's right in saying that the word "revolutionary" doesn't really mean anything now. So on that point, I'd say that GW2 has enhanced the MMORPG genre. Sejiro's also right in saying that if you're the type of gamer who likes to get to endgame quick as a flash like in traditional MMOs, this is gonna screw you over…and unfortunately, a considerable number of people who bought the game had this in mind, and thus were disappointed.
What's bad about the f2p world? I dunno..there's some things I think definitely aren't great, but…
I agree with Path of Exile if you can count Open Beta as a release. But Sony has alot more money to spent on advertising, so Planetside 2 will be more popular i guess. But the thing with free mmo's is that like 95 % of all games that come out every year are kinda like crap.
For your planetside2 being the best game for 2012 i would disagree though i have not played it yet it seems like it's going to be a rush job and hopefully not to buggy given the November release…i would say Path of Exile will be the best (and it's not browser based btw) the pvp has been added and the game is literally doubling in size come open beta and it's not pay to win and even better they are quick with bug fixes.
I agree that Path of Exile has a chance to surprise a TON of people that just aren't following yet. I also share your bug concerns for Planetside 2, I gave the game a "Da-Bomb" for announcing a release date finally a few shows back but even said then that I wasn't sure if it would actually be ready.
Great points!
First! (not tht it rlly matters at all) -_- i love all u guys thx for keeping me informed and up to date with all these things. It helps me decide wht game companies to stay (and play) with thx again
And we thank you for tuning in! 🙂


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The Obama administration last year introduced a rule that would extend minimum wage protections to home health workers who, up to that point, had received no guarantee of a liveable wage or fair overtime pay. But Senate Republicans are attempting to block the rule from going into effect:
A group of Republican senators on Thursday introduced legislation aimed at blocking the Obama administration's controversial efforts to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to 2 million in-home care providers through Department of Labor regulations.
Sens. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., along with 11 other lawmakers, introduced a bill known as the Companionship Exemption Protection Act, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to preserve the current state of the law's so-called companionship services exemption.
The bizarre name for the bill — the Companionship Exemption Protection Act — alludes to the fact that the Fair Labor Standards Act exempts two groups of workers: casual baby-sitters and those "who provide 'companionship services' to people with disabilities and the elderly," which has come to mean home health workers. But, of course, home health care workers today do far more than provide "companionship." As ThinkProgress has noted, "Home care workers today provide everything from help with eating and dressing to monitoring blood pressure and vital signs."
Employment in the home health industry is expected to expand 69 percent by 2020, adding 1.3 million positions. And if the Republicans have their way, it will remain legal to pay those workers below a minimum wage that already doesn't get a family above the poverty line.


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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sunday's Super Bowl TV audience set a viewing record for the annual National Football League Championship and eclipsed the 1983 benchmark set by the comedy "M*A*S*H" to become the most watched U.S. telecast, according to early ratings data on Monday.
A record 106.5 million American TV viewers watched the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday's game, broadcast on CBS, Nielsen media and CBS said.
The figures topped the record held since 1983 by the finale of "M*A*S*H," which drew 106 million viewers.
The previous record for a Super Bowl was the 98.7 million Americans who tuned in to see the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2009.
In an era of declining live viewership for TV shows, audiences for the Super Bowl have grown for each of the past four years, demonstrating why advertisers paid up to $3 million for a 30-second commercial spot during Sunday's more than three hour broadcast.
CBS said the audience for Sunday's game reached a peak of 114.1 million TV viewers in its last half-hour. Overall for the game, 68 percent of the U.S. TV sets that were turned on on Sunday were watching the football game, it added.
"The Super Bowl remains the premier television event of the year, and is one of the few programs in an era of fragmented TV viewership that can still attract a huge national audience," said Dave Thomas, Nielsen's president of media client services.
"This year's Super Bowl had a compelling narrative, with the underdog New Orleans Saints coming from behind against powerhouse Indianapolis Colts. There was tremendous interest in both the game and the advertisements leading up to last night and the excitement of the game itself translated into record ratings," Thomas said in a statement.
CBS news and sports president Sean McManus said he was proud of the way the network "produced, sold and promoted the most-watched television show in history."
CBS, already the most-watched of the four big TV networks, sold out its Super Bowl advertising spots despite the economic downturn.
Snickers, Doritos, Google and Bud Light were among the ads creating the most popular early buzz on Monday, according to media analysts.
