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Book About Phone Equipment Warns Buyers That They Probably Need More Than The Sellers Want To Sell
During tough economic times, the desire to buy at the lowest possible price creates pressure to sell at the lowest possible price; but low prices can actually hurt the buyer.
Phone Systems & Phones for Small Business & Home
" by Michael N. Marcus.
According to Michael N. Marcus, author of "Phone Systems & Phones for Small Business & Home," the lowest price is probably not the best deal.
"Because of intense competition and pressure to minimize the price on a proposal or bid," Marcus said, "salespeople are often afraid to suggest a phone system that might cost even $20 more than a competitor's system. Unfortunately, salespeople may try to sell systems that are too small, or they leave out important items. Some 'options' should really be considered necessities."
The authoritative but easy-to-understand new book explains what goes into a phone system, and how to choose the right size that will minimize initial cost yet still allow for economical expansion. It describes and evaluates types of phones and systems, and has an extensive chapter explaining what some phone system salespeople may not want buyers to know.
There have been major changes in every aspect of telecommunications.
A hundred years ago, telephones were simple. If you wanted to call someone, you picked up the receiver, cranked the crank, and waited for a nice lady to say, "Operator, may I help you?" Then you said something like, "I want to talk to Daddy," or "I need the doctor;" and in a few seconds you were connected. You didn't even need to know the phone numbers.
For equipment, maybe you could choose an oak box on the kitchen wall or a metal candlestick model on the hall table. If you lived in a high-tech area, maybe you could get a dial instead of a crank.
Regardless of the telephone style, you would pay to rent it month after month, and there was usually just one company in your town that you could do business with, and that company owned "your" phone.
Today the choices seem endless. Phones can be analog or digital, rotary or touch-tone, plain or fancy, corded, cordless or cellular. You can connect through a local phone company, a national phone company, an international phone company, a TV company, a satellite company, a cellular company, or a VoIP company. Phone companies sell TV service. Cable television companies sell phone service. They both sell Internet service.
You can get a phone or phone system or a phone gadget from hundreds of sources, and buy it, rent it, lease it or maybe get it for free. You can pay someone to install it, you can install it yourself, or you can get something that needs no installation.
Marcus helps people sort out their options. The book covers basic phones, multi-line phone systems, add-ons like headsets, music-on-hold, paging systems, backup power and fax equipment -- for professional offices, businesses and homes. There are sections on technology trends, tools, wiring, troubleshooting, and much more.
The book, which should be helpful for both buyers and sellers, also sorts out the various technologies for making phone calls and accessing the Internet -- conventional dial tone, ISDN, DSL, cable, fiber, wireless, T1 and VoIP. It has detailed information about plugs and jacks, explains the difference between wire and cable, and tells readers how to find their octothorpe.
There's even a section that explains why touch-tone pads have 1-2-3 on the top, but computers and calculators have 1-2-3 on the bottom. Funny chapters discuss "technology for women," and how actor Stephen Baldwin and motorcycle maker Paul Teutul, Sr. waste time on the telephone. A very serious chapter warns about the danger of inadequate protection against electrical surges.
Other parts of the book explain the break-up and apparent re-formation of the Bell System, why GTE phones were heavier and uglier than AT&T phones, and the difference between a hookswitch and a switchhook. Readers will even learn who really makes phones that carry the AT&T label, about the disastrous deal between Lucent and Philips, why phone renting is a terrible deal for the renter, and why "broadband" is not the same thing as "high speed."
Reference material includes 37 pages on telecommunications terminology, an extensive chapter on acronyms, and illustrations of "weirdo" phone plugs. The chapter with important telephone numbers includes a number people can call to identify the number they're calling from, and a number for tracing threatening or nuisance phone calls.
The chapter on cordless phones explains how actress Hedy Lamarr co-invented vital technology during World War 2 that later was used by the U.S. military in the Viet Nam War and the blockade of Cuba, and is now used in millions of phones.
Marcus's book includes about 40 detailed hands-on product reviews. Recommendations range from a $12.99 home phone to complex multi-thousand-dollar business phone systems, plus a wide array of add-ons to improve communications.
It will help readers avoid the worst mistakes of phone system buyers, and can help them decide if they can save money by installing their own home or business phones. The book will also help people quickly diagnose many common telecom troubles, and often fix them easily and inexpensively or maybe even for free.
Marcus says, "But even if you don't plan to do your own phone work, by understanding what has to be done, you're more likely to get the right thing done, and pay the right price. You could save much more than the price of this book."
Some reader comments:
"Outstanding! An entertaining and sometimes humorous thorough education on phones and telecommunications. It's a must-read for shoppers as well as salespeople."
"I've been in telecommunications for nearly 30 years, but I still learned a lot from this informative and entertaining book."
"After just three minutes I learned that a really annoying telephone problem could be cured for $4, instead of nearly $400. This book belongs in every office and many homes."
"This delightful book makes phones ultra-useful for people who run mini-Fortune 500 companies. Highly recommended."
The illustrated book has 396 pages.
Posted on Feb 27, 2009
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Title: Astronomy & Space is Astronomy Ireland's highly regarded monthly magazine, containing the latest news from space and the heavens, as well as articles of enduring interest and a list of the events coming to a sky near you.
Tel: 086 064 6555
Fax: 01 890 11 33
Title: Established in July 2010, blow is ireland's first A3 photography magazine.
Tel: 01 430 4905
Title: Ireland's premier quarterly magazine covering hunting, shooting, gundogs and country living is published in February, May, August and November.
Tel: 048 44839167
Fax: 048 90 480195
Title: Irish Music Magazine, strives to inform readers and musicians alike, keeping you abreast of all major developments in the Irish Traditional Music community.
Tel: 01 662 2266
Fax: 01 662 4981
Title: Ireland's only Vintage Magazine
Tel: 091 388805
Fax: 091 388806
Title: Dating back to ancient times Ireland's military story is global. This 72 page glossy magazine tells Ireland's entire military story by bringing readers
Tel: 01

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Riga Limo Trip with a Stripper
Starts From€ 62.99
The requested URL
/data/feed/api/user/sholto.kerala?tag=PR10726TOP&kind=photo was not found on this server.
Great Reasons To Choose This
Stripper Filled Limo for Riga Stag Night
The stripper is a stag weekend rite of passage, so we thought why not combine with something else to save time and make the whole thing a little more juicy. Our Stripper Limo introduces you to the sights of Riga in every whey hey and if you don't see much of the actual city, you will see the local totty close up as you will be accompanied by a stripper aboard and to keep you in the mood we will throw in five bottles of bubbly as well.
- Approx 2 hour limousine trip around
- One stripper onboard
- 5 bottles of champagne
- Drop off at nightclub or gentleman's club
Limo type depends on group size-Hummer (max 18); Lincoln Navigator(max 12).


text:
Lovemoreby Shotgunnova
Entire Fiction (2006)
Twin door-lights flickered on, giving an all-clear to those making the passengers looking for a night of sin in Sector Eight. As the train�s mechanical drone sounded to a halt, all of the downcast eyes at the station platform glanced up, mini reflectors for the dim bulbs strung across the cement overhang. Many in the trenchcoated mass dug deep in their side pockets, ready for any drunken man with a gun in his hand. Not like these places were guarded by anyone competent, or at all, even.
A shaky and unsaid truce at best, one single-file line stepped onto the pavement and the other stepped off, each nervous of the other�s mannerisms and presence. Last out of the traveling iron cage was a man, dressed-down and cradling a brown-papered object in the crook of his underarm. To his advantage, anyone who saw him � and there were many � only did so out of the steam-fogged windows. One shrill whistle later, the faceless were carried off where only tunnel vision could see, and the new arrivals didn�t stick around for greetings.
His attire was uncharacteristically laid-back; without the plush three-piece attire and permafreeze stare so often attributed to his on-the-job persona, it wasn�t hard to blend in with the oily residents. Now clothed in once-blue jeans, a t-shirt, and some cheap-looking hat that could have been Gold Saucer merchandise, the feeling of his youth came back in that worrying form.
The first thought was that it had been such a long time since he visited, and his second was wondering if he said the first aloud � the man to his fore suddenly stood stiff and reached into the eave of his jacket. Walking past, he saw it was just a woman-shaped lighter, not what item he was anticipating. By the stair-top, the man was gone � this area always made one feel behind the bustle.
It was always night beneath the plate, giving it a murky feeling of danger. Everything was of a shadow�s nature, stained black with diesel, oil, or blood. If it weren�t for the streetlamps and shining windowpanes of the local bars, shots in the dark (as was often their nature) would be shots in the pitch-dark. Where was this place he was going to again...? Oh, right.
Cobblestone or no, the street was worn with tire tracks of all sizes, and the multiple, misshapen grooves showed just how busy the elements had been down here...mostly the human element and a little of nature � one always getting the other into trouble, as it were. Soon as the motorcars faded around the curb, he crossed the street into the bosom of neon glare on the other side. One jukebox fragment slung steel guitar all around, which made his mood a little lighter as he went southbound through the crowd.
