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In between, I flew United, Northwest and Delta back-to-back-to-back on my Midwest leg, which I jokingly described as the "Bankruptcy Tour." The flights were short, only a few hours, and perfectly pleasant (as pleasant as a coach seat can be), not that I could tell any of them apart.
As it happened, I flew Delta and Northwest less than a week after both carriers, the third and fifth largest in the country in terms of traffic, respectively, filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 14. For a few weeks last month, until US Airways re-emerged from bankruptcy a second time Sept. 27, more than half of the available seats in this country were being flown in bankruptcy.
Not one of the four major carriers that had applied for court protection in the wake of 9/11 and spiraling jet fuel prices-US Airways, United, and now Delta and Northwest-was ever in serious danger of liquidation. In fact, United's especially productive three years in bankruptcy-which gave the carrier the leverage to wring deep pay cuts from its unions, offload its pension responsibilities to the federal government, and still have enough cash left over to launch its own airline-within-an-airline, Ted-have transformed Chapter 11 into just another (albeit drastic) strategic decision.
"Overall, I think the airlines are feeling remarkably bullish despite being in bankruptcy," said Steve Hafner, CEO of the ticketing search engine Kayak.com, who had close ties with the airlines in his former role as exec VP-consumer travel at Orbitz. "They see it not so much as an admission of failure, but as an opportunity to get their costs in line with some of their low-cost carrier rivals. I met with Northwest executives last week, and they were almost proud to say `We're the healthiest carrier to ever go into bankruptcy, with a billion dollars in the bank."
All of the "Big Six" carriers, which also include the still-somewhat-healthy American Airlines and Continental, are furiously cutting costs yet again to fight a two-front war against the low-cost carriers on one side and the intractably high costs of jet fuel-which has doubled in price since the beginning of the year-on the other.
"It's a war of attrition," Bear Stearns' influential airline analyst David Strine wrote in his September report. "We believe that the amount of capacity, high oil prices and low fares cannot coexist through `06 given burn rates, and favor legacies with decent liquidity... or labor catalysts."
In an attempt to flee ruinous competition with the low-fare carriers who have started service and slashed the prices of average fares on 80% of the heavily trafficked domestic routes, the legacies have begun canceling their worst sinkholes and transferring the plans to their most profitable long-haul routes, where the low-cost carriers can't catch them.
The industry is essentially bifurcating in its attempt to cater to two kinds of customers-casual fliers generally looking for the lowest price, and business travelers whose deep pockets come with a set of demands for great service. It remains to be seen whether the legacy airlines, once they begin saturating international routes, will have any more success competing for the latter with the British Airways, Virgin Atlantics and Emirates of the world than they did with Southwest.
Critiques of the airline industry's current crisis have focused, like Mr. Strine at Bear Stearns, on the glut of capacity. There are too many seats being sold for too cheap a price for anyone to make money, in a nutshell. The only solution, then, is for a big enough chunk of capacity to fall out-the failure and liquidation of a major carrier, say-to create a scarcity of seats and thus push prices upward, to the point where everyone can make money again.
The underlying assumption is that no airline on its own possesses the power to command a premium price over its rivals through a superior product, or service or customer loyalty-everything that a brand should do. In a world with Internet ticketing engines like Orbitz, pricing information is perfectly transparent; there is no need to spend more than the rock-bottom price if you believe you are purchasing a raw commodity-human air freight from Point A to Point B.
And it may very well be wrong. "Travel is an area in which 44% of leisure passengers are willing to indulge themselves," said Forrester's VP-travel research, Henry Harteveldt, who was an advertising manager at TWA in the mid-`80s. "More than four in 10 travelers say they're willing to pay more for a quality product. The problem is that airline managers focus on costs," he said. "They don't understand the concept of give more, get more."
Muddled middle
Is it even possible in current conditions for an airline to rebuild its brand? The evidence suggests that a few already have, led by Virgin Atlantic and British Airways at the top of the market and by JetBlue, Frontier and AirTran at the bottom. The question is whether the muddled middle has the willingness and the cash to reposition themselves in time.
"I've talked to airline executives who worry about this," said Dave Emerson, partner at Bain & Co. who frequently advises airlines. "They're wondering `Are we eroding our long-term competitiveness by not doing more?' If you look at their product innovation, it's been a long time since we've seen anything new. The frequent-flier programs were a significant development, but that was 25 years ago. The lie-flat seat in international business class was huge, but that was pioneered overseas. They're only just starting to introduce that here now."
"The legacy carriers will tell you-largely by way of excuse-that it's a commodity industry: `All we can do is compete on price,"' said Stuart Klaskin, a principal at KKC Aviation Consulting, which often works with low-cost carriers on strategy. "They've abdicated the need to brand their companies. It's the cheap excuse. `I'm terminal, so why should I pay for chemo?"'
Southwest ushered in the low-fare era 34 years ago with dirt-cheap tickets, a cost-effective single type of aircraft, and an in-flight product that included eccentric flight attendants and peanuts for a snack. Today, the crews are still eccentric, the peanuts are still free (Northwest now charges $1 for trail mix) and Southwest will ring up its 58th consecutive quarterly profit by year's end. Its market capitalization is more than $12 billion, topping the Big Six combined.
JetBlue updated the low-cost carrier formula when it launched five years ago with an all-new Airbus fleet, live satellite TV and friendly, non-unionized flight attendants, all of which were packaged in a cheap-chic image that positioned the carrier as a lifestyle brand along the lines of Target or Ikea. Its New York City customers may have signed up for the low fares, but after their flights, it was watching the Food Network at 35,000 ft. they were raving about. Flying JetBlue became a sign of tasteful frugality-even the dowagers of Palm Beach adopted the airline as their shuttle bus. The end result is that JetBlue is competing less and less on pure price-often it's not the lowest fare even on routes with the legacy carriers, and the airline has leveraged this into a run of 18 consecutive profitable quarters (a run that's about to end due to the spike in the cost of jet fuel).
180-degree reversal
JetBlue is also the darling of the industry, beloved by the press for being a role model eagerly studied by legacy carriers and fellow low-cost carriers alike. "The JetBlues and Southwests are largely differentiated in the public's mind now," Mr. Klaskin said. "This is a 180-degree reversal from a generation ago, when low cost carriers were the identical ones in the muck."
Frontier, which began life 11 years ago as your typical startup "flying two planes to North Dakota," in the self-deprecating words of director-advertising Diane Willmann, reinvented itself with its own all-Airbus fleet and the same TV technology as JetBlue's. Frontier repainted its planes with animals on the tails, and hired Grey Worldwide's Sticky Grey to craft a TV campaign which ran its hometown of Denver that cast the animals as the airline's spokespeople. It worked, boosting Frontier's local brand awareness from 47% to more than 80% over three years, and has helped it steadily chip away at United's share in Denver, which slipped from 41.7% in June 2004 to 35.9% this June. Frontier's rose from 14.3% to 17.2% during the same period. AirTran performed a similar feat in Atlanta, hammering away at Delta's regional business with a young all-Boeing fleet and its own local TV campaign.
"Frontier and AirTrain have built brands by being based in legacy carriers' hubs," Mr. Klaskin said. "They can say `We're the anti-Delta' or `anti-United,' and when you've got someone to play the fool, it's much easier."
Determined not to play the fool for much longer, Delta announced last month that as part of its Chapter 11 reorganization that it would increase the number of seats on international flights 25%. In doing so, it will join American and United, both of which have increased their capacity abroad by 10%-15% over the past year, in piling onto routes where the competition isn't JetBlue or Southwest, but Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, BA, Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic-all among the most profitable airlines in the world last year.
Instead, to fill as many seats as possible while keeping costs down, these carriers spend freely on amenities. Lufthansa, for example, has created business class-only trans-Atlantic flights; opened a VIP terminal for first-class passengers in Frankfurt, and installed Boeing's in-flight wireless service Connexion on long-haul flights. Emirates has installed private suites on its planes at the cost of $125,000 each, while first-class passengers on Singapore Airlines received Givenchy pajamas and Bulgari amenity kits.
On the Atlantic route, BA was the first to roll out lie-flat beds in business class, while Virgin Atlantic and its agency of record, Crispin Porter & Bogusky, have cemented the airline's status as the coolest in existence since Mary Wells ran the marketing efforts of Braniff International. Virgin's appeal to "Jetrosexuals" encompasses everything from its own lie-flat beds to the on-board bar, to its swank "Clubhouses" to a print and outdoor campaign expressly designed to make its customers feel cool about flying the airline, customers who return the favor: "They're innovative, they're modern, they get it," one told me in the Clubhouse at JFK.
"One thing that they have done, and BA has done, and other carriers have done is completely focus on the experience," said David Melancon, president of FutureBrand North America, a unit of Interpublic Group of Cos. On FutureBrand's watch, BA introduced the lie-flat beds and opened travel spas at Heathrow with Molton Brown-branded skin-care products.
The experience
"BA is more traditional, and Virgin is a little less so, but they both do an amazing job," said Mr. Melancon. "We diminish that by saying `That's the European way,' or `That's the Asian way,' in the case of Singapore or Cathay Pacific, but that's bull, because what you're doing is creating an experience. If you want to talk about what American carriers are doing, my grandmother used to have a saying about burning the furniture-it may keep you warm for the moment, but you've burned something you need."
And as they swarm into currently lucrative markets, one would expect the resulting competition to once again drive prices down.
"There are about 39 competitors in the Atlantic market, and because everybody and their mother is shifting their capacity into a high-yield market, those yields go away-and so do their rosy revenue projections," said Vaughn Cordle, chief analyst for Airlines Forecast.
The bifurcation of the air-travel market into price-conscious leisure consumers at one end and high-paying, high-service business and luxury travelers at the other bring to the mind the "well curve" that appears in the "trading up" phenomenon. As consumers' sophistication increases, they decide whether a product or service is emotionally worth paying a premium for. If it is, they pay it, and if not, they search for an acceptably pleasant low-cost option. The brands caught in the middle lose their luster and their customers, who now flock to either of the spectrum.
"This is one of the only post-Industrial Age industries that has never had a cataclysmic restructuring," said Mr. Klaskin. Mounting evidence suggests that restructuring may be here, and that cost-cutting alone won't be enough to save any given legacy carrier. Low barriers to entry and economics that favor new arrivals-who bring younger planes, lower costs, and can choose their spots-have begun attracting not only low-fare carriers, but a new breed of boutique airlines.
"Go into the terminals and watch the cross-section of people," said David Spurlock, the CEO of Eos Airlines, which is just starring to offer service between JFK and London's Stansted. "The world hasn't seen that kind of cross-section of customers since Sears & Roebuck lost its relevance decades ago. Retail went through its bifurcation in the `70s and `80s, the auto manufacturing business went through its bifurcation in the `60s, and the PC business went through it in the `90s. And the airline industry is leaps and bounds behind."
A few of the legacy carriers have begun to recognize this. Delta created Song, its airline-within-an-airline, two years ago in JetBlue's mold with an emphasis on new planes, satellite TV, and an elaborate constellation of supporting brands like Kate Spade, "Song Records," organic ala carte meals, and an ad blitz created by SS&K and Media Kitchen to address the perception that "uniformity was the enemy, and that travel was tiresome," said Song President Joanne Smith. "What if you could bring the glamour back to air travel? What the industry needs to deliver is a low fare and a better experience."
Is Song doing that? It's impossible to say, as its financial are buried beneath Delta's river of red ink. But Ms. Smith did say that the airline's load factor (i.e., the percentage of seats filled each flight) is a healthy 80%, and that the branded amenities are small profit centers, rather than wasteful frills. "Song has a cost structure that's 20% less than Delta's," said Mr. Cordle, "but because Song works out to be just 10% of the flights within the system, Song isn't big enough to have the impact they need. "
"The irony is that Song has a more robust brand at this point than Delta," Mr. Harteveldt said. "And if Delta were smart, they'd give Song more airplanes and let it be their domestic brand, and let mainline Delta focus on international flights." The airline has taken the second half of his advice-it will begin new service to 11 cities in Europe and Israel. In doing so, it will become the world's largest trans-Atlantic airline, as measured by number of daily flights.
When United emerges from Chapter 11 on Feb. 1, the fourth-largest carrier intends to focus on branding, rather than on the tactical skirmishes with Frontier and other low-cost carriers that consumed its attention and budget over the last two years, according advertising and promotion director Julie Koewler.
United will return with a portfolio of sub-brands and amenities it didn't possess three years ago, including its low-cost carrier Ted, its premium transcontinental service, "P.S.," and its "Economy Plus" seats with more legroom. They're good small steps, but still: "You're left with the same question-how do you end up with a competitive mainline product?" asks Mr. Emerson. "Those secondary brands can be good in that they can slow down market share loss and bring big losers closer to break-even, but if the core product isn't working..."
"What's steady is the willingness to pay more for a better product," said Mr. Harteveldt. "But where's the magic, and where's the sense of theater?" he asked. "It doesn't have to be caviar and champagne, but it doesn't have to resemble a Roman slave ship either. Marketing an airline should be a pretty cool job, but any marketer would run screaming from headhunter's call right now."
Unless, of course, the call was from JetBlue.
On the Web
See the full report at AdAge.com QwikFIND aaq93n