Sunday's Super Bowl was watched by more than double the 48 million Americans who tuned in last month to watch President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, and the average 26.8 million watching this year's "American Idol" on Fox television, which is currently the most-watched series on U.S. television.
Editing by Vicki Allen


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King David wrote centuries ago in Psalm 36:1 that "Sinners don't respect God; sin is all they think about.
Why would any thinking person not choose the God of the universe? He answers in verse 2: "They like themselves too much to hate their own sins or even to see them."
"They tell deceitful lies, and they don't have the sense to live right. Those people stay awake, thinking up mischief, and they follow the wrong road, refusing to turn fro sin." (Ps. 36:3-4), Many centuries later, Peter, who walked personally with Jesus the Messiah, writes also about this path: "They have left he true road and have gone down the wrong path…" How? "…by following he example of the prophet Balaam. He…loved what he got from being a crook." (2 Peter 2:15)
Ironically, people who do not trust and believe are described as arrogant and disrespectful (from God's point of view — and who else's point-of-view really matters in the end?)…believing themselves to be "good enough" by their own estimates, or godlike or becoming as God. Adam and Eve were lured away from a perfect relationship with their Creator by the lying serpent Lucifer who had them doubt God and his promises to them. They exchanged the lie about God for the truth and set the rest of us into having to choose whom we would follow.
Choose God today. You will receive His free gift of the Holy Spirit and never be lonely or abandoned. You will be His beloved child…saved by His grace…and not by any method you may have thought up for yourself. Peace of mind about your salvation is free before you take your last breath…but then you will have chosen through procrastination, stubbornness and pride. Be wise and join God's "team" for eternity.


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About Us
Doncaster Council has implemented the Ambition Doncaster programme commencing May 2015. Ambition Doncaster will operate across the Borough and provide support to 18-24 year old Job Seeker Allowance claimants during the 12 to 18 weeks they participate.
Part of a city region-wide programme called Ambition SCR, Ambition Doncaster is a local employment programme for 18-24 year olds that will provide; tailored support; employability skills, work experience; and, ultimately sustained employment.
Individuals accessing Ambition Doncaster will have a minimum of 12 weeks to a maximum of 18 weeks (depending on need) within which to find employment.
Our service provider will deliver a unique and inspirational employability provision (the Academy) at weeks 2 and 3 of Ambition Doncaster that will engage, motivate, up-skill and enhance the employability prospects of clients accessing Ambition Doncaster.
Training will be provided in team working, communication, customer service, time management, confidence, CV writing, interview skills, problem solving, presentation skills, commercial awareness and social media.
Bus and train travel fares are covered whilst you are on the Ambition Doncaster programme.
Once you have completed the programme and are in employment, you will receive up to 26 weeks of 'In work Support'.
If you are 18-24 years old and a JSA claimant and would like to be referred to the Ambition Doncaster programme then contact your Job Centre Advisor or telephone the Ambition Doncaster team on 01302 735827 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
You can also complete our online enquiry form today and one of our Ambition Coaches will contact you.


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Partnerships & Affiliations
We have affiliations with several like-minded organisations and proudly partner with them in change.
We are passionate about giving back to our field with speaker events, mentoring, ongoing learning and are active member of the Change Management Institute of Australia (CMI).
All our consultants are professionally qualified in our field and accredited in a range of change management models, methods and tool.
We proudly partner with the Certus3 team on various client assignments.
Certus3 are experts in the management of large-scale and complex programs of work – their program delivery services support programs from the outset and rescue them if in trouble.
Our Blue Seed team has a solid grounding in business and project management, and there is nothing better than working with an exceptional Program and Project Management partner like Certus3.
Change Activation
Change Activation produce innovative videos, explainer posters and tools that support leaders within over 30,000 organisations worldwide to deliver change. Blue Seed Consulting is an accredited partner to provide implementation support for the Change Activation Toolkit, a scalable, ready-to-deploy, enterprise change management resource suite.
Giving back to the Community
Our Blue Seed team is passionate about giving back to causes close to our hearts. We happily enter into pro bono and volunteer partnerships as well as support a number of worthy charities and causes. We want to make a difference in the world, and making positive change happen at every opportunity is who we are.