Eyes fully adjusted to Eight�s lack of light, the fa�ade of the nearest building comes into view. Its rise steeps and towers irreverently, oblivious to the fact that "pizza" should be less glamorous than anything on the upper plate. The top melts into the steel above, but it is glorious to see anyway, especially among the low, flat-topped apartments that don�t even reach two stories. Like a landmark, the chimney-shaped building down the street equals its height � the theater. The man with the brown paper jaywalks towards it this time, a little happier still.
Oddly accentuated by the darkness, an ornate banner of a woman...no, a lady, is draped over the theater�s anterior, shimmering downwards in the slight breeze. She�s posing seductively atop the "Loveless" lettering, beckoning people and their wallets to see the matinee. It�s easily twenty feet long, stopping a few yards from the pavement, and has a massive ribbon along either edge. Checking his watch, he sees the clock-hands make for eight-thirty; isn�t this the movie?
And there she is, shivering a little under the banner, hands in pockets, short hair a little undone, angular even in her demure evening dress. As he goes to approach her, she spies him. Without a second look, she sprints to him in her black high heels, almost clubbing a passer-by with her flailing purse. Though a little bony, she�s in-shape enough where there�s no panting afterwards.
"I�m sorry, Tseng, the tickets are all sold out."
"That�s alright. I didn�t want to see an evening matinee anyway," he says coyly.
She just smiles, a little relieved. When they had made plans to go "do something" she had seemed really...astonished. Perhaps she was expecting to have been shot down? Tseng was once her boss and all. Funny how clingy she had seemed then, and now...
"Whatcha thinking about?"
"Aw, it�s nothing. C�mon, let�s go for a walk."
She linked his free arm, and smiled when she saw the wine bottle within the wrapping. He chuckled and they started to stroll like one of the older couples. Man, how appearances can fool.
"Did you take the subway to get down here?" she asked after a block or so. Just being so close to him was refreshing, and without the stiff feeling of work, he almost seemed normal. She imagined how silly she must feel wearing regular clothes and...that stupid hat. She held back on comments, not wanting to ruin the mood.
"Yeah, I did. You practically need sonar just to navigate the streets."
"I know. I haven�t been down here in ages, so I just took the company elevator, and it�s still hard to get used to."
Tseng suddenly wished he�d taken the elevator like Elena did. "When was the last time you were down here?"
Cornered on a slight question and not wanting to lie, Elena sighed. "Well, I grew up down here. Not necessarily here but in the slums." Her face flushed a sweet cherry at the fact, obviously embarrassed about it. Tseng did something he usually did: gave personal info of his own.
"Don�t be uneasy; I was born down here, too, in Sector 5. Not something you volunteer to everyone you meet, knowing how people on the upper plate are. I think you�re the first person I told this to..." He laughed a bit, feeling the tension break a bit. When he tugged her closer so she�d avoid a motorcar�s puddle-splash, she laughed also, her uneasiness gone.
"You�re the first person I told about my birth as well. It�s weird how stuff like that can...can..."
"I know what you mean. I don�t have words for it either, but I know what you mean."
Around the corner, the two passed by a pizzeria, full up with teenagers and a random assortment of street scum in the general vicinity. Tseng was just about to ask if his date was hungry when someone rapped on the window to snag his attention. Elena went wide-eyed to see Reno mouthing "hi" to them in mid-chew. Don�t let him take me in there, she silently prayed. She was always uncomfortable about that guy, whether it was him berating her or making her look like a fool for doing her job.
"Hey, guys! Hey!" Reno insisted on yelling at them. Tseng turned to Elena who silently shook her head �no�; Reno saw the movement and screamed "Yes! Yes!" in his boyish manner. He looked to be about done eating, though...maybe that was a good thing, Elena thought. "Alright, let�s go in." He pushed open the swinging glass door, an old relic from days gone by.
Odd that they�d find a cozy little diner in the middle of the metal city...
Inside the joint, Tseng took a look around. Just a few yip-yapper children and a few riffraff, nothing much. Leading Elena along reluctantly, he walked to Reno�s booth, sliding next to him. Elena made sure to sit across from Reno, although she was sure he had already looked her up and down five times since they entered. Reno stuck out a slice of pie to his friends, but neither wanted any.
"Lookin� good, Elena. Hot date, huh?"
"Yeah, thanks..." She trailed off on the second question, not wanting to clue him in. He took the hint, with a bit of relish at making her uncomfortable. Reno turned to Tseng.
"So whatcha going to do now? I heard you turned in your resignation �n� stuff. I�ll bet it�s been hard since all that keystone business." Funny how he already took a casual tone with the man who wants governed his actions. That�s Reno, through and through. Tseng didn�t want to unload the tale of how he escaped that damn place, though � Shinra or the temple, whichever.
"I�m rather content to just live nowadays. Not feeling too industrial..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. It won�t be the same without you, though," he said through a bite of deep-dish. Were those anchovies he was eating, Elena queried. She began to crane her neck to see, but instead shrunk back and crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting unneeded attention. Reno didn�t look.
"I�m through with Shinra. The company is a mess now, and I�ve had an awakening."
"I�d love to see you tell Heidegger that," laughed the red-haired chum next to Tseng, spitting flecks of sauce onto his unused napkin. "I can just imagine him giving you the evil eye and punching you. No one could take that guy�s punches."
"Oh, I�ve got quite a punch myself," said Elena, jumping into the conversation. Reno took the line.
"Is that so, missy? If you could lay Heidegger out, I�d give you a thousand gil."
Tseng conspicuously checked the watch hanging on his bare arm before changing the subject. "So what are you doing here, Reno? Where�s your bodyguard?" Reno had to laugh at that one.
"I�m waiting to get deployed to some podunk town up in icicle country to stop those...whats-their-faces... I forget. Either way, I may have to buy a parka and snowshoes, so I figure I might as well get a nice hot meal before I fly outta here tomorrow. I mean, who knows what those people eat up there? Bandersnatches, I�ll bet. As for Rude, he ain�t my bodyguard. I think he�s out back or something, he didn�t say."
Elena wondered why it was taking so long for Reno to eat his food. "Early flight tomorrow? Better get some sleep, huh?"
"Sleep? Only the weak sleep. I�m a wheelin�-deelin� man, and I�ve got stuff to do."
"Like eat?"
Reno shrugged, and Tseng looked at his watch again. "You�re right, maybe I should get some beauty sleep. Then again, I hear it�s mostly nighttime up in the north, so there�ll be plenty of sleeping going on." Reno stood and stretched, scratching his chest. "Let�s see...oh, here we go." He took out a shiny ten-gil coin and slapped it on the counter; the woman on-duty shook her head. "C�mon, beautiful! That�s generous."
Tseng wondered what they were speaking of. Reno was never generous that he could recall.
"You said a BIG tip, and this ain�t a big tip," she said. Reno dug out another coin and slapped it in her hand personally,
grudgingly. Noticeably sweeter, the woman reached down and pulled a massive, iron dowel and gave it to him. Elena couldn�t believe he still brought his electroprod everywhere. "Thanks, tootsie," he said, throwing a light spank her way, much to her chagrin.
Elena was disgusted. "Don�t you ever pay attention to protocol?"
"What�s protocol, baby?" said Reno in his most suave, slurred voice, laughing as hit the out door. Tseng and Elena barely had time to exchange a happy sigh between them before the car engine outside revved up and the wheels burnt. Ol� Red Hair drove his new Shinra Type-3 from the alleyway, and blew a kiss to the happy couple as he sped off, still laughing. With the top down, Elena thought she saw a shades-less Rude sleeping in the backseat...
With a more tranquil atmosphere about it, the diner seemed a little nicer. The children had packed up and left, and only "Toots" and a waitress were hanging around. Somewhere outside, a clock chimed the top of the hour.
"Sorry I took you in here, Elena." It felt good saying her name; he didn�t call people by their first names often.
"Don�t worry about it. Men will be men, I guess..."
Tseng did his close-lipped grin. "That they will, that they will. Listen, Elena" � two words that mark obvious change in conversation � "I just want to thank you for...adjusting well to this change. Ever since the accident, I�ve just been too restless to...be the person you want me to be. I�ve had regrets, about my job, about...everything I�ve done. Thank you for standing by me."
"Oh, Tseng...it�s not like that. I want to help you. That day you asked me to have dinner in the temple...you made me very happy. I know you probably don�t like talking about it, but..."
Tseng clasped her hand that had fallen on the table. "Thinking of you got me through. It took enough courage to ask you, after all I�ve done. Being a boss to someone isn�t the best kind of relationship to have, you know?"
"What kind of relationship do...you want to have?"
Funny she�d pop that kind of question on him, but he had walked right into it. It was just then that he noticed how silent the night had really gotten, like someone�d hushed everything waiting for his answer. He was sweating, but the days of him putting a wall between everyone were just getting over. He stood up, and Elena did the same in turn.
"The loving kind."