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"When I first had the idea five years ago I thought it was foolish. Dogs in cars? errrr.. But the best ideas are the ones that stay with you and after many years of being lodged in my subconscious this one eventually had to come out barking. I now realize the pictures come from fairly deep fears I've had of being alone and without a voice (I found it almost impossible to express myself when I was a kid) and also from my early fascination with animals, dogs in particular, who also seemed vulnerable and somehow mute."Link
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Dogs in Cars
Posted by Photomas at 6:00 AM No comments:
Labels: art, artist, book, car, cars, dog, Dogs, pet, pets, photo, photographer, photography, professional, video
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
How Not to Suck on Instagram
Basically, as with any good photography, have an interesting story to tell... and share.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Image Artist Extraordinaire
Photographer Peter Langenhahn
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subset: commoncrawl


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Duh Aficionado magazine got SCOOPED this morning, by an article in the LA Times headlined Gender inequality still has a starring role in Hollywood, USC study finds. Oh man, OF COURSE IT DOES! We should have been all over this one, and we apologize to our (male) readers for dropping the ball. Here are the most important and most obvious findings:
The USC study determined that women were still far more likely than men to wear sexy clothing in movies, such as swimwear and unbuttoned shirts (25.8% versus 4.7%), to expose skin (23% versus 7.4%) and to be described by another character as attractive (10.9% versus 2.5%).
Revealing clothing and partial nudity was just as prevalent among 13- to 20-year-old female characters as it was among those 21 to 29, suggesting that females are sexualized on-screen at young ages, Smith said.
Behind the camera, the gender inequality is just as dramatic: only 3.6% of the directors and 13.5% of the writers on the top-grossing films of 2009 were female, according to the study.
Yup. That sounds about right. Although I'm surprised this article/study didn't at least point out the counter-argument, which is didn't you ladies get Bridesmaids this year? How many movies do you NEED?! LOLOLOL. JK, ladies. You're beautiful. Do you have a sister? In an effort to remind the Duh Industry that Duh Aficionado is still the premiere resource for breaking the obvious stories, we are going to issue our own scientific research in the following days covering other Hollywood trends that may or may not be based in actual reality*. Here is a short list:
Hollywood believes:
- Cellphones are useless.
- Children are smart.
- Gay people are either sassy or miserable.
- Aliens need our energy.
- Mild racism is still OK if it's aimed at Hispanics and Asians.
- New York City is just waiting for someone from the outside to bust it wide open.
- Serial Killers love costumes.
- The President has a book of secrets.
- Gremlins can't eat after midnight.
- People like anything with gladiators in it.
- Magazine editors are glamorous and important.
- When a cop doesn't play by the rules it's a good thing.
- Ryan Reynolds is compelling.
- Diarrhea is always hilarious.
- Everything should be rebooted.
- A million dollars is the same thing as zero dollars
- 22 years old is old.
We will continue to follow these and other stories. We ARE Duh Aficionado magazine.


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- Hunter models: 30057, 30059, 30067, 30078, 30079, 30097, 30124, & 30126
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This is definitely amongst the best filter kits in the market. Carbon pre-filters are design not only to screen out air pollutants in your home but also to absorb unappealing smells in your home. Combined with an air purifier filter, you are ensuring that no stubborn allergens are left in your home's air. This kit includes 1 high-quality Hunter 30928 air purifier filter and 2 Honeywell/Hunter replacement carbon pre-filter. It is designed to clean and remove allergens from your air.
Please note the following important information about this product from Think Crucial: (i) it is a generic replacement, NOT a Hunter® Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) product; (ii) because it is not a Hunter® OEM product, it is not covered by any Hunter® guarantee or warranty; (iii) use of this generic replacement may violate or void Hunter's guarantee or warranty - it is entirely your responsibility to check, and entirely your risk if you decide to use this product; (iv) we do not guarantee or warrant that this generic replacement is compatible with any product from Hunter® or any other provider. Please check your manufacturer's warranty with regard to the use of non-OEM parts. Think Crucial provides no warranty or guarantee with regard to the product or its compatibility with your Hunter® product. The Hunter® brand and all Hunter® trademarks belong to Hunter® or its affiliates, and are used here only to explain the compatibility features of the generic replacement product.
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Title: Elections and Participation (790:303:B1)
Instructor: David Andersen
Instructor's E-mail: email@example.com
Days, Times, Location: Session I (05/31/2011-07/08/2011); MTWTh 10:45-12:40pm HCK-202 DC
Synopsis: The Elections and Participation course addresses what the purpose of elections is, has been and could be in democratic governments. While most Americans believe that elections are what make a government democratic, this course will question that assumption and take a broader look at the various forms of elections that can be and are used, as well as other forms of participating in government. The overall course examines the processes whereby citizens (a) choose to participate in politics (or not); and (assuming they do choose to participate), decide which party and candidates to support. We will also consider whether people get anything from government (or politics) because of their participation. Throughout the course we will consider what democratic theory requires of citizens, and ask how well Americans generally live up to those requirements. The focus will be almost exclusively the American political system, and be concerned chiefly with national elections.


