text:
RCI, LLC is concerned about privacy issues and wants you to be familiar with how we collect, use and disclose information. This Privacy Notice describes our practices in connection with information we collect through: websites we operate from which you are accessing this Privacy Notice (the "Websites"), any software applications we make available for use on or through computers and mobile devices (the "Apps"), and social media pages we control from which you are accessing this Privacy Notice (our "Social Media Pages"), (collectively, including the Websites, Apps and Social Media Pages, the "Services"). This Privacy Notice also applies to our offline collection of information. The information you provide helps us operate effectively and provide you with premium hospitality products, services and experiences.
Our privacy practices may vary among the countries in which we operate to reflect local practices and legal requirements. Please read the following to learn more about our privacy practices.
Your Acceptance of Our Privacy Notice: By using the Services, you accept the terms of this Privacy Notice and the ways we may use your information. If you do not accept this Notice's terms, please do not continue to use the Services.
What Information Is Collected and How Is It Collected?
- We may collect personal information (information that identifies you or relates to you as an identifiable person) about you such as your:
- Name
- Postal address (including billing and shipping addresses)
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Credit or debit card number
- Financial information
- Stay, trip, product, service or related information
- Communication, product, service or other customer preferences
- Subscribing membership ID
- Social media account ID or profile picture
- Special needs or conditions that may impact your stay
- Demographic information
- IP address
We may collect information from you when you interact with us such as when you:
- Register for a product or service
- Contact us with a question or request, including by use of any Website chat features
- Use our Services
- Make a payment for a product or service
- Stay at one of our affiliated resorts
- Provide a testimonial or story, or submit a review or comment
- Participate in a competition, promotional activity or sweepstakes
- Participate in any loyalty or other programs
- "Like", "Follow" or otherwise connect with or post to one of our Social Media Pages
- Provide services to us (for example, as a vendor or contractor)
- Other Information We Collect about you:
- Cookies: This Website uses "cookies". By using this Website and agreeing to this Notice, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with this Notice's terms. Cookies are small text files this Website sends to your computer for record-keeping purposes and this information is stored in a file on your computer's hard drive. Cookies make web surfing and browsing easier for you by saving your preferences so we can use them to improve your next visit to this Website.
- One purpose of cookies is to simplify the use of the Website. A cookie may save a user's login details for example, so the user does not need to login every time. Cookies, by themselves, do not provide us with your personal information.
- Cookies may be either "persistent" or "temporary" (or "session") cookies. A persistent cookie retains user preferences for a particular Website allowing them to be used in future browsing sessions and remains valid until its set expiry date (unless previously deleted by the user). A temporary cookie expires at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
- Cookies are also used for statistical or marketing purposes, to determine how the Website is used. These cookies may be provided by us as well as third parties (e.g., advertising partners). While we do not control or have access to any advertiser cookies, we may permit their cookies to be used on this Website to facilitate tailored advertising and to monitor patterns of buying specific goods or interest in - for example, holidays or hobbies. These cookies run advertisements tailored to the user based on their online buying habits.
- Pixels, Beacons: We or third party ad servers may use invisible pixels or beacons on this Website to count how many users visit certain pages. This information is collected and reported in the aggregate. We may use this information to improve our marketing programs and content, and to target advertisements at this Website and/or on other sites.
- From Other Sources: We may receive your personal information from other sources, such as public databases; joint marketing partners; data firms; social media platforms; from people with whom you are friends or otherwise connected on social media platforms, as well as from other third parties.
- Mobile Devices: When you use or access our Services from a mobile device, we may collect information such as your unique device ID and your location information. If you download and use an App, we and our service providers may track and collect App usage data, such as the date and time the App on your device accesses our servers and what information and files have been downloaded to the App based on your device number, as well as any other personal information specified by the App in its terms or notices.
- Cookies: This Website uses "cookies". By using this Website and agreeing to this Notice, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with this Notice's terms. Cookies are small text files this Website sends to your computer for record-keeping purposes and this information is stored in a file on your computer's hard drive. Cookies make web surfing and browsing easier for you by saving your preferences so we can use them to improve your next visit to this Website.
How Do We Use Your Information?
The information we collect from you helps us identify ways we can continue to serve you in the best way possible and provide you with personalized products and services that suit your lifestyle. We use personal information for the following purposes:
- To respond to your inquiries and fulfill your requests, such as to send you newsletters.
- To send administrative information to you, for example, information regarding the Services or an event you are attending and material changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.
- To complete and fulfill any transactions or requests for services, for example, to process your payments or communicate with you regarding your transactions and provide you with related customer service.
- To send you marketing communications we believe may interest you via postal mail, email or phone.
- To personalize your experience on the Services by presenting products and offers tailored to you.
- To allow you to participate in sweepstakes, contests and similar promotions and to administer these activities. Some of these activities have additional rules, which could contain additional information about how we use and disclose your Personal Information, so we suggest that you read these rules carefully.
- To facilitate social sharing functionality.
- For our business purposes, such as data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, internal quality assurance, developing new products, enhancing, improving or modifying our Services, identifying usage trends, auditing use and functionality of our Services, helping enforce compliance with our Terms of Use, helping protect our Services, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and operating and expanding our business activities.
- As we believe to be necessary or appropriate: (a) under applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence; (b) to comply with legal process; (c) to respond to requests from public and government authorities including public and government authorities outside your country of residence; (d) to enforce our terms and conditions; (e) to protect our operations or those of any of our Wyndham Affiliates or RCI affiliated resorts; (f) to protect our rights, interests, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our Wyndham Affiliates or RCI affiliated resorts, you or others; and (g) to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain.
We may also aggregate and/or anonymize personal information for research, to improve our products and services; and for other business purposes. Other than as described herein, RCI does not: (1) sell or rent your personal information, (2) use your personal information to make decisions about granting or extending consumer credit unless you submit a separate credit application and authorize us to use or disclose your information; or (3) use your personal information to act as a consumer reporting agency or furnish information about your credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living to any consumer reporting agency.
How Do We Disclose Your Information?
Your information may be disclosed as follows:
- Affiliates: To other Wyndham businesses (our "Affiliates") which may jointly use the personal information for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. A list of our primary Affiliates can be found in Wyndham's current Form 10-K.
- Resorts or Business Partners: We may share personal information with the owners and operators of RCI affiliated resorts in order to provide you with services, facilitate a booking you requested, generate leads in connection with their offers to sell timeshares to you, or to respond to your inquiry for further information about mini-vacations at resorts where a resort tour is either required or requested of you by the owner or operator of the resort. We may disclose your information to business partners, sponsors or other third parties in connection with administering promotions, sweepstakes or similar activities. You may be offered an opportunity to request additional information, materials or offers from the sponsor or other third party; should you make such a request, we will provide your personal information to the third party so that they can fulfill your request.
- Vendors and Service Providers: We may disclose your information to vendors and service providers we retain in connection with our business such as: travel services companies, financial services companies, property owners' associations, vacation insurance companies, website hosting, data analysis, payment processing, order fulfillment, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, credit card processing, tax and financial advisers, legal advisers, accountants or auditing services.
- Message Boards: We may make reviews, message boards, blogs, and other such user-generated content facilities available to users. Any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should always be careful when deciding to disclose your personal information. We are not responsible for privacy practices of other users including website operators to whom you provide information.
- Merger or Acquisition: A third party who acquires any part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation itself or any of its Affiliates, whether such acquisition is by way of merger, consolidation or purchase of all or a substantial portion of our assets.
- Disclosure Permitted by Law: We may disclose your personal information to law enforcement authorities, government or public agencies or officials, regulators, and/or to any other person or entity having appropriate legal authority or justification for receipt of your information, if we believe that we are required or permitted to do so by law or legal process, to respond to claims, or to protect our rights, interests, privacy, property or safety, and/or that of our Wyndham or RCI affiliated resorts, you or others.
- Anonymized/Aggregated Information: Because aggregated or anonymized information does not personally identify you, we may use it for any purpose. If we combine anonymized or aggregated data with personal information, we will treat the combined information as personal information according to this Privacy Notice.
How Do We Safeguard Your Information?
Security of Your Information: We will take reasonable steps to protect the information you provide us from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. We have implemented appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to help safeguard and secure your information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration or destruction. Unfortunately, no security system is 100% secure, thus we cannot ensure the security of information you provide to us via the Services.
Other Important Information
- Information Provided on Someone Else's Behalf: If you provide us with information about someone else, please ensure you have the person's permission to do so for the purposes detailed in this Privacy Notice.
- Links to Websites: The Services may have links to other websites not operated by us; we have no control over how these websites may collect your information and no responsibility or liability for the practices, policies and security measures implemented on these websites. You should read the privacy notices on those other websites before you submit your information through them.
- Social Media Sites: Please note that we are not responsible for the collection, usage and disclosure policies and practices (including data security) of other organizations, such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM or any other app developer, app provider, social media platform provider, operating system provider, wireless service provider or device manufacturer, including any personal information you disclose to other organizations through or in connection with the Apps or our Social Media Pages.
- Changes to Our Privacy Notice: From time to time we may revise this Notice and/or use personal information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed herein to meet changes in the regulatory or business environment, or to satisfy the needs of our customers and service providers. Updated and date stamped versions will be posted on the Services.
- Minors: We do not knowingly collect, maintain or use personal information from children under 18 years of age, and no part of Services is directed to individuals under the age of 18.
- International Transfers: We are an international company and we may, subject to applicable law, transfer your information to our Affiliates or selected third parties where information protection standards may differ. For example, your information may be stored on servers located in other jurisdictions. We will take steps to help protect your information when it is transferred.
- Retention Period. We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Notice unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
Choices and Contact Us With Your Questions
- Marketing: We may contact you by email, phone or postal mail with information about products or services offered by RCI or a third party that may be of interest to you. You can opt-out at any time by:
- Using the unsubscribe function in the email you receive from us; or
- Contacting us at firstname.lastname@example.com if you do not wish to receive further direct marketing from us about Wyndham products or services.
- "Do Not Track" Browser Settings: At this time, we do not respond to browser 'do not track' signals, as we await the work of interested stakeholders and others to develop standards for how such signals should be interpreted. Third parties, including our service providers, may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites, including when you visit our Website. You can learn about how to exercise choice regarding the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services by visiting www.aboutads.info and www.networkadvertising.org.
- Access to Information We Hold about You: If you would like to access, obtain copies, update, correct or request that we suppress or delete any of the information we hold about you or if you require further information from us about how we use your information please contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com. In some jurisdictions, you may be charged a reasonable fee for access to your information.
- Contact Information
If after reviewing this Notice, you have any questions or privacy concerns please send an email to email@example.com or send a letter to:
9998 North Michigan Road
Carmel, IN 46032
Attn: Legal Privacy
Notice to California Residents
If you are a resident of California, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 allows you to request information regarding the disclosure of your personal information by us to third parties for the third parties' direct marketing purposes. With respect to these entities, this Notice applies only to their activities within the State of California. To make such a request, please contact us at email@example.com.
- Effective Date: April 1, 2015
- Last Updated Date: July 18, 2016