Elena�s eyes glittered, as if held-back tears were welling up behind them. "Tseng, that�s just what I wanted to hear."
"It is?"
"I have to tell you something. I...resigned a few days ago. It was weird knowing how hard I worked to get to the position and it just...quit mattering. The company took care of me, but now I have something I want to take care of...and that�s you." Tseng felt incredibly hotter, and wondered if he was blushing for the first time in his life.
"And that's just what I wanted you to say. Do you...want to get out of here?"
Elena had to think for a moment if he meant the diner or�
"Yes, I do."
Tseng handed the unopened wine bottle to the nearby waitress. "Then let's go."
And they did, hands held, hearts thawed, and without regret.
Version 6
©1997–2020 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.


text:
Last weekend, it was a wet, cold, rainy weekend. The kind where you wake up in the morning and think – Oh god, how am I going to entertain these kids today?!?!
Well, that morning, a crazy part of me thought – Oh why don't we go to the WA Museum today?! That's indoors. I have been meaning to catch the most recent exhibition about Ancient Egypt.
So I bundled my three kids into the car and off we went.
What was I thinking?!
The exhibition was called, The Secrets of the Afterlife, in collaboration with the British Museum. I say "was" because this day turned out to be THE LAST day of the exhibition. I was lucky to see it!
It was a journey into the ancient Egyptian world of magic, mummies and mystery.
The artifacts were AMAZING!
The preservation of the materials. The ritualistic decoration. The intricate beading. The craftsmanship. It was jaw-dropping.
This is the surface of one coffin. The paintings were so detailed, clear, precise, and vibrant. I was in design heaven.
If you consider that most of these items are dated back to 1500 BC… that's over 3000 years old!
It was completely mind boggling. And I was filled with spine-tingling awe.
Then came the jewellery and I almost lost it. I was so excited.
The lizards symbolised the renewal of life (based on the creature's ability to re-grow new limbs or tail). The beads on the left necklace are shaped as poppy seed heads.
These pieces are over 2000 years old. Made from gold, carnelian gemstone, glass. Gaah how beautiful!
On the right is a heart-scarab amulet, with spells from The Book of the Dead inscribed at the base.
On the right are a collection of make-up containers. The tube-like containers are kohl eye paint holder, and the little semi-circle box is for storing cosmetics. How beautiful!
These items are dated between 1500 – 1069 BC.
Yup, so all this was very lovely, but what REALLY happened during the outing?
I wish I could say that I had a wonderful experience soaking up and appreciating history and the creativity of our ancient ancestors… but in reality, I had to RACE through the exhibition. I only had 2 seconds to look each item. I literally just stopped at each piece, went WOW, took a photo of it, took a photo of the information plate, then rushed on to the next piece. Literally. It was shameful.
Because my 4 year old was shouting things like "If these are the mummies, WHERE ARE THE DADDIES?? BWAHAHAHA!!!" over and over again.
He was knocking things over. Jumping around. Falling to the ground. Banging on the glass. Banging into other people. Shouting really loud. Licking the glass. Putting his hands over the information panels when people were trying to read them. Ripping up the brochures and sprinkling the paper all over the floor.
He was holding my hand, but jumping and pulling in all directions, so I was jerking around, and being pulled to the ground at random times. I was constantly scolding him, warning him, punishing him, and of course, trying to engage him in the exhibition to no avail.
Ooooh it was hard work. I was pretty pissed off that I couldn't enjoy the exhibition, but really, it was my own fault! Why did I do this to myself? I was swearing inside. And shaking my head at the whole BITTERSWEET EXISTENCE OF PARENTHOOD! I was close to tears.
That is…
Until right at the end… we reached the last little nook.
I wanted to take a photo of the last exhibition piece… so I asked my kids to wait against a wall. It was actually a wall with a connected partition that created a 20cm gap. My 4 year old giggled naughtily, "Tee hee, I'm going to squeeze through this gap and I'll see you on the other side mum!!"
(I thought what he said was quite witty and profound, since this was an exhibition about the afterlife…)
I bent down to him and said very sternly, "DO NOT put your head through that gap. You are NOT to squeeze through to the other side, do you understand?!"
He said yes.
I turned away. I was about to snap my photo, when I heard him say, "Er, help!".
Oh god no.
Yep. He put his head between the wall partition.
My son got his head stuck in the wall!
And yes. Since I had a camera in my hand, I took a photo of him.
Oooooooh, dear internet. Do forgive me, because I could not stop myself from laughing. I had to press my lips together and bend my head into my chest to hide my smile. It was a serious and dangerous situation for my child, yet I giggle uncontrollably. I had pangs of guilt but oh my, it was sooooooo funny.
He was saying things like, "Um, mum. I think my head is stuck. Can you help me?"
Sigh. Ok.
I put my camera away. And began to think. How to get my son's head out?
I held his head and tried to pull him out gently. Nope, stuck.
I pressed his ears tightly against his head, then pulled. Nope. Hmm, definitely stuck.
I smooshed his temple/cheeks/face/ears together in my hands (oh god I was trying not to laugh!) and pulled a little harder… then he started to scream in pain! Good grief, now everyone was looking at us.
I asked my other boys to find an attendant for help. Maybe they could move the wall partition?
But my boys started to have an argument about WHO was going to do the asking. They were going back and forth with their bickering, while my little one cried louder and louder. I turned to them and growled, "WILL YOU STOP ARGUING!! I NEED SOME HELP AND I NEED YOU TO GO FIND SOMEONE WITH A BADGE!!"
In that moment, Liam seemed to have twisted and turned, and -POP- out came his head. He was free.
Thank goodness!!
I certainly calmed down after that. And I wasn't so grumpy any more.
I smiled knowing that I had great photos of the exhibition (and my son with his head stuck in a wall). And that I could soak up the creativity of our ancient ancestors (and my son)… forever.


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Palermo cashmere blankets are soft and lush. They feature exquisite Grade A Mongolian cashmere. Expertly knitted and hand stitched for a refined finish. A luxurious accessory for a modern decor.
Natural Soft Brown with Charcoal
55.1 x 78.7 in (150 x 200 cm)
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In a video Q&A, Adam Johnson, author of The Orphan Master's Son explains his fascination with propaganda and its relationship to narrative voice. In a separate interview he talks about Fortune Smiles
A Conversation Between Adam Johnson and Vincent Scarpa about Fortune Smiles and Other Topics
Vincent Scarpa is a Michener Fellow at the University of Texas and managing editor of The Austin Review.
Vincent Scarpa: How long have these stories been in your arsenal? Were they all completed after The Orphan Master's Son, or were some in the works before that?
Adam Johnson: That's a good question. One story, "Hurricanes Anonymous," I wrote earlier. In the middle of Orphan Master's Son, I knew that I needed to use a certain kind of third person with a certain kind of distance that I'd never really deployed before, and so I stopped writing that book and I figured, Let me test it out. So I wrote that story, "Hurricanes Anonymous," that was really ratcheted down and limited in a certain way, as a kind of test run to see if I could do that over a bigger novel. So that story came earlier, but the other five came after I finished the novel. I had just missed stories. I love everything about stories and I'd been just jonesing to write some.
VS: Was there any trepidation on your end, or on the publishing end, in putting out a book of storiesthought of by some these days as a dead-on-arrival endeavoron the heels of a Pulitzer-winning novel?
AJ: Well, I'm lucky to have a great editor and a great house. I have a sense that the people who read short stories are the ones who want to write short stories, and who are very literary types, and it's seemed to me always that there's maybe ten thousand of us out there. But I do believe there has been a resurgence in short stories, and that there are great practitionerswhether it's Lorrie Moore, George Saunders, Karen Russelldoing great work and who are actually finding wider audiences for stories. Random House has been wholeheartedly behind these stories, and they really want to get them in the hands of readers, so I've been fortunate.
VS: I usually wouldn't ask a writer to talk about the process differences between writing stories and writing novelsfor a lot of reasons, but primarily because I just don't find it an interesting or productive questionbut I am curious to hear you talk about it, considering that you write some of the longest stories I've read, at sixty, seventy pages. They're Alice Munro long! And while each story in the collection feels fully realized and exists in a carefully constructed world all its own, I could easily see any of them being stretched into a full-length novel, especially stories like "Hurricanes Anonymous" and "Fortune Smiles." They feel entirely complete to me as short stories, but undoubtedly contain so many opportunities for expansion. As a reader, I would've been down to follow either much longer. I suppose that's a roundabout way of asking if these always existed as stories or if you had ever planned or tried to work one out into another novel.
AJ: Well, first of all, my process for writing is the same, regardless of form: I abandon my children, I become a horrible husband and a half-assed teacher. That's what it all has in common. There's definitely something a little maximal about my writing, just because one of the great joys is building a world out of nothing. That's the largest pleasure for me, and it takes a lot of page space to do. To make a Stasi prison so that I can see every hall and cell and the looks on people's faces, to feel the electricity humming through the wires. Or to know every street on a hurricane-ravaged town. Or to see every flashing light in the city of Seoul from the point of view of two defectors. I just have to build that world. I could kind of go on forever. I know these stories are all long, but they are honestly as short as I could get them.
