2012年11月19日星期一

Bingo's legacy of helping will live on

The dog whose bark helped save a boy numerous times and was heard around the world may be gone, but thanks to her young master she'll never be forgotten.

Cesar Millan, the famed Dog Whisperer, said just before his show at the MTS Centre Sunday he was so touched by 11-year-old Cole Hein's love for his dog Bingo -- and by the lick-it list the boy came up with to help his dying dog in her last days -- he wanted to meet him and help him.

"I'm absolutely blown away by your story and by your thoughtfulness," Millan said as met Cole and his family, twin brother Eric and parents Mandi and Dwayne.

"What I tell people is to be there for the pack. Your behaviour shows it... I don't know what inspired you to do it, but I'm glad you did.

"You created a beautiful movement. You managed to make the world come to you -- that's leadership.

"And you did it at 11."

Millan said Cole's story touched him so much he wanted to have his charitable organization, the Cesar Millan Foundation, create the Bingo Hein Legacy Fund.Shop for high quality wholesale parking sensor system products on DHgate and get worldwide delivery.

Jillian Dunn, the foundation's executive director, said the fund will help dogs in future by giving them a place to run in an outdoor dog park at a shelter.

Dunn said once the funds are raised,Customized bobblehead made from your own photos, they hope to build several of the dog parks.

"Being outside is a better environment than a cage," she said.

"Adopters can also come and see the dog playing outside. And, if it is a dog's last day, they can at least spend that day outside.

"This is the same idea as Cole's lick-it list."

Cole told Millan his idea for the lick-it list "just popped out of my mind. I was just expecting to complete a few things. I didn't expect to complete all of them."

Bingo was a Jack Russell terrier trained to bark to alert caregivers to resuscitate Cole whenever the child stopped breathing and gave a distinctive gagging noise.

Cole has an undiagnosed apnea-like disorder. The dog saved Cole's life numerous times, but in September she had to be euthanized a few weeks after being diagnosed with canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome.

But before Bingo was put down at 14, Cole came up with a dogs' version of a bucket list, including having people around the world send her treats.

After the Free Press published a story about Cole's idea, the story went viral and was featured in publications on and websites around the world, including being mentioned by Today show hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb.

And the treats poured in from around the world, with hundreds of packages arriving at the post office in Shilo,We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs. where the family lives.Modern lighting fixtures, chandeliers and contemporary lighting.

Millan said he was touched when the family gave him two special gifts: an original copy of Cole's lick-it list and a fridge magnet with a photo of Cole and Bingo.

"To me, this is like getting the Constitution," Millan said of the list. As for the magnet, "My mom collects magnets so I will give it to her and I will tell her the story and she will cry."

Superdry have launched a brand-new watch collection with one of the most revered watch design studios in the UK.

The collection offers vintage-inspired raw leather pieces and robust steel bracelet watches, through to clean and delicate preppy styles and soft silicone colour-pop sporty pieces. ??

Military styles for men are seen in the Colosseum,Redpin is an open source indoor positioning system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. Thor and Triton Multi, offering technical features such as easy-to-read, multi-dial functions and tachymeter; heavy-duty straps give them ultimate wearability. The Battalion Steel comes with industrial-inspired steel bracelet strap, where the diver-inspired Scuba and Premium Scuba take this one step further; super-soft silicone straps add comfort and bright shades ensure they are a must-have.??

Superdry’s women’s collection kicks off with the industrial, bracelet-style Infantry Steel. Go preppy with the Eton range – clean simple lines, a slim leather strap and soft leather backing in complementing pastel shades, adding a varsity look to the collection. The vintage-inspired Aurora watches come in heavily burnished brown leather with thick stitching and colour-pop, butter-soft leather backing, showcasing incredible attention to detail.??

Education--UNH Alert System Pings the Public

Everyone likes something extra. The University of New Hampshire’s public safety notification system delivers the expected security features but it goes beyond public safety. The school can leverage its security investment for everyday uses—like promoting bookstore sales or updating parking availability.

Like most other colleges, UNH has several emergency platforms in place to protect students and faculty. The rub is how to reach visitors—alumni, visiting sports teams—who are not in the campus database. The Clery Act requires everyone be notified of dangerous situations, 24/7. How does one reach outsiders?

“We were looking to add some redundancy to our existing system and add some features to ensure we could reach all communities on campus,” said Paul Dean, chief of police and executive director of public safety at UNH. “Emergency notification on college campuses is a hot button issue,” he added.

UNH uses a system called Ping4 alerts. It will wake up a smartphone and alert users of incidents or events happening on campus, according to Michael Welts, senior vice president at Ping4. Its technology draws a geofence around any sized area and alerts anyone with the app downloaded. The app is free to users. It pays for itself by licensing and revenue sharing with the user. It was launched in New Hampshire in March with the Manchester, N.H., police department.

An alert can be campus-wide or localized to a single dorm that may be without hot water, for example. In the case of a recent sexual assault, a region of the campus was alerted. Since the app is full rich-media, a photo or video of a suspect can be attached to the alert.

“Look at this technology and look at the gaps in your emergency notification system,” said Dean.Leading the way with innovative solutions to any parking guidance challenge. He merged Ping4 with his existing RSS feed.

Beyond colleges, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is using it for emergency management. So is Littleton,We are porcelain tiles specialists and are passionate about our product, Colo. A user signed up in one community,Parking Guidance for parking management system and Vehicle Control Solutions, will automatically get emergency notifications when they move inside another geo-fence (but will not be bothered when they are not inside the geo-fence).

Getting the outsiders involved is a key component. At UNH athletic events, visitors can win t-shirts for signing up. UNH housing makes email blasts with the information in it. Dean used the example of a Harvard student who comes to UNH for a hockey game.Modern lighting fixtures, chandeliers and contemporary lighting. Inside UNH’s catchment,Original handmade personalized bobbleheads Head dolls made to look like the photo you provide to us. the student would get UNH alerts. Outside it, he is not bothered.

Dean likes the fact the app lives in the background and does not require anyone to give a cell phone number or email address. Since it is app-based, there is little battery drain. It works on Android and iPhone platforms right now. Windows devices will be up in the first half of 2013, Welts said.

Dean said UNH cannot rely 100 percent on Ping4 since only 58 percent of the campus has smartphones. “To comply with the Clery Act, I need to reach 100 percent of the people,” Dean said. “One system is not a catch-all. I believe in redundancy. I want our public to have several options.”

A Comeback For American Strategic Metals?

Among casual observers, there seems to be a rough perception that the U.S. exhausted the bulk of its mineral deposits during its rapid phase of industrial growth and is now buying what it needs from countries like China out of sheer necessity. However, this is far from the reality of the situation. Chinese producers flooded the market with minerals such as rare earths, tungsten and manganese, pricing out domestic suppliers and causing many of them to shut down. Since 2009, China has phased down production creating opportunities for domestic suppliers to get back in the game. While politicians are perpetually competing to make the most breathless proclamations about reclaiming overseas jobs, the lack of self-sufficiency in minerals is hardly a hot topic during election season.

In this context, it was nice to hear Jack Lifton give an impassioned monologue on the subject as the keynote speaker of Octobers Best of Breed Natural Resource Conference, an event hosted by resource-oriented merchant bank Murdock Capital. Lifton, founder of Technology Metals Research and one of the field's most respected voices, highlighted not only the importance of maintaining a domestic supply of industrial metals but also the need to preserve institutional memory within American mining. Without "continuity of engineering," we would face severe setbacks in regenerating America's industrial resource base. While the dramatic tenor of Mr. Lifton's speech was certainly warranted given foreign dominance in vital niche minerals, it is encouraging to note that there remain many interesting companies in the American mining space.Modern lighting fixtures, chandeliers and contemporary lighting. Said Murdock's president Tom Dean, "Number 14 in Murdock Capital's Natural Resources Symposium once again demonstrated that there are solid companies with highly attractive fundamentals seeking to tell their value proposition to an influential and highly motivated audience." The focus of the conference was not limited to American strategic metals, but there were three such outfits on the agenda with compelling projects.

Perhaps the most established operation presenting was Duluth Metals (DULMF.PK),Parking Guidance for parking management system and Vehicle Control Solutions, a Minnesota-based mining outfit that has attracted investors' attention based on the strength of its Twin Metals deposit. The investment opportunity was described as "Asset Backed," meaning that the physical value of metals contained in the property are enough to justify the market capitalization of shares outstanding. After finding geological continuity with an adjacent deposit, Duluth acquired Franconia Resources in a $76 Million transaction completed in March of 2011. Duluth's original properties were significant enough to put them among the top mines in the world in overall tonnage of nickel and copper deposits, but the blockbuster transaction truly enhanced the scope of their operations.

