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Interview: Tony Mycock, MD of HB Ingredients
Posted on February 21 2013 by Solange Berchemin
When looking at chocolates, we take in the presentation, the chocolatier's name and then our thoughts turns quickly to the little shapes, their flavour and the promise of delights to come. At that stage, very few people think about the origin of cocoa and definitely none of us consider the distribution.
But how do the ingredients get to the chocolate factory? Chocolatier.co.uk spoke with Tony Mycock, co-founder with wife Kath of HB Ingredients, the UK's largest independent chocolate distributor with a turnover in excess of £10 million and almost 40 employees.
What led you to start HB Ingredients?
I have been very fortunate in that I have always worked in the food ingredient industry, selling glucose, native and modified starches, chocolate and sugar. In the mid '80s, I became the UK agent for Callebaut. At the time Callebaut was an important, but Benelux-focussed, chocolate producer with sales agents based in most other important European countries.
Callebaut sales were very modest in the UK at that time and mainly due to a very small handful of chocolatiers that were beginning to emerge and flourish. However, it was a great time to be selling chocolate couverture and dealing with small and start up companies as they developed and grew. Callebaut chocolate couverture was a huge step up for British tastes and became the mother's milk for the new generation of chocolatiers and high-end bakers and patissiers in the UK.
What happened after the takeover of Callebaut?
After another 4 years heading up the UK sales, I moved to Tate & Lyle. Working in a blue chip organisation was very different, I sorely missed the entrepreneurial days developing and growing a business alongside many and varied customers – all of us in the same boat!
Business, like most things, runs in cycles and during the mid-to-late nineties the medium and large food manufacturers tended to be inward-looking, focussing on IT and business systems and reducing headcount etc and inevitably the first thing that happens then is that customer service levels drop. This followed the recession in the early '90s and all recessions spawn new start-up businesses, and they always have a hard time sourcing the right ingredients at fair pricing.
I assume 15 years ago, there wasn't many business models for independent chocolate distributors?
Apparently Belgians are born 'with a stone in their stomachs', which means they all want to eventually buy land and build their own houses, and I suppose my entrepreneurial equivalent was eating away at me. So I saw the opportunity to set up HB Ingredients and I left Tate & Lyle to start working from home, sourcing and supplying small & medium sized artisanal producers with the sweet side of food ingredients.
The rest is history: the expansion in 2002, a new warehouse facility and a business partner, Carl Martin. These days HB Ingredients employs 39 people covering the whole of the UK, based in a 20,000 sq ft premises in Lewes. We now stock over 1400 SKUs and still find it hard to say no to a customer looking for something unusual!
Your company supplies bakers, wholesalers, artisans. What is the place of chocolatiers?
Chocolatiers have always been, and always will be, a hugely important customer sector for us – we are the largest independent supplier of chocolate couverture in the UK. Chocolate and Cocoa products account for around 60% of our sales, and we supply chocolatiers throughout the UK.
Since expanding and taking on warehouse premises, we were expanded the range of ingredients on offer, and due to the fact that we find it hard to say no, we have became almost a one stop ingredient shop for Chocolatiers. We have a web shop and supply around 20,000 parcels a year to small serious and hobby customers throughout the UK and Europe as well as over 5000 mixed & full pallet consignments.
In the past 30 years the industry has changed profoundly, can you talk to us about the evolution?
Since the mid eighties, chocolatiers have come and gone – making great chocolates does not mean that you are necessarily good at running your business, so sadly many creative companies have fallen by the wayside. However, over the years, many of the little acorns have grown into mighty oaks, and we are very proud to have been, and still be, associated with many of them.
Chocolatiers have a much larger range of chocolate and ingredient options these days, and these allow them to produce products that differentiate them from the mainstream boxed producers as well as between themselves. Also there are many more options in terms of routes to market and packaging types and formats, so with a combination of creativity and business nous, there is plenty of scope for chocolatiers operating in the middle and top end of the market.
It is important to know and understand your market. The top-end London chocolatiers sell at prices most of us cannot believe – they deservedly get huge publicity for their creativity, but it must be remembered that this is a very small part of the overall artisanal market.
What is the future for the industry?
The future is very bright – despite the economic climate.
And what about the products and the consumers' taste?
Unfortunately the 'Belgian Chocolate' quality cache has been eroded over the years, with many inferior Belgian-made retail products in the market, however the vast majority of chocolatiers still use Belgian couverture.
Like a lot of things, there is still a load of nonsense talked about chocolate and chocolates. Many 'experts' nowadays turn their noses up at Belgian or chocolate produced by any of the larger couverture manufacturers.
Unfairly, some deride most artisan chocolatiers using mainstream couverture, which is unfortunately just a snobbish viewpoint and unrelated to the taste, functionality and consistency of the chocolate in question. Tellingly, these purists seem to forget that also the most important skill the chocolatier has is to produce a visually exciting and tempting end product, whilst carefully balancing the choice of chocolate with the subtlety of the centre.
The back story and product description is very important and helps drive the consumer to make a buying decision but also importantly, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The appearance, aroma, flavour and mouth feel of the finished product is the real key – and fortunately there is a huge choice of producers and products out there in the market – because taste is subjective and all of us have different views and opinions about what we eat.
It is always the chocolatiers choice to decide which particular chocolate they select and this wide choice allows them to continuously explore and develop new and exciting products and target specific niches in the market.
Is Fairtrade an important unique selling point (USP)?
I have very specific views on Fairtrade since the day that Fairtrade International (FLO) allowed the use of mass balance.
The aims of the Fairtrade movement are laudable, however it is vital that product labelling cannot be compromised, and in the case of mass balance, I believe the consumer is being misled. There is enough "shock, horror" about the scandal of horsemeat in burgers, but personally I feel that allowing mass balance compromises the bond of trust between the manufacturer and the consumer in an equally unacceptable way.
The mass balance system was introduced to allow companies that claim to be unable to segregate and separate Fairtrade products through their supply and manufacturing chain, to buy a quantity of Fairtrade products, like sugar or cocoa, and use this in production. They can then label an equivalent quantity of finished products with the Fairtrade logo, although the end retail product may not contain 100% Fairtrade cocoa or sugar – in fact, the retail product may have none at all!
The thin end of this particular wedge is that small chocolatiers, who championed Fairtrade from the outset, have now had the rug pulled from under them. Fortunately organic beans do have to be segregated and the supply chain is sound and auditable from farm to consumer, which does beg the obvious question as to why FLO waived the rules for the multinationals. Of course origin beans are also segregated as a matter of course!
So, and as with many foods, provenance is becoming more important than being able to use the Fairtrade logo on their products. We see this with chocolate and companies like Luker in Colombia and The Grenada Chocolate Co, who have developed bean-to-couverture models that involve massive investment in programmes to train and develop farms and farmers and by producing actually in the country where the beans are grown, ensure that the value-added steps – processing beans and producing finished couverture – benefit more than just the farmer and his family. Much, much fairer than Fairtrade!
I expect to see more bean-to-chocolate companies starting in cocoa-growing countries in the coming years. Also origin bean producers will really start to take hold in Europe as they have in North America. It is a logical step for artisanal chocolatiers to start actually processing and producing some of their chocolate from beans. We intend to be at the forefront of this trend and can supply beans from many origins and there is now small scale chocolate production equipment available which we can help with.
Many thanks to HB Ingredients' Tony Mycock.
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Whether it's eCommerce, responsive web design, augmented reality, or online/offline integration: we don't just restrict ourselves to one area; instead, we look into all aspects in order to provide the ideal solution to your special requirements.
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Our aim is to create digital brand experiences through independent advice, professional implementation, and demand-driven customer support.
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We love the Web. Our consultants are always one step ahead of the latest developments and thus get to the heart of your issues. And our developers have been breathing the Internet for as long as they can remember. This makes us a strong partner when it comes to making your digital desires palpable and tangible. We take a professional and independent approach that is based on your needs and we support your development over the long term.
Our objective: to achieve a customer relationship with long-term success
ETECTURE supports and advises customers with customized software solutions and state-of-the-art technologies for the Web. ETECTURE GmbH was founded at the beginning of 2003 by a team of experienced software specialists and consultants. Our extensive project experience across all sectors and business areas enables us to supply our customers with proven ideas and technologies — thus ensuring they are in a leading position. As "digital architects", we plan, build, and run digital solutions tailored exactly to the demands of communication, marketing, and sales departments.
With their extensive expertise, more than 100 employees at our headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and our other locations in Germany and the UK ensure that our customers' visions become digital reality.
We build on long-term partnerships and a trusting collaboration, and have been serving the majority of our customers for many years. To achieve the project objective, the classic factors of quality, time, and costs are always important in project management. For us, however, the crucial factor is the project success, which only becomes apparent after two to three years of collaboration. It is not quick success that is important to us, but rather we strive for a growing, needs-oriented customer relationship: we stick with you. We only give ourselves a pat on the back when the return on investment becomes visible to the customer after this period.
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An architect builds houses. We build software. An architect understands how to create a concept and how to achieve an attractive design and a "livable", that is, user-friendly blueprint.
What's more, the architect knows the experts who can put his plans into action and can keep his eye on them. He can evaluate and assess their work and thus ensure high-quality implementation.

