text:
Get Project Costs
Grow Your Business
Find a Business
Free Marketing Report
Add Business
Log In
Looking for Your Free Marketing Report?
Enter your email or offer code
Get My Report
By continuing, you are agreeing to our terms of service.
Additions and Remodels
West Monroe
Twin City Maintenance
Twin City Maintenance Reviews
West Monroe LA 71291
Show Number
Own this business?
Detailed Information
Business Categories
Additions and Remodels in West Monroe, LA
Is this your business?
Claim This Profile
Twin City Maintenance
West Monroe LA 71291
Get Directions


text:
Toggle navigation
Areas & Ranges
Mountains & Rocks
Trip Reports
Huts & Campgrounds
Logistical Centers
Fact Sheets
Custom Objects
Plans & Partners
What's New
Park Range
Additional Parents
Colorado 12ers
Park Range: 11,000+ Foot Peaks with 300+ feet of Prominence
Flattop Mountain (Mount Zirkel Wilderness)
Flattop Mountain (Mount Zirkel Wilderness)
Page Type
Colorado, United States, North America
Hiking, Mountaineering
Summer, Fall
12118 ft / 3694 m
Sign the Climber's Log!
7722 Hits
% Score
Log in
to vote
Page By:
Created On:
Jul 7, 2012
Last Edited On:
Aug 8, 2012
Table of Contents
Park Range/Mount Zirkel Wilderness Overview
Flattop Mountain Overview
Authors notes on Flattop Mountain
External Links
Park Range/Mount Zirkel Wilderness Overview
Flattop Mountain's expansive summit. Big Agnes Mountain and Mount Zirkel in the distance.
The Park Range is the northern most section of the Greater Park Range. The Greater Park Range is a discontinuous uplift consisting of the Sierra Madre Mountains, the Park Range, the Gore Range, and the Tenmile/Mosquito Mountains. It is bisected by Rabbit Ears Pass, Gore Canyon, Tenmile Canyon, and the Continental Divide on the perpendicular denying it the continuity of the Sawatch or the Sangre de Cristos.
The Park Range carries the Continental Divide into Colorado from the Wyoming border. Geologically it represents one of the original eroded uplifts of the Laramide orogeny (the mountain building event that produced the Rocky Mountains of Colorado). Between 70 and 65 million years ago the Rocky Mountains were first thrust upward. An intermittent pause in this uplift allowed the first mountains to be reduced to a level plain by the forces of erosion. The overlaying sedimentary rocks (up to two miles worth) were stripped away leaving the ancient core of this mountain range exposed. This ancient erosional surface gives Flattop Mountain its distinctive Flat topped profile. This ancient erosional surface can be seen on many other mountains in the state (especially in
Rocky Mountain National Park
) A subsequent resumption of the uplift then hoisted this flat surface to over 12,000 ft. in the vicinity of Flattop Mountain. The rock in this area consists of layered metamorphic rocks, such as felsic gneiss and amphphibolite, intruded by a 1.7 billion year old red granite near Mount Zirkel. 15,000 years ago Pleistocene glaciation sculpted these hard basement rocks to produce beautiful glacial canyons, cliffs, and spires. The evidence of glaciation is everywhere in the Park Range and several permanent snowfields are still found to the north of Red Dirt Pass.
Today the Park Range has three mountains that top 12,000 ft.
Mount Zirkel
, Flattop Mountain, and
Big Agnes Mountain
. This area gets ample winter snowfall and summer rain. Combined with fertile soils this makes the area very lush with some of the best wildflower displays seen in the state. Abundant wildlife flourishes in the valleys and on the ridges. On every visit I have seen moose, bighorn sheep, and deer.
The pristine beauty of the Park Range has been challenged by two recent natural disasters in the vicinity of the Slavonia Trailhead. In October 1997 a downslope
blew down over 20,000 acres of old growth forest. These winds in excess of 100 miles per hour out of the east resulted in a huge tangle of downed timber. A second catastrophe occurred in August 2002 when the
Hinman Fire
scorched the same area. The wilderness has recovered well but the remnants of these events are evident as one hikes the Gold Creek Trail.
The majority of the Park Range is protected within the confines of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness. This is one of the five original Colorado wilderness areas designated by Congress in 1964. The wilderness protects 159,935 acres and the headwaters of the Elk and Encampment rivers. The area feels a bit different then many of Colorado's more southern wilderness areas. Perhaps it is the northern location; so close to the more expansive and wild wilderness areas of Wyoming.
Gilpin Lake. Mount Zirkel Wilderness.
Little Elephant Head flowers near the origin of Gold Creek. Flattop Mountain is on the left.
Flattop Mountain Overview
Flattop Mountain from Gold Lake.
Flattop Mountain is the second highest mountain in the Park Range. It is 12,118 ft tall and rises 578 feet from Red Dirt Pass which connects it to Mount Zirkel. Flattop Mountain resides on the
Continental Divide
and is the sixth mountain the Continental Divide crosses on its march south through Colorado. It is appropriately named as its expansive summit region is reminiscent of the deck of an aircraft carrier, it is a massive mountain. Despite its flat upper reaches Flatttop Mountain's flanks are precipitous, and rise from the dramatic U shaped glacial valley of Gold Creek. Viewed from near Gold Lake Flattop Mountain is dramatic and beautiful. The western edge of the summit sports a lofty spire that is startling from down valley.
Flattop Mountain offers a variety of routes and is easily accessed from the Red Dirt Pass or Ute Pass trails. There are also more direct options. From Red Dirt Pass Flattop Mountain can be combined with Mount Zirkel. As a one day trip from the trailhead this would make for a very long day. It also makes an ideal destination of its own and all routes are offer 13+ miles roundtrip.
The summit views from Flattop Mountain are spectacular. It is an ideal location to preview or review climbs of Big Agnes Mountain and Mount Zirkel. To the north one can see far into Wyoming. To the south the eleveners of the Park Range march of to the south and Lost Ranger Peak and the Dome appear prominently. To the east the vast pastoral expanse of North Park is visible far below. Solitude is almost guaranteed.
Authors notes on Flattop Mountain
My dog Sopris on the summit of Flattop Mountain.
I first visited the Mount Zirkel Wilderness on August 21, 2010 on a climb of Mount Zirkel. This represented a blitz of a hike as I drove from Denver at 2am, hiked the mountain, and then drove back all on one spectacular long day. Two weeks later I did the same thing and climbed Big Agnes Mountain. These mountains are awesomely picturesque and jagged. They are among two of my favorite mountains in the whole of Colorado. It is an area that can easily become addictive.
When summer 2011 rolled around I was aching to get back to the beauty of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness. I first attempted to climb Flattop Mountain from the Slavonia Trailhead via the Gold Creek Trail on July 24, 2011. The incredible snowfall and ample rains of 2011 produced conditions I have never encountered in late July. Gold Creek, which at the time required a fording of the creek a mile from the trailhead; was a raging, frothing, runoff swollen monster of a creek. Whitewater over scattered boulders. I balked. I forsaw bad things carrying my dogs across those frigid fast moving waters. I turned back and ascended the Gilpin Lake Trail to Gilpin Lake, making a frigid fording of a slightly less scary Gilpin Creek along the way. Gilpin Lake was still frozen and the entire basin still had a deep blanket of snow. I climbed up to 11,500 ft on the ridge that runs south from Mount Zirkel where I could view Flattop Mountain and the snowy Gold Creek Basin. I would return and try again.
On September 4th, 2011 I returned and by this time most of the snow was melted. The Forest Service had installed a single log bridge across Gold Creek where I had balked before. I had a perfect beautiful day and found an interesting direct route up Flattop Mountain via a very steep grass gully on the west face of Flattop Mountain. On the summit I encountered two bighorn sheep. I lounged and gazed back on Big Agnes and Mount Zirkel. And I appreciated this mountain for what it gave me.
This is the first mountain I have submitted to SummitPost in several years.
Camping is available along the Gold, Giplin, and Mica Basin Trails. Camping is restricted in the vicinity of Gold Lake, Gilpin Lake, and Three Island Lake. The best camping for an ascent of Flattop Mountain with an option for Mount Zirkel would be in upper Gold Basin. There are numerous flat areas with wildflower strewn meadows that would make ideal backpacking destinations.
Google Earth view of Flattop Mountains Gold Creek Route.
External Links
NOAA Weather Point Forecast
for Flattop Mountain.
USFS link
for Routt National Forest.
USDA Forest Service
Medicine Bow-Routt
National Forests,
Thunder Basin
National Grassland
2468 Jackson Street
Laramie, WY 82070
Telephone for the
Hearing Impaired
View Flattop Mountain (Mount Zirkel Wilderness) Image Gallery - 22 Images
Flattop Mountain (Mount Zirkel Wilderness)
22 Images
3 Climber's Log Entries
3 Comments
0 Additions & Corrections
1 Trailheads
Slavonia Trailhead
MyTopo Map
Nearby Mountains & Rocks
Interactive Map
Mountains & Rocks in Colorado
Park Range
Mountains & Rocks
Mount Zirkel
Flattop Mountain (Mount Zirkel Wilderness)
Big Agnes Mountain
Lost Ranger Peak
Mount Ethel
Little Agnes Mountain
Davis Peak
Buck Mountain South
Buck Mountain North
"Porcupine Peak" (Peak 11,173)
Central Peak-Front Range
Buffalo Ridge
Rabbit Ears Peak
Blob Rock (5.7-5.11)
Butcher Knife Crags (5.7-5.11b)
Colorado 12ers
Mountains & Rocks
Peak 8
Bear Mountain
Square Top Mountain (Fossil Ridge Wild.)
Little Baldy Mountain
Mount Toll
Engineer Mountain
Shoshoni Peak
Peak P
Purple Mountain
Ouray Peak
Peak 12956 ft (Hartenstein Lake)
Clover Mountain
Peak 12955 ft (Kroenke Lake)
Mount Sopris
Clark Peak
Mt. Richthofen
Desolation Peaks
Vasquez Peak
Fools Peak
Ooh La La
Pawnee Peak
Peak J
Star Mountain
Woods Mountain
Difficult Peak
Peak 1/Tenmile Peak
Sunshine Mountain
Mount Julian
Mount Jasper
Stones Peak
217 More
Park Range: 11,000+ Foot Peaks with 300+ feet of Prominence
Mountains & Rocks
Flattop Mountain (Mount Zirkel Wilderness)
You need to login in order to vote!
User Name
Remember me
Forgot your password?
Log me out when I close my browser.
Keep me logged in all the time.
sign in as a user
Don't have an account?
Register now for FREE
Rating available
Suggested routes for you
People who climb the same things as you
Comments Available
Create Albums
Register Here