According to the company's most recent NI 43-101, Twin Metals contains indicated resources of 8 billion pounds of copper,We are porcelain tiles specialists and are passionate about our product, 2.5 billion pounds of nickel, 3.2 million ounces of platinum and 7.2 million ounces of palladium. The project, described by some as a proposed "underground city" is a massive undertaking with an appropriately large-cap partner, namely Antofagasta plc (ANFGF.PK), an FTSE 100 Chilean-based mining company with a market cap of $20 billion. The company, which is set to reach production of 700,000 tons of copper and 9,200 tons of molybdenum this year, brings solid expertise and capital support to the Twin Metals project.

The platinum and palladium deposits therein are particularly interesting in a global supply context. The Indicated and Inferred resources would make Twin Metals the largest deposit of these metals outside South Africa, whose production of Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) was down 21% in Q1 and Q2 of this year. America imports 88% of its platinum and 56% of its palladium, making increased domestic supply a key priority. According to the U.S. Gelogical Survey, which also produced the figures above, there are only two primary producing PGM mines in the United States, both located in Montana.Understanding what it means to study china kung fu at Shaolin Temple.

Nickel and copper are industrial minerals that generally track the performance of overall economic health. Prices for both lost a high degree of value in 2007 and 2008 and have yet to reach those highs. Both are also significantly dependent on Chinese industrial demand, a tendency which has undermined market confidence in many industrial metals. That said, the sheer size of the deposits would give Duluth a much better market share than most inaugural producers. Furthermore, production is still a few years down the road, at which point current price trends may well be irrelevant. The project economics of the Duluth Complex have been given favorable assessments by the geologists in the 43-101 and analysts at CIBC. The location of reliable nearby infrastructure and a long history of mining in the jurisdiction contributes to lower capex costs as well. High-grade, low-cost producers are always in the best position to weather price storms and Duluth seems to be in a good position on both counts.

It should be noted that permitting will be a pesky issue. I am not suggesting that Duluth will fail to gain the proper licenses in due course, but projects of this size always attract attention from local policymakers and the EPA.Original handmade personalized bobbleheads Head dolls made to look like the photo you provide to us. As such, the process may take longer than many investors would hope. It is likely for this reason that a world-class deposit is only producing "asset-backed" share value.

2012年11月5日星期一

XLRI to host its Annual Business Summit 'Ensemble 2012'

XLRI, the premier private B School in India announces commencement of “ENSEMBLE 2012” one of the leading Business Summits in India. To be held between 8th and 10th of November, “Ensemble 2012” promises intense competition and entertaining cultural events that are true reflections of the atmosphere at XLRI. This year “Ensemble 2012” looks to ignite the creative fervour and stir passion and zest in the crowds with the theme “Beyond Conventions” and seeks to inspire and invigorate the budding managers to break the set moulds and traditions and follow their heart’s desire and dream. The event is partnered by prominent corporate names like, State Bank of India, HP, Pepsico, Cognizant, Aircel, Perfetti Van Melle, Campus France, GSK, eSparsha, Federal Bank, dare2compete,Carlo Gavazzi offers a broad range of ultrasonic sensor and ultrasonic transducers for level detection and process monitoring.The Fridge fridge magnet is leader in the custom design, India Angel Network, Cite , South Indian Bank and Economic Times.

Events in “Ensemble 2012” will capture the entire array of management education – finance, marketing, operations, strategy, human resources and industrial relations – and receive active participations from all top B-Schools in the country. The recently concluded preliminary events of “Ensemble 2012” had witnessed participation of more than 1800 students and the expected footfalls during the three day event of “Ensemble 2012” are expected to be excess of a thousand from the management fraternity across the country.Choose from our large selection of Cable Ties. A” Responsible Leadership” Conference, aimed at building responsible leaders for tomorrow also adds flavour to the event in presence of industry veterans and much sought after domain experts.
Prometheus, the flagship finance event of Ensemble is organized in coordination with Finance Association at XLRI (FINAX). It is an arena of real time problem solving and high fidelity market simulations. The shrewdest money-managers of the country, screened after multiple rounds, lock horns in the battle for glory as they straddle through varying functions of Portfolio Management, Asset Evaluation, Derivatives and Corporate Finance. The intense battle ensures that only the best shall come out as triumphant and to him or her will belong the Fire that Prometheus stole from the Gods, not to mention the spoils of the win.

War of Wits is the flagship human resource event of Ensemble that is organized in coordination with The Student's Association for Promotion of Personnel Management, Human Resources and Industrial Relations (SAPPHIRE). It is a test of business labyrinth, dotted with potential Human Resource problems that can blow off any unsuspecting practitioner.

Strategikon is the flagship consulting event of Ensemble that is organized in coordination with Consulting and Research Undertaking at XLRI (CRUX). A playing field to test the cunning of the champion strategists, Strategikon is the epic battle where the best battle it out to craft the ultimate genius game-plan.

Circus Maximus is the flagship marketing event of Ensemble that is organized in coordination with The Marketing Association at XLRI (MAXI). The ultimate challenge of the art that is marketing, Circus Maximus, strikes at the very heart of insane innovation and intense competition. The best of the best B schools of the country face each other and vie to win with slick strategies. The competition only gets stiffer when the teams are asked to implement their strategies in the very real markets and chase sales goals that compel their grey cells to operate at their shrewdest best. An arena for the inventive and the ingenious, the ready and the resourceful, Circus Maximus is indeed the Battle of the Champions!

Helios is the flagship operations event of Ensemble that is organized in coordination with The Association at XLRI for Industrial and Operations Management (AXIOM). The best in the field of Operations stand in the arena,A Water polo ear cap is a piece of headgear used in water polo. breathing through Kaizen, Six-Sigma and 'Plant-within-Plant', squeezing lead time, killing inventory, forecasting errors, maximizing throughput and optimizing cost and quality.

Strike or Yield is the flagship Industrial Relations event of Ensemble that is organized in coordination with The Forum for Industrial Relations Association at XLRI (Fire@X). One of the first established Industrial Relations management events in the entire country,Everyone needs a USB flash drives wholesale these days. Strike or Yield brings together the best of the best B schools of the country to strive to strike the right balance between labor and management, to satisfy the expanded bottom line of today's organizations- that of both the goals of people and profits.

But away from the intellectual exchange and the nerve rattling competitions, the fest celebrates life through a series of musical functions. “Ensemble 2012” will also see a whole gamut of cultural events including Culinary Events, English and Hindi Plays, Quizzes, Literary Events, Sports, and Adventure Trips.

Painting is my Passion

I have lived in Northern Ontario since 1972 (except for approximately 2 years). Since 1987 I have resided in Sault Ste. Marie. The northern scenery with its ruggedness of the Canadian Shield, Lake Superior and the vast forests has fascinated me since the very first time I relocated from southern Ontario. Along with the beauty and ruggedness of the northern landscape, are the wildlife, beautiful flowers, vast waterways, and waterfalls. I envision beauty in all living things not just in the creation, but also in mankind, and it is this beauty which has instilled within me a passion for painting. It is the twinkle in the eye of a child, or the smile on an elderly face, the story in the gentle hands of a hard working man holding a butterfly,Choose from our large selection of Cable Ties. an old tractor or vehicle left abandoned in a field which gives way to interesting subjects. Each subject has its own journey and story, and it is this story which inspires me to paint so eclectically.

There were significant persons in my life that encouraged me to paint and my gratitude goes out to all of them. Two elderly ladies, Thelma Smith and Nell Bellingham appreciated my paintings enough to ask if they could have them, which I gave them, seeing the pleasure on their faces. There was also a High School Educational Superintendent at the time (Mr. Ken Self), who came into my art class and asked for one of my paintings, which I felt honoured to give him. A Nursing Instructor (Marilyn Overholt) discovered my interest in art and gave me an old cardboard from the back of a calendar to work on and I did my first sitting portrait of her with her dog. She indicated that she thought I had a talent and encouraged me to keep it up and never let it go, that it would serve a good purpose for me along with my career as a nurse.Everyone needs a USB flash drives wholesale these days. I still have that drawing. During the course of my life there have been others to encourage me along the way, but the most significant in my adult years have been my two sons, K. Jack Conley and John M. Conley and some of my paintings are in their homes. Gratitude goes out to Randy Ray (my husband), who has been a constant encourager as well as critic, always being there to cart my paintings from place to place for outdoor venues and indoor art shows. Randy is the proud owner of my Self Portrait.