Cure Brain Cancer
Many of us have been personally touched by cancer. As a team we want to affect change by contributing as much funding for research as we can. Brain cancer kills more children in Australia than any other disease, yet receives the least amount of research funding. Cure Brain Cancer's mission is to increase survival to 50% within 10 years.
Together we are helping make this happen and are so proud to be supporting this very worthwhile cause.
Sky Harrington-Ellis and his family
We have close ties with the Harrington-Ellis family. Their beautiful little boy, Sky, fought a brave battle against the brain tumor he was diagnosed with at 13 months old. After numerous surgeries and treatments and bringing much light and love into the world, he lost his battle in 2015.
Our hearts are broken but we are on a crusade along with Sky's amazing family to bring awareness and change to the very low funding for this type of cancer - too many families are suffering and we actively campaign to make change happen.
Sky will forever live in our hearts. Ongoing support for this cause is important – please click here to donate ›
Clown Doctors
Many kids in hospital face a hard time. Clown Doctors treat children in hospital with medicine of a different kind...doses of fun and laughter, so children can forget their illness for a moment and return to a world of fantasy and play. 'Clown Rounds' are conducted through all wards including intensive care and oncology, and most clinics including emergency and burns.
We hope our Sponsorship of a Clown Doctor will continue to help bring laughter, hope and special moments to sick children and their families.
World Vision
We proudly sponsor Laura Yelitza Valencia, who turned 7 years old this year (July 2017). [In fact, Laura and Blue Seed share a birth date!]
She lives in the Pampas Del Mirador Project in Colombia. The area has a number of problems affecting children and youth directly as well as the communities in general. Children face mistreatment, physical violence in schools and sexual abuse, and there are no protection structures in schools or the community. The area has high levels of unemployment, especially among women and youths, and education structures are generally poor.
We support Laura to help make a sustainable difference to her community.
Fred Hollows Foundation
We are active supporters of the foundation, helping their change maker Doctors restore sight to hundreds of people. Each year we directly help sight being restored to 20 people.
The current focus is on the health crisis in Ethiopia where Trachoma, a disease of poverty, is putting thousands of people at risk of blindness.
Earlier in the year Blue Seed were personally thanked by a Pediatric Ophthalmology doctor in Kenya as we helped to restore sight to a 6 year old boy who had been blind since birth.
Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife
We believe in the philosophy that from small seeds, great things grow, and proudly support the Foundation in their Plant a Tree For Me campaign.
There is a huge diversity of plant species across Australia. However, over the past 200 years, more than 75% of native vegetation has been destroyed or degraded by logging, urban expansion, climate change, pests and diseases.
This has also had a devastating effect on Australia's native animals. Funds raised from the Plant a Tree For Me campaign will be put towards helping the Foundation grow native trees, increase biodiversity and protect wildlife.
Find out how change ready you are
Read our latest white paper on leading through upheaval


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Number of Employees: 20 to 70
Internal HR: No
Xenium Service: HR Integrated
The Background
WET Labs is a developer and manufacturer of underwater instrumentation to detect vital biological, chemical and geological parameters and processes of the earth's oceans, lakes and streams. They began their "garage shop" operation in 1992 under Casey Moore, the President and Founder of WET Labs, and grew from two employees in the first year to seven in the second year of operations.
Several years later, WET Labs acquired another firm and assimilated about half of their remaining workforce, expanded their facility, and separated engineering from production to create structure in the business.
Casey Moore
"When you are smaller, especially around 30 or 40 employees, you can't really afford to hire a qualified full-time HR person. When you get into the black swan events – the random occurrences that lead to uncertainty – of employer liability, it's unclear where potential lawsuits and responsibility exist, so that's where having an outsourced HR company comes in really handy."
The Impact
Established human resources infrastructure
Defined company culture
HR Flexibility and Accommodation
As company growth occurred, HR programs and procedures grew to accommodate that growth
The Employer Challenge
In early 2000, when the growth of the company continued to add headcount, Casey realized that getting a management structure in place and addressing the issues that go along with becoming an employer were high priorities.
By 2001, WET Labs carried approximately 20 employees and began seeking a fully integrated HR and payroll solution to handle the compliance side of running a business. Most notably, they sought to implement an employee HR infrastructure, which included payroll and tax administration, compliance and benefit programs.
WET Labs understood that payroll taxes and workers' compensation were a challenge to manage and looked for a service that would provide a solution.