subset: commoncrawl


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Magadheera 2 (2015)
The movie story deals with Arundhati the great-granddaughter of the Raja of Gadwal, Mahasamsthan. Arrangements are being made for her marriage. Arundhati is the first female to be born since her great great grandmother and is especially revered in the family. Her grandfather, the head of the family, talks to her with respect as if she were older than him. She receives a misleading phone call in her fiance Rahul's voice asking her to come to the fort of Gadwal, where she faces a horrible revelation. Learning the story from an aged servant maid, Chandramma…
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Our Work
The 100-year history project is a creative commemoration project, engaging children and teachers from 12 schools in Ireland and Northern Ireland with the Decade of Commemorations, through research and creative activity alongside a professional artist and writer. The project is phased to encompass child-led research, exploring the wider political events of the decade 1912-22 through the lens of local and family histories.
Phase 1 of the project has been funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs through the Reconciliation Fund.
Our Aims
Engage children with the decade of commemorations through child-led research and creative activity alongside a professional artist and writer
Create a cross-border network between 12 schools north and south, and provide opportunities for dialogue and sharing of ideas and approaches through the project
Challenge received myths and perceptions around historical events from 1912-22, and break the culture of silence surrounding these events
Support a way of working that involves children as action researchers within their own communities and that recognises the transformative value of the arts for breaking down cultural barriers
Develop a strong interagency cross-border partnership between Kids' Own, the Association of Teacher Education Centres in Ireland, and Belfast Education & Library Board, as a solid framework within which to support work with children & young people in educational settings
Make a unique commemorative book publication to provide a legacy that promotes children's inclusion in commemorations, and the power of the child's voice to challenge the perceptions of adults
Bring together over 300 children and adults from Ireland and Northern Ireland for a high-profile launch of the 100-year history book publication


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Reminder: Roane State campuses will open at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 22
Roane State has over 200 private scholarships through the Roane State Foundation. In selecting recipients for these scholarships, emphasis is placed upon scholastic achievement, character, future promise, and financial need. The scholarship application is available online at http://www.roanestate.edu/scholarships or call toll free at 1-866-GO2-RSCC ext. 4422 or 865-882-4507. The application deadline and scholarship regulations are also found there.
Roane State Community College is a TBR and AA/EEO employer and does not discriminate against students, employees, or applicants for admission or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, age, status as a protected veteran, genetic information, or any other legally protected class with respect to all employment, programs and activities sponsored by Roane State. View full non-discrimination policy.


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I've lived in Farmborough for 10 years now, but it took me about seven years to enter anything into the annual Flower Show.
Come September, I'd pay my money to enter the hall and be amazed by some of the exhibits, while muttering, "I grew better than that", at others.
Every year would be the same and every year I'd promise that next year I would enter something…
Then, in 2008, my neighbour Jeannette and I made a deal to put a few things into the show. I had some potatoes and tomatoes and a couple of odd-shaped vegetables, while she had some preserves and some beans amongst other things. We laughed as we got our entries together, discussing the comments we thought the judges would make of our first attempts. I remember saying how they would probably look at my potatoes (the lovely Cara) and say that the eyes were too pink. Oh how we laughed, and so, with no expectation of winning or losing but just having a bit of fun, we entered into the show.
The next day I turned up to the show about an hour after it had opened. My neighbour spotted me immediately and came rushing up with a look of excitement saying, "You've won! You've won the President's Cup and no comments about the eyes!"
Eh? What? I'd won?
I was amazed and rather proud with my little Caras and the next year I entered more…and I won more…so I entered more again…and I won more again…and this year I entered even more…and won even more again…
At this point you probably have visions of 3′ carrots and 4′ leeks, with pumpkins the size of dolls houses. However, I don't grow veg like that and one of the reasons I enter into the show is to prove that you don't need to grow ridiculous and tasteless varieites of veg to have a go. I grow all my veg without chemicals and in peat-free compost made from post-consumer and household waste. Yet I still win cash prizes, cups and trophies. Why? Because it's quality and consistency that counts and although my veg may not be big, it's certainly beautiful, bountiful and above all, edible.
In case you're wondering what exactly I did enter and how it fared, here's a list:
- Runner beans
- Courgettes (First Prize)
- Marrows
- Potatoes (Cara: Second Prize and Cecile: Third Prize)
- Carrots
- Tomatoes (Yellow Cherry: Second Prize, Black Cherry: Third Prize and Red Cherry: Third Prize)
- Odd-shaped vegetables ('Carrots in Love': Second Prize and 'Family of Carrots': Third Prize)
- Sweet Peas
- Pot plants in bloom (White-flowered orchid: First Prize and the Resident's Flower Shield, and Purple-flowered orchid: Second Prize)
- Chicken Eggs
- Jam
- Jelly (Hedgerow Jelly with Ginned Sloes and Apples: Second Prize, Cherry-plum Jelly with vanilla: Third Prize, plus Damson Jelly: Highly Commended)
- Victoria Sandwich
- Shortbread (First Prize)
- Photographs (Local Scene: Second and Third Prize, Caption: Third Prize)
As you can see, I don't win with everything I enter and what I do win varies year on year, being very much dependant on the growing season and how much competition there is. In previous years I've won back more money than I've paid out to enter. This year it cost me a total of £8 to enter and I won £8.10 in prize money – a 10p profit! Woohoo! However, I did gain the honour of being awarded the Resident's Flower Shield for the second year running, so I'm feeling the right to a little smugness…(I'll post a picture of the shield and winning entry when it comes back from the engravers.)
If there's a show near you this year, or maybe it's been and gone and you've been muttering the same things I used to, stop thinking about it and have a go, because you never know what the outcome will be and above all, it's a bit of fun!
If you have entered a Flower Show this year or in the past, what prize-winning veg did you grow? Let me know in a comment and don't forget some pictures too…


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From around the world here are my images of various types of property, some residential; some commercial; some you may recognize. Click to enlarge and then hover over for a description.
Fushimi Inari-taisha in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan
Photo by Martin Leitch
Wangjing SOHO Building, Beijing
The Louvre, Paris
Photo created by Martin Leitch
A Residence in Surrey, England
Downtown Austin, Texas
Building in Tokyo, Japan
Paddington Basin, London
Mercedes Benz Arena, Shanghai, China
Residential Property in Berkshire
Residential Building in Surrey, England
San Francisco, City Hall
The State Capitol, Austin, Texas
The British Museum, London
The LBJ Presidential Library, Austin
The Guggenheim Museum, New York City
The Art Science Museum, Singapore
Residences, Beijing, China
Inside the Capitol Dome, Austin, Texas


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Travel Forum 4 years ago
|Home Country
|Contact Trooper
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Hi, my name is Marius, I'm 20 years old, I live in Switzerland and I'm looking to backback/interrail around europe (preferably eastern europe) for a month or so in august or september 2014.
My experiences with this sort of thing are rather limited, since I've never backpacked nor "interrailed" before, but how hard can it be?
I'm looking for some people who are also keen on traveling Europe (with or without experience =) ) to team up with.
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The only thing I know is that I certainly want to visit Poland.
So if anyone else has similar plans, please get in touch!