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by Steve Souders and John Allspaw
We'll take a whirlwind tour through the world of web operations and try to get a handle on both why it is a challenging occupation and how to do it better.
by Andrew Oates
In this lightning demo we'll cover the newest Page Speed Online features, including waterfall analysis and critical path highlighting. We'll show you how to use Page Speed Online to analyze what's in the critical path of the page load or the first paint, and which Page Speed suggestions should be implemented in order to reduce the time spent on that critical path.
Today, web developers have a large number of diagnostic tools available to help debug their web applications, starting with browser-specific debuggers like FireFox's FireBug and WebKit's Web Inspector.
Well, desktop web developers anyway. Most mobile platforms provide little in the way of diagnostic tooling for their browsers, leaving mobile web developers in a bit of a lurch.
weinre (WEb INspector REmote) is an open source tool to help bridge the web debugging tool gap in mobile. It repurposes the Web Inspector user interface to allow you to interact with a live mobile web application, from the luxury of a desktop browser window.
While not all of Web Inspector's function is available in weinre, plenty of goodies are: the Elements panel to inspect and interact with the DOM, a Console to run arbitrary JavaScript code, inspection of LocalStorage and Web SQL storage, and timing and request/response data from XHRs.
Come see a live demo of weinre at this session!
Sure, front-end performance focus is great. But when your site surges in popularity—a foregone conclusion for us all, right?—web scale preparation can avoid a ton of grief. Think you can't test your site with hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world without weeks of sleepless nights coding open source tools? This demo from Robert Castley, Solution Engineer and Technologist at Keynote, shows you how to design, run, and analyze a complete Web load test in 5 minutes, with time to spare for tea and biscuits.
Everybody talks about fast websites, but how fast is exceptionally fast? What prevents us from being fast? How good are we in delivering exceptional performance? What do we have to do to become really fast? This fast-paced talk will answer all these questions in only five minutes. Which is the maximum time a user waits for a website to load.
by Brian Doll
Web applications are being shipped faster, deployed instantly to the cloud and are catering to the ever-growing needs of a technologically connected audience.
How do you manage it all? How do you maintain high performance in your application, stay on top of your server performance and ensure your end users are getting the best service you can deliver? Find out with New Relic!
by Joshua Bixby
If you've been looking for compelling data that will help you make a case for investing in mobile performance, this session is a must-see.
Mobile web users are demanding. 85% say they expect sites to download at least as quickly on their mobile devices as they do on their home computers. Almost half say that poor performance makes them less likely to return to the site. And one third say they would visit a competitor's site next. Yet despite high user expectations, m-commerce sites continue to lag in performance, with the average site taking more than 9 seconds to load.
Despite the technical constraints of delivering speedy mobile websites, some companies are emerging as leaders. But significant data is still hard to come by. To fill this gap, Joshua has dived into Strangeloop's customer analytics to evaluate the relationship between performance improvements and business KPIs for m-commerce sites.
In this session, Joshua will present brand-new data in detailed case studies that show how real-world companies have optimized the performance of their mobile sites, and as a result have experienced dramatic improvements in key performance indicators such as:
Page views
Cart size
Attendees will walk away with a clear before-and-after picture that shows why speed is a critical factor in mobile success.
by Jon Jenkins
The speed at which dev ops works is critical. It enables greater innovation and faster reaction in your business. Join Jon Jenkins as he talks about why it's important to iterate fast, deploy fast, be wrong a lot, and learn from your mistakes.
by Tim Morrow
Betfair recently launched a beta version of their Sports betting website and is in the process of rolling out the site to new customers. We would like to present our journey so far and our results:
Faster page load times Improving our operational insight into the performance of our website Significantly increasing our rate of deployment through continuous delivery How it impacted our bottom line
Our talk will explore the initiative in great detail. We will discuss:
We'll go over the fundamentals of monitoring and performance assessment. We'll talk about what to monitoring, why to monitor it and how one should go about monitoring their systems, networks, applications and business.
by Jon Jenkins
The complexity of website content (as measured by the HTTP Archive) continues to increase. Meanwhile, the number of mobile browsing devices is increasing at more than 25% each year. Due to their limited processing power, memory, storage and network bandwidth these devices pose new challenges in terms of web performance as sites become more complex. To date, the approach to solve these issues has been to create mobile versions of web sites with limited content and simplified layout. This talk will present a new way we are looking at the mobile browsing challenges at Amazon.com. We will present data about site latency among various classes of devices and usage of mobile versions of the site. Much of the presentation will focus on technical approaches to dramatically reduce web site latency for this class of users.
The main part of the talk will explain how each major JavaScript language feature is compiled and run, how fast it is compared to other operations, and what "performance faults" can make it much slower than expected. For example, reading a property (x = o.p) is implemented by compiling a bit of code to get the property value very quickly for any object with the same properties. This means that if a given line of code reads a property always from objects that look the same, it is very fast; if it works on objects with different property sets, it is usually still fast; if it works on objects that don't have that property, it will be very slow. I will avoid details that are interesting mainly to engine implementers in favor of giving concrete, intuitive models that developers can use to predict performance and understand performance problems.
by Evan Elias
When correctly architected, horizontal partitioning of data can lead to dramatically better fault tolerance and isolation, while significantly improving the manageability and flexibility of a web site. A well-sharded MySQL architecture can perform comparably to newer NoSQL solutions, while still offering the expressiveness of SQL and the time-tested robustness of InnoDB.
The road to complete sharding of Tumblr's primary data has been a long one, and I'll discuss how, when, and why we transitioned from a single database, to several functionally-partitioned datasets, and finally to a massively horizontally-sharded architecture.
Along the way, we've developed a set of tools that has made the sharding process significantly easier to execute and monitor. The bulk of this session will focus on the practical aspects of sharding, digging into the nitty-gritty of the tools we use to:
The session will broadly appeal to engineers at rapidly-growing, MySQL-backed sites. The information presented is all drawn from first-hand experience, and mostly cannot be found in existing books or web sites. Some level of audience familiarity with MySQL is assumed, but previous experience with sharding, InnoDB internals, or MySQL replication is not required.
How do you measure web page performance?
We all talk a lot about how fast our web pages are but are we comparing apples with apples?
There are at least 6 different ways to measure web page performance, and multiple metrics to gather such as initial render, "above the fold" time or onLoad event time.
The goal of this talk is to put web performance measurement in perspective by identifying and classifying the different ways of measuring web performance.
So what dimensions can we compare them on?
1. Accuracy?
2. What metrics do they collect?
3. "Completeness" of measurement – e.g. can they measure 3rd party or CDN content?
4. Ease of implementation / use?
5. Scalability (e.g. are they suitable for "real-user monitoring" type solutions or are they more developer/single-user oriented?)
6. Are they suitable for Mobile devices?
7. Are they suitable for measuring web API's?
8. What's the cost?
9. Suitable for SME vs Enterprise?
We will also talk about the "active monitoring versus real-user monitoring" debate… what are the pro's & con's of each approach and will one eventually supplant the other?
This session will demonstrate how many networking concepts and techniques related to Quality of Service (QoS) can be mapped and applied to web clients, web services, applications and runtimes providing an end-to-end resource management conceptual framework that offers resource protection (via call shaping & policing) as well as request prioritization based on contextual & dynamic classification. It puts forward the argument for applications to be viewed more like the underlying networking layer, adopting many traffic engineering and quality of service optimizations techniques. It presents a mapping guide from one domain to another and then shows how this has been implemented in a solution that offers a production QoS solution for applications developed in Java, Scala, JRuby/Ruby and Jython/Python as well as all other JVM languages and eventually other runtimes/platforms including Microsoft's .NET/Azure.
This session will also outline how QoS as applied to runtimes can be mapped to all execution points in the delivery of web based software services from client devices to backend services. It will demonstrate a working proof of concept using Apache web servers and app containers.
Let's unravel the grey area of improving actual JavaScript code itself and discover the truth and science of JavaScript performance patterns.
While improving network performance of your scripts through file size and the script loading is critical, the run-time performance of your JavaScript code has the most direct effect of the visceral feel that your users experience.
I created jsPerf.com, the JavaScript performance testing playground, to settle the scores of JavaScript performance recommendations. I've come up with a simple theorem — easily summarized. Basically, the biggest enemies of performance when it comes to JavaScript (in descending order) are:
1. Reading/writing to the DOM
2. Function calls
3. Lookups (scope lookups, property lookups, array item lookups)
Of course, there's not much you can do in JavaScript without using any of these things. The idea is that if you can get rid of a DOM read by using a function call or a property lookup instead, you should do it. Similarly, if you can replace a function call with a scope lookup, go for it! It will result in DRY code with much better performance.
I spend a lot of time reviewing other people's JavaScript code for performance issues, and I think it's safe to say this presentation covers about 70% to 80% of the improvements that I usually end up recommending. It's a simple principle, and it's easy to apply it once you understand it fully —there just needs to be someone to explain it all to you. I'm that guy!
The basic gist of this idea fits in one slide, but I'd like to take the time to A) explain what exactly these slow things are (so even JavaScript beginners that don't know what a scope lookup is can follow along); and B) show lots of practical, real-world examples of how applying this technique can result in better performance, regardless of whether you're using JavaScript libraries or plain vanilla JavaScript. A is especially useful for people who are new to high-performance JavaScript, but B will be useful for more advanced JavaScript coders as well.
I believe this technique is useful because it can be applied to all the JavaScript code you'll ever write, and it's guaranteed to have a positive impact on performance (among other advantages). It will be useful for both JavaScript beginners (because everything will be explained properly) and advanced scripters that want to focus on performance while coding JavaScript.
Your website just went down. As you try to understand what has gone wrong, you quickly realize something is different this time. There's no clear reason why your site should be down, but indeed it is.
This talk is about the story of our team's first unprepared fight against a DDoS attack.
The idea (what I'd like to convey)
I'd like to give a honest and detailed view of what happened when we were DDoS'ed. It was our first experience at this scale, and we were probably unprepared.
I'd like this to be clear from the presentation, and give lots of details on how we searched our way around and figured out our next steps as the attack itself evolved.
The outcome in the end was positive, and we were able to make some high-level changes to our infrastructure and architecture to (at least try to) better protect our systems in the future.
Audience level
intermediate to advanced
most suited for operations engineers
by Andrew Oates, jmarantz and Matthew Steele
Page Speed Analysis tools provide performance metrics for web-sites, and mod_pagespeed and Page Speed Service automatically rewrite web sites by applying web performance "best practices". But exactly what is the impact on web site latency and usability from implementing these transformations? We'll share what we've learned from running Page Speed and mod_pagespeed in the field.
What is the impact of specific web performance optimizations on metrics like page load time and time to first paint? What is the interaction between latency, page structure, and network-level decisions such as when to flush web pages so that browsers can start rendering? In this talk, we'll present our latest findings and show developers how to apply these findings to their own web sites.
We'll conclude with a discussion of new features being added to Page Speed analysis & rewriting tools to translate these learnings into a faster web.
by Schlomo Schapiro and Ingmar Krusch
Ten years of continuous growth leave many stretch marks on any website, like increasing maintenance overhead, lengthy and complex internal processes and lots of code and configuration that nobody knows about. A Windows-Linux migration in the past also does not help to achieve a clean platform.
On the other hand, being a market leader does not leave any room for relaxation but requires us to stay ahead. We need to be faster than the competition and make sure that our own size and being part of a larger corporation does not slow us down.
Continuous Delivery is not just a buzz word but the answer to many of our current problems. Today we envision our data center and the various IT departments as building blocks in a Continuous Delivery Platform (CDP) that strives to shorten the time it takes to convert an idea into productive code.
This talk starts from a big picture of a typical web company and drills down into the technical and organizational challenges that stood in the way of creating a CDP. Our developers turning agile and doing everything through SCRUM was only the start of a series of profound changes that touched all IT departments and beyond.
DevOps helped us a lot to explain to our management and colleagues what is going on and what we want. But only a brand-new deployment and configuration management brought the actual break-through to shared responsibility and teams developing operational thinking.
An important learning was that engineers come together through solving common problems as a team. In our case we had to deal with two main concerns: Linux and Java.
Linux being the choice operating environment we started to do things the Linux Way and package all our software, configuration files and even content into RPM packages, thus greatly simplifying the problem of deployment and system management. Since our developers build the RPM packages they also get much more involved in site operations and suddenly the whole DevOps idea actually works out for us.
Java being the choice coding language (with a huge code base :-() and a lot of "Java thinking" lead us to write a bridge between Java and Linux: Our Nexus YUM plugin translates between a Java world that knows only Maven and a Linux world that likes to install packages via YUM. The automated build process in TeamCity creates RPM packages and puts them into the Nexus which serves the same RPM packages as a YUM repository to our servers. This simplifies the handover from development to operations and is a big performance boost for our delivery chain.
These and other technical solutions come together with many organizational changes – e.g. giving developers more access in the data center – to create the foundation for our Continuous Delivery Platform and enable everyone to focus on working the software while relying on a reliable delivery tool chain below.
Another important learning is the way how to ensure the management buy-in into what essentially started out as an internal grassroots movements. Previously closely guarded kingdoms are now open to common responsibility based on a trust relationship between development and operations.
With even product owners seeing the business value of web operations, ImmobilienScout24 is now in a much better position to deliver business value as fast as possible to our web platform.
We would like to share with you the details of our journey, the ideas that helped us along the way and the code that we wrote. This talk will be useful to both managers and engineers who want to embark on a similar path.
by Aaron Peters
What is the best way to get JS into the page?
It's been well know that scripts block. In older browser external scripts block next objects from being downloaded and in all browsers both external and inline scripts block DOM parsing and page rendering. Since 2008, per the recommendations of Yahoo! and Steve Souders' book, the advice has been to combine external scripts and move the script to the bottom of the HTML in order to get optimal page performance. Then came the dynamic loading of scripts: appending a script to the DOM without blocking the UI thread. Script loaders like LABjs and Yepnope emerged, enabling web developers to load multiple script tags in a non-blocking way, while preserving execution order and even with the ability to couple external scripts with inline JS code. And the story continues. There is the defer attribute, the async attribute and async=false is coming soon.
With so many ways to get JS code into the page, how do you, the web developer, decide which technique(s) to use to get optimal performance for your pages? As a starting point, you need a solid understanding of the various techniques and how they behave in the popular browsers under different conditions.
My presentation will cover:
by Jeffrey Veen
A few months ago, Jeff sat on a couch in the Typekit offices, staring out the window, and wondering if everything their company had been working towards was about to slip through their fingers. How that story ends is interesting (spoiler alert: the company is still going strong), and Jeff will share lessons on how they got through it and why they were ready for it. But beyond that, he'll look at how you, your team, your clients, or your company can cultivate a culture of making amazing things—not just on the next project, but on everything you work on for the rest of your career.
Fed up with overly complex graphing tools? Want a simple but powerful way to monitor bandwidth throughout your infrastructure? FITB (fit-bee, or "fill in the blank") is a tool designed to make polling every switch and router in your network easier, simpler to find, and with more detail than previously possible.
by Arnaud Becart
In an increasingly complex digital environment, end-user experience must be monitored exhaustively. We can't focus only on external website performance. End-user experience must be addressed through active & passive technologies covering all B2C & B2B usages (data, voice, video), whatever the context (mobile, cloud, within or outside the firewall). ip-label will illustrate via real customer cases how they provide the largest portfolio of end-user monitoring solutions in the Application Performance Management industry.
by John Allspaw
We're all aware that failures happen in every system, and that being prepared to respond to them is paramount. But bringing resilience to your site and your organization also means developing your anticipation muscles; to explicitly work out what fears you may have about your system's limits and failure modes, and understand what you'll do when those unfortunate events happen.
This creative thinking about failure is what you use to guide your architecture, your development, your processes, your hiring, and hopefully: your business.
Putting in place contingency plans for when things might go wrong means first having an engineer's imagination for those possible failures and surprising outcomes.
I'm going to talk about walking the fine line between immobilizing paranoia and a healthy but constant sense of unease in order to build your anticipation muscles.
Performance and operability doesn't come from simply focusing on a single part of your application or infrastructure. They come from having a systemic view of what makes your stack work, what could bottleneck it, and what could bring it down. I'll talk about this journey from kernel to continents.
by Ivo Teel and Laurens van Hees
Performance has always been something we at SPIL within Technology had thoughts about, but never really had full focus on. Within Development, the main focus has always been delivering features that the business requires from us; performance was never a mindset that we had during the creation of these features. As we have a global audience of 130 million unique visitors visiting our portals daily, we came to the conclusion that we needed to have more focus in the field of performance. We could get so much more out of our current users, by increasing their browsing experience not only from well connected broadband countries but also from countries that have more scattered performance.
We'll share with you what we had to do to get Performance on the map, challenges we faced, what we've been able to achieve so far and the lessons we've learned up until this point. Performance is now fully on our radar and we still have many things we can and will improve.
From its early days, Opera has focused on providing its users with a snappy browsing experience on a wide range of hardware and OSes. In this talk, we'll look at the latest versions of Opera for desktop, Opera Mobile and Opera Mini and explore how they make web pages super fast.
by David Mytton
NoSQL databases are now very popular, particularly for new projects.
However, the same assumptions about deployment and scalability that have been understood from years of working with relational databases like MySQL don't necessarily apply in the NoSQL world.
Real world performance can really only be understood once the databases are running at scale but that's too late to be discovering problems.
This talk will examine the more popular NoSQL databases – MongoDB, Cassandra, CouchDB – to point out important considerations when deploying each of these technologies.
It will include how to scale reads and writes, where each database faces bottlenecks (and how to resolve them) and how to deploy redundantly across clusters of machines.
It will draw on real case study examples from my own and other company's usage of each database.
8th–9th November 2011