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The economy is under performing and revenues are dwindling
As the economy continues to falter on a larger scale, more trouble is brewing at the state level and the danger ahead gives real reason for concern.
In recent times, we have been inundated with cries from states about their inability to pay salaries, which unfortunately form the bulk of their recurrent expenditure. Even with the recent Federal Government bailout, a lot of states could still not pay all outstanding salaries. The sad news however, is that such bailouts are not sustainable and with dwindling oil revenues and disappearing reserves the situation looks set to remain the same.
In addition to the dwindling allocations accruing from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), a lot of states had borrowed heavily to finance non-income generating projects and in most cases exhibited poor sense of judgement in prioritizing their developmental needs. The accruing interest charges on these loans collected at commercial bank rates (i.e. 20%p.a. and above) has introduced another burden for the states as in most cases, the banks have well documented Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders (ISPO's) that empower the CBN to charge and debit the state allocations upfront on behalf of the lending banks.
We have in the past mentioned how unfortunate it is to be financing recurrent expenditure with the bulk of federal and state revenue, and thus leaving our infrastructure dead and moribund, and in some cases, spending from investments and reserves made by previous governments without having plans for replacement.
The common observation is that while states go through some budgeting process, majority of them consistently fail to plan for budget financing. While it is difficult to suspend recurrent expenditure, largely due to the immediate action of organized labour and the shut down of government services and facilities which cannot go unnoticed, the common victim remains the entire citizenry (including civil servants) who continue to lack basic infrastructure.
Organised labour are playing hard ball, and they have the States and the Federal Government by their collective jugulars. They are currently demanding for increases in pay and the federal minimum wage five years after the last review. Organised labour needs to understand that a country, just like any corporate entity cannot expend all its resources on staff remuneration.
Our analysis gives us saddening revelations
Up to 140% of states' revenue is currently expended on salaries for 20% of the states' population who are state government employees. The major problem perhaps, is that the states have over-bloated workforces, caused by an over reliance of previous administrations on the civil service to generate employment in their jurisdiction. This is in addition to ghost workers, who make up a large part of this workforce.
It is difficult, perhaps almost impossible, to mention a single state in Nigeria that has developed an income yielding structure independent of the FAAC, and has employed its citizens as a result of that investment. We often hear about new employments, and this just worsens an already bad case. In some cases, arbitrary salary increases to gain political capital (like was witnessed in Anambra State under Governor Obiano) have added more strain to state purses.
A recent report on the ability of states to meet monthly recurrent expenditure for the period Jan – July 2015 exposes a highly disturbing trend. The level of exposure and insolvency of the Nigeria States is quite alarming (as high as 50%) and portends great danger. For the period (Jan – July 2015) it is sad to note that 18 out of 36 States are unable to meet their recurrent expenditure demands. In lay man's terms, the average total revenues from these states are not enough to pay salaries, not to mention infrastructural development and investments. These revenues include revenues accruing from FAAC, Derivation, VAT and IGR.
Osun State is the most culpable with a monthly shortfall of about
N3.5 billion and Gombe is the least affected in this category with a shortfall of about N44 million. On the other hand, 50% of the States are able to meet their recurrent expenditure commitments; but, the paltry sum leftover is not enough to engage any serious capital projects. This explains the absence of new projects and the continued decay of the existing infrastructure. States like Edo (with an average monthly revenue of N6 billion and recurrent expenditure need of N5.9 billion) escape the deficit group, but barely have N100 million for capital projects. Others in the post recurrent expenditure surplus group include Anambra ( N101m), Cross River ( N103m), Taraba ( N181m), Yobe ( N194m), Sokoto( N199m), Kogi ( N316m), Benue ( N369m), Jigawa ( N626m), Kano ( N762m), Kebbi ( N793m), Ebonyi ( N838m), Niger ( N1.2b), Enugu ( N1.8b), Katsina ( N2.34b), Delta ( N3.12b), Rivers ( N9b) and Lagos ( N12.95b).
A critical look at the highly indebted states also reveal that majority of them are the battling with post-recurrent expenditure deficit, save for the major oil producing states (Delta, Cross River, Rivers, Edo), then Lagos State, Nasarawa, Kano and Enugu.
IGR is still a mirage
The trend of the IGR generation across the States also exposes lack of innovativeness and or fraud/political patronage on the part of the State Governments. In addition to majority of the states having over bloated workforce and unreasonable recurrent expenditure needs, they have consistently performed abysmally in terms of growing the IGR. On the other hand, we are tempted to believe some of the IGR is either diverted to private pockets or used as political settlement tools for sponsors and godfathers. It is clearly evident that a lot of the states have failed to maximize their revenue generation potential out of sheer ignorance and lack of creativity.
As the debts owed by these states crystallizes and the bonds mature, it will be difficult and practically impossible to meet the repayment obligations without plunging deep into deficits. The continued downward trend of the oil revenue is also not providing any hope and more states will be drafted into the deficit states in the coming months.
Assuming the current trend continues, at least 26 out of the 36 States will become insolvent. This will be exacerbated by inability to access further bail out funds, burden of debt and influx of new unemployed citizens in the labour market. When the states say they are unable to pay minimum wage, it goes beyond politics and it is a proof of disaster waiting to happen.
Unfortunately, to avert the looming crisis in both the short and long term. Some politically dangerous and economically biting moves have to be made. Reduction in cost of governance, labour cuts, and stricter taxation will not solve our problems, but are inevitable.


text:
|The club as it now stands has been up and running very successfully for eleven years. We have one of the best flying sites in the country with the added advantage of zero restrictions, in other words you can fly 24hours a day 365 days a year. If you are interested in joining the club or would like to come join us for the many fun-fly's we hold through out the year you can call on one of the numbers below or alternately click on the link and send us an e-mail. The club is situated just out side of Winterton and can be easily found by checking the map on this page. Click inside the magnifying glass to see the field from the air.
Club Membership 2014/2015: 80
Chris: Chairman 01652 634083
Graham: Secretary 07940826755
Andrew: Events 07891326393
Cali: Treasurer 07906263482


text:
how to buy celexa online Atlanta Presbyterian Fellowship Sermon Audio
You can click the buttons below to stream/listen or download our sermons.
Active filter: dapoxetine buy online canada Series: History Lecture (x)
Sermons (1)
|The Difference Between Fundamentalism and Modernism
|(Part of the History Lecture series).
|Preached by Frank J. Smith on November 2, 2017 (Special event).
Powered by Sermon Browser


text:
No. of Comments: 1
Add comments |
More comments
Illustrating the cultural diversity of Canada, Calgary, the oil capital and the fastest growing city in the country, will soon be home to one of North America's largest mosques. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is spending $15 million on approx. 48,000 SF mosque on a site in the northeast quarter of the city.
The complex will be an Islamic centre featuring a prayer hall, multi-purpose hall, library, exhibition area, classrooms, kitchen, dining, and administrative areas. It provides equal facilities for men and women. The complex also includes a residence for the Imam. The building will feature a beautiful, large stainless steel dome and a 97-foot minaret.
The conceptual design of the project was developed by Himayat Masood under the supervision of Naseer Ahmad, Community's Director of Mosque Projects, in 2002. Manu Chugh Architects is acting as the local architect in Calgary. Ellis Don, one of the largest construction services companies in Canada, is working as Construction Managers for the complex. The experience of building the mosque has helped Ellis Don understand the unique architectural and design features addressing various cultural and religious needs of Muslims living in a Western country.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, a global Muslim organization, established in over 180 countries with millions of followers, is the most progressive sect of Islam in modern history. It was founded in 1889 in India by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the promised reformer of the modern age as foretold by Prophet Muhammad.
The community, which has already built a landmark Mosque in Toronto area in 1992, is looking forward to start praying in the new Mosque in summer of 2008.
Please enter above code:
Cannot read the code? Please click hereOR click on the image to reload.
Click here to view the NEWS IN PICTURES tablet site


text:
Gary calls in sick…
Gary: here's a great trick for calling in sick. jami – pretend that you're not listening. nobody copy and paste to HR. Call your boss while lying on your back with your neck hanging over the bed.
Peter: Good advice. I always just tried to sound congested, but that sounds more grounded in science.
Gary: the entire physical discomfort of the position alters your voice in such a way that you sound different from your usual self. done correctly, you'll sound sick or you might even graduate to sounding like you're on your deathbed.
Josh: wow. Sounds effective
Gary: that's the only thing my dad ever taught me that should be shared, and yes: this could qualify as sharing knowledge with other teams if i send it the Office.
Sean: you could write it up in a wiki doc
Gary: in this day and age where we type instead of calling the boss, i find that it's still an effective technique. the physical discomfort leads to typing mistakes, which makes you seem either way out of it or just plain stupid.
Sean: place the laptop on the floor. lean backwards over the bed, reach over your head and attempt to type
Gary: i just tried it. i think i broke my neck.
Sean: … the result is a valid excuse to not come into work. I think that accomplishes exactly what we were going for
Gary: +1


text: I've already got the basics covered in my collection, so now it's time for something uttterly cool and arguably impractical. With that in mind, I'm torn between getting an MPA mini or a Romanian Draco pistol. They both shout awesomeness to me, that's what's making my decision so difficult. I like the power of the Draco, and I like the detachable magazine of the minimac. Eventually I'll probably have to get them both, but in the meantime, what do the knowledgeable folks here reccomend I squander my hard earned cash on?