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REIGNING International Boxing Organization (IBO) world super flyweight champion Rey "Hitman" Loreto finally
REIGNING International Boxing Organization (IBO) world super flyweight champion Rey "Hitman" Loreto finally
DERMAX Laser Center chairman and chief executive officer Fred Reyes answers
MAKE your corporate events and family affairs even more special with Bucket Shrimps Davao's
The police officer implicated in the killing of Cebu-based business man Richard Lim King filed on Tuesday
The Universal Peace Federation-Philippines (UPF) has announced recently, the conduct of the first Search for Media P.E.A.C.E.
The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), a government agency which promotes children's protection and development,
The Public Safety Security and Command Center is manned by CCTV operators who monitors the daily activity in the city's main thoroughfares. BING GONZALES
LAST WEEK I took my first family vacation since my two sons were born. It was to a place that is only
INVESTIGATORS were looking into whether a policeman had a defective gun that result in his failure
MAYOR Rodrigo Duterte personally handed the promised P1 million to the two informants who tipped


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of about
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International studies
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I must say first that any Mexico spots or travel destination you choose you won't be disappointed; this is a game/test that will help you understand where to book your next Mexico travel, based on your favourite activities, the things you like to do on vacations and the way you are.
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Sometimes a wonderful sightseeing destination gets eclipsed by it's neighbors. That is certainly true of the beautiful state of New Mexico. With big and bold Texas to the east and the well traveled Colorado to the north, many people overlook New Mexico as not only having the best of both of those locations
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My Mexico Travel – Travel Tips
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I just returned from my second visit to the Rivera Maya, Quintana Roo and Yucatan. After 21/2 years, lots of change is evident.
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Travel to Mexico or Canada - Comparison
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Traveling to Mexico and or Canada has been on the minds of most United States citizens at one point of time. Since these countries are well known in North America, non U.S. citizens will most likely want to partake in one of these vacations.
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Mexico – The Spice of America
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Mexico needs no introduction in the world of tourism, it is in fact one of the most toured countries in the world.
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Where Are The New Mexico Wineries?
By: Vikram kuamr |
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Those of you who are planning on visiting New Mexico or live in the area and want to try a day out of testing wines can do so when they take a tour of the New Mexico wineries.
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Simple Drinks From Mexico
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Mexico offers quite a few unique beverages. Some involve fruits, and nuts even though other people contain milk. Some are served warm, even though others are chilled. These beverages have grown a popular in Mexico. You can find traditional conventional drinks, some of which originate from Spain.
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Your Mexico Home - Top 3 Reasons To Buy And Live In Mexico
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read more
Honeymoon in Mexico and Romantic Mexico Honeymoon Private Pool
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Sunbathed beaches board by sapphire influence on one side, and jungles filled with colorful birds and foreign plant and plants and fauna on the other - it's not a daydream. It's Mexico. Here the gentle power of the Caribbean and the exciting surf of the Pacific are a haven for sunbathers and watersport enthusiast alike.
read more
Living In Mexico; Choosing Mexico Real Estate For Your Lifestyle
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Real Estate
Since there is no one "Mexican lifestyle" it is important for future expats to know some of the many different options available in Mexico real estate, and the lifestyle they offer.
read more
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Akumal is located just one hour and ten minutes (about 100 Km) south of Cancun on the Mexican Caribbean coastline of the Yucatan peninsula. Akumal is in the state of Quintana Roo.
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If you and your family are planning a vacation and would like to include beauty and a new culture while keeping costs reasonable, you may want to consider traveling to Mexico by RV. There is no question that the beaches, cities, and people of Mexico offer a uniquely relaxing vacation experience, making it an incredibly popular destination.
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Popular Destinations of Mexico For Everyone to Enjoy
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Great film showing the need for playgrounds to keep children amused.
British Pathé
Nice item about bulldog kennels in Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire.
Dogs and puppies being trained for stage work at kennels in Shepperton.
A lady demonstrates an automatic dog feeder in Chicago, America.
Pools winner Charlie Lee - a butcher - gives away free meat to celebrate good fortune.
Government urges the population to save bones for various uses.
Educational film showing various members of the dog family including foxes, corgis and wild dogs.


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EPY: New York State Paid Family Leave Law
(Doc ID 2277346.1)
Last updated on MAY 11, 2018
Applies to:PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM Payroll for North America - Version 8.8 SP1 to 9.2 [Release 8.8 to 9]
Information in this document applies to any platform.
1. What type of deduction will be used, General or Benefit?
2. What process will be used to determine eligibility for the deduction?
3. Where will the New York State Average Weekly Wage be stored?
4. Where will the New York State maximum employee contribution % be stored?
5. How will weekly wages be captured so the deduction can be based on them?
5a. To ensure that the maximum employee weekly contribution does not exceed .126% of the SAWW, the Additional Rate page will have a new tax class with $1.65 in the Maximum Gross field (0.126% of SAWW $1,305.92)?
6. Will there be a page developed displaying the employee's earnings codes by week that are eligible for the weekly wage calculation, similar to the Review FLSA Pay Data page?
7. Will there be a page developed displaying the employee's average weekly wage (over 8 weeks) that will be used in the calculation of the PFL to pay the employee? If so, will this display the AWW that is defined in the regs under 355.9 "whichever is the higher amount, by the number of weeks or portion thereof of such employment"?
8. What format will this new development come in, PRP or PUM or Tax Update?
9. Where can we find development updates as this is being worked on?
10. This question is in regards to the NYS Workers Comp Board section 380-2.6: Family Leave Waiver. Now that we understand there will be a new field FLI Status on the employee State Tax Data page, perhaps one of the options will be Waived?
Additional Questions:
11. We understand we will need to setup a tax deduction by first setting up the Additional Rates on the NY State Tax Table. I gather the tax class would be Family Leave Insurance -EE? / Voluntary Family Leave Ins - EE.
12) If setting up the Additional Rates for tax class Family Leave Insurance - EE the tax base should be 'disability" and tax rate 0.001260 and maximum gross = $67,908.
13) Then the next functionality we would need is to ensure employees are setup on the state tax data correctly?
14) Will PeopleSoft be delivering additional developments for payroll to ensure we are deducting taxes accurately?
15) Will we need to set up a earnings code to pay our employees or does the pay comes from our Vendor responsible for processing the PFL?
16) How does the system know which earnings codes (wages at calc time) to include? How are the wages identified that will be used to take the NY FLI/EE tax from?
Employers are permitted, but are NOT required, to begin collecting premiums
from employees on July 1. Employers are only required to begin collecting
premiums from employees beginning with wages paid on or after January 1,
2018. Deducting premiums from employees is optional during the period from
July 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.
Effective from July 1, 2017, to Dec. 31, 2017, employers in New York are NOT
to be required to deduct employees wages for the state's new paid
family-leave tax of 0.126 percent, the state Workers Compensation Board told
Bloomberg BNA on June 15. (The state previously said that deductions for the
paid family-leave tax would be mandatory during this period.)
Effective Jan. 1, 2018, employers either must deduct paid family-leave tax
from employees wages or pay the cost of paid family-leave premiums
themselves instead of deducting employees¿ wages.
Sample check in attachments
To view full details, sign in with your My Oracle Support account.
Don't have a My Oracle Support account? Click to get started!


text:
Description:The Skype you know and love has an all-new design, supercharged with a ton of new features and new ways to stay connected with the people you care about most.
What can I do with Skype?
• Messaging made awesome: More than just text. Send photos, videos, voice messages, emoticons, Mojis and more. You can also respond to any message from your contacts with reactions.
• Great for groups: Add your favorite people and start chatting. Use groups to plan together, play together, for staying in touch or just for hanging out.
• Call everyone - Skype, mobiles and landlines: Free* video and voice calls make it easier to stay connected with friends and family. You'll also enjoy low calling rates to mobiles and landlines worldwide with Skype.
• Never miss a moment with quick capture: Quickly swipe to capture photos and videos. Make them your own by adding emoticons, stickers and annotations.
• Share Highlights: Keep others updated with Highlights from your day. React to any highlights with awesome emoticons or send a private message about that highlight. Your highlights only stay visible for 7 days to your followers.
*Skype to Skype calls are free. Operator data charges may apply. We recommend using an unlimited data plan or WiFi connection.
Upgrading to the new Skype may result in the deletion of content from older conversations.
To save photos and videos that were previously sent or received in an older version of Skype, save that content to your camera roll/photo gallery before upgrading to the new Skype.
Duplicated Versions:
You Need to install AppSync Unified tweak from Cydia "cydia.angelxwind.net" to be able to install the duplicated versions corrctly
For updating duplicate apps you need to install DuplicatorStore Tool from this source "apt.othman.tech" Then click update button
Skype 2 Ver (6.5.152)
Skype 3 Ver (6.5.152)
Skype 4 Ver (6.5.152)


text:
Apartment interior design
Spazio is engaged in high-quality interior design of apartments. Our clients are people who love style and appreciate quality. In our portfolio various projects of spacious apartments. We work in styles: modern, luxury, mediterranean (northwestern), british and american, eclecticism and others.
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- Layout of lighting equipment. A selection.
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This large set of documents allows the contractor to effectively perform the fit out works. A well-marked apartment design project will reduce the cost of fit out works.
Do you want to get a cost estimate of an apartment interior design?
Just fill out the form on the right.
Design by Spazio apartment designers
We believe that the success of apartment interior lies in small things. Therefore, we pay great attention to details. Sometimes an interior can lose its appeal because of a few small things. Our apartment designers carefully choose and think out even the most seemingly insignificant things: for example, what should be the knobs bending at the armchairs, what should be the shape of the floor lamp, where to place the ventilation grilles, what texture of the stone to choose, what shade should be the fabric of the pillows and so on. The correct combination of elements creates a whole interior.
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Take a look at our other projects
Novotel Hotel, Office No: 2703
Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Barsha-1, Dubai, UAE
Do you like our designs? Share with friends and the world.