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Swiss Alps - The Passion
|Day 01
|Swiss Border - Interlaken
Travel to Interlaken by train (approx. 2.5 hrs), leaving from the Swiss border or any Swiss airport. Overnight stay at Interlaken.
|Day 02
Interlaken - Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe
|Day 03
|Interlaken - Schilthorn
After breakfast, enjoy an excursion to the Schilthorn (3'000 m/ 10'000 ft/). It takes you just 32 minutes by cable car to reach the summit of the Schilthorn. Enjoy the beautiful view of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau (UNESCO World Heritage) and on more than 200 other summits. On the Schilthorn you will find the world's first revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria, where you can follow the tracks of James Bond the 007 movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" was filmed here. Otherwise simply enjoy the spectacular view from the big terrace! Overnight stay at Interlaken.
|Day 04
|Interlaken - Luzern
After breakfast, the scenic-train takes you to Luzern via the Brünig Pass (approx. 2 hrs). Enjoy Luzern with its beautiful view to the mountains. Walk along the Lake Luzern or go shopping in the old part of the city. Overnight stay at Luzern.
|Day 05
|Luzern - Mount Titlis
Today, travel by train to Engelberg (approx. 1 hrs). Experience the world's first revolving cable car that takes you to the top of Switzerland's highest vantage point with a breathtaking 360-degree view (approx. 45 mins). Spend some time in the snow with your snow disc. In the evening you return to Luzern (approx. 2 hrs). Overnight stay at Luzern.
|Day 06
|Luzern - Mount Pilatus
After breakfast, take a boat to Alpnachstad (approx. ½ hrs) & travel up the Pilatus (2'132 m/7'000 ft) by boarding the steepest cogwheel railway in the world (From mid May till end of Oct). In wintertime take the bus from Luzern to Kriens (approx. 10 mins.) and continue with the panoramic gondola from Kriens to the Pilatus). In the afternoon, a cable car takes you back to the base. A coach takes you back to Luzern (approx. 10 mins.). We also offer this excursion in reverse order. Overnight stay at Luzern.
|Day 07
|Luzern - Zürich/Geneva
After breakfast, you are free to explore Luzern on your own. Visit the 700 years-old wooden Chapel Bridge, the Lion Monument and the malls. Buy some of the famous souvenirs like Swiss watches, Swiss cheese or Swiss chocolates.
Proceed to Zürich by train (approx. 1 hrs). Overnight stay at Zürich/Geneva.
|Day 08
|Zürich/Geneva - Depart for the onward journey
After breakfast, you either proceed to the airport for your onward flight or else continue your stay in Switzerland.
|Single Room
|Double Room
|Triple Room
|3-Star Hotel
|4-Star Hotel
|Splendid, City Hotel Oberland, Carlton-Europe, Merkur, Weisses Kreuz, Beau Site, Bernerhof Goldey
|Krebs, Du Lac, Interlaken, Royal St. Georges, Metropole, Du Nord
|Waldstätterhof, Drei Könige, Magic Hotel (breakfast at htl Krone about 80 m away), Des Alpes, IBIS Styles, De La Paix, Le Stelle
|Art Deco Hotel Montana, Radission Blu, Flora, Cascada
|Montana, Comfort Inn Royal, Rütli
|Swissotel, Central Plaza, Engimatt, Glockenhof
|3 overnight stays at Interlaken with breakfast.
|3 overnight stays at Luzern with breakfast.
|1 overnight stays at Zürich/Geneva with breakfast.
|Excursions to Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn, Mount Titlis, Mount Pilatus.
|Swiss rail travel in 2nd class as per the given tour program.
|All taxes.
|Meals other than those indicated above, drinks, tips, laundry, telephone calls & expenses of personal nature.
|Airfare, airport tax, visa, travel and health insurance.
|Local Transfers from Airport/Railway Station to Hotel and Exucursion Sites or vice-versa at places mentioned above.
|For more details on discounts & packages please click here