text:
At the French Culinary Institute I completed the bread baking program before doing the culinary program. I love bread. Tokyo is a wonderful city for bread. There are many French boulangeries in Tokyo including Viron, Maison Kayser, and Gontran Cherrier. Add to that impressive collection Maison Landemaine from Paris. I had heard that there were long lines, as is to be expected when any hot spot opens in Tokyo. I went recently on a weekday and was happy to see that there were no lines and that I could sit in the cafe. The shop was busy with customers, but most of them for take-away.
There are two croissants. The French croissant made with Lescure butter and the Japanese croissant made with a local butter. Forgive me for not knowing as I couldn't resist trying the French croissant. It is among the best in the city, along with the croissant at Le Boutique at Le Cordon Bleu in Daikanyama.
There is a nice selection of breads that I will be back for. It's a long walk from the closest subway station, which I believe is Roppongi. I hope that they expand, quickly. 🙂
Maison Landemaine
Minato-ku, Azabudai 3-1-5 港区麻布台3-1-5


text:
National Lottery results: Winning numbers for Saturday February 20 2016 draw
THESE are the winning National Lottery numbers for the draw on Saturday February 20 2016.
The results for tonight's £6.8million jackpot are below.
The winning Lotto numbers are 57, 17, 35, 2, 59, and 41. The bonus ball is 42.
The Thunderball numbers are 14, 4, 25, 18 and 31. The Thunderball is 10.
The next National Lottery Lotto draw will be on Wednesday February 24 2016.
The National Lottery Lotto and Thunderball results are drawn every Wednesday and Saturday with tickets for each draw closing at 7.30pm.
The odds of winning the Lotto are quite low. Players have a 13,983,815 to 1 chance for the main draw and for Thunderball they are 8,060,597 to 1.


text: HEALTH POLICY REPORTS Kansas' Health and Prosperity Index (HAPI): 2016 A healthy Kansas economy starts with healthy Kansans. Our state enjoys many advantages when it comes to health – open space, clean air and water, and a good sense of community. However, Kansas finds itself in the middle of the pack when examining the health, economic, and social foundation of the state in comparison to the region. Medicaid Expansion: A Pro-growth Policy One in six Kansas adults under 65 lacks health insurance, even though tens of thousands of them have jobs. Kansas has a chance to extend health coverage to working men and women in dozens of critical industries—such as food service, construction, nursing, retail and child care—and boost its economy at the same time. ClayHealth08.14.2014


text:
Sony has revealed a PS3 and Vita combo bundle is a genuine possibility for this Christmas.
In an interview with CVG, Sony UK head Fergal Gara said that the creation of cross-play meant that it made sense to pair up the two consoles in one retail package.
I think there's scope to have deals where people buy both the Vita and PS3, along with cross-play games and get a discount.
"We'd have nothing against that whatsoever," he revealed. "And it's not out of the question that we would do that this Christmas if we wanted to.
"We put together packages for retail, and there's no reason why we shouldn't create a 'Vita plus PS3' bundle, which could feature games that use cross-play, as well as include a PlayStation Plus subscription that both devices could use."
Gara went on to say that the bundle would underline the connectivity between the two devices, which can function in a similar way to Nintendo's upcoming Wii U.
He explained, "There is really a story there of the two consoles building a partnership. 'Better together', as I say. If we want to continue to promote the partnership between PS3 and Vita, we have to look at ways in which we can show that.
"Is a dual-console bundle box a perfect solution to that? I'm not sure, but I think there's scope to have deals where people buy both the Vita and PS3, along with cross-play games and get a discount."
Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.


text:
Music Gifts Music Clothing & Bags Music Bags & Purses
This Beatles Shopping Bag is printed on both sides with the iconic Drop T Logo and is made of 100% biodegradable Polypropylene material. Extremely light-weight and durable and environmentally friendly.
Delivery Info
Special Offers
Visit Our Store
Our Services
Privacy & Security
Read Our blog
enjoymuzic Facebook
Customer Reviews
Music Links
Contact Us
About enjoymuzic
All Major Credit and Debit Cards Accepted A PayPal Account is NOT Required
enjoymuzic ltd, 54 Royal Quays Outlet Shopping Centre, Coble Dene, North Shields, Tyne & Wear, NE29 6DW Tel: 0191 2966544


text:
Friend's Email:
Subject: I have found a CD that I think you would enjoy
|Bob Seger
The Fire Inside
Genres: Rock, Classic Rock, Metal
This album is newly remastered and contains all original artwork. — This title is manufactured "on demand" when ordered from Amazon.com, using recordable media as authorized by the rights holder. Powered by CreateSpace, th... more »
Larger Image
CD Details
Album Description
This album is newly remastered and contains all original artwork.
This title is manufactured "on demand" when ordered from Amazon.com, using recordable media as authorized by the rights holder. Powered by CreateSpace, this on-demand program makes thousands of titles available that were previously unavailable. For reissued products, packaging may differ from original artwork. Amazon.com?s standard return policy will apply
Similar CDs
Similarly Requested CDs
CD Reviews
Information about this album!
Paul J. Broussard Jr. | Youngsville, Louisiana | 11/20/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Bob Seger's 'Fire Inside' is a characteristically conservative yet touching display of midlife musical resolve. Seger was thirty-one when he realized his rock dream with Live Bullet, from 1976, and never forgot the frustrations of the struggle. So after the commercial harvest of the subsequent Night Moves, he refined a formula that balanced the abandon of the roadhouse rocker with the control of a singer-songwriter and became that rare pontificator who could encore with a convincing Chuck Berry number.
The supporting cast of The Fire Inside mixes L.A. session aces with Bruce Hornsby, members of John Mellencamp's Indiana crew and Seger's own Silver Bullet Band. Seger followed his usual habit by recording some of the album with the soulful Barry Beckett at the board - much of the rest was recorded by Don Was - and the disc would be understood as bullishly American even if it didn't have the Statue of Liberty on the cover. Seger's nationalistic impulses, however, truly flower when he touches upon blues and country.
Seger covers his established styles with "Take a Chance" (floor-pounding rock), "The Fire Inside" (end-of-the-innocence ruminations) and "The Real Love" (earnestly romantic ballads). "The Real Love" is particularly fine, with Seger's sandy voice framed by Mike Campbell's layered guitars and a battery of background singers. "Sightseeing" evokes the rural rock of Mellencamp - and underscores the nature of artistic influences with a lyric about gaining inspiration from looking at great art.
That's why it makes perfect sense that the album's poetic heat comes from two songs by another artist: Tom Waits, one very idiosyncratic singer-songwriter. Seger presents "New Coat of Paint" as a ripe, sexy blues, with his blustery invitation ("We'll laugh at that old bloodshot moon/In that burgundy sky") lubricated by Bill Payne's rippling piano. The other Waits-penned track, "Blind Love," is tethered to the dulcet country whine of Richard Greene's violin.
"Blind Love" should have ended the album. Instead, Seger, as if to touch one last base, cranks out "She Can't Do Anything Wrong," a jailbait rocker by other writers. Two decades ago, Seger might've been forgiven for writing this song; now, sung as a cover by a middle-aged man, he sounds like a dad trying too hard to please the kids.
"She Can't Do Anything Wrong" does not befit the man who wrote "Rock and Roll Never Forgets." Seger shows he hasn't forgotten by growling through the guitars that drone on "Real at the Time" and stomp through "The Mountain." He also remembers plenty on a superb country ballad, "The Long Way Home," in which a beautiful loser shows how, when it comes to rock & roll, soul transcends style.
Seger at his lyrical best
bobbiemagee | Kansas | 07/30/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Though the guitars dont always shine through in this song like the good ol seger tunes the piano and vocals instead take center stage. And they do it wonderfully i might add. Has any body noticed the little piano riff on the song "the fire inside" sounds like the theme of the 1812 Overture, just in a different rhythm? I thought that was interesting..."
Seger's best album
bobbiemagee | 02/18/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have always been a Bob Seger fan, but this is probably his best work. It has awesome sound to it, and if you have never bought a basic Bob Seger album, this would be a good place to start. It also includes some of Seger's biggest hits such as "Fire Inside" and "New coat of Paint". You won't be sorry if you buy this."


text:
At customer request WCC has worked creatively to be your "One Stop Shop" - offering a comprehensive range of Storage; Waste Management & Custom Metal fabrication specialized products. Reputed for design expertise; manufacturing excellence & site installation quality - we are here to for your unique: Storage; Waste Handling & Metal fabrication specialties, meeting customer needs! To improve workplace safety the WCC Bin Mover is our Industry leading designed product - excellent for reducing strain related injuries.
WCC Bike Racks
We offer a complete line of bicycle rack designs: wall & floor mounted. We maximize space utilization in New Construction projects or at Existing Building Sites. Our durably constructed units provide safe, secure storage with powder coated or galvanized finished units.
WCC Custom Mesh Lockers
We fabricate durable locking mesh wire storage compartments for both new and existing buildings. Design layout & installation are available upon request.
Evolving Waste Diversion initiatives increasingly require proper handling and storage of specialty materials, prior to collection & removal. Some items belong in specialized Fire Rated lockable cabinets "hazardous waste cabinets" for the safe storage of these materials. A protocol for resident disposal and staff collection/storage of materials should be established by management.
WCC also provides various specialized containment products to suit your material storage needs, augmenting your Recycling & Diversion Programs.


text:
If you find it a problem to track and manage your daily finances when you are out or if you don't prefer to carry your digital diary everywhere with you then you would love to know about a useful finance manager application for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Money Smart Lite is an application which allows you to track and manage all your bills, expenses, accounts, budget etc. It's an overall package which will helpful for you to categorize expenses manage multiple accounts, reminder about your bills and above all it's a totally free application to use.
Here are few more features of Money Smart Lite are:
- User-friendly design
- You can categorize, email, search and take reports of your expenses
- Helps you to manage multiple account type
- Keep track of income, expenses and money transfer
- Provides you statistics of your finance
- You can choose for multiple budgets
- Transfer money from one budget to another
- Keep track of all kind of bills and also reminds you of bill payments
- Password protected for security reasons
Money Smart Lite is an awesome application which keeps track of your expenses for all kind of shopping and budgets. It is very handy, you can easily check and edit your finance status through your iPhone anytime and anywhere.
Link to Money Smart Lite application
I think it is a must have application for everyone who want to keep track of their money matters. What you think about Money Smart Lite applications?


text: Sound the alarm! A 9,000-sf former firehouse is being converted into a new multipurpose space for ZUMIX, a nonprofit music and arts organization that's partnering on the project with Landmark Structures of Woburn, Mass., and the East Boston Community Development Corporation. The $2 million renovation of the 1920s structure, known as Engine Company 40 Firehouse, includes a complete gut job to make room for a new radio station, recording studio, music production studio, performance space, classrooms, and offices. The project is going for LEED certification.