text:
- Designer
- papab30
- Date
- January 15, 2005
- Likes
- 2
- Downloads
- 9,752
- Views
- 6,745
Designer Notes
Design Comments
25 Nov 2006 22:22pm PST
Comments 1
Thank you PapaB30, I was looking for a simple design using orange and gray, that I could use to get a site up quickly, you will see this in a few days at netyourjob.com.
My main change to the design was to knock back the blue background to Alice Blue, because I felt it made the gray body text stand out a little better.
Thanks a Million for a Great Design!!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Some 59% of Swiss households were rentals in 2015, according to the most recent figures. The average monthly rent across the country came in at just over CHF1,300 ($1,395).
The numbers were released on Monday by the Federal Statistical Office and reflect the situation at the end of 2015, when 2.1 million rented accommodations were recorded.
The regions with the highest proportion of renting were the urban cantons of Basel City (83%) and Geneva (78%). At the other end of the scale came Valais and Jura, with 38% each.
+ Read more about the system of housing in Switzerland
In terms of prices, the net monthly average in 2015 came in at CHF1,306. The cantons of Zug, Schwyz and Zurich were the most expensive; Jura, Neuchâtel, and Glarus were cheapest (see chart).
|The statistical office also clarified that about half of such rentals (according to 2017 figures) involved private individuals and families. The other half were leased by public authorities, businesses, apartment associations and other groups.
Above all, the numbers show that Switzerland continues to be a land of renters. According to corresponding Eurostat figures for 2015external link, no country in the European Union has such a high proportion of renters as opposed to home owners.
In every one of the 28 EU member states, owner-occupied dwellings outnumbered rentals.
In non-EU Switzerland, barriers to home ownership such as high prices and steep mortgage requirements have prevented many from climbing onto the property ladder.
Average Rent in CHF per Canton, 2015
Tags: Business,newslettersent


text:
Wait... What? Clem has probably received that and more. I just looked on one of his blogs at the October monthly news and he received $6,448 last month, and that is just the amount from individuals donating and does not take into account any sponsorships/advertisers/partnerships that he might be receiving money from. Obviously, the figure was just last month's total and other months might have been greater or lesser - but dividing $100K by $6,448 gives the answer of 15.5(08etc.) months to collect $100K (and, again, there may be other sources of income).snoopi wrote:$100,000 and six months we could give Apple a run for their money and six months later MS.
OtOH, Clem has already "given Apple/Microsoft a run for their money," lol. Haven't you seen his distro ?


text:
72 Cell
Monocrystalline Module
Power output range
Maximum Efficiency
Power output tolerance
The high-performance solar solution
The TALLMAX M Plus monocrystalline module offers high-output performance for ground-mount installations. Available with industry-leading 1500V UL/IEC rating, the TALLMAX M PLUS is perfect for solar projects with limited acreage, as its top-end efficiency and high power density is built to maximize energy output in limited space while withstanding challenging environmental conditions.
A powerful and reliable product for large-scale systems
A partner you can count on
Your solar project is an investment that will span decades. At Trina Solar, we offer an industry-leading Limited Manufacturer's Warranty for 25 years on a linear degradation schedule. Bloomberg New Energy Finance ranked Trina Solar as one of the world's most bankable solar panel manufacturers, recognizing our reliability as a sound investment partner. From simple beginnings in China, Trina Solar now has a global footprint in more than 30 countries, with offices throughout the world.


text:
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the reply by the real Minister of Justice. But I must regret the lack of insight in his answer, which lead to my supplementary question.
Because two out of three Canadians are opposed to reopening the constitution, will the Minister of Justice admit that the only true path to change for Quebecers is the sovereignty of Quebec?


text:
Hey Disruptors!
It's time for another round of Appreciate a Female Comic! This time, I'm super excited to highlight the awesome magnificence of Kate McKinnon. An alum of Upright Citizens Brigade and the Big Gay Sketch Show, she's currently rocking out as
my favorite human the first out lesbian cast member of Saturday Night Live.
I love her not only because she gives me happy squirmy feelings but because she is a brilliant character actor as well. For your viewing pleasure, here's a video of her on the Ellen Show impersonating Ellen Degeneres. Try not to squee at your desk.
Watch her majestic impressions of Billie Jean King on SNL. Watch her (NSFW!) turn as a disgruntled sex ed teacher for UCB. Love her always. Happy watching, y'all!


text:
8179 words written to date !
Remember though, that this is a work of fiction, written on the fly, with no research, no editing, no polishing. And certainly no skill, LOL ! I just want to see if I can do it :-)
All I am hoping is that by the end of the month, I will have completed 50 000 words which I can then use as a basic first draft for refining into a readable format.
I have a sneaking suspicion that writing it will be the easy part. Editing it so it makes sense and won't bore people to death is going to be far more difficult.........


text:
…but also this is an old Miami beach hotel….
Continue reading Ritz Carlton – South Beach – 5 stars …great location..
Reviews of different hotels i´ve stayed at.
…but also this is an old Miami beach hotel….
Continue reading Ritz Carlton – South Beach – 5 stars …great location..
.."a home"…and this is what they are aiming to achieve.
Continue reading Ett Hem – Stockholm – 5 stars – The name means…
..newly opened and just fits in perfectly in Vienna.
Continue reading Kempinski Palais Hansen – Vienna – 5 stars – Elegance in a nut shell
..in this unique hotel in Bratislava. The hotel is branded Kempinski and you see that in ever small detail, especially in the service and attention to details.
Continue reading Kempinski River Park – Bratislava – 5 stars – Elegance meets modern..
…with elegance and style.
Continue reading Star Hotel Savoia Excelsior Palace- Trieste, Italy – 4 star – Beauty by the sea..
..after a day in Machu Pichu.
Continue reading Belmond Palacio Nazarenas – Cusco, Peru – 5 star – Perfect retreat…
It is the only real five star hotel in Stockholm. Do you want style, elegance, comfort, position and most of all service then Grand Hotel Stockholm is your obvious choice. Continue reading Grand Hotel – Stockholm, Sweden – 5 star – Classy style…