text:
True Story: I Hooked Up With My Celebrity Crush
We've probably all had a crush on a celebrity at some point. Maybe you loved Kirk Cameron or Jonathan Taylor Thomas growing up, but these days your tastes lean towards Jon Hamm or Channing Tatum. However, rarely does your new crush show up at the party you're at.
Years ago, I became mildly obsessed with … let's call him Charlie … after I saw him in a horror flick. I'd like to say he was talented, but mostly he was just ridiculously hot. After some cyber stalking, I found out he was single, living in Los Angeles, had been in some decent movies, and was now working on a police drama TV show I'd never heard of (thanks IMDB).
Around this same time, my best friend started dating an actor whose career was on the rise. He and his friends would have parties up in the Hollywood Hills. A typical Hollywood party usually consists of a modern house owned by who the hell knows and 30 skinny model/actresses wandering around with drinks. There are always C-listers in attendance. After some awkward staring, you realize that you're looking at someone from a WB show (yes WB before it was CW, hence C-list). Sometimes reality TV stars pop us at these parties. "America's Next Top Model" and "American Idol" contestants seem to the most popular. It's a weird world. No one is technically famous, but deep down everyone is happy to be at a party with C-listers and reality stars. It was at one of these parties that I spotted my hot crush Charlie.
Charlie was smoking on the patio. Not really a smoker, I knew bumming a cigarette was the easiest way to talk to him. Charlie was sexy in real life, but upon getting a closer look, I realized I liked him better when a wardrobe department was dressing him. Even in a horror flick where he was trapped in a house for days, he looked more presentable than he was standing in front of me. There is scruffy and then there is borderline homeless. He looked borderline homeless. But still, he was Charlie, my crush! And he was three feet away from me.
About an hour later, riding high on liquid courage, I found myself engaging in a robust game of "I never" with Charlie and a crew of others. There's something about confessing one's most aberrant sexual behaviors that turns a group of relative strangers into fast friends. In response to the question, "I've never cum more than three times in one day," Charlie divulged that he had cum nine times in one day. He explained that it was in his early masturbatory years to Whitney Houston circa "The Bodyguard." He was particularly aroused when she sang the National Anthem. Perverted and patriotic! Conversations like these were turning our patio group into a boozed up, horny, curious little gathering and people were staring to pair off.
I got up to go to the bathroom as the group began to disperse, and Charlie followed me inside. Before I knew it, he had pinned me against the wall and we were making out. I'd been in a dating dry spell and feeling kind of down so this was a much needed ego boost. He tasted like stale cigarettes, but to be fair, I probably did too. I'm not a fan of public make outs, but that night I was totally that girl. While I was very attracted to Charlie, the game of "I never" revealed him to be brash bordering on crude, aggressive towards women, and just too damn cocky. The rational part of me was turned off by his behavior but the fan girl inside of me loved his attention.
After some more making out, Charlie said I should come home with him. I'd never had a one-night stand before. I wasn't a saint, but I'd always erred on the side of personal safety. When it came to sex, I liked to at least get to know the guy first. Also, going home with a stranger always felt creepy to me. No judgment on others, I just think excessive watching of "Law&Order: SVU" made me a really cautious girl. But in a split second I decided that I was going home with Charlie. I felt sexy, cool and scandalous – words rarely used to describe me.
From the time the cab dropped us off until we got into his apartment, we never stopped kissing. It was ridiculously hot until it got awkward. His apartment was like a sterile operating room. White, blank walls, almost no furniture except a massive flat screen television, and some sort of gaming device. It was summer in LA and his apartment was probably 60 degrees. I was frozen. I started to get visions of Patrick Bateman from "American Psycho." Not quite a turn on.
Sex happened very quickly, but there wasn't much sexiness involved. It is one thing for sex to be quick, but it's quite another thing when a guy is completely disconnected and robotic. For such a great kisser, he was really bad in bed. I was confused. Where was the seductive guy from the party? His looks got him into bed with women but surely, after so many partners, he'd have learned what to do once he got there. It ended abruptly and it was clear he wanted me gone. My decision to go home with him was to check something off a box, expand my horizons, be that girl one night, and not be so measured and safe. Be sexy! But this was none of those things. By the time I got dressed, he no longer even looked hot to me, just hard, mean and borderline homeless.
He insisted on getting me a cab (neither of us were in a place to drive) although the uncomfortable reality of this crush gone wrong had sobered me up. As he walked me out, he asked for my number. Really? Did either of us ever want to speak to the other person again? No. I knew he didn't want my number, but felt obligated to ask. "You don't have to do that," I said curtly.
And in mock shock, he said, "No, really. I want your number."
While pulling his phone out to enter it, I just said it was unnecessary. If there was some dignity to be salvaged that night, it could be that I didn't want to leave under the pretense of seeing him again.
Technically, I had a one-night stand even though it was really a 15-minute stand. I take responsibility for my reticence and very possibly naiveté in our sexual encounter. While I never saw Charlie again, he's now a regular on a hit cable show (his character is sleazy, which feels appropriate), and dating a famous actress. I used to cringe when I saw him, but now I just don't care. We all have those weird, awkward stories in our sexual history; mine just includes a minor celebrity. And it's not that I don't indulge in a little crush here or there, but I recognize that reality is a far better place to live than fantasy.