text:
- March 25, 2015
- Stow, Ohio
of Donald's Passing
Share This Obituary
Make a Memorial Donation
Tributes.com partners with over 100 national charities. It's easy and secure.Donate
Donald passed away on Wednesday, March 25, 2015.
Donald was a resident of Stow, Ohio at the time of passing.
Donald was married to Margaret.
Visitation will be 1 until 3 p.m. Sunday, March 29, 2015 at the Donovan Funeral Home, 17 Southwest Ave. (on the Historic Tallmadge Circle). Funeral service will be held 11 a.m. Monday, March 30, 2015 at Williard United Church of Christ, 742 Johnston St., Akron, with Pastor Darlene Garber officiating. Interment will be at Tallmadge Cemetery, where military rites will be conducted by Mogadore VFW Post 8487.
Memorial donations may be made to the church.


text:
There are a number of business owners who are skeptical about trying to buy Instagram views, however if you're aware about the service and you're shying away from trying it out, here are a few things you need to understand.
Online promotions are one of the most effective methods of promoting your business these days. It helps you target the right kind of people who are interested in your business and automatically filters them based on location, age or gender. This means you end up spending a lot less on promotion and there's a higher chance of your business growing.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms where users spend hours browsing through different videos and pictures. When you share a video on Instagram, people will see it; however they will view it if the video has a lot of views already. This is why buying views helps. The initial boost that you give a video on your page could result in the video going viral and you can drive a lot of people to your website which means you have a higher chance of targeting the right customer. This is a very affordable method of promotion which comes with a lot of benefits.
When you buy Instagram video views your followers on Instagram increases. You would not have to worry about doing anything extra to increase your social awareness or popularity. Instagram will ensure that your website gets the number of views that it deserves and you will new visitors on a daily basis. This will ensure that your popularity increases without any extra effort from your end. Instagram video views works in an uncomplicated way. It takes your video and promotes it to as many people as possible. This ensures that there will be people whom you have never seen or interacted with viewing your video and following you on Instagram.


text:
Custom WordPress Websites
WordPress has become a very flexible but still usable content management system. Our customers love the easy to use backend which is completely adaptable to their needs. For us as developers it is important, that each layout and technique can be implemented. The community is huge and offers many plugins to extend the functionality of your site. And if we do not find a proper plugin, we create it for you.
These are some screenshots of websites we realized with WordPress. See the list of our projects to get an overview of our recent work.


text:
Finished in Ultimate black metallic with full Soft Warm Charcoal leather interior, touch screen satellite navigation, Bluetooth phone connectivity, Bower and Wilkins premium sound system , heated and cooled climate seats, 20" Nevis alloy wheels , front and rear optical parking system, multi function heated leather steering wheel, automatic Bi Xenon headlights, heated front screen, adaptive front lighting, electric adjustable seats with electric width support and memory function, keyless go and entry, electric folding and auto dimming exterior mirrors, wind deflector, cruise control, Sand Beige headlining, plus much more standard specification. This stunning supercharged convertible is offered in impeccable condition and has only covered 12000 miles. Car comes complete with the benefit and satisfaction of A full Jaguar main dealer service history along with a recent service just been carried out with Jaguar at 11700 miles .
jaguar xkr 5000cc supercharge convertible automatic alloy-wheels bluetooth cruise-control leather metallic sat-nav xenon 2009 hands-free british xk r v8 2-plus-2
Alexander House, Barr Lane Industrial Estate, Roecliffe
Boroughbridge, YO51 9LS, North Yorkshire
United Kingdom


text:
Author has written 2 stories for Romance.
What up? I don't really know what to put here. I've always been bad at this kind of thing. And I don't know how to make it all fancy and colorful like everybody does, so this will have to suffice.
One thing about my writing: I love cliches. I know most writers try to avoid them, but I think they're great. All of the stories that I'm going to write for this site are probably going to be based around a cliche that I'll try to work a little differently. I don't write my stories so that the ending is unpredictable. I like to write (and read) stories where you can pretty much guess what characters are going to end up together. For me, the fun is in getting there. I love writing the obstacles along the way. yaaaa.
The Great Pretenders- Andrew Evans and Keely Caldwell have been best friends since diapers. When Keely lies to her boyfriend that she's not a virgin, she goes to Andrew, the person that she trusts the most, with a proposition: take her virginity before prom night, so that her boyfriend won't know she lied. But if you want to lose your v-card to your best friend instead of your boyfriend, isn't it time to do a little re-evaluating?
Back to Basics- Andrew Evans and Keely Caldwell broke things off when she went abroad after college. But now, she's come home, and he's moved on. Andrew's getting married and it's not to Keely.-sequel to The Great Pretenders.


text:
This pack includes 51 Zooper widgets which show the time, date, memory and internal SD card space available. Also includes an animated character called Zoe which displays phone and status information, full list of features below.
Requirements: 4.0.3 and up
Funk Zooper widget pack
This pack includes 51 Zooper widgets which show the time, date, memory and internal SD card space available. Also includes an animated character called Zoe which displays phone and status information, full list of features below.
OnTap action can be set for all widgets. Wallpaper in screenshots can be downloaded at the RESINSHOK Google+ page https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/8cDE3 .
List of widgets in this pack
– Zoe character features:
– Facial expression changes every minute.
– Ponytails go up when WiFi is connected, down when not connected.
– Eyes will turn white when WiFi is on but not connected
– Hair ties change colour according to battery level.
– Mask colour cycles through 5 different colours, and changes to a striped mask when the phone is charging.
– Text balloon shows information about the date, memory and internal SD free, and weather for the current day and next day
– Rain will show in the background when rain is forecast.
– Facial expression will change when battery is lower than 6%.
– 40 Zooper widgets in different font styles.
– 10 bold widgets in different colours.
Zooper Widget Pro app required to use this widget, you can get it from here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.zooper.zwpro .
Installation details
When adding widgets to your screen, Zooper Widget will offer you a number of widget sizes. If you want them the same size as in the screenshots, use the Zooper widget size (e.g . 5×1) next to the widget name as a guide.
For widgets with a size of 5×3 next to their name, Zooper widget does not offer 5×3 as a widget size so you will need to create a Zooper widget of any size then resize it to 5×3.
Widgets were designed for 5×7 grid screen layouts and above using Nova Launcher but other grid layouts and launchers can be used.
Installation steps
1. Make sure you have Zooper Widget Pro installed.
2. Install Zooper Widget Pro RESINSHOK widget from the Google Play store.
3. Add a Zooper widget to your homescreen then select the widget size you want to add (e.g. 5×1) or add any widget size then resize it to the size you want. For widgets that have 5×3 next to the name, Zooper Widget does not provide a 5×3 widget size by default, you will need to add any sized widget then resize it to 5×3.
4. Tap the recently added Zooper Widget on your homescreen to open Zooper Widget Pro.
5. Select the RESINSHOK widget pack you installed from the Google Play store.
6. Select the widget you want to install.
7. Your widget should appear in a couple of seconds. If not press it, this will open Zooper Widget Pro, then go back to your homescreen, your widget should then appear shortly.
This app has no advertisements
More Info:
Download Instructions:


text:
USA vs EU
In the USA, the complainant gets to "press charges", after which the police acts. If the complainant is somehow pressured into withdrawing that complaint, or if the complainant disappears, then the authorities is very restricted in its ability to pursue the complaint. It's a primitive system that encourages certain parties to make sure the complainants do, in fact, disappear.
In the EU and other more civilized countries, the complainant goes to the authorities and makes a complaint. The authorities then carry the ball from there. The disappearance of the complainant can be quite immaterial to the subsequent prosecution of that complaint. All in all, this type of system reduces the risk to the complainant, and also allows justice to be done if the complainant is "neutralized", as has happened this time with PSI.
Personally, I like the second system better.


text: Here's something to add up to your wish list. A shimmering new charm necklace from Coach. This gorgeous little jewelry will make a fine addition to your every day appearance; from posh to casual, it's fully covered! Made of glass pearls, glass stones, enamel and gold plated metal, I totally adore this new piece! US$198.


text:
Hey kids! I'm gonna start today with a short lesson in Polish history, because, well, having my ass dragged to Polish school on Saturday morning for eight years has to account for something, right? FACT: Chances are that if you grew up in a Polish family in Chicago during the eighties, nineties, double zeroes, or now, there were/are no such things as Saturday morning cartoons. So anyway, in 1683, Leopold I (looking all snazzy here, by the way) went to King Jan III Sobieski of Poland and said, "Oh, Poland … Poland … help! The big, bad Turks came to invade Vienna and we need your help to get them out!" Or something to that effect. And on September 12, 1683, King Jan III Sobieski and the Poles helped kick the Turks out of Vienna, to which Leopold and the Austrians replied, "Thanks, Poland! You're awesome!" Or something to that effect. But then in 1772, you wanna know what happened? You really wanna know? Do you? You know you do! Stop lying and say you don't! Okay … and you'll love this part. I know as a Pole, I certainly love this part. So in 1772, Russia and Prussia were like, "Hey, Austria, wanna split up Poland with us?" And the Austrian empire was like, "Um, okay, cool!" Or something to that … you know what I mean. And actually the Turks ended up being the good guys in that they never recognized the Partition of Poland.
So what does this insightful tidbit of Polish history has to do with today's post? Well, before I get into that, I just want to point out that this is not meant to be a political or discriminant post by any means. I have lots of dear Polish, Austrian, and Turkish friends alike. In fact, as I might have pointed out at one time, my dissertation advisor is Turkish, which one of the two of my most favoritest people in the world (not Trickster Guy. The other one … yeah, okay – I'm going back to TG and DL after this) would have known if she actually took the time to do her research. And one of my greatest twitter promoters, Irene, comes from Vienna. What I want to say here instead is something I brought up before. And that is don't expect any outcomes just because you did something to help another person out. Sometimes it will work but sometimes it won't. Whether it's just giving a good review or liking someone's page or sending pizzas to an Ivy League theater group where your future husband is starring in a Tennessee Williams play, just do it to make someone happy and don't even think about getting something in return. That's how I've come to think about things. At this point, I really have come to peace with the fact that Order of The Dimensions may never be a bestseller or turned into a movie (You: Finally! Me: Again, I asked you this when?) Just doing something to help others should give you some satisfaction in itself. And who knows? Maybe someone who you least expected will be your greatest ally and most likely to help you out. Like I may never get a movie deal but that Ivy League theatre group might make a play out of my book or my blog or whatever. Or if not them, maybe the theatre groups from one of my three alma maters will. No, you say? Oh, come on! Will you just give me a freakin' … okay, never mind – just keep the peace, Irene. Keep … the … peace. By the way, I also noticed that my future husband unfollowed that Ivy-League theatre group on twitter. That wasn't very nice of him. After all, they graciously invited him to do their play and I'm sure they shared the free (hopefully not illness-inducing) pizza with him and all. I mean, I'll still marry him and bear his children, of course, but just sayin' that wasn't very nice of him.
But anyway, that's all for now and now you know a little about the good-looking dude on this vodka bottle. And I'm kinda happy he saved Vienna from the Turks too. Yeah, it wasn't very nice of them to split up Poland with Russia and Prussia later on, but they sorta made up for it my giving us the greatest musical prodigy of all time.
Yeah, Mozart too. But I was thinking Falco. I mean, who today can compete with such high art. Pure genius, people! Pure. Genius.