When I first started, I only had the means of pencils and very inexpensive watercolour supplies. I somehow felt limited and had a deep desire to paint in oils. When I was in Nursing School I was finally able to purchase a few oils and some cheap canvas paper, and began to experiment with the paint,A Water polo ear cap is a piece of headgear used in water polo. finding it relaxing and yet also exciting. Not having much spare time with my career and later my family, and then developing an allergy to oils, I set my brushes and pencils aside.

Time passed and it was not until 1990, that I actually picked up my pencils and brushes to try to stir up the desire I once had. I was encouraged by Randy to continue, and I took a couple of very short evening courses at the local Sault College mainly to make a commitment to time allotment to get on track. One course was on wildlife with Doris Pavelich as a teacher. I enjoyed these classes immensely and was inspired once more to stir up the passion to paint.

I am now retired from my career as a nurse and am fully involved in my art. I now work in acrylics on both canvas and hard board, but also do pencil and charcoal portraits and pets. The intensity to paint is strong every day, and when I paint, I feel set free in a different dimension of time and space,The Fridge fridge magnet is leader in the custom design, and absorbed in the painting. The excitement of finally seeing the finished project is sustaining and empowering to move forward with another one, and this is compounded when I see the pride in the face of the one who chooses a particular painting. I work from my own photographs as well as work on site and have also done some paintings from dreams that tell a significant story. In this broken world of ours, when I look beyond the surface,Carlo Gavazzi offers a broad range of ultrasonic sensor and ultrasonic transducers for level detection and process monitoring. I still see so much beauty waiting to be captured on canvas. I am grateful to the greatest Creator of all for this beauty, and for the gift given to me to utilize as a means of expressing this beauty on canvas through my eyes.

As planned, I opened up a little art studio called The Artist’s Alcove last summer at the Frontier Village and was located in the old ice cream parlour and had an interesting summer meeting many tourists from all over the world. I now have reopened in the Frontier Village close to the front of the village and is still called The Artist’s Alcove. This is where you can find me most any given day painting and showcasing my work as well as the work of other local artists. I am currently a member of the Algoma Art Society, the Arts Council, the NOAA, and the Chamber of Commerce.

‘Beano’ leaves Souter far from dandy

LA Water polo ear cap is a piece of headgear used in water polo.ombard once bought a tip from a stranger in the car park at Cheltenham on Gold Cup day.The Fridge fridge magnet is leader in the custom design, The horse finished last. The bloke had seemed very plausible. Which is what victims would probably say of City fraudster Nicholas “Beano” Levene. He was banged up for 13 years on Monday for cheating the likes of Sir Brian Souter, co-founder of the Stagecoach travel group.

Beano was all Bentley but no dividend. Starting as a “blue button”, the lowest form of life on the stock exchange back in the Cretaceous, he rose to middling executive rank at brokers such as Phillips & Drew and Tullett. It all went wrong when he struck out on his own. He ended up creating a Ponzi scheme: stealing money from new investors to pay the debts of old ones even as he prayed for an investment jackpot that never came.

Levene was a lightweight as Ponzi operators go, losing just £25m compared with the $18bn dematerialised by Bernie Madoff.Everyone needs a USB flash drives wholesale these days. The release date for the New York fraudster is over a century away. The Londoner, who is 48, should be out in seven years. Some say his sentence is long – Asil Nadir got 10 years for deceiving a legion of small investors. But penalties for white collar crime remain light compared with those for the blue collar variety

How did this chancer convince businessmen as acute as Sir Brian to trust him? The same way legitimate counterparts might. With an aura of wealth and invincibility. Throw parties on yachts, promise market-beating returns and it is surprising who will sign up to your schemes.

Third-quarter results from HSBC told a tale of two banks. One is a high-handed institution that riles US regulators, who may respond with punitive fines. The other is a prudent business that reduces loan risks and shrinks its investment bank to fit straitened markets. Will the real HSBC please stand up?

At the racy incarnation of HSBC,Choose from our large selection of Cable Ties. “Think of a number, then more than double it” is the method for calculating US liabilities for alleged money laundering. Monday’s $800m provision took the total to $1.5bn. Legal advisers had underestimated how tough US watchdogs were likely to be when settlement negotiations commenced.

We can hypothesise that Standard Chartered’s $340m settlement with the New York Department of Financial services for alleged Iranian sanctions breaches has recalibrated penalties in the US towards the vengeful end of the dial.

No regulator is likely to get fired for spanking banks hard in the wake of the credit crunch. Nor are US watchdogs required to offset one another’s fines. But to complain that the unpredictability of the system deters investment is morally suspect. The riposte is that sticking to the spirit of the law is the only policy.

The prudent avatar of HSBC might agree. It has been shifting its emphasis from unsecured to secured lending, which helped shrink loan impairments $2.Carlo Gavazzi offers a broad range of ultrasonic sensor and ultrasonic transducers for level detection and process monitoring.6bn to $6.5bn, contributing to a $2.6bn rise in nine-month profits to $14.9bn before tweaks for the value of the bank’s debts.

Investment banking profits were about $1.5bn stronger. The better tone of credit markets was largely responsible. But HSBC should also win market share with a division focused on supporting corporate borrowers, even as rivals contract.

With HSBC under reforming management in the shape of Stuart Gulliver, the bank’s better nature looks set to win control of its divided self. Bernstein forecasts a healthy return on tangible net asset value of 13.2 per cent in 2012, justifying investment in a stock that trades at a premium to peers.

2012年10月30日星期二

Apps With Which to Pedal On

What did we do in the Dark Ages before bicycle computers and phone apps changed the way we ride? I don’t know about you, but I tracked my rides in spiral-bound notebooks, relied on street maps designed for motorists, and asked my local bike mechanic for advice or went to the library to copy pages from bicycle repair manuals.

I’m going to confess right here and now that Strava and BikeMap are the only bicycle apps I’m using regularly. I ride several thousand miles each year and I’ve spent time playing with and exploring others, but they haven’t found their way to the home screen on my phone. Here are my thoughts on some cycling apps.

When you got on your bike this morning to ride to UCSB, were the gears clanking and not shifting smoothly? Are your brakes rubbing on the front wheel or making loud squealing noises every time you stop at a crosswalk on State Street? You’re late for Bike Moves – front tire’s flat and you have no idea what to do? Bike Repair HD is a user-friendly app for phone or tablet that takes you step by step through many basic bike repairs. At your fingertips are 73 of the most common bike repair problems with over 250 photo illustrations.

Click on the problem area – wheels, rear derailleur, chain, or handlebar/headset – and in plain English (no jargon!) you’ll find short simple instructions that will guide you through diagnosis and repair. With some simple tools (check out my previous column Tools: Here are the Ones You Need) you’ll be back on your trusty two-wheeler in no time at all. Other similar repair apps include Bike Doctor and Emergency Bike Repair.

This app isn’t designed for the weekend cyclist. Bike Gears is for the serious road warrior or dedicated bicycle builder. You can use it to quickly calculate gear ratios, gear inches, or development and gain ratios based on your bike’s measurements. The app has over 200 preset tire sizes and it also lets you enter your own custom tire-size for personalized measurements.

Designed by a cyclist, for cyclists, this is the app if you’re building a new bike from scratch. You can test out possible gearing configurations and get it right the first time. With Bicycle Gears you can find equivalent gearing configurations to reuse components you already have,Promotional custom keychain at ePromos Promotional Products. or even to save weight by using smaller gears. If you’re doing some early holiday shopping, Bicycle Gears is perfect for bike mechanics, bike builders, coaches, and serious riders! You can also check out Bicycle Gear Head.

A San Francisco start-up, Strava can best be described as a GPS-enabled social network for cyclists and runners, allowing you to add other riders as friends and track their progress as well as your own. Strava does this by tracking segments of your ride such as a favorite local hill. You can then compare your performance riding up Gibraltar or San Marcos Pass with that of everyone else who has ridden the same section. Every time you upload a ride, Strava automatically checks if you included any segments and then lets you know how you rank – showing your position on the segment’s leader board. Reach the top of the table and you get a King or Queen of the Mountain award and a natty little gold crown on your upload. A number of professional riders have signed up, so if your club run takes you along one of their training routes you can even compare yourself against the big boys. Strava provides basic GPS tracking,Find the best iPhone headset for you at Best Buy. speed or route and distance data, and is free.Offering lowest priced printed lanyard in Canada.

It rocks to be able to support local businesses! Founded in Santa Barbara, Digifit, the first app developer to bring heart rate monitoring to the iPhone, now features a suite of apps that can track your cardio, running, and cycling workouts. ibike is a free download but you’ll have to buy additional hardware to turn your phone into a full feature cycling/fitness monitor. Digifit has a handlebar-mounted case for your phone and plug-in sensors available so that you can track your cardio workouts using, for example, a heart-monitor belt, speed and cadence sensor, or power meter. Digifit can also use GPS to map your routes and provide pace, distance, and speed without sensors.