Casey knew they needed to address the workers' compensation issues first. Their costs were increasing and they began to consider the broader options of outsourcing the workers' compensation program.
The Solution
From the time WET Labs hired Xenium as their partner for employer services, it was really about finding a solution for payroll and workers' compensation. As time went on, they really leaned on Xenium for human resource services, training and legal support.
From the very start of the relationship, WET Labs used Xenium strictly as a payroll and workers' compensation and safety service; however, once the executive team realized that Xenium could be the go-to for proactively implementing HR systems and strategies around their business, that's when the relationship began maximizing its full potential.
Once Wet Labs grew to over 50 employees, it led to adding additional compliance structures, such as an HR Compliance Assessment, Employee Handbook (with annual updates), Safety Committee/Safety Programs, Supervisory Training, Job Descriptions, FMLA/OFLA Tracking, Bonus Plan Design, Employee Relations/Investigations, and regular attendance at Xenium's training workshops.
"Currently, we have an infrastructure that's beyond our size, and I think it's in large part to Xenium that we established our core professionalism by virtue of the relationship. I think it made a big difference, and it still does. It helped us define our culture."
Wet Labs was successfully acquired by a large company in 2010 and attributed a large part of their success to having a well-established HR infrastructure in place.
By having these systems in place, it made the acquisition of Wet Labs more appealing for the prospective buyer.


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I have been asked to write a little something about Global Warming, but I want to keep it limited. In this day and age when everyone is being asked to conserve, I shouldn't waste anyone's a while.
The edge when it comes to goalkeeper end up being go to Portugal's Eduardo. He has yet to scored on in two World Cup matches and this man will obtain a world class workout in this match from an aggressive Brazil World Cup crew. Eduardo's two clean sheets came against the Ivory Coast and North Korea, so some would say he not tested in World Cup competition.
What perform lack of Icelandic fisherman, the 2008 Chinese Olympics, and Easter Island tree cutters all have in accordance? Much more than you might think. Collapseexplores the political, technological, and ecological decisions which merge in order to sustain or destroy societies.
Irrefutable? Like global temperatures rising? The intelligence community doesn't think so. (And some of the people interviewed for the AP story works for Obama) As documented by an AP story, intelligence can't even determine who's control of Syria 's WMDs. If you do not know that, how can you possibly say irrefutably that north korea oil reserves was responsible and not Al Qaeda?
So here's what you conduct. Go to the Watcha Clan website and to be able to all from the songs available there. The look at some tunes by Yemen Blues. Then, if such as the tunes (I can't imagine a person wouldn't), build plans glimpse and see these bands at Grand Performances in downtown Chicago. It should be a beautiful night to enjoy some unique music the actual summer heavens. This free show is from 8 until 10:30.
You they are able to have a list of helping Republicans with regards to record implies that the only bill that you just sponsored along with a Republican was with Chuck Lugar in. and it failed. The record indicates that you vote 97% in collaboration with the Democrat party and you have the most liberal voting record in the Senate. You joined Republicans only 13% of period in your votes circumstances 13% were only after agreement through your Democrat with each other. While it is or worry that you fail incorporate conservatives in your actions in which you are such a liberal, delighted concern reality you distorted the real truth.
How fearful to confirm that the neighbors, and even one's own family, are listening to all one says, and will report to the government any unusual email. How does one know this? Ever since the one who's afraid would do the very same thing.


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Good morning ….The bright blue suitcase is packed. and all sorts of things I've packed in quart size plastic bags, including pads, undies and all sort of cremes and even my food and sweet bread…all to put our dear homeland security at ease. Yesterday, sitting in my nifty summer dress, bare legs, sandals (I am my yearly deep denial about approaching fall/winter) I thought to call the place in South Dakota where the conference is being held, for a little weather check.
Well…the first person I've spoken to mentioned "Oh, they have snow up there"… wherever that 'up there' was…
I almost had a fainting spell nonetheless.