text:
Face Painting
Where art comes alive!
Our face painting talents include:
Face painting l Glitter Tattoos l Black Light Face Painting l Crazy Hair Color l Musical Face Paint Artist
When planning your child's next birthday party, a corporate event or private party let AbraKIDazzle face painting help you create priceless memories by transforming your party guests into works of art.
Don't forget about the teens and adults. They go crazy for more intricate designs that take a little more time to do, but so worth it. Even after the designs have washed away, the memories will last a lifetime with each picture. Remember we can customize to your theme.
Face painting, masks, cheek art– watch as the magic begins with the stroke of the brush and your child and party guests are transformed into breathtaking butterflies, tigers, and super heroes. Tess has holiday and seasonal themed face painting, the possibilities are endless.
Glitter tattoos– are the bling of temporary tattoos. They are waterproof and last for days and are perfect for pool parties. Tess has guy and girl designs for adults and kids.
Black light face painting– Tess can use her black light face paints to make your party glow with excitement.
Crazy hair color– Yours guests will have a blast experimenting with neon hair color or their favorite sports team colors.
Musical face paint artist– Musicals at high schools are such fun to perform. Add that polished touch that other local productions lacked with professional character face painting. Tess has painted the cast of Seussical the Musical, Willy Wonka, Cinderella, and Shrek the Musical. why not add your musical to the list.


text:
Riverside Grill with stylish alfresco dining alongside the Chao Phraya River, is an urban oasis to escape from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. Luxuriate in the sunset whilst sipping on classic and signature cocktails and chilling out to the sultry sounds. With an eye on the future and a nod to the past, Riverside Grill offers a bold array of contemporary a la carte grill dishes featuring pieces of modern and traditional cuisines.
Time: 5.00 pm to 10.30 pm


text:
According to Statista, a data evaluation portal, the expected number of worldwide app downloads is estimated to reach over 268 billion in 2017. With increasing number of businesses adopting the 'mobile' way of functioning, will it not be foolish to miss this winning chance?
Want a mobile app that separates you from the crowd? Code{UR}Idea, a mobile apps development services company in India, is always there to offer you a helping hand. We have some of the most creatively gifted app developers spearheading the team from the front. Be it iOS development or Android development, we guarantee that the app will give your users something exclusive and effective, while retaining your brand power intact.
Baffled with the battle of hybrid VS native mobile apps? Or maybe, confused about the security add-on layers? Contact us and we'll make everything clear before proceeding with your dream. Our tech-savvy and well-seasoned team of mobile app developers have immense experience in working with a variety of frameworks and platforms. We take pride in developing apps using some of the safest and advanced Cloud services such as Amazon S3, Azure, Rackspace, iCloud, and Dropbox. Customer satisfaction is at the top of our list of priorities, and we outdo our peers in meeting expectations exactly on time, thus solidifying our place as a leading mobile development company in India.
"Couldn't ask for a better team , we are now partners. Be assured we will refer to everyone going forward . "Malini Puli Deputy Program...Read More- Malini Puli -
This Company has such an UNIQUE team! The most friendly professional I have ever worked with. They never skipped a beat. When ever and where...Read More- Phil Prescott -
Very happy I made the decision to work with Code UR Idea. He is very professional, incredibly responsive and obviously very capable. This wa...Read More- Chris Jacobs -
Amazing job!! team understood directions perfectly and delivered an extremely high quality finished product. They went above and beyond, and...Read More- Anand Watane -
We're quite good at what we do. You're about to find out!
If your clients aren't aware of your brand, you aren't marketing it well. We strategize your online marketing campaigns and help you to build your brand identity.
Interactive mobile apps for all the major platforms- we offer you the best of mobile technology tailored perfectly to your requirement.
Whether you want us to build it from scratch or just tweak the existing one, when it comes to app development, we know exactly what you need!
Be a part of the open source revolution- the world of free and secure technology. We build scalable, robust open source projects that continue to evolve and innovate with
We firmly believe that a website ain't of any use if it's not user-friendly. Our websites that are the perfect blend of creativity, technology and usability.
The right design can convey the essence of your brand exactly the way you want. Or even better! Have an idea? Let's talk..
Our past clients love our work. This is because we believe in building long-term relationships by following the best approaches and practices, maintaining a level of transparency all the time.
2015 © codeuridea.com


text:
Need team of 30-50 people for data entry via MOBILE
Bajet $10-30 USD
You will need to add a list of usernames to Telegram group.
You will need to have 50 members team with you with 50 mobiles/sims.
I will give you username list - you will just copy paste this into my Telegram group.
Each account/sim can add 50 members per day.
So if you have 50 team members meaning you can add 50 x 50 = 2500 members per day.
This is what I need. Minimum.
Addition job will take 3-5 minutes ONLY to add 50 accounts. So 2500 additions will take less than 2 hour. You will copy username one by one and paste into Telegram. Thats it. No skills. No difficulty.
I will pay $25 per day for this. 2500 additions. I have UNLIMITED job for this. I can pay $25 for this every day for next 3 month.
Mainly need 30-50 mobile phones/sims/accounts for Telegram to do this. Even ONE person can do this job in under 2 hour.
Dianugerahkan kepada:
Hi there, This is a Good job. But I've a question- Does this posting need mobile number confirmation? I've lot of SIM card what I was use for Twitter account verification and I think this SIM card can helpful for y Lagi
63 pekerja bebas membida secara purata $24 untuk pekerjaan ini
!!!Dear Honor !!! We Can Help You Make That Happen !!! Let's discuss.................................. Cheers :( Stay tuned, I'm still working on this proposal.
I can do this. Relevant Skills and Experience data entry Proposed Milestones $30 USD - done
Hello, I am interested in this opportunity. Relevant Skills and Experience I am experienced and have done similar task. Proposed Milestones $30 USD - data entry
Dear i will complete your project with 100% accuracy. I will do my best. Please award me this project. Thanks Relevant Skills and Experience I have 3 years experience in this field. Proposed Milestones $10 USD - fees Lagi
Hi I would like to work with you. I have a 50 member team. Please give me change. I will try my best level. Thank you Relevant Skills and Experience Data entry
Easy cut & paste job. Assume you have a channel in Telegram to which you are adding these user id's.
Hello SIR, Thank you for reviewing my cover letter. I have excellent previous experience of Social media, Web Research, Data Entry and have enough experience on this kind of job Relevant Skills and Experience I know a Lagi
Have good experience in Data entry jobs Relevant Skills and Experience Have good experience in Data entry jobs


text:
- Coordinating set for everything you need to make your bed!
- Tote – for your books, groceries, as a Friday night purse!
- Shams (one with twin two with queen or king)
- Duvet Cover– with 100% polyester white printed top side and 100% polyester white bottom side
- 16″ x 16″ throw pillow with Twin XL
- 18″ x 18" throw pillow with Queen or King
- Bed in a bag with a Twin XL Duvet Cover, comes with one sham, a 16" x 16" throw pillow, and tote bag
- Bed in a bag Full/Queen & King Duvet Cover comes with two shams, a 18" x 18" throw pillow, and tote bag
- Duvet insert not included
This item ships from our US printing facility direct to your door


text:
Who Do You Love?
The first recordings by George Thorogood and the Destroyers, including their hit, "Move It On Over," were a reinvigorating blast of energy when they hit the FM airwaves in the late 1970s. Cut live in the studio, these 15 tracks, along with a previously unissued live version of their showpiece "Who Do You Love?," are a testament to the enduring power of raw rock and roll. Here are many of George's greatest interpretations of songs by his country music and blues heroes, from Elmore James to Hank Williams, as fresh and soulful today as it was when they were first recorded!