VS: When I first saw that there were only six stories, I admit to thinking, Well, that's a little light for a collection. But, truthfully, after finishing three stories"Nirvana," "Dark Meadow," and "Interesting Facts"I was convinced that this was one of the greatest collections I'd ever read. Which makes me want to ask a question about orderinghow much thought went into the placement and arrangement of these stories? Do you see any of the stories as speaking to one another in a wayresponding to one another, or echoing/ricocheting off one anotheror maybe perhaps even negating in one story something that felt true in the story prior to it?
AJ: That's a great question. I just write the stories. I trust the publisher to change the order, change the title, you know. "Fortune Smiles" felt like a hopeful note to me, because even though there are some heavy scenes in the book, you've got to go forward. So that one seemed like a good one to conclude with. "Nirvana" is a good opener because it's quickly engagingwithin two pages, you have a drone that appears and the president comes to life.
I'm always afraid, as a writer, that the reader is going to quit reading at any paragraph, so I feel like if the language isn't there, if the dialogue isn't right, if there isn't developmentif I'm not giving the reader a constant stream of candy, in one form or anotherthey're just going to abandon me. That's my great fear.
VS: Tell me a bit about how "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine" came to be.
AJ: I was in Germany, and German television wanted to interview me. And they must have thought I liked torture because of my North Korea book, so they were like, "Let's interview you in a former torture prison!" And so they took me to this prison and did this very grim interview with me in a cell where people had been interrogated forever. It was a very creepy, creepy place. Afterward, I took a tour with the director, and he told me that the whole neighborhood is filled with all the Stasi officers who used to work there, and they sneak in all the time and make YouTube videos. And he said the warden walked his little dog around the prison every morning. I asked if he'd ever spoken to him and he said no.
All that to say that, for the fiction writer, the half-seen thing is what sparks the imagination, and your mind begins filling out the rest of the portrait. That idea of the warden and his little dogit wouldn't let go of me! How does that man justify what he did? How does a person reorient their psyche toward hurting other people in the name of good?
VS: I have to ask a few questions about "Dark Meadow," the story that I think is really the crown jewel in a collection of perfect stories, and a story that I hope will be read and taught for years to come. Mostly what I admire about it is that you've tackled a subjectin the first person, no lessthat most writers, myself included, would be reluctant to touch with a ten-foot pole. I'm reminded of two things the narrator of "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine," in attempts at self-exoneration, says: "someone must undertake the unpleasant tasks" and "the truth is that duty calls upon us to perform tasks we'd rather not." Do those sentiments resonate with you at all, as a writer, and perhaps serve to explain why you'd willingly go into the mind of a pedophile? Was it a kind of duty to go there as a writer?
AJ: I have many answers to this question, because the story doesn't have a simple source. I do feel like several years ago my writing took a turn toward creating portraits of people you just don't hear from, including people who can't or won't speak for themselves. I tell my students all the time that the odds you'll be a good storyteller and you'll have an important story to tell are quite rare. Those are long odds. So if you are good at storytelling, you have a duty to tell the stories of others. After I went to that Stasi prison, I asked if anyone could recommend a good Stasi memoir, and not one person could. You know, if I could've just read a book, I probably wouldn't have written the story. Writing about North Korea, I just became ravenous with curiosity, and the human portrait of what is it like to be a North Korean is something I couldn't find. That's when my mind started writing it.
With "Dark Meadow," you know, it's very rare and brave for victims of abuse to come forward, but there are almost no offenders. Literally, try to findoutside of medical literatureone person who will say, "I did monstrous things. I am no longer that person, but here's what I did and why I did it, and I'm going to share with you this human possibility." It just isn't out there. They're the biggest pariahs in our society, all the more reason we should look at them, especially if the offenders were once victims, and I believe that in many cases that's also true.
It puts to the test the notions we bandy about very lightly in the humanist realm of the university that everyone has full humanity and we are all essentially the same on some level. We like to act, in the university, like every single person does have full entitlement to being a human being. And that's something I believe. But it's not something easy to write.
VS: I'm not going to ask about the truth content of "Interesting Facts," because if that's what interests you about the story, I think you've missed the story. But I would love to hear you talk about your intentions in writing a story in which the narrator's husband is a Pulitzer Prize winner who has written a novel about North Korea and who attended a Florida universitya man uncannily not unlike yourself. The wife, also a writer in the story, even goes so far as to say that her husband has stolen a character from her, a sexual predator, and published a story called "Dark Meadow." What are you asking the reader in "Interesting Facts" to consider or to gnaw at by including this autobiographical element?
AJ: Well, putting so much obviously factual material in a piece of fiction of course invites the reader to ask that question. So it's perfectly natural. My motivations are more simple and less noble. The way my mind makes sense of things is through narrative. So this is just something that happened in our family a few years ago. My wife got breast cancer. It was a very chaotic time. We have kids. There was all this stuff going on, and my mind just turned it all into narrative. I know it might sound trite to say, The story picks you. But it's true.
VS: And the story serves to help compartmentalize that chaos?
AJ: I think so. And a story forces meaning on something, it's a meaning-making machine. And the story is going to come up with an answer. It's a dangerous thing to play with, a story, when you put personal material in there, because you might not like the answer.
VS: What's next for you?
AJ: Well, I've just always written whatever I've been drawn toward. Having written the novel for many years, I was just jonesing to get back to stories. I just love the form. I wrote five of them, big wild-world stories. And I just started writing a novel last year that I'm about halfway through: a big, crazy, goofy novel that it's hard to believe I'm actually doing. You tell someone at a party what it's about and they kind of give you that smile. I get that smile a lot.
This conversation originally appeared at tinhouse.com.
Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
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Myanmar Companies Law 2017 – the changes, and how these help your company.
We have received many calls from companies seeking more information on the changes that came into effect in August of this year, via the Myanmar Companies Law.
Here is an overview of the major changes and some detail that answer many of the questions we received. Please contact us for more detailed information on how the beneficial changes relate to your company.
Regulations in the previous law, placed restrictions on company operations and investments from overseas. For the majority of cases the new rules now encourage investment from overseas.
All company documents, including those of incorporation are brought together within a new electronic registry.
|Companies Law 2017
|Previous Regulations
|Minimum Number of Shareholders required
|Minimum Number of Directors required
|Share Classes
|Preference, Ordinary, Redeemable/Convertible
|Ordinary Shares
|Stipulated duties of Directors
|Clear explanation of requirements
|Definition not clearly outlined
|Restriction on trading operations
|Trading authorised with up to 35% investment in Joint Venture with a Myanmar Company. Also for "permitted sectors" 100% foreign ownership is authorised.
|No licence available
|Reporting of Dividends
|These need not be solely from profits. A test of solvency is introduced, to protect creditors, to assure company can reimburse creditors if required.
|From profits only
|Company Incorporation
|One Constitution
|Both Memorandum and Articles of Association
The English translation of the law comprises 184 pages so there is of course considerable more detail. These changes, including those within the new Myanmar Investment Law, bring positive changes.
For the majority of trading activities, foreign investors may take up to a 35% stake in a local company before the company is categorised as a foreign company. Under the previous law, a local company was classified as a foreign company even if just one share was allocated to an investor from overseas.
Overseas investors may also now own up to 35 percent of shares in a company listed on The Yangon Stock Exchange.
For a private company only one Director or Shareholder is required. Note, any further person even if not officially appointed, who "acts as if appointed as the position of Director", is deemed to be a Director. Public companies require at least three Directors.
A company can be incorporated if one Director is ordinary resident in Myanmar. A person is considered resident if they are in Myanmar for at least 183 days within a period of 12 months.
The entire process to obtain permission to trade is now much simpler and no requirements remain that stated the objectives of the company had to be defined.
If a company's constitution is changed, notice must be provided within 28 days from the date of passing of the special resolution. Then and only then is the change effective.
Annual returns must be filed within 28 days of the financial year end, for each trading year, with no period exceeding 15 months when no return has been filed.
Note: An overseas corporation that ceases to trade in Myanmar must register the change within 21 days.
Rules for smaller companies are simplified. A small company means a company that is not a public company or subsidiary of a public company and has no more than thirty employees. Annual revenue should be less than a stipulated figure, currently this is 50,000,000 Kyats. Protection for smaller companies is improved.
All these changes not only open the door for foreign companies and investors but also bring good news to existing Myanmar companies seeking new sources for further investments.
The Company Law was announced last year by Mr. U Aung Naing Oo, Director General of The Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). He also stressed that the changes that would enhance corporate standards in Myanmar, with the clear aim to establish world class standards in Myanmar.
FocusCore is here to help you with your Company Incorporation, together with all the initial and ongoing procedures for trading in Myanmar and we offer a wide range of corporate supporting services. Contact us today and join the growing range of overseas companies now trading in Myanmar.