Then I spoke to a nice lady at the sylvan lake lodge (see www.custerresorts.com or so) who gave me further details: oh, it's really warm during the day…60's…but at night it drops…40's to mid/low 30's…. —
By that time my heart rate dropped even further….aghast and mortified …
Reality check part I
Oh dear, oh my oh my…
Then I studied once again the brochures etc I've received of the Custer state park and South Dakota and badlands and all… extensive details on natures beauty…and also the beasts… buffalos…yes, I'll be there to the yearly roundup or so… burros…all sorts of things on four legs.ah, and …I'll be residing in mountain lion and bob cat territory…
The advise is as follows:
"if seen by mountain lion/bob cat…don't run! open your jacket…appear as big and threatening as you can.
if attacked by mountain lion: FIGHT BACK !" and I am quoting here…GASP!! well…that about just did it …
Reality check part II
Yes, that's just what has been missing in my life: a wrestling & biting (or is that called mauling?) match with a mountain lion. By that time I was in some sort of daze… pleaseeeeeeeeeee…the next time I am planning some thing like a polar expedition or anything remotely like it..please, sit down with me and have a heart-to-heart…
Remind me that my brain does not work well below 55 degrees Fahrenheit, it comes to an almost standstill when it nears the 30's….not to speak of the rest of my physical body.
(some might argue that my brain does not work that well above 55 Fahrenheit either…but lets not discuss that right now…)
Now…I've repacked yet again my suitcase..and included a lambswool blankie that my mom had donated last year ….I'll be dressed in that for the most part, I suppose. plaid pattern. in case anyone needs to ID me.
I am now wondering why the BADLANDs have been called BADlands. Did I miss anything here too?
Good grief….I am in some sort of a titzy here. Or trying very hard not to be…I breathe…breathe…stay calm…collected (forget the cool calm and collected…)
cold = misery.
I've had long cold chilly icy and slooshy snow wet miserable (with a capital M) winters in Europe under my belt…and there was a reason that I am not there anymore. I clearly wasn't thinking straight when i booked myself to the conference ….now all is paid for. And it looks like I am actually going. The suitcase testifies to that.
But I am in quite some state now. And I have packed to rescue remedies so well that I can't find the zip-loc back in which I stuffed it…
Gheeee, thanks HLS…but luckily someone will pick me up when I arrive at Rapid City tonight at 9pm. (even found a last-minute ride TO the airport in Oakland…!!!)
He called me last night to confirm and I asked again about the weather… the place I am going to he called "up there" …. and "high altitudes" …man…I am toast! a freezing toast, if that exists.
Alright, enough of my whining….I am going to NEW place…. and even voluntarily. well now…that's an utter first that I actually chose to go to a perma frost zone (or something close to that).
My friends from Minneapolis who I'll meet there again and drive with them to Minne…will bring a long wool coat for me…….bless their hearts. and I hope no one will check my baggage…I'll have to do some explaining why i have all those bottles of olive oil, grape seed oil, ghee, Swiss jam, Parisian tea, cardamom, pan-cake mix…. well.. if you detect from that that I am somewhat weary about the food that i may find in the Badlands and South Dakota…you got that right.
But lets not mention my food dilemma…or else I might sound like one of those once-upon-a-time colonials ladies who booked a passage to India and fretted about the assortment of condiments and food-items to take with her in order to survive the savage lands of far far away places…
But seriously…it's how I feel…I do admit. Badlands of South Dakota friends…
Wasn't there a book called "Bury my heart at wounded knee"? well…I'll write the sequel perhaps…perhaps I am even reachable on my mobile…give me a ring to find out in what stages of frozen I am …
But hey….just kidding. and i promise…if my brain-cells can absorb any of the topics of the conference…I'll make notes and report duly! Alright,…looking forward seeing you soon again…in best spirits…
Good morning friends…
Well then, I am back in the golden state of California…
Thank you so mucho for the responses to my previous pre-trip gasping and slightly mortified message! I hope to be able to respond to everyone as soon as I am getting situated again … now here's a little tidbit about some vignettes about my time in the so-called mid-west…
The trip went quite well…..in SLC (on my way to Rapid City) I watched with disbelief the tiny planes near my departure gate. They featured PROPELLERS !!!!
Whoa…did not know that they would still fly those things on commercial flights. I was praying: pleaseeeeee don't let me be in one of those…!!!and then after a long march passing those propeller machines, I came to my gate for the flight to RC…and whoa…no propeller!
BUT BUT BUT…the airplane actually looked like a metal toothpick with wings! Tiny!!!!
When I entered the inside of that toothpick….my head actually touched the ceiling! whoa! once again…
The more the day / trip went on…the more I questioned my sanity…During take off I kept remembering the prayer/quote that says something like: "May God's mercy be greater than his justice!!!"