There are a lot of apps that allow you to track data from your daily rides. I haven’t looked at all of them so I can’t swear that this is the best, but it has all the basic features and is intuitive to use. Whether you are cycling for leisure or training for a race, Cycle Tracker Pro will track your route and help boost your performance.

As you ride, you can see your time, pace, speed,We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs. calories burned, training intervals, splits; view map in real time,Shop for high quality wholesale parking sensor system products on DHgate and get worldwide delivery. take photos, listen to music and receive audio feedback. After your ride you can view your history with stats, route map, splits, and cumulative graphs for distance and calories burned. You can also share photos and share your rides with friends on the Cycle Tracker Pro website. Other similar apps include: The Bike Computer, Cyclemeter GPS Bike Computer for Road & Mountain Biking, and Cycastic GPS.

Small glitch at new stadium

The Winnipeg Football Club,Find the best iPhone headset for you at Best Buy. on the verge of jettisoning Canad Inns Stadium for the new 33,000-seat Investors Group Field at the University of Manitoba, is contacting those season-ticket holders to give them the bad news -- their bird's-eye view of the playing field might be partially blocked by either a stair railing or a guardrail.

Most of those seats are in the upper deck where handicapped seating is located and adjacent to the access points -- called vomitories -- to the seating areas.

For the handicapped sections, the front guardrail was raised for safety reasons. In other sections, stair railings partially hinder a spectator's view depending where the play is on the field, but only if they're sitting.

"Every new stadium or new arena built in North America has some obstructed views issues,Promotional custom keychain at ePromos Promotional Products." Buchko said. "They're all to code. We're building a stadium that's to code. We wouldn't get occupancy unless it was code. And that's the challenge. When you have railings based on code, it's caused some obstruction, but we have to build it right, we have to build it safe."

Over the past month, as seats were being installed, Blue Bombers officials have taken affected fans to their new seats to show them the obstruction first-hand. In exchange for staying in the seats, the Bombers have agreed to discount their seats 50 per cent.

"Eighty-five per cent of the people who've sat in the seats said, 'These aren't bad.Shop for high quality wholesale parking sensor system products on DHgate and get worldwide delivery. We'll sit in these seats and we'll gladly take 50 per cent off these seats,' " Buchko said. "They're quite happy to sit in them."

For those not happy, the Bombers have upgraded their seat, but keeping it at the same price they paid for the obstructed seat, he added.

Fin Paterson, the Bomber's vice-president and director of sales, said TV camera perches may also obstruct a view of the game for some fans.

"It's all very subjective," he said. "Some people think it's a challenge and other people say, 'No. I'm good with it.We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs.' We've had a high acceptance rate. It's been very positive so far."

The first concert booked for Investors Group Field is Taylor Swift on June 22, just days after the first Bombers exhibition game in the new stadium. Her stage will be in the north end zone and fans will get to their seats via temporary stairs located at points along the main grandstands.

Buchko said the Bombers will run about a half-dozen test events.

There's been some comments on the Blue Bombers forum on obstructed views with most saying the Bombers are doing the right thing by addressing the issue now.

"There are obstructed views in some MTS Centre seats because of handrails. I've sat in them, not a huge deal," one poster said.

Blue Bombers general manager Joe Mack should know before the Grey Cup whether he's still employed in 2013, team president Garth Buchko said Monday.

"The team's record overall is disappointing and it's not acceptable and we will review everything in the whole organization, including football operations," Buchko told the media after a quick show-and-tell of the newly installed turf and goal posts at the new Investors Group Field at the University of Manitoba.

"The board and myself will meet and we'll make a decision very shortly. It'll be before the Grey Cup (Nov. 25), for sure."

Mack has been a target of Bomber fans' ire not only because of the team's poor performance this season -- the Bombers were in the Grey Cup last year and dove head-first into the CFL basement this season -- but because of his sacking of head coach Paul LaPolice at the end of August.

Buchko said the Bombers will review Mack's record since he was hired in January 2010 plus look at the stats of the team's players.

"I think we have some great talent," he said. "We have the youngest team in the CFL."

Mack's first year on the job saw a 4-14 season in 2010 and a loss to B.C. in the Grey Cup the next. This year the Bombers have a 5-12 record with one game left.

He added besides Mack's future, the Bombers are reviewing other aspects of its operations as it prepares to move into Investors Group Field next season.

"Everything is under review, our business operations and our football operations, everything is currently under review.Offering lowest priced printed lanyard in Canada. We'll put forward our plan very shortly.

Community Extra: Calendar

THE television screen turns into a static charge of salt and pepper hiss. If you have the patience to linger to find out why, without instantly switching to another channel, you will eventually learn that this is what is in store for you if you are living in one of the four metros; if you are served by cable, not DTH (direct to home); and if you do not put in place that digital set-top box by the end of October. It is a portentous public interest advertisement which serves notice on an analogue media era and prepares to usher in the digital-only realm of television viewing.

It is part of building the momentum, in the wake of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act of 2011, towards a total changeover to digital distribution via cable in four stages: the four metros by October 31 this year; cities with a population of over a million by March 31, 2013; all other urban centres by the end of September 2014; and the rest of the country by the end of the calendar year 2014. The conversion is both a legal and a technological imperative. Digitise or perish is the writing on the wall. You are damned if you do not.

It is not as self-evident, though, that you’re not damned if you do. The democratic logic of digitisation is better, cheaper, more equitable access and choice for the consumer. The analogue hierarchy of a clutch of channels on prime band that register effulgent clarity in picture and sound followed by a longish tail of poor and poorer cousins on the less and lesser bands with inferior, even indifferent, visual and audio quality is, in the digital mode, replaced by a qualitative constant across the board where the look and feel of each channel directly reflect the production input and values of its content and there is no distribution diffusion. That would be the one obvious change and would itself certainly make the difference between night and day for those yet stuck with analogue signals.

But the investments required for the digital rollout and spread, the high-end consumerist appetites and values they privilege, and the sheer scale of the operation put the business of digital cable networking out of the league and out of the reach of the small- or medium-scale entrepreneur. This new regime in the media sector, as much as the policy and the law that propel it, is made to order for digital capitalism.

The fat cats of the business have already begun to parse the law to suit their rapacity, but are couching it in terms of the best interests of the consumer. The path to digitisation is paved with their good intentions. A recent conclave on Media and Entertainment Business organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in Chennai revealed, to mix metaphors, their itchy palms in velvet gloves. In a panel discussion on opportunities in the digitised era, the participants, who were among the major stakeholders from the content and distribution side of the industry, seemed in no doubt that the raison d’etre of digitisation was consolidation and vertical integration of their businesses. There was a queer money-minded nostalgia for the business advantages of the analogue market being left behind,Shop for high quality wholesale parking sensor system products on DHgate and get worldwide delivery. even as they scrambled to take over the digital El Dorado of the future. They would, if they could, have the best of both worlds, analogue and digital.We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs.

And so, while they are agreed that digitisation would enable upscaled quality, they are even more agreed that consumers must be prepared to pay more for it; and we naively thought digital meant lower costs. The revenue model in digital cable networks is, typically, subscription driven so that advertisements do not hog and clutter airtime. But there is a clear reluctance to part with advertisement revenues,Find the best iPhone headset for you at Best Buy. and the upshot may well be that even as we pay more we will continue to be subject to long stretches of commercials interrupting programmes (as the witticism goes, a programme on television is what happens between advertisements).

Then there is the question of carriage fees, which acquires critical importance in a situation where, more than ever before, how to get to be seen is the despair of every new television channel. Thanks to digitisation, the bandwidth required for one analogue transponder or channel is compressed to spin off five or six new ones, making the transponder the least—from the most—expensive component in the outlay for a new channel. But with so many channels (there are over 600 on air now and as many or more awaiting licences) jostling with one another for distribution, and with no norms or rules in place, the big multi service operators (MSOs), like their DTH counterparts,Offering lowest priced printed lanyard in Canada. have been charging exorbitant and whimsical carriage fees, skewing the field strongly in favour of the big media corporations which can cough up such amounts, with hefty additional premiums for prime placements. Those who cannot afford this are left out in the cold, and there are so many instances of new channels having to repeatedly delay their launch because of this acute distribution squeeze that the whole process seems ridiculously weighed against the small and medium players.Promotional custom keychain at ePromos Promotional Products.