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Thanks for visiting Capital Advisor. I frequently update this blog to cover various topics on personal finance such as investment strategies, financial products that you should buy and ones that you really should stay away from, financial calculators, emerging themes such as early retirement and financial independence, and much more. You can Subscribe through Email and receive new articles directly in your Inbox or you can Subscribe through the RSS Feed and receive new articles in your feed reader.
The following post is a sponsored post.
KayPay is a unique money transfer mechanism introduced by Kotak Mahindra Bank. It is a quick, simple and convenient way to send money to your friends even when you do not know their account numbers. The app allows users to remit money from any bank by using their Google+ ID, Facebook ID, mobile number of recipients or email ID.
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Author Bio: Rachita Kotian is an independent blogger and writing has been her passion for a long time. A literature major, she loves exploring the world of health, lifestyle, travel and finance. When she's not writing, she's most likely listening to music, cooking, surfing the web, or catching up on the latest flick.
Thanks for reading this article. I'd love to hear your opinion. Please use the comments section below to share your thoughts. I frequently write new articles that also cover several other aspects of personal finance including credit cards, financial goals, health insurance, income tax, life insurance, mutual funds, retirement planning, and much more. You can Subscribe through Email and receive new articles directly in your Inbox or you can Subscribe through the RSS Feed and receive new articles in your feed reader.


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I've shared my thoughts on CSI: Cyber before. I went on to post my thoughts on Episode 8 as well. As I said before maybe the things I complain about changed over time. Perhaps I needed to watch more episodes and my opinions might change. The show is in the recording schedule on my PVR and I decided to give my thoughts after each episode.
Luckily a friend of mine bought episodes 6-10 on iTunes. I went over to his place and watched those episodes on his laptop. So I'll be able to go through 6, 7 and 10 in order. Instead of waiting for re-runs to play and be recorded on my PVR. Episodes 1-5 and 11-13 of Season 1 are a different story. I'd like to go through them all before Season 2 begins airing on October 4th but I guess we'll see what happens. I am certainly not going to pay $3.50 per episode to watch it on iTunes. Anyway I'll be going through episode 6, titled "The Evil Twin", today.
The episode started very promising for me. The background music combined with what seemed like either a dream sequence or flashback with Agent Mundo piqued my interest. The team starts working on the case of a hotel whose computer system has been hacked. After all the security footage from the hotel was deleted by the hacker. They find a woman in a room of the hotel who was killed. The dead woman's phone was recovered from the toilet after the killer broke it and tried to flush it. Brody shows Agent Avery and Mundo how easy it is to hack the hotel system. He also demonstrates the amount of control a hacker has once in control of the system. He changed the thermostat and even closed the automatic window blinds in the particular room they were in. I've said before that I think his character is very under-used. This was the first time that I've seen good use of his character.
The next scene is when things start to go downhill for me. It was a return to Brody, Shad Moss' character, being underused. Brody is supposed to be an ex black hat hacker. Yet in the scene he and Daniel are arguing after he starts talking about mobile device connectors and Apple devices, while not really doing anything. It makes Brody seem less technical than you would expect from an ex black hat. He even asks Daniel to give him something to do. Another ex black hat on the team Raven Ramirez, played by Hayley Kiyoko, is in the same scene. Yet she is on a computer looking through code. She finds the IP of the hacker in the code. So the creators clearly know what to do with a character that is an ex black hat. So why is Brody less of an ex black hat and more of a snapback?(hat joke for those who don't know) We also get the usual scene of Avery doing the "Lie to me" bit of looking for physical cues while questioning someone. She does it while talking to the dead woman's boyfriend. She noticed some bruising on his hands and his nervous reaction to her questioning. This scene finally made sense with her using the technique because it adds the possibility of someone else being the murderer besides their main suspect.
In this episode Daniel and Raven do most of the technical work. Raven is also showing the expertise that you would expect from an ex black hat. Brody was a little more active in this episode but it seems to be hit and miss so far to me. Again Avery misses an emotional que to me. We get some backstory on her character. Then an exchange between Avery and Mundo setup a great interaction when Mundo jokes about the Mets. Except Avery doesn't laugh or react to the joke. A missed oppurtunity to add personality to her character. We find out that it was the woman's boyfriend who killed her. He frames the guy that the team had as their main suspect. The boyfriend is also the one who jumps off the ledge of the building in the intro of the episode. Except that when we get back to the scene Mundo catches the boyfriend after he jumps. It's pretty cool because you expect him to die when he jumps near the end of the show.
In the end I have to come back to MacNicol's excellent acting in this episode. He is just so good in his role and like Shad Moss I feel that he is very under-utilized which I've said before. The very last scene was a great interaction between all the members of the cast. This episode, despite the things that annoyed me, was actually the best of all the episodes I've watched so far. We'll see what happens in the next couple episodes I watch.


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By Mark Keane
Dame Street was the home to a massive food change and a sprinkling of magic on Thursday afternoon. Abrakebabra, along with world renowned illusionist, brain hacker and new celebrity ambassador Keith Barry, showcased a brand new direction with their food. Although Keith Barry is used to astounding guests on the Ellen Degeneres and David Letterman shows, the new tantalising and revamped Abrakebabra menu had guests mesmerised.
The new generation look has offerings such as crunchy falafel on flatbread with hummus, Abra-slaw and cucumber, a marinated chicken burger with rocket and melted Emmental cheese, to complement the usual Abra classics. They still live by their motto of "Taste the difference" but are also adding new dishes that pack a big flavour punch.
Keith Barry took time out from his Out of Control world tour to entertain guests with a live show, performing some of his more famous "tricks". Guests were willing to have their minds blown by Ireland's leading TV hypnotist and mentalist for the chance of tasting some of Abrakebabra's delicious looking new dishes. Tickets for his brand new show can be bought on Ticketmaster, while Keith Barry will be touring around Ireland up till January the 17th.
For those food lovers looking for something new to try, you can experience the latest Abrakebabra evolution on Dame Street, Dublin 2, and can tweet your friends on what they are missing out with #NextGenAbra
Keith Barry got inside people's brains on Thursday, but the taste of these next generation Abrakebabra dishes will stay there.


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|Waiting and Bar Staff
|Job Role
|Here at Bill's Restaurants we are currently looking for Wait and Bar Staff
Working at Bill's is one of those jobs that involve a lot of plate spinning. An award-winning restaurant, we serve great food from breakfast right through till supper without stopping. Inside and out, upstairs and down, from bustling mornings to cosy, candlelit dinners, we are busy all day.
Our Waiting and Barista staff must:
There might be a queue to manage, a birthday party, small groups, large groups – every day is different and everyone needs looking after because we're big on excellent service.
What do you need to do well? Make sure our standard of service remains high at all times, look after guests, be fast & friendly… and a few other things.
In return we offer fantastic training and great opportunities along with a competitive salary but more importantly the chance to grow and develop your career and to be part of something really special.
If this sounds like your kind of job, we'd really like to hear from you.
|Skills/Experience Required
|Preferably one year in customer facing role
|up to £8.50 per hour, 50% discount at any Bill's


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The state of PR – underpaid, overworked and under representative
Over the 20+ years I've worked in PR I've seen the profession become much more visible, if not necessarily better understood. However, while we're not there yet, there's a growing realisation at a senior level within organisations about the business benefits that strategic, well-executed and effectively evaluated PR campaigns can deliver.
So, the latest PRCA PR and Communications census provides the perfect opportunity to take stock of where we are now – and where we need to improve. Reading through the results, and the analysis from my ex-colleague Stephen Waddington, five things jump out at me:
1.PR is big business
Total industry turnover is £14.9 billion, up 7.9% since 2018. To give some perspective this is bigger than the UK space industry (£11 billion) and about two-thirds of the defence sector. This is positive news, particularly as I believe that there's a lot of PR and communications that isn't covered by the census, either because it is carried out as part of other people's roles, or that those doing it don't realise it is PR.
2.PR is growing
As well as turnover increasing, so is the number of people working in the industry, rising by 9,000 to 95,000. That's the size of a large town or small city – the PR industry has grown from being the equivalent of Chester (population 86,011) to Bath (94,872). All very lovely, as it shows that the market need for PR is growing, hence the profession's expansion.
3.Average salaries are down
Unfortunately, this is where the good news ends. The average salary has decreased across agency, freelance and in-house roles, falling from £45,950 to £42,700. That's a drop of 8.75% that the PRCA puts down to increasing numbers of more junior staff in the industry. PR has always been a pyramid, with lots of account executives and fewer account directors, but widening the base of the profession brings risks. Automation and AI are likely to remove the need for many of the traditional parts of the account executive role, and if we are to be seen as more strategic (and win a place at board level), we need to grow the amount of senior talent that is correctly remunerated. Otherwise skilled people are likely to either leave the profession or not even consider it in the first place.