text:
Energizing employees in recessionary times: Try motivating, not mandating
Executive summary
Cost-cutting efforts could be a reality for some time to come. One dimension of cost-cutting is often disregarded — the critical need to ensure cost cuts occur in ways that obtain positive emotional commitment within the context of the culture. Employees need to somehow feel positively motivated to support decisions and to commit to behavioral change that reduces costs. This is a "tall order," especially when layoffs are at the center of the cuts. However, in our experience, cost-cutting and layoffs fail when executives simply try to mandate attitudes and behaviors. These efforts will more likely succeed when companies make positive employee motivation an integral part of the process. The first step is for executives to take on the responsibility of ensuring that front-line leaders' actions appeal to employees' hearts and minds. Positive motivation cannot be delegated or mandated.
In this commentary piece we explore how effective cost reduction capitalizes on and reinforces company culture — and integrates emotional commitment of the workforce with the strategic imperatives for the business. While easily said, some companies have done this.
Why most cost reductions fail
Under tremendous recessionary pressures, executives in a range of industries are currently considering, launching, or already grappling with cost reduction programs. Unfortunately, many of these efforts will be disappointing, to say the least. In 2005, a McKinsey1 study reported that only ten percent of companies sustain cost reduction benefits after three years. A 2008 Archstone Consulting survey of 350 companies2 highlights several reasons why cost reduction efforts fail. In the most frequent reason given — by 44% of respondents — executives indicated that "implementation was not well managed." In other words, people did not do what they were supposed to do. Why does this happen?
"Phantom savings" prevail
A common problem is that companies unwittingly put themselves into a suboptimal cycle of cost reduction that is both short-term and shortsighted. The cycle begins when managers launch an initiative to identify and implement cost reductions in different functions. The first problem is that many of these cost savings are "phantom" — the organization does not sustain the savings once the initiative goes away and many of the savings are nothing more than deferred expenditures.
Fundamentals are not addressed
The second problem is that the initiative does not address fundamentals. Productivity does not improve, leadership systems are unchanged, and "cost-accommodating" behaviors persist. As a result, headcount savings in functions creep back in the form of higher expenditures with vendors, potentially impacting SG&A or cost of goods sold. Moreover, additional hiring occurs (often at higher cost) as "new" needs emerge. Exhibit 1, illustrates the problem.
It is highly unlikely that companies in the 2008 recession will avoid these two parallel pitfalls. Simply put, the hasty introduction of cost savings programs that recessions prompt makes the likelihood of short-sighted efforts even greater.
"Mandating" vs. "motivating" cost reduction
So what should companies embarking on cost reduction do? They should probably start by asking themselves if "quick and dirty" costs reductions are all they want or need. If not, they should look honestly at the ultimate impact of any earlier cost reduction efforts. Important savings commitments may not have been implemented. Examples include purchasing commitments not followed, or new departments put in place to replace others that were downsized. Pull out the PowerPoint presentations from several years before and ask what happened, separating justified and unacceptable reasons for deviations. Avoid the natural human tendency to justify past decisions. In short, learn from the last effort before launching a new cost reduction initiative.
The "mandating" approach — firmness, discipline, and often fear
If companies are going to approach cost reduction better than they did in the last recession, they have two very different approaches to consider: they can simply rely on mandating or they can emphasize motivating. While there is an unavoidable overlap, the primary emphasis is what matters most.
Top-down mandating is the classic way to launch a cost-cutting effort. "Mandaters" believe that the cycle of suboptimal cost reduction can be broken through more firm resolve, discipline, and fear. It will not be surprising to see the 2008 rendition of Al Dunlap and his provocative style (In 1995 he said it was important to approach restructurings under the principle of "do it once, do it severe, get it over with"3). Targets are set, the axe falls, and everyone from the CEO downwards does their best to follow through on the cost cuts. In many cases, executives call upon experts from headquarters or outside consultants to quantify opportunities for cost reductions and to complete the effort quickly. These initiatives frequently use methods and analytics that are unfamiliar to the organization and are hard for many people to understand and learn. Consequently, many of these efforts remain focused on the project and its science, rather than on the real needs of the company and its people.
Despite well intended top-down communications, employees suspect they are not getting the whole story. Firmness and discipline start to feel more like shouting selective messages and bullying as leaders push managers to "try harder" to enforce the cost reduction effort. Negative rumors circulate, insecurities build, and water cooler skepticism persists. Senior leaders and line managers tend to rely too heavily on human resource departments to find ways to reduce anxieties, clarify top-down directives, and help displaced employees find new jobs. Despite these efforts, the cumulative impact is a set of employee anxieties that often generate "deer in the headlights" reactions. Some of the deer hope the lights will just go away and do not move; others try to hide in the bushes and convince themselves that they are exceptions who will be spared.
Of course, the human resource department works hard to ameliorate the anxiety that people feel. They put proven programs and processes in place to manage the cost reduction effort, and they launch broad-based engagement efforts. Unfortunately, these efforts seldom address the disruption to a company's culture that the mandated approach brings. Nor do they obtain the help of front-line supervisors, who are the critical link to motivating employee behaviors. A major part of the problem lies in lack of integration between senior leadership actions, frontline supervisory efforts, and formal HR programs. As a result, the informal elements of the organization become confused, resentful, and counter-productive.
When Agent Orange turned sour
The Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus believed that if you motivate employees to empathize with their customers, you ensure both low cost operations and high-quality service — a belief that became known as "Agent Orange" and which defined The Home Depot's unique culture. When we researched The Home Depot in the nineties, one employee confided that she would rather spend her Saturday working than relaxing at home. A store manager proudly revealed he measured each day's performance simply by counting the smiles on the faces of customers leaving his store. When Robert Nardelli imposed more rigorous management disciplines, important elements of Agent Orange rebelled. Many executives and managers left, and others resisted or simply hunkered down behind the counters waiting for the storm to pass. And pass it did, as the Board replaced the CEO yet again at the beginning of 2007. According to the company's financial reports, operating expenses as a percentage of sales rose from 20.7% of sales in 2000, just before Nardelli's tenure, to 22.4% of sales for 2006, just before he departed. Operating costs per square foot, using year-end square foot data, rose from around $77 to $79 in the same period. The culture rebelled, even though this operating cost story is hardly harsh.
Emotional commitment did not accompany rational compliance. In its latest year-end financial filing, The Home Depot notes that payroll costs increased by 76 basis points due to a number of factors, some of which reflect investments in store labor and bonus plans. After the trauma of prior years, The Home Depot ended up having to re-invest in employees and their motivation. In fact, associate engagement is now listed as The Home Depot's first key strategic priority. Unfortunately, employee "engagement" on its own will be of limited motivational value unless it connects directly and emotionally to the work itself (and you really need the help of frontline motivators to make that connection). Nardelli's approach had only limited success in cost containment — not because he was a poor choice as CEO, but because there are no short-cuts around employee commitment. The Home Depot learned the importance of working with the Agent Orange culture.
The positive motivational approach — a "proud to be thrifty" mindset
Fortunately, companies have a more effective alternative to top-down, negative mandating, as well as to trying to engage employees superficially while the cost-cutting effort runs rough-shod over the positive elements of the culture. They can adopt the "positive motivational" approach. At first glance, executives might dispute that they can motivate employees and managers in positive ways around cost-cutting. Indeed, no one should pretend that headcount reduction can be as intrinsically motivating as other business experiences, and managers at all levels will still have difficult decisions to make. But the motivational approach to cost reduction involves employees committing emotionally to the cost challenge. "Motivators" look for ways to secure positive employee commitment — emotional as well as rational — to company decisions and behavior change. A few companies are able to do this systematically because they have built a culture that is "proud to be thrifty." They communicate a noble purpose or positive theme that focuses their people on cost and value, such as the commitment by Southwest Airlines to making safe, comfortable air travel available to the average American. At Southwest, employees have been known to pay for energizing events, such as holiday celebrations, out of their own pockets.
Some companies also use formal processes to support motivation. For example, hourly employees at Nucor have lower per-hour compensation, and yet they earn more than their counterparts since Nucor uses an incentive structure that encourages low-cost behavior. These companies also generate informal momentum to encourage frugality. Thrifty companies draw on stories to celebrate the frugality of leaders, like Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, who said "waste of resources is a mortal sin." Marshalling these different approaches can help people across an organization take pride in keeping costs low at all times, thus creating a sustained cost reduction program that continues as an integral part of the culture.
But can the motivating approach work in the short term?
Unfortunately, companies facing an urgent need to cut costs seldom have a "proud to be thrifty" culture and cannot create one overnight. Hence, executives might be tempted to say: "I know positive motivation is important, but we don't have time to worry about that right now. I can't see anyone feeling very positive about what we have to do in any case. So let's go with mandating."
In fact, employee engagement is always critical in peak performing cultures — particularly when it connects directly and emotionally to the work itself. A 2006 study from Towers Perrin-ISR4 showed that over a period of one year, companies with highly engaged employees increased net income by thirteen percent, while those with less engaged employees showed a four percent decline. In recessionary times, this employee engagement can be harnessed to speed cost reduction — because lots of people energize one another around specific tasks that move towards the same goal. Executives who are tempted to ignore employee motivation and alignment in their cost reduction efforts should ask themselves the following questions:
- Are we sure we have all the solutions needed for cost reduction (e.g., outsourcing, discarding a business, headcount reduction, bonus cuts), or does the complexity of our problem require individual responsiveness and on-site problem-solving from our employees?
- Will mandated cost reductions be undermined without positive support from employees? Will rational compliance be enough to sustain the behaviors we need, or do we also need emotional commitment?
- Will cost reductions damage our value proposition to employees, relative to our competitors? Are we in danger of forcing short-term actions that we will regret when our company is growing again?
- Are innovation, collaboration, and customer empathy critical in our business, at the level of requiring the energy and enthusiasm of our employees?
In most cost reduction efforts, employee motivation will be a critical business objective that executives, as well as front-line managers, must personally lead in consistent ways.
Motivating — getting people to do more than what you ask
Positive motivation is not about engaging people broadly at a company-wide level while compelling them at their work stations to do what you prescribe from the top. It is about energizing employees to work with you on reducing costs, encouraging individual employee actions that cannot be prescribed, and recognizing employees with more than money when they take these actions. For example, Amazon.com perpetuates a "door desk" award that is given on a monthly basis to an employee who achieves significant savings. The door is not worth much money and it symbolizes the makeshift desk that Jeff Bezos used as a thrifty measure in the early days. Generating positive motivation is seldom easy to and it rarely depends on money alone. People have to feel good about tasks that are not financially rewarding or intrinsically motivating. This requires developing emotional commitment to support painful decisions, applying self-disciplined behaviors beyond mandatory processes, building peer respect and support for reducing any and all costs employees can control, and making sure the informal organization supports the formal.
Motivating cost discipline
Reliant Energy, a Texas-based electricity provider, significantly reduced its cost base by integrating critical leadership objectives with a positive motivating approach to get the best of both the mandating and motivating approaches. In October 2002, Reliant's stock was trading at less than a dollar, compared to $30 at the time of its IPO in May 2001. The company grappled with debt from major acquisitions and the uncertainties of a deregulated Texas energy market, was rapidly losing the confidence of Wall Street, and faced bankruptcy. But in two years, Reliant turned itself around by cutting $340 million in operating costs out of a base of approximately $1.3 billion. The urgency of Reliant's situation certainly made these changes mandatory.
At the same time, Reliant saw a twenty percent lift in measures of both employee satisfaction and pride.
What is it that Reliant and other successful cost-cutting "motivators" do that allows positive feelings to counter-balance negative fears?5
Leadership cohesion & commitment
"Motivators" establish leadership cohesion and commitment at all levels, conducting a fair process for cost reductions. Reliant leaders were aligned and united in the task of significantly reducing the company's cost base and were highly visible in communicating both formally and informally after committing to a thirty-five percent reduction in costs. Senior executives recognized that motivation was a critical issue from the start. For instance, their "brown bag" lunches with employees became known as venues for candid discussion and underscored what leaders and employees were trying to do: talking and acting together — with integrity — to achieve what needed to be done.
Importance of fairness
"Motivators" recognize that employees care deeply about fairness — which means making the cost reduction process transparent, timely, and effective. Reliant balanced a central mandate with a significant amount of local autonomy. Different groups were allowed to pursue savings on their own schedules, subject to an overall corporate timeframe. Similarly, BMC, a leading software company, developed a turnaround plan with milestones and a scorecard on its top five priorities, including cost reduction and a monthly report out to the whole company.
The emotional case and role of frontline motivators
"Motivators" create a positive emotional case in addition to a rational business case. Both need to be clear and well reasoned. Companies need to develop an emotionally appealing theme as well as deciding on the primary carrier or carriers of that emotion through facts, not guesswork. Reliant conducted a survey of its employees in 2002 and learned that the two most important potential sources of pride were the company's reputation ¬and the quality of its people. That became the basis of a well-organized change plan. The most effective cost-cutters also enlist the best frontline motivators, collectively as well as individually, to connect sources of pride to the work itself in ways that mobilize the organization. Reliant established "Motivation Governance," including a Motivation Champion, a Motivation Squad, and most critically, Local Connectors. These Local Connectors were selected from interviews and peer nominations and were responsible for carrying out motivation activities locally (e.g., celebration events for achieving company objectives), as well as providing frontline perspective and upward feedback to the Motivation Champion.
More than one hammer
Executives require objective data to make critical decisions around where and how to cut costs. Multiple approaches are required to get everyone onboard. Too often, companies adopt one method (e.g., benchmarking) and impose it on the organization, ignoring the complexity of what might be driving costs. As one executive said, "You need more than one hammer." For instance, costs are often driven by organizational inefficiencies, such as too many layers or too many hand-offs. Employees know this, and want these issues examined. Employees also want to be involved in the problem-solving. In 1993, Texas Commerce Bank hosted hundreds of focus groups that involved almost half of its 9,000 employees in a major improvement initiative that replaced its monetary target with an aspiration of "eliminating what annoys our bankers and customers."6 The initiative eventually exceeded the initial target of $50 million in reduced costs, achieving savings that were around three times the target. It is critical to do the analysis to shed light on a broad set of opportunities and to use the findings to design organizational solutions that create lasting behavior change. At Scholastic, there was a need to create a shared services organization to better manage and leverage spend across several business units. Rather than creating an expensive new organization with the associated hand-offs, the company created a council with clear authority and the right balance of membership.
Getting through a recession requires "the best of both"
Mandates have their place in serious cost reduction efforts, but you also need "a little help from your friends" down the line. Cost-cutting has never been easy but companies will increase their chances of success by involving their employees in ways that obtain positive emotional commitment to decisions and behavior change. You may be able to mandate your way to an immediately lower cost structure, but if you also motivate people in positive ways that produce emotional as well as rational commitment, we believe strongly that you will get more costs out sooner, and the benefits will be more lasting.
- Managing Overhead Costs, Suzanne P. Nimocks, Robert L. Rosiello, and Oliver Wright, McKinsey Quarterly, May 2005.
- Cost Transformation Driving Results, Archstone Consulting, 2008.
- Al Dunlap, corporate downsizer, was known for his aggressive approach to cost-cutting in the 1980's and 1990s but his methods were ultimately viewed as unsuccessful, culminating in his termination as CEO of Sunbeam in June, 1998; Al Dunlap at Sunbeam, Harvard Business Review, 1999.
- Engaged Employees Drive The Bottom Line, ISR-Towers Perrin, July 2006.
- The Reliant example is excerpted from the book The Informal Advantage by Jon Katzenbach and Zia Khan, which will be published in 2009.
- Real Change Leaders, Jon Katzenbach and the RCL team, 1996.