2012年10月23日星期二

Shifting focus in a time of awareness

In any given month throughout the year, you can find a multitude of events or issues to commemorate. October happens to be National Book Month and National CyberSecurity Awareness Month, but it's probably better known as both National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

I’m not going to say one cause has more significance than the other. Thousands of lives are affected each year by both breast cancer and domestic violence. Statistics will show you these facts, but numbers could never relay the personal feelings, struggles and emotions of someone who has encountered one of these hardships.A smooth and Glossy floor tile not only looks bright and clean,

You will never hear me say breast cancer awareness is not important. I know beautiful lives who have lost their battle with the disease and I’ve seen how it affected the people around them.We have a wide selection of dry cabinet to choose from for your storage needs. But given what transpired here, shouldn’t this campus rethink its focus?

One of our own was taken from us because of domestic violence. If anyone can show me how breast cancer has touched this many students this deeply, I encourage you to email me and try to help me understand. Otherwise, I can’t comprehend why we haven’t put more emphasis on domestic violence awareness, why we haven’t put more effort into remembering Alex Kogut on this campus and why we haven’t done more in general.

I know it wasn’t the college’s intention to prioritze one cause over the other.Dongpeng professionally produces and export all types of glazed porcelain tile tiles at low price. I love this school and I know it’s a sensitive time here. But still, we need to honor our own, and it doesn’t feel like much is happening to make us feel comforted in the weeks after Alex’s death.

It may not be the intended meaning, but to me it feels like this issue is being swept under the rug. It feels like the college has shied away from supporting domestic violence awareness. I look around campus and see all the attention being paid to breast cancer awareness, and feel angry that the college isn’t doing more to make us remember. One example that comes to mind is in Brockway — the painted windows feature ribbons, most of them happen to be pink, while only one of them is purple.

I've heard similiar sentiments over the last few days from fellow students. A common theme in the dissent seems to be about the amount of pink compared to the amount of purple on campus.

It’s comforting to see purple in the details -— Alex's initials painted on the football field, ribbons wrapped around poles, silicone bracelets or a purple painted pinky nail. However, it feels like pink is still the color of choice throughout this campus.

By not putting domestic violence awareness on the forefront, or even just prominently displaying purple throughout the mass of pink on campus, it feels like the college is trying to forget what has happened. That feels wrong. It’s been less than a month, and people are still mourning. We shouldn’t move on this fast. We shouldn’t forget this quickly.

I know remembering is hard. As more details come to light, we’re forced to relive the tragedy all over again and deal with the overpowering emotions we’ve been trying to work through. Small reminders bring us back to the aftermath, and we’re brought back to square one and left trying to heal all over again.

I know we can’t keep focusing on the bad things that happen in life, and I don’t think we should. By no means is this the way life was meant to be lived. Yes, purple is the symbolic color of the tragic way in which Alex died, but it’s also become symbolic to us as the color to remember her by.

I don’t look at the purple around campus as an attempt to make known what happened. We know the end result of what transpired the last weekend of September. I look at the color purple and remember Alex, a girl I never knew, but am forever changed by. To me,Carlo Gavazzi offers a broad range of ultrasonic sensor and ultrasonic transducers for level detection and process monitoring. the color purple symbolizes the remembrance of the life she lived, more so than how it was taken away.

Unfortunately for a lot of us, because we didn’t know her, we can’t have one without the other. We didn’t know her, and we won’t ever have the opportunity to. Remembering Alex means remembering how she died. Words can’t express how unsettling this is, how hard it is to move on from.

Breast cancer is not a choice — no one chooses to get the disease. Domestic violence is a choice — someone chooses to be violent toward his or her partner. A friend of mine pointed this out, and it really resonated with me. While it is important to raise awareness for breast cancer, as I’m sure fundraising will help in its own way,Shop for high quality wholesale glassmosaicchina products on Dhgate. shouldn’t more awareness be given to a cause that people can learn from, and possibly change their lives for?

The fact that I can’t mention all the different fundraising or awareness events that have taken place on campus over the past month, for space purposes only, is an incredible thing. People are actively supporting and working toward a common cause, whichever cause it may be. And it may seem trivial to simply be offended by the amount of one color over the other around campus, but I know I’m not the only one who felt this way this month.

A gardener’s playground

As much as Jane Stewart and Neil Burkhardt,Carlo Gavazzi offers a broad range of ultrasonic sensor and ultrasonic transducers for level detection and process monitoring. owners of McComb Gardens in Sequim, have invested in their own education, as well as promoting Washington State Nursery and Landscape certification of their staff,Advice from an experienced artist on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent. they work even harder on the concept that gardeners should be having fun. If gardeners aren’t, Neil and Jane suggest a change in some way: Reduce the size of the gardens, hire someone to help, take out that irritating tree that pokes you every time you pass it. They believe landscapes are installed; the garden is a playground. Experimentation, experimentation, experimentation is the name of the game, along with a strong dose of humility.

We gardeners need to recognize no matter how hard we try and to what degree we plan, we are going to make mistakes.An area-wide parking guidance system was introduced by private parking lot operators in 1997. Plants have their own genetic DNA of what they want to become and how much they want to sprawl. They don’t read plant labels about their mature size and often grow beyond a general descriptor, especially here in the Pacific Northwest where ideal growing conditions exist. In gardening, there is a constant tension between humans and plant life. Each has its own vision.

Neil and Jane’s nursery is a display garden, which showcases specimen plants, mostly at their mature growth. The nursery gives gardeners an opportunity to see size, proportion and habit so that they can imagine the plant in their own gardens. Jane and Neil have used professionals Dan Hinckley and Phil Wood to create parts of the display. Neil laughs and says that hiring outside help was cheaper than divorce since he and Jane see gardens from different perspectives; a third eye was mandatory.

Jane is the artist who looks for the same elements she uses in her paintings — repetition, pathways for the eyes, color combinations that work. Neil is more the plant expert and sees shapes and textures. In thinking of a design in a garden, he thinks of flowers last — the opposite of the way most gardeners purchase plants — and uses them to soften edges.

The two of them do, however, agree that landscapes are compositions, with variations of a theme or that transition from theme to theme. The basic design principles they follow are:

Repetition creates unity. Use both plants and colors for repeating patterns. They mentioned how yellow can be a strong color and a single plant of yellow can stop the eye. Use several other touches of yellow or use more of the same plant in the border so the eye can move through a landscape.

Before planting, first plan for paths, uses within the garden and utilities. Paths should be wide, enough for two or three people walking abreast or wide enough for a wheelbarrow. Let pathways meander rather than take simple straight lines from A to B. Soft pathways invite people to linger, as well as entice them to look ahead in expectancy as a path curves into the unseen. Figure out the watering systems and outdoor lighting, if you’re going to install them. Decide the mood you want your garden to project and where you want to sit and have a conversational or dining area.Shop for high quality wholesale glassmosaicchina products on Dhgate. Function should be well-established before any planting.

Specimen plants and trees are stand-alone plants that can become a focal point in a vignette of supporting plants. Use specimen plants for accents. Rather than thinking of a category of prized specimen plants, such as Japanese maples and Cryptomerias, consider that many plants/trees can be a specimen. Perhaps you need a plant that is highly textured and so the specimen plant can be the lowly Eryngium (sea holly), with its spiky amethyst flower heads.

Neil talks about a specimen plant he chose outside their bedroom window, which he wanted to have fragrance, have a light and airy habit and be a sanctuary for birds. From that criterion, he choose the Styrax japonicas (Japanese snowbell), which grows to about 25 feet high. Had he wanted something shorter, but with his criteria, he could have chosen the Korean spice viburnum

After a new display section had been planted, Jane wanted a tree to complete an area and set off a marooned Japanese maple. Together, they chose Robinia pseudoacacia (Tunisian locust) and its bright lime leaves and its proportion work perfectly in that area.

Create a welcoming entry. Let your personality emerge so that you, above all others, love to enter the garden. Not only is it a design principle, but it also has an element of psychology. If the garden does not entice you to enter, you … and others … probably will stay out. Entries also define where the garden begins, suggesting, too, that there is an end point.Redpin is an open source indoor positioning system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. Some gardens seem to splay out in all directions, somewhat like a toddler lying on the floor, legs and arms akimbo.

Most people desire a sense of privacy, a retreat where they can move and relax unobserved by others or where they don’t have to look at others’ blue tarps or trash bins. Fences are the easiest way to create privacy. In their McComb Gardens, one can see a yew hedge that creates privacy. Of course, hedges take years to grow — at least four. If an immediate barrier is needed, hardscape is best. Neil pointed out that fences need not be continual. Panels, such as those at hardware stores, can be placed end-to-end but separated by equal distances and then with plantings in a repetitive pattern between the panels can soften the structure and, perhaps, save money.