4.And workloads are up
Not only have average salaries dropped, but they don't tell the full story when it comes to workload. Half of PRs work for 45 hours a week (10 more than their supposedly contracted 35 hours), with senior professionals most likely to work overtime. That means that not only are people being paid less, but they are expected to do more. As well as being financially unfair this risks stress, burn-out and mental health issues. It is therefore sad, but unsurprising, to read that 32% of PRs have suffered from, or been diagnosed with mental health issues.
5.Diversity is not happening
Two-thirds of PR people are female – yet there is an average gender pay gap of 13.6% across the industry. This is shameful, even if it has dropped from 21% last year. Clearly skilled, motivated women are leaving the industry or not getting the senior jobs that they should be. Equally concerning is the lack of diversity in PR – 89% of the industry is white, although it is more diverse at more junior levels. PR needs to better reflect overall society – there shouldn't be any barriers to entry for people. After all, you don't need access to specialist equipment to enter the profession, meaning it should be open to all, regardless of background and ethnicity.
To me the PRCA census shows both sides of the industry – accelerating ahead in many areas, but still needing to fix fundamental issues around pay and diversity. Without overcoming these challenges it won't have the talent and backing to truly establish itself as the strategic, vital profession that it actually can be.
Apple bets on reputation to drive streaming success
This week's news that Apple is expanding into multiple new markets, including TV, gaming and finance is not unexpected. The market for iPhones is becoming saturated, with revenue from iPhone sales dropping 15% in the last quarter. So, increasingly Apple wants to be seen as a services company – it already has a successfully streaming product (Apple Music) and generated $10.9 billion of revenue from services, more than from selling Macs or iPads, in Q4 2018.
The announcement is also unsurprising for two other reasons. We now live in an experience economy, where people are more likely to rent or stream products and services than to buy them. And it joins a stampede of companies that want to be the digital provider of choice, for everything from entertainment and news to healthcare and control of your smart home.
This trend is turning digital companies that previously co-existed relatively harmoniously, such as Amazon, Apple, Google and others, into competitors. Combined with the rise of Netflix, this is disrupting the business models of existing content providers/film studios, leading them to scale up (witness Disney's purchase of Fox) to try and compete.
Apple's glitzy launch featured a host of A-list celebrities, from Oprah to Steven Spielberg and Big Bird from Sesame Street as it promised to spend $1 billion a year on original content. However, it is up against the likes of Netflix (which spent a reported $12 billion last year), and Disney, which counts best-selling franchises such as Marvel and Star Wars amongst its properties.
So can Apple succeed in streaming? After all, its existing Apple TV service has never really taken off. There are two factors it is betting heavily on:
1.Reputation as the champion of privacy
Throughout all the storms that have hit tech companies around privacy and use of personal data, Apple has aimed to position itself as the champion of the consumer. It has repeatedly stressed that it won't share user data with advertisers, and even refused to allow the FBI to access locked iPhones belonging to criminals and terrorists. Apple boss Tim Cook continually reiterated the focus on privacy at the launch event, and clearly it is one of the ways it is looking to differentiate itself.
2.Market power
As Oprah said of iPhones "they're in a billion pockets", and Apple clearly has a huge, loyal fanbase to appeal to. That's what has driven its services success to date, and even if it can only convert a small percentage of customers to its new offerings, it will be in the money. However, an awful lot of iPhones are in markets, such as China, where the new services are unlikely to be available, while most customers already have subscriptions to the likes of Netflix. The new Apple TV+ will allow consumers to bundle some existing services (such as HBO and Hulu), but not Netflix. And while it will be available on other hardware (such as Sony TVs), making it appeal to non-Apple owners may prove difficult.
So, when it comes to services and effectively its future revenues, Apple is essentially betting on its reputation rather than the deeper content reserves of its rivals. Can it take a bit out of streaming? Whatever happens expect a long and bruising battle as more and more companies try to differentiate themselves from the chasing pack and use communications and reputation to dominate the market.
Why PR is like an iceberg
It's a well-known fact that 90% of an iceberg is below the water. PR is actually pretty similar. What is visible (often the results of tactics such as media relations) is simply the tip of a strategically planned and delivered campaign. However, what the wider world sees is the end result (or in the case of journalists the pitch or press release). I think this is one of the major reasons PR and media relations are continually confused, pigeonholing the profession.
The latest example of this is on the BBC's Media Show. A recent episode, entitled "The Art of Public Relations", has drawn widespread condemnation from the PR industry for its focus on media relations and publicity, and describing PR people as bullies and liars. Clearly this is both an outdated view of the PR world, and – let's face it – if all 70,000 of us were liars I think we'd have been closed down by now.
Media relations is a key skill for PRs, but it is one of many. And arguably it is becoming less important as PR becomes more strategic and involved in delivering corporate goals, and other communication channels such as social media give a direct route to target audiences, bypassing journalists. But it is human nature to focus on the shiny things rather than the hard work and brainpower behind them. The trouble is, this is less easy to explain in a soundbite. Perfectly valid complaints about how PR is perceived are seen as whingeing – as a profession we suffer from Cobbler's Children syndrome, too busy working for others to do our own PR.
How can this be overcome? Here are some recommendations from my experience:
- Keep demonstrating the value we create for companies, organisations, communities and individuals. They are the people that pay the bills, and simply wouldn't be investing in PR if it was not important.
- Don't just show value to immediate contacts, but talk to senior management and build up their understanding of PR. Given most CEOs tend to come from a finance, sales or operations background they are unlikely to have learnt about PR properly on their way to the top.
- Measure effectively what we do, and show that we are supporting corporate strategy inside and outside organisations.
- Spend more time proactively on doing our own PR, whether that is educating people we meet (without boring them senseless!) or speaking to schools and business groups.
- Show clients the strategy behind what we do for them, and lean more heavily on academic and business research to justify why a particular campaign is worthwhile.
- Always be professional, and avoid the temptation to focus solely on the tactical or the Ab Fab stereotype. It won't deliver a lasting career or client relationships.
PR does seem to be constantly striving to justify itself to the public and journalists – but over the last 20 years I have seen things change for the better. We just need to keep pushing. We're all in it together, so do share your recommendations for how we can better get across what we do in the comments section below.
Why sales is the new opportunity for PR and communications
For many B2B industries the sales process used to be relatively straightforward. You made products customers wanted, and provided the price and quality were right, they bought them. Salespeople were involved across the process, giving ample opportunity for them to build relationships, explain benefits and overcome any doubts.
This has now radically changed, with a much larger proportion of the process carried out by prospects themselves – without speaking to a salesperson. The combination of the internet and social media gives them access to a huge amount of information that they can use to refine their needs, and create a shortlist of potential products and vendors without the companies being involved at all.
Content, content, content
While this means that sales need to learn new skills, it also dramatically boosts the importance of content. If you don't have the right content available, based on the keywords and topics that your potential customers are searching for, they won't even find you. With the amount of competition out there, customers simply don't have the time to check every potential supplier's website to find out if they offer what they are looking for.
This applies to all sectors. For example, I've talked to lawyers who say clients have found them by searching for particular legal specialisms (e.g. "European rail infrastructure law"). So to get onto the shortlist, you need to be visible. And visibility isn't just through company websites, it is in the media, on Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, emails and marketing collateral.
What does this mean? Essentially you have to build a brand for yourself and/or your product. This has to be built on the right content, in the right places, giving a consistent message to your target markets.
For me, this is a tremendous opportunity for communications/public relations professionals. We have the skills to understand an audience, create a strategy and messages to reach them, and then execute it through relevant, well-written content. We just need to think beyond the old confines of media relations and we can position ourselves at the heart of the sales process that drives modern businesses. This means breaking down the old barriers between earned and paid media by using whichever is best for the job in hand.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece on whether we should switch from calling ourselves public relations professionals and rebrand ourselves as communications professionals. It became part of a wider debate, with some people agreeing and others feeling it lost the strategic element of what we do, pigeonholing us as messengers. Given the business opening that content provides now is the time to seize the opportunity and expand what you do – whatever you call yourself.
Elon Musk and brand safety – a cautionary tale
Consumers increasingly want to engage with genuine brands with a personality. And in many cases this goes back to the founder and CEO. Think of Apple and Steve Jobs, Microsoft and Bill Gates, Burt's Bees and Burt. Or, as I heard yesterday on Radio 4, Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop.
In a world where consumers are bombarded with slogans from faceless corporations, having a figurehead that they can relate to should be an excellent shortcut to drive success. And, in many ways it often is. However, one of the key factors that drives people to found and grow businesses is self-belief that whatever they do is right, and that they need to battle the world to maintain their success. Add in that the more success they have, the fewer people there are around them who are willing to tell them when they are wrong and you can see a recipe for potential reputational disasters.
Elon Musk is a classic case in point. He's built Tesla into one of the most recognised car brands on the planet, from scratch, and helped accelerate the spread of electric vehicles. Earlier in the year the company had a stock valuation of $50 billion – larger than Ford, despite its much smaller size (and profitability).