It feels soooo strange to fly up in the air….when I was a young clueless somebody (now i am an older, still clueless nobody) I did not think anything of it …to fly…Now it seems stranger by the year. What are we human beings doing up there in the air in metal toothpicks with wings???
Anyway, I arrived on time, and in that tiny airport were large black and white photos of a gathering of native American elders from a reunion in the 40's or so with the last survivors of some Massacre / battle. (wounded knee???)
That was my welcome committee… and I thanked them for letting me be on their land.
I realized that I am deep in native land /country side. My ride picked me up, and on the way to the Black Hills (it was black alright….totally dark @ 9PM and very unpopulated) we took a little de-tour…to..tra raaaa….another welcome committee: the four presidents at Mount Rushmore, all lit up…
Oh, if only this country would truly remember what the ideals, principles and visions of those four men were!!! (at least the ones I know of)
Arriving at the lodge at about 10.30pm, I quickly checked in…the elk head and buffalo head in the lobby set the tone. whoa…buffalo county indeed. I wonder if animals would rule the planet, if they would have corpses of dead humans as their hotel decoration….
Once settled in, I noticed that i seemed to have some breathing issues. ….later I've found out that we were actually on altitude of 6200 feet. Ahem…another details I've missed in my planning/preparation. I was drawing deep and long breaths…since it seemed that I was not getting enough air into my lungs… interesting experience.
The next day….it took me hours to gather the courage to actually get up…winds were howling, pine trees were swaying….all looked and felt COLD…
Sigh….. next adventure: the dining room! Trying to find something to eat that would keep my tummy out of a revolt. Fat chance.
I've been told about the state of affairs in the food department outside the west or east coast……but actually experiencing it was something else. I had believed that if I stick with the plain and simple I'll make it through it just fine.
Fat chance. I chose hash browns and scrambled eggs…figuring….one can't make much wrong w/ that. Well, I WAS so so very wrong. The hash browns where grey dirty white and the scrambled eggs truly beaten and scrambled to death.
Whoa!!! How is that possible to make such tasteless food??? There was NO life in the food! All the food I've ever eaten elsewhere that I called bad..was still 10 times better that that food!!!
I mean…eggs and potatoes have an inherent flavor….just leave it alone … and add a little salt and it has flavor…. how can it be that they way they cook there, they manage to extract the flavor of the natural food?? That's so beyond me….I was truly shocked…. ghastly experience… and that was only hour 10. after my arrival…how would I do until Sunday noon, 5 days to go???
I had two bags of German lakritz/liqorice with me (GOOD grief, how do I spell that??) but I could not envision to live on that until I leave. For three nights I just had a glass of hot milk for dinner…since I truly did not know what to eat. My tummy was happy with that hot milk though ….
Then I went for a hike, trying to find the place where the conference/school was being held. Bloody cold. So windy. And then it started to snow!!
I kid you not! — and the snowflakes stormed horizontal!!!!
So, even though I had not intended to join the early parts of the conference, I did. Anything but being out in horizontal snowstorms.
The lake/landscape was just awesome! I was hiking up and down a spruce hills from lodge to auditorium/lake…and got quite a workout. the ground sparkled!! Tiny crystals all abound. That to me looked truly magical. Mica.
And the whole place was like that… I was actually living ON a crystal mountain. After a while, it slowly warmed up…and after a few days I took walks around the lake… and one day even descended down into a most astounding gulch. Later I was told it's called "Sunday Gulch"
Whoa… it was like being IN the mountain versus being ON the mountain …huge rocks and boulders around…and still….I could hear the leaves FALL … I was on my own there…and yet a presence was there….of the earth spirit?
Who knows…it was a very deep and unspeakable experience ..wish I could have lingered on there for more time…but I had to climb up again but I was just happy to have been at a place like that.
And i was told that a famous native man, BLACK ELK….used to go those trails (and up to thunderbeing mountain ) for his vision quest. and there are poems he wrote from what he has seen.
The Black Hills is the land were the Lakotas went for thousands of years for their rituals, sacred ceremonies and vision quests…
And I certainly felt blessed to have been able to stay for 5 days on that land… trying to leave as little footprints as possible.
We left the place one day before the yearly buffalo round-up … with friends I was driving across the land to Minneapolis.
But…we also went through the Badlands…. perhaps about 1hours from Rapid City. A national park/forest, right near the Pine Ridge Reservation. And if you have never been there…..it's worth being there. The stillness is vast and profound. Deafening silence anyone???