text: By day, I am a fairly good technology writer who has authored many magazines articles, some blogs and a few books. There's a deeper, darker side to me though that few know of. I have an addiction. Knowledge is my high and education is my drug. I am just about to complete my second bachelors. As soon as I'm done, I am enrolling into a masters-to-PhD program. The problem, like with most addictions, is that this costs money. If you are educated in the US, a lot of money. I read that the average PhD graduates $170,000 in debt. I needed a way to feed my addiction. A way that would allow me enough free time to put into the research and internship time required of a PhD student. I decided that blackhat methods may provide a means. I did a lot of research, and quite honestly, took a lot of tips from BHW member Leith. Here is what I have tried since the beginning of May and the results I have seen: I've written about this is other posts, but to recap, I have had a good amount of success writing for the Amazon Kindle. Kindle books of about 50 pages priced in the $5 range targeting the "make money" crowd have done well. Be forewarned - If you're book is crap, it will not sell. Amazon gives people the opportunity sample before buying. I've read some pretty awful KDP books. So bad that I almost wanted to demand payment from the author for wasting my time. Keys with the Kindle are 1) enroll in KDP for 70% royalties, 2) provide a free promo period of 4-5 days to get some buzz going, 3) if you are doing fiction, turn it into a series Dating affiliate is another I've tried and have used some of the top names like AFF, DG, and Loaded Cash. Whatever the reason, I have not been able to convert even a single free sign-up. Using methods like the sexy model video from Fiverr, I've been able to drive thousands of people to my link, but no one has converted. Reselling Fiverr gigs is another that I have put to work. The only marketing I did with this is through Scrapebox commenting. Surprisingly, it actually resulted in some sales. I was able to charge $30 for .edu backlinks using a Fiverr provider who delivered in under 24 hours. Definitely could be scaled. Content locking has been a tough one. I have a niche site that brings in a few hundred visitors per day. I only ever built up this traffic to learn the ropes when it came to SEO. I decided I'd try to lock certain portions of the content down with Blam Ads. My traffic dropped off almost immediately. Even the traffic that still came was not converting. I eventually dropped the content locking, and traffic went back to normal. Even better, Adsense earnings started to pick up due to some keyword optimization I did after removing the content locking. I'm still exploring the best ways to monetize, and have some ideas about turning my KDP offerings into affiliate programs. I feel like I am still quite far from earning a full-time income through IM, but the last couple of months have been valuable experience. Certainly, none of what I learned would have been possible without the valuable input from the members here on BHW.


text:
Ihave been trying to see auras lately. Mostly I can see a white outline of the person's profile that starts to expand outward. The other day I was seeing color in it too. Does this sound accurate or was I trying so hard that my brain producedthis visually? I was trying to see the family's auras and when I got color it was mostly blue, green oryellow. One had a yellowish green and one a blueish green. I read that anyone can train themselves to read auras so I thought I would try it out and see. This might be a good tool to help verify theempathic informationwe are getting from people.
updated by @gin-s: 03/08/17 01:47:01AM