Of course, the key phrase is "had a stock valuation of $50 billion". Musk announced in a tweet that he had the funding in place to take the company private at $420 per share. When it turned out he didn't he was sued by both investors and regulators. A further tweet after he was fined for this saw the stock fall further, knocking $10 billion off its value. And don't forget this is the man that called a British diver involved in the Thai cave rescue a 'pedo' and was recorded smoking pot on a podcast.
So how can organisations combine the creativity, drive and charisma of a founder with brand safety? There are four ways to achieve this:
1 Trust the CEO
You could, of course, just let the CEO do what they like, Richard Branson style, but that's assuming that they understand that there are limits to their behaviour. In the case of true loose cannons (like Musk), this isn't going to work. In the case of public companies it is also going to make the share price gyrate on a daily basis.
2 Focus on the product
A longer term strategy is to shift the focus from the founder to the product. So while the CEO might be introducing what the company makes, they are talking about what goes into it and what makes the company special, beyond their own personality. Bring in outsiders such as celebrities to subtly shift away from a single founder – a good example is the Virgin Media ads featuring Usain Bolt alongside Branson.
3 Build a team
No one person can run a multi-million pound company successfully. Leaders need help, so build a team and make sure that they are increasingly seen in the media. They are never going to have the same appeal as the founder – for example compare Tim Cook with Steve Jobs at Apple. But creating a wider team will deflect some of the attention over time and prepare for the point when the founder is no longer around.
4 Have people who can say no
Probably the hardest thing for an underling to do is to disagree with their boss, particularly if they have built the company from the ground up. Not many employees would embrace such an almost certain career-limiting move. That means telling founders that they are on the wrong track has to come from boards, independent mentors and from creating a culture where messengers are not shot, but encouraged. This is another long-term process, but one that needs to be thought of early in the process.
Balancing the marketing value of a charismatic figurehead with their wayward side is never easy – just ask Ryanair – but if brands want to stay around for the long-term they need to be ready to outlive their founder and put in place a framework and culture that turns 'me' into 'we' without losing the brand essence and magic they bring.
Why the internet won't kill traditional TV
We've all heard about the death of linear, traditional TV. At one end pay streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are grabbing viewers, while at the other, more and more people (particularly the young) are getting their entertainment for free from YouTube.
But is it really happening? And if it does, will it mean the inevitable decline of traditional, broadcast television and organisations such as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5? I'd say not, based on three recent data points.
1 People are still watching live TV
Things are certainly changing, but the latest Ofcom figures show that of the 5 hours and 1 minute that the average person spends viewing audiovisual content every day, 71% of this is spent watching broadcast shows. Over half is live TV, with the remainder being recordings of programmes and broadcaster catch-up services, such as BBC iPlayer. Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon have overtaken traditional pay-TV (Sky, Virgin Media) in terms of numbers of subscribers, but bear in mind that the cost of these services is much less. Many people have multiple subscriptions, particularly given the rise of exclusive content, such as The Crown on Netflix and The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime.
So, while broadcasters may be finding harder to fund new content, they still have a loyal viewership – even fickle 16-34 year olds spend 46% of their time viewing broadcast content. And I'd expect those figures to be affected by teenage viewing habits – previous Ofcom research found that 66% of teenagers use YouTube to watch TV programmes and films, against 38% of all adults.
2 Terrestrial TV is talked about
The rise of the internet and digitalisation has given us unparalleled choice, resulting in the fragmentation of audiences. The days of watching a programme on one of four or five channels (and I remember when there were three) because 'there was nothing else on' have disappeared a long time ago. While this means that people can seek out and watch content that they are interested in, it has also reduced the power of TV to bring people together as a community – you can't go into work or school and expect that those you talk to will have watched the same programme as you.
However, I think that again this has been overplayed – at the moment all the conversations and buzz (online and offline) are around terrestrial TV programmes, from The Bodyguard and Vanity Fair, to Strictly and the Great British Bake Off. There is definitely less in the way of shared experiences, but they are still there and are still bringing people together, particularly when they use the likes of social media to involve audiences and make them feel part of a community.
3 YouTube is not yet the mainstream
Like a lot of old(er) people I rely on my kids to tell me what is happening on YouTube. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have heard of the KSI vs Logan Paul fight that happened last month in Manchester. It was billed as the event that would demonstrate the sheer scale and reach of the site, as two of the most popular YouTubers in the world punched each other for five rounds. A lot of the stats from the fight are impressive – it generated 5 million pay-per-view buys on YouTube (including my children), bringing in an estimate revenue of £37.5 million. That makes it the fifth largest pay-per-view event in boxing history.
However, this needs to be put into context. KSI has 19 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, and Logan Paul has over 23 million. Before the fight Business Insider predicted there would be 100 million viewers. Even with allowances made for those that watched illegally, it was clearly a long way short of that. This backs up for me why a lot of teens watch YouTube – it is free, they can watch it on their phones away from their parents and it doesn't take too long to stream each programme. Instead, the fight was the exact opposite – costing money, best watched on a TV and taking the entire evening. Essentially it shows that YouTube and broadcast TV are different and appeal to different needs.
I appreciate that the internet has transformed the TV market and that the cosy days of a limited number of broadcasters delivering programmes to grateful viewers is long gone. Action does need to be taken to ensure that we still have access to well-made, locally created content, and broadcasters need to adapt, but it is also important not to overstate the case for the internet – we're not heading for a Netflix and YouTube only world anytime soon.


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For all non urgent repairs please complete the maintenance request form below or email to both email@example.com and email@example.com.
If you have a maintenance need that you believe is urgent please refer to the definition of urgent repairs in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act here
Urgent Repairs - Outside Business Hours
If you have an urgent repair during business hours please contact our office immediately on (03) 9817 6151
If you have an urgent repair outside business hours please contact our staff by telephone on 0418 501045.
The types of repairs that are deemed urgent in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act are:
- burst water service
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- a serious fault in a lift or staircase.
Should you have an urgent after hours repair as defined above and ONLY if efforts to reach staff have failed, according to the Residential Tenancies Act you can authorise an urgent repair for up to $1800
Should you need to contact plumbing & electrical trades after hours please contact one of our preferred trades below before trying any other trades. Should our preferred trades not be contactable for any reason please note the date/time of your call to our preferred trades (for our reference) before calling any other contractors.
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Metallurgical Investigation of Tie Rod used for lifting Ferro-Alloy during Steel Making
In steel making industry, bottom dispenser buckets are widely used to carry ferro-alloys, lime or other materials from one place to other or one height to other. In one of the steel making shops, such bottom dispenser buckets are used for lifting ferro-alloys which is charged further to ladle furnace. One of the ferro alloy buckets with carrying capacity up to 3 Ton failed while being lifted and crash against sidewalls of the cage and an observation platform. Fortunately, no one was reported injured due to the incident.
Upon observing the failure, it was revealed that the bucket fell due to fracture of its tie rod while lifting ferro-alloys. Visual observation reveals thermal cracks and significant thining which indicates enourmous amount of deformation that the bracket underwent prior to failure. Fractography of the fracture surface of the bracket showed dimples and these dimples have predominantly graphite nodule within them.
It suggests ductile mode of failure probably due to exposure to high temperature for prolonged duration that activated sufficient slip systems to cause plastic deformation before fracture. Chemistry of the failed tie rod complied with the specification of AISI 431 Martensitic stainless steel. And the bracket was made up of SG iron.
Micrograph of the failed bracket showed substantial bursting of the graphite nodules. These are typically observed when SG iron are subjected to very high temperature for prolonged time. It is evident that such detoriation occurred during service as graphite nodules were observed without any bursting in unused / new bracket.
SEM micrograph revealed creep voids predominantly at grain boundary triple points. Precipitation of chromium carbide was observed along grain boundaries as confirmed by EDS analysis. The above analysis reveals that tie rod and bracket failed in creep mode due to exposure to excessive (unusually high) flame for prolonged duration.
In steel making shops, Ferro alloys are added during steelmaking to achieve certain desired properties in the final product. These ferroalloys are fed to the steel in the ladle refining furnace via a conveyor which is at a suitable height. These ferro-alloys are generally lead to this height using bottom dispenser buckets. In bottom dispenser buckets (BDBs), the bottom portion has a hole at its centre which is closed by an umbrella shaped disc.
Impact Factor: 0.64*
Current Issue: Volume 5: Issue 1
Journal of steel structures and construction welcomes submissions with cutting-edge research in the field of Steel. Unsolicited manuscripts including research articles, commentaries, and other reports will also be considered for publication and should be submitted either online or through mail.
You may submit your paper as an attachment at firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com
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Renowned outdoor clothing and equipment retailer Cotswold Outdoor today announces the appointment of Pat Divilly as their official brand ambassador in Ireland. The partnership will not only see the best-selling author, corporate speaker, world traveller and high-performance coach engage in talks and events at Cotswold Outdoors' local stores, but also take him on his next expedition from February 10-28, 2018: climbing the Aconcagua in the Americas, supported and kitted out by the brand.