text:
In the world dominated by international technology, to get your business at a global level, it is important to focus on local market first. Our Local SEO service will promote your products and services in all the places so you don't miss out on a notable amount of sales and clientele in the local market.
Adio functions to help your e-commerce firm increase your label's visibility across the sector in the shortest period of time. We have helped many small startups in becoming a well-established e-commerce site ranking in the top position of SERPs. Our approach can be customized according to your needs.
Adio has a savvy team that compiles all the SEO strategies to increase your visibility among the other huge firms. We use beyond conventional technical SEO services and analyze your competitors, connect Social, PRs and content marketing for your enterprise-level website.
Every business, whether small-scale or large-scale, needs growth in the market. SEO Services are wonderful if you want your business' visibility and branding.
Adio Brand Solutions clearly understands your business requirements well and thus concentrate on creating an effective SEO policy that plays a crucial role in the online success of a business and contributing to top rankings on search engines result page, like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. We also help with the branding of the company as well. Being the best digital company, it always strives hard to offer the best SEO services to the clients as per their demands. When you choose Adio, you get to pick your SEO services that meet up with your requirements to accomplish your business or your campaign goals and when we successfully reach your goal, we feel like we have received an award for providing the best SEO services in Delhi & in India. We are a team of highly qualified SEO professionals that promises to give your website an advanced interface and makes it quite user-friendly.
Local SEO Services are executed to expand your business and drive customers from the local market.
Get to your deserved rank on search engines with our Enterprise SEO Services.
E-commerce SEO Services help to increase your label's visibility across the congested sector.
Content Marketing helps to meet your business objective and align with your target audience's quest.
Get an insight of how much traffic is coming to your site and how that traffic is getting there.
If your website faced a drastic drop in Google rankings, GRS will help you to regain your position.
SEO audit comes in a diverse level of complexity and detail. A website audit SEO service helps to address on-page issues such as lack of content, missing titles and much more. Our SEO audit services will provide the full report of your website and provide you with the solutions that can help you improve your online presence. Our team search for on-page and off-page issues that do not let you perform well on search engines.
Search engine optimization can be defined as the process of implementing the relevant modifications that are highly suggested by an SEO audit. In this SEO service, our professionals address a variety of basic elements such as headings, content, page titles, and content organization. When it comes down to On-page SEO, we use the results of a detailed website SEO audit and then monitor the results in order to guide the changes on-going to the on-page optimization.
Adio Brand Solutions, the leading SEO Company in Delhi specializes in off-page SEO service that will help you improve your website ranking on the search engine results page. We focus on building and gaining high-quality links with a fresh content in a way that increases the authority as well as promote your website. Our team makes diverse result oriented off-page SEO strategies that are relevant to your business and its objectives.
One of the most important aspects of search engine industry, link development is crucial and a timing consuming process as well. But, at Adio Brand Solutions, we promise you to deliver the best SEO service. Our team of professional experts aims to make Adio the best SEO Company in India and therefore focus on providing the best SEO services. We emphasize more on quality rather than quantity links; thus we make sure that quality link should develop that can pamper your business to a great extent. We understand the fundamentals of link building based on good quality.
Code Optimization is a service that includes a revamp of your website. We offer code optimization services in order to alleviate code-clutter and at the same time, presenting your content in a very understandable format. Furthermore, this SEO service also helps to reduce the loading time of your website pages so that the search engine crawlers don't need to wait for long hours while your page loads.
SEO content development is the method of creating top-notch website content that comes in diverse forms, such as essays, research documents, tutorials, articles, PDF's, glossaries, etc. To get content development service for your business, it is important to consult the best SEO service provider in Delhi. At Adio Brand Solutions, we understand the importance of quality content. Thus, our certified writers offer the best quality content that helps to augment your SEO rankings to an apex level. Depending on your niche, we provide content that suits best for your business.


text:
I'm trying to understand an implementation detail of Apple's data protection in iOS: I know about the per-file encryption and the various key encryption classes and keybags; however, I don't understand how that works for file transfer over USB (e.g. for iTunes backups).
When backing up data to iTunes over USB, does the iOS device decrypt the file internally, or is it sent in its encrypted form, and iTunes performs the decryption (using the various class keys contained in the Escrow Keybag)?
The former possibility seems more plausible, since in newer versions of iOS, the Escrow Keybag is supposedly encrypted with a key only known to the iOS device, so I suspect that the procedure looks something like this:
- The host authenticates to the iOS device with its host key
- The host transfers the encrypted Escrow Keybag to the iOS device
- The iOS device decrypts the Escrow Keybag, thereby gaining access to the class keys of all security classes without the user having to unlock the device
- iTunes requests some files for backup purposes, writes others to synchronize music etc, and all encryption and decryption happens on the iOS device, using the keys provided by the Escrow Keybag.
Can anybody confirm that, or point out where I am mistaken?


text:
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
Position Title: Sr. Mechanical Engineer
Position Type: Contract (anticipate 6 – 9 months)
Work Location: Pittsburgh, PA (eastern suburbs)
Salary Range: Depends on Experience
Industry Type: Medical Device
Primary Skills Required: Working knowledge of plastic part design, molding, processing, bonding, etc. required
Experience: Minimum 7 years design experience, 10+ preferred
Education: B.S. in Plastics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering Technology (or equivalent), M.S. preferred
Primary Duties: responsible for designing and testing custom plastic/disposable medical devices (i.e. syringes, tubing sets, connectors, components etc.). Design efforts will be carried out in a cross-functional, multi-disciplinary team environment.
Required Skills:
- Experience designing complex plastic parts for high-volume manufacture required
- Knowledge of engineering grade materials required
- Experience in generating product requirements and translating requirements to design concepts and functional prototypes preferred
- Test method development preferred
- Experience with fluid dynamics and sealing preferred
- Team player, self-motivated, self-directed, high performer, strong written/verbal communication skills required
- Working knowledge of FEA, MFA, ProE, Ansys, Abaqus, MoldFlow, etc. preferred
- Medical device experience preferred
- Experience with plastic component/device failure analysis preferred
- Knowledge of statistical analysis techniques preferred
Contact us for more information on the specific client and more details on the product and the position.
Interested candidates should send their resume to email@example.com


text:
How Much Does It Cost for Microdermabrasion? Smooth Skin That's Worth It.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Shine bright like a diamond at a fraction of the price! With Microdermabrasion, eliminate dull, lacklustre skin caused by the daily accumulation of stress, pollutants and dead skin cells. What is Microdermabrasion and What Does It Do? Microdermabrasion is a non-invasive treatment that deeply exfoliates the skin and


text:
I believe in Playgrounds
Entering an imaginary world with dragons, sinking ships, and oceanic floors my sister, Alex, and I would race through the gates of the Putnam Ave Playground. Escaping the sudden shift of our family life, we would journey to a place where only kids were welcome, NO ADULTS! The park was heaven. There was no fighting, no sadness, no change, just my best friend, confidant, and only sibling.
I can remember the freedom of swinging, with the wind rushing through my hair, my stomach dropping like I was on a roller coaster, just awaiting the thud of the pavement beneath my feet. The tire swings provided the perfect boat. The wood chip filled ground the perfect ocean. My sister would suddenly transform into the sea captain, and I the crew member. The boat rocking rapidly back and forth mimicked a terrible hurricane. Fear of being lost at sea was our only concern, the single option: jump ship. Of course, we couldn't fall into the treacherous ocean. We had to improvise! Suddenly, the boring red slide transformed into a sleek burgundy dragon, and we were rescued. We leapt onto its scaly back and climbed up its jagged surface to the refuge of land.
For hours we would envision different creatures from fairy tales, and dangerous situations causing us to rush to shelter. Our minds were not focused on our home life, but rather the new world we would create. When things were stressful , Al and I would journey to the park. However, remembering these fantasy filled days makes me wonder where my playground is now? Where is my safety zone, sanctuary, and place of escape? As a young adult, I miss the park. Caught up in the rush of work, school, and resume boosting activities, I yearn for the freedom I once felt on the playground. I miss my imagination and careless behavior.
Things are now cast in a different light from when I was a seven year old. I don't see the slide as a dragon, or the ground as an ocean, but I have come to appreciate other aspects of the park. Walking through the squishy grass filled areas, or swinging until I think I will literally fly over the structure, I take the time to slow down. The park helps me to stay balanced, and not become swept up in the petty stresses of life. It provided a second home for my sister and I, and made those troubling years much more enjoyable. I know that I will always have somewhere to turn to for peace and comfort, and to remember the wonderful memories of childhood. This I believe in the power of playgrounds.


text:
RANGEMASTER PROP60NGFSSC Professional Plus 60cm Gas Cooker with Double Oven, 4 burners, Finished in Stainless Steel ****** Professional + 60 ****** For a professional look with a more contemporary finish, this compact cooker comes in stainless steel or black and also offers all-gas or electric fuel options. Clean lines and geometric styling give this design a sleek, modern feel. * Clock and timer – keep an eye on cooking times with the smart LED display and minute minder. Our all-electric models also feature a programmable main oven. * Rotary controls – the new 60cm collection also comes with scaled down versions of the much-loved Rangemaster control knobs for ease of use and a professional finish. * Oven doors – each model has its own distinctive door design with a rectangular or baker-style window to enable you to check the progress of your dish. * Handles – hardwearing anodised handles come with a chrome-plated cover for a sleek look that's durable too. There are classic roll styles and long, linear bar handles depending on model chosen. * Oven cleaning – cleaning the oven is such a chore, so to make life simpler, our 60cm range comes with catalytic liners in the top and bottom cavities. * Bottom oven cavity – there are 10 conventional cooking temperature settings in the bottom oven cavity, perfect for baking, roasting and even slow cooking with the special slow cook level. * Gas hotplate – for a professional look and easy-clean finish, the single pressed enamelled hotplate can hold a 1-litre spill and features four gas burners with cast iron pan supports. * Griddle – the all-gas collection also boasts a half smooth, half ribbed non-stick griddle for sizzling stir-fries, seared salmon, seafood and steaks or even a weekend fry-up. * Gas hob with 4 burners: 1 x 3.8KW, 2 x 1.75KW, 1 x 1KW * Cast iron pan supports * Flame failure safety device * Sit-on half ribbed half smooth griddle * Top oven: Capacity 17 litres * Conventional gas oven and 2.2KW grill * Main oven: Capacity 41 litres * Conventional gas oven * 10 temperature settings * Slow cook facility * Interior light * LED display * Minute minder * Cook and clean catalytic oven linings (both ovens) * Dimensions: Width 596mm Depth 598mm Height (up to hotplate) 895mm
Specification: Rangemaster PROP60NGFSSC (10728) Professional Plus 60cm Gas Cooker, Stainless Steel
|Product Category