Jane uses a personal principle that she’s not seen written in any books so far. She uses two of the primary colors (red, blue, yellow) and then if she needs a touch of the dramatic or a transitional element, she’ll use a single spot of the third primary color. Her sense is that the two primaries work together in a harmony that seems absent when too many colors compete.

Life in the hall of fame

But as you wander through the walkout level of one of Edmonton’s newest lottery show homes — this one brought to you by the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation — a framed and signed jersey from Taylor Hall is bound to catch your attention. That is unless your eyes don’t immediately wander to the wet bar and walk-in wine cellar with custom glass doors, or if the sound emanating from the adjacent home theatre doesn’t beckon you first.

“If we had one of those (home theatres) in our home, I would never see my kids again,” said Natalie Minckler, executive director of the Oilers Community Foundation, as she provided a tour of the home and referred to the nine-foot screen and front-projection system in HD, leather theatre seating, and a dry bar with a popcorn maker.

This finished walkout level contains an Oilers-themed bedroom, a flex room that can be used as an office or an additional bedroom, a bathroom,Advice from an experienced artist on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent. and a home gym with cork flooring. Of course, that’s just the beginning in this 3,258-square-foot home in Upper Windermere — 4,896 sq. ft. if you include that tempting lower level.

If this sounds tempting, it could be yours as the grand prize in the Winner’s Choice Lottery for 2012.

Now on the other hand, if you’re saying, ‘whoa, wait a minute, I don’t need a home with close to 5,This document provides a guide to using the Ventilation system in your house to provide adequate fresh air to residents.000 sq. ft.’, the Oilers Community Foundation has that delightful problem — if you want to call winning a fully finished and furnished show home a problem — solved. You can walk away with $1.5 million, instead.

But wouldn’t you rather have a chef’s kitchen with stunning Magma Granite countertops and Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances? How about six potential bedrooms,Redpin is an open source indoor positioning system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. most equipped with spacious walk-closets; four bathrooms including a master spa-like ensuite with vessel sinks and an eye-catching soaker tub; and a garage with a hydraulic lift that will enable you to park four cars indoors (a great idea if luck is with you and you also snag the early bird prize of a 2013 Range Rover Autobiography Sport Edition)?

Hard to imagine turning down such a tempting home? It’s happened in the past.

“Last year, the winner was a single woman, and the house was so big that she opted for the cash,Soft Floor tiles is easier to install and perfect for all types of residential and commercial uses.” said Minckler, who pointed out that the foundation will be awarding more than 6,200 prizes,Understanding what it means to study china kung fu at Shaolin Temple. including the grand prize home, vehicles and vacations. “With all these prizes, anybody who purchases a ticket will have a one-in-10 chance to win a prize, the best odds we’ve ever had.”

But back to the show home, whose grandeur is breathtaking, with a two-storey beamed ceiling in the great room along with nine-foot main floor and basement ceilings adding to its spacious feel. The master bedroom comes with an enchanting Cliffstone feature wall — think gorgeous stone that brings the feel of the outdoors in — and two sets of double doors with Juliet-like balconies that overlook the great room below.

Meanwhile, the entranceway circular staircase is highlighted by rich, leather wall tiles on the way down to the walkout level, where there is in-floor radiant heating.

If all these beautiful features — along with main-floor laundry, a security system, and a six-zone multi-source audio system with keypads throughout — aren’t enough to tempt you, Minckler noted that there is an even more important aspect to consider when it comes to the Winner’s Choice Lottery.

Proceeds support the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation redevelopment of Edmonton’s Inner City High School as well as other groups focusing on youth education and the health and wellness of youth, said Minckler.

With money raised from the lottery in recent years, the Oilers Community Foundation purchased a building for the school in late 2010, and today it accommodates 150 students.

“The kids who go to Inner City High School represent a segment of our population that have had a certain number of challenges throughout their lives. It is a segment many people forget about,” said Minckler, adding that the students not only get an education here but also receive clothing, bus tickets and three meals a day so they can concentrate on their academic work.

2012年10月10日星期三

2 dead, 1 trapped in Fla. parking garage collapse

A section of a parking garage under construction at a community college collapsed Wednesday, killing two people and trapping two others in the rubble, officials said. One worker was rescued amid the debris, but there was too much concrete around the other to immediately get him out.

At least 10 other workers were hurt when the roof of the five-story concrete garage fell, creating a pancake-style collapse on the campus of Miami-Dade College, officials said.

"It was a floor upon floor, collapsing all the way down to the ground floor," Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Louie Fernandez said.

The trapped worker was pinned inside a vehicle. He was receiving oxygen, had an IV inserted into him and was being treated by a physician and a paramedic. Officials did not describe the extent of his injuries. They said it could be hours — possibly even days — before they can rescue him.

"It's going to be a long, tedious effort," Fernandez said.

Dogs, firefighters and other people in hard hats walked over piles of concrete, plywood and metal to look for other possible victims. Authorities believed at least one more worker was still unaccounted for, and they were trying to make sure everyone else was OK. Many workers left the site without telling authorities.

Victoria Buczynski of Miami said she saw the collapse while she was working at Gurkha Cigars across the street from the construction site at the Miami-Dade College.

"It fell to the ground like a house of cards," Buczynski said. "The construction workers started running out, screaming. It was loud. Our entire building shook."

No students were in the area at the time. They campus was evacuated and closed for the rest of the week. Investigators planned to pick through the rubble to see what caused the garage to crumble.

"We just know that the roof collapsed," Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Griselle Marino said.

William P. Byrne,Find the lowest prices on Air purifier. president and chief executive officer of the garage contractor, Ajax Building Corp., said an internal review was being launched to determine the cause. Byrne said the company would embrace "any additional protocols, policies and procedures that will enhance and ensure the continued priority of safety."

Marino said three people were initially trapped in the rubble, including the man who died. Another eight were taken to a hospital, she said. Two injured workers were treated on the scene.

One of the rescued was pulled out from under a steal beam by four firefighters. His face and hands were bloody and he was put on a stretcher and carried away, according to a video shot by Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue and provided to The Associated Press.

The construction site looked like a typical one. A large crane stood beside the pile of rubble. Pickup trucks, trash bins and a tractor-trailer were nearby, as were ladders, a cooler and piles of wood.

Ground was broken on the $22.5 million project in February, and the 1,855-space garage was to be finished in December, according Ajax's website.

The first floor was to have classroom and office space. The structure is next to the college's main office building and nestled among other campus buildings.

The college serves about 8,000 students and is one of several campuses in the Miami-Dade College system. This campus opened in 2006.

Gallery Delta Thrives Despite Odds

In a continued quest to nurture, support and encourage visual, literary and performing arts-Gallery Delta continues to thrive despite low business.Their latest exhibition "Landscapes and Landmarks" assembles painters of all creeds and colours in a show which exposes the range of artistic,emotional and psychological responses to the moods, atmosphere, colours, textures, locale and spirit of the land.

Landscapes convey an appreciation of the beauty and chagrins of the natural and urban world. Here, each artist responds to the land in their individual psyche and medium of preference.

The exhibiting artists are drawn from both mature and neophyte artists who include Paul Wade, Kate Raath, Dian Wright, Simon Back, Darryl Nero, Richard Witikani, the late Robert Paul, Ljiljana Vlacic, Justin Gope, Freddy Tauro and Emma Venzery.

Professional artist Kate Raath explores the expressive and interpretive qualities of drawing in her exquisite ink studies of the flat topped Acacia trees of Zimbabwe.

Interestingly, this tree which is revered by the people of Africa, Australia,Find the lowest prices on Air purifier. Asia and the Americas has according to current botanical nomenclature been re-named Vachellia and/or Senegallia at a recent International Botanical Congress which had been proposed by Australian botanists in 2005.

The veteran art lecturer and graphic designer, Paul Wade, presents oil paintings in spontaneous "Pop" excursions, which are at once celebratory, witty and innovative.

His triptych entitled "Disruptive Robots" presents inverted and skewed paintings that hint at the failing infrastructure of Harare's metropolis and allude to the delusions experienced in drunken driving.

His, other urban mental landscapes entitled "Many Horizons", pursue the same automatism that guided the surrealist's artists procedure of using free association to express the workings of the sub-conscious.

Wade's work recalls the art of Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012) the Spanish painter and lawyer and other proponents of Tachisme such as Pierre Soulages (born 1919) and Hans Hartung.The M3 Parking assist system has been designed from the ground up to solve traditional car park problems and more.

This art movement derives from the French word "Tache" meaning blob or mark, and refers to the squiggles and arabesque lines used by artists to present powerful and direct expressions of psychic states.

He also exhibits his artistic forte in a textile and steel woven sculpture, which hangs in the main area of the gallery.