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1998 Lincoln Mark VIII 4.6L petrol from North America
A Sleeper
Some of the components were clearly borrowed from cheaper Ford models, like the gauge cluster and the stereo head unit.
General Comments:
This is a sleeper race car. The engine gets incredible mileage if you're nice to it (I can average 30mpg on the highway), and can destroy garden variety sports cars at will. It's like a modern muscle car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 6th October, 2011
26th Jun 2013, 06:19
Very accurate description of the 1998 Mark VIII LSC.
The radio has upgrades that are available thru the entire FoMoCo line. The ride can be harsh (for a Lincoln), but the power and handling are great for a car of its weight. 30 MPG can be accomplished with very careful driving on a long flat run.
The heat/AC system can become a disaster when the arm on the blend door motor breaks. To replace it is sheer agony or sheer money. I think the blend door arm is the first part on the assembly line, and the rest of the Mark VIII is built around it.
A driver of a truck, while texting, totaled my first 98 LSC, so I got another. I hope Lincoln gets back to rear wheel drive 2dr cars.


text:
Bayern Brauerei Finance Case
This content was STOLEN from BrainMass.com - View the original, and get the already-completed solution here!
1. How would you describe Bayern Brauerei's current financial health with respect to:
a. Growth
b. Profitability
c. Cost structure
d. Working Capital
2. Evaluate the assumptions on which the 1993 and 1994 forecasted financial statements are based.
3. Evaluate the proposed expansion plan.
4. If you were Maria Ober, how would you vote on the proposals regarding the expansion plan, the dividend declaration, and the increased compensation for Max Leiter? Why?
See attached file for full problem description.© BrainMass Inc. brainmass.com October 16, 2018, 7:56 pm ad1c9bdddf
Solution Preview
1. How would you describe Bayern Brauerei's current financial health with respect to:
a. Growth
The most impressive part of the company. 47% growth in the foreseeable future is a pretty good mark.
b. Profitability
Such indicators as ROA and ROE show that despite a fall down in 1991 (which is explained by expansion in East Germany), the company is regaining their position year by year with a steady growth of those ratios. A positive sign for investors.
c. Cost structure
The breakeven analysis seems to be pretty solid and given the expected rapid growth in the East Germany, their revenues would quickly surpass the breakeven point.
d. Working Capital
The only point for concern here would be the fact that the company is very dependent on debt financing. That in turn lowers ...
Solution Summary
This Solution contains over 500 words to aid you in understanding the Solution to this question.


text:
Ninth Judicial Circuit Court
The Adult Drug Treatment Court Program diverts nonviolent felons, with substance abuse
problems, from incarceration in jail and/or prison. Participants also include Department of Corrections probationers
who are sentenced to the program as a condition of probation or as a probation violation, and parole violators. Participants
are given an opportunity to become involved in substance abuse treatment and to comply with other requirements such as attending
bi-weekly court sessions, submitting random urinalysis samples, and reporting to program staff. They must also follow up on
referrals made to other community agencies, which may include the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS),
Housing Resources, Maternal Support Services, the YWCA Sexual and Domestic Assault Programs, the Upjohn Institute
for Employment Research and others. In order for a defendant to participate in the Drug Treatment Court Program, the defendant must enter a guilty plea to the charge(s). The defendant is represented by counsel during the plea process and may file a motion to set aside and dismiss the plea upon successful completion of the program. Defendants may also be sentenced to the program for a new offense, or upon a probation or parole violation.
The Family Dependency Treatment Court Program is located at The Family Division of the 9th Circuit Court, 1536 Gull Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49048. The Family Dependency Treatment Court is a court devoted to cases of child abuse and neglect that involve substance abuse by the child's parents or other caregivers. Its purpose is to protect the safety and welfare of children while giving parents the tools they need to become sober, responsible caregivers. To accomplish this, the court draws together an interdisciplinary team that works collaboratively to assess the family's situation and to devise a comprehensive case plan that addresses the needs of both the children and the parents. In this way, the court team provides children with quick access to permanency and offers parents a viable chance to achieve sobriety, provide a safe and nurturing home, and hold their families together. If you have any questions about the Family Dependency Treatment Court Program, please call (269) 385-6041.
The Restitution Program holds the juvenile offender responsible for his/her actions through procedures in which the offender is made aware of the personal consequences of the crime for the victim. It adheres to an accountability model facilitated through a service agreement and supervises both monetary restitution and community service. Offenses referred generally involve property loss or damage.
Project Lift (Larceny Intervention Program For Teens)
A juvenile first-time offender who is arrested in Portage for retail fraud III, and who is a resident of Kalamazoo County, may be eligible for referral to Project Lift, a diversionary program conducted by the Portage Community Center and the Portage Police Department. Successful completion of the program results in dismissal of the petition.
Power of Choice
The Elizabeth Upjohn Community Healing Center in collaboration with the 9th Circuit Court Family Division, offers an educational group, entitled Power of Choice, for youth who may be eligible due to issues pertaining to substance abuse. This group includes a parent orientation and participation by referred juveniles for 8 weeks. Referrals are primarily made out of the Intake Department as an alternative to formal court involvement.
Dispute Resolution Services
The Intake Department may refer some matters to Dispute Resolution Services (DRS) which is a program designed to reduce and resolve conflicts in the community using a restorative justice model. Cases, both formal and non-formal, where there is a willingness on the part of the juvenile and the victim, may be referred for mediation.
Other alternative programs may be found at:
Kalamazoo County Mental Health Services
Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program (KPEP)
Michigan Department of Corrections
Office of Community Corrections
Office of Prosecuting Attorney
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Copyright and Disclaimer 1995 - 2017, County of Kalamazoo©


text:
Ember® Sport Premium
Ember Sport Premium
- For the athlete who loves rich data!
- Measure nine biomarkers: hemoglobin (Hgb), pulse rate (PR), perfusion index (PI), respiration rate (RR), pleth variability index (PVI), oxygen saturation (SpO2), oxygen content (OC), carboxyhemoglobin (CO), and methemoglobin (Met)
Key features:
- "NEW and IMPROVED" Mini sensor
- Non-invasive – No Pain, No Blood, No Mess!
- Professional-grade non-invasive technology and accuracy, based on advanced eight LED sensor technology; no needles and blood work required
- Measures nine biomarkers – including our proprietary non-invasive hemoglobin measurement (Display Range: 10-24 g/dl), plus gold standard Masimo SET® pulse oximetry and pulse rate, oxygen content, carboxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, respiration rate, perfusion index, and PVI
- Results in as fast as 30 seconds; no more waiting for lab work
- Seamlessly pairs with your iPhone, allowing you to easily view and share tracking results using the free app
- Track and trend biomarkers by specific activity with a suite of intuitive and interactive graphs
- Earn free testing credits by consistently using your Ember unit by participating in the Frequent Tester Rewards Program*
* For every calendar month that you test one or more times in a day, for 25 or more days of that month, you earn between 25 and 31 free measurement credits (equal to the number of days in that month). Your 25 days of testing during the month do not have to be consecutive.
Measures nine biomarkers: hemoglobin (Hgb), pulse rate (PR), perfusion index (PI), respiration rate (RR), pleth variability index (PVI), oxygen saturation (SpO2), oxygen content (OC), carboxyhemoglobin (CO), and methemoglobin (Met). The Ember Sport Premium model is for the advanced athlete who wants more than hemoglobin and pulse rate. With the ability to measure nine different biomarkers, you have a powerful tool chest of information that you can use to better understand how your activities and training can affect each biomarker – and your performance. With the multi-parameter graph, you can view the trends of two biomarkers on one graph. Do you want to see how your respiration rate and hemoglobin values trend over time? Or are you interested to see how your pulse rate and respiration rate trend over time? By mixing and matching the biomarkers based on your training focus, Ember Sport Premium can give you the data you need to gain deeper insights about your body.
Each Ember Sport Premium kit includes:
- 1 Ember device
- 1 Ember Mini sensor
- 200 measurement credits
- 9 biomarkers: hemoglobin, pulse rate, perfusion index, oxygen saturation, oxygen content, carboxyhemoglobin, methemoglobin, pleth variability index, and respiration rate
- 1 USB to type-C charging cable
- 2 year Limited Warranty
- 30 day return policy
Requirements to operate:
- iPhone, iPod, or iPad running iOS 9.0 or newer
- Free Ember by Cercacor app


text:
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
IF - Wool (aka Sheep Haiku)
I've been playing with these different types of poems coupled with drawings of farm animals, and was so excited to finally see a theme on Illustration Friday that I could use with one of them. Hope you enjoy, I'd love to hear any thoughts or comments.
Posted by Matt Loveridge at 10:39 AM 2 comments:
Labels: Animal Drawings, character design, childrens illustration, farm animals, Illustration, Matt Loveridge, pencil, sheep
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Video: Providing Access to Eye Care
Too many people suffer from poor eye health simply because they do not have access to the proper care. The Montreal Chinese Lions Club has been working to make eye care more accessible to people in Quebec. The Lions help fund an eye clinic run by the McGill University Health Centre, which provides free eye exams on an annual basis to people in need. The clinic aims to help these people from slipping through the cracks of the province's healthcare system.
Watch the video above to learn more about the clinic. How does your Lions club help people in your community receive the eye care they need?


text:
IBS.it, da 20 anni la tua libreria online
Risparmi € 2,69 (3%)
Venduto e spedito da IBS
87 punti Premium
Disponibile in 4/5 settimane
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Nuclear Weapons Counterproliferation: A New Grand Bargain proposes a new legal and institutional framework for counterproliferation of nuclear weapons. Its proposal is designed to remedy the widely acknowledged breakdown of the architecture of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on which we can no longer rely for global nuclear security. First, Nuclear Weapons Counterproliferation defines the distinctively dangerous character of contemporary nuclear risk and explains why the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty no longer provides a viable foundation for counterproliferation of nuclear weapons. It then sets out the reforms needed in order to limit the radical increase in availability, for rogue governments and terrorists, of nuclear weapons related material and technology. Garvey then proposes a new counterproliferation architecture, to be built on presently available scientific, legal, and institutional resources, which could achieve a critical reduction of nuclear risk and an expanded deterrence. Guiding principles for establishing this new architecture are formulated, including, most importantly, the principal mechanism for implementation, a proposed United Nations Security Council Counterproliferation Resolution applying equally for all states. This book presents what may be our best opportunity to secure a profoundly more effective global nuclear security and counter the world's current course to a catastrophic nuclear detonation.