text: I'm very concerned that someone who installed a few programs on my mac over a year ago, also installed spyware (or can access my laptop remotely). I have read previous posts: if I understand correctly, the activity monitor needs to be checked over?? (I have Little Snitch installed and firewall is active. I also use a VPN) Can someone please see if anything looks suspicious here???!!! THANKS (is it "All Processes, Hierarchically" and CPU that you need to see?) Also attached "Other User Processes"


text: If you spent your life assuming "God" was the answer to all of life's biggest questions, but can no longer believe, you might have many questions that begin with the phrase, "If there is no God..." If there is no God, how did we get here? If there is no God, what's the point of life? If there is no God, where does our morality come from"? If there is no God, won't the world collapse in anarchy with murdering, coveting thy neighbor's wife, and eating shellfish? These are just some of the common questions to which there are good answers. These courses will help you build a strong foundational secular worldview based in science and reason.


text:
tammy gordon: native floridian turned district dweller. wannabe surfer/artist. recovering political junkie. social media strategist & consultant. frequent flier. haunt farmers markets, restaurant bars and boutiques.
Forgive my lack of postings. I've been guest blogging this week at www.shAARPsession.com - which is hilarious. I am clearly having way too much fun with the words "stimulus package" and "crabcake primaries"...
Posted by Tammy Gordon at 3:50:00 PM
2 comments:
- VP, Social said...
btw - on shAARPsession.com, my "handle" is shAARPwriter. One day maybe I will grow up and get my own avatar like Jill.
- Tam
- February 13, 2008 at 3:52 PM
- MeganTMcC said...
I'm so happy I found this. I lost the link and thought it was gone forever. Can't wait for Nola!
- February 25, 2008 at 12:54 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
What are you wearing today?
The mac is by Burberry - I bought it from a car-boot sale about 10 years ago. I wouldn't buy a mac by anyone else. Underneath I'm wearing a vintage four-ply cashmere jumper and denim plus-fours from Zara which I bought a couple of years ago. My shoes are from Office and my socks are from New & Lingwood, a gentleman's outfitters in Jermyn Street. They're quite expensive but they last years and I've got loads of pairs of them.
Do you always wear a beret?
Yes, either a beret or a woolly hat. I have been wearing one for about 10 years, and always in black.
Is your style meant to be so French Resistance?
For the past couple of years I suppose I've been dressing like a cycling gamekeeper. Or maybe my style is "Margot goes golfing on a large estate". I cycle everywhere and I can cycle wearing anything.
Did you design your bag?
Yes. I make things first for myself, then second for function and then third for what I think my customers would need. This one would cost £150.
Do you always wear your hair in plaits?
Not always, although often with a beret because I quite like the black lines that come down the side. I've got really thick curly hair and my mother always told me never to leave the house without a hat or a scarf on. And in the same way she said never leave the house without lipstick on either.
Do you ever leave the house without lipstick?
I do pop out to buy milk without it, but if I was going out to meet anyone I would always wear it. This one is by Chanel.
What do you wear when you dress up?
I've got a lot of Frank Usher. Nowadays he's a bit mother-of-bride-ish but I have absolutely tons of his late 70s and early 80s sequined stuff. The best Frank Usher top I bought was from a junk shop in Hay-on-Wye when the book festival was on. It looks like a Star Trek top: it has massive shoulder pads with panels of silver sequins down the front.
Who influences the way you dress?
I don't have anyone in mind when I get dressed. I like traditional clothes made in traditional fabrics designed with a function in mind.
What would you never wear?
A tracksuit. They might be functional, but they're ghastly.
Is that a man's signet ring?
Yes. I got it for my 18th birthday. The other ring is by Yves Saint Laurent. I bought it in Paris because they were sold out in London. It was only €95 - I couldn't believe it. I kept saying, "Are you sure that's the price?"
How much time do you spend shopping?
I shop for clothes less and less now. When I was at college it was a major pastime, but now I'm 32, the novelty has waned a bit. I'm far more aware of the ecological value of clothes and so I'd say 70% of everything I wear is secondhand. The other 30% is good designer stuff and a tiny percentage from places on the high street. I just feel physically ill shopping in Primark. I can't do it.
What's the first thing you notice about what other people are wearing?
If their outfit has been thought about. It doesn't have to be fashionable or a complete look, it's about whether there is a certain amount of humour or maybe an intelligence about what they're wearing - whether they have balanced the colours right or maybe they've got something original on. It's far more pleasurable to look at someone who has put a tiny bit of effort into what they are wearing.
Have you ever worn something you wish you hadn't?
I don't think so. Sometimes I wear a jumper because it looks nice, but then I get ridiculously hot and I can't take it off because I've only got a bra on underneath.