text:
Information's Future
Presenting a paper at Sheffield University's inaugural iFutures conference, Thursday saw me taking my first trip to the Steel City. Having been a student again for 2 years now, the 5am start was a bit of a shock to the system, so I was very happy to find a lovely little on-campus cafe selling amazingly fluffy two-egg omelettes and a decent Fairtrade coffee (extra strong, naturally). Wolfing these down and wondering why, in 30 years, I'd never before heard of Yorkshire's "famous" Henderson's Relish (have you?) I perused the day's programme and gave my slides a final once-over. The conference – tagline: "the next 50 years", since Sheffield's iSchool is currently celebrating its 50th birthday – was run entirely by Postgrads and aimed to provide a "forum for students to present forward-thinking and challenging research" in an "encouraging environment". The organisers had accordingly "blocked" (in tongue-in-cheek fashion) their iSchool seniors from attending, focussing instead on attracting an audience of young/early-career academics. This worked out well; the event was no less intellectual, stimulating or professional, but for the students presenting, the day was made less intimidating in that ideas could be exchanged and space carved out more freely without fear of overtly supervisory objections.
Topics included the impact of ICTs on informal scientific communication, Institutional Repositories in Thailand, Chemoinformatics, telehealth project management, the ways in which public libraries can pro-actively support and respond to their communities, and a "radical" new approach to the analysis of classification schemes. A post-lunch Pecha Kucha session saw us voting via an "audience participation device" for the best and most engaging presenter. Pecha Kucha, if you haven't come across it, is a trendy but very fun method of rapid-fire presentation – 20 slides are pre-programmed to be on screen for only 20 seconds each, meaning that the presenter ends up "pitching" a vision as much as opening up a debate and therefore has to be more creative. Facing stiff competition, Simon Wakeling's take on the Future of the Filter Bubble was decided most worthy of a prize. My own full-length paper, which was also well received, was more traditional, describing a methodology for assessing academics' attitudes toward new media and why that matters.
So what is the future of our field, which might broadly be called "Information Science"? Predicting the future is a dubious enterprise, and in an age of almost maniacal technological development, it becomes even harder to know what is scientifically probable and what is just science-fiction. Still, disclaimers aside, we can make some informed speculations based on current socio-technical trends. Two impressive keynote speakers – Professor Diane Sonnenwald (University College Dublin and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) and Vanessa Murdock (Principal Applied Researcher at Microsoft Research) – were on hand to share their views. Coming from quite different perspectives, both shared thoughts about where information science should, or might, concentrate its energies. As a group, we possess much expertise that could help solve pressing social and environmental problems; failing health, climate change, inequality, global insecurity. While remedies for these might be figured out by analysts of the "big data" coming from scientific sensors and digitally mediated environments, disaster prevention initiatives and "crisis informatics" will only be successful if those creating systems, strategies and technologies are supported by experts able to assess their impacts on work patterns, task performance, and their wider (often unconsidered) socio-cultural effects.
Describing her own research into 3D medical Telepresence devices, Professor Sonnenwald emphasised that information professionals must make sure we are "at the table" when research projects and funding priorities are discussed institutionally and internationally. The kind of analyses that we undertake may lead to short-term headaches for those developing products – for example, one of her studies showed a particular device to be more flawed than its initial backers supposed – however in the long run, this is a good thing not just for them but for all of us. It's cheaper to address design issues pre- rather than post-production, and, economics aside, we must make sure that the groups whose problems we try to solve are not inadvertently given more of them by shimmering but naively designed solutions. In an age of algorithms and automation, information science is far from redundant.
Vanessa Murdock focussed on how we can map the world and its preoccupations through the harvesting and analysis of social media data. Location-aware and location-based services on smartphones and web-browsers are one obvious example; Microsoft and others are working hard to build the "hyper local" as well as the personalised into their products. If you're in Oslo and you fancy a pizza, wouldn't it be nice to see at a click which restaurant near you has a menu to match your dietary requirements, what other customers thought about it, and where, based on your tastes, you might go afterwards? Less trivially, it would be valuable for sociologists, political economists and others to discover with reliability precisely where most tweets about Revolution X are coming from in order to ascertain the demographics of those tweeting them and what percentage of the population they actually represent. Naturally such applications are not without their issues. We need to think deeply about privacy, data protection, regulation and – at a technical level – the reliability of services based on data which are often difficult to interpret syntactically and semantically. Further, aren't companies really just servicing the "Technorati", treating them as typical of the needs and preferences of humanity when in fact, they are only a small and (it might be argued, insubstantial) minority? Reminding us of a need to understand the difference between solutions that work on "toy data" or simplified abstract models, and those which work when applied to reality, Murdock also pointed out that while "you should take the noble path and build things which are useful when possible, there is also a role for building things which are cool!"
Sheffield has about 60 PhD Students working in the two main research groups of their Information School, and it seems that the culture there is as lively as it is cutting edge. All of the presenters were really impressive and I'd like to thank the committee for putting together such a fun event. 🙂
Toying with technology
For those of us who don't often have cause to go into a children's toyshop, said establishments can become unexpectedly fascinating sites for anthropological research. On a recent trip to Carlisle, I decided to see what I could find in their Early Learning Centre for my two adorable nieces. Considering I was an "early learner" myself when I last visited, I was understandably amazed at how things have changed since then. The ELC do make a concerted effort to offer a range of toys categorised according to area and skill development – problem solving, gross motor skills, hand-to-eye-coordination, thinking skills, learning to read and so on. I'm not sure about the amount of research that has gone into them, but no doubt these guides are appreciated by regular customers. At the same time, toyshops are just that: shops. Profit, not education, is the ultimate bottom line, and that means keeping up-to-date and "on trend".
As an adult, you can't fail to notice the sheer number of toys that continue to promote the usual stereotypical gender roles. Although both girls and boys are pictured playing with kitchen sets and tractors, the meta tags for ELCs online Xmas Shop still refer insistently to "top toys for girls" (pink phantasia, styling heads and prams) and "top toys for boys" (greens, browns, yellows, construction kits and cowboy costumes) in terms carefully avoided elsewhere on the site. The arguments that follow from such assumptions are well known and I won't repeat them all here. Equally interesting is how a new range of toys reflect the technological changes of our own "adult" environments. Hearteningly, the same little girls who are expected to content themselves with fake washing machines, vacuum cleaners and fairytale castles are at least expected to leave the domestic sphere at some point and undertake the kind of labour that requires a multitude of tech gadgets. 😉 To illustrate:
A lightweight multi-purpose laptop with a "32 page workbook". For 3-6 year olds? Wow. Is fun time over? Or are the links between creativity, consumption and productivity what is being encoded here as fun? A scale of consumer gradation means that eventually the toys start subtly to assume actual functionality; whether that be for work or entertainment. Try an image search for "Pink laptop" and you'll probably struggle to differentiate the fakes from the real things. As Bind Apple noted a few years ago:
Since manufacturers decided they should improve the design and the colors of their existing products, the IT market has been flooded by the massive demand of pink products. Why pink? Because, unlike 10 years ago, technology is not for men only. Also, because the feminine target now represents more than 45% of the total consumers of the whole gadget market.
Of course, it all eventually comes full circle when the adult "gadgets" get marketed as though they were toys. The message seems to be that while children need to mimic their parents, their parents really ought to regress back to the colourful non-results-focused world of play. But isn't that world becoming just a miniature version of what they're doing anyway? In future, maybe we'll have a separate queue for children at airport baggage screening areas. At the ELC, they could buy a multi-coloured, personalised tray to deposit their fake laptops, smartphones and tractor keys into. Just to make sure they really understand the implications of all of this sparkly social technology.
More seriously, there are of course clear links between play, games, learning, creativity and skills development, regardless of age group. Most people would agree that play shouldn't stop the minute we get added to the electoral register. It's a question though of what kind of play should be encouraged, and of what gets conditioned into us by the lessons embedded in the socio-cultural tools of the toyshop. Where do the chunky, bright buttons of the laptop and the smartphone fit within paradigms of "investigative" or "collaborative" learning? With the development of critical faculties and personality and "problematic" gender identity? Following the logic of the manufacturers, children will arrive at school already primed to be a certain type of consumer. If I were a parent, I might start to worry about the cost of the inevitable upgrades. That said, can I admit that I did find a lot of the toys pretty nifty?
New Media and Academia: Altered Attributes
Getting back to work on my thesis, I thought it might be time to be brave and
share some of my more academic musings with you. I am currently combining preparations for initial data gathering with exploration of the literature and an elucidation of my framework. I'll not post anything on the data gathering for now. Clearly this brief extract is part of a work in progress; which makes comments especially welcome!1 🙂
To state that there is no such thing as New Media is not the avoidance of an answer: rather, it is a rejoinder which meets the question of definition head-on. It is to suggest (with the hint of a challenge) that if we are to address the subject of "New Media" in significant depth we may first have to place aside our assumptions about what is actual and what is perceived; as well as the place of metaphor. These are the very assumptions around which much of "New Media" revolves, and with which it and its practitioners play. Contrarily, the very fluidity and liminality of these types of digital media, which may be referred to as "new", "social", "interactive", "mobile" or "virtual", suggests that there are particular thresholds or boundaries within which they exist, hence typical characteristics which might be identified. Nevertheless, it is important to make clear that seizing upon or fixing some particular conception or definition of New Media would in many ways run contrary to the purpose of my thesis. What it is necessary and rather simple to accept is the relative, historically situated, and (in terms of reception and acceptance) contingent character of anything labelled "new" – which partly explains why New Media defies easy classification. Another reason why an in-transition sketch is often the best that can be offered is that "New Media" can be seen differently depending on where, how, why, and by whom, it is being considered. It refers to something constantly being updated and refreshed; continually shifting; and which frequently but unpredictably accommodates ideas, features, and perspectives not previously included. Yet it also builds on tradition and what was prior. For the academic subject or "discourse communities", whose attitudes towards New Media are the focus of this research, this is also the case – as well as, increasingly, for the disciplines and institutions to which they belong. There, as Nowotny et al observe, "near absolute demarcation criteria have failed".
"The notion of 'boundary work' implies not only that boundaries are not fixed and permanent but that they need to be actively maintained. Moreover, their definition, mapping, and maintenance, often serve a social function. Social contingency and professional expediency influence the choice of 'stories' about Science [including Social Sciences]. Defining the sciences, mapping their territory in public space, making and reshaping them in the image tailored for the specific time and the occasion are all part of 'boundary work'. And scientists, as 'boundary workers', are actively engaged in such activities as an integral part of their scientific endeavours" [page 57]. We must first understand the "socio-epistemological meaning of context" before we are able to address and understand the political and institutional characteristics of Science. Both types of context affect knowledge structures within academic disciplines. The current shifts occurring in the "conceptualisation and enactment of Science" are part of a move toward a "Mode II" society where contextualised knowledge moves "into the context of implication" [page 201] – i.e. wider society beyond the University proper, a "social space of transformation" or, what the authors, in a re-imagining of ancient Greece's public sphere, call "the agora". This space is typified by, among other things, "socially distributed expertise", and "changing rules of engagement" whereby social relationships become vertical rather than horizontal and where institutional structures and traditional modes of interaction are "aided" and altered by "the pervasive role of information and communication technologies" [page 105]. Just as time and space have been reconceptualised into the "more capacious category of space-time, so science and society "co-evolve" as an aspect of coalescence [page 49]; the distinction between academics and those who would previously have been deemed "incompetent outsiders" is no longer as meaningful an analytical tool.
Some critics point out that this was always the case; not just for Science, but also for the Arts & Humanities, and that such a perspective or vision of scholarship might be seen to date as far back as Francis Bacon's New Atlantis. A utopian novel published in 1697, New Atlantis greatly influenced Enlightenment concepts of Scientific rationalism, even depicting participation in the academy by certain select members of the public (although in Bacon's narrative, this is tightly-controlled, hierarchical, and revolves around the acceptance of particular customs). Others propose that it was Universities and institutions which parted Science from its original multi-varied and accommodating form. In either case, we may assume that the modern University can be broadly characterised in these terms, in particular the dominance of ICTs. Altered power structures and novel "visibility" regimes are also created by and reflected in new forms of media and communications technology. Divisions between producer/consumer, author/reader, expert/layperson are challenged and blurred; politicised discourses often position it in terms of access to knowledge, power, and a re-structured public sphere. Traditions and novelty converge and collide. Clearly then, there are strong thematic links and properties which typify both "New Media" and Academia in the 21st century. These require much further exploration.
1 I have removed some inline references in support of various arguments to make this entry more blog friendly. For the most part, hyperlinks are provided instead.
Dark Matters
The title of my post is that of a fantastic and pretty unique exhibition that I visited today at the University of Manchester's Whitworth Gallery. Subtitle: Science Technology Art. Sadly I am unable to post any illustrative pictures of what I spent the day admiring due to copyright restrictions. Yes, even the shadows cast by some of the works are copyrighted!1 So you'll either have to go and see for yourself (it runs until well into next year) or follow the various links embedded in this post and take it from me that many of the pieces on display are absolutely magical. In that "Is this real ?!" childhood sense of magical that so many of us only dimly remember as we grow up. Still, there is also plenty that it is more solemn and introspective if that sounds like too much fun. 😉
The exhibition is themed around the idea of what happens when mechanical and digital technologies intersect with and give new expression to the "darker" (both literal and metaphorical) regions of our creative imaginations: what we see or imagine in the shadows and in response to changing, shifting patterns of light. The reaction of Maxim Gorky (who knew a thing or two about terror) to one of the first exhibitions of the Lumière brothers' cinematographic innovations: "Not life, but a shadow of life. It is terrible to see, this movement of shadows…" provides an introductory insight. Other literary connections are provided in the work of Idris Khan. Blown-up, layered digital images of printed texts, which somehow appear like majestic 3D photocopies – including Roland Barthes' Camera Lucida and Sigmund Freud's The Uncanny – both merge and separate related elements of form, content, tone, and subtext. These look beautiful up close.
Snow Mirror by Daniel Rozin is the piece everyone wants to have a play with. The image of the viewer standing in between 'projector' and 'screen' is captured and transformed through a combination of computers, lights, and fabric, before being presented back to you slowly as if heralding the creation of a ghostly other "you". To be more specific: a ghostly other you trapped in a snow blizzard. Kiss by R. Luke DuBois literally sparkles. For this he has visually analysed and mapped with bright points of connected light, specific regions of film depicting famous Hollywood kissing scenes, also tying them to an original, mathematically calculated, soundtrack. DuBois manages to draw your attention to the illusion/fantasy of cinematic emotion at the very same time as he takes it, manipulates it, and makes you feel it anew. Similarly, when I walked into the large room where Brass Art's "Still Life No. 1" was sitting I was surprised to hear myself say out loud – "wow, this is amazing!" I can't at all do justice to how magnificent the modern take of these 3 female artists (1 is from Glasgow) on a magic lantern or a Zoetrope (the Wheel of the Devil) is. Huge distorted shadows of the tiny little figurines and plastic shapes they have set up on a cylindrical table are cast dancing around the room. The figures on the table glow in bright white and yellow, appearing from a distance like crystal ornaments. This instantly took me back to the time when, as a kid, my imagination and my dreams started to develop together, spinning across the walls.
I'm sorry for these rather hesitant and "wooly" descriptions of the works. I am not an expert in how exactly these effects were achieved. I discussed this a little with one of the lovely gallery staff while we stood inside Barnaby Hosking's brilliant "Black Flood". The point is to immerse yourself in the feelings elicited by these works (to react to them emotionally, even viscerally, as Gorky did) rather than to try and unpick how exactly the material and lights are set up and installed. I tried; but in the end, experiencing rather than clinically analysing suits me (and them) best.
Apparently some visitors to the museum find Hosking's wall-mounted "butterflies" (3 different types and colours of metal, showing light, dark, shade, and very much conveying the fleeting movements of thought) too cheerful or "twee" for an exhibition themed around darkness. This is a really strange point of view! As the Lumières and other craftsmen and women working with photographs and "phantoms" knew better than most, the darkness of cinema or art based on those techniques is not possible without the play of light. Equally, the lightness of a Hollywood "kiss" is best appreciated in the dark.
1I have added a few images that I thought they wouldn't object to – some of the lights and shadows at the Whitworth that aren't technically exhibits…
Media City's Aeolian Cadences
A lovely day for late October and a lovely day to meet with an old friend from Glasgow (well, Northern Ireland actually, but let's not split hairs). We first met during our long-ago Undergrad days at Glasgow Uni – which suddenly didn't seem so very long ago after all. Naturally my being new to the city meant a good excuse to go exploring, so we headed away from the city centre into Salford, and down to the Quay to look around the undeniably beautiful Media City UK complex where the BBC, ITV, Salford University, and various start-up media companies ("Media Village") will make, or are in the midst of making, new homes. Right now, the BBC make a very 21st-century impression while the ITV "quarter" is still a literal building site – meaning that Simon Cowell and Tracy Barlow grin unconvincingly out from their posters as if to distract us from the fact it's JCBs behind them rather than sweeping, angular glass and metal.
A little bit like Glasgow's Pacific Quay (where BBC Scotland and the Armadillo sit) in its aspirations to state-of-the-art waterside glamour and a combination of business, creative industry, and apartments, it's far grander, much more spacious, and infinitely more interesting to photograph. No matter which direction you look in, you are guaranteed to find a good shot.1 Media City may have "installed enough fibre to stretch from Salford to Sydney" to cater to the "bandwidth-hungry requirements of the media industry", but it really does feel like a public space; especially with the Lowry Arts Centre and the Imperial War Museum North also on its banks. Everyone can wander around and enjoy the landscaped park, the piazza, and the bridges that cross the river. Near the BBC building, a temporary sound sculpture (or, if you like, "an acoustic wind pavilion") called "Aeolus" made delicate and almost harmonic sounds in accordance with the movement of gentle winds. The installation captures the music of Salford's breezes via a combination of strings and amplifying tubes. You can hear it here, at the website of Luke Jarram, the artist who designed it in collaboration with acoustic scientists at Salford University and Southampton University.
Still, the Media City UK complex has not been without controversies. It has brought about a certain (probably inevitable) amount of "upheaval" and some political wrangling both within the BBC, and with the institution's favourite sparring partner, Westminster. Some question the justification for moving operations all the way up North from London. There has also been criticism about the pretty exorbitant cost to Salford University of moving its media students there. I guess that over time, we will find out if the "vision" can become part of a successful reality. As one overheard passerby, on his way back from Manchester City's resounding victory over Man U at Old Trafford, commented to a friend: "Just so long as they [the BBC] keep charging us the same license fee". Sadly, it's doubtful that Salford University will be able to charge its students the same tuition fees as previously when they undertake studies on the site.
I can't find anything to criticise about my experience today of the place in terms of its design and use of space. I had a great time looking around. Hopefully it will remain accessible to everyone and not become upmarket to the point of ultra-exclusivity as business gets properly underway.
Well, I hope you'll agree! p.s. can't promise any prizes but let me know in the comments if you appreciate the Beatles reference. 😉
Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI)
Searching around Deansgate in the rain for an interesting place to get lunch and an espresso resulted in a short trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. The building, situated away from the main road so that it has plenty of room to breathe, is beautiful inside and out, making bold use of display screen technology in the "Revolutionary Manchester" gallery that introduces you to the museum's themes.
Instead of using old-fashioned wooden and cardboard plinths to explain what the exhibits are all about, the museum incorporates (in places) iPads into its displays. Amusing little games can be played at the same time as you discover the history of science and technology via touch-screen interfaces. Even mid-morning and in not so great weather, people of all ages and nationalities wandered around, looking (as if almost to their own surprise) very much impressed. There were examples of early computers (including one recreated by Manchester University's School of Computer Science) and a Ferranti Mark I logic door. There were also displays on the CERN reactor and nuclear energy.
Proof that people were taking things seriously came from the middle-aged foreign lady explaining eagerly to her friend who Ada Lovelace was: the theme here being women's contributions to computing science. Apparently half of Ferranti's programmers were, in 1951, women – chosen for their accuracy and reliability. I wonder by how much that percentage has changed today?
For the more "old school" museum (and of course aviation) fans out there – and for me, a little reminder of Glasgow's Transport Museum in the days before it became the Riverside Museum – the Air and Space Hall is really worth a look too. Chock full of planes and one or two motorbikes (air and space?) it's basically a big shed with a viewing walkway snaking around it from above. Exhibits include a Roe Triplane from 1903 and the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Mark II plane for the Kamikaze pilots of WWII. You may know that one by its far more romantic sounding translated name: "Cherry Blossom". Lovely!
Anyway, there are 5 buildings and 12 whole halls with various themes to explore and today I only had time for a few. Not sure yet if I want to "take a walk through a Victorian sewer" as part of the Underground Manchester theme. But the next visit will definitely take in the Communications ("Connecting Manchester") Gallery as well as the Power Hall for sure. Watch out for some pictures of retro telephones and cameras! Other pictures in (my) gallery above are of "The Avenue", a fancy shopping centre (sorry, "luxury shopping quarter").
Just don't climb on the letters!