This place touched me more than the Grand Canyon; the Grand Canyon went right over my head….its simply toooo big and huge.
But the Badlands had something else, stunning to view…and hardly anyone around. Very very quiet and unspoiled. Just a few viewing points w/ railings…and a lone sign to describe something. But otherwise barren. Not even a rubbish-bin …it felt like moving through Lord of the Rings territory.
The closest town is Wall….strange place. like a movie prop…unreal…
But the BADLANDS i truly enjoyed…as far as awesomeness is being able to be enjoyed. I just felt that i wanted to stay there longer….to be totally surrounded by that vast stillness and silence and immense beauty and wilderness. well, eventually we moved on…driving, overnighted in chamberlain, crossing the Missouri river. Somewhere on the way we also saw the CORN PALACE of Mitchell…well, don't ask.
The ride was flat and more flat countryside. I am used to that from Holland and parts of northern Germany….but here it's driving 6 hours and all is still flat…hmmmmm…….
Eventually we reached Minneapolis. And there I lived for four days on the 29th floor of a fancy down town building. how is that for a contrast??
Took some getting used too…and i don't know how successful i was with that or if i would choose it for longer. but it was convenient for our downtown explorations. Had a grand time w/ my friends, many talks on astrology etc…and just plain fun and good company. visited museums, parks etc and evenings sitting outside, believe it or not, to enjoy beer. sometimes in a British pub called BRITS…but also in German beer gardens / places.
I was immersing myself into a whole different life-feel. Also went to St.Paul right next door…the Basilika of St. Paul.. walks along streets w/ stunning Victorian homes etc. and finishing the day in a german / czech restaurant with another good dark German beer (by friends preferred lager German beer) I was very very lucky w/ the weather… can't imagine being there when it's cold in the winter it can be 20 below zero… I can't even perceive that sort of cold i was about 6 hours south of Canada…AND… 6 hours north of Chicago… well, another thing i did not realize before…
I had a very good time (except for the bad food in SD and the horizontal snow etc)… and really enjoyed that adventure….. feels like i somehow connected more w/ the land of this place!
Alright…now i am back (actually , in Novato….garden/house sitting ..but I'll be in my own house again this evening…just here for the past two days, right after I've gotten back)
..And during the conference I realized a few good things ….that I can learn and study all these symbols and whatnot…find out all sorts of things about the a chart and the person…but bottom line: I still don't know. all this learning and studying to find out: I simply don't know…
Life is all some bloody mystery….but astrology certainly provides a great clarity about what one does not know and how to move about in this mystery of life. so, that's all good…really enjoyed that too…and i accept that i don't know…more and more.
Alright now…..i shall continue for my next work assignment aka job… and hopefully will find something sooner than later!!


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Next weekend we will enter the ARRL 10 M contest from LW9EOC's station in La Tablada, Buenos Aires. Tim owns a growing station that include several antennas for HF. He's 15 m stack performs really well. This time we'll use a 6 el long boom yagi + a 4 el as a second antenna.
Diego LU8ADX will provide his Kenwood TS 870 and his Ameritron AL 1200. We will possibly record the contest audio. Logging soft will be N1MM *THE CONTEST LOGGER*!!!
Tim's been testing his antenna this week and everything seems to be in good shape.
We will sign AY8A (LU8ADX's contest call).
Ops will be: LW9EOC, LU8ADX and LU5DX.
HPE to CU all.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
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Dave Kulig was sworn into office on Wednesday, January 5, 2011, during the Board of Supervisors regular meeting to fill a vacancy through the end of the year, December 31, 2011. He previously served on the Board of Supervisors from January 2006 to spring 2010. Upon accepting his appointment, Kulig said it was good to be back, and he "welcomed the opportunity to serve and contribute again." Read more.
Supervisors and Staff Cutting Costs
eNews & Website Receive Statewide Awards
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Autumn Dies
About Autumn-Themed Dies
Whether you are looking to decorate for Thanksgiving or the fall season in general, CraftDirect.com has great choices for autumn dies. If you are looking for Halloween dies, we have a dedicated page for that because it is such a popular crafting holiday. This page is specifically for the rest of the fall season and holidays. We have a number of options for making cards as well as die cut shapes. Be sure that your autumn-themed die sets are compatible with your die-cutting machine.
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