text:
Bleach 429-430
[scanlation by Binktopia]
(429) That's a little too uncomfortably tsundere, Ichigo.
With Karin having already established her relevance in this arc, Yuzu stakes her own claim, by… revealing a good test score. Actually, if she is to be involved in any real capacity, I'd prefer for her to stay cheerful, at least on the surface. Bleach is at its worst when all its characters are intensely angst-ridden, so even if Yuzu follows up her spirited boasting with a moment of concern, her initial cheerfulness is hugely appreciated.
This business with Inoue and Ishida sensing some disturbance in Ichigo's Force is treading a fine line as Kubo attempts to sensibly reestablish Ichigo as a dominant protagonist. Despite major character flaws and poor storyline choices involving her in the past, I really hope for Orihime to get the bulk of the focus here. The rivalry between Ichigo and Ishida is best suited to playful, comedic school scenes; their relationship in serious scenes is too distant, sometimes inappropriately sarcastic, and it always drags the story down. Granted, Orihime has made more than her fair share of negative contributions to the story, but her character is multi-faceted enough to be appropriate in both comedic and dramatic scenes, and she seems to be the better option to transition the main group back to serious plot.
On a completely different note, what the hell is wrong with the art lately? Non-backgrounds and white space-attacks aside, post-timeskip Bleach chapters have looked like they were fashioned from static.
So much for Inoue being the impetus for Ichigo to take action. Instead, Uryuu had to go and get his arm blown off. For all my criticism and wariness about the inevitable return to serious plot, I have to say that I'm pleased with the layout of the last two pages of this chapter. The panel structure and the dichotomy between the situations of Ichigo and Ishida was handled effectively. I can only offer so much praise, though, because that purported business card bears a slogan that is laughably juvenile. It doesn't look like much of a business card, either, actually. It looks more like a credit card.
(430) These first couple pages of Orihime swooning over her fantasy version of Ichigo are very amusing and outright enjoyable, but that enjoyment is short-lived, as she must return her thoughts to more serious matters. Kubo clearly has the comic timing, fashion sense, style, and suitably interesting character quirks to put together a good (likely romantic- or school-) comedy series. It's such a pity he's doing this instead.
Uh… just because Ichigo didn't come to dinner immediately does not mean he must be masturbating. I just want to put that out there.
The reappearance of Ryuuken would seem to reaffirm the importance of Isshin in this arc, as well as perhaps that entire older generation. Even if more characters aren't involved, though, the rivalry between Ryuuken and Isshin is enough to propel the story forward at this point. Bringing him back into the fold was a good choice.
Introducing a substance similar to (yet decidedly different from) Reiatsu may feel like a pretty cheap attempt at variety, but that introduction is redeemed by Ryuuken's excellent direct approach. For once, the audience isn't being led around with vague allusions and half-truths; Ryuuken is calmly, even bluntly stating the facts, and furthermore offering his own reasonable hypotheses as to who is responsible for harming Ishida and what can be expected in the near future. His straightforward demeanor is exactly what this scene required.
Analyzing Ryuuken's hypothesis itself, it would be immensely pleasing for this arc to center around the core group of human characters. The mere mention of Chad is promising, as he has never gotten development remotely befitting of a character as comparatively interesting as he is. Hopefully, the focus will remain on him, along with Ichigo, Inoue, Ishida, and the Kurosaki family, rather than involving too many new faces or Soul Society rehashes.
Ichigo struggling with an overwhelming sense of powerlessness is enjoyable to watch, not in a sadistic way, but as a character examination. Unfortunately, we're treated only to a handful of panels highlighting this internal strife before he decides to rely on the aid of a complete stranger. I understand the notion that Ichigo is desperate to save his friends, and that he's prepared to do anything for that cause, but I feel that he was far too quick to turn to the Xcution business card. Whether this is a criticism of Ichigo's weakness as a character or Kubo's weakness as an author, I'm not entirely certain. Perhaps both are to blame.
Final Flash: While I'm still far from thrilled at the prospect of dramatic plot, this transition has been handled about as well as it could have. Ryuuken's appearance and dialogue was the standout section from this two-chapter stretch.
Bleach 427-428 (plus special chapter)
[scanlation by Binktopia]
(427) I'm still put off by everyone's uniforms looking like they're sewn from white noise.
In a turn both unsurprising and unfortunate, Ishida silently admits to himself that Ichigo still has an aura reminiscent of Reiatsu, though he should have none. There has been no doubt that the series would soon leave behind lighthearted school life and return to Soul Society-style action, but this still feels too soon. The last few chapters have taken huge positive strides away from the dull, uncreative "one-up" action of the last few years, and there's still plenty of life left in this kind of a plot line.
The cover page is Inoue licking frosting off of her face? Come on, Kubo. Leave fanservice to the harem series.
Not all food is bad, though; that ramen looks delicious.
Ichigo's possessiveness towards his "break room" is a great little moment of comedy.
Ikumi's flushed stutter over being called "sis" is cute. She brings excellent levity to this series.
This Lucci-lookalike is after information on Ichigo's dad. That's pretty depressing, as it's exactly the kind of storyline to being out the unpleasantly serious side of Ichigo, as well as just generally adding angst to the overall plot. The less drama this series presents, the better.
Ichigo "shouldn't know a thing about [his] family," no less. I can't help but let out a long, exasperated sigh. Here comes the tedium.
As if this situation wasn't serious enough, Karin is at Urahara's shop, with a completely dour look on her face. I was ready for her to be a part of the main plot, but I was hoping for something a bit more cheerful.
(428) The color pages are rather unimpressive. There's a rough, sloppy quality to them that just isn't pleasing to the eye.
Between Izumi supporting her own chest with crossed arms in the last chapter, and gracelessly leaning over the table in this one, it's becoming exceedingly clear that her primary function is "doujin fodder." The point has been made, Kubo; please back off a little.
Mr. would-be Lucci urges Ichigo to go to Urahara's shop, and ominously hints that Ichigo will see something amusing there. Deliberately vague characters like this are so frustrating. If this character knows everything that's going on, what's so impossibly difficult about merely letting Ichigo in on the secret? Instead, the protagonist has to be sent off on a wild goose chase. This instance is just one of an endless string of intentionally vague characters, so I don't blame Kubo any more than other authors for pulling this stunt, but given how ineffective this trick is, I also don't blame him any less.
Introducing new characters by merely saying their name is a surefire way to lose my interest. Riruka and Kutsuzawa could yet turn out to be decent, but there's nothing exciting about their names, so why highlight their introduction so heavily?
Then again, they might not turn out to be too decent, if their opening dialogue is any indication. What a predictable exchange.
Is Kutsuzawa going to end up being the brother of the mustached man working at Urahara's shop? Everyone knows mustaches are a genetic trait, after all.
Urahara's cheerful tone is unbelievably irritating when there's an obvious serious subtext being avoided. If he was just a cheerful character, I wouldn't mind, but the whole "smiling face, serious personality" persona has not only been done before, but it's been done considerably better.
Karin's short response to the mention of her brother could belie some feelings of resentment, which could provide an opportunity for character growth. Unfortunately, it also provides an opportunity for considerable drama.
On the other hand, Karin shows some admirable determination, in deciding that it's "her turn" to take care of Ichigo. I cannot overstate how much I hope she develops enough to be able to do so, rather than serve as yet another damsel in distress.
After another insipid "how much do you really know?!" remark, fake-Lucci finally introduces himself as Kuugo Ginjou, and the chapter abruptly ends, despite a notable lack of content.
(Hell Arc special chapter) What's with the first page of this chapter? Is Kubo offering me options for background of the week?
Oh boy, Espada. We certainly didn't get enough of them for years.
Szayel's interrogation of this new character is a little bizarre.
I can't appropriately describe how hilarious I find Shuren's underlings. I've sat here for minutes trying to write punchlines severe enough for how poor those character designs are, but no one-liner can possibly do them justice. How utterly laughable.
After a complete non-fight, Shuren teases the plot of the movie by alluding to Ichigo being required to open the gate of Hell. As if I needed a reason to avoid a Bleach movie, this has cemented that I'll keep my distance.
Final Flash: A rather lackluster series of chapters. The canon story is heading in a fairly dull direction, but it's still passable; it's certainly average at worst. The bonus chapter, while substandard, can't be judged too harshly, as it is entirely a movie tie-in.
Bleach 426
[scanlation by Binktopia]
I'm really enjoying the humor in Ichigo's abrupt, jerky movements lately. A couple chapters ago, he intercepted Keigo with a deadpan headlock; here, he flies in from off-screen and shoves one of the delinquents' heads to the ground. This is effective communication through artwork, which is something I never would have been able to say about Kubo before the timeskip.
The obnoxious intruder is nonchalantly eliminated by both Ichigo and Ishida, and his now-removed teeth serve as the backdrop for the chapter number. That was clever.
Good dichotomy established by Kubo, as the competitive relationship between Ichigo and Ishida is played out through dialogue while the art shows them cooperating to rid themselves of the intruders. It's nothing new, but considering Kubo's questionable writing talent, there's no shame in relying on established plot devices.
I actually had to look up who Yoko-chin is, and even after that I don't really have strong memories of his involvement, but the punchline he delivers about Ichigo's obvious flashback was worth bringing him back. Good comedy in the first half of the chapter.
This random lady is Ichigo's boss? What excellent news! Ichigo working for someone other than Urahara further distances him (and the overall story) from boring Shinigami plot.
Oh dear, another small group of people that performs assorted tasks for those who require assistance? If there was such a thing as a reasonable limit on this kind of plot device, then Jump would have long since exceeded it, what with Gintama, Sket Dance, and Medaka Box.
Ikumi has a son. Not only does he provide a nice (if easy) little piece of comedy, but he immediately makes Ikumi's introduction one of the most successful and interesting in the entire series.
Our Rob Lucci lookalike makes his grand entrance, but pleasingly, his menace is tempered by the fact that he has oddly brought a bowl of ramen to Ichigo's workplace. This scene isn't perfect (there's still no excuse not to draw backgrounds, especially indoors, when it could just be a wall), but it's much better than I would have expected of this character's return.
Final Flash: We still have yet to truly establish a sense of direction since the timeskip, but I'm not complaining about that. This was good comedy and acceptable seriousness.
Bleach 425
[scanlation by Binktopia]
It's official: Ichigo dreams about Renji. I can hear the fanfiction community in a stir already.
Great start to the chapter. This kind of comedy feels right at home with Kubo's style. I've often said that I'd love for Bleach to be canceled and for Kubo to turn around and write a school comedy, but if he can just make this series take itself less seriously, the remaining few years will be satisfactory.
Ichigo became a mercenary? This is pretty funny stuff. Settling on the soccer club gives the story a great opportunity for more comedy. The further away we're taken from huge swords and ridiculous plot twists, the better.
It's even a pleasure to see Inoue, who, between being revered as an idol and exiting the school from the second story, has shown more charisma and likability than in all 424 previous chapters combined.
Ichigo's phone call, seemingly to Kisuke, could serve as the bridge back to Soul Society-related plot. I sincerely hope it doesn't, and that whoever Ichigo (and Inoue and Tatsuki?) works for leads to new, more interesting responsibilities in the real world.
These punks blocking the gate provide exactly the kind of low-level conflict worth our time, and the way Ishida intervenes is a perfectly suitable combination of aggression and comedy. I don't know what long-time Bleach fans make of this, but as someone disgusted with where the manga went over the last two or three years, I find this new direction (however temporary it might be) welcome and enjoyable.
Final Flash: Easily the best Bleach chapter in years. My experience with post-Future Arc Reborn is keeping my excitement limited, as Kubo could drop a Hollow in the middle of all this at any time, but so far the timeskip has worked wonders.
Bleach 424
[scanlation by Binktopia]
That Jump cover… wow. Don't look excited to be back or anything, Ichigo.
Ichigo… Ichigo! Good morning, Ichigo! Come on, sleepy head! Get up! (Does anyone not think of this when an opening scene shows a character waking up?)
The color scheme of the cover spread and the liveliness of Ichigo's house are evocative of the old Bleach, from way back at the beginning of the series. Let's hope Kubo felt nostalgic about quality, too.
There's been a timeskip, apparently. Hmm… a timeskip… haven't some other series done that?
Joking aside, this timeskip has the potential to be the most story-relevant and meaningful of the Big 3. Unlike the other two, Bleach has the chance to completely change its tone and direction. The story is as close to a blank slate as any series could be after 400 chapters. Will Kubo actually opt to go down a different path? Probably not, but the option is there, should he want to be adventurous and make these next few years worth something. Frankly, even if he sent the story in a new direction and produced a story as lifeless as what we've suffered through for the last few years, Kubo would deserve immense respect just for breaking convention and not relying on established success.
Of course, I don't see any of that happening, but I want to remember this moment as the fork in the road before Kubo steered us right back into the ditch.
Ichigo told Chad and Inoue (among others) what happened while he was sleeping? That's so many levels of bizarre. What were you doing sleeping around a whole bunch of people? Why can you sleeptalk so accurately? (EDIT: The Binktopia translation has since been corrected, to Chad and Inoue themselves telling the others while Ichigo was sleeping.)
I hope the mention of Karin's improvement and increased responsibility is more than just a casual aside. The main cast needs to be shaken up, and not only Karin would be a bright addition, but such a move would fulfill some plot potential from early in the series.
Ishida running in the hallways, presumably to take care of a Hollow, presents another interesting storyline possibility: Ichigo, now powerless, faces an identity crisis as he tries to leave his previous fame and importance behind him. As his former colleagues and allies continue to fight, Ichigo fights against the depression naturally associated with his irrelevance. Once again, do I see this happening? Certainly not, but I can dream.
Ichigo shooting down any semblance of loneliness or dependence on his now-former life is disappointing. I'm not asking for Bleach to suddenly turn into an emotional, introspective work, but a little character emotion outside of "callous shonen hero" would do a world of good.
At least Kubo hasn't failed to remember that Ichigo is still a very fit young man. Chasing down a thief is a bit of a cliché, but compared to the gigantic attacks from the last few years of Bleach, I'll gladly take any semblance of subtle, subdued action.
There I was, about to compliment Kubo on his art, for angling the "camera" below the bag so that the zipper also somewhat looks like a scary set of jaws… when the full-page shot of this mystery character reveals that Rob Lucci is now making cameo roles.
Final Flash: A completely acceptable chapter, but nothing actually happened, so that isn't saying much. The "new," post-timeskip Bleach will be judged more fairly when the real action resumes.
Bleach 423
[scanlation by Binktopia]
It's too early to see Aizen again. No one misses him, nor does anyone miss the plot that accompanied him.
Aizen's sentence being raised from 18.800 years to a tidy and convenient 20,000 years is amusing. It's also reminiscent of Hayate no Gotoku!, when it's decided that Hayate's debt of 156,804,000 yen is too difficult to say, so it's rounded… up.
Yamamoto is alive. Huh. Ukitake's comment that Yamamoto is currently irreplaceable speaks strongly to why he's been kept alive; it was the easy way out for Kubo to keep Yamamoto alive, rather than deal with the serious scenario of a power vacuum in Soul Society. Unfortunately, in this case, the easy way out is also the less interesting option.
One chapter of Kurotsuchi and he's already gone off to do more research. I suppose that fits his character, though.
Seeing Hitsugaya train reminds me that I probably would rather see more Aizen than more of this whiny little nobody. It's not the fact that he's the de facto Bleach female fanservice character; it's that all his popularity-driven focus has produced absolutely no results. He's still the same useless character who can't protect one (incredibly irritating) little girl.
Matsumoto has every reason to feel sad. Her love was killed off for absolutely no good reason.
Ichigo is taking his loss of Shinigami powers in surprisingly good stride, which itself is a little upsetting.
The scene between Ichigo and Rukia, who is already fading away from Ichigo's awareness, is rather well done. How Ichigo recovers from this will be crucial; if he continues to take it in stride like nothing has happened, it will feel like all the time spent on the Soul Society characters (Rukia in particular) was wasted, but similarly, Kubo can't have Ichigo go too far in the other direction and be overly dramatic. This kind of storyline requires the kind of delicate balancing of a character's emotions that I don't have the confidence in Kubo to be able to pull off properly.
Final Flash: Why can't Bleach just end right here? This would be fine.
Bleach 422
[scanlation by Binktopia]
Kurotsuchi Mayuri? Characters laughing? Apparently Aizen died last chapter. That could have been made a little more clear.
The Visored are here, too, as well as Unohana. This is like a casting call for anyone more tolerable than the characters we've had to endure for the last year.
Leave it to Kubo to make even his most interesting characters boring. Why don't we get to see everything that happened with Zaraki and Byakuya? Certainly, that would have been far and away more exciting than watching Aizen turn into a butterfly and yell at people.
Judging by the non-Deicide title, I guess Aizen really is dead. What a completely anticlimactic end to the arc. That's rather pathetic, really.
Ichigo being excited at the prospect of explaining everything to his friends is fine. Good, even. It's long been obvious that he was up to something; he might as well ditch the secret identity facade. On the other hand, Ichigo showing sadness when thinking of Aizen is absolutely infuriating. This trend of obviously evil characters later being redeemed must stop. Let evil characters stay evil! Kubo lessens the impact of Aizen's defeat by writing him as someone misunderstood, and any status that Ichigo gained by having a hand in Aizen's demise is now lost. Besides, what message is Kubo sending readers by doing this? "You wasted the last few years following this guy as your villain, because he wasn't that bad after all."
Ichigo's pondering of what Aizen could have wanted is even more preposterous. Has everyone, author included, forgotten that the Hougyoku is a plot-rewriting, series-breaking artifact? If all Aizen wanted was to be "just a Shinigami," he could have done that. Absolutely idiotic.
More comparatively acceptable people. I'm having a hard time recognizing this as the same 3-character series I've been reading all year.
Ichigo had a seizure and died! Hooray! Now we can focus on… oh, wait, he's just having some kind of stupid breakdown. Probably something Hollow-related. Cancel the celebrations.
Final Flash: Frustrating as it was, I'll take subtly terrible instead of overtly terrible any day.