text: Ray I certainly would be interested in having a look at thr Caithness Cadets you mentioned below. I am at "Tighnabruaich" 53 Lievesley St. Bundaberg 4670 Queensland Australia Regards Donald Sinclair -----Original Message----- From: firstname.lastname@example.com <email@example.com> To: firstname.lastname@example.com <firstname.lastname@example.com> Date: Friday, October 13, 2000 2:20 PM Subject: Re: Those St Clair of the Isles, etc >This is in answer to Donald H. Sinclair, President Margaret Stokes in >Australia and others on the net who have been looking for the books by Roland >St Clair, as shown by Ian Sinclair of Melbourne in his fine report on 4 >October. Several people have expressed a desire to get one or more of these > books if an when somebody makes copies. The book most of us are looking for >is "St Claires of the Isles", which consists of 18 chapters and 558 pages.. >I have been getting chapters here and there from several sources, always a >page-by-page photocopy, a number of which are barely legible due to >variations in the skill level of the copier, etc. I have been collecting >bits and pieces of Sinclair Family History for about 18 years, and some >people who know abou this have given me a page or two as they found them in >libraries. As it turned out, I became focussed on my own particular line, >the Caithness Cadets, and so when an opportunity came up to buy a photocopy >set of the whole 558 pages some years ago, I passed. > >SO, if someone out there is only interested in the Caithness line, I can make >copies of what I have on my printer and send them snail mail, just ask and >you shall receive, no charge. IF, on the other hand you need the whole book >and perhaps even "The Sinclairs of Caithness" by the same author, my >recommendation is that we all hang in there a while until Ian gets through >figuring a way that he can take pictures of the books available to him and >then see what can be done to meet people's needs at a reasonable cost. I >responded to his recent inquiry about this, saying that organizing the >reproduction by family (location) would cut down on the specific orders >somewhat, and we could all order something more like a "chapter" and satisfy >our search. I don't know how others feel about this, but I'm slowly being >suffocated by too many books, files etc that I really don't need. It's >already cost a lot of money I have better uses for in my declining years, and >it just seems to proliferate at our present rate o growth and the tremendous >outpouring of data from new and old members. > >That's all I have to say on the subject at this time. Have fun with your >geneology, cousins. Best regards to alll - Ray Lower >[ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, email@example.com >[ To get off or on the list, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html > [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, firstname.lastname@example.com [ To get off or on the list, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html