text:
Don't Stop de Carnival
This year, I'm spending Carnival at home. Other priorities will keep me from the mayhem on the streets of Rio, New Orleans, Venice, Lafayette, Port-of-Spain, or wherever else I might have been planning to go; so instead I'll be posting some shots from the ghosts of Carnivals past as I tend to random bits of business on the computer. At the moment I 'm managing three or four websites, three Facebook pages, an Instagram feed, and whatever else I'm forgetting to take care of today. And they used to promise that the progress of technology would increase our leisure time…
Carnival waits for no one, least of all a photographer. In the Insta-world we now live in, there will be billions of photos taken this weekend, from Sydney to Mamou, from Rio to Burano, from Venice to Salvador de Bahia. I'll take comfort in knowing that the rest of the world is out there, documenting every second of it all with their cell-phones. And, in the knowledge that , like the sun and moon and the tides and the seasons, the centuries-old tradition of Carnival will keep its regularly-scheduled appearances going for, well, at least as long as I live.
The following text is from a recent Instagram caption for this photo, in which I, in a roundabout way, explain how I got the shot above. Or, at least how I got inside to get the shot. A technical discussion would be much less interesting.
Don't Stop the Carnival #1: The Magic Ball. Five years ago I was in Rio de Janeiro with @Lance_Rosenfield, Tony Smallwood (@BrokenSquare), and @DavidAlanHarvey for Carnival. David had invited me to come along while he was on assignment, and together we convinced Lance and Tony to join us. Suddenly we were four grown men on a buddy trip down to Rio. Those guys have plenty of stories of their own to tell from our adventures and misadventures, but the one concerning the picture above goes like so:
One event that I absolutely knew I wanted to photograph was the Magic Ball at the Copacabana Palace Hotel, one of the world's most exclusive and most outrageous Carnival balls. Harvey had shown me some photos from the event the year before, and I was frothing at the mouth to check it out. Only problem was, that exclusivity thing. Harvey had secured his own pass as a National Geographic photographer with a huge amount of red tape and ass-kissing, and the security outside the Palace was ridiculous. Tickets were $1000. Dress was black tie, or an outrageous costume. Presidents, celebrities, business tycoons and society mavens were there in force. I had brought down a tuxedo just in case I could figure out a way in, but as I saw the huge limos and crowds and police and bouncers and velvet ropes outside the hotel, I lost hope.
Tony and I walked around the entire building, looking for a kitchen entrance where maybe we could bribe a dishwasher or something to get in, but every door was locked tight. We walked home in the rain. I was discouraged and tired, but Tony wasn't having it. "You gotta try, bro. You've come all the way down here, what have you got to lose?" So I went back to the apartment I was sharing with Lance, suited up, grabbed my small black shoulder bag, and headed back to the Palace. I had an idea.
At a sidewalk kiosk, I picked up a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. It was now 3:30 AM. As I got closer to the hotel, I stalled across the street long enough to light a cigarette, and then sauntered towards the hotel in my tuxedo, looking for all the world like a reveler who had just stepped out for a smoke by the beach. As I got to the steps of the hotel, I put out my cigarette on the sidewalk, nodded to the concierge standing out front, and walked right in. Just like that.
I followed the sound of music to the ballroom on the second floor and the first people I saw there were David Harvey and Roberta Tavares, sipping champagne. David had already shot the hell out of the ball and was in kick-back mode. "Where the hell have you been, Bickford?" he said. "Party's still going strong, go on in there and get you some pictures." I stayed and shot till well after dawn, by which time I had befriended a bevy of beautiful transvestites who wanted me to come with them to a breakfast party. I politely declined, crawled back to the hotel, and slept til four in the afternoon. Tonight they're doing it again at the Copacabana, as this is the final Saturday of Carnival. I wish them all the best of fun. I'll be asleep shortly, in a quiet country hamlet on the Norteamericano coast. #Carnival #RiodeJaneiro #CopacabanaPalace #MagicBall #Carnaval


text: Hi my new app has just been released, it is called "Group Mail HD" and it is for iPad only. link to the appstore with this app, you can manage your groups and groups of contacts very easily and quickly. You can send emails to groups without having to add contacts one by one with the built-in "Mail" app. And you can manage the contact emails. I would be glad to hear your comments, thank you in advance!


text:
Ofcom should 'work on the presumption that Openreach should be split from the rest of BT' according to shadow DCMS minister Chris Bryant.
Byrant used a letter to the Telegraph to accuse both the Government and Ofcom of not doing enough to improve rural mobile and broadband service.
The MP has been a vocal critic of government policy in the telecoms sector in the past, most significantly in his opposition of the Government's policy 'national roaming' proposals.
Blaming the Government and BT for falling to do enough to develop the country's broadband infrastructure, Bryant explained that the only remedy to poor service was a de-merged Openreach.
He said: 'The situation is now so bad that Ofcom's review should work on the presumption that Openreach should be split from the rest of BT unless their review produces conclusive evidence to the contrary. At the very least Openreach should be held accountable for its poor quality of service – the delays for repairs, the missed appointments and the months of waiting to switch providers.
'But Ofcom also needs to be brought into focus. Essential to a strong and competitive broadband and telecoms market is a strong and effective regulator. Ofcom has done a remarkable job, but all too often its hands are tied behind its back. Its current rules prevent it from getting tougher with Openreach and every decision it makes has to be triple-checked in preparation for a potential lawsuit from network operators that have far deeper legal pockets than Ofcom.
'This has made Ofcom far more cautious than is good for the industry or the consumer. It is time the Government stopped dithering and got on with reforming Ofcom's overly burdensome appeals process. Mobile and broadband consumers have suffered far too long delays and businesses have suffered unnecessary regulatory uncertainty. Thus far, with a swath of the country still travelling at a snail's pace digitally, the system has failed to deliver.'
To understand more about the BT Openreach debate click here.
Mobile Industry Awards 2017 - B2B & Distribution Finalists
Mobile Industry Awards 2017 – Retail Finalists announced
Mobile Industry Awards 2017 - Best Ruggedised Device
Nazish Dossa Joins Brighstar as UK Managing Director.
Get your FREE copy of Mobile's e-zine and stay up to speed on your PC, laptop or
Get your FREE e-zine
Huawei - 'Our 2017 focus is premium products'
Retail Special
S6 to re-ignite the market
Brightstar 20:20 and HTC join forces
Meeting the challenge of in-building coverage


text:
Holiday Opportunities
Sharing your holidays can be one of the most meaningful things you do this season. Every year, donors tell us that giving back to their community over the holidays is their favorite tradition.
Share your Holidays
Donate to the Thanksgiving Basket program
This year's Thanksgiving program offers all the fixings for a lovely Thanksgiving meal to 300 families in the MOM service area and smaller meal baskets to 75 seniors and individuals with disabilities.
Donations of $15 help us give a family the food they need for a delicious holiday meal. When making a donation, write "holiday meals" in the memo.
This program is sponsored by Shurfine Food Center and Certco Employees.
Get involved with Sharing Christmas
Help a family through the Sharing Christmas Program. Receive a match of a family the size you request and purchase and wrap gifts for the members of the family!
Attend Creating for a Cause: A Holiday Art Fair
December 1 & 2
at the MOM Food Pantry
Over 60 local artists are donating 20% or more of their proceeds to MOM's homelessness prevention and hunger fighting programs. Come and shop for a cause! Beautiful pottery, many styles of jewelry, fused and blown glass, fiber arts including purses, scarves and aprons, wood, paintings, and prints - all created by local artists.
Buy a Gift of Hope through the MOM Gift Catalog
Connect your wish to honor friends, family or business associates with a gift that MOM links to those in need! With donation amounts that start as low as $10, you can share the meaning of giving with everyone on your list.
Donate Mittens
When it's cold outside, mittens, hats, and other warm winter items are much needed. Dig through your boxes for gently used items and make warm hands your gift to your community this holiday season.
Buy ReMitts
Made by area volunteers, ReMitts are made from recycled sweaters and soft fleece. 100% of the proceeds go to area Food Pantries. You can purchase ReMitts in support of MOM in many locations.
Donate a Baking Items
Donations could include:
- salt
- baking powder
- baking soda
- flour
- sugar
- oil
- cinnamon, cloves, or other spices
- baking sheets
- measuring cups
- hot pads
- holiday cookie cutters
- cookie decorations
You can bring your donations to the Distribution Center during their regular business hours.
Donate a Clothing KitPut all NEW items (of the same size - child and adult kits needed!) in a cloth bag or wrap them with a ribbon. Some ideas include:
- pajamas
- underwear
- bra/underwear pairs
- men's boxers or briefs
- slippers
- socks
- shirt and tie for men
- robe, etc.
Buy a MOM Ornament
MOM ornaments will be for sale at the Holiday Art Fair for only $10. Proceeds directly prevent homelessness and end hunger in our community.
Why I Give: Matthew Pletzer
"We continue to support MOM because we have a firsthand view on the difference that our contributions make in the lives of those in need right in our own neighborhoods."
Gifts of Hope Catalog
An item from our Gifts of Hope gift catalog is the perfect gift for the person who has everything, or placed in the stocking of someone you love!
Please correct the validation errors above.


text:
|Ms. Laura W. Doerre
ESP: Do you travel mainly for business, pleasure or both?
LWD: Both.
ESP: Do you prefer traveling via plane, train, boat or automobile?
LWD: Plane - It's so much more efficient.
ESP: What is your favorite destination and why?
LWD: Paris with its wonderful food, shopping and wine.
ESP: What is your preference for airlines?
LWD: American because I live in a hub city and, with all my traveling, have earned a higher status.
ESP: What is your preference for hotels or accommodations?
LWD: I have a few options that I prefer: Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton for their superb quality as well as Marriott and Hilton for the loyalty points garnered from each stay.
ESP: Do you book your own travel or prefer a travel agency?
LWD: I prefer to book my own travel. I usually find better alternatives and better deals.
ESP: Do you have any suggestions for making the most of loyalty programs or points?
LWD: To determine the best values, apply the rule that one point must equal $0.01.
ESP: Are you loyal to any particular brands?
LWD: In addition to the aforementioned American, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Marriott and Hilton, I would include United because I have earned lifetime status with them.
ESP: When flying, what do you ensure is in your carry-on?
LWD: Everything! But, if I'm checking a bag, I make sure my carry-on includes my valuables, essential toiletries and a change of clothes. Oh, and Bose headphones as well as compression socks for the flight.
ESP: Do you keep an extra bag of toiletries packed?
LWD: Absolutely! I started doing this years ago, and it has definitely decreased the aggravation of forgotten items.
ESP: How do you organize your time while on-the-go?
LWD: iCalendar synced between my devices.
ESP: What tools or tactics do you use to keep your accommodations organized while traveling?
LWD: Technology is very helpful. I like using iCalendar along with the app for the hotel where I'm staying. Additionally, to prevent scrambling once you reach your destination, international travelers need to have a curling iron or other frequently used appliances in 220 V versions to take on those trips.
ESP: Do you use technology to help stay productive and organized? If so, what's your favorite program, app, website or tech tool for surviving the chaos of daily life? And what's your favorite for being your best while traveling?
LWD: My iCalendar keeps me on track, particularly with separate color-coding for each aspect of my life.
ESP: Across all your travels, which restaurant did you enjoy most, why was it your favorite and what was the best food?
LWD: Joel Robuchon Atelier in Paris - My visit was a great night with great food and great wine. The seared foie gras with poached apricot is unbelievably good!
ESP: If you could have one super power to make traveling (or life in general) a little better, what would it be?
LWD: Teleportation.
Thanks for sharing so many excellent tidbits, Ms. Doerre!
Readers, do your preferences mirror hers? Do you use any of the tools or hacks that she's mastered over her countless travels? Which tip do you plan to implement in the future?


text: This plug-in it's a must but one of the most pain in the ass to configure. I almost did everything in the readme file and the plug in seem to work properly but after i install it on all post link i got 404 pages. example: myblog.c0m /hello-world/ i get 404 page before i install the plug in everything was loading great.