"Young Turk" Freddy Tauro presents his works entitled "Plot in Ruwa", "Landscape" and "Back Shed".

His semi-abstract details of natural and architectural forms are achieved by luminous colour integrations that demarcate the landscape, buildings and sky in a liquid spontaneity.

Veteran landscape artist Diana Wright uses her unerring eye to capture the pattern and chromatic quality of natural forms and landscapes of the sub-tropical Zimbabwean vegetation.Welcome to the china kung fu school.

Her colourful pointillist interpretations of the land remain perennially charming.

The exhibition introduces a young talent, Emma Venzery, whose acrylic on paper works entitled "Your Tide", "My Wave" and "Closing In" explores the pathos of the human condition in imprimatura on white ground.

Her colourful forays into mental landscapes are articulated in fluid brushstrokes which hint at her artful dexterity. This new artist has the potential to rise

professionally in the visual arts with her bold signatory style.

Prominent artist and visual art expert, Dr Helen Lieros' presents new developments in her art works. Her exploitation of the varied surface qualities of her own handmade paper are best seen in her works entitled "Unknown Strata". Here,Gerresheimer Werkzeugbau Wackersdorf GmbH manufactures special lines and machines. the artist employs new collage techniques for expression. Her continued technical search to convey the greatest artistic effect with minimal artistic elements distinguishes her.

In all, the, memories, style and imagery depicted in this show are relative and subject to the artists' own fragmented view of their land, landmark and space they occupy or experience.

This 56-piece exhibition is a memorable diary of our existence on the land we call Zimbabwe and is worth viewing. But ultimately it is up to the viewer to reconstruct and fabricate their own personal narratives and rifle through the myriads of colour, form and texture that constitute these various vistas and states of mind we call the Zimbabwean landscape.

Darien’s First New Home Community in a Generation

Kensett, the first new home community in Darien (CT) in a generation, recently celebrated its Grand Opening. A ribbon cutting ceremony included local dignitaries, State Representative Terrie Wood, Senator Bob Duff, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson and Selectman John Lundeen, among others. The event was hosted by Developers Bob Dale, Bill McGuinness and Clarion Partners, as well as executives from First County Bank, the construction lender on the project. More than 150 guests attended the event, including prospective homebuyers who were able to tour two model residences, The Piper House and The Norwood House.We offer over 600 landscape oil paintings at wholesale prices of 75% off retail. The model homes were decorated by one of the nation’s top interior design firms, Lynn Morgan Design of Rowayton and New York City.

“We truly cherish the opportunity to create a new neighborhood in Darien, which is widely recognized as one of the premier communities in metropolitan New York,” said Bob Dale.Chances are, you've never setup a real time Location system. “Our goal is to craft homes with all the modern conveniences in a style that is appropriate for Darien.”

Kensett offers three- and four-bedroom homes ranging from 3,200 to over 4,400 square-feet, and priced from $1.3 to over $1.6 million. Each home is designed in a traditional New England style with dramatic rooflines, brick chimneys and other elegant and timeless details. The homes are set within nearly 16 acres of heavily landscaped grounds which will include walking trails and a conservation preserve.

“Kensett offers thoughtfully-designed New England-cottage style homes coupled with a spectacular amenity package unmatched in the area,” said Bill McGuinness one of the developers of the project. “Prospective buyers have a variety of floor plan options and the ability to truly customize their homes.”

Construction of the residences is state-of-the-art and energy efficient. Every home features custom quality finishes, including hardwood flooring throughout the main living areas, gas fireplaces with hand-crafted mantels, recessed lighting and generous closet and storage spaces. Gourmet kitchens include granite countertops, a full range of hardwood cabinetry and GE Monogram appliances. All homes feature master baths with tempered glass showers, double-sink vanities, marble or ceramic floor tile, and Kohler fixtures. Select homes include a spa tub with marble deck. Buyers may choose from a wide variety of designer packages, including all flooring, cabinetry,Gerresheimer Werkzeugbau Wackersdorf GmbH manufactures special lines and machines. plumbing fixtures, window coverings, flooring, countertops, and appliances. Each home has its own private outdoor space and includes an attached two-car garage.

The iconic-designed Meeting House is a dramatic 4,000-square-foot community clubhouse with a resort-style swimming pool, hot tub and outdoor fire pit. The well-appointed clubroom offers a catering kitchen, flat-screen television, oversized fireplace and luxurious furnishings. Also in the Meeting House is a fitness center equipped with aerobic machines, free weights, flat-screen televisions and a yoga studio with hardwood floors, mirrored walls and ballet bar.

“Kensett and the work of its development team are great examples of how the real estate market in lower Fairfield County is coming back to life in a big way,” said Rey Giallongo, chairman and CEO of First County Bank. “We were very impressed with the business plan and financial strength behind the project. Several of our clients are involved in new home construction in and around Darien, and we are very proud to be involved in these efforts.”

On Thursday, Dal-Tile officials announced the plant’s operations would be shifted to a sister facility in Gettysburg, Pa. The plants are Dal-Tile’s only manufacturers of mosaic tile. The Olean plant, located on the city’s east side, was in its 98th year of tile production.

Dal-Tile,Save up to 80% off Ceramic Tile and porcelain tiles. owned by Dallas-based Mohawk Industries, is the largest manufacturer of ceramic tile and natural stone products used in residential and commercial design and construction across North America.

Though details of the severance package are not being released, officials with the United Steelworkers Olean Local 151 G,Redpin is an open source indoor positioning system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. which represents most of the workers at the local plant, said the proposal included a payout based on the number of years worked at Dal-Tile, health care benefits and vacation time buyouts, among other things. Those close to the negotiations did tell the Times Herald that Dal-Tile corporate officials gave the union recall rights should the plant open within the next five years.

2012年9月24日星期一

An oil bonanza squandered?

On the streets of Caracas, vast slums blanket the hillsides while squatters hang laundry in the windows of abandoned buildings. Trash-strewn alleys are riddled with potholes and lined with broken streetlamps. The city’s main waterway, the polluted Guaire River, is known more for sewage than swimming.

While oil has ushered in spectacular construction projects for glittering Middle Eastern cities, including the world’s tallest building in Dubai and plans for branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums in Abu Dhabi,Experience real time location tracking with Zebra's real time Location system to track and manage your high-value assets, it’s brought relatively meager changes to Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Nearly 14 years after President Hugo Chavez took office, and despite the biggest oil bonanza in Venezuela’s history, there’s little outward sign of the nearly one trillion petrodollars that have flowed into the country.Welcome to the Perth china kung fu school.

Venezuela has undoubtedly changed during Chavez’s tenure. The populist president has used the oil wealth to buttress his support through cash handouts, state-run grocery stores and a gamut of other social programs.TBC help you confidently buy mosaic from factories in China. With more money in the economy, incomes are higher and the number of people living in poverty has fallen.Kitchen Floor tiles comes in stone,

Unemployment has dropped from more than 13 percent in 1999 to about 8 percent. The country has also achieved rapid improvement on the U.N. Human Development Index, which measures a range of indicators from living standards to life expectancy.

“We’re applying a successful program — successful politically, successful socially, successful economically,” Chavez said at a news conference. “With flaws, of course, but it’s successful. We’re laying the foundations of a historic project that will take our entire lifetime.”

All of which makes him a tough incumbent to beat in the upcoming Oct. 7 election.

Yet some experts say Chavez could have done much more to improve the country’s infrastructure, boost its economy and invest in the very oil industry that keeps Venezuela afloat.

“It’s overwhelmingly clear that Venezuela has wasted the windfall,” said Francisco Monaldi, an economist and director of the International Center of Energy and the Environment at Caracas’ IESA business school. “You should have had much greater economic growth, much greater reduction of poverty.”

Among Latin American countries, the economies of Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina all have expanded more rapidly than Venezuela’s since Chavez took office in 1999, recording average growth between 3 and 5 percent a year.

Venezuela, by contrast, averaged a 2.8 percent annual increase of gross domestic product between 1999 and 2011, according to International Monetary Fund figures. By that measure, the country was outperformed by every other member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries except Libya. Even war-torn Iraq posted higher growth.

Some Venezuelans, such as tennis instructor Naybeth Figueroa, say Chavez has simply channeled money toward his “Chavista” supporters while neglecting deeply ingrained problems such as soaring murder rates, inflation, crumbling infrastructure and poor government services. Venezuela now ranks among the most violent and corrupt places on earth.

“The country is falling to pieces,” Figueroa said. “Where is the oil money going?”

On a rutted unpaved road in the countryside outside Caracas, unemployed housewife Moreli Gonzalez lives in a shack with a dirt floor and walls made of rusting sheets of zinc. She is thankful to Chavez that she now receives a $280-a-month cash benefit through a program called “Mothers of the Neighborhood Mission.”