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Or, click to read testimonial from:
"Kudos to Wave Connects!
My business is beach vacation rentals, moving tenants out and in every Saturday or monthly year round. It's a fast paced business of
"Beat the Clock!"
During construction on Friday, workers in one unit cut all wires to the internet, telephone, and TV in both units! We all know that cable companies schedule repairs a week out. With guests arriving the next day I was panic stricken!
I called Wave Connect, but their day was booked with no free technicians. Later Paul called me back. His technician, Robyn, already home for the weekend drove back to my beach house from Jamul, reconnected all of the wiring, and made certain that all 3 TV's, internet, and land lines were up and running.
While working, he overheard a repairman mention that special screws were missing to assemble a bed and he would have to rush to buy some several miles away. Robyn intervened, stating that he might be able to help. He did! He went to his service truck with the repairman and found just the right sized screws and washers.
This saved us valuable time and allowed us to beat the clock before guests arrived. Robyn went above and beyond, did his job superbly and offered a helping hand.
Kudos to Wave Connect for a excellent service and skilled technicians who actually care."
Cheri Gittins - Mission Beach
"Paul has performed services for me ranging from custom television
installation to analyzing and installing internet solutions to installing telephones. He is responsive and punctual. The products that he has recommended have all been of good quality. And, his workmanship is excellent."
"I know that you are always very busy. But, Carol and I want to thank you so much for being so attentive to our problems. You are a great help, and we deeply appreciate it."
Henry Hunte – La Jolla
"Wave Connects is my go to place for installing HDTVs and wiring. I have had them come to my house on several occasions. From complicated wiring starting at the point of access across my entire property line to something as simple as adding another jack to a wall mounted TV setup they have completed every task professionally. Thank you!"
Paul Prather - Pacific Beach
"I have used 3 companies and the most efficient and best was wave connects. I have cameras all over and can access them on my phone or remotely. If there's a problem, they reply by email
immediately to help. They have been there when I'm not, and they were always professional. firstname.lastname@example.com 866-272-9921 wave connects.com they are not cheap but well worth it for their
knowledge and abilities. "
Laura Turrent - La Jolla
"Paul and the guys at wave connects are always great. These professionals have proficient knowledge of all the newest technologies. They are on time and efficient. All the cables and such are hidden as much as possible. They are not cheap, but worth it to have your system done right the first time. We've used them for tv, entertainment system, networking, security system, security cameras, grandma can't work the tv, etc. Never fail with great service."
Laura Turrent - La Jolla
"We, George & I would like you to know how much we appreciate your timely service appointment and your understanding the needs of the upgrade.
We would also like you to know how professional , understanding and detail oriented we thought Jordon was. He did a wonderful job.
We were well pleased and satisfied with your company.
Kathy Ilse - Pacific Beach
"When we purchased a new 65" smart TV we wanted to make sure the installation was done properly. Todd was excellent in helping remove the old plasma TV and installing the new UHD TV. All cables are hidden in the wall and the installation went perfect.
Todd was a pleasure to work with and has always been available to answer questions after the installation."
Glenn Crouch - La Jolla
"I found this company on Yelp, after trying for months to contact American Home Entertainment with messages, numerous phone calls to no avail I contacted Paul from Wave Connects. They have come out to my house twice, the first time to help me with an universal remote and the second time to install a new 5cd player (which nobody uses anymore) Mike came out 2 times to get the cd player to work with my existing stereo and it wasn't easy but he got them working together. Fantastic Job
Both times I was contacted with the dates and times they would be out to do the work and were always on time and very efficient. It is so nice to find a company who comes out immediately and does such a great job"
Colleen Angelucci - La Jolla
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text: Hi folks! I'll be away from 18th- 27th March for the www.hkiff.org.hk  I can't wait!! I booked the tics first thing on 21st Feb as soon as their online programme guide was made available.. I really wanted to watch "Zoo" ( not for the faint-hearted) but I'll be back at the slug earlier than Zoo's run, so too bad.. Oh, and one of our favourite slugs- Mandy slug is opening a quaint little dessert shop in the Meifoo district in Hongkong on 23 March. I'll be there to kaypoh and to take some delicious pics. Will keep you updated once I'm back. Meanwhile, do contact Joseph at HP 90064163 ( email@example.com) or Sharon at HP 92257913 ( firstname.lastname@example.com) if you need any help/info on our food and beverage/party planning services. See you later, alligator!


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2009 is fast upon us! I am really thankful for this time of year. To me Thanksgiving and Christmas logically give way to a new year. Looking at what I'm thankful for and all that God has given me, then turning to praise and adore Him for the greatest gift ever, Jesus Christ and finally focusing myself on His plan for my life and seeking to honor Him with all of me.
Some make resolutions. Websters-online-dictionary.org defines it, as it pertaines to New Year's Day, as " a decision to do something or behave in a certain manner."
I personally don't make resolutions–mainly because I can't keep them. I make goals. One definition of goal is "The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed; an objective." I like this a whole lot better than a resolution. Here's an example of resolution vs. goal: Resolution–lose 15 pounds this year. Goal: Only eat sweets once a week, drink water, plan healthy meals, and exercise at least 3x per week. See the difference? I have such a better understanding of what I'm trying to accomplish and I know the plan to getting there.
Amidst all my goal making, I must keep my eyes on my Heavenly Father.
13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phil. 3:13-14
Honoring God and following His plan for my life is my highest goal.
What are some of your goals for 2009?