The agreement will further involve unique tips and expert advice on equipment and how to get started on your next adventure, both through social media as well as Cotswold Outdoor's blog.
Paul McDermott, Omnichannel and Marketing Director at Outdoor and Cycle Concepts Ltd: "We are delighted for Pat to represent our brand, support him on his next expedition and inspire others to go out and explore. For us, he embodies our vision to not only be experts in the industry, but also meet every outdoor enthusiasts' needs and support and excite them for their next challenge or adventure."
Pat Divilly comments: "To me, Cotswold Outdoor is the go-to retailer to find everything I need and want to take on my travels. I'm excited to be an ambassador and become part of the brand, sharing not only my experiences and top tips to embark on new challenges with others, but also to involve everyone in my adventure to the Americas next year. Passion and inspiration are two key concepts for me and Cotswold Outdoor represents that same ethos."
About Pat Divilly
Pat Divilly is a best-selling author, corporate speaker, world traveller and high-performance coach. Over the last five years he has emerged as one of Ireland's best young entrepreneurs helping clients all over the world achieve success in both the weight loss and personal development space through his online training courses and best-selling books.
He is passionate about helping people 'upgrade' their thinking to find more passion, purpose, and fulfillment from all aspects of life, whether it be their physical or emotional fitness, their relationships, their career or their 'crazy ambitions and dreams'.
Pat's groups have raised over €250,000 for local charities in Ireland and are currently building a school in Nepal, a chance to promote youth leadership and education.
For more information: www.patdivilly.


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Fingerprint Sensor: 0.3 Seconds Unlock/360° 5 FingersRecognition OS: Android Marshmallow 6.0 CPU: 64-bit Octa-Core Processor Snapdragon™ 430 @1.4Ghz withAdreno™ 505 Graphic Chip Display: 5.5-inch FHD(1920 x 1080) IPS display, Corning®Gorilla® Glass 2.5D contoured Touch: 10-finger capacitive Touch screen with Anti-fingerprinttechnology 4GB RAM, 32GB ROM (Micro SD Card up to 128GB) Front: 8MP Camera Rear: 13MP Camera 3000mAh
Asus Zenfone 4 ZE554KL smartphone specs & features are: Android Nougat operating sytem, octa-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, 6GB RAM and 64GB internal memory, 8MP front facing cameras and dual 12MP + 8MP main camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and memory card slot which can be expanded to maximum 256GB with SIM slot 2. It has a battery capacity of 3300mAh, which can last you a full day.
- 1.4GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 425 Processor - 2GB RAM With 16GB ROM - 5.2 Inch HD IPS Display - Dual SIM - Dual 13MP + 5MP Rear Camera With Dual Tone LED Flash - 8MP Front Camera With Soft LED Flash - Fingerprint Sensor - MicroSD/VoLTE/NFC/WiFi - 4100mAh Battery.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie (ZD553KL) is a smartphone powered by Zen UI 4.0 based on Android 7.0 Nougat and 16MP Camera with dual tone LED flash. - 1.4GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 430 Processor - 4GB RAM With 64GB ROM - 5.5 Inch HD IPS Display - Dual SIM - 16MP Rear Camera With Dual Tone LED Flash - Dual 20MP + 8MP Front Camera With LED Flash - Fingerprint Sensor - MicroSD/VoLTE/NFC/WiFi - 3000mAh Battery.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Lite ZB553KL smartphone specs & features are: Android Nougat operating sytem, octa-core 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal memory, 13MP front facing camera and 13MP main camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and memory card slot which can be expanded to maximum 256GB with the dedicated slot. It has a battery capacity of 3000mAh, which can last you a full day.
The ZenFone Selfie Pro opts for a 24 MP selfie shooter (though the sensor is technically a 12 MP one), accompanied with secondary 8-megapixels wide-angle sensor. Apart from that, the rest of the specs are decidedly mid-range: Snapdragon 625 with 4 GB of RAM and a 3,000 mAh battery.
6.2 inches, full HD+ 1080 OS: Android SIM: Nano SIM,Dual SIM, Dual Standby Storage: 64GB External Storage: up to 2TB Display Size: 6.2 inches Speed: HSPA, LTE-A Main Camera: 12 MP + unknown MP Dimensions: 153 x 7.85 x 75.65 mm
ASUS ZenFone 5Q (ZC600KL) 6" IPS LCD display Full HD+ resolution (2160x1080) Dual SIM Android 7.1 Nougat Snapdragon 630 quad-core processor 4GB RAM 64GB storage (expandable up to 2TB via dedicated memory card slot) Dual rear cameras (16MP & 8MP) Dual front cameras (20MP & 8MP) Fingeprint scanner 3300mAh battery
Asus Zenfone 5Z ZS620KL - is a Hybrid Dual SIM smartphone with 6.2" FHD+ display and capacitive touchscreen, dual 12MP + 8MP rear cameras and 8MP front camera. Under the hood, it holds Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845 2.7GHz Octa-core processor and runs Android Oreo OS with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. It has a battery capacity of 3300mAh and features Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, NFC, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, LTE.
At just 1.2 mm thick, the ZenFone Go Bumper Case provides adequate protection without compromising the smartphone's lightweight design. Its tactile thermoplastic polyurethane surface feels soft to the touch. Snap-on design protects the rear of your ZenFoneGo, while giving you full access its various ports.
IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors,5.5 inches, 78.1 cm2(~73.8% screen-to-body ratio),720 x 1440 pixels, 18:9 ratio (~293 ppi density) Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) Android 8.0 Oreo (Go edition) Qualcomm MSM8917 Snapdragon 425 (28 nm) Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 Adreno 308 microSD, up to 512 GB (dedicated slot),32 GB, 2 RAM or 16 GB, 1 GB RAM 13 MP, f/2.0, PDAF,LED flash, HDR, panorama,1080p@30fps, 5 MP, f/2.4,LED flash Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct, hotspot 4.0, A2DP, LE FM radio microUSB 2.0 Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
OS : Android 8.0 Oreo (Go edition) Processor :Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 GPU :Adreno 308 Display :5.5" Full View 18:9 Display in 5" Body Camera Rear :13 MP (f/2.0), PDAF, LED flash Camera Front :5 MP (f/2.4), LED flash Internal Storage : 16GB ROM Memory : 2GB RAM Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery microUSB 2.0 OTG Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass up to 512 GB (dedicated slot) Dual Sim Nano 4G Network , LTE Wifi
- Snapdragon Quad Core Processor - 2GB RAM With 16GB ROM - 5 Inch HD Display - Dual SIM - 13MP Rear Camera With LED Flash - 5MP Front Camera With LED Flash - 4G VoLTE/WiFi/Bluetooth - Kids Mode - Micro USB - 2650mAh Battery
Qualcomm Snapdragon 425/Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor 3GB RAM 5.5-inch 18:9 full HD+ IPS Display 32GB Internal Storage 13-Megapixel primary rear camera with LED Flash, PDAF, f/2.0 aperture 8-Megapixel secondary rear camera with 120-degree wide-angle lens 13-megapixel/8-Megapixel front camera with 85° field of view, f/2.2 aperture, LED flash 4G, LTE Dual SIM WiFi, Bluetooth GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Fingerprint Scanner 4000mAh battery Android 8.0 Oreo (ZenUI 5.0)


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Wendy Williams has lost her Chevrolet sponsorship due to some offhanded comments she made in reference to HBCUs (Historical Black Colleges & Universities) and the NAACP. Following Jesse Williams's speech at the BET awards, which aired on June 26, 2016, the talk show host expressed her personal opinions about his sentiments that have landed her in hot water with African-Americans and now her sponsors. During her opening segment called "Hot Topics" she suggested that HBCUs are offensive to white people and questioned the need for their existence. She went on to say that having an organization such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Color People) was also a hypocrisy if Black people in America truly seek racial equality. Upon listening to her comments her own audience fell silent either in disbelief or because they knew she had just placed her proverbial foot in her mouth. None the less, the twitterverse erupted and immediately began slamming Williams with a barrage of insults and comments about her blatant ignorance. Renowned journalist, Roland Martin addressed the former shock jock directly on his show suggesting that she educate herself before speaking out in regards to political issues. He even went so far as to direct her to "stick to gossip, stick to stupid stuff, stay out of real issues," cried Martin.
Apparently all of the negative attention that the social pundit and her show has received in light of her remarks was more than Chevrolet, the shows newest advertising affiliate could handle and subsequently disassociated themselves with all things Wendy Williams. This Thursday, July 14 the show will host Roland Martin in order for him and Williams to discuss her comments and his response to them. Check your local listings to see what time The Wendy Williams Show airs in your area. If you miss the daytime episode because you're at work don't worry, ironically the show re-runs at a later time on BET (Black Entertainment Television); which is a cable network geared toward African-Americans, featuring African-Americans and ran by African-Americans. Now who's the hypocrite? What do you think about Wendy Williams and her commentary on HBCUs? Leave your comments below.
By Lisa Mack ~
By Lisa Mack ~