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2018-19 News
Athletics Honors 69 Seniors at Annual Senior CelebrationMay 22, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last Thursday, the Catholic University Athletics Department held its annual senior celebration banquet inside the Pryzbyla Center in which it honored 69 seniors, including its six major award winners.
Cardinals Host Sixth Annual Brookland Field DayApril 30, 2019Catholic University student athletes joined forces with Campus Ministry's Brookland Outreach on Sunday, April 28 to host the sixth annual Brookland Field Day at Cardinal Stadium.
Cardinals Finish Seventh at First-Ever MARC ChampionshipsApril 27, 2019LEWISBERRY, Pa. - Highlighted by a second-place finish in the grand final by the second varsity eight, the Catholic University women's rowing team totaled 40 points to finish seventh at the Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (MARC) Championships Saturday at Gifford Pinchot State Park.
Second Varsity Eight Finishes Second at Washington CollegeMarch 30, 2019CHESTERTOWN, Md. - The Catholic University women's rowing team placed second in the second varsity eight petite final at the Washington College Invitational Saturday while the varsity four finished third.
Catholic to Celebrate Eighth Annual Division III Week April 1-7March 29, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic University athletics department will participate in the NCAA's eighth annual celebration of Division III Week April 1-7, 2019. It is an opportunity to recognize the powerful impact of athletics and student-athletes on the campus and surrounding community.
High Winds Cancel Saturday's Rowing Regatta at St. Mary'sMarch 22, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C. - Saturday's men's and women's rowing regatta against St. Mary's (Md.) at the James P. Muldoon River Center has been canceled due to high winds.
Cool Schools Polar Plunge Raises $33,000 for Special OlympicsFebruary 18, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C. – Catholic University head football coach Mike Gutelius was among 120 people, mostly Catholic student-athletes, who participated in the Polar Plunge to support Special Olympics DC. This year's plunge drew 300 pledges and raised $33,464.
Athletics Receives NADIIIAA Community Service AwardJanuary 28, 2019ORLANDO, Fla. - On Saturday, the Catholic University athletics department was honored for its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service as the winner of the National Association of Division III Administrators (NADIIIAA) Community Service Award for On-Going Project category.
Catholic Athletics Participates in MLK Day of ServiceJanuary 22, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C. - Catholic University's 25 varsity teams joined the University community Monday and participated in this year's MLK Day of Service, an annual event in which students honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by doing acts of service for community partners.
Under Armour to be Official Outfitter of Catholic AthleticsJanuary 17, 2019WASHINGTON, D.C. – Catholic University Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Sean Sullivan announced Thursday that the athletics department has entered into a five-year partnership agreement with Under Armour through BSN SPORTS.
Cardinals Take Second Place at Head of the OccoquanNovember 03, 2018FAIRFAX STATION, Va. - Returning to the site of its first-ever competition, the Catholic University women's rowing team finished second in the women's novice eight on Saturday at the Head of the Occoquan in a competition that featured several top teams.
Cardinals Pick Up Win in First-Ever Race at Occoquan ChaseOctober 14, 2018FAIRFAX STATION, Va. - After a year of preparation, the Catholic University women's rowing team finally put in for the first race in program history. On Sunday, the Cardinals had two boats participating in the novice 8+ at the Occoquan Chase, finishing first and third in a race with Mary Washington and Virginia Tech.