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The last few weeks have been special here in Knoxville. Last week, a 550-ton capacity crane was moved onsite for a special lift of the rooftop units at the southern retail center. This process involved over 12 truck loads of crane parts that we assembled onsite. This was followed by 5 more loads of equipment including a generator, refrigeration equipment and HVAC units that were placed on the roof of the adjacent building.
The use of this large crane was required as the back of the mall is inaccessible for heavy equipment. The crane include over 200 feet of boom to reach the rear of the building.
Progress in other areas of the project included the following:
Shops A:
- Steel erection complete
- Underground MEP work ongoing
Shops B:
- Interior framing of upper level shops
- Brick work on upper level
- Overhead MEP ongoing
- Lower floor slab poured
- Lower level overhead MEP
- Lower level framing
- Roofing ongoing
Shops C:
- Slab on grade poured
- Framing of walls ongoing
- Overhead MEP ongoing
- Roofing ongoing
Shops D:
- Footing complete
- Steel erection ongoing
Shops E:
- Steel erection complete
- Topping slab poured
Northern Retail Center:
- Final painting ongoing
- Novar controls – termination in progress
- Atrium cart lift install started
- EFIS – ongoing at atrium
- Brick complete at atrium
- Cart curbs poured in atrium
- Subway – In-wall inspections complete
- Office areas – above ceiling inspections complete
- Bathroom tile work to start next week
Southern retail Center
- Atrium second level floor poured
- Second level patio poured
- Overhead MEP ongoing
- Interior wall framing ongoing
Site work:
- Cable TV/date system conduit install
- Site lighting conduit started
- Utility tie to shops ongoing


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Consumer Goods
The ignio™ Cognitive Automation Platform Streamlines IT Management for CPG Companies with Anomaly Detection, Supply Chain Resilience, and Seamless Warehouse Management
ignio opens a new era of cognitive automation for the CPG sector, optimizing and automating the IT operations environment. With its ability to conduct rapid and even proactive detection and resolution of anomalies, ignio supports a resilient, reliable supply chain, ensuring that any problems will have little to no impact on timeliness and information flow.
Artificial intelligence transforms CPG efficiency and agility
As the consumer packaged goods industry gears up to meet increasing customer demand, the potential for profit will be heavily dependent on operational performance. IT will play a crucial role as companies seek to aggregate and analyze more data in order to respond more effectively to market trends and customer preferences. While technology continues to drive radical changes in consumer behavior, CPG companies must evolve and adapt. Smartphones, online purchasing, and social media have fostered a culture of round-the-clock commerce and immediate gratification— which has placed a demand for swift order fulfillment. To compete for customers and earn their loyalty, companies must make every part of their supply chain more agile, efficient, and resilient.
ignio cognitive automation enables CPG companies to transform their operations for a new era. Powered by the latest advances in artificial intelligence, cognitive automation makes it possible to increase visibility into supply chain management and streamline the flow of goods to the consumer. Minimizing idle inventory and expensive delays caused by anomalies and miscommunications, cognitive automation brings new intelligence to IT systems—and better performance to the business.
Building a resilient, reliable supply chain
CPG companies invest millions of dollars in supply chain systems—yet remain vulnerable to anomalies that could disrupt production and distribution. To control product quality, inventory levels, timing, and cost, companies must track and monitor systems closely for signs of trouble.
Composed of a myriad of moving parts, warehouses and distribution centers are the cornerstone of moving products and dispatching orders. Warehouse management systems (WMS) typically rely on handhelds like radio data terminals (RDT) or mobile devices to carry out barcode scanning and confirm accurate loading of products on the transport. This scanning system tends to be a typical point of failure. For example, if it goes down or loses connectivity with the WMS backend, operations grind to a halt—trucks are idled, packages are stalled, and retail outlets are left waiting for inventory. Each passing minute translates into lost revenue and damaged business relationships—and the hours or days IT must spend detecting or repairing failures could spell disaster.
ignio helps CPG companies keep business-critical front- and backend systems running efficiently so that your supply chain maintains resilience. From the moment it is deployed, ignio learns the context of your technology environment—its infrastructure, applications, and the ways they operate and interconnect—in order to proactively detect and prevent potential anomalies. Any anomalies that do occur are analyzed for root causes and resolved in near-real time, ensuring that schedules will be met and your supply chain will flow uninterrupted.
Averting downtime with proactive resolution
Fully operational from the day of deployment, ignio's self-learning engine immediately discovers your business context. The solution's unique Blueprinting capability uncovers application interdependencies and gives ignio unprecedented visibility—a deep, 360-degree view of your entire IT environment that automatically updates when changes occur, so you always have the most recent intelligence. Having self-learned the normal baseline behavior and functions of all components, ignio instantly senses the potential emergence of an anomaly and proactively alerts IT to the issue.
Sitting above the infrastructure, ignio's layer of granular intelligence integrates with your instrumentation layer. On detecting an anomaly, ignio quickly identifies all IT components showing that behavior and then notifies the IT team for corrective action and fast resolution. It can also automate in real-time both the steps needed to fix the problem—without requiring detailed nor explicit instructions for each incident— as well as health checks and diagnostics.
Why ignio for CPG?
The digital era is already transforming the supply chain. Now ignio takes the evolution a step further with AI innovation. CPG companies can empower their IT teams to fortify supply chains and meet the transport, logistics, and communication challenges of products from big-box items to fresh produce and perishables. By putting the power of cognitive automation to work, IT can dramatically improve performance, reduce cost, and shift to a more strategic role in the success of the business.
The management of a global supply chain is a 24/7 matter—and when problems emerge, every second counts. ignio enables IT to detect anomalies and other problems faster so you can respond quickly and keep your supply chain flowing. As supply chains become more complex, ignio enables IT to maintain visibility across the entire IT environment for reliable, accurate, and real-time tracking at both local and global levels.
Competitiveness and customer satisfaction
Supply chain operations have a potentially critical impact on a CPG company's competitive performance, playing a central role in satisfying or disappointing the consumer. By helping optimize warehouse management and proactively eliminate anomalies, ignio provides a strong foundation for long-term success.
Ensuring in-store availability
A thriving business relies on getting products to their destinations in a timely manner. ignio's ability to perform the right action at the right time helps optimize this process while speeding replenishment, reducing outages, lowering storage costs, and minimizing waste.
Managing risk
With customers highly reliant on deliveries, ignio helps CPG companies fulfill their contractual commitments and prevent empty shelves. ignio's supply chain support enables schedule adherence and lead-time compliance—instead of delays caused by anomalies in the warehouse management system or other areas.


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Benefits of aneurysm screenings doubtful, say researchersMarch 05, 2015
British researchers warned this week that routine screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in over-65 males may be doing more harm than good.
Leader of nation's largest nursing home association 'back in the game' after suffering aneurysmJanuary 12, 2010
Although he's not near operating at full-capacity yet, Bruce Yarwood says he'll take that over the alternative. A ruptured brain aneurysm nearly claimed the life of the American Health Care Association president and CEO on Halloween morning.


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We're here to help you because life is too short to drive a lemon
If you think you've got a lemon car or lemon truck, then you have come to the right place. Helping consumers get rid of lemons is what we do, everyday. Get your Free Case Review and find out if you are entitled to a new car or truck or your money back. Motor vehicle lemon law, consumer protection law, car law, auto industry news, lemon law news (c) 2011 Burdge Law Office Co LPA
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Gifts That Give Back
Socially Conscious Gifts Everyone Will Love
They say it's the thought that counts when giving or receiving gifts. And that adage rings even truer when the gift is something that not only pleases the recipient, but also makes a difference to someone else in need.
In that spirit, GAYOT has curated a list of Gifts That Give Back whether it's a gift for a man, woman or child.
For more great gift ideas, you'll also love our Best Gifts for Dogs and our list of Budget-Friendly Gifts for Women and Men.


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Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Custom Muzzle Brakes
Full Service Gunsmithing
High Quality Blueing
Custom Hunting Rifles
Be the first OregonLive.com user to add photos or videos of Wyatts Outdoor
Wyatt's Outdoor Inc can be found at Pioneer Rd 4856. The following is offered: Weapons. The entry is present with us since Sep 10, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Medford there are 1 other Weapons. An overview can be found here.
Our custom rifles are built to order and incorporate items such as blueprinted actions, fluted barrels and actions, sleeved actions, Sako style extractors, high grade wood or synthetic stocks, and special coatings and paints


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JUST SOLD Another Awesome Home in Red Deer!Tuesday, February 13th, 2018
Congratulations to my Clients! I just sold this awesome home in Red Deer! You can tell that Spring is in the air, things are starting to move! Contact me if you are looking to buy or sell a property in Central Alberta, 403-396-0721!


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Maine Sugar Maple Syrup Season
Landowners in Maine are taking advantage of the deep snow pack this April and tapping Maple Trees to the annual spring sap run. The perfect conditions exist with colder freezing nights and warmer sunny days. If you are lucky enough to have Sugar Maple trees on your lakefront property or small cabin in Maine, I would like to invite you to give it a try for yourself. You will need about 40 gallons of sap to boil down to 1 gallon of syrup. However, even if you make a cup or a pint, you will gain the experience and enjoy the spring Maine sunshine. It is a great activity to enjoy with family or kids. You can snowshoe or snowmobile to gather your sap and once you have collected the amount you desire, you can boil it down to make the syrup. It is so rewarding to have your own family made Maple syrup on your pancakes, eggs or french toast throughout the seasons. Each time you see it in the grocery store, you will have a whole new respect for the process of making Maine Sugar Maple syrup.
I invite you to post pictures of your process on my First Choice Real Estate mainelandbroker.com Facebook page. Good luck and this is just another way to enjoy resources coming from your land in the great State of Maine.