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Popular Now
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01803 865913
+44 1803 865913
By: Kamarudin Mat Salleh(Author)
48 pages, 46 colour photos, 3 b/w illustrations, 2 b/w maps
Natural History Publications Borneo
Reprint of the 1991 edition.
Rafflesia expert Professor Dr Kamarudin Mat Salleh's close connections to Sabah stem from 1982 when he began his academic career at the Sabah campus of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Kota Kinabalu. During his time in Sabah, Dr Kamarudin was actively involved in the establishment of Danum Valley and Meliau Basin conservation programmes. He was also instrumental in capacity building of Sabah Parks, and in the training of their staff. During that period the Rafflesia Conservation Programme of Sabah was established, and it was Kamarudin's team of researchers who discovered a previously unknown Rafflesia species, later named Rafflesia tengku-adlinii, in the Trus Madi Range.
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Granada Premier Event
Presentation of Vibex Mónico Statement Power Filter Block / Calatrava Rack / Kroma Audio Loudspeakers
It has been a real pleasure presenting my new designs in Granada. The Hotel Darabenaz offers the perfect surroundings and atmosphere, complementing perfectly such a special event. The hotel was originally an Arab noble palace from the XIII century. It even has parts that pre-date the Alhambra!
Also I must thank Miguel Castro and Javier Millan for being part of this presentation. This was the first time that the Kroma Audio loudspeaker designs have been listened to and seen. They are really...
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Also in Bioko island you will find a dramatic national park which includes one of the richest ecosystems in West Africa: La Caldera de Luba. The Luba Crater Scientific Reserve is a protected area of 51,000 hectares and is the … Continue reading
Bata is the second largest city of Equatorial Guinea with a population of around 70,000 people. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Rio Muni. The city is a transport hub and port, from which ferries sail to Malabo … Continue reading
Malabo, the capital based in Bioko, is a lively and cosmopolitan city. Downtown you'll find evidence of its colonial past, when Malabo was first the British naval station of Port Clarence on lease from Spain, later renamed Santa Isabel when … Continue reading
Corisco Island
Corisco is a small, stunningly beautiful island located 29 km southwest of the Rio Muni estuary that defines the border with Gabon. This paradise island, whose name derives from the Portuguese word for lightning, has an area of just 14 … Continue reading
Local Providers
Airports Malabo International Airport Bata International Airport Annobón – San Antonio de Palé Airport Corisco Airport Mongomeyen Airport Airlines and Carriers Iberia – +240 333093161 Ceiba – +240 333040922 Air France – +240 333094512 Royal Air Maroc – +212 522489797 … Continue reading
Hotels Malabo Hilton – +240 333096811 Sofitel Presidential Palace – +240 333099940 Sofitel Malabo Sipopo Le Golf – +240 350091010 Mango Suites (Hotel Boutique) – +240 333096333 Ibis – +240 333098965 Bahia II – +240 333093121 El Castillo – +240 … Continue reading
Eating and Going Out
Malabo Restaurants La Luna Pizza II Bidji Biñia Icef Malabo Imagine Gue Gue Delice de France La Gaviotta El Caribe Cristania Tamar Tivoli Casinos Casa Barco Pubs and Discos Café Malabo Buddha Bar Tope Lounge and Bar Sport II La … Continue reading
General Information
Department of Tourism, Malabo Telephone: +240 333098221 http://www.guinea-equatorial.com/visit/ Enjoy Equatorial Guinea Facebook Twitter Instagram WordPress Currency: Equatorial Guinea is part of the French Monetary Area, and the Bank of Central African States (Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale), which issues … Continue reading
Tour Operators
Satguru Travels, Malabo: +240 551242292 Agencies Africa Voyage, Malabo: +240 333091891 Atlas E.C.E.N.C.S.L., Bata: +240 333081324, +240 333081325 Halcon Viajes, Malabo and Bata: +240 333090559, +240 333741140 Siewe Services and Consulting, Malabo: +240 333092712 Viajes Guinea Ecuatorial SA, Malabo: +240 … Continue reading
Touristic Hot Spots
Touristic Hot Spots Alena Beach, Bioko Island Bioko Island Valley of Moka Ilachi Falls Ureca Seven Doors and beach Lake of Moka Basilé Peak Mainland monteallennationalpark Monte Alén National Park (Evinayong) Akok Sakira (Nzork) Stone Bell (Nzork) Estuary of the … Continue reading


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Logan Marshall-Green Bites the 'Bullett'
Logan Marshall-Green keeps it casual in a photo shoot for Bullett's summer 2012 issue.
Here's what the 35-year-old Prometheus actor had to share with the magazine:
On performing Shakespeare plays: "You can take just one sonnet and work it for a week. It just goes to show what you can continue to wring out of the Bard's verse."
On stage acting: "Theater is a very religious thing for me. When you're performing eight times a week, you're being asked to carve your heart out, or fall in love, and every night you are challenging yourself to do that. It's one of the toughest jobs out there."
For more from Logan, check out BullettMedia.com!


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[ Print | Email This | Bookmark ]
Tom Koziol is the creator of www.cashclique.com. His FREE newsletter, Cashclique.com Dollar$ign Newsletter, provides paycheck stretching money management tips, tools, techniques and strategies aimed to increase your personal cash flow today. With over 30 years in the financial arena, he exposes the tricks of the trade used by the professionals. Subscribe: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Source: http://Top7Business.com/?expert=Tom_Koziol
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Article Submitted On: August 09, 1999
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Reproduction without permission prohibited.


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In October 2015, Griffis' right leg was amputated below the knee. After a few days of physical therapy, his wife Kerry suggested they try HealthSouth Harmarville Rehabilitation Hospital. Read his story.
Read More »
As a wife, mother of five and grandmother of nine, Ellen Mullarkey has been caring for people most of her life. What a thrill for her to not only be cared for during the two weeks of her rehabilitation, but to be made to feel special and valued.
Leechburg local Brendan Beck believes if you try, you can do anything. Beck, a former HealthSouth Harmarville Rehabilitation Hospital spinal cord injury patient, has experienced this firsthand as he continues to recover from a broken back that resulted in paralysis.
At a time when many families gather around the table to celebrate, Jake, 27, was driving his truck when an accident ejected him from his vehicle on Thanksgiving Day.
Tina Ratay shares how her life is thriving 14 years after traumatic accident thanks to HealthSouth Harmarville.
Cheryl Slipski was driving her car when a driver in the oncoming lane took his eyes off the road to text on his cell phone. Both cars were totaled, but the texting driver who hit Slipski walked away from the accident without any injuries. Slipski wasn't so lucky.
When Devra arrived at HealthSouth Harmarville, she couldn't do much on her own.
Geraldine's car swerved, hit a Port Authority bus and was destroyed on impact. It took them more than an hour just to cut her from the car. Read her story of recovery.
Eileen Mosley, 80, was cutting her lawn, a three-hour chore she did regularly on her own tractor. After she began mowing, she hastily made a turn in the tractor on a slope and bumped some timbers. Mosley's right foot could not be saved and it was amputated from the knee down.
See Logan's story after a serious car accident.
Michael Kalogeras had a total knee revision and after much research, he decided to use HealthSouth Harmarville Rehabilitation Hospital as his home care provider for the two weeks after his surgery. Read how HealthSouth's staff played a key role in his recovery.
Shauna Zukowski was sent to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to a brain aneurysm that ruptured. During her stay in the ICU she suffered a stroke affecting her right side. Read how HealthSouth played role in her recovery.
Our hospital provides care for those who are ready to be discharged from a hospital but not ready to return home. Treatment and care is designed to bridge the gap between hospital and home. Anyone who is limited functionally from an injury or illness can benefit from rehabilitation.
Learn More »
Contact us to learn more about our rehabilitation programs or to set up a tour at our hospital.
Learn more »
Join us for a virtual tour of our hospital where you will see our patient rooms, exercise facilities, and more. You can also set up a personal tour by calling our hospital.


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Ruston Mews
Threefold Architects have just gained planning permission for the creation of an additional storey to 20 mews houses in the Ladbroke Grove area of Kensington, London.
In what we believe to be one of the largest co-housing refurbishments in London, Threefold Architects have worked with a group of 20 different existing households to form an association, develop a brief and produce an elegant design which creates a uniform addition to the mews, whilst also providing the flexibility to allow internal spaces to be individually configured to meet the varying needs of the residents. Given the multi headed nature of the client, Threefold chose to construct a live blog site through which they have successfully communicated the development of the design and received feedback from the community throughout the process.
The form of the extension was developed through rigorous experimentation with physical models. The resultant volume has been designed to draw light into the centre of the plan through large rooflights whilst maintaining a low profile on top of the existing buildings so as to minimise impact on the opposite side of the mews. The construction will be from prefabricated solid timber panels enabling the extension to be erected on site quickly with minimal disturbance.
Planning Permission has been granted on appeal and against local planning policy, creating the chance for an established community containing many growing families to expand their existing 2 bedroom homes and stay together.