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China court to rule on compensation for man jailed for Bo jokePosted: January 31, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, Chinese politics, compensation of illegal imprisonment in labor camp, labor camp, reeducation through labor, rule of law 39 Comments
A Chinese court rules on Thursday whether to award damages to a man who spent a year in a labor camp for an online joke about now disgraced leader Bo Xilai, although experts say compensation, if given, is likely to be low to avoid a flood of new grievances.
Fang Hong, a blogger and former forestry official, said he is demanding 367,000 yuan ($59,000) for psychological suffering after being sentenced in 2011 to a year of re-education in a labor camp at the height of Bo's campaign against organized crime in the city of Chongqing, where he was Communist Party boss.
"Although there is no precedent for this in China, if you want to rule the country according to the law … how else can you provide compensation aside from with money?" Fang said in a telephone interview this week.
His conviction was overturned last year, a few months after Bo was sacked under a cloud of lurid tales of corruption and his wife's murder of a British businessman.
Bo's time in office was marked by popular social projects but also a crackdown on crime overseen by his then police chief Wang Lijun, which won him many fans but also accusations of heavy-handedness and serious miscarriages of justice.
Fang was sentenced for posting a scatological poem mocking Bo and Wang for their abuse of the city's justice system, an egregious example critics say of how Bo stifled dissent.
Fang said he was "not necessarily hopeful" that the court would offer him the full amount, but that he expected some money for damages, based on regulations that allow for meager daily compensation rates for loss of freedom in such cases.
Joshua Rosenzweig, a Hong-Kong-based independent human rights researcher, said the risk of emboldening victims of similar cases made the prospect of a large sum being awarded slim.
"I think it is reasonable to expect that the government might impose some limits on compensation claims to keep a control on the flood gates that might open," Rosenzweig said.
There are no hard and fast figures on the number of cases of legal redress, but more are expected to emerge as Bo's downfall is cemented by his own trial and likely conviction. He was last seen in public last March and is being held in custody.
One prominent lawyer, Chen Youxi, has said over 700 people were convicted as part of Bo's anti-crime gang campaign, including over 70 who were executed.
Hu Cheng, a veteran petitioner who blames Wang Lijun for months of illegal detention after his home was seized by a politically connected developer in Chongqing's Beibei district, said people implicated in Bo's campaign are waiting for his conviction.
"Once they are convinced it is safe, they will come back and demand compensation. It will take years to sort out," Hu told Reuters in Beijing.
Bo, 63, was widely seen as pursuing a powerful spot on the ruling Communist Party's elite inner core before his career unraveled after Wang fled to a U.S. consulate for more than 24 hours last February and alleged that Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, had murdered British businessman Neil Heywood.
Gu and Wang have both since been convicted and jailed.
Fang's case, magnified by the high-profile Bo scandal, also has been used by lawyers and activists in a recent surge of calls for reform to China's re-education through labor system.
The system, in place since 1957, empowers police to sentence petty criminals to up to four years' confinement without going through the courts. China's domestic security head Meng Jianzhu said earlier this month reforms were a priority.
As China's new leaders prepare to take up the reins of state power at the annual meeting of parliament in March, they are likely to face an outcry if attempts to address the claims of wrongful convictions in Chongqing are not perceived as swift and just.
"Re-examining and correcting these cases of miscarriages of justice and informing the people in a timely manner is absolutely necessary for restoring judicial authority and public confidence," said Tong Zhiwei, a law professor at the East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai.
"If these cases aren't handled well, then the people won't have any confidence in the system," he said.
Source: Reuters "China court to rule on compensation for man jailed for Bo joke"
Revealed: emerging trends behind China's anti-corruption drivePosted: January 31, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: anti-corruption drive, China, Chinese politics, corruption, Xi Jinping Comments Off on Revealed: emerging trends behind China's anti-corruption drive
Reblog of Ernest Kao's blog at SCMP on Wednesday, 30 January, 2013,
Since Xi Jinping took the reins as the party chief last year, he has made several pledges to fight corruption in China. Those who don't make the cut, he has stressed, will be purged.
The epic Bo Xilai saga aside, "violations of party discipline" (a fancier name for graft) have so far revolved around many of the same offences, namely embezzlement, bribery, nepotism and abuse of power.
While 2011 was all about misbehaving fuerdai (rich second generation) political brats crashing sports cars, 2012 was all about officials getting grilled for possessing ridiculous amounts of personal assets such as property, money and recently, expensive watches. Fake hukous seem to be the "it" corruption offence of late.
Sex scandals are also on the rise, and because of Sina Weibo, they are becoming increasingly humiliating for exposed officials. China blog Danwei billed 2012 the annus horribilis of the "trial by Weibo" of government officials.
SCMP.com has been tracking mischief on its Corruption Watch since the 18th party congress ended in November. At least four cases of corruption in the last three months involve sex tapes, sexy mistresses or sexed-up photos.
It should come as no surprise then that the Crisis Management Research Centre at Renmin University found that 95 per cent of allegedly corrupt officials kept mistresses.
The study, which analysed the 24 cases of corruption in 2012 that were exposed on the Chinese internet, found several recurring patterns amongst them. Danwei reported:
• Twelve out of 24 were over the age of 50.
• The youngest of the 24 officials was 25 years old, a village official from Sichuan.
• The oldest of the 24 officials was 63, which turned out to be Bo Xilai.
• Eight out of 24 officials were accused of crimes involving women.
• Sixteen of the 24 corrupt officials were implicated on economic crimes.
• The shortest length of time from exposure to dismissal was 12 hours.
• The longest time from exposure to dismissal was 40 days.
• Most of 24 corrupt officials held a rank of party secretary or higher.
The centre's full report was published in the Yanzhao Evening News on Tuesday.
Source: SCMP's Earnest Kao's blog "Revealed: emerging trends behind China's anti-corruption drive"
China to conduct naval drills in Pacific amid tensionPosted: January 31, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, Diaoyu, Japan, maritime territorial dispute, naval drill, PLA, PLA navy, Senkaku, Sino-Japanese relations Comments Off on China to conduct naval drills in Pacific amid tension
Three advanced Chinese warships left port on Wednesday for naval drills and war games in the Western Pacific, and the fleet will likely pass through disputed waters in the East and South China Sea, state media said.
The official Xinhua news agency described the maneuvers as routine, but they come as China is engaged in an increasingly bitter, high stakes dispute over maritime territory with Japan and with several Southeast Asia nations.
"The fleet will carry out more than 20 types of exercises including naval confrontation, battle drills far out at sea, the protection of maritime rights and command and control," Xinhua cited the Defence Ministry as saying in a statement.
"These exercises on the high seas will take in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel and the seas to the east of Taiwan."
President Hu Jintao has made boosting the navy a priority, especially in trying to turn it into a blue-water fleet able to operate far from China's shore, and Chinese ships have participated in anti-piracy missions off Somalia.
But China's growing defence budget, military advances and perceived lack of transparency have alarmed its neighbors and the United States. China is developing stealth fighters and last year launched its first aircraft carrier.
On Sunday, the government said it had again tested emerging military technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air.
China says it has no hostile designs and that it is simply updating its outdated forces.
The Pacific drills are "a normal way of exercising to raise the fighting ability of the navy", Xinhua cited a naval officer as saying, adding that it was common for other navies to drill in seas far from home.
Source: Reuters "China to conduct naval drills in Pacific amid tension"
China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: U.S. envoyPosted: January 31, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, oil, South Sudan, the US, US envoy Comments Off on China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: U.S. envoy
China needs to move beyond a narrow focus on oil issues in South Sudan and help tackle that country's larger political disputes with Sudan, the outgoing U.S. special envoy to the two African states said on Wednesday.
Ambassador Princeton Lyman said he had worked closely with Chinese officials more than two years, during which time South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 to become the world's newest nation.
China is Sudan's biggest ally and is the largest investor in the oil industry there and in South Sudan – a position that Western diplomats say gives Beijing the best chance of defusing tensions between Khartoum and Juba over sharing oil wealth and ending violence on both sides of their shared boundary.
But Lyman said the disputes, which have shut down landlocked South Sudan's oil output, underscore the limits of staying aloof from political problems.
"They have weighed in very significantly on the oil issue. But what China doesn't like to do is to get involved in some of the underlying political problems that are keeping the oil from flowing," he told reporters in Washington.
"Without that stability and (with) the danger of conflict on the border, the chances of having a long-term productive oil sector is threatened, so they can't just concentrate on the oil and just pretend that the other things aren't bearing on it," he said.
China has long held up as its foreign policy mantra non-interference in countries' internal affairs, a principle it first enunciated in 1954 – long before it was an economic power with interests around the globe.
Source: Reuters "China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: U.S. envoy"
Chinese millionaire fights pollution with thin airPosted: January 31, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: air pollution, canned clean air, Chen Guangbiao, China, PM2.5, smog 22 Comments
China's foulest fortnight for air pollution in memory has rekindled a tongue-in-cheek campaign by a multimillionaire with a streak of showmanship who is selling canned fresh air.
Chen Guangbiao, who made his fortune in the recycling business and is a high-profile philanthropist, on Wednesday handed out soda pop-sized cans of air, purportedly from far-flung, pristine regions of China such as Xinjiang in the northwest to Taiwan, the southeast coast.
"I want to tell mayors, county chiefs and heads of big companies: don't just chase GDP growth, don't chase the biggest profits at the expense of our children and grandchildren and at the cost of sacrificing our ecological environment", Chen said.
China's air quality is closely watched as it fluctuates dramatically from day to day but in recent weeks has registered far into the unhealthy zone.
Air pollution is measured in terms of PM2.5, or particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which are absorbed by the lungs and can cause heart and lung disease. The World Health Organisation recommends a daily PM2.5 level of 20 and says that levels greater than 300 are serious health hazards.
Beijing's air quality frequently surges past a level of 500, and on January 12 soared to 755, the highest in memory.
"I go outside, walk for about 20 minutes, and my throat hurts and I feel dizzy", Chen told Reuters in an interview on a busy Beijing sidewalk.
He handed out green and orange cans of "Fresh Air", with a caricature of himself on them saying, "Chen Guangbiao is a good man".
"Be a good person, have a good heart, do good things," reads a message along the bottom of each can.
The 44-year-old entrepreneur, whose wealth is estimated at $740 million according to last year's Hurun Rich List of China's super-wealthy, is an ebullient and tireless self-promoter.
He is something of a celebrity in China, with more than 4 million followers on Sina Weibo, China's most popular Twitter-like microblogging platform.
He concedes that his canned-air effort is tongue in cheek, but says it's a way to awaken people to the importance of environmental protection. His campaign is attracting bemusement but also plaudits from the media and from people desperate to escape the smog.
"Beijing's air really needs to improve, so we need a good man like him to appear," said a 21-year-old resident surnamed Hu. "It reminds people to use less fuel and do what they can for Beijing's air".
The cans of air were free on Wednesday, but usually sell for 5 yuan (80 cents) with proceeds going to poor regions of China, and places of historic revolutionary importance.
Sales, which had been moderate, took off after the recent streak of bad air days, with 8 million cans sold in the last 10 days, Chen said.
Source: Reuters "Chinese millionaire fights pollution with thin air"
Xi says China will not waive its legitimate international rightsPosted: January 30, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, Diaoyu, Japan, maritime territorial dispute, Senkaku, Shinzo Abe, Sino-Japanese relations, Xi Jinping Comments Off on Xi says China will not waive its legitimate international rights
SCMP reports: "Communist Party chief Xi Jinping said China would never waive its legitimate rights on the international stage but vowed that the nation would stick to its peaceful development path.
"Xi made the comment as relations between Beijing and Tokyo remained strained amid a territorial dispute over a group of islands in the East China Sea."
"Speaking at a Politburo study session on Monday, Xi said China would never pursue development by harming other countries' interests, Xinhua reported yesterday.
"Xi added that other countries should also follow this development path.
"'We will never sacrifice our core national interests,' he said. 'No country should presume that we will compromise over our core interests, or that we will swallow the bitter fruit of harming our sovereignty, security or development interests.'"
For details, please visit SCMP website at:
China: Large Number of Corrupt 'Flies' in Hunan, Targets of Xi Jinping's SwattingPosted: January 29, 2013 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: China, Chinese politics, corrupt low official, corruption, Huang Yubiao Comments Off on China: Large Number of Corrupt 'Flies' in Hunan, Targets of Xi Jinping's Swatting
A billionaire real estate tycoon from Hunan province has come forward to reveal that he paid 320,000 yuan ($51,400) in bribes to more than 300 provincial people's congress deputies in a failed attempt to win a seat on the body.
The province's top anti-graft committee had acknowledged that "parts" of the allegations were true, and an investigation was underway, the Guangdong-based Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.
Huang Yubiao, 67, told the South China Morning Post by phone yesterday that officials with the local congress instructed him to bribe the delegates, which he was led to believe would improve his chances of winning a seat on the congress. He said he paid at least 1,000 yuan to more than 300 delegates, but later found out that many recipients did not vote for him.
"The local government threatened me not to make the matter public, and said I could be charged because I bribed public officials," he said. "But I only did that because they told me to in the first place. And they told me the bribe was a 'work expense'."
After losing the election, Huang said, he demanded that recipients of his money refer him via a bank transfer, so he could keep the transactions as evidence. He also said he secretly videotaped those who returned the money to him in person.
The local disciplinary committee and People's Congress representatives could not be reached for comment yesterday. But Lu Qun, deputy director of the Bureau of Corruption Prevention in Hunan, confirmed the investigation on his microblog account and said the results would be made public.
Huang said no one from the local disciplinary watchdog had contacted him since he reported the matter earlier this month.
The tycoon also claimed that some candidates paid 2,000 yuan to each people's congress delegate to win a seat in the election.
Most mainland provinces and cities completed their local people's congress sessions in recent weeks. However, the delegates comprise what is widely considered a ceremonial parliament, as hand-picked delegates are expected to agree with decisions made by the Communist Party.
Huang's bribery allegations have generated much online criticism of the closed-door system used to select congress deputies.
"One has to spend millions of yuan to be elected as a village head, but now this person wants to spend only hundreds of thousands [of yuan] to become a provincial-level congress deputy," lawyer Yuan Yulai joked on his microblog. "How ridiculous is that?"
Source: "Hunan tycoon discloses attempt to buy seat on provincial congress"