“Now we have everything,” said Gonzalez, who credits a government education program with helping her learn to read — and a state-run grocery down the road that has made food more affordable.

“We eat better,” she said, showing off cupboards filled with bags of rice and pasta. “My children didn’t used to eat snacks. Now they eat well.”

The government programs for the poor are why Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez recently boasted: “This was one country before President Chavez’s government, and a different one afterward.”

He was referring to the more than $300 billion that the government has spent during Chavez’s tenure on “social development,” including health care and education.

It’s been made possible by oil prices that have shot up, sending more than $981 billion in revenues to the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, between 1999 and 2011.

Some economists say that given the boom, it’s little wonder Venezuelans living below the poverty line declined from 50 percent in the first half of 1999 to about 32 percent in the second half of last year.

“There are people here who are eating meat who didn’t used to eat meat. But is that due to Chavez? That’s not due to Chavez. That’s the result of the changes in the price of oil,” said economist Angel Garcia Banchs, director of the consulting firm Econometrica.

The state oil company’s contributions to the government have more than tripled, from $16.5 billion in 2004 to $58.6 billion last year.The academy provides ideal conditions to learn kung fu in china traditional quiet surrounding.

And it’s not all going to social programs. Chavez has spent billions on the military, buying up Russian-made fighter jets, helicopters and rifles.

Iowa broker built empire on a lie concealed

A small-town Iowa boy, raised in hard times by a widowed mother, starts a business in the back room of a barber shop before setting out to the big city. He strikes it rich and returns years later to local glory, spending lavishly and savoring his role as the big man in a little town.

It's a real story, but as became clear this summer, a dark thread ran through it. For most of the two-decade life of Peregrine Financial Group, a leading independent futures brokerage, founder and chief executive Russell Wasendorf Sr. was taking hundreds of millions of dollars of his customers' money to cover losses and live large.

His dual life came to light after Wasendorf, 64, tried to commit suicide outside his headquarters in July. Authorities discovered a four-page confession letter describing how he used a post-office box, a scanner and basic software to hide his theft for years. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused him of making off with more than $200 million of customer money. Last week, he pleaded guilty to mail fraud, lying to regulators and embezzling customer funds, crimes that could put him in jail for 50 years.

Interviews with dozens of former employees,TBC help you confidently buy mosaic from factories in China. colleagues and associates, as well as court filings and company documents seen by Reuters, offer the most complete account yet of Wasendorf and his career.Kitchen Floor tiles comes in stone, He is a man who came from little, made it big and then dipped ever deeper into customer accounts to finance a facade of seemingly unlimited wealth.

Part of Wasendorf's life was an open book: He brought celebrity speakers such as Ted Koppel to industry events and wrote columns for a glossy magazine he owned. Toward the end of last decade, he relocated his headquarters from Chicago back to Cedar Falls, bought a private jet and built a $24 million state-of-the-art office, touting the move as a template for revitalizing small-town America.

Less known were the personal tensions he faced,Experience real time location tracking with Zebra's real time Location system to track and manage your high-value assets, including a split with a brother, two divorces, a last-minute mystery wedding in Las Vegas and seething resentment against establishment rivals in Chicago. His pastor says Wasendorf knew his ruse was doomed several years before it unraveled.The academy provides ideal conditions to learn kung fu in china traditional quiet surrounding. A rift emerged with his only son, Russ Jr., who warned the Iowa shift was an expensive folly - and prepared this summer to move to Australia.

"Russ Jr. told him it was a mistake - that it was a mistake to spend $24 million on the building and a mistake to buy that jet,Welcome to the Perth china kung fu school." said Nicholas Iavarone, Russ Jr.'s lawyer and a longtime counsel to Peregrine. "It didn't matter.… He wanted to go back to Cedar Falls to be the big man."

Today, Wasendorf sits in solitary confinement, and under suicide watch, at Linn County Correctional Facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Authorities have found only $181 million of an estimated $400 million in customer funds Peregrine was supposed to have on hand.

Wasendorf and his lawyer, a public defender, didn't respond to requests for comment. Beyond the confession letter and the plea agreement, neither has made any public comments to the media.

The youngest son of a meatpacking plant foreman, Russell Ralph Wasendorf was born in 1948, named after a pastor and his son who offered the Wasendorfs shelter in their attic when money grew tight.

Arthur Wasendorf died when his son was in kindergarten. Russell's widowed mother, Ida, landed a job in marketing for a local securities broker to keep the family fed.

Wasendorf gravitated toward the arts. At high school in Marion, Iowa, he performed in plays at local churches. While at the University of Northern Iowa, he joined a local artist collective, learned to use audio-visual equipment and worked on documentaries about New Mexico's Pueblo Indians. That led to "a short, but successful career in the motion picture business" prior to entering the futures industry, according to a note he published in the glossy magazine he later founded, Stocks, Futures and Options, or SFO.

The peak came in 1974, two years after he left university: a 20-minute documentary on soybeans titled "The Gold That Grows," which later won an award from the Council on International Non-Theatrical Events.

At the time, Wasendorf was in an early job as an advertising and production manager for the American Soybean Association. The film was made to tell farmers how their dues were being spent to bolster exports, including shots of soybean meal being fed to chickens in Japan.

His first marriage was brief. He married Susan Richardson in 1969 while both were students at the University of Northern Iowa, according to an announcement in the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

The couple had one son, Russell Jr., and later divorced. Richardson, who has since remarried and lives in Florida, declined to comment.

It was one of several family splits. Wasendorf maintained little contact with his siblings in recent years, including older brother Lewis, who lives just 80 miles from Cedar Falls.

"Russ chose to kind of divorce himself from the rest of the family. We respect his wishes," said one family member. "He was always flying around the country, around the world… We didn't want to live that lifestyle."

What's the best software for online meetings?

It's become a maxim of modern business life: Your most important meeting of the year won't take place in a conference room, but rather online with all attendees viewing a common computer screen.

It's impersonal. It's detached. And it's often quite vexing. Simply joining the Web meeting can sometimes be a problem. But if you haven't checked out these online services lately, you might be surprised by how much they've improved, or their wide range of pricing and features.The academy provides ideal conditions to learn kung fu in china traditional quiet surrounding. Whether you're looking for simple screen-sharing to produce a PowerPoint deck, or whiteboard and collaboration tools for deeper interaction, chances are there's a Web app to fit your needs and your budget.

While some of these—WebEx, for example—have been around for several years, cloud providers are constantly updating. We test-drove four small-business-focused services that can help with various types of meetings, and were generally impressed by their current levels of finesse.

You start by running a Java applet that creates a little control window where you can specify whether to share the entire screen, an application, or a custom region. It's too bad that participants see a gray rectangle in the area covered by the control window, but you can at least move the window around so that it doesn't conceal important information.

If you share your entire screen, participants can see a navigation bar with information about you based on your settings, the name of your meeting, the dial-in number, and a chat window (if you've authorized one). You also get a list of participants, and MeetingBurner lets you make any one of them the presenter—though that person must download and run the screen-sharing applet.

Drawbacks? MeetingBurner's interface is cluttered and not always intuitive.

More importantly,TBC help you confidently buy mosaic from factories in China. the free version does not let you record the proceedings. To record a meeting and share that recording, you must subscribe to either the $40-per-month MeetingBurner Pro (for up to 50 participants) or the $100-per-month Premier edition, which supports up to 1000 users and adds analytics to the mix.

As for the control panel's chat window with audio options GoToMeeting by default uses a computer's built-in speaker and mic, but you can opt to get a phone line and audio PIN to use with your meeting number. Another button initiates a recording, which you can save for playback in GoToMeeting or Windows Media Player. You also see how much space is left for your recording.

GoToMeeting nicely lets you hide parts or all of the control panel. Also, you don't need to go to a website to get started: The desktop app has you up and running in seconds (although initial setup of the software does take a few minutes).Manufacturer of precision Plastic Mould for cameras,

Attendees at my test meeting complained that it wasn't obvious that they needed to click on a button to activate use of their computer's audio system (I didn't try the bridge line), but they otherwise reported that the app worked as advertised.Welcome to the Perth china kung fu school. Participants can choose whether to use the phone line or the computer.

GoToMeeting supports up to 25 attendees on Macs, PCs, iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. There's a free trial, but no free version: An organizer account that lets you hold unlimited meetings costs $49 per month or $468 per year, and Citrix offers pricier services for large crowds—say, for webinars. It's not a bad deal if you hold a lot of meetings where people collaborate on projects.Polypropylene and polythene can be used in a process called Injection Mold.