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Why do some test takers who do so well in grad school fail the NCMHCE? What are the most common barriers to success on the licensure exam? How can you manage test anxiety during your exam? Read more here.
A License to Fail: How Personal and Professional Failure Make You a Better Counselor with Alyson Carr
A conversation with Dr. Alyson Carr on how failing the NCMHCE (National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination) provided a catalyst for personal and professional growth as well as how counselors can transform failure into an opportunity to refine and enrich our practice.
Click HERE to listen to this interview on The Thoughtful Counselor Podcast
What is the difference between NCMHCE, NCE, NCC, and CCMHC?
DISCLAIMER: I do not work for the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). I have recently received many emails from test takers trying to distinguish between the following acronyms: NCMHCE, NCE, NCC, and CCMHC. This blog post is simply my interpretation of the information provided by NBCC. If you see anything in this post that is inaccurate, please post a comment or send me an email so I can update it accordingly.
National Clinical Mental Health Counseling Examination (NCMHCE): This exam is required for licensure in some states.
National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE): This exam is required for licensure in some states.
Depending on which state you live in, you are required to earn a passing score on the NCMHCE and/or the NCE to become licensed. Becoming licensed earns you credentials such as LPC, LCPC, LPCC, LMHC, LPCMH, LCMHC, or LPC-MH.
Click on your state on the State Board Directory and then look at what is displayed on the right side of the page to determine which exam you need to pass to become licensed in your state: http://www.nbcc.org/directory
National Certified Counselor (NCC): A passing score on the NCE or the NCMHCE is one of the requirements for the National Certified Counselor (NCC) certification.
For more information about NCC application requirements, click here: http://www.nbcc.org/Certification/NationalCertCounselor
Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC): Many people email asking, "Is the CCMHC an examination?" The acronym CCMHC reflects credentials that correspond to a certification, not an exam. A passing score on the NCMHCE is required for the CCMHC certification.
For more information about the CCMHC application requirements, click here: http://www.nbcc.org/Certification/CertifiedClinicalMentalHealthCounselor
One of the benefits of becoming certified is that it demonstrates a commitment to the profession and respective licensing bodies. Some certifications have continuing education requirements for recertification, which further illustrates ones dedication to ongoing learning as it relates to the field.
Hope this helps!
The "CHOOSE ONLY ONE" section of DOOM
When test takers reach out to me for guidance on how to prepare for the NCMHCE, it is not uncommon for their inquiry to begin with a description of how a bad experience in a CHOOSE ONLY ONE section of the NCMHCE sent them into a downward spiral of extreme anxiety and ultimate failure on the exam.
Let's talk about the difference between a SELECT AS MANY and a CHOOSE ONLY ONE section on the NCMHCE.
What is a SELECT AS MANY section?
SELECT AS MANY means that you are being asked a question with a number of correct answer selections. For example, let's say there are 10 answer choices and 7 of them are correct: If you select only 4 of the 7 correct answers – you will be allowed to move onto the next section. If you select only 1 answer, and it is incorrect, you will be able to move onto the next section. If you only select 3 wrong answers, you will be able to move onto the next section. To summarize, in a SELECT AS MANY section, you can literally "select as many" answers you think you correct and then you can move onto the next section in your simulation without really knowing if you made all (or any) of the right answer choices.
What is a CHOOSE ONLY ONE section?
CHOOSE ONLY ONE means that you are being asked a question with only ONE correct answer. If you do not select the correct answer on your first try, you must continue making answer selections until you choose the correct answer and can move onto the next section. See how the pressure of needing to select the ONLY correct answer can immediately trigger test anxiety? What adds to this pressure is the realization that not only do you need to select the ONE CORRECT ANSWER, but if you DO NOT select the ONE correct answer on your first try, you will need to continue making selections until you get the right answer. And, what happens when you make wrong answer selections? You lose points. It's no wonder that nerves take over when a test taker begins a CHOOSE ONLY ONE section.
How to handle the anxiety associated with a CHOOSE ONLY ONE section of DOOM
1. Remember that you do not have to get every single answer correct in order to pass the NCMHCE – you WILL make incorrect answer selections on test day and you need to be equipped to respond to this stress with a level head that doesn't compromise your performance.
2. Remember that you do not need to hit every single case out of the ballpark – your final score on the NCMHCE is an overall cumulative score so if you are doing well in the majority of your simulations, you have some wiggle room in the event you are confronted with a case that really stumps you.
3. Anticipate being in a CHOOSE ONLY ONE section on test day and build up your emotional resources by working through these kind of sections when you are practicing using CounselingExam.co
When taking the PearsonVue version of the NCMHCE, select all of the buttons in a given section first. Then, click "Get Feedback" for all of the buttons you've selected (as opposed to clicking the button, followed by "get feedback," next correct button "get feedback," and so on...).
Approaching your exam this way will prevent you from being distracted by any information you uncover when you click "get feedback." By clicking all of the buttons first, before clicking "get feedback" you increase your chances of staying focused on the most relevant selections before taking in all of the new information you've revealed.


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Hamilton QLD
Early 2018
From $419,000
Gallery House is comprised of three different collections. The Sky Collection, The River Collection and The City Collection.
Directly overlooking the Brisbane River, Gallery House is in the perfect location, only six kilometres from the Brisbane CBD. Hamilton provides easy access to the CBD with City Cats, the Riverwalk for pedestrians and cyclists.
Which Property is committed to protecting your privacy. By submitting this form you acknowledge that you have read the Which Property Privacy and Data Collection Statement and that you consent to the use and disclosure of your personal information set out in the statement.
Connect with us
Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Level 3, 20 Park Road, Savoir Faire, Milton QLD 4064
Phone: +61 7 3505 6000
Alternatively, please submit an online enquiry and we will get back to you shortly.
Online Enquiry


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|Hem facing from my black wool dress.
- The interior hem side of the skirt takes a lot of abuse, even when the exterior side shows little dirt or wear.
- Attaching the facing with tiny stitches just makes more work.
- White material was a bad choice. Since making this dress, I've examined more original garments, the majority of which had hem facings of brown polished cotton. Scraps of cotton prints are another, less common, option. A few dresses (sheers and a couple odd cotton prints) had self-fabric turned hems rather than applied facings.
*Turning: remaking a dress by taking it apart and rotating/reversing the fabric so that stained and worn portions are out of sight.


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Christian Heite is dealing with various contractual issues regarding EU funded projects at TU Dresden.
The TU Dresden is among the top universities in Germany and Europe: strong in research, offering first-rate programmes with an overwhelming diversity, with close ties to culture, industry and society. As a modern full-status university with 14 departments it offers a wide academic range making it one of a very few in Germany. TU Dresden is the largest university in Saxony.
The big campus family of TU Dresden are 37.000 students, 4.300 publicly funded staff members – among them 500 professors – and approximately 3.400 externally funded staff members. (excerpt from tu-dresden.de/die_tu_dresden/portrait/)
Education/Professional Career
|studies on economic law
|a year abroad
|Studies of intellectual property law at TU Dresden und University of Exeter
|Research Management and technology transfer Office, responsible for German and European funded Research Projects, A Non-university research institution (Leibniz-Gemeinschaft)
|since 2012:
|doctoral dissertation on joint appointments of universities and non-university research institutions, TU Dresden
|since 2012:
|in-house counsel for EU Projects, European Project Center, TU Dresden


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Midgen's Wreck
A few days ago I posted about a car accident State Senator Carol Midgen was involved in. She was supposedly "reaching for her cell phone" which distracted her, causing the accident.
I was wondering if she was one of those who voted for the recently passed ban on using cell phones while driving. According to this update on the accident in today's Sacramento Bee, she did vote for the cell phone ban.
Witnesses say she wasn't driving all that before the wreck, either.
As always, if asked for a login, you can use humboldtlib for the username and blogspot for a password.
The Santa Rosa Press- Democrat's coverage seems to be a bit milder.


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Release of chemical vapor sends person to hospital
Release of chemical vapor sends person to hospital
YORK COUNTY, Pa. —
A chemical reaction Monday morning at a York County business sent one person to a hospital.
The Shrewsbury Township Fire Chief said the reaction occurred in a 55-gallon drum at Bimax Industries about 5:45 a.m. Monday.
The drum expanded and broke at the seams, releasing a chemical vapor into the air, according to the chief.
A tractor-trailer driver nearby felt sick after inhaling the vapor and was taken to a hospital.
Officials said the chemical is not hazardous to people and just gives off a bad odor.


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Fantastic KJL necklace features an enormous central butterfly which measures 5 1/4 inches across! This fabulous piece was featured on the cover of Time magazine (August 28, 2000) and was worn by "Sex and the City" actress Sarah Jessica Parker. The matte gold plating is smooth and like new and the original red KJL pouch and box are included with the purchase. It is signed on an oval cartouche as shown KENNETH LANE. Overall length is 18 inches; this sits comfortably on the neck. Featured in the book entitled "Shamelessly: Jewelry from Kenneth Lane" by Nancy Schiffer on page 119. A real fashion statement and fabulous find!
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