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A few days ago I posted this sketch of the local area that will become the Krail's Folly stomping grounds.
I think it's a relatively compelling little map. But powerpoint just sucks as a graphics tool.
Fortunately, I have two other tools at my disposal. ProFantasy's Campaign Cartographer 3, and Fractal Mapper 8.
Unfortunately, I suck at both of them, and need to crawl up the learning curve for both.
So, I will. But I'm also inviting anyone who likes maps to try their hand at it as well, as a fun challenge. I'll post all responses, and ones that particular suit my ideas of the setting can expand on what they did, how they did it, and why in a guest-post. Woo hoo, exciting, eh?
Edit: Luka Rejec dropped by on Google+ and dropped off a link to his work. It's spectacularly good. I was thinking to aspire only to "better than powerpoint," which is a low bar. But if something that cool shows up, well . . . ain't gonna complain now, is I?
Here's a submission by +Jeromy French, who annotates his map as follows:
My idea of a place called Frostharrow should be a more northern area where it can be legitimately cold. Thinking an area enclosed by mountains with a frozen forest sounded cool. I agreed and copied your marsh idea. When I immediately read the word Granite Halls I thought of an abandoned city carved out of stone.
This one has the key geographic features all in a line, instead of demarcating a box within which the adventurers will bounce around. It labels the Granite Halls as a key landmark, and he had the same thought I did about the Gray Marshes: big-ass river flowing through it. This probably means from a crop-growing standpoint that if the PCs at least start from the Marshes and north, they'll have coastline, a breadbasket, and a constant threat from the mountains and hills in the west, assuming that the Granite Halls are still occupied.
That being said, having the Granite Halls be a place instead of a region is really interesting, and bears serious consideration!
Zuke Prime over on Google+ just sent in a new entry, and it's a doozy. He used Campaign Cartographer 3 in black and white mode. It's a very, very pretty map.
I'm brand new to CC3 and mapmaking in general, so this is my official "first attempt." The key to CC3 is working in a logical, layered approach. You always start with the landmass/coastline, then add your significant terrain features, then rivers/lakes. After that you "populate" it with towns and features.The biggest difficulty for me is editing out mistakes and trying to get the right sheet effects to kick in. What I love about CC3 is it allows noobs like me to produce cools maps in minimal time.
However! I'd probably change it a bit in certain ways. I think there's too much forbidding terrain and not enough inherently desirable about the area that adventurers would want to carve out land there. But maybe not. There are a few places on the map that would make great landholdings, and the scale of the place – that bar is 100 miles – means you can get 10,000 square miles of freehold in three different places that aren't swamp or mountains. So perhaps this is just fine. As always, I'll invite him to comment on why he made his map, and in this case, how! That may well be a post of its own, since lessons in CC3 are independently valuable!


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It is our intention, both with our website and this blog, to demonstrate a keen understanding of the investment industry, value investing and the individual needs of investors — regardless of whether or not you are currently a Friedman Investment Group client. We also hope we give you something to think about that you may not have previously considered; and we will continue to share ideas we feel merit attention. Our goal, always, is to help ensure you have the "Freedom to Live Your Life."
Alan Friedman, CIM, FCSI
Senior Portfolio Manager
Investment Advisor
"After more than 30 years in the business I still love what I do; and I still look forward to getting to the office every day. I'm every bit as passionate about sharing all that I've learned (and continue to learn), my perspective and my opinions; and I also look forward to hearing from you."
Terry Fisher, CFA
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Investment Advisor
"For over 40 years, I have been doing research on companies and securities. Even after all these years I still enjoy it; and I agree with Alan, who firmly believes the best way to be comfortable with your portfolio is to know what you own and why."
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"After all my years in the investment industry, I still find myself as enthusiastic a student as I was on my first day. But, what I love most about my job is the relationships I have made with our clients over my 20+ years with the Friedman Investment Group."


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The Oesterreichische Nationalbank or Austrian Central Bank is celebrating its 200 year history.
Its chief Dr Ewald Nowotny gives this interesting speech through the 200 year journey:
Milestone birthdays not only provide an occasion to gather family and friends. They also afford an opportunity to pause for a moment and reflect on one's past as well as one's plans and hopes for the future. The 200-year history of our institution has been eventful, to put it mildly. In its first 100 years, the Nationalbank was the central bank of a major power; in its second 100 years, that of a small open economy in the middle of Europe. The fate of the Nationalbank has always been closely entwined with the fate of Austria, for better and for worse.
Central banks never operate in isolation. The most important lesson to be drawn from our 200-year history is that the greatest threat to financial and monetary stability has been, and still is, war.
In fact, it was the twenty odd years of the Napoleonic wars which stood at the origin of the Nationalbank in 1816, as Austria strove to stabilize a currency which had undergone strong inflation and depreciation.
So the "privileged Austrian central bank" was founded as an independent institution with private shareholders. One of the first shareholders was Ludwig van Beethoven – and just for the record: this turned out to have been a very good investment for him.
🙂 How good was it? Given state of central banks, one wouldn't be surprised if Beethoven would call the investment as profitable but of bad taste…
Rest of the speech is the usual bit on World Wars, European integration and so on. Useful to read..


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How to Create Super Successful Businesses on a Tight Budget
I'm always amazed when I meet a business owner for the first time. Amazed, perhaps more by the fact that the vast majority of these business owners are absolute masters of their craft. I mean I have met people from every field imaginable who knew their trade better than anybody I've ever met.
I see passion in their eyes for what they do. I see people who sacrifice everything in order to produce the best products or deliver the most reliable service in their industry.
And yet, it's these very same people who are just squeaking by financially. It's these same people who are going out of business, barely paying rent, and working unfathomable hours for less than minimum wage!
So why do so many of these masters simply fail? The answer lies in their understanding of the most important segment of the business model, marketing. You see, marketing begins long before the business is opened and continues through until the very last day the business is in operation.
Believe it or not, although they may be the best at what they do, what they lack is expertise in the area of marketing. To most people, marketing is nothing more than a fancy word for sales. To the professional marketer, it's a discipline that requires years of study and even more years of practical application in order to truly capture the essence of the field.
Whenever I take on a new client, what I often find is a that the person is an undisputed master at a certain craft or industry. I mean they know what they are doing and there isn't a soul alive that is going to do it better. In fact, many of the business owners I meet have gone into business simply because they had such incredible talent for their craft. And they simply felt that they could do much better in their own business then they ever could working for a boss that had no respect for their talent!
Great idea… at least in principle. Going out on your own is a fantastic way to take control and do things the way you want to do them. You no longer have to answer to a boss that has no respect for you or your abilities. You no longer have to beg for a raise. Now it's all up to you. The sky's the limit.
I know that feeling well. I have seen so many people go into business for themselves and I have heard the same feelings expressed to me every time. It's a great place to be.
What often happens next is that the business owner will spend a large portion of their investment in getting all the things that they always wished that they had when they were employed. So much of their effort will go into setting up their business, getting all the tools of their craft, and making things look just right that they tend to neglect the most important aspect of all… marketing!
Why I'm so successful at turning virtually any business into a huge success is that the only thing I focus on is marketing! I respect the fact that the business owner is a bonafide master at their craft, and I would never dispute that with anybody. But, I am the master at marketing, which is my craft.
I know the best way to present products and services so that people will want to buy them. I know, often just by listening to the business owner, what's missing in the marketing mix to turn a failing business into a successful one.
Very often I see business owners, masters at what they do, sit there with blank stares on their faces as they wait for the telephone to ring! They sit there with little or no idea of what they can do to bring in more business! When I ask them about it, most will tell me that they have "tried everything" and nothing worked!
I'll just tell them to show me what they've tried. Often times they will pull out a single ad and tell me that they ran it one time in the local paper and they didn't get any orders! Do they ever think to consider some basic variables such as; maybe their offer was wrong, or maybe their headline was weak, or maybe their customers really don't look in that particular publication when they are ready to buy.
My role as a Business Coach is to uncover these omissions and get their marketing programs to work. I grew a business by over 600% in less than 6 months just by making a single change to an ad. Another time, a helped a business grow by more than 300% just by changing the way they had worded a sales letter.
In yet another case, I helped a business sell 50% more to their existing clients just by adding a simple form to each order! What I'm saying is that marketing does not have to be expensive, complicated, or misleading in order to have a massive effect on your bottom line.
I can't tell you just how many times I have helped a business do more business without changing the amount of money they were already investing in advertising. Imagine bringing in more business with the same advertising budget? Am I getting your attention yet? Think about it.
Or imagine being able to substantially grow your business with only a very small investment of time and resources into your marketing program? The truth is that what I am sharing with you here is no accident. These are not isolated cases, or special situations that come about once every ten years.
No, it's about everyday businesses, just like yours, that realized that they didn't know all there was to know about marketing and they got help. I have yet to work with a business that I have not been able to help grow substantially when they have applied what I have shared with them. I believe that I can help any business grow, with two caveats.
First, the business owner has to be willing to admit that they are not masters in the area of marketing. So very often I get calls from business owners who are in need of marketing help and after I agree to help them, they listen, but they'll never act on even one of my suggestions!
In these cases, there is no way that the business will prosper, and I immediately terminate my relationship with them, much to their surprise. You see, I too love to watch a business burst out and become a super success, and I love to work with people who are willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
The second caveat is that the business owner has to be flexible. What that means is that marketing has its roots in the development of the business, so there is always the possibility to make changes to any and every part of the business at any time.
I'm often amazed at how many business owners will allow certain changes but will attach unfounded importance to other things that serve no other purpose other than to hinder sales! I've seen such things as signs that were placed where they were either hard to read or simply interfered with business, or business practices that downright insulted clients!
I've seen so many of these things and it's always interesting to find out why they exist, but it's even more intriguing to find out why they are not changeable! Listen, in business, everything is up for negotiation. If it's not working, change it. If not, it'll cost you. In time, it may even cost you your business, so flexibility is vital.
If it can be improved, it's important to be open to trying a new way of doing things. This is the only way a business grows, by doing something new, or improving upon what they are already doing.
So, if all this is true, then why do so many businesses fail to make the one call that will result in increased bottom-line profits, an improved quality of life, and perhaps even an early retirement… the main reasons we go into business in the first place?
I find most business owners feel that their business is their creation and that they have been under somebody else's rule for years and now it's their turn to make the rules. Listening to another person about what to do is not an easy thing for many business owners to do.
In fact, it's the number one reason that so many businesses fail! They simply fail to realize that there are some things you absolutely must get help with… You wouldn't try to do your taxes without a professional, so why do so many business owners not get professional help with the one thing (marketing) that can make the most difference in their business?
My guess is that many business owners simply think that hiring help in the are of marketing is a major expense. They see the ad campaigns on television and hear that a single ad can cost a million dollars and they get scared.
Well, let me fill you in! The truth is that you can advertise on television for as little as 5 dollars per ad. You can get into the local paper for under $100 and you can hire a Business Coach to help you plan your marketing for less than the cost of lunch for the month!
Yes, it's absolutely true! And, you know what else, those companies that know this are the ones that I was talking about that have grown immensely in a very short period time! It's not because they invested thousands in their marketing.
In fact, that company that grew 600% in less than 6 months is today still spending the exact same amount on advertising as they were before I worked with them! And not one cent more! Yet another company actually reduced their advertising budget from almost one million dollars to just $250,00 and increased their sales 40% in the process!
Still another company I worked with actually cut their advertising budget out altogether and grew 300% in 90 days by selling more to their existing clients!
It's not about how much money you spend. It's about being flexible and realizing that marketing is a domain that must be mastered and it may not be your strong point. So, get help in the area of marketing.
Remember this, marketing is also the only investment you can make that can return not 10%, not 20%, but as much as 5,000% or more! And, the best part is, once you get you marketing down, you can do it over and over and over again… with much the same results every time!
Are you ready to really take your business to the next level and beyond? If so, than all you need to do is contact my office and request your free coaching session. Ask questions, tell me about your business, and I will tell you how I can help you turn your business into a super success… as I have done for so many others over the last decade.